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Congress allows nuclear sludge remain in Idaho
Index:
Congress allows nuclear sludge remain in Idaho
Co. Wants To Store Nuclear Waste In Texas;Rejected By Nev
Nuclear Fuel Still Missing From Calif.
Paris Hospital Tests 'Dirty Bomb' Rescue
U.S. gives radiation detectors to Turkmen border, customs services
===================================
Congress allows nuclear sludge remain in Idaho, South Carolina waste
tanks
WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawmakers have agreed to allow tons of radioactive
sludge to stay where it is, in underground tanks at federal
facilities in South Carolina and Idaho.
The provision is part of a 447 (b) billion-dollar defense taken up by
the House. The legislation is expected to clear Congress before it
adjourns for the elections.
The sludge was left over from Cold War bomb-making, and accounts for
about one percent of the waste in the tanks.
The Energy Department contends the sludge would be extremely
difficult and expensive to remove, and shouldn't be considered a high-
level waste threat.
But environmentalists says it poses an eventual danger of
contaminating groundwater and want it shipped to a central
repository.
----------------
Co. Wants To Store Nuclear Waste In Texas;Rejected By Nev
DALLAS (AP)--A company is seeking state permission to accept millions
of pounds of radioactive waste from U.S. weapons programs.
Officials in Utah and Nevada have already rejected requests from the
company to take the waste, now stored at an aging U.S. Department of
Energy Superfund site in Ohio.
Waste Control Specialists says the material can safely be stored at
the company's hazardous waste facility in Andrews County. The waste
consists mainly of uranium tailings that have been encased for
decades in concrete silos in Ohio.
The company has filed applications with the Texas Department of State
Health Services. One would amend its current state license to expand
the volume of hazardous material that can be stored by 1.5 million
cubic feet. The other seeks permission to accept uranium tailings,
material left from the processing of uranium ore for nuclear weapons
and defense projects, The Dallas Morning News reported Thursday.
Environmental groups oppose the applications.
"There's a reason why both Utah and Nevada would not accept this
stuff. It's very dangerous," said Margot Clark, outreach coordinator
for the state chapter of the Sierra Club. "We don't think Texas
should become a dumping site for waste from weapons development.
Besides that, the Waste Control Specialists facility has never dealt
with this kind of waste before."
Attorney Mike Woodward, who represents the company, said the uranium
tailings that would be stored carry little risk.
"It is far less dangerous than much of the hazardous material being
moved around the country regularly," he said, noting that it is less
active than most types of low-level nuclear waste. He said the
company had not secured a contract with the Energy Department to take
the waste.
"Our facility in Andrews County would be a very appropriate spot. It
is located away from population centers and water. The geology is
very stable, and the climate is very dry."
The radioactive waste would be shipped to Texas in stainless steel
containers and be buried in clay under 30 feet of topsoil.
Richard Ratliff, radiation programs officer for the Department of
State Health Services, said a review of the application to expand the
allowable capacity of the hazardous waste facility would take six to
eight weeks. The application to authorize storage of uranium tailings
could take up to a year, he said.
A public hearing will be held after staff makes its recommendations.
The state health commissioner must make the final decision on whether
to grant the new uranium waste disposal license.
----------------
Nuclear Fuel Still Missing From Calif.
EUREKA, Calif. (AP) - Utility officials have yet to locate four
pounds of missing radioactive nuclear fuel at a shuttered nuclear
power plant, but federal regulators insisted the search must
continue.
"You have to exhaust all avenues to find it, and we expect you to
continue searching for it," Bruce Mallet of the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission told Pacific, Gas & Electric Co. officials at a public
meeting Wednesday.
Three pieces of a nuclear fuel rod were discovered missing during an
inventory in June at the Humboldt Bay Power Plant, and may be among
hundreds placed in a deep storage pool before the plant closed in
1976. So far, a search has yielded 40 fuel fragments that are being
analyzed to see if they match the missing pieces.
Gregory Reuger, PG&E's chief nuclear officer at the plant, said
documents give conflicting clues. One set of records state the pieces
were shipped; another, that the shipment was canceled and the pieces
placed back in the pool.
Regulators and utility officials said they believe there's no public
danger, and that there's no chance the missing fuel may have gotten
into the wrong hands.
"We are confident that if the segments are not found in the pool,
then they were transferred to a facility licensed to accept
radioactive material," said regulator Mark Satorius.
-------------------
Paris Hospital Tests 'Dirty Bomb' Rescue
PARIS (AP) - Some 200 doctors, nurses and rescue workers simulated a
"dirty bomb" attack early Sunday - the first such exercise held at a
French hospital.
The three-hour operation at Necker Hospital was held to test
reaction, coordination and efficiency of medical and rescue teams in
the event of an attack with a homemade radioactive device.
Paris Police Chief Jean-Paul Proust stressed that the exercise was a
"long-term preparation ... and not the response to fear" of a
specific threat.
Rescuers and medical workers moved into action when the fake bomb
went off, "injuring" some 50 people. The pretend victims were tested
for radioactivity then taken to two tents in the hospital courtyard
for decontamination.
Pierre Carli, the doctor in charge, said this was the first such
exercise in a French hospital.
However, it was not the first time that France has trained for a
dreaded attack with a weapon of mass destruction. Nearly a year ago,
last Oct. 23, officials organized a simulation of a chemical attack -
sarin nerve gas - in a Paris metro.
"It is very important to get used to working in emergencies, ... be
it for three victims, 10 victims, 2,000 or 20,000," Health Minister
Philippe Douste-Blazy said.
-----------------
U.S. gives radiation detectors to Turkmen border, customs services
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) - The United States has provided
radiation detectors to Turkmenistan's customs and border services to
help control the spread of weapons of mass destruction, the U.S.
Embassy said Friday.
The 80 radiation pagers handed over to Turkmen officers earlier this
week will boost their ability to detect and interdict nuclear
materials, the embassy said in a statement.
The pagers, which detect gamma-ray radiation, are hundreds of times
more sensitive than traditional Geiger counter type detectors. They
were granted as part of a U.S. government program aimed at preventing
the spread of WMD.
Under the same program, the Turkmen border and customs services were
earlier provided with other equipment, vehicles and training.
This gas-rich Central Asian nation borders on Iran and Afghanistan.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle
Senior Vice President, Technical Operations
Global Dosimetry Solutions, Inc.
2652 McGaw Avenue
Irvine, CA 92614
Tel: (949) 296-2306 / (888) 437-1714 Extension 2306
Fax:(949) 296-1144
Global Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com/
Personal Website: http://sandy-travels.com/
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