Build storage facilities before restarting reactors

September 26, 2014

Scientists stress need for nuclear waste storage

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

Sep. 26, 2014 - Updated 08:28 UTC+2

An organization of Japan's leading scientists says power companies should be required to build temporary storage facilities for nuclear waste before resuming operation at nuclear plants.

The Science Council of Japan has released its latest report on ways to store highly radioactive nuclear waste.

In September of 2012, the council said the government's plan to permanently bury nuclear waste deep underground has met a dead end, and needs to be evaluated from scratch.

The council then proposed storing nuclear waste in a retrievable way for up to several centuries, in order to allow time for the development of new technologies for its permanent disposal and to form a consensus among the public.

The council's latest report says it would be irresponsible for power companies to resume operations without securing temporary storage facilities for nuclear waste.

The council plans to hold a news conference on Monday to explain the report. It also plans to release new recommendations on nuclear waste disposal by the end of the year.

Japan's nuclear plants must meet new regulations introduced after the 2011 Fukushima accident, but the rules do not require power companies to secure temporary storage facilities for nuclear waste.

The council is authorized to issue recommendations to the government as an organization under the jurisdiction of the Cabinet Office. The recommendations are not legally binding.