Undertaking for safety
regulation of radioactive
waste disposal
Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA)Radioactive Waste Regulation Department1

y The Radioactive Waste Regulation

Department was inaugurated with theestablishment of the Nuclear andIndustrial Safety Agency.

y It takes charge of decommissioning andclearance system of nuclear facilities, withregulations concerning the disposal
project based on the “Nuclear Reactor
Regulation Law”.

Role of the NISA
2y Reinforcement of the regulation ofdecommissioningy Introduction of a clearance system
y Development of the regulatorysystem on the geological disposal

Main undertaking toward
system development3

1.
Background
1. Background¾March, 1998: Operation of the Japan Atomic Power Tokai power plant terminated.
¾October, 2001: The dismantling notification based on the Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Law submitted.
Decommissioning well underway, masses of waste materials upon dismantling generated¾May, 2005: The Nuclear Reactor Regulation Law amended
２．Outline
２．OutlineofofAmendment
Amendment¾ Reinforcement of the regulation ofdecommissioning- Change of procedure from on thenotification system to on the approvalsystem- Implementation of step-by-step safety
regulations¾ Introduction of a clearance system- Setting up of a clearance level- Two-step confirmation by the government(on measurement method and result)¾ Decommission plan of
Tokai power plant,
Fugen, Hamaoka No.
1 and No.2 wereapproved.
¾ Clearance of ca. 400
tons of wastematerials (metal) wasconfirmed.

Reinforcement of the regulation of decommissioning,
Introduction of a clearance system
4

1. Background¾June, 2000: Legislation on the Final Disposal of Specific Radioactive Waste established.
¾October, 2000: The Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan (NUMO)
established.
Development for safety regulations of high-level radioactive wastes etc. required¾June, 2007: The Nuclear Reactor Regulation Law amended.

２．Outline of Amendment

Introduction of a safety regulatory system concerning geological disposal- Approval for operation- Approval for the design and method of works, Pre-service inspection- Approval and confirmation of the closure (backfilling of tunnels), the decommissioning plan, etc.

Development of the regulatory systemon the geological disposal
5Regulation based on the step-by-step approach in the siting
stage of geological disposal.
y Regulation along with the progress of decommissioning.
(e.g. basic concepts of the subsurface disposal of reactor
internals and the site release criteria, etc.)
y Clearance intended for uranium waste etc.
y Regulation based on the progress of the disposal of wastefrom research facilities etc.
yUtilization of knowledge within and outside the country.
Promotion of regulatory support research based on regulatoryneeds.

Future issues- based on the report of the Nuclear and Industrial
Safety Department Basic Policy Subcommittee -6yIn order to establish and maintain the competence required
for regulations for the position of NISA, technicallyimportant issues were extracted based on safety researchroad maps suggested by academic societies, etc.

y

The results of technological development by implementors
are positively utilized for safety regulations after checking
the quality.

y

The Nuclear Energy Safety Organization (JNES) drew up
research items which should be implemented looking
ahead next five years as the research program, and they
were discussed within both of the waste safety and thedecommissioning safety subcommittees.

Regulatory support research plan7

y Research implementation structurey Cooperation with the relevantorganizations and bodies

y International contributiony Positive utilization of standards approvedby academic societiesy Communication with general public

Procedures for the regulatory support
research8

y Strict and exact implementation of thesafety regulationsy Development of the necessary regulatory

systems and criteria- Clearance for uranium- Endorsement of academic standards concerning thedecommissioning, etc.

y Embodiment of the regulatory support

research concerning the geologicaldisposal

Current undertaking
9