Author: Rick E

Dr. Edwin S. LymanSenior Staff ScientistUnion of Concerned ScientistsMarch 3, 2006 1. MOX Fuel Relocation During LOCAs The planned use of MOX (pluthermal) fuel in the Genkai-3 reactor in Saga Prefecture will be well outside the existing commercial experience base for MOX fuel with regard to plutonium concentration and fuel burnup. Saga Prefecture acknowledges this, but asserts that even in the absence of commercial data for the regime to which the fuel will be exposed, sufficient experimental data exists and analytical tools are reliable enough to make accurate safety assessments. This assertion is not justified. While there is a very small quantity of experimental data on the performance of MOX…

(Unofficial translation by Green Action) This document analyses 8 areas concerning safety of MOX fuel use. It presents arguments of both anti and pro MOX sides, and gives Saga Prefecture’s conclusions. For all items, Saga Prefecture agrees with the pro MOX argument. The 8 areas: 1. Control of Reactor (1) Efficacy of Control Rods and Boron (2) Concerning Self-regulating characteristics (3) Characteristics of Output Distribution 2. Safety of the Fuel (1) Melting Point of Fuel (2) Internal Pressure of Fuel (Plutonium Spots) 3. Experience with MOX Fuel Performance (1) Experience concerning Plutonium Enrichment Levels and Burn Up 4. Radioactive Dose During Normal Operation (1) Worker Dose 5. Effects Due to…

PDF Version Comparison of 3 Japan Government/Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Decisions Regarding the Use of Plutonium Compiled: 3 February 2006 Compiled by Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center (CNIC), Green Action, and Greenpeace Japan 1997 2003 2006 Japanese government’s December 1997 Letter to the IAEA “Plutonium Utilization Plan of Japan” (INFCIRC/549/Add. 1 31 March 1998) Section 2, Enhancing the Transparency of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Program (English original) The nuclear fuel cycle is promoted based on the principle that plutonium beyond the amount required to implement the program is not to be held, i.e. the principle of no surplus plutonium. Nuclear materials are also strictly managed, so as not to give rise…

[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…

[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…

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…

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…