ID :
171995
Wed, 03/30/2011 - 18:37
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/171995
The shortlink copeid
Gov't orders utilities to prepare for tsunami with more backups
TOKYO, March 30 Kyodo - The industry ministry ordered utility companies Wednesday to act within a month to prepare for a possible loss of power at their nuclear reactors when hit by unexpectedly large tsunami waves, as concerns are growing over the safety of nuclear power plants following the March 11 quake that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi complex.
They are instructed to secure vehicle-mounted power sources, deploy fire trucks that would supply water to the reactors, work out a procedure on how to deal with an emergency situation by using such vehicles, and carry out drills.
The measures are part of efforts to prevent a recurrence of the ongoing nuclear crisis at the plant in northeastern Japan, where the power grid and most of the emergency diesel generators were knocked out by the magnitude-9.0 quake and ensuing tsunami, resulting in the loss of the reactors' key cooling functions.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda said that the emergency measures are the ''first step'' to enhance safety at the country's nuclear reactors after the quake and that the government is also working to compile a set of drastic measures.
Kaieda told a press conference that the direct causes that have worsened the situation at Fukushima Daiichi were the failure to secure emergency power sources, the loss of the reactors' cooling functions and the failure to swiftly supply water to cool spent nuclear fuel pools.
The safety measures are intended to avoid a situation in which nuclear fuel is damaged and radioactive substances are released by ensuring ways to continuously cool reactor cores and spent fuel tanks even in the case external power is lost due to a natural disaster.
Kaieda said that he cannot tell whether the country's worst nuclear crisis could have been prevented by preparing such emergency measures in advance, but added, ''At this moment, I think we should have had at least this many backup facilities.''
Subject to the safety measures are 44 commercial nuclear reactors that are currently in operation, as well as the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor, officials of the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.
The agency will check by the end of April whether the required steps have been implemented, the officials said. The 10 reactors of the quake-hit Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear power plants of Tokyo Electric Power Co. are not counted in the 44.
Before the quake, the 54 commercial nuclear reactors were supplying around 30 percent of the total electricity generated in the country.
Kaieda said that he does not expect the emergency steps to require suspension of currently operating reactors, but noted that plant operators will have to clear the safety standards to restart reactors after their regular checkups.
Kyushu Electric Power Co., which has decided to delay rebooting two nuclear reactors in Saga Prefecture in view of the disaster, said the same day that it will likely be able to clear the just-announced safety standards by the end of April and expressed its intention to restart the operation of the reactors as early as May.
The No. 2 and No. 3 reactors at the Genkai nuclear power plant, which Kyushu Electric had suspended for servicing, were originally expected to resume operations in late March and early April.
Toshio Manabe, president of the regional utility, said that he feels the need to resume the reactors to avoid rolling blackouts in the Kyushu region, as implemented by Tokyo Electric in the face of power shortages.
''We would like to stabilize electricity supply by using all possible means, and what we do first is stably operate our nuclear power plants,'' Manabe said.
But some locals reacted cautiously. Saga Gov. Yasushi Furukawa called on the central government to ''strictly confirm the validity'' of the industry ministry's emergency measures.
Hatsumi Ishimaru, a representative of an antinuclear civic group, criticized that the decision to resume operations so quickly is ''too easy.''
''Investigations into the cause (of the disaster at Fukushima) have not ended,'' Ishimaru said.
As the crisis-hit Fukushima plant emits radioactive materials into the environment, efforts are continuing to restore the reactors' cooling systems.
At many of the six reactors at the plant, buildings are torn apart by hydrogen explosions and fires and three reactor cores are believed to have partially melted.
Kaieda said that he so far does not think there was a problem in the state's reactor safety screening, but said that ''various problems are likely to show up in the process of studying'' the incident.
They are instructed to secure vehicle-mounted power sources, deploy fire trucks that would supply water to the reactors, work out a procedure on how to deal with an emergency situation by using such vehicles, and carry out drills.
The measures are part of efforts to prevent a recurrence of the ongoing nuclear crisis at the plant in northeastern Japan, where the power grid and most of the emergency diesel generators were knocked out by the magnitude-9.0 quake and ensuing tsunami, resulting in the loss of the reactors' key cooling functions.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda said that the emergency measures are the ''first step'' to enhance safety at the country's nuclear reactors after the quake and that the government is also working to compile a set of drastic measures.
Kaieda told a press conference that the direct causes that have worsened the situation at Fukushima Daiichi were the failure to secure emergency power sources, the loss of the reactors' cooling functions and the failure to swiftly supply water to cool spent nuclear fuel pools.
The safety measures are intended to avoid a situation in which nuclear fuel is damaged and radioactive substances are released by ensuring ways to continuously cool reactor cores and spent fuel tanks even in the case external power is lost due to a natural disaster.
Kaieda said that he cannot tell whether the country's worst nuclear crisis could have been prevented by preparing such emergency measures in advance, but added, ''At this moment, I think we should have had at least this many backup facilities.''
Subject to the safety measures are 44 commercial nuclear reactors that are currently in operation, as well as the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor, officials of the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.
The agency will check by the end of April whether the required steps have been implemented, the officials said. The 10 reactors of the quake-hit Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear power plants of Tokyo Electric Power Co. are not counted in the 44.
Before the quake, the 54 commercial nuclear reactors were supplying around 30 percent of the total electricity generated in the country.
Kaieda said that he does not expect the emergency steps to require suspension of currently operating reactors, but noted that plant operators will have to clear the safety standards to restart reactors after their regular checkups.
Kyushu Electric Power Co., which has decided to delay rebooting two nuclear reactors in Saga Prefecture in view of the disaster, said the same day that it will likely be able to clear the just-announced safety standards by the end of April and expressed its intention to restart the operation of the reactors as early as May.
The No. 2 and No. 3 reactors at the Genkai nuclear power plant, which Kyushu Electric had suspended for servicing, were originally expected to resume operations in late March and early April.
Toshio Manabe, president of the regional utility, said that he feels the need to resume the reactors to avoid rolling blackouts in the Kyushu region, as implemented by Tokyo Electric in the face of power shortages.
''We would like to stabilize electricity supply by using all possible means, and what we do first is stably operate our nuclear power plants,'' Manabe said.
But some locals reacted cautiously. Saga Gov. Yasushi Furukawa called on the central government to ''strictly confirm the validity'' of the industry ministry's emergency measures.
Hatsumi Ishimaru, a representative of an antinuclear civic group, criticized that the decision to resume operations so quickly is ''too easy.''
''Investigations into the cause (of the disaster at Fukushima) have not ended,'' Ishimaru said.
As the crisis-hit Fukushima plant emits radioactive materials into the environment, efforts are continuing to restore the reactors' cooling systems.
At many of the six reactors at the plant, buildings are torn apart by hydrogen explosions and fires and three reactor cores are believed to have partially melted.
Kaieda said that he so far does not think there was a problem in the state's reactor safety screening, but said that ''various problems are likely to show up in the process of studying'' the incident.
