Radioactive water leaked at second Japan plant

TOKYO: A Japanese nuclear plant leaked 1.8 tonnes of radioactive water from its cooling system, the government said, heightening safety worries as an atomic crisis continues at another plant.

The leak, discovered Friday, caused no environmental impact as it was contained within an idled reactor at the Genkai nuclear plant in Saga prefecture in the southern Kyushu region, officials said.

Workers are still scrambling to contain a separate ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, triggered by the March earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan.

The operator of the Genkai plant, Kyushu Electric Power, said Friday that one of the water pumps connected to its number three reactor was taken offline after it sounded an alarm for increasing temperature.

But the utility did not announce leaked water at that time. The water kept around the pump and was later collected, said an official with the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency.

The utility was not legally required to report the water leak, but the mayor of the small Genkai town hosting the plant voiced concerns.