Restart procedures for Sendai

July 16, 2014

Procedures for restarting Sendai plant

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140717_02.html 

Kyushu Electric Power Company in southern Japan still has many steps to clear before becoming the first utility in the country to restart a nuclear power plant.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority will hold 30 days of public hearings starting on Thursday on the draft safety assessment for the Sendai nuclear plant.

The NRA will then finalize the assessment and give permission for the utility to replace its current equipment. Meeting new stricter safety standards is required for resuming operations.

Kyushu Electric will then seek agreement for a restart from Kagoshima Prefecture and the hosting municipality of Satsuma Sendai.

The prefectural government plans to hold town meetings in the city and 4 other municipalities within 30 kilometers from the plant to hear explanations from NRA officials on the assessment.

Then the governor of the prefecture is to confirm the views of Satsuma Sendai city and prefectural assembly members, and decide whether to agree to the restart.

Kyushu Electric will also be required to submit quake-resistance data for its equipment and safety devices to the NRA for its approval.

The utility must also present arrangements to deal with serious accidents, including personnel training programs to ready them for such contingencies.

The company will need to have newly installed equipment checked before ultimately resuming operations at the plant.

But some local residents have already voiced criticism, saying that local municipalities have not yet set up sufficient measures to counter nuclear contingencies.

They point out that facilities for evacuation have been designated in locations which are likely to be downwind from the plant. They also demand feasible evacuation plans for hospitals and nursing-care facilities for the elderly.

They say that in the US, reactor operation needs federal government approval of evacuation plans submitted by local municipalities. They call for a similar system in Japan.

Jul. 16, 2014 - Updated 21:24 UTC