Twenty-one years after the accident at the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant, the operating company, Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO), has resumed studies for the construction of a new reactor at the site. This is the first such step since the Fukushima accident in 2011. The mayor of Mihama has supported the study, emphasizing the need to ensure safety and consensus from the local community.
This happened days before the anniversary of the accident in Mihama, one of the most serious in terms of casualties in Japan.
Kansai recalled that it had announced its intention to build a new reactor to replace Unit 1 in Mihama back in November 2010. However, the study was suspended after the Fukushima accident in March 2011. According to the company’s management, quoted by WNN, the construction of new facilities to replace existing ones is one of their goals within the “Vision for Zero Carbon Emissions 2050” initiative. Kansai plans to conduct geomorphological, geological, and other studies in cooperation with the local community.
According to a Reuters report, the company is considering the introduction of an advanced light water reactor SRZ-1200, developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).
Units 1 and 2 of the Mihama NPP have been shut down. Unit 3 was restarted in June 2021. It is the oldest reactor (1976) to be put into operation after the catastrophic accident in Fukushima. It was this reactor that malfunctioned on August 9, 2004. Its turbine released a powerful burst of steam at a temperature of around 200 degrees Celsius. At the time of the accident, there were 200 employees in the building where the reactor was located. Five died. Eighteen suffered serious burns.
By law, 40-year-old reactors can be refurbished and, if approved by a commission, operate for an additional 20 years. The reactors at Mihama were shut down for more than a decade, and now their life has been extended until 2036.
Tatsujiro Suzuki, former vice-chairman of the Japanese government’s Atomic Energy Commission, told Reuters that he had doubts about the approval process for restarting the Mihama nuclear reactor. “It seems that the industry and the government have learned nothing from Fukushima,” Suzuki said.
Why are nuclear power plants obsolete?
The reserves of uranium-235 in nature are very limited, and in order to be used in nuclear power plants, it must be enriched from 0.75 to 3.5%. This is done in only a few countries around the world. No one can say how much enriched uranium will cost in years to come.
There is still no single, globally accepted solution for the final disposal of all types of nuclear waste from nuclear power plants. This type of waste is classified according to its level of radioactivity and decay time. Those with low and medium levels of radioactivity are usually radioactive for several decades to several centuries. They decompose over hundreds and thousands of years in nature.
An accident in a nuclear reactor can lead to the release of large quantities of radioactive materials into the environment. The spread of radioactive particles through the air and water can affect vast areas for decades or even centuries. Acute radiation sickness, increased risk of cancer (especially of the thyroid gland), genetic damage, and long-term psychological trauma to the population are some of the health consequences of nuclear accidents.
In the event of accidents at nuclear power plants, thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people need to be evacuated from contaminated areas, leading to economic, social, and environmental damage.
Accidents at nuclear power plants are clear evidence of why we should abandon nuclear energy. That is why the Public Center for Environment and Sustainable Development will continue to remind us of them. Until we learn our lesson.
Photo : WNN
