Society

Ohi No.3 reactor back online

Mar 15 (NHK) - Another Japanese nuclear reactor has been restarted following the March 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima in Japan.

The Number 3 reactor at the Ohi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture is run by Kansai Electric Power Company. It was reactivated on Wednesday afternoon following the removal of control rods that suppress atomic fission.

It is expected to reach criticality early on Thursday, begin power generation and transmission on Friday, and go into commercial operation in early April.

It is the 6th reactor at 4 nuclear power plants in Japan to be restarted under new regulatory requirements for commercial nuclear plants that were introduced after the serious accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Two of the reactors are at the Takahama plant, located about 13 kilometers to the west of the Ohi plant. If both plants are damaged simultaneously by an earthquake or tsunami, efforts to respond to the disaster or evacuate residents could be disrupted.

Kansai Electric Power plans to restart the Number 4 reactor at Ohi in mid-May.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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