Unfulfilled Promises Fukushima Decommissioning and Environmental Technology Trials 2018-2019

Unfulfilled Promises Fukushima Decommissioning and Environmental Technology Trials 2018-2019

The year 2018-2019 is still less than a decade after the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear accident of March 2011. The site of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has changed dramatically from the dangerous and chaotic scene immediately after the accident. The debris has been removed, pavement and facilities have been improved, outward appearances are tidy, and those who visited the site spoke of a "clean and safe" environment. However, deep down, there was a reality that was far from being resolved. The exact location of the fuel debris remained unknown, and environmental technologies such as remote-controlled equipment and highly radiation-resistant robots for removing the debris had not even reached the demonstration stage. These were to be developed over a period of several decades.

The government and TEPCO had announced that they would complete the decommissioning of the plant in a maximum of 40 years, demonstrating their will for reconstruction both domestically and internationally. However, a spokesperson for the site responded that "the definition of decommissioning completion has not been determined," revealing an unclear goal. Furthermore, in 2009, it was announced that the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant, which had survived the accident, would take 44 years, a figure longer than the accident reactor, which drew criticism.

Internationally, this period was known as the "Great Decommissioning Era," and although old nuclear power plants were being closed around the world, there were few cases of complete land clearing or fuel removal. Environmental technology issues, such as where to remove spent fuel and decontamination levels, were piling up. Japan had become a "decommissioning superpower," ranking fourth in the world in terms of the number of reactors scheduled for decommissioning, and the decommissioning of Fukushima went beyond local issues to become a symbolic test of Japan's technological capabilities, institutional design, and environmental policy competence.