[ RadSafe ] [Nuclear News] Japan Nuclear Plant Damage `Limited, ' UN Agency Says

[Sandy Perle]

Index:

Japan Nuclear Plant Damage `Limited,' UN Agency Says
Van Eck launches investment fund designed to track nuclear industry
Court tosses out award in Hanford case
Officials Support 3rd Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Reactor
Concerns Linger for 2020 Finland's Nuclear Dump Opening
US-led group favoured for nuclear waste deal
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Japan Nuclear Plant Damage `Limited,' UN Agency Says
 
Tokyo Electric Power's nuclear power station Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- 
Damage to a nuclear power station run by Tokyo Electric Power Co. 
from a July 16 earthquake ``appears less than expected,'' the 
International Atomic Energy Agency said after a three-day 
examination. 

A team of inspectors ``has concluded that plant safety features 
performed as required during the earthquake,'' the IAEA, as the 
United Nations nuclear watchdog is known, said in an Aug. 14 
statement on its Web site. ``Damage from the earthquake appears to be 
limited to those sections of the plant that would not affect the 
reactor or systems related to reactor safety.'' 

The epicenter of the magnitude 6.8 earthquake was 9 kilometers from 
the Kashiwazaki Kariwa station, causing radiation leaks and a fire. 
Japan's government aims to ease public concern about safety by 
allowing the IAEA to inspect the damage and share its analysis with 
plant operators and regulators. 

Six IAEA experts, led by Philippe Jamet, director of the agency's 
installation nuclear safety division, visited the Kashiwazaki Kariwa 
nuclear station, the world's biggest, from Aug. 6 to Aug. 9. The 
team's report will be released ``within a few days,'' according to 
the statement. 

``The team conducted a three-day physical examination covering the 
complex of seven units, as well as analysis of instrument logs and 
other records from the time of the event,'' the statement said. 

The earthquake shook the plant more than it was designed to 
withstand, the Tokyo-based utility said July 30. In one case, the 
vibration was more than threefold the maximum assumed in the plant's 
design. 

`Robustness in Design' 

``However, as with most nuclear plants, additional robustness in 
design had been incorporated into plant structures, systems and 
components,'' the statement said. `` The IAEA team said these 
conservative seismic design measures probably explain why damage was 
less than it could have otherwise been expected.'' 

Still, physical stresses from the earthquake could affect the ``long-
term safe operation'' of some of the components of the station, the 
IAEA said. Further analysis of such components may be needed to 
determine ``whether they should be replaced earlier'' than 
anticipated, it said. 

The facility has seven reactors with a generating capacity of 8,212 
megawatts. Three of the seven reactors were shut for maintenance when 
the tremor hit Niigata prefecture. Japan has 55 reactors that 
generate about one-third of the country's electricity, making the 
nation the third-largest nuclear power producer in the world. 
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Van Eck launches investment fund designed to track nuclear industry

NEW YORK (AP) Aug 15: Asset management firm Van Eck Global launched 
an investment fund on Wednesday designed to track the strength of the 
nuclear power industry.

Van Eck's Market Vectors-Nuclear Energy ETF is an exchange-traded 
fund structured to replicate the price and yield performance of the 
DAXglobal Nuclear Energy Index, a basket of 38 nuclear energy-related 
securities calculated and maintained by Deutsche Borse AG. It will 
trade on the American Stock Exchange under the ticker NLR.

Half the index is comprised of uranium mining and exploration 
companies such as Uranium Resources Inc., of Lewisville, Texas and 
Denison Mines Corp., of Toronto. Nuclear plant builders such as 
Hitachi Ltd. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, make up 32.4 percent of 
its holdings.

Other components include equipment makers, uranium enrichers, uranium 
storage firms and nuclear fuel transport companies. U.S. companies 
make up only 4 percent of its holdings.

Van Eck launched the fund to take advantage of renewed interest in 
nuclear power. Many new nuclear plants have been built overseas in 
recent years, and companies are lining up to build new plants in the 
U.S. for the first time in three decades.

Today in Business

Kaupthing buys Netherlands' NIBC for EUR2.99 billionVan Eck launches 
investment fund designed to track nuclear industryU.S. stocks open 
lower after inflation figures meet target, investors watch for Fed's 
next move

"We think nuclear energy will assume an increasingly important role 
as a source of alternative energy," said Jan van Eck, principal at 
Van Eck Global, in a statement. "As the first ETF listed in the U.S. 
to target the global nuclear energy industry, we believe that NLR 
will appeal to investors looking for a convenient means to gain 
exposure to that industry."

Van Eck, with $5.8 billion, or EUR4.3 billion under management, is also 
launching a number of other sector-specific investment vehicles, 
including funds designed to track the environmental services, 
alternative energy and gold mining industries.
-----------------

Court tosses out award in Hanford case

YAKIMA, Wash. - A federal appeals court tossed out a nearly $320,000 
award to a thyroid cancer victim who blamed her disease on radiation 
from the government's Hanford nuclear installation, which made 
plutonium for bombs for four decades. 
 
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San 
Francisco said a lower court erred in its ruling because plaintiff 
Gloria Wise's case fell outside the statute of limitations.

However, the appeals court remanded the case to U.S. District Court 
to determine whether Wise had the information necessary to file a 
claim within the required three years of being found to have the 
disease.

The ruling was significant because it could mean the claims of 
hundreds of other plaintiffs would be barred by time, said Kevin Van 
Wart, an attorney for defendants General Electric Co., DuPont Co. and 
UNC Nuclear Inc.

Richard Eymann, a plaintiffs attorney, said he did not yet know how 
many other clients could have their cases against the contractors 
dismissed as a result of the statute of limitations. Since 1990, more 
than 2,300 people have sued over health problems they believe were 
caused by exposure to radioactive emissions from the site.

Wise was among six plaintiffs who claimed that they were exposed to 
radiation during the 1940s when they were children living downwind 
from Hanford, near Richland.

The cases were largely based on the release of iodine-131, a 
radioactive byproduct of nuclear weapons production. Iodine-131 
concentrates in the thyroid gland, which regulates the body's 
metabolism.

In 2005, a federal jury awarded $317,251 to Wise and $227,508 to 
Steve Stanton. The same jury in the three-week trial was deadlocked 
for Shannon Rhodes and ruled against the autoimmune disease claims of 
three other women.

But on Tuesday, the appeals court granted new trials for Wanda 
Buckner, Shirley Carlisle and Kathryn Goldbloom, who have 
hypothyroidism, a condition that slows the body's metabolism.

The district court erred in ruling that the plaintiff's doctor could 
not testify that he wrote articles on I-131's effect on thyroid 
cells, which allowed the doctor's testimony to be inadmissible.

"We thus have no choice but to reverse the verdicts against 
plaintiffs Goldbloom, Carlisle, and Buckner and remand for a new 
trial," Chief Circuit Judge Mary M. Schroeder wrote for the panel.

The panel denied an appeal by Rhodes but upheld the $227,508 award 
for Stanton.

Under law, the government pays the damages and the costs of defending 
the contractors.

The government created Hanford in the 1940s as part of the top-secret 
Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. Contractors operated 
reactors and other facilities that historical documents say resulted 
in intentional and accidental releases of toxic chemicals and 
radiation.

Residents learned of the emissions only when the government 
declassified thousands of documents in 1986.

People in Arizona, Nevada, Utah and the Marshall Islands have 
received compensation for being exposed to radiation during the 
atomic buildup.

Those who simply lived downwind from Hanford site have had a more 
difficult time because health studies have offered differing opinions 
on whether they have suffered substantial or chronic exposures that 
threatened their health.

It is difficult to prove, in part because thyroid disorders are not 
caused only by exposure to radiation. 

The appeals court also rejected the plaintiffs' request to expand the 
test for causation when there are potentially multiple causes, such 
as radiation, smoking, genetics or pregnancy.
----------------------

Officials Support 3rd Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Reactor
Agency Describes Process to License Calvert Cliffs Plant

Washington Post Aug 15 - More than 300 people filed into a hotel 
conference room in southern Calvert County last night for a meeting 
on the licensing process of a proposed nuclear power reactor in 
nearby Lusby, a project that could become the first of its kind in 
the United States in about 30 years.

Based on audience reaction, which included vigorous applause for 
statements made by nuclear supporters, Calvert appeared to remain 
hospitable to nuclear-generated electricity.

Kicking off the public comment portion of the meeting, Wilson H. 
Parran (D-At Large), president of Calvert's Board of Commissioners, 
delivered an unequivocal endorsement. Calvert already has two 
reactors that have established a remarkable safety record since the 
1970s, he said.

"The fact is, U.S. nuclear power plants are safer today than they 
have ever been," Parran said. Earlier, he and four other 
commissioners had unanimously signed a letter in support of building 
a new reactor at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant.

"From a national perspective, nuclear energy is our largest source of 
clean energy and a critical piece of our nation's energy strategy," 
the letter says. "It is imperative to reverse the growth of 
greenhouse gas emissions, and Calvert County stands ready to share in 
our nation's responsibility to provide resources that produce 
energy."

The meeting was organized by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
to explain the evaluation process for proposed reactors. The meeting 
was prompted by Constellation Energy Group's partial application last 
month with the commission, asking it to review environmental plans 
for a 1,600-megawatt reactor that could cost $4 billion.

Public opinion was on display at the meeting, held at a Holiday Inn 
Select in Solomons. Even before the meeting started, interest groups 
displayed brochures and research papers.

On one side as people entered were environmentalists. Paul Gunter, 
speaking for Beyond Nuclear, a Takoma Park group, said that a total 
assessment has not been made of the 11 nuclear plants within the 
Chesapeake Bay watershed. He said in an interview that nuclear power 
hasn't solved its waste and security issues: "This is a failed 
technology, let's be clear." Across the hallway were representatives 
from groups such as the Nuclear Energy Institute.

In the conference room, Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials 
described how the licensing process works. Then audience members 
spoke, about 15 in support of the reactor and 11 against. Others were 
neutral.

A few county business leaders praised existing plants and urged the 
commission not to get bogged down. Constellation is expected to file 
the safety part of its application by early next year; the NRC 
technical review could last more than two years, with another year 
for hearings.

Clyde Thomas, who works at the plant, said experience makes him feel 
confident the area is safe.

"I wouldn't live in the blast zone if I didn't," he said.
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Concerns Linger for 2020 Finland's Nuclear Dump Opening

The entrance to Finland's nuclear waste storage site looks somehow 
familiar, like the entrance to any underground parking lot at a bank 
or a mall. 

While the nuclear waste dump is being constructed, two new nuclear 
power plants are going up on the same site. When completed, they are 
expected to be the largest in the world in terms of output of 
electricity.

It is located just around a curve in a sloping road. There are 
concrete retaining walls on both sides, and construction is still 
going on. But there will be no hourly tickets here - only permanent 
parking for about one million pounds of nuclear waste. In the dark 
inside, Timo Seppälä says this wide tunnel will eventually branch 
into scores of smaller ones.

"It's like a comb," he says. 

The Set-Up

Seppälä is with Posiva Oy, a company created by Finland's nuclear 
energy providers to deal with the problem of waste. He says each 
small tunnel - the teeth of that comb - will house dozens of huge 
iron and copper canisters. Each canister is five yards long, one yard 
around and weighs 20 tons, not to mention it is full of highly 
radioactive-spent fuel. The canisters are to be the first of several 
barriers keeping the dangerous waste in place. 

"There is bentonite clay surrounding the canister," Seppälä says. "It 
functions as a buffer."

No one has done this before and much is still being researched - the 
exact structure of the bedrock, how to manufacture the canisters, the 
design of the truck to bring them in, etc. 

"The largest challenge is, of course, that we are doing a business 
that has a time scale of thousands and hundreds of thousands of 
years," says Eero Patrakka, Posiva's CEO. 

The site is due to open in 2020 and will likely be full 100 years 
later. Nevertheless, the waste inside will remain dangerous much 
longer, so the company must try to design a dump that can survive 
many possible geological changes. 

Icy Concerns

Patrakka says he's not worried about rising sea levels from global 
warming swamping the site because Finland is actually still rising 
out of the ocean - in a sense, bouncing back after the crushing 
weight of glaciers from when the last ice age receded. He's planning 
for when Finland is again under ice. 

"We have to consider there will be a new ice age in the future and we 
have to consider what happens when we have 3 kilometers of ice above 
the ground and how the bedrock will behave," Patrakka says.

Local officials approved the first nuclear reactor here on the 
condition that no high-level waste stays in the area. That was in 
1973. 

It took the nuclear industry 20 years to persuade the community to 
change that rule, and more time for this dump to be approved. Some 
people credit the change of heart to the tax payments the nuclear 
reactor brought the community. Others say years of no accidents built 
trust. 

A national law also changed, explicitly forbidding Finland from 
storing nuclear waste from other countries. Even the anti-nuclear 
Green party pushed for the law, and supports the storage site. 

"We don't want to produce more nuclear waste," says Heidi Hautala, 
who chairs the Green parliamentary group. "But our view - and I think 
this is pretty much what the Finnish people by and large believe - is 
that every country should take care of their own spent fuel, and not 
export it somewhere where it is burdenful for other people." 

A Blurry Outlook

But there are a few here in the local community of Eurajoki who still 
publicly oppose the waste site. Town councilman and farmer Juha 
Jaakkola agrees Finland should take responsibility for its nuclear 
waste, but he wants it put far away from people. His wife, Pirjo 
Jaakkola, also worries about how the barrels below ground might 
affect the future above.

They say the waste dump will certainly affect the future of the 
people living in the area and of the community's agricultural 
economy. 

Even though they both believe the company building the storage site 
is very conscientious about safety, they say no one can know what 
will happen to the area over the next tens of thousands of years. And 
that, they say, means even the best safety measures could fail.

A few months ago at the underground storage site, workers put up a 
steel frame for a door to the tunnel entrance. Once the canisters of 
spent uranium and plutonium are squirreled away deep in the bedrock, 
the door is expected to be sealed and, eventually, left unmarked. 

The company says the site must be so safe, future generations don't 
even have to know it's there.
----------------

US-led group favoured for nuclear waste deal

Financial Tines Aug 15 - A consortium led by Washington Group of the 
US has been named as the preferred bidder to run the Drigg nuclear 
waste store in Cumbria, the first step in the privatisation of UK 
radio-active waste management.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), a body set up by the 
government in 2005 to tackle the problems of Britain´s mounting 
waste, is gradually selecting private-sector companies to tackle 
different aspects of the clean-up.

The NDA said on Wednesday that a consortium of Washington Group, 
Studsvik of Sweden, Areva of France and Serco of the UK had been 
chosen as the preferred bidder for the contract to run the low-level 
radioactive waste repository near Drigg, west Cumbria.

The contract initially runs for five years from October, but can be 
extended to up to 17 years, and is valued at between £200m and £500m.

As well as running the Drigg repository, the successful bidder will 
implement government policy on the future disposal of low-level 
waste, including a possible expansion of the Drigg facility, which is 
filling up.

The other bidders for the contract were a consortium led by Energy 
Solutions of the US and including BNG Project Services, Fluor and 
Jacobs, and a consortium of Babcock, Stoller and Nukem.

The largest contract to be tendered by the NDA will be for the 
running of the Sella- field complex in Cumbria, which is home to most 
of the country´s high-level radio- active waste. 

This is due to be awarded next year and is likely to be worth 
billions of pounds. Washington Group said on Wednesday that it was 
keen to bid for the Sellafield contract, with consortium partners 
Areva and Amec.

Serco will also be bidding for this contract, along with partners 
Bechtel and BWXT Nuclear Services, while the other bidders are a 
consortium of Fluor and Toshiba, and CH2M Hill. As well as tackling 
the worst of the UK´s nuclear waste, the winner will run the Thorp 
nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, which has been out of action since a 
radioactive leak in April 2005.

Sir Anthony Cleaver, who recently retired as NDA chairman, said in an 
interview with the Financial Times last month that the biggest 
challenge was to render safe the waste left over from Britain´s 
earliest atomic experiments and nuclear weapons programmes, which is 
stored at Sellafield.

"We will, if necessary, divert funds from other operations to deal 
with these high hazard areas," he said.

The NDA has estimated that the task of cleaning up the UK´s nuclear 
waste will cost about £70bn and take many decades.

However, Sir Anthony said that over the past two years the NDA had 
saved £330m of taxpayers´ money by looking at ways to carry out 
decommissioning more cost- effectively.

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Sander C. Perle
President
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 cox.net 

Global Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com/