Fire At Fukushima No 2 Nuclear Plant

February 8, 2018 – A minor fire set off an alarm in a building at the Fukushima No. 2 Nuclear Power Plant earlier this morning, sparking an investigation.

At about 9 am this morning, an alarm went off in a building handling the processing of waste from reactor Nos. 1 and 2 at the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc. (TEPCO). A worker from a cooperating company noticed smoke coming from a room for cooling equipment and rushed to put out the fire, which was confirmed extinguished about 40 minutes later.

The Futaba Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire. Officials said a monitoring post on the perimeter of the nuclear plant grounds showed no change in airborne radiation levels.

The six-story building where the fire started is made of reinforced concrete. In addition to handling the processing of waste liquid containing radioactive materials from the plant’s No. 1 and 2 reactors, it has a laundry facility for workers’ clothes. The cooling equipment room is in a radiation control area, and is outfitted with air conditioning and other equipment.