PNTL TRANSPORTS SECOND MOX FUEL SHIPMENT

PNTL TRANSPORTS SECOND MOX FUEL SHIPMENT    Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd., the jointly owned ocean carrier operation of British Nuclear Fuels plc and COGEMA of France, will transport a second shipment of recycled nuclear fuel from Europe to Japan.
   The shipment, which departs the French port of Cherbourg today, is part of a contract between COGEMA and 10 Japanese power companies to recycle their spent nuclear fuel, a process which generates mixed oxide or MOX fuel to be reused in nuclear reactors.
   For this MOX shipment, two armed Pacific Nuclear Transport vessels, the Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal, will escort each other after departing from Europe. The shipment is destined to Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Co.
   The transportation of nuclear material, including MOX fuel, is strictly governed by international rules. The material is transported in special packages, known as “casks.” This latest Pacific Nuclear Transport shipment includes 28 assemblies of MOX fuel to be transported in four casks.
   BNFL and COGEMA said the vessels’ route and approximate time of arrival in Japan will be released one day after departure from Europe.