Japanese Regulator Insists For Searching a Body to Operate the Fast-Breeder Reactor

Tokyo

A lot of issues have been erupted because of the current reactor. Last Wednesday, the nuclear regulator in Japan recommended the government to search for an entity as a substitute to run the uneasy Monju fast-breeder prototype reactor.

The move is a big hold back for the government & the Japan Nuclear Industry because almost One Trillion Yen i.e. 8.25 billion Dollar project is the keystone of resource-deficit Japan’s idea to become ultimately energy self-sufficient.

Last Wednesday, the Head of Nuclear Regulation Authority or NRA, Shunichi Tanaka stated, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency owned by State shouldn’t be relied to run the Monju. He further said that the Government must take another look at the Monju Project to find a more promising solution and reach to a much better conclusion in the next six months in order to provide smooth discharge of this project.

NRA has been set to officially take up the suggestion and forward it to the in charge Minister of Science for Monju in order to bring it under the knowledge of the government by next week.

Most of the fast-breeder reactors are set only with technical difficulties and issues. That’s why many nations have dumped the expensive program of developing and setting up these reactors.

Japan restarted the reactor in August, for the very first time following the latest safety and wellbeing standards that were framed after the very famous Fukushima disaster in the year of 2011. The Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reassured the nervous citizens that the nuclear industry has been made safer with better working conditions.

The Government considered abandoning the Monju development, then Minister of Science, Yoshiaki Takaki stated in the year 2011, a few months after the disaster of Fukushima.

Monju is situated in the Fukui Prefecture, 250 miles or 400 km from Tokyo West, is been created to generate more amount of nuclear fuel than what it uses.

In 1994, it critically reached to a point where the nuclear reaction starts. Later in 1995 (December), since the reactor started the transmission of power, around 1410 lb or 640 kg of Sodium (liquid-form) leaked through the cooling system which lead to a fire.

In May 2010, Monju restarted but after 3 months, it was stopped when 3.3 tons of fuel gearing devices fell down and got stuck inside the vessel of the reactor.