Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority (Photo by Makoto Kaku)
By HISASHI HATTORI/ Senior Staff Writer
Shunichi Tanaka, NRA chairman, also told The Asahi Shimbun that the three-year timeline presented by the Abe administration is too short for safety screenings to be completed for all 50 nuclear reactors in Japan.
An NRA expert panel began a second session on Dec. 28 of on-site geological surveys at the Oi plant to decide whether a fault line cutting across its premises is active. Two reactors at the Oi plant are the only ones currently up and running in Japan.
Tanaka said he would use nonbinding “administrative discretion” measures to instruct Kansai Electric Power Co., operator of the Oi plant, to halt operations if the fault running beneath key equipment is found to be active.
The government’s safety standards stipulate that no key component of a nuclear plant should be installed directly above an active fault.
The law on the regulation of nuclear reactors allows the issuance of a shutdown order in case of imminent danger.
Related articles
- Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority Experts Conducting 2nd Field Survey at Ooi Nuke Plant (familysurvivalprotocol.com)
- Fault under reactor at Tsuruga likely active (japantimes.co.jp)
- Japan Utilities Plunge After Fault Found Under Nuclear Plant (bloomberg.com)
- Tsuruga nuclear power plant may not reopen due to active fault (japandailypress.com)
- Japan’s Tsuruga Reactor Located On Active Fault Line, May Be Forced To Shut Down Permanently: NRA Expert Panel Report (ibtimes.com)
- Japanese nuclear plant ‘sitting on active fault line’ (telegraph.co.uk)
- Mitsuhisa Watanabe says the earth’s plates could move under the Oi nuclear plant in western Japan, causing a catastrophe to rival last year’s atomic disaster at Fukushima (familysurvivalprotocol.com)
- Geologists: Japanese nuclear plant may be on top of active seismic fault (rawstory.com)
Reblogged this on bearspawprint and commented:
As most rivers follow fault lines, I wish that we (USA) would shut down and dismantle all reactors on fault lines. That might possibly include all of them. Especially if a few km in any direction from faults is included, as well as tectonic boundaries, which are massive . All faults are potentially active. It would be good to include those in risk of tsunami and flood, as well. Down river from any dam is risk of flood. Dams create seismic activity by redistributing massive volumes of water (weight). Seismic activity comdpromises the dam’s integrity. Small reservours are better than big ones, and all are hazards. Sigh, but I am preaching to the chior.—–Granny
Common sense would dictate that it would be a requirement to assess the danger of fault lines when these monstrosites to nature are built. Unfortunately,as the saying goes…..”common sense is not so common”.