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Report on the preliminary fact finding mission following the accident at the nuclear fuel processing facility in Tokaimura, Japan (1999)

Auteur	IAEA
Datum	november 1999
Classificatie	4.21.8.20/01 (JAPAN - TOKAI MURA)
Voorkant

FOREWORD

Following the accident on 30 September 1999 at the nuclear fuel processing facility 
at Tokaimura, Japan, the IAEA's Emergency Response Centre received numerous 
requests for information about the event's causes and consequences from Contact 
Points under the Conventions on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and on 
Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency. Although 
the lack of trans-boundary consequences of the accident meant that action under the 
Early Notification Convention was not triggered, the Emergency Response Centre 
issued several advisories to Member States which drew on official reports received 
from Japan.
After discussions with the Government of Japan, the IAEA dispatched a team of three 
experts from the Secretariat on a fact finding mission to Tokaimura from 13 to 17 
October 1999. The present preliminary report by that team documents key technical 
information obtained during the mission. At this stage, the report can in no way 
provide conclusive judgements on the causes and consequences of the accident. 
Investigations are proceeding in Japan and more information is expected to be made 
available after access has been gained to the building where the accident occurred. 
Moreover, much of the information already made available will be revised as more 
accurate assessments are made, for example of the radiation doses to the three 
individuals who received the highest exposures.
Notwithstanding the preliminary nature of this report, it is clear that the accident 
was not one involving widespread contamination of the environment as in the 1986 
Chernobyl accident. Although there was little risk off the site once the accident had 
been brought under control, the authorities evacuated the population living within a 
few hundred metres and advised people within about 10 km of the facility to take 
shelter for a period of about one day.
The event at Tokaimura was nevertheless a serious industrial accident. The results 
of the detailed investigations and the lessons to be learned will be of importance for 
other countries also, and in other industries. In this regard, the Government of Japan 
has assured the IAEA of its commitment to make information about the accident 
available to the international community. For its part, the IAEA is prepared to co-
ordinate an international peer review if so requested by the Japanese Government.

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