30 Dec (NucNet): Applications have been submitted for the restart of 16 nuclear power reactors in Japan, but the country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has not yet issued any approvals for units to resume operation, statistics released by the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (Jaif) show.
All of Japan’s 50 commercial reactors are offline while they undergo inspections to make sure they comply with new safety standards drawn up in the wake of the March 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi accident. The standards cover three main areas: design basis safety standards, severe accident measures and safety standards for earthquakes and tsunamis.
Under the new standards, operators of nuclear plants in Japan must take specific steps to mitigate against the possibility of serious accidents. Until now, such action was voluntary.
According to the statistics released by Jaif, the NRA has received applications for the restart of the following reactor units: Tomari-1, -2 and –3; Onagawa-2; Kashiwazaki Kariwa-6 and -7; Takahama-3 and -4; Ohi-3 and -4; Shimane-2; Ikata-3; Genkai-3 and -4; and Sendai-1 and -2.
The only two reactors to resume operation in Japan since the Fukushima-Daiichi accident were Ohi-3 and -4, but they were both taken offline in September 2013 for a scheduled refuelling and maintenance.
