Reprocessing plant gets green light
5 Oct 2001
British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) has been given approval by the UK Government to use the Sellafield Mixed Oxide Plant (SMP) for MOX fuel production.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Department of Health have announced that, following a period of public consultation into the economics of operating SMP, the plant is justified.
'Our customers have been extremely patient with us and we can now get on with the business of manufacturing fuel for them and to repay the commitment that they have shown us,' said BNFL's Chief Executive Norman Askew.
According to a statement from BNFL, the company's customers have indicated their commitment to SMP as they want to recycle their plutonium separated during reprocessing into MOX fuel for use in their reactors.
Environmental groups Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth have expressed doubts as to the legality of the Government's decision.
'Greenpeace believes the decision itself is unlawful because BNFL has failed to show an adequate business case for the plant, as required under European law,' said Stephen Tindale, Executive Director of Greenpeace in the UK. 'We are consulting with our lawyers and, with Friends of the Earth, expect to issue proceedings very soon. Some may think that this is the end to the MOX controversy. In reality it is just the beginning.'
The £470M MOX Plant was built five years ago. In 1999, MOX was at the centre of controversy after workers at a pilot plant are said to have falsified quality control data for new fuel pellets.
According to Greenpeace, the ensuing scandal severely damaged BNFL's reputation world wide, especially in Japan where a trial consignment of fuel was about to be loaded into a reactor. Since then, Japanese utilities have reportedly refused to sign any contracts with BNFL.
