TokyoNow: Nuclear fuel recycling policy may collapse: analysts say

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

Index:



TokyoNow: Nuclear fuel recycling policy may collapse: analysts say

Boy in Norway Rides Luggage Conveyor Belt 

International Isotopes Inc. Launches Cobalt Production and Recycling

Possible strike looms at Cameco uranium plant

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TokyoNow: Nuclear fuel recycling policy may collapse: analysts say



TOKYO, July 26 (Kyodo) - The Japanese are becoming increasingly 

distrustful about the state's nuclear fuel recycling policy and the 

electric power industry following a series of revelations indicating 

that the government and the industry hid the true costs of 

reprocessing spent nuclear fuel.



The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and its predecessor, the 

Ministry of International Trade and Industry, have failed to make 

public for the last 10 days estimates showing that reprocessing spent 

nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants is much more expensive than 

burying it underground.



The state's nuclear policy, which calls for reprocessing all spent 

nuclear fuel in order to obtain plutonium to reuse as fuel, may be on 

the verge of collapse depending on future developments, industry 

analysts say.



"In Japan, no cost estimate of not reprocessing has been made," 

Kazumasa Kusaka, director general of the Natural Resources and Energy 

Agency, told a Budget Committee session of the House of Councillors 

in reply to a question from Mizuho Fukushima, head of the tiny 

opposition Social Democratic Party.



Actually, this is not quite true. There is a MITI estimate showing 

that the costs of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel are two to four 

times higher than burying it underground, and a working group studied 

the estimate in 1994.



But it seems that the government and industry do not want this 

information to be made public.



According to an industry source, an executive of an electric power 

company has said the estimate should not be released, saying, "If the 

estimate is released and found to be very expensive, the recycling 

business cannot be done."



The source also said an executive of the now-defunct Power Reactor 

and Nuclear Fuel Development Corp. was also cautious about releasing 

the estimate, saying, "Consideration should be given to how the 

estimate is made public."



Masaya Yasui, a former chief of the agency's Nuclear Power Policy 

Division, who also devised replies at the Upper House committee 

meeting on behalf of Kusaka, said, "I cannot remember (whether the 

estimate was studied)." Though in 1994, he actually arranged meetings 

to study it.



The then Science and Technology Agency and the Federation of Electric 

Power Companies have also made similar estimates, saying it is 

inexpensive to bury spent nuclear fuel underground.



Anger over the issue flared up at a meeting of the Atomic Energy 

Commission, which advises the prime minister, held on July 8. "Can 

you believe the story that materials, when searched, have been found 

in a locker. Beyond angry, we were simply shocked," said Michiyo 

Watanabe, an executive of the Japanese Consumers Co-operative Union.



Hisashi Yoshioka, a professor of Kyushu University, said, 

"Opportunities to discuss whether spent nuclear fuel should be 

recycled or directly disposed of have been wasted for 10 years. 

(Authorities) might have wanted to avoid full-scale discussions about 

direct disposal."



Another angry commission member said: "Not 10 years. Twenty years 

have been wasted. Since the 1980s, officials concerned have been 

aware of the fact that reprocessing is uneconomical, but the Science 

and Technology Agency has kept sticking to reprocessing. The electric 

power industry has also carelessly thought (reprocessing) costs can 

be added up."



Officials of the Natural Resources and Energy Agency, and the 

Federation of Electric Power Companies were kept on the defensive at 

a meeting on July 12 of the prefectural assembly of Aomori, the key 

location of the nuclear fuel recycling policy.



The meeting was held to study a safety agreement draft prior to the 

start of a uranium test to confirm the ability of a plant in the 

village of Rokkasho to reprocess spent nuclear fuel. But participants 

-- even members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party -- used the 

event to vent their criticism and frustration over the issue. 

"Prefectural people are increasingly distrustful of the nuclear 

policy," said one member. Another said, "We cannot make any pledge to 

cooperate."



In Ehime Prefecture, where Shikoku Electric Power Co. plans the so-

called pluthermal (plutonium thermal) project to burn plutonium at 

its Ikata nuclear power plant, Kyoko Ono, an official of a civic 

group opposed to such a plant, said, "The prefecture, angry over the 

hiding of the estimate, should take a tough stance toward the state 

and protect prefectural people."



Katsumi Kuruba, in charge of general affairs at the prefectural 

government of Fukui where there are 15 nuclear power plants, also 

criticized the state, saying, "It is a fact that the state has been 

pursuing its nuclear policy without debate to protect (the 

reprocessing plant in) Aomori Prefecture."

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



Boy in Norway Rides Luggage Conveyor Belt 



OSLO, Norway - (AP) A four-year-old boy caused chaos at a Norwegian

airport this week when he crawled on a luggage conveyor belt and road

it like it was a merry-go-round. 



Ingvild Aakervik was checking in at the Vigra airport near the 

western town of Aalesund Monday, when her four-year-old son Ole 

Tobias wandered off by himself. 



Unnoticed by airport staff or passengers he managed to crawl onto a

luggage carousel next to an unmanned check-in counter. 



Surrounded by bags and suitcases, the boy rode the entire length of

the belt, passing through an X-ray scanner in the process. 



The ride came to a sudden end when staffers saw the youngster on the

carousel and stopped it by pressing an alarm button. 



"It was just a moment of inattention and Ole Tobias disappeared," 

Aakervik told state NRK radio. "I panicked and made the entire 

airport search for him."  



The four-year-old wasn't hurt and his mother said he seemed to enjoy

the ride. 



Operations manager Bent Helge Sjursen said security procedures at the

airport would be reviewed to ensure it doesn't happen again. 

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



International Isotopes Inc. Launches Cobalt Production and Recycling



IDAHO FALLS, Idaho, July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- International 

Isotopes Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: INIS), a manufacturer of nuclear 

medicine calibration, reference standards and radioisotopes for 

medical devices and clinical research, announces the execution of new 

contracts for production and recycling of various cobalt-60 sources. 

This announcement coincides with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

(NRC) approval of the Company's licensing for cobalt production and 

processing operations.



Cobalt-60 is widely used as a medical and industrial radiation 

source. Medical use consists primarily of cancer radiotherapy. 

Industrial uses include testing of welds or castings, and 

sterilization of instruments or irradiation of food to kill microbes 

and prevent spoilage. International Isotopes Inc. executed agreements 

with new customers for cobalt source manufacturing and recycling of 

expended sources during the first quarter of 2004. Since that time, 

the Company has been working on hot cell design, obtaining the 

necessary NRC approvals and training production staff. Sales related 

to the various new cobalt products and services are expected to begin 

in the third quarter 2004.



Company Chief Executive Officer Steve T. Laflin stated, "We are very 

pleased to add these customers and new cobalt products to the growing 

list of products we have been able to put in place over the past 

year. Our entire team is committed to growing the business with 

quality products and services, and increasing shareholder value."



In August 2003, the Company announced the launch of lutetium-177 

radiochemical sales for clinical research. In March 2004, the Company 

announced the launch of Iodine-131 radiochemical sales and in July, 

the Company announced the receipt of funding and the plans to start 

construction of the Fluorine Extraction Process (FEP) facility.

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



Possible strike looms at Cameco uranium plant



VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 26 (Reuters) - Unionized workers 

could go on strike at Cameco Corp.'s uranium conversion plant at Port 

Hope, Ontario, on Wednesday if they reject the company's latest 

contract offer, Cameco said on Monday.



About 200 hourly workers at the plant are expected to vote on 

Wednesday on a new labor agreement, which replaces a previous 

contract that expired at the end of June, the world's biggest uranium 

producer said in a statement.



The plant, located on the north shore of Lake Ontario, contributed 17 

percent of Cameco's 2003 revenue of C$827 million ($621 million).



Workers, represented by the United Steelworkers of America, rejected 

an earlier Cameco offer by a narrow margin of 58 percent. Union 

negotiators have a mandate to go on strike at midnight on Wednesday 

if they feel their demands have not been met.



The Port Hope conversion plant has been shut down since the end of 

June for its summer maintenance program and vacation. The plant is 

one of four in the western world producing uranium hexafluoride, a 

fuel for nuclear power reactors, and can produce 20 percent of the 

world's annual requirements.



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

Sandy Perle

Senior 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@dosimetry.com

E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net



Personal Website: http://sandy-travels.com/

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



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