Fuel removal at Monju

August 28, 2018

Nuclear fuel removal to start at Monju reactor

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180828_33/

The operator of Japan's Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor plans to soon start removing its nuclear fuel from a storage container as part of the plant's decommissioning.

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency plans to scrap the reactor in Tsuruga City in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, over 30 years.

Work to move the fuel to a detached storage pool was to start in late July. But it was postponed due to equipment trouble including fogging up of monitoring camera lenses during trials.

The work is now to start on Thursday.

Agency president Toshio Kodama visited Fukui Governor Issei Nishikawa on Tuesday.

Kodama apologized for causing concern among local residents, and said the agency will make full efforts to work with safety as the top priority.

On Tuesday, a team at the Nuclear Regulation Authority to monitor safety during the scrapping met in Tokyo.

An official from the authority's secretariat said that judging from the causes of malfunctions, the schedule would not have been affected if checks and replacement of nondurable parts were done in advance.

The official said systematic measures should be taken instead of ad hoc responses.

The operator says it hopes to move 100 fuel assemblies this year, as all irregularities have been resolved.