"No equipment abnormality found … tank valve replaced"

[AP]
[AP]

Japan resumed the discharge of treated wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant Thursday, one day after an alarm triggered an automatic shutdown of the release.

According to Kyodo News and other outlets, an alarm indicating an abnormality activated Wednesday afternoon during the 20th round of wastewater discharge at the plant, halting the operation.

Tokyo Electric Power Company said an on-site inspection found no equipment abnormality, and that it replaced the valve on a tank believed to have caused the alarm with a spare part. The utility then resumed the discharge at around 4:15 p.m. Thursday.

Kim Young-su, first deputy minister at South Korea's Office for Government Policy Coordination, said in a written briefing Thursday that Seoul was immediately notified that the discharge had automatically stopped at around 4:17 p.m. Wednesday due to a transfer-process alarm during the 20th release. In a follow-up notice, Kim said the discharge resumed at 4:30 p.m. Thursday after the valve between the wastewater tank and the transfer pump — identified as the source of the alarm — was replaced.

Tokyo Electric began releasing treated wastewater from Fukushima in August 2023. The current operation, the 20th such release, runs from June 1 through June 19, during which approximately 7,800 tons of wastewater are being diluted with seawater before being discharged into the ocean.

This marks the sixth time the wastewater discharge has been halted midway since Tokyo Electric began the releases, according to Kyodo News.


balme@heraldcorp.com