The Nuclear Regulation Authority's decision is the latest blow to the Monju reactor and Japan's nuclear fuel cycle programme, which is supported by the government but viewed with deep suspicion by most of Japan's population.
Monju uses plutonium fuel instead of conventional uranium and produces radioactive substances which are designed to be reused as fuel.
After nearly 50 years in the works, the problem-plagued reactor, located in the city of Tsuruga in western Japan, is still struggling to get online.
The watchdog's five commissioners unanimously agreed that the reactor's operator, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, "is not ready to sufficiently secure the safety of Monju."
They said that the operator had repeatedly failed to conduct mandatory inspections on equipment and come up with improvement plans.
Many experts have said Monju is a basket case and that Japan should abandon plans to achieve a full nuclear fuel cycle.
The operator needs at least until January to catch up with the delays in safety checks but it is unknown when the suspension order can be lifted.
Watchdog chairman Shunichi Tanaka said Monju operators "repeated the same mistakes even though they said they were analysing the root cause of the problem.
"I think they lack fundamental understanding about safety."
No comments:
Post a Comment