Plan for domestic uranium enrichment hits snag+

SENDAI, Japan - The photo, taken in November 1996, shows a uranium enrichment plant in the village of Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan. A 1992 plan to produce up to a fourth of the fuel required by Japan's power plants at the uranium enrichment plant is in jeopardy, with problems arising over technology and cost. Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. (JNFL), operator of the Rokkasho plant, said in February it will close one of the seven processing units at the plant in April.