My recent posts have been about breeder reactors which generate more fissile material than they consume. There is renewed global interest in breeder reactors for the production of nuclear fuel and the destruction of nuclear waste. Today's post is second in a series about the history and current status of breeder reactors in Japan.
The sodium spill and subsequent fire at the Monju reactor in 1995 had a major impact on the Japanese fast breeder reactor program. A special committee was appointed following the accident to review fast breeder plans. The committee was made up of nuclear and non-nuclear experts. It decided that while fast breeder technology should continue to be pursued, it should no longer be considered the ultimate goal of the Japanese nuclear program. They also called for periodical reviews of fast breeder R& D which would consider the practicality of the technology and realistic estimates of the costs of such reactors. It was also suggested that other nuclear alternatives to fast breeder reactors be studied. The JAEC Long Term Plan for the year 2000 took into account these recommendations.
The Long Term Plan published by JAEC in 2005 was renamed the Framework for Nuclear Energy Policy. It formally announced a target for commercial fast breeder reactors of 2050. The Japanese government agency in charge of energy took the Framework and created the Nuclear Energy Plan which included explicit policy measures which would support the realization of the 2005 Framework. The Plan included a call for the construction of a demonstration fast breeder reactor to be operational by 2025. There was also a section of the Plan that compared different types of reactor designs and fuel cycle technologies. Sodium cooling and what is called "PUREX" or "wet" fuel reprocessing were chosen as the most economical processes. These estimates were not based on engineering cost estimates but rather were targets chosen to come as close as possible to matching the cost of energy produced by light water reactors. To make the Plan more attractive, it was suggested that the government and utilities share the cost of a demonstration fast breeder reactor. The utilities would not be asked to contribute more than the cost of a light water reactor.
The budget for fast breeder research was increased for the first time in a decade in 2007. The new Global Nuclear Energy Partnership created by the United States contributed to this new support for fast breeder technology in Japan. There are several reasons that Japan has continued to support fast breeder research even though their research programs has not gone smoothly or been very productive. The Japanese government has created a series of institutions devoted to fast breeder technology and it is not always easy to dismantle government agencies. The Japanese government pours money into areas that host nuclear facilities. The extra income becomes very important in the economics of such regions and there would be great public resistance to the closing of such facilities. Finally, it has been difficult for the government to find suitable locations for permanent nuclear waste repositories. Since the spent fuel pools of Japan's nuclear reactors are being filled to capacity, the ability of fast breeders to burn reprocessed spent nuclear fuel has become more attractive.
The JAEC has been very supportive of nuclear research and development and fast breeder reactors. Given that it has made fast breeder reactors an import priority in Japanese nuclear development plans, it is improbable that the government will withdraw its support for such projects any time soon.
On the other hand, Japan currently has a lot of separated plutonium and will have even more due to the new Rokkasho reprocessing plant. There is little reason to build breeder reactors that produce plutonium. There are issues involving the choice of reprocessing technologies that may make breeder reactors less attractive. There are big question about how much breeder reactors will ultimately cost and exactly how the costs will be distributed between government and utilities. And, finally, Japan is working to increase the life span of light water reactors to sixty to eighty years. If this is achieved, the need for fast breeder reactors in 2050 may disappear. The lost of support for the GNEP by President Obama and the U.S. Congress may also diminish Japanese enthusiasm for the pursuit of fast breeder technology.
Monju fast breeder reactor:
