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                         NUCLEAR POLICY
 
1 [southnews] Danish minister quits over Iraq WMD report
2 AFP: Iran FM says Bush nuclear weapons charges are "groundless"
3 US: [NL CBW] NL Weapons: Some recent US patents and applications
4 US: [DU-WATCH] Envirocare will go to Iraq?
5 US: [NukeNet] Write Your Govt now re NPT Prepcom Monday Apr26 NY
6 US: How The Nuke Power Industry Has & Is Helping The Perpetration Of
7 THE SUN: Weapons facility was decertified, Navy confirms            
8 US: RGJ: Environmental groups say Bush undoing decades of progress
9 US: Pahrump Valley Times: Reid battles White House 
10 PROTEST! Poll Incites "Kill Vanunu!" Crowd
11 Out of Prison, Vanunu Celebrates with Supporters
12 [southnews] Israel 'continues to produce nukes'
13 Calgary Sun: Hiroshima mayor slams U.S.
14 Globe and Mail: Future is nuclear   
15 Chinga Daily: Safeguarding energy supply 
 
                         NUCLEAR REACTORS
 
16 PRAVDA.Ru: Forgotten victims of Chernobyl - 
17 US: AP Wire: Summer Nuclear Station has license renewed
18 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Group files for VY fuel to stay put
19 Xinhuanet: Russia invests in nuclear plant   
20 US: NRC: Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Find
21 US: NRC: Finding of No Significant Impact and Notice of Availability
22 US: NRC: Appointments to Performance Review Boards for Senior Execut
23 US: NRC: Louisiana Energy Services, L.P.; Establishment of Atomic Sa
24 US: NRC: [Docket No. 50-346-CO; ASLBP No. 04-825-01-CO]
25 US: Brattleboro Reformer: A chronology of events (VY)
26 US: The Advocate: Millstone nuclear plant provides precedent for Ver
27 US: Boston.com: Vt. nuclear fuel rods missing; items unaccounted for
28 US: NRC: NRC to Conduct a Special Inspection at Vermont Yankee to Lo
29 US: NRC: NRC to Meet with Exelon Generation Company to Discuss Perfo
30 US: NRC: NRC Issues Letter on Performance Improvement Plans for Poin
31 US: NRC: NRC Renews License for Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Un
 
                          NUCLEAR SAFETY
 
32 US: [RADFOOD] Help Protect Your Right to Know!
33 [DU-WATCH] "not dangerous DU radiation levels"
34 [DU-WATCH] FW: DU & Media coverage fr Japan visit
35 [DU-WATCH] D.U. Flash movie
36 Democracy Now!: Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Pressed to Improve Deple
37 Aljazeera.Net: Forgotten victims of US nuclear testing              
38 PoughkeepsieJournal.com - Group: Uranium making soldiers in Iraq ill
39 PRW: 16 Puerto Rican soldiers tested for uranium                    
40 ITAR-TASS: Russia to finalize disposal of decommissioned subs by 201
41 AU ABC: Russia's nuclear facilities at risk of terrorist attack
 
                         NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
 
42 US: Deseret news: Radioactive waste issue still warm
43 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada asks environmental council to intervene in Yuc
44 US: NRC: Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material;
45 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Task force waffles on review of hot waste 
46 Las Vegas RJ: Rail plans target of complaint 
47 Las Vegas SUN: Yucca rail line raises legal question
48 US: The State: Other lost waste might be in S. Carolina
49 US: The Sun: Wrong move to let in more nuclear waste
50 Elko Daily Free Press: Yucca debate centers on timing 
51 Nevada Appeal OurView: Yucca Mountain tradeoff short-sighted
52 US: Newsday.com: Spent fuel rods can’t be found
53 AU ABC: Bracks rejects Kemp waste dump threat. 
54 US: AU ABC: Kakadu traditional owners strike deal to stop uranium mi
55 asahi.com: Spent nuke fuel heading to Rokkasho 
 
                         NUCLEAR WEAPONS
 
 
                        US DEPT. OF ENERGY
 
56 Tri-City Herald: PNNL scientists wow kids at lab event 
57 Rocky Mountain News: Speakout: Safety is paramount at Rocky Flats
58 Pahrump Valley Times: Audit puts DOE on hold 
59 Oak Ridger: Nuke pins will be used in TVA plants 							 							 			
60 Oak Ridger: Staff exits TVA, maybe Norris 							 							 							
61 Oak Ridger: Reactor restart expected soon 							 							 							
62 Oak Ridger: DOE honors pollution prevention efforts 							 							 
63 Pahrump Valley Times: (DOE) KEEPING SECRETS 
 
                          OTHER NUCLEAR
 
64 Google News Alert - nuclear
65 Bradenton Herald: Nuclear energy to power trip to Jupiter's moons
66 Technology Review: Is Cold Fusion Heating Up?
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                         FULL NEWS STORIES
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 1 [southnews] Danish minister quits over Iraq WMD report
 
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 18:53:24 -0500 (CDT)

 
Denmark's defence minister has resigned after opposition parties 
criticised him for telling the media about a secret meeting on a report 
on the possible presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

NATO member Denmark is a staunch US ally in the war in Iraq and its 
centre-right government, like Washington, has come under fire for 
allegedly misrepresenting the risk of Iraq having weapons of mass 
destruction before the invasion a year ago.

Defence minister in WMD row quits

 From correspondents in Copenhagen
24apr04

DANISH Defence Minister Svend Aage Jensby resigned today after coming 
under fire for revealing confidential details of a parliamentary inquiry 
into intelligence about Iraq's alleged possession of weapons of mass 
destruction.

"I have called on Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen to relieve me of 
my functions," Jensby, in office since the centre-right government won 
power in 2001, said in a statement.

"The government has obtained remarkable results and I don't want to 
burden the government and my family with this relentless campaign 
against me."

Denmark was a strong backer of the US-led war on Iraq, and accused 
Baghdad of having illegal weapons of mass destruction.

The left-wing opposition had been calling for Jensby to stand down since 
he revealed on television last week the confidential contents of a 
meeting of a parliamentary committee overseeing the country's secret 
services.

The meeting last year was devoted to an analysis by defence ministry 
intelligence of Iraq's alleged weapons arsenal.

Jensby reported in detail statements made by opposition lawmakers at the 
meeting, with the aim of showing that the opposition, while publicly 
opposing Denmark's involvement in Iraq, in fact agreed with the 
government on the threat posed by Iraq's supposed weapons arsenal.
______________________________________________-
Stahl of ''60 Minutes'' says she regrets Iraq WMD stories

By KATE WILTROUT, The Virginian-Pilot
) April 22, 2004
Last updated: 4:59 PM

VIRGINIA BEACH  Lesley Stahl has had her share of journalistic triumphs 
in the 14 years she has traveled the world interviewing newsmakers for 
60 Minutes.

But Wednesday night, the CBS news correspondent and 60 Minutes 
co-editor also talked about work shes less proud of: two pre-Iraq war 
reports casting doubt on Saddam Husseins claim to have rid Iraq of its 
weapons of mass destruction.

I look on those two stories as mistakes, journalistic mistakes, Stahl 
told a crowd of about 1,000 gathered in the Princess Anne High School 
auditorium. I made them, and I regret it.

Stahl described a trip to Iraq in October 2001 , where she interviewed 
Iraqi officials, military leaders and scientists. They told her that 
Saddam had no ties to Osama bin Laden, that their secular Muslim country 
was just as much his enemy as the United States.

Stahl said she believed that.

They also told her that the country had gotten rid of its weapons of 
mass destruction  the continued possession of such weapons was later 
cited by President Bush as justification for a pre-emptive war.

Stahl didnt buy the Iraqis claims. Her instincts, she said, told her 
they were lying. I didnt believe anything the Iraqis were telling me 
about weapons of mass destruction, Stahl said. Nobody believed their 
denials.

Stahl said she double- and triple-checked with lots of other sources.

No one had any doubts the weapons existed, she said  something she 
agonizes about now, but doesnt know what she could have done differently.

In her speech to the Virginia Beach Forum, co-sponsored by the Jewish 
Community Center Forum, Stahl touched on many of the biggest Washington 
stories of the past 30 years or more. She started at CBSs Washington 
bureau in 1972 on a story none of the big boys wanted to cover, 
involving a burglary at the Watergate hotel.

For 10 years , she was the networks White House correspondent, 
reporting on the Carter, Reagan and first Bush administrations.

George W. Bush reminds her of an earlier occupant of the White House. 
Im hearing echoes, not of his fathers presidency, but of Ronald 
Reagans, Stahl said.

Both convinced the nation they were staying the course even as they 
changed their positions, she said, citing Reagans six tax hikes despite 
a pledge not to and now Bushs emphasis that the U.N. help out in Iraq.

Stahl said come November, Bush might be haunted by last years 
appearance in a flight suit on an aircraft carrier, when he declared the 
end of major combat in Iraq. But its way too soon to predict who will 
win the election, Stahl said.

In response to audience questions, the newswoman guessed that 
presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry might choose North Carolina 
Sen. John Edwards as his running mate.

Stahl fended off a question about for whom she would vote for president.

You do know that news reporters have their opinions surgically 
removed, Stahl said. I dont go there.

Reach Kate Wiltrout at 222-5108 or kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com

The archives of South News can be found at
http://southmovement.alphalink.com.au/southnews/ 

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 2 AFP: Iran FM says Bush nuclear weapons charges are "groundless"

[http://www.spacewar.com/] 

TEHRAN (AFP) Apr 23, 2004

 Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi has rejected as 
"groundless" charges by US President George W. Bush that Tehran 
is attempting to develop nuclear weapons in secret.

"The Americans level a charge and make conclusions based on the 
same groundless charge," state news agency IRNA quoted Kharazi 
Friday as saying in an exclusive interview with him in London the 
previous day.

"Iran definitely has no plan for producing nuclear weapons and 
any such plan is not a part of our security strategies," Kharazi 
said, reiterating a long-standing response to charges from the 
United States and others.

On Wednesday, Bush said any development of an atomic weapon by 
Tehran would be "intolerable."

"The development of a nuclear weapon in Iran is intolerable, and 
a program is intolerable, otherwise they will be dealt with, 
starting through the United Nations," Bush said in remarks to 
newspaper editors and publishers.

The United States has been skeptical of Tehran's pledges to 
improve its cooperation and transparency with the UN nuclear 
watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying 
Iran had previously reneged on similar vows.

"The foreign ministers of Great Britain, France and Germany have 
interceded on behalf of the civilized world to talk plainly to 
the Iranians," the president said.

"My job is to make sure that they speak as plainly as possible to 
the Iranians," he said.

Iran was severely reprimanded by the IAEA last year for failing 
to make a full accounting of its nuclear activities.

But in December, it bowed to international pressure by signing up 
to an additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 
(NPT), allowing tougher IAEA probes.

Kharazi renewed previous pledges that Iran's nuclear activities 
are peaceful and stressed that the country has a legitimate right 
to promote peaceful nuclear activities under IAEA commitments.

Meanwhile, denying what he claimed were reports to the contrary 
in an unnamed US newspaper, he insisted that his talks in Paris 
Wednesday with French President Jacques Chirac were "very warm 
and good". 

"Mr. Chirac described Iran as the regional partner of France. 
Besides, Tehran-Paris relations are currently very amicable and 
friendly," he said. 

"It is natural that the Americans are not happy with the 
expansion of Iran's relations with European countries, 
particularly France. This is the reason why they make such 
baseless comments." 

Chirac urged Iran to cooperate "in a constructive way" with 
Europe and the IAEA during his talks with Kharazi, Chirac 
spokeswoman Catherine Colonna said.

He "expressed France's wish that the dialogue begun between the 
three European countries (Germany, France and Britain) and Iran 
continues in a constructive way," Colonna said.

Chirac also stressed the importance "of continuing the 
implementation of commitments taken at the IAEA."

Britain, France and Germany last year convinced Iran to make a 
series of commitments on the civil character of its nuclear 
program, and Tehran said they in turn promised to aid the country 
in developing that program.

"We expect from the European countries that they keep to their 
commitments so that this mutual confidence can be a bilateral 
affair," Kharazi said.

He insisted that concrete measures needed to be put in place for 
the Europeans to meet those commitments.

On Thursday, Kharazi met with his British counterpart, Jack 
Straw, and with Prime Minister Tony Blair in London to discuss 
international concerns about the country's nuclear programmes.

Kharazi characterized his talks in Paris and London as "useful."

"The European countries must understand clearly that the only 
route possible is that of promoting cooperation and mutual 
respect, which includes respect for Iranian positions," he said.

Turning to the question of the situation in the Middle East, 
Kharazi said his European hosts were beginning to understand the 
"important and constructive role" Iran was playing, particularly 
with regard to Iran and to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

  WAR.WIRE
*****************************************************************
 3 [NL CBW] NL Weapons: Some recent US patents and applications
 
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 02:12:43 -0500 (CDT)

 
An update on recent filings/patents at the US Patent and Trademark 
Office, which has full text and images online  (www.uspto.gov).  They 
are in no particular order.  Several of these could probably be a 
thread unto themselves.

------------

United States Patent Application
20040069177

Klein, John M.
April 15, 2004
Non-lethal projectile ammunition

Abstract

Non-lethal ammunition for a riot gun includes a forwardly open 
casing, a      projectile mountable in and dischargeable from the 
casing, a propellant      cartridge extending into the casing 
interior, and a UV curable adhesive      disposed in sealing relation 
about the propellant to effectuate uniform      firing of the 
projectile. The projectile includes rearward and forward      end 
portions each provided with a central cavity with the rearward cavity 
enclosing the cartridge, a weight in the forward cavity for balancing 
and      increasing the mass of the projectile, and a subassembly 
carrying in a      nose thereof a chemical payload or chemical agent, 
the subassembly      including a stem sized for interference fitment 
within the forward cavity      to secure the subassembly to the 
projectile and having a chamber for      positioning the weight in 
the forward cavity.

------

United States Patent Application
20030167955

Baltos, Joseph C.
September 11, 2003
Passive action security systems

Abstract

A specialty bullet is disclosed that is adapted to transmit a 
tranquilizing fluid upon impact with a target for purposes of 
immobilizing the intended target without causing great harm to the 
target      or the surrounding area. The specialty bullet is sized 
and shaped like      that of a conventional bullet so that it can be 
fired from a conventional      firearm; however, the concept could 
work with innumerable types of      ammunition. The disclosed 
invention includes a so-called "Collapsule"      bullet, which is a 
molded, hollow cavity fabricated of a high-strength      malleable 
plastic polymer that is filled with a tranquilizing fluid. The 
bullet is fitted with a so-called "Injectile," which is a hypodermic 
injection spike (to transmit the tranquilizing fluid) that is backed 
and      driven by an inertia base mass (i.e., lead core or other 
suitable)      located at the base of the bullet. The disclosed 
invention provides law      enforcement officials with a non-lethal 
(or less lethal) deterrent to      life-threatening situations, 
including aircraft hijackings and other      terrorist activities.

-----

United States Patent Application
20040035040

Kind Code
A1

Dixon, Robert G. ;   et al.
February 26, 2004
REUSABLE GAS GRENADE CANISTER

Abstract

One embodiment of a reusable gas grenade canister comprises a body 
defining an interior space. The body has a plate which is removable 
so      that a gas grenade may be placed into an interior space of 
the body. A      spike extends from the body, the spike defining a 
flow path for gas to      flow from the interior space to a point 
remote from the body. In one      embodiment, a baffle is located 
inside the body over an opening leading      to a passage through the 
spike which defines the flow path. A swing arm      is connected to 
the body, as is a ram pad.

---------

United States Patent Application
20030205160

Kind Code
A1

Oechslin, Rolf ;   et al.
November 6, 2003
SELF-PROPELLING PROJECTILE HAVING A PENETRATOR CORE

Abstract

A self-propelling projectile allowing restricted local target effects 
comprises a penetrator core, a charge for at least partially 
fragmenting      the core at a target, and autonomous ignition device 
for the charge. The      penetrator core has a stepped tip with a 
forward exterior dart angle and      a larger following acute angle 
and a dart shank that tapers towards a      rear end of the core. A 
coaxial cavity is located within at least a rear      portion of the 
core carries an active substance is next to an explosive      charge 
for opening the cavity at the target. The active substance can 
either be of lethal or non-lethal characteristics. The projectile can 
be      configured to be usable with conventional launchers and 
auxiliary      equipment.

-------

United States Patent Application
20030170180

Kind Code
A1

Bahary, William S.
September 11, 2003
Non-lethal chemical weapons

Abstract

The invention relates to compositions of non-lethal chemical weapons 
for      riot and crowd control. The compositions can also be used to 
clear areas      and facilities for extended periods without 
collateral damage.      Specifically, this invention discloses "dial 
an effect" non-lethal weapons for crowd control, from moderate to 
near lethal strength. The      composition contains three unique 
active ingredients comprising an      odoriferous substance, a hot 
substance, and a tear gas agent, A method is      disclosed to 
prepare the compositions with solvents, carriers,      pressurizers, 
and optional ingredients, as well as a method to apply      them.

-------

United States Patent Application
20020184809

Kind Code
A1

Bauer, Eran Nicodemus ;   et al.
December 12, 2002
Weapon system comprising a firearm and a non-lethal means for 
selectively      ejecting a stream of fluid

Abstract

Aweapon system comprising a firearm having a barrel through which a 
projectile maybe propelled and further comprising a non-lethal means 
for      selectively ejecting a stream of fluid, such as an 
incapacitant, in a      direction substantially parallel to the axis 
of the barrel and aligned      with the sights of the firearm. The 
system removably houses a fluid      containing pressurized canister, 
the outlet of the canister co-operating      with a nozzle for the 
release of said fluid from said canister under      control of a 
nozzle trigger mechanism. The pressurized canister, nozzle      and 
trigger mechanism may be removably mounted on said firearm.

-------

United States Patent Application
20020178960

Kind Code
A1

Ramaswamy, Alba Lalitha
December 5, 2002
Generation non-lethal and lethal projectiles for arms

Abstract

A projectile for use with a cartridge case comprising a nose having a 
nose      chamber, a tail end disposed adjacent the nose and having a 
tail end      chamber, a partition separating the nose chamber and 
the tail end      chamber, and a valve being disposed in the 
partition and providing fluid      communication from tail end 
chamber to the nose chamber.

-------

United States Patent Application
20020129728

Kind Code
A1

Vasel, Edward J. ;   et al.
September 19, 2002
Non-lethal projectile for delivering an inhibiting substance to a 
living      target

Abstract

Projectile systems are provided herein employing an inhibiting and/or 
marking substance for impairing/marking a living target, such as a 
human      or animal target. The projectile systems provide 
effectiveness by      impacting the target with sufficient force to 
cause the target to move      into a simultaneously radially 
dispersing inhibiting/marking substance      contained within a 
capsule of the projectile system. In preferred      embodiments, the 
projectile system includes a generally spherical      frangible 
projectile that is optimally filled to greater than about 50%, 
more preferably about 75% to 99% of its total volume, most preferably 
to      about 90% of capacity, with the substance to be delivered to 
the target.      One or more frangible projectiles are configured to 
fit with a shell      casing configured to fit within a delivery 
device.

-----

United States Patent Application
20030127085

Kind Code
A1

Brunette, James R.G. ;   et al.
July 10, 2003
Less-lethal launcher

Abstract

The present invention is a projectile launching system having an 
independently operable gas powered less-lethal launcher, which is 
capable      of firing projectiles containing either incapacitating, 
debilitating, or      marking agents for use during those situations 
when lethal force would be      an inappropriate response. The gas 
powered launcher is ergonomically      designed and comprises a 
receiver housing and receiver that are      detachable from a 
stand-alone stock so that it can be attached to a      mounting 
bracket located underneath the barrel of a rifle and, therefore, 
integrated with such rifle in order to provide both a lethal and a 
less-lethal capability for the user. One of the ergonomic features of 
the      receiver is that it is designed to releasably carry a 
compressed gas      container in a way that presents a favorable 
profile and a convenient and      efficient trigger location, even 
after attachment of the receiver to the      barrel of a rifle.

-----

United States Patent Application
20030095992

Kind Code
A1

Erhardt, Paul W.
May 22, 2003
Method and compositions for temporarily incapacitating subjects

Abstract

A method for modifying at least one non-ester-containing parent 
compound,      and the compounds produced using such method, which 
compounds are      deployed to temporarily incapacitate at least one 
subject are disclosed.      The modified compounds are rapidly 
metabolized to inactive and non-toxic      metabolites when exposure 
to the modified compounds is halted. One or      more of a 
predetermined chemical arrangement is incorporated into the 
parent compound having the formula: .phi.-R--X--R'; where .phi. is a 
phenyl, substituted aryl or heteroaryl system present in the parent 
compound or is added to the parent compound; R is an alkyl or alkene 
containing chain either branched or unbranched from 0 to 10 carbons 
present in the parent compound or is added to .phi.; X is a carboxyl, 
sulfoxyl or phosphatyl function added to R; and, R' is an alkyl, 
alkenyl      or aralkyl group either branched or unbranched 
containing from 1 to 10      carbons is added to X in a metabolically 
labile manner, or is a      structural element already present as an 
inherent portion of the parent      compound that is connected to X 
in a metabolically labile manner.

-----

United States Patent Application
20030129138

Kind Code
A1

Loghman-Adham, Kamran
July 10, 2003
Non-lethal temporary incapacitation formulation and novel solvent system

Abstract

A non-lethal temporarily incapacitating formulation having a new 
solvent      system that has reduced blow back longer hang time when 
used as an      aerosol spray. The solvent and formulation are 
non-toxic, non-hazardous,      non-flammable, highly stable, 
environmentally safe and able to withstand      extreme operating 
temperatures. The solvent system is a mixture of      propylene 
glycerol dicaprylate/caprate and glycerol tris 
(2-ethylhexanoate) and is suitable for use for a wide range of 
automotive, household and industrial applications.

_______________________________________________
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 4 [DU-WATCH] Envirocare will go to Iraq?
 
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 02:25:28 -0500 (CDT)

 
Hi all,

Should I look back to March or February for my cynical  throwaway line, sort
of about Envirocare doing waste management for the Gigantic Bomb
Corporation?

It's good to know that some thought is being given to dealing with
radioactive remnants of war.  Now the trick is to cork the bottle so it
don't spill out in the first place - - -

Cheers,
Robert

http://www.sltrib.com/2004/Apr/04222004/utah/159579.asp

Envirocare's big plan: Operation Iraqi waste

By Robert Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune

    WASHINGTON -- Envirocare of Utah is exploring the possibility of
building a low-level nuclear waste dump in the Iraqi desert to store
uranium-tipped munitions and tank hulls and rubble contaminated by
radioactive shells used by the United States.

    But the plan is on hold for now because of unrest in the war-torn
nation.

    "Because of events in Iraq, it's obviously not real safe for civilians
to be over there right now," Tim Barney, senior vice president for
Envirocare, said Wednesday. "It's hard to predict when or if the situation
will stabilize to the point where that can become a reality. It could be
years down the road."

    The mutilation of American contractors earlier this year by an Iraqi mob
and kidnapping of other civilian workers have heightened concerns about
safety in the region. Halliburton, a major contractor in Iraq, has lost 33
employees since the war started.

    Hundreds of tons of weapons equipped with depleted uranium were fired at
Iraqi tanks during the two Gulf Wars. The depleted uranium is a byproduct of
nuclear reactors and weapons refinement and is 40 percent less radioactive
than normal uranium.

    The munitions are either large uranium-tipped bullets or rods of the
depleted uranium that are inside special tank-killer munitions. Rather than
losing shape like normal shells, the uranium's density keeps its shape as it
pierces tank armor. As it passes through the armor the uranium also throws
off sparks that can ignite fuels or ammunition inside the targeted tank.

    Veterans of the first Gulf War have expressed concern that exposure to
the depleted uranium may be to blame for illnesses they now suffer.

    "Going clear back to the first Gulf War, there's low-level material that
needs to be cleaned up, primarily depleted uranium," Barney said. "We
thought it was protective of the public health there to centralize that in a
disposal facility, to get it out of the neighborhoods."

Advertisement

    After the first war, 23 U.S. vehicles were recovered and shipped back to
the United States for disposal while wrecked hulls of other burned-out tanks
were piled in a "boneyard" in Kuwait.

    Envirocare envisions a smaller version of the facility it operates in
Clive, Utah, where it could seal contaminated material in thick cells buried
underground.

    The company has hired former Idaho Rep. Larry LaRocco and his firm to
lobby Congress for the project. Company representatives have met with
military officials and members of Congress to discuss funding the cleanup,
although talks are preliminary.

    Envirocare officers and the company's political action committee have
contributed to political campaigns $107,125 since 1998, according to Federal
Election Committee records, with most of it going to Republican candidates.
Khosrow Semnani, the president and founder of the company, was born in Iran,
Iraq's neighbor to the east.

    Barney said it is hard to know the extent of the contamination problem,
but expects the price tag for the work would be in "the millions, not the
hundred millions."

    Last month, Michael Kilpatrick, deputy director of Deployment Health
Support, said about 127 tons of depleted-uranium munitions had been used by
the Army and Air Force with an unknown amount used by Marines.

    More than 320 tons of depleted-uranium shells were used in the first
Gulf War, the Defense Department has said.

    A study by the World Health Organization said that depleted uranium "has
the potential to have chemical and radiological effects on health" if
exposures were high enough and recommended that heavily exposed areas should
be cordoned off and cleaned up and the waste disposed of in accordance with
international standards.

    Steve Robinson of the National Gulf War Resource Center, which assists
veterans of both Iraq wars, said the Defense Department owes it to veterans
to conduct thorough studies of the health effects and it is a good idea to
clean up the uranium penetrators and damaged vehicles.

    "I don't know if the government is going to want to get involved in what
is clearly turning out to be a problem in Iraq," he said. "If we have to
start being responsible for things that we shoot up around the world it
could be pretty cost-prohibitive over time."

    The major health concern is the chemical toxicity of the depleted
uranium, rather than exposure to radiation. Fine particles created when the
ordinance strikes the tank or in a resulting fire can also be inhaled by
soldiers in the immediate area, according to Defense Department studies.

    Last year, a Pentagon report said that there is no evidence that
depleted uranium has caused adverse health effects in troops, including 90
soldiers exposed to the material in friendly fire incidents.
    Col. James Naughton of the Army Material Command said at the time that
the weapons give the U.S. troops an advantage they don't want to lose.
   rgehrke@sltrib.com

) Copyright 2004, The Salt Lake Tribune.
All material found on Utah Online is copyrighted The Salt Lake Tribune and
associated news services. No material may be reproduced or reused without
explicit permission from The Salt Lake Tribune.

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 5 [NukeNet] Write Your Govt now re NPT Prepcom Monday Apr26 NY
 
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 13:51:33 -0700

 
<x-flowed>



----- Original Message -----
From: Emma McGregor-Mento
To: abolition-caucus@yahoogroups.com ;
abolition-usa@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, April 23, 2004 8:51 AM
Subject: [abolition-caucus] Write Your Govt now re
NPT Prepcom Monday Apr26 NY
   Write Your Government Now - Help Keep the World
Safe - Demand
   Disarmament and Compliance with NPT

   From:
   John Hallam
   Nuclear Weapons Campaigner Friends of the Earth
Australia,
   nonukes@foesyd.org.au
   61-2-9567-6222, fax 61-2-9567-7166
   1 Henry Street Turella NSW Aust 2205
   -------------------------------------------

   Help Keep the World Safe - Demand Disarmament
and Compliance with NPT

   More Information on the topic of nuclear weapons
and the NPT is
   available at the following website:
http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/


   Fax numbers of selected foreign ministers and UN
missions are at the
   very end of this text. The url is:


http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/resources/govcontacts/govindex.html

   The elimination of nuclear weapons is vital for
the safety of the
   world. The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT)
is the world's main
   legal instrument that obliges the nuclear weapon
States to achieve
   complete nuclear disarmament (article VI) and
bans the proliferation of
   nuclear weapons. It is more vital than ever that
the Nuclear
   Nonproliferation Treaty be honored and
implemented.

   Real progress toward the elimination of nuclear
disarmament is under
   threat, as is the Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty. The Preparatory
   Committee of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
Review Conference meets from April 26 - May 7, at
the United Nations. This will be an important
opportunity to emphasize the international
commitment to nuclear disarmament.

   The continued possession of large nuclear
arsenals by the US, Russia,
   China, France, and the UK, and their nuclear
policies are a grave threat to the NPT. The US and
other nuclear weapon states continue to possess
nuclear arsenals that include sufficient
megatonnage on
   'Launch-on-warning' status, to be able to
destroy civilization and most
   life in an event sequence that would take about
half an hour and could
   take place as a result of computer error,
miscalculation in time of
   conflict or calculated use against a 'State of
concern' that then
   escalates into nuclear war. The nuclear weapons
states continue to
   threaten the possible use of nuclear weapons and
plan to develop new
   nuclear weapon types, such as 'mini-nukes' that
they feel may be more
   useable.

   The treaty is also being challenged by the
acquisition of nuclear
   weapons by India, Pakistan, and the DPRK. There
is particular concern
   about Pakistan's role in spreading nuclear
weapons technology to Iran,
   DPRK and Libya.

   The nuclear weapon states have been quick to
highlight transgressions by other States of the
non-proliferation aspects of the NPT and rally
   coercive action in response, including calls for
interceptions of
   shipments to and from 'States of concern' and
the use of force against
   States suspected of contributing to
proliferation. But the nuclear
   weapons states ignore the simple fact that their
policies give value to
   nuclear weapons and so encourage nations that
are not yet part of the
   nuclear club to acquire nuclear weapons, and has
encouraged India,
   Pakistan, and the DPRK to become new members of
the nuclear club. The
   continued possession of nuclear weapons by
Israel, encourages other
   nations (possibly Iran) to wish to counter its
nuclear weapons with
   their own.

   The head of the IAEA, Mohammad El Baradei, has
issued a clarion call to
   action both to prevent the spread of nuclear
weapons to an increasing
   number of countries and for the existing nuclear
weapon states to honour their nuclear disarmament
obligations under article VI of the NPT. In
Particular, El Baradei notes that:

   "We must abandon the unworkable notion that it
is morally reprehensible
   for some countries to pursue weapons of mass
destruction yet morally
   acceptable for others to rely on them for
security - and indeed to
   continue to refine their capacities and
postulate plans for their use."
   El Baradei's call, which includes a wide variety
of practical measures
   to prevent nuclear proliferation and eliminate
nuclear arsenals is a
   lead that governments worldwide, starting with
the established nuclear
   weapons powers, should be following.


   WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO WRITE TO YOUR FOREIGN
MINISTER AS FOLLOWS, (please
   rewrite this in your own words, preferably
handwritten rather than
   printed, or else on formal organisational
letterhead)

   Points you need to make:

   -The elimination of nuclear weapons is vital for
the safety of the
   world. The NPT, though imperfect, commits all
nations to bring about the
   elimination of nuclear weapons. The upcoming
prepcom is an important
   forum in which the NPT and the elimination of
nuclear weapons may be
   supported by your government.

   --The NPT and progress toward nuclear
disarmament, is threatened as
   never before, including by Bush administration
policy, including both
   the moves to ready the US nuclear testing
facility for use, the
   construction of the 'modern pit facility', and
the development of new
   types of nuclear weapons and delivery systems.

   --Your government can take action to support the
NPT and the elimination
   of nuclear weapons, and in particular should
support the call made by
   the head of the IAEA, Mohammad El Baradei.

   SAMPLE LETTER

   Dear Foreign Minister,

   I am writing to draw your attention to the
upcoming prepcom of the
   nuclear nonproliferation treaty, in New York
April. The NPT Prepcom
   precedes and prepares for, the next NPT Review
Conference in 2005.

   In particular I draw your attention to the
recent call for action to
   prevent proliferation made by the head of the
IAEA Mohammad El Baradei,
   both as it concerns the need for the established
nuclear weapons powers
   to abide by their Article VI NPT obligations to
achieve the total and
   unequivocal elimination of their nuclear
arsenals, and as it outlines
   practical measures that should be taken to
achieve nuclear disarmament
   and to prevent further proliferation.

   The upcoming NPT Prepcom and the NPT Review
conference come as the NPT
   is under greater pressure than ever before. The
nuclear weapons states
   signatory to the NPT have failed to honour their
clear obligations to
   disarm under article VI of the NPT. The NPT
regime failed to prevent
   efforts to acquire nuclear weapons capabilities
by DPRK and Iran, and
   the emergence of a clandestine trade in nuclear
technology. India,
   Pakistan and Israel reamin outside the NPT and
continue to defy the
   international norm against nuclear weapons.

   The link between disarmament and
non-proliferation was made clear by
   IAEA head Mohammed El Baradei when he said:
   "We must abandon the unworkable notion that it
is morally reprehensible
   for some countries to pursue weapons of mass
destruction yet morally
   acceptable for others to rely on them for
security - and indeed to
   continue to refine their capacities and
postulate plans for their use."


   Either development - proliferation or a
continuation of current nuclear
   weapons policies by the NWS - will, potentially,
very much weaken the
   NPT at the time when it most needs to be
strengthened. This will result
   in a growing number of nuclear-armed nations,
and a growing probability
   that nuclear weapons may at some point be used.


   Accordingly, I urge your government to support
practical initiatives
   being proposed or developed through the NPT
Review process, including
   those of the New Agenda Coalition and the Non
Aligned Movement
   (including especially measures to de-alert
nuclear arsenals), and
   including the following suggestions by Mr El
Baradei:

   a) Implementation of the 13 practical steps for
disarmament which were
   agreed by all States at the 2000 NPT review
conference.
   b) Consideration of the legal, political and
technical requirements for
   the abolition and elimination of nuclear
weapons, as indicated in the
   Model Nuclear Weapons Convention
   c) the development of legally binding security
assurances to non-nuclear
   weapon States in order to enable them to remain
nuclear weapons free
   without decreasing their security
   d) Increased work on the verification measures
required for the
   elimination of nuclear weapons
   e) Support for disarmament and nonproliferation
education as recommended
   by the UN Study on Disarmament and
Nonproliferation Education.

   The recent proliferation revelations demonstrate
that we can no longer
   control "peaceful" nuclear technology, and we
urge a moratorium on any
   further sharing of such technology and support
efforts to establish an
   International Sustainable Energy Fund to provide
all nations with their
   own sovereign ability to access the power of the
sun and the wind for
   their energy needs, while dismantling current
civilian nuclear power
   plants, and thus put a safe end to further
horizontal nuclear
   proliferation.



   Yours Sincerely,

   Signed
   (Your name)

   ------------------------------------------------
--------------------Fax
   numbers of some selected foreign ministers,
heads of state, and
   United Nations missions:

   (Note that you will need to use whatever is the
ISD access code for
   your country if you are faxing these from
another country. If you are
   faxing your own countrys foreign minister your
information may be
   better than this list. If you have information
that is better than
   what is on this list please share it with me.)

   PRESIDENT BUSH : +1-202-456-2461 1-202-456-6218
1-202-456-6201

   CONDOLEEZA RICE : +1-202-456-2883

   POWELL: +1-202-647-6047 UN - +1-212-415-4443
CANB-6214-5970 6214-5930
   PRESIDENT PUTIN: +7-095-205-4330,
+7-095-206-5173,
   FOREIGN MINISTER IVANOV: +7-095-244-4112,
+7-095-247-2722, +7-095-206-3731,
   +7-095-293-3323,

   Russia UN +1-212-628-0252, CANB: 61-2-6295-1847

   UK - UN 1-212-745-9316, MOFA +44-207-829-2417,
+44-207-270-2833,

   CHINA: UN +1-212- 634-7626, 41-22-793-7014

   JAPAN: +81-3-3581-9675  UN - +1-212-751-1966
CANB 61-2-6273-8073

   DPRK: 850-2-2381-4636  +82-2-730-5076,
UN1-212-972-3154 CANB 61-2-6286-4795

   RoK: +82-2-724-8291,  UN 1-212-986-1083,
Canberra 61-2- 6273-4839

   FRANCE: 33-1-4317-5203 UN 1-212-421-6889

   GERMANY 49-1888-17-34-02 UN 1-212-940-0402

   S. AFRICA 27-12-351-0253 UN 1-212-692-2498

   AUSTRALIA Foreign Minister Alexander
Downer61-2-6273-4112, UN 1-(212) 351-6610



   * See also: NucNews Links and Archives (by date)
at http://nucnews.net * (Posted for educational
and research purposes only, in accordance with
Title 17 U.S.C. section 107) *



--------------------------------------------------
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Emma McGregor-Mento
Outreach and Development Coordinator
Abolition 2000
215 Lexington Avenue, Suite 1001
New York, NY 10016
Ph: 212-726-9161 x17
Fax: 212-726-9160
http://www.gracelinks.org
http://www.abolition2000.org



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*****************************************************************
 6 How The Nuke Power Industry Has & Is Helping The Perpetration Of International War Crimes
 
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2004 00:40:41 -0400

 



  The give the crap away to the militray:

  Boyle and other legal experts have also long
maintained that DU munitions
are illegal under a host of international laws,
such as the Hague Convention
of 1907. The U.S. government is party to the
convention, which prohibits
weapons that are "unnecessary," as well as those
that cause cruel, long
lasting or uncontrollable effects.

Boyle argues that DU munitions are "unnecessary"
because weapons made with
another metal - tungsten - are equally as
effective. The Pentagon does not
use tungsten, Boyle said, because it would have to
pay for it.

"They get the DU for free, and this is basically a
question of money," Boyle
said. "DU is an unnecessary weapon."

The Geneva protocol of 1925, to which the U.S. is
also a signatory,
prohibits the use of radiation as a weapon, Boyle
noted.



http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jan2001/2001L-01-25-15.html

NATO Says No Link Between Depleted Uranium, Cancer

BRUSSELS, Belgium, January 25, 2001 (ENS) - There
is no link between the
depleted uranium munitions used in the NATO led
Balkans wars and the rash of
cancers that have been reported by soldiers who
fought in the conflicts,
according to the chairman of a multinational
committee convened to study the
matter.

Daniel Speckhard, the U.S. Ambassador to Belarus
and the chairman of NATO's
ad hoc committee on depleted uranium (DU), said
Wednesday that "based on the
data today, no link has been established between
depleted uranium and any
forms of cancer."

"To date, no nation has found evidence of an
increase in incidence of
illness among peacekeepers [who served] in the
Balkans compared with the
incidence of illness among armed forces not
serving in the Balkans,"
Speckhard said at a news conference. "None of the
nations reported finding a
link between health complaints of personnel
employed in the Balkans and
depleted uranium munitions."



NATO Spokesman Mark Laity, third from left,
discusses the possible health
effects of depleted uranium with several military
experts at a recent news
conference in Brussels, Belgium (Photo courtesy
NATO)
Speckhard's committee, which represents about 50
nations, was formed earlier
this month to investigate the alleged link between
the adverse health
effects that have been reported by NATO soldiers
and the DU munitions that
were used in the wars waged in Bosnia, Herzegovina
and Kosovo. Speckhard
said on Wednesday that the committee intends to
bring "maximum transparency"
to the inquiry, which he said was undertaken to
ensure that there is "no
health risk to our troops or civilians in the
Balkans" as a result of the DU
munitions used there.

The United States and a host of other allied
nations have for years supplied
their armed forces with machine gun rounds and
rocket like projectiles
tipped with depleted uranium, which by definition
contains statistically
insignificant amounts of radioactivity. The
Pentagon and NATO both maintain
that DU munitions are essential war fighting
tools, because of their ability
to pierce through armor plated tanks and other
heavily defended targets.



Depleted uranium munitions are effective at
piercing heavily armored
vehicles, such as this tank (Photo courtesy NATO)
The Pentagon acquires much of its DU at no cost
from nuclear weapons plants,
which are generally eager to get rid of the tens
of thousands of tons of
wastes that are piling up at their facilities.
Both the Pentagon and NATO
have long denied that DU munitions pose any health
risks from residual
radioactivity.

DU munitions were used widely in the Persian Gulf
War as well as the more
recent conflicts in the Balkans, and thousands of
veterans who fought in
those campaigns disagree with NATO's conclusions.
Many of these veterans
have been plagued by a rash of unexplained health
effects, including chronic
fatigue, paralysis and death.



Gulf War veterans gathered in Washington, DC, last
year to demand
recognition and treatment for their illness (Photo
courtesy American Gulf
War Veterans Association)
DU, which is regulated in the United States by the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, is supposed to contain no other
radionuclides other than
uranium. But critics charge that the substance
often contains other
dangerous elements associated with nuclear power
plants, such as plutonium,
radium and americium.

That fear was at least partially borne out earlier
this week, when a
Pentagon spokesman acknowledged that traces of
plutonium were inadvertently
incorporated into DU munitions that were made some
30 years ago. The mistake
came about because of contaminated equipment at a
domestic power plant, the
spokesman said.

NATO spokesman Mark Laity, appearing at the
Brussels news conference on
Wednesday along with Speckhard, was quick to
downplay the significance of
the Pentagon's revelation. Laity said that it was
"quite possible" that
traces of plutonium or other radionuclides will
turn up in soil samples now
being taken in the Balkans. But such findings, he
said, would not constitute
a threat to public health or the environment.

"These contaminants are known about and are in
minute amounts," Laity said.
"Those trace elements have been found to be too
small to add to the existing
low level health risk that there is."

"If they find [traces of plutonium or other
radionuclides], we will not be
surprised, and I will not be worried," added
Laity, who delivered his
remarks with a DU round sitting nearby.

That point was echoed by NATO's Supreme Commander
in Europe, U.S. Air Force
General Joseph Ralston. Ralston, speaking in
Athens, Greece, told reporters
that he would not hesitate authorizing the firing
of DU rounds "tonight,"
should such action be called for.



U.S. Air Force General Joseph Ralston, NATO's
Supreme Commander in Europe
(Photo courtesy NATO)
But a team of scientists at the Lovelace
Respiratory Research Institute in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Wednesday unveiled a
study that found that DU of
the type used by the U.S. military can cause
cancer in laboratory animals.

Fletcher Hahn, a senior scientist on the project,
told the Reuters news
organization that the study represents a "warning
flag that we shouldn't
ignore."

Still, Hahn emphasized that the study "doesn't
mean that [DU] is
carcinogenic to humans."

Meanwhile, two international organizations today
announced that they may
take action to assist the World Health
Organization (WHO) team of
researchers, which is currently studying the
matter of DU use in the Persian
Gulf. The United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) and the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) may launch "fact
finding missions" to the Balkan
region, their respective officials said.

UNEP officials will decide soon whether to
dispatch a team of researchers to
Bosnia Herzegovina for the purpose of studying the
public health and
environmental implications of the DU munitions
used there, officials said.

The IAEA is considering holding a training course
to help researchers in the
Balkan region to better understand the complex
measurement and assessment
methods associated with conducting analysis on
depleted uranium, officials
from the group said.

That is of little comfort to Francis Boyle, a
professor of international law
at the University of Illinois at
Urbanna/Champaign. Boyle, who consulted on
a 1994 documentary film that linked a host of
health effects to DU, said
that the IAEA was only getting involved in the
project to do "damage
control."

"The IAEA is a front organization for the nuclear
power industry, so you
can't believe anything they say," Boyle said. "It
is an unfortunate sign, in
my opinion, that the WHO and UNEP would be
coordinating anything with the
IAEA. They're going to try and cover this whole
thing up."

Boyle, like many critics, maintains that DU poses
far greater risks to
public health and the environment than the
Pentagon and NATO are letting on.
He said that DU munitions are teeming with
plutonium and other radionuclides
that should not be exempted from regulatory
oversight.

When DU munitions hit their targets, Boyle noted,
they typically release
particles which can contaminate air and nearby
water.

"Even a speck of plutonium can kill you," Boyle
noted. "But there's a lot
more in DU munitions than just depleted uranium,
and in any event, once it
vaporizes . and people are breathing it and eating
it, it kills people."

Boyle, like many others, believes that DU played a
causal role in mysterious
"Gulf War Syndrome" that affected tens of
thousands of veterans who fought
in that war.

The Pentagon flatly denies such charges.

Boyle and other legal experts have also long
maintained that DU munitions
are illegal under a host of international laws,
such as the Hague Convention
of 1907. The U.S. government is party to the
convention, which prohibits
weapons that are "unnecessary," as well as those
that cause cruel, long
lasting or uncontrollable effects.

Boyle argues that DU munitions are "unnecessary"
because weapons made with
another metal - tungsten - are equally as
effective. The Pentagon does not
use tungsten, Boyle said, because it would have to
pay for it.

"They get the DU for free, and this is basically a
question of money," Boyle
said. "DU is an unnecessary weapon."

The Geneva protocol of 1925, to which the U.S. is
also a signatory,
prohibits the use of radiation as a weapon, Boyle
noted. And a protocol to
the 1977 Geneva Convention contains a provision
that bans weapons and
techniques of warfare that cause severe, long term
environmental impacts, he
noted.

The U.S. is not a signatory to that agreement.

NATO has posted a detailed map on its website
showing where DU munitions
were targeted in Bosnia and Kosovo. The map can be
viewed at
http://www.nato.int








© Environment News Service (ENS) 2000. All Rights
Reserved.







*****************************************************************
 7 THE SUN: Weapons facility was decertified, Navy confirms                                 

TheSunLink.com Friday, Apr 23   
               
BANGOR
                                                         
• Officials went to great lengths to restore safe nuclear 
operations at the submarine base, a newly declassified memo says.                                                                                               

Chris Barron Sun Staff                                                                

April 23, 2004                                                           

A Navy e-mail released this week confirms that its nuclear 
weapons handling facility at Bangor was decertified late last 
year and that top officials there were relieved from duty.

The Sun obtained a printed version of the e-mail, written by a 
Navy admiral, through a Freedom of Information Act request. But 
the Navy blacked out most of the e-mail for what it termed 
"national security reasons."

The e-mail is the first internal Navy document released to the 
public about the nuclear weapons decertification at Bangor and 
its aftermath, and it contains information that the Navy 
previously had not disclosed.

The Dec. 18 e-mail message was sent to top Navy brass nearly six 
weeks after a Nov. 7 incident involving the mishandling of a 
nuclear missile on the Bangor waterfront that a local congressman 
described as "serious" but not life-threatening.

Although numerous sources have confirmed the incident took place, 
the Navy still refuses to discuss it publicly. Any discussion of 
the incident that may be in the e-mail is in the blacked-out 
portion.

However, the undeleted portion of the message does discuss why 
its top four leaders at Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific 
(SWFPAC) were dismissed and why the facility remained unable to 
handle nuclear weapons for more than two months.

The e-mail's author, Rear Adm. Charles Young, director of 
Strategic Systems Program, referred to previous mistakes at 
SWFPAC -- a likely reference to the Nov. 7 mishandling incident.

In that incident, a ladder was mistakenly left inside a missile 
tube of the Trident submarine USS Georgia as a C-4 nuclear 
missile was being lifted from the tube, according to numerous 
sources. The missile's nose cone was punctured and the lifting 
operation was stopped when the ladder was just inches from a 
nuclear warhead, sources said.

"The overriding reason for the continued decertification status 
was the inability of the leadership (and) supervision team to 
direct the correct actions when these deficiencies occurred on 
the floor," Young wrote.

SWFPAC stores and handles the nuclear missiles placed on Trident 
subs at Naval Submarine Base Bangor.

In late December, SWFPAC's commanding officer, Capt. Keith Lyles, 
and his entire leadership team -- executive officer, weapons 
officer and command master chief -- were dismissed when the 
facility failed a weeklong nuclear weapons inspection six weeks 
after the mishandling incident.

At the time, the Navy said it had a "loss of confidence" in 
Lyles' ability to lead, but did not disclose why. Nor did the 
Navy reveal at the time that others in Lyles' leadership team 
were dismissed.

However, Young's e-mail, sent immediately after SWFPAC failed its 
first nuclear inspection, said the leadership was fired to get 
the weapons facility back on track.

He specifically mentioned Lyles and SWFPAC's command master 
chief, who was not named.

"This is not a 'detachment for cause,' but is a change in 
leadership to get this command back on track and then back up to 
the level of outstanding support to the fleet they have done in 
the past," Young wrote in his e-mail.

Capt. Lawrence Lehman immediately was assigned to replace Lyles, 
who went on to a new assignment at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, on 
Dec. 19.

Following the first nuclear inspection failure in December, the 
Navy conducted a short training period "to get corrective actions 
in place," Young wrote.

Young wrote that he would conduct a "limited NWAI" -- a Navy 
acronym for Nuclear Weapons Acceptance Inspection -- from Jan. 13 
to 15 in the "technical operations area to complete the SWFPAC 
recertification."

Following recertification, Young said that he would meet with the 
"operational commanders to schedule and prioritize SWFPAC 
operations after recertification."

Last month, The Sun filed a Freedom of Information Act request 
seeking all electronic or paper documents referring to the 
November mishandling incident or any documents pertaining to 
Lyles' dismissal, changes in the way Trident missiles are handled 
at SWFPAC and any mishandling incidents at the facility in the 
past 10 years.

The Navy provided only the one e-mail in response.

No other documents could be released because they fall under the 
classified information exemption in the Freedom of Information 
Act or because disclosure of the information could cause 
"significant harm to our national security," the Navy said.

Officials also said there were no documents that covered changes 
in the way nuclear missiles were handled at SWFPAC following the 
November incident.

The Navy, which has previously said it does not discuss the 
presence or absence of nuclear weapons at its installations, did 
not inform Congress or any emergency management officials of the 
mishandling incident.

But when the incident was revealed on a military-oriented Web 
site several weeks ago, two local congressmen requested and 
received a briefing about it.

The two -- U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island and Norm 
Dicks, D-Belfair -- were briefed March 18.

After the classified briefing, Inslee said, "Without describing 
the details of this incident, I was stunned at some repeated 
failures to follow procedures."

Dicks said the Navy needs be more forthcoming when such an 
incident occurs. He added, "This was a serious matter and (Navy 
officials) are taking this very, very seriously," he said.

The Navy failed to respond to several follow-up questions asked 
by The Sun on Wednesday.

Reach reporter Chris Barron at (360) 792-9228 or at 
[cbarron@thesunlink.com] 

  2004© The SUN, 545 5th St., PO Box 259, Bremerton, WA 98337, 
Toll-free 1-888-377-3711,  [webmaster@thesunlink.com] 
*****************************************************************
 8 RGJ: Environmental groups say Bush undoing decades of progress
 
 [http://www.rgj.com/]       

Friday | Apr 23, 2004

Jeff DeLong [jdelong@rgj.com]    

RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Celebrating Earth Day, Northern Nevada environmental groups on 
Thursday cited success in protecting the environment but said the 
Bush administration is reversing more than three decades of 
progress.

 “With the present administration, we seem to have gone 
backwards,” said Bob Goodman, a retired U.S Forest Service and 
Bureau of Land Management official who spoke during the news 
conference outside the federal courthouse in Reno.

Since then-U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin took advantage 
of a groundswell of public concern over the environment and 
founded the first Earth Day in 1970, major progress has been made 
in protecting water, air and wildlife from coast to coast, said 
Sonya Hem, executive director of Environmental Leadership. 
Political momentum that began then helped result in landmark 
environmental law, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water 
Act and the Endangered Species Act, Hem said.

“That day left a permanent impact on the politics of America,” 
Hem said. “Earth Day made environmental protection a major 
national issue.”

But the Bush administration is attacking the environment on a 
number of fronts, said speakers, citing environmental issues as a 
key in this year’s presidential race and other election-year 
contests. 

One item of concern involves White House policy changes 
instructing federal agencies not to enforce Clean Water Act 
protections for wetlands, streams and other waters considered 
“isolated,” said Lorna Weaver, executive director of the Nevada 
Wildlife Federation.

“This is particularly troublesome for Nevada, because according 
to both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nevada 
Division of Environmental Protection, virtually all of Nevada’s 
waters are isolated,” Weaver said. “The new Clean Water Act 
assault leaves the door open to the filling, dredging, polluting 
and draining of many waters critical to wildlife in Nevada.”

Grace Portoti of the Nevada Conservation League agreed. 

“In short, Americans can no longer take the protections of the 
Clean Water Act for granted,” Portoti said.

Critics also lashed out at the administration over its 
implementation of the National Environmental Protection Act, 
described by Bob Fulkerson of the Progressive Leadership Alliance 
of Nevada as the country’s “cornerstone of environmental policy.”

The administration is pushing massive projects — including the 
Yucca Mountain nuclear repository and importation of water to Las 
Vegas by pipeline — without adequate environmental review as 
rightly required by the NEPA process, Fulkerson said.

John Hadder of Citizen Alert lashed out at the administration’s 
energy policy, insisting it would continue subsidy of the fossil 
fuel industry at a time when renewable energy must begin to play 
a far more dominant role.

And Nevada is rich with renewable energy opportunities, Hadder 
said.

“In the state of Nevada, it’s a crime we don’t take advantage of 
the wind and the solar (energy) that we have here,” Hadder said.
	
*****************************************************************
 9 Pahrump Valley Times: Reid battles White House 

April 23, 2004

By STEVE TETREAULT PVT WASHINGTON BUREAU 

WASHINGTON - Announcing that he has run out of patience, Sen. 
Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would block bills and nominees for 
environmental posts until the Senate schedules a hearing for one 
of his aides to join the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

President Bush nominated Gregory B. Jaczko two months ago to fill 
a vacancy on the energy regulatory board, but the chairman of the 
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has not set a 
confirmation hearing. 

Reid held up more than three dozen of Bush's nominees to homeland 
security, Justice Department and overseas positions for more than 
a month last fall until the White House agreed to put forward 
Jaczko for the NRC.

 Reid revived that strategy this week, notifying the Senate late 
Tuesday that "I will not let anything else move, period," out of 
the Environment and Public Works Committee until Jaczko gets a 
hearing. 

Jaczko, 33, is a physicist who has been Reid's chief adviser on 
science issues and the Yucca Mountain Project. He is up for a 
five-year term as one of five NRC commissioners who will judge 
the Energy Department's bid to establish a nuclear waste 
repository at the Yucca site situated within Nye County 20 miles 
north and east of Amargosa Valley and Beatty, respectively, and 
50 miles north east of Pahrump. 

The nominee is opposed by the nuclear industry, which charges his 
association with Reid, the project's chief critic in Congress, 
will bias his judgment. A spokesman for the industry's lobbying 
organization, the Nuclear Energy Institute, declined to comment 
Wednesday.

 Reid said he has spoken with Democrats on the environment 
committee about boycotting upcoming business meetings to prevent 
a quorum. A similar boycott last year delayed consideration of 
Bush's picks to head the Environmental Protection Agency, former 
Utah governor Mike Leavitt. 

Jaczko "was cleared by the White House, he should be cleared by 
the committee," Reid said Wednesday. "It's not as if I got some 
derelict for this job, some party hack." 

Reid's threat aims to pressure Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., the 
environment committee chairman, into moving ahead with Jaczko's 
nomination.

 Will Hart, an Inhofe spokesman, said the chairman does not plan 
to speed Jaczko. While Inhofe, a supporter of the Yucca project, 
has met with Jaczko, "he does not have an opinion at this time," 
Hart said.

 Hart said Democrats have themselves to blame. He said Reid and 
Vermont Independent Sen. James Jeffords last year demanded Inhofe 
hold off on moving a nominee for a second NRC vacancy, Republican 
nominee Adm. John Grossenbacher, so he and Jaczko could be 
confirmed in tandem.

 But after Jaczko's nomination was stalled for months at the 
White House, Grossenbacher withdrew and took a job in the private 
sector. 

Inhofe "intends to keep his commitment and will schedule a 
hearing when we have a new Republican nominee," Hart said. The 
White House has not nominated a replacement for Grossenbacher and 
it was not clear Wednesday when one would be named.

 "There were many qualified candidates, (Democrats) chose to go 
with (Jaczko)," Hart said. "They fought their battles and chose 
not to move things forward on anyone else. You have to lie in the 
bed you made."

 Reid said White House resistance to Jaczko last year "is not my 
fault, for heaven's sake. Had they not held up so long the 
admiral would not have dropped out. Partisan politics held up two 
qualified men."

 		 		   	 
For comment or questions, please e-mail 
[webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com] Copyright © Pahrump Valley 
Times, 1997 - 2003 
*****************************************************************
 10 PROTEST! Poll Incites "Kill Vanunu!" Crowd
 
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 13:51:20 -0700

 
<x-flowed>
PLEASE DISTRIBUTE TO SUPPORTIVE LISTS
PLEASE PROTEST!

> From Rayna Moss of the Israeli Committee to Free Vanunu:

Maariv Online English edition today is running a poll "What should be done 
with Vanunu?" - in which one of the options is "killed".

Go to http://www.maarivintl.com and click on English Edition. At the bottom 
of the page there is an option for contacting the editors. Please express 
your disgust and protest at this  dangerous and offensive "opinion poll". 
Inform the editors that you will  boycott the paper.

Alternately, you can simply send your protest to 
<customerservice@joyaglobal.com>, and/or to:
<editor@maariv.co.il>
cc: to Israeli support groups:
<legalese@netvision.net.il>
<otherisr@actcom.co.il>

You should know, that an official complaint against Maariv has been served 
by Gideon Spiro of the Israeli Committee for Mordechai Vanunu for a 
previous death threat that the paper carried in a column by Dan Margalit.

Please respond quickly.

Rayna Moss

=================
sample letter, to be used as is, or as inspiration for your own text
To the editor of Maariv

I hereby urge you to immediately remove the disgusting Vanunu opinion poll. 
A respectable newspaper does not publish a questionnaire in which  killing 
a person after he was released from prison is a legitimate option. You can 
be accused of incitement to murder.

If you don't stop this immediately and I don't receive from you an apology 
then I will from now on boycott your paper, the printed as well  as the 
electronic versions.

[your name and address]
=================
Please also send this letter, or one inspired by it.  Fax directly or sign 
and send via e-mail to <otherisr@actcom.co.il> and they will fax it for you.

To
Mr. Menny Mazuz
Attorney General
Jerusalem
+972-2-6708727, +972-2-6288065, +972-2-6466731 Fax

Dear Sir

I  call upon you to open urgently an investigation on suspicion  of 
incitement to murder against the editor of Ma'ariv newspaper, Mr. Amnon 
Dankner, as well as against the editor of the paper's internet edition. I 
refer to a "readers' poll" published on the Ma'ariv English-languague 
website today (April 23) on the  question "what to do with Vanunu? to which 
one of the answers the readers can choose is "kill him" (see site at the 
address www.maarivintl.com). In my view, when a mass-ciruclation paper 
publishes such a "poll", in which the idea of murdering in cold blood a 
person whom large parts of the public regard with hatred is presented as a 
legitimate oprtion among the spectrum of activities condoned by the paper 
(and indeed, a large number of Ma'ariv readers did choose the option of 
murder, and the paper published this) then there is a clear and ptresent 
danger that one or more readers will draw from this 'poll' legitimation to 
take up arms and actually implement what the paper considers a legitimate 
act. This is precisely the point at which freedom of speech ends and naked 
incitement to murder begins. It is you duty as being in  charge of 
enforcing the laws of the state of Israel, to take appropriate steps.


Sincerely Yours
Name:
Address:

Copy : Ma'ariv editorial office fax 972-3-5610624

=================
Jack Cohen-Joppa
Associate Coordinator
U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu
POB 43384
Tucson, AZ 85733
Phone/Fax 520-323-8697
freevanunu@mindspring.com
http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu

</x-flowed>
*****************************************************************
 11 Out of Prison, Vanunu Celebrates with Supporters
 
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 13:51:28 -0700

 
<x-flowed>
Free Mordechai Vanunu - Info & Action Alert #12

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE TO SUPPORTIVE LISTS
-------------------
Out of Prison, Vanunu Celebrates with International Supporters

	As he walked out the prison door Wednesday morning, April 21, the thumping 
beat of a police helicopter overhead, the shouts from the press and the 
cheers and jeers of demonstrators just outside the massive gate may have 
prevented Mordechai Vanunu from hearing the flutter of eighteen white doves 
taking flight.  These living symbols of peace, one for each year of his 
life lived behind bars, were set free by the international gathering of 
supporters to celebrate this Peace Hero's freedom.
	Following the brief, dramatic press conference, Mordechai Vanunu got into 
a car, and headed for St. George's Anglican Cathedral in Jerusalem.
	The gates opened, and the car was besieged by a vengeful mob. Supporters 
closest to the gate, and police on foot, struggled to surround the sedan as 
it slowly gained speed, deflecting fists and boots and eggs until the 
unrepentant convict's ride had outrun this visceral expression of the 
dangers facing Vanunu as long as he is forced to remain in Israel.
	The Rt. Rev. Riah Abu El-Assal, Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, along with 
bishops and clergy from England, the USA and Australia as well as local 
Christians, welcomed Vanunu.  "The Eucharist was offered in thanksgiving 
for the resurrection of Jesus Christ and in prayers for Mr. Vanunu, his 
family and friends in the hopes that he can live a normal life from now 
on," reported Bishop Riah.
	To supporters watching on television, it seemed Vanunu had already defied 
the reported prohibition on contact with foreigners when he spoke with the 
international media at the prison.  But within the hour, an Israeli Foreign 
Ministry spokesman told the BBC World Service that the government had 
relented, at least for now.  "He is allowed to speak to foreigners and to 
the media, but not allowed to speak of his work at Dimona."
	Supporters on the ground had prepared to fete Vanunu in private rooms at a 
restaurant that evening.  For a few days, it looked like the group would 
have to dine without him.  Then the address of the restaurant appeared in 
the media, distressing the anxious owner.  Quietly, arrangements were made 
to move the event to St. George's, where Vanunu could safely meet the 
international delegation.
  	"I could not believe my eyes and ears," says Fredrik S. Heffermehl, a 
Norwegian peace activist who has corresponded with Vanunu for 16 years and 
nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize in the last 15 years. "I had 
expected to see the sorry remains of a mentally exhausted fellow who would 
be uncomfortable, surrounded by so many people.  Mordechai looked well, 
tanned and related to everybody in two speeches.  He circulated at ease and 
talked with visible pleasure with everybody.  Everybody.
	"He took meticulous care to identify as many as possible of the friends he 
had only met by mail and thank them. It was not a little exaggeration when 
he said that his supporters were the real heroes in this case.
	"It must have taken an extraordinary stubbornness and survival instinct to 
get through his ordeal alive.  An absolute determination not to give the 
system the joy of succeeding to break him, seems to be the core factor in 
his rescuing his sound mind. When I commented on his strength in facing the 
world and the waiting world press, he said "The strength of 18 years in 
prison."
	Israeli campaigner Rayna Moss writes, "We laughed, cried, drank champagne, 
hugged and kissed Mordechai.  We thanked the Bishop for coming to 
Mordechai's aid and he replied 'It's our duty and an honor.'  Mordechai was 
eager to keep talking, to meet everyone - he actually recognized our names 
and knew who everyone was once they introduced themselves...  For him, we 
were very real, although we had never met.
	"Among the impressions of Mordechai that people shared: dignified, 
defiant, unbelievably strong, warm, elegant and just wonderful."
	At this time, Mordechai Vanunu remains in sanctuary at St. George's 
through Sunday.  It is not known whether or when he will move into the 
Jaffa apartment initially arranged for him, now that its location has been 
widely publicized.
	Concern for his personal safety is not exaggerated: an internet poll early 
Friday on the website of one Israeli daily, Ma'ariv, shows one in three 
respondents chose "killed" as the answer to the question, "What should be 
done with Vanunu?"
	Both Israeli and American officials say they are watching Vanunu closely 
because they are certain he has damaging secrets yet to tell.  But his 
safety matters not. "He's surrounded by at least 100 radicals who are 
worshiping him so I'm sure they'll take care of his safety," said Justice 
Minister Tomy Lapid.  No special security measures are planned for Vanunu's 
benefit, he added.
	Vanunu yesterday directed a special appeal to Norway to give him a 
passport on humanitarian grounds, since Israel will not at this time.

--Jack Cohen-Joppa

-end-
=================
  If you would like to receive these alerts directly through April, 2004, 
please subscribe by sending a blank e-mail to 
free_vanunu-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

- END -
Jack Cohen-Joppa
Associate Coordinator
U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu
POB 43384
Tucson, AZ 85733
Phone/Fax 520-323-8697
freevanunu@mindspring.com
http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu

</x-flowed>
*****************************************************************
 12 [southnews] Israel 'continues to produce nukes'
 
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 02:29:47 -0500 (CDT)

 
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---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

ISRAEL continues to produce atomic weapons and may already have as many 
as 300 warheads, experts said today, as the country released a man 
imprisoned for 18 years for leaking nuclear secrets.

Israel 'continues to produce nukes'

 From correspondents in Vienna, Austria
AP 22apr04

ISRAEL continues to produce atomic weapons and may already have as many 
as 300 warheads, experts said today, as the country released a man 
imprisoned for 18 years for leaking nuclear secrets.

Because Israel is not party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the 
Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has no power to 
look into its nuclear program, which has been shrouded in secrecy for 
decades.

However the UN agency is seeking dialogue with Israel, and 
Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei has repeatedly called for talks on 
the establishment of a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction.

Israel neither denies nor confirms that it has nuclear weapons.

Israeli authorities yesterday released Mordechai Vanunu, jailed since 
1986 for leaking details and pictures of Israel's alleged nuclear 
weapons program.

Based on his account, experts said at the time that Israel had the 
world's sixth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.

Israel continues to make nuclear weapons, said Friedrich Steinhaeusler, 
a former IAEA nuclear safety employee who now is a professor of physics 
at the University of Salzburg specialising in illicit trafficking and 
nuclear terrorism.

"One hundred and fifty is the best estimate at the moment" of how many 
weapons the country holds, Steinhaeusler said, adding that the figure 
hasn't been verified.

With air, sea and land-based launching systems, "they have the Middle 
East under control", he said.

Avner Cohen, an expert on Israel and nuclear weapons at the Centre for 
International and Security Studies in Maryland, said estimates ranged 
from the upper teens to "over 300".

John Simpson, director of the Mountbatten Centre of International 
Studies at Britain's University of Southampton, estimated the number of 
atomic weapons held by Israel at no more than 200.

Vanunu's release could be the focus point for a debate in Israel about 
the country's nuclear ambiguity, said Uzi Even, a former employee of 
Israel's nuclear research centre in Dimona who now is a professor at the 
University of Tel Aviv.

That policy is now partly outdated due to Libya's moves to abandon its 
nuclear program, Iran's cooperation with the UN nuclear agency and the 
lack of evidence of nuclear weapons in Iraq, Even said.

The Dimona reactor is aging and ought to be shut down soon, giving 
Israel a chance to use the closure as a "bargaining chip" in 
negotiations, he added.

IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky declined to comment on Israel, saying his 
agency has no jurisdiction there.

But ElBaradei said in a lecture delivered earlier this month at the 
American University in Cairo, Egypt, that the international community 
"cannot continue to have this imbalance in the region (with) Israel 
sitting on nuclear weapons and everybody else trying to stick to the 
Nonproliferation Treaty

_______________________________________________-

Vanunu urges nuclear truth
By Ed O'Loughlin, Herald Correspondent in Ashkelon
April 22, 2004

The nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu emerged defiantly yesterday 
from 18 years in jail, declaring himself "proud and happy" to have 
revealed to the world Israel's nuclear weapons secrets.

Mr Vanunu, who spent nearly 12 years in solitary confinement, told 
cheering supporters and jeering opponents outside the jail that he had 
suffered "cruel and barbaric treatment" at the hands of Israel's 
security services.

He called on Israel to open the Dimona nuclear reactor for inspections, 
but insisted he had no more state secrets to divulge.

Mr Vanunu leaked pictures and details of the Dimona plant, where he had 
worked, to Britain's Sunday Times newspaper in 1986, leading independent 
experts to conclude that Israel had amassed between 100 and 200 nuclear 
warheads.

His disclosures lifted the veil on Israel's official policy of 
"strategic ambiguity" about its nuclear program and its cryptic pledge 
that it would not be the first to introduce atomic weapons to the Middle 
East.

Speaking to Israeli state television inside the gates of Askhelon's 
Shikma jail, Mr Vanunu declared: "Israel doesn't need nuclear arms, 
especially now that all the Middle East is free from nuclear arms . . . 
my message today to all the world is open the Dimona reactor for 
inspections."

"Call Mohamed ElBaradei [the International Atomic Energy Agency chief] 
to come and inspect the reactor."

At 11.30am local time the 49-year-old former Sydney resident was driven 
out the gates of the jail. A 30-minute delay had been caused, Israeli 
authorities said, by Mr Vanunu's refusal to tell them where he would live.

Outside, dozens of foreign and Israeli peace activists had gathered to 
welcome a man regarded by many as a hero of the anti-nuclear movement 
and a prisoner of conscience.

These supporters were matched by Israeli counter-demonstrators who 
chanted "traitor" and "death to Vanunu".

Hertl Haliwa, an elderly man from Mr Vanunu's home town of Beersheva, 
said he was his uncle. "He's family, but I want to slash his throat and 
drink his blood. He is a fascist. Nuclear weapons are our insurance. The 
Arabs need to know that we have them. Without them we'd be in the sea."

"We should string him up here or just dump him in Gaza where he 
belongs," said Arik Geldar. "We should do what is good for us and not 
what is good for the world. If we gave up our weapons there would be a 
second holocaust."

As Mr Vanunu's car pulled out he held his palm against the window - an 
echo of the famous 1986 image in which he alerted the world of his 
abduction by writing the details on his hand and holding it up to 
photographers. This time his palm was clear.

His first stop was St George's Cathedral, where he was again mobbed by 
supporters and the media as he entered to pray. He had said earlier: "I 
am going to the church to give thanks to my friends and to God."

Scuffles continued after Mr Vanunu was driven away, with police trying 
to protect foreign and Israeli peace activists from assault by 
right-wing demonstrators.

Even noted left-wing and liberal Israeli politicians joined in the 
denunciation of a man widely regarded as a traitor not only for his 
whistleblowing but also because he converted to Christianity. The 
Israeli Government, fearing that Mr Vanunu could reveal more secrets, 
has placed him under police surveillance and restricted his movements, 
including imposing a one-year ban on travel abroad. There are also curbs 
on what he can say and to whom he can speak.

His supporters say that by making him stay in a country where he is 
reviled as a traitor the Government is endangering his life.

Mr Vanunu's brother Meir, an Australian citizen who lives in Sydney, 
told the Herald his brother was the target of a campaign of government 
vilification designed to deafen ordinary Israelis to his message of peace.

Meir Vanunu called on the Australian Government to protect a man who had 
his "last real taste of freedom" while living in Sydney in 1986.

This story was found at: 
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/21/1082530236442.html

The archives of South News can be found at
http://southmovement.alphalink.com.au/southnews/ 

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 13 Calgary Sun: Hiroshima mayor slams U.S.
 
[http://www.canoe.ca/]                                                                           
		     		     		     		     		   	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	  
[http://www.calgarysun.com/]                                                                   
 		   			   		   			   	 
Fri, April 23, 2004 
 
By  [bill.kaufmann@calgarysun.com] , CALGARY SUN
 
The mayor of Hiroshima singled out the U.S. as a major obstacle 
on the road to nuclear disarmament yesterday while speaking to 
Calgary high school students. Tadatoshi Akiba said the U.S. 
refusal to renounce nuclear weapons and its pursuit of war in the 
Mideast pose major threats to global peace and survival. 

"Among the official nuclear powers, the U.S. is the only country 
that publicly defends nuclear weapons," Akiba told students at 
Lester B. Pearson high school, 3020 52 Ave. N.E. 

"Even, India, said it would get rid of nuclear weapons if the 
U.S. did." 

While they fight to suppress uprisings in Iraq, U.S. leaders have 
voiced determination to develop a new generation of battlefield 
nuclear weapons. 

Akiba said U.S. consideration of using nuclear weapons during the 
Korean, Vietnam and Kosovo conflicts and the Cuban missile crisis 
show the devices remain a threat. 

"We must convince the U.S. government and people to adopt the 
principles (of peace) they claim to adhere to," he said. 

In 1945, the Japanese city of Hiroshima was devastated by an 
atomic bomb dropped by U.S. forces, killing more than 140,000 
people. 

Copyright © 2004, Sun Media Corporation / Netgraphe inc. All
*****************************************************************
 14 Globe and Mail: Future is nuclear   

[http://www.globeandmail.com]
  
By DONALD JONES Friday, April 23, 2004 - Page A18 

Mississauga -- Eric Reguly suggests that once we let electricity 
prices "rise to the point that conservation kicks in and new 
generating capacity is built," prices will fall (Ontario's Power 
Play Fails To Score -- April 22). As always, the devil is in the 
details, in this case the type of generating capacity. 

The private sector will be primarily interested in short-term 
profit, and this means that the new generating capacity will come 
from burning non-renewable natural gas. While this may be fine 
for the investors in the gas transmission and distribution 
industry and for the U.S. suppliers of the generating equipment, 
it will not be fine for the residents of Ontario, who will have 
to pay for this high-priced energy. 

Gas has an uncertain future in both cost and supply and we should 
not be betting Ontario's future on it. Has Mr. Reguly considered 
new nuclear? The unit-energy cost over the life of a nuclear 
plant is a lot less than that from a gas plant. Like it or not, 
Ontario's future will have to be with publicly owned nuclear 
generation.   

*****************************************************************
 15 Chinga Daily: Safeguarding energy supply 

 Zi Xiao  Updated: 2004-04-23 08:42 

An open and diversified strategy should be worked out to deal 
with the country's serious energy challenges. 

To meet the needs of China's rapid economic growth, energy 
consumption has skyrocketed. 

In 2003 the nation's total output of primary energy reached 1.6 
billion tons of standard coal - an increase of 49.53 per cent 
over 2000. Among the total output, coal yielded 1.66 billion 
tons, a 67.03 per cent growth over 2000. Meanwhile, import of 
petroleum witnessed an upsurge of 97 million tons, or 39.35 per 
cent more than in 2000. About one third of the country's 
petroleum need is dependent on import. 

Demand for electricity has also increased sharply. In 2003, China 
used 1,891 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, an increase of 
40.38 per cent over 2002. 

High consumption of energy supported the country's economic 
development, but the flip side of the phenomenal economic growth 
is a serious energy crunch. 

Excessive dependence on fossil fuels poses a threat to the 
sustainable supply of energy resources. 

Statistics indicate China's per capita exploitable reserve is 
much lower than the world average. For example, in 2000, the 
country's exploitable reserve of petroleum per capita was 2.6 
tons, natural gas 1,074 cubic metres and coal 90 tons. Those 
figures accounted for only 11.1 per cent, 4.3 per cent and 55.4 
per cent of the world average respectively. 

On the other hand, China's further economic development demands 
almost non-stop consumption of energy. Although the utilization 
ratio of energy could be raised for a large scale, it is a long 
and tough road to tap potential sources. 

China's dependence on energy for social and economic development 
is heavier than that of developed countries. In 2001, Chinese end 
users of energy spent 1.25 trillion yuan (US$151 billion) on 
energy consumption, accounting for 13 per cent of the country's 
GDP, compared to 7 per cent in the United States. And China's 
utilization ratio is lower than the global advanced level. 

Energy shortage and environmental pollution have put obstacles in 
the way of building a well-off society. For example, release of 
carbon dioxide has grown from 394 million tons in 1998 to 832 
million tons in 2001. Serious pollution has put a high price tag 
on economic and social development and threatened citizens' 
health. 

Energy safety, especially petroleum safety, has become a hot 
issue and attracted more and more attention. Since China became a 
net importer of petroleum in 1993, import of petroleum has 
rocketed from 7.6 per cent in 1995 to 31 per cent in 2000. It is 
expected that by 2020 the consumption of petroleum will reach 450 
million tons - about 60 per cent of which will be imported. 

How to make full use of markets and resources at home and abroad, 
how to set up emergency counter measures, how to participate in 
the international co-operation of petroleum use, and how to 
sharpen the competitive edge of China's petroleum enterprises 
have all become urgent questions. 

The ultimate goal of the country's energy strategy is to replace 
fossil fuels with recycled energy. To reach that goal, a 
harmonious development between society and economy must be 
pursued. The market should play a more important role in 
allocating energy resources than the government, and full use 
should be made of foreign resources. 

A strategy has been worked out which sets energy saving as the 
priority, makes the energy structure diversified, builds a 
friendly environment and lets the market play a role. 

It is estimated that if proper and effective measures are taken, 
by 2020 the country's total consumption of energy could be 
trimmed by 15-27 per cent, which means 1.04 billion tons of 
standard coal, worth 932 billion yuan (US$112 billion). 

Whether or not economic growth can continue with relatively low 
input of energy depends on how well potential reserves and energy 
conservation are managed. Meanwhile, energy savings are also 
important to safeguard the environment. 

By 2020 the industrial sector will reduce its consumption of 
primary energy to 56-58 per cent, while the transportation and 
construction sectors will increase their demands to 16-17 per 
cent and 25-26 per cent respectively. These major sectors should 
all be required to make efforts to save energy. 

For a long time, China's energy consumption has focused on coal. 
Optimizing the structure of energy consumption is important to 
diminish the total demands of energy. For example, as coal use 
decreases by 1 percentage point, the total demand for energy 
might be reduced by 20 million tons of coal. 

In this way, the country has made a decision to gradually shrink 
coal consumption, speed up the exploitation of natural gas, make 
full use of domestic and imported petroleum, and actively develop 
hydropower, nuclear power and recycled resources. It is expected 
to construct a diversified and optimized structure in 20 years. 

The environment has a close relationship with energy strategy and 
the techniques of energy supply. China's environment has been 
seriously polluted, and the poor utilization of energy has been a 
main cause of that problem. In the future, China should adjust 
its energy strategy to ease the pressure of environmental 
protection. 

China's reform in energy lags behind the progress of its economic 
reform. 

A unified energy management department, which could co-ordinate 
the development of different energy sectors and work out a 
comprehensive strategy of energy, needs to be established. 

The government should shift its function to safeguarding the 
country's energy safety and protecting the public interests and 
environment. 

And the pricing mechanism for energy resources should be reformed 
and decided by the market. 

(China Daily) 

[http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn
*****************************************************************
 16 PRAVDA.Ru: Forgotten victims of Chernobyl - 
 
  04/23/2004 18:06   
  
On the verge of another anniversary of the
Chernobyl disaster, which took place in now Kiev, Ukraine,
Chernobyl victims plan to participate in a national solidarity
demonstration. 

The demonstrators plan to make public their demands from an
acknowledged proposal signed by the president of "Union
Chernobyl of Ukraine" Yuri Andreev. The document states that the
recently adopted state budget-2004 does not guarantee even
elementary survival of Chernobyl victims. For instance,
Ukrainian government has given only $2,5 USD for ambulatory
treatment of one of the victims of the tragedy. 

In the meantime, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, 
94,5% of those who took part in liquidating the catastrophe (i.e. 
rescue workers, volunteers), are all considered ill. At the same 
time, significantly lower percentage (89,8%) of local residents 
who have been evacuated from the region have been diagnosed with 
illnesses connected to high radiation levels. 79,8% of children 
are also currently sick. Real numbers. However, the actual 
numbers appear to be even more frightening, since the overall 
accuracy of Ukrainian medical statistical analysis has been 
rather questionable in the past few years. 

"The Ministry also notes that indicators of mortality rate of
Chernobyl victims have drastically increased in recent years.
Mortality rate of the catastrophe liquidators is on the rise as
well. The highest death rate is among adults who live within the
radioactive territory." 

Health Ministry of Ukraine admits that this year's Ministry's 
budget does not allow it to aid all victims of the tragedy. As 
for the victims of Chernobyl, they are also interested in social 
problems as well as the medical ones. The above mentioned 
statement also reveals that today the government can afford only 
1 ticket to a sanatorium per 100 whoa re in need of such 
treatment. They are also promised housing "in 1000 years." 

Authorities however are getting ready for the upcoming 18th 
anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. Andrey Lubensky
 
Pravda.Ru   
    
  L1999-2002 "PRAVDA.Ru". When reproducing our materials in
*****************************************************************
 17 AP Wire: Summer Nuclear Station has license renewed

 | 04/23/2004 | 
 
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed 
the operating license of the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station for an 
additional 20 years. 

Plant operator South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. applied for the 
license renewal on Aug. 6, 2002. The renewal extends the license 
for the plant from Aug. 6, 2022, to Aug. 6, 2042. 

A final environmental impact statement issued by the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission in February found no environmental affects 
that would preclude license renewal. 

The Summer plant is 26 miles northwest of Columbia in a remote 
area of Fairfield County near Jenkinsville. It began commercial 
operation in 1984 and the NRC issued the plant's first license in 
1982.   

TheState.com | 
*****************************************************************
 18 Brattleboro Reformer: Group files for VY fuel to stay put

[http://www.reformer.com/]   

April 23, 2004 Brattleboro, VT                                                                                 
 			 								 					
By CAROLYN LORIÉ Reformer Staff

BRATTLEBORO — The New England Coalition, a Brattleboro-based 
nuclear watchdog group, filed a petition with the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission on Thursday calling for the immediate halt 
of fuel movement at Vermont Yankee. 

The petition was filed in response to Wednesday’s announcement 
that two highly radioactive fuel rod segments are missing from a 
container in the spent fuel pool. 

On Tuesday evening, an NRC on-site inspector ordered the canister 
opened and, although the lid was still on the container, the fuel 
was not inside. 

The coalition’s petition calls on the NRC to prohibit Vermont 
Yankee from moving any fuel anywhere within the plant, until 
officials there have accounted for the “location, disposition and 
condition of all irradiated fuel, including fuel currently loaded 
in the reactor core.” 

According to Ray Shadis, technical advisor to the coalition, NRC 
regulations allow citizens and organizations to file petitions 
regarding plant-specific safety concerns. 

Shadis said the coalition was concerned that the current search 
of the spent fuel pool may turn up rod segments, but that they 
may not be the ones from the canister. The coalition, he said, 
has “strong evidence” that other fuel rods in the pool have 
broken and the pieces may still be lying on the bottom of the 
pool. The information allegedly came from a former Vermont Yankee 
worker who said he learned about the broken rod around 1992. “We 
don’t want them to find a piece of spent fuel and declare it 
cleared up,” said Shadis. Because Vermont Yankee is in the 
process of refueling and moving significant amounts of fuel in a 
short amount of time, the coalition has asked the NRC to expedite 
the usual process of responding to a petition. 

Officials at Vermont Yankee declined to comment on the filing of 
the petition but spokesman Rob Williams said that the discovery 
that the material was missing would not affect the outage 
schedule. In a move unrelated to the coalition’s petition, the 
NRC announced on Thursday that it will conduct a special 
investigation at the plant. 

The commission did not specify what the investigation would 
entail, but Department of Public Safety Commissioner David 
O’Brien said he believed there would be three additional NRC 
personnel assigned to the plant. O’Brien spoke with NRC officials 
on Thursday, in a phone meeting that was scheduled prior to the 
announcement the fuel rod segments were missing. The meeting was 
originally set up to discuss the Public Service Board’s order 
requesting an independent engineering assessment at Vermont 
Yankee, to be conducted as part of the “uprate” review process. 
O’Brien said the board’s order became a secondary concern. “We 
were able to deliver very clearly what is on our minds, first and 
foremost getting to the bottom of the missing fuel,” said 
O’Brien. Once that was addressed, the commissioner said he 
pressed the NRC to respond to the board. “We don’t have an answer 
from them yet. But we told them that we expect something very 
soon and that whatever time frame they have in mind we want it 
quicker,” he said. State nuclear engineer Bill Sherman spent the 
day at the plant meeting with Yankee officials charged with 
conducting the search. 

In addition to searching the spent fuel pools with underwater 
cameras, plant officials will scour records, looking for traces 
of what might have happened to the material. 

One possibility, according to Neal Sheehan, NRC spokesman for 
Region 1, is that the segments were inadvertently shipped out 
with other waste and sent to a low-level waste site in South 
Carolina. According to Williams, the rod that the two segments 
were removed from was added to another assembly and is in the 
spent fuel pool. Many opponents of the uprate said that this 
latest development was indicative of the poor oversight provided 
by the NRC and the carelessness with which nuclear waste is 
handled. “The simple fact is that they are supposed to know where 
the fuel is,” said Shadis. 


       Copyright ©1999-2004 New England Newspapers, Inc., a 
*****************************************************************
 19 Xinhuanet: Russia invests in nuclear plant   

  www.xinhuanet.com

  www.chinaview.cn 2004-04-23 10:00:56   

    BEIJING, April 23 (Xinhuanet) -- A Russian nuclear electric 
power company plans to increase its investment in a Jiangsu 
Province nuclear power plant. 

    AtomStroyExport will contribute 40 percent of the investment 
of the second-phase construction. The 10 million kilowatt plant, 
which will be operated by a company from Jiangsu Province, will 
ease the power shortage in the region, company officials revealed 
yesterday. 

    As a practice of the power industry, those who contribute to 
the construction of a power plant could share its future revenue. 

    The firm, under the Ministry of the Russian Federation for 
Atomic Energy, invested in the first-phase construction, in 
coastal Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, for which it provided 
two 1-million kilowatt nuclear generators. 

    The first phase cost more than US$3 billion, in which the 
company and the Russian government contributed 60 percent 
investment in the form of loans and technology. The rest is 
provided by Chinese partners. 

    "China is a big market for our business with its demand for 
energy growing," said Dr Viktor Kozlov, senior vice president of 
the firm, in Shanghai yesterday. 

    The firm expects the contract to be sealed in the second half 
of this year, said Kozlov. 

    (Shanghai Daily news) 

  Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. 
*****************************************************************
 20 NRC: Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding
 
                         FR Doc E4-909 
[Federal Register: April 23, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 79)]
[Notices]               
[Page 22101-22102]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23ap04-123]                         
 
of 
No Significant Impact for License Amendment for University City
Science 
Center, Philadelphia, PA
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
ACTION: Notice of availability of Environmental Assessment and
Finding 
of No Significant Impact.
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
------
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sattar Lodhi, Nuclear Materials
Safety 
Branch 2, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I, 475
Allendale 
Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, 19406, telephone (610)
337-5364, 
fax (610) 337-5269, e-mail asl@nrc.gov [asl@nrc.gov] .
 
[[Page 22102]]
I. Introduction
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the
issuance 
of a license amendment to University City Science Center for
Materials 
License No. 37-17452-01, to authorize release of its facilities
in 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for unrestricted use and to
terminate the 
license. The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA)
in 
support of this action in accordance with the requirements of 10
CFR 
part 51. Based on the EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding
of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate. The amendment will be
issued 
following publication of this notice.
 
II. EA Summary
The purpose of the proposed action is to authorize the
release of 
the licensee's facilities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for 
unrestricted use. University City Science Center was authorized
by NRC 
from May 1977 to use radioactive materials for research and
development 
purposes at the site. In March 2003, University City Science
Center 
requested that NRC release the facility for unrestricted use and 
terminate the license. University City Science Center has
conducted 
surveys of the facility and determined that the facility meets
the 
license termination criteria in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20.
 
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The NRC has prepared the EA (summarized above) in support of
the 
proposed license amendment to terminate the license and release
the 
facility for unrestricted use. The NRC staff has evaluated
University 
City Science Center's request and the results of the surveys and
has 
concluded that the completed action complies with 10 CFR part
20. The 
staff has found that the environmental impacts from the proposed
action 
are bounded by the impacts evaluated by the ``Generic
Environmental 
Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on Radiological
Criteria for 
License Termination of NRC-Licensed Facilities'' (NUREG-1496).
 
On the 
basis of the EA, NRC has concluded that the environmental
impacts from 
the proposed action are expected to be insignificant and has
determined 
not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the
proposed 
action.
 
IV. Further Information
The EA and the documents related to this proposed action,
including 
the application for the license amendment and supporting
documentation, 
are available for inspection at NRC's Public Electronic Reading
Room at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html
[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving
FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html]
(ADAMS Accession Nos. 
ML030860181, ML032520675 and ML041040751). Persons who do not
have 
access to ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by 
telephone at (800) 397-4209 or (301) 415-4737, or by e-mail to

 
pdr@nrc.gov [ pdr@nrc.gov] .
Dated at King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, this 15th day of
April, 
2004.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
John D. Kinneman,
Chief, Nuclear Materials Safety Branch 2, Division of Nuclear
Materials 
Safety, Region I.
 
[FR Doc. E4-909 Filed 4-22-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 21 NRC: Finding of No Significant Impact and Notice of Availability of 
 
                         FR Doc E4-910 
[Federal Register: April 23, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 79)]
[Notices]               
[Page 22100-22101]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23ap04-122]                         
 
the Environmental Assessment Addressing A License Amendment
Request To 
Approve Rio Algom Mining Llc's Application for Alternate
Concentration 
Limits At Its Lisbon Uranium Mill Tailings Impoundment Located
in San 
Juan County, UT
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
ACTION: Notice of availability of an environmental assessment
and 
finding of no significant impact.
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
------
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Caverly, Fuel Cycle
Facilities 
Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of
Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, 
Mail Stop T8-A33, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone (301)
415-6699 
and e-mail jsc1@nrc.gov [jsc1@nrc.gov] .
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering
the 
issuance of an amendment to Rio Algom Mining LLC's (Rio Algom)
Source 
Materials License SUA-1119. The proposed action would revise 
groundwater protection standards from background to alternate 
concentration limits (ACL) at its Lisbon Uranium Mill Tailings 
Impoundment located in San Juan County, Utah. The licensee's 
application for ACLs was made pursuant to 10 CFR part 40,
Appendix A, 
Criterion 5 B(6), by letter dated May 22, 2002, as revised by 
additional information sent, at the staffs request, on January
7, 2004, 
January 12, 2004, and February 19, 2004. This request was
previously 
noticed in the Federal Register on July 24, 2002 (67FR48495),
with an 
opportunity to provide written comments or to request a hearing.
 
Pursuant to the requirements of 10 CFR Part 51,
Environmental 
Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related
Regulatory 
Functions, the NRC has prepared an environmental assessment (EA)
to 
evaluate the environmental impacts associated with this request.
 
Based 
on this evaluation, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No 
Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate for the proposed
licensing 
action.
 
II. EA Summary
The EA was prepared to evaluate the environmental impacts 
associated with Rio Algom's application for ACLs for groundwater
at its 
Lisbon uranium mill facility. Approving this action will result
in the 
cessation of active groundwater remediation (pump and treat),
allowing 
groundwater contamination at the site to migrate and naturally
degrade 
over time and distance. ACLs for this groundwater will be
protective at 
the site boundary. In addition, a post-remediation groundwater 
monitoring program will assure that protection of human health
and the 
environment is maintained.
 
As indicated in the ACL application and the response to the
staff's 
request for additional information (RAI), Rio Algom proposes the 
following revised standards (ACL) at the Point of Compliance 
(monitoring location):
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
Arsenic  (mg/
Molybdenum    Selenium  (mg/   Uranium  (mg/
Aquifer                            L)      
(mg/L)            L)              L)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
Southern........................................            3.06
23.34            0.93           96.87
Northern........................................            2.63
58.43            0.10          101.58
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
Rio Algom asserts that it has met the Federal requirements
under 10 
CFR part 40, Appendix A, Criterion 5 for ACLs. It has included
fate and 
transport modeling to demonstrate that groundwater contaminant
levels 
will degrade to acceptable levels prior to migrating to the
point of 
exposure (POE), i.e., property boundary. At this point, an
exposure 
assessment indicates that the human dose from all viable
pathways will 
not exceed the criteria in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 (25
mrem/year). 
Additionally, a corrective action assessment indicates that the
ACL 
approach is the only economical alternative that will be
protective of 
human health and the environment.
 
The NRC staff has reviewed this request in accordance with
the 
requirements under 10 CFR part 40,
 
[[Page 22101]]
Appendix A, Criterion 5 and NRC guidance NUREG-1620 Rev 1,
``Standard 
Review Plan for Review of a Reclamation Plan for Mill Tailings
Sites 
Under Title II of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control
Act of 
1978.''
Groundwater flow and transport modeling from Rio Algom
estimates 
that only uranium will migrate past the property boundary above 
background levels for the above stated constitutents during the
1,000 
year compliance period. The maximum estimated uranium
concentration in 
the groundwater will be 0.32 mg/L at the property boundary. Rio
Algom 
has included flow and transport modeling to demonstrate that 
groundwater contaminant levels will degrade to acceptable levels
prior 
to migrating to the POE, i.e, the property boundary.
Based on groundwater fate and transport modeling, water
quality and 
use will not be impacted by the proposed action because the
State of 
Utah has determined that the aquifer can be classified as a
Class III, 
Limited Use Groundwater Aquifer under Utah Administrative Code
R317-6-
3.6, due to the background concentrations found in License
Conditions 
53B and 53C. This characterization was confirmed in a letter
from the 
State of Utah to the U.S. NRC dated January 12, 2004. Modeling 
indicates that of the hazardous constituents in the groundwater 
contaminant plume (arsenic, selenium, molybdenum, and uranium)
only 
uranium will migrate past the long-term care boundary. It is
estimated 
that the uranium plume will intersect the boundary in
approximately 500 
to 1000 years but will be at levels consistent with the class of
use 
and will not present a significant risk to human health or the 
environment. The long-term groundwater monitoring program will
monitor 
levels within the plume and downgradient of the plume to assure 
protection of human health and the environment to confirm that
model 
predictions are correct.
 
The State of Utah also indicated in an e-mail dated January
13, 
2004, that the proposed ACL approach satisfies Utah State Rule
R317-6-
15 and will meet the requirements of a Class III-limited Use
Aquifer. 
The ACL will be an acceptable corrective action if the uranium 
groundwater concentrations at the POE do not exceed a human dose
of 25 
mrem/year (10 CFR part 20, subpart E). Therefore, performing an 
exposure assessment at the POE conforms with guidance in
NUREG-1620, 
section 4.3.3.2 which states that ``exposure pathways should be 
identified and evaluated using water classification and water
use 
standards, along with existing and anticipated water uses.''
The results of Rio Algom's exposure assessment (including
its 
bounding analyses) and the NRC staff's confirmatory analysis
indicate 
that the dose to the critical group, i.e., the offsite rancher,
at the 
POE from site-generated uranium should not exceed 25 mrem/year,
which 
conforms to the NRC criteria for unrestricted release of sites
with 
residual radioactivity in 10 CFR part 20.1402.
Rio Algom conducted a corrective action assessment to
identify 
potential remedial alternatives for the restoration of site 
groundwater, and to determine the costs and benefits associated
with 
various remedial actions. Rio Algom believes that the only
economically 
viable alternative is natural attenuation because the cost
benefit 
ratios associated with active remedial alternatives are far too
great 
to justify their implementation. Additionally, Rio Algom
believes that 
the proposed action is necessary because it is technically 
impracticable and economically infeasible to remediate the
groundwater 
to the background levels required by its License Condition 53.
 
The NRC 
staff has reviewed and agrees with these conclusions.
 
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
Pursuant to 10 CFR part 51, the NRC has prepared the EA,
summarized 
above. The staff has determined that no significant
environmental 
impacts are expected when groundwater pump and treat programs
are 
terminated. There will be no significant impacts to the surface 
features and therefore, no effect on wildlife.
 
Constituents in the groundwater will migrate off site but
will not 
pose any significant impact to the environment because
attenuation of 
the constituents will be at levels that are consistent with the
aquifer 
class of use as designated by the State of Utah. A dose model
verified 
that the constituents in the groundwater will not cause
additional risk 
to human health or the environment.
 
The proposed NRC approval of the action when combined with
known 
effects on resource areas at the site, including further site 
remediation, is not anticipated to result in any cumulative
impacts at 
the sites. Therefore, the NRC staff has concluded that there
will be no 
significant environmental impacts on the quality of the human 
environment and, accordingly, the staff has determined that
preparation 
of an Environmental Impact Statement is not warranted.
 
IV. Further Information
The EA for this proposed action, as well as the licensee's
request, 
as supplemented and revised, are available electronically for
public 
inspection and copying from the Publicly Available Records
(PARS) 
component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible
from 
the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html
[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving
FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html]
. The ADAMS 
Accession Numbers for the licensee's request, as supplemented
and 
revised, are: ML021710023, ML021710056, ML021710083,
ML021710139, 
ML021710181, ML021710189, ML021710450, ML021710605, and
ML021750010. 
The ADAMS Accession number for the EA is ML040990712. Most of
the 
documents referenced in the EA are also available through ADAMS. 
Documents can also be viewed electronically on the public
computers 
located at the NRC's Public Document Room, O1 F21, One White
Flint 
North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR
reproduction 
contractor will copy documents for a fee. Persons who do not
have 
access to ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by 
telephone at l-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to

 
pdr@nrc.gov [ pdr@nrc.gov] .
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 12th day of April, 2004.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Jill Caverly,
Project Manager, Fuel Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel
Cycle 
Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards.
 
[FR Doc. E4-910 Filed 4-22-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 22 NRC: Appointments to Performance Review Boards for Senior Executive 
 
                         FR Doc E4-911 
[Federal Register: April 23, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 79)] 
[Notices] [Page 22102] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr23ap04-124]                         
 
Service AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
ACTION: Appointment to Performance Review Boards for Senior 
Executive Service.
 
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has 
announced the following appointments to the NRC Performance 
Review Boards.
 
The following individuals are appointed as members of the NRC 
Performance Review Board (PRB) responsible for making 
recommendations to the appointing and awarding authorities on 
performance appraisal ratings and performance awards for Senior 
Executives and Senior Level employees: Patricia G. Norry, Deputy 
Executive Director for Management Services, Office of the 
Executive Director for Operations; Edward T. Baker, Deputy 
Director, Office of International Programs; Stephen G. Burns, 
Deputy General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel; James E. 
Dyer, Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation; Jesse L. 
Funches, Chief Financial Officer; William F. Kane, Deputy 
Executive Director for Homeland Protection and Preparedness, 
Office of the Executive Director for Operations; Bruce S. 
Mallett, Regional Administrator, Region IV; Jacqueline E. Silber, 
Deputy Chief Information Officer; Jack R. Strosnider, Deputy 
Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research; Martin J. 
Virgilio, Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and 
Safeguards; Michael F. Weber, Deputy Director, Office of Nuclear 
Security and Incident Response.
 
The following individuals will serve as members of the NRC PRB 
Panel that was established to review appraisals and make 
recommendations to the appointing and awarding authorities for 
NRC PRB members: Karen D. Cyr, General Counsel, Office of the 
General Counsel; Ellis W. Merschoff, Chief Information Officer; 
Carl J. Paperiello, Deputy Executive Director for Materials, 
Research, and State Programs, Office of the Executive Director 
for Operations.
 
All appointments are made pursuant to section 4314 of chapter 43 
of title 5 of the United States Code.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 23, 2004.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Secretary, Executive Resources 
Board, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; 
(301) 415- 7530.
 
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of April, 2004.
 
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Carolyn J. Swanson, 
Secretary, Executive Resources Board.
 
[FR Doc. E4-911 Filed 4-22-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 23 NRC: Louisiana Energy Services, L.P.; Establishment of Atomic Safety 
 
                         FR Doc E4-912 
[Federal Register: April 23, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 79)] 
[Notices] [Page 22100] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr23ap04-121] [[Page 22100]]
 
and Licensing Board Pursuant to delegation by the Commission 
dated December 29, 1972, published in the Federal Register, 37 FR 
28710 (1972), and the Commission's regulations, see 10 CFR 2.104, 
2.300, 2.303, 2.309, 2.311, 2.318, and 2.321, notice is hereby 
given that an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board is being 
established to preside over the following proceeding: Louisiana 
Energy Services, L.P. (National Enrichment Facility) The 
Licensing Board is being established pursuant to a January 30, 
2004, notice of hearing (CLI-04-08, 59 NRC 10(2004); (69 FR 5873 
(Feb. 6, 2004))). The hearing will consider (1) a December 15, 
2003, license application submitted by Louisiana Energy Services, 
L.P., to possess and use source, byproduct, and special nuclear 
material and to enrich natural uranium to a maximum of five 
percent U-235 by the gas centrifuge process at a facility located 
in Eunice, New Mexico, and (2) intervention petitions contesting 
the application submitted by the New Mexico Environment 
Department and the Attorney General of New Mexico on March 23, 
2004, and April 5, 2004, respectively.
 
The Board is comprised of the following administrative judges: G. 
Paul Bollwerk, III, Chair, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 
Panel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; Dr. Paul B. Abramson, Atomic Safety and Licensing 
Board Panel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; Dr. Charles N. Kelber, Atomic Safety and Licensing 
Board Panel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.
 
All correspondence, documents, and other materials shall be filed 
with the administrative judges in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. 
Issued in Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of April, 2004.
 
G. Paul Bollwerk, III, Chief Administrative Judge, Atomic Safety 
and Licensing Board Panel.
 
[FR Doc. E4-912 Filed 4-22-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 24 NRC: [Docket No. 50-346-CO; ASLBP No. 04-825-01-CO]
 
                         FR Doc E4-913 
[Federal Register: April 23, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 79)] 
[Notices] [Page 22099] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr23ap04-120]                         
 
Establishment of Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Pursuant to 
delegation by the Commission dated December 29, 1972, published 
in the Federal Register, 37 FR 28710 (1972), and the Commission's 
regulations, see 10 CFR 2.104, 2.300, 2.303, 2.309, 2.311, 2.318, 
and 2.321, notice is hereby given that an Atomic Safety and 
Licensing Board is being established to preside over the 
following proceeding: FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company 
(Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1) The Licensing Board 
is being established pursuant to a March 8, 2004, notice of 
opportunity for hearing published in the Federal Register (69 FR 
12357 (Mar. 16, 2004)), regarding an immediately effective 
confirmatory order modifying the 10 CFR part 50 operating license 
for the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1, to address 
performance deficiencies relating to the March 2002 discovery of 
a corrosion-induced cavity in the Davis-Besse Unit 1 reactor 
pressure vessel. In response to that notice, on March 29, 2004, 
Michael Keegan, Joanne DiRando, Paul Gunter, and Donna Lueke 
submitted objections to the confirmatory order that are the 
subject of this proceeding.
 
The Board is comprised of the following administrative judges: G. 
Paul Bollwerk, III, Chair, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 
Panel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; Dr. Charles N. Kelber, Atomic Safety and Licensing 
Board Panel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001; Dr. Peter S. Lam, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 
Panel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001.
 
All correspondence, documents, and other materials shall be filed 
with the administrative judges in accordance with 10 CFR 2.302. 
Issued in Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of April, 2004.
 
G. Paul Bollwerk, III, Chief Administrative Judge, Atomic Safety 
and Licensing Board Panel.
 
[FR Doc. E4-913 Filed 4-22-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 25 Brattleboro Reformer: A chronology of events (VY)
 
   [http://www.reformer.com/]   

April 23, 2004 Brattleboro, VT                                                                                 
 			 								 					
February 2003: Entergy Nuclear applies to the Public Service 
Board for a certificate of public good to modify the plant. The 
modifications are necessary in order to increase power output by 
20 percent. Title 30, section 248 of Vermont Law requires that 
electricity-producing plants must receive a certificate of public 
good prior to make any physical changes.

 June, September and October 2003: Technical hearings before the 
Public Service Board.

 September 2002: Entergy Nuclear files a request with the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission to amend the plant's operating license to 
increase power production by 20 percent or 110 megawatts. A 20 
percent increase, known as an extended power uprate, is the 
maximum allowed by the NRC. 

October 2003: Entergy Nuclear sanctioned by the Public Service 
Board for not cooperating with the discovery process. New England 
Coalition awarded $51,000 and given more time to review 
documents.

 November 2003: Entergy Nuclear and Department of Public Service 
reach an agreement in which Entergy agrees to set aside $4.5 
million for ratepayer protection against uprate related outages; 
$2.7 million for crisis assistance to lower income residents; 
$7.8 million to the "Clean and Clear Water Initiative," most of 
which was slated for Lake Champlain. In the Public Service Board 
order of March 15, all the money, except for the $4.5 million for 
ratepayer protection, was directed to the state's general fund.

 January 2004: Technical hearings concluded. Entergy completes 
its uprate application to the NRC.

 March 15: Public Service Board grants Entergy a conditional 
certificate of public good. Among the imposed conditions is an 
independent engineering assessment to be done by the NRC. The 
board retains jurisdiction over the case until all the conditions 
are met.

 February 27: U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy and Jim Jeffords write to 
the NRC, requesting that the commission hold public meetings 
concerning the uprate.

 March 16: The State Senate unanimously passes a resolution 
supporting the board's order and also calling on the NRC to 
conduct additional safety inspections.

 March 29: William Travers, executive director of the NRC, writes 
a letter to Leahy and Jeffords. The letter states that a public 
meeting regarding the uprate will take place on March 31. It also 
states that the commission does not plan to augment its uprate 
review process. The letter is perceived as rejecting the board's 
request for an independent engineering assessment, prompting a 
long list of public officials to contact the NRC and advocate for 
increased scrutiny of the plant.

 March 25: The New England Coalition files a motion for 
reconsideration with the Public Service Board. Among the points 
the group asks the board to reconsider are the increased costs of 
decommissioning if the uprate is approved; the use of biocides in 
the plant's cooling tower; the risk of outages associated with 
uprate. Vermont Yankee also files a motion with the board, asking 
it to amend three points in its order. The company asked that the 
board allow only 21 of the 22 fans to have 200 horsepower 
installed; that the installation of the fans take place in the 
summer of 2005 or 2006, instead of before the uprate; that the 
plant shut down at a rate of no more than 10 percent per minute 
in the event of an accident versus the board's requirement of at 
least 10 percent per minute. Vermont Yankee does not object to 
the independent engineering assessment. The board has not 
responded to the motions.

 March 31: Public meeting on the uprate held in the Vernon 
Elementary School. The contentious meeting is attended by more 
than 500 people. The NRC announces that its letter to Jeffords 
and Leahy was not its official response to the board's request. 
The commission said it had not yet decided if it would intensify 
its uprate review process. Also at the meeting, New England 
Coalition expert witness Arnie Gundersen accuses Entergy Nuclear, 
General Electric Corporation and the NRC of colluding to skirt 
safety concerns in order to push the uprate through. The related 
documents are handed over to the staffs of Sens. Leahy and 
Jeffords. A formal allegation is filed with the NRC Office of the 
Inspector General. At a Vermont State Nuclear Advisory Panel 
meeting, the panel unanimously votes to support the board's 
request for an independent engineering assessment.

 April 7: The Vermont House of Representatives passes a 
resolution 69 to 54 supporting the board's request for an 
independent engineering assessment.

 April 15: The New Hampshire State Senate passes a resolution 
calling on the NRC to increase its safety inspections of Vermont 
Yankee, prior to the uprate.

 April 16: Entergy announces that cracks were discovered in the 
plant's steam dryer, which is used to remove moisture from the 
steam produced by the reactor.

 April 21: Entergy announces that two segments of highly 
radioactive fuel rods are missing from the spent fuel pool. The 
material was placed in a special container in 1979, because the 
cladding around it was damaged. The container was opened at the 
request of the NRC on-site inspector.                           
 		   			 		   	 	
       Copyright ©1999-2004 New England Newspapers, Inc., a 
*****************************************************************
 26 The Advocate: Millstone nuclear plant provides precedent for Vermont Yankee
 	 	 	
Associated Press
 	 	
April 23, 2004

MONTPELIER, Vt. --              Only once before has a nuclear 
facility lost used nuclear fuel. It was never found.

 As engineers at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant search 
for two pencil-sized pieces of highly radioactive fuel rods, they 
will be following the model set by Connecticut's Millstone Unit 1 
in its long, expensive and eventually unsuccessful search for two 
fuel rods determined to be missing in 2000.

 "Millstone was the first time where we saw a situation where 
they could not account for spent fuel rods or spent fuel 
material," says Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission.

 An initial search of the spent fuel pool at the Vermont Yankee 
plant failed to find any evidence of the missing pieces of the 
fuel rod, Vermont Yankee spokesman Rob Williams said Friday.

 Engineers are now trying to determine what kind of camera should 
be used to search under the other spent fuel assemblies hanging 
in the water and how that search should be conducted, Williams 
said.

 "It's going to going to be very meticulous. We want to be able 
to say with certainty whether the rods are or are not in the 
pool," Williams said.

 Vermont Yankee is the second - and if Millstone is any example, 
Vermont Yankee's probe could cost $10 million, take a year or 
more, and end up with mere guesses as to what happened.

 Williams also said that officials from Millstone were helping 
Vermont Yankee with their search for the missing rods.

 The best guess was that a contractor brought into the Millstone 
nuclear plant in 1979 to cut up irradiated hardware mistakenly 
cut up the two rods and sent them to a low-level waste burial 
site. That contractor, said an NRC report, had "limited 
experience in identifying reactor components" and that 
"supervision of the contract workers by licensee personnel was 
not very rigorous."

 Eventually, in 2002, the NRC fined Millstone $288,000 for its 
lapse and issued a stinging rebuke.

 "Notwithstanding the fact that there was no realistic threat, 
past or present to the public health and safety, the loss of 
highly radioactive fuel rods is unprecedented and is a very 
significant violation," NRC Region I Administrator Hubert Miller 
said when the fine was announced.

 The commission tripled its usual fine because of the 
"unprecedented nature of the loss of highly radioactive material 
and to further emphasize the importance of adequate accounting of 
irradiated fuel at nuclear power station," said Miller.

 The missing fuel rods at Milestone first came to light in June 
2000 during an inventory of the spent fuel pool.

 "Inventory cards indicated that the rods should be located in 
the spent fuel pool, however, the licensee determined the rods 
were not in the specified location," wrote the NRC in its final 
report. "Initially the licensee considered the discrepancy to be 
a problem of failure to update records to reflect the actual 
location of the two spent fuel rods, and searched for the rods in 
the Unit 1 spent fuel pool."

 When the rods did not turn up, the Millstone operators wrote a 
report in November and notified the NRC Operations Center in 
December. The NRC would later criticize the operators for waiting 
so long to report the missing fuel.

 Eventually Millstone had 25 plant workers working full-time in 
an investigation that ran through October 2001.

 "The initial focus was on the spent fuel pool," said Sheehan. 
"They went over it with a fine-tooth comb and then they branched 
out. Every avenue that could have been pursued was pursued."

 Millstone engineers developed 75 scenarios and discarded 12 as 
implausible. Of the remaining, "12 scenarios were investigated 
fully.... Ten scenarios were addressed through one or more 
specific confirmatory investigative actions, and 41 scenarios 
were addressed through physical searches conducted in the 
Millstone 1 spent fuel pool or elsewhere on the Millstone 
Station," an NRC report said.

 In October of 2001, Millstone reported to the NRC that the plant 
believed the "fuel rods were safely located in a facility that is 
licensed to either store or dispose of radioactive material." The 
most likely site, the operators said, was a low-level radioactive 
waste facility at Barnwell, S.C.

 But no one could be sure.

 The two fuel rods had arrived at Millstone in 1969 as part of 
the first core loading when the plant was first fired up. 
Problems in 1972 prompted operators to take apart the fuel bundle 
and when it was reassembled two years later, the two rods in 
question were determined to be damaged and were placed in a 
special container and stored in the spent fuel pool.

 Records show that the rods were in the container in 1979 and 
1980 but they are not mentioned in any documents after that date.

 By a process of elimination and after considering all of the 
documents, the investigators concluded it was most likely the 
rods were mistakenly cut up in 1979 and sent to South Carolina.

 It was 20 years, though, before they were discovered to be 
missing.

 	Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press 	 
            	 		 	 	   
© 2004, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. All rights 
*****************************************************************
 27 Boston.com: Vt. nuclear fuel rods missing; items unaccounted for since '79
 
By Associated Press  |  April 23, 2004 

MONTPELIER -- Two missing pieces of a highly radioactive nuclear 
fuel rod may have been lost in 1979 and may never be found, 
officials said yesterday. 

Engineers at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant discovered 
the pieces were missing this week when they looked inside the 
stainless steel container that documents showed housed them. 

"They weren't there," said Rob Williams, spokesman for Entergy 
Nuclear, which owns Vermont Yankee. 

The last time the pieces can be accounted for was in 1979 when 
they were pulled from the Vermont Yankee atomic reactor. At the 
time they were part of a 12-foot-long tube that was filled with 
enriched uranium pellets. The zirconium tube, though, had 
developed holes and was leaking; it is possible that the pieces 
were cut off for testing to determine why or simply broke off the 
main tube. 

At that point, documents show, the pieces -- one the size of a 
pencil and the other pencil-thin and about 17 inches long -- were 
supposedly placed in a specially designed container and placed in 
the 40-foot-deep pool at the plant used to store used fuel rods. 

Williams said an inspector for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
suggested this week that engineers make sure the pieces were 
there. The inventory was in response to the discovery four years 
ago that two fuel rods were missing from Connecticut's Milestone 
Unit 1 nuclear plant. Those fuel rods were never found. 

Engineers for Vermont Yankee and inspectors for the NRC have 
launched an investigation to find the missing pieces, which are 
highly radioactive and would be fatal to anyone who came in 
contact with them. 

NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said the agency did not believe "there 
is a threat to the public at this point." He said the most likely 
options are that the pieces are still in the fuel pool or had 
been sent to a testing laboratory or a low-level nuclear waste 
disposal facility. 

The NRC issued a statement saying the incident "does not pose a 
threat to public health and safety as it is highly unlikely that 
the material is in the public domain. Given the extensive array 
of radiation detectors at the site, it is very probable that the 
potentially missing fuel fragments are in a location designed to 
deal with radioactive waste," the NRC said. 

But US Representative Ed Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, a 
critic of the nuclear industry, said the missing fuel at Vermont 
Yankee was especially troubling coming on the heels of the 
missing Millstone fuel rods. 

"If nuclear reactor operators are not maintaining strong controls 
over nuclear materials, and are unable to account for their 
location, how can the public be assured that these sensitive and 
potentially dangerous materials are not falling into the wrong 
hands?" he wrote in a letter to the NRC chairman, Nils J. Diaz. 

Governor James Douglas said he was troubled by the announcement. 

"Vermonters, and I among them, have lost some confidence in the 
operation of the nuclear power plant at Vernon," he said. The 
announcement comes as Vermont Yankee is seeking to increase its 
output by 20 percent. [ title=]  © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper 
Company.
*****************************************************************
 28 NRC: NRC to Conduct a Special Inspection at Vermont Yankee to Look into Potentially
                   Missing Spent Fuel Segments

News Release - Region I - 2004-02
 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Office of Public Affairs, Region I
  No. I-04-023   		        April 22, 2004   
  CONTACT:     Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330
 		Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331   		   E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov
[opa1@nrc.gov]   
  


The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has initiated a special
inspection at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to look
into potentially missing spent fuel segments at the facility.
The plant, which is operated by Entergy Nuclear, is located in
Vernon, Vt. 

NRC Resident Inspectors, while performing a spent fuel pool
accountability inspection, questioned plant officials regarding
aspects of their procedures for the verification of older fuel
assemblies. 

Vermont Yankee formally notified the NRC yesterday that two
short spent fuel rod segments were not in the spent fuel pool in
the location specified in documents. The segments are described
as about 7 inches long and 17 inches long. Both are
approximately the diameter of a pencil. These segments had been
placed in a special container at the bottom of the spent fuel
pool in 1980. The company has also told the agency it will
undertake a comprehensive search of the pool and perform a
records review in an effort to determine the location of the
missing segments. 

NRCs Resident Inspectors at Vermont Yankee have been closely
following the companys efforts through onsite inspection. NRC
officials in the Region I office in King of Prussia, Pa., and at
its headquarters in Rockville, Md., have also been following
this issue closely. 

This situation does not pose a threat to public health and
safety as it is highly unlikely that the material is in the
public domain. Given the extensive array of radiation detectors
at the site, it is very probable that the potentially missing
fuel fragments are in a location designed to deal with
radioactive waste. If they were removed from the site, this
could only have occurred in heavily shielded, sealed containers
directed to other controlled, safe locations. 

The NRC has been, and will continue to be, in contact with the
State of Vermont and other officials to keep them apprised of
the situation and our inspections.   



  


 	Last revised Thursday, April 22, 2004 	   
*****************************************************************
 29 NRC: NRC to Meet with Exelon Generation Company to Discuss Performance of Quad Cities
                          Nuclear Plant
News Release - Region III - 2004-02
 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Office of Public Affairs, Region III
  No. III-04-025           April 22, 2004   
  CONTACT:     Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663
 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662     E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov
[opa3@nrc.gov]   
  


The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with
representatives of Exelon Generation Company on Tuesday, April
27, to discuss the results of the agency's assessment of safety
performance at the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Plant during 2003.
The facility, which has two reactor units, is located at
Cordova, Illinois. 

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Best Western
Steeplegate Inn, 100 West 76th Street, Davenport, Iowa. 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. In addition, the NRC staff will
provide an overview of how the agency's Reactor Oversight
Process works. 

The NRC has concluded that the plant operated safely last year,
and plant performance does not require additional inspections
beyond the normal inspection program. All NRC inspection
findings during 2003 were of very low safety significance, and
safety performance data showed no issues requiring additional
NRC review. 

Routine inspections are performed by the two NRC resident
inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists
from the NRC's Region III office in Lisle, Illinois. 

In its assessment, the NRC noted that the company had undertaken
a number of human performance initiatives during 2003 which had
resulted in a decline in human performance errors from the
previous year. 

Two issues which continue to affect plant performance are
equipment deficiencies resulting from power capacity increases
of 17.8 percent which were implemented in 2002 and the
collective radiation exposure to plant workers, which is among
the highest of all nuclear plants in the country. While the
radiation exposures have been within regulatory limits, the
utility is taking actions to reduce the radiation levels within
the plant. The NRC is continuing to monitor the utility's
response to these two issues. 

A March 4 letter from the NRC to Exelon officials addresses the
performance of the plant during 2003 and will serve as the basis
for the meeting discussion. It is available at:
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/quad_2003q4.pdf
[PDF Icon] . 

With regard to 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
during 2004. 

Current performance indicators and inspection findings for the
Quad Cities plant are available on the NRC web site at: (Unit 1)
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/QUAD1/quad1_chart.html
and (Unit 2) http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/A
SSESS/QUAD2/quad2_chart.html.   



  


 	Last revised Thursday, April 22, 2004 	   
*****************************************************************
 30 NRC: NRC Issues Letter on Performance Improvement Plans for Point Beach Nuclear Power
                             Station
News Release - Region III - 2004-02
 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Office of Public Affairs, Region III
  No. III-04-026           April 23, 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 has issued a letter to
Nuclear Management Company, confirming the company's plans to
improve performance at the Point Beach Nuclear Power Station.
The facility, which has two reactor units, is located near Two
Rivers, Wisconsin. 

The letter, called a Confirmatory Action Letter, documents
Nuclear Management's plans and discusses how the NRC will
monitor the improvement activities. 

The plant is under heightened NRC oversight because of safety
problems which occurred at the plant in 2001 and 2002. These
problems, which would have affected the operation of a plant
safety system, the auxiliary feedwater system, under certain
accident conditions, were determined to be of "high safety
significance" by the agency. The specific equipment problems
have been corrected. 

The auxiliary feedwater system is used to safely cool the
reactor if problems occur during plant operations and to
continue removing heat from the reactor after shutdown. 

In February the company submitted its plans to improve
performance at the plant and supplemented those plans on March
22. These plans address improvement activities for human
performance, engineering design control, communications between
the engineering and operating staffs, emergency preparedness,
and the corrective action program -- how the company finds,
evaluates, and fixes problems. 

To monitor the progress and effectiveness of Nuclear
Management's improvement programs, the NRC will conduct periodic
inspections in addition to normal oversight activities and hold
public meetings with the company approximately every six weeks.
These inspections will cover engineering design activities,
review the corrective action program, and evaluate the progress
of the companys improvement initiatives. 

The Confirmatory Action Letter will be available in the NRC's
online document system at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html [use accession number
ML041130468] and from the Region III Office of Public Affairs.   



  


 	Last revised Friday, April 23, 2004 	   
*****************************************************************
 31 NRC: NRC Renews License for Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Unit 1, for an Additional 20 Years
 
News Release - 2004-04
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION   
  Office of Public Affairs     Telephone: 301/415-8200   
  Washington, DC 20555-0001     E-mail: opa@nrc.gov
  No. 04-047     April 23, 2004   
  


The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating
license of the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Unit 1, located
in Fairfield County, S.C., for an additional 20 years. The plant
is operated by South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G). 

SCE&G submitted its license renewal application to the NRC on
August 6, 2002. The renewal extends the license for Virgil C.
Summer Nuclear Station, Unit 1, from August 6, 2022, to August
6, 2042. 

The NRCs environmental review is described in a site-specific
supplement to the NRCs Generic Environmental Impact Statement
for License Renewal of Nuclear Power Plants," (NUREG-1437,
Supplement 15). In the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement, issued in February 2004, the staff concluded that
there were no impacts that would preclude renewal of the license
for environmental reasons. Two public meetings to discuss the
environmental review were held near the plant on December 11,
2002, and August 26, 2003. 

In its Safety Evaluation Report Related to the License Renewal
of Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station, Unit 1, issued in March
2004, the NRC staff concluded that there were no safety concerns
that would preclude license renewal, because the licensee had
demonstrated the capability to manage the effects of plant
aging. In addition, the NRC conducted inspections of the plants
to verify information submitted by the licensee. The Safety
Evaluation Report is available on the NRC Web site at this
address:
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applicati
ons/summer.html. 

On March 17, 2004, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards
-- an independent body of technical experts which advises the
Commission -- issued its recommendation that the operating
license for the plant be renewed. That recommendation is
contained in "Report on the Safety Aspects of the License
Renewal Application for the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Station,
Unit 1." A copy of this document is available on the NRC Web
site at this address:
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acrs/letters/2004/5
102067.pdf [PDF Icon] . 

The Virgil C. Summer license renewal brings the total number of
renewals to 25 units. A complete listing of completed renewal
applications, as well as those currently under review, can be
found on the NRCs Web site at this address: 
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applicati
ons.html.   



  


 	Last revised Friday, April 23, 2004 	   
*****************************************************************
 32 [RADFOOD] Help Protect Your Right to Know!
 
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 02:27:31 -0500 (CDT)

 
*ACTION ALERT! URGE YOUR SENATORS TO PROTECT RIGHT TO KNOW! The Child
Nutrition Act Reauthorization process is currently underway, and is a
great opportunity to place restrictions on the use of irradiated meat in
the National School Lunch Program.  Fortunately, a provision in the
House version of the bill contains several important aspects.  It states
that the USDA cannot mandate the use of irradiated foods or provide
financial incentives for schools to serve irradiated food, the
irradiated products cannot be mixed with non-irradiated products, and
schools will be encouraged to always offer a non-irradiated option.
This provision is a huge step in the right direction, but doesn't go
quite far enough.  Currently irradiated food does not have to be labeled
when served in schools. This is a blatant violation of parents'
right-to-know and needs to be changed.  Now is our chance!  We must
contact our senators and demand that they not only include this House
provision in their version of the bill, but that IN ADDITION they
require clear labeling for menu items that have been irradiated and
display prominent signs in cafeterias when irradiated food is being
served. *SEND A FREE FAX to your senators now by clicking on the link
below.*Ask them to include the House irradiation provision in the senate
Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization bill AND add in labeling and
signage!  You can also call the capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and
ask for your senators.
http://www.citizen.org/fax/background.cfm?ID=324&source=12
 The House version of the bill contains the following:1) irradiated
food products are made available only at the request of states and
school food authorities; the USDA cannot mandate the use of irradiated
foods2) schools would be required to pay for the additional cost of
irradiated products; the USDA could only reimburse them for the amount
equal to what non-irradiated products cost 3) states and school food
service authorities will be provided factual information on irradiation,
including notice that irradiation is not a substitute for safe food
handling techniques  4) states and school food service authorities will
be given a model for how to share food irradiation information with
school food service authorities, parents, and students 5) irradiated
food products distributed to the Federal school meals program will be
labeled with a symbol or other printed notice indicating that the
product was treated with irradiation  6) irradiated products will not be
commingled with non-irradiated products 7) schools that offer irradiated
foods will be encouraged to offer alternatives to irradiated food as
part of the meal plan

********************
If you would like to be removed from the radfood list, send an email to listserv@listserver.citizen.org with the words "unsubscribe radfood" in the message.

If you would like to be added to the radfood list, send an email to listserv@listserver.citizen.org with the words "subscribe radfood" in the message.

To learn more about food irradiation, visit our website at http://www.citizen.org/cmep/

Questions about the radfood list can be directed to RADFOOD-request@LISTSERVER.CITIZEN.ORG
-Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program
*****************************************************************
 33 [DU-WATCH] "not dangerous DU radiation levels"
 
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 01:30:04 -0500 (CDT)

 
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2831251.php
April 19, 2004

Returning soldiers do not have dangerous DU radiation levels officials say
No one can say with confidence there are no health problems related to DU
exposures, Gulf War vets group says

By Deborah Funk, Times staff writer

Army officials say none of more than 1,000 troops returning from Iraq who
have been tested show dangerous amounts of radiation from the depleted
uranium used in many munitions.
Three of the tested Operation Iraqi Freedom soldiers had levels of uranium
above that of the average U.S. population, but still within acceptable
levels for workers in the nuclear industry, said Army Col. (Dr.) Dallas
Hack, chief preventive medicine officer at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
in Washington.

Those three soldiers had depleted uranium shrapnel embedded in them, and the
levels of uranium found were not high enough to warrant medical
intervention, he said.

Depleted uranium, a heavy metal with low levels of radiation, is used to
make armor-piercing munitions, as well as to reinforce tank armor.

The issue of whether depleted uranium components are responsible for any of
the illnesses suffered by veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War has been the
subject of debate, and researchers still are trying to learn what long-term
adverse health effects DU may cause.

Most research has focused on kidney problems and cancer. Research in rodent
studies indicate that embedded DU shrapnel can cause tumor growth in
animals, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs Research Advisory
Committee on Gulf War Veterans Illnesses, which recently received a
presentation on the subject.

But Hack said the animal model studies are not completed, so conclusions
cannot be drawn.

The New York Daily News has reported that it has tested some returning
soldiers and found depleted uranium in four soldiers suffering from
unexplained illnesses.

The National Gulf War Resource Center, an umbrella group of military
associations and veterans, is calling for large-scale scientific studies on
soldiers, and in Iraq where depleted uranium was used 13 years ago.

No one can say with confidence that there are no health problems related to
DU exposures, the group said in a prepared statement. Now is the time for
real science to take the place of spin.

U.S. troops who have concerns about exposure to depleted uranium can be
administered a test to measure the amounts of and types of uranium in their
bodies, Hack said.

Were redoubling our efforts to make sure anybody who has a concern is
tested, Hack said. We remain committed to taking care of the medical
problems these people have. h

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 34 [DU-WATCH] FW: DU & Media coverage fr Japan visit
 
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 02:10:57 -0500 (CDT)

 
From: UMRC Marlene Liden [mailto:marlene@umrc.net]
Sent: April 21, 2004 10:03 AM
To: UMRC Marline Lidin
Subject: DU & Media coverage fr Japan visit

Dear Friends,

1.  Please find an interview with Dr Durakovic during his visit to Japan
11 - 15 April, done by independent journalist Brian Covert, 040420.
     http://sfbay.indymedia.org/news/2004/04/1677937.php

2.  Reference to article in the Marine Corps Times (040419) that writes
about the DoD's study that is being referred to in the interview with Dr
Durakovic above.
     http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2831251.php

3.  040419 NY Daily News has a follow-up story on their DU Special
Investigation that appeared 4-6 April
     http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/185258p-160518c.html

Best regards,
Marline Lidin
UMRC International Coordinator & Veterans Contact

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 35 [DU-WATCH] D.U. Flash movie
 
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 02:26:49 -0500 (CDT)

 
Here is the url to a flash movie on the use of depleted uranium
http://www.ericblumrich.com/pl_lo.html
This flash movie is chilling

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 36 Democracy Now!: Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Pressed to Improve Depleted Uranium Testing
 
[http://www.democracynow.org/browsebydate.shtml] Africa

  Friday, April 23rd, 2004
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Earlier this month, a New York Daily News special investigation
by Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez found the first
confirmed cases of inhaled depleted uranium exposure from the
current Iraq conflict. At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services
Committee, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.
Richard Myers was questioned by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
about depleted uranium testing policies . 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Senior Bush administration officials came under harsh
questioning Tuesday at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services
Committee. The hearing was among a host of question-and-answer
face-offs Congress scheduled for administration officials amid
increased anxiety on Capitol Hill about the course of the Iraq
invasion and occupation. 

Among those to appear before the committee were Deputy Defense
Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, one of the key architects of the
invasion of Iraq, and General Richard Myers, the chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

At the hearing, Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton of New York
pressed Myers about the issue of depleted uranium. She cited the
Daily News investigation Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez
conducted earlier this month. She spoke about testing in the
U.S. compared to that in Japan and Germany and asked Myers about
what actions he would take regarding the issue depleted uranium
contamination. 


  + Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), questions Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard Myers at the Senate Armed Services
Committee on April 20, 2004. 

To purchase an audio or video copy of this entire program, click
here for our new online ordering or call 1 (800) 881-2359.   

          
*****************************************************************
 37 Aljazeera.Net: Forgotten victims of US nuclear testing                 
               
[http://www.aljazeera.net]    					 				 			

Ohishi survived the test bomb fallout - many of his crew did not
																   															 														
Matashichi Ohishi was asleep in the forward cabin when the bomb 
exploded just before dawn. An orange-yellow flash seared through 
the small porthole and he was on deck in an instant.                                                                                    


The ship's bridge, the sea and the sky reflected a flame-coloured 
spot in the distance that spread out along the horizon to the 
left and right. Ohishi and the other 22 crew members of the Daigo 
Fukuryu Maru watched the glow with growing unease for about three 
minutes, until it disappeared. 
  
"We were just fishermen," says Ohishi. "We knew nothing of 
nuclear weapons tests or their effects. When we saw the 
explosion, some of us thought it had to be some sort of natural 
disaster, like an undersea eruption." 
  
What they had actually witnessed was the detonation of the Bravo 
nuclear device, a 15-megaton bomb that was the biggest ever 
tested at Bikini Atoll, in the Marshall Islands, and equivalent 
to 1000 times that dropped on Hiroshima. 
  
Of the 23 men who were aboard the Daigo Fukuryu Maru on 1 March 
1954, 12 have since died, mostly of kidney or lung cancers, while 
the survivors have all suffered illnesses of varying degrees that 
they attribute to the bomb. 
  
Treatment 
  
Ohishi, now 70, says he's the luckiest of them all; the treatment 
he underwent for kidney cancer appears to have been successful, 
although his first child was still-born and deformed. 
  
Speaking at the museum that has been built in Tokyo's waterfront 
district to house the ship and tell the tale of its crew, it is 
clear that Ohishi still bears the scars of that voyage. 
  
A campaign was launched to expose the impact of N-tests  
 
He is angry at the deaths of his friends, more angry at the 
failure of the United States government to take responsibility 
for the results of the blast - and determined to do all that he 
can to rid the world of nuclear weapons. 
  
 "As my colleagues died, one by one, my mind has been occupied 
with thoughts regarding nuclear weapons and life," he says. 
  
"For more than half a century, peace movements have argued that 
humans cannot coexist with nuclear weapons and have called for 
their abolition. But the number of nuclear weapons has not 
diminished. Today, there are even more." 
  
"I believe ordinary people cannot allow the existence of nuclear 
weapons," he adds. 
  
"Is there anything we can do? Yes, we must work for the abolition 
of atomic weapons." This year - the 50th anniversary of the Bravo 
test - he is spearheading a campaign to raise awareness of the 
continuing legacy of nuclear tests and weapons. As a victim, he 
feels he has a unique perspective. 
  
Ohishi first went to sea at the age of 14. His father had just 
died and he was the oldest son and had to leave school to earn 
money for the family. 
  
Misfortune 
  
Five years later, he joined the Daigo Fukuryu Maru, a 140-tonne 
tuna fishing boat whose name means Lucky Dragon No Five. But the 
25-metre-long vessel was anything but lucky, he says. 
  
The misfortune began even before the ship sailed to sea from 
Shizuoka, southern Japan, on 22 January 1954, with five of the 
regular crew quitting after getting into an argument with the 
captain. 
  
Ohishi with the Daigo Fukuryu Maru  in the background  
 
The vessel briefly ran aground. Then they hit a patch of bad 
weather that battered the boat with waves 20 metres high. Then, 
in waters of the Midway Island, they lost 170 of their fishing 
lines and their holds were still virtually empty of tuna. 
  
In search of better fishing grounds, the Fukuryu Maru took a 
south-westerly course for home and, after six weeks at sea, was 
about 160 km east of Bikini Atoll when the bomb was detonated. 
  
"After we saw the light, we were all uneasy and thought we had 
better get away," says Ohishi. 
  
"We hauled in the lines and were preparing to get under way when, 
about seven or eight minutes after the flash, we felt this noise 
approaching us. It was as if it came from beneath the boat and 
was coming up. It was like a roaring noise and the men on the 
deck threw themselves down flat." 
  
About 15 minutes later, the sun rose and in the distance they 
could see a towering mushroom cloud. As they watched, the upper 
levels of the cloud - about 34km high - began to decay as winds 
began to catch it. 
  
The winds brought the cloud directly towards the Fukuryu Maru 
until it covered the entire sky above them, he recalls. A thick 
white ash began to fall on them, finer than snow but it stuck to 
their skin. It got into their mouths and hair but it had no smell 
or flavour and none of them was particularly worried. 
  
That evening, however, most of the crew were vomiting and had 
headaches, while patches of skin that had been exposed to the 
falling ash turned black. 
  
It took the boat two weeks to return to its home port, with 
Ohishi and the rest of the crew only able to speculate as to what 
they had seen. 
  
News blackout 
  
Remarkably, few of them knew much about the nuclear bombs that 
had been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki nine years earlier as 
the Japanese government enforced a news blackout on the attacks 
to try to win favour with Washington. 
  
He believes, however, that the ship's radio operator, Aikichi 
Kuboyama, might have known what had happened because he told the 
crew to keep a lookout for other ships or aircraft. 
  
Ohishi suffered from kidney cancer after the explosion  
 
Ohishi believes that Kuboyama feared the US might sink the ship 
if they thought it had witnessed the secret test. Kuboyama died 
seven months later of kidney failure caused by exposure to 
radiation. 
  
Once ashore - with a catch of just 159 fish, which would not even 
cover the costs of the trip - they learned from media reports 
that the US Atomic Energy Committee had announced the test that 
they had experienced. 
  
Some 800 Japanese fishing boats were affected by the fallout from 
the blast, but none was as close as the Fukuryu Maru. 
  
"At first everyone had sympathy for us, but that quickly changed 
when it was realised that the entire catch was also radioactive 
and we couldn't sell it," says Ohishi. 
  
"What was worse was that everyone believed that all tuna caught 
at that time in the Pacific was contaminated and no one could 
sell anything. Fishing was the whole basis of life in that part 
of Japan so the attention soon focussed on the hardship of the 
industry and the communities there rather than on us." 
  
Rudimentary treatment 
  
Only one of the ship's crew ever sailed to sea aboard a fishing 
boat again. 
  
For the next 12 months, as her crew received the rudimentary 
treatment that was all that was available at the time for 
exposure to radiation, the Fukuryu Maru was examined by 
researchers for the effects of a hydrogen bomb. 
  
"The crew were victims of a nuclear test but the compensation we 
received was all down to political considerations"

Matashichi Ohishi  
 
When the radioactivity level had fallen to permissible levels, 
she was used as a fisheries training ship for 10 years before 
being left to rot in Tokyo Bay. In 1968, a campaign was begun to 
salvage the vessel and the Daigo Fukuryu Maru Exhibition Hall 
opened in 1976. 
  
"The crew were victims of a nuclear test but the compensation we 
received was all down to political considerations," Ohishi says. 
  
"The 'hibakusha' from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs have 
received care throughout their lifetimes, but we haven't been 
recognised. The US gave us some money in 1955, but it was 
described as condolence money, not judicial compensation." 
  
Much of the money went to support the fishing industry and each 
of the Daigo Fukuryu's crew received Y2 million (US$19,000 at 
today's rates). 
  
"The Bikini tragedy isn't finished yet," he says. "It is still 
making people ill and there is no comprehensive ban on nuclear 
tests. It's important that people like me don't let people forget 
what happened 50 years ago still affects all of us today."                                                                                                                                                                                                 

 													
Â© 2003 Aljazeera.Net                   Copyright                               and Terms of
*****************************************************************
 38 PoughkeepsieJournal.com - Group: Uranium making soldiers in Iraq ill
            
  Friday, April 23, 2004
 
Metal used in shells, armor for tanks
 By Anthony Farmer
 Poughkeepsie Journal

 KINGSTON -- A group of peace activists from the region are 
calling for an end to the use of weapons that could be harming 
American soldiers. The activists met with congressional staffers 
Thursday to press their case.

Members from a coalition of groups from the mid-Hudson Valley and 
Albany areas, including some veterans, held a press conference in 
Kingston Thursday to highlight their concerns over the possible 
health effects depleted uranium used in weapons could have on 
American soldiers when they return home.

The coalition said weapons of mass destruction have been found in 
Iraq -- and the U.S. brought them there.

Depleted uranium, a toxic heavy metal, is used by the U.S. 
military in armor-piercing shells.

''This is a weapon of mass destruction that we need to halt,'' 
said New Paltz resident Michelle Riddell, of SAFE Legacy, or Sane 
and Fair Energy Legacy. ''It is the tip of the nuclear iceberg.''

Depleted uranium is left over when highly radioactive types of 
uranium are removed for use as nuclear fuel or nuclear weapons. 
The metal is then used in shells and in armor to protect tanks.

When the shells hit their target, uranium particles can get into 
the air and be inhaled by troops nearby. Experts dispute how 
harmful depleted uranium can be to humans.

Meeting with lawmakers

The group met Thursday with representatives of several members of 
Congress and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. Members of the group 
planned to travel to Washington for a Monday meeting with 
representatives of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

Schumer and Clinton, and others, have expressed concern in recent 
weeks that soldiers are returning from Iraq and complaining about 
illnesses they believe are related to uranium poisoning. They 
have both called for the military to provide adequate health 
screenings to soldiers returning from Iraq.

The New York Daily News reported recently that a handful of 
soldiers from the 442nd Military Police Company returning from 
Iraq tested positive for depleted uranium and have been suffering 
from unexplained illnesses.

The coalition on Thursday called for:

- Proper training for troops on potential exposure to uranium and 
prompt, adequate testing and medical care to troops and affected 
civilians.

- An end to the manufacture, use and sale of depleted uranium 
weapons.

- Disclosure of contaminated sites.

- Investigation into possible violations of international 
treaties by using the weapons.

- Labeling of depleted uranium shipments as radioactive, to alert 
emergency responders in case of an accident.

Several people said Thursday they have tried over the years to 
highlight the dangers of depleted uranium to Schumer, Clinton and 
other officials, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. The fact that 
soldiers returning home are testing positive for exposure to 
depleted uranium shouldn't be a surprise to the officials -- 
they've known the dangers of depleted uranium all along, members 
of the coalition said.

''He's been lying to us up until recently,'' Albany resident 
Thomas Ellis, co-founder of the Citizens' Environmental 
Coalition, said of Schumer. ''And so has Hillary Clinton.''

Aide: Meeting scheduled

Schumer's office said they first received a request from the 
group to meet in March and quickly worked to schedule it. Schumer 
spokesman Blake Zeff said the meeting was very cordial and 
productive.

''Say what you want about Senator Schumer, everyone knows he's 
responsive,'' Zeff said. ''We were delighted to sit with them 
today and update them on Senator Schumer's efforts to test our 
soldiers returning from Iraq.''

Clinton has long been an advocate in the fight for better health 
care for the troops, dating back to her time as first lady, said 
Nina Blackwell, a Clinton spokeswoman. The health of the troops 
is a top priority for the senator, she said.

''Senator Clinton has forwarded correspondence prepared by 
citizens concerned about depleted uranium to the Defense 
Department and her staff has followed up with the department to 
seek a prompt response,'' Blackwell said. ''Members of her staff 
have also had numerous conversations with them to investigate 
their concerns.''

Ulster County Legislator Susan Zimet, D-New Paltz, joined the 
coalition Thursday. She said the meeting at the Kingston office 
of U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, went well.

''They're doing what they can to say, 'Help educate us,' '' Zimet 
said of the officials. 


[http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/]
, Poughkeepsie Journal . Use of this site signifies your 
*****************************************************************
 39 PRW: 16 Puerto Rican soldiers tested for uranium                                                                                          
      
      SAN JUAN (AP)- At least 16 soldiers from local units of
the United States Armed Forces, who have recently returned from
tours of duty in Iraq, have attended the Veterans Hospital to
request they be tested for depleted uranium exposure. 

It was confirmed by Veterans Hospital spokeswoman, Annie Moraza,
who stated that the request for testing was made after it was
revealed that four soldiers who participated in the war had
tested positive for high levels of contamination from depleted
uranium. 

A New York newspaper reported that four members of the New York
National Guard, three of whom were Puerto Rican, tested positive
for contamination from depleted uranium. 

Reports state that over a 1,000 soldiers have requested testing
from Walter Reed medical center in Washington as a result of the
New York cases. 

Depleted uranium is a heavy metal used to reinforce projectiles
and is believed to cause kidney problems. 

Veterans groups also claim that exposure to the hazardous
material causes cancer, although medical studies dispute that by
itself it causes cancer. -->   

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 40 ITAR-TASS: Russia to finalize disposal of decommissioned subs by 2010
 	 	 	 
ITAR-TASS News Agency of Russia]     

23.04.2004, 19.30
 
MOSCOW, April 23 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia will finalize the
disposal of all decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines by
2010, deputy head of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency Sergei
Antipov said at an international conference on the G8 Global
Partnership against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass
Destruction in Moscow. 

“One hundred and thirty-three nuclear-powered submarines were
decommissioned from the Russian Navy as of April 2004,” Antipov
said. “Ninety-six of them have been disposed, and 35 are being
disposed. Fifty-five of 62 submarines still have nuclear fuel
inside.” 

The disposal is in progress in Northwest Russia, Antipov said.

“Unfortunately, only Japan and the United States are giving a
moderate assistance to the disposal of Russian nuclear-powered
submarines in the Far East,” he noted. The other countries,
which have pledged assistance to the disposal of Russian
decommissioned submarines, “are helping to finance the disposal
in the northern areas,” he said. 

All in all, “Russia obtained only $50 million from allocations
pledged by donors in June 2002, and it spent $100 million of
national funds on the disposal,” Antipov said. 

Antipov hopes that donors “will solve a number of national
legislative problems, enlarge the funding a lot, and boost the
disposal of decommissioned nuclear-powered subs.” 


© ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy,
*****************************************************************
 41 AU ABC: Russia's nuclear facilities at risk of terrorist attack
 
Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online">
[http://www.abc.net.au/]

AM - Friday, 23 April , 2004  08:04:00
 
Reporter: Emma Griffiths

 TONY EASTLEY: Weapons experts from more than 20 countries will 
gather in Moscow today to discuss the risk of a terrorist attack 
there on Russia's nuclear facilities. They believe more than 30 
nuclear sites are vulnerable, despite spending billions of 
dollars since the fall of communism on security upgrades. 

Up until now the money has come from Russia and the West, but the 
fear is that foreign funding is drying up. The Russians say money 
pledged by the West two years ago has even failed to materialize. 
It raises fears that Russia will be left to go it alone. 

Moscow Correspondent Emma Griffiths. 

EMMA GRIFFITHS: In weapons labs, fuel depots, and research 
institutes across Russia, more than 20,000 nuclear weapons are 
stockpiled. Or so it's believed. There's no accurate count. 

Since the fall of Communism, Western countries have been helping 
Russia reduce its arsenal, and as that process continues, upgrade 
security at its nuclear facilities. But that, too, has been a 
slow process. 

10 years ago some facilities had holes in the fence, and a 
padlock was the only protection from unwanted visitors. Now 
experts acknowledge there have been some improvements. 

But Vladimir Orlov from Moscow's Centre for Policy Studies, says 
many facilities are still too vulnerable. 

VLADIMIR ORLOV: I still would name you maybe two to three dozen 
of the facilities where we would need to have upgrade of nuclear 
security. I would not name them because I don't think it's a good 
idea to give any hint for potential terrorists what the 
facilities are. 

But unfortunately what I do know, that the terrorist networks do 
examine any opportunity to find these facilities with lower 
levels of nuclear security, physical protection, accounting, and 
control of nuclear materials to get unauthorised access.

EMMA GRIFFITHS: The terrorist threat Vladimir Orlov talks about 
presented itself in Russia most recently just a couple of years 
ago when Chechen fighters were caught spying on supposedly secret 
nuclear sites. 

The growth of al-Qaeda and its alleged links in Chechnya have 
increased that threat, and experts across the world are growing 
increasingly worried about terrorists getting their hands on 
nuclear materials. 

Some of those experts have gathered in Moscow to talk about the 
new dangers from the threat of a terrorist hit on a nuclear 
facility to the risk posed by computer hackers. The US-based 
Nuclear Threat Initiative regards Russia's security measures as 
haphazard at best. 

Vice-President Laura Holgate.

LAURA HOLGATE: What really is required is a holistic approach – 
looking at the whole system of security, not just gizmos here and 
there, but how the technology interacts with each other, and then 
connecting with how the humans responsible for that technology 
themselves perceive their responsibilities. 

Stories are legion about security features that are turned off 
because they're inconvenient, or that are not able to be executed 
because the technology isn't compatible.

EMMA GRIFFITHS: The conference here is looking to the next 
meeting of the G8 group of countries in June, hoping it'll 
increase funding for nuclear security and disarmament in Russia. 
But there's already concern that will be too little too late. 

This is Emma Griffiths in Moscow for AM.

[http://www.abc.net.au/privacy.htm] 
*****************************************************************
 42 Deseret news: Radioactive waste issue still warm
 
[deseretnews.com] 
 	
Friday, April 23, 2004
 	   	 
Group not quite ready to kill Envirocare plan

By Donna Kemp Spangler
Deseret Morning News

A task force of lawmakers appears ready to dump once and for all 
Envirocare of Utah's plans to take hotter radioactive waste, but 
many of them want to wait another month of so before emptying the 
Dumpster.

       The Hazardous Waste Regulation and Tax Policy Task Force, 
in its last year of a two-year study on waste issues, met Tuesday 
at the state Capitol to discuss whether the state should open its 
borders to shipments of "hotter" waste that would be disposed of 
at Envirocare's landfill in Tooele County.

       Senate Minority Whip Ron Allen, D-Tooele, was prepared to 
just say no, ending what has been a years-long debate. He 
suggested that the task force recommend to the 2005 Legislature 
not to allow Envirocare to take so-called "Class B and C wastes," 
which are primarily byproducts of decommissioned power plants and 
are thousands of times hotter in radioactivity than what is now 
at Envirocare.

       If the task force turns thumbs down on Envirocare's plan, 
it would not necessarily kill it outright. It would mean that 
Envirocare would have to wait until 2006 to come back for the 
Legislature's approval.

      But some lawmakers, although appearing to agree with Allen, 
hesitated. They wanted another month to think about it.

       "I tried killing B and C, and it failed," said Allen, 
disappointed as he left the three-hour-long meeting. "Some of my 
colleagues want to drag it out."

       Rep. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, co-chairman of the task 
force, suggested waiting a month before taking a formal vote. In 
May, the task force is scheduled to tour a Barnwell, S.C., 
facility, one of only two facilities in the country that take 
Class B and C wastes (Hanford in Richland, Wash., is the other).

       But Urquhart's reasons for waiting have more to do with 
ending the debate altogether, not just putting it off for another 
year.

       "If this is an issue that remains open, let's discuss it 
further rather than punt it," he said.

       State regulators have given approval to Envirocare for a 
license to take hotter B and C waste, a license that's set to 
expire in July 2006. But the company must also receive the 
Legislature and governor's blessing. The Legislature in 2002 
decided to postpone action until a task force makes its 
recommendations in 2005.

       If approved, Envirocare projects would receive just a 
small amount of the "hotter" waste, about 20,000 cubic feet a 
year. The company now pays the state about $4 million in taxes 
and fees on its low-level Class A waste, which is mostly 
contaminated dirt from government cleanup projects. It also 
generates another $7 million to Tooele County.

       But state environmental regulators would need another 
$331,000 to hire four more people to oversee the disposal of 
hotter wastes and another $376,000 each year to implement the 
program that would require ongoing monitoring and inspections.

       "I think that's very comparable to Barnwell's cost," said 
Bill Sinclair, deputy director of the Utah Department of 
Environmental Quality.

       Task force members are coming to the conclusion that the 
small amount of money likely to be generated if the state 
accepted the "hotter" waste just isn't worth all the potential 
risks.

       "I'm finding there is just not enough revenues to the 
state to justify the political heat," said Rep. Jim Ferrin, 
R-Orem, although he wasn't so sure that should be the sole factor 
in rejecting the proposal.

       "Even if it were to generate a $100,000 a year for 
education, I'm not sure we ought to be bought and sold," he said.

       Envirocare officials, who have been meeting with task 
force members throughout the discussions, see the writing on the 
wall — that the task force is poised to dump the B and C wastes. 
And they don't anticipate any big changes in the radioactive 
waste market that would prompt lawmakers to change their minds.

       "Frankly, I just don't see the numbers changing next 
month," said Tim Barney, senior vice president of Envirocare.

E-mail: donna@desnews.com [donna@desnews.com]       
	 
 © 2004 Deseret News Publishing Company 
*****************************************************************
 43 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada asks environmental council to intervene in Yucca rail plan

Today: April 23, 2004 at 9:51:16 PDT 

ASSOCIATED PRESS 

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada has registered a new complaint about the
Yucca Mountain project, claiming the Energy Department has
gotten ahead of itself planning a 319-mile rail line to the site
where it wants to bury the nation's nuclear waste. 

State Attorney General Brian Sandoval sent a letter Thursday
asking James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council of
Environmental Quality, to issue "corrective instructions" to the
Energy Department. 

Sandoval said another federal agency, the Surface Transportation
Board, has primary jurisdiction over rail projects. 

Energy Department spokesman Joe Davis in Washington said project
planners have yet to decide how a Yucca rail line would be used. 

The letter was part of an ongoing state campaign to challenge
the Energy Department's plan to entomb the nation's most
radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain. 

The Energy Department plans by the end of the year to submit a
license application to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission
to open the repository in 2010. 

A spokeswoman at the White House council confirmed getting
Sandoval's letter, but called it too early to discuss possible
options. 

The council coordinates how agencies administer the National
Environmental Policy Act, the major law that guides most
government actions that impact the environment. 

State officials said the White House council would have a range
of options, including putting the Surface Transportation Board
in charge of the rail project or ordering the Energy Department
to work out a formal relationship with the transportation
agency. 

Testifying in March before a House subcommittee in Las Vegas,
board chairman Roger Nober said the agency would get involved in
a repository railroad if Energy Department chooses to let it be
used for shipments other than nuclear waste. 

The department announced April 5 that it wants to build the
319-mile railroad line from Caliente, near the Nevada-Utah
border 150 miles northeast of Las Vegas, across the state to
Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. 

The route, dubbed the Caliente corridor, would avoid the Las
Vegas area and skirt the vast Nellis Air Force Base bombing
range and Nevada Test Site. The Energy Department has not
announced routes it would use to get the waste from sites in 39
states to Nevada. 

--- 

On the Net: 

Yucca Mountain project: http://www.ymp.gov/
[http://www.ymp.gov/] 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission: http://www.nrc.gov/
[http://www.nrc.gov/] 

Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects:
http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste
[http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste] 

Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal 

-- 



*****************************************************************
 44 NRC: Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material; 
 
                         FR Doc 04-9226 
[Federal Register: April 23, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 79)] 
[Proposed Rules] [Page 21978] From the Federal Register Online 
via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr23ap04-23]                         
 
Solicitation of Proposed Changes AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission.
 
ACTION: Solicitation of proposed changes.
 
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the 
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) are jointly seeking 
proposed changes to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 
Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material 
(referred to as TS-R-1).
 
The proposed changes that are submitted by the U.S. and other 
IAEA member states and International Organizations might 
necessitate subsequent domestic compatibility rulemakings by both 
the NRC and the DOT.
 
 
DATES: Proposed changes will be accepted until June 7, 2004.
 
Proposed changes received after this date will be considered if 
it is practical to do so, but the NRC is able to assure 
consideration only for proposed changes received on or before 
this date.
 
 
ADDRESSES: Mail proposed changes to Michael Lesar, Chief, Rules 
and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, 
Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001.
 
Hand deliver proposed changes to Two White Flint North, 11545 
Rockville Pike (Mail Stop T6D59), Rockville, Maryland 20852, 
between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays. FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT: John Cook, Office of Nuclear Materials 
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: (301) 415-8521; e-mail: 
jrc1@nrc.gov [jrc1@nrc.gov] .
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background The IAEA periodically 
revises its Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive 
Material (TS-R-1) to reflect new information and accumulated 
experience. The DOT is the U.S. competent authority before the 
IAEA for radioactive material transportation matters.
 
The NRC provides technical support to the DOT in this regard, 
particularly with regard to Type B and fissile packages.
 
The IAEA has recently initiated the review cycle for the 2007 
edition of TS-R-1. The IAEA's review process calls for Member 
States and International Organizations to provide proposed 
changes to the IAEA by July 15, 2004. The objective is 
publication of revised regulations in 2007, nominally to become 
effective worldwide in 2009. To assure opportunity for public 
involvement in the international regulatory development process, 
the DOT and the NRC are soliciting proposed changes at this time. 
This information will assist the DOT and the NRC in having a full 
range of views as the agencies develop the proposed changes the 
U.S. will submit to the IAEA. Proposed changes must be submitted 
in writing (electronic file on disk in Word format preferred) and 
are to include: Name; Address; Telephone no.; Fax no.; E-mail 
address; Objective of change/regulatory problem (e.g., a 
description of the problem being addressed and its consequences); 
Justification for change (e.g., the proposed change maintains 
safety in transport, is risk-informed, and is effective and 
efficient (e.g., does not impose an undue burden on shippers or 
carriers)); TS-R-1 paragraphs affected (existing text, and 
proposed new text); Modification of or additional guidance 
material (existing text, and proposed new text); and Reference(s) 
and/or reference material as needed.
 
The NRC and the DOT will review the proposed changes and 
rationales received by June 7, 2004. Based in part on the 
information, the agencies will determine the U.S. proposed 
changes to be submitted to IAEA by July 15, 2004.
 
Proposed changes from all Member States and International 
Organizations will be considered at an IAEA Review Panel Meeting 
to be convened by IAEA on September 27--October 1, 2004, in 
Vienna, Austria. Prior to that meeting, the DOT and the NRC 
anticipate holding a public meeting to solicit comment on all 
(including U.S.) proposed changes submitted to the IAEA. Note 
that future domestic rulemakings, if necessary, will continue to 
follow established rulemaking procedures, including the 
opportunity to formally comment on proposed rules.
 
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of April, 2004.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
John R. Cook, Senior Transportation Safety Scientist, Office of 
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
 
[FR Doc. 04-9226 Filed 4-22-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 45 Salt Lake Tribune: Task force waffles on review of hot waste 
 
April 23, 2004   

By Judy Fahys 
 
    A legislative task force stopped just short Thursday of
aborting its study on whether Utah should allow disposal of
hotter radioactive waste. 
 
    Several lawmakers tried to put a quick end to the task force
review of "B and C waste," even though the group was supposed to
investigate the subject through November. The attempts were
condemned by advocates of a ban on Class B and C waste, who
described proposals by Sens. Ron Allen and Curt Bramble as a
ploy to divert attention from the politically thorny issue as
the election season heats up. 
 
    "Clearly there were legislators who wanted to eliminate
nuclear waste as an election issue so they didn't have to face
accountability from their constituents," said Healthy
Environment Alliance of Utah's Jason Groenewold. 
 
    The debate over hotter waste intensified last fall when
Envirocare angled for an Energy Department contract for Ohio
nuclear-fuel plant clean-upcleanup containing hundreds of times
more radioactivity than waste currently allowed in Utah. Class A
waste, the least radioactive and most abundant form, is the only
type now permitted in Utah. 
 
    Envirocare has received technical approval to receive the
higher-level B and C waste from the Division of Radiation
Control, but before the license request expires in June 2006, it
still needs to gain approval from the Legislature and the
governor. 
 
    Bramble had planned Thursday's meeting as the first of eight
on B and C waste. But just as Envirocare prepared to present its
long-term plans, he suggested it would be a waste of time to
study the issue further, since he and Allen projected there
would be too little revenue from taxing B and C waste. 
 
    "I'm not sure $10-$20 million a year is worth the public
relations and other challenges the Legislature might face,"
Bramble said.. 
 
    Based on that view, Allen pushed for a vote to conclude the
task force study of B and C waste and send a letter to the full
Legislature recommending it not approve hotter waste. 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
    Rep. Stephen Urquhart, R-St. George, the co-chairman of the
task force, pushed for something definitive: a specific
rejection of Envirocare's pending B and C license or a ban for
at least for, perhaps, two years. Otherwise, the task force
should take more time to formulate a clearer recommendation, he
said. 
 
    "The net effect of the [Allen] motion was to take a pass on
this issue," Urquhart said. "The task force was put together to
grapple with the complexities of the issue and not to take a
pass." 
 
    Ultimately, the task force rejected both Allen's and
Bramble's approach. The task force meets again next month to
decide what to do at its seven remaining meetings. 
 
    Envirocare was "disappointed," said Tim Barney, the
company's senior vice president. He said he did not know if the
company would take the pending license directly to lawmakers. 
 
    
 
   
 
   
			   				 	 "> 	                 				 
 
  
Copyright Salt Lake City Tribune
*****************************************************************
 46 Las Vegas RJ: Rail plans target of complaint 
 
Friday, April 23, 2004

Sandoval: DOE shouldn't have primary jurisdiction over proposal
By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
 
WASHINGTON -- The state of Nevada registered a new complaint
Thursday about the Yucca Mountain Project.
 
 Attorney General Brian Sandoval charged the Department of
Energy has gotten ahead of itself in planning to build a
319-mile railroad through rural Nevada to the proposed
repository site 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
 
 Sandoval said another federal agency, the Surface
Transportation Board, has primary jurisdiction over rail
projects.
 
 Sandoval sent a letter Thursday asking James Connaughton,
chairman of the White House Council of Environmental Quality, to
step in and "issue corrective instructions to DOE." 
The letter was part of an ongoing campaign by the state to
challenge the Energy Department's proposal to bury radioactive
spent fuel in canisters within Yucca Mountain. 
The White House council coordinates how agencies administer the
National Environmental Policy Act, the major law that guides
most government actions that impact the environment.
 
 A council spokeswoman confirmed receipt of Sandoval's letter
but said it was too early to discuss possible options.
 
 State officials said the White House council would have a range
of options, including putting the Surface Transportation Board
in charge of the rail project or ordering DOE to work out a
formal relationship with the transportation agency.
 
 Testifying in March before a House subcommittee that met in Las
Vegas, board chairman Roger Nober said the agency would get
involved in a repository railroad if DOE chooses to allow it to
be used as a "common carrier" to serve other shippers.
 
 DOE has yet to decide how a Yucca rail line would be utilized,
spokesman Joe Davis said.

 
 
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
 47 Las Vegas SUN: Yucca rail line raises legal question

By Suzanne Struglinski <suzanne@lasvegassun.com 
[suzanne@lasvegassun.com] > SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU

 WASHINGTON -- Nevada officials say the Energy Department has 
violated federal law by not including the Surface Transportation 
Board in its plans to build a new rail line in the state.

 Attorney General Brian Sandoval sent a letter to Council on 
Environmental Quality Chairman James Connaughton Thursday asking 
for an investigation in the department's plans to build a rail 
line to the Yucca Mountain project, 90 miles northwest of Las 
Vegas.

 "DOE appears to have blatantly pre-empted the exercise of 
exclusive regulatory authority by the Surface Transportation 
Board over this new rail line," Sandoval wrote.

 The department announced on April 8 that it would build a 
319-mile rail line from Caliente as well as a transfer facility 
and rail connections in other states.

 Sandoval said what the department wants to do "is nothing less 
than the largest new rail project in North American in many 
decades" but that the Surface Transportation Board, the federal 
agency that oversees railroad construction, appears to have been 
left out of the process.

 The Surface Transportation Board had no comment on the letter, a 
spokesman said.

 Yucca Mountain project spokesman Allen Benson said the 
department has been talking with the board, but the extent of its 
involvement will depend on whether other trains beyond those 
carrying waste to the repository can use the tracks.

 

*****************************************************************
 48 The State: Other lost waste might be in S. Carolina
 
 04/23/2
 
High-level nuclear parts missing from Connecticut utility plant
in 2002

 By SAMMY FRETWELL

 Staff Writer

An investigation into missing nuclear waste in New England is the 
second in four years to examine whether the deadly refuse wound 
up in South Carolina. 

The federal inquiry, which became public this week, focuses on 
the disappearance of nuclear fuel rod parts from the Vermont 
Yankee atomic power plant. 

If federal authorities cant find the material at the Vermont 
plant, they say it could have been mistakenly shipped to the 
Chem-Nuclear Systems low-level nuclear waste dump in Barnwell 
County. The landfill is licensed to take low-level atomic waste, 
such as lightly contaminated clothing, but not the deadly 
high-level waste missing from Vermont. 

In 2002, after about two years of investigation, federal 
officials socked a Connecticut utility with a $288,000 fine 
because power plant operators could not find two highly 
radioactive fuel rods that had been used there. 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said its likely the fuel rods 
from Connecticuts Millstone power plant mistakenly ended up in a 
1988 shipment of low-level nuclear waste to the dump in Barnwell 
County or to a similar disposal site in Washington state. 

An NRC report, issued last week, said the waste from Connecticut 
should be left in Barnwell County. Trying to dig up the material 
would pose a grave danger, the report said. But the report said 
the nuclear material, if left alone, would have little impact on 
groundwater because it doesnt move quickly. 

Deborah Ogilvie, a Chem-Nuclear Systems spokeswoman, said she 
doubts high-level waste from Connecticut or Vermont has been 
buried in South Carolina. She said her company checks every waste 
shipment to make sure it meets federal specifications for 
disposal. 

But Tom Clements, a nuclear policy expert with Greenpeace, said 
he wants to know whether other high-level waste has ended up at 
the Barnwell site, one of only three in the country. NRC 
officials and Ogilvie said they have no evidence of that. 

Both of these cases raise a lot of questions about the 
management of spent nuclear fuel, and the oversight of that 
management by the NRC, Clements said. This reflects a serious 
breakdown in the regulatory process. 

NRC officials said they dont think the Vermont waste poses a 
widespread danger to the public, but spokesman Dave McIntyre said 
it is very radioactive, and anyone handling the material would 
be in danger. 

The missing material from Vermont might still be at the utility, 
in part because it is relatively small. Spent nuclear fuel and 
some low-level waste is typically stored in a 40-foot-deep pool 
at the power plant to control its radioactivity. The lost 
material is composed of two small pieces of a spent fuel rod, one 
7 inches long and one 17 inches, NRC spokeswoman Diane Screnci 
said.   

TheStateOnline
*****************************************************************
 49 The Sun: Wrong move to let in more nuclear waste

| 04/23/2004 | 

S.C. POLICY

By Benjamin A. Johnson

I served as one of South Carolina's commissioners and chairman of 
the Atlantic Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact, and I am 
concerned about a move in the General Assembly that could 
undermine the state's nuclear waste disposal program. 

The budget recently approved by the House would allow another 
100,000 cubic feet of nuclear waste into the landfill in Barnwell 
County in 2005. This would be in addition to the 50,000 feet 
already authorized for next year by the Atlantic Compact Act. 

The Senate needs to stop this bad deal. This proposal would 
undermine the Atlantic Compact Act, which was a real public 
policy achievement. Further, the deal with Chem-Nuclear to 
dispose of its waste at the Barnwell site is a poor business 
bargain for the state. 

South Carolina's nuclear waste disposal program successfully 
serves a number of important objectives, including: 

Preserving disposal capacity for the state's own nuclear plants; 

Phasing out importation of waste from outside the region on an 
orderly schedule, with such shipments ending by 2008; 

Maximizing current market pricing to help meet South Carolina's 
general revenue needs. 

This program was the result of 18 months of study and hearings. 
It was cemented by permanent law in the Atlantic Compact Act 
passed in 2000. But now, it may be significantly altered by last 
minute, ad hoc budget amendments. 

Chem-Nuclear's proposal raises three basic questions, the answers 
to which could have an enormous impact on the state's future: 

1. Should South Carolina allow more nuclear waste from across the 
nation to come into the state? 

The Atlantic Compact Act preserved capacity for South Carolina's 
future needs and signaled to the rest of the nation that other 
states must become more involved in solving the country's nuclear 
waste disposal problems. If South Carolina signals a weakness in 
its resolve to close the door on the nation's nuclear waste, 
other states will have no incentive to create new disposal 
solutions. And South Carolina would continue to be the nuclear 
waste dumping ground for the rest of the nation. 

2. Is the Chem-Nuclear proposal a good deal for South Carolina? 
Instead of a revenue gain of $6 million, the agreement with 
Chem-Nuclear is expected to net the state as little as $1 
million. This low-cost arrangement with Chem-Nuclear would have 
the added detriment of driving down the prices the Budget and 
Control Board can charge its customers for waste disposal and 
lowering projected revenues by as much as $3 million in 2005. 
Adding insult to injury, the cost of handling the extra waste 
from Chem-Nuclear could cost the state an additional $2 million. 

3. Is South Carolina getting a fair return for this valuable 
asset? 

South Carolina's disposal capacity is worth well over $500 per 
cubic foot. The state now is poised to sell this space to 
Chem-Nuclear at an unreasonably low price of $60 per cubic foot. 

When the Compact Act was passed in 2000, Barnwell's remaining 
disposal capacity was almost gone. South Carolina needed to join 
a congressionally approved compact to lawfully preserve disposal 
space for its own waste needs when its seven nuclear reactors are 
decommissioned beginning around 2040. Under the act, 1.8 million 
cubic feet have been reserved for the future needs of the compact 
states - South Carolina, New Jersey and Connecticut. Under the 
act, unused capacity may not be sold. 

As South Carolina's import limits have taken effect, the price 
for disposing of waste at Barnwell has increased from 80 cents 
per cubic foot in 1971 to today's prices of more than $500 per 
cubic foot. 

Chem-Nuclear now proposes to buy 100,000 feet of the remaining 
capacity at Barnwell for $6 million. This is $60 per cubic foot 
and a fraction of its real value. 

A poor business deal that could not stand on its own, this 
proposal was craftily paired by Chem-Nuclear's friends in the 
House with a measure to raise pay for law enforcement officers. 
The Senate should reject this cynical ploy. 

In 1987, Gov. Carroll Campbell wrote the nuclear waste industry 
and warned, "Any suggestion that South Carolina inevitably will 
amend its laws to allow continued operation of the disposal 
facility is speculation and should not be used as the basis for 
any state's plans to fulfill its disposal responsibilities." 

Our state's legislative leaders thus would be in good company 
when they announce that South Carolina's nuclear waste limits 
will not be reversed. 

Johnson, a Rock Hill attorney, was a member of the S.C. Nuclear 
Waste Task Force.   

*****************************************************************
 50 Elko Daily Free Press: Yucca debate centers on timing 

By ADELLA HARDING, Free Press Staff Writer 

  John Hader, a staff member with Citizen Alert, points to a map 
during his comments on the proposed Yucca Mountain Project 
Wednesday night at Great Basin College Theatre. (Adella 
Harding/Elko Daily Free Press)   

ELKO - Time was a key element in a debate on Yucca Mountain 
Wednesday night, even as Nevada's congressional delegation called 
for more time for comment on plans to ship the waste through the 
state.

John Arthur, who oversees development of the proposed nuclear 
waste site as deputy director of the U.S. Department of Energy's 
Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, expects 
construction to start in December 2007. "Our goal is to do this 
safely and securely," he told a small audience at the Great Basin 
College Theatre.

Plans call for storing 77,000 tons of radioactive waste in casks 
90 miles northwest of Las Vegas at Yucca Mountain, which has 70 
miles of tunnels.

Arthur said DOE expects to submit its application to the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission this December to obtain final approval.

NRC will have three months to "docket" the application before 
beginning an 18-month staff review, followed by 18 months of 
hearings, he said.

John Hadder of Citizen Alert said there is no need to rush into 
development of Yucca Mountain. Citizen Alert wants new containers 
built to store nuclear waste on sites around the country while 
more science is applied to Yucca.

"It needs to slow down for sure," said Hadder, northern Nevada 
coordinator for Citizen Alert out of Reno.

Arthur said the law calls for permanent, not temporary, storage.

Hadder also countered an argument by former Gov. Robert List that 
it's time for Nevada to begin negotiating with DOE to get the 
best possible deal for the state, because it's inevitable the 
nuclear waste is coming.

"If we negotiate now, we lose the ability to litigate," said 
Hadder, referring to Nevada's lawsuits against the government 
over Yucca Mountain.

One of the state's arguments involves time, and Hadder said he 
believes Nevada has a good chance of winning its argument that 
the National Academy of Sciences said a repository is supposed to 
be designed to safely store nuclear waste for 300,000 years.

Yucca Mountain's current design uses the 10,000-year guideline.

Hadder also said questions remain about how long the casks that
will hold the nuclear waste from power plants and
nuclear-powered ships will hold up before corroding.

Time also is an issue over DOE's proposal to ship nuclear waste
by rail from Caliente to Yucca Mountain.

Nevada's congressional delegation sent a letter to Energy
Secretary Spencer Abraham Wednesday asking for an extension of
time for commenting on the proposal and for more public
hearings.and will have the right level of security."

The letter was sent at the same time as the Energy Department
said it was adding two more meetings, for a total of five, in
response to concerns from Nevada officials.

Arthur said the Energy Department will look at the letter and
whether more public meetings are needed, but Abraham just
received the letter.

"We should have a response by next week," he said prior to the
debate at the college.

The initial 45-day comment period on the 317-mile rail proposal
ends May 24, but the delegation wants Abraham to extend the
comment period to 90 days.

Arthur also said before the meeting that the Carlin route is
still second choice, but he expects the final decision to
reflect that Caliente is the final selection.

During the debate, he said the rail line would be "very safe and
will have the right level of security."

Hadder said Citizen Alert still wants to know why the train
route wasn't in the original environmental impact statement that
went to Congress and President Bush for the 2002 decision.

Arthur, List and Hadder also debated political and scientific
issues on Yucca Mountain, and they all agreed politics played a
significant role in the congressional decisions leading up to
Nevada's selection in 2002 as the site for permanent storage.

"I feel the science of the project has been driven by politics,"
Hadder said.

List said the Nevada Legislature originally wanted Nevada in the
running back in the mid-1980s but then the politicians decided
to fight the project "to the death."

Arthur and List also emphasized the economic boost to Nevada
that the Yucca Mountain Project would bring. The project
currently has 2,200 workers, and Arthur said the number could
jump as high as 4,500 workers in the peak construction period.

The permanent work force would be 500 to 700 employees, he said.

"The time has come to face reality and come to grips with it.
It's time to develop plans to take advantage of it. This is a
$60 billion project right in our back yard, with thousands of
jobs," said List, who has his own consulting firm.

"If we didn't have the environmental lightning rod, every state
would compete for it," said List, who is hired by the nuclear
industry.

The 1982 bill calling for permanent storage for nuclear waste
called for sites on both the East and West coasts, but the bill
was amended in 1987 to zero in on Yucca Mountain.

Hadder, who is a chemistry and mathematics teacher at Truckee
Meadows Community College, said that bill is "sometimes called
the 'screw Nevada' bill."

List said Nevada was outnumbered and still is outnumbered.

Hadder also said Citizen Alert is still concerned about water
quality at the site, and pointed out that DOE learned water
travels faster through Yucca than originally thought and could
travel beyond the repository in 1,000 years.

Local geologist and driller James Muth said the water at Yucca
"was put there 12 and a half million years ago," and he
questioned contentions that the water was moving. "Not a single
drop of water or a wet spot has shown up in the miles of
tunnels."

One of the questions from the audience centered on the prospects
of recycling the nuclear waste that would be stored at Yucca
Mountain, and Arthur said the law now states that nuclear waste
cannot be recycled in this country.

The law was put in place to lessen opportunities for access to
weapons-grade byproducts, he said.

But Yucca will be designed for access should policy change,
Arthur said.

And List said Nevada should insist on a royalty on the nuclear
waste stored at Yucca Mountain for the day when recycling is
approved.

"There is enormous residual power in the material to be reposed
in the mountain. It would be the creation of a new Carlin
Trend," List said.

Terrorist threats also were debated, including whether the
threat is higher with nuclear waste stored at 129 sites in 39
states or during transportation to Yucca Mountain.

Hadder said Citizen Alert believes the danger is higher during
travel, while Arthur disagreed. Arthur also said the cost of
storing the radioactive waste at the power plant sites has to be
considered.

List said consolidated waste stored 1,000 feet underground will
lessen the long-term risks. 

*****************************************************************
 51 Nevada Appeal OurView: Yucca Mountain tradeoff short-sighted
 
nevadaappeal.com

 Thursday, April 22, 2004 

It's hard to begrudge Caliente its shot at success. After all, 
the town in southeastern Nevada is listed by some folks as a 
"ghost town," even though more than 1,100 people live there. 

It has a beautiful, two-story, mission-style railroad depot, a 
testament to its days as a railroad town. The Union Pacific still 
passes through it. 

"Unfortunately," as a travel writer noted, "the train doesn't 
stop in Caliente anymore." 

Caliente's mayor, Kevin Phillips, would like to change that. 
Specifically, he would like the federal Department of Energy to 
build a railroad maintenance center, transportation operations 
center and maintenance site for casks carrying nuclear waste to 
Yucca Mountain. 

In other words, what's bad for Nevada could be good for Caliente. 

Most people in the state don't want the nation's highly 
radioactive nuclear waste shipped to Nevada. They see flawed 
science, broken promises and long-term threats to residents' 
health. 

But some people like Phillips see opportunity. They are actively 
courting the waste shipments or, at the least, believe the Yucca 
Mountain project is inevitable They plan to be in position to 
gain the economic benefits. 

Residents of Caliente, just like a host of other Nevada towns, 
should be familiar with the history of a state where 
boom-and-bust cycles are the rule rather than the exception. 

Landing 100 or so jobs in Caliente is hardly a fair trade for 
thousands of years of radioactive waste. Of course, jobs and 
construction associated with Yucca Mountain would go far beyond 
one little Nevada town. But the long-term effects are 
nevertheless over whelming. 

It's difficult not to think of Virginia City during the bonanza 
years and the irony of its legacy -- that the silver from its 
mines built San Francisco. Or that the mercury left behind makes 
the Carson River, more than 100 years later, a polluted stream. 

Maybe Yucca Mountain is inevitable, and the mayor of Caliente is 
doing what he thinks is best for the town. Here's what's truly 
inevitable: If the waste comes, it'll still be buried in the 
Nevada desert many generations after the jobs have come and gone. 
*****************************************************************
 52 Newsday.com: Spent fuel rods can’t be found

[April 23, 2004] 
	       
VERMONT NUCLEAR PLANT    

Utility doesn’t think there is a public threat, but search of
reactor pool and check of all records is under way
 
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
 	 	
MONTPELIER, Vt. - Engineers at a Vermont nuclear plant searched 
yesterday for two missing pieces of a highly radioactive fuel rod 
while experts acknowledged they may never be found.

 The operators of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant reported 
the missing pieces Wednesday, saying they were not where they 
were supposed to be in the large pool used to store fuel rods.

 One of the missing pieces is about the size of a pencil. The 
other is about as thick but is 17 inches long.

 The spent fuel rods are highly radioactive and would be fatal to 
anyone who came in contact with them without being properly 
shielded, Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan 
said. Spent nuclear fuel could be used by terrorists to construct 
so-called dirty bombs that would spread deadly radiation with 
conventional explosives.

 "We do not think there is a threat to the public at this point. 
The great probability is this material is still somewhere in the 
pool," Sheehan said.

 The pieces could also have been sent years ago to a testing 
laboratory or a low-level nuclear waste disposal facility.

 The pieces were part of a fuel rod that was removed in 1979 from 
the Vermont Yankee reactor, which is currently shut down for 
refueling and maintenance.

 The pool where used fuel rods are stored is 40 feet deep and 
contains 2,789 fuel assemblies.

 The pencil-thin fuel rods are 12 feet long and filled with 
uranium pellets. Sheehan said that the missing pieces might have 
been cut from longer rods for testing or could have broken when 
they were removed from the fuel assemblies.

 The search for the missing pieces was going to include the use 
of a remote controlled camera in the pool as well as review of 
the documents dating back decades that cover shipments and 
movements of radioactive material.

 Sheehan cited the heightened awareness of the need to control 
nuclear material that followed the Sept. 11 terror attacks. "We 
don't want this falling into the wrong hands," he said. "This is 
something we would never take lightly." 

Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc. [http://www.newsday.com]  | 
*****************************************************************
 53 AU ABC: Bracks rejects Kemp waste dump threat. 

23/04/2004. ABC News Online
 	
border="0" alt="Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online">
[http://www.abc.net.au/]


First Posted: Friday, April 23, 2004 . 12:34pm --> Last
 
Victorian Premier Steve Bracks has dismissed a threat by Federal
Environment Minister David Kemp to intervene if he is not
assured that Victoria's toxic waste dump will be safe for local
residents and agriculture.

 Dr Kemp expressed his concerns last Monday, when he visited
Pittong, near Ballarat, one of the three areas of the state
short-listed as a dump site.

 Mr Bracks says it is hypocritical of Dr Kemp to get involved in
the issue, when the Federal Government is having its own
problems setting up a radioactive waste dump in South Australia.

 The Premier says the Federal Government has no power over toxic
waste issues in Victoria.

 "I don't think there's any capacity for the Federal Environment
Minister to do that," he said.

 "I think he would know that. It's probably a rush of blood to
the head when he was at the Pittong area." 

© 2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation 
*****************************************************************
 54 AU ABC: Kakadu traditional owners strike deal to stop uranium mining
 
"Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online">
[http://www.abc.net.au/]

The World Today - Friday, 23 April , 2004  12:34:00
 
Reporter: Ben Knight

 TANYA NOLAN: After decades of fighting, the traditional owners 
of Kakadu National Park have finally secured a deal to 
effectively stop operations at the Jabiluka uranium mine.

The Mirrar people have been giving the right of veto over any 
plans to mine the area. 

The mine's owner, ERA, says it came to realise that the mine 
would only ever go ahead with the approval of the traditional 
owners, and it couldn't be happier with the decision.

And not surprisingly, Aborigines are also very pleased with the 
result.

Ben Knight spoke with the Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation's Andy 
Ralph.

ANDY RALPH: Well for the first time in 30 years the Mirrar people 
will have control over the Jabiluka mineral lease. The mining 
company have had further right to mine uranium there since 1982. 
The Mirrar will now have a veto, whereby they'll be able to 
exercise their rights as the traditional owners of that country 
at Jabiluka. At the moment, their view is they don't wan the mine 
to be operating and that'll be the view that I imagine which will 
remain in force for sometime.

BEN KNIGHT: How often will the company be able to come back to 
the Mirrar people and ask to mine again?

ANDY RALPH: The agreement is for four years. The company can come 
back to the Mirrar people and ask, 'do you want the Jabiluka mine 
to go ahead or not?' At the moment they're saying 'no', so the 
company no doubt will be asking every four years. It's very 
similar to the Land Rights Act that operates through the Northern 
Territory and I expect that the negotiations will be held every 
four years under those terms.

BEN KNIGHT: Considering that the views as you say, of the Mirrar 
people are pretty well known on this, it doesn't seem to give the 
company very much. Why do you think that you've been able to 
reach this agreement?

ANDY RALPH: Well I think that ERA and Rio Tinto want to operate 
in good faith with traditional owners. They realise that's it's 
no good going off doing things on Aboriginal land without the 
full consent of the traditional owners, and they want a good 
close working relationship with the Mirrar people. They already 
have a uranium mine on Mirrar country, that's the Ranger uranium 
mine, which has been in the news of late. 

It's a giant step forward for the mining company, and mining 
companies in Australia in general they work closely with the 
tradition owners of the country they operate on, and also work 
closely with the land councils.

BEN KNIGHT: So this is really, what giving the mining company a 
window into the future which they might not have had, having been 
at odds with the Mirrar people for so long, leaving themselves a 
chance that one day they might change their mind. Now, can you 
ever foresee a time when the Mirarr people would say, 'yes, we 
feel comfortable with you opening up a uranium mine'?

ANDY RALPH: That's for Mirar to decide, Look, the current view of 
the tradition owners is that they are opposed to the Jabiluka 
mine. There are sacred site issues at the mine site, there's 
environmental issues at Jabiluka as well. 

The current view is that Jabiluka will not proceed and it'll be 
up to continuing generations I suppose to make that judgment as 
they're asked every four years under the terms of the agreement.

TANYA NOLAN: Andy Ralph is the Executive Officer of the Gundjehmi 
Aboriginal Corporation, with Ben Knight.

[http://www.abc.net.au/privacy.htm] 
*****************************************************************
 55 asahi.com: Spent nuke fuel heading to Rokkasho 

The Asahi Shimbun 

After safety checks, Aomori Governor Shingo Mimura is expected to 
approve the plan. After about 14 months of resistance from local 
authorities, spent nuclear fuel from the nation's nuclear power 
plants will likely soon be heading to a reprocessing plant in 
Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, sources said. 

Shipments have been suspended since December 2002 after a 
subcontractor's faulty welding led to a radioactive water leak in 
the storage pool in 2001. Nearly 300 other problems have since 
been found. 

Resuming the shipments is a pressing issue for the nation's power 
utilities. Spent-fuel storage facilities at some nuclear plants 
are filling up. 

Aomori Governor Shingo Mimura will approve resuming shipments 
after meeting with industry minister Shoichi Nakagawa late this 
month, prefectural and other sources said. 

Mimura is expected to confirm the central government's 
determination to go ahead with its nuclear fuel recycling 
program. The Rokkasho plant is key to the program. 

After repeated postponements, Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. plans to 
put the plant in operation in July 2006. The plant was originally 
slated to start producing plutonium from spent fuel in 1997. 

Aomori Prefecture has refused to allow shipments until improved 
safety measures are in place, noting that the company has already 
overlooked faulty welding problems. 

The suspension was put in place to check the storage pool 
problems. 

The change in the prefecture's stance comes after the central 
government in March approved Japan Nuclear Fuel's plans for 
ensuring safety. 

But the prefecture has not indicated whether it will give the 
go-ahead for another issue of contention-a facility test using 
depleted uranium. It has also been put off due to safety 
concerns. 

Nuclear power plants have facilities to store spent fuel on their 
own grounds. If their pools fill up, they must suspend power 
generation. 

Unless the Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power station is able to ship 
its spent fuel elsewhere, it will have only two more years before 
its pool is filled. 

Nationwide, the storage capacity at power plants totals 19,000 
tons, of which 10,000 tons' worth is already filled. Spent fuel 
increases by 1,000 tons a year.(IHT/Asahi: April 23,2004) (04/23) 

[Copyright Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. No reproduction
*****************************************************************
 56 Tri-City Herald: PNNL scientists wow kids at lab event 

This story was published Friday, April 23rd, 2004 

By John Trumbo Herald staff writer 

Justin McIntyre is a nuclear scientist, but he was part 
elementary school teacher and part comedian Thursday during 
"bring your son or daughter to work day" at the Pacific Northwest 
National Laboratory. 

McIntyre performed amazing tricks using super-cold liquid 
nitrogen to wow his young audience at the Richland lab. 

"That's really cool," said Nana Abrefah, 9, of Richland as 
McIntyre demonstrated how a flower dipped in the nitrogen would 
break like glass when tapped with a hammer. 

The secret wasn't just in the cold, but in the fact the water in 
the flower froze, he explained. 

The super chill turned soft mini marshmallows into crunchy treats 
and deflated balloons. 

"I like the balloons," said Nana, who attends Christ the King 
School. His father, John Abrefah, is a Battelle research 
scientist on nuclear material behavior. 

The show-and-tell lasted into the afternoon. 

McIntyre's partner at the liquid nitrogen table was Mary Bliss, a 
staff scientist in radiological and chemical services. They 
teased the crowd by showing how a small magnet would float above 
a ceramic superconductor submerged in liquid nitrogen. When the 
superconductor returned to room temperature, the magnet obeyed 
the laws of gravity and fell. 

There were demonstrations throughout the Battelle campus, 
including a sumo showdown of mini robots, a chance to meet and 
learn about the Hanford Patrol's bomb detection dog teams and a 
"hands-free" air hockey game. 

Children and their parents also were given a short course in the 
energy difference between incandescent and fluorescent lighting 
and in the geologic history of the Mid-Columbia, where volcanic 
flows, ice and floods carved today's landscape. 

Ryan Piper, 11, of Richland, said the high-tech air hockey game 
was his favorite. 

Participants simply waved their hands over the table top, causing 
images of the air hockey puck and flippers to react. The game is 
directed by players who simply wave or flick their fingers. 

Staff scientists Richard May and Adrienne Andrew set up the 
virtual air hockey game to introduce their visitors to the latest 
technology for human-to-machine interaction. 

Instead of relying on a mouse tethered to a computer, the 
connection is through gestures -- a truly hands-free capability, 
May explained. 

Kim Piper said the annual kids day gives children of Battelle 
employees a chance to be with their parents on the job. 

"They can see more about what we do on a day-to-day basis," he 
said. "It's also a way for (children) to get a foot in the door 
and experience the adult life." 

© 2004 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
 57 Rocky Mountain News: Speakout: Safety is paramount at Rocky Flats

[letters@rockymountainnews.com] . 

By Frazer Lockhart April 23, 2004

As manager of the Department of Energy's Rocky Flats Project 
Office, my top priority is the safe completion of the closure and 
cleanup of Rocky Flats. The safety program at Rocky Flats remains 
solid, contrary to the impressions of recent news articles. 

Several years ago when it looked like the Rocky Flats cleanup 
would take 60 years and congressional support was at an impasse, 
the DOE and its contractor made a bold proposal to the community 
that we could achieve an accelerated cleanup without compromising 
safety or the level of cleanup. As we move ahead with the major 
challenges in industrial and occupational safety, our commitment 
to working safely remains our top priority. 

 The safe and successful cleanup and closure of Rocky Flats is 
one of the largest and most complex projects in the country. Our 
task is unprecedented in the world - to safely achieve the 
complete dismantlement of a former nuclear weapons factory. The 
work is extraordinarily difficult, yet despite the challenges, 
the massive cleanup of radiological and industrial hazards is 
being done with one of the strongest safety records in the 
country. 

Our Occupational Safety and Health Administration's recordable 
injury record has improved eightfold since 1995, from nearly 
eight injuries per 200,000 work hours to today's project rate of 
less than one per 200,000. Despite that exceptional safety 
record, the work still presents hazards to our workers that 
require vigilance. We will never be satisfied that we are safe 
enough, and we continue to seek further improvements. 

Recent news stories highlighted legitimate concerns by the 
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, which oversees nuclear 
safety at the site. The DOE takes these issues very seriously, 
and we have been actively addressing these concerns since 
December 2003 and have taken significant steps to fix these 
problems. 

It is important that the public understands clearly the safety 
issues at Rocky Flats. The DOE is concerned about a flawed 
execution of our safety program, inadequate safety oversight and 
a potential spread of contamination within one of the buildings. 
Contrary to Denver media reports, there was not a risk of a 
criticality (uncontrolled nuclear reaction); and there was not a 
risk of release into the environment. 

Several news organizations used the misleading phrase "liquid 
plutonium," implying a high concentration or purity of plutonium, 
when in fact the solutions in question were of extremely low 
concentration and did not pose a significant risk to workers, the 
public or the environment. 

It is also important to note that no injuries or significant 
radiation exposure occurred as a result of the recent safety 
events, and at no time was there a threat to the environment or 
the community, due in part to the safety systems that were in 
place and functioning. 

In addition to the oversight by the Defense Nuclear Facilities 
Safety Board and internal DOE safety reviews and oversight, the 
Rocky Flats cleanup is being independently reviewed by the 
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the 
Environmental Protection Agency. 

These agencies have ultimate approval authority over cleanup 
actions at the site. 

While this project is nearly 80 percent complete, we still must 
complete important work to finish the job and successfully 
transition the site to a national wildlife refuge. In the next 
two years, more than 500 additional structures will be 
demolished, 18,000 trucks of waste will leave Rocky Flats for 
permitted disposal sites, and the largest and most complex 
environmental remediation project, the 903 Pad area, will be 
safely remediated. The final cleanup will protect human health 
and the environment, consistent with our regulatory commitments. 

The safety of our workers, the community and the environment 
remains my highest priority as we continue to clean up and close 
Rocky Flats. 

Every day that goes by, the workers of this site are helping to 
move closer to the ultimate goal of safely and permanently 
eliminating the health and environmental risk from Rocky Flats. 
Every day closer to project completion is also a day that the 
workers and the public are not exposed to the risks inherent in 
our difficult cleanup. 

Ensuring the safe completion of this closure project is the most 
important element of our job; we will accept nothing less than 
safe performance of the work. We encourage our communities to 
stay involved and to hold us accountable as we complete the final 
stages of cleanup so we can successfully transfer to a refuge 
that will be an asset for all citizens of Colorado. 

Frazer Lockhart is the manager of the Department of Energy's 
Rocky Flats Project Office. 
  
*****************************************************************
 58 Pahrump Valley Times: Audit puts DOE on hold 

April 23, 2004

By STEVE TETREAULT PVT WASHINGTON BUREAU 

WASHINGTON - The Energy Department has launched a broad review
of technical documents for the Yucca Mountain Project after
auditors turned up shortcomings that could delay licensing for
the proposed nuclear waste repository. 

About 100 workers at the Office of Repository Development in Las
Vegas are being assigned to check over thousands of pages in
analysis model reports and other documents that will underpin
the department's repository license application, officials said
Wednesday. 

The effort is expected to take two or three months, delaying
some of DOE's groundwork for filing a license application later
this year, according to Timothy C. Gunter, a project manager. 

DOE still plans to submit information to Nuclear Regulatory
Commission staff by the end of August on 125 outstanding
technical questions about how the repository will work to
contain radioactive particles from decaying nuclear fuel that
will be buried there. 

But Gunter told an NRC advisory board that about half of the
items will be submitted later rather than sooner between now and
August. 

On several key repository performance questions, DOE officials
will ask NRC staff to accept partial reports in August with a
promise that complete paperwork will be forthcoming later in the
year, Gunter said. 

The Energy Department says it plans to file a Yucca license
application in December. 

An NRC review team that evaluated a sampling of DOE technical
documents during visits to Las Vegas in November, December and
January instigated the new review.

 Auditors said in a report made public last week they discovered
some of the documents were unclear or lacking adequate
background necessary for NRC to judge the repository effort.
Shortcomings could cause licensing delays, they warned.

 A DOE internal review found similar problems, Gunter said after
his presentation to the NRC's Advisory Committee on Nuclear
Waste. 

"A light bulb went off that we weren't meeting NRC's
expectations" for document preparation, Gunter said. 

NRC officials said they will continue to work with DOE as
information is made available. 

"The schedule is the schedule, and we're working within those
constraints," NRC evaluator Tim McCartin told the advisory
board. 

But the new schedule drew criticism from Bob Loux, director of
Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects. 

Loux said DOE problems with license preparation have been
documented well.

 "It's the same thing over again," he said. "They just have not
done a very good technical job documenting things."

 Loux said he believes DOE is stalling on completing its
technical preparations to avoid exposing its work to review by
Nevada experts. 

"I think they believe that if it's out there too soon, people
will have a chance to take it apart," he said. 

		 		   	 



For comment or questions, please e-mail 
[webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com] 
Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2003 
*****************************************************************
 59 Oak Ridger: Nuke pins will be used in TVA plants 							 							 							
 
Story last updated at 11:58 a.m. on April 23, 2004

DOE OFFICIAL: 'These types of initiatives help keep energy
prices down and put taxpayer money to good use.' 

By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff
[paul.parson@oakridger.com] 

More than 9,500 nuclear fuel pins once stored at the Department
of Energy's Oak Ridge K-25 site will be processed and used by
the Tennessee Valley Authority in its nuclear power plants.

Steve McCracken, DOE's Oak Ridge cleanup chief, said that
without this agreement between DOE and TVA, this material would
have eventually been declared waste material and would have been
disposed.

"This way it can be used to generate electricity," McCracken
said. "These types of initiatives help keep energy prices down
and put taxpayer money to good use."

According to DOE, the uranium in the fuel pins will have a
market value of around $10 million once they are fabricated into
fuel assemblies, which will produce enough electricity to power
around 250,000 homes for a year.

DOE officials said the fuel pins, which will ultimately help
generate about 3 million megawatt-hours of electricity, ranged
in length from 5 to 6 feet, and were one-half inch in diameter.

Manufactured during the 1950s, the fuel pins were initially
used to power an experimental reactor in Lynchburg, Va. The pins
were later used in work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the
early 1980s before they were stored in the K-25 building at the
site that bears the same name.

Between September 2003 and February 2004, around nine shipments
of the pins were delivered to Framatome ANP - a private firm in
Richland, Wash. - where they are slated to be processed into
fuel for TVA's nuclear reactors. Bechtel Jacobs Co. - DOE's
local cleanup contractor - oversaw the shipments, which
represented around 11.5 metric tons of low-enriched uranium.

TVA is expected to use the fuel at its Browns Ferry power plant
in North Alabama - possibly in the spring of 2005 - as part of
the Blended Low-Enriched Uranium program, officials noted. 







*****************************************************************
 60 Oak Ridger: Staff exits TVA, maybe Norris 							 							 							
 
Story last updated at 11:59 a.m. on April 23, 2004

TVA: County Commission wants operations, employees in Norris to
stay in county. 

from staff and wire reports.

The Tennessee Valley Authority issued layoff notices to 106
employees on Thursday and announced 550 employees have chosen to
leave voluntarily. In other TVA-employee related news, the
Anderson County Commission is asking TVA not to transfer
employees and TVA operations in Norris.

In addition, TVA officials said they would eliminate 281
contractor positions in the coming months.

On Monday, the County Commission approved a resolution opposing
staff transfers and the relocation of programs and facilities
affecting TVA operations in and around Norris.

The resolution drafted by Commissioner John Alley calls
attention to Norris being considered the birthplace of TVA.
Norris Dam was the first dam created under legislation signed by
President Franklin Roosevelt to create TVA. The city was also
built by TVA.

Today, TVA operations around Norris include the Dam, the
Natural Resources Division, the Aquatic Lab, the Biology Lab,
Engineering Lab and Walnut Orchard Research Facility, according
to the resolution. More than 160 TVA employees work at those
facilities.

"-- TVA has recently announced plans contained in its Strategic
Facilities Plan to eliminate positions in its workforce,
transfer other longtime employees, and relocate facilities and
programs from the Norris area," the resolution states. "-- Since
approximately 30 percent of the employees of TVA assigned to job
duties in, and around, the city of Norris actually live in
Norris and approximately 50 percent reside in Anderson County,
the Anderson County Board of Commissioners believes this action
will produce severe economic implications for the community and
the TVA employees. --"

The utility offered voluntary early retirement and buyout
packages to some employees in February as part of efforts to
prepare for industry deregulation by reducing expenses and
paying down its more than $25 billion debt.

TVA said last month it aimed to eliminate 600 to 800 jobs
overall, possibly the most significant reduction since cutting
2,400 jobs in 1994.

Not enough employees chose to take voluntary retirement or
resignation in areas TVA officials had hoped, and those
departments were targeted for layoffs. Forty-seven of those
employees are located in Knoxville.

Of the 3,247 TVA employees in Chattanooga, 42 were laid off and
234 voluntarily accepted the incentives.

The terminations represent only a fraction of the $247 million
in cost-cutting moves, according to TVA. With several hundred
employees retiring each year, management of attrition and hiring
replacements will continue to need attention, officials said.

Laid-off workers will receive severance pay and retirement
benefits, and TVA has pledged to help them find new jobs. 







*****************************************************************
 61 Oak Ridger: Reactor restart expected soon 							 							 							
 
Story last updated at 12:56 p.m. on April 23, 2004

ANALYSIS SHOWS: There are no reactor safety issues associated
with a leaking seal. 

By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff
paul.parson@oakridger.com [paul.parson@oakridger.com] 

One of the world's most powerful research reactors should be
back in operation by Monday morning, according to Oak Ridge
National Laboratory officials.

The High Flux Isotope Reactor was shutdown in March for a
regularly scheduled refueling outage. Lab officials also
performed a pressure test that indicated there was a leaking
seal around a reactor beam tube, which transports neutrons.

"After that test, we go in and we look for any small leaks that
are in any of our seals or piping or any of the components
whatsoever," said Rick Henry, operations manager for HFIR.

Henry said an analysis shows there are no reactor safety issues
associated with the leak.

Lab officials have worked to minimize the leak, which allowed
water to go from a pressure vessel to the pool of water that
houses the research reactor.



				
					   						<img src="../../images/042304/8495_256.jpg"
WIDTH="256"  HEIGHT="167" align="Left" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="6"
BORDER="1"> [http://oakridger.com/photo_pages/042304/8495.html] 
					   				 				
					   						Marie Moffitt/Staff 					   				 				
					   						Mark Lumsden and Mohana Yethiraj, both staff
research scientists, check equipment in the beam room of the
High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
					   				 			

			 "There really is no consequence to the leak in the sense of
the water going from the pressure vessel into the pool," said
Jim Roberto, ORNL's associate laboratory director for Physical
Sciences. "That does that naturally every time we change the
fuel. We wanted to make sure we didn't damage a component."

However, Roberto said an alternative method to fix the leak has
been developed should the situation worsen.

"It doesn't involve having to take the reactor apart," he said.
"It just involves putting a clam shell kind of arrangement over
that joint and sealing it."



				
					   						<img src="../../images/042304/8513_256.jpg"
WIDTH="256"  HEIGHT="190" align="right" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="6"
BORDER="1"> [http://oakridger.com/photo_pages/042304/8513.html] 
					   				 				
					   						Jennifer Fern/Staff 					   				 				
					   						Emil de Cou, left, associate conductor of the
National Symphony Orchestra, talks with Marshall Whisnant
following the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge's weekly lunch Thursday
at the Elk's Lodge.He spoke to the group about the value of
music to positively influence young people. The National
Symphony Orchestra will perform at 8 p.m. tonight at the Oak
Ridge High School Auditorium as part of a tour across the state.
The NSO will visit six other locations in Tennessee. 					  
				 			

			 Built in the 1960s, the High Flux Isotope Reactor produces
a beam of neutrons for research experiments and also irradiates
materials for the purpose of creating medical isotopes.

During a refueling procedure earlier this year, a part known as
a "shroud" was damaged when workers tried to lift it off the top
of the research reactor. It took about 10 days to fabricate a
new part. 







*****************************************************************
 62 Oak Ridger: DOE honors pollution prevention efforts 							 							 							
 
Story last updated at 12:03 p.m. on April 23, 2004

By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff
paul.parson@oakridger.com [paul.parson@oakridger.com] 

In celebration of Earth Day, the Department of Energy's Office of 
Science launched what could be an annual set of awards honoring 
pollution prevention and environmental stewardship efforts.

Two Oak Ridge facilities received nods.

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education was recognized for 
the "reduction of the use of the dangerous perchloric acid in the 
analysis of alpha emitting isotopes," according to an awards 
announcement. DOE credits an ORISE employee for the development 
of the new analytical procedure that has reduced analysis time by 
40 percent and could save approximately $42,000 annually.

Also, Oak Ridge National Laboratory was honored for a new 
facility design that used the U.S. Green Building Council rating 
system, and the lab's use of bio-based fueled vehicles - among 
other things. As for pollution prevention efforts, DOE's awards 
announcement noted that ORNL has reduced its generation of 
transuranic/mixed transuranic waste by 93 percent; its low-level 
and mixed waste by 87 percent; and its sanitary waste by 40 
percent since 1993.

In announcing the awards, Ray Orbach, the Office of Science 
director, said the awards were implemented to acknowledge 
outstanding environmental management performance at DOE's 
national laboratories and to highlight innovative programs and 
individuals.

Also recognized was Battelle Memorial Institute's efforts to 
develop and integrate environmental management systems at several 
DOE facilities, including ORNL. The Oak Ridge lab is managed by 
UT-Battelle - a partnership between Battelle and the University 
of Tennessee.

Earth Day is recognized each year on April 22. 

*****************************************************************
 63 Pahrump Valley Times: (DOE) KEEPING SECRETS 

 		 April 23, 2004

Multi-county YMP group holds private PV meeting 
OFFICIALS EXPLAIN SECRECY FROM PUBLIC IS DESIGNED TO STREAMLINE
STRATEGY SESSIONS 

By MARK WAITE PVT 
  
 Nye County officials who can be seen in the closed session 
include from left, Dave Swanson, deputy director of the Nye 
County Department of Natural Resources and Federal Facilities, 
consultant Cash Jasczak, Commissioner Candice Trummell, and with 
his back to the camera, Les Bradshaw, director of the Nye County 
Department of Natural Resources and Federal Facilities.   

Members of a tri-county working group of four government entities 
along the proposed Caliente rail corridor to Yucca Mountain 
decided to hold their first Pahrump meeting in secret Wednesday.

 It was the fourth meeting of the group, previous meetings were 
held in Goldfield, Las Vegas and Caliente.

 The Central Nevada Community Protection Working Group consists 
of Nye County Commissioners Henry Neth and Candice Trummell; 
Esmeralda County Commissioner Ben Viljoen and Esmeralda County 
Yucca Mountain Oversight Director George McCorkel; Lincoln County 
Commissioners Spencer Hafen and Tommy Rowe; Caliente Mayor Kevin 
Phillips and City Councilman Ashley Moore.

 Commissioner Neth asked if working group members wanted to take 
a recess in order to debate whether the Pahrump Valley Times 
should be allowed to sit in on the discussion at the Pahrump 
Community Library. Lincoln County Commissioner Hafen said he 
wanted to keep meetings of the working group closed to the 
public, Caliente Mayor Phillips concurred.

 Public officials in attendance emphasized the word "informal" in 
explaining why their deliberations should be closed to the 
public. 

The bylaws, approved by Nye County Commissioners Jan. 6, set up 
two members from each political entity, except Esmeralda County 
where only one commissioner is a member, to avoid having to post 
agendas. Esmeralda County only has a three member county 
commission; a majority of any of the government boards would 
require compliance with the Nevada Open Meetings Act.

 "This is just an informal group of people working together. As 
far as secrecy that's not an issue here. We're trying to do 
things people want to attach a lot of meaning to," Neth said 
after the meeting.

 Neth said members discussed possible economic opportunities 
along the 318-mile preferred corridor for shipping nuclear waste 
by rail from Caliente, around the Nellis Air Force Training Range 
to Yucca Mountain.

 "We wanted to keep it as informal as we can to get the job done 
that needed to be done," explained Neth.

 A thick report was handed out at the meeting entitled, 
"Preliminary Assessment of Affected Parties Along the Proposed 
U.S. DOE Caliente Rail Corridor." The subtitle mentioned patented 
and un-patented mining claims along the rail corridor.

 Mayor Phillips said it made sense for the working group of four 
jurisdictions to discuss issues like radio communication along 
the proposed corridor, land use conflicts and procurement of jobs 
from the U.S. Department of Energy.

 "What's going to happen in Lincoln County has to be consistent 
with what happens in Nye," the mayor said.

 Phillips told members of the State Legislative Committee on 
High-Level Radioactive Waste Monday that his city could secure 
more than 100 jobs by being the railhead for shipment of nuclear 
waste to Yucca Mountain.

 "Our attitude from the start we have believed it to be 
inevitable, a fact, so let's be up to the table," Phillips said 
Wednesday regarding the Yucca Mountain project. 

Phillips added it is exciting to look at the possible workforce, 
putting in training for high school students and speculating on 
the possible tax base to his revenue poor county. The mayor said 
policy decisions by the working group would have to be approved 
by the respective county commissions and his city council.

 "All of us are experienced in public service. For the purpose of 
coordinating this thing we can get so much done in an informal 
setting," Phillips said.

 Commissioner Trummell said with so much scrutiny of the Yucca 
Mountain Project by Clark County and the State of Nevada, there's 
certainly something to be said for having strategic meetings in 
private until a strategy is prepared. Trummell said she's given 
reports to Nye County Commissioners on the topics discussed at 
working group meetings.

 "There's no major policy decisions decided in these working 
group meetings," Trummell said.

 Last September, Margaret Chu, Director of the Office of Civilian 
Radioactive Waste Management, suggested areas of cooperation with 
counties along the corridor, during a discussion with 
representatives of Nevada counties across the street from the 
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board meeting in Amargosa Valley. 
State and Clark County officials expressed concern last October 
when the tri-county agreement was signed.

 Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency Chief Bob Loux told the Las Vegas 
Review-Journal, "they essentially want to cut the state and Clark 
County out of the process rather than deal with us."

 Peggy Maze Johnson, executive director of Citizen Alert, an 
organization opposed to the Yucca Mountain Project, questioned 
how the public would know there's no policy decisions being made 
in the closed-door sessions. She wondered how the information 
would be shared with commissioners of the respective counties.

 Johnson said the public should be able to attend any meeting 
that involves public money. Pahrump resident Sally Devlin, who 
represented Citizen Alert, was also barred from the meeting.

 "I think whenever there is something going on behind closed 
doors the citizens have a right to question why," Johnson said.

 Johnson said residents of Tonopah recently were outraged at a 
meeting of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board to hear Les 
Bradshaw, director of the Nye County Nye County Department of 
Natural Resources and Federal Facilities, talk about working with 
the DOE on the proposed Caliente rail corridor. The route would 
travel through Warm Springs, turning south near Tonopah to run 
parallel to U.S. Highway 95.

 "They feel the county commissioners are totally out of touch 
with people in their own county," she said.

 Trummell said it was ironic Johnson, a Clark County resident, 
would claim Nye County Commissioners were out of touch with their 
constituents. She referred to a recent poll which showed 88 
percent of Nevada residents surveyed feel the Yucca Mountain 
project is inevitable and 76 percent would like the state to 
begin negotiating for benefits.

For comment or questions, please e-mail 
webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com 
[webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com] Copyright © Pahrump Valley 
Times, 1997 - 2003 
*****************************************************************
 64 Google News Alert - nuclear
 
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 14:40:27 -0700 (PDT)

 
MILLSTONE nuclear plant provides precedent for Vermont Yankee
Newsday - Long Island,NY,USA
By CHRISTOPHER GRAFF. MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Only once before has a nuclear
facility lost used nuclear fuel. It was never found. As engineers ...
<http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ct--nuclearfuelmissin0423apr23,0,3594431.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire>
See all stories on this topic:
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SEIU Report Documents Security Problems at Nuclear Sites ... 
Yahoo News (press release) - USA
WASHINGTON, April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Past security problems have been documented
at US nuclear facilities guarded by the Wackenhut Corporation, the private
...
<http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040423/nef012_1.html>
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RUSSIA to complete dismantling nuclear submarines by 2010
PRIME-TASS (subscription) - Moscow,Russia
MOSCOW, April 23 (Prime-Tass) -- Russia plans to complete dismantling all
of the country’s decommissioned nuclear submarines by 2010, Sergei Antipov,
the ...
<http://www.prime-tass.com/news/show.asp?topicid=0&id=348725>
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IRAN rejects Bush's allegations over nuclear weapons
Xinhua - China
... Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi on Thursday rejected US President
George W. Bush's accusation that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, terming
such ...
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/23/content_1437489.htm>
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FUTURE is nuclear
The Globe and Mail - Canada
... Has Mr. Reguly considered new nuclear? The unit-energy cost over the
life of a nuclear plant is a lot less than that from a gas plant. ...
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040423/LETTERS23-4/TPNational/Canada>
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ISRAEL'S nuclear spy is out on parole.
Slate - USA
Mordechai Vanunu walked out of an Israeli prison Wednesday afternoon after
serving nearly 18 years for revealing Israel's nuclear secrets to the
London Sunday ...
<http://slate.msn.com/id/2099352/>
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ROGUE nations still exporting nuclear technology: officials
Borneo Bulletin - borneo,Brunei Darussalam
SINGAPORE (AP) - Rogue states selling nuclear weapons technology and parts
on the black market are setting up false front companies and circumventing
...
<http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/fri/apr23w6.htm>
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NUCLEAR medicine camera here
Bridgeton News - Bridgeton,NJ,USA
... There's something even cooler at the facility that will open Aug. 8.
It's a nuclear medicine camera and will be the first of its kind in South
Jersey. ...
<http://www.nj.com/news/bridgeton/local/index.ssf?/base/news-7/108271203630510.xml>

US doubts Kim's commitment to end nuclear standoff
Washington Times - Washington,DC,USA
The Bush administration yesterday expressed skepticism about North Korea's
commitment to resolving the nuclear standoff on the peninsula, despite
this week's ...
<http://washingtontimes.com/world/20040422-102249-2260r.htm>
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RUSSIA'S nuclear facilities at risk of terrorist attack
ABC Online - Australia
... EASTLEY: Weapons experts from more than 20 countries will gather in
Moscow today to discuss the risk of a terrorist attack there on Russia's
nuclear facilities ...
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 65 Bradenton Herald: Nuclear energy to power trip to Jupiter's moons

| 04/23/2004 | 

ROBERT S. BOYD

 Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - To boost future spaceships to distant moons and 
planets, the Bush administration is turning to nuclear power, 
long a no-no for a nation nervous about anything to do with 
radioactivity. 

Despite activists' fears of a nuclear accident, NASA has used 
small atomic generators to power scientific instruments and 
communications systems on at least 25 space missions over the 
last 30 years. Unlike batteries, which run down, or solar panels, 
which don't work well far from the sun, nuclear generators give 
steady, reliable and almost unlimited power. 

Each of the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, has eight 
penny-sized pellets of radioactive plutonium aboard to keep its 
electronic instruments warm during the freezing Martian night. 
The huge Cassini spaceship, which will reach Saturn in June after 
a seven-year voyage, carries 72 pounds of plutonium to produce 
electrical energy. 

To the dismay of some opponents of nuclear projects in space or 
on the ground, NASA has begun work on a far more controversial 
project. 

For the first time, it intends to use a powerful 
nuclear-propulsion system to send a large scientific spaceship, 
traveling as fast as 50,000 mph, on a tour of the ice-covered 
moons of Jupiter, where scientists think they might find evidence 
of life. 

NASA's science chief, Ed Weiler, calls the ship "Battlestar 
Galactica," after the science-fiction TV show. 

A 2011 mission 

The proposed spaceship will depend on nuclear fission - splitting 
uranium atoms - to propel it to the neighborhood of Jupiter, 
starting sometime after 2011. 

When the atoms are split, they will generate heat that can be 
converted to electricity. The electricity, in turn, would 
accelerate electrically charged hydrogen atoms and speed them out 
the rear of the spaceship, thrusting it forward. 

The multibillion-dollar mission is known as the Jupiter Icy Moons 
Orbiter. 

It's the first phase of a larger NASA program called Prometheus, 
which is designed to develop nuclear propulsion for a series of 
space missions, including the human expedition to Mars that 
President Bush proposed in January. 

NASA wants to spend $2 billion developing Prometheus over the 
next five years. JIMO's trip to Mars would cost billions more. 
"Our nuclear budget is going up radically," Weiler said 

JIMO will be "difficult both technically and politically," 
Prometheus director Alan Newhouse acknowledged. Before the space 
reactor can get off the ground, members of Congress will have 
turned over several times and one or two new presidents will have 
been in the White House. Support for putting a nuclear power 
plant in space may not last that long. 

"It depends on who wins the next several presidential elections," 
said John Pike, an expert on space policy and director of 
GlobalSecurity, a nonprofit organization in Washington. "Another 
administration might not want it." 

A previous attempt at nuclear propulsion began in 1965 under 
President Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, but Richard Nixon's 
Republican administration canceled it in 1969. Since the '60s, 
however, Republicans have been more favorable to nuclear projects 
than Democrats. 

Additional power 

Prometheus officials say a nuclear fission system would give a 
spaceship up to 100 times more thrust than a non-nuclear system 
of similar weight. JIMO could make the trip to Jupiter in 
one-third to half the time of today's vessels, which are launched 
by chemical rockets fueled by hydrogen and oxygen. Using current 
technology, the trip takes about 38 months. 

Furthermore, the current generation of spaceships, once they've 
dropped off their booster rockets, depend on batteries or solar 
power, which have limited capabilities. 

Science and Health   

*****************************************************************
 66 Technology Review: Is Cold Fusion Heating Up?

Though their work is dismissed by most physicists, a determined 
cadre of scientists is still chasing after what could be an 
energy jackpot—and their experiments are producing heat and 
nuclear byproducts that can't be otherwise explained.

  By Jeff Hecht April 23, 2004

Fifteen years after the first controversial claims hit the
headlines, cold fusion refuses to die. A small cadre of die-hard
advocates argues that experiments now produce consistent
results. The physics establishment continues to scoff, but some
scientists who have been watching the field carefully are
convinced something real is happening. And now the U.S.
Department of Energy has decided that recent results justify a
fresh look at cold fusion. 

Fusion of the nuclei of hydrogen atoms powers the sun, and
promises nearly limitless energy on Earth. But fusion is
extraordinarily difficult to tame because nuclei strongly repel
each other. The tremendous heat and pressure inside the sun can
overwhelm this repulsion, and thermonuclear bombs can attain
those conditions, fleetingly, on Earth. But building a fusion
reactor that can convert that tremendous heat into useful energy
has posed an immense challenge. After decades of research, the
conditions needed for fusion still can be attained only briefly,
and these experimental fusion reactions produce less energy than
is needed to ignite them. 

Physicists were stunned when two University of Utah
electrochemists, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann, claimed in
1989 that they had achieved nuclear fusion at room temperature.
Their experiment packed deuterium—the stable heavy isotope of
hydrogen—into palladium electrodes. After many hours of
operation, they reported that more heat was generated than a
purely chemical reaction could have produced. At first it looked
like Pons and Fleischman might have come up with a
revolutionarily easy way to tap fusion energy, and laboratories
around the world rushed to try the experiment for themselves.
The simple-looking experiment proved virtually impossible to
reproduce, however, and within weeks, most physicists wrote off
cold fusion as a mistake—an experimental result that
contradicted the known laws of physics. 

Yet the potential of limitless energy lured a band of would-be
revolutionaries who kept on working the problem. Often they
found nothing. Sometimes, however, their experiments appeared to
produce more energy than they expected from chemical reactions;
at other times they detected traces of potential fusion reaction
products, suggesting that some previously unknown physical
effects may be at work. 

The evidence for "new physics" has been building for years, says
Peter Hagelstein, associate professor of electrical engineering
and computer science at MIT, who chaired the tenth International
Conference on Cold Fusion in Cambridge last August.  Experiments
performed under properly controlled conditions reliably produce
more heat than standard theory predicts. Nuclear products show
up in about the right amounts to account for this excess heat.
Patterns have emerged that explain previous anomalies. When
Hagelstein saw how pieces of the puzzle were fitting together at
the August meeting, he urged the Department of Energy to
reconsider a field that had been cast out of orthodox science
soon after its birth. 


[http://www.technologyreview.com
    
*****************************************************************

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: 
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