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Wash. Radiation Levels in Dispute



Index:



Wash. Radiation Levels in Dispute

Frequent spills plague Australian uranium mines

Experts say security lax at US nuclear labs

Texas Nuclear Plant Cited

Energy Dept. to Convert Plutonium

NRC Chairman Strongly Backs Private Security Forces at Nuclear Power Plants

U.S. to use weapons plutonium as nuclear plant fuel

EU says concerned over U.S. uranium import duties

PPL Susquehanna Plans to Apply for Nuclear Power Plant License Renewal

Los Alamos Lab Case Closed

Reprocessed nuclear waste moved to Aomori storage facility

Russian Nuclear Reactors Shut Down



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



Wash. Radiation Levels in Dispute

  

KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) - American Indian tribes that fished in the Columbia River 

were exposed to more radiation from the bordering Hanford Nuclear Reservation 

than previously thought, a federal report suggests. 



The Indians ate so much fish they were more exposed to potentially cancer-causing 

radiation than were white farmers and other people living in the area, according to a 

draft report prepared for the U.S. government by Risk Assessment Corp. 



The study, presented Wednesday, looks at fish consumption and radiation releases 

from 1944 to 1972. 



Previous studies had been aimed at estimating the exposure rates for people living 

downwind of the nuclear reservation when radioactive iodine was released into the 

atmosphere in the 1940s and early 1950s. 



Those studies had assumed that people ate about 90 pounds of fish per year, said 

Ed Liebow, a cultural anthropologist and consultant on the new study. 



But historians and representatives of tribes that fished downstream from Hanford say 

fish were so central to the diet of many Columbia River Indians that they might have 

been consuming as much as 1 1/2 pounds a day. 

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



Frequent spills plague Australian uranium mines

  

SYDNEY, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of litres of potentially harmful 

uranium solution spilled in the Australian outback since December is alarming 

environmentalists, although the companies responsible insist the accidents pose no 

threats. 



Mining house WMC Ltd confirmed on Friday it had told South Australia state 

government officials that more than 420,000 litres of mining slurry containing uranium 

accidentally spilled from a tank at its Olympic Dam mine on December 12. 



The spill -- which would fill almost a third of an Olympic size swimming pool -- was 

one of seven such incidents last year at the mine, 500 km (310 miles) north of 

Adelaide. 



Uranium exposure has been linked to a variety of cancers and other life-threatening 

medical problems. 



But a WMC spokesman said the low uranium content of the solution, 0.1 percent, 

rendered the spill harmless. 



"It was mainly a copper stream, and was contained," the spokesman told Reuters. 

"And besides, the spilled material was returned to the mine's process circuit." 



Environmental groups assert that any spill is dangerous and that mining companies 

are benefiting from weak regulations on how to handle accidents. 



"It may be within legal constraints but like any exposure, it is is an unnecessary 

health hazard," said David Noonan of the Australian Conservation Foundation. 



"How is it possible to lose track of 420,000 litres of uranium slurry, equivalent to eight 

tonnes of uranium?" 



ELECTION LOOMING 



The South Australian state government -- which is heading into a tight election on 

February 9 -- agrees spills are occurring with alarming frequency. 



State officials recently ordered urgent changes to rules on reporting leaks after 

revelations that another mine, owned by U.S. firm General Atomics, recorded 24 

spills over two years. 



The General Atomics spills came to light after 62,000 litres of radioactive uranium 

solution spewed from a ruptured pipe at the Beverley mine in remote South Australia 

on January 12. 



Officials from the Beverley mine maintain the spills posed no dangers to employees 

or an Aboriginal settlement 60 km (37 miles) away, but agreed to store any 

contaminated soil in sealed drums until it can be disposed of safely. 



Critics of the way miners notify the public of accidents said they fear that after the 

state election, the fresh push to raise reporting standards may fade away. 



WMC's Yeels doubts news of the latest spills would have even been brought to the 

attention of local media in a non-election year. 



"We'd like to be able to say that these spills will never occur, but that is not the case," 

Yeels said. 



Uranium mining has long been a political hot potato in Australia. In 1996, the newly-

elected conservative government repealed the "three-mines only" policy of its Labor 

predecessor, put in place to appease environment groups. 



There are currently three mines operating in Australia, with around a half dozen more 

proposed. 



A mountain of uranium accumulated during the Cold War has taken years to whittle 

down, reducing the need for fresh supply. 



But with stockpiles held by operators of the world's 440 commercial nuclear reactors 

falling, demand for yellowcake was set to rise, commodities analysts said. 



Australia has no nuclear industry of its own, exporting its uranium to North America, 

Asia and Europe. 

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



Experts say security lax at US nuclear labs

  

WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - A group of experts and a member of Congress 

criticized security at the nation's nuclear weapons facilities on Wednesday, charging 

terrorists could easily penetrate the sites and trigger nuclear explosions. 



"Security is so lax at some Department of Energy nuclear weapons sites ... terrorists 

could find what they needed to launch a nuclear attack right here in America," said 

Rep. Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat who is a member of the House 

Energy and Commerce Committee. 



Markey and a chorus of former and current security personnel at U.S. nuclear 

weapons facilities said at a news conference that weapons grade uranium and 

plutonium were often left unguarded or in insecure storage facilities. 



Markey said that in more than half of the security tests performed at the sites in the 

past five years, mock "terrorists" played by Navy SEALS and other commandos were 

able to penetrate security. 



He charged that a suicide squad could "build and detonate a dirty bomb or 

homemade nuclear bomb in minutes. They don't need to ever come out of the 

building." 



He released a 23-page letter to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham expressing 

concern about the department's security of nuclear sites, focusing on the Lawrence 

Livermore laboratories in California, the Oak Ridge laboratory in Tennessee, the 

Rocky Flats nuclear production facility in Colorado, and the Los Alamos labs in New 

Mexico. 



Appearing at the news conference were four former nuclear security police officers 

who alerted authorities to problems at Lawrence Livermore, including Charles 

Quinones and Mathew Zipoli, who were fired shortly after raising concerns. 



"Does Livermore labs have the capability of defending itself from a terrorist assault? 

In my view, and under current conditions, no," Zipoli said. 



Also appearing was Ronald Timm, president of a security firm that analyzed 

safeguards at 10 sites housing enough nuclear materials to build weapons. He wrote 

a memo in January 2000 alerting officials to an "unnecessary risk to public health 

and safety" at many of the facilities. 



His five-year contract was terminated shortly afterward, Timm said. 



Rep. Ellen Tauscher of California, ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services 

panel that oversees the National Nuclear Security Administration, said she was 

disappointed by Markey's charges. 



"There is no indication that security at our nation's nuclear laboratories is lax," 

Tauscher said in a statement, adding security at all the sites had been beefed up 

since the Sept. 11 attacks. 

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



Texas Nuclear Plant Cited

  

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - The Comanche Peak nuclear power plant has been cited 

by federal regulators for repeated, improper handling of low-level radioactive waste, 

authorities said. 



The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said contaminated clothing and maintenance 

equipment were left outside a controlled area 11 times between Jan. 24, 2000, and 

May 24, 2001. 



The alleged violations were the first at Comanche Peak, one of the state's two 

nuclear plants, since 1993. TXU Energy, owner of the plant 50 miles southwest of 

Fort Worth, said the infractions posed no risk. 



The company and federal regulators agreed that hazardous material never left an 

unrestricted area. 



``We take these issues seriously but they posed absolutely no threat to any member 

of the public,'' said Lance Terry, senior vice president and principal nuclear officer at 

TXU. 



The NRC will review the cases and decide whether the cases are actual violations, 

said Breck Henderson, an NRC spokesman in Arlington. 



Comanche Peak was fined $50,000 after it being cited in 1993 for a radioactive water 

spill in a containment area during refueling. It was shut down, and no water escaped. 

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



Energy Dept. to Convert Plutonium

  

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Energy Department will dispose of tons of surplus 

plutonium by converting it into commercial reactor fuel instead of putting some into 

glass logs for storage, the administration announced Wednesday. 



The department rejected a 1999 Clinton administration plan to mix about a fourth of 

the plutonium with other waste and enclose it in glass. It concluded that the process 

is too expensive and still has some technological hurdles. 



The 34 metric tons of surplus plutonium is being disposed of under an agreement 

reached with Russia in which Russia pledged to dispose of a like amount of the 

weapons-grade, highly radioactive material. 



The new plan brought strong criticism from nuclear nonproliferation advocates who 

have opposed the use of weapons-grade plutonium for commercial reactor fuel. 



The disposal plan ``runs headlong into a minefield of legal and economic hurdles as 

well as posing safety and security risks,'' said Tom Clements of the private Nuclear 

Control Institute. 



All but a small amount of the 34 metric tons of surplus plutonium will converted into a 

mixed oxide, or MOX, which in turn can be used in commercial reactors. Some of the 

plutonium also will have to be purified to meet MOX specifications. 



The Energy Department estimates the disposal to cost $3.8 billion over 20 years 

including the cost of building new conversion and purification plants at the federal 

Savannah River weapons complex in South Carolina. That's $2 billion cheaper than 

the dual-path approach, said the department. 



The Clinton program, in which 25 tons would have been used as MOX fuel and the 

rest put into glass for future burial, originally was estimated to cost $4.4 billion. But 

last summer, a revised estimated put the cost at more than $6 billion over 22 years. 



Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham called the MOX conversion approach ``a 

workable, technologically possible and affordable solution'' that meets the U.S. 

commitment to dispose of plutonium under the U.S.-Russia agreement. 



Although the department has estimated that the U.S. about 50 tons of surplus 

plutonium, only about 38 tons are considered weapons grade. The U.S.-Russia 

agreement covers only 34 metric tons. 



Clements called the department's estimated cost savings ``pure fantasy,'' saying that 

only last summer the MOX program was estimated to cost $4.6 billion. 



Power companies have not rushed to join the plutonium disposition program, which 

some opponents have criticized as a dangerous marriage of military and commercial 

nuclear programs. 



Duke Power has agreed to purchase the MOX fuel converted from the plutonium and 

burn it in its four reactors at the McGuire and Catawba power plants in the Carolinas. 

Virginia Power pulled out of a similar arrangement in early 2000. 



Cogema, the French nuclear fuel manufacturer, also is part of the consortium and will 

be responsible for plutonium conversion to MOX at a plant yet to be built at the 

Savannah River facility. The first plutonium-derived reactor fuel is not expected to be 

available until 2007. 



The Energy Department has been grappling for more than a year over how best to 

dispose of the plutonium and still meet the commitments to Russia. Last year, the 

administration stopped funding the immobilization program, saying it was too 

expensive. 



The uncertainties caused anxiety in South Carolina, where state officials, including 

Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges, began worrying that the government would ship 

plutonium to the Savannah River complex near Aiken with no commitment to get rid 

of it. 



Complaining about the ``shifting nature'' of the administration's plutonium strategy, 

Hodges for a time threatened to block plutonium shipments into the state if a ``timely 

exit strategy'' were not announced. 

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



NRC Chairman Strongly Backs Private Security Forces at Nuclear Power Plants

  

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Federalizing security workers at 

commercial nuclear power plants would create more problems than it would solve 

and would do nothing to increase security, according to Richard Meserve, Chairman 

of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), in remarks to the National Press Club 

on January 18, 2002. 



Chairman Meserve strongly backed the professional security officers of the private 

security industry and the commercial utility companies and the job they are doing at 

nuclear power plants throughout the country.  The Chairman said, "Physical security 

is very high," and, "Nuclear power plants are not soft targets." 



When asked if the currently proposed Reid-Markey legislation to federalize security 

at such plants would help the NRC, Meserve said flatly, "No."  He went on to discuss 

how federalization would cause significant problems in the strategy and deployment 

of security and turn the NRC into an administrator of security rather than an 

independent regulatory agency. 



Meserve commented on the backgrounds of the current members of the protective 

forces, pointing out that more than two-thirds have either military or law enforcement 

backgrounds.  Don Walker, a member of the board of directors of The National 

Association of Security Companies (NASCO) and the president of Pinkerton's, said, 

"NASCO appreciates very much Chairman Meserve's support and confidence in the 

working professionals of our industry. We oppose the Reid-Markey legislation and 

offer instead to support proposals from Congress or the administration that will 

increase standards and funding where appropriate." 



The National Association of Security Companies is an industry trade association that 

was founded in 1972.  It represents the interests of businesses engaged in providing 

professional security services to commercial, industrial and government 

organizations in the United States.  Member companies actively promote high 

standards in the industry.

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



U.S. to use weapons plutonium as nuclear plant fuel

  

WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Wednesday unveiled 

a plan to convert 34 metric tons of surplus weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for 

nuclear power plants. 



The plan will allow the United States to comply with a Sept. 2000 agreement with 

Russia to dispose of an equal amount of surplus plutonium, said the Department of 

Energy (DOE), which will oversee the program. 



The plan to turn the material into mixed oxide fuel is a result of the administration's 

review of nonproliferation goals agreed by the United States and Russia, including 

high-tech disposal methods. 



The plan "is central to enhancing our national security and advancing our 

nonproliferation goals," Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said in a release. 



Conversion will cost $3.8 billion over 20 years, including construction of two new 

facilities at the DOE's Savannah River weapons and research site in South Carolina, 

set to begin in 2004, DOE said. 

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



EU says concerned over U.S. uranium import duties

  

BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) - The European Union said on Wednesday it was 

disturbed by a U.S. trade panel's decision to slap import duties on over $400 million 

worth of European uranium after claims it was being dumped on the U.S. market. 



"The EU is very disappointed and very concerned at these findings," EU Trade 

Commissioner Pascal Lamy said in a statement. 



"It will now carefully examine these decisions and reserves its right to take the matter 

up with the World Trade Organization." 



The International Trade Commission gave final approval Tuesday to anti-dumping 

duties totaling more than 32 percent on shipments of more than $200 million worth of 

nuclear power plant fuel from France. 



In a case brought by the United States Enrichment Corp. in late 2000, the trade 

commission also approved final import duties of more than two percent on more than 

$200 million worth of enriched uranium from Britain, Germany and the Netherlands. 



The principal EU suppliers are the French government-owned uranium enrichment 

company Eurodif SA and the British-Dutch-German consortium Urenco Ltd. 



The Commerce Department is expected to issue its final duty order in the case 

around Feb. 4. 



The European Commission said the EU was particularly concerned about the 

calculation methodology used by the United States, which "has effectively created 

margins of subsidy and dumping where none exist." 



It also said it was concerned about the use of such measures to protect U.S. 

Enrichment Corp., itself a recipient of generous assistance from the United States' 

government, and especially given the opposition expressed by U.S. electricity utilities 

having contracts with European suppliers who will face higher prices. 



Lamy said the EU remained open to further bilateral talks on the issue. 

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



PPL Susquehanna Plans to Apply for Nuclear Power Plant License Renewal

  

BERWICK, Pa., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PPL Susquehanna has notified 

the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it intends to seek renewal of its operating 

license for the Susquehanna nuclear plant in Berwick, Pa., company officials 

announced today.  If the NRC approves PPL's application, the plant's operating 

license would be extended by 20 years. 



(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19981015/PHTH025 )   



"The Susquehanna plant has established a safe and reliable operation through a 

highly qualified workforce and comprehensive programs to ensure the long-term 

reliability of the plant's equipment," said Herbert D. Woodeshick, special assistant to 

the president.  "Not only does the Susquehanna plant help ensure efficient, reliable 

electric service with minimal impact on the environment, but also it is an integral part 

of the community." 



The Susquehanna plant employs about 1,100 people full time and is the largest 

taxpayer in Luzerne County.  Plant workers participate in civic and business 

organizations, serve in public offices, contribute thousands of dollars to charitable 

campaigns, and volunteer in public services. 



The plant has two boiling water reactors, each with more than 1,100 megawatts of 

generating capacity.  The current operating licenses will expire in July 2022 and 

March 2024 for Units 1 and 2, respectively, but those terms would be extended to 

2042 and 2044 if the NRC approves PPL's application. 



Because the review process takes about two years, the NRC has requested that 

plant owners file early notification of their plans to apply.  PPL's letter of intent to the 

federal agency states that the company plans to file a license renewal application in 

2005. 



License renewal requires proof that the plant can operate safely.  The plant must 

also demonstrate that it can manage any maintenance issues related to aging 

equipment.  A nuclear plant that has its license renewed can get a maximum 20-year 

extension on its operating license, during which time it will continue to be monitored 

by the NRC. 



"All nuclear power plants applying for license renewal must pass a comprehensive 

and thorough safety review by the NRC," Woodeshick said. "Licensing establishes 

safety standards and only allows a plant to operate as long as it can meet those 

standards." 



Nuclear energy provides more than 30 percent of the electricity produced in 

Pennsylvania and about 20 percent nationwide. 



U.S. nuclear power plants initially were given a 40-year operating license.  To date, 

50 of the nation's 103 operating commercial nuclear reactors are committed to 

license renewal.  Since April 1998, 22 units have submitted applications for license 

renewal, 14 of which are in the review process and eight of which have been 

approved.  Another 28 units have notified the NRC of their intent to submit 

applications. 



Nuclear power accounts for roughly 20 percent of PPL's nearly 10,000- megawatt 

generation business.  The Susquehanna plant is operated and 90 percent owned by 

PPL Susquehanna LLC, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation. Allegheny Electric 

Cooperative Inc. owns the remaining 10 percent.  Unit 1 began commercial 

operations in June 1983, and Unit 2 joined it in February 1985. 



Headquartered in Allentown, Pa., PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) controls or owns 

more than 10,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, markets 

energy in select U.S. states and Canada, and delivers electricity to nearly 6 million 

customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America. 

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



Los Alamos Lab Case Closed

  

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) - The case of the disappearance of two hard drives 

containing top-secret nuclear information from Los Alamos National Laboratory has 

been closed, an assistant U.S. attorney said. 



Sasha Siemel said Tuesday that no one will be charged in the case and that most of 

the investigative activity stopped several months ago. 



``The case was thoroughly investigated and resulted in no charges to date,'' Siemel 

said. 



The hard drives were discovered missing from a vault in the lab's top-secret X 

Division as a wildfire moved onto lab property in May 2000. The fire led to the 

evacuation of the lab and surrounding community. 



The drives were nowhere to be found when workers were able to re-enter the vault. 

Weeks later, they were discovered behind a copy machine in a location that had 

previously been searched. 



The computer drives contain specifications that could be used to disarm a nuclear 

weapon in case of an accident or terrorist threat. 



The FBI had five main suspects and dozens of scientists were questioned and called 

before a grand jury. In January 2001, then-Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said 

investigators had found no evidence of espionage. 

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



Reprocessed nuclear waste moved to Aomori storage facility



AOMORI, Japan, Jan. 23 (Kyodo) - A load of highly radioactive reprocessed nuclear 

waste that arrived in Rokkasho village, Aomori Prefecture from France on Tuesday 

was transported to a temporary storage facility in village on Wednesday. 



The 152 blocks of vitrified waste, reprocessed by France's state-owned nuclear fuel 

firm COGEMA from spent nuclear fuel removed from nuclear reactors in Japan, was 

moved from Mutsu-Ogawara port in the village to a local nuclear waste storage 

facility, where it will be left for 30-50 years. 



The facility is owned by Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. and is located 7 kilometers from the 

port. 



The Tokyo, Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu electric power companies 

own the waste, which was the seventh such shipment. There have been 464 loads of 

reprocessed nuclear waste delivered to Japan in the past. 



A British freighter, the 5,000-ton Pacific Sandpiper, left Cherbourg in northern France 

for Japan on Dec. 5 and traveled through the Panama Canal after COGEMA 

completed the reprocessing work. 

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



Russian Nuclear Reactors Shut Down

  

MOSCOW (AP) - Reactors at three Russian nuclear plants were shut down in recent 

days because of malfunctions, nuclear energy officials said Tuesday. 



Safety controls triggered the shutdown of reactor No. 3 at the Novovoronezh power 

plant in southern Russia on Monday evening, the state-run nuclear energy company 

Rosenergoatom said. The reason was being investigated. 



The company said the incident was not serious, no one had been hurt and radiation 

levels were within the norm. 



The No. 4 reactor at the Kursk nuclear power plant in western Russia automatically 

shut down on Saturday because of an unexplained malfunction, Rosenergoatom said 

Tuesday. The problem was fixed and the reactor resumed operation Monday. 



Also Tuesday, a malfunction was reported in the electronic control panel of reactor 

No. 1 at the nuclear power plant near the city of St. Petersburg. No radiation 

increases were reported, the ITAR-Tass news agency said, citing the nuclear safety 

agency near St. Petersburg. The problem was being investigated. 



Minor malfunctions are frequent among Russia's Soviet-era nuclear reactors, many 

of which are in need of repair. 



The country's nuclear power officials are pushing to build several reactors in coming 

years in Russia and in China, Iran and India. The industry has been in a slump since 

the 1986 disaster at the Soviet plant in Chernobyl, the world's worst nuclear accident. 



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

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://sandy-travels.com

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com





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