Friday 11 October 2013

Six workers exposed to radiation at Fukushima plant

Workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan have been exposed to radioactive material following a leak.

Plant operator Tepco said one of the employees “took off a joint of a pipe by mistake” connected to a water treatment system, which led to toxic water spilling on him and a few others.

A total of 11 people were working on site but only six of them were found to have “radioactive material on their bodies”, Tepco said. The workers were said to have been wearing face masks with filters and protective suits.

The accident is the latest in a string of mishaps, with the crippled plant being hit by a series of toxic water leaks in recent months.

Tepco said in a statement: “The six workers… were found to have no radioactive material on their faces as a result of measurement. Therefore, we ruled out the possibility of their internal intake of radioactive material.”

It added the pipe has now been reconnected and the toxic water was contained.

Last month the Japanese government pledged 47 billion yen (£0.3 bn) towards the Fukushima clean-up.