●Meeting of the External Expert Panel to review the radioactive material leak at the Hadron Experimental Facility of the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex  (J-PARC)        The sixth meeting of the External Expert Panel to review the radioactive material leak at the Hadron Experimental Facility (HD facility) of J-PARC was held in Tokyo on August 22. Major topics of discussion included (1) measures to prevent accident recurrence and improve the safety management system, and (2) the emergency response procedure, as proposed by the J-PARC Center. The panel deemed these proposals to be appropriate. In addition, J-PARC was strongly requested to urgently implement the recommended measures, build an organization/system premised on ensuring safety, and obtain the understanding of the local community and society. The panel expressed its desire that the center return quickly to its position as a facility enabling researchers to achieve state-of-the-art research results. On August 27 in Tokai Village, the Chairperson, Yasushige Yano hand-delivered the inquiry report to the representatives of two managing organizations of J-PARC, the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), which requested to review of the leak accident of radioactive material at the HD facility to the panel. * Click here to enlarge.* Click here to enlarge. ▲to Page Top

●Submission of Third Accident Report on August 12       In accordance with Prevention of Radiation Health Impairment Due to Radioisotope, etc. and its enforcement ordinance, the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (Director General: Atsuto Suzuki) and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (President: Shojiro Matsuura) submitted the third report to the Nuclear Regulation Authority on August 12. On the same day, "the accident report" was also submitted on the same incident to Ibaraki Prefecture, Tokai Village, and other relevant local governments based on the agreement on safety and environmental protection near nuclear facilities.       The third accident report is the continuation of the second statutory report submitted on June 18. This report closely examines problems, investigation results and other issues clarified based on previous surveys, and covers topics such as accident verification and prevention of recurrence, while incorporating expert opinions. ▲to Page Top

●Held First Meeting of Working Group for Evaluating Partition and Transmutation Technologies       There has been increasing public interest in the disposal of long-lived radioactive wastes since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant of Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO). Accordingly attention is being drawn to research on partition and transmutation technologies, which aim to reduce the burden of treating and disposing of high-level radioactive waste. Also, from the beginning J-PARC has proposed a Transmutation Experimental Facility (TEF) for experiments to further research on transmutation technology as a second phase plan. Against this backdrop, a Working Group for Evaluating Partition and Transmutation Technologies was established under the Council for Science and Technology of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in July of this year, and its first meeting was held at MEXT on August 7. At this meeting reports were given on the situation both inside and outside Japan relating to partition and transmutation technologies, and participants exchanged view on topics such as the effectiveness of introducing partition and transmutation technologies; the technical level of R&D on partitioning technology, and transmutation using fast reactors and accelerator driven systems; and the "grand design" for R&D. Topics to be discussed in the future include the current state of partition/transmutation technology, the need for and effectiveness of developing TEF, and international collaboration such as the MYRRHA project being carried out in Belgium (Europe) with the aim of demonstrating a full-scale accelerator driven system (ADS). An interim report is scheduled to be completed at the end of this October. * Click here to enlarge. * Click here to enlarge. ▲to Page Top

●Result Reporting Meeting of the Industrial Users Society for Neutron Application       On July 22, the FY2013 General Meeting and the FY2012 Result Reporting Meeting of the Industrial Users Society for Neutron Application were held at the Akihabara Convention Hall in Tokyo. About 150 people participated. At the Result Reporting Meeting, Dr. Yujiro Ikeda, Director of the J-PARC Center, gave a talk entitled "The Current Situation at J-PARC" in which he reported the latest results of neutrino research (i.e., the phenomenon involving the appearance of electron neutrinos, announced in a press release on July 19), and the radioactive material leak at the Hadron Experimental Facility of J-PARC. Dr. Ikeda expressed an apology for the accident and J-PARC's determination to work hard for rebuilding public trust. ▲to Page Top

●Second ANNRI (Accurate Neutron Nucleus Reaction measurement Instrument: BL04 of MLF) Research Meeting       This research meeting, organized by the Nuclear Science and Engineering Directorate of the JAEA, was held at the Ibaraki Quantum Beam Research Center (IQBRC) on August 23. In the various sessions on analysis, nuclear astrophysics, and use for general topics, participants presented and debated issues such as the outlook for research going forward. * Click here to enlarge.* Click here to enlarge. ▲to Page Top

●Tenth Annual Meeting of the Particle Accelerator Society of Japan       On August 3-5, the 10th Annual Meeting of the Particle Accelerator Society of Japan was held at the Toyoda Auditorium of Nagoya University. After the first day's program, a special session was held, entitled "Explanation of the Radioactive Material Leak Accident at J-PARC," and Dr. Tadashi Koseki, Head of the Accelerator Division of the J-PARC Center provided a detailed explanation of the accident. About 230 people listened to the talk, and there were many questions. In addition, in an oral presentation, Dr. Masahito Tomizawa, an Associate Professor at KEK and a member of the 50 GeV synchrotron (MR) team, reported on topics such as the investigation of the malfunction of the slow beam extraction electromagnets that caused the hadron accident, and the status of the review to prevent any recurrence. Among the oral presentations relating to J-PARC at this annual meeting, there were seven presentation on the MR, covering issues such as adjustment of the beam optics in the beam transport line from the 3 GeV synchrotron (RCS) to the MR, measures to reduce beam loss accompanying increased beam power, and research on improving the injection system. This was a lively meeting with 45 oral presentations (8 relating to J-PARC) and 258 poster presentations (37 relating to J-PARC). ▲to Page Top