Japan fears nuclear plant sits atop active geological fault

TOKYO: A nuclear plant
in northwestern Japan may
be sitting right on top of an
active geological fault, the
country’s nuclear watchdog
has said, raising the risk
that the facility may never
resume power generation
for fear of an earthquake.
For the fi rst time in more
than 40 years, Japan faces
the prospect of having
no nuclear power within
weeks, after last year’s crisis
at the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear plant crushed public
trust in nuclear power and
prevented the restart of reactors
shut for regular maintenance
checks.
The fault fracture zone under
the No.1 and No.2 units
of the 1,517-megawatt Tsuruga
plant could be an active
fault that could move jointly
with a confi rmed nearby active
fault, the Nuclear and
Industrial Safety Agency
(NISA) found in a site survey
yesterday, a spokesman
for the plant’s operator said.
The operator, unlisted
Japan Atomic Power Co,
denies the existence of an
active fault right under the
plant, citing its geological
assessment, but the NISA
has ordered an additional
investigation following its
fi ndings, the spokesman
said.
Nuclear power, long advertised
as safe and cheap,
provided almost 30 per cent
of Japan’s electricity before
the crisis, but now all
but one of Japan’s 54 reactors
are off-line, mainly for
maintenance.
The last reactor will shut
down on May 5. Japan has
rules against installing a
nuclear plant on top of an
active fault that has moved
within the last 120,000 to
130,000 years, and the Tsuruga
site could be declared
unfi t to host a nuclear plant.
The plant’s 357-MW No 1
unit and the 1,160-MW No
2 unit have been shut since
last year for planned maintenance.
Japan Atomic Power had
previously aimed to add
No 3 and No 4 units at the
plant, with capacity of 1,538
MW each, by 2018, but the
plan has stalled, refl ecting
public worries over nuclear
power after the Fukushima
plant was wrecked in the
March 2011 earthquake and
tsunami, triggering radiation
leaks that caused mass
evacuations and widespread
contamination.
The restart of the No 1
unit, which began operation
in 1970, has been uncertain
in light of Japan’s plans to
limit the life of reactors to
40 years, and permit extensions
only under stringent
terms.
The company had planned
to scrap the Tsuruga No 1
unit in 2016.