Japan Says Nuclear Accident May Be Continuing
09/30/99 10:50:00 AM
Reuters Online News TOKYO (Reuters) - A nuclear accident at a
Japanese uranium processing plant Thursday may have triggered
``abnormal reactions'' that could be continuing at the plant, the top
government spokesman said Thursday. ``There is a strong possibility that
abnormal reactions are continuing within the facility,'' Chief Cabinet
Secretary Hiromu Nonaka told an emergency news conference late
Thursday. ``We believe that it is a severe situation, and there are
concerns about radiation in the surrounding areas.'' Nonaka said this
could be the worst nuclear accident in Japan's history. The accident at
Tokaimura in Ibaraki Prefecture, about 87 miles northeast of Tokyo,
exposed three workers to radiation and prompted authorities to evacuate
the vicinity. Nonaka said that there was a strong possibility that there had
been a ``criticality incident'' at plant. Criticality is the point at which a
nuclear chain reaction becomes self-sustaining, similar to what happens
inside a nuclear reactor. Asked about his remarks earlier in the day that
the situation appeared to be under control, Nonaka said the
measurements of radioactivity had been low but started to rise.
Copyright 1999, Reuters News Service