Letters sent to countries potentially on the route of the MOX fuel shipment

This is a follow-up letter to the letter we sent you on 5 March concerning an imminent plutonium shipment (MOX fuel) from France to Japan that may pass by your country.

The Japanese electric utility Kansai Electric announced in a press release yesterday, 21 March, that it plans to ship MOX fuel from France to Japan. They did not disclose the date. This Kansai Electric press release and the French company AREVA’s announcement on 20 March confirm that the shipment is indeed imminent.

Our information continues to be that the British flagged transport vessels Pacific Heron and Pacific Egret will arrive from the UK to Cherbourg the first part of April and that the MOX fuel will leave Cherbourg for Japan in April.

We checked with all the other 8 Japanese electric utilities that have nuclear power plants whether they will be shipping MOX fuel at this time. All clearly stated “no”. This therefore means the shipment will be only Kansai Electric MOX fuel.

Download: Letters sent to countries potentially on the route of the MOX fuel shipment (PDF)