Japan to Team Up with US Firm in Decommissioning Nuclear Reactors

It's a good news. Japan's Atomic Power Co. is looking into a possible partnership with a US corporation specializing in decommissioning nuclear reactors to retire 6 reactors now due for decommissioning.

The accident at the Fukushima No.1 Atomic Power Plant in the aftermath of that megaquake led to a legislation requiring all atomic reactors to retire in 40 years. Japan is entering an Age of Decommissioning of Reactors. The stumbling block, of course is how to dispose of the enormous amount of radioactive wastes, and no visible way out is in sight.

Now, Japan Atomic Power Co. is negotiating with US EnergySolutions on an exchange of specialists towards decommissioning APC's Tsuruga Plant No.1 in Fukui with a view to broadening partnership in dismantling other nuclear power plants.

EnergySoutions, specialist in decommissioning nuclear reactors, has handled over 10 of them so far in the United States. The company has a unique skill at its disposal to control and dispose of wastes and has remarkably minimized both cost and period of operation.

Commenting in his interview with NHK, David Lockwood, CED of EnergySolutions said:

"Decommissioning nuclear reactors requires a different set of knowhow from that for building them, and the biggest challenge is the huge cost of treating radioactive wastes.

"We know how to recycle contaminated metals and reduce the total volume of radioactive wastes. We very much like, as a leading company in this field, to contribute to Japan's mission to decommission nuclear reactors."

Japan's Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reports the Tsuruga Atomic takes 24 years to retire from 2016 to 2040. EnergySolutions, currently working on Illinois' Zion Nuclear Power Station, had initially planned to complete decommissioning operation in 10 years instead of 22 years as anticipated, and now boasts to further shorten the period by another 2 years and to curtail on total costs by 20%!

Well, isn't that a good news? I sure think so, as people here are super-sensitive to things "nuclear". (Nathan Shiga)