A Japanese nuclear reactor, which restarted last week for the first time in over 13 years after surviving a devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that severely impacted the nearby Fukushima plant, was shut down again on Monday due to an equipment issue, according to its operator.
The No. 2 reactor at the Onagawa nuclear power plant on Japan’s northern coast was put back online on Oct. 29 and had been expected to start generating power in early November.
But it had to be shut down again five days after its restart due to a glitch that occurred Sunday in a device related to neutron data inside the reactor, plant operator Tohoku Electric Power Co. said.
The reactor was operating normally and there was no release of radiation into the environment, Tohoku Electric said. The utility said it decided to shut it down to re-examine equipment to address residents' safety concerns. No new date for a restart was given.
The reactor is one of three at the Onagawa plant, which is 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the Fukushima Daiichi plant where three reactors melted following a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, releasing large amounts of radiation.
The Onagawa plant was hit by a 13-meter (42-foot) tsunami triggered by the quake but was able to keep its crucial cooling systems functioning in all three reactors and achieve their safe shutdowns.
All of Japan’s 54 commercial nuclear power plants were shut down after the Fukushima disaster for safety checks and upgrades. Onagawa No. 2 was the 13th of the 33 still useable reactors to restart.
Japan's government last year adopted a plan to maximize use of nuclear energy and is pushing to accelerate reactor restarts to secure a stable energy supply and meet its pledge to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Concern about the government’s revived push for nuclear energy grew after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit Japan’s Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, 2024. killing more than 400 people and damaging more than 100,000 structures. It caused minor damage to two nearby nuclear facilities, and evacuation plans for the region were found to be inadequate.
(Source: AP)
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