J-Power's Ohma nuclear power plant good to go, says Japanese court
Staff Writer |
A Japanese court rejected a lawsuit seeking to stop construction and subsequent operation of Japan Electric Power Development Corp's (J-Power's) Ohma nuclear power plant, being built in Aomori prefecture.
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re than 1100 residents of Hakodate city filed a suit and claims for damages with the Hakodate District Court against J-Power and the government in July 2010. A further eight complaints have since been filed with the court.
The lawsuit focused on whether there is an active seismic fault in the seabed near the Ohma plant site and the risk of volcanic eruptions in the area. The plaintiffs also expressed concerns about the plant using purely mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel. Ohma 1 would be the first Japanese reactor built to run solely on MOX fuel incorporating recycled plutonium.
"Until now, we have asked the court to dismiss the claims, and we have carefully insisted on and verified that the safety of the Ohma nuclear power plant is secure," J-Power said.
The company announced today that the Hakodate District Court had "recognised" its argument and ruled in its favour. The ruling dismisses both the injunction on the plant's construction and the claims for damages, it noted.
Presiding Judge Chikako Asaoka was quoted by the Asahi Shimbun as saying: "At the moment, it is difficult to readily recognise the tangible danger of a grave accident likely to occur at the plant."
"We will continue to respond appropriately to the conformity assessment by the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) to the new regulatory standards and we will work throughout the entire company to create a safe power plant," J-Power said. "In addition, we will strive to provide information about the plan of the Ohma nuclear power plant to the people concerned."
The start of construction of the Ohma plant was originally due in August 2007, with commercial operation planned for March 2012. However, the imposition of more stringent seismic regulations put back the start of construction to May 2008 and commercial operation to November 2014.
Work to build the first unit at Ohma - a 1383 MWe Advanced Boiling Water Reactor - was about 40% complete in March 2011 when a tsunami caused the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. ■