Kick Nuclear welcomes yesterday's announcement that the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication plant at Sellafield, Cumbria is to close.

Spokesperson Nancy Birch said:

"The MOX plant has been a disaster from start to finish. One of the reactors at Fukushima that exploded and went into meltdown was loaded with plutonium-rich MOX fuel, probably supplied by the UK. This further underlines the need to terminate all reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and production of MOX in the UK and worldwide. Reprocessing is highly polluting, generates large quantities of cancer-causing liquid high level radioactive waste, carries weapons proliferation risks and is uneconomic. No new MOX plant should be built and no new or old reactors should be allowed to use MOX fuel. Furthermore, existing transports of spent nuclear fuel, including those that pass through London, must be stopped. These present unacceptable risks from accidents and terrorist attacks."

ENDS

Note to editors:

Kick Nuclear is a London-based group affiliated to the national Stop Nuclear Power Network
http://kicknuclear.org
http://stopnuclearpoweruk.net
http://boycottedf.org.uk