Monju reactor unclogged for restart

Well, they finally did it......let's just open another pandora's box while we're at it, like we're not in deep enough trouble already...

Saturday, June 25, 2011 Tsuruga Fukui Pref. — A device that fell last August into the vessel of the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, was finally retrieved Friday, paving the way for resumed test runs by fall, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency said. But due to the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, triggered by the March earthquake and tsunami, it is unclear whether the country's nuclear fuel recycling project, in which the troubled Monju prototype would play a key role, can move ahead as planned. Because it is meant to produce plutonium, were it to experience a leak accident, the danger would be grave.

The agency hopes to resume test runs of the reactor at 40 percent of its output capacity by the end of March, aiming for full operation by the end of March 2014.

www.japantimes.co.jp...

If they're telling the truth, it's great news they retrieved the device without having a grave accident, it was a very dangerous operation. The bad news is they could have left the device in, but they insist on wanting to make the reactor operational, so that's why they risked removing it.

And even worse news is they plan on having it operational by March of 2014, knowing full well that it is meant to produce plutonium, and if it had a leak accident, the danger would be grave. The plant manager already committed suicide, not a good sign of things to come...

Monju is a prototype fast breeder reactor that is designed to be fueled by recycled plutonium from existing nuclear waste. It uses the chain reaction to turn uranium into plutonium at a rate greater than the rate at which plutonium is burned (i.e. it's creating more fissile fuel than it's using). The excess plutonium then can be used to start up more fast breeder reactors from what used to be nuclear waste.

If coupled with advanced recycling technologies fast breeder reactors can utilize uranium over 200 times more efficiently than todays reactors, effectively turning the existing nuclear waste into the worlds largest energy reserve. The United States could be powered entirely for 600 years by destroying two forms of nuclear waste - spent nuclear fuel and depleted uranium. The final waste from one of these reactors lasts 500 years.

It is also possible to run a fast reactor on a cycle where it destroys Plutonium at a greater rate than consumes it, reducing the long term toxicity of nuclear waste by many orders of magnitude while producing energy at the same time.

The only part that I don't like about Monju is that it uses oxide fuel rather than metallic fuel and the possibility of an earthquake. A fast breeder reactor utilizing metallic fuel can be almost impossible to melt down. This safety was demonstrated in 1986:


I did a thread on this technology here. Includes a description of how it works, a presentation by a nuclear engineer, and the rest of the above documentary.

Convert Monju to a metallic fuel. Add passive safety. Restart it. Create essentially unlimited energy.

the Japanese have obviously learned NOTHING.
my respect for these people is totally gone.

reply to post by arufon


'learning' doesn't mean running away and never looking back. the real desaster is their unwillingness to actually seal the reactors. heavy duty equipment would have allowed them to remove the top portion of the exploded buildings and gain direct access to bury them, much like Chernobyl no.4.

but no, they just keep pouring some water on it for time to time and wonder what to do with the contaminated sludge they accumulate.

the summary should read: western regimes have proven unable to address any issue in an effective manner, from economics to emergency management, just BS, denials, lies and an army of experts recommending pretend leadership.

This thread has some further details on this reactor, it's history, and the accident in question.

It is unfortunately the case that cover-ups and mismanagement seem to be rife within the Japanese nuclear power industry.

Add to this the profit incentive that these companies have built in to their operations, and we have the possibility that safety will be either overlooked, or given a very cursory inclusion within operations.

Originally posted by arufon
the Japanese have obviously learned NOTHING.
my respect for these people is totally gone.

Japan is a funny place, and nothing is what it seems. The Tokyo police boast a 95% conviction rate for murders, which to the outside world seems great. But in reality the rate is around 20%, because the only cases classified as murders are the ones that are easily solved. If it's a case with no leads they classify it as an abandoned body, I shyt you not.

I read an article about a Tokyo detective who quit over it. He said that the department was both corrupt and incompetent, but that they did what Japan does best, they put on a false face and say everything is ok.

I've noticed the same thing in many middle eastern countries, they just deny that a problem exists, and everybody is happy.

There are no good outcomes for Japan if they continue to refuse to accept reality.