Of all the 54 nuclear reactors built prior to the Fukushima nuclear disaster, 43 of them remain operable but only a mere 9 reactors are currently in use. However, Unit 4 was shut down three days after restart due to an internal failure, and Unit 3 in March 2016 after the district court in Shiga prefecture issued an injunction to halt the operation of the Takahama Nuclear Power Plant. On 11 August 2015, the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant was brought back online, followed by two units (3 and 4) of the Takahama Nuclear Power Plant on 29 January 2016. In September 2013, Ōi units 3 and 4 went offline, making Japan again completely without nuclear-produced electrical power. Ī comprehensive assessment by international experts on the health risks associated with the Fukushima I nuclear power plant disaster concluded in 2013 that, for the general population inside and outside Japan, the predicted risks were low and no observable increases in cancer rates above baseline rates were anticipated. ĭespite protests, on 1 July 2012 unit 3 of the Ōi Nuclear Power Plant was restarted. An energy white paper, approved by the Japanese Cabinet in October 2011, stated that "Public confidence in the safety of nuclear power was greatly damaged" by the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and called for a reduction in the nation's reliance on nuclear power. īy October 2011, while there had been electricity shortages, Japan survived the summer of 2011 without the extensive blackouts that some had predicted, but at the price of casting doubts on Japan ambitious carbon emissions cuts. Another 49 percent were asking for a gradual exit from nuclear energy. In June 2011, immediately after the Fukushima disaster, more than 80 percent of Japanese said they were anti-nuclear and distrusted government information on radiation, but ten years later, in March 2021, only 11 percent of Japanese said they wanted that nuclear energy generation to be discontinued immediately. Problems in stabilizing the triple reactor meltdowns at Fukushima I nuclear plant hardened attitudes toward nuclear power. The last of Japan's fifty-four reactors ( Tomari-3) went offline for maintenance on, leaving Japan completely without nuclear-produced electrical power for the first time since 1970. Japan's first-ever nuclear emergency was declared, and 140,000 residents within 20 km (12 mi) of the plant were evacuated.Īll of Japan's nuclear plants were closed, or their operations were suspended for safety inspections. Though all of Japan's nuclear reactors successfully withstood shaking from the Tohoku earthquake, flooding from the ensuing tsunami caused the failure of cooling systems at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant on 11 March 2011. Others are in the process of being reactivated, or are undergoing modifications aimed to improve resiliency against natural disasters Japan's 2030 energy goals posit that at least 33 will be reactivated by a later date. A total of 24 reactors are scheduled for decommissioning or are in the process of being decommissioned. Nuclear power energy was a national strategic priority in Japan.Īs of March 2020, of the 54 nuclear reactors in Japan, there were 42 operable reactors but only 9 reactors in 5 power plants were actually operating. Prior to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan had generated 30% of its electrical power from nuclear reactors and planned to increase that share to 40%. Radiation checks led to bans on some shipments of vegetables and fish. The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the world's worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, displaced 50,000 households after radioactivity leaked into the air, soil, and sea. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, a nuclear plant with seven units, the largest single nuclear power station in the world, was completely shut down for 21 months following an earthquake in 2007. The Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant, a 3-unit BWR site typical of Japan's nuclear plants.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |