35 WORKERS EXPOSED TO RADIATION AT JAPANESE REPROCESSING PLANT

TOKYO, 12 March 1997

35 workers were exposed to radiation at the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant operated by The Power Reactor & Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) at Tokai Village about 130 km north east of Tokyo. An explosion took place at about 20:04 on 11th March (local time) in a room used to mix low level liquid nuclear waste with high temperature asphelt to be packed into drums, (the last stage in the process.)

According to PNC, the liquid waste bitumen is LOW level radioactive, however it should be high level radioactive waste because it contains fission products and plutonium etc. The released radioactivity in the air by the explosion is fission itself. When inhaled it can cause lung cancer or leukemia

Greenpeace Japan's statement about the accident included the criticism that, "once alerted of the fire, PNC should notified local government first, who could have evacuated the local residents. Their conduct in not informing residents of the danger is criminal."

Hideaki Takemura, Nuclear Campaigner said, "If it was the case that they couldn't predict any explosion, they are too incompetent to operate reprocessing because it proves that their technology is too poor."

This is the third serious accident at a PNC plant following the sodium leak at Monju and an accident at the Fast Breeder Reactor in Fuku.

For further information contact:

Noriko Oyama, Press officer + 81 3 5351 5400/09

Hideaki Takemura, Nuclear campaigner ++ 81 3 5351 400/12