Japan Cites Active Fault at a Reactor [View all]

[unhappycamper]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/world/asia/active-fault-may-block-restart-of-tsuruga-reactor-in-japan.html?ref=asia

Japan Cites Active Fault at a Reactor
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: May 22, 2013

TOKYO — Japan’s nuclear watchdog on Wednesday endorsed a conclusion by a panel of seismologists that a fault under a reactor at an atomic plant in western Japan is active, potentially blocking a restart of the reactor.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said it agreed with the panel that the fault underneath the Tsuruga No. 2 reactor could set off an earthquake and cause an accident. Japanese regulations prohibit reactors from sitting above active faults. The No. 2 reactor at Tsuruga, one of two there, now faces an indefinite halt or likely decommissioning unless its operator provides new data on the fault.

It was the first time Japanese regulators had officially recognized an active fault underneath an existing reactor, virtually acknowledging that the risk at Tsuruga had been overlooked for decades by both the operator and regulators despite warnings by some experts. The watchdog is also investigating five other plants over suspected active faults.

The case is a crucial test for the agency to prove if it can resist industry pressure just as Japan’s pro-nuclear government moves to restart reactors suspended after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.