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Japan quake toll at
nine; nuclear plant still shut

BBC reports that a
second radioactive leak is being probed

By MarketWatch

Last Update: 5:43 AM ET Jul 17,
2007

LONDON (MarketWatch)
-- The world's largest nuclear power plant by output capacity remained closed
Tuesday, after seismometers indicated the magnitude 6.7 earthquake that hit
northwestern Japan Monday produced shocks that exceeded the reactors' design
strength, according to media reports.

The quake,
which occurred shortly after 10 a.m. Tokyo time Monday, caused nine deaths, more
than 900 injuries and widespread damage, reports said.

Tokyo
Electric Power Co. (JP:9501: news,
chart,
profile)
(TKECF :

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, , ) , the
world's third-largest utility and Japan's largest power producer, was ordered
not to resume operating reactors at its Kashiwazaki-Kawari plant, which has an
operational capacity of 8,212 megawatts, according to reports.

Tokyo
Electric, or Tepco, supplies about a third of Japan's power. The company's
shares fell 1.1% in Japanese trading. See
Asia Markets.

Tepco is
examining the earthquake resistance of its nuclear reactors after the
seismometers at the plant detected shocks that exceeded their design strength,
according to reports. The seismic activity detected during Monday's quake was
reportedly the strongest ever detected at a domestic nuclear reactor.

Second
leak being probed: BBC

Water
containing radioactive material is already known to have leaked from the plant
into the sea after that quake, but officials say it will not harm the
environment.

And
Japanese officials are investigating the possibility of a second radioactive
leak from the plant, the BBC reported on its Web site.

Drums with
low-level nuclear waste fell over during the tremors, and some of their lids
were found open, the BBC reported.

Tepco
President Tsunehisa Katsumata was summoned to appear before government officials
in Tokyo on Tuesday to explain why it took so long to extinguish a transformer
fire at the plant and other delays in notifying the public about the leak of
low-level radioactive water, according to a report by national broadcaster NHK.

The
shutdown was ordered for additional safety inspections after Tepco reported the
quake resulted in 1.5 liters (three pints) of water leaking from a unit at the
plant.

But an
Associated Press report Tuesday, which cited company officials, said about 1,200
liters (312 gallons) of water was released from a tank supplying one of the
power plant's seven reactors and entered a drainage pipe that discharged into
the ocean. The report cited company officials as saying there was no
"significant change" in sea water near the plant.

Meanwhile,
thousands of area residents took refuge in evacuation centers Tuesday amid
concerns of aftershocks and mudslides, according to media reports. Large parts
of the coastal area remain without power and water.

More wet
weather was forecast for the days ahead, potentially further softening the
ground and adding to chances of landslides, after a weekend typhoon that passed
south of the region bringing heavy rains. Japan's national Meteorological Agency
issued heavy rain, flooding and lightning warnings for the region.

Businesses
assess the damage

Sanyo
Electric Co. (JP:6764: news,
chart,
profile)
evacuated its facilities in the region, and auto parts maker Riken Corp.'s (JP:6462: news,
chart,
profile)
main factories were damaged, according to media reports.

Factories
around the region remained mostly shut Tuesday as companies carried out damage
assessments and repair work.

Sanyo
Electric Co. (JP:6764: news,
chart,
profile)
was seeking to restart operations at its computer chip factory Ojiva city as
early as Tuesday, according to reports. The electronics manufacturer closed the
plant and evacuated the facility Monday, but has reported limited damage,
according to media reports.

Other
companies which are reportedly conducting damage inspections included Fuji
Xerox, a subsidiary of Fujifilm Holdings Corp. (JP:4901: news,
chart,
profile)
, and Advanex Inc. (JP:5998: news,
chart,
profile)
. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (JP:6752: news,
chart,
profile)
reportedly said its three chip production facilities located in Toyama and
Niigata prefectures were undamaged.

The U.S.
Geological Survey said the earlier earthquake's epicenter was in the Pacific
Ocean, about 10 miles below the earth's surface. The epicenter was about 45
miles west-southwest of Niigata and 155 miles north-northwest of Tokyo, the U.S.
agency said.

Niigata was
the site of a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in October 2004 earthquake that killed 65
people and injured more than 3,000, according to media reports. It was the
deadliest quake since a magnitude 7.3 quake hit the city of Kobe in 1995,
killing more than 6,400 people, according to reports.

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TRADING CENTER

RELATED NEWS

Industry:
Gas/Utilities Industry: Oil and Gas
Industry: Energy Topic:
Markets/Exchanges Topic: Market News Company: Tokyo Elec Power (9501) Company: Tokyo Elec Pwr Co (TKECF)
Company: Sanyo Electric Co (6764)
Company: Riken Corp (6462) Company: Fuji Film Hld Corp (4901) Company: Advanex Inc (5998) Company: Matsushita Elc Ind (6752)

IN THIS STORY

Companies

Tokyo Elec
Power (9501)
Tokyo Elec Pwr Co (TKECF)
Sanyo Electric
Co (6764)
Riken
Corp (6462)
Fuji Film Hld
Corp (4901)
Advanex
Inc (5998)
Matsushita Elc
Ind (6752)

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Japan earthquake toll at nine; nuclear plant remains shut -
MarketWatch

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