Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) has submitted to the Japanese government a proposed improvement programme for in-house firefighting and the establishment of a rapid and accurate accident reporting system at its nuclear power plants in Japan.

The proposed programme is based on written instructions received from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) following the 16 July 2007 earthquake that hit the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear plant.

Tepco said the method of summoning the in-house firefighting team had been inadequate due to "congestion of communications" immediately following the quake and Tepco’s own firefighting activities were insufficient until the arrival of the fire department. Outdoor fire hydrants were damaged by the quake and hydrants for tackling oil fires were inadequate, Tepco said.

There were no personnel to take adequate samples from water puddles and test them properly for radioactivity. In accordance with the emergency plan, specialised radiation surveillance personnel had been evacuated and the proper response when these personnel were unavailable was unclear.

Regarding communication, the administration building was evacuated after the earthquake and earthquake damage to doors initially made it impossible to enter the plant’s emergency response room. This prevented staff from sharing information within the plant as part of the initial response.

The computer system for the management of environmental and seismic data was disturbed as a result of the quake, and data transmission to the local authorities interrupted.

Tepco said it would examine methods of ensuring means of communication that function reliably following an earthquake or other disaster.

The quake led to the automatic shut-down of three units at the seven-unit plant. Units 3, 4 and 7 shut down safely. Units 1, 5 and 6 were already shut down at the time of the quake for periodic inspections. Unit 2 was technically undergoing a periodic inspection and start-up operations had just begun, but the unit was also shut down safely.