NRA Approves Draft Review Report on Dry Spent Fuel Storage Facility at Genkai NPPs

At a regular meeting on March 17, the Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan (NRA) approved a draft review report on the Dry Spent Fuel Storage Facility at the Genkai Nuclear Power Plants, owned by the Kyushu Electric Power Co..

The report concludes that the facility is compatible with Japan’s new regulatory standards for installations. It will be finalized after being referred to the Japan Atomic Energy Commission and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and has been made open to the public for comments. In January 2019, Kyushu Electric had filed applications with the NRA for permission to re-rack at the current facility—increasing storage capacity by about 50 percent by increasing the density of the racks as well, through the use of improved rack material in the spent fuel pool—and to construct a dry storage facility to improve overall spent fuel storage capabilities. In March 2020, the power utility had already obtained approvals to change the reactor installation, for the re-racking, and o...more

3 March, 2021

Challenged by Rubble, TEPCO Completes Removal of Spent Fuel Assemblies from Pool at Fukushima Daiichi-3 NPP

On February 28, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) announced that it had completed removal of 566 spent fuel assemblies from the Unit 3 spent fuel pool at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs).

This is a major accomplishment—the first from a plant with a melted reactor core. It follows the removal of 1,535 assemblies from Unit 4, which had been shut down at the time of the accident. The work, carried out by remote control, was difficult, hampered by rubble and debris, as well as by quality-control procurement issues and other problems with equipment. With improvements, perseverance and training, the utility completed the removal at Unit 3 by the end of FY20 (i.e., by March 31, 2021), as targeted in the “mid-to-long-term roadmap” toward the decommissioning. Removal was accomplished within a dome-like cover installed at the upper part of the reactor building. It had been slated to start in mid-FY18 (around September 2018), but there were difficulties with equipment and facilitie...more
• 24 February, 2021 FEPC Chairman Explains Response to Earthquake off Fukushima
• 17 February, 2021 Site for Spent Fuel Intermediate Storage Facility Outside Fukui Prefecture to Be Determined by End of 2023
• 10 December, 2020 Japan’s NRA Recognizes Compatibility of JNFL’s MOX Fuel Fabrication Plant with New Regulatory Standards, Approving Changes
• 24 November, 2020 NUMO Accepts Applications from Two Municipalities to Conduct Literature Surveys, Moving Closer Toward Selecting HLW Final Disposal Site
• 16 November, 2020 Kyushu Electric Power Starts Operating Facilities at Sendai-1 NPP Designed for “Specific Severe Accident” Response—First Time in Japan
• 13 November, 2020 Japan’s NRA Approves Changes to Mutsu Recyclable-Fuel Storage Center after Confirming Regulatory Compliance
• 13 October, 2020 NUMO Accepts Suttsu’s Application for Literature Survey in Selecting HLW Final Disposal Site—First Since Release of Map of Scientific Features
• 4 September, 2020 Japan’s NRA Says RFS’s Recyclable-Fuel Storage Center Is Compatible with Regulatory Standards
• 3 August, 2020 On Taking Office as JAIF President
• 30 June, 2020 “Existing NPPs to Enter Age of 80-Year Operations” JAIF Annual Survey Says
• 22 May, 2020 Sendai-2 Starts Periodic Inspection, with Due Date Imminent to Install Specific Safety Facilities
• 3 April, 2020 TEPCO Presents Ten-Year Decommissioning Midterm Action Plan for Fukushima Daiichi NPS
• 27 February, 2020 NRA Approves Changes to Reactor Installation for Onagawa-2 under New Regulatory Standards

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