Resumption with Minimum Approval

Following two reactors in Sendai, Kagoshima, a reactor in Ikata Nuclear Power Plant achieved approval of resumption from the Governor of Ehime Prefecture on Monday. It will restart its power generation early next year. Leaving concerns of the residents behind, nuclear power generation is eventually spreading in Japan again. Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant is still leaking contaminated water to Pacific Ocean, anyway.

Governor of Ehime, Tokihiro Nakamura, announced that the approval of resuming Reactor #3 in Ikata Plant to Shikoku Electric Power Company, which owned the plant. And Nakamura later visited Ministers of Nuclear Emergency Preparedness and of Economy, Trade and Industry in Tokyo and requested further measures for dealing with possible accident in the plant. “I received determination from national government,” told Nakamura after the meetings.

The focusing point on resumption of Ikata Plant was approval from cities and towns around the plant. For the decision of allowing resumption, Nakamura required approval only from Ikata Town, where the plant located, following the example in Sendai. Although there were six cities and towns within 30 kilometers from the plant, Nakamura did not get approval on the resumption of reactor. “I heard opinions from the mayors,” was the answer of Nakamura to a question about legitimacy of the process.

Meanwhile, new regulatory law demands making evacuation plan for the people living within 30 kilometers in case severe accident happens. Ikata Plant is located on a long and narrow peninsula in the west of Shikoku Island. The evacuation plan assumes that people will go to Kyushu Island across the strait by ships, if the road to mainland is blocked in great earthquake. But, the ports for evacuation are not so big for accepting a large ship. Evacuation of Ikata Town expects that people will be able to use small fishing boats to catch large ships offshore. There is no guarantee for the evacuation plan to work effectively.

The resumption of Ikata cannot necessarily be a gospel for other reactors waiting for resumption. For resumption of Takahama Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui, Prefectures of Kyoto and Shiga request engagement to the decision, because both prefectures are partly included in the area within 30 kilometers from the plant. Hakodate City, Hokkaido, raised a lawsuit against owner of Oma Nuclear Power Plant, being built on the other side of Tsugaru Strait, for stopping the construction. There are high hurdles for resuming the rest of reactors.

On the same day of approval to Ikata, the wall to block underground water in broken Fukushima Plant was established on the seaside. However, 400 metric tons of contaminated underground water is still flowing into Pacific Ocean. If they consider the unbearable impact on human life, decision of resuming nuclear power plant will not be so instant.