***************************************************************** 02/26/04 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 12.49 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 US: YellowTimes.org - ''Playing the Chalabi card'' 2 SF Chronicle: Danger in Iran 3 Hi Pakistan: Iran should show it had quit Nuclear programme - US 4 Daily Times: REGION: EU 3 haggled hard for Iran nuclear deal - diplo 5 Hi Pakistan: IAEA report on polonium discovery mere misunderstanding 6 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Bushehr nuclear plan process lagging 7 Scotsman.com News: Blair Demands Full Details of Iran's Nuclear Prog 8 Las Vegas SUN: N. Korea Says U.S. Stalling Nuclear Talks 9 PRAVDA.Ru: North Korea possesses atomic bomb? - 10 JoongAng Daily: China declares North is set for nuclear freeze 11 Las Vegas SUN: N. Korea Proposes Stopping Nuke Activities 12 BBC: North Korea makes nuclear offer 13 Hi Pakistan: China walks a tightrope between US, N. Korea 14 AU ABC: Korea nuclear negotiations continue 15 US: Las Vegas SUN: Official: 'Hydrogen Highway' Realistic 16 US: TOMPAINE.com: No Skunks Allowed 17 US: redandblack.com: General speaks on nuclear role 18 Bush: Statement on Libya 19 Haaretz: The nuclear debate proliferates 20 Las Vegas SUN: Israeli Nuke Whistleblower Eyes Release 21 Hi Pakistan: Pakistan committed to nuclear non-proliferation - Jamal 22 Hi Pakistan: Benazir trying to destroy Pakistan's image as responsib 23 Hi Pakistan: Bush-Musharraf equation 24 Hi Pakistan: Pakistan to maintain competitive edge of its nuclear pr 25 Hi Pakistan: Kazakhstan denies links to N-black market 26 Hi Pakistan: N-plan guarantees our security - Senate session 27 Hi Pakistan: Israeli nukes a mystery - IAEA 28 Whitehaven News: CREATING THE WOW FACTOR NUCLEAR REACTORS 29 DW: Let's Buy a Nuclear Plant 30 US: Bellona: Containment system tests completed on unit no.3 at Kali 31 US: Tennessean: Alexander backs more nuclear plants - 32 US: JOURNAL NEWS: Riverkeeper halts Indian Point lawsuit 33 Xinhuanet: DPRK tables proposal to freeze nuclear programs 34 US: NRC: NRC Issues Letter on Planned Davis-Besse Order 35 US: NRC: FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company; Notice of Withdrawal 36 Moscow Times: Nuclear Cleanup 37 Scotsman.com: British Energy Offers Turnaround Hope 38 US: Forbes.com: NRC sets inspections order for FirstEnergy nuke 39 Calgary Herald: Nuclear receives bulk of federal funding Ottawa trip NUCLEAR SAFETY 40 [Fwd: [du-list] IAEA DU Kuwait Report] 41 Pravda.RU British Minister says Russian technology for dismantling n 42 Japan Times: Bikini test survivors still living with blast 43 Japan Times: U.S. fumed over lack of access to victims 44 Japan Times: For Marshall Islands, nuclear legacy lives on NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 45 US: Deseretnews: Utah loses a round in battle on N-waste 46 NEWS.com.au: Nuclear agency downplays risk 47 Australian: Forum hears first details of N-dump 48 The Age: Nuclear agency downplays dump fears - - 49 UPI: Kyrgyzstan bans German waste uranium - 50 US: Las Vegas RJ: DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY: Waste set for test site 51 Las Vegas RJ: State seeks more Yucca funds 52 US: Record Eagle: BIG ROCK: Buried barrels discovered 53 US: Las Vegas SUN: More nuke waste to be shipped to Test Site 54 US: RGJ: Officials question radioactive waste plan 55 US: RGJ: Energy Department wants to withhold funds barring classific 56 Nevada Appeal: DOE wants to bring more nuclear waste to Nevada 57 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada seeking stable Yucca Mountain oversight 58 IPS: U.S.: Opposition Hardens as Bush Boosts Nuclear Waste Plan 59 Whitehaven News: GLITTERING PRIZES FOR PROSPERITY NUCLEAR WEAPONS US DEPT. OF ENERGY 60 Rocky Mountain News: Udall moves to help Rocky Flats victims 61 Knox News: BWXT, UT-Battelle deny problem with transfers 62 Knox News: OR worker admits to tampering with alarm 63 Knox News: Audit slams Y-12 for uranium work delays 64 NYT: Wider Investigation Sought at Hanford Nuclear Site 65 Tri-City Herald: FFTF news conference comes to abrupt halt 66 Las Vegas SUN: State threatens to sue Energy Department over funds 67 Las Vegas SUN: Classification request could be part of defense bill 68 lamonitor.com: DOE abandons proposed worker safety reforms 69 Oak Ridger: DOE lauds ORNL, Battelle environmental efforts 70 Newsday: Brookhaven - Safety proposal shelved 71 WATE Audit: Y-12 Restart of Bomb-grade Uranium Processing Years Over 72 The Hill.com Dingell: DoE letter 'bizarre' OTHER NUCLEAR 73 Google News Alert - nuclear ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 YellowTimes.org - ''Playing the Chalabi card'' Printed on Thursday, February 26, 2004 @ 00:05:06 CST   ( [Guest Editorial] By Ahmed Amr YellowTimes.org Guest Columnist (YellowTimes.org) – "As far as we're concerned, we've been entirely successful. That tyrant Saddam is gone and the Americans are in Baghdad. What was said before is not important. The Bush administration is looking for a scapegoat. We're ready to fall on our swords if he wants." With these words, Ahmed Chalabi publicly took the blame for providing false information to the American intelligence community. Isn't Chalabi an American citizen? Isn't there some kind of law against an American deliberately misleading one of his countries for the sake of another one of his countries? Why is Chalabi so unconcerned about the consequences of his admission? Does it have anything to do with helping the Bush administration diffuse some of the pressure from the so-called "intelligence failures"? Four months ago, I predicted that Ahmed Chalabi would come forward and fall on his sword as a martyr for the neo-cons. In this season of investigating deliberate "intelligence failures," the Chalabi card was bound to be played sooner rather than later. Now that the OSP is being probed for corrupting WMD intelligence, Chalabi has been thrown in to the battle to help the neo-cons dodge the blame for the consequences of the rush to war. It doesn't cost him anything. Chalabi's reputation is not exactly worth saving. Besides, he can pose as an Iraqi patriot who did what he had to do to get rid of Saddam. It should be noted that Conrad Black, a militant pro-Israeli activist, owns the Daily Telegraph, the arena Chalabi chose to fall on his sword. Richard Perle, a prime suspect in the engineering of the "intelligence failure," sits on the board of Hollinger, the parent holding company of the Telegraph. This little Chalabi dance was choreographed way in advance. It didn't take a genius to see it coming. Unfortunately for the neo-cons, the Chalabi card is unlikely to deliver a winning hand. Because Chalabi can not take credit or blame for the Niger Yellow Cake uranium "intelligence failure," the fictional al- Qaeda/Saddam meeting in Prague or the outing of Valerie Plame. Neither can he be held responsible for the delirious predictions of the neo-con establishment about cakewalks and other Likudnik fantasies. With that introduction, please consider reading the following article which correctly predicted that Chalabi would volunteer to fall on his sword for his neo-con brethren. Note that it was originally published on October 25, 2003. "Playing the Plame Game" By Ahmed Amr Editor of NileMedia.com Be certain of this. No journalist working for the Washington Post wants to play the Plame game. The same lack of interest is epidemic at other media monopolies like CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Fox. If you have any doubts about this assertion, use a search engine to verify the fact that they have not published a single story linking the Plame affair to the Office of Special Plans (OSP). Not a single major media outlet has bothered to probe the OSP link to the outing of a CIA agent married to Joseph Wilson IV. Why link the OSP to the Plame scandal? Why does the OSP link make The Washington Post so averse to playing the Plame game? The Office of Special Plans (OSP) was set up by Paul Wolfowitz to filter CIA and DIA intelligence to market the Iraq war. The scheme to dumb down intelligence was supported by Rumsfeld and Cheney and their neo-con advisers, Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby. It is highly unlikely that major players like Tony Blaire were unaware of these deliberate "intelligence failures." The long and short of it is that the OSP was a "circular" intelligence scam. First you concoct intelligence using operatives like Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress (INC). Next you discover the intoxicating concoction on the menu at Chalabi's place. Using his recipe you dismiss the findings of the CIA and DIA as too timid and unworthy of master chefs. You then selectively practice the art of the leak by contacting fellow travelers like FOX and CNN to come over for a taste of Chalabi's soup de jour. For good measure, Charles Krauthammer and Judith Miller also get invited for the main course. Last, for a final coup de grace, Judith Miller's WMD stories are put on the OSP lunchroom menu as a new item made of fresh leaks. The Post, along with the Times and the Wall Street Journal, had full concrete knowledge of the OSP intelligence scam. In fact, many of their reporters took an active part in leaking OSP "findings" or in originating OSP "intelligence." If the administration's post-war fantasies had materialized, the OSP wizards figured that a triumphant America would ignore the fact that Iraq had no WMDs, no connection to Al-Qaida and no role in the 911 atrocities. Just in case the Iraqi adventure ended up in a disaster, the Likudniks who staffed the OSP would blame it all on "intelligence failures" and pin the blame on Ahmed Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress. Chalabi had no problem volunteering for this role. He would submit to a few ceremonial lashes and then be excused. After all, he was a desperate man who just wanted to rid his country from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. But events outpaced the worst case scenarios of the OSP. Their post-war plan was a joke, the hallucination of an ugly Likudnik mind. And there was a serious glitch in the OSP backup plan to pin all the "intelligence failures" on Chalabi. The yellow cake uranium scam did not originate from Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress. When the CIA dispatched Ambassador Wilson to Niger to investigate if there were any substance to the story, he reported back that it was a crude fraud. The mainstream intelligence community concurred, except that the OSP conveniently "forgot" the CIA's finding. Wilson got irked when Bush used the famous sixteen yellow cake words in a speech to the nation. He wrote a critical article challenging the President and Bush was forced to eat all sixteen words. Tenent gallantly came forward and took the blame for this intelligence "failure." Like Chalabi, he also volunteered for a public flogging and the honor of administering the ceremonial lashes went to Condi Rice. Because her lashes where less than gentle, Tenent demanded that Condi also volunteer for a flogging. In Condi's case, the ceremonial lashes where administered by an unidentified senior administration official. Within a week, the whole nasty Plame affair had been put to rest. The Wilson story could very well have ended up as a single footnote in this saga of war and deception. Hans Blix and many others had already taken more serious swipes at the administration. But the White House neo-cons, arrogant as ever and addicted to a doctrine of revenge, decided to get even with Wilson. They chose Plame as the vessel for their vengeance. The first blow in the smear campaign against the Wilsons found a willing publisher in The Washington Post. This time the neo-cons had gone too far, if only because men like Ambassador Joseph Wilson IV don't take kindly to some Likudnik operative assaulting the career of their beloved AK-47 wielding Jane Bond wives. So, the Wilson clan took up arms and a whole bunch of livid, former intelligence agents joined the fray. An unmarked line in the Beltway swamps had been crossed. And we are nowhere near the final chapter. In this national security scandal, all roads lead to the Washington Post Company. But do not expect the Post or the Times to start playing the Plame game anytime soon. The OSP connection is why the Plame scandal is not your daddy's Watergate. For very good reasons, there will be no Woodwards or Bernsteins emerging from the ranks of the corporate media giants because pursuing the OSP link leads straight to their inner sanctums. It will expose quite a few of their media 'stars' for their active role in deceiving the public. This time, the Woodwards will have to be drafted from the ranks of some very agile, alternative journalists. Let the Plame games begin. The smart money says the winners will be independent journalists who don't give a rip about taking on The Washington Post or The New York Times. [Ahmed Amr is an American and the former editor of NileMedia.com. His writings have focused on the mass media's iron grip on the state. MediaMonitors.net, YellowTimes.org, PalestineChronicle.com, Yahoo and many other publications have published his work in the past.] YellowTimes.org is an international news and opinion publication. YellowTimes.org encourages its material to be reproduced, reprinted, or broadcast provided that any such reproduction identifies the original source, http://www.YellowTimes.org. Internet web links to http://www.YellowTimes.org are appreciated. ***************************************************************** 2 SF Chronicle: Danger in Iran EDITORIAL Thursday, February 26, 2004 IRAN'S PARLIAMENTARY elections have played out just as choreographed by the country's Islamic hard-liners, who seized control of the 290-member body from a former reformist majority that had been trying to liberalize Iranian life. The circumstances of the electoral shift, however, do nothing for the democratic credibility of the victors or their chief sponsor, the supreme national leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The transfer of parliamentary power is being achieved only through a classic exercise in political thuggery. The clerically dominated Guardian Council had disqualified some 2,400 reformist candidates, including 87 incumbent members of parliament who were thus prevented from standing for re- election. Reformists were kept off the ballot in about half the parliamentary districts, and religious conservatives won a clear majority of 156. Additional contests are subject to runoffs, but reformers and independents, with a total of about 65 seats, are not expected to gain significantly. The brazen electoral fraud by the Khamenei camp brought protests from the immediate targets of the conservative takeover, and from advocates of democracy around the world. President Bush and the foreign ministers of the Euopean Union joined in the criticism. The voting scam also demoralized much of the Iranian electorate, which had twice given lopsided victories to reformist President Mohammad Khatami. Millions of voters stayed home. Turnout of 51 percent nationally and less than 30 percent in Tehran was the lowest in the history of the Islamic republic. Major blame rests on Khamenei, who wields ultimate authority and could have insisted on fair elections by keeping the forces of political and social repression under control. Instead, the ranking cleric only went through the motions of softening the action of the Guardian Council, which reinstated an insignificant number of candidacies from those initially barred. There are some hopeful signs that the conservatives now taking over in parliament want to move toward the center on such issues as relations with the United States and adherence to international rules on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. One victorious bloc of hard-liners denies plans for wholesale reversal of reforms enacted by the last parliament and says it favors cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency on inspections of suspect facilities. That would ease fears about the aims of a branch of Islam that still has adherents denouncing the United States as "the Great Satan." We hope Iranians of goodwill survive to enjoy much better days. ©2004 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback | FAQ ***************************************************************** 3 Hi Pakistan: Iran should show it had quit Nuclear programme - US February 27 2004 WASHINGTON: Iran rejected calls for it to be more open about its nuclear programme while Washington said upon the latest report by the UN nuclear watchdog was further proof that Iran wants atomic weapons, a foreign news agency reported on Thursday. 'Iran has given enough answers to the agency's questions,' Hassan Rohani, head of the Supreme National Security Council and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, was quoted as saying by the official news agency IRNA. 'Iran needs to demonstrate verifiably to the (IAEA) and the international community that it has abandoned its efforts to develop a nuclear weapons capability,' US ambassador to the UN in Vienna, Kenneth Brill, told reporters. He said the IAEA report only strengthened the US view that Iran's programme 'is clearly geared towards the development of nuclear weapons'. Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 4 Daily Times: REGION: EU 3 haggled hard for Iran nuclear deal - diplomats Friday, February 27, 2004 * Iran sees no censure at key nuclear watchdog meet * Iran’s top nuclear negotiator hopes for cooperation with India * Blair says Iran must comply fully with IAEA VIENNA/BRUSSELS: Intense backroom negotiations among France, Britain, Germany, Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog persuaded Tehran to agree this week to suspend all activities linked to uranium enrichment, diplomats said. Under this deal, clinched on Monday and announced on Tuesday in the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) latest report on Iran, Tehran pledged to temporarily halt all major activities connected with the enrichment of uranium - including the manufacture, testing and assembly of centrifuges. Diplomats close to the negotiations told Reuters this could open the door to an exchange of peaceful technology, which the EU’s “Big Three” in October promised Iran if it accepted snap IAEA inspections of its nuclear facilities and suspended enrichment. “It’s the beginning of mainstreaming Iran with Europe, which I think is very important,” said a senior Vienna-based official familiar with the IAEA report on Iran. The report said Tehran would issue instructions for the implementation of the suspension by the first week of March. An EU diplomatic source said Britain, France and Germany had indicated to Iran that it would get a positive report and the IAEA board might not even adopt any fresh resolution on Iranian compliance issues next month if it agreed to a complete halt. “It took intensive contacts on Saturday, Sunday and Monday in particular until we got full agreement of the Iranians to a total suspension including the centrifuges,” the source said. “Monday was tight.” Diplomats said the suspension was the main topic discussed at a secret meeting in Vienna on Saturday between IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei and Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator and head of the Supreme National Security Council, Hassan Rohani. “If there had not been an agreement on total suspension, it could have moved forward to open the (UN) sanctions process. But this agreement will allow Iran not to go to the Security Council and maybe not even to have a Board of Governors resolution at all,” the EU source said. Once the report came out, several Western diplomats said Washington was left with little support for a resolution of “non-compliance” with its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and for a Council report. EU diplomats said the Big Three’s strategy was to look to the future and stop Iran from closing the nuclear fuel enrichment cycle rather than focusing on the past. Washington, on the other hand, is unwilling to overlook any defunct weapons-related activities that might have gone on in the past. Iran sees no censor: Iran’s top nuclear negotiator said on Thursday he did not believe the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would censure Tehran for its nuclear programme at a crucial meeting next month. Hassan Rohani, head of the Supreme National Security Council told reporters that a report on Iran this week by the UN’s nuclear watchdog had used softer language than previous assessments. “It is highly unlikely in the upcoming meeting they are going to have a resolution on Iran,” Rohani told reporters after regular talks in New Delhi, a close ally and one of the world’s nuclear powers. “We are purely engaged in the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” Rohani said through a translator. “We will not bow to pressure on us as a result of unlawful measures by America or, for that matter, by any other country.” Blair: British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Thursday Iran must comply completely with the demands of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog by divulging full details of its secret weapons programmes. “I want to make it very clear to the Iranian authorities that there must be complete and total compliance with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency),” Blair told a news conference. “There can’t be any partial compliance with that. The demands they have made have to be met and be met in full.” —Reuters/AFP Home | Foreign US rewards Libya with deeper ties Libya begins to destroy chemical weapons today Russia accuses NATO of spying on military facilities Haiti rebels say attack on capital imminent North Korea offered energy aid concession Human rights on the agenda Qatar charges Russian agents with murder Bush says US will smooth Georgia-Russia ties Greek Cypriots accuse Denktash of undermining peace talks Iraq dispute brings James Bonds out of the shadows Blair announces commission on Africa’s problems Peres says he wants West Bank pullout Charity cake poisons 85 Lebanon children EU moves closer to banning chemical ‘dirty dozen’ REGION: EU 3 haggled hard for Iran nuclear deal: diplomats Reformers demand Khatami explain ‘unfair’ elections US slams Sri Lanka rebels for rights abuses Pilot killed in Indian plane crash US won’t participate in Myanmar talks NATO considers expansion ahead of Afghan polls Forced marriages contributing to women suicides in Afghanistan Lankan president seeks talks with Tigers Daily Times - All Rights Reserved Site developed and hosted by WorldCALL Internet Solutions ***************************************************************** 5 Hi Pakistan: IAEA report on polonium discovery mere misunderstanding - Iran February 27 2004 TEHRAN: The report of the United Nations on discovery of polonium in Iran stems from ‘misunderstanding’, which will soon be cleared up. Spokesman for Foreign Ministry Hamid Reza Asefi said this on Wednesday in Iran’s first response to the UN accusation based on the report of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran failed to disclose work with radioactive material that could contribute to preparing nuclear weapon. Asefi reiterated that the report about finding polonium-210 in Iran is merely a misunderstanding. He said the ongoing inspection of Iran’s nuclear facilities by the IAEA will lead to verifying the civilian nature of Iran’s activities, which are entirely peaceful and aimed at generating electrical power. "Polonium-210 can also be used to generate electricity," he pointed out. Board of directors of the IAEA is expected to discuss the report in Vienna on March 8, amid pressure from the United States to declare Iran has breached the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. The US envoy to the IAEA, Kenneth Brill told the IAEA, "The report proves Iran’s declaration to the Agency about its nuclear programme was neither correct nor complete.’’ He added, "Iranian deception and delayed admissions about its nuclear activities, strengthens the US assessment that Iran’s nuclear programme is not consistent with its stated purpose, but is clearly geared towards the development of nuclear weapons.’’ Meanwhile, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Hasan Rowhani said, "Uranium enrichment suspension by Iran was voluntary, and only for the purpose of building confidence. Otherwise, we will not be required to suspend uranium enrichment.’’ He was speaking to newsmen in Tehran before his departure to New Delhi. The IAEA report took Iran by surprise. The spokesman for the country’s Atomic Energy Organisation, Saber Zaimian, declined to comment and said, "It is ‘a very sensitive issue and requires further study." A commentary on Iran radio on Wednesday alleged Western media of publishing negative comments about Iran’s nuclear programme to influence the upcoming IAEA board meeting so that board members take decisions on the basis of incorrect information against the country. Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 6 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Bushehr nuclear plan process lagging IranNews Tehran Times Iran Daily 2004/02/26 Moscow, Feb 26 - Vice President and Head of Iran Atomic Agency Organization Qolam-Reza Aqazadeh here Wednesday expressed dismay on the progress in construction of Bushehr nuclear plant. Speaking to Ria Novosti news agency he added that several scheduled construction phase of the first reactor of the Bushehr plant have not been satisfactory completed. He also singled out the Russian contractor as the main culprit in the construction delays. We are concerned over the timely completion of the reactor and hopefully the effort by the Russian Nuclear Energy Ministry will be helpful in setting a definite date for completion, Aqazadeh underlined. He said Iran expects more attention to be directed on the part of the Russian government towards the project, cautioning "any delay may directly affect bilateral cooperation on nuclear energy." He also said the proposal for return of spent fuel was not initiated by Iran and was not reflected in the original contract. "On Russia's insistence we agreed to the return for spent fuel, however, we believe that Iran should not be obligated for any expenses in this regard." Aqazadeh further expressed hope that during the upcoming trip to Tehran by the Russian Nuclear Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev a protocol be signed which clearly stipulates all the condition on return of the spent fuel to Russia. On the the Bushehr's second reactor, he said Moscow is a strategic partner for Iran and "we will assign priority to Russia for building the second reactor." He said that Iran is adamant in generating 7,000 megawatts of electricity and is interested in signing another agreement for construction of an electricity plant with a capacity of 6,000 megawatts. m/k Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. E-Mail: Webmaster@IRIBNEWS.ir ***************************************************************** 7 Scotsman.com News: Blair Demands Full Details of Iran's Nuclear Programmes Thu 26 Feb 2004 By John Deane, Chief Political Correspondent, PA News Iran must disclose fully the details of its nuclear programmes to the United Nations’ atomic watchdog, Prime Minister Tony Blair demanded today. Mr Blair was commenting after a report earlier this week by Mohamed ElBaradei, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which said there remained a number of questions and discrepancies over Iran’s nuclear programme that were “a matter of serious concern”. Mr Blair told his monthly press conference at Downing Street: “I want to make it very clear to the Iranian authorities, there must be complete and total compliance with the International Atomic Energy Authority. “There can’t be any partial compliance with that. The demands that they have made have to be met and to be met in full, and I don’t want there to be any doubt about that.” Although Iran appeared to have made a full declaration last October to the Vienna-based IAEA of its nuclear programme, Dr ElBaradei has said that new discoveries of nuclear material, including polonium, a radioactive element that can trigger an atomic chain reaction in a bomb; uranium, enriched to a far greater degree than previously admitted by Tehran; and a design for an advanced uranium-enrichment centrifuge system, called P2, believed to have come from Pakistan. Tehran has insisted that all its nuclear research has been solely for civilian purposes. That line has been rejected by the US administration, which has always believed that Iran has been engaged in a clandestine nuclear weapons programme. The discovery of polonium, previously undisclosed by Iran, adds to the growing suspicion that Tehran is intent on developing a nuclear bomb. Traces of polonium were discovered at a Tehran research reactor. At his press briefing, Mr Blair also expressed concern about the recent elections in Iran, which produced a conservative landslide after many reformist candidates were barred from standing. Mr Blair said: “Obviously I would like to see all countries give their people the right to participate in full and free elections. It is sad that so many of the candidates were disqualified from the recent elections in Iraq. “In the end I think that what countries around the world realise is that if they embrace democracy, the rule of law and human rights, they don’t merely become better places to live, they also become more prosperous places. “So our engagement is there for a purpose and the purpose is change.” ;2004 Scotsman.com | contact ***************************************************************** 8 Las Vegas SUN: N. Korea Says U.S. Stalling Nuclear Talks Today: February 26, 2004 at 5:50:29 PST By ELAINE KURTENBACH ASSOCIATED PRESS BEIJING (AP) - North Korea said Thursday that six-nation talks on its nuclear program were not making progress because of "the United States' hardline position," an envoy for the country said, according to the South Korean news agency. Pyongyang also said it would dismantle its atomic programs if Washington "abandons its hostile policy," the Yonhap agency reported. These were North Korea's first public comments in Beijing since the second round of six-nation talks began Wednesday in the Chinese capital. The talks between the United States, China, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas concern the North's nuclear ambitions and Washington's insistence that Pyongyang stand down. Choe Jin Su, the North Korean ambassador in Beijing, said during a brief news conference that "the second round of six-nation talks is not making progress because of the United States' hardline position," Yonhap reported. "We will abandon our nuclear weapons program when the United States drops its hostile policy toward North Korea. The United States should take all the responsibility for the meeting not making progress." -- ***************************************************************** 9 PRAVDA.Ru: North Korea possesses atomic bomb? - 02/26/2004 17:11 North Korea denies the allegations of having the program of manufacturing enriched uranium, meanwhile the US urge to stop this program. Head of North Korean delegation at negotiations in Beijing on solving the crisis around North Korean nuclear program Kim Ge Guan denied having this program, but said that North Korea has "nuclear containment force". He did not elaborate, but mentioned that Pyongyang would not like to have this force permanently. North Korea claims it had to create this nuclear force because of fearing possible US aggression. North Korean delegation Head confirmed the intention to stop the nuclear program in response to simultaneous relevant measures taken by the USA. At the same time, Head of US delegation James Kelly said at the negotiations" opening that Washington demands absolute, irreversible and verified termination of North Korea nuclear programs, including the program for enriching uranium. Source: RIAN Read the original in Russian: (Translated by: Andrey Nesterov) L1999-2002 "PRAVDA.Ru". When reproducing our materials in ***************************************************************** 10 JoongAng Daily: China declares North is set for nuclear freeze BEIJING ˇŞ On the second day of the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear arms efforts, a spokesman for the host country China said yesterday that Pyeonyang proposed "a comprehensive halt of its nuclear activities." North Korea's delegation did not give details of its offer and did not say whether the freeze would lead eventually to a complete dismantling of all its programs, as the United States has demanded. The overall negotiations, however, appeared to move ahead as South Korea, Russia and China laid down specific offers of aid in exchange for the North Korean freeze. The three countries said they would provide energy assistance to the North. This would address the "second phase" of the three-phase framework proposed by South Korea, a plan that was discussed at length in yesterday's plenary session of the talks. South Korea nailed down the definition of ˇ®nuclear freeze' by setting strict preconditions such as agreeing that the freeze must be the first step towards complete dismantlement, it must be a short term process, and verification must take place. "I would like to again emphasize that the objective of the six-party talks is not nuclear freeze but nuclear dismantlement," said Lee Soo-hyuck, South Korea's chief delegate. "If North Korea's nuclear freeze is a process leading to the eventual agreement for complete nuclear dismantlement, and if the freeze would be under international supervision, then South Korea, China and Russia have agreed to join in energy aid assistance." The United States and Japan are said to support providing energy aid in the form of crude oil, however, they did not say they would participate. The North's official response was "no specific remarks" about the South Korean proposal, but Mr. Lee said, "In an informal setting, the North had positively reacted to our proposal." The delegates later in the day turned to ironing out a joint statement for the talks, which will include points such as the North's pledge for dismantlement of the nuclear programs in exchange for security assurances from the United States and other parties. This constitutes the "first phase" of South Korea's proposal. However, the United States and North Korea are still sharply at odds over the issue of a uranium-based program. In comparison with the first round of the talks held in August, concrete results are emerging, which include the setting up of working groups and the forging of a joint agreement. The morning plenary session lasted for four hours, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. local time at the Diaoyutai State Guest House, well over an hour and a half longer than scheduled. A closing date for the talks has not been announced. by Choi Jie-ho jieho@joongang.co.kr> 2004.02.26 ***************************************************************** 11 Las Vegas SUN: N. Korea Proposes Stopping Nuke Activities Today: February 26, 2004 at 4:30:29 PST By ELAINE KURTENBACH ASSOCIATED PRESS BEIJING (AP) - North Korea on Thursday proposed "the comprehensive stopping of nuclear activities," an offer presented during six-nation talks about its nuclear program that could signal major progress in its 16-month dispute with the United States. The conditions of the offer were unclear, and a spokesman for the Chinese government said the details were still being discussed among the six governments meeting in Beijing. The announcement came a day after South Korea offered the North a conditional compensation package that officials said included energy aid for the power-starved country. The North had made a similar proposal through diplomatic channels in December. But this version, offered in the middle of delicate talks about the North's nuclear ambitions, appeared to be the most significant breakthrough since the Washington-Pyongyang stalemate began in October 2002. "The various parties welcomed the proposition from the North Korean side for the comprehensive stopping of nuclear activities," Chinese spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a briefing. "As for the details and specific arrangements for stopping the nuclear activities, it is still being discussed among the various parties." Russia's top delegate said, however, that a "gap" remained before the standoff could be solved fully. A U.S. Embassy spokesman in Beijing said he had no information about the proposal. Participating in the long-anticipated talks, which began Wednesday, were the Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan. The United States wants an immediate dismantling of the North's nuclear program. Pyongyang has long demanded aid and security guarantees before it begins to do so - a position backed by China, which has always included the North's security in the equation. Liu said China "agreed with North Korea's requirement for reasonable security guarantees and to give North Korea a normal development environment." His comments came immediately after Alexander Losyukov, head of the Russian delegation and his country's deputy foreign minister, said North Korea showed "readiness" to abolish its nuclear weapons program. Losyukov said the North would abolish its military atomic program but maintain a "peaceful" nuclear capability, Xinhua said. That's a major step but one somewhat less than what China described. "North Korea is not ready to drop all its nuclear programs. It's not realistic to ask them to do it," Losyukov said. "North Korea is ready to drop its nuclear defense program, but some countries are not satisfied with that." He said disagreements still endure between Washington and Pyongyang over exactly what will be eliminated. "A gap remains," Losyukov said. "We have certain doubts that it will be possible to remove it during this session of talks." North Korea and the United States have been at odds over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions for years and especially since October 2002, when U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly said the North told him it had a secret weapons program based on enriched uranium. North Korea publicly denies it has a uranium program in addition to its known plutonium-based program, but it brandishes the threat of what it vaguely describes as its "nuclear deterrent" in an effort to extract concessions. Thursday's meetings followed a rare, lengthy one-on-one session between high-level officials from Washington and Pyongyang - the two key players in the dispute. Neither side gave details of Wednesday's meeting between Kelly and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, but the State Department described it as "useful." The South Korean news agency Yonhap, quoting an unnamed diplomatic source in Beijing, reported that the U.S. and North Korean delegates had a second bilateral talk. The talk took place after Thursday's plenary session, Yonhap said, but the source did not reveal the place and how long it lasted. South Korean and U.s. officials in Beijing could not confirm it took place. In December, the impoverished North demanded economic aid and other U.S. concessions in return for a freeze. Washington said that Pyongyang must not only freeze, but start dismantling, its nuclear programs first. This week's meeting is the second round of six-party talks. The first one in August, scheduled for three days only, yielded little more than a vague promise to meet again. Parties have made this meeting open-ended, hoping for more progress. -- ***************************************************************** 12 BBC: North Korea makes nuclear offer Last Updated: Thursday, 26 February, 2004 [Satellite photo of Yongbyon nuclear reactor] Talks are focused on programmes at the Yongbyon nuclear site North Korea has offered to halt its nuclear activities in return for "corresponding measures" by the US. Pyongyang called on Washington to give up its "hostile policy" towards North Korea, and reiterated demands for security guarantees from the US. The offer was made at six-nation talks in Beijing. Other parties are reported to have welcomed the offer. But it was unclear whether it included North Korea's alleged uranium enrichment project programme. In Washington, US Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed cautious optimism about the talks. "There is a promising attitude that is emerging from those meetings and hopefully we can move in the right direction there," he told the Senate Budget Committee. Pyongyang's offer came as South Korea, Russia and China offered the North oil aid to try to resolve the crisis. "The various parties welcomed the proposition by the DPRK (North Korea) for the comprehensive stopping of their nuclear activities," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters. BEIJING TALKS [Six-nation talks underway i Beijing] China, US, Russia, Japan, North and South Korea taking part Set to last until Friday Parties sit at hexagonal table, US next to N Korea Mr Liu said the proposal was still being discussed. It was unclear whether the offer referred both to North Korea's publicly acknowledged plutonium project and the uranium project which the US accuses it of developing. The BBC's Charles Scanlon says analysts fear the offer could be meaningless if it does not refer to both. The US has rejected proposals by Pyongyang to freeze its plutonium programme, and the North has always denied, in public at least, the existence of a separate uranium project. The North Korean officials said the US would be responsible if the talks failed, but he said the North would continue to work hard to close the gap. Energy needs The announcement came as South Korea, China and Russia offered energy aid to the North if it froze and then scrapped its nuclear programme. STUMBLING BLOCKS N Korea wants compensatio for freezing nuclear programme But US says freeze not enough US wants N Korean uranium programme dismantled N Korea denies programme exists Japan wants abductees discussed N Korea says subject not relevant to nuclear talks Talks on the crisis will resume on Friday. North Korea's economic problems have led to severe energy shortages, which were exacerbated by a US-led decision to suspend shipments of fuel aid to the country. "The energy aid requires a presumption that North Korea freezes its nuclear activity as a beginning step to dismantle all of its nuclear programs completely, irreversibly and verifiably," South Korea's Lee Soo-hyuck said. A similar deal was struck between the US and impoverished North Korea in 1994 but collapsed after Washington said in October 2002 that Pyongyang had privately admitted to the enriched uranium programme. ***************************************************************** 13 Hi Pakistan: China walks a tightrope between US, N. Korea Talks on nuclear programme - By Bill Smith --> February 27 2004 BEIJING: China's role in talks this week on North Korea's nuclear programme is somewhat like that of an acrobat cycling with one person standing on each shoulder. Except that the two passengers may shift their positions or even argue during the performance. "There is no trust between the United States and North Korea, and the two sides may fail in the talks at any time," Li Dunqiu, an expert on Korean affairs at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "Solving the problem is mainly decided by the United States and North Korea, and China plays a very important role in avoiding any intensification (of conflict)." One major difficulty facing diplomats is that North Korea displays a mixture of "soft and hard" policies, reflecting a similar approach by the United States, said Qi Baoliang of the Beijing-based Institute of Contemporary International Relations. "Our expectations should not be too high," Qi warned in an interview broadcast by state television as the six-party talks began on Wednesday. "But North Korea has shown a change in attitude from its earlier outright hostility towards the United States. This change in attitude has included a change in foreign policy," Qi said, citing as an example Pyongyang's willingness to propose its own solution to the standoff over its nuclear programme. Libya's public abandonment of its nuclear programme and Iran's cooperation with international nuclear inspectors have also put 'great pressure' on North Korea. "But in my opinion, the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) is not likely to give that up easily," Qi said. The main hope at this week's talks is that the six parties will agree on a framework for ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, he said. "It is unrealistic for the DPRK to give up its nuclear weapons programmes all at once." Most analysts agree with Qi, and Wang Yi, head of the Chinese delegation in the talks, that a six-party agreement on a mechanism or framework for future talks is the likely best outcome. "At this round, the parties will discuss how to identify the specific objectives in resolving the nuclear issue and study ways to continue the process of the talks," Wang said in his speech at the opening of talks on Wednesday. "Wang Yi and other Chinese diplomats made tremendous efforts in arranging the second round of talks with North Korean, US, South Korean, Japanese and Russian officials," said Wang Lunan of the International Studies University in the south western province of Sichuan. Dozens of diplomatic exchanges since the first talks were held in Beijing last August have "softened the hardline stances" of North Korea and the United States, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Wang Lunan as saying. China has "played a more active role in the global arena" in mediating the crisis over North Korea's nuclear programme, said Shen Jiru, a non-proliferation and arms control expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Beijing's efforts to promote peace and stability in East Asia are "also in China's own interests", Shen told the agency. Senior US arms control official John Bolton agreed China made "very substantial efforts to get North Korea back to the table". "China has been in the lead in this activity among the six parties," Bolton said last week in Beijing. The success of the diplomatic efforts may depend on how North Korea and the United States handle a key dispute about whether North Korea runs both a plutonium-based programme and a highly-enriched uranium (HEU) programme. In his opening remarks on Wednesday, US Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly said Washington "seeks complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of all of the DPRK's nuclear programmes, including both plutonium and uranium based weapons". Yet North Korea on Tuesday appeared to stick to its denial that it runs a uranium-enrichment facility. "If the United States continues to criticize North Korea for having a fictitious and non-existent highly-enriched uranium programme, this can only be taken as a deliberate attempt to prolong the nuclear issue," Xinhua quoted an unidentified North Korean foreign ministry spokesman as saying in Pyongyang. "The key is that when it (the alleged HEU programme) is mentioned, the issue should not be intensified," Li said. "If they (North Korea and the United States) don't make it too extreme and confrontational, it will not have too much impact on the talks," Li said. "I guess China will grasp the degree of opposition, and will play a big role in this aspect." If the talks do fall apart, "that will be sure to lead to upgraded confrontation" between North Korea and the United States, said Pang Zhongying of Tianjin-based Nankai University. "On the one hand, the United States and Japan will submit the North Korean (nuclear) issue to the United Nations Security Council," the official China News Service quoted Pang as saying. "And on the other hand, it is believed that North Korea will show its comprehensive nuclear capability - if it really has the capability." Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 14 AU ABC: Korea nuclear negotiations continue 26/02/2004: "Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online"> Reporter: Mark Simkin TONY JONES: In Beijing, the crucial six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear crisis have continued for a second day. The parties are discussing a proposal that would reward Pyongyang if it gives up its nuclear ambitions. But as well as that carrot, there's also a big stick. Japan has been stepping up its pressure on North Korea, threatening to cut off some of the cash-strapped regime's most important sources of money. Here's North Asia correspondent Mark Simkin. MARK SIMKIN: South Korea is playing peace maker, proposing a plan that would give North Korea economic aid if it freezes and eventually dismantles its nuclear weapons programs. LEE SOO-HYUCK, SOUTH KOREAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER: Everyone present shares a responsibility with regard to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. History will tell if we took the right turn or not inside these halls. MARK SIMKIN: Japan is making additional demands. North Korea kidnapped Japanese citizens during the Cold War. Some have been returned to Tokyo but their relatives have not been allowed to leave the communist country. TORU HASUIKE, BROTHER OF ABDUCTEE: Even if North Korea makes concessions on the nuclear issue, if it doesn't resolve the abductions problem I believe the Japanese Government will proceed firmly and cut off all economic aid. MARK SIMKIN: This is pachinko, a cross between pinball and the pokies. It's Japan's favourite form of gambling and one of North Korea's main sources of income. Some of the parlours are owned by North Koreans. They send billions of dollars in profits to Pyongyang each year. The Japanese Government is threatening to kill the cash cow, recently passing legislation that will allow it to stop money transfers and impose trade sanctions. There's also talk of banning North Korean ships from Japanese ports. JAPANESE SPOKESMAN: We are trying to have some new, you know, leverage or new cards to be able to conduct against North Korea. HAJIME IZUMI, UNIVERSITY OF SHIZUOKA: If we impose such economic sanctions, I say to you, well, the inference, or the impact upon North Korea is quite grave, I think. MARK SIMKIN: It's a popular but risky strategy. North Korea has said it will view sanctions as an act of war. There are fears the cash-strapped regime will lash out if key sources of income dry up. JUNICHIRO KOIZUMI, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER: We must not be careful not to be emotional. We must remain cool and rational. We must not forget that both Japan and North Korean want a peaceful solution. MARK SIMKIN: The hope is that a combination of implied threats and promised rewards will be enough to bring North Korea in from the cold. The current round of six-nation talks is due to wrap up tomorrow, but few of the parties are expecting a breakthrough. Mark Simkin, Lateline. ***************************************************************** 15 Las Vegas SUN: Official: 'Hydrogen Highway' Realistic Today: February 26, 2004 at 2:05:29 PST By DON THOMPSON ASSOCIATED PRESS SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's top environmental aide told state lawmakers the governor's vision of a "hydrogen highway" that would usher in an age of cleaner cars is realistic by 2010, and won't even cost the state much money. Schwarzenegger pledged to build hydrogen fueling stations every 20 miles along major highways, allowing motorists to buy clean-burning hydrogen-fueled vehicles without fear they will run out of gas. He chose 2010 because that's when automakers have said such vehicles will be affordable and readily available, said Environmental Protection Secretary Terry Tamminen. "California does invent the future," Tamminen said. Though there are plenty of unknowns, "there are no show-stoppers. The only area where some of us disagree is on timing." California Energy Commission member Jim Boyd warned that the cost is too high. And Toyota Motor Co.'s Bill Reinert said that despite a decade of research and development, any promises are premature. The automotive industry still is years away from developing the smaller, cheaper, more efficient and longer-lasting fuel cells that are needed before consumers will buy many hydrogen-fueled vehicles, Reinert said. "We're not even close to solving storage technology issues yet," Reinert said. Though he expects technology will develop "dramatically" over the next few years, "we still have significant challenges along the way." Other witnesses before the Assembly Select Committee on Air and Water Quality said a strong push by the state and federal governments is needed. S. David Freeman, a top energy aide to former Gov. Gray Davis who now heads a company involved in hydrogen-powered vehicles, said the state should consider floating more long-term debt to pay for the project. But Tamminen said the cost to the state could be minimal. Schwarzenegger's proposed network amounts to about 200 fueling stations, a fraction of California's 10,000 retail gasoline stations, Tamminen said. Twenty-five of those stations will soon be available, and Tamminen projected more can be built by universities, waste conversion stations and automakers at little cost to the state. -- ***************************************************************** 16 TOMPAINE.com: No Skunks Allowed Ray McGovern chaired National Intelligence Estimates during his 27-year career and had high respect for the expertise and dedication of INR analysts. Ray is co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, which includes alumni from CIA, INR, and other intelligence agencies. He is now co-director of the Servant Leadership School, an inner-city outreach ministry in Washington, DC. Intelligence Committee's worldwide threat assessment briefing on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Committee Chairman Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., outdid himself as damage control officer for fallout from failed intelligence. Sen. Roberts captured the spirit when he told reporters that, although "everybody would have some second thoughts" about the reasons for the war, he believes that Saddam Hussein posed a threat "in some ways more dangerous [than weapons of mass destruction]," because his leadership had deteriorated (sic). Small wonder that Roberts took pains to ensure there would be none who might snicker at the formal briefing. The casting was a dead giveaway. For the first time since annual threat assessment briefings by the heads of key intelligence agencies began a decade ago, the director of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) was disinvited. Roberts and his Republican colleagues decided to preclude the possibility that some recalcitrant senator might ask why INR was able to get it right on Iraq when everyone else was wrong. Recall that the CIA and other intelligence agencies signed on to the worst National Intelligence Estimate in 40 years—the one issued in October 2002 with the loaded title "Iraq's Continuing Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction." (The only near rival in infamy is the NIE of September 1962, which said that the Soviet Union would not risk trying to put missiles in Cuba. The missiles were already en route.) Punished For Honesty INR has been forced to sit with its face to the wall ever since it resisted White House pressure to cook intelligence to the recipe of high policy. CIA Director George Tenet and other malleable intelligence managers acquiesced in that pressure and became accomplices in the Bush administration's successful effort in the fall of 2002 to deceive Congress into forfeiting to the president its constitutional prerogative to declare war. INR was the skunk at that picnic. It dissented loudly from some of the most important key judgments of the NIE of October 2002. For example, the canard about Iraq seeking uranium from Niger—impossible on its face and based on a forgery—found its way into the estimate, but INR's footnote dismissed the story as "highly dubious." This was no small matter. As Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., noted in an irate letter to the president on March 17, 2002, the Iraq/Niger canard had been "a central part of the U.S. case against Iraq" —a key piece of "evidence" used to sway Congress to give its approval for war. INR analysts also debunked the fable about aluminum tubes for uranium enrichment for Iraq. Although the tubes had been advertised by National Security Adviser Condolleeza Rice as useful only in a nuclear application, State Department intelligence analysts joined counterparts in the Department of Energy and U.N. specialists in pointing out, correctly, that the tubes were for conventional artillery. Most obstreperous of all, on the highly neuralgic nuclear issue, INR was unwilling to predict when Iraq's "nuclear weapons program" was likely to yield a nuclear device. Why? It saw no compelling evidence that Vice President Dick Cheney was correct in claiming that the previous nuclear weapons program had been "reconstituted." And if that were not enough, State Department intelligence committed several sins not directly connected with the NIE. INR's most experienced Middle East specialists prepared a study exposing as a chimera the notion that democracy could be brought to the area at the point of a gun. INR also provided invaluable support to the interagency team that worked so hard to prepare sensibly for post-war Iraq. Its analysis and recommendations were trashed by Pentagon neophytes who knew the invasion would be a "cakewalk"—and by Vice President Dick Cheney, who knew that our troops would be seen as liberators. Who Needs Context? A bad lot, those State Department intelligence types! Always trying to "put things in context;" unable to see the overriding need to "get with the program." Last year, INR's director, Carl Ford, harped on the need for putting the country's best analysts to work providing policymakers with the context in which threats arise. Ford has retired, but the current acting director, Thomas Fingar, is cut of the same cloth—the kind of straight shooter likely to say things that would embarrass the CIA, the administration and maybe even the committee itself. Who needs context? Better to let them talk about how many terrorists they can kill than the conditions that breed terrorism. Let them continue to use the paradigm of combating malaria: Surely it's easier to try to shoot down the mosquitoes as they leave the swamp than to drain the swamp. And tell Tenet, too, to lay off this context business. The administration is still smarting from that memorandum he sent up two years ago warning that "the underlying causes that drive terrorists will persist." That CIA report cited a Gallup poll of almost 10,000 Muslims in nine countries in which respondents described the United States as "ruthless, aggressive, conceited, arrogant, easily provoked and biased." Rubbish! They just hate our democracy. When senators ask—as they undoubtedly will—if the United States is safer now than after the 9/11 attacks, we want to have folks who know the correct answer. Tenet, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lowell Jacoby know it has to be "yes." As for the State Department, although Secretary Colin Powell has now been brought into line, you can never be sure his intelligence specialists will see the light and "get with the program." Better to keep them away. Published: Feb 26 2004 ***************************************************************** 17 redandblack.com: General speaks on nuclear role Published , February 26, 2004, 06:00:01 AM EDT The former Commander in Chief of the U.S. Strategic Command, Gen. Eugene Habiger, will speak on the role of nuclear weapons in the 21st century today at 3:30 p.m. in Room 150 of the Student Learning Center. Habiger has drawn attention to nuclear dangers remaining in the wake of the Cold War. A University graduate, Habiger went on to a career in the U.S. Air Force that culminated in his appointment as Commander in Chief of U.S. Strategic Command at Offut Air Force Base, Nebraska. The command has responsibility for all U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy strategic nuclear forces supporting the national security objective of strategic deterrence. Habiger retired from the military in 1998 and began a second career as a public administrator. He is now president and C.E.O. of the San Antonio Water System. He also has become a public advocate for reducing the nation's stockpile of nuclear weapons. University News Release AISEC searching for freshmen leaders An internationally-oriented student-run organization is looking for new University students to usher in its next generation of leadership. "We're looking for the best and brightest that UGA has to offer to be the future leaders of the organization," said Justin Golshir, president of the University chapter of AIESEC. AIESEC gives students the opportunity to experience another country's culture firsthand by becoming a member of the community while interning abroad. Golshir, a junior from Augusta, said his AIESEC experience has allowed him to network with people in more than 25 countries. The University chapter is looking for freshmen with a desire to lead and interest in working abroad, said the chapter's vice president, Peter Courtney, a junior from Alpharetta. "The leadership training the students will receive will be a time for self-discovery and personal growth," Golshir said. Freshmen interested in becoming a part of the Freshmen Global Leaders for AIESEC can attend tonight's informational meeting at 6:30 in Room 150 of the Student Learning Center. Meredith Gilly 2004 The Red and Black Publishing CO., INC 540 Baxter St., Athens GA, 30605 News: (706) 433-3000, Advertising: (706) 433-3001, Fax: (706) 433-3033 Questions, comments or concerns? Let us know - webmaster@randb.com back to the top ***************************************************************** 18 Bush: Statement on Libya For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary February 26, 2004 Over the course of the last two months, Libya has taken significant steps in implementing its commitment to disclose and dismantle all weapons of mass destruction programs in Libya, as well as the missile systems to deliver them, and to welcome experts from the U.S., UK, and relevant international organizations to assist in this effort. Libya has permitted the elimination of critical materials related to its nuclear weapons program and ballistic missile capability, including weapons-related documentation, uranium hexafluoride (UF6), missile guidance systems, and centrifuges. It has opened its sites to IAEA and OPCW personnel, provided excellent support to US and UK experts, and begun the process of destroying chemical weapons munitions. Libya's disclosures have also shed light on the international network of proliferators, who are intent on subverting nonproliferation regimes, regardless of the consequences. American efforts with Libya since December 19 have made our country safer and the world more peaceful. While more remains to be done, Libya's actions have been serious, credible, and consistent with Colonel Qadhafi's public declaration that Libya seeks to play a role in "building a new world free from WMD and from all forms of terrorism." The President has made clear that Libya's decision to renounce these programs voluntarily would open the path to better relations with the United States. In recognition of Libya's concrete steps to repudiate WMD and to build the foundation for Libya's economic growth and reintegration with the international community, the United States will take the following steps to encourage Libya to continue on this path: + First, the Secretary of State has rescinded the restriction on the use of American passports for travel to Libya. + Second, the Treasury Department will issue today a general license for all travel-related expenditures in Libya. What this means in practical terms is that American citizens, for the first time in 23 years, will be able to travel to Libya, including for tourism, academic research, and family visits. + Third, U.S. companies with pre-sanctions holdings in Libya will be authorized as of today to negotiate the terms of their re-entry into operations in Libya, subject to the requirement of a further U.S. approval for implementation of any agreements if sanctions have not otherwise been lifted. + Fourth, the United States invites Libya to establish an Interests Section in Washington, to facilitate our cooperation in the elimination of WMD and to lay the foundation for more extensive diplomatic relations in the future. We will continue to augment our U.S.-staffed Interests Section in Tripoli, to reflect the increasing depth of our bilateral relationship. + Fifth, the Administration commits to increasing contacts between Libyan and American societies and exploring cooperation in humanitarian projects. On February 28, a delegation of U.S. medical specialists from the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Agency for International Development will arrive in Tripoli for consultations on health care delivery and disease prevention. We have invited Libya to send an official delegation to the United States for discussions on future educational opportunities for Libyan students here in the United States. As Libya continues to take steps that will lead to the complete dismantling of its WMD and MTCR-class missiles programs and adheres to its renunciation of terrorism, the United States will continuously evaluate the range of bilateral sanctions that remain in place relating to Libya. The United States will approach relations with Libya on a careful, step-by-step basis. We have made clear that progress in our bilateral relationship will depend upon continued, good faith implementation by Libya of its own public commitments on WMD, missiles, and terrorism. Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns will continue his dialogue with Libyan officials to review the next phase in American-Libyan relations. # # # ***************************************************************** 19 Haaretz: The nuclear debate proliferates News Updates Fri., February 27, 2004 Adar 5, 5764 Israel By Ze'ev Schiff After Libya announced that it was giving up the development of weapons of mass destruction and Iran admitted that it had lied outright about its nuclear development, and in Pakistan it was found that one of its scientists had sold know-how concerning the development of nuclear weaponry, there are signs that in Israel the same debate on these issues is proliferating. This is happening despite the restrictions imposed by official elements. The last crack was opened by someone who has dealt extensively with the issue, Major General (res.) David Ivry, former head of the National Security Council. As director general of the Defense Ministry, he conducted discussions concerning Israel's defense doctrine, and it was he who was responsible for dealing with the issue of the nuclear "trickle" to countries like Iran. Ivry also commanded the mission to destroy the nuclear reactor in Iraq. In an article that appeared recently under the title "The Nuclear Friction between Egypt and Israel" (published by the Fisher Institute for Air &Space Strategic Studies), he offers more than a glimpse of the internal debate surrounding the policy of nuclear ambiguity that Israel pursues. Ivry says that after the nuclear testing that was carried out by India and Pakistan, the two countries gained regional importance and were accorded a forgiving attitude. Ivry reveals that "there are people who think that Israel has missed an opportunity." He does not specify what this "opportunity" is, but apparently what he means is that perhaps this is an opportunity to give up the policy of ambiguity. According to him, Egypt's embarrassment on this issue was greater than anyone else's and concern over Israel's reactions caused Egyptian leaders to lose sleep. Ivry himself does not think that an opportunity has been missed. He believes that the policy of ambiguity has justified itself for several decades, but the government of Israel has not found time for a thorough examination of this serious strategic issue. "There are those who think that security activity in Lebanon and afterward vis-a-vis the Palestinians did not allow the government to find the time to deal with this issue. "The pace at which governments are replaced in Israel has also not allowed any government with the stability that is necessary for discussing and summing up security policy in all areas, including this area," he writes. In other words, Ivry believes that the recent governments of Israel have not found time to devote attention to this strategic issue because they are up to their necks in tactical issues. In discussing the "nuclear friction" with Egypt, Ivry takes an assertive line. According to him, Egypt is active in two tracks vis-a-vis Israel with respect to the nuclear issue. On the one hand, it is trying to enlist international pressure on Israel to take upon itself a commitment to sign treaties and to agree to a nuclear-free zone. On the other hand, it is interested in encouraging Israel to maintain its nuclear ambiguity, "as this situation as far as Egypt is concerned is preferable to a situation in which Israel is recognized as a nuclear state, if this capability exists." The Egyptian concern was that the discovery of nuclear activity in Iraq and Iran, and the nuclear tests in India and Pakistan, "will influence Israeli policy on the nuclear issue and impel it toward a more hawkish nuclear policy." Ivry relates that Israel tried to take various measures to soothe the Egyptians but without relinquishing its formal policy. However, over time Israel discovered that the more it tried to appease Egypt, the more the Egyptians came up with new and extensive demands from Israel. The conclusion in Israel was that there was no chance of placating the Egyptians. "As there is no Egyptian willingness to compromise and lower the tension, there is no chance that small concessions will resolve the problem, and therefore it is best not to compromise on any issue" - that is how Ivry sums up this sensitive matter. © Copyright Haaretz. All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 20 Las Vegas SUN: Israeli Nuke Whistleblower Eyes Release Today: February 26, 2004 at 11:15:30 PST By RAVI NESSMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS JERUSALEM (AP) - The former technician imprisoned for spilling Israel's nuclear weapons secrets to a newspaper 18 years ago said he has nothing more to reveal and just wants to live a quiet life in Minnesota after his release, according to a statement released Thursday. But Israel, citing security concerns, said it planned to keep Mordechai Vanunu under strict supervision - possibly confiscating his passport - when he is released in April. "What they say, that I have additional secrets, it's a lie, an excuse and a cover-up, and they know that very well," Vanunu said, according to a statement released by his brother, Meir. "All that I know was published." Mordechai Vanunu, 50, infuriated the Israeli government in 1986 when he gave The Sunday Times of London pictures of Israel's top-secret nuclear reactor near the Negev Desert town of Dimona. During his trial, the former nuclear technician said peace activists persuaded him to smuggle a camera into the reactor. The publication of the story and photos challenged Israel's official policy of nuclear ambiguity. Israel has never acknowledged having nuclear weapons, only saying it will not be the first nation to introduce them into the Middle East. Based on Mordechai Vanunu's pictures, experts concluded Israel had the world's sixth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons. The CIA estimated recently that Israel has 200-400 atomic weapons. "We know there is a suspicion about Israel. We don't deny it. But for the time being, we think suspicion is a good enough deterrent so we don't have to go further," former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres said in Egypt on Thursday. A few months after The Sunday Times story was published, Israeli intelligence agents lured Mordechai Vanunu into a trap and spirited him back to Israel. He was convicted of treason and espionage and sentenced to 18 years in prison - a term ending April 21. Over the years, Mordechai Vanunu has become a symbol for critics of Israel's nuclear program and repeatedly has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Some Israeli security officials have suggested Mordechai Vanunu be placed under indefinite administrative detention after his release, but Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rejected that idea this week in favor of strict supervision, which could include barring Mordechai Vanunu from traveling abroad, appearing in public or giving interviews. Mordechai Vanunu is especially concerned he might be forced to remain in Israel. "I have no interest in fighting the state," he said in the statement. "I want to live a normal life, a simple life, as a free man outside of Israel." But he also said he was not done talking. "It is my right like all others to express my stand against nuclear weapons in the world or here in Israel," he said. Meir Vanunu, who received the statement during a prison visit Wednesday, said his brother hopes to move to the United States and live with a Minnesota couple, who adopted him in the mistaken belief it would entitle him to U.S. citizenship. Peter Hounam, the journalist who interviewed Mordechai Vanunu for the Sunday Times, said it was inconceivable the technician did not reveal everything during five weeks of exhaustive interviews in 1986, which included questioning from nuclear scientists. "We made sure that we extracted from him every ounce of information that he had," Hounam said, adding that Mordechai Vanunu had no knowledge of nuclear weapons design. "The idea that he could cause any harm at all is nonsense." But Sharon spokesman Assaf Shariv disagreed, saying, "We have people in the government who think otherwise." With his release date approaching, Mordechai Vanunu, who spent more than a decade in solitary confinement, appeared in high spirits, his brother said. "I'll be free," Mordechai Vanunu said in the statement. "I won. The gates and the locks will be opened. They didn't succeed in breaking me or driving me crazy." -- ***************************************************************** 21 Hi Pakistan: Pakistan committed to nuclear non-proliferation - Jamali February 27 2004 ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has said that Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state and is firmly committed to nuclear non-proliferation. He was talking to the Pak Ambassador to the United States, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, who called on him at the Prime Minister House today. He said that the country has taken stringent measures to ensure nuclear non-proliferation at all levels. Referring to the country's role in war against terrorism, the Prime Minister reiterated that it would continue to make efforts for combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The Ambassador informed the Prime Minister that the US Administration was satisfied with the assurances by Pakistan regarding nuclear non-proliferation. It also appreciated country's return to democracy and its useful role in the international war on terror, he added. He said that the Pak-US relations are moving forward on all fronts and now there is a much better and broader appreciation of Pakistan's position on various issues. Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 22 Hi Pakistan: Benazir trying to destroy Pakistan's image as responsible nuclear state: Sh. Rashid --> February 27 2004 ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Wednesday expressed his utter shock over the statements cooked up by PPP leader Benazir Bhutto to destroy Pakistan's image as a responsible nuclear state for the sake of personal gains. Reacting to spate of recent interviews by the self-exiled leader on the issue of nuclear proliferation, the Minister said, Bhutto was treading a dangerous path in her blind pursuit of power. "She is even willing to sacrifice her own country to reach the power corridors," he added. In her interviews to the western print and electronic media, Bhutto had tried to sway the world opinion against Pakistan on the issue of nuclear proliferation. Referring to the steps taken by President Pervez Musharraf and the government to ensures strict control on the country's strategic assets, the Minister said the entire world community firmly believes that some Pakistani individuals and not the government was involved in proliferation. "At a time when the world opinion is going in Pakistan's favour, attempts by Benazir to discredit the country is simply a betrayal," he added. Sheikh Rashid said PPP leader was in habit of maligning the national institutions when out of power and tries to destroy these very institutions when in power. Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 23 Hi Pakistan: Bush-Musharraf equation - By Dr Qaisar Rashid --> February 27 2004 In the famous play "Right You Are! If You Think So" (1917) of Luigi Pirandello (a Noble laureate in Literature), a character Signora Cini says that she will believe what she sees with her eyes and feels with her fingers. In response, another character Lamberto Laudisi tells her: "You should show some respect for what other people see (with their eyes) and feel (with their fingers), even though it be the exact opposite of what you see and feel". (Act 1) The implied lessons are two-pronged. First, one should accept difference of opinion and secondly, one should give consideration to the others. Another may be right where one is wrong. This is what the situation is between George Bush of the USA and General Musharraf of Pakistan. Having carried the blames of being pro-American, President General Musharraf has, time and again, been donating one suggestion-cum-advice to his American counterpart: settle the Middle East issue (Israel-Palestine conflict) at the earliest, in response to every call for Pakistan’s participation in the war against terrorism. However, there seems a least regard from the listening side to what General Musharraf has been perceiving and conveying with all sincerity. In its essence it is not the USA but its policies that have been airing wrong signals around the Muslim world. The way the USA has made Osama bin Laden ‘a representative’ of the Muslim world, the gulf of misunderstanding between the West and the Muslims is widening gradually (A ban on headscarf in France is a very recent example). Today’s efficient intelligence network of the USA failed or was ‘compromised’ to check Osama yesterday somewhere outside of Afghanistan, perhaps in Somalia. Overestimating one’s prowess and understanding other’s wickedness yield these sorts of results. Now, Osama’s al-Qaeda is an ‘elusive enemy’ and a ‘blind war’ has been launched (ie when an enemy is elusive it is better to call the fight with him as a ‘blind war’). Hitherto, General Musharraf has said one major ‘Yes’ and one major ‘No’ to America. The ‘Yes’ was: ‘Pakistan is with the USA in the war against terrorism’ — in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 event. The ‘No’ was: ‘Pakistan will not send its troops to Iraq’ — in the wake of non-democratic decision of invasion, at the United Nations level. Hence, the net score is Zero. However, in the light of recent internal development in Pakistan, General Musharraf may be pushed by the USA or USA-backed international agencies/organisations into a position to choose again either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ pertaining to the ‘context’ of Pakistan’s nuclear assets. Looking at the broader definition, nuclear assets encompass both ‘Men’ and ‘Material’, where both are inextricably interlinked and intertwined. Men came first and material later. This chronology is still vital and valid. Hence, the responsibility of General Musharraf to protect both halves of the nuclear assets increases manifolds. General Musharraf, in turn, seems to be apprehensive of two things: Firstly, chances of any physical harm to the assets and secondly, economic cost of such an inevitable ‘No’. Every one knows that ‘preservation’ of a thing is difficult than its ‘acquisition’. In this backdrop, Pakistan believes that inflicting of any sort of harm to these assets is a ‘punishable offence’ irrespective of stature, colour, and religion of the offender. Here the point is of ‘no compromise’ at all. Attached with the nuclear assets is honour of all Pakistanis. For that matter, fear of economic cost is not deterrent. It is better ‘to live as a pauper but with honour’. Instead of ‘winning hearts’, the ‘liberators’ are now ‘losing heads’ in Iraq. The resultant count of human loss is mounting day by day and seems to become directly proportional to the length of the ‘blind war’ in Iraq, as the enemy is also elusive here. There are indicators that the ‘elusive enemy’ has been trying to test divergent tactics to ascertain what suit best in the Urban Warfare. Of course, the various recent acts of bloodshed are not purposeless. The elusive enemy seems to focus on three dimensions: First, Iraqis, so that they could not compromise with the ‘liberators’; second, aides, so that they could leave the Anglo-American alliance alone; and third, the ‘liberators’, so that they could not claim credit of their job in shifting the politico-demographic balance of Iraq, as being pledged. Success in ‘carpet-bombing’, but failure in ‘carpet-sweeping’ has been encouraging the elusive enemy to protract the war. The protractors may get advantage of the expected ‘storm of the desert’ in coming summer to encircle the ‘liberators’. That is why, it seems that the pre-June 2004 period is going to be vital in Iraq, especially when the elections are also following in Iraq, besides Afghanistan. At that time, the pressure of the forthcoming elections in the USA may prompt the USA — and even the UK — to commit certain mistakes in decision-making like adopting more aggressive approach towards Iraq and its immediate neighbours. Hence, the role of human mistakes may surface again in settling the events that can hasten the decadence generally. What Pakistanis still remember is roaming of a historical creature known commonly as ‘a bear with strong paws’ along its western flank — to quench its ‘thirst’ for warm water. Now, its ‘paws’ can be found along the roads of Afghanistan as rusty remains, while its ‘limbs’ are scattered across the Eurasia — a few of which are poised, now, to join European Union. In these events, there is hidden a great lesson for those who are ready to learn, that is, to get engaged is one thing but to get disengaged is another. The former is one’s prerogative, however, the latter is of the other. Moreover, if one wants to get disengaged gracefully, the situation becomes more demanding of prudence. To ‘establish authority in Kabul’ but to be ‘effective less in countryside’ is not a new phenomenon, as had already been witnessed in post-1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the then superpower in its neighbourhood. During the ongoing operation in and around the tribal belt of Pakistan, if Osama is found, the problem will be over. However, if the warlord Gulbaddin Hikmatyar (Hizbi Islami) is harmed, a severe ‘Pushtoon backlash’ cannot be ruled out. Gulbaddin, an Afghan War veteran, and his aides seem difficult to be bought by dollars or subjugated by fear. Taliban were no match to them. This unwanted ‘strategic mistake’ is expected of the US forces that can lead to ‘renaissance of Mujahideen of pre-1991 era’. Again the chances of human mistake are higher in Afghanistan too. What concerns a Pakistani in this entire scenario is: in order to enable the former invader of Afghanistan to enjoy joy a ‘graceful retreat’, Pakistan suffered internally — both politically and economically. It is hoped that this time there will be no such demand from the ‘neo-invader’. Pakistan is a small country and not meant for these huge tasks. Moreover, mistakes of others should not become a sore for Pakistan. Similar are the inferences drawn from Iraq’s present situation. To get engaged at two places (Afghanistan and Iraq) — both of which are ungovernable — is an uneasy proposition. At both the places, the enemy is elusive; wars are blind; and chances of human mistakes are higher on part of the Anglo-American alliance. Consequently, the result of the journey from ‘star wars’ of the past to ‘blind wars’ of the present seems not very far — in terms of time. In the wake of the aforementioned engagements, the major economic indicators have been foreboding trouble for the USA. At the home front, its economy is on reserve gear; expenditures, both internal and external are increasing; savings are dwindling; and dollar is sliding down in international markets. Above all, China is emerging as an alternative bigger customer of the European products. For how long this situation is sustainable is yet to be determined. The sustainability will be gauged in terms of both economic and human loss. What mediocrity demands today is to allay the symptoms and signs of a cause. Hence, the resultant invasion of two countries by the USA and its allies is evident. However, what genius calls for today is to root out the root cause, this is what General Musharraf has been repeatedly saying: settle the Middle East problem at the earliest. Instead of tangling with ‘elusive enemies’ here and there and spending millions of dollars to wage ‘blind wars’ at severe human and economic cost, it is favourable for the USA — and its allies too — to show some respect for what General Musharraf sees and feels, even if it is exact opposite of what they (the USA and allies) see and feel. Still there is time to forestall further mistakes and slow the process of decadence. It is better late than never. Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved. No part ***************************************************************** 24 Hi Pakistan: Pakistan to maintain competitive edge of its nuclear programme - FO --> February 27 2004 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said Wednesday that it would maintain the competitive edge of its nuclear programme by upgrading it both qualitatively and quantitatively. Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan here at a briefing dismissed reports that Pakistan could not indigenously sustain its nuclear weapons programme. "We can sustain this programme through indigenous means," he said. He was responding to a question that Western nuclear experts believe that it was not possible for Pakistan to maintain sustain its nuclear programme through indigenous means. Masood Khan said: "We shall maintain the competitive edge of our nuclear programme ... we shall enhance our capability, both qualitatively and quantitatively." "In fact we would try to improve our programme in all its dimensions. This is the determination and the will of the people of the Pakistan," he said. Khan, however made it clear that Pakistan would do so while maintaining a strategic restraint regime and conventional balance between India and Pakistan. "We do not want an open ended arms race between the two countries," Khan added. He said Pakistan is a nuclear weapons state and this fact has been acknowledged by other states and major nations do recognise the reality that Pakistan has nuclear weapons and we are determined to maintain that. He said the objective of Pakistan's nuclear programme is to deter aggression so that we can safeguard our national security and protect sovereignty. He reiterated President Musharraf's commitment that Pakistan is "not going to roll back [nuclear programme] and it is out of question." He said the investigation into the nuclear proliferation by some scientists was continuing and it was up to the government to decide when and what to share with the media. He said the government has been very transparent in sharing this investigation. He said the president had addressed a press conference to share the information about the activities of the nuclear scientists and their investigation. Masood Khan however said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) needs to intensify investigation into the black market. Pakistan, he said, as a responsible nuclear state acted proactively by neutralising this menace. To a question about a brochure that was published in some newspaper, Khan said, it only contained information about vacuum technology which is used for industrial applications dealing with textiles, surgical equipment, printing industry. He was critical of the "distortion" and regretted that some prestigious newspapers were creating "a kind of mirage" by reporting such things. To a question Masood Khan denied any intelligence sharing between Pakistan and India. He said the first requisite was confidence building and resolution of all outstanding disputes. He also strongly refuted reports of collaboration between the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). He termed the report published mainly in Indian newspapers as "incorrect" and "fallacious". "There is no collaboration and coordination between the ISI and the RAW and I reject it categorically," he added. Masood Khan refused to divulge information about the identity of the foreigners arrested during the operation in South Waziristan. He said owing to the nature of the operation it was not possible to give any information. He said the nationality and antecedents of the terrorists arrested are being determined. He said the operation was conducted after some of the suspects failed to surrender before the deadline of February 20. The objective of the operation is to "locate and neutralise any terrorists in the tribal areas" and would continue till they are "flushed out and eliminated." Masood Khan termed the reports of arrest of Ayman al Zawahri's son Khalid during the operation as "wild speculation." He also rejected that the United States of America was funding the operation in the tribal areas. To a question Masood Khan said there has been no change in Pakistan's policy over the issue of fencing of the Line of Control. He said Pakistan has kept the United Nations informed about the developments along the LoC. He said the issue would be taken up during the Composite Dialogue between the two countries. The fencing activity, he said, is in violation of the bilateral agreements and the UN resolutions. Masood Khan said the issue of Pakistan's suspension from the Commonwealth came up during Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali's meeting with President Abu Sanjo of Nigeria at the sidelines of the D-8 summit. The two discussed re-entry and restoration of Pakistan into Commonwealth. He said President Sanjo's reply was positive and very encouraging and because of Prime Minister's efforts this matter would be taken up and Pakistan's membership restored at the next meeting. Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 25 Hi Pakistan: Kazakhstan denies links to N-black market February 27 2004 ASTANA: Kazakhstan’s intelligence agency on Wednesday denied that a Dubai firm linked to nuclear technology smuggling ran a business in this former Soviet republic and ruled out any possibility that nuclear material could have been secreted out of the country. The National Security Committee (NSC) said that SMB Computers, a company that US President George W Bush said was a front for black-market deals for nuclear technology, was not registered in Kazakhstan and did not have a license to deal with any nuclear materials. Bush named SMB Computers’ owner, Sri Lankan businessman Bukhary Syed Abu Tahir, as a key link in a clandestine network run by Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan. The company has said that it had an office in Almaty, triggering speculation that it sought to smuggle nuclear materials from this country, which housed the world’s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal when it was part of the Soviet Union. "Such reports are based on unconfirmed information and it cannot be ruled out that there is a targeted campaign aimed at undermining Kazakhstan’s political image," the NSC said in a statement. The NSC said that Kazakhstan strictly controlled all radioactive materials on its territory and was committed to its obligations under international non-proliferation treaties. Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 26 Hi Pakistan: N-plan guarantees our security - Senate session February 27 2004 ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Wednesday continued debate on the president’s address to the joint sitting of parliament. Starting the debate, Senator Abida Saif termed the address of the president balanced and said he covered all the issues of vital national interest. "President Pervez Musharraf wants promotion of democracy and fulfilled his promise to restore real democracy in the country," she said and asked all the forces to join hands for making Pakistan a real democratic state as envisaged by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. She said: "Country’s interest must always be supreme and President Musharraf always followed the policies of safeguarding national interests first of all." She hoped the president would take bold steps to ensure provincial autonomy, to make the country a strong economic power and resolve the Kashmir problem in accordance with the aspirations of Kashmiri people. Senator Gulshan Saeed said address of President Pervez Musharraf was comprehensive as he covered all the issues and those talking of breaking Pakistan must show responsibility towards solidarity and integrity of the country. "The Senate represents all the four provinces and the members from all the parties bear the responsibility to secure country’s interests and the culture of criticism for the sake of criticism must end now," she said, adding that the opposition must appreciate the good policies of the government and play a role to make the country economically and democratically strong. Gulshan rejected the impression that the US forces were involved in an operation in South Waziristan, saying that this operation had been launched by the government to flush out foreigners living in that area, illegally, and no foreign force was involved in it. Raza Muhammad Raza took exception to different government policies and said during last four years people’s problems multiplied instead of any relief for them. He termed the 17th Amendment unconstitutional, saying: "Parliament is mother of all institutions and when sanctity of parliament is not upheld how could other institutions be able to deliver." He called for an independent judiciary and more rights to the provinces. He observed that unjust distribution of resources among provinces increased poverty. Raza emphasised a policy of non-interference in the affairs of the neighbouring nations and called for better relations with them. Senator Mohim Khan Baloch said Pakistan has obligations with regard to fight against terrorism but there should not be any foreign interference. "We must guard against any infringement of our national interests," he added. The senator highlighted the strategy adopted by the government to project Pakistan as a moderate state in the world and deal with the issues of Kashmir, terrorism and Afghanistan. He supported peace initiative with India but demanded a debate in parliament on it to identify flaws in the previous policies so as to prepare an effective strategy for the future. Baloch said Pakistan’s nuclear power was a guarantee to its security and it must be preserved. He said there is need for commitment to make every citizen secure in term of their basic needs and rights. Professor Ghafoor Ahmed of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) was of the view that parliament was being ignored as important and sensitive matters were not brought before it for discussion. He regretted that even after a lapse of one year there were no house committees and the name of the opposition leader had not been finalised. He alleged that there was interference in the provincial autonomy and there was confrontation between districts and provincial governments. Ghafoor said a big segment of the population is deprived of the basic facilities like education and health, while 18 million people have daily income of less than $2. He said India was engaged in massive human rights violations in occupied Kashmir and the world community should take notice of the grave situation. Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved. No part ***************************************************************** 27 Hi Pakistan: Israeli nukes a mystery - IAEA February 27 2004 VIENNA: The extent of Israel's atomic weapons programme is a mystery, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday. "Unfortunately I can't give a precise opinion about it because we don't do any inspections in Israel," Mr ElBaradei told Al Arabiya television when asked about the size of Israel's nuclear weapons programme. "I know that it's a developed programme, and Israel does not deny that it has nuclear capability, but the size of the programme, the extent of its development, really I can't know." Non-proliferation analysts estimate Israel has from 100 to 200 atomic weapons, but the country has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and does not confirm or deny having nuclear weapons. "It's enough for me to know that it has nuclear capability, there is a conviction that it has a nuclear weapon," the IAEA chief said in the Arabic-language interview recorded in Libya on Tuesday. The UN watchdog has long encouraged Israel to sign the NPT and help create a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East. Israel has refused to consider nuclear disarmament, citing a precarious security situation. "Israel still thinks that in the absence of complete recognition by all countries in the region it could not talk about giving up the nuclear deterrent or limiting conventional and non-conventional weapons," Mr ElBaradei said in the interview near the end of a two-day visit to Tripoli. Apart from North Korea, which Washington believes may already have at least one nuclear warhead, most of the suspicions of covert nuclear weapons programmes have focused on the Middle East and countries considered to be Israel's enemies. In December, Libya agreed to give up its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programmes and invited the IAEA and other experts to help it disarm. Both the United States and Israel accuse Iran of having a secret atom bomb programme, though Tehran denies this. On Tuesday the IAEA said in a report that it had found new evidence Iran has been hiding sensitive atomic technology and research that could be linked to a weapons programme. Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 28 Whitehaven News: CREATING THE WOW FACTOR Published in The Whitehaven News on 26/02/2004 THE eventual rundown of nuclear reprocessing and the growth of nuclear decommissioning should not be seen as the beginning of the end for the nuclear industry and its West Cumbrian workforce. Instead it should be regarded as a major opportunity for the area to become a centre of national skills in the nuclear industry. Already ideas are under way to set up a National Nuclear Academy. And as a further development of this idea, Pat Glenday, principal of Lakes College West Cumbria, and Mike Smith, chief executive of GEN II, are planning their own “wow” factor: Nucleus, a centre for vocational nuclear skills development, to be built in West Cumbria. At the moment, the idea is only at the conceptual stage: but the aim is to raise money for a feasibility study to be carried out, to be in place ready for the establishment of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The idea behind the National Nuclear Academy is to set it up as hub and spoke system: in other words it will not be a single building, or even a single campus, but many sites in different geographical locations, with the co-ordination coming from the hub or centre. Nucleus is envisaged as being an enhanced spoke. The plan is to make the most of the opportunities being offered by the NDA: to make sure that plenty of the benefits come to West Cumbria. Mike Smith explained: “It is all about being able to punch above your weight. It is about being confident that we are the best people to look after the country’s nuclear waste. “It is not about danger money – we should be proud of the fact that we already manage this waste very safely. We can continue to manage it – but at a price. It is a very expensive service.” The college and GENII have recently been made a Centre of Vocational Excellence, but, apart from the college’s engineering department and two workshops for GEN II , Pat and Mike felt more was needed. That is where the idea for Nucleus came – a new build in West Cumbria, which would be the home for the CoVE, providing top class training in nuclear and associated skills for the future. It would be a centre where young people could be trained, and existing workers retrained, to make sure they were in the right position to take advantage of the jobs that decommissioning would bring. At the same time it would provide a way into higher education for people who did not necessarily want to go to university at 18, while encouraging 16 to 18 year olds to stay in the education system. “it is important that we do something positive,” Pat said. “We have to be careful: the NDA is a national initiative and we are responding to a national need. But we have to make sure West Cumbria gets the lion’s share of the benefits.” Nucleus would work closely with the local schools, nearly all of which now have specialist status in technology, IT or science. Already West Cumbria bucks the trend for the numbers of young people studying science-based subjects, but it is behind in the total numbers of people going on to higher education. “We have to work on getting more people to university some how,” Mike said. But it was not necessary for people to follow the traditional route of A-levels followed by university. Nucleus would encourage more youngsters to follow vocational training, which could lead on to higher education through ONCs and HNCs and then on to degrees. What was important was that there should be parity of esteem between the different routes, with neither taking precedence. Training at Nucleus would cover every aspect of work required for decommissioning, including construction skills – an area where there is currently a shortage of people, and which promises to be a growth industry in the future – engineering, IT, and science. Mike felt that it was important for people to think more about setting up small companies that could react quickly to changing demands, both on the Sellafield site, and in the wider community. “I think there are going to be a lot more opportunities at Sellafield. We will need small specialised technology and engineering companies to be able to react quickly and help solve problems,” he said. The advantage was that smaller companies were often more flexible than big ones, and able to react quicker. The college and GEN II are already involved in training the next generation of workers at Sellafield and in other industries, and both Pat and Mike felt it was important that the area should be confident about what it had to offer to the outside world. “The wonderful points of living in an area like this are not sufficiently evident to the outside world, “ Pat said. To prove their confidence that a move towards decommissioning was only the next phase in the nuclear industry’s history, they pointed to what is happening at Dounreay in the north of Scotland. Dounreay has already started down the decommissioning route, and far from leading to a loss of jobs and depression, Thurso, the local town, is positively buzzing with new build on the site, new housing and a general feeling of confidence in the air. And it was this buzz they were hoping would translate to West Cumbria. Mike said it was important that the local workforce could see their part in the future vision for the area, to help them respond to it, and take on the new skills required. One of the advantages he saw was that the skills needed for decommissioning were the same skills needed to commission something: so a workforce skilled for decommissioning would be perfectly placed if it was decided to start new nuclear build. And those skills could also be used in other industries, such as petrochemicals, or in the clean-up of substances such as asbestos. But those who did not want to study science, engineering or technology would not be forgotten. Pat hoped the Nucleus would be built with a large auditorium which could double as a theatre, providing entertainment and allowing the college to develop performing arts and related courses. “The support skills are just as important as the hard skills of nuclear technology,” she said. “We have an aspiration that what we do will be for everybody. It is about quality of life for everyone. Above all, they both believe that their vision can be translated into reality. “I think it is really important to say that this will happen: it can happen and there is the potential to make it happen,” Pat said. “Everybody recognises a good idea at the right time,” Mike concluded. ***************************************************************** 29 DW: Let's Buy a Nuclear Plant | Business &Economics | Deutsche Welle | 26.02.2004 Some worry that China could use the Hanau plant to produce material for nuclear weapons. A group of German politicians, activists and celebrities has set up a Web site asking for donations to buy a plutonium processing plant in the town of Hanau before the government sells it to China. "Let's Buy Hanau Ourselves," is the name of the initiative sponsored by the German branch of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) that got kicked off on Thursday. The goal is simple, if ambitious -- raise €50 million plus one euro to buy the Hanau Fuel Element Factory owned by Siemens and prevent the factory from going to China, which wants to buy it for €50 million. "China could use the plant to create nuclear weapons, and we want to prevent that," Ute Watermann, spokesperson for IPPNW and the Hanau campaign, told DW-WORLD. The plan to sell the Hanau plant to China came to light in December, after a trip there by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. While the German government is phasing out nuclear energy at home, it said it would likely approve the sale of the factory -- which was completed in 1991 but never went into operation -- unless concerns about China using the factory for military ends could not be eliminated. The Hanau plant itself does not contain a nuclear reactor, rather it enables the production of fuel for nuclear power plants. Still, nuclear energy opponents are outraged at the plan, saying even if China uses the plant for civilian energy production, a by-product of the process is weapons-grade plutonium. "It's an unbelievably dangerous technology," Watermann said. "There is no purely civilian use for such a plant. The ruling coalition will decide over the next few weeks if China fulfils the conditions for the sale. According to Gernot Erler, Social Democrat parliamentary group leader, the government is confident that China will pass the test and the sale will go ahead. Star power The citizens group has gotten several German celebrities from the worlds of theater and television on board to lend the cause visibility and a little star power. "One shouldn't go along with the duplicity of the government," said Peter Sodann, one of the regulars om the popular television series "Tatort" and a supporter of the initiative "With one hand we're getting out of nuclear energy, with the other hand we're selling [nuclear technology] to China." Author Erich Loest, also lending his name to the campaign, said whatever guarantees China may have given to the German government about its planned uses for the plant, "we don't know what China will actually do with it." Other high-profile names from the worlds of art and entertainment include cabaret star Martin Buchholz, the comedy duo Badesalz and songwriter Konstantin Wecker. Left-leaning German politicians have joined in the effort as well, including some members of Schröder's own social democrats. SPD parliamentarian and winner of the Alternative Nobel Prize, Hermann Scheer, has been outspoken about the proposed sale, saying the nuclear trade needs to be stopped. "The government needs to live up to its responsibilities," he said. Pie in the sky? Ute Watermann admits that the goal of €50 million is a difficult one, especially since the group is giving themselves just three to four weeks to raise it. "It would be a dream if we did get there," she said. "But the real goal is to show the government that the public wants the sale to be stopped." Supporters who want to contribute are not asked to send money or give credit card numbers, rather they fax in a form on which they promise to contribute a certain amount of money in case the €50 million goal is reached and the purchase can go ahead. She said the response up to now has been large, even though she could not cite an average sum being pledged. "They're running the gamut, from €10 to €500," she said. "But the fax machine has been going non stop."DW Staff (jam) ***************************************************************** 30 Bellona: Containment system tests completed on unit no.3 at Kalinin NPP The containment system tests were completed at the Kalinin-3 nuclear power unit to check it for strength and leak-tightness, Nuclear.Ru reported. 2004-02-26 17:58 This is an essential stage of start-up operations, which should demonstrate quality of construction and assembling of the reactor hall containment, assess the state of concrete, steel and inner environs. The start-up management group headed by Mr. Aksenov called the tests’ results "quite satisfactory". In 2003 Kalinin nuclear plant produced 15 billion 171 million kWh of electricity to exceed the FEC of Russia's planned figure by 240 million kWh and 2002 output by 200 million kWh. Load factor approached 86.6% with the planned 85.22%. Presently Kalinin nuclear power plant operates two units with total load of 2070 MW, Nuclear.ru reported. Publisher: Bellona Foundation, President: Frederic Hauge Information: info@bellona.no, Technical contact: webmaster@bellona.no Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway ***************************************************************** 31 Tennessean: Alexander backs more nuclear plants - Thursday, 02/26/04 By ANNE PAINE Staff Writer U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is backing nuclear power, and it has some Tennessee environmentalists alarmed. Alexander announced this week that the Senate Energy Subcommittee, of which he is chairman, will hold a hearing March 4 on new nuclear power generation in the country. ''If we're really serious about clean air, I think we're going to have to build more nuclear plants,'' said Alexander, a Republican. ''New nuclear power is clean energy that will reduce our dependence on foreign gas and should be cost-effective.'' Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, called the senator's support for nuclear power ''reckless.'' The senator is ignoring two historical facts, Smith said. These are ''the massive consumer debt generated by the nuclear power industry, which is still weighing down Tennessee Valley Authority,'' and homeland security issues since 9/11, he continued. ''As the chair of the Senate Energy Subcommittee, Alexander should be more responsible in his approach to the issues of nuclear power by seeking a balanced review of the issues,'' Smith said. ''While we share the senator's concern for clean air, nuclear power creates a host of new economic, environmental and security issues that must be addressed. It's not the answer to clean air.'' Nuclear power advocates say reactors are a better way to produce electricity than coal-fired energy plants, which add to air pollution. In the Washington hearing, Alexander also is expected to focus on the planned restart of TVA's Browns Ferry nuclear facility. He is the chairman of the TVA Congressional Caucus. © Copyright 2003 The Tennessean A Gannett Co. ***************************************************************** 32 JOURNAL NEWS: Riverkeeper halts Indian Point lawsuit By ROGER WITHERSPOON THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: February 26, 2004) The environmental group Riverkeeper will end its two-year legal effort to force the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to shut the Indian Point power plants until they can be guarded against a Sept. 11-style airborne attack. The group is not, however, giving up its overall battle to close the nuclear plants in Buchanan. "This looks like the end of the road," Riverkeeper attorney Karl Coplan said yesterday, referring to the group's legal challenges to the NRC's oversight of the two nuclear plants. But, he said, "this is not the end of the road for Riverkeeper's fight to shut down Indian Point." The group also is challenging Indian Point on environmental grounds in federal court and with the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Riverkeeper, one of the leading groups in a coalition of 50 organizations seeking to close Indian Point, launched its legal actions against the NRC just two months after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In a petition to the NRC, joined by several elected officials, Riverkeeper asked the agency to suspend the license of Entergy Nuclear Northeast, which owns the plants, until there was a 10-mile "no-fly zone" established around the plants, proof that Entergy could defend the zone, and a full-scale test to prove the effectiveness of emergency evacuation plans for the region. The NRC rejected the petition in November 2002, saying that the plants were safe and that defending nuclear facilities from aerial attacks was the responsibility of the Defense Department. Riverkeeper challenged that decision in federal court, charging that the NRC had "abdicated" its responsibility to protect the public. The NRC's position was upheld in a decision released Tuesday by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel said that while "Riverkeeper raises grave concerns about the safety of Indian Point in the face of the risk of airborne terror attacks," the court did not have sufficient reason to interfere in a regulatory decision. "We have said all along that the best approach for dealing with an airborne attack is through greater airport security, greater airport screening, and all those other things the federal government is working on to improve security in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks," NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said yesterday. Entergy officials did not return requests for comment. U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Robert D. Sack, in writing the unanimous decision, stated that the "NRC's conclusion — right or wrong — that the problem was being adequately addressed by other agencies of government ... cannot amount to an abdication of its statutory duty to ensure that the public health and safety is adequately protected. Relying on other governmental bodies to address a risk is not equivalent to ignoring the risk." Calling the issues raised by Riverkeeper "plainly serious and of pressing concern," the court said that while the NRC has taken many steps to improve security since Sept. 11, 2001, "none of the NRC's disclosed actions appears to be directed specifically toward Riverkeeper's express concern: the possibility of an airborne terrorist attack on Indian Point." Riverkeeper's Coplan said he was "disappointed but not surprised" at the ruling because it is difficult to get the federal courts to intervene in a regulatory matter. "Basically, there is no law allowing such intervention by the court into a regulatory decision," Coplan said. "That means that, basically, the NRC is a lawless agency, and there is nothing for the court to tell it to do." Riverkeeper could appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, he said, "but there are other avenues that are probably more fruitful at this point." Also yesterday, the state Assembly passed a bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Sandra Galef, D-Ossining, that would require the public to be notified about any planned or unplanned emissions from New York's six nuclear power plants, and about any breakdowns or malfunctions. The public notice, which would be available through a toll-free hotline, would have to be made within 24 hours of any such incident. The bill now goes to the state Senate for consideration, where it has been sponsored by Sen. Thomas Morahan, R-New City. In addition, the NRC in a draft decision has rejected a request by the Union of Concerned Scientists to shut Indian Point until it installs a more efficient system of emergency pumps, despite a federal study that the plants' sump pumps are 100 times more likely to fail and cause a meltdown than more modern systems. NRC staff concluded that the study dealt with "generic" plant conditions and could not be used to evaluate the safety of Indian Point. Entergy and the organization have until April 5 to provide additional comments on the issue to the NRC. Copyright 2004 The Journal News, . Inc. newspaper serving Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties in New York. Use of ***************************************************************** 33 Xinhuanet: DPRK tables proposal to freeze nuclear programs www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-27 00:02:48 BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- An official of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said here Thursday evening that the DPRK had proposed its stance to freeze its nuclear programs and criticized the hard-line position of the United States. At a news briefing outside the compound of the DPRK Embassy in Beijing, the spokesman for the DPRK delegation said the six-party talks were held in a practical atmosphere on both Wednesday and Thursday, and the first-phase measures were discussed in a bid to realize the goal of resolving the nuclear issue. He said the parties concerned had learned well each other's positions and the DPRK delegation had made it clear that "We will abandon our nuclear weapons program when the United States drops its hostile policy toward the DPRK." The DPRK's proposal to freeze its nuclear weapons program as the first-phase measures to hit the goal should be followed by corresponding measures (adopted by the United States), he said. However, the spokesman said, the United States, disregarding the DPRK's flexible stance, has, as always, insisted on its hard-line position that only after the DPRK's abolishes all the nuclear programs, including those for peaceful purposes, could the DPRK proposal be put to discussion. It is because of the above-mentioned reasons that no breakthrough has been made during the talks, he said, adding that the DPRK will continue to make sincere efforts for solving the issue. It was the DPRK's first public comment during the second round of the six-party talks. Enditem DPRK puts forword proposal of complete stop of nuke plan BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- All parties to the six-nation talks discussed Thursday the proposal of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to completely stop its nuclear programs, said a member of the Chinese delegation. Liu Jianchao, also deputy director of the Information Department of the Foreign Ministry, said during the some four-hour-long session of the talks which lasted till 1:40 p.m., the parties mulled the first-phase actions to realize a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. The parties welcomed the DPRK proposal, believing it was a necessary step to resolving the issue, and they also expressed understanding of relevant concerns of the DPRK, Liu said. For the sake of taking coordinated steps, all sides had an in-depth discussion on the DPRK's demands. The Chinese side believes that all sides should take coordinated steps, which is the best way to build trust when distrust still remains among some sides, Liu said. He added that the six parties had all agreed to take such coordinated steps and shared the view that actions were the most effective means to build trust. He also briefed reporters on Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan's afternoon meeting with delegation heads and foreign diplomatic envoys in China. Tang said the second round of talks had entered a pivotal phase and efforts had begun for abolishing nuclear programs, safeguarding security and promoting economic cooperation. "If we can take resolving the nuclear question as an opportunity to gradually narrow disparities, expand consensus and build mutual trust, we will likely turn the challenges into opportunities and bring benefits to all sides, and create a more peaceful and secure regional environment," Tang was quoted as saying. In response, heads of the delegations told Tang that the talks were constructive, and had provided unprecedented opportunities for a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue. They also pledged further efforts toward the final resolution of the issue. When asked about forming a working group and drafting a written document for the talks, Liu said all parties agreed that it is crucial to set up a working group to deal with specified issues for the continuation of the talks. The question will be further discussed. As to the written document, Liu said, all parties are still consulting on the issue. They all hoped for a good document to be drafted. Liu also expounded China's position on energy aid to the DPRK. He said the parties had held just a preliminary discussion of the issue, and if they reached consensus on relevant questions, China would be also ready to provide energy aid to that country. The six-party talks on the Korean nuclear issue started Wednesday, involving China, the DPRK, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan. Enditem Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 34 NRC: NRC Issues Letter on Planned Davis-Besse Order News Release - Region III - 2004-00 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region III No. III-04-009 February 26, 2004 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 E-mail: assessments and mid-cycle inspections at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station to provide reasonable assurance that the long-term corrective actions remain effective. FirstEnergy may inform the NRC whether it will consent to the conditions of the Order and agree to have those conditions incorporated into a Confirmatory Order that will be immediately effective upon issuance. The letter does not imply that permission from the NRC to restart will be forthcoming. However, NRC restart approval is contingent upon the conditions in the Order being in effect. The NRC plans to issue the Order regardless of the utilitys consent. Attachment: Letter to FirstEnergy dated February 26, 2004. UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REGION III 801 WARRENVILLE ROAD LISLE, ILLINOIS 60532-4351 February 26, 2004 EA-03-214 Mr. Lew W. Myers Chief Operating Officer FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station 5501 North State Route 2 Oak Harbor, OH 43449-9760 SUBJECT: DAVIS-BESSE NUCLEAR POWER STATION, UNIT 1 - CONDITIONS TO BE CONFIRMED BY ORDER MODIFYING LICENSE (EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY) (TAC NO. MC1335) Dear Mr. Myers: As a result of FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC) identification of extensive degradation of the reactor pressure vessel head, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) No. 3-02-001 on March 13, 2002. The CAL documented commitments that FENOC was expected to fulfill prior to restart of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1. These commitments included meeting with the NRC to obtain restart approval. On November 23, 2003, FENOC submitted the Integrated Report to Support Restart of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station and Request for Restart Approval, and concluded that the plant, programs, and personnel were ready to support safe operation, subject to completion of a few well-defined work activities prior to restart. That letter outlined FENOCs commitments regarding post-restart continuing improvement initiatives and self and external assessments to assure lasting performance improvement and requested that the NRC schedule a meeting as stated in the CAL and then approve restart. A meeting was originally scheduled for December 18, 2003, to discuss restart. However, due to self-revealing equipment and operational problems and issues identified by NRC Restart Readiness Assessment and the Management and Human Performance inspection teams, the meeting was delayed. During the course of the extended shutdown of Davis-Besse beginning in February 2002, FENOC conducted a number of thorough evaluations and self-assessments. Several examples include the evaluation of system design, the assessment of the completeness and accuracy of docketed information, the evaluation of operational performance deficiencies during the normal operating pressure test, and the evaluation of the failure to comply with technical specification requirements during testing of the steam and feedwater rupture control system. However, self-assessments of operational performance prior to both the normal operating pressure test in September 2003, and the NRCs Restart Readiness Assessment Team Inspection in December 2003 failed to identify a number of deficiencies. Additionally, NRC inspections earlier during the shutdown discovered issues not originally identified through Davis-Besse self-assessments, most notably in the corrective action program, in the quality of engineering evaluations, calculations and analyses, and in safety culture. The NRC recognizes that FENOC has implemented significant corrective actions resulting in improved performance to address the CAL and the NRC Davis-Besse Oversight Panel Restart Checklist. Notwithstanding the improved performance, consistently effective FENOC self-assessments are an important factor in assuring lasting corrective actions for the deficiencies that resulted in the reactor pressure vessel head degradation. To ensure effective assessment and sustained safe performance in the areas of operations, engineering, and corrective actions at Davis-Besse, the NRC has determined that additional measures are needed to provide the requisite assurance should restart of Davis-Besse be authorized. Therefore, the NRC will issue an Order modifying License No. NPF-3, requiring independent assessments and mid-cycle inspections to provide reasonable assurance that the long-term corrective actions remain effective. FENOC may inform the NRC whether it will consent to the enclosed conditions by providing written response to the Regional Administrator at NRC Region III, 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL 60532-4351, within five working days of the date of this letter. If you consent, I request that you sign the enclosed Consent and Hearing Waiver form and return it to the above address. By signing the enclosed form, the management of FENOC will agree to have those conditions incorporated into a Confirmatory Order that will be immediately effective upon issuance and FENOC will waive any and all rights to a hearing concerning the Order. This letter does not imply that permission from the NRC to restart will be forthcoming. However, NRC restart authorization is contingent upon the conditions in the Order being in effect. The NRC plans to issue the Order regardless of your consent. If you have any questions, please call me at 630-829-9657. Sincerely, /signed/ James L. Caldwell Regional Administrator Docket No. 50-346 Enclosures: 1. Consent and Hearing Waiver Form [Not part of attachment to news release] 2. Conditions to be confirmed by Order Enclosure to letter to Mr. Lew Myers dated February 26, 2004: CONDITIONS TO BE CONFIRMED BY ORDER Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 103, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182 and 186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commissions regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR Part 50, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, THAT LICENSE NO. NPF-3 IS MODIFIED AS FOLLOWS: 1. FENOC shall contract with independent outside organizations to conduct comprehensive assessments of the Davis-Besse operations performance, organizational safety culture, including safety conscious work environment, corrective action program implementation, and engineering program effectiveness. Ninety days prior to the assessments, FENOC shall inform the Regional Administrator, NRC Region III, in writing, of the identity of its outside assessment organizations, including the qualifications of the assessors, and the planned scope and depth of the assessments. These outside independent assessments at Davis-Besse shall be completed before the end of the 4th calendar quarter of 2004 and annually thereafter for 5 years. Within 45 days of completion of the assessments, the Licensee shall submit by letter to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region III, all assessment results and any action plans intended to address issues raised by the assessment results. 2. FENOC shall conduct a visual examination of the reactor pressure vessel upper head bare metal surface, including the head-to-penetration interfaces; the reactor pressure vessel lower head bare metal surface, including the head-to-penetration interfaces; and the control rod drive mechanism flanges, using VT-2 qualified personnel and procedures during the Cycle 14 midcycle outage. The results and evaluation of the inspections will be reported by letter to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region III, prior to restart from the mid-cycle outage, and any evidence of reactor coolant leakage found during the inspections will be reported by telephone within 24 hours of discovery to the Regional Administrator, NRC Region III, or designee. If the Licensee determines that submittals made in accordance with these conditions contain proprietary information as defined by 10 CFR 2.390, the Licensee shall also provide a nonproprietary version in accordance with 10 CFR 2.390(b)(1)(ii). The Regional Administrator, NRC Region III, may, in writing, relax or rescind any of the above conditions upon demonstration by the Licensee of good cause. Last revised Thursday, February 26, 2004 ***************************************************************** 35 NRC: FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company; Notice of Withdrawal of FR Doc E4-408 [Federal Register: February 26, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 38)] [Notices] [Page 8991] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr26fe04-111] Application for Amendment to Facility Operating License The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has granted the request of FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (the licensee) to withdraw its June 24, 2003, application for proposed amendment to Facility Operating License No. DPR-66 for the Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit No. 1, located in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. The proposed amendment would have revised the Technical Specifications to clarify the steam generator tube inspection definition and the steam generator tube repair criteria. The Commission had previously issued a Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendment published in the Federal Register on August 5, 2003 (68 FR 46243). However, by letter dated February 9, 2004, the licensee withdrew the proposed change. For further details with respect to this action, see the application for amendment dated June 24, 2003, and the licensee's letter dated February 9, 2004, which withdrew the application for license amendment. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the internet at the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737 or by email to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of February, 2004. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Timothy G. Colburn, Senior Project Manager, Section 1, Project Directorate I, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E4-408 Filed 2-25-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 36 Moscow Times: Nuclear Cleanup February 27 - March 4, 2004 A triennial exhibition of ecological poster art dedicates itself to stopping Chernobyl from happening again. By Alexander Osipovich In April 1986, the Soviet military authorities sent Oleg Veklenko to Chernobyl, along with thousands of other local residents, to clean up after the worst nuclear disaster in history. But Veklenko was unique as the only artist among his brigade of cleanup workers. A professor of graphic design at the Kharkov Art-Industrial Institute, Veklenko immediately began to translate his experiences into visual art. Despite the long, grueling hours of working in the contaminated Zone, he spent his rare moments of free time drawing pictures and taking photographs. These works planted the seeds for Veklenko's personal mission, which continues to the present day -- ensuring that a catastrophe like Chernobyl never happen again. In 1991, Veklenko launched the 4th Block International Triennale of Ecological Posters and Graphics, named after the section of the Chernobyl power plant that suffered the accident. The 4th Block has since evolved into a major international event for graphic design, with over 300 artists from 46 different countries donating their works to the triennial exhibition in Kharkov, Ukraine. The 4th Block took place for the fifth time in 2003, opening, as always, on April 26, the anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. Now the best works of the 4th Block are coming to Moscow. From Monday until April 14, the 4th Block Festival of Ecological Art will feature the best posters from Veklenko's collection along with other ecologically themed exhibitions. Veklenko himself will be on hand at Monday's opening at the Shchusev Architecture Museum to exhibit photographs he took during the Chernobyl cleanup effort. Veklenko almost did not make it to this point. Like many Chernobyl cleanup workers, he suffered thyroid cancer caused by exposure to radiation. Determined to survive, he explored both alternative and conventional treatments, and followed a vigorous regimen of running and swimming. "The most important thing was that he had a tremendous will to survive," said Sergei Serov, a professor at the Academy of Graphic Design in Moscow and a close friend of Veklenko, in a recent interview. Although Veklenko survived -- he recently celebrated his 53rd birthday -- he still suffers from chronic health problems that make it difficult for him to organize the 4th Block Triennale. In fact, Veklenko decided to call it quits after the fourth Triennale in 2000. But the triennial art exhibition was saved when a group of Veklenko's former students who now work for the Moscow design studio Pro Obraz intervened. Pro Obraz was instrumental in organizing the fifth Triennale in 2003. It is also the main sponsor of the upcoming 4th Block festival in Moscow. The centerpiece of the 4th Block festival will be an exhibition at M'ARS gallery titled 100 Posters and featuring the best examples of graphic design from the 4th Block triennales. Courtesy of Art d'Eco Shop in Amsterdam, the M'ARS gallery will also run a clothing exhibition with outfits made of unusual materials like parachute fabric and straw. These exhibitions will run from March 16 to 28. Elsewhere in Moscow over the course of March and April, visitors will be treated to exhibitions of posters by 4th Block laureates from all over the world, including Japanese designer and environmental activist Nagai Kazumasa at the Shchusev museum. "This was a global tragedy," said curator Serov. "It was more than simply an accident in the Soviet Union. It was an accident for the whole world, which will still be going on for a million years." ***************************************************************** 37 Scotsman.com: British Energy Offers Turnaround Hope Thu 26 Feb 2004 By Graeme Evans, City Editor, PA News Nuclear generator British Energy offered some encouragement from its survival campaign today by reporting an improvement in its quarterly performance. Operating profits for the three months to December 31 were ÂŁ12 million – against ÂŁ21 million losses across the wider nine-month period – as the group showed the benefit of a cost-cutting drive and an improvement in output prices. East Kilbride-based British Energy added it had made “good progress” with the restructuring process needed to keep the business afloat. The generator, which supplies one-fifth of the UK’s power, escaped being placed into administration in October after securing the agreement of banks and bondholders to write off ÂŁ1.3 billion in debt. As part of the deal, British Energy pledged to improve reliability and its financial performance. It also requires the approval of the European Commission as the proposals will see the Government meet some decommissioning liabilities. In today’s results, British Energy repeated its warning that the planned restructuring remained subject to a “large number of uncertainties”. The company said nuclear output rose by 5% during the nine month period, although this included a 6% fall in the last quarter as a result of its Heysham 1 and Sizewell B plants being offline for lengthy repairs. Chairman Adrian Montague added the sale of the company’s interest in AmerGen in the United States for 277 million US dollars (ÂŁ148.2m) had been a key development for the company during the three month period. He said: “Whilst a decision by the European Commission is pending, we are focussing on improving British Energy’s operational reliability and financial capability.” As well as Heysham and Sizewell, British Energy has plants at Hartlepool, Hinkley Point, Somerset; Hunterston, Ayrshire; Dungeness, Kent and Torness, East Lothian. In June, the group announced losses of ÂŁ4.3 billion after slashing the value of its power plants. s ***************************************************************** 38 Forbes.com: NRC sets inspections order for FirstEnergy nuke 2/26/04 4:00:00 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Thursday it will order FirstEnergy Corp. (nyse: FE - news - people) to take extra steps to ensure that its actions to repair its troubled Davis-Besse nuclear power plant are effective. The NRC said it told Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy its order will require "independent assessments" and inspections at Davis-Besse if it approves a restart of the closed plant. A spokesman for FirstEnergy said the company will comply with the NRC order. "We have no indication from the NRC when a (restart) ruling will come, but we hope we can restart the plant before the end of the first quarter," said spokesman Richard Wilkins. Earlier this month, NRC inspectors said FirstEnergy had made enough progress in two operations areas -- "restart readiness" and awareness of safety problems -- to support a restart of Davis-Besse, but no date was set. The utility had hoped to get the plant running in February. The 925 megawatt plant, near Oak Harbor, Ohio, was forced to close two years ago when it was discovered that leaking boric acid had chewed holes nearly all the way through the reactor vessel's carbon steel lid, a serious safety violation. The NRC said in a letter to FirstEnergy today that "to ensure effective assessment and sustained safe performance in the areas of operations, engineering, and corrective actions at Davis-Besse, the NRC has determined that additional measures are needed to provide the requisite assurance should restart" be approved. The letter noted that FirstEnergy's earlier "self assessments" had "failed to identify a number of deficiencies." FirstEnergy's bonds rose after the NRC letter was released. "It's a half step along in the whole process. It looks like we're down to short strokes about when the plant restarts," said Jim McAuliffe, bond analyst at Morgan Stanley. Spreads -- the extra yield an investor earns for taking on a company's credit risk -- on FirstEnergy notes maturing in 2011, with a coupon of 6.45 percent, narrowed by about 0.05 percentage points to 1.13 percent. FirstEnergy previously said its improvements at Davis-Besse included replacement of the damaged vessel lid; improved power equipment, programs and procedures to run the plant; and more focus on the need to run the plant safely. The utility also put in a new management team for nuclear operations. FirstEnergy has said that repairs at Davis-Besse, including purchased power to replace the missing megawatts, have cost about $607 million. (Additional reporting by Dan Wilchins in New York) Copyright 2004, Reuters News Service ***************************************************************** 39 Calgary Herald: Nuclear receives bulk of federal funding Ottawa triples subsidies for clean energy canada.com Kate Jaimet CanWest News Services Thursday, February 26, 2004 The federal government will triple its subsidies to clean, green energy this year. But the nuclear industry will remain the biggest single recipient of the cash, pocketing $128 million in the fiscal year starting April 1, according to the federal estimates released this week. The subsidy to the nuclear industry is more than twice the amount that Ottawa will give to help producers manufacture the plant fuel ethanol, and more than ten times the amount handed out to wind energy. It also far exceeds direct subsidies to the oil and gas sector. "Nuclear is much more advanced than renewable energy, a lot of which is in its early stages," said Energy Minister John Efford, in defending the $128-million handout to Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. "When you get to the cost of building nuclear plants, designing and refurbishing them, it costs more money, and therefore you put the money in where the money is needed." But Treasury Board president Reg Alcock said the annual subsidies to Atomic Energy -- which Ottawa has been handing over for the past 50 years -- will come into question as the government conducts its complete spending review. "We are reviewing every single appropriation. So we'll get to AECL as part of that," Alcock said. While subsidies to nuclear power are nothing new, the greatest change in energy spending for the coming year lies in the large increase to renewable energies and energy efficiency. The Department of Natural Resources will spend $18 million helping homeowners to retrofit their houses for energy efficiency, and another $67 million on energy efficiency and alternative energy programs. Ethanol producers will get 0$57 million to subsidize the distillation of the grain-based fuel, while commercial windmill owners will be able to dip into a $10-million incentive fund. With additional programs in energy efficiency research and clean energy distribution, the total amount allocated to conservation and alternative energy will come to $164 million for the year. That's more than three times the $47 million allocated in last year's budget. "It proves the government's commitment to the Kyoto file, the government's commitment to reducing greenhouse gases, the government's commitment to new technologies, renewable energies and anything we can do to ensure that our environment is protected in the future," Efford said. Shawn Patrick Stensil, director of atmosphere and energy for the Sierra Club of Canada, was more muted in his praise. "It's a start, but it's not as far as we need to go," he said. "We're giving hundreds of millions a year for reactors no one is going to buy. That money would be better spent if we redirected it to energy efficiency and green energy." The oil and gas sector also stands to receive some $31 million in subsidies in the coming year. Most of that -- $28 million -- is budgeted for loans to subsidize interest payments for the Hibernia oil project. The remaining $3 million consists of grants for infrastructure costs for oil and gas development off the coasts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. © Copyright 2004 Calgary Herald ***************************************************************** 40 [Fwd: [du-list] IAEA DU Kuwait Report] Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 22:45:56 -0800 Return-path: Envelope-to: rogerh@energy-net.org Delivery-date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 19:49:30 -0800 Received: from root by darwin.ctyme.com with ctyme-spam-scanned (Exim 4.30) id 1AwCWf-0006Tt-0K for rogerh@energy-net.org; Wed, 25 Feb 2004 19:49:30 -0800 Received: from n17.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.72]) by darwin.ctyme.com with smtp (Exim 4.30) id 1AwCWe-0006Tk-Nw for rogerh@energy-net.org; Wed, 25 Feb 2004 19:49:28 -0800 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1009892-5418-1077767362-rogerh=energy-net.org@returns.groups.yahoo.com Received: from [66.218.66.98] by n17.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 26 Feb 2004 03:49:23 -0000 X-Sender: rrands@southcom.com.au X-Apparently-To: du-list@yahoogroups.com Received: (qmail 12138 invoked from network); 26 Feb 2004 03:49:22 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.172) by m15.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 26 Feb 2004 03:49:22 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO eyre.southern.net.au) (202.182.64.147) by mta4.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 26 Feb 2004 03:49:21 -0000 Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by eyre.southern.net.au (Postfix) with SMTP id 082D05DD for ; Thu, 26 Feb 2004 14:49:20 +1100 (EST) Received: from robert (CPE-144-137-22-229.vic.bigpond.net.au [144.137.22.229]) by eyre.southern.net.au (Postfix) with SMTP id 00590A42D4 for ; Thu, 26 Feb 2004 14:49:19 +1100 (EST) Message-ID: <012101c3fc1b$8ca6e410$0100000a@robert> To: References: <1077706426.143.194.m12@yahoogroups.com> X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 X-eGroups-Remote-IP: 202.182.64.147 From: "Robert Rands" X-Yahoo-Profile: dominouglias MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list du-list@yahoogroups.com; contact du-list-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list du-list@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 14:49:34 +1100 Subject: [du-list] IAEA DU Kuwait Report Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_011E_01C3FC77.BFAC6540" X-Sender-Hostname: n17.grp.scd.yahoo.com X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 2.63 (2004-01-11) on darwin.ctyme.com X-Spam-Status: No, hits=-15.6 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,HTML_MESSAGE, LINES_OF_YELLING,LINES_OF_YELLING_2,MAILTO_LINK,MAILTO_WITH_SUBJ, RCVD_IN_SORBS,SUBJ_GROUP,SUBJ_WHITELIST,YAHOO_EGROUP,YAHOO_HOST autolearn=ham version=2.63 X-Spam-Report: * -5.0 SUBJ_WHITELIST Subject Whitelist * -1.0 SUBJ_GROUP Subject Indicates Discussion List [] * -2.0 YAHOO_HOST From Yahoo Host * -5.0 YAHOO_EGROUP From Yahoo eGroup * 0.1 LINES_OF_YELLING_2 BODY: 2 WHOLE LINES OF YELLING DETECTED * -5.0 BAYES_00 BODY: Bayesian spam probability is 0 to 1% * [score: 0.0000] * 0.1 LINES_OF_YELLING BODY: A WHOLE LINE OF YELLING DETECTED * 1.0 HTML_MESSAGE BODY: HTML included in message * 0.1 MAILTO_LINK BODY: Includes a URL link to send an email * 1.0 MAILTO_WITH_SUBJ URI: Includes a link to send a mail with a subject * 0.1 RCVD_IN_SORBS RBL: SORBS: sender is listed in SORBS * [144.137.22.229 listed in dnsbl.sorbs.net] X-Spam-Level:

RADIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN AREAS OF KUWAIT WITH RESIDUES OF DEPLETED  URANIUM

Report by an international group of experts

 
Still having a look at this one.  Interesting admission on page 7, implies that dirty DU has been put toward armaments for longer than I (in my innocence) would have guessed. 
 
 
"There have been reports that the DU in munitions contains small amounts of other radionuclides, such as isotopes of americium and plutonium, as well as 236U. The presence of these human-made radionuclides indicates that some of the DU has been obtained from uranium that had been irradiated in nuclear reactors and subsequently reprocessed. Published information for other theatres of war indicates that the amounts of these radionuclides present in DU are very small [8, 9].

[8] ROYAL SOCIETY, The Health Hazards of Depleted Uranium Munitions, Part I, Royal Society, London (2001).

[9] UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME, Depleted Uranium in Kosovo, Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment, UNEP, Nairobi (2001). Radiological Assessments, Rep. NRPB-M636, National Radiological Protection Board, Didcot, UK (1996).

The ratios of Pu238 toPU239&240, and U234:U238 given in Table II, on Page 8, should help when drawing inferences about the population dose commitment associated with DU weapons and remnants of war.



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***************************************************************** 41 Pravda.RU British Minister says Russian technology for dismantling nuclear submarines is unique 16:42 2004-02-26 The technology used to dismantle nuclear submarines in Severodvinsk is unique. This was announced to Rosbalt by British Minister for Trade and Industry Nigel Griffiths. He witnessed the dismantling of two Oscar nuclear submarines at the Zvezdochka plant. When asked about the aim of his visit, the minister stressed that 'last year the UK became the leading investor in Russia. Russian export to the UK has also increased. Today our two countries have a very close partnership. I was also interested to find out how our projects on nuclear submarines are progressing.' The British minister also met First Deputy Governor of the Arkhangelsk Region Alexander Polikarpov. They discussed the prospects for collaborating in the areas of minerals and natural resources, timber and construction. © RosBalt Copyright ©1999 by "Pravda.RU". When reproducing our materials ***************************************************************** 42 Japan Times: Bikini test survivors still living with blast Friday, February 27, 2004 Fukuryu Maru crew victimized by nuclear fallout, then treated as pariahs By NAO SHIMOYACHI Staff writer A bright light shatters the darkness over the predawn Pacific. The light envelops the entire sea and changes from yellow to orange, purplish orange to red. [News photo] Matashichi Oishi, one of the crew members of the Fukuryu Maru No. 5, speaks at his Tokyo business. NAO SHIMOYACHI PHOTO Eardrum-shattering rumbling follows and shakes the planet. Hours later, white ash begins to fall. "I kept wondering, 'What is going on, what is going on,' " says Matashichi Oishi, recalling what happened 50 years ago. "But I couldn't come up with an answer. I had very little knowledge about nuclear bombs then." Oishi's memory of that day, March 1, 1954, has not faded. He was on a wooden tuna trawler along with 22 other Japanese fishermen at a location believed to be 160 km east of Bikini Atoll when the United States denoted a hydrogen bomb. The bomb, code-named Bravo, was the biggest nuclear device ever tested by the U.S. The blast, 1,000 times more powerful than those that laid waste to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, took place as the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a fierce nuclear arms race early in the Cold War. Five decades later, Oishi, who now runs a laundry in Tokyo, keeps himself busy giving lectures at schools and other venues by request. "I feel obliged to talk about the incident for the sake of my dead fellows," he says. Of the 23 crew members of the Fukuryu Maru No. 5 tuna trawler, known in English as the Lucky Dragon, only 11 are still living. All 23 suffered or are suffering from health problems believed to have been caused by radiation and the contaminated blood they received during treatment. While the Bikini incident had a huge impact on the global stage -- it showed the world the power and terror of a hydrogen bomb and triggered large-scale antinuclear movements -- the Fukuryu Maru's crew remained silent for decades. They were puzzled by the intense media attention that followed their return to Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, a leading deep-sea fishing port. The media reported their every move, and they were all hospitalized for "acute radiation sickness." Fear of nuclear contamination sent the nation into a panic and led to the dumping of tons of tuna caught in the affected area of the Pacific, resulting in the loss of hundreds of millions of yen for the fishing industry. "We knew we caused tremendous inconvenience," says Yoshio Misaki, the former chief fisherman of the Fukuryu Maru. "We felt we had no right to talk." Fear of social discrimination against people exposed to radiation also discouraged them from coming out as survivors of the Bikini incident, according to Oishi. Many of the crew, including Oishi and Misaki, had to quit as fishermen due to health problems and later tried to hide their nuclear experience so they could hold on to jobs, Oishi says. "Even though we share the same feelings, many of us do not open our mouths." Oishi left Yaizu for Tokyo in 1955 to start a new, quiet life. He began making public appearances in the 1980s after being asked to give a lecture by a junior high school student. In Yaizu, Misaki has also been telling his own story in recent years, wishing to correct what he says are false images of the Fukuryu Maru's crew. "Fishermen are very neat and strong people," he said, referring to the fact that they must work as a team over long periods, often in harsh conditions, including typhoons. Misaki said he was shocked by some of the media reports, such as one that said the Fukuryu Maru crew members, while "tainted with death ash," were carousing in the city. The situation surrounding nuclear weapons has changed in the last 50 years, but the threat of nuclear weapons still exists. While there is no longer large-scale atmospheric testing like the Bravo blast, suspicions of nuclear programs in North Korea, Iran and other nations make daily headlines. A U.S. plan to study the possibility of a new generation of "low-yield" nuclear weapons is feared by many observers as the beginning of a new era, in which nuclear bombs would no longer be just a deterrent and their battlefield use would become more likely. "What makes me angry is we have suffered so much, but nuclear weapons are still there with improved quality," Oishi said. "Because people did not think about the incident, because politicians never took it seriously," people are still living in a world with nuclear arms. The Japan Times: Feb. 27, 2004 (C) All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 43 Japan Times: U.S. fumed over lack of access to victims Friday, February 27, 2004 NAGOYA (Kyodo) Senior U.S. officials accused Japan of denying it valuable security data by refusing to let them examine 23 Japanese fishermen irradiated by a U.S. hydrogen bomb test near Bikini Atoll in 1954, according to a declassified report found recently by Kyodo News. [News photo] Municipal officials at Tokyo 's Tsukiji fish market measure the level of radiation in a tuna that had been unloaded from the Fukuryu Maru No. 5, in a file photo from March 1954. The 19-page report reveals not only a serious bilateral spat over the irradiation of the Fukuryu Maru No. 5, known as the Lucky Dragon in English, but also sheds light on the attitude of U.S. scientists, who appeared to see the victims as experiment subjects and were in no doubt about the superiority of U.S. medical practices. "The field of atomic medicine is in its infancy. . . . Accidentally an experiment was performed on 23 unfortunate men," the report said. "The loss of an expert evaluation in this experiment may well outweigh all other reasons for seeing these patients. "It was apparent that American medical practices were far superior in every respect. In just the diagnoses and therapeutics as related to the fishermen, their chances of survival and of speedier recuperation would be greatly enhanced under the supervision of the U.S. team," the report said. The document was compiled by John Morton, director of the U.S. Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, and Jack Lewis, the commission's head of medicine, two months after the test. "The Japanese team by its obstinacy and desire for aggrandizement has irrevocably lost what may be very valuable data for the national defense to the U.S., the islands of Japan, and the free world," it said. The trawler was fishing for tuna about 160 km from the test site and was outside the designated danger zone. Nevertheless, the crew was showered with radioactive fallout and all fell ill. Morton and Lewis, then stationed in Hiroshima, had traveled to Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, the home port of the Fukuryu Maru, and Tokyo to collect data in March and April 1954. The U.S. had offered to assist in treating the crew but was turned down. The report also blamed the Japanese media for the deterioration in Japan-U.S. relations over the issue, saying, "This in no small part was due to the rantings of the hysterical sensation-seeking, irresponsible, sometimes mendacious Japanese press." The report was found in the archives of the U.S. Department of Energy in Nevada. Susan Lindee, a history and sociology of science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, commented, "Notice that the report accuses the Japanese of emotionality and hysteria, but it is itself very emotional as well. I think this report suggests just how crucial the Fukuryu Maru incident was in the Japanese-American relationship. "U.S. observers were frustrated and angry because the Americans believed that anyone irradiated by American bombs should be assessed solely by Americans," she told Kyodo News by e-mail. "But for the Japanese, the Americans had been dishonest and secretive, refusing to share data" on radiation victims from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings in 1945. "By 1954, all these long-simmering tensions exploded around a fishing crew that was unexpectedly subjected to a weapons test," Lindee said. The Japan Times: Feb. 27, 2004 ***************************************************************** 44 Japan Times: For Marshall Islands, nuclear legacy lives on Friday, February 27, 2004 By NAO SHIMOYACHI Staff writer The people of the Marshall Islands, the site of 67 U.S. nuclear tests between 1946 and 1958, have their own Bikini stories. Fifty years later, the legacy of the nuclear testing program still runs deep, says Seiichiro Takemine, a doctoral candidate at Waseda University studying the effects of nuclear testing on the islanders. "Those nuclear tests have destroyed their way of life," he says. The Marshalls, made up of 29 coral atolls and five small islands just north of the equator, were administered by the United States for decades following World War II. They became a sovereign state in 1986 with the signing of the Compact of Free Association with the U.S. During the testing period, the people living on and near Bikini and Eniwetok atolls, which were used for nuclear testing, were evacuated to other islets. But the U.S. later admitted that at least 239 people were left behind, where they were exposed to strong radiation at the time of the March 1, 1954, Bravo blast. Half a century later, Bikini and Rongelap, which received strong radioactive fallout, are still uninhabitable. The nuclear fallout is believed to have also caused high rates of certain health disorders across the Marshall Islands, including thyroid cancer and miscarriages. The U.S. acknowledged responsibility for radiation-induced health problems when it signed the compact in 1986 and set up a $150 million compensation trust fund. Most of the islets to which the islanders were evacuated were isolated and barren, which caused the evacuees to abandon their traditional "canoe" culture, Takemine says. The people of the Marshall Islands would take to canoes for every occasion, and used them for fishing and gathering fruit on nearby atolls and islands, he says. Now they are dependent on compensation money and canned food supplied by the U.S. as emergency relief goods, Takemine says. The government of the Marshall Islands wants the U.S. to beef up the compensation program, whose funding is running out, and help clean up the contaminated land and resettle the displaced people, according to Mary Leon Silk of the College of the Marshall Islands. As of last May, $9.5 million was left in the fund. The Japan Times: Feb. 27, 2004 (C) All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 45 Deseretnews: Utah loses a round in battle on N-waste [deseretnews.com] Wednesday, February 25, 2004 D.C. appeals court rules NRC has jurisdiction By Jerry Spangler Deseret Morning News The state lost yet another round in its legal battle to keep high-level nuclear waste out of Utah when a Washington, D.C., federal appeals court ruled Tuesday the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction to license private nuclear waste facilities. Furthermore, the court ruled that even though the Department of Energy would not take over private nuclear storage facilities, nothing in the law or the congressional debates "suggests that Congress intended to prohibit private use of private away-from-reactor facilities." The ruling is one of a litany of setbacks for the state, which has lost on almost every issue it has raised. In this case, the state argued the NRC did not have jurisdiction to license private waste facilities under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act — an argument rejected by the D.C. court. "The state has brought this up over and over and over again," said Sue Martin, spokeswoman for Private Fuel Storage, the consortium of nuclear power facilities seeking to store 44,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel on lands owned by the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes in Tooele County. "I think it was one of the first contentions the state filed and had dismissed. And they have continued to raise it in various forms. Hopefully, this decision puts that issue to rest once and for all." Paul Murphy, spokesman for Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, whose office argued the case, said the assistant AGs involved could not be reached for comment. The state has lost its claims that the proposed facility, which would store nuclear fuel rods in above-ground storage casks, would not withstand earthquakes; that it would compromise wilderness qualities; and that PFS did not have the financial wherewithal to build and manage the facility. The state Legislature also passed a series of laws intended to block PFS, or at the very least tax it heavily. But the federal courts rejected those as unconstitutional. The state's only victory was a temporary one. The NRC ruled that the possibility of military aircraft crashing into the site was a potential danger, prompting PFS to scale back the size of its proposal and then re-submit the issue for NRC consideration. That issue has not yet been decided. PFS is proceeding with its plan to store the waste despite the indictment of tribal leader Leon Bear on corruption charges. Also charged by the Justice Department was Sammy Blackbear, a leader of the opposition to the waste plan, who is accused of fraud in connection with tribal funds. The Legislature has appropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the legal fight to keep PFS from using Tooele County as a "temporary' waste site (the leases are for 20 years with a 20-year renewal). Lawmakers are again considering whether to continue funding the legal battles. Former Gov. Mike Leavitt, now administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, vowed the waste would come to Utah over his dead body. Gov. Olene Walker, while not as graphic in her depiction of her opposition, has pledged to continue the fight. Tuesday's ruling focuses on obscure wording in the Atomic Energy Act, which gave regulatory authority to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and a later law, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. The former specifically gave the NRC the authority to regulate nuclear waste, but the latter is more vague. State attorneys pounced on that discrepancy, but the appeals court ruled there was nothing in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act that would negate authority granted under the earlier law. "There is no basis to conclude that in enacting the NWPA, Congress implicitly repealed or superseded the NRC's authority," the ruling states. E-mail: spang@desnews.com © 2004 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 46 NEWS.com.au: Nuclear agency downplays risk February 26, 2004 AUSTRALIA'S nuclear agency today downplayed concerns about a nuclear waste dump, saying standing next to low-level nuclear waste for an hour would give someone less radiation than a return flight to the US. Organisation acting executive director Ron Cameron said it was important the public understood the issues regarding the generation, storage and transportation of low-level radioactive waste. Mr Cameron was speaking in Adelaide today at an Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency public forum on the safety of the proposed low-level radioactive waste dump in South Australia's north. Dr Cameron said low-level radioactive waste was just that - waste material which emitted low levels of radiation - and was comprised of items such as laboratory coats, rubber gloves and glass. These materials were generated for activities such as the delivery of diagnostic and therapeutic radioisotopes for nuclear medicine procedures. "If you stood two metres away from a truck full of low-level waste for one hour without moving, you would receive less radiation than you would if you flew to Los Angeles and back," he said. Dr Cameron said a recent New South Wales government inquiry into low-level waste supported ANSTO's claims about the minimal risks associated with the transport of low-level radioactive waste. The Australian Democrats told the forum the risk of earthquake should be enough to stop the dump, proposed for a site 20km east of Woomera. The Democrats said it would be irresponsible to locate it near the same fault line that rocked Adelaide with a major quake in 1954. Democrats MP Sandra Kanck said the Torrens fault line stretched from Kangaroo Island to Torrens Lake in outback SA, next to the proposed site. "The brief history of European settlement throughout South Australia only adds to the concern that the dump will eventually be rocked by an earthquake," Ms Kanck said. The Federal Department of Education, Science and Training, which would be the owner and have overall responsibility for the dump, told the forum today the site near Woomera was the best location. Dr Caroline Perkins, from the department's radioactive waste management section, said the risks of an earthquake were negligible. "This has been a very boring place for the last 30 million years," Dr Perkins said of the site's seismic, tectonic and volcanic activity. "This really has been a very stable area." AAP Copyright 2003 News Limited. All times AEDT ***************************************************************** 47 Australian: Forum hears first details of N-dump [February 27, 2004] By Rebecca DiGirolamo A SERIES of security fences and an "unobtrusive" building would mark the nation's first radioactive waste dump if approved for construction on a sheep station in South Australia's far north. First details of the $6 million low-level radioactive waste repository began to emerge yesterday when the Department of Education, Science and Training provided evidence to a forum in Adelaide. DEST radioactive manager Caroline Perkins said three security fences, one with an "intruder protection system", would encircle an area 100m by 100m, which would house the repository. The 1000sqm area would cover 20m-deep trenches or bore holes lined with clay and containing 205-litre steel drums of radioactive waste for the next 50 years. "The Australian community ... will benefit from the repository by ensuring waste is isolated ... from the environment and people and responsibly monitored and managed," she said. Dr Perkins's evidence is the first time DEST, owner of the proposed dump, has publicly stated its case for a national repository after submissions from environmentalists, the Rann Government and indigenous elders were heard on Wednesday. The two-day forum will help Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency chief executive officer John Loy make a final decision on whether to approve the commonwealth's licence application to build and operate the dump on Arcoona Station, near Woomera, 500km north of Adelaide. The dump will open every two to five years to receive waste, during which time demountable buildings will service contractors receiving and burying the waste. Outside of burial campaigns, there will be one permanent structure housing service equipment. © The Australian ***************************************************************** 48 The Age: Nuclear agency downplays dump fears - - http://www.theage.com.au February 26, 2004 - 6:05PM Australia's nuclear agency has downplayed concerns about a nuclear waste dump, saying standing next to low-level nuclear waste for an hour would give someone less radiation than a return flight to the US. Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) acting executive director Ron Cameron said it was important the public understood the issues regarding the generation, storage and transportation of low-level radioactive waste. Mr Cameron was speaking in Adelaide at an Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) public forum on the safety of the proposed low-level radioactive waste dump in South Australia's north. Dr Cameron said low-level radioactive waste was just that - waste material which emitted low levels of radiation - and was comprised of items such as laboratory coats, rubber gloves and glass. These materials were generated for activities such as the delivery of diagnostic and therapeutic radioisotopes for nuclear medicine procedures. "If you stood two metres away from a truck full of low-level waste for one hour without moving, you would receive less radiation than you would if you flew to Los Angeles and back," he said. Dr Cameron said a recent NSW government inquiry into low-level waste supported ANSTO's claims about the minimal risks associated with the transport of low-level radioactive waste. But the Australian Democrats told the forum the risk of earthquake should be enough to stop the dump, proposed for a site 20km east of Woomera. The Democrats said it would be irresponsible to locate it near the same fault line that rocked Adelaide with a major quake in 1954. Democrats MP Sandra Kanck said the Torrens fault line stretched from Kangaroo Island to Torrens Lake in outback SA, next to the proposed site. "The brief history of European settlement throughout South Australia only adds to the concern that the dump will eventually be rocked by an earthquake," Ms Kanck said. The federal Department of Education, Science and Training, which would be the owner and have overall responsibility for the dump, told the forum the site near Woomera was the best location. Dr Caroline Perkins, from the department's radioactive waste management section, said the risks of an earthquake were negligible. "This has been a very boring place for the last 30 million years," Dr Perkins said of the site's seismic, tectonic and volcanic activity. "This really has been a very stable area." ©2003 AAP Copyright © 2004. The Age Company Ltd. | contact us ***************************************************************** 49 UPI: Kyrgyzstan bans German waste uranium - (United Press International) February 26, 2004 BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Kyrgyzstan will not allow waste uranium imports from Germany, Prime Minister Nikolay Tanayev said Thursday. Tanayev was quoted by the Kyrgyz Kabar news agency as saying his government would not permit imports of waste uranium from Germany because he did not want to see Kyrgyzstan turned into a uranium waste dump. "We have enough of our own uranium waste," Tanayev said. "We do not know what to do with it, where to remove it." Earlier this week, however, local media had reported the uranium refinery in the town of Kara-Balta -- located 36 miles west of the capital Bishkek, -- had signed a contract with Germany's RWE NUKEM Gmbh to process about 2,000 tons of uranium as nuclear plant fuel. The refinery would retain from 44 to 66 tons of the end product, keep the waste in the refinery's tailing storage facility and earn a profit of about $600,000. Toktayym Umetaliyeva, head of the Association of the Kyrgyz Non-governmental and Non-commercial Organizations, complained the contract would set a precedent for storing environmentally hazardous uranium waste in the country, which could undermine donor countries' financial support and spoil Kyrgyzstan's image. ***************************************************************** 50 Las Vegas RJ: DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY: Waste set for test site Thursday, February 26, 2004 First shipments of special type of radioactive material coming this year REVIEW-JOURNAL Graphic by Mike Johnson. CARSON CITY -- The Department of Energy announced Wednesday it will begin accepting the first of 3,750 truckloads of a special type of potent radioactive waste this year at the Nevada Test Site's low-level nuclear waste burial site. "There is only one spot in the country that this waste can go to," said Carl Gertz, environmental management chief of the test site's waste disposal program. "There is no alternative." Gertz told a group of state agency administrators that the waste material will be shipped from silos in Fernald, Ohio, over an 18-month period to Nevada on flatbed trucks. The shipment program will cost $400 million. None of the waste trucks will go through the Las Vegas Valley or over Hoover Dam, Energy Department officials said. The Nevada Test Site has received 6.4 million cubic feet of low-level radioactive waste from the Fernald site since the early 1980s with the most recent rate of shipments averaging about 15 truckloads per week. But the announced shipping campaign from Fernald will greatly increase the rate of waste-bearing trucks rolling across highways. In addition, the more potent levels of uranium-tainted waste containing a radioactive derivative, radium-226, will require thicker shielding than containers holding previous waste loads from Fernald. An average of 15 flatbed trucks per day, each carrying a pair of one-half-inch-thick steel cylinders loaded with a blend of uranium by-product waste, cement and ash, will travel through 11 states to reach the test site. The disposal area is located about 75 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Officials for DOE's contractor, Fluor Fernald, said two, 20-foot-tall concrete silos at the dismantled nuclear weapons plant hold the most potent waste, a by-product from processing high-grade, uranium ore that came from a mine in the former Belgian Congo region of Africa. Ore from that mine had 75 percent uranium concentration compared to only about two percent uranium from ore mined in the United States and Canada. Shipments from those two silos holding 240,300 cubic feet of waste are expected to begin in October this year and run through November 2005, said Fluor Fernald spokesman Jeff Wagner. He said shipments of waste from a third silo holding 137,700 cubic feet of low-level thorium waste described as a talc of Cold War oxides will begin in May. The Ohio storage facility, where uranium was once processed for nuclear weapons materials, is being closed and will be cleaned up as a federal Superfund site. It is located 18 miles north of Cincinnati. Dennis Carr, director of Fluor Fernald's silos project, said the waste needs to be sent to a remote disposal area because the 50-year-old silos are losing their structural integrity and they sit less than 1,000 feet from a residential area, near a meandering stream and above the 650,000-acre, Great Miami Aquifer. He said the radioactive content of the waste is "orders of magnitude lower than spent fuel," or the high-level radioactive waste that the Energy Department plans to bury in Yucca Mountain, along the southwest side of the test site, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. No police escorts will be required for the Fernald shipments, although the trucks will be placarded to warn other drivers, according to Gertz. The waste is not considered to be uranium tailings because that leftover material remained in Africa after the high-grade ore was shipped to the United States for the nation's Cold War nuclear weapons production program. In Washington, Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., expressed concern about the shipments. Bob Loux, administrator of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Office, said he was concerned because of the large number of shipments. The test site accepts about 2,400 truckloads annually of low-level waste. "There doesn't appear we can do anything," Loux added. "I am concerned about the increased volume of all this material on highways in Nevada. There are some open questions in our minds." Once the Ohio site was designated for Superfund cleanup, however, Loux said there was little Nevada could do to block the shipments. But he added he still questions whether the test site, designated by Congress for nuclear weapons testing, can be used as a radioactive waste disposal site. Loux said that the material is not really low-level radioactive waste, but special material classified between low- and high-level radioactive waste. Federal regulations, however, permit the material to be buried on low-level waste sites. "They classified it as low-level for the convenience of disposing of it," Loux said. "DOE has made it low-level waste for the purpose of disposal." Gertz said the waste will be buried in 25-foot deep trenches covered by at least 17 feet of dirt. "Everybody is prepared, everybody knows what to do," he added. He contended the waste will not contaminate groundwater and that the DOE is committed to ensuring the safety of Nevadans. But the waste must be contained for 1,000 years, about 10 times as long as actual low-level waste, according to Loux. He noted the Utah Legislature last year "classified this as hotter than the normal waste" disposed of in a privately run waste facility there. Lawmakers refused to give the facility the necessary authorization to take the Fernald waste, Loux said. Initially the federal government wanted to vitrify, or turn the material into glass before burying it, he added. Fluor Fernald officials said they intend to haul waste from the silos over a southern route. Gertz said, "These trucks will be going through Amarillo, through Oklahoma City and a lot of big cities." Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault contributed to this report. Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal ***************************************************************** 51 Las Vegas RJ: State seeks more Yucca funds Thursday, February 26, 2004 Nevada wants another $4 million this year By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Nevada officials on Wednesday demanded an additional $4 million in Yucca Mountain funding this year, saying the state needs more money from the Energy Department to continue evaluating the nuclear waste project. In a move that could set the stage for another lawsuit over the Yucca Mountain Project, Nevada is taking a position that the DOE is legally obliged to provide enough money for "meaningful participation" in the project. Congress appropriated $1 million for Nevada this year in the Yucca program. State officials say Nevada needs $5 million to maintain its studies and argues the Energy Department should make up the difference. Bob Loux, director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, framed the request in a letter to Margaret Chu, the head of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. DOE officials in Washington could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Allen Benson, a spokesman in the Office of Repository Development in Las Vegas, said he had not seen the letter and could not comment on it. Loux said in an interview that Nevada funding has fluctuated from year to year and state officials want to ensure a "process for regular funding" as they prepare for repository license hearings. In his letter, Loux proposed to send the Energy Department a budget each year so the energy secretary "will know the size of the grant he must make." The state, which is preparing to challenge the Yucca project before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, could need up to $10 million annually during time the license is being considered, he said. The state's letter to Chu set a March 15 deadline for the DOE to respond or "we will promptly seek a judicial remedy." Loux said the state received no responses to earlier letters that Gov. Kenny Guinn and Attorney General Brian Sandoval sent to the DOE. The state has three consolidated lawsuits and a constitutional challenge against the Yucca Mountain Project pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Nevada has received an average of around $5 million annually to evaluate the Energy Department's science and engineering to develop a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Loux said. Nevada received $11 million in 1989, Loux said. During 1995 and 1996, after lawmakers audited state spending on Yucca, Nevada got no federal money. Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal ***************************************************************** 52 Record Eagle: BIG ROCK: Buried barrels discovered February 26, 2004 Petroleum, lead levels are high around site By Record-Eagle staff writer CHARLEVOIX - Buried barrels containing at least some petroleum-based products were discovered during recent excavation at the decommissioning Big Rock Point nuclear power plant. State Department of Environmental Quality officials are awaiting the results of tests of the swampy soil and groundwater where the barrels were discovered, said Jenny Bennett, an environmental quality analyst with the DEQ's Gaylord office. About a half-dozen barrels were discovered in an industrial dumping area created during Big Rock's construction in the early 1960s, Bennett said. "It was probably some cutting oil, something of that sort, that was used during the construction of the plant," she said. "They were finding some scrap metal, lumber, various things out of there. (And) they did come across some crushed, pretty mangled old barrels." No heightened levels of radiation were found in the area, Bennett said. Big Rock spokesman Tim Petrosky said the dumping area was discovered by employees working to return the site to an unrestricted "green field" by 2012. Preliminary tests of the 50-by-50-foot area showed higher levels of petroleum products and lead in the corner containing the barrels, Petrosky said. Petroleum products often contained lead in the early 1960s. The levels at which the contaminants were found indicates the barrels were not full, Petrosky said. Rain or groundwater may have seeped into empty barrels and mixed with residue on the inside, he said. "We're extremely confident there is no major environmental problem," he said. In addition to contacting the DEQ, plant officials also hired A-1 Northern hazardous materials remediation specialists out of Kalkaska. The company last week removed the barrels, the soil around them and the surrounding water, Petrosky said. "We retain responsibility for the disposal of the material. But they (A-1) are the experts," he said. Bennett said such a dumping ground at an industrial construction site "was probably standard practice" in the early 1960s. Big Rock remains "a very clean site," Petrosky said. "Out of 580 acres, and for an industrial work site for over 45 years, there's really very little disturbance," he said. Record-Eagle.com ***************************************************************** 53 Las Vegas SUN: More nuke waste to be shipped to Test Site Today: February 26, 2004 at 11:27:35 PST Move troubles Nevada officials By Cy Ryan SUN CAPITAL BUREAU CARSON CITY -- The Energy Department intends to sharply increase its truck shipments of what it calls low-level radioactive waste to the Nevada Test Site, and state officials say there's probably nothing they can do about it. Energy Department officials briefed state representatives Wednesday on plans to truck waste from Fernald, Ohio, near Cincinnati, to the site about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas for burial. Bob Loux, director of the Nevada Office for Nuclear Projects, said it was unlikely the state would be able to halt the shipments. Loux said the material being shipped to Nevada has a higher level of radioactivity and is more dangerous than low-level waste. The federal plan calls for 3,750 truckloads of the waste over an 18-month period starting this May and ending in November 2005. From May to October this year, there will be an estimated 23 trucks per week operating four days a week. Then from this October to November 2005, about 100 trucks a week will dump their radioactive loads at the Test Site. Carl Gertz, assistant manager for environmental management at the Test Site, said: "The bottom line is this is the only site in the country" where the waste can be buried. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said this "situation raises the additional worries about the exact type of waste -- whether it is truly low-level or more dangerous." "As Mr. Loux has said, it seems unlikely Nevada can stop these shipments," said Gibbons, who pledge to monitor the progress of the plan. Uranium was processed at Fernald and then shipped to defense factories for use in nuclear weapons. The plant shut down production in 1989 and cleanup has been under way since then. It has 14,000 to 15,000 cubic yards of the waste material that's headed to Nevada for burial. Jeff Wagner, spokesman for Fluor Fernald, the contractor overseeing the clean up, said the waste includes leftover material from uranium ore brought over from the Belgian Congo in the 1950s. The ore had a higher natural uranium level than ore in the U.S., Wagner said. There's also a fine talc-like substance of clay and rock tainted by thorium. Wagner said a binding additive will be used to hold the powder together for shipment. All of the waste has a special low-level waste classification since it it not high-level waste, spent nuclear fuel or other material tainted by radioactive substances. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said she is troubled by the shipments because the waste would only add to the contamination at the Test Site, which has been the nation's nuclear proving grounds. "I am troubled as well by the large number of radioactive waste shipments that will be required to bring this material to the Test Site, a scenario that will only increase pollution and the chances of an accident on our highways," she said. "This disposal plan relies on DOE's (the Energy Department's) questionable classification of this material as low-level waste, despite the fact it will remain dangerous for a millennium." Gertz said there were 2,460 shipments last year of low-level waste shipped to the Nevada Test Site. The shipments did not go over Hoover Dam or through the Spaghetti Bowl in downtown Las Vegas. The proposed Fernald shipments would bypass Las Vegas. In the winter, the shipments will go through Arizona to Needles, Calif., then to Searchlight, west to Baker, Calif. and then north to the Test Site. In the summer, the shipments will come in from the north, down Highway 6 to the Test Site. Gertz said that of the last 5,000 shipments from various locations only three have strayed from those routes. Those trucking companies that don't follow the approved alignment could lose their contracts with the Energy Department, he said. The drivers could face dismissal. "We're very comfortable with these routes," Gertz said. There will no be any notification that the trucks are coming through Nevada. The trucks will have the necessary signs on them to identify the contaminated materials. John Sattler of the Energy Department said the department is not required to get any additional permits from the state to ship the waste from the Ohio facility. Loux asked how the department designated this material as low-level waste, and Energy Department officials promised to give him the analysis on how the material was classified. Loux said there might be a possibility that the Interior Department hasn't cleared the use of the land at the Test Site for the burial of this material. The waste is expected to be buried in a trenches 25 to 27 feet below the surface. Gertz said this would "sufficiently isolate" the material from harming humans. He said the water level at the burial site is 775 feet and that radioactivity will not seep down to the water. There are no fractures in the ground at this site that would allow the radioactivity to reach the water table, he said. Rain would channeled away from the burial site, he said. The material is now being stored in silos at Fernald. Sattler said there is concern about the structural integrity of the silos. The Nevada Test Site has set aside 95 acres for burial of waste from other states. The cleanup and disposal of waste at the Fernald site is estimated to cost $400 million over a 15-year period. Sattler said 80 percent of the contaminated material is being treated and will remain at the Ohio site. But the rest, which has a higher level of contamination, has to be shipped out of that state, he said. Loux said the state cannot file a lawsuit because the Ohio site has been designated a federal Superfund cleanup site. ***************************************************************** 54 RGJ: Officials question radioactive waste plan Reno Gazette-Journal By Brendan Riley ASSOCIATED PRESS 2/25/2004 10:43 pm Nevada officials raised questions Wednesday about a $400 million plan to truck 1.6 million cubic feet of radioactive waste to the Nevada Test Site as part of a cleanup of a former weapons-grade uranium processing plant in Ohio. Carl Gertz from the Nevada Test Site, along with representatives of the federal Department of Energy and the Fernald site in Ohio, told the Nevada officials the plan is to send the toxic sludge in nearly 4,000 truck shipments starting in May and running for about 18 months. Gertz noted the test site received about 3 million cubic feet of low-level waste in 2,400 separate shipments last year. But Bob Loux, head of the state Nuclear Projects Office, said the Fernald waste isn’t low level, even though it’s described that way in the shipping plan. “It isn’t high-level waste but it isn’t low-level either,” Loux said after a meeting on the proposal. He explained that the tailings are in special category for materials with a much longer radioactive half-life than that of typical low-level waste. Gertz said the Fernald waste could be stored safely in 25-foot-deep pits or trenches at the test site, with no hazard to the environment, including ground water several hundred feet below the test site. “The bottom line is, there’s only one spot in the nation for this stuff to go to,” he added. Silos deteriorating Asked whether there’s a pressing need to ship the wastes now, Gertz said the Fernald site is supposed to be cleaned up by mid-2006 — and the silos where the material now is stored are deteriorating. Loux also questioned whether there’s clear-cut legal authority to entomb the wastes at the test site, where more than 800 nuclear weapons tests were conducted in past years. He said the DOE promised the state several years ago that it would get an opinion on the legal authority from the federal Interior Department, but he still hasn’t seen it. The Nevada officials also asked for details on the trucks and their route, and were told they’d avoid urban areas and be marked to show what they’re carrying — but the plan is to have them travel unescorted and without advance notice to the state. Asked about alternative burial sites, Gertz said Utah had been considered but was dropped. A pending bill in Utah aimed at the Envirocare of Utah waste landfill in Tooele County would require explicit approval by the Legislature and the governor before Fernald-type wastes are dumped in the state. The bill was proposed last fall after the Energy Department made plans to send waste from Fernald and from New York to the Envirocare dump, bypassing a statewide ban on the radioactive material. A public outcry ensued, and Gov. Olene Walker voiced opposition to the plan. The federally funded, multibillion-dollar cleanup at Fernald includes removal of tainted soils, radioactive sludge and demolition of old buildings that were left over from the Cold War legacy of weapons production. Fernald, which processed uranium for weapons production starting in 1951, became one of the first sites dedicated to cleanup after an Energy Department agreement with Ohio halted production in 1989. Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett Co. Inc.Newspaper. ***************************************************************** 55 RGJ: Energy Department wants to withhold funds barring classification Reno Gazette-Journal] ASSOCIATED PRESS 2/25/2004 11:14 pm LAS VEGAS — The Energy Department wants to withhold millions of dollars earmarked for cleaning up radioactive sites unless it gets the power to classify nuclear waste for storage. The department lost a bid to get Congress to change the law last year, and is trying to overturn a July 2003 federal court ruling that said it cannot classify radioactive waste as high- and low-level. In the budget it submitted for fiscal 2005, the DOE proposes withholding almost $350 million of the $5.9 billion it seeks for its Defense Site Acceleration Cleanup program unless it gets the law changed in its favor. If Congress gives the agency classification power, the agency would free $249 million for general operations and maintenance, $75 million to waste processing and other facilities at Savannah River, S.C., and $24 million to the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in Idaho Falls. Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, the department sought to separate millions of gallons of radioactive liquid stored in tanks at former nuclear weapons plants and leave low-level waste on site instead of moving it to a planned national repository in Nevada. But U.S. District Judge Lynn Winmill in Boise, Idaho, ruled last year that violates the nuclear waste law, which says liquid nuclear fuel reprocessing waste is high-level and needs permanent geological storage. Yucca Mountain is the geologic site the department plans to open by 2010. The department also has appealed Winmill’s decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The DOE’s Savannah River site has more than 34 million gallons of liquid radioactive waste, Idaho Falls has more than 900,000 gallons and the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington State has more than 53 million gallons, all from nuclear weapons construction activities. Nevada does not have a cleanup site that would lose money, but a change could affect the amount of waste destined for Yucca Mountain, located 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Energy Department officials have said their reclassification plan would reduce the amount of waste sent to Yucca Mountain, saving as much as $29 billion and reducing cleanup time. But they said that if the department does not get the authority to classify the waste, it will need to find permanent storage for the more than 77,000 tons of waste that federal law currently allows at Yucca Mountain. The department has to tell Congress in 2007 what it plans to do with waste beyond that limit. Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett Co. Inc.Newspaper. Use ***************************************************************** 56 Nevada Appeal: DOE wants to bring more nuclear waste to Nevada February 26, 2004 Geoff Dornan The Department of Energy plans to bring radioactive waste from what was once an enriched uranium plant to the Nevada Test Site, and state officials say there is no way to stop it. The Fernald plant near Cincinnati once made enriched uranium for warheads, among other things. Production stopped in 1989 and disposing of waste contained in three silos there is one of the final tasks in cleanup of the site. Carl Gertz, representing the test site, said the waste, although more radioactive than most of the material the test site is burying each year, qualifies as low level. But Nevada's nuclear projects director Bob Loux said it shouldn't be. "It has a higher activity level and, in the Atomic Energy Act, it separates this out from low-level waste," he said. "How did it get from a separate category in the Atomic Energy Act to managed as low level? I'd like to see the analysis that allows you to do that," he told Gertz. Loux said after the meeting that Fernald is a Superfund site, as designated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which makes it immune from legal action. He said Nevada's best hope is an ongoing court case challenging the uses to which the test site can be put. He said he doesn't think storage of waste is a legal and legitimate use for the test site under the purposes for which it was turned over to the military and nuclear regulatory agencies 50 years ago. He said he would like to see the judge in the case halt all waste shipments to the test site while the issue is resolved. Gertz said because Utah's commercial plant rejected the waste as too "hot" for its existing permits, there isn't any other place to put the 14,000 cubic yards of waste material. "The bottom line is, right now, there is only one place in this country for this waste to go to," he said. John Sattler, of the Department of Energy's Fernald management project, said that will mean 3,750 trucks carrying waste into Nevada over the next 18 months. Loux said it will double the number of waste trucks passing through West Wendover, Ely and Tonopah heading for the test site each day. Last year there were 2,460 truckloads to the site from other low-level waste producers. The Fernald clean-up project is costing an estimated $400 million. Sattler said 80 percent of the waste generated by the plant during its years of operation has already been taken care of and that bringing the 14,000 cubic yards of material to the test site is one of the last steps in that clean-up. He also pointed out that while they were presenting the plan to Nevada officials for review, they don't actually need the state's permission to move the waste to Nevada. "Our plan is to move forward," he said. "We're the only game in town," said Loux. Copyright Nevada Appeal. ***************************************************************** 57 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada seeking stable Yucca Mountain oversight funding from DOE By KEN RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Energy Department said Thursday it was reviewing Nevada's demand for an additional $4 million in Yucca Mountain oversight funding this year. "We just got the letter and are evaluating it," Allen Benson, Energy Department and Yucca Mountain project spokesman, said of a request Nevada's top state Yucca Mountain oversight official sent Monday to Margaret Chu, head of the federal Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. Setting the stage for another lawsuit over a planned national nuclear waste repository in Nevada, Bob Loux, state nuclear projects director, said the Energy Department was short-changing the state in funding for oversight of the project. "They not only short-changed us, they've basically put the screws to us," Loux said Thursday. "Last year, the DOE proposed no money for state participation in oversight of the project. It was only through the intervention of Sen. Harry Reid (R-Nev.) that we got $1 million." Benson said the Energy Department has provided funding for state oversight. He pointed to the Congressional appropriation of $1 million for the 2004 fiscal year and $2.5 million in 2003. Nevada counties were allocated $4 million and $7 million those years, he said. Loux said the state needs at least $5 million to maintain current studies and might need $10 million or more during the three or four years the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to spend evaluating an Energy Department license to operate the repository. The Energy Department plans to submit its license application by December, and wants to open the repository in 2010. Congress in 2002 approved building the national nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Loux said the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 guarantees the state, but not the counties, a role in licensing. He said funding has fluctuated from year to year and the state wants to ensure regular funding as it prepares to challenge the Yucca Mountain project before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Nevada has received an average of about $5 million a year to evaluate the Energy Department's science and engineering for the Yucca Mountain repository, Loux said. Loux said the state intends to send the Energy Department a budget request each year during the licensing process. The letter says the state "will promptly seek a judicial remedy" if it gets no response by March 15. Loux said similar letters to the Energy Department last year from Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn and in December from Attorney General Brian Sandoval have not been answered. The state has three consolidated lawsuits and a constitutional challenge pending against the Yucca Mountain project in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Oral arguments were made in January, with a decision possibly coming next month. -- ***************************************************************** 58 IPS: U.S.: Opposition Hardens as Bush Boosts Nuclear Waste Plan Daniel Porras NEW YORK, Feb 26 (IPS) - Critics are condemning as irresponsible and illegal the Bush administration's recent proposal to increase the budget for the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Dump in western Nevada State despite unresolved safety issues and legal challenges. After more than two decades of contesting the selection of their state as the nation's primary repository for high-level nuclear waste, many Nevadans feel they now possess the legal and scientific grounds to undo the project. In addition to multiple pending suits brought by the State of Nevada, the indigenous Western Shoshone National Council is challenging the U.S. Government over land rights to the area, a case that has garnered the council international support from the Organisation of American States (OAS). Washington hopes to store around 77,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste in metal containers beneath Yucca Mountain. Now, most of the nation's nuclear waste is kept above ground at hundreds of nuclear energy, military and former weapons facilities throughout the country. Bush's 2005 budget, released earlier this month, increases spending on the Yucca Mountain storage facility by 50 percent to 880 million dollars, a move one Nevada State official called ''highly optimistic'', given the number of unanswered questions surrounding the project. ”The government is far from having the requisite amount of data required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to recommend Yucca Mountain as the primary repository for the country's nuclear waste,” said Bob Loux, executive director of the Agency for Nuclear Projects at the Office of the Governor of Nevada. Irrespective of claims by Loux and others that the Yucca Mountain site has not been proven geologically sound to serve as a long-term repository, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently formally recommended to Bush that the site be developed. Citing ”sound science” and ”compelling national interests”, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said that more than 20 years and four billion dollars worth of scientific studies have demonstrated the site's suitability, according to a Feb. 14 DOE statement. ''The Department of Energy is obviously trying to sink so much money into this hole in the ground that the project becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy,'' said Wenonah Hauter, director of the Critical Mass Energy and Environment Programme of the non-profit group Public Citizen, in a statement. But the DOE claims to be standing on firm scientific ground. ''I have considered whether sound science supports the determination that the Yucca Mountain site is scientifically and technically suitable for the development of a repository. I am convinced that it does,'' said Abraham in a letter to Bush. Loux is unconvinced, and argues that science has proven that the site is not suitable. The State of Nevada brought multiple lawsuits against the DOE, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and awaits ruling on the cases, which Loux feels could derail the project. ”One of our main concerns is that the DOE discovered that the physical characteristics of the site contribute less than one percent of the needed isolation to contain the waste,” he told IPS, adding that the law requires geology to be the primary factor in protecting the environment from nuclear waste. To compensate, the DOE has used the largest aquifer in southern Nevada as a waste containment mechanism in its calculations, violating the Clean Water Act and a host of other regulations, according to Loux. Also, the U.S. Geological Survey admits there are 33 known earthquake faults in and around the Yucca Mountain site and volcanoes dot the region, including one just 16 km away. Water seeps quickly through the desert rock strata and both Loux and Shoshone Chief Raymond Yowell worry that radioactive water will contaminate nearby farms where food and livestock are raised and some of it shipped around the country. Not surprisingly, most Nevadans are adamantly opposed to hosting the nation's high-level nuclear waste. ''For more than two decades the State of Nevada has protested its designation as the nation's high-level nuclear waste dump,'' said Loux. ”This governor as well as the last five governors have been adamantly opposed to Yucca Mountain, and over 75 percent of the population is telling the state to do all they can to stop the dump,” he added. The Western Shoshone National Council is challenging the U.S. Government on different grounds: that the federal government does not own the land where it proposes to build the nuclear waste dump. That land, according to Yowell, is part of the Western Shoshone Territory that extends through six western states and was never legally ceded to the government. ”The U.S. can't show how they got it from us, so they don't own it,” Yowell said in a telephone interview. The OAS agrees with Yowell. In January 2003 its Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) found Washington in violation of international law and infringing on the aboriginal land rights of the Western Shoshone. Deborah Schaff, an attorney with the Indian Law Resource Centre, said that as a member of the OAS, the United States is subject to the jurisdiction of the commission and is obligated to abide by its charter. Yowell cites other national and international laws to bolster his case. In addition to an U.S. 1832 Supreme Court decision (Worcester v. Georgia) that found a treaty between an Indian nation and the United States ''involves no surrender'' of the nation's independence or its ''national character'', he cites a principle of international law that states that the long-held possession of territory by one nation excludes the claim of every other nation. Yowell says the Shoshone people and their ancestors occupied the territory that is modern Nevada thousands of years before the existence of the United States, and refuse to accept monetary compensation for the sacred land. He is incensed at the idea of 77,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste being buried inside the Earth. ”Mother Earth is the most sacred thing in our religious beliefs,” he said. ”To store nuclear waste within her is not acceptable to us.” Successive administrations have sought to compensate the Shoshone for the use of the land and have attempted to establish U.S. ownership through legal manoeuvring. But the Shoshone remain steadfast in their claim to the territory. The Nuclear Energy Institute's website quotes Bush as saying Yucca Mountain ”is important for our national security and our energy future”. Yowell disagrees, saying that to achieve national energy security, Washington must direct all funding of the nuclear and oil industries toward the development of renewable energy. But he is not waiting for the Bush administration to transform its unsustainable energy policy, and has his own plans for the Yucca Mountain territory, including installing a solar energy farm. ”We'll be looking more into solar energy,” said the chief. ”We get quite a bit of sunshine on our land”. (END/2004) Copyright © 2004 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 59 Whitehaven News: GLITTERING PRIZES FOR PROSPERITY Whitehaven News on 26/02/2004 IN THE LABS: Two Sellafield workers using glove boxes CHANGE of ownership at Sellafield and a change of role from reprocessing to decommissioning is not the beginning of the end for either the site or West Cumbria, but rather the beginning of a whole new world of opportunity. Dr John Lackie, the head of Westlakes Research Institute, was adamant: yes, in 10 years time, many people on the Sellafield site would not be doing their current jobs – but that did not mean they would not have jobs. Instead, they would have retrained, learnt new skills and continued to be part of world-beating centre of excellence. Flexibility will be the name of the game for the future: but flexibility not just in job role, but in the very nature of the industry people work for. Dr Lackie wants to see a change from West Cumbria relying on “the nuclear industry” to a West Cumbria which is seen, world-wide, as a centre of excellence for “environment restoration”. And that was not simply a trendy name for nuclear decommissioning – although there are tremendous opportunities in that field for any population smart enough to grab them. Environment restoration will cover a multitude of industries, from nuclear to mining, through armament bases and weapons ranges, to chemical sites. And Cumbria alone has plenty of those to offer in sites such as Rhodia in Whitehaven, and the Broughton Moor dump, never mind the rest of the country and the rest of the world. Working to clean up after hazardous industry is going to be big business in the 21st century, with great demand for a skilled workforce. And West Cumbria has the advantage that the skills already learnt for nuclear decommissioning and clean up are easily transferable to other industries. Dr Lackie believes that West Cumbria has two glittering prizes in its grasp, which together will lay down the foundation for the area’s future prosperity – the headquarters of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the new National Nuclear Academy. He hopes both will be based at the Westlakes Science Park, which together with his other asperations will mean this area will be in a position to attract worldwide investment and interest. Europe alone will be spending around Ł160billion in nuclear clean-up in the next 150 years, and there is no reason why a large amount of that money cannot come to West Cumbria – as long as the area plays its cards right. And there is much that can be done to make sure the deck is stacked in West Cumbria’s favour. The way forward was not, in his view, to go to government and say we have had the nuclear industry here for 40 years and we deserve a handout because of that. That might bring some short-term gain but ultimately longer success and prosperity is more likely to come from a very different approach. “The way to go is to say ‘here’s an opportunity’. To go to government and say – you are going to have a problem of skills for the nuclear industry. Here is a solution: we can provide the people and the skills if you provide the means,” he said. And this is where the second prize comes in, the National Nuclear Academy. Currently 60% of the nuclear workers in this country are in the northwest, and, with backing from the North West Development Agency, the academy will provide a regional solution to a national problem. Dr Lackie can see good reasons why both the NDA and the NNA should be based at Westlakes. Already many of the businesses there work with the nuclear industry in one way or another, plus the proximity of Sellafield. But his vision does not end there: he sees the Park as the perfect site for a research hotel, where researchers, scientists and businesses from all over the country and the world do not book rooms, but book lab space, where people working on different problems can meet and share information, and work together to find solutions. Putting all this together – the NDA, the academy and the research hotel – and then moving the parameters from strictly nuclear clean-up to environment restoration is the key to opening new doors. Rosie Mathieson, the new nuclear opportunities manager for the area, took up the idea. “In Cumbria we have a world heritage site, plans for an Uplands Management Institute. I took some Poles to Whinlatter – they were amazed at the things we have done to exploit and manage the enivronment. “It is almost a living experiment.” The key to success comes back to the environment. Cumbria’s environment – the Lake District - altready attracts visitors from all round the world. But it could also attract academics and businesses as well, wanting to do work on environment and tourism; environment and the uplands; environment and dealing with a world heritage site; environmental sciences in a variety of forms. “It makes it very dynamic and vibrant, learning from the environment,” said Mrs Mathieson. “and more and more people are making the connection.” On top of this, West Cumbria has a knowledgeable population who, for 40 years, have lived with the risks of the nuclear industry and are more than capable of making balanced assessments on risk versus the benefits of having a job. This knowledge and capability could prove invaluable to a variety of researchers who need an informed population. And there are not just jobs in all this for people from outside: although they have much to offer the area, living here and bringing money into the economy. It would also provide a reason for bright local young people to stay in the area, or to return to it after achieving qualifications and experience elsewhere. And as at present, there would be many jobs for local people who did not want to go on to higher education, who could train locally. “There is an understanding there is a requirement for training at all levels, from post doctoral downwards,” said Mrs Mathieson. “The academy will be able to co-ordinate this: it may commission new courses, for example.” Not all the training will be done locally, but the aim will be to build on the vocational excellence already being put in place at GEN II and Lakes College, as well as working with the universities such as Lancaster. West Cumbria will, if all goes to plan, be an enhanced spoke in the wheel of which the National Nuclear Academy is the hub. And people who train there will be able to find work in many fields, not just the nuclear industry, as long as they accept that flexibility is the new road to success. If the area grasps these oppportunities wholeheartedly and works together, then there will certainly be a future for West Cumbria. ***************************************************************** 60 Rocky Mountain News: Udall moves to help Rocky Flats victims Bill would speed up compensation to workers with cancer By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News February 26, 2004 Colorado Rep. Mark Udall introduced a bill Wednesday to speed up a bogged-down federal compensation program for Rocky Flats workers sickened by cancer. He wants to waive a rule requiring proof that radiation on the job caused their tumors. He said too many exposure records are missing from the nuclear weapons plant 17 miles northwest of downtown Denver. "Some Rocky Flats workers, despite having worked with tons of plutonium and having known exposures leading to serious health problems, have been denied compensation under the law because of bureaucratic red tape, missing records and inaccurate methods for linking employment and exposure," Udall said. "We must make good on promises of a fairer deal for these workers who helped America win the Cold War." Colorado Rep. Bob Beauprez, a Republican, joined Democrat Udall to co-sponsor the bill. The Rocky Mountain News reported on Saturday that the compensation program has paid only 10 percent of the 40,000 bomb-makers who've applied nationwide since it was approved by Congress in 2000. Nearly all the cancer victims must navigate a lengthy and difficult process. Their contamination records - some of them decades old - must be collected and plugged into a computer model to determine the probability that the illness was caused by radiation exposure. The 2000 law waived that requirement at several bomb-making sites where the radiation records were too inaccurate or missing altogether. Udall's bill would extend that exception to Rocky Flats cancer victims. Udall cited numerous problems with the Rocky Flats records, including: • Many exposures were not recorded at all. • The plant had no lung-counter to detect plutonium and americium in the lungs from its opening in 1951 to the late 1960s. • Exposure to neutron radiation was not measured until the late 1950s. He cited one bomb-maker from the 1950s with radioactive material inside his body whose contamination was just recently discovered. He also said the government's computer model has errors in it. Udall said his bill would prevent "a miscarriage of justice," namely, the denial of benefits to a significant number of Rocky Flats workers whose illnesses were caused by radiation on the job. Udall's bill does not cover Rocky Flats workers with radiation- caused illnesses that are not cancer, such as plutonium fibrosis. He is a co-sponsor of another bill that would ease problems in paying those workers by having the federal government cover workers compensation claims. So far, compensation has been paid to only 164 of more than 2,100 ill Rocky Flats workers who have applied. imsea@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5438 . ***************************************************************** 61 Knox News: BWXT, UT-Battelle deny problem with transfers By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com February 26, 2004 OAK RIDGE - The rumor mill is spilling out reports of a clash of titans in Oak Ridge. But the alleged combatants insist they're settling their differences in a civil, high-level manner. "There is no war going on," said Jeff Wadsworth, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and president of UT-Battelle. UT-Battelle, operator of ORNL, and BWXT, managing contractor at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, are the government's largest contractors in Oak Ridge. Collectively, they employ about 8,500 workers. At issue is the transfer of employees between the two federal plants, particularly a recent trend of Y-12 workers leaving for job opportunities at ORNL. "We're trying to manage the business and the people," said Dennis Ruddy, general manager at Y-12 and president of BWXT. Ruddy acknowledged that BWXT, in recent instances, has actually blocked employee requests to transfer to ORNL. But he said those were temporary moves to protect critical skills for national-security operations. "With the way budgets work, there isn't a lot of extra money to have a very strong bench," he said. "So everybody at the plant is working on virtually a mission-critical job." Y-12 manufactures parts for nuclear warheads and serves as the nation's principal storehouse for bomb-grade uranium. It's also involved in international projects to reduce nuclear threats. Sensitive materials were airlifted from Libya recently and sent to Y-12 for storage. ORNL also is engaged in nuclear nonproliferation efforts, and that apparently is an area where disputes have occurred. In early 2002, a piece of Y-12's nonproliferation program was moved to ORNL. It involved about 40 employees and about $60 million in annual funding. The move reportedly created a management chill between the two organizations. The Department of Energy confirmed that another program move is under review. It, too, would involve the transfer of people - and money - from Y-12 to ORNL. The effort, however, has been stalled for months because of contractor issues. "The movement of staff and funding is being done at the request of DOE headquarters," Gerald Boyd, DOE's Oak Ridge manager, said in a statement responding to questions. "The work involves national security programs that have been underway in Oak Ridge for many years." Boyd would not say how much funding is involved, but he said the number of contractor employees affected is very small. "It is our job to work with the parties involved and to ensure that our contractors work together to resolve issues when they arise," the DOE manager said. Bill Brumley, the federal official who oversees Y-12 operations, declined comment. In decades past, a single company - be it Union Carbide or Martin Marietta - operated Y-12 and ORNL, as well as nearby K-25. In the 1990s, however, DOE broke up the big Oak Ridge contract and competed the individual parts. That raised new barriers for employees transferring from plant to plant, and also made transfer of programs more of a competitive situation. Some officials suggested that friction, where it exists, is fallout from the contract changes. "There will be occasional issues that come up," said Jeff Smith, the lab's deputy director for operations. "I see that more as a natural process of trying to split up the contracts. I would not characterize it as some big war going on between ORNL and Y-12." Ruddy said it's important for both facilities to maintain a high level of nuclear expertise because of their base missions. If they raid each other, it defeats the overall effort, he said. "Frankly, the lab has had some issues in nuclear facility control and operations, and that's well known," Ruddy said. At times, he said, the lab has looked upon Y-12 as a "handy source" for engineering help, because Y-12 employees already have security clearances and meet other needs. Ruddy said he and Wadsworth have discussed concerns and agreed to monitor employee transfers on a case-by-case basis. Complaints arise sometimes because job offers are tendered at lower levels without the necessary approvals, Ruddy said. Wadsworth said, "Denny and I have a close relationship. We work problems out together. There are always blips and glitches." Smith emphasized that ORNL would be a "team player" and do what's best for the Department of Energy. He noted the lab and Y-12 work cooperatively on projects, both for the government and in the community. At the same time, there are open positions at the laboratory, and UT-Battelle will do what it can to bring the best people to ORNL, Smith said. "I know there are some people that would like to come to the laboratory from BWXT, and that's an individual decision they're going to have to make," he said. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. [Get Copyright Clearance] Copyright 2004, Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. © 2004 The Knoxville News Sentinel Co. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 62 Knox News: OR worker admits to tampering with alarm By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com February 27, 2004 OAK RIDGE - An Oak Ridge worker has admitted to tampering with an alarm system that sounded Feb. 4 and forced 250 workers to evacuate a nuclear-cleanup site. Dennis Hill, a spokesman for Bechtel Jacobs Co., the government's cleanup manager in Oak Ridge, said disciplinary actions were taken against the individual - whose name was not released. No criminal charges were filed, and the employee, who works for a second-tier subcontractor on the cleanup project, was not fired, Hill said Thursday. "It has been determined there was no malicious intent on behalf of the employee for this occurrence, and appropriate disciplinary action has been taken," he said. The "criticality" alarm system at the K-25 uranium-enrichment site is intended to warn workers in the event of a nuclear accident. A team investigating the alarm malfunction found that several fuses had been removed from the alarm system and one had been partially reinserted. Dozens of workers subsequently were interviewed. Hill said he was not at liberty to comment on specifics of the disciplinary action. But he said the employee worked for a subcontractor to Duratek Federal Services, which is the company in charge of removing asbestos and other hazardous materials from the K-25 building. The investigation report has not been completed, Hill said. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. Copyright Clearance] Copyright 2004, Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 63 Knox News: Audit slams Y-12 for uranium work delays By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com February 26, 2004 OAK RIDGE — A federal audit report released today hammers the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant for delayed restart of enriched uranium operations. The U.S. Department of Energy's inspector general said completion of the project is five years late with a price tag approaching $400 million — triple the original cost estimate. Some uranium-processing activities won't resume until mid-summer or later, skewing the Oak Ridge plant's ability to perform national-security missions, the IG report said. Y-12 is the only plant in the United States with the ability to recover and purify uranium for use in nuclear weapons, the report said. While Y-12 has reestablished some key parts of the uranium work, other processes identified as wet chemistry, oxide conversion and salvage treatment are still on hold. "Until each of these processes is fully functioning, the Department of Energy will be unable to restart its enriched uranium operations in their entirety," the report said. Auditors blamed the delays, in part, on lack of management controls and recommended that the National Nuclear Security Administration take steps to revamp the remaining parts of the uranium project and strengthen future planning efforts. Nearly all work with enriched uranium at Y-12 was shut down in the early 1990s because of safety issues. The restart effort, which began in 1994, was supposed to be completed by the end of 1998 at a cost of $119 million. In responding to the new audit, Michael Kane of NNSA said many of Y-12's problems date back to an earlier period when Lockheed Martin managed the Oak Ridge facilities. BWXT took over operation of Y-12 in late 2000, and Kane said he believes the new contractor has "gotten the program back on track" and is "adequately addressing the challenges" of restarting enriched uranium processes. "Y-12 has consistently achieved meeting 100 percent of current program requirements and program deliverables," Kane said in his response. "We believe the report does a disservice to Y-12 management by questioning their ability to meet future mission needs." Bill Wilburn, a BWXT spokesman, said, ""This validates what we promised to do.'' Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. Copyright Clearance] Copyright 2004, Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 64 NYT: Wider Investigation Sought at Hanford Nuclear Site By MATTHEW L. WALD and SARAH KERSHAW Published: February 26, 2004 [W] ASHINGTON, Feb. 25 — Members of Congress and advocates for workers said on Wednesday that they were calling for a broader investigation at the Hanford nuclear reservation, seeking information about whether Energy Department contractors had protected workers' health and safety. The Washington State attorney general's office said last week that it was looking into whether the contractor that operates nuclear waste storage "tank farms" at Hanford had been lax in providing respiratory protection. The prosecutor's office also said it was looking into accusations that contracted medical clinics had failed to diagnose occupational illnesses among workers who sought treatment. The Energy Department said that it had been conducting an investigation since last September and that it had asked its inspector general to become involved. According to two experts on health care at Hanford, among the subjects under investigation are a doctor's accusations that her patients' records at a contract clinic had been tampered with. The clinic, the Hanford Environmental Health Foundation, has denied wrongdoing. In a statement, it said it "categorically rejects any implication that its worker-oriented medical approach has been compromised." The clinic said it was "an honest broker of health-care services for Hanford workers, exercising independent judgment as to whether a worker's condition is actually related to occupational causes." The clinic held the contract for 38 years, recently losing a competition to renew it. A spokesman for the Energy Department, Joseph H. Davis, said that the officials in charge of awarding the contract were not aware of the allegations or the investigation and that other bids "offered a better product or better value for taxpayers' dollars." Mr. Davis said other unsuccessful bidders were appealing the awarding of the contract to AdvanceMed, part of Computer Sciences of El Segundo, Calif. Representative James C. Greenwood, the Pennsylvania Republican who is chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has asked the Energy Department to respond to reports that the Hanford clinic had mishandled medical records. In a letter to the department, Mr. Greenwood also said he wanted it to address accusations that officials had "intimidated workers who have requested medical attention and suppressed workers' efforts to make compensation claims related to tank farm exposure illness." He said the accusations indicated that information on exposure to chemical vapors had been suppressed. Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, said, "The situation is too murky to trust the Department of Energy's self-investigation, and the sooner some independent eyes are trained on Hanford worker safety, the better." Mr. Wyden pointed out that Hanford had a joint panel formed by contractors, the State of Washington and nuclear safety groups to discuss safety but that the contractors disbanded it in May. Heart of America Northwest has been one of the groups that focuses on the health and environmental dangers at Hanford, near Richland. Its executive director, Gerald M. Pollet, said the Energy Department and contractors, particularly the clinic, had long ignored the risks to clean up workers exposed to beryllium, a metal used to make bombs. Eighty-four workers have been sensitized to beryllium, meaning they are at risk for contracting chronic beryllium disease, an incurable lung condition diagnosed in 21 workers so far, said doctors who treat the Hanford employees. Mr. Pollet said his organization had asked the state attorney general's office to expand its inquiry to include other health risks to Hanford workers. He added that the group had documented numerous instances of workers with beryllium sensitivity being assigned to work in buildings where the metal was present. The health contractor, Mr. Pollet said, had done little to protect them adequately from further exposure that could lead to the disease, even after the Energy Department allocated millions of dollars in recent years for a prevention program that was supposed to include comprehensive testing. "That is unconscionable," Mr. Pollet said. "It means they are not practicing the most simple preventive medicine." Copyright 2004 ***************************************************************** 65 Tri-City Herald: FFTF news conference comes to abrupt halt This story was published Thursday, February 26th, 2004 By Nathan Isaacs Herald staff writer Benton Commissioner Claude Oliver abruptly ended a news conference Wednesday after declining to answer questions about his role in efforts to restart the Fast Flux Test Facility. Oliver is an ardent supporter of restarting the test reactor, which proponents believe could provide medical isotopes to fight cancer and as a test platform for the next generation of nuclear reactors. Oliver called the news conference to respond to an editorial in Wednesday's Tri-City Herald, which questioned his and other advocates' criticism of groups not supporting restart efforts. During the news conference, Oliver again called for an examination into the ethics and alleged conflict of interest of some members of the Tri-City Industrial Development Council. TRIDEC in October passed a resolution calling for a shutdown of the test reactor, which Oliver said was out of touch with the community's sentiment. Oliver also asked why people "quit or question" restart efforts while he and the advocacy group Citizens for Medical Isotopes are making headway, recently getting a joint-chamber memorial asking Congress to transfer the reactor to a private entity through the state House of Representatives before it stalled in the Senate. He and others are bolstered by more than 30 letters from local, county and state agencies, labor unions and trade groups that in the last year have adopted resolutions asking that discussions continue on the reactor's need. Oliver ended the conference after refusing to answer questions from a Tri-City Herald reporter on whether any TRIDEC member-agency had taken action against the resolution. Oliver also declined to clarify his role in the Mirari organization, which wants to take over the reactor. He also would not answer questions about who are members of the Mirari organization, or where that group would get money to take over and operate the reactor. Oliver also declined to comment on his role as a county commissioner in the FFTF effort after Benton County's two other commissioners have voted not to spend any more money on FFTF. Oliver makes $79,838 a year plus benefits, according to the adopted 2004 county budget. Instead, Oliver removed the television microphones attached to his shirt, dropped them on the grass at Richland's John Dam Plaza and walked to his county-issued car and drove away. Later in the day, he abruptly ended a telephone call, saying the reason was "because you have not wanted to be a reporter today." He did not return other attempts to reach him Wednesday. County commission Chairman Leo Bowman said Oliver's advocacy for FFTF is not endorsed by the county. He said the county has neither the desire nor the resources to continue the fight for FFTF restart. Bowman said he has sympathy for FFTF advocates, but the reality is that FFTF is finished. The Clinton and Bush administrations turned away requests to restart the reactor. That rejection was reaffirmed in a December letter from DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology. Meanwhile, DOE contractors are continuing work on the deactivation and decommissioning of the reactor. DOE is hoping to completely shut down the reactor by 2012. And it's unknown how this winter's temperatures affected the reactor's drained outer coolant loops. Freezing temperatures could cause minute cracks in the miles of tubing that would make a restart very difficult and cost prohibitive. Also, state Sen. Pat Hale, R-Kennewick, is reluctant to bring the joint-chamber memorial to a vote in the state Senate until she has some "tangible" proof Mirari has means to take over the reactor. "Nobody would love to see the reactor restart more than I would," Hale said in a statement Monday. "But after 17-18 years of work on this effort, it doesn't appear likely." © 2004 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 66 Las Vegas SUN: State threatens to sue Energy Department over funds By Suzanne Struglinski WASHINGTON -- Nevada has threatened to sue the Energy Department if it does not allocate an additional $4 million for the state's work on the Yucca Mountain project. Because of recent problems in receiving federal money as required by law, the state sent the department a detailed budget and a plan it wants to follow to avoid future conflict. If the department does not respond by March 15, the state assumes it will not give the state the money it is entitled and "will promptly seek a judicial remedy," Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects wrote in a letter to the department Monday. The $1 million Congress appropriated for this year is clearly lower than the $5 million the state has received in the past "at the very time that Nevada's needs for financial assistance for the impending NRC proceeding are at their most critical juncture," Loux wrote in a letter sent Monday to Margaret Chu, director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management that oversees the Yucca Project. The state needs the additional money to work on scientific analyses and other activities related to the upcoming Nuclear Regulatory Commission license application set to be submitted by the department at the end of the year. Congress approved the money in a spending bill passed last year, but the administration did not originally request any funds for the state, which violates the law, Nevada officials say. Language in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1992, which guides the department's plan to permanently store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, requires the department get federal money to work on its own research into the project. "The law is clear, however, and DOE has recognized that the secretary has a legal duty to make grants from the Nuclear Waste Fund to Nevada that are needed for Nevada's participation in the NRC licensing proceedings even if Congress has enacted no appropriation for such funding or Nevada's needs exceed the appropriations," Loux wrote. "Nevada will clearly need funds from the Nuclear Waste Fund that exceed this year's appropriations." To establish a "transparent, settled regimen," Nevada will send the department a budget every year and asked that the Energy Secretary establish a line of credit or grant the state can use during the year beyond what Congress approves. The new two-step process aims to "ensure that Nevada's participation in licensing is not effectively undermined by lack of essential funds," Loux wrote. Loux noted that the additional $4 million needed does not exceed what the state has been give in the past, but the state might need more money as the licensing process goes forward. "They are trying to get this project off budget so it will be hard for them to oppose this," Loux said. Gov. Kenny Guinn sent a letter to Abraham in last February expressing his "extreme concern and surprise" over the administration's decision to eliminate state funding and in its request also reminded the department of the law requiring payment to the state to "foster public confidence in the integrity of the proposed repository." Then in December, Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval threatened more legal action against the administration if it did not restore funding. Loux said state did not sue in that instance because the department requested $9.5 million to go to Nevada -- $7 million for the counties and local government and $2.5 million for the state for its oversight responsibilities for 2005 -- but would take legal action now because the law says the state can get funds regardless of what Congress approves. The department has not responded to Guinn or Sandoval, which Loux characterized as "a rather extraordinary silence given the numerous state comity and state provisions in the (law) and the stature of requesters, which generally entitled them to a modicum of official respect." The state has three other legal complaints pending against the department in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Oral arguments took place Jan. 14 and state lawyers expect a decision sometime this spring. ***************************************************************** 67 Las Vegas SUN: Classification request could be part of defense bill By Suzanne Struglinski WASHINGTON -- The Energy Department's request that Congress grant it authority to classify radioactive waste as high-level or low-level material could be included in the Defense Authorization bill, set to be introduced later this year. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., head of the Senate Strategic Forces subcommittee, said at a hearing Wednesday that resolving the waste classification issue would be one of his highest priorities when the committee prepares the bill. "I'm concerned about the additional cost," Allard said after the hearing. "It's disrupting the efficiency of the program." A July 2003 federal court ruling said the department did not have the power to classify radioactive waste in storage tanks at three former nuclear weapons construction site as high- or low-level. The department claims that limitation will lead to higher cleanup costs and more waste than it intended to go to the planned nuclear waste storage site at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. "Rather than accelerating cleanup, we face stopping most of the work," Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Jessie Roberson told the panel Tuesday. Nevada does not have a cleanup site, but any change in the waste classification rules would affect Yucca Mountain because Energy Department officials intend to store high-level nuclear waste at Yucca. The Energy Department intends to clean up all of its sites by 2032, Roberson said. Most of the waste from the cleanup sites is destined for Yucca after treatment, officials have said. The department wants to withhold $350 million in cleanup funds until the problem can be solved. "It does not make sense for us to proceed to prepare tank waste for deep geologic disposal," Roberson said. If the proposed change does not go through, Roberson said, "We will likely not be in a mission to proceed with the work the $350 million will provide." Allard said he would continue to talk to the department about the situation and that no other senators have discussed the matter with him. He has also been in contact with the affected cleanup sites in Washington, Idaho and South Carolina. Besides going to Congress, the department has a case pending in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the decision. "I don't hold a lot of hope on the 9th Circuit," Allard said, adding again that putting a clarification in the Defense Authorization bill might be the way to go. Roberson said the matter does not affect the construction of a plant at the Hanford site in Washington that is to turn liquid waste into glass logs destined for Yucca. She said opening Yucca in 2010 is still critical to the department's completing it cleanup goals. "If you can't begin, you can't finish," Roberson said. ***************************************************************** 68 lamonitor.com: DOE abandons proposed worker safety reforms The Online News Source for Los Alamos Los Alamos County 2004/02/26 By ROGER SNODGRASS, roger@lamonitor.com, Monitor Assistant Editor The Department of Energy has decided to dump a proposed rule on worker safety in the face of broad public criticism. The proposal, as characterized by some critics, would have allowed contractors to "write their own" safety program, abandoning years of incremental improvements in worker safety standards at DOE laboratories during recent years. But a DOE spokesman disagreed with that assessment. "Totally wrong," said Joe Davis, a DOE spokesperson. "Federal regulators write safety rules. Contractors would look at a set of rules that apply to their site, but in the end we would have total authority." Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham made his decision known Monday by making public a letter to John T. Conway, chairman of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, an independent advisory agency with particular influence on safety issues in the department. In formal comments on the proposed rule change, Conway noted that the new rule would cancel the current regulations, without providing specific rules in such sensitive areas as "explosive safety, pressure vessel safety and suspect/counterfeit items." "The Board is concerned that many requirements and guidance, painstakingly developed during 50 years of experience across the complex, may be lost unless it is formally implemented in a new set of directives to be issued concurrently with the new rule." DOE's rule change was offered in response to a congressional mandate, calling for DOE to develop regulations on worker safety and health, but critics charged that the standards have been weakened rather than strengthened. Davis said DNSFB's objection was decisive. "The Secretary decided to suspend rulemaking to make sure that the concerns raised by the DNSFB to our proposed rule would be fully addressed," he said. "We are just as concerned about safety as they are." The new rule explicitly allows contractors to select among a set of "generally acceptable" standards. "A contractor should select the combination of appropriate standards that it believes is best designed to achieve the required level of protection in a manner consistent with the Departmental mission it is performing," states DOE in its discussion of the rule-change. Contractors, including the University of California and Wackenhut, joined lawmakers, union officials and non-profit safety watchdogs to oppose the measure, not necessarily for the same reasons. "[C]ontractors are left without a clear understanding of the threshold (or thresholds) at which DOE will deem a violation (or violations) to have occurred," commented Thomas L. Martin, Jr., a manager for Wackenhut Services at Savannah River Site. "This rule may help contractors meet their milestones and win award fees," Richard Miller of the Government Accountability Project, testified at a public hearing last month, "but it will be at the expense of protecting workers, and it codifies contractor immunity instead of promoting contractor accountability with safety. This, to me, looks like a product of the endless revolving door between DOE contractors and the government." "Particular concern should be to adopt OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) processes as closely as possible," wrote UC Vice President for Laboratory Management S. Robert Foley, who said added, "If DOE were to move to external regulation by OSHA for worker safety and health at the non-defense laboratories, the University would support that move." OSHA in that case would apply to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, but not to Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National University, UC's two defense-related labs. "It is noteworthy that DOE proposes to allow the contractor the flexibility to select the standards, procedures, controls, and work processes to use in achieving safe and healthy workplaces and implementing its worker safety and health program," noted John Ahlquist, deputy director for environment, safety, and health in the Laboratory Administration Office of the University of California. DNSFB's objections focused in particular on safety protections that would be lost if the proposed rule were adopted in place of previous regulations. In his letter to the DNSFB suspending the rulemaking initiative, Abraham concluded with a promise that "any final rule will reflect my policy that safety standards will not be 'written by contractors.'" © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 69 Oak Ridger: DOE lauds ORNL, Battelle environmental efforts Story last updated at 11:19 a.m. on February 26, 2004 By: by Paul Parson Oak Ridger staff The Department of Energy has recognized Battelle Memorial Institute for its commitment to environmental awareness at the facilities it manages, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Ray Orbach, director of DOE's Office of Science, said Battelle has demonstrated a dedication to conduct operations in a way that "protects and enhances the environment and improves the framework for conducting our science mission." As part of the recognition, the Office of Science presented Battelle with its Best-in-Class Pollution Prevention Award. Battelle co-manages ORNL through UT-Battelle, a partnership with the University of Tennessee. In addition, the company operates Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; and manages Brookhaven National Laboratory - in partnership with the State University of New York at Stony Brook - and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory - in a partnership with Midwest Research Institute and Bechtel). On the local level, ORNL's contribution to environmental stewardship pertains to the construction of fives new facilities, which began in March 2002. The new structures use native landscaping and contain energy-efficient roofs, low emission materials and recycled content materials. "One of UT-Battelle's chief goals in the ongoing ORNL modernization has been to construct new facilities with state of the art environmentally efficient technologies where feasible," said Jeff Wadsworth, ORNL's director. The Oak Ridge research lab was also recognized for its implementation of an environmental management system modeled after International Organization for Standardization 14001 standards. ORNL plans to become registered to the ISO 14001 standard this year through a certified author independent of both Battelle and DOE. Earning certification for this internationally recognized standard demonstrates a company's commitment to high standards of environmental stewardship and to continuously improving the operations' environmental activities. "Registration by a third party will provide validity and credibility and help assure that our system is sustainable and continually improving," said Kelly Beierschmitt, ORNL's director of Environment, Safety, Health and Quality. "It's not just us saying we have an effective environmental system." According to ORNL officials, the lab's environmental management system goes beyond the requirements in the ISO 14001 standard by placing additional emphasis on full environmental compliance, pollution prevention, and effective and focused communication and community outreach. ***************************************************************** 70 Newsday: Brookhaven - Safety proposal shelved Friday, February 27, 2004 Tomoeh Murakami Tse; Rick Brand; Joseph Mallia; Emi Endo; Alfonso A. Castillo February 25, 2004 The U.S. Department of Energy has suspended a proposal that critics charged would endanger workers by allowing them to set their own safety standards. The changes, proposed in December, would have covered all department sites, including Brookhaven National Laboratory, and faced criticism from lawmakers, activists and an oversight board. In a letter dated Monday to John Conway, chairman of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said he was "deeply concerned by the perception" that the proposed rules would compromise worker safety. Abraham said the proposal was shelved to allow further consultations. Critics have said the proposed changes would weaken safety regulations. Some lawmakers said their intent to increase security was distorted in the hands of the Energy Department. DOE officials have said the proposed changes would have bolstered, not weakened, worker protection by allowing the department to set fines for civil violations. In addition, the safety standards also would have required the approval of senior department officials. Officials at Brookhaven National Laboratory said they had no intention of easing up on safety rules and that a hazard-free environment for its 2,800 workers was a priority. "Our objective is still the same," said Jim Tarpinian, assistant laboratory director for environment, safety, health and quality. William Cooke, of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said the suspension of the proposed changes was a "nice start." "But I also recognize their suddenly caring was a result of them getting slapped on the wrist by the media, the public and the decision makers," he said. - TOMOEH MURAKAMI TSE Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc. ***************************************************************** 71 WATE Audit: Y-12 Restart of Bomb-grade Uranium Processing Years Overdue February 26, 2004 KNOXVILLE (AP) -- An internal audit released Thursday says the restart of bomb-grade uranium processing at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge is five years overdue. On top of that, it's about $300 million over budget. Since Y-12 is the only facility in the United States capable of recovering and purifying highly enriched uranium for warheads, the delay may have greater significance than the cost. The Energy Department's inspector general's office said that without enriched uranium, nuclear weapons will not work as designed. Y-12's uranium processing operation has been shuttered since 1994 after an accidental release of hydrogen fluoride raised safety concerns. The original estimate was to restart the program by December 1998 at a cost of $119 million. (Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) ***************************************************************** 72 The Hill.com Dingell: DoE letter 'bizarre' The Newspaper for and about the U.S. Congress Dick Morris February 26, 2004 In a letter that Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) described as “bizarre,” a top Department of Energy (DoE)official accused a Democratic Energy and Commerce Committee staffer of refusing to hand over documents related to allegations of misconduct at the Hanford, Wash., nuclear site until a critical newspaper article appeared. Beverly Cook, the assistant secretary for environment, safety and health, wrote to Edith Holleman, a staffer on the committee: “I understand that you have been in possession of information relevant to this investigation and that a Departmental request for these documents would not be met until ‘a Washington Post’ story on this subject runs.” The Feb. 25 letter did not detail what documents the department was seeking. The letter noted that DoE has been investigating allegations of “supervisor misconduct, fraud, and medical records mismanagement” since September, including problems associated with the Hanford Environmental Health Foundation (HEHF), a private nonprofit clinic where sick workers are treated. A lengthy story in Thursday’s Washington Post detailed allegations of misconduct at Hanford, including at HEHF. The Post story quotes an e-mail from Energy Department official Alan Hopko as saying that contractors cleaning up the site “have an incentive to minimize the number of workdays lost” to employee injuries. Contractors get a bonus if they meet an accelerated clean-up schedule. The nonprofit watchdog group Government Accountability Project first disclosed allegations of misconduct. A third of the 177 waste tanks at Hanford are leaking radioactive and toxins into the groundwater, according to the Post. The administration has put the clean-up on an accelerated schedule, reducing the projected date for completion from seven to three decades. This week, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced that the investigation into Hanford’s management had been expanded to include the Office of Independent Oversight. “I am certain you appreciate the serious nature of the allegations lodged against HEHF and respectfully request that you reconsider your decision and provide this information to our investigators,” Cook wrote Holleman. “I know you share the Department’s commitment to ensuring the safety of its workforce.” The letter prompted a sharp retort from Dingell, who is the ranking member on the committee and has been a frequent critic of DoE’s worker safety record. “I am in possession of a bizarre letter dated February 25, 2004,” Dingell wrote Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. Dingell did not agree to turn over the alleged documents, instead promising that his staff’s independent investigation “will be made known in proper time and place.” “We are not anxious to abet the cover-up culture that has permeated DoE and its contractors for too long,” he wrote. He also questioned why DoE — “with all of the investigatory resources available to it” — couldn’t get the documents in question. “Please be advised that I have instructed Ms. Holleman not to respond to Ms. Cook’s letter, and I ask that any further correspondence on this matter be directed to me,” Dingell wrote. © 2003 The Hill 733 Fifteenth Street, NW Suite 1140 Washington, DC 20005 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax web site design + ***************************************************************** 73 Google News Alert - nuclear Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 12:56:02 -0800 (PST) THE divine right to a bomb Economist (subscription) - London,England,UK No case for a war. But the world would be safer without a nuclear Iran. IRAN'S election last week made it possible to see clearly ... See all stories on this topic: WORLD: A Lively Nuclear Black Market Raises Fears Of Terrorists ... Radio Free Europe - Prague,Czech Republic New revelations regarding the extent of the global black market in nuclear technology are raising concerns that international terrorist groups could have ... See all stories on this topic: NUCLEAR agency downplays risk The Australian - Australia AUSTRALIA'S nuclear agency today downplayed concerns about a nuclear waste dump, saying standing next to low-level nuclear waste for an hour would give someone ... See all stories on this topic: EU 3 haggled hard for Iran nuclear deal - diplomats Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK VIENNA/BRUSSELS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Intense backroom negotiations among France, Britain, Germany, Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog persuaded Tehran to agree ... 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However, KRL is also a top nuclear weapons laboratory and its employees were distributing stacks of glossy brochures that promised technology for producing a ... See all stories on this topic: NUCLEAR Whistleblower Says He has No More Secrets The Scotsman - Edinburgh,Scotland,UK An Israeli jailed for more than 17 years after spilling his country’s nuclear secrets to a British newspaper says he has nothing more to reveal and just ... See all stories on this topic: ALEXANDER backs more nuclear plants The Tennessean - Nashville,TN,USA By ANNE PAINE. US Sen. Lamar Alexander is backing nuclear power, and it has some Tennessee environmentalists alarmed. Alexander announced ... 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