A five-member team of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority decided Nov. 10 that there is a strong possibility that a "crush zone" of small rocks and sediment running beneath the No. 2 reactor of Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tsuruga nuclear power plant is an active fault. The team's conclusion is based on a two-day on-site geological survey as well as examination of data provided by the operator of the nuclear power plant.
On the basis of the team's decision, Mr. Shunichi Tanaka, head of the NRA, said, "At this point, we cannot conduct safety checks to clear the restart of the Tsuruga reactors."
The decision means that it has become extremely difficult for Japan Atomic Power to restart the No. 2 reactor as well as the plant's No. 1 reactor, which is near the No. 2 reactor. The No. 1 reactor, which started commercial operation in March 1970, is Japan's oldest commercial reactor. The logical step under this situation should be to decommission both reactors.