Reactors not to be restarted despite 'stress tests': Niigata gov.

[kristopher]

Reactors not to be restarted despite 'stress tests': Niigata gov.

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida said Tuesday he cannot allow three nuclear reactors in Niigata Prefecture to be restarted even if they pass a new safety assessment procedure introduced by the government in the wake of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

Noting that the government has not yet got to the bottom of the nuclear crisis triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Izumida said in Tokyo that the so-called "stress tests" for reactors would be almost useless unless the cause of the accident is taken into consideration.

It is "impossible" to restart the Nos. 2 to 4 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant under "fabricated safety," he said. Both the Niigata plant and the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant are operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co.

The three reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant are currently categorized as undergoing "regular checks," but TEPCO has been unable to resume operating them since a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the Chuetsu region of Niigata Prefecture in July 2007.

Amid strong public concern ...

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110727p2g00m0dm020000c.html

[bananas]

1. Scientists and engineers have been trying to shut that plant for a long time

http://cnic.jp/english/topics/safety/earthquake/kkscientist24feb08.html

Close Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant

CNIC Press Release (24 February 2008)

Green Action Media Briefing (26 February 2008)

Scientists, Engineers demand Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant be closed

The Group of Concerned Scientists and Engineers Calling for the Closure of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant (KK Scientists)1 launched a Japanese leaflet in Kashiwazaki City on 24 February 2008. The leaflet, which is being distributed to residents of Niigata Prefecture, explains why the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant should be closed.

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More links in this thread: http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=294634&mesg_id=294715

[kristopher]

2. ``It will be impossible to prove empirically that all of the plant's damage has been repaired''

That is excellent documentation of a long-term systemic problem that seems to be part & parcel of regulating nuclear around the world.

Thanks, bookmarked it for future reference.