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Fed Govt will provide nuclear bone test information to families
Index:
Fed Govt will provide nuclear bone test information to families
France to set up world's largest nuclear company
Support measures for overseas A-bomb victims needed: mayors
Russia sees more nuclear reactors for Iran-minister
Exelon Nuclear to Further Standardize Fleet Refuelings
Kursk Recovery Attempt at a Key Stage
=====================================
Fed Govt will provide nuclear bone test information to families
Sept. 4 - Australian Broadcasting Company - The Federal Health
Department is considering the best way to inform families of people
whose bones were used in an international program to measure the
health effects of nuclear testing.
Between 1957 and 1978 more than 20,000 bone samples were used in
research carried out in the United States, Britain and Australia.
For most of the 21 year program, samples were taken from every post-
mortem of Australians younger than 40, and families members were not
told of the tests.
The head of the Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, John
Loy says information will be provided to family members who want
further information about the program.
"As I understand it it was not uncommon practice for pathologists in
certain circumstances to remove organs and use them for other
purposes, and of course those things have been inquired into in
other contexts this was a program that had been set up for certainly
what was seen at the time and what still can be argued as being a
worthwhile thing to do in itself," he said.
------------------
France to set up world's largest nuclear company
PARIS, Sept. 4 (Kyodo) - France's three major nuclear firms, Cogema,
CEA Industrie, and Framatome ANP said Tuesday they have agreed to
integrate their operations under a new holding company, creating the
largest nuclear industry company in the world.
Annual sales of the new holding company, Areva, with 45,000
employees, are expected to reach 10 billion euros ($9 billion or 1.08
trillion yen), exceeding the scale of the atomic division of General
Electric Co. of the United States, the companies said.
Areva will be able to improve its management by concentrating a range
of operations, from producing nuclear fuels to manufacturing atomic
reactors, under one holding company, and aims to strengthen its
competitiveness on a global basis, the three firms said.
The creation of Areva is in line with plans unveiled last November by
Economy, Finance and Industry Minister Laurent Fabius to integrate
the nation's nuclear companies under a new company.
Anne Lauvergeon, chairman of Cogema, will be chairman of Areva and
the three companies plan to list the new company's stock, although
they have not yet decided when.
Lauvergeon said they picked Areva as the company's name as it is easy
to pronounce in French, English and Japanese, which will be an asset
in deploying its businesses worldwide.
At present, Cogema makes nuclear fuel, Framatome makes reactors, and
CEA is engaged in a wide range of nuclear business.
------------------
Support measures for overseas A-bomb victims needed: mayors
TOKYO, Sept. 4 (Kyodo) - Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and Nagasaki
Mayor Itcho Ito on Tuesday called for the central government to come
up with support measures for A-bomb victims living overseas.
The mayors made the call at a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry
panel meeting to discuss support measures for A-bomb victims living
overseas and the issue of revising the current Atomic Bomb Victims
Relief Law.
''Understanding of the aftereffects of the atomic bombing is
insufficient overseas and there are few specialists on radiation
therapy,'' Akiba said in explaining the difficult circumstances for A-
bomb victims abroad.
''The state should also apply the Atomic Bomb Victims Relief Law to A-
bomb victims living overseas, and in the meantime should expand
support measures from what is realizable, such as to provide health
care benefits,'' Akiba said.
Meanwhile, Ito said, ''As a local government, we have been engaged in
providing treatment by inviting A-bomb victims living abroad to Japan
and dispatching doctors overseas, but we would like the state to
conduct such measures from now on.''
Health minister Chikara Sakaguchi established the panel after the
Osaka District Court ruled on June 1 that Kwak Kwi Hoon, a Korean
survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, was entitled to
receive benefits under the law.
The ruling found the health ministry's decision to deny overseas A-
bomb victims protection under the Atomic Bomb Victims Relief Law
could contradict the Constitution, which stipulates that all people
are equal under the law.
The local government and the Japanese government appealed against the
ruling the following month.
At the first panel meeting held last month, Sakaguchi requested that
panel members, who expressed support for equal treatment for overseas
victims, reach a conclusion by the end of the year.
According to the ministry, there are about 2,200 A-bomb survivors in
South Korea, 930 in North Korea, 1,000 in the United States and 180
in South America.
The law stipulates that A-bomb survivors in Japan are entitled to
receive physical checkups and medical treatment free of charge if
they obtain an A-bomb victim health passbook. They are also entitled
to receive medical allowances if they suffer from disabilities due to
the bombing.
While the law does not specifically address coverage for A-bomb
survivors abroad, the ministry has to date denied overseas A-bomb
survivors medical coverage under the law.
The law also appears somewhat ambiguous with regard to judicial
interpretation, as the Hiroshima District Court has found in favor of
the state in a similar suit filed by an overseas A-bomb survivor.
------------------
Russia sees more nuclear reactors for Iran-minister
MOSCOW, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Russia is putting new plans to Iran for
building further nuclear power plant reactors in the southern port
city of Bushehr, deputy Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Reshetnikov
said on Tuesday.
Reshetnikov, in comments carried by Itar-Tass news agency, said a
team of Russian specialists would visit Iran soon to present a
feasibility study for assembling more nuclear reactors at Bushehr.
"Iran can order from us the construction of at least one more
reactor," Reshetnikov said.
He said negotiations with Tehran on signing the contract could start
as early as December.
Reshetnikov's remarks seemed certain to raise eyebrows in Israel just
as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon begins a visit to Moscow on Monday in
which he was to press Russia to stop the transfer of nuclear know-how
to Iran, its regional rival.
Both Israel and the United States have criticised Russia's
construction of the 1,000 megawatt nuclear power plant at Bushehr
though Moscow and Tehran insist the project has no military purpose.
The United States sees the development of nuclear technology in Iran
as a threat.
Reshetnikov said work at the Bushehr plant was on schedule and the
first reactor was likely to be shipped in November.
----------------
Exelon Nuclear to Further Standardize Fleet Refuelings Through New
Agreement With Newberg-Perini/Stone & Webster
WARRENVILLE, Ill., Sept. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Exelon Nuclear (NYSE: EXC)
has awarded a contract to the joint venture of Stone & Webster and
Newberg-Perini to provide construction, maintenance and installation
services for Exelon's 10 nuclear generating stations in the Chicago,
Philadelphia and New Jersey regions.
The five-year contract began Sept. 1, 2001. Under the contract, the
Stone & Webster/Newberg-Perini team will work primarily during
refueling outages performing equipment maintenance and modification.
Use of a single contractor at all 10 stations (17 units) for
supplemental maintenance and modification work is in line with Exelon
Nuclear's goal of streamlining operations, standardizing its
refueling program fleet-wide and reducing cost.
"The Venture team brings extensive experience in refueling outage
maintenance and modification from both a local and nationwide
perspective," said Oliver D. Kingsley Jr., president and chief
nuclear officer of Exelon Nuclear. "That includes their successful
completion of 16 refueling outages last year, two of which were
record-setting Exelon Nuclear outages.
"Applying their expertise fleet-wide will provide both financial and
operational benefits for Exelon Nuclear. Exelon Nuclear has a
competitive advantage in economies of scale, and we're taking
advantage of it here."
The Stone & Webster/Newberg-Perini team will work with Exelon Nuclear
employees to bring the industry's best practices to the company, make
sure refueling experience is applied at all sites, and look for ways
to complete more work with Exelon employees rather than with
contractors.
The Stone & Webster/Newberg-Perini team currently performs
maintenance and modification work at Exelon Nuclear's Braidwood,
Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle and Quad Cities generating stations
in Illinois. The company will perform additional work at the
Limerick, Peach Bottom and Three Mile Island Unit 1 generating
stations in Pennsylvania and the Oyster Creek Generating Station in
New Jersey beginning in 2002.
Stone & Webster is a subsidiary of the Shaw Group, Inc based in Baton
Rouge, La. The Shaw Group is the world's only vertically integrated
provider of complete piping systems and comprehensive engineering,
procurement and construction services to the power generation
industry. Newberg-Perini, a division of Perini Corporation based in
Framingham, Mass., provides general contracting, including building
and civil construction, construction management and design-build
services to clients in the United States.
Exelon Corporation is one of the nation's largest electric utilities
with approximately five million customers and more than $15 billion
in annual revenues. The company has one of the industry's largest
portfolios of electricity generation capacity, with a nationwide
reach and strong positions in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Exelon
distributes electricity to approximately five million customers in
Illinois and Pennsylvania and gas to 425,000 customers in the
Philadelphia area. The company also has holdings in such competitive
businesses as energy, infrastructure services and energy services.
Exelon is headquartered in Chicago and trades on the NYSE under the
ticker EXC.
------------------
Kursk Recovery Attempt at a Key Stage
MOSCOW (AP) - Preparations for raising the sunken Kursk nuclear
submarine entered a decisive phase Tuesday with a Dutch consortium
beginning to cut off the mangled front section from the rest of the
ship.
Northern Fleet chief of staff Adm. Mikhail Motsak said that the
remote-controlled underwater saw had already cut more than 3 feet of
the submarine's outer hull early Tuesday and was continuing to work.
``We haven't yet reached the inner hull,'' Motsak said during a video
conference from the Peter the Great cruiser, parts of which were
broadcast on Russian television.
Motsak, who is in charge of the effort to raise the Kursk, said the
saw's operation was being monitored by a remote-controlled camera
lowered from a ship.
The saw, a line of cylindrical drums covered with an abrasive layer,
encountered some problems during tests but representatives of the
Dutch Mammoet company said the problems had been fixed.
Mammoet is raising the Kursk in a joint venture with another Dutch
company, Smit International, under a contract with the Russian
government estimated to be worth about $65 million.
The Russian government has decided to leave the disfigured first
compartment on the seabed before the rest of the ship is raised to
the surface out of concern that some unexploded torpedoes may have
remained in the Kursk's bow.
Experts in the rescue effort also feared that the front section could
be torn off during the lifting, throwing the submarine off balance.
The Russian navy has said it will consider lifting the front section
or some of its fragments next year.
The salvage operation has faced delays, but officials are still
sticking to the original Sept. 15 target date for raising the
submarine to the surface. However, with the weather expected to
worsen in September, they have warned that a slight delay is
possible.
Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who is overseeing the operation
on behalf of the government, said Tuesday that the date for bringing
the Kursk into a dry dock near the port of Murmansk could be pushed
back by five days, from Sept. 20 to Sept. 25.
Motsak, the Navy admiral, was even less optimistic, saying it could
be delivered between Sept. 25 and Oct. 2.
The Russian Navy's weather service said Tuesday that it expected
cyclones to rage in the area in the second half of September.
``That will cause difficulties in conducting the planned work,'' the
service said in a statement, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.
The operation to lift the vessel, which is expected to last
approximately eight hours, requires calm seas. Storms could also
disrupt the subsequent transportation of the submarine to the dry
dock.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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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