[ad_1]
The judiciary said no to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which examined whether the nuclear power plant could be relocated. The Osaka District Court ruling on the 4th said that the Regulatory Commission did not fully consider the “uncertainty” about the assessment of the expected earthquake at Units 3 and 4 of the Kansai Electric Power Oi Nuclear Power Plant (Fukui Prefecture ). There is a mistake that cannot be ignored. “The new regulatory standards, which the government, which promotes the restart of nuclear power plants, prides itself on being” the strictest in the world, “will shake the reliability of the underlying test. Shinichi Ogawa, Kenta Onozawa, Noriyuki Fukuoka)
From Kansai Electric Power Oi Nuclear Power Plant (from right) Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4 = Ooi City, Fukui Prefecture, from the central office “Asazuru” helicopter
◆ Premonition four years ago The seismology authority asked for reconsideration
“To be honest, I didn’t expect to lose …”. Shinichi Murata, Director General of the Public Relations Office of the Nuclear Regulatory Agency, responded to the interview at the Regulatory Commission at the Roppongi skyscraper, Tokyo.
However, there were indications. In 2016, Kunihiko Shimazaki, a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, who served as vice chair of the regulatory committee, urged reconsideration, saying that “uncertainty must be taken into account” in assessing the expected earthquake tremor at the nuclear power plant in Oi. This. According to Mr. Shimazaki’s estimate, it will be almost double the value indicated by Kanden, and if adopted, strict earthquake resistance will be required for the reactor building and other facilities.
In the calculation of the standard seismic movement (maximum shock), which is a guide for seismic design, the average value of the earthquake scale is taken from the length of the active fault. Since this is far from the true scale of the earthquake, it is necessary to add some numerical value in consideration of the uncertainty. The ruling ruled that consideration of this point was “insufficient”.
◆ I admit that “recalculating is inappropriate” but I do not review it
The Regulatory Commission said there was no problem in the recalculation Mr. Shimazaki pointed out. In an interview with Mr. Shimazaki in July 2016, he admitted that “the recalculation was inappropriate”, but said he had to review it. At a press conference, President Shunichi Tanaka (at the time) stated, “We have studied to the point that there is no basis for what Mr. Shimazaki says.”
However, at the same time, it was revealed in the minutes that this document obtained in the information disclosure request that the regulatory committee’s examination attitude was questioning even within the government earthquake investigation committee that creates the calculation method of the earthquake movement. There is. After the Kumamoto earthquake in April 2016, he requested that several calculation methods be used together. However, the Regulatory Commission ignored the seismologist’s alarm.
◆ “Funny, anyone can understand”
Hideaki Higuchi (68), who ordered the prohibition of the operation of Units 3 and 4 of Ohi as presiding judge of the Fukui District Court in May 2014, said that the decision was “the method to determine the magnitude of the earthquake has a big contradiction, and it’s strange. Anyone can understand it. I think it’s easy to maintain even in the higher court. ”
The permit to install Units 3 and 4 of the Oi Nuclear Power Plant has been revoked, and the plaintiff raising the banner of “winning case” = 4th, in front of the Osaka District Court
The seismic movement assumptions are the basis for determining the required seismic resistance for the equipment. If the ruling is finalized, the regulatory committee review will inevitably be rerun and 16 nuclear power plants that have met the new standards may lose their operational qualifications.
A nuclear power plant that does not emit carbon dioxide is an important source of energy for the Kan administration, which aims to achieve practically zero domestic greenhouse gases by 1950. Hiroshi Kajiyama, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, also It has stated that it will make the maximum use of nuclear power plants that have been confirmed to be safe.
The Regulatory Commission scrutiny, which ensures safety, has been shaken from scratch. The Regulatory Commission will hold a private meeting on the 8th to discuss future measures after the decision.
