Pakistan: U-processing plant.
(September 16, 1994) At a chemical plant near Khushab (Punjab-Pakistan) operated by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), three employees died. But the circumstances of the accident are unclear. The largest local newspaper in Karachi, Jang, reported that the three were killed by an explosion at the plant. According to the paper the three entered an exit door and precipitated the explosion.
PAEC officials however, claim there was no explosion but a gas leakage in a laboratory experimenting on uranium processing. This caused the three workers lose consciousness and they later died in a hospital. PAEC denied that any explosion or nuclear event was involved. Nucleonics Week, 18 August 1994
Saudi Arabia. The King Abdul Aziz City for Science & Technology (Kasct) and the King Abdul Aziz University will conduct a preliminary study (in cooperation with the IAEA) of the feasibility of using nuclear energy to desalinate sea water. Their major objective is to develop nuclear technology for non-military purposes by conducting research and by develop a cadre of specialists with the practical skills needed to utilize the technology. The president of Kasct Saleh bin Abdul Rahman al-Adhi said that for the time being Saudi specialists are concentrating on industrial, medical, and research applications for radioactive isotopes, laying the groundwork of safety and expertise should nuclear power be desired. (But see also the story on their secret military cooperation with Iraq in WISE NC 415/6.4110). Nucleonics Week, 25 August 1994
Radioactive steel for radwaste containers? Plans are being hatched at the now-silent Rocky Flats nuclear plant to recycle some of the metal once used in making nuclear weapons (Denver Post, May 8,1994). The idea is to fashion nuclear waste containers-drums, casks, boxes and coffins-from the metal, which is itself radio-active. Proponents say that if the containers could meet the same standards of integrity as virgin steel, the recycling program would reduce the total volume of nuclear waste that must be buried. Bulletin of the atomic scientists, July/August 1994
Swedes consider to enrich reprocessed fuel at Tomsk. Sweden is considering the plan to send 9.4 metric tons of reprocessed uranium-23S to Tomsk-7 in Siberia (Russia) for enrichment. But the idea has already raised some politicians' hackles and could prove politically impossible. The Swedish Nuclear Fuel & Waste Management Co. (5KB) met with representatives from Tomsk in June and are waiting for a proposal from the Russians to see it they can meet the Nordic country's safety standards. There have also been preliminary discussions with BNFL and Cogéma but Tomsk would likely to be the low bidder.
Sweden still has reprocessed fuel, stored at the Studsvik lab in 27 drums in powdered oxide form. Although Sweden has a non-reprocessing policy, in the early stages of the country's nuclear program fuel was sent (in 1967) to Mol (Belgium) to determine the feasibility of creating MOX fuel on a large scale. Nucleonics Week, 11 August 1994