Why is France returning residues to Japan?

Japan, like France, is engaged in a comprehensive long-term programme for the development of its nuclear energy industry, producing secure supplies of electricity.

This strategy includes a complete closed fuel cycle ensuring the proper management of the spent fuel and nuclear waste, by reprocessing the spent fuel, conditioning and disposing of the waste, and recycling the valuable fissile materials: uranium and plutonium.

In order to manage such a programme, the Japanese power companies have decided to contract for overseas reprocessing services with COGEMA in France and BNFL in the United Kingdom, and to develop their own industrial facilities.

Consequently, for more than 15 years the COGEMA facilities at La Hague, together with BNFL's facilities at Sellafield, have been receiving, storing and reprocessing the spent fuel shipped from Japan, as well as from other countries following the same policy: Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

In 1977-1978, COGEMA signed "Reprocessing Service Agreements" with individual customers of the above countries. COGEMA is performing the service of reprocessing while the ownership of the products remains with the customer. Through the application of the contracts, COGEMA has to return the residues to the customers, which will ensure their subsequent management in a safe storage facility. Uranium and plutonium are recycled for further electricity generation in power stations.

These "Reprocessing Service Agreements" are being carried out smoothly by COGEMA for each customer, and for the Japanese Power Companies in particular, since more than 66% of the total contracted quantity of Japanese fuel has already been reprocessed. Consequently, the return of products and residues to Japan is now under way in accordance with the commercial contractual obligations to serve the global strategy of nuclear development in Japan. Both Japanese and French governments support the principle of this return.

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