Five staff members of the Japan Atomic Energy Research and Development Agency (Nippon Atomic Energy Research and Development Agency) had an accident while inspecting nuclear waste on the 6th, inhaling a large amount of radioactive powder, and one of them had alarming radiation levels in the body, greatly increasing the risk of diseases such as cancer in the future.

This is Japan's most serious internal radiation accident to date, the leak occurred in the container is the first safety inspection in 26 years. Japanese media say the frequent incidents have once again exposed confusion over nuclear material management at the state-run agency.

On the morning of the 6th, five employees of the IAEA's Owash research and development center in Ibaraki Prefecture inspected 21 containers containing nuclear waste as scheduled. When the five people opened the first container, the double plastic bag containing the nuclear waste suddenly broke, and about 300 grams of radioactive uranium and plutonium flew away, which was inhaled by these employees.

According to the IAEA test, one of the male employees in his 50s inhaled a large amount of radioactive material, 22,000 becquerels of plutonium-239 were detected in the lungs alone, and the total body radioactive material content was estimated to be as high as 360,000 becquerels.

This is equivalent to 1.2 sieverts of radiation exposure over one year. The Asahi Shimbun, citing a survey of survivors of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, said the risk of cancer generally increases significantly at levels above 0.1 sieverts, and that the man's exposure was more than 10 times that limit.

Unlike external radiation, inhaled radioactive substances can adhere to the lungs or dissolve in the blood, can not be completely excreted by drugs at this stage, these radioactive substances accumulate in the body over the years, the radiation emitted by the body damages the function of internal organs and increases the risk of cancer.

Japan Quantum Science and Technology Research and Development Agency director Akashi Shinto 7 bluntly: "As far as we know, this degree of internal radiation is relatively high. This is the first time that such a number has been recorded."

The Quantum Science and Technology Research and Development Agency is a national research institute in Japan that specializes in radiation. Akashi told reporters: "It is clear that workers exposed to radiation have an increased risk of developing cancer in the future, and the effects of radiation on health need to be observed in the long term."

In addition to the worker in his 50s, three other workers also had radioactive substances detected in their lungs, and the remaining one is also highly likely to have been exposed to internal radiation.

[Management confusion again]

After the accident, the IAEA held a press conference to explain that "the operation procedures met the requirements, and there was no problem with the equipment of the operators", but "I did not think that the plastic bags would break". But this statement did not quell the criticism of public opinion.

According to Japanese media disclosure, although there are conditions inside the research center to open the container in a special sealed box, this operation was carried out in a semi-open container, and the five employees did not wear masks covering the whole face, so that radioactive powder may be inhaled by the human body through the gap after being scattered.

The Asahi Shimbun said that if any of these protective measures had been taken, the internal radiation accident could have been avoided. It added that if radioactive material were to escape outside the research center, it would endanger nearby residents, and "one has to suspect that the IAEA is not taking this issue seriously enough."

Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of the nuclear Regulatory Authority, Japan's nuclear power regulator, criticized the IAEA on the 7th, saying: "I have never seen such a large amount of internal radiation. "Strict attention is the basic of basics, and all the staff of the IAEA, including the management, should seriously reflect on themselves."

This is not the first accident at the IAEA. Five years ago, when it was revealed that the Monju fast breeder reactor in Fukui Prefecture had missed about 10,000 safety checks, the NRA warned the agency that it was "not qualified to operate [the reactor] safely". At another radioactive reprocessing facility in Ibaraki Prefecture, metal canisters containing radioactive material were also found carelessly stacked in pools.

The Asahi Shimbun pointed out that the IAEA began to study the recycling of nuclear waste more than 50 years ago, and the number of nuclear waste containers under management now reaches hundreds of thousands. A series of problems reflect the agency's improper management of nuclear materials and equipment, and lack of a correct attitude to deal with nuclear safety issues. (Liu Xiuling) (Xinhua News Agency Special)

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