Japan's nuclear watchdog formally approved a set of new safety requirements for atomic power plants on Wednesday, paving the way for the reopening of facilities shut down since the Fukushima disaster in a move critics charged was too hasty, AP reported. The new requirements approved by the Nuclear Regulation Authority take effect July 8, when operators will be able to apply for inspections. If plants pass the inspections, a process expected to take several months, they will be able to reopen later this year or early next year. All but two of Japan's 50 reactors have been offline since a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered multiple meltdowns and massive radiation leaks at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, about 250 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Tokyo. The plant currently relies on a precarious makeshift cooling system and is struggling with large amounts of radioactive water leaking out of its broken reactors and other problems. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. revealed on Wednesday that high levels of radioactive strontium and tritium were found in a sample of groundwater from the ocean side of the No. 2 turbine building. The levels in the sample, taken in May, were up to 30 times higher than the limit for release into the ocean, TEPCO spokesman Toshihiko Fukuda said. He said there was no sign that the contaminated groundwater had leaked into sea, citing no abnormal increase in ocean radioactivity. However, the delay in the announcement prompted an immediate warning from the nuclear watchdog. Wednesday's decision setting the launch date for the new safety requirements came nearly two weeks ahead of the legal deadline, prompting critics to suspect industrial and political pressure so that utilities can restart their reactors as quickly as possible.
