EARTHQUAKE SHAKES JAPAN'S NORTHWEST COAST
NORIMITSU ONISHI: Kyodo News, via Associated Press - July 17, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/world/asia/17japan.html
TOKYO, Tuesday, July 17 -- A powerful earthquake shook Japan's northwestern coast on Monday
morning, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 900, flattening hundreds of buildings and
leaving thousands homeless.
Japan Quake Overturned Drums of Nuclear Waste (July 17, 2007)
Rescuers sifted through damage today in Kashiwazaki, Japan. More Photos >
The earthquake also caused a small fire at a nuclear power plant, the world's largest, which later leaked a
small amount of water containing radioactive materials into the Sea of Japan.
The company operating the plant said the radioactivity level posed no danger to the environment, but it
delayed acknowledging the leak for several hours.
Television commentators criticized the company's delay in reporting the leak, which was likely to raise
fresh concerns about the safety of Japan's nuclear reactors. Japan depends greatly on nuclear power,
and its nuclear industry has long been afflicted by scandals and cover-ups.
The earthquake was centered off the cost of Niigata, a prefecture that was hit by a devastating earthquake
in 2004.
Skyscrapers here in Tokyo, about 130 miles southeast of Niigata, swayed for almost a minute.
Japan's meteorological agency said the magnitude was 6.8; the United States Geological Survey put it at
6.6.
The tremor occurred at 10:13 a.m. on what was a national holiday here. It caused minor tsunamis and
buckled roads and bridges. It also toppled one local train and shut down service on the bullet train for
several hours, as well as interrupting the supply of power and water to tens of thousands of homes.
Nuclear reactors in the affected area shut down automatically, but the quake caused a small fire at an
electrical transformer at a nuclear plant in Kashiwazaki, a coastal town close to the quake's epicenter.
Japanese television stations showed flames and black smoke billowing from the nuclear plant, which is
operated by Tokyo Electric. The fire occurred at the plant's No. 3 reactor, which the company said
suffered no damage.
Tokyo Electric initially said that there had been no radiation leaks at the plant. But later in the evening, it
said in a statement that a total of 1.36 quarts of water containing low levels of radioactive materials leaked
from two locations at its No. 6 reactor, which had been shut down at the time for a regular inspection, into
a larger water tank. A total of 317 gallons of water in the tank, including the small amount containing
radioactive materials, was then pumped out into the Sea of Japan.
The leakage occurred at 12:50 p.m. But the company did not acknowledge that there had been a leak
containing radioactive materials until past 10 p.m. At that point, it acknowledged on its Web site that it had
known at 6:20 p.m. that the leaked water contained radioactive materials, without explaining the delay.
Early Tuesday morning, Akira Amari, the minister of economy, trade and industry, summoned Tokyo
Electric's president, Tsunehisa Katsumata, and warned him about the company's handling of the incident.
"This may cause people to distrust nuclear power," Mr. Amari said. "We will not have the plant resume
operations without confirming safety."
Aftershocks could be felt for several hours after the quake, including a large one at 3:37 p.m. that was felt
here in Tokyo.
In 2002, Tokyo Electric was forced to shut down reactors in Fukushima, a prefecture in northeastern
Japan, after admitting that it had covered up violations and falsified records at three plants for more than a
decade.
In October 2004, more than 60 people died and thousands were injured in a 6.8-magnitude earthquake
that hit Niigata. The government was criticized for not providing adequate services for evacuees, many of
whom had to stay in public housing for months.