Calay News
An employee at Japan’s largest nuclear power plant, located in Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, has created new problems for Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco), the plant’s operator. This man placed a stack of documents on the roof of a car and lost them, which has triggered additional concerns at a facility that has previously been sanctioned for safety lapses.
The loss of the documents came to light when a local resident found some sheets related to fire and flood management procedures. Tepco is still trying to recover 38 pages of the lost documents.
The employee responsible for this oversight, along with his supervisor, have been reprimanded by the company. Tepco has stated that it is taking steps to ensure that staff rigorously comply with document handling rules.
This incident comes just a week after the Japan Nuclear Regulation Authority postponed the restart of the plant due to insufficient safety measures. This new situation could generate even more distrust from regulators toward Tepco.
Regulators’ demands and safety deficiencies have prevented most of the country’s nuclear reactors from restarting since the accident at the Fukushima plant in 2011. Lack of confidence in Tepco’s safety management is a critical issue in Japan’s nuclear industry and could further delay the resumption of operations at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.
