Hopes of gaining any MOX orders for Sellafield from Japan are fading rapidly says CORE, with the announcement by nuclear power utility TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) yesterday that Japan’s MOX (pluthermal) programme has been delayed for the forseeable future.
TEPCO’s president Nobuya Minami conceded “ We personally hurt the public’s trust in us. We cannot ask for understanding to continue the MOX fuel project “.
The announcement by TEPCO’s president at an emergency press conference in Tokyo followed renewed calls by local residents around the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power station for last year’s referendum, which voted against the use of MOX fuel at the power station, to be honoured. Since the referendum, an orchestrated effort had been made by the industry and the local mayor to overturn the result but a recent Electorate Intent Inquiry at Kariwa showed 80% of voters demanded that the referendum be honoured.
Local citizens concerns have been heightened by TEPCO’s further admission yesterday of the deliberate falsification of safety inspections of the company’s reactors in the 1980’s and ‘90’s and separately, the recent discovery of cracks in the reactor shroud at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa’s Unit 3. The Unit’s first ever loading of MOX fuel, scheduled for late September, has been postponed indefinitely The MOX fuel for Unit 3 was fabricated in Europe by Belgonucleaire using plutonium recovered in France’s La Hague reprocessing plant under contract to TEPCO who are also a major customer for Sellafield’s THORP reprocessing plant.
CORE said today “ No matter how they spin this, BNFL is desperately relying on major MOX orders from TEPCO and other Japanese utilities to reduce its losses on SMP. The indefinite delay to Japan’s MOX programme now makes SMP’s already dodgy case virtually dead in the water. With falsification again in the air, BNFL and TEPCO deserve each other “.
TEPCO is BNFL’s largest Japanese customer with over 1200 tonnes of spent fuel contracted to be reprocessed at THORP. All the fuel has been delivered to Sellafield and as at March last year 680 tonnes had been reprocessed, yielding over two and a half tonnes of fissile plutonium.
For further information contact CORE on 01229 833851, 01229 716523 (home) or mobile 0789 999 1146.