Kansai Electric Shuts Down Problematic Reactor at Mihama Nuclear Power Plant

Tsuruga, Japan (ANTARA) - Japanese electric power company Kansai Electric Power Co. completed a manual shutdown process of an ageing reactor at the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant on Friday, after water droplets were discovered on non-radioactive equipment.

Workers discovered the droplets originating from thermal insulation around an air vent valve on the secondary cooling system pipe in Unit 3, located in Fukui Prefecture, during an equipment inspection on Thursday (17/9) at approximately 15:45 local time.

The company stated that no radiological impact on the surrounding environment was found as a result of the incident.

The company began reducing operational loads on Thursday evening at 20:30 local time to inspect the affected area and investigate the cause of the issue.

The reactor had undergone a routine inspection in June, earlier than scheduled, and had only been restarted on Saturday (12/9).

This December, the reactor will reach 50 years of age since it began operations. The two oldest reactors at the power plant are currently undergoing the decommissioning process.