Power restored to Japan nuke plants cooling system

Associated Press, Japan | World | Fri, April 05 2013, 4: 04 PM

Power was Friday a cooling system in a tsunami damaged nuclear plant in Japan that are not for the second time in a month after a failure caused by the construction works to ward off rats suspected of setting off the previous blackout restored.

Power for the cooling system for a group of storage for fuel was restored after a two-hour break in reactor No. 3, and there was no immediate danger of the distribution according to Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility that Fukushima Dai-ichi in Northeast Japan works.

Working to put up nets to ward off rats and other animals at Fukushima Dai-ichi factory in Northeast Japan accidentally caused the power failure TEPCO spokesman Akitsuka Kobayashi. Details were not clear, and the failure was still under investigation.

A dead rat found in the neighbourhood of a switchboard was suspicious of the power outage last month, which led to a cooling system not working for two days at the plant.

Nuclear Regulation Authority spokesman Takahiro Sakuma said an alarm went off in the afternoon about the latest problem in reactor No. 3.

The cooling system can be disabled for two weeks before temperatures approach dangerous levels on the spent fuel storage pools. But if the water runs dry, the fuel rods even spent, will spew huge levels of radiation.

The factory went into multiple meltdowns after the tsunami March 2011 damaged backup generators and all cooling systems failed, including those for the reactors.

The plant is out of service, but still its glitches.

Fears grow over the safety of nuclear installations, and people have periodically staged street protests which are rare in Japan.

Only two of the nation's 50 operating power plants are, and the Government is running up of enhanced security controls on the plants, including scrutinizing quake errors right under or near the plants.

Shinzo Abe, who became Prime Minister about three months ago, has a desire to restart of nuclear installations. Japan lacks natural resources and relied on nuclear energy for about a third of the electricity needs before March 2011. Energy imports have risen in the past two years, putting a strain on the economy.