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High court hears appeal on Monju reactor shutdown
High court hears appeal on Monju reactor shutdown
KANAZAWA, Japan, Dec. 18 (Kyodo) -
The Kanazawa branch of the Nagoya High Court on Monday began hearing
an appeal by residents in Fukui Prefecture to permanently shut down
Japan's prototype fast-breeder nuclear reactor, which leaked coolant
in December 1995, sparking a fire.
A group of residents of Tsuruga, some 370 kilometers west of Tokyo on
the Sea of Japan coast, are demanding the court overturn a Fukui
District Court decision in March that ruled against them to block the
start of operations of the Monju reactor.
Earlier this month, the state and the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development
Institute, the reactor's operator, filed a request with local
governments to approve a safety assessment to restart the reactor
following its deactivation in the wake of the 1995 accident.
The lower court said the reactor does not pose ''any visible danger
to...the lives or health of the plaintiffs'' despite the accident.
The suit was initially filed with the Fukui District Court in
September 1985.
The plaintiffs in the suit demanded an annulment of the government's
permission to build the plant and a court order to scrap the project.
Construction of the plant began in October 1985. The Monju was
operating at 40% capacity when the leak occurred.
The high court is expected to examine whether a risk assessment
conducted by the governmental Nuclear Safety Commission before the
construction was adequate and will assess the risks of future sodium
coolant leaks and heat-exchanger ruptures.
Kiyoshi Yoshimura, a 75-year-old leader for the plaintiffs, asked the
court to fairly judge the appeal by taking into account the wishes of
local residents and the fact that distrust of nuclear power plants
grows each time an accident occurs, causing the plants to lose their
appeal as a means to promote local industries.
In the appeal, the plaintiffs said the lower court declared the
reactor safe based on the basic design of conventional light-water
reactors powered by uranium. They said the light-water type is
''totally different'' from fast-breeder reactors, which use plutonium-
uranium mixed oxide fuel.
They claimed almost no safety assessments were done based on fast-
breeder reactors and alleged the ruling ''wrongly concluded'' that
the reactor would be safe based on testimony by the defendants.
They added the judgment on the reactor's safety should be made by the
Nuclear Safety Commission.
A central government representative insisted the high court should
reject the appeal, saying the plaintiffs have not changed their
claims since hearings at the district court, and there would be no
problems because the reactor will resume operations after
improvements are made.
Both the defendants and plaintiffs asked the court to conclude the
trial at an early date, with the locals asking for an end around May.
Unlike light-water reactors, fast-breeder reactors produce more
plutonium than they consume. Plutonium is an extremely toxic
substance that can be used to make nuclear weapons.
A number of countries, including Britain, Germany, France and the
United States, have decided to scrap projects for fast-breeder
reactors for political, technical or financial reasons.
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Sandy Perle Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100
Director, Technical Extension 2306
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