Wednesday, 18 July, 2007

Planet Ark

TOKYO - About 100 drums containing low-level nuclear waste at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s (TEPCO) Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant were knocked over by Monday's earthquake and some lost their lids, Kyodo news agency said on Tuesday.

Checks were being made as to possible effects on the environment, Kyodo added. Officials were not immediately available for comment.

The plant, the world's biggest nuclear power plant, reported a fire and a radiation leak at the facility after Monday's quake, which killed nine people and injured more than 1,000.