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KASHIWAZAKI, Japan — Japanese regulators discovered a fresh leak of radioactive material on July 19 from a nuclear power plant damaged in an earthquake this week, news reports said, adding to criticism of the embattled plant operator.

Nuclear inspectors probed the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Plant, which suffered a barrage of leaks and malfunctions in the July 16 6.8-magnitude quake in northwestern Japan. The plant was ordered shut down indefinitely on July 18.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency found radioactive iodine had leaked from an exhaust pipe at the plant, the Kyodo News Agency and national broadcaster NHK reported. Plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., had already announced the release of other radioactive materials from the exhaust vent previously.

NHK said the material had been leaking into the atmosphere until July 18.

The inspectors, however, concluded the leak was too small to harm the environment or public health, the reports said. Officials at the agency said they could not confirm the reports.

Also on July 19, TEPCO announced the force of the quake had exceeded its resistance guidelines at all seven reactors, sometimes by more than double. NHK reported the reading at the No. 1 reactor was the strongest quake ever measured at a Japanese reactor.

Members of a separate panel, the Nuclear Safety Commission, toured the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Plant on July 19 and rebuked TEPCO for missteps in its response to the July 16 quake, which killed at least 10 people and injured more than 1,000 others.

Still, the commission concluded none of the errors threatened public health.

Commission members criticized TEPCO for a bungled response to a quake-triggered fire at an electrical transformer. Plant officials said they had no chemical fire vehicle at the plant, and local fire officials took 90 minutes to respond to their call.

The commission also said the fuel rods in the plant were stable, but the inside of the reactors should be checked more thoroughly.