ABSTRACT
On 15 February 1989 a train of empty Excellox flasks arrived at BNFL’s berth in Barrow, where the Pacific Sandpiper waited to sail to Japan. This was not a typical journey. In addition to the empty flasks returning for more fuel, the train carried two full flasks of irradiated Japanese research reactor fuel bound for reprocessing in the United States. The fuel had arrived in Britain six months earlier, and been stored temporarily at Sellafield. Such shipments are made on average about once a year. The revelation that BNFL were transporting Japanese research reactor fuel to the United States proved something of an embarrassment for the company, as such shipments appeared to breach a US embargo on research reactor fuel imports, imposed while transport safety was being assessed.
