Tsuruga: Safe to restart?

November 5, 2015

Japan Atomic Power pushes for Tsuruga reactor restart despite fault warning

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201511050054

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

Japan Atomic Power Co. on Nov. 5 applied for a screening of whether its Tsuruga plant reactor meets safety regulations put in place after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

But getting the green light from the Nuclear Regulation Authority will prove a difficult process.

The company must present evidence to the NRA that will invalidate the findings of two panels of experts. Their separate reports concluded that a seismic fault line running beneath the power station’s No. 2 reactor building in Fukui Prefecture is probably active.

Japan Atomic Power has pledged to provide evidence to the contrary during the screening process.

The NRA has said that it will pay attention to the panels’ reports as “significant findings” when it examines the condition of the reactor.

The regulations, which came into force in 2013, prohibit key facilities such as reactor buildings from being located directly above an active fault line.

But current arrangements allow electric power companies to apply for an NRA screening regardless of the panels’ assessments.

Japan Atomic Power was established in 1957 to lead the nuclear power development in Japan, with regional electric utilities forming the bulk of its shareholders.

The No. 2 reactor, with an output of 1.16 gigawatts, began commercial operations in 1987.

Of Japan’s fleet of 43 reactors, two at Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture have gone back online after clearing the new regulation.