Japan regulator says nuclear units to shut if they fail to meet deadline

摘要

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority said April 24 it will order three power companies to shut their nuclear power plants if they miss deadlines starting in 2020 for completing backup safety facilities to mitigate potential accidents or attacks. The five NRA commissioners unanimously agreed that the plants would have to be shut if, as operators have said, they cannot meet the coming deadlines to install facilities to protect against an intentional or accidental plane crash, among other scenarios. All of the country’s reactors were required to shut following the accident and undergo review by the newly constituted NRA to ensure they met stricter safety requirements enacted after the 2011 Fukushima I accident. In 2013, as part of the new requirements, the regulator established that all nuclear units would have to install a backup control center from which the reactors could be managed in case of explosions or fire affecting large portions of nuclear plants, a scenario related to a potential terrorist attack.