Gov., mayor OK safety clearance for Monju reactor

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@EARTHLINK.NET>]

Index:



Gov., mayor OK safety clearance for Monju reactor

Consortium announces delay over N.Korea reactor

Anti-nuke campaigner challenges Blair from jail

Federal Court unsure of Maralinga victim's injuries 

U.S. scientist says U.S. facility is for nuclear development

Doctor treating victims of Chernobyl accident to return Japan

Change in Senate Slows Energy Plan



=====================================



Gov., mayor OK safety clearance for Monju reactor



FUKUI, Japan, June 4 (Kyodo) - Fukui Gov. Yukio Kurita and Tsuruga 

Mayor Kazuharu Kawase agreed Monday to approve safety clearance 

measures that will lead to a restart of the Monju nuclear reactor in 

Tsuruga, prefectural and municipal government officials said. 



Kurita and Kawase reached the agreement on safety clearance for the 

prototype fast-breeder reactor that has been out of action since a 

December 1995 sodium coolant leak accident during a meeting at the 

prefectural government building, they said. 



In December last year, the reactor's operator, the Japan Nuclear 

Cycle Development Institute (JNC), submitted a request to local 

governments to seek permission to modify the reactor to resume 

operations. Safety clearance is required for such modification. 



Kurita plans to convey the intention of the governor and Kawase to 

approve the safety clearance to JNC President Yasumasa Togo on 

Tuesday. 



While local villagers rejected the plan in a plebiscite on May 27 to 

use recycled nuclear fuel containing plutonium at a nuclear power 

plant in Niigata Prefecture, Monday's approval marks a step forward 

toward resumption of the Monju nuclear reactor after about five and a 

half years. 



Both Kurita and Kawase, however, agreed that safety clearance for 

Monju should be considered separately from modifying and resuming 

operations of the reactor, the officials said. 



During the meeting, Kawase emphasized that science and technology 

minister Atsuko Toyama promised she will make utmost efforts to 

promote regional development as requested by the Fukui prefectural 

government, indicating her promise lies behind his decision, they 

said. 



Kurita also explained that he has received approval from each party 

and faction in the assembly, except for the Japanese Communist Party, 

on condition of gaining support for regional development, they said. 



The next step for JNC will be to apply for modification of the 

reactor to the central government, and the central government will 

conduct safety clearance measures for about one year. 



The prefectural government also plans to conduct deliberations by 

setting up its own commission of experts. 



After both the central and prefectural governments confirm safety, 

modifications to the reactor will begin. Modification work is 

expected to last around two to three years. 



Unlike regular light-water reactors that run on uranium, the Monju 

reactor uses an oxide mix of plutonium and uranium and is designed to 

generate more plutonium than it burns. 



It reached criticality in April 1994, but caught fire during a trial 

run after a sodium coolant leak. 



The operator, then called Donen, was dissolved in 1998 after being 

criticized for concealing video footage of the accident. The JNC 

subsequently took over. 



Local residents are fighting construction of the reactor itself in 

court as well as its restarting. 



While Japan has been pushing for a fast-breeder reactor for future 

energy, most other countries are giving up such reactors due to 

economic and safety concerns. 

--------------



Consortium announces delay over N.Korea reactor



SEOUL, June 4 (Reuters) - The head of a U.S.-led consortium supplying 

North Korea with light water reactors under a deal to curb its 

nuclear weapons potential said on Monday that the first reactor would 

not be delivered until 2008 -- five years late. 



But Charles Kartman, executive director of the Korean Peninsula 

Energy Development Organisation (KEDO), said that, although the 

agreement called for the first reactor to be built by 2003, this was 

not a contractual obligation. 



"The first light water reactor delivery will take place in 2008," 

Kartman told reporters, adding that such schedules were subject to 

unknown factors. 



"Both parties to the Agreed Framework understood that 2003 was not a 

contractual date," he said, adding that, while there was no provision 

for compensation, North Korea would continue to receive fuel oil as 

stipulated by the deal. 



South Korea, the United States and Japan jointly lead the $4.6 

billion project, under which North Korea agreed in 1994 to freeze a 

nuclear programme suspected of developing weapons, in return for the 

two reactors and annual supplies of fuel oil. 



The new reactors will replace Soviet-designed reactors, which experts 

say produce large amounts of weapons-grade plutonium. 



The project is far behind schedule due to financial problems and 

tension on the Korean peninsula and North Korea is seeking 

compensation for the delay. 



Kartman said the first phase or site preparation for the reactor was 

almost finished, while the second phase, or excavation, would 

commence this summer. 



Concrete pouring for the foundation of the reactor would begin next 

year, he added. 



Under the deal, the second reactor was due to be built by 2004. 



U.S. experts believe that before it froze its nuclear programme in 

1994, Pyongyang may have extracted enough plutonium to produce one or 

two atomic bombs. 



Kartman said that after possible inspections by U.N. nuclear watchdog 

the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), governments involved 

in the verification process would decide whether North Korea had 

followed its own obligations as stipulated in the Agreed Framework. 



The Korean peninsula remains divided since the 1950-53 Korean War 

that ended without a peace treaty. 



Kartman, who arrived in Seoul on Saturday for a five-day visit, met 

Chang Sun-sup, the chief South Korean delegate to KEDO, as well as 

Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo and Unification Minister Lim Dong-won. 

------------



Anti-nuke campaigner challenges Blair from jail

  

LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing a bid 

with a difference to unseat him in his Sedgefield constituency in 

elections on Thursday. 



He is being challenged from jail by Helen John, an anti-nuclear 

campaigner with a proud history of 32 convictions for actions against 

nuclear bases and installations. 



"This is a symbolic challenge. When I was campaigning before I was 

sentenced to three months in jail I was astounded by how ignorant the 

women in the constituency are on Star Wars," she told Reuters by 

telephone from Askam Grange Open Prison. 



"They have absolutely no concept of what it is all about. They think 

it is a game. Blair has really pulled the wool over their eyes," she 

added. 



Not only has her campaigning been curtailed by her incarceration, but 

to make matters worse she has even been denied permission to make an 

escorted visit on election night to monitor the counting of the vote. 



"This is ridiculous. The prison authorities have known me long enough 

to know I am not a danger to the public. My actions have always been 

against nuclear installations, never against people," she complained. 

------------



Federal Court unsure of Maralinga victim's injuries 



Australian Broadcasting Corporation, June 4 - The Commonwealth has 

asked lawyers for a man suing for psychological  injury over nuclear 

testing at Maralinga to state more precisely the  damage they say he 

suffered.   



Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) mechanic Barrie Dinnison fears poor 

 health throughout his later life is the result of having suffered  

radiation contamination. 



Mr Dinnison was 19 in 1957 when he served at Maralinga. 



In that time there were three nuclear blasts, the third, which Mr  

Dinnison observed from a distance of nine miles, was twice the power 

of  the Hiroshima blast. 



The Commonwealth has told the Federal Court in Sydney it is not clear 

if  Mr Dinnison is suing for nervous shock, psychological damage from 

 ongoing exposure or damage which developed afterwards. 



His counsel, John Graves SC, replied Mr Dinnison's observation of the 

 third blast induced stress upon his psyche and he left Maralinga 

with a  small voice of doubt about whether he was contaminated and 12 

years  later his health started to go wrong. 

---------------



U.S. scientist says U.S. facility is for nuclear development



TOKYO, June 4 (Kyodo) - A U.S. scientist and former employee of a 

U.S. Energy Department institute to which Japanese glass maker Hoya 

Corp. ships glass slabs says the institute is conducting nuclear 

weapons research, denying Hoya's claim that shipping its product will 

not lead to new nuclear development. 



Issac Trotts, 25, is a member of an antinuclear organization in 

California and former employee of the institute. At a news 

conference, he said that the facility is conducting research to 

improve the precision of nuclear weapons. 



Trotts is visiting Japan at the invitation of the Japan Congress 

Against A- and H-Bombs (Gensuikin). 



Before joining the antinuclear group, Trotts worked at Lawrence 

Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California, where the 

National Ignition Facility (NIF) funded by the U.S. Energy Department 

is currently under construction. 



Trotts was in charge of research on the visualization of data at the 

LLNL. He said he resigned after learning that his research could lead 

to improved performance of nuclear weapons. 



Trotts told the news conference that he wanted to speak about his 

experience in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, which were devastated by U.S. A-

bombs in 1945 at the end of World War II. He also said that erroneous 

information concerning the glass slab shipments has been circulating. 





Hoya said in March it plans to resume suspended shipments of glass 

slabs to the facility, believing the product will not lead to new 

nuclear development. 



In February, the company temporarily suspended deliveries of the 

slabs by its U.S. subsidiary Hoya Corp. USA. The move followed 

domestic opposition that claimed the deal will help the United States 

maintain its nuclear weapons. 



''It was confirmed that this glass itself will not lead to new 

nuclear development and the research programs are to contribute to 

the elimination of nuclear weapons,'' the company said in a letter to 

antinuclear groups. 



Trotts visited the headquarters of Hoya in Tokyo with members of 

Gensuikin and submitted a written request for the immediate halt of 

the shipments. He will return home next Sunday after visiting Osaka, 

Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 



The slabs will be used to amplify laser beams in the nuclear fusion 

process at the new LLNL facility. It is due to start partial 

operations in 2004 and be completed by 2007. 



U.S. antinuclear groups claim the facility will be in breach of the 

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty due to its vital role in the 

development of nuclear weapons. 

--------------



Doctor treating victims of Chernobyl accident to return Japan



TOKYO, June 4 (Kyodo) - A Japanese doctor who gave up a secure 

teaching position to spend five and a half years treating victims of 

the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident in Belarus will likely return to 

Japan on Friday, his support group said Monday. 



Akira Sugenoya, a 57-year-old thyroid surgeon, moved to Belarus in 

January 1996, after his frequent visits to the country to assist 

local medical teams made him realize the gravity of the radiation 

sickness caused by the nuclear explosion, according to the group. 



Sugenoya quit his position as an assistant professor in the medical 

department of Shinshu University in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan. 





While residing in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, and other places 

around the country, Sugenoya performed operations and checkups on 

local residents. 



Sugenoya opted to stay in the country to observe the 15th anniversary 

of the Chernobyl accident, and continue providing medical treatment 

in Mozyr, which is close to Chernobyl in Ukraine, rather than 

returning home last December as he had initially planned, the 

supporters said. 



Sugenoya was quoted by the supporters as saying that his initial goal 

to ''establish a medical network covering checkups through 

operations'' has been accomplished. 



While he is returning home, Sugenoya also said the number of cases of 

thyroid gland cancer caused by exposure to radioactivity could 

continue to rise, and that foreign support is crucial as local 

medical facilities are inadequate to deal with the situation, 

according to the supporters. 



Once back in Japan, Sugenoya is expected to write a book on his 

experience in Belarus and continue supporting patients in the country 

through a fund that he organizes. 

-------------



Change in Senate Slows Energy Plan



WASHINGTON (AP) - The shift to a Democratic majority in the Senate 

has put the brakes on President Bush's hopes for quick action on his 

energy proposals as Democrats revamp the Republican bill that was 

racing toward a Senate vote this summer. 



With soaring gasoline prices and a West Coast wrestling with 

blackouts and record high electricity costs, energy remains a top 

priority on Capitol Hill. 



But with Democrats now holding a 50-49 majority and control of the 

Senate's agenda with a senator's resignation from the GOP, the 

Republican bill is being overhauled with less emphasis on production 

and more on ways to boost conservation and energy efficiency. 



Democrats plan to press for more short-term measures, such as 

dramatically boosting money to help low-income families pay their 

electricity and natural gas bills. 



They have called for $2 billion more this year and $3.4 billion next 

year for the low-income energy assistance fund. In contrast, the 

administration last week proposed $150 million more now and $1.4 

billion in next year's budget for the program. 



``People are feeling the pinch. ... We ought to be acting on short-

term solutions,'' said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., incoming chairman 

of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which will 

handle the legislation. 



At the same time, a Republican proposal backed by Bush to drill for 

oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is given virtually no 

chance with the change in party control. 



``This is no solution,'' said incoming Senate Majority Leader Tom 

Daschle, D-S.D. 



Democrats have complained that the GOP bill and Bush's energy 

blueprint had ``a lack of balance,'' with too much emphasis on 

production and not enough on promoting conservation, energy 

efficiency and development of renewable wind, solar and geothermal 

energy sources. 



Now Republicans, thrust into the minority by Vermont Sen. James 

Jeffords' decision to quit the GOP and organize with the Democrats as 

an independent, are complaining that Democrats will blunt the drive 

to develop such traditional energy sources as coal, oil and nuclear. 



``Senator Daschle wants to return to the failed energy policies of 

the past,'' said Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, outgoing chairman of 

the energy committee. He accused the Democratic leader of pursing an 

``agenda of no'' when it comes to energy production, including 

drilling in the Arctic refuge. 



Only a few weeks ago, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., 

promised a vote on energy legislation before the July 4 recess. 

Murkowski was set to move quickly to mesh the GOP legislation with 

Bush's recently unveiled energy plan. 



Now, as members of Congress return from their Memorial Day recess, 

the Senate is immersed in reorganization and debate is focusing over 

the partisan lineup in committees, instead of legislation. 



Once reorganized, the Senate is expected to spend the rest of June 

finishing an education bill and acting on patients' rights 

legislation written by Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and John 

McCain, R-Ariz., and opposed by the White House. 



On energy legislation, Democrats maintain that Lott's prediction of a 

vote before July 4 was always unrealistic given the complexity and 

controversial nature of the subject. 



While the tone of the new energy package will be different from that 

of the GOP bill, Democrats say they will not ignore supply and 

production. 



A Democratic package proposed several weeks ago includes: 



Tax incentives for building a pipeline to move natural gas from 

Alaska's North Slope. 



Reauthorization of a law providing the nuclear industry with special 

liability protection. The GOP legislation does the same. 



A proposal to approve a disputed oil lease in the eastern Gulf of 

Mexico, which is strongly opposed by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the 

president's brother. 



Tax incentives for clean coal technology. 



The Democrats also plan to pursue measures included in Bush's energy 

plan to reduce the number of different blends of gasoline that 

refiners now must produce. 



But their legislation will call for more emphasis on energy 

efficiency than advocated by Republicans. It includes a measure to 

boost motor vehicle fuel efficiency, an item the Bush plan pushed off 

into the future. 



In addition, there will be increased pressure on the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission to intervene with price controls to stem the 

soaring wholesale electricity costs in California and other Western 

states. 



Legislation to require FERC to impose temporary price caps, based on 

the cost of power production, for wholesale electricity in the West 

is almost certain to be brought up for a vote. It was doomed under 

the Republicans. 



At the same time, the Senate Government Affairs Committee, to be 

chaired by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., is considering hearings on 

both FERC's refusal to more aggressively intervene in the California 

power market and circumstances surrounding the surge in gasoline 

prices. 



------------------------------------------------------------------------

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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