Press Releases 2013

In November 2003, we established announcement standards regarding inadequacies^* that may occur at nuclear power stations. Since then, we have been making efforts "to promptly announce all of inadequacies" in press announcement, on our website, and so on.

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station suffered severe damages to facilities due to Tohoku-Chihou-Taiheiyou-Oki Earthquake and a tsunami triggered by the earthquake. Currently, we are advancing decommissioning activities for Units 1 to 4 while striving to maintain the plants in a stable state. For this reason, we are in a situation where application of the previously established announcement standards to this power station is difficult.

Meanwhile, on March 18, 2013, a power outage accident occurred in Fukushima Daiichi NPS due to the entrance of a small animal (a rat) into a high-voltage distribution board, which caused a cooling system of a spent fuel pool to stop. Following the accident, we established the "Information and Communication Team" under the "Fukushima Daiichi reliability improvement emergency task force" on April 8, 2013. Based on the reflections from the announcements we made in response to various accidents and troubles including the power outage accident, we have been working on establishment of "reporting standards and announcement methods" to be applied to Fukushima Daiichi NPS for more prompt and accurate announcements. We have completed the establishment, and would like to announce the "reporting standards and announcement methods".

The "reporting standards and announcement methods" are to be put into operation from September 17, 2013.

* An inadequacy means a state different from a normal state, or to an act (a judgment) different from an act (a judgment) that should normally be performed.
In the case of a power station, inadequacies include a wide range of troubles such as a trouble that we are legally obligated to report and a failure of instrument or lighting equipment that would be found out in a regular inspection of the power station.

Attachments:
- Methods and timing of announcement on the occurrence of an accident or trouble at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (PDF 23.6KB)
- Reporting standards and announcement methods on the occurrence of an accident or trouble at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (PDF 313KB)