Shika Nuclear Power Plant
Encyclopedia
The is a nuclear power plant
located in the town of Shika, Ishikawa
, Japan
. It is owned and operated by the Hokuriku Electric Power Company
. It is on a site that is 1.6 km2 (395 acres).
Immediately after the event was revealed, the president of the Hokuriku Electric Power Company
was called to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry office and ordered to shut down the unit 1 reactor. Note that this was not the same president as when the event happened in 1999.
On June 5, 2007 the committee chairman of the Japan Nuclear Safety Commission inspected the control rod housing and drive mechanisms and evaluated that the event was due to cutting corners. He also concluded that the reactor operators at the time were under a lot of pressures from above, and simply punishing the operators would not be an effective deterrent for future accidents. One proposed measure was to have alarms automatically record when they go off so that records can not be altered.
A lower court had ordered the entire plant to be shut down, but that decision was later overturned by Nagoya's high court. The utility put in a request to the Ishikawa prefectural government and the town of Shika for the restart of unit 1. The unit returned to power on May 11, 2009 and resumed commercial operation on May 13.
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
located in the town of Shika, Ishikawa
Shika, Ishikawa
is a town located in Hakui District, Ishikawa, Japan. It is one and a half hours from Kanazawa by car. National highway 249 goes through Shika.As of August 2011, the town has a registered population of 23,177...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It is owned and operated by the Hokuriku Electric Power Company
Hokuriku Electric Power Company
The Hokuriku Electric Power Company supplies power by a regulated monopoly to the Toyama Prefecture, Ishikawa Prefecture, the northern part of Fukui Prefecture, and northwestern parts of Gifu Prefecture...
. It is on a site that is 1.6 km2 (395 acres).
Reactors on Site
| Unit | Type | Commission date | Electric Power | Thermal Power | Maker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shika - 1 | BWR Boiling water reactor The boiling water reactor is a type of light water nuclear reactor used for the generation of electrical power. It is the second most common type of electricity-generating nuclear reactor after the pressurized water reactor , also a type of light water nuclear reactor... |
July 30, 1993 | 540 MW | 1,593 MW | Hitachi Hitachi Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family... |
| Shika - 2 | ABWR Advanced Boiling Water Reactor The Advanced Boiling Water Reactor is a Generation III boiling water reactor. The ABWR is currently offered by GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Toshiba... |
March 15, 2006 | 1,358 MW | 3,926 MW | Hitachi Hitachi Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family... |
1999 Criticality Event
On June 18, 1999 during an inspection, an emergency control rod insertion was to be performed on Unit 1. One rod was to be inserted into the reactor, however, due to improper following of the procedure, instead of one rod inserting, 3 rods withdrew. For the next 15 minutes, the reactor was in a dangerous criticality state. This event was not revealed until March 15, 2007, since it was covered up in the records. The unit has been shut down since that date.Immediately after the event was revealed, the president of the Hokuriku Electric Power Company
Hokuriku Electric Power Company
The Hokuriku Electric Power Company supplies power by a regulated monopoly to the Toyama Prefecture, Ishikawa Prefecture, the northern part of Fukui Prefecture, and northwestern parts of Gifu Prefecture...
was called to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry office and ordered to shut down the unit 1 reactor. Note that this was not the same president as when the event happened in 1999.
On June 5, 2007 the committee chairman of the Japan Nuclear Safety Commission inspected the control rod housing and drive mechanisms and evaluated that the event was due to cutting corners. He also concluded that the reactor operators at the time were under a lot of pressures from above, and simply punishing the operators would not be an effective deterrent for future accidents. One proposed measure was to have alarms automatically record when they go off so that records can not be altered.
A lower court had ordered the entire plant to be shut down, but that decision was later overturned by Nagoya's high court. The utility put in a request to the Ishikawa prefectural government and the town of Shika for the restart of unit 1. The unit returned to power on May 11, 2009 and resumed commercial operation on May 13.