quake-induced reactor damage TOKYO, JULY 20, SPA -- Japan's nuclear power industry is among theworld's most ambitious. Spurred by fears of global warming,planners envision a rapid expansion of plants, capacity andcutting-edge technologies, REPORTED AP. But a series of radioactive leaks at the world's largestatomic plant following a killer earthquake in northwesternJapan this week has given the industry a public relationsheadache that will be difficult to cure. «You cannot have nuclear power without public trust,»said Jan Beranek, nuclear energy project leader for theGreenpeace environmentalist group. «And you cannot trustpeople who don't tell you the truth or who build nuclearplants in earthquake zones.» The sprawling, seven-reactor Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant _the world's largest in capacity _ suffered in Monday's6.8-magnitude quake. A fire charred an electricaltransformer, planks toppled into a pool of spent nuclearfuel, some 400 barrels of atomic waste tipped over. Disclosures of radioactive leaks seeped out over severaldays, exacerbated by operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.'sdelays in notifying the public. First came word, 12 hoursafter the quake, that some 1,200 liters of radioactivewater had sloshed out of a tank and was flushed out to sea. In following days, TEPCO _ Japan's largest power company _released a list of 50 malfunctions, damages and mistakes,announced that radioactive materials had spewed from anexhaust vent, and had to acknowledge the water leakcontained 50 percent more radioactivity than initiallyreported. The list was later updated to 63 cases. The company was further embarrassed on Thursday when yetanother leak was discovered from an exhaust vent,indicating leaks continued as late as Wednesday night,nearly three days after the quake. TEPCO, regulators and even environmentalists agreed theamounts of radioactivity involved were minuscule and posedno threat. But the most damaging result from the troubles was therealization that the world's largest nuclear power plantwas not structurally equipped to withstand such a powerfulearthquake _ this despite Japan's long history as one ofthe most seismically active places on Earth.--MORE www.spa.gov.sa/468941