Onagawa No. 2 Reactor to Be Halted for Inspection

Sendai, Miyagi Pref., May 16 (Jiji Press)--Tohoku Electric Power Co. said Friday that it will halt the No. 2 reactor at its Onagawa nuclear power plant in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Miyagi for inspection, following the detection of a trace of radioactive steam.

According to the company, around 5:10 p.m. on Friday, a patrolling worker confirmed that the steam was leaking out from a sump collecting wastewater from equipment in the basement of the reactor's turbine building. The steam did not stop even after the valve connected to the sump was retightened.

The level of radioactivity in the water accumulated on the surrounding floor was about one-thousandth of the government's reporting threshold.

The No. 2 reactor, which had been stopped for a periodic inspection, was restarted on Monday. It resumed power generation late Thursday night and was scheduled to start commercial operation in early June.

The reactor was not affected by the earthquake that occurred off Miyagi Prefecture on Friday night.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]