Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) has approved changes to safety rules at Kansai Electric Power Company’s Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, allowing Unit 1 to operate for more than 50 years . Takahama 1 is Japan’s oldest operating nuclear reactor.

The NRA Secretariat recently informed commissioners that additional checks had been carried out to assess deterioration inside the reactor and outlined plans to replace some components if necessary. Commissioners then unanimously approved changing safety rules, paving the way for extended operation of the reactor.

Takahama’s four reactors have now been licensed to operate for 60 years. Units 3 and 4, 830 MWe pressurized water reactors (PWR), which entered service in 1985, are currently in service and will reach their 40th anniversary in January and June 2025. Kansai Electric has requested their extension in April 2023 after have carried out specific inspections of the installations. . Units 1 and 2, 780 MWe (net) PWRs, which began operating in 1974 and 1975, were approved in June 2016 to operate beyond 40 years. In 2023, both reactors restarted for the first time since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011.

In July, Kansai Electric obtained prior approval from Fukui Prefecture and Takahama City to replace the steam generators in Units 3 and 4 and to request replacement of internal reactor components in Units 1 and 2.

In accordance with post-Fukushima regulations which came into force in July 2013, Japanese reactors have a nominal operating life of 40 years. An extension – limited to a maximum of 20 years – may be granted, requiring in particular a special inspection to verify the integrity of the reactor’s pressure vessels and containment vessels after 35 years of operation. However, in May 2023, the government passed a bill to introduce a new system that will allow the country’s nuclear reactors to operate beyond the current 60-year limit. The legislation comes into force in June 2025.

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