Local News

On July 12, Kyushu Electric Power Co. submitted applications to the Nuclear Regulation Agency (NRA) to restart the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Genkai Nuclear Power Plant (Genkai Town, Saga Prefecture), having strengthened safety measures in accordance with new standards. Since the new standards were enacted on July 8, four power companies have submitted applications for 12 reactors at six nuclear power plants, including the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at Kyuden’s Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Satsumasendai City, Kagoshima Prefecture. The NRA will hold its first meeting to screen the applications on July 16, but the application for Genkai will not be screened due to lack of preparation time. The Genkai application increased the “standard tsunami level” for the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors from 2.0m to 2.9m and “revised the length of nearby fault lines based on remarks from the government’s Earthquake Research Commission.” Since the plant is 11m above sea level, it is not required to install a storm surge barrier, but Kyuden plans to complete a quake-resistant building to serve as an emergency headquarters in the event of a nuclear accident by FY2015. The No. 3 reactor will continue using MOX (mixed-oxide fuel), and Kyuden Vice President Tohru Yoshizako said, “We expect all four reactors [including those at Sendai] to be screened at the same time. Our reactors more than meet the new standards even when using MOX.” Meanwhile, Kyuden has been notifying the communities near its two nuclear power plants about the details of its applications. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, July 13

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