Takahama plant's No. 3 and No. 4 nuclear reactors

The MOX fuel is controversial because critics fear it could potentially be used to build nuclear weapons.

The approval by the government of Fukui Prefecture clears the way for Kepco to use the fuel in its No. 3 and No. 4 nuclear reactors at its Takahama plant.

The MOX plan was originally approved by the national government in 1998 and by the Fukui and Takahama governments in June 1999.

Kepco's plans were put on hold late in 1999 after the falsification of quality-control data by Britain's state-owned British Nuclear Fuels PLC on MOX fuel intended for use at the Takahama plant came to light.

The revelation of the falsified data came shortly after Japan's worst nuclear accident at a uranium reprocessing plant in September 1999 killed two workers and exposed hundreds of residents to radiation.

The Japan Times Weekly: March 27, 2004
(C) All rights reserved