Energy Worries Grow For Japan As Nuclear Plant Shut

CIVIL NUCLEAR

Ground is cracked before facilities of Tokyo Electric Power's nuclear plant in Kashiwazaki city in Niigata prefecture, 250km north of Tokyo 18 July 2007. Japan's nuclear watchdog found a small amount of radiation leaked from the world's largest nuclear plant for three days following a deadly earthquake 19 July 2007. Photo courtesy AFP.

New Radiation Leak Disclosed At Japanese Plant
Tokyo (AFP) July 19 - Japan's nuclear watchdog on Thursday found that a small amount of radiation had again leaked from the world's largest nuclear plant, officials said. The radioactive particles leaked from an exhaust pipe filter either Tuesday or Wednesday, a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said. But the spokesman emphasised that there was no public health risk. It was the latest revelation to surface about damage to the plant from Monday's 6.8-magnitude quake, the epicentre of which was just nine kilometres (five miles) away. TEPCO first revealed some 12 hours after the earthquake that a small amount of radioactive water had leaked outside. It later revised upwards the level of radioactivity in the water and said it had also detected radiation particles in one of the filters on Tuesday. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the latest leak came from the same exhaust pipe and took place between midday Tuesday and Wednesday evening. "The latest leak was found in a follow-up inspection to the trouble in the exhaust pipe on Tuesday," an official at the agency said, adding that the amount was "very small." He said the new leak was a one-off occurrence and not a continuous leak between the time of the earthquake and Wednesday, as some earlier media reports said. The plant has been shut down indefinitely for a safety study.

by Kyoko Hasegawa
Tokyo (AFP) July 19, 2007
Worries about energy supply in Japan grew Thursday as officials said an earthquake-hit nuclear plant would stay shut at least for the summer amid fresh safety fears. The powerful earthquake killed 10 people, injured more than 1,000 and destroyed hundreds of buildings, forcing Japan's fast-growing automakers to curtail production. Measuring 6.8 on the Richter-scale, it struck just nine kilometres (five miles) from the world's largest nuclear power plant, where smoke billowed for hours and a small amount of radioactive water leaked.

The Nikkei business newspaper, citing unnamed sources, said the government would keep the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant shut for at least a year as the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), conducts a safety study.

Officials in Tokyo declined to comment, but a local representative in the plant's hometown of Kashiwazaki said it would not be used at least through the summer, the peak months for electricity demand.

The damage to the plant is "unprecedented and it's hard to predict when operations can resume," said fire department official Osamu Oshima.

"I don't know when we can finish inspections, but it's not going to be soon. Maybe it'll take several months or more," he said.

TEPCO has already asked other companies to pitch in to meet the metropolis's electricity needs.

"We'll do our best for stable electricity supply, utilising our existing thermal power plants, but we may need to ask our customers to save on power," TEPCO spokesman Ryo Shimizu said.

The earthquake has also taken an economic toll by halting production at major automakers.

Honda Motor Thursday joined its rivals in cutting production for lack of parts following damage to Riken Corp., which makes piston rings.

Tokyo Electric has insisted Monday's earthquake did not cause any dangerous nuclear leaks, but it has faced heavy criticism for initially underreporting the incident.

In the latest revelations, Japan's nuclear watchdog said another small radioactive leak emanated from the filter of an exhaust pipe of a reactor on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Japan, which experiences 20 percent of the planet's major earthquakes, has increasingly turned to nuclear power as it has virtually no natural energy resources.

The world's second-largest economy relies on nuclear energy for a third of its needs and is seeking to reduce further its dependence on oil and gas from the turbulent Middle East.

The high-selling Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper in an editorial supported nuclear power but said reactors needed to be reinforced to withstand stronger earthquakes.

If no action is taken, "it would only allow anxiety over the safety over nuclear power stations to prevail among the public," the daily said.

But the conservative Sankei Shimbun urged people to "think coolly" and not exaggerate the damage.

"Atomic power not only supplies electricity but is an effective tool in preventing global warming. We should not forget this reality," it said.

The seven million-kilowatt Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant accounts for more than 10 percent of the total energy supply of TEPCO, the world's largest private power company.

Source: Agence France-Presse

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CIVIL NUCLEAR

Japan's Quake-Hit Nuclear Plant Ordered To Remain Shut

Kashiwazaki, Japan (AFP) July 18, 2007
Authorities Wednesday ordered the world's largest nuclear plant to stay shut indefinitely after Japan's deadly earthquake, as its operator revealed a radiation leak was worse than thought. As the death toll rose to 10, some of Japan's top automakers said they would reduce or suspend production nationwide because of a parts shortage caused by the quake.

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