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Ruling deals blow to Monju reactor

The Nagoya High Court reversed a lower court decision Jan. 27 and nullified the national government's 1983 go-ahead for construction of the trouble-plagued Monju nuclear reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture - a ruling that could close the plant.

In a landmark decision favoring residents seeking to stop construction or operation of the nuclear reactor, the ruling supported the claim of the plaintiffs, who blamed a massive leak of sodium coolant at the plant in 1995 on shortcomings in the government's preconstruction safety assessments.

On Dec. 18, 1995, 640 grams of liquid sodium coolant leaked from a broken pipe in the secondary cooling system, starting a fire. The 280,000-kilowatt reactor, which was operating at 40 percent of its capacity when the leak occurred, has since been shut down.

It was later revealed that the government operator tried to cover up damage from the accident and submitted a falsified report.

The state-run Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute was given approval by the government in December 2002 to start renovating the reactor, with a view to using it again in the near future, but by calling for the government to reassess the safety measures at Monju, the ruling is expected to make resumption of its operation extremely difficult.

Shukan ST: Feb. 7, 2003

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World News Ruling deals blow to Monju reactor The Nagoya High Court reversed a lower court decision Jan. 27 and nullified the national government's 1983 go-ahead for construction of the trouble-plagued Monju nuclear reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture - a ruling that could close the plant. In a landmark decision favoring residents seeking to stop construction or operation of the nuclear reactor, the ruling supported the claim of the plaintiffs, who blamed a massive leak of sodium coolant at the plant in 1995 on shortcomings in the government's preconstruction safety assessments. On Dec. 18, 1995, 640 grams of liquid sodium coolant leaked from a broken pipe in the secondary cooling system, starting a fire. The 280,000-kilowatt reactor, which was operating at 40 percent of its capacity when the leak occurred, has since been shut down. It was later revealed that the government operator tried to cover up damage from the accident and submitted a falsified report. The state-run Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute was given approval by the government in December 2002 to start renovating the reactor, with a view to using it again in the near future, but by calling for the government to reassess the safety measures at Monju, the ruling is expected to make resumption of its operation extremely difficult. Shukan ST: Feb. 7, 2003 (C) All rights reserved