Text Fwd: Urgent Action Call From Japan_ NO MOX Fuel!

Image Source: International Nuclear Safety Center

'Map of Nuclear Power Reactors Japan'


Image Source: Citizen's Nuclear Information Center(CNIC), Japan

Image Source: Saga Sinbun

Image Source: Same as above

Image Source: Same as above

* Text informed by Makiko Sato(seamesky@sand.ocn.ne.jp) on Oct. 29, 2009

Dear friends,

The Japanese government (at both national and local level) and big
companies in the nuclear power industry are forcing through the
building of new nuclear powerplants and a dangerous plutonium-thermal
project completely igonoring the concerns and objections of local
communities.

Please support the local community’s struggle in Japan!

Even after October 15th, your action will be a great help to put
pressure on the electric company and the local/national authorities.

Please forward this alert freely.
-------------------------------------------------------------
URGENT ACTION ALERT

Kyushu Electric Power CO,. INC should call off its MOX fuel loading
into Genkai Nuclear Power Station!
Nuclear power is not acceptable as the solution to climate change!
End the saga of the nuclear dispute in Saga!!

On October 14th, Kyushu Electric Power CO. INC published that on Oct
15, it would start loading MOX (mixed uranium and plutonium oxide)
fuel in Genkai Unit 3 in Saga Prefecture.
(See a map http://www.insc.anl.gov/pwrmaps/map/japan.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genkai,_Saga)

It’d be the actual start of pluthermal power generation in Japan
(“Pluthermal” is a Japanese word which combines two English words,
the “plu” of “plutonium” and "thermal". Pluthermal refers to the
utilization of 'plutonium' fuel in commercial ('thermal') nuclear
power plants. The fuel is commonly referred to as plutonium uranium
mixed oxide fuel, or MOX fuel.).

Following Genkai, six other nuclear stations are planning to introduce
pluthermal in Japan.

(See http://www.greenaction-japan.org/modules/english0/index.php?id=5)

The use of MOX fuel increases the risk and severity of a nuclear accident.

When using MOX fuel, the control rods' capacity to function is reduced
and power output is less stable and harder to control. The scale of
MOX fuel usage in the Pluthermal Program in Japan will be
unprecedented. There will be a higher concentration of plutonium in
the fuel, a higher burn-up rate ---experimentation has shown that
there are serious safety concerns with high burn-ups, and there will
be no reactor adaptations such as increasing the number of control
rods.

The local communities in Saga and other areas, which have nuclear
power plants located there , have strongly opposed the Pluthermal
Program.
(see photos : http://www.cnic.jp/english/newsletter/nit128/nit128articles/group128.html
http://www.saga-s.co.jp/news/saga.0.1261734.article.html)

On October 7th, NISA (Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency), a
subordinate agency of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry,
admitted that there was a possiblity that defective MOX fuel, which
Kansai Electric Power CO. INC had decided to reject as fuel for
loading in their Takahama Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4, would be
used as MOX fuel for Genkai.
(see http://www.greenaction-japan.org/modules/wordpress0/index.php?p=74)

While Saga Prefectural Assembly is in the process of examining data
concerning the MOX fuel submitted by Kyushu Electric Power CO. INC,
this company hastily published the time of its loading of the MOX fuel
as within less than 24 hours from the announcement and the governor of
Saga Prefecture Yasushi Furukawa has done nothing about it.

---------------------------------------------------
PLEASE SEND YOUR CRIES OF RESISTANCE TO Kyushu Electric Power CO. INC

Please send FAX as their web page is only designed for the Japanese alfabet.

Even if you don’t have a fax machine, you can still send your message using
http://www.myfax.com/free/
from your computer for nothing.
(each person is limited to 2 faxes a day so please be careful not to
send them to the wrong number.)

1, Kyushu Electric Power CO. INC
(if you use http://www.myfax.com/free/, please do as follows)

TO
Name: Mr. President Toshio Manabe
Company: Kyushu Electric Power CO. INC
Country: (select Japan)
Fax Number: (+81 0)９２−７６１−６９４４

FROM
(please write your name and e-mail address)

Enter text message:(please copy and paste)

Please call off the MOX fuel loading in Genkai Nuclear Power Station!
Don’t start pluthermal, which will put local people’s lives in
jeopardy and create tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste.
(If you want to send a longer message, please make a file, write what
you want to say and attach it.)

It’s not necessary to enter your friends’ e-mail adresses, just click
“SEND FAX”, then they’ll send back a confirmation letter to your email
address.
Please click on the link, which you’ll find in the confirmation letter
and your fax will be sent.)

------------------------------
You can also send your opinion in English to the following agencies
from their web pages or directly to their e-mail address.
Please put pressure on them to stop their promotion of nuclear power policies.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
https://wwws.meti.go.jp/honsho/comment_form/comments_send.htm#form

Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency
http://www.nisa.meti.go.jp/english/index.htm

Agency for Natural Resources and Energy
enechohp＠meti.go.jp

-------------------------------------------------------------------
3 reasons for supporting Japanese anti-pluthermal movements.

1, As mentioned above, the use of MOX fuel increases the risk and
severity of a nuclear accident.

It’s estimated that 1g of Plutonium in the air causes about 500,000
people to get lung cancer.

Genkai nuclear plant is planning to burn 220 times the amount of
plutonium which was used for the atomic bomb used in Nagasaki.

Radiation knows no borders. Korea is the bordering country with Japan
and its environmental movements and a Member of the National
Parliament as one of their members, recently submitted a petition to
the Japanese government requesting cancelation of the pluthermal
program.

2, The MOX fuel which will be used in nuclear powerplants in Japan had
been produced by Areva in France and shipped from France to Japan,
traveling through two thirds of globe whilst ignoring the concern of
the countries en route.

Electric facilities in Japan seem determined to pursue this very
troubled MOX fuel utilization program. Once begun, many more shipments
will follow as Japan has about 38 tons of plutonium in Europe, and it
will continue to put en route countries at risk.
http://www.greenaction-japan.org/internal/090305_appeal.pdf

3, The Japanese government is trying to promote nuclear power plants
as their central policy against climate change.

At the same time they have decided to back the nuclear power industry
in exporting their technology to other countries, especially
developing countries, as their main policy for the economic recovery.

This in turn causing another kind of nuclear prolification.

By demanding counter guarantees from the importing countries, any
subsidies which the Japanese government will give Japanese companies
in the nuclear power industry through ECA (Export Credit Agency), will
become debt for the importing countries. This will cause an even
greater debt burden to developing countries.

For more information
Citizen`s Nuclear Information Center (CNIC)
http://www.cnic.jp/english/

Green Action
http://www.greenaction-japan.org/modules/entop2/

Greenpeace Japan
http://www.greenpeace.or.jp/press/releases_en/pr20090518_ce_html

Thank you for your cooperation!

--
Junko Okura 大倉純子
Email: preabsanol@gmail.com



* Update from Junko Okura on Nov. 3, 2009
(cc. Makiko Sato)

Hi, I’m Junko Okura, who made the action alert which Makiko had
forwarded to you. Makiko gave me your address.

Thank you for putting the alert on your site. I was really encouraged
by your cooperation.

I’d like to add some update from “Comment” column but I couldn’t. so
I’ll write the content briefly here.

Kyushu Electric Power CO. INC. (also known as KYUDEN) has finished
loading the MOX fuel to the reactor and is now about to start up,
meaning that they will start Pluthermal electric generation possibly
as early as this week.

A local opposition group, The Committee for MIRAI (“Future” in
Japanese language), is now collecting endorcement for their pettion,
demanding that the Pluthermal Project be called off, which will be
submit to the Japanese government, Saga local government and Kyuden.
I’ll send you the English translation of the petiotion as soon as I
finished. I’d really appreciate it if you’d support the action by the
local people again.

Thanks again and all the best,

Junko Okura


* Related blog

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/11/petition-fwd-stop-pluthermal-nuclear.html
Friday, November 6, 2009
Petition: Fwd from Japan : STOP Pluthermal Nuclear Power Generation in Saga, Japan!