Kyushu Electric Power Co. formally announced on Monday it will restart a reactor at its nuclear power plant in southwestern Japan on Tuesday morning after a four-year hiatus.
Advertisement
The reboot of the reactor will involve the control rods being removed on Tuesday, which will allow the process of nuclear fission to begin. The move comes amid protests and opposition from those who have been scarred by the meltdown of the Fukushima plant, which forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. “Japan also has to rehabilitate itself with the rest of the world’s nuclear industry”, said Grimston. “Although the nuclear fission is still happening, it’s not generating enough radiation for electricity”, says Shaun Hendry, a physics professor with the University of Auckland. The No. 1 reactor is expected to reach full capacity next month, while the second reactor is likely to be restarted in October, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Takashi Kato, professor emeritus at Tokyo’s Seikei University, was critical of Tuesday’s restart, saying Abe’s close business ties were trumping safety concerns. It lost the ability to cool the nuclear reactor, leading to an explosive build-up of heat and gas.
The government boasts that the new regulations, which reflect the lessons learned from Fukushima, are “the world’s toughest” and claims the safety of reactors that have met them has been confirmed.
Workers have been decommissioning the Fukushima plant Why has Japan decided to go ahead with the restart? Some people have returned to areas deemed safe, many of them senior citizens, while families with children have tended to stay away.
For the last two years, Japan’s nuclear sector had been completely halted in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima meltdown.
The government has said it is aiming to have 20-22 percent of Japan’s total electricity supply generated from nuclear power in 2030. Japan has no fossil fuel resources to speak of and green energy projects have failed to make up the shortfall.
A subsequent drop in energy prices had alleviated some of the strain.
Residents near the Sendai plant oppose the restart, citing potential dangers from active volcanos in the region.
Safety officials have stressed that the reactors are going to operate under much tighter regulations than those that existed before Fukushima, the worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.
“Nuclear energy is an issue that extends beyond national borders”.
“They are disregarding fundamental principles of nuclear safety and public health protection”.
Advertisement
“The accident at the Fukushima plant is not over”, said Honami Fujita, a 50-year-old housewife from Kanagawa prefecture near Tokyo.
