In-house generator breaks down at 3 hospitals including disaster bases Chiba Nov. 11 12:08

However, in Typhoon No. 15 that hit Chiba Prefecture in September, blackouts continued in a wide area, but it was found that at least three hospitals, including the disaster base hospitals, had emergency private generators malfunctioning. Points out that further measures are needed.

In September of Typhoon No. 15, many hospitals in Chiba had a power outage, and emergency private power generators were in operation, but at least three hospitals, including disaster-based hospitals in Tateyama City and Konancho, were restored. The NHK interview revealed that a private generator broke down and some of the medical devices were unusable.

According to hospitals, there were sudden shutdowns and fuel leaks, which are thought to be due to aging and overloading over time.

Emergency power supplies such as hospitals are required to be regularly inspected by law, and there are also tests that test run under a load. That was not confirmed.

Prof. Atsuko Ikeuchi of Setan University, who is familiar with hospital disaster prevention, said, “It is basic to carry out periodic inspections, but it is possible to improve the number of specialists so that they can be recovered quickly in the event of a failure. I need to take measures. ”

The hospital where the fuel leaked and broke down

About 20 people were hospitalized at Chonan Hospital in Chonan-cho, Chiba Prefecture, which had a power outage due to the typhoon No. 15, and an emergency private generator was operated. However, after about a day, fuel leaked from the pipe. It means that it was out of order.

As a result, the lighting and many medical devices remained unavailable until the power car arrived the day after the failure.

According to the hospital, the faulty private power generator is 40 years old, and it has been checked regularly based on the law twice a year, but it has not been confirmed that it can be used for a long time.

Also, there was no management person with specialized knowledge, so we could not respond.

“It was an inspection that did not assume continuous operation, so long-term use became a real hit. The breakdown was really unexpected and very confusing.” It was.