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Vermont Nuke Plant Sale Is Opposed
Index:
Vermont Nuke Plant Sale Is Opposed
TV Ads Highlight Dangers of Nuclear Waste Transport through Georgia
JPC and ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service Sign Agreement
NZ says nuclear ships not welcome in waters
Britain to tighten security at civil nuclear sites
UK plans to revive nuclear power industry-report
===================================
Vermont Nuke Plant Sale Is Opposed
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Two anti-nuclear groups launched a last-ditch
bid to stop the sale of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, claiming
the buyer, Entergy Nuclear, can't be trusted to follow state
regulations.
The New England Coalition on Nuclear Pollution and Citizens Awareness
Network want the Public Service Board to host a new set of hearings
on the proposed sale.
Coalition attorney James Dumont said the request is an attempt to
cover all bases to protect ratepayers before the reactor is out of
the hands of state regulators.
The board approved the sale to Jackson, Miss.-based Entergy Nuclear
with conditions on June 13. But one of those conditions - that any
extra money in the plant's decommissioning fund be returned to
ratepayers - prompted Entergy to ask the board to reconsider.
At a hearing this past week, Entergy said if the board refuses to
remove the condition from its approval of the deal it may ask the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to overrule the state's
decision.
Dumont said that if the condition on the decommissioning fund can be
brought before a federal agency, there's a chance any portion of the
deal could be contested later.
``It is painfully clear that (Entergy) intends to pick and choose
which parts of the board's order it intends to comply with, and at
some future date, when push comes to shove, it will ask FERC to set
aside those parts it does not like,'' Dumont wrote in his motion to
the board.
When he raised a similar argument at Tuesday's hearing, Entergy
lawyer Victoria Brown said that that the company would honor any of
the commitments it had made in the deal - but added that those
commitments did not include giving all the extra money in the
decommissioning fund to ratepayers.
During sale proceedings, the board asked Entergy if it would pursue
federal pre-emption of state regulation. The company, in its
memorandum of understanding, agreed to waive it - but only in matters
related to relicensing the plant.
Entergy spokeswoman Jill Smith said the company's lawyers were still
analyzing Dumont's filing.
------------------
PSR: TV Ads Highlight Dangers of Nuclear Waste Transport through
Georgia; U.S. Senate Expected to Vote July 10 on Georgia's Future
WASHINGTON, July 3 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Stepping up its attack on the
proposed Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository in Nevada,
Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) announced a series of TV
ads that highlight the dangers of transporting highly radioactive
waste through Georgia. The ads are currently being shown on all major
networks in Augusta, Savannah and Macon, Georgia.
The plan to store 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste at Yucca
Mountain would bring the waste through 44 states and the District of
Columbia. Over 1.5 million Georgians live within 1 mile of the
proposed transportation route. In addition to the transportation
risks, the plan will not eliminate the problem of on-site nuclear
waste in Georgia. Nuclear waste must cool off for up to 5 years
before being transported. As long as nuclear power is generated,
Georgians are at risk. When the Yucca Mountain site is full, Georgia
is projected to have almost twice the amount of nuclear waste that it
has today.
The proposed Yucca Mountain site has been vetoed by Nevada Governor
Kenny Guinn. The U.S. Senate will vote as soon as next week on
whether to uphold the veto. This vote will be the final referendum on
the Yucca Mountain project. The TV ads urge Senators Max Cleland and
Zell Miller to support Guinn's veto. Georgia voters who are concerned
about the transport of nuclear waste are urged to contact their
elected representatives.
"Senators Cleland and Miller can vote to stop plans to transport this
dangerous waste through Georgia," said PSR Executive Director and CEO
Robert K. Musil Ph.D., M.P.H. "If this legislation is passed,
Georgians will endure 40 years of nuclear waste traveling through
their communities. Trucks transporting nuclear waste will become a
frequent sight on I -75, I-20, and I-16, I-85 and I-285 and in cities
like Atlanta, Augusta, and Macon. Emergency response teams and the
public health infrastructure in Georgia are ill prepared to handle an
accident or terrorist attack. Even one severe accident would cause up
to 18,000 latent cancer deaths and cost over $10 billion to clean
up."
"The people of Georgia must urge their Senators to action," said Ed
Arnold, director of PSR's Atlanta chapter. "By pursuing this reckless
course of action, President Bush and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham
are putting the interests of the nuclear industry above the health of
millions of Georgians and tens of millions of Americans."
------------------
JPC and ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service Sign Agreement
NEW YORK, July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Furthering its commitment to
providing customers with increased value and savings, Joint
Purchasing Corporation, an innovative health services organization
announced today it has signed an agreement with ICN Worldwide
Dosimetry Service, a growing provider of advanced radiation dosimetry
solutions. The agreement brings JPC's nearly 1,400 customers state-
of-the-art personal radiation monitoring services.
"JPC is always striving to provide our customers with the best
products and services at significant cost savings," said Aaron
Morris, RT, JPC's Director of Diagnostic Imaging Services. "The
addition of ICN Worldwide Dosimtery Service to our comprehensive
contract portfolio delivers on that mission. Together, JPC and ICN
are bringing our customers a full-range of cost effective and
innovative services for measuring ionizing radiation."
"ICN is proud to be JPC's official dosimetry services provider," said
Lou Biacchi, North American Sales Manager for ICN Worldwide Dosimetry
Service. "Used in a wide range of healthcare applications including
hospitals, medical and dental offices, university and national
laboratories, our dosimeters bring JPC participants state-of-the-art
dose assessment algorithms and precision processing standards and
equipment that are used by nearly half a million people worldwide."
ICN offers JPC customers a comprehensive line of services for
measuring ionizing radiation primarily through film,
thermoluminescent and track etch technologies. The dosimeters can
either be worn or deployed for area monitoring. ICN shares JPC's
commitment to delivering outstanding customer care by providing
customers with access to a top-notch technical staff and customer
service group.
------------------
NZ says nuclear ships not welcome in waters
WELLINGTON, July 5 (Reuters) - New Zealand said on Friday its
airforce would track two British ships carrying nuclear waste from
Japan to Britain to ensure they did not enter its territorial waters,
as protests against the shipments mounted.
Although the route is secret, previous such shipments have passed
through the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia.
The first of the ships, carrying a potentially weapons-usable mix of
plutonium and uranium oxides (MOX), left the Japanese port of
Takahama on Thursday.
"We have advised both Britain and Japan of our opposition to such
shipments through the Pacific," Foreign Minister Phil Goff said in a
statement.
"While acknowledging the safeguards which have been put in place,
these do not eliminate risks posed by accident or by terrorist
attacks," he said.
The MOX fuel is being returned to state-owned British Nuclear Fuels
(BNFL) after Japan's Kansai Electric Power Co Inc discovered that
data for a 1999 shipment from Britain had been deliberately
falsified.
Goff said New Zealand Airforce planes would track the ships to ensure
they did not enter New Zealand waters, except in a humanitarian
emergency.
"New Zealand is also seeking the transport states to accept full
responsibility and liability for compensation for any accident that
might occur."
Greenpeace said a flotilla of yachts plans to gather next week in the
northern Tasman Sea to wait for the two ships.
In the Australian capital, Canberra, two Greenpeace campaigners were
arrested on Friday after an hour-long protest against the shipments
on the roof of the Japanese embassy.
Police said a 25-year-old woman and 30-year-old man were arrested for
trespassing on protected premises after they agreed to come down off
the roof.
A police spokeswoman said the two were expected to be charged and
appear in court later on Friday, while 15 other protesters, with a
large paper mache bomb, continued a demonstration outside the embassy
gates.
"Since the arrests, the protest has been peaceful and lawful," the
spokeswoman told Reuters.
The Australian government has not voiced any protests against the
shipments, with a spokesman saying the government is satisfied all
the necessary safeguards are in place.
------------------
Britain to tighten security at civil nuclear sites
LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - Britain is to tighten its control over
security at its civil nuclear sites in the wake of the September 11
attacks on the United States, according to a policy document.
The government will take over direct responsibility of the armed
police force that guards the installations to make the body more
independent of the industry, the Department of Trade and Industry
White Paper published on Thursday said.
"The events of 11 September underlined the seriousness and
unpredictability of the terrorist threat, and the consequent need for
a specialist, armed police force familiar with the complex
environment inside nuclear sites," the White Paper says.
Britain's seven civil nuclear sites are currently protected by the
570-strong Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary (AEAC), a broadly
autonomous body run and funded by the nuclear industry.
But now the Department of Trade and Industry has said nuclear
security can no longer be left up to Britain's Atomic Energy
Authority
(UKAEA) alone.
"The Government intends to separate AEAC from UKAEA and reconstitute
it as a stand-alone force in order to make it independent
of the nuclear industry," the document says.
"It also proposes to improve its governance arrangements through
establishing a statutory Police Authority with an independent
element, to strengthen accountability and transparency."
In addition, the paper says it will improve the security of nuclear
material in transit by making transporters directly responsible for
its
safety.
The police force will continue to be funded by the nuclear industry
and will ultimately be answerable to the Secretary of State for
Trade and Industry.
-----------------
UK plans to revive nuclear power industry-report
LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Britain is secretly planning measures to
revive its ageing nuclear power industry as ministers eye the
sector's potential as a source of carbon-free energy, the New
Scientist Magazine said on Wednesday.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) officials have drawn up a list
of eight existing nuclear sites across England and Wales where
new plants could be built, according to DTI documents leaked to the
British magazine.
They have also proposed speeding up planning procedures for new
plants and granting tax breaks to firms building them as well as
making it easier for plants to get planning permission.
"In the long-term new (nuclear) build has potential attractions as a
carbon free source of baseload electricity supporting both
environmental and security of supply objectives," a reporter at the
magazine quoted the DTI as saying.
Nuclear power stations, unlike fossil fuel plants, do not produce
carbon dioxide -- the gas widely blamed for causing global warming.
However, environmentalists oppose them for safety reasons.
Britain built its last nuclear power station, Sizewell B, in 1995 and
has already closed some of its oldest reactors.
Nuclear power accounts for nearly a third of Britain's power but most
plants are due to shut by 2025.
Elsewhere in Europe, Sweden and Germany plan to phase out nuclear
power but Finland recently decided to build a fifth nuclear
plant to meet rising energy demands.
The DTI declined to comment on the report but a spokesman pointed to
a recent energy review, commissioned by government,
which said the nuclear option should be kept open.
"The review paper is still out for consultation. Lots of views are
still being gathered and a White Paper will be out at the end of the
year," he said.
The Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) report proposed that
nuclear power should be retained only if the UK fails to meet plans
to more than triple its use of renewable energy by 2010 to 10 percent
of total electricity.
The DTI suggested that public oppsition could be eased by
compensating local communities if new sites are built and by using
existing nuclear facilities.
Another factor which could help turn around public opinion was the
risk of power blackouts similar to those seen during California's
energy crisis two years ago.
The documents listed eight sites in England and Wales where new
stations could be built.
The sites are Berkeley and Oldbury in the Severn Estuary, Bradwell in
Essex, Wylfa on Anglesey and Trawsfynydd in North Wales - all owned
by state-run British Nuclear Fuels.
The other three owned by British Energy (BGY.L) are: Hinkley Point on
the Severn Estuary, Sizewell in Suffolk and Dungeness in Kent.
-------------------------------------------------
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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