[ RadSafe ] [Nuclear News] Nuclear Mishap or Meltdown?: It's All a Matter of Degree

[Sandy Perle]

Index:

Nuclear Mishap or Meltdown?: It's All a Matter of Degree
Japan quake casts a shadow over Indonesian plans for nuclear plants
Watchdogs: Nigeria Nuclear Safety Flawed
France-China nuclear accord to be signed
Extension Sought for Indian Point Nuclear Plant 
Sarkozy Says Trust Arab States with Nuclear Power
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Nuclear Mishap or Meltdown?: It's All a Matter of Degree

An obscure scale helps communicate the relative severity of a nuclear 
accident was devised to communicate the relative severity of a 
nuclear accident.  

Scientific American, Jul 25 - Earthquake stories are incomplete 
without information from the Richter scale. Without the measurement 
of magnitude 6.8, for instance, few could grasp the relative severity 
of the recent earthquake off the western coast of Japan. Scales are 
also essential to any weather report-from hurricane intensity 
(measured on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale from categories 1 to 
5) to the temperature. 

An analogous scale exists for portraying the broad range of potential 
danger from a nuclear accident-whether it be a small leak of 
radioactive material or the meltdown of a reactor-though it lingers 
in relative obscurity. But with plans to build many more nuclear 
reactors worldwide, including as many as 30 in the U.S. alone over 
the next few decades, the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) 
may become more familiar. 

The scale ranges from level 0 (a "deviation" of "no safety 
significance") to level 7 (a "major accident"). No major nuclear 
accidents have occurred since it was implemented in 1992, but it has 
been used to assess damage from previous events. Only one event, the 
1986 meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine, has merited 
its most serious degree, level 7. The explosion in the reactor core 
spread both short- and long-lived radioactive material as far as the 
U.K. Therefore, it fulfilled all three of the scale's criteria: on-
site impact, off-site impact and so-called "defense in depth."

The latter concept refers to the numerous safeguards designed to 
limit the impact of potentially deadly accidents. "How did the safety 
provisions function and how close the event was to causing a 
problem," says Cynthia Jones, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission's (NRC) senior technical advisor for nuclear security. 
"It's like if you had a car accident and you broke your turn signal. 
Can you still drive the car? Yes, but you've lost one of your 
defenses. It's a degradation of warning."

In the case of Chernobyl, all such preventive measures failed. In the 
case of the 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant near 
Middletown, Pa., radioactivity spread but was limited to a 10-mile 
radius, which led to it being downgraded it to level 5, even though 
it had the makings of a full-scale catastrophe due to human error.

In all, there were 10 incidents at U.S. nuclear plants last year that 
merited ratings of 2-"significant spread of contamination / 
overexposure of a worker" and "incidents with significant failures in 
safety provisions," as the INES handbook puts it-or above, Jones 
says. "Two reactor events and eight nonreactor events."

Among the eight nonreactor events was a spill at the Nuclear Fuel 
Services, Inc., fuel production plant in Erwin, Tenn., in March 2006. 
More than eight gallons (31 liters) of highly enriched, weapons-grade 
uranyl nitrate, the liquid form of transportable uranium, nearly 
pooled in a sufficient quantity to achieve the conditions necessary 
for a spontaneous chain reaction-uncontrolled fission, otherwise 
known as a criticality.

"Nothing did happen in terms of a criticality event," says NRC 
commissioner Gregory Jaczko. "That would have been the kind of event 
that would have been a potential." Because such fission was avoided, 
the incident was reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency 
(IAEA) by the NRC as a level 2 event on the INES scale. Subsequently, 
the plant was closed for seven months and a major reorganization has 
been undertaken by Nuclear Fuel Services, according to notes from a 
meeting with NRC commissioners.

The INES scale notwithstanding, word of this near-fission event did 
not reach the public until this year due to secrecy provisions put in 
place by the Bush administration to stop would-be terrorists and 
others from getting information about nuclear power plants. 
"Certainly, in my view, this was something we should have reported 
initially," Jaczko says.

Notes Rejane Spiegelberg Planer, who is in charge of incident 
reporting at the IAEA: "There is no obligation to report." So far, 63 
countries have agreed to voluntarily report and rank incidents on the 
scale. Each country has its own internal reporting requirements; the 
NRC requires that all licensed U.S. nuclear operators promptly notify 
it of any incidents.

The information, of course, can only be as good as the reporting-and 
the scale itself. The leaks of nuclear fuel rod cooling water, a 
burning transformer and other problems at the world's largest nuclear 
reactor-Kashiwazaki-Kariwa in Japan-caused by the earthquake this 
past week have yet to rise above INES level 0. The coolant's 
radioactivity has been reported as 16,000 becquerels per liter in the 
roughly liter-and-a-half (0.39-gallon) spill. (One becquerel is the 
measure of a material's radioactive decay equal to one nucleus 
disintegration per second.) To merit a 2 on the scale, for example, 
would require the leak of material emitting several gigabecquerels. 
"We can't even measure that [Japanese spill] with any kind of device 
that we have," Jones says.

A malfunction in the water pump at the Oyster Creek nuclear power 
plant in New Jersey caused it to shut down on July 17 and release one 
curie of tritium (an isotope of hydrogen) in vented steam, according 
to the NRC. One curie equals 37 billion becquerels, "just half the 
radiological exposure of living with a household smoke detector," 
according to Exelon, the power company that runs the plant. As a 
result, this incident at the oldest operating nuclear reactor in the 
U.S. also does not merit inclusion on INES.

But with more nuclear power plants being built and planned (there are 
licenses pending at the NRC to build 30 plants in the U.S.), the 
aging of those currently on line as well as the proliferation of 
radioactive materials used in other applications, the INES scale may 
yet become more familiar. "I like to compare it with a very simple 
scale that is a thermometer," IAEA's Spiegelberg Planer says. Level 0 
is equivalent to the human body at its normal temperature. Level 2 
might be a slight rise in temperature that prompts taking an aspirin. 
"You don't go to the emergency room if you can take an aspirin," she 
says, whereas at level 7 "you are already in the hospital."
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Japan quake casts a shadow over Indonesian plans for nuclear plants

BALONG, Indonesia: Environmental groups campaigning against 
Indonesia's plan to build some of Southeast Asia's first nuclear 
power reactors near this poor rice farming village in East Java were 
given a stark demonstration of their worst fears on July 16 when an 
earthquake in Japan severely damaged one of the world's largest 
nuclear power facilities, causing a minor radiation leak.

They had been warning for years against government plans to introduce 
nuclear power to Indonesia's energy mix because of the risk that an 
earthquake could rupture a reactor and let nuclear contaminants spill 
into the surrounding environment.

Officials from the national nuclear energy agency argue that the site 
where the government wants to build four to six nuclear power plants, 
on the Muria Peninsula in East Java Province, about 450 kilometers, 
or 280 miles, east of Jakarta, is one of the most geologically stable 
parts of an island with a record of violent earthquakes.

But in recent years scientists have discovered a small geological 
fault below the proposed site, say environmental activists and 
government officials.

"Under the area where the power plant is planned there is now a minor 
fracture that didn't exist in the 1990s," said Nur Hidayati, the 
Jakarta-based climate and energy coordinator for Greenpeace Southeast 
Asia. "Indonesia has a lot of earthquakes. If a nuclear power plant 
is built here, the dangers will increase."

Fears and dashed hopes in Korea over hostages in AfghanistanJapan 
quake casts a shadow over Indonesian plans for nuclear plantsNuclear 
deal with India meets skepticism in Washington
 Safety and environmental concerns over nuclear power in a country 
prone to earthquakes, riddled with corruption and known for poor 
regulatory oversight of public utilities might have some merit. In 
May last year, an earthquake measuring 5.9 devastated parts of 
neighboring Central Java, killing more than 5,000 people.

But none of this is likely to deter the Indonesian government from 
its nuclear energy plans, first proposed by the government when 
Suharto was president in the early 1990s.

Following the earthquake in Japan, government officials reaffirmed 
they intended to stick to a timetable that would bring the first 
nuclear power plant online in 2016.

"It has some impact on us," said Ferhat Aziz, a spokesman for the 
nuclear energy agency. "Any accident anywhere in the world will have 
some impact, especially in terms of communicating to the public."

But he added: "We are still going ahead with this plan."

Indonesia, like all its neighbors in Southeast Asia, is facing 
intense pressure to diversify its energy sources. It wants to shift 
away from heavily polluting, increasingly expensive and depleting 
supplies of fossil fuels to more sustainable alternatives.

Nuclear power is emerging as a key part of the future energy mix, not 
just for Indonesia, but for many of its neighbors in Southeast Asia - 
a region that until now has eschewed atomic energy.

Despite fears of accidents and the opposition of environmental 
groups, several Southeast Asian governments have either firm plans to 
develop nuclear power stations in the coming decade or have begun 
studies into its potential, in hopes of emulating Northeast Asia's 
long-established use of nuclear energy.

In a long-term energy plan released last year, government officials 
in Jakarta estimate that by 2025 about 4 to 5 percent of Indonesia's 
electricity supply will come from the string of power stations in 
East Java.

Vietnam has announced that it expects 4.7 percent of its electricity 
needs to be met by nuclear power by the same date, once it finishes 
the construction of about four power reactors. The first is due to be 
completed in 2015.

In Thailand, a national power development plan approved in April 
envisions nuclear power plants contributing 4 gigawatts to the 
electricity grid by 2021.

Others could follow suit. In Malaysia, government officials said in 
February that a move to nuclear energy could not be ruled out if fuel 
prices continued to rise, although Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun 
Razak said last week the country had no nuclear development plans. A 
comprehensive study of future energy needs, including consideration 
of nuclear, is to be completed in 2010.

The Philippines built a 620-megawatt nuclear power plant at Bataan in 
the 1980s. But it was never used, mothballed by the administration of 
President Corazón Aquino in 1986 because of safety fears. President 
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is now putting the nuclear option back on the 
table. She has said the country should develop skills in nuclear 
technology as a first step to a possible decision on nuclear power in 
a decade.

The military junta ruling Myanmar reached an agreement with Russia's 
atomic energy agency in May to build a research reactor as a possible 
first step to nuclear electricity generation, although some also fear 
the secretive state might ultimately have a military program in mind.
----------------


Watchdogs: Nigeria Nuclear Safety Flawed

Nigeria Can't Adequately Store, Track Its Radioactive Material, Says 
Country's Nuclear Chief 

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) -- The new president of Nigeria is urging the 
country to embrace nuclear power, although his own nuclear watchdog 
is struggling to track the radioactive materials already in use here.

"We need to develop the capacity to utilize nuclear power for power 
generation. Who knows, nuclear power may be the only source of energy 
in the future, and we must think of the future," President Umaru 
Yar'Adua said in a speech this week.

Nigeria has frequently said it would like to build a nuclear power 
plant to address its chronic power shortages, partially caused by 
poor management and maintenance of its electricity infrastructure. 
The country is Africa's largest crude producer, but currently imports 
all its refined oil because its four refineries have been shut down 
by accidents, broken parts or sabotage.

The petroleum industry is currently the main user of radioactive 
materials in Nigeria. The materials, used in tools to detect cracks 
in pipelines or measure exploratory oil wells, have gone missing -- 
or been stolen -- in the past.

Nigeria also has nuclear materials for research and medical purposes, 
including in a reactor, that are regularly inspected by the 
International Atomic Energy Agency, the Vienna-based nuclear watchdog 
for the United Nations. The United States signed an accord with 
Nigeria's nuclear agency in 2005 agreeing to pay for tighter security 
at sites where radioactive materials are kept.

William Potter, director of the James Martin Center for 
Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California, said the 
radioactive materials used in the construction industry would be of 
interest to terrorists who might want to construct a "dirty bomb" -- 
which could spread radiation by a conventional explosion. He added 
that inadequate regulation of radioactive materials is a global 
problem, but "even more acute in those countries which lack well-
developed nuclear regulatory bodies and material control and 
accounting practices."

Even in the U.S., Potter said, about one radioactive device a day was 
"orphaned" or lost track of.

Shamsudeen Elegba, director of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory 
Authority, said in a speech last week that despite upgrading controls 
designed to halt the illicit trafficking of radioactive materials, 
"we still have some challenges in the safety and security of 
radioactive sources."

He said that progress had been made but highlighted the lack of 
dedicated storage facilities and detection capacity at ports of 
entry, inadequately trained personnel and inadequate tracking of 
sources as Nigeria's major challenges.

Before the establishment of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority 
in 2001, there were no restrictions on the import or export of 
radioactive materials. The body is still battling to effectively 
regulate their use and import.

In 2002, two devices used for X-raying oil pipelines for cracks were 
stolen from the back of a truck in the restive southern Niger Delta, 
according to news reports at the time.

The devices, which contained radioactive americium-beryllium, were 
lost in December. But the government did not issue a public warning 
until two months later, when a delegation from the IAEA arrived to 
help investigate their disappearance.

The devices were eventually found in a European scrap yard, said an 
oil worker who was familiar with the investigation. He thought the 
thieves may have stolen them to sell as scrap.

An IAEA official confirmed the oil worker's account, but agency 
officials authorized to speak to the media were not immediately 
available for comment.

The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority refused to answer questions 
about individual breaches of security.

The oil worker, who asked not to be named due to company restrictions 
on speaking to the press, said he was aware of at least one other 
occasion when radioactive materials went missing but declined to give 
details due to the sensitive nature of the incident. He did say that 
to the best of his knowledge, the materials stolen in the second 
instance had not been recovered.

A private security contractor who asked for anonymity because he was 
not authorized to speak to the media said that in 2004, radioactive 
materials had been abandoned on rigs that had come under attack by 
gunmen. Attacks on the Nigerian oil industry occur several times a 
week. Over 250 foreigners have been kidnapped in the last two years 
and a quarter of the country's oil production is currently shut in 
following a series of bombings by militant groups demanding greater 
political rights for their impoverished region.

Earlier this year, the government also publicly chastised four oil 
and oil service companies for moving around radioactive materials 
without the proper permits. It did not specify what the materials 
were but americium and cesium are two of the most commonly used by 
the industry, although usually in relatively small amounts.

The oil worker said that in Nigeria, it was impossible to say which 
companies used radioactive oil well mapping devices or how many they 
owned.

The methods for tracking such materials seemed to differ company to 
company, he said, and if they're lost, nobody cares.
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France-China nuclear accord to be signed

PARIS (AFP) - An agreement between Paris and Beijing for the building 
in China of two third-generation EPR nuclear reactors was to be 
signed by the end of July, a source close to the deal told AFP 
Thursday. 

"A letter of intent should be signed on July 30" by French nuclear 
group Areva, electrical giant EDF and their Chinese partner China 
Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp. (CGNPC), the source said.

French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde would visit China for the 
ceremony, he added.

Areva and EDF, contacted Thursday by AFP, refused to comment.

The value of the contract is not known, but the cost of the first EPR 
(European Pressurised water Reactor) built by Areva in Finland was 
put at some three billion euros.

In early February the two public groups were "in advanced 
discussions" on the project.

According to another source at the time the sticking point was how 
the reactors would be delivered, with Areva holding out for a turnkey 
project while the Chinese side wanted Areva simply to supply the 
goods.

CGNPC, based in the southern province of Guangdong, is the historic 
partner of Areva and EDF in China. It runs the Daya Bay and Ling Ao 
power stations in the south, which the French companies helped to 
construct in the 1980s and 1990s.

Areva lost out to American giant Westinghouse in December for a multi 
billion dollar contract to construct four third-generation reactors 
in China.
---------------

Extension Sought for Indian Point Nuclear Plant 

Buchanan, NY (NY Times) Jul 26 - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
agreed yesterday to review an application to extend the license of 
the Indian Point nuclear reactors for 20 years. The state attorney 
general, the environmental group Riverkeeper and others had argued 
that the application was inaccurate or incomplete and should not be 
accepted for consideration, but the agency said it was sufficient. 
The decision gives opponents 60 days to request a hearing. Licenses 
on the two operating units expire in 2013 and 2015. The review of the 
application is likely to take nearly three years.
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Sarkozy Says Trust Arab States with Nuclear Power

TRIPOLI (ENN) July 26 -- After agreeing to nuclear cooperation with 
Libya, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the West should trust 
Arab states to develop such technology for peaceful purposes or risk 
a war of civilisations. 

France agreed on Wednesday to help Libya develop a nuclear reactor to 
supply drinking water from desalinated sea water. The reactor might 
be supplied by French atomic energy firm Areva. 

Sarkozy told reporters in Libya that to consider the Arab world "is 
not sensible enough to use civilian nuclear power" would, in the long 
run, risk a "war of civilisations". 

"Nuclear power is the energy of the future," he said. "If we don't 
give the energy of the future to the countries of the southern 
Mediterranean, how will they develop themselves? And if they don't 
develop, how will we fight terrorism and fanaticism?" 

Many Middle Eastern countries, including some worried about Iran's 
nuclear programme, are interested in developing atomic energy 
resources. 

Claude Gueant, Sarkozy's chief of staff, noted the nuclear 
cooperation deal means "a country that respects international rules 
can obtain civilian nuclear energy". 

Sarkozy, due to travel to Senegal on Thursday, denied any link 
between the nuclear deal and the release this week of six foreign 
medics who spent eight years in Libyan jails and were convicted of 
infecting hundreds of children with HIV. 

He helped clinch the deal between Tripoli and the European Union to 
free the medics, removing a major obstacle hampering reconciliation 
between Libya and the West. "The only link one can make, is that if 
the nurses had not been released, I would not have come," he said. 

Areva, the world's biggest maker of nuclear reactors, deals with the 
full nuclear cycle from mining to waste. Libya said in February it 
would join Areva in exploring and mining uranium. 

Saudi Arabia along with Gulf Cooperation Council partners Bahrain, 
Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates announced a joint 
project for peaceful nuclear energy, mainly for water desalination, 
in December last year. 

Egypt, which suspended an earlier nuclear energy programme after the 
Chernobyl disaster in 1986, is looking to revive it to meet energy 
needs and conserve gas and oil reserves. 

Libya and France also signed accords for a military-industrial 
partnership and cooperation in scientific research and higher 
education on Wednesday. 

"I am trying to reassure a part of the Arab world," said Sarkozy. 
"There is Libya, but all the other Arab states are looking at the way 
Libya will be treated following the release of the nurses." 

Relations between France and Libya deteriorated after an attack on a 
French airliner in 1989. France convicted six Libyans in absentia but 
Tripoli has denied responsibility. 

The West lifted sanctions on Libya after it abandoned its weapons of 
mass destruction programmes and world powers are jostling for 
position in the hope of grabbing lucrative infrastructure contracts 
from the oil-rich country.

-----------------------------------------
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/