May 30, 2013

Monju operator ordered to stop restart preparation

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130530_19.html

Japan's nuclear regulator has ordered the operator of the Monju fast-breeder reactor to suspend preparation for its restart until measures are put in place for its proper maintenance and management.

A senior official of the Nuclear Regulation Authority communicated the order on Thursday to the Japan Atomic Energy Agency's executive vice president.

The regulators acted after finding the operator had missed checkups on about 10,000 pieces of equipment.

They ordered that sufficient manpower and funds be allocated for maintenance and management. They also called for a system ensuring accurate equipment checks.

Executive Vice President Yonezo Tsujikura said the agency will address the problem.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority requested that Japan's science ministry urge the operator to comply.

As a consequence of the order, the Monju reactor is unlikely to restart before next March.

The reactor in Tsuruga City, central Japan, is at the center of the nation's nuclear-fuel recycling policy. But its operator has been hampered by a series of problems.

May 30, 2013 - Updated 04:43 UTC

 May 29, 2013

Regulators effectively ban Monju reactor from restarting

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130530p2g00m0dm077000c.html

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Nuclear Regulation Authority on Thursday issued an order that effectively prohibits the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor from restarting until the operator improves its safety management system.

The move came after the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, a national research institute, was found last year to have failed to conduct inspections at appropriate intervals on nearly 10,000 devices at the reactor in Fukui Prefecture, western Japan.

The NRA looked into the case in detail and determined the agency's "safety culture is deteriorating," given that it could not address the problems despite being aware of the delayed inspections.

The decision is the latest blow to Japan's Monju project, on which it has spent more than 1 trillion yen in hopes it would play a key role in the country's spent fuel recycling policy. The reactor has remained largely offline since first achieving criticality in 1994, due to a sodium coolant leakage and other subsequent problems.

Under the order, the JAEA will be barred from engaging in preparatory work for resuming the reactor until it rebuilds a maintenance and management system by appropriately allocating funds and human resources to prevent a recurrence.

JAEA President Atsuyuki Suzuki has stepped down to take responsibility over the matter.

Regulators to issue order effectively banning restart of Monju   

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130529p2g00m0dm078000c.html

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday officially decided to prohibit the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor from being put online, dashing the operator's hopes of restarting the facility by the end of next March.

The harsh measure against the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, a national research institute, came in response to slack safety checkups observed in the Monju reactor in Fukui Prefecture, western Japan. A written order will be handed over to the JAEA on Thursday.

The JAEA is in further trouble because of a radiation leak accident at its laboratory northeast of Tokyo on Thursday that resulted in 33 out of the 55 people there being exposed to radiation.

During a meeting of the NRA commissioners on Wednesday, Chairman Shunichi Tanaka highlighted the fact that a radiation protection supervisor allowed radioactive substances to be released into the atmosphere via a ventilation fan in a laboratory building where contamination was confirmed.

"It is regrettable that people lacked preparedness for the use of radiation," Tanaka said, while calling on the need to check in detail what appears to be a mistake in the supervisor's decision.

The JAEA also waited more than 24 hours before reporting the accident to the state, saying that it had underestimated the seriousness of the incident.

In regard to the operation of Monju, the JAEA will be barred from engaging in preparatory work for resuming the reactor until it rebuilds a maintenance and management system for the facility.

The delay in restarting Monju could affect Japan's nuclear fuel recycling policy, which aims at reprocessing spent nuclear fuel and reusing the extracted plutonium and uranium as reactor fuel.

Japan has been hoping the Monju project would play a key role in the fuel recycling flow, having spent more than 1 trillion yen on its maintenance and construction. But the reactor has remained largely offline since first achieving criticality in 1994, due to a leakage of sodium coolant and other subsequent problems.

The JAEA has also been found to have failed to conduct inspections at appropriate intervals on nearly 10,000 devices, including those that are categorized as important for safety, leading the NRA to take the latest move.

The NRA also said Wednesday that it will start from June a process to assess whether geologic faults at the premises of the Monju facility are active. The NRA is conducting or plans to conduct similar assessments on a total of six facilities nationwide.

See also : Monju must remain idled, NRA to order

Kyodo