The appeal below was submitted to Tokyo Electric Power Company at 12:30 on 28 October 2004 (Japan time).
People overseas probably don't know that the nuclear power plant in question does not supply power to the region in which it is located. It is owned and operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company and sends the power produced to the region in which that company has a monopoly around the capital.
Philip White
International Liaison Officer
Urgent Request to Suspend Operations at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, located in the Chuetsu Region of Niigata Prefecture, Japan
Over 100,000 people have been sought refuge as a result of the earthquake on 23 October and the subsequent tremors, in the Chuetsu Region of Niigata Prefecture. This region is host to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant.
As a result of this earthquake the bullet train (shinkansen) was derailed and pillars supporting bridges which were supposed to be indestructible were broken. Experts say that more large tremors are possible. Also, the possibility that a large earthquake could occur near the nuclear power plant has been raised. The government's earthquake advisory committee speculates that a magnitude 8 earthquake, exceeding your company's magnitude 6.9 design basis earthquake, could occur.
Recently people were killed as a result of an accident at the Mihama-3 reactor. In that case, the walls of the ruptured pipe had become very thin, but the question that is being asked is what triggered the rupture. An earthquake is just the sort of event that can trigger such a rupture. There are many pipes in the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactors that have never been inspected since the reactors commenced operation, so the degree of thinning of the pipe walls is unknown. However, your company's earthquake-resistant design assumes that the pipes are as new. In an earthquake pipes which have become thin could easily break. On this point, we are concerned of a situation arising that is beyond the scope of the earthquake-resistant design.
Once the reactors have been shut down they should be inspected to check for ruptured pipes, or other effects of the current earthquakes.
According to the power plant, every time there is a tremor periodic inspection work currently in progress on reactor 4 is suspended. It is then restarted after safety has been confirmed. Continuation of the inspection is problematic when workers are forced to work even though they fear for their safety. It would be preferable to send workers home, or allow them to help with relief operations.
At the moment tremors continue to occur and medical treatment is inadequate. If there was a major accident at a nuclear reactor now, it is clear that the nuclear disaster prevention system would fail to operate. If radiation was released under conditions where buildings have been destroyed and people have been forced to seek refuge out of doors, the people would have nowhere to flee. Whereas earthquakes force people to seek refuge out of doors, nuclear disasters force people to seek refuge indoors. These requirements are in total conflict. When roads have been torn up and there are traffic jams everywhere, it is impossible to escape. We hear that it is very difficult to get around in Kashiwazaki City and in the area around the nuclear power plant.
It is a very strange state of affairs when, for the sake of electricity supply to the capital city, a nuclear power plant in a region where there has been a natural disaster should be kept running, even though there are electricity blackouts in the disaster area itself and the nuclear disaster prevention system will be sacrificed. We believe that the nuclear power plant should be shut down until the Meteorological Agency declares that no more tremors are expected, the traffic system has returned to normal and the disaster prevention system is working. We therefore demand the following:
- Suspend operations at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in the Chuetsu Region of Niigata Prefecture until the Meteorological Agency declares that no more tremors are expected, the traffic system has returned to normal and the disaster prevention system is working;
- Suspend periodic inspection work.
Signed by:
Stop the Monju, Tokyo
Nuclear Waste Campaign
[Toden to Tomoni] Campaign to Abandon Nuclear Energy
Fukushima Committee Considering the Problem of Aging Reactors
Abandoning Nuclear Fuel and Delicious Rice
'Femin' Women's Democratic Club
Citizens' Nuclear Information Center (CNIC)
Shizuoka Network Considering Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant
(If some of the above group names sound strange, please note that other than CNIC, they are direct translations of the Japanese, not official English names.)
28 October 2004
