Monju Nuclear Power Plant
Monju (もんじゅ?) is a Japanese sodium-cooled fast reactor, located in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture. Construction started in 1986 and the reactor achieved criticality for the first time in April 1994. Its name is a reference to Manjusri.
Monju is a sodium cooled, MOX-fueled, loop-type reactor with three primary coolant loops, producing 280 MWe from 714 MWt.
An accident in December 1995, in which a sodium leak caused a major fire, forced a shutdown. A subsequent scandal involving a cover-up of the scope of the accident delayed its restart until May 6, 2010, with renewed criticality reached on May 8, 2010. In August 2010 another accident, involving dropped machinery, shut down the reactor again. As of June 2011, the reactor has only generated electricity for one hour since its first testing two decades prior. As of the end of 2010, total funds spent on the reactor amounted to ¥1.08 trillion. An estimated ¥160-170 billion would be needed to continue to operate the reactor for another 10 years.
The plant is located on a site that spans 1.08 km2 (267 acres), the buildings occupy 28,678 m2 (7 acres), and it has 104,680 m2 of floor space. It employs 368 workers.
Read more about Monju Nuclear Power Plant: Monju Sodium Leak and Fire, Restart, Possible Decommissioning, 2012 Budget, "In‐Vessel Transfer Machine" Falling Accident, Incidents in 2012, Seismic Research in 2011 and 2012, Other FBR Programs in Japan
Other articles related to "monju nuclear power plant, monju, plant":
... The successor to Monju is expected to be a larger demonstration plant that will be completed around 2025, built by the newly formed Mitsubishi FBR Systems company ...
Famous quotes containing the words plant, power and/or nuclear:
“Plant melons, harvest melons; plant beans, harvest beans.”
—Chinese proverb.
“it is a power of
strong enchantment. It
is like the dove-
neck animated by
sun; it is memory’s eye;
it’s conscientious inconsistency.”
—Marianne Moore (1887–1972)
“The emotional security and political stability in this country entitle us to be a nuclear power.”
—Ronald, Sir Mason (b. 1930)