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Fukushima worker accidentally switches off the crippled nuclear plant's cooling systems in latest blunder
Worker accidentally pushed button cutting power to water pumps Hundreds of tonnes of water must be injected into reactors every day Japan's nuclear regulator said backup system kicked in immediately Over 300 tonnes of contaminated water have leaked in last three months That is on top of 300 tonnes of groundwater seeping into Pacific every day
By Chris Pleasance PUBLISHED: 08:03 GMT, 8 October 2013 | UPDATED: 11:02 GMT, 8 October 2013

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A worker at the Fukushima nuclear plant accidentally pushed a button turning off power to the four badly damaged reactors yesterday. Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority said that a worker carrying out inspections had turned off pumps injecting cooling water into the unstable reactors. The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, pours hundreds of tonnes of water a day over the reactors to keep them cool after a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 triggered meltdowns and explosions.

A worker at the Fukushima plant accidentally turned off power to key cooling systems yesterday, but Japan's nuclear regulator sought to reassure people that a backup system had immediately kicked in

Despite the employee's blunder, officials say a backup system kicked in immediately. It is just the latest in a string of worrying mishaps which reveal just how vulnerable the power plant still is, two years on from the disaster. Earlier this year, Tepco lost power to cool spent uranium fuel rods at the plant after a rat tripped an electrical wire. And just last week the company also found that 430 litres of highly radioactive water had leaked from one of the hastily built storage tanks.

Reactors three (left) and four (right) were badly damaged in the natural disaster which

caused the worst nuclear emergency since Chernobyl in 1986

The tank lacked a gauge designed to warn people when it is dangerously full, meaning workers overfilled it. TEPCO said the water spilled out of a concrete barrier surrounding the tank and believed that most of it reached the sea via a ditch next to the river. A further 300 tonnes of contaminated water leaked into the ocean back in August, which is on top of the 300 tonnes of groundwater which the company admitted could be seeping into the ocean per day. Japan's government stepped up support for the embattled utility last month, pledging half a billion dollars to help contain contaminated water.

Fires burned for days at the plant following the 2011 crisis as workers struggled to cool the nuclear fuel

As well as battling to keep the reactors stable, Tepco is also in the middle of a complex decommissioning plan which could take decades to complete. Yesterday's mistake has seen the company's shares drop 7.6 per cent as confidence drains away from the embattled energy provider. The continuing disaster is the worst nuclear accident anywhere in the world since an explosion at now-infamous Russian power station Chernobyl in 1986. Fires burned for days at the shattered plant while workers slept in contamination masks on lead floors just 300 meters from the reactors which spewed radiation into the atmosphere. They were left to survive on emergency rations after drivers, fearing radiation poisoning, refused to take supplies to the site. Conditions got so bad that an army of hundreds of pensions - dubbed the 'suicide corps' - volunteered to take on work to spare the 1,000 or so younger people who were drafted in.

The mistake highlights just how vulnerable the power station still is, even two years on from the disaster. Tokyo Electric Power Company are in the process of decommissioning the plant, but admit it may take decades (picture from 2011)

The dangers faced by those at the site was underlined in July this year when Masao Yoshida, the boss of Fukushima, died from cancer aged just 58. Yoshida stayed at his post following the tsunami and lead efforts to stabilise the reactors, despite fearing several times that he and his workers would be killed and the crisis went from bad to worse. Even now, levels of radiation around the plant are dangerously high. In January this year a fish caught in the ocean nearby had 2,500 times the legal limit of radiation allowed for human consumption. A series of nets have been installed under the water to prevent the contaminated fish migrating, but scientists are still worried these fish could be eaten by larger predators, passing the radiation along. The fish showed no signs of mutation, and so would be indistinguishable from a healthy animal.

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Comments (42)
Share what you think Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all Report comment smug_alec, Rayleigh, 14 hours ago Fortunately there are a handful of honest reporters out there who are not bought and paid for by the nuclear industry, and who can be trusted to tell it how it is. Among them are: Dr Chris Busby, Dr Helen Caldicott, Arnie Gundersen, Yoichi Shimatsu and Michael Collins.

0 2 Click to rate Report comment leezed, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom, 18 hours ago Who was the worker, Homer Simspon?

0 3 Click to rate Report comment TaroJiro, Tokyo, Japan, 22 hours ago A Japanese big liar, Mr.A, might say "We've obtained a powerful shower near the enormous pool at Fukushima! That's our Omotenashi! "

0 0 Click to rate Report comment Woodcutter, Chiba Japan, 1 day ago Never ending bungling of Tepco and it's workers. Can you people put this whole drama to end! Sickening fools the whole lot of you and we never trust a word you say Tepco!

0 4 Click to rate Report comment If You Only Knew!, Ayesham, England, 1 day ago

This is japan. Imagine what pleasures await us all if Iran is allowed to complete its nuclear programme! Unimaginable!!!

5 7 Report comment Eric Rodgers, Fort Walton Beach, United States, 1 day ago

Click to rate

Iran has completed its nuclear program. Nothing bad has happened. Nothing will. The Iranian nuclear industry is not run by greedy corporations that overlook things like safety to increase profits. I doubt they will ever have a meltdown, much less three. 4 8 Click to rate Report comment birdwatcher, Florida US, 1 day ago Calif. has a nuclear reactor about 1/2 mile from a fault line and another one is near a fault line in NY and others throughout the US are not very far from fault lines. Supposedly they have been built to withstand earthquakes, BUT, we won't know unless an earthquakes strikes. There are also some built on barrier islands. I would think that hurricane possibilities would have prevented that. I'm not opposed to nuclear energy, but unfortunately, as is the case with most things, mankind does not think things through before jumping in with both feet. And unfortunately, mankind is very greedy and seems to frequently take the most profitable route to using earth's resources, rather than the more prudent one.

0 8 Click to rate Report comment birdwatcher, Florida US, 1 day ago This is an absolute disaster. I don't think they have any idea of how to contain this mess. It is only going to get worse if tepco is left in charge.

1 7 Click to rate Report comment tame impala, kampala, 1 day ago No safety backup button then? You cannot make this up anymore!

1 7 Click to rate Report comment tame impala, kampala, 1 day ago This should be HEADLINE NEWS, do you not think so, DM?

2 18 Click to rate

Report comment Polos, Melbourne, 1 day ago This incident is being dangerously under reported. In the northern hemisphere this is going to be worse than Chernobyl in the

next ten years. time to start taking the iodine folks. Geiger counters are showing large doses of radiation in fish from the Pacific too.

2 33 Click to rate The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

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