Safety precautions at nuclear reactors in Japan have been flawed and dangerously weak, according to newly revealed reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The arrangements for accidents, emergency planning and safety training by Japanese power companies were condemned as inadequate by IAEA inspectors after they visited four reactors in the 1990s. Altogether they found 90 deficiencies in safety procedures.
The revelation comes as a major scandal over the cover-up of scores of cracks in Japanese reactors threatens to undermine the country鈥檚 ambitious nuclear programme. Four of Japan鈥檚 five major nuclear companies have now confessed to concealing cracks from the government鈥檚 regulatory agency.
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The IAEA does not know whether the deficiencies its inspectors found have been corrected because its relations with Japan have deteriorated since its last visit. 鈥淲e have not been invited back for another mission since 1995,鈥� an IAEA spokeswoman told 麻豆传媒.
In the midst of the emerging scandal on cracks, the agency offered on 16 September to send experts to Japan, but so far there has been no response.
Major power
Japan is the world鈥檚 third largest user of nuclear power after France and the US, with a third of its electricity generated by over 50 reactors. There are also a dozen new reactors being planned.
The IAEA, the United Nations nuclear agency based in Vienna, frequently sends experts to different countries to share best practice on nuclear safety. Now, IAEA reports on visits to two reactors at Fukushima in 1992 and two reactors at Hamaoko in 1995 have been revealed by the nuclear industry newsletter, Nucleonics Week.
They list a long series of alleged safety flaws at the plants, including 鈥渨eakness in emergency plan procedures鈥�, 鈥渋nsufficient event analysis on near-misses鈥� and 鈥渓ack of training for plant personnel on severe accident management鈥�. Evacuation plans were said to have been inadequately tested, firefighters poorly trained and there was 鈥渘o formal policy concerning drug and alcohol use鈥�.
Cover up
The scandal over cracks in reactors began on 22 August when Japan鈥檚 largest power company, Tokyo Electric Power, admitted it had covered up such flaws in its reactors in the 1990s. This led to the resignation of senior company officials and the launch of a major government investigation.
An initial report by Japan鈥檚 Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry disclosed that crude attempts had been made to disguise repairs to the emergency core cooling system at one of the company鈥檚 Fukushima reactors. 鈥淎fter repairing with clamps, the clamps were painted to be inconspicuous,鈥� the report said.
Last week three other major companies said they had also concealed cracks in reactor cooling systems from regulators: Chubu Electric Power, Japan Atomic Power and Tohoku Electric Power. The government鈥檚 investigation is continuing.
In 1999 Japan suffered its worst ever nuclear accident at the Tokaimura nuclear fuel manufacturing plant. Enough uranium to start a chain reaction was inadvertently mixed together, causing a massive blast of radiation that killed two workers and irradiated hundreds of local residents.