Reactor fitting falls off at quake-hit central Japan nuclear plant

TOKYO (Kyodo) — A metal fitting used on a reactor at the Shika nuclear power plant has fallen off, apparently affected by a strong earthquake that struck central Japan in January, according to a report presented at a regulator meeting Wednesday.

The part had been used to secure a metal tube covering a system responsible for driving the control rods in the No. 1 reactor at the plant in Ishikawa Prefecture, hit by the magnitude-7.6 quake on New Year’s Day.

The reactor has been shut down since 2011, and all fuel has been removed.

“It is not a problem that would affect safety,” Hokuriku Electric Power Co., the plant’s operator, told the meeting of the Nuclear Regulation Authority.

The part that fell off was discovered during an inspection conducted in March.