Completion of Aomori N-Reprocessing Plant May be Postponed to 2027; 27th Postponement Since Construction Began in 1993

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:00 JST, August 19, 2024

Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. (JNFL) is considering postponing the completion of a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Aomori Prefecture to around the end of March 2027, the 27th postponement since construction began in 1993, it has been learned.

JNFL had aimed to complete the plant in the village of Rokkasho by the end of September at the latest. However, the operator is now considering another delay because it believes it will need an additional 2½ years to deal with inspections by the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) based on its new regulatory requirements established after the March 2011 earthquake, according to sources.

JNFL will officially decide how long it will push back the completion target after the NRA holds a meeting to review the plant’s designs and construction schedule for approval, the sources said. The meeting is scheduled to be held late this month.

The reprocessing plant is at the center of a nuclear fuel cycle policy in which spent nuclear fuel from power plants is reprocessed to extract plutonium and uranium to produce nuclear fuel. The central government has been promoting this policy.

JNFL initially targeted 1997 for completion of the facility. However, the target has been postponed repeatedly, mainly due to frequent errors in the documents submitted by the operator to the regulatory authorities.

A temporary storage facility for spent nuclear fuel is scheduled to open by September in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture. The central government is considering the Rokkasho reprocessing plant as a destination for spent fuel from the Mutsu facility.

However, concerns about securing such a destination would increase if the completion of the Rokkasho plant is delayed.