Sendai 每 Tohoku Electric Power has said that it will halt the No. 2 reactor at its Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture 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 of 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 that 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 last Monday. It resumed power generation late Thursday night and was scheduled to start commercial operations in early June.
The reactor was not affected by the earthquake that occurred off Miyagi Prefecture on Friday night.
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