Two courts requesting the cancellation of the national installation permit and the suspension of operation of the Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga prefecture, saying that local residents are "insufficient in safety against earthquakes and volcanic eruptions" Then, the Saga District Court will hand down the judgment on the 12th.

Regarding Units 3 and 4 of the Kyushu Electric Power / Genkai Nuclear Power Station, a group made up of residents from Saga and Fukuoka prefectures canceled the decision of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the country that allowed the installation of nuclear power plants and operated on Kyushu Electric Power. Has filed two complaints calling for the suspension of.



At the trial, the issue was whether or not safety against earthquakes and huge volcanic eruptions was ensured, and the plaintiffs said, "The expected shaking of the earthquake is underestimated, and the nuclear power plant will affect the huge eruptions such as Mt. Aso. I cannot deny the possibility of receiving it. "



On the other hand, the government and Kyushu Electric Power side insisted that "the assumption of earthquake shaking is set appropriately based on detailed survey results, etc., and it is extremely unlikely that a huge eruption will occur during the operation period of the nuclear power plant." Did.



The Saga District Court will hand down the judgments from 2:30 pm on the 12th for the trial requesting the revocation of the national establishment permit, and from 3:00 pm for the trial requesting Kyushu Electric Power to stop operation.



In December of last year, the Osaka District Court issued a ruling on the Oi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture to revoke the permission to establish the country for the first time after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, and the Saga District Court's decision is drawing attention.

The issue is earthquake assumptions and volcanoes

In both of these two trials, the main issues are the shaking of the earthquake and whether it is safe enough against the eruption of a volcano.

earthquake

Of these, about earthquakes.



Nuclear power plants are required to calculate the "standard ground motion" of the largest earthquake that may occur in the surrounding area based on past earthquake data and geological structure, and design it to withstand it.



"Reference seismic motion" is expressed in the unit of acceleration "gal", and Kyushu Electric Power has set the standard seismic motion of the Genkai nuclear power plant to "maximum 620 gal".



The Nuclear Regulatory Commission evaluated this as appropriate and approved the installation of Units 3 and 4 in 2017.



The plaintiffs said, "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has reviewed the guidelines for examination after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, and considered the" variation "assuming an earthquake of a magnitude larger than the average value of the earthquakes that occurred in the past. It has not been, and the assumptions are underestimated. "



On the other hand, the national government and Kyushu Electric Power side said, "The standard ground motion will be safer based on the results of detailed investigations and observations, taking into account regional characteristics, and considering uncertainties that cannot be grasped. I'm calculating. "

..

Volcano

Regarding volcanoes, there was a dispute over the effects of huge eruptions such as Mt. Aso.



The plaintiffs insisted, "It is not unlikely that a catastrophic eruption such as Mt. Aso will occur during the operation period of the nuclear power plant. There is a risk that the pyroclastic flow will reach the nuclear power plant, so it is not suitable for the location."



In response, the government and Kyushu Electric Power side insisted that "a catastrophic eruption such as Mt. Aso is extremely unlikely to occur during the operation period of the nuclear power plant."

Genkai nuclear power plant and past judgment

Kyushu Electric Power's Genkai Nuclear Power Station is located in Genkai Town, Saga Prefecture, facing the Genkai Sea, and has four reactors from Units 1 to 4.



Of these, Units 1 and 2 are currently undergoing decommissioning work.



Units 3 and 4 shut down after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant 10 years ago, but passed the examination of new regulatory standards by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and restarted in 2018, three years ago. Did.



Currently, Unit 3 is in operation, and Unit 4 is out of operation due to regular inspections.



Regarding the Genkai nuclear power plant, after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a group of residents filed a provisional disposition requesting that they not drive, but the Saga District Court and the Fukuoka High Court said, "There is no specific danger." As a result, they all decided to dismiss the complaint.