Kansai Electric appeals court injunction on reactor restarts

@zichi

You're obviously very well-informed and very intelligent.

My question to you is:

What the heck should Japan do to ensure a safe, economically viable future when it comes to the generation of electricity? Help!!

It's hillarious that you accuse others of conjecture. The claim that the reactor was damaged in the earthquake (despite no evidence) is nothing but conjecture. As are most of your regular posts.

I am fond of saying that Onagawa was a success because, well it was. I've also constantly criticised Tepco.

I do find it wonderfully ironic that you constantly try and lecture me on the suffering of the people of Fukushima yet all you've done for them is donate a bit to the red cross. You know what they say about action and words.

It's interesting that you've stopped claiming that thousands died in the evacuation. It's also interesting that you claim that nuclear has been a failure. Over the past 50 years it has saved tens of thousands of lives. It has made a drastic difference in the amount of C02 pollution generated from Japan.

Still, it's apparently the pro-nuclear supporters who spread the lies and misinformation isn't it?

Despite all facts pointing to the opposite.

1) a nuclear disaster of equal or worse magnitude could happen again

Basic risk assessment. Something, which hasn't killed anyone and will at worst kill a couple of hundred people (UN/WHO) as opposed to the alternative. An increase in the use of fossil fuels which is guaranteed to lead thousands of extra deaths a year.

Still, facts and science such as that will be regarded as being distortion or conjecture or even lies.

Wipeout - not entirely sure of your point. Had the tsunami not happened, there wouldn't have been the disaster that happened. One of the posters, who I'm not allowed to name by the moderators, has claimed that the reactor was damaged in the earthquake.

Now, that is a distortion, it is conjecture and it's also grossly incorrect. Still, I'll get marked down for it. Doesn't change the fact that plant would have survived had it not been for the tsunami. Had there been a bigger wall, better design etc it wouldn't have happened. What is needed to prevent another Fukushima is relatively simple to do. What is needed to prevent the deaths from fossil fuels (the current alternative) is, well, impossible.

Still, there's no nuclear so let's all celebrate those extra deaths that are caused as a result of it

The best the advocates can do is lie, distort facts and attack anyone who doubts the path of the Nuclear sunshine that we are too blinded to see, 3 years of excuses and distortion have taught me that, the sunshine they talk of is actually a train rushing towards me.

@Falla, yes. Hopefully 25,000 km from the plant too.

Within 250km of the plant??!?

@Heda, as has been WIDELY reported radiation alarms on the perimeter fencing at Dai-Ichi were sounding before, as in preceding, the tsunami(s) hit.

So just to confirm, despite everything to the contrary - you believe that had there been no tsunami then Dai Ichi would still have suffered these issues. Do you have a single shred of evidence to say, that categorically, it was the earthquake and not the tsunami.

Does it matter? Tsunamis are triggered by earthquakes, and earthquakes are accompanied by pre shocks and aftershocks. It's not like the electricity companies or the politicians or the businessmen can agree to have one without the other, like you can order a salad but hold the dressing. It's meaningless to argue whether it was the earthquake of the tsunami or the aftershocks that did the damage, and looking at the state of Fukushima Daiichi today, no one can seriously argue that everything would be hunky-dory if only the basements hadn't gotten wet.

Bottom line, they weren't ready for a natural disaster that had happened more than once in the past and was waiting to happen again. And will happen again in the future.

?? There are major cracks in the reactor containment vessels and suppression chamber rings which now leak cooling water which adds to the water accumulation problem. A major valve system in the No3 reactor which controls cooling water was damaged. If these were not caused by the earthquake can you offer any other explanation how it happened?

So just to confirm, despite everything to the contrary - you believe that had there been no tsunami then Dai Ichi would still have suffered these issues. Do you have a single shred of evidence to say, that categorically, it was the earthquake and not the tsunami.

And clearly I have been reading the reports and not reading into them what I want to read.

Some kind of explosion perhaps? No one else seems to indicate that - certainly the official report hasn't.

Reactors were not damaged in the earthquake.

A 7 April 2011 aftershock damaged 2 of the 3 power lines connecting to the plant, but it did not damage any of the backup cooling system.

So it did it's job then? And yes, I frequently quote Onagawa because, well, as I've just said - it did it's job.

The report criticized TEPCO's argument that the nuclear accident was due to a tsunami of an unimaginable, unpredictable scale. It stated, "The reason the accident was beyond assumptions was because no attempt was made to make assumptions due to a safety myth that had no basis in fact."

And THAT is still the fact of the approach taken.

Interesting to note that Zichi has finally stopped claiming that the reactors were damaged in the earthquake.

It's just a shame that he's still not accepting that the limited damage from the initial earthquake would have been repaired before there was a serious issue had it not been for the tsunami. Clearly there were design issues but had the plant been looked after properly (see Onagawa) this would never have happened.

TEPCO are most culpable for this incident. And it's beyond tragic that they haven't been brought to justice over this.

Japan is not suffering a shortage of electricity even with all the nuclear reactors shut down. Electrical appliances here are much more efficient than anywhere else. For example, after the Fukushima disaster there was a rapid and ubiquitous shift to LED lighting instead of florescent light, which is more efficient than incandescent lighting. There has also been a massive expansion of solar panel installations throughout Japan. While solar and other renewable energy maybe not supply the base-load requirements, natural gas fired plants can. Japan's current deficit reflects the import of natural gas and that's the motivation for restarting the reactors. With a declining population and industrial capacity a longterm investment in nuclear power is a short-sighted and dangerous solution to solve the deficit. There's also the overly cosy relationship of the nuclear industry, the LDP and the bureaucrats http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/18/world/asia/after-fukushima-fighting-the-power-of-tepco.html?pagewanted=all&action=click&module=Search&region=searchResults&mabReward=relbias%3Ar&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry680%23%2Ftepco.

@sf2k

Then what is your solution to alternative energy for Japan, the third largest economy?

sfjp330

you don't seem to get that it doesn't really matter if another reactor should go boom. So let's build them on earthquake fault lines and place them inside one of the most earthquake prone countries in the world. It's madness

Let's just focus on Japan, not other countries. Japan is on the ring of fire (geothermal) and is an island nation (hydrothermal) and with it's TV production capacity can flip even 1/3 of it's output to solar panels. Focus

If the least Japan can do it can't even do then feel free to compare. But there's nothing to compare nothing to

sf2k May. 23, 2014 - 04:32AM JST After another one goes, global sanctions against Japan ever owning nuclear power again will probably be one way to stop. Preferably though I hope Japan wakes up and votes their way to change instead.

How ridiculous. Japan's is the third largest economy in thw world and they need for energy to keep the civilization going. And sadly, no conceivable renewables is going to provide enough energy to keep that civilization going. Japan needs nuclear as part of the mix and the more you eliminate coal and natural gas then the more nuclear your going to have to use. If you notice, why do you think China will be adding close to 30 nuclear plants within a decade or two? In Germany, the country that has spent the most and had the largest build up of renewables in the world, but they are not replacing them with yet more wind or solar renewables.They’re opening new coal plants and depending on grid from France's nuclear energy.

Nothing says it has improved safety beyond more cashola to the nuclear industry.

This is pretty serious cognitive dissonance and I wish it could end without another disaster happening first. The first step is not voting in pro-nuke politicians. Instead, the public vote for disaster and are now basically waiting for more. It makes no sense. So why should anyone be surprised if what they want finally happens?

After another one goes, global sanctions against Japan ever owning nuclear power again will probably be one way to stop. Preferably though I hope Japan wakes up and votes their way to change instead.

sengoku38May. 22, 2014 - 06:15PM JST

Keeping these reactors offline for so many years is really dangerous because when they restart (and they will restart), all the engineers and people who run these plants will not remember how to do their jobs correctly after so many years of not doing it. We need the plants to restart as soon as possible so save our economy and create a safer country.

These plants will not remember how to do their job correctly after many years of not doing it? Where are these written manual and safety procedures? Where are the adequately trained engineers? Are you telling me that these engineers were doing operations without safety manual every time they run it? Do you know the flying pilots need to use flying manual and verify every operation before taking off?

You are advocating why the nuke plants should not be restarted in Japan. Thank you. You prove my point why I am advocating against the nuke energy plants restart. They are not safe.

The public hostility and distrust for the Nuclear Regulatory Authority was apparent in political polling in the Tokyo elections. The NRA was never afforded the power and independence of new agency, it was formed out of the discredited Nuclear Industrial and Safety Agency and the Nuclear Safety Commission.

Abenomics Achilles heel could prove to be the failure of the NRA to enforce the new regulatory safety requirements, energy security and the restart programme are key features of that illusive third arrow.

The bigger picture here, which I believe everyone gets except you, is that all those other NPPs could be terrifically damaged by earthquakes

And the world could spontaneously explode tomorrow. But why don't we stick to scenarios for which we have evidence that they could come about?

...and tsunamis are the result of what ??? Wouldn't that be earthquakes ???

A result of, but not the same as. I haven't checked the geographical location of the various nuclear facilities in Japan, but if they are not near a coastline, then there isn't the same risk as there was with Fukushima. Because Fukushima was damaged as a result of the tsunami, not the earthquake.

JT Do us a favor and find out how we can contribute to the citizens' legal fee fund, so we can support them. 1000 yen from each JT reader will help, and it will help them psychologically too to know we support them.

TEPCO already gets my extra ¥1,000 a month to pay for the last far cup!

no, there is much reason to believe that the earthquake caused damage to the plant before the tsunami...such testimony has been heard from some insude the plant who documented pipes etc coming loose before the tsunami. not picked up by mainstream corporate media (kisha club, complIant). Watch videonews.com and other reliAble (not scaremongering by the way) alternative media to learn things not on NHK or Kyodo/jiji.

re the appeals court, i fear they could reverse the first court's decison...such things happen frequently here where the status quo often prevails. Let's hope for an impartial group of judges.

@Strangerland

It wasn't the earthquake that damaged fukushima, it was the tsunami.

...and tsunamis are the result of what ??? Wouldn't that be earthquakes ???

Fine, Strangerland-sama. The bigger picture here, which I believe everyone gets except you, is that all those other NPPs could be terrifically damaged by earthquakes.........and the tsunami that may follow won't help.

As I said many times on JT, the nuke energy plants are standing on soft "tofu" islands. The geological study has revealed that Japan is in "Ring of Fire and within 5 years, more than likely, the big earthquake like Fukushima will hit Japan again.

It wasn't the earthquake that damaged fukushima, it was the tsunami.

regrettable? Please stop using this word, or stop translating it as this. KEPCO does not control the courts

The Power Stations that don't comply with the revised regulations, must remain off line. It is a waste of tax pays money to use the justice system to attempt to circumvent the new safety regulation process.

I would like to express my deepest respect to the Fukui District Court justices who stood up against the Kansai Electric Power (JAPAN INC),

I will continue my personal commitment and support against the nuke plant restart for the best interest of Japanese people.

As I said many times on JT, the nuke energy plants are standing on soft "tofu" islands. The geological study has revealed that Japan is in "Ring of Fire and within 5 years, more than likely, the big earthquake like Fukushima will hit Japan again.

If safety and humanity are not that important, then what else is? Profit? National interest?

JT Do us a favor and find out how we can contribute to the citizens' legal fee fund, so we can support them. 1000 yen from each JT reader will help, and it will help them psychologically too to know we support them.

It's times like this when the slow moving wheels of justice are a good thing. I hope it takes them at least a year to get their appeal heard.

sengoku38: Devil's advocate?

Keeping these reactors offline for so many years is really dangerous because when they restart (and they will restart), all the engineers and people who run these plants will not remember how to do their jobs correctly after so many years of not doing it. We need the plants to restart as soon as possible so save our economy and create a safer country.

Dazed and confused sorry, the policy seem clear to me, December 2011 a advisory committee was set up. July 2013 an enforcement procedure was published, May 2104 can anything be more bent out of shape. Kansai Electric has either complied with the revised Reactor Regulation Act or not!! This is an outrageous!

Recommendation from Advisory Committee for Prevention of Nuclear Accident - 13th December 2011. Preface -

A public trust of nuclear safety policy has completely lost as a result of the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations.

The overconfidence of the government and the licensee in their safety measures could not prevent severe accident, which causes massive discharge of radioactive materials to the environment and destroys communities of local citizens.

The government needs to reconstruct nuclear safety regulation organisation and regulation rapidly, so as to prevent severe accident

http://www.nsr.go.jp/nra/gaiyou/data/recommendation.pdf

Enforcement of the New Regulatory Requirements for Commercial Nuclear Power Reactors - July 8, 2013

Under the revised Reactor Regulation Act, operators applying for such an extension are required to implement special inspections to assess whether their facilities meet or not the latest technical standards and properly maintain or not their operation from the viewpoints of any expected wear/tear and deterioration of facilities and equipment in the 20-year time

http://www.nsr.go.jp/english/e_news/data/13/0912.pdf

50 of these things are not producing a spark? And the lights are on, companies still making a profit... It's regrettable the facts tell us we just don't need so many if any dangerous long term environmental doom factories.

“It was extremely regrettable that our company’s position could not be understood,” Kansai Electric Power said in a statement.

Sorry, KEPCO, but the rejection is clear evidence they DO understand the copany's stance! What you mean is, "it's regrettable they did not side with our company's position". Here's an idea, though... Meet safety standards first, THAeN apply for restar!

If there were to be another nuclear disaster at Oi it would wipeout the Kansai region. Kobe city commissioned a study on the effects of a nuclear disaster in Fukui and is still withholding the results from the citizens of Kobe......

“It was extremely regrettable that our company’s position could not be understood,” Kansai Electric Power said in a statement.

No! What is extremely regrettable is, the fact that you block headed jijis can't accept the fact that nobody can trust you to ensure the safety of these plants!