Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.energy From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: energy Fri, Apr 10 1992 Date: Fri, 10 Apr 92 05:43:42 EDT Message-ID: 04-10 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update April 10-12, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network ADMINISTRATION ATTACKS REPORT: Administration officials tried Thursday to defuse a stunning report on the extent of the USA's radioactive contamination, calling the Environmental Protection Agency study a "gross misrepresentation" that could frighten Americans. But members of the Senate Government Affairs Committee said they're less concerned about overstating the problem than they are about cleaning it up. (For more, see special Report package below.) OIL PRICES RETREAT: Oil prices retreated Thursday following recent sharp runups that had taken crude to its high point for the year. Light sweet crude oil for delivery in May settled at $20.31 per barrel, down 31 cents, at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Lower-grade sour crude for delivery in May settled at $17.91 per barrel, down 31 cents. REFINED PRODUCTS DOWN: Refined petroleum products fell Thursday at the Mercantile Exchange. Unleaded gasoline for delivery in May settled at 61.72 cents a gallon, down .99 cent. Home heating oil for delivery in May settled at 55.52 cents a gallon, down .74 cent. Natural gas prices were mostly lower Thursday, but contracts for delivery in May settled at $1.310 per 1,000 cubic feet, up .5 cent. TVA SEEKS HELP ON ENERGY BILL: A House energy bill amendment could help the Tennessee Valley Authority preserve its customer base, as well as keep rates low for rural customers, a TVA official told a House panel Thursday. The provision would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission greater power to order an electric utility, such as TVA, to transport electric power from another utility across its lines. ENERGY PRICES HIGH: Wholesale prices edged up just 0.2% last month, signaling that inflation is under control, the Labor Department says. The rise in the Producer Price Index - which measures prices charged by manufacturers of finished goods - matched February's 0.2% rise. A big drop in food prices helped offset higher energy prices. Minus volatile food and energy costs, wholesale inflation rose 0.2%. NORTHEAST CRACKS DOWN ON SMOG: Eight Northeastern states have approved tough controls on utilities to cut nitrous oxides, an ingredient in smog. Acting as the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, they required 50% cuts be made in two stages by 1999. Much of the problem comes from coal-burning boilers, but oil- and gas-burning units also face curbs. DAM PROJECT MAY BE DOOMED: The New York State Power Authority has canceled a long-term contract to buy electricity from the Canadian province of Quebec, a move that may doom the controversial Great Whale hydroelectric project. The project's dikes and dams would submerge 1,200 square miles. Hydro Quebec, the province's utility, says it will proceed but New York's move threatens its chances of arranging financing. BUG CHOWS DOWN ON URANIUM: A common soil organism, Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, was named for its affinity for sulfur compounds but also craves uranium and may be useful in cleaning up radioactive waste. U.S. Geological Survey researchers found the bug captures energy by transferring electrons from hydrogen to uranium. In the process, the uranium changes from a water-soluble form to uraninite, a non-soluble form. CONVERSION PROCESS NEXT STEP: The next step in researching Desulfovibrio desulfuricans consumption of uranium is to devise a system that could pass uranium-tainted water over the bacteria, which would convert the element into a solid for reuse or safe disposal. The geologists report their discovery in March's Applied and Environmental Microbiology. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON REPORT: REPORT DESCRIBES 45,300 SITES: "This report ... is going to create a firestorm of public anxiety," Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., said of an EPA report on the extent of the USA's radioactive contamination. "I don't want to scare anybody," Committee Chairman John Glenn, D-Ohio, said. "But we don't know" which of the 45,300 sites described as contaminated or potentially contaminated are dangerous. DOD, DOE OWN MOST SITES: Glenn released the "draft" study, commissioned by the EPA and dated February 1991, that said the USA is covered with sites that are or could become contaminated. The Departments of Defense and Energy are the landlords in most cases, and they said the EPA overstated the problem. The only thing everyone agreed on is that nobody knows the true number or condition of the sites. NUMBERS MAY BE EXAGGERATED: EPA was also accused of running up the number of sites by including every spill or burial site in a larger problem area. In Nevada, for instance, EPA identified 810 DOE "sites," but that included 580 atomic-test shots on one site. The Hanford Nuclear Reservation, while a formidable cleanup project, is actually classified by EPA as between 1,500 and 3,000 individual "sites." LESS THAN 350 SITES SEVERE: DOE and DOD said less than 350 of the sites cited by EPA are severe enough for concern, although they said the goal is to clean up all sites at what could be a cost of $24 billion over 30 years or more. The General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm, says it could cost more than $160 billion. (End of package.) Energy Editor: William Snoddy. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM