Electric power companies will have to prepare back-up power sources and have fire trucks ready near all of their nuclear reactors. They will be required to construct sturdy buildings for emergencies, replace wiring and install improved ventilation systems.
Electric power companies will have to prepare back-up power sources and have fire trucks ready near all of their nuclear reactors. They will be required to construct sturdy buildings for emergencies, replace wiring and install improved ventilation systems.
And they will be obligated to swiftly respond to a possible terrorist attack and may be forced to build seawalls around their nuclear plants.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority’s proposal for new safety standards requires so many costly improvements that some electric power companies may simply decide to decommission their older reactors.
The NRA on April 10 presented its proposal for new regulation standards, replacing the old standards that proved inadequate when the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami triggered the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The proposal calls for greatly strengthened measures against severe accidents and natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunami, as well as fires and acts of terrorism. The proposed standards also include specific measures to react to a nuclear disaster, a change from the rules made when the government and electric power companies said such accidents could never occur in Japan.
Utilities will not be allowed to operate or restart any reactor that fails a central government appraisal on whether it meets the new standards.
A one-month period will be set aside to accept public opinions about the NRA’s proposal. The standards will then be added as requirements under the law regulating nuclear reactors and will take effect in mid-July.
To prevent a recurrence of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the new standards call for various measures to keep reactor cores cool in the event of a severe accident, such as placing several generator vehicles and fire trucks near every reactor.
To block large volumes of radioactive materials from spewing into the atmosphere following an accident, utilities will be required to install venting equipment with filters attached at all reactors.
Plant operators will have to construct quake-resistant facilities that can shut out radiation, allowing workers inside to coordinate the restoration of operations even if radioactive materials have leaked outdoors.
For the first time, measures will be required to deal with possible terrorist acts using aircraft. Plant operators will have to install emergency control rooms that are capable of remote-controlled cooling of reactor cores--even if the central control room of the reactor is destroyed.
As a precaution against fire, flame-retardant electric cables will have to be used inside reactor buildings and other areas of the plants.
Since the tsunami has been cited as the main reason for the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the new standards call on utilities to estimate the maximum height of a tsunami that might hit each reactor and to construct a coastal levee that will enable each reactor to withstand such waves.
The new standards also clearly prohibit the construction of important facilities, such as reactor buildings, directly over active fault outcrops. Until now, such a possibility was only referred to in the inspection manual used by the central government.
Other new requirements placed on plant operators include measures to deal with volcanic eruptions and tornadoes.
The new standards will also apply to reactors that have already been constructed, meaning that plant operators seeking to restart idled reactors will have to take measures to meet the standards and pass the NRA’s inspection.
Although the law regulating nuclear reactors places a 40-year limit on operating a reactor, there is an exception that allows a one-time extension for a maximum of 20 years.
However, those reactors will still have to meet the latest standards as well as undergo a special inspection to determine how outdated they have become.
Almost all reactors will require the installation of new facilities as well as additional work to meet the new standards.
Some electric power companies may decide to decommission a reactor if company officials decide the expenses involved in upgrading older reactors are not cost-effective.