Inspections of containers holding contaminated water at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant found that at least 10 percent have leaks, which could trigger a hydrogen explosion.
Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant’s operator, reported its findings at a meeting with a study group from the Nuclear Regulation Authority on May 22. It said no radioactive water was found to have escaped outside the concrete structures that encase the containers.
According to TEPCO, there were about 1,300 such containers at the plant as of May 20.
They store waste water from the ALPS (advanced liquid processing system) equipment that removes radioactive substances from contaminated water.
The containers, which are made of polyethylene, are 1.8 meters high and have diameters of 1.5 meters.
The first leak was discovered in a lid on April 2.