KASHIWAZAKI (Japan), March 5: A small fire broke out in a Japanese nuclear plant on Thursday, injuring one worker, but was extinguished without a radiation leak, said operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO).

The fire broke out at a suspended reactor in the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the world’s largest by electricity output, near the city of Niigata, TEPCO said.

The power company was investigating the cause of the blaze, which was confirmed to have been extinguished after about 90 minutes, a spokesman for the utility, Asia’s largest power company, said.

The worker who noticed the fire just before 9am was hospitalised with minor facial injuries, the company said.

The fire came weeks after Japanese nuclear authorities gave the green light to restart one of seven reactors at the plant, which has been suspended since an earthquake in July 2007 caused a fire and a small radiation leak.

Local municipalities are currently studying whether they should give the final approval to allow the power company to resume operations.—AFP
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