ASIA: In Japan, No major damage to safety at Japan nuclear plant

A UN expert said Friday there was no significant damage affecting safety at the world's largest nuclear plant in Japan after his team entered a reactor for the first time since a major earthquake.

But Philippe Jamet, leader of the 12 experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the incident showed the need to build plants to withstand bigger-than-expected earthquakes.

"Basically this mission confirmed that we did not see at the present time a significant damage on the safety-related parts of the plant," Jamet said after five days inspecting the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant northwest of Tokyo.

"Of course, on the other hand, the fact that the earthquake that occurred was much bigger than the one that was taken into account at the designing stage of the plant is also a very important lesson," he told reporters.

"And of course, these results will be taken into account to develop the international safety standards of the IAEA," Jamet said.

It was the second IAEA inspection of the giant plant, which remains shut since the earthquake last year, but the first to go inside a reactor.

Jamet said the team will return to Vienna on Monday and issue a final report in two or three weeks.

The 6.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked central Japan in July killed 11 people, but none of the deaths or injuries were linked to the nuclear plant.

The plant automatically shut down, but a fire broke out at the section generating electricity.

The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., said water containing a small amount of radiation leaked into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) and radioactive particles blew out of an exhaust pipe filter.

The company came under criticism for initially underreporting the severity of the incident. Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone nations, experiencing about 20 percent of the world's powerful tremors.

Despite its propensity for earthquakes, Japan relies on nuclear plants for nearly one-third of its power needs as it has virtually no natural energy resources.

Source: Agence France Pressee