HC Deb 19 March 1999 vol 327 cc612-3W
19. Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what(a) assessment he has made of and (b) recent representations he has received concerning the proliferation dangers posed by the use and transport of plutonium-based MOX fuels. [74925]

Mr. Fatchett

The proliferation risks posed by the use of Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) by European Union countries and its transport from EU suppliers to Japan are assessed as being extremely low. Indeed, the use of MOX fuel reduces proliferation risks by gradually reducing plutonium stockpiles.

I am aware only of representations made by the Fijian-based Pacific Concerns Resource Centre Inc to HMG in August 1998.

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