Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday that one of two radioactive water filters will be shut until at least September at its stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, even as it searches for the cause of a leak that prompted the biggest escalation in the crisis since it started in March 2011.
The loss of the advanced liquid processing system, taken offline Aug. 8 due to corrosion, compounds concerns that the utility is losing its battle, now raging for two years, to manage the buildup of radioactive water. The lost layer of filtration adds to the contamination levels of water in the plant's storage tanks, hundreds of which may be susceptible to leaks.
Tepco said Monday it will set up a special unit to deal with the storage of highly radioactive water, most of which had been used to keep its three melted reactors cool and is increasing at a rate of 400 metric tons a day. The step comes a week after a storage tank leaked 300 tons of highly radioactive water, an event the Nuclear Regulation Authority labeled a "severe incident" in its worst assessment of the problems at Fukushima since the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 led to the three meltdowns.