( RIA Novosti ) - UN experts have started inspecting Japan's largest nuclear power plant that was damaged by a powerful earthquake last month.
Six experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), led by Philippe Jamet, director of the nuclear installation safety division, have arrived at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant to study the safety of the facility during the next five days at the request of Japanese authorities.
The power plant 135 miles northwest of Tokyo sustained various damages in the equipment, cracks in its buildings and pipelines following the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that ripped through the Niigata prefecture July 16. The disaster killed at least 10 people and destroyed about a thousand buildings, seriously damaging at least a further 9,000.
The plant was shut down due to confirmed radiation leaks and future safety concerns. Experts say it will take at least a year to put the plant back into operation.