Fukushima Daiichi NPS Prompt Report 2014

Agreement formalizes understanding reached in London earlier this year

Tokyo, September 30, 2014- Two of the organizations dealing with the world's biggest challenges in the decommissioning of nuclear power facilities -- TEPCO and Sellafield Ltd. -- have signed an agreement to share each other's knowledge and experience to accomplish long-term decommissioning work in Japan and the UK.

Sellafield Ltd. is the company responsible for safely delivering decommissioning of the UK's nuclear legacy as well as fuel recycling and the management of low, high and intermediate level nuclear waste activities at Sellafield site on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). TEPCO, the Tokyo Electric Power Co., is the owner of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which is currently being decommissioned after suffering a major accident following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The agreement formalizes an understanding announced in London earlier this year.

Four Areas of Cooperation

The agreement identifies four areas in which TEPCO and Sellafield Ltd will cooperate: Site Management, Environmental Monitoring, Radiation Protection, Project Delivery and Design Engineering.

Naohiro Masuda, the Chief Decommissioning Officer of TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi D& D Engineering Company (FDEC), commented: "I deeply thank Sellafield Ltd., the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, and the related individuals for being able to conclude this cooperation agreement with Sellafield Ltd, a company possessing the abundant knowledge and experience concerning decommissioning. I believe this will contribute significantly to safely and successfully decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. We have a lot to learn from Sellafield, which has decades of valuable experience in the management of decommissioning. We believe we also have much to contribute to Sellafield from our experience over the past three and a half years at Fukushima Daiichi."

With the signing of the agreement, the two organizations will build upon the work carried out since May 2014 by sharing information via periodic telephone conferences and the visiting of engineers to each other's sites.

NDA Chief Executive Officer, John Clarke commented, "There are a lot of things we can learn from each other. There are some clever technologies used in Sellafield, some of which I think are potentially useful at Fukushima, and equally clever technology at Fukushima that might be useful for Sellafield. But I think more than that, it's the ways of using technology and sometimes using quite simple technology in a different way to make the progress that is needed. I think the real benefit of the cooperation agreement is sharing experiences. The technology is important but the way it's used and the way you make progress, the attitude of working on the site. I think that is the area where we can make the biggest benefit from working together through the agreement."

Lady Barbara Judge CBE, deputy chairman of the TEPCO Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee and former Chairman of the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority, said, "I am especially pleased by the signing of the agreement. I know first hand that the knowledge and experience of Sellafield will greatly benefit not only TEPCO and its new decommissioning company as it works to clean up Fukushima, but the entire Japanese nation."

Overview of the information exchanging agreement, photos and video comment from NDA Chief Executive Officer, John Clarke may be obtained at http://photo.tepco.co.jp/en/date/2014/201409-e/140930-02e.html

About Fukushima Daiichi D& D Engineering Company (FDEC)

Fukushima Daiichi D& D Engineering Company (FDEC) is a new entity established on April 1, 2014 within Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), to focus solely on the cleanup and decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi. It is led by Naohiro Masuda, the company's Chief Decommissioning Officer, and reports directly to TEPCO's President.

About TEPCO

Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. (TEPCO) is Japan's largest power company, supplying energy to the greater Kanto area, including Japan's two most populous cities, Tokyo and Yokohama. Its 35,000 employees are committed to providing safe, reliable power to its 29.0 million customers, diversifying energy resources to ensure sustainability, and contributing to economic growth while fully meeting its responsibilities after the Fukushima Daiichi accident.
TEPCO website: http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/index-e.html
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