February 10, 2016

Deal to protect jobs in scrapping nuclear reactors

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20160210_22.html

Feb. 10, 2016 - Updated 06:30 UTC+1

Regional officials in Japan are taking steps to ensure that work to decommission nuclear reactors in their prefecture go to local businesses.

Three reactors in Fukui Prefecture will be scrapped. They are, the No. 1 reactor at the Tsuruga nuclear power plant, and the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at the Mihama plant.

The prefectural government expects to sign a deal with the plant operators Japan Atomic Power and Kansai Electric Power as early as Wednesday.

The agreement provides that local residents and businesses be considered for the decommissioning work.

It requires plant operators to take responsibility for safety issues concerning the management of nuclear waste and its impact on the environment.

Fukui Prefecture is the first municipality hosting nuclear facilities to reach such a deal. Officials were concerned about the loss of jobs and business associated with scrapping the reactors.

The Japanese government now limits the operation of reactors to 40 years, in principle, following the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.