Japanese nuclear reactor that restarted 13 years after Fukushima disaster is shut down again
UNB
Publish: 04 Nov 2024, 01:09 PM
TOKYO,
Nov 04 (AP/UNB) - A Japanese nuclear reactor that restarted last week for the
first time in more than 13 years after it had survived a massive 2011
earthquake and tsunami that badly damaged the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant
was shut down again Monday due to an equipment problem, its operator said.
The No. 2 reactor at the
Onagawa nuclear power plant on Japan's northern coast was put back online on
Oct. 29 and had been expected to start generating power in early November.
But it had to be shut down
again five days after its restart due to a glitch that occurred Sunday in a
device related to neutron data inside the reactor, plant operator Tohoku
Electric Power Co. said.
The reactor was
operating normally and there was no release of radiation into the environment,
Tohoku Electric said. The utility said it decided to shut it down to re-examine
equipment to address residents' safety concerns. No new date for a restart was
given.
The reactor is one of
three at the Onagawa plant, which is 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the
Fukushima Daiichi plant where three reactors melted following a magnitude 9.0
earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, releasing large amounts of radiation.
The Onagawa plant was
hit by a 13-meter (42-foot) tsunami triggered by the quake but was able to keep
its crucial cooling systems functioning in all three reactors and achieve their
safe shutdowns.
All of Japan's 54
commercial nuclear power plants were shut down after the Fukushima disaster for
safety checks and upgrades. Onagawa No. 2 was the 13th of the 33 still useable
reactors to restart.
Japan's government last
year adopted a plan to maximize use of nuclear energy and is pushing to
accelerate reactor restarts to secure a stable energy supply and meet its
pledge to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Concern about the
government's revived push for nuclear energy grew after a magnitude 7.5
earthquake hit Japan's Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, 2024. killing more than 400
people and damaging more than 100,000 structures. It caused minor damage to two
nearby nuclear facilities, and evacuation plans for the region were found to be
inadequate.
END/UNB/AP/PR