information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
8 Mars 2016
March 8, 2016
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160308_29/
The operator of a nuclear power plant on the Sea of Japan coast says a control rod in an offline reactor has moved unexpectedly.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, says the trouble occurred soon after 2 PM on Tuesday at the No.5 reactor of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture.
TEPCO officials say an alarm indicated that one of the reactor's 185 control rods moved out of its normal position.
They say workers were at the time manipulating valves related to the control rods as part of regular inspections, but did not operate the rods.
They also say the rod returned to its normal position after about a minute.
TEPCO says the trouble caused no nuclear fission chain reaction and does not affect the surrounding area.
Control rods are crucial for security in reactors. The firm reported the trouble to the government and is investigating into the cause.
The reactor is a boiling-water type, the same as those at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant. It has been offline since 2012 for regular inspections.
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