14/04 Disassembly of N-reactors a joint effort? / Toshiba seeks cooperation of rival Hitachi

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Toshiba Corp. has proposed to rival Hitachi, Ltd. that the two companies join hands in decommissioning the crippled reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Wednesday.

Toshiba and Hitachi, manufacturers of some of the reactors at the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., had separately proposed their own decommissioning plans, including task lists and timetables.

But Toshiba has hinted that it would revise its decommissioning plan into one to be carried out jointly with Hitachi. A top Toshiba official said, "We're calling on [the Hitachi side] to work with us, as we will be working on the same site at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant."

Of the six nuclear reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the Nos. 1 to 4 reactors need to be decommissioned. It is the first time in the world for four reactors to face such severe trouble simultaneously.

The No. 1 reactor was manufactured by General Electric Co., the No. 2 by GE and Toshiba, the No. 3 by Toshiba and the No. 4 by Hitachi.

Toshiba has called for Hitachi to decommission the reactors jointly, as the difficult task may face rough going in the aftermath of hydrogen explosions that occurred at the Nos. 1 and 3 reactors.

Hitachi has reportedly shown a positive stance on a joint decommissioning project with Toshiba. Even if the plan is realized, the work will take at least 10 years.

On April 4, Toshiba made a proposal on decommissioning to TEPCO, jointly with four U.S. companies, including its subsidiary Westinghouse Electric Co. Under that plan, the decommissioning work would be completed in about 10 years at the earliest.

Specifically, the work of cooling the interior of the overheated reactors and removing debris would be done in the next six months, while the following five years would be spent on removing fuel rods from the reactor and spent fuel rods from a storage pool. In the final five years, the buildings housing the reactors and other equipment would be dismantled, along with the reactors themselves, while the contaminated ground would undergo soil improvement and the whole lot would be left vacant.

Meanwhile, Hitachi has formed a 30-member team of experts, jointly with six other firms, including GE and leading U.S. industrial plant manufacturer Bechtel Corp.

The plan proposed by the Hitachi team includes the work of taking nuclear fuel out of the reactor, the decontamination of equipment and of buildings housing reactors and other machinery, the dismantling of the buildings and the disposal of waste following the dismantling. Under this plan, the entire task would take about 30 years.

The Hitachi plan is based on their experience of analogous work in the aftermath of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant accident in the United States and the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident in Ukraine, then a Soviet republic.

(Apr. 14, 2011)

14/04 福島第１原発：廃炉計画、東電や経産省に提案 東芝社長

　東日本大震災で被災した福島第１原発１～４号機の廃炉について、同原発の建設に携わった東芝の佐々木則夫社長は１４日、「最短１０年で撤去し、更地に戻す」との廃炉計画を東京電力や経済産業省に提案したことを明らかにした。米スリーマイル島の原発事故処理の経験を持つ米原発機器メーカー「バブコック＆ウィルコックス（Ｂ＆Ｗ）」や、東芝子会社である米ウェスチングハウス（ＷＨ）、米電力会社エクセロンなどとともに計画をまとめた。

　計画案によると、今年１０月ごろまでに原子炉を安定的な冷却状態に持ち込み、外部施設や周辺のがれき撤去などを行う。最短で５年後に原子炉圧力容器内の破損した燃料棒の取り出し作業に着手。その後、建屋や圧力容器も撤去し、最短で１０年後の２０年に更地に戻せるとしている。原子炉内の状態も踏まえ、東電などと連携し詳細を詰める。

　東芝はＷＨやＢ＆Ｗなどから技術者派遣を受け、１４００人体制で福島第１原発の事故処理支援にあたっており、廃炉計画も共同で策定した。

　原発の廃炉には２０～３０年程度かかることも珍しくないが、佐々木社長は「工程の進み方で１６年程度に伸びる可能性はあるが、米国では同規模の原発を７年で解体した実績もある」と強調した。

　福島第１原発については、東芝と同じく建設を手がけた日立製作所も、米ゼネラル・エレクトリック（ＧＥ）や米ベクテルなど原子力関連企業と廃炉計画作りを進めている。

【弘田恭子】

• 福島第１原発：「具体策まだ」何度も　東電社長
• 福島第１原発：補償、４月中に仮払い　東電副社長が明言
• 福島第１原発：避難者に補償金仮払い検討　東電社長が会見
• 福島第１原発：周辺地域「２０年住めない」発言　批判続出
• 福島第１原発：「レベル７」可能性、３月に認識　官房長官

毎日新聞　2011年4月14日　19時20分

08/04 Toshiba proposes decommissioning 4 reactors in 10 years

This March 24, 2011 aerial photo taken by a small unmanned drone and released by AIR PHOTO SERVICE shows damaged Unit 3 of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okumamachi, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. (AP Photo/AIR PHOTO SERVICE)

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Toshiba Corp. has proposed decommissioning four troubled nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power station in about 10 years, much shorter than the 14 years that was needed to dismantle the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in the United States, industry sources said Friday.

Toshiba, one of the two Japanese reactor makers, filed the proposal with Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima plant, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, after compiling it with U.S. nuclear energy firms including its subsidiary Westinghouse Electric Co., according to the sources.

Toshiba believes it can rely on the U.S. firms' expertise from the 1979 Three Mile Island accident to decommission the Fukushima reactors.

According to the proposal, it will take about 10 years to remove the fuel rods in the containers and the spent nuclear fuel rods in the storage pools from the four reactors, to demolish various facilities there and to improve soil conditions.

Another Japanese reactor maker Hitachi Ltd., in a tie-up with General Electric Co. of the United States, is expected to file its own proposal, the sources said.

Tokyo Electric and METI are expected to look into those proposals by Toshiba and Hitachi before actually moving to dismantle the reactors.

In this March 24, 2011 aerial photo taken by a small unmanned drone and released by AIR PHOTO SERVICE, damaged Unit 3, left, and Unit 4 of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant are seen in Okumamachi, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan. (AP Photo/AIR PHOTO SERVICE)

The four reactors were crippled due to the March 11 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

In Japan, Chubu Electric Power Co. is currently working on decommissioning two reactors at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, to have it completed by March 2037.

(Mainichi Japan) April 8, 2011