Ikata No.1 to be scrapped

June 28, 2017

Plan to decommission Ikata No.1 reactor approved

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20170628_21/

Japan's nuclear regulators have approved a roughly 40-year plan to decommission an aging nuclear reactor in Ehime Prefecture, western Japan.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority made the decision on Wednesday. Shikoku Electric Power Company, which operates the Ikata nuclear plant, decided last year to scrap its No.1 reactor.

This is in line with government guidelines introduced after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident that limit reactor operation to 40 years in principle.

Under the plan, the reactor and the building that houses it will be dismantled and removed over the next 4 decades.

The work is to begin with removal of radioactive substances from pipes and other items, and disassembly of uncontaminated equipment.

But the utility has yet to decide how to dispose of highly contaminated parts like the reactor's control rods, which amount to around 3,000 tons of radioactive waste.

The reactor is the 6th in Japan authorized for decommissioning after reaching the 40-year limit.