Platts - Monday, January 07, 2008 http://www.platts.com ------------ UK gov't to announce role of nuclear in future generation mix London (Platts)--7Jan2008 Nuclear energy's role in any future UK generation mix will be announced next week, the UK government's business department said January 4. A department spokesman said the government's second consultation with the public on the issue, which ended October 10, had been an "open, fair and full process." He was responding to a January 4 report by a coalition of academics that the consultation had been substantially flawed and that the government should embark on a further consultation to tackle issues so far not properly addressed. The academics' report calls for "realistic" scenarios to be developed on possible future energy mixes, "with renewables given their proper place." The government spokesman said the nuclear consultation "gave people five months to respond, longer than the average three- to four-month consultation period" and "we have received 2,700 responses. Time is pressing," he said. "Consulting indefinitely is not an option. We need to make a decision." ------------ NRC issues draft guide on plant security personnel training Washington (Platts)--4Jan2008 NRC has issued a draft regulatory guide on training and qualification of security personnel at nuclear power plants. Released January 4, the draft guide, DG-5015, details a method that NRC staff "considers acceptable." In its introduction, the staff said the guide "describes how licensees should select, train, equip, test, qualify, and requalify armed and unarmed security personnel, watch persons, and other members of the security organization to ensure that these individuals possess and maintain the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to carry out their assigned duties and responsibilities effectively." DG-5015 "is being issued in draft form to involve the public in the early stages of the development of a regulatory position in this area," and "has not received final staff review or approval," the staff said. Public comments on the draft guide may be sent by e-mail to NRCREP@nrc.gov, and "will be most helpful if received by February 25," the staff said. ------------ Nuclear plant component vendors not reporting defects: US NRC Washington (Platts)--4Jan2008 Some vendors who supply components to nuclear power plants are not properly reporting defects, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a notice released Friday. In the notice, IN 2007-40, dated December 21, the staff described several instances it had identified during inspections at vendor facilities "where vendors failed to adequately implement the requirements" of the regulations. The staff said that "several vendors' 10 CFR Part 21 programs did not have adequate procedural guidance to identify and evaluate deviations associated with a substantial safety hazard." They said that the violations identified in the notice "are of particular concern because they often involved implementing procedures that were inadequate to reasonably assure the satisfaction" of the regulation's requirements. Information notices do not require a response, but licensees are expected to review them for applicability to their facilities. --Steven Dolley, steven_dolley@platts.com ------------ DOE issues preliminary notice of violation to Battelle Washington (Platts)--3Jan2008 DOE issued a preliminary notice of violation to Battelle January 3 for two nuclear safety violations at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington state. DOE is proposing a civil penalty totaling $288,750 for the two incidents. It said the proposed fine reflects the corrective actions Battelle took to address the issues and prevent recurrence. In December 2006 an airborne release of plutonium from a glovebox occurred when a vacuum exhaust line split as a result of an improper modification in a vacuum system, DOE said. It added that six months later, a leaking sealed plutonium source used in experimental work led to some offsite contamination. It attributed the contamination to "ineffective implementation of controls." It said that the events resulted in uptakes of plutonium by workers but that the resulting exposures were well below DOE's occupational exposure limits. The Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988 authorizes DOE to take regulatory actions against contractors for violations of the department?s nuclear safety requirements. ------------ New Jersey regulators approve Oyster Creek license renewal Washington (Platts)--3Jan2008 AmerGen's Oyster Creek nuclear plant in New Jersey can operate until 2029 consistent with federal coastal zone management law, state regulators said in December 28, letter released by AmerGen on Thursday. The state's consistency finding removes one of the final legal barriers to license renewal for the plant, whose current operating license expires in 2009. In the letter, Thomas Micai, director of the division of land use regulation in the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, said license renewal for Oyster Creek is consistent with the state's coastal management program. US Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has completed its review of AmerGen's license renewal application, and the renewal is awaiting final approval from the commission. A coalition of public interest groups has said it will appeal to the commission a December decision by an NRC atomic safety and licensing board that found corrosion of Oyster Creek's steel containment drywell would not jeopardize safe operation for the duration of the renewed license. AmerGen is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Exelon. --Steven Dolley, steven_dolley@platts.com ------------ Mining resumes at Cameco's Rabbit Lake Washington (Platts)--2Jan2008 Mining activities have resumed at the Rabbit Lake uranium mine, Cameco Corp. said January 2. Mining was suspended in November 2007 due to increased waster inflow, it said. Cameco said it has constructed and poured four concrete bulkheads and has been grout sealing the bulkheads and the surrounding rock while waiting for the concrete to cure. Cameco said an old exploration drill hole has been identified as the source of the mine water inflow. A temporary plug has been installed and a permanent plug will be installed in the next couple of weeks, it said. ------------ Spot uranium price falls $1 to $89/pound U3O8, Tradetech says Washington (Platts)--2Jan2008 The spot price of uranium dropped $1 to $89/pound U3O8 at the end of December, according to the price reporting company TradeTech. TradeTech late Monday said that at least three sellers were trying at year's end to place about 800,000 pounds U3O8, but that demand had shrunk to only 550,000 pounds U3O8 equivalent. TradeTech said, however, that it expects demand will increase this month when buyers and sellers return from holiday vacations. Ux Consulting kept its spot price at $90/pound in the abbreviated market report it published Monday. Both price reporting companies agreed, however, that the long-term price at the end of 2007 was $95/pound. At the end of 2006, TradeTech's long-term price was $69, while Ux Consulting's was $75. In other news, the US Department of Commerce, at the request of Cameco's US uranium subsidiaries, granted a one-week extension to January 10 for parties to file comments on a draft amendment to the Russian uranium anti-dumping suspension agreement. --Mike Knapick, newsdesk@platts.com ------------ Swiss Muhleberg nuclear unit produces record 3,010 GWh in 2007 Cologne (Platts)--2Jan2008 Switzerland's 355 MW Muhleberg nuclear power plant produced 3,010 GWh of electricity in 2007, beating its own production record set in 2005, operator BKW FMB Energie said Wednesday. BKW attributed the result to good plant operating conditions and good capacity load, even though the unit's annual maintenance period had been slightly longer than traditional shutdowns. Also, there had been a small reduction to load during July 2007 due to warm weather conditions that left the cooling water for the unit too hot. Nonetheless, the unit was online for 91.7% through 2007. The operation of Muhleberg beyond 2012--when it is due to be decommissioned--remains prey to an as yet unsolved legal dispute between the operator and the government energy department, UVEK. The government office wants the decision over the unit's life extension to be made through a full operating permit procedure, in line with the Swiss nuclear energy law (KEG). BKW considers this unnecessary and argues Muhleberg's safety record shows the plant could be operated safely beyond 2012. "[Muhleberg] is well-equipped for long-term operation," said BKW, adding that it aimed to carry out preventative maintenance work and ongoing upgrades to the plant to ensure its continued contribution to supplies in northwestern Switzerland. Muhleberg is the smallest of Switzerland's five nuclear reactors. ------------