The Current Status of Nuclear Fuel Transport in Japan

More than thirty years have passed since the development and utilization of nuclear power began on a full scale in Japan. During that time, the nuclear power generation of Japan marked a rapid growth. As a result, the transportation of nuclear fuel materials in Japan has increased significantly in frequency as well as in quantity. The development of the nuclear fuel cycle facilities of Japan is well under way. A commercial uranium enrichment facility has been operating for some time in Rokkasho-mura, Aomori Prefecture. A low-level waste burial facility is scheduled to start operation in the end of this year. A high-level waste management facility is under construction, and a steady progress has been made in the preparation for a reprocessing facility. The development of such facilities is expected to advance the diversification of transportation modes of the nuclear fuel materials. The basic principle for the assurance of safety relating to nuclear fuel materials transportation in Japan is to keep the exposure of the transport workers and the general public as low as reasonably achievable according to the Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The designs of packages and the transport methods are regulated according to this principle.