14 May (NucNet): A local authority has given the go-ahead for the restart of two units at the four-unit Ohi nuclear power plant in Japan.
The Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) said the Ohi town assembly, in the central prefecture of Fukui, gave the green light to restarting units 3 and 4 at the plant, operated by Kansai Electric Power Company (Kepco).
The units, both 1127-megawatt pressurised water reactors, have been offline for safety checks. Last month, the government decided the units were safe and should be allowed to restart, but not until the local authority had given its approval.
Neither JAIF nor Kepco have said when they expect the units to restart.
Earlier this month Japan's last operating commercial reactor, Tomari-3, shut down, leaving the nation without any of its 50 commercial nuclear reactors in operation.
Reactors around the country are undergoing safety checks in the wake of the March 2011 disaster that destroyed four units at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant.
Following the Fukushima-Daiichi accident, the government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) ordered two-stage stress tests on all Japan’s nuclear reactors.
Preliminary assessments examine a plant’s ability to survive beyond design basis events and are being carried out during planned periodic inspections for nuclear power plants that are ready to start-up.
Secondary “comprehensive” safety assessments are being carried out on all nuclear plants, including those that are subject to the preliminary assessments. NISA said the secondary assessments take into account the stress tests in European countries and reviews by Japan’s Fukushima-Daiichi Investigation and Verification Committee.
