Steam leak halts nuclear reactor in central Japan

The operator of a nuclear power plant in Japan’s central Fukui prefecture said it halted one of its reactors on Friday morning after detecting steam leaking from near a high-pressure turbine, News.Az reports, citing Kyodo.

According to Kansai Electric Power Co., the steam did not contain radioactive material and there was no impact on the external environment. The utility also said it cannot currently determine when the No. 3 reactor at the Mihama plant will be restarted.

The leak was discovered at around 4:10 a.m. on Friday. The reactor was manually shut down approximately 15 minutes later, the company said.

The No. 3 unit, which began operation in 1976, became in 2021 the first nuclear reactor in Japan to operate beyond 40 years under revised safety rules introduced after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Under those regulations, reactors are generally limited to a 40-year lifespan, although extensions of up to 20 years may be granted with regulatory approval.

Decommissioning work is already underway for the other two aging reactors at the Mihama nuclear plant.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev