[ RadSafe ] Nuclear Plant Owner to Pay $28M Fine

[Sandy Perle]

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Index:

Nuclear Plant Owner to Pay $28M Fine
New Zealand, US stress cooperation despite nuclear rift
Three Indicted in Ohio Nuclear Plant Case
FPL Energy moves closer to buying Iowa nuclear plant
Nuclear radiation center gets funding for fuel replacement 
Cell Phones Don't Raise Brain Tumor Risk, Study Says
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Nuclear Plant Owner to Pay $28M Fine
 
CLEVELAND  Jan 20 - Acknowledging that its employees covered up 
serious damage at a nuclear power plant, the facility's owner has 
agreed to pay $28 million in fines, restitution and community service 
projects, the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday. 
 
Inspectors found an acid leak in 2002 that nearly ate through a 6-
inch steel cap on the reactor vessel at the Davis-Besse plant owned 
by FirstEnergy Corp. Officials said it was the most extensive 
corrosion ever seen at a U.S. nuclear reactor.
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New Zealand, US stress cooperation despite nuclear rift

WELLINGTON (AFP)  Jan 20 - New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and 
the top US military officer in the Pacific highlighted cooperation 
between the two countries despite a long-standing nuclear dispute. 
 
Admiral William Fallon, head of the US Pacific Command, said issues 
where the two countries differed were outnumbered by areas where 
there was cooperation.

"The principle that I would choose to highlight is one of mutual 
trust," Fallon told reporters after meeting Clark in Auckland.

Fallon was on his first visit to New Zealand after taking over the 
Pacific command in February last year. Clark said the nuclear 
disagreement was discussed.

New Zealand's ban on nuclear-armed or powered ships from 1984 
resulted in its departure from a three-way military alliance that 
included Australia.

"I think the relationship is a fundamentally good one. Particularly 
since September 11 we have found many ways of engaging with the 
United States and its defence establishment ... we have been working 
together," Clark said.

Fallon was due to meet Defence Minister Phil Goff and senior military 
officers before leaving for his base in Hawaii.
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Three Indicted in Ohio Nuclear Plant Case

CLEVELAND Jan 19 - A federal grand jury indicted two former nuclear 
power plant employees and a contractor Thursday on charges of hiding 
information about serious damage to a reactor from regulators. 
 
The indictment accuses the trio of misleading regulators in the fall 
of 2001 into believing that the Davis-Besse plant was safe so federal 
inspectors would delay visits until the spring of 2002, during a 
scheduled shutdown for refueling.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors found an acid leak in 2002 
that nearly ate through a 6-inch steel cap on the reactor vessel at 
the plant, which sits along the Lake Erie shore about 30 miles east 
of Toledo.

Officials said it was the most extensive corrosion ever seen at a 
U.S. nuclear reactor.

The plant was closed for two years but returned to full power in 
2004. Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp., which owns the plant, spent $600 
million making repairs and buying replacement power because of the 
shutdown.

Company and NRC investigations concluded that the rust hole had been 
growing for at least four years and that Davis-Besse's managers had 
ignored the evidence because they were focused on profits rather than 
safety.

Indicted were former engineering design manager David Geisen, former 
engineer Andrew Siemaszko and Rodney Cook, a consultant who was 
working for Davis-Besse.

There were no Ohio telephone listings for Siemaszko and Geisen. 
Messages were left at numbers listed under Rodney Cook.

Davis-Besse spokesman Richard Wilkins said Thursday that he was not 
aware of the indictments.

"Those are former employees so I couldn't comment on it anyway," he 
said.
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FPL Energy moves closer to buying Iowa nuclear plant

South Florida The Business Journal Jan 20 - An energy services firm 
that serves more than 3 million customers in the Midwest said it is 
has gained one more approval to sell a nuclear generating facility in 
Iowa to FPL Energy. 

Interstate Power and Light Co. (IP&L), a subsidiary of Madison, Wis.-
based Alliant Energy Corp. (NYSE: LNT), and FPL Energy, itself a 
subsidiary of Juno Beach-based FPL Group, (NYSE: FPL), said some 
regulators have already approved FPL Energy's purchase of the Duane 
Arnold Energy Center near Palo, Iowa. 

The company said Friday the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission 
(MPUC) approved the DAEC sale by a 4-1 margin. The companies said the 
commission determined the sale transaction was in the public 
interest. 

Thursday, the companies said, the Iowa Utilities Board reaffirmed its 
Nov. 30 order approving the DAEC sale. 

Other entities that have already given regulatory approval, according 
to the companies, include: 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Illinois Commerce Commission, 
Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, FPL Energy and IP&L said they 
also received approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to 
transfer the company's DAEC nuclear operating license to FPL Energy. 

IP&L President Tom Aller said his company is pleased the regulatory 
process is nearing a conclusion. 

"We look forward to working with FPL Energy to close the transaction 
and commencing a long-term energy partnership with the company," he 
added.
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Nuclear radiation center gets funding for fuel replacement 

The Evergreen Daily Jan 18 - As part of a national initiative, the 
WSU Nuclear Radiation Center will operate using a new fuel, and the 
federal government will foot the bill.  

The money to pay for the fuel conversion, up to $7 million, will come 
from the Global Threat Reduction Initiative program, according to a 
release from the Arms Control Association. That means no money for 
the project will come from the pockets of WSU students, faculty or 
other state taxpayers. 

The ultimate goal of the $98 million initiative is to shut down 
reactors across the world that run on highly-enriched uranium, which 
provides the kick of an atomic bomb more easily than other fuels. The 
program hopes to shut down or convert Russian HEU nuclear reactors in 
Seversk and Zheleznogorsk by 2008 and 2011, respectively. 

But that is not enough, according to the arms control release: 
Officials must vigilantly do the same domestically that they are 
doing with Russian reactors. 

“If we’re going to impose rules on the rest of the world then the 
U.S. has to comply at the same time,” said Ken Spitzer, WSU associate 
vice provost for research. "This is important to tell the rest of the 
world that we’re going to make our changes too.” 

Until a new WSU reactor director is chosen within a few months, 
Spitzer said he will oversee its operations. 

In the interest of international proliferation prevention, Congress 
set aside the $7 million to convert HEU sites at four state 
universities – Purdue, Oregon State, Wisconsin and WSU. 

However, the change from highly-enriched uranium to low-enriched 
uranium will not affect the operations of the WSU reactor, since the 
research can be completed safely with either fuel. 

“It’s safe so long as it’s kept within reactors,” Spitzer said. 

LEU can still be used to make nuclear weapons, but since all four 
sites are research-oriented facilities, they should not experience 
any problems with the conversion. 

“With most of these, it really doesn’t change the performance,” said 
Michael Corradini, an engineering professor at the University of 
Wisconsin. Corridini oversees many of the operations at the reactor 
on the Madison campus. 

“The perception is that if you’ve got high-enriched uranium, you 
shouldn’t have it,” Corradini said. 

The conversion doesn’t bother Corradini, however, because he said he 
supports global efforts to reduce nuclear products. 

“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” he said. 

Corradini expected the conversion at Wisconsin to take place sometime 
in 2007 or 2008. Spitzer set no such timetable for the reactor at 
WSU, but he said since it’s federal money, the federal officials will 
decide when the reactor will make the switch. 

The WSU reactor started operations in 1961 and has used the same fuel 
since 1978. It does not require fuel changes, Spitzer said, because 
it uses one atom at a time, so a little fuel can help conduct plenty 
of research. 

Originally the Global Threat Reduction Initiative program was known 
as the Russian Transition Initiatives, focusing on redirecting former 
Soviet weapons scientists into more peaceful projects, according to 
the arms control release. That program received $40 million from 
Congress until it got the new name and an expanded mission. 

SUMMARY: The nuclear reactor at WSU will change its fuel in a few 
years to comply with international standards.
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Cell Phones Don't Raise Brain Tumor Risk, Study Says

Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- People who regularly use cell phones don't 
face an increased risk of developing brain tumors, according to a 
study published in the British Medical Journal. 

Researchers studied 966 people with the most common type of brain 
tumor and 1,716 healthy volunteers over a period of four years and 
found no relationship between cell phone use and the incidence of 
tumors, the study said. There was no connection between the risk of 
tumor and the duration of calls, their frequency or the make of the 
phone, the study said. 

``This large epidemiological study has shown no evidence that using a 
cell phone has an effect on the development of tumors,'' researcher 
Patricia McKinney from the University of Leeds said in a phone 
interview. The study, conducted by researchers from the universities 
of Leeds, Nottingham and Manchester and the Institute of Cancer 
Research in London. 

Wireless phone makers are facing class-action suits in the U.S. that 
claim radiation from the devices puts users at increased risk of 
illnesses including brain cancer. The U.S. Supreme Court in October 
turned away arguments from the manufacturers that federal regulations 
preclude the state-law suits by consumers. 

U.K. mobile-phone operators Orange, O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone, 
contributed funding under an agreement that ensured independence for 
the researchers, the study said. The Interphone study of the European 
Union, Mobile Telecommunications Health and Research program, the 
Mobile Manufacturers Forum, and the GSM Association through the Union 
Internationale Contre le Cancer also provided funds for the research. 

`Unacceptable' 

The study is flawed because 49 percent of 966 tumor cases weren't 
interviewed, with many of the people suffering fast- growing tumors 
dying before they could participate, said Alasdair Philips, director 
of Powerwatch, a U.K. group formed in 1988 to examine links between 
electromagnetic fields and health risks. 

``In most studies it would be unacceptable if you lost half of the 
participants,'' Philips said in a telephone interview. He said a 
study that was forward-looking would give more accurate results. 

McKinney declined to respond to Philips' comments. 

Over 4,000 U.K. citizens are diagnosed with brain cancer in Britain 
every year, early symptoms include headaches and feelings of nausea. 
There also was no evidence to indicate a greater risk from using cell 
phones in rural areas, the U.K. researchers said.

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Sandy Perle
Senior Vice President, Technical Operations
Global Dosimetry Solutions, Inc.
2652 McGaw Avenue
Irvine, CA 92614 

Tel: (949) 296-2306 / (888) 437-1714  Extension 2306
Fax:(949) 296-1144

E-Mail: sperle at dosimetry.com
E-Mail: sandyfl at earthlink.net 

Global Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com/ 
Personal Website: http://sandy-travels.com/