High court overturns Shika 2 shutdown order

Wednesday, 18 March 2009

Updated with details of Hokuriku's decision to seek permission to restart Unit 1 of the Shika plant.

A high court in Japan has overturned a lower court's ruling that unit 2 of Hokuriku Electric Power Co's Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa prefecture should be shut down due to safety concerns. The utility has also decided to seek approval to restart Unit 1 at the site.
 

Shika (Image: Hokuriku)

The Kanazawa branch of the Nagoya High Court reversed a ruling made by the Kanazawa District Court in March 2006, just days after the 1358 MWe ABWR began operating. The court had ordered the company to suspend operation of the reactor on the grounds that doubt existed about its earthquake resistance. That ruling was made after a suit was brought by a group of citizens.
 
However, the high court ruled that 'adequate safety measures have been taken' at Shika 2 and that Hokuriku's evaluation of known active faults around the plant and its calculations of seismic movement reflected 'the most current knowledge in earthquake studies and other areas.' The court concluded that the facility 'does not pose a real danger to the lives and health of residents' nearby.
 
In a statement, Hokuriku said that the high court's ruling 'confirms the stance we've been attesting to for three years since the first ruling that the Shika 2 reactor is safe.' It added, 'We will make further efforts to gain the public's trust and ensure the safe operation of the plant.'
 
The case was first lodged by 135 anti-nuclear residents and others in August 1999, immediately after construction of the unit began. They claimed that the reactor presented a high risk of accident in an earthquake. Shika 2 was allowed to remain in operation until the appeal filed by Hokuriku Electric had been heard.
 
However, a safety inspection in July 2006 at Shika 2 found that blades had broken in a Hitachi-supplied turbine. The same problem had previously been discovered at Chubu Electric Power Co's Hamaoka 5, which is of identical design to Shika 2. Hokuriku had planned to restart Shika 2 in May 2007 following repairs, but was forced to keep the entire plant offline after it was discovered in that the utility had covered up an earlier incident at Shika 1. Shika 2 was eventually restarted in June 2008.
 
Shika 1 restart request
 
Unit 1 at Shika, a 540 MWe BWR, has remained offline since March 2007, after Hokuriku was ordered to shut down the reactor by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The order came after the utility admitted a past safety lapse to METI as part of a purge of records intended to help transform corporate safety culture in all electric operating companies, nuclear and otherwise. The lapse in question was a June 1999 criticality event that occurred at Shika 1while it was shut down for a planned inspection. A test during fuel rod manipulation led to a criticality event that lasted 15 minutes. By law, Hokuriku should have immediately reported the incident, but it failed to do so.
 
Hokuriku has announced that it is seeking local government approval to restart Unit 1. The company has requested permission from the Ishikawa prefectural government and the Shika town council. Hokuriku said that it has taken measures to prevent a recurrence of the criticality incident and has overhauled safety procedures at the plant.