Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant
| Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant |
Tsuruga NPP |
|
Location of Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant
|
| Country |
Japan |
| Coordinates |
|
| Construction began |
November 24, 1966 (1966-11-24) |
| Commission date |
March 14, 1970 (1970-03-14) |
| Operator(s) |
Japan Atomic Power Company |
|
| Reactor information |
| Reactors operational |
357 MW
1160 MW |
| Reactors planned |
2 x 1538 MW |
|
| Power generation information |
| Annual generation |
9,096 GW·h |
| Net generation |
234,086 GW·h |
| As of July 25, 2007 |
The Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant (敦賀発電所, Tsuruga hatsudensho?, Tsuruga NPP) is a nuclear power plant located in the town of Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture. It is operated by the Japan Atomic Power Company. The total site area amounts to 5.12 km2 (1,265 acres) with 4.80 km2, or 94% of it, being green area that the company is working to preserve.[1]
The Tsuruga site is a dual site with the decommissioned prototype Fugen Nuclear Power Plant.
The construction of two new nuclear reactors is currently planned.[2][3]
Nuclear Reactors on Site
| Unit |
Type |
Commission date |
Electric Power |
| Tsuruga - 1 |
BWR |
March 14, 1970 |
357 MW |
| Tsuruga - 2 |
PWR |
February 17, 1987 |
1160 MW |
| Tsuruga - 3 (planned)[4] |
APWR |
planned July 2017 |
1538 MW |
| Tsuruga - 4 (planned)[4] |
APWR |
planned July 2018 |
1538 MW |
Events
- In March 1981, drainage from unit 1 caused a release of radioactivity. The forty-day cover-up of a spill of 16 tons of radioactive primary cooling water was revealed only in April.[5][6]
- On 2 May 2011, Kyodo officials announced higher levels of radioactivity in the cooling water, JAPC admitted technical problems and announced to check for radioactivity on a daily basis from now on, instead of checking only every week, what has been standard procedure up to now.[7]
- On 12 November 2011 at 7:45 PM local time a fire broke out in the No. 1 reactor. After a switch for a spare electrical device at the water processing facility was operated by a worker, the fire was ignited because a short circuit caused a series of hot sparks. After the fire was put out, no casualties were reported. JAPC said that there was no leakage of radiation, because the reactor was closed for inspection. [8][9]
Juridical actions of citizens against restarting the nuclear reactors
On 8 November 2011 a group of 40 citisens of Otsu prefecture Kyodo started a law suit at the Otsu District Court against Japan Atomic Power Company. They asked for a provisional court order to delay the restart of the two reactors at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Tsuruga. The plaintiffs argued that:
- Lake Biwa, could be contaminated when a nuclear accident would occure at the plant
- The whole region of Kansai is dependent on this biggest lake of Japan because it is the source of drinking water for the whole region
- an accident would endanger the health of all residents
- the Tsuruga plant is built on a site with a fault below it and a severe accident could occur during an earthquake
- the No. 1 reactor had been more than 40 years in service since it was first operational in 1970, and the Tsuruga plant was insufficiently protected against tsunami.
- the ongoing regular checks were done under the government's safety and technological standards, and the nuclear crisis in Fukushima had proven that those regulations were insufficient.
- the reactors should remain shut down until the cause of the disaster in Fukushima would be fully investigated
- the regular checks should be performed under the new safety standards.
The operator of the plant did not want to make any comment to the press. At that time the two reactors of the plant were shut down for regular checkups. But the four-month inspection of the No. 2 reactor could be completed in December, and the checkup of reactor 1 could be completed in March 2012. [10]
See also
References
External links