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Officials Seek to Close N.Y. Nuke Plant
Index:
Officials Seek to Close N.Y. Nuke Plant
NMC declares Alert at CMS' Mich. Palisades nuke
Unusual Event Declared Briefly at PPL Susquehanna
TEPCO may reactivate nuclear reactors in time for peak demand
Energy Dept. Criticizes Los Alamos Labs
=============================
Officials Seek to Close N.Y. Nuke Plant
BUCHANAN, N.Y. (AP) - The war with Iraq and the fear of reprisals on
U.S. soil are stoking the strongest campaign ever to close the Indian
Point nuclear power station, 35 miles north of midtown Manhattan.
Forty municipalities and 280 elected officials in three states have
endorsed a shutdown of the twin, 1970s-era reactors owned by New
Orleans-based Entergy Corp. The officials include eight members of
Congress.
Backed by a recent independent study, critics say the densely
populated area around Indian Point cannot be protected from radiation
that could be released in a major accident or terror attack.
Local and state officials have refused to certify the existing Indian
Point emergency plan as sufficient in an age of terrorist threats.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will soon have to declare
some plan workable - or begin a process that could lead to a
shutdown.
``They've been trying to close that thing since 1979 and this is the
first time I can remember that anti-nuke advocates have actually
landed a punch,'' said Christine Tezak, a power industry analyst at
Schwab Capital Markets in Washington. She still believes, however,
that Indian Point will survive.
Entergy, noting that it is in compliance with federal safety
regulations, has vowed to sue if it loses an asset worth hundreds of
millions of dollars.
``You might conclude that this is the best opportunity to shut down
the plant, maybe ever, for the anti-nuclear groups,'' company
spokesman Jim Steets said. ``But I think common sense will prevail.''
Certainly, a shutdown is unlikely. The plants provide 5.3 percent of
the state's generation capacity, more than 1,500 jobs and millions of
dollars in tax payments. Security has been tightened and the owners
say the plants are safe. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has never
closed a plant because of unsatisfactory emergency plans.
But given its proximity to New York City, Indian Point must be
considered a potential terrorist target, says Alex Matthiessen, who
leads the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition. An estimated 11.8
million people live within 50 miles of Indian Point, far more than
around any of the nation's other nuclear plants.
President Bush has acknowledged that nuclear plants are targets and,
as the war began, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge began trying
to strengthen security at the plants. In Arizona, the National Guard
was called out to protect a reactor because an intelligence report
said terrorists might attack it.
Security concerns that arose after the Sept. 11 attack - when
hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 flew over Indian Point on its
way to the World Trade Center - led New York to commission an
independent review of the plant's emergency plan.
In January, James Lee Witt Associates concluded that emergency
planning was inadequate, partly because of the failure to take
terrorism into account. Witt, a former FEMA director, said the plans
should be improved rather than abandoned, but he added in an
interview that he wasn't sure a workable safety plan was possible
around Indian Point.
NRC Chairman Richard Meserve said the Witt report ``appears to give
undue weight to the impact of potential acts of terrorism.'' But many
nearby residents agreed with the overall conclusion.
Frank Apollonio, who owns a deli near the nuclear reactors, said no
evacuation plan would work. ``Too many people, and everyone is going
to panic more than anything,'' he said.
Both sides in the debate brandish studies that differ widely on
questions about the plant, like whether an airliner could break
through its shell, how many people would have to be evacuated, how
vulnerable the spent fuel is and how the electricity the plant
generates could be replaced.
FEMA, still trying to determine whether it can ``reasonably assure''
public safety, gave state and local officials until May 2 to
reconsider their decision not to certify the power station's safety
plans. Otherwise, the agency will have to notify the NRC it has no
such assurance.
That would trigger a monthslong federal process that would give FEMA,
the state, the NRC and Entergy the chance to make sure an adequate
plan was in place. If the NRC remained unsatisfied, it would then
have to decide whether the reactors should be shut down ``or whether
other enforcement action is appropriate.''
Richard Kessel, now chairman of the Long Island Power Authority, was
a leader of the movement that closed the Shoreham nuclear plant on
Long Island in 1989 just before it would have gone into commercial
use.
Kessel says the evacuation issue at Shoreham and Indian Point is
basically the same, ``and now you have a terrorism issue that didn't
exist at the time.''
On the other hand, Entergy is a private company and its plants are
central to the region's power supply; Shoreham was never on the
region's electrical grid.
``Two thousand megawatts,'' Kessel noted, ``is a lot to lose.''
------------------
NMC declares Alert at CMS' Mich. Palisades nuke
NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - The Nuclear Management Co. (NMC)
declared an Alert at the 789 megawatt Palisades nuclear plant in
Michigan due to a temporary interruption of shutdown cooling to the
reactor caused by the loss of off-site power.
An Alert is the second lowest of four Nuclear Regulatory Commission's
(NRC) emergency classifications at U.S. nuclear power plants.
Palisades was off line for a scheduled refueling outage at the time
of the incident.
NMC said in a statement issued Tuesday there was no release of
radioactive materials and no danger to the public.
The plant is located about five miles south of South Haven, Michigan.
The company said it restored shutdown cooling and was evaluating the
cause of the event.
Palisades notified the NRC of the Alert at 11:21 a.m. EST and again
at 12:31 p.m. EST when the Alert was downgraded to an Unusual Event,
the lowest of four NRC emergency classifications, when shutdown
cooling was restored.
In accordance with federal regulations and plant procedures,
Palisades also notified appropriate governmental agencies of the
Alert declaration, including the state of Michigan, and Van Buren,
Allegan and Berrien counties.
Palisades is one of six Upper Midwest nuclear plants operated by
Nuclear Management Co. based in Hudson, Wisconsin.
The plant is owned by CMS Energy Corp.'s <CMS.N> Consumers Energy
subsidiary based in Jackson, Michigan.
------------------
Unusual Event Declared Briefly at PPL Susquehanna
BERWICK, Pa., March 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PPL Susquehanna
briefly declared an "unusual event," the lowest of four emergency
classifications for U.S. nuclear power plants, Monday afternoon
because an injured worker, contaminated with radioactive material,
had to be taken from the plant for medical treatment at an area
hospital.
The event, which lasted just over two hours, posed no threat to
public safety.
"A contract worker tripped and fell to the floor inside the
containment structure surrounding the Unit 2 reactor while erecting
scaffolding to support the ongoing planned refueling and inspection
outage," said Herbert D. Woodeshick, special assistant to the
president for PPL Susquehanna.
He said standard procedure for nuclear power plants is to declare a
low-level emergency in response to incidents of this nature. The
unusual event was declared at 4:52 p.m. and ended at 7:15 p.m.
"Plant workers and local emergency responders quickly controlled the
situation and helped get the worker to the hospital, which is
equipped to handle a contamination event," Woodeshick said.
Injuries the worker sustained in the fall are not life-threatening,
he said, and the low-level radioactive contamination, which was
confined to the worker's protective clothing, represents no long-term
health risk.
--------------------
TEPCO may reactivate nuclear reactors in time for peak demand
TOKYO, March 26 (Kyodo) - Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) may resume
power generation by early July at 10 of its nuclear reactors shut
down after the discovery last year of falsified safety reports,
industry sources said Wednesday.
The company appears capable of restarting the 10 reactors from a
technical viewpoint before electricity demand peaks in the summer,
making it possible to prevent blackouts in Tokyo and surrounding
areas, the sources said.
TEPCO, however, intends to ask for the nod from local residents who
live near its nuclear power stations, all located in Niigata and
Fukushima prefectures, before giving the go-ahead for the resumption.
TEPCO has shut down 14 of its 17 nuclear reactors for checks after
the revelations last August that Japan's largest utility, which
handles more than 30% of total domestic power demand, falsified
safety reports to cover up defects at its nuclear facilities.
The remaining three reactors are due to be closed by mid-April.
TEPCO had hoped that two reactors in Fukushima and one in
Kashiwazaki, Niigata, would be reactivated by the end of the month,
only to see the postponement of safety checks force it to change the
plan.
The sources said these three and four others in Kashiwazaki are among
the 10 reactors at which the resumption of operations is considered
feasible by July for a combined generating capacity of 10,560,000
kilowatts.
The rest includes one reactor in Fukushima, which has been shut down
for one year on a government order, with most others expected to
remain inactive all summer.
According to the sources, a crack has been found inside one reactor
and there are scheduling difficulties in arranging fresh checks at
some plants.
On top of that, TEPCO is expected to face rough going in its talks
with local residents who have harshly criticized the company and
power authorities for the cover-ups.
------------------
Energy Dept. Criticizes Los Alamos Labs
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A dozen workers at Los Alamos National
Laboratory were exposed to plutonium after researchers failed to
follow rules for handling the radioactive element, the Energy
Department said.
The review of the exposures by the department's inspector general,
dated Thursday, said the weapons lab had ``significant safety
shortcomings'' but had made improvements since the Feb. 15, 2001,
incident.
The exposures occurred while a technician handled plutonium using an
airtight device called a ``glovebox.'' A tear in a glove allowed him
to spread radioactivity after he removed his hands from the box.
The review also found that researchers failed to use certain tools,
including insulated gloves, while handling the plutonium, which is
most dangerous when inhaled.
The 12 workers in the room who were exposed have been tested for
inhalation of plutonium. Four are still undergoing tests after
evidence of possible plutonium intake was found, according to lab
officials.
Inspectors also faulted a report on the incident produced by Los
Alamos investigators. The internal report failed to discuss the cause
of the tear in the glove, among other omissions, the review said.
The inspector general launched the review after the National Nuclear
Security Administration received an anonymous complaint.
Lab spokesman Jim Danneskiold on Tuesday defended the facility's
safety standards, saying officials followed the rules and reported
the incident appropriately.
``The laboratory found that the incident was handled very well by the
staff in the room at the time, who managed to evacuate everyone''
before plutonium-exposure alarms sounded, he said.
The inspector general's report also questioned the quality of
glovebox gloves, calling it ``a continuing problem at Los Alamos.''
Danneskiold said the lab has been conducting a glove improvement
program for several years.
The DOE report acknowledges that ``management has taken positive
steps to address the concerns raised'' in its inspection.
The lab, funded by the federal government and run by the University
of California, has come under fire for an equipment theft and
purchasing fraud scandal, which is the focus of a congressional
inquiry.
-------------------------------------------------
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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