Hokkaido's Tomari nuclear reactor passes safety screening
The reactor at Hokkaido Electric Power's plant is the first in Japan that has won such approval since the No. 2 reactor at the Shimane power plant of Chugoku Electric Power, which passed a safety screening in 2021, and the 18th reactor since the current safety standards were adopted.
The Tomari No. 3 reactor, the newest in Japan, started operation in 2009. The authority screened the reactor for an unusually long period of 12 years as it took time for Hokkaido Electric to explain its measures to deal with possible earthquakes and tsunamis.
The company, however, is still in litigation with local residents as it has appealed a court order not to operate the plant issued in 2022. It is uncertain whether the company can restart the reactor in 2027 as planned, given that it needs to obtain agreements from local governments.
Hokkaido Electric applied for the safety screening on the day the current safety standards took effect in July 2013.
The company has raised the maximum seismic ground motion assumed in its quake resistance design from 550 gals to 693 gals and the assumed maximum tsunami height from 7.3 meters to 17.8 meters.
The company is building a seawall 19 meters tall with plans to complete it by around March 2027. It has also presented plans to build a new port in the north of the plant and establish a new transportation route dedicated to nuclear fuel, in view of the possibility that a nuclear fuel transportation ship may collide with the seawall due to tsunamis.
Hokkaido Electric estimates that the reactor's safety measures will cost at least ¥515 billion ($3.47 billion). It aims to restart the plant's remaining two reactors in the first half of the 2030s.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NHK
30-07-2025
- NHK
Tomari plant's No.3 reactor in northern Japan passes screening for restart
A reactor of the Tomari nuclear power plant in northern Japan has passed regulatory screening, which is a prerequisite for its restart. The Tomari plant is located in Hokkaido Prefecture and operated by Hokkaido Electric Power Company. Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority in April compiled a draft screening report on the plant's No.3 reactor under the new regulations drawn up after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. It then sought public opinions. At an NRA meeting on Wednesday, officials reported they received 143 opinions. One of them says a survey on active faults in the seabed may have been insufficient. The NRA concluded that safety measures by Hokkaido Electric are all satisfactory, and it unanimously approved the screening report. The Tomari No.3 unit is the 18th reactor that has passed the screening. It took a record 12 years for the reactor to clear the review since the utility applied for it. That is partly because of a survey on active faults under the plant's site. Hokkaido Electric will proceed with safety measures that meet the new regulations, including construction of seawalls. The company says it wants to restart the reactor as early as possible in 2027.
Japan Times
30-07-2025
- Japan Times
Hokkaido's Tomari nuclear reactor passes safety screening
The Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday approved a safety screening report that the No. 3 reactor at the Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido meets the country's safety standards. The reactor at Hokkaido Electric Power's plant is the first in Japan that has won such approval since the No. 2 reactor at the Shimane power plant of Chugoku Electric Power, which passed a safety screening in 2021, and the 18th reactor since the current safety standards were adopted. The Tomari No. 3 reactor, the newest in Japan, started operation in 2009. The authority screened the reactor for an unusually long period of 12 years as it took time for Hokkaido Electric to explain its measures to deal with possible earthquakes and tsunamis. The company, however, is still in litigation with local residents as it has appealed a court order not to operate the plant issued in 2022. It is uncertain whether the company can restart the reactor in 2027 as planned, given that it needs to obtain agreements from local governments. Hokkaido Electric applied for the safety screening on the day the current safety standards took effect in July 2013. The company has raised the maximum seismic ground motion assumed in its quake resistance design from 550 gals to 693 gals and the assumed maximum tsunami height from 7.3 meters to 17.8 meters. The company is building a seawall 19 meters tall with plans to complete it by around March 2027. It has also presented plans to build a new port in the north of the plant and establish a new transportation route dedicated to nuclear fuel, in view of the possibility that a nuclear fuel transportation ship may collide with the seawall due to tsunamis. Hokkaido Electric estimates that the reactor's safety measures will cost at least ¥515 billion ($3.47 billion). It aims to restart the plant's remaining two reactors in the first half of the 2030s.
30-07-2025
Japan's Tomari N-Reactor Passes Safety Screening
News from Japan Society Jul 30, 2025 13:39 (JST) Tokyo, July 30 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday approved a safety screening report that the No. 3 reactor at the Tomari nuclear power plant in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido meets the country's safety standards. The reactor at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.'s plant is the first in Japan that has won such approval since the No. 2 reactor at the Shimane power plant of Chugoku Electric Power Co., which passed a safety screening in 2021, and the 18th reactor since the current safety standards were adopted. The Tomari No. 3 reactor, the newest in Japan, started operation in 2009. The authority screened the reactor for an unusually long period of 12 years as it took time for Hokkaido Electric to explain its measures to deal with possible earthquakes and tsunamis. The company, however, is still in litigation with local residents as it has appealed a court order not to operate the plant issued in 2022. It is uncertain whether the company can restart the reactor in 2027 as planned, given that it needs to obtain agreements from local governments. Hokkaido Electric applied for the safety screening on the day the current safety standards took effect in July 2013. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
