Chubu Electric plans to stop Hamaoka nuclear power plant
May 9, 2011
Chubu Electric Power Co. plans to stop all reactors at its Hamaoka nuclear plant in central Japan following Prime Minister Naoto Kan's request to do so for security reasons, company sources said Friday.
The decision was learned shortly after Kan said in a hastily arranged news conference in the evening that all operations at the plant in Shizuoka Prefecture must be suspended due to concerns that a powerful earthquake could trigger yet another serious nuclear crisis.
''It's a decision made after thinking about people's safety,'' Kan said in announcing the request, referring to the science ministry's prediction of an 87 percent chance of a magnitude-8.0 quake hitting the Tokai region within the next 30 years.
Kan said the nuclear power station should be halted until the utility implements medium- to long-term measures for protection against natural disasters, including building embankments.
Japan has been stepping up its efforts to improve nuclear safety following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that caused the world's worst nuclear accident in a quarter century, at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co.
Kan said some power shortages may be experienced in Chubu Electric's service areas in the summer after shutdown of the Hamaoka facility.
But Kan promised that the government will take utmost measures not to cause a major imbalance in power demand and supply in the region. He also called on people to save on electricity.
Located on the Pacific coast in Omaezaki, southwest of Tokyo, the Hamaoka complex stands near a major fault line. Currently, the Nos. 4 and 5 reactors are in operation and the No. 3 reactor is under regular checkups, which the utility had hoped to restart as early as July.
The Nos. 1 and 2 reactors have already been out of operation and the utility will decommission them.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on May 6, 2011)
The decision was learned shortly after Kan said in a hastily arranged news conference in the evening that all operations at the plant in Shizuoka Prefecture must be suspended due to concerns that a powerful earthquake could trigger yet another serious nuclear crisis.
''It's a decision made after thinking about people's safety,'' Kan said in announcing the request, referring to the science ministry's prediction of an 87 percent chance of a magnitude-8.0 quake hitting the Tokai region within the next 30 years.
Kan said the nuclear power station should be halted until the utility implements medium- to long-term measures for protection against natural disasters, including building embankments.
Japan has been stepping up its efforts to improve nuclear safety following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that caused the world's worst nuclear accident in a quarter century, at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co.
Kan said some power shortages may be experienced in Chubu Electric's service areas in the summer after shutdown of the Hamaoka facility.
But Kan promised that the government will take utmost measures not to cause a major imbalance in power demand and supply in the region. He also called on people to save on electricity.
Located on the Pacific coast in Omaezaki, southwest of Tokyo, the Hamaoka complex stands near a major fault line. Currently, the Nos. 4 and 5 reactors are in operation and the No. 3 reactor is under regular checkups, which the utility had hoped to restart as early as July.
The Nos. 1 and 2 reactors have already been out of operation and the utility will decommission them.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on May 6, 2011)
