nuclear transports

Greenpeace today condemned as "misguided" plans by a Japanese electricity company to return to Britain a controversial cargo of plutonium reactor fuel, whose delivery sparked international protests last year.

16 Devember 1999 - Japan's Industry Ministry (MITI) today said that no more plutonium-MOX fuel will be accepted from British Nuclear Fuels following revelations that quality assurance data cannot be guaranteed. This represents a fatal blow to BNFL's plans to open the unauthorised £300 million Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP).

Fukui City, 13 October - British Nuclear Fuels the producers of MOX fuel for Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) are ignoring basic safety and quality standards of industrial production in an apparent attempt to reduce production costs, Greenpeace and Green Action claimed today.

The accusation comes after the two organisations commissioned an assessment by Dr. Frank Barnaby following the revelation that quality control data was falsified. Three workers accused of being responsible for the falsification were fired from BNFL last week.

Fukui politicians speak out against British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL)

Tokyo, September 28th 1999 - A cargo of deadly weapons-usable plutonium MOX fuel is expected to travel today through the pristine environment of northern Japan, through the Tsugaru Straits and past the island of Hokkaido, warned Greenpeace. The two British-flagged armed freighters, the Pacific Pintail, carrying some 225kg of weapons-usable plutonium in half a ton of MOX fuel, and the now empty Pacific Teal, began the three-day journey from Fukushima on Monday afternoon, bound for the Takahama nuclear facility in Fukui prefecture.

Arctic Sunrise - taking action against nuclear power

As BNFL's two armed plutonium ships arrived in Japan today, Greenpeace UK called on the Government to reject the company's application to open its new Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP).

At around 5.30am today, amidst massive maritime security, the Greenpeace ship MV Arctic Sunrise bore witnesses to the delivery of the first cargo of weapons usable plutonium-MOX fuel to Japan from Europe. The fuel onboard the British flagged ship "Pacific Teal" arrived at the Fukushima nuclear plant on Japan's Pacific Coast. Carrying banners reading "Plutonium Kills" and "Plutonium = Destruction", the Sunrise was surrounded by 10 Japanese Maritime Safety Agency (MSA) ships carrying commandos in full riot equipment.

Today's revelations that BNFL falsified safety records on plutonium fuel threatens to cripple its future plutonium business. The first shipment of plutonium fuel (MOX) from Sellafield is currently only a week away from arrival in Japan but may now have to be sent back to the UK for additional safety checks. The Japanese Science and Environment body (MITI) has ordered that the safety checks must take place before the plutonium fuel is used. BNFL's Japanese customers are reported to be flying to Sellafield for urgent discussions.

Environmental group calls on UK government to stop expansion plans for MOX

Greenpeace today held a press conference to call on the British Government and its state-owned nuclear reprocessing company, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. (BNFL) to immediately rescind the freeze on its bank account, and to end plans to expand plutonium fuel (MOX) production at BNFL's Sellafield plant in Cumbria, north England.

Greenpeace today called all countries on the route of the nuclear weapons-usable plutonium shipment to take all possible action to oppose the transport, which could be the first of 80 such shipments during the next decade.