Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.energy From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: energy Thu, May 21 1992 Date: Thu, 21 May 92 05:20:57 EDT Message-ID: 05-21 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update May 21, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network NUKE-LICENSING BILL ATTACKED: Rep. Bob Clement, D-Tenn., is being criticized on two fronts for his attempts to streamline the method of licensing nuclear power plants. The Nuclear Licensing Reactor Act, authored by Clement and Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, would allow consolidated licensing of new nuclear power plants in an attempt to speed up licensing. It is similar to language included in the Senate-passed energy bill. (For more, see special Nuclear package below.) PRICES UP IN QUIET TRADING: Crude oil futures gained slightly on the Mercantile Exchange Wednesday in quiet trading as the market awaits the outcome of the midyear conference in Vienna of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Light sweet crude oil for July delivery rose 5 cents to $20.40 a barrel. REFINED PRODUCTS FINISH MIXED: Local buying boosted gasoline prices Wednesday at the Mercantile Exchange, while fund liquidations pushed heating oil futures lower. June unleaded gasoline was .26 cent higher at 62.27 cents a gallon. Heating oil for delivery in June was .95 cent lower at 55.20 cents a gallon. June natural gas was 3.7 cents higher at $1.788 per 1,000 cubic feet. ULTRASOUND BOOSTS OIL REFINING: Refineries have trouble breaking down and using the heaviest portions of crude oil, but a technique successfully tested by University of Southern California chemists may let them squeeze a little more from each barrel. They use ultrasound, which creates tiny bubbles that collapse in a burst of heat that breaks the long, tangled molecules into pieces that can be processed into fuels. PILOT PROJECT IS NEXT STEP: In a lab experiment, University of Southern California chemists boosted the yield of light oil and resins from heavy oil to 86% from 68% using ultrasound to refine crude. Using a liquid coal sample, they boosted the yield of light oil and resins from zero to 55%. The next step is to scale the process up to a pilot project, which may take several years. CALLAWAY NUCLEAR UP AND RUNNING: Union Electric's Callaway Nuclear Plant in St. Louis is back in operation after a two-month shutdown for routine refueling, company officials said Wednesday. The plant provides power for 300,000 of the company's 1 million customers in Missouri. It should reach full power within a week. METHANOL PLANT TO OPEN: American Cynamid and Metallgesellschaft Corp. - one of Germany's largest industrial firms - will open a $90 million methanol production plant near New Orleans in 1994, company officials announced Wednesday. Methanol is used as an additive in gasoline. WASTE'S RADIOACTIVITY STUDIED: Waste brought to Rollins Environmental Services's dump in Baton Rouge from six nuclear weapons facilities was five times more radioactive than previously believed, says a study done by Louisiana State University. The study says there was no public danger. CLEAN FUELS PROJECT PLANNED: Cenex has plans for an $80 million project at its oil refinery in Laurel, Mont., it was announced Wednesday. The goals of the project are to produce cleaner fuels and improve air quality. It is expected to be completed by November 1993. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON NUCLEAR: CLEMENT ATTACKED ON TWO SIDES: Rep. Bob Clement, D-Tenn., offered the Nuclear Reactor Licensing Act Wednesday as an amendment to the House energy bill. A vote was expected on the measure late Wednesday night. Chip Forrester, who is trying to take Clement's House seat, called it "dangerous," while three public-interest groups cited a poll that said three of four Americans oppose efforts to shorten the licensing process. PUBLIC CUT OUT OF PROCESS: Clement's legislation significantly cuts out public input on nuclear licensing after the power plant has been built. The public-interest groups said the hearings are necessary to allow input on the quality of construction, potential groundwater contamination and the environmental impact of nuclear plants. Earlier in the week, the groups urged Clement to drop the bill. PAC DONATIONS CRITICIZED: The three groups - the U.S. Public Interest Group, the Safe Energy Communication Council and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service - also criticized the $17,650 Clement has received between 1988 and 1991 from political action committees controlled by utilities and the nuclear industry. Forrester called the nuclear-licensing bill the "worst example of a special-interest bill." CLEMENT RESPONDS TO ATTACK: Clement's office insisted that the congressman has advocated standardizing construction of nuclear plants for a more than a decade. "This legislation will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and keep utility rates low," Clement said. Earlier, on the House floor, Clement said that nuclear plants today have to undergo a licensing process that has not been updated since the 1950s. (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. 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