TEPCO to resume transferring toxic water at Fukushima plant+

TOKYO, June 2 Kyodo -
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant plans to resume transferring radioactive-contaminated water within the No. 3 reactor's turbine building by securing additional room to pool it, company officials said Thursday.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. was set to resume the operation at a time it is working to prevent the tainted water from spilling out of pits and other facilities at the plant before activating new equipment that can recycle the problem water to cool down reactors about two weeks later.
The utility sees the amount of tainted water increasing in turbine buildings and nearby pits at the station as a recent typhoon brought substantial rainfall to the complex, 220 kilometers northeast of Tokyo. The rainy season zone is also approaching Fukushima Prefecture and other areas in the northeastern Tohoku region.
The officials said the utility, known as TEPCO, has started to transfer water in a condenser to a temporary storage tank, and then will fill the condenser with the tainted water from the No. 3 unit's turbine building.
The plant operator could begin moving the contaminated water into the condenser as early as next week, considering that it is expected to take three to four days before emptying the condenser, which has a 3,000-ton capacity, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.
Removal of the tainted water is essential to reduce the risk of workers being exposed to radioactive substances and facilitate efforts to contain the emergency at the plant which was ravaged by the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The plant operator had stopped transferring the contaminated water from the Nos. 2 and 3 reactors' turbine buildings to storage facilities by May 26 as the total amount of water came close to the planned limit, the utility's officials said.
In other progress, TEPCO's newly established water circulation system aimed at cooling the spent nuclear fuel pool of the No. 2 unit is working steadily, with the water inside the pool falling to 42 C on Thursday morning from 67 C late Tuesday, according to the agency.
Still, the level of water accumulated in the basement of the No. 1 reactor's building has been found to be decreasing recently, it said, raising concerns that the tainted water may be leaking to the outside.
The agency said it will analyze the reason for the decline of the water level, while TEPCO will continue to monitor the development of events there.
==Kyodo
2011-06-02 23:45:51