[ RadSafe ] [Nuclear News] Bush Says U.S. Needs Nuclear Power to Maintain Growth
Sandy Perle
sandyfl at cox.net
Fri Jun 22 12:48:23 CDT 2007
Index:
Bush Says U.S. Needs Nuclear Power to Maintain Growth
Bush says new nuclear plants needed
Mitsubishi, Areva to bid for US nuclear project
University of Colorado Expert On Radiation Effects Drowns In Mexico
Pakistan builds third nuclear reactor for bombs
Anti-nuclear activist and PG&E´s top nuclear officer - discussion
FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant aging well
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Bush Says U.S. Needs Nuclear Power to Maintain Growth
June 21 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said the electricity
needed to fuel U.S. economic growth will require more nuclear power
plants, and his administration will work to ease regulatory hurdles
to their construction.
Speaking at the Browns Ferry nuclear facility in Athens, Alabama,
which is being restarted after a 22-year shutdown, Bush said the U.S.
lags behind other Western industrial nations in using nuclear power.
The U.S. gets about 20 percent of its electricity from nuclear
plants, compared with about 30 percent for the European Union as a
whole.
``Nuclear power is a key component of economic vitality,'' Bush said.
``Nuclear power is prevalent and it's recognized as a necessary power
source, not only in the United States but around the world.''
The president announced no new policy initiatives and reiterated his
previous proposals to jump start the nuclear industry. He noted that
no new nuclear plants have come on line in the country in more than a
decade, and there hasn't been a new plant ordered since the 1970s.
That is changing, Bush said, because of steps the U.S. is taking to
bring down some of the hurdles for nuclear power. He said there are
20 applications for 30 new reactors and construction on the first may
begin by 2010.
Bush also cited nuclear power as part of the solution to dealing with
global warming.
``Nuclear energy produces no greenhouse gases,'' Bush said. ``If
you're interested in cleaning up the air you ought to be for nuclear
power.''
The Nuclear Component
Greater reliance on nuclear power has been one of the main components
of Bush's energy plan since it was unveiled shortly after he took
office in 2001.
The Tennessee Valley Authority in April asked U.S. regulators for
permission to resume power production at the Browns Ferry 1 nuclear
reactor.
In March 1985, TVA shut the three reactors of Browns Ferry
voluntarily after repeated operating problems. Browns Ferry 1, the
oldest of the three units, never ran for more than 137 consecutive
days. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the restart of Unit
2 in 1991 and Unit 3 in 1995.
Knoxville, Tennessee-based TVA, the largest publicly owned power
company, decided in 2002 to spend $1.8 billion to resume operations
at the reactor, saying it was cheaper than building new power plants
to serve growing demand in the region.
Safety Record
Environmental groups said Bush picked a reactor with a questionable
safety record to promote his nuclear agenda.
Browns Ferry ``has a dubious history and can hardly be held up as a
model for the industry,'' said Michele Boyd, legislative director of
energy policy for Public Citizen, an advocacy group.
U.S. nuclear plants operate under a federal law that offers liability
insurance that, in the event of a major accident, makes the
government responsible for claims of more than $10 billion. New
plants can qualify for regulatory risk insurance if licensing drags
on, a production tax credit and loan guarantees.
Bush also made a pitch for his goal, outlined in his 2006 State of
the Union address, to end the country's reliance on oil from overseas
and increase use of alternative energy sources.
The U.S. Congress, which is debating energy legislation this week,
has yet to approve any major measures aimed at heeding Bush's call.
To accomplish that target, the president wants lawmakers to approve
more research spending on power from solar, wind, nuclear, ethanol
and hydrogen.
Congress
Republicans in the Senate today blocked a Democratic- sponsored
provision of the energy legislation that would have provided $32.1
billion in tax incentives mostly for renewable energy. Lawmakers also
are negotiating raising fuel mileage requirements for automakers. The
House is working on a separate bill dealing with energy policy.
Al Hubbard, director of Bush's National Economic Council, yesterday
said the White House likes parts of the energy measures Congress is
debating, although it has ``concerns about other parts if it.''
The Senate has endorsed Bush's goal of mandating greater use of
ethanol by 2022, a later date than the president proposed. ``We wish
it were by 2017, as opposed to 2022,'' Hubbard said in a briefing
with reporters.
He also said the White House has concerns about how legislation in
the House sets new fuel economy requirements for automakers, known as
CAFE, standards.
Bush afterward flew to Mobile, Alabama, to headline a fundraiser for
Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, who has been a strong supporter of
the president's policies, with one exception: immigration. Sessions
opposes the plan backed by Bush to overhaul immigration laws to
create a guest worker program and provide a path to citizenship for
immigrants already in the country illegally.
Bush made a joke about the divide over immigration during his speech,
noting that the two men ``have our differences.''
The event raised about $900,000 for Sessions, who is in his second
term and will be up for re-election in 2008.
-----------------
Bush says new nuclear plants needed
President Bush says three new nuclear power plants will be needed
each year starting 2015 to keep pace with soaring electricity demand.
ATHENS, Alabama (Reuters) -- President Bush Thursday said U.S.
utilities could build up to 30 new nuclear power plants and could
start construction by 2010 in order to keep up with growing
electricity demand without spurring more global warming.
"It's time for the country to start building nuclear power plants
again," Bush said at the Browns Ferry nuclear plant near Huntsville,
Alabama, which is operated by the federally owned Tennessee Valley
Authority.
New plans are under way to open nuclear power plants across the
country. CNN's Kara Finnstrom reports.
Bush said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will likely get 20
applications from utilities to build up to 30 new reactors and said
construction could begin by the end of the decade. No new licenses
have been filed at the NRC since 1973.
"We're beginning to make some progress," Bush said, prodding the NRC
to act on the applications. "That's good news for the American
consumer."
It was Bush's third visit to a nuclear power plant since June 2005.
The United States will need three new nuclear power plants to come
online each year starting in 2015 to keep pace with soaring
electricity demand, Bush said.
Renewable energy could power half the nation
He said nuclear power plants are well suited to feed future power
needs because they do not emit the heat-trapping greenhouse gases
that are produced by power plants that run on coal.
"There can be no solution [to global warming] without nuclear power,"
Bush said.
The nation's 104 nuclear plants currently account for about 20
percent of U.S. power generation.
Bush spoke to TVA employees after receiving a tour of the 1,150-
megawatt Unit 1 of the Browns Ferry nuclear plant, which reopened
last month after being shuttered for 22 years.
-------------------
Mitsubishi, Areva to bid for US nuclear project
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Friday it
and France's Areva have jointly bid for a multi-million-dollar
research and development project on a US nuclear fuel cycle program.
The United States is set to resume building nuclear power plants
after a gap of more than two decades amid growing concern about high
oil prices and greenhouse gas emissions.
Under the plan, Japan's top heavy machinery maker will mainly work on
fast breeder reactors -- which are in part driven by plutonium fuel --
while Areva will design facilities to reprocess spent nuclear fuel,
said Mitsubishi spokesman Hideo Ikuno.
"MHI regards fast breeder reactor technology as one of our major
energy projects and we want to expand the business overseas," he
said.
"The bid is part of our efforts and in line with Japanese government
policies," he said.
Mitsubishi plans to introduce a loop-type fast reactor that uses
liquid-metal sodium for the reactor coolant, the company said, adding
that several US energy firms will also take part in the Japan-France
alliance.
The Japanese and French governments have agreed to support the
planned alliance, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported earlier, saying the
bid was seen as likely to win.
US President George W. Bush's administration has given the go-ahead
for the construction of nuclear power plants which have been frozen
since a major accident at Three Mile Island in 1979.
The US Energy Department is seeking initial research plans budgeted
at 7.4 billion yen (60 million dollars) for the new project and will
select several candidates around August.
Mitsubishi Heavy, which has worked with fast breeder technology since
the 1960s, is responsible for developing core parts of domestic
reactors, including the Monju reactor in central Fukui prefecture.
It was selected in April as the main builder for Monju's successor,
scheduled to start operation in 2025.
------------------
University of Colorado Expert On Radiation Effects Drowns In Mexico
BOULDER -- A University of Colorado professor who was an expert on
radiation effects on Rocky Flats workers has drowned in Mexico.
The Camera newspaper of Boulder reports 59-year-old Jim Ruttenber
died Saturday while swimming with two C-U students in Colima.
He was an epidemiologist at C-U's Health Sciences Center, and also
taught in the environmental studies program on the Boulder campus.
Ruttenber and the students were participating in an exchange program
with the University of Colima.
-------------
Pakistan builds third nuclear reactor for bombs
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan appears to be building a third plutonium
nuclear reactor to significantly boost its production of atomic
bombs, a US research group said.
Satellite images show work progressing rapidly at Khusab, 100
kilometres (60 miles) from Islamabad, where the other two reactors
are sited, the Institute for Science and International Security
(ISIS) said in a report on Friday.
Pakistan carried out its only nuclear tests in May 1998 after similar
detonations by rival India, alarming the world. The Islamic republic
is now a key ally in the US-led "war on terror".
The construction work would "imply that Pakistan's government has
made a decision to increase significantly its production of plutonium
for nuclear weapons," the institute said in its report.
"Almost all of the third reactor construction visible in the June 3,
2007 image has taken place in the last 10 months," the Washington-
based group said.
Pakistan's Foreign Office said the report was based on speculation.
"Off and on there are speculations of this nature. Pakistan has a
nuclear weapons programme and Khusab is a declared nuclear site, that
is not a new revelation," spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told AFP.
A Pakistani defence source told AFP that there was "an expansion
programme in Khusab" but would not give any other details. Pakistan
is fiercely protective of the security of its nuclear sites.
Another Pakistani government official defended Pakistan's right to a
defensive atomic programme.
"The nuclear programme is a cornerstone of Pakistan's national
defence strategy," the official said on condition of anonymity.
The first reactor at Khusab began operations in 1998 while the
institute reported that a second was being built in July 2006.
The third reactor is several hundred metres (yards) away from the
second and appears to be a "replica", although building work is
progressing more quickly on the latest version, ISIS said.
It reported earlier this year that Pakistan had resumed construction
on its second plutonium separation facility at Chashma, around 80
kilometres away from Khusab.
It said this was "likely related" to Khusab's expansion.
The report said that neither the reactors nor the separation plant
were safeguarded by the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International
Atomic Energy Agency.
After three wars and decades of hostility, Pakistan and India
launched a slow-moving peace process in 2004 which has led to the
introduction of several bilateral nuclear safeguards.
The two countries, whose enmity focuses on the divided Himalayan
territory of Kashmir, still regularly carry out test launches of
nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles.
"I don't have any comment," said Indian foreign ministry spokesman
Navtej Sarna when asked about the report on Pakistan's new reactor.
Pakistan, the world's only known nuclear-armed Muslim country,
remains at the heart of an investigation into an atomic black market
headed by its disgraced chief nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan.
Khan confessed in 2004 to passing atomic secrets to Iran, Libya and
North Korea. He was pardoned by President Pervez Musharraf but
remains under virtual house arrest in Islamabad.
Washington last week welcomed Pakistan's decision to join a global
plan to combat nuclear terrorism, although its participation
reportedly does not cover the country's military nuclear programme
and installations.
-------------------
Anti-nuclear activist and PG&E´s top nuclear officer will discuss
other energy sources
The workshop on nuclear power´s future will be held Monday and
Thursday at the Energy Commission offices in Sacramento. Public
comment will be taken on both days starting at 3:30 p.m. To comment
via telephone, call (800) 857-6618 by 9 a.m.
The public can also listen to audio of the workshop via the Internet.
For details, go to www.energy.ca.gov/webcast. CALIFORNIA´S NUCLEAR
FUTURE
A California Energy Commission workshop Monday and Thursday will
cover four main topics relating to nuclear power and its future in
California:
o Programs to store the growing stockpile of highly radioactive used
reactor fuel. Currently, spent fuel is stored at plants where it is
generated because of delays in opening an underground storage
repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Diablo Canyon stores its fuel
in below-ground pools but is scheduled to open an aboveground dry
cask storage facility next year.
o Prospects of a federal program to work with other nuclear countries
to safely turn spent reactor fuel into new fuel. Reprocessing spent
fuel has the benefit of reducing the amount of waste stored, but it
carries the danger that it could be used for nuclear weapons.
o Issues related to the continued operation of California´s nuclear
plants, including security and expensive repairs. Major reactor
components are aging prematurely, causing utilities to undertake
costly replacement projects. For example, PG&E plans to replace all
eight of Diablo Canyon´s steam generators over the next several
years.
o Implications of continued or increased reliance of nuclear power in
California. About 20 percent of the state´s power comes from three
nuclear plants.
Anti-nuclear activist Rochelle Becker of Grover Beach and Pacific Gas
and Electric Co.´s chief nuclear officer Jack Keenan will join about
20 other experts next week in Sacramento to discuss the future of
this form of power in California.
They´ll join a two-day workshop held by the California Energy
Commission on Monday and Thursday as part of its effort to update the
state´s energy policy.
Becker and Keenan are on a panel discussing operational issues facing
the state´s two nuclear generating stations.
Keenan will give an overview of the status of San Luis Obispo
County´s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
Becker - who is the executive director of the San Luis Obispo-based
Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility - says she will urge the
commission to phase out nuclear power and begin planning to replace
it with other power sources that
produce high-paying jobs.
She is the only participant who is not a government or nuclear
industry official.
About 20 percent of the state´s power comes from three nuclear
generating stations: Diablo Canyon, San Onofre in northern San Diego
County, and the three-reactor Palo Verde plant in Arizona.
Information gathered at the workshop will be part of the agency´s
energy policy report, which is due next October.
The report will be sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the
Legislature.
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects to receive
applications for 27 new reactors nationwide over the next two years.
California law forbids licensing of new reactors until a long-term
national solution is found for storage of nuclear waste.
A bill that would have removed that ban was recently rejected by the
state Assembly.
This month´s workshop will be the second such two-day event held by
state energy officials. A similar workshop was held in August 2005
and attracted 25 national nuclear power experts.
-----------------
FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant aging well
Thursday's meeting between representatives from the James A.
FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was
short. Based on inspections completed in April, the 32-year-old plant
is aging gracefully.
Glenn Meyer, a Senior Reactor Inspector for the NRC said, "We found
that their application was thorough and they had a credible program
for extending the license and managing the effects of aging."
One of Oswego County's highest employers wants to stay in the
community for years to come. The James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant
has applied to extend its operating license by 20 years. And as News
10 Now's Nneka Nwosu reports, so far, the outlook is good.
FitzPatrick's operating license expires in 2014. Last August, the
plant submitted a renewal application to extend its license by 20
years. Inspectors say management of aging equipment is crux of that
application. And so far, FitzPatrick's plan looks good.
"Recently, performance seems to be pretty reasonable, pretty good. We
focus on safety and they've done a pretty good job of that," said
Meyer.
Thursday's meeting was part of the plant's license-renewal process.
If approved the new license would allow the plant to run until 2034.
Bonnie Bostain, the Communications Manager for the FitzPatrick
Nuclear Plant, said, "I do live in this community and it does make me
very proud to be a part of this company and to be able to contribute
to the community for another 20 years."
FitzPatrick's license renewal process should be complete by May of
next year.
-----------------------------------------
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/
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