Industry minister Banri Kaieda instructed nuclear plant operators Wednesday to compile emergency safety measures to prevent radiation leaks in the event that their power and cooling systems fail, as happened in the Fukushima crisis.
Utilities, which operate 45 nuclear reactors nationwide excluding the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, were instructed to compile a new safety manual and submit it to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency by around mid-April.
The Fukushima emergency developed because Tokyo Electric Power Co. could not immediately secure an alternative power source after the reactors' cooling systems were disabled, or tap the huge amounts of water needed to cool spent fuel storage pools, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.