According to the Niigata Nippo newspaper on January 1st, Tokyo Electric Power Company announced that during an inspection of units 1 to 7 at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture, it was found that water had overflowed from the spent fuel pools of some units due to the shaking caused by an earthquake. However, the water did not flow outside the buildings and did not have any impact on the surrounding areas. According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, the overflowed water contains radioactive materials, and the radiation levels are being measured.

 

Earlier, on January 1st, the Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority stated that one of the external power supply systems at the Shiga Nuclear Power Plant in Ishikawa Prefecture had a malfunction. However, the other external power supply system was functioning normally and the cooling of the spent fuel pool was still ongoing.

 

In addition, due to the shaking from the earthquake, water from the spent fuel pool at the Shiga Nuclear Power Plant overflowed into the surrounding area. However, the monitoring stations measuring radiation levels around the plant showed normal levels, indicating that the radioactive materials did not have an impact on the external environment.

 

According to the Sankei Shimbun on January 2nd, after the earthquake on the 1st, the cooling pump of unit 1 at the Shiga Nuclear Power Plant temporarily stopped working and was restored at 4:49 PM on the same day. The cause may have been the change in water level in the spent fuel pool due to the shaking from the earthquake.

 

On the 1st, Yoshihide Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, stated that a transformer at the Shiga Nuclear Power Plant caught fire after the earthquake, but it has been extinguished and did not have any impact on the plant buildings. (CCTV reporter Baichunyang and correspondent Yang Hongxia reporting)