This morning the Shizuoka District Court rejected a demand to terminate operation of Units 1-4 of the Hamaoka nuclear power plant. During the course of the trial, the plaintiffs provided detailed evidence regarding safety deficiencies of the plant and the dangers associated with earthquake-induced nuclear disasters ("gempatsu shinsai"). However, the court's verdict was completely superficial. It essentially accepted that if the defendant's (Chubu Electric Power Company) safety assessment and safety checks were carried out in accordance with government regulations, then all is well. This is a totally unjustifiable presumption.
There are numerous reasons why the verdict can be labeled superficial.
- The verdict ignored the recently discovered possibility that a Magnitude 9 class earthquake occurs in this region around once every 1,000 years. Instead, the court accepted that "the estimate of the earthquake movement is sufficiently conservative."
- Multiple simultaneous failures occurred during the Chuetsu-Oki Earthquake, including deformed pipes, cracks in buildings, a fire in a transformer, etc.. However, the court ignored these facts and concluded, "It is not possible to say that there is a realistic chance of multiple simultaneous deformation and rupture of pipes."
- Concerning plant aging, the court concluded that the plant is safe as long as checks and inspections are carried out and parts are replaced appropriately. This is despite the fact that it is impossible to predict where stress corrosion cracking will occur, or to inspect the full length of the piping. The court uncritically swallowed the pleading of the defendant.
Over a period of five years the plaintiffs presented evidence concerning such matters as: the scale and manner of occurrence of earthquakes that should be taken into account; common-cause accidents arising as a result of earthquakes; vast numbers of simultaneous failures; the plant's safety margin; and the danger of aging of important equipment. Although the court dismissed all these as "various phenomena that are conceivable in the abstract", the plaintiffs provided detailed evidence of the dangers arising from these problems.
It is essential to consider the worst-case scenario for accidents which could conceivably occur and to take measures to avoid such accidents. We believe that society should adopt the precautionary principle as the basis for decision-making on issues such as this.
This verdict fails to protect the life and health of the residents and citizens. The plaintiffs and the local residents cannot conclude from this that the safety of the Hamaoka nuclear power plant has been proved. It would be more reasonable to conclude that this verdict invites a nuclear "gempatsu shinsai" disaster.
Contacts
Hideyuki Ban (Co-Director)+81-3-3357-3800
Philip White (International Liaison Officer) +81-3-3357-3800
For more information on this lawsuit, see the following web sites:
http://www.geocities.jp/ear_tn/
http://www.geocities.jp/ear_tn/071025_HamaokaBrief.pdf
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