Court ruling doubts the credibility of nuclear safetysassessments by Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority
Ruling calls for review of NRA’s nuclear reactor safety screening, http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13991979, A court ruling cast serious doubt over the credibility of safety assessments by the Nuclear Regulation Authority with regard to the operations of nuclear reactors.
The ruling called into question the safety of reactors restarted with NRA approval after being shut down in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
It also underscored an urgent need for a sweeping review of the nuclear regulation system as a whole.
The Osaka District Court on Dec. 3 struck down the NRA’s endorsement of safety measures for the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture.
It invalidated the green light the nuclear safety watchdog gave in 2017 to Kansai Electric Power Co.’s plan to restart the two reactors.
The court said the NRA’s safety assessment was not fully in accordance with new tougher nuclear safety standards introduced after the catastrophic accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and screening guidelines based on those standards.
The ruling labeled the NRA’s decision as “unreasonable,” asserting there were “errors and deficiencies that cannot be overlooked” in the process of examining and approving anti-earthquake measures the electric utility adopted for the reactors.
In designing measures to protect a reactor against major earthquakes, the operator estimates the maximum possible ground motion generated by an earthquake around the reactor, called “reference ground motion.” It develops steps to ensure the safety of the reactor based on this estimate and requests for NRA approval for restarting the reactor.
The NRA examines the plan and determines whether the estimate is appropriate and the proposed safety measures are sufficient. It grants approval and authorization if it decides the plan meets the new safety standards.
Kansai Electric Power determined the reference ground motion by calculating the magnitude of the maximum credible earthquake based on its own assumptions concerning the length and width of faults around the reactors.
But residents of Fukui and six other prefectures filed a lawsuit to question the utility’s estimate of the reference ground motion. They argued that the utility’s estimate only represents an “average” for the spectrum of possible quakes, meaning that the safety measures are not based on the maximum strength of a possible earthquake in the area.
They cited a newly included provision in the NRA’s screening guidelines that says consideration should be given for the “variability” that arises due to the calculation methods used.
The plaintiffs claimed the NRA’s approval of the anti-quake measures was illegal because it was based on the utility’s questionable reference ground motion figure.
The government countered this argument by saying the utility’s calculation has a sufficient margin of error that makes it unnecessary to consider variability. But the court sided with the plaintiffs.
The ruling puts weight on the reasons for the NRA’s own decision to introduce the “variability” provision into the guidelines and demands that the screening process strictly follow strictly the established procedures.
The NRA should respond to the ruling by first reviewing the process of the safety screening of the two reactors at the Oi plant. It is possible that the screening of other reactors was similarly flawed. The ruling is likely to arouse anxiety among residents living in the vicinity of reactors that have been brought back online. The NRA should make a sincere and convincing response to the court decision.
The No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Oi plant are currently offline for regular maintenance. Debate is unnecessary in stating that the utility must not rush to restart the reactors.
Even without the triple meltdown at the Fukushima plant, it is amply obvious that this nation could be hit by unexpectedly severe natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunami and volcanic eruptions, at any time.
That makes it all the more important to establish nuclear power standards based on the principle of erring on the side of safety and ensure that safety screening and regulation are strictly based on the standards.
The government, which seems to be bent on restarting reactors, should take this imperative to heart.
Hokkaido’s ski areas could lose popularity, due to plans to house nuclear wastes
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The towns of Suttsu and Kamoenai have both applied for preliminary feasibility surveys to be considered for a site that will store waste from the nation’s nuclear power plants. The cash-starved towns struggling with declining populations are poised to each pocket 2 billion yen ($19 million) promised by the government for taking part in the studies alone. Although whole selection process takes 20 years, the applications have touched off an outpouring of opposition from locals as well as from across the country, including from Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki, who assailed the central government for “slapping the face with money.” The concern is especially palpable in the resort towns of Niseko and Kutchan, which are part of the Niseko resort area. “To outsiders, it might as well be Niseko that is undergoing a survey,” said Shinichi Maeda, an owner of a restaurant in Kutchan. “It’s possible that foreign investors who had previously valued Niseko will pull out one by one.” Suttsu is located about 40 km west of the town of Niseko, which will see no economic benefit from the study but will surely be hit by the anxiety the plan will generate………… the possibility of hosting a nuclear waste site, however remote, is enough to rail up opposition. The owner of a tourism business in Kutchan believes in local production and consumption, and uses seafood from Shiribeshi. But that may have to change. “Foreign customers are sensitive,” said the owner. “If the nuclear waste issue gains prominence, it’ll become hard to use” locally made seafood. In Japan, there is still no final repository for nuclear waste — it is stored in interim locations. After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster raised public awareness, countries across the globe have struggled to find permanent places to store the waste. When Kamoenai announced it would apply for an initial survey in October, The Associated Press reported the story with the headline “2 remote Japan towns seek to host nuclear waste storage site.” The article was carried by news outlets all over the world. Last month, five citizens groups presented the Hokkaido governor with a petition signed by 450,000 people opposing the feasibility survey for the two towns. The signatures were collected nationwide. The preliminary studies underway in the two towns are becoming an issue that could undermine tourism throughout Hokkaido……….. |
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Court retracts NRA approval of safety measures at nuclear plan
Court retracts NRA approval of safety measures at nuclear plant, Asahi Shimbun, By TAKASHI ENDO/ Staff Writer, December 4, 2020 OSAKA--A district court struck down central government approval of safety measures at the Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, effectively rejecting tougher safety screening guidelines used by the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
The Osaka District Court on Dec. 4 sided with plaintiffs who argued that the safety guidelines underestimated the maximum possible movement generated by an earthquake around the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the plant, operated by Kansai Electric Power Co.
However, the lawsuit filed by about 130 residents who live in Fukui and six neighboring prefectures did not seek a temporary injunction, so the two reactors can continue operating until the ruling is finalized.
The tougher safety standards were adopted after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami caused the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in 2011.
The lawsuit revolved around whether the basic earthquake ground motion figure used by Kansai Electric in its safety measures was appropriate.
Electric power companies that operate nuclear plants set their own basic earthquake ground motion figures. The NRA uses its screening guidelines to determine if the calculated figures are appropriate……..
The plaintiffs argued that this calculation method only produces an “average” for the quake scale, meaning that the safety measures are not based on the maximum strength of a possible earthquake in the area. …….
The court, however, accepted the plaintiffs’ case and ordered a retraction of the approval of the Oi plant’s safety measures.
The ruling was the fourth victory for resident plaintiffs seeking a temporary injunction or retraction of government approval. http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13989665
Japanese local governments depend on “nuclear money”
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Japanese town’s approval of nuclear reactor restart reflects subsidy dependence , https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20201129/p2a/00m/0na/001000c 29 Nov 20, TOKYO — Japanese local governments’ dependence on “nuclear plant money” distributed by the national government was starkly highlighted recently when one town granted their approval for a reactor restart at one power plant badly damaged in the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
TOKYO — Japanese local governments’ dependence on “nuclear plant money” distributed by the national government was starkly highlighted recently when one town granted their approval for a reactor restart at one power plant badly damaged in the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
However, the Japanese government has taken measures such as changing both the subsidies’ name and their governing mechanisms after the 2011 disaster, so that local governments can still get the money even when the power plant in their jurisdiction has been off-line for long periods. At least some 115 billion yen (around $1.11 billion) has been distributed as subsides and aid from the national government to local hosts of nuclear power plants this fiscal year alone. According to the town of Onagawa, it received about 530 million yen (approximately $5.1 million) in subsidies based on the Three Power Source Development Laws in fiscal 2010, the year before the Great East Japan Earthquake. That has increased following the disaster, with subsidies reaching over 1.4 billion yen (roughly $13.5 million) in fiscal 2017 and 2018. This included payments totaling 1.08 billion yen (roughly $10.4 million) connected to two reactors at the plant in service for more than 30 years.
Onagawa’s total fiscal 2019 spending stood at 34 billion yen (roughly $327.4 million). If the fixed property taxes paid for the nuclear power plant (about 2.7 billion yen, or roughly $26 million) are added to the subsidies stemming from the Three Power Source Development Laws, money derived from the nuclear plant accounts for over 10% of the town’s annual revenue. “We are being greatly helped in terms of finance,” a municipal government official commented. Of the monies based on the Three Power Source Development Laws, Onagawa reaped about 350 million yen (about $3.37 million) more than previously in one subsidy for enhancing the area around the plants — a category designed to gain cooperation from communities hosting the plants. In fiscal 2019, the subsidies were put toward the salaries of seven local social welfare council employees (about 28 million yen, or roughly $270,000), updating a hospital’s electronic medical record system (about 77 million yen, or some $742,000), and renovating a gymnasium, tennis court and baseball field (about 240 million yen, or roughly $2.31 million), among other purposes. Such subsidies can be used for various purposes under the name of enhancing public services. According to municipal project guidelines, although there were many cases where local tax revenue accounted for around 10-20% of expenses, renovation costs for the athletic facilities were covered entirely by the subsidies. Onagawa’s situation is hardly unique. Local governments hosting nuclear power plants generally rely heavily on the large subsidies. National government policies contribute greatly to the increasing subsidies handed out even as nuclear power stations remain shuttered. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reviewed regulations following the nuclear disaster such that the plants would be deemed as “in operation” to a certain extent even while their reactors were off-line. Takeo Kikkawa, professor at International University of Japan, suggested that the national government “may have been distributing generous subsidies even when the plants were suspended to make it easier for local governments to approve reactor restarts.” According to the Onagawa government, reforms that allowed local bodies to receive more funding based on the years a power station has been in service was also one of the factors behind the town’s increased subsidy take. Central government figures have raised concerns over this particular change to the subsidy system, including that the economy minsitry is doing it “for its own convenience.” Furthermore, public relations and research-related subsidies received by Onagawa to cover nuclear power plant tours, information circulars and other costs, among other purposes, recovered to the same level as before the 2011 disaster (around 10 million yen annually, or roughly $96,300) since fiscal 2015. A senior official at a major electric power company commented, “Thorough PR activities are indispensable for getting reactors restarted.” It was revealed in the town’s project assessment report that a large majority of the contracts to enhance public services and conduct PR-related activities were negotiated without any competition. Once the No. 2 unit at the Onagawa nuclear station is back on-line, the town is also set to receive subsidies from the nuclear fuel tax, collected from the power company based on the nuclear plant’s performance. The community also reaps further benefits when employees of power companies, including subcontractors, frequent local eateries and other businesses during regular inspections. Hideaki Tanaka, a tax law professor at Meiji University, commented, “This nuclear plant money is an extreme example of the government’s subsidy and aid regime.” And so the town of Onagawa’s approval of the restart at their local nuclear plant could be considered inevitable, so dependent on nuclear money have host municipalities become. (Japanese original by Yuki Takahashi, Business News Department)
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Fukushima nuclear reactor no.1 – debris prevented from falling into fuel storage pool
Tokyo Electric Power Company on Thursday released footage showing precautions it had taken to keep a broken crane from falling into the pool.
The crane, weighing 161 tons, has been hanging over the pool since a hydrogen explosion hit the building in March 2011. The pool is still holding nuclear fuel.
The video shows a platform being moved on rails to a spot directly under the broken part of the crane. A bag on the platform is then filled with mortar and fixed to the crane to hold it in place.
The entire process was done remotely due to high levels of radiation in the reactor building.
TEPCO plans to install a cover over the whole building before starting the removal of fuel from the pool as early as fiscal 2027.
Survey finds that most Fukushima evacuees do not intend to return
65% of Fukushima evacuees have no intention of returning home: survey https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/11/675982b84707-65-of-fukushima-evacuees-have-no-intention-of-returning-home-survey.html
KYODO NEWS Osaka, Sixty-five percent of the people who evacuated from Fukushima Prefecture after the March 2011 nuclear disaster have no intention of returning, according to a recent survey conducted by a Japanese university.
While the survey, conducted by a research facility at Kwansei Gakuin University, only received responses from 522 of 4,876 people to whom questionnaires were sent, it provided a rare insight into how former residents see the reconstruction of their former home.
The government of the northeastern prefecture has not carried out such surveys in recent years. There were over 36,900 evacuees within and outside the prefecture as of October, according to the prefectural government.
Among the 522 respondents who resided in the prefecture at the time of the nuclear meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant triggered by the massive quake and ensuing tsunamis, 341 people said they do not intend to return.
According to the survey conducted between July and September, 138 people said they plan to go back and 43 people did not answer or offer a valid response.
In response to a multiple-choice question asking why they have not returned to their homes, 46.1 percent said they still fear contamination of the environment, followed by 44.8 percent who said they have settled down in places they currently live.
Destructive potential of over a million tons of radioactive water into the Pacific
Almost Unnoticed Nuclear Pandemic Is Spreading in Japan, https://indepthnews.net/index.php/the-world/asia-pacific/3967-almost-unnoticed-nuclear-pandemic-is-spreading-in-japanBy Manlio Dinucci, MONTREAL (IDN) 4 Nov 20, – It was not Covid-19, therefore the news went almost unnoticed: Japan will release over a million tons of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. The catastrophic incident in Fukushima was triggered by the Tsunami that struck the north-eastern coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, submerging the power plant and causing the core of three nuclear reactors to melt.The power plant was built on the coast just 4 meters above sea level with five-meter-high breakwater dams, in a tsunami-prone area with waves 10-15 meters high. Furthermore, there had been serious failures by the private company TEPCO (the Tokyo Electric Power Company) managing the plant, in the control of the nuclear plant: the safety devices did not come into operation at the time of the Tsunami.
Water has been pumped through the reactors for years to cool the molten fuel. The water became radioactive and was stored inside the plant in over a thousand large tanks, accumulating 1.23 million tons of radioactive water. TEPCO is building other tanks, but they will also be full by mid-2022.
TEPCO must continue pumping water into the melted reactors and has decided to discharge, in agreement with the government, the water accumulated so far into the sea after filtering it to make it less radioactive (however, to what extent it is not known) with a process which will last 30 years. There is also radioactive sludge accumulated in the decontamination filters of the plant, stored in thousands of containers, and huge quantities of soil and other radioactive materials.
As TEPCO admitted, the melting in reactor 3 is particularly serious because the reactor was loaded with Mox, a much more unstable and radioactive mix of uranium oxides and plutonium.
The Mox for this reactor and other Japanese ones was produced in France, using nuclear waste sent from Japan. Greenpeace has denounced the danger deriving from the transport of this plutonium fuel for ten thousand kilometres.
Greenpeace also denounced that Mox favours the proliferation of nuclear weapons, since plutonium can be extracted more easily and, in the cycle of uranium exploitation, there is no clear dividing line between civilian and military use of fissile material.
Up to now, around 240 tons of plutonium for direct military use and 2,400 tons for civil use (nuclear weapons can however be produced with them), were accumulated in the world (according to 2015 estimates), plus about 1,400 tons of highly enriched uranium for military use. A few hundred kilograms of plutonium would be enough to cause lung cancer to 7.7 billion inhabitants of the planet, and plutonium remains lethal for a period corresponding to almost ten-thousand human generations.
A destructive potential has thus accumulated, for the first time in history, capable of making the human species disappear from the face of Earth. The nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; the more than 2,000 experimental nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, at sea and underground; the manufacture of nuclear warheads with a power equivalent to over one million Hiroshima bombs; the numerous accidents involving nuclear weapons and those involving civilian and military nuclear plants, all this has caused radioactive contamination that has affected hundreds of millions of people.
A portion of approximately 10 million annual cancer deaths worldwide – documented by WHO – is attributable to the long-term effects of radiation. In ten months, again according to the World Health Organization data, Covid-19 caused about 1.2 million deaths worldwide.
This danger should not be underestimated, but it does not justify the fact that mass media, especially television, did not inform that over one million tons of radioactive water will be discharged into the sea from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, with the result that it will further increase cancer deaths upon entering in the food chain.
Resident against Japanese nuclear reactor OK’d for restart says safe evacuation impossible
Former fisherman Yukitoshi Watanabe maintains that resuming operation of Tohoku Electric Power Co.’s Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant would be dangerous. In the Yoriisohama district of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, as seen in this photo taken on Oct. 21, 2020, many signs protesting nuclear power have been set up by groups comprising youth in the community.
November 12, 2020
ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi — While the governor of Miyagi Prefecture, where the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant is located, gave “local consent” on Nov. 11 to the restart of a reactor at the plant, those who live in the area remain anxious as local municipalities’ evacuation plans in the case of a major incident are said to be insufficient by residents and local assemblies alike.
The go-ahead to resume the operation of a reactor at Tohoku Electric Power Co.’s Onagawa nuclear power station came after Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai attended a meeting with the mayors of the Miyagi prefectural town of Onagawa and city of Ishinomaki, which the plant straddles.
About 1 kilometer away from the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant is Ishinomaki’s Yoriisohama district, where residences surround a fishing harbor. Three aging signs that are set up alongside the one road that links the district to the outside world declare objections to nuclear power. They were put up by an organization of youth and others in the district.
Yukitoshi Watanabe, 80, is a former local fisherman who participated in an anti-nuclear demonstration by boat more than 40 years ago when the community wavered between hosting a nuclear power plant or not.
“Despite the incident at Daiichi Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, in 10 years we’re back to where we were. The evacuation plan is absolutely unrealistic, and escaping safely is impossible,” Watanabe said angrily.
In August of this year, the Miyagi Prefectural Government invited officials from the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), the Cabinet Office, and Tohoku Electric Power Co., and held sessions for residents to inform them of safety measures and evacuation plans that would be put into place. During the question-and-answer session, Watanabe raised his hand and asked, “Are you able to keep your head held high and tell your children and grandchildren (about restarting a nuclear reactor)?”
Including his great-grandchild, who is about to turn a year old, Watanabe lives in a family of 10 people spanning four generations. Living in the Yoriisohama district, which sticks out further east into the Pacific Ocean than the nuclear power plant, there’s no way to evacuate on land except by heading in the direction of the plant. It is unclear whether the national or prefectural government will build and maintain a highly safe evacuation route, and Watanabe says, “(An evacuation) route should be a prerequisite for deciding whether to restart the nuclear plant, and it shouldn’t have to be the local community’s responsibility to build one.”
Watanabe is considering a possible evacuation by boat, if such a measure is needed. He knows the dangers of the ocean, but he is more scared of his children and grandchildren being exposed to radiation.
“If something happens, we will have to leave this land, where our family has lived for generations, and fishing, and our home, throwing our hands up in despair. We must not leave any fears or anxieties to the future.”
(Japanese original by Nobuyuki Hyakutake, Ishinomaki Local Bureau)
Taiwanese protest plan to dump water from Japan nuclear plant into sea
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Taiwanese protest plan to dump water from Japan nuclear plant into sea,Focus Taiwan 11/19/2020 Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) A group of Taiwanese staged a protest in Taipei on Thursday against a plan by the Japanese government to release more than a million tonnes of water into the ocean from the disabled Fukushima nuclear power plant, starting in 2022.
At the rally in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), some 20 supporters of the “Nuclear Go Zero” movement called on the ministry to push back, via diplomatic channels, against the Japanese government’s controversial plan. Tsai Ya-ying (蔡雅瀅), a lawyer affiliated with the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association in Taiwan, said at the rally that releasing “contaminated” water from the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power would pose a risk to humans who might eat the many marine species that migrate in the warm current between Taiwan and Japan. Another protester, Tsai Chung-yueh (蔡中岳), deputy CEO of the environmental organization Citizen of the Earth, said contamination of the marine ecology could last for 30-40 years, if the water is dumped into the ocean……. At a regular press briefing Thursday, MOFA spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) said the Japanese government has not yet made a final decision on the issue, and MOFA will seek clarification. She said the protesters have submitted a letter that has been passed on to the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association, which will relay their concerns to the Japanese government via Taiwan’s representative office in Tokyo. “MOFA is also concerned about the issue, as the maritime environment, ecological conservation, and health of our citizens may be at risk,” Ou said. (By Chang Hsiung-feng and Emerson Lim) Enditem/pc https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202011190015 |
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Surveys to identify nuclear waste disposal site begin in Hokkaido
The town of Toyo in Kochi Prefecture had previously applied for a literature survey in 2007, but later canceled the application before the survey began.
The literature survey, which checks geological literature and data, is the first of three stages of examination in the selection process. Suttsu and Kamoenai will each receive up to ¥2 billion in state subsidies in exchange for underdoing the first-stage survey……..
First-stage surveys began Tuesday in two municipalities in Hokkaido to see whether their locations are suited to hosting a final disposal facility for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants in the nation.
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan, or NUMO, started the so-called literature surveys in the town of Suttsu and the village of Kamoenai in the northernmost main island, marking the first time such surveys have ever been conducted in the country. On the day, the industry ministry gave the necessary approval for the surveys to be conducted.
The town of Toyo in Kochi Prefecture had previously applied for a literature survey in 2007, but later canceled the application before the survey began.
The literature survey, which checks geological literature and data, is the first of three stages of examination in the selection process. Suttsu and Kamoenai will each receive up to ¥2 billion in state subsidies in exchange for underdoing the first-stage survey……
In response to the start of the first-stage survey, Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki released a statement saying that he was “opposed at the moment” to the second-stage survey, reiterating his intention not to give his approval. …….https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/11/18/national/hokkaido-nuclear-waste-surveys/
No. 2 reactor at Tohoku Electric Power Co’s Onagawa nuclear power plant for restart, despite problems
As nuclear worries linger, Tohoku plant heads for landmark restart, BY ERIC JOHN, 18, Nov, 20 OSAKA – On Nov. 11, Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai gave the green light to restarting the No. 2 reactor at Tohoku Electric Power Co’s Onagawa nuclear power plant. While the reactor is not expected to begin generating power until construction to improve the plant’s safety is completed, the governor’s approval paves the way for the first reactor damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake to resume operation.
The restart, the first in northeastern Japan, comes amidst controversial restarts in the country’s west following the quake and at a time when the energy source’s future economic and political feasibility is being debated after the government announced a target of Japan being carbon neutral by 2050.
What is the Onagawa nuclear plant and what happened to it after the earthquake and tsunami?
The Onagawa nuclear power plant sits on a peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture about 130 kilometers from the epicenter of the March 11, 2011 quake and tsunami. It has three reactors, one of which is being decommissioned.
………..The government’s current long-term energy strategy calls for nuclear power to provide between 20% and 22% of the nation’s electric power supply by fiscal 2030. The Agency for Natural Resources has said to meet that goal, the restart of 30 reactors is necessary.
There are a number of issues that could make that goal difficult. These include the cost of meeting the new NRA safety standards that went into place after 3/11 and the time needed to upgrade facilities. For the operator, those costs raise questions of whether it is worth investing and whether nuclear power-generated electricity will remain competitive with renewable energy in the coming years.
Other issues could also drive up the costs of restarting more reactors, beginning with subsidies to local governments. With no financial incentive, village heads, city mayors and prefectural governors could delay or refuse permission to restart. Even if permission is granted, operators may face lawsuits from residents opposed to restarts, a process that could delay or even halt the process if a judge rules in their favor, which would mean further costs for the operator.
The government’s current long-term energy strategy calls for nuclear power to provide between 20% and 22% of the nation’s electric power supply by fiscal 2030. The Agency for Natural Resources has said to meet that goal, the restart of 30 reactors is necessary.
There are a number of issues that could make that goal difficult. These include the cost of meeting the new NRA safety standards that went into place after 3/11 and the time needed to upgrade facilities. For the operator, those costs raise questions of whether it is worth investing and whether nuclear power-generated electricity will remain competitive with renewable energy in the coming years.
Other issues could also drive up the costs of restarting more reactors, beginning with subsidies to local governments. With no financial incentive, village heads, city mayors and prefectural governors could delay or refuse permission to restart. Even if permission is granted, operators may face lawsuits from residents opposed to restarts, a process that could delay or even halt the process if a judge rules in their favor, which would mean further costs for the operator.
Nuclear disaster: Fukushima schools frozen in time
Nuclear disaster: Fukushima schools frozen in time https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/1365/
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Sakurayama Kyoko, NHK World Correspondent 16 Nov 20, At an elementary school in Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture, children’s bags and notebooks still lie scattered where they were left after the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011. The evacuation order for part of the town was lifted in March this year, but no one has returned to live there.
Nishizaki Ryusuke, 21 and a former student at the Futaba Minami Elementary School, visited it last month for the first time since the accident. It is located just three kilometers from the nuclear plant. The sight of everything frozen in time brought back vivid memories. Ties severedNishizaki, then a fifth-grader, was in his homeroom when the earthquake that precipitated the crisis struck. He fled with only the clothes he was wearing. Since that day, he has been living as an evacuee, moving with his family from one place to another within Fukushima Prefecture and in neighboring Niigata. His ties with his home and neighbors have been severed. “ I had no doubt that I would spend my life in the town,” says Nishizaki. “But the earthquake and the nuclear accident changed everything all of a sudden.” Ties severedNishizaki, then a fifth-grader, was in his homeroom when the earthquake that precipitated the crisis struck. He fled with only the clothes he was wearing. Since that day, he has been living as an evacuee, moving with his family from one place to another within Fukushima Prefecture and in neighboring Niigata. His ties with his home and neighbors have been severed. “ I had no doubt that I would spend my life in the town,” says Nishizaki. “But the earthquake and the nuclear accident changed everything all of a sudden.” The town projected that renovating them would cost 900 million yen, or about 8.6 million dollars, per school. In addition, it would require an estimated 10 million yen, or about 95,000 dollars, a year in maintenance costs. Yoshida Katsunori, an official at Namie’s education board, says: “It’s extremely important to pursue the ideal of preserving school buildings. But, financially speaking, it might not be realistic.” Fukaya Naohiro, a Visiting Associate Professor at the Fukushima Future Center For Regional Revitalization, says all efforts should be made to preserve buildings that can serve as reminders of the accident and help us prepare for future disasters. “When it came to preserving the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, it wasn’t just local residents, but people across Japan, who took part in the debate,” says Fukaya. “Each and every one of us should think about what to do with the Fukushima buildings.” Concrete remindersNishizaki says that there are some things that people can understand only when they visit the site and see it for themselves: “We want people to know that children who had been at the schools at the time of the accident couldn’t go back for nine and a half years.” At the time of writing, just one building in Fukushima Prefecture has been listed to be preserved as a memorial for future generations. |
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Cabinet minister rules out new nuclear reactors for 10 years
Industry minister Hiroshi Kajiyama during an interview with The Asahi Shimbun on Nov. 10
November 12, 2020
Industry minister Hiroshi Kajiyama is signaling that the government will not allow for the construction of new nuclear reactors to replace aging ones or to be installed additionally at nuclear plants for the next decade.
His position suggests the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which oversees the nuclear industry, is unlikely to discuss the option of building new reactors in the new Basic Energy Plan it has been developing.
The plan has been revised twice since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Heeding a national sentiment exceedingly anxious of nuclear energy, the government has passed up discussing building new reactors in past revisions of the plan.
In an interview with The Asahi Shimbun on Nov. 10, Kajiyama acknowledged it is still premature to discuss the issue now.
“Public faith has yet to be restored,” he said of public sentiment toward nuclear energy after the triple meltdown at the Fukushima plant. “How can we proceed (without it) in constructing new reactors to replace aging ones or to make additions? We are simply not at the stage where we can talk about the next move.”
Kajiyama said the government’s priority over the next 10 years will be regaining public faith in the nuclear industry, rather than pushing for the construction of new reactors.
But he defended nuclear energy as a “necessary energy” source that the country will still need to rely on.
He said the nation’s 36 nuclear reactors, including three that were under construction before the Fukushima accident occurred, “should be fully utilized.”
The minister said the number of nuclear reactors that will be reactivated over the coming decade will be a point that the government will take into account as an indication of the public’s acceptance of nuclear energy when it comes to mulling over constructing new reactors.
“It is also related to the government’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality in 2050,” he said.
His comments suggest the government may begin considering constructing new reactors if more local governments approve restarting nuclear plants that were idled after the Fukushima accident.
Currently, only one reactor at the Genkai nuclear plant in Saga Prefecture is operating in Japan after a reactor at the Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture was shut down for maintenance earlier this month.
Kajiyama underlined the need to develop small modular reactors, which are smaller than conventional reactors.
He said engaging in a modular reactor project would be meaningful when it comes to maintaining the nation’s technology for safeguarding nuclear power and nurturing scientists in the field–not to mention the potential for spinoffs.
“It could lead to the development of new materials and other technologies,” he said.
Last month, Prime Minster Yoshihide Suga laid out Japan’s plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
That may prompt a possible review of Japan’s current energy target for fiscal 2030, with nuclear power and renewables accounting for 20-22 percent and 22-24 percent of total power generation, respectively.
But Kajiyama said whether the 2030 target will be revised is up in the air, as more consultation with energy experts is needed.
The industry minister also doused hopes for the early introduction of carbon taxes and the emission trading system, both of which are initiatives aimed at spurring businesses to cut their carbon dioxide emissions.
“They may eventually be introduced but doing so in the early stages will prove extremely costly,” he said.
(This story was written by Hiroki Ito and Rintaro Sakurai.)
Miyagi’s Onagawa NPP reactor’s final approval to restart
Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai (center) hold talks Wednesday in the city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, with Yoshiaki Suda (left), mayor of the town of Onagawa in the prefecture and Hiroshi Kameyama, mayor of Ishinomaki
Tsunami-hit Onagawa reactor in northeast Japan gets final approval to restart
November 12, 2020
Sendai – A nuclear reactor in Miyagi Prefecture damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami disaster in 2011 has cleared the last hurdle to resume operations, getting the green light Wednesday from local officials.
The No. 2 unit of Tohoku Electric Power Co.’s Onagawa plant is the first of the reactors damaged in the disaster to win final approval with local consent to restart.
Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai and the mayors of Onagawa and Ishinomaki, the two municipalities that host the unit, gave their consent at a meeting after the plant cleared national safety screening in February.
“There is an excellent, stable supply of electricity in a nuclear plant, and the plant can also contribute to the local economy,” Murai said during a news conference after the meeting in Ishinomaki.
A Tohoku Electric official said the utility will “continue to do its best to ensure safety” in plant operations.
Tohoku Electric says it plans to restart the No. 2 reactor in fiscal 2022 at the earliest after work on safety and disaster prevention measures is completed, such as the construction of an 800-meter-long seawall at the plant.
The Onagawa plant is the closest nuclear plant to the epicenter of the magnitude-9.0 earthquake that struck nine years ago.
The central government has been pushing for the reactor to be reactivated so as to ensure a stable power supply, with trade minister Hiroshi Kajiyama seeking Murai’s consent in March.
In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said during a news conference that gaining local consent marks an “important” step.
The municipal assemblies for Onagawa and Ishinomaki had already given their consent, as had the prefectural assembly. On Monday, the leaders of most of Miyagi’s 35 municipalities agreed at a meeting to support the decisions of Onagawa and Ishinomaki.
Part of the reason for local approval is the money generated by hosting the reactor, with Onagawa having received from the central government around ¥27 billion ($256 million) in grants in the past, as well as hefty property taxes from Tohoku Electric.
Masanori Takahashi, chairman of the town’s chamber of commerce lobbying local leaders to support the restart, said, “We are getting closer to the end of disaster-linked infrastructure development projects,” adding it is now “absolutely necessary to restart the reactor to get the town’s economy going.”
Some local residents, however, believe the approval was rushed, saying concerns linger over whether evacuation plans can actually be implemented in the event of a nuclear accident.
The 825,000-kilowatt boiling water reactor won approval to restart from the Nuclear Regulation Authority earlier this year, becoming the second disaster-damaged reactor to pass stricter safety standards put in place after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
A massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering one of the worst nuclear disasters since the 1986 Chernobyl accident in Fukushima Prefecture, which is adjacent to Miyagi.
At one point, the disaster caused all of Japan’s 54 reactors to be brought to a halt. So far, nine units at five plants in the country have restarted following regulatory and local approval.
At the Onagawa complex, all three reactors — the same boiling water reactors as were used at the Fukushima No. 1 plant run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. — shut down but the underground floors of the No. 2 unit were flooded, after the facility was hit by a tsunami of up to 13 meters.
In Onagawa, more than 800 people were listed as killed or missing.
As the plant’s emergency cooling system functioned normally, there was no meltdown of the type that occurred at three of the six reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
The utility has decided to decommission the reactor’s No. 1 unit, and is considering whether to request a review by the authority to restart the No. 3 unit.
Other boiling water reactors at sites including the Tokai No. 2 plant of Japan Atomic Power Co. in Ibaraki Prefecture have also won the regulator’s approval to resume operations, but have yet to obtain local consent.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/11/12/national/onagawa-reactor-restart/
From left: Yoshiaki Suda, mayor of Onagawa, Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai and Hiroshi Kameyama, mayor of Ishinomaki, hold a news conference in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on Nov. 11.
Approval given for 1st restart of nuclear plant damaged in 3/11
November 12, 2020
SENDAI, Miyagi Prefecture–Citing expected economic benefits, local governments approved the first restart of a nuclear power plant damaged in the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai on Nov. 11 said the decision on resuming operations of the No. 2 reactor at the Onagawa nuclear plant was “not an easy one.”
Required safety measures must still be completed at the plant, and questions remain about the evacuation route that will be used in the event of a disaster at the plant, which straddles the municipalities of Onagawa and Ishinomaki on the Pacific coast.
However, residents near the nuclear plant have requested a resumption of nuclear power operations to revive their depleted communities.
“We can expect many jobs to be created if the nuclear plant resumes operations,” Murai said. “Municipalities hosting the plant will also have increased tax revenues through the restart of the plant in terms of fixed property tax and nuclear fuel tax.”
His announcement followed a meeting with the mayors of Onagawa and Ishinomaki earlier in the day, in which the governor confirmed their approval of the planned restart.
Tohoku Electric Power Co., operator of the Onagawa plant, needed the consent from the host communities as well as Miyagi Prefecture although it is not a legal mandate.
The utility expects the reactor, with an output capacity of 825 megawatts, to be brought online as early as in 2023, when it plans to complete an array of projects designed to strengthen the safety of the plant.
“A critical decision was made as we are aiming at a restart,” the utility said in a statement about Murai’s announcement. “We are determined to strive in full force to enhance safety features of the facility.”
If restarted, the No. 2 unit will be the first boiling water reactor in Japan brought online since the 2011 nuclear disaster. The reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, which suffered a triple meltdown after being swamped by the tsunami, are also boiling water types.
All reactors in Japan were shut down after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Since then, nine reactors at five nuclear plants have resumed operations. They were all pressurized water reactors located in western Japan.
When the 13.0-meter tsunami hit the Onagawa plant after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the No. 2 reactor building was just high enough to escape the water.
Still, part of the equipment to cool the reactor failed, and more than 1,000 cracks were discovered in the reactor building.
The Onagawa plant has two other reactors. Tohoku Electric decided to retire the No. 1 reactor, but it is preparing to apply for a restart of the No. 3 reactor.
The utility compiled a set of safeguards for resuming operations of the No. 2 reactor, including construction of a 29-meter-high sea wall as protection against tsunami.
In February, the Nuclear Regulation Authority, the government nuclear watchdog, certified the No. 2 reactor as meeting the more stringent reactor regulations put in place after the Fukushima disaster.
The following month, industry minister Hiroshi Kajiyama urged Murai to agree to the restart of the Onagawa plant.
Japan had 54 nuclear reactors before the disaster struck in the Tohoku region.
Since the Fukushima accident, the number has fallen to 33, as other reactors were retired.
The central government needs to bring around 30 reactors online to achieve its target of nuclear energy representing 20 to 22 percent of the nation’s overall energy output in fiscal 2030.
The government hopes the restart of the Onagawa nuclear plant will prompt other municipalities that host boiling water reactors to accept a resumption of their operations.
(This story was written by Shinya Tokushima and Susumu Okamoto.)
Japan now has 16 reactors that meet requirements
November 11, 2020
Japan now has 16 reactors at nine nuclear power plants that have cleared government requirements adopted after the 2011 Fukushima accident.
The No.2 reactor at Tohoku Electric Power Company’s Onagawa plant in Miyagi Prefecture, and the reactor at Japan Atomic Power Company’s Tokai No.2 plant in Ibaraki Prefecture were affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Tokai No.2 has yet to win local consent to restart.
Tohoku Electric’s Higashidori plant in Aomori Prefecture, also a part of the Fukushima disaster zone, is undergoing screening by the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
Reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear plants are set to be scrapped.
Reactors that have already been put back online are: the No.1 and No.2 units at the Sendai plant in Kagoshima Prefecture; the No.3 and No.4 units at the Genkai plant in Saga Prefecture; the No.3 and No.4 units at the Takahama plant in Fukui Prefecture; the No.3 and No.4 units at the Ohi plant, also in Fukui Prefecture; and the No.3 unit at the Ikata plant in Ehime Prefecture.
The Sendai and Genkai plants are operated by Kyushu Electric Power Company, the Takahama and Ohi plants by Kansai Electric Power Company and the Ikata plant by Shikoku Electric Power Company.
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