December 27, 2011

Monthly Press Conference

Today, President Kawai held a monthly press conference in Aomori City and talked about the "Aomori Prefecture Nuclear Safety Measures Examination Committee", and "Current status of our activities at the Reprocessing Plant".

"JNFL's emergency safety measures including responses to suggestions by the Aomori Prefectural Nuclear Safety Measures Examination Committee"

  • Yesterday, Governor Mimura approved JNFL's emergency safety measures.
  • JNFL is committed to implement emergency safety measures instructed by the government, and continue to make every efforts to accomplish the Examination Committee's advice to maintain unfailing efforts, aiming "perfect safety" as a nuclear facility operator.

"Preliminary confirmation test for the Vitrification Facility"

  • Preparation for heating up the melting furnace has been almost completed, therefore, JNFL is now making final confirmation before starting to heat the furnace early next year for the preliminary test of the Vitrification Facility. As for the status of work within the vitrification cell, the inspection of major equipment operated prior to heating the glass melting furnace, such as the glass material feed system and vitrified waste handling equipment, has been completed.
  • In implementing the test, JNFL intends to prioritize safety assurance and proceed with utmost caution.

(MOX Fuel Plant)

  • Since the construction work for the MOX Fuel Plant involves excavation, it cannot be handled in winter months when there is severe snowfall. The actual work is therefore to be resumed in spring.

"Looking back this year"

  • It has been a year that made us re-recognize the "importance of safety and of taking safety measures for events that we consider to be highly unlikely".
  • Reaffirming the fact that trust from local people is essential for our business, JNFL intends to take on emergency safety measures from the perspective of how we can address emergencies to avoid causing any inconvenience to the local people, rather than thinking that emergencies are extremely unlikely.
  • The government has begun engaging in various debates on the energy policy.
  • Since the energy policy is a theme of extreme importance that could affect the nation's future, it should be discussed calmly not only in terms of economy but also from a broad range of perspectives including supply stability and environmental compatibility.
  • JNFL strongly expects future debates to be based on the facts that stable power supply through nuclear power generation has been made possible because of the understanding of the local people in Aomori Prefecture, and that Japan's international rights for being the only country with no nuclear weapons to be approved of nuclear fuel reprocessing should not be easily abandoned.
  • JNFL will make each effort steadily for the development of various businesses, with top priority on safety.