April 2005
Nuclear Energy Update
Weeks of March 28th and April 4th, 2005
Welcome to Nuclear Energy Update. This is a weekly update compiled by The Eisenhower Institute of the most significant news items in international, domestic, and scientific nuclear energy news.
International
Armenia Considering New Nuclear Power Plant
According to Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, Armenia may build a new nuclear power plant. Currently, one facility provides 40% of Armenia's energy, but the country is under pressure from the European Union to shut the plant down. In 1989, a major earthquake forced Armenia to close the plant, leading to devastating effects on the economy. It reopened seven years later, and the government says it will not consider closing the facility again until an effective alternative power source is installed. (Itar-Tass, http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?NewsID=1924730&PageNum=0, 04/11/05)
World Meets to Discuss Nuclear Power Safety
Officials from over 30 countries are meeting at IAEA Headquarters in Vienna in the third review meeting under the Convention on Nuclear Safety. The convention, a reaction to the Chernobyl accident, entered into force in 1996 and requires international review meetings every three years. Parties submit and review reports on each country's nuclear safety status, share information on how to improve safety, and recommend how the international community can improve global safety. (United Nations, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=13937&Cr=unclear&Cr1=safety, 04/12/05)
Russia Investigates World's Worst Nuclear Polluter
Russian prosecutors have opened an investigation into nuclear pollution by the Mayak nuclear waste processing plant in the Ural Mountains. Environmental groups consider the area one of the most polluted on the planet and warn that the artificial storage lakes could burst at any time, spewing waste into rivers and the Atlantic Ocean. The facility, which was recently assigned to process spent fuel from abroad as well as domestic waste, is suspected of carelessly dumping radioactive material in the region. (Associated Press, http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=7520, 04/13/05)
Finland May Build Sixth Nuclear Power Plant
According to Finnish media reports, the country may decide to build a new nuclear power plant after the current, anti-nuclear, prime minister leaves office. The plant, tentatively scheduled for completion in 2015, would be Finland's sixth and allow the nation to meet rising energy demands as well as phase out fossil fuel facilities. (Nuclear Engineering International http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?sectionCode=132&storyCode=2028165, 04/15/05)
New Director General of Russian Power Industry Appointed
Stanislav Antipov, current deputy director-general of Russia's nuclear generation company, has been picked to replace Oleg Sarayev as head of the state-owned group this spring. Rosenergoatom runs all ten Russian nuclear power plants, including Kaliningrad, which Antipov currently runs. (Nuclear Engineering International http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?sectionCode=132&storyCode=2028154, 04/15/05)
Indonesia to Build Nuclear Power Plant
Indonesian officials announced approval of a plan to build the country's first nuclear power plant on the densely populated island of Java. A spokesman said the site, on central Java's northeastern coast, is known for tectonic and volcanic stability, addressing concerns of many experts that the geologically active country could be a nuclear disaster-waiting-to-happen. Authorities hope the plant will be producing power by 2016 for the extremely populous country. (Agence France Presse, http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2005/April/theworld_April398.xml§ion=theworld, 04/18/05)
Scottish Power Company Blames End of Nuclear Program for Large Blackouts
In reference to what was called, "a return to the dark ages," an official for the largest energy union in Scotland said nuclear power is essential to the future of Scottish energy. Warning Scots of 1970s-style blackouts in the next few years, company officials said the end of the nuclear program was, in part, to blame. At the Scottish Trades Union Congress' annual meeting, the company is expected to urge cooperation between the Scottish Executive and the UK Government to provide sufficient energy, including nuclear power, to Scotland. (BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4454781.stm, 04/18/05)
Domestic
Government Not Sufficiently Implementing Safeguards
According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, America's nuclear power plants have inaccurate tracking and accounting procedures for nuclear waste, leading to an inability to account for the whereabouts of all the waste. According to the report, waste may be missing from more than the three plants already reporting unaccounted-for waste. In addition, the GAO reported that the NRC is aware of the problems but has failed to implement or enforce new safeguards. (Shankar Vedantam, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44916-2005Apr11.html, 04/11/05)
For the full GAO Report: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05339.pdf
Controversial Fuel Arrives in US
A shipment of French MOX fuel, made from weapons grade plutonium, arrived in Charleston amid protests. The fuel is to be tested at Catawba Nuclear Facility. Greenpeace and other groups have expressed concern that the facility and trucks used in shipment are not secure. The National Nuclear Security Administration and Duke Power have assured the public that the facility will meet security requirements before the fuel arrives. (Associated Press, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7488217/, 04/13/05)
Homeland Security to Study Risk of Waste Transport
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has agreed to study the security risks of moving and storing nuclear waste. The debate over waste transportation has been heated, with many states objecting to hazardous trains or trucks traveling through their land. The Department of Homeland Security will examine transit to Yucca Mountain and the planned private disposal facility in Skull Valley in particular. (Las Vegas SUN, http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/text/2005/apr/13/518595887.html, 04/13/05)
FirstEnergy Faces Record Fine
FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. is facing a record $5.45 million fine from the NRC after it restarted the Davis-Besse plant in Ohio without properly cleaning and inspecting the reactor vessel head in 2000. Two years later, leaking boric acid was found to have eaten through a six-inch-thick steel cap on the reactor vessel - the worst corrosion in industry history. The proposed fine is more than twice the previous record of $2.1 million slapped against the operators of the Millstone plant in 1997. The company is also expected to be charged with supplying false information after misleading the NRC, implying the proper procedure was followed. (John Seewer, http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4954511,00.html, 04/21/05)
New Pro-Yucca Mountain Lobbying Group Formed
The Nuclear Energy Institute, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, the U.S. Transport Council, and the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition have joined together to form a new pro-Yucca Mountain lobbying group. The group, called The Yucca Mountain Task Force, will fight for more congressional funding for the project as well as developing a new radiation standard for the site's containment of waste. Advocates of the waste disposal site have argued for years that The Department of Energy should be able to access a fund rather than appeal to congress for funding annually. (Benjamin Grove, http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/text/2005/apr/22/518647267.html, 04/22/05)
Scientific
Fusion Requires Less Fuel but Carries More Risk
With the EU, the US, China, Japan, Canada, and Russia pooling their scientific knowledge to build the first fusion test-reactor, a debate rages over the safety of this technology. Some scientists argue that fusion is much more efficient than current reactors, while environmentalists argue that because of the nature of the reaction, parts would need to be replaced regularly. In addition, some scientists worry that because of its efficiency, fusion reactors will produce more plutonium that could fall into the hands of terrorists. (Breffni O'Rourke, http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/4/35D5A3EB-EDA7-479A-BF7E-5C18D81BC2C1.html, 04/14/05)
Op-Ed
Government Needs to Identify Compromised Yucca Mountain Data
If the government does not investigate and clarify which tests were possibly compromised, and to what extent, by the Yucca Mountain employees caught e-mailing about falsified data, the future of nuclear power will be compromised. Without explanation, the e-mails indicate the worst fears of those protesting the waste site. Without a reliable waste facility, no new nuclear power plants should be built, thus ending the future of nuclear power in America. (Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A38729-2005Apr8?language=printer, 04/09/05)
Credits
Compiled by: Ivy Fitzgerald
Edited by: Suzanne Vogel
Nuclear Energy Update
Weeks of April 25th - May 3rd, 2005
Welcome to Nuclear Energy Update. This is a weekly update compiled by The Eisenhower Institute of the most significant news items in international, domestic, and scientific nuclear energy news.
International
Senior Source: Blair to Bring Nuclear Power Back on Agenda
According to a senior British government source, a reelected Labour government would seek to spark debate over the potential of nuclear power to help Britain reduce greenhouse emissions. Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to raise the issue during a climate change review this summer. The position stands in contrast to a white paper two years ago discussing possibly ending all British nuclear power operations. The prime minister denies his policies have changed. (BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/frontpage/4480125.stm, 04/25/05)
India Ratifies Convention on Nuclear Safety
With India ratifying The Convention on Nuclear Safety, each of the 56 countries in the world with a nuclear power plant is a party to the agreement. The treaty, which is a decade old, commits member nations to abide by high standards of safety in operation and regulation of nuclear power plants. India has 14 nuclear reactors, with eight more under construction. (Xinhua, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-04/26/content_2880703.htm, 04/26/05)
Annan and ElBaradei Urge Agreement on Nuclear Safeguards
At the opening of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammad ElBaradei, encouraged the member-nations to find a way that states might develop a domestic nuclear energy infrastructure without needing or being permitted a complete fuel cycle. ElBaradei further suggested that there be a temporary moratorium put in place on new fuel-cycle facilities, and that fuel production and reprocessing be put until multinational control.
(Robert McMahon, http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/05/e7f4e676-8101-47b6-a54a-e7c0e548ef49.html, 5/2/05)
Nuclear Power to be a Battle in Blair's New Government
Within Tony Blair's new Cabinet, it is expected that Margaret Beckett, the environment secretary, will resist any effort to increase the number of nuclear power plants online in the UK, although Blair seems to be in favor of it.
(Andrew Porter, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1602793,00.html, 5/8/05)
Russia, India May Collaborate on Nuclear Power
An aide to President Putin of Russia stated that Russia may build India several new nuclear power plants. There were discussions about the possibility of collaboration during talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but Russia is concerned that the project may conflict with its commitment to the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
(http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/05/10/indiapowerstation.shtml, 5/10/05)
Majority of Italians In Favor of Nuclear Energy
A poll commissioned by Fiera Milano Tech indicated that 54% of Italians are in favor of an increased use of nuclear energy in their country. According to the poll, most Italians think their energy is too costly (95%) and that coal, oil, and gas power stations are too polluting (80%).
(http://www.agi.it/english/news.pl?doc=200505121903-1211-RT1-CRO-0-NF51&page=0&id=agionline-eng.arab, 5/12/05)
Domestic
NRC Prepared for New Nuclear Plant Licensing
In a Senate committee hearing regarding the Energy Department's "Nuclear Power 2010" plan, the chairman of the NRC, Nils J. Diaz, said that the commission was ready for the expected applications for licensing of new plants. Preparation includes the approval of new reactor types, including three that have already completed the approval process. Diaz added, however, that with an anticipated five combined license applications coming the next few years, the NRC may have difficulty assigning the necessary resources. (NRC, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2005/05-072.html, 04/26/05)
Bush Outlines Energy Agenda: Help Nuclear Energy Flourish
In a speech outlining his new energy proposals, President Bush expressed the need to speed up the building of new nuclear power plants. To help encourage new plants, Bush called for a "risk insurance" plan to alleviate the impact of regulatory delays should they push back startup dates. The President hopes that such insurance will attract financing to new projects, helping make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy. (H. Josef Hebert, http://www.boston.com/news/nation/_at_ex_defense_bases/, 04/27/05)
Task Force Concludes that New Nuclear Power Plants Need Government Incentives
A task force convened by now-former Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has released a final report in which it concludes that government's involvement is required in order to jumpstart the building of the next generation of nuclear power plants. Although nuclear power plants have grown increasingly safer and more cost efficient, the high risk and initial capital investment required to build a new plant is deterring companies from investing.
(Jim Dawson, http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-58/iss-5/p28.html, 5/05)
MIT Faculty and Their Colleagues Release Proposal for Future of Nuclear Energy
A bipartisan group former senior energy and security advisors affiliated with MIT released a proposal for an Assured Nuclear Fuel Services Initiative (ANSFI), whereby nuclear nations would provide nuclear fuel and waste services to nations that do not possess the technology. It would split the world into "fuel-cycle states" and "user states." The "fuel-cycle states" would then promise to supply "user states" with fresh fuel and remove spent fuel in return for not developing enrichment or reprocessing technologies.
(http://newswire.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.005&public=0, 5/9/05)
Scientific
Advocates Hope Energy Bill Will Lead to Reactor of the Future
The energy bill passed by the House of Representatives includes $1.3 billion to build a new generation nuclear reactor that would produce hydrogen as well as electricity. Proponents of the project say it will lead to the power of the future. The outlook for the project, based at the Idaho National Laboratory, is not definite, however, as the bill includes several sticking points that led to the failure of a similar bill last year. (Associated Press, http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2680735, 04/23/05)
Op-Ed
Nuclear Energy Today is Better than Ever
All the commotion over the new energy bill largely leaves out the new momentum of nuclear energy. The world's nuclear industry has drawn from12,000 reactor hours of experience to achieve an excellent safety record since Chernobyl. Academic institutions in 25 countries recently came together to form the World Nuclear University, to develop nuclear standards. With global governmental support, the nuclear industry could lead us into a clean and inexpensive energy future. (John Ritch, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/25/AR2005042501345.html, 04/26/05)
Nuclear Energy is Good Investment for the Future
Nuclear power, set to greatly expand over the next few decades, is looking like an excellent investment opportunity. An increasing number of governments turning to nuclear energy to solve their demand problems, the increased safety of next generation power plants, the inability of renewable sources of energy to sufficiently and cheaply fill the energy gap, and the increasing prices of other sources of energy are all sources of a new nuclear renaissance.
(Michael Brush, http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P116569.asp, 5/4/05)
Credits
Written by: Ivy Fitzgerald and Suzanne Vogel
Edited by: Suzanne Vogel