TEPCO Confirms Meltdown at Fukushima Reactors 2 & 3

Tokyo Electric Power Company has confirmed that there were meltdowns of fuel rods at three of the plant’s reactors early in the crisis.

Earlier this month it said that fuel rods in the No.1 reactor melted, but officials confirmed at a news conference that there were also meltdowns of fuel rods at the plant’s No.2 and No.3 reactors early in the crisis.

Spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said that the fact that the two reactors were able to keep cooling for longer than No. 1 puts them in a better condition.

[Junichi Matsumoto, Tokyo Electric Power Company]:
„As for reactor 2 and 3, their situation was helped by the fact that they managed to still retain some sort of cooling capability for a short time after the disaster hit.“

According to the report, fuel rods in the No. 3 reactor were damaged in the afternoon of March 13.

[Junichi Matsumoto, Tokyo Electric Power Company]:
„On the morning of the 13th, the High-pressure coolant injection system also stopped on Reactor 3. Taking this into consideration, in terms of the cooling and how bad the reactor condition is, Reactor 1 is likely the worst followed by No. 3 and then No. 2.“

The disaster has triggered a drop of more than 80 percent in Tokyo Electric’s share price and forced the company to seek government aid, as it faces compensation liabilities that some analysts say could top $100 billion.

Foto: NTD