THE RETURN OF VITRIFIED RESIDUES TO JAPAN: A JOINT EXPERIENCE

This is the first time for more than ten years that PA TRAM has accepted papers on the communications or public relations aspects of the transportation of nuclear materials. This is perhaps a recognition of just how important it is today not only to carry out the transportation safely, but to be perceived to be doing so. This paper considers how negative perceptions have arisen in many states about the transportation by sea of vitrified residues from Europe to Japan and how these perceptions have been challenged by the application of a communications strategy jointly undertaken by the Overseas Reprocessing Committee (ORC) of Japan, BNFL of the UK and Cogema of France.