Worker dies at Fukushima

07/10/11 14:43 CET

world news

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A worker at the ill-fated Fukushima nuclear plant has died.

The death of the 56-year-old man is the third at the plant since three of the reactors melted down in March, after being hit by tsunami waves of up to 14 metres high.

Officials said that none of these deaths was a result of exposure to radiation.

A week ago the Japanese Nuclear Disaster Minister lifted the government’s evacuation recommendation for Hirono and three other towns; however as yet no-one has returned.

The towns are only 20 to 30 kilometres from the plant, and residents have said that they do not feel safe there.

Meanwhile a team of nuclear cleanup experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has arrived in Tokyo.

They will consult authorities there in a review of cleanup strategies at and near the shuttered power plant.

Their visit comes a day after a study, backed by Friends of the Earth Japan, and Citizens Against Fukushima Aging Nuclear Power Plants, found radiation in soil in the city of Fukushima, 60km away, which was three times higher than government recommendations.

More about: Fukushima, Japan, Nuclear accidents

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