Japan nuke plant shut after radiation alert

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Japan nuke plant shut after radiation alert

TOKYO, June 29 (Reuters) - Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc (TEPCO) said 
on Thursday it has started to shut down a nuclear reactor on the 
Japan Sea coast after a small amount of radiation was detected in a 
leaked pool of water. 

TEPCO was closing the 1,100-megawatt plant to determine the source of 
the leakage, but the problem was not related to the operation of the 
reactor, a spokesman said. 

The water was found below a network of pipes linked to a high-
pressure turbine at the No. 2 Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant in 
Niigata prefecture, he said. 

A very small amount of radiation had been detected in the water but 
had not leaked outside the plant, he added. 

A second spokesman said later that it was unclear how long the 
shutdown at the privately run utility would last. 

International and domestic data show that Japan has fewer unplanned 
nulcear power plant shutdowns than many major countries in the west. 

The United States, which has the world's largest number of nuclear 
power plants, reported an average of 2.4 shutdowns per plant in 1996. 


Japan, which has 51 reactors, reported an average of 0.2 shutdowns 
per plant in fiscal 1998/99. 

Nuclear energy accounts for roughly a third of the resources-poor 
nation's total electric supply. 

Plans for the construction of new nuclear plants are facing strong 
local resistance in Japan, however, following a series of nuclear 
accidents that has led to a loss of public faith in nuclear energy. 

The most serious nuclear accident which happened last September at a 
uranium processing plant led to the deaths of two workers who were 
exposed to radiation. 

The government is reviewing its energy policy, which is expected to 
conclude with cut in the target for constructing new reactors. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
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