MOX Fabrication

Belgonucléaire produces MOX fuel pellets in the P0 plant at Mol/Dessel. For 15 years-since the middle of the 1980s-this plant has been the largest supplier worldwide of light water reactor MOX. It mainly supplied MOX fuel to Swiss, French and German utilities. Japanese utilities have signed a supply contract and some fuel is planned to leave for Japan in early 1999. The planned sea shipment has already raised concerns because of the environmental and proliferation risks involved. The plutonium for the MOX fuel mainly came from the La Hague reprocessing plant. Some also came from the Sellafield reprocessing plants. Belgonucléaire was planning to build another MOX plant on the same site, which was to be called P1. However, the licensing procedure for this plant was cancelled by a high administrative court.

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