Japan nuclear plant workers in hospital after radiation exposure

Three cable-layers at Fukushima power plant exposed to high levels of radiation after stepping into contaminated water






The two hospitalised men, employees of a Tepco affiliate, were part of a team of six workers attempting to connect a water pump to the power supply and restart the supply of fresh water in an attempt to cool the reactor. Workers in the first and basement floors of the No 3 reactor's turbine building were ordered to evacuate the area after the accident.




The accident cast doubt on Tepco's ability to properly monitor radioactivity at the site. "This kind of exposure, from water, was unforeseen," the government's chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, told reporters.

"Atmospheric radiation levels are monitored constantly, but in this case the workers stepped into water. We are trying to find out exactly what happened so we can ensure it doesn't happen again."

Edano said the injuries were "very regrettable", but defended the health ministry's decision to raise the exposure limit for teams of workers soon after the start of the world's worst nuclear power emergency since Chernobyl.


He conceded that the emergency at Fukushima would lead to a review of Japan's heavy dependence on nuclear power. "It is certain that public confidence in nuclear power plants has greatly changed," Edano told Reuters. "In light of that, we must first end this situation and then study from a zero base."





The release of radioactive substances from the plant continued to cause anxiety in Tokyo. Wednesday's warning that radioactive iodine levels in the capital's tap water had exceeded levels considered safe for babies prompted a rush of people buying bottled water.



"Customers ask us for water, but there's nothing we can do," Masayoshi Kasahara, a supermarket worker, said. "We have asked for extra deliveries but we don't know when they will arrive."