MOX fuel fabrication plant in Japan clears regulator's safety checks

A plant under construction in northeastern Japan to produce plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel, a major component of the country's stalled nuclear fuel recycling process, formally passed safety checks by regulators on Wednesday.The Nuclear Regulation Authority gave its approval despite the lack of a concrete plan for the usage of MOX fuel going forward due to the slow resumption of nuclear power generation in Japan following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami.MOX fuel is made of plutonium and uranium extracted while reprocessing spent fuel from …READ FULL ARTICLE