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Rain cancels nuclear sub accident drill in Nagasaki
Index:
Rain cancels nuclear sub accident drill in Nagasaki
Indian Point Reactor Sale Approved
Cleveland Clinic Doctors Develop Breast Shield
U.S. must do more to protect top-secret data -GAO
Taiwan wants to test waters with more submarines
=====================================
Rain cancels nuclear sub accident drill in Nagasaki
SASEBO, Japan, Aug. 30 (Kyodo) - A drill for citizens in Sasebo,
Nagasaki Prefecture, to prepare for an accident involving nuclear
submarines was canceled Thursday due to heavy rain.
The event was to be the first of its kind in Japan. The southwestern
Japan city, where more than 10 U.S. Navy nuclear subs make port calls
each year, planned the drill to protect its citizens from radiation
in the event of an accident.
About 100 police, firefighters and coast guard officials and roughly
100 citizens were to practice a procedure under which people are
guided to concrete buildings thought to protect against radiation.
The city has drawn up guidelines for a nuclear sub disaster since the
high-profile fatal accident in September 1999 at a nuclear fuel
processing plant in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture.
------------------
Indian Point Reactor Sale Approved
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - State utility regulators approved the sale
Wednesday of Consolidated Edison's Indian Point 1 and 2 nuclear
plants to Entergy Nuclear Point 2 LLC.
Included in the transaction are the Indian Point 2 reactor, which is
operational, and the retired Indian Point 1 reactor. The defunct
reactor building is used to store nuclear fuel.
Also included are three gas turbines, various ancillary facilities
and the property in the town of Buchanan in Westchester County where
the Indian Point plants are located. The Toddville Training Center in
the Town of Cortlandt, in Westchester County, was also included in
the sale.
The state Public Service Commission said Con Ed will receive $502
million for its assets plus $107 million for nuclear fuel and fuel
oil. However, Con Ed will transfer $430 million to Entergy to cover
decommissioning costs.
Under terms of the transaction, Entergy will have responsibility for
decommissioning Indian Point, disposing of spent nuclear fuel and
restoring the Buchanan site when the nuclear plant is no longer
operational.
Also under the sales agreement, Entergy will sell all of the
electricity generated at Indian Point 2 to Con Ed through 2004. Con
Ed also retains options for the future purchase of Indian Point-
generated power for the remainder of the decade.
PSC approval was the last governmental hurdle the Indian Point sale
had to pass. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission signed off on the deal
earlier this week.
Entergy Corp., of which Entergy Indian Point 2 LLC is a division, is
based in New Orleans.
Entergy already owns the former New York Power Authority nuclear
plant at Indian Point and NYPA's Fitzpatrick nuclear plant in Oswego
County near Lake Ontario.
Counting Indian Point 2, the company owns nine nuclear plants around
the country and earlier this month made a bid on a tenth, the Vermont
Yankee nuclear plant.
-----------------
Cleveland Clinic Doctors Develop Breast Shield to Protect Women from
Risks Associated with Breast Treatment 'Scatter Damage'
CLEVELAND, Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Specialists at The Cleveland
Clinic who provide radiotherapy for women with breast cancer are
pioneering use of a shield designed to protect healthy breast tissue
from "scatter damage" that might be caused by radiation that spills
over from the treatment area to the healthy breast on the opposite
side.
Development of the breast shield and the risk for contralateral
breast cancer risk are outlined in a series of recent papers
published by the Cleveland Clinic Research Group. The latest
developments will be reviewed in a major paper appearing in the
September issue of Radiotherapy & Oncology, the Journal of the
European Society For Therapeutic Radiology And Oncology. Roger M.
Macklis, M.D., chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at
The Cleveland Clinic, said researchers were prompted to develop the
breast shield by the growing use of radiotherapy for women who
receive breast-conserving treatment for breast cancer.
Dr. Macklis acknowledged that the risk for contralateral breast
cancer has yet to be fully recognized in scientific literature. He
said, however, that taking this precaution makes sense, given what is
known about radiation exposure and breast cancer.
"As far back as studies of the victims of the atomic bomb in
Hiroshima and before, doctors have known that breast cancer
development is a risk of radiation exposure," Dr. Macklis said. "At
the same time, radiation is a powerful therapy for the eradication of
already existing cancer cells. In most radiation treatment centers,
few, if any, precautions are taken to protect the healthy breast from
scattered radiation. With the use of our new shield, however,
doctors everywhere soon may be able to provide women with significant
protection from this potential danger."
Dr. Macklis emphasized that radiation risks to healthy breast tissue
in radiotherapy treatment appear to be insignificant for a majority
of women. The review of data on contralateral breast cancer risk,
however, indicates there might be a small group of patients with
known epidemiological risk factors who may be at increased risk of
developing second breast cancers in the opposite breast.
"This group might consist of women with either a very positive family
history, known BRCA1/2 genetic mutations or patients with very early
onset of breast cancer diagnosis," Dr. Macklis said. "There should be
additional large scale clinical studies to analyze the risk of breast
radiotherapy in this potentially high-risk group.
"These studies, however, will take many years to evaluate. In the
meantime, it makes sense to reduce radiation exposure for all groups
to the lowest reasonable levels," Dr. Macklis said. "We thought it
would be unreasonable to limit the breast-sparing treatment options
to women in the higher risk groups. We, therefore, decided to develop
a device and a technology to minimize scatter-related risk for all
patients."
Dr. Macklis said a team of Cleveland Clinic radiation oncologists and
physicists developed the first working model of the mobile breast
shield in 1999. A clinical trial demonstrated the shield cut the
radiation dose to healthy breasts by 60 to 70 percent. The breast
shield technology is now available to virtually any woman receiving
radiotherapy for breast cancer at The Cleveland Clinic.
"We believe that if we have a way to block this scatter radiation, we
should block it. And we believe that if this increases patient
satisfaction and provides a greater sense of security in choosing
breast-conserving treatment options, this protective device should be
available to any woman who is receiving radiotherapy for breast
cancer," Dr. Macklis said. "We want to be proactive in eliminating
this potential source of concern."
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, founded in 1921, integrates clinical
and hospital care with research and education in a private, not-for-
profit group practice. Approximately 1,100 full-time salaried
physicians at The Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Florida
represent more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties. In
2000, there were more than 2 million outpatient visits to The
Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Patients came for treatment from every
state and from more than 80 countries. There were more than 51,000
hospital admissions to The Cleveland Clinic Foundation in 2000. The
Cleveland Clinic website address is www.clevelandclinic.org .
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-----------------
U.S. must do more to protect top-secret data -GAO
WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy has made
some improvements but has a long way to go to tighten security at its
nuclear weapons laboratories, a General Accounting Office report said
on Wednesday.
The department, which handles an estimated 10 million classified
nuclear arms documents, has been criticized for its handling of the
spy probe of Taiwan-born scientist Wen Ho Lee.
Lee, who was charged in late 1999 with mishandling classified nuclear
weapons data, eventually pleaded guilty to one count of downloading
nuclear weapons design secrets to a non-secure computer. Lee was
released from jail after nine months with an apology from a federal
judge for the U.S. government's handling of the case.
"DOE has recently taken, and continues to take, steps to upgrade
protection and control over its classified information but additional
steps are needed," the GAO wrote in a study requested by Republican
Rep. Billy Tauzin of Louisiana. The GAO is the investigative arm of
Congress.
The report took issue with the DOE's decision to eliminate some
procedures for top-secret documents such as requiring authorization
to copy documents and maintaining a list of who has access to them.
In dropping the procedures, the department cited the time and cost
involved.
"These accountability measures provide an additional level of control
for top secret information," the GAO report said. "DOE's statement
that these requirements are not cost effective is not supported by
cost data or a cost-benefit analysis or study."
The report also urged the DOE to meet its autumn 2001 deadline for a
plan in development the past eight years to increase security for
certain classified information about weapons design. The department
had yet to finish drafting the plan, issue it for public comments,
make revisions and publish a final version, the GAO said.
Joseph Mahaley, director of the Energy Department's security office,
defended the department's procedures.
"In all cases, line management and individual owners of classified
information are executing the appropriate rigor and formality in
granting access to classified information," Mahaley said in a letter.
He also said the Energy Department would "ensure the issuance" of the
plan to increase security for weapons design information.
-----------------
Taiwan wants to test waters with more submarines
ABOARD THE SEA TIGER, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The crew of Taiwan's Sea
Tiger submarine went on combat alert after radars detected a
suspicious object. Torpedo tubes were flooded and ready for firing.
It was a routine drill aboard the Dutch-made Zwaardvis class
submarine, The Sea Tiger, and its identical sister vessel, the Sea
Dragon -- Taiwan's only combat-ready submarines.
Taiwan has long sought to upgrade its feeble fleet of four submarines
which also includes a pair of Guppy II's -- rusty relics of World
War Two.
But nobody has dared deliver the goods to Taiwan since China
downgraded relations with the Netherlands from 1981 to 1984 over its
sale of the two diesel-electric submarines.
China, for its part, maintains a fleet of about 60 to 70 submarines.
Only a handful are thought to be operational, but Beijing has spent
billions of dollars on four Russian Kilo class diesel submarines that
give it a clear edge over Taiwan, according to U.S. officials.
China regards Taiwan as a rebel province and has threatened to attack
if the island declares independence or delays reunification talks
unduly.
"The two (Dutch) submarines are in excellent condition," said Peter
Wang, security officer of the Sea Tiger, at a naval base in southern
Taiwan. "We are well trained and ready to fight. But we need more."
Taiwan's pleas for more submersibles had been left unanswered until
earlier this year when U.S. President George W. Bush agreed to sell
eight diesel submarines in the biggest arms sale package in more than
a decade.
But months have passed and it is unclear how the United States will
provide the vessels because it builds only nuclear submarines, not
diesel ones.
A LITTLE HELP FROM FRIENDS
Experts have said the submarines would likely be Dutch-designed and
German-built boats equipped with U.S. technology and supplied under a
deal brokered by the United States. But the Netherlands and Germany
have denied they would export or build submarines for Taiwan.
"We are still talking with the U.S. side," said a Taiwan naval
officer who declined to be identified.
Chung Chien, a military expert who teaches in the Armed Forces
University, said the United States would likely help the island build
the vessels.
A spokesman for Taiwan's state-run China Shipbuilding Corp said the
firm could build the submarines -- with help.
Washington also plans to sell Taiwan four Kidd class destroyers and a
dozen P-3 "Orion" anti-submarine aircraft.
But the submarines will make the biggest splash.
Officials and analysts agree Taiwan's biggest threat is not
conventional warfare, but a Chinese missile attack or naval blockade.
With submarines, Taiwan could thwart an amphibious attack from China
and give its navy an offensive capability.
Beijing argues submarines are not defensive weapons and should not be
provided under the U.S. Taiwan Relations Act, which obliges
Washington to provide the island with enough arms to defend itself.
New submarines could undermine China's three main options for
retaking Taiwan -- amphibious assault, naval blockade and missile
strikes, defence analysts say.
In combination with Taiwan jet fighters, they could scupper an
amphibious assault launched from China's east coast.
But more worrying for Beijing, the submarines could eventually be
used to launch cruise missiles to respond to or pre-empt a missile
attack from the mainland.
Commander Wang, who has served aboard the Sea Tiger since shortly
after Taiwan took delivery of the two vessels in 1987, said he was
confident the sub would soon get undersea companions.
"We have overcome the biggest obstacle -- the United States has said
yes. I have never felt so confident."
German nuclear waste reaches French plant
ROUEN, France, Aug 30 (Reuters) - A train carrying spent German
nuclear fuel arrived at a processing plant in France on Thursday on
schedule, despite pledges by environmental protesters to block the
shipment, the rail company SNCF said.
The convoy containing 12 radioactive spent fuel rods reached the
Valognes station near the La Hague reprocessing plant in northern
France shortly after 2 a.m. (0000 GMT).
Some 20 anti-nuclear campaigners gathered on France's northeastern
border with Germany on Wednesday as the shipment crossed into France,
but they did not try to physically stop the train as protesters have
done in the past.
Germany's transport of nuclear waste for reprocessing abroad resumed
in April after a three-year interruption. This followed an agreement
between the country's federal government and the 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.
In the past, activists have chained themselves to the rail tracks
ahead of the oncoming train, forcing it to stop and adding hours to
its journey across northeastern France. They have so far not
succeeded in stopping a delivery altogether.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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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