The Nuclear Safety Commission's subcommittee on nuclear reactor safety Wednesday approved the use of plutonium in the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in Okumamachi, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Following the subcommittee's decision, the commission is expected to give official approval for the use of plutonium at the nuclear reactor, which is operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., by the end of the month. The plutonium, which is extracted from spent nuclear fuel, is mixed with uranium to form an oxide (MOX), and will be burned at light-water nuclear reactors.