Fukushima Touched by Another Earthquake, Some Deficiencies Reported at Nuclear Plants
A 7.3-magnitude earthquake caused some deficiencies at two of the three nuclear power plants (NPPs) located in relatively close proximity to the fault, but it did not cause any safety concerns, according to Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA).
The quake struck about 60 kilometers off the coast of Japan on March 16 at 2:36 p.m. UTC. The NPPs affected include the Fukushima Daiichi facility, site of the infamous nuclear disaster in February 2011. Other potentially vulnerable facilities were the Fukushima Daiini and Onagawa nuclear power stations.
At the Daiichi site, hundreds of seismically qualified tanks store treated water from the 2011 accident. The force of the quake reportedly moved some of these tanks up to 10 centimeters, but there was no leakage, according to the NRA. Also at the Daiichi site, a cooling pump for the Unit 5 reactor’s spent fuel pool temporarily stopped working, but later resumed operation and cooling functions at the site have been maintained, the regulator said.…