Fukushima Daiichi Faces More Problems, Daini Under Control

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources East Asia (Kofu-shi, Japan)--On Tuesday, March 15, at 6:14 a.m. JST, Unit 2 at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station experienced an explosion that has compromised the suppression pool, which is responsible for regulating the pressure within the reactor vessel. The high pressures experienced within the reactor have dropped, but the compromised reactor housing is allowing the escape of radiation.

On the same day, loud explosion-like sounds originating from Unit 4 were heard at 6:00 a.m. JST. Afterward, officials observed significant damage to the roof of the reactor housing and discovered a fire on the fourth floor of the housing at 9:38 a.m. The fire had not yet been contained as of Tuesday, March 15, at 12:00 p.m. JST. Unit 4 was down for scheduled maintenance and was not active when the area was struck by a magnitude 6 shockwave originating from Friday's 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Miyagi prefecture.

As for Fukushima Daini nuclear power station, all units have been brought safely under control as of Tuesday, March 15, at 11:00 a.m.

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