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Nuclear Safety Commission regrets Tokaimura nuclear accident
Nuclear Safety Commission regrets Tokaimura nuclear accident
TOKYO, July 7 (Kyodo) - The Nuclear Safety Commission, in a report
released Friday, expressed regret over its inability to prevent last
September's fatal nuclear accident in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture.
''We deeply regret that the Nuclear Safety Commission could not
fulfill its duties, and we feel tremendous responsibility over being
unable to respond to the public's trust,'' the commission said in its
1999 white paper, submitted earlier in the day to the cabinet.
The accident at the Tokaimura uranium processing plant resulted in
the deaths of two people and exposed more than 400 others to higher-
than-normal levels of radiation, making it Japan's worst nuclear
power-related disaster.
The white paper addresses various problems that emerged concerning
nuclear safety in 1999, including the leakage of cooling water at the
Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture in July and the
revelations that mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel shipped
from Britain later in the year was tainted.
The commission says in the document that it will reinforce its
functions and work on improving nuclear safety. It also says it is
important to disclose information about nuclear safety matters to
regain public trust in the nuclear program.
The document said the government was not fully informed about safety
management at the plant and that its operator, JCO Co., lacked a
''safety culture,'' allowing dangerous operations to take place.
To prevent similar accidents from happening, the commission said, it
will promote information disclosure and make use of new legislation
aimed at preventing and better coping with accidents at nuclear power
facilities to ensure safety.
The law, which went into effect in June, stipulates that the central
government take the lead in dealing with nuclear accidents. It gives
the prime minister responsibility for declaring a state of emergency,
setting up a crisis-management task force and requesting the dispatch
of Self-Defense Forces troops if deemed necessary.
''We will take initiatives in order to respond to the people,'' said
the commission, an advisory body to the premier. The organization is
responsible for policy matters and regulations concerning the safety
of nuclear energy.
The Tokaimura accident claimed the lives of Hisashi Ouchi and Masato
Shinohara, who triggered a self-sustaining nuclear fission chain
reaction at the plant by pouring too much uranium into a tank using
procedures that deviated from government-approved methods.
At least 439 people, including 207 local residents, were exposed to
higher-than-normal levels of radiation in the incident, evaluated as
a Level 4 accident, meaning it did not cause serious danger outside
the facility.
In July last year, more than 50 tons of cooling water containing
radioactive material leaked inside a concrete containment housing a
pressurized water reactor at the Tsuruga plant, located on the Sea of
Japan coast, due to a crack in a pipe.
The MOX fuel scandal involves deliveries of MOX fuel from the British
Nuclear Fuels PLC (BNFL) to the Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui
Prefecture. It was later found that BNFL workers had falsified
quality assurance data.
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Sandy Perle Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100
Director, Technical Extension 2306
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division Fax:(714) 668-3149
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