nuclear-news

Shutdown of nuclear reactor leaves Japan with only one functioning nuclear reactor

Japan shuts down nuclear reactor for inspections , channel news Asia, 2 Sept 13, 
Workers will switch off one of Japan’s two working reactors Monday, with the other set for shutdown later this month and no restarts in sight amid continued public hostility to nuclear power. TOKYO: Workers will switch off one of Japan’s two working reactors Monday, with the other set for shutdown later this month and no restarts in sight amid continued public hostility to nuclear power.

Kansai Electric Power will start reducing generating power at its Unit No 3 at the Oi plant, Fukui prefecture, western Japan, shortly before 5:00 pm (0800 GMT), a company spokesman said.

The reactor will be fully shut down by early Tuesday in readiness for inspections legally mandated within 13 months of the start of commercial operations, he said.

The reactor is one of the only two still generating power in Japan. The other one, Unit No 4 at Oi, is to be switched off on September 15.

It is not known when they will resume operations because they will be assessed under a set of guidelines recently drawn up by the nuclear watchdog, according to Kansai Electric.

The two reactors were restarted — despite public opposition — in July last year after passing safety tests, ending a brief period in which no atomic power was generated in Japan.

They were the only units to be brought back online after undergoing such tests in the aftermath of the disaster in March 2011 at Fukushima……. The company said Sunday it had found highly radioactive water dripping from a pipe connecting two coolant tanks at one of four radiation hotspots http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/japan-shuts-down-nuclear/798834.html

September 2, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, politics