A nuclear reactor started producing electricity early Thursday in western Japan, the first reactor in the country to restart since last year’s disaster prompted public opposition to nuclear power.
Japan regained nuclear-generated electricity as reactor 3 at the Oi Nuclear Power Plant on the Sea of Japan coast was connected to the generator and transmission grid.
Kansai Electric Power Co reactivated the unit Sunday, the first to restart since last year’s disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
“We believe we have made a step toward the safe and stable supply of electricity by being able to deliver nuclear-generated electricity for the first time in four and a half months,” company president Makoto Yagi said in a statement, referring to the halt in late February of the last of its 11 reactors.
The unit was expected to be generating at full capacity by Monday.
In mid-June, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda approved the reactivation of reactors 3 and 4 of the plant. Unit 4 will reportedly restart on July 18 and be running at full capacity by July 25.
The nation’s worst-ever atomic accident in March 2011 prompted public safety concerns that prevented operators from restarting reactors as they were shut down one by one for maintenance or safety checks. The remaining 49 reactors across the country remain idle.
The Fukushima plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), went into meltdown after it was struck by the earthquake and tsunami. Tens of thousands of residents have been forced to leave the areas near the complex.
Nuclear-generated electricity made up about 30 per cent of Japan’s output before the disaster. The rising cost of importing fuel for thermal power generation to make up the shortfall has put pressure on the government and utilities to restart the reactors.
In today's modern world energy is the basic need. Without energy human survival is difficult.For economies like Japan Nuclear energy is the easiest form of energy. People protest on emotions and feeling.But country runs through understanding and wisdom.Tsunamis and other natural calamities could be dangerous enough to wipe out the whole population in absence of nuclear plants also. Nature's fury is supreme and no one could surpass it but human can only device and develop techniques to minimize its catastrophic effects through acumen and continuous research.Nuclear safety issue should not be country or region specific rather it should be dealt on global scale. Every country should come together and form nuclear safety council for collective research on nuclear safety and disaster management. Nuclear safety should be made subject of Climate change and corpus of nuclear fund be created for collaborative research.Survivaloffittest is possible only by adopting technology and not jettisoning
The restart is after lot of efforts in building consensus. This indicates confidence in nuclear power and it is not correct to say that
the government had to use force. in case the radiation levels are dangerously, the monk has no business to be there and is not allowed to
be there. We can dramatize,but the fact is just because they did not do
enough to provide adequate safety against natural events for reactors in
Fukushima Diachi plant, nuclear power in general and other reactors in
japan do not become unsafe to operate.
Despite protests by over 150,000 people in the streets. The Japanese government
had to use force and all because the Japanese are caught between the Devil and the
Deep Blue sea. The devil, the nuclear industry and the deep blue sea, Fukushima
with forty long years looming ahead for just recovery of the fuel which no one
industry can manage or would even want the burden of as it deadly and dangerous.
So how can you say NO even if in deep in your heart you never want to see the face
of nuclear again when you absolutely need these criminals to at least pretend they
can handle the problem...Last week a Japanese monk collected some volunteers to
clean and flush the drains in Fukushima as the radiation levels in them were
dangerously high again...too high for the schoolkids to be near playing around ..he
was fuming mad...Nuclear poison in the environment NEVER GOES AWAY and we are
being sadly misled to think that Japan really needs or wants nulcear power.All timed
cleverly for Koodankulam.
Please Email the Editor