Restarting of Ikata Nuclear Power Plant unjustifiable
July 20, 2015
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2015 July 15 - 21 [SOCIAL ISSUES]
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The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) on July 15 issued an assessment report acknowledging that the No.3 reactor at the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant (Ehime Prefecture) meets the NRA’s nuclear safety standards. Following the report, Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide said that the Abe government will give the go-ahead for the restart of the reactor.
The Ikata NPP is the third power plant which passed the NRA safety screening, following the Sendai NPP in Kagoshima Prefecture and the Takahama NPP in Fukui Prefecture. The Fukui District Court ordered the Takahama NPP not be restarted on the grounds that the NRA’s safety standards are too lax. The nuclear regulator and the government seem to pay no attention to this court decision and seek for the restart of the NPPs. Regarding the Ikata NPP, many critics point out that the NPP’s countermeasures against earthquakes are insufficient and that local municipalities around the plant have yet to draw up evacuation plans for local people in case of a nuclear accident.
The Ikata NPP is located at the base of the Sadamisaki Peninsula in western Ehime. Near the plant are one of Japan’s largest fault zones and the predicted hypocenter of Nankai Trough earthquake. It is also said that the plant faces a risk of being hit by quake-induced landslides.
If an accident occurs at the NPP, around 5,000 residents on the peninsula will be unable to leave the peninsula by road. As they will have to use ships or helicopters to evacuate, they will have difficulty evacuating in rough weather. Nevertheless, the government is recklessly attempting to give the green light to the plan to resume the operation of the NPP based on the NRA assessment result.
NRA Chair Tanaka Shun’ichi repeatedly said that NRA’s assessment is not something that guarantees the safety of NPPs. Despite Tanaka’s remarks, the Abe government has expressed its intention to have offline rectors back online if they pass the NRA screening. The government appears to have no intention to take on the ultimate responsibility for assuming the risk of NPPs, and to restart the Ikata NPP is totally irresponsible.
Past related articles:
> Fukui district court orders Takahama nuclear power plant to be kept offline [April 15, 2015]
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