Platts - Wednesday, September 08, 2004 
http://www.platts.com

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EC adopts weaker nuke waste, safety proposals

Brussels (Platts)--8Sep2004

The European Commission Wednesday adopted a revised
version of its contentious package of draft nuclear
laws, European Union energy commissioner Loyola de
Palacio said. "We hope that with the revised texts we
will be able to get unanimity in the council (of member
state governments)," she said. 

De Palacio admitted that the new rules were "less rigid"
than earlier versions but said that these had more
chance of being accepted. "The main issue is that the
rules and standards are mandatory for everyone and that
we will have a common system for all member states,"
said de Palacio. In safety, the new text focuses on the
responsibilities of the managers of nuclear facilities
as well as the national authorities. On the management
and transparency of decommissioning funds--"a key
sticking point in the council," de Palacio said--member
states now need only submit "sufficient" plans. The EC
had wanted a law makeing funds available only when
needed.

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Russia puts nuclear power plants under enhanced security

London (Platts)--8Sep2004

Russian nuclear plants have been under enhanced security
since Aug 24 when two transport airplanes of Russian
airlines exploded mid-air, killing 90 people, according
to the press office of Rosatom, the federal atomic
energy agency. Nuclear plant security, guarded by
federal interior ministry units, has been intensified
for an unspecified period, it said, stressing that
nuclear facilities are always guarded more strictly than
other facilities. From the total of 30 Russian power
reactor units, as of last week, 22 were operating, and
eight were in scheduled maintenance outages.

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Nevada to sue over proposed railroad route to Yucca Mt.

Washington (Platts)--7Sep2004

Nevada will sue the federal government over DOE's
selection of the Caliente route for a railroad spur to
the DOE repository planned for Yucca Mountain, Marta
Adams, a senior Nevada deputy attorney general, said
today. The lawsuit will be filed tomorrow in the U.S.
Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.

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Accident simulation exercise planned at Forsmark

Stockholm (Platts)--7Sep2004

More than 1,000 people will participate in a nuclear
accident simulation involving Sweden's Forsmark reactor
tomorrow and Thursday, the largest exercise of its kind
ever staged in the Scandinavian country. The aim is to
see how quickly and accurately information can be
distributed to the general public after an accident as
well as to find shortcomings in emergency routines and
plans. Observers from the Baltic countries, Rumania and
Russia will also follow the exercise.

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