Japan May Close Nuclear Reactor

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Thursday October 7 10:02 AM ET 

Japan May Close Nuclear Reactor  

TOKYO (AP) - A Japanese nuclear reactor may be shut down because last 
week's accident at a reprocessing facility means there is no place to 
store its spent fuel, officials said today.  

The Fugen thermal reactor in Tsuruga, 200 miles west of Tokyo, has 
been storing spent fuel on-site since a fire and explosion closed 
another fuel reprocessing plant north of the capital in 1997.  

With no more storage space at the reactor, the operator had planned 
to apply this month to fully reopen the reprocessing plant, which is 
only partially operational.  

But the application was delayed after last week's accident at a 
uranium-reprocessing plant in Tokaimura made it increasingly unlikely 
that authorities will reopen any closed nuclear facilities.  

The Sept. 30 accident 70 miles northeast of Tokyo exposed at least 49 
people to radiation and heightened fears about safety procedures at 
facilities handling nuclear material.  

No decision has been made on the Fugen plant, but an official with 
its operator, the state-run Japan Nuclear Cycle Development 
Institute, acknowledged that it had no more space to store spent 
fuel.  

The Fugen plant had been scheduled to shut down at least temporarily 
in mid-January to remove spent fuel rods, spokesman Hitoshi Haniya 
said. The plant cannot go back on-line until a place is found for the 
used uranium.  

The March 1997 accident, also in Tokaimura, exposed 37 workers to low 
levels of radiation. The operator of the plant acknowledged hiding 
details of the accident from the government.  

The investigation of last week's accident has centered on corner-
cutting at that plant, where operator JCO Co. reportedly issued 
operations manuals to employees instructing them to skip crucial 
security steps to save time.  

 The government has acknowledged that its response was slow and 
inadequate.

The environmental group Greenpeace said today its own analysis of the 
radiation surrounding the plant showed that the number of people 
exposed was probably higher than officials said. The group also 
called on the government to carry out more comprehensive physical 
exams on residents to measure their exposure to radiation and to 
monitor their long-term health.  

Police have stepped up their probe into whether plant operators were 
criminally negligent, raiding the nuclear complex in Tokaimura and 
JCO headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday. Government regulators are 
reportedly preparing to revoke JCO's license.  

About 120 environmentalists and others marched to the Parliament 
building in Tokyo today, demanding an independent investigation of 
the accident and a review of Japan's nuclear policy. 

Sandy Perle
E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205

"The object of opening the mind, as of opening 
the mouth, is to close it again on something solid"
              - G. K. Chesterton -
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