Radioactive coolant water was found leaking from a valve at a nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture early Saturday -- just one day after it resumed operations.
The leak was discovered at the No. 2 nuclear reactor at Chubu Electric Power Co.'s Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Hamaoka.
A fine mist of coolant water was discovered leaking from a welded spot on a valve for the reactor's low-pressure core injection system during a regular patrol of the facility at around 2:20 a.m. Steps were taken to manually shut down the 840,000-kw boiling-water reactor. The process was completed at 4:34 a.m.
No radioactive material has been released outside the reactor, Chubu Electric officials said.