3rd Nuclear Plant in Japan Faces Problems after Earthquake, Tsunami

Japanese Self Defense Forces doctors check local residents for radiation exposure in Otama village, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, 13 March 2011. EPA/BGNES

A third nuclear power plant in Janan – Tokai No.2 – is facing technical issues in the wake of Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunami.

The cooling system pump has stopped at the Tokai No.2 nuclear power plant in Japan's Ibaraki prefecture, Kyodo news reported. The plant, located about 120 km (75 miles) north of Tokyo, had a nuclear accident in 1999.

On Sunday, a state of emergency was declared at the Japanese nuclear facility at Onagawa after excessive radiation levels were recorded there following the major earthquake, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced.

Onagawa was the second nuclear power plant in Japan to have been affected by the consequences of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that hit the country on Friday followed by a horrific tsunami. The town of Onagawa itself was devastated by the tsunami.

The news about the emergency at Onagawa came as the country was already battling a feared meltdown of two reactors at the ageing Fukushima atomic plant.

Japan has moved to evacuate some 200 000 people living in the areas around the nuclear power plants affected by the consequences of the natural disaster.

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