In a report to the World Energy Council, Japanese officials have acknowledged that, in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident, the challenges of restarting certain nuclear power plants are political as well as technical.
In addition to explaining the extensive engineering work underway in the event’s aftermath, the officials expressed concerns about the clarity of policy directions coming from the central government of Japan, as well as noting that there is increased resistance in certain host communities to the restart of reactors that have been shut down for periodic maintenance, even though their reactors were not damaged in the March 11 tsunami.
The Fukushima Report No. 4, dated September 20, 2011, reviewed the causes of the incident at Fukushima, overviewed the technical work underway to repair the reactors, and provided an update on policy and public opinion developments affecting the Japanese nuclear industry. Three of the four reactors suffered fuel damage, and radioactive material was released.
One of the most significant projects in recent months has been the handling of large amounts of water that was injected during the emergency to help cool the reactors. The report notes that “The volume of contaminated water reached more than 140,000 tons at its peak, creating a serious challenge as to how to manage and dispose of the radioactive water. However, this challenge has been overcome as water decontamination and treatment facility has started operating after being built in just three and a half months through collaboration between Japan, France and the United States. Decontamination work (removal of cesium) is proceeding, with decontaminated water recycled as cooling water.”
On April 17, Tokyo Electric Power announced a one-year roadmap toward stabilizing the nuclear accident, and it has been publishing a monthly review of the progress status of the roadmap since then.
The report notes that, “Nuclear host communities have grown distrustful of the central government’s nuclear policy because of the policy muddle as represented by former Prime Minister Kan’s abrupt request for the shutdown of Chubu Electric Power’s Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station and the confusion over the restart of nuclear reactors at Kyushu Electric Power’s Genkai Nuclear Power Station. Many heads of nuclear host communities have considerably hardened their stance on the restart of reactors that have been suspended from operation for periodic inspection.”
Public opinion in Japan continues to be divided on the use of nuclear energy in the future. However, it is expected that the country will continue to rely on nuclear energy for a good portion of its needs.
The report’s authors were not named individually but the report was credited to the World Energy Council Japanese Member Committee.