---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------- An Update on The Japanese Government's MOX Utilization Policy, from The Citizens' Nuclear Information Center 3 March 1997 Background After the Monju accident on 8 December 1995, the Japanese government's plutonium program stalled. Since then the government has been emphasizing the use of mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel in light water reactors. In response to the accident, on 23 January 1996, Governors Yukio Kurita, Eisaku Sato and Ikuo Hirayama of Fukui, Fukushima and Niigata Prefectures respectively, where some 60 percent of Japan's reactors are located, sent their well-known proposal to the central government. The proposal called for a thorough review of the nation's nuclear energy policy, including MOX utilization, and greater public consensus in nuclear policy decision-making. During the course of last year, in response to the outcry from the public and NGOs over the government's handling of the accident, the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan (AECJ) held a series of Roundtable talks. The talks were held between 25 April and 18 September and resulted in a commitment from the government to make public most of the nuclear policy decision-making meetings of its relevant ministries and agencies. In the intervening weeks since that decision, there have been some important developments. Recent Developments 20 January The Nuclear Energy Sub-committee of the Advisory Committee on Energy, which advises the International Trade and Industry Minister, Mr. Shinji Sato, released a report that recommended giving the green light for MOX utilization and plutonium recycling. While it was a recommendation and not legally binding, the advice of the Committee is taken very seriously by the Minister. The report was subsequently submitted to the Cabinet for consideration. 31 January The AECJ announced that it was formally adopting the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Energy's Nuclear Energy Sub-Committee. MOX use in LWRs was seen as being part of the process of developing a fully fledged FBR program. The commission called for all power utilities to implement MOX use in at least one LWR each by the year 2010. 4 February The Cabinet gave its consent for the MOX utilization plan, making it government policy. It should be noted that it is highly unusual for such a matter to be brought to the Cabinet level to get consent. That such high level support was deemed necessary to strengthen the plan may be an indication of exactly how weak it really is. 6 February The head of Federation of Electric Power Companies (FEPCO), Mr. Hiroshi Araki, met separately, with Mr. Yasuhiro Kato, head of the STA's Atomic Energy Bureau, and Minister Shinji Sato of MITI. Mr. Kato explained the AEC's decision of 31 January. He urged Mr. Araki to accept the plan and encourage the power companies to negotiate with local government for the go-ahead for MOX use. Mr. Araki agreed to do so. 14 February The central government asked the governors of Fukui, Fukushima and Niigata Prefectures to Tokyo to meet with the Minister of Science and Technology, Mr. Riichiro Chikaoka, and the Minister for International Trade and Industry to discuss whether they would accept the new MOX utilization policy. Implementation of the policy depended on gaining the approval of these governors, in whose prefectures the relevant reactors are sited. None of the governors gave a definite answer at the meeting. 21 February The head of FEPCO held a press conference to announce the power utilities' plan for the immediate future. Initially, the plan is for four reactors to be fueled with MOX by 2000. Two in 1999 and two more in 2000. The first two reactors would be a boiling water reactor (BWR) owned by the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and a pressurized water reactor (PWR) owned by the Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO). The companies would then fuel another BWR and PWR respectively, in 2000. Thereafter another five reactors would be using MOX fuel by the early 2000s and a total of 16-18 reactors by the year 2010 (A table of the planned schedule can be found at the end of this update). While no definitive decision has been made on which two reactors will be first to use MOX fuel, TEPCO's Fukushima I and KEPCO's Takahama are considered possible sites. 26 February In a remarkable development Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto himself invited the three governors to a meeting to discuss the government's nuclear fuel cycle policy. Such a step is unprecedented in the history of Japan's long-term nuclear plan and is a powerful indication of its precarious position. At the meeting the Prime Minister asked for a consensus on the policy from the three governors. The governors stated that the policy needs a national consensus and that it is the responsibility of the national government to reach that consensus with the public. 27 February Representatives of both the STA and MITI attended a meeting of Tsuruga City Assembly in Fukui Prefecture to explain the MOX utilization policy to the members and get their understanding for it. The Assembly rejected the explanation saying it was inadequate. It also said that, despite the claims of the STA and MITI that there was almost no difference between the safety of MOX fuel and conventional uranium fuel, the issue of safety was still uncertain. In reaching these conclusions the Assembly used the information gathered and presented by the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center (CNIC) in its on-going International MOX Assessment (IMA) Project. Finally, the Assembly stated that the policy must be explained more thoroughly to the public if a true consensus was to be reached. The STA undertook to have its Nuclear Safety Bureau conduct further tests into the safety of MOX fuel use in LWRs. On his return from the meeting with Prime Minister Hashimoto, the governor of Fukushima held a press conference at the Fukushima Prefectural Assembly. He called for the government to seek greater consensus from the public before proceeding with the MOX utilization policy. A network of local citizens" groups urged the governor not to agree to policy. Prefectural and Local Consensus At this time, the position of the three governors on the government's plan does vary. The Fukui Governor is the most critical of it and he has expressed the opinion that the consent of the Cabinet is not the consent of the public. The Fukushima Governor is more cautious but takes the position that more discussion of the plan, greater public understanding of MOX use and a definite spent fuel policy is needed before he can give his approval. The Niigata Governor has since given his provisional consent for the policy but linked it to greater economic development of the region. Below the prefectural level, at the level of local government, there is also little consensus about the government's plan. For example, the mayor of Kashiwazaki city, Niigata Prefecture, site of six nuclear reactors, has expressed concern and an unwillingness to accept MOX use in his jurisdiction. How long this sort of position will be maintained is hard to judge but such opposition is widespread and is still a hinderance to the implementation of the government's policy. International Developments There have also been some very important, international developments in the government's MOX utilization plan. Recently, CNIC received copies of diplomatic memoranda, dated 10 February 1997, that were exchanged by the governments of Japan and Belgium, in the persons of Mr. Yukihiko Ikeda, Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mr. Christian Verdonck, Belgium's Charge d'Affaires ad interim. This exchange of memoranda constitutes formal arrangements for the fabrication of MOX fuel in Belgium, for Japanese utilities, using Japanese owned plutonium and uranium. Under the terms of those arrangements 483kg of Japanese plutonium will be transferred from the reprocessing facilities at La Hague, France to the fabrication facilities of Belgonucleaire and Franco-Belge de Fabrication de Combustible International (FBFC-International) in Dessel, Belgium. Of the 483kg, 221kg is to be transferred between the date the arrangements came into effect, 10 February 1997, and September 1997 and the remaining 262kg between March 1997 and July 1998. The uranium necessary for the MOX fuel fabrication is to be transferred from Japanese sources (possibly from uranium already in France, though it is not yet known for sure) and amounts to 3,088kg. It is to be transferred in two equal shipments within the same time frame as the plutonium. It will consist of natural uranium and uranium that has been recovered from reprocessing and then enriched above natural levels but to less than 10 percent. After fabrication the MOX fuel will be returned to La Hague, France and from there will be returned to Japan. That the government should start implementing its MOX utilization policy, making overseas arrangements and commitments, while there is still no consensus for MOX use in Japan is reprehensible. The fabrication process will necessitate the transport of dangerous, weapons-usable plutonium, uranium and fabricated MOX fuel within Europe which could expose this material to the risk of diversion or accident. Proposed MOX Utilization Schedule of Japan's Eleven Power Companies Number of Reactors Company By 2000 Early 2000s By 2010 Total TEPCO 2 1 0-1 3-4 KEPCO 2 - 1-2 3-4 Chubu Electric. - 1 - 1 Kyushu Electric. - 1 - 1 JAPCO - 2 - 2 Hokkaido Electric. - - 1 1 Tohoku Electric. - - 1 1 Hokuritsu Electric. - - 1 1 Chugoku Electric. - - 1 1 Shikoku Electric. - - 1 1 EPDC - - 1 1 Total 4 5 7-9 16-18 (Names in full: Electric. =Electric Power Co., JAPCO.=Japan Atomic Power Co., EPDC=Electric Power Development Co.) _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ Citizens' Nuclear Information Center 1-59-14-302, Higashi-nakano Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164, JAPAN phone:81-3-5330-9520, fax:81-3-5330-9530 e-mail:cnic-jp@po.iijnet.or.jp / cnic@kiwi.co.jp _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/