[97 organizations including Green Action have given their support to this public appeal as of 9am, July 21, 2007.]
—Joint Public Appeal—
We Strongly Urge a Radical Reexamination
of Earthquake Countermeasures for Nuclear Facilities,
Facing Consequences Squarely Whatever the Outcome!
[PDF version: 48KB]
[Japanese site]
English translation
July 21, 2007
To:
— ABE Shinzo, Prime Minister of Japan
— All those in relevant branches of government and in nuclear-related organizations
— The People of Japan
As a result of the Chuetsuoki Earthquake, unforeseen problems continue to arise at the largest nuclear power plant complex in the world, Tokyo Electric’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station. All seven reactors are currently shut down, but they remain directly threatened by the danger of aftershocks.
This major earthquake revealed dramatically the existence of a previously undetected fault line, and seismic oscillations recorded during the earthquake far exceeded regulatory standards established for earthquake resistance. Consequently, it is clear that the safety of these nuclear power plants cannot be assured, and, faced by the probability of strong after-shocks, large numbers of people in the Kashiwazaki Kariwa area and the greater Chuetsu region are deeply concerned that further problems may develop at this nuclear power plant complex, resulting in a nuclear disaster.
According to the seismic resistance design specifications of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, seismic acceleration greater than 300 gal would cause deformations resulting in permanent damage, making equipment unusable. The design was based on the hypothesis that seismic acceleration on site would never exceed 450 gal. This earthquake, however recorded a maximum of 680 gal. Since the government which previously investigated and established these seismic standards has been proven totally wrong, it is now self-evident beyond any doubt that the licenses for these reactors should be revoked.
Last March (2006), the Kanazawa District Court handed down a verdict which placed an injunction on the operation of the Shika nuclear power plant. The earthquake which occurred this week in Niigata has inadvertently confirmed that the Kanazawa verdict was indeed correct. Since the rationale which formed the basis for licensing these nuclear power plants and related facilities has collapsed as a result of this earthquake, the fact that seismic shocks can cause severe damage to such facilities due to previously unrecognized seismic faults cannot be denied. Apartment buildings which were built on the basis of falsified earthquake resistance data are now being torn down because they no longer meet legal requirements. How can nuclear facilities with potentially far more devastating effects be allowed to continue to operate as usual?
For the above reasons, if nuclear power plants or reprocessing plants continue to operate, there is grave danger that nuclear disasters could occur due to these facilities being subjected to earthquakes, resulting in severe damage and massive releases of radioactive materials. We therefore petition the Prime Minister of Japan and all organizations related to the operation of nuclear power plants in Japan to undertake a radical reexamination of earthquake countermeasures and face the consequences squarely whatever the outcome.
We sincerely urge all the people of Japan to share our concern about earthquake resistance measures at nuclear power plants. Please support us in our efforts to prevent nuclear disaster.
Signed:
— The Three Organizations Opposed to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plants
— Kashiwazaki and Kariwa Regional Coordination Center for the Consideration of Nuclear Power Issues
— Nishiyama and Kariwa Citizens’ Group for the Consideration of Nuclear Power Issues
— Kashiwazaki and Kariwa Citizens’ Network for the Consideration of the Pluthermal (MOX fuel use) Program