Sendai nuclear plant restarted

https://youtu.be/3h5PQMJux-o

A nuclear reactor has been restarted in Japan for the first time in nearly 2 years.

The No.1 reactor at the Sendai nuclear plant in southwestern Japan is the first to go back online under new regulations introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.

On Tuesday morning, workers at the plant’s central control room operated a lever to pull out the reactor’s 32 control rods. Plant operator Kyushu Electric Power Company says there’s been no trouble so far.

If all goes well, the reactor is due to achieve a sustained nuclear chain reaction in about 12-and-a-half hours and begin generating power on Friday. After gradually raising output, Kyushu Electric plans to begin commercial operations in early September.

The utility says it will watch carefully for any abnormalities in equipment operation, as the reactor has been kept offline for more than 4 years.

The 2-reactor Sendai plant in Kagoshima Prefecture last year cleared the new, rigorous regulations introduced after the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. It completed all necessary inspections on Monday.

The reactor is the first to go online since September 2013, when the Ohi nuclear plant in central Japan halted operations. 

Source: NHK 

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150811_17.html

August 11, 2015 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | Nuclear Plant Restart, Sendai | Leave a comment

Efforts to improve nuclear plant evacuation roads – Protesters rally at Sendai nuclear power plant

https://youtu.be/QXvoQAn_d_8

Some residents near the nuclear power plant in Satsumasendai City in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, are questioning the feasibility of evacuation plans drawn up by local communities.

9 towns and cities within 30 kilometers of the plant have already drawn up evacuation plans for their residents. But some of the roads designated as evacuation routes have problems.

In Takae Town, a prefectural highway turns into a single-lane road with narrow sections where there are no sidewalks. Other sections are close to the mouth of a river and the sea and could be flooded in the event of tsunami.
An NHK survey shows that 6 of the 9 municipalities have acknowledged problems including traffic jams that might occur during evacuations.

The prefectural government of Kagoshima has started repair work such as widening roads and reinforcing embankments at 11 sections of such routes. However, the work is expected to take 7 to 8 years to complete.

Some municipal offices are improving forestry roads that can be used for evacuation. Officials say if a disaster causes traffic congestion, authorities may redirect people and vehicles to use forestry roads for evacuation.

Yuichi Kojima, a senior Kagoshima prefectural official, says the prefecture is giving top priority to improving evacuation routes and will also work with local municipalities to secure smooth evacuations. 

Source: NHK 

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150810_21.html

Protesters rally at Sendai nuclear power plant

Protesters are rallying outside the Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan in a last-ditch effort to stop the restart of a nuclear reactor at the plant. The restart will be the first under new safety rules established after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

About 200 activists from both in and out of the prefecture gathered in front of the plant early on Tuesday morning.

Using loudspeakers, they shouted “Don’t forget the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi!” and “Do not restart the Sendai plant!”

Police officers and the plant’s guards are deployed around the protesters.

A 22-year-old student taking part in the rally said the plant’s restart is not an issue limited to Kagoshima, but also affects other areas.

He said he does not want the plant to be restarted under the current conditions. He said he is worried that the local emergency evacuation plan is inadequate, especially for old people. 

Source: NHK 

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150811_11.html

August 11, 2015 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | Nuclear Plant Restart, Sendai | 1 Comment

Reactor in Kagoshima poised for restart despite public opposition

SATSUMASENDAI, Kagoshima Pref. – Kyushu Electric Power Co. said Monday it will restart the No. 1 reactor at its Sendai nuclear plant on Tuesday, marking the country’s first long-term return to nuclear power since the Fukushima crisis.

The reactor, in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, will be the first to go live under new safety standards that were put in place in 2013. The standards were drawn up after the meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant in March 2011.

The restart, strongly pushed by the pro-business administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will deal a tough blow to anti-nuclear activists and citizens who have been calling for abolition of all nuclear power plants.

Advocates of the restart include the prefectural government as well as residents of Satsumasendai who appreciate the impact of nuclear-power related subsidies on public works projects and the effect the plant has on local service industries.

Meanwhile, the Abe Cabinet risks losing popularity among voters. A poll by the Mainichi Shimbun on Saturday and Sunday found that 57 percent of people are opposed to reactivating the Sendai plant, while 30 percent support it. The survey polled 1,015 respondents nationwide.

Abe has maintained that utility companies, not the central government, should decide whether to restart reactors if the Nuclear Regulation Authority declares them safe under new inspection standards.

But at the same time his administration has been promoting the reactivation of suspended commercial reactors, citing the huge cost of importing fossil fuels for thermal power plants.

Tuesday’s restart would come despite local worries that Kyushu Electric Power and local politicians and businesses have been pushing for it without addressing what would happen in the event of an emergency.

A protest rally in front of the plant Monday drew former Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who was in office at the time of the events of March 11, 2011.

With the exception of Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Oi No. 3 and 4 reactors in Fukui Prefecture, which were restarted in summer 2012 under the old safety measures and ran until early autumn 2013, all of Japan’s 43 remaining operable nuclear reactors have been shut down since the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, and subsequent meltdowns in Fukushima.

“Like Tepco and Fukushima at that time, Kyushu Electric will not take responsibility for evacuation in case of an emergency,” Kan told the rally. “Under current laws, neither Tepco nor Kyushu Electric have responsibility to ensure the safety of residents.”

Local governments hosting nuclear plants are required to draw up evacuation plans for those living within 30 km of the site.

But nuclear plants like Sendai are often located in isolated areas along a coast, where access roads are sometimes few and where many local residents are elderly and would require special care and assistance.

“The plans Kagoshima Prefecture has drawn up are unrealistic,” said Katsuhiro Inoue, a member of the Satsumasendai Municipal Assembly from the Japan Communist Party.

“They assume the main access road closest to the plant will be usable in the event of accident, and they don’t answer basic questions of how long it might take to move those who are elderly outside the 30-km radius of the plant, or what might happen to people who live more than 30 km away and try to evacuate,” Inoue said.

In May 2014, the prefecture calculated how long it would take to evacuate the nearly 215,000 people who live in Satsumasendai and nine other towns within 30 km of the plant.

In the best case scenario, officials estimated it would take almost 10 hours to evacuate 90 percent of the population.

In the worst case, the prefecture concluded, it could take almost 29 hours.

Source: Japan Times

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/08/10/national/reactor-kagoshima-readied-tuesday-restart/#.VcmCsfmFSM-

August 11, 2015 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | Nuclear Plant Restart, Sendai | Leave a comment