[ RadSafe ] [Nuclear News] Worker exposed to small amount of radiation at Japan plant

[Sandy Perle]

Index:

Worker exposed to small amount of radiation at Japan plant
Power is back on at nuclear plant  - Oldbury Power Station
DOE Nuke workers not getting regular tests, report finds
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Worker exposed to small amount of radiation at Japan plant

TOKYO (AP): A worker was exposed to radiation at a spent fuel 
processing plant in northern Japan but the amount was too small to 
cause any health effects, the plant's operator said Friday. 

The incident comes only weeks after another worker at the Rokkasho 
plant in Japan's northern Aomori prefecture (state) was exposed to a 
tiny amount of radiation on his foot, which caused no injuries or 
health problems. 

In the latest incident, a man was inspecting a fuel removal device at 
a spent fuel storage building at the plant when he was exposed 
Thursday, operator Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. said in a statement. 

A small amount of radioactivity -- far below the level considered to 
affect health -- was detected on the sole of his foot as he tried to 
leave the controlled area, the company said. 

The worker apparently had stepped on his protective gear as he 
changed clothes after work, Japan Nuclear Fuel said. 

It said the tiny amount of cobalt was immediately wiped off and had 
no effect on his health or on the environment outside the plant. 

Rokkasho is about 600 kilometers (370 miles) north of Tokyo. 
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Power is back on at nuclear plant  - Oldbury Power Station
 
Oldbury Power Station is to close permanently by 2008 
A nuclear power station shut down in July has started generating 
power again. 

One reactor is back online at Oldbury Power Station in South 
Gloucestershire, supplying power to the national grid. 

When the power station closed it was revealed that it had only been 
open for eight days since last August. 

Manager Pete Harper said: "Safety remains our number one priority. 
The staff have worked hard to ensure a safe and professional 
restart." 

Oldbury has also completed the safety case for its other reactor, 
which remains offline. 

The plant is due to stop generating electricity at the end of 2008.
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DOE Nuke workers not getting regular tests, report finds

Rocky Mountain News Aug 24 - The inspector general of the Energy 
Department said Thursday that workers at current nuclear weapons 
plants are not being checked regularly for radiation contamination. 
The inspector general's report said that without changes, current 
"employees may be at risk for occupational exposures to radioactive 
material that might not be detected."  

Besides warning of contamination, records of exposure are needed for 
weapons plant workers to win federal compensation for cancer and 
other illnesses caused by radiation. 

Workers at the now-defunct Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant outside 
Denver say they have been denied compensation for job-related 
illnesses because exposure records can't be found or are incomplete. 
They recently lost an attempt to have all workers grandfathered into 
an aid program on the grounds of missing exposure records. 

According to the inspector general's report, 67 percent of the 24 
workers checked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory did not get all 
their required urinalysis and other lab tests for radiation exposure. 
In some cases, workers were canceling the tests themselves. 

In contrast, workers at the Savannah River weapons plant were being 
tested correctly. 

DOE responded by saying federal regulations do not require medical 
tests, and it refused to insist that employees show up for their 
exams. DOE said air monitoring was more important to identify 
possible radiation leaks that could harm workers. 

However, the federal aid program uses biological tests, not air 
monitoring records, to decide if a worker's illness was caused by 
contamination. 

Jennifer Thompson, an advocate for ill Rocky Flats workers, said she 
was not surprised by the report. "Records have always been and remain 
a huge challenge," Thompson said. 

Jerry Hardin, a 36-year Rocky Flats worker and union official, said 
he doubts the inspector general's conclusions will help Rocky Flats 
workers win their bid for automatic aid. 

"I've been looking for a magic bullet for some years. At times when I 
thought we had a show stopper, we were ignored," Hardin said.

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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/