Unusual Distrust on Nuclear Recycle

Nuclear Regulation Authority decided on Wednesday to recommend Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Hiroshi Hase, to replace the organization for operating a fast-breeder reactor, Monju, in Fukui, Japan. NRA dismissed ability of current operator, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, which kept on failing in establishing safety measures. If Hase cannot pick an appropriate operator, the attempt of nuclear fuel recycle in Japan will be seriously damaged.

Monju, sodium-cooled loop type reactor, was built as one of the major facilities for nuclear fuel recycle system. A year after the reactor reached a critical point in 1994, an accident of sodium leak occurred. The government of Japan ordered halting operation for a year. Before the reactor resumed its operation in 2010, the operator made two restructurings. Nevertheless, Monju stopped again in an accident of dropping a relaying device into the reactor three months after the resumption. Making matters worse, JAEA reported insufficiency of inspection for ten thousands of equipments in 2012. NRA ordered JAEA to stop the preparation for restarting the reactor.

Crucial inferiority of JAEA is that its staffs do not realize the problem they have. After the recovery measures from inappropriate operation three years ago, the organization reported that they had finished all inspection on the equipments. In spite of that, JAEA reiterated violations against security regulation for eight times. “They could not answer my question that what was the problem,” told an officer of NRA after he found mistake in the setting of indicators.

NRA required Hase propose an appropriate alternative operator. If he cannot, Hase will have to make complete plan for preserving safety in the reactor. That has to be done within a half year. Chairman of NRA, Shun-ichi Tanaka, does not exclude an option of suspending approval for Monju.

The project of nuclear recycling in Japan is extremely expensive without any achievement so far. The government has been paying for maintenance and safety measures in Monju ¥50 million everyday. The main actor in the recycling is replaced by pluthermal generation, using MOX fuel made by mixing plutonium and uranium produced in nuclear power generation. Monju is already obsolete in the experimental project.

One thing clear is that the people in nuclear village in Japan are too enthusiastic in justifying themselves to show the way Japanese nation should go. As long as they do not stop deceiving the public, Japan keeps on drifting in want of stable energy.