information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
15 Octobre 2015
October 15, 2015
A second reactor at a nuclear power plant in southwestern Japan has achieved a sustained nuclear fission chain reaction.
Officials of the plant's operator, Kyushu Electric Power Company, made the announcement at 11 PM on Thursday, Japan time.
Workers at the Sendai plant in Kagoshima Prefecture began removing control rods to restart the No.2 reactor at 10:30 AM on the same day. They say they have detected no abnormalities so far.
This is the second reactor to come back online and reach criticality under the new regulations introduced after the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The first reactor to do so is the No.1 reactor at the same plant.
Kyushu Electric plans to start producing and supplying electricity from the No.2 reactor on Wednesday. But its officials say they may change the timing depending on work to adjust generation turbines.
The company plans to gradually increase the reactor's output and start its commercial operation in the middle of next month.
The firm had not operated the No.2 reactor since it suspended its operation for regular inspections 4 years and one month earlier.
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