Asia News

Smoke at nuke complex

Written by Writer on Friday, October 10th, 2008

Smoke at nuke complex

TOKYO - SMOKE was detected on Friday at a Japanese nuclear power complex that suffered a major accident a decade ago, but the operator said there was no release of radioactivity.

The smoke was found at a solid waste facility at the Tokaimura plant northeast of Tokyo in a room where metal waste is burned, said Mr Masataka Sekine, a spokesman for operator Japan Atomic Power.

Mr Sekine said the smoke never left the room and nobody was injured.

The reactors are in another part of the plant and the facility continued operating, he said.

‘We are investigating the cause of the smoke,’ he said.

In September 1999, an uncontrolled nuclear reaction occurred at the fuel reprocessing center in Tokaimura, a rural area 110 km northeast of Tokyo. Two workers were killed and about 700 people were exposed to radiation.

Japan’s nuclear power programme has a history of accidents and lax oversight. In August, liquid containing uranium splashed out of a container at a nuclear fuel plant southwest of Tokyo, exposing two people to radiation. — AP

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News Topics : Accidents, Atomic Power, Decade, Japan, Lax Oversight, Major Accident, Masataka, Nuclear Fuel Plant, Nuclear Power, Nuclear Reaction, Radiation, Radioactivity, Reactors, Rural Area, September 1999, Solid Waste Facility, Southwest, Spokesman, Tokyo, Uranium