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Niigata village passes referendum motion on MOX fuel
Niigata village passes referendum motion on MOX fuel
NIIGATA, Japan, Dec. 26 (Kyodo) - The Kariwa village assembly in
Niigata Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast on Tuesday passed a
measure seeking a referendum on a plan to use a plutonium fuel mix at
a nuclear power plant in the village.
The village assembly which last year turned down the measure by a
vote of 14 to 1, narrowly passed the motion this time, with a vote of
9 for and 8 against, to conduct the nation's first ever referendum by
local residents on the use of such fuel.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric
Power Co. (TEPCO) is the focus of attention for the referendum which
will be held as early as late February next year.
Mayor Hiroo Shinada has given his assurance that he will respect the
result of the referendum.
The fuel program, known as the ''pluthermal'' plan, involves burning
pellets of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel comprising plutonium and uranium
inside light-water reactors to generate heat for producing
electricity.
TEPCO will implement the plan at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in
2001, if the referendum fails to halt it.
Under a referendum, citizens would vote to approve, disapprove, or
postpone a decision until a nuclear fuel cycle involving the final
disposal of spent fuel is established.
Local civic groups in March last year submitted petitions to
assemblies of Kariwa and the city of Kashiwazaki asking for a
referendum. The groups also presented signatures of 25,258 or 36% of
Kashiwazaki citizens, and 1,345 or 32% of Kariwa residents who
support the bill.
However, the Kariwa and Kashiwazaki assemblies rejected similar
referendum bills in March 1999.
After the assemblies rejected the bills, the Niigata prefectural
government gave the green light to the plan.
In the village assembly election in April 1999, candidates who were
opposed to the plan made gains in the assembly partly because of a
series of nuclear accidents in Japan.
TEPCO announced Thursday the plan at the No. 3 reactor of Niigata's
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant will be delayed by two months until April
17.
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