Japan shuts down Nuke

[M Nivas <motnivas@YAHOO.COM>]

Japan is NOT helping the nuke power movement - in fact

they are succeeding in giving the greens some powerful

ammunition! 







SEPTEMBER 20, 06:02 ET 

Japan Shuts Down Nuke Power Reactor 



TOKYO (AP) — A major Japanese power company shut down

one of its nuclear power reactors Friday for an

emergency inspection because of possible cracks in its

cooling system. 



The No. 3 reactor at Chubu Electric Power's Hamaoka

nuclear power plant was shut down for an inspection of

the pipes carrying water to cool the reactor, Chubu

Electric announced on its Web site. All four of the

Hamaoka plant's reactors are now inactive and

undergoing safety checks, it said. 



A company official who spoke on condition of anonymity

said the suspected damage was minor and the shutdown

did not pose a safety threat. 



Public broadcaster NHK said the utility had found the

damage previously but did not report it to the

government. 



Chubu Electric found a radioactive leak in the same

No. 3 reactor in July, though no radioactivity escaped

into the outside environment. Radioactive leaks were

also discovered at the Hamaoka plant's No. 1 reactor

in November and the No. 2 and No. 4 reactors in May

and July. 



The Hamaoka plant is in Shizuoka prefecture (state),

just southeast of Tokyo. 



The news comes just weeks after Japan's largest

utility, Tokyo Electric Power, was forced to shut down

five nuclear reactors for safety checks after it

admitted to failing to report problems with the

reactors to the authorities. 



Tokyo Electric admitted in August it didn't report

problems at three of its power plants in the late

1980s and early 1990s. The problems were brought to

light after an investigation by the Ministry of

Economy, Trade and Industry. 



On Friday, Tokyo Electric spokesman Akio Kobayashi

said there were another eight cases of cracks or minor

structural damage at the company's plants besides the

29 reported earlier. Kobayashi said the problems

weren't serious enough to affect safety. 



Chubu Electric is Japan's third-largest power company

and serves the central Japan region, including the

major city of Nagoya. 



Japan relies on nuclear power for 30 percent of its

electricity. However, the Japanese public has become

increasingly wary of the reactors since a 1999

radiation leak at a fuel-reprocessing plant killed two

workers. 

 





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