Science Council studies ways of storing radioactive waste

January 27, 2014

Council to study temporary nuclear waste storage

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140127_26.html 

The Science Council of Japan has begun studying ways to store highly radioactive nuclear waste on a temporary basis.

The country's leading scientists resumed discussions on Monday for the first time since they made a proposal on the matter in September 2011.

Back then, they said the government's policy of burying nuclear waste deep underground permanently had come to a dead end. The council says the government should brace itself for an overhaul of the current plan.

The council proposed to store waste from nuclear power stations in a retrievable way for up to several hundred years to give time to develop new technologies and form consensus among the public.
Some members said the council needs to clarify technological issues for temporary storage. Others said people won't accept temporary storage unless the council makes clear how long nuclear waste will be kept.

The council plans to continue discussions and come up with ways for temporary storage by around May.

The government has started reviewing its policy in response to the proposal as it has not found a single candidate site for final disposal.