Japan's nuclear regulator on Wednesday gave the green light for operations to begin at an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, the country's first such facility outside the premises of a nuclear plant.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority approved the safety checks made by the operator on the facility, which is considered safer than a conventional one as it uses the natural circulation of air to cool the spent fuel rather than electricity and water.
In conventional wet storage facilities, located on the premises of nuclear power complexes, spent fuel is kept under water but space has become extremely limited.
In September, 69 fuel assemblies arrived at the interim storage facility in Mutsu in the northern prefecture of Aomori from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex in Niigata Prefecture.
The spent fuel is intended to be shipped out for recycling. But the reprocessing plant, also located in Aomori Prefecture, is still under construction.
The storage operator, Recyclable-Fuel Storage Co, has signed an agreement with local governments to store spent fuel for up to 50 years. But there are concerns among locals that the storage period might be extended due to the delayed completion of the reprocessing plant.
Among other utilities nearing capacity for spent fuel, Kansai Electric Power Co and Chugoku Electric Power Co plan to jointly construct an interim storage facility in Kaminoseki in the western prefecture of Yamaguchi.
