Government: "No Impact on Our Waters Even if Nuclear Plant Damage Occurs Due to Japan Earthquake"

Park Gu-yeon, First Deputy Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, is explaining the safety of nuclear power plants and radiation safety management in the Japanese region related to the Ishikawa earthquake during a briefing on the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 3rd.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The government announced on the 3rd that even if damage occurs to Japanese nuclear power plants due to the strong earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, there will be no direct impact on our territorial waters.

Park Gu-yeon, the First Deputy Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, made this statement during a briefing on the Fukushima contaminated water discharge held at the Government Complex Seoul in the afternoon. He explained the impact of the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that occurred in Japan at 4 p.m. on the 1st.

According to the government, there are 22 nuclear power reactors installed at six sites near the epicenter of this earthquake. Among them, 7 reactors are operational (2 under regular inspection), 10 are under inspection since the Fukushima accident, and 5 are permanently shut down.

Deputy Minister Park explained, "The Japanese government confirmed the status of nuclear facilities’ plants, exhaust monitors, and monitoring posts, and reported that no abnormalities were found at nearby nuclear power plants."

He added, "In particular, Hokuriku Electric Power Company, the operator of Shika Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 2, which are closest to the epicenter, announced that both reactors were in a shutdown state, and there were no abnormal situations such as radioactive material leakage outside the reactor buildings or fires."

Tokyo Electric Power Company also announced that the Fukushima nuclear power plant was outside the affected area of this earthquake, and there was no damage caused by the earthquake.

Deputy Minister Park stated that even if damage occurs to nuclear power plants in the region where the earthquake occurred, it is judged that there will be no direct impact on our territorial waters.

He said, "The ocean currents passing near the earthquake area mostly move northeast along the Japanese coast and then flow out to the Pacific Ocean through the Tsugaru Strait," adding, "The possibility of inflow into our waters is low."

Although a tsunami of up to 85 cm occurred on the east coast due to this earthquake, it has been confirmed that there was no impact on our nuclear power plants.

Deputy Minister Park said, "Our nuclear power plants are located about 10 meters above sea level, and since the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, all nuclear power plants have been thoroughly prepared against tsunamis and flooding by installing watertight doors and drainage pumps," adding, "We will continue to monitor the impact on nuclear power plants until the disaster situation is completely stabilized."