May 24, 2011
Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Inoue Satoshi on May 23 at an Upper House Budget Committee meeting urged the government to shut down the project to promote fast-breeder reactor ‘Monju’ in Fukui Prefecture.
Inoue cited the following points as grounds for his demand: as coolant, the fast breeder uses sodium, which ignites when exposed to air and water; as fuel, the first breeder uses plutonium, which is highly radioactive; considering these risks and technical difficulties, western countries have given up on fast breeder projects; despite the 948.1 billion yen spent already on the program, Monju has had numerous malfunctions and has frequently halted its operations; operations cost 170 million yen per hour; and an active fault zone has been found near the reactor.
Monju suspended operations in December 1995 after the fire caused by the leak of sodium coolant. Although the plant was back on line in May 2010, it again stopped operating after a device for fuel exchange fell into the reactor.
Concerning the latest accident, Inoue said, “The reactor could have been damaged,” and called for a close inspection.
The reactor building of Monju is located 200 kilometers from an active fault zone.
It is obvious that nuclear power plants could suffer serious damage from massive earthquakes such as the Great East Japan Disaster that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, resulting in core meltdowns and massive amounts of radiation released. If a similar accident happens in Monju, where sodium and plutonium are used, it is inevitable that the accident will be far more serious.
Inoue cited the following points as grounds for his demand: as coolant, the fast breeder uses sodium, which ignites when exposed to air and water; as fuel, the first breeder uses plutonium, which is highly radioactive; considering these risks and technical difficulties, western countries have given up on fast breeder projects; despite the 948.1 billion yen spent already on the program, Monju has had numerous malfunctions and has frequently halted its operations; operations cost 170 million yen per hour; and an active fault zone has been found near the reactor.
Monju suspended operations in December 1995 after the fire caused by the leak of sodium coolant. Although the plant was back on line in May 2010, it again stopped operating after a device for fuel exchange fell into the reactor.
Concerning the latest accident, Inoue said, “The reactor could have been damaged,” and called for a close inspection.
The reactor building of Monju is located 200 kilometers from an active fault zone.
It is obvious that nuclear power plants could suffer serious damage from massive earthquakes such as the Great East Japan Disaster that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, resulting in core meltdowns and massive amounts of radiation released. If a similar accident happens in Monju, where sodium and plutonium are used, it is inevitable that the accident will be far more serious.
