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U.S. nuke regulators prepare for new plant applications
Index:
U.S. nuke regulators prepare for new plant applications
Energy Department Reviews Uranium
Eurotech Announces First EKOR Contracts in the Nuclear Waste Industry
Britain's Trident nuclear subs are legal - court
Kobe waives non-nuclear port-call condition for Italian ship
Nuclear leaders to meet in SF
======================================
U.S. nuke regulators prepare for new plant applications
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission on Friday said it is forming a "future licensing project
organization" to prepare and manage possible applications to permit
construction of new nuclear reactors.
"Several utilities and organizations have contacted the NRC to initiate
discussions associated with possible construction of a new nuclear plants
in the United States," the NRC said.
"These include Exelon's <EXC.N> request for a pre-application review of a
Pebble Bed Modular Reactor and Exelon's stated intentions to submit an
application to build the Pebble Bed Reactor."
No commercial nuclear power plant has been built in the United States in
25 years. Though nuclear supplies around 20 percent of the nation's
electricity needs, it is only now, with a new Republican White House and
an emerging energy crisis that the industry has seriously explored building
new plants.
The NRC said it intends to staff the new organization in phases with the
objective of having a fully functional office by the end of September.
- ----------------
Energy Department Reviews Uranium
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Energy Department says it could take two more
years to determine how much recycled uranium - which contains traces of
plutonium and other radioactive materials - passed through its nuclear
facilities.
The agency released a preliminary review Thursday analyzing the flow of
recycled uranium throughout the DOE sites between 1952 and 1999. The
agency was unable to complete a final analysis due to ``significant
inconsistency and inherent uncertainty'' in the data it gathered from 12
facilities at nine sites.
The investigation began in 1999, prompted by concerns that workers were
unknowingly exposed to high levels of radiation at uranium enrichment
plants in Paducah, Ky.; Piketon, Ohio; and Oak Ridge, Tenn.
The Energy Department used uranium in nuclear weapons and as fuel for
reactors. The agency began recycling it in the early 1950s to reduce U.S.
dependence on foreign uranium. The report said most Energy Department
facilities stopped using recycled uranium in the late 1960s.
Recycled uranium is more harmful than mined uranium because it has been
processed in a reactor, where it becomes contaminated with plutonium and
neptunium.
Pete Dessaules, a team leader in DOE's Office of Plutonium, Uranium and
Special Materials Inventory, said an overall assessment of the 12 facilities
will help determine exactly how much recycled uranium was used over the
years and how much may still be stored around the country.
However, the task is proving more difficult than expected, Dessaules said.
``The biggest challenge in completing the report is standardizing the
definitions that were used in the site reports for recycled uranium,'' he said.
``That may involve looking at millions of records.''
According to DOE, recycled uranium was present at the following locations:
Hanford, Wash.; Savannah River, S.C.; Idaho National Engineering and
Environmental Lab, Idaho; Fernald, Ohio; West Valley, N.Y.; Weldon
Springs, Mo.; RMI Inc., Ohio; the gaseous diffusion plants in Paducah,
Piketon and Oak Ridge; the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge; and Rocky Flats,
Colo.
- -----------------
Eurotech Announces First EKOR Contracts in the Nuclear Waste Industry
FAIRFAX, Va., March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Eurotech Ltd., (Amex: EUO)
announced today that they have reached a significant corporate milestone,
securing the first two contracts for its leading product, the radiation-
resistant EKOR family of silicone geocomposites. The sales are the result
of recent marketing including industry presentations and demonstrations,
which highlight the broad spectrum of applications for EKOR products. The
customer's objective in the first contract is to evaluate the performance of
EKOR Matrix, mixed with low-level radioactive waste to create a waste form
suitable for disposal. The second contract is for EKOR Sealer where the
customer's objective is to evaluate EKOR's performance in preventing the
migration of radioactive contaminants on equipment used in the production
of radioactive materials.
The Company's penetration into the nuclear waste management market
with the EKOR line of products will be established in stages through a
series of scaled applications, ranging from proof of principle demonstrations
to small projects and then larger projects as each application is proven in
the field. The Company's strategy is to build long-term market penetration
and credibility through product performance and successful application.
EKOR is a unique family of ultra long life products that provide significant
performance benefits such as extreme resistance to radiation damage,
resistance to a broad range of chemical environments and outstanding
barrier properties that were previously not available. The EKOR family of
products addresses a broad spectrum of applications where its multiple
forms can be used as sealers, coatings, and waste encapsulation
matrices, or foamed into cavities to control airborne contamination. Current
forms of the product family include EKOR Sealer, EKOR Coating, EKOR
Grout, EKOR Matrix and EKOR Foam.
"While the initial EKOR sales will demonstrate proof of principle and have
modest dollar values, these early sales are important milestones, as they
represent necessary steps to full deployment of EKOR at Department of
Energy sites," stated Don Hahnfeldt, Eurotech's CEO and President.
Hahnfeldt went on to say, "More importantly, our recent activity over the
last month including the variety of EKOR product presentations made to
key waste management contractors, represents the groundwork for future
growth and sales. Examples include field presentations of EKOR Matrix
and EKOR Sealer at multiple sites. EKOR is following required industry
protocol to prove the product and application effectiveness."
"Once we have a few on-site applications, we can build on that momentum
and success. We expect several more contracts to follow shortly," said
Paul Childress, General Manager, Nuclear Environmental Division.
EUROTECH, Ltd. (Amex: EUO) works with scientists and research
institutes in Russia, Israel and other countries to develop and
commercialize innovative technologies that have widespread or critical
application. For photographs of EKOR applications inside Chernobyl's
sarcophagus and additional information about Eurotech and its
technologies visit http://www.eurotechltd.com.
- ----------------
Britain's Trident nuclear subs are legal - court
LONDON, March 30 (Reuters) - A Scottish court ruled on Friday that
Britain's Trident nuclear submarines were legal under international law,
despite claims to the contrary by an anti-nuclear campaign group.
The court overturned an earlier ruling that three women who damaged a
Trident nuclear installation two years ago had acted lawfully because
nuclear weapons were illegal in the eyes of the International Court of
Justice in The Hague.
The three protesters were members of the Trident Ploughshares group
which argues that the nuclear weapons aboard Britain's four Trident
submarines are illegal because they cannot distinguish between military
and civilian targets.
Since the darkest days of the Cold War there has always been one Trident
submarine on patrol at sea, its missiles at the ready.
"Until Trident is taken off alert, we have a direct action campaign to
continue. Today'sjudgement will actually strenghten campaigners in their
resolve," David Mackenzie, a spokesman for the campaign group told
Reuters.
"The government is doing nothing about this crime, the courts today have
said they're not prepared to do anything in Scotland, so it's back to us to
get on with the job," he said.
- ---------------
Kobe waives non-nuclear port-call condition for Italian ship
KOBE, March 31 (Kyodo) - The city of Kobe has decided not to ask an
Italian navy ship to submit a document stating it does not possess nuclear
weapons or materials as required under a city ordinance when it makes a
port call Monday, city officials said Saturday.
The 52.9-ton Orsa Maggiore is an unarmed training vessel and therefore not
subject to non-nuclear port-call regulations, the officials said, adding that
the waiver does not mean the city has abandoned the requirement.
The Orsa Maggiore is expected to stay at the port until April 10 for refueling
and allowing its crew to rest. The ship had taken part in various events in
Tokyo and other cities.
The western Japan port city has refused to allow foreign ships to make port
calls unless they submit a document proving they are not carrying nuclear
weapons and materials.
- ---------------
Nuclear leaders to meet in SF
SAN FRANCISCO, (CBS.MW) -- As California's energy crisis deepens with
no foreseeable solution in sight, nuclear energy advocates are set to bring
their suggestions to the Golden State.
Next week, The Nuclear Energy Institute, a Washington-based policy
organization, will hold its annual three-day forum to discuss the economic
potential, business risks and environmental implications of nuclear power.
Although it provides about 20 percent of U.S. electricity, nuclear energy is
largely considered anathema in the United States, and especially in
politically correct San Francisco.
But with rolling blackouts hitting California and little hope the state will
resolve its energy shortage anytime soon, proponents of nuclear power are
at least hopeful of consideration.
Vice President Dick Chaney, who is leading development of the Bush
administration's energy policy, has said that nuclear energy deserves
serious consideration as part of the solution to the nation's developing
energy shortage.
Among other reasons, the vice president has supported nuclear energy as
one possible way to lower carbon dioxide emissions. Earlier this week,
President Bush retreated from the Kyoto Protocol, an international
agreement to limit carbon dioxide and other gasses believed to contribute
to global warming, because it did not hold emerging nations to similar
standards.
Nuclear plants don't emit carbon dioxide, while coal generation, which still
accounts for about 50 percent of U.S. electrical consumption, generates
large amounts of the gas.
Environmentalists find fault with the logic of using nuclear energy to reduce
gas emissions. The potential biological impacts and public safety concerns
surrounding nuclear energy remain tremendous, with long-term effects of
radiation and waste storage still unpredictable and not fully understood,
they argue.
"From the global warning problem, its probably a net plus," says Rich
Ferguson, director of research for the Sacramento-based Center for Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Technologies. "But my general reaction is, when
the politicians are proposing to put one of these plants in their own
hometown, I'll take them seriously."
The political challenges surrounding nuclear power were demonstrated
again this week in Europe where Green party protestors in Germany sought
to delay a shipment of nuclear waste to a processing plant by blocking a
train carrying the material.
And the memories of the 1979 Three Mile Island meltdown in Pennsylvania
and the Soviet Union's Chernobyl disaster, have served to deter much
consideration of nuclear power development, at least in the United States.
Currently, there are two operating power plants in California. PG&E ({HYPERLINK "/tools/quotes/intChart.asp?siteid=aolpf&symb=PCG"}PCG)
owns the Diablo Canyon Power Plant near San Luis Obispo. Southern
California Edison ({HYPERLINK "/tools/quotes/intChart.asp?siteid=aolpf&symb=EIX"}EIX) and San Diego Gas & Electric ({HYPERLINK "/tools/quotes/intChart.asp?siteid=aolpf&symb=SRE"}SRE) own the San
Onofre plant roughly midway between San Diego and Los Angeles.
Combined, nuclear energy produces 14 percent of the state's electricity
needs.
In the U.S., 103 nuclear reactors operate in 31 states, generating about 20
percent of the country's energy needs. Since 1975, no permits to build
nuclear plants have been issued in the U.S.
**************************************************************************
Sandy Perle Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100
Director, Technical Extension 2306
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service Fax:(714) 668-3149
ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc. E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com
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