***************************************************************** 08/24/07 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 15.199 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 AU ABC: Call for UN to supervise Govt intervention - NUCLEAR REACTORS 2 US: Vermont Yankee cooling tower fails - Collection 3 The Hindu: Congress, Left make moves to resolve stand-off 4 AU ABC: Attitude to nuclear power will change, PM says - 5 AU ABC: Labor ad campaign attacks Govt's nuclear agenda - 6 US: Platts: NRC review of Vogtle's early site permit will take 31 mo 7 US: Burlington Free Press: Nuclear plant damage is worse than report 8 US: JOURNAL NEWS: Entergy says new Indian Point sirens are working, 9 US: The Journal: Spreading the word 10 US: Rutland Herald: Officials rule out Yankee sabotage 11 US: Brattleboro Reformer: State delegates press for thorough probe 12 Reuters: CHRONOLOGY - Twists and turns in the India-U.S. nuclear dea 13 Reuters: Nearly half of Indians back U.S. nuclear deal - survey | 14 US: TCPalm: Radioactive water leaked inside a containment unit at th 15 AFP: India's 'Red Czar': plotting to end US nuclear deal - 16 Hemscott: Alstom to supply turbine generators for China's Hongyan Ri 17 US: enewscourier: Heat still hinders nuclear plant 18 "Trend" news agency: Agreement on Construction of Nuclear Reactor Ac 19 The Hindu: By all counts, nuclear power is most expensive NUCLEAR SECURITY 20 BBC NEWS: China men tried over uranium sale 21 Reuters: China searches for 8 kg of missing uranium 22 Guardian Unlimited: 4 in China Tried on Uranium Sale Charges NUCLEAR SAFETY 23 Platts: German government, utilities agree nuclear safety improvemen 24 US: AFP: Piketon Residents' Case to Go to Trial 25 US: Rocky Mountain News: Nuke workers not getting regular tests, rep 26 US: NRC: Atomic Safety and Licensing Board; In the Matter of: Amerge 27 US: JS Online: Truck driver charged with lying about radioactive car 28 Japan Times: Reactors to receive fewer inspections | 29 AU ABC: Marshall Is boat to evacuate Bikini atoll tourists 30 Malayasia Star: Worker exposed to small amount of radiation at Japan 31 US: Columbus Dispatch: Medical study of Fernald-area residents to en 32 US: Bradenton.com: Tallevast probe deemed deficient NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 33 US: IPS-English POLITICS-AUSTRALIA: Uranium for India - Business 34 ReviewJournal.com: Nevada remains opposed to conceding Yucca water 35 US: Carlsbad Current-Argus: WIPP shipments resume PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 36 Aiken Today: DOE asks board to hold off on SREL recommendations 37 Albuquerque Tribune: Editorial: Under budget, on time: Let labs be a 38 Columbian.com: In our view: Hands Off Hanford- 39 Tennessean: Nuclear monitoring problems cited at Oak Ridge facilitie 40 Knoxville News Sentinel: NRC gets 3 hearing requests 41 Idaho Mountain Express: INL, advanced reactor seismically safe - 42 Oak Ridger: Wamp touts TVA role in nuclear waste project - ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 AU ABC: Call for UN to supervise Govt intervention - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Posted August 24, 2007 16:11:00 * Alice Springs 0870 A group of Aboriginal people in Central Australia is calling on the United Nations to oversee the Commonwealth's intervention in the Northern Territory. Members of the Arrernte Nations Campaign met in Alice Springs today to talk about the issue. One of the representatives, Mitch, says the Federal Government is bulldozing Indigenous communities with its plans for a nuclear waste dump in the Territory and with the intervention into communities. "Our human rights have been trampled in this issue, our rights as Indigenous people in Australia have been trampled, and in that regard the United Nations can come in," he said. "Number one, they can have a look at the anti-racism laws that have been changed so that this stuff can go through." Tags: indigenous, government-and-politics, federal-government, human, nt, alice-springs-0870 ***************************************************************** 2 Vermont Yankee cooling tower fails - Collection Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 21:48:45 -0500 (CDT) http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070824/NEWS01/708240311/1009/PHOTOWEEK Top Stories Friday, August 24, 2007 THIS WEEK IN PHOTOS Water pours from a damaged cooling tower at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon. This undated photo was provided by the New England Coalition, a nuclear watchdog group, which received it from a third party. Courtesy photo Area towns near Vermont Yankee to receive radiation exposure drug Tentative agreement reached with workers at Vermont Yankee, averting strike Strike looming at Vermont Yankee nuke plant Editorial: The power of Green has been unleashed PSB rejects study on all-fuels efficiency NRC: No environmental reason not to extend Yankee license Entergy: Yankee cracks not due to power boost My Turn: State faces major energy challenges Editorial: Efficiency utility needs practical model Vermonters to add voices to energy debate My Turn: Broad energy sources needed MY TURN: Uprate Vermont homes; override Douglas' veto EDITORIAL: Energy-efficiency bill worth compromise My Turn: Vermont Yankee is the real sweetheart deal StoryChat Post a CommentPost a Comment View all CommentsView All Comments Turtle: I called no one a name, and no American has died from a nuclear power plant accident, None. Name one turtle. All I want is one name with the proof that the cause of death was a nuclear power plant acident and I will take it back. If you can not name one go back in your shell. Now that is getting close to calling you name. But you chose the name turtle. Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 4:14 pm Yeh GMP, the first anti-nuke that can tell me how the plant actually operates will be the first. Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 1:58 pm Nice catch, Dan! The downside is that fact won't matter to the lib zombies. You see, you applied logic to the issue. That is something that escapes them. Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 1:44 pm Are ANY of you naysayers engineers? I am. I'm a stationary engineer (look it up, desk jockeys), the water in that tower never comes in contact with radioactivity. The plant could have run at full power, the discharge water just would have been a higher temperature. Vermont Yankee has an exemplary safety record. Nice scary headline BFP, it's all about the sales, eh? Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 1:40 pm Turtle, FYI VT was a very right wind state for a long time, only recently with the influx of flatlanders did it start tilting left. You are correct in the fact that republicans are in the minority the problem is so are native vermonters. "Riggghttt, no one down in PA got cancer and had their life cut short from all that radiation leaking out. No, no the unusually high cnacer rates for young people in the area is just a coinincidence." Got any proof of that? Oh that's right the doom and gloom party doesn't need proof, facts just get in the way. It is far easier to spout allegations and tell everyone the world is falling and that all the ills in the world can be fixed with just a few more tax dollars. "So why don't you all get totgether and move the hell out of Vermont. " Because we were here first. " The only zombie like comment I see is stating that this plant is safe. YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHETHER IT IS SAFE. " And you have not clue that it isn't, so stop calling the kettle black. Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 1:28 pm Post a CommentPost a Comment View all CommentsView All Comments More from today's Top Stories section: Nuclear plant damage is worse than reported Friday, August 24, 2007 By Sam Hemingway Free Press Staff Writer A cooling tower structure at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant that partially collapsed Tuesday underwent a full inspection as recently as this spring and was found to be in good condition, a company spokesman said Thursday. "It was determined acceptable for continued operation," said Rob Williams, spokesman for plant owner Entergy Nuclear. Williams said the collapse, which occurred Tuesday afternoon and left a gaping hole in the side of the structure, caused Entergy to reduce power output by 50 percent until repairs are carried out. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials said the tower collapse does not pose a safety threat. NRC officials said the water that spilled from the tower pipe is used to cool a condenser and never comes in contact with the plant's nuclear reactor. The incident at the Vernon plant prompted the New England Coalition, a Brattleboro nuclear watchdog group, and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group to demand that the plant be shut down immediately. "Entergy should terminate operations until we have a resolution of this issue," said Ray Shadis, the New England Coalition's technical adviser. "If one part of the cooling tower support can collapse, it's likely that there could be a collapse ready to happen somewhere else. That is a safety concern." Also Thursday, the state's congressional delegation called for an investigation into the cause of the collapse and, in a statement, prodded the NRC to pursue the matter aggressively. "The NRC has not yet committed to undertaking a thorough investigation of the safety related (to) cooling towers cell(s) that are located on the same site and could potentially have similar structural issues," the statement said. "We find this extremely troubling." Gov. Jim Douglas said he has asked the Public Safety Department to look into the incident and report back to him. He said Vermonters should understand that the tower problem did not pose a risk of a radioactive release. "I'll wait for the report and take it from there," Douglas said. "Certainly, that kind of structural problem is of great concern to me and I'm sure to everyone." Williams said the cooling towers reduce the temperature of water used to cool the plant's condenser to a proper level before the water is returned to the Connecticut River, which runs alongside the plant. The plant has two tower structures, called the east and west cooling towers. The damage occurred in a portion of the west tower structure identified as Cell 2-4, one of 11 cylindrical units where the water drips down and is cooled by giant fans. Another of the cells in the west tower structure can serve as a back-up cooling device for reactor water, but was undamaged, said Jamie Benjamin, an NRC inspector. Williams said the collapse of Cell 2-4 occurred Tuesday afternoon between 3 and 4 p.m. Water poured from the broken 52-inch-diameter pipe for an estimated 90 minutes. Williams said plant workers checked the structure Aug. 13, after an odd noise was heard coming from the building, and again on Sunday, but no problem was found. Monday, wooden beams that hold the water pipe in place were seen bowing, he said. Also of concern were photographs of the collapse that were circulated on the Internet on Wednesday evening. Williams said he did not know who took the photographs of the partial collapse and the water pouring from the pipe. "I haven't distributed any photos, but I have no reason to believe that a security breach occurred," Williams said. Shadis said he was sent the photos by what he called an anonymous third party and posted them online. Whoever took the photos must have been close to the structure at the time, Shadis said. If the photographer was someone who had managed to get onto plant property without permission, that would represent a "complete security failure," Shadis said. "I was flabbergasted when I first saw them," he said of the photos. "I had thought, from the way the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Entergy had described it, that the damage was confined to the interior of the tower. That pipe was a half-inch thick and it just snapped." Sarah Hoffman, director of public advocacy for the Public Service Department, said the state would have concerns if someone had entered the plant grounds to take photos without Entergy's knowledge or permission. "We'd have a problem with that," she said. Hoffman said her department has begun an investigation into the incident. As part of the investigation, newly hired state nuclear engineer Uldis Vanags, visited the Vernon plant Thursday. Shadis' organization had raised questions about the structural integrity of the two cooling tower structures in 2004, when Entergy was seeking state Public Service Board permission to upgrade the power output at Vermont Yankee by 20 percent. As a result of the group's concern, Entergy hired a company to undertake a complete inspection of the two structures in early 2005. The study found no sign of problems and won the backing of the NRC. "They basically determined there was no degradation or deterioration of the towers, that they were still in good shape," NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said. "We found their report to be satisfactory." Shadis said he suspects the weight of the new, heavier fans installed in the cooling towers to accommodate the upgrade in the plant's power output, plus the effects of the increased power generation itself, might have speeded up a deterioration of the structure's supports. Contact Sam Hemingway at 660-1850 or e-mail at shemingway@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com +++++ http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=6977325&nav=menu183_2 Local News Sabotage ruled out Vermont Yankee cooling tower collapse Associated Press August 24, 2007 VERNON (AP) - The state says sabotage and terrorism have been ruled out in the collapse of a cooling tower structure at Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in Vernon. A homeland security investigator dispatched by state Department of Public Safety commissioner Kerry Sleeper determined that the damage was not "manmade," that there's nothing to suggest any human factor in the collapse. In 2005, federal regulators and plant owner Entergy Nuclear inspected and reviewed the wooden and metal towers in response to issues raised by plant critics during hearings on the plant's uprate request. Entergy gave the coalition a clean bill of health, with the concurrence of the NRC. The NRC has said the tower failure, in which wood beams and metal piping both gave way, didn't pose a safety concern. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press +++++ http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=6975774&nav=menu183_2 Local News Vt. delegation calls for investigation of nuclear towers Associated Press August 23, 2007 7:05 PM ET MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Vermont's congressional delegation has requested a thorough investigation into the collapse of a portion of Vermont Yankee's cooling tower. Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch sent a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission raising concerns about the cause of the structural failure. The NRC has said the tower failure, in which wood beams and metal piping both gave way, did not pose a safety concern and says plant owner Entery Nuclear is investigating to determine if structural deficiencies occurred before the collapse. But the delegation is calling for a thorough investigation of the cooling towers cells on the same site that could potentially have similar structural issues. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press +++++ http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2007/08/23/congressional_delegation_calls_investigation_into_yankee_mishap/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News * Home > News > Local > Vt. The Associated Press Congressional delegation calls investigation into Yankee mishap August 23, 2007 MONTPELIER, Vt. --Vermont's congressional delegation on Thursday requested a thorough investigation into the collapse of a portion of Vermont Yankee's cooling tower. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch sent a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission raising concerns about the cause of the structural failure. The NRC has said the tower failure, in which wood beams and metal piping both gave way, did not pose a safety concern and said plant owner Entery Nuclear was examining the cause to determine if structural deficiencies occurred before the collapse. "However, the NRC, has not yet committed to undertaking a thorough investigation of the safety related cooling towers cell(s) that are located on the same site and could potentially have similar structural issues. We find this extremely troubling," the delegation said. The plant was forced to reduce its power output by at least half on Tuesday after staff at the Vernon reactor detected the cooling tower problem. The incident came 18 months after the plant boosted its power output by 20 percent, from a 540-megawatt to a 610-megawatt capacity. An anti-nuclear group, New England Coalition, has warned that boosting the plant's output could result in just such a collapse in the cooling towers. ) Copyright 2007 Associated Press. +++++ http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=6980830&nav=menu183_2 Local News State Official: Closer Inspections Needed at Yankee Vernon, Vermont August 24, 2007 Vermont's nuclear engineer says better inspections are needed at the state's only nuclear power plant. That statement comes after a water cooling tower collapsed at Vermont Yankee in Vernon earlier this week. The state says what happened is unacceptable, and the water cooling tower failure has raised questions about the safety of the aging facility. Three days after a cooling tower collapsed, Yankee Nuclear is working to figure out what went wrong, causing the wooden beams to give way. "We take this situation very seriously, and we will understand the cause," said John Dreyfuss with the Entergy Director of Nuclear Safety Assurance. The towers reduce the temperature of water used to cool the plants condenser. Managers say the problem is not connected to safety at the plant. The shell of the building is fiberglass, and open to allow for air flow. It looks much worse than it actually is. "Most of this damage is cosmetic, the key thing is the structural members and that's where we're focusing the investigation," said Dreyfuss. The investigation and repairs could take at least a week, in the meantime the plant is producing about half as much energy. Since the plant provides 1/3 of Vermont's power, electric companies are now forced to buy more expensive power on the market, it's not clear yet how much it will cost consumers. "It's really not acceptable for anything like this to happen, said Uldis Vanags, Vermont's State Nuclear Engineer. State Nuclear Engineer Uldis Vanags visited the plant after the accident. He confirmed what Entergy said, there is no immediate safety risk posed by the water cooling tower collapse. But added this is sure to erode public confidence. Vanags says a better inspection process is needed, since the apparent structural weakness was not detected. "They probably have inaccurate inspection procedures that need to be improved considerably," said Vanags. James Moore with VPIRG disagrees. "It's irresponsible and does put Vermonters at risk." Even though the state does not think it is necessary, environmental groups want Yankee shut down until the investigation is over. They say the cooling tower collapse is evidence of an aging facility, with not enough safety procedures in place. 18 months ago the plant got the ok to boost how much power it makes by 20 percent. "It makes you wonder how good their analysis is, or how much profit they're just trying to get out of the plant as possible, and pushing it until it breaks," said Moore. People who live near the plant had mixed reactions about how safe they now feel. "I don't think the water cooling tower is anything to worry about, I think they have it under control," said Vernon resident Sandra Shober. Maureen Daylor of Guilford is concerned. "I live in Guilford, which is in the ground zero zone, and if it goes I'm going to be evaporated so yeah I have concerns." The state is also concerned, they plan to hold a meeting of the State Nuclear Advisory Panel in the coming weeks. They will make it open to the public so people can directly hear from Entergy about what went wrong and what's being done to fix it. Also, the Congressional delegation is calling for an investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Kristin Carlson - Channel 3 News +++++ http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=6979080 Local News NRC inspectors on site of tower collapse Associated Press August 24, 2007 VERNON, Vt. (AP) - The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission has some extra people in Vermont today. NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan says some of them are inspecting this week's collapse of a cooling tower at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Others are in Vermont to monitor the transition to temporary staff at the plant if regular workers go out on strike tomorrow. More than 150 members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are poised to strike if contract talks are not resolved by tomorrow afternoon. Sheehan says strikes happen in the nuclear industry from time to time, and that the NRC has specially assigned staff ready to monitor the situation in the event of a strike at Vermont Yankee. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press +++++ http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070824/NEWS02/708240353 Sabotage ruled out at Vermont Yankee August 24, 2007 By Susan Smallheer Rutland Herald VERNON A special investigator with the Homeland Security division of the Vermont State Police went to Vermont Yankee earlier this week and ruled out sabotage or terrorism in the unexpected collapse of a portion of the plant's cooling towers. Kerry Sleeper, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, said the state also wanted an "independent assessment" about the basic facts of the collapse. Sleeper said he had conferred with Gov. James Douglas' office before sending in the special investigator. Sleeper said it was the second time a special Vermont State Police investigator looked into an incident at Vermont Yankee, the first being a fire that shut down the plant in 2003. Lt. Stephen Piro, southern field manager for the Homeland Security Unit, said he quickly determined that the incident was not "manmade." Piro said his job was to determine whether the collapse was an accident and to gauge any risk to the public. Piro was accompanied by John Angil, who runs the Office of Emergency Management's Brattleboro office. "It appeared that the wooden structure failed and that there might have been some decay. But there's nothing to suggest any human factor," Piro said. Vermont Yankee remained at 50 percent power Thursday, as it prepared for an investigation into what caused the collapse, according to spokesman Robert Williams. "We'll be looking at the adjacent sections, as well as the entire tower, and the adjacent tower," he said. Vermont's three-man congressional delegation released a letter late Thursday afternoon addressed to the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission asking for a "thorough investigation" into the "alarming" collapse of the cooling tower. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernard Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch said they want the NRC to investigate the impact on the two safety-related towers that exist within the 22-tower array. "The NRC has not yet committed to undertaking a thorough investigation of the safety related cooling tower cells that are located on the same site and could potentially have similar structural issues. We find this extremely troubling," they wrote. Those two towers, which are seismically reinforced and have their own piping system, are designed to provide backup cooling to the reactor core in the event that the Vernon hydro dam is breached by an earthquake or other event and there's a full-scale emergency. The congressional delegation said it wanted an "immediate and thorough" investigation to determine if there are "similar structural deficiencies" in other portions of the towers. As recently as 2005, the NRC and Entergy Nuclear inspected and reviewed the wooden and metal towers and surrounding edifice in response to issues raised by the New England Coalition during state and federal hearings on the plant's uprate request. Entergy gave the coalition a clean bill of health, with the concurrence of the NRC. Spokesman Neil Sheehan said Thursday the NRC was "an auditing agency" and that it had reviewed the work of Entergy's consultant. "If there are lessons to be learned, we will certainly heed them," he said. Sheehan said since the Sept. 11 attacks, cooperation between law enforcement and nuclear power plants has increased. "They merely want to rule out sabotage," Sheehan said. Sheehan also confirmed that four photographs released late Wednesday evening by the New England Coalition of the damage to the bank of cooling towers were identical to photos taken by NRC staff shortly after the incident. Sheehan said he was unconcerned how the anti-nuclear group got the photos, saying NRC staff may have shared the photos with Entergy Nuclear staff, which may have shared the photos with the coalition. Raymond Shadis, the senior technical advisor for the coalition, refused to say Wednesday night how he had gotten the photos, which he sent to Vermont media by e-mail. But on Thursday, Shadis said the four photos were not from the NRC, but probably from either an Entergy employee or contractor. The photos show water gushing out of a 50-inch-plus pipe, cascading down to the ground and the collapsed wood and metal structure that surrounds the cooling tower. Photos from the site can be viewed on the Rutland Herald Web site, www.rutlandherald.com Shadis said it was no coincidence the tower partially collapsed as Entergy was still seeking court approval to pump more hot water into the Connecticut River and not use its 35-year-old cooling towers. The towers traditionally have been used from May to October. Several environmental groups, including the coalition, have so far successfully fought the state discharge permit, which would raise the overall temperature of the river by 1 degree. Contact Susan Smallheer at susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com. +++++ http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070822/NEWS02/708220358/1003/NEWS02 Southern Vermont Yankee cooling tower fails August 22, 2007 By Susan Smallheer Herald Staff VERNON An inside portion of one of 22 cooling towers at Vermont Yankee failed Tuesday, forcing the plant to cut power production by more than 50 percent. Robert Williams, spokesman for plant owner Entergy Nuclear, said the plant would cut power even more in order to investigate and repair the problem. "The river water piping and the series of screens and supports failed and fell to the ground," Williams said. Williams refused to say whether the damage to the wooden cooling tower was related to the plant's 2006 power uprate, when the plant boosted power production by 20 percent to 610 megawatts. Neither Entergy nor the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had any estimate on how long the repairs would take or how long the plant would be working at reduced power. If the problems are traced back to the additional stresses from the power uprate, it comes too late for a Vermont ratepayer-protection agreement, which expired earlier this month, Williams said. Vermont regulators had negotiated the ratepayer-protection agreement to cover unforeseen problems associated with the uprate, but the plant has been operating without incident for almost 18 months at the higher level. Vermont Yankee provides about one-third of all the electricity used by Vermont consumers or about half of its normal production. The rest of it is sold by Entergy on the open market. At the time of state hearings about the proposed power uprate the New England Coalition raised concerns about the effects the additional stresses would place on the cooling towers. The coalition predicted problems ahead for the original 1972 structures. "I hate to say, 'I told you so, I told you so, I told you so,' but I told you so," said Raymond Shadis, senior technical advisor for the anti-nuclear environmental group. Shadis said the Vermont Yankee tower collapse came despite an in-depth inspection by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2005, which gave the towers a clean bill of health. One of the coalition's expert witnesses at that time, nuclear industry critic Arnold Gundersen of Burlington, a former nuclear engineer who wrote his master's thesis on cooling towers, said that similar cooling towers at other types of power plants and refineries had collapsed. Gundersen said he had been told that Entergy had "heard noises for a week" before Tuesday's collapse. "This would not have happened for another 10 years if not for the uprate," Shadis said. Diane Screnci, a spokeswoman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said she didn't know why the problem with the cooling tower wasn't discovered before the collapse. "That's one thing we will investigate," she said. "We need to understand what happened." Scenci said that Entergy's review of the problem was already in progress, and she said that the plant was stable. The affected tower is one of 11 in two banks of cooling towers that are in operation at the plant from May to October, when the temperature of the nearby Connecticut River rises and is unable to provide all the cooling necessary for the reactor. The towers, which send plumes of steam high into the air some summer days, are made of Douglas fir, according to Shadis. Each of the two banks of towers, or cells, are 50 feet tall, 40 feet wide, and stretches 300 feet long. They are located on the southern edge of the plant, near the Connecticut River. Contact Susan Smallheer at susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com. ===== RELATED ARTICLES # Officials rule out Yankee sabotage 08/24/2007 # Yankee workers reject contract 08/22/2007 # Strike at Yankee averted 08/18/2007 # Yankee workers threaten walkout 08/17/2007 # NRC gives tentative OK to Yankee 08/02/2007 # Weather blamed for Yankee alarm failure 06/12/2007 # Court blocks Yankee's warm water discharge 06/08/2007 # Yankee cracks concern state 06/06/2007 # Vt. legislators pursue Yankee tax plan 05/09/2007 # Lawmakers approve energy tax on Yankee power plant 05/03/2007 # Shumlin proposes Yankee tax to fund energy efficiency 04/24/2007 # Vermont seeking a nuclear monitor 04/07/2007 # Key OK for Vt. Yankee relicensing 03/31/2007 +++++ http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070823/NEWS/70823008 THIS WEEK IN PHOTOS Thursday, August 23, 2007 Photos show damage of Vermont Yankee cooling system A portion of a cooling tower structure at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in Vernon collapsed Tuesday afternoon, spilling thousands of gallons of water outside the building located 100 yards from the plants nuclear reactor. Rob Williams, spokesman for plant owner Entergy Nuclear, said the collapse apparently occurred when wooden supports for a large pipe carrying water to a set of 11 cylindrical cooling towers in the building gave way. The water, drawn from the nearby Connecticut River, had been used to cool the plants condenser and was sent to the towers where it would be cooled to a temperature close to that of the river before being discharged back into the river. The plant has two cooling tower structures and the second one was unaffected. As a result of the collapse, the plants power output was reduced to below 50 percent of capacity. Williams said the water involved does not come in contact with the plants reactor and the spilling of the water from the broken pipe did not compromise the safety of the plant. ===== A partial collapse of a cooling system Tuesday at Vermont Yankee led the nuclear plant to ratchet down power output by 60 percent. Photo courtesy of New England Coalition +++++ http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070820/NEWS/70820017&theme= Area towns near Vermont Yankee to receive radiation exposure drug Monday, August 20, 2007 Supplies of of potassium iodide, which can block exposure to radioactive iodine, will be distributed to people in the six towns that surround Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station, said state Health Department officials. Residents of Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford, Halifax, Marlboro and Vernon may write a request for a new supply of the drug using an application form that will be mailed to residents this week. The new supplies will replace about 14,000 tablets distributed between 2002 and 2004 by the Health Department's district office in Brattleboro, and by several local pharmacies. The 130 mg tablets and 65 mg tablets received from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission are available to anyone who works or lives in the six towns as part of the state's emergency preparedness effort. The Brattleboro district office has already distributed replacement potassium iodide to schools and child care centers in the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone around Vermont Yankee. MOre information about the Vermont KI distribution program can be located at http://healthvermont.gov/enviro/rad/KI_program.aspx. +++++ http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070803/NEWS/70803014&theme= Entergy: Yankee cracks not due to power boost Published: Friday, August 3, 2007 The Associated Press VERNON New cracks on a piece of equipment at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant are due to normal aging and not the plants recent 20 percent power increase, the company that owns the plant said. A detailed inspection of the steam dryer by Entergy Nuclear found 29 new cracks or indications of cracks. The inspection was carried out after earlier inspections showed 46 cracks in the large stainless steel component. The inspection also showed that the older cracks had not continued to grow. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan said the NRCs technical staff was still reviewing Entergy information. The NRC says that despite the new cracks, the plant is safe to operate. Regulators are concerned the cracks could force Vermont Yankee to shut down for an extended period as did steam dryers in four Illinois nuclear reactors of the same design as Vermont Yankee. The stainless steel steam dryer helps eliminate almost all of the moisture from the steam rising from the reactor, which means better power production and less corrosion on power generation components, the company says. The new cracks were not due to metal fatigue from the additional steam being pushed through the plant, said John Dreyfuss, Entergys director of nuclear safety assurance. It held up beautifully, he said. +++++ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20391998/ http://wbztv.com/vermontwire/VT--NukeTowers/resources_news_html Cooling tower problem forces Vermont Yankee to reduce power By DAVID GRAM Aug 22, 2007 MONTPELIER, Vt. - The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant was forced to reduce its power output by at least half on Tuesday after staff at the Vernon reactor detected problems with one of its two cooling towers. Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission's regional office for the Northeast, said the problems did not raise a safety concern at the plant. But he said if allowed to fester, they likely would cause the plant to violate its state water discharge permit by spilling more heated water back into the Connecticut River. The problem "does not affect the safe operation of the plant," Sheehan said Tuesday. "They're really just there to comply with the state discharge limits." Both wooden components and piping had failed in one of the towers, said Sheehan and Robert Williams, spokesman for plant owner Entergy Nuclear. Sheehan said the plant had reduced power by 60 percent of its usual, 610-megawatt output, and that repairs "will take several days, at least." The summer power reduction comes during a time of year when demand is relatively heavy on the New England power grid. Williams said the plant's power reduction target actually was 50 percent, but it would reduce power below that level temporarily. Vermont Yankee's cooling towers are not of the iconic bell-shape recalled from the Three Mile Island nuclear plant or seen on the hit TV series "The Simpsons." Rather, they are two rectangular-shaped banks of 11 cooling towers apiece, each bank 50 feet high, 40 feet wide and 300 feet long, Sheehan said. River water is taken into the plant to cool various components. In winter, it is sent directly back to the river. In summer, some is sent to the cooling towers, where it is allowed to fall through the tower much like rain, cooled by fans pulling air into the tower from the outside. The cooling towers became embroiled in controversy two years ago, as Vermont Yankee was seeking approval _ eventually received _ to increase its power output by 20 percent. The plant also won approval to increase water temperatures in the river near the plant by 1 degree above previously set limits, arguing that failing to get that permission would cause it to have to use its cooling power more, driving up costs. Arnie Gundersen of Burlington, a former nuclear industry engineer and now an industry critic, said he was not surprised the plant was experiencing problems in the cooling towers. He said the type of towers used at Vermont Yankee had been prone to collapse at other power plants and refineries where they are used. He said the plant's 20 percent power boost left it needing to use more cooling water, creating "additional rain and additional weight on the towers." Before the plant increased its power output from 540 to 610 megawatts, the problems seen Tuesday "probably wouldn't have happened," Gundersen said. Sheehan said the problem began to come to light late last week when plant technicians heard rubbing that he said originated with a fan in one of the cooling towers. When they inspected the noise, they found some "degradation" in some of the wood that makes up most of the structure of the towers. The NRC spokesman said the problem was "sagging" in parts of the wooden structure. "I don't know if I'd characterize it as rotting, but more sagging, deformation in some of the wood," he said of the material that was installed before the plant opened in 1972. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press +++++ http://www.reformer.com/ci_6695155?source=most_viewed VY probes tower failure Impact on ratepayers not yet known By BOB AUDETTE, Reformer Staff Thursday, August 23 BRATTLEBORO -- Before it can be determined why one of the 22 cooling cells at Vermont Yankee collapsed, repair workers have to make sure the area is safe to enter, said power plant spokesman Rob Williams. The plant powered down to less than 40 percent capacity Tuesday night after the failure, but by Wednesday afternoon had been returned to 50 percent, or 270MWe. "We want to ensure that industrial safety is fully considered during the evaluation and repairs," said Williams. Not only will technicians analyze why the tower collapsed, they will also be inspecting the other towers to make sure they are safe as well, he said. During the summer, Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, which is owned by Entergy, is allowed to increase the temperature of the Connecticut River from two to four degrees, depending on the upstream water temperatures. "(Entergy) will conduct a root cause analysis to determine what happened," wrote NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan, in an e-mail to the Reformer. "It will bring in outside help as needed to help conduct that review." After Yankee conducts its investigation, the NRC will ask to see a repair plan, and will determine whether the repairs will be limited to the section of the bank of towers that collapsed or need to include the other cooling towers at the plant. Vermont power utility representatives said it was too soon to tell if the reduced power output at Yankee would affect ratepayers' pocketbooks. "The cost for replacing the lost power is running about $20,000 a day," said Dotty Schnure, spokeswoman for Green Mountain Power, but if the reduced power output doesn't last much longer, it may just write off the loss. The state's public service board reviews Green Mountain Power's operating status every three months, said Schnure, and if it is determined increased costs need to be passed on to utility users, they would see it sometime in January 2008. "But it's too soon to tell," she said. "A lot depends on what happens with other power costs." "Assuming this is shortlived and power prices stay where they are now," said Central Vermont Public Service spokesman Steve Costello, "it doesn't appear this will have a tremendous impact." While Yankee was running 120 percent, utilities were paying 4.1 cents per KWH, said Costello. Now they are paying around 5 cents. And electric consumers have an unforeseen circumstance working in their favor -- the incredibly cool weather the area has experienced this month. In typical Augusts, when temperatures hit the 90s, electricity purchased on the spot market can reach 8 to 9 cents per KWH, he said. If CVPS needs to file for a rate adjustment, he said, it would take eight to nine months before ratepayers see it on their bills. "The impact in the short term will be nonexistent," said Costello. "In the long term, it may or may not have an impact." A rate increase is pending now, but Costello said the Vermont Yankee costs would have to wait, possibly for more than a year. The collapse of the cooling tower came 18 months after the plant boosted its power output by 20 percent, from 540MWe to 650MWe. While the power boost was pending before regulators, Vermont officials negotiated a deal with the plant under which Entergy would make payments to cover the power companies' costs if the power boost caused problems that forced the plant to cut its output, leaving Vermont utilities to buy more expensive power on the spot market. That warranty expired earlier this year. Entergy is also seeking to renew its license for 20 years beyond its scheduled 2012 expiration date. Bob Audette can be reached at raudette@reformer.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 273. //////\\\\\\ "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy: that is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." -- John Kenneth Galbraith ____________________________________________________________________________________ Luggage? GPS? Comic books? Check out fitting gifts for grads at Yahoo! Search http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=graduation+gifts&cs=bz ***************************************************************** 3 The Hindu: Congress, Left make moves to resolve stand-off Friday, August 24, 2007 : 2100 Hrs New Delhi, Aug. 24 (PTI): The Congress and the Left parties today made moves to defuse the stand-off over the Indo-US nuclear deal, with the announcement that they would open a dialogue on the issue next week. Cutting short her visit to South Africa, Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, returned here and immediately presided over a meeting of the party core group to discuss the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other top party leaders. "We will talk to them (the Left) next week after discussing among ourselves," Gandhi's political secretary, Ahmed Patel, told reporters after the meeting. The CPI(M), the principal party in the Left grouping, showed further signs of softening its attitude by dismissing all talk of any crisis facing the Manmohan Singh government. "I don't see it as a crisis. Where was it and where has it gone?... What we are saying is don't proceed without evaluation," Politburo member Sitaram Yechury told reporters. Prior to the core group meeting, External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, briefed Gandhi reportedly on the possible options to resolve the impasse triggered by the Left demand that the government should not go ahead with the deal. Left sources said there was no immediate word from the government to them on talks. Congress was likely to hold another meeting of the core group in the next couple of days before holding discussions with the Left. There was, however, no likelihood of any Congress Working Committee meeting on the issue. The setting up of a mechanism to sort out the differences on the nuclear deal is expected to be discussed in the meeting between Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, and the Left leaders next week. The CPI(M) has already expressed its readiness for a mechanism to evaluate the implications of the Hyde Act on the condition that the government should not proceed further with operationalising the deal. Earlier in the day, Yechury said the government should only press the 'pause' button and not the 'stop' or the 'eject' button. He said the CPI(M) Politburo's position stood re-iterated by the Central Committee. Till the implications of the Hyde Act were properly evaluated, the government should not proceed further with operationalising the deal, he said, seeking a structured debate in Parliament. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. ***************************************************************** 4 AU ABC: Attitude to nuclear power will change, PM says - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Posted August 24, 2007 11:28:00 Prime Minister John Howard says he believes some Australian communities would vote in favour of having a nuclear power station built nearby. The Government says residents in any area where a reactor is proposed will be given a say through binding plebiscites. The Greens say communities would vote down any nuclear power plant proposal, but Mr Howard disagrees. "I don't think that there's any doubt that in 10 or 15 years time the whole attitude towards nuclear power will be different," he told Southern Cross Radio. "That's why I am perfectly happy to indicate there should be plebiscites." Meanwhile, environmentalists say Mr Howard is optimistic to think any Queensland community would support a nuclear reactor in their area. The Australia Institute identified the Sunshine Coast and Bribie Island as possible sites. Ian Christesen from the Sunshine Coast Environment Council says he does not believe any community, that meets the criteria for a nuclear reactor, would want one. "He would have to be one of the greatest optimists if he believes that communities that meet the criteria ... are going to put their hands up for a nuclear reactor. I just can't see it happening," he said. Tags: environment, alternative-energy, government-and-politics, federal-government, nuclear-energy, australia, bribie-island-4507, mooloolaba-4557 ***************************************************************** 5 AU ABC: Labor ad campaign attacks Govt's nuclear agenda - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Posted August 24, 2007 19:44:00 Federal Labor has launched a series of television advertisements attacking the Howard Government's plan to build more than 25 nuclear power plants across Australia. The campaign begins in Queensland tonight and questions the Federal Government's claims that nuclear energy is a solution to climate change. Opposition infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese says Prime Minister John Howard bears a resemblance to the fictitious character Montgomery Burns, from the cartoon show The Simpsons. "John Howard is certainly a Montgomery Burns character, not just in his support for nuclear energy, but in his meanness of spirit," he said. "Australians want their beautiful locations such as Bribie Island to continue as they are, not to become parallels of Springfield." Labor says it doubts the Howard Government will see through its promise of a plebiscite for communities where nuclear reactors are proposed. "John Howard was determined to push through his WorkChoices laws and he did and John Howard is determined that Australia will have 25 nuclear reactors right around the coast of Australia," Mr Albanese said. "If he and the Coalition are re-elected, that is what will occur." ***************************************************************** 6 Platts: NRC review of Vogtle's early site permit will take 31 months 2007-08-24 London (Platts)--24Aug2007 The NRC review of Vogtle's early site permit will take 31 months rather than the 30-month projected standard schedule, if a hearing is requested and granted, agency staff said. In a letter to Southern Nuclear Operating Co. that was released August 23, NRC staff said the one-month delay was caused by budgeting problems. NRC, like most federal agencies, was operating until February under a "continuing resolution" that funded it at the same level as fiscal 2006. NRC said in the letter that the Vogtle application and all license renewal schedules developed during fiscal 2007, which started October 1, 2006, were impacted. The staff schedule anticipates a commission decision on Southern Nuclear's application in January 2010, if a hearing is granted. Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 7 Burlington Free Press: Nuclear plant damage is worse than reported burlingtonfreepress.com | Burlington, Vermont Friday, August 24, 2007 By Sam Hemingway Free Press Staff Writer A cooling tower structure at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant that partially collapsed Tuesday underwent a full inspection as recently as this spring and was found to be in good condition, a company spokesman said Thursday. "It was determined acceptable for continued operation," said Rob Williams, spokesman for plant owner Entergy Nuclear. Williams said the collapse, which occurred Tuesday afternoon and left a gaping hole in the side of the structure, caused Entergy to reduce power output by 50 percent until repairs are carried out. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials said the tower collapse does not pose a safety threat. NRC officials said the water that spilled from the tower pipe is used to cool a condenser and never comes in contact with the plant's nuclear reactor. The incident at the Vernon plant prompted the New England Coalition, a Brattleboro nuclear watchdog group, and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group to demand that the plant be shut down immediately. "Entergy should terminate operations until we have a resolution of this issue," said Ray Shadis, the New England Coalition's technical adviser. "If one part of the cooling tower support can collapse, it's likely that there could be a collapse ready to happen somewhere else. That is a safety concern." Also Thursday, the state's congressional delegation called for an investigation into the cause of the collapse and, in a statement, prodded the NRC to pursue the matter aggressively. "The NRC has not yet committed to undertaking a thorough investigation of the safety related (to) cooling towers cell(s) that are located on the same site and could potentially have similar structural issues," the statement said. "We find this extremely troubling." Gov. Jim Douglas said he has asked the Public Safety Department to look into the incident and report back to him. He said Vermonters should understand that the tower problem did not pose a risk of a radioactive release. "I'll wait for the report and take it from there," Douglas said. "Certainly, that kind of structural problem is of great concern to me and I'm sure to everyone." Williams said the cooling towers reduce the temperature of water used to cool the plant's condenser to a proper level before the water is returned to the Connecticut River, which runs alongside the plant. The plant has two tower structures, called the east and west cooling towers. The damage occurred in a portion of the west tower structure identified as Cell 2-4, one of 11 cylindrical units where the water drips down and is cooled by giant fans. Another of the cells in the west tower structure can serve as a back-up cooling device for reactor water, but was undamaged, said Jamie Benjamin, an NRC inspector. Williams said the collapse of Cell 2-4 occurred Tuesday afternoon between 3 and 4 p.m. Water poured from the broken 52-inch-diameter pipe for an estimated 90 minutes. Williams said plant workers checked the structure Aug. 13, after an odd noise was heard coming from the building, and again on Sunday, but no problem was found. Monday, wooden beams that hold the water pipe in place were seen bowing, he said. Also of concern were photographs of the collapse that were circulated on the Internet on Wednesday evening. Williams said he did not know who took the photographs of the partial collapse and the water pouring from the pipe. "I haven't distributed any photos, but I have no reason to believe that a security breach occurred," Williams said. Shadis said he was sent the photos by what he called an anonymous third party and posted them online. Whoever took the photos must have been close to the structure at the time, Shadis said. If the photographer was someone who had managed to get onto plant property without permission, that would represent a "complete security failure," Shadis said. "I was flabbergasted when I first saw them," he said of the photos. "I had thought, from the way the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Entergy had described it, that the damage was confined to the interior of the tower. That pipe was a half-inch thick and it just snapped." Sarah Hoffman, director of public advocacy for the Public Service Department, said the state would have concerns if someone had entered the plant grounds to take photos without Entergy's knowledge or permission. "We'd have a problem with that," she said. Hoffman said her department has begun an investigation into the incident. As part of the investigation, newly hired state nuclear engineer Uldis Vanags, visited the Vernon plant Thursday. Shadis' organization had raised questions about the structural integrity of the two cooling tower structures in 2004, when Entergy was seeking state Public Service Board permission to upgrade the power output at Vermont Yankee by 20 percent. As a result of the group's concern, Entergy hired a company to undertake a complete inspection of the two structures in early 2005. The study found no sign of problems and won the backing of the NRC. "They basically determined there was no degradation or deterioration of the towers, that they were still in good shape," NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said. "We found their report to be satisfactory." Shadis said he suspects the weight of the new, heavier fans installed in the cooling towers to accommodate the upgrade in the plant's power output, plus the effects of the increased power generation itself, might have speeded up a deterioration of the structure's supports. Contact Sam Hemingway at 660-1850 or e-mail at shemingway@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com Copyright ©2007 Burlingtonfreepress.com All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 8 JOURNAL NEWS: Entergy says new Indian Point sirens are working, asks for more review time Friday, August 24, 2007 By MICHAEL RISINIT BUCHANAN - Federal emergency officials are reviewing the Indian Point nuclear power plant's new emergency siren notification system before deciding whether it can go into service. Entergy Nuclear Northeast, the plant's owner, notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency late Wednesday that its long-awaited, updated siren system was in place and ready to go. Though the company says it has completed tests proving the sirens are dependable and are sounding loudly enough so residents can hear them, FEMA review and approval of the data are needed before the system can be deemed operational. FEMA told the company on Monday that review would take 45 days - which pushes Entergy well beyond today's deadline imposed by the NRC. In a letter yesterday to the NRC, Entergy asked the agency for extra time while FEMA conducts its review. The NRC had levied a $130,000 fine against the nuclear power company after it missed a second deadline in the spring to replace the alert system. "As of this hour, it doesn't appear they (Entergy) will meet the deadline," NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said yesterday afternoon. "We will have to consider Entergy's request." Rep. Nita Lowey said she is calling on FEMA to review the siren system expeditiously. Also, she said, the NRC should fine the company for not meeting the deadline. "Entergy must be held responsible for dragging its feet on providing FEMA with the information it needs to assess whether the siren system is finally compliant with the law," said Lowey, D-Harrison. The updated system is to improve on the decades-old air-raid-type sirens, which will remain in place until the new sirens are fully operational. The sirens in the 10-mile emergency planning zone around the Buchanan plant - about 340 square miles covering parts of Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange counties - are meant to alert residents to turn on radios and televisions for more information in an emergency. Jim Steets, an Entergy spokesman, declined to speculate on what measures the NRC may take while Entergy waits to see whether it has satisfied FEMA's concerns. "We understand there is still a review process. But we did all we could," Steets said. "We have an operating siren system now. In fact, we have two." Entergy agreed in late 2005 to replace its sirens. A series of siren failures that year led to elected officials calling for the NRC to require a better system. The new system was supposed to be in place by the end of January this year. The company received a 75-day extension from the NRC but missed its April 15 deadline, resulting in the fine. Sheehan said further enforcement action, if any, could include another fine or other measures. FEMA is studying whether the new sirens sound loudly enough individually so residents can hear them over background noise. Such a worry comes from Riverkeeper, an environmental group that is working to close the plant. "The area that concerns FEMA, and that would concern us as well, is that the sirens aren't loud enough," said Phillip Musegaas, a Riverkeeper staff attorney. "Until FEMA has confidence in the plan, we're not going to have confidence in it." Steets said the new sirens are loud enough to be heard outdoors. "If you're inside, you're probably listening to the radio, watching TV or can answer the phone," he said. The new $15 million system includes battery backups for the 150 sirens, multiple activation methods by which Entergy can sound the sirens and a more reliable reporting system to alert local authorities if they have sounded. Susan Tolchin, chief adviser to Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano, said the county also awaited FEMA's approval of the new sirens. Residents should be able to hear them inside their homes, she said. "We're definitely not rushing to praise Entergy," Tolchin said. Reach Michael Risinit at 845-228-2274 or mrisinit@lohud.com. Posted by: VP_VP on Fri Aug 24, 2007 2:08 pm Copyright © 2007 The Journal News, a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper ***************************************************************** 9 The Journal: Spreading the word Friday, August 24, 2007 After so much hand-wringing, so many fits and starts and comically bungled failed tests, Entergy Nuclear Northeast has announced that the new siren notification system at the Indian Point nuclear power plants is finally firing on all cylinders: 100 percent of the sirens are sounding and apparently loudly enough to scare the beejesus out of anyone close enough to hear them. Federal regulators must still "kick the tires" of the new system - a lengthy process that will not be completed before a deadline today. In any case, Indian Point neighbors are entitled to let out a hardy "It's about time!" Entergy, the owner and operator of the Indian Point facility, agreed nearly two years ago to replace the decades-old siren system, which serves as an alert to Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and Orange residents who are within 10 miles of the plants in Buchanan. The undertaking came after repeated problems with the old system and congressional legislation requiring a major overhaul to add backup power. Entergy twice missed deadlines to deliver the new system, and after the second, in April, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission fined Entergy $130,000 for "insufficient management attention at senior levels." So much for engendering public confidence in Entergy, whichs seeks relicensure of the plants. But such problems are apparently in the rearview mirror now. "The system performs reliably and with sufficient volume," Entergy said in a statement. NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan told staff writer Michael Risinit that it had not yet been determined whether new fines would be levied; while Entergy maintains the system is a go, federal officials must still review the associated testing data and other documents. That assessment won't be completed overnight. The new $15 million alert system - itself plagued by a host of difficulties in early testing - includes battery backups for the 150 sirens, which are spread throughout parts of the four counties. When sounded, the sirens are to alert listeners to turn on radios and televisions for more information. Given the usual constraints of our region - clogged roads on ordinary days, gridlock on frequent others - we suppose the sirens are the last sound you ever want to hear. We should continue to hope their use is restricted to practice. A Journal News editorial Copyright © 2007 The Journal News, a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper serving Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties in New York. ***************************************************************** 10 Rutland Herald: Officials rule out Yankee sabotage August 24, 2007 By Susan Smallheer Herald Staff VERNON — A special investigator with the Homeland Security division of the Vermont State Police went to Vermont Yankee earlier this week and ruled out sabotage or terrorism in the unexpected collapse of a portion of the plant's cooling towers. Kerry Sleeper, commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, said the state also wanted an "independent assessment" about the basic facts of the collapse. Sleeper said he had conferred with Gov. James Douglas' office before sending in the special investigator. Sleeper said it was the second time a special Vermont State Police investigator looked into an incident at Vermont Yankee, the first being a fire that shut down the plant in 2003. Lt. Stephen Piro, southern field manager for the Homeland Security Unit, said he quickly determined that the incident was not "manmade." Piro said his job was to determine whether the collapse was an accident and to gauge any risk to the public. Piro was accompanied by John Angil, who runs the Office of Emergency Management's Brattleboro office. "It appeared that the wooden structure failed and that there might have been some decay. But there's nothing to suggest any human factor," Piro said. Vermont Yankee remained at 50 percent power Thursday, as it prepared for an investigation into what caused the collapse, according to spokesman Robert Williams. "We'll be looking at the adjacent sections, as well as the entire tower, and the adjacent tower," he said. Vermont's three-man congressional delegation released a letter late Thursday afternoon addressed to the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission asking for a "thorough investigation" into the "alarming" collapse of the cooling tower. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernard Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch said they want the NRC to investigate the impact on the two safety-related towers that exist within the 22-tower array. "The NRC has not yet committed to undertaking a thorough investigation of the safety related cooling tower cells that are located on the same site and could potentially have similar structural issues. We find this extremely troubling," they wrote. Those two towers, which are seismically reinforced and have their own piping system, are designed to provide backup cooling to the reactor core in the event that the Vernon hydro dam is breached by an earthquake or other event and there's a full-scale emergency. The congressional delegation said it wanted an "immediate and thorough" investigation to determine if there are "similar structural deficiencies" in other portions of the towers. As recently as 2005, the NRC and Entergy Nuclear inspected and reviewed the wooden and metal towers and surrounding edifice in response to issues raised by the New England Coalition during state and federal hearings on the plant's uprate request. Entergy gave the coalition a clean bill of health, with the concurrence of the NRC. Spokesman Neil Sheehan said Thursday the NRC was "an auditing agency" and that it had reviewed the work of Entergy's consultant. "If there are lessons to be learned, we will certainly heed them," he said. Sheehan said since the Sept. 11 attacks, cooperation between law enforcement and nuclear power plants has increased. "They merely want to rule out sabotage," Sheehan said. Sheehan also confirmed that four photographs released late Wednesday evening by the New England Coalition of the damage to the bank of cooling towers were identical to photos taken by NRC staff shortly after the incident. Sheehan said he was unconcerned how the anti-nuclear group got the photos, saying that NRC staff may have shared the photos with Entergy Nuclear staff, which may have shared the photos with the coalition. Raymond Shadis, the senior technical advisor for the coalition, refused to say Wednesday night how he had gotten the photos, which he sent to Vermont media by e-mail. But on Thursday, Shadis said the four photos were not from the NRC. "It's news to me," Shadis, who said he had reason to believe that the photos came from either an Entergy employee or contractor, but he said they came through a "third party." "They are not NRC photos," he said. The photos show water gushing out of a 50-inch-plus pipe, cascading down to the ground and the collapsed wood and metal structure that surrounds the cooling tower. Shadis said it was no coincidence that the tower partially collapsed as Entergy was still seeking court approval to pump more hot water into the Connecticut River and not use its 35-year-old cooling towers. The towers traditionally have been used from May to October. Several environmental groups, including the coalition, have so far successfully fought the state discharge permit, which would raise the overall temperature of the river by 1 degree. Contact Susan Smallheer at susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com. © 2007 Rutland Herald ***************************************************************** 11 Brattleboro Reformer: State delegates press for thorough probe BRATTLEBORO, VT By BOB AUDETTE, Reformer Staff Friday, August 24 BRATTLEBORO -- Vermont's congressional delegation is demanding the Nuclear Regulatory Commission conduct "a thorough and complete investigation into the collapse of a portion of a cooling tower at Vermont Yankee." Democrat Sen. Patrick Leahy, independent Sen. Bernard Sanders and Democrat Rep. Peter Welch issued a joint press release late Thursday afternoon requesting the chairman of the NRC order such a review. "It is our understanding that a nonsafety related portion of one cooling tower cell at the plant collapsed," wrote the three men in their press release. "We are concerned about the cause of this structural failure, especially about the implications for the cooling tower cell(s) that are related to the safe operation of the plant," they wrote. Even though Entergy has promised to conduct a full review, they wrote, "we find ... extremely troubling" the fact that the NRC "has not yet committed to undertaking a thorough investigation." "We therefore request you undertake an immediate and thorough investigation to determine if there are similar structural deficiencies in any and all portions of the safety related cooling towers cell(s) at the facility," they wrote. "Furthermore, we ask you to examine the structural integrity of the remaining towers and institute any additional precautions to prevent other collapses that would jeopardize the safety of the cooling towers and that could present a risk to the public's health or safe operation of the facility." ***************************************************************** 12 Reuters: CHRONOLOGY - Twists and turns in the India-U.S. nuclear deal Fri Aug 24, 2007 12:30PM IST REUTERS - A historic nuclear energy deal between India and the United States is hanging in the balance due to political opposition in New Delhi but could still be saved if it reaches the U.S. Congress early next year, analysts said. Communist allies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition have demanded the deal be put on hold until their concerns are addressed and have implied they would end their support for the government, triggering fears for the pact. Here is a timeline of some key developments over the past two years: * July 2005: Prime Minister Singh and U.S. President George W. Bush agree in principle to a landmark civilian nuclear cooperation deal. The deal reverses 30 years of U.S. policy opposing nuclear cooperation with India because it developed nuclear weapons in contravention of global rules and never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT. * March 2006: Bush pays a three-day visit to India during which the two countries agree on India's plan to separate its civilian and military nuclear reactors, a key requirement for the deal to go through. * Dec. 2006: U.S. Congress overwhelmingly approves the deal. Three other approvals -- from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, the International Atomic Energy Agency and a second time by the Congress -- are still needed before nuclear transfers to India can actually take place. * Dec. 2006: Bush signs the law approved by Congress, which makes changes to the U.S. Atomic Energy Act. Analysts say the deal could be fully approved in roughly six months. * July 2007: The two countries announce finalisation of the deal after months of tough negotiations on a bilateral pact. India had objected to what it said were new conditions in the agreement unacceptable to it. * Aug. 3: Text of the bilateral pact, called the 123 agreement, is unveiled simultaneously in both countries. Indian analysts and nuclear experts say it meets most of New Delhi's demands. * Aug. 7: Communist allies of Singh's government slam the pact and ask the government to suspend it saying it compromises India's sovereignty and imposes U.S. influence. * Aug. 11: Singh refuses to give in to the communists and dares them to withdraw support for his government. * Aug 13: Singh defends the deal in parliament saying it is crucial for the country's energy security and prosperity. * Aug. 17: Nicholas Burns, the main U.S. negotiator, says the deal cannot be renegotiated. * Aug. 18: Communist parties warn of "serious consequences" if the government pursues the agreement. Sources: Reuters ***************************************************************** 13 Reuters: Nearly half of Indians back U.S. nuclear deal - survey | Fri Aug 24, 2007 3:39PM EDT NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Nearly half of Indians polled support a landmark nuclear energy deal with the United States and believe the government should not bow to pressure from its leftist allies to scrap the pact, a survey showed. The deal will allow India access to U.S. nuclear reactors and fuel -- and eventually from other nations as well -- despite New Delhi testing atomic weapons and not signing the Non-Proliferation Treaty. But the communists who shore up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition government say the country's sovereignty had been compromised and this week hinted they could withdraw support to the government if it press on with the pact. The survey of 6,500 voters by The Week magazine and C-Voter polling firm, and made available to Reuters on Friday, said 46 percent backed the deal, with just 28 percent against it. The rest did not state an opinion. "The leftist resistance to the deal has not found much support among voters in general," said Yashwant Deshmukh, director of C-Voter. The poll said 47 percent of voters wanted the government to resist communist pressure on the deal even if it meant a new election. But 30 percent wanted the pact -- viewed by analysts as the cornerstone of a budding strategic partnership between India and the United States -- to be scrapped. The communists have 60 MPs in the 545-member lower house of parliament and their support ensures that the Congress party-led government has a majority in the house. But the survey held some good news for Singh, who has been buffeted by criticism both from the left and the Hindu nationalist right over the deal, with 55 percent of voters saying he had done an "overall good job" as premier. Just under a quarter disagreed. Continued... ***************************************************************** 14 TCPalm: Radioactive water leaked inside a containment unit at the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant : Treasure Coast : By Gabriel Margasak (Contact) Updated 03:58 p.m., August 24, 2007 HUTCHINSON ISLAND ? Radioactive water used to cool the St. Lucie Nuclear Plant leaked from a pipe inside a containment unit Aug. 18, forcing a reactor shut down but posing no danger to public safety, a federal nuclear regulatory agency spokesman said Friday. Florida Power and Light officials did not have an immediate comment Friday. "In this particular case it looks like they were able to determine where the leak was and was able to make that repair," said Roger Hannah, a spokesman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Further, he said, "It's not an every day occurrence but obviously when you have that many pipes and that many seals and the large volume of water under high pressure . . . Plants do identify leaks." © 2007 The E.W. Scripps Co. ***************************************************************** 15 AFP: India's 'Red Czar': plotting to end US nuclear deal - Fri Aug 24, 12:46 AM NEW DELHI (AFP) - India's Prakash Karat, the Communist Party leader who wants to halt an Indo-US nuclear deal, is an old school Marxist but his methods have so far proven highly effective, plunging the government into crisis. Amiable but dogmatic, Karat -- nicknamed the "Red Czar" for his opinions -- has caught the government of Manmohan Singh off-guard with his anti-US stance on the landmark agreement. "The Manmohan Singh government should decide whether it wants to be with the people of India or the imperialist US," he said earlier this week. "The agreement will bind India to the United States in a manner that will seriously impair an independent foreign policy and our strategic autonomy." The pact seeks to bring India into the loop of global atomic commerce after a gap of three decades while also binding the country closer to Washington. Singh argues that India cannot sustain the blistering pace of its economic growth -- currently nine percent -- without greater access to nuclear energy sources. In a political gamble, he has dared the Left to withdraw its support, even though the communists help prop up his minority Congress coalition government in parliament. It has left him facing his biggest test since taking power in 2004. But Karat, the general secretary of the Communist Party of India-Marxist or CPI-M, shows little sign of giving way. The quiet-spoken Karat opposes "imperialism" and as "the US is the world's biggest 'imperialist power,' the party line has to be argued," says Business Standard political columnist Aditi Phadnis. Karat is one half of India's so-called "Red Power couple" of the Left. Married to Brinda Karat, another member of the policy-making politburo, the pair decided not to have children but to devote their lives to the party. Brinda, known for her signature handloom saris and silver bangles, dislikes discussion of their relationship, dismissing personal questions with a snort of derision. Karat manages party affairs while the telegenic Brinda is often seen in TV studios putting across the Marxist viewpoint. "He's an organisation man and a person of exceptional commitment," said a former communist who knew Karat in his early days with the party. He was named two years ago to the top party post at 56, a relatively junior age by Indian standards where party leaders can soar into their 70s, 80s or 90s. Karat is generally considered a puritan Marxist who refuses to countenance any dilution of the party's ideology, and has already forced the government to retreat on a series of economic reforms. "His mind (is) the last repository of ideological fossil," the leading news magazine India Today noted. "He can't be bullied into moderation." Karat, who studied political science, first encountered Karl Marx's work at the prestigious Madras Christian College in the 1960s. He studied briefly abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland, and later was a student leader at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University. In 1970, he signed up with the pro-Chinese CPI-M where he climbed the party hierarchy. Now, with speculation rife over early polls, Karat has been making noises about creating a "third front" in politics outside both Congress and the main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which is also strongly against the nuclear deal. It's a high risk gamble for the communist leader, known for his trademark half-sleeve white shirt and beige trousers. NDTV television commentator Barkha Dutt warns that he might have misjudged the public mood. "Certainly, our answer can't be based on an ideology that seems immovable, and inflexible -- everything that 'modern India' is not," she said. Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 16 Hemscott: Alstom to supply turbine generators for China's Hongyan River nuclearplant BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - France's Alstom will supply four 1,000-megawatt steam turbine generator units to China's Hongyan River nuclear power plant in northeastern Liaoning province, the company announced. The order, worth 135 mln euros, was placed by China's Dongfang Group, acting on behalf of the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation. Construction began on the Hongyan River project this week. The plant will cost 48.6 bln yuan and utilize China's own CPR-1000 reactor technology. The steam generator units for the project, to be used on the project's conventional island, are based on a design currently being installed for the second phase of the Ling'ao nuclear project in southeast Guangdong province, Alstom said. The French company was also involved in the construction of China's Daya Bay nuclear plant in Guangdong two decades ago. According to reports, the bid by France's Areva to supply the reactors for the Yangjiang nuclear project, also in Guangdong province, were rejected this week with negotiations not proceeding as quickly as China hoped. (1 usd = 0.73 euros, 7.6 yuan) david.stanway@xinhuafinance.com - xfndds/xfnjanm COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, Hemscott PLC - Serious Investment Research Copyright 2007 Hemscott Group Limited. ***************************************************************** 17 enewscourier: Heat still hinders nuclear plant , Athens, AL - Published August 23, 2007 10:22 pm - By Karen Middleton karen@athensnews-courier.com The Tennessee Valley Authority has cut back Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2 to 75 percent to keep water returned to the river at the mandated temperature, according to plant spokesman Jason Huffine. The cutbacks are just one more result of the extreme drought and two-week heat wave that has seen temperatures at 100 or above. Heat still hinders nuclear plant By Karen Middleton karen@athensnews-courier.com The Tennessee Valley Authority has cut back Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2 to 75 percent to keep water returned to the river at the mandated temperature, according to plant spokesman Jason Huffine. The cutbacks are just one more result of the extreme drought and two-week heat wave that has seen temperatures at 100 or above. A week ago, TVA took Unit 2 off line because the downstream temperature measurement read above the required 90-degree Fahrenheit average. Unit 2 went back online Monday, Huffine said. He said downstream temperature readings are made every 15 minutes around the clock. “When we brought Unit 2 back up, power was 100 percent on Unit 1, 95 percent on Unit 2 and 100 percent on Unit 3,” said Huffine. “But today (Thursday), we reached 90 degrees downstream again. We cut Unit 1 to 75 percent, Unit 2 to 75 percent and Unit 3 is operating at 100 percent.” Huffine said powering down Units 1 and 2 was necessary for to keep downstream temperatures at the required level, but TVA kept Unit 3 at 100 percent to try to meet the increased electricity needs of the Valley. “When we reduce power, it doesn’t impact safety to the public, employees or equipment,” he said. Huffine said the drought and hot weather has impacted how TVA does business this summer as power demand has reached or broken old records for 10 straight days. While TVA has asked customers to conserve power wherever possible, Huffine said, “We are a robust system. We are making power and doing our best to keep up.” Associated Press content © 2007. All rights reserved. AP content may ***************************************************************** 18 "Trend" news agency: Agreement on Construction of Nuclear Reactor Achieved 24.08.2007 18:29:47 Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend E.Huseynli / For the first time Azerbaijan has decided to construct a nuclear reactor, Adil Garibov, the Director of the Institute of Radiation Problems of the National Academy of Sciences, informed Trend. In March the Government received a package of proposals on the construction of a Nuclear Power Station. These proposals recommended increasing the capacity of the NPS to 1,500 MW. They offered Navai village for the construction of the NPS. The construction of the NPS in this place was planned even from the Soviet period. Garibov said that the nuclear reactor will be more probably constructed jointly with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Part of funds required for the construction will be allocated by the IAEA and the next part by the Azerbaijan Government. Garibov did not disclosed sum of the project. The key objective of the construction of the reactor is train the specialists in the sphere of nuclear power and establish basis for the construction of NPS. The construction of the reactor will be commenced in 2009. Following the absence of alternative energy sources in Azerbaijan, the country’s energy demand is covered though oil and gas. Some experts guess in 50-60 years the hydrocarbon reserves of Azerbaijan might be insufficient for full export and coverage of internal demand for fuel and lubricants and electricity. In general, the geologists forecast that oil reserves of Azerbaijan will exhaust in 100-120 years in temperate crude production. Experts think that other energy sources existing in Azerbaijan – wind, sun and hydro-energy, can cover 20% of country’s electricity demand. © TREND news Agency ***************************************************************** 19 The Hindu: By all counts, nuclear power is most expensive Saturday, Aug 25, 2007 NEW DELHI: Apart from negating the consensual declared objective of pursuing an independent foreign policy, a strategic partnership of India with the U.S. has consequent serious implications on India’s defence and security concerns, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has said. “Since the first joint statement on strategic partnership released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President George Bush in July 2005, we have been drawing attention to the dangers of India being turned into a supplicant of U.S. imperialism,” the party organ, People’s Democracy, says in an editorial in its latest issue. The editorial sought to debunk reasons being given in support of the India-U.S. civilian nuclear deal that it would increase power generation capacity and the CPI(M) was opposing it at the behest of China. It said that absurd reasoning of the CPI(M)’s opposition to the deal was being advanced instead of contesting what the party was stating publicly. On the need to expand India’s capacities to generate more power, the editorial said the moot question was if the nuclear energy expansion was the only option, or, even the best option at the moment. It said the nuclear power generation in 2005 was 3,310 MW or a mere 2.5 per cent of India’s total power generation capacity which was expected to increase to 10,000 MW by 2015, only 5 to 7 per cent of the projected capacity generation then. Compared with gas, nuclear power would be twice as expensive and as compared to coal it would be one and a half times more expensive. “Therefore, by all counts, nuclear power is the most expensive. India has at least 50,000 MW of untapped hydro electric potential,” it said. Describing the government’s arguments that the nuclear deal was to augment energy resources and to provide electricity to the farmers as “hollow”, the editorial said “it appears that as a consequence of this deal, huge commercial orders running into thousands of crores of rupees for the purchase of nuclear reactors would be placed on U.S. and other advanced countries corporations.” The editorial said the profit bonanza to multi-national corporations was there for all to see with the attendant benefits to sections of corporate India. “Is India then actually going in for this deal to bolster U.S. economic interests?” it asked. On the Bharatiya Janata Party’s opposition to the deal, the People’s Democracy said the current opposition was a mere posturing and smacked of a ‘hurt’ that such a deal ought to have been concluded under it s government and not under the UPA government! In an article in the party organ New Age, Communist Party of India (CPI) General Secretary A.B. Bardhan said it was a “poor argument” that the Hyde Act did not concern India and it was the business of the U.S. “Tr ue, a law passed by the American Congress cannot bind India. But it does bind the American side, who are the party to the deal. President George Bush says he regards the provisions of the Hyde Act as only ‘advisory’ and not ‘binding’. But will the Presidents who follow him take the same view?” He appealed to all the parties in the UPA to see the reasonableness of the stand taken by the Left parties on the deal and argued if a government was sensitive to the public opinion within the country, to the strong view of its supporters, and to the sense of the House, it did not amount to loss of face. “The face of the government depends primarily on the support of the people in the country, and not on what the people abroad think of it,” he said. While rejecting the charge that the Left parties were trying to destabilise the government supported by them, the CPI leader said that the approach of the Left parties to the deal was in the best traditions of democracy. “There is not one precipitate step that we have taken. But if the UPA leadership adamantly refuses to halt, to pause and to reflect before proceeding further, and therefore certain consequences follow, then it is not we who are to be blamed,” Mr. Bardhan said. Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the ***************************************************************** 20 BBC NEWS: China men tried over uranium sale Last Updated: Friday, 24 August 2007, 07:25 GMT 08:25 UK Four men are on trial in southern China for attempting to illegally sell eight kilogrammes of uranium. The defendants were arrested in January and are accused of trying to find buyers for two types of uranium that can be used for nuclear weapons. Investigators are searching for the uranium, which is believed to have been handed out to potential buyers. Health risk The uranium is alleged to have been bought from a uranium mine owner in April 2005 for 200,000 yuan ($26,400, Ł13,220) per kilogramme. The four are then accused of attempting to find buyers for it - meeting one businessman who eventually turned them into the police. The China Daily newspaper says the men were trying to sell uranium types U-235 and U-238, which can be used to make nuclear weapons. Officials said the uranium would not explode in its raw form, but that it posed a health risk to people who came into contact with it. According to investigators, the four men said they did not know where the uranium was as it had been circulated between a number of possible buyers. The Tianhe District Court in Guangzhou said a verdict would not be given until the uranium had been found. * BBC Copyright Notice ***************************************************************** 21 Reuters: China searches for 8 kg of missing uranium Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:21AM BST BEIJING (Reuters) - Eight kg of radioactive uranium has gone missing in China, delaying the verdict in a trial of four men charged with attempting to sell it on the black market, state media said on Friday. A court in Guangzhou, capital of China's southern province of Guangdong, heard the four tried to sell the material between 2005 and January 2007, the China Daily said. The men were arrested in January after a potential buyer in Hong Kong reported them to the authorities, the paper said. However, despite having the four men in custody, police were unable to locate the uranium. "The men claimed it had been lost because it had been moved around so much between potential buyers," the paper said. A verdict had yet to be reached "as the court said the trial would continue until authorities tracked down" the uranium. More than 20 people had fallen sick after being exposed to the radioactive material, the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said, citing an official involved in the investigation. Court documents identified it as fissile uranium-235, the Center said, adding that it originated in a mine in Hunan province that was open from 1958 to 1985. Under Chinese law, the illegal trade in uranium carries a sentence of between three and 10 years in prison. In exceptional cases, it can carry the death sentence. "The radioactive substance uranium does not explode when it is in its raw state, but it is very harmful to people's health," Jiang Chaoqiang, director of the Guangzhou No 12 People's Hospital, told China Daily. "Therefore it needed to be found as soon as possible." © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. | Learn more about Reuters ***************************************************************** 22 Guardian Unlimited: 4 in China Tried on Uranium Sale Charges Friday August 24, 2007 12:01 PM BEIJING (AP) - Authorities said that 17 pounds of weapons-grade uranium disappeared and that a verdict in the trial of four men accused of trying to sell the radioactive material will be delayed until it is found, state media reported Friday. The report was the first public word that uranium was missing. The defendants said they did not know where the uranium was because it had been moved around so much between potential buyers, the China Daily newspaper reported. The uranium was types U-235 and U-238, both of which can be used to make nuclear weapons. Prolonged exposure to the radioactive material can cause cancer. Defendant Zhang Sangang said he met a uranium mine owner in April 2005 and offered to be a middleman. The owner said he wanted $26,400 per kilogram, and that Zhang could keep the difference if he found someone willing to pay a higher price, the report said. The three other defendants joined Zhang in his plan, and one of them met a businessman in the city of Guangzhou who said he knew someone willing to pay $210,000 for a kilogram of the uranium, the newspaper said, citing testimony in Guangzhou's Tianhe District Court. But the businessman reported defendant Li Zi'an to police because he knew it was illegal to sell uranium. The uranium mine owner was being tried separately. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 ***************************************************************** 23 Platts: German government, utilities agree nuclear safety improvements 2007-08-23 London (Platts)--23Aug2007 The German environment ministry and the country's four biggest utilities --E.ON, RWE, ENBW and Vattenfall Europe--have agreed to improve safety culture and operations of nuclear power plants in Germany within one year, the environment ministry said Thursday in a statement. A debate over safety, information policy and the operation of German nuclear power plants started after Vattenfall Europe's Brunsbuttel and Krummel reactors had to be taken off the grid June 28 in emergency shutdowns after a short circuit at Brunsbuttel and a fire at one of Krummel's transformer stations. According to the statement, key improvements are to include: the operators' safety management systems are to be improved; regular scheduled safety investigations by state authorities are to be intensified and their processing accelerated; protection against gas penetration of the power plants' control rooms is to be improved; internal communication of facilities is to be improved. "These measures are to be coordinated with the responsible state authorities," the statement said. The ministry also said that the utilities offered to create a "code of conduct" together with the authorities in order to improve the companies' public information policies. According to the statement, the environment ministry also plans to introduce bi-annual meetings between the ministry, the utilities and the state authorities responsible for nuclear safety. Germany's previous government passed a nuclear phase-out law in 2002, forbidding the construction of new nuclear plants and limiting existing ones to an average life-span of 32 years. The utilities are demanding a review of this policy under the aspects of climate protection and security of supply. Thursday's meeting was attended by environment minister Sigmar Gabriel, Utz Claassen (CEO of ENBW), Klaus-Dieter Maubach (CEO of EON Energie), Harry Roels (CEO of RWE) and Hans-Jurgen Cramer (chairman of Vattenfall Europe). For more news, request a free trial to Platts Power in Europe at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/index.xml?story Copyright © 2007 - Platts, All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 24 AFP: Piketon Residents' Case to Go to Trial Press Release Source: Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley Co. L.P.A. Friday August 24, 3:23 pm ET CINCINNATI, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Residents around the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant ("Piketon"), a former Department of Energy Nuclear facility located in Piketon, Ohio, will have a jury trial of their claims. In an opinion issued on August 23, 2007, Judge Walter Rice ruled that the case will proceed to trial on nonradioactive hazardous chemical releases. "We are pleased that we will have a trial of our claims. This will be an opportunity for the public to learn the truth about what happened at Piketon," said attorney Stanley Chesley of the law firm of Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley in Cincinnati. "Our clients have been waiting for many years for this day," he added. On September 4, 2007 there will be a telephone conference with Judge Rice for the purpose of setting a trial date for a jury trial. "We are going to press for an early trial date," Chesley said. According to Chesley, the Piketon plant case is similar to the Feed Materials Production Center at Fernald, Ohio, in that both government facilities released radioactive and nonradioactive chemicals into the air, water and soil over many decades, but the truth was not told to the neighbors. In July 1989, a residents' lawsuit involving the Fernald plant was settled for $78 million. According to a Public Health Assessment of Piketon by ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services) materials released from the Piketon plant include chromium, fluorides, trichloroethylene (TCE), nitric acid, asbestos and chlorine. Reports have also said that the Piketon plant released radioactive materials including uranium and technetium into the environment. Source: Waite, Schneider, Bayless & Chesley Co. L.P.A. Copyright © 2007 PR Newswire. All rights reserved. Republication or ***************************************************************** 25 Rocky Mountain News: Nuke workers not getting regular tests, report finds By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News August 24, 2007 The inspector general of the Energy Department said Thursday that workers at current nuclear weapons plants are not being checked regularly for radiation contamination. The inspector general's report said that without changes, current "employees may be at risk for occupational exposures to radioactive material that might not be detected." Besides warning of contamination, records of exposure are needed for weapons plant workers to win federal compensation for cancer and other illnesses caused by radiation. Workers at the now-defunct Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant outside Denver say they have been denied compensation for job-related illnesses because exposure records can't be found or are incomplete. They recently lost an attempt to have all workers grandfathered into an aid program on the grounds of missing exposure records. According to the inspector general's report, 67 percent of the 24 workers checked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory did not get all their required urinalysis and other lab tests for radiation exposure. In some cases, workers were canceling the tests themselves. In contrast, workers at the Savannah River weapons plant were being tested correctly. DOE responded by saying federal regulations do not require medical tests, and it refused to insist that employees show up for their exams. DOE said air monitoring was more important to identify possible radiation leaks that could harm workers. However, the federal aid program uses biological tests, not air monitoring records, to decide if a worker's illness was caused by contamination. Jennifer Thompson, an advocate for ill Rocky Flats workers, said she was not surprised by the report. "Records have always been and remain a huge challenge," Thompson said. Jerry Hardin, a 36-year Rocky Flats worker and union official, said he doubts the inspector general's conclusions will help Rocky Flats workers win their bid for automatic aid. "I've been looking for a magic bullet for some years. At times when I thought we had a show stopper, we were ignored," Hardin said. imsea@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5438 Scripps Newspaper Group — Online © 2007 The E.W. Scripps Co. ***************************************************************** 26 NRC: Atomic Safety and Licensing Board; In the Matter of: Amergen Energy Company, LLC (License Renewal for Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station) FR Doc E7-16853 [Federal Register: August 24, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 164)] [Notices] [Page 48694-48695] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr24au07-119] NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. 50-0219-LR, ASLBP No. 06-844-01-LR] August 20, 2007. Before Administrative Judges: E. Roy Hawkens, Chairman; Dr. Paul B. Abramson; Dr. Anthony J. Baratta Notice of Hearing (Application for 20-year License Renewal) This proceeding concerns the July 22, 2005 application by AmerGen Energy Company, LLC (``AmerGen'') to renew its operating license for the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station (``Oyster Creek'') for twenty years beyond the current expiration date of April 9, 2009. In response to the September 15, 2005 Notice of Opportunity for Hearing (70 Fed. Reg. 54,585 (Sept. 15, 2005)), two Requests for Hearing and Petitions to Intervene were filed on November 14, 2005. One Petition was filed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection [hereinafter referred to as New Jersey], and the other Petition was filed by the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch, Inc., Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety, New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, New Jersey Sierra Club, and New Jersey Environmental Federation [hereinafter referred to collectively as Citizens]. On December 9, 2005, this Atomic Safety and Licensing Board was established to preside over the proceeding. On February 27, 2006, this Board issued a Memorandum and Order in which we (LBP-06-07, 63 NRC 188 (2006)): (1) Denied New Jersey's Request for Hearing and Petition to Intervene; \1\ and (2) granted Citizens' Request for Hearing and Petition to Intervene. We concluded that Citizens' contention was admissible to the extent it challenged AmerGen's aging management program for measuring corrosion in the sand bed region of the drywell liner (id. at 217). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ Although New Jersey established standing, the Board concluded that it failed to proffer an admissible contention. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission sustained the Board's ruling. CLI-07- 08, 65 NRC 124 (2007); CLI-06-24, 64 NRC 111 (2006). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subsequently, on June 6, 2006, this Board issued a Memorandum and Order in which we concluded that Citizens' contention, as admitted by the Board, was a contention of omission that had been cured as a result of newly docketed commitments by AmerGen to perform periodic ultrasonic testing (``UT'') measurements in the sand bed region of the drywell liner throughout the period of extended operation (LBP-06-16, 63 NRC 737 (2006)). Instead of dismissing the proceeding, the Board gave Citizens the opportunity to file a new contention raising one or more specific substantive challenges to AmerGen's new periodic UT program for the sand bed region (id. at 744). On June 23, Citizens submitted a Petition to file new contentions, and on October 10, this Board admitted one of the newly proffered contentions; specifically, Citizens' assertion that AmerGen's scheduled UT monitoring frequency in the sand bed region of the drywell shell during the renewal period is insufficient to maintain an adequate safety margin (LBP-06-22, 64 NRC 229, 240-44 (2006)). This Atomic Safety and Licensing Board hereby gives notice that, pursuant to 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart L, it will convene an evidentiary hearing to receive testimony and exhibits concerning whether the frequency of AmerGen's proposed UT monitoring program for the sand bed region of the drywell shell is sufficient to maintain adequate safety margins during the period of extended operation. A. Date, Time, and Location of Evidentiary Hearing The evidentiary hearing in this proceeding, which will be open to the public,\2\ will begin on Monday, September 24, 2007 at 9 a.m., and will continue day-to-day, ending no later than Wednesday, September 26 at 12 p.m., at the location specified below: Ocean County Administration Building, Room 119, 101 Hooper Avenue, Toms River, NJ 08754. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \2\ Members of the public who plan to attend the evidentiary hearing are advised that security measures may be employed at the entrance to the facility, including searches of hand-carried items such as briefcases, backpacks, packages, etc. In addition, signs, banners, posters and displays will be prohibited because they are disruptive to the conduct of the adjudicatory process. See Procedures for Providing Security Support for NRC Public Meetings/ Hearings, 66 Fed. Reg. 31,719 (June 12, 2001). In the event that a party deems it necessary to discuss protected information at the hearing, that portion of the hearing will be closed to the public. See 10 CFR 2.390(a)(4). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- B. Submitting Written Limited Appearance Statements Any person not a party to the proceeding, including persons who are affiliated with or represented by a party, may submit to the Board at any time a written limited appearance statement setting forth his or her position on matters of concern relating to this proceeding. See 10 CFR 2.315(a). Although these statements do not constitute testimony or evidence in the proceeding, they nonetheless may assist the Board and/ or the parties in their consideration of the issues. Such statements should be submitted to: Mail: Office of the Secretary, Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Fax: (301) 415-1101 (verification (301) 415-1966). E-mail: hearingdocket@nrc.gov. In addition, using the same method of service, a copy of the written statement must be sent to the Chairman of this Licensing Board as follows: Mail: Administrative Judge E. Roy Hawkens, c/o: Debra Wolf, Esq., Law Clerk, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, Mail Stop T-3 F23, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Fax: (301) 415-5599 (verification (301) 415-6094). E-mail: daw1@nrc.gov. C. Availability of Documentary Information Regarding the Proceeding Documents relating to this proceeding are available for public inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland, or electronically from the publicly available records component of NRC's document system [[Page 48695]] (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (Electronic Reading Room). Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR reference staff by telephone at (800) 397-4209 or (301) 415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. D. Scheduling Information Updates To the extent updated/revised scheduling information exists regarding the evidentiary hearing, it can be found on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm or by calling (800) 368-5642, extension 5036, or (301) 415-5036. It is so ordered. Dated in Rockville, Maryland, on August 20, 2007. For the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board.\3\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \3\ Copies of this Notice of Hearing were sent this date by Internet e-mail to counsel for: (1) AmerGen; (2) Citizens; (3) the NRC Staff; and (4) New Jersey. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- E. Roy Hawkens, Chairman, Administrative Judge. [FR Doc. E7-16853 Filed 8-23-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 27 JS Online: Truck driver charged with lying about radioactive cargo By JOHN DIEDRICH jdiedrich@journalsentinel.com Posted: Aug. 23, 2007 A Green Bay man has been charged with lying to federal agents after he told investigators in January that someone stole a box off his truck containing radioactive material bound for a Milwaukee hospital, according to federal records. Randall U. Kubsh, 53, is charged with two counts of lying, to the FBI and U.S. Department of Transportation, according to an indictment handed down this week. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison, but it's unlikely he will get that much time. In January, the Milwaukee County sheriff's office reported that a box of radioactive material bound for a hospital was missing. Authorities were concerned because the material could cause burning or poisoning if ingested. Authorities launched a criminal investigation and began a search for the box between Milwaukee and Madison, where Kubsh drove, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mel Johnson, the prosecutor in the case, said Thursday. The box appeared a few days later when a Waukesha man who found it near N. 46th St. and W. Lisbon Ave. turned it in, Johnson said. That man is not being charged, he said. Kubsh later told investigators he got lost on his way to Aurora Sinai Medical Center because of construction, Johnson said. Kubsh said he knew the box had fallen off his truck but he couldn't find it when he went back to look for it. Kubsh, who was driving for an Oregon company, could not be reached for comment. © 2005-2007, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. | Produced by Journal Interactive | Privacy Policy Journal Sentinel Inc. is a subsidiary of Journal Communications. ***************************************************************** 28 Japan Times: Reactors to receive fewer inspections | japantimes.co.jp Web Friday, Aug. 24, 2007 FOR SAKE OF 'EFFICIENCY' Kyodo News The government's nuclear watchdog will extend the interval between nuclear power plant checkups to 24 months instead of 13, sources said Thursday. The change, however, isn't likely to go into effect for another 10 years, except for new nuclear facilities. The move by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency comes amid growing public distrust of nuclear power plant management, especially since a powerful earthquake in Niigata Prefecture last month shut down Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, the world's largest by output, and a defect coverup involving reactor turbines that shut down all 17 Tepco reactors for the entire summer of 2003. Public distrust was further eroded by the 2004 fatal scalding of four workers at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Mihama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, after a corroded pipe that had never been inspected since the plant started up in the 1970s burst. Tepco's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant was built close to, if not directly above, many active fault lines in the area, including the one that triggered the killer temblor. After the July 16 quake, Tepco's ability to maintain the key seven-reactor complex came under suspicion after it was found to lack proper fire-extinguishing equipment and cigarette butts were found close to one of its reactors — an area where smoking is strictly banned. A full inspection of the damaged plant hasn't even begun. The NISA decision apparently reflects pressure from the power industry to let nuclear plants run longer without closing for inspections to increase "efficiency." Under the new regulation to be introduced in fiscal 2008, utilities managing nuclear plants will be required to submit data showing that less frequent industry inspections will not compromise equipment. For the time being, the new regulation will apply only to relatively new nuclear plants because there is no data for the government to use to make a decision, the sources said. This is likely to delay the new inspection rule for older plants by about a decade. "It will take at least 10 years to allow the maximum 24-month operations," one agency official said. NISA said it expects the move to be criticized but believes it can allay the public's fears by "enhancing its inspections," the sources said. They then compared Japan's nuclear management expertise with that of France and the United States, saying that suspensions caused by equipment trouble haven't risen in either of the two countries, which let plants run for longer periods without inspection than Japan. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is part of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry. '08 Monju restart eyed FUKUI (Kyodo) The Japan Atomic Energy Agency plans to restart the troubled Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, in October 2008 at the earliest, sources said Thursday. The reactor has been shut down since a 1995 sodium leak-triggered fire and subsequent coverup attempt. The state-run research agency initially planned to restart Monju next May, but checks of modified reactor equipment have taken longer than expected, the sources said. The agency will notify the Fukui Prefectural and Tsuruga Municipal governments of its new plan as agreed upon in a safety agreement and seek their support, they added. The Monju has been idle since the fire, which was caused by sodium coolant that leaked from a worn-out thermometer. The agency is testing equipment replaced during modifications made since September 2005. The modifications, aimed at improving detection of accidents and minimizing their impact, includes upgrading thermometers and installing remote-controlled motors for valves in the piping at the primary facilities immediately around the reactor, so the flow of sodium, used as a coolant, can be stopped promptly in an accident. The Japan Times ***************************************************************** 29 AU ABC: Marshall Is boat to evacuate Bikini atoll tourists Efforts are underway to evacuate foreign tourists stranded on Bikini atoll in the Pacific. Last Updated 24/08/2007, 18:37:33 Efforts are underway to evacuate foreign tourists stranded on Bikini atoll in the Pacific. They were left stranded by the grounding of the Marshall Islands national airline. A Marshall Islands patrol boat is due to leave for the site where 23 atmospheric nuclear tests were conducted between 1946 and 1958. The atoll has become a popular diving site due to the fleet of warships sunk in its lagoon during the nuclear tests and because of the pristine marine life which has been left alone since the islanders were evacuated ahead of the tests. Seven international divers from Australia and the United States and a Canadian photo journalist are on Bikini. ***************************************************************** 30 Malayasia Star: Worker exposed to small amount of radiation at Japan plant Friday August 24, 2007 TOKYO (AP): A worker was exposed to radiation at a spent fuel processing plant in northern Japan but the amount was too small to cause any health effects, the plant's operator said Friday. The incident comes only weeks after another worker at the Rokkasho plant in Japan's northern Aomori prefecture (state) was exposed to a tiny amount of radiation on his foot, which caused no injuries or health problems. In the latest incident, a man was inspecting a fuel removal device at a spent fuel storage building at the plant when he was exposed Thursday, operator Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. said in a statement. A small amount of radioactivity -- far below the level considered to affect health -- was detected on the sole of his foot as he tried to leave the controlled area, the company said. The worker apparently had stepped on his protective gear as he changed clothes after work, Japan Nuclear Fuel said. It said the tiny amount of cobalt was immediately wiped off and had no effect on his health or on the environment outside the plant. Rokkasho is about 600 kilometers (370 miles) north of Tokyo. Copyright © 1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D) Managed by I.Star. ***************************************************************** 31 Columbus Dispatch: Medical study of Fernald-area residents to end Columbus, Ohio | Aug 25, 2007 | Text-only version Scientists to share uranium-plant data Thursday, August 16, 2007 3:52 AM By Terry Kinney ASSOCIATED PRESS CINCINNATI -- Nearly two decades of observations of thousands of people who lived near a Cold War uranium-refining plant will be shared by the University of Cincinnati with other researchers in an effort to better understand the health effects of low-level radiation. In one of the nation's longest such studies, the Fernald Medical Monitoring Program is ending after 17 years of collecting data from more than 9,500 people who lived near the Feed Materials Production Center at Fernald in southwestern Ohio. "Our greatest hope is that by studying this, this will help another community. I don't want to see it just put on a shelf," said Lisa Crawford, who lives near the site and helped form FRESH -- Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety and Health. A federal judge created the monitoring program in 1989 as part of a class-action lawsuit filed by Crawford and her husband and others who lived within 5 miles of the production center. The government plant, which was 18 miles northwest of Cincinnati, was part of the nation's nuclear-weapons program during the Cold War and was closed in 1989. Researchers collected blood and urine specimens and kidney and liver function tests. Participants completed a 27-page initial survey followed by annual surveys of about 14 pages each, which asked for details of new medical problems and hospitalizations. "That's valuable because sometimes there is what we call 'recall bias,' when people who get a disease misremember what led up to it," said Susan Pinney, a professor of environmental health at the University of Cincinnati who has served as epidemiologist on the project. Researchers could find several uses for the data, according to Dr. John Fiveash, a radiation oncologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who studies the effects of long-term radiation treatment. It might be useful in studying the effects of diagnostic X-rays, for example, and could even have applications in terrorist situations, such as exposure to a dirty bomb. "This might be used to determine which groups of people might need treatment down the road, and which groups might need immediate care," Fiveash said. The Fernald plant opened in 1951 and was so secret that workers were told not to tell friends and family what they did. But after 30 years, government documents revealed that almost 300 pounds of enriched uranium oxide dust had been released into the air from a faulty dust collection system. The Energy Department also disclosed that radon gas had been leaking from storage silos for years. The government settled the residents' suit in 1989 for $78 million, including funding for monitoring and medical testing through 2008 for nearby residents. Fernald workers also sued and reached a $20 million settlement with the government in 1994 that included lifetime medical monitoring. Cleanup of the 1,050-acre site, which included removal of 1.5 million tons of waste at a cost of $4.4 billion, was completed in October 2006. The database and about 100,000 biospecimens are under the control of a court-appointed trustee. Any researcher with appropriate credentials can apply for access. Fernald history Key events at Fernald uranium-processing plant in southwestern Ohio: • 1951: Feed Materials Production Center at Fernald is built by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to refine uranium on a 1,050-acre site 18 miles northwest of Cincinnati. • 1989: Production ends. Government settles lawsuit with area residents and the Fernald Medical Monitoring Program is created. • 2006: Cleanup of the site is completed and certified by the Energy Department after removal of about 1.5 million tons of waste at a cost of $4.4 billion. • 2008: Medical Monitoring Program scheduled to end. Source: Associated Press ©2007, The Columbus Dispatch, Reproduction prohibited ***************************************************************** 32 Bradenton.com: Tallevast probe deemed deficient Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 By DONNA WRIGHT dwright@bradenton.com TALLEVAST -- A state investigation of health risks related to the Tallevast plume is incomplete because it relies on old data and fails to ask enough questions, warns scientist Wilma Subra. These failures indicate health risks may have been underestimated for both residents and former workers of Loral American Beryllium Co. plant, said Subra, an environmental activist from Louisiana, who reviewed the report for the Herald. Subra's comments will be considered along with others received during the public review process, said Randy Merchant of the Florida Department of Health and leader of the health investigation. Released for public comment in June, the state's report says contaminated groundwater under the former Loral American Beryllium Co. plant and in the Tallevast community may have been a public health hazard. Prolonged use of contaminated water in private drinking water and irrigation wells increased the theoretical risk of kidney and liver cancer, as well as leukemia and lymphoma, Merchant said. Merchant defended the report's methodology, but agr- eed with Subra that the team had not looked at the cumulative health risk presented by exposure to numerous chemicals. Nor did the report assess the risks workers faced at the plant except for the company's past reliance on a private drinking water well, Merchant said. The health assessment did not include worker safety issues because those are the responsibility of the Occupation Health and Safety Administration, he said. Subra's critique echoes similar warnings from environmental scientist Tim Varney, Tallevast's technical advisor. Both Varney and Subra faulted the Department of Health's study for using data collected mostly in 2004 and the first part of 2005 when the plume was thought to be less than half of its known size. "The main chemical causing the moderate to high risk to the Tallevast community and previous workers centers around TCE (an industrial solvent)," Subra said. Subra cited a national effort to establish new risk standards for TCE exposure as a result of research that links low exposures to increased cancer risk. The risk to Tallevast residents and workers must be evaluated based on the most recent research, both Subra and Varney said. The Department of Health is considering requests to expand the health assessment to answer concerns raised by Varney, Subra and others during the public comment process, Merchant said. FOCUS, an advocacy group for Tallevast residents reviewed Subra's report but declined comment. Both the Department of Environmental Protection and former beryllium plant owner Lockheed Martin Corp. deferred comment on Subra's analysis to the Department of Health. As the former owner, Lockheed is responsible for investigating the plume of toxic waste traced back to the beryllium plant and cleaning up the contamination, now known to stretch over 200 acres. Lockheed has estimated that the cleanup could take 100 years to complete. The state report reflects minimum risks that can be documented. but the risks could be much higher, particularly from vapor and dust exposure that have not been adequately investigated, Subra warned. Merchant disagreed, pointing to a recent community beryllium blood test screening program and a vapor analysis the state conducted in 2004 by gathering air samples over a 24-hour period from four locations over the most contaminated sites in Tallevast. Lockheed did additional vapor studies in 2006. The results of those studies, Merchant said, indicated vapors do not pose a health risk to humans. But Subra disagreed, criticizing both studies for not conducting enough tests in enough locations over an extended period of time. The Lockheed study, Subra said, indicated vapor levels were high enough to warrant continued monitoring. Subra is particularly concerned about dust that may have been released into the community after the plant was closed and dismantled. A 1997 environmental audit performed by Tetra Tech for Lockheed Martin found high levels of beryllium dust residue on samples taken at various locations throughout the plant. Any activity that could have disturbed that dust could have created a potential pathway of exposure, Subra said. The Department of Health did offer free blood tests to Tallevast residents and workers to determine if they had been made sick by exposure to beryllium dust. Out of the 359 people tested, five were confirmed positive, Merchant said. All five were either workers or household members of former workers who likely were exposed by dust tracked home from the plant. "The actual beryllium sensitivity testing is a much better measure of beryllium exposure than tracing pathways of exposure," Merchant said. But Subra said that approach is limited because exposure can continue to occur through dust long after the plant had closed. Since the time period to develop symptoms of beryllium sensitivity can take 20 years or more, those exposed to beryllium dust in the late 1980s or 1990s may still test positive years later. ? View important documents ? Read our Tallevast archive Environmental activist and scientist Wilma Subra faulted the state's investigation for failing to adequately address: ? Air and soil vapor exposures ? Historical exposure to dust carried home on workers' clothes and emissions from the beryllium plant. ? Historical exposure to solvents in the work place ? Ongoing exposure to household and attic dust ***************************************************************** 33 IPS-English POLITICS-AUSTRALIA: Uranium for India - Business Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 18:03:41 -0700 POLITICS-AUSTRALIA: Uranium for India - Business or Strategy Stephen de Tarczynski MELBOURNE, Aug 24 (IPS) - Leading Australian academics say that while the United States' nuclear deal with India may be part of the Bush administration's ”contain China” policy, Australia's own agreement to provide uranium to the South Asian giant is based more on economic gain. ”The Howard Government is trying to maximise its economic leverage throughout the region, to use Australia's abundant uranium to increase its economic profile,” says James Leibold, lecturer in Politics and Asian Studies at La Trobe University. Australia, estimated to hold 40 percent of the world's known uranium reserves, reversed its policy of selling nuclear fuel only to countries that are signatories to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to conclude an in-principle agreement with India, which has not signed up to the NPT, earlier this month. The Australia-India agreement -- subject to certain conditions being met -- follows in the footsteps of a deal made in July between the United States and India. Under that arrangement, the U.S. plans to provide India with nuclear fuel and technology. Robert Ayson, from the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University in Canberra, says that the U.S.-India deal is two-fold. ”The U.S. decision to have a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with India is one way of the Bush administration welcoming India as a great power and consolidating the bilateral relationship that the US has with India,” says Ayson. ”And potentially it fits in with the Bush administration's idea that it does want to check China's power and that therefore closer relations with India are part of that,” Ayson told IPS. Prof. Joseph Camilleri, Director of the Centre for Dialogue and a colleague of Leibold's at La Trobe, argues that while the U.S. deal is based on reasons of geo-politics, Australia's motivation stems mostly from economic factors. ”In the case of Australia, I think it's first and foremost economic motivation, pure and simple, and a reaction to the pressures that are being applied to the Australian government by those who stand to gain from an expansion of the uranium industry,” says Camilleri. He adds that a secondary factor in Australia's willingness to supply India with uranium is ”to once again support the United States.” Australia has been building closer economic ties to China. Its deal with India comes less than a year after Australia reached an agreement to export uranium to China. Ayson says that Australia views China differently to the U.S. ”I think it's partly (as a result of) the economic ties with China, which are massive,” he says. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that in the twelve months to March of this year China became Australia's biggest trading partner. Worth around 42 billion US dollars, trade with China overtook that of both Japan and the U.S., traditionally Australia's key partners. Australia, says Ayson, ''doesn't see China's growth as necessarily a challenge to itself in the way that the U.S. clearly does.” ”I think Australia sees, generally, China as an opportunity rather than a threat.'' China's growth in recent years has forced other countries in the Asian region to readjust, says Leibold. ”Certainly it's rearranging the deck of chairs of sorts because you've got a new economic and political superpower so all its neighbours, I think, are trying to come to terms with that,” says Leibold. But while Australia is cautious not to give China the impression that its policies are part of any containment plan, it has recently become more integrated with other regional powers. Australia signed a joint security declaration with Japan in March -- a move criticised by China -- with the two nations holding talks on a missile defence system in June. Ayson says that this declaration could be perceived by some as a potential step in a possible tri-lateral alliance between the U.S., Japan and Australia. But, he says, the text of the declaration focuses on cooperation between the two countries in areas such as counter-terrorism. ”The text of the declaration is actually quite non-threatening. But it's more the atmospherics of it and the political symbolism that's important,” says Ayson. Australia's Defence Minister, Brendan Nelson, has also been at pains to assure China that it will not be forming a quadrilateral defence pact with the U.S., Japan and India. Ayson says that neither Australia nor India see their uranium deal as part of a policy to contain China. ”Basically, Australia is more sensitive to China's perspective on this than, say, Washington is. And India is also quite sensitive about the China factor,” he says. But, cautions Ayson, China may regard Australia's closer ties with Japan and India -- as well as the overarching presence of the U.S. -- as evidence of a budding containment policy. ”I think Beijing's probably already pretty much decided that that's what this is maybe heading towards.'' This week has seen a flurry of visits to India by top defence officials from the possible ‘quadrilateral' pact, ahead of a major multi-nation naval exercise in Indian waters, early September. The visitors included Australian naval chief Admiral Russ E. Shalders, U.S. Pacific command chief Admiral Timothy J. Keating and Japan's defence minister Yuriko Koike. Ayson argues that if China believes it is being encircled, then there is a possibility of two ”blocks” opposing each other in Asia. China, along with Russia and four Central Asian states, is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the successor group to the Shanghai Five. ”Rather than a kind of great power collaboration in Asia...you actually get a division in the region,” says Ayson, who rejects the notion that the two blocks would necessarily create a secure balance. ”If you go back historically, Europe had a balance of sorts before 1914 with the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance, and we know what happened there.'' Leibold says that the business lobbies in both Japan and the U.S. have vested interests in their nations' relationships with China. ”People talk about a new cold war against China but the thing that's fundamentally different now is the economic interdependency between these economies.” ***** + Nuclear Ambitions - IPS special coverage (http://www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/nuclear/index.asp) (END/IPS/AP/WD/IP/NU/IF/ST/RDR/07) = 08240653 ORP004 NNNN ***************************************************************** 34 ReviewJournal.com: Nevada remains opposed to conceding Yucca water Aug. 24, 2007 By KEITH ROGERS REVIEW-JOURNAL From left, former Sen. Richard Bryan, North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan, Sen. Harry Reid and Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto discuss Yucca Mountain nuclear waste issues Thursday in Las Vegas. Photo by John Locher. A short-lived discussion between state and federal attorneys over using Nevada's water at the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site probably will end today with the parties at loggerheads unless the Department of Energy adheres to the state's ultimatum to stop using its water for bore hole work. Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said Thursday that DOE has continued to use Nevada's water to cool and lubricate drill bits for collecting rock core samples since discussions began Tuesday at the urging of U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt. "It's bad faith on their part, and that's why we do not believe that we will come to any sort of an agreement," Cortez Masto said Thursday. Her comments came after a closed-door, roundtable discussion on Yucca Mountain issues with Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and a host of state and local officials and anti-Yucca groups. Hunt urged the parties to try to work things out while he weighs arguments from last week's hearing on an emergency motion by Department of Justice attorneys representing DOE. The motion seeks to block the state engineer's cease-and-desist order that says Nevada's water is being used for a purpose that's not in the state's interest. At the court hearing, Hunt suggested that DOE stop the bore hole work while talks were underway but he didn't issue an order to that effect. Marta Adams, Nevada's senior deputy attorney general, said from Carson City that federal attorneys were supposed to let her know today "whether they're willing to show good faith and stop using the water. We're saying we can't talk unless they stop using the water." Cortez Masto said she is concerned that if Hunt doesn't make a decision soon and DOE doesn't stop using Nevada's water for collecting geotechnical samples at Yucca Mountain, then DOE might be able to finish gathering the data it needs for a license application. DOE officials have set a June 2008 deadline for applying for a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build and operate a repository at the mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The roundtable discussion at the Clark County Government Center between some of Nevada's leaders and Dorgan was behind closed doors. Reid said he didn't want the state's strategy on Yucca Mountain presented in a public forum because that could put Nevada at a disadvantage in future legal battles and federal actions on the planned nuclear waste site, he said. Reid noted that the Yucca Mountain funding bill has not been completed but the appropriations subcommittee in June voted for a $50 million cut down to $444.5 million from what the Bush administration had sought for 2008. "We'll see what happens," Reid said. "I have great confidence in Senator Dorgan, especially after becoming more versed on the subject that he won't be clamoring to give them a lot more money." Dorgan, who chairs the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, which controls the Yucca Mountain purse strings, said he is concerned that a repository won't be safe for human health and the risks posed by terrorists intercepting nuclear waste shipments will be amplified. Dorgan said he is not a stranger to the Yucca Mountain issue and his votes in the past 10 years on it have sided with Nevada's senators. "It's because I have expressed over a long period of time some reservations about these issues," he said. Reid said he wanted Dorgan to know firsthand from concerned Nevadans how unfair the Yucca Mountain process has been during the past two decades. "The Department of Energy, for lack of a better description, has cheated us for years now. And we want the world to know about this, and the first person we want to know about it is Senator Dorgan," Reid said. Reid's office last week used similar language when addressing a potential compromise over the water issue. A Reid spokesman said the DOE was "stealing" the state's water and that there was no logic in Nevada wanting to compromise. Later Thursday, Reid indicated Nevada's strategy for defeating the Yucca Mountain Project will become more clear as President Bush's term expires. "Quite frankly, we're waiting until Bush is out of office. Once he's gone, we're in really good shape," Reid said. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., had been invited to participate in the closed-door meeting but was unavailable, Reid's spokesman Jon Summers said. Gov. Jim Gibbons spokeswoman Melissa Subbotin, said to her knowledge the governor wasn't invited although Reid said Gibbons was represented on the panel by Nuclear Projects Agency chief Bob Loux and the attorney general. A statement from Subbotin says Gibbons "commends any and all efforts to stop the Yucca Mountain project." She said the governor, when he was a congressman, and Reid have always agreed to work together "to put a halt to this project." Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2007 Stephens Media, LLC Privacy Statement ***************************************************************** 35 Carlsbad Current-Argus: WIPP shipments resume By Kyle Marksteiner Article Launched: 08/23/2007 11:01:57 PM MDT CARLSBAD ? Shipments of transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad resumed Tuesday, a Department of Energy spokesman said. Shipments were halted on Aug. 3 after New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ron Curry ordered the removal of a waste drum mistakenly shipped to WIPP. The drum, which contained a small amount of liquid, left WIPP Saturday for its return trip to the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project at Idaho National Laboratory. The DOE approved the resumption of shipments last Friday, spokesman Dennis Hurtt said, but the department opted to wait a few days to clear some of the backlog at the WIPP site. The errant drum was 36 rows back when Curry made his order, and the retrieval process took about two weeks. The Department of Energy had also agreed with the Environmental Protection Agency not to resume shipments specifically from the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project until the EPA gave a final nod of approval that corrective actions were acceptable. Corrective measures included increased direct oversight. The EPA agreed that the actions were acceptable Tuesday, Hurtt said, and the Idaho facility resumed shipments later that day. Copyright © 2005 Carlsbad Current Argus, a MediaNews Group ***************************************************************** 36 Aiken Today: DOE asks board to hold off on SREL recommendations AikenStandard.com Fri, Aug 24, 2007 By Josh Voorhees Staff Writer Local Department of Energy officials have asked the Savannah River Site's Citizen Advisory Board to hold off on sending any more recommendations concerning the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory for the time being. The Strategic & Legacy Management subcommittee discussed sending another recommendation - their last recommendation concerning the lab was in 2006 - at their most recent meeting, said CAB member Joe Ortaldo. "They found out that we were thinking about it and requested that we didn't," he said. "They know our position at this point - it's a matter of public record - so I think (their request) was a reasonable one." In the CAB's 2006 recommendation they called on the DOE to increase funding for the 56-year-old research facility and to ensure that it remain in operation. More recently, CAB chair Karen Patterson testified at a congressional hearing looking into the DOE's decision to terminate funding for the ecology lab where she expressed the board's view that the lab was an important one that should remain open. A spokesperson for DOE's Savannah River office explained that in response to the 2006 recommendation Savannah River officials had agreed to keep the CAB apprised of any new developments concerning the lab, but as of now there is simply no new information to share. "Right now we are really just in wait mode," said spokesperson Julie Peterson. "We don't have any new information to offer (to the citizens board), but when we do we certainly will." The citizens board is designed to provide recommendations and advice to governmental officials at SRS. Earlier this week, James Rispoli, assistant secretary of Energy for Environmental Management praised the work of the board. "We need more people (like CAB members) that are willing to work against the common thinking," he said while addressing a group of nuclear leaders at a dinner in Aiken. Ortaldo said that most of the board's members understood the current situation, but stressed that they are not abandoning the issue. "Currently there are active discussions at higher levels beyond the site," he said of negotiations between the University of Georgia and the DOE officials in Washington. "The Site has done all it can, and we are an advisory board to the site.... But we won't be bashful about pursuing this issue if something changes." Run for more than 50 years as a partnership between the federal government and the University of Georgia, the lab monitors the Savannah River Site's long-term effects on the environment. The DOE has steadily reduced its budget under the Bush administration and is eliminating federal funding after the current year. Majority members of the House science committee have launched a formal investigation into the matter, and called on lab and department officials to testify at a formal hearing regarding budget negotiations. Their investigation is ongoing. Contact Josh Voorhees at jvoorhees@aikenstandard.com. © 2005 The AikenStandard. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 37 Albuquerque Tribune: Editorial: Under budget, on time: Let labs be a lesson Editorial : Astonishing! Call Congress. Where's the FBI? We need a federal investigation. We need to know how exactly Sandia National Laboratories, in Albuquerque, managed to do such big things on its little project. That's "little," as in "focus" - not size - as Sandia's new Microsystem and Engineering Sciences Applications is where scientists and engineers will be focused on microengineering, design and production of extremely useful, very tiny things. Take, for example: microtechnology, where things are about the size a few human red blood cells; and nanotechnology, where we're way down in the realm of a few atoms or molecules wide. That's tiny. We're talking about sensors, steam engines, medical devices and, of course, nuclear-weapons components - such as a warhead trigger-lock - that one would need a microscope to pick. Pity the nuke-burglar. But the really big news, for taxpayers especially, is that this projected $516 million project will be completed under budget and way ahead of schedule - as in $40 million less and about three years early. Let us repeat: A federal mega-project - which, ironically, deals with developing micro things - is not late, nor will it have a cost overrun. Rather, it's been done for less money and sooner than promised. No. We're not kidding. Yes. It is possible - if you're Sandia National Labs. Let's hear it for Sandia, which has a well-deserved reputation as the "can-do" lab. It is understandably proud of the accomplishment, which was recognized during the project's dedication Thursday. "That doesn't happen very often - that you save money," Sandia's Project Manager Bill Jenkins told Tribune reporter Sue Vorenberg, in "Labs' MESA project beats expectations." Right: It happens just this side of never. The last time this happened, as far as we know, was also in New Mexico, at the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array Radio Telescope, west of Socorro. The VLA was dedicated in 1980 - a year ahead of schedule and within its budget of $78.6 million. Those scientists and engineers - who knew they could be so prompt and economical? Now, if only more people could learn to trust them on the really, really, really important stuff - like evolution, bridge structural analysis and global warming. © 2007 The E.W. Scripps Co. ***************************************************************** 38 Columbian.com: In our view: Hands Off Hanford- Clark County, Washington | August 24, 2007 Nuclear waste site has done its part The nation's most contaminated nuclear waste dump is the worst place to dump more nuclear waste. The logic of that contention apparently escapes the U.S. Department of Energy, which next Monday will convene a meeting in Troutdale, Ore., (6-9 p.m., Comfort Inn, 477 N.W. Phoenix Drive) to discuss new shipments of radioactive waste. Among eight federal sites to be considered is the Hanford nuclear reservation, about 225 miles east of Vancouver. The federal government has made scant progress in cleaning up nuclear waste left-over from decades of dumping at Hanford. According to the latest estimates, several years and as much as $60 billion will be needed to complete the clean-up. Why the feds would set aside that ongoing neglect and target Hanford for dumping additional nuclear waste is beyond credulity. The DOE needs to dump 5,600 cubic meters of the most hazardous category of "low-level" waste over the next 55 years. We understand that need, and it is indeed a national problem. But Hanford has done its part, and the other seven sites (especially the proposed depository in Yucca Mountain, Nev.) would be better choices. Other sites to be considered are in Tennessee, South Carolina, New Mexico (two sites), and Idaho. In 2004, 70 percent of Washington state voters approved Initiative 297, which banned sending more radioactive waste to Hanford until the clean-up is complete. That restriction was later ruled invalid by U.S. District Judge Alan McDonald of Yakima, but McDonald also wrote that Hanford's "existing contamination problems" are "very legitimate concerns ? ." If and when Hanford is mentioned at Monday's meeting, those concerns should be addressed immediately, and Hanford quickly dismissed from the discussion. ©2007 Columbian.com. All Rights Reserved - Use of this site ***************************************************************** 39 Tennessean: Nuclear monitoring problems cited at Oak Ridge facilities - Nashville, Tennessee - Friday, 08/24/07 - Tennessean.com Associated Press OAK RIDGE — Federal auditors cited the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and a former uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge for failing to adequately monitor workers for radiation exposure. The Department of Energy's inspector general found problems with more than 65 percent of radiological workers sampled at the Oak Ridge National Lab. The audit released Wednesday said ORNL workers either didn't receive all of their scheduled bioassay tests, weren't tested often enough or weren't tested for all radioactive materials they might have been exposed to. This biological sampling is used to evaluate whether workers have absorbed radioactive materials. It supports other types of radiation monitoring for workers most likely to be exposed. The University of Tennessee-Battelle Memorial Institute partnership that manages the lab for the government disputed the finding. "In this case, the report apparently confused a voluntary testing program with a much more stringent monitoring program that ORNL has had in place for years," lab spokesman Billy Stair said. Tests at K-25 lacking At the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 uranium enrichment plant being cleaned up by Becthel Jacobs Co., about 20 percent of nuclear workers were not tested often enough for all the radioisotopes at their work sites, the report said. DOE spokesman John Shewairy said a "number of mechanisms including air monitoring, radiation screening and the use of dosimetry monitors" are in place at the Oak Ridge facilities and provide "radiation detection and protection capability for our workers." Copyright © 2007, tennessean.com. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 40 Knoxville News Sentinel: NRC gets 3 hearing requests July revelation of 'deficient safety culture' at Nuclear Fuel Services prompts letters By Andrew Eder (Contact) Friday, August 24, 2007 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received several requests for a public hearing on an East Tennessee nuclear fuel maker with a spotty safety record, an effort that promises to be as much about the regulators as the plant itself. The requests follow the July release of an order detailing a “deficient safety culture” at Nuclear Fuel Services in Erwin, Tenn. That order and thousands of other documents were hidden from public view because of an agreement between the NRC and the U.S. Department of Energy to stamp correspondence from the Erwin plant “official use only.” NRC staff has recommended changing the 3-year-old policy. “The NRC as well as NFS will be on trial here,” said Ann Harris, executive director of the nuclear worker support group We the People, which joined the Sierra Club in the petition. In addition to the Sierra Club letter, the NRC has received two other hearing requests — one from an East Tennessee State University professor and one from an area resident — and expects a fourth to come in before the Aug. 27 deadline, according to an agency spokesman. Once the deadline passes, the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel would appoint judges to consider the standing of the petitioners and the validity of their concerns before deciding whether to hold a hearing. An NRC spokesman said the agency tries to make such decisions “expeditiously” but did not give a timetable for the proceedings. “We’re optimistic that we’re going to get a hearing,” Harris said. The order in question details six instances in 2005 and 2006 when Nuclear Fuel Services personnel violated NRC regulations, including a March 2006 spill of about nine gallons of highly enriched uranium. The spill, which shut down a process line at the plant for seven months, was publicly revealed earlier this year in an NRC report to Congress. Under pressure from Republican and Democratic members of Congress, the NRC has recommended revising the policy that has hidden information on Nuclear Fuel Services and a Lynchburg, Va., facility run by BWX Technologies from public view. A report from Luis Reyes, the NRC’s executive director of operations, outlines the background of the policy, adopted by the NRC in 2004 at the request of the Department of Energy, which was concerned about the availability of sensitive national security information. Nuclear Fuel Services makes fuel for the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered submarines, “downblends” highly enriched uranium for use in commercial reactors and performs other nuclear support services. The report reveals that the NRC blocked public access to nearly 12,000 documents related to Nuclear Fuel Services and the BWX Technologies facility, about 10,000 of which were in the federal agency’s Public Legacy Library, a database of documents from 1999 and before. The NRC’s staff recommends that the agency review documents that have been kept from the public and release censored versions, an effort it estimates will take eight months and $532,000 in personnel costs. The NRC’s commissioners must decide whether to adopt the staff’s recommendation. Agency spokesman Ken Clark said the commission has not set a meeting date, but he expected a vote soon. Nuclear Fuel Services, a privately owned, 50-year-old company that’s the largest employer in Unicoi County, announced earlier this month that it is exploring a sale. On Thursday, the company announced that Timothy Lindstrom, a veteran of the Navy’s nuclear reactor program who joined the company in September 2006, has been promoted to general manager, with responsibility for all operations at the Erwin facility. Tony Treadway, a spokesman for Nuclear Fuel Services, said the Erwin facility has had a “good record in regard to NRC inspections” since March 2006. Clark would not say whether Nuclear Fuel Services has had any safety violations since the ones detailed in the NRC’s order. “Our policy has not been changed yet,” Clark said. “So at this point in time, we don’t discuss it.” Business writer Andrew Eder may be reached at 865-342-6318. © 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 41 Idaho Mountain Express: INL, advanced reactor seismically safe - August 24, 2007 Suzette Payne is a seismologist at the Idaho National Laboratory, east of Arco. By SUZETTE PAYNE The recent earthquake in northern Japan and the impact to a commercial nuclear power plant there have been followed with interest by Idaho National Laboratory officials. We know there have been earthquakes in the region around the INL, so we believe it is appropriate to discuss the safety of the INL site. In the past, incorrect inferences have been made relative to the assumptions used in analyzing the Advanced Test Reactor's response to a seismic event. These inferences served to confuse and alarm some who do not understand the enormous rigor applied in the design of nuclear facilities. We are confident based on many reviews by internationally recognized technical experts that the Advanced Test Reactor is safe. The Snake River Plain has been extensively studied for more than 40 years by our experts and by other government agencies, universities and industry. Our staff of seismologists and geologists continually collect information through our extensive INL Seismic Network. Their findings are reviewed and validated by independent, professional peers. From these studies, we know that the Snake River Plain is much less seismically active than the surrounding mountains. A review of historical earthquake activity on and around the Snake River Plain provides a good indication of the relatively low rate of earthquakes in the Snake River Plain compared to the surrounding mountains. During the 1959 Hebgen Lake, Mont., earthquake, which measured a magnitude of 7.5, there was no damage to INL facilities, though it was felt on site. And the 1983 Borah Peak, Idaho, earthquake, which measured 7.3, was also felt on the INL. But, again, there was no damage to our facilities, including the Advanced Test Reactor. The Advanced Test Reactor was built to conservative seismic standards current at the time of its construction. As seismic analysis techniques have improved and as lessons are learned from events such as the recent earthquake in Japan, the Advanced Test Reactor, as well as other key laboratory facilities, are reevaluated against the new information. In the past there have been modifications to the facility to comply with evolving safety standards. INL is currently conducting a comprehensive structural evaluation of the reactor and considering the potential for and severity of an earthquake at the reactor site using the most current seismic and geologic information. What we've found so far is that the Advanced Test Reactor is well built as designed and maintained, and upgrades completed to meet the newest safety margins have been relatively minor. The Advanced Test Reactor's structural design is governed by the U.S. Department of Energy's Natural Phenomena Hazards Standards. For facilities such as nuclear facilities, these standards are more rigorous than the standards for other facilities. The standards are comparable in terms of analytical rigor to Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements for commercial nuclear power plants. Anyone wishing to learn more about INL and the Advanced Test Reactor is welcome to visit and ask our engineers and scientists hard questions about the laboratory and the reactor. You can schedule a tour through our Web site at www.inl.gov. Produced & Maintained by Idaho Mountain Express P.O. Box 1013 Ketchum, ID 83340-1013 208.726.8060 Voice 208.726.2329 Fax ***************************************************************** 42 Oak Ridger: Wamp touts TVA role in nuclear waste project - Story last updated at 12:46 am on 8/24/2007 SPRING CITY (AP) The Tennessee Valley Authority is vying to host a national demonstration project for recycling spent nuclear fuel, U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp said Thursday. “I believe TVA is going to ... prove to our country that you can deal with the No. 1 liability associated with the nuclear industry and that is the waste,” the Chattanooga Republican said after touring an unfinished Watts Bar Nuclear Plant reactor that TVA intends to complete in five years. America needs nuclear power to meet growing demand for energy and power sources that don’t foul the air like coal-fired plants, he said. But the country will never be able to find enough places to bury the radioactive waste already piling up at nuclear plants, including TVA’s, he said. “You can’t build Yucca Mountain after Yucca Mountain after Yucca Mountain,” Wamp said of the long-stalled Nevada site for nuclear waste. “As a matter of fact, we are proving it is kind of hard to build the first one.” But if an anticipated nuclear revival develops as predicted, the United States will need six more Yucca Mountains over the next 50 years, said Wamp, a member of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee. “So let’s look at what the British and French do and prove to our country that you can close the fuel cycle. Reprocess the waste back into energy — safely and efficiently,” he said. Wamp is confident that reprocessing works. He said he’s seen it work on a small scale at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Reprocessing the waste to extract still-usable uranium could help recycle about 80 percent into new fuel. Officials estimate the remainder would still have to be buried at a facility like Yucca Mountain. Toward that end, the Department of Energy is reviewing proposals from four industry groups for a nuclear fuel reprocessing pilot project under the Bush administration’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership initiative. Cooperative agreements with the groups are expected to be announced next month. They will then have until 2008 to come up with more detailed business plans. TVA, the nation’s largest public utility, has incorporated its processes into proposals from three of the four groups — AREVA Federal Services LLC, EnergySolutions LLC and General Electric-Hitachi Nuclear Americas LLC. The fourth group is General Atomics. Ashok Bhatnager, TVA’s senior vice president for nuclear power, said TVA is proposing a “Tennessee-only” demonstration involving potentially all nuclear waste at Watts Bar and TVA’s Sequoyah Nuclear Plant near Chattanooga. “This is a very phased approach,” he said. It would start with “taking it from a laboratory demonstration at a microgram kind of scale to something that’s the size that you could process the waste from Watts Bar and Sequoyah combined — more of an industrial-size demonstration facility.” Wamp said the French have half as many reactors (53) as the United States (105), but can reprocess all of their spent fuel at one facility. That could mean two such facilities would be adequate for the United States, but Wamp said the better goal would be developing reprocessing systems that can work at the reactor sites. | © 2004 The Oak Ridger | Conditions of Use ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. 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