[ RadSafe ] [Nuclear News] Greener thinking, and a nuclear path

[Sandy Perle]

Index:

Greener thinking, and a nuclear path
Some radiation levels over acceptable limit
Water used on fire tested for radiation
Nuclear needs cash spark to get growing
Northern Cape community against nuclear station
Malaysia to build Southeast Asia nuclear monitoring lab: report
German Nuclear Plant Operator Admits "Misunderstandings"
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Greener thinking, and a nuclear path

TALLAHASSEE (Sarasota Hearald-Tribune) Jul 15 -- Gov. Charlie Crist's 
push to be green could mean more nuclear plants in Florida.

The word "nuclear" does not appear in any of the three executive 
orders Crist signed at the close of his global warming summit Friday 
ordering tighter vehicle emission standards and a reduction of 
greenhouse gases.

But he, as well as power utilities, are planning for more nuclear 
energy in the future. And the sweeping greenhouse gas reductions 
Crist embraced this week may solidify more nuclear power as a 
cornerstone of Florida's energy policy.

When Crist discusses renewable energy, he inevitably mentions "solar, 
wind and nuclear." "I think it's just as important," Crist said 
Friday of nuclear power. "It's clean, it produces a lot of juice."

Among the efforts Crist enacted Friday to reduce greenhouse gases 
will be a requirement that 20 percent of energy supplied by utilities 
in the state come from renewable sources.

While that most commonly means solar and wind power, Crist has 
mentioned nuclear energy as an option as well.

Utility leaders said Friday that achieving that 20 percent goal could 
require more nuclear energy, especially if it is classified as 
renewable energy that would meet Crist's targets.

"If nuclear power is not included in that mix, it may become a big 
challenge to meet those goals," said Mayco Villafana, a spokesman for 
Florida Power & Light.

Jeff Lyash, the president of Progress Energy in Florida, said the 
company is committed to developing solar, wind and biomass fuels in 
the future.

"Those are critically important," he said. "But it is not going to be 
enough to be able to turn the tide on CO2 and reduce it. You must 
also find ways to generate bulk electricity to support growth. The 
one thing that's available to us today that's safe, cost-effective 
and emits no (greenhouse gases) is nuclear."

Lyash said he hopes to include savings generated by energy efficiency 
efforts as a renewable source.

"How more renewable can something get than not using it?" he said.

Efforts to build more nuclear plants may not be evident for decades.

It takes about 10 years and billions of dollars to obtain the 
necessary state and federal approval and construct a plant.

Progress Energy is building a plant in Levy County and hopes to have 
it operating by 2016. And FPL has discussed expanding its existing 
nuclear operations at Turkey Point in Miami-Dade by 2020.

Crist has already pushed Florida toward a nuclear future.

With pressure from the governor, the state's utility commission 
denied an FPL permit to build a coal-burning plant in Glades County. 
Another power group later cited Crist's opposition in ending plans 
for a coal plant in Taylor County west of Gainesville.

One of the two members Crist has appointed to the Public Service 
Commission said Friday that the apparent demise of coal as a future 
fuel option in the state makes nuclear energy likelier.

"I think nuclear will come into play more and more," said Nancy 
Argenziano, a former state legislator from Dunnellon. "I like nuclear 
far better than coal."

She said the PSC may travel to Nevada to explore how nuclear waste is 
stored at the Yucca Mountain Repository.

And a study group, the Florida Energy Commission, said earlier this 
month that the state should not only consider building more nuclear 
plants, but also study construction of a facility to recycle nuclear 
waste.

Environmental groups that have swooned at Crist's energy policies are 
not likely to agree with him on the future of nuclear energy.

"If you spend all the money that you have to develop global warming 
options on nuclear, you're going to do the least you can possibly do 
to solve the problem by spending the most money," said Dale Bryk, a 
senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Holly Binns, field director for Environment Florida, said most of the 
state's future energy needs could be met largely by more efficient 
use of energy and increased use of solar and wind power.

More critical for many environmentalists is the lingering issue of 
disposing of nuclear waste safely.

"We've had 30 years to figure out what to do with this highly 
dangerous waste," Binns said. "And if we haven't solved it yet, to 
think we're going to in the next year or two is pretty absurd." 
---------------

Some radiation levels over acceptable limit

Murfreesboro, TN (The Daily News Journal) Jul 15 - Even as state 
officials profess the safety of Middle Point Landfill, many residents 
still aren't okay with the low-level radioactive dumping there.

Tests of Middle Point Landfill's leachate - water collecting in the 
landfill lining - showed higher levels of some radioactive particles 
than the Environmental Protection Agency allows in drinking water, 
but nothing that would be dangerous, according to Tennessee 
Department of Environment and Conservation spokeswoman Tisha 
Calabrese-Benton.

"All of the sample results we have received are well within the 
effluent and sewer limits and do not constitute a threat," she said. 

For 54-year-old Murfreesboro resident John Parker, the levels are 
still too high.

"I would be happy if the levels were less than can be in drinking 
water," he said.

Calabrese-Benton stressed that there is no proof that any increases 
in any radioactivity came from the materials dumped under the Bulk 
Survey For Release program, which allows a variety of materials with 
what the state calls "extremely low levels of radiation" to be 
disposed of in five Tennessee landfills, including Middle Point 
Landfill on Jefferson Pike, just outside of Murfreesboro.

That dumping is under a moratorium for Middle Point Landfill, but 
that will expire on Sept. 3 - the same day the Tennessee Solid Waste 
Advisory Committee is set to issue a recommendation on the BSFR 
program.

The tests were taken by landfill owners Allied Waste in early June, 
after a public outcry over the revelation that the materials were 
being dumped in Rutherford County.

At the same time the Middle Point Landfill was tested, the leachate 
of Bi-County Landfill in Clarksville was tested for radiation - 
showing similarly elevated levels of some types of radiation, though 
not all.

Middle Point's results were several times higher than Clarksville's 
for gross beta radiation and potassium 40 (K-40) - a radioactive 
isotope of potassium found in nature.

"Part of what makes up the total gross beta number is K-40, which is 
naturally occurring in the environment," Calabrese-Benton said. 
"Approximately 89 percent of the K-40 numbers will contribute to the 
gross beta numbers."

Middle Point's results were a lower than Clarksville's for gross 
alpha radiation.

The presence of tritium - a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that may 
come from disposal of such things as self-luminous exit signs - was 
also found in the leachate samples from both landfills.

Park, who's live in Murfreesboro more than 30 years and owns a 
business here, said he wishes even extremely low level radioactive 
materials wouldn't come to the county at all, no matter what kind of 
levels the landfill testing shows.

"It has to go somewhere," Parker said. "Everybody wants it to go 
somewhere else. I guess I want it to go somewhere else, too."

Sean Boland, a 21-year-old MTSU student who's lived in Murfreesboro 
for about two years, said he's surprised the dumping is allowed at 
all, especially given the proximity to the Stones River - the water 
supply for both Murfreesboro and the rest of Rutherford County that 
runs right next to Middle Point Landfill.

The landfill does have a liner with two parts: The lower portion is 
composed of two feet of compacted clay and above that is a layer of 
high-density plastic.

"I'm sure they're taking care of everything, but stuff happens," 
Boland said. "A plastic liner doesn't seem too safe."

Mark Quarles, an independent consultant who worked for more than 20 
years designing and building landfills, said he still sees reasons 
for worry.

"We also know that landfills do leak," Quarles said. Even a 1-square-
centimeter hole in a lining could leak as much as 3,300 gallons of 
leachate per day, he said.

"Designing, construction and operation of a landfill is something of 
an inexact process," he said. "But there's not much room for error 
here."

The plastic lining of the landfill is less than an a quarter-inch 
thick and the possibility of Middle Point leaking is more than a 
remote hypothetical, Quarles said.

Sometime in 1998 or 1999, a contractor drilling a hole at Middle 
Point Landfill for the collection and extraction of landfill gas 
punched a hole in the plastic lining of the landfill - though not all 
the way through the clay layer beneath. The mistake was discovered in 
April 2000 and subsequently, the hole was patched, according TDEC 
documents.

Calabrese-Benton said there is no reason to think the landfill is 
leaking now. She said that any leak would be a great concern to TDEC, 
but that it would be impossible to tell what the exact impact of any 
leak would be without knowing the exact nature of the leak.

"The department continues to regularly inspect the facility to ensure 
compliance is being met and take swift action in the event it is 
not," she said.

There was a leachate transport line leak last month, and the line was 
dug up and replaced and soil was removed and appropriately disposed 
of to prevent groundwater contamination, Calabrese-Benton said.

Rutherford County has commissioned independent testing for Middle 
Point Landfill, not only for radioactive material but for a slew of 
other organic and inorganic chemicals that might leak from a 
landfill, County Mayor Ernest Burgess said.

"We're testing for pretty much everything," he said.

Samples were taken Thursday from deposits in the Stones River, the 
leachate of the landfill, and several private wells located near the 
landfill. Results from those tests are expected back sometime in the 
next month.

Consolidated Utility District, which supplies water to much of 
Rutherford County, is also running tests on its water supply to 
determine if there are any increased levels of radioactivity.

Murfreesboro previously conducted similar tests, though the results 
did not produce any red flags.

Joey Boller, a 52-year-old Nissan employee, said he wished the public 
and local government had been informed about the dumping a long time 
ago.

"I don't know what the levels are," he said. "So, I'm glad they're 
looking into it."
--------------

Water used on fire tested for radiation
 
SPOKANE (The Oregonian) Jul 15 -- Washington state health officials 
are testing to determine whether radioactive contamination was spread 
on a wildfire after the pilot of a firefighting helicopter 
inadvertently scooped water from a defunct uranium mine tailings 
pond. 

The Washington Department of Health sent a representative to the site 
Thursday to conduct its own tests after the mining company said it 
found no measurable contamination in the water or bucket used to take 
about 440 gallons from the pond. 

An official with Dawn Mining Co. quickly notified the state after the 
helicopter took two bucket loads from the unfenced pond about 40 
miles northwest of Spokane on the Spokane Indian Reservation July 2. 
 
The pilot then was directed to draw water from an uncontaminated 
rainwater collection pond nearby, said Patty Henson, communications 
director for the Washington Department of Natural Resources. The 
wildfire burned 156 acres and destroyed one structure. 

The mining company conducted radiation tests the day the water was 
taken from the mine pond, Henson said. 

"Both the bucket itself and the water was tested for radioactivity, 
and it was found to not have contaminants," Henson said. 

The pond is believed to have relatively low levels of radiation 
contamination, and the aerial drop would have dispersed the water 
over a large patch of ground, but a second radiation test will be 
conducted, a Health Department spokesman, Donn Moyer, said. 

"We're not alarmed," Moyer said. "We just want to make sure what 
happened." 

Results from the department's first test were not immediately known. 

The tailings pond, about a half-mile from the fire, holds waste from 
uranium ore processing by a former Dawn Mining mill at the site. Most 
of the ore came from the nearby Midnite Mine, which operated for 
about 30 years until it was closed in the early 1980s. 

It is now a federal Superfund site undergoing a $152 million cleanup. 

Dawn Mining Co. has taken what officials believed were appropriate 
safety precautions at the site and acted "more than responsible" 
during the incident and through the follow-up safety testing, Moyer 
said. 

"You wouldn't anticipate an aerial breach of security," he said. 
--------------

Nuclear needs cash spark to get growing

The Salt Lake Tribune, Jul 15 - Economics may be among the biggest 
issues holding the United States back from embarking on a nuclear 
revival. John Grossenbacher, director of Idaho National Laboratory, 
which conducts nuclear research, said financing is a challenge for 
the atomic industry and that federal subsidies are needed to jump-
start construction of the next generation of power plants. Critics 
argue that money being offered to power providers is corporate 
welfare helping nuclear compete with cheaper sources of electricity. 
"The industry has yet to be able to stand on its own two feet after 
50 years," Vanessa Pierce, director of the watchdog group HEAL Utah, 
said of the economics of nuclear power. A 2003 study from the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology acknowledges that nuclear is 
not economically competitive now, but that could change depending on 
how concerned governments become about global warming. The Department 
of Energy's Nuclear Power 2010 program - which received $65 million 
in 2006 - is designed to share costs between government and industry 
in locating sites for future reactors. Grossenbacher said economic 
incentives are needed because investors may be worried about the high 
startup costs - some estimates range up to $2 billion per plant - and 
potentially long delays before a nuclear power plant comes on line.  
Financial incentives are designed to produce a few new commercial 
reactors and encourage future groups to build more nuclear power 
plants, he said. This is just the latest example of subsidies for an 
economically unsound industry, said Michele Boyd, a nuclear expert 
with the nonprofit group Public Citizen. "Why waste more money on a 
highly subsidized industry?" Boyd asked. "Why not take the money and 
put it into something that can make a difference?" Pierce said 2005 
federal legislation that provided $13 billion in nuclear subsidies 
far overshadowed the money offered for any other carbon-free power 
source, like wind or solar. The MIT report supported some level of 
financial incentive for the first utility companies that build safer 
reactors to pave the way for other commercial reactors. While 
incentives are still needed, nuclear is becoming more competitive 
with other power sources, such as wind and solar, said Grossenbacher. 
When compared to current electricity workhorses, like coal-fired 
power plants, nuclear could look even better in the future. Concerns 
over global warming may drive governments to impose carbon taxes on 
power providers, a move that could level the playing field even more 
for nuclear, he said. A carbon tax would penalize utilities that emit 
carbon dioxide. The MIT report agreed that carbon taxes could make 
nuclear a more viable option in the future.  
---------------

Northern Cape community against nuclear station

SABC News Jul 15 - The community of Komaggas in the Northern Cape 
says they are not going to allow Eskom to go ahead with its plans to 
build a nuclear power station on their land. 

Brazil and Skulpfontein in the Northern Cape, together with three 
other sites in two provinces, have since the early 1980's been 
assessed to determine the viability of the multi-billion-rand nuclear 
power stations. Eskom is currently meeting affected communities to 
check how the move could impact on them. 

Ninety percent of Eskom's electricity is generated by coal fired 
power stations, however, Eskom is looking at the possibility of 
expanding, and nuclear power is the only way. 

Eskom, which has contracted specialists for the environmental 
assessment process, says the journey has not been easy. Tony Stott, 
from Eskom, said: "We tend to get both negative and positive comments 
from communities; here we tended to get more negative comments."

Andy Pienaar, a community representative, said: "I think from here on 
we going shut these people out of the community and we are going make 
every effort to make sure that they do not erect a power station at 
Brazil or Skulpfontein for that matter."

However, Eskom has vowed to engage the community further in this 
process, which is expected to be completed in January 2009.
------------

Malaysia to build Southeast Asia nuclear monitoring lab: report 

KUALA LUMPUR, July 15, 2007 (AFP) - Malaysia will build Southeast 
Asia's first nuclear monitoring laboratory to allow scientists check 
the safety of atomic energy programmes in the region, a report said 
Sunday.

The 26-million-dollar facility would be built in central Pahang state 
and be operational in three years' time, the Sunday Star newspaper 
reported.

Science, technology and innovation minister Jamaludin Jarjis said the 
laboratory would be the first in Southeast Asia.

Malaysia has 66 scientists in nuclear-related subjects and many of 
them are involved in work with the International Atomic Energy Agency 
(IAEA), he said.

Jamaludin said the government agreed to implement the project 
following recommendations by the UN nuclear watchdog since none of 
the developing countries in the region had such a facility.

Jamaludin said among the functions of the laboratory were to ensure 
that the region was free of nuclear weapons and to provide services 
for countries that needed to check whether their nuclear-powered 
facilities were safe.

The move follows plans by neighbouring Indonesia, Vietnam and 
Thailand to develop atomic energy programmes and hence there was a 
need to have a monitoring laboratory, he said.

Jamaludin said IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei would visit Malaysia on 
July 17
------------

German Nuclear Plant Operator Admits "Misunderstandings" 

Deutsche Welle Jul 14 - The Swedish operator of a German nuclear 
plant hit by a fire two weeks ago admitted to a "misunderstanding" 
between senior staff on duty at the time Saturday. Police 
investigating the fire searched the facility Friday.

The admission by Vattenfall Europe came after police searched offices 
at the site of the reactor at Krümmel, near Geesthacht, 30 kilometres 
south-east of Hamburg.

In a report on the incident to regulators that was available on the 
company website Saturday, Vattenfall said there was a breakdown in 
communications between the reactor operator and the shift manager.

The misunderstanding involved the operation of valves designed to 
slow a rise in pressure in the reactor's casing, following the 
failure of a water pump, the company said.

The operator opened two valves for several minutes, instead of 
alternately opening and closing them as the manager wanted. As a 
result, pressure dropped rapidly in a short period, Vattenfall said.

The Swedish company has been forced to defend itself over its public 
handling of the June 28 incident, which led to the reactor being shut 
down.

Police searched offices at the nuclear plant Friday as part of an 
inquiry into a possible offence during the fire at the site, state 
prosecutors said.

The legislature of Schleswig-Holstein state warned the Swedish-owned 
company Vattenfall Europe that it might lose its license to operate 
Krümmel power station east of Hamburg. It called on company officials 
to testify at a state parliamentary inquiry next week.

Prosecutors in the city of Lübeck said detectives were sent to the 
site to inquire into reports that a reactor operator had to wear a 
face-mask when smoke from burning oil entered the control room during 
last month's fire. 

It was possible the man had been harmed by toxic fumes and that the 
company might have caused bodily harm by negligence, spokesman Klaus-
Dieter Schultz said.

Top priority

Representatives of the Swedish company, however, told police officers 
that this was not the case.

"The safety of our staff is a top priority for us," Bruno Thomauske, 
the chief of Vattenfall Europe Nuclear Energy, said in a statement.

Vattenfall had declined to name the operator so that he could be 
interviewed. The detectives sought the name in records in the control 
room and offices at Krümmel. 

The company denied obstructing the inquiry and said it had vainly 
tried to contact prosecutors on Thursday. 

"We are cooperating fully with the authorities and the state 
prosecution and are doing everything to clear up this matter," 
Thomauske claimed. "We have explained that nobody was injured."

Safety improvements

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  
Huge fears were raised by the Krümmel fire last month
Gitta Trauernicht, the state's minister responsible for reactor 
safety, said in the Schleswig-Holstein parliament on Friday she would 
use all her powers to force improvements at Krümmel, one of 17 
nuclear power stations in Germany.

"I've used the full range of legal means and ensured that Krümmel 
remains deactivated," she said.

She said she would insist it be in perfect order before it resumes 
operations, and added that she would not be deterred by demands for 
compensation from the company.

She said the day of blunders at Vattenfall had been "unique" in the 
history of the German nuclear industry. 

Double trouble 

Two Vattenfall nuclear stations in the state failed on June 28, one 
because of a short-circuit and the one at Krümmel when its 
transformer caught fire. Neither reactor was damaged. The fire at 
Krümmel broke out just hours after the nuclear reactor at nearby 
Brunsbüttel had to be shut down temporarily because its capacity was 
overloaded.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  
The fire allegedly reached the building house the reactorThe company 
initially said the fire at the Krümmel plant had been isolated from 
the atomic reactor but, according to the regional social affairs 
ministry, the flames had reached the building housing the reactor.

The ministry also contends that Vattenfall waited five days to report 
technical problems that occurred when workers tried to restart the 
Brunsbüttel plant.

Vattenfall has since admitted further mechanical mishaps including 
the smoke entering the control room.

German anti-nuclear groups have demanded that the company's nuclear 
license be revoked. Under current legislation, all Germany's nuclear 
power plants are to close by 2021.

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Sandy 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/