Seven nuclear power reactors in Japan will be restarted in the current fiscal year, by the end of 31 March 2017, with another 19 in the following fiscal year to the end of March 2018, making a total of 26, a report by the country’s Institute of Energy Economics said. However, the report points out “numerous uncertainties” surrounding nuclear reactors, including judicial judgments and local agreements. The report outlined a low scenario in which only 12 reactors would be restarted in the same period.
Three reactors – Sendai-1, Sendai-2 and Ikata-3 – have been restarted in Japan after clearing examinations under the new regulatory standards imposed by the Nuclear Regulation Authority following the March 2011 accident at Fukushima-Daiichi. Takahama-3 and -4 were also restarted, but both have since been taken offline after a court issued a temporary injunction following a protest lodged by anti-nuclear activists.
According to statistics from the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (Jaif), 20 additional applications have been filed for reactor restarts. Jaif said 16 reactors are to be decommissioned and four are in the construction or planning stage. Jaif said the four are the Monju fast breeder reactor, Ohma, Shimane-3 and Higashi Dori-2. Monju reached criticality for the first time in 1994, but it has mostly been offline since 1995 with the government now considering its future.
All of Japan’s 48 commercial reactor units at the time were shut down for safety checks and upgrades following the Fukushima-Daiichi accident.
The International Energy Agency has said the gradual shutdown of Japan’s reactors following the March 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi accident has led to a significant rise in fossil fuels use, increased fuel imports and rising carbon dioxide emissions. The nuclear shutdown has also brought electricity prices to “unsustainable levels”.
The NEA urged the government to facilitate restarting nuclear power plants, once safety is assured, to contribute to a “secure, low-cost and low-carbon electricity supply”.
According to the NEA, some 19,000 lives were lost as a direct result of the earthquake and tsunami that led to the shutdown of Fukushima-Daiichi, but no loss of life has been reported as a result of radiation releases resulting from the nuclear accident. However, there remains “some uncertainty” about the health impact of long-term exposure to low levels of radiation.
The evacuation of over 150,000 inhabitants from the affected area disrupted the lives of evacuees, causing enormous stress and loss of life, the NEA said.
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