Japan’s Kepco Restarts Takahama No. 4 Reactor Despite Protest

Japan Restarts 4th Nuclear Reactor

Osaka-based Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO) restarted its Takahama No. 4 reactor located in Fukui Prefecture on Wednesday about 14 months after it was forced to shut it down, bringing to four the number of reactors now operating in Japan.

“The No. 4 reactor was turned back on at 5 p.m. today. It’s an important step, but it’s not the end. We’ll proceed with operations carefully, with an attitude of always having safety as the top priority,” said KEPCO President.

Takahama nuclear power plant, located in the town of Takahama, Ōi District, Fukui Prefecture, is owned and operated by KEPCO. The plant has four pressurized water reactors with electricity generating capacity at 3,392 MW, and previously (2006-2010) averaged annual production of 22,638 GWh.

Emergency Signal Shuts Hanul Nuke Reactor in S. Korea

NUCLEAR INCIDENT AT S. KOREA NPP
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Warning Signal Shuts Down Reactor Unit 5 at Hanul NPP in Uljin, S. Korea

Reactor No. 5 at Hanul Nuclear Power Plant in Uljin, located some 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was automatically shutdown at 4:17 am on Wednesday (UTC +9 hrs) after an emergency signal was activated.

The cause of the shutdown of the 1,000-megawatt unit was not yet known, said officials from the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co, Yonhap reported.

The Hanul Nuclear power plant [previously named Uljin] has six pressurized water reactors (PWRs) with a total installed capacity of 5,881 MW. The first unit went online in 1988.

Hanul Nuclear Power Plant. Undated photo provided by Korea Electric Power Corporation.

Currently 19 [out of 23] nuclear reactors supply about 30 percent of South Korea’s electricity.

Fake Parts, Bogus Certificates

South Korean nuclear regulators discovered about a thousand more fake parts supplied for their nuclear plants with bogus quality certificates in 2012.

• In November 2012, eight companies were found to have submitted 60 fake  certificates that covered more than 7,000 parts mostly used in the two reactors that were reportedly shut.

• S. Korean government is planning an additional 11 nuclear reactors, to add to its existing fleet of 23.

• About 12,500 tons of nuclear waste filled more than 70 percent of the country’s  storage capacity at reactor sites, as of June 2012.

Global Map of Nuclear Power Plants

Related Links

• It All Happens in a Flash Posted on November 28, 2013

• Japan Underestimating Nuclear Fallout Risks: U.N. Posted on November 27, 2012
• S. Korea: Nuclear Waste Storage Facility Reaching Full Capacity Posted on November 20, 2012
• Probability of a Nuclear Disaster – by Country
• Nuclear Power

It All Happens in a Flash

“Safety-related action” automatically shuts down South Korea’s nuclear reactor

The auto shutdown at the 587-megawatt Kori No. 1 reactor occurred on Thursday raising the tally of nuclear reactors closed to six and increasing the probability of power blackouts this winter, Reuters reported.

The reactor was commissioned in 1978, and had recently returned online after a 180-day overhaul, the report said.

South Korea’s peak demand could exceed 81,000 MW this winter, some 5,000 MW short of total supply capacity, according to industry data.

Of the other 5  nuclear reactors currently offline, three are shut due to fake safety certificates,  a fourth awaiting a license extension beyond its 30-year life span, and a fifth is shut down for maintenance until 2014.

The Kori Nuclear Power Plant is located in Gori, near Busan (metro population: 8.2 million), South Korea’s second largest metropolis after Seoul. It is owned and operated by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, a subsidiary of KEPCO.

Kori Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1. Source: KNHP [KHNP is a subsidiary of  Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), accounting for about 40% of South Korea’s electric power supply, both nuclear and hydro.

Fake Parts, Bogus Cetificates

South Korean nuclear regulators discovered about a thousand more fake parts supplied for their nuclear plants with bogus quality certificates in 2012.

• In November 2012, eight companies were found to have submitted 60 fake  certificates that covered more than 7,000 parts mostly used in the two reactors that were reportedly shut.

• S. Korean government is planning an additional 11 nuclear reactors, to add to its existing fleet of 23.

• About 12,500 tons of nuclear waste filled more than 70 percent of the country’s  storage capacity at reactor sites, as of June 2012.

Related Links

• Probability of a Nuclear Disaster – by Country
• Nuclear Power

• S. Korea: Nuclear Waste Storage Facility Reaching Full Capacity Posted on November 20, 2012
• Japan Underestimating Nuclear Fallout Risks: U.N. Posted on November 27, 2012

Disaster Calendar – 2 July 2012

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,353 Days Left

[July 2, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,353 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History…

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

Disaster Calendar – 1 July 2012

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,354 Days Left

[July 1, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,354 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History…

Kansai Electric Power Co restarted the 1,180-megawatt No. 3 unit at its Ohi nuclear plant on Sunday.

The No.4 reactor unit will resume operations in two weeks time, reports said.

Several thousand protesters  marched through Tokyo streets calling for an end to the use of nuclear power, NHK reported. [Japan has a population of about 128 million.]

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

Disaster Calendar – 16 June 2012

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,369 Days Left

[June 16, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,369 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History…

• Japan. No one is quite capable of taking pride in ignorance than the wanting in self-esteem, self-serving and ultimately corrupt Japanese politicians.
  • The Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihiko Noda, and the country’s Industry Minister, Yukio Edano, have announced the resumption of nuclear power operations at two reactors operated by Kansai Electric Power Co at Ohi Nuclear Power Plant (Ōi NPP), in Fukui Prefecture, western Japan.
  • The reactors are the first to resume operation after they were shut down following the Fukushima meltdown, world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
  • More reactors elsewhere in the country are expected to follow suit.
  • There are uncorroborated reports that the incidents of birth defects in Fukui Prefecture are higher than in most of the rest of Japan.
  • It’s believed that a number of nuclear incidents have occurred at Oi NPP, but the reports were not made public.
  • It can be argued that the Japanese deserve their government. Unfortunately, nuclear disasters have global repercussions.
  • See also:
    • Japan Earthquakes, Disasters: Recent History and FIRE-EARTH Forecasts
    • Chernobyl legacy to linger long after most humans have gone

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar