Chugoku Electric Seeks Safety Checks on Shimane No. 3 Reactor

August 10, 2018

Tokyo- Chugoku Electric Power Co. applied Friday for a Nuclear Regulation Authority safety screening of the No. 3 reactor at its Shimane nuclear power plant, now under construction in western Japan.

Before a nuclear reactor in Japan starts or resumes operations, it needs to meet stricter safety standards introduced in 2013 after the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s  Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, which was heavily damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

This is the second safety screening application under the new standards for a nuclear facility under construction, after Electric Power Development Co. , or J-Power, sought checks on its Oma nuclear plant in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan, in December 2014.

In December 2013, Chugoku Electric submitted a screening application for the No. 2 reactor at the Shimane plant in Matsue, the capital of Shimane Prefecture.

"We've heard that it would be difficult to conduct safety checks for two reactors in parallel," said Tatsuo Kitano, deputy chief of Chugoku Electric's power supply business. "We'd like to ask the NRA to prioritize the ongoing checks for the No. 2 reactor and then start the screening of the No. 3 reactor."

During the Shimane No. 2 reactor's screening, Chugoku Electric has reviewed its evaluation of a fault located some 2 kilometers north of the plant and revised upward the assumed maximum ground acceleration to 820 gal from initially projected 600 gal.

The utility also set the assumed maximum ground acceleration for the adjacent No. 3 reactor at 820 gal.

The construction of the No. 3 reactor is almost complete. Seismic strengthening and other works on the reactor, aimed at meeting the safety standards, will continue through September 2019. Jiji Press