information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
17 Février 2015
February 17, 2015
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150217_25.html
Feb. 17, 2015 - Updated 08:39 UTC+1
Experts with the industry ministry have approved a draft revision of Japan's basic policy on disposal of highly radioactive nuclear power plant waste.
The government plans to bury high-level radioactive waste from nuclear plants 300 meters or deeper underground in final disposal facilities. But officials have been unable to secure sites for the facilities from candidate municipalities, even though they have been trying for the past 13 years.
The ministry's panel of experts broadly approved the draft revision at a meeting on Tuesday.
It says the government will stick to its underground disposal program, but can halt the process and recover the waste in case of a technical problem or a change in plans.
It also says the government will choose potential host sites for disposal facilities, and negotiate with local residents to win their consent.
Spent nuclear fuel is currently reprocessed and fused with glass before disposal. But this takes too much time, so the government is considering expanding the number of storage sites and studying ways to manage the used fuel without reprocessing.
The government plans to have the Cabinet endorse the draft basic policy at the end of March, after receiving public comments.
But it will then have to draw up a more concrete policy and override public skepticism about the safety of the disposal methods.
February 17, 2015
Kyodo
The government said Tuesday it will consider designing a final storage site for nuclear waste that can be opened in the event that policies change or better techniques become available to deal with it.
Officials aim to include the plan in a revised basic policy on the final disposal of highly radioactive waste. The government is currently considering the vexed question of what to do with waste in the long-term, as some of it may need management for tens of thousands of years.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration wants to fire up nuclear reactors again following the hiatus caused by the 2011 Fukushima meltdowns, but public opinion remains opposed.
Critics accuse the government of pushing a return to nuclear without answering the question of where the waste will go.
“In principle, we grant reversibility regarding policies on final disposal . . . so future generations can choose the best way” given the likely emergence of new technology in times ahead, according to a draft document proposed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
Finland is currently constructing the world’s first disposal facility for high-level radioactive waste. It decided in 2000 that the repository, in Olkiluoto, should be designed in a way that grants future generations access, while ensuring long-term safety.
As for how Japan would store its waste, a policy adopted in 2008 envisions reprocessing the waste, then vitrifying it and placing it deep underground.
But the revised policy is expected to leave open the possibility of other methods, too, including the direct disposal that has been opted for by Finland, Sweden and the United States.
This implies a possible review of Japan’s long-standing but stalled policy of a nuclear fuel cycle that aims to reprocess all spent fuel and reuse the extracted plutonium and uranium as reactor fuel.
The revised policy will also declare that the “current generation” is not only responsible for generating the waste it will also take action on the storage question. However, it falls short of mentioning a time frame for deciding on the final storage.
It would take a long time to build such a facility. Therefore the government is also seeking to expand storage capacity by constructing new interim facilities as a temporary fix.
The revised policy will be adopted by the Cabinet by the end of March.
METI has proposed introducing a system in which the Japan Atomic Energy Commission, a promoter of nuclear power, acts as a third party in the choice of a final disposal site. But some experts who attended the ministry’s panel meeting Tuesday questioned that organization’s independence.
The process of finding local governments willing to host a final repository started in 2002, but there was overwhelming opposition and little progress was made.
The government now plans to choose candidate sites based on their scientific value, rather than waiting for municipalities to step forward.
See also :
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150217p2g00m0dm047000c.html
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Japanese government said Tuesday it will consider allowing future generations to retrieve high-level radioactive waste from a final disposal facility should there be possible nuclear policy changes or development of new technologies.
The government aims to include the plan in its revised basic policy on the final disposal of highly radioactive waste, as it is currently reviewing the nation's stalled process to find a final site for fuel waste -- which will require management for tens of thousands of years.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration is seeking to revive the country's idled nuclear plants following the 2011 Fukushima meltdowns although the majority of the public remains opposed to the use of atomic power. The government has been under criticism over its stance to promote nuclear power without resolving the issue of the final disposal of nuclear waste, especially after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis.
"In principle, we grant reversibility regarding policies on final disposal...so future generations can choose the best way to dispose (of nuclear waste)" by taking in new technologies, a draft document proposed by the industry ministry said.
Finland, which is now constructing the world's first disposal facility of high-level radioactive waste in Olkiluoto, decided in 2000 that the repository should be designed to enable retrieval for future generations, while ensuring long-term safety of the facility.
Regarding a method of permanent nuclear waste disposal, the current policy adopted in 2008 says Japan envisions placing high-level radioactive waste deep underground in a vitrified form after reprocessing it.
But the revised policy is expected to leave open the possibility of alternative ways, including direct disposal that has been opted for by Finland, Sweden and the United States -- implying a possible review of Japan's long-standing, stalled policy of nuclear fuel cycle that aims to reprocess all spent fuel and reuse the extracted plutonium and uranium as reactor fuel.
The government also plans to stipulate in the revised policy that the "current generation," which is responsible for generating fuel waste from nuclear plants, will address the issue and will not put the problem off, but fell short of mentioning a specific time frame for deciding on the final storage.
As it is expected to take a prolonged time to start building a final disposal facility, the government is also seeking to expand storage capacity of spent fuel by constructing new interim facilities as a fix for the time being.
The revised policy will be adopted by the Cabinet by the end of March.
The industry ministry also proposed introducing a system in which the Japan Atomic Energy Commission, which has promoted nuclear power, evaluates the process of choosing a final disposal site as a third party. But some experts who attended the ministry's panel meeting Tuesday questioned the independence of the organization.
A process to find local governments willing to host a final repository site started in 2002, but little progress was made due mainly to opposition from local people.
The government now plans to choose candidate sites that are suitable for building such a facility based on scientific grounds, rather than waiting for municipalities to offer to host it.
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