Japan to halt Onagawa nuclear reactor over water leak — Anadolu Agency

Japanese energy company Tohoku Electric Power is expected to halt reactor No. 2 at the Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture on Saturday. The reason is a water leak in which a small amount of radioactive substances was detected, Anadolu Agency reports.

Water leak

According to the operator, all contaminated water was collected, and no abnormal radiation levels were recorded in the environment around the plant. The company estimates the volume of the leak at approximately 0.2 tonnes of water per hour.

The water level in a drainage sump had been rising since July. During an inspection, specialists found a leak from a valve.

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Inspection and repair

Tohoku Electric Power plans to inspect the equipment and replace faulty components. According to the company’s estimate, the inspection, repairs and preparations to resume reactor operations will take about ten days.

Reactor No. 2 at the Onagawa nuclear power plant became the first in eastern Japan to resume operations after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that caused the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The 2011 disaster forced Japan to halt nuclear reactors across the country and introduce stricter safety requirements before restarting them.

In November 2024, the reactor was already briefly shut down due to equipment problems a few days after its restart. Its operation was resumed after repairs in the same month.