Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
6th nuclear reactor scrapped under stricter safety rules (JAPAN)
Shikoku Electric Power Co.'s Ikata Nuclear Power Plant is seen in Ikata, Ehime Prefecture, in this photo taken from a Mainichi helicopter on May 17, 2015. Pictured are the No. 1 reactor, front left, the No. 2 reactor, front right, and the No. 3 reactor at rear. (Mainichi)
MATSUYAMA, Japan (Kyodo) -- Shikoku Electric Power Co. on Tuesday ended operation of a nearly 40-year old nuclear reactor in western Japan, making it the sixth unit to be scrapped under stricter safety regulations introduced after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
The utility decided in March to decommission the idled No. 1 reactor at its Ikata nuclear complex in Ehime Prefecture, as it would be too costly to reboot the aging reactor.
The company estimates more than 170 billion yen ($1.59 billion) would be needed to beef up safety measures for restarting the reactor that started operation in 1977.
It is expected to take about 30 years to complete the decommissioning of the reactor at a total cost of 40 billion yen, according to Shikoku Electric.
The company is banking on technology cooperation that it agreed on with three other regional utilities last month to cut decommissioning costs.
http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160510/p2g/00m/0dm/014000c
