nuclear-news

Japan quake stressed nuclear plant beyond design limit: panel

 KYODO NEWS, 11 Jan 24

Last week’s powerful earthquake in central Japan inflicted stress on parts of a local nuclear power plant that exceeded the limit anticipated in the facility’s design, according to a report shared in a safety panel meeting on Wednesday.

The report, discussed at a regular session of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, indicated the potentially alarming readings of ground acceleration did not appear to pose an immediate safety threat to the facility in Shika on the Noto Peninsula……………………………………………………………..

Shinsuke Yamanaka, chief of the authority, told reporters that such seismic research by experts may take years, and that the activity in undersea faults which triggered the latest quake “must be factored in as new knowledge” in updating safety standards.

Yamanaka, an expert on nuclear power engineering, also urged the operator to get to the bottom of a breakdown of electric transformers installed at its Nos. 1 and 2 reactors that has partially prevented the Shika plant from receiving power supplied from outside………………….

Nobuhiko Ban, another panel member and expert on protection from radiation exposure, called it “a huge problem” that real-time radiation levels have not been monitored at some locations near the Shika plant after the quake, and proposed using aircraft and drones for the purpose………… https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/01/79c47d437001-japan-quake-stressed-nuclear-plant-beyond-design-limit-panel.html

January 11, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, safety