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AP corrects Nuclear Security Reporting Story
Index:
AP corrects Nuclear Security Reporting Story
FirstEnergys Ohio Davis-Besse nuke shut
British Energy says must stick with rescue plan
WCS Submits Application for State Waste Disposal License
Digging for life in the deadest desert
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AP corrects Nuclear Security Reporting Story
WASHINGTON (AP) - In an Aug. 4 story about security at nuclear power
plants, The Associated Press erroneously reported in the headline
that regulators will stop revealing nuclear plant "safety lapses."
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it will no longer reveal
"security gaps" at the plants. The commission says it will continue
to report safety lapses.
The story also reported incorrectly that it was the commission's
first public meeting on power plant safety since the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks. It was the first public hearing on security at
nuclear plants since the 2001 attacks. The NRC has held several
public meetings on power plant safety issues in the past three years.
-----------------
FirstEnergys Ohio Davis-Besse nuke shut
NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - FirstEnergy Corp. was still investigating
the cause an unexpected shutdown of the 925 megawatt Davis-Besse
nuclear unit in Ohio, but expected the unit would return to service
by early next week, a spokesman said Thursday.
Spokesman Richard Wilkins said the company did not find any major
problem that caused the outage and was looking into a couple of minor
issues. But the company could not provide an exact return to service
date because the investigation was continuing.
The unit shut unexpectedly Wednesday morning while the company was
working on the control rod drive trip breakers.
Following the shutdown, the company said a steam generator safety
valve may have lifted early, which Wilkins described as a likely
simple calibration issue.
Nuclear reactors operate under extreme pressure. To relieve the
pressure following an outage, the safety valves release the non-
radioactive steam into the air.
On Wednesday, the unit was operating at full power. One megawatt
powers about 1,000 homes, according to the national average.
The Davis-Besse station is located in Oak Harbor, Ohio, about 35
miles east of Toledo, Ohio.
---------------
British Energy says must stick with rescue plan
LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Troubled nuclear firm British Energy on
Thursday ruled out changes to the terms of a proposed rescue package
for the UK's biggest power producer, despite shareholders demands for
a better deal.
Chairman Adrian Montague said agreements surrounding the government-
backed rescue deal were binding and the plan could not be altered.
"The company is in no position to choose not to restructure on these
terms and we can't help those who want to challenge the deal," he
told the firm's annual general meeting. "We simply have to press on."
British Energy agreed the restructuring in October last year with the
government, creditors and state-owned British Nuclear Fuels after the
government rescued the ailing generator from collapse in 2002
following a slump in UK power prices.
The package, which still needs European Commission approval, would
hand creditors control of the company in exchange for forgiving more
than half of its 1.3 billion pounds ($2.37 billion) of debts.
Shareholders would be left with only 2.5 percent of the restructured
firm.
Hedge fund Polygon Investments, which holds over five percent of
voting rights in the firm, is leading calls for a better deal for
shareholders. It says the restructuring needs a mechanism to allow
shareholders to benefit from the firm's improving fortunes - power
prices have risen sharply since the deal was hammered out in October.
Polygon's push to secure an improved deal for shareholders has lifted
British Energy's share price as equity investors' hopes have risen.
The shares at 1410 GMT were down seven percent at 19.28 pence.
SETBACK
Creditors said the existing deal was the only way forward. "Although
we understand the concerns raised by other investors, it should be
remembered that the binding agreements are the only alternative to an
administration process which would probably lead to shareholders
losing their entire investments," said a spokesman for British Energy
creditors.
The existing deal includes an option to de-list the firm, a move that
would not need the backing of shareholders, British Energy said.
Some shareholders say proposed rule changes in the UK, requiring
shareholder backing for the de-listing of companies, could block a de-
listing by British Energy.
Montague said British Energy had already given enough advance warning
to enable it to de-list if necessary, despite the proposed rule
change.
As part of the restructuring, British Energy is seeking to boost the
performance of its plants but the plan suffered a setback on Thursday
with the resignation of board member David Gilchrist, who had just
been appointed technical director.
Gilchrist, managing director of nuclear generation since 2002, had
been due to work alongside Roy Anderson, who has been drafted in from
the United States as chief nuclear officer (CNO) as part of a bid to
boost the performance of the firm's fleet of reactors in the UK.
"(Gilchrist) is a strong supporter of the Company's Performance
Improvement Programme including the appointment of a CNO and he now
wishes to seek a new challenge outside British Energy," said chief
executive officer Mike Alexander in a statement. The company would
seek a replacement for Gilchrist.
Last week, the company revised down its output targets for 2004/2005
because it needs to carry out in-depth checks on two of its plants.
--------------
Waste Control Specialists Submits Application for State Waste
Disposal License
DALLAS, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Waste Control Specialists LLC, (WCS)
announced today that it has filed an application for state approval
to operate a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility 30 miles
west of Andrews, Texas. A $500,000 license application fee to the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) was included as part
of the 4,000 page license application submittal.
"The application demonstrates to the state and its citizens that WCS
is committed to providing an environmentally safe and scientifically
sound disposal facility and has the financial resources to do so,"
said George E. Dials, president and chief operating officer of WCS.
The permit application was submitted to the state under comprehensive
regulatory legislation approved by the Texas Legislature last session
to provide for the safe and permanent disposal of low-level
radioactive waste generated by hospitals, research institutions,
power plants and industrial activities. Under this legislation, a
licensed private company may, upon issuance of a permit from the
TCEQ, dispose of low-level radioactive waste from the Texas Compact
and federal facilities, although the amount of federal waste that can
be received is limited. The disposal activities will be regulated by
agencies of the state of Texas. The Texas Compact is a federally
approved agreement that provides for Texas to host a low-level
radioactive waste disposal site to dispose of waste from Texas, Maine
and Vermont. Under the Texas Compact, the state will receive hosting
fees from the other states of up to $50 million, and the state will
also receive disposal fees from waste generators as waste is received
at the site's facility.
"The application reflects WCS' commitment to operate a low-level
radioactive waste disposal site that relies heavily on proven
technology, good management and excellent geology to protect public
health and the environment," Mr. Dials said. "Our application goes
well beyond the stringent technical requirements set by the TCEQ," he
said. "More than 80 engineers, technicians and scientists spent
nearly 30,000 staff-hours putting the document together." The
extensive application and accompanying documentation covers such
diverse issues as engineering and design, operations, closure,
geology, archeology, ecology, climatology, hydrology, site
characteristics and socio-economic impacts. Mr. Dials said, "part of
the strength of WCS' application is its location in Andrews County.
There is more than 800 feet of clay beneath the surface, which will
prevent the percolation of water and will contain any waste far
longer than the time needed for it to decay to natural background
levels."
Efforts have been ongoing to locate such a low-level radioactive
waste facility in Texas for more than 20 years before adoption of the
new legislation.
A qualified disposal site will let Texans and the citizens of the
Texas Compact states continue to take advantage of activities that
produce low-level radioactive waste such as in medical treatment
applications and research, as well as in some industries that produce
items like smoke alarms, computer disks and reflective signs.
Research facilities and power plants also produce low-level
radioactive waste. Mr. Dials emphasized that low-level radioactive
waste to be disposed at the site does not include spent fuel from
nuclear generators or uranium or plutonium from inside nuclear
weapons.
WCS currently holds licenses from the state and federal government
for the management and disposal of hazardous waste as well as the
storage and processing of low-level radioactive waste.
Mr. Dials stated, "The Andrews facility has an excellent
environmental compliance record and an outstanding safety record. In
May 2004, WCS completed three years of operations without a lost-time
accident. The company's management and staff have extensive
credentials and industry backgrounds in hazardous and low-level
radioactive waste management activities."
Once the application has been determined to be administratively
complete by the Texas regulators, which determination may take
several weeks, the application can be viewed from a link on WCS'
website, which is http://www.wcstexas.com .
WCS owns and operates a facility in West Texas for the processing,
treatment, storage and disposal of a broad range of hazardous, toxic
and certain types of low-level radioactive waste. WCS is a subsidiary
of Valhi, Inc.
-----------------
Digging for life in the deadest desert
Aug 5 (CNN )Specialized microorganisms called extremophiles thrive in
nuclear waste, volcanic vents, boiling geothermal geysers and even
deep inside rocks. Their unique biology allows them to feast on
chemicals and radiation that would kill most organisms.
But there is a place on Earth so hostile to life that even
extremophiles perish: Chile's Atacama Desert.
"Here is the only place where we've really crossed a threshold where
we find no life," says Chris McKay a NASA geologist studying the
Atacama.
"You go to the Antarctic, the Arctic, any other deserts we've been,
scoop up dirt and you find bacteria. This is the only place that you
would find nothing."
The rocky desert on a high plateau along South America's Andes
mountain range appears lifeless.
Scientists have been unable to find plants or cells living in many
parts of the desert. Even bacteria do not last long in the barren,
acidic soil.
The reason, at least in part, is that the Atacama Desert lacks water.
It is the driest place on Earth. Rainfall is measured in millimeters
per decade, and some areas have not seen precipitation in hundreds of
years, scientists say.
At its arid core, the Atacama -- about two-thirds the size of Italy --
is the closest thing to Mars on our planet.
That characteristic is attracting a horde of at least one unique life
form: NASA scientists.
"This is a very good place to be testing exploration strategies for
Mars," says Nathalie Cabrol, a planetary geologist with NASA and the
SETI Institute which searches for extraterrestrial life.
The space agency is examining how moisture levels in the desert
define where life exists and where it dies out.
By understanding the absolute limits of life on Earth, scientists
hope their search for life on other planets such as Mars will be more
likely to succeed.
"Where does life check out and say, 'This is too much for us,'" says
McKay. "We can by driving across this desert take a trip in time on
Mars. ... And we can chart where that transition occurred and then we
can apply it to Mars."
When the solar system was younger, the conditions on Mars were more
like those on Earth today.
"[Ancient Mars] is equivalent to what we find in the Andes at 20,000
feet," said Cabrol. "It's totally equivalent to life on Mars 3.5
billion years [ago]."
Discoveries made by the Mars rovers, Spirit and Endurance, are
confirming these theories. Their observations suggest Mars was once a
much wetter planet with an atmosphere, salty seas and flowing
streams.
New evidence across Mars is popping up from ancient deltas and
gullies that crisscross the planet to fossilized ripples of waves
frozen in stone.
But there is a crucial difference.
The evolution of life on Mars would have been totally different from
that on Earth, where a "habitable" zone has existed for 4.5 billion
years, says Cabrol.
On Mars, it lasted perhaps 1 billion years before reappearing only
episodically. Also, the substance essential to life as we know it --
water -- is even less abundant on Mars than in the Atacama desert.
As a result, any life would probably have to hunker down away from
the radiation and aridity.
But scientists say if the three ingredients for life exist together
on Mars -- energy, nutrients and water -- then life can exist too.
But it won't be easy to find.
"It's probably hiding from surface conditions," says Cabrol. "We'll
have to be even smarter on Mars than in the Atacama."
Researchers hope the Atacama will refine the techniques to detect
extraterrestrial life. Assays to identify chemical signatures of life
are becoming ever more sensitive to find the hardiest biological
specimens.
"What we are looking for is the toughest form of life on Earth:
spores," says Adrian Ponce, a scientist at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Spores, the dormant form of some species of bacteria, exist to
survive hard times. This type of hibernation shields microorganisms
from the effects of dehydration, radiation and lack of nutrients.
It also makes them superb astronauts. Spores are so resilient, they
have survived direct exposure to space with virtually no protection.
The Long Duration Exposure Facility, deployed in orbit in 1984,
carried microorganisms among its array of experiments. It remained in
orbit longer then expected until it was finally retrieved in 1990
about six years later.
NASA scientists found that the bacterial spores had lain dormant on
the facility. Except for those directly exposed to solar radiation,
the spores showed few problems reviving after their six-year voyage.
Scientists were "impressed," said Michael Meyers, NASA's senior
scientist for astrobiology.
"Spores are pretty good at survival," he said. "It's a combination of
drying out and reducing the number of mutations caused by radiation.
They have fairly robust repair mechanisms."
That evidence adds credence to a theory called panspermia, which
suggests life could hitch a ride inside meteors and comets and move
between planets relatively insulated from space.
"I think its reasonable that you can have panspermia in the solar
system," said Meyers.
He added that interstellar travel -- between solar systems -- was far
less likely.
"Getting hit by cosmic radiation pretty much wipes you out," he said.
NASA has taken the theory seriously enough to establish a Planetary
Protection Office. The official in charge, our Planetary Protection
Officer, ensures spacecraft are clean of biological organisms and
protects the Earth from lifeforms retrieved in samples from space and
other planets.
That's one reason scientists are trying to boost the sensitivity of
their instruments. The last such experiment, the Mars Viking probe,
failed to detect life on Mars. Yet if Viking had landed in the
Atacama Desert on Earth, it would also have concluded that Earth was
a dead and desiccated planet.
Ponce is committed to making sure that mistake is not made if life
exists on Mars.
"If there is a single spore, we want to be able to detect it," he
says.
At the moment, the instrument he has designed is a table-top device
that must be miniaturized and refined before it is ready to fly. It
won't arrive on Mars any time soon.
If the hardware passes a field test in the Atacama Desert this year
and funding follows, Ponce says the technology could be ready for the
Mars Science Laboratory rover set to launch for Mars around the end
of this decade.
------------------------------------
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
Global Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com/
Personal Website: http://sandy-travels.com/
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