Japan halts 3 reactors after quake threat
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the measure was to ensure safety, citing experts' forecast of a 90 per cent probability of a major quake striking the central region within 30 years.
The government has asked operator Chubu Electric Power Co. to suspend two running reactors and a third shut for a regular inspection at its coastal Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka, west of Tokyo.
“If an accident occurs at Hamaoka, it could create serious consequences,” Kan said.
Kan said the safety measure was made after the radiation crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, which was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami March 11 that also left more than 25,000 people dead and missing on the northeast coast.
The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant lost its power and cooling systems, triggering fires, explosions and radiation leaks in the world's second-worst nuclear accident.
Radiation leaks from the Fukushima plant have forced 80,000 people living within a 20-kilometre radius to leave their homes. Many are staying in gymnasiums and community centres.
Residents in Shizuoka have long demanded suspension of the Hamaoka reactors.
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Worker injured after GE turbine collapse
WASHINGTON - A GE turbine collapsed at a wind farm in north-east Brazil, injuring a worker and sparking a probe into the fifth such incident this year, the manufacturer confirmed.
One of the manufacturer’s GE 2.72-116 turbines collapsed at Omega Energia’s Delta VI project in Maranhão, which was commissioned in 2018.
Three GE employees were on site at the time of the collapse on Tuesday (3 September), the US manufacturer confirmed.
One worker was injured and is currently receiving medical treatment, GE added.
"We are working to determine the root cause of this incident and to provide proper support as needed," it said
The turbine collapse in Brazil is…
