Experts determined an active geological fault line lies underneath a reactor on Japan\u2019s west coast, a discovery which will likely result in the first permanent shutdown of a nuclear power plant since the 2011 Fukushima crisis.<\/p>\n
The report by the panel of five seismologists advising the
\nNuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) is the first issued on its
\ninvestigation into active fault lines at the Tsuruga plant, which
\nis located on the Japan Sea coast. The Tsuruga plant \u2014 which has
\nbeen operating for 43 years \u2014 has two reactors, with the fault line
\nhaving been discovered directly under the idled No. 2 reactor.<\/p>\n
“Safety levels [at Tsuruga] have been low and it is really just
\na matter of luck that there hasn’t been an accident,”<\/i> Reuters
\ncites Kunihiko Shimazaki, the head of the panel and a commissioner
\nof the NRA, as saying after the report was finalized. “We are
\ntaking the first steps to correct the situation.”<\/i><\/p>\n
The NRA is set to determine the Tsuruga plant\u2019s fate at its regular
\nmeeting scheduled in a week\u2019s time. The experts\u2019 finding is
\nlikely to kill any chance the reactor will ever be reactivated, as
\ngovernment regulations prohibit the construction of reactor
\nbuildings directly above any active fault line.<\/p>\n
NRA chairman Shunichi Tanaka has previously said that no evaluation
\nfor the resumption of operations at the Tsuruga plant would be
\nconducted if an active fault was found, Japan\u2019s Asashi Shimbun
\nreported.<\/p>\n
Japan Atomic Power Co., which operates the two-reactor Tsuruga
\nstation, reacted to the findings with disbelief, accusing the panel
\nof bias.<\/p>\n
“We deeply regret that they made such a conclusion this time and
\nit is absolutely impossible for us to accept it,”<\/i> the company
\nsaid in a statement.<\/p>\n
“We hereby ask the panel of experts to come to a fresh
\nconclusion after reviewing existing data with a neutral and fair
\npoint of view, with discussion on a strictly scientific basis and
\nclarification of the grounds of understanding.”<\/i><\/p>\n
The mayor of Tsuruga Kazuharu Kawase said on Monday he was worried
\nnuclear regulators were rushing \u201ctowards a conclusion\u201d<\/i>
\nregarding the atomic plants fate, adding that Japan Atomic Power
\nhad yet to finish its own investigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want the NRA to cautiously deliberate the matter from a broad
\nviewpoint, reflecting the outcome of the operator\u2019s investigation
\nand various opinions in and outside the country,\u201d<\/i> the Japan
\nTimes cites him as saying.<\/p>\n
Japan Atomic Power has claimed the fault is inactive based on its
\nanalysis of volcanic ash, which they say shows no signs of recent
\nmovement. The panel has dismissed the claim as unreliable.<\/p>\n
The experts determined that the fault, a zone of pebbles and
\nsediment dubbed D-1, could shift simultaneously with two others:
\none known as K and the other an active major called Urazoko.<\/p>\n
The K fault, which has apparently moved within the past 130,000
\nyears, is therefore considered to be technically active. They
\nfurther say that the D-1 fault is also active as it is a part of
\nthis structure, while the Urazoko fault is located some 200-300
\nmeters from the reactor buildings.<\/p>\n
Japan’s nuclear operators have faced massive losses following an
\nearthquake and tsunami in March 2011, which caused three reactor
\nmeltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.<\/p>\n
Currently, 48 of the country\u2019s 50 nuclear reactors are suspended
\nfrom operations, although the country\u2019s nuclear industry had
\nexpected early restarts based on past experience with
\nregulators.<\/p>\n
“It is no longer business as usual. This is the beginning of a
\nlong-term restructuring of the nuclear power business in
\nJapan,”<\/i> a senior adviser on atomic policy told Reuters on
\ncondition of anonymity.<\/p>\n
The experts will conduct a total of six studies on faults at six
\nlocations near nuclear plants.<\/p>\n
With the atomic industry faltering, last week Japan\u2019s ruling
\nLiberal Democratic Party (LDP) promised to bring the country\u2019s
\nnuclear reactors back into service once they had been verified as
\nsafe.<\/p>\n
The country\u2019s public remains ambivalent about the government\u2019s
\nnuclear plans, according to a poll published in the Tokyo Shimbun
\nnewspaper in March.<\/p>\n
While 79.6 per cent of those questioned were at least moderately in
\nfavor of parting with nuclear power eventually, 69 per cent said
\nthey would support the restarting of some nuclear reactors to
\nfulfill the Japan\u2019s current power needs.<\/p>\n
The same month the poll was conducted, some 13,000 people gathered
\nin Tokyo to protest the continued use of nuclear power in Japan
\nnearly two years after the Fukushima disaster.<\/p>\n