Aging Takahama nuclear reactor restarted after 12-year halt

Need to get them ALL back on line! 12 years of wasted infrastructure.

The reboot comes after the Nuclear Regulation Authority gave the green light in 2016 for the reactor to operate beyond the 40-year service period, which was set in the wake of the crisis.

Next milestone, will be over 100-year service period.

Next milestone, will be over 100-year service period.

Why limit operation to X-number of years? As long as they well maintained and kept up to modern standards, they should be run indefinitely. Or, until we have fusion.

Why limit operation to X-number of years? As long as they well maintained and kept up to modern standards, they should be run indefinitely. Or, until we have fusion.

Don't know how your knowledge about science and engineering. From time to time those structure and material suffer stress and fatigue, and become costly to maintain while ensuring the standard even dangerous. Not to mention all new technology includes safety technology that already improved during those decades but unable to implement because we just can't stop those plant during operation.

what a "progress"...

tora - Why limit operation to X-number of years? As long as they well maintained and kept up to modern standards, they should be run indefinitely. Or, until we have fusion.

Why? Because it's 1970's technology. Perhaps you have heard of the Fukushima disaster. This happened because the plant was not well maintained or kept up to modern standards. Every plant in Japan is still prone to the same meltdown that happened in Fukushima. Way back in 2001 TEPCO was advised by a French team of experts to get the back up generators off the ground onto the top of the housings and to waterproof all the backup electrical systems, which they chose to ignore. If they had done it the Fukushima disaster would never have happened. Now, over twenty years later, every plant in Japan is susceptible to the same scenario.

The reactors can't operate indefinitely because over time the reactor vessel erodes and can't be replaced.

Seismic resistance of all nuclear plants including Takahama in Japan are lower than quake proof designed general houses, despite "quake country".

Besides, those are superannuated, but Japan's nuclear agency has lost independency against nuclear industries or economy ministry.

Notice how the word "aging" is flippantly thrown into the headline -- to presumably conjure up images of a dilapidated, crumbling facility that only the incompetent and dangerously careless would want to be turned on again?

It wasn't shut down 12 years ago because it was "aging." It was shut down for regular inspection. A restart was probably planned all along.

Just say "Takahama nuclear reactor restarted after 12-year halt." Throwing the word "aging" in there is subjective editorializing at best, and irresponsible fear-mongering at worst.

(And now, start the clock ... and let's see how long it takes before JT's moderators slap an "off topic" label on this comment as a lame excuse to remove it. Seems like that's their favorite work-time activity.)

Don't know how your knowledge about science and engineering. From time to time those structure and material suffer stress and fatigue, and become costly to maintain while ensuring the standard even dangerous. Not to mention all new technology includes safety technology that already improved during those decades but unable to implement because we just can't stop those plant during operation.

Let's hope and pray that the people running Japan's nuclear reactors read your comment.

Otherwise, I'm sure they will remain utterly clueless on how to run and maintain them.

The Japan Today comments sections are, after all, the go-to place for cutting-edge expertise on everything.

 From time to time those structure and material suffer stress and fatigue

Yes, I'm sure people know that. Such is true of everything that features material contents and moving parts -- from your average kitchen cabinet all the way up to nuclear reactors, and everything in between.

These comments that seem to presume that the people running the reactors don't know what they're doing are almost amusing to read.

Of course we didn't get that with all the COVID fear-mongering, though. With that, it was "shut up and 'trust the science.'"

Modern reactor plants are built with a life term of 60 years. In the 1970s the reactor plants were built with a life term of 40 years. Over a 25-year cycle, most major parts are replaced. The reactor pressure vessel, the most important part cannot be replaced.

The current fleet of reactors, which could be restarted, I think about another 20 plus the 11 operating have about ¥15 trillion of profit left in them and the power companies will do whatever it takes to recover that.

Based

These comments that seem to presume that the people running the reactors don't know what they're doing...

The Fukushima Daiichi disaster kinda proved they don't know what they're doing.

But, please, do go on defending their apparent lack of willingness or technical ability to properly maintain these reactors. It would be amusing to see, if the stakes weren't so high.

Restarting a 48-year reactor after a 12-year shutdown, built to the standards of that time let's hope they have all their ducks in a row.

Current Status of Japan’s Nuclear Power 2021

https://www.iges.or.jp/en/publication_documents/pub/issue/en/12008/20220406+IGES+Nuclear+Report.pdf

It’s only on a major fault line which is also susceptible to tsunamis, and has a 40 year time limit before decommissioning. Also any NK or Chinese missiles can strike in 15 minutes. When the accident happens it will effect lake Biwako, poisoning over 24 million citizens.

It’s a great idea to restart!

I am not a nuclear scientist. Neither am I a structure engineer. But I assume the people in charge of the reopening are ...

The problem at Fukushima was that the emergency generators were in the basement, below the water level after the tsunami. I'm sure this stable door has now been bolted.

On the one hand, we have to fear the degradation of the Nuclear Power Plants in Japan, principally due to radiation, and the potential for disaster from future major earthquakes and tsunamis.

On the other hand, we have to fear the release of CO2 from coal and gas powered electric plants that are run as the main replacements for the NPPs that have been shut down.

It is a "damned if we do, and damned if we don't" situation. I hope all practical renewable energy projects are being built as quickly as possible in Japan.

It’s hard to get around the pesky Second Law of Thermodynamics.

If your goal is to increase capacity and reduce CO2 and particulate emissions, you should support building more of the safest electrical generation source - nuclear power.

Wind energy kills more people in construction and maintenance.

Well, in this re we didn’t get electricity increases like most of the country did recently, so I’m very pleased about the nuke power plants in Kansai area. My last bill as 6800 yen for a month, 6800! Can you believe it. Ad that includes gas and there’s three of us living here.

Finally some good news.