Fukushima nuclear power plant. Photograph by kAwamoto Takuo
Steam was noticed rising from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan at around 8.20am this morning by repair crews tasked with removing contaminated debris from the area.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has said that all repair and debris removal work around Unit 3 where the steam was seen has been suspended while they investigate the cause of the emission. The company has said that radiation levels around the chamber have not changed and the reactor has not reached “criticality”.
TEPCO is currently working under the assumption that the steam is a result of rain water that collected in the well beneath the pressure chamber, where it became heated and was released as steam. This theory has not, however, been confirmed and the site of steam is likely to raise fears that the situation may still not be under control after the magnitude-9 earthquake and resultant tsunami damaged the plant on 11th March 2011.
