Accidents at 3 reactors likely 'once in 400,000 years'

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

Index:



Accidents at 3 reactors likely 'once in 400,000 years'

German nuclear waste reaches French plant

French activists delay nuclear fuel train

Nuclear waste disposal facility completed in Russia Far East

Ex-judge urges Hiroshima, Nagasaki to educate public

Slovenia to partially open power market in 2002

New Toshiba Technology Significantly Reduces CT Radiation Dose

Ky. Uranium Workers Reject Contract

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



Accidents at 3 reactors likely 'once in 400,000 years'



TOKYO, Aug. 2 (Kyodo) - Three of the 51 nuclear power reactors in 

Japan would likely have an accident involving damage to their core 

reactors only once in 400,000 years, the Ministry of Economy, Trade 

and Industry said Friday. 



The number clears the safety standards of the International Atomic 

Energy Agency (IAEA), the ministry's Agency for Nuclear and 

Industrial Safety said. 



The probability for each reactor was calculated by power companies 

and reported to the ministry in 1994, but the ministry did not make 

it public, merely saying the odds were about once in 1,000,000 years.



According to the 1994 report, the No. 1 reactor at the Mihama plant 

of Kansai Electric Power Co. in Wakayama Prefecture, the No. 1 

reactor at the Ikata plant of Shikoku Electric Power Co. in Ehime 

Prefecture and the No. 1 reactor at the Genkai plant of Kyushu 

Electric Power Co. in Fukuoka Prefecture have the highest probability 

of such an accident, followed by the No. 2 reactor at the Ikata plant 

and No. 2 reactor at the Genkai plant. 



The reactors with the lowest probability were the No. 6 and No. 7 

reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant of Tokyo Electric Power Co. 

in Niigata Prefecture, with odds of once in 20,000,000 years. 



Ten electric power companies in Japan submitted a report to the 

ministry in 1994 in which they said they will upgrade their safety 

measures by 2001 to prevent radioactive fallout from a major nuclear 

accident. 



The report focuses on spending in three key areas to improve safety --

 the ability of a plant to shut down quickly, cool the reactor core 

and retain any leak of radioactivity. 



In the report, the companies say they will increase emergency power 

sources as well as facilities for emergency cooling water and for 

injecting boric acid solution to stop a reaction in the event of an 

inability to insert reactor control rods, damage to its reactor core 

emergency cooling mechanism, or a cut in electricity supply. 



Such measures have been introduced at many of the facilities and the 

ministry said the measures would lessen the chances of such accidents 

at the plants to about one-tenth of their current estimate. 

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



German nuclear waste reaches French plant

  

ROUEN, France (Reuters) - The biggest-ever shipment of spent German 

nuclear fuel arrived at a processing plant in France Thursday only 

slightly delayed by environmental protests, officials said. 



A spokeswoman for the French nuclear processing agency Cogema said 

the convoy containing some 100 spent fuel rods reached the La Hague 

plant near Cherbourg at around 1 p.m. (7 a.m. EDT), some two hours 

behind schedule. 



Greenpeace and Green Party activists blocked the nuclear rail 

shipment on at least two occasions as it headed across northern 

France by chaining themselves to the tracks. Police quickly cut them 

free, allowing the train to pass. 



On Wednesday evening, five activists chained themselves to the tracks 

at the Bischeim train station, close to France's border with Germany, 

but were swiftly moved on. 



The original shipment from Germany comprised 12 wagons, but three 

were uncoupled in France and taken to the port of Dunkerque, where 

they will be loaded on to a ship and taken to a reprocessing plant in 

the British town of Sellafield. 



The Cogema spokeswoman said the nine-wagon shipment for La Hague was 

larger than normal because a convoy planned for last month was 

canceled and subsequently hitched on to the August batch. 



"It is the largest shipment of its kind, but safety has never been 

put in jeopardy," she said, adding that it would take "several years" 

to reprocess the waste before it could be returned to Germany. 



French nuclear regulators ASN and OPRI said in a joint statement that 

tests carried out on the train had shown radiation levels were below 

legal limits and had been safe. 



The transport of German nuclear waste for reprocessing abroad started 

again in April after a three-year interruption. 



The restart followed the so-called Atom Consensus agreed between the 

German federal government and the local power industry on the 

abandonment of nuclear energy by 2020. 



As part of the deal, the reprocessing of fuel rods abroad will be 

allowed until 2005. In return, Germany has agreed to take back the 

reprocessed waste. 

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



French activists delay nuclear fuel train

  

STRASBOURG, France, Aug 1 (Reuters) - French anti-nuclear activists 

briefly disrupted a train shipment of spent nuclear fuel from Germany 

on Wednesday by chaining themselves to the rails at a station in the 

north-eastern town of Strasbourg. 



Five protesters at Bischeim station, close to France's border with 

Germany, delayed for 30 minutes the biggest shipment of its kind from 

Germany abroad, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene. 



Police used a circular saw to free two of the demonstrators who had 

chained themselves both to the rails and to each other. 



The two were subsequently arrested and a group of supporters gathered 

in front of the police station to demand their release. 



Police used pliers to cut through padlocks used by the other three 

protesters and dispersed a small group of activists who had been 

standing on the tracks. 



The protesters from two non-governmental groups, Sortir du Nucleaire 

and the Anarchist Anti-Nuclear Brigade, were trying to stop a 

container carrying nuclear waste from five German nuclear plants to 

waste reprocessing centres in France and Britain. 



Several demonstrators scuffled with riot police on the platform, but 

nobody was injured. Onlookers later criticised the heavy-handedness 

of the police and booed the departure of the train. 



Germany started the shipment of 21 spent fuel rods on Tuesday morning 

from the Neckarwestheim nuclear reactor in Baden Wuerttemberg to the 

reprocessing plant in the British town of Sellafield. 



Around 40 anti-nuclear protestors demonstrated at the start of the 

shipment. 



According to official plans, it was coupled to nine other nuclear 

waste containers from four other plants on Wednesday at the border 

town of Woerth. Those extra nine containers are headed for the French 

waste processing plant in La Hague. 



The environmental group Greenpeace said in a statement on Wednesday 

it would be present along the route of the shipment to draw public 

attention to its record size. 



"Tonight, we have practically the equivalent of a nuclear reactor 

criss-crossing the north of France. Rarely has so much radioactivity 

been put on the tracks," it quoted Frederic Marillier, in charge of 

nuclear issues at Greenpeace France, as saying. 



Police and federal border guards have been preparing for many weeks 

for the shipment of more than 100 spent fuel rods, which had 

originally been planned for July 11. 



It was cancelled without any official reason given. But Greenpeace 

said the postponement was due to stringent safety precautions 

accompanying the funeral of Hannelore Kohl, wife of former German 

chancellor Helmut Kohl. 



The transport of nuclear fuel for reprocessing abroad was started 

again in April after a three-year interruption. 



The basis for the restart is the so-called Atom Consensus agreed 

between the federal government and the power industry on the 

abandonment of nuclear energy by 2020. 



As part of the consensus, the reprocessing of spent fuel rods abroad 

is allowed until 2005 only. In return, Germany will take back 

reprocessed waste and transport it to a temporary storage site in 

Gorleben. 

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



Nuclear waste disposal facility completed in Russia Far East



VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Aug. 3 (Kyodo) - A Russian nuclear waste 

disposal plant built mainly to process and store waste from 

dismantled nuclear-powered submarines opened Thursday outside 

Vladivostok, headquarters of the Russian Navy's Pacific fleet. 



An inauguration ceremony was held at the facility, which was built in 

cooperation with the U.S. Defense Department and with the 

participation of U.S. firms. 



Located in Bolshoy Kamen, the disposal facility was built in response 

to an international outcry in 1993 after the cash-strapped Russian 

government was found dumping nuclear waste into the Sea of Japan that 

had been removed from retired Pacific fleet submarines. 



In order to limit environmental damage, Washington and Moscow 

concluded a deal in 1999 to build the Bolshoy Kamen plant as part of 

U.S. economic assistance to Russia. 

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



Construction of N. Korea's KEDO reactors to start in Sept.



SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Kyodo) - Construction work on two light-water reactors 

in North Korea by the U.S.-led international consortium Korean 

Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) will begin in 

September, a South Korean newspaper said Thursday. 



The Dong-A Ilbo, citing a South Korean government official, said an 

agreement on environmental impact assessment, the final procedure 

needed before a license for building the reactors can be issued, was 

reached between KEDO and North Korea in late July. 



The $4.6 billion project to build the reactors in Kumho, South 

Hamgyong Province, is based on a 1994 U.S.-North Korean agreement 

which calls on Pyongyang to dismantle its graphite-moderated nuclear 

reactor program in exchange for the light-water reactors. 



The project, to be implemented by KEDO, is financed mainly by South 

Korea, Japan, the United States and the European Union. 



Site preparation in Kumho, which began in August 1997, is already 

completed. 

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



Ex-judge urges Hiroshima, Nagasaki to educate public



HIROSHIMA, Aug. 3 (Kyodo) - Hiroshima and Nagasaki must take the lead 

in efforts to educate the public about nuclear weapons and their 

effects, drawing on their suffering after the U.S. atomic bombings in 

1945, a former vice president of the International Court of Justice 

(ICJ) said Friday. 



Speaking at an international symposium in Hiroshima, Christopher 

Weeramantry also said the future of mankind depends on how people 

around the world approach nuclear weapons in the future, whether they 

choose a path of education and awareness or one leading to 

catastrophe. 



Nuclear weapons proliferation since the end of the Cold War is a 

grave concern, he said, noting that nuclear war is not simply a 

matter concerning politicians or scientists, but one that affects 

average people everywhere. 



Five other diplomatic and nuclear affairs experts took part in the 

International Symposium for Peace with Weeramantry, a Sri Lankan who 

served as a judge at the ICJ from 1991 to 2000. Others included 

former Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy, Osaka University 

professor Mitsuru Kurosawa and Mitsuro Donowaki, former ambassador in 

the Japanese delegation to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. 



Axworthy, Canada's foreign minister from 1996 to 2000, called on 

Hiroshima and Nagasaki to provide their experiences and knowledge of 

the bombings to help transform the conventional paradigm of attaching 

great importance to possessing nuclear weapons as a sign of national 

power. 



Tokyo, the two cities and Japan in general should work more closely 

with other nonnuclear countries to draw up a paradigm whereby 

countries measure national power according to nonmilitary sectors, 

such as culture, science and technology and peacemaking, he said. 



''In the last five years, South Africa, Argentina, Ukraine, 

Kazakstan, Belarus have all voluntarily given up their nuclear 

weapons,'' Axworthy said. ''They gave them up because they have 

decided that they didn't have to be great powers according to the old 

conventional wisdom.'' 



Kurosawa, meanwhile, criticized ''unilateral'' moves by the United 

States to develop a missile defense system, saying Washington's 

security dialogues with its allies appear ''superficial.'' 



''The U.S.'s unilateral actions according to its own interests will 

likely undermine its security as well as that of the international 

community,'' he said. 



Donowaki proposed that the U.S. and China jointly announce a ''no 

first use of nuclear weapons'' pledge that would help ease tensions 

in East Asia. 



Ouyang Liping, an associate professor at the China Institute of 

Contemporary International Studies, and Steven Leeper, president of 

the Global Peacemakers Association, a nongovernmental organization, 

also took part in the discussion. 



The conference, which drew about 250 people from Japan and abroad, 

was organized by the Hiroshima city government, the Hiroshima Peace 

Culture Foundation and the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. 

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



Slovenia to partially open power market in 2002

  

LJUBLJANA, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Slovenia will partially open its 

electricity market to foreign distributors in 2002 to help cover an 

expected energy deficit, Environment Minister Janez Kopac said on 

Thursday. 



"The year 2002 will represent a transition period from a totally 

closed energy market, as we have now, to a completely open one in 

2003," Kopac told a news conference. 



He added that Slovenia would become an net power importer in 2002, 

which was why the government set the total quota for imports of 

electricity at 2,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in 2002 with exports at 

1,400 GWh. 



Kopac said that the deadline to apply for permission to import 

electricity was the end of August. 



Slovenia, which is currently negotiating to join the European Union, 

passed an energy law calling for full liberalisation of the energy 

market by January 2003. 



However, the government had to start its liberalisation programme 

sooner to bridge the energy gap caused by an agreement reached last 

month with neighbouring Croatia about the jointly-owned nuclear plant 

at Krsko, Slovenia. 



According to that agreement, in July 2002 Slovenia will resume the 

supply to Croatia of half of the electricity produced in Krsko. 

Slovenia cut off Croatia's connection to Krsko three years ago due to 

unpaid bills. 



Last year, Krsko produced a total of 4,560 GWh of electricity using 

83 percent of its capacity. Slovenia consumes around 10,008 GWh of 

electricity annually. 



Asked which countries Slovenia might import electricity from, Kopac 

mentioned the Czech Republic and Bosnia. 

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



New Patented Toshiba Technology Significantly Reduces CT Radiation 

Dose

  

TUSTIN, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Aug. 3, 2001--"As it is with all X-

ray examinations, CT requires a trade-off between the benefits of 

collecting the diagnostic information on the patient, and the small, 

but not zero risk from exposure to ionizing radiation," said Joseph 

Fritz, Ph.D., senior clinical manager, Toshiba America Medical 

Systems.  



"Image quality is always an important factor in the risk/benefit 

ratio." 



In its ongoing quest to keep dose as low as possible without 

compromising image quality, Toshiba has introduced a new exposure 

control called Real EC. Real EC represents a significant advancement 

in automatic exposure controls designed to minimize radiation dose to 

the patient during a CT scan. The new technology is available on 

Toshiba's high-speed Aquilion and Asteion CT scanners. 



"Due primarily to the incredible advancements in the speed of CT, we 

are seeing increased utilization of this modality in a wide variety 

of clinical applications, from CT angiography to cardiac screening to 

whole body scanning," said Fritz.  



"For instance, CT is being used to image the heart and blood flow, 

something that was not possible just a few years ago because of the 

heart's and blood vessels' rapid movement. As we continue to see 

strong growth in CT procedures, advancements in exposure control 

become particularly important." CT procedures are estimated to have 

grown on average about 6% per year over the past several years. 



"In the effort to keep patient dose as low as possible, it is 

important not to jeopardize image quality to the point where the 

diagnostic information is lost, because then there is risk without 

benefit," said Fritz. "For many years, film/screen radiology has been 

able to use automatic exposure control effectively, but attempts to 

extend this to CT have been cumbersome and not very useful until 

now." 



Toshiba's Real EC uses the detector signal recorded during the 

scanogram, the digital projection radiograph used to plan the 

examination. This signal represents the average attenuation 

(thickness) along the patient's body. A graph of this attenuation 

profile is displayed on the monitor.  



The data in the attenuation profile is used to modify the X-ray tube 

current (mA) as the helical image data is acquired to keep the image 

noise constant. Varying the tube current according to patient 

attenuation can allow for significant dose reduction -- as much as 

40% in some cases. Actual dose reduction varies depending on the 

individual patient and the anatomical region scanned. 



Real EC is readily applicable to all parts of the body and should be 

of particular benefit in pediatric examinations. Operator options are 

provided which give fine control over the image quality and dose 

balance.  



For example, High Quality Mode follows the calculated attenuation 

profile, Low Dose Mode allows the operator to further reduce dose by 

a percentage, and Manual Mode allows the technologist to normalize 

the attenuation profile to any selected noise level. 



"The selection of the appropriate clinical application of CT is a 

decision for clinicians in working with their patients," said Fritz. 



"That decision is based on the balance of patient exposure to X-rays 

versus the need for high quality image information required to 

appropriately diagnose or treat the patient. That is why Toshiba 

remains committed to providing technologies which help the physician 

diagnose and treat their patients while also offering capabilities 

that minimize any associated risk." 



Toshiba has a long history of developing technologies focused on dose 

reduction. For instance, Toshiba's CT systems have been uniquely 

designed to offer more options than other manufacturers when it comes 

to wedge filters. Wedge filters allow the system user to optimize the 

use of dose by impacting the field of view depending on the patient 

size and the body part being imaged.  



Another Toshiba innovation is PureFocus, a technology offered on 

Toshiba's 7.5 MHU MegaCool CT tube on the Aquilion scanner. It is a 

fact of CT that recoiled electrons in the tube can result in 

unnecessary X-ray exposure for the patient. Toshiba's unique 

technology eliminates this problem. 



Performing half-second rotations and acquiring eight 0.5mm slices per 

second, the multi-slice Aquilion is the fastest CT in the world. In 

addition to standard CT applications, the Aquilion's speed makes it 

well suited for trauma/ER, pediatric, and cardiology applications.  



The Asteion is designed as a sub-second scanner that performs .75 

second full rotation scans, delivering simultaneous four-slice 

scanning ranging from 0.5mm to 8mm thickness. 



About Toshiba 



With headquarters in Tustin, Toshiba America Medical Systems, the 

U.S. arm of Toshiba Corp.'s Medical Systems Co., markets, sells, 

distributes and services diagnostic imaging systems, coordinates 

clinical diagnostic imaging research and has responsibility for 

research and development for all modalities in the United States. 



One of Toshiba Corp.'s ten in-house companies, the Medical Systems 

Co. is a world leader in the development of medical imaging 

equipment, with a product line-up that includes CT, MRI, nuclear 

medicine, ultrasound, and both conventional and vascular X-ray 

systems.  



Toshiba Corp. is a major provider of electronics and energy systems 

and products and a $47 billion organization with more than 188,000 

employees worldwide. 

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



Ky. Uranium Workers Reject Contract



PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) - Hourly workers at Paducah's U.S. Enrichment Corp. 

plant rejected a five-year contract proposal from the company 

Thursday but will not go on strike immediately, a union official 

said. 



David Fuller, president of Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and 

Energy (PACE) Workers Union Local 5-550, said the workers 

``overwhelmingly'' rejected the offer. Fuller would not give the 

final tally but said 657 of about 700 union workers cast ballots. 



``We have notified the company of the rejection of the offer and 

expressed to them the overwhelming margin by which it was rejected,'' 

Fuller said. 



The main sticking point with the workers was wording in the proposal 

that said the company would only renew the contract after the first 

year if it was successful in meeting certain terms to buy uranium 

from Russia. 



Fuller said that part of the deal was ``a little bit of a slap in the 

face'' for workers and was ``an issue that should be decided between 

governments.'' 



The workers were also disappointed in the contract's terms for 

overtime compensation and medical benefits, Fuller said. 



``This was a substandard contract proposal regardless of the Russian 

aspect,'' Fuller said. 



Negotiations between company and union officials will begin Wednesday 

in Paducah, he said. The workers will show up for work on Friday and 

continue working ``as long as there is hope,'' Fuller said. 



``We've decided to work day-to-day for some length of time,'' Fuller 

said. ``But we made it clear we may strike ay any time with one day's 

notice. The union is angry, somewhat insulted and very unified.'' 



USEC spokeswoman Elizabeth Stuckle said the company wants to quickly 

find a contract proposal ``that is satisfactory to all.'' 



``We will work with the union very hard,'' Stuckle said after the 

vote. 



She said if the company fails to land the contract with Russia, it 

would be forced to make concessions ``out of economic necessity.'' 



The union represents nearly half of the plant's 1,500 workers. 



Production was stopped at USEC's uranium enrichment plant in Piketon, 

Ohio, early this summer because of a market glut for nuclear plant 

fuel. 



USEC, created in the early 1990s as a government corporation with the 

mission of restructuring the government's uranium enrichment 

operation, went private in 1998.



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

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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