nuclear-news

Japan’s government put use by date on nuclear reactors

Japan Cabinet OKs bill to cap nuke reactor life, Macon.com By MARI YAMAGUCHI – Associated PressTOKYO, 1 Feb -12 –– Japan’s Cabinet approved bills Tuesday aimed at bolstering nuclear safety regulations following last year’s Fukushima disaster, including one that would put a 40-year cap on the operational life of nuclear reactors.
The approval came as International Atomic Energy Agency experts generally endorsed “stress test” results at two idled reactors in western Japan, bolstering the Tokyo government’s efforts to restart the facility, though the IAEA team said some safety measures needed clarification.

Japan currently has no legal limit on the operational lifespan of its 54 reactors, many of which will reach the 40-year mark in coming years. One reactor at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant had been in use 40 years when the tsunami struck last March.
The legislation, which still needs parliamentary approval to take effect, does allow for an extension of up to 20 years.

Critics have blasted that exception as a loophole,……   Critics,  ….. say the tests are meaningless because they have no clear criteria, and view the IAEA as biased toward the nuclear industry.

February 1, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, politics