6 January
ARGENTINA - An Argentine newspaper, Clarin, recently published a rather strange account of a black leather briefcase measuring 30 cm x 30 cm containing radioactive material which was lost by an engineer, Salomon Blictein, in the Centenario Park area of Buenos Aires. According to the police the contents were pellets or 'pills' of Americium-241. The article continued with the police statement that according to the National Atomic Commission (CNEA) the contents were dangerous if inhaled or came into contact with the skin and that the suitcase, if found, should be traded immediately to the police. However the next day the Clarin published another curious article in which the CNEA denied that the briefcase contained sources of radioactivity and declared instead that the contents could have possibly been contaminated by being in contact with other sources of radioactive materials. They went on to explain that given the sources (whatever they were) and because of the fact that they (the contents of the briefcase) are made of a kind of ceramic material used in some lightning rods, contact does not produce contamination, so the fact that the briefcase was lost does not create any risk to the population, aside from wondering what an engineer might be doing wandering in the park with a briefcase containing possible radioactive materials, here is another question: While trying to figure just what is going on here, there is talk that Americium-241 is being used in lightning rods in Spain and Argentina. (Clarin (Argentina) 8 9/1/1990; WISE 326/7, 9/2/1990) 23 January
BRUCE A, CANADA - Software caused fuelling accident. AECB says that "a long standing error" in the computer software that controls the fuelling machine at the Bruce A. nuclear station in Ontario is responsible for the accident on 23 January at the station's unit 4. (12 metric tons of heavy water coolant had spilled into the reactor vault after all four brakes on the fuelling machine bridge were suddenly released during the fuelling process. ("Nucleonics Week" 31/5/90; WISE-335 6/7/90) 23 January
ONTARIO, CANADA - About 12,000 litres of heavy water coolant spilled into the reactor vault at Bruce reactor Unit no 4. The accident was caused by a fuelling machine which did not properly connect onto a fuel channel. ("Nuclear Awareness" Canada, Winter 1989/90; WISE 329 2/90) 31 January
(NAVAL REACTOR) U.K. - The U.K. Department of Defence today revealed that it has discovered a crack in the nuclear reactor of the H.M.S. Warsprite, and admitted that, if it had not been detected, this could have led to a large release of radiation. As a result the Department has ordered tests on all nuclear vessel to ascertain if similar defects exist in their reactors. (A.B.C. Radio National 31/1/90) 8 February
U.S.S.R. - Pravda today gave sketchy details of a nuclear submarine accident last December. The submarine was testing ballistic missiles when the accident occurred, releasing what was quoted as "massive amounts of radiation". (A.B.C. Radio News 8/2/90) 11 Februar
HINKLEY POINT, U.K. - A near-accident involving a scenario that, according to Greenpeace Canada, almost led to a meltdown, occurred at the Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station. An attempt to cover up the problem ended 5 days later, when a Member of Parliament, Paddy Ashdown, revealed the incident on 16 February. (Greenpeace, Canada; WISE 328 2/90) 15 February
PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A. - In the ongoing TMI accident which began in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (US) in March 1979, a metal sample cut from the reactor vessel shows a crack extending at least two inches into the five-inch-thick vessel bottom which raises questions about just how close the vessel was to being breached during the core melt accident. ("Nucleonics Week" 15/2/90. WISE 329 9/3/90) 11-17 February
POINT LEPREAUT, CANADA - Between 11-17 February Canada's Point Lepreaut took what "Nucleonics Week" calls a 'forced outage in order to repair a crack in the boiler (steam generator) feedwater system in the rear reactor downcomer to system suction'. ("Nucleonics Week" (US) 6/4/90; WISE333 1/6/90) 21 February
ROSSIYA, U.S.S.R. - Fire broke out on board a storage compartment in the stern of the nuclear powered icebreaker Rossiya, as it underwent repairs in the Arctic port of Murmansk. The reactor was undamaged. (T.A.S., W.Australian 21/2/1990) 23 February
OKLAHOMA, U.S.A. - An undated, but apparently recent accident at Seguoyah Fuels Facility in Gore, Oklahoma (US) resulted in a spill of 10,000 to 20,000 pounds of depleted uranium tetraflouride powder. ("The Nuclear Monitor" 26/2/90, WISE 329 9/3/90 ) - 25 February
SELLAFIELD, U.K. - Following studies on the high occurrence of childhood leukemia around Sellafield, a report for the U.K. Government indicates the strongest link to date between exposure of workers to radiation and their likelihood of passing damaged genes to their offspring. Dr. Berry, counselling scientist for Sellafield, has commented that if workers are worried about their children manifesting leukaemia as a result of their exposure, then they should not have any. (A.B.C. News 25/2/1990) 25 February
CREYS-MAVILLE, FRANCE - A capsule containing 2 giga-becquerels of krypton 79 broke during experiments at the French Superphoenix in Creys-Maville, near the Swiss border. The radiation released was equal to 200,000 becquerels per cubic meter and remained inside the plant. ("DeVolksrant (Netherlands) 23/2/90; WISE 331 27/4/90). February
MAPE URANIUM MILL, CZEKOSLOVAKIA - This uranium mill near Ceske Budejovice has been the cause of severe radioactive pollution dating from the early 60's. In 1962/63, up to 80% of the cattle grazing in the neighbourhood of the facility died of leukaemia or deformities, following an accident which occurred in the 1960's. A 1962 study by the Veterinarian Institute in Budejovice to find the causes of leukaemia, showed clearly that only contamination from MAPE could be responsible. Documentation of the investigation was immediately declared top secret. The only counteraction the authorities took at the time was to close down a local drinking water well without informing the local populace of the real reason. The area is used intensively for agriculture and livestock breeding, mainly cattle, geese, fish and hop for the famous Budweiser beer. Another spill occurred in the same site in 1964 and several cases of malfunction occurred following this spill. News of the second accident were made public on 24th January in an interview in the Prague newspaper Mlada Fronts with Ing. Jaroslav Ruxicka, from the Czechoslovakian Ministry of Agriculture. Since then pollution has continued through the normal operations of the plant. Between 1965 and 1985 radioactive water from the mill was released directly into the Vlatava river, via a 20km underground canal. Since 1985 radwastes and tailings have been released into former open-pit mines next to the mill. Since 1989, MAPE has treated uranium ore from the German Menzenschwand uranium mine. The German government has defended itself for being party to this pollution by stating that "it supposes the Czechoslovakian Government was observing international safeguards. (Peter Diehl (FRG); Greenpeace (via GreenNet, gp. press, topic 304, 26/1/1990 and topic 205, 21/1/1990); WISE 326/7 9/2/1990) l4 March
CHERNOBYL, UKRAINE, U.S.S.R. - On 3rd March the Government of the Ukraine announced that the three operating reactors at the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station will be phased out of operation over the next five years and the station will then be completely closed. Pollution at Mogilev amounts to 45100 curies of Cesium-137 per square kilometre. More than 100,000 people are said to have fallen sick. 25% of children suffer from thyroid gland diseases and children below the age of two are reported to have died from cancer. In the Chernobyl zone, 2,700-3,000 people have fallen seriously ill, 17 million suffer acutely from the consequences of the disaster and one million have already suffered genetic damage. At Cherkassy, one in five babies are born with deformities. Limbs, eyes and ears are missing. Among children, three main types of diseases have been observed. Grey cataracts, blood diseases and liver diseases and cancer and collapse of the immune system (already seen in 3 year olds). In the Mogilev area, the numbers of babies born with deformities are as follows (according to "Sov. Kultura", October 1989): 1985 - 5
1986 - 21
1987 - 39
1988 - 84
1989 - 50 One of the most affected areas is that of Narodichi (Zitomir). The film Maximum Limit deals with the present situation there. It shows pictures of deformed calves, two-headed foals. The pollution in this area amount to 15-1,000 curies of Cesium-137 per square km. Every second child suffers from hyperthyroidism. After strong protests by the local populace, 12 villages of the Narodichi area are to be evacuated between now and 1993. 93,000 thousand inhabitants live in the whole area, 18,000 of whom are children. (Abstract of Dr. Bahro's paper (FRG); "The Nuclear Monitor" (US) 12/3/90; "Guardian" (US) 14/3/90; "WISE" 330 6/4/90). 15 March
BALTIC SEA, GERMANY - The West German transport ship 'MS Godewind' collided with a corn transport in the Baltic Sea, 10km from the island Rugen (GDR). MS Godewind is used to transport nuclear fuel and radioactive scrap material to Sweden. ("TAZ" FRG 375/90; WISE 333 1/6/90). 6 April
FRANCE - In France, where 75% of the electricity is of nuclear origin, the national planning bureau noted that already, beginning a few years ago, EDP have an over-capacity. EDF Director Delaporte recently justified this overcapacity by referring to export profits. In the leaked reports, however, the French Government admits to dumping prices for electricity exports. Prices for exported electricity are lower than production costs. EDF has begun a public relations campaign after an interrupted flow of reports of incidents in French nuclear power plants. In a French weekly journal it wrote of incidents occurring on an average of 15 per month. ("DeVolkshrant (Netherlands) 8/3/90; "TAZ" (FRG) 8/3/90; WISE 330 6/4/90). April
PHILADELPHIA, PA., U.S.A. - According to an article in the 6 March 1990 Philadelphia Daily News, a nuclear power plant worker was charged with spiking the lunchroom water cooler with radioactive water. (MACE (US) Apr 90; WISE 331/27/4/90). April
DOUNREAY, SCOTLAND - The Dounreay fast breeder reactor was closed down after liquid sodium leaked from the secondary cooling system and burnt on contact with air. (NENIG Briefing (P.A.) 5/90. WISE 333 1/6/90). 13 May
BLIND RIVER, CANADA - Leak shuts down Canadian refinery. Approx. 178kg of radioactive uranium dust leaked from CAMECO's Blind River Uranium Refinery into the air over a 30 hour period during the week of 13 May. The filter system was bypassed accidentally and officials are unsure whether it was a mechanical or human error. ("Nuclear Awareness News" Canada, Spring 1990; WISE335 6/7/90 ) . 21 May
RINGHALS-2, SWEDEN - A serious incident occurred at Ringhala-2 Sweden, a Westinghouse built reactor, when operators were unable to turn on the both the main pump and the two reserve pumps for the cooling system of a basin in which the fuel elements had been placed during the reactor's annual inspection. ("Aftonblade" TV News Prog. (Sweden) 21/5/90; "Dagens Nyheter", 22/5/90; WISE 333 1/6/90). 21 May
SWITZERLAND - The Superphoenix plant was once again temporarily closed due to a new leak of about 10 to 30 litres of sodium in the second cooling circuit. (CECSR Switzerland 21/5/90; WISE-334 22/6/90) 28 May
LOVIISA, FINLAND - Break in thinned feedwater pipe shuts Finnish PWRs. Both units at the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant were stopped due to a rupture of a feedwater pipe at Loviisa-1. ("Nucleonics Week" US 31/5/90; WISE335 6/7/90) 7 June
SPAIN - A leak of water into the containment vessel at the rate of 280 litres per hour began the night of 7th June and lasts approximately 10 hr ; (WISE Tarragona 11/7/90; Trouw (NL)) 6 June
BIBLIS A. - A nuclear 'incident' rated in the category 'urgent' occurred at the RUE nuclear power station Biblis A. While the block was shut down for maintenance, and the fuel elements removed from the reactor pressure vessel, a branch of the electricity supply for reactor protection was mistakenly switched off for 3 minutes before it was noticed. ("Power in Europe" (aim.) 21/6/90; WISE-335 6/7/90) 21 June
AUSTRALIA - A senior technical officer with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation committed suicide after an apparently minor accident at the University of Melbourne. The officer had been supervising the transfer of a 15cm rod of Cobalt-60 from one lead receptacle to another when mechanical failure resulted in what was described as an "insignificant" release of radiation. ("The Australian" 21 June 1990; WISE-334 22/6/90) June
MURUROA ATOLL, PACIFIC - Radioactive waste from French underground nuclear tests at Mururoa Atoll in the Pacific is seeping towards the surface faster than has previously been claimed, warns Professor Manfred Nochstein, director of Auckland University's Geothermal Institute. He believes the waste could come to the top of the Atoll in about 30 years - not the thousands of years claimed by the French authorities. (Greenpeace (via Greennet 25/5/90); WISE 333 1/6/90) June
U.S. NAVY, U.K. - A US nuclear weapons carrier ship, the T-AK 286 Vega, was damaged in a collision with a barge at Holy Loch (U.K.). (Scotland on Sunday (U.K.) 24/6/90 (via GreenNet, 24/6/90); WISE-336 20/7/90) June
(CHERNOBYL) IRELAND - According to the Irish Nuclear Energy Board the radioactive cesium levels in mountain sheep which graze upland pastures have not decreased significantly since the Chernobyl accident in 1986. In fact, its report on sheep monitoring for 1989, which covered more than 25,000 animals, showed a slight increased compared with 1988 levels. ("Nuclear Energy Board"; "Irish Times" 19/6/90; WISE-336 20/7/90) August
LENINGRAD, U.S.S.R. - Soviet newspapers have reported that radioactive waste has been dumped in the Leningrad area, even in city parks. According to the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda", there are at least 1,500 places in Leningrad where levels of radon exceed allowed levels. About 150,000 cubic metres of soil are known to be contaminated. The newspaper also reported that radioactivity has seeped down into ground water and out into the Bay of Finland. In one case a medical research institute burned up contaminated materials and spread the ashes out on the side-walks in the area. In another case, radioactive waste buried underground came up to the surface again when houses were built on the dump site. ("Dagena Nyheter(Sweden) 16/8/90; WISE-338 14/9/90). 12th September
UST-KAMEMOGORSK, KAZAKHSTAN, U.S.S.R.
The official Soviet news agency Tass has reported that an explosion took place on 12th September at the Soviet fuel fabrication plant in Ust-Kamenogorak in Kazackstan, a city with a population of a half million, located near the border of the U.S.S.R., Mongolia and China. No fatalities occurred, but many people are said to be injured. (TAZ (FRG) 14/9/90; VLT (Sweden) 14/9/90; WISE-339 28/9/9 16 September
CREYS-MALVILLE, FRANCE - The French Government has been forced to close a fast-breeder nuclear power reactor in Creys-Malville after a series of technical problems climaxed in reduction of power and automatic shutdown. The accident rated 2 on a severity scale of 6. It was thought that a bubble of argon gas in the reactor core was causing the trouble. The Superphoenix fast breeder was also in trouble with an unrelated problem of corrosion product contamination in the primary sodium coolant. Neither reactor was expected to restart until late 1991 at the earliest. (The Australian, 19/9/90, Nuclear News, August 1991 ) October
GERMANY - The German Government has informed Moscow that it will shut down five VVER 230 nuclear power reactors in former East Germany because they are unsafe. A Nuclear Energy Agency spokesperson was quoted as saying that "those machines are incredibly far off our own regulations and requirements." At least 26 similarly unsafe reactors are scattered across Czeckoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Soviet Union. Pressure continued to build on these to be closed also. (The Sydney Morning Herald, 22/10/90). October
HANFORD, WASHINGTON STATE, U.S.A. - A potentially explosive situation was reported by safety inspectors at a nuclear waste tank (codenamed 101-SY) at Hanford. The waste slurry had formed a thick crust which is trapping hydrogen being continuously generated underneath. One calculation has it that an explosion equivalent to 230 kilos of TNT could occur. The tank has uncertain chemistry and contents. Up to 66 tanks at Hanford are believed to be leaking, 22 are accumulating hydrogen and a further 22 are potentially explosive. (New Scientist, October 1990; The Canberra Times, 28/12/90). 21 November
FARALLON ISLANDS, off U.S.A. - Marine scientists have produced graphic evidence that drums of nuclear waste are leaking in part of the northwest Pacific which happens to be a rich fishing area and a marine reserve. At least 47,500 drums are known to have been dumped near the Farallon Islands, 50 km off San Franciaso, between 1946 and 1970. Images show fish swimming among corroded and collapsed drums scattered over an area of 48 square km. (The Age, 22/11/90) 18 December
HEMATITE, MISSOURI, U.S.A. - One worker was slightly injured and 25 evacuated following a release of uranium hexaflouride ('hex') at a nuclear fuel fabrication plant. The spill occurred after an employee failed to turn off a valve before disconnecting sampling equipment from a cylinder of hex being tested for degree of enrichment. (Nuclear News, February 1991) | 
