On returned wastes accompanying commission of reprocessing to foreign countries

The radioactive wastes generated accompanying the reprocessing of spent fuel from Japanese nuclear power stations entrusted to the reprocessing companies in Great Britain and France are expected to be returned to Japan from 1990 on. In Japan, the wastes generated from reprocessing are to be dealt with by reprocessing enterprises, but these returned wastes are returned to electric power companies who made the contract to entrust reprocessing, therefore they have become the problem of electric power companies themselves. It is investigated by establishing the expert committee in the Federation of Electric Power Companies, and obtaining assistance from Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corp. and men of learn and experience. The reprocessing plan for spent fuel in Japan, the features of the new reprocessing contract, the tackling organization in electric power companies, the outline of the foreign reprocessing plants, the specification and quantity of the returned wastes, the long term scenario of the management of the returned wastes, the transportation, storage and disposal are described. (Kako, I.)