Japanese nuclear plant on fault line may shut

TOKYO — The operator of Japan’s Tsuruga nuclear power plant may be ordered to decommission the facility after seismologists confirmed that it sits directly on top of an active fault line.

If regulatory authorities do order Japan Atomic Power Co. to shut down the plant, it would be the first permanent closing of a nuclear facility since the Fukushima power plant was crippled by a tsunami triggered by last year’s magnitude-9 earthquake.

Tuesday marked 21 months since the second-worst nuclear accident in history, with emergency teams still attempting to limit the damage caused by radiation leaks from four of the Fukushima plant’s reactors.

The disaster prompted a closer inspection of the nation’s nuclear facilities, with the Nuclear Regulation Authority confirming on Monday that an active fault is below the No. 2 reactor at the plant, in the central Japan prefecture of Fukui.

The No. 1 reactor at Tsuruga is the oldest commercial reactor in Japan. Before the Fukushima disaster, Japan Atomic Power Co. had announced plans to construct two new reactors at the site.

Announcing the findings of the NRA’s research, Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of the NRA, said, “We cannot conduct safety checks for the Tsuruga reactors to restart at this point.”

Operators of nuclear plants are by law not permitted to construct reactors on active fault lines, meaning that if another study confirms the existence of the fault, then the plant will theoretically have to be decommissioned.

In a statement, Japan Atomic Power Co. said the results of the survey were “totally unacceptable.” The company said it would have an independent investigation conducted into the seismic stability of the area.