News Watch
Rough Sailing for Fukushima Daiichi Fuel Debris Removal
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) suspended its experimental attempt to retrieve fused nuclear fuel (debris) on September 17 from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 2. They were unable to obtain video images in the remote control room from the camera at the tip of the sampling device, and operations scheduled for the same day to grasp a sample of the debris with a clawed device could not be performed. TEPCO is looking into the causes of the problems and does not know yet when the work will resume.
The “medium-to-long-term roadmap” formulated by TEPCO and Japan’s government in December 2011 called for this endeavor to start in 2021, but after delay upon delay, it finally got underway on August 22. The operation could not commence, however, because the pipe pushing the extraction device had been connected in the wrong order. Work to retrieve the debris got underway again on September 10, but was suspended once more.
CNIC released a statement on September 12, saying the experimental debris retrieval had been pointless to begin with (cnic.jp/english/?p=7722).
Tokai No. 2 Safety Measure Construction Delayed
Reconstruction of a seawall foundation, part of safety measure construction work at the Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant (NPP) that had been scheduled to wrap up by the end of September, has been delayed by more than two years. It is scheduled now for December 2026. At a Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) review meeting held on August 29, Japan Atomic Power Co. (JAPC) explained its policy of switching to a design that leaves the present foundation of the seawall intact while not relying on it structurally. The NRA Secretariat says, however, that it “has no prospect at all of feasibility” and has requested JAPC to produce a carefully considered proposal for construction of feasible countermeasures. In any case, what is certain is that there will be further announcements of delays.
Start of Operations at Rokkaksho Reprocessing Plant, MOX Plant Postponed Again
Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL) announced on August 29 that completion of the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant, scheduled for the first half of fiscal 2024 at the earliest, was being postponed until fiscal 2026, and that of the MOX processing plant, also scheduled for the first half of fiscal 2024, was likewise being delayed until sometime in fiscal 2027. That makes it the 27th delay in the reprocessing plant’s completion, and the eighth delay in the MOX plant’s since the start of their respective construction terms.
Fukui Prefecture Governor Sugimoto Tatsuji took a harsh view of this, saying that the delay in completing the reprocessing plant meant that “There is no longer any agreement on the schedule developed by Kansai Electric Power Co. (Kanden) for transporting spent nuclear fuel out of Fukui Prefecture.” That schedule was predicated upon the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant being completed by September this year. It aimed for the transport of spent fuel to start in or after fiscal 2026. That plan has fallen apart. Kanden President Mori Nozomu met with Governor Sugimoto at the Fukui Prefectural Government Office on September 5. Apologizing for the inconvenience, he informed the latter that a new plan for transporting the spent fuel out would be presented by the end of the current fiscal year. The governor informed him that if they could not present a plan by then, he would not allow the operation of Mihama Unit 3 or Takahama Units 1 and 2, all of which have been operating for more than 40 years, to continue.
Go Ahead Given for Start of Operations at Mutsu Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility
Recyclable Fuel Storage Co. (RFS) signed a safety agreement with Aomori Prefecture and Mutsu City on August 9 to start operation of the interim spent fuel storage facility in Mutsu. RFS is also hoping to accept spent fuel from the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP in September. TEPCO and JAPC, who are jointly invested in RFS, also signed the agreement as witnesses. A memorandum of understanding was signed by all five parties to allow spent nuclear fuel to be shipped out of the facility in the event of any difficulties arising with the project, such as changes in national policy. RFS also signed an agreement on August 20 with the five towns and villages adjacent to Mutsu City.
* One cask which contains 69 units of spent nuclear fuel was picked up from Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP on September 24th and delivered to RFS on 26th September.
