W orld Information Service on Energy founded in 1978 NUCLEARMONITORNUCLEARMONITOR A Publication of WorldInformation Service on Energy (WISE) and the Nuclear Information & Resource Service (NIRS), incorporating the former WISE News Communique

#591--North American Edition August 22, 2003 U.S. ELECTRICITY CRISIS: UNFORTUNATE BUT ENTIRELY PREDICTABLE The electricity crisis, that hit the Northeast on Thursday August 14, has shown one of the negative consequences of electricity market deregulation. Less attractive investments (i.e. no short term profits) in the electricity grid had made it very vulnerable to failures such as happened on August 14. About 50 million people in eight U.S. states and Canada were affected. Due to the outage 9 NPPsintheU.S. and 13 NPPs in Canada and more than 10 conventional power stations were shut down. (591.5532) WISE Amsterdam – The power supply stopped at 4.11 p.m. subways, trains could not drive, blackout appears to have started in Until 4.25 p.m. nine other reactors airports were closed as passenger’s three transmission lines near shut down automatically after losing security checks could not be carried Cleveland (Ohio). At 3.06 p.m. a trip power supply: Indian Point-2/3 (NY), out, people had to sleep on the street at one transmission line caused extra Perry (OH), Fermi (MI), Ginna (NY), as they were not able to get home, power coursing at another line, FitzPatrick (NY), Oyster Creek (NJ) etc. An official state of emergency which got overheated and tripped as and Nine Mile Point-1/2 (NY) (1). was declared in New York city and well. Another line got disconnected the Canada province of Ontario. in a switching station due to In Canada, 13 NPPs shut down after Although some thought that sabotage overload. As a consequence of over- the blackout. Pickering “B”-5/8, Bruce by terrorists might have caused the loads, several lines and switching “B”-5/8 and Darlington-1/4 were in failure, this possible cause appears to stations started to trip and dis- full operation. Pickering “A”-4 was at be not realistic. New York city was connect. Power stations disconnected 15% power when it was shut down also hit by outages in 1965 and 1977. themselves automatically from the after the blackout. This unit was out In 1965, 30 million people in New grid to protect themselves from of operation since 1997 (due to safety York and New England had been damage. concerns) but now in the process of affected. In 1977, New York had no restarting (2). electricity for several hours (3). The Davis-Besse NPP was the first nuclear plant to be hit by the failure. Due to the crisis, computers stopped Nuclear Although it is out of operation, its working, people got stuck in Within 15 minutes, nine nuclear reactors in the U.S. were shut down automatically when power supply IN THIS ISSUE: was disrupted. They had to rely on emergency backup diesel generators U.S. electricity crisis: unfortunate but entirely predictable 1 to supply the necessary power for cooling the reactor. According to U.S. Senate passes pro-nuclear Energy Bill 4 Public Citizens’ Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program (CMEP), LES switching to New Mexico? 4 sudden reliance on backup diesel Massive actions against proposed South Korean waste dump 5 generators is less than reassuring as there have been 15 instances in the U.S.: criticism of NPP fish kills 6 past 12 months in which emergency generators either malfuntioned or Ukraine proposes resettlement in Chernobyl Zone 8 failed to operate. At the Fermi In brief 8 reactor, all four of its backup generators were found to be inoperable on 1 February. Without NPPs in the U.S. As of 18 August, five Deregulation emergency backup cooling, the of the NPPs had been restarted and Many see the current crisis as a reactor core could melt between two operating and a sixth was in the negative consequence of the and eight hours. process of restart. Restart of Indian deregulation on the electricity Point-3 was delayed as repairs were market. According to Public Citizens’ If the current blackout would have needed on electrical cables in the Critical Mass Energy and caused a meltdown due to failing control rod mechanism. Owner Environment Program, “there was backup generators, it will have been Entergy said that they were not plenty of power available at the time likely that emergency sirens to alert certain whether the grid failure had of the blackout, but something or proper officials and the public would caused the damage. Perry NPP could someone overloaded the wires to not have operated due to the lack of not restart until repairs are made on move it to markets”. power. Indeed, the Indian Point and a reactor core isolation system, which Ginna NPPs informed the U.S. was already planned but now Deregulation even promotes such Nuclear Regulatory Commission that necessary since the shut down. overloads because of the principles of some of their emergency sirens Fermi-2 was back to 24% power at 20 selling as much as possible (to make would have rendered impotent due August, after damage was repaired at profits). Necessary repairs or to the blackout. Leaving the public in turbine equipment, pumps and additions to the transmission system a tragic state of ignorance in he event circuit boards. Fermi owner Detroit are however discouraged as these of a meltdown (4). Edison said that the components got measures diminish profits (9). damaged when they were overheated The blackout possibly also caused in the sudden power loss (5). According to former U.S. Secretary of damage to some of the nine affected Energy Bill Richardson, the U.S. In the U.S., Senate Republicans have would be “a superpower with a WISE Amsterdam/NIRS called for greater reliance on nuclear network of a Third World country”. ISSN: 0889-3411 energy and increase of production The Electricity Power and Research capacity. Although the problem was Institute (EPRI) concluded that Reproduction of this material is mainly caused by a transmission electricity consumption has encouraged. Please give credit when problem, not a capacity problem, increased with 30% in the last 10 reprinting. Republicans are using the current years, but the capacity of the grid in Editorial team: Robert Jan van den crisis to promote nuclear energy. the same time only increased with Berg (WISE Amsterdam), Michael 15% (10). Mariotte (NIRS). With contributions They already rejected addressing the from Korean Dereation for core issue – power grid and rules – in Even the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Movement and WISE/ a separate legislation and rather use (DOE) concluded in 2002 in the NIRS Ukraine. the crisis as “proof” that the U.S. National Transmission Grid Study needs a comprehensive Energy Bill, that the “outdated transmission The next issue (592) will be mailed including large investments in system was not designed to support out 5 September 2003. nuclear (see elsewhere in this issue today’s regional, competitive elec- Due to circumstances we have no “25 on Energy Bill developments) (6). tricity markets. Investments in the Years Ago” in this issue. We will transmission system has not kept certainly write one for our next issue! Only four of the Canadian reactors, pace with the growth in generation three at Bruce “B” and one at and the increasing demand for Darlington, were able to restart electricity. Transmission bottlenecks Oops! In issue 589 (“25 years ago”) we immediately after the blackout. As of reliability and cost consumers wrote that a referendum on nuclear 21 August, the other eight were also hundreds of millions of dollars each energy in Austria took place on 9 expected to operate at full power. year.” November 1978. This must be 5 The failure to restart the eight November 1978. The “few” research reactors mentioned in the article are reactors immediately after the The present grid was built up over one 10 MW reactor at the Austrian blackout contributed to a power crisis the last 100 years, mainly intended Nuclear Research Centre at in the Ontario province that shut for local electricity distribution. Seibersdorf (presently shut down) and down much of the industrial Small interconnections between two 1 MW reactors at universities. production (7). utilities existed, but were created to The 1997 “anti-nuclear package” was share excess generation. in content different from the later Ontario is heavily dependent on adopted “Constitutional Law for a nuclear energy. The three Ontario Over the past 10 years, competition Nuclear-Free Austria” of 1999. The Power Generation (OPG) nuclear into wholesale electricity markets scope of the former was much larger than the eventually adopted Law. stations produce about 45% of the has been introduced and as a result Information from PLAGE, 19 August province’s electricity (8). the grid has become to function as a 2003. kind of interstate highway system for

2 WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor 591, 22 August 2003 wholesale electricity commerce. interconnected rather sparsely with utilities that ought to be investigated. According to DOE, the grid has now heavy dependence on a few critical become congested and needs urgent nodes, many of which are nearly One of the examples mentioned: modernization. overload. Ohio utility FirstEnergy, where the blackout possibly started, was a large The DOE study group recommended Although traditional responses often financial contributor to Bush’s re- the establishment of Regional plea for more and larger power election campaign in 2000. Transmission Organizations being plants and extensive expansions of responsible for grid reliability and the power grid, RMI’s response is a Public Citizen proposes to establish federal legislation to make reliability more distributed generation an independent task force, including standards mandatory (11). architecture: placing smaller, public utility commissioners from modular, diverse, and redundant effected states, consumer Decentralization electrical devices spread across the organizations, independent utility The system of centralized electricity grid close to the load they serve. experts and representatives of the production in large power plants Federal Energy Regulatory makes it vulnerable to failures such Sources as fuel cells, combined heat Commission (16). as happened on 14 August. Sierra and power (CHP), solar panels and Club of Canada thinks that nuclear micro-turbines can provide power at References: energy has made the system prone to lower cost and greater reliability that (1) StarNewsOnline, 16 August 2003 large blackouts: “Any electricity grid the centralized power system (with (2) Sierra Club of Canada backgrounder, fed by large centralized nuclear and large nuclear plants) (13). 14 August 2003 coal plants will always be vulnerable (3) NOS nieuws (NL), 15 August 2003 (4) CMEP press release, 15 August 2003 to large-scale blackouts. Long (5) Nucleonics Week, 21 August 2003 shutdown and restart times for Ohio utility FirstEnergy, (6) Climate Action Network Europe email nuclear plants have made the crisis where the blackout list, 19 August 2003 much worse, and will be the direct possibly started, was a large (7) Nucleonics Week, 21 August 2003 cause of any rolling blackouts that (8) Sierra Club of Canada press release, take place”. financial contributor to 19 August 2003 Bush’s re-election (9) CMEP press release, 15 August 2003 According to the Sierra Club, campaign in 2000 (10) NOS nieuws (NL), 15 August 2003 increased energy efficiency and (11) Reports at: tis.eh.doe.gov/ntgs/ reports.html decentralized green energy sources (12) Sierra Club of Canada press release, can make the system more resilient, 19 August 2003 flexible and sustainable. But the In the 2002 publication Small is (13) Rocky Mountain Institute press exorbitant costs for nuclear Profitable: The Hidden Economic release, 14 August 2003 rehabilitation have drained invest- Benefits of Making Electrical (14) www.smallisprofitable.org ments from the upkeep of the grid Resources the Right Size, RMI (15) Reports at: tis.eh.doe.gov/ntgs/ and forestalled green electricity (12). describes the potentials of a diverse reports.html and small energy system (14). (16) CMEP press release, 20 August 2003 Calling the blackout a “wake-up call to decision makers”, the U.S. Rocky The 2002 National Transmission Grid Contact: WISE Amsterdam Mountain Institute (RMI) said that Study of DOE draw a similar the U.S. should look to distributed, conclusion to distributed production: diverse and clean technologies to siting generation closer to areas prevent problems in the future. RMI, where electricity is needed, and described as a leading energy think reducing electricity use through tank, considers the present system of targeted energy efficiency and centralized electricity production as distributed generation (15). vulnerable to cascading series of errors. Blackout investigation DOE has announced an investigation Already in the 1982 book Brittle into the causes and solutions of the Power: Energy Strategy for national blackout. Public Citizens’ Critical Security, RMI founders described the Mass Energy and Environment electrical grid as a disaster waiting to Program doubts the independence of happen with catastrophic such an investigation team. The Bush consequences. The current grid Administration has close ties to the consists of relatively few and large energy industry and Public Citizen is units of generation and transmission afraid that DOE will protect the very

22 August 2003, WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor 591 3 U.S. SENATE PASSES PRO-NUCLEAR ENERGY BILL In a surprising development, the Senate passed an energy bill late July 31 by a vote of 84-14, at the end of a day that began with the likelihood that Senate Democrats were going to stop the proposed Energy Bill (Domenici, R-NM) and send it back to the Energy Committee. The bill that passed replaces S. 14, which the Senate had been debating, and is identical to that passed in 2002, but which never got through a Senate-House conference committee and thus never became law. (591.5533) NIRS - Among the now said the bill will be rewritten to it more likely Congress will pass an adopted bill’s provisions are include more incentives for nuclear energy bill: Congress won’t want to reauthorization of the Price-Anderson power, but it is unlikely that he can be seen as doing nothing on energy— Act (nuclear liability), support for include the exact provisions that even if the bill provides the wrong reprocessing of nuclear waste, and were contained in S. 14 because they answers to the lessons learned. creation of the Nuclear Power 2010 are in neither the House nor Senate program, which seeks deployment of bills as passed. Domenici and House Energy and new nuclear reactors by 2010. The Commerce Committee Chairman bill does not, however, include the Instead, Domenici is more likely to Billy Tauzin (R-LA) have promised to multi-billion dollar loan guarantees try to piggyback new nuclear funding speed the bill through the conference for new reactors contained in S. 14, on top of the Nuclear Power 2010 committee as soon as they can. nor funding for President Bush’s program. There are a number of Substantive work in the conference is hydrogen initiative, which would differences between the House and expected to start as soon as Congress have included US$1 billion or more Senate bills; most prominent perhaps returns to Washington after Labor for construction of a hydrogen is the House inclusion of a provision Day (8 September). Both the full production reactor in Idaho. allowing oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic House and Senate must then take National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), a another vote to either accept or reject However, Senate Energy Committee provision that has sparked successful the version that comes out of the Chairman Pete Domenici said he Senate filibusters in the past. conference committee. intends to rewrite the bill in the Senate-House conference committee Gaining new attention because of the Check NIRS’ website (www.nirs.org) to be more like S. 14. Said Domenici, Northeast electricity blackout are regularly for updates on energy bill “The reason I’m happy is because I’ll provisions related to repeal of the activities and what you can do to be rewriting that bill. We’re in the Public Utility Holding Company Act help. majority and we’ll write a completely (PUCHA) and transmission access. different bill.” Domenici specifically The fallout from the blackout makes Source and contact: NIRS LES SWITCHING TO NEW MEXICO? Louisiana Energy Services (LES), the uranium enrichment consortium led by Urenco, appears to have bowed to intense public opposition to its plans to build a new plant in Tennessee and now is taking aim at eastern New Mexico. (591.5534) NIRS - In recent weeks, but backed off when LES made While LES has not officially LES has been examining the area contradictory and wrong statements abandoned the Tennessee site, near around Eunice, New Mexico, near the about radioactive releases from the Hartsville, it has said that project is Texas border as a possible site for a proposed plant and about radioactive “on hold” while it examines the New uranium enrichment plant. The waste storage. Trousdale County Mexico site. One problem with the company already has sent a eventually established a demand that New Mexico site is a lack of water. delegation of officials from Eunice no more than 90 days worth of There are no rivers or lakes nearby, and Lea County to the Netherlands to radioactive waste could be stored on and the region gets its water visit Urenco’s plant in Almelo— the site at any one time—a demand primarily from the Oglalla aquifer. something LES did when it was first LES cannot meet, since there is no Taking from and discharging water to courting Trousdale County, facility that will accept its high the aquifer would bring up serious Tennessee officials. volume of long-lived radioactive and water quality concerns, since long- toxic waste (see also WISE/NIRS lived uranium isotopes would be Most of the Tennessee officials Nuclear Monitor 586.5511: “LES discharged by the plant. initially supported the LES project, stumbling in Tennessee”). 4 WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor 591, 22 August 2003 So far, local New Mexico authorities News-Sun that “We, LES and the LES former Energy Secretary Bill have responded positively to LES’ management, were not open and Richardson, is not yet known. interest. The site is a stone’s throw honest with the people in Tennessee. Meanwhile, Tennessee residents from Waste Control Specialists’ We did not always answer their have not yet broken out the radioactive/hazardous waste dump in questions in an open fashion. And I champagne, but LES’ current woes Andrews County, Texas (see WISE/ would say that sometimes we gave are testament to the dedicated work NIRS Nuclear Monitor 589.5525: them incorrect information of local groups Citizens for Smart “U.S.: Texas gives go-ahead for two ….Louisiana Energy Services has lost Choices and the Tennessee waste dumps”) and is not far from its credibility in Tennessee, and for Environmental Council, both of the WIPP waste dump near Carlsbad, good reason.” which remained steadfast in their New Mexico. determination to keep LES out of New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici, their state. For its part, LES appears to have chairman of the Senate Energy learned at least one lesson from its Committee, has encouraged LES to Source and contact: NIRS Tennessee experience. LES president locate in New Mexico, but the Jim Ferland told the Hobbs (NM) position of the state’s governor, MASSIVE ACTIONS AGAINST PROPOSED SOUTH KOREAN WASTE DUMP The Korean government’s attempt to settle the nuclear waste dump site dispute faces strong opposi- tion from local residents. In the WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor we have paid attention to the develop- ments in 2003 (583.5492: “Nuclear waste dumpsite issues in South Korea” and 585.5504: “Struggle against waste storage sites”). Of four potential sites, Wido (Buan County) in the Jeola Province, now seems to be the final candidate. Protest continued and increased during the last two months. (591.5535) KFEM - The Korean and entrusted authority to the with the cash compensation the government’s 17 year search for a leaders of autonomous local government was promising to nuclear dump site has finally reached governments. However, it did not go provide. a conclusion and Buan residents are well, as bribery and secret forced to carry the cross. After only agreements pervaded behind the The MOCIE (Ministry of Commerce, three weeks of geological inves- doors and the Governor of Buan Industry and Energy) and KHNP tigation, the government decided to changed his mind overnight, (Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power construct the low-, medium- and announcing, out of the blue, that he Company) and several North Jeola high-level nuclear waste disposal would bid for the site. university professors started to facility (1) in the Wido islet, off the persuade Governor Kim of Buan to coast of Buan County, North Jeola Following this was the government’s okay the plan until 1:00 a.m. on 11 Province. However, the government investigation into the suitability of July. Governor Kim has been openly is now faced with the fierce Buan for the radioactive waste opposed to hosting a nuclear opposition of a large number of local treatment plant. It took ten days to dumpsite in his hometown, and residents. investigate and surprisingly, the rejected excavation for the suitability government ignored the obvious test twice in the past. On the same On 4 February, the government geological facts, such as the day, the Buan County Committee was selected four potential sites but underwater fault lines, which going to hold a meeting for the encountering fierce resident potentially endanger the stability of bidding, but governor Kim held a objection, decided to change the the facility. The central government quick press conference before the selection process. The choice was settled on Buan, the one and only committee meeting, declaring that he now up to local governments, candidate. had decided host the site. bidding to host the nuclear dump site, starting on 1 July. The people of the North Jeola After the press conference, the Province have historically thought of committee rejeced the hosting of the The Roh administration, which came themselves as excluded from central nuclear dumpsite 7 to 5. The to power with President Roh’s image development plans and this nuclear governor’s arbitrary decision to host of youth and reformation, stressed dump site must have seemed to be a the site instantly raised the rage of the value of “peoples’ participation”, good chance to pay off their debts Buan residents and they started to 22 August 2003, WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor 591 5 stage demonstrations from then on, secondary students are refusing to go disposal facilities, that those the arduous struggle against the to school, and local shopkeepers are developed nations are continuing to danger, and undemocratic conduct of closing down their shops to protest. construct nuclear power plants, the government imposed on them Fishermen blocked the seaway to without more nuclear power plants, took off. About 6,000 police from all Wido with their 250 fishing boats, electricity will run out by 2008, and over the country were sent to repress and 10,000 people seized the high- that the storage for low- and unarmed protesters. 150 residents so way. 1,500 motor vehicles paralyzed medium-level radioactive waste will far were injured during the protests traffic in JeonJu, the local capital of be desperately in need in 2008. in Buan. the North Jeola Province, in a protest against the provincial governor. Buan residents are developing their Nevertheless, on 24 July, the local based protest against this government confirmed that Wido, The locals, including various groups particular nuclear waste disposal Buan County will be the site. of people from the left- wingers to facility to the national movement for the right, and the young and old, are the government’s abandonment of Wido is a small island with a voluntarily gathering together to the nuclear centered energy policy. population of 1,400, adjacent to oppose to the government’s decision. Young Gwang nuclear power plant to The candlelight protest has become a Note: the south, and Saemangeum daily ritual to more than 10,000 (1) Low and medium level waste storage reclamation to the North. Wido’s residents of Buan (a county with facility which will hold 800,000 barrels in fishing grounds are destroyed 70,000 population). They have been total (at the initial stage it will hold because of these and the residents going on for 20 nights and the vigils 100,000 barrels) to be completed in 2008, and a high level nuclear waste storage are heavily in debt. Using this do not seem to have weakened a bit. facility which will hold 20,000 tons in situation as bait, KHNP falsely Even the residents seemed to be total (at the initial stage it will hold 2,000 diffused talks of US$ 250,000 to surprised at their own power and tons) to be completed in 2016. 423,000 compensation, which would with a positive and encouraged enable residents pay off their debts. attitude, the resident’s anti-nuclear Source and contact: Yangi Wonyoung This is how the government got movement is actively growing. at Korean Federation for consent from 90% of Wido residents. Environmental Movement, 251 After Wido residents realized that The government and nuclear Nuha-Dong, Chongno-gu, Seoul, they were not going to receive a cash industry are falsely claiming that South Korea compensation, they formed an plutonium is safe enough Tel: +82 2 735 7000 opposition committee. to eat, that spent fuel is a renewable Fax: +82 2 730 1240 resource — not a high-level nuclear Email: [email protected] Governor Kim’s face is on the wanted waste, that the rest of the world is Web: antinuke.kfem.or.kr posters in Buan, primary and successfully operating nuclear waste U.S.: CRITICISM OF NPP FISH KILLS While the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry lobby group, continues to tout nuclear power as environmental friendly, the once-through cooling system used by the majority of U.S. NPPs has again come under increased criticism by two different state authorities. (591.5536) NIRS - Both the New York New York and Pacific Gas & Electric’s outside air, requiring less river water State Department of Environmental Diablo Canyon on the central coast of and resulting in less releases of hot Conservation and the California California take in over 2.5 billion water. However, large cooling towers Regional Water Quality Control Board gallons (9.5 million cubic meters) of increase the visual impact of an NPP Central Coastal Region criticized the water each day per site in order to and “spoil” the nuclear industry’s use of coastal and river water to cool quench the generated steam used to wish to be “emission-free”. nuclear power stations. State spin turbines for electricity authorities concluded that the production. A study performed by the New York routine operation of nuclear power Department of Environmental stations is killing billions of fish and In a once-through cooling system, Conservation and publicly released destroying marine and aquatic river water is used to quench the on 11 July 2003 looked not only at habitats by sucking in tremendous steam in the turbine circuit and Entergy’s two reactors at Indian amounts of water each day and afterwards released directly into the Point, representing the Hudson spewing it out as hot water. river again. The alternative to once- River’s number one largest thermal through cooling is the use of cooling polluter, but also the river’s sixth and Nuclear power stations like Entergy’s towers. The water circulating in a the seventh largest fossil fueled units Indian Point on the Hudson River in cooling tower is being quenched by using once-through cooling systems. 6 WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor 591, 22 August 2003 The electrical power facilities settlement would not offset the EUROPE combined take in 1.69 trillion gallons ongoing marine damage from the In several countries in Europe, (6.4 billion cubic meters) of water continued operation of the cooling temperatures during the first annually, more than three times the system. The coastline thermal impact weeks of August reached water used each year by New York zone was found to be larger than exceptional historical levels. In a City’s 9 million residents and two predicted. Field’s Cove, intended as a long lasting period, temperatures neighboring counties. coastline control zone for studying were between 30 and 40 degrees the station’s discharge impact on Celsius (85-105 degrees The study found that the greatest Diablo Cove, is periodically thermally Fahrenheit). As a consequence, harm came from billions of fish and polluted by the reactors nearly two river water temperatures larvae being sucked in (entrained) miles away. increased and in combination with into the station cooling condensers little rainfall the effect was even and killed upon discharge to the river The actual discharge impacts include worse. Several countries decided with the heated water (up to 35° major reductions of fish species and to restrict releases of cooling water Fahrenheit (19° Celsius) hotter than habitat, including the almost from power stations to prevent the intake water temperature). complete loss of some marine extreme environmental damage species and major increases of “bare (fish killing), but exceptions were The state study further concluded rock” in Diablo Cove. soon made for NPPs. that there was greater harm from the heated water being discharged back The state authority and PG&E now As a consequence, several NPPs in into the Hudson’s tidal estuary than must go back to the drawing board Germany, France, Belgium and previously assumed. The three for a solution which could include a Switzerland faced problems and electrical generating facilities’ state issued Cease and Desist Order would have to reduce power combined thermal discharge, 220 on the operation of Diablo Canyon. output significantly. Nevertheless, trillion BTUs per year (232 million France’s environment minister GigaJoules), is the equivalent amount In both cases, under the Clean Water relaxed the cooling outlet of heat generated by the detonation Act, state authorities could order the temperature of 7 sites (24 reactors) of a Hiroshima-size nuclear bomb nuclear power stations to cease using until the end of September to approximately every two hours (1). river and coastal water as their allow continued operation. The primary source to cool the reactors allowed temperatures of cooling As a result entire species of fish and and switch to cooling towers. Such water is one degree higher for vegetation are disappearing from enforcement is highly unlikely most of these reactors, but three larger reaches of the river, victims of without the presence of significantly degrees for the reactors at Tri- the hot water discharge. more public pressure. castin and three other sites. The four reactors at Tricastin however On 10 July 2003, the California While cooling towers use an order of are not necessary for public Regional Water Quality Control Board magnitude less water resources (30 electricity production but is used for the Central Coast regarded the million gallons per day) nuclear as power supplier to the Eurodif same destruction to the coastal power companies vehemently argue uranium enrichment plant. marine environment of Diablo Cove that their construction and reduced from the two 1000 MW units of the cooling efficiency is economically In Belgium, Doel NPP (4 reactors) Diablo Canyon nuclear station. prohibitive. got permission for discharges at 33 degrees Celsius and German NPPs The coastal water commission Such financially-driven opposition have been allowed a two degrees withdrew its support from an earlier through “cost/benefit analyses” has increment. Switzerland tempo- proposed settlement which would repeatedly blocked environmental rarily reduced power output at its have required PG&E to conserve 2000 efforts to upgrade stations that rely NPPs. acres of land north of the reactor and upon the wasteful and harmful pay out US$4 million toward marine system. The exceptions for the French and restoration projects, including German NPPs have caused abalone breeding and repopulation of However, the growing destruction of criticism of environmental groups coastal waters. the marine and aquatic environment in both countries. They are afraid is potentially irreversible if the that the hot water discharges will In the end, the water board rejected operation of once-through cooling is cause significant damage to nature the proposal after environmental allowed to continue unchecked. More and environment. groups, including Earth Corp, reason to call for the abolition of WNA Weekly Digest, 15 August Mothers For Peace, and NIRS, along nuclear power, altogether. 2003; Press Agency ANP (NL), 12 with a state team of marine August 2003 biologists criticized that the In February 2001, NIRS and the Safe

22 August 2003, WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor 591 7 Energy Communication Council Notes: nuclear station and the fossil units at published the report Licensed to Kill: (1) This is a surprising amount of heat Roseton and Bowline, NY. how the nuclear power industry coming from electricity generating plants (2) The summary of Licensed to Kill and destroys endangered marine wildlife (primarily nuclear) just being dumped other related documents can be found at: www.nirs.org/licensedtokill/ and ocean habitat to save money (see into the river, lake or ocean. The figure appears in the 11 July 2003 issue of the licensedtokillintropage.htm WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor Journal News in an article authored by 544.5252: “Cooling water systems kill Roger Witherspoon. He extrapolated the Contact: Paul Gunter at NIRS marine wildlife”). The report Hiroshima equivalent (80 billion BTUs) ([email protected]) describes the devastating from the original figure in the NY consequences of hot water releases study— 220 trillion (!) BTUs/year for to marine wildlife (2). combined release from the Indian Point UKRAINE PROPOSES RESETTLE- MENT IN CHERNOBYL ZONE The Ukrainian cabinet of ministers has drafted a law that will permit up to 1,500 families to return to live in the so-called exclusion zone, or the region with a radius of 30 kilometers from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which unit-4 exploded in 1986. Until now, the 30 kilometers zone has been so heavily contaminated that it was unsuitable to live. The Ukrainian Parliament will decide whether to pass the law when it reconvenes in September (1). (591.5537) NIRS/WISE Ukraine - will allow the construction of roads the current covering of the damaged Previously, this area was completely and buildings to accommodate plant – known as the sarcophagus – off-limits to resettlement due to its people wishing to move back to the is decreasing in stability. A new high level of contamination of area. covering, the so-called Chernobyl radioactive cesium-137 (and other Shield, is not to be completed until radionuclides), stated to be above 40 An Associated Press report cited 2007. A collapse of the current Curies/km2. Currently 450 – 600 unnamed experts who claim that the sarcophagus could send radioactive people, mostly pensioners, are living law is needed to normalize regions dust throughout the exclusion zone, in this region illegally, according to no longer contaminated by radiation according to officials (4). the United Nations. and to spur economic development and investment in the zone (3). Sources: Up to 4,600 people are still waiting to (1) Reuters, 13 August 2003 be resettled in Ukraine, of a total However, it is not clear what type of (2) The Human Consequences of the 350,400 people who were evacuated development will occur, since Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, UNDP or resettled from 1986 to 2000 in farming and logging are both not UNICEF, 25 January 2002 (3) Associated Press, 14 August 2003 Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia due to considered safe or economically (4) Associated Press, 20 June 2003 the disaster (2). viable. Contact: NIRS/WISE Ukraine The proposed changes in the Only two months ago, in June, classification of the exclusion zone Chernobyl engineers admitted that IN BRIEF Two Russian anti-nuke activists in the action. The action took place scheduled for start-up in 2008. The arrested while protesting in in the centre of Yekaterinburg, close plant is just 30 kilometers from Yekaterinburg. While protesting to the election headquarters of the Ekaterinburg city with 1,5 million against the use of plutonium at acting Sverdlovsk regional governor people who every day risks to be Russian NPPs and the construction Rossel, who is in favour of the contaminated with plutonium as a of a new reactor at the Beloyarsk plutonium development. A group of result of even relatively small plant, two climber-activists from the activists unfurled a 100 square accidents at the power plant, says anti-nuclear group Ecodefence meters banner that read “No new Ecodefence. (WISE/NIRS Russia) were arrested on reactors” on the building. Also a Bellona Foundation, 16 August 15 August. About 40 banner was unfolded near the 2003; Ecodefence (announcement), environmentalists from the Interna- entrance to the election headquaters 14 July 2003 tional Antinuclear Camp (held saying “Stop Plutonium!”. The new between 6 and 16 August) took part breeder reactor at Beloyarsk is

8 WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor 591, 22 August 2003 Former U.S. nuke engineer finds estimated a release of one half a Commerce has called for a re- fault with power increase Vermont curie (18,500,000,000 Becquerels) of evaluation of the economics of Yankee reactor. Citing internal radioactive gas every day for at least Eskom’s proposed PBMR at Koeberg. utility Entergy Nuclear documents, a two months, “mostly Krypton-85” The chamber said that Eskom’s former nuclear engineer said on 19 according to the state on-site planned reactor should be re- August that the 31-year old Vermont inspector who says this may go on evaluated in view of changing Yankee reactor is in no shape to for a few weeks more. From 20 years economic circumstances since the boost its power output. Earlier this of reporting it is known that one-half discovery of a vast gas field off the year Vermont Yankee asked for curie of radioactive gas is the average West Coast. A new economic study permission to boost its current total amount released routinely each by Forest Oil had found that a major power level output of about 510 MW month when the reactor was gas turbine power station on the to about 620 MW. The plant has functioning “normally”. Like most West Coast was economically viable been running since 1972 and its others, the plant experienced and would have “far-reaching current license runs through 2012. damaged fuel. When at last it must implications” for the economic Entergy officials have said they want be taken out of the irradiated fuel development of the Western Cape. to seek a license extension that pool and moved to other storage it This came just days before the would allow them to run the Vernon will inevitably continue to release deadline on 25 July, for the public to plant past that date. But Arnie more radioactivity. A “dead” nuclear appeal against the decision by the Gundersen, a former nuclear plant can yet be deadly. department of environmental affairs engineer, stated at a news confe- NIRS/Citizens’ Monitoring and tourism which has given the rence called by the anti-nuke New Network, July 2003 green light for the project from an England Coaltion, that the plant will environmental aspect. be lucky to get to the end of its Cape Times, 22 July 2003; Mail and current life at its current power Scottish Dounreay nuclear plant Guardian online, 18 August 2003 level. He released copies of expert breached safety regulations. A judge testimony he filed on 19 August at the Court of Session in Edinburgh with the Public Service Board. has ruled that the operators of the Contamination found on shipment Gundersen said he has been able to Dounreay reprocessing breached of spent nuclear fuel. At the end of obtain numerous examples of safety regulations. Geoffrey Minter, July a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory deteriorated components, only who lives near the plant in Commission (NRC) inspection marginally reliable without uprate. Caithness, went to court after detected nearly twice the amount of Several of the documents are highly radioactive particles were found on allowable radiation limits on a spent technical and concern the corrosion a beach. By the time the case nuclear fuel rail shipment cask in with age of individual plant reached court in February the North Carolina. The shipment came components. One internal memo number of particles was 22 but it from Progress Energy’s Robinson said “the planned power upgrade had jumped to 38 before the NPP and went to the company’s project under way at VY will require proceedings ended. The judge held Harris plant near Raleigh. According a complete review of program that the UK Atomic Energy Authority to Progress nothing had leaked from evaluations, piping modeling and (UKAEA), which operates the plant, the container. It was not a breach, procedures to account for changes in had failed its duty under the but instead was a cask that was not equipment and flow regimes in Nuclear Installations Act 1965. This properly inspected or deconta- plant piping systems”. says the UKAEA must ensure that minated before leaving South The Providence Journal, 19 August nuclear material causes no injury or Carolina, a Progress spokesman 2003 damage to property. However stated. He furthermore noted that according to the judge, the law does the NRC will conduct an inves- not allow her to order the detailed tigation. The director of the Nevada Increased radioactive releases from clean-up which Mr Minter had Nuclear Waste Task Force, Judy shutdown Main Yankee reactor. demanded in place of the current Treichel, is concerned. Also, because Maine Yankee, first on-line in 1972, monitoring regime. He welcomed of the fact that only a few details has been shut down permanently though the ruling and said he had were made public on the incident. since 1996. In 1980 the State of been motivated to ‘restore’ the Watchdog Public Citizen and North Maine legally required the plant to beach for his family and the public. Carolina Waste Awareness and report emissions of radioactive gas He now is considering to seek. Reduction Network sent a letter to and liquid on a daily basis. Not a day BBC News, 15 August 2003 the North Carolina Attorney General has passed when it could report NO saying it is unacceptable for the NRC radioactive release to the to withhold information from the environment. Now, while moving old South African Chamber of Com- public about surface contamination irradiated fuel from the cooling pool merce wants to re-evaluate PBMR. of a container. to on-site dry storage casks, it has The South African Cape Chamber of as Vegas Sun, 11 August 2003

22 August 2003, WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor 591 9 No nuclear waste storage on Arctic Repair at US South Texas Project children beyond this limit but in Island Novaya Zemlya. Russia has nuclear plant poses challenge. The both cases their mothers had come decided not to construct a nuclear tiny leaks that shut down the South from within the exclusion zone. A waste storage facility on the island Texas-1 reactor have been fixed, but medical practitioner in of Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic plant officials have to prove they’ve Kancheepuram, who did the survey, Ocean. Nuclear Energy Minister fixed them for good. According to told the Press Trust of India (PTI), Alexander Rumyantsev announced Jim Riccio, nuclear policy analyst that the affected children were all on 26 July that the Federal Nuclear with Greenpeace in Washington born after KAPS was set up. The and Radiation Safety Inspectorate D.C., the vessel is not the same oldest is 15 years and the youngest had decided that the project should strength as it was before. “This is child with six fingers is 15 months. not go ahead. Scientists and not a repair. It’s a patch”. However, PTI, 14 July 2003 geologists conducted an analysis of according to the plant officials the potential changes to the region’s leaks have been repaired to their climate and came to the conclusion satisfaction, but the plant’s Unit 1 U.S. Savannah River suspends that rising temperatures over the (PWR 1312 MW) remains closed waste tank closures following court next 150-200 years threatened to until they convince federal decision. The plan to close tanks thaw the region’s permafrost. This regulators that it is safe to bring holding as much as 34 million could lead to leaks of the radioactive back on line. gallons (128 million liters) of high- materials. Rumyantsev said that the level nuclear waste at South ministry is looking into building a The problem began when two tubes Carolina’s Savannah River site has storage facility in a remote part of that contain instruments that been temporarily stopped following the Kola Peninsula. The Nuclear monitor the reactor core were found a federal court decision. The court Energy Ministry had approved the to have small amounts of boric acid overruled the U.S. Department of construction of a US$70 million residue on them where they enter Energy’s decision to reclassify some waste storage facility on Novaya the reactor vessel. That indicated high-level nuclear waste in order to Zemlya in June 2002. The storage the radioactive cooling water that seal it in temporary storage tanks, facility is needed to hold liquid contains boric acid had leaked from such as those at Savannah River, and radioactive waste from the vessel through the wall of tubes. leave it. National legislation enacted decommissioned nuclear Tests revealed small vertical cracks in 1982 requires high-level waste to submarines. in two of the tubes at the bottom of be buried in a deep geologic Pravda, 28 July 2003 the vessel, where the trace amounts repository. of boric acid were found. Never before such a leak had occurred on The National Resources Defense Tokyo Electric found leaks in the bottom of a reactor vessel. The Council - a private, non-profit Fukushima Daichi reactor. Tokyo cracks were so small that they likely conservation organization - won the Electric Power Co., Japan’s largest existed for as long as four years federal court ruling. The council said power supplier, said it found leaks until they grew enough for water to the energy department had violated in a reactor in its Fukushima Daichi seep through them. the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act. NPP when it conducted safety Houston Chronicle, 19 July 2003 There are 51 tanks at Savannah checks before seeking approval to River. Two of them were emptied restart the closed reactors. The except for about 3,000 gallons of reactor no. 2 at the Fukushima No radiation risk in Indian residue, which was sealed inside Daichi (BWR 784 MW) plant leaked Kalpakkam NPP? The Atomic with concrete. Operations to close coolants on 24 July. The reactor was Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has any more tanks will stop until the shut for safety checks on 31 March. denied any link between radiation ruling is reviewed by government According to Tokyo Electric the release from the KAPS Kalpakkam lawyers. Some South Carolina leakage has been stopped. The plant (PHWR 170 MW, Madras) and officials, however, said the court company is looking at the cause of the reported high incidence of ruling may give the state’s citizens the leakage and ways to prevent “polydactyly”, a condition in which more voice in deciding whether such leaks in the future. The utility children are born with extra fingers high-level waste will remain in the was forced to shut all its 17 reactors or toes. According to AERB secretary state. in Fukushima and Niigata pre- K.S. Parthasarathy radiation close to Greenville News, 16 July 2003 fectures for safety checks by 15 April population from an NPP is too small after admitting last year its employ- to cause any health effect. The ees falsified plant safety documents controversy arose following Problems shut British Wylfa for a decade. The company has since documented evidence of 12 cases of nuclear power plant. The owners of restarted four of the reactors after polydactyly in children living within the Wylfa NPP (Magnox 670 MW), passing safety checks. a 16 kilometers radius from KAPS. In British Nuclear Fuels Limited, in Bloomberg, 25 July 2003 contrast, there were only two such Wales have shut down the plant

10 WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor 591, 22 August 2003 because of technical problems. A support the boiler tubed in the carbon dioxide gas was released in reactor was closed down after reactor. the basement of one of the reactor problems were detected during a buildings. On 15 August a worker at routine maintenance check, which On 27 July there was another the plant was airlifted to hospital has to take place every two years. A problem at the reactor. BNFL after a steam pipe fractured. The decision was then taken to close the confirmed carbon dioxide gas, used contractor suffered injuries to the plant’s other reactor. The latest as a coolant in the reactors, escaped lower body from a boiler pipe burst. problem is yet another blow to the from storage tanks. Inspite of a According to a spokesman for future of the power station, which statement by BNFL which said that operator BNFL Magnox Generation was openend in 1971. Full scale the gas was clean and not the water was clean, not radioactive. electricity production was re-started radioactive, spokesman Dylan BBC News, 25 July 2003, Daily Post, two years ago after safety concerns Morgan of People against Wylfa B, 29 July 2003, icNorthWales,15 forced a 15-month shutdown. said it was the latest in a worrying August 2003 series of incidents at the station. The latest difficulties are said to be According to Morgan the incident is unrelated to the technical problems indicative of an ageing station that suffered in 2001. According to BNFL, is way past its orginal working life. reactor –1 has been shut down for Friends of the Earth Cymru said it its statutory overhaul. Each reactor calls again for the closure of the is shut down every two years. plant on safety grounds. Inspections inside the reactor vessel showed there were a few defects Only two years ago two people were present in a small number of welds treated for shock and workers associated with brackets which ordered to evacuate the site after

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22 August 2003, WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor 591 11 hog IEAmsterdam. WISE through the receive Others tutions. insti- for $250/year and individuals for $35/yr tor the receive to how of details for NIRS contact should readers Canadian and US www.nirs.org. homepage: at and www.antenna.nl/wise Amsterdam WISE the email through an available are in issues Back and format). (pdf paper version on both obtained be (avail- The Ukraine www.nirs.org). at WISE able by website published Ukrainian is a version and Russia Amsterdam WISE by published is WISE version Russian A (www.antenna.nl/wise/esp). the available is on newsletter this of translation Span- ish A year. a times 20 English in information The energy. sustainable and radiation, waste, radioactive power, nuclear about concerned organizations environmental re- and citizens and for centers source information of network a worldwide creating 2000, in forces WISE joined Amsterdam and NIRS Netherlands. housed Amsterdam, is in and year same the up set was on Energy Service Wash- Information in World The based DC. is ington, and 1978 in founded Service was Resource & Information Nuclear The 2-02o -alt ise@isogfor [email protected] information. more to 202- at e-mail us or Call fall. 328-0002 they'll harder the are, we bigger ex- the Remember, us membership. help our cel- pand and NIRS anniversary help 25th to our way ebrate great a and in area, people your like-minded meet to way speaker. great a a provide It's and up it set you NIRS? help for We'll party benefit own your throw not Why to message a 202-328-0002. at us send call Or address. mailing just and name your include Please [email protected]. cost, no at subscription your convert To costs. and postage printing on saves NIRS mail--and earlier the more than or week a issues least sooner--at your much receive You Adobe format. in .pdf e-mail Acrobat by copies their receive to subscrib- ers American North our encourage We H ULA MONIT MONIT NUCLEAR NUCLEAR THE THE H ULA MONIT NUCLEAR THE H ULA MONIT MONIT NUCLEAR NUCLEAR THE THE adessepg 1.usrpin are 11).Subscriptions page see (address ula Monitor Nuclear eev h oio yE-Mail! E-Mail! by by Monitor Monitor the the Receive Receive eev h oio yE-Mail! by Monitor the Receive eev h oio yE-Mail! E-Mail! by by Monitor Monitor the the Receive Receive eevn h ula Monitor Monitor Nuclear Nuclear the the Receiving Receiving eevn h ula Monitor Nuclear the Receiving eevn h ula Monitor Monitor Nuclear Nuclear the the Receiving Receiving HA HA HA HA HA VEAPVEAP VEAP VEAPVEAP AR AR AR AR AR T T T T T ulse international publishes IHNIRS! NIRS! WITH WITH Y Y IHNIRS! WITH Y IHNIRS! NIRS! WITH WITH Y Y ula Monitor Nuclear ula Monitor Nuclear ula Moni- Nuclear OR OR OR OR OR can

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