BRITISH SHIP LOADED WITH PLUTONIUM FUEL ARRIVES IN JAPAN AMID PROTEST AND UNCERTAIN FATE

24 March 2001

Niigata, Japan - Yet another shipment of dangerous plutonium Mixed Oxide, MOX, fuel with an uncertain future arrived at its destination in Japan today after enduring a 30,000-kilometre journey that drew worldwide protest. This is the third shipment of plutonium to arrive in Japan since 1993 and like the past two, it is likely that not one gram of the dangerous nuclear material will be loaded into a nuclear reactor.

As the ships Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal neared the port of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa today, about 300 protesters carrying banners proclaiming the MOX fuel to be falsified and dangerous, demonstrated outside the nuclear power plant where the plutonium fuel is supposed to be loaded later this year. The Pacific Pintail with its cargo of MOX fuel docked at the port around 6am. Amidst high security ships, boats and helicopters from Japan's coast guard and police guarded the ship as it entered the port.

As with the two cargoes of MOX fuel produced by British Nuclear Fuels and the Cogema/Belgonucleaire group and delivered to Japan in 1999, doubts hang over the quality of this MOX fuel and whether it will be used in a nuclear reactor as intended. The MOX fuel delivered today, consists of 28 assemblies of around 220kg of plutonium, and around 5 tons of uranium, and was also produced by the French/Belgian Cogema/Belgonucleaire MOX fuel group. It is supposed to be loaded into unit 3 of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear power plant in the world, operated by Tokyo Electric Power.

Concerns over the safety of the shipment have led to growing opposition along the sea-route and within Japan. The ships were confronted by opposition in the form of a flotilla of protest yachts which had gathered in the middle of the Tasman Sea, between Australia and New Zealand. The MOX ships increased their speed and made a wild course change to avoid facing the protest yachts. Protests in South Korea demanded the ship not pass near the peninsula, and last week over 1,000 protestors marched through the streets of Kashiwazaki City to protest against the shipment and Japan's plutonium program.

The ships' arrival in Japan comes only hours after the Fukushima District court decided it was not possible to rule on whether or not quality control data for the MOX fuel delivered in 1999 was falsified, due to the lack of information released by Belgonucleaire/Cogema and Tokyo Electric. Consequently they turned down an application for an injunction made by plaintiffs seeking to prevent MOX loading in Fukushima Power plant. Over 1,900 citizens joined a legal action against Tokyo Electric, demanding that quality control data be released by the company.

They cited evidence of falsification of quality control data and consequences for nuclear reactor safety. The case launched in August 2000, has been one of the longest of its kind in Japan. The court issuing its decision stated that it was "inexplicable" for Belgonucleaire to withhold data on the MOX pellet diameter, and that citing commercial confidentiality was "not credible." The court had made repeated requests for release of data during the past months.

"The plutonium industry is clearly out of control, they defy the courts and public will," said Shaun Burnie of Greenpeace International. "It is inherently dangerous to ship and use MOX and yet they have just sailed around the world in defiance of international opposition. Not one gram of plutonium delivered to Japan in the last 15 years has been used in a reactor - it's just stockpiled here. Plutonium is not about electricity or energy, its about nuclear waste and bomb-material."

Japan's multi-billion dollar plutonium program has been set back by a further year due to the opposition of the Governor of the Prefecture who called in February for a year's consultation with citizens on plans to use MOX fuel. The City Council of Kashiwazaki will Monday 26th debate a resolution opposing the loading of the MOX fuel that arrived today.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Kazue Suzuki, Greenpeace Japan (m) +81 90 2249 1502 - in Kashiwazaki-Kariwa.
- Shaun Burnie, Greenpeace International (m) +81 90 2253 7306 - in Kashiwazaki-Kariwa.
- Matilda Bradshaw, Greenpeace International +31 6 535 04 701 - in Amsterdam.

Photo available: Greenpeace International picture desk: +31 20 524 9580

Greenpeace Japan picture desk: +81 90 3470 7884
Video available: APTN, Reuters
www.greenpeace.org/~nuclear/transport/mox00