NOTE: This is a special edition of the Nix MOX Bulletin Board with information on an opportunity to help prevent operation of the Sellafield MOX Plant in Britain.

MOX proposals in the United States are directly linked to European MOX programs. British Nuclear Fuels, Ltd. (BNFL), the multinational nuclear corporation that operates Sellafield, was one of the lead bidders in DOE's request for proposals for plutonium disposition. They are heavily involved as a contractor at nearly every DOE site in the United States. European interest in MOX in the US stems in part from a desire to expand MOX markets to this country. This is an opportunity to support the crucial work of our anti-MOX colleagues in the UK and elsewhere.

A regular edition of the Nix MOX Bulletin Board will be posted in the next week.

URGENT: STOP THE SELLAFIELD MOX PLANT

The British Government is holding a public consultation on approving operation of the Sellafield Mox Plant built by British Nuclear Fuel Ltd. (BNFL). The comment deadline is THIS FRIDAY, JULY 23rd. If the plant's operation is approved it could increase the number of shipments of MOX from the UK to Japan up to a maximum of 40 ships over the next decade.

BACKGROUND:

The consultation is about the economic arguments for operating the plant, though the UK government pays lip service to the need to consider broader policy implications, such as nonproliferation and plutonium security and transportation concerns. These issues still need to be raised.

In addition, a shipment of MOX fuel from Britain to Japan has just begun the first leg of its journey, though it was delayed for 12 hours by Greenpeace protesters. Greenpeace has called for cancellation of this shipment, since if it is successful, it will be much more likely that the Sellafield MOX Plant will be given a green light to operate. This shipment is also being protested by Caribbean heads of government. For email copies of articles about this shipment, its relation to Sellafield, the Caribbean response, and the Greenpeace protests, write to port@bigsky.net.

TALKING POINTS:

• BNFL's economic case is on shaky ground: Only 6.7% of the MOX plant's capacity has firm contracts. 11% of the throughput is described as under "letter of intent/reservation of capacity," 25.7% is "under offer" and 56.6% is "forecast."

• Because this authorization process is happening after the SMP has already been built, the £300m cost of the plant is being considered a "sunk" cost. This is a dubious argument, and it can be argued that, in order for the benefits to be shown to outweigh the detriments, the capital cost of the plant DOES have to be taken in to account. If this were the case, the plant would make a loss and could not, therefore be justified.

• BNFL may have to pay for the storage and disposal of plutonium contaminated wastes produced by the plant. It is not clear whether these will stay in the UK, or be returned to the customer, and it is not clear who will pay for the transport or management of the waste.

Consultation documents related to this decision are available at: www.environment.detr.gov.uk/ras/index.htm

Send letters BY FRIDAY, JULY 23 to:

The Sellafield Mox Plant Consultation,
Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR),
4th Floor, Ashdown House, Victoria St.
LONDON, SW1E 6DE.

Or, to get comments in faster, send them to the government official collecting submissions of comments:

Roger Mendonca,DETR
fax: +44-171-890-6289
e-mail: roger_mendonca@detr.gsi.gov.uk

NEED MORE INFORMATION?

Contact:
Pete Roche, Campaigner, Greenpeace UK
email: Pete.Roche@uk.greenpeace.org
Direct Line +44 171 865 8229; Fax: +44 171 865 8202

(Thanks to Pete Roche of Greenpeace UK, David Lowry in Stoneleigh, England, Rachel Western of Friends of the Earth UK, and Tom Clements of Nuclear Control Institute for information in this action alert.)

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See Nix MOX Bulletin Board for:
June 23, 1999
June 4, 1999

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The MOX BULLETIN BOARD is compiled by Women's Action for New Directions (WAND) Education Fund. For comments, suggestions, or to add or remove names from this distribution list, contact Pat Ortmeyer, WAND Field Director for Nuclear Waste Issues, at port@bigsky.net or 406-327- 0785. Feel free to forward this bulletin, and please include acknowledgment of WAND.