Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant
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The is a nuclear reprocessing plant with an annual capacity of 800 tons of
uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
or 8 tons of
plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...
. It is owned by Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL) and is part of the Rokkasho complex located in the village of Rokkasho in northeast
Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the eas ...
, on the Pacific coast of the northernmost part of Japan's main island of
Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island se ...
.


History

Construction of the plant began in 1993, and was originally expected to be completed in 1997, but the completion date has been postponed 23 times by 2017. Construction and testing of the facility were complete in 2013 according to JNFL, and the site was intended to begin operating in October 2013; however this was delayed by new safety regulations. In December 2013 JNFL announced the plant would be ready for operation in October 2014. In 2015, the start of the reprocessing plant was postponed again, this time to as late as September 2018. In December 2017, the completion date was put back a further three years, to 2021, to allow for further safety measures at the reprocessing plant and the
MOX fuel Mixed oxide fuel, commonly referred to as MOX fuel, is nuclear fuel that contains more than one oxide of fissile material, usually consisting of plutonium blended with natural uranium, reprocessed uranium, or depleted uranium. MOX fuel is an al ...
fabrication plant to meet post-Fukushima safety standards. The delays have caused many parts of the plant to deteriorate, and the closure of the unsuccessful
fast breeder reactor A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that generates more fissile material than it consumes. Breeder reactors achieve this because their neutron economy is high enough to create more fissile fuel than they use, by irradiation of a fertile mater ...
at Monju in 2016 reduces the need for the policy of nuclear fuel reprocessing. In August 2018 more corroded pipes were found. In 2018 the Japanese Atomic Energy Commission updated plutonium guidelines to try to reduce plutonium stockpiles, stipulating that Rokkasho should only produce the amount of plutonium required for
mixed oxide fuel Mixed oxide fuel, commonly referred to as MOX fuel, is nuclear fuel that contains more than one oxide of fissile material, usually consisting of plutonium blended with natural uranium, reprocessed uranium, or depleted uranium. MOX fuel is an alt ...
for Japan's nuclear plants. In 2020 the completion date was put back again to 2022, for further safety measures including construction of another cooling tower. The MOX fuel manufacturing plant is expected to be operational in 2024. As of 2021, the operation plan from 2024 is undecided.


Description

The Rokkasho plant is the successor to a smaller reprocessing plant located in
Tōkai, Ibaraki is a village located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 37,651 in 15,148 households and a population density of 991 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 25.8%. The total area o ...
in central Japan, which ceased operation in 2007. The Rokkasho facilities complex includes: *A high level
nuclear waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons ...
monitoring facility *A
MOX fuel Mixed oxide fuel, commonly referred to as MOX fuel, is nuclear fuel that contains more than one oxide of fissile material, usually consisting of plutonium blended with natural uranium, reprocessed uranium, or depleted uranium. MOX fuel is an al ...
fabrication plant *A
uranium enrichment Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (238 ...
plant *A low level radioactive waste landfill In 2010, the Rokkasho complex consisted of 38 buildings on an area of 3,800,000 m2.
Vitrification Vitrification (from Latin ''vitreum'', "glass" via French ''vitrifier'') is the full or partial transformation of a substance into a glass, that is to say, a non- crystalline amorphous solid. Glasses differ from liquids structurally and glasses po ...
tests completed in November 2007. This consists of pouring high level dry waste residue along with molten glass into steel canisters. As of 2018, over a third of Japan's 10 metric tons of domestically held
plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...
is stored at Rokkasho.


Economic aspects

Since 1993 there has been US$20 billion invested in the project, nearly triple the original cost estimate. A 2011 estimate put the cost at US$27.5 billion.


Protests

In May 2006, an international awareness campaign about the dangers of the Rokkasho reprocessing plant, Stop Rokkasho, was launched by musician
Ryuichi Sakamoto is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto i ...
. Greenpeace has opposed the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant under a campaign called "Wings of Peace – No more Hiroshima Nagasaki", since 2002 and has launched a cyberaction to stop the project. Consumers Union of Japan together with 596 organisations and groups participated in a parade on 27 January 2008 in central Tokyo against the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant. Over 810,000 signatures were collected and handed in to the government on 28 January 2008. Representatives of the protesters, which include fishery associations, consumer cooperatives and surfer groups, handed the petition to the Cabinet Office and the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry The or METI, is a ministry of the Government of Japan. It was created by the 2001 Central Government Reform when the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) merged with agencies from other ministries related to economic activities ...
. Seven consumer organisations have joined in this effort: Consumers Union of Japan, Seikatsu Club Consumer's Co-operative Union, Daichi-o-Mamoru Kai, Green Consumer's Co-operative Union, Consumer's Co-operative Union "Kirari", Consumer's Co-operative Miyagi and Pal-system Co-operative Union. 'Experts including
Frank von Hippel Frank N. von Hippel (born 1937) is an American physicist. He is Professor and Co-Director of Program on Science and Global Security at Princeton University and the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. He is Arthur von Hippel's s ...
, a
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
theoretical physicist, have urged Japan to stop spent fuel reprocessing.', reported ''
The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...
.'' The fundamental objection to reprocessing—the separation of plutonium from spent power reactor fuel—is that the plutonium is a nuclear explosive. Despite nuclear industry claims to the contrary, it usable for powerful nuclear weapons. A plant like Rokkasho can separate several tons of plutonium per year. a nuclear weapon requires only several kilograms.


2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

In June 2008, several scientists stated that the Rokkasho plant is sited directly above an active geological
fault line In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
that could produce a magnitude 8 earthquake. But Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited stated that there was no reason to fear an earthquake of more than magnitude 6.5 at the site, and that the plant could withstand a 6.9 quake. After the Tōhoku earthquake (magnitude 9.1) in March 2011, the plant ran on emergency power provided by backup diesel generators. The emergency generators were not intended for long-term use. Reportedly there are about 3,000 tons of highly radioactive used nuclear fuel stored in Rokkasho at the current time. Japanese radio reported on 13 March that 600 liters of water leaked at the Rokkasho spent fuel pool. According to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', grid power was restored on 14 March 2011. The 7 April aftershock caused the loss of grid power again until the next day.Fukushima Nuclear Accident Update Log
IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...
, 8 April 2011


See also

*'' Rokkasho Rhapsody'' – A documentary by
Hitomi Kamanaka (born 11 June 1958, Toyama Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese documentary film, documentary filmmaker known particularly for her films on nuclear power and nuclear radiation, radiation. Career Graduating from Waseda University in 1984, Kamanaka be ...
on the plant * Nuclear reprocessing; other reprocessing sites: ** COGEMA La Hague site ** Thorp nuclear fuel reprocessing plant * 5 yen coin#Use in nuclear accident investigation * Tōkai Nuclear Power Plant, whose reprocessing facility Rokkasho was meant to succeed to *
Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents These are lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents. Main lists * List of attacks on nuclear plants * List of Chernobyl-related articles * List of civilian nuclear accidents * List of civilian radiation accidents * List of ...
** Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster ** Tokaimura nuclear accident


References


Further reading

*R. Ludwig et al.
Quality Control in the OSL Rokkasho: Status after Four Years of Operation
ESARDA Bulletin, No. 44, June 2010 *CNIC Citizens' Nuclear Information Center: Rokkasho and Japan's Nuclear Fuel Cycle Policy http://www.cnic.jp/english/topics/cycle/rokkasho/index.html {{coord, 40, 57, 45, N, 141, 19, 35, E , region:JP-02_type:landmark , display=title Nuclear reprocessing sites Nuclear power in Japan Nuclear technology in Japan Buildings and structures in Aomori Prefecture Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster Rokkasho, Aomori