Judge allows 208 new plaintiffs in radiation case

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

Index:



Judge allows 208 new plaintiffs in radiation case

Homeland Security Makes Radiation Detection Top Priority

Radioactive dirt found at former Saxton nuclear site

Tohoku Electric Begins Test Run Of Reactor

Oconee nuclear close to replacing steam generators

Weapons-grade uranium returned from Czech Republic to Russia

Federal panel says groups must keep information about plant secret

Seabrook shows off new security

INEEL unveils plan to dismantle 32-year-old Power Burst reactor

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



Judge allows 208 new plaintiffs in radiation case



SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A judge hearing the case of people who contend 

they were made sick by radiation releases from the Hanford nuclear 

reservation has allowed 208 new plaintiffs to join the lawsuit.



The move by U.S. District Judge William F. Nielsen brings to more 

than 2,000 the number of plaintiffs suing Hanford's World War II and 

Cold War-era contractors.



A trial for 11 "bellwether" cases thought to be representative of the 

rest of the class-action plaintiffs has been tentatively scheduled 

for April 18.



The plaintiffs lived downwind from the nuclear reservation and allege 

they developed thyroid cancer or hypothyroidism after being exposed 

to radioactive iodine-131 emissions from nuclear weapons 

manufacturing.



The lead attorney for the defendant Hanford contractors, which 

include DuPont de Nemours Inc. and General Electric Co., objected to 

the expanded case.



Adding new plaintiffs at this stage of the litigation is "a red flag" 

because little is known about them and the range of radiation doses 

they may have received, said attorney Kevin Van Wart of Chicago.



It's likely that after the bellwether trials are concluded next year, 

the case will go to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for further 

rulings, Nielsen said.



Information from: The Spokesman-Review, 

http://www.spokesmanreview.com

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



Homeland Security Makes Radiation Detection Top Priority



WASHINGTON (AP)--The U.S. Homeland Security Department hasn't settled 

on a final plan to keep freight shipping safe from terrorism, but it 

has concluded that a top priority is faster deployment of more 

sophisticated radiation detectors at airports, seaports and border 

crossings.



Officials released a draft cargo security strategy Thursday that 

stated its most important objective is to intercept any weapon of 

mass destruction at the U.S. border.



Among the other objectives are identifying high-risk cargo by 

analyzing data about shipments and requiring mechanical seals on all 

containers coming into the United States to prevent tampering.



Intelligence indicates it's unlikely a terrorist would send a weapon 

of mass destruction in a container shipped from overseas, the paper 

said.



But the prevalence of smuggling and the horrible consequences of an 

attack involving chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear 

weapons led the Homeland Security Department to conclude that it must 

do more to prevent terrorists from using legitimate shipments to 

launch such an attack.



Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge acknowledged the complexity of 

protecting a system that begins with shipments of raw materials to 

factories and ends with customers buying finished products.



Adding to the challenge: Supplies change hands constantly as they 

move by truck, rail and ship through ports, terminals and border 

crossings around the globe.



"We need to set standards, we need to identify best practices, and we 

need to call upon the companies and the individuals responsible for 

cargo security to help us develop that strategy," Ridge told several 

hundred government and business representatives convened at 

Georgetown University to discuss the draft strategy.



"It's absolutely critical to the parents who must have that Dancing 

Elmo doll delivered in time for Christmas," he said.



More than 20,000 shipping containers pass through U.S. ports daily, 

Ridge said.



Nearly two years after the Homeland Security Department was formed, 

only ad hoc measures have been adopted to protect cargo shipping, 

Ridge said.



Confusion within the department - especially among Customs and Border 

Protection, the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast 

Guard - has stymied development of a national cargo security plan.



"During the two years since DHS was established, this has frequently 

led to questions of 'who's in charge?"' the draft strategy noted.



Deputy Secretary James Loy acknowledged the delay, saying, "This 

session is already a year late."



The lack of coordination among government agencies is delaying the 

shipment of goods, said some summit participants.



At the Texas border, trucks are stopped by three different agencies 

that check the same paperwork, said Maria Luisa O'Connell, president 

of the Border Trade Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates improving 

cross-border trade.



"They're not talking to each other," said Rosa Hakala, vice president 

of international supply chain at Home Depot. "It translates to a 

double expense."



Gary Gilbert, chief security officer for Hutchison Port Holdings, the 

world's largest marine terminal operator, said it's high time that 

radiation detection equipment is deployed in ports around the world.



Ports and terminals have been hardened into fortresses against 

terrorists, he said, "but every box that come into our facilities is 

a Trojan horse."



"We've got to move beyond power point here," Gilbert said.

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



Radioactive dirt found at former Saxton nuclear site



SAXTON, Pa. (AP) - Radioactive dirt found at the former Saxton 

Nuclear Experimental Plant in Bedford County will add about six 

months' time and $6 million to the cleanup of the site, officials 

said.



The 168-acre site owned by Penelec operated from 1962 to 1972 as a 

training facility for nuclear plant workers who would go on to run 

full-sized plants, including Three Mile Island near Harrisburg.



Cleanup experts believe the dirt, most contaminated with radiation 

just above levels that normally occur in nature, may have been moved 

accidentally by workers in the 1970s who were burying fly ash and 

other waste from an adjoining coal-fired plant.



"How the contamination got there, we don't know," Rodger Grundland, a 

retired Penn State physicist who is working at an independent 

inspector at the site, said Wednesday. "People may have been a little 

more careless then about mixing the soils."



Although the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been decommissioning 

the site for years, concerted efforts to clean it up began about nine 

years ago and the price has increased from an initial estimate of $22 

million as the cleanup has dragged on.



Spent fuels were shipped to Savannah, Ga., for disposal in 1997, and 

the plant's reactor and 27-ton steam generator were moved out in 

1998. The dome housing the 60-ton reactor was cut apart and sent to 

an approved nuclear waste site earlier this year.



Just last fall, the cleanup price tag had grown to $63 million and 

earlier this year that jumped to $70 million, with a projection that 

the NRC would let Saxton Nuclear out of its operating permit - which 

means the site is completely cleaned up - by year's end.



But now the price tag, borne by parent First Energy Corp., is $76 

million and work will last through at least June.



The suspect soil is being removed, tested and those portions found 

radioactive will be shipped to Duratek Co. in Oak Ridge, Tenn. A 

small amount of dirt tested at that site had a high level of 

radiation that required it be sent to Envirocare, a nuclear waste 

facility in Utah, Grundland said.



The cleanup costs are not being passed on to First Energy customers, 

the company said.

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



Tohoku Electric Begins Test Run Of Reactor



TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Tohoku Electric Power Co. (9506.TO) began a test 

run of the first reactor at a power plant in the village of 

Higashidori, Aomori Prefecture, on Friday, Kyodo News reported.



The boiling-water reactor is designed to generate 1.1 million 

kilowatts of electricity. Tohoku Electric said it hopes to begin 

commercial operations of the reactor next October.



The Higashidori plant is the first nuclear power one in Aomori 

Prefecture and the 17th in Japan.



Tohoku Electric last inaugurated commercial nuclear operations of the 

No. 3 reactor at the Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture 

in January 2002.



On Friday, Tohoku Electric began inserting fuel rods into the reactor 

to start generating power in March. It will keep checking the reactor 

and gradually raise its capacity before undergoing the government's 

final inspections.



Tohoku Electric began building the No. 1 reactor at the Higashidori 

plant in December 1998 at a cost of about Y390 billion, Kyodo 

reported.



In March, Tohoku Electric and the Aomori prefectural government 

agreed to set a nuclear fuel tax on the power plant at 12% of nuclear 

fuel prices, the nation's highest.



Kyodo reported that the village of Higashidori plans to host more 

reactors in the future -- two reactors by Tokyo Electric Power Co.  

after 2006 and the No. 2 reactor by Tohoku Electric after 2010.

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



Oconee nuclear close to replacing steam generators



SENECA, S.C. (AP) - Replacing steam generators in three reactors at 

the Oconee Nuclear Station is close to completion, officials say.



Workers have installed the generators and replaced vessel heads 

during refueling outages. Unit 3 was the last unit to receive the new 

generator and should be back on line next week, said station 

spokeswoman Linda Conley.



Duke Power, which built and operates the plant, paid roughly $425 

million for the generators. They weigh nearly 500 tons, are 70 feet 

tall and about 12 feet in diameter.



The plant upgrades began in April 2003, when the first of three 

reactor vessel heads arrived. Small cracks were discovered in the 

vessel heads nearly four years ago, prompting Duke Power to replace 

them.



New vessel heads, weighing nearly 90 tons, can resist temperatures up 

to 650 degrees and help control water pressure. That replacement cost 

Duke Power about $60 million, Conley said.



The replacement projects will ensure safe and reliable operation, 

officials said.

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



Weapons-grade uranium returned from Czech Republic to Russia



WASHINGTON (AP) - About 13 pounds (5.8 kilograms) of highly enriched 

uranium was returned to Russia from a research facility in the Czech 

Republic on Wednesday, the Energy Department announced. The transfer 

was part of an international program to better secure material that 

terrorists could use in a nuclear weapon.



The uranium was transported by plane from an airport near Prague, the 

Czech capital, to a secure facility in Dimitrovgrad, Russia, where it 

will be blended down so it is no longer suitable for weapons use. 

Russia originally had provided the uranium for use in a research 

reactor in Rez, just north of Prague.



The return of the uranium "is an important milestone in our efforts 

to reduce this dangerous nuclear material worldwide," Energy 

Secretary Spencer Abraham said in a statement.



The transfer was a joint effort by the United States, the Czech 

Republic, Russia and the International Atomic Energy Agency.



It was the sixth shipment of highly enriched uranium sent back to 

Russia. Over the past 2 1/2 years, some 218 pounds (98 kiolgrams) of 

Russian-provided uranium has been returned from Romania, Bulgaria, 

Libya and Uzbekistan and Serbia.

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



Federal panel says groups must keep information about plant secret



EUNICE, N.M. (AP) - Citizen groups and New Mexico state agencies must 

agree to keep secret some information about a proposed uranium 

enrichment plant here if they want to see unedited versions of 

documents about the project, a federal panel has ruled.



The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 

issued the order this week concerning Louisiana Energy Services' 

proposed plant.



The agency is considering the company's request for a license to 

operate the plant, which would refine uranium for nuclear reactors.



The board's order says citizen groups and state agencies must either 

sign agreements to keep certain information about the plant 

confidential or they won't get to see the documents.



In reviewing the LES application file, the regulatory commission 

found 65 documents containing sensitive information potentially 

useful to terrorists, said Tim Johnson, the agency's project manager 

for the enrichment plant.



In October, the agency shut down access to its massive public 

documents database after news reports that some of the information 

available could show terrorists where to find radioactive materials 

that could be used in constructing a dirty bomb. The New Mexico 

uranium plant is one of many NRC issues caught up in the matter.



The NRC staff has been redacting documents since to remove such 

information and expects to have all sensitive information redacted 

from the public files by the end of the year, Johnson said.



He said none of the sensitive information removed from the LES 

license application is relevant to environmental contentions raised 

by either citizen groups or New Mexico state agencies over the 

proposed plant.



Michele Boyd, a spokeswoman for Public Citizen in Washington, D.C., 

said her group has not decided whether it will sign the 

confidentiality agreement. Public Citizen and the Nuclear Information 

and Resource Service have raised issues in the licensing process.



The New Mexico Environment Department and the state attorney 

general's office have filed a response with the licensing board over 

the prospect of a confidentiality order. It says the agencies do not 

want any information released that might help terrorists. However, 

officials say they are also concerned about excluding the public 

unnecessarily from the permitting process.



Plans for a February public hearing about concerns over water and 

other environmental effects from the factory will likely proceed 

without a need to exclude the public, said Dave McIntyre, a spokesman 

for the NRC in Washington, D.C.



However, he cautioned that if either the state or the citizen groups 

insist on raising issues concerning sensitive information, the public 

might be excluded.



In its order this week, the licensing board also denied a request 

from the citizen groups to delay the hearing but agreed to give the 

groups an additional week to file expert testimony. The groups had 

cited the closure of the NRC's computer system to the public in 

October.

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



Seabrook shows off new security



SEABROOK, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire's Seabrook nuclear plant has a 

new layer of fencing, bullet-resistant guard towers, new concrete 

barriers and better-trained security officers as part of new national 

security requirements.



The plant has spent $14 million in the past year improving security 

as part of requirements that followed the September 2001 terrorist 

attacks.



The improvements include a 1,500-foot-long vehicle barrier system and 

double fencing to keep intruders out. High-tech detection equipment 

is available to keep trespassers from penetrating the plant's fencing 

system and employees pass through explosive detectors, metal 

detectors and x-ray machines. The plant's perimeter also has several 

manned and bullet resistant towers.



John Giarrusso, the plant's security manager, said the number of 

security personnel is "well over 100," of which 75 percent have prior 

security, law enforcement or military experience. Of the total, all 

but four are employees of Wackenhutt Security, a private company.



Giarrusso said all applicants for security positions must undergo a 

psychological assessment, education, credit and FBI checks, going 

back three years, as well as alcohol and drug screening.



The plant uses a hand configuration identity system in critical 

areas. Employee handprints are registered in a plant computer 

database.



Prior to coming on site, applicants for security positions undergo 

eight to 10 weeks of training. "Mock adversity team" drills, which 

depict trespassers, are used in training security personnel. 

Different drills are done weekly.



David Barr, who coordinates the center's educational programs, said 

in its history, Seabrook Station has experienced nine "unusual 

events," the lowest level of operational problem.



To date, there have been no "alerts," the second-lowest level of 

operating problem, or "site area emergencies," a more significant 

problem, which can result in the release of small amounts of 

radiation. Nor has the facility experienced a "general emergency," 

the most significant operational problem, which could result in the 

release of significant amounts of radiation and could also require 

evacuations.



The plant, located on 900 acres, hugs a portion of a salt marsh, a 

natural barrier that also helps protect it from unwanted visitors, 

officials said. The plant generates enough electricity to power more 

than 1 million homes throughout the New England region.

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



INEEL unveils plan to dismantle 32-year-old Power Burst reactor



BOISE, Idaho (AP) - The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental 

Laboratory in Arco has a plan to begin dismantling a 32-year-old 

reactor that has outlived its usefulness.



The Power Burst Facility reactor was built in 1972 to test the safe 

operating limits of reactor systems by simulating various kinds of 

accidents.



In its day, it was the world's only reactor capable of performing 

rapid changes in power level within milliseconds, but it was placed 

on stand-by in 1985.



Its removal under federal Superfund supervision is part of INEEL's 

accelerated cleanup to remove a majority of radioactive waste from 

past laboratory activities by 2012. The clean-up is being overseen in 

part by Bechtel, a contractor working at the site.



The U.S. Department of Energy's plan calls for removing two-thirds of 

the shielding lead from the structure, to be reused, recycled or 

thrown away.



Then, the energy department wants to dispose of water from the 

reactor pool and get rid of an experimental test chamber from the 

reactor vessel. More shielding would be placed over the vessel once 

water is removed.



"The preferred alternative would reduce long-term risk, minimizes 

short-term worker risk and radiation exposure (and) is cost 

effective," according to an energy department statement, which plans 

a second phase of the project to decommission the reactor.



The other option is to do nothing more than keep an eye on Power 

Burst, officials say.



Officials are taking comment on the proposal through Jan. 23.



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

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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