NRA assesses accident à Oarai as level 2

February 21, 2018

NRA rates Oarai nuclear accident as level 2

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180221_26/

Japan's nuclear regulation authorities have rated last year's accident at a research facility north of Tokyo as level 2 on an international scale.

In June last year, 5 workers at the Oarai Research and Development Center of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency were exposed to radioactive substances when a bag containing them burst open.

The members of the Nuclear Regulation Authority said at a meeting on Wednesday that the worker with the highest exposure is expected to have been dosed with between 100 to 200 millisieverts over a 50-year period. That exceeds the limit allowed by the government.

They also said there was a problem with the management and protection of nuclear fuel materials at the facility, such as a lack of regular inspections.

The NRA assessed the accident as level 2, or third from bottom, on the nuclear and radiological event scale of 0 to 7.

The authority also decided to make it a requirement in principle for nuclear fuel substances to be handled in closed facilities.

Some members said at the meeting that the authorities should check whether effective measures are being taken to prevent a recurrence.