Japan’s nuclear regulation officials have compiled a conclusion that effectively rejects the restart of a nuclear reactor for the first time since the current regulatory system was launched in 2012.
The Secretariat of the Nuclear Regulation Authority has recommended that the Tsuruga nuclear power plant’s No.2 reactor is not in conformity with regulatory standards, due to a fault running under a reactor building.
The plant in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, is operated by the Japan Atomic Power Company.
The regulatory standards do not allow facilities where safety is critical to be built over an active fault.
The Tsuruga No.2 reactor has a fault running directly beneath its building. Regulation officials discussed on Friday whether this fault could be dragged into motion by a different active fault running nearby.
The plant operator reiterated its view that the fault under the reactor will not move, based on the results of a boring survey near the building. It said it wants to stage an additional survey to obtain more data.
Regulatory officials said the operator’s findings lack scientific proof, and concluded that it is hard to rule out the risk of the fault moving in the future. This effectively means the No.2 reactor will be barred from going back on line.
No other nuclear reactor has been judged effectively unfit for a restart since the current Nuclear Regulation Authority was established in 2012. Regulatory officials also say no similar cases of rejection can be confirmed dating back earlier.
The conclusion will be reported to the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s commissioners next week. The regulators are likely to uphold and finalize the judgment.
In that case, the Japan Atomic Power Company can either apply for a fresh round of screening, or decommission the Tsuruga No.2 reactor.