An employee lawsuit and an investigation into a water storage mistake were among the headlines in Japan this week.
Recent news related to Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s severely damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant includes:
Worker Sues Over Radiation Exposure
In what is likely the first instance of a worker suing TEPCO because of conditions at the plant, a contract employee filed suit Wednesday for an incident he alleges resulted in a dose of radiation in excess of 20 millisieverts. The 48-year-old man employed by Kandenko Co. was among six workers tasked with installing a power cable in the unit 3 turbine building basement 13 days into the crisis, Jiji Press reported. He told Japanese media that they came into contact with radioactive water, which TEPCO was aware of but did not disclose to workers beforehand.
Switch Mistake Blamed for Contaminated Water Mix Up
TEPCO concluded that an unlabeled switch turned on by mistake is behind the inadvertent transfer of 200 metric tons of radioactive water into an emergency storage area. On Saturday, the Asahi Shimbun quoted TEPCO officials as saying they believe the switch was activated on March 20 and went unnoticed for nearly a month. It was among the controls on a switchboard that also operates non-pumping systems, such as air conditioning equipment. The mistake went undetected because the storage area in a plant basement is only used in emergencies and its water level was unmonitored. In response, TEPCO promised to improve switchboard procedures and lock control panels when not in use.