NRA criticises TEPCO's safety measures

October 23, 2013

NRA chairman to meet TEPCO president over Fukushima nuclear plant woes

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20131023p2a00m0na017000c.html

Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) Chairman Shunichi Tanaka has decided to hold a meeting with Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) President Naomi Hirose and ask him directly about the state of the company's crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, which has been plagued by leaks of radioactively contaminated water due to operational errors.

Tanaka intends to make a decision on the start of safety screening of the idled No. 6 and 7 reactors at TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture pending the outcome of the meeting, which he decided on during a regular NRA session on Oct. 23. It is therefore expected that screening will be delayed for some time.

Nuclear reactor safety screenings take about half a year to complete, and if the commencement of screening is delayed, then it will be extremely unlikely for any reactors at the plant to be started this fiscal year.

TEPCO hopes to bolster its financial standing by quickly restarting the nuclear reactors, but based on the latest developments, it looks likely the utility will be forced to rethink its plans.

The NRA's secretariat earlier requested that TEPCO file a report on improvement measures and its ability to operate reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, and TEPCO submitted the report on Oct. 15.

In the report, the utility expressed the view that it could handle safety management at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant together with measures to handle contaminated water at the Fukushima plant. The company said it would add about another 80 workers to its team handling contaminated water at the Fukushima plant.

However, Tanaka questioned the power company's capabilities on Oct. 23, asking, "If they can properly handle Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, then that creates major doubts over why they can't do the same at the Fukushima plant."

Another NRA commissioner, Kayoko Nakamura, pointed out, "TEPCO hasn't been able to absorb onsite problems, while fellow commissioner Kenzo Oshima commented, "The company is exhausted handling the nuclear disaster, and no one believes that a business seeing a continuing outward flow of human resources will be able to overcome future difficulties."

Tanaka added, "It's not just a case of contaminated water; there's still the problem of spent nuclear fuel, which is more difficult to handle. It's important for the company to act with an outlook for the future, incorporating a total view."

Up until now the NRA had avoided direct meetings with power company officials to maintain its independence as a regulatory authority, but the nuclear watchdog deemed there was a need to meet TEPCO's president and discuss a response to problems. Tanaka and Hirose are expected to meet about a week from now.

The Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant has faced a stream of problems attributable to human error, including a leak of contaminated water on Oct. 2 from an overfilled tank that had been built on leaning ground.

October 23, 2013

NRA chief to meet TEPCO head on nuclear safety

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20131023_30.html

Officials from Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority have criticized a report submitted by Tokyo Electric Power Company on safety measures at its nuclear plants.

The NRA met on Wednesday after TEPCO submitted the report to the authority on Tuesday of last week.

The report outlines the measures TEPCO is taking to prevent radioactive water leaks and other problems at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant. In the report, TEPCO also says it is capable of safely managing 2 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture. The utility has plans to restart the reactors.

At the meeting on Wednesday, a member of the NRA called the report "unconvincing" and expressed doubts about whether TEPCO would be able to deal with problems that may arise in the future.
Another member suggested that if TEPCO says there are no problems at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, then the utility should reassign more workers from there to the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka acknowledged the need to properly question TEPCO. He said that, based on the content of the report, it seems like the plants are being handled by 2 different companies. Tanaka plans to hold a meeting with TEPCO President Naomi Hirose to find out how the utility's management sees the situation.

The NRA has yet to decide whether to proceed with safety assessments of the 2 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. Newly formulated regulations require the assessments before the reactors can restart.