Tepco delays commissioning of reactors
28 March 2007
[Bloomberg, 28 March] Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) said that it would delay the completion of Units 7 and 8 at its Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant by one year after revealing a series of past safety lapses at its reactors. Commissioning of the two Advanced Boiling Water Reactors (ABWRs) will now be scheduled for October 2013 and 2014. The company recently reported on several incidents in which control rods were dislodged, including one in 1978 which probably caused a criticality incident that could have lasted up to seven-and-a-half hours at Unit three of the Fukushima-1 plant. Tepco's president, Tsunehisa Katsumata apologized on 23 March saying, "We are very sorry for the incidents that deeply hurt public trust." He added, "We will work to restore confidence." The company announced the delays to the new reactors as part of a business plan released today.
Further information
WNN: Tepco reveals series of past incidents