Data Tampering Spurs Nuke Body To Halt Tsuruga Safety Assessment

Japan's nuclear regulator said Wednesday it will pause its safety assessment of a central Japan reactor in response to the operator having tampered with key geological data related to a fault underneath the facility, putting in doubt its restart after a 10-year shutdown, Kyodo News reported.

Photo Insert: Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said it will stop its evaluation of the No. 2 unit at the Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture until it confirms the operator, Japan Atomic Power Co., has improved the management of data like that which was changed to make the fault appear less active.

"Reliability of documentation is necessary to evaluate whether an operator's assessment (of faults and other aspects) is appropriate," said NRA Chairman Toyoshi Fuketa at a meeting, criticizing Japan Atomic Power for not following best scientific practice in compiling documents.

In February 2020, the regulator said Japan Atomic Power had been found to have rewritten data analyzing a drilling survey conducted on an area below the Tsuruga complex premises without approval.

Most of the altered parts involved geological data collected at points that are crucial in determining whether the fault running underneath the reactor is active or not. In quake-prone Japan, building nuclear plants or other important facilities directly above active faults is prohibited.

WEEKLY FEATURE : PAL READY TO SOAR WITH PANDEMIC