House panel debates US nuclear plant liability law

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

Index:



House panel debates US nuclear plant liability law

France finalises nuclear industry revamp

UK BNFL's 200 mln stg losses prompt audit call

Belgium's mayor of Huy to seek disclosure of MOX fuel data

Activists detained over Red Square nuke protest

Panel eyes green taxes in revised 10-year energy plan

DRAXIS Receives FDA Approval For BrachySeed -TM- Pd-103

Perma-Fix - Oak Ridge Radioactive/Hazardous Treatment Facility

FOX-TEK - Contract for Sensors on Decommissioned Nuclear Structure

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



House panel debates US nuclear plant liability law



WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - U.S. House lawmakers were at odds on 

Wednesday over the speed of renewing an insurance liability law that 

the U.S. nuclear power industry says is crucial before any new 

nuclear power plants can be built. 



The Bush administration's national energy plan emphasizes nuclear 

power as a key energy source for the future, which has been 

criticized by environmental groups and some Democrats. 



A House of Representatives Energy subcommittee hearing on nuclear 

power plants and hydroelectric dams was dominated by discussion of 

the Price-Anderson Act, to expire August 2002. 



The law obligates the federal government to accept insurance 

liability to shield U.S. nuclear power plant owners from up to $9.4 

billion in liability in the event of an accident. 



Rep. Joe Barton, the Texas Republican who heads the subcommittee, 

pledged to reauthorize the law "well in advance of its expiration." 



That action would be "one of the most important signals Congress can 

send to people thinking about increasing nuclear capacity," Barton 

said. 



The reauthorization is a pressing matter because the Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission is expected to receive more applications from 

utilities to renew existing licenses for nuclear plants. A fast-track 

approach to the law might be needed, Barton said. 



But Michigan Rep. John Dingell, the ranking Democrat on the full 

House Energy and Commerce Committee, said lawmakers must take their 

time and analyze the impact of reauthorizing the Price-Anderson Act. 



"To move fast may be to move poorly," Dingell said, calling for 

further study of the issue before the committee signs off on the 

bill. "I don't think Congress should act on Price Anderson...without 

thoughtful consideration," he said. 



REGULATORS BACK PRICE-ANDERSON 



Key regulatory agencies have already backed a renewal of the 

insurance liability law. 



The Nuclear Regulatory Commission "strongly and unanimously 

recommends the act's reauthorization," Richard Meserve, chairman of 

the agency, told the panel. 



William Magwood, director of the Energy Department's office of 

nuclear energy, said the department supported reauthorizing the act 

"without any substantial changes." 



The department also recommended holding liability limits at the 

present $9.4 billion level, he said. 



Congress passed the Price-Anderson Act in 1957 as an amendment to the 

Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which opened the door for U.S. nuclear 

plant construction. 



No nuclear plants have been built in the United States since the 1979 

accident at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island plant, where the failure 

of the plant's water cooling system led to the partial melting of a 

reactor's uranium core. 



Nuclear power currently produces about 20 percent of all U.S. 

electricity. 



The Bush administration has touted nuclear power as a clean form of 

energy that is not dependent on foreign oil. Environmental groups 

complain the government has yet to figure out a safe way to store 

nuclear waste for thousands of years. 



According to NRC's Meserve, the country has turned a corner in its 

perception of nuclear energy, which enjoys more public support. "A 

lot of people have gotten past some of the issues. I think Wall 

Street has gotten past those issues," he said. 



Exelon Nuclear's <EXC.N> chief operating officer Jack Skolds, whose 

company operates nuclear power plants, told the panel the current 

nuclear regulatory environment is "obsolete." 



He said the Price-Anderson Act should allow smaller, "merchant-size" 

nuclear plants to shoulder less insurance liability than larger plant 

operators. 



DEMOCRATS VOICE ENVIRO CONCERNS  



Separately, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman Curtis 

Hebert appeared before the subcommittee to discuss ways to streamline 

the process for relicensing hydroelectric dams. 



Hebert acknowledged that its process for hydropower licensing is 

"often long and too costly," and agreed to cooperate with Congress to 

improve procedures. 



Democratic lawmakers Dingell and Virginia's Rick Boucher accused FERC 

of giving short shrift to laws like the Clean Water Act in permitting 

hydroelectric dams. 



The nation's rivers are "the property of all," not "luxury swimclubs 

to be run by FERC for the benefit of our nation's electric 

utilities," Dingell said. 



Hydro industry officials were critical of a statute that allows the 

FERC to give equal consideration to environmental and industry 

interests in permitting new dams.  



FERC "doesn't have to consider if the environmental measures it 

orders are economical," said David Tuft, spokesman for the National 

Hydropower Association, which represents about two-thirds of U.S. 

private hydropower operators 



About 40 percent of the nation's 100,000 megawatts of hydro capacity 

is licensed, while the rest is federally operated. Half of all 

privately licensed hydropower capacity will come before FERC for 

relicensing by 2016. 

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



France finalises nuclear industry revamp

  

PARIS, June 27 (Reuters) - France's nuclear companies on Wednesday 

finalised a restructuring to simplify the industry structure and 

group the country's nuclear power and new technology interests in a 

single holding company. 



The boards of state atomic energy division CEA-Industrie, nuclear 

fuels company Cogema and nuclear engineering firm Framatome met on 

Wednesday and agreed the terms to form the new company, provisionally 

called Topco, CEA said in a statement. 



France's nuclear power and technology activities are currently linked 

together by a web of cross holdings with CEA at the top of the 

cascade. 



After the restructuring, unveiled in November last year, Topco will 

include Cogema, Framatome, France's 11 percent stake in chipmaker 

STMicroelectronics and Framatome's new technology unit Framatome 

Connectors International (FCI). 



The terms agreed on Wednesday will be put to shareholders of the 

various companies on September 3. 



As a first step, French energy giant TotalFinaElf will sell five-

sixths of a 14.5 percent stake in Cogema to state firm CEA. 

TotalFinaElf's remaining Cogema shares will represent about one 

percent of Topco once it is formed. 



Cogema and Framatome will then bring their assets under Topco's 

umbrella and the CEA will issue 6,028,391 new shares to their 

minority shareholders. 



On completion, CEA will have a 78.96 percent of Topco, the state will 

hold 5.19 percent, minority Cogema shareholders, such as TotalFinaElf 

and bank Caisse des Depots et Consignations, will have 5.59 percent 

and Framatome shareholders, including EDF and Alcatel <CGEP.PA>, will 

hold 6.23 percent. 



When France announced the restructuring last year it said it hoped to 

list Topco on the Paris stock market by the end of 2001. The goal is 

eventually to have about 30 percent of the company in public hands. 

Alcatel and EDF are also expected to sell their stakes at some stage.



Siemens <SIEGn.DE>, which has a 34 percent stake in Framatome after 

the merger of their nuclear engineering activities, will keep its 

stake separate from the new holding. 



France has also said it plans to list at some stage 40 percent of 

FCI, which specialises in connectors, with the remaining 60 percent 

to be held by Topco. 

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



UK BNFL's 200 mln stg losses prompt audit call

  

LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - State-owned British Nuclear Fuels on 

Thursday posted pre-tax losses of over 200 million pounds (nearly 

$300 million) because of poor performances at the Magnox power 

stations and its showcase THORP reprocessing plant. 



The results prompted environmental group Friends of the Earth to call 

for the National Audit Office (NAO) to investigate the running of the 

nuclear group. 



"BNFL is losing money like a Soviet steel works," said Mark Johnston 

in a statement criticising the government for failing to supervise 

BNFL on behalf of taxpayers. 



The audit office last investigated government supervision of BNFL in 

1989. 



For the year ended March 31, BNFL reported a pre-tax loss before 

exceptionals of 210 million pounds ($294 million) against a profit of 

74 million pounds ($103 million) for 1999/2000. 



Exceptional gains shaved the 2000/2001 pre-tax loss to 66 million 

pounds ($92 million) from 337 million ($471 million) in 1999/2000 

when the company was hit by exceptional charges of 411 million ($575 

million). 



BNFL Chief Executive Norman Askew said the results reflected the 

closure of the Wylfa power station for most of the year and 

difficulties at a downstream treatment plant at its Sellafield site 

which hurt operations at the THORP reprocessing plant. 



"The loss from the Magnox power stations (of which Wylfa represents 

40 percent) accounted for a loss of nearly 200 million pounds. If 

this loss were stripped out it would give a clearer picture," he 

said. 



Askew added that although THORP had been out of commission for about 

six months it returned to service in April while the 980 megawatt 

Wylfa power station was expected to start producing electricity again 

sometime this summer. 



"We are in a better position for this year," he said. 



Turnover rose slightly to 2.146 billion pounds ($3 billion) from 

2.064 billion pounds ($2.89 billion). 



Askew said he was encouraged that nuclear power might see something 

of a revival. 



In May U.S. President George Bush announced plans to increase nuclear 

power production and this week Britain declared it was undertaking a 

review of the country's energy policy including looking at nuclear 

power. 



"We have got the best portfolio of new reactor designs (via 

subsidiary Westinghouse) anywhere in the world. If demand for new 

nuclear build comes, we are ready to go." 



Askew added the group was eagerly awaiting a government decision on 

whether it could start up its 482 million pound ($674 million) 

Sellafield MOX Plant (SMP) built four years ago to make reactor fuel 

from combination of uranium and plutonium oxides. 



The government is set to make a decision sometime this summer after 

it considers a report by independent consultants on MOX's economic 

viability. 

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



Belgium's mayor of Huy to seek disclosure of MOX fuel data



HUY, Belgium, June 28 (Kyodo) - Huy Mayor and Senator Anne-Marie 

Lizin said Wednesday she will seek the disclosure by Belgian Prime 

Minister Guy Verhofstadt of quality control data on plutonium-uranium 

mixed oxide (MOX) fuel intended for use at a nuclear power plant in 

Japan. 



The MOX fuel to be used at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-

Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, 

facing the Sea of Japan coast, is produced by Belgonucleaire in 

Belgium. 



Nuclear power plant opponents have demanded that Belgonucleaire 

disclose the data on the fuel following a revelation two years ago of 

data falsification by British Nuclear Fuels PLC (BNFL) on fuel 

manufactured for shipment to Japan. 



In September 1999, it came to light that quality-assurance data on a 

consignment of MOX fuel intended for use at the Takahama nuclear 

power plant in Fukui Prefecture had been falsified by workers at 

BNFL's Sellafield plant in Cumbria, northwest England. 



Despite the demands, both Tokyo Electric Power and Belgonucleaire 

have so far refused to disclose such data. 



On these grounds, four Kashiwazaki municipal assembly members visited 

the Huy municipal government on Wednesday to call on the city to 

pressure Belgonucleaire through the Belgian government to disclose 

the information. 



Lizin, who led a movement opposing the construction of a nuclear 

power plant in Huy in the mid-1990s, said she will directly question 

the prime minister about the issue at a plenary session of the Senate 

in July. 



The mayor also said she hopes to make a contribution toward the 

solidarity of nuclear power plant opposition movements in both 

countries. 



On May 27 this year, Kariwa villagers rejected the use of MOX fuel at 

the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in a plebiscite. 



On June 1, Tokyo Electric Power announced that the plan to introduce 

MOX fuel at the plant, initially scheduled for the end of June, had 

been postponed indefinitely. The plant would have been the first to 

use MOX fuel in Japan. 

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



Activists detained over Red Square nuke protest

  

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Anti-nuclear activists opposed to a controversial 

law on importing nuclear waste staged a demonstration outside the 

Kremlin Thursday, unfurling banners on Red Square calling for 

President Vladimir Putin to veto the measure. 



Environmental group Greenpeace said 30 members were detained by 

police after raising banners saying "President: stop the nuclear 

invasion" beside Lenin's mausoleum and forming a human chain of 

protesters clad in white overalls. 



Parliament approved a law on June 6 allowing the import of up to 

20,000 tons of nuclear waste from countries like Taiwan, Japan, 

China, Iran and eastern Europe. Atomic Energy Minister Alexander 

Rumyantsev says the trade could earn Russian $20 billion over a 10-

year period. 



"Yesterday the law was sent to the president for signature," Ivan 

Blokov, Moscow representative of Greenpeace, told Reuters Television.



"According to public opinion polls, up to 80 percent of the 

population demand that President Putin veto this law. I hope he hears 

us. This is the only way we can try to reach him because no other 

means works," he said. 



Environmental campaigners accuse the upper house of parliament, the 

Federation Council, of failing to give the import bill the full 

reading it requires in law. 



They say the bill will make Russia, whose own crumbling storage 

facilities are a source of concern to Scandinavian and other Western 

states, a nuclear dustbin. 



Under the measure, the nuclear industry can import about 1,000 tons 

of spent fuel a year, roughly the amount produced now by Russia's own 

power plants and those in neighboring Ukraine, which sends fuel for 

reprocessing. 

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



Panel eyes green taxes in revised 10-year energy plan



TOKYO, June 28 (Kyodo) - A government advisory panel on energy policy 

issued a revised 10-year plan Thursday, which proposed considering 

new taxes among other efforts to attain zero growth in carbon dioxide 

emissions to fight global warming with less reliance on nuclear 

power. 



The Advisory Committee for Energy and Resources complied the revised 

plan after 14 months of talks. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and 

Industry will use it as the basis for mapping out specific steps. 



The ministry is expected to consider such measures as introducing 

carbon taxes and increasing the use of existing special energy 

budgets for green purposes. 



The plan estimates that, without additional steps, Japan's CO2 

emissions will surpass its fiscal 2010 target by 6.9%, or 20 million 

tons, due partly to a decrease in planned nuclear plant construction 

to 10-13 from the initial 16-20. 



The original plan for fiscal 2000-2010, compiled in 1998, was forced 

into revision due to the growing difficulty faced by power companies 

for building new nuclear facilities since the country's worst nuclear 

accident in September 1999. 



But to attain its pledge under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to cut CO2 

emissions by 6% from the 1990 level during 2008-2012, Japan still has 

to contain CO2 emissions from energy consumption to the fiscal 1990 

level in fiscal 2010. 



Under the revised plan, 6 million of the estimated 20 million ton 

surplus emissions will be trimmed by more energy saving at all the 

industrial, household and transport sectors and 9 million by the 

development and promotion of new energy sources such as solar and 

wind power. 



The remaining 5 million tons will have to be dealt with via new 

taxes, regulations or other measures to help curb a likely increase 

of coal thermal power plants, which are less costly but produce more 

CO2, in place of nuclear plants. 



The report estimates that a cost hike of 0.3 yen per kilowatt hour 

for coal-fueled power generation relative to that fueled by natural 

gas would induce power companies to boost the use of natural gas, 

which among fossil fuels emits the least CO2. 



But it refrained from specifying by which means the government should 

push for such a shift in the mix of fuels. 



Meanwhile, the panel brushed aside an idea to suspend all the 

conventional nuclear plant construction plans as insisted on by 

antinuclear panelists, citing anticipated adverse effects on the 

economy. 



Due to opposition from a couple of panelists against concluding 

discussions at this stage, the panel took the extraordinary step of 

adopting the report by a majority vote. Panel members include 

representatives of industry and civic groups to reflect diverse 

opinions. 

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



DRAXIS Receives FDA Approval For BrachySeed -TM- Pd-103

  

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 28, 2001--DRAXIS Health 

Inc. (NASDAQ:DRAX)(TSE:DAX.) today announced that its 

radiopharmaceutical subsidiary, DRAXIMAGE Inc., has received U.S. 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to market its palladium-

103 brachytherapy implant (BrachySeed(TM) Pd-103) for the treatment 

of prostate cancer and other selected localized tumours such as 

tumours of the head, neck, lung, pancreas, breast, and uterus. 



Dr. Martin Barkin, President and CEO of DRAXIS Health, stated, 

"Earlier this year the Company launched its BrachySeed(TM) I-125 into 

both the Canadian and U.S. marketplaces. Today, we are pleased to 

announce FDA approval of our complementary BrachySeed(TM) Pd-103. 

Both versions of our second generation BrachySeed(TM) are based on 

the same patented design, which leads to improved dosimetry and a 

more controlled dose rate to the target. Fully robotic manufacturing 

permits customized manufacturing of BrachySeed(TM) to within 3% of 

the desired target activity, an industry leading standard." 



Dr. Barkin continued, "Palladium-based brachytherapy implants now 

account for approximately 40% of the U.S market and are predominantly 

used with more aggressive tumours, due to the fact that palladium-103 

decays at three times the rate of iodine-125, thereby offering a 

higher initial dose rate to the tumour. Growth and acceptance of 

palladium brachytherapy is expected to increase market share as more 

and more physicians choose palladium over iodine. DRAXIS will be one 

of the few companies to offer both iodine-125 and palladium-103 

implants." 



Dr. Barkin concluded, "We anticipate that BrachySeed(TM) Pd-103 will 

become commercially available later this year when approved by the 

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. BrachySeed(TM) Pd-103 will be 

distributed by Cytogen Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTO) in the U.S. market. 

Cytogen already markets BrachySeed(TM) I-125 and ProstaScint(R), the 

leading imaging agent used to monitor, detect and guide prostate 

cancer therapy." 



Brachytherapy is the fastest growing treatment for early stage 

prostate cancer and offers a number of potential benefits compared to 

alternative treatments such as radical prostatectomy, including: 

rapid patient recovery, lower costs and reduced incidence of 

complications such as impotency and incontinence. Given this improved 

side-effect profile, the market for brachytherapy seeds has grown by 

95% over the last three years. 



DRAXIMAGE discovers, develops, manufactures and markets diagnostic 

imaging and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals for the global 

marketplace. Products currently marketed by DRAXIMAGE include a line 

of lyophilized technetium-99m kits used in nuclear imaging 

procedures, a line of imaging and therapeutic products labelled with 

a variety of isotopes including radioiodine, and BrachySeed(TM), a 

second generation brachytherapy implant. DRAXIMAGE has a number of 

products in late-stage development and three technetium-99m-based 

diagnostic imaging products: Fibrimage(R) for imaging deep vein 

thrombosis currently in Phase III, Amiscan(TM) for the early 

diagnosis of acute myocardial infarct currently in Phase II, and 

INFECTON for imaging infection. 

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



Perma-Fix Acquires Oak Ridge Radioactive/Hazardous Treatment 

Facility; Initiates New Era of Environmentally Friendly Treatment of 

Nuclear Waste

  

OAK RIDGE, Tenn--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 28, 2001--Perma-Fix 

Environmental Services, Inc. (Nasdaq:PESI): 



--  Perma-Fix Looks Ahead to Treating DOE Legacy Mixed Waste 



--  Market Opportunity Estimated at Over $7.0 Billion 



Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. (Nasdaq:PESI) (Germany:PES.BE) 

announced today that it completed the acquisition of East Tennessee 

Materials and Energy Corporation ("M&EC"), a company that has a low-

level radioactive and hazardous waste ("mixed waste") treatment 

facility located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In connection with this 

acquisition, PESI issued approximately 1.9 million shares of its 

Common Stock. The acquired company will treat mixed waste under three 

contracts that were originally issued by the Department of Energy 



("DOE") and other federal agencies. Pursuant to estimated volumes 

provided by the DOE, the anticipated market value of all mixed waste 

in the United States that DOE will be required to treat will be 

approximately $7.0 billion, to be treated over many years to come. 



The Company stated that the M&EC facility, situated next to one of 

the nation's largest single stockpiles of legacy nuclear waste, will 

use Perma-Fix's advanced technology for treating mixed waste without 

incineration. M&EC is in the process of completing its new facility, 

with a construction cost to date of approximately $12 million, which 

will be operational in the third quarter of 2001, and will have the 

capacity to initially treat up to $35 million in mixed waste 

annually. Besides servicing DOE contracts, the facility will be able 

to treat other governmental, institutional and commercially generated 

mixed waste now held in storage nationwide. 



M&EC was awarded the three contracts to treat DOE mixed waste in 1998 

by Bechtel-Jacobs Company, LLC, DOE's environmental program manager. 

The contracts cover treatment of millions of cubic feet of legacy, 

operational and demolition nuclear waste, both solids and liquids, 

not only at Oak Ridge, but also from more than 40 other DOE 

facilities. 



Dr. Louis F. Centofanti, President of Perma-Fix, said: "The 

acquisition of M&EC represents a major milestone toward establishing 

Perma-Fix as one of the leaders in the treatment of mixed waste. The 

mixed waste market is experiencing exceptional growth. With our 

proprietary processes, licensed facilities, technical know-how and 

management expertise, we are uniquely positioned to capitalize on 

this growth. Although the size of the potential market is difficult 

to estimate, the DOE and other federal agencies are spending more 

than $6.0 billion in 2001 on cleanup efforts. 



"Our nonthermal nuclear waste treatment technologies address one of 

the nation's most pressing environmental cleanup problems. The 

biggest roadblock to the expansion of nuclear power is public concern 

over the safe disposal of nuclear waste. Our process treats low level 

radioactive waste, a major part of the problem, in a safe and non-

polluting manner. With the Bush administration's endorsement of 

nuclear power as a key part of national energy policy, we expect 

strong long-term growth in our utility business. The acquisition of 

M&EC complements our recent acquisition of Diversified Scientific 

Services, Inc., as well as the expansion of our mixed waste facility 

in North Florida." 



Dr. Centofanti further stated: "Perma-Fix's proprietary processes 

extract and destroy hazardous chemicals from nuclear waste in an 

enclosed system which greatly reduces the risk of air pollutants, as 

compared to thermal incineration or vitrification treatment 

processes. The radioactive residue can then be disposed of safely in 

designated landfills without leakage. M&EC is one of only a few 

facilities nationally that operates under both a hazardous waste 

permit and a nuclear materials license, enabling it to treat the most 

difficult waste streams." 



The Oak Ridge site was built in 1943-1946 as part of the secret 

Manhattan project to develop an atomic bomb. Uranium was enriched at 

Oak Ridge for use in the first atomic bombs and later for use in 

nuclear power reactors. As a result, it contains one of the nation's 

largest single stockpiles of legacy nuclear waste, including large 

amounts of waste from various technologies used in enriching uranium.



Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. is a national environmental 

services company, providing unique mixed waste and industrial waste 

management services. The industrial services segment provides 

hazardous and nonhazardous waste treatment services for a diverse 

group of customers including Fortune 500 Companies, numerous federal, 

state and local agencies and thousands of smaller clients. The 

nuclear services segment provides radioactive and mixed waste 

treatment services to hospitals, research laboratories and 

institutions, numerous federal agencies including the Department of 

Energy and Defense and nuclear utilities. The Company operates ten 

major waste treatment facilities across the country. 

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



FOX-TEK Secures First Contract for Sensors on Decommissioned Nuclear 

Structure

  

TORONTO, June 27 /PRNewswire/ - Fiber Optic Systems Technology Inc. 

(FOX- TEK) has secured its first commercial contract since the 

company launched in February of this year. With laboratories and 

offices in Toronto, and offices in Philadelphia, FOX-TEK develops 

fiber optic sensors and instruments that provide 'intelligence' on 

the integrity of large structures. 



This first FOX-TEK contract involves installation of 12 innovative 

FOX- TEK FT fiber optic sensors on the decommissioned Gentilly-1 

nuclear containment structure owned by Atomic Energy of Canada 

Limited (AECL). Working with researchers at the University of 

Sherbrooke, FOX-TEK installed sensors ranging from 0.5 meters in 

length to 27 meters in length, in June this year. 



The FT sensors are part of an instrumentation program undertaken by 

AECL in collaboration with ISIS Canada (Intelligent Sensing for 

Innovative Structures), a federal Network of Centres of Excellence 

headquartered at the University of Manitoba. 



The Gentilly-1 reactor was one of three prototype reactors built by 

AECL in the early days of nuclear power development in Canada. 

Gentilly-1 was a light-water cooled reactor prototype. When AECL 

eventually selected heavy- water cooled reactor technology, Gentilly-

1 was decommissioned, the reactor and highly-radioactive materials 

were removed, and the large containment structure serves only as 

storage for some of the reactor components and materials. The 

Gentilly-2 reactor owned by Hydro Quebec is of the newer, heavy- 

water-cooled design similar to other CANDU reactors in Ontario, in 

New Brunswick, and in a number of countries around the world. 



"This first FOX-TEK contract marks a new direction for the use of 

fiber optic sensors," said FOX-TEK president Gary Jolly. "Sensors 

have previously been tested on bridges and parking garages. With this 

installation, FOX-TEK is expanding the range of applications." 



The containment structure itself, made of concrete and designed for 

high operational loads, includes a concrete ring-beam around the 

circular top of the structure. Reinforcing cables running the height 

of the structure terminate at this ring-beam, where pockets on the 

surface allow for cable- tensioning. This fill-concrete ring-beam, 

not structurally-significant, acts only as a protective cover for the 

ends of the tensioned steel strands. It is this fill-concrete ring-

beam that is currently undergoing rehabilitation and instrumentation.



The AECL instrumentation program with ISIS Canada comprises a suite 

of sensors, innovative concrete-reinforcing wraps of FRP (fiber 

reinforced polymer), and sensor systems such as fiber Bragg grating 

sensors, Fabry-Perot sensors, Brillouin sensors as well as FOX-TEK's 

new FT sensors, to monitor the performance of the concrete and the 

FRP reinforcement. 



The instrumentation program is designed to provide a comparison of 

readings and data across different sensor systems. The FOX-TEK 

sensors will be monitored with a FOX-TEK FTI-3000 data acquisition 

instrument, providing information on the state of the concrete 

containment vessel, including strain and thermal measurements of the 

FRP itself, and information on the performance of the innovative FRP 

concrete wrap. FOX-TEK's 12 FT sensors include four .5- meter, two 1-

meter, and two 27-meter long custom sensors, as well as four .5- 

meter sensors to monitor thermal changes in the structure. 



The main contract for the Gentilly suite of sensors project is held 

by the University of Sherbrooke. Dr. Kenneth Neale, head of the 

Sherbrooke ISIS research team. Sherbrooke research associate Mr. Marc 

Demers led the scientific team and installation crew on site, June 11-

15th, in collaboration with AECL. 



"This contract confirms our investment in this technology, and 

continued support for this new company," said Dr. Gerry Lynch, 

president of Photonics Research Ontario (PRO), an Ontario Centre of 

Excellence and founding partner of FOX-TEK. "New applications such as 

nuclear containment structures and pipelines which FOX-TEK is also 

exploring, afford the opportunity for this new company to be a major 

global player in sensors starting with critical civil structures and 

moving into brand-new arenas." 



FOX-TEK was launched to commercialize the fiber optic sensor 

technology of ISIS Canada. FOX-TEK is working closely with ISIS 

Canada scientists located at:   



- the University of Sherbrooke, whose ISIS research focuses on FRPs 

and Integrated Sensing for Structural Rehabilitation;   



- the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies whose 

research focuses on Fiber Optic Sensor Technology including Brillouin 

scattering sensor research in collaboration with the University of 

Ottawa;   



- and the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, the University of Calgary 

and the University of Alberta, Edmonton, where optical sensors are 

monitoring innovative structures incorporating advanced materials.





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

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://www.geocities.com/scperle

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com



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