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UW's DeLuca defends nuclear power
Index:
UW's DeLuca defends nuclear power
Bechtel meets fuel rod cleanup deadline
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UW's DeLuca defends nuclear power
Lee Newspapers MADISON - Nuclear power is less hazardous to your
health than cancer, heart disease or driving to and from work every
day, University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School associate dean
Paul DeLuca says.
"There are no radiation effects of substance" from nuclear energy,
DeLuca told a conference in Madison this week on the Future of
Nuclear Energy in Wisconsin, which was sponsored in part by the SC
Johnson Fund Inc. based in Racine.
DeLuca was one of a series of speakers lined up for the two-day
conference, sponsored by the UW-Madison College of Engineering,
highlighting the safety of nuclear power. The conference ended
Thursday.
UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley opened the event on Wednesday,
saying wind and nuclear power are the best options for future energy
needs.
"Properly designed and operated, nuclear plants are exceedingly
simple and exceedingly safe," Wiley said.
Wisconsin has two nuclear power plants, Point Beach, near Two Rivers,
and Kewaunee, both along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Licenses for
both plants expire over the next 10 years and their owners will have
to decide if they will seek renewal for another 20 years of
operation.
A bill proposed by Rep. Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, would lift the
state's moratorium on construction of nuclear power plants.
Environmental groups complained that the conference is one-sided.
"I'm not sure why we're having this conference," since no utility
company or power producer has proposed building a nuclear plant in
Wisconsin, said Brett Hulsey, Midwest senior representative for the
Sierra Club in Madison.
"But do you want a nuclear plant in your county or do you want a wind
farm?" he asked, rhetorically.
"Nuclear power is not clean, safe, cheap or renewable," added Clean
Wisconsin spokeswoman Claire Schmidt, in a written statement.
"Relying on nuclear power means leaving a radioactive inheritance for
our children - not only tomorrow, but hundreds of thousands of years
in the future."
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Bechtel meets fuel rod cleanup deadline
IDAHO FALLS Idaho State Journal - The last nuclear reactor fuel rods
have been moved out of five underwater basins at the Idaho National
Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and moved to more earthquake-
safe containers.
The accomplishment - a milestone in efforts to clean up the site -
came three months before a deadline the Department of Energy reached
with the State of Idaho. State and federal officials were worried the
nuclear fuel could leak and contaminate the Snake River aquifer, said
INEEL spokesman Rick Dale.
"This is one more step closer in ensuring the safety of that
aquifer," Dale said.
Emptying the pools was a high priority for state and federal
officials because it reduces the risk of a radioactive leak and
contamination.
The single-wall storage pools are more prone to damage from
earthquakes or other accidents than modern, double-wall underwater
storage areas. Pools have been the preferred storage method for spent
reactor rods because water blocks radiation and dissipates heat
generated by decaying radioactive materials.
"The biggest challenge was consistency - moving 2,425 fuel rods
without ever dropping one," said transfer director Art Clark.
The rods had to be removed by the end of this year to keep INEEL on
schedule with the cleanup plan agreed upon by the Department of
Energy and the state of Idaho. That plan requires that all the
underwater storage basins be emptied by 2023, although DOE is trying
to have it done by 2012, Clark said.
About 92 percent of the used fuel at the site is now in dry storage.
One of the old pools still contains irradiated metal.
Snake River Alliance Regional Director Beatrice Brailsford said it is
important DOE doesn't forget about the irradiated pool.
She added INEEL should be commended for cleaning up the waste ahead
of schedule.
"Doing cleanup faster is a good thing as long as faster does not mean
critical steps were overlooked," Brailsford said. "What INEEL should
be focusing on is risks to the Snake River aquifer. Drycast storage
is safer than storing radioactive waste in old pools."
She added the Department of Energy and INEEL should now focus on
cleaning up the residual high-level waste, which could still pose a
problem to the region's aquifer.
Bechtel BWXT qualified for a bonus payment for completing this stage
of the work early. Bechtel and department officials refused to
disclose the bonus amount, citing privacy provisions in Bechtel's
contract.
Next, workers will prepare the rods for shipment to a geological
repository, most likely one to be opened at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
------------------------------------
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: sperle@globaldosimetry.com
E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net
Personal Website: http://sandy-travels.com/
Global Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com/
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