Further evaluation needed

July 7, 2014

Japanese nuclear regulators to delay interim report on restart of Kyushu plant

Kyodo

The Nuclear Regulation Authority will delay unveiling an interim report on restarting two reactors at a plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, sources matter said Monday.

The NRA had planned to present the draft to its decision-making panel Wednesday, but regulators judged that further evaluation was needed for measures to deal with severe accidents proposed by the plant’s operator, Kyushu Electric Power Co., the sources said.

Once finalized, the report is expected to give the green light to restart the two-reactor Sendai plant, which is the closest to meeting the new safety standards introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis.

All of Japan’s 48 commercial reactors remain offline in the wake of the March 2011 debacle at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 complex.

After compiling the draft, the agency will solicit comments from the public for a month. The final version will be completed when the comments are collated.

July 4, 2014

2 Kyushu reactors expected to go back online this fall

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140704p2a00m0na001000c.html 

The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) will give a stamp of safety approval as early as July 9 to two idled reactors at the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, paving the way for Kyushu Electric Power Co. to restart the reactors this autumn, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned.

Sources say the NRA will present a report on its safety review of the No. 1 and 2 reactors of the power plant in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, as early as July 9 -- a move tantamount to giving the utility the go-ahead to restart the two reactors. The two reactors are likely to resume operations after public opinions are solicited and procedures for local consent are completed.

New nuclear power standards featuring tougher measures against earthquakes, tsunami and severe accidents went into effect in July last year in the aftermath of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant triggered by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. At present, 19 reactors at 12 nuclear power plants in Japan are undergoing safety reviews. The two reactors at the Sendai power plant in southwestern Japan are expected to be the first among the 19 reactors to meet the new standards.

The NRA had initially projected that a safety review of each reactor would last about six months, but many electric power companies were slow in complying with the tougher standards, delaying safety reviews. Kyushu Electric raised its estimated figure for peak ground acceleration in the event of an earthquake from 540 gals to 620 gals, leading the NRA to preferentially conduct its safety reviews of the two reactors.

Kyushu Electric submitted revised documents for applying to change the reactor facilities with new safety measures at the end of April but the documents contained 42 flaws, delaying the NRA's safety screening by about one month.

July 04, 2014(Mainichi Japan)