TOKYO, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The head of an International Atomic Energy Agency team said Tuesday the group is "comfortable" with testing Japan is doing on its nuclear plants.
The team from the U.N. watchdog agency reviewed the stress tests Japan has ordered for its nuclear reactors in the wake of last year's disaster at the Fukushima plant, The New York Times reported. The plant was severely damaged by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake in March 2011 and the tsunami that followed.
In its preliminary assessment, the IAEA team said the computer simulations of disaster scenarios were "appropriate," although it suggested adding more stress testing for earthquakes and tsunamis.
"What we saw was a process that we felt comfortable with. But in any process, there is always room for improvement," James Lyons, the team leader, said.
Japan has, until recently, gotten about 30 percent of its power from nuclear plants. But the Fukushima disaster has roused public opposition, and local officials have stopped plants from restarting after their mandatory annual shutdowns.
As a result, only three of 54 plants in the country are now in operation.
