Energy News  
Japan angered by fires at biggest nuclear plant

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant.
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) April 14, 2009
Japan's government Tuesday chastised the operator of the world's largest nuclear plant for a string of fires that has hit the facility since it closed after an earthquake almost two years ago.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant is scheduled to restart as early as this month but the nine blazes, the latest of which hit Saturday, have stoked fears about the safety of the seven-reactor plant.

The minister for economy, trade and industry, Toshihiro Nikai, told reporters the latest incident was "very regrettable after we judged in February that there were no safety problems for resuming operations."

He asked "all those concerned to reflect seriously" on the incident.

"Other countries have been paying attention to whether we'll be able to restart our country's biggest nuclear power plant," he said.

The central government has in principle given the green light for the reopening of the plant, which was closed after a strong quake in July 2007 led to the leak of radioactive water from a spent fuel-rod pool.

Local residents have voiced fears over the safety of the plant following a string of fires there as well as concerns raised by some geologists that an off-shore tectonic faultine could trigger stronger earthquakes in future.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), reported another fire Saturday, the ninth since the shutdown.

TEPCO executive vice president Ichiro Takekuro on Tuesday visited the prefectural government office in Tokyo and "apologised for causing anxiety among residents," spokesman Takayuki Akiba said.

"We will do our utmost to prevent another accident from happening and to gain residents' understanding for the resumption of the operation," he said.

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Japan signs nuclear energy deal with Jordan
Tokyo (AFP) April 14, 2009
Japan agreed on Tuesday to provide Jordan with support for its nuclear energy programme as the Middle East state plans to launch its first atomic power plant in 2017, officials said.







  • Analysis: Brazil adds find to oil bounty
  • U.S. awards $43M for fuel cell research
  • Nigeria fines Shell for oil spill: company
  • Analysis: Tajik energy and corruption

  • Japan angered by fires at biggest nuclear plant
  • Japan signs nuclear energy deal with Jordan
  • Russia must build 26 nuclear plants: Putin
  • Iran must convince world of peaceful intentions: Russia

  • Iridescent Ice Clouds From Aircraft Wings
  • Deep-Sea Rocks Point To Early Oxygen On Earth
  • Australia issues warning on Hong Kong's dirty air
  • Rendezvous With HALO

  • Potential To Amass More Carbon In Eastern North American Forests
  • Some tree seeds are longtime survivors
  • Indonesia should drop forest carbon credit plan: Greenpeace
  • UN climate talks: Save the forests -- but how?

  • Helsinki aims to tackle growing rabbit menace
  • Wine producers pin hopes on China in tough times
  • Flame Retardants Affecting US Coastal Ecosystems
  • Can Organic Cropping Systems Be As Profitable As Conventional Systems

  • GM aims to double China sales
  • Beijing extends post-Olympics car rules: report
  • Netherlands to introduce car trade-in bonus
  • New Storage System Design Brings Hydrogen Cars Closer To Reality

  • Airlines fear failure of global climate talks
  • State takes control of China's first private airline: report
  • Troubled private Chinese airline says president missing
  • Cathay Pacific lost 1.1 billion dollars in 2008

  • Nuclear Power In Space - Part 2
  • Nuclear Power In Space
  • Outside View: Nuclear future in space

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement