Shimane restart

 December 25, 2013

Screening sought to restart Shimane reactor

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20131225_13.html

Chugoku Electric Power Company has applied to Japan's nuclear regulator for a safety screening needed to restart an idle reactor. The reactor is at the firm's Shimane nuclear power plant in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, western Japan.

The application is the 2nd filed for boiling water reactors --- the same type as those that melted down at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in northeastern Japan, in March, 2011.

Chugoku Electric Vice President Mareshige Shimizu visited the Nuclear Regulation Authority and submitted the application on Wednesday.

The utility says it has not yet decided when to bring the reactor back online.
It says it hopes to install a filtered vent at the reactor next May at the earliest. Under safety requirements, boiling water reactors must have such vents, which are designed to release pressure in a reactor containment vessel during an emergency while limiting emissions of radioactive substances.

The firm has raised the height of a breakwater in front of the reactor by 6.5 meters, to 15 meters, as a tsunami prevention measure.

The nuclear regulator has been occupied with screening 7 other plants. Plants around the country, including the Onagawa plant, in northeastern Japan, which suffered damage in the March 2011 disaster, may also apply for a restart.

It is unknown how long the screening of the Shimane plant will take.
After the screening by the nuclear regulator, the company must get agreement on restarting the reactor from Shimane Prefecture, Matsue City and other local governments, such as neighboring Tottori Prefecture.