Immediate steps has been ordered for the safety of nuclear plants

On Wednesday Japan’s trade ministry ordered nuclear power plant operators to immediately start application of new safety measures due to the situations created at the Fukushima plants, which occur due to a higher tsunami than expected after the earthquake on 11th of March.

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Banri Kaieda told a news conference that the measures, to be implemented by the ministry’s safety agency, do not necessarily require nuclear plant operations to be halted.

T Kaieda said, “These are the minimum steps we can think of right now that should be done immediately.”

The steps, to be completed by the end of April, include preparing backup power in case of loss of power supply, and having fire trucks with hoses ready at all times to intervene and ensure cooling systems for both reactors and pools of used fuel are maintained.

The operators must also revise their own operating manuals and train staff based on the revised rules.

“We shouldn’t wait until a so-called overhaul or a comprehensive revision — something major that would take a long time — is prepared. We should do whatever we can if and when there is something (which safety authorities agree is) viable and necessary,” he said.

After the magnitude 9.0 quakes and subsequent tsunami devastated coastal areas of northeast Japan on March 11, the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant automatically stopped.

The crisis at the Fukushima plant of radiation leaks and partial meltdown of nuclear fuel had three direct causes, the ministry’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said on Wednesday.