Regulator demands TEPCO clarify responsibilities

July 10, 2020

Japan’s nuclear regulator has demanded Tokyo Electric Power Company clarify the responsibilities of its president in the event of a nuclear accident.

Three years ago, the Nuclear Regulation Authority endorsed safety measures at TEPCO’s two nuclear reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture.

The regulator then requested that the company lay out its policies for preventing another nuclear accident in the plant security rulebook. The company had several years earlier been at the heart of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

On Thursday, TEPCO officials told the regulator that they would include a clause stipulating that the president be quickly informed of any risk with the potential to lead to an accident. The clause also stipulates that the president address the issue, regardless of whether the risk has been confirmed or not.

The officials also said records related to such issues would be kept for five years.

But the regulation authority says the storage period should be longer. It also says the responsibilities of the president should be laid out more specifically.

They are also demanding written opinions from law experts on the matter. Tokyo Electric says it will reconsider these measures.

Regulators want TEPCO to be as specific in its safety measures as possible, after the company rejected a report warning of the possible impact of a massive tsunami before the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200710_08/

July 16, 2020 - Posted by dunrenard | Japan | Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP, Tepco