再び「浜岡原発」を問う

浜岡原発は立地条件が最悪。
なぜこんなところに原発をつくったのか。
東海地震の震源は予測されていた。
震度８でも大丈夫だという過信、おごりがあったのは間違いない。
仮に浜岡原発を閉鎖するにしても長い時間がかかる。
福島だってリアクター停止状態で水素爆発をおこしたのだ。
議論の余地はないと思う。
（スラチャイ記）

(Mainichi Japan) May 5, 2011
Gov't intervention necessary if Hamaoka nuke plant can't make decision to shut down
風知草：再び「浜岡原発」を問う＝山田孝男

"The Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant should be stopped," said a participant in a meeting on the state of the economy, where Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Cabinet members were among those present.
　４月２８日朝、首相と関係閣僚が顔をそろえる「経済情勢に関する検討会合」で、出席者の一人が「浜岡原発（中部電力）は止めるべきだ」と発言した。

Banri Kaieda, head of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) that oversees the power industry, refrained from making a rebuttal.
電気事業を所管する経済産業相は反論を避けた。

Taken aback by the sudden introduction of the issue, others at the meeting maintained their silence.
その他の出席者も、不意の問題提起に応答をためらい、沈黙をまもった。

While debate was avoided, the fact that a government official called for the shutdown of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant sent shockwaves through the various ministries and the power industry.
議論は回避されたが、政府要人による浜岡原発停止要求は、この問題に敏感な霞が関と電力業界に強い衝撃を与えた。

While it may appear as though the government is not considering the possibility of closing down any nuclear power plant besides the one in Fukushima, that is not the case.
　いま、政府は、福島以外の原発の制御は考えていないように見えるが、実情は違う。

Behind the scenes, there have been sporadic discussions along the following lines:
楽屋裏では、散発的に次のような会話が交わされている。

"The Hamaoka plant is dangerous."
　「浜岡はあぶない」

"But there's no legal basis on which to differentiate the Hamaoka plant from the others and stop just that one while others keep running."
「そうは言っても、他の原発と区別して止める（法令上の）根拠がないでしょう」

"Isn't it politicians' job to prevent foreseeable danger?"
「予見しうる危険を防ぐのが政治では」

"If we make any ill-planned moves, we'll provoke local governments, the call to stop the plant will extend to all nuclear power plants, and things will get out of control."
「不用意に踏み込めば自治体を刺激し、全原発に波及して収拾がつかなくなりますぞ」－－。

We've finally reached a tricky state of affairs where we may see the push to stop the Hamaoka plant spread throughout the administration -- or not.
　政府内でも、ついに浜岡原発停止論が広がるか、そうは問屋が卸さぬか、まさしく微妙な段階にさしかかった。

So what exactly is the problem with the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant?
　浜岡原発は静岡県御前崎市にある。何が問題か。

First, it is located in the Shizuoka Prefecture city of Omaezaki, right atop the predicted epicenter of a great Tokai earthquake that experts have been warning for years will strike.
まず、東海地震の予想震源域の真上に建っている。

According to Katsuhiko Ishibashi, a seismologist and professor emeritus at Kobe University, the surface of the fault where the quake is predicted to originate is located close to the surface of the ground, where the soil is soft, so if a major quake were to occur, severe ground upheaval cannot be avoided.
地震学者の石橋克彦神戸大名誉教授（６６）に聞けば、揺れを生む断層面が真下の浅い所にあり、地盤が軟弱。

This makes the site of the Hamaoka plant an unusually bad one for a nuclear power station.
巨大地震がくれば激しい地盤隆起が避けられず、立地条件の悪さという点で突出している。

In 2008, the government's Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion predicted that there was an 87-percent chance that a magnitude-8 range Tokai earthquake will occur in the next 30 years, and stepped up anti-disaster measures particularly in the Tokai region.
　一方、政府の地震調査研究推進本部は「今後３０年間にマグニチュード（Ｍ）８クラスの東海地震が起きる確率は８７％」と予測（０８年）、東海を最重点に地震防災を進めてきた。

And yet, the Hamaoka plant has continued to run and has even been expanded, coming out victorious in lawsuits that sought to stop its operation, with the judge accepting the argument that the plant is capable of withstanding a magnitude-8 temblor. What about a magnitude-9 quake, then, like the one that struck on March 11?
　それでも浜岡原発は動き、増設され、運転差し止め請求訴訟でも原発行政が勝った。「Ｍ８に見合う耐震安全性は十分」という司法判断だが、３・１１並みのＭ９ならどうか。

A former chief of the Science and Technology Agency's Atomic Energy Bureau is of the opinion that stopping the Hamaoka plant because of "potential risks" is a shortsighted response. He was quoted in the April 29 issue of the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper as saying that the external power source that controls operations at the Hamaoka plant is far more reliable than the system at the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
　浜岡は、制御設備の「外部電源の信頼性が福島より格段に高い」から、福島と同じにはならないと元科学技術庁原子力局長が主張している（東京新聞４月２９日朝刊）。この人は「潜在的リスクがあるから停止」は短絡という意見である。

Meanwhile, one of two bureaucrats with technical expertise -- not in atomic energy -- interviewed last week criticized the economics-first, safety-second mentality of atomic energy bureaucrats in a surprisingly harsh tone: 　筆者は先週、霞が関の技術系官僚２人（いずれも専門は原子力以外）に取材したが、うち１人は、こちらが驚くほど強い調子で原子力官僚の経済優先・安全軽視を批判した。

"All they talk about is the external power source. It's been 50 days since they said that things would improve at Fukushima, too, once external power was restored, but nothing has changed. They're only looking at the facility itself. They lack the imagination and the focus on safety crucial in considering the possibility of nature destroying their systems.
　「彼らは外部電源としか言わないですね。福島も『電源さえつながれば』と言って５０日たつけど、何も変わらない。結局プラント（機械設備）の中しか見ていない。自然によってガードを崩されるという想像力、安全思想が欠けている」

Both bureaucrats hold high positions, and while their lamentation of the current administration's lack of leadership was not at all shocking, the fact that both called for the Hamaoka plant to be stopped was surprising indeed.
　２人とも要職を占めるベテラン。政権の司令塔不在を嘆いたあたりは予想通りだが、「浜岡は止めるべきです」と異口同音に語った点が意外だった。

In the past 50 years, five magnitude-9 quakes have rattled the Pacific Rim, of which three have taken place in the past seven years. People try to quell concerns over the Hamaoka plant by pointing out the 10-meter sand dunes on the coast nearby and referring to talk of constructing a new 12-meter breakwater. But the Fukushima plant was overcome by waves between 10 and 20 meters high.
　環太平洋地域では過去５０年にＭ９クラスの巨大地震が５回起き、うち３回は最近７年間に集中している。浜岡の海岸には高さ１０メートルの砂丘があるとか、１２メートルの防波壁を新設するとかいうけれども、福島原発は十数メートルの津波に洗われている。

It is under such a state of affairs that Chubu Electric Power Co., which runs the Hamaoka plant, announced that it wanted to resume operations of the No. 3 reactor at Hamaoka in July.
　折も折、中部電力は、点検休止中の浜岡原発３号機を７月に再開したいと言い出した。

This is likely a desperate attempt to avoid a possible energy shortage in the summer, which could lead to chaos. 真夏の電力不足による混乱回避へ布石を打ったのだろうが、

Regardless, if private corporations can't look at the big picture, there is no choice but for the government to step in.
民間企業に大局判断は無理というなら、政府が出るしかない。

To prove the nation's commitment to safety and renew its politics, and to wipe away international distrust of Japanese technology, first of all the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant must be stopped.
安全を守る国家意思を明確にして政治をリセットするためにも、日本の技術に対する国際的不信をぬぐうためにも、まず浜岡原発を止めてもらいたい。

(By Takao Yamada, Expert Senior Writer)
（毎週月曜日掲載）

毎日新聞　2011年5月2日　東京朝刊