At the burial facility in Rokkasho Village, Aomori Prefecture, among the waste with relatively low levels of radioactivity received from the nuclear power plant, more than 2,000 drum cans were inspected in advance for radioactivity levels due to an error in the program of the inspection equipment. Turns out it was underrated.
Although it is below the standard for burial, Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd., which operates the facility, has said that it will stop accepting some waste until measures are taken to prevent recurrence.
The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Center in Rokkasho-mura is a facility for landfilling relatively low-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants.
According to the operator, Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd., last month, 2,108 waste drums received from Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture, Shimane Nuclear Power Plant in Shimane Prefecture, and Ikata Nuclear Power Plant in Ehime Prefecture were inspected before being transported. It turns out that the amount of radioactivity may have been underestimated.
There was an error in the program of the inspection equipment, so when the calculation was recalculated, it was underestimated, but it was all below the burial standard.
Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited will suspend the acceptance of waste from each power company that used the wrong program until the cause is investigated and recurrence prevention measures are completed.
Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, which manufactured the inspection equipment, is investigating the cause of the error in the program, saying, "I am sorry that there was a problem with the program. We will investigate the cause and strive to prevent recurrence. I'm coming," he says.