Human resource development for research based on fuel debris study and SEEM-ology buildup (Contract research); FY2024 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tohoku University*

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), has been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") from FY2019. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2024, this report summarizes the research results of the "Human resource development for research based on fuel debris study and SEEM-ology buildup" conducted in FY2024. The present study aims to buildup of "Severe Engineering Management (SEEM)-ology" that enables more rational decision-making in an uncertain and severe environment, and at the same time, to develop research personnel supporting the academic foundation of the extraction, long-term storage, treatment and disposal of fuel debris, which is a central issue in the decommissioning of 1F. Experts in different fields promote multiple research and human resource development tasks in organic collaboration. In the first fiscal year of this study, it was necessary to clarify specific research methods and set the direction in the [SEEM Fields] [Specialized Fields 12] and [Common Engineering Fields 13], as well as to prepare various conditions for necessary tests and analyses. It was also necessary to promote the operation of educational programs related to nuclear decommissioning and the planning of SEEM-related courses. For this reason, the purpose of this fiscal year was to obtain the prescribed results by examining specific research methods and making various preparations for conducting necessary tests, preparing various conditions, building and analyzing some measurement systems, and examining human resource development. Based on this objective, we set the performance targets and implementation methods for this fiscal year as an operational plan, implemented them as planned, and were able to achieve the targeted results in each technical field and education and human resource development activities.