Japan: 38 billion euros for the safety of nuclear power plants

(ANSA) – TOKYO, SEPTEMBER 30 – The costs to restart the nuclear reactors left idle in Japan after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, together with other necessary anti-terrorism security measures, amount to more than 6,000 billion yen, equal to 38 billions of euros. This was revealed by a study conducted by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, explaining that the disbursements made up to now by the 11 utilities at a national level significantly compromise the cost-benefit ratio of nuclear energy. Some of the power plants examined are facing site-specific situations, a factor that has driven up the overall cost. In its investigation, the Asahi Shimbun has accounted for expenditure on safety measures annually since 2013, taking into account that revised regulatory standards, drawn up by the National Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ANR) after the 2011 accident, forced 11 utility companies to take measures in their plants against earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as to defend themselves against terrorist attacks. The results of a newspaper survey made public in July had already shown that the total charges borne by utilities reached 6.15 trillion yen. To date, 12 reactors distributed across 6 nuclear power plants managed by Kansai Electric Power have been put back into operation in Japan, and it is expected that the costs of strengthening safety in the plants that are about to resume operations after the ANR screening will be very high. higher. “Differences in countermeasures against tsunamis and earthquakes can have a serious impact on total spending,” Satoshi Sato, a former nuclear engineer, told the newspaper, referring to the staggering figure of 100 billion yen (630 million euros), or more, necessary to build an anti-tsunami embankment. Sato pointed out that improving the seismic resistance of pipes and equipment can be very expensive, for example, because the procedures are extremely elaborate. Many other reactors, currently being inspected for potential restart, are also expected to face severe earthquakes and tsunamis in the future. In this way, rising costs could reduce the competitiveness of nuclear energy production. (HANDLE).