Japanese utility Chubu Electric Power Company announced it has removed the upper lid of the pressure vessel of unit 2 at its Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka prefecture as it begins to dismantle the reactor. It becomes the first commercial power reactor in Japan to enter dismantling. ;

Chubu decided to close both units in January 2009 as they required expensive modifications to meet seismic standards imposed after the July 2007 Niigata Chuetsu offshore earthquake.

The utility submitted a decommissioning plan for Hamaoka 1 and 2 in June 2009, which was subsequently revised in September of that year. The overall plan divided the decommissioning of the two units into four stages.

Having completed stage two work at both units, on 18 December last year the Nuclear Regulation Authority approved Chubu’s application to move to the third stage of decommissioning at the units.

Chubu plans to dismantle units 1 and 2 over a period of about 12 years, starting with the reactor of unit 2 first. The decommissioning of the two reactors is expected to be completed in fiscal 2042 after the reactor buildings are demolished.