Mihama Nuclear Power Plant in Mihama town, Fukui Prefecture

But the report stops short of saying Kepco was responsible for the accident in Fukui Prefecture, simply saying that poor communications between subcontractors and Kepco employees was a contributing cause.

The five who were scalded to death and the six who were injured as a result of the Aug. 9 accident at the No. 3 reactor were employees of Nihon Arm Co., a Kepco subsidiary.

The report says Nihon Arm and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., which were in charge of inspecting secondary cooling pipes at the reactor, submitted to Kepco a checklist of items to be inspected. But for reasons that remain unclear, 42 items were omitted.

These omissions included the pipe that ruptured. It was later revealed the pipe had not been inspected since the reactor started up in 1976.

The Japan Times Weekly: March 12, 2005
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