The IAEA team said JAEA should also prepare for delays in the development of disposal facilities and provide appropriate waste storage capacity for the interim period.
It said the decommissioning programme provides a good basis for implementation, but JAEA should separate responsibilities for research and development and decommissioning to strengthen the focus on each area.
The IAEA said JAEA should promote an expansion of the range of industrial supplier organisations with skills to implement decommissioning work. It called for a framework for ensuring JAEA’s own personnel have the skills needed to implement the roadmap.
The IAEA report was the outcome of an Integrated Review Service for Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Management, Decommissioning and Remediation (Artemis) review which took place from 12 to 22 April 2021.
The government of Japan requested the mission to review JAEA’s back-end roadmap – a long-term programme for decommissioning 79 nuclear research and development facilities over 70 years.
These facilities include prototype power reactors and research reactors, reprocessing and other fuel cycle facilities, waste management facilities, and associated radioactive waste processing and disposal facilities. The roadmap does not cover Japan’s fleet of commercial nuclear power plants or facilities in other research institutes or in universities.
