FUKUSHIMA, JAPAN — After surviving a massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdowns in 2011, Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant is now dealing with four different leaks in its walls.
According to NHK Japan, there are four coolant leaks at four different locations of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
According to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, also known as TEPCO, the coolant has been found seeping through pipes located in the nuclear station's underground wall of frozen soil.
This wall surrounds the facility's reactor and turbine buildings.
The leaks are specifically located in the pipes between the plant's No.
2 and 3 reactor buildings.
TEPCO found the leaks in late 2019 after noticing a reduction in coolant liquids in its tanks.
The company estimates it has lost a total of 20 cubic meters of coolant due to the leak.
The cooling liquid is an important tool in disaster prevention for the plant.
As it circulates through the underground pipes, it freezes the soil surrounding the reactor buildings, this keeps groundwater from flowing into the nuclear station.
Although a leak at a major nuclear station sounds alarming, TEPCO assures that the chemical composition of the cooling liquid is commonly found in snow-melting agents and therefore is not harmful to the environment.