– External power supply cut at 2 Fukushima reactors (NHK, July 22, 2011):
Tokyo Electric Power Company says part of the external power supply has been cut at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant due to a problem in the transmission lines.
TEPCO said on Friday that a current breaker was tripped by a sudden surge in the external power lines, cutting off electricity to the No. 3 and 4 reactors.
The operator was forced to suspend a system treating radioactive water. Another system cooling the No.3 reactor’s spent fuel storage pool was also shut down.
TEPCO says the pool’s temperature remains stable at around 30 degrees Celsius.After the power outage, a building serving as the headquarters for the plant’s stabilization switched to an emergency generator.
TEPCO said work to inject water and nitrogen into the reactors has not been affected, as electricity is being supplied from other power sources.
It said radiation levels around the plant show no major change, and claimed there was little risk of a leak occurring.
TEPCO is working to restore external power, as it tries to find out what caused the problem.