IAEA Team: Japan Reactor Damage "Appears less than expected."

Damage to a nuclear power station run by Tokyo Electric Power Co. from a July 16 earthquake ``appears less than expected,'' the International Atomic Energy Agency said after a three-day examination.

A team of inspectors ``has concluded that plant safety features performed as required during the earthquake,'' the IAEA, as the United Nations nuclear watchdog is known, said in an Aug. 14 statement on its Web site. ``Damage from the earthquake appears to be limited to those sections of the plant that would not affect the reactor or systems related to reactor safety.''

[...]

Six IAEA experts, led by Philippe Jamet, director of the agency's installation nuclear safety division, visited the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear station, the world's biggest, from Aug. 6 to Aug. 9. The team's report will be released ``within a few days,'' according to the statement.

``The team conducted a three-day physical examination covering the complex of seven units, as well as analysis of instrument logs and other records from the time of the event,'' the statement said.

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