A series of shipments containing highly radioactive waste will leave Britain for Japan next year, with possibly more consignments afterward if Japanese electricity companies agree to a deal offered by the British government, according to a source in the Japanese power industry.

Approximately 127,500 liters of waste, the result of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, will be sent to the Rokkasho nuclear facility in Aomori Prefecture from British Nuclear Group Ltd. in Sellafield, northwest England, the source said.

About 10 shipments will be made, probably in the spring or autumn, the source said. The high-level waste is mixed with glass and hardened, and will be contained in steel canisters and transported in specially designed ultra-secure ships. It will be kept buried at Rokkasho for at least 40 years.

Shipments have been delayed because state-owned BNG has been addressing problems at its reprocessing plant. These now appear to be rectified.