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Published online 4 June 2008 | Nature 453, 704 (2008) | doi:10.1038/453704a
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Japanese nuclear plant in quake risk
Reprocessing facility may be built on active fault.
A nuclear reprocessing plant in northern Japan is sited directly above an active geological fault line that could produce a magnitude 8 earthquake, some earth scientists say.
The massive Rokkasho plant for uranium enrichment, spent fuel reprocessing and nuclear-waste storage is built on an uplifted marine terrace of sloping sedimentary rock layers on the northeast coast of the island of Honshu.
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Seismic activities appear to be in the increase in the past decade. There had been several this year in Indonesia alone, not forgetting the horrendous Sichuan earthquake that wiped off some 80,000 Chinese last month. It would be advisable for Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited to take heed of the earth scientist Watanabe’s finding; whether the fault line runs directly below the nuclear reprocessing plant or not should not be the main contention. A construction that can withstand a magnitude 6.9 earthquake is no criterion for complacency. The possibility of a 7.0+ quake is always high. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa incident last year already signaled a serious warning. Japan has been prone to high magnitude earthquakes throughout its history. Unless and until the plant can be built to be quake proof, JNFL ought to give the whole project (especially its location) a very careful second thought. (Tan Boon Tee)