Nuclear reactor in central Japan closes down

May 14, 2011 11:11 am | Updated November 17, 2021 02:48 am IST - Tokyo

This aerial file photo provided by Kyodo News shows Hamaoka nuclear power plant of Chubu Electric Power Co., in Omaezaki city, Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan. Photo: AP

This aerial file photo provided by Kyodo News shows Hamaoka nuclear power plant of Chubu Electric Power Co., in Omaezaki city, Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan. Photo: AP

The Hamaoka nuclear power plant in central Japan closed its last running reactor on Saturday, after the March quake left another plant in the north-east leaking radioactive material, its operator said.

Chubu Electric Co shut reactor five on Saturday amid concerns over its location near a fault line in Shizuoka prefecture.

Reactor four was shut down Friday, Japanese media reported.

Reactors one and two have already been decommissioned, and number three is currently shut down for routine maintenance.

A wall to protect the closed plant from tsunamis is to be completed in the next two to three years, officials said.

There were no reported plans to close down any of Japan’s other nuclear reactors, which currently provide 30 per cent of its electricity. But the government has said it would abandon plans to ramp up the nuclear contribution to the power grid to 50 per cent, and instead would increase the share of renewable energy.

A magnitude-9 earthquake hit north-eastern Japan on March 11, causing the cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to overheat, leading to fires and explosions which have left the facility leaking radioactive material ever since.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.