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Radiation tests before divers plunge to Kursk site
Index:
Radiation tests before divers plunge to Kursk site
Germany urges Czechs to shut Temelin plant
Czech CEZ plunges after call to stop N-plant
Germany Studies Possible Nuclear Theft
Report: No Ill-Effects From Exposure
Mobile phones to give radiation levels soon
U.S. Nuclear Medicine Markets Boosted by Growing use of PET
==========================================
Radiation tests before divers plunge to Kursk site
MOSCOW, July 16 (Reuters) - An underwater robot tested radiation
levels around the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk on Monday as divers
got ready to descend to the seabed to prepare to raise the vessel.
All 118 crew on board the Kursk died after it sank in the Barents Sea
last year.
The operation to recover the submarine, which begins this week, is
expected to take two months.
The Norwegian ship Mayo, with Russian and Norwegian divers,
international experts and high-tech equipment on board, arrived at
the site off Russia's Arctic Kola peninsula on Sunday.
Initial data from the robot indicated radiation around the Kursk did
not exceed natural levels of background radiation in the Barents Sea,
a statement from the office of Igor Dygalo, aide to the commander of
the Russian navy, said.
"Today they will continue the examination of the site with the
underwater robot... Only on completion of this investigation will the
divers begin their work," the statement said.
The Kursk sank on August 12 after a series of powerful blasts on
board. Russian officials say the disaster was probably triggered by
an unexplained torpedo explosion which set off most of the rest of
the arsenal.
Officials say the Kursk did not carry nuclear weapons and its nuclear
reactors were shut down to avoid radiation leaks.
Environmentalists have called on Russian authorities to bury the
submarine under concrete or at least to take more time to prepare for
the risky salvage operation.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin, strongly criticised at home for
not cutting short his vacation at the time of the tragedy, has told
bereaved relatives the Kursk will be raised this year at any cost.
The bodies of 12 crew members were recovered last autumn.
After the radiation checks divers will descend to the submarine to
cut off its heavily damaged bow where the torpedoes were stored.
Then a special pontoon, 140 metres long and 36 metres wide (460 by
120 feet), will hoist the submarine on 26 cables to just below the
sea's surface, and tow it to the Russian port of Murmansk.
Russia has contracts with Dutch salvage company Mammoet and Rotterdam-
based marine services firm Smit International to recover the Kursk,
which is lying at a depth of 100 metres (330 feet).
The operation is expected to be completed by September 20.
---------------
Germany urges Czechs to shut Temelin plant
BERLIN, July 16 (Reuters) - Germany called on the Czech Republic to
close a controversial nuclear plant on safety fears on Monday,
casting a cloud over Prague's efforts to join the European Union and
hitting shares in a top Czech utility.
"The German federal government strongly urges the government of the
Czech Republic to lift its decision to allow the Temelin nuclear
plant to operate, and to close the plant," the German government said
in a statement.
The Temelin reactor lies around 60 km (40 miles) from the German and
Austrian borders and has provoked anger in both Berlin and Vienna,
which argue its Soviet design does not come up to Western safety
standards.
The $2.5 billion power station has suffered a string of technical
glitches since it was first turned on for operational testing last
year. It has been shut for weeks due to turbine problems in the non-
nuclear part of the plant.
Shares in the dominant Czech power utility CEZ slumped 12.3 percent,
their lowest level since August 1999, after the German government
decision was announced.
The statement, which a spokeswoman for the environment ministry said
was originally released on July 12, said Berlin recognised the Czech
Republic's sovereign right to use nuclear power to generate
electricity within its own borders.
"At the same time, constructing and operating a new nuclear plant
just 60 km from the German border is a reason for the government's
anxiety and interest," the statement said.
"Regardless of the risk involved in using nuclear power, the German
government sees... a high security deficit in the Temelin plant,
which would not allow a licence to be issued under German law or
under international standards," the statement said.
CZECHS SEEN AS EU FRONT-RUNNERS
The plant has become a divisive issue in the Czech Republic's efforts
to join the EU as Austria and now Germany say Temelin could cast a
cloud over Prague's EU bid.
Prague is widely seen as one of the front-runners among a dozen
mainly central and eastern European candidates for EU membership and
Berlin supports its candidacy.
Environment Minister Juergen Trittin, architect of Germany's decision
last year to phase out nuclear power and boost investment in
renewable energy sources, has long opposed the Temelin plant.
But he has noted that conservative politicians in Bavaria, the
southern German province that borders the Czech Republic, were highly
sceptical about the EU's eastwards expansion and could use the row
over Temelin to nurture opposition to taking on eastern members.
The Environment ministry said Berlin was exploring a number of
nuclear safety options bilaterally and at the EU level, including
moves to adopt clear safety standards throughout the 15-nation bloc.
Rumours that the Germans had urged the Czechs to cease operations at
Temelin took over six percent off CEZ's share price in early trade.
Confirmation doubled that loss and by midday the shares were off over
12 percent.
"The speculation in the media was confirmed. It is a very negative
impulse at this point," said Radim Dalik, a trader at Komerci Banka.
"It represents more uncertainty for the shares, because Temelin is a
key issue for the Czech Republic. It is tough to say where the shares
will go now," he said.
-------------
Czech CEZ plunges after call to stop N-plant
PRAGUE, July 16 (Reuters) - Shares in dominant Czech power utility
CEZ plunged over 20 percent to their lowest in two years on Monday,
after the German cabinet called on the Czechs to shut down a
controversial nuclear power plant.
Rumours in early trade of the German decision took over six percent
off CEZ's share price.
A subsequent confirmation that the German government had indeed
called on the Czechs to shut down the $2.5 billion Soviet-designed
Temelin station near German and Austrian borders on safety fears,
then lopped off more than twice that amount.
At 1303 GMT, CEZ shares were off 20.07 percent at 69.30 crowns.
"We didn't expect to see the shares hit this much. Of course it is
bad news for CEZ, but we need to see where this issue goes, so a 20
percent reaction is not justified," said Andrea Ferencova of the
brokerage Wood&Co. She added that part of the fall could also be due
to technical factors such as stop-loss selling.
The Temelin power station has suffered a string of technical glitches
since it was first turned on for operational testing last year. It
has been shut for weeks due to turbine problems in the non-nuclear
part of the plant.
Neighbouring Austria also fiercely opposes the station. The Czech
government and regulators say the plant, equipped with a western-made
control system, is safe.
----------------
Germany Studies Possible Nuclear Theft
BERLIN (AP) - Germany's environment minister ordered an inquiry
Sunday into reports that radioactive material was stolen by an
employee of a nuclear reprocessing facility near the western city of
Karlsruhe.
Police declined to comment on media reports that the man, under
investigation since last Monday, has been arrested and questioned
about the alleged theft, and that a stash of radioactive material was
found at a disused airfield nearby.
Prosecutors are to make a statement Monday.
If true, the allegations of theft indicate ``scandalous security
failures'' at the plant, Environment Minister Juergen Trittin said.
He ordered officials in the Baden-Wuerttemberg plant to report to him
by Monday on what went wrong.
Routine tests in recent weeks on the 49-year-old man and in his
apartment had found unusually high levels of radiation. The man's
partner and her daughter reportedly were also found to have been
exposed. Their names and the quantity of material allegedly stolen
have not been released.
German radio reported Sunday that investigators are examining
suspicious material found in a small tube near Landau, close to the
French border. SWR radio said the man had told investigators where
the tube was hidden at the former airfield, which was once used by
French military forces.
About 200 tons of spent fuel from German nuclear power plants was
reprocessed at the research plant in Karlsruhe between 1971 and 1990.
Work to dismantle the plant has been going on since 1996.
---------------
Report: No Ill-Effects From Exposure
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Troops taking part in British nuclear
tests in Australia in 1956 weren't guinea pigs and suffered no ill
health from exposure to radiation, a government report said Monday.
While five of the 11 New Zealand officers involved in the experiments
have died, nothing linked their deaths to their activities in the
nuclear test areas, Defense Minister Mark Burton said.
``The Ministry of Health advises that it is extremely unlikely that
any of the recorded causes of death could be linked to the
observation of nuclear tests,'' Burton said.
``Similarly, there is no suggestion of links with any specific
existing medical conditions,'' he added.
Survivors have said they walked, crawled and ran through the blast
zone at the Maralinga bomb site in South Australia within minutes of
the nuclear bombs' detonation during tests in remote desert areas.
---------------
Mobile phones to give radiation levels soon
STOCKHOLM/HELSINKI, July 16 (Reuters) - The world's Leading mobile
phone makers said on Monday they will start publishing information
later this year about the level of radiation emitted by their phones
in response to concerns from consumers.
The largest cellphone maker Nokia <NOK1V.HE>, the second-largest
Motorola <MOT.N> and the fourth-largest Ericsson <LMEb.ST>, have
agreed with the European Committee for Electrotechnical
Standardisation's (CENELEC) on a way to measure radiation absorption
on phones.
"There have been requests by some consumers that this information
should be readily available," said Nokia Mobile Phones spokesman
Tapio Hedman. "We are providing them with information they feel is
important for them."
The agreement comes after years of lobbying from consumer and other
organisations for companies and regulators to agree on a global
standard of measuring radiation emitted from handsets.
Reports have alleged that radio waves from mobile phones can affect
the human brain. Last year, a UK government-sponsored scientific
inquiry, chaired by Sir William Stewart, warned children to avoid
excessive use of mobile phones because their thinner skulls make them
prone to absorbing radiation.
"We have worked together with Nokia and Motorola on this. It will not
be any kind of warning label, but specification information included
in the phone package together with other technical measures," said
Mikael Westmark, responsible for health issues at Ericsson.
At the end of March this year, there were 770 million mobile phone
users globally and Nokia expects that figure to rise to one billion
in the first six months of 2002.
U.S. neurologist Christopher Newman filed last year a lawsuit against
leading U.S. phone companies, including Motorola Inc, saying that the
use of his mobile phone had caused a malignant brain tumor.
Neither Ericsson, nor Nokia were named in the Newman lawsuit. All
three companies say research conducted over several years has found
no evidence to link health problems with mobile phones.
RADIATION LEVEL TO FEATURE IN USER MANUAL
Manufacturers do not plan to label the phones with the actual level
of radiation, called Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), nor put it on
phone packages. The information would be included in user manuals.
SAR -- the best way of measuring radiation -- shows the absorption of
energy by the human body in watts per kilogram. The maximum safety
limit is 2.0, while most phones on the market are now showing values
between 0.5 and 1.0.
Mobile phones are, in effect, tiny radio stations that send and
receive. Hedman said one of the big challenges would be to explain to
consumers what the new number actually means.
"The SAR value that will be included in the phone package will be the
maximum value, rather than the average one. When you talk, you very
seldom reach the maximum level in a properly constructed network,"
said Westmark.
He said the SAR value was highest when dialling and then dropped
steeply off after the connection was made.
Ericsson said it would include the SAR figure with its phones from
October, and Nokia said it would do it roughly at the same time.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) already requires
cellphons to meet radiation safety standards, and all manufacturers
are required to inform the FCC of the SAR levels on their phones
before they are approved for sale nationally.
Consumers can already get this information from the FCC, and Nokia
has published them in the user manuals of its U.S. phones, Hedman
said.
----------------
U.S. Nuclear Medicine Markets Boosted by Growing use of PET in
Functional Imaging, Says Frost & Sullivan
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 16, 2001--As molecular
imaging disciplines strengthen, so does the importance of positron
emission tomography (PET) for functional medical imaging.
Reimbursement of over 12 medical indications by the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is bolstering the bright outlook for PET.
New analysis from the healthcare group at Frost & Sullivan
(www.healthcare.frost.com), U.S. Nuclear Medicine Markets, indicates
the PET segment will grow to more than $880 million by 2007, while
gamma camera markets are projected to reach $426 million.
"The PET market was incredible in 2000, generating more than $200
million in revenues," says Frost & Sullivan Medical Imaging Analyst
Monali Patel. "The surge is attributable to favorable reimbursement
for a number of PET applications set by CMS and growing awareness of
the clinical utility PET offers.
Maximum utilization of PET units will lead to installed-base sites
purchasing additional new units long before purchasing replacements,
meaning the market will grow not only in breadth but in depth as
well.
Expanding PET sales channels include community hospitals,
freestanding diagnostic imaging centers, freestanding PET centers,
specialty centers such as oncology centers, research and academic
institutions and mobile PET services.
In relative contrast, the US gamma camera market appears to be on the
verge of saturation. Recent CMS reimbursement decisions appear
weighed against gamma camera procedures performed by a large number
of the dual head cameras in operation today. It remains indisputable
that gamma cameras, primarily dual heads, continue to provide the
bulk of equipment and operative base from which nuclear medicine has
grown to its present stature.
The gamma camera sector should experience growth mainly through the
development of newer applications of existing technologies, usage of
newer radiopharmaceuticals, and the improvement of product
specifications.
Frost & Sullivan presents the 2001 Marketing Engineering Awards to
companies that have worked diligently to make a positive contribution
to the nuclear medicine industry. These market specific awards are
presented to: GE Medical Systems, CTI PET Systems Inc., Digirad, and
Neurophysics Corporation.
Frost & Sullivan is a global leader in international strategic market
consulting and training. This ongoing research is part of the
frost.com Diagnostic Imaging Monitor Service. Frost & Sullivan also
provides custom consulting to a variety of national and international
companies.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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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