Dismantling work begins at Hamaoka nuclear power plant

Dismantling work has begun at Chubu Electric Power Co.’s Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka prefecture. Hamaoka is the first commercial reactor in Japan to undergo dismantling procedures, and the event indicates the beginning of a “great era of decommissioning” in the country. Chubu Electric Power Co. decided to decommission the plant in 2008 due to the high costs of adapting it to new nuclear safety regulations. Since 2009, spent nuclear fuel has been removed from the site and decontamination measures have been implemented, preparing the ground for the dismantling of the reactor buildings started these days. Both reactors at Hamaoka are boiling water reactors and went online in the late 1970s. Their internal structures have high radiation levels that make them inaccessible to human operators. Therefore, their dismantling will be carried out by specialized robots. Chubu Electric estimates that the complete dismantling of reactors No. 1 and No. 2 will require 12 years, costing respectively 37.9 and 46.2 billion yen. The decommissioning of the plant will be concluded in fiscal year 2042.
The company still does not know how to dispose of metal, concrete, and other waste materials produced by the decommissioning work. The lack of waste disposal sites is one of the main obstacles to the great decommissioning process decided by Japanese nuclear authorities and companies. At present, 18 nuclear power plants are scheduled to be decommissioned, but the waste problem could delay procedures and keep them in function for several years.