A loose bolt in the piping system at the Takahama Unit 4 reactor in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, will not delay the planned restart of the power plant, which is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 26, the Kansai Electric Power Company said Tuesday.
The loose bolt was blamed for a leak of about 34 liters of low-level radioactive water that was discovered Saturday, Feb. 20, near the purification equipment in the auxiliary structure of the reactor building.
The leak occurred during a test of the primary coolant system, The Asahi Shimbun reported.
The loose bolt was one of four that held a valve in place. Kansai Electric also explained that the test puts the system under higher pressure than normal plant operations would.
The plant's Unit 4 is set to be the fourth reactor in Japan restarted after a nuclear power moratorium imposed as a reaction to the Fukushima Daiichi accident of March 2011. Unit 3 at the plant was restarted Jan. 29.
The company said it tightened the problem bolt and inspected about 80 other valves in Unit 3 and Unit 4 to be sure there were no others with similar problems.
Concurrently, Kansai Electric is completing an eight-day series of control rod tests. Once those tests are done, the reactor will be cleared for restart.
The first two reactors in Japan to be reactivated – in August and October 2015 – were Unit 1 and 2 at the Sendai nuclear power plant operated by the Kyushu Electric Power Company. Japan's Nuclear Regulatory Authority, meanwhile, is reviewing applications from at least 25 reactors at 15 plants that are seeking permission to return to commercial operations.
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