Japanese nuclear reactor halts days after post-Fukushima restart

By AJP Posted : November 4, 2024, 09:27 Updated : November 4, 2024, 09:27
This photo shows the Onagawa nuclear power plant, operated by Tohoku Electric Power Co. in Onagawa, northeastern Japan, Oct. 24, 2024. Kyodo/AP-Yonhap
 
SEOUL, November 4 (AJP) - A major Japanese utility in northeastern Japan suspended operations Sunday at its recently restarted nuclear reactor, the first to operate in the region since the 2011 disaster.

Tohoku Electric Power Co. said it needs to inspect the No. 2 reactor at the Onagawa plant in Miyagi Prefecture after problems emerged with monitoring equipment. The reactor had resumed operations Oct. 29 after meeting post-Fukushima safety protocols.

The company said no problems were found in the reactor's core operations.

Workers had to manually extract a neutron detector device after failing to position it correctly inside the reactor.

The boiling water reactor, identical in design to the ill-fated Fukushima Daiichi units, was Japan's 13th reactor to restart under safety guidelines implemented after the 2011 disaster.

The Onagawa facility, located closest to the epicenter of the 2011 magnitude 9 earthquake, survived 13-meter tsunami waves before its shutdown. 

The plant received regulatory approval in 2020 and local community support to restart, while its No. 1 reactor faces permanent decommissioning.

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