Japanese nuclear reactor that restarted 13 years after Fukushima disaster is shut down again

A Japanese atomic reactor that restarted past week for nan first clip successful much than 13 years aft it survived a monolithic earthquake and tsunami that severely damaged nan adjacent Fukushima atomic works has been unopen down again owed to an instrumentality problem

TOKYO -- A Japanese atomic reactor that restarted past week for nan first clip successful much than 13 years aft it had survived a monolithic 2011 earthquake and tsunami that severely damaged nan adjacent Fukushima atomic works was unopen down again Monday owed to an instrumentality problem, its usability said.

The No. 2 reactor astatine nan Onagawa atomic powerfulness plant connected Japan’s bluish seashore was put backmost online connected Oct. 29 and had been expected to commencement generating powerfulness successful early November.

But it had to beryllium unopen down again 5 days aft its restart owed to a glitch that occurred Sunday successful a instrumentality related to neutron information wrong nan reactor, works usability Tohoku Electric Power Co. said.

The reactor was operating usually and location was nary merchandise of radiation into nan environment, Tohoku Electric said. The inferior said it decided to unopen it down to re-examine instrumentality to reside residents' information concerns. No caller day for a restart was given.

The reactor is 1 of 3 astatine nan Onagawa plant, which is 100 kilometers (62 miles) northbound of nan Fukushima Daiichi works wherever 3 reactors melted pursuing a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami successful March 2011, releasing ample amounts of radiation.

The Onagawa works was deed by a 13-meter (42-foot) tsunami triggered by nan quake but was capable to support its important cooling systems functioning successful each 3 reactors and execute their safe shutdowns.

All of Japan’s 54 commercialized atomic powerfulness plants were unopen down aft nan Fukushima disaster for information checks and upgrades. Onagawa No. 2 was nan 13th of nan 33 still useable reactors to restart.

Japan's authorities past twelvemonth adopted a scheme to maximize usage of atomic power and is pushing to accelerate reactor restarts to unafraid a unchangeable power proviso and meet its promise to scope c neutrality by 2050.

Concern astir nan government’s revived push for atomic power grew aft a magnitude 7.5 earthquake deed Japan’s Noto Peninsula connected Jan. 1, 2024. sidesplitting much than 400 group and damaging much than 100,000 structures. It caused insignificant harm to 2 adjacent atomic facilities, and removal plans for nan region were recovered to beryllium inadequate.