By FUMI YADA/ Staff Writer
November 13, 2024 at 15:34 JST
Nuclear regulators on Nov. 13 officially rejected Japan Atomic Power Co.’s request to restart a reactor based on the “undeniable” possibility of an active fault running beneath it.
The application to reactivate the No. 2 reactor at the Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture is the first to be rejected by the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
The operator said it will continue to seek approval to restart the reactor that was shut down after the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant accident triggered by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
The NRA has concluded that the possibility that a fault lying just below the reactor building is active cannot be ruled out.
The new regulatory standards introduced after the Fukushima accident do not allow operation of important nuclear facilities, such as a reactor, above an active fault.
Under the standards, a fault is deemed active if there remains a possibility that it has moved over the past approximately 120,000 to 130,000 years.
A draft examination report approved by the NRA on Aug. 28 determined that the reactor fails to comply with the standards.
After soliciting comments from the public over 30 days, the NRA officially decided not to approve the request to restart the reactor on Nov. 13.
Japan Atomic Power argued that the fault is not active on the grounds of on-site geological surveys, among other reasons.
However, the NRA determined that data provided by the company lack a scientific basis.
Nuclear plant operators have applied to bring 27 reactors back online.
The NRA has approved restarting 17 of them after determining that they comply with the standards instituted following the Fukushima accident.
An operator can reapply for a reactor restart even if an application is rejected.
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The No. 2 reactor, middle, at Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture. The No. 1 reactor, foreground, is being decommissioned. (Kenta Sujino)
