nuclear-news

Earthquake fault line under Japan’s only operating nuclear reactor?

Japan nuclear watchdog probes claims that country’s only working reactor sits on active fault line Warning comes just 18 months after tsunami wiped out Fukushima plant  DAILY MAIL, 19 July 2012 Japan’s nuclear safety watchdog has ordered an investigation into claims the country’s only active nuclear power station is positioned above a tectonic fault line.

Geologists believe the Oi plant in Fukui Prefecture is at real risk of earthquake if the tectonic plates it sits on suddenly shift.
The news comes at a sensitive time for the Japanese nuclear industry – less than 18 months after a tsunami struck the nuclear power station at Fukushima, causing a meltdown…

The first reactor was fired up a few weeks ago and a second is planned to restart later in July. The power company insists it won’t alter its schedule, despite the order to examine the earth under the huge plant…. Experts reporting to the safety watchdog have also recommended tests are carried out at the nearby Shika plant, claiming both sites could be sitting on active fault lines.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2176062/Japan-nuclear-watchdog-probes-claims-countrys-working-reactor-sits-active-fault-line.html#ixzz21C4tdqr4

July 20, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, safety