The NRA will be involved with decommissioning Fukushima Daiichi

NRA to closely monitor Fukushima decommissioning

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20121003_27.html

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority will designate the defunct Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant a special nuclear facility so that it can be involved in its decommissioning process.

Procedures to scrap the plant are being carried out in line with a plan submitted to the government by its owner, Tokyo Electric Power Company.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority, the new nuclear regulatory body that was launched last month, currently has no say regarding the plan.

Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said on Wednesday that the authority will designate the Fukushima plant a special nuclear facility by the end of this month.

This would enable the authority to order Tokyo Electric to submit plans to stabilize the plant's cooling system and to prevent the spread of radioactive pollution.

The authority would also be able to monitor work at the plant and the development of safety technology. It could also order the decommissioning plan to be revised accordingly.

Tanaka told reporters he believes the Fukushima plant remains unstable, contrary to the government's announcement that the reactors have stabilized.

He pledged efforts to ensure a safe decommissioning process, which is expected to go on for 30 years.