[ RadSafe ] Official: No danger of aging shelter over Chernobyl's
damaged nuclear reactor collapsing
Sandy Perle
sandyfl at earthlink.net
Wed Jun 1 16:40:28 CEST 2005
Index:
No danger of aging shelter over Chernobyl's damaged nuclear reactor
France to help Libya develop civilian nuclear energy program
PG&E Wraps Up Its Fuel Rod Whereabouts Investigation
U.N. training Iraqis in Jordan to measure radiation from DU
NATO parliamentary assembly grapples with simulated terrorist attack
=============================================
Official: No danger of aging shelter over Chernobyl's damaged nuclear
reactor collapsing
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - The crumbling concrete and steel shelter hastily
erected over the destroyed nuclear reactor at Chernobyl is in no
danger of collapsing, a senior Ukrainian official said.
Fears have been growing that the shelter built 19 years ago after
Chernobyl's reactor No. 4 exploded and caught fire is deteriorating,
which could lead to the release of dangerous radiation. Earlier this
month, the West offered more money to this cash-strapped government
to help fund a replacement.
David Zhvania, head of the Emergency Situations Ministry, told
Ukraine's Channel 5 in an interview late Monday that construction
work would begin within 18 months.
In the meantime, he insisted that the current shelter is safe.
"There is no danger that the shelter we currently have may break
apart and cause a catastrophe," he said. "Such a thing can't happen.
It's excluded."
Zhvania said that work will begin only after all preliminary plans
are complete. The European Union and the Group of Eight industrial
nations pledged a combined US$185 million (145 million) toward the
project at a conference in London earlier this month. Ukraine has
also promised to pay US$22 million (17 million).
More than US$600 million (euro469 million) had been pledged earlier
by 28 donor governments. Total costs are estimated at US$1 billion
(euro780 million).
The protective shelter is meant to contain remnants of the reactor,
which was the site of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986. The
explosion spewed radiation over much of northern Europe. Some 4,400
people died and about 7 million people in the former Soviet republics
are believed to have suffered from radiation-related health problems.
Yuriy Andreev, the head of the Chernobyl Union action group, said
that danger levels are still high because used fuel remains stored in
the ground under reactor No. 4. Chernobyl's remaining reactors were
closed in 2000.
Officials say the proposed confinement structure - a 100-meter-high
(328-foot-high) steel arch spanning some 260 meters (853 feet) -
could be the largest moveable structure ever built. It is expected to
be complete by 2009 and to last 100 years.
-------------------
France to help Libya develop civilian nuclear energy program
PARIS (AP) - France plans to help Libya develop a civilian nuclear
energy program, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, citing Tripoli's
pledge not to develop weapons of mass destruction.
The details of French cooperation with Libya have not been finalized
and "we're still in an exploratory phase," said ministry spokesman
Jean-Francois Mattei.
"Given the direction taken by Libya on the issue of weapons of mass
destruction," he said, "France has decided to give a favorable follow-
up to Libya's request for cooperation."
"The principle of cooperation with Libya in the domain of peaceful
application of nuclear energy is thus accepted, though the content of
this cooperation remains to be defined," he added.
France plans to propose a deal with Libya in the near future that
would take into account the North African country's needs and
infrastructure, Mattei said. No date was specified.
Many Western nations have upgraded relations with Tripoli after
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's decision to give up pursuing nuclear
weapons and reaching settlements with relatives of victims of two
airline bombings in the 1980s that killed hundreds of people dead.
------------------
PG&E Wraps Up Its Fuel Rod Whereabouts Investigation
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--In an effort to complete an investigation
into the location of segments of a used nuclear fuel rod, PG&E Corp.
(PCG) concluded that the segments were either stored in a used fuel
pool or shipped to a licensed waste facility.
In a press release Tuesday, the energy company said the investigation
into the whereabouts of the fuel rod began last June when it told the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission it had found conflicting records on the
location of three, 18-inch long cut segments.
The records, the company said, indicate that the segments were either
stored in the used fuel pool in 1968 or shipped to one of three
licensed nuclear waste facilities in 1969.
Further, PG&E said physical evidence indicates that the three
segments of the fuel rod have been found in the used fuel pool. They
were, however, found in broken and fragmented form, rather than in 18-
inch cut segments.
Because of the condition of the "apparently" cut fuel rod fragments,
and the fact that they have been in storage for less than 40 years,
"conclusive positive identification" is "very difficult."
Although there is no evidence that offsite shipment occurred, we
cannot say with 100 percent certainty that it did not," said Greg
Rueger, PG&E's senior vice president for generation and chief nuclear
officer.
The company's investigation found no evidence to "support the
possibility that the fuel segments were stolen" from its Humboldt Bay
Power Plant in Northern California.
The company added that it will work with the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission to resolve any outstanding issues. It added that it, as a
company, has "solid" controls in place with regards to handling
nuclear materials at its Humboldt Bay Power Plant.
-----------------
U.N. training Iraqis in Jordan to measure radiation from depleted
uranium
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Concerned about depleted uranium and what they
say are increasing cancer rates, Iraqi officials are receiving
training from U.N. experts on techniques to measure radiation levels
according to international standards, a U.N. official Tuesday.
Pekka Haavisto, chairman of the U.N. Environment Program's Iraq Task
Force, said the Iraqis were especially concerned about the southern
city of Basra and the surrounding area. He said the Iraqi government
approached UNEP for help.
"They did their own studies and found that the cancer risk has
increased by two to three times since the 1991 Gulf War," Haavisto
told The Associated Press. "These are local studies and have not been
internationally verified so it is difficult to say if the picture is
so black."
Depleted uranium is a heavy metal used in armor-piercing weapons. The
Pentagon maintains that depleted uranium is safe and is about 40
percent less radioactive than natural uranium.
The British government has given UNEP detailed information on
locations where it used 1.9 tones of depleted uranium in the south of
Iraq, but UNEP says the U.S. government hasn't come forward with the
same information despite U.N. requests.
UNEP is instructing 16 officials from the Iraqi Ministry of Health
and Environment, including both vice-ministers, in how to detect
depleted uranium.
"The UNEP is currently providing training and equipment to Iraqi
scientists to measure Beta and Gamma radiation from depleted uranium
sources," Haavisto said.
He said UNEP has carried out studies on depleted uranium found in
munitions used in Kosovo and the Balkan wars but "due to the security
situation in Iraq, we are training Iraqis to conduct the studies
themselves."
Haavisto said the UNEP is concerned that "there has been no proper
clean up in Iraq since wars in 2003 and 1991. There is still depleted
uranium and other chemicals on the ground. Looting has contributed to
the problem," he said.
"Usually hazardous materials must be cleaned up as rapidly as
possible," he added.
He said the UNEP had several other concerns about Iraq, such as the
presence of toxic materials, heavy metals and oil spills that present
environmental and health hazards.
UNEP's studies in the Balkans called for monitoring depleted uranium
affected areas, cleanup efforts and clearly marking affected sites.
It concluded that that localized contamination can be detected at
contaminated sites and so precaution is needed, while in general,
levels are so low that they do not pose an immediate threat to human
health and the environment.
But the Balkans studies also identified a number of uncertainties
requiring further investigation, according to UNEP. These include the
extent to which depleted uranium on the ground can filter through the
soil and eventually contaminate groundwater, and the possibility that
depleted uranium dust could later be re-suspended in the air by wind
or human activity, with the risk that it could be breathed in.
UNEP is also involved in environmental management of the Iraqi
marshlands.
-------------------
NATO parliamentary assembly grapples with simulated nuclear terrorist
attack
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) - More than 300 lawmakers from NATO
countries traded ideas Tuesday on how to stave off a nuclear
terrorist attack in the heart of Europe and what to do in the wake of
such a catastrophe.
Hammering the message home on the closing day of NATO's five-day
parliamentary assembly spring session, the participants observed a
simulated nuclear attack in downtown Brussels, Belgium.
The exercise, dubbed Black Dawn, envisions hundreds of thousands of
victims from the immediate impact of the blast in the first few days
and mass-scale destruction of homes and infrastructure.
Radiation carried downwind would spread for miles, while contaminated
electrical, water and food supplies would send after-effects
permeating through Europe.
World markets would crash and commerce would grind to a halt as fear,
panic and grief spawns alarm in far-flung regions, prompting the
closure of land, sea, air and other borders in expectation of follow-
up attacks.
"This is not scare tactics," said NATO parliamentary assembly
president, Pierre Lellouche. "This is based on real facts."
The exercise was the highlight of the parliamentary meeting, which
included weekend discussions on a range of matters, from the
alliance's current missions to its future role in "post-conflict"
operations
Regional issues covering the Caucasus, the Balkans and central Asia
were also discussed alongside the implications of China's economic
emergence and climactic changes in the Arctic.
NATO General Secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer wrapped up Tuesday's
closing session condemning a recent outbreak of violence in
Uzbekistan and offering support for international moves to end the
humanitarian crisis in Sudan's western region of Darfur. The assembly
issued a declaration on both situations.
Slovenia, a tiny Alpine republic of 2 million, became a member of
NATO last year and is perhaps an ideal location to present a
simulated nuclear attack.
Part of the Black Dawn scenario focuses on an ex-communist country on
the fringe of the European Union, housing a civilian nuclear reactor
which is vulnerable to illegal penetration. The staff is likely
underpaid and susceptible to bribes, while controls and checks are
probably less stringent than in more-developed Western countries.
In a briefing on the operation, NATO centers on Al Qaeda's interest
in weapons of mass destruction.
The briefing notes recent attacks in Spain, Turkey, Indonesia, Saudi
Arabia, Russia and Iraq as demonstrations of the "viability and
lethality of these splinter groups worldwide."
"Al Qaeda's strong presence in Europe combined with multiple symbolic
targets, such as U.S. military and NATO installations, close to major
population centers renders plausible a WMD terrorist attack in
Europe," the paper concludes.
NATO experts contend that Europe is not ready to respond effectively
to a nuclear threat.
To that end, they recommend prevention by locking down and securing
dangerous nuclear sites, increasing funding for demilitarization and
public awareness, and detecting and interdicting smuggling of weapons
of mass destruction.
-------------------------------------
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) 296-1902
E-Mail: sperle at dosimetry.com
E-Mail: sandyfl at earthlink.net
Global Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com/
Personal Website: http://sandy-travels.com/
More information about the radsafe
mailing list