Nuclear laboratory in Japan leaked radiation

Japan's nuclear regulatory agency (NRA) on May 25 announced radioactive substances from a nuclear physics laboratory in Tokai village, Ibaraki Prefecture, in the eastern part of the country, were released into the air.

55 researchers and many others in the lab experiments may have been exposed to radiation by inhaling these substances, but none of them went to the hospital.

Inside the nuclear laboratory in Tokai village, Ibaraki. (Source: Kyodo News)

So far, four people are undergoing health checks and the highest radiation dose measured in this leak is 1.6 millisievert (mSv).

According to experts, there is no radioactive effect beyond the laboratory of this laboratory.

The NRA secretariat said it received a report on the incident at the Laboratory of Nuclear Science Research from the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) at 9 pm . The incident occurred at 11 hours 55 minutes on 23/5.

JAEA officials said in the morning of May 24 in Tokyo that the agency had not notified the incident to the NRA immediately, believing that the leak was confined to the laboratory.

Ibaraki prefectural government said it had been informed of this news at 9:40 pm on May 24 and said it would conduct an on-site investigation of the research facility on the afternoon of May 25.

This latest incident occurred after JAEA President resigned last week. Mr. Atsuyuki Suzuki resigned because he did not conduct a proper investigation of the Monju test reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui prefecture.

Researchers from the Ibaraki lab participated in an experiment to create substances by firing proton beams into gold. The device they used had a problem and caused a lot of heat to cause evaporation and release gold radioisotopes. The level of radioactive contamination in the laboratory building is estimated at 40 becquerels (bql).

The JAEA initially stated that this leak was limited to within the experimental area and that radioactivity was within acceptable limits. However, the workers working here have turned on the ventilation fan, causing radioactive material to escape the area and into the air.

Currently, the entire operation of this facility must be suspended.