原子力規制委 安全確認の基準作りを急げ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 22, 2012)
New N-body must quickly create safety guidelines
原子力規制委　安全確認の基準作りを急げ（9月21日付・読売社説）

It is urgently necessary for the new regulatory body to restore public trust in the administration of nuclear safety, which has been damaged by the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
　東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の事故で失われた原子力安全行政への信頼回復が急務だ。

The Nuclear Regulation Authority, which was launched Wednesday, and its secretariat organ, the nuclear regulatory agency, bear heavy responsibilities in this regard.
　１９日に発足した原子力規制委員会と、事務局の原子力規制庁の責務は重い。

In launching the new authority, regulatory divisions that had been overseen by several ministry and agency bodies have been absorbed into the new entity. The new authority has also been separated from the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry and other government bodies that promoted nuclear power generation.
　複数省庁に分散していた規制部門を統合し、原発を推進する経済産業省などから分離させた。

The new authority is an organ set up in line with Article 3 of the National Government Organization Law, and it has a high degree of autonomy from politics.
国家行政組織法第３条に基づく組織で、政治からの独立性も高い。

What is required for the new entity is, first and foremost, to make objective and rigorous judgments on whether the safety of each nuclear power plant can be ensured, based on its technical knowledge and expertise.
　まず求められるのは、個々の原発が十分に安全かどうか、技術的な知見に基づき、客観的かつ厳正に判断することである。

The new authority, comprised of chairman Shunichi Tanaka and four commissioners, must hammer out safety guidelines and establish effective inspection protocols as soon as possible.
　田中俊一委員長と４人の委員で構成する規制委は、安全確認の判断基準作りや、検査体制の整備を早急に進めねばならない。

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Idle plants need to be restarted

Except for the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors of Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi nuclear power plant, where operations were restarted in July, the other 48 nuclear reactors in the nation remain idle.
　国内の原発は、７月に再稼働した関西電力大飯原発３、４号機を除く４８基が停止している。

This situation was caused by the provisional guidelines the government set for restarting suspended operations of nuclear reactors. Taking lessons from the Fukushima crisis, the government imposed emergency safety requirements, such as improved measures to secure power in emergencies, on the nuclear plants.
　政府が設けた再稼働の暫定基準が原因だ。原発事故の教訓に基づき、政府は非常電源の強化など緊急安全対策を各原発に求めた。

In addition, the government ordered utility companies to conduct stress tests at nuclear plants. The tests were introduced by former Prime Minister Naoto Kan, an advocate of abandoning nuclear power, and have no legal grounds.
　それに加え、「脱原発」派の菅前首相が持ち込んだ法的根拠のないストレステスト（耐性検査）まで実施させていた。

Although test results on 30 nuclear reactors have been submitted, most of the results have yet to be examined. These results have been passed on to the new regulatory authority.
　３０基の原発からテスト結果が提出されたものの、大半の審査は手付かずで、妥当性が判断されないまま規制委に引き継がれた。

It is necessary to correct this half-hearted situation.
　こうした中途半端な状況を解消する必要がある。

Tanaka said at a press conference: "Stress tests are politically motivated. I won't stick to them."
　田中委員長は記者会見で、「ストレステストは政治的なもの。それにとらわれない」と述べた。

We consider this remark reasonable, given that stress tests are not a condition for restarting nuclear reactors in the United States or Europe.
欧米でもストレステストは再稼働の条件になっていないことを考えれば、妥当な見解だろう。

It is also understandable that he showed an intention to improve disaster prevention systems and look into whether existing safety measures are flawed.
　再稼働に向けて、防災体制を整え、これまでの安全対策に漏れがないか検証する姿勢を示したことも理解できる。

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Timing is important

The problem is how much time the new authority will spend in compiling safety guidelines and making safety assessments.
　問題は、基準作りと安全判断にいつまで時間をかけるかだ。

Hokkaido Electric Power Co. has expressed serious concerns over whether winter electricity supplies will meet demand without the restart of nuclear reactors. But Tanaka said, "It will probably be difficult [to restart] by year-end." He also said, "I'm not going to take electricity supply and demand into account."
　北海道電力は、原発再稼働なしには冬の需給が厳しいと危機感を示すが、田中委員長は「年内は難しいのではないか」「電力需給は考慮しない」と述べている。

Surely, it is not acceptable to make snap decisions on matters concerning safety measures. But if the new authority postpones making judgments by giving too much weight to thoughtless calls to abandon nuclear power, which likely will have a negative impact on industry and the people's daily lives with blackouts, the role of the authority itself will be put into question.
　無論、安全対策で見切り発車は許されない。だが、浅はかな「脱原発」の声に過度に配慮して判断を先送りし、停電により産業や市民生活に悪影響を与えれば、規制委の存在意義が問われよう。

The new authority is facing a number of tasks, such as establishing measures to ensure safety at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant while its reactors are decommissioned and studying the feasibility of decommissioning reactors after 40 years of operation.
　規制委は、福島第一原発の廃炉までの安全確保策や、原発の「原則４０年廃炉」の検討など多くの課題を抱えている。

There has been criticism over the fact that Diet approval has yet to be given to the government's appointments of members of the new authority. But nothing is more important for them than steadily fulfilling their duties and producing tangible results.
　規制委人事が国会同意を得ていないことに批判はあるが、着実に職責を果たし、実績を上げることが何より大切だ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 21, 2012)
（2012年9月21日01時40分 読売新聞）