Japanese authorities are investigating the discovery of a suspected unexploded World War II bomb at the site of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant..
The US is thought to have dropped the 89cm-long (3ft) device during the second world war
The device was discovered by workers constructing a parking lot close to the facility’s reactors, a spokesman for Fukushima operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said.
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The BBC reports:
It was found by workers building a car park at the site where a four-decade-long decommissioning process is under way.
Tens of thousands of residents had to evacuate the area after a reactor meltdown in 2011 following an earthquake and tsunami.
The incident at the Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) site was the world’s most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.
No-one died directly in the meltdown but three former Tepco executives are facing trial on charges of negligence because of deaths related to the area’s evacuation.
Tepco said construction work was immediately suspended after the object was found and a temporary exclusion zone put in place while bomb disposal experts were deployed.
It is not uncommon for unexploded WW2 devices to be found in Japan over 70 years on from the end of the war.
Niamh Harris
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