Nuclear policy experts from around the world discussed a broad array of issues concerning the use of plutonium in nuclear power generation at a recent symposium in Tokyo.
The symposium, titled “Managing Spent Fuel: To Reprocess or Store,” was jointly sponsored by The Asahi Shimbun Co. and Princeton University. Discussions revolved around the wisdom of Japan’s energy policy of utilizing plutonium for power generation under the government’s nuclear fuel recycling program.
The symposium was comprised of three sections. The experts first addressed the implications of Japan’s policy of reprocessing all spent nuclear fuel for international efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation. Next, the main topic was the economics and safety of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. In the final section, the participants debated how to overcome obstacles to a policy change.
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Japan’s massive stockpile of plutonium and what should be done with it was the topic of discussion for the first section of the symposium. Steve Fetter, a former U.S. White House official during the Obama administration, pointed out that if the reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, starts operation, Japan’s stockpile of plutonium will keep growing despite the lack of a plausible plan to use the material.
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