Japanese nuclear reactor shut down after water leak

A nuclear reactor at a power plant in northern Japan was shut down for repairs today after a high level of irradiated water was found to have leaked from a pump.

The No.3 reactor at No.1 Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant was closed this morning, said Motoyasu Tamaki, a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power.

Tamaki said no radiation had leaked outside the compound and no workers had been exposed. Fukushima is about 150 miles north-east of Tokyo.

Since January, there has been an above average amount of water leaking from a pump that controls water entering the 784,000-kilowatt reactor, Tamaki said.

He said a mechanical seal on the pump would be replaced.

Resource-poor Japan relies on nuclear power for about a third of its energy needs.