Japan Nuclear Update

Japan's Last Operating Reactor Down for Refueling

Sept. 19, 2013—Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Ohi reactor 4, shut Sept. 15 for a scheduled maintenance and refueling outage, following its sister plant Ohi 3, which went down for its outage two weeks ago (see Japan Nuclear Update, Nuclear Energy Overview, Sept. 12).

With Ohi 4’s shutdown, Japan is once again without any nuclear generation from its 50 operable reactors.

Under Japanese regulations, nuclear reactors operate 13 months at a time before shutting down for maintenance, inspections and refueling.

Japan Down to One Operating Reactor

Sept. 12, 2013—Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Ohi reactor 3, one of two reactors operating in Japan, shut down this week for scheduled maintenance and inspections. Ohi 4, its sister facility, will begin its scheduled outage in two weeks, leaving the country with no operating nuclear reactors.

In Japan, all reactors are normally taken off line for refueling, maintenance and safety inspections every 13 months.

Both reactors have undergone the two-phase “stress tests” required by the Japanese government following the March 2011 Fukushima accident. Four utilities have applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Authority to restart 12 reactors.

TEPCO Names US Adviser

Sept. 5, 2013—Tokyo Electric Power Co. has appointed Lake Barrett, an independent energy consultant and former head of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Civilian Nuclear Waste Management, as an adviser to assist the company in the decommissioning and decontamination of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant site. Barrett also led the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s cleanup efforts at the Three Mile Island plant after its partial meltdown in 1979.

The Japanese government last week pledged almost half a billion dollars to assist in containing contaminated water at the site.

Government Plans to Improve Nuclear Communication

Sept. 5, 2013—The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs will set up an international group concerning water issues at Fukushima Daiichi, with one priority being enhanced communication.

According to a statement from MOFA, a new “intergovernmental liaison office” is to be established near the damaged power plant, along with an “intergovernmental council for coordination.” One of the priorities will be “prevention of reputational damage or misinformation and reinforcement of global communications.”

Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority said the leak from a water storage tank at the Fukushima Daiichi site has been stopped and contaminated areas around affected tanks have been treated. The agency also said approximately 350 water storage tanks similar to the one that leaked will be replaced.

There is no risk to the public associated with elevated radiation levels detected near a small number of the contaminated water storage tanks at the site, and radiation at these locations can be easily shielded, the NRA said. TEPCO also confirmed that radiation protection measures for site workers are in place and no workers received severe radiation doses as a result of the leakage.

IAEA Asks Japan for Better Fukushima Communications

Aug. 29, 2013—The International Atomic Energy Agency has told Japan to consider developing “appropriate communications” to explain the safety significance of incidents at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility. A document addressed to Japan’s IAEA permanent mission said a communications plan with “clear content and appropriate frequency of messages” would avoid sending confusing messages.

Last week Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority asked the agency whether it should formally declare the leak of contaminated water from a storage tank at Fukushima Daiichi to be a level 3 “serious incident” on the IAEA’s International Nuclear Event Scale (see Japan Nuclear Update, Nuclear Energy Overview, Aug. 22).

TEPCO Moving to Keep Contaminated Water From Ocean

Aug. 29, 2013—An “impervious wall” Tokyo Electric Power Co. is building between its damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility and the ocean to stop radioactively contaminated water leaking into the sea should be completed by September 2014.

TEPCO also will set up a second “wall” of frozen soil on the other side of the plant to reduce the flow of groundwater into the basements of the facility’s buildings and will pump up existing groundwater from around the buildings.

More information on the water status and TEPCO’s “fundamental” and “emergency” measures can be found on TEPCO’s website.

TEPCO Controlling Fukushima Tank Leak

Aug. 22, 2013—Tokyo Electric Power Co. reported it has transferred all the radioactive water out of a storage tank that developed a leak earlier this week at the Fukushima Daiichi site. The company also said no further leaks have been detected from other water storage tanks on site.

The company estimates that about 300 tons of the partially decontaminated water leaked through a rainwater valve in a dam surrounding the storage tank. The volume and contamination level of the leak reported by TEPCO prompted Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority to raise it from a Level 1 “anomaly” to a Level 3 “serious incident” on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s International Nuclear Event Scale.

Water used to cool the damaged reactors at Fukushima Daiichi becomes contaminated from contact with the cores. The water is collected and decontaminated before being recirculated for cooling. Both contaminated and treated water is being stored onsite in more than 1,000 storage tanks.

Japan Creates International Decommissioning Institute

Aug. 15, 2013—Japan has established the International Research Institute for Nuclear Decommissioning, a new research body to bring together international experience in decommissioning nuclear energy facilities. The institute, to be headed by Hajimu Yamana of Kyoto University’s Research Reactor Institute, is to be set up near the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The institute will be composed of more than 500 experts from 17 organizations and will conduct research and development to improve technical standards and advice for decommissioning nuclear plants.

NRA to Consider Restarting Reactors

Aug. 15, 2013—Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority has approved the start of debates on specific safety topics for 12 nuclear energy facilities reactors for which the operators have submitted applications to restart.

The agency said six reactors—Tomari 3, Ikata 3, Genkai 3 and 4, and Sendai 1 and 2—will undergo earthquake risk assessments, evaluations of their resistance to tsunamis and volcanoes, and inspections of their measures against severe accidents.

The NRA has requested supplementary safety analyses for Tomari 1 and 2, Takahama 3 and 4, and Ohi 3 and 4. The last two are the only ones of Japan’s 50 reactors that are operating.

Last Fukushima Town Ready for Residents’ Return

Aug. 8, 2013—Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has announced the relaxation of controls on entry to most of Kawamata town near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The town is now classed as an area where residents can freely enter without the use of protective equipment, but they cannot stay overnight. The radiation dose rate for the area is expected to be less than 2 rem a year, which is the Japanese government’s criterion for permanent return.

It is the final evacuated municipality outside of the restricted zones to be redesignated, allowing decontamination work to begin and infrastructure and services to be rebuilt.

Pro-Nuclear LDP Wins Majority in Japan's Upper House

July 25, 2013—Japan's pro-nuclear, Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition won a landslide victory in the upper house of parliament in elections July 21. The LDP won 115 of the total 224 seats and in every constituency that hosts a nuclear energy facility, including Fukushima prefecture. The LDP’s pro-nuclear coalition partners also gained seats.

The LDP also has a large majority in the lower house. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the head of the LDP, returned to power in December with a platform to reverse the previous government’s policy of zero nuclear power by 2040.

Plans to restart Japan’s idled nuclear reactors remain on track—all but two of the country’s 50 operable reactors have remained shut following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Four utilities have so far applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Authority to restart 12 reactors.

Fukushima Daiichi 4 Cover Completed

July 25, 2013—Construction of the cover for Fukushima Daiichi 4’s reactor building has been completed. Equipment to remove fuel from the storage pool will now be installed inside the new structure, including ventilation, filtration and handling gear. The ceiling cranes and fuel handling machine are already being assembled inside the structure.

One of Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s highest priorities is to transfer fuel from the storage pool into canisters that will be placed in the site’s shared dry storage facility. Reactor 4 was off-line for maintenance when the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami struck, and a full core of fuel as well as used fuel from previous operations was in the pool.

Japanese Regulator Details Restart Plans

July 11, 2013—Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) is forming three teams to review the restart applications four companies filed for 10 reactors earlier this month.

According to press reports, the reviews might conclude within a year. NRA commissioners also approved staff plans for starting the review process with a meeting between utility representatives and the NRA scheduled for later this month.

Utilities Ask to Restart Ten Reactors

July 11, 2013—Four Japanese utilities have applied for permission to restart ten of the country's 48 non-operating nuclear reactors.

The utilities asking to restart reactors include:

Kansai's for Takahama reactor 3 and 4 and Ohi reactors 3 and 4
Hokkaido for Tomari reactors 1-3
Shikoku for Ikata reactor 3 and
Kyushu for Sendai reactors 1 and 2.

Forty-eight of Japan's 50 reactors have remained closed following the tsunami and accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi in 2011. Only two units, Kansai's Ohi 3 and 4, have been allowed to resume operations.

TEPCO Postpones Restart Application for Kashiwazaki 6 and 7

July 11, 2013—Tokyo Electric Power Co. has shelved plans for submitting a restart application for its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 6 and 7 reactors.

The decision was made after a meeting between TEPCO President Naomi Hirose and Niigata Governor Hirohiko Izumida.

Hirose said that TEPCO still plans to apply for a restart for the reactors, but did not provide details.