Onagawa 2 Reactor Has Restart Approval After Building 29 Meter High and 800 Meter Long Sea Wall

Before the tsunami in 2011, Japan was generating 30% of its electricity from over 50 nuclear reactors, but all were shutdown within 14 months of the accident. A total of nine units have restarted since 2015, while 17 reactors are in the process of gaining approval to restart.

Tohoku Electric Power Company has received initial regulatory approval to resume operation of unit 2 at its Onagawa plant in Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture. The plant was the closest nuclear power plant to the epicentre of the earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011, but sustained far less damage than expected.

The utility applied to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) in December 2013 for a safety assessment of Onagawa 2 to verify countermeasures taken at the plant meet new safety standards. Tohoku expects to spend JPY340 billion (USD 3.1 billion) on these, which include seismic reinforcement of the unit and construction of a 29-metre high and 800m long sea wall to protect the plant from tsunamis. Work on them is expected to be completed by March 2021.

Today the NRA approved a draft screening document that concludes the plant will meet revised safety standards, introduced in January 2013. Tohoku will still need to obtain the approval of local authorities before it will be able to restart Onagawa 2.

20 thoughts on “Onagawa 2 Reactor Has Restart Approval After Building 29 Meter High and 800 Meter Long Sea Wall”

  1. There isn’t a limit on the high of tsunami. Some are “Black Swan” events. All a tall wall does is fool them into thinking they are safe. They aren’t.

  2. In your case I would be tempted to call it “dumb luck”.
    In Onagawa’s case it is known to have been based on better design.

  3. So I was in a shoot out. Two other people got killed. Nothing special about me. Just lucky I guess. The plant was just lucky. Doesn’t mean it will always be lucky.

  4. Duh

    “The plant was the closest nuclear power plant to the epicentre of the earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011, but sustained far less damage than expected.”

  5. Godzilla farms are the solution to the radioactive waste problem.
    If I remember, he eats that for breakfast.

  6. havent been on a board in a VERY long time. Grew up next door to ‘old time’ surfers. They got me interested as a kid. Unfortunately, I had a few bad (one violent) encounters with the newer ‘this is my wave, this is my beach’ crowd, and that put a bad taste in my mouth. Also think I’m developing an unnatural fear after watching all those Indian Ocean and Japanese tsunami videos.

  7. I often wonder if it might be better to keep the reactors running through something like that so they have the power to keep pumping cooling water.

  8. Exactly. The secret of operating diesels inside waterproof containers has been known for about a century. It is called a submarine with a snorkel.

  9. Catholics have been involved in anti-nuclear agitation in southern India, in South Africa, and in South Korea – all coal powered economies. The South African bishops cited the ban on nuclear power in Italy. Italy has the world’s highest percentage of power from solar – but it gets more from nuclear generated electricity, imported from France. Burns a lot more coal and gas than a country that values God’s creation, too.

  10. He should have made a similar statement about religion. After all a lot more people were killed in the name of Christ ( his particular brand near the forefront there) than in all power related accidents.

  11. Since the plant was not seriously damaged in the last earthquake / tsunamy they must have been in a good position.

  12. It is actually okay to keep them low if you seal them behind waterproof hatches – but usually cheaper to just move them.

  13. DId he have a similar sentiment to share about coal? Against it until it is 100% safe (which is will never be)?

  14. I hope they remember to move the diesel generators out of the basement just in case the sea wall is breached.

  15. Pope was in Tokyo recently (dunno why). He said that he was against nuclear power until it was 100% safe.

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