March 30, 2012

Monthly Press Conference

Today, President Kawai held a monthly press conference in Aomori City and talked about the "status of work for recovering the discharge flow in System B of the glass melter", "New Nuclear Policy Planning Council" and "initiation ceremony".

"Status of work for restoring the discharge flow in System B of the glass melter"

  • To confirm the discharge flow, JNFL started re-heating the furnace on the 4th of this month, began the discharge of glass on the 21st of this month, and completed draining the system on the 25th of this month.
  • The furnace is being cooled at present. JNFL plans to check the inside of the furnace using a camera, early next month, and conduct a chipping operation if any residual glass materials are found.
  • The cause of the compromised discharge rate is to be assessed after examining the conditions inside the furnace following the draining of the glass materials, studying the latest discharge performance and analyzing foreign matters collected from the furnace. JNFL will examine the conditions inside the furnace and assess the cause of the compromised discharge rate before making steady and prudent steps forward in a safety-first approach.

"Nuclear Framework Developing Committee"

  • Governor Mimura said at the Nuclear Framework Developing Committee, "The Nuclear Fuel Cycle business was able to proceed purely because of the understanding of the people of Aomori Prefecture. Regardless of whichever scenarios we are to adopt, the understanding and cooperation of local communities are essential. We must avoid adopting optimistic assessments."
  • It is because of the understanding of the people of Aomori Prefecture that JNFL has been able to undertake its business operations, i.e. accepting spent fuels from nuclear power plants across Japan, receiving and disposing of low-level radioactive waste and providing temporary storage for high-level radioactive waste returned from overseas. These operations, in turn, contribute to stable power supplies through nuclear power generation.
  • Fully accepting the sentiments of local communities, future debate should be carried out calmly from a mid- to long-term perspective, in line with the current situation.

"Initiation ceremony" for new recruits

  • The FY2012 initiation ceremony is scheduled for April 2 to welcome 91 new recruits into the company. This will bring the total number of employees to 2,515, with around sixty percent of those from this prefecture.
  • As a community-based company, JNFL wishes to continue sourcing human resources locally as a contribution to Aomori Prefecture's employment environment.