Back to 2006 listUtilization plans for plutonium recovered at the Rokkasho reprocessing plant
January 6, 2006
Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.
On September 13, 2005, Chubu Electric Power announced a plutonium-thermal project at the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant and expressed its intentions to use plutonium recovered at overseas reprocessing plants and at the Rokkasho reprocessing plant of Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited.
Active testing using spent nuclear fuel is to begin in February 2006 at the Rokkasho reprocessing plant, to which we ship spent nuclear fuel, after which plutonium recovery will begin in Japan.
With the goal of clarifying plans to use the recovered plutonium and ensure the transparency of related procedures, we will announce our plutonium usage plan as outlined in the attached document.
"Japan's Basic Principles for use of Plutonium" (determined by the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan (AEC) on August 5, 2003) requires that Japanese electric power companies announce plans for use of plutonium recovered at the Rokkasho reprocessing plant.
Plans for use of plutonium recovered at the Rokkasho reprocessing plant (in FY 2005 and FY 2006)
Given below are the plans for use of plutonium (*1) recovered at the Rokkasho reprocessing
plant in FY 2005 and FY 2006:
| Owner | Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. | |
| Amount of plutonium to be reprocessed (*2) (tons) | FY 2005 | 0 |
| FY 2006 | 0 | |
| Amount of plutonium in possession (*3) (tons)(amount of fissile plutonium) (*4) | FY 2005 | 0.0 |
| FY 2006 | 0.1 | |
| Purpose of use (used as light-water reactor fuel) |
Place of use (*5) | Reactor 4 at the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant |
| Amount of recovered plutonium to be used (*6) (tons/year)(amount of fissile plutonium) | 0.4 | |
| Timeframe for use of recovered plutonium (*7) | FY 2012 and after | |
| Duration of use of recovered plutonium (*8 ) | approximately 0.3 year | |
*1 Chubu Electric Power commissions overseas reprocessing plants as well as the Rokkasho reprocessing plant to reprocess its spent nuclear fuel. We currently have approximately 2.6 tons of plutonium (approximately 1.7 tons of fissile plutonium) in France and approximately 0.9 tons of plutonium (approximately 0.6 tons of fissile plutonium) in Britain for a total of approximately 3.5 tons of plutonium (approximately 2.4 tons of fissile plutonium). (The sum of individual figures may differ slightly from the total due to rounding to a single decimal place.)
*2 Plans call for 15 tons and 258 tons of spent nuclear fuel to be reprocessed in FY 2005 and FY 2006, respectively, at the Rokkasho reprocessing plant. However, spent nuclear fuel shipped by Chubu Electric Power will not be reprocessed in both fiscal years.
*3 Although spent nuclear fuel shipped by Chubu Electric Power in FY 2005 and FY 2006 will not be reprocessed in both fiscal years, the amount we anticipate to be assigned to us (amount of fissile plutonium) based on the deemed allocation is defined as the amount of plutonium in our possession. (This amount may be specified as 0.0 due to rounding to a single decimal place.) The recovered plutonium will be assigned to electric power companies based on the amount of fissile plutonium contained in the spent nuclear fuel which they have commissioned Rokkasho plant to reprocess. This amount is defined as the deemed allocation.
*4 Plutonium 239 and Plutonium 241 are fissile materials.
*5 Recovered plutonium other than that used at Reactor 4 of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant may be transferred to the Oma Nuclear Power Plant of the Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. or the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.
*6 The amount of recovered plutonium to be used is the target amount of plutonium used for a year; 0.4 tons/year of fissile plutonium is equivalent to 0.6 tons/year of total plutonium.
*7 The timeframe for use of recovered plutonium is FY 2012 and after, at which time the Rokkasho MOX fuel fabrication plant is to be completed.
*8 The duration of use of recovered plutonium is calculated by dividing the amount of plutonium in possession by the amount of recovered plutonium to be used.
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