No decision on new French nuclear reactor - PM

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

Index:



No decision on new French nuclear reactor - PM

German state may try legal block to keep nuclear

Leak Discovered at N.H. Nuclear Plant

INTERVIEW - Slovak power firm sees interest for nuclear assets

Iran Wants to Allay Nuclear Concerns

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



No decision on new French nuclear reactor - PM



PARIS, Oct 9 (Reuters) - France has made no decision yet on whether 

to build a new advanced nuclear power reactor to plug an energy 

supply gap in 10 years' time, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre 

Raffarin announced on Thursday.



The statement came after Industry Minister Nicole Fontaine said 

earlier this week she backed launching the European pressurised water 

reactor (EPR), renewing the world's No. 2 nuclear power producer's 

dependence on the energy source.



Raffarin's office said in a statement it would publish a broad 

consultation paper on France's future energy policy in a few weeks' 

time as a basis for public debate.



"Mme Fontaine was acting fully within her role of making proposals. 

No decision has been taken by the prime minister," the statement 

said.



"The role of nuclear energy will obviously be discussed (in the 

consultation paper) but the Government also plans to propose 

ambitious measures aimed at controlling demand and reinforcing the 

role of renewable energies," it said.



The EPR project by French state-owned nuclear energy services firm 

Areva and Germany's Siemens, has waited for two years for the green 

light in France amid protests by anti-nuclear groups.



Fontaine's comments at a news conference on Wednesday sparked 

protests from French opposition parliamentarians that Raffarin's 

conservative government was not interested in consulting before 

making a final decision.



At present, nuclear reactors supply nearly 80 percent of France's 

power needs. Fontaine said EPR was both safer and more cost-effective 

than the current generation of reactors.

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



German state may try legal block to keep nuclear



FRANKFURT, Oct 9 (Reuters) - One of Germany's most powerful states, 

Baden-Wuerttemberg, said on Thursday it may go to court to stop the 

national government from phasing out nuclear energy over the next 20 

years.



Abandoning nuclear power would cause considerable economic and 

ecological damage as it was unclear how lost capacity would be 

replaced if not through coal-fired power plants, one of the most 

polluting ways to generate energy, it said.



"Baden-Wuerttemberg currently examines the option of going to the 

Federal Constitutional Court to stop Germany's nuclear energy exit," 

a spokesman for the state's economy ministry said.



"Some questions still remain unanswered and we also want to talk 

about the issue with other German states, particularly (the Christian 

Democratic-led) Bavaria and Hesse," he said.



The German Social Democratic-Green government coalition aims to 

entirely ditch nuclear power, which accounts for almost a third of 

national energy generation, by the early 2020s.



Europe's biggest economy is also pressing on with political targets 

to slash emissions of greenhouse gases, which largely rule out the 

promotion of "dirty" coal-based technology.



"We are not against renewable energy sources, but they will not 

suffice to fill the supply gap," said the ministry spokesman.



In Baden-Wuerttemberg, five nuclear power stations with a total 

capacity of 4,900 megawatts, are due to be closed by 2022.



The reactors supplied some 58 percent of the southern German state's 

electricity, while wind turbines, one of the renewable energy 

technologies promoted by the federal government, only generated some 

0.35 percent of total power output.



"Our goal is therefore to prolong the lifetime of existing nuclear 

power stations, which would be cost efficient and less polluting," 

said the spokesman.



Baden-Wuerttemberg is home to much of Germany's export industries, 

including carmakers DaimlerChrysler and Porsche.

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



Leak Discovered at N.H. Nuclear Plant



CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Inspectors at the Seabrook Station nuclear plant 

discovered a coolant leak inside the containment dome that is similar 

to one that caused an expensive and lengthy shutdown of a plant in 

Ohio.  



The leak, discovered Tuesday and reported to the Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, poses no danger and was caught in time to prevent costly 

damage, a spokesman for the plant and an NRC spokeswoman said.



The leak was discovered during a monthlong refueling shutdown that 

began Saturday morning, plant spokesman Alan Griffith said.



"It's a very small and recent leak," he said.



The leak was in a weld on a pipe that surrounds a mechanism that 

moves fuel rods in and out of the reactor. The leak allowed a 

coolant, which contains corrosive particles, to escape from the pipe.



If allowed to accumulate for months or years, the coolant can eat 

through steel. Plant technicians think the leak started in the last 

two to three weeks, Griffith said.



A leak at Ohio's Davis-Besse plant went undetected for years and the 

coolant nearly ate through a 6-inch steel cap protecting the reactor. 

It was the most extensive corrosion ever at a U.S. nuclear reactor 

and cost the plant's operator more than $500 million for repairs and 

the purchase of power from other sources.



That leak was discovered in March 2002; the plant may reopen this 

fall.

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



INTERVIEW - Slovak power firm sees interest for nuclear assets



BRATISLAVA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Slovakia's plan to sell dominant power 

producer Slovenske Elektrarne (SE) is expected to attract more than 

one bidder interested in buying both the firm's conventional and 

nuclear assets, SE's chairman said on Wednesday.



The government aims to sell at least 49 percent in SE in the 

country's last transfer of control in a major state-run utility.



The government will soon re-open a tender originally launched over a 

year ago to allow Czech utility CEZ and other potential bidders into 

the contest after the initial attempt showed low interest for SE's 

nuclear power stations. SE Chairman Miroslav Rapsik told Reuters in 

an interview at an energy conference that more than one firm could 

show interest in buying the whole company, not just its conventional 

hydroelectric and gas- and coal-fired plants.



"I expect there to be at least two or three investors interested in 

SE as a whole," Rapsik said.



Eight firms originally showed interest in SE, but they all only 

wanted the company's conventional generation facilities.



Industry insiders said firms shied away from the nuclear part because 

of its enormous debt, stranded costs, and its need to decommission 

the older of its two plants. Stranded costs are unrecouped 

investments at a plant because the assets cannot make electricity at 

competitive prices.



CEZ, seen as a frontrunner in the sale, has said the Czech state, its 

majority owner, would support acquiring the nuclear activities.



Sources close to the deal say U.S.-based AES Corp, Germany's E.ON and 

EnBW, Austria's Verbund, Italy's Enel, Electricite de France and 

Britain's International Power are other potential bidders.



The state's sale adviser, PricewaterhouseCooper's Peter Mitka, said 

on Wednesday he expected more than 10 firms to participate after the 

relaunch.



Mitka has said Slovakia will advertise in newspapers this week for 

new expressions of interest, with a deadline of November 10 and 

preliminary bids expected by year-end.



2005-2006 TIMETABLE



Slovak Economy Minister Pavol Rusko said earlier this week the sale 

could take until mid-2006 if the government decides SE must be split 

and sold in separate nuclear and conventional parts.



But he said the deal could close sooner if it is sold in one piece. 

Rapsik agreed: "If we consider (to sell it) as a whole, the deadline 

of the end of 2005 is more or less realistic."



He added SE will have to agree with the state on how to deal with 

some 44 billion crowns ($1.3 billion) in stranded costs linked to the 

nuclear assets, including two unfinished blocks at the newer of 

Slovakia's two nuclear stations, Mochovce.



SE has long faced problems with regulations that keep energy prices 

artificially low.



"If blocks three and four (at Mochovce) are not solved, the burden 

would be so high that interest in the sale would be lower," Rapsik 

said. Slovakia's other nuclear plant, Bohunice, is scheduled to begin 

decommissioning in 2006.



Rapsik said SE is unlikely to significantly lower its debt, which 

reached 54.6 billion crowns at end-2002 versus 50.8 billion of own 

capital, as a majority of the company's earnings go to service 

interest on existing debt.



He said SE should post a moderate profit this year after a net profit 

of 235 million crowns in 2002.

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



Iran Wants to Allay Nuclear Concerns



TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's president said Wednesday his government 

will do everything it can to allay concerns about its nuclear program 

as long as such efforts do not entail a threat to the nation's 

security.  



The International Atomic Energy Agency has given Iran until the end 

of the month to prove it has no plans to produce nuclear weapons. The 

U.N. watchdog has also called on Iran to sign an additional protocol 

to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, providing IAEA inspectors 

with unfettered access to any site.



"We are ready to do everything that does not damage our national 

security, sovereignty and territorial integrity - even accepting the 

additional protocol," President Mohammad Khatami told reporters.



He did not explain in which circumstances IAEA access might be 

limited by national security concerns, and a government spokesman 

could not be reached for comment Wednesday.



"We are ready to exert all efforts to ease concerns ... (about) the 

proliferation of nuclear weapons, which we are sure we are not 

seeking," Khatami said. "But we expect our right to the peaceful use 

of nuclear energy to be respected."



Iran says its nuclear program is strictly for generating electricity, 

particularly after its oil reserves run out. But the United States 

strongly suspects that Iran is building atomic bombs, and has urged 

the IAEA to declare the country in breach of the treaty, which 

forbids the acquisition of nuclear weapons.



If the IAEA board of directors, which is scheduled to meet in 

November, is not satisfied by Iran's steps to comply with the Oct. 31 

deadline, it is expected to refer the matter to the U.N. Security 

Council. The Security Council could impose sanctions on Iran.



Khatami did not promise that Iran will meet the deadline and hinted 

that more time might be needed.



"Still, we have time before the 90th minute," Khatami said with a 

smile, referring to the length of a soccer match and extra time for 

injuries. "Sometimes you have five to six minutes of extra time."



The president said he hoped the IAEA will issue a fair assessment of 

Iran's attempt to cooperate with the U.N. agency.



"We have implemented a considerable part of the protocol, and our 

cooperation has been beyond our obligations under Nuclear Non-

Proliferation Treaty. I hope, with the grace of God, the cooperation 

we have extended will lead to a fair report.



"That means the (IAEA) report will not be influenced by pressure," 

Khatami said, making an oblique reference to U.S. claims about Iran's 

nuclear program.



Khatami added that a majority of Iranians want their country to 

pursue a peaceful nuclear program.



Earlier this month, Iran's foreign minister said the country would do 

all it could to prevent the issue from going to the Security Council. 

But hardline members of the ruling hierarchy have called for a 

withdrawal from the treaty.

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

Sandy Perle

Vice President, Technical Operations

Global Dosimetry Solutions, Inc.

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/

Global Dosimetry Solution Website: http://www.dosimetry.com/



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