UN inspectors to visit quake-hit Japanese plant

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A team of UN nuclear inspectors planned to begin a four-day assessment on Monday of a nuclear power plant that was severely damaged by an earthquake last month, a Japanese official said. The magnitude-6.8 quake in Niigata prefecture (state) on July 16 killed 11 people and injured more than 1,000. It also caused numerous malfunctions and leaks at the plant - the world's largest in terms of capacity - and raised concerns about safety at Japan's nuclear power stations. The International Atomic Energy Agency team, led by Philippe Jamet, director of its Nuclear Installation Safety Division, was scheduled to start examining the plant on Monday, Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency official Masahiro Yagi said. The team will return to Tokyo on Friday for talks with Japanese nuclear safety officials, NISA said in a statement.