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Basic and generic research

Basic and generic research

Research into technology that is clearly applicable on the site is not all that is necessary for the decommissioning effort at Fukushima Daiichi NPS, it is also necessary to gather knowledge widely from around Japan and the rest of the world, with a broad perspective to include development of strategic component technologies from a medium and long-term perspective and tests and verification of technologies that are not certainly achievable.

From this perspective, primarily university R&D institutes play a major role in developing basic and generic technologies, such as advanced R&D that contributes to accelerating decommissioning, or adding diverse possibilities for substitutes for existing decommissioning technology, and providing scientific knowledge.

Meanwhile, researchers must conduct basic and generic research based on their interests, in anticipation of the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi NPS. That kind of quality and volume of research deepens decommissioning technology, and is expected to support the practical use of applied research.

For that purpose, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and universities jointly operate the promotional cooperative group for basic and generic research, “Platform of Basic Research for Decommissioning”. The Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation (NDF), the plant operator TEPCO, the International Research Institute for Nuclear Decommissioning (IRID), which conducts applied research, and others are cooperating and sharing decommissioning site needs, and have obtained the broad participation of many researchers and research institutions from inside and outside of Japan to advance basic and generic research.

Essential R&D themes based on needs and its strategic promotion

In the meetings of Decommissioning R&D Partnership Council (refer to “the whole picture of efforts”), at a viewpoint letting needs in the sight of 1F and seeds of research institutes including university make matching, it was pointed out that it is important to make the needs clear and to facilitate prospective seeds to develop until applied/practical levels. For this purpose, the taskforce set up under Decommissioning R&D Partnership Council specified following 6 essential R&D themes that should be preferentially and strategically targeted.

Now, 6 sub-sessions were established in the Platform of Basic Research for Decommissioning, by the selection of the 6 essential R&D themes. And discussions to develop an R&D strategy that stipulates the approach to the selected essential R&D themes are underway.

  • Elucidation of secular change process, etc. of fuel debris

The fuel debris retrieval is scheduled for 2021 onward, 10 years after the fuel debris generation. And since it is anticipated that the retrieval will require a long period of time, the fuel debris will remain inside the reactors over 10 years. Also the retrieved debris must be stored safely. To consider the best possible methods of retrieve/transportation/storage of fuel debris, it is necessary to predict the secular change process of fuel debris.

  • Elucidation of corrosion mechanisms under special environment

It is required to collect data on corrosion under a variety of circumstances with consideration of the special environment of 1F decommissioning such as high radiation levels or unsteady routes of cooling water, in order to prepare for potential corrosion during decommissioning.

  • Radiation measurement technologies adopting innovative approaches

The radiation levels are still extremely high inside the 1F reactors/buildings due to the accident and the existing measurement devices do not meet the capability/functional requirements to provide accurate figures. It is vital to develop an innovational device adopting brand-new ideas/principles based on 1F needs.

  • Elucidation of behavior of radioactive/scattering particulates generated during decommissioning (incl. alpha dust measures)

As cutting of the fuel debris at a high temperature by machine or laser may generate a large amount of alpha dust, it requires safety measures and dust containment control. It is necessary to understand physical/chemical properties of alpha dust, to predict the amount of dust to be produced for each method, and to consider how to seal the dust according to the results, in order to ensure safety during retrieval of fuel debris.

  • 1Fundamental elucidation of mechanisms of contamination by radioactive material

For reduction of dose rate inside buildings, it is important to implement effective decontamination based on the mechanism of the contamination to radiation sources, and also not to put out unnecessary wastes as possible.

  • Environmental fate studies of radioactive materials generated during decommissioning

It is essential to clarify the behavior of radioactive materials such as absorption, dispersion, moving along with groundwater flow in shallow underground, in order to study on environmental fate of radioactive materials.

Related information

＜Links to base universities＞

＜Links to related academic societies ＞
　Links to the academic societies that were listed in the special article of the March 2015 journal of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, “Atoms”, “Questions being asked now, 4 years after the nuclear accident, ‘integrating knowledge’, the efforts of academic societies in response to the Fukushima NPS accidents”


　In order to contribute to Fukushima reconstruction and reactor decommissioning, academic network to exchange information and to cooperate mutually was established in 2016.