The Kyushu Electric Power Company has restarted Unit 4 at the Genkai Nuclear Power Plant in the Saga Prefecture of Japan, the company announced.
Genkai Unit 4 was granted an operating permit by the Nuclear Regulatory Authority in January 2017 and was given permission for a restart in March 2018 by the Saga District Court, which refused to grant an injunction that would have stopped the restart.
Unit 3 at the plant was restarted in March, but quickly experienced a steam leak that caused it to shut down. Kyushu then conducted an review of Unit 4 to ensure it would not experience the same problem.
Genkai Unit 4 is the ninth commercial reactor to restart in Japan following the adoption of more strident safety measures prompted by the March 2011 triple meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Generating Station.
Local concern over the restart centers on evacuation plans, which involve as many as 17 populated islands in the vicinity of the plant. Concern has risen over the complications involved in a maritime evacuation, as there are no bridges connecting the smaller islands to Kyushu, the main island. The smaller islands are all within 30 kilometers from the plant, The Japan Times reported.