Background checks recommended for Japanese nuclear workers

The Japan Atomic Energy Commission recommended background checks be conducted by energy companies on employees working with nuclear materials.

Specifics are expected to be ironed out by a new government atomic energy regulatory organ to be established in April.

In January of last year, the International Atomic Energy Agency released a recommendation that the trustworthiness of nuclear employees be checked, and according to the JAEC, background checks on nuclear employees are already performed in most major countries.

After the meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the JAEC recommended checks because "implementing counterterrorism measures for nuclear facilities, which can cause serious damage to society, is an urgent matter."

One obstacle to the checks is that it is difficult for power companies to check on workers' criminal records or debts, so police and other authorities would have to help. Furthermore, Tokyo Electric Power Co. could not confirm the identities of some of the workers who had been sent to the Fukushima No. 1 plant in recent background checks, and the JAEC has admitted it would be difficult to put the checks into practice.

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