Our Impact

Environmental NGO Resolution Eighth International Energy Forum Osaka, Japan20 September 2002 The 20th century was the fossil fuel century. To the middle of the century, most energy came from coal, and after the 1960’s the use of oil increased rapidly. Today’s worldwide consumption in energy continues to be dependent on fossil fuels, predominantly oil. These precious fossil fuels have contributed to the development of humanity, easing the burden of daily life. At the same time however, dependence on fossil fuels has caused or contributed to further aggravating the unequal distribution of the world’s wealth, energy wars or civil wars related to energy access, serious environmental destruction as a result of…

High Cost of Power Generation and Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing is Strangling the UK’s Largest Power Generator Lessons for Japanese Electric Utilities British Energy plc is the United Kingdom’s largest electric utility, producing one fifth of the country’s electricity. The company owns and operates 15 nuclear reactors in the UK with a combined generating capacity of approximately 9600 megawatts. The company also operates reactors in the United States and Canada. On 12 August 2002, British Energy was forced to shut down reactor 1 at the Torness Nuclear Power Station in East Lothian because of vibrations in the gas circulation system which cools the reactor. Reactor 2 at the same station…

Fukushima Prefecture is currently carrying out a review of Japan’s national energy policy from the point of view of an energy producing prefecture. Since the December 1999 BNFL MOX data falsification scandal, governor Sato has refused to give his consent to the loading of MOX fuel into Tokyo Electric’s Fukushima Dai-ichi Unit 3 nuclear power plant. Tokyo Electric is seeking to load 32 MOX fuel assemblies during the current scheduled outage, but it is expected that Sato will continue to refuse implementation of the pluthermal program. Reported on June 4, 2002 The following comments were made by governor Sato at a meeting with regional mayors at the Fukushima Prefecture Office…

Environmental NGO Resolution Eighth International Energy Forum Osaka, Japan20 September 2002 Green Action Press Release and BriefingOn Eve of Return Shipment of Falsified BNFL MOX Fuel 3 July 2002 For immediate releaseContact: Aileen Mioko Smith or Stephen ReadyMobile 090-3620-9251 Kyoto, Japan – BNFL and Kansai Electric are in the final stages of preparation for loading 8 falsified MOX fuel assemblies onto the Pacific Pintail for a return shipment to the United Kingdom. The falsified MOX has already been loaded into the transport cask, and the cask is expected to be loaded onto the Pacific Pintail on 4 July 2002. Green Action’s message is: ‘BNFL never again in Japan! Japan’s plutonium…

Suspicions of Corrosion of Transport Cask and Transport Vessel It was reported in 29 June Fukui Newspaper that 8 MOX fuel assemblies with falsified quality control data could leave Takahama, Fukui Prefecture as early as 4 July 2002. However, there are suspicions about corrosion of the transport cask and corrosion of the steel plate tank tops of the transport vessel. An investigation by Tokyo Electric and Kansai Electric showed that metal corrosion led to the rising of the heat radiation fins on TN model transport casks currently stored in France. On 27 June, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport issued an official notification instructing the companies to refrain use…

H.M.. Ambassador Stephen GomersallBritish Embassy in Japan1 Ichiban-cho,Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 〒102-8381 Japan 1 July 2002 Dear Ambassador Stephen Gomersall: On 14 June, a BNFL vessel from the United Kingdom arrived in Takahama to take back the “falsified data MOX fuel”. To us in Takahama, we feel as though this will break our hearts. The reason is, if the falsified MOX fuel is returned to the United Kingdom, it could result in further MOX fuel fabrication which could then lead to forced implementation of the pluthermal programme at the Takahama nuclear power plant, and as a result of BNFL fabricating new fuel, the Sellafield region will be, as in the past, forced…

Green Action and Mihama-no-Kai Petition Government and Kansai Electric to Investigate Return Shipment MOX Transport Cask for Possible Corrosion For immediate release: 14 June 2002 For more information contact: Aileen Mioko Smith or Stephen Ready Mobile: 090-3620-9251 Takahama, Fukui Prefecture, Japan—- Two Japanese citizen organizations, Green Action and Mihama-no-Kai, who were instrumental in December 1999 in successfully identifying the falsification of safety data for fuel fabricated at BNFL for Japan’s plutonium (MOX) program, joined local citizen groups in Takahama today to protest the arrival of the British-flagged vessel the Pacific Pintail into the port of Takahama. The ship arrived to drop off the transport cask that is scheduled to carry…

Commonly referred to as the pluthermal program, Japan has plans to commercially burn MOX (mixed plutonium uranium oxide) fuel in 16 to 18 nuclear power plants by 2010. The program, however, is way behind schedule and yet to begin. MOX utilization was initially to take place in Fukui, Fukushima, and Niigata Prefectures. However, at this time, all plans to load MOX fuel in these regions have been temporarily suspended, and opposition to implementation of the pluthermal program remains strong. NIIGATA PREFECTURE: Kariwa’s ‘No to MOX’ Referendum Result Remains Unchanged May 27, 2002 marked the first anniversary of a referendum in Kariwa village, Niigata Prefecture, in which a majority of residents…

For immediate release: April 9, 2002 For further information contact: Aileen Mioko Smith 090-3620-9251, or Stephen Ready Kyoto, Japan–The Japanese Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) in its 2001 White Paper reaches the conclusion that use of plutonium at Japanese nuclear power plants is safe. However, the NSC’s has a poor record when it comes to declaring there is no problem with Japan’s MOX program. In 1999 when citizen organizations submitted evidence to the NSC that MOX fuel manufactured by the British company BNFL for Kansai Electric had falsified quality control data, the NSC failed to address the issue. Citizens filed an injunction against use of the fuel and were subsequently proven…

Citizen organizations from Aomori, Fukushima, Niigata, Fukui, Tokyo region, Kansai region, and Kyushu region submit petition to stop Cogema fuel and technology from entering Japan For immediate release: 13 February 2001 Contact persons:Aileen Mioko Smith (+ 81 90 3620 9251) / Stephen Ready Kyoto, Japan—-On 12 February, citizens from prefectures with Tokyo Electric nuclear power plants slated to use MOX (mixed plutonium uranium oxide) fuel under Japan’s plutonium program submitted a petition to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry seeking government rejection of MOX fuel currently being fabricated at Cogema’s Melox facility for Tokyo Electric’s Fukushima Unit I-3 reactor. They were joined in the petition by Green Action,…