BNFL chief resigns over safety report

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

BNFL chief resigns over safety report

LONDON, Feb. 28 (Kyodo) - The chief executive of embattled British 
Nuclear Fuels PLC (BNFL) has resigned following a damning report into 
safety at the company's Sellafield plant, Britain's Department of 
Trade and Industry (DTI) said Monday. 

John Taylor's resignation, which is expected to be officially 
announced by BNFL on Tuesday, comes 10 days after a highly critical 
report by the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) accusing the 
company of ''systematic management failings.'' 

DTI Secretary Stephen Byers welcomed Taylor's decision to resign. 
''We can now look forward to a fresh start at BNFL under a new chief 
executive,'' he said. 

In his report, Laurence Williams, the NII's chief inspector, found 
that quality assurance data relating to 31 batches of plutonium-
uranium mixed oxide (MOX) nuclear fuel, all produced for Japan, had 
been deliberately falsified by workers at the Sellafield plant. 

He called on BNFL to implement a series of recommendations, saying 
the demonstration MOX plant would not be able to re-open until BNFL 
had addressed those concerns to NII's satisfaction. 

Monday's announcement by the DTI preempted any statement by BNFL, 
which refused to comment on the resignation Monday morning. 

Speculation has been rife in the British press recently that Taylor, 
who came to BNFL from oil giant Exxon Corp. in 1996, would resign 
from BNFL in an effort to restore confidence among the company's 
customers, including Japan's Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO). 

Following the publication of the NII report, the DTI called on Hugh 
Collum, BNFL's chairman, to carry out a ''root and branch'' review of 
management at BNFL. 

Chris Loughlin, BNFL's board director in charge of the MOX plant, 
could also resign, according to reports in the British press. 

The DTI also said discussions are still ongoing between the Japanese 
and British governments over what to do with the MOX already shipped 
to Japan to be used at KEPCO's Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui 
Prefecture, along the Sea of Japan coast. 

The Japanese authorities want the MOX returned to Britain, but the 
DTI said both governments are ''looking at a number of options.'' 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
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