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NUCLEAR POLICY
1 AU The Age: Weapons report 'sound'
2 AU THE AGE: Detailed plans, but no smoking gun
3 Annan Welcomes Recent Statements On Dpr Of Korea's Nuclear Programme
4 US: Nuclear pay raises!!!
5 US: BostonHerald.com: Nuke flap dogs Dean
6 Mideast Nukes
7 [du-list] Mideast Nukes: Interviews Available
8 The Hindu: Musharraf studying Libya nuke reports: US
9 The Hindu: Tunisia persuaded Libya to give up nukes - US
NUCLEAR REACTORS
10 US: NRC: PSEG Nuclear LLC; Notice of Withdrawal of Application for
11 People's Daily: China ready to start its nuclear power plan
12 US: Brattleboro Reformer: 'Uprate' delay, VY fine urged
13 YLE-INTERNET: Residual Chernobyl Radiation Found in Finnish Wild
14 US: Oak Ridger: TVA spends $472,000 to fly chairman from Mississippi
15 US: NRC: Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc., Millstone Power Station
NUCLEAR SAFETY
16 US: [Fwd: Show Your Support for a Ban on Irradiated Food at Jan 13 S
17 US: Show Your Support for a Ban on Irradiated Food at Jan 13
18 US: Las Vegas RJ: Sources: FBI gathered visitor information only in
19 US: BBC: Fresh US fears of 'dirty bomb'
20 US: Paducah Sun: Gas leak details still daze citizens
21 US: Las Vegas SUN: Report: U.S. Feared New Year's Dirty Bomb
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
22 Las Vegas RJ: LETTERS: Futile arguments against Caliente corridor
23 Las Vegas RJ: Ensign cancels Senate hearing on Yucca route
24 Las Vegas SUN: Ensign's hearing on Yucca routes canceled
25 US: RGJ: Shipment of radioactive waste to begin today
26 US: The State: Nuclear waste arrives in Barnwell from SRS
27 US: The Advocate: Nuclear reactor vessel from Connecticut arrives in
28 ITAR-TASS: No contracts for irradiated nuke fuel import in Russia th
29 Paducah Sun: Ed Whitfield says Ohio favored by USEC
30 UK: News & Star: BNFL STAFF LIKELY TO SETTLE DISPUTE
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
31 [EMMAS] The BBC on Hiroshima
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
32 Knox News: ORNL rings in '04 with staff changes
33 Knox News: Y-12's BWXT receives fee hike
34 Oak Ridger: Boyd Reflects On First Year As DOE Manager
35 Oak Ridger: Community gives DOE chief high marks
OTHER NUCLEAR
36 Google News Alert - nuclear
37 [NukeNet] More On Bush/NASA/DOE/DOD Space Nukes
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FULL NEWS STORIES
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1 AU The Age: Weapons report 'sound'
- www.theage.com.au
By Tabassum Zakaria Washington January 8, 2004
A prewar United States intelligence report that said Iraq had
weapons of mass destruction was based on 15 years of information,
and the hunt should continue, a senior US intelligence official
has said.
Stuart Cohen, vice-chairman of the National Intelligence Council,
which produced the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate
report on Iraq's banned weapons, said he was not surprised that
stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons had not been found.
"He's (Saddam Hussein) had 15 years to hone his ability to hide
this stuff. The footprints of these weapons are very small," Mr
Cohen said.
"I believe that our work was well-grounded. We know he (Saddam)
had it, he used it, you don't unlearn that."
Critics have said the National Intelligence report was produced
under pressure for a Bush Administration that wanted to go to war
against Iraq. Mr Cohen dismissed this.
The report said that Iraq would not have nuclear weapons until
"very late" in the decade, Mr Cohen said.
- Reuters
Copyright © 2004. The Age Company Ltd advertise| contact us
*****************************************************************
2 AU THE AGE: Detailed plans, but no smoking gun
- www.theage.com.au
January 8, 2004
The continued search for Iraq's alleged weapons of mass
destruction tantalises but does not deliver. Barton Gellma
reports from Baghdad.
Of all Iraq's rocket scientists, none drew warier scrutiny abroad
than Modher Sadeq-Saba Tamimi.
He designed and built a short-range missile during Iraq's
four-year hiatus from United Nations arms inspections. Inspectors
who returned in late 2002, enforcing Security Council limits,
ruled that the al-Samoud missile's range was not short enough.
The UN team crushed the missiles, bulldozed them into a pit and
entombed the wreckage in concrete. "It was as if they were
killing my sons," Tamimi said.
But Tamimi, 47, had other brainchildren, and these stayed secret.
Concealed away from his Karama Co. factory in Baghdad were
concept drawings and computations for a family of much more
capable missiles, designed to share parts and features with the
declared al-Samoud. The largest was meant to fly six times
farther.
"This was hidden during the UNMOVIC visits," Tamimi said,
referring to inspectors from the UN Monitoring, Verification and
Inspection Commission. "It was forbidden for us to reveal this
information."
Tamimi's covert work, which he recounted publicly for the first
time in five hours of interviews last month, offers fresh
perspective on the question that led the United States, Britain
and Australia to war. Iraq flouted a legal duty to report the
designs. The weapons they depicted, however, did not exist. After
years of development - against significant obstacles - they might
have taken form as nine-tonne missiles. In March they fitted in
Tamimi's pocket, on two digital compact discs.
The nine-month record of arms investigators since the fall of
Baghdad includes discoveries of other concealed arms research,
mostly less advanced. Iraq's former government engaged in
abundant deception about its ambitions and, in some cases, early
steps towards development or production. Interviews with Iraqi
weaponeers and US and British investigators turned up unreported
records, facilities and materials that could have been used in
unlawful weapons.
But investigators have found no support for the two main fears
expressed in Washington and London before the war: that Iraq had
a hidden arsenal of old weapons and had built advanced programs
for new ones. In public statements and unauthorised interviews,
investigators said they had discovered no work on old germ war
agents such as anthrax and no work on a new pathogen - combining
pox virus and snake venom - that led US scientists on a highly
classified hunt for several months.
The investigators assess that Iraq did not, as claimed in
Washington and London, resume production of its most lethal nerve
agent, VX, or learn to make it last longer in storage. And they
have found the former nuclear weapons program - described as a
"grave and gathering danger" by President George Bush and a
"mortal threat" by Vice-President Dick Cheney - in much the same
shattered state as UN inspectors left it in the 1990s.
A review of evidence, including some not known to coalition
investigators and some not made public, portrays a
nonconventional arms establishment less capable than US analysts
judged before the war.
Leading figures in Iraqi science and industry, supported by
observations on the ground, described factories and institutes
thoroughly beaten down by 12 years of conflict, arms embargo and
economic sanctions. The remnants of Iraq's biological, chemical
and missile infrastructures were riven by internal strife, bled
by schemes for personal gain and handicapped by deceit along
lines of command.
The broad picture emerging from the investigation to date
suggests that, whatever its desire, Iraq did not possess the
wherewithal to build a forbidden armoury on anything like the
scale it had before the 1991 Gulf War.
David Kay, who directs the weapons hunt on behalf of the Bush
Administration, reported no discoveries last year of finished
weapons, bulk agents or ready-to-start production lines. Members
of his Iraq Survey Group, in unauthorised interviews, said the
group held out little prospect of such a find.
Some researchers at Baghdad University's College of Science -
such as immunologist Alice Krikor Melconian, the chairwoman of
the biotechnology department - and other elite institutions
remain under scrutiny in part because investigators deem them
capable of doing dangerous biological research. Investigators
said they were casting a wide net at Iraq's "centres of
scientific excellence".
Kay's Iraq Survey Group, which has numbered up to 1400 personnel
from the Defence Department, US laboratories and intelligence
agencies, is looking for biological weapons far more dangerous
than those of Iraq's former arsenal.
A US National Intelligence Estimate, published October 2002, said
"chances are even" that Iraqi weaponeers were working with
smallpox, one of history's mass killers.
A scientific assessment panel known as Team Pox returned home in
July without finding reason to believe Iraq possessed the variola
virus, which causes smallpox. Even so, interviews with Iraqi
scientists led to a redoubled search for work on animal poxes,
harmless to humans but potentially useful as substitutes for
smallpox in weapons research.
According to an informed account of the debriefing of Rihab Taha,
a British-educated biologist known in the west as Dr Germ, she
acknowledged receiving an order in 1990 to develop a biological
weapon based on a virus. That same year, virologist Hazem Ali
began research on camelpox.
If truthful, Taha's statement exposed a long-standing lie. Iraq's
government denied offensive viral research.
There is no corresponding record, however, that Iraq had the
capability or made the effort to carry out such an intent.
Taha, according to the same debriefing account, said Iraq had no
access to smallpox. Ali's research halted after 45 days, with the
August 1990 outbreak of war in Kuwait, and did not resume. And
Taha, like all those in custody, continues to assert that biowar
programs ceased entirely the following year.
Late last month, fresh evidence emerged on an old question about
Iraq's illegal arms: Did the Baghdad government, as it said, rid
itself of all the biological arms it produced before 1991?
The new evidence appears to be an Iraqi government record of a
pivotal moment in Baghdad's long struggle to shield arms programs
from outside scrutiny. Written just after the defection of Saddam
Hussein's son-in-law in 1995, the document anticipates the
collapse of cover stories for undisclosed weapons.
The defection of Hussein Kamel, who controlled Baghdad's Military
Industrial Commission, was a turning point in the UN-imposed
disarmament of Iraq in the 1990s. He told his Western debriefers
about major programs in biological and nuclear weaponry that had
gone undetected or unconfirmed. Iraq was forced to acknowledge
what he exposed.
A handwritten Iraqi damage report, written by Hossam Amin, the
head of Iraq's National Monitoring Directorate who liaised with
inspectors, made an unambiguous report that Iraq destroyed its
entire inventory of biological weapons.
Amin reminded Saddam's son Qusay of the government's claim that
it possessed no such arms after 1990, then wrote that in truth
"destruction of the biological weapons agents took place in the
summer of 1991".
It was those weapons to which Secretary of State Colin Powell
referred in the Security Council last February when he said, for
example, that Iraq still had an estimated 8500 to 25,000 litres
of anthrax.
+ A prewar US intelligence report that said Iraq had weapons of
mass destruction was based on 15 years of information, and the
hunt should continue, a senior US intelligence official has said.
Stuart Cohen, vice-chairman of the National Intelligence Council,
which produced the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate
report on banned weapons, said he was not surprised stockpiles of
weapons had not been found.
"I believe that our work was well-grounded. We know he (Saddam)
had it, he used it, you don't unlearn that."
- Washington Post
Copyright © 2004. The Age Company Ltd advertise| contact us
*****************************************************************
3 Annan Welcomes Recent Statements On Dpr Of Korea's Nuclear Programme
Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2004 17:00:29 -0500
ANNAN WELCOMES RECENT STATEMENTS ON DPR OF KOREA'S NUCLEAR PROGRAMME
New York, Jan 7 2004 5:00PM
Hoping to spur a resumption of talks on the nuclear programme of
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), United Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed recent statements by
Pyongyang and the other countries involved in the issue.
A <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=731">statement issued
by a spokesman for the Secretary-General said Mr. Annan "feels
that there is a growing momentum for the resumption of the six-party
talks, thus advancing the Beijing process intended to resolve
the nuclear and related issues in the Korean Peninsula."
In urging the parties to the talks to intensify their preparations,
Mr. Annan "is encouraged by the recent statement by the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea, as well as the response to it by
the countries concerned," the statement said.
China, the DPRK, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation
and the United States held a series of talks last year in Beijing
on Pyongyang's nuclear programme. The DPRK withdrew from the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) at the beginning of last
year and has since been reported to have said it would develop nuclear
weapons and might carry out tests.
2004-01-07 00:00:00.000
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4 Nuclear pay raises!!!
Date: Wed, 07 Jan 2004 12:04:41 -0800
Good Day:
According to the following reports from Platts, NEI and INPO collected
approximately $80 million from its members in 2002. The NRC's budget is
about $480 million and the industry claims it is too high and must be
reduced.
Question - If competition is such that the cost of mandatory regulatory
oversight is too much, why are the companies voluntarily paying more to NEI
and INPO?
Another Question - If NEI and INPO were disbanded and that $80 million given
instead to NRC, would the agency be able to resolve generic safety issues in
under a decade?
These are Rhettorical questions, meaning that the answers are "Frankly, they
don't give a damn."
Thanks,
Dave
------
Executive pay climbs at NEI even as annual expenses rise
Executive compensation packages for the Nuclear Energy Institute's (NEI)
highest-level officers rose about 8% in 2002 over the previous year, even
as the industry association's expenses increased 18.4%.
NEI paid nearly $3.3-million to its top nine management officials in 2002,
compared to slightly more than $3-million in 2001. The pay packages include
the officers' base salary and benefits. All figures were taken from
information NEI reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Form
990s, the annual filings for tax-exempt organizations. NEI files as a
not-for-profit because it says it was established to "further the peaceful
uses of nuclear energy and to support the nuclear energy industry."
NEI's total expenses for 2002 were nearly $40.9-million, and its revenues
were reported as $35.7-million. It ended the year with a $5-million
deficit, according to the filing. In 2001 NEI's expenses totaled
$34.5-million while revenues were $33-million, leaving the organization
with almost a $1.5-million year-end deficit.
NEI President/CEO Joe Colvin received an $817,607 compensation package in
2002, up from $782,461 the previous year. The second highest-paid official
was Executive Vice President Angelina Howard, whose pay and benefits came to
$405,909 in 2002. She received $386,378 in 2001.
The seven other top-level officers also saw their base pay and benefits
grow in the two-year period. In 2002 Ralph Beedle, senior vice
president/chief nuclear officer, was compensated at $360,769 (up from
$352,517 in 2001); John Kane, vice president of governmental affairs,
received $351,214 (compared to $324,874 the previous year); Marvin Fertel,
senior vice president/chief nuclear officer, earned $313,945 ($279,100 in
2001); Robert Bishop, vice president/general counsel/secretary, earned
$301,119 ($274,548 in 2001); Phyllis Rich, vice president of information
resources, received $239,501 ($224,988 in 2001); Scott Peterson, vice
president of communications, earned $233,932 ($183,382 in 2001); and Linda
Nahim, treasurer/vice president of finance and administration, was
compensated $225,452 ($215,043 in 2001).
NEI listed a total of 128 employees in 2002. It paid staffers other than
its executives $9.5-million and nearly $1.9-million in benefits. The
previous year NEI reported 129 employees worked for the organization and
were paid $8.9-million, plus received almost $1.9-million in benefits.
Most of NEI's revenue came from membership dues. It took in about
$32.7-million from dues in 2002, slightly more than the $28.9-million in
2001.
NEI also brought in $816,752 from conferences and $17,943 from publication
sales in 2002, a drop from more than $1-million in income it raised from
conferences and $29,527 from its publications in 2001.
Jenny Weil, Washington
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Compensation for INPO executives almost hits $4.4-million in 2002
The 16 top-ranking officers at the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations
(INPO) earned nearly $3.1-million in salaries in 2002 and received a total
of $1.3-million in deferred bonuses.
Those figures are less than the nearly $3.5-million INPO paid its officers
in 2001 for their base salaries and the $4.8-million in deferred
compensation it gave the executives. However, a large portion of the bonus
total?more than $2-million?was paid to former chairman/CEO/president Jim
Rhodes, who retired in September 2001.
Besides the deferred bonus payment, Rhodes earned $584,232 for the last
nine months of his service. According to INPO's 2001 filing to the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS), in addition, Rhodes accumulated $320,487 in further
deferred bonus awards. INPO has said that the bonuses can be distributed in
a single payment the following year or paid out over multiple years.
INPO's annual filings are made to the IRS on a Form 990 because of its
tax-exempt status, which it was granted in 1981. INPO is exempt because its
purpose is to help the industry operate nuclear plants safely.
The IRS records show that INPO ended 2002 with a deficit. INPO's expenses
totaled $60.8-million, and its revenues were nearly $57.9-million. INPO
collected almost $55-million from membership dues in 2002 and earned nearly
$1.7-million in interest on savings and investments, the records state. The
organization's assets were recorded as $65.3-million, and its liabilities
were about $50.6-million.
(Only once over the past five years has INPO ended the year in the black.
In 1999, INPO recorded a nearly $2.3-million surplus. The prior year, the
organization reported a $3.6-million deficit. In 2000, the year-end deficit
had shrunk to $71,692, according to INPO filings with the IRS.)
INPO's Form 990 shows it paid $880,949 in grants in 2002 to engineering
students?down from the $897,917 in 2001. The grants in 2002 included 147
undergraduate scholarships of $2,500 each (three fewer than in 2001), six
at $1,250 (none at that level in 2001) and 40 graduate fellowships at
$14,000 each (the same number awarded in the previous year).
The financial forms state that INPO spent almost $33.4-million on
evaluations, analysis, and assistance in 2002 and another $16.1-million on
training and accreditation.
INPO ran an $849,782 deficit in 2001, when INPO's expenses totaled almost
$57-million and its revenues were $56.1-million. Dues collected were
$52.2-million, and it took in nearly $2.7-million from earnings on
investments. Its assets in 2001 were listed as about $65.6-million, and
liabilities at $47.3-million. The 2002 filing says INPO received $710,685
from government contracts in 2001, which was slightly less than the
$716,585 INPO claimed from contracts in 2000.
In 2002, Chairman/CEO/President J. Michael Evans drew a base salary of
$592,324, and received $75,877 more in a deferred bonus. Evans was expected
to be paid $608,026 at a later date for deferred bonuses, according to IRS
records.
INPO's filing to the IRS indicates that four of the 16 officers either were
replaced or retired in 2002. They include Gary Leidich, an executive vice
president, who was paid $133,154; William Kindley, a senior vice president,
who earned $113,407 plus was paid a $577,478 bonus; Tom Mitchell, a vice
president, who was paid $47,416; and Pete Knoetgen, secretary, who received
$31,595.
One former executive who was terminated in June filed a suit against INPO
last month alleging discrimination and is seeking back pay and benefits
(NW, 18 Dec. '03, 6). INPO's financial filing shows Bernard LaScala, vice
president of information technology (IT), was paid $175,405 in 2002, and
received a $39,540 bonus from compensation in previous years. INPO's
financial disclosure form says LaScala's deferred earnings in 2002 totaled
$79,090.
INPO's 2002 filing shows the following officer earnings (including the
deferred compensation): Alfred Tollison Jr., executive vice president,
$652,437; Sigval Berg Jr., senior vice president, $367,596; William Webster
Jr., vice president, $200,046; George Felgate, vice president, $193,060;
James Morris, vice president, $229,418; Mark Peifer, vice president,
$231,489; Philip McCullough, vice president, $222,374; Ed Hux, vice
president, $191,658; David Weeks, treasurer, $180,211; Jeff Place,
secretary, $111,035; and Knoetgen, secretary, $31,595.
INPO said it paid almost $30.2-million in 2002 for the salaries of its
other employees, less than the roughly $31.3-million it paid the previous
year. But the filing shows INPO had 339 employees on its payroll in 2002,
down from 344 in 2001.?Jenny Weil, Washington
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************************
5 BostonHerald.com: Nuke flap dogs Dean
By David R. Guarino
Tuesday, January 6, 2004The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says
former Gov. Howard Dean and other Vermont officials violated
federal law by releasing secret protection plans for its nuclear
power plant in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The NRC's charge had Vermont officials scrambling to
impoundtop-secret nuclear documents the Democratic presidential
front-runner wrongly made public.
Some of the documents regarding the Vermont Yankee nuke
plant include so-called ``safeguards information,'' which is to
be released under ``need to know requirements and . . . not
publicly releasable,'' said NRC spokesman Scott Burnell.
The documents are included in files Dean made public - even
as he opposes the release of other records on the grounds that
they may include similar security or personal information.
``They have been made aware that these documents aren't
supposed to be publicly available,'' said Burnell. ``They have
assured us that steps are being taken to remove the documents
from public availability.''
Burnell said visible warnings on the records weren't heeded
by Dean's office, the Vermont secretary of state and the state
archivist - making civil or criminal charges a possibility.
``If warranted, there is going to be an investigation,''
Burnell said.
Dean has come under steady fire for refusing to release
many of the files from his 11 years as Vermont governor until
2013.
The front-running Democrat has said he doesn't want his
gubernatorial records released for political reasons but said he
also worries that security data and things like constituent
medical information could accidentally be released if all his
documents were made public.
The NRC review follows a Herald report last month that
documents containing security and personal medical information
were tucked in Dean's public files.
The documents undercut Dean's argument that files should
remain private and have been used by his competitors, most
recently by U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman during a debate in Iowa
Sunday.
Dean has also been criticized for reports of lax security
at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant after the 2001
terrorist attacks.
Officials at the Vermont state archives told the NRC that
documents were released only after an OK from Dean's office,
according to Burnell.
Dean campaign spokesman Jay Carson refused to comment. But
Vermont Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz, a Democrat, said
her office is equally to blame for the gaffe.
``Because of the very quick and intense interest in Gov.
Dean's records, we simply missed this batch,'' Markowitz said.
``It was ultimately a result of the pressure our office had, we
weren't ready for it.''
Markowitz said governors are supposed to exclude data not
subject to public records laws. But, she said, her office is the
last check. ``We're the custodian of the record. The buck stops
here,'' she said.
The nuclear files have been removed from public view.
Archivists and officials from the NRC will soon review all
public documents to ensure there aren't other secret files
available, officials said.
*****************************************************************
6 Mideast Nukes
Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2004 11:05:46 -0600 (CST)
Institute for Public Accuracy
915 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045
(202) 347-0020 * http://www.accuracy.org * ipa@accuracy.org
___________________________________________________
Wednesday, January 7, 2004
Mideast Nukes
Syrian President Bashar Assad told the British newspaper The Daily
Telegraph this week that elimination of weapons of mass destruction in the
Mideast should include Israel's nuclear arsenal. [Information on Israel's
arsenal is available at:
.]
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei,
has recently urged Israel to follow the example of South Africa and
dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
The following nuclear policy analysts are available for interviews:
JACQUELINE CABASSO, wslf@earthlink.net, http://www.wslfweb.org
Executive director of Western States Legal Foundation, Cabasso speaks and
writes widely on nuclear weapons issues. She said today: "Although Syria
didn't make it into Bush's 'Axis of Evil,' it is identified in the 2002
Defense Department Nuclear Posture Review as a potential U.S. nuclear
target. Closer to home, Syria's neighbor, Israel, is the only country in
the Middle East with nuclear weapons -- described by The Economist as 'the
world's worst kept secret' and 'the bomb that never is.' Israel is believed
to have as many as 200 or more deliverable nuclear and thermonuclear bombs,
as well as chemical and biological weapons research programs and production
capabilities.... In 1991, the [U.N.] Security Council stated that its
requirements for the elimination of Iraq's WMDs 'represent steps towards
the goal of establishing in the Middle East a zone free from weapons of
mass destruction...' And the importance of establishing a WMD free zone in
the Middle East has been a central theme throughout the Nuclear
Non-proliferation Treaty review process."
JOSEPH GERSON, jgerson@afsc.org, http://www.afsc.org/pes
Director of the American Friends Service Committee's Peace and Economic
Security Program and the author of the book "With Hiroshima Eyes: Atomic
War, Nuclear Extortion and Moral Imagination," Gerson said today: "While
U.S. attention is focused on the Libyan nuclear program -- which was many
years from the successful development and deployment of nuclear weapons --
the U.S. conquest of Iraq, the arrangement with Libya and continuing U.S.
government threats against Iran are leading to increased pressure for
Israeli nuclear disarmament.... As long as the nuclear powers ignore or
refuse to fulfill their Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty commitments to
negotiate the elimination of their nuclear arsenals and continue to
threaten their use -- even first strike attacks -- other nations will do
what they can to equalize the balance of terror..."
FELICE COHEN-JOPPA, freevanunu@mindspring.com,
http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu
Cohen-Joppa is the coordinator of the U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai
Vanunu. She said today: "Vanunu has been imprisoned in Israel for over 17
years for disclosing information about its secret nuclear arsenal to the
London Sunday Times.... While waiting for the paper to verify his
information, he was lured to Rome by a Mossad agent. From there he was
kidnaped -- drugged, chained and taken by boat back to Israel for a secret
trial, where he was convicted of treason and espionage. The first 11 1/2
years of his 18-year sentence were spent in complete solitary
confinement.... Repeatedly denied probation and parole over the years, he
is scheduled to be released on April 22, 2004, but news reports last week
confirmed that Israel is looking for a way to restrict his movement and
apply conditions upon his release..."
For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
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7 [du-list] Mideast Nukes: Interviews Available
Date: Wed, 07 Jan 2004 12:04:43 -0800
Institute for Public Accuracy
915 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045
(202) 347-0020 * http://www.accuracy.org *
ipa@accuracy.org
___________________________________________________
Wednesday, January 7, 2004
Mideast Nukes: Interviews Available
Syrian President Bashar Assad told the British newspaper The Daily
Telegraph this week that elimination of weapons of mass destruction in the
Mideast should include Israel's nuclear arsenal. [Information on Israel's
arsenal is available at:
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/wld/graphics/strategic_israel_dw.htm>.]
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei,
has recently urged Israel to follow the example of South Africa and
dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
The following nuclear policy analysts are available for interviews:
JACQUELINE CABASSO, (510) 839-5877, cell: (510) 306-0119,
http://www.wslfweb.org
Executive director of Western States Legal Foundation, Cabasso speaks and
writes widely on nuclear weapons issues. She said today: "Although Syria
didn't make it into Bush's 'Axis of Evil,' it is identified in the 2002
Defense Department Nuclear Posture Review as a potential U.S. nuclear
target. Closer to home, Syria's neighbor, Israel, is the only country in
the Middle East with nuclear weapons -- described by The Economist as 'the
world's worst kept secret' and 'the bomb that never is.' Israel is believed
to have as many as 200 or more deliverable nuclear and thermonuclear bombs,
as well as chemical and biological weapons research programs and production
capabilities.... In 1991, the [U.N.] Security Council stated that its
requirements for the elimination of Iraq's WMDs 'represent steps towards
the goal of establishing in the Middle East a zone free from weapons of
mass destruction...' And the importance of establishing a WMD free zone in
the Middle East has been a central theme throughout the Nuclear
Non-proliferation Treaty review process."
JOSEPH GERSON, (617) 661-6130, (617) 216-0576,
jgerson@afsc.org,
http://www.afsc.org/pes
Director of the American Friends Service Committee's Peace and Economic
Security Program and the author of the book "With Hiroshima Eyes: Atomic
War, Nuclear Extortion and Moral Imagination," Gerson said today: "While
U.S. attention is focused on the Libyan nuclear program -- which was many
years from the successful development and deployment of nuclear weapons --
the U.S. conquest of Iraq, the arrangement with Libya and continuing U.S.
government threats against Iran are leading to increased pressure for
Israeli nuclear disarmament.... As long as the nuclear powers ignore or
refuse to fulfill their Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty commitments to
negotiate the elimination of their nuclear arsenals and continue to
threaten their use -- even first strike attacks -- other nations will do
what they can to equalize the balance of terror..."
FELICE COHEN-JOPPA, (520) 323-8697,
freevanunu@mindspring.com,
http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu
Cohen-Joppa is the coordinator of the U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai
Vanunu. She said today: "Vanunu has been imprisoned in Israel for over 17
years for disclosing information about its secret nuclear arsenal to the
London Sunday Times.... While waiting for the paper to verify his
information, he was lured to Rome by a Mossad agent. >From there he was
kidnaped -- drugged, chained and taken by boat back to Israel for a secret
trial, where he was convicted of treason and espionage. The first 11 1/2
years of his 18-year sentence were spent in complete solitary
confinement.... Repeatedly denied probation and parole over the years, he
is scheduled to be released on April 22, 2004, but news reports last week
confirmed that Israel is looking for a way to restrict his movement and
apply conditions upon his release..."
For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020 or (202) 421-6858; David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
For all list information and functions, including changing
your subscription mode and options, visit the Web page:
http://lists.accuracy.org/lists/info/mediagen
To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to
du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type
unsubscribe and send.
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8 The Hindu: Musharraf studying Libya nuke reports: US
Wednesday, January 7, 2004 : 1030 Hrs
Washington, Jan. 7. (PTI): United States has said that President
Pervez Musharraf is aggressively moving to probe claims that
Pakistan was the source of the centrifuge design technology in
Libya's nuclear programme.
"I am pleased now that President Musharraf is aggressively
moving to investigate it," Secretary of State Colin Powell told
reporters here yesterday.
However, Powell refused to confirm or deny a report that
Pakistani designs had helped Libya take major strides in its
nuclear programme within the last two years.
"I don't have enough information at hand to answer a question
quite as specific as that," he said.
"We know that there have been cases where individuals in
Pakistan have worked in these areas and we have called it to the
attention of the Pakistanis in the past."
Powell added that he has discussed the issue with Musharraf and
other Pakistani leaders a number of times in the past. "And as
you know, President Musharraf has announced that he will be
looking into it himself very thoroughly. And to the extent that
we can help him with information, we will.
"But we haven't been reluctant. I can assure you of that because
I have been the one who had been talking to him about it over
three years," Powell said. Asked whether US was going to work
with Islamabad if proved that Pakistan handed over such
technologies to Libya or other countries while Musharraf was in
office, even after September 11, Powell said "that is just too
much hypothetical to draw an answer."
Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of
*****************************************************************
9 The Hindu: Tunisia persuaded Libya to give up nukes - US
Wednesday, January 7, 2004 : 1130 Hrs
Washington, Jan. 7. (PTI): Tunisia played a major role in
persuading Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to abandon his quest
for nuclear weapons, US Secretary of State Colin Powell has
said.
"President Ben Ali and the Minister had quite a bit to do, I
think, with shaping the environment for the Libyans to realize
that it was time to make a change in policy," Powell said at a
joint appearance with Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahia
at the State Department.
Habib said the Tunisia and the United States "have developed
together a strategic relationship that we would like to preserve
and even develop further."
The two countries, he said, have worked together for peace in
the Middle East, for peace in North Africa, for peace in Iraq.
They struggle together against terrorism.
Elaborating, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said
that Tunisia has been a voice for putting effort and resources
into development rather than wasting them on arms races or
conflict or weapons of mass destruction.
"And that is the kind of role that we think Tunisia has played
in discussions with Libya's leaders as well as the kind of role
it continues to play in the region."
President George W. Bush yesterday renewed US sanctions imposed
on Libya in 1986, saying that Tripoli must follow positive
overtures on unconventional arms with "concrete steps."
Libya's said in a surprise announcement on December 19, 2003
that it would dismantle its weapons of mass destruction
programmes and allow international inspections of its nuclear
facilities.
Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of
*****************************************************************
10 NRC: PSEG Nuclear LLC; Notice of Withdrawal of Application for
FR Doc 04-316
[Federal Register: January 7, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 4)]
[Notices] [Page 947-948] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr07ja04-84]
Amendment to Facility Operating License The U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) has granted the
request of PSEG Nuclear LLC (the licensee) to withdraw its July
9, 2003, application, as supplemented by its August 14, 2003,
letter, for a proposed amendment to Facility Operating License
No. NPF- 57 for the Hope Creek Generating Station, Unit No. 1,
located in Salem County, New Jersey.
The proposed amendment would have revised the facility's
Technical Specifications by extending the time allowed to
complete repairs or upgrades to the control room emergency
filtration (CREF) system up to 30 days.
The Commission had previously issued a Notice of Consideration of
Issuance of Amendment published in the Federal Register on August
5, 2003 (68 FR 46245). However, by letter dated November 21,
2003, the licensee withdrew the proposed change.
For further details with respect to this action, see the
application for amendment dated July 10, 2003, as supplemented by
letter dated August 14, 2003, and the licensee's letter dated
November 21, 2003, which withdrew the application for license
amendment. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at
the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint
North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first
floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be
accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access
and Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on
the Internet at the NRC Web site, .
Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems
in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the
NRC PDR reference staff by telephone at 1- 800-397-4209, or
301-415-4737 or by e-mail to .
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of December 2003.
[[Page 948]] For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John P. Boska, Senior Project Manager, Section 2, Project
Directorate I, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 04-316 Filed 1-6-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
11 People's Daily: China ready to start its nuclear power plan
Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, January 07, 2004
China was prepared to start a massive nuclear power plan and
include nuclear power into the state electric power plan for the
first time. This strategy of China has attracted world attention
today when global nuclear power is developing slowly.
Project of Largest Nuclear Power Plant
In 2003 China was prepared to start a massive nuclear power plan
and include nuclear power into the state electric power plan for
the first time. This strategy of China has attracted world
attention today when global nuclear power is developing slowly.
What is the direct reason behind China's nuclear power action?
What policy will China take to push forward this plan? Will the
public's right to know and the extent of participation be further
raised in the future? And how to choose the technical route for
China's nuclear power? All these will determine the fate and
future development of China's nuclear power.
Along with this winter's electricity shortage, news about nuclear
power has come from various localities: Hubei Province is
choosing a site for a planned nuclear power station, striving to
make itself the first inland province with nuclear electricity.
Hunan has passed the province's nuclear power construction plan,
in an effort to build two 900,000-kilowatt units by 2010.While
Chongqing has applied to the National Development and Reform
Commission for permission to build nuclear power stations.
Meanwhile, Sichuan Province is busy selecting a site in Yibin for
the construction of a nuclear power station.
"The recovery of global nuclear power depends on China's
development in this regard", said a general manager responsible
for construction projects and asset management of China Branch of
French Electricity Corporation (Electricite de France), to
China's News Weekly on December 26, 2003. He predicted that by
2020 China will place itself in the first camp of the world
nuclear power countries and in certain aspects will excel France
- currently the number one country in world nuclear power.
Electricity deficiency-a boost to nuclear power developmentThe
National Development and Reform Commission has worked out a
long-term plan for nuclear power development: by 2004 China's
nuclear power installed capacity will reach 36 million-kilowatts.
The plan implies that as of 2004 China will approve the
construction of at least two 1 million nuclear power units each
year, this means building one nuclear power station of the Daya
Bay type annually in the next 16 years.
New-Generation Nuclear Reactor Put into Use in China
As a matter of fact, nuclear power development has been going on
for more than 30 years in China. But its development has never
been incorporated into the national electric power plan. Instead,
power projects were arranged individually and built in a
scattered fashion. An opportunity arose finally in 2003.
With frequent occurrence of electricity shortages, the Chinese
government decided to adjust the section on electric power in its
10th Five-Year Plan in early 2003. This provided the "appropriate
development of nuclear power" an opportunity for "quantitative
growth". The 16th CPC National Congress stated that China's GDP
should be quadrupled by 2020, estimated on the basis of the
economic development target of US$4 trillion, by then the nation
will need generating installed capacity of around 800 million-900
million kilowatts. China's current installed capacity stands at
350 million kilowatts, so it needs newly added capacity of 450
million-550 million kilowatts.
Judged from the endowment of China's natural resources, "if
achievement of the above goal relies entirely on coal, then it is
necessary to add 1.2 billion tons of coal as the driving power,
this will bring unbearable burden on resources, mining,
transportation and the environment. Tang Zide, a staff member
with the Main Projects Inspection Office of National Development
and Reform Commission, (formerly he was a senior engineer at the
Nuclear Power Office of the State Council), said that electricity
shortage and the singleness of power structure become the direct
motivating power for starting China's nuclear power construction.
"This marks the transition of China's nuclear power industry from
the original appropriate development into the accelerated
development phase", said Han Wenke, deputy director of Energy
Sources Institute under the National Development and Reform
Commission. On September 30, 2003 Vice-Premiers Huang Ju and Zeng
Peiyan presided over a meeting specially studying the question
concerning the plan for nuclear power development. On October 24
Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan, head of the Nuclear Power Leading Group
under the State Council, chaired a conference on nuclear power
construction in Hangzhou, capital of Zehjiang Province, making
the strategy of restarting nuclear power construction become
gradually distinct.
Ling'ao Nuclear Power Station Begins Commercial Operation
Behind the adjustment of the energy source structure through
nuclear power, the intention of maintaining the nuclear
technology can be seen indistinctly. China's present mode of
nuclear industry was copied from the former Soviet Union. It is a
combination of military and civilian management. A witness of the
development of this industry believes that for many countries in
the world, development of nuclear power is very important to
maintaining a nuclear technology force. "For example, although
Japan is a non-nuclear nation, it would be very fast if it were
to develop atom and hydrogen bombs." he remarked.
World coolness vs. China's passionIn November 2003, led by China
National Technology Import &Export Corporation and formed by
China National Nuclear Corporation and Guangdong Nuclear Power
Group, the Nuclear Power Global Bidding Preparation Conference
was held.
Framatome from France, Westinghouse from the United States and
another six nuclear power equipment providers from Russia, Japan
and Germany gathered in Beijing.
Such a lively scene is rarely seen nowadays since global nuclear
power development has stagnated for more than 20 years. Data from
PRIS show that by the end of 2000 there were altogether 438
nuclear reactors in operation worldwide, by March 2003 the number
was 441, increasing by only 3. Former Secretary-General of
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mr. Blix remarked with
a sigh before leaving his post: "Global nuclear power is coming
to a standstill."
Although the long-term nuclear power program will constitute only
4 percent of the national electricity generation capacity by
2020, its absolute quantity is remarkably large. In view of the
enthusiasm shown for nuclear electricity throughout the country,
the actual scale of Chinese nuclear power development is expected
to exceed the present plan.
However, "the huge amount of investment, expanding budget,
accumulated nuclear wastes and the management of nuclear power
stations are unknown changing factors." Wang Yi, a Research
Fellow from Eco-Environmental Research Center of the Chinese
Academy of Sciences, told the News Weekly that in the past 40
years, besides difficulty in figuring out the enormous change in
the costs for nuclear power generation among different countries,
the disposal of nuclear wastes has long been a problem under
endless debate. Currently, there is still no way of properly
treating the emission of huge amounts of nuclear waste materials.
"The experience of some countries in developing nuclear power
merits our attention. For example, Brazil and Spain in the 1980s,
without definite planning, blindly introduced nuclear technology
at great costs and had no follow-up projects after building
several nuclear power stations, thus causing enormous waste."
Academician Ma Fubang, a chief engineer of China National Nuclear
Corporation, pointed out in a recent article that China should
draw a lesson from their experience.
This article, relayed from China News Service and China News
Weekly, was translated by PD Online
Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved
*****************************************************************
12 Brattleboro Reformer: 'Uprate' delay, VY fine urged
reformer.com January 07, 2004 Brattleboro, VT
By TOBY HENRY Reformer Staff
BRATTLEBORO -- For jumping the gun on construction related to its
proposed power upgrade, Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee should be
fined and made to wait until fall for the state's decision on the
proposal, an anti-nuclear group said Friday.
The Public Service Board asked the New England Coalition to
suggest sanctions last month after Yankee officials said that a
"misunderstanding" led the company to undertake preliminary site
work for two temporary buildings. Plant officials intend to use
the buildings for rotor reinsulation work prior to the "uprate"
-- a proposal to boost the plant's output by 20 percent.
Representatives of the coalition, a party in the uprate case
before the board, charge that Yankee officials intentionally
began work without approval. The evidence reviews and discussions
that followed the issue cost them about three weeks of time they
would have otherwise spent reviewing documents directly related
to the uprate, said Executive Director Peter Alexander on
Tuesday. The coalition requested money from Entergy as
compensation for time spent on the issue, but did not specify an
amount.
"The temporary buildings (issue) is a time-consuming diversion
that is pretty much irrelevant to larger concerns about the
uprate," said Alexander. "(The board) has in its power the
authority to impose a significant punishment that is appropriate
to the behavior of Entergy (and) the coalition should be
compensated for its out-of-pocket expenses."
Vermont Yankee spokesman Rob Williams said the site work,
including the removal of about 120 cubic yards of soil from the
plant to a Vernon excavation site, resulted from a
misinterpretation of a discharge permit for the buildings. The
soil has since been returned to Vermont Yankee property.
"As we've said before, this was an honest mistake," Williams
said.
This is the second time that the coalition has responded to the
board's request for sanctions against Yankee. During the summer,
the board called for sanctions after determining that plant
officials had released incomplete and often tardy uprate-related
documents to the coalition for review, thus wasting the
coalition's expert witnesses' time.
In that case, the board ordered Entergy to pay the coalition
$51,000 and moved the date for issuing its decision on the uprate
back from early January to mid-March.
In a recent filing, coalition staff adviser Ray Shadis disputes
Yankee Site Vice President Jay Thayer's earlier contention that
he had no knowledge of the site work at the time it took place in
mid-November. Yankee submitted its request to build the two
steel-and-fabric structures, the larger of which measures 150
feet by 70 feet and will stand on a concrete pad, on Nov. 5, and
told the board about the work on Nov. 23.
"(Thayer) challenged the bounds of credibility when he testified
that he was unaware until after Thanksgiving that someone had,
between Nov. 10 and 14, dug a 150-by-70-foot hole in his plant
site and filled it with 50 to 75 large dump trucks full of gravel
and crushed stone," the coalition states. "Clearly, if his
statements are to be lent any credence, it would be at the
idiot-savant level of management where the smallest details are
at one's fingertips but caravans of trucks go by unnoticed."
The coalition also said evidence shows plant officials had met
to discuss the buildings at least as early as Sept. 10, and added
that Entergy attorney Victoria Brown's "shift of language" during
comments she made in November appear to indicate that she was
aware the work was going on.
On Nov. 5, Brown told the board that Entergy "needed to begin
site work before the onset of hard winter." But at a pre-hearing
conference on Nov. 21 -- a week after the site work had concluded
-- Brown told the board that the company needed a timely response
on the proposed buildings because the company wanted to pour
concrete for the slab "no later than Feb. 15."
"The site work had been completed and the necessity of
completing the excavation, fill, compacting and so on was no
longer part of attorney Brown's repertoire," the coalition said.
"The weight of evidence is that attorney Brown knew, at the
pre-hearing conference, that the (site work) had been done but
chose not to inform the board."
Responding, Williams said that "neither senior management nor
our attorneys were aware of the site preparation prior to Nov.
21." The site where the work was conducted is in plain view of
the plant.
The coalition also instructs the board to have the company alone
pay for restoring or "decommissioning" the temporary building
area once the plant's license expires. Under existing guidelines,
Vermont ratepayers and Entergy will evenly split any excess
decommissioning funds, and Shadis said that this proposed
sanction is intended to preserve funds that should go to
ratepayers.
Board Clerk Susan Hudson said she was not sure when the board
would decide on the temporary building application, but added
that recommendations for a decision could come from a board
hearing officer as early as next week.
A public meeting on the buildings will take place at the Vernon
Elementary School at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
www.reformer.com
*****************************************************************
13 YLE-INTERNET: Residual Chernobyl Radiation Found in Finnish Wild
Berries and Mushrooms (Wed. AM)
07.01.2004, 09.25
Finnish berries, mushrooms and elk meet still contain fairly
high levels of radioactive caesium from the Chernobyl nuclear
disaster nearly 18 years ago, writes the newspaper Aamulehti.
[YLE]
The newspaper sent samples of lingonberries, blueberries, and
wild mushrooms to the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority for
analysis. The samples were collected in Eräjärvi in the
community of Orivesi, which got some of Finland’s highest
concentrations of fallout from Chernobyl.
Certain wild mushrooms contained 819 bequerels of radiation per
kilo; the official recommended limit is 600. The Radiation and
Nuclear Safety Authority points out that even at the higher
levels, the mushrooms are a health hazard only if eaten in
unusually large quantities.
The caesium content of berries and elk meat were below the
recommended limits.
Experts say that residual radiation from Chernobyl could remain
in Finnish soil longer than originally expected.
YLE24
*****************************************************************
14 Oak Ridger: TVA spends $472,000 to fly chairman from Mississippi home
Story last updated at 12:24 p.m. on January 7, 2004
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Valley Authority has spent
$472,000 since 2000 to fly Chairman Glenn McCullough on the
company plane from his home in Tupelo, Miss., according to an
audit released Tuesday.
"Theoretically, these flight legs would not have been required
had the chairman's duty station been Knoxville," TVA's
independent inspector general's office wrote.
McCullough said Tuesday he has no plans to move from Tupelo,
but he will work to reduce travel costs and limit his use of the
TVA plane.
"I intend to use the most efficient mode of transportation
available to meet scheduled business commitments," McCullough
said. "I will primarily rely on commercial airlines and travel
by car to and from my official duty station where it is
consistent with TVA business needs."
McCullough, a Republican championed by former Senate Majority
Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi, was appointed to the
three-member TVA board in 1999 by President Clinton and elevated
to chairman by President Bush in 2001.
A sixth-generation Mississippian and former Tupelo mayor,
McCullough is the first chairman of the nation's largest public
utility in memory not to make his official home in Knoxville,
where TVA has its headquarters.
Marvin Runyon kept a personal home in Nashville while he was
chairman in the late 1980s, but declared his Knoxville apartment
as his official "duty station," according to TVA spokesman John
Moulton.
TVA Inspector General Richard Moore said the review, which
McCullough requested in July, focused on the choice and use of
TVA's company plane, not on the "legally permissible" decision
to let McCullough declare Tupelo his duty station.
However, he said, "We believe so long as the chairman's
official duty station is in Tupelo, TVA should look for ways to
reduce the costs associated with that decision."
The report noted that TVA twice reviewed the duty station
decision and determined it appropriate - since McCullough spent
most of his TVA time traveling, primarily throughout TVA's
seven-state region or to Washington.
During a review period from October 2000 through June 2003,
McCullough spent about 26 percent of his workdays in Knoxville
and 11 percent in Tupelo, the inspector general wrote.
Tupelo is about 395 miles from Knoxville, about 286 miles from
TVA's main power offices in Chattanooga and about 85 miles from
TVA's operations in Muscle Shoals, Ala.
TVA has one leased airplane - currently a 2001 King Air 350
turboprop. TVA pays $34,279 a month for the twin-engine craft.
It can carry nine passengers and two pilots.
The inspector general determined that was conservative compared
to other utilities. For instance, Atlanta-based Southern Co. has
six jets; Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy has five jets; and
even the comparable Bonneville Power Administration in Portland,
Ore., has two turboprops.
However, the inspector general wrote that TVA should tighten
policies on documenting the business-only use of the TVA plane
and "should assess whether there are ways to reduce the overall
costs associated with the chairman's official duty station being
Tupelo."
In a letter, TVA Executive Vice President LeAnne Stribley
promised TVA would follow the suggestions.
The inspector general said TVA spent nearly $3.1 million on 427
passenger flights transporting 415 people during the study
period.
Stribley said the TVA plane is used primarily to take TVA board
members and senior executives to meet with TVA stakeholders.
Passengers include congressmen, state and local officials, TVA
power distributors and members of the business community.
"We found no instances of personal use during the review
period," the inspector general wrote. But the auditors did find
"at least 13 non-employee spouses of TVA personnel flying on the
aircraft."
The inspector general concluded about 16 percent, or $472,000,
of the King Air's total costs were due to the "choice of Tupelo
over Knoxville" for McCullough's duty station.
McCullough said that despite a tighter standard on TVA plane
travel he will "continue to travel to meet and build stronger
relationships with customers, state and local officials, energy
industry officials, employees, retirees, members of Congress and
other TVA stakeholders."
He called such travel "essential to TVA's long-term success."
TVA is a self-supporting government corporation that supplies
electricity to 158 distributors serving 8.3 million people in
Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama
and Mississippi.
On the Net:
TVA: http:www.tva.gov/
*****************************************************************
15 NRC: Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc., Millstone Power Station,
FR Doc 04-315
[Federal Register: January 7, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 4)]
[Notices] [Page 944-947] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr07ja04-83]
Unit No. 3; Exemption 1.0 Background Dominion Nuclear
Connecticut, Inc. (DNC or the licensee) is the holder of Facility
Operating License Nos. DPR-65 and NPF-49, which authorize
operation of Millstone Power Station, Unit Nos. 2 and 3 (MP2 and
MP3), respectively. The licenses provide, among other things,
that the licensee is subject to all rules, regulations, and
orders of the U.S.
[[Page 945]] Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission)
now or hereafter in effect.
The facility consists of two pressurized-water reactors (PWRs)
located in New London County in Connecticut; this exemption
addresses only MP3. The nuclear steam system supplier for MP2 is
Combustion Engineering, and the supplier for MP3 is Westinghouse
Electric Corporation.
2.0 Request/Action Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR), Sec. 54.17(c) stipulates that an application for a
renewed license may not be submitted to the Commission earlier
than 20 years before the expiration of the operating license
currently in effect.
DNC, however, requested by application dated December 13, 2002,
as supplemented by letters dated April 28, 2003, and September 3,
2003, a schedular exemption from the 20-year restriction
specified in 10 CFR 54.17(c) to allow it to submit a renewal
application for MP3 earlier than 20 years before expiration of
its operating license. Such an exemption would allow DNC to
submit one application for renewal of the operating licenses of
both MP2 and MP3, with the goal of attaining efficiencies for
preparation and review of the application. The current operating
license for MP2 (DPR-65) expires on July 31, 2015, whereas the
current operating license for MP3 (NPF-49) expires on November
25, 2025. At the time the exemption request was filed, MP2 had
more than 29 years of operating experience and MP3 had more than
18 years experience.
3.0 Discussion Pursuant to 10 CFR 54.15, the Commission may, upon
application by any interested person or upon its own initiative,
grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR part 54, in
accordance with the provisions of 10 CFR 50.12, when (1) The
exemptions are authorized by law, (2) will not present an undue
risk to public health or safety, and (3) are consistent with the
common defense and security. However, an exemption will not be
granted unless special circumstances are present, as defined in
Section 50.12(a)(2). 3.1 Authorized by Law The Commission's basis
for establishing the 20-year limit contained in 10 CFR 54.17(c)
is discussed in the 1991 Statements of Consideration for part 54
of 10 CFR (56 FR 64963). The limit was established to ensure that
substantial operating experience was accumulated by a licensee
before a renewal application is submitted such that any plant-
specific concerns regarding aging would be disclosed. In amending
the rule in 1995, the Commission sought public comment on whether
the 20- year limit should be reduced. The Commission determined
that sufficient basis did not exist to generically reduce the
20-year limit.
However, the Commission did indicate in the Statements of
Consideration for the amended rule (60 FR 22488), that it was
willing to consider plant- specific exemption requests by
applicants who believe that sufficient information is available
to justify applying for license renewal prior to 20 years from
expiration of the current license. DNC's exemption request is
consistent with the Commission's intent to consider plant-
specific requests and is permitted by 10 CFR 54.15. The current
operating licenses for MP2 and MP3, were issued in accordance
with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA), and 10 CFR
50.51 which limit the duration of an operating license to a
maximum of 40 years. In accordance with 10 CFR 54.31, the renewed
license will be of the same class as the operating license
currently in effect and cannot exceed a term of 40 years.
Therefore, the terms of the renewed licenses for MP2 and MP3, are
limited both by law and the Commission's regulations to 40 years.
Additionally, 10 CFR 54.31(b) states that: A renewed license will
be issued for a fixed period of time, which is the sum of the
additional amount of time beyond the expiration of the operating
license (not to exceed 20 years) that is requested in a renewal
application plus the remaining number of years on the operating
license currently in effect. The term of any renewed license may
not exceed 40 years.
The potential exists that because DNC's decision to apply early
for license renewal for MP3, DNC may not obtain the maximum
20-year period of extended operation permitted by 10 CFR
54.31(b). Any actual reduction will depend on the date the
renewed licenses are issued. If a reduction in the 20-year
extension is required, and DNC desires further extension of MP3's
operating licenses in the future, an additional renewal
application can be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR part 54.
Therefore, should the Commission determine to renew the MP3
operating license, the term of the license will not exceed 40
years, and granting of MP3's exemption request will not result in
violation of the AEA or the Commission's regulations.
3.2 No Undue Risk to Public Health and Safety DNC's exemption
request seeks only schedular relief regarding the date of
submittal, and not substantive relief from the requirements of 10
CFR parts 51 or 54. DNC must still conduct all environmental
reviews required by 10 CFR part 51 and all safety reviews and
evaluations required by 10 CFR part 54 when preparing the
applications for MP2 and MP3. The staff's review will verify that
all applicable Commission regulations have been met before
issuing the renewed licenses. Therefore, the staff finds that
granting this schedular exemption will not represent an undue
risk to public health and safety.
3.3 Consistent With the Common Defense and Security As discussed
previously, the exemption requested is only a schedular
exemption. The NRC staff will review the license renewal
application DNC submits pursuant to the requested exemption, to
determine whether all applicable requirements are fully met.
Accordingly, granting the requested exemption will be consistent
with the common defense and security.
3.4 Special Circumstances Supporting Issuance of the Exemption An
exemption will not be granted unless special circumstances are
present as defined in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2). Specifically, 10 CFR
50.12(a)(2)(ii) states that a special circumstance exists when
``application of the regulation in the particular circumstances *
* * is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the
rule.'' In initially promulgating 10 CFR 54.17(c) in 1991, the
Commission stated that the purpose of the time limit was ``to
ensure that substantial operating experience is accumulated by a
licensee before it submits a renewal application'' (56 FR 64963).
At that time, the NRC found that 20 years of operating experience
provided a sufficient basis for renewal applications. However, in
issuing the amended 10 CFR part 54 in 1995, the Commission
indicated it would consider an exemption to this requirement if
sufficient information was available on a plant-specific basis to
justify submission of an application to renew a license before
completion of 20 years of operation (60 FR 22488).
The 20-year limit was imposed by the NRC to ensure that
sufficient operating experience was accumulated to identify any
plant-specific aging concerns. As set forth below, MP2 is
sufficiently similar to MP3, such that the operating experience
for MP2 applies to MP3. In
[[Page 946]] addition, MP3 has accumulated significant operating
experience. Accordingly, under the requested exemption,
sufficient operating experience will have been accumulated to
identify any plant-specific aging concerns for both units.
DNC states that the two units at the Millstone site are similar
in materials of construction and operating environments, many of
the aging analyses to be performed for the structures, systems,
and components (SSCs) of MP2 will be directly applicable to the
SSCs of MP3.
Both units are PWR units that utilize recirculating, U-tube type
steam generators that produce saturated steam to drive
turbine-generators. DNC states that the materials of construction
for SSCs on both units are typically identical or similar. The
materials used and the environments to which these materials are
subjected determine the existence of aging effects. Both units at
the Millstone site share common facilities/environments and have
many similar components and materials.
DNC also stated that many of the procedures that govern site
activities are not unit-specific and require the consideration of
operating experience at both Millstone units. Both units share
many of the same maintenance activities and other existing aging
management programs, making them more effective by relying on the
experience at both units. The Millstone site organization shares
a common operating experience review department, such that
operating experience and corrective actions are continually
shared between the units. The Millstone site also utilizes their
Corrective Action Program (CAP), in which a multi-disciplinary
team reviews Condition Reports (CRs).
As part of this review, the team identifies CRs that could affect
other operating units and that need to be evaluated for both
units.
The direct exchange of operating experience by this common
operating experience review and by the CAP ensures the evaluation
of MP2 aging issues that could be applicable to MP3. The shared
operating experience and dedicated system engineering
responsibilities also result in a continual evaluation of the
effectiveness of plant programs used to manage the effects of
aging of plant equipment for both units.
While the units at the Millstone site have common operation,
maintenance, use of operating experience, and environment, MP2
and MP3 are of different PWR design. MP2 is a Combustion
Engineering PWR design and MP3 is a Westinghouse 4-Loop PWR
design. The nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) design, thermal
output, containment and Category 1 structures, of these two
designs are significantly different. In a letter dated April 28,
2003, the applicant provided supplemental information to justify
the applicability of MP2's operating experience as the basis for
the exemption request or to discuss how industry-wide
Westinghouse 4-Loop operating experience can supplement MP3's
operating experience. In addition, on July 18, 2003, the NRC
requested additional information to justify the applicability of
MP2's containment and Category 1 structures operating experience
as the basis for the exemption or to discuss how industry-wide
operating experience can supplement MP3's operating experience.
3.4.1 NSSS Design The staff reviewed the supplemental information
provided by the applicant in its letter to the NRC dated April
28, 2003. DNC compared the MP2 and MP3 NSSS SSCs to those in the
applicable sections of the Generic Aging Lessons Learned (GALL)
Report and listed the comparative results in the attachment to
the letter. Based on Section II.A of the attachment and its
related discussions, the applicant stated that the operating
experience from MP2 is applicable to MP3 with regard to
identifying NSSS-related aging effects. The staff reviewed the
contents of Section II.A and determined that although there are
differences in NSSS design and configuration between MP2 and MP3,
both units do exhibit similar aging effects, and their aging
effects are comparable to those of the GALL Report. The staff
also reviewed the applicant's assertions that: (1) MP3 has the
benefit of industry operating experience, particularly for those
PWRs that have the same NSSS design (Surry and North Anna); (2)
as of the date of their submittal, nine Westinghouse 4-Loop PWRs
have accumulated at least 20 years of operating experience and
five other plants have close to 20 years of operating experience;
and (3) the MP3 license renewal application (LRA) will also
reflect industry experience identified in the GALL Report as well
as other industry programs.
The staff finds that the justifications provided by the applicant
for these assertions are based on factual information and are
reasonable. Based on the above discussion, the staff concludes
that with respect to MP2 and MP3 NSSS design, configuration, and
management of NSSS-related aging effects, the applicant has
provided adequate justifications for the NRC consideration of
granting MP3's request for exemption from the requirements of 10
CFR 54.17(c) 3.4.2 Thermal Output The staff reviewed the
supplemental response provided by the applicant in its letter to
the NRC dated April 28, 2003. The staff noted that DNC compared
MP2 and MP3 thermal outputs, which results in differences in
neutron flux and fluence to which the reactor vessels and the
reactor vessel internals (RVI) are exposed. DNC indicated that
the differences in thermal output do not significantly affect the
reactor coolant temperature. In addition, it was noted that the
MP2 and MP3 reactor vessel operating temperatures are similar and
closely match those specified in the GALL Report for the PWR
reactor vessel environment. The staff compared the operating
temperatures through the reactor vessel integrity database with
those in the GALL Report and found that the licensee's
justification was reasonable.
In addition, DNC indicated that the higher core power density and
correspondingly, a higher fluence for MP3 which may result in the
emergence of certain aging effects earlier in plant life than
would be the case for MP2. However, it was noted that there are
no unique aging effects for the MP3 RVI and that the same aging
effects would require management for both units.
The licensee also stated that on an industry-wide basis, the
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Materials Reliability
Program (MRP) addresses aging effects associated with PWR RVI. It
was noted that the EPRI MRP reviewed the function of each
internal PWR component (including Westinghouse and CE). For those
internals that could impact safety, the EPRI MRP considered the
aging mechanisms that could cause degradation of RVI component
and is developing strategies to manage the resulting aging
effects. Therefore, the licensee indicated that the operating
experience gained from the EPRI MRP could be applied to MP3 in
assisting in the identification of plant-specific concerns
regarding aging. The staff finds this approach acceptable. The
staff finds that the justification provided by the applicant for
these assertions are based on factual information and are
reasonable. Based on the above discussion, the staff concludes
that with respect to MP2 and MP3 thermal output differences, the
applicant has provided adequate justification for the staff's
consideration of granting the MP3 request for
[[Page 947]] exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR 54.17(c).
3.4.3 Containment and Category 1 Structures The staff reviewed
the additional information provided by the applicant in its
letter to the NRC dated September 3, 2003. In the attachment to
the letter, DNC compared the MP2 and MP3 containment and Category
1 structures and components in Table 1; MP3 and other Stone and
Webster Engineering Corp. plants' containment and Category 1
structures and components in Table 2; and MP3 and the applicable
sections of the GALL Report containment and Category 1 structures
and components in Table 3. Based on the Table 1 comparisons and
its related discussions, the applicant stated that the operating
experience from MP2 is applicable to MP3 with identifying
containment and Category 1 structure-related aging effects,
except when there were differences such as in the
architect-engineer, containment type, and groundwater protection.
For the differences previously noted, the applicant relied on the
operating experience from plants (Table 2) that have the same
architect-engineer, containment type, and groundwater protection
such as North Anna Units 1 and 2, Surry Units 1 and 2, Beaver
Valley Unit 1, and Haddam Neck. Even though these plants have the
same architect- engineer, containment type, and groundwater
protection as MP3, the environments are different. MP3 is located
in a coastal area and the other plants are located in inland
environments. For the environmental difference, the applicant
relied on the GALL Report for additional operating experience.
The staff reviewed the applicant's assertions that MP3 also has
the benefit of industry operating experience, particularly for
those PWRs with the same architect engineer, containment type,
and groundwater protection; and the MP3 LRA will also reflect
industry experience identified in the GALL Report, as well as
other industry programs.
The staff finds that the justifications provided by the applicant
for these assertions are based on factual information and are
reasonable. Based on the above discussion, the staff concludes
that, with respect to MP2 and MP3 containment and Category 1
structures design, structural configuration and management of
structural-related aging effects, the applicant has provided
adequate justifications for the NRC's consideration of granting
MP3's request for exemption from the requirements of 10 CFR
54.17(c). Therefore, sufficient combined operating experience
from MP2 and industry exists to satisfy the intent of 10 CFR
54.17(c), and the application of the regulation in this case is
not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. The
staff finds that DNC's request meets the requirement, in 10 CFR
50.12(a)(2), that special circumstances exist to grant the
exemption.
3.5 Summary Based on the foregoing, the staff finds that the
requested exemption is acceptable in that it is authorized by
law; will not present an undue risk to public health and safety;
is consistent with the common defense and security; and that
special circumstances are present, under 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii).
Should DNC submit an application to renew the licenses for MP2
and MP3, the application must demonstrate full compliance with 10
CFR parts 51 and 54 for both units and include information
addressing the similarity in design, operation, maintenance,
operating experience, and environments of the units to support
submittal of the dual-unit application. In the course of its
review of an application to renew the licenses for the units at
the Millstone site, the NRC staff will examine how the actual
operating experience, available from both units and from
industry, applies to the particular SSCs evaluated.
4.0 Conclusion Accordingly, the Commission has determined that,
pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), the exemption is authorized by law,
will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety,
and is consistent with the common defense and security. Also,
special circumstances are present. Therefore, the Commission
hereby grants DNC a schedular exemption from the requirements of
10 CFR 54.17(c). Specifically, this schedular exemption allows
DNC to apply for a renewed license for MP3 earlier than 20 years
before the expiration of the operating license currently in
effect.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the
granting of this exemption will not have a significant effect on
the quality of the human environment (68 FR 7529).
This exemption is effective upon issuance.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of December, 2003.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Cornelius Holden, Acting Director, Division of Licensing Project
Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 04-315 Filed 1-6-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
16 [Fwd: Show Your Support for a Ban on Irradiated Food at Jan 13 School
Date: Wed, 07 Jan 2004 00:58:00 -0800
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Date: Tue, 06 Jan 2004 19:51:22 -0500
From: "Tracy Lerman"
Subject: Show Your Support for a Ban on Irradiated Food at Jan 13
School Board Meeting!
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**please forward widely**
DON'T MAKE OUR CHILDREN GUINEA PIGS - URGE THE SF SCHOOL BOARD TO BAN
IRRADIATED FOODS!
Show your support for a ban at the next school board meeting!
The San Francisco Board of Education is considering a measure to ban
irradiated foods in all SF Schools. This measure is following a
decision by the US Department of Agriculture to offer irradiated meat to
schoolchildren through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), despite
overwhelming opposition from concerned parents and the public. The NSLP
provides subsidized meals to 27 million low-income children each year.
Irradiation destroys nutrients in food and creates know toxins and
carcinogens. Numerous health problems, including reproductive
dysfunction, fatal internal bleeding, and cancer have been linked to
consumption of irradiated foods. Irradiation will NOT destroy the prion
that causes mad cow disease.
when: Tuesday, Jan 13 at 6:30pm
where: Irving G. Breyer Board Meeting Room
555 Franklin St, 1st Floor
San Francisco
Contact the School Board and urge them to support a ban on irradiated
foods.
A sample letter is provided below. The School Board can be contacted
at 415-241-6493 or via email:
Emilio B. Cruz, President: ecruz@muse.sfusd.edu
Eric Mar, Vice President: emar@muse.sfusd.edu
Jill Wynns: jwynns@muse.sfusd.edu
Dan Kelly: dkelly@muse.sfusd.edu
Eddie Y. Chin: echin@muse.sfusd.edu
Mark Sanchez: msanche@muse.sfusd.edu
Sarah Lipson: slipson@muse.sfusd.edu
Please contact Tracy at tlerman@citizen.org or 510-663-0888 x 103 to
get more involved or for more info.
Sample letter
Dear Board Member :
I am writing to express my support for the measure prohibiting the use
of irradiated foods in all meal programs at all San Francisco schools.
I urge you to vote for the measure, as this issue is of critical
importance to me.
I would never purchase irradiated meat for myself or my family, and I
do not want my child to eat irradiated food at school. Irradiation
depletes essential nutrients in food, and creates known toxins and
carcinogens, as well as a new class of chemicals that have never been
tested for safety by the FDA. Numerous studies have linked consumption
of irradiated foods to a variety of health problems, including tumor
growth, reproductive dysfunction, chromosome aberrations, fatal internal
bleeding, and other disorders.
I believe that food-borne illness is a serious threat that schools
should take care to prevent. However, irradiation will do little to
address this threat. Cooking meat to 160° Fahrenheit kills all of the
dangerous microbes that irradiation does, as well as any bacteria that
may have contaminated meat during handling and preparation. Moreover,
unsanitary food preparation facilities and improper food handling in
schools are the cause of far more cases of food-borne illness than
contaminated meat, and irradiation willdo nothing to address those
problems.
In light of these concerns, I urge your strong support for the
resolution banning irradiated foods in San Francisco schools. Children
should not be guinea pigs for this questionable technology!
Sincerely,
Background
Irradiation exposes food to doses of ionizing radiation equivalent to
millions of chest x-rays in order to kill bacteria. This process
destroys essential nutrients and hastens their depletion during storage
and cooking. Irradiation also creates known toxins and carcinogens in
food, such as benzene and toluene, and a new class of chemicals, called
"unique radiolytic products" some of which the FDA has never tested for
safety. Children are particularly susceptible to the health impacts of
environmental toxins because their bodies are still developing and
because they consume more food and water for their weight than do
adults.
Research on irradiated foods has linked them to a wide range of health
problems in humans and animals, including reproductive dysfunction,
genotoxicity, cytotoxicity, fatal internal bleeding, and, in some cases,
cancer. There is no research on the health effects of consuming
irradiated foods over a long period of time, and no population has ever
consumed irradiated foods as a substantial part of their diet. As the
National School Lunch Program provides subsidized meals to low-income
school children, these children would essentially become guinea pigs for
this questionable technology.
Because food irradiation is applied at the end of the meat packing
process, it removes any incentive to clean up the filthy and inhumane
conditions at slaughterhouses and feedlots, where workers are the
victims of numerous atrocities that sometimes result in death.
Irradiation will not prevent mad cow disease because the dose needed to
kill the prions that cause this disease is too high to be used on food.
In fact, acceptance of irradiation will perpetuate and even worsen the
industrialized feedlot conditions that cause the spread of mad cow
disease.
The majority of all food borne illness is caused by improper food
handling, which irradiation will do nothing to prevent. The only way to
safeguard against food-borne illness is to ensure that food preparation
facilities are sanitary, food is handled properly by workers, and meat
is cooked to 160°F - this temperature will kill all of the microbes
killed by irradiation, and any bacteria that contaminates meat after it
has been irradiated.
For more info on irradiated foods and school lunches visit
http://www.safelunch.org
For more info on the school board visit http://portal.sfusd.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tracy Lerman
Senior Organizer
Public Citizen, California Office
1615 Broadway, 9th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
ph: 510-663-0888 x 103 f: 510-663-8569
tlerman@citizen.org
www.citizen.org/california
Keep irradiated food out of your child's lunch!
Visit www.safelunch.org to find out more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*****************************************************************
17 Show Your Support for a Ban on Irradiated Food at Jan 13
Date: Wed, 07 Jan 2004 12:05:53 -0800
**please forward widely**
DON'T MAKE OUR CHILDREN GUINEA PIGS - URGE THE SF SCHOOL BOARD TO BAN
IRRADIATED FOODS!
Show your support for a ban at the next school board meeting!
The San Francisco Board of Education is considering a measure to ban
irradiated foods in all SF Schools. This measure is following a
decision by the US Department of Agriculture to offer irradiated meat to
schoolchildren through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), despite
overwhelming opposition from concerned parents and the public. The NSLP
provides subsidized meals to 27 million low-income children each year.
Irradiation destroys nutrients in food and creates know toxins and
carcinogens. Numerous health problems, including reproductive
dysfunction, fatal internal bleeding, and cancer have been linked to
consumption of irradiated foods. Irradiation will NOT destroy the prion
that causes mad cow disease.
when: Tuesday, Jan 13 at 6:30pm
where: Irving G. Breyer Board Meeting Room
555 Franklin St, 1st Floor
San Francisco
Contact the School Board and urge them to support a ban on irradiated
foods.
A sample letter is provided below. The School Board can be contacted
at 415-241-6493 or via email:
Emilio B. Cruz, President: ecruz@muse.sfusd.edu
Eric Mar, Vice President: emar@muse.sfusd.edu
Jill Wynns: jwynns@muse.sfusd.edu
Dan Kelly: dkelly@muse.sfusd.edu
Eddie Y. Chin: echin@muse.sfusd.edu
Mark Sanchez: msanche@muse.sfusd.edu
Sarah Lipson: slipson@muse.sfusd.edu
Please contact Tracy at tlerman@citizen.org or 510-663-0888 x 103 to
get more involved or for more info.
Sample letter
Dear Board Member :
I am writing to express my support for the measure prohibiting the use
of irradiated foods in all meal programs at all San Francisco schools.
I urge you to vote for the measure, as this issue is of critical
importance to me.
I would never purchase irradiated meat for myself or my family, and I
do not want my child to eat irradiated food at school. Irradiation
depletes essential nutrients in food, and creates known toxins and
carcinogens, as well as a new class of chemicals that have never been
tested for safety by the FDA. Numerous studies have linked consumption
of irradiated foods to a variety of health problems, including tumor
growth, reproductive dysfunction, chromosome aberrations, fatal internal
bleeding, and other disorders.
I believe that food-borne illness is a serious threat that schools
should take care to prevent. However, irradiation will do little to
address this threat. Cooking meat to 160° Fahrenheit kills all of the
dangerous microbes that irradiation does, as well as any bacteria that
may have contaminated meat during handling and preparation. Moreover,
unsanitary food preparation facilities and improper food handling in
schools are the cause of far more cases of food-borne illness than
contaminated meat, and irradiation willdo nothing to address those
problems.
In light of these concerns, I urge your strong support for the
resolution banning irradiated foods in San Francisco schools. Children
should not be guinea pigs for this questionable technology!
Sincerely,
Background
Irradiation exposes food to doses of ionizing radiation equivalent to
millions of chest x-rays in order to kill bacteria. This process
destroys essential nutrients and hastens their depletion during storage
and cooking. Irradiation also creates known toxins and carcinogens in
food, such as benzene and toluene, and a new class of chemicals, called
"unique radiolytic products" some of which the FDA has never tested for
safety. Children are particularly susceptible to the health impacts of
environmental toxins because their bodies are still developing and
because they consume more food and water for their weight than do
adults.
Research on irradiated foods has linked them to a wide range of health
problems in humans and animals, including reproductive dysfunction,
genotoxicity, cytotoxicity, fatal internal bleeding, and, in some cases,
cancer. There is no research on the health effects of consuming
irradiated foods over a long period of time, and no population has ever
consumed irradiated foods as a substantial part of their diet. As the
National School Lunch Program provides subsidized meals to low-income
school children, these children would essentially become guinea pigs for
this questionable technology.
Because food irradiation is applied at the end of the meat packing
process, it removes any incentive to clean up the filthy and inhumane
conditions at slaughterhouses and feedlots, where workers are the
victims of numerous atrocities that sometimes result in death.
Irradiation will not prevent mad cow disease because the dose needed to
kill the prions that cause this disease is too high to be used on food.
In fact, acceptance of irradiation will perpetuate and even worsen the
industrialized feedlot conditions that cause the spread of mad cow
disease.
The majority of all food borne illness is caused by improper food
handling, which irradiation will do nothing to prevent. The only way to
safeguard against food-borne illness is to ensure that food preparation
facilities are sanitary, food is handled properly by workers, and meat
is cooked to 160°F - this temperature will kill all of the microbes
killed by irradiation, and any bacteria that contaminates meat after it
has been irradiated.
For more info on irradiated foods and school lunches visit
http://www.safelunch.org
For more info on the school board visit http://portal.sfusd.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tracy Lerman
Senior Organizer
Public Citizen, California Office
1615 Broadway, 9th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
ph: 510-663-0888 x 103 f: 510-663-8569
tlerman@citizen.org
www.citizen.org/california
Keep irradiated food out of your child's lunch!
Visit www.safelunch.org to find out more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*****************************************************************
18 Las Vegas RJ: Sources: FBI gathered visitor information only in Las Vegas
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
By ROD SMITH GAMING WIRE
Only in Las Vegas did the FBI require all hotel operators to
surrender guest lists and airlines to turn over arriving
passenger manifests, sources at the U.S. Department of Justice
said Tuesday.
The program, which started Dec. 22, a day after Department of
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge raised the terrorist alert
level from yellow, or "elevated," to orange, or "high," was
terminated Jan. 1 with the end of the holidays, local FBI
spokesman Todd Palmer said.
Casino operators said they turned over the names and other
guest information on an estimated 270,000 visitors after a
meeting with FBI officials and after receiving national security
letters requiring them to yield the information.
FBI spokespeople in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C., however,
declined to confirm whether any of the information gathered on
local hotel guests and airline passengers led to individual
investigations.
Industry sources who asked not to be identified complained they
were intimidated into providing the information because of their
vulnerability to the decisions of federal and state regulators.
"When you put this data-mining together with other powers
granted the FBI, the potential for massive abuse is obvious,"
Gary Peck, executive director of the Nevada American Civil
Liberties Union, said Tuesday.
He explained the FBI has new authority to make follow-up
demands for whatever information it wants on individuals
included on the original lists, and hotel operators and local
law enforcement agencies are banned by the recently signed
Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 from
disclosing any investigations stemming from the lists.
Tim Edgar, legislative counsel for the national ACLU, said part
of the group's legislative program this year will be to rein in
the overly broad authority granted the FBI and other law
enforcement agencies by the USA Patriot Act and the intelligence
authorization bill.
However, he said that does not necessarily mean the problem
won't be repeated.
"This is an area where the government is using the threat of
its powers to compel compliance, but the compliance (may appear
to be) voluntary," Edgar said.
If that is the case, the FBI could still create dossiers on
large numbers of individuals not suspected of committing any
crime more serious than visiting Las Vegas for a holiday
vacation, he said.
"The federal government has been saying we don't have anything
to worry about because it will only use its powers sparingly and
to investigate terrorists. Obviously, what they're doing is much
broader than that," Edgar said.
In Las Vegas, the only city where visitors have been targeted
since the new powers were granted, Peck said there is no reason
"to believe anything the government is telling us on how many
people are being investigated or for what."
"In fact, there is every reason not to believe them because they
asked for the blanket gag order so they wouldn't have to tell,"
he said.
Spokesmen for Las Vegas casinos said they were under specific
instructions not to discuss any information-gathering with
customers or with the media.
The program requiring hotels and airlines to turn guest and
passenger information over to the FBI could be started again
whenever the alert level is raised, although Palmer said that
decision will be made on a case-by-case basis.
He declined to discuss whether the first use of the new
government authority, which lasted 11 days, turned up any
information on suspected terrorist activities or affected
security measures put in place for the Christmas and New Year's
Eve holidays.
Peck said the "massive data-mining and snooping" violate
individuals' rights and "cannot help but be bad for our state's
leading industry and economy."
Bill Thompson, University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor and
casino industry expert, said any repeat of the program would be
bad news for Las Vegas.
Either there is credible evidence of a specific threat to Las
Vegas, which would be good reason for visitors to stay away, or
the FBI is sweeping up massive amounts of information on
individual citizens for no credible reason, he said.
The FBI and local law enforcement agencies have said there was
no specific and credible terrorist threat aimed at Las Vegas
over the recent holiday.
"It's bad if we're singled out, but it'd also be bad if we're a
real target. Las Vegas is ready to take off when Steve Wynn's
resort opens next year, and this is the only monkey wrench,"
Thompson said.
"People come here for some stupid reason, and we want them to.
That's our slogan. How does the FBI program match up with `What
you do here stays here?' " he asked.
"If there are a lot of stories about this, especially high
rollers are going to decide to stay away. It's going to be a
selective deterrent for some people, and they'll tend to be good
gamblers," Thompson said.
Meanwhile, national and local American Civil Liberties Union
officials called the policy "truly Orwellian" and said they plan
to seek protection from Congress from the allegedly
unconstitutional dumping of judicial safeguards and privacy
protection measures.
In Washington, D.C., Edgar said there needs to be a distinction
between situations in which individuals have a reasonable
expectation of privacy, such as when they check into a hotel,
and others in which they have diminished expectations, such as
when they cross the border into the United States or board a
commercial aircraft.
"Putting everyone under investigation creates the danger of a
surveillance society in which everyone is watched all the time,"
he said.
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
19 BBC: Fresh US fears of 'dirty bomb'
Last Updated: Wednesday, 7 January, 2004
[Workers in bio-hazard suits]
Previous scares over anthrax led to sights like this
Scientists have been secretly testing radiation levels in major
US cities as part of the latest security alert, the Washington
Post has reported.
The newspaper says officials feared a radioactive "dirty bomb"
could target New Year celebrations.
It says the government sent out dozens of nuclear scientists with
detection equipment hidden in briefcases and golf bags to check
for radioactive material.
The US has raised the security alert to "orange", the
second-highest level.
US Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge raised the alert level
on 21 December warning of a "high risk of terrorist attacks".
The following day, scientists were sent out to US cities, the
Washington Post reported, covering Washington, New York, Las
Vegas, Los Angeles and Baltimore.
The first and only alert came in Las Vegas on 29 December, when
detection devices picked up a trace of radiation, the newspaper
says.
The White House was notified, but the radiation was found to have
come from a cigar-sized radium pellet, used to treat cancer, that
a homeless man had found and hidden among his belongings.
The latest security alert is believed to have been due to
intelligence "chatter" monitored by the Department of Homeland
Security.
New Year fears
According to the Washington Post, officials admit that one of the
key challenges they face is trying to determine whether al-Qaeda
is planting false clues as a diversion or to test the response of
the authorities.
New Year's Eve saw unprecedented levels of security in the US,
with flight restrictions ordered over several cities.
Security fears have also led the cancellation of several flights
into the US from Britain, France and Mexico.
A dirty bomb uses a conventional explosive device to spew out
radioactive material over a small area. Officials in the US and
Britain believe al-Qaeda has been working for some time to gain
the ability to explode a radioactive bomb.
Research by BBC Two's Horizon programme last year looked into how
a dirty bomb attack might affect London.
The programme showed such an attack would wreak panic in built-up
areas, see large areas contaminated and closed off and result in
long-term illnesses such as cancer.
*****************************************************************
20 Paducah Sun: Gas leak details still daze citizens
- By Jimmy Nesbitt
Paducah, Kentucky
Wednesday, January 07,
Honeywell and the NRC had a public meeting Tuesday to explain
the gas leak of Dec. 22. Many citizens were just as confused
when afterward as when they arrived.
METROPOLIS, Ill.--Many of the people who were confused when they
were evacuated from their homes in the middle of the night after
a toxic gas release two weeks ago at the Honeywell plant left the
Massac County Courthouse on Tuesday night just as perplexed.
Plant officials and representatives from the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission held a public meeting in front of a standing-room-only
crowd that listened with blank faces and long stares.
When the floor was opened to the public, residents, many of whom
live near the plant, asked questions for more than an hour and a
half about the Dec. 22 release.
Most seemed satisfied with the details of NRC's investigation,
which concluded that the release "had minimal impact on worker or
public health and safety."
According to the report, the leak, which was noticed by a foreman
at 2:15 a.m., escaped the building when "the (operator) did not
place the dust collection valves and the system valves in the
correct position."
Another factor, said Jay Henson, NRC chief fuel facility
inspector in Atlanta, was that the operator controlling the dust
collection valve was working a double shift.
The release, estimated at about seven pounds of uranium
hexafluoride, or UF6, rose 86 feet high, and light winds pushed
the chemicals northwest, the report said. Although UF6 is mildly
radioactive, it is mainly a chemical threat because it emits
toxic hydrogen fluoride, or HF, when exposed to moisture in the
air, the NRC says.
Tests indicated that levels of uranium in air samples outside the
plant were up to 100 times higher than normal but at or below the
annual average the NRC uses to determine concentration limits.
Of the four residents who were hospitalized, one showed signs of
exposure to low levels of hydrofluoric acid, the report said. The
man, who lived about a half-mile from the plant, received
precautionary treatment for skin reddening and lung exposure and
was released the next day.
Even though only one person was hospitalized, "UF6 gas release is
absolutely unacceptable," plant manager Rory O'Kane said. The
plant, which converts natural uranium to UF6 for use in producing
nuclear energy, will not produce the chemical until its officials
and the NRC conclude that it's safe to resume, he said.
Many people, including O'Kane and Keith Davis, 911 director for
Massac County, said a breakdown occurred in the communication
between Honeywell and the emergency dispatch center after the
release. "Communication was not as good as you expected it to
be," O'Kane said. "It could have gone better."
Several people in the audience questioned plant officials about
their evacuation procedures, claiming they were disorganized.
Davis said the first call about the release came from a resident.
Eight minutes later, an official from Honeywell called and said
there was "a major leak, and we need to evacuate."
"That was the extent of the call ... there are some issues there
with 911 and what's expected out of them," Davis said.
He said there needs to be better coordination between the plant
and emergency officials in planning for evacuations. "There's
plenty of room for improvement all the way around," he said.
O'Kane said: "There are certainly some questions about the
effectiveness of the plan. We have a plan. It didn't execute
flawlessly. There are areas to improve."
The NRC conducted the investigation because the leak was the
plant's fourth since September. An earlier review of the three
previous leaks determined that the company had taken sufficient
corrective action.
Many people who lived near the plant admitted they didn't know
much about the chemicals at the plant or which ones are harmful
when released. Dr. Drew Coleman, 38, of Mill Springs questioned
plant and NRC officials for more than eight minutes and was the
most outspoken critic of the plant's practices.
Coleman, a doctor at Western Baptist Hospital with a background
in chemistry, said people who don't have that background won't
understand what effects the chemicals can have on them.
"What they're (plant officials) counting on," he said, "is that
the majority of the population" doesn't understand what's going
on.
*****************************************************************
21 Las Vegas SUN: Report: U.S. Feared New Year's Dirty Bomb
Today: January 07, 2004 at 5:50:09 PST
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States was reportedly on the
lookout for radioactive "dirty bombs" during the New Year's
holiday.
The government last month sent nuclear scientists to five cities
holding large events, The Washington Post reported in
Wednesday's editions: Washington, New York, Las Vegas, Los
Angeles and Baltimore.
The Post said experts from the Department of Energy were dressed
casually and carried sophisticated radiation detectors in
briefcases and golf bags. Hundreds of scientists are still on
high alert at military bases and are ready to fly to any trouble
spots, according to the Post.
Officials fear a terrorist might detonate a "dirty bomb" - a
conventional explosive that spews radioactive material.
--
*****************************************************************
22 Las Vegas RJ: LETTERS: Futile arguments against Caliente corridor
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
To the editor:
Rep. Shelley Berkley continues to criticize the departure of
Michael Corradini from the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board
and the U.S. Department of Energy's desire to lay a 320-mile
rail line westward from Caliente to Yucca Mountain (bypassing
Las Vegas for shipment of nuclear materials). Rep. Berkley
asserts that mining, hiking and other outdoor activities would
be limited by the "Caliente corridor" rail route -- even though
the railway would not be routed through canyons and
mountainsides, the venues of choice for hikers and miners.
Instead, the tentative map of the corridor shows that the
railroad line would be built through uninhabited valleys,
rendering the environmental effects negligible. So what's the
source of Ms. Berkley's newfound concern for Lincoln and Nye
county jackrabbits and tarantulas? When congressional districts
were redrawn in 2001, she showed no interest in incorporating
those areas within her district. Instead, she opted for a
totally urban-crafted Las Vegas borough.
Nevada's hired transportation consultant has branded the
corridor part of a "bad process." But no one in our five-member
congressional delegation, let alone our governor or attorney
general, has offered alternatives for transporting and storing
nuclear waste. After Nevada spent $2.85 million on a failed
Yucca battle in Congress in 2002, these politicians --
Republican and Democrat alike -- now pin their hopes on five,
football-style "hail Mary" federal lawsuits to be heard this
month, and the spending of millions more on lawyers and
consultants ... taxpayer money which otherwise could be used to
educate our children.
The suits only delay the inevitable. It's time for negotiation.
STANLEY W. PAHER
RENO
Adults culpable
To the editor:
I fail to understand why so little has been said about how Sean
Larimer, the 16-year-old who faces charges in the aftermath of a
fatal drunken driving incident in November, had access to enough
alcohol to elevate his blood-alcohol level to more than twice
the legal limit.
Anyone who sold or gave booze to the boys should be held at
least partially liable for the deaths. A parent who left the
booze where the children could get it should likewise be
prosecuted.
While a 16-year-old should know enough not to drink and drive,
an adult must be involved in this. Prosecuting the adult or
adults responsible will send a clear message to the community
that allowing access to alcohol to those too young to legally
consume it cannot be tolerated.
Too many of us -- remembering our youths -- think getting drunk
or stoned is a rite of passage for kids. The three dead
teenagers might disagree.
BILL COLEMAN
LAS VEGAS
Worthwhile trade?
To the editor:
Steve Mincer (letter, Jan. 5) contends letter-writer James
Collier (Jan. 3) is missing the point when complaining about
searches of his backpack on New Year's Eve. Just what is the
point?
The Fourth Amendment states: "The right of the people to be
secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and
no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause..." To Mr.
Collier, this was the point.
Everyone should have known that "a backpack, something that
could conceal a bomb which could have killed hundreds of people,
would be searched." To Mr. Mincer, this was the point.
Could a third possible point exist? That being: Are we ready to
trade freedom for security?
If so, consider this: a lady with a shoulder bag; a gentleman
with a briefcase. Since the Department of Homeland Security has
issued on orange alert, are these items subject to unwarranted
searches simply because they can conceal a bomb? If one opts for
security, the answer is yes.
In that case, we no longer have Fourth Amendment protection for
our effects. What's next? A bomb capable of killing hundreds can
be strapped to the body and easily concealed under winter
clothing. Because of this, do we surrender Bill of Rights
protection of our persons?
Any freedom can and will be abused. Since the 9-11 attacks, the
American people appear to have lost their resolve to protect and
maintain the individual freedoms afforded them in the Bill of
Rights.
In order for freedoms to not be abused, they have to be
curtailed. The fewer freedoms that exist, the larger the police
state becomes. It's just that simple.
The Patriot Act was a knee-jerk reaction to 9-11. We are now at
the crossroads of whether to embrace it further and opt for more
security. Or do we muster enough backbone to protect and
maintain the freedoms afforded us in the Bill of Rights, though
they be sometimes abused?
That's the point. Sadly, I fear we lack the resolve to protect
the very freedoms we profess to be exporting to the rest of the
world.
TERRY E. PEELE
LAS VEGAS
Mentally ill
To the editor:
One controversial local issue is the building of a new
psychiatric hospital. Residents have reacted in fear of what the
patients might do in their neighborhoods. Mental illness is one
of the last dark secrets of our time, and education can remove
our fears.
Contrary to what you may see in the movies, mentally ill people
are no more dangerous than members of the general population.
Further, those who are dangerous will not be treated at this new
facility.
I have a 66-year-old sister who lives alone in another state.
She is divorced and has two grown children. She had worked most
of her life as a recreation director in institutions for the
elderly, but she is now retired. Since her mid-20s, my sister
has suffered from a brain disease called schizophrenia, but I
would no more call her a schizophrenic than I might call someone
else a heart attack. People are more than their diseases.
Most people suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar or simple
depressions are living in the community instead of in hospitals.
As long as family and the state are supportive to keep patients
on their medication, you will not see them wandering the streets
as homeless people. For those who fear living next to people who
have a mental illness, I can only say that you already do. What
is more, some day you may find that someone with a mental
illness is living in your own home.
JERRY BITTS
LAS VEGAS
"To me it had undertones that there was dishonesty on the
council, and I take issue with that."
City Councilman Michael Mack (left), who in 2002 faced a trial
in Municipal Court to determine whether he should be removed
from office for ethical violations, on a memo put out by City
Councilwoman Janet Moncrief urging her colleagues to join her
effort to pull the liquor license of the topless bar Cheetah's.
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
23 Las Vegas RJ: Ensign cancels Senate hearing on Yucca route
Wednesday, January 07, 2004
By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., has shelved plans for a
Senate hearing in Las Vegas that was to explore what impact a
nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain might have on Nellis
Air Force Base training, a spokesman said Tuesday.
Ensign decided to cancel the hearing after Department of Energy
officials announced the they preferred corridors to ship nuclear
waste to the repository that largely skirt the 4,562-square-mile
Nellis Air Force Range.
"Since they went ahead and proposed the route, that made the
field hearing kind of moot," Ensign spokesman Jack Finn said. He
said Ensign will continue to monitor the issue through his
chairmanship of the Senate's military readiness subcommittee.
The Energy Department on Dec. 23 proposed a 319-mile railroad
line from Caliente through rural Nevada to Yucca Mountain, 100
miles northeast of Las Vegas where DOE plans to build a complex
to store 77,000 tons of radioactive spent fuel and government
nuclear waste.
A 323-mile line that would run south from near Carlin was
identified as the DOE's second choice.
The department has filed an application with the Bureau of Land
Management to reserve use of a mile-wide corridor along the
Caliente route for further study.
Ensign began planning a Senate hearing after Air Force
officials this fall repeated to Congress that they would oppose
routing nuclear waste on the sprawling range, which is utilized
to train pilots and test new weapons. They also questioned the
repository's impact on flight corridors.
Robert Halstead, a Nevada-hired transportation consultant, said
he has examined DOE's maps and both the proposed Caliente and
Carlin rail corridors appear to cross into Air Force property
for 14.3 miles near Goldfield and another 16 miles farther south
near Stonewall Flat on their way to Yucca Mountain.
"Maybe some deal has been made with the Air Force but I have to
tell you in the past the Air Force has been very concerned about
intrusion," Halstead said.
But DOE spokesman Allen Benson said the study corridor is wider
than the route alignment that ultimately will be picked. He said
the department has no plans to run trains on the military
training range.
The planned Yucca route "is outside the Nellis range," Benson
said.
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
24 Las Vegas SUN: Ensign's hearing on Yucca routes canceled
Today: January 07, 2004 at 10:07:01 PST
By Suzanne Struglinski
<>
LAS VEGAS SUN
WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., has canceled the Senate
hearing about routes for transportation of nuclear waste to
Yucca Mountain that had been planned for next week in Las Vegas.
Ensign spokesman Jack Finn said the hearing was no longer
needed in the wake of the Energy Department's Dec. 23
announcement that it preferred the Caliente route through rural
Nevada as the main railroad corridor to move nuclear waste.
The Energy Department plans to store 77,000 tons of spent
nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
If the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves the site, the
department will have to move waste from commercial nuclear power
plants and department storage site across the country to Nevada.
Finn said earlier in December that the senator planned to hold
a hearing on Jan. 13 to consider the effect that nuclear waste
shipments to the potential Yucca Mountain storage site could
have on Nellis Air Force Base.
The Air Force has expressed concerns on proposed transportation
routes disturbing training exercises at Nellis or its training
range.
Finn said that as a senator from Nevada and as chairman of the
Senate Armed Services Readiness and Management Support
Subcommittee, Ensign would still watch the issue, but this
specific hearing probably will not be rescheduled.
*****************************************************************
25 RGJ: Shipment of radioactive waste to begin today
Reno Gazette-Journal
By Ken Ritter
ASSOCIATED PRESS 1/6/2004 09:26 pm
LAS VEGAS — Shipments of medium-level radioactive waste were to
begin today on a previously disputed route from the Nevada Test
Site through California and Arizona to New Mexico, officials
said.
“The schedule is tomorrow,” Ralph Smith, spokesman for the Waste
Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., said Tuesday. “We have
seven shipments planned this month.”
‘Fair solution’
California balked at allowing the shipments in July, but the
federal Energy Department and the four states’ governors agreed
Oct. 9 to allow 40 to 60 shipments this year on the 1,130-mile
route, Smith said.
“A fair solution has been worked out,” U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein,
D-Calif., said Tuesday through a spokesman. Feinstein had led the
opposition to the shipments, arguing the California desert route
included an old highway with poorly maintained stretches unsuited
for heavy trucks.
A spokeswoman for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger referred
questions to the governor’s office of emergency services, which
did not immediately respond to messages.
Bob Loux, Nevada Nuclear Projects Office chief, said the
agreement allowed for half the original number of shipments along
the California desert route, as long as the other half goes
another route.
Stored in North Las Vegas
Smith said no decision had been made on a second route. The
Energy Department did not consider as viable an alternate route
across 1,800 miles of Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and New
Mexico, passing through Salt Lake City and Denver, he said.
Loux and an official with the National Nuclear Security
Administration office in North Las Vegas said about 1,650 drums
of “transuranic” waste have been stored for decades north of Las
Vegas at the Nevada Test Site, awaiting transport to the plant in
New Mexico.
The waste — much of it from the Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory in California — includes items such as
plutonium-contaminated protective gear, tools and equipment that
can take thousands of years or more to decay to safe levels.
Smith said barrels of waste will be mounted on specially modified
flatbed trucks owned by a contractor, Tri-State Motor Transport
of Joplin, Mo.
The shipments will go from a test site gate south along state
highways to Baker, Calif.; southwest on Interstate 15 to Barstow,
Calif.; and east on Interstate 40 through Flagstaff, Ariz., and
Albuquerque, N.M., before heading south on U.S. 285 to Carlsbad.
The route avoids Las Vegas.
NNSA spokesman Darwin Morgan said security concerns prevented him
from discussing shipment times or routes.
“We’re concerned that these shipments should not be a terrorist
target,” Smith said. “We’re trying to keep our shipments below
the radar screen and keep them safe.”
He said the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant won’t pay for police
escorts but the Energy Department will monitor the trucks by
satellite tracking system.
“It’s up to the states whether they want to provide police
escorts,” Smith said.
Safety concerns addressed
Loux, in Carson City, said emergency workers along the shipping
route have received training since July in responding to
radioactive waste hazards.
Smith said there have been 2,240 shipments to the New Mexico
plant from various states in the past five years, with no release
of radioactivity.
One shipment was involved in a crash in August 2002, when an
allegedly drunken driver hit the rear of a truck. No one was
seriously hurt, and officials said there was no leak of
radioactivity.
Loux said Nevada does not oppose transporting the transuranic
material to New Mexico, but the state is fighting plans to ship
77,000 tons of highly radioactive material from nuclear power
plants around the country to a planned national nuclear waste
dump at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett Co. Inc.Newspaper. Use
*****************************************************************
26 The State: Nuclear waste arrives in Barnwell from SRS
Utility says 5-day lag in moving reactor vessel from SRS did not
pose health hazard
01/07/2
By SAMMY FRETWELL Staff Writer
An 820-ton package of nuclear garbage arrived Tuesday at a
Barnwell County waste dump after a five-day delay in transporting
the material from the Savannah River Site.
The Connecticut Yankee reactor vessel was scheduled to reach the
Chem-Nuclear low-level atomic waste site Dec. 31, but damaged
equipment delayed shipment after the load arrived at SRS on Dec.
26, a Connecticut utility official said. The company also had to
wait on replacement parts needed to complete the mission, utility
and South Carolina officials said.
Connecticut Yankees reactor, which once held highly radioactive
fuel needed to make electricity, had been barged down the East
Coast and up the Savannah River to SRS.
It was then shipped by land to the Barnwell County site, arriving
at the waste disposal area Tuesday morning, said Kelley Smith, a
Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Co. spokeswoman. Once at the
Barnwell site, it was placed into a disposal trench.
The Connecticut package is the fifth atomic power reactor sent to
Barnwell for disposal since 1997. Another reactor is expected
from California, as are reactors from South Carolina, New Jersey
and Connecticut.
As some of the nations atomic energy plants have shut down,
utilities have been looking for a place to dispose of the
radioactive parts. The Chem-Nuclear site is the only one still
open to the country for low-level atomic waste disposal.
The delay of the Connecticut Yankee reactor caused no danger to
the public, said Smith and Henry Porter, a radioactive waste
regulator with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental
Control. The reactor is packaged in concrete to help control
radioactivity, and it was at the Savannah River Site, a heavily
guarded federal weapons complex, officials said.
I dont feel like it presented any health problem or concern,
Porter said.
Two damaged axles on a land transport vehicle needed replacement
after the reactor arrived at SRS, Smith said. Once at SRS, the
package had to be taken off the barge and put onto the transport
vehicle for the 22-mile trip to Barnwell County. The shipment
left Connecticut by barge Dec. 18.
Smith said the shipment arrived at SRS ahead of schedule.
It was smooth sailing to the dock, but from that point on, we
had delays, she said.
Reach Fretwell at (803) 771-8537 or .
TheStateOnline
*****************************************************************
27 The Advocate: Nuclear reactor vessel from Connecticut arrives in S.C.
Associated Press
January 7, 2004
COLUMBIA, S.C. --
A 31-foot-high, 820-ton reactor vessel has arrived at a low-level
nuclear waste site after a five-day delay during the almost
three-week journey, officials said.
The Connecticut Yankee reactor, which once held highly
radioactive nuclear fuel rods used to make electricity, arrived
at Chem-Nuclear on Tuesday after the company repaired damaged
equipment when the reactor vessel arrived at the Savannah River
Site on Dec. 26, officials said.
The reactor was scheduled to arrive Dec. 31 at the nuclear waste
site in Barnwell, roughly 20 miles from SRS, a former nuclear
weapons complex near the South Carolina-Georgia border. The
vessel left the decommissioned nuclear power plant in Haddam,
Conn., on Dec. 18.
The shipment arrived at SRS ahead of schedule, Connecticut River
spokeswoman Kelley Smith said. "It was smooth sailing to the
dock, but from that point on, we had delays," she said.
Two damaged axles on a land transport vehicle needed replacement
after the reactor arrived at SRS, Smith said.
The delay of the Connecticut Yankee reactor caused no danger to
the public, said Henry Porter, a radioactive waste regulator with
the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. "I
don't feel like it presented any health problem or concern,"
Porter said.
The reactor was placed on a barge and brought down the
Connecticut River to the Atlantic Ocean then along the Savannah
River.
It was then shipped by land to the Barnwell County site,
arriving Tuesday morning, Smith said. The reactor vessel was
encased in concrete and steel to protect the public and
environment from radiation, and has been placed into a disposal
trench.
The Connecticut package is the fifth atomic power reactor sent
to Barnwell for disposal since 1997. Another reactor is expected
from California, as are reactors from South Carolina, New Jersey
and Connecticut.
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press [Careerbuilder]
© 2004, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. All rights
*****************************************************************
28 ITAR-TASS: No contracts for irradiated nuke fuel import in Russia this year.
[ITAR-TASS News Agency of Russia]
07.01.2004, 11.32
MOSCOW, January 7 (Itar-Tass) - Russia’s atomic energy minister
said on Wednesday that Russia is unlikely to sign any new
contracts for the import of irradiated nuclear fuel (INF) for
its storage and reprocessing.
“We are simply barred from that very lucrative market,” the
minister, Alexander Rumyantsev, told Itar-Tass. According to
Rumyantsev, “the world market of INF has been long divided among
other countries, first of all the USA and France”.
“No negotiations on possible contracts are being held
presently,” he added. Amendments to the legislation allowing the
exports of irradiated nuclear fuel in Russia for temporary
storage and procession were passed in 2001.
Their passing by the parliament came amid heated discussions in
the society. The Green Party was categorically against, and some
politicians are still opposed to the idea of INF imports. No
contracts have been signed as of yet.
The Russian Atomic Energy Ministry believes that projects for
the import of irradiated nuclear fuel are “fantastically
profitable” and can bring surplus profit. Russia can import
foreign INF at 1,000 dollars per kilogram and gain about 20
billion dollars. Net profit may amount to ten billion dollars,
which could be channeled into ecological projects. Besides, once
processed irradiated nuclear fuel may serve as fuel for nuclear
power stations.
However, the passing of amendments was necessary not only for
the signing of new contracts, but rather for legislatively
“supporting the export” of fresh nuclear fuel produced in
Russia, the minister stressed.
It is supplied to nuclear power stations in many former
Socialist states that were built in the Soviet times by Soviet
specialists, Rumyantsev said.
Besides, Russian nuclear fuel should be supplied to foreign
nuclear power stations, being built with participation of
Russian specialists in China, India and Iran. The return of
irradiated nuclear fuel back to Russia is a compulsory condition
for the supply of fresh fuel. That is being done to prevent the
threat of the spread of nuclear technologies.
Russia and Iran are expected to sign early in 2004 an additional
agreement on the return of INF from the nuclear power station in
Bushehr, which is currently under construction.
© ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy,
*****************************************************************
29 Paducah Sun: Ed Whitfield says Ohio favored by USEC
Wednesday, January 07, 2004;Paducah, Kentucky
@@PICTURE:0hqq_neighbors.jpg @@SUMMARY:U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield
said Tuesday that USEC appears to favor an Ohio site over
Paducah for a gas centrifuge plant to open in 2010. @@EOM:End of
Marker Required -- END OF CONFIG -->
Also, the congressman says he will be pleasantly surprised if he
is unopposed for his sixth term in the U.S. House.
By C.D. Bradley cdbradley@paducahsun.com--270.575.8650
Whitfield
U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield said Tuesday that USEC appears to favor
an Ohio site over Paducah for a gas centrifuge plant to open in
2010.
"Everything I've heard indicates that it will be Portsmouth,"
Whitfield said. He cited Ohio's incentive package, including the
existing building that was vacated when a uranium enrichment
facility was closed there in 2001. "The good news is that the
plant here will stay open for several years."
Whitfield, who was touring the 1st District a day after filing
to run for a sixth term, has no current opposition, a situation
he expects will change.
"I would be surprised if I don't have an opponent," he said. "I
always have had one, and I expect to have one. If I didn't, I
would be pleasantly surprised."
Some Democrats, citing Whitfield's popularity in the district,
have suggested resources would be better used to try to topple
Sen. Jim Bunning, also running for re-election this year.
If there is a campaign, Whitfield said he expects health care
to remain a major issue. President Bush recently signed into law
a measure granting a prescription drug benefit to seniors, but
other issues are unresolved. Whitfield said workers whose
employers don't offer insurance but who cannot qualify for
government assistance must be helped. He also said companies who
move operations elsewhere should pick up part of the tab for
health care and retraining of the employees they leave behind.
On other topics, Whitfield said:
His bill to move a portion of the program to help sick nuclear
workers from the Department of Energy to the Department of Labor
has a "50-50" chance of passing this year, even as it's opposed
by the DOE. "I'm still optimistic, cautiously," he said.
His wife, Connie, is excited about her appointment as vice
chairwoman of the newly formed Kentucky Horse Racing Authority
by Gov. Ernie Fletcher. Connie Whitfield, who owns a
thoroughbred, is concerned with "backside issues" surrounding
the treatment of grooms, riders and other track workers.
Fletcher said he had not discussed the move with Whitfield,
with whom he served in the House.
paducahsun.com
*****************************************************************
30 UK: News & Star: BNFL STAFF LIKELY TO SETTLE DISPUTE
Email Steve Meredith
Published in The News and Star on 07/01/2004
[Flashback: Shift workers walking out at Sellafield in
November. Most have now cast their votes over BNFL’s offer ]
Flashback: Shift workers walking out at Sellafield in
November. Most have now cast their votes over BNFL’s offer
By Stephen Meredith
SELLAFIELD shift workers look set to settle a dispute over shift
pay, bringing to a close the nuclear site’s most serious
industrial action for 30 years.
Although union officials will not start the arduous process of
counting the ballot papers until Monday they say the majority of
workers have already cast their votes and the general feeling is
that they will accept the latest offer from British Nuclear
Fuels (BNFL).
The offer on the table will give the 2,500 workers pay parity
with equivalent white collar staff by 2006 – three years ahead
of BNFL’s original offer and close a shift allowance pay gap of
around £2,000.
More than 500 workers have already taken part in three one-day
strikes, which forced the shutdown of all Sellafield’s plants in
November but all industrial action – the first at the plant in
almost 30 years – has been called off while the ballot takes
place.
Alan Westnedge, of Amicus, which represents 520 of the workers,
said they have already received the majority of their members’
votes even though the deadline is not until Monday.
He said: “We already have an awful lot of envelopes even though
ballot papers were sent out just before Christmas.
“We will begin counting them on Monday and obviously we won’t
know the result until then.
“But the feedback from shop stewards regarding this
harmonisation has been fairly positive so we expect our members
to accept the proposals.
“If they don’t, we will have to hold a series of meetings to
find out what our membership want to do.”
The postal ballot of Amicus and GMB shift workers began on
December 22.
Martin Quinn, deputy site convenor for the GMB, said: “We are
recommending that they accept the offer. It’s a good deal.”
BNFL has declined to comment upon the ballot, saying that it is
a matter for the unions and their members.
*****************************************************************
31 [EMMAS] The BBC on Hiroshima
Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2004 17:10:51 -0600 (CST)
Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2004 00:12:31 -1000
From: viviane
Reply-To: viviane
Subject: The BBC on Hiroshima
>> In last nights one-hour documentary on the bombing, Days That Shook The
World, the BBC spent 35 seconds examining the justification for the attack.
This involved presenting, unchallenged, the unfounded claim that the attack
was required to avoid one million US combat casualties in the event of an
invasion of the Japanese mainland. This was then followed by a supportive
quote from the US Army Chief of Staff in 1945. <<
=======
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Jan04/Edwards0106.htm
The BBC on Hiroshima
by David Edwards and Media Lens
January 6, 2004
The atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 was one of historys
bloodiest single acts claiming 100,000 Japanese lives. Exposing men, women
and children to one million degrees of heat and a supersonic blast wave, the
attack had unimaginably horrific results. In his classic essay,
"Machiavellian Realism and US Foreign Policy: Means and Ends," Howard Zinn
presents eyewitness testimony indicating the reality of what happened that
day. Here a seventeen-year-old girl describes what she saw:
I walked past Hiroshima Station... and saw people with their bowels and
brains coming out... I saw an old lady carrying a suckling in her arms... I
saw many children... with dead mothers... I just cannot put into words the
horror I felt.
A fifth-grade girl:
Everybody in the shelter was crying out loud. These voices... they arent
cries, they are moans that penetrate to the marrow of your bones and make
your hair stand on end... I do not know how many times I called begging that
they would cut off my burned arms and legs. (Quoted, The Zinn Reader, Seven
Stories Press, 1997, p.354)
In last nights one-hour documentary on the bombing, Days That Shook The
World, the BBC spent 35 seconds examining the justification for the attack.
This involved presenting, unchallenged, the unfounded claim that the attack
was required to avoid one million US combat casualties in the event of an
invasion of the Japanese mainland. This was then followed by a supportive
quote from the US Army Chief of Staff in 1945.
In fact the one million figure is based on US Secretary of State James
Byrnes' claims at the time, but no serious attempt had ever been made to
estimate the likely costs of invasion. In his essay, Howard Zinn writes that
"the closest to such an attempt was a military estimate that an invasion of
the southernmost island of Japan would cause 30,000 American dead and
wounded". (Ibid, p.351)
Thus, in reviewing the nuclear bombing of a defenseless city claiming
100,000 civilian lives, the BBC justified the attack in 35 seconds, based on
an unfounded claim supported by one US army source with no counter-arguments
being heard. Media Lens wrote last night to Richard Walker, the writer and
director of the programme:
Dear Richard Walker
I watched tonight's Days That Shook The World on the atomic bombing of
Hiroshima. You briefly mentioned predictions of 1 million US combat deaths
in the event of an invasion of the Japanese mainland. You also quoted the US
Army Chief of Staff's justification for the bombing: "It seemed quite
necessary, if we could, to shock them [the Japanese] into action. We had to
end the war. We had to save American lives."
I wonder if you are aware that the US Strategic Bombing Survey interviewed
700 Japanese military and political officials after the war, and came to
this conclusion:
"Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts and supported by the
testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved, it is the Survey's
opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945, and in all probability
prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic
bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even
if no invasion had been planned or contemplated."
On August 2, the Japanese foreign office sent a message to the Japanese
ambassador in Moscow:
"There are only a few days left in which to make arrangements to end the
war... As for the definite terms... it is our intention to make the Potsdam
Three-Power Declaration [which called for unconditional surrender] the basis
for the study regarding these terms."
Barton Bernstein, a Stanford historian, comments:
"The message, like earlier ones, was probably intercepted by American
intelligence and decoded. It had no effect on American policy... They were
unwilling to take risks in order to save Japanese lives."
After the war, American scholar Robert Butow went through the papers of the
Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the records of the International
Military Tribunal of the Far East, and the interrogation files of the US
Army. He also interviewed many of the Japanese principals and came to this
conclusion:
"Had the allies given the Prince (Prince Konoye, special emissary to Moscow,
who was working on a Russian intercession for peace) a week of grace in
which to obtain his Government's support for the acceptance of proposals,
the war might have ended toward the latter part of July or the very
beginning of the month of August, without the atomic bomb and without Soviet
participation in the conflict."
The scientist Leo Szilard met with President Truman's main policy adviser,
secretary of state Byrnes, in May 1945 and reported later: "Byrnes did not
argue that it was necessary to use the bomb against the cities of Japan in
order to win the war... Mr Byrnes' view was that our possessing and
demonstrating the bomb would make Russia more manageable."
American historian Howard Zinn comments:
"The end of dropping the bomb seems, from the evidence, to have been not
winning the war, which was already assured, not saving lives, for it was
highly probable no American invasion would be necessary, but the
aggrandizement of American national power at the moment and in the postwar
period... For the idea that any means - mass murder, the misuse of science,
the corruption of professionalism - are acceptable to achieve the end of
national power, the ultimate example of our time is Hiroshima."
Why did you make no mention of these important counter-arguments to the
claim that the bombing of Hiroshima was necessary to end the Second World
War and to save American lives?
Yours sincerely ,
David Edwards
SUGGESTED ACTION
The goal of Media Lens is to promote rationality, compassion and respect for
others. In writing letters to journalists, we strongly urge readers to
maintain a polite, non-aggressive and non-abusive tone.
Sample Email:
Why, in your hour-long documentary on the bombing of Hiroshima, did you
spend just 35 seconds examining the justification for the killing of 100,000
civilians? And why did you present no counter-arguments to unfounded claims
based on US government figures backed up by one quote from the US Army Chief
of Staff?
Write to the programmes writer and director Richard Walker:
Email: richard.walker@bbc.co.uk
Copy your emails to the BBCs information department:
Email: info@bbc.co.uk
And to BBC Director-General, Greg Gyke:
Email: greg.dyke@bbc.co.uk
Please also send all emails to us at Media Lens:
Email: editor@medialens.org
David Edwards is the editor of Media Lens, and the author of Burning All
Illusions: A Guide to Personal and Political Freedom (South End Press,
1996). Email: editor@medialens.org.
=========
*** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.***
----- End forwarded message -----
#################################################################
" Social and economic well-being will become a reality only through the
zeal, courage, the non-compromising determination of intelligent
minorities, and not through the mass." Emma Goldman
To SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE to the emmasdance list send email to
with the message subscribe/unsubscribe emmasdance. [No subject is
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32 Knox News: ORNL rings in '04 with staff changes
By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com
January 7, 2004
OAK RIDGE - The New Year brought a number of personnel changes
at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, including the appointment of a
new associate lab director.
ORNL Director Jeff Wadsworth announced some of the changes in a
message Tuesday to lab staff.
David Hill is the new associate laboratory director for energy
and engineering sciences, overseeing programs with 700 employees
and an annual budget of more than $260 million.
Hill succeeds Gil Gilliland, who is on special assignment to
develop programs for the new Oak Ridge Center for Advanced
Studies. Gilliland also will be working on recruitment of new
scientists to fill future needs at the federal laboratory.
Joe Herndon has been named operations manager for the energy and
engineering sciences directorate. Jim Rushton will serve as
acting director of the Nuclear Science and Technology Division,
which Hill previously headed, until a new director is named.
Reinhold Mann is taking over as associate lab director for
biological and environmental sciences, an appointment that was
announced a few months ago. Mann is returning to ORNL after a
couple of years as deputy director at Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory in Washington state.
Brian Davison is the new director of the Life Sciences Division,
reporting to Mann. Davison previously headed the biochemical
engineering research group, which now will be headed by Thomas
Klasson.
Davison succeeds Barry Berven, who has been appointed operations
manager for the biological and environmental sciences directorate
at ORNL.
Frank Akers will serve as ORNL's program director for homeland
security in addition to his regular duties overseeing the
national security directorate.
Scott Branham will become director of the audit and assessments
directorate at the lab, taking over some of the duties of Jan
Preston. Preston recently left ORNL to take a position at
Battelle headquarters in Ohio.
Reporting to Branham will be Julie Ezold and Gail Lewis, who will
head the independent oversight and audit and management
functions.
Chris Marsalis will become acting director of counterintelligence
until a new director is named for Fred Evans, who plans to retire
at the end of January.
Cindy Kendrick will fill a new position as employee concerns
director.
Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329.
2004, Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.
*****************************************************************
33 Knox News: Y-12's BWXT receives fee hike
By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com
January 7, 2004
OAK RIDGE - Federal contractor BWXT received more than $21
million in fiscal 2003 for managing the Y-12 nuclear weapons
plant, according to documents released Tuesday.
BWXT Y-12 L.L.C, a partnership of Bechtel National and BWX
Technologies, received high marks in general management and most
rating categories.
The Y-12 contractor earned $21,188,511 out of a total possible
$22,940,552. That's an increase from the $19.3 million fee earned
in 2002.
The Oak Ridge plant's primary mission is the production of
nuclear warhead parts. Y-12 specializes in so-called
"secondaries," the second stage of warheads.
"Overall, BWXT Y-12 made significant improvements at the Y-12
plant continuing the positive momentum generated in the last
couple of years,'' Bill Brumley, the plant's federal overseer,
said in a Jan. 5 letter to BWXT chief Dennis Ruddy.
"These improvements included meeting all customer deliverables,
specific safety-related accomplishments, project management,
nonnuclear proliferation and infrastructure reduction," Brumley
wrote.
He praised the contractor for work supporting the modernization
of Y-12. That included preparations for a new storage facility
for bomb-grade uranium.
The major downside was a poor performance in "conduct of
operations."
Brumley criticized BWXT for violation of procedures and safety
requirements during the rating period, Oct. 1, 2002 to Sept. 30,
2003.
In his letter to Ruddy, Brumley cited an increase of "near
misses" in workplace accidents, even though conduct of operations
had been cited as a concern previously.
"Although contractor management continues to focus attention on
improving performance, results were inconsistent and isolated,"
said Brumley, who heads the Oak Ridge office of the National
Nuclear Security Administration.
Ruddy, the president and general manger of BWXT, said company
officials were pleased with the overall evaluation.
"We believe it acknowledges the significant progress we have made
in the three years since taking over as management and operations
contractor. This recognition is due to the efforts of many
people."
BWXT replaced Lockheed Martin as the managing contractor at Y-12
in late 2000.
Ruddy said safety is the contractor's top priority, and he said
BWXT is launching a series of initiatives to improve conduct of
operations at the Oak Ridge defense plant.
Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329.
2004, Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.
*****************************************************************
34 Oak Ridger: Boyd Reflects On First Year As DOE Manager
Story last updated at 1:12 p.m. on January 7, 2004
FUTURE: 'I'm in Oak Ridge as long as the Department of Energy
lets me stay here.'
By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff
paul.parson@oakridger.com
Gerald Boyd laughed when asked if he had any regrets or wished
he'd done anything differently during his first year as the
Department of Energy's Oak Ridge chief.
"Well, I don't have any of those," he said during an interview
Tuesday afternoon.
A year ago this month, Boyd took over as manager of DOE's Oak
Ridge Operations office. Before Boyd, the position was held by
Mike Holland - on an interim basis - and Leah Dever, who left
the job for a position with the Office of Science at DOE
headquarters.
"My biggest challenge was getting my arms around the safety
management issues here in Oak Ridge," Boyd said. "Safety is our
No. 1 concern. And, we have had some safety issues in the past.
The DOE function for overseeing safety and managing safety
properly needed work. I probably spent more time working on that
than any single issue."
Lynn Freeny/DOE
Gerald Boyd
In November 2001, Jessie Roberson, DOE's assistant secretary for
Environmental Management, revoked validation of the Oak Ridge
Operations office's Integrated Safety Management System. The
system is essentially a process that incorporates safety into
management and work practices at all levels, addressing all types
of work and hazards, to ensure safety for the workers, the public
and the environment.
"We went through the process of training people, getting our
staffs qualified, writing safety procedures, doing safety
reviews, making sure our contractors had appropriate safety
programs," Boyd said. "We spent the past year doing that and went
through the reverification process in October. We were
reverified."
Though it took some time, Boyd seemed pleased to get approval for
Oak Ridge's safety system.
"It's a pretty critical job to do, and it takes a lot of effort,"
he said. "You don't want to rush it, but you don't want it to
take too long. You have to do it right."
Speaking of doing things right, like any proud boss, Boyd had no
problem addressing Oak Ridge's accomplishments over the past
year. Those achievements included keeping the construction of the
Spallation Neutron Source research facility on time and on
budget, inking a new cleanup contract with Bechtel Jacobs Co.,
continuing work on a massive three-building cleanup effort at the
Oak Ridge K-25 site and transferring the property known as the
Horizon Center to the Community Reuse Organization of East
Tennessee.
"Things are going exceptionally well," he said during the
interview at his office in the Oak Ridge Federal Building.
Boyd has been with DOE since 1990, serving in a variety of senior
management positions. Prior to being named to his current post,
Boyd served as assistant manager of Environmental Management for
DOE in Oak Ridge.
Through both of his local jobs, Boyd said he has spent a lot of
time getting to know the communities that surround the federal
government's Oak Ridge Reservation. In fact, over the past year,
Boyd said he has done a lot of interfacing with local
governments, various organizations and the community at large.
"If you've got to be one of the largest employers of people in a
community, as the manager, you need to be connected to that
community - understand what their concerns are, listen to what
they think is important," Boyd said.
Speaking of important, Boyd said it was vital to point out that
he's able to get his job done because of the competent federal
workforce employed locally. It also helps, according to Boyd,
that he has a good working relationship with the contractors that
directly report to DOE's Oak Ridge Operations office.
"There's not a better contractor in the country to run a
laboratory than UT-Battelle," Boyd said. "There's just no
question in my mind about that. They've got exceptionally good
people over there. They've had two of the best lab directors I
think you could ever ask for - Bill Madia and now Jeff
Wadsworth."
Boyd described ORNL and DOE's local science programs as the
"centerpiece" of the Oak Ridge Reservation.
"That's what the future of Oak Ridge is going to be," he said.
And you can't talk about the future without addressing the past -
specifically, cleaning up DOE's legacy waste and historic
facilities in Oak Ridge. That's the job Bechtel Jacobs has been
contracted to oversee since 1998.
"I spent an entire year working on an extension and a conversion
to closure contract," Boyd said. "I did that because I believed
that BJC was the best contractor to do that work vs. competing it
(putting the cleanup contract out for rebid)."
Under Bechtel Jacobs' new accelerated cleanup contract, the
company has to tackle four major project areas, each with a
specific schedule of results and incentive fee to ensure
accountability. For example, Bechtel Jacobs has to make sure that
all legacy low-level waste and mixed low-level waste is treated
and disposed of by Sept. 30, 2005.
In addition, cleanup of the historic Oak Ridge K-25 site has to
be completed by Sept. 30, 2008. At the time of the site's
closure, it will essentially be reborn as a private industrial
area.
"They have a big challenge in the cleanup program here," said
Boyd of the work that lies ahead for Bechtel Jacobs.
And, while Bechtel Jacobs' contract is set to expire in 2008, one
has to wonder if Boyd will be around to see the end result of the
company's work.
"I'm in Oak Ridge as long as the Department of Energy lets me
stay here," Boyd said. "I've made it pretty clear to everybody at
headquarters that I'm happy here. I like this job. I don't have
any plans to go anywhere anytime soon."
*****************************************************************
35 Oak Ridger: Community gives DOE chief high marks
Story last updated at 1:12 p.m. on January 7, 2004
CONGRESSMAN: Boyd is off to 'an excellent start.'
By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff
paul.parson@oakridger.com
When talking about Gerald Boyd, some local officials recently
described him as a trustworthy leader and effective manager.
In fact, one member of the Oak Ridge City Council suggested
that Boyd is "building a strong legacy" in his role as manager
of the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Operations office.
Although he wasn't privy to who said what, Boyd listened as
some of those comments were read aloud to him Tuesday afternoon.
"I'm honored and humbled," said Boyd, who is wrapping up his
first year in the managerial role. "I'm very flattered."
'A Leader That People Can Trust'
Lynn Freeny/DOE
Gerald Boyd, manager of the Department of
Energy's Oak Ridge Operations office, meets with DOE-related
employees during a meeting.
`U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-3rd District, said Energy Secretary
Spencer Abraham appointed Boyd manager at a time when confidence
in DOE's Oak Ridge Operations office needed to be restored and
improved.
"He has accomplished that mission extremely well," Wamp said.
In the two years prior to Boyd's appointment, the Oak Ridge
Operations office saw the departure of its manager Leah Dever,
functioned with two interim leaders and faced a proposed new
management structure that could have essentially diminished the
managerial role.
But, that's all history. And, according to Wamp, Boyd is off to
"an excellent start."
"Gerald is a leader that people can trust," said Wamp. "They feel
comfortable with him. What you see is what you get. You know what
to expect."
When asked about any weaknesses he saw in Boyd or the DOE chief's
management style, Wamp had a hard time coming up with any.
"I really know of none," he said. "I don't want to say there
aren't any. I don't want to be Pollyanna, but I don't see any
weaknesses."
Rating His Performance
If he were filling out a report card, Oak Ridge Mayor David
Bradshaw suggested he would give Boyd the highest possible marks.
"I believe that Gerald Boyd is building a strong legacy as a
manager who accomplishes positive outcomes for both [DOE's Oak
Ridge Operations office] and the broader Oak Ridge community,"
Bradshaw said. "I certainly believe that Oak Ridge has the best
manager in the DOE system today."
Bradshaw gave Boyd accolades for being committed to working with
the city of Oak Ridge on a long-term solution for continued
operation of the American Museum of Science and Energy as well as
being instrumental in completing the transfer of the Horizon
Center to the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee. The
mayor also noted that Boyd is taking a "strong stand in
recognizing the historical importance of the Manhattan Project
era facilities, people and artifacts" contained within the
federal government's Oak Ridge Reservation.
Overall, Bradshaw said Boyd has an "excellent working
relationship" with the city of Oak Ridge. Bradshaw also pointed
out that he meets regularly with Boyd so they can keep each other
informed on a wide range of issues.
Boyd also appears to be working hard on keeping the community
informed about DOE's activities, according to Susan Gawarecki,
executive director of the Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight
Committee. Gawarecki's organization serves as a watchdog group
for DOE's local work.
"I have seen him ask for feedback from the community and then
take action in response to it," Gawarecki said. "I know Boyd has
appeared at many community functions and has held several
informational meetings at our request, so I think he is trying
hard to ensure the community knows what is going on."
Gawarecki said she is pleased that Boyd has seen fit to relax
some of the security restrictions that were a result of Sept. 11,
2001. As an example, Gawarecki pointed out that he was
instrumental in reopening the fences at the Oak Ridge K-25 site
so that the Secret City Excursion Train could once again take
visitors by the historic facility.
On the flip side, Gawarecki said she would like to see more
long-term planning - rather than just the next few years - in the
areas of land use and stewardship.
In addition, Gawarecki said there should be more coordination
between National Nuclear Security Administration and DOE's Oak
Ridge Operations office on issues of mutual concern, such as
decontamination and decommissioning activities at the Y-12
National Security Complex and emergency response planning. The
NNSA is a quasi-independent agency within DOE that oversees the
nuclear weapons complex.
A 'Clean' Career
Prior to taking over as DOE's Oak Ridge chief, Boyd served
locally as the assistant manager of Environmental Management. His
background also includes management of national and international
research and development programs involving environmental cleanup
technologies.
Bradshaw said he is pleased that Boyd and his team continue to
support the cleanup of the Oak Ridge K-25 site, which is
scheduled to be reborn as a private industrial area in 2008. The
historic K-25 site was built in the 1940s to enrich uranium for
use in nuclear weapons, and numerous facilities and land areas
were left contaminated due to the plant's operations.
The cleanup issue puts Boyd in contact with a number of
organizations and businesses.
Jenny Freeman, executive director of the East Tennessee
Environmental Business Association, said Boyd has proven to be a
very effective manager, who has been "extremely accessible and
always willing to listen" to her organization's issues and
concerns. Freeman's organization represents more than 100
companies that provide services to DOE and its prime contractors.
"If I could wish for something to have been different this year,
I'd wish that the K-25/K-27 procurement could have been handled
so that the original six qualified teams could have competed,"
Freeman said. "Such a competition would have resulted in
innovative and cost-effective ideas for performing that work."
The contract in question pertained to a decommissioning project
at the K-25 and K-27 buildings at the Oak Ridge K-25 site. This
cleanup project would have involved the removal of uranium
processing equipment in the K-25 and K-27 buildings, which
supplied enriched uranium for nuclear weapons production as part
of the Manhattan Project.
"As it was, we had one bidder on a procurement that was
ultimately withdrawn," Freeman said. "I don't know if Gerald
could have had more control over that procurement since it was a
Bechtel Jacobs bid, but I'm sure he wishes it could have been
handled differently, too."
*****************************************************************
36 Google News Alert - nuclear
Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2004 18:26:23 -0800
NUCLEAR reports are denied to public
Gulf Daily News, Bahrain
NEW DELHI: Safety reports on India's nuclear power plants can be withheld
from the public by the government in the interests of national security,
the ...
US welcomes DPRK offer on nuclear power program
China Daily, China
The United States said on Tuesday a DPRK offer to freeze its nuclear power
industry was a positive step that it hoped would lead to a fresh round
of six-way ...
NUCLEAR Experts Search for 'Dirty Bombs'
ABC News
7 — Government nuclear experts are working undercover in major US cities,
using high-tech equipment hidden in briefcases and golf bags to hunt for
...
NUCLEAR reactor vessel from Connecticut arrives in SC
WIS, SC
7, 2004 - An 820-ton nuclear reactor vessel has arrived at the low-level
nuclear waste site in Barnwell County after a five-day delay during the
almost three ...
OP - ed : Bush ’ s dangerous nuclear vision — Dianne ...
Daily Times, Pakistan
Both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers. If either country adhered to
the thinking embodied in the Bush administration’s new ...
US sees better prospects for news talks on DPRK nuclear issue
Xinhua, China
7 (Xinhuanet) -- US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday that
the prospects of holding a new round of talks on the nuclear issue of
the Korean ... Seoul says no slowdown request from US on inter-Korean
...
DANGEROUS for US to lower nuclear threshold
Straits Times, Singapore
... the debate over Iraq, the war on terror and the Bush administration's
doctrine of unilateral pre-emption, Washington's new emphasis on the utility
of nuclear ...
ANNAN welcomes recent statements on DPR of Korea's nuclear ...
UN News Centre
7 January – Hoping to spur a resumption of talks on the nuclear programme
of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), United Nations Secretary
...
CHINA questions US claims about Korean nuclear threat
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
China told Asian diplomats last week it is not convinced of US claims that
North Korea has a clandestine program to enrich uranium for use in nuclear
weapons ...
CHINA ready to start its nuclear power plan
People's Daily Online, China
In 2003 China was prepared to start a massive nuclear power plan and include
nuclear power into the state electric power plan for the first time. ...
This once-a-day News Alert is brought to you by Google News (BETA)...
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37 [NukeNet] More On Bush/NASA/DOE/DOD Space Nukes
Date: Wed, 07 Jan 2004 12:04:38 -0800
The Bush administration a year ago announced the
Nuclear Systems Initiative, a $3 billion research
and development effort to expand the number of
launches of deadly nuclear powered systems into
space.
----- Original Message -----
From: Global Network
To: Global Network Against Weapons
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2004 12:14 PM
Subject: [abolition-caucus] BUSH PLAYS WITH FIRE:
LAUNCHING A DANGEROUS SPACE POLICY
Bush Plays with Fire: Launching a
Dangerous Space Policy
George W. Bush is playing with fire. He is
expected to soon make a major space policy
announcement that could include a return mission
to the moon, the establishment of permanent bases
on the moon, and an aggressive program to take
humans to Mars. Estimates for these space
projects range from $50 - $150 billion. That is
of course before cost overruns set in.
In order to make the trip to Mars feasible (the
normal year-long trip would take a toll on any
human being because of space radiation) Bush is
expected to commit to using a nuclear rocket -
what is now known as "Project Prometheus," named
after the God of Fire. The nuclear rocket would
cut in half the amount of time it would take to
get to Mars, and would have military applications
as well. The Bush administration a year ago
announced the Nuclear Systems Initiative, a $3
billion research and development effort to expand
the number of launches of deadly nuclear powered
systems into space.
NUCLEAR DANGERS
One scientist who has publicly expressed grave
concern about the Nuclear Systems Initiative is
Dr. Michio Kaku, Henry Semat Professor of
Theoretical Physics at the CUNY Graduate Center.
According to Dr. Kaku, "The exploration of outer
space is indeed one of humanity's great
adventures. Perhaps one of the greatest risks
facing this ambitious program is the use of
dangerous, unproven technologies which could
backfire, eroding public confidence in the space
program."
"One such dangerous technology is the nuclear
rocket, which is now seriously being reconsidered
after being rightly rejected for the past several
decades. The recent disaster involving the
Columbia shuttle crew was bad enough. If it had
contained a nuclear rocket, it would have been the
death blow to the space program. Having
radioactive uranium reactor parts sprayed over
Texas and much of the southwest would have doomed
the entire space program. The nuclear booster
rocket has gone through many stages of development
in the past, and all of them have been cancelled
with good cause."
WHY THE MOON?
The U.S. never signed the 1979 Moon Treaty that
was created at the United Nations to prevent a
rush of land claims and military bases on the
planetary body. In fact, in a 1959 U.S. Army
study entitled "The Establishment of a Lunar
Outpost" the once secret plan stated that "The
lunar outpost is required to develop and protect
potential U.S. interests on the moon; to develop
techniques in moon-based surveillance of the earth
and space.to serve as a base for exploration of
the moon, for further exploration into space and
for military operations on the moon if required."
The Army study went on to conclude that with U.S.
bases on the moon the U.S. could "extend and
improve space reconnaissance and surveillance
capabilities and control of space."
Scientists have discovered valuable resources on
the moon including helium 3, a fuel that is seen
as a replacement for the dwindling supply of
fossil fuels back here on Earth. In a New York
Times op-ed, written by science writer Lawrence
Joseph in 1995, he says that "If we ignore the
potential of this remarkable fuel; the nation
could slip behind in the race for control of the
global economy, and our destiny beyond." In the
piece Joseph asks, "Will the moon become the
Persian Gulf of the 21st Century?"
Again in a New York Times op-ed piece called "A
New Pathway to the Stars," space writer Timothy
Ferris wrote on December 21, 2003 that "Another
possible energy source of the future - nuclear
fusion reactors burning clean, safe helium 3 - has
its own lunar connection. Helium 3, rare on
Earth, is abundant on the moon. When fusion
reactors start coming on line, lunar entrepreneurs
may stand to make the kind of money their
predecessors raked in during the gold rush and the
oil boom."
Harrison Schmitt, the former Apollo astronaut who
also served a term as U.S. Senator from New
Mexico, is not ignoring the issue. In an op-ed
published in the aerospace industry publication
Space News entitled, "The Moon Treaty: Not a Wise
Idea," Schmitt stated "The mandate of an
international treaty regime would complicate
private commercial efforts and give other
countries political control over the
permissibility, timing and management of all
private commercial activities.The strong
prohibition on ownership of 'natural resources'
also causes worry."
The ideas of U.S. control of the moon have
interesting origins. In the book Arming the
Heavens: The Hidden Military Agenda for Space,
author Jack Manno told the story of former Nazi
Maj. Gen. Walter Dornberger (the man who recruited
Werner Von Braun to come to work for Hitler to
build the V-1 and V-2 rockets.)
After the end of World War II the U.S. military
recruited Von Braun and 1,500 other Nazi
scientists to come to the U.S. under the top
secret Operation Paper Clip. Von Braun, along
with Dornberger and 100 others from the German
rocket team, were brought to create the U.S. space
program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Alabama. Dornberger eventually became
a Bell Aviation Corporation Vice-President and
helped the company make enormous profit building
helicopters for the war effort in Vietnam.
Before a congressional hearing in 1958, Dornberger
insisted that America's top space priority out to
be to "conquer, occupy, keep and utilize space
between the Earth and the moon."
Interestingly enough this same theme reemerged in
a 1989 study written for the U.S. Congress by John
Collins. The study, published in book form was
called Military Space Forces: The Next 50 Years
and the forward to the book was signed by seven
leading political leaders at the time including
Sen. John Glenn (D-OH) and Sen. Bill Nelson
(D-FL).
Congressional staffer Collins reported that the
U.S. would need to have military bases on the moon
in order to control the pathway, or "gravity
well," between the Earth and moon. "Military
space forces at the bottom of Earth's so-called
gravity well are poorly positioned to accomplish
offensive/defensive/deterrent missions, because
great energy is needed to overcome gravity during
launch. Forces at the top, on a space counterpart
of 'high ground,' could initiate action and
detect, identify, track, intercept, or otherwise
respond more rapidly to attacks." Collins went on
to conclude that with U.S. bases on the moon,
"Armed forces might lie in wait at that location
to hijack rival shipments on return." Obviously
the author was envisioning the day when aerospace
corporations would be hard at work "mining the
sky" for profit.
NO COMEPTITORS IN SPACE
The Bush administration and his aerospace allies
have been in a state of despair ever since China
launched her first man into space in 2003. China
has also publicly proclaimed that they hope to
send a man to the moon in the near future.
Imagine if some other nation, besides the U.S.,
was able to set up bases and mining colonies on
the moon or began mining gold from asteroids.
This would never be allowed.
Within hours after Chinese "taikonaut" Yang Liwei
made his historic venture into space, the U.S.
military was warning of severe consequences.
Speaking at a space conference, Lt. Gen. Edward
Anderson, deputy Commander of U.S. Northern
Command, told the assembled that, "In my view it
will not be long before space becomes a
battleground."
Speaking at the same conference, Rich Haver,
Vice-President for intelligence strategy at
Northrup Grumman Corporation, responding to a
question about the implications of China's space
voyage said, "I think the Chinese are telling us
they're there, and I think if we ever wind up in a
confrontation again with any one of the major
powers who has a space capability we will find
space is a battleground."
STAKES ARE TOO HIGH
The prospects for eventual profit and control of
the new space frontier are too high to be left to
chance. Clearly, since the end of World War II,
the U.S. military has been planning and is now
vigorously developing space technologies that will
give them control of the pathways on and off the
planet Earth.
Just as the Spanish Armada and British Navy were
created to protect the "interests and investments"
in the new world, space is viewed today as open
territory to be seized for eventual corporate
profit.
The United Nations, to their credit, created the
Moon Treaty and the Outer Space Treaty as ways to
circumvent the warlike tendencies of humankind as
we step out into the cosmos. These treaties hoped
to ensure that conflict over "national
appropriation" of the planetary bodies could be
avoided. Maybe for once earthlings could join
hands as we launched into space and explored the
heavens for the good of all humankind.
The U.S. appears to be heading in the direction of
creating enormous danger and conflict with the
current Nuclear Systems Initiative that will
expand nuclear power and weapons into space - all
disguised as the noble effort to hunt for the
"origins of life" in space. Only a lively and
growing global debate about the ethics and
morality of current space policy will save us from
lighting the harsh fires of Prometheus in the
heavens.
Bruce K. Gagnon
Coordinator
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in
Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 729-0517
(207) 319-2017 (Cell phone)
http://www.space4peace.org
globalnet@mindspring.com
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