JPRS ID: 9673 WORLDWIDE REPORT NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT AND PROLIFERATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: JPRS
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00850R000300100036-8
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• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 49
• Document Creation Date: November 1, 2016
• Sequence Number: 36
• Content Type: REPORTS

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JPRS L/9673
20 April 1981
- Worldwide Re ort
p
NUCLEAR DEVELOPME~IT AND PROLIFERATION
CFOUO 7/81)
ti~
~BIS FOREIG~1 BROADC~IST INFORMATION SERVICE
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_ JPRS L/9673
~ 20 April 1981
- WORLDWIDE REPORT
NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT AND PROLIFERATION
(FOUO 7/81)
CONTENTS
ASIA
J_AP11N
- ~Zuclear Ener~.;y Development Programs Discussed
(variou~ sources; va2�ious dates) 1
Nuclear Fusion Research
Pxport of Nuclear Reactors
~ Types af Pluclear Reaetors
Nucle~,r Tra,ining Center
Clear~ing Workers' Clothing
Increased Plant Operating Time
Robots for Nuclear Plants
_ Inspec+ion Systems
' Instrument Calibration Center
Resea.rch Cooperation
- PWR Auto:natic Co:~trol Syste~
. ~IITI'a Subsidy to ABWR
Nagoya University F~xsion Research
t~eact^r ,~Iaterial
?:'lutonium Reprocessing
- MITI' BudF;et for FBR
Comrnercial Nuclear Ships
Import of CANDU Reactor
Radiation Clean-up Technology
' Reprocessing Negotiations With U.S.
. Australian Ta,lks on Reprocessing
N~acle~.r Powered Steel Mill
Nuclear� Waste Disposal
Revision of Nuclear Programs
Ura~nium Enrichment ~Iodel Plant
" ~
. - a - [III - WW - 141 FOUO]
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- JAPAN
NIICI,EAfl ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS DISCUSSID,
Nuclear Fusion Research
Tokqo NIRKEI SANGYO SflIl~UN xn Japanese 1 Jan 81 p 19
[Text] The sun contiaually directs light and heat to the earth. Research and
development on nuclesr fusion, which attempts to duplicate the sun's functions
on earth, are now abaut to enter a new stage. Japan, along with trie United States,
Europaan countries, and the Soviet IInion, is constructiag nuclear fusion experi-
mental facilities and is waging a highly competitive race for '4~ho will be first
- Co achieve auclear fusion." On the other hand, there is a move to av~id duplica-
~ ti,on of research ana denelopment and commitment of vast sums of capital by two
- or more countries joining together in caoperative efforts. On the tec~nological
' front, emphasis is grad~.~allp shifting from basic research to engineering research
focused on practical use. At the same time, aetivities of the industrial sector,
which heretofore has not been much in evidence, have begua to surface. Nuclear
fusion has sometiffies been dubbed "the uJ.timate energq. The path to realization
of this form of energy will be a long one, and it has been said that it will be
- welX into the 21st centu .ry before we wil'. begia tc enjvy its benefits. The
relentless efforts to attain this realization are eapected to have profound
effects on industrial society.
~ Once the narro~r farm road is traversed, one comes to an open area. In the center
of this cleared area, in which trees have been cut and a rough grading has been
made, a square Iwle about 100 meters on each aide and 15 meters deep has been
eacavated. At the bottom of the hole is a cnnczete caisson (box), 20 meters
square and 15 meters high, which is be,ing buried. Tlie occasional operation df
the cr~ne and *h~e bitiag cold wiad which whipa across the area are the only
sounds. Only a handitxl of workers are ia view.
"This caisson will rest 30 meters underground on solid rock. It will house
the JT-60, which in itself weighs more than 4,000 tons," said vur guide, Shinichi
Fusai, rep~r.esenting the director of the construction department of the Japan
Atomic Ea~.:rgy Research Institute (JAERI).
1
r. nn r.~cr~-~ ~ t t rc~r. n~?n v
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Aim of Attaining Critical Conditions
'I'his is Naka-Machi in Ibaraki Prefecture. This is the construction site for the
3AERI nuclear fusion facili~y Iocated roughly 15 kilometers north of Mito. The
Tokai laboratory of JAERI, where the first nuclear fire in ,7apan had been lit,
lies some 6 kilometers to the east. The center of this approximately 1.5-million-
square-meter area is where construction of this large nuclear fusion research
facility "JT-60" is p.roceeding at a co st reputed to be 1.00 billion yen. The
- main body of the "JT-60" will be 15 me t ers in diameter and 13 meters high, and
the experimental facility to house the main body will ~Q 47 meters above ground
when completed. This is a size comparable to the Todaiji at Nara in which the
oreat Buddha is housed.
It is almost 25 years since nuclear fus ion research was initiated in Japan. The
"JT-60" is one of the breakthrough events in this research and d~velopment history.
Plasma of 100 million d~egrees confined for the duration of one second--the
, so-called critical conditions--is the target of this facility. That is to .say,
- the goal is to establish whether nuclear fusion can be achieved by human hands and
to lay the groundwork for its practical use {n the future.
It is now more thar. 2 years since cons t ruction was initiated. "Construction has
progressed in a very orderly manner," according to Fusai. The greater part of this
construction is expected to be co~:~plet ed during JFY 82. The installation of the
"JT-60," wh-~ch is now being fabricated by Hitachi Ltd as primary builder aided by
- Tokyo Shibaura Electric and Mitsubishi Electric, will start about that time. Then
the experiments to attain critical conditions will finally begin in 1985.
~Iuclear fusion reaction is the energy source by which the sun has been sending
forth its light and heat from time iu~emorial. If we can reproduce this reaction,
= mankind will be able to assure himself of an inexhaustible ultimate energy source.
At the same time, one gram of "fuel" consisting of deuterium from sea water and
- tritium, when used f_n a fusion reaction, will provide energy equivalent to that
furnished by the oil in a single 80-ton tanker. A nuclear power plant burns one
gram of uranium to generate energy equivalent to that present in 1,8 tons of oil,
and nuclear fusion can produce far mfl re energy per unit weight of fuel.
Nucle:~r fusion has already been demons t rated in practice through the hydrogen
bomb. On the oCher hand, the reactor is not designed to discharge all its energy
in a fraction of a second, but to release t~e energy more gradually to enable
more effective utilization and set up a"sun on earth," according to the present
aims of research and development. Now, Chere are a number of breakthroughs
which are necessary before this goal can be attained. How shall we create the
superhigh temperature and superhigh density conditions which are absolutely
essenti al to attainment of a nucZear fusion reaction?
Intensifying Confrontation of Advance Guards of Various Countries
"To be honest, up to 5 years ago, I myself doubted that nuclear fusion could be
~ achieved by human hands, but I am now convinced that we will definitely r~alize
- nuclear fusion power without fail," said Director Hidetake Kakihana of the Nagoya
University Plasma Laboratory. As the result of a quarter century of research and
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development, we have used experimental facilities to come within a step of
creating a nuclear reaction. It is only one more step until we attack the
_ remaining barrier before practical attairYment of a nuclear fusion reaction, and
that will be rhe dupli~ation of the critical conditions. JAERI's "JT-60" is
- planned to break this barrier.
At present a fierce vanguard competition is taking place worldwide between various
countries intent on breaking this barrier. These include the American "TFTR,"
the European alliance "JET," and the Soviet "T-15." A number of these large
facilities of a class comparable to the "JT-60" will be making their appearance
in the next few years. Department head Yukuo Kobata o~ the MAERI Nuclear Fusion
Research Department said: "We will be left far behind if we are too complacent.
We cannot relax."
Nuclear fusion development has often been referred to as a"money-eating worm."
The "JT-60," which will not produce any energy for consumption, alone will cost
about 200 bil]ion yen. The next step facility will cost several times that of
the "JT-60." The Atomic Energy Commission revealed that the development funds
necessary for the 10-year period from 1978 through 1987 will total ro~~ghly 670
billion yen. Since this total does not include university-related funds, the
to~al funds required will amount to considerably more. Including uriiversity-
related funds, nuclear fusion devP_.l.opment funds, which totaled 900 million yen
in 1973, increased to about 17.4 billion yen 5 years later, in 1978, and to 35.8
billi~n yen in JFY 80.
How do we come iip with these funds, which keep on doubling? This is a common
lament amc~ng the countries involved. In this situation, a movement has arisen
proposing that the next step of the experimental nuclear fusion.reactor development
be attacked through international cooperative effort as exemplified by the IAEA
(International Atomic Energy Authority) and its "INTOR" as well as two or ~nore
countries' cooperative efforts such as the Japan-U.S. nuclear fusion research
cooperation and other multiple country cooperative effor~s. "A country poor in
resources such as Japan must not fall behind in nuclear fusion development. On
- the other hand, we must not only be competitive with the world but we must a.lso
havE good cooperation with the rest of the world. It is important from here on,
that we adopt a mixed development strategy involving both competition and
cooperation," sa~d Director Kakihana.
Engineering Step Is Next
"The JT-60 will be a scientific demonstration of nuclear fusion. In other words,
it will make a breakthrough in the scientific area. Nex~ is the engineering
demonstration, when we finally enter the technology stage," said permanent
adviser Kenz~ Yamamoto of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum. Adviser Yamamoto
was responsible for the formation of. the "Nuclear Fusion Technology Roundtable"
in February 1980 comprised of related industries from the forum.
After the critical conditions are attained, a second barrier lies in wait in the
nature of maintenance and control of the "f3re" of nuclear fusion. This barrier
_ will involve the solution to such problems as the optimum shape of the facil~~y,
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- the materials suitable to withstand the harsh conditions involved, and the manner
- in which Che energy is extracted. These are the engineering problems which
need to be resolved. Technological d~:velopmental strength in the hands of the
- industrial sector is a must if ttiis barrier is to be broken. "The breaking of
this second barrier may well come near the end of the 20th century, but we must
start making preparations for this breakthrough," said Mr Yamamoto. It appears -
that the time is approaching when the industrial world, which until now has been
~ staying in the background, will begin to play an impo rtant ro1e.
COPYRiUHT: Nihon Keizai Shimbunsha 1981
- Export of Nuclear Reacto rs
Tokyo vIKKAN KJGYO SHIMBUN in Japanese 6 Jan 81 p 1
['I'ext ] The ~iinistry of International Trade and Industry will promote the export
~f i~u~lear power plants as one phase of its promotion of the domestic nuclear
puwer industry and information gathering related to export structures as goals
for the first half of the 1980's. This situation came about because while the
va~ious domestic power companies were giving their a tteution to the location of
power pZants and the domestic nuclear reactor. industry was developing to the
stage that it even possessed export capability, as soon as the nuclear reactor
industry saw the potential demand from the developing countries for nuclear power f
plants, it began to urge export to these "virgin soil s." Any reactor for export
at present ~aill have to be a light water reactor, and all the nuclear reactor _
companies are polishing their light water reactor technology. At the same time, ~
they have begun to seek revisions to the domestic and foreign "limiting conditions"
as they relate to nuclear power and to various han~l ing procedures, thereby
removing the barriers to export.
Fierce competition is taking place in the internatio nal nuclear power plant market
- between Westinghouse (WH) and General Electric (GE) of the United States, West
Germany's Kraut Werk Union (KWIJ), Sweden's Acea Atom, France's Framatom, ar.d the _
Suviets. President Carter's nuclear nonproliferation policy and the U.S. Three-
Mile Tsland incident were responsible for a number of order cancellations, and
tne internatienal demand for nuclear power plants is stagnating at present. On -
the other hand, the sharply intensifying oil situation has made nuclear power
plant revival necessary. The U.S. Government, which has great influence on the
international nuclear power situation, has now come under the leadership of
Reagan, who is a"nuclear power extremist," and this is interpreted to mean that
the international auclear power ~arket will see some activity.
In .Janan, the power companies introduced light water reactors manufactured by the
American WH and GE companies to get their start in nuclear power generation,
- and the domestic nuclear reactor industry still remains under the influence of
the WH and GE light water reactor technology. This industry has yet to export its
Eir~t nuclear power plant.
No~a, r_tie light water reactor modification and standardization plan initiated by
~ tlle Ministry uf International Trade and Industry in 19$0 is the wedge that has
Eorced open the development of a Japanese type light water reactor distinct from
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the American technology, and it is expected that in a few years light water
reactor technology of an even stronger domestic flavor will be established.
At Che same time, there are movements toward utilizing the well-known light water
reactor te~hnology to develop an array of domestic light water reactors, including
~mall and medium reactors. Even while the nuclear reactor industry was building
up to this present capability, the Japanese nuclear reactor industr~ was pushing
to export its first nuclear power plant as one phase of establishing the business
�oundation of each nuclear power reactor company.
The Ministry ~f International Trade and Industry is not only promoting nuclear
reactor industry development through involvement in the new "export" concept
but is also promoting removal of the various barriers which have stood in the
way of export.
Japan is restricted by multiple country agreements such as the nuclear
proliferation treaty (NPT) as well as bilatera~ agreements such as ttie Japan-U.S.
nuclear power cooperation, and these agreements impose a number of barriers.
This situation is tt~e result of the handicap this country received from being
- a defeated nation together with the fact that Japan is almost completely lacking
in uranium resources tr~ fuel its reactors, making it necessary to import the
uranium :.eeded from foreign sources, and this was accompanied by these inter-
national restrictions.
~ Despite these limitations, Japan has been able gradually to build up its
independence and autonomy and has begun to establish its own independent fuel
cycle. In the midst of these changes in the environment surraunding Japan's
nuclear power situation, export of damestically produced nuclear power plants
has become feasible, and the various preparations for this export are being
promoted.
The ministry said: The statement that Japan cannot export nuclear reactors"
is not basically written into the various agreements and it will seek new
tnterpretations while it aims for the mid-eighties to initiate export of
~ domestically produced power plants.
COPYRIGHT: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbunsha 1981
Types of Nuclear Reactors
Tokvo NIKKAN KOGYO SHIMBUN in Japanese 6 Jan 81 p 6
[Text] Activity is intensifying in the nuclear power industry to enter into
d~velopment of new-type power reactors. The fast breeder reactor (FBR) which is
the udds-on favorite of the fission reactors, the new-type converter reactor which
ties together the classic light water reactor and the FBR reactor, the
multipurpose high-temperature gas reactor which not only will produce power but
will be used in steelmaking and coal liquefaction and gasification, and the
nuclear. fusion rea~:tor which is expected to be the energy sour^_e for the 21st
_ centur.y are the targets of national projects which the electric power industry
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:~nd nu~�Jear powec c>qulpment makers have been pointing toward through new
prumotional systems and active reinforcement of manpower training in an accelerated ~
- manner urith the transition to the decade of the eighties. There is a particular
desire to bring the FBR to the practical operating stage during the nineties, and
in i9$0 the electric power industry set up a"Fast Breeder Reacior Development
Section" within the .Japan Atomic Power Company along with a"Fast Breeder Reacto~
Yromotion Council" and a"Fast Breeder Reactor Development Preparatory Section," -
while the electric power equipment industry established a"Fast Breeder Reactor
Engineering" group. In the area of the nuclear fusion reactor, Hitachi Ltd has
already set up its "JT-60" (critical plasma test facility) Promotion Headquarters,
and Toshiba its "JT-60 Promotion Project Team," and the development systems are -
being steadily reinforced. Because of this situation, the trends in the nuc~ear
power industry were investigated with regard to the long term development strategy
of ne~a-type power reactors.
Fast Breeder Reactor
Concerning tlie PBR, which has uranium utilization efficiency of 60-80 percent, -
far superior to the efficiencies of light water reactors, the Atomic Fnergy
Commission in its JFY 80 Annual Report on Nuclear Power (white paper) indicated
that this reactor will become gr.actical in the decade begj.nning in 1995. The
development promotion policy involves the experimental reactor "Joyo" (designed
thermal output 100,00C~ kW, which went critical in Apri1.1977), the prototype
reactor "Monju" (e:iectrical output 280,000 kW, expected to go critical in December
1987), and a 1-million-kW class demonstration reactor of the same type along
abo ut the start of the decade beginning in 1995, while the first practical reactor
is targeted for criticality in the latter half of the decade beginning in 1995,
according to the scenario that has been unfolded.
What has newly appeared on the scene as a problem is the line of development. .
The ~tomic Energy Commission, the Science and Technology Agency, and the Power
Reactor and NucJ_ear Fuel Development Corporation (DONEN) have adopted the strategy
of pursuing independent technology development and have been pouring vast sums of
money and huge manpower to this end, while the electric power industry, which is
hoping to acquire operating experience as rapidly as possible and lay *he corner-
stone for a program of disengagement from light water reactor dependence, wants
, to look into the possible "introduction" of technology from other leading
~~ou~tries. In otli~r words, the users as represented by the electric power
compr.inies are pointing toward the adoption of a two-pronged attack through
ii~ciependently developed technology and importe~3 technology to hasten the day
t~~�it the transition to the FBR fuel cycle can be made smoothly.
I'here i5 ~uiisidera'~le room �or study on this problem of introduction, for Japan
i.~; sir~ady ]0 years or so behind the so-called leading countries such as France
an~t r.he Sovier_ Union, and the fulcrum of the FBR fuel cycle, the spent fuel
renrocessing plant, is on~y now at the stage where DONEN has initiated basic
research.
The e].ectric power industry is very concerned that such problems are causing _
~ie.~3y:~ in th~ development of the FBR, and the problem FBR zntroduction will
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probably undergo during the eighties will be one of the major nucl~ear power policy
problems.
The prototype reactor "Monju" now under construction at Tsuruga city in Fukui
Prefecture, on which construction is way behind schedule, received notification
of having met its first safety inspection from Governnor Nakagawa af Fukui
Prefecture in December 1980, and DONEN sent an application for siting approval
to the governor, indicating new movement toward development.
The construction cost of "Monju" will be 322 billion yen, and this, together _
with the fuel and the costs of the comprehens ive functional tests following
completion, will bring the total cost close t o 400 billion yen. The country will
bear 80 percent of this and private interests the other 20 percent. Of the share
of private interests, 60 billion yen will be borne by the nine power companies
along with Japan Atomic Power Company and the Electric Power Development Company
for a total of 11 companies, while another 20 billion yen will be accounted for by
Hitachi Ltd, Toshiba, Mitsubishi Electric Industry, and ~uji Electric groups. -
The electric power industry set up a Fast Br eeder Reactor Development Sectian"
- within the Atomic Power Industry on 16 February last year, and this section will
~ become the window through which support and cooperation on the technology front
will be issued. In addition, the four companies, Hitachi Ltd, Toshiba, Mitsubishi -
Heavy Industries, and Fu~i Electric, on 1 April of the same year reorganized and
expanded the FBR engineering office they had been mai.ntaining and established the
"Fast Breeder Reactor Engineering (FBEC)" with a capitalization of 300 million yen.
The electric power industry, on the other hand, plans to start coc~struction on -
the next step to the prototype reactor, whic h is the 1-million-kW class demonstra-
tion reactor, during the first half of the decade beginning in 1985, to go critical
at the start of the decade beginning in 1995. As one phase of r.his development,
the DENJIREN (Electric Industry Alliance) established the "Fast Breeder Reactor
Promotion Council" and "FBR Development Prepaxation Section" to s~:udy long term
basic strategy for the development system of the FBR demonstrarion reactor. At
the same time, promotion of the conceptual design for the demonstration reactor,
survey research related to this design, and information exchange with both
donestic and foreign or..gans are being promoted.
The makers are planning to have FBEC serve not only for development of "Monju"
but for the development of the post-demonstration reactors as well, and the
principal functions of this facility are to have control over FBR design and
engineering and onsite construction projects.
Ler_ us next look at the FBR development stra tegy on the part of the electric power
equi{~ment makers. _
First of all, Toshiba has set up a plan which envisages 199~-].994 as the starting
time for construction of the first practical FBR reactor, and it plans to establish
itself as the main contractor by setting up the "FBR Engineering Center" within
the next 10 years, for whict: it is making pl ans. T.his company served as ~anager
of the software area during rhe experimental reactor stage and was in charge of _
core design so that its stor::house of technological informata_on is extensive.
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It is expected r.~ handle core upper section construction, control systems, and
rotary plugs.
At the same time, Hitachi Ltd is planning reinfrrcement of its manpower in the
so Ft areas, including design and inspection, and it has been increasing its
manpower at the rate af about 100 people a year since 1977 at its plants, which
- include Hitachi Engineering, Babcock-Hitachi, and other related industries. On
~he experimental reactor, this company is in charge of the prtmary coolant system
and certain equipment (such as nuclear reactor container, safety container,
intermediate heat exchanger, sodium pump, electromagnetic pump) design and
production. It also will handle the primary cooling system and heater for the
vaporizer to be used in the prototype reactor. _
The Mitsiibishi group--Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric, and
Mitsubishi Nuclear Power Industry--also has some designs in FBR development. It
tias set up a 3-year program for the prototype reactor and a S-year program for
the demonstration reactor and is engaged in bolstering its manpower and improving
its production technology. In the area of manpower, it has put together a force
of 300 design and research people and is planning annual increases of 10 percent,
by which means it hopes some day to equal the 1,100-manpower force for FBR
wo rk which the U.S. Westinghouse (WH) Company has put togeth~r. Up to now it
ha~ put out a total of 6-7 bill.ion yen for facilities, including 600 million
yen in 1980. It is planning to handle the nuclear reactor container, the
. structures within th~i:~ conrdiner, and the containment vessel for the prototype
reactor.
This comoany is plarning nn information exchange progrlm including technology
with the WH company.
l~uclear Fusion Reactor -
The strategy on the reactor type for the nuclear fusion reactor, which is expected =
to become the energy source of the 21st century, is still uncertain. The
inertial confinement method is represented by the laser and ion beam modes, while
the magnetic confinement method is represented by tokamak, mirro r, heliatron, _
stellarator, and bumpy torus modes.
Both the Science and Technology Agency and JAERI are now taking the tokamak
patli, and the Science Council in November 1980 decided on tokamak while also -
~~nducting parallei studies on the heliotron and laser modes but emphasizing the ~
tokamak approach in its "long term policy on nuclear fusion research for
universities and other organs." In this manner, Japan has taken the step to
maKe the tokamak mode its mainstream of developmental efforts in fusion research
- ~~~st as the Western countries have done.
Japa~1 has many research results along the lines of takamak development, and -
JAERI has accumulated experience in plasma heating technology and technology
to operate nuclear fusion reactors, which had been operated in a pulse mode in
the past by continuous operation just as a fission reactor. In the develo pment
- of tt~e international cooperative power experimental, reactor INT~R, in which
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Janan, the Soviet Uniany and the EC participated, the Japanese played ar. important
role in tY:e design. At the same time, studies are under way to construct a
Japanese type nuclear fusion reactor similar to the "Star Fire," which was
desi~ned at the Argonne National Laboratory in the United States.
~ Now, the nuclear fusion reactor is expected to follow the FBR and surface as
a large energy source of commercial nature, and the five industrial groups-- _
which are the group headed by Hitachi Ltd along with Tokyo Atomic Power Company,
tha group of which Toshiba is the main figure along with Japan Atomic Power
- Company, the Mitsubishi Atomic Power Group headed by Mitsubishi Electric and -
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the First Atomic Power Industry whose main companies
are ruji Electric and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and the Sumitomo Atomic Power
Group--are participating and conducting vigorous research and developm~nt.
Hitachi Ltd and Toshiba are planning to set up their intracompany structure as
rapidly as possible, and in April 1978 Hitachi was successful in obtainin6 an
order of 38.7 billion yen from JAERI for parts for the "JT-60" includino the main
body of the reactor, and this acquisition was the occasion for establishing its
"JT-b0 promation headquarters" (present director, Takio Iwano) in August of the
same year. _
These two companies have already accumulated 20 years' experience in fusion -
development, and some of their orders include the Osaka University DCX; Hitachi-
Central Research Laboratory's IBIC; Nagoya University Plasm.a Laboratory's TPD
and BSG; Kyushu University Applied Dynamics Laboratory's sphenoid coil; Nagoya
University Plasma Laboratory's TPD2; Kyoto University's solenoid coil; JAERI's
JFT2 and improved JFT2a; Kyushu University's Applied Dynamics Laboratory's
TRIAMI; Hitachi Energy Laboratory's noncircular plasma experimental facility;
JAERZ's JT-60; Nagoya University Plasma Laboratory's JIPP-I and JIPP-II; Kyoto
_ University Heliotron Nuclear Research Center's Heliotron DM, and E; and
Toho ku Un~v~rsity's Aspirator NP,.for a total of 20 or so projects.
In addition, participation in these big projects is being planned by a Hitachi
group hea~ed by Hitachi Ltd, including Hitachi Cables, Hitachi Kasei Kogyo,
and Hitachi Plant i;unstruction. �
At the same time, Toshiba established its ~'JT-60 promotion projects" in May 1979
(present project m:inager, Junichi Nagamura) and has been sponsoring an annual
nuclear fusion equipment exhibition since 1977; it is projecting its involvement
in nuclear fusion. This company has a record of a large number of orders for
~~icl_ear fiision equipment and has supplied experimental equipment to the Doublet
III pawer source under construction by GA Company of the United States, and the
power supply to the poloidal magnetic field coils of the JT-60, which make up
part of the 20 or so orders it has handled. It has produced heating pqu~pmsnt
such as the neutral particles injection device for the JFT2 and the LCT super-
conducting coils for domestic research facilities as well as 20 other items. It
has also participated in the INTOR conceptual design and blanket design methods.
In another directicn, an innovational develogment to the tokamak concept was
proposed by .J,~ERI whi.ch envfsages the placing of the reactor main body in a pool
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p~ol of water, aad Mitaubishi is engaged with JAERI ia e.xploring the feasibility
o f this . -
Multipurpose High-Temperaturz Gas Reactor
The multipurpose high-temperature gas reactor has been tabbed as the ticket ~hich ~
will enable the shift from oil to nuclear heat to provide the nonelectrical
energy which accouats for tw~-thirds of the total primary energy consumpt~on.
Research and development on this reactor is being conducted by JAERI, which
contracted out the detailed desiga for a thermal output 50,000-kW experimental
- reactor in 1980 with the hope it will ge critical in 1987, and this contract wa~
issued to the Four nuclear power groups, Fuji Electric, Hitachi Ltd, Mitsubishi _
Aeavy Industries, and Japan AtQmic Power Industry. In chargs of this desiga
= wi11 be Fuji Electric, which has ties with Kawasaki Heavy Industries, making it
a very powerful force in the atomic energy field.
Since these two companies were sr~mewhat behind other companies in the matter -
of light water reactor development, they put their main developmental efforts in
- the direction of new-type ~~wer reactors. One of their first moves was the ~
_ establishment of a nuclear power promotion headquarters within the confines of ~
Fuji Electric. T}:e ~ain func~ian of this headquarters is to serve as a cooperative
o utlet with the national pro j ects in which DONEN and Jf~ERT are engaged . Ten
- years later, in April I979, the name of this organ was changed ot "Fuji-Rawasaki
Heavy Industries Nuclear Power Promotion Headquarters" to play up their joint
participation, and President Fukushige Shisnido was made headquarters director
- while President Zenshi Umeda of Rawasaki Heavy Industries was appointed
assistant director, znd the board of directors was set at 28 members, of which
- Kawasaki supplied 10.
' In addition to its engagement in multipurpose high-temperature gas reactor
development, Fuji Electric is also involved in fuel handling facilities for the _
_ FBR e:cperimental reactor and the ATR prototype reactor "Fugen" along with radio-
active waste trsatment equ~ipment and engineering safety protection equipment.
It expQCts to hand].e the same line of equipmeat for th~ FRR prototype reactor.
At the same time, Rawasaki Heavy Industries is conducting research and development
- an the soft and hard issues of the three main pill3rs of new~type nu~clear
reactors, which are the multipurpose high-temperature gas reactor, the FBB, and -
the nuclear fusion reactor. This com~any entered into a technology cooperation
- agreement with the U.S. General Atomics (GA) Company in September last year on
matter; pertaining to the multipurpose high-temperature gas reactor.
Tfze top problem faced by this company is personael. This company has available
a total of close t~ 500 people in the software end, and it plans to incr~ase
this rumber by 10 percent a year. Fuji Electric has a 3-year program which it
plans to initiate in 1981 which will be centered on the new energy area and
e3ectronics to develop new technologq, and one phase of this new development has
been the acquisition of 40 college graduate techaologists who will be engaged in _
intprmediate operat~.ons. This company hired 170 college and specialty school
gr3duates ~or regular service last spring and p1~:~ns to hire another 250 this -
spring. -
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At the same time, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries also has considerable experience
in multipurpose high temperature gas reactors. It has a high-temperature
helium loop installed at its Nagasaki Laboratory equipped WiCh various test loops
for high-temperature high-pressLre, materials, and helium purification use. This
setup is available because this company had once intended to become involved iti
the power gas reactor, as a result of which it has abundant test equipmen~ and
personnel, and the spinoff to the multipurpose tcigh-temperature gas react~r
- development is large. In addition, Hitachi Ltd has been participating in
dez~elopment of the multipurpose high-temperature gas reactor since 1973, and it
has been prompting mainly development of the nuclear reactor pressure vessel,
- inteimediate heat exchanger, and high-temperature distribution line type primary =
cooling equipment.
Development of New-'I`ype Power Reactors (1980)
21 Jan--Sixth Japan-United Kingdom FBR Conference convenes
14 "--Ion temperature of 6.4 million degrees (latei� 7 million degrees) attained -
by the turbulent flow type tokamak nuclear fu~sion facility of the Applied Dynamics
Laboratory of Kyushu University
- ?9 Jan--Atomic Energy Commission establishes the ATR Demonstration Reactor Evalua-
tion Study Special Committee
1~~eb--First inspection of ATR prototype reactor
--FBR experimental reactor boosted from 50,000 kW thermal output to 70,000
kWt
16 Feb--Japan Atomic Power Development Company establishes its Fast Breeder
Reactor Development Section
28 Feb--INFCE ends, utilization of plutonium as espoused by Japan and Europe
o p er s up
1 Api----Fast Breeder engineering (FBEC) organ established
11 "--4th IAEA Larbe Tokamak Facility Technology Committee convenes in Tokyo
18 "---Toshiba sp~~nsors fourth Nuclear Fusion Equipment Exhibition
24 "--Federation of electric power companies presidents' meeting decides to =
host ~BR promotiot~ conference and FBR development preparatory section
4 Jur~ -JFT2 of JAERI attains plasma beta value of maximum 10 percent (later 11
perce:zt), which is tops in the world
16 Jun--Toshiba receives order for 525,000-kBA vertical type pulse generator for
the Doublet III nu~lear fusion experimer.tal facility from the American GA company -
19 Jun--Osaka University Laser Nuclear Fusion Research Center completes Japan's -
' largest glass laser generating facility Gekko XII module -
--Electric Power Producers Association establishes 10-year plan for
promoting technolo~;ical development strategy concepts concerning FBR and related
items.
8 Aug--DONEN starts plutonium mixture conversion plant
1~ep--JAERI sends out orders for detailed design crfmultipurpose high temperature
gas reactor to four atomic power groups such as Fuji Electric
r3 Sep--Kawasaki Heavy Industries enters into technological cooperation with
- American GA company on high-temperature gas reactor
18 Jan--Institute of Physical and Chemical Research succeeds in separating
tritium fuel for nuclear fusion reactors by infrared pulse laser method
- 9 Oct-JAERI attains magnetic field of 6 tesla with superconducting magnet
11
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(niobium-titanium) for nuclear fusion use
30 Oct--DONEN purchases 2 tons of heavy water from China through commercial
companies
- 10 Nov--Science Council proposes long term nuclear fusion research promotion plan -
~ fo r universities and similar organs
14 Nov--DONEN sends Japan's first plutonium fuel to ATR
14 "--JAERI operates electron cyclotron resonance heating experiment with JFT2
and succeeds in elevating plasma electron temperature to 12.8 million degrees
9 Dec--Minister of Educati.on Tanaka is in agreement with promotion of nuclear
fusion by industrial and academic worlds and industry-academia cooperative system
10 "--DONEN submits applicaticn for locaCion of prototype reactor of FBR to
Prime htinister Suzuki -
C~PYRIGHT: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbunsha 1981
Nuclear Trainin~ Center
Tokyo NIKKEI SANGYO SHIMBUI3 in Japanese 8 Jan 81 p 3
- [Text] Kansai Electric Power has revealed its policy of engaging in earnest -
construction of a"Nuclear Power Repair Training Center" aimed at strengthening
repair and control capabilities of nuclear power plants, setting a target date _
of 7 October 1983. This type of facility has already been established by American
potaer companies and Tokyo Electric in Japan, but Kansai Electric plans to build
= on a much greater scale than the preceding facilities, with the thought that this
w~.ll jmprove the repair and control system which is vital ti~ nuclear power _
d~~velopment .
1'he Kansai Electric concept envisions the use of the major equipment found at
a nuclear power plant along with some simulated equipment and various instructional
facilities at this training center. There will be a regular complement of 40
- people, and training will be provided to bring a novice up to the level of an
exr,erienced operator. Some specific duties to be learned are the disassembly
and a~;sembly of the nuclear reactor container, spot inspection of the steam
generator, and fuel rod installation, which are all necessary to periodic
inspection and on which there will be drills to the point that actual onsite
e~cperience can be ~~bCained.
- This c:pnter will ccver a ground area of 158,000 square meters, of which 5,000 _
square meters will 'oe taken up by buildings, and the cost is expected to be 6
billion yen. Constriiction is expected to begin in the early part of 1982 and
to be completed in October 1983. Kansai Electr~c says that the site is still
undetermined, but since all of this company's sevea reactors are in Fukui
P refecture, it is expected that this center will also be located in Fukui
Prefecture.
Kansai Electric operates pressurized wate r reactors, and this center is designed
to provide training in repair of this type reactor; however, it plans to make
this f.acil.ity available to other companies should they requesC its use. _
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_ ~Canrai Elactric obtains 2S parcent of it~ power from nuclear sourcea, and it ia
a~~a~~d in ell-aut afforte to acquire nuc?ear power ae an oil subetituXe. It
alfirsr th~t tbt cos~atruction of an actual tra~lning center will aerve to guard
hafor~hand egainat nquipmant trouble and improve the operating rate of nuclesr
po~nr productioa.
COPYRIGIiT: Nihon Keizai 3himbuaaha _
Claani.ag Workere' Clothing -
Tokqo 1QIKKEI 3A~GY0 3SII~UN in Japaaese 9 Jan 81 p 7
[Tatt] Hitachi Ltd hae eet up a policX of ~mphasfzing dry cleaning of clothing
and other art icleo Workars ~vear cloae to their bodiee as one means of lowering
the raleao� of r4dioactive materials from nuclear power plante. Tokyo Shibaura
has ~~tabli~hed a~yst~m which coacentrates and aolidifiee liquid wastes from
tha wa~hing psoca~o~e at auclear power glanta ao that the radioactive material
io rnot ralus~d outeid~ tha coafiaas of the pocaer plaat, and thia company has
rsceiwd ordera for such a eyetem from Tokyo Electric's Fukuehima No 1 and No 2
nuclear poWOr plante mnd Tohoku Electric's Onnagawa nuclear power plant (to go
iato operation 1982-1984j. In contrast to thie system, the Hitachi concept _
- iavolvae dry claaning of the clothing so as to avoid the use of water and thereby
~limiaate this waah water problaa, and there is a growing competition between
these two compani~e ia the area of "cleaning systeme." -
Tha Hit4chi dry cleaning syetem ie baeically the same syatem as that used by a
~en~ral dry cloaning eatabliehmant. The only difference ie that if there should
b� ~oma radioactive contaminant adheriag to a w~rker's clothing, gloves or
eoclca, a proc~ee ie introduc~d ~hich prevente the release of any of the
r~tdioective matarial to outside the plant. Thia company eays: "We are already
at a e~age at ~hich wa caa davalog aa order receiving activity" (Yoshiro -
Teutsui, h~~d of Nucl~ar Power Induatry Departmant), indicating the degree to
which thie eyetsm twa bean developad. -
Th~ problam aith laundry stflwnt from nuclear powar facilitiee ia said to be
- th~ damag~ caua~d by ths conc~ntration of tha radioactive products by the
foam produc~d by th~ cl~ansing ag~nt, and the system praeantly in uee at the
varioun poroer plants is to dilut~ thie waste water with sea watar before
di~posxl into eha s~sa. Ther4 14, howav~r, the ALP (as low as practical) principle
- ahich propoe~s "hnrq aftort to miu~ize any ralease of radioactive materiais
from tha conlia~s o~ a nucloer power plant" which pervades the thtnking of the
concarnad pwpl� ia the auc].aar poNer field ao that there is consensus on the -
id~a that '~ov~n wastae from laundrq procedurea will not leave a plant" which
is nsp~cted to bn put into affect in the next coupZe of yeare.
Toshiba dev~lop~ed a low foaming washing agent in eatabliehing a cleaning method
along trt?e linea of the forr.wr watar waeh inwlving washing, waste liquid
concentration, solidification, aad etorage, quite un].ike the dry cleaning approach.
Thia companq pointed out that "dry cleaning is rather ineffective in removing
- per~piration rasiduee from uuderwear, and thie ia a point o� particular concern
to Japanabtl workere' faelinge, ao that there ia no choice but to go to a water
wa~h."
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Toohiba admits dry cleaning may be possible for outer wear and has purchased
dry cleanits~ aquipment from the Allied Nuclear Company of the United Statea,
which is a radioactive ~aste treatment eervice company. A hot test ueing
clothing ~ctusllq used in radioactive material handling ie at present under way. ~
COP1fRIGHT: Nihon Reizai Sh3mbuneha 1981
- Incxeasad Plant Operating Time
Tokqo NIKKEI SANGYO SflII~UN in Japaneae 10 Jan 81 p 3
' [Tezt] Laet yeax the facilitiea utilization rate (operating rate) of nuclear
power plantB (for the whols country) averaged above the 6-year plateau of 60
percant, and not only ia the power induatry happy at the~e results but the
euparvieary govarament organa such ae the Ministry of International Trade and _
Induetry aad the Raeources and Energy Agency are do.lighted. The facilities
utilization rate, which barely broke the 50 perceat mark in 1979 in line with
the U.S. Three-Mi1e I~laad incident, was turned around in one sw~~op by an increase
_ of mare than 10 perceat in the courae of a year, and the concerned people cannot
be faulted for their elation.
Incrsaead Performance of lle9 Percent in One Step �
What ie giving thn concerned people cause for this elation is thQ complete gbaence
of any form of eCructural damage auch as atLess corrasion cracking or leake in
the amall pipes of the ateam generator during the entire last year's operation.
This is why each pow~!r company has iac.reas~d ita watchfulneas for the coming year,
- tha the Miaietry of Internatioaal Trade and Induatry said: "We hope to guide the
induetry to a better than 65 percent operating rate as an average for the whole
- couatry" (Shigao Suehiro, head of Nuclear Power Operation Supernisory Department,
Rseourcee and Energy Agancq), revnaling ita optimism. .
The average for the year from Jaauary through DECember 1980 for all nuclear power
plante in the country wae 61.1 percent, whieh repreeented an improvement of 11.9
parcent over tha 49.3 parcent for 1979.
When claeeif ied according to reactor tqpe, Tokqo Electric Power, Chubu Electric
Po~vsr, Chugoku Elmctric Power, and Japan Atomic Po~var Company whieh operate
BWR (boil iag water type light watar reactor, total of 11 reactors) averaged 63.4
porc~ut, whizh rapreeent4d continuation of the better than 60 peYCent level from
laat ysar'a 62.0 perceat.
On tha other hand, Kaneai Electric Power, Shikoku Electric Power, and Ryushu
Elactric Power which use the PWR (pi.aseurized light water reactor) eaperienced
the very low opara~ing rate of 32.1 percent in 1979 as a result of the Three-Mile
Ieland incidaat, but rebounded in one year to the gr~od level of 58.3 percent,
and the diffarence in their operating rate compared to the BWR was cut down to 5.1
. percent. The GCR (gae cooled reactor, 166,000 kW output) which Japan Atomic
Powar Company has baea operating aince 1966, diaplayed the very high operating
rate of 69.7 percent, poeetbly a raflection of 15 years' operating experience.
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Nuclear power plants are required by law to undergo periodic inspection once
every 13 months. On the other hand, the actuai situation is that "an overhaul
after every 9 months of operation prevents trouble before ~.t occurs" (section
head Suehior), which represents the judgment of the Energy Agency, and the preeent -
practice is to operate for 9 months and undergo periodic inspection for 3 months
- during the course of a y~ar.
' The Upper Limit Is About 73 Percent
- This is why the facility utilization rate of 75 percent represents full operation -
by desk-top calculation, but the actual situation is that a reactor requires
_ considerable time to start and stop so that 73 percent represen~s the more
realistic limit. Accepting this 73 percent as the upper limit value, the
facilities' utilization rate for 19t30 will be 83.8 percent, and this is cal~ed a -
- "superior performaiice." When the different power companies and the Energy
Agency hold their heads high, it is because they can take pride in this accomplish-
ment in view of the somewhat miserable 40-percent level performances of the past.
'The reasor the concerned people were so elated at this utilization rate exceeding
- 61 percent is that there was virtually no incidence of new trouble. The BWR
plants of JAERI's Tokai No 2; Tsuruga No 2; Tokyo Electric's Fukushima Nos l, 3, 4,
and 5; Chubu Electric's Hamaoka Nos 1 and 2; and Chugoku Electric's Shimane power
plant were subjected to "periodic inspections every 3-4 months at the outset
according to p1an, and the results of these inspections revealed no new need ~
for repair (Resources and Energy Agencq), and this reflected the rather satis-
factory state even wi~?en viewed by the supervisary organ.
There was, however, the incident of stress corrosion cracking at Tokyo Electric's
Fukushima Nos 1, 2, and 3 in 1974, at which time it was decided to make the
repairs during the periodic repair periods for the next few years, as a result
of which the period:ic inspection periods were extended to 7-8 months or roughly
twice the regular periodic inspection period. The repair of this corrosion
cracking will probably require until about 1983, but "the worst is over"
(Nuclear Power Development Headquarters of Tokyo Electric) according to informed
sources so that the periodic inspection periods hereafter will be reduced consider~
ably, and the facility utilization rates are also expected to rise.
Excluding the small incident of the electrical systam which required about 10
days to repair, the troubles which were of concern to the operators were all
limited to thos~ developed at the PWR of Kansai Electric. These were the
- Takahama No 1(826,000 kW output, initiated operation in Plovember 1974) and the
Oii No 1(1.175 million kW, started operation in March 1979).
During the periodic inspection of Takahama No 1 in May, cracks were discovered
- in the splitter attached to the distribution line at the inlet to the primary
coolant inlet of the coolant pump, which was followed by the discovery of -
stress corrosion cracking in the small distribution pipes of the steam generat4r
in July and primary coolant leak at the welded section of the air bleed to the
pressure accumulation injection system in October. This extended the periodic
inspection duration from 4 to 8 mvnths.
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� va\ V~ ~ a~.~AL VJLi Vl\L �
Damage to the support pin of the control rod cluster guide tube was discovered
during the periodic inspectian of Osaka No 1, and the end result was that the
- inspection period was eatended to 10 months. These two trouble ~.ncidents served
to pull down the uttlization rates of PWR greatly, but these troubles were
repaired satisfactorily, and there seems 1{ttle possibilitq of repeated troubled
from these sources.
In this mauner, the events of 1980 reversed the situation that resulted after -
the Three-Mile Island incident, but there is still another reason why the industrq
and the EnergSr Agency have high hopes for I98I and that is that the m~..ny efforts
which were put forth in the paet are finallq coming to fruition.
Prevent Troubles Before 'I'hey Occur
With the aid and guw.dance of the Energy Agency, the power companies were able to
expand the space within the nuclear reactor containmeat vessel and use robots
~ (automated equipment) to automate inspections and thereby advance improvemP.,nts ~
- and standardization to nuclear power plants. At the same time, the control rod
pattern altering system was improved, and the fuel rod replacement ratio was
increased. This has opened the way for a chaage from the 9-~onth periodic
- inspection to a 13-month periodic inspectfon as prescribed by law. It is thought
that in 1981 tbese improvements aad standardizat~ons will "begin to pay off to a
considerable extent" (Nuclear Power Operation Control Department).
The control system of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry has been
undergoing reinforcement siace April of last year, and this is also thought to aid
the situation. Becasse of the reaction to the Three-Mile incident, the Ministry o =
International Trade and Industry installed local agencies at 15 sites
nuclear power plants are located to serne as special offices to supervise opera~-
tions. 1'he officer at each of these offices wae assignec~ to be in ciose touch with
the operation and safety situ~tioT of the power plaat, aad it hae beea said that
' "this system should be verq effective in preveating trouble before it starts"
(section head Suehira).
- Improvement ia the operating rata of a nuclear power plaat, wit~a its low power
~ cost, will play a large role ia keeping electric Fower costs low and in aiding
the diseagageanent from oil. It wr~uld ~e ~reat if it were possible in 198I to
- top the highest operatiun rate achieved ia the past, 64.8 percent (1971 by four
plants), to, say, 65 percent.
Facility Utilization Rates of Nuclear Power Plaats (X)
' 1 B~aa~ 45~# ~ q~ a8~ d9~ 50~ st~~ sz~ S~ 5ar~' S5~'
B W R - T6.2 63.5 67.7 66.1 65.0 26.6 6d.0 26.3 53.7 62.0 .63.1
( 1 ) t2) (2) (2) (4) (a) (6) (6) (10) (11) (11)
P W R - 91.t 65.6 50.8 50.1 56.5 e5.9 53.6 d8.8 55.2 32.1 58.5
(t) (1) (2) (2) (3) (5) (6) (7) (1) (9) (9)
G l'~R 62.Q' S9.3 69.5 67.2 70.b 67.2 69.0 69.8 67.6 69.9 10.6 69.7