An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts has completed a nuclear security mission at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station (KKNPS) in Japan at the request of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco). The purpose of the mission was to assess the enhancement of the physical protection measures at the KKNPS, Japan’s largest NPP, and to provide further advice as necessary to Tepco.
The KKNPS houses seven boiling water reactors with a total gross electrical capacity of 8,212 MWe. It is located between Kashiwazaki City and Kariwa Village on the coast of the Sea of Japan of the Niigata Prefecture. Since 2012, the plant has been offline, after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident led to the shutdown of all nuclear plants in Japan.
In 2014, Japan accepted the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM). The CPPNM establishes legal obligations regarding the physical protection of nuclear material used for peaceful purposes. The Amendment strengthens the original CPPNM by establishing States’ obligations to protect nuclear facilities and material in peaceful domestic use, storage and transport.
The five-person expert team assessed and observed physical protection measures against the CPPNM as amended, and relevant IAEA Nuclear Security Guidance documents. They visited the KKNPS and met with Tepco staff. The team included experts from Finland, the UK and the US as well as one IAEA staff member.
The team observed the facility management’s commitment to improving nuclear security and identified continuous improvements in several areas of the KKNPS physical protection system since 2018, when the IAEA conducted an International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) Follow-up Mission in Japan, including a site visit at KKNPS. Most of the improvements have been completed, and some requiring significant resources and time to complete are either under implementation or planned to be implemented.
“Critical infrastructure, such as nuclear facilities, requires robust physical protection measures, as part of a national nuclear security regime supported by a legislative and regulatory framework and nuclear security culture,” said Elena Buglova, Director of the IAEA’s Division of Nuclear Security. “The IAEA expert missions are intended to assist the requesting States in establishing and further strengthening their national nuclear security regimes, including the physical protection against theft, sabotage or unauthorized use of nuclear and other radioactive material.”
KKNPS Superintendent Takeyuki Inagaki said the findings provided by the expert team “are very important and will be used further to enhance nuclear security of our plant in line with the IAEA international standards”. He added: “Tepco is committed to continuously improve our security measures by establishing a strong security culture to sustain this current security enhancement effort and prevent it from declining again in the future. Also, we will further strengthen the prevention measures against internal threat and continue our improvement aiming towards a better physical protection system, including intrusion detection.”
The team presented its draft report of findings to Tepco. The final report will be ready in the next few weeks.
Image: Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture, Japan
