nuclear-news

Japan’s Sendai nuclear power plant may be at risk from volcanoes

Ioyama volcano raises fears Japan’s Sendai nuclear power facility may be at risk, news,com,au 28 Oct 14 

“……….The waking of Mount Ioyama on the island of Kyushu comes after a recent warning from a prominent Japanese volcanologist about the Sendai nuclear plant’s vulnerability.

A cauldron eruption at one of several volcanoes surrounding the Sendai nuclear power plant could hit the reactors and cause a nationwide disaster, said Toshitsugu Fujii, head of a government-commissioned panel on volcanic eruption prediction.

Mount Ioyama sits virtually next door to the power plant. In recent weeks it has started experiencing tremors, the Japanese Metrological Agency’s volcano bureau says.

The implications for restarting the repaired Sendai nuclear power plant are serious……..

Now Mount Ioyama has suddenly gone from the dormant end of the threat scale to the second-highest. This means the area around the crater can be regarded as dangerous, and that small-scale eruptions are likely.

Another volatile giant, Mount Sakurajima, sits some 40km from the Sendai facility. This is a very active volcano with frequent minor eruptions. http://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/ioyama-volcano-raises-fears-japans-sendai-nuclear-power-facility-may-be-at-risk/story-fnjww1r5-1227102573947

October 27, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, safety