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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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