Reasons for shutting down the Tomari Nuclear Plant

  • After 42 years, the last Nuclear Power Plant has just been closed in Japan on May 5th of 2012. Located in Hokkaido, Japan, Tomari Nuclear Plant is the only nuclear power plant providing energy in the area.

    Japan and its Nuclear Power Plants

    It was in 1954 that Japan started its Nuclear Power Plant operations. This was a way of providing a stable and reliable source of energy all throughout the land. The country set aside a 235 million budget for that. Over time, it served in the industries such as manufacturing, research institutes and so on. However, particular accidents occurred. These accidents included Tokaimura nuclear accident, Mihama steam explosion, accident at the Monju reactor and the more recent earthquake and tsunami aftermath last 2011.

    How Nuclear Power Plants were Designed？

    Japan has a very long history regarding seismic activities. And as such, the nuclear power plants were designed to withstand the destructive earthquakes in the land. However, some earthquakes are very strong that it sometimes causes tsunamis. Having these nuclear reactors may not be the best choice with over 127,300,000 of people in the area. There were several warnings given by different people to stop these power plants, but their operation was never stopped.

    Worst Nuclear Accident

    Last 2011, the strongest earthquake hit the country, damaging the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. This caused a big commotion regarding the radioactive exposure of people from the event. There were no fatalities and no serious exposure to radiation which occurred. However, this became a very big phenomenon throughout the land. This paved the way towards the shutting down of all nuclear plants. They are only allowed to operate once they pass a battery of tests against earthquakes and tsunamis. Concerns are uprising especially for business owners. This will probably have a huge effect on their production of goods.