A small foundation leak was recently detected at FirstEnergy's Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Massachusetts. The leak was first discovered when the plant was powering up after a scheduled shutdown for regular maintenance.
The technicians at the plant who discovered the leak were preparing to pressurize the entire plant at the time. One technician noticed a small defect in a vent line that was allowing coolant to be released from the pipe. The water being transported through the vent was radioactive and being sent to a containment area for safe holding. While there was no danger to the public with the leak, crews quickly repaired the vent so no accidents occurred.
In Japan, a similar incident occurred at a plant in Fukushima. Workers at the Tokyo Electric Power Company are unsure where the source of the radioactive water leak is located, allowing the fluid to be released from the nuclear plant's suppression chambers. The leak was discovered when workers entered the suppression chambers for the first time since the nuclear accident took place at the plan in March 2011, RTT News reported.
The inspection found no signs of major damage to the plant or its equipment, but contaminated water had accumulated on the floor of two of the suppression chambers, posing a safety threat. The power company plans to fill the plant's containment vessels with water and get rid of all contaminated products, RTT News reported.
