Search Results for: MOX

PDF Version Japan Atomic Energy Commission Accepts Faulty Plutonium Utilization Plan of Japanese Electric Utilities 3 February 2006 Dr. Mohamed ElBaradeiDirector General,International Atomic Energy AgencyIAEA SecretariatHeadquarters OfficesA-1400 Vienna, Austria IAEA Board of Directorsc/o Ambassador Yukiya AmanoChairperson, IAEA Board of DirectorsPermanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in ViennaAndromeda Tower, Donau-City Strasse 6, A-1220Vienna, Austria 　 Dear Director General ElBaradei and IAEA Board of Governors: In our Petition of 5 January and follow-up letter of 11 January, we urged the IAEA Secretariat and Board of Governors to quickly take appropriate action before active testing begins at Japan’s Rokkasho reprocessing plant and plutonium is accumulated. This was to ensure that Japan …

Continue reading “Letter to IAEA: Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant Testing and Operation will Breach Japan’s International Commitment Concerning Plutonium”

[Contact: Aileen Mioko Smith Tel: +81 90 3620 9251] 24 January 2006 (Kyoto, Japan)—The Japan Atomic Energy Commission headed by Shunsuke Kondo today approved Japanese utilities’ Plutonium Utilization Plan released earlier this month. Japanese NGOs lambasted as “fiction” the utilities’ fiscal 2005 and 2006 plans which say 1.6 tons of plutonium will be consumed in Japanese nuclear reactors as MOX (mixed plutonium uranium oxide) fuel. None of the nuclear power plants specified under the Plan has approval from local authorities to use the plutonium. Tokyo Electric which heads the Federation of Electric Power Companies could not name which plants would use the plutonium, yet says it will consume it. Nuclear …

Continue reading “Japan Atomic Energy Commission Reneges on Commitment to IAEA Concerning Plutonium — Approves Electric Utilities’ Fictitious Plutonium Utilization Plan”

[18 January 2006] PDF version (472KB) Japan’s 1997 Pledge The government of Japan made a written and unequivocal pledge to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in December 1997 to uphold the “principle of no surplus plutonium.”*1 To honor this commitment, the Japan Atomic Energy Commission issued a Decision on 5 August 2003*2 which specified that electric utilities present concrete plans for utilizing plutonium before separating it from spent nuclear fuel at the Rokkasho reprocessing plant. On 6 January 2006, the Federation of Electric Power Companies released its “Plutonium Utilization Plan.”*3 The Plan, however, does not comply with the specifications set forth by the Atomic Energy Commission. Defects of the …

Continue reading “Will Japan Uphold its International Commitment to Not Produce Surplus Plutonium?—The Japan Atomic Energy Commission Will Decide”

CONTACT:Aileen Mioko Smith, Green Action (Director)+ 81 75 701 7223 or 090 3620 9251 (Cell) Philip White, Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center (International Liaison)+ 81 3 5330 9520 Atsuko Nogawa, Greenpeace Japan (Nuclear Campaigner)+ 81 3 5338 9800 11 January 2006 (2nd edition) Japanese NGOs Label Electric Utility Plutonium Utilization Plan “Fiction” Concern Raised that Atomic Energy Commission may Rubber-Stamp Plan Japanese NGOs yesterday released a scathing critique*1 of the Plutonium Utilization Plan issued by the Federation of Electric Power Companies (FEPCO) on 6 January, dubbing the plan as “fiction” and pointing out that it does not comply with specifications stipulated by the Japanese Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) in 2003. At …

Continue reading “Media Briefing—”No" to Start-Up of Active Testing at Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant”

PDF Download [Compiled 5 January 2006 by Green Action] Statements on Rokkasho, Surplus Plutonium and MOX Fuel Fukushima governor Eisaku Sato’s statement to the Japan Atomic Energy Commission about the Rokkasho reprocessing plant and surplus plutonium: “Why rush to operate a new reprocessing facility when there is still no solution for disposing the 40 tons of plutonium Japan already possesses?” Submission to Public Comment on draft of “Framework for Nuclear Energy Policy”, August 2005 —– Of the 430 tons of spent nuclear fuel to be reprocessed during the active testing scheduled to start at the Rokkasho reprocessing plant in February, 310 tons belong to the two largest electric utilities in …

Continue reading “The Briefing for Petition urging IAEA Action: Ensure Japan Upholds its International Commitment To Not Produce Surplus Plutonium”

PDF Download The government of Japan made a written and unequivocal pledge to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in December 1997 to uphold the “principle of no surplus plutonium.”*1 Despite this commitment, Japan will separate out 4 tons of plutonium at the Rokkasho reprocessing plant, if active testing using spent nuclear fuel begins as scheduled in February 2006. The stark fact is that the Japanese nuclear power program has no use for this plutonium, now or in the foreseeable future. The “Plutonium Utilization Plan of Japan” presented to the IAEA in 1997 stated that mixed plutonium-uranium oxide (MOX) fuel in light water reactors would be the “principle way of …

Continue reading “Petition urging IAEA Action: Ensure Japan Upholds its International Commitment To Not Produce Surplus Plutonium”

May 29, 2005 (Revised) WHAT IS MONJU Monju (280MW) is Japan’s prototype fast breeder reactor located at the tip of the Tsuruga Peninsula in Fukui Prefecture. On January 27, 2003, the Nagoya Court of Appeals (Kanazawa Branch) handed down a verdict in favor of Fukui citizens suing to stop the reactor from operating. The court found the license issued by the national government for Monju illegal due to serious deficiencies in the government’s safety review. On January 31, 2003, the national government appealed the decision. The Supreme Court verdict on Monju is to be handed down May 30, 2005 in Tokyo. Monju has been shut down since December 8, 1995 …

Continue reading “Call for a Moratorium on the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant”

Comision de Poblacion, Ambiente y DesarrolloAsamblea LegislativaRepublica de Panama Dear Members of the Commission: Green Action is an environmental NGO based in Kyoto, Japan which works on Japan’s plutonium program issues. We are submitting this letter in conjunction to your deliberation of proposed legislation that would prohibit shipments of ultrahazardous nuclear cargoes through the Panama Canal. This letter addresses the fact that maritime shipments of ultrahazardous nuclear cargoes from Europe to Japan are not necessary for meeting Japan’s energy needs. Japan at present has 53 nuclear reactors producing approximately 37% of Japan’s electric power needs, but not a single one of these reactors is dependent on maritime nuclear shipments between …

Continue reading “Briefing on Current Status of Japanese Plutonium Program. (Letter sent to Legislative Assembly, Republic of Panama)”

November 15, 2002 Dr. Richard MeserveChairman, Nuclear Regulatory CommissionWashington, D.C. 20555-0001Facsimile: 1-301-415-1757 Dear Chairman Richard Meserve: Re: Opposition to Issuance of Export License for Depleted Uranium to Japan’s Rokkasho Reprocessing Facility Green Action is a Japanese NGO based in Kyoto, Japan working mainly on Japanese plutonium fuel cycle issues. Green Action recently obtained a copy of an application to export approximately 26 tons of depleted uranium from the United States to Japan for use as test material in the test operation of Japan’s Rokkasho nuclear fuel reprocessing facility. [License Number XSOU8790, Date of Application 10/17/2002] Green Action notes that Japan has already stockpiled more than 32 tons of plutonium in …

Continue reading “Letter to NRC Chairman Richard Meserve Re: Opposition to Issuance of Export License for Depleted Uranium to Japan’s Rokkasho Reprocessing Facility”

Interim Report September 2002 I. Background (How the Review came about.) II. Concerning the Problem of "Falsification of Industry Inspections Records at Nuclear Power Plants" "Of course the responsibility of the utilities [for having caused this situation] must be pursued vigorously, but the Japanese government’s responsibility for this situation is also extremely grave as well." "This current problem is a problem of the national government’s constitution and disposition, conducting nuclear policy "like a bulldozer", and ‘belittling [holding in contempt] the residents where nuclear power plants are located". "The Japanese government states, "Even though there may be slight delays as a result of the current problems, the basic plan of aiming …

Continue reading “Fukushima Prefecture Energy Policy Review Committee”