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MITI chief to convince Fukushima Pref. MOX fuel plan is safe
MITI chief to convince Fukushima Pref. MOX fuel plan is safe
TOKYO, Aug. 15 (Kyodo) - International Trade and Industry Minister
Takeo Hiranuma said Tuesday the ministry will work to convince the
Fukushima prefectural government that the planned use of plutonium-
uranium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel at a nuclear plant in the northeastern
Japan prefecture is safe.
Speaking at a regular news conference, Hiranuma said the government
''has given the green light to the 'pluthermal' plan, believing there
are no problems with it.''
Earlier this year Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) decided to
postpone the use of MOX fuel at its nuclear plant in the prefecture,
originally scheduled to start in February.
The decision followed a scandal which surfaced last September
involving falsified safety data on MOX fuel from a British fuel
maker.
TEPCO imported the MOX fuel, made by Belgian nuclear fuel maker
Belgonucleaire, last September for use at a reactor of its No. 1
nuclear power plant in the prefecture.
The pluthermal process involves plutonium extracted from spent
nuclear fuel that is combined with uranium oxide to create MOX fuel
pellets to be burned in light-water reactors.
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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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Costa Mesa, CA 92626
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