Radiation leak at Fugen reactor last Fri. revealed

[Sandy, Perle]

Index:



Radiation leak at Fugen reactor last Fri. revealed

Hamaoka nuke plant said most dangerous if Tokai quake occurs

Australia plans radioactive waste dump for Woomera

Court Forces DOE to Clean Up Nuke Waste

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



Radiation leak at Fugen reactor last Fri. revealed



FUKUI, Japan, July 7 (Kyodo) - There was a radiation leak last Friday 

at a low-level nuclear waste incinerator in the converter-type 

reactor Fugen, the Fukui prefectural government said Monday, 

contradicting its earlier statement there had been no radiation leak.



The amount of leakage was an estimated 4.6 million becquerels, 

fulfilling the central government's radioactivity leakage criteria of 

at least 3.7 million becquerels, according to the local government.



But the local government did not change its statement that radiation 

had not leaked outside the facility in Tsuruga and that the workers 

at the scene were not exposed to it.



Meanwhile in Tokyo, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency of the 

Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry on Monday tentatively rated the 

incident as zero minus on the seven-point international nuclear event 

scale, meaning it had no safety significance.



The incident took place Friday morning when an explosion was heard at 

a waste incinerator, which has low levels of radiation within the 

radiation-controlled area of the 165,000-kilowatt reactor operated by 

the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute. A resulting fire was 

soon put out.



Fugen began full-scale operation in 1979 but has been suspended since 

March 29. Spent fuel rods are scheduled to be removed and the plant 

dismantled down by 2010.

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



Hamaoka nuke plant said most dangerous if Tokai quake occurs



SAPPORO, July 7 (Kyodo) - The Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka 

Prefecture would likely be hit and cause a catastrophe in Japan and 

globally if a major earthquake hits the Tokai region, a seismologist 

warned Monday.



''The most dangerous place is the Hamaoka nuclear plant which is 

located right above the possible focus of a Tokai quake,'' said 

Katsuhiko Ishibashi, a professor at Kobe University, in a general 

meeting of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics being 

held in Sapporo.



Ishibashi described as ''insufficient'' the old quake-resistant 

standards by which Japanese nuclear facilities are designed and urged 

the government to be prepared for a nuclear disaster stemming from a 

massive earthquake.



''The seismic designs of nuclear facilities are based on standards 

that are too old from the viewpoint of modern seismology and are 

insufficient,'' he said. ''The authorities must admit the possibility 

that a nuclear-earthquake disaster could happen and weigh the risks 

objectively.''



In the event the predicted quake occurs, tidal waves up to 10 meters 

high and a 1-meter upheaval in the earth's crust could hit the 

Hamaoka plant operated by Chubu Electric Power Co., according to data 

Ishibashi provided.



This would disrupt traffic networks and prevent rescuers from 

reaching the site of the nuclear accident, he added.



Japan has 52 nuclear plants and ranks third after Germany and France, 

but quakes occur far more frequently in Japan, he said.



Moreover, its ground is soft and has many active faults, making not 

only the Hamaoka plant but also the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in 

Niigata Prefecture, the Shimane plant in Shimane Prefecture and 

several other plants along the coast of Wakasa Bay in Fukui 

Prefecture highly dangerous, he said.

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



Australia plans radioactive waste dump for Woomera



CANBERRA, July 7 (Reuters) - The Australian government said on Monday 

it had compulsorily acquired land near Woomera, the former site of a 

camp for illegal immigrants, to build a dump for low-level 

radioactive waste.



The purchase of the 6-km-square (4-mile-square) remote outback site 

ends an 11-year search for the safest place to store the material, 

which is now kept under makeshift arrangements at hospitals, 

universities, industry and government stores.



The federal government acted just hours before the government of the 

state of South Australia was due to debate a plan to turn the site 

into a park and prevent the federal government from building a waste 

dump.



Finance Minister Nick Minchin told reporters the waste dump, to be 

located around 450 km (280 miles) north of the state capital, 

Adelaide, could be operating within a year.



It will store waste from Australia's sole nuclear reactor, the Lucas 

Heights research facility in Sydney, and hospitals around the 

country.



The decision to build the dump comes just months after Australia 

finished cleaning up a former British atomic bomb test site at 

Maralinga, also in the South Australian outback, where seven tests 

were done between 1953 and 1957.



Woomera also housed one of Australia's much criticised detention 

centres for asylum seekers, mothballed in April because it had been 

almost emptied by the country's policy of turning away boat people.

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



Court Forces DOE to Clean Up Nuke Waste



BOISE, Idaho (AP) - A federal judge has overturned an Energy 

Department regulation the government said allowed it to store highly 

radioactive waste in Idaho, Washington and South Carolina.



The 15-page decision filed Thursday will require the U.S. Energy 

Department to remove all 85 million gallons of high-level liquid 

waste now stored in hundreds of tanks at federal installations in the 

three states.



``Today's decision is a victory for the people of the Tri-Cities, 

Washington state and other communities near DOE facilities who 

deserve cleanups that will protect the public health and 

environment,'' said Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire.



U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill said the Energy Department 

regulation directly conflicts with the provisions of the 1982 Nuclear 

Waste Policy Act.



The government said the material, a byproduct of reprocessing spent 

nuclear fuel for bomb construction, was exempt from the 1982 law - a 

claim Winmill rejected.



Energy Department spokesman Joe Davis said an appeal was being 

considered.



``If the decision stands, it could lead to a tremendous burden on the 

taxpayers and jeopardize our ability to clean up our sites sooner,'' 

Davis said.



It must be processed for permanent disposal at the federal dump for 

highly radioactive waste, now planned for Yucca Mountain in Nevada.



Officials in the three states had argued throughout that the 

government was using the rule to avoid the expense of dealing with 

the waste.



As much as 100 million gallons of material were stored over the years 

in 239 tanks in the three states. Some of it has been removed and 

processed for permanent disposal. About 85 million gallons remain.





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

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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