FURTHER DELAY AT JNFL'S ROKKASHO REPROCESSING PLANT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 003299 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/J, ISN/NESS JAN FLADEBOE, DOE FOR NE-6 CRAIG WELLING, NE-5 CARTER SAVAGE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM ENRG TRGY NRR MNUC PUNE JA SUBJECT: FURTHER DELAY AT JNFL'S ROKKASHO REPROCESSING PLANT ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL) is still experiencing technical difficulties related to its high level waste vitrification melter at Rokkasho and announced on November 25 that it will delay the end of its active testing phase from November to February. Officials at JNFL are still optimistic testing can be completed by February and expect regulatory commissioning to take an additional 1 to 2 months after the end of testing. End summary. JNFL delays end of testing at Rokkasho -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Econoffs and DOE attaches met with representatives of Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL) to discuss the status of the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant (RRP) November 21. Yuchiro Matsuo, Managing Director and Executive General Manager of JNFL's Corporate Planning Office, gave a presentation detailing recent technical difficulties with active testing at RRP and the company's outlook for the future. ¶3. (SBU) Matsuo noted JNFL was originally scheduled to finish active testing and begin obtaining regulatory approval for commissioning in November, but would have to announce a delay to the schedule due to unresolved technical difficulties. The President of JNFL announced November 25 that the company is postponing the end of testing from November 2008 to February 2009. According to Matsuo, assuming the testing can be completed by February, the company will begin work finalizing regulatory approvals and concluding safety agreements with local governments. Matsuo noted that the company foresees that next step of the process taking between 1-2 months. Operational history and technical challenges -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Matsuo provided a run-down of the recent history of RRP's operation of the high level waste vitrification melter. In November 2007, the company started producing vitrified waste. After some canisters had been produced, it encountered technical difficulties related to the accumulation of platinum products on the electrodes inside the melter. JNFL stopped production, cleaned the system, and developed operational procedures to avoid the problem in the future. ¶5. (SBU) In July 2008, JNFL started the process again, and found another problem in the lower portion of the system, related to accumulation of the vitrified waste on the heating coils that surround the flow down nozzle that serves at the output of the melter. The JNFL stopped production again, cleaned the system, and determined how to prevent the problem by adjusting the existing operating parameters such as temperature. ¶6. (SBU) The JNFL resumed active testing in October, and produced 15 batches of product. At this point, JNFL changed its input material and began including zircalloy fines (small debris) that result from cutting up the depleted fuel assemblies. After this change, the system began experiencing a problem related to the uneven distribution of these fines within the vitrification chamber. Specifically, JNFL is observing a reduction in resistance around one set of electrodes in a region where it believes platinum group elements are preferentially accumulating. Since the melter uses resistance heating across the melt, this change in resistance also reduces the temperature in that region of the melter. The JNFL has since added a stirring rod that it can use in emergencies to prevent any material buildup around the electrodes, but JNFL hopes to be able to solve the problem using adjustments to the process' operating parameters (heat, ratio of inputs, etc). JNFL's melter involves complex controls using interdependent process parameters. Such startup issues are not unusual for complex systems. Comparison to the Tokai process -------------- ¶7. (SBU) When questioned about why this problem is occurring at Rokkasho and not the Tokai Reprocessing Plant, where the JNFL reprocessing technology was demonstrated, Matsuo noted several differences in the waste systems at the TOKYO 00003299 002 OF 002 two plants are affecting JNFL's results. First, the Rokkasho system is much larger and thus operates somewhat differently. Second, the operator at Tokai has not tried to introduce the zircalloy chips in the vitrification, and simply stores them on site. Finally, the two processes use a different type of glass. The Tokai system uses porous cubes that absorb waste material quickly, while the Rokkasho process uses smaller glass beads. All of these factors, Matsuo said, result in new challenges for JNFL compared to the experience at Tokai. SCHIEFFER