Pipe rupture caused Fukushima nuclear reactor shutdown

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Pipe rupture caused Fukushima nuclear reactor shutdown

FUKUSHIMA, Japan, Aug. 2 (Kyodo) - The earthquake-related 
rupture of a corroded pipe and subsequent increase in waste gas 
led to last month's shutdown of a reactor at one of Tokyo Electric 
Power Co.'s (TEPCO) nuclear power plants in Fukushima 
Prefecture, northeastern Japan, the company confirmed 
Wednesday. 

TEPCO officials said they found that a small pipe at the No. 6 
reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 plant on the Pacific coast was 
broken in a magnitude 6.1 quake July 21 and air inflow from the 
pipe's cracks rapidly increased radioactive gas emissions from the 
reactor. 

The pipe had previously been damaged by repeated heat and 
strain. 

No radioactivity leaked outside the plant after TEPCO manually 
shut down the reactor following the quake, which jolted extensive 
areas of eastern Japan. 

The ruptured pipe, measuring 34 millimeters in outside diameter 
and attached to a safety valve, suffered metal fatigue as steam 
repeatedly passed through it, according to the Ministry of 
International Trade and Industry. 

The officials also examined pipe joints at five other reactors in the 
plant and detected deterioration, although those pipes had no 
cracks. 

TEPCO officials said they are planning to remove the corroded pipe 
at the No. 6 reactor and a similar pipe at the No. 2 reactor. 

It is rare for a reactor pipe to rupture during a quake, according to 
TEPCO. 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
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