How Do You Retrofit a Nuclear Power Plant?

Appears that a nuclear power plant is having some legal issues. Mostly to do with its designed protections for earthquakes.

In a landmark decision, the district court here Friday ordered Hokuriku Electric Power Co. to halt operations of a nuclear reactor because the plant lacks the strength to withstand a large earthquake.

It is the first time in Japan for a court to order a suspension against a nuclear power plant in operation.

The utility plans to appeal the decision, meaning that the order cannot be carried out until all the legal proceedings are completed.

But the court's decision could affect other lawsuits over the operations of nuclear plants.

The reactor in question is the No. 2 at Hokuriku Electric's Shika plant in Ishikawa Prefecture.

It started operations on March 15 as Japan's 55th commercial reactor, and has one of the nation's largest power generation capacities.

But the court agreed with the plaintiffs in the suit against Hokuriku Electric that the reactor should be shut down because the facility falls short of the proper quake-resistance level.

Yikes. Makes you wonder what safety factor was built into the design. If they have to retrofit this thing, I'm betting on big big costs.

The judge noted that the central government's earthquake research committee warned about the possibility of a number of earthquakes occurring simultaneously on the Ochigata fault line, creating a magnitude 7.6 temblor that would rock areas of the plant.

The protection is probably justified though. If your plant is damaged by a 7.6 quake, I'm going to guess that the local population will be in pretty bad shape as well. I'm betting they won't need any more hazards in their lives.