Radiation Figures Revised in Accident

The operator of a state-run nuclear plant where an accident occurred said the amount of radiation released was at least 10 times higher than initially reported by authorities. The correction was an embarrassment to the Power Reactor & Nuclear Fuel Development Corp. The operator had already been accused of mishandling the emergency and covering up the extent of the accident. The incident began with a fire Tuesday at the nuclear waste handling facility in Tokaimura, 70 miles northeast of Tokyo. Hours after the fire was supposedly put out, a blast occurred in the same area. Thirty-seven workers were exposed to low-level radiation, apparently when smoke from the burning radioactive material escaped through exhaust pipes.