scholarly journals Historic Perspective on the Conversations to Restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (29) ◽  
pp. 147-172
Author(s):  
Andrea Carolina Ávalos Salgado ◽  

Following the accident of Fukushima in 2011, nuclear facilities in Japan were shut down, and a new evaluation and restart process was developed. Despite the public safety concerns, the current administration expects nuclear energy to become a pillar for economic recovery in the coming years. This paper compares the historic context of restarting Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant before and after Fukushima. The evolution is analyzed through a series of interviews in 2012 and 2013 in the community and with government officers, as well as a close follow-up of the official statements by TEPCO and the government agencies up until the end of 2020. It tackles the development in the relation between TEPCO, local authorities, and local community of this nuclear plant, before and after Fukushima. This historic relation has shown to be the key element in the restart process, even above the legal process.

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ridoan Karim ◽  
Firdaus Muhammad-Sukki ◽  
Mohammad Karim ◽  
Abu Munir ◽  
Imtiaz Sifat ◽  
...  

The adequacy of legal and regulatory framework relating to nuclear energy in Bangladesh has sparked many questions since the government took the formal decision to establish a nuclear power plant (NPP) at Rooppur. Consequently, the government has taken some measures to make a comprehensive and robust framework to ensure safe and secure nuclear energy production in the country. Even though these initiatives are highly appreciable, there remain certain regulatory concerns which this paper has attempted to reflect. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to showcase the recent legal and regulatory development of Bangladesh in relation to nuclear energy and to recommend further developments. The study was based on secondary sources where a doctrinal research was carried out to solve particular research questions. The safety and security of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will frankly rely on how the government of Bangladesh plans and learns to implement, design, safeguard, exchange and further develop nuclear energy related knowledge and talent around the country.


2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 1258-1287
Author(s):  
Akihiro Sakoda ◽  
Naoki Nomura ◽  
Yujiro Kuroda ◽  
Takahiko Kono ◽  
Wataru Naito ◽  
...  

Abstract Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011, many radiation experts directly experienced a vast gap between ideal and real public understanding (PU) of radiation in risk communication. Therefore, this study collated and reviewed information about PU activities for radiation and its risk that six Japanese academic societies—which seem to be socially neutral expert communities—related to radiation and radiation risk conducted before and after the accident. Activities these radiation-related societies provided to the general public were discussed from the following perspectives: (a) difficulties in two-way communication due to resources, motivation and public interest and concerns; (b) balance between academic research and PU activities; (c) academic societies’ building trust with the public while ensuring member experts’ neutrality and independence; and (d) discussions among academic societies to prepare for public engagement. We hope that this paper encourages experts and academic societies in radiation protection to hold more national and international discussions about their roles in public communication and outreach.


Author(s):  
I. A. Strelnikov ◽  
E. V. Minakova

Annotation: the work is devoted to the study of the economic consequences of the earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011 off the eastern coast of the Japanese island of Honshu and the subsequent accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant. The features of the disaster of 2011 and the specific economic problems that the country faced, as well as the methods by which the government resolved them were considered. They touched upon the attitude of mankind to nuclear energy in the context of such man-made disasters. The work is valuable both for considering both the economic and cultural features of the "Land of the Rising Sun".


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Satoh ◽  
Tetsuya Ohira ◽  
Mitsuaki Hosoya ◽  
Akira Sakai ◽  
Tsuyoshi Watanabe ◽  
...  

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 forced the evacuation of a large number of residents and created changes in the lifestyle of the evacuees. These changes may have affected the evacuees’ glucose metabolism, thereby leading to an increase in the incidence of diabetes. This study included Japanese men and women who were living near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima prefecture before the disaster. Subjects subsequently underwent annual health checkups with a focus on metabolic syndromes, which were conducted under the Health Care Insurers. Using the Comprehensive Health Check survey, we analyzed changes in the glucose metabolism before and after the disaster. A total of 27,486 subjects underwent follow-up examinations after the disaster, with a mean follow-up period of 1.6 years. After the disaster, the prevalence of diabetes increased significantly, and we observed that the incidence of diabetes was significantly greater among evacuees than among nonevacuees. Furthermore, multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that evacuation was significantly associated with the incidence of diabetes. In conclusion, this is the first study to demonstrate that evacuation is associated with the incidence of diabetes. This information may be used to guide follow-up recommendations for evacuees.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2464
Author(s):  
Vladimir M. Cvetković ◽  
Adem Öcal ◽  
Yuliya Lyamzina ◽  
Eric K. Noji ◽  
Neda Nikolić ◽  
...  

Nuclear power remains one of the most accessible choices in addressing environmental and social concerns due to the continuously increasing energy needs around the world. While it remains an excellent source of energy due to its low price and low level of emissions, potential accidents remain a serious problem. An example of such is the most recent accident in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (2011), which reminded the world of the potential risks of nuclear energy and the consequences of which continue to have a lasting effect. There is no nuclear power plant in Serbia, but there are about 15 nuclear power stations scattered within its neighboring countries. Therefore, the Serbian Government decided to study how the Serbian public perceives the risks related to the potential construction of nuclear power stations in the country, nuclear energy in general, and its possible benefits and risks. The objective of this paper is to present the results of this assessment along with a literature overview on the (environmental) risk of nuclear power. A pilot study consisted of a series of 270 randomized face-to-face interviews that took place in the public square of Belgrade in March 2019. Logistic regression was used to examine the cumulative effects of the different risk factors. The results showed that the majority of the respondents are skeptical and do not support the construction of nuclear power stations in Serbia. Furthermore, this research identified several additional important correlations that have a significant impact on the public perception of risk.


2020 ◽  
pp. 002076402096812
Author(s):  
Maiko Fukasawa ◽  
Norito Kawakami ◽  
Maki Umeda ◽  
Tsuyoshi Akiyama ◽  
Naoko Horikoshi ◽  
...  

Background: Distrust in authorities has negative effects on mental health. Aims: In this study, we aimed to explore whether the impact of distrust in government on mental health became stronger in the area heavily affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. Methods: We examined the effects of distrust in the national government on depressive symptoms three years after the accident among community residents in Fukushima prefecture using those in the Kanto area (the area surrounding Tokyo) as a control. A questionnaire survey was administered to a random sample of 1000 residents in Fukushima prefecture and 1650 residents in the Kanto area. Distrust in the national government was assessed using a four-point single-item scale. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. The associations of residential area (i.e. living in Fukushima prefecture or in the Kanto area) and distrust in the national government with depressive symptoms were examined, controlling for socio-demographic characteristics and disaster-related experiences using multivariate linear regression analyses. We used the interaction term of residential area and distrust in the government to explore the difference in the association between the respondents in Fukushima prefecture and those in the Kanto area. Results: Valid responses were obtained from 976 (36.8%) residents. Distrust in the government was associated with depressive symptoms and the association was stronger in Fukushima prefecture than in the Kanto area. Conclusion: The deleterious effects of distrust in the government on mental health may become more serious after a nuclear power plant accident and require careful attention during support activities in an affected area.


2021 ◽  
pp. 014664532110153
Author(s):  
Hajimu Yamana

This paper does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. This article describes the institutional structure established for decommissioning Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. To deal with the aftermath of the unprecedented nuclear accident in Fukushima, several responsible institutions such as Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) have worked together at the initiative of the Government of Japan. In this structure, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) implements the decommissioning due to its legal responsibility, while the essential direction and milestones are set by the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters of the Government of Japan. Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation, a government-affiliated organisation, oversees and facilitates the decommissioning by TEPCO, and the Nuclear Regulatory Authority regulates safety from an independent standpoint. The main basic elements essential for the success of this long-term project have been developed, such as the technical strategy, financial system, and organisational capability. Decommissioning is making progress.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 238-242
Author(s):  
Rex Abrefah ◽  
Prince Atsu ◽  
Robert Sogbadji

In pursuance of sufficient, stable and clean energy to solve the ever-looming power crisis in Ghana, the Nuclear Power Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission has on the agenda to advise the government on the nuclear power to include in the country's energy mix. After consideration of several proposed nuclear reactor technologies, the Nuclear Power Institute considered a high pressure reactor or vodo-vodyanoi energetichesky reactor as the nuclear power technologies for Ghana's first nuclear power plant. As part of technology assessments, neutronic safety parameters of both reactors are investigated. The MCNP neutronic code was employed as a computational tool to analyze the reactivity temperature coefficients, moderator void coefficient, criticality and neutron behavior at various operating conditions. The high pressure reactor which is still under construction and theoretical safety analysis, showed good inherent safety features which are comparable to the already existing European pressurized reactor technology.


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