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NRA Says Weak Steel Components Not Used in Japan Nuclear Plants

If you believe the nuclear “regulator”, all the bad nuclear parts were the ones that were sent overseas to France, and the Japanese ones went thru better quality control.
If you don’t believe them, at least 11 reactors have defective reactor pressure vessel lids. That’s the part of the nuclear reactor that blows high in the air when the reactor overheats, explodes, and melts down.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority says potentially weak steel components manufactured by a Japanese company have not been used in domestic nuclear facilities, after its French counterpart ordered reactors that used the company’s parts to be checked.

The NRA determined at a regular meeting Tuesday there is no comparable risk at the domestic nuclear facilities of 11 companies as portions of steel with excessive carbon concentrations had been removed from the components manufactured by Kitakyushu-based Japan Casting & Forging Corp.

The NRA concluded that the removal of portions with higher levels of carbon was insufficient in the components used in the French reactors.

The authority also determined there were no problems with critical parts at domestic facilities that were manufactured by other companies, including Tokyo-based Japan Steel Works Ltd.

The French Nuclear Safety Authority said in June it had found potential weaknesses at a number of nuclear facilities due to steel with higher levels of impurities supplied by Japan Casting & Forging, prompting the NRA to commence its own investigation.

Utilities in Japan checked their facilities and submitted reports to the NRA last month.

According to the reports, Japan Casting & Forging manufactured pressure vessel lids for 11 reactors at seven nuclear power stations, including the No. 2 reactor at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Takahama power plant in Fukui Prefecture.

The company’s pressure vessel lids were also used at the No. 2 reactor at Kansai Electric’s Mihama plant in Fukui Prefecture and the No. 1 reactor at Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Genkai plant in Saga Prefecture, both of which are set to be decommissioned.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/11/22/national/nra-says-weak-steel-components-not-used-japan-nuclear-plants/

November 22, 2016 - Posted by dunrenard | Japan | Flawed Steel Components, JCFC Steel