Another nuclear accident in Japan
By Eva Cheng
Yet another nuclear accident struck Japan on April 14, and the nuclear operating authority once again failed to report it to the central government immediately for possibly crucial emergency action.
The leakage of radioactive tritium from the exhaust pipe of a heavy water recycling chamber at the Fugen thermal nuclear reactor in Tsuruga, 323 kilometres west of Tokyo, wasn't reported to the government until more than 30 hours after the incident occurred. At least 11 workers were exposed to radioactivity.
Failing to observe the safety reporting requirement once again was the state-owned Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (Donen), which runs the Fugen plant as well as two other nuclear plants which also suffered serious accidents within the last 16 months.
Three tonnes of sodium coolant leaked from a fast-breeder reactor in Monju in December 1995, in one of the most serious accidents of its kind ever reported in the world.
On March 11, a radioactive waste reprocessing facility in Tokaimura exploded after a fire 10 hours earlier wasn't properly extinguished.
The reliability of Japan's nuclear industry is in serious doubt. The country has 51 nuclear reactors in operation, generating 34% of its energy needs.
Though the government expressed anger at the mishandling at Tokaimura, no action was known to have taken to address the problem before the Fugen accident occurred.
On April 16, the Science and Technology Agency, which oversees Japan's nuclear energy sector, filed a criminal charge against Donen, alleging it lied about having observed required safety precautions. Earlier, one Donen department head and four other junior staff were symbolically demoted for the incident.
Within hours after it found out about the Fugen fiasco, STA ordered Donen to suspend all its operations. STA chief Riichiro Chikaoka warned that Japan's entire energy program could grind to a halt if Donen's problem was not resolved.
The Council of Nuclear-Related Trade Unions, formed after the Monju accident, called in late March for the publication of a full report on the Tokaimura incident.