MOX is a mixture of plutonium and uranium oxide that is used as fuel for nuclear power plants. Japan ships its spent nuclear fuel to France where the plutonium is separated out and then mixed into the MOX fuel. The plutonium fuel is then used in their reactors as part of Japan's "pluthermal" program.
Shipping MOX fuel requires extensive physical protection measures due to its dangerous nature and this has raised much concern. An April 2009 report found design flaws in the British transport ships. These ships were found to have "run away" corrosion, a condition that required the decommissioning or scrapping of similar vessels.
In March, Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, a member of the US Congress from the Territory of American Samoa, spoke on the House floor in protest of the shipment. He said, "This latest shipment of MOX fuel complements earlier shipments of spent fuel, about 170, from Japan to Europe. As usual, plans for this latest shipment, the largest so far, was covered in shrouds of secrecy without prior consultation or notification of en-route states. Yet, any accident involving the ships or their cargo could have catastrophic consequences on the environment and the population of en-route states. Moreover, with the increasing threat of piracy, the transported plutonium MOX fuel could easily fall in the hands of terroristsÉ
"This unnecessary and unjustifiable shipment provides another example of the unacceptable risks and adverse impact the use of nuclear power and nuclear materials have on the environment and the lives of those involved. It demonstrates once again the imperialistic behavior of some major countries at the expense of others.... Europe, Japan and all nuclear states, should keep their nuclear materials and waste in their own backyard, and not endanger the lives of others."
Citizen, consumer and peace groups from all over Japan submitted a petition to the Japanese government in opposition to MOX with demands that the shipments be stopped and that Japan terminate the MOX fuel program.
In a statement of solidarity with the protesters, Hideyuki Ban, secretary-general of Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, Aileen Mioko Smith, executive director of Green Action, and Hoshikawa Jun, executive director of Greenpeace Japan, made a plea to the government and asked for help in preventing the MOX shipments. They said, "We call on the Japanese government and electric utilities to terminate this and future MOX fuel shipments and cease from placing en route countries at risk. We call on countries potentially on the route of future MOX fuel shipments to join us in demanding the termination of these dangerous shipments."
For more information about the MOX shipment, please visit http://www.greenaction-japan.org/modules/wordpress0/index.php?p=68.
For a photograph of a citizen protest spelling out the words "No MOX," please visit http://www.greenaction-japan.org/modules/entop2/.
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