Japan’s nuclear industry hope to restart, but delay safety upgrades

I couldn’t help being reminded of Saint Augustine’s famous prayer – “God make me pure – but not yet!”

The cost of upgrading all of the nuclear power plants is expected to exceed ¥1 trillion.

Nuclear safety rules put onus on utilities Japan Times, BY KAZUAKI NAGATA , 1 July 13, The Nuclear Regulation Authority on July 8 will begin enforcing new safety standards at atomic power stations, more than two years after Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 plant experienced three reactor core meltdowns…………

Utilities are meanwhile hoping that the regulators will be lenient with reactor restarts as long as they agree
to upgrade their plants to the new safety regime over time……

A major difference is that it will now be mandatory for utilities to install defenses that can prevent meltdowns from being caused by natural disasters — such as earthquakes, tsunami and tornadoes — as well as defenses against terrorist attacks……

Structural reinforcement will take top priority, covering the control
rooms, emergency power generators, reactor venting systems and
seawalls, which were either nonexistent or too low to be effective
against tsunami.

Filtered ventilation systems will become mandatory because they can
lessen the release of radioactive materials should emergency venting
become necessary……If computer simulations show that atomic
facilities are vulnerable to tsunami, seawalls that can withstand them
must be built.

In addition, special secondary safety buildings must be built at a
distance from the reactors so that operation and cooling can be
conducted remotely without the buildings being destroyed or
compromised by radiation……..
Other key measures include increasing the number of emergency
generators, water cannons and fireproofing cables at the plants.

Are there concerns about the new rules?

The Citizens’ Commission on Nuclear Energy, an anti-nuclear group
composed of experts, says the refit moratoriums are dangerous.

“The regulators should not take the utilities’ circumstances into
consideration. It is only natural for the regulators to reject the
utilities’ requests to restart their reactors until the special safety
(features) are in place,” a statement released June 19 by the group
said.

Other experts say the new safety rules focus too much on hardware
rather than judgment, skills and training.

Tetsuo Sawada, a nuclear expert and an assistant professor at Tokyo
Institute of Technology, said that relying too much on hardware and
equipment is a risky proposition.

“If the safety standards are focused too much on hardware, plant
operators might think that all they have to do is prepare (the
installations),” Sawada said, adding that this may keep them from
improving their crisis-management skills…….
The cost of upgrading all of the nuclear power plants is expected to
exceed ¥1 trillion.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/07/02/reference/nuclear-safety-rules-put-onus-on-utilities/#.UdM6Lztwo6I