nuclear-news

Japan’s new government expecting nuclear power to be back soon

Japan bids for early return to nuclear energy
http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/visionvideos.aspx?id=63615  30 Dec
12
As safety checks continue in the wake of disaster last year, Japan has
an ambitious plan to get its controversial nuclear program up and
running.
The new government announced Friday that it hopes to complete safety
checks and determine whether to restart all reactors within three
years.
All but two of Japan’s 50 reactors remain shut down after a March 2011
earthquake and tsunami resulted in one of the worst nuclear disasters
in history at the Fukushima Daiichi station.
The minister in charge of energy says the government will follow the
Nuclear Regulation Authority’s recommendations about which reactors to
restart.
But the agency’s chairman said Friday that the three-year deadline is
impossible to meet.
As part of its inspections, the authority is determining which plants
sit on active faultlines vulnerable to earthquakes.
Last year’s meltdown has prompted large protests as reactors are
restarted, giving momentum to the movement to scrap Japan’s nuclear
energy program altogether.

December 31, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general