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Bulgarians demonstrate to demand referendum on reactor shutdowns
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Bulgarians demonstrate to demand referendum on reactor shutdowns
Nevada Shuts Off Water to Mountain
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Bulgarians demonstrate to demand referendum on reactor shutdowns
Apr 11 - SOFIA, Bulgaria - Fearing power shortages and an economic
downturn, up to 4,000 Bulgarians demonstrated Thursday to protest the
planned shutdown of four aging reactors at the country's only nuclear
plant.
The European Union (news - web sites) has demanded that the two
oldest units at the Kozlodui plant be closed by the end of this year
because it considers them unsafe. The government has agreed to close
those units, and it has promised to negotiate a deadline for early
closure of two other units.
The demonstrators handed a petition demanding a referendum on the
closures signed by 500,000 Bulgarians to parliament speaker Ognyan
Gerdzhikov.
President Georgi Parvanov and Prime Minister Simeon Saxcoburggotski
have opposed calls for a referendum about the closures, which have
been a key condition for Bulgaria to start accession talks with the
EU in 2000.
The four units to be closed are 440-megawatt pressurized water
reactors without safety containment. They were installed 1974 to
1982, and manufacturers say they have 30-year life spans. Two newer
1,000-megawatt units with safety containment won't be affected by the
closures.
Many Bulgarians fear that the shutdowns will cause power shortages
and electricity price hikes. Revenue from electricity exports are
crucial for the economically weak country.
The government recently announced it would resume the construction of
a second nuclear power plant near the Danube port of Belene, 250
kilometers (156 miles) northeast of Sofia. The government has already
invested dlrs 1.2 million into the project, which was frozen in 1990
after pressure from environmentalists.
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Nevada Shuts Off Water to Mountain
Apr 10 - LAS VEGAS - Nevada made good Wednesday on a promise to shut
off water to the site of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste
dump, but the federal project won't run dry.
The Energy Department is using a newly built 1 million-gallon tank
and one small well for the site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Department officials said the stored water, plus 400,000 gallons
stored in other tanks at the Nevada Test Site, should last several
months while scientists continue experiments and design work at the
site.
"We have a small window until this water issue begins to impede our
ongoing scientific work," said Joe Davis, spokesman for Energy
Secretary Spencer Abraham (news - web sites) in Washington.
Stopping the water was Nevada's latest tactic in its efforts to
prevent the federal government from storing nuclear waste at the
site. The state has filed three lawsuits to block the storage.
Nevada State Engineer Hugh Ricci banned the Energy Department from
drawing water from all but one well after a temporary permit expired
at midnight Tuesday.
The state had also shut off water to the arid desert site in February
2000, but the federal government sued and the water kept
flowing. Yucca Mountain averages less than 7 inches of precipitation
a year.
The case is pending before U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt in Las
Vegas. He heard last month from a Justice Department (news -
web sites) lawyer who said the Yucca Mountain project would be in
"dire need of water" if Ricci denied the permits.
Ricci said the federal government was allowed water from one well
because documents filed Monday asserted the water was being
put to "beneficial use." The well provides up to 750,000 gallons a
year.
That amount is less than 1 percent of the 140 million gallons a year
the Energy Department has requested, Ricci noted.
Also Wednesday, state lawmakers approved using up to $3 million in
emergency funds to lobby against the waste dump. The funds must be
matched by public or private sources before they can be used.
In pressing for the fund, Gov. Kenny Guinn said Nevadans are "in a
fight for our lives." He said the nuclear power industry has more
than $100 million to lobby in support of the waste site.
-------------------------------------------------
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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