Seven of Kansai Electric Power Co.'s nuclear reactors in Fukui Prefecture are in a predicament as they face three challenges. Anti-terrorism facilities are not likely to meet the deadlines for completion, the local approval necessary to operate the reactors for more than 40 years is unlikely to be obtained, and it is yet to be decided where the power plants' spent nuclear fuel will be stored temporarily.
Nuclear plants in other parts of the country are also fraught with similar problems. Attention is being focused on how to tackle them.
--Deadlines not met
Under the new regulation standards enforced in 2013 in the aftermath of the 2011 disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, anti-terrorism facilities -- which are called "specific safety facilities" as they respond to specific severe accidents -- must be completed within five years of reactor construction plans being approved. If this requirement is not met, the power plants cannot be operated.
Of the seven KEPCO reactors that have cleared the new regulatory requirements, the No. 3 and 4 reactors of the Takahama nuclear plant, in Takahama, Fukui Prefecture, and the No. 3 and 4 reactors of the Oi nuclear plant, in Oi in the same prefecture, have resumed operations. The deadlines for the completion of anti-terrorism facilities at the Takahama plant's No. 3 and 4 reactors are Aug. 3 and Oct. 8 respectively.
However, it took time to cut into the mountain and dig tunnels for construction work, delaying the completion of the facilities until next January for the No. 3 reactor and next February for the No. 4 reactor. It is clear they will fail to meet the deadlines. There is no optimism over the No. 3 and 4 reactors of the Oi plant either, which will face their deadlines in August 2022.
Electric power companies called on the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) to postpone the deadlines. But NRA Chairman Toyoshi Fuketa turned down the request, saying, "There is nothing to say but that their projections were too optimistic."
The earlier the reactors resumed operations, the earlier the deadlines were set for the completion of anti-terrorism facilities. At Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Sendai power plant in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, reactors No. 1 and 2 were forced to be suspended in March and May respectively, after the deadlines were not met.
Hiroshi Horiike, former president of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan and a professor emeritus of Osaka University, said: "None of the nuclear reactors in Japan has met the deadline yet. Reactors are not necessarily dangerous right away just because the deadline [for construction of anti-terrorism facilities] is not met. Therefore, I think it is all right to discuss the advisability of extending the deadlines."
All the same, there is no possibility of the deadlines being extended.
--Over 40 years eyed
It was revealed last autumn that KEPCO executives had received gifts and a large sum of money from the late former deputy mayor of Takahama, undermining the relationship of trust among KEPCO, Fukui Prefecture and Takahama. This affects the operation of the nuclear power plant.
The plant's No. 1 and 2 reactors and the No. 3 reactor at the Mihama nuclear plant in Mihama, Fukui Prefecture, were authorized in 2016 to operate for more than 40 years. Under the new regulatory standards, the duration of operation is set in principle at no more than 40 years. If NRA approval alone is obtained after going through its special screening processes, the duration of operation can be extended by up to 20 years. These three KEPCO reactors passed the NRA screenings successfully ahead of other electric power companies' reactors.
Safety measures in preparation for extending the duration of operation are scheduled to be completed in September for the Takahama No. 1 reactor and Mihama No. 3 reactor and in April 2021 for the Takahama No. 2 reactor. But to operate them for more than 40 years, approval by local governments is also needed.
KEPCO President Takashi Morimoto, who assumed the post last March, has repeatedly said, "[We'll make] the utmost efforts to regain the trust lost." But on the question of operating for more than 40 years, Fukui Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto said that "the issue cannot be easily solved" and "the situation is not at a point where I can comment." Takahama Mayor Yutaka Nose, for his part, said that "the relationship [with KEPCO] has been reset, in a sense."
The deadlines for anti-terrorism facilities are approaching for these three reactors: June 2021 for the Takahama No. 1 and 2 reactors and October of the same year for the Mihama No. 3 reactor. It is feared they cannot be completed in time.
At KEPCO's shareholder meeting held on June 25 with the new management team, one shareholder after another expressed the opinion that the "nuclear power business is unstable."
Prof. Kenichi Oshima of Ryukoku University, who specializes in environmental economics and is familiar with the nuclear power issue, said, "Under the circumstances, in which it will become impossible to ensure profitability, it is no wonder some would raise doubts about the management of the nuclear business."
Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture, has also been permitted by the NRA to operate for more than 40 years, but it is uncertain whether approval can be obtained from the local governments concerned.
--Storage sites not yet decided
There is also the issue of intermediate storage facilities that are built outside the premises of a plant to temporarily store spent nuclear fuel. KEPCO has declared that it will construct such a facility outside Fukui Prefecture, and it must decide on a candidate site for the facility this year.
The utility's previous president, Shigeki Iwane, declared at the end of 2018 that it would "disclose a concrete candidate site at an early date with an eye on 2020." This is because unless an intermediate storage facility goes onstream by about 2030, it is feared that KEPCO's spent nuclear fuel will have nowhere to go.
There are fuel pools for storing spent nuclear fuel on the premises of nuclear power plants, but their capacity is limited. In the case of KEPCO, if its individual nuclear power plants are operated at full scale for six to nine years, there is a possibility that the pool will be filled up.
There is no prospect of a candidate site for an intermediate storage facility being found outside Fukui Prefecture. Gov. Sugimoto said: "The nuclear plant will not be allowed to remain forever. If nuclear power generation is halted, the utility will be asked to vacate the premises." This indicates that the prefectural government has no intention whatsoever of providing a site for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility.
To prevent spent nuclear fuel from being stored for a long time, the Fukui prefectural government imposes an additional tax on fuel stored for more than five years.
As part of the nuclear fuel cycle promoted as national policy, the spent nuclear fuel goes through a recycling process in which plutonium and uranium are extracted.
The reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, which is expected to be the core facility of the nuclear fuel cycle, passed the NRA's safety screening on July 29. But even if the reprocessing plant is put into operation in 2022 as planned, its annual disposal amount will be about 800 tons at the most. The spent nuclear fuel accumulated at nuclear power plants across the country amounted to about 16,000 tons as of the end of March this year, of which about 3,500 tons or 20% was accounted for by KEPCO. The spent nuclear fuel will not decrease sharply through reprocessing.
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