Japan’s Fast Breeder Reactor to Reach Critical State Tuesday
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TOKYO — A nuclear reaction will reach a self-sustaining level next Tuesday in Japan’s controversial “fast-breeder” nuclear reactor, officials said Friday.
The fast-breeder reactor uses highly toxic plutonium as a base substance to generate electric power.
Other industrialized nations have dropped plans for fast-breeders because of the hazards associated with plutonium, leaving Japan as the only country actively pursuing the technology as an energy source.
The plant, located in Tsuruga, 200 miles west of Tokyo, is named Monju, after the Buddhist deity of wisdom, and has a capacity of 280 megawatts.
A group of anti-nuclear activists on Tuesday submitted a petition demanding closure of the reactor.
But officials lauded the start-up of the $5.9-billion Monju as a great benefit to an energy-dependent nation.
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