Japan restarted its controversial “fast-breeder” nuclear reactor yesterday, more than 14 years after suspending operations following an accident, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) said.
After getting a final government go-ahead, workers began removing control rods from the Monju Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor in the northern fishing town of Tsuruga, said Toshihisa Sakurai, a spokesman for the agency.
Monju, which means wisdom, uses a fuel mix of plutonium and uranium instead of the conventional uranium used in regular light-water reactors. Such reactors produce or “breed” more plutonium than they consume
Monju’s initial start-up in August 1995 lasted only four months. It was shut down on Dec. 8 of that year when more than a tonne of volatile liquid sodium leaked from a secondary cooling system.
No one was hurt and no radioactivity escaped, but Monju’s operators came under fire for concealing videotape that showed extensive damage to the reactor.
The accident and cover-up created widespread public concern over the safety of nuclear power.
Major industrialized nations initially rushed to develop the “dream reactors,” but technical problems, along with fears over the proliferation of weapons-grade plutonium, have led many to withdraw from the projects.
France shut down its last fast-breeder last year. Besides Japan, Russia and India are now the only nations that operate fast-breeder reactors, with China also hoping to start this year.
Japan gave the green light for the Monju relaunch earlier this year, with plans to commercialize fast-breeders by 2050.
Monju director-general Kazuo Mukai said yesterday the nuclear reactor was reactivated after one of its control rods, which had been inserted to prevent an atomic reaction, was lifted.
Dozens of workers in the control room clapped in celebration.
The reactor is expected to reach criticality — the point when a nuclear chain reaction becomes self-sustaining — tomorrow, but is not scheduled to generate power at full capacity until 2013.
Monju’s relaunch was delayed for years in part because of outrage over the cover-up.
“I never thought it would take so long to restart Monju,” said JAEA adviser Hiromi Tanabe, who recalled joining the clean-up of the leaked sodium coolant after it had violently reacted with oxygen and moisture.
“We know by now how important it is to disclose information to the public,” he said, after footage of control room operations was broadcast.
Japan has few energy resources of its own and relies on the nuclear power generated by more than 50 plants for nearly a third of its domestic electricity needs.
Opponents of nuclear power stress the risk of earthquakes in Japan, which is located at the intersection of four tectonic plates, dotted with volcanoes and is regularly hit by strong tremors.
The Tokyo-based group the Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center said: “We believe that Monju is an accident waiting to happen and that it is, therefore, irresponsible to restart the plant.”
The group said that during the plant’s long closure, its equipment and piping had aged and two active seismic faults below the site that were previously denied had now been recognized.
“We demand that the government stop playing Russian roulette with our lives and permanently close down Monju,” the non-profit group said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese