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MOX Data Fabrication: Lack of Regulatory Ability Exposed TOKYO March/April NUKE INFO 2000 Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center No. 76 3F Kotobuki Bldg., 1-58-15, Higashi-nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0003, JAPAN URL: http://www.jca.apc.org/cnic/ e-mail : [email protected] MOX Data Fabrication: Lack of Regulatory Ability Exposed (Left) Protest against MOX utilization. (Right) X-ray photo of rejected BNFL fuel rods (source: Kansai Electric) The criticality accident at Tokai last fall Plant (PWR) on Oct. 1, the day after the demonstrated the inherent risks of nuclear JCO accident. Data fabrication by BNFL energy, and forced Japan to review its was revealed on Sep. 19, after the ship had nuclear power policies. Shortly before, left the British port, by an article in the UK and soon after, this worst-ever accident in newspaper, The Independent, which was Japan's nuclear history on Sep. 30, 1999, based on inside information. Kansai Elec- MOX fuel manufactured at British Nuclear tric announced that it had postponed the Fuels plc (BNFL) and Belgonuclaire arrived loading of MOX fuel into Takahama 3 on in Japan. It was later revealed that data CONTENTS for the quality control of the BNFL fuel had NII report on MOX data fabrication 1-2 been falsified. Plans for nuclear plant canceled 3 The ships carrying MOX fuel left Europe Aging and decommisioning of reactors 4-7 in mid-July and delivered 32 assemblies to STA's dose evaluation of JCO accident 8 Tokyo Electric's Fukushima I plant (BWR) Latest on Rokkasho facilities 9 on the eastern side of Japan on Sep. 27, Who's Who: Kazumasa Aizawa 10 1999, and eight assemblies to Takahama News Watch 11-12 2 March/April 2000 No.76 Nuke Info Tokyo November 1, and Takahama 4 on Decem- sai Electric witnessed the inspection during ber 20. The use of MOX fuel manufactured manufacturing, and the fuel passed an external by BNFL was canceled, and MOX fuel cur- inspection by MITI upon arriving in Japan. rently under process at French company The agency was also prepared to pass the fuel COGEMA is planned to be loaded. for inspection prior to its being loaded into The UK Nuclear Installations Inspectorate the reactor. Kansai Electric only cancelled its (NII), which investigated the data falsifica- application for approval to burn this particular tion, released a report on their findings on Feb. MOX fuel after the news reports in the UK and 18, 2000. The report states that "one example analysis of the fuel data by Japanese NGOs of falsification has been found dating back forced the company to admit that data fabrica- to 1996," and that "a systematic management tion had taken place. failure allowed various individuals to falsify These circumstances show that nuclear fuel quality assurance records." - thus making it regulation in Japan is virtually non-existent. amply clear that poor management at BNFL MITI's inspections and regulations are done was one of the reasons why the data falsifica- almost entirely on paper; there is no adequate tion was allowed to continue for so long. Fur- system for detecting such anomalies as screws thermore, John Taylor, the recently resigned mixed in with pellets, nor is there a system for chief executive of BNFL who visited Kansai determining whether data has been tampered Electric, reported that "two fuel rods were with. Throughout this series of scandals, MITI rejected because a small concrete block and a and the Nuclear Safety Commission have screw were found to be mixed in with the pel- maintained that there are "no problems" with lets." These problems touch on rudimentary the fuel. They have refused to admit, or even issues, demonstrating that there is inadequate discuss the possibility, that the provisions for control of stages of the manufacturing process inspection and regulation are insufficient. preceding data specification. It seems that the The data fabrication scandal has cast light production of MOX fuel is a dubious business on a fundamental problem for Japan's nuclear from the bottom up. power program: no one individual and no sin- But the problems are even more serious than gle institution can determine - let alone guaran- this; the fuel with falsified data had passed tee - the safety of nuclear energy. the inspection of the Ministry of International by Masako Sawai Trade and Industry (MITI) which is the regu- [We have made the NII report available on our latory body for nuclear fuel in Japan. Kan- web-site.] SUBSCRIPTION Nuke Info Tokyo is a bi-monthly newsletter that aims to provide foreign friends with up-to- date information on the Japanese nuclear industry as well as on the movements against it. Please write to us for a subscription (subscription rates: Regular subscriber - $30 or ¥3,000/year; sup- porting subscriber $50 or ¥5,000/year). The subscription fee should be remitted from a post office to our post office account No. 00160-0-185799, HANGENPATU-NEWS. We would also appreciate receiving information and newsletters from groups abroad in exchange for this news- letter. (When sending the subscription fee from overseas, please send it by international postal money order.) Citizens' Nuclear Information Center 3F Kotobuki Bldg., 1-58-15 Higashi-nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0003 JAPAN Tel: 81-3-5330-9520; Fax: 81-3-5330-9530 Translators: Rick Davis, Gaia Hoerner, Taeko Miwa, Kumiko Tanaka, Junko Yamaka Proof-readers: Antony Boys, Antony Moore Scientific Advisor: Jinzaburo Takagi Editor: Gaia Hoerner Nuke Info Tokyo March/April 2000 No.76 3 Plans For Nuclear Power Plant at Ashihama Dropped Plans were to build a nuclear power plant at this site. Thanks to the governor and all of those involved, the area is no longer at risk. On February 22, Kitagawa Masayasu, the observe a cooling-off period until the Governor of Mie Prefecture, announced end of 1999. All three parties consented, in the course of a policy speech to the and halted their respective activities for prefectural assembly that plans for the opposition and promotion. Meanwhile, Ashihama nuclear power plant should be Mie prefecture consulted with experts cancelled. The president of the Chubu and made inspection tours of nuclear Electric Power Co., Hiroji Ota, responded power facilities, and after the cooling-off on the same day that the utility intended period concluded, the governor made his to abandon the plan. This marked the end announcement. of a plan that had plagued local citizens There is no doubt that many prefectural for 37 long years. citizens welcome the plan's cancellation. Chubu Electric first announced its plan It must have been good news even to to build a nuclear plant in 1963. The site Chubu Electric because, with the level- straddled the border between Nanto ing off in electric power demand, and the Town and Kisei Town in Mie Prefecture, struggle for the electric power industry to and while the town assembly of Nanto hold its own under deregulation, building decided in 1964 to oppose the plan, the a nuclear plant was simply not an option Kisei assembly voted to encourage it. for the utility if it wanted to preserve its In 1993, Nanto's town assembly reaf- own corporate well-being. firmed its opposition. In 1996, over It is now evident that Japan's plans for 810,000 of Mie's citizens -- well over half of nuclear power development are overam- the electorate -- signed petitions oppos- bitious. Surely now is the time to cancel ing the plan, which they submitted to the all such construction plans and take a big governor. step toward phasing out nuclear power. In 1997, the government asked Chubu by Nishio Baku Electric, Nanto Town, and Kisei Town to 4 March/April 2000 No.76 Nuke Info Tokyo Problems Caused by the Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants 1. Japan's Situation Regarding the Dis- posal of Decommissioned Reactors In the 1970s, the construction of light water reactors was implemented rapidly, and by the end of 1999, a total of 53 plants had been built. Japan's first commercial nuclear power plant was Tokai and it was decommissioned in 1998. The early nucle- ar plants have already been operating for 25-30 years, and problems are emerging term outlook there are plans for increas- because of equipment aging. ing capacity to 100 GW by 2030 (Fig.2). Under the government's policy, decom- If Japan is to have 100 GW in 2030 so as missioned nuclear plants will all be left to compensate also for the capacity loss five to ten years (cooling period), after due to this reactor decommissioning, the which another eight to 10 years would be country will be required to build two to six required for dismantling. If we assume 1100 MW-class nuclear plants each year. a lifetime of 40 years, a cooling period of However, judging by the current inabil- five years, and dismantling period of eight ity of Japan's electric power and nuclear years, then an increasing number of plants power industries to build even one plant a would be decommissioned in the mid year, such a goal is quite unrealistic. 2010s, and the dismantling of those reac- tors would be concentrated in the 2020s 2. Wastes from Decommissioned Reac- through the 2040s (Fig. 1). tors The government's recent energy plan 2.1 The amount of wastes generated calls for building an additional 20 reac- tors by 2010 with the goal being 70 GW The Nuclear Power Working Group of of nuclear capacity, and under a longer the Advisory Committee on Energy claims that radioactive wastes from reactor dis- mantling belong to the same category as wastes generated in conjunction with plant operation (work clothing worn in controlled areas, etc.).
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