Last December, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) held a meeting to formulate a draft report evaluating the fault zone of crushed rock on the site of the Higashidori Nuclear Power Station, owned and operated by the Tohoku Electric Power Co.

On February 18, a peer review was conducted, in which experts and specialists who are involved in evaluations at other sites were asked for their opinions on the draft report.

After the NRA’s peer review, Tohoku Electric Power released comments objecting to the results, saying that “it was not a rational evaluation, as comprehensive, objective judgments based on investigative data, model tests and numerical analyses were insufficiently carried out.”

Tohoku Electric Power, which had previously said that the NRA’s draft report put forward “a view different from our company’s position,” was similarly critical about the peer review, saying that “the draft report is expected to be finalized almost as it is now.”