A 1992 plan to produce up to a fourth of the fuel required by Japan's power plants at a uranium enrichment plant in Aomori Prefecture is in jeopardy, with problems arising over technology and cost, power industry sources said Saturday.
The Rokkasho plant is a key operation of Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. aimed at securing a domestic source of uranium enrichment, and its shaky future illustrates the uncertainty of Japan's national policy of establishing a nuclear fuel cycle, the sources said.
JNFL said last month it will close one of the seven processing units at the plant in April. The seven units are now processing 1,050 separative work units (SWUs) of uranium annually.