June 7, 2012
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) of the Ministry of Economy on June 6 hinted at extending the operating lifespan of a 40-year-old nuclear reactor during a hearing to seek experts’ opinions.
The No. 2 reactor at the Mihama nuclear power plant (Mihama Town, Fukui Pref.) of Kansai Electric Power Co. will exceed 40 years of operations next month.
The government has submitted to the current Diet session a bill to basically decommission 40-year-old reactors but in “exceptional” cases continue to use them up to 60 years.
The NISA announcement reveals that the “40-year-limit” is nothing but a sham.
The NISA, while claiming to be a nuclear “regulatory” organ, did nothing to take appropriate counter-tsunami measures despite being aware of the possibility of a tsunami-induced accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
In fact, the NISA had ordered power companies to mislead local residents into believing nuclear “safety myth” in public symposiums.
Completely losing the public trust, the nuclear “promotion” organ was about to be dissolved on March 31. The sub-ministry agency, however, still exists because of a delay in the establishment of a new regulatory body.
It is inexcusable for the nuclear energy agency to be allowed to hastily endorse the continuous operations of the aging reactor.
The No. 2 reactor at the Mihama nuclear power plant (Mihama Town, Fukui Pref.) of Kansai Electric Power Co. will exceed 40 years of operations next month.
The government has submitted to the current Diet session a bill to basically decommission 40-year-old reactors but in “exceptional” cases continue to use them up to 60 years.
The NISA announcement reveals that the “40-year-limit” is nothing but a sham.
The NISA, while claiming to be a nuclear “regulatory” organ, did nothing to take appropriate counter-tsunami measures despite being aware of the possibility of a tsunami-induced accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
In fact, the NISA had ordered power companies to mislead local residents into believing nuclear “safety myth” in public symposiums.
Completely losing the public trust, the nuclear “promotion” organ was about to be dissolved on March 31. The sub-ministry agency, however, still exists because of a delay in the establishment of a new regulatory body.
It is inexcusable for the nuclear energy agency to be allowed to hastily endorse the continuous operations of the aging reactor.
