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Radiation Protection News Room
The news articles posted on the “Radiation Protection News Room” are provided solely as a service to readers. The intent is the raise awareness of current radiation issues in the news. Providing links to a non-EPA Web site does not constitute an endorsement by EPA or any of its employees of the sponsors of the site or the information or products presented on the site.
Radiation in the News
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News for October 10, 2008
Radioactive Waste
Hanford
- Low-level radiation at Hanford tied to risk of fatal leukemia, study says (Seattle Times - Tri-City Herald)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008242697_hanford09.html
A new study of Hanford and other nuclear-defense-site workers found exposure to low levels of radiation slightly increased the risk that workers would die of leukemia.
Nuclear Power
- Smoke at Japan nuclear plant, no impact on ops(Forbes)
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/10/09/afx5533968.html
Smoke was detected at a waste processing facility in Tokai Daini nuclear power plant northeast of Tokyo on Friday. - Nuclear decommissioning fund drops 10 percent (Boston Globe – AP)
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/10/09/nuclear_decommissioning_fund_drops_10_percent/
The decommissioning trust fund for the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant has taken a hit on Wall Street, dropping by 10 percent or more than $40 million in the past several months, officials said.
Nuclear Weapons
- Nuclear Weapons complex changes advance (AP)
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gajIoRrr7j3t474Jb7jlDOnCbOiAD93N7HN00
The Energy Department moved ahead Thursday on further restricting the nation's most dangerous nuclear material, part of a plan to scale back and modernize management of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. - Y-12 worker used crib notes (Knoxville News Sentinel)
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/oct/10/y-12-worker-used-crib-notes/
A worker at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant admitted using handwritten crib notes - a violation of procedures - during a warhead assembly operation earlier this year, leading to a temporary shutdown of those activities. - Y-12 a 'poster child' for transformation (Oak Ridger)
http://www.oakridger.com/news/x1985678079/Y-12-a-poster-child-for-transformation
The Y-12 National Security Complex has been a "poster child" for the federal government's effort to bring the nation's nuclear weapons complex into the 21st century, an official said Thursday.
Other
- North Korea and U.S near nuclear deal-reports (Reuters, India)
http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINSEO14865320081010
The United States and North Korea are near an agreement to save a crumbling nuclear deal, news reports said on Friday, while South Korea's foreign minister said details of a compromise may soon be announced. - Nuclear Aid by Russian to Iranians Suspected (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/world/10nuke.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=nuclear&st=cse&oref=slogin
International nuclear inspectors are investigating whether a Russian scientist helped Iran conduct complex experiments on how to detonate a nuclear weapon.
News for October 9, 2008
Radioactive Waste
- Hungary inaugurates permanent waste repository (World Nuclear News)
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/WR_Hungary_inaugurates_permanent_waste_repository_0910081.html
The Bataapati facility will hold most of the radioactive wastes from the nuclear power plant that provides over one third of Hungary's electricity.
Cleanup
- Report Says Department Of Energy Is An Ineffective Manager (OPB News)
http://news.opb.org/article/3250-report-says-department-energy-ineffective-construction-manager/
A report to Congress is highly critical of five major federal cleanup projects at the Hanford site. Richland correspondent Anna King explains. - Robots to work in Dounreay's radioactive cells (John O'Groat Journal)
http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/5474/Robots_to_work_in_Dounreay_s_radioactive_cells.html
ROBOTS are being employed to help clean up Dounreay. Decommissioning bosses have turned to specialist demolition firm Brokk to supply the remotely-operated equipment that can work inside cells and a pond where radiation levels are still too high for human access.
Hanford
- Low-level radiation at Hanford tied to risk of fatal leukemia, study says (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008242697_hanford09.html
A new study of Hanford and other nuclear-defense-site workers found exposure to low levels of radiation slightly increased the risk that workers would die of leukemia. - Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council critical of Department of Energy (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/342024.html
Reducing the role of Hanford's workers in handling radioactive wastes would violate organized labor agreements and squander taxpayer money, the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council contends.
Safety and Security
- Shipment from Plymouth nuclear plant exceeded radiation levels (The Patriot Ledger)
http://www.patriotledger.com/news/x116904676/Shipment-from-Plymouth-nuclear-plant-exceeded-radiation-levels
Federal nuclear inspectors are looking into why a shipment of lead shielding from the Pilgrim nuclear station in Plymouth to the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant had higher than allowed radiation levels. - Dangerous spent fuel returned to US (WashingtonPost)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/07/AR2008100701155.html
Germany has returned over 20 pounds of highly enriched uranium fuel to the U.S. for safeguarding from terrorists or potential misuse, the government said Tuesday.
Risk Assessment
- UV light fear over 'green' bulbs (BBC News)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7661462.stm
About one in five unencapsulated bulbs was found to have UV radiation emissions from a pool of 20 encapsulated and 53 unencapsulated which were tested.
Health
- Committee questions health officials on radiation (Boston Globe)
http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2008/10/08/committee_questions_health_officials_on_radiation/
A legislative committee on Wednesday criticized the Vermont Health Department for reworking the way it measures radiation being emitted by the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant without first bringing the changes to the committee.
Nuclear Power
- N.Korea bars monitors from atom complex: diplomats (WashingtonPost)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/09/AR2008100900555.html
North Korea barred U.N. monitoring throughout its Yongbyon nuclear complex on Thursday in a significant step toward scrapping a deal with five powers to scrap its atomic bomb program, diplomats said.
Science
- Three Chemists Win Nobel Prize (NYTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/science/09nobel.html
One Japanese and two American scientists have won this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry for taking the ability of some jellyfish to glow and transforming it into a ubiquitous tool of molecular biology for watching the dance of living cells and the proteins within them.
News for October 8, 2008
Health
- North Shore Radiation Therapy Treating Cancer Using Rapid Arc (TM ... (BUSINESS WIRE)
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/north-shore-radiation-therapy-treating/story.aspx?guid=%7B366F98B6-BA7C-41D6-A2DC-11B7C777FECC%7D&dist=hppr
North Shore Radiation Therapy in Huntington, New York has started treating cancer patients.
Nuclear Power
- Bush to sign landmark US-India nuclear legislation (AP Online)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/08/AR2008100800788.html
President Bush plans to sign into law on Wednesday a bill that reverses three decades of U.S. policy and allows American businesses to enter India's multibillion-dollar nuclear market. - Shipment from Plymouth nuclear plant exceeded radiation levels (Patriot Ledger)
http://www.patriotledger.com/news/x116904676/Shipment-from-Plymouth-nuclear-plant-exceeded-radiation-levels
In Plymouth, radiation levels were below federal limits, he said. But when the package arrived in Vermont, it had radiation readings of between 1.3 and 1.8.
Nuclear Weapons
- NKorea may be developing small nuclear warhead (Washington Post - AP)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/08/AR2008100800787.html
A top South Korean military officer said Wednesday that he believes North Korea is trying to develop a nuclear warhead
Other
- Market conditions halt company offering (World Nuclear News)
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/C-Market_conditions_halt_uranium_company_offering-0710087.html
As the uranium price slides below $50 per pound, uranium investment company Nufcor Uranium Limited has withdrawn a proposed equity offering, citing adverse market conditions and recent equity market volatility. - Future of flagship Mars mission up in the air (Washington Post - AP)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/07/AR2008100702259.html
Will NASA's flagship mission to Mars fly next year? The space agency could decide as early as Friday whether to cancel, delay or proceed with plans to launch a nuclear-powered, SUV-size rover to the red planet.
News for October 7, 2008
Radioactive Waste
- DOE faces huge cost increases (Mid Columbia Tri City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/kennewick_pasco_richland/story/342027.html
It's planned to treat much of the radioactive waste held in underground tanks at Hanford. Latest cost projections for emptying tanks, treating the waste. - Nuclear waste disposal facility opened in S Hungary (Caboodle.hu) http://www.caboodle.hu/nc/news/news_archive/single_page/article/11/nuclear_wast/?cHash=02467037d5
Small and medium radioactive waste will be deposited in Bataapati, transferred from Hungary's sole nuclear power station in Paks. - Alameda delves into base contamination concerns (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/alamedacounty/ci_10652938
But it did examine the soil there for radioactivity. It found soil in some of the waste cells that was 12 and 13 times above background level. - Japan's technology may close NPT loophole (United Press International)
http://www.upiasia.com/Security/2008/10/07/japans_technology_may_close_npt_loophole/8865/
MAs are actinide elements in spent nuclear fuel other than uranium and plutonium and are classified as high-level radioactive waste.
Yucca
- Yucca Mountain Standards Cover Longer Term Exposure (EP Magazine)
http://www.eponline.com/articles/68229/
The US Environmental Protection Agency has established radiation standards for the proposed spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste disposal.
Safety and Security
- NRC investigates shipment radiation (Rutland Herald)
http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081007/NEWS04/810070361/1003/NEWS02
The large box of lead shielding arrived at the Vermont reactor Friday night from Pilgrim, and when it arrived the radiation measured on the box was two to three times what was measured at Pilgrim, a plant located south of Boston.
Nuclear Power
- Date for Sellafield transfer (World Nuclear News)
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/C_Date_for_Sellafield_transfer_0710082.html
The Sellafield sites represent the heart of the UK nuclear industry. Among its 1000 facilities are the first full-size nuclear power plant in the world - Tower Shutdown at Byron Nuclear Plant (WREX-TV)
http://www.wrex.com/Global/story.asp?S=9130631
The plant's Unit One Reactor will continue to produce power during the shutdown. - China says US arms sale to Taiwan harms ties (WJLA)
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1008/559393.html
The Chinese action will not affect the country's participation with the United States in six-nation talks to get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. - Israel building missile shield to guard cities (WA today)
http://www.watoday.com.au/world/israel-building-missile-shield-to-guard-cities-20081007-4vtu.html
Israeli officials believe these weapons are being held to aid Iran in the event of war. They say Hezbollah has trebled its arsenal in the past two years. - South Korea dismisses North's nuclear ultimatum (Sunday Star Times)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sundaystartimes/4719310a6443.html
Not being removed from a US terrorism blacklist, vowed last month to rebuild the ageing Yongbyon nuclear plant, its source for weapons-grade plutonium.
Science
- Bad Connection May Have Crippled Doomsday Machine (FOXNews) http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,433781,00.html
Before the failure, the plan had been to step up power on the collider so that scientists could start with test collisions of subatomic particles.
News for October 6, 2008
Radioactive Waste
- Iran says it will not stop uranium enrichment (WashingtonPost)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/05/AR2008100500670.html
Iran will not stop uranium enrichment even if it is guaranteed supplies of nuclear fuel from abroad, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Sunday. - New law and order in Russian radioactive waste (Barents Observer)
http://www.barentsobserver.com/new-law-and-order-in-russian-radioactive-waste.4516065-16176.html
We expect a new law on the handling of radioactive wastes to be adopted by the end of the year, deputy head of Rosatom Yevgenii Yevstratov confirmed. The law will help significantly limit the number of waste storage sites.
Yucca Mountain
- EPA Issues Final Yucca Mountain Radiation Standards (Occupational Health Safety)
http://ohsonline.com/Articles/2008/10/6EPA-Issues-Final-Yucca-Mountain-Standards.aspx
EPA established radiation standards for the proposed spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste disposal facility at Yucca Mountain, Nev.
Cleanup
- Radioactive cleanup company ready to roll (The Saginaw News)
http://www.mlive.com/news/saginawnews/index.ssf?/base/news-27/122304362788370.xml&coll=9
Cleanup of a former radioactive dump site in Bethany Township may finally take place by the end of the year
Hanford
- Planned fire tests cap over Hanford radioactive waste (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/kennewick_pasco_richland/story/340753.html
Hanford workers have burned over a cap placed above a former disposal site for radioactive waste in the name of research.
Safety and Security
- Britain planned taped messages after nuclear war (WashingtonPost)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/03/AR2008100300157.html
The draft script offered the public rudimentary instructions about how to try to stay clear of lethal radioactive fallout and advised people not to flee because they would be safer in their homes than anywhere else
Health
- Pediatric study finds alternatives for radiation of low-grade (EurekAlert)
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/uotm-psf100608.php
A multi-institutional study led by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has found that using chemotherapy alone and delaying or avoiding cranial radiation altogether can be effective in treating pediatric patients with unresectable or progressive low-grade glioma.
Nuclear Power
- IAEA nations urge non-nuclear Mideast in bitter vote (WashingtonPost)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/04/AR2008100401153.html
The U.N. nuclear assembly on Saturday passed a resolution urging all Middle East nations to renounce atom bombs in a vote most Arabs boycotted over amendments they felt took pressure off Israel.
Nuclear Weapons
- Syria Signals It Will Stop UN Nuclear Inspectors (Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122307768673704043.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Syria suggested that it won't give United Nations weapons inspectors further access to its military installations, undercutting a U.S.-led campaign to uncover an alleged secret nuclear program run by Damascus.
Science
- Our radiation fears are being exploited, charity warns (guardian.co.)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/oct/06/radiation.fears
Scientists have hit out at companies selling unproven products that they say exploit unfounded health fears among consumers about radiation from mobile phones, Wi-Fi and other devices. The products claim to block or dissipate electromagnetic fields from everyday electronic goods, but the researchers say there is no solid evidence that such fields are dangerous.
