(The original article in Japanese was posted on January 27, 2023)

 

On January 19, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced that 149 errors were found in the documents of the Unit 3 of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture, which has been in operation for 30 years. The errors were identified in the assessment review documents submitted by TEPCO to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) of Japan to confirm the status of facility management, etc. In response to TEPCO’s apology to NRA over the mistakes, NRA pointed out that the misconduct was a "serious problem that will threaten the reliability of documentation" in light of the fact that 131 records released were the misuse of the data from the Unit 2, the same type of the Unit 3, where the assessment had already been completed, and so NRA strongly requested TEPCO to work on recurrence preventive action. Mr. Hideyo Hanazumi, Governor of Niigata prefecture, focused on the consequence of the data misappropriation performed systematically at the discretion of the organization, and solemnly expressed serious concern about the qualification of TEPCO to operate nuclear power plants.

First of all, I simply wonder what has made the nuclear power operator continuously so dishonest about the safety measures and compliance rules. How many times do we have to witness a series of scandals such as falsification of self-inspection records; concealment of information; defects in counter-terrorism measures that are so poorly designed as  gained the worst-rating; incomplete and improper works discovered after the official completion of safety countermeasure constructions and so forth. Every time a problem arises, we see senior management personnel bowing their heads with a pledge to promote safety awareness as well as their resolution to take recurrence prevention actions. I am sick of seeing all those superficial apologizing.

It is not a matter of TEPCO’s specific problem. In December last year, deficiencies were discovered during the safety review of the Unit 2 of the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture, which is operated by the Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC). As a matter of fact, NRA had suspended the assessment of Tsuruga Plant for two years as a result of its significant data modification. However, 157 deficiencies were found in the new documents submitted after the safety assessment was resumed recently. In response, NRA gave JAPC a severe caution that the safety assessment would be discontinued again.

Last year, the Japanese government announced a change in nuclear energy policy*¹. In resonance with the policy shift, a bill to allow extension of the operating period of nuclear reactors will be submitted to the current ordinary Diet session. Besides, preparatory works are now in progress to authorize offshore release of the contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after the treatment process through the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS). On the other hand, the nuclear policy change becomes a controversial issue and polarizes public opinion from the safety, economy, and security viewpoints. Meanwhile, in March 2021, when controversy arose previously over the ocean discharge of the contaminated water, I made mention in the past article of this column that we need to clarify the following key points: qualification of a company as a nuclear power plant operator; transparency of information; and assignment of responsibility in the nuclear power administration, because those are the preconditions to think over the contaminated water discharge problem.*² I never hesitate to repeat this again: Without gaining public trust in these essential points, we can never stand at the start line of discussing this critical issue.

 

*1: This Week’s Focus, October 7, 2022 “The Japanese Government Starts Using Nuclear Power Again; We All are Largely Responsible for What We Leave for the Future”

*2: This Week’s Focus, March 19, 2021 “Controversy Over the Ocean Release of the Contaminated Water, Recovery of Trust in the Nuclear Energy Policy is Essential”

 

This Week’s Focus, January 27, 2023

Takashi Mizukoshi, the President