28 Mar (NucNet): The Osaka High Court has lifted an injunction against the restarts of the Takahama-3 and -4 reactor units in Fukui Prefecture, southwest Japan, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (Jaif) said in a statement.
The two units, owned and operated by Kansai Electric Power Company (Kepco), have been shut down since March 2016, just one week after Takahama-3 resumed commercial operation, becoming the third reactor in Japan to return to service since new regulatory standards were introduced following the March 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi accident.
In March 2016, the regional Otsu District Court issued an injunction to halt operations at Takahama-3 and -4 in response to a request by anti-nuclear groups who said there were doubts about the station’s seismic standards and about new regulatory standards brought in following Fukushima-Daiichi.
In July 2016, Kepco filed an appeal to the Osaka High Court seeking to allow it to restart Takahama-3 and -4.
According to Jaif, in its appeal Kepco argued that its seismic data was based on results of precise geological investigations and that important facilities had sufficient seismic safety margins, with municipal evacuation plans being “effective and reasonable” and based on experiences from the Fukushima accident.
Most of Japan’s reactors were shut immediately after the 2011 accident.
Takahama-3 and -4 are both 830-MW pressurised water reactors which began commercial operation in 1985.
