–Tokyo Electric Monitoring Spent Nuclear Fuel Facilities in Fukushima
(MaceNews) – A powerful earthquake shook the northeastern Tohoku region in Japan late on Wednesday, triggering tsunami warnings along the Pacific coast of Miyagi and Fukushima, two prefectures hit hard by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.
The 7.3 magnitude tremor struck 60 km below the sea off Fukushima at 1136 JST (0936 EDT), causing power cuts in wide regions ranging from Tohoku to Kanto to the southwest where Tokyo is located.
A total of 860,000 households are out of power in nine prefectures including Tokyo in the early hours of Thursday, according to public broadcaster NHK.
The earthquake measured 6+ on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 0 to 7 in many areas of Miyagi and Fukushima. A local train in Fukushima and a bullet train in Miyagi were derailed, NHK said. Many train services were suspended in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) has detected no major change in the level of radiation around its nuclear power plants in Fukushima, which were badly damaged by the March 11, 2011 tsunami and meltdown, NHK said.
It also said TEPCO has reported to the local fire department that a fire alarm went off at a turbine facility at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant but that there was no fire. The power company is monitoring the conditions of spent nuclear fuel pools at its plans to ensure the cooling water temperatures were not rising.
Japan has 54 nuclear reactors, which had supplied about 30% of its power generation needs until the 2011 disaster. Of the 54 units, 24 will be demolished (including six reactors at Fukushima No. 1 and four at Fukushima No. 2) and 10 are in operation, with some shut down for routine maintenance.
Japan now relies heavily on burning fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas, for over 70% of its power generation.
The 2011 disaster forced the country to suspend operations of all of its nuclear power plants as they are located close to the ocean from which cooling water is supplied. High waves of tsunami could cause massive power cuts and damage backup generators, leading to a meltdown of fuel rods as it happened in Fukushima. The government has gradually resumed operations of some nuclear power plants.