KEDO talks on N. Korean nuclear reactors to resume

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

Note: I'll be in Wash. DC, April 6 - 11, so news distributions may be 

limited.



Index:



KEDO talks on N. Korean nuclear reactors to resume

California Chemist Ahmed Arrested

N-waste incinerator pipe ruptures, woman exposed to soot

Radiation Safe Helps Protect Cell Phone Users

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



KEDO talks on N. Korean nuclear reactors to resume

  

BEIJING, April 3 (Kyodo) - Suspended talks to build two light-water 

nuclear reactors in North Korea through a U.S.-led international 

consortium will resume, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) 

reported Wednesday citing North Korean foreign ministry officials. 



U.S. and North Korean officials agreed to resume negotiations during 

meetings held in New York on March 13 and 20, said the KCNA report, 

monitored in Beijing. 



The light-water nuclear reactor project is to be undertaken by the 

Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), an 

international consortium comprising the European Union, Japan, South 

Korea and the United States. 



Present at the meeting last month were North Korea's U.N. Ambassador 

Pak Gil Yon, U.S. special envoy for negotiations with North Korea 

Jack Pritchard, and a White House advisor on Asian affairs. 



The officials discussed ''issues connected with current relations 

between the U.S. and North Korea,'' the KCNA report said. 



U.S. officials conveyed their wish to resume talks and their 

willingness to supply North Korea with the light-water nuclear 

reactor technology, requesting that North Korea resume its 

negotiations with KEDO. 



''We carefully discussed the U.S. position and decided to resume 

talks taking the request into consideration,'' a North Korean 

official was quoted as saying. 



KEDO talks had stumbled over the issue of allowing inspectors from 

the International Atomic Energy Agency into North Korea in accordance 

with a 1994 agreement on freezing nuclear weapons. 



The agreement specifies that North Korea will freeze its weaponry 

program in exchange for two light-water nuclear reactors to generate 

electricity that would replace the country's plutonium-producing 

reactors, whose fuel can be converted into weaponry. 



On Monday U.S. President George W. Bush said he would not certify 

that North Korea is abiding by the 1994 accord, nor that progress had 

been made in eliminating the North Korean missile threat. However, 

Bush authorized funds of up to $95 million for the KEDO project. 



Tensions between the U.S. and North Korea have risen with U.S. 

President George W. Bush labeling Pyongyang as being part of ''an 

axis of evil'' with Iraq and Iran and accusing it of developing 

weapons of mass destruction. 



''We made clear that repetition of groundless, hurtful accusations 

must not be made. If they are, we will have to see the U.S. position 

as being fraudulent,'' the KCNA said, adding that Pyongyang was 

closely watching the U.S. ''attitude.'' 

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



California Chemist Ahmed Arrested

  

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A chemist involved in a 1997 laboratory 

explosion was arrested Thursday after investigators found radioactive 

materials at his home. 



Riad Mohamad Ahmed, 62, was charged with illegal possession of 

radioactive material after investigators seized three briefcases, a 

suit and a desk all contaminated with radioactive carbon 14 at his 

home, said Tori Richards, a spokeswoman for the Orange County 

district attorney. 



The radiation exceeded allowable levels outside a laboratory, but did 

not pose any danger, authorities said. It's unclear how the items 

were contaminated. 



Ahmed could also face charges of violating probation stemming from 

the 1997 explosion at a private laboratory in Gardena, said Daniel 

Walker, Los Angeles County deputy district attorney. 



In that incident, Ahmed was working with carbon 14 at the California 

Bionuclear Corp. when a small explosion and fire occurred, Walker 

said. The building was contaminated and the federal government later 

labeled it a Superfund cleanup site. 



``It was so contaminated, he had to take the building down to the 

studs,'' said Walker, who prosecuted Ahmed in that case. 



Ahmed was also charged in 1986 with mishandling radioactive, 

flammable and explosives materials at another lab. He pleaded no 

contest, served 60 days in jail and was ordered to pay a $15,000 

fine. 

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



N-waste incinerator pipe ruptures, woman exposed to soot

  

OSAKA, April 4 (Kyodo) - An exhaust pipe attached to an incinerator 

for nuclear waste at a research institute in Osaka Prefecture 

ruptured Thursday and a female worker was exposed to a small amount 

of soot, police said. 



The radiation leak was not confirmed outside agrochemical maker Nihon 

Nohyaku Co.'s facility in Kawachinagano, they said. The 25-year-old 

worker was not exposed to radioactive substances. 



The science and technology ministry said the radiation level of the 

nuclear waste handled at the research institution was low. 



At the time of the rupture, around 10:15 a.m., carbon 14 dissolved in 

toluene and other volatile fluids was being burned. The substance is 

used to examine the functions of drugs in animals and plants, Nihon 

Nohyaku officials said. 



Carbon 14 ash was to be disposed of as low-level nuclear waste. The 

polyvinyl pipe was connected to a device to filter out soot, they 

said. 



The ministry said it will dispatch two radiation experts to inspect 

the facility. 



The company officials suspected imperfect combustion in the equipment 

caused the accident, but gave assurances it will not trigger any 

adverse effects because the air pressure within the facility is 

controlled. 



The institute is developing a new agricultural chemical, and waste 

solvent is burned everyday there, they said. 



The firm did not issue a warning to residents living near the 

facility because it found high-level radiation exposure would not 

occur, they said. 



The institute is near a residential area and Osaka Chiyoda Junior 

College is located north of it. 



The company reported the incident to police sometime after 11 a.m. 

and fire trucks arrived at the institute around noon. Firefighters 

said they went to the scene voluntarily. 



Nihon Nohyaku, based in Tokyo, was established in 1928. It develops 

and sells chemicals for agriculture, golf courses and 

gardening, as well as wood preservatives and fine chemicals. 



It has 540 employees and is listed on the First Section of the Tokyo 

Stock Exchange. 

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



Radiation Safe Helps Protect Cell Phone Users



LAS VEGAS, April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Cell phone radiation is a growing 

controversial issue that concerns millions of cell phone 

users.  Radiation Safe Cell Phone Accessories, and it's recently 

introduced website, www.stopradiation.com , informs consumers 

about cell phone radiation and offers radiation reducing products 

that are not available in the general marketplace. 



Michael Passer, Radiation Safe founder, and a realtor by trade, was 

first alerted to the potential risks of cell phone radiation when a 

brain cancer victim spoke to his real estate office.  Passer said, 

"This guy was convinced that his tumor was caused from extensive 

cell phone usage.  I'm just not willing to risk my family's health." 



Many scientists and experts in the field, including Dr. George Carlo, 

who headed a $25 million dollar research project for the cell 

phone industry and Dr. Louis Slesin, editor of Microwave News, 

recommend keeping the transmitter away from your head.  Slesin 

said in a previous interview with ABC's "20/20", by using a headset, 

"you're taking the source of the radiation away from your head." 



Passer tried to find "radiation safe" products in the marketplace, 

but was unsuccessful.  "The wires in traditionally constructed 

headsets can act as a conductor and still transmit radiation to the 

head," said Passer.  He finally found a headset made with a new 

technology, which eliminates a portion of the wire and replaces it 

with an air tube, thus reducing conductivity and radiation exposure. 

 This technology is similar to non-transmission conflicting headsets 

used on airplanes.  There are other hands-free devices available 

for use in automobiles, but at double the price.  These headsets are 

also unique because they're made with an adjustable "over the 

ear" hook that keeps the devise in place.  He also located a phone 

shield that is made with a patent pending material that deflects 

up to 99% of cell phone radiation away from a consumer's head and 

neck.  He recommends both products because sometimes the 

use of a headset is impractical. 



Most recently a class action lawsuit has been filed in multiple 

states including: Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and 

Maryland which would force the wireless industry to supply radiation-

reducing headsets to consumers.  Also, a recent report from 

the General Accounting Office recommends the Federal Communications 

Commission and The Food and Drug Administration 

disclose more information about mobile-phone radiation and other 

health concerns to consumers.  These actions coupled with 

ongoing research could be devastating to the wireless industry in 

future health-related litigation. 



"Since the wireless industry is not making these radiation-reducing 

products easily available, I'll continue to distribute products that 

protect consumers," said Passer. 



Radiation Safe Cell Phone Accessories offers information about this 

controversial subject and solutions to protect consumers and 

companies from potential risks.  For more information you may visit 

their website at www.stopradiation.com or call 800-380-9403. 



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

Sandy Perle

Director, Technical

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service

ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue

Costa Mesa, CA 92626



Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100  Extension 2306

Fax:(714) 668-3149



E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net

E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com



Personal Website: http://sandy-travels.com

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



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