Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Tsuruga Nuke Plant Reactor 2 May Have Been Sitting on Top of Active Fault All These Years

As the mayor of Tsuruga City was strongly promoting nuclear power generation in the county in China that has a nuclear power plant with 6 operating reactors and 4 under construction, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency warned the operator of Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant that Reactor 2 of the plant may be sitting on an active fault.

Even in Japan, the national guideline is not expecting a reactor to be built on top of an active fault.

Reactor 2 of Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant is a pressurized water reactor made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Reactor 1 is a light water reactor by GE. Tsuruga's Reactor 2 was considered to be one of the better made PWRs in Japan. Both reactors have been shut down for regular maintenance.

Construction of Reactor 2 started in 1982, and the reactor started operation in 1987.

Two more reactors are being built at Tsuruga Nuke Plant. The reactors will be Advanced Pressurized Water Reactors (APWR) by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. If they proceed with the construction, that is.

From NHK News (4/25/2012):

敦賀原発“活断層”で再調査へ

"An active fault" at Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant to be studied again

福井県にある敦賀原子力発電所の地下を走る亀裂が活断層の可能性があると専門家が指摘したことを受けて、日本原子力発電は改めて現地調査を行うなどして対応を検討することにしています。

An expert has pointed out the possibility that cracks that run under Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture are active faults. The Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) is going to do the survey again and come up with the plan.

福井県敦賀市にある日本原子力発電の敦賀原発では、24日、活断層の専門家や原子力安全・保安院の担当者らが敷地内の地層が露出している地点を調査し、地中にある「破砕帯」と呼ばれる亀裂の状態を調べました。

On April 24, an expert in active faults and officials from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) studied the area where the strata are exposed at JAPC's Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Tsuruga City in Fukui Prefecture. They particularly looked at the crack called "fracture zone".

その結果、専門家は2号機から西に150メートルほど離れた地中を走る亀裂について、「活断層の可能性があり、敷地内を走る浦底断層という活断層と連動して、地震の揺れが想定より大きくなる可能性がある」と指摘しました。

As the result, the expert pointed out that the crack that runs underground at about 150 meters west of Reactor 2 "may be an active fault, and it may move together with the active fault called Urazoko Fault that runs through the compound, making the shaking from an earthquake bigger than anticipated".

また、2号機の真下を走る別の亀裂についても活断層の可能性があるかどうか調べる必要があるとして、保安院は日本原電に対し、再調査を行うよう指示しました。

There is another crack that runs right beneath Reactor 2. It needs to be studied to determine if it is also an active fault. NISA has instructed JAPC to do the survey again.

国の耐震設計の指針では活断層の真上に原発の重要な設備を設置することは想定されておらず、2号機の真下の亀裂が活断層であった場合、2号機は運転が再開できなくなる可能性が出てきます。

The guideline for seismic design by the national government does not expect having an important facility of a nuclear power plant right above an active fault. If the crack beneath Reactor 2 turns out to be an active fault, there is a possibility that JAPC cannot restart the reactor.

これを受けて、日本原電は、近く国の原子力安全・保安院に調査の計画を報告したうえで、改めて現地で地層などの調査を行うなどして今後の対応を検討することにしています。

JAPC will report to NISA shortly with the plan for the survey, and will study the strata to decide what to do.

日本原電は「調査の結果によっては想定している最大の地震の揺れや原発の耐震性など、さまざまなことに影響するので慎重に調べたい」と話しています。

JAPC says, "The result of the survey may affect various issues such as expected maximum earthquake and seismic stability of the plant. We would like to proceed very cautiously."

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

"We would like to proceed very cautiously."

Why bother, build ten of them on the fault line.

Has anything ever happened to think otherwise?

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

I just found out where they are building Reactor 3 and 4 for the plant. On a landfill over the mountain. The fastbreeder Monju is less than 2 kilometers away from the plant.

Chibaguy said...

Japan, stop wasting time and energy and conserve. You have 50 reactors now as three have melted down will one more blew up. This is the last country that needs this "technology.". Shut them down while conserving and that will buy you at least 15 years to get off of coal and oil. You can do this. Mother nature will always triumph so use mother nature.

Vivre said...

I can't see Japan having ever been save nor going to become. This geologically 'small' piece of earth crust, a border-liner at three colliding plates and on its way to subduct.
Some links you mind find value to review/keep:

A pdf-file with numerous maps to get a quick impression:
Overview of Active Fault Research at Geological Survey of Japan (2006)
http://cais.gsi.go.jp/UJNR/6th/orally/O23-UJNR_AWATA_2_mac.pdf

AFRC Website with an "Active Fault Database":
jp: http://www.aist.go.jp/RIODB/activefault/
eng: http://riodb.ibase.aist.go.jp/riohomee.html

there you can find an interactive faults-map:
http://riodb02.ibase.aist.go.jp/activefault/cgi-bin/search_e.cgi?search_no=e007&versioin_no=1&search_mode=0

for even deeper interests: Seamless Geological Map:
http://riodb02.ibase.aist.go.jp/db084/maps.html

Anonymous said...

Hi - I'm trying to post, but again having major troubles that it's been deleted quickly and don't understand why. I tried Name only / Name+url and now this one anonym. I only want to share some geological map-links.
greets - aka Vivre

Anonymous said...

please excuse 'double' posting - nothing works - my last trial is to make all links tiny (which I dislike) which might be the issue ~ Vivre

----------
I can't see Japan having ever been save nor going to become. This geologically 'small' piece of earth crust, a border-liner at three colliding plates and on its way to subduct.
Some links you mind find value to review/keep:

A pdf-file with numerous maps to get a quick impression:
Overview of Active Fault Research at Geological Survey of Japan (2006)
http://tinyurl.com/784lkka - O23-UJNR_AWATA_2_mac(pdf)

AFRC Website with an "Active Fault Database":
jp: http://tinyurl.com/7rjmkl6
eng: http://tinyurl.com/7t2d59p

there you can find an interactive faults-map (Search for behavioral segments): http://tinyurl.com/86wuzgc

for even deeper interests: Seamless Geological Map: http://tinyurl.com/8489qap

Anonymous said...

OT

There are 25 million tons (less now) of debris from Tohoku that
are going to be burned in incinerators all over Japan. Arnie Gunderson and Ex SKF blogger have made quite a point about how bad it is to spread it
around the country because the incerators are not rigged for radioactive
waste. But no one has actually researched the topic, this is just speculation
on their part. In fact, if you look at the map most of the radiation from the original
blasts did not go anywhere near where most of the debris was created, which was on
the coast of Miyagi many kilometers north of the radiation zone.

I am going to try to find out about what make of incinerators the government is using and from that
there should be specs to predict effluents, and stack tests can determine how much is being released.
Otherwise we are just speculating. I think the key point is the government is using the debris to give
subsidies to the flagging economy, classic Disaster Capitalism! I am no longer sure that the radiation issue
concerning the burning of debris really is such a worry, especially in comparison to the situation at the Fukushima
plant itself which is in fact very dire. But we won't know til we get the actual data and I have read no reports
from any of the alternative media citing it.

Anonymous said...

North Anna build. Documents concealed on fault line. Industry fined 32,500. Construction finished. Plant started. Experienced beyond design basis earthquake...

By all means, proceed cautiously.

Anonymous said...

"We would like to proceed very cautiously."

Why do I get the impression their caution will be totally dedicated to finding the answers the industry wants? If they proceeded "cautiously" enough I'm sure they'll find a way to justify the plants continued operation regardless of the actual situation.

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

My guess is they will proceed very cautiously until the earthquake hits.

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

@Vivre, sorry for the problem. I found your posts in Google SPAM filter.

Anonymous said...

Should we be moving the fuel out of the fuel pools and into dry casks? Or do we just let the whole thing ride out the next quake on that fault line and see what happens? Come on Japan - DO SOMETHING!

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