TSURUGA, Fukui Pref. (Kyodo) An International Atomic Energy Agency team began safety assessments Tuesday at Fukui Prefecture's Mihama nuclear power plant, where a fatal accident occurred in 2004.
The IAEA team consisting of 13 experts from 12 countries, including the United States and some European countries, will conduct safety checks until Feb. 5 in nine fields, including operations, maintenance and radiation protection, and is scheduled to compile a report in six months.
Kansai Electric Power Co. had asked the Vienna-based U.N. nuclear watchdog, via the government, for a safety review of the measures it mapped out to prevent another accident.
In August 2004, superheated steam from a ruptured corroded pipe at the No. 3 nuclear reactor at the Mihama plant scalded four workers to death.
It is the fifth IAEA safety assessment of a Japanese nuclear plant at the request of the operator.