October 29, 2012

Monthly Press Conference

Today, President Kawai held a monthly press conference in Aomori City and talked about the "status of current initiatives at the Reprocessing Plant", "status of construction at the MOX Fuel Plant" and "Nuclear Maintenance Business Opportunity Fair 2012".

"Status of current initiatives at the Reprocessing Plant"

  • In line with the new schedule for the Reprocessing Plant, announced on the 19th of last month, preparation is underway for the last active test, i.e. a vitrification test.
  • Following the completion of the preliminary verification test (for the vitrification test), the inside of the furnaces of the glass melters in the both System A and B have been examined to confirm that there is no further obstacle for the operation of the glass melters.
  • For use in coming assessment of the results of vitrification tests, the chipping operation for residual materials inside the melters was carried out and completed by the 16th of this month in the both System A and B.
  • Alongside the furnace interior checking and chipping operation, inspections are being carried out on electrical / mechanical equipments and emergency diesel generators across the plant, with steady progress reported.
  • In view of the status of equipment inspections, the vitrification test for the B system is expected by the end of the year.
  • In readiness for the plant completion in October 2013, preparation work will continue to be carried out carefully and steadily in the Safety First approach.

"Status of construction at the MOX Fuel Fabrication Plant"

  • The construction of the MOX plant commenced at the end of October in the year before last, but the disaster forced the suspension of the work for one year. The construction work resumed in April this year.
  • For the seismic safety of the MOX plant, excavation work was carried out to reach the stable bedrock some 24 meters below the ground surface. This work was completed by the 20th of this month.
  • The bedrock is now undergoing close examination, including the visual inspection of geological conditions and the collection of bedrock samples for confirming its strength based on government's pre-use inspection.

"Nuclear Maintenance Business Opportunity Fair 2012"

  • On the 15th of next month, the Nuclear Maintenance Business Opportunity Fair 2012 will be held at the Rokkasho Village Cultural Exchange Plaza SWANY to encourage Aomori Prefecture's local businesses to become involved in the maintenance work for nuclear-related facilities.
  • JNFL has held 'maintenance information sessions' and 'supplies warehouse tours' inviting businesses in Aomori Prefecture since 2006 to offer the description of specific maintenance job required at JNFL and supplies such as waste containers used at the reprocessing plant.
  • Since 2008, JNFL has hosted this Maintenance Business Matching Fair to set up the opportunities for linking maintenance contractors, who play the core role in maintenance job, with local business firms.
  • Last year, a total of 156 local business firms were involved in JNFL's maintenance duties. Among those firms, six of them won the contracts for supplying five kinds of items, including such as waste containers and remote-control equipment.