[ RadSafe ] Fast network for info exchange on Japan nuclear accidents

[Sandy Perle]

Index:

Fast network for info exchange on Japan nuclear accidents
KEPCO submits report on fatal steam pipe rupture
Fermilab experiment to beam neutrinos through Dairyland
PPL says Unit 2 at Berwick plant set reliability record
Areva, Westinghouse Chase China Nuclear Deals Amid Global Slump
France signs on to pursue new nuclear technology  
Film Poison DUst features vets exposed to DU
============================================

Fast network for info exchange on Japan nuclear accidents

Mar 2 (Tokyo) Japan will establish a high-speed fiber-optic network 
connecting the central government, prefectures and municipalities for 
smooth communication in the event of a nuclear accident, government 
officials said Tuesday.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, an organization under the 
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, has decided to begin 
building the unified nuclear disaster prevention network next fiscal 
year, which begins in April. The agency intends to put the network 
into operation by March 2008, the officials said.
-------------------

KEPCO submits report on fatal steam pipe rupture 

Mar 2 (Tokyo) Kansai Electric Power Co. submitted a report on a fatal 
steam blowout in 2004 at one of its Mihama Nuclear Power Plant 
reactors in Mihamacho, Fukui Prefecture, including the cause of the 
accident and preventative measures, to the Economy, Trade and 
Industry Ministry on Tuesday.  

The accident occurred on Aug. 9 when a secondary system pipe at the 
plant's No. 3 reactor ruptured, killing five workers and injuring six 
others. 

The report said KEPCO was responsible for failing to include the 
ruptured pipe on a list of pipes to be inspected. 

At a Tuesday press conference, KEPCO President Yosaku Fuji apologized 
for the fatal accident, saying that as head of the company that set 
up and managed the facility, he felt great responsibility. 

The report revealed that Nihon Arm Co., a KEPCO subsidiary, and 
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., which were initially in charge of 
inspecting the second system pipes, failed to include 27 pipes to be 
checked in that system. Added to 15 items reported earlier, the total 
of items that were not listed for inspection list came to 42. 

Fuji said the report would be examined by a government panel, adding 
he would wait for the final report, likely to be issued in March by 
the ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, before making a 
decision on managerial responsibility over the accident. 

It was discovered that Nihon Arm Co. reported to KEPCO after it 
noticed in 1997 that a section of pipes in the No. 4 reactor of the 
Takahama Nuclear Power Plant in Takahamacho in the prefecture had not 
been included on an inspection list. The section was in the same 
location as the No. 3 Mihama reactor pipe that ruptured. 

KEPCO said the employee who received the notification failed to 
report it to a superior. The accident at the No. 3 Mihama reactor 
could probably have been avoided if KEPCO has taken adequate 
measures. 

The report exposed the poor communications among KEPCO employees and 
between employees and those at related companies. 

KEPCO announced in September that it would maintain an inspection 
program focused on the thickness of the walls of second system pipes 
in its nuclear reactors. The firm added that part of the preventative 
measures involved clarifying the duties of its employees as well as 
those of employees of related companies. KEPCO also stipulated that 
it would make clear that it was the duty of employees to report when 
an item was not included on an inspection list, and said it would 
transfer operations headquarters from Osaka to Fukui Prefecture. 

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency will hold several accident 
investigation committee meetings beginning Thursday and will finalize 
a report on the fatal accident. If the agency decides the bulk of the 
responsibility rests with KEPCO, the firm's executives, including 
Fuji, will likely be forced to step down.
----------------

Fermilab experiment to beam neutrinos through Dairyland

MAR 1 (Wisc) In an effort to pin down the elusive nature and 
qualities of one of nature's most intriguing subatomic particles - 
the neutrino - scientists at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, 
or Fermilab, in Illinois will soon send a beam of the ghostlike 
particles coursing through subterranean Wisconsin to a detector deep 
in a mine in northern Minnesota. The goal of the $170 million project 
is to help scientists gain some accurate measurements of a particle 
that has practically no heft. "They almost have no mass, no charge, 
and have the weakest interacting force that we know," says Albert 
Erwin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of physics and a 
participant in the massive Fermilab experiment.  

Those qualities enable neutrinos, which in nature are produced in the 
nuclear reactions in the sun and other celestial objects, to course 
through matter as if it does not exist. Yet, scientists think, 
neutrinos may account for much of the mass of the universe and may 
play a role in the origin of neutrons, protons and electrons - the 
basic building blocks of all atoms in the universe. 

The beam generated at Fermilab will bisect Wisconsin from the 
southeast corner of the state to the very northwest corner, before 
traveling through Lake Superior toward a steel target set deep in an 
old iron mine in Soudan, Minn. 

"Neutrinos are harmless," says Erwin, the UW-Madison scientist most 
closely involved with the experiment, which is known as MINOS - for 
Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search. 

The five-year MINOS experiment hopes to unravel the mysteries 
associated with neutrino origin and mass, and how they change during 
their 2.5-millisecond trip from Batavia, Ill., to the Soudan Mine. 

To produce neutrinos, scientists at Fermilab accelerate protons - the 
basic components of an atom - around a four-mile ring that ends in a 
violent collision at a graphite barrier. This miniscule collision 
produces neutrinos that are channeled through the earth toward a 
massive steel target set deep in the Soudan Mine. 

The neutrino beam, which is directed in a manner similar to a beam of 
light produced by a flashlight, is aimed downward at a 3.3-degree 
angle toward the detector, known as the Soudan Underground 
Laboratory, 450 miles northwest of Batavia. 

Although the beam will course through the earth beneath Wisconsin, it 
will be unnoticeable, little different from the neutrinos that exist 
in nature and are constantly bombarding the earth. 

Neutrinos are phantomlike and pass through all matter, including 
people, with no effect. This insignificant interaction makes 
neutrinos an extremely difficult subject of study, says Erwin. 

"Neutrinos theoretically exist in three ‘flavors': electron 
neutrinos, muon neutrinos and the more recently discovered tau 
neutrinos," Erwin explains. "When neutrinos are produced in the sun 
and stream through the atmosphere, planets and other celestial 
objects, they transform back and forth between these three flavors." 

The Fermilab experiment emits the neutrinos in their muon form. 
Scientists hope the long distance to the Soudan detector will provide 
enough time for the muon neutrino to transform into the two other 
flavors, providing a glimpse of the lifestyle of the elusive 
particle. 

The giant detector in Soudan is made out of steel and plastic plates 
that are placed in the path of the neutrinos from Fermilab. The 6,000-
ton steel detector is where scientists hope to sample neutrino 
flavors when they arrive in Soudan. 

Out of trillions of neutrinos produced by the MINOS experiment, only 
a few thousand will create detectable events at the Soudan Mine. This 
means that even though muon neutrinos will be released for ten 
millionths of a second every two minutes, 24 hours a day, seven days 
a week, for the next five years, only one hour of data will be 
analyzed. 

Nonetheless, Erwin believes the experiment will give scientists new 
insight into the nature of the sun and other heavenly objects based 
on the transformation of the fast traveling neutrinos. 

Even more tantalizing - and perhaps the most interesting hoped-for 
result of the MINOS experiment - is the opportunity to uncover the 
secrets of the dark matter that scientists believe pervades the 
universe. Dark matter, which may account for approximately 90 percent 
of all matter, is matter that we know exists, yet does not give off 
any light, says Erwin. 

"We know that dark matter is out there, but we don't know what the 
missing mass is made of. If this experiment is a success, we might 
find that some of that missing mass is neutrinos." 

UW-Madison scientists are excited about the Fermilab MINOS 
experiment, Erwin says, because it may bring science one step closer 
to identifying a particle that helps to keep the universe together.
-------------------

PPL says Unit 2 at Berwick plant set reliability record
 
BERWICK, Pa. P-P-L officials are lauding a record-breaking 
performance of the Unit Two reactor at the Susquehanna nuclear power 
plant near Berwick.

Before it was shut down last week for its biennial refueling, the 
Unit Two reactor had produced power for 677 straight days.

It marked the first time in the unit's 20-year history for continuous 
operation between refuelings.

Lou Ramos of P-P-L Susquehanna says the new record puts the plant 
among the best in the industry for reliability.
-----------------

Areva, Westinghouse Chase China Nuclear Deals Amid Global Slump
 
March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Westinghouse Electric Co., whose designs run 
half the world's nuclear reactors, is counting on U.S. government 
help to unseat France's Areva SA as the leader in China's nuclear-
power market. 

Paris-based Areva, the world's biggest reactor builder, is banking on 
history: It has supplied four of China's nine working nuclear plants 
over 20 years. Westinghouse, previously shut out of the market by a 
U.S. export ban, is now vying with Areva for an $8 billion contract 
to build four Chinese reactors. Both companies submitted bids to meet 
a Feb. 28 deadline. 

``The U.S. government has been very supportive of overall China-U.S. 
nuclear cooperation,'' says Gavin Liu, 37, Monroeville, Pennsylvania-
based Westinghouse's representative in Beijing. ``It's a very, very 
critical market for Westinghouse.'' 

China's nuclear-power market is growing faster than any other as 
environmental and safety concerns halt U.S. and European reactor 
construction. The four planned reactors are the first of more than 20 
in a $54 billion push to quadruple Chinese nuclear- power capacity by 
2020 -- an effort to ease power shortages in an economy that grew 9.5 
percent last year. 

``The industry does need new orders, and it seems that China is going 
to be the most positive feature,'' says Steve Kidd, 48, director of 
strategy and research at the London-based World Nuclear Association, 
which promotes nuclear power use. ``In world terms now, it is the 
biggest expansion.'' 

U.S. Ban Lifted 

For Westinghouse, the U.S. unit of state-owned British Nuclear Fuels 
Plc, the pending Chinese contract is the first opportunity to sell 
nuclear hardware to China since the U.S. lifted a ban on such exports 
in 1998. 

U.S. President George W. Bush's administration has pushed to boost 
his country's involvement in China's nuclear program. As the only 
U.S. bidder for the current Chinese contract, Westinghouse is the 
main beneficiary of those lobbying efforts. 

``The U.S. government has supported helping the Chinese in their 
economic development, and part of that is producing energy,'' says 
Bruce Blakeman, special counsel to U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos 
Gutierrez at the U.S. embassy in Beijing. ``It's something where 
American companies have a great deal of expertise and the best 
technology.'' 

Westinghouse is leading a group of bidders that also includes San 
Francisco-based Bechtel Group Inc. and Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Heavy 
Industries Ltd., according to Westinghouse spokesman Vaughn Gilbert. 
While Westinghouse is owned by Warrington, England-based British 
Nuclear Fuels, a successful Chinese bid would add billions of dollars 
to U.S. exports and create thousands of U.S. jobs, says Blakeman, 43. 

Congressmen in Beijing 

U.S. government officials have visited Beijing in the past year to 
back Westinghouse's bid, Blakeman says. They included a group of 
congressmen led by Ohio Republican David Hobson, chairman of the 
House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, 
who visited last April, Blakeman says. 

Former U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, who left the post on 
Feb. 1, lobbied for Westinghouse during a meeting with Zhang Huazhu, 
chairman of the state-run China Atomic Energy Authority, in Beijing 
in December, the authority says. 

``He pointed out that both governments have made efforts on nuclear 
cooperation and hoped their nuclear industries could follow,'' the 
Chinese authority said in a Jan. 7 report. ``He said Westinghouse 
Electric Co. had participated in the bidding process for new Chinese 
nuclear projects based on its capability and good record.'' 

Abraham, 52, declined to comment on U.S. government support for the 
bid. Westinghouse and Areva officials say they expect China to choose 
a winning bidder by early 2006. 

U.S. Trade Deficit 

Pressure on China to reduce its swelling trade surplus with the U.S. 
may give Westinghouse an edge over Areva, says the World Nuclear 
Association's Kidd. 

``The very big trade surplus that the Chinese have with the U.S. 
might save the U.S. vendors in the next round of bidding,'' Kidd 
says. ``American companies are pushing very hard, and they're quite 
hopeful of getting a significant amount of business for the next 10 
years.'' 

The U.S. trade deficit with China widened 31 percent to a record $162 
billion in 2004, according to U.S. government figures. France's trade 
gap with China last year was a fraction of that size at 11.5 billion 
euros ($15 billion). 

`Deep Concern' Over Arms 

The U.S. push to sell nuclear reactors to China comes as Bush opposes 
plans by the European Union to end a 16-year embargo on weapons sales 
to China. 

``There is deep concern in our country that a transfer of weapons 
would be a transfer of technology that would change the balance of 
relations between China and Taiwan,'' Bush said at a press conference 
in Brussels on Feb. 22. 

Russia's state-owned AtomStroyExport is the third contender for the 
pending Chinese reactor contract. 

``It's a very promising market,'' AtomStroyExport President Igor 
Klochko said in a faxed response to questions. The Moscow- based 
company won an earlier contract to build two Chinese reactors, which 
aren't operating yet, he said. 

China's nuclear expansion will boost the country's share of global 
nuclear-power capacity to 10 percent by 2020 from about 2 percent 
now, making China the world's No. 4 generator of nuclear power after 
the U.S., France and Japan, Kidd estimates. 

China's plan to increase its nuclear-power capacity to 36,000 
megawatts by 2020 will require an estimated 27 new 1,000-megawatt 
reactors costing about $2 billion each, according to a September 
estimate by Yu Jianfeng, a director at China National Nuclear Corp. 

Nuclear Programs Halted 

Countries such as the U.S. and Germany have halted their nuclear 
programs because of concerns about safety and environmental risks, 
highlighted by the 1986 Chernobyl reactor explosion in Ukraine. 

Only a single reactor order has been placed outside Asia since 
Chernobyl, by Finland in 2003, according to the World Nuclear 
Association. Finland paid $3.7 billion for a model from Areva's 
Framatome ANP nuclear-reactor unit, a venture with Germany's Siemens 
AG. 

No nuclear plants have been ordered in the U.S. since 1978, according 
to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. Germany 
agreed in 2000 to permanently close its 19 nuclear power plants over 
the next two decades, after Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder met an 
election pledge to phase out nuclear power. 

While India's nuclear expansion rivals China's in size, with nine 
reactors under construction and another 24 planned, overseas 
companies don't stand to profit. They're barred from exporting 
nuclear technology to India because it hasn't signed the Treaty on 
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, according to the World Nuclear 
Association's Kidd. 

Areva's Advantage 

That means China will drive growth in the global nuclear- power 
market in coming years. 

Areva is relying on its track record to maintain its lead. The 
company has supplied more plants in China than any other -- including 
state-owned China National Nuclear Corp. It employs 3,500 people in 
the country, compared with about 15 for Westinghouse, and signed its 
first Chinese contract in 1986. 

``The Chinese strengthened their nuclear culture by being in contact 
with the French, so there's a familiarity and understanding,'' says 
Arnaud de Bourayne, 59, Areva's president for China. ``It is 
potentially the fastest-growing nuclear market for Areva.'' 

Areva is still the most likely winner of the pending contract, says 
Manoj Singh, the Hong Kong-based chief executive officer for Asia at 
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. 

``Areva clearly has an advantage because consistency is very 
important,'' says Singh, who has been a consultant to energy 
companies for 25 years. ``One of the things the French have done very 
well is to standardize designs for nuclear power plants, and the 
Chinese government is trying to adopt that as a policy.'' 

Government Help 

Like Westinghouse, Areva has gotten government help in pushing for 
Chinese contracts. 

CEO Anne Lauvergeon accompanied French President Jacques Chirac on a 
trip to China in October, after China announced its call for tenders 
for the reactor project on Sept. 28, to meet President Hu Jintao and 
other Chinese leaders. 

During a June visit to Paris by Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan, the 
nations signed an agreement to cooperate on technology for future 
nuclear reactors. Lauvergeon, 45, attended the signing, according to 
an Areva press release. 

With or without government backing, companies seeking to profit from 
China's nuclear expansion face obstacles, Areva's de Bourayne says. 

`Very Demanding Market' 

China plans to phase out international participation in its nuclear 
program in coming years, and the winning bidder will have to ensure 
that the designs and equipment it supplies can be replicated locally.

``It's undoubtedly a very demanding market because of competition and 
because of the request for localization and co- development in 
China,'' says de Bourayne, who's based in Beijing. ``It's basically a 
state operation. Decision-making is very complex.'' 

Westinghouse's experience in transferring technology to other 
countries may give it an advantage, says Liu, the company's 
representative in Beijing. 

The company has built reactors in the U.S., Europe and Asia, most 
recently helping South Korea build a self-sufficient nuclear program 
in the same way China aims to, he says. 

Westinghouse is offering its new AP1000 reactor, which it says is 
safer and more cost-effective than competing models. The AP1000's 
safety system eliminates the need for human intervention in case of 
an accident. The reactor has a modular design that limits 
construction time to as little as three years, according to a 
Westinghouse press release. 

`Geopolitical' Decision 

Framatome's EPR, or European Pressurized-Water Reactor, takes 57 
months to build and cuts electricity production costs by 10 percent 
compared with the most recent model built in France, according to 
Areva's Web site. The EPR also uses 15 percent less uranium, reducing 
toxic waste and radioactivity levels, and is designed to run for 60 
years, rather than 40 for existing Framatome reactors. 

China's choice won't be based on technology alone, says Pierre 
Nebout, who helps manage 20,000 Areva non-voting investment 
certificates -- part of the 4 percent of the company that's publicly 
traded -- at Paris-based La Cie. Financiere Edmond de Rothschild 
Banque. 

``Areva's proposal may be rejected not for technical reasons, but 
more for geopolitical reasons,'' Nebout says. ``The role of the 
Americans is very significant in China.'' 
--------------------

France signs on to pursue new nuclear technology  
 
WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (AFP) - Representatives of five industrialised 
countries agreed Monday on a long-range research plan for a new 
generation of nuclear power generation technology, the so-called 
"Generation IV" nuclear systems. 

The United States, France, Great Britain, Japan and Canada signed the 
agreement, which aims to coordinate the development of new nuclear 
technologies that will be used in power generation decades from now. 

The research will help address the rising global demand for energy 
and the need to diversify energy sources, said US Secretary of Energy 
Samuel Bodman. 

The eleven-member Generation IV International Forum has identified 
six of the most promising technologies for  
 
research and development: gas-cooled fast reactor systems, lead-
cooled fast reactor systems, molten salt reactors, super-critical-
water-cooled reactors and very high temperature reactors. 

"It will take probably 30 years before the first reactor is built" 
with Generation IV technology, said French ambassador David Levitte 
at the signing. 

The other six members of the forum, expected to sign the agreement in 
the coming months, are Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, South Africa, 
Switzerland, and Euratom, the European atomic energy agency.
-----------------

Film Poison DUst features vets exposed to DU
By David Hoskins, International Action Center

February 20, 2005--The premiere showing on Feb. 15 of "Poison DUst"--
a documentary highlighting the effects of Depleted Uranium [DU] on 
veterans returning from the Iraq war-- attracted a large and engaged 
crowd at the New School theater. Filmmaker Sue Harris was on hand to 
introduce the film and take questions afterward. Former U.S. Attorney 
General Ramsey Clark and Sara Flounders, national co-director of the 
International Action Center, also spoke at the event.

DU refers to that portion of uranium left over after the enrichment 
process that makes natural metallic uranium suitable for nuclear 
uses. DU has limited civilian applications in the development of 
medical radiation therapy machines.

However, the military has found a more sinister use for DU in its 
operations. Because of its high density, DU is used in armor-
penetrating munitions. DU munitions were used extensively by United 
States forces in both the first and current Iraq wars, putting 
soldiers and civilians at risk of exposure.

DU is both radioactive and toxic to the human body. Exposure to DU 
can cause a host of ailments associated with the kidneys, lungs and 
immune system. An increased risk of lung tissue damage and lung 
cancer has been documented among uranium miners.

The film features soldiers whose health has been affected by DU 
exposure, along with the wives of military personnel discussing 
genetic disabilities faced by their children as a result of a 
parent's exposure to DU. An increased risk of miscarriages, maternal 
mortality and congenital disabilities is associated with DU 
contamination.

It's a weapon of mass destruction.

The top U.S. military brass are complicit in the cover-up of DU's 
harmful effects on civilians and soldiers. The current attitude of 
the U.S. military leadership is similar to the approach taken during 
the Vietnam War, when military leaders ignored the health risks 
connected to the use of Agent Orange as a defoliant.

Several military servicemembers and their families, including 
veterans featured in the film, were in attendance at the premiere of 
"Poison Dust." The anger these individuals harbor toward the 
government that disregarded their health and safety was apparent 
during the open discussion that followed the film.

It is up to the anti-war movement to channel this anger into an 
active resistance of the U.S. war of occupation in Iraq.

As the Troops Out Now Coalition organizes for a mass demonstration in 
New York City's Central Park on March 19, "Poison DUst" helps 
demonstrate why soldiers have both a right and a duty to resist 
serving in a military that disregards the lives of GIs and Iraqis.

-------------------------------------
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/