Refer Report

The Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, will restart operation on the 29th after 13 years of shutdown. This is the first time that a nuclear power plant has restarted in the affected area since the explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant) during the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

Japan’s NHK broadcast said on this day, “Unit 2 of the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant, operated by Tohoku Electric Power Company, will restart its reactor tonight,” adding, “It is the same type of nuclear power plant as Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, where the accident occurred during the Great East Japan Earthquake. “This is the first time it has been restarted,” the report said. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Japanese government once implemented a ‘zero nuclear power’ policy, but until now, no nuclear power plant has been restarted after the accident in the affected area.

Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant suffered damage from the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake, such as a huge tsunami, with most external power sources cut off and underground facilities flooded. Fortunately, no explosion accidents occurred like the Fukushima nuclear power plant, but operations were halted due to safety issues and the Japanese government’s ‘zero nuclear power’ policy.

However, Tohoku Electric Power Company, which operates the nuclear power plant, has consistently requested restart from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and others. In addition, the company strengthened various safety measures, such as expanding the seaside breakwater to 29m above sea level and 800m wide.

In addition, to prevent damage from earthquakes, the piping and ceiling within the reactor building were strengthened to resist earthquakes, and a water tank containing 10,000 tons of cooling water, which can cool the reactor for 7 days in case of an unexpected accident, was installed.

The company passed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s restart review four years ago. Government approval was then obtained, and it was decided to operate the reactor that night after pulling out the control rod installed to suppress the nuclear fission reaction. The company believes that once the nuclear fission reaction reaches a critical state in which a chain reaction of nuclear fission reactions occurs without any problems after operation of the reactor, commercial power generation will be able to begin in early November.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, who also serves as a spokesperson for the Japanese government, said in a regular press briefing on this day, “As nuclear power is important in the sense of being a renewable energy and decarbonized power, we plan to utilize it as much as possible with ensuring safety as a major prerequisite from the perspective of stable power supply.” “Under the awareness that the importance of restart is increasing, we hope that Tohoku Electric Power Company will work with safety as its top priority,” he said.

Tokyo/Hong Seok-jae Correspondent

forchis@hani.co.kr

Source: Korean