Formal safety check process to start for TEPCO's Kashiwazaki plant

The Nuclear Regulation Authority decided Wednesday to begin a formal safety screening process for Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, which the utility is seeking to restart to improve its battered finances.

Although TEPCO applied for safety inspections of the Nos. 6 and 7 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in late September, the NRA has not held an official safety screening meeting, which will be open to the public, amid concerns over the utility's poor handling of the accident-stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant in Fukushima Prefecture.

But the NRA decided during Wednesday's regular gathering of its commissioners that it should at least hold a meeting to listen to the outline of the content of the applications and check whether there are problems that should be addressed.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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