IAEA launches fresh probe into Fukushima plant

The International Atomic Energy Agency today launched a fresh probe into Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, with public confidence in clean-up efforts dented after reports of leaks and power cuts according to Associated Press.

A 12-strong IAEA mission met with officials from the Japanese government and operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) in Tokyo. An on-site inspection at the plant is slated for Wednesday to Friday, according to the AP report.

The eight-day trip by the nuclear experts and international specialists comes at the request of the Japanese government and is the third of its kind after a tsunami knocked out the plant in March 2011.

Juan Carlos Lentijo, head of the mission, told reporters, "After this week of discussions, I hope that we will have new information to give our assessment and to give our feedback to the government of Japan."

The IAEA team would submit a report to the government and TEPCO on 22 April according to officials.

The mission comes as workers at the crippled plant continue to put an end to a series of radioactive water leaks, the latest in an increasingly long line of problems.

Two years after the worst nuclear accident in a generation, the plant continues to be plagued by problems, as systems meant to cool spent nuclear fuel fail repeatedly. The plant remains fragile after the failures which happened in a matter of weeks in March and April.

The UN experts would assess and analyse melted reactors, radiation levels and waste management at the plant to make its decommissioning process safer and more stable, Lentijo told reporters.

The cleanup is "a very difficult challenge," he said, adding "it is very important to conduct the decommissioning process in a very safe way."

According to Japan's nuclear watchdog, there have been at least eight accidents or problems at the plant since mid-March, ranging from extensive power outages and leaks of contaminated water.

The problems have heightened concerns whether the plant, crippled by the March 2011 tsunami, could  stay intact through a decommissioning process that could take over 40 years.

The most pressing among the issues is leakage of huge amounts of highly radioactive water from three of seven underground storage pools into the soil. According to the claims of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co and regulatory officials none of it was believed to have reached ocean.

Though storage of contaminated water had been problematic from right after the accident, officials finally acknowledged last week that the lack of space had assumed crisis proportions.