Nuke Reactors Enters 2000 Unscathed Russia and Japan

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Wishing all Peace and Good Will in this New Year!!!

Friday December 31 12:03 PM ET 

Nuke Reactors Enters 2000 Unscathed Russia and Japan 

WASHINGTON (AP) - The first Russian nuclear plant to pass into 
2000 did so without incident - cause for optimism, Energy 
Secretary Bill Richardson said today. ``But we have barely 
scratched the surface'' in terms of time zones, he added.  

Four units at the Bilibino Nuclear Heat and Power Plant in 
northeast Siberia above the Arctic Circle were functioning normally 
after the rollover to 2000, Richardson said, and early reports 
indicate that Russia's other energy systems made the Jan. 1 
switch without glitches.  

``So far, international signs are encouraging but we have barely 
scratched the surface with the early time zones,'' Richardson said.  

The Bilibino plant provides energy for the mining industry and the 
seaport of Pevask, which is connected to the plant by a 300-mile 
transmission line.  

The first unit began operating in January, 1974 and the last one 
started up in December 1976, according to the Soviet Plant Source 
Book, published by the Nuclear Energy Institute, a Washington-
based trade association for the nuclear industry.  

The units are targeted for closure in 2002 and 2006.  

A 1996 visit by U.S. and international energy officials found safety 
and maintenance problems at the site in part of because of the 
high turnover of personnel. 
-----  

Friday December 31, 10:49 am Eastern Time

Japan says no power disruption as Jan 1 starts

TOKYO, Jan 1 (Reuters) - No major disruption to Japan's power 
generation has been reported as the nation ticked into the year 
2000, the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan said on 
Saturday.  

``As of midnight, and as far as we can monitor from the power 
companies' central control centres, no major power outages have 
been reported and there are no problems reported at nuclear power 
generation plants,'' a spokesman for the federation said.  

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the country's largest power 
company, also said it detected no problems with power supplies in 
the Tokyo area. So far reports have been limited to those from 
central control centres, and reports from regional terminals are still 
pending, spokesmen at the federation and TEPCO said. Japan has 
a total 14 nuclear power stations operated by nine of its 10 major 
electric power companies, and two stations at Japan Atomic Power 
Co (JAPC). JAPC's nuclear power plants, however, are currently 
shut down for maintenance.  

On city gas supplies, Tokyo Gas Co Ltd said it has had no gas 
manufacturing or supply disruptions as of 12:10 a.m. in its service 
area including the largest consumer region of Tokyo.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/scperle
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com
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