The entity in charge of safety controls wants to introduce inspections every ten years, but without establishing any limit for the operation of the plants. Only a small part of the nuclear power plants that were working before the Fukushima catastrophe are operating again, but the energy crisis is pressing for the use of the atom to be resumed.
Tokyo () – Japan is ready to extend the life of its nuclear power plants. This Wednesday, the Nuclear Regulatory Body (ARN), a public body created to supervise the safety of power plants after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, has proposed to introduce controls every ten years for all reactors with more than 30 years of service. If the inspections yield positive results, the nuclear power plants will be able to continue operating.
In theory, the new regulations could allow some reactors to operate beyond the current 60-year limit. According to current regulations introduced as of 2011, Japanese plants must be closed after 40 years, which can be extended for a maximum of 20 years provided that the ARN considers that the safety parameters are met.
“The [nueva] regulations will be much stricter than the current system”, said Yamanaka Shinsuke, director of the ARN. It is our duty to adopt adequate regulations”, he added. During the press conference to present the reform, Yamanaka alluded to the possibility that facilities oldest have to meet more criteria to ensure its operational safety.
The authority will continue to debate in the coming weeks what practices should be adopted for these audits, to be carried out every ten years. The opinions of the different electricity companies will be heard and, at the end of the year, the ARN will present a definitive plan on how to change the national regulations on the safety of nuclear power plants.
The review is in line with the expectations of the current government. Last August, Prime Minister Kishida instructed the Ministry of Economy to rreactivate nuclear energy production, with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions and ensuring a stable and secure energy supply for Japan. To date, only a small part of the nuclear power plants that were in operation before the Fukushima disaster have returned to operation after the closure imposed by the authorities in 2011, and the country is highly dependent on imported hydrocarbons.
At the moment, the energy picture looks very uncertain in Japan. In recent months (especially in spring), the risk of blackouts, due to the high demand for electricity compared to the modest production, had been one of the main concerns of the government. However, the structural conditions of this imbalance have not yet been fully resolved, to the point that this week the Government has appealed to citizens and businesses, asking save as much electricity as possible during the next winter. For this reason, the return to nuclear energy has become a priority for Tokyo.
On one point, however, the NRA appears to distance itself from the government’s position. When accounting for the age of nuclear power plants, the years after the Fukushima shutdown will not be discounted. The structures of the reactors have also aged during this period and therefore it is necessary to assess their safety.
