JAEC says “more economical not to reprocess spent fuel
Mainichi Shinbun issued on Feb. 23, 2012, reported a rather important news regarding the future of nuclear energy policy of Japan.
The chairman (Mr. Tatsujiro Suzuki) of Japan Atomic Energy Commission, a subcommittee of the Cabinet Office, announced, “Presently, the most economical way to dispose the spent fuel is to dispose it directly without reprocessing it for another recycled use, at least for the next 20 years.” He added, “Even upon consideration of the rising cost of uranium, the direct disposal costs 50% less than the recycle process.”
Also, he commented that it has been difficult (in the last 50 years of research and development) to make a practical use out of fast-breeder reactors that produces too much plutonium byproducts as they burn the fuel.
These opinions will be reviewed in the new energy and environmental policy discussions and reflected in the new energy policy.
