Japan Quake Causes Havoc At Nuke Plant

Fires, Leaks Discovered Day After 6.6 Magnitude Earthquake; At Least 50 Malfunctions Reported

(CBS/AP)  A total of 50 cases of malfunctioning have been discovered at a nuclear power plant hit by an earthquake in northern Japan, a news report said Tuesday.

Cases included fires, water and oil leaks at the plant triggered by Monday's magnitude-6.6 quake, and pipes knocked out of place, Kyodo News agency reported, quoting the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co.

TEPCO officials could not immediately confirm the report.

The Kariwa nuclear power plant at Kashiwazaki city, near the epicenter, is the world's largest in terms of power output capacity.

With nine people dead, over a thousand others injured, hundreds of collapsed buildings and damaged roads and train tracks, Japan got a new jolt from Monday's quake as officials who first said the nuclear power plant had no radioactive leak admitted 12 hours later that it did.

About 100 drums containing low-level nuclear waste fell over at the plant during Monday's 6.8-magnitude quake and were found a day later, some with their lids open, said Masahide Ichikawa, an official with the local government in Niigata prefecture.

The power company is working to determine whether any hazardous material had spilled, said Ichikawa, citing a report by the company.

With highways ripped up and bridges destroyed, officials struggled to get emergency supplies to the quake region, where nearly 13,000 people have crowded into evacuation centers amid worries of mudslides and more aftershocks.

Some 53,000 homes in the quake zone are without water, 35,000 are without gas as of early Tuesday, and over 25,000 households are without power.

Further complicating the cleanup during what is Japan's rainy season, forecasters are predicting heavy rain, flooding and lightning in the area.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said Tuesday that officials are still assessing the damage. "The most important thing is to take necessary measures quickly and respond to the needs of the victims," he said.

Many of the injured suffered broken bones, cuts and bruises. "I got so dizzy that I could barely stand up," said Kazuaki Kitagami, a worker at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Kashiwazaki, the hardest-hit city. "The jolt came violently from just below the ground."

The Japanese Meteorological Agency put the magnitude at 6.8, while the U.S. Geological Survey said it was 6.6.

In Kashiwazaki, the quake reduced older buildings to piles of lumber. On Tuesday morning, officials said a total of 342 houses had been destroyed and another 469 were damaged.

[nope123-2009]

Man, the conspiracy buffs just can't give it a rest, can ya? Give the Japanese a moment to assess damage, and to report it before you clamber all over them.

And zootallures2? You're a fricking IDIOT.

[erasmus6]

Remember the Russian nuclear sub that was stranded at the bottom of the ocean and how everyone died? And all because they didn't tell anyone right away and even when they did they didn't want anyone to come and help.

Let's hope it isn't the same with Japan.
And I wonder why they don't reveal information right away? Is it because they don't like the U.S. or is it because they don't want anyone to know what they are doing over there?

[oleander8]

The Japanese were hardly given a chance to assess damage before the everyone started claiming cover-up. Not fair.

[rushlimpdrug]

Hiroshima,
Nagasaki,
Kashiwazaki

[clestes-2009]

Add the word never in the first sentence.

[clestes-2009]

It has seemed to me to be a good idea to build nuclear reactors on big fault lines where you know it is not a matter of IF, but WHEN a big quake, say Reichter 8 or above can happen at anytime.

Japan has been plagued by big quakes regularly.

[rushlimpdrug]

I'm sure when this story first hit the report was of 1-1/2 liters of spill which was totally absurd.
This was followed by a report of several hundred gallons spilled.
The telling of lies about spills accomplishes absolutely nothing.
Go figure

[erasmus6]

"...officials who first said a nuclear power plant had no radioactive leak admitted 12 hours later that it did."

"...in this quake-prone nation and which have had a long string of accidents and cover-ups."


If they are known for cover-ups and it took them 12 hours to report a small leak, let's hope they aren't covering up something bigger.

[zootallures2]

So, the US military and the IDF are spreading depleated uranium all over the place. Who care anymore?

[zootallures2]

At one time there was a justification for the risks of nuclear power. Now it's only use it to fuel the land tax system. Modern technology is solving about as much as if went back to the stone age. The optimism of it all fueling a future of science and space exploration is toast and impossible. Swindling, sadistic, war mongering morons living in a majority decided fantacy world is all you've accomplished. The dream died on 9/11 when the US and A demolished their own towers. 2 + 2 = 22. Medical advances, safety, it's all moot because you bomb each other any how.

[randalds]

Japan and the Western coast of North America are joined by more then cultural and human connections, we also share the same unstable tectonic plates. Here's hoping the good people of Japan recover and receive as much aid as the US can provide, because I have no doubt they'd do the same for us and certainly better then our current FEMA could.