Posts Tagged "MOX"

Areva, a modern day pirate, keeps up maritime expeditions carrying nuclear fuels and fissile materials. The Pacific Egret is a military ship painted in blue. She disconnected her AIS on the 13th of June, 2017. An AIS (Automatic Identification System) allows one to know the position and route of a ship and is essential for maritime safety. There are no surface ships of the French Navy that currently transport cargo and a weapon as formidable as that of The Pacific Egret. Several options are possible for the seagoing voyage from Cherbourg to Japan. Once used in the bygone days of Noriega for sensitive nuclear material, the Panama Canal is no more a viable option for political reasons. Crossing the South Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and South Pacific is now the most classic way to go. With the agreement of Vladimir Putin, the Arctic North-East passage off Siberia cannot be completely excluded as an option either.

Next week, MOX fuel will be loaded in Cherbourg onto the Pacific Egret or onto the Pacific Heron with the destination of the Takahama nuclear plant in Japan. MOX contains 10% plutonium and 90% uranium.

This voyage of dangerous fissile materials across the worldwide oceans causes tension and poses risks all along the track. The point of the refuge port in case of damage or fire has yet to be solved. The ability of the modest ships from Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd to resist cyclones, tsunamis, and North Korean missiles has not been demonstrated either.

The new Japanese Nuclear Safety Authority (NRA – Nuclear Regulation Authority) is considered independent. It will publish this summer 2013 a collection of basic safety rules and prescribe generic or specific work to each nuclear site in the archipelago.

These preventive improvements will take several months to a few years. They will be carried out under the precondition that the political decision to relaunch nuclear power is affirmed and accepted by civil society.

The risks of a transoceanic shipping of spent fuel containing plutonium are unacceptable today, particularly because of political, military and nuclear tensions between North Korea, South Korea and Japan.

The new Japanese Nuclear Safety Authority (NRA – Nuclear Regulation Authority) is considered independent. It will publish this summer 2013 a collection of basic safety rules and prescribe generic or specific work to each nuclear site in the archipelago.

These preventive improvements will take several months to a few years. They will be carried out under the precondition that the political decision to relaunch nuclear power is affirmed and accepted by civil society.

The risks of a transoceanic shipping of spent fuel containing plutonium are unacceptable today, particularly because of political, military and nuclear tensions between North Korea, South Korea and Japan.

As part of the work of CODIR-PA(1) aimed at drawing up a post- nuclear-accident doctrine in France, the case of herds producing milk or meat contaminated beyond the maximum admissible norms was examined. Two ideas were considered:

– 1 Slaughter the herds. The Veterinary Services Department recommends burying the carcasses on the spot in pre-selected locations that do not expose groundwater and surface water to radioactivity migration. The VSD has had some experience of this procedure during outbreaks of disease.