December 31, 1999 Web posted at: 5:25 p.m. EST (2225 GMT) by Martyn Williams

From...

TOKYO (IDG) -- A system that monitors radiation levels around a nuclear power plant in Japan was hit by problems shortly after midnight on January 1, according to local media reports.

The system measures radiation levels around Hokuriku Electric Power's Shiga nuclear power plant in Ishikawa prefecture and transmits the data to several monitoring stations in the region.

Shortly after midnight, a monitoring station at the prefectural hall in Ishikawa stopped showing data from the system, according to the reports.

Staff were despatched to the plant but found radiation levels within the normal range.

	ALSO
For more ITN millennium coverage, visit ITN on line.

The cause of the problem, and whether it was Y2K-related or not, had yet to be determined, said the reports.

The problem was one of few reported during the nighttime across Asia as country after country entered the new year with no Y2K related problems.

MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE

IDG.net home page

In the nuclear sector, power generators in eastern regions of Russia, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan and India all reported no nuclear safety related problems in the first minutes of the new year, according to the International Atomic Energy Association.