CONSULTING

NRA Nuclear Safety Review
As of 1 July 2016, eleven power companies that own nuclear reactors have applied to Japan’s
regulator NRA for safety assessments of a total of 26 nuclear reactors (see Annex 2 for details),
with seven reactors having completed all stages of the review (Sendai-1 and -2, Takahama-3 and
-4 604 , Ikata-3 605 ), as well as Takahama-1 and -2 that, on 20 June 2016, became the first units to be
granted a lifetime extension to 60 years under the new regulations. The NRA is expected to
complete pre-operational inspections for Ikata-3 in July 2016. Compliance with the NRA
guidelines, which came into force in July 2013 606 , is a requirement for utilities in their plans for
reactor restart, along with “securing local public understanding” and approval from the
prefectural government and local town mayors. The new guidelines cover a range of issues related
to the safety risks of nuclear power plants, including seismic and tsunami assessments and
protective measures undertaken by utilities; 607 fire protection; the management of the reactor in
the event of a loss of offsite electrical power, cooling function, and accident management, 608
including prevention of hydrogen explosion; and the containment or filtered venting of
radioactive materials into the environment. In the case of seismic assessments, reactors that are
located above active faults would not be permitted to resume operations. Reactor owners are also
required to assess their vulnerability to volcanic eruptions, which depending on scale of risk
would not be permitted to operate or would be required to have specific countermeasures in
place. Emergency evacuation plans are also required to be agreed with local communities within
a 30 km radius of the nuclear plant. Upon completion of the preliminary approval of the safety
case, the NRA holds a series of local public information meetings—an issue that has created
controversy as to whether communities not immediately within the vicinity of a plant—but at risk
in the event of a severe accident, would participate.
To date the NRA has only completed the review of Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) based on
the regulator’s analysis that it is easier to secure them against seismic events than it is for Boiling
Water Reactors (BWR). In addition, only one BWR review team of about 20 staff is in place at NRA,
compared to three teams of about 60 people that are working on PWR inspections.
The Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPCO) submitted an application to the NRA review for its
Tsuruga-2 reactor on 5 November 2015, becoming the 26 th reactor under review. 609 However,
there has been an ongoing dispute since 2012 between the NRA and JAPCO over the nature of a
604 NRA, “Completion of the 3-step conformity review on the New Regulatory Requirements for Takahama
NPS Units 3 and 4”, News Release, 9 October 2015, see https://www.nsr.go.jp/data/000125853.pdf,
accessed 17 June 2016.
605 NRA, “Completion of the 3-step conformity review on the New Regulatory Requirements for Ikata
Power Station Unit 3” News Release, 20 April 2016, see https://www.nsr.go.jp/data/000147907.pdf,
accessed 17 June 2016.
606 NRA, “New Regulatory Requirements for Light-Water Nuclear Power Plants—Outline—August 2013”,
see https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/requirements160913.pdf, accessed 17 June 2016.
607 NRA, “Outline of New Regulatory Requirements For Light Water Nuclear Power Plants (Earthquakes
and Tsunamis)”, 3 April 2013.
608 NRA, “Outline of New Regulatory Requirements For Light Water Nuclear Power Plants (Severe
Accident Measures)”, 3 April 2013.
609 JAIF, “JAPC Files Application for Compatibility Examination for Tsuruga-2”, 9 November 2015, see
http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/japc-files-application-for-compatibility-examination-for-tsuruga-2/, accessed
17 June 2016.
Mycle Schneider, Antony Froggatt et al. 155 World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2016