Sydney (Platts)--15Mar2011/641 pm EDT/2241 GMT
Tokyo Electric Power Company has reported another fire at the No. 4 reactor at its earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi, or Fukushima-1, nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan, public broadcaster NHK reported Wednesday. The fire was reported on the fourth floor in the northeast section of the reactor building at 5:45 a.m. (2045 GMT Tuesday), NHK said. Tepco is working to find ways to cool down the No. 4 reactor, which also suffered a explosion and fire in the same area on Tuesday morning. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said Tuesday's fire at the No. 4 reactor made two holes in the reactor's wall. The No. 4 reactor was not operating when the earthquake struck on Friday, but the reactor held spent fuel rods in a storage pool next to the containment vessel and the plant's cooling systems were damaged. The temperature in the pool was recorded at 84 degrees Celsius on Monday morning, more than double the normal level, NHK reported. The government on Tuesday ordered Tepco to do its utmost to prevent an explosion or critical chain reaction in the reactor. Tepco was considering using a helicopter to pour water into the No. 4 reactor to cool the fuel rods, according NHK. But the company ruled out that option Wednesday morning, as the hole in the reactor is dozens of meters from the pool. The company is studying using fire engines or other options to inject water into the reactor, although radiation levels are currently too high for workers to approach the pool. Radiation levels at the Fukushima-1 plant's No. 3 reactor were measured at as high as 400 millisieverts/hour on Tuesday, while levels at the No. 4 reactor were put at 100 millisieverts/hour, enough to cause harm to humans. Meanwhile, the situation at the Fukushima-1 plant's No. 1 and 3 reactors is relatively stable, NHK reported. The suppression pool in the plant's No. 2 reactor was damaged in an explosion on Tuesday. Tepco is continuing to pump water into the No. 2 reactor to cool it down, NHK said. --Christine Forster, christine_forster@platts.comSimilar stories appear in Nucleonics Week. See more information at http://bit.ly/NucleonicsWeek