Gov't panel members express concern over surplus plutonium

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

Gov't panel members express concern over surplus plutonium

TOKYO, Feb. 27 (Kyodo) - Members of the government's Atomic Energy 
Commission expressed concern Tuesday over possible surplus plutonium 
in Japan a day after Fukushima Gov. Eisaku Sato rejected the use of 
uranium-plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel at a nuclear power plant in 
the prefecture. 

Tetsuya Endo pointed out in the commission's meeting that the key 
issue of nuclear proliferation is how to deal with plutonium. 

''If such use of plutonium (as MOX fuel) is abandoned, plutonium with 
no specific purpose will be stored up in Japan, affecting the 
country's atomic energy policy,'' Endo said. 

Noriko Kimoto, another member, said, ''The fundamental problem is 
public distrust and anxiety toward the atomic energy policy.'' 

Tetsuo Takeuchi stressed the need to promote understanding of the 
background of nuclear energy. ''We can recognize what we should do 
with atomic energy in consideration of environmental issues and 
limited resources,'' he said. 

''Since the silent majority does not view the issue as something 
affecting their lives, we need to do more to appeal to them,'' he 
said. 

Fukushima Gov. Sato told the prefectural assembly Monday he will not 
agree to the use of MOX fuel at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power 
plant, being operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. ( TEPCO). 

In reaction to Sato's remarks, Nobuya Minami, TEPCO president, 
released a statement Monday defending the ''pluthermal'' project, 
which uses MOX fuel in a thermal reactor. 

''The pluthermal project is efficient recycling of an energy resource 
that we do not have much of in Japan. We will do everything in our 
power to promote it to residents in Fukushima and to get them to 
agree with the plan at the No. 3 reactor,'' he said. 

Sato's announcement is likely to affect TEPCO's plans to start using 
MOX fuel in the reactor in April. That would also affect Japan's 
national policy for its nuclear fuel cycle. 

MOX, a pellet mixture of uranium dioxide and plutonium dioxide, is 
designed to be burned in light-water reactors. Plutonium is obtained 
by reprocessing spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants. 

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