Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd.’s spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant and other nuclear fuel cycle facilities are seen in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, in 2022.
01:00 JST, August 19, 2024
Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. (JNFL) is considering delaying the completion of a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Aomori Prefecture until around the end of March 2027, the 27th delay since construction began in 1993, it has been learned.
JNFL had aimed to complete the plant in the village of Rokkasho by the end of September. However, the operator is now considering another delay because it believes it will need another 2½ years to complete inspections by the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) under new regulations drawn up after the March 2011 earthquake, sources said.
JNFL will formally decide how long to delay the completion target after the NRA holds a meeting to review the plant’s designs and construction schedule for approval, the sources said. The meeting is scheduled for the end of this month.
The reprocessing plant is central to a nuclear fuel cycle policy in which spent nuclear fuel from power plants is reprocessed to extract plutonium and uranium to produce nuclear fuel. The central government is promoting this policy.
JNFL initially targeted 1997 for completion of the facility. However, the target has been repeatedly postponed, mainly due to frequent errors in the operator’s filings with regulatory authorities.
A temporary storage facility for spent nuclear fuel is scheduled to open in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, in September. The central government is considering the Rokkasho reprocessing plant as a destination for spent fuel from the Mutsu facility.
However, concerns about securing such a destination would increase if completion of the Rokkasho plant is delayed.
