Investigation of reactor cooling facility collapsed by Typhoon No. 15 Nuclear Regulatory Commission October 23 17:15
Regarding the problem that the cooling facility for research reactors in Ibaraki Prefecture collapsed last month due to a typhoon that was below the standard, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission decided to investigate whether there were any design problems.
This is a facility located in Oarai-cho, Ibaraki Prefecture, which was about 17 meters high to cool the research reactor of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, which was destroyed by typhoon No. 15 last month.
The facility was completed 51 years ago and was abolished due to aging, etc., and operation was stopped. There was no leakage of radioactive material.
The JAEA investigated that the maximum instantaneous wind speed observed on the premises during the typhoon was lower than the facility design standards. It was pointed out that there may have been a possibility of collapse, etc., and “It was designed after safety evaluation was performed in the past, but there were no problems”.
In response, the regulatory committee decided to investigate whether there were any problems with the design or construction of the facility.