Japanese nuclear reactor which survived earthquake that badly damaged Fukushima power plant restarts

A Japanese atomic reactor which survived a monolithic 2011 earthquake and tsunami that severely damaged nan adjacent Fukushima atomic powerfulness works has been restarted aft a information upgrade, arsenic nan authorities pursues a renewed description of atomic power to pr...

TOKYO -- A Japanese atomic reactor which survived a monolithic 2011 earthquake and tsunami that severely damaged nan adjacent Fukushima atomic powerfulness works was restarted Tuesday for nan first clip since nan disaster aft a information upgrade, arsenic nan authorities pursues a renewed description of atomic power to supply unchangeable powerfulness and trim c emissions.

The No. 2 reactor astatine nan Onagawa atomic powerfulness works connected Japan's bluish seashore was put backmost online and is expected to commencement generating powerfulness successful early November, usability Tohoku Electric Power Co. said.

The reactor is 1 of nan 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 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 is nan 13th of nan 33 still useable reactors to return to operation. It is besides nan first restart successful Japan of nan aforesaid type of reactor damaged successful Fukushima.

Tohoku Electric President Kojiro Higuchi said nan reactor's restart highlights nan area's betterment from nan disaster.

Last year, Japan's authorities adopted a scheme to maximize usage of atomic energy, including accelerating restarts of closed reactors, extending nan operational life of aging plants, and processing next-generation reactors, arsenic nan state struggles to unafraid a unchangeable power proviso and meet its promise to scope c neutrality by 2050.

“Nuclear energy, on pinch renewables, is an important powerfulness root for decarbonization," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday. “We will maximize its usage while ensuring safety.”

Restarting atomic reactors is besides progressively important for Japan's economical growth, Hayashi said.

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. Minor harm was reported astatine 2 atomic accommodation and removal plans for nan region were recovered to beryllium inadequate.

For nan Onagawa No. 2 reactor, Tohoku Electric successful 2013 began upgrading its safety, including tsunami consequence estimates and anti-quake measures. It besides built an anti-tsunami wall extending up to 29 meters (95 feet) supra oversea level, and obtained information support from regulators successful 2020.

Twenty-one of Japan's atomic reactors, including six astatine Fukushima Daiichi and 1 astatine Onagawa, are presently being decommissioned because their operators chose to scrap them alternatively of investing ample amounts for further information instrumentality required nether nan much-stricter post-Fukushima information standards.