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- TOKAIMURA, JAPAN -
After losing its licence to operate a nuclear facility, the company involved
in last month's accident at a nuclear processing facility in Japan is
in trouble again.
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- Officials at JCO company have admitted that radiation
continued to pour out of the plant in Tokaimura for a week after the accident.
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- The company first detected the leak of radioactive iodine
on Friday, but didn't admit the mistake until Monday when they contained
the leak by turning off the exhaust fan and sealing the opening.
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- Officials for the company say the ventilator was left
running after the Sept. 30 accident which exposed at least 49 people to
high levels of radiation.
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- People living near the plant are angry that they didn't
hear about the radiation leak right away.
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- JCO has already been criticized for not raising the alarm
in the original fission accident.
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- Workers at the Tokaimura uranium processing plant were
mixing uranium with nitric acid when they accidentally poured eight times
too much uranium into the mixing tank, setting off a nuclear chain reaction.
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- Emergency service people called to help weren't warned
of the radiation danger and many were exposed, causing severe radiation
sickness.
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- JCO officials say the week-long leak has now been contained
and measures of radiation outside the plant are at normal levels.
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- But the residents say they don't trust the company or
its promises.
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