In a proposal submitted to The Asahi Shimbun, researchers at an international group of nuclear experts outlined steps they say Japan must take to break away from its “failed” nuclear fuel recycling policy.
Masafumi Takubo and Frank von Hippel of the International Panel on Fissile Materials noted that Japan currently has 44 tons of already separated plutonium, enough to make more than 5,000 Nagasaki-type atomic bombs, while it has no clear path toward disposal.
In the proposal titled, “Ending plutonium separation: An alternative approach to managing Japan’s spent nuclear fuel,” they said Japan’s reprocessing policy has “insignificant” resource conservation and radioactive waste management benefits.
It is also “becoming increasingly dysfunctional, dangerous and costly,” since weapon-useable separated plutonium is a “magnet for would-be nuclear terrorists,” the authors said. Japan’s program is also setting an ill example for countries interested in nuclear-weapon options, they added.
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NOTE: YOU DON'T ALWAYS NEED THE KEY ANY LONGER TO GET PAST THE DOOR! SEE BELOW.-------------
FROM: ENFORMABLE NUCLEAR NEWS
Computer in control room of Monju fast breeder reactor infected with virus
In November, Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority warned the Japan Atomic Energy Agency that its anti-terrorism measures at the Monju fast-breeder reactor were not sufficient. The regulatory agency rebuked the JAEA for violating security guidelines meant to protect nuclear materials from terrorism and other malicious attacks.
This week, the operator of the reactor announced that computer hackers may have stolen private data including internal e-mails and training records.
On January 2nd, a server administrator identified that one of the eight computers in the reactor control room had been accessed over 30 times in the last five days after an employee updated free software on the PC on Thursday.
More than 42,000 e-mails and staff training reports were stored on the computer.
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The JAEA itself has been plagued by problems and scandals related to the Monju reactor, including findings by regulators that regular safety checks had not been performed on over 14,000 different pieces of equipment.
In November of 2012, a computer located at the JAEA headquarters at Tokaimura in Ibaraki Prefecture was also found to be infected with a computer virus.
In May of 2013, the Nuclear Regulation Authority forbid JAEA from restarting the reactor, after it said that the safety culture at the plant had degraded.
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