....but not a single mention of FFTF. What the heck's going on here ?
Jaro
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NucNet News No. 128, 27 Mar. 2003
US and France Stress 'Global Importance' For Restarting Monju
Nuclear organisations from the US, France and Japan are urging the Japanese government to make 'every effort' toward resuming operations at the country's prototype Monju fast reactor.
The call is part of a joint statement by Jacques Bouchard, the director of the French Atomic Energy Commission's nuclear energy division, Hermann Grunder, the director of the US Argonne National Laboratory, and Yasuo Nakagami, executive vice-president of the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC) - Monju's operating company.
Their statement reads in part: "(As) the accumulation of the various data necessary for the commercialisation of fast reactor technology on a global scale is expected to be achieved through the operation of Monju, Japan should make every effort toward the early resumption of the operation of this reactor."
The statement, to be officially released in Japan on 28th March, follows comments issued earlier today by Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission - criticising a court ruling that blocked the restart of Monju (see News No. 127, 27th March).
The statement continues: "Considerable expertise in fast reactor technology has been obtained through a stepwise development process involving the construction of experimental and prototype reactors in the US, several European countries and Japan. In Russia, one of the countries with fast reactor development programmes, the BN-600 prototype fast reactor is operating with a large availability factor and the BN-800 commercial reactor is under construction.
"After the termination of the operation of Superphenix in 1998, France has decided to continue with fast reactors development for the future. The Phenix prototype fast reactor, which has achieved high operational reliability, will continue to be in operation until 2008 for use in studying processes such as the transmutation of radioactive waste. The French seek to maintain or develop the technology for sodium-cooled fast reactors, using expertise accumulated over 30 years of research and development involving international co-operation - such as the utilisation of Monju - while they simultaneously pursue the development of gas-cooled reactors."
The statement also refers to ongoing efforts initiated by the US to develop Generation IV nuclear systems together with the participation of other countries including France and Japan, adding: "The participants adopted a technology roadmap which confirmed the importance of plutonium utilisation, and six promising concepts were selected. Joint international efforts toward the development of these innovative concepts will be started in accordance with the roadmap.
"The importance of fast reactors and the associated nuclear fuel cycle is recognised world wide and the continuous and effective pursuit of these technologies is being actively discussed. Japan is expected to play a key role (which has been played so far by the US and some European countries) in providing irradiation test facilities for fast reactor fuel and in accumulating experience with fast reactor technology through the operation of a prototype reactor."
Source: Japan atomic industrial forum
Editor: John Shepherd
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NucNet News No. 127, 27 Mar. 2003
Safety Chiefs Join Criticism Over Monju Court Ruling
Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) has added its voice to criticism over a court ruling issued earlier this year that blocked the restart of the country's Monju prototype fast breeder reactor.
In a statement issued yesterday, the NSC said the ruling by the Kanazawa branch of the Nagoya high court (see News No. 48, 28th January 2003) - which reversed an earlier ruling that paved the way for a resumption of operations at Monju - "contained points lacking scientific reasonability".
The court said there was "significant error" in the safety examination carried out at Monju by the NSC. However, the NSC said it rejected the statement - including an accusation that the NSC had "accepted the application for installation uncritically".
The NSC said: "In the safety examination, a conclusion was reached only after nearly 100 discussions and on-site investigations."
Referring to two specific areas raised in the court ruling - the thickness of the floor liner (intended to prevent any leaked sodium from coming into contact with the concrete floor) and the possibility of a "high temperature rupture" of the steam generator's heat-transfer pipes - the NSC said its examination of these areas was "reasonable and proper".
The court said that the safety examination of these areas involved "errors that cannot be overlooked", but the NSC countered that assertion, saying: "There has to be a limit to 'what if' assumptions when speculating about accidents... that is why defence-in-depth measures are employed." The NSC also rejected the court's conclusion about the "possibility of core decay", saying this was "just more assumptions on top of assumptions" and "unscientific".
Monju supplied its first electricity to the grid in August 1995, but the unit was shut down following a sodium leakage incident in December of that year. In January of this year, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) gave the go-ahead for technical modifications to be made at Monju, ahead of preparations for an anticipated resumption of operations.
Following the latest court ruling, the Japanese government started formal legal procedures aimed at overturning the decision - with METI strongly critical of what it said was a ruling filled with "unrealistic" speculation (see News No. 62, 3rd February 2003).
Source: Japan atomic industrial forum
Editor: John Shepherd
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