Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Otsu District Court Orders Halt to Operation of Takahama-3 & -4 NPP

Otsu District Court Orders Halt to Operation of Takahama-3 & -4 NPPs

Deciding on a request for a temporary injunction prohibiting operation of the Takahama-3 and -4 Nuclear Power Plants (PWRs, 870MWe each), owned and operated by the Kansai Electric Power Co. (Kansai EP), filed by anti-nuclear local groups in Shiga Prefecture, District Court Judge Yoshihiko Yamamoto on March 9 ruled against their operation.

Points of contention are standard ground motion (Ss), the intensity of the maximum earthquake assumed for the aseismic design, which Kansai EP put at 700 gals; and the validity of the new regulatory standards for NPPs provided by the NRA. Saying that Kansai EP’s assumption is “not insufficient to secure safety,” the local anti-nuclear group asserted that if an accident occurs, people in Shiga Prefecture would be exposed to radiation and that Lake Biwa would be contaminated to the extent of adversely affecting drinking water in the Kinki Region. They argued that the requirement under the new regulatory standards is too low and, further, that no effective evacuation plan has been issued. Kansai EP rebuts the contention vigorously, saying “safety is secured.”
Concurrently with its request for a temporary injection, the anti-nuclear-side filed a lawsuit, which is pending in same court.

http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/otsu-district-court-orders-halt-to-operation-of-takahama-3-4-npps/

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