Japan Ponders Reprocessing, Disposal Options for 17,000-Ton Spent Nuclear Fuel Pile

---

Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the Japanese government is considering a number of options for the reduction of electrical power provided by nuclear plants as a percentage of the country's total power supply by 2030. The options under consideration range from 0%, 15% or between 20% and 25%.

Parallel to these deliberations, the Japan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) has proposed both reprocessing and directly disposing of spent nuclear fuel if the country's reliance on nuclear energy is reduced to 15%. This would represent a departure from the current policy of total reprocessing. The favored target is reported to be 15%, which would be 9% down from the 26% nuclear power contribution in 2010.

"This is extremely important, because it would entail a shift to a flexible nuclear fuel program, instead of the one pursued over the last 50 years that advocated 100% reprocessing," said JAEC chairman Tatsujiro Suzuki.

The change in policy direction comes at a time when massive amounts of spent fuel have been building up at nuclear plants across the country, and as efforts are made to activate reprocessing facilities that have had technical problems for decades.

The commission has suggested three scenarios:

• If nuclear power generation is completely eliminated by the 2030 target date, the recommendation is that all spent fuel should be buried underground.
• If the nuclear power share is cut to 15%, the proposal is to incorporate direct disposal and reprocessing. The same two-track approach flexible approach would be employed if the nuclear share is set between 20% and 25%.

Spent fuel stored at power stations had risen to 14,200 tons at 17 locations in September 2011, including spent fuel at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

The storage at Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited's (JNFL) facilities are nearly full, with 2,800 tons of spent fuel (February 2012). A number of other power stations will reach maximum storage capacity through 2015 if reactors are re-started.

JNFL's spent fuel reprocessing plant at Rokkasho has never gone into operation due to problems and accidents during tests over a period of 20 years. The Monju fast-breeder reactor in Tsuruga was stalled for 14 years following a sodium leak in 1995, and has been out of commission since August 2010 after a 3.3-ton fuel exchange device crashed into the reactor.

For related information, see May 28, 2012, article - Fukushima Daiichi Raising Radiation Concerns, Spent Fuel Policy Unclear.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.