Safety plan worked at quake-hit Japan reactor-UN

VIENNA, Aug 15 (Reuters) A Japanese nuclear reactor hit by an earthquake last month is less damaged than UN experts had expected and safety procedures had ''performed as required'', the UN atomic watchdog said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it would release a detailed report on the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant, the world's largest, in a few days after a team of six inspectors returned to Vienna.

The plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), suffered low-level leaks of radioactive material when a 6.8 magnitude quake struck on July 16.

''The team... has concluded that plant safety features performed as required during the earthquake,'' the IAEA said in the statement yesterday. ''Damage from the earthquake appears to be limited to those sections of the plant that would not affect the reactor or systems related to reactor safety.'' The team's analyses supported the view that the amount of radioactivity released was well below authorised limits for public health and environmental safety, it said.

Japan had initially told the IAEA it did not need help. It said later it would allow inspectors into the facility after pressure from local authorities who were worried that talk of the plant's problems would hurt tourism and fisheries.

IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei said in the statement he welcomed the cooperation and transparency the team had received from the Japanese authorities.

''The mission's findings and the Japanese analyses of the event include important lessons learned - both positive and negative - that will be relevant to other nuclear plants worldwide,'' he said.

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