The Japan Atomic Energy Agency has been ordered to halt three of nuclear research facilities in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, because they do not comply with the law on handling nuclear fuel material.</PARAGRAPH>
<PARAGRAPH>The action taken Friday by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry follows the submission of a report from the agency detailing 46 inappropriate incidents, including lack of reporting and procedural flaws.</PARAGRAPH>
<PARAGRAPH>The agency was ordered to check for problems and submit the report after an anonymous whistler-blower reported in June that a shared duct at the agency's Nuclear Science Research Institute in Tokai was contaminated with radioactive material.</PARAGRAPH>
<PARAGRAPH>The reported problems do not undermine the safety and soundness of the targeted facilities, the ministry said, but the agency has been asked to examine them more in detail and report back.</PARAGRAPH>
<PARAGRAPH>The three facilities are used to test criticality in fast-breeder reactors, static experiments and transient experiments.</PARAGRAPH>
<PARAGRAPH>At the fast-breeder facility, the safety rods used to control criticality have not been tested or approved by the government, the ministry said.</PARAGRAPH>
<PARAGRAPH>At the other two facilities, nuclear fuel materials have been stored for about a decade although the containers they use were only designed for temporary storage, it said.</PARAGRAPH>
<SUBHEAD> JNFL resumes test </SUBHEAD>
<PARAGRAPH> AOMORI –
Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. has resumed the final test for commissioning its fuel-reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, following a four-month hiatus caused by miscalculations of earthquake resistance for equipment.
The test resumed Friday Aomori Gov. Shingo Mimura gave his approval.
The test was getting ready to enter the fourth stage of a five-stage process in April when the miscalculations were discovered.
In the fourth stage, the plant is to produce vitrified high-level radioactive waste while reprocessing 110 tons of fuel.
Mimura gave the green light to JNFL President Isami Kojima at his office in the prefectural capital, saying he "recognizes the improvement measures presented by JNFL and the central government."
But the governor also urged JNFL to strictly implement the measures to prevent the miscalculations from recurring and to report on the results to the local government. The equipment in question was supplied by Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy Ltd.
After reinforcement work on the equipment was completed Aug. 17, Mimura received the OK to resume the commissioning test from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and consulted with prefectural assembly factions, mayors and experts.
Even so, the opening of the plant is likely be delayed until next spring because JNFL will still have to win local support for the plant after the final test is finished.
