Cell Phone-Tumor Lawsuit Is Tossed

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

Note:  I will be out of the country from Oct. 3 - 28, and there will 

be no news mailings during this time.  



Index:



Cell Phone-Tumor Lawsuit Is Tossed

Neb fined in Nuclear Dump Fight

U.S. reacts cautiously to Turkish uranium seizure

Koizumi tells Hiranuma to put priority on nuclear issue

TEPCO investigating new charge of nuclear cover-up

CA Gov. Davis Vetoes Low-Level Radioactive Wste Bill

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



Cell Phone-Tumor Lawsuit Is Tossed



BALTIMORE (AP) - A federal judge Monday tossed out an $800 million 

lawsuit filed by a Maryland doctor who claims cell phones caused his 

brain tumor.



U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake said none of the evidence 

submitted by Dr. Christopher Newman was substantial enough to warrant 

a trial against cell phone manufacturer Motorola and several major 

cell phone carriers.



The $45 billion wireless industry has been watching the case closely 

because could have opened the door to other lawsuits if allowed to 

proceed. No other such claims have succeeded so far.



Newman, a neurologist, claims the older, analog cell phone he used 

from 1992 to 1998 caused his brain cancer.



Newman's attorneys presented scientific evidence showing that analog 

phones may cause tumors, but Blake ruled it was overwhelmed by 

evidence showing no relationship between cell phone radiation and 

cancer.



Newman's attorney, John Angelos, said he told Newman of the decision.



``He is disappointed, as we are. We didn't pass the standard,'' 

Angelos said, adding that his firm may appeal.



Newman's tumor was removed, but his lawyers said he is blind in one 

eye, suffers memory loss and slowed speech, and can no longer work.



Cell phones are used by 97 million Americans. Digital phones emit 

radiation in pulses; older analog varieties emit continuous waves. By 

the time cell phones exploded in popularity in the late 1990s, most 

of those sold used digital technology.



Three major studies published since December 2000, including one by 

the National Cancer Institute, found no harmful health effects from 

cell phones.



Newman's attorneys pegged much of their suit on research by Swedish 

oncologist Lennart Hardell, who published a study in this month's 

European Journal of Cancer Prevention that found long-term users of 

analog cell phones were at least 30 percent more likely than nonusers 

to develop brain tumors.



But Blake questioned Hardell's methodology and said the study hasn't 

been ``replicated or validated'' by other scientists. She also cited 

several studies that rejected the findings.



On the Net:



Ruling: 

http://www.mdd.uscourts.gov/Opinions152/Opinions/newman0902.pdf

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



Neb fined in Nuclear Dump Fight



LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A federal judge fined Nebraska $151 million 

Monday for thwarting a plan to open a radioactive waste dump in a 

remote county.



U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf agreed with utilities and other 

states that sued former Gov. Ben Nelson, accusing him of acting in 

bad faith when he refused to issue a license for the multistate dump 

in 1998.



``Nebraska breached its good-faith obligation under the contract,'' 

the judge wrote. He added: ``I hope that this opinion will not be 

misused for partisan political purposes. Nebraskans have had quite 

enough of that self-serving behavior.''



The state is expected to appeal, and the dispute could wind up before 

the U.S. Supreme Court.



Nelson was governor from 1991 to 1999 and was elected to the Senate 

in 2000. He was not governor when the state joined a multistate 

compact to create a dump or when the other states picked Nebraska to 

host the site.



The dump, which was supposed to be in Butte along the South Dakota 

state line, was intended to store low-level radioactive waste from 

Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Such waste 

includes contaminated tools and clothing from nuclear power plants, 

hospitals and research centers.



The state argued during a trial that Nebraska denied the license 

because of pollution concerns and a high water table near the 

proposed site.



Kopf noted comments Nelson made about the dump while campaigning for 

governor in 1990.



``As a candidate, Ben Nelson promised that `If I am elected governor, 

it is not likely that there will be a nuclear dump in Boyd County,''' 

the judge wrote. Kopf also noted that while running for the Senate, 

``Nelson proudly claimed that `I kept the nuclear waste out of 

Nebraska.'''



Nelson denied acting in bad faith.



``I held out hope for an unbiased consideration of the facts,'' he 

said. ``The state has acted in good faith since the inception of the 

compact in the mid-1980's, and I am confident that on appeal 

Nebraskans will receive a fair hearing and the judgment will be 

overturned,'' he said in a statement.



Alan Peterson, a lawyer for the compact, had no immediate comment.



The battle had its genesis decades ago, when Nevada, South Carolina 

and Washington grew tired of accepting low-level radioactive waste 

from the rest of the country. Congress told states in 1980 to build 

their own dumps or join regional groups to dispose of the waste.



On the Net:



Central Interstate Low Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission: 

http://www.cillrwcc.org/

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



U.S. reacts cautiously to Turkish uranium seizure



WACO, Texas, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The United States reacted cautiously 

on Monday to reports that Turkish paramilitary police had seized 

about 5 ounces (140 grams) of weapons-grade uranium and detained two 

men accused of smuggling the material.



"We continue to evaluate the information," White House spokesman Ari 

Fleischer told reporters in Waco, as President George W. Bush was 

returning to Washington after a weekend at his Texas ranch.



"I do not have at this time anything that is determinative about it," 

Fleischer said. "Unless and until we have that, and we will, the 

administration is just going to monitor. ... I would just urge people 

not to leap to conclusions."



Turkey's state-run Anatolian news agency said on Saturday officers in 

the southern province of Sanliurfa, which borders Syria and is about 

155 miles (250 km) from the Iraqi border, were acting on a tip-off on 

Saturday when they stopped a taxi cab and discovered the uranium in a 

lead container hidden beneath the vehicle's seat, the agency said.



Atomic energy experts in Turkey have not yet determined the amount of 

the confiscated substance and whether it is in fact weapons-grade 

uranium, Anatolian said on Monday.



"The material said to be of a purity used in nuclear weapons has not 

yet reached the Nuclear Research and Training Center, where an 

analysis will be immediately conducted," the Atomic Energy Institute 

said in a statement carried by Anatolian.



The incident came at a time of mounting speculation that the United 

States could launch a military attack on neighboring Iraq for its 

alleged program of weapons of mass destruction.



Bush has accused Baghdad of clandestine efforts to develop a nuclear 

bomb as his administration works to build international support for 

an operation to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.



Turkish authorities believe the uranium may have come from an east 

European country.

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



Koizumi tells Hiranuma to put priority on nuclear issue



TOKYO, Sept. 30 (Kyodo) - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told Takeo 

Hiranuma to put a priority on restoring the nation's confidence in 

nuclear safety in reappointing him the minister of economy, trade and 

industry in a cabinet shuffle Monday, Hiranuma said.



''The premier gave me a three-point plan in writing. First of all, he 

called for utmost efforts to restore the people's confidence in 

nuclear safety administration,'' Hiranuma said at his first press 

conference after being reappointed.



The second and third items concerned taking measures centering on 

technological innovations to revitalize the Japanese economy and 

ensuring energy policies, he said.



Hiranuma had expected to lose the post as his predecessors have 

served on average about a year in the position, he said.



The 63-year-old House of Representatives member has served as trade 

minister for two years and three months after becoming the 

international trade and industry minister, the former title of the 

post, in July 2000.



With Monday's appointment, however, Hiranuma will likely surpass 

Hajime Tamura, one of his predecessors who served two years and five 

months from 1986 to 1988 as the longest-serving trade minister.

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



TEPCO investigating new charge of nuclear cover-up



TOKYO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said on 

Monday it is investigating newspaper reports that it regularly 

manipulated safety data for inspections of reactors at two plants in 

Fukushima, north of Tokyo.



"We are investigating the case and hope to unveil results of the 

internal investigation this week," a TEPCO spokesman said.



The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said on Monday that sources at Hitachi 

Ltd, which checked TEPCO's equipment, said it manipulated the air 

pressure of nuclear reactor containment vessels in order to pass 

safety checks. The incidents occurred in the 1980s and 1990s, it 

said.



Steel containment vessels, usually more than 30 metres (100 ft) tall, 

cover reactor pressure vessels that surround the reactor core. The 

vessels are designed to prevent radiation leaks if an accident occurs 

in the reactor.



The Yomiuri said TEPCO prepared two versions of in-house inspection 

reports on regular maintenance checks at both the reactors -- an 

internal one with the actual data and an official one with data after 

it had manipulated the pressure to give false readings.



The containment vessel needs to be completely airtight, and tests of 

the leak-rate are an important part of inspections.



TEPCO was able to pass the tests by submitting data which showed leak 

rates to be lower than they actually were.



Another local newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun, said documents showed 

cheating on air pressure safety testS by TEPCO could be the utility's 

most dangerous cover-up.



The Asahi said excessive leak rates could result in operations of 

nuclear plants being suspended.



TEPCO admitted in late August that it had hidden the existence of 

cracks at several of its nuclear reactors over a period of several 

years, partly by falsifying data on safety checks.



Since then several other power firms have said they also failed to 

report cracks at their nuclear reactors.



Resource-poor Japan relies on nuclear power for one-third of its 

power supply.



By early afternoon on the Tokyo stock market, TEPCO's shares were 

down 40 yen or 1.8 percent at 2,180 yen, while the benchmark 

Nikkei stock average was down 2.09 percent.

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



GOVERNOR DAVIS VETOES LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE BILL



SACRAMENTO - Governor Gray Davis has vetoed SB 1970, by Senator 

Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles).  



The bill would have prohibited the disposal of most radioactive waste 

at solid and hazardous waste landfills. In his veto message, 

Governor Davis noted the following:  



" This bill redefines the term  ' radioactive waste '  to include any 

discarded decommissioned material with the slightest trace of 

detectable radioactivity not attributable to background sources, and 

prohibits all such material from being disposed of at all existing 

hazardous or solid waste disposal facilities in the State of 

California. As written, this bill is overly broad, unworkable and 

would do 

little to significantly enhance protection of the public health. "  



To Members of the California State Senate:  



I am returning Senate Bill 1970 without my signature.  This bill 

redefines the term "radioactive waste" to include any discarded 

decommissioned material with the slightest trace of detectable 

radioactivity not attributable to background sources, and prohibits 

all 

such material from being disposed of at all existing hazardous or 

solid waste disposal facilities in the State of California.  As 

written, 

this bill is overly broad, unworkable and would do little to 

significantly enhance protection of the public health.  



In negotiations with the author of this bill, I offered to sign 

legislation that permanently banned disposal of all decommissioned 

material with radioactive emissions above background levels at public 

landfills (Class III facilities) in California.  I committed to 

conduct a scientifically based assessment of public health and 

environmental safety risks of other disposal methods. The author 

rejected this and sent me a bill that virtually bans all methods of 

disposal anywhere in California without a sound scientific basis for 

issuing such a sweeping prohibition.   



There is significant disagreement among scientists and health experts 

as to what level of exposure to materials with trace amounts 

of residual radioactivity from facilities decommissioned in 

accordance with state and federal laws constitutes a public health 

risk. 

This bill requires that all decommissioned material be disposed of at 

specially licensed facilities - even material with emissions lower 

than what is typically found in many household items - watches, smoke 

detectors, and building materials such as red brick, granite 

and marble.  



The practical effect of this bill would be to force California 

businesses, universities and medical facilities to ship tons of 

material, 

such as dirt and concrete, that has not been determined to present a 

public health risk, to out-of-state disposal facilities.  The cost 

of shipping this material out of state would be in the hundreds of 

millions of dollars, placing an enormous burden on critical research 

and manufacturing. The bill ' s requirements could inhibit the 

development of biomedical research and impact the cost of medical 

procedures and cancer treatment in California.  



In an effort to address the concerns expressed by the sponsors of 

this legislation, I am issuing an Executive Order that will do the 

following:  



* Impose a moratorium on the disposal of all decommissioned materials 

with emissions above background levels in public landfills 

(Class III) and unclassified waste management facilities.  The State 

Water Resources Control Board is directed to begin 

implementation of the moratorium within the next 30 days.  



*  Direct the Department of Health Services to develop regulations 

for decommissioning licensed facilities utilizing the California 

Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process.  The Department is 

directed, as part of the CEQA review process, to include an 

assessment of the public health and environmental risk factors  

regarding disposal of decommissioned material and to make 

recommendations at the conclusion of this review.  



If further restrictions are recommended based on sound scientific 

evidence, I will act on those recommendations.  The moratorium on 

disposal of decommissioned materials above background levels in 

public landfills will be in place until the Department completes its 

assessment and the regulations take effect, at which time a new 

Executive Order may be issued or legislation sought to act on the 

Department's recommendations. Without this science-based review, this 

legislation is premature.  



I respect and appreciate the sincerity and dedication of those who 

sponsored SB 1970.  Although this bill is not the answer, I encourage 

the author and the sponsors of this measure to participate in the 

scientific assessment and the CEQA process.  



Sincerely,  



GRAY DAVIS  



EXECUTIVE ORDER D-62-02 by the  

Governor of the State of California



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

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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