[NukeNet] Japan-Russia Uranium Enrichment

[Citizens' Nuclear Information Center]

Press Release by Green Action (Kyoto), Citizens' Nuclear Informaton 
Center (Tokyo) and Ecodefense (Moscow)

For international release: February 28, 2007

STATEMENT BY JAPANESE AND RUSSIAN ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS

CONSEQUENCES OF JAPAN-RUSSIA URANIUM ENRICHMENT DEAL

Today the prime ministers of Japan and Russia are meeting in Tokyo. 
According to media reports, part of the negotiations will focus on a 
new nuclear agreement allowing Japanese nuclear material to be sent to 
Russia. It is planned that uranium extracted from spent nuclear fuel 
reprocessed in the UK and France will be enriched in Russia for use as 
nuclear fuel for Japanese nuclear power plants. Earlier this month, the 
Yomiuri Shimbun (1) and various Russian media reported that "Japan has 
entered into final negotiations that would see Russia enriching Japan's 
uranium".

It is clear that the Russian uranium enrichment plant in Angarsk will 
serve as the main enrichment plant for such a deal, because the 
Rosatom, Russian nuclear agency, has announced that it is establishing 
a so-called "international center" for uranium enrichment at Angarsk. 
The aim of the center is to provide a guaranteed supply of uranium fuel 
for countries which do not enrich uranium themselves, including for 
countries under international sanctions such as Iran, India and others. 
Although Japan has an enrichment plant, the plant's capacity is only a 
fraction of Japan's total demand.

If a deal is signed between Japan and Russia, uranium extracted from 
Japanese spent fuel will be transported nearly 10,000 km to the Angarsk 
uranium enrichment plant near lake Baikal, a UNESCO World Heritage 
site. Transportation over such a long distance may become a target for 
terrorist attack, or cause transport accidents leading to large 
releases of radioactivity.

Uranium enrichment and the production of nuclear fuel result in 
enormous amounts of radioactive waste, which has to be stored and 
isolated from the environment permanently. According to Russian 
environmental groups, there is over 100,000 tons of radioactive waste 
already stored in Angarsk. The Russian nuclear industry has no plan for 
disposal of that waste. The waste is stored under the open sky in 
partly corroded containers and poses a threat of radioactive leakages. 
Such leakages may reach lake Baikal, contaminating the largest 
reservoir of non-salt water on Earth.

There are also concerns that Japan's proposal to send uranium to Russia 
for enrichment could further undermine the international 
non-proliferation regime. Japan cannot be confident that Japanese 
nuclear material will not be diverted to Iran, or to other countries 
suspected of developing nuclear weapons. Russia traditionally uses its 
own resources (including down-blending of highly enriched uranium to 
the enrichment level of uranium fuel for light-water reactors) to meet 
its own demand. Uranium sourced from other countries is more likely to 
be exported. The inadequacy of IAEA safeguards in nuclear weapons 
states and Russia's avowed determination to supply fuel for Iran's 
Bushehr nuclear power plant are grounds for serious concern.

Local residents are totally opposed to the plan of establishing an 
international center for uranium enrichment and new enrichment 
contracts. Since December 2006, protests have been happening on a 
weekly basis. People are demanding that authorities withdraw from new 
enrichment contracts in order to stop the growth of radioactive waste 
stockpiles near the highly sensitive Baikal ecosystem. Both Japan and 
Russia must uphold democratic values and respect the wishes of the 
local residents. We call on both governments to withdraw from 
negotiations over enriching Japanese uranium in Russia.

Contact information:
Green Action: + 81-75-701-7223  or +81-90-3620-9251 (Aileen Mioko Smith)
        email: amsmith at gol.com  web: http://www.greenaction-japan.org/
Citizens' Nuclear Information Center: +81-3-5330-9520  (Philip White)
        email: cnic at nifty.com web: http://cnic.jp/english/
Ecodefense (Moscow, Russia): +7-985-7766281 or 903-2997584 (Vladimir 
Slivyak)
        email: ecodefense at online.ru web: http://www.ecodefense.ru

References:
(1) Yomiuri Shimbun "Nuclear fuel agreement mixed blessing", 22 
February 2007
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/20070222TDY03004.htm
(2) RIA Novosti "Atomic power will be the theme of visit of Fradkov to 
Tokyo" 27 February 2007
http://www.rian.ru/politics/foreign/20070227/61275555.html
(3) Newspaper "Vedomosti (together with Financial Times and Wall Street 
Journal)", article "Atomic power will be the theme of visit of Fradkov 
to Tokyo", 27 February 2007
http://www.vedomosti.ru/newsline/index.shtml?2007/02/27/390346

Citizens' Nuclear Information Center
3F Kotobuki Bdg, 1-58-15, Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0003
Phone: 81-3-5330-9520
Fax: 81-3-5330-9530
http://cnic.jp/english/
cnic at nifty.com