[ RadSafe ] [nuclear news] Hearing set for nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle

[Sandy Perle]

Index:

Hearing set for nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle
DTE Energy chief to discuss nuclear power in Michigan today
South Africa gets second nuclear reactor
Nuclear Detectives    
Solar Tower Prospects Firm in Ward County
Iran ready to cooperate in Belarussian nuclear plant: Ambassador 
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Hearing set for nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Feb 12 - The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board is holding a pre-hearing
conference at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Waynesboro, near Augusta, to hear arguments
for and against granting Southern Nuclear Operating Co. an early site permit
to add two nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle. Five environmental groups are
protesting the proposed units, citing concerns about the impact on the
Savannah River, low-income and minority communities nearby, potential
terrorist attacks and energy alternatives.

A three-judge panel will hear arguments from the environmentalists, NRC
staff and Southern Nuclear. A decision is expected in several weeks on
whether the environmentalists have legal standing to proceed with a formal
hearing.

The pre-hearing conference will be in the auditorium of the Augusta
Technical College's Waynesboro/Burke Campus at 216 Ga. 24 S.

Written statements can be submitted at any time to the Office of the
Secretary, Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; or by fax to 301-415-1101; or by
e-mail to hearingdocket at nrc.gov. Copies also should be sent to the chairman
of the licensing board as follows: Administrative Judge G. Paul Bollwerk,
III, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel (Mail Stop T-3F23), U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555-0001; or by fax to
301-415-5599; or by e-mail to gpb at nrc.gov.
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DTE Energy chief to discuss nuclear power in Michigan today

Detroit Free Press Feb 12 - DTE Energy Chairman and CEO Anthony Earley will
make a speech about the importance of nuclear power in Michigan energy
portfolio at the Detroit Economic Club at 1 p.m. today.  

For more than a year, Earley has been talking up the importance nuclear
power as a clean source of energy for Michigan. DTE Energy owns and operates
Fermi 2 nuclear power plant in Monroe.
 
DTE Energy, parent company of Detroit Edison and Michigan Consolidated Gas,
provides electricity to 1.8 million customers in Southeast Michigan and
natural gas to about 1.2 million consumers.
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South Africa gets second nuclear reactor

(iafrica.com)Feb 12 - The government had approved the construction of a
second nuclear power station in the southern part of the country, Public
Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said in Parliament on Monday. 

Speaking at the Economic Cluster briefing in Parliament, Erwin said the new
nuclear reactor was approved by the Eskom board last year. 

He said the project was still in the pre-tender stage but once the technical
aspects had been evaluated a decision on the preferred bidder would be made
during the first quarter of this year. 

Land must be bought 

He said it would be located in the southern part of the national grid in the
Cape provinces where more baseload supply was required. 

"One does not reveal where a nuclear power plant is to be built, because we
still have to acquire the land, although we might have already done that,"
he said. 

Regarding the capacity of the reactor, he said this would be decided upon
after it had been configured into the existing grid. However he said the
baseload demand in southern parts of the country would suggest a capacity of
more than 1000 megawatts (MW). 


Pebble Bed reactor 

Erwin also gave details about the proposed pebble bed modular reactor which
he said could be used for many purposes from water desalination to the
production of hydrogen and methane gas. 

He said the pebble bed system had advantages over conventional nuclear power
stations in that it did not run the risk of meltdowns and proliferation
because the fuel was locked into separate modules. 

He said the modules, which each had a capacity of 135 MW, could be deployed
in cities and towns around the country wherever needed.
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Nuclear Detectives    

BBC Feb 12 - The mysterious death in London of the Russian dissident
Alexander Litvinenko was a story which could have come from the pages of a
dramatic spy novel. But it actually happened, and has still not been fully
explained.  

This two-part series examines the work of scientists - acting as nuclear
detectives - seeking to identify and control the spread of radioactive
materials.  

Part One: Theft and Smuggling  

Given that just one nuclear device in the wrong hands would cause untold
devastation and loss of life, keeping track of nuclear material is a top
priority.  

Where do radioactive materials come from? And how do these become available
to the "wrong hands"? 

This first programme examines theft, smuggling and what happens next.
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Solar Tower Prospects Firm in Ward County

NEW YORK, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Prospects for development of
EnviroMission's (OTC: EVOMY - News) Solar Tower power station technology
have firmed for Ward County, Texas after positive pre-feasibility findings
show a strong fit for the technology in the region, with solar radiation
approximating 2400kwhm2.
 
A feasibility study that includes installation of meteorological equipment
is now underway on land made available to EnviroMission in Monahans, Ward
County's largest town, in a show of support for the concept in the region.

Mayor of Monahans, Mr David Cutbirth, speaking also on behalf of the
Monahans Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development said "Texas knows
energy and this is just a cleaner more sustainable version of what has been
the backbone of our economy until now.


"All that can be done will be done to elevate Ward County's prospects in the
race to be home of the first US Solar Tower to also reinforce the
outstanding solar capacity Texas is able to offer in a new energy age."

Mr Cutbirth has gone so far as to provide access to his private land for the
installation of the weather station to facilitate a timely start to the
feasibility study as a number of sites in the area are assessed for
viability against EnviroMission's development matrix.

Ward County is located in West Texas and is serviced by the ERCOT
(Electricity Reliability Council of Texas) grid that transmits electricity
exclusively in Texas.

With two separate Solar Tower site feasibility studies now underway in
Texas, a new level of competition has been introduced in the development
model that is reasonably expected to improve overall commerciality where
incentives are adopted to strengthen the merit of each case bid.

Solar Tower development in the south west region of the US will also meet
core objectives of the commercialisation pathway indicated in
EnviroMission's 2006 application to the Low Emission Technology
Demonstration Fund (LETDF); development can now move forward unencumbered of
any constraints likely to have been imposed under an LETDF deed of agreement
and frees the development decision and timetable to occur on a case by case
basis in domestic and international markets.
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Iran ready to cooperate in Belarussian nuclear plant: Ambassador 

IRNA Feb 12 - Iran's ambassador to Belarus on Friday expressed Tehran's
readiness to explore cooperation in construction of a nuclear plant in the
country.  

According to the Belarussian state-owned news agency Belta, Abdolhamid Fekri
made the remarks at a news conference in Minsk saying that Iran will be
ready to survey cooperation in Belarus' nuclear plant, if it is asked. 

He also noted that Belarus enjoys abundant scientific and technological
potentials to undertake the job itself. 

Fekri underlined that the Islamic Republic develops nuclear programs under
the limitations of international regulations. 

The ambassador also referred to the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) reports on Iran's nuclear activities, saying that the agency has
never reported any diversion in this respect. 

Responding to question, he declared that Iran and Belarus will create a
joint bank structure in the future. 

Fekri called the two sides' cooperation in the field of tourism as good. 

Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko announced last week that his
government plans to construct an atomic plant in the next year. 

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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 
Tel: (949) 419-1000 Extension 2306
Fax:(949) 296-1144

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