Paralyzed Monju Reactor Sued, Fukushima Population Drop & Takahama Restart Update 12/26/15

• Report rights infringement
• published: 27 Dec 2015
• views: 846

Residents Take Troubled Monju Fast Breeder Reactor to Court A group of local residents has filed a suit asking Japan's nuclear regulator to revoke the permit for a prototype fast-breeder reactor in Fukui Prefecture 106 plaintiffs from Fukui and neighboring prefectures brought the case to the Tokyo District Court on Friday The prototype fast-breeder reactor Monju was designed to produce more nuclear fuel than it consumes. It was expected to be part of Japan's fuel recycling system. But the reactor has been mostly idle since a leak of its sodium coolant 20 years ago In the past few years, the Monju operator has been repeatedly criticized for its lax safety management, such as failing to inspect thousands of items Last month the Nuclear Regulation Authority asked the science minister to replace the plant's operator within about 6 months The plaintiffs say the current operator, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, lacks the necessary qualifications for a permit to run the plant. They say the reactor should be scrapped One of the plaintiffs, Tetsuen Nakajima, said it is not enough for the government just to replace the plant operator in name. He stressed the government should fundamentally reconsider the nuclear plants and fuel recycling policies In a similar suit filed in 1985, a high court ruled in favor of the residents. But the Supreme Court rejected the claim. The nuclear regulator declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying they have yet to receive a letter of complaint. ~ Sodium Leak False Alarm at Monju Reactor The Japan Atomic Energy Agency says a sodium leak alarm went off at its Monju fast-breeder nuclear reactor in Fukui prefecture. But it says no leak has occurred at the reactor that is not in operation. The plant operator said the alarm sounded 4 times on Friday night from a device that detects leaks of sodium, which is used as a coolant. Agency officials said another detector in the same room indicated there was no leakage. They now suspect a glitch in the device and are investigating the cause of the false alarm. Monju is designed to use recycled plutonium. In December 1995, sodium leaked from the reactor's piping, causing a fire at the facility. In the past few years, the Monju operator has been repeatedly criticized for its lax safety management. Last month, the Nuclear Regulation Authority asked the science minister to replace the plant's operator within about 6 months. ~ MY MONJU FAST BREEDER REACTOR PLAYLIST http://tinyurl.com/jbth4lw ~ Fuel Loading Starts at Takahama Reactor (Kansai Electric) The operator of the Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, has begun loading fuel into a reactor to bring it back online. One day earlier, a court in Fukui lifted an injunction that was blocking restart of the plant's No.3 and No.4 reactors Kansai Electric Power Company on Friday started the loading process at the No.3 reactor. Its containment vessel has been empty of fuel since March 2012 157 fuel units will be moved to the vessel from a storage pool using cranes through Tuesday. 24 units are MOX fuel, a mixture of plutonium from spent fuel, and uranium Kansai Electric plans to restart the reactor in late January after an inspection of critical equipment It would be the 3rd reactor to be reactivated under new stricter requirements introduced after the 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima. 2 reactors at the Sendai plant in Kagoshima Prefecture were restarted earlier this year The use of MOX fuel would be the first in about 3 years and 11 months Kansai Electric plans to restart the No.4 reactor in late February ~ Fukushima Population Sees Record Drop (Ya don't say.... hmmm) Japan's latest national census has found that the population of Fukushima Prefecture, home to the troubled nuclear power plant, has dropped by a record 5.7 percent since 2010. The census was conducted in October and preliminary data were released on Friday. The census is held every 5 years, making this the first one since the March 2011 disaster hit northeastern Japan. There were around 1.9 million people living in the prefecture as of October 1st. That's about 115,000 less than 5 years ago. The population peaked at about 2.1 million in 1995 and has been falling since then. The population of the Soso area of the prefecture fell by 42.9 percent. It contains restricted areas due to radioactive contamination from the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Meanwhile, the population of the Iwaki area, which has taken in many evacuees, grew by 2.1 percent. Prefectural officials attribute the record drop in the population to residents who evacuated elsewhere following the nuclear accident. They say the area's aging population also played a role in the decline BONUS LINKS TODAY: MORE NRC FOIA DOCUMENTS: http://tinyurl.com/j5nnztg YOUR RADIATION THIS WEEK: Dec 19, 2015 to Dec 26, 2015 http://tinyurl.com/htw6qg7 audio at end by Albis - open highway https://youtu.be/I6rp55DOa-4