Right choice to close Hamaoka nuke plant, but other reactors also a concern

[kristopher]

Right choice to close Hamaoka nuke plant, but other reactors also a concern

As the Fukushima nuclear crisis rages on, Prime Minister Naoto Kan has demanded that Chubu Electric Power Co. shut down all reactors at its Hamaoka nuclear plant, fearing the facility near an earthquake danger zone is another nuclear disaster waiting to happen.

The Hamaoka plant in Shizuoka Prefecture sits on the edge an area where experts expect the next great Tokai earthquake to have its epicenter sometime in the relatively near future -- a vital piece of seismological information unknown at the time the plant was built. If the builders had known, they would have avoided the area. We in the press have certainly pointed out the risks.

Are earthquakes and tsunami really so powerful? Are the effects of a nuclear disaster really so grave? The Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11 gave us a clear answer to these questions.

If by any chance another terrible accident strikes, just as the prime minister stated, the consequences for all of Japan would be grave indeed.

Since the March 11 disaster...

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20110507p2a00m0na024000c.html

[snagglepuss]

1. Is this the one that has the reactor right on top of a fault line?