IAEA to review Japan nuclear plant accident

Kuala Lumpur, July 18: The UN nuclear watchdog is ready to join Japan to investigate an accident involving minor radiation leaks at the world's biggest nuclear plant after an earthquake this week, the body's chief said today.

The leaks renewed fears over safety in Japan's nuclear industry, whose image has been tarnished by scandals over cover-ups and fudged safety records.

The quake-hit Japanese city of Kashiwazaki today ordered that the nuclear plant be kept closed until safety could be ensured after the leaks caused by the tremor.

Mohamed ElBaradei, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, urged Japan to be transparent in its investigation of the accident, adding that the UN watchdog stood ready to join Japan in making a review of it.

''The agency will be ready to join Japan, through an international team, in reviewing that accident and drawing the necessary lessons,'' ElBaradei told reporters in the Malaysian capital, where he delivered a lecture on nuclear power.

''We have been receiving information from the Japanese authorities,'' ElBaradei added. ''It's clear that this earthquake, as TEPCO, the operating company, indicated, was stronger than what the reactor was designed for.'' Tokyo Electric Power Co, or TEPCO, said yesterday that the earthquake of magnitude 6.8 caused 50 problems at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in northwest Japan, including emission of a small amount of radioactive material into the atmosphere.

About 1,200 litres of water also leaked into the sea from a reactor at the plant, and a blaze began in an electricity transformer.

Although the reactor structure had not been damaged, it was necessary for Japanese authorities to make a thorough investigation of the incident, ElBaradei added.

''It doesn't mean that the reactor structure or system has been damaged, but clearly Japan needs to go into a full investigation of the structure, the systems, the components of the reactor, and to make sure that we learn the necessary lessons from that earthquake,'' he said.

ElBaradei added, ''I would hope, and I trust, that Japan would be fully transparent in its investigation of the accident.''

Reuters>