GREENPEACE WARNS OF NEW PLUTONIUM MOX FUEL SHIPMENT FROM FRANCE TO JAPAN AND LAUNCHES A LEGAL CHALLENGE AGAINST PLUTONIUM FUEL USE IN JAPAN

9 August 2000

PARIS -- Greenpeace today warned en-route nations around the world that they will be at risk from a new shipment of plutonium MOX fuel from France to Japan as early as September.

This is the first MOX plutonium shipment since the falsification scandal over safety data for similar fuel produced by the government-owned British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL). The company has agreed to pay $US60 million in compensation to the Japanese government and take back the fuel. More than 25 en-route nations lodged formal protests against the MOX shipment.

Greenpeace believes that the new shipment from France, of 28 fuel assemblies containing some 230 kg of weapons-usable plutonium, could leave as early as September 2000. The Japanese government has already sought approval for the shipment from the US government, required under a 1988 US - Japan agreement. It is expected that US approval could be given within weeks. The previous route was via South Africa and the Cape of Good Hope into the Southern Ocean and up through the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean to Japan.

This development comes as Greenpeace Japan, 864 Japanese citizens and other Japanese environmental groups today took court action against a Tokyo nuclear power company, Tokyo Electric (TEPCO), to stop the loading of the plutonium MOX fuel because of safety concerns about the fuel.

Greenpeace believes that TEPCO, backed by the Japanese government, do not want to release the safety data on the fuel because it would reveal irregularities were recorded during the fuel's manufacture by Belgonucleaire of Belgium. This fuel was part of the same shipment made last year, which included the falsified MOX fuel from BNFL.

The planned new shipment will also be carrying fuel manufactured by Belgonucleaire. Any safety data problems that could emerge as a result of the Japanese court case would also apply to this new shipment of Belgium plutonium MOX fuel and would force the Japanese government to reject it as in the BNFL case.

"The last MOX shipment proved conclusively that the plutonium industry cannot be trusted and yet, backed by the British, French, Belgian and Japanese governments, they continue to threaten the safety of millions when they ship plutonium fuel around the planet" said a Greenpeace spokesperson. "The shipment poses a totally unnecessary risk for the people living in countries along the route and for those living in the countries where this fuel is made."

To date some 2 tonnes of weapons-usable plutonium fuel have been transported to Japan from European nuclear reprocessing plants in the UK and France. So far, despite repeated Japanese government statements that the plutonium fuel imported from Europe is to be used in nuclear power stations, none of the 2 tonnes has ever been used for power production. The Japanese Government plans to import another 45 tonnes of weapons usable plutonium requiring some 80 shipments over the next ten years.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Simon Boxer,Greenpeace International Nuclear Campaign: +31 20 523 6634 or (m)+31 629 001133
- Louise Edge, Greenpeace Communications on +44 7801 212993 (UK mobile).

For information on the 1999 plutonium transport and Greenpeace's protests against it visit:www.greenpeace.org/~nuclear/transport.html