Tepco Considers Air-Based System to Cool Water From Reactors
Tokyo Electric Power Co. is considering installing an air-based system to cool water from reactors at its crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear station once it is able to circulate fluids in the pressure vessels.
The proposed method may replace a heat exchanger that used sea water as part of the cooling system that was knocked out following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, according to Hikaru Kuroda, a nuclear facility management official at the utility known as Tepco. A waterless mechanism would minimize the risk of radiation leaking into the sea, he said at a media briefing in Tokyo today.
Tepco’s inability to circulate fluids in the damaged reactors and spent-fuel pools had forced the utility to use fire engines and external pumps to pour millions of liters of water to prevent them from overheating. Excess water has accumulated in basements and trenches at the plant, preventing workers from repairing cooling equipment.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tsuyoshi Inajima in Tokyo at tinajima@bloomberg.net; Yuji Okada in Tokyo at yokada6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Amit Prakash at aprakash1@bloomberg.net
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