Japan Now Will Stockpile Cargo of Plutonium
TOKYO — Japan, under fire for shipping 1.7 tons of deadly plutonium from France, went back on a pledge and announced Saturday that it will stockpile the nuclear fuel.
The quasi-governmental Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corp. said the plutonium will not be used for at least three years because problems with fuel-processing machines will delay full-scale operation at the Monju fast-breeder reactor until October, 1995.
Japan, which is moving to nuclear power to reduce its dependence on imported oil, had pledged to store only the amount of plutonium it needs to generate power.
The shipment of plutonium has been denounced by anti-nuclear groups, which fear that it could be hijacked by terrorists or released in an accident.
An official of the power authority, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plutonium would be kept at a plant at Tokaimura, 70 miles northeast of Tokyo.
By the year 2010, the government wants 43% of Japan’s electricity to be nuclear-produced, up from 26% now, and plans to obtain 80 to 90 tons of plutonium.
That policy was set years ago amid fears of shortages of uranium, a less-dangerous nuclear fuel. A speck of plutonium inhaled can kill a human.
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