Saturday, May 26, 2012

Reprocessing Nuclear Fuel to Continue in Japan?



Asahi: Panel backs nuclear fuel reprocessing after talks with industry officials May 24 2012
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201205240100

[excerpt] "A Japan Atomic Energy Commission panel revised its draft policy evaluations to favor nuclear fuel recycling after closed-door consultations with pro-nuclear officials from the industry, sources said...

A senior official of Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd., which operates a spent fuel reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, called for plant operations to continue, the sources said..."

MAJIA HERE: Why would Japan want to continue re-processing nuclear fuel?

There are only 3 reasons I can think of that Japan would want to continue "re-processing" a.k.a. "enriching" nuclear fuel.

1. They plan to re-start breeder reactors and/or reactors that can run on MOX fuel, which contains a much higher percentage of plutonium.

2. They plan on selling re-processed fuel to other nations.

3. They have a nuclear weapons program that they want to continue producing plutonium for.

Any of these answers is deeply unsettling.

Perhaps both they are all correct?

Japan has a history of "re-processing" fuel

AND of stockpiling plutonium by purchasing it from other nations.

Please see my post here:
http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/tokai.html


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