Mutsu (ship)
| History | |
|---|---|
 Japan
| |
| Name: | Mutsu |
| Namesake: | City of Mutsu, Aomori |
| Operator: | Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute |
| Builder: | Second Tokyo Factory, Ishikawajima-Harima Hvy Ind |
| Laid down: | 17 November 1968 |
| Launched: |
|
| Completed: | 4 September 1972 (fuel loaded) |
| Decommissioned: | 1992 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Mutsu |
| Type: | Nuclear-powered freighter |
| Tonnage: | 8240 tons |
| Length: | 130 m (430 ft) |
| Beam: | 19 m (62 ft) |
| Draught: | 6.9 m (23 ft) |
| Depth: | 13.2 m (43 ft) |
| Installed power: | 36MW Mitsubishi PWR |
| Propulsion: | steam turbine 10,000 hp (7.5 MW) |
| Speed: | 32 km/h (17 kn) |
| Range: | Nuclear |
| Crew: | 80 |
Mutsu was Japan's first, and only nuclear-powered ship.[1] It was built as a nuclear merchant ship, one of four such vessels ever constructed, but never carried commercial cargo.[2]
Nuclear propulsion tests
The reactor was completed on 25 August 1972, and fuel was loaded on 4 September.[3] When officials announced that the first test run was to be run at the pier in Ōminato, local protests forced them to reconsider.[3] Eventually it was decided to test the ship in the open ocean, 800 kilometres (430 nmi) east of Cape Shiriya.[3] The ship departed Ōminato on 26 August 1974, and the reactor attained criticality on 28 August.[3]
Radiation accident
As the crew brought the reactor up to 1.4% of capacity at 5pm on 1 September 1974,[3] there was a minor leak of neutrons and gamma rays[1] from the reactor shielding.[3] Westinghouse had reviewed the design and warned of this possibility, but no changes were made to the design.[3] There was no significant radiation exposure, but it became a political issue, with local fisherman blocking her return to port for more than 50 days.[1] The government finally came to an agreement with the local government and fishermen; the Mutsu was allowed back to port on condition that it was to find a new home port, and the ship returned to Ōminato on 15 October.[3]
In Sasebo, between 1978 and 1982, various modifications were made to the reactor shield of the Mutsu, and its home port was moved to Sekinehama in 1983.[3] Following an overhaul, the Mutsu was completed in February 1991.[3] She then completed her original design objective of travelling 82,000 kilometres (51,000 mi) in testing, and was decommissioned in 1992.[3] Over 25 years the programme had cost more than 120 billion yen (about US$ 1.2 billion).[3]
RV Mirai
The reactor was removed in 1995. After decontamination, the Mutsu was rebuilt as the ocean observation vessel Mirai.[1][4]
Mutsu Science Museum
The reactor room, control room, bridge, bow, and propeller were converted into a museum and are open to the public at the Mutsu Science Museum.[5] Visitors can interact with the controls in the control room and view the reactor vessel through several viewing ports. Reactor room image 1 Reactor room image 2 Reactor vessel through viewing port image Control room image Bridge image
The nuclear material from the ship is stored across the street from the museum at a facility operated by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.[6]
See also
- NS Otto Hahn (Germany)
- NS Savannah (USA)
- NS Sevmorput (Russia)
- Mutsu, Aomori
Notes and references
- 1 2 3 4 OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (2001), Investing in Trust: Nuclear Regulators and the Public : Workshop Proceedings, Paris, France, 29 November - 1 December 2000, OECD Publishing, p. 30, ISBN 978-92-64-19314-7
- ↑ http://www.iaea.org/inis/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/27/029/27029493.pdf
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Nakao, Masayuki, Radiation Leaks from Nuclear Power Ship "Mutsu" (PDF), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Good overview of the construction, leak, and lessons learnt.
- ↑ http://www.jamstec.go.jp/e/about/equipment/ships/mirai.html
- ↑ http://www.jmsfmml.or.jp/msm.htm
- ↑ http://www.iaea.org/inis/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/27/029/27029493.pdf
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