![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() by AFP Staff Writers Cherbourg, France (AFP) Sept 7, 2022
The departure of a shipment of reprocessed nuclear fuel from France to Japan has been delayed due to the breakdown of loading equipment, a French nuclear technology company announced Wednesday. The setback came as environmental campaigners denounced the practice of transporting such highly radioactive materials. The shipment arrived on two separate lorries under heavy security in the small hours of Wednesday morning at the French port city of Cherbourg. It was bound for Japan for use in a power plant. But French nuclear technology group Orano, which is handling the transport, said Wednesday that the breakdown of one of its lifting gantries had prevented the loading of one of the two packages. It would therefore be returned to the Orano site 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the port. The company was doing what it could to organise a fresh sea transport as soon as possible, Orano added. The previous transport of Mox fuel to Japan, in September 2021, drew protests from environmental group Greenpeace. Yannick Rousselet of Greenpeace France had already denounced the latest planned shipment. "Transporting such dangerous materials from a nuclear proliferation point of view is completely irresponsible," he said. He described the latest development, in which part of the shipment had had to be returned to the Orano facility as unprecedented. "A boat loaded with Mox is going to circle in the water while they make a round trip (of 40 kilometres) with a container of Mox," he said. - Highly radioactive - Japan lacks facilities to process waste from its own nuclear reactors and sends most of it overseas, particularly to France. The load of highly radioactive Mox, a mixture of reprocessed plutonium and uranium, was transported overnight from a plant in the Hague in secure containers on two trucks, Orano said. The convoy arrived around 3:45 am (0145 GMT) at the port surrounded by law enforcement vehicles, according to an AFP photographer. Shortly after 6:00 am, the first fuel package was loaded aboard a specially designed ship from British company PNTL, which has extensive experience with this type of transport, Orano said. That ship has taken up a holding position out at sea, said the company. Armed British police were still on board the vessel, it added. It will take a little more than two months for the ship to reach Japan, said Orano -- the eighth such shipment from France since 1999. Mox is composed of 92 percent uranium oxide and eight percent plutonium oxide, according to Orano. The plutonium "is not the same as that used by the military," it said. jfm-clc/jj/rox
![]() ![]() Germany puts two nuclear plants on standby in energy u-turn Berlin (AFP) Sept 5, 2022 Germany said Monday it would keep two nuclear plants on standby beyond the end of the year in a policy u-turn, as the shut-off of Russian gas supplies sends Europe scrambling for energy sources. Following a new network stress test, two of the three remaining power plants would "remain available until mid-April 2023 in case needed", Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement, partly delaying a nuclear exit planned under former Chancellor Angela Merkel. The plants would be kept in reserve ... read more
![]() |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |