UN report says Japan underestimated tsunami threat to nuclear plant

Japan has underestimated the tsunami hazards for its nuclear power and needs to keep an eye on public and worker’s health, a U.N nuclear safety team in Japan said in a summary of its report on the nuclear crisis, Reuters reported.

The report, from an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team led by Britain's top nuclear safety official Mike Weightman, underlined some weaknesses that contributed to the crisis when the plant was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

Japan underestimated tsunami hazard for several sites, the three-page summary report said, adding that the incident at Fukushima plant showed that nuclear plants need a tough crisis response centre to deal with such accidents.

The designers and operators at nuclear plant should properly assess and provide protection against the risks of all natural disaster,” it said.

The full report on the nuclear crisis triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami will be presented by the IAEA team to a ministerial conference in Vienna on June 20-24.

The designed road map for recovery of the incapacitated reactors is important. It will need change as new situation are uncovered and may be supported by international cooperation, the summary said.

We had a playbook, but it didn't work, said Tatsujiro Suzuki, a nuclear expert and vice chairman of Japan's Atomic Energy Commission.

The IAEA team also consists experts from France, Russia, China and the United States.