Overview of Mid- and Long-Term Roadmap Towards the Decommissioning and the Status of Nuclear Material Management at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

With the completion of Step 2 as an achievement of stable state, Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) set the “Mid- and Long-Term Roadmap towards the Decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Units 1-4, TEPCO” on December 21, 2011, which was made in response to the joint ministerial order, and decided by the Government-TEPCO Mid- and Long-Term Response Council. After the completion of Step 2, the effort will now be shifted from trying to achieve plant stabilization to maintaining that stable status. In parallel, it is vitally important that the fuel removal from the Spent Fuel Pools (SFPs) of Units 1-4, removal of fuel debris from the Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPVs) and Primary Containment Vessels (PCVs) of Units 1-3, and other measures towards decommissioning, should continue over the mid- and long-term. During mid- and long-term efforts, technical issues and research and development needs will be identified. The current target is to start the fuel removal from the Unit 4 SFP within two years and to start the fuel debris removal from the reactor within 10 years. The completion of decommissioning is estimated to take at least 30 years. Necessary nuclear material management under the relevant laws and guidance by the government and the IAEA is also mentioned in the roadmap. This paper outlines the Mid- and Long-Term Roadmap and shows current and future nuclear material management in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in association with the roadmap.