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193354
Wed, 07/06/2011 - 18:38
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https://oananews.org//node/193354
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Japan to conduct nuclear plant 'stress tests' amid safety concerns
TOKYO, July 6 Kyodo - Japan will conduct safety assessments called ''stress tests'' on all its nuclear power plants to allay heightened public concerns, industry minister Banri Kaieda said Wednesday amid a deepening power shortage problem, with no reactor restarted since the country's worst nuclear plant crisis erupted in March.
The move, however, will further delay the resumption of reactors suspended for regular checkups as it caused Saga Gov. Yasushi Furukawa, who may have allowed two local reactors to be the first to restart around middle of this month, to wait for the test results before deciding whether to give the go-ahead.
Officials of the government's nuclear safety agency said details have yet to be decided, but it may take several months to finish the tests, as in the case of similar tests that the European Union began conducting in June.
Kaieda told reporters that there is a need to quickly carry out stress tests like those of the European Union to offer a ''sense of assurance'' to local residents, adding that he would also like to make sure that no problems occur regarding stable supply of electricity across Japan.
Of the nation's 54 commercial reactors, 35 are not in operation for reasons including regular inspections and effects of the March earthquake and tsunami disaster, and none has resumed operations in the wake of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
The approval of local governments is not legally required to restart reactors, but utilities are attaching importance to local sentiments.
As for the two reactors at the Genkai plant in Saga Prefecture that were initially expected to have been reactivated by now, the economy, trade and industry minister said the plant's safety has been confirmed through safety measures taken in the wake of the Fukushima emergency.
Saga Gov. Furukawa is scheduled to meet with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano in Tokyo on Thursday about the Genkai plant issue, the Saga prefectural government said separately.
Under the planned stress tests, plant operators are expected to assess how far nuclear reactors can withstand major earthquakes and tsunami that have an impact going beyond expectations, and find the weak points, the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency officials said.
But some people doubt whether Japan's stress tests will be convincing enough because the agency is under the wing of the industry ministry that promotes nuclear power. Under the EU-style stress tests, regulating authorities of the member countries work together and evaluate each other under a so-called peer review framework.
On whether clearing the tests would serve as a condition for the resumption of reactors, Kaieda was vague but Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of nuclear accidents, said that ''naturally, there would be some kind of link'' between the two matters.
The need for stress tests on nuclear power plants was touched on in late June during a ministerial meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency on nuclear safety, which was convened in the wake of the crisis in Japan.
The Fukushima nuclear complex, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., was designed to withstand tsunami waves of a maximum of 5.7 meters high, but lost nearly all its power sources and thus the cooling functions of many reactors after being hit by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunamis more than 14 meters high on March 11.
Based on lessons learned from the crisis, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry announced June 18 that utilities have appropriately implemented measures to enable their nuclear power plants to handle severe accidents, such as steps to prevent hydrogen explosions as seen in Fukushima.
Kaieda visited Saga Prefecture in late June to seek approval for the resumption of the Genkai reactors, saying their safety has been confirmed through such safety measures.
Although Saga Gov. Furukawa was expected to make a decision on the issue in mid-July, he said the plan ''completely blew up'' after the government announced about the stress tests.
The announcement even angered the mayor of the town of Genkai, the local municipality hosting the plant, as he had already agreed to the resumption and conveyed his intention to the plant operator Kyushu Electric Power Co.
''I will think about retracting my approval depending on the outcome of the stress test,'' Genkai Mayor Hideo Kishimoto said. ''What was all that talk about Genkai's safety? The state is irresponsible.''
Among local residents, Masako Arata, a 77-year-old woman living in the town, said, ''It is good to conduct checkups because I am very worried about the resumption, but maybe the government will not check properly and fool us.''
The move, however, will further delay the resumption of reactors suspended for regular checkups as it caused Saga Gov. Yasushi Furukawa, who may have allowed two local reactors to be the first to restart around middle of this month, to wait for the test results before deciding whether to give the go-ahead.
Officials of the government's nuclear safety agency said details have yet to be decided, but it may take several months to finish the tests, as in the case of similar tests that the European Union began conducting in June.
Kaieda told reporters that there is a need to quickly carry out stress tests like those of the European Union to offer a ''sense of assurance'' to local residents, adding that he would also like to make sure that no problems occur regarding stable supply of electricity across Japan.
Of the nation's 54 commercial reactors, 35 are not in operation for reasons including regular inspections and effects of the March earthquake and tsunami disaster, and none has resumed operations in the wake of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
The approval of local governments is not legally required to restart reactors, but utilities are attaching importance to local sentiments.
As for the two reactors at the Genkai plant in Saga Prefecture that were initially expected to have been reactivated by now, the economy, trade and industry minister said the plant's safety has been confirmed through safety measures taken in the wake of the Fukushima emergency.
Saga Gov. Furukawa is scheduled to meet with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano in Tokyo on Thursday about the Genkai plant issue, the Saga prefectural government said separately.
Under the planned stress tests, plant operators are expected to assess how far nuclear reactors can withstand major earthquakes and tsunami that have an impact going beyond expectations, and find the weak points, the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency officials said.
But some people doubt whether Japan's stress tests will be convincing enough because the agency is under the wing of the industry ministry that promotes nuclear power. Under the EU-style stress tests, regulating authorities of the member countries work together and evaluate each other under a so-called peer review framework.
On whether clearing the tests would serve as a condition for the resumption of reactors, Kaieda was vague but Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of nuclear accidents, said that ''naturally, there would be some kind of link'' between the two matters.
The need for stress tests on nuclear power plants was touched on in late June during a ministerial meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency on nuclear safety, which was convened in the wake of the crisis in Japan.
The Fukushima nuclear complex, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., was designed to withstand tsunami waves of a maximum of 5.7 meters high, but lost nearly all its power sources and thus the cooling functions of many reactors after being hit by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunamis more than 14 meters high on March 11.
Based on lessons learned from the crisis, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry announced June 18 that utilities have appropriately implemented measures to enable their nuclear power plants to handle severe accidents, such as steps to prevent hydrogen explosions as seen in Fukushima.
Kaieda visited Saga Prefecture in late June to seek approval for the resumption of the Genkai reactors, saying their safety has been confirmed through such safety measures.
Although Saga Gov. Furukawa was expected to make a decision on the issue in mid-July, he said the plan ''completely blew up'' after the government announced about the stress tests.
The announcement even angered the mayor of the town of Genkai, the local municipality hosting the plant, as he had already agreed to the resumption and conveyed his intention to the plant operator Kyushu Electric Power Co.
''I will think about retracting my approval depending on the outcome of the stress test,'' Genkai Mayor Hideo Kishimoto said. ''What was all that talk about Genkai's safety? The state is irresponsible.''
Among local residents, Masako Arata, a 77-year-old woman living in the town, said, ''It is good to conduct checkups because I am very worried about the resumption, but maybe the government will not check properly and fool us.''
