EU lawmakers urge action on nuclear waste pile

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

Index:



EU lawmakers urge action on nuclear waste pile

Russia Says 'No' to Nuclear Fusion Plant in Japan

Ship carrying nuclear waste leaves France for Japan

Strike Averted at New York Nuke Plant

Progress says its nukes made record power in 2003

Experts: No Mobile Phone Link to Health

Westinghouse to Acquire PaR Nuclear Business

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



EU lawmakers urge action on nuclear waste pile



STRASBOURG, France, Jan 13 (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers said 

on Tuesday the bloc must take urgent action to decide how to dispose 

of its growing pile of highly radioactive nuclear waste in the long 

term.



At a meeting in Strasbourg, members of the European Parliament said 

that while burying nuclear waste deep in the ground seemed the safest 

method, more research was needed to find alternatives.



Nearly all countries produce nuclear waste, some types of which can 

remain radioactive for thousands of years, but they cannot agree on 

the best way to store it.



The EU produces about 40,000 cubic metres (1.4 million cubic feet) of 

radioactive waste each year, most originating from nuclear power 

plants. At present, this waste is usually stored in interim 

warehouses.



The problem is likely to become worse when the EU admits 10 new 

countries as members from May 1, as they are mostly central and 

eastern European states where there are several ageing Soviet-era 

nuclear reactors.



"It will be up to the member states to decide. It's up to the council 

(of ministers) -- but I think they'll probably go for it," said 

British Conservative MEP Giles Chichester.



He was speaking after the European Parliament's adoption of a report 

recommending urgent action to avoid the responsibility of managing 

the EU's mounting quantities of spent fuel held in temporary storage 

being passed on to future generations.



EU countries, which are at present responsible for nuclear safety, 

plan to build repositories by around 2020 but some laggards have not 

even started considering sites.



Experts say the technology exists for secure underground deposits 

which could last for millions of years. Most countries plan to seal 

their hazardous waste in containers and store it deep underground -- 

but sceptics say it would be bound to leak at some stage, or be 

attacked by terrorists.



The MEPs' report, which is non-binding, calls for the European 

Commission to specify facilities that would be unacceptable for 

nuclear waste disposal, such as sea and space.



It also said there should be no export of EU nuclear waste to third 

countries because moving it was not environmentally safe.

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



Russia Says 'No' to Nuclear Fusion Plant in Japan



MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Thursday declined Japanese pleas to back 

Tokyo's bid to host a disputed nuclear fusion reactor as the global 

contest for the multi-billion project threatened to hurt relations 

among the participants.



Japan and France are vying for the right to build the world's first 

such reactor, but the six members of the joint venture have so far 

failed to agree on the site. The plant would generate energy the same 

way the sun does.



Russia and China favor the French site of Cadarache. South Korea and 

the United States -- in a move seen in Paris as a bid to punish it 

for opposing the U.S.-led war in Iraq -- back Japan's fishing village 

of Rokkasho.



Japanese Science Minister Takeo Kawamura was in Moscow on Thursday 

for closed-door talks with Russia's nuclear top brass, but was given 

a firm 'no' mixed with diplomatic politeness from the Russian side, a 

source in Russia's Atomic Energy Ministry said.



"Our position is clear. They haven't been able to convince us, 

although we were really nice to them today," the source told Reuters 

after talks between Kawamura and Russian Atomic Energy Minister 

Alexander Rumyantsev.



"The French site is cheaper and thus more acceptable."



The decision on the $12 billion project, due to be taken by consensus 

among the participants of the International Thermonuclear 

Experimental Reactor (ITER), has been postponed until February.



Russia's staunch refusal could undermine the recently warming 

relations between Moscow and Tokyo. The two countries remain 

technically at war, with Russia refusing Japan's demand to return 

four small islands in the Far East seized in the final days of World 

War II.



Nuclear fusion has been touted as a solution to the world's energy 

problems, as it would be low in pollution and could theoretically use 

seawater as fuel.



Fusion involves sticking atomic particles together as opposed to 

existing nuclear reactors and weapons which produce energy by 

splitting atoms apart. Fifty years of research have so far failed to 

produce a commercially viable fusion reactor.

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



Ship carrying nuclear waste leaves France for Japan



AOMORI, Japan, Jan. 20 (Kyodo) - A freighter carrying reprocessed 

Japanese nuclear waste left Cherbourg in northern France on Monday 

afternoon for Rokkasho in Japan's Aomori Prefecture, where its cargo 

is to be put in a long-term storage facility, electric power 

companies said Tuesday.



The 132 blocks of vitrified waste were reprocessed in France from 

spent nuclear fuel removed from nuclear reactors in Japan. The 

shipment, the ninth of its kind, is expected to arrive in Japan in 

early March and the waste will be stored at the facility for 30 to 50 

years.



Tokyo, Chubu, Kansai, Shikoku and Kyushu Electric Power companies own 

the waste. The Rokkasho facility is owned by Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. 

and is located 7 kilometers from the port.



The transport of nuclear waste between Japan and Europe for recycling 

has sparked criticism in Japan and abroad.

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



Strike Averted at New York Nuke Plant



NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (Jan. 18) - Negotiators averted a strike early 

Sunday at a nuclear power plant just north of New York City, reaching 

tentative agreement on a four-year contract for control room 

operators and other key workers.



The deal came after the two sides agreed to negotiate beyond the 

midnight strike deadline set by Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers 

Union of America.



''This was a very, very difficult negotiation, but we ended up with 

across-the-board improvements in wages and benefits, and it's fair to 

say we're very happy,'' said Manny Hellen, president of Local 1-2.



Hellen confirmed the agreement Sunday, hours after plant owner 

Entergy Nuclear Northeast announced the deal in a press release.



Entergy said the contract covers not just the 276 union members at 

Indian Point 3, but also 282 workers at the Indian Point 2 power 

plant. The plants had had separate owners and separate contracts 

before Entergy bought them in 2000 and 2001.



The agreement was a relief to some who worried about the safety of 

the nuclear plant if a strike occurred. The reactors are in Buchanan, 

N.Y., on the Hudson River, 35 miles north of midtown Manhattan. The 

operation and security of the plants have been concerns in the region 

since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.



Entergy had pledged to keep the reactor running during a walkout, 

with managers and supervisors prepared to take over according to a 

contingency plan approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano had called for the plant to 

be closed during a strike.



Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.



Under the previous contracts, experienced workers at Indian Point 

earned about $60,000 a year plus overtime and benefits, the union 

said.



Union spokesman Steve Mangione said the new contract would be 

submitted to the union's executive board for approval on Tuesday. 

Union members will vote on ratification within a month.

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



Progress says its nukes made record power in 2003



NEW YORK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Progress Energy Inc. said Friday its 

nuclear power plants produced a record amount of electricity in 2003, 

generating over a third of the energy used by the company's 2.8 

million customers in the Carolinas and Florida.



The company's five nuclear units set a generating record of about 35 

million megawatt hours last year, accounting for about 36 percent of 

its total electrical generation, Progress said in a statement.



Progress owns the two-unit Brunswick nuclear plant, with a combined 

capacity of 1,752 megawatts in Southport, North Carolina, along with 

the 900 MW Harris nuclear plant near New Hill, North Carolina.



Progress also owns the 710 MW Robinson 2 nuclear unit near 

Hartsville, South Carolina, and has majority ownership of the 842 MW 

Crystal River 3 nuclear unit near Crystal River, Florida.



One megawatt is roughly enough to power 1,000 average homes.



The record output came despite three of the five nuclear units being 

shut for several weeks last year for scheduled refueling and 

maintenance, the Raleigh, North Carolina-based company said.



The plants operated at a 96.8 percent combined capacity factor, 

representing the plants' operating efficiency by comparing how much 

electricity is actually produced with the amount of electricity the 

plants are capable of producing.



Progress said that, in addition to record output, each of the nuclear 

units had record low levels of radiation exposure for employees in 

2003.

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



Experts: No Mobile Phone Link to Health



LONDON (AP) - There is no evidence linking mobile phones to cancer or 

other health problems, but more research needs to be done to be sure, 

a panel of experts said Wednesday.



The scientists, who are advising the British government, said 

existing research into the health effects of cell phones "does not 

give cause for concern" that the devices cause cancer "nor any other 

adverse health effect."



But the panel added that knowledge about the effects of exposure to 

radio waves emitted by the phones "has limitations, and mobile phones 

have only been in widespread use for a relatively short time."



The findings of the panel, chaired by epidemiologist Anthony 

Swerdlow, broadly agree with those of an earlier advisory group's 

report in 2000.



That group said there was no clear evidence that mobile phones were 

harmful to health, but cautioned there could be as-yet unknown 

biological effects of exposure to the phones' low levels of 

radiation. It advised children, who could be more vulnerable to any 

potential harm, to limit their use of mobile phones.



The Swerdlow panel said there had been no new substantial studies on 

the effects of childhood exposure to cell phones since the 2000 

report.



The panel encouraged "better studies, rather than simply more" into 

the effects of cell phone use, and encouraged research over longer 

time periods than has been the case until now.



Swerdlow said several large studies currently under way - including 

one by the United Nations' International Agency for Research on 

Cancer involving 6,500 brain tumor cases from 13 countries - would 

help make the picture clearer. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration 

also supports additional research.



A federal appeals court in the United States last fall upheld the 

dismissal of an $800 million lawsuit filed by a Maryland doctor who 

said his cell phone use caused his brain tumor.



That case had been supported by the work of a Swedish oncologist, Dr. 

Lennart Hardell, who said his research showed that long-term cell 

phone use carried a higher risk for general development of tumors. 

But the district court judge questioned Hardell's methodology and 

cited studies that rejected the findings.



The Mobile Operators Association, a trade group representing the cell 

phone industry in Britain, welcomed the findings of the new report 

and said it encouraged further studies.



"The industry is committed to addressing public concerns about mobile 

telephony in an open and transparent way," said executive director 

Mike Dolan.



On the Net:



Advisory Group on Non-Iodizing Radiation: 

http://www.nrpb.org/advisory-groups/agnir

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



Westinghouse to Acquire PaR Nuclear Business



PITTSBURGH, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Westinghouse Electric 

Company and PaR Systems, Inc., today announced a letter of intent 

calling for Westinghouse to purchase a controlling, 80 percent 

interest in PaR's commercial Nuclear Equipment and Services Group. 

Currently, PaR is majority owned by American Capital, Inc. (Nasdaq: 

ACAS)



Terms were not disclosed, but the acquisition is expected to be 

finalized no later than March 31.



PaR Systems, with headquarters in suburban Minneapolis, is a leading 

provider of new equipment, upgrades and maintenance services for 

refueling systems and reactor containment and spent fuel building 

cranes. It complements the broad range of products, services and 

technology Westinghouse now offers the nuclear industry.



Steve Tritch, president and CEO of Westinghouse, said the union of 

Westinghouse and PaR Nuclear will enable Westinghouse to assume an 

industry- leading position for both fuel and materials handling.



"Westinghouse is fully committed to providing our customers with the 

broadest range of advanced technology and services," he said. "This 

acquisition will allow us to create value for our customers by 

establishing a single point of contact for all of their refueling-

related needs. It will also broaden our outage scope to include in-

containment material handling and maintenance and upgrades for 

containment polar cranes, important in that both of these are 

essential skills needed to perform world-class outages."



Mark Wrightsman, president and CEO of PaR Systems, said the formal 

merger of Westinghouse and PaR's nuclear business is logical and 

beneficial to all concerned.



"Westinghouse and PaR have worked together closely for the past eight 

years under terms of a comprehensive teaming agreement," he said. "We 

have learned much about each other's capabilities during that period, 

so we expect a seamless and flawless transition to Westinghouse."



Westinghouse Electric Company, wholly owned by BNFL plc of the United 

Kingdom, is the world's pioneering nuclear power company and is a 

leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to 

utilities throughout the world. Today, Westinghouse technology is the 

basis for approximately one-half of the world's operating nuclear 

plants.



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

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.globaldosimetry.com/



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