nuclear-news

Japan’s Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing project delayed again – for the 26th time

The completion of a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Aomori Prefecture
will be delayed by two years, the 26th postponement since the project
started three decades ago.

Senior officials with Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd.,
operator of the facility under construction, said the new completion date
will be in the first half of fiscal 2024. The officials visited the Aomori
prefectural government and the village hall of Rokkasho, the site of the
plant, on Dec. 26 to explain the situation.

An earlier completion timeframe
was listed as in the first half of fiscal 2022. But the company in
September postponed this deadline without giving a new date. It said
prolonged safety checks of the facility by the Nuclear Regulation Authority
made it difficult to do so and pledged to announce the new deadline by the
year-end.

According to Japan Nuclear Fuel’s latest estimate, the NRA’s
screening of the detailed design of the plant will take about a year, while
checks of the plant will take four to seven months after it clears the
safety standards. The company said it will work hard to move up the
completion to an early date of the first half of fiscal 2024.

 Asahi Shimbun 27th Dec 2022

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14803106

January 1, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, reprocessing