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Chugoku Electric says no cracks in reactor |
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| JAPAN: October 9, 2002 | ||
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TOKYO - Chugoku Electric Power Co Inc said yesterday no cracks were found in a reactor shroud at its nuclear plant in Western Japan, denying a media report that said there were signs of cracks during regular checks eight years ago.
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Company officials told reporters that General Electric International Inc (GEII) had found three possible cracks in the shroud of the No.1 reactor at the Shimane plant when the maintenance firm did ultrasonic tests in 1994. They said however that Hitachi Ltd , which built the plant, had studied GEII's report and concluded there were no cracks in the shroud - a stainless steel case that helps to support the reactor core. Chugoku Electric replaced the shroud on the 460-megawatt reactor during a maintenance shutdown in 2000, the officials said. Power utilities have come under close scrutiny after Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) , Japan's largest power firm, said in August it had falsified records of maintenance work at its nuclear power plants to hide, among other things, the existence of cracks in shrouds. Since then several other power firms have said they had also failed to report cracks at their nuclear reactors. Chugoku Electric said it did not report the findings at the time because they did not need to be reported. However, the company submitted information on the maintenance checks to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, an arm of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, this week. Shares in Chugoku Electric had risen 1.76 percent to 1,680 yen by the end of trade, while the Nikkei average edged up 0.24 percent.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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