The pipes in question are at the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Takahama Nuclear Power Plant, and the No. 3 reactor at the Oi Nuclear Power Plant, according to Kepco.

Operations at the latter two reactors have been suspended for regular checkups.

The revelation comes amid Kepco investigations following the country's deadliest nuclear plant accident Aug. 9 at its Mihama Nuclear Power Plant, when steam from a ruptured pipe killed four workers and injured seven others.

Kepco, the country's second-largest utility, had not inspected the corroded pipe since the reactor went onstream in 1976.

The latest revelations bring to 15 the total number of places that Kepco has failed to check, not including locations on the pipe involved in the Mihama accident.

Other power companies reported to the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency on Aug. 18 that they had carried out inspections on all pipes at their thermal and nuclear plants.

The utility firms had been ordered to check documentation to ensure that inspections on pipes similar to the one that ruptured at Mihama had been carried out.

The Japan Times Weekly: Aug. 28, 2004
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