Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation
Encyclopedia
Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute
The Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute was formed in October 1998 to develop advanced nuclear energy technology to complete the nuclear fuel cycle, particularly fast breeder reactors, advanced reprocessing, plutonium fuel fabrication and high-level radioactive waste management. It succeeded...
. The organization specialized in special Breeder reactor
Breeder reactor
A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor capable of generating more fissile material than it consumes because its neutron economy is high enough to breed fissile from fertile material like uranium-238 or thorium-232. Breeders were at first considered superior because of their superior fuel economy...
s and the Advanced Thermal Reactor. It also owned a Nuclear reprocessing
Nuclear reprocessing
Nuclear reprocessing technology was developed to chemically separate and recover fissionable plutonium from irradiated nuclear fuel. Reprocessing serves multiple purposes, whose relative importance has changed over time. Originally reprocessing was used solely to extract plutonium for producing...
facility and its activities included Uranium exploration in Australia and disposal of high level waste.
In the fast growing 1960s Japanese business world, domestic reactor technology was mostly undeveloped so importing reactor designs and nuclear fuel proved to be the best economic option. Uranium enrichment
Enriched uranium
Enriched uranium is a kind of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Natural uranium is 99.284% 238U isotope, with 235U only constituting about 0.711% of its weight...
technology at the time also had military secrets associated with it, making importing a necessity.
Since Japan had very few hydraulic energy resources, breeder reactors and renewable energy were attractive technologies. However, the organization existing at the time to do such research, the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
The Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute is a former semi-governmental organization that existed for the purpose of further nuclear power in Japan. It was created June 1956 by the Atomic Energy Basic Law...
had been falling into an unstable situation, and tests done on nuclear power plants were limited and regulated by the companies that owned the plants. Thus PNC was created and did development work for the Monju reactor and other cutting edge projects. The breeder reactor technology was difficult to master due to the difficulty in handling of Sodium
Sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...
, and for a time, PNC was even called the pros of Sodium.
Various accidents associated with the Tokai-mura site, Monju plant, and another asphalt processing plant ultimately caused reorganization yet again into the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute
Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute
The Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute was formed in October 1998 to develop advanced nuclear energy technology to complete the nuclear fuel cycle, particularly fast breeder reactors, advanced reprocessing, plutonium fuel fabrication and high-level radioactive waste management. It succeeded...
.
Failed Promotional Character
Another event from PNCs history that lives in infamy is an image character gone wrong called , which is similar to saying "PlutoniumPlutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
boy." Promotional videos that PNC released showed Puruto-kun debunking various fears about Plutonium, such as:
- If bad guys dropped Plutonium into the ocean, it actually won't dissolve into the water well and will just fall to the bottom.
- If you drink Plutonium mixed with water, you'll still be mostly fine since it will exit your body quickly.
As anyone familiar with the substance knows, Plutonium is, in fact, extremely dangerous, life threatening when consumed, and can be used to make nuclear weapons. The image character received harsh criticisms from international press.