information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
20 Décembre 2016
December 20, 2016
http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20161220/p2a/00m/0na/017000c
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency's Monju fast-breeder reactor is seen in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, from a Mainichi Shimbun helicopter on Dec. 19, 2016. (Mainichi)
Prospects of putting fast reactors into use in Japan remain dim in spite of the government's approval of policy to continue their development with the private sector, as the power industry appears hesitant to contribute during the developmental stage.
"We would like to build a system where the government, manufacturers, power companies and research institutions cooperate and share responsibilities in a unified manner, without building walls against each other," Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko told the government's Council on Fast Reactor Development at the outset of its Dec. 19 meeting. The committee also agreed to launch a strategic working group to draw up a road map for technology development.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry insists on continuing with the fast reactor project because officials believe that such reactors are essential in nuclear fuel cycle, in which plutonium is extracted from spent nuclear fuel to be reused. While plutonium can be used at regular nuclear plants, its main planned use is in fast reactors -- particularly fast-breeder reactors that can produce more plutonium than they spend to generate power. The development of fast-breeder reactors has therefore been characterized as a trump card to solve resource problems.
If the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor is decommissioned, however, the government's plan will lose momentum. The collapse of the nuclear fuel cycle will bring issues pertaining to nuclear power development in Japan to the fore. For example, Aomori Prefecture accepts spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power stations across Japan on condition that plutonium extracted from the spent fuel can be reused. Once the nuclear fuel cycle emerges as a failure, such spent fuel is no longer a "resource" but "waste." And if the prefectural government tries to send the waste back to nuclear plants, it could cause major chaos.
Amid such circumstances, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) -- the main administrator of the Monju reactor -- has been declared disqualified from operating the troubled reactor. As a result, pressure has risen for the fast reactor project to be fundamentally reviewed.
The economy ministry came up with a scenario to involve all the interested parties, including power companies and manufacturers, in the development of fast reactors. It seems, however, that the private sector is not as keen. While Satoru Katsuno, chairman of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan (FEPC) and president of Chubu Electric Power Co., told participants at the council meeting that he was ready to actively be involved in the process of clarifying the goals of technology development, an executive from a major utility revealed that electric companies cannot afford to work on the fast reactor project amid growing competition in the power market following deregulation. The official said, "We would rather work on restarting nuclear plants."
Former Tokyo Electric Power Co. executive Takaaki Masumoto, who served as the vice chairman of the FEPC, pointed out that fast reactors are "necessary in the long run" but said, "The power industry had no intention of getting directly involved in the project until the government was able to put the technology into commercial use."
For power companies, promotion of the nuclear fuel cycle hinges on the central government taking responsibility for research and development of the technology, and the private sector being able to operate fast reactors for commercial use. The government had initially tapped the private sector to find a replacement for JAEA as the main operator of the Monju reactor, but power companies refused to take on the role.
Meanwhile, nuclear reactor manufacturers are trying to determine the best relationship with the government. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., which was named in 2007 by the government as the core company for the fast-breeder reactor project, reconstructed a development system by spinning off the departments in charge of the project into separate companies. The firm supports the national project and those smaller subsidiaries have continued to hire new employees, but the project is not expected to bring in any profits, as it is believed to take 50 years or longer for technology to become commercially viable.
Those who were involved in the research and development of the Monju reactor are now aged 55 or older, and make up less than 30 percent of the overall staff at Mitsubishi Heavy. As such a shortage of experienced engineers could hinder development of the project, some Mitsubishi Heavy workers are taking part in the ASTRID fast-breeder reactor project in France to gain know-how.
A Mitsubishi Heavy official says the company will secure personnel by making an effort to pass technology on to younger generations, hiring new engineers, and conducting in-house transfers, but if the momentum toward fast-breeder reactor development slows down, it could set the government's plans back.
Research & Development
20 Dec (NucNet): Japan has decided to decommission the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor, but is facing opposition from authorities in Fukui prefecture where the reactor is located. The Japan Atomic Industrial Forum said Fukui governor Issei Nishikawa said he would not accept the decision and would demand that the government reconsider it. According to Jaif, the government has said that a new experimental research reactor would be built in the prefecture and that Monju will be used for research. Jaif said confirmation of the decision was expected at a Cabinet meeting today, 20 December 2016. Monju reached criticality for the first time in 1994, but it has mostly been offline since 1995. In November 2015 Japan’s nuclear regulator, the NRA, said state-run Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) was not fit to operate Monju because it had repeatedly failed to correctly carry out inspections of the plant. According to Jaif, the NRA recommended at the time that the government find another operator to replace JAEA within six months. In December 1995, just months after Monju first started power transmission, it was shut down when 640 kg of liquid sodium leaked from a cooling system, causing a fire. There were no injuries and no radioactivity escaped plant buildings, but the incident was compounded by JAEA’s attempts to cover up the scale of the damage. Monju was allowed to restart in May 2010 after JAEA carried out a review of the plant’s design, and its safety procedures, which were shown to be inadequate. However, operation was again suspended in August 2010 after a fuel handling machine was dropped into the reactor during a refuelling outage. In May 2013 JAEA president Atsuyuki Suzuki resigned after the NRA prevented the restart of Monju due to inspection deficiencies. In November 2012 it was revealed that JAEA had failed to conduct regular inspections on almost 10,000 out of a total 39,000 pieces of equipment at Monju. Some of these included safety-critical equipment. Monju is a 246-MW sodium-cooled fast reactor at the Tsuruga nuclear power station in Fukui Prefecture, southwest Japan. It is designed to use mixed fuel rods of uranium and plutonium, and to produce more fuel than it consumes. Regarded as the core facility of the government’s policy for nuclear fuel recycling, Monju is different from conventional nuclear power plants, which use water as coolants. Monju uses sodium as the coolant, meaning more sophisticated technology is required for its operation.
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