Pressure Seen on UK, French Nuclear Reprocessing

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Tuesday February 8 5:45 AM ET 

Pressure Seen on UK, French Nuclear Reprocessing  

LONDON (Reuters) - Pressure to end British and French reprocessing of 
old nuclear fuel has increased following a U.S. decision to pay 
Russia to halt its civilian nuclear reprocessing program, 
environmentalists said on Tuesday.  

U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said the $100 million joint 
research and aid package announced on Monday aims to keep Russian 
plutonium, which is extracted from spent nuclear fuel during 
reprocessing, out of the wrong hands.  

Environmentalists said the deal will add pressure on Britain and 
France to phase out their multi-billion dollar reprocessing 
industries which daily add to the world's stockpile of plutonium, one 
of the world's deadliest substances. ``This is the final nail in the 
coffin of Sellafield. British Nuclear Fuels will have to end 
reprocessing,'' Greenpeace nuclear campaigner Peter Roache told 
Reuters, referring to the UK plant.   

``The U.S. has tremendous clout and this puts severe pressure on the 
UK and France. America retains certain rights over the uranium it 
sells to Japan as nuclear fuel, including whether it can be sent for 
reprocessing.''  

Roache said the deal was a major step forward because the Russians 
have always been enthusiastic proponents of reprocessing.  

But state-owned British Nuclear Fuels said the U.S. decision was 
driven by political considerations, reflecting the uncertain 
situation in Russia and increased proliferation risks. A link should 
not be made with Britain or France's commercial reprocessing program. 
 
``It is nonsense to say the American move threatens BNFL's 
reprocessing business. It is flawed logic. We reprocess because it is 
a good, solid business worth billions,'' said BNFL's Peter Osbourne.  

 The Mox Market

Osbourne said the plutonium extracted during reprocessing was 
``energy in the bank'' because it can be turned into a fresh reactor 
fuel called MOX (a combination of plutonium and uranium oxide).  

However, critics say it is important to cease the production of 
plutonium whether in Russia, France or Britain because the jury is 
still out on the usefulness of MOX fuel as a means of disposing of 
plutonium.  

``BNFL's Japanese market for MOX is collapsing around them,'' said 
Patrick Green of Friends of the Earth.  

A senior British government official is currently in Japan 
apologizing for the falsification of data on BNFL-supplied MOX fuel 
which created a furor last year.  

``The important thing is to get this fissile nuclear material into a 
passive state. It does not make sense to say the Russians should not 
produce plutonium from reprocessing but that it is alright for the UK 
and France,'' said Green.  

BNFL and France's Cogema are the world's only major reprocessing 
companies outside of Russia, in part because the U.S. banned 
reprocessing in 1977 in order to stop the  proliferation of 
plutonium.

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Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
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Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/scperle
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