Platts - Friday, February 17, 2006 
http://www.platts.com
------------

Sen. Clinton questions DOE's GNEP program

Washington (Platts)--16Feb2006

DOE's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) proposal has "serious
problems," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) said today. In questioning
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing,
Clinton said the recently unveiled GNEP, which would involve new types of
reprocessing facilities and fast reactors, is "well-intentioned" but that
DOE's claims for the likely results of the initiative "don't hold up." Clinton
questioned DOE's use of the term "proliferation-resistant" to describe GNEP
reprocessing. In contrast, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) described the
administration's plan as "visionary."

------------

NRC to continue heightened inspections at Honeywell plant

Washington (Platts)--15Feb2006

Honeywell's conversion plant operated safely over the past year, but NRC will
continue "heightened inspections" of the Metropolis, Ill. facility until
further corrective actions and long-term performance improvements are
achieved, the agency said today. The results of NRC's review of Honeywell's
performance between Nov. 21, 2004 and Dec. 9, 2005 will be discussed by NRC
officials at a Feb. 22 meeting in Metropolis. NRC said today that a Jan. 27
inspection report said Honeywell "'ensured that licensed activities were
conducted safely during the review period' but that further improvement is
needed in adherence to procedures related to conduct of operations, corrective
action program management and management of procedures." Further information
on the inspection can be found on NRC's Adams document retrieval system, under
accession ML060270156.

------------

Exelon to review tritium-handling systems at all 10 nuclear units

Washington (Platts)--15Feb2006

Exelon Nuclear Wednesday said it will assess the tritium-handling systems
of each of its 10 nuclear power plants and will take the actions needed to
minimize the risk of inadvertent discharge of tritium to the environment. 

The assessments will take place in 2006 and will cover pipes, pumps,
valves, tanks and other pieces of equipment that carry tritiated water in and
around the plants. 

The initiative is intended to significantly reduce the possibility of a
tritium release of the type that occurred at the lake "blowdown" line at
Exelon's Braidwood Generating Station near Braceville, Illinois. While Exelon
said the Braidwood leak posed no health or safety threat to the environment or
the public, the company recognizes that "inadvertent releases are unacceptable
and we are committed to eliminating them." 

The initiative also will establish new standards for inspections,
responses to, and remediation of tritium releases that have the potential to
affect the environment or the public, Exelon said. 

Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is found naturally in
small concentrations in most surface water. It is produced in higher
concentrations in water used in nuclear reactors and is a byproduct of
commercial nuclear power production. Tritium is typically discharged into the
environment under strict federal guidelines, the company said.

For more information, take a trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at
http://nucweek.platts.com.

------------