Kashiwazaki officials acknowledge more radiation leaks

KASHIWAZAKI, Japan (Reuters) -- Officials at the world's biggest nuclear power plant acknowledged Tuesday there had been more radiation leaks after an earthquake in Japan that killed nine people and forced thousands from their homes.

The admissions by Tokyo Electric Power Co. have reignited fears about nuclear safety in a country that relies on atomic power for one-third of its electricity but has faced repeated cover-ups of

A small fire in a transformer at TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant Monday was quickly extinguished. The fire was sparked when a 6.8-magnitude quake that struck Monday.

But while TEPCO had initially said that the lethal earthquake had not caused any leaks, it revealed later on Monday night that 1,200 liters of radioactive water had sloshed into the sea from its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata.

The company added that the quake was stronger than its reactors had been designed to withstand.

Then on Tuesday, a TEPCO official told a news conference that about 100 of the 22,000 drums containing nuclear waste at a warehouse had fallen over and "several" lost their lids.

Only about half the drums had been inspected so far, and it was not immediately clear from the official's comments whether there was any impact on the environment or people. See how the quake left parts of Japan in shambles »

Also on Tuesday, the company admitted that a small amount of radioactive materials -- cobalt-60, iodine and chromium-51 -- had been emitted into the atmosphere.