Four Dead at Japanese Nuclear Power Plant

TSURUGA, Japan, August 9, 2004 (ENS) - Four nuclear workers are dead and seven others were rushed to hospitals with serious injuries today when steam escaped from one of the reactors of Mihama Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture. It is the worst loss of life ever at a Japanese nuclear facility.

No radioactivity leaked into the environment as a result of the incident, the Japanese Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency and plant owner Kansai Electric Power Company said.

The reason why the steam escaped is not yet known, and the government agency said it is sending inspectors to the site, located in the town of Mihama, 340 kilometers (210 miles) west of Tokyo. The Fukui prefectural police also are investigating the incident.

The accident happened at the plant's No. 3 reactor at around 3:30 pm local time, according to police and firefighters. The 826 megawatt pressurized water reactor shut down automatically, the government agency said.

The reactor, which began operating in 1976, is one of four at the Mihama plant.

Mihama Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture (Photo credit unknown)

All 11 workers are employees of the Osaka company Kiuchi Keisoku, KEPCO said. They were delivering tools to Mihama in preparation for a regular annual inspection when the incident occurred at the part of the facility housing a turbine powered by pressurized steam.

Kansai is Japan's second biggest electric power company and operates 11 nuclear reactors at the Mihama, Ohi and Takahama power stations.

This incident is not the first time the Mihama power plant has had a steam-related problem. On February 9, 1991 the rupture of a steam generator pipe caused the release of radioactivity at the Mihama facility.

It was the first time in Japan that damage to a steam generator had activated the emergency core cooling system of a nuclear plant.

In a separate Japanese nuclear incident today, Japan's largest power producer, Tokyo Electric Power Company, said a water leak has forced the shutdown of a reactor at its Fukushima-Daini plant.

Elsewhere in Japan, Nagasaki is marking the anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city. An atomic bomb dropped by the United States on August 9, 1945 ended World War II. At the memorial ceremony, Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Ito urged citizens of the United States to work with Japan to eliminate nuclear weapons.

From Nagasaki where he delivered a memorial address for the atomic bomb victims, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi the fatalities and injuries at Mihama were "regrettable."

"The government must do its utmost to ensure safety," the Prime Minister said.