Safety agreement for Shiga prefecture

January 25, 2016

Shiga Pref., Takahama nuclear plant operator sign safety accord

http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160125/p2g/00m/0dm/083000c

OTSU (Kyodo) -- The Shiga prefectural government on Monday signed an agreement with Kansai Electric Power Co. on safety issues concerning its Takahama nuclear power plant, located in adjacent Fukui Prefecture, ahead of its planned restart later in the week.

The plant in western Japan will be the second nuclear power station in the country to resume operations under a set of new safety regulations that have been introduced in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster.

The safety accord requires Kansai Electric to immediately report emergency situations at the plant and compensate for damage caused by accidents. But it stopped short of giving Shiga Prefecture a say over the reactors' return to service -- the right usually awarded to host municipalities -- as requested by the prefectural government.

The Fukushima crisis has led the central government to expand the buffer areas around nuclear power plants that should prepare for evacuation from a 10-kilometer radius to 30 km, and local governments which do not host the plants but could be largely hit by accidents have called for a greater say on safety matters.

Shiga Prefecture, a small part of which falls within the 30 km zone, has sought to be part of the process of giving local consent to Kansai Electric on the restart of the four-reactor Takahama complex, but the utility did not agree to the request.

Only Fukui Prefecture and the town of Takahama that host the plant were involved in the process.

Shiga Gov. Taizo Mikazuki said Monday the signing of the accord marked "progress" in terms of fulfilling the prefecture's responsibility to ensure the safety of local people.

But Mikazuki later told reporters that he told Kansai Electric President Makoto Yagi, who attended the signing ceremony together with the governor, that he was reluctant to accept the resumption and asked that Shiga Prefecture be treated in the same way as host areas.

Under the accord, Kansai Electric will also report its plans to transport nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in advance, while cooperating on the prefecture's disaster mitigation measures.

The utility will also promise in a separate document to provide explanations in advance on important changes at the plant, such as the construction of new reactors.

Kansai Electric on Monday reported to the Nuclear Regulation Authority that it will reboot the plant's No. 3 reactor Friday evening.

It will be the first reactor running on uranium-plutonium mixed oxide fuel under the country's new safety regulations that were imposed in 2013. The No. 4 reactor is also scheduled to resume operation in late February, with its nuclear fuel to be loaded on Sunday.

January 25, 2015

Shiga, Kansai Electric sign safety accord ahead of Takahama reactor restart

Kyodo

OTSU, SHIGA PREF. – The Shiga Prefectural Government signed an agreement Monday with Kansai Electric Power Co. on safety issues concerning the Takahama nuclear plant in adjacent Fukui Prefecture, which is scheduled to be restarted Friday.

The plant will be the second nuclear power station in Japan to resume electricity generation under new safety regulations introduced after the 2011 Fukushima crisis.

The safety accord requires Kansai Electric to immediately report emergency situations at the plant and compensate for damage caused by accidents. But it stops short of acquiescing to Shiga Prefecture’s demand for a say over the plant’s reactivation — a right usually awarded to host municipalities.

The Fukushima disaster led the central government to expand the evacuation preparation areas around nuclear plants to a radius of 30 km instead of 10 km. Local governments that do not host nuclear plants but could be adversely affected by an accident have called for a greater say in safety.

Shiga, a small part of which falls within the Takahama plant’s 30-km buffer zone, has sought a role in the local consent process for approving the restart of the four-reactor Takahama complex, only to be rebuffed by Kansai Electric.

Only Fukui Prefecture and the town of Takahama, which hosts the plant, were involved in the process.

Shiga Gov. Taizo Mikazuki said Monday the signing of the accord marked “progress” in terms of fulfilling the prefecture’s responsibility to ensure public safety.

But Mikazuki later told reporters that he told Kansai Electric President Makoto Yagi, who attended the signing ceremony together with the governor, that he was reluctant to accept the plant’s reactivation and asked that Shiga be treated the same way as the host areas.

Under the accord, Kansai Electric will also report its plans to transport nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in advance, while cooperating on the prefecture’s disaster mitigation measures.

The utility will promise in a separate document to provide explanations in advance on important changes at the plant, such as the construction of new reactors.

Kansai Electric on Monday reported to the Nuclear Regulation Authority that it will reboot the plant’s No. 3 reactor on Friday evening.

It will be the first reactor to run on uranium-plutonium mixed oxide fuel, or MOX, under new safety regulations imposed in 2013.

The No. 4 reactor is scheduled to resume operation in late February, with its fuel to be loaded Sunday.