By Xinhua
Tokyo : A team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Monday started a follow-up inspection on an earthquake-hit nuclear plant that has been shut since last July in Japan.
The nuclear power plant, located in central western Japan’s Niigata prefecture, leaked low-level radioactive materials and has been closed since a magnitude 6.8 quake rocked the area July 16 last year. The quake killed over 10 people and injured more than 2,000 others.
The five-day examination will also include a revisit to the power plant by the IAEA experts and talks with officials of Japan’ s safety agency and the power company. The team is also expected to check underground geological conditions at the site and the insides of the reactor vessels using a camera, the report said.
However, it is still unclear whether the follow-up inspection will be final or the power station can be reopened soon.
Last August, a six-member IAEA team checked the quake-hit plant at the Japanese government’s invitation. They concluded then that the quake “significantly exceeded the level of seismic activity for which the plant was designed”, though the radioactive leak was “well below the authorised limits for public health and environmental safety”.