Citizens groups in Tokyo and Fukushima Prefecture on Wednesday filed a request with the Fukushima District Court asking for a temporary injunction against the use of plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel at a Tokyo Electric Power Co. nuclear power plant in the prefecture, members of the groups said.
A total of 864 people filed the request, which asks the court to halt the use of MOX fuel at the No. 3 reactor of Tepco's No. 1 Fukushima nuclear plant.
The groups argue that a report compiled by the company in September shows checks conducted by the Belgian maker of the fuel, Belgonucleaire, were unreliable.
The fuel was shipped to the reactor last September for use in Tepco's "pluthermal" nuclear power program.
However, in September it was revealed that another fuel maker, British Nuclear Fuels PLC, had falsified data in a series of safety checks on MOX fuel shipped to a Kansai Electric Power Co. nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, casting doubt on Tepco's fuel.
Tepco had told the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in February that the Belgian nuclear fuel manufacturer conducted quality-control checks on the MOX fuel shipped to Japan and found no defective products.
However, the civic groups maintain that Tepco must have manipulated data because, statistically, it is impossible to have absolutely no defective products. The groups are urging Tepco to disclose all of the information to the public and to give an honest explanation.
A Tepco spokesman said, "We think that there is no doubt about the safety of the MOX fuel and we would like to proceed with the pluthermal plan by obtaining the understanding of local residents."
The fuel program involves burning MOX fuel pellets inside light-water reactors to generate heat for producing electricity.