[ RadSafe ] Former nuclear plant site OK for public use, government says

[Sandy Perle]

Index:

Former nuclear plant site OK for public use, government says
Humanetics to Test Anti-Radiation Drug
New study focuses on radiation-associated cancer risks
Poisoned spy's contact released from radiation treatment
Indian Point nuclear plant seeks extension for new siren system
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Former nuclear plant site OK for public use, government says
 
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- A federal agency Thursday declared the 
grounds of the former Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant safe for any 
kind of public use, including housing or recreation.

The roughly 435-acre property north of Charlevoix falls below the 
maximum allowable radiation dosage of 25 millirems per year from 
residual contamination, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said. 
A millirem is a unit of absorbed radiation.

"Our goal was to ensure that the property was well below the very 
strict standards established by regulations," said Kurt Haas, the Big 
Rock site's general manager. "This beautiful piece of property is 
ready to be enjoyed by those who come after us."

Consumers Energy, a subsidiary of Jackson-based CMS Energy Corp., 
operated the plant and owns the land.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources last fall proposed 
buying the site, which includes mature woodlands and 1.5 miles of 
undeveloped shoreline, and converting it into a state park or 
recreation area. The price was under negotiation but expected to be 
around $20 million.

DNR officials withdrew an application to the Michigan Natural 
Resources Trust Fund Board for $3 million as an initial payment after 
critics attacked the plan. Opponents contended the soil was still 
contaminated, although the nuclear plant shut down in 1997. It was 
later dismantled, and site restoration was finished last year.

Critics also said the property was unsuitable because highly 
radioactive waste fuel from the plant's 35 years of power generation 
will be stored nearby until being shipped eventually to a national 
storage facility. A 100-acre buffer zone separates the concrete casks 
holding the waste from the larger property.

DNR resource management deputy Mindy Koch said last month the DNR 
considered the land safe and still wanted to buy it but needed time 
to refine its plan.

The Michigan Environmental Council, which fought the purchase, said 
the nuclear commission's seal of approval for the property was based 
partly on data supplied by Consumers Energy or its contractors.

"If the state is still going to pursue the purchase of this land, we 
would continue to press for independent third-party assessment of its 
environmental condition," spokesman Hugh McDiarmid Jr. said.

The commission said its surveys verified that the site met federal 
standards.

McDiarmid also described as a "red flag" the commission's requirement 
that Consumers maintain $44.4 million in liability insurance. "The 
taxpayers shouldn't assume one cent of that liability," he said.

Company spokesman Tim Petrosky said the insurance was required by law 
for dry-cask nuclear waste storage areas. "It is not in any way 
related to the unrestricted property," he said.
----------------

Humanetics to Test Anti-Radiation Drug

Red Orbit Breaking News - U.S. firm Humanetics said Thursday it has 
been cleared to begin a phase 1 study of its anti-radiation drug. 

The privately held company said it would launch a trial of its drug, 
BIO 300, to test the oral drug for the prevention and prophylactic 
treatment of Acute Radiation Syndrome. There are currently no drugs 
approved by the FDA for the prevention or treatment of ARS. 

 Humanetics' drug is designed to ameliorate the effects of ARS-
related damage, such as damage to progenitors of blood platelets and 
infection-fighting white blood cells in bone marrow. 

FDA clearance to begin human trials under our IND is an important 
milestone in our commitment to develop BIO 300 as the first practical 
solution for the protection of mass civilian populations, said Ronald 
Zenk, president and chief executive officer of Humanetics. 

ARS is a potentially deadly condition that may be caused by whole-
body exposure to radiation resulting from a nuclear or radiological 
terrorist attack or from an accident at a nuclear facility, the 
company said.
----------------

New study focuses on radiation-associated cancer risks

Concerns about the risk of radiation-induced cancer are growing with 
the increasing number of cancer patients surviving long term. To 
address these concerns, Herman Suit and his colleagues Saveli 
Goldberg, Andrzej Niemeierko, Marek Ancukiewicz, Eric Hall, Michael 
Goitein, Winifed Wong and Harald Paganetti examined data on radiation-
induced neoplastic transformation of mammalian cells in vitro and on 
the risk of an increase in cancer incidence after radiation exposure 
in mice, dogs, monkeys, the atomic bomb survivors, persons exposed 
occupationally, and patients treated with radiation.

The study appears in the January issue of the journal Radiation 
Research.

The authors found that there is great heterogeneity in the risk of 
radiation-associated cancer between species, strains of a species, 
and organs within a species. Currently, the heterogeneity between and 
within patient populations of virtually every parameter considered in 
risk estimation results in substantial uncertainty in quantification 
of a general risk factor.

One implication of their review is that reduced risks of secondary 
cancer should be achieved by any technique that achieves a dose 
reduction down to ~0.1 Gy (i.e., the dose to tissues distant from the 
target). Based on their study, they conclude that the proportionate 
gain should be greatest for dose decrement to less than 2 Gy.
--------------

Poisoned spy's contact released from radiation treatment

VANCOUVER (CBC) - A key figure in the poisoning death of a former KGB 
agent has left the hospital where he was reportedly being treated for 
radiation exposure. Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB bodyguard questioned 
by Scotland Yard detectives and Russian authorities last month, told 
the Associated Press Tuesday he was released from a Moscow hospital 
and was "resting," but did not elaborate. He said he would make 
further comment on Sunday.  

British and Russian investigators have been interested in Lugovoi 
since it was determined he was one of the last people to have met 
with former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London, along with 
another businessman, Dmitry Kovtun.  

Following their dinner at a hotel in November, Litvinenko fell ill 
and died weeks later from the effects of overexposure to the 
radioactive substance polonium-210. Traces of radiation were since 
discovered at the London hotel where Litvinenko stayed, and both 
Lugovoi and Kovtun were reportedly admitted to hospital later to 
undergo treatment for radiation poisoning.  

Kovtun's whereabouts were not immediately known.

About a dozen sites around London have been tested for traces of 
polonium-210. On Thursday, Prof. Pat Troop, chief executive of the 
Health Protection Agency, told ITN News that "just over 100 people 
... had evidence that they were in contact with this radiation."  

The number includes customers and staff in the London hotel where 
Litvinenko stayed. In most cases, the levels of exposure were so low 
they pose no health risk to people, the Health Protection Agency 
said.  

Litvinenko, a critic of the Kremlin, had been living in exile in 
London and was meeting with contacts before his poisoning in order to 
investigate the murder of a Russian journalist known for her anti-
Kremlin views. Days before he died, Litvinenko blamed Russian 
President Vladimir Putin for ordering his murder 
--------------  

Indian Point nuclear plant seeks extension for new siren system

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. AP - The state-of-the-art system that was supposed 
to replace Indian Point´s balky emergency sirens this month will not 
be ready until spring, the owner of the nuclear power station said 
Thursday. Entergy Nuclear Northeast, which owns the twin reactors in 
Buchanan, asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a deadline 
extension from Jan. 30 to April 15. It said the new equipment may be 
too much for an existing 470-foot tower to bear, so it needs time to 
strengthen the tower. Additional time will be needed to train workers 
on the new system after the tower is re-engineered, the company said. 
The sirens, which have occasionally failed during tests in recent 
years, are meant to warn residents within 10 miles of Indian Point if 
there is an emergency. NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said Entergy is 
permitted to seek delays "if it can show good cause." "The object 
here is for them to get it right," he added. However, the NRC has not 
yet ruled on the application for an extension. Entergy promised the 
new sirens after Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., pushed legislation 
mandating a backup power system. Entergy decided it would be easier 
to install a new system rather than retrofit the existing system with 
backups. Clinton said Thursday she was disappointed to hear of the 
delay. "The community deserves to know that there are backup systems 
in  place to ensure that the sirens will work, no matter what," she  
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

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