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Japan says Onagawa radioactive level now normal - IAEA


    VIENNA (Reuters) - Japanese authorities have told the U.N. nuclear watchdog that radioactivity levels "at the site boundary" of the Onagawa nuclear power plant have returned to normal, the Vienna-based agency said on Sunday.

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier on Sunday said that the first, or lowest, state of emergency had been reported by the operator at Onagawa after radioactivity readings exceeding allowed levels in the area.

    "The current assumption of the Japanese authorities is that the increased level may have been due to a release of radioactive material from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant," it said, referring to the plant most affected by Friday's massive earthquake.

    "Investigations at the site indicate that no emissions of radioactivity have occurred from any of the three units at Onagawa," the IAEA statement added.

    (Reporting by Fredrik Dahl; editing by Matthew Jones)