Tokyo, Oct 29 – Attempts by the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) to restart reactors in another nuclear power complex was blocked Monday by Japan’s nuclear regulator, which suggested TEPCO improve its management in the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant first.
Katsuhiko Ikeda, secretary general of Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), said the agency will decide whether to go ahead with safety assessment by checking improvements at the stricken plant in reference to TEPCO’s move to restart reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata prefecture.
Ikeda’s comments came after a meeting between NRA chairman Shunichi Tanaka and TEPCO president Naomi Hirose on Monday on a series of highly toxic water leaks and other problems at the Daiichi plant, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Daiichi plant was badly damaged by a quake-triggered tsunami in March 2011.
Ikeda quoted Tanaka as saying that NRA wants TEPCO to take drastic measures to respond to the situation based on a long-term perspective at the Fukushima plant, according to local media.
TEPCO, at the request of the regulator, on Oct 15 submitted a report that analysed the leak incidents at the Fukushima plant and presented measures to prevent recurrences, including transferring about 20 staff from Kashiwazaki-Kariwa to Fukushima.
But NRA commissioners have expressed doubt over whether TEPCO’s management personnel fully understood the situation faced by workers on site and whether it can ensure the safety of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.
-Bernama
