[ RadSafe ] Pakistan Gets Approval For New Nuclear Plant

[Sandy Perle]

Note: I've successfully sent news to my individual list using a Gmail account (via internet) no need for messing with my GDS or Earthlink IP addresses. I'll continue to send to Radsafe and Powernet as previously, since each address is "one" address, and not hundreds.

Index:

Pakistan Gets Approval For New Nuclear Plant
Ex-nuclear minister denies Russian origin of polonium-210
FPL nuclear plant targeted in 'CSI: Miami'
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Pakistan Gets Approval For New Nuclear Plant

Islamabad (AFP) Nov 25, 2006 - The global atomic watchdog has approved
an agreement with Pakistan for its second nuclear power plant, being
built with Chinese assistance, the foreign ministry said Saturday. The
35-member Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) on Thursday unanimously approved the safeguards agreement for
Pakistan's Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2, the ministry said in a
statement.

"The approval of the agreement is a success for Pakistan and
recognition of its non-proliferation commitments," it said and added
that a similar safeguards agreement was also in place for Chashma-1 in
the central Punjab province.

Chashma-2 is part of Pakistan's "Energy Security Plan", that envisages
an increase in nuclear power generation from the current 425 mega
watts to 8800 mega watts by 2030 to meet its growing energy demands,
it said.

Pakistan is one of the only three non-Nuclear Proliferation Treaty
member states that enjoy the right of concluding such a safeguards
agreement, it said.

Pakistan has already placed two research reactors and two nuclear
power plants under the Agency's safeguards.

"Pakistan has been fulfilling its obligations in respect of these
agreements and looks forward to continued cooperation with the Agency
within the framework of the applicable safeguards agreements in future
as well," it said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao currently visiting Pakistan said Friday
Beijing would continue to help Pakistan with its nuclear power
industry but did not announce any new deal with long-term ally
Islamabad.

Pakistan's nuclear programme had been under the global spotlight after
its former chief atomic scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan admitted in 2004
that he had provided nuclear technology to North Korea, Libya and
Iran.

Islamabad denied official involvement.
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Ex-nuclear minister denies Russian origin of polonium-210

MOSCOW, November 27 (RIA Novosti) - Polonium-210, a radioactive
isotope that was allegedly used to poison a Russian defector in
London, could not have originated in Russia, a former nuclear minister
said Monday.

Last Friday the UK Health Protection Agency reported traces of a fatal
dose of Po-210 in the body of Russian ex-FSB officer Alexander
Litvinenko, who died after spending three weeks in a London hospital.
Western media circulated rumors that the isotope, a by-product of
uranium, could have been brought to the UK from Russia.

"If you asked me whether polonium-210 could end up in private
possession in Russia, I would definitely say no, it could not," said
Viktor Mikhailov, the director of the Institute of Strategic Stability
in Moscow.

"I also think it is barely possible that it [polonium-210] could have
been taken from technical research instruments in Russia," he said,
adding that all radioactive materials in the country are subject to
strict state control.

According to the latest report published by the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), no cases of disappearance of radioactive
materials have been registered in Russia in the recent years. The
global nuclear watchdog has been keeping a database on illegal
trafficking of radioactive materials since 1993.

Litvinenko, a former Russian intelligence officer and a close
associate of Russia's fugitive oligarch Boris Berezovsky, was
reportedly poisoned in sushi restaurant Itsu on November 1. Traces of
radiation were detected in the restaurant, in the Millennium hotel in
central London which Litvinenko visited on the same day, and in his
apartment in the north of the capital.

During an ongoing investigation, British doctors will conduct
radiological tests on people who could also have been subjected to
radiation in these locations.

The media circulated the deathbed note of Litvinenko, who defected in
2000 and has been known as a fierce Kremlin critic, in which he
accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of orchestrating his death.
He made similar accusations in an English newspaper earlier.

However, another Russian expert, academician Yevgeny Velikhov also
ruled out on Monday the possibility of a Russian origin of radioactive
isotopes.

"Every isotope [in Russia] is under control," Velikhov, who is the
director of the Kurchatov nuclear research institute said. "It cannot
be found freely on the market."

But he said polonium can be easily obtained in medical facilities in Europe.

"I know that it [polonium-210] is widely used for various purposes,
particularly in the space industry," he said. "And I also know an
unpleasant story - if you want to obtain a radioactive isotope, you
can simply go to a hospital in Vienna and take it from a medicine
cabinet."

Austria's Health Ministry immediately denied the Russian official's
allegation that the toxic radioactive isotope polonium-210 can be
readily obtained in Vienna clinics. A spokesperson for the ministry
said that the isotope is not currently used for treatment in
specialized or any other clinics in the country.

The UK Home Secretary John Reid made a special statement to the
Commons on Monday related to investigation into Litvineko's death
where he said there were no recent reports on theft or disappearance
of polonium-210 in Great Britain.
------------------

FPL nuclear plant targeted in 'CSI: Miami'
Special to the Palm Beach Post

Monday, November 27, 2006

Florida Power & Light Co.'s Turkey Point nuclear plant went prime time
last Monday night. But maybe not the way the utility would have liked.

The nuclear reactor near Florida City was mentioned by name in the
final moments of Monday's episode of CSI: Miami. A truck filled with
plastic explosives was on its way to blow it up.

"They chose the Turkey Point reactor because it's a nuclear plant just
outside Miami," said Beth Haiken, a publicist for the popular show,
which airs on CBS.

Haiken said she did not know whether anyone from FPL had contacted
CSI: Miami after the episode aired.

FPL was quick to note that its nuclear plants are stacked with
high-tech protection.

"Security plans at all of FPL's nuclear power plants have always been
designed to counter the threat of terrorist attacks, including
explosives in vehicles," company spokesman Mayco VillafaÒa said. "Our
security plan includes measures to stop intruders, including a number
of barrier systems, such as concrete barriers and crash-resistant
gates. ... Our security programs are continuously assessed in
consultation with all levels of law enforcement for modifications as
conditions may change."

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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/