(April 25, 1997) After the 11 March explosion in the Japanese reprocessing plant Tokai-mura (see also WISE NC 468.4653) the list of blunders grew day by day, leading to a increasing distrust by Japanese public.
(471.4664) WISE Amsterdam -The operator, Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corp. PNC, came under heavy fire when details about the accident were disclosed.
- At the time of the accident no fulltime plant employee was on duty. On that day 7 maintenance workers went golfing as well as the day following the explosion. A junior staff member wasted time after the explosion waiting for telephone orders by PNC.
- Time was lost as the sprinkler was a manual system which required hand operation. After the earlier small fire in the plant smoke and fire detectors were shut off. Therefore the ongoing fire could lead to the later explosion.
- Plant officials never warned local citizens, including a school and an older-home at 3 kilometer from the plant. A group of 64 visitors of the plant were not alarmed as well and were never checked for contamination.
On 17 March the responsible governmental Science and Technology Agency officially declared the accident the worst nuclear accident ever in Japan. The accident was rated 3 on the international IAEA scale (classes 1 to 7). The released smoke possibly contained uranium and even plutonium.
A discussion broke out on the future of PNC, especially when it became clear PNC told lies about the Tokai accident. In a 21 March report to the government, PNC said wokers had checked the first fire to ensure the fire was extinquished. Later PNC had to admit they failed to check it resulting in the later explosion. After this confession the furious prime-minister Hashimoto ordered a raid on the PNC headquarters. 5 Officials at the plant were demoted for falsifying the report and police and prosecutors started an investigation on falsification.
The Science and Technology Agency considers the break up of PNC. Most of it would be privatised, only the fast-breeder research will remain under public domain.
On 14 April, at 5.30 a.m. (local time), radioactive tritium was released after an incident at the Fugen ATR reactor in Tsuruga (Fukui), operated by PNC. Only after 30 hours (!) PNC anounced the accident to the Fukui Prefecture Administration. Apparantly PNC wanted to cover up the release to keep the reactor running. The Science and Technology Agency ordered PNC to stop the reactor. PNC also admitted that it did not report 18 seperate radiation leaks since 1992. These leakages were below the official limt for notification.
Sources:
- Reuter, 13 and 17 March 1997
- UPI, 17 March 1997
- Reuter, 12, 13 and 22 April 1997
- Magpie Country Nukes Headliner, 16 April 1997
Contact: CNIC, 302 Daini Take Bld., 1-59-14 Higashi-nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 169, Japan
Tel: +81-3-5330 9520; Fax: +81-3-5330 9530