Japan Press Weekly

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2012 November 7 - 13 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Stop Oi NPP built above possible active fault: Shii

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on November 8 said at a news conference that the reactivated Oi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture should be shut down immediately because it is standing on a possible active fault.

Shii gave two reasons for his urgent demand.

One is that all members of the expert panel under the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) acknowledge the possibility that the so-called “F-6” fracture zone running underneath the plant premises is active.

The other is that few measures to cope with nuclear accidents, such as creating evacuation plans, have been taken yet.

The NRA recently published an estimate of the spread of radioactive substances in case of severe accidents. The report shows that some areas out of a 30km radius of a nuclear plant could be exposed to more than 100 mSv of radiation within a week after an accident. However, the state and the regulatory body shift the responsibility to provide against such an emergency onto local governments.

The chair said, “We have strongly opposed the restart of the Oi NPP. There is not a moment to lose now. The government should stop the operations of No.3 and 4 reactors at the plant immediately.”