Ikata restart

April 14, 2015

Restart plan for Ikata nuclear plant

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150414_15.html

Apr. 14, 2015 - Updated 05:37 UTC+2

Japan's nuclear regulator is set to draft an approval paper for the restart of a plant in western Japan.

The move comes as the operators of the Ikata nuclear power facility in Ehime Prefecture submit a revised safety plan.

Commissioners at the Nuclear Regulation Authority have been discussing safety measures for the Ikata reactor for more than 20 months.

They have been examining the magnitudes of possible earthquakes and tsunamis that could hit - as well as the operator's severe accident plan.

The regulator asked operator Shikoku Electric Power Company to raise its maximum magnitude of a possible earthquake, and to install a command center in the event of a severe accident.

The operator is expected to submit its revised safety plan on Tuesday.

If it is satisfied with the plan, the NRA will begin an assessment in one of several steps needed to restart the reactor.

Ikata could be the third plant in the country on course for restart following the Sendai plant in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan, and the Takahama plant in Fukui on the Japan Sea coast.

But it is widely believed that the Ikata reactor will not be online until winter at the earliest as more time is needed for the regulator to finish its assessment.

The operator must also go through the NRA's detailed on-site checks of equipment and machines, and the utility needs to gain local consent.