MV Arctic Sunrise.
Planned return of rejected plutonium fuel from Japan to UK to face Greenpeace protest
27 June, 2002
Tsuruga, Japan - Greenpeace announced today that its ship, the Arctic Sunrise, will protest against the proposed departure from Japan for the United Kingdom of a load of rejected nuclear fuel containing weapons-usable plutonium. The Greenpeace ship will sail shortly from the port city of Tsuruga to Takahama, where the plutonium transport may leave as soon as Monday (July 1).
Greenpeace is also preparing for legal action in the UK to prevent the material being returned.
"We strongly oppose the proposed transport to the UK of the rejected faulty plutonium fuel," said Tom Clements, of the Greenpeace International nuclear campaign, from on board the Arctic Sunrise. "Return of this deadly material would present an unacceptable environmental and security risk and must be stopped. Its planned return is an intended stepping stone to more plutonium fuel contracts between the UK and Japan. We adamantly demand that the proposed shipment be halted."
It is anticipated that the Arctic Sunrise will sail to the port of Takahama, located on the Sea of Japan in the Fukui Prefecture, early next week to protest the proposed transport. The peaceful protest will be conducted as part of the ongoing campaign of Greenpeace International and Greenpeace Japan to stop Japan's plutonium program.
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Pacific Pintail under guard
in Kobe. |
The two British armed transport vessels Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal, which are due to carry the material, were spotted under guard by Greenpeace on June 26th in the port of Kobe. The voyage from Kobe to Takahama is approximately three days if the vessels use the East China Sea/Korea Straits route.
Japan's Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) rejected the mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel due to falsification of quality control data by British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL). The faulty MOX was shipped to the Takahama nuclear power plant in 1999, but due to the falsification scandal it was never used. Following demands from the Japanese Government, the UK Government agreed to its return to Britain. BNFL, a wholly owned state company, set aside nearly US$200 million, to pay compensation to Japan, and to cover the costs of transportation from Japan to its nuclear site at Sellafield, England (2). In the aftermath of the scandal and continuing commercial crisis with its other customers, BNFL informed the UK Government late last year that they were technically bankrupt. Unresolved legal questions in the UK about the status of the material, whether it is nuclear waste or a usable material may still prevent its return to the UK.
Due to the falsification scandal, Japan has not been able to begin using MOX fuel in any reactor and the program is now frozen in controversy. Pursuit of a program to utilize plutonium as nuclear fuel has resulted in the stockpiling of about 35 metric tonnes (MT) of Japanese plutonium in the UK and France and 5 MT domestically. Japanese spent fuel was shipped to Europe, where plutonium was removed from it at reprocessing plants at BNFL's Sellafield site and at Cogema's la Hague site in France. Plutonium is artificially created in reactors, with as little as 5 kilograms needed in a nuclear bomb. If the MOX program proceeds and if Japan's new Rokkasho-mura reprocessing plant begins operation, Japan could face an excess stockpile of weapons-usable plutonium of at least 110 MT according to new calculations by Greenpeace.
BNFL has said that returning the faulty MOX is essential for future MOX business with Japan.
“Given that the return of this deadly material would open the door to a massive increase in plutonium shipments from BNFL to Japan, we call for an immediate halt to the shipment," said Shaun Burnie of Greenpeace International. "Implementation of the MOX program will only result in a massive increase in the stockpiling of weapons-usable plutonium and must be stopped. Contrary to rhetoric from Government and industry officials, implementation of the MOX program means growth in the plutonium stockpile, not a decrease. The U.S. Government has stated that all plutonium can be used in nuclear weapons and presents a proliferation threat.”
Countries along the possible transport routes - via the Tasman Sea and Cape of Good Hope, around South America's Cape Horn, or via the Panama Canal and Caribbean - are protesting the transport. "We join with nations in the Pacific, South America and the Caribbean in demanding a halt to the deadly commerce in plutonium and nuclear waste between Japan and Europe," said Burnie.
For more information::
Tom Clements, Greenpeace International Nuclear Campaigner, Tsuruga
81-(0)90-9329-6856, tom.clements@wdc.greenpeace.org
Shaun Burnie, Greenpeace International Nuclear Campiagner, Tokyo, 81-(0)90-2253-7306,
shaun.burnie@ams.greenpeace.org
Mhairi Dunlop, Greenpeace International Nuclear Press Co-ordinator,
Tokyo, 81-(0)90-2253-0357
Photographs are available from John Novis, Greenpeace International
Photo Desk +31 65 381 9121
Video is available of the Pacific Pintail delivering the cask at Takahama
Bay from Greenpeace International Video Desk +31 20 5249 543
(1) Click here for The Agreement
between the Government of Japan and the UK can be found here. (pdf)
Documentation:
Table 1: Japan's plutonium
stocks, past, present and future (pdf)
Table 2: Estimates of annual plutonium
loading in MOX fuel 2002-1010 (pdf)
