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Plutonium nuclear reactor problems

Problematic ‘pluthermal’ era ” Japan Times Nov. 11, 2009 .……. Japan’s first reactor using plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (MOX) as fuel, attained nuclear criticality last Thursday and started trial operations Monday….. Thus “pluthermal” power generation has begun, but many problems remain unresolved………….

Under an international obligation to prevent nuclear proliferation, Japan has to burn its accumulated plutonium. Since the 1970s, Japan has entrusted reprocessing its spent nuclear fuel to France and Britain. As of the end of 2008, Japan had 32 tons of fissile plutonium — 25 tons in France and Britain — enough to make several hundred Nagasaki-type plutonium bombs. The power industry plans to start using MOX fuel in 16 to 18 reactors by fiscal 2015.

But pluthermal power generation and the nuclear fuel-cycle plan face many problems. A series of accidents have delayed the startup of a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture.

A study shows that pluthermal power generation only saves 10 to 20 percent of the uranium normally needed for power generation and that reprocessing spent nuclear fuel costs two to four times more than disposing of such fuel underground. Thus the electricity bill per household will be ¥600 to ¥840 higher annually than if the spent nuclear fuel was buried underground. In addition, if a reactor uses MOX fuel its control rods will become less effective because the plutonium fission process is less stable than that for uranium. And finally, there remains the problem of how to properly dispose of spent MOX fuel.

Problematic ‘pluthermal’ era | The Japan Times Online

November 11, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, Japan | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, plutonium, radioactive