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Uematsu, Kunihiko

Nuclear power in Japan has played an important role in supplying electric power. Namely, the total electricity generating capacity of 22 operating nuclear power reactors has reached approximately 16 Gigawatt as of October 1981. This is the third in the world in nuclear power generating capacity. A certain amount of the spent fuels from these reactors has been reprocessed at the Reprocessing Plant of PNC at Tokai since September 1977, and as a result about one hundred cubic meters of high level liquid waste (HLLW) have been generated and placed into storage tanks. Fig. 1 summarizes the expected amount of accumulation of vitrified HLLW in Japan. The Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) of Japan is now making efforts for the development of such new types of reactors as LMFBR and HWR, and all areas of the nuclear fuel cycle including uranium enrichment, mixed oxide fuel fabrication, reprocessing of LWR and LMFBR spent fuels, waste treatment and disposal. Technologies deveped by PNC will be utilized during the commercialization stage of the respect fuel cycle activity. As a typical example, planning for the construction of a commercial reprocessing plant by Japan Nuclear Fuel Service Co., Ltd. (JNFS) will be facilitated through the systematic utilization of the experience of PNC obtained at the Tokai Reprocessing Plant. Difficult problems are still remain to be resolved within the fuel cycle development. One of the major roles of PNC is to promote the management of high level and alpha bearing waste which is indispensable in completing the fuel cycle in Japan.