Japan Has Two Reactors Without Approval as Fukushima Raises Safety Concern

[link to www.bloomberg.com]

-Both units started test runs days before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami knocked out power and cooling systems at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant, causing three reactors to melt down in the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.

“It’s unusual the reactors are running for four months on a test-run basis, but there is nothing illegal about it,” said Tomohiro Sawada, an assistant director at NISA’s nuclear power inspection division.

The approvals for the Ohi and Tomari reactors haven’t been granted because Kansai Electric and Hokkaido Electric have yet to submit requests to NISA, the spokesmen said. The utilities are waiting for the government and NISA to address local safety concerns before asking for approval, they said. Both reactors are supplying power to the electricity grid.

- waiting for the addressing of local safety concerns before submitting requests for approval....but operating anyway and there is nothing illegal about it....hmmm.

-probably should be illegal.