NRA sets no timeframe for establishing low-level waste safety regulations

摘要

Despite the growing number of reactors being decommissioned inJapan, the country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority has not set atimeline for establishing regulations to assess the safety of low-levelradioactive waste, delaying submission of a decommissioning plan forone reactor, NRA's chairman said March 27.“We have no concrete timeline” for setting the safety regulationsfor LLW that is categorized as L-1, Toyoshi Fuketa said at a pressconference.Low-level radioactive nuclear waste in Japan are divided into threecategories - L-1, L-2 and L-3 - based on the degree of radioactivity. Themost radioactive L-1 waste, including used control rods and otherequipment or components that have been inside a reactor, must beplaced in a container for disposal at least 70 meters (224 feet)underground, according to NRA. The safety regulations for such wastehave not been established, while the safety guidelines for L-2 and L-3 arenow being revised again by NRA following the previous revision in 2013.