Tomari plant’s No.3 reactor in northern Japan passes screening for restart

A reactor of the Tomari nuclear power plant in northern Japan has passed regulatory screening, which is a prerequisite for its restart.

The Tomari plant is located in Hokkaido Prefecture and operated by Hokkaido Electric Power Company.

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority in April compiled a draft screening report on the plant’s No.3 reactor under the new regulations drawn up after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. It then sought public opinions.

At an NRA meeting on Wednesday, officials reported they received 143 opinions. One of them says a survey on active faults in the seabed may have been insufficient.

The NRA concluded that safety measures by Hokkaido Electric are all satisfactory, and it unanimously approved the screening report.

The Tomari No.3 unit is the 18th reactor that has passed the screening.

It took a record 12 years for the reactor to clear the review since the utility applied for it. That is partly because of a survey on active faults under the plant’s site.

Hokkaido Electric will proceed with safety measures that meet the new regulations, including construction of seawalls. The company says it wants to restart the reactor as early as possible in 2027.