The Fukushima nuclear disaster, already casting a long shadow over the nuclear industry, has claimed another victim. Last week, Britain's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) announced that it will close a troubled Sellafield facility that is one of only two commercial plants in the world producing mixed oxide nuclear fuel (MOX), after reactor shutdowns in Japan eliminated its only customers for the plutonium-containing fuel. "The reason for this [closure] is directly related to the tragic events in Japan and their ongoing impact on the power markets," says Tony Fountain, the NDA's chief executive. The decision is a setback for the British nuclear industry and leaves the country wondering anew what to do with the worlds largest single stockpile of plutonium.
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