Restarting reactors at the Tsuruga nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture will be difficult because a zone of small rocks and sediment under the plant is likely an active fault, a team of experts under the Nuclear Regulation Authority said Monday.
Kunihiko Shimazaki, an NRA commissioner who investigated the geological layer under the plant along with other experts earlier this month, reported to fellow members Monday that it is "highly possible" the so-called crush zone running underneath reactor No. 2 is an active fault.
With the development, "we cannot conduct safety checks for the Tsuruga reactors to restart at this point," NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said.