***************************************************************** 03/25/04 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 12.73 ***************************************************************** 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 Project FREEDOM: Iraq One Year Later 2 Middle East Online: IAEA inspectors in Iran on Saturday 3 Asia Times: South Korea, Thailand ink nuclear cooperation 4 Carlyle Group invests in Nuclear Terror 5 US: The Spectrum: History shows need for nuke legislation - Opinion 6 US: Nevada Appeal: Atomic film festival this weekend 7 INT, n. 437: US,UK Doubletalk on Pakistan Nuke Proliferation 8 news24: DRC uranium to be analysed 9 BBC: UN weapons resolution introduced 10 Pravda.RU: Russia to become testing ground for world plutonium indus 11 Hi Pakistan: The nuclear nightmare - By A A Musalman --> NUCLEAR REACTORS 12 US: Gazette: Professor's career began at Three Mile Island 13 US: 25th Anniversary Of 3 Mile Island & Ongoing Cover Up: Why The N 14 US: NRC: NRC to Hold Meetings on Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant Perfor 15 US: NRC: NRC to Meet with Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Co. to Discus 16 US: NRC: NRC Cites Cooper Nuclear Plant for Violation of Low to Mode 17 US: Press Herald News: Baldacci's pick for nuclear adviser debated 18 US: NRC: NRC Staff Issues Draft Letter, Concerning Potential Reactor 19 AU SMH: Nuclear reactor shut down after malfunction - World - 20 US: AP Wire: Progress plant was one of 22 in U.S. with problems in ' 21 US: KRT Wire: Plymouth, Mass., Nuclear Power Station Gets Passing Gr 22 US: NRC: Public Meeting March 31 on License Renewal Application for NUCLEAR SAFETY 23 US: [du-list] there are no words - by bob nichols 24 [du-list] Re: [DU-WATCH] studies link birth defects to gulf war 25 US: NRC: NRC to Discuss the Status of Twin Cities Army Ammunition Pl 26 US: Guardian Unlimited: 3 Nuclear Workers 27 US: Hawk Eye: Senators differ on compensation 28 AU ABC: Ranger contamination scare blamed on crossed lines NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 29 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Mill says it won't take 'hotter' waste 30 US: Deseretnews: Bramble to write an apology 31 Las Vegas RJ: NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY: Nevadans urged to back Yucca 32 Bellona: Nuclear storage facilities may be established in two Russia 33 US: BBC: Congo wants help at uranium mine 34 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Trains and terrorists 35 Las Vegas SUN: Nevadans cite potential Yucca budget problems 36 Las Vegas SUN: House panel chief blasts Nevada over Yucca battle 37 US: Valley Advocate: Bad News for Valley Nuke Owner 38 US: Guardian Unlimited: NRC: Nuclear Waste Casks Not 39 Belfast Telegraph: Conference to discuss Sellafield discharge row 40 asahi.com: Nuclear clean-up bill splits panel 41 United Press International: Toxic waste threatens Caspian Sea 42 US: NEWS.com.au: Scientists may shut down uranium mine 43 US: Las Vegas SUN: More than 150 turn out for Yerington meeting on 44 US: Las Vegas SUN: AP Exclusive: Reid wants Superfund status for NUCLEAR WEAPONS 45 Nuclear Clock is Ticking 46 Information Clearing House: The man who knew too much (Vanunu) US DEPT. OF ENERGY 47 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Criticism growing over Hanford worker sa 48 Cincinnati Enquirer: Taking Fernald back to nature 49 Oak Ridger: Amazing Facts! SNS 50 Oak Ridger: SNS 80% complete 51 Colorado Daily: Flats whistleblowers visit Boulder 52 DenverPost: Flats still a problem OTHER NUCLEAR 53 Google News Alert - nuclear 54 Bellona-Murmansk braves a decade of adversity and achievement to cel 55 Journal Standard: Downstate Honeywell plant to reopen soon 56 Pacific News Service: In Native Alaska, Nuclear Industry Pitches New ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Project FREEDOM: Iraq One Year Later Texas Straight Talk directory The Iraq war began about one year ago with the swift and decisive overthrow of Baghdad and the Hussein regime. We are only beginning to understand, however, the true scope of our ongoing occupation of a nation rife with civil, ethnic, and tribal conflict. July stands as the deadline for our provisional government to relinquish control to an emerging Iraqi government, but we are kidding ourselves about just how long American forces will need to remain involved. More than 550 Americans have died in Iraq; roughly10,000 have been wounded. American taxpayers have spent hundreds of billions of dollars. We must not be afraid to face these facts and understand the terrible cost of war. Were these sacrifices worth it? To answer that question, we have to look at the justifications given for our invasion of Iraq. One justification was that Saddam Hussein ignored United Nations Security Council resolutions. Whether this was true or not was none of our concern. America should never act at the behest of the UN or help enforce its illegitimate edicts. America should never commit troops to any UN action. We should not even be a member of the UN, but rather should ignore it completely. Membership in the UN is incompatible with our Constitution and national sovereignty. It was nonsensical for conservatives suddenly to cite Iraq’s purported lack of cooperation with the UN as justification for war. The second justification for invading Iraq was that Mr. Hussein posed a threat to the United States. This was not true. Hussein had only a small army, and virtually no navy or air force. He had no long-range weapons and no ability to strike the US 6000 miles away. He was not working with bin Laden or al Qaeda terrorists. He was a despicable tyrant at home, but the liberation of Iraq from his clutches was given as a new justification only after the American public had absorbed overwhelming evidence that he posed no threat to us. Is America better off as a result of our war in Iraq? The young men and women who were hurt or killed certainly are no better off. Their families are no better off. Taxpayers are no better off. Whether we are safer from terrorism here at home is an open question. We all hope and pray nothing happens. But even our own intelligence forces cautioned that an invasion and occupation of Muslim Iraq could breed resentment among sympathetic Muslims and serve as a recruiting tool for al Qaeda. As commentator Lew Rockwell states, “It is not caving in to the bees to stop poking a stick into their hive.” Are the Iraqis better off? Saddam is gone, along with his murderous cohorts, and that certainly presents a positive opportunity for the Iraqi people. But we cannot be sure that the Hussein regime will be replaced by something better. Iraq is still very unstable and divided between Sunni, Shiite, and Kurd factions. Civil war could ensue upon the departure of American troops. Even if we assume that anything will be an improvement over the Hussein regime, the fundamental question remains: Why should young Americans be hurt or killed to liberate foreign nations? I have never heard a convincing answer to this question. If we sacrifice 500 lives to liberate Iraq, should we sacrifice five million American lives to liberate the people of North Korea, Taiwan, Tibet, China, Cuba, and countless African nations? Should we invade every country that has an oppressive government? Are nation-building and empire part of our national credo? Those who answer yes to these questions should have the integrity to admit that our founders urged the opposite approach, namely a foreign policy rooted in staying out of the affairs of other nations. ***************************************************************** 2 Middle East Online: IAEA inspectors in Iran on Saturday First Published 2004-03-25, Last Updated 2004-03-25 12:50:49 Mission will take inspectors to the Natanz and Isfahan facilities Crucial nuclear mission in Iran amid international outcry against Tehran for failing to cooperate with atomic agency. By Michael Adler - VIENNA UN inspectors leave for Iran Saturday for a crucial mission in the International Atomic Energy Agency's drive to answer US charges that the Islamic republic is secretly developing nuclear weapons. Iran had tried to put off the mission earlier this month after the IAEA condemned it for continuing to hide sensitive nuclear activities. But Tehran yielded and allowed the visit, delayed by two weeks, after an international outcry against Iran for failing to cooperate with the atomic agency. The inspectors will be "leaving on Saturday for Iran for an inspection mission to the Natanz and Isfahan facilities," IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said. The Natanz uranium enrichment plant is one of two sites where IAEA inspectors have discovered traces of highly enriched uranium, a substance which can be used both in civilian reactors to generate electricity and also as the raw material for a nuclear bomb. Isfahan is a nuclear technology center, with a uranium conversion facility where the IAEA has safeguards. A diplomat close to the IAEA said this inspection visit was "routine, nothing spectacular." He said the IAEA would not be verifying on this trip Iran's suspension of uranium enrichment. Iran promised in February to halt not just enriching uranium but all related activities, such as building centrifuges, in a move IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said was crucial to Iran's building confidence in its full cooperation. The diplomat said another inspection team slated to go into Iran in perhaps two weeks would be looking more aggressively for new findings. The diplomat said the IAEA was still operating under two different agreements, one for safeguard inspections under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the other under an additional protocol to the NPT which allows for snap, short-notice inspections which Iranian authorities are obliged to accept. The IAEA has since February 2003 been verifying whether Iran's nuclear programme is peaceful, or devoted to secretly developing atomic weapons, as the United States claims. The European Union called on Iran Monday to come completely clean on its nuclear programme. The EU, which favours "constructive engagement" with Iran, has been more cautious in its appraisal of Tehran's nuclear drive. ElBaradei had said in Washington March 17 that he still could not rule out finding that Iran has been hiding a nuclear weapons program. He told a US congressional subcommittee that Iran was developing a nuclear fuel cycle as it has been under international sanctions against its nuclear program. "Have they taken the step from that into weaponisation? We have not seen that but I am not yet excluding that possibility," ElBaradei told the subcommittee on Middle East and Central Asian affairs. "The jury is still out," on whether Iran possesses such a program, he said. He said the IAEA's discovery in January of designs for sophisticated P2 centrifuges in Iran for making highly enriched uranium was "a setback, a great setback" since Iran claimed in October it had fully disclosed its nuclear activities. This led to the tough resolution against Iran at an IAEA board of governors meeting in Vienna last week for hiding sensitive nuclear activities. ***************************************************************** 3 Asia Times: South Korea, Thailand ink nuclear cooperation News and analysis from Korea; North and South [http://www.atimes.com SEOUL - South Korea and Thailand have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote cooperation in nuclear power, according to South Korea's Ministry of Science and Technology. The MoU, signed between the ministry's Nuclear Bureau director general Cho Chung-won and the head of Thailand's Office of Atomic Energy for Peace, Pathom Yamkate, in Bangkok is expected to advance mutual benefits in this field. South Korea in particular hopes that this agreement will open the way for the country to export its know-how in commercial reactors. South Korea first floated the idea of a pact in 2001, and both countries have been engaged in detailed discussions since that time. In addition to the signing of the MoU, the ministry said a delegation led by Cho is holding talks in the Thai capital to discuss the possibility of South Korea taking part in the construction of a test reactor in the Ongharak district of Nakhon Nayok province. (Asia Pulse/Yonhap) Mar 26, 2004 Online, 4305 Far East Finance Centre, 16 Harcourt Rd, [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/policies.html] ***************************************************************** 4 Carlyle Group invests in Nuclear Terror Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 00:30:01 -0600 (CST) http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_5844.shtml Health/Medicine A firm in position to profit: Carlyle Group invests in Nuclear Terror By David Lazarus Mar 24, 2004, 10:58 The war in Iraq is a year old, and the military-industrial complex is making out like a bandit. That at least was what protesters were telling me the other day outside the Bechtel headquarters in downtown San Francisco, where people were chanting, the names of slain soldiers were read aloud and signs said "Shut Down the War Profiteers." "We're lining Bechtel's pockets at the expense of a number of people's lives," said Paul LaFarge, a New York artist who was in town for the demonstration. But why Bechtel? The engineering giant, with about $3 billion in Iraq- reconstruction contracts, has been accused of no wrongdoing (unlike, say, Halliburton, which the Pentagon says received millions of dollars in kickbacks from Mideast subcontractors and overcharged for services provided to U.S. troops). "They're all part and parcel of the same thing," explained Amy Trachtenberg, a San Francisco artist, as she paused from reciting the names of the dead just feet from where somber-faced Bechtel workers were slipping past a police barricade and into their office building. Yet Bechtel wasn't the only object of protesters' ire. Michael Daloisio, a San Francisco teacher, lamented that U.S. schools are struggling for cash while a variety of companies are "making billions off this illegal war." Aside from Bechtel, he cited Halliburton, Lockheed-Martin, ChevronTexaco and the Carlyle Group. Well now. Since the subject has come up, here's a little something about Carlyle that most people don't know. I can say that with confidence because even a Carlyle representative said he didn't know until I pointed it out to him. The Washington investment firm, run by a who's who of Republican heavyweights, including former Secretary of State James Baker and former Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci, has put money into about 300 different companies and properties. Those investments include United Defense Industries, a maker of combat vehicles, naval guns and missile launchers; and Sippican, a maker of submarine systems and countermeasures to protect warships. They also include a New Jersey pharmaceutical firm called MedPointe, which just so happens to be one of only three companies licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to manufacture over-the-counter potassium iodide pills. That's significant because potassium iodide can help protect against thyroid cancer in the event of exposure to large amounts of radiation -- from a small, easily transported nuclear weapon, say, or a terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant. And that's significant because, in June 2002, President Bush signed into law the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act. It requires state and local officials to "provide adequate protection" by distributing potassium iodide to all public facilities within a few miles of a nuclear power plant. And that, in turn, is significant because if you're one of just a handful of authorized makers of potassium iodide, you're in a position to profit handsomely if the worst-case scenario should actually come to pass. The Carlyle Group and another investment firm, the Cypress Group, spent more than $400 million to acquire a controlling stake in MedPointe in May 2001. Carlyle alone owns about 42 percent of the firm. Chris Ullman, a Carlyle spokesman, said he had no idea that MedPointe produces a potassium iodide pill called Thyro-Block. But when I explained what Thyro-Block can be used for, he said this was something to feel good about. "Carlyle is proud to own companies that make products that keep America safe," Ullman said, adding that MedPointe allows Carlyle "to participate in the specialty pharmaceutical space." The other two FDA-approved makers of potassium iodide are a small Florida outfit called Anbex that, prior to the Sept. 11 attacks, sold its pill, Iosat, primarily to doomsday-fearing survivalists; and a Swedish outfit called Recip that brought its lower-dosage pill, ThyroSafe, to the U.S. market in 2002. John Hawkins, a MedPointe spokesman, said the company has no current contracts to supply Thyro-Block to any federal agency. He also said that sales of the drug totaled less than $500,000 in 2003 (MedPointe expects sales of all products, led by its allergy and respiratory medicines, to reach $400 million this year). But Hawkins acknowledged that MedPointe has bid for government contracts in the past. He also declined to elaborate on the company's intentions for Thyro-Block. "Our plans for all of our commercial products are confidential," he said. Asked whether production of Thyro-Block might be increased due to continuing terrorism fears or whether government officials have spoken with MedPointe about ensuring an adequate national supply of potassium iodide, Hawkins remained vague. "For competitive reasons, our production plans for the product and communications with customers are confidential," he said. This much at least is clear: If a "nuclear incident," as the bioterror law quaintly puts it, should occur, MedPointe and the Carlyle Group would be uniquely positioned to benefit from catastrophe. That's not danger-mongering. That's a fact. (For what it's worth, the New York Times reported Friday that government officials have quietly revived a cold-war program for rapidly analyzing fallout from a nuclear attack on U.S. soil. The program is intended to determine the perpetrator of an attack and help coordinate a military response. ) Bechtel might make a convenient target for protesters seeking a high- profile recipient of Iraq-reconstruction dollars. "It's all about capitalism," one masked protester, a self-styled anarchist, told me outside the company's headquarters. But to find a company truly poised to profit from the unthinkable, he might want to make his way next time to the Transamerica Pyramid. That's where Carlyle's San Francisco office is located. David Lazarus' column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He also can be seen regularly on KTVU's "Mornings on 2." Send tips or feedback to dlazarus@sfchronicle.com. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/03/21/BUG4E5O77A1.DTL Copyright 2003 by YourSITE.com ***************************************************************** 5 The Spectrum: History shows need for nuke legislation - Opinion - thespectrum.com Thursday, March 25, 2004 IN OUR VIEW The George W. Bush administration stated on the record Tuesday that it has no plans to test nuclear weapons in the Nevada desert. But a National Nuclear Security Administration official also made it clear during a Senate subcommittee hearing that the possibility of future tests does exist. The thought that more nuclear weapons could be detonated upwind from Southern Utah is frightening. The lessons learned from the tests of the 1950s and '60s came with a high price in lives for some and quality of life for others as cancer and other diseases caused by the fallout ravaged their bodies. Sen. Bob Bennett stepped up during Tuesday's hearing and pinned down George W. Bush administration representative Linton Brooks on this vital issue. In pointed questions, Bennett was able to get on the record that tests aren't planned despite the study authorized by Congress last year. Bennett also was able to get on the record that there are no guarantees that tests aren't coming in the future. On Tuesday, Bennett made it clear that he won't stand for more testing. He stated that he is studying the legislation introduced in the House by Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, to see if that is the best avenue for ensuring that any tests first would have to clear the hurdle of a vote in Congress. The bill, H.R. 3921, calls for a variety of checks before any nuclear test could be conducted, including an environmental impact statement for the test site about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Bennett's willingness to step across the aisle and consider the legislation is a testament to bipartisan politics and shows how vital this issue is. There is no room for political posturing on this topic. Nuclear weapons tests made guinea pigs out of U.S. citizens, who then were lied to by the government. That point has been brought up time and again by Matheson, and Bennett made it a point to rehash that important detail during Tuesday's hearings. The federal government already has shown that when it comes to nuclear weapons, its word isn't worth the irradiated ash that fell on thousands of residents in Southern Utah, Southern Nevada and Northern Arizona. All of Southern Utah should support Bennett's actions in Tuesday's Senate subcommittee hearing. And we all should support any efforts he and Matheson share in making sure any nuclear tests first have to go through public debate and then a recorded vote by elected representatives. Originally published Thursday, March 25, 2004 Copyright ©2004 The Spectrum. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 6 Nevada Appeal: Atomic film festival this weekend Nevada Appeal Staff Reports March 25, 2004 by Karl Horeis Cinemareno presents the Atomic Film Festival this weekend at the Nevada Museum of Art. Featuring eight films related to nuclear energy and warfare, the festival marks the 25th anniversary of the accident at Three Mile Island - described by festival promoters as "the worst nuclear accident in American history ... so far." Last fall, I toured the Nevada Test Site, where 80 percent of U.S. nuclear weapons tests were done. Among the timeworn structures there was a sense of something recently missing. Thousands of scientists, officials and soldiers were involved in testing there during the Cold War, yet now it's mostly abandoned. Aluminum domes smashed like cans and railroad bridges bent several feet are an awesome testament to the power of the A-bomb. Movies featured in the Atomic Film Festival will also offer an interesting perspective on nuclear power. Before I realized I'd be working, I was hoping to catch "Atomic Cafe" on Saturday. It's a collection of old propaganda films put together in 1982. Sometimes referred to as the "nuclear 'Reefer Madness,'" the film has a bizarre black humor - or so I've read. A reviewer who calls himself "bigfootsalienbaby" on Amazon.com wrote, "Most of the statements by politicians and military types are so ridiculous, it's as though they were scripted by Mel Brooks! The true horror of this movie lies in its presentation of real people saying and doing irrational, stupid things." Other films will include "Plutonium Circus," shown at 11:30 a.m. Saturday; "Panic in Year Zero," shown at 3:30 p.m. Sunday; and Stanley Kubrick's Cold War classic "Dr. Strangelove (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb)." Tickets are $7 per film. A full-festival pass may be purchased for $35. The first film on Sunday, shown at 11:30 a.m., will be free. For a complete schedule of show times and titles, go to [http://www.cinemareno.org] or call 329-3333. To tour the Nevada Test Site north of Las Vegas, call the Department of Energy at (702) 295-0944. Free tours are offered once a month. Maps distributed during the tour show the proposed Yucca Mountain national nuclear waste repository site along the western edge. Contact Karl Horeis at [khoreis@nevadaappeal.com] or 881-1219. All contents © Copyright 2004 nevadaappeal.com ***************************************************************** 7 INT, n. 437: US,UK Doubletalk on Pakistan Nuke Proliferation Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 17:15:27 -0600 (CST) INTELLIGENCE ISSN 1245-2122 N. 437, 22 March 2004 Every Two to Three Weeks Next issue, 12 April 2004 Publishing since 1980 Editor Olivier Schmidt (intelligence-adi@wanadoo.fr; http://perso.wanadoo.fr/intelligence-adi; tel/fax 33 (0)1 40 51 85 19; ADI, 16 rue des Ecoles, 75005 Paris, France) Western European Correspondent: Michael Quilligan; tel 00.31.(0)38.4204869, deonach@wxs.nl Copyright ADI 2004, reproduction in any form forbidden without explicit authorization from the ADI. A one year subscription (19 issues with full index) is 325 euros. Payment by credit card possible. TABLE OF CONTENTS, N. 437, 22 March 2004 FRONT PAGE PAKISTAN - CIA/MI6 NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION "DOUBLE BIND" p.1 TECHNOLOGY AND TECHNIQUES TIMELINE FROM 8 MARCH TO 20 MARCH p.2 DOUBLE-TALKING LETHAL WEAPONS INTO LEGAL COMPONENTS p.3 TECHNOLOGY NEWS p.4 PEOPLE USA - PRISCILLA DALE JONES p.5 GREAT BRITAIN - SIR MICHAEL BOYCE p.6 PALESTINE - MOHAMMED ABBAS ZAYDAN p.7 AGENDA COMING EVENTS THROUGH 1 MAY 2004 p.8 INTELLIGENCE AROUND THE WORLD USA - CIA "COOKIES" ON IRAQ SLOWLY COME OUT p.9 - THE NEW "PENTAGON PAPERS" BY KWIATKOWSKI p.10 - FBI & HOMELAND SECURITY NEWS p.11 - "REGIME DISINTEGRATION" OR "REGIME CHANGE" IN DC p.12 GREAT BRITAIN - MI COUNTER-ESPIONAGE WARNING p.13 - SECURITY CONFERENCE IN LONDON p.14 NORTHERN IRELAND - AN "ACT OF POLITICAL SUBVERSION" p.15 - JACK GRANTHAM OR "MARTIN INGRAM" (FRU) p.16 - BLOODY SUNDAY INQUIRY ALMOST COMPLETE p.17 SPAIN - MADRID BOMB ATTACK REACTION DOOMS AZNAR & PP p.18 WESTERN EUROPE - GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, HOLLAND & GREECE p.19 BALKANS - Serbia, Albania & More Trouble in Kosovo. p.20 RUSSIA - THE PRESIDENT'S CV p.21 CAUCASUS - GELAEV'S DEATH & MORE REGIONAL TROUBLE p.22 EASTERN EUROPE - CZECHS, POLES, BALTS & RUSSIANS p.23 HAITI - ARISTIDE PLANS LEGAL COME-BACK p.24 VENEZUELA - Chavez Fights On. p.25 AFRICA - Zimbabwe, Rwanda & France. p.26 ISRAEL/PALESTINE - POLICING THE PHILADELPHIA ROUTE p.27 - DEATH & DESTRUCTION CONTINUE p.28 SAUDI ARABIA - MI6 ACCUSED OF ANTI-SAUDI PLOT p.29 IRAQ - BUSH WANTS CHALABI REGIME & OTHER NEWS p.30 MIDDLE EAST - LIBYA, JORDAN, SAUDI ARABIA & IRAN p.31 ASIA - AFGHANISTAN, PAKISTAN & AUSTRALIA p.32 --------------------------------------------- Intelligence, N. 437, 22 March 2004, p. 1 PAKISTAN CIA/MI6 NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION "DOUBLE BIND" Last month, the world learned that Pakistan, or more precisely, Pakistani scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, had been running a secret nuclear arms research business. Or that's what Bush's neoconservative regime would like the world to think and the major media to publish. But two reviews didn't see it that way and "let the cat out of bag". On 2 March, "Jane's" published an article entitled "Pak Nuke Sales Overt" which stated that "Pakistan's government is now trying to portray the sale of nuclear technology to Iran, Libya, and North Korea as the cloak-and-dagger work of a few, isolated rogues. But that's a lie ... Nuclear sales were so out in the open that underlings of Abdul Qadeer Khan -- the father of the Pakistani Bomb -- were handing out glossy brochures advertising their services at a 2000 arms conference." ...(cut)... The other review was "The New Yorker", which, on 1 March, published an article, "The Deal - Why is Washington going easy on Pakistan's nuclear black marketers?", by Seymour M. Hersh who had found the other piece of the puzzle: "On February 4th, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, who is revered in Pakistan as the father of the country's nuclear bomb, appeared on a state-run television network in Islamabad and confessed that he had been solely responsible for operating an international black market in nuclear-weapons materials. His confession was accepted by a stony-faced Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's President, who is a former Army general, and who dressed for the occasion in commando fatigues." "The next day, again on television, Musharraf, who claimed to be shocked by Khan's misdeeds, nonetheless pardoned him, citing his service to Pakistan (he called Khan 'my hero'). ... A Bush Administration intelligence officer with years of experience in nonproliferation issues told me last month, 'One thing we do know is that this was not a rogue operation.' ... The intelligence officer went on, 'We had every opportunity to put a stop to the A. Q. Khan network fifteen years ago. Some of those involved today in the smuggling are the children of those we knew about in the eighties. It's the second generation now. .. Now, with Musharraf's agreement, the [Bush] administration has authorized a major spring offensive that will involve the movement of thousands of American troops" [in the Hindu Kush mountain range where Bin Laden is believed to be hiding]. "The Deal" is that Khan gets a spanking, Musharraf and Pakistan get off the proliferation hook and Bush gets his spring offensive to catch Bin Laden in the Hindu Kush. ...(cut)... --------------------------------------------- Intelligence, N. 437, 22 March 2004, p. 9 USA CIA "COOKIES" ON IRAQ SLOWLY COME OUT Here at "Intelligence", we have always maintained that the CIA had good intelligence on Iraq and its weapons programs, including knowledge that the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program had been dismantled and destroyed after the 1991 Gulf War. George Bush's neoconservative regime managed to enlist the CIA for its invasion of Iraq and keep it from openly opposing such a move largely because the CIA knew it would have great difficulty weathering the storm alone if it opposed Bush neocons. To ensure its survival -- which is any intelligence service's primary task -- the CIA kept relatively quiet but "stashed away the cookies" which we at "Intelligence" have stated would be coming out slowly but surely after the storm front had passed. That is what has been happening over the past few months and will probably continue up to the presidential elections. The latest addition to this list of "cookies" coming from the CIA is the 9 March testimony of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), George J. Tenet before the Senate Armed Services Committee on "The Worldwide Threat 2004 - Challenges in a Changing Global Context": http://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/2004/tenet_testi mony_03092004.html ...(cut)... --------------------------------------------- Intelligence, N. 437, 22 March 2004, p. 10 USA THE NEW "PENTAGON PAPERS" BY KWIATKOWSKI Retired lieutenant colonel Karen Kwiatkowski, formerly assigned to the Pentagon Office of Special Plans, has been mentioned previously in "Intelligence" (n. 426 1, n. 428 1, n. 430 7, n. 436 7). On 20 February, she gave an important interview to "LA Weekly", but the "Pentagon Papers" missing for Bush's invasion of Iraq were finally furnished by Kwiatkowski in "Salon", 10 March, "The New Pentagon Papers - A high-ranking military officer reveals how Defense Department extremists suppressed information and twisted the truth to drive the country to war": "I witnessed neoconservative agenda bearers within OSP usurp measured and carefully considered assessments, and through suppression and distortion of intelligence analysis promulgate what were in fact falsehoods to the Congress." ...(cut)... --------------------------------------------- Intelligence, N. 437, 22 March 2004, p. 18 SPAIN MADRID BOMB ATTACK REACTION DOOMS AZNAR & PP The same "hard-headed" conservative attitude which led Jose- Maria Aznar and his Popular Party (PP) to back the Bush neoconservative invasion of Iraq, against the wishes of 90% of Spanish citizens, also led Aznar and his government to maintain, against clear evidence, that the recent Madrid train bombings were perpetrated by his political adversaries, the ETA separatists. It was a lie that got Aznar kicked out and which "old Europe" intelligence services won't soon forget. That Spanish intelligence would politicize anti-terrorism to the point of lying to allied services means -- as "Intelligence" stated in its preceding issue -- there are two forms of anti- terrorism: the politicized version of Bush and his allies (now reduced to only Tony Blair and the current Polish government); the non-politicized version of "old Europe". ...(cut)... --------------------------------------------- Intelligence, N. 437, 22 March 2004, p. 22 CAUCASUS GELAEV'S DEATH & MORE REGIONAL TROUBLE On 2 March, RosBusinessConsulting published an article, "Death of Chechen terrorist Ruslan Gelaev", which furnished a detailed account of how the Chechen warlord died. According to the report, on 1 March, in Makhachkala, Dagestan imprisoned Chechen rebels identified the body of Ruslan (Khamzat) Gelaev who was killed neither by commandos nor by special forces, but by two young frontier guards who were killed by him when they ran into him on the outskirts of their native village. According to "Kommersant", Gelaev"s bodyguard and herder took Gelaev to the lower part of Chaekha ravine stretching from Chechen village Bezhty to Pankisskoe ravine in Georgia, on 28 February. There "Black Angel" Gelaev left his companions and started to climb the ravine. After losing all his soldiers in an unsuccessful raid in Dagestan, Gelaev decided to go through the mountain passes to his main base in Pankisskoe ravine in Georgia where his wives, children and relatives are living. The war lord started most of his raids from Pankisskoe ravine by recruiting from the former USSR for his armed group. According to Bezhta village police information, two 22-year old local residents -- soldiers Abdulkhalik Kurbanov and Mukhtar Suleimanov -- were climbing down Chaekha ravine at the same time. After completing their mandatory military service in a small frontier post, the young men continued to work as border guards on a contract basis. The frontier post was only 10 kilometers away from their native village, and the soldiers used to visit the village for meals, to meet girlfriends or to spend weekends. On Saturday 28 February, Kurbanov wanted to visit his wife (he was married only two months before), and bachelor Suleimanov decided to accompany his fellow soldier. Even the most experienced frontier guard would hardly recognize Gelaev in the man the two soldiers met. Ruffled beard, black shabby jumpsuit, old parka and rubber boots made him look like a beggar, not a dangerous terrorist commander. It is hard to say what exactly happened. Probably, one of the frontier guards called to Gelaev or tried to check his ID and the war lord opened fire with his machine-gun. Gelaev fired point-blank at close range, probably using his short-barreled machine-gun hidden under his parka. Both border guards were hit immediately and fell to the ground bleeding heavily. A bullet hit Suleimanov in the head and instantly killed him. Kurbanov was wounded in the chest but was able to fire back. His fire shattered Gelaev's left elbow and almost tore off his hand. This did not stop the war lord -- he executed Kurbanov with two point-blank shots to the head, holding his machine-gun with one hand. ...(cut)... --------------------------------------------- AGENDA Intelligence, N. 437, 22 March 2004, p. 8 COMING EVENTS THROUGH 1 MAY 2004 In the interest of efficiency, "Intelligence" lists all coming events only once according to date, and they are not repeated in subsequent issues. Past Agendas are available free at our web site and additional information concerning these events is available at 33 (0)1 40 51 85 19 (tel/fax) or intelligence-adi@wanadoo.fr (email). 22-25 March, Denver, Colorado, National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Fourth Annual Interoperability & Systems Integration Conference, www.ndia.org. 26-28 March, Berlin, Secrecy and Transparency - The Democratic Control of Intelligence Services in International Perspective, elter@eaberlin.de. 29 March-1 April, Manhattan Beach, California, Aerospace Corp. & US Air Force Space & Missile Systems, Ground System Architectures Workshop, sunset.usc.edu/gsaw/gsaw2004.html. 30 March, deadline for Workshop on State Borders and Border Policing in Kingston, Canada, during the fourth week in August, qsilver.queensu.ca/sociology/Surveillance/intro.htm. 12 April, "Justice Talking", Debate on Domestic Spying with EPIC's Marc Rotenberg and Former Deputy Attorney General Victoria Toensing. 19-21 April, Washington, American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA), International Air & Space Symposium, www.aiaa.org. 19-22 April, Jacksonville, Florida, Naval Helicopter Association, 56th Annual Symposium, www.navalhelicopterassn.org. 22-23 April, Washington, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 29th Annual Colloquium on Science and Technology Policy, www.aaas.org/spp/rd/colloqu.htm. 25-30 April, Hot Springs, Virginia, Counter-Intelligence Center, SpyRetreat - The Secret History of Modern Espionage, spyretreat.com. 26-27 April, London, SMI, Third Annual Airborne Strike, www.smi-online.co.uk/airbornestrike.asp. 26-29 April, Amman, Jordan, SOFEX 2004 with Defense News Middle East Special Operations Command Conference, www.defensenews.com. 26-29 April, San Diego, California, Test Technology Symposium, www.tts2004.com. 29-30 April, Manchester, England, University of Newcastle, University of Salford and GURU conference on Urban Vulnerability and Network Failure - Constructions and Experiences of Emergencies, Crises and Collapse, s.d.n.graham@ncl.ac.uk or s.marvin@salford.ac.uk. 30 April-2 May, Washington, CFP, Second Annual GWU-UCSB Graduate Student Conference on the Cold War, yvette@gwu.edu. 1-10 May, Tel Aviv, Israel, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies course on terrorism, www.defenddemocracy.org. --------------------------------------------- ***************************************************************** 8 news24: DRC uranium to be analysed Kinshasha - Experts from the United States will on Friday visit a Nuclear Research Centre (Cren) where several dozen samples of enriched uranium are stocked in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital, Scientific Research Minister Gerard Kamanda said. The lead and stainless steel alloy casings holding the samples all appear to come from the United States, Kamanda said on Thursday. The uranium stored at the Cren has been seized over the course of four years, he said. Earlier this week, a DRC atomic energy specialist said that a blend of enriched uranium 235 and 238 was detected in two seized samples. These materials could be used to make a so-called "dirty bomb", he said, but not an atomic one. The shell casings will not be opened at once, Kamanda said on Thursday. The first step will be to decipher the writing on them. The DRC's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) representative, Fortunat Lumu, had said on Tuesday, two US experts were in Kinshasa and "will at the end of the week or the beginning of next week" open two casings. In all, security forces have seized about 50 such casings, weighing between 50kg and 100kg. Similar finds have been made in neighbouring Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda, Kamanda said. Edited by Anthea Jonathan ***************************************************************** 9 BBC: UN weapons resolution introduced Last Updated: Thursday, 25 March, 2004 By Susannah Price BBC correspondent at the United Nations in New York [US President George W Bush] President Bush has called for action on the WMD issue The US has introduced a resolution at the United Nations designed to prevent terrorists getting hold of weapons of mass destruction. It aims to close loopholes in current non-proliferation treaties. The draft resolution will be discussed over the next few days, but it is unclear when it will be put to a vote. It was prompted by US President George W Bush's call last year for action to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The British Ambassador to the United Nations, Emyr Jones Parry, said the Security Council had to stop the ultimate nightmare of bringing together weapons of mass destruction and terrorists. Wide support The draft resolution calls on states to pass and enforce laws to stop unauthorised individuals or groups from developing or using such weapons. The text also says states should prevent their proliferation by accounting for all items, developing effective border controls, and co-operating to prevent illicit trafficking. Under the terms of the resolution, governments would have to report to a committee on what measures they had taken to fulfil these conditions. The US resolution is co-sponsored by the British and is broadly supported by the other permanent members of the Security Council - Russia, France and China. Its supporters say the resolution would tighten international law regarding non-state actors such as terrorists and traffickers and is part of a wider package to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. ***************************************************************** 10 Pravda.RU: Russia to become testing ground for world plutonium industry 13:14 2004-03-25 Russia is set to become a testing ground for the world plutonium industry, according to the environmental group Ecodefense. As reported by a Rosbalt correspondent, the group's head, Vladimir Sliviak, said that at one of Russia's most dangerous atomic energy stations, Beloyarsk, in the Sverdlovsk region, construction has resumed of a fourth fast neutron reactor. The reactor will be at a minimum 1.5 to 2 times more expensive than former Russian reactors, which is why the Russian constructors are seeking foreign investors for the project. According to representatives of the concern Rosenergatom, Japan and China are prepared to participate in the project, and discussions with them are ongoing. The cost of the new reactor will total nearly USD 1.3 billion, and its estimated completion is 2009-2010. The group Ecodefense feels that as a result Russia will be transformed into a testing ground for untried technologies not yet ready for commercial exploitation. 'Experiments by the atomic energy industry with plutonium at the Beloyarsk atomic energy station can only lead to fresh nuclear accidents and plutonium contamination on Russian territory. In the Sverdlovsk region alone, nearly 4.5 million could be affected by an accident at the plant, not to mention other regions in Russia,' said Sliviak. In 1995, Japan suspended its own program for the development of fast neutron reactors following a major accident at the Mondzo reactor. The leader in atomic energy development, France, completely froze development of fast reactors at the end of the 1990s because of its unprofitability and proneness to accidents. China does not as yet have any fast reactors, and is eager to learn from the Russian experience. © RosBalt Copyright ©1999 by "Pravda.RU [http://www.pravda.ru/] ". ***************************************************************** 11 Hi Pakistan: The nuclear nightmare - By A A Musalman --> March 25 2004 The proliferation of nuclear technology allegedly by Dr Qadeer through giving out sketches, and not the hardware of centrifuge, as President Musharraf said in his interview with Financial Times, has led to many misgivings in the minds of the people of Pakistan. Pakistan is not a signatory to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) nor to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which are the two International Instruments that permit the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ask any questions, much less probe, the activities of any "sovereign" country in the nuclear field. Even if the supply of sketches made from memory or documents carried in brief cases (some thing highly unlikely for such a complex precision device like centrifuge) and thus inaccessible to security outfits of the guardian angels protecting State Secrets, in multi-layers, is possible; how come a letter from IAEA starts an investigation that "cashiers" nation’s top nuclear scientists including the ‘Father of its Atomic Bomb’ and some of its missiles carrier? The probe still continues with promises to do more. It is claimed that the clandestine act was done without the knowledge and permission of Praetorian Guards, and if these "know-alls" are that incompetent and inefficient in protecting a few kilometres of "Top Secret" territory, and what goes on within it, then what to expect about the safety of the large territories of Islamic Republic of Pakistan with all the noise and claims about it, not-withstanding. Dr Qadeer and the others accused may have sinned but it does not behove self-proclaimed saviours to disgrace and "impound" their legitimate citizens, and ‘Prides of the Nation’, to the caprice of a Super Power and the dangle of dollars. If they are in breach of any Law of the Land, they should be brought to trial before a duly constituted Court of Law, allowing them opportunity to defend themselves and also expose any other accomplices in the misdeed and then be duly punished if found guilty, according to the prevalent law at the time the offence was committed. Article-45 of the Constitution relates to a grant of Presidential Pardon for a sentence passed by any Court, tribunal or other authority. Was Dr Khan tried for his alleged offence under the prevalent law by a duly constituted court, given the lawful opportunity to defend himself, found guilty according to law, sentenced by the court, tribunal or other authority and then "pardoned"? The manner in which he was brought onto State TV network to confess his "guilt", reading from a written statement and held in "protective custody" before and after the televised ritual; smacks of a well rehearsed and established "tactic" of Invisible Masters. It certainly does not infuse any confidence in people and provide any credibility to the whole affair. The Dr Khan drama brings home a naked truth that nuclear weapons are a nightmare of the sorts both for countries and individuals. Let us see what "nightmare" these are in respect of their destructive capacities. Apart from the Atomic bomb, and the better known Hydrogen bomb, there is the little known Neutron bomb specially designed to kill human-beings but cause minimum material damage in the vicinity of its explosion. It was thus aptly dubbed as the "Capitalists’ Bomb" by critics. The phenomenon of nuclear explosion has four distinct characteristics that are flash, blast, heat and radiation. All these occur simultaneously, though with different devastating affects. Nuclear bombs are designed to particularly optimise to maximum of any of these attributes depending upon intended mission. The central to these is the "power" of "blast" or explosive power, which is measured in the terms of the power of the conventional explosive TNT, or Tri-Nitro-Toulene. The basic unit is Kilotons (KT) that is the explosive power of 1000 tons of TNT going off simultaneously at a place. How destructive this unit is, can be imagined from the fact that the largest conventional bomb made to this day, the Daisy Cutter, contains only an equivalent of five tons of TNT, and only with this content Daisy Cutters pulverised the granite cliffs of Tora-Bora to which Taliban ran for shelter during the American bombing blitz. What the blast of a 1000 tons will do can well be imagined. Due to practical limitations of "fission" reaction in an Atomic Bomb, the quest for greater destruction led Dr Edward Teller, aided by Dr Ulam, to the discovery of "fusion" reaction through which energy, a minimum of 1000 times more than a "fission" reaction, could be released. This led to the construction of the so-called Hydrogen bomb, whose explosive power is measured in mega-tons or equivalent of one million tons of TNT that is a thousand times more than that of an Atomic bomb. This monster was first tested in 1954 by USA off Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. With an equivalent of five mega-tons (MT) it created a crater measuring one square mile, 2,500 feet below the water surface of lagoon when exploded 3,000 feet above sea level. The instant rise of the temperature is to 10,000 degrees centigrade, sufficient to vaporise any known material many times over, and a blast with a velocity in excess of a thousand miles per second. It is for any one to imagine what can remain in case of such an explosion. The USA is said to have made and tested a bomb of this type with power of 16 MT, while the former Soviet Union is said to have tested one with power of 59 MT. Britain is known to have its own Hydrogen bomb, while there is no surety about France and China. The question of any other country, including India and Pakistan, having made such dooms-day weapon does not arise due to procurement of rare materials (Deuterium and Tritinum), the miniaturization of the atomic bomb to be used as the "Trigger" for thermo-nuclear reaction and finally the immense cost and highest levels of technology involved. They actually have no need to produce this over-kill. The third member of the family, the Neutron bomb, is a miniature Hydrogen bomb specially adapted to enhanced neutron radiation with limited blast and heat components. The rationale of this device dates to hottest era of the Cold War between USA and former USSR. With thousands of the Soviet Tanks crouching at the borders of former West Germany, ready to overwhelm the NATO forces by sheer numbers, it was not possible to stem these by use of superior nuclear weaponry and more modern air forces of the West because that entailed unacceptable destruction of men and material in the friendly country of West Germany and beyond. Successors of Teller and Ulam hit upon the idea of Neutron bomb which will through special means convert nearly 70% of the released energy into very fast neutrons that will penetrate thick armour of Soviet tanks and the concrete of bunkers and irradiate the occupants, thereby killing or incapacitating them with minimal damage to the tank and surroundings. The cooling off of the Cold War did not necessitate the use of this weapon and hence its relative obscurity. It was reported that USA Defence Secretary, Mr Rumsfeld, considered the use of this hideous weapon against Taliban remnants hiding in Tora-Bora but mercifully Daisy Cutters were employed to flush them out thus obviating a real human tragedy. It is not reported that any other country made the Neutron Bomb, perhaps because like Hydrogen Bomb it is very special and costly. Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 12 Gazette: Professor's career began at Three Mile Island Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 18:11:45 -0800 http://www.gazetteonline.com/ Professor's career began at Three Mile Island By Tom Owen The Gazette Thursday, March 25, 2004, 10:52:08 AM IOWA CITY -- Twenty-five years ago this week, most people left the area of the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor when the evacuation of pregnant women and children was ordered. Most of the other people living within five miles of the plant decided to be on the safe side and left, too. But Bill Field, now a University of Iowa professor of epidemiology, had another idea. He stayed. Within 10 days of the accident, he was working practically in the shadow of the plant's cooling towers, testing mice, known as voles, for exposure to Iodine-131, a radioactive gas. His professors weren't happy about it. "They didn't want me anywhere near it," he said. "They said, you're nuts. Get out of there. I had to really fight to do this." But Field, then a 25-year-old working on a master's degree in biology, persevered, and the accident spurred him to a 25-year career researching radiation's effects on human health. He's published 50 scientific papers on the subject, and today, utilities often use voles to test exposure to radiation or lead, in part because they are cheap and rarely stray from a small geographic area. Three Mile Island remains the most serious accident in the history of American nuclear power, even though it led to no deaths or documented injuries. It began around 4 a.m. March 28, when a pump failed, overheating the plant's reactor core and sending a plume of steam into the air. By that night, the reactor had cooled down. But tensions spiked two days later when Metropolitan Edison released a small amount of radiation to relieve pressure inside the plant. The firm didn't notify the authorities, and, with fear growing, the evacuation of pregnant women and children close to the plant was ordered. Officials later discovered the reactor core had melted down half way. It came alarmingly close to a full meltdown, which could have sent radioactive debris spewing into the environment, causing thousands of cancers over the next decades. On the day of the first radiation release, Field and his wife, Elizabeth, were living in Elizabethtown, less than 15 miles from the plant, which is near Middletown, Pa. Elizabeth Field was a first-year resident at the medical center in Hershey, 10 miles from the plant. On Friday, March 30, all but the sickest patients had left the hospital, but authorities had plans to rush them by ambulance to State College, two hours to the west, in the event of a meltdown. Elizabeth Field was determined to stay at the hospital with her patients, so Bill Field moved into a friend's apartment in Hershey. "There wasn't an overt sense of panic in the hospital," said Elizabeth Field, now a professor of internal medicine and a physician at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Iowa City. "But there was this underlying tension you felt." As he left Elizabethtown with little more than his grandmother's silverware and his wedding pictures, Bill Field saw panic everywhere. About 80 percent of the townspeople had fled. More than 50 customers lined up at a bank across from his home, intending to withdraw their life savings, in case the bank collapsed. Some people walked around with guns, worrying that order might break down. By April 1, though, the immediate crisis was over, but Field said he knows six families that never returned to their homes. In the aftermath, Field wondered about official reassurances that because radiation was not showing up in cow's milk, the public was not at risk. He called local farmers, all of whom told him their cows had been inside barns when the accident happened, eating stored food. That's when he decided to sample the voles near the plant. As he went about his work, his life was threatened twice. "People would call and say, 'If you know what's good for you, you will stop these studies.' We never figured out who they were." Today, Field believes the state health department could have alleviated the public's unease by holding town meetings and going door-to-door to test people's animals and property for radiation levels. Federal authorities insist the residents near Three Mile Island face little long-term health risk. And Field's research showed that, indeed, the voles near the site were not exposed to high levels of radiation. But Field said it's still too early to say how harmful the accident will prove to the area's residents. Authorities assume those closest to the plant had the highest exposure. But it's possible, he said, the plume passed above them and touched down at some point farther away. Contact the writer: (319) 339-3158 or tom.owen@gazettecommunications.com *************************** R. William Field, MS, PhD http://myprofile.cos.com/Fieldrw ***************************************************************** 13 25th Anniversary Of 3 Mile Island & Ongoing Cover Up: Why The Nuclear Power Industry Hasn't Been Destroyed Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 02:17:37 -0500 This coming Sunday, March 25, 2004 is the 25th anniversary of the beginning of the accident at 3 Mile Island. A massive cover of of the accident at TMI is STILL going on as is one of much of if not all of the entire commercial nuclear power industry at least in the USA and possibly in parts or all of the rest of the world. Profits over safety and public disclosure/honesty? P.T. Barnum comes to mind: He [my father-in-law] said that the report, if published in its entirety, would have destroyed the civilian nuclear power industry because the accident at Three Mile Island was infinitely more dangerous than was ever made public. http://www.mothersalert.org/rickover.html Admiral Rickover's Statement The following statement was signed by Jane Rickover, daughter-in-law of Admiral Hyman Rickover, "father" of the nuclear navy. It was notorized by William Lamson July 18, 1986. Jane Rickover has verified the authenticity of the document and the events described in it. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ "In May, 1983, my father-in-law, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, told me that at the time of the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor accident, a full report was commissioned by by President Jimmy Carter. He [my father-in-law] said that the report, if published in its entirety, would have destroyed the civilian nuclear power industry because the accident at Three Mile Island was infinitely more dangerous than was ever made public. he told me that he had used his enormous personal influence with President Carter to persuade him to publish the report only in a highly "diluted" form. The President himself had originally wished the full report to be made public. In November, 1985, my father-in-law told me that he had come to deeply regret his action in persuading President Carter to suppress the most alarming aspects of that report. [Signed] Jane Rickover Jane Rickover appeared before me and swore as to the truth of the above statement. Dated at Toronto this 18th day of July A.D. 1986 [Signed] William F. Lamson William F. Lamson Q.C. Notary Public for the Province of Ontario -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Mothers' Alert Home | More Information | Actions | News http://www.mothersalert.org/bertell.html 3 MILE ISLAND COVER-UP: DR. ROSALIE BERTELL'S SIGNED, NOTARIZED STATEMENT -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Dr. Rosalie Bertell is the President of the International Institute of Concern for Public Health, and a renowned epidemiologist by profession. She is also an expert on the health effects of low level radiation. Dr. Bertell received the Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Peace Prize) in 1986. She can be reached at: drrbertell@home.com Phone: 416-260-0575 Below is Dr. Bertell's signed, notarized statement of July 10, 1998 concerning the ongoing cover-up of the Three Mile Island Accident. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ "I feel that former President Jimmy Carter should come forth with all of the facts surrounding the Three Mile Island Accident, especially those which involved the radiation release and the dose to the public. This disclosure should, moreover, be in language which can be easily and correctly understood by the public, and not massaged to hide the truth. After the accident, for example, I found that the dose officially assigned to the public, was called: "measured dose to the public from the accident" - where "measured" meant it only included the dose after the rate matres were in place the third day after the accident began; "accident" meant that the radiation dose received during the same time period in 1978 when the TMI reactors were all operating and there was Chinese nuclear test fallout, could be subtracted. President Carter was, and continues to be by his silence, complicit in keeping the true facts of the Three Mile Island Accident from the American and world public. While it may have been legally although not morally, permissible to withhold this information in 1979 under the guise of national security needs, now that the Cold War is over it is no longer credible that the US government protect the nuclear industry at the cost of the lives and health of its citizens. As I, Dr. Rosalie Bertell, President of the International Institute of Concern for Public Health, stated in my e-mail to President Carter of February 10,1998, President carter was and is involved in the cover up of the Three Mile island Accident, and in particular the serious health damage to the people who lived nearby. I was on the Citizen's Advisory Council to the Blue Ribbon Panel set up by President Carter to investigate the TMI accident. The members of this public panel did not have FBI clearance, with the possible exception of Dr. Kemmeny who had worked on the Manhattan Project. The staff, selected from those who worked for the NRC or DOE, did have such security clearance, and therefore they were able to withhold any information they or their superiors wanted to declare "classified:, from the Panel. The nuclear weapons program demanded that workers and the military personnel handle this radioactive material and the nuclear ordinance, therefore health effects of radiation could be classified for national security to prevent rebellion. At the first meeting of the Citizen's Advisory Council to the Kemmeny Commission, I brought up this potential problem and asked what provisions had been made for the Commission members to have security clearance so that they might have full access to the truth about the accident. Another Advisory Council Member asked who was in charge of reactor operations during the accident. These two questions were never answered, and they were enough to cause the dissolution of the entire advisory panel. In fact, Dr. Kemmeny even stated publicly to the press that we had never been invited to Washington [although the Commission paid our air fare and hotel bills]. The Industry Advisory Council to the Kemmeny Commission continued to function during the investigation. The nuclear industry has frustrated the litigation of all of the serious health claims of the TMI exposed people, in spite of the Supreme Court's ruling in 1997 that these claims must be heard. Lawyers for the nuclear industry are gloating that they are "invincible" before the Courts. Using dirty tactics, they have managed to eliminate all of the expert witnesses which the victims had engaged to bring their cause before the Court, subsequently causing the cases to be dismissed for lack of witnesses. There may be as many as 2,000 people who have not had their grievances heard by the courts. This dismissal, after the Supreme Court Ruling, as accomplished through a judge's ruling, not through the court hearing which the people had been promised. The people have still, almost 20 years after the accident, not had their day in court! It is my opinion that former President Carter should come forth and make the truth known so that the court cases for the victims can be reopened. I believe that it should also be made a court ruling that defendants, such as the nuclear industry, should not be allowed to declare their own witnesses the official spokespersons for a branch of knowledge, able to define for the court the methodologies which they accept and practice as the only legitimate ones! It was such a ploy that was used to dismiss the TMI plaintiff's witnesses. This is blatant violation of justice and of the human rights of the victims. It is especially abhorrent in the questions of health effects of radiation, a field of public health which was usurped by the nuclear physicists under the exigencies of potential nuclear war after World War II. Professional Health Physicists are not required to have any training in biology, public health or any medical discipline. Their methodologies are very limited and unacceptable to many professionals in the fields of epidemiology, occupational and public health. [Signed] Dr. Rosalie Bertell Notarized by Michele D. Guy, July 10, 1998 -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Back to More Information | Mothers Alert Home | Actions | News http://www.mothersalert.org/blanche.html More Revelations on TMI Below is a letter to Dr. Rosalie Bertell from Paul Blanche, a noble whistlebower who concurs with Dr. Bertell's summation of what really happend at Three Mile Island in 1979. -------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------- Dr. Bertell: You don't know me but may have read about me in the Time magazine cover story in February 1996 and also the front page of the Wall Street Journal in March 1998. I am a prominent whistleblower who uncovered major corruption within the NRC and my employer Northeast Utilities. As a result of events I uncovered at Millstone, Northeast Utilities was almost bankrupted, and the NRC extremely embarrassed. I was one of the expert witnesses at the TMI litigation and agree with you there was a major cover-up of vital information. The presidential commissions, the NRC and the DOE are all aware of this cover-up. As an expert witness, I had access to the all the original records. I have documented evidence, which I have given to the NRC, that the primary containment was breached shortly after the hydrogen explosion that occurred on March 30, 1979. This breach occurred at a time when the radioactivity in the containment was close to its peak. Preliminary estimates indicate that as many as 40 million curies may have been released during the following hours. The NRC and the licensee estimated the maximum of 10 million curies of releases. Not one of the studies ever even questioned the data that was readily available as it could have alarmed members of the general public. Contact me if you have any questions. Paul M. Blanch 135 Hyde Rd. West Hartford, CT 06117 -------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------- Mothers' Alert Home | More Information | Actions | News ***************************************************************** 14 NRC: NRC to Hold Meetings on Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant Performance and Power Uprate Review News Release - Region I - 2004-01 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I No. I-04-015 March 25, 2004 CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov [opa1@nrc.gov] Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Entergy Nuclear on Wednesday, March 31, to discuss the results of the agencys annual assessment of safety performance at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Agency staff will also discuss, in a subsequent separate meeting with the public, its review of a power uprate application for the plant, which is operated by Entergy Nuclear and located in Vernon, Vt. The annual assessment meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Vernon Elementary School, 381 Governor Hunt Road in Vernon. NRC staff will discuss plant performance for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2003, as well as provide a brief overview of agencys Reactor Oversight Process. Before the session is adjourned, the staff will be available to answer questions from the public on plant performance issues. Following the assessment meeting and a short break, the NRC will meet with the public at approximately 8 p.m. to discuss the status of the agencys review of Entergy Nuclears request for a power uprate at Vermont Yankee. The NRCs review of that request is still in the early stages. NRC staff will start this meeting with a brief presentation describing the agencys review of power uprate applications. Afterwards, the staff will answer questions related to NRCs power uprate review process. With regard to the NRCs annual assessment of Vermont Yankee, the agency found that overall, the plant operated safely and met all cornerstone objectives during the period. (Cornerstones are measures of plant performance.) A letter sent from the NRC Region I Office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during the period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at: www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/vy_2003q4.pdf [PDF Icon] . On the topic of security issues, the NRC has issued several orders and threat advisories to enhance security capabilities and improve guard force readiness since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The agency has also conducted inspections to review the implementation of these requirements and has monitored the action of plant operators in response to changing threat conditions. The NRC will continue security inspections in 2004. Current performance information for Vermont Yankee is available on the NRC web site at: www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/VY/vy_chart.html. Last revised Thursday, March 25, 2004 ***************************************************************** 15 NRC: NRC to Meet with Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Co. to Discuss Performance of Wolf Creek Nuclear Plant News Release - Region IV - 2004-01 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region IV No. IV-04-015 March 24, 2004 CONTACT: Victor Dricks Phone: 817-860-8128 E-mail: [opa4@nrc.gov] The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Co., on Tuesday, April 6, to discuss the results of the agencys annual assessment of safety performance at the Wolf Creek nuclear plant. The facility is located near Burlington, Kansas. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Burlington High Schools multimedia room (west entrance) 830 Cross Street, Burlington. The public is invited to observe the meeting and NRC officials will be available before the conclusion of the meeting to answer questions from the public on the safety performance of the plant. The performance period to be discussed is January 1 to December 31, 2003. In addition, the NRC staff will provide an overview of how the agencys Reactor Oversight Process works. A March 3 letter from the NRC to Wolf Creek officials addresses the performance of the plant during this period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/wc_2003q4.pdf [PDF Icon] . Overall, the plant operated safely last year, and fully met all cornerstone objectives (cornerstones are measures of plant performance). With regard to security issues, the letter points out that the NRC has issued several orders and threat advisories to enhance security capabilities and improve guard force readiness since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The agency has also conducted inspections to review the implementation of these requirements and has monitored the action of plant operators in response to changing threat conditions. The NRC will continue security inspections during 2004. Current performance indicators for Wolf Creek are available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/WC/wc_chart.html. Last revised Thursday, March 25, 2004 ***************************************************************** 16 NRC: NRC Cites Cooper Nuclear Plant for Violation of Low to Moderate Safety Significance News Release - Region IV - 2004-01 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region IV No. IV-04-016 March 25, 2004 CONTACT: Victor Dricks Phone: 817-860-8128 E-mail: opa4@nrc.gov [opa4@nrc.gov] The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has determined that the failure rate on a recent operator licensing written re-qualification exam at the Cooper Nuclear Station near Brownville, Nebraska, should be characterized as white, meaning that it has low to moderate importance to safety. NRC requires written re-qualification examinations every two years for operators in the control room of nuclear power plants. Nebraska Public Power District said it insured safe plant operation by retraining and retesting each operator prior to returning them to their duties in the plant control room. The NRC is monitoring steps taken by the licensee to address the issue. Under its safety significance determination process, NRC officials classify certain conditions at nuclear power plants as being one of four colors which delineate increasing levels of safety significance, beginning with green and progressing to white, yellow or red. Additional details on the white finding are available from the NRC's Region IV Office of Public Affairs at the above address or on the NRCs web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/regulatory/enforcement/current.html #reactor. Information also is available in the NRC's electronic reading room in the agency's ADAMS document system, accessible at: www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting the NRC Public Document Room at 301- 415-4737 or 1-800-397-4209. The company has 30 days from receipt of the letter to appeal the significance determination of this finding. Last revised Thursday, March 25, 2004 ***************************************************************** 17 Press Herald News: Baldacci's pick for nuclear adviser debated Some lawmakers say ex-Senate chief Charles Pray isn't qualified; others criticize the appointment process. --> --> [http://www.mainetoday.com] Thursday, March 25, 2004 By TOM BELL, Portland Press Herald Writer Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. AUGUSTA — Some legislators are raising questions about Gov. John Baldacci's appointment of a former Democratic leader to the post of state nuclear safety adviser. Charles Pray, who served as Senate president for eight years, took the job last October, for a salary of nearly $63,000. The appointment came up recently when legislators began reviewing Baldacci's supplemental budget, which proposes moving the job from the State Planning Office to the Public Advocate's Office. Baldacci's proposal also changes the job description. Rather than being knowledgeable in the field of nuclear power production, the state nuclear safety adviser should know about nuclear waste disposal, the budget says. Some legislators question whether Pray is the right fit for a job that used to belong to a nuclear physicist. Noting that Maine no longer has an operating nuclear power plant, Rep. Donald Berry, R-Belmont, said he doesn't understand why Maine even needs a full-time nuclear adviser. Berry believes the job exists only to serve Pray's need for employment. "We needed to make room for Charlie Pray," said Berry, the ranking Republican on the Legislature's Utilities and Energy Committee. Others say they are more concerned that the committee didn't have any say in the change in the job description or in Pray's appoint- ment. "The public process is a very healthy thing for everyone," said Rep. Herb Adams, D-Portland, a member of the committee. "Instead, an important job is buried in a budget document that is deeper than Yucca Mountain." Adams was speaking of the Nevada mine shaft where Maine is supposed to bury the nuclear waste from Maine Yankee in Wiscasset. That won't happen for years, though. In the meantime, the waste will remain encased in concrete in Wiscasset. Pray, who owns a sport camp on Ripogenus Dam, about 30 miles from Millinocket, represented Millinocket in the Senate for 18 years. He was Senate president from 1984 to 1992. He was defeated in his run for re-election in 1992 after being criticized for a 1991 legislative junket to Orlando, Fla., home of Disney World. He later took a job with the Clinton administration, serving eight years at the U.S. Department of Energy in the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. That job, Pray said, involved dealing with governors and legislators on issues related to the shipment of spent radioactive fuel. He said his experience in Washington will help him as he works with federal officials to speed up the process for moving nuclear waste out of Maine. He said he is not bothered by the criticism. "Once you serve in public office," he said, "it makes you a convenient target for other people." Sen. Chris Hall, D-Bristol, Senate chair of the Utilities and Energy Committee, said the closing of Maine Yankee now calls for someone with political skills rather than technical know-how. He said Pray's experience as a legislative leader and his experience in Washington make him well-suited for the job. "The job is really about government relations," Hall said. Pray's boss, Stephen Ward, the state's public advocate since 1987, said Pray is the right man for the job. In April 2005, Maine Yankee will be 100 percent decommissioned, he said, and there will be nothing in Wiscasset except for spent fuel rods encased in concrete. Now, he said, the state must focus on getting rid of the stuff. "For eight years, Pray has been the person responsible for intergovernmental relations, particularly on radioactive waste issues," Ward said. "These are precisely the qualifications that are useful for solving that kind of problem." Staff Writer Tom Bell can be contacted at 623-1031 or at: tbell@pressherald.com [tbell@pressherald.com] ***************************************************************** 18 NRC: NRC Staff Issues Draft Letter, Concerning Potential Reactor Containment Sump Issue, for Public Comment News Release - 2004-03 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: [opa@nrc.gov] No. 04-036 March 25, 2004 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued for public comment a draft letter asking operators of pressurized water reactors (PWR) for information related to a component of a safety-related water recirculation system called a containment sump. Operating experience at boiling water reactors, as well as recent research, has indicated debris from certain pipe-break accidents inside a containment building could potentially block PWR sumps. The letter asks PWR operators to document how their plants long-term reactor core cooling requirements would be met under accident conditions, given the potential for sump blockage. Interested members of the public have 60 days from the issuance of a notice in the Federal Register, expected shortly, to comment on the draft letter. The NRC staff plans to hold a public meeting in the spring to further explain the rationale for the letter and to gather comments. Meeting details will be published as soon as they are available. The staff expects to issue the final Generic Letter later this summer. The draft Generic Letter is available electronically through the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html, by entering accession number ML040830518. Help in using ADAMS is available from the NRCs Public Document Room at 800/397-4209 or 301/415-4737. The NRC web site also contains a section dealing with staff activities on the PWR containment sump issue, available at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/ops-experience/pwr-sump-per formance.html. Last revised Thursday, March 25, 2004 ***************************************************************** 19 AU SMH: Nuclear reactor shut down after malfunction - World - www.smh.com.au [Sydney Morning Herald Online] March 26, 2004 A nuclear reactor at the Khmelnytskyi atomic power plant in western Ukraine has been shut down by its automatic safety system, but there has been no radiation hazard, officials said. The No. 1 reactor was pulled off the power grid on Wednesday night after an unspecified malfunction triggered its automatic protection system, the state Energoatom nuclear power company said yesterday. The reactor was expected to be repaired by noon AEDT on Friday. Radiation levels have remained normal. Ukraine was the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in April 1986, when a reactor at the Chernobyl atomic plant exploded. The plant was closed in 2000. Ukraine has 13 nuclear reactors. AP Copyright © 2004. The Sydney Morning Herald. ***************************************************************** 20 AP Wire: Progress plant was one of 22 in U.S. with problems in '03 | 03/25/2004 | Associated Press APEX, N.C. - Shearon Harris nuclear plant was one of 22 plants across the nation that had problems in 2003 that required regulators to respond, say federal officials. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in its annual review that Progress Energy's plant in southern Wake County operated safely overall but noted that four unplanned shutdowns last summer prompted a supplemental inspection. "This number is relatively large for what we expect," Paul Fredrickson, branch chief for the NRC's Division of Reactor Projects in Atlanta, said during a public presentation Wednesday in Apex. Fredrickson said the utility's inspectors found that the causes of the shutdowns had been correctly identified as problems with power generation equipment. They were fixed, and there was no systematic problem, he said. The NRC oversees 102 commercial nuclear power plants by mandating requirements for design, construction, operation and security. Jim Scarola, vice president of the Harris plant, said Progress did not want Harris to be among the nuclear plants requiring regulatory response. "From a utility standpoint, we expect the unit to be more reliable," Scarola said. "When the plant is out of service, we have to get power from other plants. There is no safety concern." Bob Duncan, director of site operations for the Harris plant, said the unplanned shutdowns were caused by power generation equipment. Despite the NRC's assessment that the plant operated safely, several members of N.C. WARN, a citizen watchdog group, repeated concerns about the risk posed by the concentration of spent nuclear fuel in underground storage pools. "We're concerned about safety," said Herman Jaffe, a retired marketing consultant in Apex. Jaffe urged nuclear regulators to require Harris to reduce the density of fuel rods in the pools and disperse the fuel in silos. Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com [http://www.newsobserver.com] ***************************************************************** 21 KRT Wire: Plymouth, Mass., Nuclear Power Station Gets Passing Grades | 03/25/2004 | Thursday, Mar 25, 2004 By Kevin Dennehy, Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Mar. 25--PLYMOUTH, Mass. - The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station yesterday received passing grades from federal regulators for its operations and security in 2003. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials told a public hearing yesterday that the Plymouth nuclear plant, about 12 miles from the Cape Cod Canal, was not perfect over the last year. Three major malfunctions -- two mechanical, one human -- forced the plant to shut down operations during the year, for periods of one to 24 days. But none of the incidents threatened public safety, NRC inspectors said. "Overall, the plant did operate safely," said Bill Raymond, an NRC inspector. And plant officials say steps to prevent human and mechanical errors -- from added training to predictive analysis -- have already reduced the number of problems since last summer. The annual plant assessment did not include a January incident when more than 78 percent of the plant's new 112 emergency alert sirens did not work because of extreme cold. But NRC inspector Chris Welch said that incident was not the fault of Entergy, the energy giant that owns Pilgrim. The problem, he said, occurred because a sub-vendor hired by siren manufacturer Federal Signal Corp. provided amplifier circuit chips that could not handle temperatures below 8 degrees Fahrenheit. Mary Lampert of Duxbury, an outspoken critic of the plant, called the NRC assessment irrelevant since its security requirements are lax. For instance, she said that the Plymouth nuclear plant can't resist the impact of an airplane loaded with explosives and that so-called "no fly" zones are useless since a fighter jet wouldn't have time to intercept a plane even if it wandered near the plant. She suggested the Plymouth plant be equipped with missiles in case an airplane tries to crash into the reactor, and that plant security be subject to regular mock terror drills on short notice. Residents of Southeastern Massachusetts are fortunate there hasn't been a terrorist attack at the Plymouth plant, she said. "It's not because you have stepped up to the plate and provided the security we deserve," she added. Clifford Anderson, chief of the regional NRC offices, said security efforts have been stiffened since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. He added that the nuclear plant is a "hardened facility," and said that the NRC is now conducting a study of the impact of airplane collision. ----- To see more of the Cape Cod Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes [http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes] © 2004, Cape Cod Times. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. ETR, FSS, ***************************************************************** 22 NRC: Public Meeting March 31 on License Renewal Application for Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant News Release - Region III - 2004-01 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region III No. III-04-014 March 24, 2004 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 E-mail: [opa3@nrc.gov] The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting on March 31, in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, to discuss how the agency will review the application submitted by Nuclear Management Company to renew the operating license for the Point Beach Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 & 2. The plant is located near Two Rivers. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m., at the Two Creeks Town Hall, 5128 East Tapawingo Road, near Highway 42 north of Two Rivers. Members of the public are invited to ask questions and comment on license renewal issues that the NRC should consider in its review of the application. The purpose of the meeting is for the NRC staff to provide information on how the license renewal process works and how the public can participate in this process. The NRC received the license renewal application for the Point Beach Nuclear Power Station from Nuclear Management Company on February 26. The current operating licenses for Units 1 and 2 expire on October 5, 2010, and March 8, 2013, respectively. A copy of the application is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applicati ons/point-beach.html. Additional information on the license renewal process may be accessed by selecting Reactor License Renewal from the Key Topics menu on the NRC web page: http://www.nrc.gov. A copy of the license renewal application is also available at the Lester Public Library, at 1001 Adams Street, Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Last revised Thursday, March 25, 2004 ***************************************************************** 23 [du-list] there are no words - by bob nichols Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 18:11:48 -0800 For Immediate Release Contact: Bob Nichols 405-749-5888 bobnichols@cox.net There are no words ... Radiation in Iraq Equals 250,000 Nagasaki Bombs by Bob Nichols (Oklahoma City) - Last summer (2003) one of my neighbors had just returned from Iraq. I wanted to ask him about the summer conditions in Iraq. The brutal summer in Iraq is coming up again, the same way it has since the last Ice Age. The neighbor said it routinely got to 142 Degrees F. in Baghdad and the rest of Iraq during the summer months. As a writer I do not have a set of words to describe what 142 Degrees in the shade is like. I've seen 120 D. in Phoenix and 110 D in the spa's sauna I use. One hundred forty-two degrees leaves me speechless. Try to imagine 142 D temperature while wearing a helmet, long sleeve shirt, long pants, a bullet proof vest, boots, and carrying a 70 pound pack. By contrast the Inuit of Alaska and Canada have thirty-seven words to precisely talk about different kinds of snow. So, since the temperature is heating up in Iraq it seemed like a good time to float this story to different Internet sites and news publications. There was one story in 2003 of one 19 year old British soldier whose military job was to work in a British tank. In Iraq. In the summer. Word is, from London, that he forgot to drink enough water and he literally cooked in his tank. But, this story is not about the temperature in Iraq. You can bet, though, the weather will be really important for those Americans unfortunate enough to still be in Iraq this summer. This story is about American weapons built with Uranium components for the business end of things. Just about all American bullets, 120 mm tank shells, missiles, dumb bombs, smart bombs, 500 and 2,000 pound bombs, cruise missiles, and anything else engineered to help our side in the war of us against them has Uranium in it. Lots of Uranium. In the case of a cruise missile, as much as 800 pounds of the stuff. This article is about how much radioactive uranium our guys, representing us, the citizens of the United States, let fly in Iraq. Turns out they used about 4,000,000 pounds of the stuff, give or take. That is a bunch. Now, most people have no idea how much Four Million Pounds of anything is, much less of Uranium Dust (UD), which this stuff turns into when it is shot or exploded. Suffice it to say it is about equal to 1,333 cars that weigh three thousand pounds per car. That is a lot of cars; but, we can imagine what a parking lot with one thousand three hundred and thirty three cars is like. The point is: this was and is an industrial strength operation. It is still going on, too. No sir-ee, putting Four Million Pounds of Radioactive Uranium Dust (RUD) on the ground in Iraq was a definitely "on-purpose" kind of thing. It was not "just an accident." We, the citizens of the United States, through our kids in the Army, did this on purpose. When the uranium bullets, missiles, or bombs hit something or explode most of the radioactive uranium turns instantly to very, very small dust particles, too fine to even see. When US Troopers or Iraqis breathe even a tiny amount into their lungs, as little as One Gram, it is the same as getting an X-Ray every hour for the rest of their shortened life. The uranium cannot be removed, there is no treatment, there is no cure. The uranium will long outlast the Veterans' and the Iraqis' bodies though; for, you see, it lasts virtually forever. But, it gets worse. Seems an Admiral who is the former Chief of the Naval Staff of India wanted to know how much radiation this represented. He also wanted to express the amount in a figure that the world, especially the non American world, could easily understand. The Admiral decided to figure out how many Nagasaki Atom Bombs it would take to deliver the equivalent of the total amount of radiation deployed in Iraq in 2003 in Four Million Pounds of uranium. The Admiral also wanted to figure out how much radiation the United States Military Forces have deployed in the last Five American Wars, the so-called Five Nuclear Wars. That is a simple enough task for somebody like the Naval Chief of Staff for a country that is a member of the Nuclear Club. Using the Nagasaki bomb for the measuring stick is a particularly gruesome twist, though. For those of you in the States who do not know it, the United States Military Forces dropped two nuclear Bombs on Japan at the close of World War II. The whole world remembers that. One Atom Bomb was dropped by Americans on the city of Hiroshima, the other on the city of Nagasaki three days later. About 170,000 people were incinerated immediately. It was a really big deal. It is a measuring stick that plays very well in the rest of the world; but, not very well on Fox News (Fair & Balanced)(c) or the rest of the Fox-like American media. The Department of Energy still lists the Hiroshima and Nagasaki detonations as "tests." The admiral released the data months ago at a scientific conference in India. This article is the first report of the data in the United States. It will first be released on the Internet. The admiral in India calculated the number of radioactive atoms in the Nagasaki bomb and compared it with the number in the 4,000,000 pounds of uranium left in Iraq from the 2003 war. Now, believe me, it is a lot more complex than that; but, that is essentially what the experts in India did. How many Nagasaki Nuclear Bombs equal the Radiation loosed in the 2003 Iraq war? Answer: About 250,000 Nuclear Bombs. How many Nagasaki Nuclear Bombs equal the Radiation loosed in the last Five American Nuclear Wars? Answer: About 400,000 Nuclear Bombs. Who would do something like this? We would. The only people in the history of the world to engage in Nuclear Wars are Americans, citizens of the United States. Allegedly, the Germans and Japanese of WWII also wanted to engage in nuclear wars, except the American Military beat them to the draw, so to speak. Respected academic scholars could debate forever whether or not Herr Hitler, Fuhrer of Germany, would have deployed uranium munitions in the Sudetenland if the weapons had been available. Certainly the Germans knew just as much about uranium wars as we did at the time. It seems doubtful that Adolph Hitler would have ordered the use of uranium munitions there because the Sudetenland was so close to the Fatherland, Nazi Germany. An American General named Leslie Groves was in charge of the bomb making operation called The Manhattan Project. In 1943 The War Department knew exactly what uranium bullets and bombs were good for. If the nuclear weapons did not detonate in Japan, the use of uranium bullets and bombs were the fall back position. It was not till Ronald Reagan was President in 1980 did the re-named Defense Department resurrect the deadly radioactive uranium bullets, bombs, and missiles. No wonder his popular nick-name was Ronnie Ray-Guns. The American Military knew the symptoms of radiation poisoning in 1943 too; starting with the irritated sore throat through to an agonizing death from being cooked from the inside out. President Bush promised to invade twelve countries in the 2003 State of the Union speech. I believe the man. For some reason, some misguided Americans do not believe him, or think he was "exaggerating." The rest of the world has every reason to believe him, though. Not to worry, the President has plenty of raw material for radioactive uranium munitions left. There are more than 77,000 Tons stored at the 103 nuclear waste plants and the several Nuclear Weapons Labs in the US. Each one makes another 250 pounds of radioactive material a day for radioactive bullets, bombs, and missiles. Not to put too fine a point on it; but, that is enough for 40.5 more gloriously successful campaigns like the 2003 Nuclear War in Iraq. Every year about this time the Southern winds leave a fine desert sand on the windshields of cars parked outside in Continental Europe and Britain. Soon this sand dust will carry a surprise. Thanks to the Americans. Thanks to us. We did this to the world. And, we wonder why they hate and despise us so. These uranium weapons' indiscriminate killing effect gives a whole new meaning to the age old term: cannon fodder. In Iraq, what goes around, comes around. If not the uranium munitions themselves, the uranium dust will be in the bodies of our returning armed forces, time bombs slowly ticking away the lives of the gullible and the ignorant with their very own internal radiation source, the cannon fodder of the 21st Century American Nuclear Wars. Put your ending to this article next. A lot of people have done everything we can think of to stop these nuclear wars. Even more specifically to stop the use of uranium as a munition and shut down the nuclear power plants. We have tried and failed for years. Why don't you give it a try? Can't hurt anything! Write what steps you would take to turn this situation around. Copyright 2004, Bob Nichols. All rights reserved. Permission for reposting is allowed provided the complete text and attribution are kept intact. Bob Nichols writes in Oklahoma City and is the Editorial writer for DemoOkie.com. Bob Nichols is a contributing writer for LiberalSlant, Democratic Underground, OnlineJournal, AmericaHeldHostage, and other online dot com publications. Mr. Nichols is a frequent contributor The Oklahoma Observer and other print publications, and an editorial writer for DemoOkie.com. He lives and works in Oklahoma. He is a member of CASE - Citizens' Action for Safe Energy, and President of the Carrie Dickerson Foundation. CASE has successfully killed two serious, well funded attempts to build Nuclear Power Plants in Oklahoma and several attempts to site what is now known as the "Yucca Mountain Reactor Dump" in Oklahoma. All these efforts to build nuclear facilities have failed. ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" your friends today! Download Messenger Now http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du-list/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 24 [du-list] Re: [DU-WATCH] studies link birth defects to gulf war Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 18:11:13 -0800 ><> ><> ><> It should also be noted that Texas is one of the largest states not to have a birth defect registry program.><> ><> ><> [plus the rest of the message below my response ><> ><> ><> Some input for those considering the birth defects concerns. Probably I've sent some of this out before, but here goes. I've done a great deal of work using brith defect statistics from: the State of Arizona Health Status and Vital Statistics; the US statistics for Mortality and Morbidity. Some are gathered as "births with congenital anomalies per 1000 live births." Some as "deaths due to." And so on. This makes it difficult to do comparisons. In the US "fetal deaths" is the category that covers spontaneous abortion/miscarriage, however it is only for fetuses lost at 26 or more weeks gestation [though I know a woman in a superfund area that insisted on a fetal death certificate for a child lost before 26 weeks!]. Lethal abnormalities would result in spontaneous abortion/stillbirths. In looking at US statistics [early 1940's to late 1980's], there were two instances of rate-doubling of fetal deaths in the 1960, in Colorado and Hawaii that corresponded with lower rates of deaths due to birth defect--so actually there was a high rate of hidden deaths due to birth defects. If a whole bunch of Iraqi midwifes said they have become afraid to attend birth because of so many horrible outcomes due to birth defects, that's peer review enough for me. Agencies who publish such statistics can be quite crafty. I followed Arizona statistic [for a period covering more than 20 years] and one year there was such a high rate in one county, the agency did not publish the rates chart they usually published. It was necessary to do the extra step of using numbers to calculate the rates. Few would have done that and noticed the shocking rate of 125 per 1,000 live births. Arizona has changed it's format to be more obtuse, though they do have a birth defects registry. It's a difficult endeavor, any way you look at it. Still it's worth doing for those who have no way to speak for themselves. They show us about some of the horrors in-humane humans are doing to the Earth, to Life, to each other. As for studies funded by any agency--as a former atomic worker, I've been a guinea pig for two followup studies. NIOSH took away from the principal investigator all blood smears, including mine--as one of the most highly exposed--that had been made to check for chromosomal abberations. There was no indication to me that the study was done to benefit me or co-workers in any way. I my own case, I believe that I did my homework, saw that I was just as irrsponsible as the company if I continued and walked away before having enough exposure to do serious harm; was involved in the effort that closed them down. But she was right--my whole body has been irradiated from the inside out--maybe the hormesis believers would tell you that's why I don't look so old.! Once again, the sperm of males is the most sensitive, most vulnerable link in the reporductive chain when it comes to environmental toxins, due to synthesis of new DNA for their formation. Elaine Max Whisson wrote: This information on the rare Goldenhar Syndrome is valuable for two reasons. It provides more evidence that exposure to DU damages the genome of developing sperm and It strongly suggests that research guided by the pentagon greatly underestimated the incidence of the syndrome. Why, and what other data is coloured by the source of funding? In this connection it is to be remembered that most abnormal conceptions result in spontaneous abortion of the abnormal fetus. For this reason an environmental factor which causes an abnormality in early fetal development is likely to be grossly underestimated. It will be a huge job to gain data on the rate of spontaneous abortions in the partners of veterans and the women in the invaded regions but I believe there is an absolute obligation for the Pentagon to fund such studies without restraint on the findings. Max > From: davey garland > Reply-To: du-watch@yahoogroups.com > Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 09:58:55 +0000 > To: nucnews@yahoogroups.com, du-watch@yahoogroups.com, > du-list@yahoogroups.com, gulfwarveterans@groups.msn.com, > abolition-caucus@yahoogroups.com, eathfirstalert@yahoogroups.com, > formotherearth@yahoogroups.com, ozpeace@yahoogroups.com, > pandora-project@yahoogroups.com, tracy@tracyworcester.org.uk, > asceptic@burntmail.com > Subject: [DU-WATCH] studies link birth defects to gulf war > > More science needs to be done, and better statistics > need to be kept of birth defects to further research > into the issue. > > It should also be noted that Texas is one of the > largest states not to have a birth defect registry > program. [Brought to you by HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK] To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT d9a4f3.jpg d9a5e0.jpg ---------- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: * http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du-list/ * * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: * du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com * * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. Attachment Converted: d9a4f3.jpg: 00000001,6b9b4994,00000000,00000000 Attachment Converted: d9a5e0.jpg: 00000001,6b9b4995,00000000,00000000 ***************************************************************** 25 NRC: NRC to Discuss the Status of Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant Decommissioning News Release - Region III - 2004-01 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region III No. III-04-015 March 25, 2004 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov [opa3@nrc.gov] The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will discuss with the City of Arden Hills the status of decommissioning activities at the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant in a public meeting, March 31, in Arden Hills, Minnesota. The plant which formerly manufactured ammunition containing depleted uranium, is located near Arden Hills. The meeting, sponsored by the City of Arden Hills to discuss radioactive contamination and cleanup at the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant, will be held at 6 p.m. at the Arden Hills City Hall, 1245 Highway 96, Arden Hills. The NRCs presentation will focus on an overview of the NRCs decommissioning process, the decommissioning plan for this site, the extent of radiological contamination associated with the use of depleted uranium in and around Building 502 of the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant, as well as the current status of NRCs decommissioning reviews at the site. Decommissioning activities at the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant have been conducted by Alliant Techsystems, Inc., since 2001. Between 2001 and 2003, the NRC conducted ten inspections to ensure compliance with the NRCs regulations and details of the decommissioning plan. Inspection reports are available through Region III Public Affairs Office and the electronic reading room at NRCs web site: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Assistance in using the web reading room is available by calling the NRC Public Document Room at 800-397-4209. Last revised Thursday, March 25, 2004 ***************************************************************** 26 Guardian Unlimited: 3 Nuclear Workers Friday March 26, 2004 12:31 AM RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) - Three workers at the Hanford nuclear site were taken to a hospital Thursday after noticing a mysterious ``sweet smell'' near underground tanks holding radioactive waste. The three initially declined medical evaluation, but co-workers called 911 when one of them developed a nosebleed, according to Erik Olds, spokesman for the Energy Department's Office of River Protection. The worker with the nosebleed was taken by ambulance to Kadlec Medical Center in Richland. The other two also were being evaluated at the hospital, Olds said. Their conditions were not immediately known. The workers are monitors for radioactivity or chemical vapors during the cleanup of the vast site that once made plutonium for nuclear weapons. Several investigations are under way to determine if Hanford workers are being exposed to toxic vapors from 177 underground tanks, which hold about 53 million gallons of radioactive waste from weapons production. Last week, six workers sought medical attention after being exposed to tank vapors. They later returned to work. The Energy Department and the contractor handling tank waste cleanup have said the vapors are not dangerous. For 40 years, the 586-square-mile site in south-central Washington made plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons. Cleanup costs are expected to total $50 billion to $60 billion, with the work to be finished by 2035. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 Guardian Newspapers Limited ***************************************************************** 27 Hawk Eye: Senators differ on compensation [http://archive.thehawkeye.com] Wednesday, March 24, 2004 Site updated daily at 11 a.m. CST Harkin wants more funds up front; Grassley seeks change in the policy for former munitions plant workers' program. By MATTHEW LeBLANC mleblanc@thehawkeye.com Iowa's U.S. senators are split over how to overhaul a complicated federal workers' compensation program. Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat, thinks more money should be spent to administer the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program. His colleague across the aisle, Sen. Charles Grassley, believes bureaucratic and policy problems should be fixed before extra funding is given to the 4–year–old program. Both lawmakers in recent weeks have pushed for changes in the Department of Energy–run EEOICP, citing a lagging claims process and a confusing federal law that ensures that many ailing former nuclear weapons workers may never receive compensation payments. Harkin, in a letter last week to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee Chairman Pete Domenici, asked that $22 million cut by the Bush administration from the DOE's fiscal 2005 budget be restored. The funding would help DOE administrators process nearly 19,000 claims that have remained stagnant since they were filed, he told the New Mexico Republican. The program received $67.3 million in fiscal 2004, but the administration has requested it be reduced to $45.2 million in fiscal 2005. Responding to Harkin's request, Grassley, a Republican, said Monday that he's "not convinced" additional monies will fix the program. The program's structure, its implementation and its administration must first change before new money is doled out, he said. "Considering that the Department of Energy has yet to prove that they are capable of implementing this program, we need to consider fundamental technical and programmatic changes rather than just throwing good money after bad," Grassley said. Beth Pellett Levine, Grassley's press secretary, said Tuesday that he "has no intention of asking for more money" until concerns about unprocessed claims have been addressed by the DOE. EEOICP, passed by Congress in 2000, was designed to provide compensation payments to former DOE employees who contracted cancers and other physical ailments due to work at nuclear weapons plants nationwide. An October report by the General Accounting Office — Congress' investigative arm — shows that only 6 percent of more than 19,000 claims had been completely processed since the program was implemented in 2001. Allison Dobson, Harkin's press secretary, said Monday that a decision regarding the request was not expected until early fall, when the Senate will examine the budget. Thousands of former Iowa Army Ammunition Plant employees have filed claims under the program. Work at the plant — where components of nuclear weapons were assembled, test–fired and disassembled during the Cold War — has been linked to cancers and various lung diseases. Addressing concerns about lagging claims, Harkin and Grassley have written letters to Energy Department officials and petitioned Congress for changes to the program since September. Grassley's comments mark the first time he and Harkin have disagreed about plans to overhaul EEOICP. "Only a handful of thousands of claims have made it through DOE's process, and hundreds of claims for compensation under Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services are held up awaiting records from DOE," Harkin wrote to Domenici Friday. "I urge an increase in funding to help DOE process the large number of claims, as well as oversight to urge greater speed." DOL officials help to process a portion of the claims filed under EEOICP. Labor Department statistics show much higher claims completion rates. Two attempts by Grassley to transfer all claims control to the DOL through legislation were defeated by House and Senate committees. Harkin's request for funding was sent to the same subcommittee that helped torpedo Grassley's legislation. Under the DOE portion of EEOICP, claimants are helped to file state workers' compensation claims. In Iowa, a statute of limitations often inhibits the claims, all but ensuring that the sick and dying workers who filed them will never receive payments. Both Harkin and Grassley have called for a revamp of the policy. Reports also have surfaced in recent months about DOE officials losing or destroying medical records of claimants, prompting Harkin to ask Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao in February for explanations. As of Tuesday, neither had responded. A separate request by Grassley in November for information related to EEOICP and DOE's role in its administration was heeded just last week. Aides to Grassley are "sifting through" the information, according to Levine, which will be referenced when Grassley testifies before the Senate Energy Committee March 31. The Hawk Eye 800 S. Main St., Burlington Iowa 52601 319-754-8461 ***************************************************************** 28 AU ABC: Ranger contamination scare blamed on crossed lines . 26/03/2004. ABC News Online "Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online"> The operators of the Ranger Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory say a false connection between two water lines seems to be the cause of a contamination incident. Staff at the mine discovered the poor water quality on Wednesday morning and samples were tested revealing elevated levels of uranium and higher acidity. The mine, which is surrounded by the Kakadu National Park, was shut down and staff have been working to clear and test the water system. Energy Resources of Australia says that process is almost complete and it is hoped mining operations will be resumed by the weekend. The company says investigations are continuing but it appears a wrong connection was made between the process water line and the washing and drinking water line on Tuesday night. It says three staff members have reported minor symptoms since the incident but none have needed medical treatment. © 2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ***************************************************************** 29 Salt Lake Tribune: Mill says it won't take 'hotter' waste March 25, 2004 By Judy Fahys The White Mesa uranium mill in southeastern Utah will continue accepting mildly contaminated dirt from the government's Niagara Falls, N.Y., radioactive-waste cleanup. But, in keeping with its license and its past practice, the reprocessing plant near Blanding won't solicit any of the highly contaminated "K-65" waste from Niagara Falls and a cleanup in Fernald, Ohio, that had Utahns so worried last fall, said Ron Hochstein, president and chief executive officer of International Uranium Corp., owner of the White Mesa mill. "It is a misstatement to categorize or insinuate that any material that we would consider taking from Niagara would be 'hotter material' than we have taken in the past," Hochstein said in a letter sent this week to the co-chairmen of a legislative waste task force. The letter disputed a news report suggesting the White Mesa mill planned to bid on waste with radium concentrations more than 100 times as hot as Utah currently allows, thanks to a loophole in a new Utah law that applies to Envirocare of Utah. International Uranium said it would be wrong to imply the company "could take advantage of some 'loophole' in the new law" to take the K-65 waste. Even though state law bans waste as hazardous as K-65, the Energy Department, through an act of Congress last fall, cleared the way for it to be disposed at Envirocare's Tooele County landfill by slapping a new regulatory label on it. State leaders moved quickly during the 2004 Legislature to close loopholes that might have allowed disposal of waste as dangerous as the K-65 material in Utah. Gov. Olene Walker on Wednesday signed House Bill 145, which would allow Envirocare to accept waste that is more hazardous only if the governor and the Legislature specifically approve it. Although Envirocare eventually pulled out of the bidding for that highly contaminated Fernald waste, it has complained that the Legislature did not impose the same requirements on the White Mesa mill. Envirocare operates a landfill for low-level nuclear waste in Tooele County. White Mesa mill extracts uranium from already processed ore and leaves the discards in holding ponds. The decision not to include White Mesa in HB145 was not a matter of favoritism but practicality, according to legislators, advocates and regulators involved in bill negotiations. Because federal law treats White Mesa as a recycling facility rather than a disposal site, regulations covering its operations differ substantially from sites like Envirocare. And because the International Uranium Corp. has said all along that it had no plans to take waste like the highly concentrated Fernald and Niagara Falls cleanup, there appeared to be no pressing need to impose tighter regulations on the facility in the 2004 Legislature, negotiators said. "They are two different beasts," said Rep. Stephen Urquhart, R-St. George, who co-chairs the waste task force. In the past, 300,000 tons of mildly contaminated cleanup waste has gone to the White Mesa Mill from Niagara Falls. The Tooele landfill has contracts to dispose of 809,461 tons of contaminated dirt from Ohio. fahys@sltrib.com [fahys@sltrib.com] "> Copyright Salt Lake City Tribune ***************************************************************** 30 Deseretnews: Bramble to write an apology [deseretnews.com] Thursday, March 25, 2004 Activist says it doesn't go far enough after insult By Leigh Dethman Deseret Morning News Senate leadership has asked state Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, to apologize for making disparaging comments about waste opponents. The apology stems from what happened at a March 5 gathering of Envirocare employees and supporters, where Bramble made the comment that the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah was an acronym for "Help Educate Anal Liberals." Environmental activists say an apology isn't enough to maintain the integrity of the Hazardous Waste Regulation and Tax Policy Task Force, a committee Bramble co-chairs. HEAL had formally requested that Senate President Al Mansell ask for Bramble's resignation. "We're disappointed. I think it doesn't go far enough to address the serious breach of ethical behavior," said Jason Groenewold, director of HEAL. "It's almost like they are condoning Bramble's behavior." In a letter from Mansell to Groenewold obtained by the Deseret Morning News, Mansell said Bramble has willingly agreed to send a written apology to members of HEAL and the Utah Senate. Bramble also agreed to recommit to maintaining fair, impartial committee processes and to refrain from making editorial comments while acting as task force chair. "There will be a letter that will basically say, 'I apologize,' " Bramble said Wednesday. "The comment, it was not meant to offend anyone." In the letter, Mansell said Bramble's offending remarks did not indicate a specific position on nuclear waste issues. Mansell said the comment just "poked fun" at three groups: the Legislature, Envirocare and HEAL. "Sen. Bramble's alleged bias may be more perception than reality," Mansell wrote. "That said, I am still concerned that public perception of Sen. Bramble's attendance and comments may hurt the credibility of the task force and, in some ways, the Senate as a body." Groenewold thinks the situation is more serious. "I think the task force has an uphill battle to gain public confidence as long as Sen. Bramble is co-chairing its meetings," he said. The Hazardous Waste Regulation and Tax Policy Task Force considers all waste issues in the state, including the taxation of companies that accept waste. Among the most contentious issues is whether Envirocare should be allowed to accept hotter radioactive wastes than their current state and federal licenses allow. The task force has been charged to make recommendations to the 2005 Legislature. "If these are the standards by which Senate leadership are expecting nuclear waste policy to be established," Groenewold said, "then I have serious concerns about what the eventual outcome of that recommendation may be." E-mail: [ldethman@desnews.com] © 2004 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 31 Las Vegas RJ: NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY: Nevadans urged to back Yucca Thursday, March 25, 2004 Lawmaker supports full spending for project, says state should rethink opposition By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- A key House chairman said Wednesday he plans to back full spending for the Yucca Mountain Project, and that Nevadans should reconsider their opposition "for the good of the country and the next generation." Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, said he intends to give the Energy Department the $880 million it requested this year to continue developing a nuclear waste repository, and might add more to compensate for shortfalls in recent years. Hobson, who leads the subcommittee that helps set DOE's annual spending, said he thinks a repository can be made environmentally sound, and it's time for Nevada opponents to look at "what's good for the next generation." "I don't object to them questioning and making sure we do this in the right way," Hobson said. "I do have a problem with them just being negative and saying not in my back yard. There is too much thought of `my back yard' in this country, and sometimes we need to look beyond that." Hobson commented near the end of a budget hearing for the Yucca Mountain Project. The seven-term lawmaker from Springfield, Ohio, became a major proponent of the Yucca program soon after taking over subcommittee leadership last year. Hobson's subcommittee will write a 2005 spending bill in the next month. A move to fully fund the Yucca Mountain Project would renew an annual confrontation with the Senate, where Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has forced budget cuts in recent years. Last year, the Yucca project got $580 million, a record amount and most of what its managers requested. Hobson said the nation needs to find a solution to nuclear waste accumulating at commercial power plants, and that Congress passed a law designating the Nevada site. "I feel duty-bound since it is the law of the land that we should support it," he said. "But more important, we need to have a solution for our children and grandchildren." Hobson's comments drew a scoff from Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev. "If (Hobson) wants to talk about the next generation, he can talk about the next generation of Nevadans, who may be exposed to radioactive waste," Berkley said. "I invite him to start shipping nuclear waste to Ohio so he can be proud of doing his duty." At the subcommittee meeting Wednesday, Hobson and other lawmakers were told the Yucca program soon will require even larger sums for construction of the repository and a Nevada railroad line to the site 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Margaret Chu, director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, said DOE will need $8 billion between 2005 and 2010 to keep the repository on schedule to begin accepting nuclear waste in 2010. Chu also announced that DOE has hired a new legal counsel to shepherd its repository application through licensing hearings with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Hunton &Williams, based in Richmond, Va., was granted a five-year contract that could pay as much as $45 million, according to department spokesman Joe Davis. Hunton &Williams replaces the Chicago firm of Winston and Strawn, which left the program in November 2001 amid conflict allegations. The department announced its new lawyers shortly after reaching a $4.5 million settlement with LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene and MacRae, a New York-based firm that was passed over for the legal contract in 1999. Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal ***************************************************************** 32 Bellona: Nuclear storage facilities may be established in two Russian ports The Russian Nuclear Agency suggests to create facilities for radioactive waste and nuclear materials storage in the Finnish gulf (Ust-Luga) and in the Far East (Bolshoy Kamen). 2004-03-25 14:21 The General Director of the new port in Ust-Luga near St Petersburg Valery Izrailit said that Ust-Luga port is on the list of the ports allowed to handle cargo of 7th class of hazard – nuclear fuel. He said it would not be reprocessed fuel, but the fuel, which is not dangerous for the people. One can assume he meant fresh nuclear fuel for nuclear reactors. The approximate price of the project is $20m. It is expected that the turnover of the 7th class of hazard cargo will not exceed 50 tons. At the moment export and import of the nuclear materials and radioactive waste is carried out through St Petersburg port and the local storage facility Izotop. In the beginning of March the Finnish parliament sent a request to its government regarding the Russian plans on using Ust-Luga port for nuclear materials temporary storage and transportation as well as influence of this activity on the environmental situation in the region. It is mention in the request that the Finnish authorities are not aware of the project’s details. Publisher: Bellona Foundation [bellona@bellona.no] , President: Frederic Hauge [frederic@bellona.no] Information: info@bellona.no [info@bellona.no] , Technical contact: webmaster@bellona.no [webmaster@bellona.no] Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway ***************************************************************** 33 BBC: Congo wants help at uranium mine Last Updated: Thursday, 25 March, 2004 [Map showing Shinkolobwe mine] Authorities in DR Congo say they need help from the international community to control access to a mine which has produced uranium for nuclear bombs. The country's Mining Minister Diomi Ndongala told the BBC that dangerous activities were taking place at the Shinkolobwe mine, in Katanga province. Earlier, the UN's nuclear watchdog said it was concerned about the mine. The government says it shut down the mine, but the BBC's Arnaud Zajtman found 6,000 illegal miners at work. They are extracting large amounts of material containing cobalt, copper, platinum and uranium, says our correspondent. He said that there are few safety measures and some of the material the men are handling is radioactive. One miner told him they start digging at 0730 in the morning and dig all day with shovels, hammers and pick axes. The uranium is allegedly sold to nearby furnaces operated mainly by private businessmen from China and India. It is then reportedly illegally exported to the world market via neighbouring Zambia. Minister Ndongala said during recent years officials from North Korea and African countries expressed interest in the Congo uranium. Out of reach The government has declared the mine a no-go area. However, the country's infrastructure has been crippled by seven years of war and the government's edicts have had little effect at the mine - which is 2,000km (1,250 miles) from the capital Kinshasa. Congo is obliged to repo any uranium mining activities as well as exports Melissa Fleming IAEA spokeswoman "We're very concerned. Congo is obliged to report any uranium mining activities as well as exports," IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told the BBC's Newshour programme. "We are of course aware of the turbulent situation in terms of security and political situation in the region, we're aware that the government may not itself be fully aware of the activities ongoing in some parts of the country," she said. "That said, we are demanding information from the government on this alleged illegal mining." Diplomats based in Kinshasa have also expressed concern. Uranium extracted from the Shinkolobwe mine was used by the Americans in the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during World War II. ***************************************************************** 34 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Trains and terrorists LAS VEGAS SUN In defending its plan to open a burial site for high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, the Energy Department has said that trains will play a significant role in transporting the waste from its various locations around the country. Trains came into the picture after Nevada pointed out the danger of trucking the waste. The terrorist bombings of passenger trains in Madrid on March 11, however, have many elected officials in Washington admitting that train transportation is no panacea either. At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing this week, Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., said, "In a lot of ways, our nation's rail infrastructure is probably as vulnerable today as it was prior to Sept. 11." The potential for terrorist attacks on waste shipments to Yucca, however, has not yet dawned on key officials within the federal bureaucracy. Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security at the Homeland Security Department, told the committee he did not know about the number of rail shipments to Yucca Mountain or any security details. The reason he doesn't know is because the Energy Department refers to rail transportation in only the broadest of terms, without ever furnishing details. Late next year, the Energy Department intends to apply to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to operate Yucca Mountain. We hope the commissioners remember that the devil is in the details. ***************************************************************** 35 Las Vegas SUN: Nevadans cite potential Yucca budget problems By Suzanne Struglinski WASHINGTON -- Nevada's members of the House of Representatives this morning argued that a proposal to fund the Yucca Mountain project directly from money set aside for nuclear waste disposal would require Congress to give up its oversight. Reps. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., Jon Porter, R-Nev., and Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., testified at a House energy and air quality subcommittee hearing today outlining their familiar arguments against the project and strongly criticizing the potential budget change. The department wants Congress to change its budget rules so that each year at least $749 million would come directly from the Nuclear Waste Fund, an account paid into by users of nuclear power. That would save the item from competing with other programs in the energy and water spending bills that Congress must fund. For the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 the department requested $880 million for the project, leaving $131 million to come from general taxpayer money. So far the House and Senate budget resolutions, which guide how Congress can spend money, do not allow for such a change. "With all the problems that have plagued the Yucca Mountain project since its inception and the hundreds of scientific questions still left unanswered, why would we even give such a budgetary gimmick consideration when now, more than ever, the project, the federal agencies involved and the people of Nevada need the strong support of congressional authority?" Porter asked the subcommittee. "The American people deserve more from us than wasting our time throwing billions of dollars at an industry that has spent too long already at the public trough." Energy Undersecretary Robert Card said the proposal, "does not reduce congressional control of the program's budget in any way. Congress will still have to appropriate the funds, as required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act." Card said that over the past 10 years nuclear utility ratepayers have averaged annual payments into the fund of about $636 billion, while the appropriation from the fund averaged $198 billion a year. Card said the proposal would let Congress make decisions "without having to worry about the impact on the funding of other programs within the energy and water development appropriation. Why should other programs continue to have to compete with a contractually mandated program that is or is intended to be fully self-financing?" Berkley, in urging urging the subcommittee members to reject the proposal, said the competition was a good thing. "Funds for the Yucca Mountain project should have to compete with our need to expand clean energy resources and to break our dependence on foreign oil." Gibbons said he had serious concerns about the Energy Department's management of the project, and Congress' control of the budget "is key in executing our duty of ensuring that every cent of American taxpayer dollars is spent responsibly and efficiently." "Certainly the unanswered scientific questions, public safety and health concerns and unresolved issues about how the nuclear waste will be shipped across the country to Yucca Mountain, warrant further examination before Congress allows our oversight of this proposed repository to be rescinded," he said. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, introduced a bill last week that would allow for the change until the department completed construction on the nuclear waste storage site at Yucca, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Illinois Reps. John Shimkus, a Republican, and Bobby Rush, a Democrat, introduced their bill in November that would remove at least $725 million from the regular appropriations process for the Yucca program each year through 2010. Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, chairman of the House energy and water development subcommittee, which crafts the Yucca budget in the House each year, said Wednesday the committee will defend the Energy Department request, but he criticized the department's method of asking for the money this year. Hobson said he doubted the proposal would pass the Senate. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who sits on the Budget Committee, kept it out of the budget resolution, and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who is the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Committee, is also against the idea and works to cut the budget every year. Hobson said the department and the Office of Management and Budget have not offered an alternative to the funding plan. But until he knows how much money his committee will be able to allot to water and power programs, it is too early to tell how the failure of the funding change would affect the Yucca project, Hobson said. He said he intends to fully fund the project at $880 million and "could do more" to make up for lost money Congress has not allocated to the program in past years, perhaps without hurting other programs. Hobson pushed through $765 million for the project in the House bill last year, compared with the $425 million approved by the Senate. Congress eventually approved $580 million for this year's budget. ***************************************************************** 36 Las Vegas SUN: House panel chief blasts Nevada over Yucca battle By Suzanne Struglinski WASHINGTON -- Nevada needs to stop complaining about Yucca Mountain and accept that the Energy Department's plan to move nuclear waste there is required by law, the head of the House panel that funds the project said Wednesday. Responding to a phone call the Sun placed to his office Tuesday asking about his interest in the project, Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, told a House energy and water development subcommittee hearing, "Yucca Mountain is the law of the land." "I think the citizens of Nevada have to look at the future, what's good for the next generation," said Hobson, chairman of the subcommittee, which crafts the Yucca budget in the House each year. "I do have a problem with them being negative and just saying 'not in my back yard.' "We can fight the law but it is still the law," Hobson said. Emphasizing that he does not want to create additional environmental problems for the state down the road, Hobson said, "we are not out to hurt Las Vegas." Nevada's House members were not present at the hearing but said Hobson's comments were disturbing. "It's a serious problem," Rep. Shelley Berkley said of Hobson's position in the Yucca budget. "We have someone who is anti-Nevada and obviously a shill for the nuclear industry controlling the dollars that go into Yucca Mountain. "If 100 years from now those canisters leak, his (Hobson's) apology is not going to mean one thing to my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and he won't be around to do the apology." But the comments reflect an attitude that the Nevada delegation has to fight, she said. "It's obvious we have to overcome the naivete of members of Congress that do not fully appreciate the seriousness of this issue, not only for the people of the state of Nevada, but of every American citizen who is going to be exposed to the dangers of nuclear waste if we start transporting this garbage across 43 states to come to the state of Nevada," she said. Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., said Hobson's criticism won't stop the state's efforts to halt the Yucca Mountain project. "We do hear that we are just complaining about, 'not in my back yard,' but so be it. We can't stop fighting it (Yucca Mountain)," he said. Porter said the terrorism threat and transportation issues are not just a Nevada problem. It will also affect other states the material moves through. With recent attacks on trains in Madrid, that threat is going to be a growing concern for transportation of the waste across the country, not just in Nevada, he said. "It will be moving past other schools, other churches, other shopping centers, other homes, not just in Nevada," he said. Porter and Berkley, D-Nev., conducted a hearing in Las Vegas March 5 examining the planning of transportation routes for the nuclear waste. Amy Spanbauer, spokeswoman for Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said, "It is not a 'not in my backyard issue' just for Nevada, but for all of the country. Forty-nine states did not want nuclear waste in their back yard. It was a political situation that created this project." ***************************************************************** 37 Valley Advocate: Bad News for Valley Nuke Owner by Eesha Williams - March 25, 2004 March has not been a good month for Entergy, the Louisiana corporation that owns the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The plant is located just off Interstate 91, a few miles from Massachusetts. First, Energy admitted that electricity is now so cheap it may not be profitable for the company to operate its Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Plymouth, Mass. after 2012. Entergy had previously said it would ask federal regulators this year for permission to operate the plant past 2012, when the operating licenses for both Vermont Yankee and Pilgrim expire. The next piece of bad news for Entergy came on March 15, when state regulators in Vermont released a 150- page ruling on the company's request for permission to boost power production at Vermont Yankee by 20 percent. The Vermont Public Service Board, which is barred under federal law from taking safety into account in its decisions, approved the so-called "uprate." Assuming an accident is impossible, the board said, the uprate could lower electricity bills and create jobs. But the OK came with so many conditions that activists say Entergy might give up on the uprate. Foremost among the board's conditions was that Entergy must submit to an "independent engineering assessment" of Vermont Yankee. Foes of the uprate say that's code for an "independent safety assessment" of the kind conducted at the Maine Yankee nuclear power plant in 1996. That inspection found so many problems that the plant's owners found it cheaper to close the plant than to fix it. Entergy officials barely had time to finish reading the book-length Vermont board decision before they were hit the next day by a unanimous Vermont Senate vote, also calling on federal regulators to conduct a Maine Yankee-style inspection of Vermont Yankee before approving the uprate. The Brattleboro-based New England Coalition is now lobbying New Hampshire and Massachusetts state legislators to pass the same resolution the Vermont Senate did, said director Peter Alexander. "We need help from Massachusetts residents in this effort," he said. But Entergy officials still hope to be rescued from pesky locals by the nuclear industry's old friend, the federal government. "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has never rejected a request for an uprate," Alexander said. "They have approved more than 90 requests, although only a few of those were for such large increases as Entergy wants for Vermont Yankee." NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan insists his agency is keeping an open mind about the Vermont Yankee uprate. "We haven't come to any conclusions yet," he said. "This application will be subjected to rigorous scrutiny." Entergy spokesman Rob Williams didn't return phone messages seeking comment. NRC officials are coming to the Vernon, Vt. Elementary School -- located right across the street from the nuke -- for a public meeting at 7 p.m. March 31. Activists are hoping a big turnout of concerned citizens from Massachusetts and New Hampshire as well as Vermont will scotch the uprate. -- Eesha Williams ***************************************************************** 38 Guardian Unlimited: NRC: Nuclear Waste Casks Not Thursday March 25, 2004 10:31 PM By ERICA WERNER Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The containers for carrying radioactive waste to the planned Yucca Mountain dump in Nevada would survive a Sept. 11 style airliner attack, the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday. NRC Chairman Nils Diaz told a House subcommittee that officials concluded that after running classified tests. The potential danger of transporting nuclear waste across the nation's roads and railways has been a key argument made by opponents of the Yucca Mountain project. ``Our present findings are that a transportation cask that's been certified by the NRC ... would actually resist the impact of a large aircraft without releasing radioactivity to the public,'' Diaz said, responding to a question from subcommittee Chairman Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Texas. ``We have even carried them beyond the aircraft crashes, and we feel confident that the present design of this cask is quite resistant to terrorist attack and will provide substantial protection to the American public,'' he said. Diaz also said the casks would survive being stuck inside a burning train trapped in a tunnel - as happened in a Baltimore rail tunnel in 2001 - without a significant release of radioactivity. The director of Nevada's Nuclear Projects Office, Bob Loux, questioned Diaz's assertions in an interview later. ``If the public can't have an opportunity to see casks being tested in all of these testing areas and possibly even tested to destruction so they know where the thresholds are, it doesn't seem to me that any of these tests really improve public confidence,'' he said. The Yucca Mountain dump 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas would hold 77,000 tons of highly radioactive spent reactor fuel now held at commercial power plants in 31 states and government waste from its nuclear weapons program. The Department of Energy wants to open the dump in 2010 and intends to submit a license application to the NRC next December. Nevada is challenging the project in federal court. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 Guardian Newspapers Limited ***************************************************************** 39 Belfast Telegraph: Conference to discuss Sellafield discharge row Nuclear hazards on agenda [http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk By Michael McHugh newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk 25 March 2004 SEVERAL local councils are attending the UK and Irish Councils' Joint Conference of Nuclear Hazards in Glasgow where the situation at Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant will be discussed. Councillors across Northern Ireland have been worried about emissions and discharges from the Cumbria facility, with scares and allegations, which the site's owners contest, over links to high cancer rates and pollution of the Irish Sea. The gathering has been organised to coincide with the Government's new Energy Bill, currently passing through parliament, which proposes to set up a public Nuclear Decommissioning Authority by 2005. "There needs to be a powerful role for local authorities to influence the Authority as representatives of the public. We are keen to exploit this opportunity and ensure that local government is listened to in these matters," event organiser Stuart Kemp said. "Our priority is to try to bring to an end nuclear waste reprocessing at Sellafield, tackle (alleged) pollution of the Irish Sea and discharges and accumulation of waste on the site itself, which remains volatile until it has been stabilised." The proposed nuclear decommissioning Authority will be a public body with responsibility for cleaning up Sellafield as well as other centres across the UK. The Irish Government has raised the Sellafield issue a number of times with its British counterpart and in Brussels. Sellafield's owner, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd, points to tough national and international monitoring of its work and refutes charges that it is disposing of dangerous material recklessly. Moyle District Council member Oliver McMullan, who is attending the meeting, wants a coastal forum to represent all local authorities on the east coast of Ireland. "It is an issue of common concern and should be dealt with on an all-Ireland basis through a forum of some type," said the Sinn Fein councillor. "I would like to know what they are going to do about the facilities at Campbelltown just across the water from us. "There is a lot going on at the minute and it will be interesting to be brought up to speed on the issues." | © 2004 Independent News and Media (NI) a ***************************************************************** 40 asahi.com: Nuclear clean-up bill splits panel The Asahi Shimbun Last November, the nuclear power industry finished doing some long-awaited sums. Pocketing their calculators and geiger counters, the power utilities announced that it was going to cost an extra 8 trillion yen to recycle spent nuclear fuel. Then, they calmly asked consumers to help foot the bill. Little wonder that the ensuing talks between consumer groups and power utilities are getting a little heated. In fact, if this week's tense encounter is any sign of what's to come, the issue could still be active at the end of the year when a government panel is supposed to settle the matter. The toxic debate concerns a nuclear fuel recycling program due to come into full operation in 2006. The Federation of Electric Power Companies, the association representing the 10 regional utilities, estimates the cost of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, constructing reprocessing facilities and disposing of radioactive materials at 18.8 trillion yen. This assumes that the planned nuclear-fuel recycling plant will operate for 40 years. Observers had always expected that much of these back-end costs would fall on the shoulders of consumers. Before last November's announcement, the utilities had already introduced a system to collect 10 trillion yen from users in the form of surcharges on their power bills. But the federation's final estimate still came as a nasty surprise, setting off renewed debate on the viability of nuclear power. The central arena is the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy. A key sticking point is a 3 trillion yen portion of the bill that the utilities say is needed to cover the cost of storing and reprocessing nuclear fuel that has already been used. ``These costs were not clearly defined in the cost system (for nuclear power generation) in the past, and that's why we weren't able to collect them,'' said a power utility executive. The utilities have proposed collecting the 3 trillion yen from users. If this was done over 10 years, it would mean an average household paying an extra 1,000 yen annually. At Monday's subcommittee meeting, however, consumer-group representatives said it was the utilities who originally sold nuclear power to the public on the grounds that it was cost effective. ``They (regional utilities) have explained to us nuclear power is not inferior to other forms of power generation economically,'' said a consumer representative. ``It just doesn't make sense for them (the utilities) to demand such a measure for costs that came up in the past.'' The utilities' post-dated charge has also invited protest from power companies that entered the market following industry deregulation. The new entrants take a dim view of the utilities' call to make their customers share some of the back-end costs. The old utilities argue that customers of these distributors are liable for these costs because they were using electricity generated by nuclear power plants before they switched to the new power companies. But an official of such a distributor argues regional utilities, which formerly monopolized their respective regions, ``should dip into the pool of profits they accumulated when they monopolized their regional markets.'' The nuclear-power utilities have other demands. Among these are government assistance to meet contingencies such as accidents or a deteriorating economy. An official of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy had little time for this idea. ``(Nuclear projects) should be essentially carried out through private-sector efforts,'' he said.(IHT/Asahi: March 25,2004) (03/25) [Copyright Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. No reproduction ***************************************************************** 41 United Press International: Toxic waste threatens Caspian Sea By Marina Kozlova United Press International Published 3/25/2004 TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 25 (UPI) -- Vast quantities of radioactive and toxic wastes stored not far from the Caspian Sea threaten a nearby city and could infiltrate into the world's largest inland body of water, Kazakh scientists said. The environmental deterioration in Kazakhstan's Mangistau region began in the 1960s when the Soviet Union started extracting and processing uranium there. The ore was processed at a chemical hydro-metallurgical plant located not far from Aktau, the administrative center of the region. The Prikaspiiskii mining and chemical enterprise, as it was called, also included sulfuric acid and nitrogen fertilizer plants. A uranium tailings dump was created in the drain-free settling pool at Koshkar-Ata, 3 miles north of Aktau and 4.5 miles east of the Caspian. Since 1965, liquid radioactive, toxic and industrial wastes and unpurified ordinary domestic drains have been discharged into the 42-yard deep Koshkar-Ata repository, which has an area of 52 square miles. "Koshkar-Ata is filled with brine, containing an extended quantity of contaminants and heavy metals," said Kairat Kuterbekov, the scientific secretary of the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Almaty, Kazakhstan's capital. Kuterbekov is the manager of the project called the "Overall Examination of Ecological Situation at the Toxic Wastes Storage 'Koshkar-Ata' and Development of Rehabilitation Actions." The brine at Koshkar-Ata contains up to 0.18 ounces of salts per a cubic foot, Kuterbekov told United Press International. The production process stopped in the early 1990s and Koshkar-Ata started to dry up. So far, some 13.8 square miles have dried up, creating toxic dust that is blown into the atmosphere. In 1991, the International Commission on Radiological Protection issued recommendations that included limiting radiation dosages to members of the public to less than 0.1 rem per year. A rem measures the amount of damage to human tissue from a dose of ionizing radiation. Across most of Koshkar-Ata, the exposure dose, as recorded by sensors, is 0.4 rems. In some of the area, the exposure is 1,500 micro-roentgens per hour -- equivalent to 13.0 rems per year. When the dump was active, in addition to liquid wastes, the Soviets buried 115 million tons of solid wastes, including 57 million tons of radioactive wastes, Kuterbekov said. The radiation exposure on those plots of land -- 5,000 micro-roentgens per hour -- exceed the limiting dose by more than 400 times. "The radioactive wastes are represented by a natural series of uranium-238; the most toxic among them are uranium-235, radium-226 and thorium-230," Kuterbekov explained. Uranium and its decay products, including thorium, radium and radon -- a radioactive gas -- can be dangerous substances if not properly stored or isolated. Yet local residents have been digging out the radioactive metal trying to sell it to scrap dealers. The dealers refuse to buy it because of its radioactivity, so the frustrated sellers discard it anywhere, Kuterbekov said. "A large quantity of heavy metals -- copper, zinc, nickel -- and rare-earth elements have been found in the bottom sediment," he added. Heavy metals can damage living creatures at low concentrations and tend to accumulate in the food chain. Last year, the effects of the radioactive and toxic dust were not as damaging to Aktau, a city with a population of 185,000 on the coast of the Caspian. However, 2003 was atypical because of a relatively large amount of precipitation and because the prevailing winds blew away from the city, Kuterbekov said. Underground water is another worry because there is the potential to contaminate the Caspian, he said. About 17 square miles of the tailing dump are still covered with water, and five countries surround the Caspian -- Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. A specialist, who did not want to be identified, told UPI that concentrations some elements -- including iron, molybdenum, manganese, cadmium, selenium, ammonium and fluorine -- have been found to exceed maximum permissible levels within 1.8 to 2.25 miles of the tailing dump in the Caspian direction. The repository represents "a huge and immediate threat to the Caspian ecosystem," Boris Golubov, a Russian scientist wrote in his article "The Caspian: Receptacle for Radiation" published in the quarterly "Give &Take" in 2001. Moreover, "in addition to "man-made" sources of radiation, the Caspian ecosystem collects and stores high levels of natural radioactive nuclides," Golubov wrote. "Caspian waters, bottom sediments, and living organisms contain levels of uranium five to seven times higher than those in other seas." "(The) situation of nuclear wastes in Kazakhstan is disastrous for the local people and the Caspian Sea in general," said Bahman Aghai Diba, a consultant on international law for the World Resources Company in McLean, Va. The nuclear wastes are kept in substandard conditions and there is possibility of infiltration into the sea, Aghai Diba told UPI. Scientists intend to supply soil to the former bottom to stimulate plant growth, Kuterbekov said, adding this way to solve the problem had been chosen because of it was relatively cheap. -- Marina Kozlova covers Central Asia for UPI Science News. E-mail sciencemail@upi.com Copyright © 2001-2004 United Press International ***************************************************************** 42 NEWS.com.au: Scientists may shut down uranium mine (March 26, 2004) [http://news.com.au] > STORY By EDITH BEVIN Commonwealth scientists yesterday would not rule out over-riding the Territory and banning the Ranger uranium mine from reopening. The mine should not restart until we have complete confidence that there is no risk to the health of the workersTests of the water supply have revealed levels of uranium more than 400 times the drinking water limit, it was revealed yesterday. Tests also also showed a ``large range'' of other contaminants _ including ammonia and manganese. About 20 workers have reported illness believed to be associated with the contamination. The ranger mine, 220km east of Darwin, was shut down on Wednesday after its drinking water was contaminated with uranium and other acids and chemicals. The water supply has been shut down and a clean up process underway. Ranger's mother company Energy Resources of Australia said it expected operations would begin again by the weekend. Commonwealth Supervising Scientist Dr Arthur Johnston would not rule out going straight to the Commonwealth to stop the mine from re-opening. ``In my view the mine should not restart until we have complete confidence that there is no risk to the health of the workers,'' Dr Johnston said. ``The regulator is the NT and I would address the NT if the company was going to do something which I did not feel comfortable with and I would also go to the Commonwealth.'' The Commonwealth has the power to over-ride any decision made by the Territory on the re-opening schedule of the mine. The water contamination was discovered by night shift workers showering at the mine on Tuesday night. The contamination occured when a flexible hose was connected between the process water system and the drinking water system. ``The hose was supposed to increase supply to the process water,'' Dr Johnston said. ``It had the opposite effect. The offending hose has been removed.'' Dr Johnston said they had called in experts in human toxicology to ensure the safety of workers. ERA spokeswoman Amanda Buckley said an initial assessment had shown there was no need for concern over health issues. The mine supplies drinking water to Jabiru east _ including the airport which is used by tourists coming in and out of Kakadu National Park. Dr Johnston said tests done on the water supply in Jabiru east suggested the contamination had been contained to the mine's water supply. Northern Territory News Copyright 2004 News Limited. All times AEDT (GMT+11). ***************************************************************** 43 Las Vegas SUN: More than 150 turn out for Yerington meeting on contaminated mine March 24, 2004 By SCOTT SONNER ASSOCIATED PRESS YERINGTON, Nev. (AP) - Nevada's state health officer downplayed any health risks resulting from elevated levels of uranium found in drinking wells neighboring a contaminated mine site being cleaned up by Atlantic Richfield Co. But several of the more than 150 local residents who attended a public meeting on the former Anaconda copper mine in Yerington Wednesday night said they continue to worry about potential dangers. One woman whose well tested above the federal standard for uranium in public drinking water questioned why Arco is supplying bottled water to well owners if there is no danger. And the leader of an environmental watchdog group that wants the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to declare the mine a Superfund site said he believes state regulators are "in denial." The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, which took over management of the abandoned mine in 2000, hosted the meeting at a local casino convention center with help from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Bureau of Land Management. "We want to make sure that you are all involved and understand what we are doing at the mine. Our primary purpose is to protect human health and the environment," said Jennifer Carr, supervisor of the remediation branch of the NDEP's Bureau of Corrective Actions. New tests show extremely high levels of uranium in groundwater beneath the 3,500-acre mine site on the west edge of Yerington. One monitoring well had concentrations more than 200 times the EPA's drinking water standard of 30 micrograms per liter. Eight of 29 wells sampled outside the mine property also showed uranium concentrations near or above the standard. Arco has offered bottled water to those homes while testing continues. Tests are planned at another 25 to 30 wells in the coming month, about 18 of those as a result of requests residents made at the meeting Wednesday night, Arco officials said. Dr. Bradford Lee, state health officer, acknowledged high levels of uranium in drinking water could eventually cause kidney failure. But he dismissed the likelihood of any danger based on the tests of domestic drinking wells so far. "We're not talking about cancer. We are not talking radiation," Lee told the crowd Wednesday night. "You have to have large concentration over a long time and you might get kidney damage. It would be a number of years exposure, drinking a large amount of water and much larger concentrations than we are talking about here," he said. EPA's standard is based on the assumption the person affected would consume two liters of water a day for 70 years. It is "set at a level considered protective of human health," said Jim Sickles, an EPA remedial project manager. "It's so we'll know that above that, there is potential for some adverse impacts on humans." he said. At the request of the state, Arco began offering bottled water last month to any residents with uranium readings above 25 micrograms. "If this is safe, how come you guys are offering bottled water already?" asked Debbie Sandgren, whose well in the Sunset Hills neighborhood just north of the mine showed 36 micrograms in the most recent test. "It's a red flag to me. I think they are hiding something," she said after the meeting. Arco environmental manager Dan Ferriter, said the bottled water is being offered "just as a precaution." "We felt like until we know more, it was the right thing to do," he said. Carr said it is "an added level of conservatism. "We decided it should be offered in the event someone wanted bottled water as an option but couldn't afford it," he said. Arco and NDEP believe the uranium readings in the wells are due to naturally occurring uranium ore in the ground, unrelated to the mine wastes. But Tom Myers, an hydrologist and executive director of the Reno-based Great Basin Mine Watch, suspects the uranium in the wells leaked off the mine site where it was concentrated for as long as 25 years as part of the chemical process separating copper from ore from 1953 to 1979. He said state officials were less than forthcoming with residents at Wednesday night's meeting. "They are trying to downplay everything," Myers said. "Nobody wants to cause a panic, but there's an issue here. I think they are in denial of what is going on." State Assemblyman Tom Grady, R-Yerington, said the meeting was productive. "The folks from Arco have been doing a good job working with people to try to find some answers," Grady said. "If there is a problem, we want it fixed. But we don't want the `Chicken Little' syndrome with the sky falling if it's only a little cloudy. It's too soon to tell." -- ***************************************************************** 44 Las Vegas SUN: AP Exclusive: Reid wants Superfund status for polluted mine site Today: March 25, 2004 at 17:40:52 PST By SCOTT SONNER ASSOCIATED PRESS YERINGTON, Nev. (AP) - The Senate's second ranking Democrat wants the Environmental Protection Agency to declare a contaminated Nevada mine a Superfund site and take charge of the cleanup because the state is dragging its feet. Nevada Sen. Harry Reid "has long felt that listing the mine as a Superfund site would be the best way to protect residents," press secretary Tessa Hafen said Thursday from Washington. The former Anaconda copper mine bordering the northern Nevada town of Yerington is contaminated with uranium, arsenic and other pollutants that federal officials, residents and environmentalists say could threaten nearby groundwater supplies. Reid formally proposed Superfund status last month in a letter to Gov. Kenny Guinn, saying he wanted to work with him to transfer cleanup of the site to the EPA. The current arrangement with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection in the lead role "has led to nearly two decades of mismanagement and cleanup delays at the site," Reid wrote in a copy of the Feb. 6 letter obtained by The Associated Press. "I am deeply concerned by the lack of progress at the site," Reid said. "I believe that site investigation - and, ultimately, site remediation - can more effectively be managed by EPA under the Superfund program than by NDEP." Hafen acknowledged that Reid remains open to exploring other options to clean up the 3,500-acre site that was one of the country's largest copper producers from 1953-79. Recently discovered documents dating to the 1970s and 1980s show the concentration of uranium - a byproduct of processing the copper - was so great at the site that Anaconda considered producing yellowcake uranium commercially for use as nuclear reactor fuel. Tests conducted in December found extremely high levels of uranium in groundwater beneath the mine. One monitoring well had concentrations more than 200 times the EPA's drinking water standard. Eight of 29 wells sampled outside the mine property also showed uranium concentrations near or above the standard. More tests are planned. Superfund status would potentially make more federal money available for the cleanup. But state environmental officials, who began managing the abandoned site in 2000, said they oppose Superfund designation largely because they are pleased with the cooperation of the Atlantic Richfield Co., which now owns the mine. "Superfund listing is not in the best interest of the community or the environment as long as we have the responsible party cooperating," said Jennifer Carr, supervisor of the remediation branch of the state's Bureau of Corrective Actions. "We believe we are making progress and that a change in the process at this time would cause additional delays," she said. EPA first proposed Superfund listing in December 2001, but subsequently entered an agreement with the state and other affected parties aimed at cleaning up the site with the state in charge. "Everybody I know at EPA is disappointed with the lack of progress so far," said Jim Sickles, EPA's remedial project manager. "But we do understand the site is very large and there are many parties involved and it is technically very complicated. So we are trying to make this work out," he said. EPA spokeswoman Laura Gentile said the federal agency has no position on a Superfund designation. "Our focus is getting the job done and doing it right. It doesn't matter who is in the lead," she said. The leader of an environmental watchdog group pushing for Superfund status said Reid's formal backing "is incredibly significant." "Here's the second most powerful Democrat in the Senate - a very pro-mining senator, someone who does not always see eye to eye with us on mining issues - saying it is time," said Tom Myers, a hydrologist and executive director of the Great Basin Mine Watch in Reno. Dan Ferriter, Arco's environmental manager in charge of the site, said Arco opposes Superfund listing. He said so do most of the people he has talked to in the community. "Once you're called the `Yerington Superfund site' you can have a lot of impact on business, a lot of impact on property values," Ferriter said. Myers said a Superfund designation could help property values "because it ends some uncertainty." -- ***************************************************************** 45 Nuclear Clock is Ticking Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 23:39:35 -0600 (CST) Dear Member, Our security is threatened today more than ever before. In the 21st century, ambitions to possess and use nuclear weapons are increasing. Stopping the global proliferation of nuclear weapons and making serious progress on nuclear disarmament are paramount to America's and the world's security. The 2004 election year has officially begun and, with it, comes an opportunity to engage presidential and congressional candidates in a public debate on nuclear policies. This is our chance to boldly and decisively move America's nuclear policies in a positive new direction that will ensure security for you, your children and grandchildren. The future direction of US nuclear weapons policy is critically dependent on YOU. With this in mind, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is launching a national grassroots campaign to mobilize broad-based public support for positive US nuclear disarmament policies that will make us all more secure. In continuing its long tradition of demonstrating world leadership, the US should protect it citizens from the nuclear weapons threat by advancing and implementing nuclear policies that will lead to a safer and more secure environment both in America and around the world. Yes, David, I want to make a contribution right now to the Foundation's important work! It is vitally important that you immediately lend your financial support to the critical next phase of launching this campaign. We cannot do it without your support. Every individual concerned with the future of our security must step forward right now and help. There can be no waiting, no hesitation. This campaign is YOUR opportunity to voice your concerns about nuclear policies and call for US Presidential and Congressional leadership. Citizens, like you and me, must be the force for change. We can not stand idly by, waiting for governments to change their policies. It will never happen. The only way we will succeed is to take action now. Together, we must urge US Presidential and Congressional candidates to understand the need for a positive change in US nuclear policy. Together, we must force nuclear policy issues into the public policy debate. We must be unyielding in our determination. It won't be easy, but let's show them what we're made of by demonstrating how a citizenry acts when it has the strength of its convictions. I know you have done a great deal already to support the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation in one of the most critical times in history. But, I urge you to get our campaign efforts off to a strong start by sending an immediate donation in as generous an amount as you can possibly afford. We need your energy, your spirit, your determination -- and your financial support. Please respond as quickly and as generously as you can. Sincerely, David Krieger President With your donation of $50 or more annually, you will receive a subscription to the Waging Peace Bi-Annual Report by mail. Thank you for your support. All donations are tax-deductible within the limits of the law. Federal Tax ID # 95-3825265. To be removed from this mailing visit: http://www.optinpro.com/scripts/remove.asp?u=900&i=19552267 ***************************************************************** 46 Information Clearing House: The man who knew too much (Vanunu) NEWS YOU WON'T FIND ON CNN http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5938.htm] He was drugged, kidnapped and locked up for 18 years after revealing Israel's nuclear secrets to the world. Next month Mordechai Vanunu is finally set to be released, but just how much freedom will he be allowed? Robert Fisk reports By Robert Fisk 23 March 2004"The Independent" -- Any Israeli who bought the 16 February edition of the daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth would have believed that a truly wicked man was about to be released from Ashkelon prison. Each time a suicide bomber blew himself up, the prisoner would celebrate. Worse still, said the paper, the inmate - once a keeper of Israel's nuclear secrets - wants to endanger his country further after his release. "He told me," a former prisoner was quoted as saying, "that he has additional material and that he will reveal secrets..." Should it be a surprise, then, that the very same prisoner, supposedly celebrating the slaughter of innocents while preparing to betray his country yet again, holds a clutch of awards from European peace groups, the Sean McBride Peace prize and an honorary doctorate from the University of Tromso? In 2000, the Church of Humanism told him: "You are honest, courageous and morally highly motivated, and may the great sacrifice you have made serve to protect not only those living in Israel but all the peoples of the Middle East and perhaps the world." The same man has also been put forward as a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. Mordechai Vanunu, it seems, can only be loved or loathed. Indifference to the former Israeli nuclear technician is impossible. For he is the man who, in 1986, took evidence to The Sunday Times of the full story behind Israel's secret nuclear weapons plant at Dimona in the Negev desert, complete with the total number of advanced fission bombs there - 200 at the time - and, even more disturbingly, complete with pictures. He said that Israel had mastered a thermonuclear design and appeared to have a number of thermonuclear bombs ready for use. He was subsequently lured by a girl from London to Rome and then kidnapped, drugged and freighted back to Israel by Israeli secret policemen. But in just six weeks' time, after 18 years of imprisonment - 12 of them in solitary confinement - the world's most famous whistleblower is scheduled for release. Israel - not to mention the world - is holding its breath. Will he divulge further secrets of Dimona - always supposing he has any after 18 years of incarceration - or curse the country of which he is a citizen, albeit a citizen who converted to Christianity before his arrest and who wants to emigrate to the United States? Will he emerge a cowed man, anxious only to apologise for the terrible betrayal he inflicted upon his country? Or will he, as his friends and supporters and his adopted American parents hope, become an apostle of peace, one of the greatest of this generation's prisoners of conscience, the man who tried to rid the world of the threat of nuclear annihilation? The Israeli government is still uncertain how to confront Vanunu's release on 21 April. They are known to be considering - perhaps have already decided upon - "certain supervisory means" and "appropriate measures" to shut Vanunu up. In the second half of January, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met with Menachem Mazuz, Israel's attorney general, and the defence minister, Shaul Mofaz, and discussed whether Vanunu should be refused a passport. Vanunu would be free to sunbathe on the beaches of Tel Aviv but could not tour the world advertising Israel's nuclear power. It's a sign of how fearful the Israeli administration has become at the prospect of this one man's release that Sharon also summoned to this conference Yehiel Horev's so-called "Defence Ministry Security Unit", the country's internal and external intelligence services - Shin Beth and the equally overestimated Mossad - and a representative of the Israeli Atomic Energy Committee. Horev, it is now known, wanted to go much further than Sharon. He proposed clapping an administrative detention order on Vanunu - Israel's usual way of dealing with Palestinians whom they regard as "terrorists" - although the meeting apparently came to the conclusion that this would only enhance Vanunu's reputation as a martyr for world peace. There's another way of shutting Vanunu up, of course. He can be publicly freed and then - the moment he starts talking about his work as a nuclear technician - he can be tried again and thrown back into Ashkelon jail - or Shikma prison, as the Israelis call it now. But the real problem that Vanunu represents is that he will remind the world at a critically important moment in the history of the Middle East that Israel is a nuclear power and that its warheads stand ready to be fired from the Negev desert. He will also remind the world that the Americans, despite battering their way into Iraq to destroy Saddam Hussein's nonexistent weapons of mass destruction, continue to give their political, moral and economic support to a country that has secretly amassed a treasure trove of weapons of mass destruction. How can President Bush remain silent on Israel's nuclear power when he has not only illegally invaded an Arab state for allegedly harbouring nuclear weapons and condemned Iran for the same ambitions, but also praised - along with Tony Blair's government - Colonel Gaddafi of Libya for abandoning his nuclear pretensions? If the Arab states are being "defanged" - always supposing they had any real fangs in the first place - why should Israel not be "de-nuclearised"? Why can't the United States apply the same standards to Israel as it does to the Arabs? Or why, for that matter, can't Israel apply the same standards to itself that it demands of its Arab enemies? This is the debate that the Israeli and the American governments wish to stifle. In the United States, where any discussion of the Israeli-American relationship that deviates from the benign is routinely condemned as subversive or "anti-Semitic", discussion of Israel's nuclear power is not something that Washington will want to hear on the Sunday talk shows. Vanunu, it should be said at once, is well aware of all this, of his own importance - infinitely greater than it was when he was a mere junior technician at Dimona - and of the role that tens of thousands of anti- nuclear campaigners expect him to play in the world. Many times, through friends and through his own brothers, Vanunu has said that he has no new nuclear secrets but has the right to oppose nuclear weapons in Israel or anywhere else. "All I want to do is to go to America, get married and start a new life," he says. No one can doubt Vanunu's conviction. Born in 1954 to a religious Jewish family in Morocco, he immigrated to Israel at the age of nine, performed his military service in the mid-Seventies and began work at Dimona in November 1976 while completing a graduate course in philosophy and geography. Perhaps it was during his travels in Thailand, Burma, Nepal and Australia in early 1986 that he decided he had a moral duty to talk about Israel's nuclear weapons. In the same year, he was baptised at an Anglican church in Sydney. Vanunu had clearly become deeply distressed at Israel's growing nuclear power when he walked into British newspaper offices in September of 1986 in the hope of telling the world the truth about Dimona. He had dropped by Robert Maxwell's Daily Mirror at first, handed over his photographs of the nuclear plant and waited for a reply. Unknown to Vanunu, Maxwell sent the pictures round to the Israeli embassy in London to "take a look at them", supposedly to "confirm" whether or not the story was true. It seems likely that Maxwell had motives other than journalistic integrity in this betrayal of Vanunu. After his death at sea in 1991, Maxwell, who had stolen millions in pensioners' funds, was given a state funeral in Israel at which Shimon Peres praised his "services" to the state. Maxwell's Daily Mirror ran a "spoiler" story on 28 September, belittling Vanunu and carrying the headline "The Strange Case of Israel and the Nuclear Con Man." The Sunday Times ran with the full story - but Vanunu had already disappeared. Entrapped by a female Mossad agent, he had been lured on to a British Airways flight to Rome and promptly kidnapped. It seems, in fact, that he was seized inside Rome's Fiumicino Airport. Unable to speak to journalists, he carefully wrote out details of his movements on the palm of his hand and pressed it to the window of his prison truck as it took him to court. "Rome ITL 30:9:86 2100 came to Rome by BA504," he had written. He had been kidnapped at 9pm on 30 September at Rome International. Were the Italian authorities involved in his kidnap? Were they present when he was seized? Perhaps Vanunu can tell us. He is certainly a man of endurance. Once, during his 12 years of solitary, the prison authorities accidentally freed him for exercise before Arab prisoners in the jail-yard had been returned to their cells. Vanunu immediately walked towards them. One of the Arabs, a Lebanese imprisoned for smuggling arms into the West Bank, was among the first strangers to bring word of Vanunu's appearance to the outside world. "Vanunu fell into step with us and smiled at us and it was a time before we realised who he was," the freed Lebanese later told The Independent. "He said it was good to be with us and we thought he was a brave man. Then the guards realised their mistake and we were pushed and shoved away from him, back to our cells." An Israeli journalist visiting another prisoner was amazed to see Vanunu. "For a short moment I saw a bucolic scene," he wrote, "as if taken from some other reality: a serene man, sitting on a bench in a garden and reading Nietzsche in English. I approached him and extended my hand. Pleased to meet you, my name is Ronen,' I said. I'm Motti,' the most confined prisoner in the State of Israel replied. Before we could continue to talk, screaming wardens rushed over and grabbed him away." A former prisoner, Yossi Harush, has provided another glimpse of the imprisoned Vanunu in the years after his solitary confinement ended. "During the day," Harush told Yedioth Ahronoth, "during walks, he meets people and talks with them. I spoke a lot with Vanunu. We were friends. He would come to my cell... He has good conditions. He is treated nicely in prison... He has no restrictions on leaving his cell, but he is restricted within the prison. I myself, as a working prisoner, painted a red line that he is forbidden to cross. I was ordered to do that, and afterwards our relationship cooled off." Vanunu has been regularly visited by an Anglican clergyman, Dean Michael Sellors. It was Sellors who pointed out to him that his release date coincided with the Queen's birthday. "He said that in that case, he'd better get a ticket and greet her himself." Vanunu has also taken heart in the actions of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, a normally conservative organisation, which has stated that, "any sanctions against Mordechai after release would be illegal and immoral." A chatline on the Hebrew website of the Israeli daily Maariv shows that a number of young Israelis regard Vanunu as a hero rather than a threat. Mary Eoloff, a retired American school teacher who, with her husband, adopted Vanunu in the hope that he could be given US citizenship and released, was the first to reveal that when Israeli security men offered to release him a year before the expiry of his 18 years in jail, Vanunu turned them down. "He believes in freedom of speech," she said. It remains to be seen if Israel will allow Vanunu the free speech he loves. Horev, the defence ministry security official who attended Sharon's meeting, has spoken of the threat that he believes the nuclear technician represents, which seems to be about ambiguity rather than state secrets. Horev compares this ambiguity to water in a glass. "My job is to ensure that the water doesn't spill over the glass," he said recently. "Up until the Vanunu affair, the water was at a very low level. The affair caused the water level to rise significantly and caused Israel great damage, but the water still didn't overflow. If we let certain people act in the matter, the water will spill." The Israeli journalist Raanan Shaked was a good deal more cynical when he spoke on the subject on Israel's Channel 10 TV. "Who is the main threat to Israel?" he asked. "Of course, Mordechai Vanunu! He is the big danger. Israeli democracy simply cannot withstand the impact of this one man saying what every child knows: we have nuclear weapons." On 21 April, when Vanunu is released, we shall find out if the water is going to overflow - and whether Vanunu will cross the red line painted so ominously on the floor at the instruction of the authorities. Copyright: The Independent. UK. ***************************************************************** 47 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Criticism growing over Hanford worker safety [seattlepi.com] Thursday, March 25, 2004 By LISA STIFFLER SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER Eleven more Hanford workers have been exposed to potentially dangerous vapors seeping out of massive waste tanks buried at the Central Washington cleanup site. Six sought medical care. Last week's exposures add to growing criticism about worker safety and the quality of medical care provided at the nation's largest cleanup project. Vocal workers, congressional leaders, watchdog groups, an expert panel and a union for Hanford Nuclear Reservation workers have all raised health concerns, particularly for those workers laboring near tanks holding toxic and radioactive chemicals created as a byproduct of bomb making. "The evidence is mounting there are lots of very toxic chemicals in these vapors," said Tom Carpenter, northwest director of the Government Accountability Project, a watchdog group that yesterday brought the exposures to light. "They're putting these workers in a situation of knowing endangerment, and it's inexcusable." Hanford contractors and the Energy Department, which manages the cleanup, have said repeatedly that workers are not being harmed and that they take their concerns seriously. "We're talking about very, very low levels of vapor exposure," said Robert Barr, director of environment, safety and quality for the Office of River Protection, a division of the Energy Department that deals with the tanks. "We have documented evidence that there has been nobody who has received a toxic or lethal dose." But concerns have become so widespread and contentious that in recent months numerous state and federal investigations have been launched to examine the situation. And results released earlier this month from an expert panel convened by CH2M Hill, the contractor responsible for work on the tanks, contained numerous criticisms. The panel cited concerns about the accuracy of tests being done to measure the vapors and recommended that masks with air filters be considered for all tank workers. Yesterday, CH2M Hill officials responded to the latest reports of worker exposure. They acknowledged that the employees exposed to vapors didn't have protective masks, despite the fact that a venting system that draws away fumes had not been working for more than a week. Technicians were monitoring the area and had not detected dangerous levels of chemicals, namely ammonia and organic chemicals, they said. Over two days, 11 workers reported smelling vapors, three of them experiencing a bad, metallic taste. The half-dozen who went to the doctor returned to work the same day. In the past, workers with more severe exposures have had lasting symptoms, including sore throat, nose bleeds and congestion. Doctors working at Hanford Environmental Health Foundation, an Energy Department contractor, have sometimes dismissed the symptoms as allergies or problems unrelated to the vapors. Also last week, a department auditor found that CH2M Hill had not done proper testing to assure that its instruments could accurately measure high levels of ammonia, although the issue was discovered "a few years ago." CH2M Hill officials did not comment on the auditor's findings, but said that work is halted well before ammonia concentrations reach the levels in question. Officials with the depatment, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the state Attorney General's Office and the state departments of Health and Labor and Industry are all conducting investigations at Hanford. They include concerns about worker safety and allegations of fraud and misconduct by the Hanford Environmental Health Foundation, which the contractor has denied. CH2M Hill officials said improvements have been made to better protect employees, including sealing tanks with foam to prevent vapor leaks, construction of stacks so fumes are released away from workers and the increased availability of protective masks. Underlying many of the problems is a lack of trust, Barr said yesterday. He vowed that the Energy Department was committed to rebuilding that trust. "We need to be innovative in the ways we reach out to the worker to let them know we do have their best interest in mind," Barr said. DEADLINE SET The Environmental Protection Agency has set a deadline for the Energy Department to come up with a plan for ending the risk of environmental contamination at one site on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation or face fines of as much as $500,000. The EPA set a 30-day deadline for a revised strategy to remove highly radioactive sludge from the K basins, which are indoor, leak-prone pools of water that once held 2,300 tons of spent nuclear fuel about 400 yards from the Columbia River. P-I reporter Lisa Stiffler can be reached at 206-448-8042 or lisastiffler@seattlepi.com [Seattle Post-Intelligencer] 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA 98119 (206) 448-8000 Send comments to [newmedia@seattlepi.com] ©1996-2004 Seattle ***************************************************************** 48 Cincinnati Enquirer: Taking Fernald back to nature [http://www.cincinnati.com Thursday, March 25, 2004 Wetlands survey key to monitoring site's future use By Dan Klepal The Cincinnati Enquirer CROSBY TOWNSHIP - Fernald's past has been well-documented: The Cold War-era uranium refinery helped the country win the arms race but left behind a mountain of nuclear contamination that has taken more than a decade and $4 billion to clean up. But biologists with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency hope that the site's future can be found in a small wetland in Darke County, north of Dayton, where they caught salamanders and other tiny critters at the base of the food chain to better understand how much life a healthy wetland can sustain. The majority of the 1,050-acre Fernald site will eventually be turned into undeveloped park space - in other words prairies, wetlands and forests that will resemble Ohio in a time before Europeans settled the land. The salamander census, which biologist Joe Bartoszek conducted at the Shawnee Prairie Preserve and about two dozen other sites around the state, including some in Hamilton County, comes at a critical time for Fernald, as it transitions from weapons to wetlands: • Federal officials are looking for an agency willing to manage the site for decades to come, while the cleanup is rapidly approaching a June 2006 deadline when the vast majority of the work needs to be completed. • Lawyers with the OEPA and the federal Department of Energy, which is overseeing the cleanup, started negotiations last week over how much money the federal government will leave behind to manage the site. Energy officials last year offered $5 million that could be used to manage the site and build an educational facility that would stand as a permanent reminder of how the facility contributed to the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal, the disastrous environmental consequences of that work, and the monumental effort undertaken to clean up the land and water at the site. That offer was deemed insufficient by the state, which led the parties back to the bargaining table late last week. "We're spending a lot of time and money making Fernald into a park. The question becomes how do we make sure the land stays in that use for generations to come?" said Graham Mitchell, chief of the office of federal facilities oversight for the Department of Energy. "We also want to make sure that people continue to understand what happened there." "We think there should be a dollar amount associated with that" paid by the federal government. Telling the story of Fernald might happen at an environmental education center on the site. The center would include displays dealing with issues such as how the soil and water became contaminated by decades of uranium processing, and how they were cleaned by one of the largest Superfund efforts in the Midwest. "The educational piece is something the community would really like to see," said Lisa Crawford, president of Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety and Health. "But it might have to come a couple years down the road. It's not going to happen overnight." Gary Stegner, a spokesman for the Department of Energy, said both his agency and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency hope to have an agreement in place by the end of the year. "I think DOE is well aware that we'll have a financial obligation that will be fairly long-term," Stegner said. Back in the swamps of Darke County, Bartoszek said, it's important to take inventory of the tiny bugs, inch-long salamanders and variety of plant life in healthy wetlands now, while lawyers argue over money. That, he said, will help ensure healthy wildlands for the public, long after the cranes and bulldozers have left Fernald. Bartoszek reviewed designs for the man-made wetlands at Fernald and is responsible for monitoring the health of those areas. He said recording the numbers and health of animals in undisturbed wetlands will give state regulators a baseline on what to expect in the future from Fernald. "We've built places (at Fernald) for people to go and see nature, so we want to know how they're doing," Bartoszek said. "And you can tell a lot about a wetland by looking at what is there." Similar surveys have been done for plant life. The idea is to create an index of sorts, where the quantity and health of each species of plant or animal receives a score. From those scores, biologists can fix a numerical value to the heath of a wetland. "We are doing some things out here to try and come as close as we can to a more natural wetland you may see in the region," said Eric Woods, restoration manager at Fernald. "The surveys give us a real good idea of whether or not we're doing things the right way." So far, the wetlands at Fernald get a high grade from the state and federal watchdogs. But Bartoszek said the long-term success of the future park at Fernald will depend on how much money is left behind and which agency is selected to manage it. "Proper management is important for any piece of property," Bartoszek said. E-mail dklepal@enquirer.com [dklepal@enquirer.com] ***************************************************************** 49 Oak Ridger: Amazing Facts! SNS Story last updated at 11:49 a.m. on March 25, 2004 Here are some facts and figures on the Spallation Neutron Source construction project: * The 1.4 million cubic yards of earth moved for the facilities would fill the University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium - which seats more than 100,000 fans in its double decks - to a level above the press box. * Project structures call for approximately 88,000 cubic yards of concrete, equivalent to a sidewalk 3 feet wide that would reach from Knoxville to Memphis. That's about 400 miles. It's also the amount of concrete needed to build the Tennessee Valley Authority's Fort Loudon Dam. * 8,000 tons of rebar - reinforcing steel rods - are expected to be used for project structures. * The target building's deep foundation contains 937 concrete pilings, reinforced with steel pipe. These pilings range from 35 to 181 feet deep in the earth and are seated 10 feet into bedrock. Nearly 20 miles of pilings are in place under the target building. The basement floor of the target building is 5 feet thick. * Some of the concrete pours have been very large, with one about 1,700 cubic yards. For that pour, concrete trucks - essentially all that were available in the region - delivered 175 loads to the construction site. * The target building will weigh as much as a conventional 40-story building of the same footprint. * The SNS electrical substation capacity is 50 megawatts, or enough electrical capacity to supply electrical service to about 25,000 homes. Each of the two transformers weighing 98 tons, were brought to the site on trailers with 9 axles and 72 tires. Each transformer holds 12,300 gallons of mineral oil. ***************************************************************** 50 Oak Ridger: SNS 80% complete Story last updated at 11:55 a.m. on March 25, 2004 UP CLOSE LOOK: The public will get an opportunity to visit and learn about various aspects of the research facility during an April 2 open house. By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff paul.parson@oakridger.com [paul.parson@oakridger.com] From a tree-covered ridge to a cleared-off construction site to the 80 percent completion mark: That's the story of the Spallation Neutron Source. More than $1 billion has been spent so far on the construction of the research facility, which is within budget and on target to meet its 2006 completion date. Neutron Source. The SNS will fire an ion beam down its linear accelerator tunnel toward a mercury target; a beam that, at 80 percent of the speed of light, could reach the moon in 1.5 seconds. The resulting protons will bombard a mercury target, generating neutrons for use in research. "Everything we do everyday is aimed at making sure that continues to be the case," said Thom Mason, the SNS director. SNS staff members will provide the public with an opportunity to visit and learn about various aspects of the project on April 2. The open house will run from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the project's current office, 701 Scarboro Road in Oak Ridge. With a total project price tag of around $1.4 billion, the SNS is one of the largest scientific facility construction projects that the United States has undertaken in several decades. The SNS will fire an ion beam down its linear accelerator tunnel toward a mercury target; a beam that, at 80 percent of the speed of light, could reach the moon in 1.5 seconds. The resulting protons will bombard a mercury target, generating neutrons for use in research. As construction moves forward on the research facility, SNS officials are gearing up for an equipment readiness review later this month. In fact, equipment testing is occurring frequently at the site. One upcoming milestone, according to Mason, will involve the commissioning of two more stages of the drift-tube linear accelerator tanks. An Aug. 28 test involved accelerating a beam of negatively charged hydrogen ions through the first drift-tube linear accelerator tank, or linac, and measuring the speed, current and other characteristics of the beam in a diagnostics section designed by Los Alamos National Laboratory. Marie Moffitt/Staff Rob Morton and Daryl Briggs install the second module of the coupled-cavity linacs that accelerate the SNS beam. In June, Mason and the rest of the project staff plan to move out of the Scarboro Road office building and take up residence in a facility at the actual SNS site atop Chestnut Ridge. To design and construct the SNS, a partnership was organized among six national laboratories including Argonne in Illinois, Brookhaven in New York, Jefferson in Virginia, Lawrence Berkeley in California and Los Alamos in New Mexico. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managing the partnership and will ultimately be responsible for overseeing the SNS. From a budget standpoint, the fiscal year 2005 request for the SNS is around $113.6 million. Over the years, funding for the SNS has been around $143 million for FY 2004, $225 million for FY 2003, $291 million for FY 2002 and $278 million for FY 2001. And, with the SNS at the 80 percent completion mark, it's inevitable that a big celebration will be held once the project is finished. There's even been talk that the president would be invited to the event, which isn't out of the question since former Vice President Al Gore attended the groundbreaking ceremony in 1999. "It's not everyday you celebrate the completion of a billion dollar science project," said Mason, adding that no details were set in stone. "I'm sure we'll try to make as big a splash as we can." Once operational, around 450 workers will staff the SNS project, and thousands of researchers from around the world will run experiments there. Things like jets, calculators, compact discs, shatter-proof windshields and satellite weather information for forecasts have all been improved by neutron-scattering research. ***************************************************************** 51 Colorado Daily: Flats whistleblowers visit Boulder [http://www.coloradodaily.com By RICHARD VALENTY Colorado Daily Staff Writer Without the whistleblower, ordinary citizens may have never gotten the chance to know some of the more spectacular events in modern life, such as Watergate, Monica's stained blue dress and environmental contamination at Rocky Flats. Tonight at 7:30, Wes McKinley, co-author of the recently released book "The Ambushed Grand Jury," will speak and sign copies of the book at the Boulder Bookstore, 1107 Pearl St., on the downtown mall. McKinley was the foreman of the grand jury that, from 1989-1992, was assigned to evaluate reports of numerous environmental violations at the former plutonium trigger plant. Accompanying McKinley Thursday will be Jacque Brever, the former Flats employee who blew the whistle on the toxic operation, risking her life in the process. Brever, according to a passage in "Ambushed," decided in 1989 to provide FBI agents with details about the alleged secret midnight burning of plutonium-contaminated waste at Rocky Flats. Other Flats employees found out about Brever's collaboration with the FBI. Brever worked with radioactive materials using a "glovebox," in which protective gloves are built into a box so workers can move the material without it contacting their skin. When Brever went to work Sept. 14, 1989, she reached into the glovebox and alarms went off. According to Brever, someone inside Rocky Flats intentionally contaminated the inside of the gloves with radioactive materials, which ultimately caused some of her hair to fall out and her skin to turn green and yellow in spots. The Flats grand jury was convened after a 1989 FBI sting operation at Rocky Flats. Rockwell International operated the plant for the U.S. Energy Department at that time. McKinley heard three years' worth of testimony about alleged environmental crimes at Rocky Flats, including toxic releases into local streams and the air, improper storage of radioactive waste and "missing" radioactive material, among other problems. Certain the investigation would expose serious crimes McKinley was shocked when the case was settled by the U.S. Department of Justice in a plea bargain. Rockwell was fined $18.5 million and some federal officials claimed there was no evidence of serious environmental damage. The Flats grand jury completed a report detailing the evidence they heard to the contrary, but in 1992, a judge sealed the report. McKinley, as a grand juror, was forbidden to speak on any topic that violated grand jury secrecy laws. Twelve years later, McKinley and Brever are still trying to get the full story out. Erin Hamby from Boulder's Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center (RMPJC) wrote research papers on the Flats grand jury as a CU-Boulder student. According to Hamby, McKinley and Brever are literally risking their lives to try to expose toxic Flats activity. "Jacque and Wes are two of my heroes, and I'm just really happy they're doing all this," said Hamby. "I think the situation at Rocky Flats is such that it needs dramatic attention." The Rocky Flats plutonium trigger plant is no longer operational. A cleanup operation is underway to convert the site into the "Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge." Should humans be allowed to use the site? Would you let your kid play there? Hamby, for one, would try to find a recreational site with less plutonium contamination. "I would keep them home from school if a field trip was going there, and I would never take them there myself," said Hamby. "The amount of contamination on that site is far too high for me to risk it." Some information for this story comes from "Ambushed Grand Jury" by Wes McKinley and Caron Balkany, Esq. ***************************************************************** 52 DenverPost: Flats still a problem By Penelope Purdy If people were going to panic about safety at Rocky Flats - the former nuclear bomb trigger factory south of Boulder - they should have done so 10 years ago. Today, the really dangerous materials and wastes have been shipped out, so the site is no longer reason for public alarm. But so much work remains that the facility still should cause concern. In fact, several important policy decisions are fast approaching. A decade ago, the government had lost 60 pounds of plutonium (the key ingredient in nuclear bomb triggers) in Rocky Flats' pipes and ducts. Barrels of low-level atomic wastes were stored in hallways. Solvents ate away at glove boxes. "Infinite rooms" contained so many plutonium barrels that instruments couldn't even measure how much radioactivity the packages emitted. Today, Rocky Flats is, by orders of magnitude, far safer than when cleanup started in 1996. That doesn't mean Coloradans can relax their vigil. While 18,000 shipments of materials and wastes have been trucked out, another 18,000 truckloads must move by 2006, when the cleanup is supposed to be finished. The public should get involved in a series of pending decisions that will affect the cleanup in 2004 and beyond: The U.S. Department of Energy plans to demolish buildings formerly used for making bombs. In buildings 371, 707 and 771, workers now are removing glove boxes and other contaminated equipment, and scrubbing walls, floors and ceilings - especially in 771, where a fire in 1969 "cooked" radioactive particles into the concrete. The biggest headache, though, is that the buildings (particularly 371) have deep basements. Digging out the entire substructures would be too costly, the DOE says. So, the agency got permission from state health officials and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to remove the substructures only three feet down. Literally tons of building materials that are deeper underground will be left forever. Are the substructures safe to leave? The question must be resolved soon: Building 771 will come down in June, with others to follow quickly. DOE plans to use heavy equipment to pull down 771 and 707, but explosives to destroy 371. When Rocky Flats made bomb parts from 1950 to 1986, workers (acting on orders) dumped barrels of uranium materials near Building 903. Rather than remove the worrisome mess, management had it paved over - the out-of- sight, out-of-mind approach that caused most of Rocky Flats' woes. Not only was the ground under the asphalt pad contaminated, the area around the pavement, where water drained off, also could ooze radioactive goo. The pavement and barrels have been removed during recent cleanup work. Soon, though, crews will tackle the tough job of cleansing around the pad's lip. The extent of that project is key to the rest of the cleanup. East of the 903 pad, a plume of contamination fans out. The DOE plans to dig up any dirt pad with more than 50 picocuries per gram (a way to measure radiation exposure) on the whole site. But that standard means some dirty dirt east of the 903 pad will be left, outraging citizens who think the DOE should fully cleanse the soils. Rocky Flats' original landfill was a leaky mess. The DOE improved it so it's no longer an immediate worry. But even after Rocky Flats' closure, the DOE will leave a landfill on site. Who will ensure it doesn't leak decades from now? Stupidly, when the U.S. government bought the Rocky Flats land a half-century ago, it didn't buy the mineral rights. Today, a private firm has the rights to a gravel pit on about 1,500 acres of the 6,200-acre site. (The DOE says that land isn't contaminated.) The mine will make it difficult to convert the rest of the property into a national wildlife refuge. The refuge was the brainchild of U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, a Colorado Republican, and U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, a Boulder Democrat. It's a good use of land that can't be cleansed enough to let people live or build on it. But unless Udall gets a bill passed letting Uncle Sam buy the mineral rights, a gravel mine will go on land that otherwise would have been part of a new wildlife refuge. While Rocky Flats isn't the hazard it was a decade ago, it's still one of the most serious environmental issues facing Colorado. Penelope Purdy is a member of the Denver Post editorial board. --> All contents Copyright 2004 The Denver Post or other ***************************************************************** 53 Google News Alert - nuclear Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 14:02:49 -0800 (PST) NUCLEAR Warship Docked After Navy Chief Voices Safety Concerns Radio Free Europe - Prague,Czech Republic One of Russia's leading warships, the nuclear-powered "Peter the Great" missile cruiser, has been temporarily docked following critical remarks by the Russian ... See all stories on this topic: STOP dangerous nuclear waste dumping Maryknoll Magazine - Maryknoll,NY,USA ... notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the “management and disposal of low-activity radioactive waste” that creates the possibility for dangerous nuclear ... CHENEY to Head to Asia for Nuclear Talks Kansas City Star - Kansas City,MO,USA WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney will visit China, Japan and South Korea next month to talk about nuclear tensions with North Korea as well as trade and ... NUCLEAR Dump Workers Exposed to Vapors Kansas City Star - Kansas City,MO,USA RICHLAND, Wash. - Six workers at a research site that once made plutonium for the nation's nuclear arsenal sought medical attention last week after being ... See all stories on this topic: SMALL flaw found in pipe at PPL nuclear site Allentown Morning Call - Allentown,PA,USA By Sam Kennedy. A crack was discovered in a pipe during a routine inspection of the Susquehanna nuclear power plant, PPL Corp. announced Wednesday. ... See all stories on this topic: US not to reduce nuclear arsenal to Moscow Treaty levels Channel News Asia - Singapore WASHINGTON : The United States will not cut its nuclear arsenal to levels designated by an arms accord it concluded two years ago with Russia because it must ... See all stories on this topic: BALDACCI'S pick for nuclear adviser debated Press Herald - Portland,ME,USA ... questions about Gov. John Baldacci's appointment of a former Democratic leader to the post of state nuclear safety adviser. Charles Pray ... See all stories on this topic: NUCLEAR hazards on agenda Belfast Telegraph (subscription) - Belfast,Nothern Ireland,UK SEVERAL local councils are attending the UK and Irish Councils' Joint Conference of Nuclear Hazards in Glasgow where the situation at Sellafield nuclear ... NUCLEAR reactor shut down after malfunction Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney,New South Wales,Australia A nuclear reactor at the Khmelnytskyi atomic power plant in western Ukraine has been shut down by its automatic safety system, but there has been no radiation ... SOUTH Korea, Thailand ink nuclear cooperation Asia Times Online - Hong Kong SEOUL - South Korea and Thailand have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote cooperation in nuclear power, according to South Korea's Ministry ... This daily-once News Alert is brought to you by Google News (BETA)... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Remove this News Alert: http://www.google.com/newsalerts/remove?s=92d1672a1b037a07&hl=en Create another News Alert: http://www.google.com/newsalerts?hl=en Try Google News: http://news.google.com/ ***************************************************************** 54 Bellona-Murmansk braves a decade of adversity and achievement to celebrate its 10-year anniversary It’s been 10 years since the Bellona-Murmansk office was established— 10 intense years characterized by repressive resistance from the former KGB, Russian security police raids, confiscated equipment and arrests. Still, the focus has always remained squarely on the environmental struggle. Igor Kudrik was with Bellona's Murmansk office from its very beginning. Today he is editor-in-chief of Bellona-Web's Russian and English sites. Hanne Bakke, 2004-03-25 19:52 The Bellona Murmansk office has always operated in high gear, and the challenges it has faced in the past ten years have not phased its work at all. It’s biggest battles have, no doubt, been the Nikitin trial, and drawing international attention to nuclear safety issues in Northwest Russia, says Bellona's Igor Kudrik, who was one of the original staff members of the Murmansk office and is now editor-in-chief of Bellona Web's Russian and English sites, published from Bellona’s headquarters in Oslo. Kudrik was, in the early 90’s, a member of an environment group called “For a Nuclear Free North,” based in Murmansk. Through this organization he came in contact with Bellona, and when Bellona was on an expedition aboard the environment ship “Genius,” he met Fredric Hauge, the president of The Bellona Foundation, for the first time. The establishment of Bellona's Murmansk office coincided with the release of Bellona’s report “Sources of Radioactive Contamination in the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Regions.” The report was co-written with “For a Nuclear Free North.” In January 1994, Kudrik translated the report into Russian and contacted journalist Sergey Filippov. He asked if Filippov would edit the report and Filippov agreed. At the time, Filippov was a radio reporter in Murmansk, but began working part-time at Bellona, a job that soon became full-time. Kudrik translated the 161-page report rapidly, and with only three hours of sleep a night, he finished it in ten days. On March 1st 1994, the report was presented by Hauge, and Oslo-based Bellona researchers Thomas Nilsen and Nils Bøhmer—who co-authored the report from Bellona’s side—in Murmansk. Later that spring the report was presented to high military and nuclear brass in Moscow. A shocked EU commissioner During the autumn of that year, Bellona and the Murmansk Shipping Company—the state operator of the nuclear powered icebreaker fleet in Murmansk—arranged a conference onboard the nuclear icebreaker Sibir. One of the participants was the European Union’s commissioner, Ioannnis Paleokrassas. The commissioner’s presence naturally made waves, and helped train international focus on environmental problems in Northwest Russia. A shocked Paleokrassas reported back to Brussels, and shortly after, appealed in strong terms to the European Parliament, asking that the European Commission undertake initiatives for environmental action on the Kola-peninsula, where Murmansk and the Russian Northern Nuclear Fleet are located. One of the first projects the Murmansk office took on was the Lepse ship, a former nuclear service ship that is currently being used as a floating radioactive waste storage facility for damaged nuclear fuel rods and radioactive waste in Murmansk harbor. In September of 1994, Bellona researchers traveled to Siberia. They visited nuclear storage facilities in the closed town of Zhelenogorsk, known in Soviet times as Krasnoyarsk-26. In Tomsk they visited and photographed nuclear installations surrounded by dilapidated fences. As the Russian president had just announced that all the nuclear factories were secure, the photos were proof that such was not the case and raised a major political and media scandal. The results of the Siberian trip were writings and photos documenting the frightfully dilapidated conditions at the nuclear installations in the area. Toward the end of 1994, Bellona made the acquaintance of Alexander Nikitin, a former naval captain first class and an ex-nuclear safety inspector with the Russian Ministry of Defense. Within the next year, harassment of Bellona employees by the Federal Security Service, or FSB—the KGB’s successor—raids, questionings and arrests would begin. Sergei Filippov has been with Bellona since 1994. In 1995, he was hauled off a flight from St. Petersburg to Oslo by FSB agents. Without explaination, he was escorted to a long interrogation about computer discs he was carrying that contained information about radioactive contamination on the Kola Peninsula. Bellona Raids and arrests On October 5th 1995, Sergey Filippov was taken off a plane to Oslo at St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport by agents of the FSB. He was on his way to Norway to finalize the registration of the Bellona-Murmansk office as a legal entity. In his possession, he had floppy discs containing information about radioactive contamination on the Kola-peninsula. Filippov was brought to the local FSB headquarters, were he was interrogated and the discs were confiscated. After hours of speaking with the FSB agents, he was released and told that he may be contacted again regarding a case against the Bellona Foundation. He was given no further information or explanation about why he had been detained, questioned or why the discs had been confiscated. On his way out of FSB headquarters—known to St. Petersburg locals as “The Big House”—he ran into Nikitin, who was being brought in for questioning. In February of 1996, Nikitin would be called in again for interrogation only to be informed he would not be leaving building. He was arrested, jailed without charges and denied access to a lawyer for months. When the charges did come six months later, he stood accused of treason and espionage. For 11 months he sat in a cell until his lawyers convinced the St. Petersburg City Court to release him on the signed condition that he not leave the city. This marked the beginning of the Nikitin case, which ran through the meat-grinder of the Russian legal system until Nikitin was fully acquitted by the Russian Supreme Court on April 17th 2000. But the case is closed only as far as the Russian court system is concerned. Nikitin has a complaint detailing the illegalities perpetrated by prosecutors and the FSB during his case pending before the European Court on Human Rights in Strasbourg. The case will likely be heard in the new year. In October 1995, one day after Filippov and Nikitin were interrogated, nine FSB agents raided the Bellona Murmansk office, grinding all of its activities to a halt. Computers, fax machines and other equipment were confiscated. Bellona employees’ had their apartments turned upside down by FSB agents, and the Bellona-Murmansk staff was hauled in for questioning. The whole fuss ended in nothing: The FSB couldn’t find anything illegal. It would take years before the confiscated equipment was finally returned. Eye-opener for the European Parliamentarians An important result of Bellona’s focus on nuclear activities in Northwest Russia has been the establishment of the Inter-Parliamentary Working Group, or IPWG, which unites representatives from European Parliament with their counterparts in the Russian State Duma for the purpose of addressing pressing environmental issues. Bellona was assigned the role of the IPWG’s official secretariat. The parliamentarians’ group has, since its founding, been successfully resolving nuclear safety cooperation problems between Russia and Europe that require political solutions. Bellona-Murmansk Director Sergei Zhavoronkin. On the move Planning the opening of Bellona-Murmansk took two years. When it opened on March 1st 1994, in a rented space in Murmansk’s House of Radio Workers, it was outfitted with second hand furniture brought in from Kirkeness, Norway's border town with Russia. But true to Bellona’s technological spirit, Bellona-Murmansk was one of the first organizations in Murmansk to own a cell phone. Currently, the office is moving and will be located in Bellona-owned property in the center of Murmansk. Bellona-Murmansk has two full time employees, Sergei Zhavoronkin and Anna Kireyeva. The office also has many part-time employees, such as nuclear engineer Andrey Zolotkov, who in the early 1990s revealed to the world information about nuclear icebreaker and Russian naval radioactive waste dumping practices in Arctic seas. Filippov, who finally managed to scale back his long hours, is also part-time. Other experts also participaate in Bellona-Murmansk's work as needed. Future goals and challenges for Bellona-Murmansk include reckoning with the burgeoning oil industry in the area, and the promotion of wind power, says Zhavoronkin, director of Bellona-Murmansk. He was quick to add, however, that nuclear safety projects, such as the Lepse project and monitoring nuclear submarine decommissioning will be the office’s major priority. Publisher: [bellona@bellona.no] , President: [frederic@bellona.no] 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 ***************************************************************** 55 Journal Standard: Downstate Honeywell plant to reopen soon By the Associated Press METROPOLIS -- A Honeywell International plant where a toxic chemical leak in December sparked a federal investigation plans to resume production of the chemical this week, plant officials said. The Dec. 22 leak released seven pounds of uranium hexafluoride gas into the air over this Ohio River town, rising 86 feet and drifting into a residential neighborhood. Four people were hospitalized and more than two dozen others were evacuated from nearby houses. A Nuclear Regulatory Commission investigation blamed the release on human error at the specialty chemicals plant. The NRC has since approved a company plan to improve safety at the facility, which converts uranium into uranium hexafluoride to make rods that power nuclear plants. Honeywell revamped its emergency-response plan and installed a dedicated phone line for emergency responders to call if another leak occurs, said plant manager Rory O'Kane. Honeywell will also teach local emergency first-responders about handling hazardous materials, he said. NRC spokesman Ken Clark said the company's plans have satisfied the agency so far and he sees no reason the startup couldn't begin this week. Two NRC inspectors are on site monitoring the plant and must approve each step of the startup process. The inspectors will remain at the plant for at least two weeks, O'Kane said. Once the four steps are complete, production is continuous, he said. Copyright © 2004 The Journal-Standard All rights reserved. The Journal-Standard is published by Liberty Group Publishing. ***************************************************************** 56 Pacific News Service: In Native Alaska, Nuclear Industry Pitches New 'Micro-Nuke' + [http://news.pacificnews.org/news/] News Feature, Eric Mack, Pacific News Service, Mar 25, 2004 Editor's Note: Far north in a mostly Native Alaskan town along the Yukon River, the Toshiba Corp. seeks to build a "super-safe" nuclear power plant. Residents, eager to lower costly power bills, are interested, but wary. GALENA, Alaska--The Nuclear Regulatory Commission hasn't issued a permit for a new commercial nuclear power plant in the United States since the late 1980s, when the technology topped the list of energy industry taboos following the infamous meltdown of the Chernobyl reactor in the U.S.S.R. But if Japan's Toshiba Corp. has its way, the prototype for a new generation of "micronuclear" power plants will be constructed on a remote stretch of the Yukon River in Alaska before the end of the decade. Last summer, representatives from Toshiba made the journey from Tokyo to Galena, a predominately Alaska Native village with a population of about 700. They met with community leaders to present their "4S" system, which stands for Super-Safe, Small and Simple. According to Toshiba, the 4S could cut electricity costs for the village by more than 75 percent for at least 30 years. The plant would also use water from the Yukon River to create hydrogen gas to be stored in fuel cells, one of the most talked-about forms of renewable energy in recent years. Galena serves as a hub for a handful of smaller villages along the Yukon and its tributaries. The region is made up of thousands of square miles of largely untouched boreal forest encompassing three National Wildlife Refuges, and includes some of the world's most renowned moose habitat. Like most communities in Western Alaska, Galena is a fly-in village; there are no highways, roads, or power lines linking it to the state's larger population centers. Large diesel generators must produce all electricity locally, using fuel delivered by a river barge during the summer months when the Yukon is ice-free. The resulting electricity costs for local residents per kilowatt-hour is nearly three times the national average, even with assistance from a state-funded subsidy program. Toshiba has pledged that the 4S prototype would be constructed at no cost to the village. Galena would have a cheap, clean-burning solution to all its energy needs for three decades, in exchange for becoming an international nuclear guinea pig. Community member Rand Rosecrans cautioned Toshiba representatives at the presentation that many residents would have strong opinions: "You say the word 'nuclear‚' and lots of people are going to have an automatic negative reaction." So far, tribal and city leaders have expressed a cautious interest and desire to learn more about the idea. "Like anything new, it's going to have to be studied pretty closely before we agree to bring it in," Louden Village Council Chief Peter Captain told the Anchorage Daily News. In 2001, the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University released working papers that examined the 4S system and three other similar reactors. The report was co-authored by Neil Brown, a Nuclear Engineer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In a phone interview, Brown explained that besides being smaller than most reactors, the 4S is a liquid sodium-cooled reactor, not a water-cooled one. According to Brown, there are 21 sodium-cooled reactors around the world -- including Japan's MONJU reactor, which Toshiba helped construct with three other companies in the 1985. After construction delays, MONJU first went critical in 1994, but was shut down after an accidental sodium leak and fire occurred in late 1995 while operating on low power. No radiation leaked out, but community concerns have kept MONJU shut down. "MONJU has definitely not been a success," says Paul Gunter, a reactor specialist with the Nuclear Information and Resource Service in Washington, D.C. Gunter said that experience with sodium-cooled reactors in the United States has not been much better. "The main concern (with this type of reactor) is that sodium and water have a tremendous explosive reaction. There was another near accident in Detroit at Fermi Unit One in 1966, resulting from loose parts." But attorney Douglas Rosinski, of the Washington, D.C., firm Shaw Pittman, which represents Toshiba, says the 4S system is nothing like the infamous nuclear power plants of the past. He compares the 4S to a completely self-contained, automated "nuclear battery" with no moving parts. At the heart of the 4S system is a log-sized uranium core, which would generate power for 30 years before needing to be disposed of and replaced. Brown said the reactor is similar to the first submarine reactors, and that Toshiba's design includes inherent safety characteristics, making it "a low-pressure, self-cooling reactor." Toshiba hopes to have a 4S system operational by the end of the decade, but the cost of testing and licensing the prototype to the satisfaction of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission could keep it from getting off the ground. Which is why a rural Alaska Native village with remarkably high-energy costs was chosen as an ideal site for a prototype. Rosinski and others seek to gather enough political support to secure significant funding for the project. Alaska's senior Senator, Republican Ted Stevens, the Senate pro tempore and chair of the powerful appropriations committee, has said that he supports Toshiba's proposal, but that it will have to first clear the hurdle of public opinion. The Department of Energy plans to send staff to the region to evaluate energy production capabilities, including the 4S. They plan to complete a report by the summer. PNS contributor Eric Mack (ericcmack@hotmail.com) is a freelance writer based in Galena, Alaska. Print This Page --> Comments --> Post a Comment First/Last Name + Your Email Address + Your Comments + + Disclaimer + PNS will put up as many of your comments as possible but we cannot guarantee that all e-mails will be published. We reserve the right to edit comments that are published. PNS News [http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_custom.html?custom_page_id ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************