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Davis-Besse Management Submits Root Cause Analysis Report to NRC
Index:
Davis-Besse Management Submits Root Cause Analysis Report to NRC
Pacific states call for ban on nuclear waste ships
Brazil nuclear plant decision seen in September
Developing Ways to Detect Nuclear Materials in Cargo Containers
UK navy base in Gibraltar loses radioactive part
Are America's Nuclear Power Plants Safe? `What If? in Techno-Thriller
===========================================
Davis-Besse Management Submits Root Cause Analysis Report to NRC
Aug. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating
Company (FENOC) submitted today to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) the Root Cause Analysis Report, which addresses management and
organizational issues that contributed to the corrosion problem on
the reactor head at Davis-Besse.
The report, authored by a team of nuclear experts commissioned by
FENOC management, focuses on nuclear safety and human performance
issues, as part of the plant's program to improve performance and
earn approval of the NRC for restarting operations. Recommendations
from the team include adhering strictly to industry performance
standards, improving program implementation, increasing effectiveness
in making corrective actions, and enhancing management oversight.
"Addressing the management and human performance issues identified in
this root cause report is as important as the actual restoration of
the reactor head," said Lew W. Myers, FENOC Chief Operating Officer,
who will review the report's findings in today's NRC public meeting.
Team members include three outside experts in root cause analysis --
two from Conger & Elsea and one from ENERCON -- as well as two
experienced nuclear professionals from the Beaver Valley Nuclear
Power Station, two from the Perry Nuclear Power Plant and several
from Davis-Besse. Team members have expertise in nuclear
engineering, quality assurance, engineering and root cause analysis,
event investigation and assessment of corrective action programs.
"The team operated independently in fulfilling their mission -- to
give us a frank and objective perspective on what led to this problem
and solid recommendations for improving our performance," Myers said.
Human performance factors cited in the report included missed
opportunities for earlier detection and prevention of the problem.
The report states, among other things, that plant management and
personnel:
* Did an inadequate job of implementing the Corrective Action
Program, which is designed to quickly identify and resolve problems
like those leading to the corrosion
* Did not integrate key industry information and site knowledge and
experience, nor adequately compare new information with baseline
knowledge
* Failed to comply with the plant's existing Boric Acid Corrosion
Control program
* Failed to maintain the proper balance between electricity
generation and nuclear safety goals
Other observations by the team include improving training for those
conducting boric acid inspections, increasing management involvement
and oversight of field activities, and realigning the incentive pay
program to increase emphasis on safety.
The report also lists a number of corrective actions, many of which
already have been implemented. Recommendations include:
* Improving managers' performance at Davis-Besse -- extensive changes
in the officers, directors and managers responsible for the plant
already have been made
* Revising the Boric Acid Corrosion Control program
* Improving implementation of the Corrective Action Program to meet
current industry standards and provide for review by outside experts
While the Root Cause Analysis Report is under review by the NRC,
Davis- Besse personnel and industry experts continue to implement the
plan to replace the reactor vessel head and resolve management
issues.
Davis-Besse is owned by Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp.
(NYSE:FE), and operated by its subsidiary FirstEnergy Nuclear
Operating Company. FirstEnergy is a registered public utility holding
company.
----------------------
Pacific states call for ban on nuclear waste ships
SUVA, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Small Pacific island states angry that they
were not consulted about the shipment through their region of nuclear
waste bound for Britain last month said on Thursday they would push
for a ban on all future shipments.
Any ban might be largely symbolic, partly because it is unlikely to
win support from Australia's current government and also because
other routes are available to ships carrying nuclear material.
But between them, the 14 forum island states are spread over millions
of square kilometres.
The leaders of six small island states met on Thursday at the start
of the annual Pacific Islands Forum and said they would encourage the
16-nation forum, which also includes Australia and New Zealand, to
adopt a region-wide ban of future shipments.
"The bottom line is that the best policy to adopt would be one that
we totally ban the shipment of radioactive material through our
waters," Cook Islands Prime Minister Robert Woonton told reporters.
New Zealand is a strong opponent of nuclear shipments and ordered its
air force to track two lightly armed British ships that carried the
weapons-grade material through the Pacific from Japan, the first
shipment of its kinds since the September 11 hijacked-aircraft
attacks on the United States.
But a unanimous call for a ban of future shipments is unlikely when
the forum wraps up on Saturday.
Australia has been more equivocal and said it was happy with security
surrounding the British shipment.
Greenpeace protesters leapt into the Tasman Sea off the Australian
mainland in front of the two freighters of state-owned British
Nuclear Fuels Plc, Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal, which were
transporting 225 kg (496 pounds) of plutonium.
Woonton said the leaders of the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue,
the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu had expressed grave concern over the
shipments and agreed they should at least be consulted about future
shipments through the vast Pacific Ocean, which he described as their
greatest asset.
"The issue really is what happens when there is a collision of this
transport of radioactive material?" Woonton said.
"Who cleans it up? Who is liable?...The people in the Pacific are the
losers in the end," he said.
----------------
Brazil nuclear plant decision seen in September
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Brazil's nuclear energy
lobby said on Tuesday it expects the government's final decision next
month on a controversial nuclear power plant near Angra beach resort
and hopes to start construction on the $1.7 billion project early
next year.
The head of the Brazilian Nuclear Institute, Everton Carvalho, told a
news conference during an international congress on nuclear energy in
Rio de Janeiro that he expected a favorable decision from the
government.
Carvalho said project financing schemes, involving international
banks, had already been prepared and were awaiting a green light from
the government's energy council, which has on several occasions
delayed the decision.
The Angra nuclear power complex, located on the wooded shore of a
picturesque bay between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, already has two
reactors. Environmentalists allege the reactors are not safe enough
and condemn the expansion plans.
Some government officials and federal power holding Eletrobras
<ELET6.SA>, whose eletronuclear unit is responsible for Angra, say
the nuclear energy is safe, cheap and should be used more and more to
help Brazil overcome its power problems, which led to rationing last
year.
Now, "green" hydroelectric plants account for over 90 percent of
Brazil's electricity but droughts and bad planning had emptied water
reservoirs, causing an acute shortage.
Carvalho pointed out that Brazil is home to the world's sixth-biggest
uranium reserves and, with the domestic technologies to enrich the
material for its use as fuel now nearly in place, should expand its
nuclear power capacity.
He said Angra 1 and 2 accounted for about 6 percent of all power
consumed in Brazil, while the third reactor could raise this share to
9 percent. In comparison, France's 58 nuclear power plants produce
twice as much power as the whole of Brazil.
"The intelligent solution is to combine all sources of power,
especially those that can be produced locally," Carvalho said. "Our
biggest vulnerability is the dependence on foreign capital."
Brazil is suffering a crisis of investor confidence caused by
concerns over its huge $250 billion debt ahead of presidential
elections in October.
------------------
Lab Researchers Testing Instruments, Developing Ways to Detect
Nuclear Materials in Cargo Containers; Efforts Could Aid the War On
Terrorism
LIVERMORE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 15, 2002--Commercial
instruments have been tested and new technologies are under
development by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers to
detect nuclear materials inside cargo containers.
The work, funded by the National Nuclear Security Administration, is
designed to help prevent the smuggling of nuclear materials inside
the millions of cargo containers that annually enter the United
States.
During three weeks in June, Livermore researchers tested 19
commercially available handheld instruments that are being used or
might be used by various government agencies to detect nuclear
materials.
"Our aim is to evaluate the various types of equipment that could be
used for monitoring air, ocean and intermodal cargo containers for
nuclear materials," said Bill Dunlop, leader of the Lab's
Proliferation Prevention and Arms Control Program. (Intermodal cargo
containers are containers that can travel by ship, rail and truck.)
Among the participants in the evaluation project were personnel from
the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service.
Information about the performance and capabilities of the detection
instruments for seeking out nuclear materials will be furnished to
different government agencies.
"One of our areas of expertise is understanding what goes into a
nuclear weapon, so we know how to test equipment to find the
materials for which we're searching," Dunlop said.
Lawrence Livermore researchers have experience in designing and
testing nuclear weapons and have assessed possible improvised nuclear
devices as part of the Laboratory's nonproliferation programs,
according to Dunlop. These capabilities are bolstered by the
Laboratory's expertise in trace element detection.
The work by Laboratory researchers to evaluate radiation detection
instruments is being performed as part of a request to the NNSA.
As part of the larger NNSA project, Livermore and other researchers
will also develop new and enhanced detection systems, and will train
personnel in the use of detection technology.
During tests of the radiation detection instruments, Lab researchers
placed small amounts of nuclear materials amidst other goods that
might be shipped inside cargo containers.
Among the radiation sources used in the testing were plutonium,
enriched uranium, cesium 137, barium 133, phosphorus 32 and
combinations of these sources.
------------------
UK navy base in Gibraltar loses radioactive part
GIBRALTAR, Aug 15 (Reuters) - A small radioactive piece of equipment
has gone missing at a British naval base on Gibraltar,
prompting the British colony's government to call for a review of
security at the base.
The government voiced its concern after British forces revealed on
Wednesday that they had lost the part, which they said posed
little risk to the public.
The loss comes at a time of strained relations between the Gibraltar
government and London over British-Spanish talks to end the
300-year-old dispute over the tiny but strategically located
territory on Spain's southern coast.
A statement from British forces in Gibraltar said the loss was
discovered during a routine check at the naval base. It described the
missing item as a "sealed radioactive test source" used to check
monitoring equipment kept at the dockyard.
"There is little risk from this item as exposure to it still equates
to lower dosage than normal background radioactive levels found
naturally," the statement said.
If the lid sealing the equipment was removed the radioactive dose
from 30 minutes of exposure would be less than one third of that
received during a three-hour civilian aircraft flight, the statement
said.
It said an investigation had been launched into the loss of the item,
which measures five cm (two inches) across.
The Gibraltar government took note of the military's assurances that
the risk of exposure was very low, but said it was seeking
independent advice and verification.
"The (Gibraltar) government believes that while this incident may in
itself be small, urgent steps need to be taken by the Ministry of
Defence to investigate this matter and review its security
arrangements to ensure that these are not compromised in any way in
future," it said in a statement.
A controversy over a stranded British nuclear submarine is fresh in
people's minds. HMS Tireless spent nearly a year in Gibraltar
undergoing repairs after developing a small crack in the cooling
system of its nuclear reactor.
Environmentalists and residents of Gibraltar and southern Spain
protested against the presence of the submarine, which finally left
in
May 2001.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said last month Britain and
Spain had reached broad agreement on Gibraltar that would include
sharing sovereignty. Gibraltar Chief Minister Peter Caruana called
Straw's comments a betrayal.
One of the remaining differences between London and Madrid is over
the status of the British military base in Gibraltar.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has said Britain would retain control over
the base, but said its status could change to a NATO base,
giving Spain access it had not previously enjoyed.
------------------
Are America's Nuclear Power Plants Safe? Jake Thoene Explores the
`What If? in Techno-Thriller
WHEATON, Ill., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- In today's post-9/11 world,
debate rages over the safety of America's nuclear power plants
from terrorist attacks. The Nuclear Energy Institute claims the
plants are safe while others argue they're not. But, while the
debate
continues, one question remains: What if?
Rising author Jake Thoene explores the possibility of a nuclear
meltdown in "Shaiton's Fire" (Tyndale House Publishers, August
2002, $12.99) a story of suspense and intrigue, action and adventure.
Written before September 11th, Thoene takes readers into the
minds of a terrorist cell working to destroy the lives of millions of
Americans by attacking a California nuclear power plant. And he
takes readers into the dangerous and exciting world of a newly formed
US internal terrorism-fighting team, "Chapter 16."
When a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) subway station is bombed one day
after the anniversaries of Waco and Ruby Ridge,
"Chapter 16" is called in to help. Members Teresa Bouche (political
liaison), Steve Alstead (FBI -- tactical commander), Anton
Brown (FBI agent), Charles Downing (profiler and intelligence
analyst), Miles Miller (computer hacker extraordinaire), and Dr.
Timothy
Turnow (expert on weapons of mass destruction) -- all chosen for this
elite team because of their unique backgrounds, training, and
experience -- meet with former Senator James Morrison (executive
director) for their first assignment.
Woven in with their investigations -- including the bomb site, the
mysterious man carrying the briefcase on the train (who seemingly
exited with it, too), a druggie who claims to know about the bombing,
an undercover mission investigating the American Militia
Compound in Boise, Idaho, an explosion at a natural gas storage
facility, a body found floating in the Bay -- with a finger cut off --
and a kidnapping -- are also the stories and life of Steve's
estranged wife, Cindy, and their two boys, and Paul Salim, the
assistant
director of the nuclear power plant, who is threatened by a Middle-
Eastern man while enjoying Disneyland with his family.
The reader is additionally pulled into the parallel life and thoughts
of the real bombers -- Shaiton's Fire -- a small, radical wing of the
Middle- Eastern group, Hezbollah, determined to destroy millions of
Americans. Members Shadir and Rhamad and leader, Khalili,
have a much bigger plan in mind -- to blow up the Diablo Canyon
Nuclear Power Plant in California, thus making their stance against
America and their hate for the American ways and people known. And
they have the ability and resources to do it.
As the terrorists plot their next move, the "Chapter 16" team works
to discover the truth behind the BART bombing and the events that
follow. But will they be too late?
Jake Thoene, son of best-selling authors Brock and Bodie Thoene, has
co-authored numerous adult and young adult novels. Currently he
teaches English in California, where he resides with his wife and
three sons.
-------------------------------------------------
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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