Austria to return Italian waste? Austrian Science Minister Erhard Busek has decided that 6850 drums of medium-level radioactive waste from the Italian Caorso nuclear plant, which is now stored in Austria, should be sent back to Italy. He says that Austria would then have more time to find a permanent disposal method and site for its own waste. Many, including Austria's Health Minister -- who is responsible for the disposal of nuclear waste -- doubt this. One reason is that the waste from Italy would be sent back after being processed at the research center at Seibersdorf in any case. Nevertheless, the Science Ministry is holding to its decision. Die Presse (Austria), 17 June 1991
Waste storage/Austria. Plans for the permanent storage of nuclear waste in Austria are still unclear. At the end of June, the Health Department, the Öko Institute, the Seibersdorf center, and the German states presented a plan for storage below the surface. There are four possible sites: Grössgraben, Perweis, Sitzenberg/Gutenbrunn, and Bosruck-Süd. But the states in which these sites are located are against them. Health Minister Ettl announced that new studies will examine the sites, but a site must be chosen by the end of this year. Die Presse (Austria), 8 July 1991
Nukem to store waste at Wismut? The German firm Nukem has asked authorities in Thuringia (former DDR) for approval to store radioactive waste in the Wismut uranium mining area at Seelingenstadt. Thuringia's Environmental Minister Sieckman says his department is very much against the plan, but a final decision has yet to be made. Parliamentary question to and answer from the Thuringia Environmental Department, 11 July 1991
West Valley says will take dump/US. Rejecting the results of a townwide referendum held one day earlier, officials in West Valley, a rural community in western New York, unanimously voted to accept a low-level radioactive waste dump. The vote makes West Valley the first community in the northeastern US to officially register itself in favor of allowing the nuclear dumps that the Federal Government has ordered all states to create. The lure for the five-member Town Board was an increase in town revenues (expected to double) as well as an offer from waste generators of a $4.2 million package of benefits, which include a new town park, road improvements, trust funds for the library and the fire department, and a scholarship fund for local youth. The vote came at an emotional meeting the night after residents had voted 702 to 533 in a nonbinding referendum against accepting the dump. "I am angry, so angry," said Elizabeth Mayerat, a nurse who has been among the most active opponents of the dump. "I can't believe that we live in a place in the United States where this can go on. This is supposed to be a democracy." She and others vowed to continue their fight against the dump. West Valley is already home to two inactive nuclear dumps. The New York Times (US), 11 July 1991, via GreenNet, gnTopic 44, 11 July 1991
Landfills revealed at US N-plant. Documents released 23 July by Citizens Association for Sound Energy (CASE) show that more than 50 hazardous substances have been dumped into 11 landfills on the site of the two-unit Comanche Peak nuclear power plant. According to Greenpeace toxic research director Pat Costner, the substances include dozens of known carcinogens and some which can cause reproductive and neurological damage. The landfills apparently include all of the hazard-ous waste that was created during the construction of the plant. It is now illegal to dump most of the materials into landfills, but plant owner Texas Utilities said the dumping stopped in 1985. The presence of the landfills was revealed by a whistleblower who said that many of the substances -- some of which can interact explosively -- were mixed together and that drums were leaking and poorly sealed. The landfills are scattered around the plant site. Some are less than 300 feet from the Squaw Creek reservoir; others are within a few hundred feet of buildings where plant employees routinely work. A Greenpeace spokesperson said that while the risk of explosion from the landfills is low, many of the chemicals involved are volatile and are undoubtedly leaking into the air, groundwater, and reservoir, endangering the workers' health and possibly the water supplies of nearby communities. The Nuclear Monitor, 29 July 1991, p.6
Public blocks siting expeditions in US. In June, some 70 citizens of Cornville, Maine, lined the road to block access to a site being considered for a waste dump. They were demanding that state officials not go on a fishing expedition looking for random siting opportunities. As a result, the Cornville site has been abandoned. Authorities succeeded in getting temporary restraining orders through 24 July guaranteeing access to another site at the Industry/New Vineyard, but no matter; on 16 July, 300 True Mountain Alliance opponents lined the road to that site also, telling the visiting officials that their next visit will be blockaded, court order or no court order. Atoms & Waste, 17 July 1991, p.5
More contaminated sites identified in US. A recent NRC report on clean-up efforts at contaminated radioactive materials sites indicates that the number of identified contaminated sites has grown dramatically, while clean-up is proceeding very slowly. The issue received major attention in August 1989, when the US Congress held a hearing on a General Accounting Office report which identified nine sites with serious contamination, several of which had been released for unrestricted use. NRC Chair Carr promised at that hearing that the NRC would move quickly to clean the sites. Since then, however, the number of the sites has mushroomed. The new report says the NRC has now identified 39 sites which need clean-up, but adds that individual states have identified 105 more. According to the report, some of the sites were never licensed for nuclear materials. Clean-up of others has been held back by, among other problems, "responsible parties unlicensed sites or formerly licensed sites being unwilling to perform clean-up; licensees not moving [immediately] to carry out clean-up; and questions regarding jurisdiction over non-radioactive contamination." In addition, the report notes technical problems have delayed clean-up at some sites, including "the discovery of unexpected additional contamination, questions regarding groundwater contamination, or the actual decontamination being difficult to conduct because of large waste volumes or because of waste disposal questions." The NRC claims none of the sites pose an immediate threat to public health and safety. Descriptions of the sites, however, give plenty of reason for concern. The Nuclear Monitor, 1 July 1991, p.1
Sabotage at Krsko N-plant/Slovenia. There were several acts of sabotage on pylons connected with the Krsko nuclear plant at Slovenia (Yugoslavia) in July. The result was an emergency shutdown of the reactor. However, two days after the attack, the plant was restarted and operating at 60% of its total capacity -- against the will and advice of many experts. Serbian nationalists had threatened to destroy the plant if Slovenia and Croatia continued their struggle for independence (see NC 354, in brief). All the attacks so far have been on the spare electricity system and not on the main system. If the main and the spare system were to be destroyed simultaneously, the reactor would be totally dependant on its emergency dieselaggregates in preventing a meltdown. And aggregates aren't fully reliable. Taz (FRG), 31 July 1991
Iran n-weapons program. According to the Iranian opposition movement, Iran has over the last two years significantly increased its efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Teheran is trying to obtain the necessary materials and know-how from China, Argentina, Pakistan, as well as from France, Italy, Germany and the Soviet Union. In February, KWU/Siemens asked the German government for permission to finish the construction of the reactor at Busher, but on a visit to Teheran German Minister of Economy Molleman told Iranian President Rafsandshani that permission would not be given. Iran has already invested US5 billion dollars in the Busher reactor. Taz (FRG), 18 Feb., 19 June and 1 July 1991
Nuclear plan(t)s for the mediterranean. At a conference in Cairo, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Morocco agreed to build reactors for the purpose of desalinizing sea water -- with the help of the International Atomic Energy Agency. At the same time, an Israeli company announced that it wants to buy a reactor for the same purpose from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union boasts the first and only functioning reactor for desalinization (located at Schewtschenko on the Caspian Sea). Proliferation experts warn that such reactors can also be used for military purposes. Der Spiegel (FRG), 10 June 1991
US businesses protest rocky flats restart. In a project organized by Greenpeace, over 150 Colorado businesses have placed signs in their stores reading: "Another Business Against Rocky Flats Restart". On 4 June, at a press conference outside the State Capitol Building in Denver (16 miles from the site of the Rocky Flats facility), representatives of some of the companies gathered to send the state's governor a message: Bombs are bad business. Production of plutonium triggers for nuclear warheads and all other plutonium operations at Rocky Flats have been shut down since Nov. 1989. But the US government proposes to restart the plant this summer -- even though it will not comply with safety standards as not all repair work that is required has been carried out. Restarting the plant would mean that radioactive waste generated will accumulate at the site of the plant because no US facilities will take it. Greenpeace (via GreenNet, gp.press, gn topic 83, 14 June 1991)
N. Korean recycling facility confirmed. The July issue of "Weolgan Chosun", a South Korean monthly, says that a former highranking official in the Ministry of Public Security of North Korea who has defected to South Korea, has confirmed that a recycling facility had been built in Yongbyon, North Korea. The defector claims to have been a procurement officer for the Yongbyon facility from 1983 to 1987. Existence of the facility was earlier disclosed after the release of pictures taken by US and French satellites. Nuke Info Tokyo, July/Aug. 1991, p.10
Argentina sells small-scale n-reactor to Turkey. Argentina has sold Turkey a 25 MW nuclear reactor. The reactor is an Argentine-developed Carem-type which works on enriched uranium. Manuel Mondino, head of Argentina's Nuclear Commission claims the reactor is suitable for small cities (less than 100,000 inhabitants) or isolated industrial plants. Frankfurter Rundschau (FRG), 7 May 1991
US air force officials charged with intimidating whistleblower. The NRC has charged Air Force officials with whistleblower intimidation following a 1988 accident at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. In a spill, drums classified as "low-level" waste contaminated buildings and servicemen with radioactive americium in the most serious non-weapons radiation incident in Air Force history. None of the workers handling the wastes had been trained for the job. Airmen, including M/Sgt. Wendell Wingo, were ordered to cover up the incident. Wingo, however, taped an incriminating meeting and gave the NRC the tape. He has since left the Air Force because of pressure, punitive transfers and unfavorable reviews. Atoms & Waste, 26 June 1991, p.8
IAEA critical of airlift containers for PU. Plutonium is being airlifted from Britain in old containers which have been inadequately tested, according to a confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The government and nuclear industry are ignoring the agency's suggestion that the containers -- usually made of wood clad in steel -- be banned until a model tested to more stringent standards is produced. They insist the containers -- used to export 4.4 tonnes of Pu in about 40 flights to a dozen countries since 1979 -- are safe. The report was leaked to nuclear-free local authorities. The Guardian (UK), 18 July 1991
US DOE charged with diverting cleanup budget. Gerald Pollet of Heart of America Northwest, a Seattle-based (Washington) watchdog organization, has charged that the Department of Energy has diverted US$547 million of its US$3.3 billion cleanup budget to new weapons production. The US$17 million taken from cleanup for the reactor cooling tower at the Savannah River is an example. "We're not saying DOE shouldn't build the cooling tower, but that's a cost of weapons production, not cleanup," Pollet said. The cleanup fund is also being raided by Congress for their purposes. A 11 July Associated Press item disclosed that Senate legislation has moved US$75 million from the fund into the current attempt to keep the Superconducting Supercollider afloat. Atoms & Waste, 17 July 1991, p.8
US operators continue to fail tests. The lack of qualified operators is still causing the, now two-month shutdown of WPPSS Unit 2 in Washington state (see WISE News Communique 351, In brief). Fifteen of the present staff of 40 operators failed their latest requalification exams, 13 of them for incorrect responses to simulated plant emergencies. The outrage is costing US$200,00 per day in lost revenues from surplus power sold to California, a spokesperson said. Atoms & Waste, 17 July 1991, p.8
Potential airport site contaminated/US. An Atlanta-area newspaper, the "Gainesville Times", has, according to the NRC, been snooping into a "wildlife management area" near Gainesville, Georgia. The area is the site of a now-abandoned project to build a nuclear-powered airplane by Lockheed Aircraft. It is being considered by Atlanta as a potential site for a second airport. According to the NRC, the site, once known as the "Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory", has contamination levels ranging from 70-200 millirems per year which the NRC says compares with background levels of about 65 millirems per year. The NRC says the contaminated area covers about 3 acres out of about 10,000 and is secured by fencing with warning signs. But in speaking to interested parties, Nuclear Information and Resource Service has learned that the fencing is full of holes, and teen-age parties are regularly held in the contaminated area. The Nuclear Monitor, 1 July 1991, p.6
Site emergency at US reactor. A site area emergency was declared on 13 August at unit-2 of the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Plant in New York state. The "site area emergency" (the second highest urgency level) was declared after control room power was disrupted and operators were unable to monitor conditions inside the reactor core for 20 minutes. No radiation leaked, but the reactor will remain shut down indefinitely. This is only the third site area emergency to be declared at a US nuclear plant. Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project has re-peatedly called the plant "an accident waiting to happen". In a study the group released last April (updated in July), Public Citizen found both unit-1 and unit-2 of the Nine Mile Point plant to be among the worst of the US's 111 licensed-to-operate nuclear reactors. The group is urging that the plant be permanently shut down. USA Today (US), 14 Aug. 1991; Public Citizen Press Release, 13 Aug. 1991
Two workers "grossly contaminated" at Sequoyah Fuels/US. Following a tour of the Sequoyah Fuels Corp. (SFC) conversion plant in Gore, Oklahoma, in June, NRC inspectors reported observing two maintenance workers whose clothing had been "grossly contaminated" by uranium tetrafluoride (UF4). UF4 is a highly visible dust also called "green salts". The men were changing a filter of a vacuum dust collector in a tent that the inspectors said had been erected to "minimize the amount of airborne material". But the tent was, in fact, found to be surrounded by "large amounts of contamination". The workers wore respirators at the time, but no anti-contamination clothing -- a violation of both NRC rules and of SFC's pending license renewal application. The application is to be decided on later this year. SFC has been on NRC's "problem plant" list since January, although NRC inspectors have been paying the facility a steady stream of visits since August of last year, after having delayed a report of uranium-contaminated groundwater seepage. By March of this year, the NRC had found at least 12 "apparent violations" of SFC's license terms or agency regulations. Many of the SFC violations are based on what NRC has called recurrences of previous viola-tions. Nevertheless, NRC credits SFC with trying and with a willingness to take responsibility for mistakes. (Now, isn't that just reassuring?) Nuclear Fuel (US), 24 June 1991
Accident at N-fuel company/France. A factory run by the Franco-Belgian nuclear fuel company at Pierrelatte in southern France has been closed after safety officials discovered that two serious incidents had gone unreported on 29 and 30 April. Twice within 24 hours enriched uranium accumulated in quantities which could have set off a nuclear reaction at the plant. In the first incident, a container of powdered enriched uranium oxide spilt on the floor and was collected with a special vacuum cleaner. However, the person operating the vacuum filled it with 33 kg, when the limit was 15 kg. The next day, five containers of enriched uranium oxide in granulated form were put on the floor instead of a special table where they are kept at a minimum distance of 15 centimeters from each other. All five were then accidentally pushed into contact with each other by a fork-lift truck. New Scientist, 13 June 1991, p.19
La Hague accident/France. Three people were contaminated in an accident on 19 July at the reprocessing plant at La Hague, France. One of them must be kept under medical supervision. The employees entered the canalization system without permission. Cracks and leaks in the effluent water system have long been a safety problem and are responsible for 80% of employee contamination cases at La Hague. Taz (FRG), 24 July 1991
GE fuel fabrication plant accident/US. A "criticality risk incident" occurred at General Electric's fuel fabrication facility in Wilmington, North Carolina. The incident lasted from 29 May to 1 June when excess uranium went into the wrong tank. Had the uranium settled to the bottom, the tank could have reached critical mass. A mixing system kept the 150 kg uranium suspended as workers removed it from the 20,000 gallon tank with a centrifuge. The NRC went on "standby" status during the incident, but the plant was kept in operation. Nuclear Fuel (US), 10 & 24 June 1991
Food Irradiation
Thailand: The Thai Fisheries Department has been conducting market tests of unlabeled irradiated seafood, both in Thailand and in several export markets, claiming that they did not label the food because they did not want to spark protests. International laws require that all irradiated foods be labeled, and, in Thailand itself, labels on foods that have been exposed to radiation must say where, when and why the food was irradiated. However, in the Thai law there is no punishment specified for breach of the law. One of the countries to which the seafood was sold was Australia, where all irradiated foods are banned.
EC: The European Council of Ministers has been unable to reach a common position on food irradiation. As a result the issue is stalled in Europe. Even if the Council reaches a position, any directive will have to go back to the Parliament. Germany and Luxembourg are strongly opposed to irradiation, and Germany's health Ministry recently highlighted alternatives to irradiation for spices. Spain and Italy both want labels on any food in which irradiated ingredients make up even "one half of one percent". Denmark is considering irradiation for spices only, but has not decided. Sweden and Austria, both of which are seeking EC membership, are opposed to irradiation.
Japan: The Japanese public recently discovered that they had been eating irradiated potatoes for the last fifteen years without knowing it. Consumer unions in Japan started a boycott of the irradiated potatoes, which has, according to the Japanese report to the IAEA, "seriously affected food processors."
Source: Fin Link 3, Summer 1981
Contact: International Organization of Consumers Unions (IOCU), PO Box 1045 , 10830 Penang, Malaysia; tel: 604-371396; fax: 604-366506; telex: MA 40164 APIOCU.
Resources
Nuclear power: shut it down!, an information pack on nuclear power and the alternatives, compiled and edited by Crispin Aubrey, Danielle Grünberg, and Nicholas Hildyard and published by "The Ecologist", is now available. This "dossier" -- a massive compendium of reports, papers, newspaper articles and book extracts -- has been prepared to help campaigners to argue the case both against further nuclear expansion and in favor of alternative sources of energy. It is extremely useful as a reference, but especially helpful in giving environmental pressure groups a starting point from which to find out more. The dossier is in two parts: Volume 1 looks at the many problems and hazards associated with nuclear power; Volume 2 examines the prospects for a different energy strategy based on limiting the consumption of energy and on generating power from sources which keep pollution of the environ-ment to a minimum. The pack is free to groups in Eastern Europe and the Third World, but, in order to help make this possible, groups or individuals in industrialized countries are asked to pay the production costs plus postage. Costs are: Volume 1 (478 pages), ,15; Volume 2 (344 pages), ,15. Postage for one volume only: surface mail, ,4; air mail, ,10. Postage for both: surface mail, ,6; air mail, ,20. Orders should be addressed to: Worthyvale Manor Camelford, Cornwall, PL32 9TT, UK. Cheques should be made out to "The Ecologist".
"Radioactive contamination in the European part of USSR as a result of the Chernobyl accident: A Literature Review, Part I -- Interim Report", by Ulrike Fink of Gruppe Ökologie Hannover and Antonia Wenisch of Österreichisches Ökologieinstitut Vienna, June 1991. In March 1991 Greenpeace instituted its Chernobyl Project -- a search for scientific literature on the consequences of the Chernobyl accident in the USSR. The project was to provide Greenpeace with information about the extent of the radioactive contamination in the Ukraine as a background document for an environmental monitoring program. It is divided into two phases. Phase I: collection and compilation of the references and evaluation with respect to their usefulness to the problem. Phase II: the critical literature review itself. This report is the result of Phase I. Contact: Greenpeace International, Keizersgracht 74, 1016 DW Amsterdam, NL.
"Vaihtoehto ydinvoimalle" ("Alternative for Nuclear Power"), a monthly newsletter published by the Finnish organization Energypolitical Association, has published a news release saying that alternative energy in Finland could remove the need for nuclear power. The special 4-page release is meant to widen the debate and spells out the potential for solar, biomass, wind and hydrogen power. Research and experimentation in these areas would also, says the release, provide technology which could capture the markets of China, Brazil, Indonesia, India and other Third World countries, as well as prevent the advance of "eco-fascism" which will develop as petroleum becomes scarcer and force is used to prevent developing nations from using it. Contact: EVY, Mechelininkatu 36, 00260 Helsinki 26, Finland.
WISE MEETING 3-6 OCTOBER 1991
The 1991 WISE Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held 3-6 October at the Folkecenter For Renewable Energy in Denmark. The Center is located near Hurup in northwest Jylland, about six hours by day train from Copenhagen.
The Folkecenter opened in 1983. It is active in three main areas: develop-ment of prototypes of small scale renewable energy technologies; consulting services for manufacturers and consumer groups on the production and installation of systems; and generally spreading information on use of renewable energy. The Center has succeeded in developing prototypes of biogas plants and a variety of windmills that can be manufactured by small and medium scale companies. The Center site is about 25 acres in size, including a building complex with a total area of 2,500 square meters, and a windmill test park with more than a dozen windmills in operation.
Several development projects are currently underway, including pre-fabricated solar water heaters; small-scale, off grid windmills; a "plus energy" house; and performance monitoring systems for several renew-able energy technologies. Also under development is an integrated demon-stration site called "The Green Village". It will include a number of energy efficient buildings, a biogas plant, waste-water treatment, aqua-culture, chickens, geese, pigs, and gardens.
Though the WISE AGM will include the opportunity to learn about activities at the Folkecenter, the main purpose of the meeting is to discuss WISE activities. Anyone interested in attending may apply to: Miles Goldstick, c/o Folkecenter for Renewable Energy, Box 208, 7760 Hurup Thy, Denmark. Tel: 45-97 95 6555. Fax: 45-97 95 6565.
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