Closure of Japanese plant casts doubt on viability of Sellafield's Mox operation

[defendandprotect]

Closure of Japanese plant casts doubt on viability of Sellafield's Mox operation

Future in doubt for plant at nuclear complex in wake of Fukushima disaster / Japanese operation that is key customer set to close amid earthquake fears

By Steve Connor, Science Editor

Monday, 9 May 2011
REUTERS

Photo Capiton:

Severe production problems have meant that the first fuel shipments will be delivered more than 10 years behind schedule.

The future of a nuclear fuel plant at Sellafield in Cumbria hangs in the balance after the Japanese Prime Minister called for the closure of a nuclear power station near Tokyo, which was to be the UK plant's most important customer.


The setback is the latest blow to Britain's faltering strategy for dealing with its growing mountain of reprocessed nuclear waste, and further evidence of the extent to which the devastating Japanese earthquake of 11 March has changed the nuclear picture – in particular the international trade in reprocessed nuclear fuel.

If the power plant at Hamaoka, 200km from Tokyo, closes, shipments of nuclear fuel to Japan from the Sellafield Mox Plant would stop before they had even started. It is the latest in a long series of problems for the nuclear fuel plant at the Sellafield complex which had already cost taxpayers £1.34bn even before the impact of the earthquake and tsunami was felt.


http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/closure-of-japanese-plant-casts-doubt-on-viability-of-sellafields-mox-operation-2281141.html

[madrchsod]

1. japanese manufacturing will be moving to other countries.

i expect the japanese plants in this part of the world will be picking up more production

[marions ghost]

2. MOX =

a bad idea.

Sorry Sellafield.