November 28, 2012

Monthly Press Conference

Today, President Kawai held a monthly press conference in Aomori City and talked about "Status of vitrification tests at the Reprocessing Plant", "Establishment of the Engineering Center within the Reprocessing Business Division" and "Establishment of the Council of Reprocessing Businesses."

"Status of vitrification tests at the Reprocessing Plant"

  • Following the completion of inspections on main equipment including emergency diesel generators, JNFL began raising the heat level of System B of the glass melter on November 19.
  • After the completion of the heating operation, the plant will undergo verification tests as in the case of preliminary verification test, and feeding simulated glass beads in one or two batches to examine whether any foreign objects would be generated in the process. It is expected that vitrification tests using actual liquid waste could be started early December.
  • The vitrification tests examine the stability and performance of the plant operation.
  • For the verification of operation stability, actual records obtained from preliminary verification tests are used to bring the glass temperature and gas phase temperature within the range of control target, so as to confirm that the glass melter can sustain stable operation.
  • For the verification of performance, the glass melters are examined to ensure that it can process 70 liters of liquid waste per hour, which is its maximum processing capacity.
  • When a series of test proceeds as planned, the vitrification tests on System B should be completed within a month or so.

"Establishment of the Engineering Center within the Reprocessing Business Division"

  • Individual departments of the Reprocessing Business Division have been looking after the management, design and safety of various projects concerning facility expansion and upgrading. In order to increase its engineering expertise, the Division has realigned its structure and newly organized the Engineering Center to oversee the Project department and Design department.
  • The Project department will consistently handle all the stages of facility expansion / upgrading projects, including designing, construction and test operations. The Design department will handle specialized in-house designs, setting up groups for various design aspects including Process / Machinery, Electrical Instruments and Safety Analysis.
  • This Engineering Center will also merge the Institute of Engineering Development on December 12.
  • JNFL will continue to foster and secure engineers with advanced expertise to reinforce its internal engineering capacity.

"Establishment of the Council of Reprocessing Businesses"

  • The Reprocessing Plant is being supported by many contractors for a range of on-site tasks including plant operation, periodic inspections, maintenance and construction. The Council of Reprocessing Businesses, consisting of around 70 such companies, was set up on November 27 to ensure smooth work operations and reinforce skills training.
  • From now on, this Council will become the central point for offering common personnel trainings such as orientation and maintenance education, previously provided by individual contractors separately, and working in coordination with external organizations in implementing activities for technological and skills enhancement.