DATE=10/3/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=JAPAN / NUCLEAR (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-254601
BYLINE=TANYA CLARK
DATELINE=TOKYO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Japan's nuclear accident last week may
have been caused by illegal procedures. Tanya
Clark in Tokyo reports the plant operator
admitted on Sunday that workers at the nuclear
plant were not observing safety standards set
by government.
TEXT: J-C-O Corporation, the operator of the
nuclear plant where the accident occurred,
admitted that for the past two years workers had
been using uranium fuel containers that were far
too small.
Thursday's accident, which took place in the town
of Tokaimura, about 110 kilometers northeast of
Tokyo, occurred when workers mixing the uranium
fuel poured too much fuel into the containers,
setting off an atomic reaction that continued for
hours.
At least three plant workers received doses of
radiation dose that are normally lethal. Many
other employees, as well as rescue workers, were
exposed to lower levels of radiation.
In the days since the accident, there have also
been claims the workers performing the re-fueling
procedure were poorly trained. These
possibilities, plus other errors, including a
slow response to the crisis by the operators and
bureaucrats, are leading to intense public
criticism of the plant operators and the
government.
Japanese prosecutors on Sunday announced the
creation of a one hundred-person task force to
investigate the accident. (Signed)
NEB/TC/KL
03-Oct-1999 09:33 AM EDT (03-Oct-1999 1333 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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