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UK rules out nuke fuel reprocessing at Dounreay
Index:
UK rules out nuke fuel reprocessing at Dounreay
UK BNFL says recovers fallen N-rods at Chapelcross
Czech PM says has no doubts about Temelin safety
Govt support for nuclear power raises green groups' hackles
WMC rules out nuclear power for SA
Kursk sub cleaned up, Putin stands by decisions
=====================================
UK rules out nuke fuel reprocessing at Dounreay
LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - British Energy Minister Brian Wilson
on Wednesday ruled out refurbishing reprocessing facilities at
Dounreay in Scotland to deal with remaining nuclear fuel from the
prototype fast reactor at the site.
The minister also asked the UK Atomic Energy Authority to take
action to ensure the safety and security of the fuel which is highly
radioactive.
"It is important to get on with the job of the environmental
restoration of Dounreay," said Wilson in a statement.
"Following extensive consultation it is clear that refurbishing the
reprocessing facilities at Dounreay risks diverting valuable
resources from the restoration of the site."
Restoration of the Dounreay site is estimated to cost four billion
pounds ($5.61 billion) in total with 1.5 billion pounds being spent
over the next 10 years.
Most of the fuel at the site came from Dounreay's own fast reactor
programme but there is also some other material, including a
controversial consignment from Georgia.
Reprocessing at Dounreay stopped in 1996 after equipment broke
down and last year the government launched a consultation into
what should be done with the fuel.
The prototype reactor was shut in 1992 following the conclusion of
the fast breeder reactor research programme.
Dounreay's operators have recently been accused of safety
breaches after the discovery in June of a radioactive particle on a
beach in Caithness.
About 600 particles have now been found on and offshore near the
site.
-----------------
UK BNFL says recovers fallen N-rods at Chapelcross
By Matthew Jones
LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - British Nuclear Fuels has recovered
12 radioactive fuel rods which fell 80 feet (25 metres) down a shaft
during a refuelling mishap at its ageing Chapelcross power station
the state-owned company said on Wednesday.
The retrieval of 12 one-metre long rods means the 196 megawatt
power station in Scotland will not have to switch off the two
reactors which are still operating.
"It has been agreed with the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate to
keep reactor one and four online while we attempt to retrieve the
other 12 fuel rods which remain stuck in the discharge basket at
the top of the shaft," BNFL's Bill Anderton told Reuters.
The BNFL spokesman said the 12 rods recovered from the bottom
of the shaft were moved to fuel ponds last night, but that it was too
early to say when the other 12 rods in the basket would be
recovered.
The July 5 refuelling accident at Chapelcross has attracted
unwanted publicity for the group which the government wants to
partially privatise.
Earlier plans to sell off 49 percent of BNFL were shelved last year
after a scandal about false data on nuclear fuel sent to export
customers.
BNFL said some details of the incident were updated as and when
it learnt of the new information.
MAGNOX SELLOFF LEGACY
That BNFL operates seven Magnox power stations nearing the end
of their working lives is the legacy of the 1996 privatisation of
British Energy (BGY.L).
The power stations, which still produce nearly eight percent of
Britain's electricity, were seen as a stumbling block to a
successful floatation because of their costly fuel reprocessing
contracts and upcoming decommissioning costs.
All but one of BNFL's Magnox power stations began operating in
the 1950s and 1960s and last year the company announced a
schedule for planned closures with all plants shut by 2001. The
company also said it might bring forward the closures if technical
issues or market conditions indicated it would be good to do so.
Chapelcross is due to be switched off for good between 2008 and
2010.
----------------
Czech PM says has no doubts about Temelin safety
CEJKOVICE, Czech Republic, July 18 (Reuters) - The Czech
government said on Wednesday it had no doubts about the safety
of the Temelin nuclear power station and would not react to a
German call to close the Soviet-designed plant.
Prime Minister Milos Zeman told a news conference after a cabinet
meeting in Cejkovice, 250 km (150 miles) southeast of Prague, that
a new study of the plant would soon be published and would form
the basis for further action.
"We have no reason to doubt the safety of Temelin," Zeman said.
Zeman said he would hold talks with Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang
Schuessel about Temelin after the report was published. He gave
no date for the release of the report, but said it had recently been
completed.
Officials in Berlin and Vienna say Temelin's position 60 km (40
miles) from their borders is too close for comfort as the plant's
design does not meet Western safety standards.
The Czech government has repeatedly said western designed
safety upgrades have brought the plant's standards above those
found at most stations.
In a strongly worded statement on Monday, the German
government said it "urges the government of the Czech Republic to
lift its decision to allow the Temelin nuclear plant to operate and to
close the plant."
---------------
Govt support for nuclear power raises green groups' hackles
18 July, 2001, Australian Broadcasting Corporation - Green groups
have criticised Australia's support for the development of nuclear
power in non-industrialised countries.
The Federal Environment Minister, Robert Hill, is at an international
climate change meeting in Germany where the Kyoto protocol and
the "clean development mechanism" is being debated.
Australia is one of a few countries arguing for developed countries
to be given credit under the protocol if they invest in nuclear power
in poorer nations.
The Climate Action Network, a worldwide umbrella group for
environmental groups, says credit should only be given for
investment in renewable energy.
"What is the purpose of these mechanisms? It is to get these
countries to have clean and green alternative energy," network
spokeswoman Tristy Fairfield said.
"That's not nuclear power. Nuclear power has got a legacy of waste
and destruction, and safety and health impacts, that just don't
occur with real renewable alternative energy."
Senator Hill has defended Australia's position.
"What this convention is all about is looking for alternatives to fossil
fuel to reduce the rate of greenhouse gas emissions," he said.
"Nuclear [energy] clearly achieves that objective. There are not
many developing countries that want to go down the nuclear power
road, but if there are some who do we don't believe that the rules
should prohibit it."
-----------------
WMC rules out nuclear power for SA
19 July, Australian Broadcasting Corporation - The head of the
company which operates the Roxby Downs Uranium mine is ruling
out a nuclear power plant as a solution to South Australia's
electricity problems, saying it lacks community and public
acceptance.
But Western Mining Corporation's (WMC) chief executive Hugh
Morgan says South Australia will not be able to compete with
Victoria and New South Wales until electricity becomes a lot
cheaper.
Describing the current situation as an electricity crisis, Mr Morgan
says it is undermining South Australia's potential to become "a
great mineral province" - generating billions of dollars in export
revenue.
He says there is currently about 36 nuclear power plants being
constructed around the world and America's power crisis has seen
a positive swing in the pendulum of community attitudes.
But he says that is not likely either publicly or politically in
Australia.
"It's still a big ask in terms of community acceptance... political
acceptance...I think Sir Humphrey would suggest that it would be
courageous, Minister," he said.
---------------
Kursk sub cleaned up, Putin stands by decisions
MOSCOW, July 18 (Reuters) - As robots finished cleaning up the
wreck of the Russian submarine Kursk on Wednesday, President
Vladimir Putin said nothing more could have been done a year ago
to save the 118 crew who perished when it sank.
A two-month operation to raise the nuclear-powered vessel from the
floor of the Barents Sea began this week with the help of an
international diving team and a high-tech support ship.
The Kursk plunged to the northern seabed on August 12 last year
after a series of still unexplained onboard explosions.
Russian officials, especially Putin, were fiercely criticised for what
seemed to be a hesitant response to the disaster, which bereaved
relatives say may have cost the chance to save their loved ones.
Officials initially gave contradictory reports about the rescue effort,
and Putin failed to cut short a Black Sea holiday to take charge.
Days passed before Russia asked for international assistance.
But Putin said on Wednesday that nothing except a different
submarine design would have made a difference.
"What we had at the time at our disposal was used. Even if we
used all existing means and in the first second appealed for help, it
would have been too late," he told a Moscow news conference.
"We could have demonstrated more zeal, but unfortunately... it
would not have changed in essence what happened."
PUTIN'S PROMISE
Putin has promised relatives that the Kursk will be raised this year,
at any cost, to allow the crew to be buried with dignity on shore.
Only 12 corpses were retrieved last year.
"I promised to lift the submarine," Putin told reporters. "If we say it
should be done then it's very important for state and society to do
it."
Some environmental groups say it would be less risky to bury the
Kursk with its nuclear reactors under a concrete shell on the sea
floor. But Moscow says it is safer to tow the sub ashore and then
dismantle the reactors.
After silt and debris were cleared from the wreck, the international
support ship Mayo was to head to the Norwegian port of Kirkenes
on Wednesday to swap cleaning equipment for cutting gear, said a
spokesman for the Russian navy.
The next stage will be to cut holes for a series of cables which will
be used to hoist the main body of the vessel. The bow, where the
submarine's torpedoes were stored, will be cut off and left for now
on the seabed.
Russian officials have said the explosion aboard the Kursk appear
to have been triggered by a torpedo explosion that set off most of
the arsenal on board. They say there were no nuclear weapons on
the vessel.
Putin said the raising of the Kursk could provide vital clues "to help
us solve the puzzle" of what happened.
Russia has contracts with Dutch salvage company Mammoet and
Rotterdam-based marine services firm Smit International to recover
the Kursk from a depth of 100 metres (330 feet).
Mammoet said on Wednesday the operation to cut off the bow
should begin on August 8 after holes for the 26 cables had been
drilled.
**************************************************************************
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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