Japan nuclear watchdog to stop troubled plutonium-burning test reactor over safety violations
Source: Associated Press
Japan’s nuclear watchdog announced Wednesday that a trouble-plagued next-generation test reactor will not be allowed to restart due to safety violations, dealing a setback to the country’s pro-nuclear government.
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Many experts have said Monju is a basket case and that Japan should abandon plans to achieve a full nuclear fuel cycle. The previous government tried to terminate Monju under its nuclear phase-out plan, but Abe’s government quickly reversed course as it pushed to restart commercial reactors that have been idle since a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant.
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Watchdog chairman Shunichi Tanaka told reporters that Monju’s operator lacked a “safety culture” and deserved severe action.
“They repeated the same mistakes even though they said they were analyzing the root cause of the problem. I think they lack fundamental understanding about safety,” Tanaka said. “Despite the lessons we learned from the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident, it seems a safety culture is still insufficient in Japan.”
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But with both Monju and Rokkasho having technical problems, Japan has built up a large stockpile of plutonium extracted overseas and at home, causing international proliferation concerns.
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Read more: http://m.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/japans-nuke-watchdog-to-stop-troubled-plutonium-burning-test-reactor-over-safety-violations/2013/05/15/9c8b3238-bd2b-11e2-b537-ab47f0325f7c_story.html
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