TOKYO —

A cargo ship carrying recycled nuclear fuel will soon arrive in Japan from France for the planned launch of Japan’s plutonium-thermal power generation in the fall, power company officials said Saturday. The ship, which left the northwestern French port of Cherbourg in March, will arrive around Monday at a quay used exclusively by Chubu Electric Power Co in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, as the first stop for the delivery of plutonium and uranium mixed oxide fuel, or MOX fuel, the officials said.
   
Chubu Electric plans to use the fuel for the so-called ‘‘pluthermal’’ power generation at the No. 4 reactor of its Hamaoka plant in the prefecture. The fuel will also be delivered to Kyushu Electric Power Co’s Genkai power plant in Saga Prefecture and Shikoku Electric Power Co.‘s Ikata plant in Ehime Prefecture, they said. Kyushu Electric plans to put MOX fuel into the No. 3 reactor of the Genkai plant at the time of the next regular inspection from August and commence the pluthermal power generation in the fall as the nation’s first utility company to engage in such electricity production.

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9 Comments

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  Farmboy at 07:18 AM JST - 17th May

  Luckily, Japan never has earthquakes that might damage this plant, ships never have accidents at ports, and all power plants in Japan run perfectly without releasing any contaminants into the atmosphere.

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  some14some at 07:32 AM JST - 17th May

  Luckily, Japan never has earthquakes that might damage this plant, ships never have accidents at ports, and all power plants in Japan run perfectly without releasing any contaminants into the atmosphere.

  and... 10-15 protester/activists will be there to greet the ship !

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  bakabaka at 08:14 AM JST - 17th May

  I always thought Japanese plutonium was safe... why else would japan have the worlds biggest stockpile?... but importing dangerous foreign plutonium doesnt make sense...

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  Farmboy at 09:21 AM JST - 17th May

  but importing dangerous foreign plutonium doesnt make sense...

  I think French plutonium is considered more classy...it's a status thing.

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  Kapuna at 02:18 PM JST - 17th May

  Since this fuel is burned, what kind of emisions are released?

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  Den Den at 02:19 PM JST - 17th May

  I look forward to many hours of searching to finally read information that after 6 months, the No. 3 reactor of the Genkai plant has been shut down due to an "incident", and the Ikata plant in Ehime Prefecture is running at 12% capacity.

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  WilliB at 06:10 PM JST - 17th May

  kapuna:

  " Since this fuel is burned, what kind of emisions are released? "

  Are you for real? "Burned" here does not mean burned like your burnable garbage. The stuff has been in a nuclear reactor until all the Uranium fissiun has run its course, creating all sorts of vicious radiation and assorted new radioactive materials, including the Plutonium that the Japanese want to extract here. This highly radioactive waste, which is why the French are happy to give it away to any fools who allow this stuff into their borders.

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  nandakandamanda at 11:34 PM JST - 17th May

  Ooooh, all this lovely green energy. I am getting quite excited! :8)

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  soldave at 08:54 AM JST - 18th May

  Wonder how many protesters will turn up.

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