http://www.boston.com/dailynews/113/world/Officials_plead_guilty_to_negl:.shtml

Officials plead guilty to negligence in Japan's worst nuclear accident

By Associated Press, 4/23/2001 01:36

TOKYO (AP) Six former top officials at a nuclear fuel-reprocessing plant pleaded guilty Monday to charges of negligence resulting in death in Japan's worst nuclear accident, a court spokesman said.

Also, current JCO Co. president Tomoyuki Inami admitted to a charge that the company violated the nation's nuclear regulations law, said Mito District Court spokesman Michiru Sakurai.

The six, including the plant's general manager Kenzo Koshijima, each face a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of 500,000 yen ($4,098). Inami was answering a charge made against the company itself and doesn't face any individual penalty.

JCO was accused of systematic security violations. The accident happened at the company's Tokai plant, 70 miles northeast of Tokyo, on Sept. 30, 1999. Two workers tried to save time by mixing excessive amounts of uranium in buckets instead of using special mechanized tanks.

The mix set off an uncontrolled nuclear reaction, exposing the two to massive doses of radiation from which they later died. A third worker, who was also hospitalized in critical condition, was later discharged from the hospital.

It was Japan's most serious nuclear accident. Authorities ordered 161 people evacuated from their homes, and another 310,000 were advised to stay indoors for 18 hours as a precaution. In all, 439 people were exposed to radiation.

The company was stripped of its license to operate the processing plant in March of last year.

The company has also agreed to pay $103.7 million in compensation to settle 6,875 complaints over the accident.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2001