A petition has been submitted by residents of towns near nuclear plants in Japan, requesting that regulators pause safety evaluations for restarting reactors. This is to allow for a thorough investigation into the damage sustained by a plant that experienced a loss of external power and released radioactive water during a recent earthquake.

On January 1st, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 struck north-central Ishikawa prefecture, resulting in the loss of 240 lives and leaving 15 individuals unaccounted for. The quake also caused several aftershocks and a minor tsunami.

The Shika nuclear power plant on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa experienced power outages in two of its reactors due to transformer damage. According to Hokuriku Electric Power Co., there was a spill of radioactive water from the spent fuel cooling pools and cracks were found on the ground, but no radiation escaped outside.

The destruction reignited worries about safety and locals are wondering if they could have safely evacuated if the impact had been greater. The quake caused significant harm to roads and homes in the area.

After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, all nuclear power plants in Japan were temporarily closed for safety inspections that adhere to stricter regulations. The government is currently advocating for their reactivation, but progress has been sluggish, partly due to remaining opposition towards nuclear energy among the general population. As of now, twelve out of the 33 functional reactors have been successfully restarted.

Citizens from Ishikawa and other municipalities that have nuclear power plants came together in Tokyo on Friday to submit their petition to representatives from the Nuclear Regulation Authority. Their request is for the screening process to be put on hold until a thorough examination of the damage at the Shika nuclear plant is conducted and safety precautions are put in place.

According to Susumu Kitano, a resident of Noto Peninsula, there would be no means of evacuation in the event of a serious incident at the facility.

Officials responsible for nuclear safety have observed that the significant destruction experienced by residences and roads near the Shika power plant has rendered current evacuation strategies impractical. The damage, which includes landslides, has rendered numerous locations impassable, resulting in thousands of individuals becoming stranded on the small peninsula.

According to experts, existing plans for responding to nuclear emergencies often neglect the potential consequences of multiple disasters and should be updated to include a wider range of potential scenarios.

Takako Nakagaki, who lives in Kanazawa, which is located about 60 kilometers (35 miles) south of the Shika plant, expressed skepticism towards the current evacuation plan. According to the plan, residents in closer proximity to the plant are instructed to remain indoors in the event of a radiation leak. However, this may not be feasible if houses are destroyed during an earthquake.

The earthquake in Noto caused concern in the nearby Fukui prefecture, which has three plants with a total of seven reactors that have been restarted. The neighboring Niigata prefecture is also worried, as the company that runs the Fukushima nuclear plant, which was devastated by a tsunami, is planning to restart their only functioning nuclear plant – the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, which has seven reactors and is the largest in the world.

Earlier this week, a large number of residents from towns with nuclear plants submitted requests to regulators and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority has asked for a deeper examination of the Shika facility, despite initial evaluations indicating no current danger to its cooling capabilities or radiation leaks. Officials from the NRA stated that the operator of Shika should take into account the potential for further harm to essential equipment as aftershocks persist.

The Shika nuclear plants, which began operating in 1993 and 2006, have been non-operational since the Fukushima disaster in 2011. Hokuriku Electric Power aims to resume operation of the newer No. 2 reactor by 2026, but the assessment of earthquake damage may cause a delay in this timeline.

Despite the catastrophic event at Fukushima, the government has continued to promote the use of nuclear energy as a reliable and environmentally-friendly source of energy.

Source: wral.com