French Nuclear Fuel Arrives In Japan
Channel: onthewaytoextinction
Date: 2013-06-28

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

JAPAN'S NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE LEFT IN LIMBO

A Japanese power company has started receiving fresh supplies of recycled nuclear fuel from overseas, even though all but two of the nation's reactors remain offline.

 On Thursday, MOX fuel from France arrived at Kansai Electric Power Company's Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture.

 It is unclear whether the utility will be able to use it soon.

 Most of Japan's reactors remain idle following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011.

 MOX fuel is a mixture of plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel and uranium. It was hoped this approach would offer an efficient and sustainable way for Japan to recycle its spent nuclear fuel.

 But safety concerns delayed its introduction. Experts discovered that control-rods used to stop nuclear fission are not as effective with MOX fuel as ordinary nuclear fuels.

 Even before the Fukushima Daiichi accident, only 4 reactors in Japan were burning MOX fuel.

 However, power companies are under relentless pressure to use it.

 Japan is yet to find a final disposal site for spent nuclear fuel within its borders, but the volume of waste continues to rise. MOX is still regarded as one option for reducing it.

 Japan is also under international pressure to do something about its plutonium stocks. They have increased four-fold over the past 20 years to 44.3 tons, enough to make 5,500 atomic bombs of the size that dropped on Nagasaki at the end of World War 2. Some of the stocks are stored in Britain and France, which have been reprocessing it for Japan.

 Power companies will seek approval to restart 12 reactors as soon as the nuclear regulator implements tougher safety guidelines in early July.

 They hope to use MOX fuel in five of the reactors, some sooner than others.

 But an NHK reporter says it is unclear whether the regulator and host municipalities will allow this under the new rules.

Jun. 27, 2013 - Updated 23:03 UTC

NUCLEAR FUEL ARRIVES IN JAPAN FROM FRANCE
 
Nuclear fuel shipped from France has arrived at a nuclear power plant in Japan.

 The shipment is the first since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March 2011.

 The fuel is a type called MOX. It is a mixture of plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel and uranium.

 MOX fuel had been used at 4 reactors in Japan prior to the 2011 accident. But all plant operation and shipments had been halted since the disaster.

 A ship carrying the fuel ordered by Kansai Electric Power Company left France in April.

 It arrived on Thursday morning at the utility's Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, on the Sea of Japan coast.

 Kansai Electric plans to use the fuel at Takahama's Number 3 reactor.It hopes to apply for permission to restart operations when new guidelines for nuclear plant safety go into effect in July.

Jun. 27, 2013 - Updated 01:50 UTC

TEPCO SHAREHOLDERS WANT OUT OF NUCLEAR POWER

A group of shareholders at Tokyo Electric Power Company is demanding the utility withdraw from the business of nuclear power generation. TEPCO operates the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

 Shareholders gathered in Tokyo on Wednesday. It was their first annual meeting since the utility was effectively placed under government control.

 TEPCO Chairman Kazuhiko Shimokobe apologized to shareholders for continuing to cause concern and inconvenience more than 2 years after the nuclear disaster.

 The utility has been slow to clean up the Fukushima Daiichi plant and continues to report leaks of radiation-contaminated water.

 TEPCO President Naomi Hirose asked shareholders to support the firm's plan to restart its nuclear reactors. He said management will quickly improve safety and strengthen operations.

 The shareholders' group is demanding the firm decommission all of its nuclear reactors. They also want more detailed disclosure of information, and cuts in remuneration to board members.

 One shareholder said decommissioning the reactors would be a way for TEPCO to compensate survivors of the nuclear disaster.

Jun. 26, 2013 - Updated 04:05 UTC

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