The Japan Atomic Energy Agency’ Joyo experimental fast reactor in Ibaraki Prefecture
The nation’s nuclear watchdog has slammed the operator of the Joyo experimental fast reactor in Ibaraki Prefecture for its approach to safety concerns in seeking an early restart.
Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, on April 26 labeled the Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s proposal to bring the reactor back online as “absolutely unacceptable.”
The NRA on April 25 suspended its screening of Joyo’s restart plan based on stricter safety standards introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
“Has the JAEA seriously reflected on the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant?” Tanaka asked at a news conference on April 26. “It said that explaining the restart (to municipalities) would take too much trouble. Its attitude toward the communities is wrong.”
The JAEA has applied to the NRA to restart the reactor with a plan to operate it with a thermal output of 100,000 kilowatts, rather than its full capacity of 140,000 kilowatts.
On April 25, JAEA officials explained that it would be able to restart the reactor faster by limiting the thermal output because that approach would save it time and effort in providing the necessary explanations to municipal authorities.
If the reactor operates with an output of 100,000 kilowatts, only local governments within a 5-kilometer radius of the reactor are required to produce evacuation plans.
However, when operating with an output of 140,000 kilowatts, local entities within a 30-km radius of the reactor are required to come up with evacuation plans.
Using a motorcycle analogy, Tanaka said the JAEA’s plan is tantamount to saying that the operator needs a “license for a 50cc bike as long as it drives a 750cc motorcycle at a speed of 30 kph or under.”
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201704270036.html
May 1, 2017
Posted by dunrenard |
Japan | Fast Reactor, Joyo |
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Fukushima authorities ask troops to help deal with forest fires near crippled nuclear power plant https://www.rt.com/news/386662-fukushima-forest-fires-soldiers/#.WQaIanZz1L8.facebook
Fukushima prefecture has asked the Japanese Self-Defense Forces for help in handling forest fires that have swept areas near the crippled Fukushima power plant, local media report. Strong winds are hindering the firefighting efforts, however.
The forest fires broke out near the town of Namie, some seven kilometers from the disabled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, on Saturday evening, Japanese NHK broadcaster reported.
Namie was evacuated following the 2011 tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster in Fukushima.
The prefecture has deployed several helicopters to extinguish the fires, which are believed to have been caused by lightning. According to police, at least 10 hectares of forest have burned in the area.
There have been no reports of injuries or damage to buildings so far, Japanese media say.
With strong winds stoking the flames, the Fukushima Prefecture has requested help from the Self-Defense Forces, Japan’s de-facto army, on Sunday.
Earlier in April, residents of Namie, as well as those from the village of Iitate and the town of Kawamata’s Yamakiya neighborhood, totaling 22,100 people in all, were told they could return home – with the exception of those with houses in so-called no-go zones, where radiation levels are still too high, according to Japanese media.
So far, the homecoming has not been as successful as the government had hoped, as few residents have been eager to go back.
Results of a Fukushima Prefectural Government survey released on April 24 show that some 78.2 percent of the evacuated households have no intention of returning to their previous residences and plan to remain in the area they evacuated to.
May 1, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
Fukushima continuing |
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Fukushima native replaces disaster minister after quake gaffe
Japan’s disaster reconstruction minister Masahiro Imamura resigned Wednesday, a day after saying it was “a good thing” the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan rather than the Tokyo area.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe picked Masayoshi Yoshino, a House of Representatives member from Fukushima Prefecture and the chairman of a special lower house committee on disaster reconstruction, to replace Imamura.
“I severely troubled and hurt people in (northeastern Japan),” Imamura told reporters at Abe’s office after submitting his resignation, which the prime minister accepted immediately.
“I apologize from my heart for my lack of virtue,” he added, while rejecting calls to also resign as a lawmaker.
Abe also apologized, both to the residents of areas recovering from disasters and the Japanese public as a whole, after accepting Imamura’s resignation.
Imamura made the “good thing” comment at a function in Tokyo for a faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which Abe was also attending, on Tuesday evening. He immediately retracted the remark and apologized, but the damage was done.
The lawmaker made the remark after citing a figure of 25 trillion yen ($225 billion) for the damage to social capital and other infrastructure from the March 2011 disaster.
“It’s a good thing it was over there in the northeast. If it had been close to the greater Tokyo area, there would have been vast, enormous damage,” he said.
The disaster left 15,893 people dead and 2,553 still listed as missing, the National Police Agency said in its latest tally.
Imamura, 70, prompted calls for his resignation earlier this month when he suggested people displaced by the Fukushima nuclear disaster triggered by the quake should fend for themselves.
A native of Saga Prefecture in Japan’s southwest, Imamura was given his post in a Cabinet reshuffle in August last year.
His 68-year-old replacement Yoshino, a fellow LDP lawmaker and former senior vice environment minister, hails from Iwaki, a city in Fukushima on the Pacific coast that bore the brunt of the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex.
“My own home was damaged by the tsunami, and my campaign office was completely destroyed, so I think I understand better than anyone else the feelings of those affected by the disaster,” Yoshino said at his first press conference as a Cabinet minister later Wednesday.
The choice of a Fukushima local apparently reflects the administration’s desire to avoid further criticism that the reconstruction minister is unable to relate to people affected by the disaster.
Imamura’s resignation prompted the main opposition Democratic Party and three smaller opposition parties to also seek his resignation as a lawmaker.
The opposition demanded holding Diet committee sessions to pursue Abe’s responsibility in the matter.
The LDP and Democratic Party agreed Wednesday to hold such a session in the lower house on May 8. They are expected to arrange a House of Councillors committee session on May 9 or near that date.
The opposition parties had essentially threatened not to turn up for Diet deliberations until such a date was fixed.
Imamura’s resignation follows a series of blunders by Cabinet ministers and has dealt another blow to the government at a time when it is already facing issues that risk splitting public opinion.
The Diet is deliberating a bill to criminalize conspiracy to commit serious crimes, ostensibly to combat terrorism, which opponents say could result in the suppression of civil liberties.
Public sensitivity also surrounds a special bill in the works to enable the abdication of Emperor Akihito.
The string of embarrassments prompted Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of the LDP’s junior coalition partner Komeito, to warn last week the administration is “strikingly lacking in a sense of alertness.”
Yamaguchi spoke after LDP lawmaker Toshinao Nakagawa resigned as parliamentary vice minister of economy, trade and industry amid media reports of extramarital affairs.
The week before that, regional revitalization minister Kozo Yamamoto, another LDP lawmaker, called curators of cultural properties a “cancer” that needs to be “eradicated,” before being forced to apologize and retract the remark.
“(The administration) must take seriously the suggestions that we are becoming slack,” Abe acknowledged Wednesday in his apology over Imamura’s resignation, vowing to “win back the public’s trust.”
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2017/04/43790ecd62a8-update5-fukushima-native-replaces-disaster-minister-after-quake-gaffe.html
Disaster minister quits after quake gaffe, Fukushima rep takes over
Japan’s disaster reconstruction minister Masahiro Imamura resigned Wednesday, a day after saying it was “a good thing” the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan rather than the Tokyo area.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe picked Masayoshi Yoshino, a House of Representatives member from Fukushima Prefecture and a former senior vice environment minister, to replace Imamura.
Imamura tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday morning and the prime minister accepted it immediately.
“I severely troubled and hurt people in (northeastern Japan),” Imamura told reporters at the prime minister’s office after submitting his resignation.
“I apologize from my heart for my lack of virtue,” he added, while rejecting calls to also resign as a lawmaker.
Abe also apologized, both to the residents of areas recovering from disasters and to the Japanese public at large, after accepting Imamura’s resignation.
Imamura made the “good thing” comment at a function in Tokyo for a faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which Abe was also attending, on Tuesday evening. He immediately retracted the remark and apologized, but the damage was done.
Imamura had prompted calls for his resignation earlier this month when he suggested people displaced by the Fukushima nuclear disaster triggered by the quake should fend for themselves.
The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party on Wednesday said Imamura’s resignation is not enough on its own.
“This brings into question Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s responsibility for having appointed (Imamura),” Renho said at a party meeting.
Abe acknowledged that this responsibility lies with him in his apology. “(The administration) must take seriously the suggestions that we are becoming slack,” Abe said, vowing to “bring back the public’s trust.”
Imamura, a native of Saga Prefecture in Japan’s southwest, was given his post in a Cabinet reshuffle in August last year.
His replacement Yoshino hails from Iwaki, a city in Fukushima on the Pacific coast that bore the brunt of damage in the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex.
“I have been making reconstruction my life, so I’m happy to be given a challenging post,” Yoshino told reporters at the LDP’s head office in Tokyo on Wednesday morning.
Imamura’s resignation has prompted the suspension of House of Representatives proceedings scheduled for Wednesday morning and most of the House of Councillors proceedings scheduled for Wednesday.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2017/04/e8335852ad1d-update2-disaster-minister-quits-after-quake-gaffe-fukushima-rep-takes-over.html
April 26, 2017
Posted by dunrenard |
Japan | Demission, Fukushima, Reconstruction Minister |
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The Takahama Nuclear Power Plant’s No. 3 reactor, left, and No. 4 reactor are pictured in this file photo taken from a Mainichi Shimbun helicopter in Takahama, Fukui Prefecture, on June 15, 2016.
FUKUI, Japan (Kyodo) — Kansai Electric Power Co. said Tuesday it will seek to restart its two idled reactors in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, in mid-May and early June, respectively.
Shigeki Iwane, the utility’s president, presented the plan to reboot the two units at the Takahama plant on the Sea of Japan coast when meeting with Fukui Gov. Issei Nishikawa.
“It is correct that (Kansai Electric Power) will take procedures to start operations,” Nishikawa told reporters after the meeting.
Kansai Electric Power will start to load nuclear fuel at the No. 4 unit later this month, eyeing the start of electricity generation in late May while aiming to reactivate the No. 3 reactor in early June after fueling the facility in mid-May, according to the schedule released by the Osaka-based company.
Although Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government has been promoting the restart of nuclear reactors across Japan, most of the reactors remain offline amid safety concerns among residents following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.
The two reactors in Takahama were brought back online in early 2016 after meeting the safety requirements introduced after the 2011 nuclear disaster.
While the No. 4 unit was shut down immediately after its restart in February last year due to a technical problem, the No. 3 reactor was forced to go offline the following month in the wake of an Otsu District Court order that resulted from a lawsuit filed by residents in neighboring Shiga Prefecture.
In March this year, the Osaka High Court struck down the lower court’s decision, making it possible for the two reactors to resume operation.
Among the four units at the Takahama plant, Japan’s nuclear regulators approved June last year the utility’s plan to extend the operation of the Nos. 1 and 2 reactors beyond the government-mandated 40-year service period.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170426/p2g/00m/0dm/001000c
April 26, 2017
Posted by dunrenard |
Japan | Restarts, Takahama NPP |
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Report: Japanese seeking out nuclear shelters, air purifiers over North Korean threat https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/04/24/japanese-seeking-nuclear-shelters-air-purifiers-north-korea-threat/22053701 As North Korea ratchets up international tensions with missile tests and aggressive rhetoric, some residents of a neighboring country are reportedly taking actions to protect themselves in advance.
Reuters is reporting that “sales of nuclear shelters and radiation-blocking air purifiers have surged in Japan in recent weeks…”
One company, Oribe Seiki Seisakusho, appears to be doing particularly well, receiving eight orders for nuclear shelters in April and selling all 50 of its $5,000-a-piece, poison gas filtering air purifiers.
According to Newsweek, the buying activity may have been prompted, at least in part, by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent warning to other Japanese government officials that “there is a possibility that North Korea already has a capability to put sarin on warheads to strike the ground.”
Meanwhile, the Japan Times reported last month that Oga, a Japanese city in Akita Prefecture, conducted the country’s first evacuation drill “on the premise of a ballistic missile falling into Japanese waters off Akita, [and] was aimed at promptly relaying information while facilitating the swift and safe evacuation of residents.” The media outlet further notes that the drill included participation by an elementary school, among others.
In addition to these protective measures, Japan has been working with the U.S. and its neighbor South Korea to detect and possibly intercept approaching missiles.
April 26, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
Japan, safety, weapons and war |
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Japanese citizens have 10 minutes to prepare for a North Korean nuclear attack, Missile ‘will not take long to reach Japan,’ says government, The Independent, Harriet Agerholm @HarrietAgerholm 25 Apr 17, Japanese citizens will have just 10 minutes to prepare a North Korean ballistic missile attack, authorities in the country have warned.
In the event of an attack, a document posted on the country’s civil protection site advises people to find the strongest concrete building possible or go underground.
Then they should then take cover under tables and stay away from windows, it says. A ballistic missile would likely take around 10 minutes to travel 1,600 km (1,000 miles) from its launch pad in North Korea to Okinawa, it adds, citing a launch in February last year which took that length of time to fly over the Japanese island.
The warning comes as tensions ratcheted up between North Korea, its Asian neighbours and the US. The secretive communist state test-fired four ballistic missiles last month, three of which landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan, just off the coast of the country.
It has subsequently emerged that the country’s civil defence website had 5.7 million visitors in the first 23 days of April — more than 14 times the usual monthly traffic.
Japan’s early-warning system, which issues missile strike alerts to the population via loudspeaker and telephone has come under increased scrutiny amid the rising tensions.
In 1998, North Korea demonstrated that its missiles were capable of reaching Japan when it fired a missile to launch a satellite across Japanese territory that landed in its economic zone on the Pacific Ocean side.
Japan’s government has been briefing local authorities on what they should do if a missile lands in their area and urging them to hold evacuation drills. Sales of nuclear shelters and radiation-blocking air purifiers have also surged in recent weeks. ……..http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japan-north-korea-nuclear-attack-10-minutes-prepare-missile-tests-warheads-kim-jong-un-a7700971.html
April 26, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
Japan, weapons and war |
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The three-tier disposal scheme for the waste generated by the Tokai Reprocessing Plant is based on radiation level.
Waste with the highest radiation level, which will fill some 30,000 drums, will be buried more than 300 meters underground.
Mid-level waste, which will fill about 24,000 containers, is expected to be buried several dozens of meters underground.
Low-level waste, involving another 81,000 drums, will be buried close to the surface, the JAEA said. In the meantime, the plant’s tainted equipment and facilities will need to be decontaminated and scrapped before being filled with cement and mortar and put in drums for transport to a final disposal site.
The big problem is, there has been little progress in deciding where to bury the drums because they can’t find anyone willing to accept them.
Closure of Tokai Reprocessing Plant to cost an estimated ¥800 billion: JAEA source http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/04/23/national/closure-tokai-reprocessing-plant-cost-estimated-%C2%A5800-billion-jaea-source/#.WP_gPUWGPGg The Japan Atomic Energy Agency has revealed that the scrapping of the Tokai Reprocessing Plant, the nation’s first facility for reusing spent nuclear fuel, will cost an estimated ¥800 billion, an official said.
The state-backed JAEA did not reveal the cost to taxpayers in 2014, when it made the decision to shut down the plant in the village of Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, over a 70-year period.
The facility started operation in 1977 as part of Japan’s desire to establish a nuclear fuel cycle, in which all spent fuel is reprocessed to extract its plutonium and uranium to make more fuel. The policy is designed to ensure resource-dependent Japan uses its nuclear fuel as efficiently as possible.
The JAEA decided to scrap the sprawling plant after it became too costly to run under the more stringent safety rules introduced following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis. The facility comprises around 30 buildings and has large areas rife with contamination caused by its task of disassembling spent nuclear fuel.
According to the official, the startling decommissioning estimate is based on an estimate the agency made in 2003. The JAEA is finalizing the assessment and on course to submit it for approval by the Nuclear Regulation Authority as early as June.
The three-tier disposal scheme for the waste generated by the Tokai Reprocessing Plant is based on radiation level.
Waste with the highest radiation level, which will fill some 30,000 drums, will be buried more than 300 meters underground.
Mid-level waste, which will fill about 24,000 containers, is expected to be buried several dozens of meters underground.
Low-level waste, involving another 81,000 drums, will be buried close to the surface, the JAEA said. In the meantime, the plant’s tainted equipment and facilities will need to be decontaminated and scrapped before being filled with cement and mortar and put in drums for transport to a final disposal site.
The big problem is, there has been little progress in deciding where to bury the drums because they can’t find anyone willing to accept them.
Despite the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the government is trying to resume nuclear power generation and continue its pursuit of a nuclear fuel cycle.
This policy, however, has experienced setbacks from the recent decision to decommission the Monju fast-breeder reactor, an experimental facility in Fukui Prefecture that was considered key to the nuclear fuel cycle plan.
And the completion of a new fuel reprocessing plant in the village of Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, has also been largely behind schedule for years.
In the meantime, public concerns about the safety of atomic power remain strong at a time when the government is aiming to make it account for 20 to 22 percent of Japan’s electricity supply by 2030.
The new estimate for decommissioning the Tokai Reprocessing Plant includes ¥330 billion for storing waste underground, ¥166 billion for decontaminating and dismantling the facility, and ¥87 billion for transportation costs.
The JAEA facility is not to be confused with the private uranium-processing facility in Tokai where a fatal criticality accident occurred in 1999.
April 26, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
Japan, reprocessing, wastes |
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Mothers who fled to the Itoshima, Fukuoka Prefecture, to escape radiation spewed by the March 2011 core meltdowns in Fukushima Prefecture say they are concerned about the safety of the Genkai nuclear plant in neighboring Saga Prefecture.
SAGA – A group of mothers who evacuated from the Kanto region to Fukuoka Prefecture after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis is ramping up protests against efforts to restart the Genkai nuclear plant in neighboring Saga.
After meeting with Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko on Saturday, Saga Gov. Yoshinori Yamaguchi is expected to approve the restart of two reactors in the town of Genkai as early as Monday.
Earlier this month, four of the moms gathered for a meeting in Itoshima in Fukuoka and discussed plans to send the city a document and an inquiry conveying their opposition.
As they racked their brains to deliver effective expressions, the meeting lasted for around six hours until their children returned home from school.
Three of the moms moved to Itoshima after becoming worried their children would be adversely affected by exposure to the fallout spewed by the triple core meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 plant in Fukushima Prefecture in March 2011. The plant is run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.
“I wanted to go far away for the sake of my unborn child,” said 39-year-old Fumiyo Endo, the leader of the group.
But the place she relocated to was within 30 km of the Genkai plant run by Kyushu Electric Power Co.
In March, she attended a meeting of residents to get explanations about the restart but was concerned whether safety would be ensured by sheltering indoors as instructed should an accident occur.
She also felt angry after hearing a utility official say that restarting the plant is necessary “for a stable supply of power.” She said it sounded as if the utility did not care about human lives.
But she did not decide to leave Itoshima because she wanted to keep living there, to stay close to the sea and mountains.
Another member of the group said it was important to keep resisting.
“It is significant to protest against nuclear plants near the plant sites,” said photographer Nonoko Kameyama, 40.
Kameyama, a mother of three, has published a photo book of mothers hoping to bring about a society without nuclear power plants.
A day after attending the residents’ meeting, Endo and other members called the Saga Prefectural Government to urge it to reject the restart.
When asked by a prefectural official during the call what the name of their group was, they came up with an impromptu title: “Mothers Who Want to Save Children’s Lives.” Dozens of people have recently joined in response to its Facebook post.
The group has submitted petitions to Saga Gov. Yamaguchi and Itoshima Mayor Yuji Tsukigata.
“Resuming operations only makes residents feel unsettled and we cannot see a bright future,” said Endo. “We want our leaders to understand such feelings.”
Yamaguchi is expected to approve the Genkai restart as early as Monday, after meeting with METI chief Seko on Saturday.
“The central government has shown a strong determination to work on nuclear energy policy in a responsible manner,” Yamaguchi said Saturday, adding he wants to convey his decision “as early as possible.”
The government is pushing for reactor restarts despite the triple core meltdown at Fukushima No. 1, saying nuclear energy is Japan’s key energy source.
In January, reactor Nos. 3 and 4 at the Genkai plant passed the tougher safety requirements introduced in the wake of the Fukushima crisis. On Feb. 24, a majority of the Genkai Municipal Assembly voted in favor of restarting the plant.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/04/23/national/moms-fled-fukushima-fallout-raise-pressure-genkai-plant-restart-saga/
April 25, 2017
Posted by dunrenard |
Japan | Fukushima Evacuees, Genkai NPP, Restart, Saga |
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A girl holds her petition to ask the education ministry to protect children from radioactive contamination at Fukushima prefecture during a rally at the Education Ministry in Tokyo on May 23, 2011. Some 400 civic group members, including 60 parents and children from Fukushima, demanded to review the radiation limit of 3.8 microsieverts per an hour as the education ministry has set a radiation limit to allow children in Fukushima. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO
Incredible contamination in Namie, Fukushima where people are being forced to live! European News Weekly, April 22, 2017 by arclight2011part2 Mirrored, Source for article – https://fukushima311voices.wordpress.com/2017/04/22/incredible-contamination-in-namie-fukushima/
The evacuation orders of the most populated areas of Namie, Fukushima were lifted on March 31st this year.
“Fukuichi area environmental radiation monitoring project” has published airborne radiation measurements map and soil surface density map. The results are simply incredible. This is far much worse than in Radiation Control Zone. Any area becomes designated as such when the total effective dose due to external radiation and that due to radioactive substances in the air is likely to exceed 1.3mSv per quarter – over a period of three months, or when the surface density is over 40,000Bq/m2. In the Radiation Control Zone, it is prohibited to drink, eat or stay overnight. Even adults are not allowed to stay more than 10 hours. To leave the zone, one has to go through a strict screening.
Namie’s radio contamination is far over these figures! And people are told to go back to these areas……..https://europeannewsweekly.wordpress.com/2017/04/22/incredible-contamination-in-namie-fukushima-where-people-are-being-forced-to-live/
April 24, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
Fukushima continuing |
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The call might have been made to decommission five over-the-hill nuclear reactors, but the problem remains of where to dispose of their total 26,820 tons of radioactive waste.
The plant operators have yet to find disposal sites, and few local governments are expected to volunteer to store the waste on their properties.
The decommissioning plans for the five reactors that first went into service more than 40 years ago was green-lighted by the Nuclear Regulation Authority on April 19.
It is the first NRA approval for decommissioning since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster triggered by the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami.
That disaster led to a new regulation putting a 40-year cap, in principle, on the operating life span of reactors.
The reactors to be decommissioned are the No. 1 reactor at Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tsuruga plant in Fukui Prefecture; the No. 1 reactor at Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Genkai plant in Saga Prefecture; the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Mihama plant in Fukui Prefecture; and the No. 1 reactor at Chugoku Electric Power Co.’s Shimane plant in Shimane Prefecture.
The decommissioning will be completed between fiscal 2039 and fiscal 2045 at a total cost of 178.9 billion yen ($1.64 billion), according to the utilities.
In the process, the projects are expected to produce 26,820 tons of radioactive waste–reactors and pipes included.
An additional 40,300 tons of waste, such as scrap construction material, will be handled as nonradioactive waste due to radiation doses deemed lower than the government safety limit.
Securing disposal sites for radioactive waste has proved a big headache for utilities.
About 110 tons of relatively high-level in potency radioactive waste, including control rods, are projected to pile up from the decommissioning of the No. 1 reactor at the Mihama plant.
Such waste needs to be buried underground deeper than 70 meters from the surface and managed for 100,000 years, according to the NRA’s guidelines.
In addition, the decommissioning of the same reactor will generate 2,230 tons of less toxic waste as well, including pipes and steam generators.
Under the current setup, utilities must secure disposal sites on their own.
Kansai Electric, the operator of the Mihama plant, has pledged to find a disposal site “by the time the decommissioning is completed.”
But Fukui Prefecture, which hosts that plant and others, is demanding the waste from the Mihama facility be disposed of outside its borders.
The project to dismantle the reactor and other facilities has been postponed at Japan Atomic Power’s Tokai plant in Ibaraki Prefecture because the company could not find a disposal site for the relatively high-level waste.
The decommissioning of the reactor had been under way there since before the Fukushima disaster.
The expected difficulty of securing disposal sites could jeopardize the decommissioning timetable, experts say.
Even finding a disposal site for waste that will be handled as nonradioactive has made little headway.
What is more daunting is the hunt for a place to store high-level radioactive waste that will be generated during the reprocessing of spent fuel, they said.
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201704200039.html
April 20, 2017
Posted by dunrenard |
Japan | decommissioning, Radioactive waste, reactors |
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Tokyo Electric Power Co. President Naomi Hirose, left, hands a report to Niigata Governor Ryuichi Yoneyama at the prefectural government office in Niigata on April 19.
NIIGATA–Niigata Governor Ryuichi Yoneyama said a longer period may be needed to verify safety at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, destroying Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s schedule to restart reactors there.
Yoneyama announced the possible extension of the safety-confirmation period, which he had earlier put at three or four years, at a news conference on April 19 after his meeting with TEPCO President Naomi Hirose here.
The governor said it will take time to confirm that the nuclear plant can withstand major earthquakes, especially a building that is expected to serve as the headquarters in the event of a severe accident at the site.
Only after safety is confirmed can discussions begin on restarting the nuclear plant in the prefecture, Yoneyama said.
Under TEPCO’s reconstruction plan currently being worked out, operations at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, one of the largest in the world, will resume in April 2019 at the earliest.
However, TEPCO needs the prefectural government’s consent to restart reactors, and Yoneyama’s words show that the utility’s plan will be impossible to achieve.
TEPCO in 2014 became aware that the headquarters building at the plant was insufficient in terms of earthquake resistance. But the company failed to disclose the shortcomings and maintained its policy of using the building as a disaster headquarters.
The deficiencies of the building came to light in February this year.
Hirose visited the Niigata prefectural government office on April 19 to explain to Yoneyama the issue of the insufficient anti-quake capabilities at the plant’s building.
He acknowledged problems in the mindset of his employees.
“They had a tendency to put priority on the benefits of their own company,” Hirose told the governor.
As for the time needed to confirm safety at the nuclear plant, Yoneyama told Hirose, “The period could become longer depending on the circumstances.”
The prefectural government plans to set up a committee in June at the earliest to verify safety at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.
“I don’t think nuclear power plants are indispensable for the economies of Japan and Niigata Prefecture,” Yoneyama said at the news conference after his meeting with Hirose.
The reactor restarts, however, may be crucial for TEPCO’s finances.
The company needs to secure 500 billion yen (about $4.6 billion) every year for 30 years to decommission the reactors at its crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and pay compensation to those who evacuated after the disaster unfolded in March 2011.
Resumed operations of two reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant could provide 100 billion yen a year for TEPCO.
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201704200028.html
April 20, 2017
Posted by dunrenard |
Japan | Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP, Niigata Governor, No Restart |
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String of facilities approaching maximum life span
Workers take apart a pump at Chubu Electric Power’s Hamaoka nuclear plant.
TOKYO — Five nuclear reactors in Japan were approved for decommissioning on Wednesday, pushing utilities and other companies to join hands to tackle both the great business opportunities and daunting technical problems involved with the process.
Two reactors at Kansai Electric Power‘s Mihama plant, as well as one each at Japan Atomic Power’s Tsuruga plant, Chugoku Electric Power‘s Shimane plant and Kyushu Electric Power‘s Genkai facility received the green light from Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority. The safety updates needed to keep them running beyond their mandated 40-year life span were deemed too costly.
Japan had 54 nuclear reactors before the 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. A total of 15, including the six at Fukushima Daiichi, are now set to be taken out of service. Another one or two will be brushing up against the 40-year limit every year, unless one-time, 20-year extensions are sought and granted.
Companies now face a pressing need to acquire expertise on dismantling reactors and disposing of radioactive materials. No commercial nuclear reactor has ever been decommissioned in Japan before, and utilities are looking for partners with the necessary capabilities.
Kansai Electric is seeking help from France’s Areva and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in decommissioning the Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at Mihama, particularly in decontaminating pipes and equipment. Japan Atomic Power and U.S.-based EnergySolutions signed an agreement last spring to cooperate on the former’s Tsuruga plant.
Japanese utilities are also beginning to work with each other. Kansai Electric entered a partnership last year with Kyushu Electric, Chugoku Electric and Shikoku Electric Power. The four plan to cut decommissioning costs by jointly procuring materials and sharing technology and staffers.
Other players are also angling for a piece of the pie. Two years ago, Mitsubishi Heavy set up a department specializing in dismantling nuclear reactors. The company was a key player in building the Mihama and Genkai reactors, and wants a lead role in taking them apart. Japanese general contractor Shimizu also signed a technical cooperation agreement with U.K.-based Cavendish Nuclear.
Utilities have increased their rates in order to raise the necessary funds to decommission the five newly approved reactors. They have already come up with about 160 billion yen ($1.47 billion) of the estimated 180 billion yen total. But the process will likely take two or three decades, and costs could easily grow.
The utilities may also face significant challenges to disposing of the roughly 27,000 tons of contaminated waste the five reactors are expected to generate. For example, Japan Atomic Power wants to bury less radioactive materials at the site of the Tokai nuclear plant, one of the earlier plants approved for decommissioning, but faces strong local opposition.
Relevant legislation has not been finalized either. Highly contaminated materials are supposed to be buried more than 70 meters below ground. But the Nuclear Regulation Authority has only just begun debating exactly how they should be buried.
http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/Japan-to-scrap-5-more-nuclear-reactors
April 20, 2017
Posted by dunrenard |
Japan | decommissioning, reactors |
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Decommissioning plans for 5 reactors approved
Japan’s nuclear regulator has approved plans submitted by operators of 4 power plants to decommission 5 aging nuclear reactors. The reactors are to be scrapped in a process lasting up to nearly 30 years.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority approved the plans at a meeting on Wednesday.
Under a government policy introduced after the 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, reactor lifespan was limited to 40 years in principle.
In 2015, utility companies decided to dismantle the 5 reactors. The 5 include 2 reactors at the Mihama plant and one at the Tsuruga plant, both in Fukui Prefecture, one at the Shimane plant in Shimane Prefecture and one at the Genkai plant in Saga Prefecture.
The plans call for first decontaminating pipes and dismantling facilities that are free of radioactive contamination.
The operators assume that the reactors and their buildings will be taken down and removed by fiscal 2045 at the latest.
At issue is where to put control rods, reactor parts and other radioactive waste. No site for a final disposal facility has been designated.
The regulator is checking another decommissioning plan for a reactor at the Ikata plant in Ehime Prefecture. The facility’s operator decided last year to dismantle it.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20170419_18/
Nuclear authority approves decommissioning plans for 5 aging reactors
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan’s nuclear authority approved decommissioning plans for five aging reactors at four power plants on Wednesday, the first such approvals since a government regulation was implemented after the 2011 Fukushima disaster to stop the operation of reactors beyond 40 years.
The five reactors are the Nos. 1 and 2 units at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Mihama plant in Fukui Prefecture, the No. 1 unit at Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tsuruga plant in Fukui Prefecture, the No. 1 unit at Chugoku Electric Power Co.’s Shimane plant in Shimane Prefecture and the No. 1 unit at Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Genkai plant in Saga Prefecture.
While the utilities indicated it will take about 30 years to complete the decommissioning of each reactor, the disposal sites for the radioactive waste from the facilities have yet to be determined.
The decommissioning work will involve removing spent fuel from pools, dismantling reactors and demolishing surrounding facilities.
The regulation brought in following the 2011 disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Daiichi plant prohibits nuclear reactors from operating for over 40 years in principle, but the Nuclear Regulation Authority can approve the operation of a unit for up to 20 more years if the operator makes safety upgrades and the unit passes screening.
It was decided in March 2015 to scrap the five reactors, mainly due to profitability, as huge amounts of additional investment would be needed to meet the new safety requirements to keep the reactors operating beyond 40 years.
Meanwhile, the authority has given approval for the extended operation of the No. 3 unit at Kansai Electric’s Mihama plant as well as the Nos. 1 and 2 units at its Takahama plant in Fukui Prefecture, which are also around 40 years old.
The authority is currently examining Shikoku Electric Power Co.’s decommissioning plan for the No. 1 unit at the Ikata plant in Ehime Prefecture, after the utility decided in March 2016 to scrap the reactor.
In Wednesday’s meeting, the authority also decided that Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd.’s uranium enrichment facility in the village of Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, satisfies regulatory requirements, virtually giving a green light for its operation. The decision will become official after consultation with the industry minister.
It will become the second fuel plant to clear new regulatory requirements after Global Nuclear Fuel-Japan Co.’s plant in Kanagawa Prefecture.
http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170419/p2g/00m/0dm/079000c
April 20, 2017
Posted by dunrenard |
Japan | Decommissionin, reactors |
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Saga Assembly OKs Restart of 2 Genkai N-Plant Reactors
Saga, April 13 (Jiji Press)–The Saga prefectural assembly on Thursday voted to accept the restart of the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Genkai nuclear power station in the southwestern Japan prefecture.
Following the decision by majority vote, Saga Governor Yoshinori Yamaguchi said he will make his final judgment as early as this month on whether his prefecture should approve the restart.
The mayor and the town assembly of Genkai, the host municipality of the power plant, have already given the green light. Local government procedures needed for reactivating the reactors will finish if the governor approves.
The resolution to accept the Genkai reactor restart was introduced mainly by members of the Liberal Democratic Party, which holds a majority in the assembly.
Two other assembly groups, including members of the Japanese Communist Party, submitted a resolution to call on Yamaguchi not to jump to a hasty decision.
http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2017041300725
One year after Kyushu quake, and 2,000 active faults beneath us
Novelist Michiko Ishimure, 90, was in Kumamoto when a megaquake jolted the southwestern region exactly one year ago.
“It felt as if my legs had been ripped off from the knees and I was being dragged over a grassy field. The excruciating pain was something I’d never experienced before,” she wrote for the Seibu edition of The Asahi Shimbun for the Kyushu region.
Ishimure blacked out while trying to make an escape after grabbing some food and a ream of writing paper.
Her injury was minor. But when the “main shock” of the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake struck more than 24 hours after the initial jolt, she was taken to a hospital.
Upon discharge, she returned to the nursing home for the elderly where she was a resident. But her sense of alienation deepened.
“I’d never felt I really belonged there, to begin with,” she explained. “I think this feeling intensified–along with a sense of emptiness–after being shunted around because of the quakes.”
April 14 marks the first anniversary of the massive Kumamoto Earthquake. Many citizens are still unable to return to their prequake lives and are experiencing inconveniences of all sorts. More than 40,000 people are still living in emergency shelters and temporary housing.
A poem by Jun Tsukamoto depicts the plight of survivors fearing aftershocks and sleeping in their cars: “Unable to sleep and wide awake/ Night after night/ Parked cars cover the ground.”
Last summer, “Gendai Tanka” (Contemporary “tanka” poetry) magazine featured verse about the Kumamoto disaster. The pieces reveal the hardships of evacuees, as does this one by Rika Hamana: “My father starts shuffling his feet along a street at night/ The lavatory he is headed to is far away in the driving rain.”
The Kumamoto Earthquake claimed 50 lives. Another 170 died later and their deaths were ruled to have been quake related.
Even after the jolts subsided, survivors were still fighting in the midst of a long battle. How difficult it is to continue providing them the care they need to ensure they don’t feel alone and helpless.
About 2,000 active faults run beneath the Japanese archipelago. I try to imagine what it will be like to have my life completely disrupted and changed, even tomorrow. And I think about what I should do to ensure my own survival.
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201704140015.html
April 18, 2017
Posted by dunrenard |
Japan | Earthquakes, Genkai NPP, Reactors Restart |
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Will Apple’s Overseas Billions Help Westinghouse Complete New Nuclear Plants?, Forbes, Rod Adams , 15 Apr 17 A Friday report from NHK, Japan’s public broadcasting company, announced that Apple
might join Foxconn in a coordinated bid for a majority stake in Toshiba, the world’s second largest supplier of flash memory chips. None of the companies involved has confirmed the report…..
Apple Has Some Of the World’s Deepest Pockets
As of the end of December 2016, Apple reported a cash balance of $241 billion with 94% of it – $230 billion – overseas. It has continued to add to that growing pile of cash overseas mainly because it has not paid U.S. corporate taxes on the related earnings. Repatriating it under current provisions in the tax code would require a large payment to the federal government…..
Overseas Investments Logically Escape U.S. Taxman
Like any well-managed company, Apple is not counting on the government making any changes to current law. It’s logical to believe that the company might be seriously investigating the possibility of direct investments or acquisitions in companies that are headquartered outside the U. S…….
Direct overseas investments would deploy the cash pile into a use that might be more lucrative than collecting the tiny amounts of interest currently paid to all savers, including large, successful corporations.
Apple has a long standing working relationship with Toshiba and most likely has a number of fans within Toshiba. In 2005, during the exciting stages of the iPod era, Apple made a long term purchase commitment – which came with a substantial cash advance – that enabled Toshiba and other flash memory suppliers to make the investments that have led to a technological revolution and a reliably profitable business segment.
Both Apple and Toshiba have profited from the relationship over the years. In 2011, Apple stopped buying flash memory from Samsung, indicating that its components no longer met the company’s evolving requirements as it improved its products. That decision shifted more sales volume to Toshiba…….
How Would This Investment Help Electricity Customers In Georgia And South Carolina?
Several years ago Toshiba, as Westinghouse’s large, profitable and then stable parent company, provided substantial guarantees in the case of cost overruns for both the Vogtle and Summer projects. Each of those projects, one in Georgia and one in South Carolina involves the construction of two of Westinghouse’s flagship AP1000 nuclear power plants. According to recent document filings, the total amount of Toshiba’s guarantees is about $4 billion.
Toshiba would like to complete the projects and successfully demonstrate the value of the AP1000 technology. Even though the company has indicated that it no longer wants to be in the nuclear plant construction business, it is still very interested in being a part of the nuclear power plant engineering, manufacturing, fuel supply, and services business. That business line will have a much greater potential for future profits after the first units begin operating.
Both Southern Company’s Georgia Power unit and SCANA, as the lead utilities in each consortium building the power plants, are in an evaluation phase to determine if the plants can and should be finished…..
neither of the state utility regulators will allow project completion if the costs seem prohibitive and if the burden of the cost overruns places an excessive burden on their electricity customers.
Though the cost overrun guarantee from Toshiba will apparently survive the Westinghouse bankruptcy, it may end up near the end of the creditor line if Toshiba itself must seek bankruptcy protection…..
April 17, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
business and costs, Japan, USA |
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