Group of Power Companies to Draw Up Measures to Deal With Spent Nuclear Fuel in Line with Government’s Action Plan

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At a regular press conference held on October 16, Chairman Makoto Yagi of the Federation of Electric Power Companies (FEPC) of Japan said that his organization would draw up a plan, as soon as possible, to deal with spent nuclear fuel measures in response to a request by the Japanese government. The government has called upon nuclear operators to do so in its action plan for such measures, issued at the ministerial meeting on final disposal held on October 6.

Given the excessively long amount of time spent on resolving the issue of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) final disposal, the government’s action plan recognizes the urgency to expand the capacity for storing the spent fuel produced by the country’s nuclear power plants (NPPs).

The government’s action plan describes several specific measures for disposing spent nuclear fuel. First, a council is to be set up consisting of the government and nuclear plant operators. Next, nuclear plant operators will be asked to formulate plans to promote spent nuclear fuel measures. Third, regional measures will be strengthened for spent nuclear fuel, including a review of the grant system. Also, efforts to enhance public understanding on measures for spent nuclear fuel will be implemented. Finally, activities will be carried out related to the nuclear fuel cycle at the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant and the Mutsu Interim Storage Facility in Aomori Prefecture.

FEPC’s Yagi said that the country’s power companies needed to construct and use new facilities for intermediate and dry storage, based on the amount of spent fuel stored by each nuclear operator, while they considered various measures to take.