FOCUS-Japan nuclear plant accident injures 14

By Linda Sieg

TOKYO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - An accident at a Japanese uranium processing plant exposed 14 workers to radiation on Thursday and may have triggered "abnormal reactions" continuing into the night, media and a government spokesman said.

The incident at the plant about 140 km (90 miles) northeast of Tokyo could be the worst nuclear accident in the country's history, the top government spokesman said.

"There is a strong possibility that abnormal reactions are continuing within the facility," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka told an emergency news conference.

"We believe that it is a severe situation, and there are concerns about radiation in the surrounding areas."

Nonaka said that there was a strong possibility that there had been a "criticality incident" at plant at Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Criticality is the point at which a nuclear chain reaction becomes self-sustaining, similar to what happens inside a nuclear reactor.

Asked about his remarks earlier in the day that the situation appeared to be under control, Nonaka said the measurements of radioactivity had been low but started to rise.

The government was considering seeking help from the U.S. military in the country to help cope with the situation, Kyodo news agency quoted senior government officials as saying.

Kyodo quoted the officials as saying Japan lacked experience in dealing with this kind of accident and that the U.S. forces may have the necessary know-how.

Japan's defence agency spokesman said he was "not aware" that Japan had asked the U.S. military to help. He said a 16-strong chemical warfare unit was on standby.

The spokesman said the U.S. military in Japan did not have the means to deal with nuclear accidents.

Toshio Okazaki, vice minister at the Science and Technology Agency, told a news conference the accident originally caused radiation levels 4,000 times higher than normal.

NHK television said 14 people had been exposed to radiation.

Okazaki said that authorities in Tokaimura had extended the area in which they were advising residents to stay indoors to a 10-km (six-mile) radius from the original three km.

The injured were taken to hospital and later transferred by helicopter to a specialised hospital in Chiba Prefecture east of Tokyo, officials said.

A doctor who treated three workers told a televised news conference: "Judging from the symptoms, they appeared to have received quite a substantial amount of radiation and we will need to keep a close eye on their conditions."

Steve Kerekes, spokesman for the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington, said from initial reports, this did not appear to be another Chernobyl.

"Criticality is a flash event, as compared to a whole kind of reaction that Chernobyl was."

NEI is the trade group that represents the U.S. nuclear power industry.

The accident led Japan Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi to consider postponing a cabinet reshuffle planned for Friday, Nonaka said. The government would await Obuchi's final decision while monitoring developments, he said.

Obuchi had met with cabinet ministers and pledged to take all possible steps to cope with the crisis, Nonaka said.

Anti-nuclear activists said the accident, the latest in a series to plague Japan, would cast doubt on the safety of the entire nuclear programme.

The village of Tokaimura, with a population of around 34,000 people, is home to 15 nuclear-related facilities.

It was the scene of Japan's worst nuclear plant accident up to now in which 37 workers suffered radiation contamination in 1997.

Greenpeace said in a statement that Thursday's accident "confirms our fears. The entire safety culture within Japan is in crisis"

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-- Anonymous, September 30, 1999

Answers

Very sad. From a later article, I gather that the radiation is above acceptable limits by 15000 times within a 2 kilometer range around the plant. This was quoted in a reuters article.

Interestingly enough, they only evacuated a 250 YARD radius around the plant grounds. The rest of the people were told to shelter in place. Unfortunately, they will likely be exposed to more radiation than they should be. My guess is the structures are not thick concrete made for "sheltering in place" from a nuke event like this.

Also, the situation seems to be somewhat nebulous as to the reaction status right now. France issued a statement that the material is unlikely to explode. I'm not certain what their basing this on. Also, Japan stated that the reactions are most likely continuing to produce excessive radiation....FUBAR

And now you know why I don't think Nukes are such a hot idea.

-- Anonymous, September 30, 1999

A news report here said that a worker tried to place 16kg of uranium into a vat that normally holds 2.6 kg.

I know its a long time since I studied any physics at university, but I seem to recall that this is around 50% more than the amount of U238 required for criticality. Could someone from the nuke industry comment on this.

Malcolm

-- Anonymous, October 01, 1999

Yes, 8 kg is about what's needed for criticality. That's why the plant usually only puts in that 2.6 kg at a go -- to keep quantities *well* below critical mass. 16 kg -- good grief!! I'd say that not only was this a "gross violation of safety procedures," but I have to wonder about their whole training program: the people who handle the stuff should know what they're doing!

My prayers go out to the two workers described as suffering vomiting and diarrhea shortly afterwards; I will be surprised if they live.

-- Anonymous, October 01, 1999

Pa ul Gunter and Scott Portzline discuss the accident on "Sightings Radio" (REAL PLAYER)

-- Anonymous, October 01, 1999