Two reactors in Japan's idled nuclear fleet initiated safety inspections this week, while Tokyo Electric Power Co. announced a change in its plan to move fuel from Fukushima Daiichi unit 4.
Recent developments related to the Japanese nuclear plant severely damaged in 2011 include:
Inspection Process Begins at Tokai and Higashidori
On Tuesday, two reactors began the safety inspection process required to restart under the newly formed Nuclear Regulation Authority. Jiji Press reported that the NRA began evaluating Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tokai No. 2 and unit 1 at Tohoku Electric Power Co.'s Higashidori plant. While an executive with the latter company told Japanese media that the Higashidori reactor is ready for the regulator's scrutiny, the NRA will not complete the review until it receives a study on potential faults beneath the site. The Tokai unit is also likely to face challenges. Kyodo reported that NRA officials in a meeting said both utilities would need to present more comprehensive data for the safety reviews to move forward. At Tokai, regulators also questioned the sufficiency of a plan to use a fire-resistant coating on older electrical cables as an alternative to replacing them completely. The plants are among 19 that recently applied for safety reviews required to restart. In the meantime, a government report released this week indicated that fossil generation provided 88 percent of Japan's electricity in fiscal 2013.
Unused Unit 4 Fuel Headed to Different Pool
A delay in moving older fuel into dry storage has caused Tokyo Electric Power Co. to reorganize where it will store fuel removed from unit 4. Since November, an overhead crane inside a purpose-built support structure has been removing fuel assemblies from the spent fuel pool of the unit that lost its roof in a hydrogen explosion. Plans called for the transfer of the pool's roughly 1,500 assemblies via truck-transported canisters to a common spent fuel pool on site. To make room, TEPCO planned to move some of the existing fuel there into dry casks, but NHK reported Thursday that a safety evaluation has delayed that plan. To keep the fuel removal on track for completion this year, TEPCO announced it will apply for regulatory approval to move 180 unused assemblies to the spent fuel pool of unit 6, which was not damaged following the tsunami.