Sunday 25 May 2014

NNL was present at a major UK-Japan nuclear event on 6/7th October. The purpose of the event, “Fukushima: Beyond Cold Shutdown, UK-Japan Symposium” was to increase awareness among Japanese opinion formers and those directly working on the Fukushima recovery programme of the expertise and experience that the UK has.

Some 30 UK organisations participated including NNL, Rolls Royce, Serco, Amec, Atkins as well as DECC and the NDA. And virtually all the major nuclear organisations in Japan were represented including METI, Tepco, Toshiba, Hitachi and JAEA

NNL spoke at a number seminars including a session on Securing and Managing Waste and Fuel. We also had the opportunity to speak on where R&D can be targeted to support clean-up operations and on building nuclear skills.

At the conference close, contributors from Japan and the UK agreed that the meeting had been a great success and would build greater nuclear links between Japan and the UK. The Japanese delegates made it clear that they were unaware of the size and depth of the UK’s capability in areas that could support Fukushima recovery and will now be considering the UK alongside other countries from whom international support can be obtained.

NNL was pleased to be part of this major UK mission. The events of March 11th have been deeply traumatic for the Japanese people but their determined approach to rebuilding and getting things back on track leaves no one in doubt that they will succeed in overcoming the effects of that day.