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                         NUCLEAR POLICY
 
1 Guardian Unlimited: The British-US axis no longer makes any sense
2 Las Vegas SUN: Source Gives Details of Iran Nuke Deal
3 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: Seoul to Present 'Concrete' Plan During S
4 Daily Yomiuri: The enigmatic Kim Jong Il/ N-weapons program part of 
5 Las Vegas SUN: Report: N. Korea Willing to Discuss Nukes
6 US: Fw: Selling Nuke secrets Okayed by USA
7 US: TOMPAINE.com: The Power Player
8 US: MotherJones.com: A Legacy of Lies
9 Las Vegas SUN: Pakistani Admits Ties to Nuclear Suspect
10 Las Vegas SUN: Libya Converted Small Amount of Plutonium
11 Las Vegas SUN: Japan Raises Terror Alert to Highest Level
12 Las Vegas SUN: Malaysian Inquiry Reveals Nuclear Path
13 Guardian Unlimited: Panel: Plutonium Transfer Taking Too Long
14 HindustanTimes: Accidental use of nukes is scary scenario - Pak
15 Bellona: Putin watches Russia's nuclear shield falling apart
16 TIMES OF INDIA: Uranium flown to Libya from Pakistan in '01 
17 FT: Libya 'got nuclear parts via Pakistan'  
18 Indian Express: I closed 'N-deals' with Israeli 4 yrs ago - Indian
19 CNN.com Nuclear scandal: Man 'confesses' 
20 AU ABC: Pakistan nuclear scientist 'sent' uranium to Libya. 
21 Las Vegas SUN: AP: Kazakhstan Probes Nuclear Black Market
 
                         NUCLEAR REACTORS
 
22 US: Ocean County News: Oyster Creek N-plant seeks license extension 
23 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Meeting Notice
24 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collecti
25 US: NRC: Notice of Availability of Model Application Concerning Tech
26 US: Rutland Herald: Entergy will start Yankee upgrade before federal
27 US: KRT Wire: Differences Remain over Fuel Storage for Connecticut N
28 US: BJP: Palo Verde reactor taken offline - 
29 english.eastday.com: Power plant to relieve energy shortages
 
                          NUCLEAR SAFETY
 
30 [du-list] UK Ministry of Defense Issues DU Warning Cards to
31 US: KRT Wire: Dangerous chemical ships poorly regulated
32 HSE: Statement of nuclear incidents at nuclear installations
33 Ottawa Citizen: Uranium found in Maniwaki-area wells Health official
 
                         NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
 
34 [NukeNet] Scientists Warn Of Immenant New Ice Age, What Might
35 Las Vegas SUN: DOE initiates probe into claim dust records changed a
36 US: New York Daily News: Boroughs - Nuke waste firm &foes to face NR
37 Las Vegas RJ: Scientist echoes earlier worries about Yucca leaks 
38 Las Vegas RJ: YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Probe of tunnel notes ordered 
39 Las Vegas SUN: Panel: Data back Yucca concerns
40 Las Vegas SUN: Hearing in LV to focus on nuke waste rail route
41 RGJ: Top official of scientific panel echoes concerns over Yucca lea
42 The Australian: States in the dark over N-dump fee 
43 RGJ: Meddling in science feeds state cynicism
44 US: CCDR: County gets Cotter extension 
45 Las Vegas SUN: Concerns About Yucca Mt. Leaks Echoed
46 KVBC: DOE Asks For Investigation Into Yucca Mountain
47 KRNV: Lawmakers schedule Yucca Mountain hearing for March in Las Veg
48 Whitehaven News: MP WANTS VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN NUCLEAR INDUSTRY 
 
                         NUCLEAR WEAPONS
 
 
                        US DEPT. OF ENERGY
 
49 DOE: Financial Assistance Rules
50 DOE: National Energy Technology Laboratory; Notice of Availability o
51 DOE: National Energy Technology Laboratory; Notice of Intent To Issu
52 Knox News: Safety violation costs ORNL employee his job
53 Las Vegas SUN: DOE inspector general to review silica charges
54   Beacon Journal | 02/20/2004 | No bonus for utility employees
55 U.S. Newswire: Energy Secretary Abraham Announces New Hydrogen Educa
56 Oak Ridger: Saving a slice of K-25's history, but how much? 							 
57 WBIR: OAK RIDGE WORKER LOSES JOB AFTER CUTTING HAND   
58 Pahrump Valley Times: DOE admits toxic screw-up
 
                          OTHER NUCLEAR
 
59 Google News Alert - nuclear
60 AFP: Officials hold talks in Vienna over nuclear fusion plan
61 PoughkeepsieJournal.com: Papers show many facets of Einstein
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                         FULL NEWS STORIES
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 1 Guardian Unlimited: The British-US axis no longer makes any sense
		 	
Why Blair dressed up war realpolitik in dodgy
moralistic rhetoric 		
		
David Marquand
Saturday February 21, 2004
The Guardian 		
		
Iraq is the issue that won't go away. The seductive Blairite 
argument that it is time to move on, that picking over Blair's 
justifications for the war only benefits the Tories and that the 
government should turn to the domestic agenda that really 
concerns the voters, is the reverse of the truth. Further 
inspection of Andrew Gilligan's journalistic ethics and Alastair 
Campbell's relations with John Scarlett would certainly be a 
waste of time, but the real questions raised by the Iraq war and 
its aftermath go to the heart of Britain's place in the global 
political economy. We desperately need a searching national 
debate on them. 

With every passing day it becomes harder to believe that Blair's 
stated reasons for going to war with Iraq were the real ones. 
Unless we assume that he is hopelessly credulous, it is 
inconceivable that he would have gone to war on the basis of 
necessarily fragmentary, inevitably inconclusive intelligence 
reports, which the UN inspectors were already subjecting to a 
reality check. He must surely have known that the odds on Saddam 
being in any meaningful sense a threat to this country were very 
low; and that the allegation that the secular nationalists of 
Iraq were somehow in cahoots with the Islamist fundamentalists of 
al-Qaida flew in the face of all the evidence. 

I think he was telling the truth when he said he didn't know that 
the 45 minutes claim in the notorious September 2002 dossier 
referred only to battlefield weapons. He didn't know because he 
didn't need to know. He was bent on going to war in any case, for 
reasons which had nothing to do with Saddam's armoury. He 
believed it was essential for Britain to fight alongside the 
Americans in a war they were manifestly determined to launch - 
both because Britain had at all costs to maintain her special 
relationship with the world's only superpower, and because it was 
in the interests of the whole world to ensure that the 
humiliated, febrile and slightly paranoid post-9/11 America was 
not driven even further into unilateralism, as she would be if 
she fought and defeated Iraq with no help from anyone else. 

I was not convinced by these arguments before the war, and I am 
still less convinced by them now. But they are neither 
contemptible nor irrational. They had nothing to do with the 
state of Saddam's arsenal - or, for that matter, with the alleged 
threat of global terrorism - but they were none the worse for 
that. They reflected a steely realpolitik, more reminiscent of 
Bismarck or Richelieu than of Gladstone or Woodrow Wilson. Blair 
being Blair, he felt bound to dress them up in increasingly dodgy 
moralistic rhetoric; and like the brilliant actor he is, he 
gradually came to live the part of global saviour which he had 
allotted himself. That is why his credibility is so badly damaged 
now. But that is a side issue, of interest only to amateur 
psychologists. The question that matters is why Blair saw British 
interests in the way he did, and what that tells us about New 
Labour's geopolitics. 

The first point to notice is that, as so often, New Labour is not 
new at all. The assumption that Britain's special relationship 
with the US is bound to be the axis around which her geopolitical 
posture turns is, by now, hardwired into the mind set of the 
British establishment. Its roots go back a long way. The American 
revolutionaries who founded the United States thought they were 
creating a new nation, embodying a new identity. The British saw 
them as rebellious children, fleeing the parental nest. Even when 
they had accomplished their revolution, the Americans were not 
seen as foreigners. For most of the 19th century, they were 
rather badly brought up country cousins. In the second world war 
they became a big, strong, though slightly resented, elder 
brother who would save us from the sadistic bully across the 
Channel. 

Then came Suez - the defining moment in our post-war history. 
Eisenhower was understandably enraged by the Anglo-French attack 
on Egypt and forced us to call it off. The French drew the 
conclusion that they could not trust the Americans ever again; we 
concluded that we must never again allow ourselves to be parted 
from them on an important issue. That has been the governing 
axiom of British foreign policy under every prime minister since 
1956, with the sole exception of Edward Heath. The strength of 
Atlanticism has varied from PM to PM. Despite enormous pressure 
from Washington, Wilson refused to send British troops to 
Vietnam. Thatcher was so firm in her Atlanticist faith that 
(Grenada apart) she sometimes seemed more royalist than the king 
- more pro-American than the Americans. Blair has been a second 
Thatcher rather than a second Wilson. But these are details. What 
matters is that seven out of the eight British prime ministers 
since the fall of Anthony Eden have been cut from the same cloth. 

The trouble is that the cloth is getting threadbare. During the 
cold war, when international relations were structured by the 
rivalry of two superpowers, and when the US was the ultimate 
guarantor of the security and independence of western Europe, 
Britain's inveterate Atlanticism had something to be said for it. 
It meant that we had a hotline to the guardian angel on whom all 
our European neighbours depended. (It was not as hot as we 
thought, but that too is a detail.) The collapse of the Soviet 
Union and the dissolution of the communist bloc have transformed 
that familiar landscape. Europe no longer needs a guardian angel. 
There is nothing to guard against. Our rulers do their best to 
make our flesh creep with talk of the menace of international 
terrorism. But the famous war against terrorism - an intellectual 
absurdity, since terrorism is not an entity but a technique - is 
in no sense a replay of the cold war. Osama Bin Laden is not a 
new Stalin, or even a new Brezhnev. The threat he presents is 
real, but Europe does not need America's nuclear umbrella to 
counter it. 

In the baffling and often alarming new world in which we live, 
the real threat to Europe is quite different. At this moment, the 
US is the world's only superpower, the hegemon of a new global 
order, shaped by US interests and dominated by the singular US 
version of capitalism. But unless we are to assume that history 
really has come to an end, American hegemony will sooner or later 
evaporate just as Britain's did. New superpowers will arise to 
challenge America's supremacy, just as imperial Germany and the 
US itself were challenging Britain's by the end of the 19th 
century. China is already some way along that road, and India 
will not be far behind. Much more frightening than the threat of 
international terrorism is the spectre of a divided and 
politically incoherent Europe, incapable of safeguarding the 
interests of her people in a world dominated by the US, China and 
India. Though Blair hates the very idea, that spectre can be kept 
at bay only if Europe becomes an alternative pole of power in an 
increasingly multipolar world. He is now rowing back to Europe, 
and thank heavens for that. The real question raised by the 
aftermath of the Iraq war is whether he will row hard and fast 
enough. 

· David Marquand was principle of Mansfield College, Oxford, and 
is now visiting fellow at the department of politics at Oxford 
University; his latest book is Decline of the Public 

comment@guardian.co.uk
	
Guardian Newspapers Limited
                                
*****************************************************************
 2 Las Vegas SUN: Source Gives Details of Iran Nuke Deal

Today: February 20, 2004 at 3:25:27 PST 

 By ROHAN SULLIVAN ASSOCIATED PRESS 

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer
Khan sold nuclear enrichment equipment to Iran and Pakistani
uranium was shipped to Libya for its nuclear program, police
said Friday, citing the alleged financier of an international
trafficking network. 

Buhary Syed Abu Tahir told Malaysian police that the scientist
asked him to send two containers of used centrifuge parts from
Pakistan to Iran in 1994 or 1995. 

Tahir also said Libya received enriched uranium from Pakistan in
2001, according to police. 

Tahir is in Malaysia and has been questioned by local
authorities in connection with his activities on Khan's behalf
in this Southeast Asian country. The police released a report of
the investigation Friday. 

The report provides the first official and detailed account from
an insider of the network headed by Khan, the father of
Pakistan's nuclear program who confessed earlier this month to
leaking nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea. 

Police said the 12-page report on Tahir's Malaysian connections
will be handed to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the
Vienna-based U.N. organization that oversees the international
nuclear nonproliferation treaty. 

Malaysian authorities have said they would cooperate if the
nuclear watchdog agency seeks further action and are considering
whether to confiscate Tahir's passport. 

Tahir told Malaysian authorities he organized the shipment of
two containers of centrifuge parts from Dubai to Iran aboard an
Iranian merchant ship, the report says. 

"Payment for the two containers of centrifuge units, amounting
to about $3 million," was paid by an unnamed Iranian, the report
said. 

"The cash was brought in two briefcases and kept in an apartment
that was used as a guesthouse by the Pakistani nuclear arms
expert each time he visited Dubai," says the report, which
identifies the arms expert as Khan. 

Tahir said Khan told him that "a certain amount" of enriched
uranium was flown to Libya from Pakistan on a Pakistani airliner
in 2001, and that a "certain number" of centrifuges -
sophisticated machines that can be used to enrich uranium for
weapons and other purposes - were flown to Libya direct from
Pakistan in 2001-02, the report said. 

Malaysian officials said earlier that they don't plan to arrest
Tahir because it doesn't appear he broke any Malaysian laws, but
that they were keeping him under surveillance. 

Tahir vacated his apartment in one of Kuala Lumpur's most
exclusive suburbs on Wednesday, after an Associated Press
reporter sought him out for comment on allegations that he was a
key deputy in the smuggling network. 

President Bush has called Tahir the "chief financial officer and
money launderer" of the network run by Khan, who gave the
Islamic world its first atomic bomb. 

Tahir, 44, is married to a Malaysian and has permanent residency
status here. 

He is a former business associate of Kamaluddin Abdullah, the
son of Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who
promised the police investigation would be conducted "without
fear or favor." 

A Malaysian company controlled by Kamaluddin, Scomi Precision
Engineering, has acknowledged making 14 "semifinished
components" - which may amount to thousands of parts - for a
Dubai-based company, Gulf Technical Industries, under a contract
negotiated by Tahir. They were seized last October in a shipment
en route from Dubai to Libya. 

Authorities say the parts were for centrifuges. Scomi says it
did not know what the parts were for. 

The release of the police report comes as the international
investigation into Tahir widened to Kazakhstan. 

The Kazakh intelligence agency, the National Security Committee,
is investigating allegations that an affiliate of a company
linked to Tahir, SMB Computers, was dealing with highly enriched
uranium, spokesman Kenzhebulat Beknazarov said. 

SMB is a Dubai-based company established by Tahir and his
brother that Bush alleged Tahir used as a front to organize the
clandestine movement of parts for centrifuges. 

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar complained Friday
that Malaysia had been unfairly singled out by Bush in calling
for a crackdown on the international nuclear black market. 

"Malaysia should not be dragged into the debate of being a
country that is involved in the supply of components or
otherwise for weapons of mass destruction," Sayed Hamid told
reporters. "We have no capability." 

He said most nuclear weapons came from Europe and the United
States, "but nothing has been talked about these people." 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 3 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: Seoul to Present 'Concrete' Plan During Six-Party Talks   
 
      Updated Feb.20,2004 22:08 KST   
  
A high-level South Korean government official said that during 
the next round of six-party talks set to open in Beijing on Feb. 
25, Seoul will present a "concrete solution plan" that North 
Korea will evaluate positively. 

The official said Friday that if North Korea freezes its nuclear 
program as a step to total dismantlement, the U.S., South Korea, 
and Japan can begin to show the North "through actions" about the 
compensation it demands. This is interpreted as meaning that if 
the North freezes its nuclear program with total dismantlement 
its eventual aim, the U.S., South Korea, and Japan will consider 
North Korea's requests for the removal of sanctions, its dropping 
from the State Department's list of states supporting terrorism, 
and energy assistance. The officials said "About the compensation 
problem, we put a lot of energy into persuading the Americans," 
suggesting that a harmonization of views with the United States 
has already taken place. 

Concerning the highly enriched uranium program that the North
denies having, the official hinted that South Korea's position
on the matter might differ from that of the United States. 

The official said, "During the three or four days of the second
round of talks, so we can concretely come to an agreement about
the problem of freezing [the nuclear program] versus
compensation, we'll form working-level groups, and try to
regularize the talks." He also said he has some idea concerning
the timing of a third round of talks. 

Meanwhile, "Come Back Home," an civic group for families of
those abducted to the North, and five other local and foreign
North Korean human rights groups visited the Foreign Ministry on
Friday and met with Jo Tae-yong, the head of the ministry's
diplomatic team for the North Korean nuclear issue. They asked
Jo to officially raise the issue of South Korean abductees in
the North during the six-party talks. 

Choe Seong-yong, the head of "Come Back Home," said to Jo,
"Japan has decided to strongly raise the issue of abductions
during the talks, the U.S. says it will back them on this, but
why doesn't our government, which rules a country where 480
people were kidnapped by the North, have any plans [to raise the
issue at the talks]?" He requested that the South Korean
negotiating team present the issue of abductions in its opening
address on the first day of talks. 

Choe and others also requested that the South use the talks to
bring up refugees, human rights, and request an end to crimes
against humanity in the North, such as human testing on
political prisioners, 

(Lee Ha-won, may2@chosun.com ) 

*****************************************************************
 4 Daily Yomiuri: The enigmatic Kim Jong Il/ N-weapons program part of game with U.S. 

Yomiuri Shimbun 

This is the second installment in a series exploring what Kim 
Jong Il is trying to accomplish as leader of his reclusive 
country. 

In a recent interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, Choi Hak Rae, 
then president of Hankyoreh, a South Korean daily, reminisced 
about the strong impression North Korean leader Kim Jong Il made 
on him when he visited Pyongyang in August 2000. 

Choi was part of a group of top executives from South Korea's 
major news organizations who were invited to North Korea. 

Especially memorable were remarks by Kim regarding North Korea's 
missile program, Choi said. 

During a luncheon in honor of the South Korean newspaper 
presidents, Choi, who was also then president of the Korean 
Newspaper Association, was seated close to North Korea's supreme 
leader. 

"I told him he'd better refrain from missile and nuclear 
development projects," Choi said. 

Kim responded with alacrity. 

"Even if I'm in favor of developing missiles and nuclear weapons, 
do you really think I'd use them to strike the United States?" 
Kim asked Choi. 

"A single launch from us against that country would be met with 
retaliation by the United States with thousands of missiles," Kim 
went on to say. "Do you think I would really make missiles and 
nuclear arms for the purpose of attacking Washington?" 

North Korea in those days was supposed to be complying with a 
freeze on its nuclear development program on the basis of the 
Washington-Pyongyang Agreed Framework. 

Apparently taking this into account, Kim fell short of making any 
specific remarks on nuclear weapons, but was more forthcoming 
about the country's missile program. 

"First of all, unless I take the initiative in undertaking a 
missile development program for my country, the United States 
will never be willing to negotiate with us." 

"Second, we can't put up with the draconian economic sanctions 
the United States has imposed on us. Our economy is in a state of 
collapse and many of our people are dying of starvation, you 
know?" Choi quoted Kim as saying. 

Under the circumstances, North Korea must earn foreign currency 
by exporting missiles "in order to feed the people with flour or 
corn," Kim added. 

Kim's remarks suggest North Korea's missile program has three 
main functions: to deter attacks from the United States; to 
provide a bargaining chip in negotiations with Washington; and as 
a means to earn hard currency. 

Two months after the visit to Pyongyang by Choi's group, then 
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright also visited North 
Korea, accompanied by Wendy Sherman, a State Department counselor 
on policies toward Pyongyang. 

During their stay in the country, Albright and Sherman were shown 
a massive gymnastic extravaganza at a capital sports stadium that 
featured a mass calisthenics performance on the theme of 
launching a Taepodong ballistic missile. 

Sitting close to the two, Kim Jong Il said, "This is the first, 
and this could be the last (missile launch)." For emphasis, he 
made the comment twice, first to Albright and then to Sherman. 

According to Albright's memoirs, Kim greeted her "holding out 
both hands and smiling broadly." 

Though she was wearing heels, "so was he, which made us about the 
same height," Albright said in her memoirs. 

She cited Kim as saying: "The military wants to update its 
equipment, but we won't give them new equipment. If there's no 
confrontation, there's no significance to weapons. Missiles are 
now insignificant." 

Speaking with conviction, Kim expressed his willingness to do 
away with his country's development and export of missiles in 
return for an improvement in relations between North Korea and 
the United States. 

Commenting on this, informed sources close to Russian diplomatic 
authorities said Kim might have been aware that the country's 
Taepodong missiles, no matter what improvements were made to 
them, could never be an effective deterrent against the United 
States. 

The sources said when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited 
Pyongyang in July 2000, he told Kim that as long as North Korea 
engaged in missile development on the basis of Scud missiles or 
other dated Soviet-era technology, the country would never be 
able to produce an intercontinental ballistic missile. Putin 
showed him technical data on Scud missiles to prove his point, 
according to the sources. 

The United States and North Korea thereafter had rounds of 
negotiations on the subject of "rewards" Pyongyang would get in 
exchange for renouncing its missile program, but failed to reach 
a final accord. 

Kim's hopes to normalize diplomatic ties with the United States 
and win U.S. economic assistance were dashed with the retirement 
of former U.S. President Bill Clinton in January 2001, however. 

The country's nuclear weapons program, which North Korea sees as 
a deterrent against what it deems the U.S. threat, has since come 
to be of overriding importance. 

Little is known about the degree to which Kim Jong Il was 
involved in the nuclear program while his father, Kim Il Sung, 
was alive. 

Noteworthy in this connection is that Kim Il Sung in April 1992, 
when the North's nuclear ambitions were gathering momentum, told 
a reporter from The Washington Times: "He (Kim Jong Il) has now 
been taking responsibility for all things in this country. All is 
run under his directive." 

In December 1991, Kim Jong Il took the post of supreme commander 
of the country's armed forces despite having no experience at all 
in the military. 

In those days, Chinese and Russian assistance to North Korea was 
declining sharply following the collapse of the Soviet bloc. 

South Korea, by contrast, was making remarkable progress in 
establishing diplomatic relations with both China and Russia on 
the strength of the success of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. 

As Park Jae Kyu, who served as unification minister under the 
administration of President Kim Dae Jung, put it, "With the 
North's economic conditions getting ever worse, and prospects for 
survival of the Pyongyang regime looking scant, Kim Jong Il may 
have put priority on the missile program as a way of protecting 
himself." 

Any attempt to understand Kim Jong Il must take into account the 
man's two sometimes conflicting priorities. 

One is a fear of what he sees as the overwhelming threat from the 
United States, which he wants to mitigate through improvement of 
diplomatic relations. 

The other is his commitment to the concept of "juche," or 
self-reliance, which drives him to prolong the rule of the 
Pyongyang regime by any means necessary, including the 
development of nuclear arms. 

In the meeting with Choi Hak Rae and other South Korean news 
organization presidents, Kim Jong Il stressed that Pyongyang 
would "move in favor of normalizing relations" with Washington 
only if the United States ceased to include North Korea on its 
list of countries that support terrorism. 

Kim at the same time asked them, "Is there any necessity for me 
to visit the United States?" 

"While sitting here in Pyongyang, I can play host to any number 
of leaders of major powers," he said. 

According to Sherman, in the dying days of his administration, 
Clinton gave up the idea of visiting Pyongyang himself, but 
instead made "a very serious offer," inviting Kim Jong Il to 
visit the United States. 

Although Clinton's offer was a golden opportunity for Kim to 
ensure improvement of the Pyongyang-Washington relations, the 
North Korean leader politely declined the invitation, Sherman 
said. 

Sherman said Kim at that time was only interested in having the 
U.S. president come to Pyongyang. So she was disappointed, but 
not surprised, at the letter of "gracious decline." 

In light of U.S. military might, Kim is firmly convinced that 
North Korea must obtain either deterrence or a security guarantee 
from the United States to ensure the survival of his regime, 
Sherman said. 

North Korea "would always want to hedge their bets while they 
were in the midst of a negotiation, and they're not a country 
that is going to give up everything all at once," she noted. 

Over the past year, North Korea has recently been going all-out 
to stir up a confrontation with the United States. 

It lashed out at the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam 
Hussein for "failing to make due preparations to fight the United 
States." Pyongyang also now criticizes Libya for "capitulating to 
the United States" over its nuclear weapons program. 

It appears to be business as usual in Pyongyang.   

Copyright 2004 The Yomiuri Shimbun 
*****************************************************************
 5 Las Vegas SUN: Report: N. Korea Willing to Discuss Nukes

February 19, 2004 

 By JAE-SUK YOO ASSOCIATED PRESS 

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea is willing to discuss
allegations it has a uranium-based nuclear weapons program, a
media report said Thursday, as Washington warned progress at
six-nation talks will hinge on the North's willingness to
abandon its atomic ambitions. 

The disputed uranium program is a key stumbling block in next
week's nuclear talks in Beijing involving the United States, the
two Koreas, China, Russia and Japan. 

North Korea has denied a U.S. contention that it has a secret
uranium program in addition to its program using plutonium. But
the communist government conveyed to a "third country" its
willingness to discuss the matter with Washington, South Korea's
Yonhap news agency said. 

In Tokyo, U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said North
Korea's alleged uranium-based and plutonium programs should both
be up for discussion. 

"To get all the issues on the table ... is going to be a very
important diplomatic aspect of the talks," he told reporters at
the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. 

Bolton added that the success or failure of the talks will hinge
on whether North Korea expresses willingness to give up its
nuclear weapons programs. Earlier, he warned that the dispute
over the highly enriched uranium, or HEU, program could derail
chances of a peaceful resolution. 

The six-nation talks begin Wednesday. A first round of meetings
in August made little progress. 

China appealed Thursday to governments taking part in the talks
to remain diplomatic, saying "a solution to the nuclear issue
can only be achieved through dialogue and political
negotiations." 

"It's very important to stick to that consensus," Foreign
Ministry spokesman Zhang Qiyue said. 

Questions about North Korea's nuclear capabilities are expected
to overshadow the talks. 

Gen. Leon J. LaPorte, commander of U.S. forces in South Korea,
described the North as a world threat. 

"What would happen if North Korea sold nuclear technology or
weapons-grade plutonium or uranium to a terrorist organization
that could take that any place in the world and detonate a
nuclear weapon?" he said Thursday. 

But LaPorte said U.S. forces were planning no pre-emptive strike
and that the nuclear standoff with Pyongyang must be resolved
diplomatically. 

Washington claims Pyongyang admitted to running an HEU program -
in addition to the plutonium program - when U.S. officials
visited the communist country in October 2002. North Korea
accused the United States of making the claim to flare the
nuclear crisis. 

"We understand that North Korea recently told the government of
a third country that it is willing to discuss the HEU issue with
the United States," Yonhap quoted an unidentified high-ranking
South Korean government official as saying. "There is an
indication that North Korea is changing its position." 

The official said North Korea did not admit having an HEU
program. 

"But its position was different from the old position of
complete denial," the official said. "Both the United States and
South Korea are paying attention to the change in the North
Korean attitude." 

The six-nation talks are also expected to discuss North Korea's
proposal to freeze its nuclear activities, as a first step to
resolving the standoff, in return for economic concessions from
the United States. 

Washington has demanded that North Korea first start dismantling
its nuclear programs. 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 6 Fw: Selling Nuke secrets Okayed by USA
 
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 20:12:48 -0800

 
<x-flowed>

----- Original Message -----
From: <mailto:recher@nrg.com.au>Paul Recher
To: 
<mailto:Undisclosed-Recipient:@main1.nrg.com.au;>Undisclosed-Recipient:@main1.nrg.com.au; 

Sent: Monday, February 22, 2016 1:49 AM
Subject: Selling Nuke secrets Okayed by USA



This weeks column





SELLING NUCLEAR SECRETS OKAYED



What Pakistan has done is the most threatening activity of nuclear 
proliferation in history. It's impossible to overstate how damaging this 
is.GEORGE PERKOVICH, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE:

When I was a kid, we were inculcated with Better Dead than Red.Even then, I 
wondered why the Russians werent rushinto suicide. It was a Commie under 
every bed. Now its a terrorist.



The leadership in Canberra (oxymoron) and Washington are utilizing the War 
on Terror only as a means to retain and gain greater power and control. 
Their tool fear.



How else does one explain the glib, tepid acceptance by Bush Co. and Howard 
Inc., to the pardoning of Abdul Qadeer Khan by Pakistans Military Dictator 
Musharraf for selling and trading nuclear secrets with North Korea, Iran 
and Libya? Where was the outrage?



An American would be executed!



With top-secret clearance in Holland, Kahn fled to Pakistan with copious 
nuclear notes. He is hailed as a national hero for developing Islams first 
atomic bomb.



That he sold nuclear technology is evidenced by his string of palaces, 
foreign bank accounts and real estate.



In addition, Iran provided petroleum and conventional weapons. North Korea 
traded missile know-how.



Only two weeks before Kahns televised confession and apology, President 
Musharraf promised serious consequences for these enemies of the state.



In the end, Musharraf could not afford to rile the fervent and strong 
religious groups totally opposed to any prosecution of Khan.



More salient is the reality none of this black market in potential nuclear 
WMD could have taken place without the complicity of high-level military 
officials.



The military and nuclear in Pakistan are inextricably linked. The National 
Command Authority that controls the nuclear assets is run by the military. 
The NCA granted the pardon. Kahn was the convenient scapegoat for many. The 
transparency of a done deal lay bare. Solid incriminating evidence held by 
Kahns family provided the good Doctor with leverage.



Since 1970, Pakistan society has become decidedly more anti- American and 
further to the religious right. This is reflected in the military and 
scientists.



Though unacceptable, one can understand the individual and collective 
Pakistani ethos involved, but the American and Australian reaction can only 
be deciphered when one applies the principle of no principleonto Bush and 
Howard.



Khan has confessed to the heinous treachery of selling nuke secrets to 
rogue states and the Axis of Evil. CIA Director Tenet stated Khans crime 
was shaving yearsfrom the time these nations needed to develop WMD.



Yet the USA and Oz meekly state the pardon is okay. Imagine the USA 
reaction to a French scientist doing the same and being pardoned by Chirac?



Rumsfeld on Valentines Day justified detaining indefinitely hundreds at 
Gulag Guantanmo without charges as they were captured on the battlefield 
and remained a threat to the USA.



Not quite, Mr. Dummy Rummy. Our Mamdouh Habib, wasnt even in the area 
during the Afghan War. He was picked up paunch and all in Pakistan afterwards.



The hypocrisy is transparent. A Pox on the Fear Peddlers.







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*****************************************************************
 7 TOMPAINE.com: The Power Player
 
  Sheryl Fred is an investigative reporter for the Center for
Responsive Politics and its online newsletter, CapitalEye.org.  
              
One of the most coveted committee slots on Capitol Hill became 
vacant this week when Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., officially 
stepped down as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce 
Committee. Members of the committee—and the chairman, in 
particular—regularly rake in campaign contributions from energy 
companies, drug manufacturers, telecom firms and others within 
the committee's wide-ranging jurisdiction. It looks as though 
Tauzin will now turn to an even more lucrative endeavor. 

Having already turned down an attractive offer to replace Jack
Valenti as chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, 
Tauzin is reportedly weighing a multimillion-dollar offer to 
become the chief lobbyist of the Pharmaceutical Researchers and 
Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). As Tauzin moves on, energy, 
pharmaceutical and telecom interests are losing a key ally in the 
House. But Tauzin's likely successor, Texas Rep. Joe Barton, may 
prove to be an even more loyal friend to many of these 
industries. A champion of drilling in the Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), storing nuclear waste in Nevada's Yucca 
Mountain and weakening the Clean Air Act, Barton is a longtime 
advocate for energy companies, which have generously funded his 
campaigns. The congressman has received $1.6 million from the 
energy sector since 1989, more than any other member of the 
House. 

Barton's support from oil and gas companies ($829,000 since 1989) 
and electric utilities ($650,000 since 1989) comes as no surprise 
given his history of unabashed support for energy industry 
deregulation. He started his career in 1981 as an aide to 
Department of Energy Secretary James Edwards, the force behind 
one of the first efforts to eliminate price controls on natural 
gas. After a short stint as a natural gas "decontrol consultant" 
to Atlantic Richfield Oil &Gas, Barton was elected to the House 
in 1984. Nearly 20 years on the job have only strengthened his 
resolve to push for deregulation. 

Barton demonstrated his unwavering commitment to this policy 
following the Enron energy trading scandal in 2001. At a time 
when most lawmakers were keeping their distance from energy 
interests, Barton introduced a bill that would have deregulated 
the industry even further. 

"In terms of energy markets, I think Enron shows that markets 
work," he told National Journal in January 2002. "When the Enron 
trading room stopped, the markets opened the next morning and 
prices didn't go up, contracts were delivered. There was no 
discernable impact at all." 

No Friend To The Environment 

Barton also has repeatedly called for drilling in ANWR, a move 
environmentalists strongly oppose. Barton's top contributor in 
the 2004 election cycle so far is Anadarko Petroleum, one of the 
country's largest independent oil and gas companies and, by its 
own admission, "the most active driller in North America." The 
company's employees and their immediate families gave Barton 
$48,000 in 2003 alone. Already drilling in parts of Alaska, 
Anadarko is one of many companies hoping that Congress will 
green-light oil exploration in ANWR soon. 

Barton, as chairman of the Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee, 
authored much of the energy legislation that passed the House in 
November. Although his ANWR provision was dropped from the final 
bill, Barton did manage to score some major victories for his top 
contributors. In addition to tax breaks for the oil and gas, 
nuclear power and coal industries, the House energy bill included 
legal protections for the makers of MTBE, a fuel additive known 
to pollute groundwater. The bill also contained provisions that 
would repeal the Public Utility Holding Company Act, a 
consumer-protection law that slows utility consolidation, and 
allow the Energy Department to sidestep certain environmental 
laws when placing electrical transmission lines on federal lands. 
Barton has said he will now turn his attention to the Senate, 
where Democrats filibustered the bill last fall. 

"My first priority will be to work with the president to ensure a 
comprehensive energy bill passes the Senate," he said after being 
nominated to succeed Tauzin. 

Caring For Health Corporations 

Though he has made his mark primarily on energy issues, Barton, a 
member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, also 
has a good working relationship with the health sector. 
Contributors in this category have given him a combined $646,000 
since 1989. In 2003, health professionals ($43,000) and drug 
companies ($40,000) were Barton's third- and fourth-largest 
contributors, respectively. 

Much to the delight of the health sector, Barton has been an 
outspoken critic of the sometimes-lagging approval process at the 
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or what the congressman has 
called the "Foot-Dragging and Alibi Association." Barton also has 
long championed the idea of a privatized health care system. 

Last year's passage of the Medicare prescription drug benefit 
legislation—engineered largely by Tauzin—was a boon for 
pharmaceutical companies and private health care firms. Barton 
floated a much more controversial proposal that would have 
restructured Medicare and encouraged seniors to switch to private 
managed care insurers. 

As Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, Barton would also work 
closely with the telecom industry. Though the congressman is on 
good terms with telecom companies—he was a featured speaker at 
the U.S. Telecom Association's annual conference last year—he has 
already indicated that the industry's issues will be tabled until 
after this year's elections. Those issues include revisiting the 
1996 Telecom Act, which deregulated the industry but has been 
fraught with problems. Barton has received $95,000 from telephone 
utilities and $60,000 from telecom services and equipment 
companies since 1989. 

Published: Feb 20 2004 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	 	   	 	
*****************************************************************
 8 MotherJones.com: A Legacy of Lies
 
It was a devastating blow to the White House. David Kay, the man 
hand-picked by the Bush administration to lead the search for 
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, confirmed to a Senate 
committee in late January that the intelligence supporting 
Washington's case for war against Saddam Hussein was baseless. 

"It turns out we were all wrong… and that is most disturbing," 
Kay declared. 

But who exactly got it wrong? Intelligence agencies obviously 
exaggerated Iraq's WMD potential, and it's well known that they 
were egged on by their political masters in the Bush 
administration. But that's not the whole story. In fact, Bush's 
manipulation of Iraq intelligence was built on a foundation 
established during the late 1990's, when Bill Clinton was in the 
White House. 

Faced with the need to justify an economically devastating and 
internationally unpopular embargo of Iraq, the Clinton 
administration engaged in a pattern of stretching and distorting 
weapons data to bolster their claim that Saddam Hussein was still 
hiding an illicit arsenal. The Clinton White House never used 
that "intelligence" to push for an invasion of Iraq, as Bush so 
effectively did. But in its desperate quest to salvage a 
crumbling Iraq policy, the Clinton White House laid the 
groundwork for the deceptions of their successors. 

In a November 1997 Sunday morning appearance on ABC, Defense 
Secretary William Cohen held up a five-pound bag of sugar for the 
cameras to dramatize the threat of Iraqi anthrax: "This amount of 
anthrax could be spread over a city -- let's say the size of 
Washington. It would destroy at least half the population of that 
city. One breath and you are likely to face death within five 
days." 

"It could wipe out populations of whole countries!" Cokie Roberts 
gasped as Cohen described the Iraqi arsenal. "Millions, 
millions," Cohen responded, "if it were properly dispersed." 

A year later, at a nationally televised town hall meeting on Iraq 
at Ohio State University, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright 
brought home the dangers: "Iraq is a long way from Ohio, but what 
happens there matters a great deal here. For the risk that the 
leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological 
weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat 
we face. The evidence is strong that Iraq continues to hide 
prohibited weapons and materials." 

These claims from the Clinton team, we now know, were every bit 
as wrong as the exaggerated assertions of the Bush 
administration. 

In recent weeks, at least one former Clinton official – former 
White House advisor Kenneth Pollack -- has dutifully acknowledged 
that fact. An influential supporter of Bush's invasion plans, 
Pollack's best-selling 2002 book 'The Threatening Storm,' 
published just as the debate over war was heating up, convinced 
many waverers of the dangers posed by Saddam's supposed WMD 
arsenal. 

Now, Pollack has revisited his prewar arguments. In a sort of 
analytical mea culpa published in The Atlantic, he tries to 
explain how he and his Clinton colleagues so badly misread the 
WMD evidence. Everyone outside Iraq, he admits, missed important 
signs that Saddam had abandoned serious efforts at WMD 
capability. Pollack chalks up this intelligence blunder to a 
straightforward case of assuming the worst. The Clinton 
administration and others simply "assumed that Iraq's earlier 
behavior was continuing more or less in a straight line. This 
misperception took on considerable weight" as the years passed. 

In fact, there is compelling evidence to suggest that the Clinton 
administration's false alarms on Iraqi weapons, like Bush's, were 
much more than just honest mistakes. One astonishing series of 
events in particular illustrates the ways in which the Clinton 
White House cleared the path for Bush's war. 

The Defector's Tale 

In August of 1995, Hussein Kamel, son-in-law of Saddam Hussein 
and head of Iraq's weapons industries, defected to Jordan 
carrying crate-loads of secret documents on weapons of mass 
destruction in tow. He announced that he would work for the 
overthrow of Saddam Hussein, and he began cooperating with 
officials from the CIA, British intelligence and the U.N. 
inspectors. 

The defection was front-page news worldwide. In a panic, the 
Iraqi regime handed over millions of additional documents it had 
previously kept hidden. It was the most damaging exposure of 
Saddam's secret weapons programs since Operation Desert Storm. 
The information proved, once and for all, that Iraq had been 
lying about its weapons programs: its pre-Gulf War efforts to 
build and perfect biological weapons had progressed much further 
than the regime had ever admitted, and Iraq still retained some 
production equipment . 

In February 1996, Kamel, an unstable man disillusioned with his 
reception in the West, tried to return to Iraq. Upon arriving, he 
and his family were gunned down by militias allied with the 
regime. But by that time, he had already spilled the beans on 
Iraq's weapons programs to the U.N. and the CIA. 

Over the next three years, as the Clinton team barnstormed the 
media to warn of the WMD threat from Saddam, they repeatedly 
invoked the Kamel episode as proof that Iraq was still concealing 
a dangerous arsenal. For example, in February 1998, President 
Clinton gave a major policy speech arguing that Iraq must be 
threatened with force. He explained that "Saddam has spent the 
better part of the past decade trying to cheat" on his 
disarmament obligations and that "meeting the threat posed by 
Saddam Hussein is important to our security." "Iraq still has 
stockpiles of chemical and biological munitions," he said, 
including "an offensive biological warfare capability -- notably 
5,000 gallons of botulinum, which causes botulism; 2,000 gallons 
of anthrax; 25 biological-filled Scud warheads; and 157 aerial 
bombs." 

As evidence of the threat, Clinton solemnly recounted the 
defector's tale: "In 1995, Hussein Kamel, Saddam's son-in-law, 
and the chief organizer of Iraq's weapons-of-mass-destruction 
program, defected to Jordan. He revealed that Iraq was continuing 
to conceal weapons and missiles and the capacity to build many 
more.” Kamel's defection was similarly invoked virtually every 
time a senior Clinton policy maker addressed the Iraq issue 
during the inspections crises of 1997-98. Sandy Berger said it 
"forced [Iraq] to reveal additional weapons stockpiles and 
production capacity it had insisted it did not have." Madeleine 
Albright said it "marked a turning point" in Saddam's efforts at 
deception. And William Cohen said that as a result, "Iraq 
confessed to having materials and munitions it had lied about for 
years." 

Kamel became the poster child for Iraq's strategy of deceit and 
concealment. His name was bandied around on Sunday morning 
talk-shows and newspaper op-eds. He featured prominently in a 
Frontline documentary on Iraq and he turned up in articles in The 
New Republic and The Weekly Standard. 

And Kamel's usefulness even outlasted the Clinton years. When 
Bush administration officials made their case for an invasion in 
2002 and 2003, they repeated Kamel's story even more frequently 
than the Clinton team had -- this time to argue that Saddam's 
hidden weapons were so expertly concealed that inspections were 
of little value. 

Testifying before Congress, Donald Rumsfeld declared: "Unless we 
have people inside the Iraqi program who are willing to tell us 
what they have and where they have it - as we did in 1995 with 
the defection of Saddam's son in law, Hussein Kamel - it is easy 
for the Iraqi regime to hide its capabilities from us." 

Bush's United Nations address also cited Kamel's defection, as 
did Dick Cheney's August 2002 speech, which argued for skipping 
inspections and jumping straight to war. Kamel's story "should 
serve as a reminder to all that we often learned more as a result 
of defections than we learned from the inspection regime itself," 
Cheney warned. 

Eight years after his defection Hussein Kamel was dead, but his 
story had become immortal. 

But Kamel's revelations had not been what they seemed. 

In February 2003, as the worldwide debate over war was just 
reaching a crescendo, Newsweek reporter John Barry obtained a 
classified copy of the original U.N. transcript of Hussein 
Kamel's 1995 debriefing by Rolf Ekeus and his UNSCOM colleagues. 
Barry, a veteran of the Iraqi WMD beat, wrote up his scoop in a 
little item, a mere six paragraphs long, that appeared in the 
magazine's "Periscope" section. Although it received virtually no 
notice at the time, what Barry wrote seemed to turn the whole 
Iraq story on its head: 

"Hussein Kamel, the highest-ranking Iraqi official ever to defect 
from Saddam Hussein's inner circle, told CIA and British 
intelligence officers and U.N. inspectors in the summer of 1995 
that [in 1991] after the Gulf War, Iraq destroyed all its 
chemical and biological weapons stocks and the missiles to 
deliver them. 

The stocks had been destroyed to hide the programs from the U.N. 
inspectors, but Iraq had retained the design and engineering 
details of these weapons. Kamel talked of hidden blueprints, 
computer disks, microfiches and even missile-warhead molds. 

Still, the defector's tale raises questions about whether the WMD 
stockpiles attributed to Iraq still exist." 

When the story failed to win exposure in the media, a handful of 
writers and analysts on both sides of the Atlantic (including 
this writer), viewing the news as a major bombshell, took it upon 
themselves to publicize it. One of the group, Glen Rangwala, a 
Middle East specialist at Cambridge University, managed to obtain 
a copy of the transcript himself. He immediately posted it on his 
website. 

A fifteen-page typewritten U.N. document stamped "SENSITIVE," the 
transcript made it clear that almost everything the world thought 
it knew about Iraq's WMD was wrong. It was minutely detailed and 
often quite technical, a cross-examination of one specialist by 
another. And although Kamel used different words at different 
points in the interview, his story was always the same. He stated 
it most simply on page 13: 

"All weapons -- biological, chemical, missile, nuclear were 
destroyed." The destruction took place in the summer of 1991. 

What about chemical weapons? 

"I ordered destruction of all chemical weapons." 

An inspector inquired about anthrax. "Were weapons and agents 
destroyed?" 

"Nothing remained." 

How about the 819 Soviet-made missiles Iraq was known to have 
purchased in the 1980's? 

"Not a single missile left, but they [kept] blueprints and molds 
for production. All missiles were destroyed." 

In other words, the defector who had been cited time after time, 
over eight years, by two presidents and their cabinets, as the 
source that proved Saddam was still hiding a deadly arsenal of 
chemical and biological weapons -- that defector had actually 
said the opposite: Not only did the weapons not exist, they had 
been destroyed before Clinton was even elected. 

Take, for example, the "5,000 gallons of botulinum. 2,000 gallons 
of anthrax, 25 biological-filled Scud warheads and 157 aerial 
bombs" -- the weapons Bill Clinton had listed in 1998. Or 
consider the "26,000 liters of anthrax, 38,000 liters of botulin, 
one and a half tons of nerve agent VX, 6,500 aerial chemical 
bombs" -- the weapons rattled off by Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer 
as the U.N. was inspecting Iraq in 2003. 

"We don't know where those [weapons] are," Fleischer claimed. "We 
have yet to see any accounting for all of these." In fact, it was 
these very stockpiles that Kamel attested had been destroyed in 
1991. 

There is now little doubt that Kamel was telling the truth. The 
strongest evidence -- evidence so unimpeachable it invites the 
word "proof" -- came in the form of a captured Iraqi document 
obtained in January by Barton Gellman of The Washington Post. The 
memo was composed five days after Kamel's defection, on August 
13, 1995, and its author was Hossam Amin, Iraq's chief liaison to 
the U.N. inspectors. It was addressed to Qusay Hussein, Saddam's 
son. 

The letter was a piece of damage assessment. Kamel was expected 
to blow all Iraq's cover stories to the inspectors, and the 
regime needed to prepare itself for the fallout. So Amin 
proceeded to lay out for his boss, in minute detail, two separate 
storylines: The version Iraq had told the inspectors about each 
weapons program, and what the truth was. (Or, as the memo itself 
put it: "the matters that are known to the traitor and not 
declared" to the U.N.) 

Among the memo's statements of fact was that "destruction of the 
biological weapons agents took place in the summer of 1991" In a 
comprehensive evaluation of the evidence, Gellman stood Kamel's 
1995 briefing to the U.N. against the real story laid out in 
Amin's memo. The comparison, he concluded, "suggests that Kamel 
left little or nothing out." 

Iraq had eliminated all its weapons of mass destruction by the 
summer of 1991, and the U.S. had been told of it in 1995. 

Protecting the Embargo 

The Bush team had an obvious motive for misrepresenting Iraq's 
WMD: They were pushing for an invasion of Iraq. But why did the 
Clinton administration distort Kamel's statements to exaggerate 
the Iraqi threat? Answering this question requires an 
understanding of the profound contradiction at the heart of 
Clinton's policy toward Iraq. 

The terms of the 1991 Gulf War ceasefire had stated that economic 
sanctions against Iraq were to be lifted once it had complied 
with its postwar obligations, chiefly disarmament. Yet in the 
years after the war, Washington had quietly made clear that it 
would never contemplate lifting sanctions as long as Saddam 
remained in power -- whether or not he had disarmed.1 

The tension between these two parallel policies -- the official 
U.N. line, which the United States formally supported, and 
Washington's real policy -- was a constant source of 
embarrassment for American diplomats in New York. As the 
devastating humanitarian impact of the embargo mounted, Arab 
public opinion clamored for an end to the sanctions and France 
and Russia joined the chorus calling for a change in U.S. policy. 

But for the Clinton administration, and for the Bush 
administration before it, the embargo was the heart and soul of 
postwar policy toward Iraq. When the Gulf War began, policy had 
been built around the assumption -- and the goal -- that Saddam 
would soon be forced to depart from the scene. When that scenario 
failed to materialize, even after the Shia uprisings of 1991, 
Washington adopted a fall-back position: to sit it out and wait 
for the embargo to do the work of deposing Saddam. Lifting the 
embargo while Saddam was still in Baghdad was as unthinkable for 
Clinton as it had been for Bush. It was, in essence, a quiet but 
de facto policy of regime change. 

Of course, as long as the world saw Iraq as obstructing and 
deceiving the inspectors, the contradictions in the policy 
remained manageable. The problem was what to do if, at some 
point, Iraq seemed to be heading toward compliance with the 
disarmament regime. In such a scenario, the pressure from allies 
to dismantle the policy would become overwhelming. 

A few days after Kamel's defection, veteran foreign policy aide 
Richard Haass, a leading figure in the Powell wing of the GOP, 
appeared at a Mideast policy think tank to analyze the dilemma 
facing policymakers. U.S. officials, he observed, "have talked 
about trying to keep sanctions in place so long as Saddam is in 
power. That might be something the United States wants. But we're 
on political and legal thin ice when we say that because, alas, 
others don't agree with us -- particularly the French and the 
Russians. And they do have the text [of U.N. resolutions] to 
support them." 

"I think we have to guard against the possibility that one day we 
may not be able to keep the French and Russians in line," Haass 
told his audience. "That, if you will, Saddam does comply with so 
much of the resolutions that the United States can't sustain the 
policy. It's possible at some point the United States will find 
itself totally isolated. And I think we have to have in our hip 
pocket what would be a fallback strategy at that point." 

As far as Washington was concerned, Kamel's defection and his 
exposure of Iraqi lying could not have come at a better time. 
Increasingly, members of the U.N. Security Council were pointing 
to the weapons inspectors' progress in Iraq to argue that 
sanctions needed to be eased. Huge stockpiles of chemical weapons 
had been destroyed. According to an optimistic progress report 
from top inspector Rolf Ekeus, in the areas of chemical, nuclear 
and missile weapons, "most of the work was now done." And by 
early 1995, work had been completed on what The New York Times 
called "the most sophisticated and comprehensive technological 
and human monitoring system ever imposed on a country." Its 
purpose was to ensure that even after inspectors had destroyed 
Iraq's weapons, it could not rebuild them using dual-use 
equipment. The system was permanent. Even after sanctions were 
lifted, the monitoring regime would stay in place. 

In light of all the headway the U.N. had made, the task for the 
Clinton administration was now clear. Haass outlined the 
strategy: "So long as we have reason to believe that there is 
information or actual physical items [of WMD] out there, I think 
the United States continues to make the case the sanctions need 
to stay in place." Kamel's defection, and his disclosure that 
Iraq had been lying about its past programs, were invaluable in 
making that case. 

The result was years of deception. 

There can be no doubt that the Clinton administration knew of 
Kamel's testimony -- all of it – immediately. An August 1995 CIA 
intelligence report on Kamel's weapons briefing, in redacted 
form, was declassified in 1996, along with millions of other 
documents, as part of the Defense Department's investigation into 
Gulf War illness. The cable, headlined "Comments On Iraqi Weapons 
of Mass Destruction," is still publicly available on an online 
Defense Department database. 

MotherJones.com has obtained a copy. It relayed to CIA 
headquarters the key points of Kamel's testimony: "Iraq has no 
Scuds left and is hiding no Scud missile components." Missile 
research was being conducted, but "the work is limited to what 
can be done on paper." On chemical weapons, "none remained in 
Iraq. Kamil stressed that no agent was hidden in Iraq, either VX 
or any other.”2 

Months afterward, a procession of Clinton officials appeared on 
Capitol Hill and told Congress that they had full confidence in 
Kamel's disclosures -- but they were remarkably selective in 
their use of his statements. 

Even now, the distortions continue. In his what-went-wrong 
article in The Atlantic, Pollack tersely acknowledged, almost in 
passing, that Kamel had in fact revealed that "all actual weapons 
had been eliminated." But this acknowledgment came almost a year 
after the Kamel briefing was leaked on the Internet. As for 
Pollack's widely read 2002 book, in which several pages are 
devoted to Kamel's revelations, no such admission can be found 
there. On the contrary, Pollack had portrayed the defector's 
testimony as further proof that Iraq "still possessed 
considerable equipment, documentation, and even weapons." 

Even Pollack's recent mea-culpa article blatantly distorted the 
meaning of Kamel's disclosures to make it appear that at the 
time, Iraq still retained an effective WMD capability. For 
example, Pollack said Kamel's most important revelation was the 
"fact" that "a very large biological-weapons plant at al-Hakim, 
whose existence had been concealed from UN inspectors, was still 
functional in 1995." That was flatly untrue. Al-Hakam had never 
been concealed from the inspectors; they had known about it from 
the moment they arrived in Iraq. The first inspection of the 
facility (led by David Kelly, the British scientist who committed 
suicide last year) took place in September 1991. Kelly and his 
colleagues immediately suspected it had been used for bioweapons 
production and they swiftly put it under strict monitoring. The 
plant was indeed "still functional" in 1995, but producing only 
chicken feed under the watchful eye of the U.N. 

In other words, as of 1995, Iraq was left with practically 
nothing from its past programs. Virtually all its old dual-use 
equipment was now under U.N. monitoring, and, as Kamel told the 
U.N., the regime's WMD stockpiles were destroyed. While Iraq 
could not be declared officially "disarmed" until the inspectors 
had accounted for every detail of its byzantine prewar weapons 
programs, in practice even the most hawkish inspectors admitted 
that once the monitoring system was up and running, Iraq lost its 
entire ability to rebuild the arsenal that it had destroyed in 
1991. 

In fact, since the mid-1990's some inspectors privately argued 
that Iraq had been effectively disarmed. But they were subject to 
intense pressure from Washington not to give Iraq a clean bill of 
health. According to Ron Cleminson, a senior Canadian arms 
control expert who served on UNSCOM's College of Commissioners 
throughout the 1990's, the inspectors could have declared Iraq 
disarmed of nuclear, missile, and chemical weapons as early as 
1992, but Washington's hardline position prevented such a move. 

"I used to say: 'You know, we basically know amongst ourselves 
there are no weapons and we're unlikely to find any,'" Cleminson 
said in an interview. "My take on it is that this information was 
known, and in spades. But this stuff was being pushed on a 
political level. They [in Washington] were just absolutely 
ignoring what was obvious. My guess is that with full American 
cooperation and without all this politics, [UNSCOM's mission] 
could have been wrapped up in three to four years." 

John Deutch, the former CIA director who served under Clinton and 
presided during Kamel's defection, has called the WMD fiasco "an 
intelligence failure of massive proportions.” But the roots of 
the failure go far deeper than intelligence. They extend to the 
heart of America's decade-old policy toward Iraq and the 
dishonesty of two administrations. [.] What do you think? 
Although this was Clinton's policy from almost the start of his 
term, it was enunciated most explicitly in March 1997, when 
Madeleine Albright, in her first major policy address as 
Secretary of State, declared: "We do not agree with the nations 
who argue that if Iraq complies with its obligations concerning 
weapons of mass destruction, sanctions should be lifted. Our 
view, which is unshakable, is that Iraq must prove its peaceful 
intentions. And the evidence is overwhelming that Saddam 
Hussein's intentions will never be peaceful."
 
As for biological weapons, only "two aspects of the BW program 
remain hidden": the fact that an experimental agent had been 
developed at an Iraqi research facility before the Gulf War, and 
that anthrax had been weaponized in fiberglass-coated bombs in 
the 1980's. However, the report made clear that the facility in 
question had been known to UNSCOM from the beginning and was 
under strict monitoring. The biological bombs were destroyed by 
Iraq in the summer of 1991. 

Seth Ackerman is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared 
in Harper's, In These Times, and The Washington Times. He is also 
a contributing writer for the media watchdog group Fairness and 
Accuracy in Reporting. 

Photo: Associated Press/Wide World Photos 

This article has been made possible by the Foundation for 
National Progress, the Investigative Fund of Mother Jones, and 
gifts from generous readers like you. 

© 2004 The Foundation for National Progress Support Us   
*****************************************************************
 9 Las Vegas SUN: Pakistani Admits Ties to Nuclear Suspect

Today: February 20, 2004 at 11:00:24 PST 

 By PAUL HAVEN ASSOCIATED PRESS 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - A Pakistani man named in U.S. court
documents as part of a nuclear proliferation scheme acknowledged
he had business dealings with a main suspect in the case, but
said in an interview Friday with The Associated Press that he
did nothing wrong. 

The man, Humayun Khan, was named in a U.S. federal court case
against Asher Karni, an Israeli who was arrested in Denver on
New Year's Day. U.S. authorities accuse Karni of using front
companies and falsified documents to buy nuclear bomb triggers
in the United States for shipment to Pakistan. 

Khan acknowledged that his company was a supplier of high-tech
devices for the Pakistani military, but said he imported
military products only for use in armed forces repair shops. He
said he also supplied civilian companies and Pakistan's
Education Ministry. 

Khan said it was unthinkable that he would have openly used the
name of his family company, Pakland PME Corp., if he were
involved in an illicit arms deal. 

"There is a saying we have that robbers and thieves wear masks,"
Khan told AP in an interview at his office in a dilapidated
building in the Pakistani capital. "Would I openly go and ask
this man for something that I wanted to put in a nuclear system
and use my own name? It is absurd." 

The father of Pakistan's nuclear program, Abdul Qadeer Khan,
acknowledged this month that he headed a clandestine group that
supplied Pakistani nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North
Korea. Washington has accepted a decision by President Pervez
Musharraf to pardon the scientist, but it is pressing Islamabad
to clamp down on the weapons network 

Humayun Khan showed an AP reporter documents that appeared to
indicate he paid Karni's South Africa-based company, Top-Cape
Technology, $4,580 in July 2002 for a specialized power supply
box, but he said the device was for civilian use. 

Khan said another deal to buy a magnetometer from Karni for use
in an airport project in July 2003 fell through when he realized
Karni had a dubious reputation and was an Israeli. 

Pakistan and Israel have no diplomatic ties, and Pakistanis are
banned from doing business with Israeli businesses. Khan said
Karni had told him that he was a Palestinian. 

Khan's claim to have cut off contact with Karni last summer seem
undermined by e-mails from his account to Karni filed in court
that date from August, September and October 2003. 

Among the documents filed in court is a copy of an invoice for
Karni's commission from Pakland PME for the originally attempted
purchase of 200 devices called triggered spark gaps. The devices
can be used in machines to break up kidney stones, but exports
are restricted because they also are key to triggering nuclear
detonations. 

When Karni e-mailed Khan last summer that he couldn't get the
spark gaps, Khan messaged back: "I know it is difficult but
thats (sic) why we came to know each other, please help to
re-negotiate this from any other source." 

E-mails from Khan seeking infrared sensors for Sidewinder
missiles refer to the part number from Lockheed Martin Naval
Systems (619-A) and to the missile itself by its U.S. military
designation, AIM-9L. 

"Customer is anxious, please advise!" Khan wrote to Karni last
summer about the infrared detectors. In an e-mail dated May 29,
Khan wrote, "We urgently require the following detector," then
listed the part number. 

In the AP interview Friday, Khan denied he had ever requested
the infrared sensors or a sophisticated oscilloscope, a
measuring device that could be used in nuclear weapons programs. 

Khan indicated it was possible, however, that a former employee
may have used his name and e-mail address to contact Karni while
he was out of the office because of his wife's illness. The man,
Mohammed Ali Rafi, has fled to Dubai, Khan said. 

"We're trying to track him down," he added. 

The U.S. court documents indicate Karni had asked an
oscilloscope manufacturer, Oregon-based Tektronix Inc., if he
could buy one of the devices for shipment to Pakistan, but the
company told him to seek a U.S. export license. 

Khan said his company is a representative in Pakistan for
Tektronix, and rejected any notion that he would have had Karni
contact the company. 

Khan said he could not prove his innocence because a computer
virus destroyed all his company's records earlier this month. 

"The timing is very unfortunate, I know," he said, adding later: 

"When they find documents in Pakistan that prove that I was the
one who did this, then they can come and take me away." 

--- 

Associated Press reporter Matt Kelley in Washington contributed
to this report. 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 10 Las Vegas SUN: Libya Converted Small Amount of Plutonium

Today: February 20, 2004 at 10:35:26 PST 

 By GEORGE JAHN ASSOCIATED PRESS 

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Libya used technology and know-how
acquired on the black market to process uranium into a small
amount of plutonium, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Friday. 

Diplomats citing a report from the International Atomic Energy
Agency said the country was able to "separate a small amount of
plutonium." 

The report did not specify the amount, but it appeared to be
less than the approximate 7 pounds required to make a nuclear
bomb. 

The confidential report also said Libya "imported nuclear
material and conducted a wide variety of nuclear activities
which it had failed to report" to the IAEA as required by
agreements with the agency, diplomats told The Associated Press
on condition of anonymity. 

The report was prepared by IAEA Director General Mohamed
ElBaradei ahead of an agency board of governors' meeting next
month. A separate report on Iran is due within days. 

Revelations that Libya was able to process plutonium shed new
light on how far the country was able to progress in its secret
weapons program. 

Libya announced in December it engaged in researching programs
of mass destruction and promised to scrap them. While U.S. and
British intelligence spoke of a fairly advanced program, the
IAEA initially described Libya's nuclear activities as at the
beginning stages. 

Much of Libya's activity focused on enriching uranium, the
report said. That - along with producing plutonium - is one way
to develop the nuclear material used in warheads. 

Between the early 1980s until the end of 2003, "Libya imported
nuclear material and conducted a wide variety of (clandestine)
nuclear activities," the report said. 

Those activities included failing to declare imports of uranium
compound UF6, which is used in the enrichment process, in 1985,
2000 and 2001, the report said. 

A Sri Lankan businessman, Buhary Syed Abu Tahir, who is
implicated in the nuclear black market, has said that a
Pakistani scientist told him of shipments to Libya of UF6. That
scientist, Abdul Qaheer Khan, led an illicit network supplying
nuclear technology to rogue nations such as Libya, Iran and
North Korea. 

After its disclosure in December, Libya surrendered drawings of
a nuclear warhead to American and British experts. The
blueprints and accompanying documents now are in the United
States under the IAEA seal. 

Diplomats recently told the AP that the drawing detailed how to
build a warhead for a large ballistic missile, using technology
developed by the Chinese in the 1960s that triggers a nuclear
blast by a small conventional explosion. 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 11 Las Vegas SUN: Japan Raises Terror Alert to Highest Level

Today: February 20, 2004 at 11:25:27 PST 

 By KENJI HALL ASSOCIATED PRESS 

TOKYO (AP) - Japan tightened security at airports, nuclear
plants and government facilities Friday, dispatching armed riot
police to guard against possible terror attacks as the country
dispatches troops on a humanitarian mission to Iraq. 

A National Police Agency official, speaking on condition of
anonymity, confirmed the heightened security but refused to say
whether the government had new information about a possible
terror strike. He said it was the highest show of security in
Japan since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. 

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Japan was stepping up
security ahead of sending troops to Iraq. Japan dispatched a
destroyer and an amphibious vessel for the Middle East on
Friday. 

"Japan for the last few weeks has been taking some measures to
improve the police preparedness as they prepare to deploy troops
to Iraq," he said. "Japan has kept us apprised of the measures
they are implementing." 

"The measures they are implementing are relating to police
preparedness," McClellan added. 

The tougher security also follows a failed attempt to hit the
Defense Agency with projectiles earlier in the week and precedes
an expected verdict in the trial of a cult leader accused of
plotting a 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subways. 

The security move sent a shiver through global financial
markets, knocking the Japanese yen to 10-week lows against the
U.S. dollar. 

The National Police official said riot police armed with
automatic rifles will guard Tokyo and Kansai international
airports and nuclear power and reprocessing facilities, but he
would not disclose how many officers were added. 

Larger police forces were being mobilized and additional
checkpoints set up around the prime minister's residence, the
U.S. Embassy, military facilities and national and local
assembly buildings, the official said. Security was also
strengthened at ports, railway stations and shopping malls. 

"We are going to beef up security at key facilities," the
official said, confirming reports carried by Kyodo News agency's
Japanese service, national broadcaster NHK and the Web site of
Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest newspaper. 

Japan is sending 1,000 air, sea and ground forces for the
mission in Iraq, its largest military deployment since World War
II. An advance team of 30 soldiers is already in Iraq. 

Many fear that dispatch could draw terrorist attacks in Japan,
and last November an alleged al-Qaida operative threatened to
attack Tokyo if it sent troops to Iraq. Japan issued a series of
travel advisories and alerts for citizens living abroad late
last year. 

On Tuesday assailants apparently attempted to fire projectiles
at Japan's Defense Agency. Two blasts were heard near the
Agency, and police later found two projectile launchers. There
were no injuries or damage, but local media reported that a
leftist group opposed to Japan's Iraqi mission had claimed
responsibility. 

The move also comes ahead of the verdict next Friday in the case
of Shoko Asahara, the former leader of the Aum Shinrikyo cult
that carried out the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo
subways that killed 12 people. 

Police earlier this week raided offices of the cult, now named
Aleph, concerned it could be planning reprisals if Asahara is
convicted. Prosecutors have demanded the death penalty. 

Beginning in late December, police tightened security at
hundreds of facilities nationwide during the New Year holidays,
and officers went on round-the-clock watch at train and subway
stations and shipping docks. But the precautions were later
eased. 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 12 Las Vegas SUN: Malaysian Inquiry Reveals Nuclear Path

Today: February 20, 2004 at 12:05:30 PST 
 
 By ROHAN SULLIVAN ASSOCIATED PRESS 

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - 

A Malaysian inquiry revealed that the father of Pakistan's
nuclear program sold uranium enrichment equipment to Iran for $3
million and signed lucrative contracts for Libya, part of a
thriving black market in nuclear arms, according to a police
report released Friday. 

The report - based on interviews with one of the operation's
purported middlemen, Buhar Syed Abu Tahir - reveals details
about alleged deals between Pakistan, Iran and Libya. It lays
out the extent of the black market, which appears to have
included a company owned by the son of Malaysia's prime
minister, as well as British and Swiss middlemen. 

Tahir, a 44-year-old Sri Lankan, says he was one of several
people who helped Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's
nuclear weapons program, sell nuclear technology to willing
bidders. Khan confessed this month to leaking nuclear technology
to Iran, Libya and North Korea. 

Malaysia's investigation into Tahir began after a company
controlled by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's son was
said to have unwittingly supplied the network. 

Police said the 12-page report on the three-month investigation
will be given to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the
U.N. nonproliferation watchdog. The Malaysians urged the agency
to investigate European individuals and firms. 

President Bush singled out Tahir and Malaysia in a speech last
week that urged tougher international regulations. 

Among details supplied by Tahir and laid out in the report are
deals between Khan's operatives to sell nuclear equipment to
Iran for $3 million in cash and to supply a uranium compound
used in the enrichment process to Libya. 

According to Tahir's account, Libya approached Khan in 1997 for
help building a uranium enrichment program. Negotiations began
in Istanbul, Turkey, between the Pakistani scientist and a
Libyan identified as Mohamad Matuq Mohamad. 

Around 2001, Khan told Tahir that "a certain amount" of enriched
uranium was flown from Pakistan to Libya, the report said.
Subsequently, centrifuge units arrived in Libya from Pakistan. 

What Khan's network couldn't get for Libya directly, it helped
the country build, sending machines and technicians to set up
centrifuge-making operations and calling it "Project Machine
Shop 1001," according to Tahir's account. 

Centrifuges are sophisticated machines that can be used to
enrich uranium for nuclear weapons or nuclear power. 

Late last year, Libya acknowledged trying to develop weapons of
mass destruction and pledged to scrap them. Unlike Libya, Iran
denies ever having had such ambitions. 

Tahir told police he was recruited to Khan's network in 1994.
That year, on Khan's instructions, Tahir arranged for two
containers of used centrifuge units from Pakistan to be sent to
Iran aboard an Iranian-owned merchant ship, the report says. 

An unidentified Iranian paid for the units with about $3 million
worth of dirhams, the United Arab Emirates currency. 

"The cash was brought in two briefcases and kept in an apartment
that was used as a guesthouse by the Pakistani nuclear arms
expert each time he visited Dubai," the report said. 

One operative named as working for Khan is Peter Griffin, a
Briton whom Tahir alleged designed the Libyan workshop and sent
eight Libyan technicians to Spain to learn how to use lathes for
centrifuge parts. 

According to the report, two others were Freidrich Tinner, a
Swiss engineer whom Khan met in the 1980s, and his son, Urs
Tinner, 39, who allegedly worked with Tahir in getting Malaysian
company Scomi Precision Engineering, or SCOPE, to produce
centrifuge parts. 

SCOPE engineered more than 25,000 individual parts for a
Dubai-based company owned by Griffin, Gulf Technical Industries,
under a contract negotiated by Tahir, and shipped them between
December 2002 and August 2003. 

Swiss authorities have launched an investigation into Urs
Tinner's alleged role, officials there said Friday. The Tinner
family sent The Associated Press a statement saying Urs Tinner
worked for SCOPE in Kuala Lumpur as a technical consultant for
the last three years. 

It said he controlled the manufacture of machinery parts, but
that "information about the customer or the purpose of the goods
was unavailable to him during the whole period." 

The parts, in boxes marked with SCOPE's name, were seized in the
Mediterranean last October en route from Dubai to Libya. 

The family statement said Urs Tinner stopped working for SCOPE
last October because he had not been paid his consultancy fees
for several months. 

"Other family members were not involved in this process at any
time," the statement said. 

SCOPE is a subsidiary of Scomi Group, an oil-and-gas firm whose
biggest stakeholder is Kaspadu, an investment company owned by
the Malaysian prime minister's son, Kamaluddin Abdullah. 

Tahir joined Kaspadu as a director in December 2000, about the
same time that Scomi established SCOPE and built its factory to
make the parts ordered by Gulf Technical Industries, according
to public documents. Tahir left the board in early 2003. 

Scomi and its staff thought the parts were to be used in the oil
and gas industry in Dubai, the report said. Only Tahir and
Tinner, whom he brought in to oversee the work, knew the true
purpose and ultimate destination. 

A Malaysian official, speaking to AP on condition of anonymity
Friday, said there are no immediate plans to detain Tahir
because investigators had found no "compelling evidence" that he
broke Malaysian or other laws. 

But Tahir is under close surveillance, the official said. 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 13 Guardian Unlimited: Panel: Plutonium Transfer Taking Too Long

Friday February 20, 2004 12:01 PM

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) - The transfer of plutonium to more stable 
containers at Los Alamos National Laboratory is taking too long, 
a federal oversight board said. 

The lab has processed about 7,000 of the highest priority 
plutonium packages since 1995, said Steve Yarbro, leader of the 
lab's nuclear materials technology division. 

But about 4,300 packages need to be stabilized, repackaged or 
disposed of, according to a Jan. 30 report by the Defense Nuclear 
Facilities Board - the independent oversight group created by 
Congress. 

Workers found the plutonium stored in temporary packages in the 
early 90s. Thousands of pounds of plutonium had been left in 
containers at the lab and other Department of Energy facilities 
at the end of the Cold War. 

Work to stabilize the packages at Los Alamos began in 1994. 

The plutonium does not pose a public risk but could be a danger 
to workers, DOE officials said. 

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
*****************************************************************
 14 HindustanTimes: Accidental use of nukes is scary scenario - Pak

  HindustanTimes.com    HT 
  
  Press Trust of India Islamabad, February 20   
    
Observing that accidental and unauthorised use of nuclear weapons 
presented a scary scenario, Pakistan has hoped that India would 
agree to discuss a strategic nuclear restraint regime with it.

"There is a possibility they (India) would show interest in the 
subject because they do realise the dangers involved if there is 
no restraint regime between the two countries at all," Foreign 
Office spokesman Masood Khan told a seminar on India-Pakistan 
relations in Islamabad on Thursday.

Khan said he did not think India would reject the strategic 
nuclear restraint regime proposal out of hand.

Emphasising the importance of such a regime, Khan said accidental 
and unauthorised use of nuclear weapons presented a scary 
scenario for the two countries.

He also said the two sides had some history of discussing a 
restraint regime and making some progress.

About the composite dialogue to resolve Jammu and Kashmir and 
other bilateral issues, he said it was premature to comment what 
the two Foreign Secretaries would discuss but "we have 
conventional wisdom behind us".

As per the agreed roadmap, the nuclear CBMs would be discussed 
along with Kashmir and peace and security issues when they meet 
in May or June this year. Before that expert- level talks on 
nuclear CBMs would be held in May.
   
  © Hindustan Times Ltd. 2004.
feedback@hindustantimes.com
*****************************************************************
 15 Bellona: Putin watches Russia's nuclear shield falling apart
 

The Northern Fleet's nuclear war exercises that are currently 
underway in the Barents Sea ended in a great embarrassment for 
the Russian Navy when a ballistic nuclear missile failed to fire 
from a Delta IV class submarine called the Novomoskovsk.

  Delta IV class submarine—Novomoskovsk— captured in the Barents
Sea in August 2003.   
  Thomas Nilsen   

Igor Kudrik, 2004-02-17 20:03

The extensive exercises launched this week involved 10 surface 
battle ships and support ships, including the aircraft carrying 
cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov, the nuclear powered cruiser Peter the 
Great, as well six nuclear ballistic missile and general purpose 
submarines, strategic bomber aircraft and helicopters. In 
short—everything that can still operate in the Northern Fleet was 
put to sea. 

The exercises were titled "Security-2004." The official purpose 
of the exercises was naval training for combating terrorism. The 
expected result of this event, apparently, was proof that 
strategic bombers and ballistic missile submarines were on the 
ready and an effective tool against the evil-doers of the world. 

Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, was onboard the Typhoon 
class ballistic missile submarine Archangelsk (TK-17) Monday 
evening to observe the exercises unfold. The Archangelsk was 
commissioned in 1987 and is one of the three Typhoon class 
submarines that allegedly still remain in service in the Northern 
Fleet. Another three submarines of this class will be dismantled 
by American Cooperative Threat Reduction funds in Severodvinsk, 
in the Archangelsk region. 

On Tuesday, the ballistic missile Delta IV class submarine 
Novomoskovsk (K-407) was to launch two SS-N-23 Skiff missiles, 
which would land in Kamchatka, in the Russian Far East, some 
8,000 kilometres to the east. The dual launches were scheduled 
for 10:15 and 10:22 Moscow time. 

Putin was in the command post onboard Archangelsk waiting for the 
report about the successful launch to come. Instead the hotly 
anticipated show was a disappointing flop. 

Reports on what happened to the missiles and where it is are 
still unclear. Some assume that the first missile left the 
missile silo aboard the Novomoskovsk and fell nearby. The 
emergency services of the Northern Fleet are now on a desperate 
fishing trip for it in the murky waters of the Barents Sea. 

The official statement from the Northern Fleet says that the 
launch of both of the missiles was for some reason blocked by a 
satellite, which is operated by the Russian space defence forces. 

The Russian Navy's Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Kuroyedov 
explained the incident by saying there was to be a "conditional" 
(virtual) launch during the exercise, though he did not 
elaborate, according to Russian press reports. 

The crew of the Novomoskovsk never attempted to fire the second 
missile. 

The Archangelsk, with Putin onboard, arrived safely at the port 
of Severomorsk. 

Whatever the cause of the misfire, it proved that any 
"terrorists," or “evil-doers”—to the great embarrassment of 
Northern Fleet commanders—would not have gotten what they 
deserved were the exercise an actual war, and President Putin 
departed convinced that the Russian nuclear shield has some large 
patches of rust on it. 

The Russian President will now fly the Plesetsk Kosmodrom in 
Arkhangesk region, where he will watch the launch of a land-based 
ballistic missile from a Topol class launcher—this time, it can 
be presumed, with slightly lower expectations. 

Russian nuclear shield falling There are very few ballistic 
missile submarines on active duty in the Northern Fleet. 
According to NATO’s annual review, the number of Delta IVs on 
patrol does not exceed two or three subs. These submarines were 
being built in the 80s and are currently the backbone of the 
Russian strategic submarine force. 

Typhoons, on the other hand, have been a very rare sight in 
recent years. Of the six that were built, three are now being 
decommissioned. The Archangelsk Typhoon class submarine—and its 
air of the fading glory of the Soviet past—was specially prepared 
to be an underwater hotel for the Russian President during the 
exercises. The Archangelsk, according to observers, did not seem 
to take any active part in the drills. 

The dilapidation of the infrastructure and weapon systems of the 
Russian nuclear arsenal are foundation for concern. Each time the 
Northern Fleet goes to sea for an exercise, fingers around Russia 
and surrounding nations remain crossed in the hope that no 
accident will befall the fleet. 

If should something go wrong, the rescue services of the Northern 
Fleet are still in the same sluggish and incompetent shambles 
they were in when the Kursk sank in August 2000, and they would 
likely be of little help in any future mishaps. It is clear that 
Russia is reaching a point where it should seek refuge from its 
own nuclear shield, which, as today's events illustrate, may fall 
at any time, landing not only on Russia, but on neighbouring 
states as well.   

  
  www.bellona.no : Russia : The Russian Navy : The 
Russian Northern Fleet : Northern Fleet incidents : News story   
| Top of page Publisher: , President: Information: , Technical 
contact: Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62  * 
P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway
*****************************************************************
 16 TIMES OF INDIA: Uranium flown to Libya from Pakistan in '01 

- The Times of India
                                
AP[ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2004 04:53:56 PM

KUALA LUMPUR: received enriched uranium from Pakistan in 2001 for 
use in nuclear programmes, police said on Friday, citing the 
alleged chief financier of an international trafficking network. 
  
Buhary Syed Abu Tahir, a key operative in the alleged black 
market network run by Pakistani scientist , said Khan told him 
that "a certain amount" of enriched uranium was flown to Libya 
from on a Pakistani airliner, Malaysian police said in a report 
released. 
  
Tahir is in Malaysia and has been questioned by local authorities 
in connection to his activities on behalf in this Southeast Asian 
country. The police released their report into the investigation 
on Friday. 
  
Tahir told investigators that Khan also said a "certain number" 
of centrifuges - sophisticated machines that can be used to 
enrich uranium for weapons and other purposes - were flown to 
Libya direct from in 2001-02. 
  
In addition, Libya set up a workshop inside the country to 
produce centrifuge components that could not be supplied from 
outside the country, the report says. 
  
Machines for the workshop, identified as 'Project Machine Shop 
1001,' were obtained by Peter Griffin, a Briton who once owned 
Dubai-based company Gulf Technical Industries, who also prepared 
plans for the machine shop, the report said. 
  
Tahir told investigators that contacted Khan in 1997 for help in 
building centrifuges.   
  
Indiatimes Mail Log on to www.email.indiatimes.com   

 Copyright © 2004 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. |
*****************************************************************
 17 FT: Libya 'got nuclear parts via Pakistan'  

  By John Burton in Singapore, Stephen Fidler and Mark Huband
in,London and Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad  
  Published: February 21 2004 4:00 | Last Updated: February 21
2004 4:00  
     
A Pakistani-led black-market network airlifted radioactive 
material to Libya in 2001 aboard a Pakistani airliner, a 
Malaysian police report said yesterday. 

The report came as a new study from the international nuclear 
watchdog described a secret Libyan nuclear programme spanning two 
decades.

The International Energy Agency said Libya had produced a small 
amount of plutonium and imported low-enriched uranium as part of 
its programme, diplomats who saw the report said.

The IAEA report, to be considered by its board next week, 
discloses that Libya's nuclear abilities were further developed 
than UN inspectors thought when its programme came to light last 
year. Libya agreed to give up its weapons of mass destruction 
programmes in December after negotiations with the US and 
Britain.

In the Malaysian report, the Inspector General of Police said the 
airlifting to Libya of uranium hexafluoride, used as a feedstock 
for centrifuges that enrich uranium, took place in 2001.

The investigation into Malaysian involvement in the network, 
drawn from interviews with Bukhari Sayed Abu Tahir, a Sri 
Lankan-born businessmen at its heart, says centrifuge units - 
possibly Dutch-derived P-1 models - were sent direct by air to 
Libya from Pakistan in 2001-02.

Mr Tahir said he had organised the shipment of two containers of 
used centrifuge units from Pakistan to Iran, via Dubai, in 
1994-95. The cost was $3m (£1.7m).

The report says the shipment was made at the behest of a 
Pakistani scientist who also told Mr Tahir about the air 
shipments to Libya.

The unnamed scientist is referred to on one occasion as AQK. 
Abdul Qadeer Khan, sometimes called the father of Pakistan's 
atomic bomb, admitted this month he had given nuclear technology 
to other countries and was pardoned by General Pervez Musharraf, 
Pakistan's president.

According to senior western and Pakistani officials, George 
Tenet, director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, secretly 
paid a one-day visit to Pakistan last week to discuss the 
investigations into the network. The visit has not been confirmed 
by either of the two governments.

The Malaysian investigation began in November after an approach 
to the director of the Malaysian Special Branch, Bukit Aman, from 
representatives of the CIA and Britain's MI6.

Components thought destined for Libya's uranium enrichment 
programme had been confiscated aboard a German ship in October. 
Five shipping containers carried components that had been 
manufactured in Malaysia by Scope, a subsidiary of the Scomi 
Group.

The report absolved Scope, saying it had not violated Malaysian 
law and thought it had been providing parts for the oil industry. 
Scomi is owned by Kamaluddin Abdullah, the only son of Abdullah 
Badawi, Malaysia's prime minister.  
     
    
      © Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2004. "FT" and
"Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. Privacy
*****************************************************************
 18 Indian Express: I closed 'N-deals' with Israeli 4 yrs ago - Indian
 
Friday, February 20, 2004   

 Press Trust of India

 New Delhi, February 20: A Bangalore-based firm, which has 
reportedly been mentioned in a US court records in connection 
with a case involving an Israeli businessman accused of being a 
middleman in the nuclear black market, on Friday said it dealt 
with him 3-4 years ago for acquiring sound and vibration 
equipment for auto companies only.

South Africa-based Asher Karni faces felony charges of exporting 
nuclear bomb triggers to Pakistan. But court files in the case 
also include e-mail exchanges between him and Raghavendra Rao of 
Foretek Marketing (Pvt) Ltd, saying that the Indian businessman 
was trying secretly to buy material for two Indian rocket 
factories.

“I have closed deals with him and his company 3-4 years back,” 
Rao, Foretek marketing director, told PTI from Bangalore over 
phone.

He denied that the dealings had anything to do with supplying 
equipment to two Indian rocket factories.

Rao said Karni had got in touch with his company on his own way 
back in 1998-99 as "we are representing certain foreign 
companies”.

“But we closed dealings with him as we were not making much 
progress," Rao said, adding that the two had exchanged E-mails 
last time 3-4 years ago.

Foretek had earlier asked Karni for quotations on certain sound 
and vibrations equipment, he said.

A report from Washington by Ap said that Rao's e-mails from India 
asked Karni to procure three kinds of high-tech equipment while 
concealing that they were meant for the two rocket labs.

Quoting prosecutors, it said they found his e-mails while 
searching a laptop computer and six computer discs Karni had when 
he was arrested.

Karni, 50, was arrested by US federal agents on New Year’s Day 
when he arrived in Denver for a ski vacation. US authorities have 
accused him of using front companies and falsified documents to 
buy nuclear bomb triggers in the US and ship them to Pakistan.

© 2004: Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
*****************************************************************
 19 CNN.com Nuclear scandal: Man 'confesses' 

- Feb. 20, 2004
 
[Tahir alleged to be chief financier of global nuclear 
trafficking network.] Tahir alleged to be chief financier of 
global nuclear trafficking network. 

The CIA played a role in the nuclear revelations.

(CNN) -- Malaysian police say a Dubai-based businessman has 
confessed to helping a top Pakistani scientist sell nuclear 
secrets and supplies to Iran and Libya. 

Friday's report of the confession by Buhary Syed Abu Tahir came a 
week after U.S. President George W. Bush named the 44-year-old 
Sri Lankan as the middleman representing Abdul Qadeer Khan -- the 
father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb -- in his black market network. 

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf had previously said A.Q. 
Khan acted alone in selling atomic secrets to other countries, 
but many in Pakistan and outside doubted this. 

Now, according to a detailed report released Friday by Malaysian 
police, Tahir -- who has residency status in Malaysia -- said 
Khan sold nuclear parts to Iran for about $3 million in cash, and 
he served as the middleman. 

Tahir remains a free man in Malaysia because authorities in the 
Southeast Asia say he has not broken any laws in that country. 

The latest revelations follow an announcement Thursday by a 
senior Bush administration official that U.N. nuclear inspectors 
had found sophisticated uranium enrichment parts in Iran, a claim 
Tehran denies. (Full story) 

"[Khan] had asked B.S.A. Tahir to send two containers of used 
centrifuge units from Pakistan to Iran," the statement by 
Malaysian police said. 

"B.S.A. Tahir organized the transshipment of the two containers 
from Dubai to Iran using a merchant ship owned by a company in 
Iran." 

According to Tahir's account, Iran paid Khan cash transported in 
two briefcases and left in Khan's apartment in Dubai, United Arab 
Emirates. 

The arrangement happened in 1995, Tahir said, shortly after he 
started his involvement with the Pakistani nuclear expert. 

Tahir also told Malaysian authorities that Khan had arranged for 
enriched uranium and centrifuge units to be sent directly by air 
from Pakistan to Libya in 2001-02. 

He also named several businessmen from Germany, Turkey, 
Switzerland and the United Kingdom as part of the "loose network" 
of middlemen that helped procure the nuclear equipment for Khan. 

Since Khan's February 4 shock confession that he transferred 
Pakistan's nuclear weapons secrets to other countries, 
authorities around the world -- from Pakistan to China to 
Malaysia -- have been working to uncover the full extent of the 
network. 

Musharraf pardoned Khan, but analysts say many questions remain 
over how generals who oversaw the Pakistan's nuclear program that 
began in the 1970s -- with the aim of creating a military 
deterrent against rival India -- could have been so in the dark 
about any nuclear transfers by its scientists. 

The mission to create the bomb was conducted in secret, using 
black market suppliers to circumvent international restrictions 
on trade in nuclear-related technology. Pakistan conducted its 
first nuclear test in 1998. 

In all, 11 employees of the Khan Research Laboratories, a top 
nuclear facility named after Khan, have been questioned since 
November, and some subsequently released. 

Officials say three scientists and four security officials -- 
military officers among them -- are still being investigated. Six 
are being held in custody at an undisclosed location. 

Khan has been told to stay at his Islamabad home, where he is 
under tight security. 

-- CNN Jakarta Bureau Chief Maria Ressa contributed to this 
report           

	
© 2004 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
*****************************************************************
 20 AU ABC: Pakistan nuclear scientist 'sent' uranium to Libya. 

20/02/2004. ABC News Online
 	
Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online">   

The former head of Pakistan's nuclear program, Abdul Qadeer
Khan, has been accused of sending enriched uranium to Libya in
2001, and selling nuclear centrifuge parts to Iran in the mid
90s.

 The claim has been made by Malaysian police in a detailed
report on their investigations into Malaysia's alleged link in
the nuclear weapons black market, and the role of Sri Lankan
businessman, Buhary Syed Abu Tahir, who lives in Malaysia. 
Mr Tahir, who has been named by the United States as a middle
man in an international nuclear trafficking ring run by Dr Khan,
is said to have told police the scientist asked him to send
centrifuges from Pakistan to Iran in 1994 or 1995.

 Mr Tahir also said Dr Khan told him that a "certain amount of
enriched uranium was sent by air from Pakistan to Libya" around
2001.

 The investigation was launched after US and British
intelligence services told Malaysia that centrifuge parts
manufactured by a local company had been found on a ship bound
for Libya last October. 
-- ABC/AFP 

© 2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation 
*****************************************************************
 21 Las Vegas SUN: AP: Kazakhstan Probes Nuclear Black Market

Today: February 20, 2004 at 5:40:25 PST 

 By BAGILA BUKHARBAYEVA ASSOCIATED PRESS 

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) - 

Kazakhstan has opened an investigation into the nuclear black
market that helped Iran, Libya and North Korea, exploring
suspected ties in the country that housed much of the Soviet
Union's atomic arsenal, officials told The Associated Press. 

Kazakhstan's intelligence agency is examining the Almaty office
of a Dubai company linked by President Bush to the market headed
by the father of Pakistan's nuclear program, the officials said. 

The black market's potential connection to Kazakhstan - which
served as a nuclear testing ground until it disarmed after its
1991 independence - has raised concern about the proliferation
of remnants of the Soviet weapons program. Kazakh officials
strongly deny any highly enriched uranium - the form used in
weapons - has leaked out of the country. 

Bush accused Sri Lankan businessman Bukhary Syed Abu Tahir of
brokering black-market deals for nuclear technology using his
Dubai-based company SMB Computers as a front. That firm also has
an office in the Kazakh commercial capital, Almaty. 

The Kazakh intelligence agency, the National Security Committee,
is investigating allegations that SMB Computers' affiliate was
dealing with highly enriched uranium, spokesman Kenzhebulat
Beknazarov said Thursday. 

SMB Computers' office in Almaty was closed Thursday. 

According to a receptionist in the building where the company
rents a room, the only person who staffed the office hasn't
shown up there for a week. The receptionist, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said he had been planning to "wrap up
business" and move out. 

The Dubai headquarters of SMB identified the head of its Almaty
office as Shaul Hameed, but said they didn't have any further
contact details for him. A receptionist there, who didn't give
her name, said "our company has nothing to do with this,"
regarding allegations of nuclear smuggling. 

Bush named SMB Computers' owner Tahir as a key link in a
clandestine network run by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of
Pakistan's nuclear program who has confessed to leaking nuclear
technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea. Tahir was described
as the network's chief financial officer, money launderer and
shipping agent - using the firm as a cover to ship parts for
centrifuges, used to enrich uranium. 

Kazakhstan transferred all its Soviet nuclear warheads to Russia
by April 1995, and destroyed its nuclear testing infrastructure
at the major Semipalatinsk weapons test site by July 2000. About
1,320 pounds of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium was
removed to the United States from the Ulba Metallurgy Plant in
1994. 

Yet the Central Asian nation still holds weapons-grade nuclear
material, including 3.3 tons of plutonium at a mothballed
breeder reactor in the country's west, and small amounts of
highly enriched uranium at two nuclear research institutes,
according to the Web site of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a
U.S.-based foundation. 

Still, Kazakh nuclear officials denied the chance of any
weapons-grade uranium leaks. 

"It is impossible to illegally take any uranium out of
Kazakhstan," said Shinar Zhanibekova, spokeswoman for
Kazakhstan's national atomic energy company, KazAtomProm. 

The Atomic Energy Committee, which grants licenses for the
export of nuclear materials, said it had never done any business
with SMB Computers and never granted it a license. 

Kazakhstan has 30 percent of the world's uranium reserves and is
the fourth biggest uranium producer, according to KazAtomProm. 

Zhanibekova said the country now produces only low-enriched
uranium tablets for nuclear power plants, which require a
maximum 3 percent enrichment. Weapons-grade uranium has to be
enriched to at least 98 percent. 

She said all uranium exports from the country were monitored by
the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear
watchdog, and tightly controlled by Kazakh nuclear and security
agencies. All shipments are accompanied by armed guards,
Zhanibekova said. 

A Europe-based Western diplomat working on issues of nuclear
proliferation questioned the reliability of Kazakh safeguards
for its nuclear assets. 

"Nobody can pretend that everything is perfectly secure," the
diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. However, he
had no further information on SMB Computers' possible activities
in Kazakhstan. 

Beknazarov, the intelligence agency spokesman, said there had
never been leaks of highly enriched uranium from Kazakhstan. 

However, huge amounts of unguarded nuclear waste - material that
could potentially be used by terrorists to create a "dirty
bomb," combining conventional explosives with radioactive
materials - are scattered around the country and are unguarded. 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 22 Ocean County News: Oyster Creek N-plant seeks license extension until 2029
 		 		 		 
  February 20, 2004

By JARRETT RENSHAW Staff Writer, (609) 978-2015

 LACEY TOWNSHIP - AmerGen Energy will seek to renew the Oyster 
Creek Nuclear Generating Station's operating license, which, if 
approved, would allow 

the nation's oldest nuclear plant to continue operating until 
2029.
 
"Today, we are formally announcing our intentions to seek a 
license renewal, which we plan to do in the spring of 2005," 
AmerGen Vice President Bud Swenson said during a news conference 
at the plant Thursday.
 
The Oyster Creek Generating Station began its commercial service 
in December 1969 and was one of the first commercial nuclear 
power plants in the nation.
 
Like all nuclear power plants, it initially received a 40-year 
license. The 40-year license was based on financial reasons, not 
technical ones.
 
The plant's current license will expire in April 2009, and the 
plant is seeking a 20-year extension.
 
The filing is due by April 9, 2004, but the company will file 
late, sometime in 2005, giving up its right to remain open if the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission is still reviewing the application 
in 2009. Historically, the NRC takes 17 to 22 months to decide on 
a renewal application.
 
Thursday's decision follows months of primarily one-sided debate 
on the possible renewal, which included weekly news conferences 
and town meetings held by advocacy groups urging the plant not to 
seek the license renewal.
 
The ultimate decision to seek the license was financial, Swenson 
said.
 
In December 2003, Exelon Corp. became the sole owner of AmerGen, 
purchasing British Energy's 50 percent stake in the company.
 
Exelon is one of the most profitable energy companies in the 
world, with annual profits in the billions - a contrast with the 
struggling British Energy.
 
"I don't think we would have been here if it wasn't for Exelon 
purchasing AmerGen," Swenson said.
 
The application process alone costs several million dollars, 
Swenson said.
 
With interests in several energy markets, the company wants to 
maintain a diverse portfolio, Exelon spokesman David Simon said.
 
"We looked at our markets and determined that the Oyster Creek 
power plant will continue to be successful and would remain a 
viable part of diverse portfolio," Simon said.
 
Officials said that Oyster Creek nuclear power plant provides 9 
percent of the state's electricity, along with 1 percent of the 
power on a tri-state grid.
 
Officials said the plant has the potential to provide power to 
600,000 homes.
 
Information provided by plant officials cites the plant's 
economic impact as one of its strongest assets in the community.
 
According to officials, Oyster Creek employs 451 people. The 
annual salary at Oyster Creek is $69,606, which is 11 percent 
more than average income in the county, officials said.
 
Oyster Creek pays millions in state and local taxes each year. 
The biggest beneficiary is Lacey Township, which fought for the 
plant to come to town in the 1960s and receives more than $11 
million annually because of the plant.
 
During the news conference, officials defended themselves from 
claims that the plant poses a safety risk to the public.
 
"We constantly maintain and replace parts every day. If a part 
fails, a backup part is triggered," Swenson said.
 
Swenson said the company spends $10 million annually to replace 
and maintain parts.
 
The company's decision, although expected, drew some criticism 
Thursday, mostly from groups that have been campaigning against 
the renewal for the past several months.
 
"Exelon's decision today shows that the company cares more about 
profits than the millions of people living within Oyster Creek's 
midst," said Suzzanne Letta, energy advocate for the New Jersey 
Public Interest Research Group.
 
More than 10 municipalities, including Stafford and Dover 
townships, and the Ocean County Board of Freeholders passed 
resolutions against the renewal.
 
Some called for the immediate shutdown of the plant, while others 
called for denial of the license unless the plant meets all 
current safety standards.
 
Lacey Township was the only municipality that passed a resolution 
in favor of the plant.
 
Advocacy groups also were concerned with the plant's ability to 
store spent fuel, which is a growing problem as federal officials 
continue to try to gain access to Yucca Mountain repository in 
Nevada.
 
Officials said they have enough room - given current conditions - 
to continue to store the spent fuel at the plant until 2012. They 
also said they have the ability to build more storage facilities 
in the future.
 
Oyster Creek officials said they would begin going on the 
offensive now that their intentions have been announced.
 
"We need to get out there and turn this into a factual argument 
instead of an argument based on emotion," Swenson said.
 
They plan to meet with Barnegat Township residents March 1, and a 
town meeting is scheduled at Lacey Township High School on 
Tuesday
 
If the company decided against renewal, or if it is denied, it 
would begin the 10-year decommissioning process.
 
NRC officials said jobs would not be lost during the process, but 
the economic impact would be felt over time.
 
To e-mail Jarrett Renshaw at The Press:
 
JRenshaw@pressofac.com
*****************************************************************
 23 NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Meeting Notice
 
                         FR Doc 04-3674 
[Federal Register: February 20, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 34)] 
[Notices] [Page 7985-7986] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr20fe04-75]                         
 
In accordance with the purposes of Sections 29 and 182b. of the 
Atomic Energy Act (42 U.S.C. 2039, 2232b), the Advisory Committee 
on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) will hold a meeting on March 3-6, 
2004, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The date of this 
meeting was previously published in the Federal Register on 
Monday, November 21, 2003 (68 FR 65743).
 
Wednesday, March 3, 2004 (Closed) 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m.: Safeguards 
and Security (Closed)--The Committee will hear presentations by 
and hold discussions with representatives of the Office of 
Nuclear Regulatory Research, the Office of Nuclear Security and 
Incident Response, and the Nuclear Energy Institute regarding 
safeguards and security matters.
 
Thursday, March 4, 2004, Conference Room T-2B3, Two White Flint 
North, Rockville, Maryland 8:30 a.m.-8:35 a.m.: Opening Remarks 
by the ACRS Chairman (Open)-- The ACRS Chairman will make opening 
remarks regarding the conduct of the meeting.
 
8:35 a.m.-10 a.m.: License Renewal Application for the H. B. 
Robinson Steam Electric Plant, Unit 2 (Open)--The Committee will 
hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives 
of the NRC staff and Carolina Power and Light regarding the 
License Renewal Application for the H. B. Robinson Steam Electric 
Plant, Unit 2 and the associated final Safety Evaluation Report 
prepared by the NRC staff.
 
10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Interim Review of the AP1000 Design (Open/ 
Closed)--The Committee will hear presentations by and hold 
discussions with representatives of the NRC staff and 
Westinghouse regarding the resolution of open items identified in 
the NRC staff's Draft Safety Evaluation Report as well as the 
issues previously raised by the ACRS Subcommittee on 
Thermal-Hydraulic Phenomena, and related matters.
 
1:15 p.m.-2:45 p.m.: License Renewal Application for the Virgil 
C. Summer Nuclear Station (Open)--The Committee will hear 
presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the 
NRC staff and South Carolina Electric and Gas regarding the 
License Renewal Application for the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear 
Station and the associated final Safety Evaluation Report 
prepared by the NRC staff.
 
3 p.m.-4 p.m.: Proposed Criteria for ACRS Evaluation of the 
Effectiveness (Quality) of the NRC Safety Research Programs 
(Open)--The Committee will discuss the proposed criteria for use 
by the ACRS in evaluating the effectiveness (Quality) of the NRC 
safety research programs.
 
4:15 p.m.-6:15 p.m.: Preparation of ACRS Reports (Open)--The 
Committee will discuss proposed ACRS reports on matters 
considered during this meeting, as well as proposed ACRS reports 
on Resolution of Certain Items Identified by the ACRS in 
NUREG-1740 Related to Differing Professional Opinion on Steam 
Generator Tube Integrity, and Response to the December 22, 2003 
EDO Response to the September 30, 2003 ACRS Report on the Draft 
Final Revision 3 to Regulatory Guide 1.82, ``Water Sources for 
Long-Term Recirculation Cooling Following a Loss-of-Coolant 
Accident.'' Friday, March 5, 2004, Conference Room T-2B3, Two 
White Flint North, Rockville, Maryland 8:30 a.m.-8:35 a.m.: 
Opening Remarks by the ACRS Chairman (Open)-- The ACRS Chairman 
will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of the meeting.
 
8:35 a.m.-9:15 a.m.: Divergence in Regulatory Approaches Between 
U.S. and Several Other Countries (Open)--The Committee will 
discuss the differences in regulatory approaches between U.S. and 
several other countries.
 
9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: Joint Meeting of ACRS/ACNW with the EDO/ 
Office Directors of NRR/RES/NMSS (Open)--The Committee will meet 
with the NRC Executive Director for Operations (EDO) and 
Directors of the Offices of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), 
Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES), and Nuclear Material Safety 
and Safeguards (NMSS) to discuss items of mutual interest, 
including: Risk-informing 10 CFR 50.46, PWR sump performance 
issues, PRA quality, spent fuel pool issues, risk-informing NMSS 
regulations, and transportation-related issues.
 
12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: Future ACRS Activities/Report of the 
Planning and Procedures Subcommittee (Open)--The Committee will 
discuss the recommendations of the Planning and Procedures 
Subcommittee regarding items proposed for consideration by the 
full Committee during future meetings. Also, it will hear a 
report of the Planning and Procedures Subcommittee on matters 
related to the conduct of
 
[[Page 7986]] ACRS business, including anticipated workload and 
member assignments.
 
1:30 p.m.-1:45 p.m.: Reconciliation of ACRS Comments and 
Recommendations (Open)--The Committee will discuss the responses 
from the EDO to comments and recommendations included in recent 
ACRS reports and letters. The EDO responses are expected to be 
made available to the Committee prior to the meeting.
 
2:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m.: Preparation of ACRS Reports (Open)--The 
Committee will discuss proposed ACRS reports.
 
Saturday, March 6, 2004, Conference Room T-2B3, Two White Flint 
North, Rockville, Maryland 8:30 a.m.-12 noon: Preparation of ACRS 
Reports (Open)--The Committee will continue discussion of the 
proposed ACRS reports.
 
12 noon-12:30 p.m.: Miscellaneous (Open)--The Committee will 
discuss matters related to the conduct of Committee activities 
and matters and specific issues that were not completed during 
previous meetings, as time and availability of information 
permit.
 
Procedures for the conduct of and participation in ACRS meetings 
were published in the Federal Register on October 16, 2003 (68 FR 
59644). In accordance with those procedures, oral or written 
views may be presented by members of the public, including 
representatives of the nuclear industry. Electronic recordings 
will be permitted only during the open portions of the meeting. 
Persons desiring to make oral statements should notify the 
Cognizant ACRS staff named below five days before the meeting, if 
possible, so that appropriate arrangements can be made to allow 
necessary time during the meeting for such statements. Use of 
still, motion picture, and television cameras during the meeting 
may be limited to selected portions of the meeting as determined 
by the Chairman. Information regarding the time to be set aside 
for this purpose may be obtained by contacting the Cognizant ACRS 
staff prior to the meeting. In view of the possibility that the 
schedule for ACRS meetings may be adjusted by the Chairman as 
necessary to facilitate the conduct of the meeting, persons 
planning to attend should check with the Cognizant ACRS staff if 
such rescheduling would result in major inconvenience.
 
In accordance with Subsection 10(d) Public Law 92-463, I have 
determined that it is necessary to close a portion of this 
meeting noted above to discuss and protect information classified 
as national security information as well as unclassified 
safeguards information pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(1) and (3), 
and Westinghouse proprietary information per 5 U.S.C. 
552(b)(c)(4). Further information regarding topics to be 
discussed, whether the meeting has been canceled or rescheduled, 
as well as the Chairman's ruling on requests for the opportunity 
to present oral statements and the time allotted therefor can be 
obtained by contacting Mr. Sam Duraiswamy, Cognizant ACRS staff 
(301-415-7364), between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., et. ACRS meeting 
agenda, meeting transcripts, and letter reports are available 
through the NRC Public Document Room at pdr@nrc.gov, or by 
calling the PDR at 1-800-397-4209, or from the Publicly Available 
Records System (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS) 
which is accessible from the NRC Web site at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html or 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/ (ACRS & 
oc-collections/ (ACRS & ACNW Mtg schedules/agendas).
 
Videoteleconferencing service is available for observing open 
sessions of ACRS meetings. Those wishing to use this service for 
observing ACRS meetings should contact Mr. Theron Brown, ACRS 
Audio Visual Technician (301-415-8066), between 7:30 a.m. and 
3:45 p.m., ET, at least 10 days before the meeting to ensure the 
availability of this service. Individuals or organizations 
requesting this service will be responsible for telephone line 
charges and for providing the equipment and facilities that they 
use to establish the videoteleconferencing link. The availability 
of videoteleconferencing services is not guaranteed.
 
Dated: February 13, 2004.
 
Andrew L. Bates, Advisory Committee Management Officer.
 
[FR Doc. 04-3674 Filed 2-19-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 24 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
 
                         FR Doc 04-3675 
[Federal Register: February 20, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 34)] 
[Notices] [Page 7984-7985] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr20fe04-74]                         
 
Comment Request AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
 
ACTION: Notice of pending NRC action to submit an information 
collection request to OMB and solicitation of public comment.
 
----------------------------------------------------------------- 
------
 
SUMMARY: The NRC is preparing a submittal to OMB for review of 
continued approval of information collections under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35). Information pertaining to the requirement to be 
submitted:
 
[[Page 7985]] 1. The title of the information collection: 10 CFR 
Part 25--Access Authorization for Licensee Personnel.
 
2. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0046 3. How often the 
collection is required: On occasion. 4. Who is required or asked 
to report: NRC-regulated facilities and other organizations 
requiring access to NRC-classified information.
 
5. The number of annual respondents: 50 6. The number of hours 
needed annually to complete the requirement or request: 267 hours 
(242 hours reporting and 25 hours recordkeeping) 7. Abstract: 
NRC-regulated facilities and other organizations are required to 
provide information and maintain records to ensure that an 
adequate level of protection is provided NRC-classified 
information and material.
 
Submit, by April 20, 2004, comments that address the following 
questions: 1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary 
for the NRC to properly perform its functions? Does the 
information have practical utility? 2. Is the burden estimate 
accurate? 3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected? 4. How can the burden 
of the information collection be minimized, including the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology? A copy of the draft supporting statement may be 
viewed free of charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 
20852. OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC worldwide 
web site: 
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comment/omb/index.html. The 
document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days 
after the signature date of this notice.
 
Comments and questions about the information collection 
requirements may be directed to the NRC Clearance Officer, Brenda 
Jo. Shelton, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, T-5 F52, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, by telephone at 301-415-7233, or by 
Internet electronic mail to INFOCOLLECTS@NRC.GOV. Dated at 
Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of February 2004.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Brenda Jo. Shelton, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.
 
[FR Doc. 04-3675 Filed 2-19-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-U

 
*****************************************************************
 25 NRC: Notice of Availability of Model Application Concerning Technical 
 
                         FR Doc 04-3676 
[Federal Register: February 20, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 34)] 
[Notices] [Page 7986-7987] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr20fe04-76]                         
 
Specification Improvement To Extend the Completion Times for 
Inoperable Containment Isolation Valves at Combustion Engineering 
Plants Using the Consolidated Line Item Improvement Process 
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
 
----------------------------------------------------------------- 
------
 
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the staff of the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC) has prepared a model application 
relating to changes to the completion time in Standard Technical 
Specifications (STS) 3.6.3, ``Containment Isolation Valves 
(Atmospheric and Dual),'' for Combustion Engineering (CE) plants. 
The change to the Technical Specifications (TSs) would extend to 
7 days the completion time to isolate the affected penetration 
flow path when selected containment isolation valves (CIVs) are 
inoperable in either a penetration flow path with two CIVs or in 
a penetration flow path with one CIV in a closed system. These 
changes are based on Revision 2 of Technical Specification Task 
Force (TSTF) change traveler TSTF-373, ``Increase CIV Completion 
Time in Accordance with CE-NPSD-1168,'' which has been approved 
for incorporation into the STS for CE plants (NUREG-1432). The 
purpose of this model is to permit the NRC to efficiently process 
amendments that propose to modify TSs to extend the completion 
time for CIVs. Licensees of nuclear power reactors to which the 
model applies may request amendments using the model application.
 
 
DATES: The NRC staff issued a Federal Register Notice (68 FR 
64375, November 13, 2003) which provided a model safety 
evaluation (SE) and a model no significant hazards consideration 
(NSHC) determination relating to the extension of the completion 
time for TS actions related to inoperable CIVs at CE plants. The 
NRC staff hereby announces that the model SE and NSHC 
determination may be referenced in plant-specific applications to 
extend the CIV completion times as described in Revision 2 to 
TSTF-373. The staff has posted a model application on the NRC web 
site to assist licensees in using the consolidated line item 
improvement process (CLIIP) to request the subject TS change.
 
The NRC staff can most efficiently consider applications based 
upon the model application if the application is submitted within 
a year of this Federal Register Notice.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Reckley, Mail Stop: 
O-7D1, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555- 0001, telephone (301) 415-1323.
 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Regulatory Issue Summary 
2000-06, ``Consolidated Line Item Improvement Process for 
Adopting Standard Technical Specifications Changes for Power 
Reactors,'' was issued on March
 
[[Page 7987]] 20, 2000. The CLIIP is intended to improve the 
efficiency of NRC licensing processes. This is accomplished by 
processing proposed changes to the standard technical 
specifications (STS) in a manner that supports subsequent license 
amendment applications. The CLIIP includes an opportunity for the 
public to comment on proposed changes to the STS following a 
preliminary assessment by the NRC staff and finding that the 
change will likely be offered for adoption by licensees. The 
CLIIP directs the NRC staff to evaluate any comments received for 
a proposed change to the STS and to either reconsider the change 
or to proceed with announcing the availability of the change for 
proposed adoption by licensees. Those licensees opting to apply 
for the subject change to TSs are responsible for reviewing the 
staff's evaluation, referencing the applicable technical 
justifications, and providing any necessary plant-specific 
information. Each amendment application made in response to the 
notice of availability will be processed and noticed in 
accordance with applicable rules and NRC procedures.
 
This notice involves the extension of the completion time to 
isolate the affected penetration flow path when selected CIVs are 
inoperable in either a penetration flow path with two CIVs or in 
a penetration flow path with one CIV in a closed system. This 
change was proposed for incorporation into the STS by the CE 
Owners Group (CEOG) participants in the TSTF and is designated as 
Revision 2 to TSTF-373. TSTF-373 is supported by CE-NPSD-1168-A, 
``Joint Applications Report for Containment Isolation Valve AOT 
[Allowed Outage Time] Extension,'' dated January 2001, accessible 
electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the 
Internet (ADAMS Accession Number ML010780257) at the NRC Web site 
at www@nrc.gov. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who 
encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, 
should contact the NRC Public Document Room reference staff by 
telephone at 1-800-397-4209, (301) 415-4737, or by e-mail to 
pdr@nrc.gov. The CLIIP does not prevent licensees from requesting 
an alternative approach or proposing the changes without the 
referencing the model SE and the NSHC. Variations from the 
approach recommended in this notice may, however, require 
additional review by the NRC staff and may increase the time and 
resources needed for the review.
 
Applicability This proposed change to revise the TS completion 
times for selected CIVs is applicable to CE pressurized water 
reactors.
 
Public Notices In a notice in the Federal Register dated November 
13, 2003 (68 FR 64375), the NRC staff requested comment on the 
use of the CLIIP to process requests to extend the completion 
time for selected inoperable CIVs at CE plants as described in 
Revision 2 to TSTF-373.
 
TSTF-373, as well as the NRC staff's SE and model application, 
may be examined, and/ or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public 
Document Room, located at One White Flint North, Public File Area 
O-1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. 
Publicly available records are accessible electronically from the 
ADAMS Public Library component on the NRC Web site, (the 
Electronic Reading Room).
 
The NRC staff did not receive comments following the notice for 
comment about the use of the CLIIP for licensees to adopt 
TSTF-373. As described in the model application prepared by the 
staff, licensees may reference in their plant-specific 
applications to adopt this change to TSs, the SE, NSHC 
determination, and environmental assessment previously published 
in the Federal Register (68 FR 64375, November 13, 2003).
 
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of February 2004.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Robert A. Gramm, Chief, Section 1, Project Directorate IV, 
Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
 
[FR Doc. 04-3676 Filed 2-19-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 26 Rutland Herald: Entergy will start Yankee upgrade before federal OK 

- Feb. 20, 2004 

By SUSAN SMALLHEER Herald Staff 

VERNON - Entergy Nuclear plans to start more than $60 million in 
renovations to Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in April, even 
without approval from federal regulators. 

Entergy cannot start generating the additional power, Entergy 
spokesman Brian Cosgrove said Thursday, until the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission does approve the so-called uprate. 

Cosgrove said the company expected to have approval from the 
Vermont Public Service Board by mid-March, and could put key 
plant components in place in April even if it didn't have an NRC 
license amendment in place. 

NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said other nuclear power plants had 
started construction without a permit, as Entergy was planning at 
Vermont Yankee. 

"It's not unprecedented; other plants have made changes pending 
approval," he said, but a company risks losing its money if the 
approval doesn't come. 

"I can guarantee it doesn't prejudice us in any way," Sheehan 
said of the substantial investment at Yankee. "We will review 
their application on its merits and it will rise and fall on its 
merits." 

The NRC doesn't care if Entergy makes physical changes to the 
plant, he said, as long as it doesn't compromise the safety of 
the plant. 

Those changes include a new, high-pressure turbine, new 
feed-water heaters, and a rewind of its main generator. 

Meanwhile Thursday, the NRC announced that a new, revamped 
application from Entergy had been deemed complete. It contained 
an additional 200 pages about the proposed 20 percent power 
increase at Yankee, and was resubmitted almost three weeks ago. 

The normal 12-month NRC review period will start officially on 
Jan. 31, Sheehan said. He noted that the review could be shorter 
than 12 months. 

He said review areas would include steam dryer integrity, 
flow-accelerated corrosion, radiological consequences, 
containment building performance, the spent fuel pool and piping 
integrity. 

Entergy plans to shut down Vermont Yankee in early April for its 
regular refueling and maintenance outage. But this time, it plans 
to bring in an additional 600 employees to work on the uprate 
project. More than 1,000 extra contract workers are expected at 
the Vernon reactor. 

Exactly how much the renovations and retrofits will cost Entergy 
is not public, and Entergy site vice president Jay Thayer said 
Wednesday that since the expenditure would not affect any Vermont 
electric rates, the cost was proprietary.He did say the $60 
million renovation figure, given by Entergy last year, was now 
outdated. 

The state has estimated that Entergy would make $20 million a 
year in profit on the extra 110 megawatts it would produce in 
addition to its current 540 megawatts. 

"We would not be able to go forward without PSB approval," 
Cosgrove said, noting that Vermont utility laws covered "all 
kinds of utility construction," while the NRC only dealt with 
nuclear plants. 

"It's comparing apples and oranges," he said. 

Cosgrove said that Entergy wouldn't start construction if it 
doesn't have a certificate of public good from the Public Service 
Board. That board is considering putting off its decision, 
largely because the NRC timetable slipped by about six months - 
because federal regulators deemed the company's application for 
the power increase incomplete. 

On Wednesday, Thayer said the revamped application was submitted 
at the end of January, as he had told the Public Service Board in 
mid-January. In December, the NRC had sent the uprate application 
back to Entergy for more work, and at the same time William 
Sherman, the state nuclear engineer, raised concerns about a key 
problem with Entergy's uprate plan. 

New information on that problem area, which involved pressure in 
the reactor core, was included in Entergy's new application on 
Jan. 31, Sheehan said. 

It also contained more information about steam dryer cracking, a 
problem that has sprung up at other nuclear reactors that have 
undergone a similar power increase. 

There was additional information about the temperature of water 
being discharged back to the Connecticut River and how far the 
impact would be felt in the river. 

Sheehan said 4,000 NRC staff-hours would be spent on reviewing 
Entergy's proposed power increase. He said there would be 
hundreds of hours of on-site inspections, as well. 

"The review will include lessons learned from previous power 
uprates," Sheehan said. 

Entergy Nuclear will run out of storage for its old nuclear fuel 
in 2008, or 2006 if the power uprate is approved. The company 
plans to apply for state and federal approval for on-site dry 
storage of the fuel later this year, Thayer said. 

Contact Susan Smallheer at susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com.   

Copyright © 2004 Rutland Heraldand Barre-Montpelier Times Argus
*****************************************************************
 27 KRT Wire: Differences Remain over Fuel Storage for Connecticut Nuclear 
Power Plant

 | 02/20/2004 | 

By Patricia Daddona, The Day, New London, Conn. Knight
Ridder/Tribune Business News

Feb. 20--NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Closing comments Thursday at the 
Connecticut Siting Council hearing on dry storage of spent 
nuclear fuel at Millstone Power Station brought out the 
differences that remain between the plant operator and the town, 
with the council hinting that its preference might be for 
something in between. 

The council ended its public hearing by restating its interest in 
perhaps approving 69 garage-sized bunkers and steel casks at the 
site. Dominion Nuclear Connecticut has proposed building 135, and 
Waterford would like to limit the number to 19 through 2013. 

Fred O. Cunliffe, a siting analyst for the council, and other 
council members, grilled Dominion experts in a number of areas, 
including whether or not the storage facility would constitute a 
low-level radioactive waste dump, no matter what the size. 

Dominion officials said a final report on neutron activation of 
metal in the concrete bunkers at out-of-state dry storage sites 
shows that there is not enough radioactivity generated in that 
process to be declared low-level waste. 

But Waterford First Selectman Paul B. Eccard expressed 
reservations. 

"I have received no assurances from the applicant or in these 
proceedings," said Eccard, reading from a prepared statement, 
"that gives me ease or peace that the town or the state will ever 
again enjoy the ability to provide the public the leverage needed 
to protect the people from excessive or less than 
state-of-the-art methods of managing storage of this very 
dangerous material." 

At issue are concrete bunkers the size of garages that would each 
contain a metal cask for spent fuel rod assemblies. Today those 
assemblies are stored in cooling pools in anticipation of 
eventual transfer to Yucca Mountain in Nevada, a national 
repository not likely to be built, Dominion experts said 
Thursday, before 2015. 

Before applying for a permit from the state council, Dominion 
reduced its original plan for 234 bunkers and casks to 135 at the 
request of Waterford. The town, like the council, has the 
authority to regulate the company's use of its land and has 
argued Dominion should be allowed to provide no more than 19 in a 
first phase through 2013, and come back for more as needed. 

The Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone and Assistant 
Attorney General Robert Snook have also challenged the scope of 
Dominion's proposal, warning that the site could devolve into a 
permanent waste dump. 

Nancy Burton, representing the coalition, asked for an 
explanation of failure of dry casks at Dominion's Surrey power 
plants in Newport News, Va. She based her questions on expert 
written testimony from Kevin Kamps, a nuclear waste specialist at 
the Nuclear Information & Resource Service in Washington, D.C. 

Dominion officials testified that an outer seal on five casks 
failed but a monitoring device caught the problem, which turned 
out to be a water leak. Though outer seals were corroded, inner 
seals were not, and no spent fuel was released, they said. The 
company repaired the casks in the Surrey spent fuel pool with new 
corrosion-resistant seals. 

The NRC gave the company "high marks" for handling the problem, 
they said. 

Bolts loosened on another type of dry cask, but the casks at 
Millstone would be welded shut, they added. 

Dominion experts also argued against conditions of approval that 
would govern storage technology, since systems that work in one 
facility aren't always compatible with those elsewhere. 

As the hearing drew to a close, Council Chairwoman Pamela Katz 
resurrected her proposal from a Jan. 20 hearing session, for 19 
bunkers and casks plus 50 more for emergencies, but suggested 
that Dominion build an underlying concrete pad large enough for 
just 19 units. 

Dominion reiterated that 135 bunkers and casks are needed to 
accommodate the expected re-licensing of Millstone 2 and 3 
through 2045, and to ensure maintenance of "full core reserve," 
the capacity to remove all used fuel from the reactors. 

Millstone 2 will no longer have full core reserve capacity by the 
autumn of 2005, so if dry cask storage is allowed, spent fuel 
would be moved from that pool by the end of this year, Dominion 
officials said. Millstone 3 could lose full core reserve by 2020. 

There is no such urgency for Millstone 1, which is no longer 
operating. 

Limiting the bunkers and casks to 69 would take the company only 
through 2025, said Steve Scace, Dominion's director of nuclear 
safety and licensing. Whatever the council allows, the company 
intends to expand the storage facility only as needed, he said. 

The two functioning power plants, Millstone 2 and 3, are licensed 
through 2015 and 2025 respectively. Ideally, Scace and others 
said, 45 bunkers and casks are needed if Millstone 2 is 
relicensed through 2035, while 40 are needed for Millstone 3 
through 2045, with another 50 for backup. 

"We don't want to be right up against the limit" in terms of time 
or space, Scace said. "Also, looking at the certainty of 
operations, 10 or 30 more years of power operation makes a 
significant difference to us," he said, citing more reliable 
power generation and a more experienced workforce." 

Katz advised parties to the hearing to file briefs and closing 
arguments no later than March 22. Members of the public may make 
known their views to the council up to 30 days after the close of 
the hearing Thursday, she said. 

A transcript of the entire hearing will be made available at 
Waterford Town Hall, she said. A decision on the storage proposal 
is possible in March or April. 

----- 

To see more of The Day, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to 
http://www.theday.com

© 2004, The Day, New London, Conn. Distributed by Knight 
Ridder/Tribune Business News. D,   
*****************************************************************
 28 BJP: Palo Verde reactor taken offline - 

2004-02-20 - The Business Journal of Phoenix
 
Arizona Public Service Co. (APS), operator of the Palo Verde 
Nuclear Generating Station west of Phoenix, took Unit 2 out of 
service Thursday afternoon to address a small tube leak in one of 
the unit's two steam generators, APS officials said Friday. 

The rate of the leak falls well below regulations and 
administrative guidelines defined by the station's operating 
license and procedures, according to an APS announcement. 

"Our decision to take Unit 2 out of service was a conservative 
one," said Gregg Overbeck, senior vice president of nuclear 
operations for Palo Verde. 

Palo Verde Unit 2 houses two new replacement steam generators -- 
installed two months ago -- which act as heat exchangers where 
heat from the reactor continually turns thousands of gallons of 
water to steam. 

"Operators continually monitor these units very closely for 
situations like this and are trained to take steps that are 
appropriate and with safety in mind," Overbeck said. 

Units 1 and 3 are operating at full power. It is uncertain at 
this time how long it will take to complete the repairs and 
return Unit 2 to service. 

Palo Verde is jointly owned by APS, Salt River Project, Southern 
California Edison Co., El Paso Electric, Public Service Co. of 
New Mexico, Southern California Public Power Authority and the 
Los Angeles Department of Water & Power. 

APS, which operates Palo Verde on behalf of the station's six 
other owners, serves about 902,000 customers in 11 of the state's 
15 counties. APS, with headquarters in Phoenix, is the largest 
subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp. 

For more: www.aps.com, www.pinnaclewest.com. 

© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
*****************************************************************
 29 english.eastday.com: Power plant to relieve energy shortages

(Shanghai Daily news) 

A nuclear power plant under construction in Jiangsu Province will 
start generating electricity in May to help relieve the power 
shortage in the Yangtze River Delta. 

The power plant, which is located in Lianyungang City, has a 
designed generating capacity of more than 4 million kilowatts. 

Two generators being built in the first phase will each have an 
output of 1.06 million kilowatts. One of the generators will be 
ready for operation in May, and the other will be ready next 
year, officials with Jiangsu Nuclear Electric Power Co Ltd said. 

The date hasn't been set for the second-phase construction of the 
other two generators, the firm said. 

 present we are adjusting our facilities, and all is going well," 
said a company official surnamed Li. 

 project uses Russian technology in the hope of ensuring future 
operation is safe and economical. 

quotThis is one of the largest cooperation projects between 
Russia and China so far," said Li. 

He refused to disclose the amount of Russian loans, but he did 
say that a total of US$3.2 billion has been invested in the first 
phase. 

Apart from Russian loans, the project is also supported by 
domestic banks and companies, including China Power Investment 
Co, formerly a part of the State Power Co, China's energy 
monopoly, . 

The new plant will generate around 6 billion kilowatt-hours of 
power for the delta region annually. A power shortfall in the 
area is expected to reach 7 million kw this summer. 

The delta is largely dependent on coal, but the government is 
slowly shifting to more efficient energy sources. 

By 2010, electricity produced at nuclear power plants in the 
region will rise by more than 11 million kilowatts, officials 
with East China Grid Company Ltd estimated.

. Copyright (C) 2000 www.eastday.com. All rights reserved.   
*****************************************************************
 30 [du-list] UK Ministry of Defense Issues DU Warning Cards to
 
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 20:12:50 -0800

 
<x-flowed>
The British Ministry of Defence has issued cards to troops deployed to Iraq
warning that they may have exposed to depleted uranium dust and offering
uranium testing.

See http://www.traprockpeace.org/du_mod_warning_cards.html for the text of
the cards, downloadable photocopies of the cards (doc and pdf formats) as
well as international commentary on the developing controversy.

Why are not Iraqi citizens warned of their exposure to uranium dust and
offered tests?
Why are US soldiers not so warned or offered such tests?
Why isn't the US cleaning up the environmental contamination?
Why is the US still using DU munitions?
Why is the US major media (as opposed to major media in other countries)
mostly mum about depleted uranium use by the US military?

This in light of a January study that found US soldiers who are still
contaminated with depleted uranium 12 years after the end of Gulf War I.
http://currents.ucsc.edu/03-04/01-19/uranium.html and news that a British
veteran won a hotly contested disability appeal due to his contamination
with DU. http://www.traprockpeace.org/schott_12feb04.html


Best wishes,



Charles Jenks, attorney at law
President of the Core Group
Traprock Peace Center
103A Keets Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
413-773-1633; Fax 413-773-7507
charles@mtdata.com
http://traprockpeace.org



To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to 
du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.  In the body of the message type 
unsubscribe and send.
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
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</x-flowed>
*****************************************************************
 31 KRT Wire: Dangerous chemical ships poorly regulated

| 02/19/2004 | 

By PAUL ROGERS

 San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)

SAN JOSE, Calif. - On a blustery March night nine years ago, the 
Mundogas Europe, a Liberian tanker loaded with 36 million pounds 
of deadly chemicals, lost its steering and drifted toward the 
Golden Gate Bridge, and a potentially catastrophic collision. 

The ship's cargo of pressurized anhydrous ammonia - a highly 
toxic chemical used to make fertilizer - could have forced the 
evacuation of tens of thousands of people. With crew members 
screaming in the background, the ship's pilot radioed the Coast 
Guard, desperately seeking a tugboat. 

None were nearby. The pilot threw out both anchors, slammed the 
engines in reverse, and the 561-foot ship shuddered to a halt 300 
feet from the rocks at Fort Point. 

In the nine years since, there have been at least 23 mishaps 
involving chemical ships in San Francisco Bay, a Mercury News 
review of Coast Guard databases found. 

Yet today, there are still no rules to stop the next Mundogas 
Europe from colliding with a bridge, rocks or another ship, even 
though the number of chemical ships entering the bay has nearly 
tripled since 1995, to 171 last year. 

The Bay Area remains at risk, shipping experts say, because there 
are no rules requiring chemical ships to have tugboat escorts. 
Oil tankers, by comparison, must be escorted by tugboats that can 
stop them if they lose power, lose steering or suffer a fire - a 
law passed in the wake of the Exxon Valdez spill. 

"We know the consequences of something bad happening would be 
absolutely devastating to public health and the environment," 
said Bob Bea, a former Shell tanker captain and professor of 
engineering at the University of California-Berkeley. 

"Call it hubris, commercial drive or whatever; it keeps us from 
doing anything. But we know better." 

While there have been no major spills, chemical ships - which 
carry pesticides, solvents, acids, explosives and other hazardous 
cargo into the bay several times a month have lost steering, lost 
power and run aground, Coast Guard records show. 

On Feb. 22, 2003, for example, the Cefalonia, a 569-foot 
Panamanian tanker loaded with 27,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, 
ran aground in the mud near Pittsburg, Calif. Timothy McVeigh 
used only two tons of the same chemical, packed into a Ryder 
rental truck, to blow up the Oklahoma City federal building in 
1995. 

Such fertilizer ships typically unload at Stockton, Calif., and 
Sacramento, Calif. For three days, the Cefalonia sat helpless 
until a rising tide and three tugboats pulled it free. The ship 
had run aground in nearly the same spot 13 months earlier. 

"Anything that can go wrong on a boat will," said Russell Long, a 
former America's Cup captain who now is executive director of 
Bluewater Network, a San Francisco environmental group. "I'm 
afraid will take a major maritime disaster to focus the public 
spotlight on this industry." 

To be sure, the Coast Guard has put in place safety measures for 
chemical ships, mainly to protect against terrorism. 

Among them: Requiring ships to report cargos and crew names 96 
hours before arriving; flying armed marshals on helicopters to 
board the most hazardous ships while they enter the bay; and 
escorting some ships with a Coast Guard cutter. 

"Nothing comes in until I am satisfied," said Coast Guard Capt. 
Gerald Swanson, commander of the port of San Francisco. "If there 
is anything out of the ordinary, we don't allow the vessels into 
port. This is serious business." 

Under federal law, Swanson could order tugboat escorts for all 
chemical ships. 

"In an ideal world, it would be good to have six tugs on every 
ship," he said. "But that's not practical. It's not uniform with 
other ports. And we probably wouldn't have any ships coming here 
if we did that." 

A tug escort into the bay can cost a shipper $8,000. 

A tangled web of international treaties, state and federal laws 
makes it difficult for one port to pass safety rules that are 
stricter than other ports'. The shipping industry also has fought 
attempts by states to pass their own tanker safety laws, saying 
Congress should do it to ensure uniformity. 

But a surprisingly broad number of Bay Area political leaders and 
shipping experts have joined environmentalists in calling for a 
new state law or tougher Coast Guard rules. 

"Forget about oiled birds. This is serious health stuff," said 
Joan Lundstrom, a Larkspur, Calif., city councilwoman and member 
of the San Francisco Harbor Safety Committee, a state task force 
of shipping and government officials. 

"If anhydrous ammonia got loose, it could wipe out thousands of 
people," she said. "These ships need escorts. It works for oil 
tankers." 

Last year, Lundstrom led a state tug escort work group that 
decided not to recommend a new state law requiring the same tug 
rules for chemical ships as oil tankers. 

The task force concluded it couldn't draft a bill because the 
Coast Guard told panel members it doesn't keep a database of 
which chemicals come into the bay, she said. 

But the information is available from Customs. 

"Sure, we could tell somebody how much ethyl-methyl-something 
came into San Francisco in a year. We keep track of all of it," 
said Leo Morris, assistant director for field operations for 
Customs and Border Protection's San Francisco office. 

Lundstrom said the task force didn't know about the Customs 
database. 

CHEMICAL SHIPS 

The world's 2,000 chemical tanker ships are among the most modern 
and safest afloat, the shipping industry says. Most are 
double-hulled. 

"The reason most people haven't heard of them is because there 
really haven't been any incidents in the U.S.," said Margaret 
Doyle, a chemical ship expert with Intertanko in Washington, D.C. 

While many experts agree, some say the consequences of a disaster 
are too great to risk. 

"They said the Titanic was unsinkable," said Michael Shaw, vice 
president of Interscan, a Los Angeles firm that makes make gas 
detection devices for NASA, Dow and ships. "The possibility of 
some catastrophic thing occurring may be small, but when it 
happens it will be bad enough that people won't accept that we 
didn't act." 

One lawmaker already found a way to draft a bill. In 1995, state 
Sen. Bruce McPherson, R-Santa Cruz, introduced a bill requiring 
tug escorts for chemical ships. That bill, AB1742, defined 
"hazardous materials" as anything listed in Title 49, Part 172 of 
the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations - poison gas, flammable 
liquids, radioactive materials, explosives and other dangerous 
chemicals. 

McPherson removed the language at the request of former Gov. Pete 
Wilson's staff over fears of a lawsuit by the tanker industry, 
said Pete Bontadelli, Wilson's former top oil-spill official. 

Money is an issue too. State oil spill rules are funded by a 
5-cents-per-barrel tax. There is no such tax on chemicals. 

"Tug escorts would probably be worth exploring further," 
Bontadelli said. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of 
cure."   


*****************************************************************
 32 HSE: Statement of nuclear incidents at nuclear installations
 
Updated 20.02.04 

HSE Press Release E027:04 - 19 February 2004 

A statement on incidents at nuclear installations in Britain that 
meet Ministerial reporting criteria is reported to the Secretary 
of State for Trade and Industry and the Secretary of State for 
Scotland. Every quarter the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) 
publishes the report. 

For the period 1 October to 31 December 2003 there were no 
incidents at any of the nuclear licensed installations that met 
the reporting criteria. 

Notes to Editors 1. The arrangements for reporting incidents were 
announced to Parliament by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of 
State for Energy on 30 April 1987 (Hansard col. 203-204). A minor 
modification to arrangements for reporting on nuclear incidents 
was announced in HSE press notice E108:93 of 30 June 1993. 2. 
Normally each incident mentioned in HSE's Quarterly Incident 
Statements will already have been made public by the licensee or 
site operator either through a press statement or by inclusion in 
the newsletter for the site concerned. 

Statement of Nuclear Incidents at Nuclear Installations: Fourth 
Quarter 2003 - single copies of each free from the Information 
Centre, Health and Safety Executive, Room 004, St Peters House, 
Stanley Precinct, Bootle L20 3LZ. 

PUBLIC ENQUIRIES: Nuclear Safety Directorate Information Centre 
Tel: 0151 951 4103 Email: nsd.library@hse.gsi.gov.uk

PRESS ENQUIRIES: Journalists only: Paul Dyett 020 7717 6915.
*****************************************************************
 33 Ottawa Citizen: Uranium found in Maniwaki-area wells Health official urges well
tests across entire Outaouais 

 - canada.com network 
			
  Dave Rogers           

Friday, February 20, 2004 

The presence of natural uranium in some drilled wells on the 
Algonquin reserve near Maniwaki and around the town shows that 
wells in the Outaouais should be tested for the metal, the 
region's medical officer of health said yesterday.

Yesterday, the Outaouais health department warned people in the 
Upper Gatineau Valley to have their wells tested. But Dr. Lucie 
Lemieux said wells should be checked across the Outaouais, 
because she cannot guarantee wells elsewhere in the region are 
uranium-free.

Chief Jean-Guy Whiteduck said the Algonquins have known since the 
mid-1990s that about one-third of the reserve's wells contain 
more than the 20 parts per billion of uranium that Canadian 
drinking water standards allow. He said some wells off the 
reserve near Maniwaki contain up to 1,400 parts per billion. 
Other tests showed two types of radium in some reserve wells. 
Health officials warn radium absorbed by the body over time can 
cause bone cancer.

Dr. Lemieux said drinking water containing small quantities of 
uranium can cause kidney problems, but such problems are 
reversible when people consume water that is free of the metal.

"This story started a few years ago when Health Canada noticed 
there was uranium in the water on the Kitigan Zibi reserve and 
recommended that people drink bottled water," Dr. Lemieux said. 
"People who were living around the reserve asked us what they 
should do.

"We don't know yet whether this is more widespread than just the 
Upper Gatineau Valley.

"It is less likely to be a problem in Chelsea or Cantley, but I 
can't say there is no uranium in wells there. If you have a 
private well you should have the tests done."

Dr. Lemieux said private laboratories in the Montreal area can 
test well water for uranium for about $50. She said property 
owners can install filters to eliminate uranium from their water 
if the level is too high.

A spokeswoman for Accutest Laboratories of Nepean said a uranium 
test can be purchased for as little as $12.50, but there is a $20 
minimum for general testing.

The Outaouais health department plans to provide information 
about uranium in well water on its website, 
www.santepublique-outaouais.qc.ca.

Lionel Whiteduck, the director of health and social services for 
the Kitigan Zibi reserve 130 kilometres north of Gatineau said a 
Quebec Ministry of Health warning that wells near Maniwaki should 
be tested for uranium "tells only part of the story about well 
water."

Lionel Whiteduck said some wells contain radium. He said Health 
Canada officials told the band they should not drink the water 
because it could eventually cause bone cancer.

Federal government officials installed well water filters 
throughout the reserve, but they later removed them when 
scientists discovered they only concentrated the uranium.

"No one in the community is to consume the water for health 
precautions," Mr. Whiteduck said. "We can't use it for cooking, 
drinking or anything.

"One of the most important things that the province left out of 
the warning is that when the government found uranium it also 
found radium 226 and radium 228. In some wells where uranium was 
almost absent they found radium and nobody is talking about 
radium."

Mr. Whiteduck said some families purified their water using 
reverse osmosis, but the equipment became radioactive.

Indian Affairs advised the Algonquins to drink only bottled water 
and warned all residents not to allow any animals to drink well 
water. The department now supplies two 18-litre bottles of water 
a week to each family on the reserve.

Rolland Duguay, Health Canada's manager of environmental health 
services for aboriginal reserves in Quebec said uranium and 
radium may be in many wells throughout the region.

"Given that our studies showed that the problem is far beyond the 
reserve we have advised the public health people," Mr. Duguay 
said. "The problem depends on the rock formation underground and 
is not in every community.

"It goes beyond Kitigan Zibi and probably exists throughout the 
Outaouais."

Mr. Duguay estimated the cost of a complete water test for 
radioactive elements by a private laboratory at about $200. © The 
Ottawa Citizen 2004 

  Copyright © CanWest Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.
CanWest Interactive Inc. is an affiliate of 
*****************************************************************
 34 [NukeNet] Scientists Warn Of Immenant New Ice Age, What Might
 
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 20:12:45 -0800

 
<x-flowed>

   Dear All,
                   Aside from the catastrophe that
would ensue[ below] what might happen to nuclear
weapons and nuclear power plants as well as
research reactors and nuclear waste storeage
facilities?  Physically what may happen to them
due to extreme cold, extreme storms,
political/economic fallout that may engender
radically new political control of who's got their
finger on the button?

   The Pentagon is very much concerned as can be
seen through the January 2004 "Fortune" magazine
story at: http://www.heatisonline.org


    http://www.heatisonline.org
   http://snipurl.com/4mo0

http://www.heatisonline.org/contentserver/objecthandlers/index.cfm?id=4570&method=full

Scientists Warn of Imminent New Ice Age
Global warming will plunge Britain into new ice
age 'within decades'

The Independent (U.K.) Jan, 25, 2004

Britain is likely to be plunged into an ice age
within our lifetime by global warming, new
research suggests.

A study, which is being taken seriously by top
government scientists, has uncovered a change "of
remarkable amplitude" in the circulation of the
waters of the North Atlantic.

Similar events in pre-history are known to have
caused sudden "flips" of the climate, bringing ice
ages to northern Europe within a few decades. The
development - described as "the largest and most
dramatic oceanic change ever measured in the era
of modern instruments", by the US Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institute, which led the research -
threatens to turn off the Gulf Stream, which keeps
Europe's weather mild.

If that happens, Britain and northern Europe are
expected to switch abruptly to the climate of
Labrador - which is on the same latitude -
bringing a nightmare scenario where farmland turns
to tundra and winter temperatures drop below -20C.
The much-heralded cold snap predicted for the
coming week would seem balmy by comparison.

A report by the International Geosphere-Biosphere
Programme in Sweden - launched by Nobel
prize-winner Professor Paul Crutzen and other top
scientists - warned last week that pollution
threatened to "trigger changes with catastrophic
consequences" like these.

Scientists have long expected that global warming
could, paradoxically, cause a devastating cooling
in Europe by disrupting the Gulf Stream, which
brings as much heat to Britain in winter as the
sun does: the US National Academy of Sciences has
even described such abrupt, dramatic changes as
"likely". But until now it has been thought that
this would be at least a century away.

The new research, by scientists at the Centre for
Environment, Fisheries and Acquaculture Science at
Lowestoft and Canada's Bedford Institute of
Oceanography, as well as Woods Hole, indicates
that this may already be beginning to happen.

Dr Ruth Curry, the study's lead scientist, says:
"This has the potential to change the circulation
of the ocean significantly in our lifetime.
Northern Europe will likely experience a
significant cooling."

Robert Gagosian, the director of Woods Hole,
considered one of the world's leading
oceanographic institutes, said: "We may be
approaching a threshold that would shut down [the
Gulf Stream] and cause abrupt climate changes.
"Even as the earth as a whole continues to warm
gradually, large regions may experience a
precipitous and disruptive shift into colder
climates."

The scientists, who studied the composition of the
waters of the Atlantic from Greenland to Tierra
del Fuego, found that they have become "very much"
saltier in the tropics and subtropics and "very
much" fresher towards the poles over the past 50
years.

This is alarming because the Gulf Stream is driven
by cold, very salty water sinking in the North
Atlantic. This pulls warm surface waters
northwards, forming the current.

The change is described as the "fingerprint" of
global warming. As the world heats up, more water
evaporates from the tropics and falls as rain in
temperate and polar regions, making the warm
waters saltier and the cold ones fresher. Melting
polar ice adds more fresh water.

Ominously, the trend has accelerated since 1990,
during which time the 10 hottest years on record
have occurred. Many studies have shown that
similar changes in the waters of the North
Atlantic in geological time have often plunged
Europe into an ice age, sometimes bringing the
change in as little as a decade.

The National Academy of Sciences says that the
jump occurs in the same way as "the slowly
increasing pressure of a finger eventually flips a
switch and turns on a light". Once the switch has
occurred the new, hostile climate,lasts for
decades at least, and possibly centuries.

When the Gulf Stream abruptly turned off about
12,700 years ago, it brought about a 1,300-year
cold period, known as the Younger Dryas. This
froze Britain in continuous permafrost, drove
summer temperatures down to 10C and winter ones
to -20C, and brought icebergs as far south as
Portugal. Europe could not sustain anything like
its present population. Droughts struck across the
globe, including in Asia, Africa and the American
west, as the disruption of the Gulf Stream
affected currents worldwide.

Some scientists say that this is the "worst-case
scenario" and that the cooling may be less
dramatic, with the world's climate "flickering"
between colder and warmer states for several
decades. But they add that, in practice, this
would be almost as catastrophic for agriculture
and civilisation.



_______________________________________________________________________
Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/
Change your settings at:
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</x-flowed>
*****************************************************************
 35 Las Vegas SUN: DOE initiates probe into claim dust records changed at Yucca
 
ASSOCIATED PRESS 

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Energy Department officials have initiated an
investigation into whether notes were altered to misrepresent
potentially hazardous dust levels at Yucca Mountain. 

The request is expected to form a base for a broader probe into
worker health conditions during excavation and tunneling at the
southern Nevada nuclear waste repository site, the Las Vegas
Review-Journal reported Friday. 

Margaret Chu, director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive
Waste Management, requested the investigation in a memo
Wednesday. She attached excerpts from a 2002 deposition given by
Judy Kallas, a former project worker who claims a supervisor
ordered her to change her notes to reflect lower levels of
silica at the site. 

Chu called on Energy Department Inspector General Gregory
Friedman to investigate how dust levels were recorded. 

"I want to emphasize our commitment to address past silica
issues responsibly and as well to maintain a safe environment
for our current workers," Chu said. 

The Energy Department is attempting to contact more than 1,000
former workers and notify them of a free silicosis screening
program. Several former Yucca workers have claimed they
contracted chronic lung ailments after inhaling silica-laden
dust during excavation and tunneling. 

Besides asking for an investigation of the issues raised by
Kallas, Chu said she wanted to know why Energy Department
officials were not informed of the allegation earlier. 

Kallas, who was fired from Kiewit Construction in 1996 for
"disregard of authority and directions of supervisor," told the
Review-Journal she tried to report concerns to managers about
altering her notes, but was told to follow her supervisor's
instructions. 

"I said what they were telling me to do was illegal. Then they
reminded me that the only reason I was there was because DOE
required somebody with my credentials to be there," she said. 

Kiewit spokesman Tom Janssen said Friday his company is looking
into the allegations. 

"We're just becoming aware of this issue. We're taking it very
seriously," Janssen said. 

Chu and Deputy Director John Arthur said Thursday they are
seeking to broaden the investigation beyond the allegation of
falsified documents. 

They said they want a picture of worker conditions in the period
between 1992 when mining activities began and 1996 when tunnel
ventilation was improved and health protections were upgraded
and enforced. 

The Energy Department has acknowledged officials were aware of
potentially hazardous silica at Yucca Mountain, but workers were
not given effective respiratory protections until 1996. 

Until then, they were issued dust masks, but their use was not
enforced and their effectiveness was dismissed by workers. 

Arthur said an investigation could include the review of
government contracts with companies involved in construction at
Yucca Mountain, the site selected by Congress to hold some
77,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel and highly radioactive waste. 

"There are volumes of documents that we want them to look at,"
Arthur said. 

Investigators working for the inspector general were made aware
of Yucca Mountain health concerns in August 2003 by Gene Griego,
a Los Alamos, N.M., national laboratory employee who worked as a
tunnel supervisor. 

Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 36 New York Daily News: Boroughs - Nuke waste firm &foes to face NRC
 	 	
  By MELISSA GRACE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER 
    
  Williamsburg activist Deborah Masters speaks in front of 
Radiac, a facility for storing low-level nuclear waste. Foes say 
site could be target for terrorists.   
    
  Activist Linda Nagaoka totes her 9-week-old infant Nikko near 
Williamsburg Radiac facility.   
    

Local activists and officials from a nuclear waste site in 
Williamsburg are set to face off before the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission today.

 In a bid to shut a facility that they see as a potential 
terrorist target, community activists say Radiac Research Corp. - 
a block from Public School 84 - is a looming threat since Sept. 
11, 2001, and inappropriate in a residential neighborhood.

 "In a post-9/11 climate, this kind of facility should not exist 
within city limits," said Deborah Masters of Williamsburg's 
environmental group, Neighbors Against Garbage.

 "The potential for an incident or an accident that could create 
a dirty bomb is not worth the risk," she said.

 The group petitioned the NRC in the fall to close Radiac on 
national security grounds.

 The group contends the facility houses toxic radioactive waste 
and stores it next to highly flammable chemicals - and that a 
conflagration in the poorly secured facility could be as lethal 
as a dirty bomb.

 The federal agency granted the neighbors group petition a public 
hearing, and several activists and experts - including scientists 
from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Natural 
Resources Defense Council - will testify against the facility, a 
lawyer for the group said.

 Radiac's operations manager, John Tekin - who will testify in 
defense of Radiac along with their expert witnesses - denied the 
allegations the facility is unsafe.

 "NAG has made environmental claims that are untrue and 
inaccurate," Tekin said.

 The manager said Radiac stores only low-level nuclear waste and 
not refuse from nuclear power plants such as enriched uranium or 
plutonium.

 Tekin said 70% of the materials in the facility are innocuous 
items, such as bed linens, gloves and diapers used to treat 
cancer patients in New York hospitals. 

"You'll find more radioactive tritium in four exit signs in any 
New York City building than you'll find at Radiac," he said.

 Responding to activists' assertions that Radiac has little if 
any security, he said, "Does that mean we should have armed 
guards in our restaurants, libraries and hospitals?"

 Radiac is licensed to store radioactive waste by the state 
Department of Labor. If the NRC determines the facility is 
dangerous, it can revoke the permit.

 Department of Labor officials, which recently renewed Radiac's 
permit, declined comment on whether the facility is appropriate 
for a residential neighborhood.

 "Radiac has met all the requirements," said spokesman Robert 
Lillpop.

 Even so, at a press conference yesterday outside Radiac, elected 
officials and community leaders called on the NRC to shut it 
down.

 "In this era of Orange Alerts and Yellow Alerts, it's sheer 
craziness to put a radioactive waste facility in the most 
populated county on the Eastern seaboard," said City Councilman 
David Yassky. 

Originally published on February 20, 2004   


All contents © 2004 Daily News, L.P.
*****************************************************************
 37 Las Vegas RJ: Scientist echoes earlier worries about Yucca leaks 
 
Friday, February 20, 2004
 

Design of nuclear dump criticized By SCOTT SONNER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
 

RENO -- New data the past year substantiate concerns raised by
an independent U.S. panel of scientists about the potential for
leaks at the Yucca Mountain Project, the board's top
administrator said Thursday.
 
 The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board documented the new
evidence of potential dangers in a report to the Energy
Department in November and still awaits the Energy Department's
formal response, said William Barnard, the board's executive
director.
 
 His comments come in support of criticisms leveled by Paul
Craig, a University of California, Davis scientist who said he
quit the panel last month so he could speak more freely about
problems with the design for Yucca Mountain, where the federal
government wants to bury the nation's high-level nuclear waste.
 
 He is particularly concerned about heat from 77,000 tons of
decaying radioactive waste and spent fuel accelerating corrosion
of metal waste canisters.
 
 "The board always has had concerns about the uncertainty at
these high temperatures, and now that the data is coming, it
looks like there is a problem," Barnard said.
 
 "What has come to light in the last year is there is now
corrosion data that indicates there is a good possibility of
localized corrosion on most of the canisters during the `thermal
pulse,' the first 2,000 or 3,000 years where temperatures are up
in the 160- to 180-degree Centigrade range," he said.
 
 Craig said the November report "says in ordinary English that
under the conditions proposed by the Department of Energy, the
canisters will leak."
 
 He told about 100 people at a Sierra Club forum in Reno on
Wednesday night that the 11-member board Congress created in
1987 to monitor the science used at Yucca Mountain "is an
institution that turns out to know more about Yucca Mountain
that the Department of Energy does."
 
 The week after he resigned from the board, Craig told the
Review-Journal that in addition to lacking information about how
metal waste containers will hold up over 10,000 years, the
Energy Department also has failed to collect evidence about the
mountain's heat conductivity. 
Specifically, he noted that Yucca Mountain scientists haven't
bothered to collect data about heat conductivity in the
repository area. 
"If the mountain is a poor conductor of heat, then it's going to
heat up, and that's bad," he said in the Jan. 21 interview.
 
 The Energy Department is still preparing a response to the
board's report in November. Energy Department spokesman Allen
Benson said from Las Vegas on Wednesday that the agency stands
by its design but had no further comment.
 
 Margaret Chu, director of the Energy Department's Office of
Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, said in a letter to the
board on Dec. 17 that she was concerned about the board's
conclusions.
 
 "Our analyses do not suggest such results and I do not believe
that the data presented in the board's report support such
strongly stated conclusions," she wrote.
 
 But Barnard said from board headquarters in Arlington, Va.,
that Craig is raising "valid concerns."
 
 Craig, who was appointed to the board by President Clinton in
1997, "no longer speaks for the board" but remains a respected
scientist with a record of accurately portraying the board's
work, Barnard said.
 
 Craig said the Energy Department is "struggling internally to
decide what to do" given that a new design would take years to
develop and the agency hopes to make a formal application for
the project before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in December.
 
 "If they turn around, it would be enormously embarrassing to
the Bush administration, and there would be a lot of complaints
from the nuclear industry," he said.
 
 "They are in a box. I don't envy them one bit. My guess is the
scientific pressure is going to build up to the extent that
eventually the Department of Energy is going to have to change
its design."

Review-Journal writer Keith Rogers contributed to this report.
 
 
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
 38 Las Vegas RJ: YUCCA MOUNTAIN: Probe of tunnel notes ordered 
 
Friday, February 20, 2004
 

Energy Department may expand investigation beyond altered
records of workers' exposure to harmful dust By STEVE TETREAULT
and KEITH ROGERS
REVIEW-JOURNAL 

WASHINGTON -- Energy Department officials have initiated an 
investigation into whether Yucca Mountain Project field notes 
were altered to misrepresent tunnel workers' exposure to harmful 
silica dust. 

The request is expected to form a base for a broader probe into 
worker health conditions during early excavation and peak 
tunneling at the nuclear waste repository site a decade ago, 
Energy Department officials said Thursday. 

Margaret Chu, director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive 
Waste Management, requested the investigation in a memo 
Wednesday. She attached excerpts from a 2002 deposition given by 
Judy Kallas, a former industrial hygienist on the project who 
alleged that field notes were changed. 

Chu called on Energy Department Inspector General Gregory 
Friedman to investigate how silica dust levels were recorded 
during construction of the Yucca Mountain exploratory tunnel. The 
request followed a Review-Journal report this week on Kallas' 
allegations. 

Kallas discussed the issue in a deposition taken Oct. 16, 2002, 
as part of an unrelated gender discrimination lawsuit. She 
testified a supervisor ordered her to falsify her field notes to 
reflect lower levels of silica. 

The Energy Department is attempting to contact more than 1,000 
former workers and inviting them to free silicosis screenings. 
Several former project workers reported contracting lung diseases 
they believe stem from inhalation of silica and cancer-causing 
fibers in the tunnel. 

The program's present-day managers are trying to get their arms 
around the controversy, which reaches back years but came to 
light only in the past few months, Chu said Thursday. 

"I want to emphasize our commitment to address past silica issues 
responsibly and as well to maintain a safe environment for our 
current workers," Chu said. 

Besides asking for an investigation of the issues raised by 
Kallas, Chu said she wanted to know why Energy Department 
officials were not informed of the allegation until they read it 
in the newspaper. 

In an interview this week, Kallas, 52, elaborated on her 
deposition. 

Kallas, who has a master's degree from the University of 
Tennessee, described how her personal field notes were 
confiscated. 

Kallas said she was told what to write about the length of time 
that monitors recorded airborne dust levels inside the tunnel. 
She said those notes were taken as well and made the basis for 
official reports. 

On paper, the dust concentrations would appear to be diluted by 
time, or lower than they really were inside the tunnel, she said. 
Filters where the dust accumulated inside the monitors were sent 
to a laboratory for verification and analysis of what type of 
particles were in the dust. 

Kallas said her notes were altered quite often during the four 
months she worked for project contractor Kiewit Construction, 
from April 16, 1996, to Aug. 9, 1996. Kiewit constructed the 
tunnel from 1994 to 1997. 

Kallas was fired by the company for "disregard of authority and 
directions of supervisor," according to a copy of her employee 
profile. 

Officials with Kiewit's headquarters in Nebraska have not 
returned a telephone call placed earlier this week seeking their 
comment. 

When she tried to report concerns to managers about altering her 
field, Kallas said, notes she was told to follow her supervisor's 
instructions 

"I said what they were telling me to do was illegal. Then they 
reminded me that the only reason I was there was because DOE 
required somebody with my credentials to be there," she said. Chu 
and Deputy Director John Arthur said Thursday they are seeking to 
broaden the investigation beyond the allegation of falsified 
documents. 

They said they want a picture of worker conditions in the period 
between the initiation of mining activities, in 1992, and the 
1995-96 period, when tunnel ventilation was improved and health 
protections were upgraded and enforced. 

The Energy Department has acknowledged officials were aware of 
potentially hazardous silica at Yucca Mountain, but workers were 
not given effective respiratory protections until 1996. 

Until then, they were issued dust masks, but their use was not 
enforced and their effectiveness was dismissed by workers. "We 
don't know anything about it," said Chu, who was confirmed by the 
U.S. Senate in 2002 to lead the Yucca Mountain Project, which 
aims to entomb the nation's deadliest nuclear waste 100 miles 
northwest of Las Vegas. 

"What was DOE's role at the time? What was required and why was 
it not enforced?" 

Chu and Arthur made their comments during a scheduled Yucca 
Mountain Project management meeting held outside Washington and 
in interviews afterward. 

Arthur said program managers in Las Vegas were in contact with 
Friedman's representatives to discuss the parameters of an 
investigation. 

Arthur said an investigation could include the review of 
government contracts with companies involved in Yucca Mountain 
Project construction, field reports from the period and other 
documents. 

"There are volumes of documents that we want them to look at," 
Arthur said. 

Investigators working for the inspector general were made aware 
of Yucca Mountain health concerns in August 2003 by Gene Griego, 
a Los Alamos, N.M., national laboratory employee who worked as a 
tunnel supervisor. 

Wilma Slaughter, a spokeswoman for Friedman, confirmed the 
inspector general's office received Chu's request. She said it 
has been incorporated with other material that is being 
evaluated.
 
 
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
 39 Las Vegas SUN: Panel: Data back Yucca concerns

Today: February 20, 2004 at 11:42:12 PST 

By Scott Sonner ASSOCIATED PRESS 

RENO -- New data the past year substantiate decade-old concerns
an independent U.S. panel of scientists has raised about
potential leaks at a proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca
Mountain, the board's top administrator said Thursday.

 The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board documented the new
evidence of potential dangers in a report to the Energy
Department in November and is still waiting for DOE's formal
response, said William Barnard, the board's executive director.

 Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is planned to
begin receiving waste in 2010. About 77,000 tons of highly
radioactive waste at commercial and military sites in 39 states
would be stored in metal canisters underground in tunnels.

 Barnard's comments come in support of criticism leveled
Wednesday by Paul Craig, a University of California-Davis
scientist who said he quit the panel last month so he could
speak more freely about problems with DOE's design for Yucca
Mountain, especially the potential for high-temperature waste to
corrode steel waste canisters.

 "The board always has had concerns about the uncertainty at
these high temperatures and now that the data is coming it, it
looks like there is a problem," Barnard told the Associated
Press.

 "Those concerns date all the way back to the early 1990s,"
Barnard said.

 In the past year data have been gathered indicating a good
possibility of corrosion on most of the canisters during the
first 2,000 or 3,000 years of the repository's life "where
temperatures are up in the 160 to 180 degree Centigrade range,"
he said.

 Craig told the AP on Wednesday that the November report "says
in ordinary English that under the conditions proposed by the
Department of Energy, the canisters will leak."

 The Energy Department is still preparing a response to the
board's report in November. DOE spokesman Allen Benson said from
Las Vegas on Wednesday that the agency stands by its design but
had no further comment.

 David Cherry, spokesman for Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said
this is not surprising since every time a question about the
project is asked, be it this corrosion issue or the more than
200 remaining scientific questions on the project, the Energy
Department is not concerned with gathering more data.

 "I don't see them producing any evidence that has been helping
their case," Cherry said.

 Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear
Projects, said he could not think of a reason the department
would need to wait four months to meet with the board or at
least respond to their concerns.

 "How long have you been studying this site?" he said. "If they
were as together as they advertise themselves to be, they would
have sat down with the board -- they next day and talked with
them about this."

 Margaret Chu, director of DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive
Waste Management, said in a letter to the board on Dec. 17 she
was concerned about the board's conclusions.

 "Our analyses do not suggest such results and I do not believe
that the data presented in the board's report support such
strongly stated conclusions," she said.

 Barnard said from board headquarters in Arlington, Va., that
Craig is raising "valid concerns."

 "How you interpret those, the information and what it means for
the overall program, is the Department of Energy's decision. The
board is waiting for a response," he said.

 Craig, who was appointed to the board by President Clinton in
1997, "no longer speaks for the board," but remains a respected
scientist with a record of accurately portraying the board's
work, Barnard said.

 "He may be on a mission, but he certainly is not a disgruntled
board member," Barnard said.

 Industry leaders said there's still much disagreement over
whether the design must be altered.

 "The board's view, among the scientific community, is a
minority," said Rod McCullum, senior project manager for waste
management at the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington, D.C.

 The institute has no position on Yucca Mountain's design but
does not believe the licensing application should be delayed
regardless of whether corrosion concerns prompt revisions, he
said Thursday.

 "Even if the board is correct about this corrosion mechanism,
the answer would not be that the repository would have to be
delayed. If a concern comes up in the licensing process, it gets
modified," he said.

 Sun reporter Suzanne Struglinski contributed to this story.

 
 
*****************************************************************
 40 Las Vegas SUN: Hearing in LV to focus on nuke waste rail route

Today: February 20, 2004 at 11:55:58 PST 

By Suzanne Struglinski <suzanne@lasvegassun.com>

WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department's plans to ship nuclear waste 
to Yucca Mountain will be the topic of a March 5 congressional 
hearing in Las Vegas.

 After the department announced in December that it preferred the 
Caliente corridor route if it selected to build a rail line to 
move waste to the planned nuclear waste site, Rep. Jon Porter, 
R-Nev., requested a hearing from the House Transportation 
Committee on the subject.

 The hearing is set for 9 a.m. at the Clark County Government 
Center in Las Vegas, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway.

 "I remain deeply troubled that the Department of Energy has 
acted before Nevada's legal challenge to Yucca has concluded," 
Porter said in a statement announcing the hearing today. "There 
are many unanswered questions on the safety of nuclear traffic 
passing through many states along the proposed rail route. The 
possibility of train derailments or other mishaps, as well as our 
ability to respond to such accidents, must be addressed."

 Porter and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., both sit on the House 
Transporation Committee and Porter is the vice chairman of the 
House railroad subcommittee, which will sponsor the hearing. 
Subcommittee Chairman Jack Quinn., R-N.Y, plans to attend.

 "My primary concern is for the safety and security of America's 
railroad system," Quinn said. "Anytime hazardous materials like 
radioactive waste are transported via rail cars, it is incumbent 
upon Congress to ensure the safety of the communities impacted by 
the proposed routes."

 Tentative witnesses include officials from the Energy 
Department, the Surface Transportation Board, former Sen. Dick 
Bryan, Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for 
Nuclear Projects, and the state's transportation consultant Bob 
Halstead.

 Porter, who has not been in Nevada since December due to 
problems in his right ear, has been given permission by his 
doctors to fly after March 1, so he intends to be present at the 
hearing, spokesman Adam Mayberry said.

 Berkley, although not a member of the subcommittee, will also be 
at the hearing, spokesman David Cherry said.

 The subcommittee includes 14 Republicans and 12 Democrats, but 
Cherry did not have a list yet of who will travel to Las Vegas 
for the hearing.

 
 
*****************************************************************
 41 RGJ: Top official of scientific panel echoes concerns over Yucca leaks
 
Reno Gazette-Journal] 
	
By SCOTT SONNER

ASSOCIATED PRESS 2/19/2004 02:05 pm      

New data the past year substantiates decade-old concerns an 
independent U.S. panel of scientists has raised about potential 
for leaks at a proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca 
Mountain, the board’s top administrator said Thursday.

The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board documented the new 
evidence of potential dangers in a report to the Energy 
Department in November and is still waiting for DOE’s formal 
response, said William Barnard, the board’s executive director.

His comments come in support of criticisms leveled Wednesday by 
Paul Craig, a University of California-Davis scientist who said 
he quit the panel last month so he could speak more freely about 
problems with DOE’s design for Yucca Mountain, especially the 
potential for high-temperature waste to corrode steel waste 
canisters.

“The board always has had concerns about the uncertainty at these 
high temperatures and now that the data is coming it, it looks 
like there is a problem,” Barnard told The Associated Press.

“Those concerns date all the way back to the early 1990s,” 
Barnard said.

“What is different now, what has come to light in the last year 
is there is now corrosion data that indicates there is a good 
possibility of localized corrosion on most of the canisters 
during the ‘thermal pulse’ — the first 2,000 or 3,000 years where 
temperatures are up in the 160 to 180 degree Centigrade range,” 
he said.

Craig told the AP on Wednesday that the November report “says in 
ordinary English that under the conditions proposed by the 
Department of Energy, the canisters will leak.”

Later, he told about 100 people at a Sierra Club forum in Reno 
Wednesday night that the 11-member board Congress created in 1987 
to independently monitor the science used at Yucca Mountain “is 
an institution that turns out to know more about Yucca Mountain 
that the Department of Energy does.”

The November report said “Hey guys, the metal canisters you guys 
are proposing to use to sequester the waste, they’re going to 
rust, they’re going to rot, they’re going to leak,” Craig said.

The Energy Department is still preparing a response to the 
board’s report in November. DOE spokesman Allen Benson said from 
Las Vegas on Wednesday that the agency stands by its design but 
had no further comment.

Margaret Chu, director of DOE’s Office of Civilian Radioactive 
Waste Management, said in a letter to the board on Dec. 17 she 
was concerned about the board’s “conclusions that under the 
conditions associated with our current design, ‘widespread 
corrosion is likely to be initiated during the thermal pulse’ and 
this corrosion is ‘likely to propagate rapidly even after 
conditions necessary for initiation are no longer present.’ ”

“Our analyses do not suggest such results and I do not believe 
that the data presented in the board’s report support such 
strongly stated conclusions,” she said.

But Barnard said from board headquarters in Arlington, Va., that 
Craig is raising “valid concerns.”

“How you interpret those, the information and what it means for 
the overall program is the Department of Energy’s decision. The 
board is waiting for a response,” he said.

Craig, who was appointed to the board by President Clinton in 
1997, “no longer speaks for the board,” but remains a respected 
scientist with a record of accurately portraying the board’s 
work, Barnard said.

“He may be on a mission, but he certainly is not a disgruntled 
board member,” Barnard said.

“In terms of the corrosion issues, it is fair to say the board 
has been concerned that potential problems might arise from the 
high temperatures associated with DOE’s repository design,” he 
said.

Craig said the Energy Department apparently is “struggling 
internally to decide what to do” given that a new design likely 
would take years to develop and the agency hopes to make to a 
formal application for the project before the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission in December.

“If they blast forward like they are planning to do then I think 
they are heading for a shipwreck,” he told AP.

“If they turn around, it would be enormously embarrassing to the 
Bush administration and there would be a lot of complaints from 
the nuclear industry,” he said.

“They are in a box. I don’t envy them one bit. My guess is the 
scientific pressure is going to build up to the extent that 
eventually the Department of Energy is going to have to change 
its design.”    

 	     
Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett Co. Inc.Newspaper. Use 
*****************************************************************
 42 The Australian: States in the dark over N-dump fee 

By Rebecca DiGirolamo February 21, 2004

STATE governments have not been told they will be charged a fee 
to dispose of radioactive waste at a proposed national dump that 
Science Minister Peter McGauran wants open for business before 
the end of the year.

Mr McGauran told The Weekend Australian this week that the 
commonwealth would charge $1000 per cubic metre of packaged 
low-level radioactive waste for underground storage at a site 
east of Woomera, about 500km north of Adelaide. 

But the states were in the dark over the fee until contacted by 
The Weekend Australian. 

None will commit to using the dump until costings, the mode of 
waste packaging and transport criteria are provided by the 
commonwealth. 

Mr McGauran said each state would pay for the packaging and 
storage of its own waste, with a specialist transport contractor 
to be appointed by the commonwealth in coming months. 

He wants the dump to be operating by the end of the year to 
receive its first deposit -- a 3700cum stockpile of mostly 
commonwealth waste collected since the 1950s. 

The states and territories have amassed 151cum of waste for 
storage at the dump, according to a 2003 Department of Education, 
Science and Training audit. 

The Beattie Government in Queensland said yesterday that it 
wanted an explanation from the commonwealth over the $45,000 fee 
it will be billed for its share. 

"Only when the waste acceptance criteria, transport costs and 
waste acceptance costs are known will Queensland be able to make 
any decision (as) to whether it will use the ... repository," a 
Queensland Health Department spokeswoman said. 

The South Australian Government, which has attempted to stall the 
dump with political and legal obstacles, said it had not been 
told what the waste packaging and acceptance criteria were and 
would not meet Mr McGauran's deadline. 

"This whole process is just a shambles," state Environment 
Minister John Hill said. 

Mr Hill's comments follow a NSW parliamentary inquiry report 
handed down last Tuesday criticising the commonwealth's "failure 
to consult" over the dump as a serious concern. 

"As the commonwealth has not yet resolved transport routes and 
modes, pre-conditioning and packaging requirements, it is 
premature to talk about any waste facility or transferring any 
waste," said a spokeswoman for NSW Environment Minister Bob 
Debus. 

Victoria and Tasmania are considering using the dump but remain 
unsure how they will budget for the costs of packaging, 
transporting and storing the waste. 

Mr McGauran said the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear 
Safety Agency and his department had discussed waste acceptance 
criteria with the states and territories. "They have had plenty 
of time to plan for the disposal of their waste." 
		 		 		 
  privacy            © The Australian   
*****************************************************************
 43 RGJ: Meddling in science feeds state cynicism
 
Friday | Feb 20, 2004

RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
2/20/2004 12:28 am 	

Controversy over the safety of storing nuclear waste at Yucca 
Mountain becomes more understandable with scientists’ claims that 
the Bush administration is manipulating science for political 
purposes.

If the Yucca Mountain project is an example of what can happen 
when government becomes involved in the research review process, 
the scientific community is justified in jumping on this as 
quickly and as hard as it can.

Just this week a University of California physicist added his 
voice to the scientists charging that government agencies are 
tampering with and suppressing scientific research results. 

He walked away from his place on a federal panel, saying he wants 
to tell the truth about Yucca Mountain’s dangers. 

The panelists’ report showed the metal storage canisters would 
corrode and leak at high temperatures. It is instructive that the 
former panelist believed he couldn’t speak freely unless he 
resigned, especially after whistle-blowers withdrew from an 
investigation of reported flaws in the project’s quality 
assurance.

Safety has been the core of objections to the project and has 
been argued to no avail. 

Energy officials refused to consider the evidence and pushed the 
project forward.

Now comes a plan for the Office of Management and Budget to set 
guidelines for reviewing studies or risk assessments used by U.S. 
agencies. 

Researchers’ own peer review process is more stringent than any 
the government would impose. Accuracy and human benefit are 
hallmarks of scientific inquiry.

To certify the safety of radioactive waste when it would end up 
poisoning air and water is unconscionable. It risks the lives of 
future generations.

The government does have a role in ensuring scientific research, 
of course. Public safety is what regulatory limits are all about. 
To use a familiar refrain: The limits should be based on solid 
science.

There’s nothing the government will do to ensure scientific 
integrity that researchers can’t do or haven’t done for 
themselves in rigorous rules for testing and accountability. 
Scientists can be excused their activism on this.       

Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett Co. Inc.Newspaper. Use 
*****************************************************************
 44 CCDR: County gets Cotter extension 

2-20-04
 

[Canon City Daily Record - Canon City and the Royal Gorge Region, 
Colorado]   

 Health department deadline to issue license now Dec. 16 

Dennis Bloomquist Daily Record Staff Writer 

The Colorado Department of Health will issue Cotter Corp.'s new 
operating license between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, based 
on a review extension granted to Fremont County on Feb. 13. 

Cotter's new license will allow activities ranging from expanded 
operations including direct disposal of waste from other sites to 
immediate decommissioning, demolition and clean-up. 

The clock was reset when the Colorado Department of Public Health 
and Environment granted the county more time to review an 
environmental assessment of the activities proposed in Cotter's 
license application, explained Marion Galant, community 
involvement manager of the Hazardous Materials and Waste 
Management Division. 

Dec. 16 is now the deadline for the health department to issue 
Cotter's five-year license. 

According to a letter from Steve Tarlton, unit leader of the 
health department's Radiation Division, the commissioners now 
have until March 19 to file their response. The original deadline 
was Feb. 17, and the county requested the extra time on Feb. 12. 

The health department's letter granting the extension said, "The 
department agrees that the input of the Fremont County 
Commissioners is important to the license review process and does 
not feel that the requested extension of time would have a 
material effect on the department's ability to provide a timely 
review of the application." 

Based on the requirements of Colorado House Bill 1358, the 
county's response to the assessment triggers a new deadline for 
issuance of the new license. The health department has 270 days 
to evaluate Cotter's license application, public testimony and 
environmental assessments after receiving the county's response. 

According to the HB1358, Cotter is required to pay up to $50,000 
for an environmental assessment administered by the county. 
Fremont County commissioned the assessment, which was performed 
by a Boulder consulting firm. 

Howard Roitman, director of environmental programs for the health 
department, has said Tarlton or Gary Baughman, director of the 
Radiation Division, is most likely to make the final 
determination on Cotter's license. 

The health department rolled Cotter's request to receive an 
initial 24,000 tons of radioactive soils from Maywood, N.J. into 
the review of the overall license application. Cotter sued to be 
allowed to import the soils, which would be used to cap the 
tailings ponds. 

Tarlton said the primary factors being considered are Cotter's 
proximity to Cañon City, public comments, studies commissioned by 
the county at Cotter's expense, and technical studies. The health 
department Web site continues to receive citizen comments on the 
radioactive materials license. 

Cotter is governed primarily by laws from the Colorado 
Legislature and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Tarlton said. 

Cotter's operating license expired more than three years ago. 
However, a health department regulation under the heading 
"Expiration, Decommissioning and Termination of Licenses" states, 
"With respect to possession of radioactive materials and residual 
radioactive contamination, each specific license continues in 
effect beyond the expiration date until the department notifies 
the licensee in writing that the license is terminated."   
          
News and information is updated Monday - Friday at 5:00pm. Entire 
contents Copyright Ó 2004 Royal Gorge Publishing Corporation. All 
Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 45 Las Vegas SUN: Concerns About Yucca Mt. Leaks Echoed

February 19, 2004 

 By SCOTT SONNER ASSOCIATED PRESS 

RENO, Nev. (AP) - New data the past year substantiate decade-old
concerns an independent U.S. panel of scientists have raised
about potential leaks at a proposed nuclear waste repository at
Yucca Mountain, the board's top administrator said Thursday. 

The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board documented the new
evidence of potential dangers in a report to the Energy
Department in November and is still waiting for DOE's formal
response, said William Barnard, the board's executive director. 

Yucca Mountain, about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is
planned to begin receiving waste in 2010. Some 77,000 tons of
highly radioactive waste at commercial and military sites in 39
states would be stored in metal canisters underground in
tunnels. 

Barnard's comments come in support of criticism leveled
Wednesday by Paul Craig, a University of California-Davis
scientist who said he quit the panel last month so he could
speak more freely about problems with DOE's design for Yucca
Mountain, especially the potential for high-temperature waste to
corrode steel waste canisters. 

"The board always has had concerns about the uncertainty at
these high temperatures and now that the data is coming it, it
looks like there is a problem," Barnard told The Associated
Press. 

"Those concerns date all the way back to the early 1990s,"
Barnard said. 

In the past year, data have been gathered indicating a good
possibility of corrosion on most of the canisters during the
first 2,000 or 3,000 years of the repository's life "where
temperatures are up in the 160 to 180 degree Centigrade range,"
he said. 

Craig told the AP on Wednesday that the November report "says in
ordinary English that under the conditions proposed by the
Department of Energy, the canisters will leak." 

The Energy Department is still preparing a response to the
board's report in November. DOE spokesman Allen Benson said from
Las Vegas on Wednesday that the agency stands by its design but
had no further comment. 

Margaret Chu, director of DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive
Waste Management, said in a letter to the board on Dec. 17 she
was concerned about the board's conclusions. 

"Our analyses do not suggest such results and I do not believe
that the data presented in the board's report support such
strongly stated conclusions," she said. 

Barnard said from board headquarters in Arlington, Va., that
Craig is raising "valid concerns." 

"How you interpret those, the information and what it means for
the overall program, is the Department of Energy's decision. The
board is waiting for a response," he said. 

Craig, who was appointed to the board by President Clinton in
1997, "no longer speaks for the board," but remains a respected
scientist with a record of accurately portraying the board's
work, Barnard said. 

"He may be on a mission, but he certainly is not a disgruntled
board member," Barnard said. 

Industry leaders said there's still much disagreement over
whether the design must be altered. 

"The board's view, among the scientific community, is a
minority," said Rod McCullum, senior project manager for waste
management at the Nuclear Energy Institute in Washington, D.C. 

The institute has no position on Yucca Mountain's design but
does not believe the licensing application should be delayed
regardless of whether corrosion concerns prompt revisions, he
said Thursday. 

"Even if the board is correct about this corrosion mechanism,
the answer would not be that the repository would have to be
delayed. If a concern comes up in the licensing process, it gets
modified," he said. 

--- 

On the Net: 

Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board: http://www.nwtrb.gov

Yucca Mountain project: http://www.ymp.gov/

Nuclear Regulatory Commission: http://www.nrc.gov/

Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects:
http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 46 KVBC: DOE Asks For Investigation Into Yucca Mountain

February 21, 2004   

The Department of Energy has asked for an independent 
investigation into possible wrong doing at Yucca Mountain. A 
former worker at the nuclear waste project says her boss told her 
to alter documents about dangerous levels of silica dust. The DOE 
wants the Inspector General to look into the allegations. News 
3&#39;s Dana Wagnerreports a number of workers are now coming 
forward to talk about their exposure to the dust. 

An estimated twelve to fifteen hundred workers were exposed to 
the dust inside the tunnel at Yucca Mountain. Several say they 
have chronic lung problems, and some have even died. "I believe 
what happened to the men who are sick is criminal in nature." 
Senator Harry Reid says he'll hold congressional hearings to get 
to the bottom of this, but ultimately, he says the Department of 
Energy is responsible. "I think it shows DOE is driven by 
corporate America, by utility companies to get this project done 
as quickly as they can and to hell with the cost and people's 
lives." 

Several former workers say they are sick from breathing silica 
dust at Yucca Mountain in the mid 1990's while the five mile 
tunnel was being excavated. In a letter to Senator Reid, the DOE 
admits they were aware silica dust was present, and that dust 
masks were provided to workers, but their use was not mandatory. 

But the DOE won't admit the dust caused health problems, saying 
they will not know the extent of the potential health impacts 
until the medical evaluations are complete. "We haven't gotten 
started yet and we already have workers that are sick with 
illnesses because of digging in Yucca Mountain, where these 
workers should have been protected from the get go. Imagine, 
imagine what's coming." 

In 1996, the silica dust problem got so bad at Yucca Mountain, 
the Department of Energy issued a stop work order. More advanced 
protection equipment was provided to workers and their use became 
mandatory. The Department of Energy is looking for Yucca Mountain 
workers who might have been exposed to the dust. There is a 
silicosis screening program being conducted by the University of 
Cincinnati. To get in touch with them, call 1-866-716-1542.   

All content © Copyright 2000 - 2004 WorldNow and KVBC. All
Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 47 KRNV: Lawmakers schedule Yucca Mountain hearing for March in Las Vegas

February 21, 2004   

Lawmakers have scheduled a Congressional hearing in Las Vegas on 
the federal government's plan to ship nuclear waste to Yucca 
Mountain. 

The hearing is set for March fifth at 9:00 a.m. at the Clark 
County Government Center. 

Congressman Jon Porter requested the hearing after the Energy 
Department in December announced that it preferred the Caliente 
corridor route if it decided to build a rail to move waste to the 
Yucca repository. 

Porter says he is "deeply troubled'' that the DOE is moving 
forward before the state's legal challenges to Yucca have been 
resolved. 

He says there are many unanswered questions on the safety of 
transporting nuclear waste across the country. 

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)   

      All content © Copyright 2001 - 2004 WorldNow and KRNV. All
Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 48 Whitehaven News: MP WANTS VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN NUCLEAR INDUSTRY 
 
Published in The Whitehaven News on 19/02/2004 

  [Call for new nuclear build: The now closed down Calder Hall
power station at Sellafield]   

COPELAND’s MP JACK Cunningham is calling on his Labour government 
to show faith in nuclear by building a new power station at 
Sellafield to replace Calder Hall. 

He also wants BNFL to succeed in winning new reprocessing orders 
and secure a longer life for Thorp.

Rather than write off Sellafield as a future mainstay of a 
fragile local economy, the Prime Minister’s ex-Cabinet “enforcer” 
believes rejuvenation of the nuclear industry is one of the 
solutions for bringing wealth, health and prosperity to Copeland, 
in particular, and West Cumbria, in general.

Jack Cunningham is among those who are convinced the nation needs 
to embrace nuclear to meet its energy needs in this century and 
beyond.

“Sooner or later we are going to have to look to an expansion of 
nuclear power. BNFL are already well placed in terms of new 
reactor design. One thing is clear: if our existing nuclear 
generating capacity was allowed to close, our position in terms 
of international obligations would not be sustainable. I believe 
we are going to have to move to new build and I would like to see 
a new nuclear station built at Sellafield. That’s been my view 
for some time.

“I’ve got nothing against windmills but the reality is you can’t 
run a modern industrial economy solely on wind power. If the wind 
doesn’t blow we have no electricity,” he declared.

Apart from new build, Dr Cunningham wants Sellafield’s Thorp 
reprocessing plant operated to its full capacity and lifespan. 
This means more lucrative contracts having to be won to reprocess 
oxide fuel.

“We should be doing everything possible to get the maximum 
benefit from the global market in nuclear fuel and that also 
means full operation of the Mox plant at Sellafield.This will not 
only help conserve existing jobs but to provide new work and more 
jobs,” he insists.

While not playing down the potential consequences of the 
predicted rundown in Sellafield employment of around 8,000 jobs 
over the next 10 to 15 years, the MP went on: “I don’t 
necessarily share the view of all those who think there is 
nothing to come but doom and gloom with massive job losses. That 
view, eight to 10 years into the future, is likely to change 
significantly in the interim period. Nevertheless, we do face 
potentially some very large changes in the nuclear industry, 
these are some way ahead but we should start acting on them now. 
We have to gauge what the consequences would actually be if the 
worst came to the worst.

“I am very pleased we were able to persuade the Secretary of 
State to set up a task force to look comprehensively at the 
long-term future for the economy of West Cumbria. That’s a unique 
and favourable decision from our point of view. It means that 
across areas like transport, trade and industry, education, 
tourism etc the government will be looking at the future 
prospects for our economy involving all the relevant agencies.

“I think for the first time ever we’ve now got a government which 
is looking comprehensively at our future here.”

Dr Cunningham was influential in persuading the government to 
locate the HQ of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in West 
Cumbria, possibly in Copeland where Westlakes Science and 
Technology Park is the favoured site. He believes, like others, 
that the powerful new nuclear overlord, which will take over 
ownership of Sellafield (from April 2005), will prove a catalyst 
for economic spin offs through inward investment.

“Besides the enormous amount of work to be done in 
decommissioning, a lot of it at Sellafield, I am convinced this 
is going to attract other investment not just in nuclear 
expertise but in skills right across the board. There is a huge 
opportunity here for both existing and new businesses.

“I am currently talking to a number of American companies who are 
involved in the nuclear industry and hoping that if they are 
going to set up operations in the UK some of them will choose 
West Cumbria.

“You can say I am cautiously optimistic about the future of the 
West Cumbrian economy because there are exciting opportunities in 
other areas, such as the development of tourism and visitor 
attractions that have helped transform Whitehaven and Copeland in 
the last few years. On top of what is happening in places like 
Whitehaven Harbour and Muncaster Castle, I would like to see 
further expansion in hotel and other accommodation. Tourism is 
the biggest industry in the world and we have tremendous 
potential for further growth in Copeland in order to bring in 
more visitors and spending power.

“A lot of people, and not least a lot of money from the 
government, are helping to bring all this about,” insisted Dr 
Cunningham.

Asked about the prospect of a major, job-intensive manufacturing 
industry setting up in Copeland, the MP said: “We are unlikely to 
attract another Marchon Products or something like that. 
Realistically, we are looking for smaller, medium-sized and 
knowledge-based industries. Both Westlakes Science Park with the 
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will act as further magnets for 
new investment.”

Dr Cunningham believes that regional government would result in 
some welcome local decision making on major issues. 
“Circumstances in Copeland have been improving since 1997, things 
have dramatically changed for the better and I will go on working 
for more improvements and greater benefits,” he said.

Looking through his crystal ball, 15 years ahead, Dr Cunningham 
said: “In an ideal world I would like to see full, sustainable 
employment in West Cumbria, better job opportunities and incomes, 
more and more of our young people going through higher education, 
and also our agriculture continuing to make a big contribution.

“Hopefully, we will also see a big improvement in the health of 
our people. I really can see a better quality of life as Copeland 
and West Cumbria is increasingly regarded as a desirable place to 
live, work and visit by people who are sick of traffic 
congestion, commuting, inconvenience and the expense of city 
life.”
*****************************************************************
 49 DOE: Financial Assistance Rules

DOE: RIN 1991-AB66
 
                         FR Doc 04-3608 
[Federal Register: February 20, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 34)] 
[Rules and Regulations] [Page 7865-7867] From the Federal 
Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] 
[DOCID:fr20fe04-2] [[Page 7865]]
 
Financial Assistance Rules
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
 
ACTION: Final rule.
 
SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) is amending its 
Assistance Regulations to make changes in the solicitation 
requirements and the way the public is notified of funding 
opportunities that result in the award of grants and cooperative 
agreements. The Department's

Assistance Regulations currently require that solicitations or 
notices of solicitations be published in the Federal Register. 
Since March 2003, DOE has also been posting synopses of 
solicitations on the Grants.gov FIND module at 
http://www.Grants.gov. This is the government-wide Internet site 
for Federal agencies' announcements of financial assistance 
funding opportunities. DOE will continue providing notices of 
announcements of funding opportunities in both the Federal 
Register and at the Grants.gov FIND module until the effective 
date of this rule. After that date, DOE will no longer publish 
separate notices in the Federal Register, because the information 
is provided at the Grants.gov FIND Internet site. EFFECTIVE DATE: 
This rule becomes effective on March 22, 2004.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Trudy Wood, Office of 
Procurement and Assistance Policy, Department of Energy, at (202) 
586-5625.
 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background II. Explanation of 
Changes III. Procedural Requirements A. Review Under Executive 
Order 12866 B. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act C. 
Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act D. Review Under the 
National Environmental Policy Act E. Review Under Executive Order 
13132 F. Review Under Executive Order 12988 G. Review Under the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 H. Review Under the Treasury 
and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999 I. Review Under 
the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2001 J. 
Review Under Executive Order 13211 K. Review Under the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act IV. Approval of the 
Office of the Secretary of Energy I. Background The Federal 
Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 
106-107) directed agencies to work together to simplify and 
streamline Federal grant-making processes. As a result of the 
government-wide streamlining initiative, the Office of Federal 
Financial Management (OFFM), Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB), recently published several notices and policy directives. 
The first notice, published at 68 FR 37370 (June 23, 2003), 
issued a policy directive to establish a standard format for 
Federal agency announcements of funding opportunities under 
programs that award discretionary grants or cooperative 
agreements. The policy directive required Federal agencies to 
organize announcement information in this standard format to make 
it easier for potential applicants to quickly find the 
information they needed. The second OFFM notice, published at 68 
FR 37379 (June 23, 2003), established standard data elements for 
electronically posting synopses of Federal agencies' 
announcements of funding opportunities. The third notice, 
published at 68 FR 58146 (October 8, 2003), issued a policy 
directive to require Federal agencies to post synopses of their 
discretionary grant and cooperative agreement funding opportunity 
announcements on the Grants.gov Find module at 
http://www.Grants.gov. The purposes of the Grants.gov FIND module 
are to provide potential applicants with: (1) Enough information 
about any funding opportunity to decide whether they are 
interested in viewing the full announcement; (2) information on 
how to obtain the full announcement; and (3) one common Web site 
for all Federal grant opportunities searchable by key word, date, 
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number, or specific agency 
name.
 
This rule establishes the government-wide announcement format as 
the DOE format for announcements of financial assistance funding 
opportunities and the Grants.gov Internet site as the means of 
notifying the public of these opportunities. As part of its 
grants streamlining and simplification efforts, DOE began posting 
synopses of solicitations on the Grants.gov FIND module in March 
2003. In accordance with the Department's financial assistance 
requirements, DOE has continued publishing notices of financial 
assistance solicitations in the Federal Register and will 
continue to publish such notices until the effective date of this 
regulation. This should provide adequate time for the financial 
assistance community to become acclimated to the Grants.gov 
Internet site. The ability to realize efficiencies through the 
use of electronic processes justifies DOE's reliance upon them. 
Therefore, after the effective date of this regulation, DOE will 
no longer provide duplicative notices in the Federal Register and 
instead will rely exclusively on notices posted on the Grants.gov 
Internet site to inform the public of DOE financial assistance 
funding opportunities.
 
II. Explanation of Changes 1. In section 600.8, ``Solicitation,'' 
we have changed the title to ``Program announcements'' to be 
consistent with the OFFM policy guidance.
 
2. In section 600.8, paragraph (a) is revised to define program 
announcements.
 
3. In section 600.8, paragraph (a)(2), we deleted the requirement 
to publish either a copy or a notice of availability of a 
financial assistance solicitation in the Federal Register and in 
the Commerce Business Daily if potential applicants include 
for-profit organizations and there is potential for significant 
contracting opportunities. We also added a requirement to post 
synopses of announcements of funding opportunities at the 
Grants.gov Internet site. 4. In section 600.8, we have changed 
the title of paragraph (c) to ``Announcement format'' and added a 
requirement that DOE announcements comply with the 
government-wide standard announcement format. We have also 
deleted the list of items that must be included in a program 
announcement since OFFM policy guidance sets forth the format and 
content for each announcement.
 
5. Section 600.9, ``Notice of program interest,'' is removed 
because the requirements for notices of program interest are now 
covered in section 600.8. 6. In section 600.10, paragraph (b), 
``program announcement'' is substituted for the word 
``solicitation'' to ensure consistency with the revisions to 
section 600.8. III. Procedural Requirements A. Review Under 
Executive Order 12866 Today's regulatory action has been 
determined not to be ``a significant regulatory action'' under 
Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' 58 FR 
51735 (October 4, 1993). Accordingly, this action is not subject 
to review under that Executive Order by the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs of the OMB.
 
 
[[Page 7866]] B. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act The 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) requires 
preparation of an initial regulatory flexibility analysis for any 
rule that by law must be proposed for public comment, unless the 
agency certifies that the rule, if promulgated, will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.
 
Because DOE is not required by the Administrative Procedure Act 
(5 U.S.C. 551 et seq.) or any other law to propose financial 
assistance rules for public comment, DOE did not prepare a 
regulatory flexibility analysis for this rule.
 
C. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act This regulatory 
action does not impose any new information collections subject to 
the Paperwork Reduction Act.
 
D. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act DOE has 
concluded that promulgation of this rule falls into a class of 
actions that would not individually or cumulatively have a 
significant impact on the human environment, as determined by 
DOE's regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). Specifically, this rule 
deals only with agency procedures, and, therefore, is covered 
under the Categorical Exclusion in paragraph A6 to subpart D, 10 
CFR part 1021.
 
Accordingly, neither an environmental assessment nor an 
environmental impact statement is required.
 
E. Review Under Executive Order 13132 Executive Order 13132, 64 
FR 43255 (August 4, 1999), imposes certain requirements on 
agencies formulating and implementing policies or regulations 
that preempt State law or that have federalism implications. 
Agencies are required to examine the constitutional and statutory 
authority supporting any action that would limit the policymaking 
discretion of the States and carefully assess the necessity for 
such actions. DOE has examined today's final rule and has 
determined that it does not preempt State law and does not have a 
substantial direct effect on the States, on the relationship 
between the national government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various 
levels of government. No further action is required by Executive 
Order 13132.
 
F. Review Under Executive Order 12988 With respect to the review 
of existing regulations and the promulgation of new regulations, 
section 3(a) of Executive Order 12988, ``Civil Justice Reform,'' 
61 FR 4729 (February 7, 1996), imposes on Federal agencies the 
general duty to adhere to the following requirements: (1) 
Eliminate drafting errors and ambiguity; (2) write regulations to 
minimize litigation; and (3) provide a clear legal standard for 
affected conduct rather than a general standard and promote 
simplification and burden reduction. Section 3(b) of Executive 
Order 12988 specifically requires that Executive agencies make 
every reasonable effort to ensure that the regulation: (1) 
Clearly specifies the preemptive effect, if any; (2) clearly 
specifies any effect on existing Federal law or regulation; (3) 
provides a clear legal standard for affected conduct while 
promoting simplification and burden reduction; (4) specifies the 
retroactive effect, if any; (5) adequately defines key terms; and 
(6) addresses other important issues affecting clarity and 
general draftsmanship under any guidelines issued by the Attorney 
General. Section 3(c) of Executive Order 12988 requires Executive 
agencies to review regulations in light of applicable standards 
in section 3(a) and section 3(b) to determine whether they are 
met or it is unreasonable to meet one or more of them. DOE has 
completed the required review and determined that, to the extent 
permitted by law, this rule meets the relevant standards of 
Executive Order 12988.
 
G. Review Under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 Title II 
of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub.
 
L. 104- 4) requires each Federal agency to assess the effects of 
a Federal regulatory action on State, local, and tribal 
governments, and the private sector. The Department has 
determined that today's regulatory action does not impose a 
Federal mandate on State, local or tribal governments or on the 
private sector.
 
H. Review Under the Treasury and General Government 
Appropriations Act, 1999 Section 654 of the Treasury and General 
Government Appropriations Act, 1999 (Pub. L. 105-277) requires 
Federal agencies to issue a Family Policymaking Assessment for 
any proposed rule or policy that may affect family well-being. 
Today's rule would not have any impact on the autonomy or 
integrity of the family as an institution.
 
Accordingly, DOE has concluded that it is not necessary to 
prepare a Family Policymaking Assessment.
 
I. Review Under the Treasury and General Government 
Appropriations Act, 2001 The Treasury and General Government 
Appropriations Act, 2001, 44 U.S.C. 3516 note, provides for 
agencies to review most disseminations of information to the 
public under implementing guidelines established by each agency 
pursuant to general guideline issued by OMB.
 
OMB's guidelines were published at 67 FR 8452 (February 22, 
2002), and DOE's guidelines were published at 67 FR 62446 
(October 7, 2002). DOE has reviewed today's notice of final 
rulemaking under the OMB and DOE guidelines and has concluded 
that it is consistent with applicable policies in those 
guidelines.
 
J. Review Under Executive Order 13211 Executive Order 13211, 
Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use, 66 FR 28355 (May 22, 2001), 
requires Federal agencies to prepare and submit to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of OMB, a Statement of 
Energy Effects for any proposed significant energy action. A 
``significant energy action'' is defined as any action by an 
agency that promulgated or is expected to lead to promulgation of 
a final rule, and that: (1) Is a significant regulatory action 
under Executive Order 12866, or any successor order and (2) is 
likely to have a significant adverse effect on the supply, 
distribution, or use of energy, or (3) is designated by the 
Administrator of OIRA as a significant energy action. For any 
proposed significant energy action, the agency must give a 
detailed statement of any adverse effects on energy supply, 
distribution, or use should the proposal be implemented, and of 
reasonable alternatives to the action and their expected benefits 
on energy supply, distribution, and use. Today's regulatory 
action is not a significant energy action. Accordingly, DOE has 
not prepared a Statement of Energy Effects.
 
K. Review Under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act As required by 5 U.S.C. 801, DOE will report to 
Congress on the promulgation of today's rule prior to its 
effective date. The report will state that it has been determined 
that the rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
801(2).
 
[[Page 7867]] IV. Approval of the Office of the Secretary of 
Energy The Office of the Secretary has approved the issuance of 
this rule.
 
List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 600 Administrative practice and 
procedure.
 
Issued in Washington, DC on February 11, 2004.
 
Richard H. Hopf, Director, Office of Procurement and Assistance, 
Management/Office of Management, Budget and Evaluation, 
Department of Energy.
 
Robert C. Braden, Director, Office of Procurement and Assistance 
Management, National Nuclear Security Administration.
 
0 Part 600 of Chapter II, Title 10 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations, is amended as follows: PART 600--FINANCIAL 
ASSISTANCE RULES 0 1. The authority citation for part 600 
continues to read as follows: Authority: 42 U.S.C.7101 et seq; 31 
U.S.C. 6301-6308; 50 U.S.C. 2401 et seq. unless otherwise noted. 
Sec.  600.8  [Amended] 0 2. Section 600.8 is amended by revising: 
0 a. The section title. 0 b. Paragraph (a) introductory text. 0 
c. Paragraph (a)(2). 0 d. Paragraph (c). The revisions read as 
follows: Sec.  600.8  Program announcements. (a) General. Program 
announcements include any issuance used to announce funding 
opportunities that would result in the award of a discretionary 
grant or cooperative agreement, whether it is called a program 
announcement, program notice, solicitation, broad agency 
announcement, research announcement, notice of program interest, 
or something else.
 
(a)(1) * * * (a)(2) DOE must post synopses of its program 
announcements and modifications to the announcements at the 
Grants.gov Internet site, using the standard data 
elements/format, except for: (i) Announcements of funding 
opportunities for awards less than $25,000 for which 100 percent 
of eligible applicants live outside of the United States.
 
(ii) Single source announcements of funding opportunities which 
are specifically directed to a known recipient.
 
* * * * * (c) Announcement format. DOE must use the 
government-wide standard format to publish program announcements 
of funding opportunities.
 
Sec.  600.9  [Removed and Reserved] 0 3. Section 600.9 is removed 
and reserved. Sec.  600.10  [Amended] 0 4. Section 600.10 is 
amended in paragraph (b) by removing the word ``solicitation'' 
from the first sentence and adding the words ``program 
announcement'' in their place.
 
[FR Doc. 04-3608 Filed 2-19-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 50 DOE: National Energy Technology Laboratory; Notice of Availability of 
 
                         FR Doc 04-3741 
[Federal Register: February 20, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 34)] 
[Notices] [Page 7920-7921] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr20fe04-33]                         
 
a Funding Opportunity Announcement AGENCY: National Energy 
Technology Laboratory, Department of Energy (DOE).
 
ACTION: Notice of availability of a funding opportunity 
announcement.
 
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the intent to issue funding 
opportunity announcement no. DE-PS26-04NT42092 entitled ``Solid 
State Lighting Core Technologies''. The Department of Energy 
(DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), on behalf of 
the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), 
announces that it intends to conduct a competitive funding 
opportunity announcement. DOE has set aggressive goals for solid 
state lighting (SSL) research and development: by 2015, to 
develop advanced solid state lighting technologies that, compared 
to conventional lighting technologies, are much more energy 
efficient, longer lasting, and cost-competitive. The SSL 
operational plan features two avenues: core technology research 
and product development. The core technology program will focus 
on breakthrough technologies that are typically longer-term in 
nature. These technology breakthrough projects will enable the 
product development organizations to continue their development 
process in parallel in order to advance the SSL technology and 
meet the goals of the program. Subject to approval of an 
exceptional circumstance determination pursuant to the Bayh-Dole 
Act, (covering inventions of small business, non-profit and 
educational institutions) core technology project recipients will 
be required to enter into good faith negotiations intended to 
lead to the licensing of inventions conceived or first actually 
reduced to practice under the project to product development 
organizations on a non-exclusive, royalty bearing basis for a 
defined field of use. In addition, DOE plans to competitively 
solicit a SSL Partnership composed of manufacturers and allies 
that broadly represent the industry. The partnership will, among 
other things, provide input and prioritization of the core 
technology needs.
 
The intent of this announcement is to solicit and receive 
applications for the core technology research area. This research 
will support multiple enabling or fundamental solid state 
lighting technology areas for general illumination applications.
 
Applications should support the established mission of the 2003 
Solid State Lighting Work-shop (http://www.netl.doe.gov/ssl/) 
held in Washington, DC in November 2003. Applications will be 
subjected to a comprehensive technical review and awards will be 
made to a select number of applicants based upon the evaluation 
criteria, relevant program policy factors, and the availability 
of funds.
 
 
DATES: The funding opportunity announcement will be available on 
the ``Industry Interactive Procurement System'' (IIPS) Web page 
located at http://e-center.doe.gov on or about February 27, 2004. 
Applicants can obtain access to the funding opportunity 
announcement from the address above or through DOE/NETL's Web 
site at http://www.netl.doe.gov/business. Questions and comments 
regarding the content of the announcement should be submitted 
through the ``Submit Question'' feature of IIPS at 
http://e-center.doe.gov. Locate the announcement on IIPS and then 
click on the ``Submit Question'' button. You will receive an 
electronic notification that your question has been answered. 
Responses to questions may be viewed through the ``View 
Questions'' feature. If no questions have been answered, a 
statement to that effect will appear. You should periodically 
check ``View Questions'' for new questions and answers.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sue Miltenberger, MS I07, U.S. 
Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, P.O. 
Box 880, 3610 Collins Ferry Road, Morgantown, WV 26507-0880. 
E-mail address: Susan.Miltenberger@netl.doe.gov; telephone 
number: (304) 285- 4083.
 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: It is anticipated that $6.0 million of 
Federal funding will be available for awards under this program.
 
The anticipated funding would be available over multiple Federal 
fiscal years. Three to six awards are expected to be made in the 
fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2004. Consistent with the 
recommendations and conclusions of the November 2003, Solid State 
Lighting Workshop, applications will be considered in the 
following areas: Topic Area 1-- Inorganic; Subtopic (1a) High 
efficiency visible and near UV (380nm) semiconductor materials 
for LED based on general illumination technology; Subtopic (1b) 
Advanced architecture and high power conversion efficiency 
emitters; Subtopic (1c) High temperature, efficient, long-life 
phosphors, luminescent materials for wavelength conversion and 
encapsulants; Topic Area 2--Organic; Subtopic (2a) High 
efficiency, low voltage, stable materials for OLED-based general 
illumination technology (hosts, dopants, and transport layers); 
Subtopic (2b) Strategies for improved light extraction and 
manipulation; and Subtopic (2c) Novel device structures for 
improved performance and low cost. Only research that is 
consistent with these needs and represents fundamental 
advancements in the price and performance relationship for solid 
state lighting for general illumination applications will be 
considered for award.
 
Once released, the funding opportunity announcement will be 
available for downloading from the IIPS
 
[[Page 7921]] Internet page. At this Internet site you will also 
be able to register with IIPS, enabling you to submit an 
application. If you need technical assistance in registering or 
for any other IIPS function, call the IIPS Help Desk at (800) 
683-0751 or e-mail the Help Desk personnel at IIPS-- 
HelpDesk@e-center.doe.gov. The funding opportunity announcement 
will only be made available in IIPS, no hard (paper) copies of 
the funding opportunity announcement and related documents will 
be made available. Telephone requests, written requests, e-mail 
requests, or facsimile requests for a copy of the funding 
opportunity announcement will not be accepted and/or honored. 
Applications must be prepared and submitted in accordance with 
the instructions and forms contained in the announcement. The 
actual funding opportunity announcement document will allow for 
requests for explanation and/or interpretation.
 
Issued in Morgantown, WV, on February 10, 2004.
 
Dale A. Siciliano, Director, Acquisition and Assistance Division.
 
[FR Doc. 04-3741 Filed 2-19-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 51 DOE: National Energy Technology Laboratory; Notice of Intent To Issue 
 
                         FR Doc 04-3742 
[Federal Register: February 20, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 34)] 
[Notices] [Page 7921] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr20fe04-34]                         
 
a Funding Opportunity Announcement AGENCY: National Energy 
Technology Laboratory, Department of Energy.
 
ACTION: Notice of intent to issue funding opportunity 
announcement No. DE-PS26-04NT42089, entitled ``Million Solar 
Roofs Initiative Small Grant Program for State And Local 
Partnerships.'' 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE), pursuant to the DOE 
financial assistance rules, 10 CFR 600.8, is announcing its 
intention to solicit applications from State and local 
partnerships under the Million Solar Roofs (MSR) Program. DOE's 
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy will consider 
proposals from interested State and local partnerships to help 
fund their MSR program development and implementation activities.
 
 
DATES: The announcement will be issued mid-February 2004.
 
 
ADDRESSES: A copy of the announcement will be accessible through 
the Department of Energy, Industry Interactive Procurement System 
(IIPS) Web site at: http://e-center.doe.gov/ by browsing 
opportunities by Program Office for those funding opportunity 
announcements issued by the National Energy Technology 
Laboratory. DOE will not issue hard copies of the announcement.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James McDermott, Contracting 
Officer, at 215-656-6976 or electronically at 
james.mcdermott@ee.doe.gov. Responses to questions will be posted 
on the DOE IIPS Web site.
 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Energy's MSR 
Initiative is an initiative to support State and local 
partnerships who agree to install solar energy systems on one 
million buildings in the United States (U.S.) by 2010. This 
effort includes two types of solar energy technology: (1) Solar 
electric (photovoltaic) systems that produce electricity from 
sunlight, and (2) solar thermal systems panels that produce heat 
for domestic hot water, for space heating or for heating swimming 
pools. The partnerships bring together business, government and 
community organizations at the regional level with a commitment 
to install a pre-determined number (at least 500) of solar energy 
systems.
 
A complete description of partnerships and their representative 
activities can be found on the MSR Web site at 
http://www.MillionSolarRoofs.org .
 
Applications under the announcement must further the work of 
State and local partnerships, including partners in the building 
industry, State and local governments, utilities, the solar 
energy industry, financial institutions and non-governmental 
organizations, to remove market barriers to solar energy use and 
to develop and strengthen local demand for solar energy products 
and applications.
 
There are two types of grants available: Phase 1--New Partnership 
grants, and Phase 2--Meeting the Commitment grants. Only one 
application may be submitted per partnership in one or the other 
of the categories, but not both. Partnerships that have been 
awarded prior MSR partnership grants in the past may not apply 
for a Phase 1--New Partnership grant. Newly formed or existing 
partnerships that have not received prior MSR grants may apply 
for a Phase 1--New Partnership grant. Any partnership with the 
prerequisites may apply for a Phase 2-- Meeting the Commitment 
grant.
 
The project or activity must be conducted in a designated MSR 
State and local partnership area. There is no cost sharing 
requirement for these grants, although cost sharing will be one 
of the criteria considered. Subject to the availability of funds, 
multiple awards for a total of $1,500,000 (DOE funding) in Fiscal 
Year 2004 are anticipated as a result of this funding 
opportunity. The selected applicants will receive financial 
assistance under a grant. DOE will fund up to $50,000 per 
project. DOE anticipates funding approximately 30 to 40 grants in 
the amount of $10,000 to $50,000 each.
 
Funding opportunity announcement number DE-PS26-04NT42089 will 
include complete information on the program, including technical 
aspects, funding, application preparation instructions, 
application evaluation criteria, and other factors that will be 
considered when selecting applications for funding. No 
pre-application conference is planned. Issuance of the 
announcement is planned for mid-February 2004, with applications 
due 45 days after the announcement has been issued.
 
Issued in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on February 5, 2004.
 
Dale A. Siciliano, Director, Acquisition and Assistance Division.
 
[FR Doc. 04-3742 Filed 2-19-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 52 Knox News: Safety violation costs ORNL employee his job

Senior technician feels termination was extreme reaction to
accident

By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com
February 20, 2004

OAK RIDGE - Joseph Vought, a senior technician at Oak Ridge 
National Laboratory, severed the tendons in his left hand in an 
October band-saw accident. It required surgery and a lengthy 
rehab effort. 

What hurt even more was losing his job at ORNL, where for 17 
years he supported top-level materials research and worked on 
projects that brought patents and prestigious awards. 

 Vought was fired last week for violating safety procedures in 
the accident. He doesn't dispute the violations. But he said his 
firing was an extreme reaction so lab managers could demonstrate 
their safety commitment to federal bosses in Washington. 

"It was just a matter of them making me an example,'' he said. "I 
can't think of any prior case where someone was terminated over 
safety violations." 

Vought, 55, said his ill-advised behavior didn't put anyone at 
risk but himself. He said there have been more serious violations 
in the past, some of which resulted in radioactive releases or 
created workplace hazards. 

"Nobody got fired for those," he said. 

Jeff Smith, the lab's deputy director for operations, said he 
wouldn't comment directly on personnel issues. 

"But I will say there have been other staff members who have 
violated safety requirements and have been disciplined, up to and 
including termination," Smith said. 

Vought received his notice Feb. 10 after being medically cleared 
to return to work. But he said he pretty much knew he was going 
to be fired when his accident was mentioned prominently in a Nov. 
19 memo to staff from ORNL Director Jeff Wadsworth. 

In that scathing memo, Wadsworth said ORNL's safety record was 
below the standard of other research labs and that it was 
jeopardizing the lab's credibility with funding sources in 
Washington. 

He gave two detailed examples. One involved repeated safety 
violations at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, which led to a 
$151,250 fine from the U.S. Department of Energy. The other was 
Vought's accident, although Wadsworth didn't mention the 
technician by name. 

In the memo, which was distributed throughout the laboratory, 
Wadsworth said individuals must bear responsibility for their own 
safety. 

"This was not a case of the employee being injured by a freak 
accident beyond the employee's control," Wadsworth said. "Rather, 
the employee knowingly violated several fundamental safety 
procedures while using the equipment. If we are serious about 
changing the culture at ORNL, we simply cannot tolerate such 
indifference to safety." 

On Oct. 29, Vought was preparing for a furnace operation by 
putting notches into the stainless-steel sample holders. Research 
samples are notched before they're placed into a furnace so they 
can be identified in case of a mix-up. 

A small saw typically used in the operations was out of order, 
the technician said. 

"Without thinking, I just went to this larger saw and thought I 
could hold the sample while I notched it," Vought said. "But the 
saw jerked the material out of hand and jerked my hand up into 
the blade." 

The blade cut seven of the tendons in his left hand, as well as 
many of the nerves, he said. 

Vought admitted violating safety rules. But some of the 
violations, such as wearing gloves and a watch while using the 
saw, did not contribute to the accident, he said. 

"If they had given me a month off without pay or something 
commensurate with the seriousness of the violations, I wouldn't 
have minded," he said. "But I think termination was too much and 
a bad precedent." 

Vought, whose wife still works at ORNL, said it would be 
difficult for him to find comparable work in this region. 

Everett Bloom, director of the lab's metals and ceramics 
division, where Vought worked, was unavailable for comment. Vinod 
Sikka, a corporate fellow and research group leader, said some 
staff members thought the firing was an extreme response. 

"This is the first time, to my knowledge, that someone has been 
let go with a safety-related issue like this one," Sikka said. 

In his November memo, Wadsworth said he expected his managers to 
enforce operational discipline. And he issued this warning: 

"Employees who place themselves and the success of the laboratory 
in danger by ignoring safety rules and requirements face 
significant disciplinary measures, up to and including 
termination, regardless of whether the violation results in 
injuries." 

Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. 					

 					

 						
                                                                  
                                                                  
                                                    [Get 
Copyright Clearance] Copyright 2004, Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.
								
Copyright © 2004 The Knoxville News Sentinel Co. All Rights 
Reserved. 
*****************************************************************
 53 Las Vegas SUN: DOE inspector general to review silica charges

Today: February 20, 2004 at 10:32:16 PST 

By Suzanne Struglinski 
<suzanne@lasvegassun.com>

 WASHINGTON -- Allegations by a former employee of a Yucca 
Mountain contractor that she was ordered to change silica dust 
levels collected during tunneling operations will be reviewed by 
the Energy Department's inspector general's office.

 On Feb. 19 the office received a copy of JudyKallas' deposition 
containing the allegations from Margaret Chu, the director of the 
Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. Kallas claimed 
she was forced to change her notes during a deposition on a 
gender discrimination lawsuit.

 Chu wrote, "Because I take all allegations for record 
falsification and worker retaliation very seriously, I am 
requesting that you initiate an Inspector General review of the 
issue raised by Ms. Kallas regarding the recording of silica dust 
levels in 1996. Additionally, I would like for you to determine 
why DOE management was not informed of the allegation contained 
in Ms. Kallas's October 2002 deposition until February 17, 2004."

 The inspector general's office has incorporated these 
allegations into its ongoing efforts examining the silica 
exposure, according to Wilma Slaughter, a spokeswoman for the 
inspector general.

 In August 2003 the office had received information that during 
mining and tunnel work done 1990s Yucca Mountain employees may 
have been exposed to silica or other carcinogens, Slaughter said. 
This was added to other information received from Chu in January.

 The department started a silicosis screening program last month 
for former Yucca Mountain Project employees who helped dig the 
tunnel for research related to the plans to store 77,000 tons of 
nuclear waste there. It will try to contact employees through 
work records so they can be tested for the disease.

 In a letter sent to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., this week, the 
department admitted that it knew of silicosis levels during the 
mining and tunneling work but did not enforce mandatory 
protection rules. Reid has requested the Labor Department look 
into the matter and wants a congressional hearing.

 In her deposition Kallas complained about her Kiewit 
Construction supervisor making her change field notes on silica 
dust levels and the poor protection against the dust.

 "Whatever you get on your samples is what it is. He would make 
me change my field notes," Kallas said. "So when the silica 
levels were high and you were supposed to slap respirators on 
these people, they weren't doing it. Then when they finally did 
do it, they would put these little respirators on that after you 
had them on for 20 minutes they would not seal against your face. 
They were like falling off."

 
 
*****************************************************************
 54   Beacon Journal | 02/20/2004 | No bonus for utility employees
 
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No bonus for utility employees
 
FirstEnergy won't give extra check because of financial troubles
in 2003

 By Jim Mackinnon

 Beacon Journal business writer

 Related story: Watchdog warns that summer outages likely if
FirstEnergy, others don't head off problems 

About 14,000 FirstEnergy Corp. employees have 51 million reasons
to hope the Akron utility does a lot better financially in 2004
than it did in 2003. 

Because of financial problems last year, all of FirstEnergy's
14,000 employees -- from entry level to top executives -- lost
out on $51 million in short-term incentive bonuses, FirstEnergy
reported Thursday. That works out to an average of $3,642 per
person. 

Employees were told Wednesday and Thursday that they will not
get bonus checks in late February or early March, as had been
past practice. 

It's the first time since FirstEnergy was created in late 1997
that bonuses have not been given out, a spokeswoman said. 

The decision not to give out bonuses because the company missed
its financial and other corporate targets is ``a painful but
powerful reminder we need to do better,'' Richard Marsh,
FirstEnergy's senior vice president and chief financial officer,
told analysts. To give out bonuses, the company needed to
generate earnings in excess of its annual $1.50 common dividend,
he said. 

The company did not disclose the range of bonuses that employees
could have made, but said the individual amounts can vary
dramatically based on a person's job, performance and
experience. About 2,500 employees work in the Akron area. 

``It's not one set amount of money,'' spokeswoman Kristen Baird
said. ``Certainly the more you make, the more you have at
risk.... It can be a significant amount of money for an
employee.'' 

For example, Tony Alexander, now the company's chief executive
officer, received a $124,769 bonus in 2002, according to
Securities and Exchange Commission documents. In 2001, his bonus
was $372,652. 

FirstEnergy executives set higher benchmarks for the company to
meet this year in order for employees to get bonus checks in
2005, Marsh said. 

Corporate earnings 

Still, despite its operating and financial woes, FirstEnergy
reported that it made $422.8 million in fiscal 2003, or $1.39 a
share, on revenue of $12.3 billion. The company took in $300
million more last year than in 2002. 

FirstEnergy said its troubled Davis-Besse nuclear power plant
cost $289 million in 2003 for repairs and to buy replacement
power, cutting net income by $170 million, or 56 cents per
share. The utility was also hurt by the Aug. 14 blackout and its
aftermath, higher pension costs, a rate case in New Jersey that
lowered profits, the divestiture of assets in South America,
other noncash charges and the subsequent downgrading of its debt
by major ratings agencies. 

Not including Davis-Besse costs, an accounting change and other
unusual one-time items, FirstEnergy said it would have earned
$735.9 million, or $2.41 a share, last year. FirstEnergy
previously reported it spent $300million on Davis-Besse in 2002,
bringing the total cost to about $590 million over two years. 

Approval awaited 

The 883-megawatt Davis- Besse, which is about 7 percent of
FirstEnergy's capacity, is awaiting federal approval to restart
after two years of woes following the discovery of a large
corrosion hole on the reactor. 

A restart decision may be only a week or two away, a FirstEnergy
executive told analysts. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is
now discussing whether to allow the plant, about 25 miles east
of Toledo along Lake Erie, to be restarted. 

It's possible Davis-Besse may be making electricity by
mid-March, said Gary Leidich, president of FirstEnergy's nuclear
operating company subsidiary. 

FirstEnergy executives have had difficulty predicting when
Davis-Besse will be ready to restart. 

In releasing fourth-quarter and year-end earnings a year ago,
the company told analysts it expected the plant would be ready
to start up by April 2003. 

The NRC is not on a schedule to reach a decision, a spokeswoman
for the agency said. 

``It could be a week to a couple of weeks. It will take as long
as it takes,'' Viktoria Mitlyng said. 

Shares in FirstEnergy rose 4 cents to close at $38.19. The stock
price is up 9.6 percent year to date including reinvested
dividends, and is up 34.8 percent from a year ago. 

For the fourth quarter of 2003, FirstEnergy reported net income
of $109.4 million, compared to a loss of $58.2 million a year
earlier. 

The company made 30 cents per share, compared with a loss of 20
cents a share for the fourth quarter of 2002. Fourth-quarter
sales were $2.8 billion, down 6 percent from the $2.98 billion
reported a year ago. 

Search for executive 

Marsh said the company has started an external search for a new
chief operating officer following the promotion in January of
Alexander to chief executive officer. Alexander succeeded H.
Peter Burg, who died last month from complications during
treatment for leukemia. Finding a new COO will take three to six
months, Marsh said. 

FirstEnergy said it expects to generate about $825 million in
free cash flow in 2004, not including Davis-Besse costs, and
retire more than $1 billion in debt. The company expects to have
earnings between $2.70 and $2.85 per share, also excluding any
Davis-Besse costs and other unusual charges. 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Mackinnon can be reached at 330-996-3544 or
jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com  




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 55 U.S. Newswire: Energy Secretary Abraham Announces New Hydrogen Education Effort
 
 2/19/04 4:26:00 PM 

To: National Desk, Energy and Environmental Reporter 

Contact: Tom Welch of the U.S. Department of Energy, 202-586-5806 

LANSING, Mich., Feb. 19 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Secretary of Energy 
Spencer Abraham today announced a new effort to educate state and 
local government officials about the vision of a hydrogen 
economy. "Hydrogen Power: The Promise, The Challenge" is a six- 
city national tour to commence in Lansing, Mich. next month. 

Working with regional, state, and local partners, the U.S. 
Department of Energy will offer "Hydrogen 101" to state and local 
officials who do not have a technical background, but are 
interested in learning more about hydrogen and fuel cell 
technologies, hydrogen safety, and the challenges to achieving 
the hydrogen vision. 

"Achieving the vision of a hydrogen economy requires a revolution 
in the way we produce, use and store energy," Secretary Abraham 
said. "This revolution will succeed only through cooperation 
among federal, state and local partners. It's important that we 
share an understanding of how hydrogen fuel cell technology 
works, as well as challenges we face in realizing the vision." 

The "Hydrogen Power" workshop series will begin in Lansing on 
Tuesday, March 23, and is offered in partnership with Lansing 
Community College and Michigan's NextEnergy. The second stop is 
Austin, Texas, on Friday, April 16, in cooperation with the Texas 
State Energy Conservation Office and the Texas Clean Air Working 
Group. The series will travel to cities in the Northeast, Mid- 
Atlantic, Southeast, and West before wrapping up in the fall of 
2004. 

President Bush has called on the Department of Energy (DOE) to 
pursue the promise of hydrogen. Over the next five years DOE will 
invest $1.7 billion in research and development of advanced 
hybrid vehicle components, fuel cells, and hydrogen 
infrastructure technologies, as part of the FreedomCAR and 
Hydrogen Fuel Initiative. 

State and local governments play a critical role in achieving the 
hydrogen vision-facilitating the development of hydrogen codes 
and standards, laying the foundation for long-term change and 
building public acceptance. The hydrogen workshop series is a 
cornerstone of DOE's public education strategy for hydrogen, as 
recommended in the President's National Energy Policy. 



http://www.usnewswire.com/

/© 2004 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/ 			 		   		   			 		   		   
*****************************************************************
 56 Oak Ridger: Saving a slice of K-25's history, but how much? 							 							
 
Story last updated at 12:49 p.m. on February 20, 2004
							

REPORT: Three options are examined including demolishing the
entire structure, retaining the entire facility or retaining a
portion of the building. 

By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff


It's highly unlikely that the entire U-shaped K-25 building will
continue to stand in all its glory.

However, a recently released report provides some options for
preserving the historical significance of the building, which
covers 40 acres and is considered one of the "signature
facilities" of the Manhattan Project - a secret effort for
developing an atomic bomb during World War II.

Prepared by Ehrenkrantz Eckstut &Kuhn Architects, the document
also addresses the K-27 building. Both Department of Energy
facilities are located at the Oak Ridge K-25 site, which is also
referred to as the East Tennessee Technology Park.

Pictured is the U-shaped K-25 building, which is the subject of a 
recently released report. The document provides some options from 
preserving the historical significance of the building, which 
covers 40 acres and is considered one of the 'signature 
facilities' of the Manhattan Project - a secret effort for 
developing an atomic bomb during World War II.                                        
				 			
The report identified the K-25 building as the most important 
structure and examined three possibilities: demolishing the 
entire structure, retaining the entire facility or retaining a 
portion of the building. The K-25 building was the original 
gaseous diffusion facility at the Oak Ridge K-25 site where 
uranium was enriched initially for nuclear weapons and later for 
nuclear fuel.

"The assumption made is that K-27 will be demolished and 
interpreted through artifacts and other materials exhibited 
elsewhere," the architects' document stated.

Some of the K-27 artifacts could be displayed at the American 
Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, the architects 
suggested. K-27 was also formerly used to process uranium.

Both the K-25 and K-27 buildings are part of a cleanup program 
that Bechtel Jacobs Co. oversees for DOE. In December, Safety and 
Ecology Corp. was awarded a contract for the removal of excess 
material - about 415,450 cubic feet - from the two buildings.

Ultimately, the architects ruled out saving the entire K-25 
building, which currently still contains residual uranium and 
some other nuclear materials as well as uranium processing 
equipment and hazardous materials such as asbestos. Removal of 
the asbestos is about 60 percent complete.

"According to previous estimates, decontamination and retention 
of the entire K-25 building would cost roughly $1.44 billion," 
the document stated. "The funding for such a project is not 
likely to be in the realm of possibility.

"Furthermore, the maintenance and operational expenses for a 
clean structure of this size are assumed to be significant, and 
it is not clear that an organization willing to assume these 
costs could be found."

The architects did choose three so-called schemes for future 
consideration:

* "Scheme 1B" - Considered the least expensive, this involves the 
demolition of the entire K-25 building. A small sample of the 
equipment will be saved and displayed elsewhere. The original 
footprint of the building will be recreated in pavement, and the 
story of the K-25 site will be told at a new visitor's center.

* "Scheme 3A" - This option assumes that all of the building 
except the slab and a section measuring 350 feet by 400 feet - 9 
percent of the total structure - will be demolished. One piece of 
equipment that would be decontaminated and reinstalled would be 
the Roosevelt Cell - a piece of operating equipment that was 
spruced up for a planned visit by President Franklin D. Roosevelt 
that never occurred. The interior of the structure will be clean 
and able to accept visitors. Exhibit materials that explain 
K-25's operations could be placed in this structure while other 
artifacts would be housed in a new visitor's center.

* "Scheme 3B" - This option calls for the removal of the entire 
building except for the slab and an area measuring 550 feet by 
400 feet - 13 percent of the total structure. The remaining area 
will not be decontaminated. Visitors will be able to view the 
building and equipment through special glass barriers. A 
visitor's center is also called for in this scheme.

Cost estimates for tackling the three schemes are $475.6 million 
for 1B, $537 million for 3A and $501 million for 3B. Annual 
operational costs for the three schemes are $10 million for 1B, 
$19.3 million for 3A and $24.6 million for 3B.

As for the proposed visitor's center, the architects' report 
suggests that the facility will contain around 10,000 square 
feet. The center could be housed on the K-25 site in a new or 
existing building, or it could be located at the American Museum 
of Science and Energy.

In addition to the three design schemes that utilize the K-25 
building's footprint, the report suggests additional options that 
can be developed to commemorate the historical significance of 
the K-25 site. These include constructing a Cold War monument 
near the site, replicating the Roosevelt Cell and displaying it 
at the Southern Appalachia Railway Museum, publishing a book on 
the K-25 site and creating a new exhibit at the American Museum 
of Science and Energy.

However, the report by Ehrenkrantz Eckstut &Kuhn Architects warns 
that the ability of the K-25 site to attract tourism to a certain 
extent hinges on the ability of Oak Ridge itself to become a 
magnet. The existence of one isolated site will not be sufficient 
to sustain a tourism industry, the document states. Therefore, a 
holistic view of K-25 as one element within a larger context is 
required.

"The report contains a wide spectrum of options at varying 
costs," said Walter Perry, a spokesman for DOE's Oak Ridge 
Operations office. "We will be sharing this information with our 
consulting parties as part of our continuing discussions required 
under the National Historic Preservation Act."

According to Perry, several entities will be involved in the 
discussions including the city of Oak Ridge, the Oak Ridge 
Site-Specific Advisory Board, the Oak Ridge Reservation Local 
Oversight Committee, the Oak Ridge Historic and Preservation 
Association and the Tennessee Historical Commission and National 
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

"DOE is supportive of this process and does not have any reaction 
to the report in order to allow for a complete dialogue of the 
options presented by the consultants," Perry said.

According to Gary Hartman, DOE's local cultural resources 
management coordinator, a meeting has been scheduled from 8 a.m. 
to 4 p.m. on March 16 at the DOE Information Center for 
consulting parties to provide input on the options described in 
the report.

*****************************************************************
 57 WBIR: OAK RIDGE WORKER LOSES JOB AFTER CUTTING HAND   

WBIR-TV, Knoxville, TN
 
  First he nearly lost his hand trying to get his work done. Then 
Joseph Vought lost his job. 

The senior technician at Oak Ridge National Laboratory severed 
the tendons in his left hand in an October band-saw accident. 
Last week he was fired for violating safety procedures. 

"It was just a matter of them making me an example," Vought said. 
"I can't think of any prior case where someone was terminated 
over safety violations." 

He was given the news after returning to work following lengthy 
rehab and surgery. Vought, 55, had worked at the plant for 17 
years. 

Jeff Smith, the lab's deputy director for operations, said he 
wouldn't comment directly on the matter. 

"But I will say there have been other staff members who have 
violated safety requirements and have been disciplined, up to and 
including termination," Smith said. 

Vought said his ill-advised behavior didn't put anyone at risk 
but himself. He said there have been more serious violations in 
the past, some of which resulted in radioactive releases or 
created workplace hazards. 

"Nobody got fired for those," he said. 

Vought received his notice Feb. 10 after being medically cleared 
to return to work. But he said he knew it was coming after his 
accident was mentioned prominently in a Nov. 19 memo to staff 
from plant Director Jeff Wadsworth. 

In that memo, Wadsworth said ORNL's safety record was below the 
standard of other research labs and that it was jeopardizing the 
lab's credibility with funding sources in Washington. 

Wadsworth said individuals must bear responsibility for their own 
safety. 

"This was not a case of the employee being injured by a freak 
accident beyond the employee's control," Wadsworth said. "Rather, 
the employee knowingly violated several fundamental safety 
procedures while using the equipment. If we are serious about 
changing the culture at ORNL, we simply cannot tolerate such 
indifference to safety." 

Vought said the accident happened Oct. 29 when he was preparing 
for a furnace operation by putting notches into the 
stainless-steel sample holders. A small saw typically used in the 
operations was out of order, so he went to the larger saw. 

"But the saw jerked the material out of hand and jerked my hand 
up into the blade," he said. 

The blade cut seven of the tendons in his left hand, as well as 
many of the nerves. 

Vinod Sikka, a corporate fellow and research group leader, said 
some staff members thought the firing was an extreme response. 

"This is the first time, to my knowledge, that someone has been 
let go with a safety-related issue like this one," Sikka said. 
"The main thing is, are staff aware of what are the consequences 
of different events?" 
  
  
2/20/2004 1:47:16 PM Reporter: Associated Press Copyright Story 
*****************************************************************
 58 Pahrump Valley Times: DOE admits toxic screw-up

 - Nye County's Largest Newspaper Circulation
 
 		 February 20, 2004

By STEVE TETREAULT PVT WASHINGTON BUREAU
 	 
WASHINGTON - An Energy Department official said in a letter made 
public Wednesday that DOE was aware of potentially hazardous 
silica at Yucca Mountain from early studies but did not enforce 
health protections until 1996, after workers had excavated a 
large portion of the site. 

When mining operations at the proposed nuclear waste repository 
began in 1992, workers were given dust masks to shield inhalation 
of airborne silica particles, but their use was not mandatory, 
said Margaret Chu, director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive 
Waste Management. 

"After 1996, more advanced respiratory protection equipment was 
provided and its use was enforced," Chu said. Other protections 
and health screenings were added subsequently, she said. 

DOE estimates between 1,200 and 1,500 individuals were involved 
in carving a five-mile exploratory tunnel into Yucca Mountain or 
participating in experiments to determine its suitability for 
nuclear waste storage. The department has initiated a screening 
program to identify how many might have been exposed to toxic 
levels of silica or other cancer-causing fibers.

 Chu's remarks came in a letter sent Tuesday to Sen. Harry Reid, 
D-Nev., in the wake of reports that some former Yucca Mountain 
workers have contracted silicosis and other lung ailments they 
believe stemmed from their work at the site. 

Former workers said even when worn, masks were ill fitting and of 
little use against the clouds of dust kicked up during drilling, 
which was conducted "dry" so as not to interfere with 
experiments. 

Reid made the letter public on Wednesday. 

In turn, Reid urged the Department of Labor to intervene. "On its 
own, DOE has failed to protect these workers," he said. 

In a letter prepared to be sent Thursday, Reid asked Labor 
Secretary Elaine Chao to determine whether the Occupational 
Safety and Health Administration or the Mine Safety and Health 
Administration have authority to oversee worker issues at the 
Yucca site. 

"Yucca Mountain workers have contracted a fatal illness because 
DOE wasn't concerned with safety precautions," Reid said in a 
statement. 

Chu's four-page letter detailed safeguards implemented from 1995 
through 1998 and "rigorous respiratory protections" in place 
today. DOE officials could not be reached late Wednesday for 
further comment. 

Chu said DOE in August 1996 issued a stop work order to TRW 
Environmental Safety Systems Inc., its main contractor, "due to 
safety concerns" about respiratory protections for workers and 
began making improvements. 

"We do not know definitively how many workers may have been 
exposed to respirable silica that exceeded the threshold limit 
value, and we will not know the extent of the potential health 
impacts until medical evaluations are complete," Chu said. 

"We are making every effort to identify and locate each of these 
individuals," Chu said, and is offering them free silicosis 
screening arranged through the University of Cincinnati. 

Besides workers, DOE is attempting to contact individuals who 
made 20 or more entries to the tunnel in a year and will offer 
them silicosis screens as well, she said. 

"Only after the medical evaluations are complete and the results 
have been communicated to the participants will we know the 
extent of silicosis occurrences," Chu wrote. 
					 		   	 
For comment or questions, please e-mail 
webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com Copyright © Pahrump Valley 
Times, 1997 - 2003 
*****************************************************************
 59 Google News Alert - nuclear
 
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2004 12:57:35 -0800 (PST)

 
MALAYSIAN Inquiry Reveals Nuclear Path
Kansas City Star - Kansas City,MO,USA
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A Malaysian inquiry revealed that the father of
Pakistan's nuclear program sold uranium enrichment equipment to Iran for
$3 million ...
<http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/7996371.htm>
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PAKISTANI Admits Ties to Nuclear Suspect
Kansas City Star - Kansas City,MO,USA
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A Pakistani man named in US court documents as part
of a nuclear proliferation scheme acknowledged he had business dealings
with a main ...
<http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/8001551.htm>
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THE Dutch role in shady nuclear deals
Expatica - Netherlands
Suspicions of dodgy backroom deals have prompted the judiciary to investigate
a Dutch national and his alleged role in supplying nuclear technology
to Libya. ...
<http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=4878>
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LIBYA 'produced nuclear material'
BBC News - London,England,UK
The UN's nuclear watchdog has said Libya managed to produce a small amount
of plutonium using technology acquired on the black market. ...
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3508047.stm>
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OFFICIALS hold talks in Vienna over nuclear fusion plan
EU Business - London,UK
... Russia, China, the United States, South Korea and Japan held informal
closed-door discussions here Friday on plans to build a multi-billion
dollar nuclear ...
<http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/040220152314.39eewbwj>

PAKISTAN'S nuclear proliferation pangs
Business Line - Chennai,India
"INDIA ne apney nuclear scientist, Dr Abdul Kalam sahab ko President bana
diya, aur hamney apney national hero, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, ko zillat
di. ...
<http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/02/21/stories/2004022101630400.htm>
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IRAN denies military nuclear activity
Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney,New South Wales,Australia
Iran, accused by the United States of trying to build an atomic bomb, has
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MALAYSIA to release details of nuclear investigation
Hindustan Times - New Delhi,India
Police have finished investigating a Malaysian company's role in supplying
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STATEMENT of nuclear incidents at nuclear installations
Health and Safety Executive (press release) - UK
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NUCLEAR Sanity and Peace Imperative
Pakistan Times - Pakistan
IT is a strange paradox that nuclear weapons are detested and loved at
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 60 AFP: Officials hold talks in Vienna over nuclear fusion plan

VIENNA (AFP) Feb 20, 2004

 The European Union, Russia, China, the United States, South 
Korea and Japan held informal closed-door discussions here Friday 
on plans to build a multi-billion dollar nuclear fusion reactor, 
officials said.

But no final decision was expected on breaking the deadlock over 
where to base the International Thermonuclear Experimental 
Reactor (ITER), the officials added. The talks were to continue 
Saturday in plenary session.

Two sites, the French town of Cadarache and the northern Japanese 
village of Rokkasho-mura, are vying to host the 10-billion-dollar 
project.

The United States and South Korea are backing Japan while France 
has the support of the European Union, China and Russia.

Earlier Friday, the Japanese Nihon Keizai Shimbun said that Japan 
might start a new nuclear fusion plan if it failed to break the 
deadlock with France over the location of the project.

The economic daily quoted a ruling coalition source as saying 
Tokyo planned to notify the other parties of its intention at 
their meeting in Vienna on Saturday.

A Japanese official in charge of the ITER project denied the 
report.

"As we believe cooperation among the six parties is important, we 
are working to see an accord over the location," he said.

"We are making efforts to maintain the current scheme and have no 
intention of telling (the other partners) that we are breaking it 
up," he said, while declining to comment on what Japan would do 
if the talks broke down.

The Nihon Keizai quoted the anonymous ruling coalition source as 
saying the Japanese proposal would call for scrapping the plan 
and instead inviting participation in a Rokkasho-mura-based 
project.

The participation of the United States and South Korea would 
mainly be sought for the new project, it said.

ITER aims to test technology for nuclear fusion, billed as the 
clean, safe, inexhaustible energy source of the future, but it is 
not slated to become operational until 2014, and is expected to 
run for 20 years.

The six parties failed to decide on the site at a meeting in 
December.

  WAR.WIRE
*****************************************************************
 61 PoughkeepsieJournal.com: Papers show many facets of Einstein

  Friday, February 20, 2004
 
Graduate gives artifacts to school
 By Erikah Haavie
 Poughkeepsie Journal

  Kathy McLaughlin

Albert Einstein's 1930 pocket calendar and a July 22, 1948, 
manuscript are part of the Vassar College library's collection. 
 		 
    
  Kathy McLaughlin
A peace petition signed by Albert Einstein and Henry A. Wallace
is now in the collection at Vassar College's library.   

	 Albert Einstein wore fuzzy slippers. And he once co-signed a
petition with former Vice President Henry A. Wallace calling for
the outlawing of nuclear weapons.

A recently-acquired collection of more than 150 letters,
photographs, manuscripts and inscribed books at Vassar College
sheds new light into the personal side of the most renowned
scientist of the 20th century.

The letters document more than two decades of personal
correspondence between Einstein and former Vassar College
economics professor Otto Nathan, one of Einstein's closest
friends and the executor of his estate.

The collection, never before seen by the public, was held until
last fall by Vassar graduate Adele Gabel Bergreen of New York
City. Before giving it to Vassar, she and her late husband,
Morris Bergreen, received the collection from Nathan, a former
teacher and friend of Adele Bergreen. Nathan died in 1987.

Vassar's gift also includes a letter from Sigmund Freud to
Einstein and letters from Einstein's second wife, Elsa, to
Nathan.

So many items rare

While many colleges may have a single Einstein letter, it's rare
to have such a number of items covering so many years, said Ron
Patkus, head of archives and special collections at the Vassar
College library.

''I appreciate that it shows another side of his work, not just
his contributions to science,'' Patkus said.

Much of Einstein's work is housed at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem and Princeton University.

Don Skemer, curator of manuscripts at the Princeton University
library, was surprised to hear of the new collection. ''That's a
very nice acquisition for Vassar,'' he said.

While there is a certain formality to some of his letters, many
are what one would expect between friends: a postcard from
Einstein during his trip to Bermuda, a few thoughts to Nathan
hastily written on a scrap of paper with ragged edges.

Some are typed; others are written in a neat, even script on
plain, white paper. They are signed ''A. Einstein,'' or simply
''A.E.''

''Ah, that's a beautiful letter,'' Patkus said as he holds it
up. ''His

handwriting is very readable.''

Most are written in German and contain Einstein's views on
everything from nuclear weapons to the fate of Jews in Europe.
He touches on ''some of the most important issues of the 20th
century,'' Patkus said.

In one letter written in July 1936, Einstein says, ''The
developments in Europe are unspeakably horrible. The Lord God
appears to have appointed the devil to be the chief clerk of it.
The fascist danger here also seems to be on the move.''

An anti-nuclear petition shows only two names, Einstein's and
that of Wallace, Franklin D. Roosevelt's vice president from
1941-45 and, later, a leading critic of the Truman Doctrine and
Cold War containment policies.

Freud letter included

Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, writing in response to a
letter from Einstein in 1936, said he hopes Einstein will become
''a disciple'' when he gets to be Freud's age. Freud is
considered the father of psychoanalysis.

''I always knew that you were only in awe of me out of
politeness,'' Freud wrote.

Other parts of the collection show black-and-white photographs
of a bespectacled Einstein with fly-away hair, an Einstein who
frequently wore dark sweatshirts and a pen clipped to his collar.

In one undated photograph, Einstein sits on the front porch
steps, hands clasped around his knees, a grandiose pair of fuzzy
slippers on his feet.

The college knows little about the photographs of Einstein and
Nathan walking together in a garden, when they were taken or
where.

In a 1947 letter, Einstein writes in English, describing Nathan
as ''one of the most honest seekers for truth I ever met
personally.''

Jim Challey, a lecturer in physics and director of Vassar's
Science, Technology and Society program, said he plans to delve
into the letters in more detail.

As a graduate student at Princeton University, Challey used to
walk by Einstein's former house at 112 Mercer St.

One of the games students used to play in the college library
was trying to find library cards for books that Einstein signed
and checked out.

A wide range of people from historians to political scientists
should be interested in the collection. ''It makes available to
scholars all over another important piece of Einstein's work,''
he said. ''There's nothing more exciting than dealing with the
original materials.''

Challey said, ''There's something about him that captured the
public imagination.''

A special exhibition of the collection is planned for January
2005.

Resources

- The Morris and Adele Ber-green Albert Einstein Collection is
available for viewing by the public by appointment only. To make
an appointment, call 845-437-5799.

- See a list of items in the collection at
http://specialcollections.vassar.edu/einstein/

Excerpts

Einstein's letters in the Vassar College collection:

- Sept. 15, 1936, letter to Otto Nathan:

''The only good thing appears to be that Hitler in the awareness
of his power will commit enough stupidities to bring the whole
world against him.''

- Undated letter to Otto Nathan: ''The fate of European Jewry is
terrifying. What can possibly have survived?''

- Nov. 12, 1945, letter to Otto Nathan:

''The physicists have figured things out well in that they are
all against the secret armament and for the prevention of war on
an international basis but they are hesitant to draw the last
consequences, a world government which alone rules over military
power.''

Source: Vassar College library 
    
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