Japan nuclear watchdog probes claims that country's only working reactor sits on active fault line

  • Warning comes just 18 months after tsunami wiped out Fukushima plant

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: | Updated:

Japan's nuclear safety watchdog has ordered an investigation into claims the country's only active nuclear power station is positioned above a tectonic fault line.

Geologists believe the Oi plant in Fukui Prefecture is at real risk of earthquake if the tectonic plates it sits on suddenly shift.

The news comes at a sensitive time for the Japanese nuclear industry - less than 18 months after a tsunami struck the nuclear power station at Fukushima, causing a meltdown

The earth's crust under the Oi Nuclear power plant in Fukui, western Japan, will be examined over claims it sits on an active fault

The earth's crust under the Oi Nuclear power plant in Fukui, western Japan, will be examined over claims it sits on an active fault

Japan shut down all its nuclear power stations after the Fukushima disaster so safety checks could be carried out.

In June Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda ordered the Kansai Electric Power Company to restart the reactors at Oi, amid fears of summer power shortages in Japan.

The first reactor was fired up a few weeks ago and a second is planned to restart later in July.

Japanese Prime Minsiter Yoshihiko Noda has ordered the reactors at Oi to be restarted

Last month Japanese Prime Minsiter Yoshihiko Noda ordered the reactors at Oi to be restarted

The power company insists it won't alter its schedule, despite the order to examine the earth under the huge plant.

A KEPCO spokesman said: 'The company from its evaluations believes the fault has not been active for between 120,000 and 130,000 years.;

'Now the company has received the order to reinvestigate the matter and swiftly report, we will comply fully with this order.'

Experts reporting to the safety watchdog have also recommended tests are carried out at the nearby Shika plant, claiming both sites could be sitting on active fault lines.

The company that operates Shika has also vowed to comply with the order.

Earlier this month a parliamentary report called for an investigation into the cause of the meltdown at Fukushima.

Experts want to know how much damage was caused by the tsunami and how much was a result of the earthquake that started the devastating chain of events.

Ministers in Japan are calling for an investigation into the cause of the Fukushima disaster in March 2011

Ministers in Japan are calling for an investigation into the cause of the Fukushima disaster in March 2011

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