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Power Connected to Fukushima Daiichi Reactor Two

Here’s some good news. From Reuters:

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said on Friday it had connected an external transmission line with the stricken Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan and confirmed that electricity can be supplied.

This is to reactor 2, with 1, 3 and 4 to follow. The next step is to restore the power to reactor 2, which should happen tomorrow. Reactors 5 and 6 got electricity back yesterday. This is important, because it increases the possibility that the reactors’ systems can help to cool the fuel.

After checking whether pumps and other equipment are functional, TEPCO said it would try to restore the damaged items, putting priority on equipment for sending cooling water to the reactors.

That equipment includes the seawater injection system, a standby liquid control system and a control rod drive system.

Correx: Changed to be clearer. Electricity has not yet been restored to reactor 2.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Check that Reuters story again. I read it to say that AC power had been restored to the plant, but none of the reactors or their safety systems had power restored yet. They're going to try to do that Saturday (right now US time) but not done yet.

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