thumb|The Tsuruga NPP and Fugen NPP together in the same image

Fugen was a prototype Japanese nuclear test reactor.

Fugen was a domestic Japanese design for a demonstration Advanced Thermal Reactor. It was a heavy water moderated, boiling light water cooled reactor.

The reactor was started in 1979 and shut down in 2003. As of 2018, it is undergoing decommissioning.

Accidents

  • 14–16 April 1997: A tritium leakage was announced to the responsible authorities 30 hours after the event. During the following investigation it was shown that it already had 11 similar incidents. Five managers of the operator at that time (at the time Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation) resigned.
  • 8 April 2002: About 200 cubic meters of steam escaped from a defective pipe. The reactor was switched off.

During dismantling operations it was found that walls with controls did not have the necessary strength at 25 of 34 points.

References

  • Fugen Decommissioning Engineering Center
  • Transcript of NHK TV special in Japanese NHK video