TEPCO holds disaster drill at crisis-hit Fukushima nuclear plant

A disaster drill was held at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant by its operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. for the first time since the March earthquake and tsunami triggered the country''s worst nuclear accident there. The drill was conducted under the scenario that an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 occurred near the plant, disabling the reactor cooling system, such as the pumps providing water to the furnaces and a tank storing the decontaminated water for reuse to water the reactors, Japan''s News Agency (Kyodo) reported. About 30 people took part in the exercise designed to check a series of anti-disaster procedures ranging from measuring radiation levels to installing hoses to carry seawater to cool the reactors, the utility, or TEPCO, said. The government''s nuclear safety inspectors were also present.