Jul 25 (Japan Today) - The operator of the nuclear plant wrecked by a 2011 earthquake and tsunami said Wednesday that it will decommission four more reactors in northeastern Japan in addition to those already being scrapped.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said a final decision on dismantling the four reactors at the Fukushima Daini plant will be formally approved at a board meeting, expected later this month.
Nearby Fukushima Daiichi had meltdowns in three reactors and structural damage in a fourth during the disaster. All six reactors, including four that are currently being decommissioned, will be dismantled in a process that will take decades.
TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa told Fukushima Gov Masao Uchibori that it will take about 40 years to finish decommissioning all four reactors at Fukushima Daini. Kobayakawa told the governor that the company also plans to build a new facility at the Daini complex to move spent fuel from cooling pools to dry casks - a safer long-term storage option recommended by experts.
The plan means all 10 of TEPCO's reactors in Fukushima will be dismantled. Kobayakawa, however, said the additional decommissioning won't affect the ongoing work at Fukushima Daiichi, which is already a challenge.
The plan still needs approval by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. Its acting chairman, Satoru Tanaka, told reporters that the committee will carefully study TEPCO's Fukushima Daini decommissioning plan. "Obviously, TEPCO must carry out a plan without affecting" the ongoing cleanup work, he said.
Fukushima officials and residents have demanded the decommissioning, saying the uncertainty hampers reconstruction in the region.
