Stomach flu outbreak at Japan nuclear plant
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2011 file photo, workers in protective suits and masks wait to enter the emergency operation center at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station in Okuma, Japan, when the media were allowed to enter the tsunami-damaged plant for the first time since the March 11 disaster. Japan is poised to declare its crippled nuclear plant virtually stable nine months after a devastating tsunami, but the facility still leaks some radiation, remains vulnerable to earthquakes and shows no prospect for cleanup for decades. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, Pool, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2011 file photo, workers in protective suits and masks wait to enter the emergency operation center at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station in Okuma, Japan, when the media were allowed to enter the tsunami-damaged plant for the first time since the March 11 disaster. Japan is poised to declare its crippled nuclear plant virtually stable nine months after a devastating tsunami, but the facility still leaks some radiation, remains vulnerable to earthquakes and shows no prospect for cleanup for decades. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, Pool, File)
TOKYO >> Dozens of workers at Japan’s tsunami-hit nuclear power plant have come down with symptoms of stomach flu, halting a radioactive waste cleanup operation.
The operator of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant said Saturday that a norovirus outbreak is suspected. Fifty-two workers assigned to the effort have been treated at a hospital over the past three days. Three of the workers have tested positive for the virus, a common form of flu.
The revelation comes a day after Japan declared stability at the plant, marking a milestone nine months after the March tsunami caused the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
The plant operator said the loss of the workers does not affect the plant’s essential reactor cooling functions.
