TOKYO, Oct 9 (Reuters) - The operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant said on Wednesday six workers at the site were exposed to leaking radioactive water after one of them mistakenly removed a pipe connected to a water treatment system at the site.

Tokyo Electric Power Co, also known as Tepco, has been struggling to control radioactive water at the Fukushima site, which suffered triple meltdowns and hydrogen explosions in March 2011. Its handling of problems that crop up at the site has been lambasted as tardy and inadequate.

A worker mistakenly detached a pipe that connects to a treatment system for removing salt from the hundreds of tonnes of water that Tepco pumps over the melted fuel in wrecked reactors at Fukushima. A Tepco spokesman said that "several tonnes" of water spilled at the treatment facility but was contained within the site. (Reporting by Mari Saito; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)

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