Japan provides update to IAEA on Fukushima radioactivity and facilities

VIENNA, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency announced Wednesday that it has received an update from Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority on the conditions at the Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority reported on radioactivity sampling results and the status of nuclear power station facilities.

Daily monitoring of certain sampling points by Tokyo Electric Power Company between January 27 and February 2 indicated that concentrations of all radionuclides were relatively stable. The Authority reported the results of sampling radioactivity in sea water at a distance of two to 200 kilometers from the nuclear power station.

The Authority also relayed that the planned decommission of Fukushima NPS Units 5 and 6 was effective as of January 31.

Following up on an investigation, Tokyo Electric Power Company provided images and videos of NPS Unit 4 Spent Fuel Pool that confirmed the presence of cracks in the "deformed fuel assemblies."

A "catastrophic failure" occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on March 11, 2011, when a tsunami, generated by the Tōhoku earthquake, struck the plant.

[International Atomic Energy Agency]