I. Introduction
It was about sixty years ago when the first and the last two atomic bombs actually dropped where the human had been living. The nuclear technologies have developed so rapidly since then. Japan is one of the countries which actually have received benefits from such technologies, particularly from the aspects of energy resources. Though, it is said as peaceful utilization of nuclear, we, Japanese, unconsciously admit using “nuclear,” and it is assumed that Japanese does not seemed think seriously about whether the nuclear power is used safely or dangerously, effectively or not. Regarding to the ordinary citizens, it is highly possible that their only concern is stable energy supply. The most obvious example seems to be the Rokkasho reprocessing plant, or the nuclear fuel cycle installation, where the nuclear waste come from Japanese nuclear power plant, as well as repatriated radioactive waste from Britain. Rokkasho is one of the largest facilities all over the world, which consisted with reprocessing plant, uranium concentration plant, low-level radioactive waste burying center, and high-level radioactive waste burying and managing center (Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center). It has been constructed since 1994 and planed to run 2008. It is now making a test installation on the fourth stage out of fifth stages. From many perspectives, it is controversial issue even if it is apparently for peaceful utilization. Although it once seemed and argued to be beneficial and harmless to run the Rokkasho reprocessing plant, it is assumed that the reasons for running it have been proved unacceptable by following reasons; the risks on human health and the plant potentially having, the unpractical cost, concern over proliferation. This paper firstly describes the basic knowledge and explores the current situation surrounding the Rokkasho as well as Japan, then clarifies the major problems, and finally suggests possible solutions referring to the other countries.
II. Knowledge and Current Situations
Before clarifying the problems that Rokkasho potentially containing, it needs to be described that the knowledge about what the purpose and the roles of Rokkasho, and what the current situation is in Japan and outside of Japan. The purpose of Rokkasho reprocessing plant is to recycle the spent nuclear fuel and reproduce the Plutonium and Uranium out of it, which is available as an energy resource for nuclear power plant (citation).That is, used fuel from conventional nuclear power stations sent to reprocessing plant to be separated into plutonium, uranium and nuclear waste. Plutonium itself is a material for making nuclear bomb which will be discussed later. This plant simultaneously emit radiation into the ocean, into the air. This type of plants exists only in couple countries except Japan, namely Cogema's facility La Hague, France; British Nuclear Fuels Limited's (BNFL) Sellafield plant in Cumbria, England; and at Mayak, Russia (Citation). Yet BNFL is stopped because of serious accidents, which happened on April, 2005. This accident was “a highly radioactive mixture of plutonium and uranium fuel that was dissolved in concentrated nitric acid leaked through a fractured pipe into an enormous steel chamber,” and decommissioned(Citation).
Current Situation
III. Identifiable Problems
A. Risks (of accidents, on health)
In this paper, major three identifiable problems are going to be discussed. First of all, it is no doubt that there are risks from some aspects; risks on human health, and risks of accident which also have some bad effects on human. The radioactive contamination appears as cancer in many cases, especially leukemia. Once reprocessing plant started to run, the radioactive contaminated water is kept emitting into the ocean, river, soil, and atmosphere. As the studies as to Sellafield, West Cambria, Britain, and La Hague, France indicate increased incidence rate of leukemia of people living in the vicinity of them (Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. title: The incidence of childhood leukaemia around the La Hague nuclear waste reprocessing plant (France): a survey for the years 1978-1998), (Black, Investigation of the possible increased incidence of cancer in West Cumbria, HMSO 1984). From these surveys, as it is well known fact that radioactive influence human health in a very silent and cruel manner, it is not exaggeration to say that to running the facility leads to the serious disease or death of the people living neighborhood. Dr. Imanaka Tetsuji, the member of Nuclear Safety Research Group of Kyoto University, also acknowledges that the rate of becoming leukemia of the people age 0-24 living in a village three kilometers from Sellafield’s plant is at least 10 times more than the average (Imanaka). In varying degrees, the contamination around the plant and negative effects necessarily occur.
Next to it, it is impossible to say that the plant is absolutely safe. The accidents past verify there are many causes and risks. Once accidents happened, there is no way but to wait time passing until radioactive disappears, however it takes quite a long time to get rid them. There is no way to clean up the radioactive emitted from the plant. As mentioned in introduction, the leak accident at Sellafield reprocessing plant drove them decommissioned. In addition, one of the reasons why
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Accidents once happened; no way but to decommission
B. Cost
The constructing cost
Comparison of directly discard cost and reprocess cost
C. Concern over proliferation + Waste
Conflict btwn non-proliferation policy and reproduced plutonium used for depleted uranium bomb, or DP bomb
No need extra plutonium, there is already extra in Japan.
IV. Additional Info.
V. Conclusion
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