Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012

The safety of nuclear reactors can't be determined by the first round of stress tests alone, even though the government isn't requiring a second round of tests to reactivate currently idled units, according to the head of the Nuclear Safety Commission.

"With only the first round (of stress tests), the level of safety confirmation that the commission seeks would not be met," Haruki Madarame, chairman of the five-member government body tasked with supervising nuclear safety regulations, told a news conference Monday.

Although Madarame said that whether to reactivate reactors is up to the government, his comments could be taken to mean that the authorization of restarts based on the results of the first stage of stress tests would take place without a confirmation of safety by the key supervising commission.

The government introduced the stress tests in the wake of the Fukushima crisis to determine the ability of reactors to withstand earthquakes and tsunami.

The first stage covers reactors currently idled for regular checks to see if they can be restarted, while the second stage assesses all reactors in Japan.

"Whether to reactivate (reactors) is the government's decision and we, as the safety commission, won't say anything about it," Madarame said.

Earlier this month, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency endorsed stress test results for two reactors at the Oi power plant in Fukui Prefecture.

Madarame's commission is now tasked with checking NISA's endorsement of the stress test results submitted by Kansai Electric. After the commission's examination, the government will decide whether to authorize the restart of the reactors.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said deciding whether to allow reactors to resume operating following regular checks is up to the government after taking into account factors such as local opinion.

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