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4TH LD: Japan's 2nd-largest nuke reactor ordered to be shut down+
(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)KANAZAWA, Japan, March 24_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING INFORMATION)
The Kanazawa District Court on Friday ordered Hokuriku Electric Power Co. to shut down the country's second-largest nuclear reactor, accepting the plaintiffs' argument that they could be exposed to intolerable levels of radiation in the event of an accident triggered by a major temblor.
The Toyama-based utility company said it will file an appeal with a higher court and continue operating the No. 2 reactor at the Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa Prefecture as the three-judge panel did not issue a provisional execution order allowing its decision to come into immediate effect.
In the decision, Presiding Judge Kenichi Ido said Hokuriku Electric's quake-resistance data for the reactor is not adequate, accepting the plaintiffs' argument that the reactor had been built on old-fashioned guidelines for anti-seismic designs the government formulated 20 years ago.
The judge also said the utility company has not taken into consideration that an earthquake could occur on a fault belt near the power plant.
"There is a possibility that the plaintiffs could be exposed to radiation in an accident at the plant caused by an earthquake that is beyond the defendant's expectations," Ido said.
"If radioactive substances are released, the dangers of infringing upon personal rights upon residents will exceed a tolerable level," he said. "A suspension order on the reactor will by no means cause major trouble for Hokuriku Electric's power supply in the short term."
Hokuriku Electric started building the 1,358-megawatt advanced boiling water reactor on Aug. 27, 1999, and began running it on March 15 of this year as Japan's 55th commercial reactor.
The court issued the order to Hokuriku Electric acting on a lawsuit filed by a group of 135 citizens from 16 prefectures across Japan.
The plaintiffs included people from some 700 kilometers away in Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu who are anxious about possible exposure to radiation in the event of an earthquake-triggered accident.
The reactor is the second biggest in Japan in terms of output capacity, after only the 1,380-megawatt No. 5 reactor at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture operated by Chubu Electric Power Co.
The two-reactor Shika nuclear power plant is located in the town of Shika in Ishikawa Prefecture, on the west side of the Noto Peninsula along the Sea of Japan coast. Hokuriku Electric, the operator, provides electric power to customers in Toyama, Ishikawa and Fukui prefectures as well as part of Gifu Prefecture.
The plaintiffs' group filed the lawsuit in May 2005 demanding the shutdown of the reactor.
Hokuriku Electric President Isao Nagahara said in a statement that Friday's court decision is "extremely regrettable" and the company will immediately appeal the ruling.
Four senior officials of Hokuriku Electric, who held a news conference in the company's branch office in Kanazawa, said the utility company will promote public relations activities aimed at residents around the nuclear power plant to gain their understanding for the necessity and safety of the reactor.
Kenichi Doshita, leader of the plaintiffs' group, welcomed Friday's court decision which he said questioned the government's guidelines on anti-quake design for reactors. He said the plaintiffs will continue their fight after the decision.
In Tokyo, officials of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the reactor's safety is secured under the current anti-quake guidelines.
There is no need to apply assessments by the Earthquake Research Committee to the construction of a reactor, they said.
The plaintiffs claimed they are placed in constant danger of major accidents because the reactor is near the Ochigata fault belt where the government's Earthquake Research Committee says a major quake with a magnitude of 7.6 could strike.
The plaintiffs also maintained that the No. 2 advanced boiling-water reactor had been built based on guidelines for anti-seismic designs that the government formulated 20 years ago.
They also insisted that an advanced boiling-water reactor is more dangerous than conventional boiling-water reactors, with the advanced model focusing on cost reduction.
Hokuriku Electric Power argued that it had taken all necessary measures to secure safety in operating the reactor and that the reactor is a necessary source of energy for the company to secure a stable supply of electricity.
The plaintiffs are mostly residents from Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures on the Sea of Japan coast. Residents from Fukushima, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Niigata, Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi, Shiga, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Okayama, Hiroshima and Kumamoto prefectures are also taking part.
The 135 citizens filed the lawsuit on August 31, 1999 with the Kanazawa District Court demanding the firm stop building the reactor.
But Hokuriku Electric kicked off trial operations of the reactor on April 26, 2005, prompting the citizens to file a lawsuit on May 13 that year demanding the firm stop its operation.
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