Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Japan rethinks plan to ship plutonium Date: Sat, 14 Nov 92 16:22:11 EST Message-ID: \SE A;WORLD \SS (WS) \HD Japan rethinks plan to ship plutonium \BY Elaine Kurtenbach \CR ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT TOKYO TOKYO - Seeking to prevent a diplomatic debacle, Japan said yesterday that it may revise its plan to ship tons of highly radioactive plutonium from France. Officials from the Foreign Ministry, Science and Technology Agency and Maritime Safety Agency told reporters they were surprised by the outcry against the shipment of 1.7 tons of plutonium that left Cherbourg on Sunday. The load is the first under an ambitious plan to meet most of Japan's energy needs by using more than 30 tons of plutonium from France to fuel fast-breeder reactors, which produce more nuclear material than they consume. Japan is almost totally dependent on oil imports for its energy. But plutonium is one of the most toxic substances - a speck inhaled by a human can cause cancer or death - and environmentalists and others have strongly criticized Japan for the shipment. They fear an accident could pollute the ocean or terrorists could hijack the plutonium to make crude nuclear bombs. Japanese officials, however, say they are confident the material is secure in leak-proof, crash-proof casks, and that the freighter's escort ship is adequately armed to fend off a terrorist attack. At least a dozen nations protested the shipment, however, and several have refused to allow the ship to pass through their territorial waters. Protesters fought with police at Cherbourg while the plutonium was loaded, and a Greenpeace boat is tailing the cargo ship to warn nations of its approach. "Nobody who had been involved in the shipment in Japan or in other countries expected this shipment would get such kind of high public attention," said Toichi Sakata, the director of the Science and Technology Agency's nuclear fuel division. Another official said the Japan Atomic Energy Commission would reconsider the plutonium plans as part of a long-term review of its nuclear energy program begun in September. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the study would have to take the current situation into account. Japan has billed its plutonium program as the key to giving Japan energy independence, although some officials privately say they oppose the plan. The plutonium coming from France was recovered from spent nuclear fuel shipped from conventional reactors in Japan. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM