TOKYO: The discharge of treated radioactive water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant was suspended Wednesday due to a partial power outage, the plant operator said.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc (TEPCO) said it believed the power outage, which occurred at around 10.43 am, was caused when a power cable at the Daiichi plant was damaged during excavation work, Kyodo news agency reported.
The system to cool reactors and spent fuel pools was not affected by the power cutoff and remained operational, according to the utility.
The release of the wastewater began in late August and TEPCO ejected about 31,200 tons of water in the previous fiscal year through March in four batches.
The release of the fifth batch of water began last Friday. The utility sees the discharge as a key step in the ongoing decommissioning of the wrecked Fukushima plant, which suffered fuel meltdowns in three reactors following a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
