The 280 MWe Monju FBR started up in 1994 but following sodium leakage problems operated for only 205 days until it restarted in May 2010. It has not operated since refuelling equipment fell into the reactor vessel during a refuelling outage later that year. The equipment was subsequently retrieved and replaced but the Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has not yet permitted the reactor to restart. In November 2015, following concerns over equipment inspections, the NRA determined that operator JAEA was not competent to operate the reactor.
During today's meeting, the government informed the prefecture of its opinion that the Monju reactor, located near Tsuruga City, should be not be restarted and a new experimental research reactor should be constructed to replace it.
However, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum's publication Atoms in Japan reported that Governor Nishikawa said, "We will never accept this. We demand that the government look again at it and reconsider it." He is also reported to have said JAEA, in addition to being incapable of operating Monju, is not capable of safely dismantling the reactor.
The Japanese government is scheduled to hold a ministerial meeting tomorrow to formally decide the decommissioning of Monju. However, local media suggests the schedule is likely to be pushed back as the government is still trying to convince local residents about its plan.
In a separate meeting today, the government said it expects the decommissioning of Monju to take 30 years and cost more than JPY375 billion ($3.2 billion). This includes JPY225 billion for maintenance, JPY135 billion for dismantling the plant and JPY15 billion for defuelling and preparations for decommissioning.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
