NRC cites Wisconsin Energy for nuclear safety problem

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

Index:



NRC cites Wisconsin Energy for nuclear safety problem

Finnish nuclear plant tender seen in autumn-agency

U.N. cancels A-bomb exhibit slated for Sept. in N.Y.

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



NRC cites Wisconsin Energy for nuclear safety problem



SAN FRANCISCO, July 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission said on Monday it cited Wisconsin Electric Co.'s twin-

reactor Point Beach nuclear power plant in Wisconsin for a 

potentially dangerous problem.



The NRC issued a final decision that a backup cooling water system at 

the 1,022-megawatt plant might fail to work under certain, although 

unusual, operating conditions. Normal plant operations were not 

affected by the problem.



The commission said in a statement that the potential failure was 

tagged with the NRC's red safety code, signifying "high safety 

significance."



The NRC uses a four-color scale of increasing safety problems, 

ranging from green for a finding of minor significance, through white 

and yellow, to red.



In addition to the red finding, the NRC issued a violation notice to 

plant operator Nuclear Management Co. for inadequate operating 

procedures for the backup system and for failing to identify and fix 

the problem between 1997 and 2001.



The utility subsequently took prompt steps to revise procedures and 

train reactor operators to handle safety concerns, the NRC said. The 

backup cooling system also was modified.



The commission said it will do more inspections and review actions 

taken by Wisconsin Electric, a unit of Wisconsin Energy 

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



Finnish nuclear plant tender seen in autumn-agency



HELSINKI, July 13 (Reuters) - Finnish nuclear power producer TVO 

plans to launch a tender this autumn to build the country's fifth 

nuclear reactor, the first in Western Europe in over a decade, news 

agency STT said on Saturday.



It added France's Framatome ANP, U.S. General Electric, Britain's 

Westinghouse and Russia's Atomstroyexport are set to take part in the 

tender, with the best bid seen selected by the end of 2003.



"We expect to get through this (tender) stage by the end of 2003 and 

after that apply for a construction permit. The issuing of the permit 

will take approximately a year," STT quoted TVO's expert Ahti Toivola 

as saying.



The company was not immediately available for comment.



TVO has said it will have no problem raising the 1.7-2.5 billion 

euros ($1.68-$2.47 billion) needed to build the reactor with a 

planned capacity of 1,000-1,600 megawatts. The reactor would be ready 

by 2008 at the earliest.



Teollisuuden Voima OY (TVO), which runs two of the four nuclear power 

plants in Finland, is majority owned by Pohjolan Voima Oy, where 

forestry giants UPM-Kymmene and Stora Enso have stakes.

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



U.N. cancels A-bomb exhibit slated for Sept. in N.Y.



TOKYO, July 13 (Kyodo) - The United Nations has canceled an atomic 

bomb exhibition that was to open in September at U.N. 

headquarters in New York, organizers said Saturday.



Members of the Japan Confederation of A-Bomb and H-Bomb Sufferers 

Organizations said they received the news from the U.N. and 

are waiting an explanation.



The exhibit was to run from Sept. 18 to Oct. 27 in the lobby of the 

headquarters and feature about 80 photographs of the 1945 U.S. 

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as victims of 

nuclear bomb tests, confederation members said.



During past meetings with U.N. representatives, the members were told 

that pictures of an excessively graphic nature could not be shown 

because children would also be viewing the exhibition.



They said they were considering replacing certain pictures.



Terumi Tanaka, head of the confederation secretariat, voiced surprise 

at the unexpected cancellation, and said he still hopes the show can 

be held after adjustments are made.



***************************************************************

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



************************************************************************

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To unsubscribe,

send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the text "unsubscribe

radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail, with no subject line.

You can view the Radsafe archives at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/