March 26, 2016
Shikoku Electric Power Co. on March 25 decided to decommission the No.1 reactor after 40 years since the start of operations at the Ikata nuclear power plant in Ikata Town, Ehime Prefecture.
However, the plant operator is intending to put the Nos.2 and 3 reactors back online. Many townspeople criticized the utility for having taken so long to come to the decision and called for the decommissioning of the two other reactors as well.
The Ikata No.1 reactor will be the sixth to be scrapped due to aging after Tsuruga No.1, Mihama Nos.1 and 2, Shimane No.1, and Genkai No.1 reactors.
The power company decided to close the aging reactor as operational costs would exceed potential returns. The decision came only because the company gives priority to profitability, not because it places importance on public safety.
Wada Tsukasa who is with an organization working to stop the Ikata plant said, “There have been many opportunities for the plant operator to embark on a policy of decommissioning before. But, the company has deferred the decision because, I imagine, it didn’t want the local residents to know that there was a decommissioning option. I want Shikoku Electric Power Co. to also dismantle the Nos.2 and 3 reactors and explore ways to make the best use of regional resources which favor development of renewable sources of energy. This is the option the company should choose.”
Yagi Takehiko of a local antinuke group said, “Advocates of nuclear power generation always insist that the local economy would be damaged without the Ikata plant. With the decommissioning decision as a trigger, we should move ahead with town planning that does not rely on the Ikata plant but a community which can do well without the plant. Our group will continue our struggle until the Nos.2 and 3 reactors are scrapped.”
Past related articles:
> Structure of collusion leads to restarting Ikata nuclear power plant [November 12, 2015]
> Ehime governor OKs restart of Ikata nuclear power plant in spite of public opposition [October 27, 2015]
> Restarting of Ikata Nuclear Power Plant unjustifiable [July 20, 2015]
> Nuclear accident may isolate residents on peninsula in Ikata [January 22, 2014]
> 217,000 in total sign petition calling for halt of Ikata NPP [March 13, 2013]
However, the plant operator is intending to put the Nos.2 and 3 reactors back online. Many townspeople criticized the utility for having taken so long to come to the decision and called for the decommissioning of the two other reactors as well.
The Ikata No.1 reactor will be the sixth to be scrapped due to aging after Tsuruga No.1, Mihama Nos.1 and 2, Shimane No.1, and Genkai No.1 reactors.
The power company decided to close the aging reactor as operational costs would exceed potential returns. The decision came only because the company gives priority to profitability, not because it places importance on public safety.
Wada Tsukasa who is with an organization working to stop the Ikata plant said, “There have been many opportunities for the plant operator to embark on a policy of decommissioning before. But, the company has deferred the decision because, I imagine, it didn’t want the local residents to know that there was a decommissioning option. I want Shikoku Electric Power Co. to also dismantle the Nos.2 and 3 reactors and explore ways to make the best use of regional resources which favor development of renewable sources of energy. This is the option the company should choose.”
Yagi Takehiko of a local antinuke group said, “Advocates of nuclear power generation always insist that the local economy would be damaged without the Ikata plant. With the decommissioning decision as a trigger, we should move ahead with town planning that does not rely on the Ikata plant but a community which can do well without the plant. Our group will continue our struggle until the Nos.2 and 3 reactors are scrapped.”
Past related articles:
> Structure of collusion leads to restarting Ikata nuclear power plant [November 12, 2015]
> Ehime governor OKs restart of Ikata nuclear power plant in spite of public opposition [October 27, 2015]
> Restarting of Ikata Nuclear Power Plant unjustifiable [July 20, 2015]
> Nuclear accident may isolate residents on peninsula in Ikata [January 22, 2014]
> 217,000 in total sign petition calling for halt of Ikata NPP [March 13, 2013]
