First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my deep
sympathy to the residents of western Tottori who suffered a severe
earthquake on October 6. As a member of the electric power supply
industry, I closely followed reports of the earthquake's effects, and
am pleased to be able to report that Chugoku Electric Power Company,
the local power provider, had established an emergency response
headquarters within 15 minutes after the temblor occurred. There was
no major damage to supply facilities, and thanks to response team
efforts, power was restored to affected areas within about two hours.
As I mentioned at last month's press conference, this has been a year
in which we have experienced many natural disasters, and it has
served to remind us of the heavy responsibility we bear as guardians
of a key element of the nation's infrastructure.
There are two topics I would like to cover today. The first is the steps that have been taken since the JCO Tokai plant accident, and the second is the upcoming COP 6 conference.
First, regarding the JCO accident...
A year has passed since the criticality accident at the JCO uranium processing plant. As members of the electric power industry who are involved with nuclear power generation, we were greatly saddened by the tragic deaths of the workers involved, and by the fact that members of the general public were also exposed to radiation. The failure in moral and safety standards that was revealed by the accident was a deep shock to us all. And it was to ensure that such a failure never again occurs that we established the NSNet (Nuclear Safety Network) last December.
As is shown in Reference Document No. 1, the NSNet has been extremely active since its founding. One of its primary activities has been the promotion of a heightened awareness of the need for stringent safety standards throughout the industry. More specifically, it has conducted safety awareness seminars for management and supervisory personnel, and operated a mobile "Safety Caravan" that visits nuclear power industry facilities to gather information and present lectures on appropriate safety procedures. By the end of this year, the Caravan is expected to have visited 17 nuclear facilities, or about half of all the nuclear-related facilities operated by NSNet members.
Another important NSNet activity has been peer reviews. The reviews are conducted by teams of experts who visit one another's facilities to evaluate standards in six key areas, including organizational, operational and emergency response preparedness. The results of their findings are then analysed to identify problem areas and assure industry-wide implementation of proper safety measures. To date, Mitsubishi Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd. and four other companies that handle nuclear materials have been reviewed, and on the 17th of this month, TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant will be reviewed. Current plans call for the 23 NSNet members who operate similar facilities to be reviewed in turn over the course of the next two years.
A third area of NSNet activity has been the exchange and dissemination of nuclear safety information. This has involved an exchange of opinions and ideas on troubleshooting procedures and the human factor in nuclear operations, as well as the creation of a shared database of nuclear safety information. In addition, peer review reports and other information on NSNet activities are posted on the NSNet website, which I encourage you all to visit for further details.
The electric power industry has also been independently working to improve safety. Manuals and procedures have been reviewed at each of the FEPC member companies, and emergency response action plans have been developed to comply with the Special Law for Nuclear Disaster Measures. The entire industry has been involved in these efforts, and nine of the FEPC member companies have joined with Japan Atomic Power Company, Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. and Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited to form a cooperative alliance that enhances our nuclear emergency response capabilities. At a national level, the Committee on Nuclear Safety has been strengthened, and safety inspection and expert nuclear emergency response personnel have been increased. Regional agencies and power operators are also working hand-in-hand to ensure the highest level of safety and nuclear emergency preparedness.
Amid these efforts, plans for Chugoku Electric Power's No.3 Shimane Nuclear Power Plant was approved in August, and just the other day, an agreement was reached on safety guidelines for the receiving of spent nuclear fuel at reprocessing facilities. So it seems that public and private sector efforts are at last beginning to bear fruit.
Nonetheless, the damage that was done by the JCO accident was very great, and we have much to do to regain the public's trust. I believe that as members of the electric power industry, we must work together to assure that the highest level of safety is maintained. As we mark the passage of a full year since the accident, I believe that the electric power industry must take the lead in increasing industry-wide safety awareness and restoring the public trust.
I would now like to turn to the subject of the COP 6 conference, which will be held November 13 through 24 in Hague, Holland. A key topic of discussion will be the rules for implementing the Kyoto mechanisms that were initially proposed at the COP 3 conference in 1997. Because a consensus has not yet been achieved among the participating nations, this year's conference is expected to be a particularly important one.
As previously announced, we have made environmental protection a key element of electric power industry management policy, and plan to aggressively and independently pursue our goals in this area. By 2010, we plan to reduce CO2 output by 20% in comparison to the 1990 benchmark level, and are promoting nuclear energy and increased thermal efficiency in an effort to achieve this goal.
Details of the proposed mechanisms are shown on page 2 of Reference Document No. 2. One of the mechanisms to be discussed is the system of output volume credits, which will allow CO2 output to be reduced in a cost-effective manner on a global scale. For the electric power industry, this is particularly significant in that it will also serve to reinforce our domestic efforts. In addition, it will provide opportunities for us to put our electric power technology and expertise to work overseas.
At COP 6, we will follow up on the issues raised at last year's COP 5 conference. We will work with European and American power providers to promote nuclear energy as a means of combating global warming, and of implementing the Kyoto mechanisms in a cost effective manner. With regard to nuclear power, some of the participating nations are opposed to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) that allows developed and emerging nations to share output reduction credits if they are engaged in joint CO2 reduction projects. Given the rapidly growing energy needs of emerging economies, however, and the fact that the introduction of clean nuclear power is essential to CO2 reduction, we intend to support the right of emerging economies to choose their own course of action.
With regard to the Kyoto mechanisms, we plan to make our position clear, and will work closely with participants and government representatives from emerging nations to obtain their full understanding.
Details of our activities at the conference are shown on page
1 of Reference Document No. 2. We will invite government
representatives, opinion leaders and members of the press from
emerging and other nations to attend workshops and forums, and will
communicate our position via panels and pamphlets displayed at our
booth. By working together, it is our sincere hope that we will be
able to play a role in reaching a successful accord at the COP 6
conference.