In response to the government's consideration of extending the operating period of the nuclear power plant, the Nuclear Regulation Authority received an explanation from the person in charge of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on the 5th, and how the regulatory side will confirm safety in the future. decided to consider.
The operating period of nuclear power plants is stipulated by law to be 40 years in principle and 60 years at the longest, but since last month a council of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has begun discussing further extensions.
On the 5th, the Nuclear Regulation Authority invited a representative from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to explain the status of the study.
In this, the person in charge explained that they are reviewing the operation period and considering the development of new laws in order to maximize the use of existing nuclear power plants.
In response to this, the Nuclear Regulation Authority has confirmed that it will not comment on the extension of operation as a policy decision.
On top of that, if the operation period exceeds 60 years, there are concerns that the equipment and facilities will deteriorate over time, and the design itself will become obsolete. Therefore, the regulatory side should consider how to confirm safety. decided.
On the other hand, at the press conference after the meeting, there were a series of questions about the fact that the Regulatory Commission, which emphasizes independence, asked for an explanation at the stage when consideration of usage policies began. Among them, it is necessary to prepare a legal system as a regulation, and there are time constraints, so I wanted to think about the items that need to be considered in advance," he said, saying that there is no problem with the independence of regulations. showed.