***************************************************************** 05/13/04 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 12.115 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 USATODAY: North Korea suggests peace treaty to settle nuclear disput 2 Xinhuanet: Major differences exist in six-party talks 3 KoreaTimes: 2 Koreas Discuss Nukes in Beijing 4 Xinhuanet: New contents added to six-party working group meeting 5 US: IPS-English CANADA-U.S.: Defence Pact Safe Under New Missile 6 US: Union Leader: Study could threaten Portsmouth shipyard 7 US: PRN: Nuclear Energy Has 'Big Role to Play' in Advancing Freedom, 8 US: Daily Press: When do three subs equal a flattop? 9 VANUNU: consultant vetoed NUCLEAR REACTORS 10 US: HTN: Oyster Creek’s health risks debated at forum ‘Tooth Fairy’ 11 Bellona: Russian Federation Council discussing Severodvinsk floating 12 US: NRC: Nuclear Management Company, LLC, Point Beach Nuclear Plant, 13 US: heraldtribune.com: Catawba Nuclear Station gets positive safety 14 EU Business:Nuclear workers protest to keep Bulgaria's power 15 US: NRC: For the Record - 2004 16 US: SouthBendTribune.com: NRC unveils results at Cook plant 17 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Coalition asks PSB to reopen uprate case 18 US: Paducah Sun: NRC report: No penalties for Honeywell NUCLEAR SAFETY 19 US: North County Times: 'Dirty bomb' drill tests response 20 Bellona: Nuclear submarines worldwidecurrent force structure and fut 21 US: AP: Two Israeli's picked up on suspicion of planning nuclear att 22 UK Independent: Rise in birth deformities blamed on Allies' deadly w 23 US: Courier-Journal: Agency struggles to obtain radiation data 24 US: Advocate: Dock accident moves up "floating" of nuclear sub 25 ITAR-TASS: Berlin to allocate Russia 300 mln euros to store sub reac 26 ITAR-TASS: Russia can scrap written-off N-submarines by 2010 27 SS: Farmer finds stolen radioactive material Contents could have mad 28 US: Hilltop Times - Tests show no radium risk in Bldg. 214 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 29 US: Better than smallpox: Radioactive waste - A 'gift' to poor 30 Las Vegas RJ: Reno Yucca rail hearing attracts fewer participants 31 Las Vegas SUN: Reid says Kerry would be friend to Nevada 32 Las Vegas SUN: Letter: Negotiating on Yucca is crazy 33 Las Vegas SUN: U.S. legislators told DOE behind in Yucca licensing 34 US: RGJ: Group says metal to house nuclear waste could corrode faste 35 US: Bradenton Herald: Tallevast was never warned 36 US: Bradenton Herald: Tallevast to be surveyed Friday 37 US: SF Chronicle: Lawmaker warns Energy Department of money cuts for 38 US: Nevada Appeal: Cask crash testing for dummies 39 AU ABC: Nuclear watchdog calls for waste dump review. 40 US: KRNV: Energy officials pitch proposed waste route to Reno reside 41 US: KRNV: Possible Energy Department money cuts for nuclear waste pr 42 NEWS.com.au: Doubt on nuclear dump 43 News & Star: DR JACK ATTACKS BNFL 44 News & Star: BNFL DELAY WILL PUT JOBS AT RISK 45 US: News Journal: DuPont's VX waste plans blocked NUCLEAR WEAPONS 46 AU ABC: NZ government rejects calls to scrap anti-nuclear laws US DEPT. OF ENERGY 47 LinuxElectrons: DOE Leadership-Class Computing Capability for 48 Oak Ridger: 'Uncovered' documentary to be shown in Oak Ridge 49 Tri-Valley Herald: Officials approve funding for nukes 50 Oak Ridger: Documents outline media activities 51 Oak Ridger: No comment' goes against advice 52 Oak Ridger: Sick worker, union issues dominate remembrance ceremony 53 Oak Ridger: POGO: Hard road ahead for security changes 54 Oak Ridger: Weapons plant gets communications help 55 Paducah Sun: Uranium reuse firms building date a concern 56 Seattle Times: Editorials: Hanford worker safety needs Senate hearin OTHER NUCLEAR 57 Google News Alert - nuclear ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 USATODAY: North Korea suggests peace treaty to settle nuclear dispute Posted 5/12/2004 9:25 PM Updated 5/12/2004 9:55 PM By Barbara Slavin, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — North Korea said Wednesday that the best way to resolve its nuclear standoff with the United States would be to replace a 51-year-old armistice with a peace treaty ending the Korean War, to be signed by North Korea, South Korea and the United States. The comment, in a rare interview with Han Song Ryol, North Korea's deputy representative to the United Nations, appeared to reflect North Korea's growing frustration with slow-moving six-nation nuclear disarmament talks in Beijing. Labeled by President Bush as part of an "axis of evil" with Iran and Saddam Hussein's Iraq, the North Korean government says a peace treaty would be a deterrent to an attack by the United States. The Bush administration says it might talk about a peace treaty but only after North Korea agrees to the United States' long-standing demand for "complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement" of its nuclear program. Han said North Korea would show "patience and flexibility" in talks that resumed Wednesday in Beijing, but he doubted they would make progress. He said his country would have to hold onto nuclear weapons unless "all the countries with troops on the Korean peninsula" reach a permanent peace. Han, the top North Korean official in this country who deals with the United States, spoke by phone from New York in his first interview with an English-language newspaper in nearly two years. Han disputed comments attributed to Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani who ran a black market in nuclear components until last year, that Khan saw three nuclear bombs in North Korea in 1999. Han said it would make no technical or strategic sense to put "three nuclear bombs at the same place." The report about Khan appeared in The New York Times on April 13. North Korea is said to have enough plutonium for eight bombs. Material for six apparently was produced after North Korea expelled foreign inspectors in January 2003. The crisis over its nuclear program began in October 2002, when the Bush administration claims North Korea admitted to U.S. diplomats that it was secretly trying to enrich uranium, in violation of a 1994 agreement. North Korea denies this. The administration has suggested that North Korea follow the example of Libya, which agreed last year to give up all its weapons of mass destruction programs and opened the country to inspection. Han said North Korea wouldn't do that but would welcome direct talks like those that preceded the Libya breakthrough. "Back-channel, secret or any kind of direct talks in my opinion could produce tremendous, significant results," he said. Han's comments came as North Korea continued to improve relations with South Korea. The two countries have expanded economic ties and agreed to hold high-level military talks next week. North Korea also appears closer to settling differences with Japan over releasing relatives of Japanese people abducted to teach their language in North Korea in the 1970s. Five were freed last year. Han denied speculation that North Korea was trying to improve relations with South Korea and Japan in order to isolate the United States. "It is not our strategy to put a wedge between countries but to improve relations with all countries," he said. USATODAY.com headlines to your Web site © Copyright 2004 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. ***************************************************************** 2 Xinhuanet: Major differences exist in six-party talks www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2004-05-14 08:20:26 BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhuanet) -- China admitted on the second day of a working-level meeting that "major" differences still remained on solving the 19-month-long standoff involving the Korean Peninsula nuclear programme. "There still exist... some major differences between each side in some areas,'' Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at Thursday's regular briefing. Meanwhile, Liu characterized the talks as "frank and candid," adding that "new content" had emerged, but did not give further details. The inaugural working group meeting of the six-party talks, involving China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russia and Japan, started Wednesday morning at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. This was the same venue for the previous two rounds of six-party talks. "China hopes all parties remain `flexible and patient' and seek common interests while reserving differences in line with the spirit of mutual understanding and co-operation,'' Liu said. The spokesman said China's stance is to finally realize a "nuclear weapon-free" Korean Peninsula. No closing date has been set for the working-level meeting, and reports suggest it might go on into the weekend. This week's discussions could help pave the way for a third round of high-level six-way negotiations expected to take place in the Chinese capital before the end of June. A series of bilateral and multilateral meetings were held in the lead-up to the talks, sources revealed. The DPRK and the ROK held one-on-one talks after Thursday's session of the working-level meeting, according to the ROK's Yonhap news agency. In addition, the US and DPRK delegations are "prepared to meet bilaterally" on the sidelines of the working-level discussions, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported. China, the host of the meeting, did not confirm or deny directly any of these reports. "All delegations during the meetings conducted all kinds of contacts and talks, bilateral or multilateral, which are quite normal and expected," Liu said. (China Daily) Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 3 KoreaTimes: 2 Koreas Discuss Nukes in Beijing Hankooki.com > Korea Times > Nation South and North Korea had a bilateral meeting on Thursday on the sidelines of the six-nation working-group talks in Beijing that kicked off on Wednesday to smooth out the longstanding standoff over the North's nuclear weapons programs. The two sides discussed important issues, such as ``compensation-for-freeze'' measures, during the talks which took place at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse in the Chinese capital on the second day of the mid-level officials' talks. Seoul's delegation was led by Cho Tae-yong, who participated in the previous two rounds of main six-party talks, while Pyongyang's negotiators were headed by Ri Gun, deputy director general of the North's foreign ministry. The open-ended discussions, which were agreed upon during the last round of plenary sessions in February, are aimed at laying the groundwork for a third round for the plenary conference with high-level officials, anticipated sometime by the end of June. The two previous plenary sessions ended without any clear breakthrough. Sources familiar with the Beijing talks said the six nations, including the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia as well as the host China, conducted ``conducive and in-depth'' discussions on the concerns of various sides on the second day of the ongoing talks. North Korea seeks financial aid and other concessions for freezing its nuclear program, a demand that clashes directly with Washington's call for a ``complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement (CVID)'' of the North's nuclear program. ``There was a more in-depth dialogue on the second day of talks,'' one diplomatic source said, adding, ``all issues that can be thought of concerning the North's nuclear program were raised during the first two days.'' Despite a lack of progress, China reportedly evaluated the meeting as ``useful,'' according to the sources. 05-13-2004 21:45 ***************************************************************** 4 Xinhuanet: New contents added to six-party working group meeting : FM www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2004-05-13 18:34:41 BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhuanet) -- The parties have added new contents to their speeches in the six-party working-level talks on the Korean nuclear issue, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao here Thursday. "Since the talks is still under way, I will not disclose more information according to consensus reached by all the parties prior to the talks", Liu told a regular press conference in response to a question on the working-level six-party talks. The envoys from China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russia and Japan gathered Wednesday morning in the Diaoyutai StateGuesthouse in China's capital, the venue for the previous two rounds of six-party talks, to convene the inaugural working group meeting. The delegates from the six parties made speeches earnestly andcandidly in the meeting, elaborating their stands respectively, said Liu. The speeches will be helpful in fully understanding and recognizing each other's stances. However there are still some differences, even big differences, Liu added. China hopes all parties keep "flexibility" and "patience seek commonness while reserving differences in line with the spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation, Liu said. Liu said the parties concerned are expected to look at the positive points in other party's address and find a way to the resolution of the problems. The general goal for the Korean nuclear issue is a nuclear-weapons-free Korean Peninsula, Liu said. The parties agreed to set up a working group and convene the third round of six-party talks before the end of June during the second round of talks held in February 2004 in the Chinese capital.Enditem Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 5 IPS-English CANADA-U.S.: Defence Pact Safe Under New Missile Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 15:05:23 -0700 ROMAIPS NA IP=20 CANADA-U.S.: Defence Pact Safe Under New Missile Plan - General By Paul Weinberg TORONTO, May 13 (IPS) - A top U.S. military officer has contradicted Cana= dian officials who suggested the Canada-U.S. military alliance might be d= iminished if Ottawa does not support and participate in Washington's ball= istic missile defence (BMD) system.=20 =94Will that mean the end of NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defence = Command)? I don't believe so,=94 said U.S. Major General Raymond Rees, ch= ief of staff at the headquarters of NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command, = after a dinner speech Apr. 15 during a conference on Canada-U.S. security= relations.=20 =94NORAD has a significant role to play with 'air breathing' threats,=94 = Rees added at the event at Duke University in the U.S. state of North Car= olina.=20 Since 1958 about 300 Canadian military personnel have worked with their U= .S. counterparts at U.S.-based NORAD to conduct early warning and threat = assessment of traffic entering North American airspace. The information i= s shared with U.S. Strategic Command, which manages the retaliatory U.S. = nuclear weapons arsenal.=20 Ottawa has been negotiating with Washington for a year to extend Canada's= role to the land and sea-based BMD, which is designed to destroy missile= s fired at the continent from so-called =94rogue states=94. The system is= slated to begin working in September.=20 However, the mixed success of the BMD technology -- tests by U.S. militar= y personnel have failed in three out of eight trials -- and the possibili= ty down the road that missile defence might lead to the weaponisation of = space have helped to generate opposition to the plan in both Canada and t= he United States.=20 In a report issued Thursday, the U.S.-based Union of Concerned Scientists= (UCS) concluded, =94the system would be ineffective against a real attac= k, and that there is no technical justification for its deployment=94.=20 =94Our technical analysis of this proposed system shows there is no basis= to believe that it will have any defensive capability,=94 said Dr Lisbet= h Gronlund, a physicist and co-director of the UCS Global Security Progra= mme. =94The administration's claims that the defence will be highly effec= tive are false and irresponsible,=94 she added in a statement.=20 Despite the technical doubts, in mid-February Canadian Defence Minister D= avid Pratt formally announced that Ottawa wants to participate in BMD. He= also suggested that Washington might bypass NORAD and establish a separa= te U.S. continental defence command if Canada rejected a role in the syst= em.=20 =94Canada's participation in ballistic missile defence would involve Cana= da in decisions concerning the missile defence of our country. The altern= ative would be to allow the United States to make these important decisio= ns on its own, with all of the implications this would have for sovereign= ty,=94 Pratt said.=20 BMD would mark a dramatic departure from existing continental defence bec= ause early warning and assessment (which now includes Canadian military p= ersonnel) would be technically inseparable from the launching in real tim= e of an missile designed to destroy an invading missile.=20 For the U.S. military to maintain complete control of the launching funct= ion =94will take political finessing,=94 between Ottawa and Washington, s= ays Ernie Regehr, director of the Canadian peace group Project Ploughshar= es.=20 Regehr and other BMD critics are alarmed that some U.S. military planners= are proposing to eventually extend the system into outer space. Although= Canada, a traditional supporter of international arms control agreements= , is opposed to space-based weapons, Ottawa would find it difficult polit= ically to withdraw from BMD once it decided to join, he argues.=20 Regehr questions why Canada has accepted at face value the Bush administr= ation's =94ideological=94 fixation on rogue state threats, particularly t= he =94almost exclusive=94 focus on North Korea as a justification for BMD= . =94There isn't a real threat there; some potential threats, but there a= re better ways of doing it,=94 he suggests.=20 BMD is a =94distraction,=94 says defence analyst Steven Staples at the Ot= tawa-based Polaris Institute. =94Missile defence is going to pull resourc= es away and it is going to pull attention away. The Canadian government i= s not doing a real assessment of what the security threats are in terms o= f missile defence.=94=20 Staples, who maintains that NORAD would still be needed to monitor commer= cial aircraft above North America, even if missile defence goes ahead, fo= und an unlikely ally in Rees.=20 =94We are going to have to be able to make some accommodation if the Cana= dian government is not going to go along with us on missile defence. We'r= e going to have to come up with some way to proceed so that the United St= ates can conduct missile defence regardless. It is tough and it means we'= re going to have to change our way,=94 Rees told the conference audience.= =20 His statements have not been reported in the corporate-dominated Canadian= media.=20 Given the aerial attacks on New York and Washington by terrorists on Sep.= 11, 2001 and the geographic proximity of those cities to Canada, NORAD i= s too important for Washington to neglect, says Michael Byers, a Canadian= -born law professor and an organiser of the Duke conference.=20 What Rees said, he added, =94wasn't a surprising statement, but it was in= teresting that he was prepared to say it on the record.=94=20 Rees did not misspeak, says Joseph Jockel, director of Canadian Studies a= t St Lawrence University in Canton, New York and a supporter of Ottawa's = participation in missile defence. =94Those guys at NORAD are under wraps.= They know this is a sensitive issue, and they have careful answers to gi= ve to all of things.=94=20 To Washington, NORAD represents the concept of Canada-U.S. military co-op= eration in general, although the arrangement is primarily concerned with = the tracking and assessment of potential airborne threats over North Amer= ica.=20 =94If someone had got up and said to ( Rees), 'but what about NORAD's key= function?', they would have gotten a different answer,=94 adds Jockel.=20 Ottawa's decision to join BMD does not include any immediate spending ple= dged by the Liberal Party government of Prime Minister Paul Martin. Nor i= s Washington seeking to station missile defence interceptors on Canadian = soil.=20 But as BMD's costs begin to rise to an eventual 10.8 billion U.S. dollars= a year, (an amount that will increase annually in phase two and three) W= ashington might ask Ottawa to help defray a portion of its budget, sugges= ts Byers. =94It is difficult to put numbers on any eventual Canadian cont= ribution. But I think one could assume that it would be greater than one = per cent of the total cost of the system.=94=20 ***** +Union of Concerned Scientists (http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release.= cfm?newsID=3D394) +NORAD (http://www.norad.mil/) +Project Ploughshares (http://www.ploughshares.ca/) +Polaris Institute (http://www.polarisinstitute.org/) (END/IPS/NA/IP/PW/ML/04) =20 =3D 05131804 ORP013 NNNN ***************************************************************** 6 Union Leader: Study could threaten Portsmouth shipyard The Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News - 14-May-04 - News - May 13, 2004 By JERRY MILLER Union Leader Correspondent KITTERY, Maine — An internal U.S. Navy study, done by the service’s budget office, could spell big trouble for the future of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The study recommends reducing the number of nuclear attack submarines, including Los Angeles Class vessels. The Port City yard specializes in the repair, overhaul and refueling of Los Angeles Class submarines. In the last 50 years, the local shipyard has completed 74 submarine overhauls, a figure far higher than any other shipyard in the nation. The study addresses reducing the number of attack subs by as much as one-third, from 55 to as few as 37, in order to save money. The document also looks at the possibility of reducing the number of new Virginia Class submarines, the successor vessel to the L.A. Class boats. The Portsmouth shipyard employs about 4,500 workers and has recently seen its work force increase because the Navy has committed to doing more work there. The possibility of having fewer Los Angeles class submarines compounds the threat to the future of the local yard, posed by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC), which acts on military base closing recommendations made by the Pentagon. In a little more than a year, the secretary of defense must issue a list of recommended base closing, which will then by evaluated by the BRAC. If there are fewer L.A. Class ships needing repair and refueling, the shipyard becomes more susceptible to closure. Shipyard command staff do not comment on base closure or reduction issues. In a one-paragraph statement, which made no mention of the Navy study, U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg said, “Submarines are a critical part of naval operations and our country’s overall national security strategy. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has time and again proven itself a leader in the quality, efficiency and innovation of its submarine overhaul efforts. We will continue to work with the Pentagon to promote the merits and defend the interests of the shipyard as the BRAC . . . process moves forward.” The office of U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu issued this statement concerning the Navy study: “While it’s premature to comment on a report that I have not reviewed, the fact remains that we don’t have to look much further than the past year to realize the importance of keeping a strong military infrastructure at the ready and I have serious reservations about any proposals to cut our nation’s submarine force.” “Through the repair and overhaul of Los Angeles Class nuclear submarines, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard’s primary work, the United States’ national security continues to be strengthened and maintained. Yard officials and employees can be assured that I will continue to fight strongly for the yard’s ability to continue that work.” A statement, issued by the office of U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley stated, “While Congressman Bradley has not reviewed the Navy’s internal report, as it is still being deliberated, this news is certainly troubling. . . . We (the Congressional delegation) are in the process of drafting a letter to Navy officials urging them to maintain the minimum force level of 55 submarines, to protect our national interests, as recommended by the 1999 Joint Staff study.” A retired Portsmouth Naval Shipyard commander, Capt. William McDonough, was more blunt than Gregg, Sununu or Bradley, calling the study “distressing,” and adding that “it implies the Navy is contemplating reducing the number of attack submarines.” McDonough, who now heads the Seacoast Shipyard Association, a grassroots group devoted to keeping the yard from being closed under the BRAC process, said in the short term there would be no impact on the local shipyard, should the Navy report be implemented. But the long-term impact could be significant, since fewer L.A. Class vessels would translate into less maintenance work. “It’s one way of looking to save money,” McDonough added. The retired captain said the Navy is also looking for way to reduce the use of submarines in intelligence gathering by using unmanned submersibles. without the permission of The Union Leader. ***************************************************************** 7 PRN: Nuclear Energy Has 'Big Role to Play' in Advancing Freedom, Secretary Evans Says NEW ORLEANS, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Nuclear energy has "a big role to play in the expansion of freedom" worldwide because the prosperity and economic growth that it fosters are "freedom's ally," U.S. Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans said here today. "You cannot have a strong economy without available and affordable energy. It's that simple," Evans told more than 300 attendees at the U.S. nuclear energy industry's annual conference. Three billion people around the globe -- one-half of the world's population -- must try to survive from one day to the next on a paltry income of less than $2 per day, Evans said. "How are we going to lift up the economies around the world to bring those three billion people out of poverty in the decades ahead without affordable, available, environmentally preferred and sound energy supplies? Nuclear power has just got to play a critical role in that," Evans said. "For your economy to grow, you've got have energy -- a diverse supply of energy." President Bush recognizes the vital role that nuclear energy plays for developing and developed countries alike -- including the United States, Evans said. He noted that the United States is importing more for 55 percent of its oil and gasoline supplies, and nearly 20 percent of its natural gas supplies. As volatile natural gas prices climb, industries that are dependent on the fuel source -- for example, fertilizer and chemical manufacturers -- are shutting down and U.S. jobs are being lost in those sectors, Evans said. "Higher energy prices make it harder to compete. If we are going to bring relief by bringing on more nuclear power plants, prices would be lower, and we wouldn't be burning as much natural gas to generate electricity. We would be using it as a feedstock and a raw material" for industry, he said. Nuclear power plants operating in 31 states supply electricity to one of every five U.S. homes and businesses. They are by far the largest emission- free source of electricity in the nation. The Nuclear Energy Institute is the nuclear energy industry's policy organization. This news release and additional information about nuclear energy are available at . SOURCE Nuclear Energy Institute Copyright © 1996-2004 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights ***************************************************************** 8 Daily Press: When do three subs equal a flattop? HAMPTON ROADS, VA. BY PETER DUJARDIN 247-4749 May 13, 2004 NEWPORT NEWS -- Northrop Grumman Newport News expects to get work on three Navy submarines to help offset a delay in an aircraft carrier's refueling and overhaul, shipyard President Tom Schievelbein said Wednesday at a company investor conference in New York. The yard will perform maintenance on three nuclear-powered Los Angeles-class subs - the USS Hyman G. Rickover, the Oklahoma City and the Minneapolis-St.Paul - beginning this fall and extending into 2005. The sub-repair contracts, along with previously announced maintenance on the carrier George Washington, puts the yard in a stronger position to avoid layoffs caused by a one-year delay in starting the carrier Carl Vinson's midlife refueling and overhaul. But the yard didn't rule out the possibility that layoffs still could take place. "It is our hope and objective that the submarine work, combined with the work on the carrier George Washington, will mitigate any potential layoffs" from the Vinson delay, shipyard spokeswoman Jennifer Dellapenta said. "However, because we don't know yet the full scope of these jobs, it is unclear whether we will achieve this objective." The exact nature of the sub-repair work, she said, is being negotiated. It was unclear Wednesday whether the Navy moved the maintenance work - traditionally done at Navy yards - from Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth. Until last fall, the Navy had planned to start the Vinson refueling and overhaul - a huge job that happens only once in a carrier's 50-year lifespan - in November. That project - which will employ 2,500 - includes changing nuclear fuel; installing thousands of new valves, pumps and engines; revamping electrical systems; and other improvements. It is expected to cost $3.2 billion, a figure that includes shipyard and Navy planning, parts from the Navy and shipyard waterfront work. But late last year, the Navy determined the Vinson had enough fuel left to continue for another year, and the ship was deemed necessary for operations around the world. So instead of starting in November, the Vinson work will start in November 2005. When the delay was announced, the Navy said it would move a smaller upgrade on the George Washington to help offset the Vinson refueling. However, that alone didn't make up for all the lost work. n Copyright ©2004 Daily Press ***************************************************************** 9 VANUNU: consultant vetoed Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 21:09:01 -0500 (CDT) http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/427413.html Haaretz ( Israel) may 14, 2004 By Yossi Melman Prof. Uzi Even vetoed as consultant on Vanunu case Yehiel Horev, the Defense Ministry's director of security, has forbidden Professor Uzi Even to serve as an expert consultant to the legal proceedings against the state that Mordechai Vanunu is now preparing, arguing that Even, despite having formerly worked at the Dimona nuclear reactor, does not have the necessary security classification. Moreover, Horev said, Even left the reactor in 1968, and is therefore ignorant of developments that took place there after that date. Vanunu was released from prison last month after serving an 18-year jail sentence for revealing Israel's nuclear secrets to a British newspaper. However, since he is believed to still possess classified information, the security establishment has imposed various restrictions on him - for instance, he is not allowed to travel overseas. With the aid of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), he is therefore preparing a petition to the High Court of Justice against these restrictions. As part of these preparations, Vanunu has asked Horev's department (known by its Hebrew acronym, Malmab), to return all the material confiscated from him in prison, including some 70 notebooks in which he recorded both his thoughts and notes and drawings relating to the Dimona reactor. ACRI argued that it needs this material to prepare the petition, but Horev and the state prosecution refused. Therefore, a compromise was reached under which two people would be allowed to examine the material: Dan Yakir, ACRI's legal adviser, and an expert agreed to by both Vanunu and the state. Yakir thus proposed Even, a former Meretz MK and an outspoken critic of both Israel's nuclear policy and the restrictions imposed on Vanunu. However, Horev rejected the proposal. "Since Vanunu's material relates to a period in which Dr. Even was not a party [to events at the reactor] and to a different line of work, other appropriate experts have been suggested," a Defense Ministry spokeswoman said. Even responded that he was not surprised by Horev's decision. "Yehiel Horev wants his own associates to give an opinion, not independent experts," he said. "In 1982, my security clearance was taken away when it became known that I am homosexual. Afterward, I waged a public campaign that led to these regulations being changed, including in Malmab, and I have a letter from prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, from 1993, saying that I am fit for any job." Preparation of the petition has also been delayed by the fact that Yakir himself was only allowed to start examining the material on Wednesday, even though three weeks have passed since Vanunu's release. ***************************************************************** 10 HTN: Oyster Creek’s health risks debated at forum ‘Tooth Fairy’ study claims highest levels of SR-90 present in Brick samples BY DANIELLE MEDINA Correspondent [TriTown News] Howell, NJ May 13, 2004 BRICK — Joseph Mangano isn’t a dentist and he isn’t the Tooth Fairy, but he has a collection of baby teeth to rival both. Mangano, a scientist who runs the New York-based Radiation and Public Health Project (RPHP), is examining the teeth of children who were born or grew up near nuclear reactors in order to determine links to cancer in a study dubbed the "Tooth Fairy Project." On April 26, Mangano addressed a group of concerned citizens from Brick and surrounding communities in a forum at the Brick Municipal Building called "Oyster Creek, Cancer and You." The forum was sponsored by Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch, a watchdog group fighting for the immediate shutdown of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey Township. Mangano explained that Oyster Creek, at 35 years old, is the oldest of the 103 nuclear reactors currently in operation in the United States. The amount of airborne radionuclides that the plant has released into the atmosphere since 1970 is five times greater than what was reported at the meltdown of Three Mile Island in 1979, according to Mangano. From 1969-1994, the plant operated 67 percent of the time, but since 1999, Oyster Creek has been operating 95 percent of the time. "It’s being run and it’s being run like never before," Mangano said. These numbers, Mangano said, pose significant health risks for the 1.2 million residents of Monmouth and Ocean counties who live within 40 miles of Oyster Creek. To illustrate this point, Mangano said that of the eight nuclear reactors that shut down around the country between 1987 and 1988, infant deaths and childhood cancer rates decreased dramatically within 40 miles downwind of the plant. On average, infant mortality rates decreased 18 percent, compared with a national average decrease of 6 percent, Mangano said. In the first seven years after the plant closings, childhood cancer rates went down 25 percent, compared to a .3 percent increase nationally, according to the study. One of the radioactive byproducts that nuclear power plants release into the atmosphere is Strontium-90 (SR-90), microscopic yellow particles that enter the body through either inhalation or through the food chain. Once inside the body, SR-90 settles on the bones and teeth, much like calcium, and kills healthy cells, Mangano said. Of the 106 teeth collected from Ocean County in a 2001 study, the highest levels of SR-90 were present in teeth collected from children from Brick. "We’re not talking about Hiroshima or Chernobyl," Mangano said. "But these are low doses of the same radiation." In 2003, the New Jersey State Legislature granted the RPHP $25,000 to look at the radiation levels in the teeth of children with cancer as compared to the teeth of healthy children. But critics of the "Tooth Fairy Project" counter that most of the SR-90 in the environment was produced by nuclear weapons testing during the 1960s, since it has a half-life of 29 years. They claim that SR-90 emissions from nuclear power plants are so low that they must be measured on site. Additionally, the RPHP’s data has been called into question by some in the scientific community. Specifically, small sample sizes, error margins and the inability to differentiate between SR-90 and other naturally occurring radioisotopes in the environment, have come under scrutiny. At the forum, a handful of employees from Oyster Creek also questioned some of Mangano’s assertions. "How come I’m not dead?" asked Al Devries, a training instructor at Oyster Creek. "Workers are exposed to higher levels (of radioactive chemicals) than the public." Mangano said that no private utility has ever released studies on cancer rates of its employees. He added that because there is a variation in the sensitivity to radiation, children and fetuses are more susceptible than adults to radiation, and are therefore at a higher risk. "Some people who smoke might not ever get lung cancer," said Toms River resident Carol Benson, who lost her grandson, Justin, to brain stem cancer four years ago. "Let’s be realistic — chil­dren are the ones with weak immunity." Lynn Newton, a chemistry manager at Oyster Creek, said Mangano has no data to support the reported amount of SR-90 that is released into the atmosphere. She also questioned the claim that wind car­ries the SR-90 from Oyster Creek to Brick. "The wind blows WNW and WSW out over Barnegat Lighthouse and into the ocean," Newton said. "It only blows from the south to the north 7 percent of the time." Despite coming under fire from some of his critics at the forum, Mangano maintained that the RPHP is trying to in­troduce objective evidence on the topic of nuclear power. "(The RPHP) is not looking for a fight or trying to agitate people," Mangano said. "We’re trying to reduce risks." [I N F I N I T Y www.infinityNewJersey.com M O R T G A G E C O M ***************************************************************** 11 Bellona: Russian Federation Council discussing Severodvinsk floating NPP today The upper chamber of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, is hosting today a round table discussion on the development of small energy. 2004-05-13 13:51 One of the subjects is the construction of a floating nuclear power plant in the city of Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region. Head of the Committee on Fuel and Energy in the Arkhangelsk region parliament, Yury Spiridonov, stresses that Arkhangelsk is committed to work for the building of the Severodvinsk project, Dvina-Inform reports. Publisher: Bellona Foundation, President: Frederic Hauge Information: info@bellona.no, Technical contact: webmaster@bellona.no Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway ***************************************************************** 12 NRC: Nuclear Management Company, LLC, Point Beach Nuclear Plant, FR Doc 04-10854 [Federal Register: May 13, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 93)] [Notices] [Page 26624-26626] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr13my04-155] Units 1 and 2; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Process Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC) has submitted an application for renewal of Facility Operating Licenses DPR-24 and DPR-27 for an additional 20 years of operation at the Point Beach Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2 (PBNP). PBNP is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, approximately 30 miles southeast of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The operating licenses for PBNP, Units 1 and 2, expire on October 5, 2010, and March 8, 2013, respectively. The application for renewal was received on February 26, 2004, pursuant to title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations part 54 (10 CFR part 54). A notice of receipt and availability of the application, which included the environmental report (ER), was published in the Federal Register on March 8, 2004 (69 FR 10765). A notice of acceptance for docketing of the application for renewal of the facility operating licenses was published in the Federal Register on April 13, 2004, (69 FR 19559). The purpose of this notice is to inform the public that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will be preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) in support of the review of the license renewal application and to provide the public an opportunity to participate in the environmental scoping process, as defined in title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 51.29 (10 CFR 51.29). In addition, as outlined in title 36 of the Code of the Federal Regulations, section 800.8, ``Coordination with the National Environmental Policy Act,'' the NRC plans to coordinate compliance with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act in meeting the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). In accordance with title 10 of the Code of the Federal Regulations, section 51.53(c) (10 CFR 51.53(c)) and title 10 of the Code of the Federal Regulations, section 54.23 (10 CFR 54.23), NMC submitted the ER as part of the application. The ER was prepared pursuant to title 10 of the Code of the Federal Regulations, part 51 (10 CFR part 51) and is available for public inspection at the NRC Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland 20852, or from the Publicly Available Records component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible at http://www.nrc.aov/reading-rm/adams.html , which provides access through the NRC's Electronic Reading Room link. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS, or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC's PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. The application may also be viewed on the Internet at http://www.nrc. gov/reactors/operating/ licensing/renewal/ applications/point-beach.html. In addition, the Lester Public Library, located at 1001 Adams Street, Two Rivers, Wisconsin, 54241 has made the ER available for public inspection. This notice advises the public that the NRC intends to gather the information necessary to prepare a plant-specific supplement to the Commission's ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants,'' (NUREG-1437) in support of the review of the application for renewal of the PBNP operating licenses for an additional 20 years. Possible alternatives to the proposed action (license renewal) include no action and reasonable alternative energy sources. The NRC is required by title 10 of the Code of the Federal Regulations, section 51.95 (10 CFR 51.95) to prepare a supplement to the GEIS in connection with the renewal of an operating license. This notice is being published in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the NRC's regulations found [[Page 26625]] in title 10 of the Code of the Federal Regulations part 51 (10 CFR part 51). The NRC will first conduct a scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS and, as soon as practicable thereafter, will prepare a draft supplement to the GEIS for public comment. Participation in the scoping process by members of the public and local, State, Tribal, and Federal government agencies is encouraged. The scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS will be used to accomplish the following: a. Define the proposed action which is to be the subject of the supplement to the GEIS. b. Determine the scope of the supplement to the GEIS and identify the significant issues to be analyzed in depth. c. Identify and eliminate from detailed study those issues that are peripheral or that are not significant. d. Identify any environmental assessments and other ElSs that are being or will be prepared that are related to, but are not part of the scope of the supplement to the GEIS being considered. e. Identify other environmental review and consultation requirements related to the proposed action. f. Indicate the relationship between the timing of the preparation of the environmental analyses and the Commission's tentative planning and decision-making schedule. g. Identify any cooperating agencies and, as appropriate, allocate assignments for preparation and schedules for completing the supplement to the GEIS to the NRC and any cooperating agencies. h. Describe how the supplement to the GEIS will be prepared, and include any contractor assistance to be used. The NRC invites the following entities to participate in scoping: a. The applicant, Nuclear Management Company, LLC. b. Any Federal agency that has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved, or that is authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards. c. Affected State and local government agencies, including those authorized to develop and enforce relevant environmental standards. d. Any affected Indian tribe. e. Any person who requests or has requested an opportunity to participate in the scoping process. f. Any person who has petitioned or intends to petition for leave to intervene. In accordance with title 10 of the Code of the Federal Regulations section 51.26 (10 CFR 51.26), the scoping process for an EIS may include a public scoping meeting to help identify significant issues related to a proposed activity and to determine the scope of issues to be addressed in an EIS. The NRC has decided to hold public meetings for the PBNP license renewal supplement to the GEIS. The scoping meetings will be held at Fox Hills, 250 West Church Street in Mishicot, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, June 15, 2004. There will be two sessions to accommodate interested parties. The first session will convene at 1:30 p.m. and will continue until 4:30 p.m., as necessary. The second session will convene at 7 p.m. with a repeat of the overview portions of the meeting and will continue until 10 p.m., as necessary. Both meetings will be transcribed and will include: (1) An overview by the NRC staff of the NEPA environmental review process, the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS, and the proposed review schedule; and (2) the opportunity for interested government agencies, organizations, and individuals to submit comments or suggestions on the environmental issues or the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal discussions one hour before the start of each session at Fox Hills. No formal comments on the proposed scope of the supplement to the GEIS will be accepted during the informal discussions. To be considered, comments must be provided either at the transcribed public meetings or in writing, as discussed below. Persons may register to attend or present oral comments at the meetings on the scope of the NEPA review by contacting Mr. William Dam by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 4014, or by e-mail to the NRC at PointBeachEIS@nrc.gov no later than June 11, 2004. Members of the public may also register to speak at the meeting within 15 minutes of the start of each session. Individual oral comments may be limited by the time available, depending on the number of persons who register. Members of the public who have not registered may also have an opportunity to speak, if time permits. Public comments will be considered in the scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS. Mr. Dam will need to be contacted no later than June 7, 2004, if special equipment or accommodations are needed to attend or present information at the public meeting, so that the NRC staff can determine whether the request can be accommodated. Members of the public may send written comments on the environmental scope of the PBNP license renewal review to the Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of Administration, Mailstop T-6D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and should cite the publication date and page number of this Federal Register notice. Comments may also be delivered to the NRC, Room T-6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. during Federal workdays. To be considered in the scoping process, written comments should be postmarked by July 14, 2004. Electronic comments may be sent by e-mail to the NRC at PointBeachEIS@nrc.gov and should be sent no later than July 14, 2004, to be considered in the scoping process. Comments will be available electronically and accessible through ADAMS at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Participation in the scoping process for the supplement to the GEIS does not entitle participants to become parties to the proceeding to which the supplement to the GEIS relates. Notice of opportunity for a hearing regarding the renewal application was the subject of the aforementioned Federal Register notice (69 FR 19559). Matters related to participation in any hearing are outside the scope of matters to be discussed at this public meeting. At the conclusion of the scoping process, the NRC will prepare a concise summary of the determination and conclusions reached, including the significant issues identified, and will send a copy of the summary to each participant in the scoping process. The summary will also be available for inspection in ADAMS at http://www.nrc.gov/readina-rm/adams.html. The staff will then prepare and issue for comment the draft supplement to the GEIS, which will be the subject of separate notices and separate public meetings. Copies will be available for public inspection at the above-mentioned addresses, and one copy per request will be provided free of charge. After receipt and consideration of the comments, the NRC will prepare a final supplement to the GEIS, which will also be available for public inspection. Information about the proposed action, the supplement to the GEIS, and the scoping process may be obtained from Mr. Dam at the aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of May, 2004. [[Page 26626]] For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Samson S. Lee, Acting Program Director, License Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program, Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 04-10854 Filed 5-12-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 13 heraldtribune.com: Catawba Nuclear Station gets positive safety review Friday, May 14, 2004 NEWS The Associated Press ROCK HILL, S.C. -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given a positive safety review to the Catawba Nuclear Station on Lake Wylie. The plant operated by Duke Energy of Charlotte, N.C., had no infractions last year that caused any significant threat to public safety, NRC officials said here Wednesday. "The bottom line is the plant was operated safely," said Roger Hannah, an NRC public affairs officer. "But every plant has some little things they probably need to address." The Catawba plant's two reactors had nine minor infractions in 2003. Any problems that came up at the plant have been addressed, said Bob Haag, NRC branch chief in Atlanta. Duke is seeking approval to use weapons-grade plutonium as fuel at the Catawba plant. The power company applied in February for NRC permission to use mixed oxide, or MOX, fuel. MOX is made by mixing uranium oxide and plutonium oxide from older nuclear weapons and placing the material in fuel rods. No decision has been made on the application. Information from: The Herald, Last modified: May 13. 2004 8:16AM Missed a day's news? Choose a dayToday05/13/200405/12/200405/11/200405/10/200405/09/200405/08/2 ***************************************************************** 14 EU Business:Nuclear workers protest to keep Bulgaria's power plant reactors going @import url(http://www.eubusiness.com/plone.css); 13 May 2004 Several hundred nuclear workers from 15 countries on Thursday began a two-day protest against the planned closure of two nuclear reactors at Bulgaria's Kozloduy plant at the demand of the European Union. The World Council of Nuclear Workers is holding a 300 kilometre-long (186-mile-long) relay run by workers from countries such as Spain, France, Germany, Sweden and Romania. The runners left from Pleven in northern Bulgaria and will pass through Kozloduy on their way to the capital Sofia, where the rus will come to an end in front of the national parliament on Friday, Andre Maiesseau, the president of the group, told AFP. "There is nothing wrong with the reactors. They can function for a long time in accordance with the rules we follow here in Europe and in the United States," he said. The European Union has insisted that Bulgaria shut down two Soviet-era 440-megawatt reactors at Kozloduy by 2006 for security reasons. The Kozloduy plant in 2002 already shut down two older Soviet-era 440-megawatt reactors under pressure from the EU, which Bulgaria hopes to join in 2007. The two reactors to be shut down were recently given a good bill of health by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, but Brussels stood firm that they should be closed down. The Kozloduy plant, which is situated on the banks of the Danube, has two other more modern 1,000-megawatt reactors that do not raise any concerns. The facility provides 47 percent of Bulgaria's electricity and there are fears that electricity prices will rise once its output is diminished. "There are no technical or economic reasons for not keeping these reactors in service. There are only political reasons and we have had enough of nuclear power being taken hostage by political squabbles," Maiesseau said. Text and Picture Copyright © 2004 AFP. All other copyright © 2004 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights ***************************************************************** 15 NRC: For the Record - 2004 The NRC responds to information on controversial issues, or to respond to media reports that could be misleading. This site will also be used to respond to large write-in campaigns more efficiently. All links on this page are to documents in portable document format (PDF). See our Plugins, Viewers, and Other Tools page for more information. April 21, 2004 Chairman's Second Response to "Eye on Wackenhut" March 29, 2004 NRC Response to Letters Regarding a Proposed Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation at Indian Point February 5, 2004 Chairman's Response to "Eye on Wackenhut" Last revised Thursday, May 13, 2004 ***************************************************************** 16 SouthBendTribune.com: NRC unveils results at Cook plant May 13, 2004 Facility acceptable, but not perfect By JEFF ROMIG Tribune Staff Writer STEVENSVILLE -- In layman's terms, there are two ways to look at the results of a special U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspection of the D.C. Cook Nuclear Power Station in Bridgman. One NRC official compared the inspection to checking the tread on a set of year-old tires, while a D.C. Cook official described it as the questioning of a stern father after his child brings home a report card with four As and one B+. Bottom line: the plant isn't perfect, but local residents shouldn't worry about the nuclear plant in their backyard. "Clearly, the plant operates safely," Joe Jensen, AEP site vice president at D.C. Cook. said following a public meeting the at Lincoln Charter Township municipal building to announce the details of the inspection. "We're striving for the level above that." In the NRC's regulatory framework, it identifies seven cornerstones of compliance for nuclear plants. Under these seven cornerstones, there are additional performance indicators. Those performance indicators are scored on a four-tiered color-coded scale. Green represents a very low safety issue, white a low to moderate safety issue, yellow a substantial safety issue and red a high safety issue. D.C. Cook dropped from green to white in two of the three performance indicators under the cornerstone of initiating events, while sustaining green ratings in each of its 16 performance indicators under the remaining six cornerstones. Eric Duncan, NRC Region III branch chief, said while a white rating was outside the normal range and triggers a special inspection, it's still an acceptable rating. "There's an indication of declining performance," he said. That "declining performance" comes from the amount of "trips" or plant shutdowns above those routinely scheduled. Steve Burton, team leader for the special inspection, reiterated that the issue is contained in these two performance indicators rather than with the entire plant. "The plant is back to where it should be," he said. "The performance indicators are not." Jensen vowed they would be as soon as possible. The first indicator, unplanned shutdowns per 7,000 critical hours, was identified during the fourth quarter of 2003, and Jensen said it should be restored to green level again by the third quarter of 2004. The second indicator, shutdowns with loss of normal heat removal, will take longer because even after the problem is fixed, Jensen said it takes 12 quarters for the incident to "roll off" the plant's record. Jensen said having the inspection completed was a milestone for D.C. Cook, but it isn't the endpoint. "The endpoint is excellence," he said. Staff writer Jeff Romig: jromig@sbtinfo.com (269) 983-3927 Contact the southbendtribune.com Web staff. News ***************************************************************** 17 Brattleboro Reformer: Coalition asks PSB to reopen uprate case By CAROLYN LORIÉ Reformer Staff Thursday, May 13, 2004 - BRATTLEBORO -- The New England Coalition filed a motion with the state Public Service Board on Tuesday, requesting that the record in the Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee "uprate" case be reopened. According to the filing, the coalition, an anti-nuclear watchdog group and intervenor in the case, wants the opportunity to challenge information contained in motions filed by Entergy, as well as letters submitted to the board by the Department of Public Service. The motions and letters were submitted following the board's order of March 15, which issued Entergy a conditional certificate of public good for its proposed 20 percent power increase. Ray Shadis, technical advisor for the coalition, contends that the material submitted -- namely a motion to amend the order by Entergy and a letter from the Department supporting the company's supplemental ratepayer protection proposal -- contains disputed information but is being offered as fact. "Entergy attorneys and the state attorney are offering testimony and they're doing so in a setting where it cannot be subject to discovery and cross-examination," said Shadis. The board closed the record on the case on Jan. 15, which meant that it would not allow the submission of additional testimony. Documents subsequently filed by the coalition regarding uprate-related problems at other nuclear power plants were rejected by the board, said Shadis, as was an article submitted by the Department of Public Service. Among the points the coalition is challenging is Entergy's request that only 21 out of 22 cooling tower cells be re-fitted with 200 horsepower fans. Shadis said that there is some question about the ability of the cooling towers to perform under emergency conditions. The Department of Public Service voiced its support for Entergy's motion in a letter to the board, something plant officials were quick to point out in response to the coalition's filing. "Vermont Yankee does not agree that there is a need to reopen the proceedings. The Department of Public Service has signed off on our request as far as the cooling towers go," said Brian Cosgrove, director of public affairs. Also at issue is a letter from Sarah Hoffman, attorney for the Department of Public Service, claiming that the state wants the plant to leave enough space in the spent fuel pool for full core discharge. Full core discharge is the removal of all the fuel for the reactor core. This might be necessary if there were a significant problem in the core, requiring it to be accessible for repairs. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not require nuclear power plant to leave enough room in the pool for full core discharge. According to the department, if Entergy had to shut the plant down unexpectedly, it could not access decommissioning funds, beyond the first 3 percent, until all the fuel was removed from the core. If the spent fuel pool were filled to capacity, the core could not emptied and the funds would remain unavailable. In Tuesday's motion, however, the coalition claims that NRC regulations on this matter are subject to debate. The filing reads: "It is far from certain since the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Decommissioning Standard Review Plan uses the terms 'defueled status' and 'permanent cessation of operations' interchangeably." The commissioner of the Public Service Department, David O'Brien, was not available for comment. The Public Service Board has not yet responded to Entergy's motion or to a previous motion filed by the New England Coalition. ***************************************************************** 18 Paducah Sun: NRC report: No penalties for Honeywell Wednesday, May 12, 2004;Paducah, Kentucky METROPOLIS, Ill.--Honeywell International will not face any civil penalties in connection with the toxic gas release Dec. 22 that threatened neighbors near the plant, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday. The plant "took prompt and comprehensive corrective actions, exceeding those actually required" following the uranium hexafluoride release, the NRC said in a press release. Since the release, Honeywell has added sirens and an automated phone system that in an emergency calls people living within 1.3 miles of the center of the plant notification zone. The system calls nearest residents first and works outward, dialing 250 numbers per minute. Honeywell activates it by dialing an 800 number. Four people were hospitalized as a result of the release, and more than two dozen others were evacuated from nearby homes. NRC inspectors discovered that Honeywell employees reconfigured the fluorination system without detailed instructions, which caused the leak. Also, the plant failed to implement some parts of its emergency response plan and did not provide sufficient information to local emergency responders. All staff photographs are available for purchase. Please call 270-575-8682 or 270-575-8683. ***************************************************************** 19 North County Times: 'Dirty bomb' drill tests response North San Diego and Southwest Riverside County columnists Archives Last modified Wednesday, May 12, 2004 11:10 PM PDT North County Fire Department firefighter Richard Bastien pretends to decontaminate explosion victim Jovanna Korpal during the training exercise called Operation: Moonlight. Don Boomer By: JO MORELAND - Staff Writer CARLSBAD ---- A fake "dirty bomb" exploded Wednesday morning at a big cream-colored building in Carlsbad, launching a major emergency services drill. As police, firefighters and ambulances from across the county arrived, another mock radiological bomb went off at a grassy strip in the parking lot near Faraday Avenue and El Camino Real. Nearly half a dozen firefighters fell, pretending to be victims in the first full-scale exercise of its kind in North County. "Operation: Moonlight" was under way, evaluating how well the Metropolitan Medical Strike Team, Carlsbad, San Diego County hospitals and the American Red Cross would handle a terrorism incident. "There were no real surprises," Steve Wood, county co-chair of the strike team, said later. "This is our fourth major exercise and we always find something we can improve. That's why we do these exercises, to look for gaps and continually improve." Wood declined to say exactly what needs improving, in case someone might take advantage of the information. The countywide strike team, organized in 1999, is designed to respond to a terrorism incident involving a weapon of mass destruction. With more than 180 members from the fields of medicine, hazardous materials response, law enforcement and fire and life safety, the team can begin functioning within 90 minutes of a terrorist incident or disaster involving hazardous materials or chemical, biological or radiological/nuclear agents. About 550 people trained or played victims Wednesday as mock terrorists struck at a vacant business building the city owns. Military personnel and students played many of the victims, who were taken or walked into hospitals. It takes something to set up that kind of drill, Carlsbad Police Chief Tom Zoll said, "but it's worth the effort." At least 18 federal, state and local agencies participated, in addition to the hospitals and county health and emergency systems. Carlsbad activated its emergency operations center for the kind of full test it seldom gets. Carlsbad Fire Chief Kevin Crawford said the center worked very well, with no system failures. "We found some areas where we're going to be able to streamline communications, position ourselves better," Crawford said. The script called for a white rental-type truck, which pulled up to the loading dock at the building. The driver ran away just before the first fake bomb exploded. Mock victims, witnesses and panic were supposed to be the next players on scene ---- there wasn't that much panic ---- then the second explosion. During a sweep inside the building for the suspect, a third fake device was found. The biggest concerns for those in the drill, said team co-chair David Ott, fire chief of Del Mar and Solana Beach, would be to make the effects of the mock terrorism less severe, determine what type of radiation was used, and take care of the victims. "We always adapt this as we go through," Ott said. "It's kind of like real life." The flashing lights on fire rigs, police cars and ambulances from all across San Diego County became a little too real for Toni Fulciniti, manager of American Mortgage Express in the building directly south of the drill. Although police had passed out fliers ahead of time to alert area businesses to the drill, Fulciniti came outside to check the action, which included reporters on real assignments. "I was a little surprised," she said. "I wanted to make sure there were no major problems." Contact staff writer Jo Moreland at (760) 740-3524 or © 1997-2004 North County Times - NCTimes.com ***************************************************************** 20 Bellona: Nuclear submarines worldwidecurrent force structure and future developments With the Cold War over, the need for stealthy SSBN forces has diminished. Naval planners, while maintaining their fleets of SSBNs, are focusing on expanding their multipurpose submarines, equipped with cruise missile launchers. Two Akula class multipurpose submarines stationed in Gadzhievo base of the Northern Fleet on the Kola Peninsula. KSF.RU Zackary Moss, 2004-05-13 10:38 There are two types of nuclear-powered submarine in service. The first type is the ship submersible ballistic nuclear (SSBN) which provides a strategic nuclear offensive capability (See . This paper deals with SSBN only in passing, for the sake of completeness). The second type is the multipurpose submarine: non-ballistic missile boats (SSGNs) and fast-attack boats (SSNs), 1 the principal focus of this paper. Changing priorities With the Cold War over, the need for stealthy SSBN forces has diminished. Naval planners, while maintaining their fleets of SSBNs, are focusing on expanding their multipurpose submarines: SSGNs, equipped with cruise missile launchers, and SSNs, traditionally assigned patrol duties in support of SSBNs and carrier battle groups. In line with naval doctrine, planners have started to turn their attention away from traditional anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and towards multipurpose submarines capable of carrying out a broad range of missions aimed at achieving battlespace dominance although this may involve the sacrifice of traditional submarine characteristics such as stealth and endurance.i The United States At 72 vessels, the US Navy, or USN, operates the largest and most capable fleet of nuclear submarines. The USN currently fields 18 Ohio SSBN though two have been removed from operational duty and are undergoing conversion to SSGN configuration. In fact, there are plans to cut the number of Ohio to 14 by 2007 (two Ohio will be in overhaul and will not be counted as part of the operationally deployed force).i The USN operates a fleet of multipurpose submarines comprising of 33 SSGN (2 Seawolf, 23 improved Los Angeles and 8 modified Los Angeles) and 21 SSN (20 Los Angeles and 1 Sturgeon). The US Navys vision for the 21st century The USNs vision of the twenty-first century submarine is one that depends on being able to rapidly incorporate technological innovation in order to optimise the war-fighting capabilities of the submarine platform. There is an imperative to expand the role of the SSN in the littoral environment and increase its contribution to joint expeditionary operations. In July 1998, the Defense-Science Board Task Force, or (DSBTF), released a report entitled Submarine of the Future, which offered a view of the submarines potential contribution to future US defence needs. It called for traditional emphasis on improving propulsion and acoustics to be relaxed in the near term. The DSBTF argued that the main thrust of future development should be put into improving connectivity, sensors, weapons, adjuvant vehicles and ocean interface. SSNs were held up by the Task Force as a key and enduring element of the USNs current and future naval forcea crown jewel in Americas arsenal. The panel noted, however, that current designs were constrained by factors which limited their operational flexibility such as stealth although this feature has traditionally limited levels of connectivity. In October 1999, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, (JCS), studied the options for increasing the size and capability of the submarine force. The three options under review at that time included converting older Ohio SSBNs to SSGNs; refuelling and extending the service life of eight Los Angeles SSNs by 12 years; or building a new SSN, the Virginia class. The fiscal year 2000 Defense Authorization Bill required the USN to study converting four of the oldest Ohio SSBNs into SSGNs, giving them the capability to deploy special forces and fire Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles (TLAMs). The Virginia class New Attack Submarine Centurion (NSSN), intended to replace the Los Angeles class SSN, is the first US submarine designed for battlespace dominance as well as open-ocean, "blue water" missions.ii The NSSN programme design goal is to produce a submarine flexible enough to carry out seven different missions: Covert strike by launching TLAMs from vertical launchers and torpedo tubes; ASW with an advanced combat system and a flexible payload of torpedoes; ASW using the advanced combat system and torpedoes; carrier battle group support with advanced electronic sensors and communications equipment; covert intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; covert mine laying; and special ops.iii 30 NSSNare planned, with the first boat SSN-774 Virginia due to be commissioned in June 2004. The last boat, SSN-803, is due to be commissioned in 2020. The JCS Submarine Force Structure Study has called for at least 18 NSSN to be operational by 2015. The Russian Federation The Sovietlater RussianNavy has traditionally been a submarine navywith front line nuclear submarines their essential naval force. Still, the bulk of the Russian Navys submarine fleet is slated for elimination by 2010. As of January 2003, 14 SSBNs were thought to be operational (6 Delta IV, 6 Delta III and 2 Typhoon). In addition, the Navy has 19 SSNs (9 Akula, 5 Victor III, 1 Sierra, 1 Yankee Notch, 1 Yankee and 3 Uniform), and 6 Six Oscar II SSGNs.i Today, the primary role of Russias naval forces is to provide strategic nuclear deterrence from the SSBN fleet and defend the sea-lanes approaching the Russian coast. But in recent years there has been a considerable decline in the number of operational deployed submarines. This is due to the reduction in the defence budget as well as the fact that the Navy receives about 12% of the budget. In 2000, Admiral Viktor Kravchenko, chief of the Russian Navy General HQ, said Russia should possess a powerful naval potential in the twenty-first century in order to provide defence and security. The Admiral called for an operational force of 12 SSBNs as well as 20 multipurpose nuclear submarines to guarantee Russias security in the twenty-first century. He also emphasised that the Navys share of the defence budget should increase to 25%. After coming to office in May 2000, President Vladimir Putin set in motion the process of initiating a military reform programme. In all likelihood, then, Russia will maintain a submarine fleet consistent with the Navys share of the defence budget and inline with military reform plans. However, economic problems and safety concerns in the aftermath of the sinking of the Kursk SSGN in August 2000 have lead to a large decrease in the number of submarines on patrol. For instance, in 1991 there were 55 submarine patrols but this fell to two patrols in 2001.ii In 2002, according to US naval intelligence, no SSBN went out on patrol.iii France The French strategic submarine force FOST currently operates 10 submarines: 4 SSBN (2 Triomphant and 2 LInflexible) and 6 Rubis SSN. Of the SSBNs, a third Triomphant was due to launched in 2002 but is behind schedule and is slated for completion in July 2004. France plans to build and deploy a fourth boat by 2008. The United Kingdom The Royal Navy currently has a force of 16 nuclear submarines including: 4 Vanguard SSBN and 12 SSN (5 Swiftsure and 7 Trafalgar some of which have been equipped to launch TLAMs.) In March 1997, the Ministry of Defence, (MoD), awarded a contract to BAE Systems for three new Astute class SSN. In January 2001, the keel of HMS Astute was laid down. Construction of the second boat, HMS Ambush, started in 2002, with the third boat, HMS Artful, following later. The MoD is considering plans to acquire a second batch of up to three more Astute SSN with the final decision expected at the end of 2003. Astute will replace the Swiftsure class and will be the largest SSN the Royal Navy has commissioned. Each new Astute SSN will be equipped to deploy TLAMs. The Peoples Republic of China China currently deploys one Xia (Type-92) SSBN, commissioned in 1988, which is derived from the Han (Type-091) SSN. The Navy fields five Han SSN, the introduction of which improved the Chinese Navys defence capabilities. China has one modified Romeo (Type S5G) SSGN with anti-surface ship missiles. In December 1999 it was reported that China had began construction of the first Type 094 SSBN boat, after preparations in construction were detected by US intelligence. As of December 2000, construction of the first Type 094 had apparently been delayed with priority given to the Type 093 SSN. The Type 93 SSN, which will replace the Han class, is expected to be similar in performance to Russian second-generation subs. Type 093 will be equipped with torpedoes, ASW missiles, a submarine-launched anti-ship cruise missile and land-attack cruise missiles. According to some sources two Type 093 boats are planned, while other sources suggest that as many as six to eight are projected, with possibly four to six Type 093 submarines entering service by 2012. The extended re-fits to Han appears to have delayed the development of the Type 093. US intelligence has estimated that the first boat will be operational soon after 2005. Israel Israel, a state thought to possess up to 200 nuclear warheads, may have nuclear weapons capable submarines. The Israeli Navy has three German-built 1,925-tonne Type 800 Dolphin class diesel-electric submarines.i According to reports, the Dolphins may be capable of carrying nuclear-armed submarine-launched Popeye Turbo cruise missiles.ii In May 2000, two Dolphins reportedly carried out first test launches of cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The missiles launched from vessels off Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean are reported to have hit a target at a range of 1,500km. Israel is reported to possess a 200kg nuclear warhead which could be mounted on cruise missiles. The Israeli Navy has three Gal submarines, built in the 1970s at Vickers Shipyard in the UK. India India is trying to develop an indigenous nuclear submarine fleet and reports suggest that by 2010 it may field an SSBN. The country has been working to develop a nuclear submarine since 1985, based on the Soviet-era Charlie II SSGN. The management of the Advanced Technology Vessel project to provide nuclear propulsion has not facilitated this, however. While India has the capability of building the hull and developing or acquiring the necessary sensors, its submarine project has been dogged by system integration and fabrication problems, including trying to downsize the pressurised water reactor to fit into the space available within the hull. Despite these issues, India plans to have up to five nuclear submarines capable of deploying missiles with nuclear warheads.i Endnotes i Janes Defence Weekly, Up from the deep, Briefing: submarine for the future, June 25th 2003. i Hans M. Kristensen and Joshua Handler, World nuclear forces, SIPRI Year Book 2001. ii , accessed 01.08.2003 iii , accessed 01.08.2003 i The Military Balance, 2002-2003, Russian Strategic Deterrent Forces, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, October 2002, Oxford University Press, pp. 88-90. ii US Navy, Office of Naval Intelligence in Kristensen and Handler, World Nuclear Forces, SIPRI Yearbook 2002, Oxford University Press pp. 542-44. iii Hans.M. Kristensen and Shannon N. Kile, World nuclear forces, SIPRI Year Book 2003, p.615. i , accessed 01.08.2003 ii , accessed 01.08.2003 i , accessed 01.08.2003 Publisher: , President: Information: , Technical contact: Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway ***************************************************************** 21 AP: Two Israeli's picked up on suspicion of planning nuclear attack Sunday, May 9, 2004 4:10PM EDT Two men arrested after high-speed chase in Tennessee The Associated Press ERWIN, Tenn. (AP) - Two Israeli men who led the Unicoi County sheriff on a high-speed chase in a rented moving truck were placed under arrest and are being investigated by the FBI, local officials said. Shmuel Dahan and Almaliach Naor, both from Israel, were being held without bond Sunday afternoon at the Unicoi County Jail. The truck, rented from a Ryder office in Mars Hills, N.C., was being held in the county garage pending an FBI investigation, officials said. Dahan is charged with reckless driving, littering, false identification and evading arrest, while Naor faces charges of false identification and evading arrest, an officer with the Unicoi County Sheriff's Department who would not give his name said Sunday. An investigation by the FBI is ongoing and more charges are possible, he said. A woman who answered the phone at the FBI's Knoxville office said there was no one available to answer questions about the arrest. The incident began late Saturday afternoon when Sheriff Kent Harris noticed a rental truck traveling at a high speed along former U.S. Highway 23, a lightly-traveled highway near the North Carolina state line. "I was really concerned because the driver would not stop after I flashed my headlights for nearly three miles," Harris said. "He was weaving back and forth and I was wondering what a large (rental truck) was doing on the two-lane highway late Saturday afternoon instead of the faster I-26 Interstate." Harris said he saw the men throw something from the truck while they were being pursued. Officers scouring the area later found a vial containing an unknown substance along the roadway, he said. Once the men were apprehended, officers also found a "Learn to Fly" brochure in the truck, leading Harris and others to express concern about security at the Nuclear Fuel Services plant in Erwin. "I got a sick feeling when I saw it," Harris said. Dahan also gave authorities a fake Florida driver's license issues in Plantation, Fla., he said, while Naor produced a fake identification card. Harris subsequently contacted the FBI, the federal Bureau of Tobacco and Firearms and other local authorities to look into the situation. "We're not overreacting," Harris said. "We have a responsibility to protect the citizens of Unicoi County and that's what I'm going to do at any cost. I'd rather overreact, if that's what you call it, than be sorry later." © Copyright 2004, The News &Observer Publishing Company. All carynews.com, chapelhillnews.com, smithfieldherald.com, and ***************************************************************** 22 UK Independent: Rise in birth deformities blamed on Allies' deadly weaponry By Nigel Morris 13 May 2004 The number of babies born deformed and children suffering leukaemia have soared because of the "deadly legacy" of depleted uranium shells used by British and American forces in Iraq, human rights campaigners claimed yesterday. Releasing details of health problems and human rights violations suffered by Iraqi children in the past year, they claim the country's youngsters faced a worse existence today than they did under Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. Depleted uranium was widely used by Allied forces to penetrate Iraqi tank armour in the Gulf Wars of 1991 and again last year. Opponents claim the dust it releases upon impact is rapidly absorbed into the body, causing an upsurge of serious health problems inherited by Iraqi children during the past 13 years from their parents. Caroline Lucas, a Green Party Euro-MP who recently visited Basra, said doctors there had told her that the number of children born with severe deformities, such as shortened limbs or eye defects, had increased sevenfold since 1991. In addition they were treating several new cases of leukaemia every week - before 1991 the condition was very rare. "Women in Basra are afraid to become pregnant because there are so many deformed babies," she said. "We are leaving a deadly legacy for generations to come." She made the claims at the launch in London of a new charity, Child Victims of War (CVW), to help Iraqi youngsters "innocently suffering malnutrition, disease, disability and psychological trauma". The amount of depleted uranium used by coalition forces in the two Gulf Wars is not known, but some estimates suggest it was 300 tons in 1991 and five times as much last year. CVW says the number of Iraqi babies born with serious deformities has risen from 3.04 per thousand in 1991 to 22.19 per thousand in 2001. Babies born with Downs Syndrome have increased nearly fivefold and there had been a rash of cases of previously little-known eye problems. The Ministry of Defence insists depleted uranium poses a "minimal" risk to civilians. But, in a finding strongly disputed by the MoD, researchers recently discovered radiation levels from destroyed Iraqi tanks to be 2,500 times higher than normal and 20 times higher than normal in the surrounding area. Joanne Baker, the director of CVW, who has just returned from Iraq, said children had also been maimed by cluster bombs, blamed by Human Rights Watch for "hundreds of preventable civilian deaths". She said youngsters were also vulnerable both to coalition forces and local militia resisting western forces. She said malnutrition had worsened since the Anglo-US invasion and unpolluted water was in short supply while standards of hospital care had fallen because of shortages of medical supplies. Those children who went to school - and a Christian Aid survey showed two-thirds of poor youngsters did not - were "so malnourished they can't concentrate". Ms Baker claimed: "Every child in Iraq had a degree of psychological trauma. "I have been to Iraq under Saddam and sanctions - most people know how bad things were - but what has happened this year has plunged Iraq into a plight which is actually far, far worse," she said. Ms Baker added: "I am not an apologist for Saddam but I have spoken to people saying they suffered terribly and they are in tears saying 'I wish he was back'. "If it is worse than sanctions and Saddam then we are really talking about a humanitarian catastrophe." CVW has applied to the Charities Commission for charitable status, and plans to open an office in Iraq to monitor abuses, counsel those who have been detained, train human rights groups and provide medical help to young victims of war. VICTIM OF DEPLETED URANIUM? At the age of seven, Fadel, from Basra in southern Iraq, developed a devastating, and extremely rare, liver and kidney complaint which caused her abdomen to swell dramatically. The condition - which has only been seen in Iraq since 1991 - is thought to be caused by abnomally high levels of toxic materials in her body. She underwent agonising hospital treatment, which involved injections to draw out the huge amounts of water that accumulated. Her cries of pain were so loud they could be heard down the hospital corridor. Fadel's father was serving in the Iraqi army during the first Gulf War when she was conceived. Fadel is believed to have died shortly after this photograph was taken. UK Independent Ltd. ***************************************************************** 23 Courier-Journal: Agency struggles to obtain radiation data » News Item Thursday, May 13, 2004 NIOSH handles workers' claims for weapons work By NANCY ZUCKERBROD Associated Press WASHINGTON The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says it is having a hard time obtaining data on how much radiation exposure some Cold War-era nuclear weapons plant workers may have received. The agency needs radiation data, along with health and employment records, to process some 15,000 compensation claims from people who have cancer and who worked at Energy Department or private industrial plants involved in weapons production. Under a 2000 law, NIOSH must determine possible radiation exposure levels for each claim. With the data, the Labor Department then determines the merit of each claim. Workers become eligible for $150,000 each, plus medical benefits, once it's determined their illnesses were job-related. Survivors are eligible for the money in some cases. While NIOSH has to determine radiation doses for most workers to win compensation, some employees are automatically paid if they have certain kinds of cancer and worked at specific sites. Those include workers from uranium enrichment plants at Paducah, Ky., and Piketon, Ohio, among other places. Many of those workers weren't carefully monitored, or their records were lost. Dr. Larry Elliott, who heads the NIOSH effort, said yesterday that he never expected that estimating doses would take so long. NIOSH has determined levels of radiation exposure for more than 2,000 claims. But it said in a report submitted to Congress last week that worker records are missing from some facilities and unusable at others. Some of the more than 200 private plants that helped make weapons parts are no longer in business, the report said. "Many of these sites are closed, and there's no incentive for those that are open or still existing to provide information," Elliott said. NIOSH is seeking specific information, such as measurements taken from radiation-monitoring equipment worn by workers, but the Energy Department and vendor facilities don't always release that kind of detailed data, the report said. Elliott also said workers' survivors often don't know what their relatives did on the job. "The culture of the Department of Energy was for the worker not to talk about what they did," he said. The report listed sites that are not providing information requested for a substantial number of cases. They include the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Los Alamos Medical Center in New Mexico, the Pantex plant in Texas, the Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, the Stanford Linear Accelerator in California and Oak Ridge Hospital in Tennessee. Energy Department senior policy adviser Bob Carey said his agency is working on improving data collection at its sites, especially at Los Alamos, where many claimants worked. "We've gone back to these sites and said, `Provide that in the format that they need,'" Carey said. The report also listed sites that did a good job providing information needed to estimate worker exposure. Those include the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, the Hanford plant in Washington state, the Oak Ridge weapons plant and research lab in Tennessee, and the Rocky Flats plant in Colorado. Copyright 2004 The Courier-Journal. ***************************************************************** 24 Advocate: Dock accident moves up "floating" of nuclear sub Associated Press May 13, 2004 GROTON, Conn. -- The construction dock housing the nuclear submarine Jimmy Carter was intentionally flooded with water Thursday, six days earlier than planned, after an accident collapsed a portion of the dock's wall. Electric Boat said it moved up the "float-off" of the submarine in response to Wednesday's accident, in which a portion of an interior wall of the dock buckled, letting dirt and fill into the basin housing the submarine. "This is a minor acceleration of that schedule," Neil Ruenzel, spokesman for Electric Boat, said at a news conference Thursday at the Electric Boat shipyard. The submarine and workers were never in danger, Electric Boat said. The submarine has been on blocks inside the graving dock, a steel basin where workers build and repair submarines. When a submarine is finished, the dock is flooded and the submarine floats off its blocks. In a 12-hour procedure, the graving dock was being filled Thursday with 40 million gallons of water from the Thames River to stabilize the basin. Divers will then examine what caused Wednesday's accident, Ruenzel said. Officials do not know how long the investigation will take, but said the submarine's christening will go forward as scheduled on June 5. Immediately after the mishap, Electric Boat notified the state Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Navy and Groton officials, Ruenzel said. The Jimmy Carter, a Seawolf attack submarine, was to be finished in 2001, but the Navy modified it in 1999 to add a section that increases its length by 100 feet. Ruenzel said more than 98 percent of the work has been completed. The additional space will create enough room for dozens of special forces and equipment, including Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and torpedoes. The submarine is due to be handed over to the Navy later this year. Its home port will be the Naval Submarine Base Bangor on Washington state's Kitsap Peninsula. Rosalynn Carter is the sponsor of the boat, named for her husband, the 39th U.S. president who was a 1947 graduate of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and a submariner. Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press © 2004, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. All rights ***************************************************************** 25 ITAR-TASS: Berlin to allocate Russia 300 mln euros to store sub reactors 13.05.2004, 04.44 BERLIN, May 13 (Itar-Tass) - Germany expressed readiness to allocate 300 million euros to build coastal facilities for long-term storage of reactor sections of N-submarines, written off by the Russian navy, said on Thursday deputy head of the Russian Nuclear Energy Agency Sergei Antipov in an interview with Tass. Antipov holds talks at the German Foreign Ministry on prospects for Russian-German cooperation in implementing the Agreement on realizing multilateral nuclear-ecological programme in Russia. Construction of a storage, which will be conducted on Cape Saida in the Barents Sea, “is now the largest project” within the initiative “Global partnership against the spread of weapons and materials of mass destruction,” Antipov emphasized. The document was adopted in 2002 by the G-8 leaders at the summit in Canadian Kananaskis. “All in all, we concluded around ten contracts with the German side, and several dozen millions of dollars are involved in the construction,” Antipov continued. “Germany repeatedly got convinced that the appropriated funds were used strictly for the construction.” The project of the storage was designed by experts of the Russian research center Kurchatovsky Institute and the German energy enterprise Energiwerke Nord. © ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy, ***************************************************************** 26 ITAR-TASS: Russia can scrap written-off N-submarines by 2010 13.05.2004, 04.18 BERLIN, May 13 (Itar-Tass) - If the present rates of scrapping written-off nuclear submarines of the Russian navy are maintained, Russia can complete this work by the year 2010, said on Thursday deputy head of the Russian Nuclear Energy Agency Sergei Antipov in an interview with Tass. According to the deputy head, agency’s companies annually scrap 15 written-off nuclear subs. Antipov holds talks at the German Foreign Ministry on Russian-German cooperation in fulfilling the Agreement on implementing multilateral nuclear-ecological programme in Russia. The Russian navy wrote off 193 nuclear subs as of April 1, 2004. As many as 96 of them have been already scrapped, while 35 are in the process of cutting. Another 62 submarines wait for their scrapping. A total of 55 of them have nuclear fuel aboard. Antipov emphasized that Russia “has no apprehensions that these submarines can be a radiation source”. There is no danger either (thanks to reliable protection) that terrorists will lay hands on radioactive materials. Three billion dollars are needed to carry out comprehensive scrapping of the remaining N-submarines. Russia annually appropriates 65-70 million dollars for this purpose. If Western countries refuse to help Russia in settling this problem, it can do this on its own. However, it will take 40 years rather than the planned 10-12 years in this case, Antipov added. According to the agency executive, in 2002, the G-8 leaders expressed readiness at the summit in Canadian Kananaskis to offer Russia lacking funds. Since that time, “Russia received only 47 million dollars from all member countries to settle the problem of scrapping N-subs”, Antonov added. “All the money, spent for processing the fuel of N-submarines, are money of the Russian budget,” he emphasized. © ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 27 SS: Farmer finds stolen radioactive material Contents could have made 'dirty bomb' Saskatoon StarPhoenix - canada.com network Thursday, May 13, 2004 A Saskatoon-area farmer stumbled across two suitcases of stolen radioactive material on the weekend, relieving fears the potentially deadly contents might fall into the wrong hands. The orange cases containing highly radioactive moisture density probes had been missing since June 1999 when the pickup truck they were in was pilfered from the University of Saskatchewan. The farmer turned the items over to Saskatoon RCMP on Sunday after finding them on a remote stretch of his property about 50 kilometres north of the city, said Debbie Frattinger, the university's radiation safety officer. "We're just ecstatic," Frattinger said Wednesday. "We're just smiling because it was a health concern, an environment concern, and we got them back. So that's just great, and now we will dispose of them properly." The recovery comes shortly after university officials noticed another, far less dangerous radioactive device, was accidentally sold as scrap, winding up in the Saskatoon dump. The university has alerted the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission about both incidents. Frattinger called the commission Wednesday regarding the newly located cases. "They were glad, very glad because you don't want that stuff lying around." Meanwhile, the man who found the suitcases is surprised at all the attention his find has generated. The Hepburn-area farmer, who wishes to remain anonymous, brought the two suitcases into the city to a relative's home. "He knew they had to be in somebody else's hands. When you see the radioactive symbol, you certainly don't like to play around," said Mitch Kachur, who is related to the man. On Sunday, Kachur was called to come over to the home to figure out what to do with the suitcases. "I went over and said, 'This isn't something you should be playing with.' Once I saw the label on them, it dawned on me I had heard something about this a couple of years ago," said Kachur. "I advised them that if they had been sitting outside, the cases could be cracked so it was just leave it alone." Kachur says they contacted Saskatoon police and the fire department. Representatives from Saskatoon Fire and Protective Services and the University of Saskatchewan soon arrived to pick up the suitcases. "It was pretty low-key. They phoned back and said, 'We know what you've got,' and that it really wasn't anything to worry about. But we still stayed away and let the professionals handle them." Concern has grown in federal circles about the possibility of an attack involving radiological materials in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist assaults on the United States. Officials are particularly worried about a so-called dirty bomb packed with conventional explosives such as dynamite to scatter radioactive material like that in the density probes. "That's why we're glad we found them," Frattinger said. The initial blast from a dirty bomb can kill or maim bystanders, while the radioactive fallout may claim more victims. In addition, the resulting contamination would place the area off-limits to people for lengthy periods, causing panic and wreaking economic havoc. "It would just contaminate everything," Frattinger said. The orange cases had been locked inside a green wooden box in the Ford truck, which was stolen along with other items from a secured compound at the university. A man belonging to an organized theft ring was convicted four years ago for his part in the break-in. But the whereabouts of the cases were a mystery until Sunday. The probes, which are intact but have severe water damage, will be disposed of at a radioactive waste facility in Chalk River, Ont. In the other incident, a radioactive device was accidentally discarded by university officials in 2002 in what the nuclear safety commission recently called a "major breakdown" in procedures. An electron capture detector, used in chemical analysis, was noticed missing during a routine inspection. University officials determined the detector had been sold to a man who wanted to salvage any valuable metal. Finding none, he tossed the detector, including the sealed radioactive device, into the dump. Frattinger says the detector, about the size of a thumbnail, will stay in the city's landfill. It's been there two years already and would be impossible to locate. Besides, she says, because it contains a source of low-risk source of radiation, it poses no health hazard. Rick McCabe of the safety commission said Wednesday that officials took the incident seriously. "What if it had been a stronger source?" he said. Steps have been taken to prevent a recurrence, including better education, better signage and more frequent inspections, Frattinger said. © The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2004 Copyright © CanWest Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 28 Hilltop Times - Tests show no radium risk in Bldg. 214 Thursday, May 13, 2004 HILLTOPTIMES.COM by Kari Tilton Hilltop Times assistant editor Official results were recently released from a test conducted here in November 2003 indicating occupants and visitors of Bldg. 214 aren't at risk from radioactive material left over from luminous paints used at Hill about 50 years ago. Air Force Institute for Operational Health experts from Brooks City-Base, Texas, examined the facility and recently released their findings. The team also visited five other Air Force bases because people assigned there used radium paint and repaired items coated with the radioactive substance, during the World War II era. Radium was used in paint to make aircraft instrument markings glow in the dark. This maintenance was done in rooms officially designated as "luminous paint units" or LPUs. The team also checked the buildings for radon, a byproduct of radium decay. "Radiation exposure levels were not expected to be much greater than exposures from radium found naturally in the environment and building materials, said Maj. Kevin Martilla, Air Force Materiel Command radiation programs chief. "The Air Force confirmed this through this investigation." Radium is a naturally occurring element found at low levels in soil, water, rocks and coal. Hill's only radium dial painting facility was located in Bldg. 214 and was used in the 1950s and early 1960s. The team surveyed for residual radium throughout the entire building, including floor drains and ventilation ducts. The team found three areas that had measurable radioactive readings however, the levels were well below public exposure limits, according to Maj. Darrin Curtis, Hill's Bioenvironmental Engineering flight commander. Although radiological exposures under current conditions are below federal guidelines and limits, investigators said cutting into drains, sewer lines or through concrete flooring in the building could cause exposure that exceeds those levels. Environmental Management and Bioenvironmental Engineering will review all work orders in Bldg. 214 to ensure protection of workers health from exposure to residual radium, Major Curtis said. "There is no significant risk from the residual radium found in these facilities," Major Martilla said. "Both the building workers and the public are protected due to the inaccessible nature of the contamination and the associated control by base environmental and occupational health personnel." Long term radon samplers will again be collected in November to validate the short-term radon levels that were measured during the November (2003) survey," Major Curtis said. Other bases tested were, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; the former Griffiss AFB Base, N.Y.; Robins Air Force Base, Ga.; Tinker AFB, Okla.; and Fairchild AFB, Wash. (An AFMC News Service article by Tech. Sgt. Carl Norman contributed to this article.) ***************************************************************** 29 Better than smallpox: Radioactive waste - A 'gift' to poor Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 13:14:36 -0500 (CDT) Another episode in the grotesquely underreported ONGOING GENOCIDE of indigenous peoples right here in the U.S. of A. You thought it was over? Think again. This is but one example of the updated equivalent of smallpox-infected blankets -- and how efficient; it lasts thousands of years. --------------------------------------------------------------- Xcel energy spearheads a high-stakes plan to store nuclear waste on a tiny, dirt-poor Indian reservation in the Utah desert ILLUSTRATION BY MARK DANCEY CARTOON: http://citypages.com/imagebank/articles/25_1223/25_1223a12097.gi http://www.citypages.com/databank/25/1223/article12097.asp By Peter Ritter From the entrance to Treasure Island Casino, Joe Campbell can look out over the field he used to farm. "That's where my back porch was," he says, pointing to a stand of cottonwoods behind the Prairie Island Indian tribe's big, modern community center. Then Campbell points out another of the tiny southern Minnesota reservation's landmarks: the twin pinkish-gray bulbs of Prairie Island's nuclear power plant. Campbell, who's lived on the reservation since 1970, is a lifelong, irascible opponent of nuclear power in general, and the Prairie Island plant in particular. "They started buying up the land from the farmers around 1958," he says. "At the time they said it was a steam plant. Well, they never said where the steam was going to come from. Most people alive today don't know what happened here." From the casino, we drive along a road that curves just outside the reservation's boundary, toward a swampy inlet by the shore of the Mississippi. Campbell points out a spot along the bank where hot water coming from the plant causes the river to bubble. Nearby, invisible except for some security cameras mounted on telephone poles, is what we've come to see: the concrete pad where Xcel Energy stores the waste from its nuclear plant. "When the leaves are on the trees you can't even tell it's there," Campbell explains. The pad is a little larger than a football field, protected by a 20-foot-high earth berm, a double chain-link fence, and a lone security guard carrying a machine gun. Clustered at the pad's center are 17 17-foot-tall white cylinders. The casks themselves have 9.5-inch-thick steel walls designed to withstand floods, fires, and even missile strikes. Jon Kapitz is a waste-storage specialist with Nuclear Management Company, which runs Xcel's Prairie Island and Monticello nuclear plants (together, the two produce around 20 percent of the state's electricity). According to Kapitz, the radiation coming from the casks is nearly undetectable at the perimeter of the pad. "They're giving off about three-fourths of a kilowatt each. That's around a dozen hair dryers' worth of heat," he says. "You can really only tell the difference in the winter, when you compare it to putting your hands on the cold steel fence." Which is good, since the casks contain some of the nastiest stuff on the planet. Prairie Island's twin reactors are fueled by zirconium rods, which are in turn filled with pencil-thin uranium pellets. Every 18 to 20 months, spent fuel rods are cycled out of the reactors. They're then moved to a large pool of water inside the reactor complex, where they're left to cool for 10 years. After a decade, bunches of rods, called fuel assemblies, are taken out of the water and sealed inside those giant helium-filled steel casks. At this point, the rods are still radioactive enough to kill anyone standing nearby in a matter of minutes. While their radioactivity continues to dissipate exponentially, they will remain dangerous enough for 10,000 years that they must be kept out of the groundwater supply. No one, obviously, is eager to welcome these casks as neighbors. Just recall the rancor attending last year's debate over waste storage at Prairie Island. In 1994, when Xcel (then called Northern States Power) first asked the state to allow the casks at its Prairie Island site, the utility promised that it would never return to the Legislature requesting more storage capacity; when, inevitably, Xcel did just that, a firestorm erupted. Prairie Island tribal members complained that the waste would compromise their safety; environmentalists complained that there was no permanent solution to the waste-storage crunch; and Xcel complained that without the extra capacity, Prairie Island would have to shut down well before its government operating license expired in 2013. Only after much political horse-trading did a compromise emerge: In exchange for permission to store 12 more casks at Prairie Island, Xcel had to increase its investment in renewable energy, and compensate the Prairie Island tribe. Yet, while last year's deal may have bought Prairie Island some time, it did nothing to solve the problem that many consider the nuclear industry's Achilles' heel: What to do with the tons of deadly waste generated every year by the nation's 103 commercial nuclear reactors? Quietly and mostly behind the scenes, Xcel has pursued an expensive, controversial plan B to decamp its--and, indeed, all of America's--nuclear waste to an impoverished stretch of Utah scrubland. To Xcel and its partner energy corporations, it's simply the only way to keep cheap and efficient nuclear plants running; to the environmentalists and politicians opposed to the idea, it's a Chernobyl waiting to happen. Skull Valley, located some 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, is a forlorn stretch of desert between the low-slung Cedar and Stansbury mountain ranges. In the late 19th century, a young Samuel Clemens happened to pass through the area. His assessment: "One of the most rocky, wintry, repulsive wastes that our country or any other can exhibit." At the center of this is the reservation of the Skull Valley Goshute band--a tribe of some 120 enrolled members, only two dozen of whom live at Skull Valley. In the Shoshone tongue, Goshute means "people of the dust." As it turns out, Skull Valley is an apt name for this corner of Utah, since the area has long been a graveyard for the 20th century's worst hobgoblins. At the north end of the valley is a magnesium plant that once had the dubious distinction of being the worst polluter in the U.S. To the west is a burial ground for medical waste, radioactive uranium tailings, industrial pesticides and other toxic garbage. To the east is the Tooele Ordinance Depot, where the U.S. government stores and incinerates its stockpile of chemical weapons. And to the south is Dugway Proving Ground, a military bombing range regularly visited by fighter planes from nearby Hill Air Force Base. In 1968, one of those planes accidentally carpeted the area around Skull Valley with nerve gas, killing more than 6,000 sheep. Margene Bullcreek, a Skull Valley band member who's lived on the reservation for most of her life, remembers the sheep massacre. "My father had 30 head," she says. "They buried them all here on the reservation, but no study was ever done on the effects of it. One thing that's happened is our traditional habits have disappeared, like we can't have rabbits in our diet anymore like we used to." Such experiences have helped galvanize Bullcreek's dogged opposition to a potential new neighbor, a storage facility for 44,000 tons of the nation's high-level nuclear waste. "If we say, 'Oh, our land's already contaminated', there goes our little piece of land. Does that mean the government finally succeeded in getting us into the melting pot? Just because there are things here already that doesn't justify surrounding us with more hazardous wastes." In 1997, Private Fuel Storage (PFS), a consortium of nuclear utilities led by Xcel, signed a deal with the Goshute tribe to lease 100 acres of land for the waste dump. When completed, the facility would look very much like the one at Prairie Island. Hundreds of waste-filled casks would sit on a fenced concrete slab. The $3.1 billion facility would, in theory, only be a temporary "parking lot" for the waste until the permanent, federally funded waste depository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain was ready to begin receiving the country's nuclear stockpile. According to the deal, PFS would lease the land from the Goshutes for 20 years, with the possibility of a 20-year extension. In return, the tiny tribe was promised up to 40 well-paying full-time jobs, plus a cash settlement, which, though confidential, has been rumored to be as high as $200 million. Leon Bear, the band's chairman and the man who negotiated the deal with PFS, says he was only acting in the Goshutes' best interest. "It's hard when you don't have resources," he says. "All we have is the land, a little water, no timber, no oil, no coal. All we're doing is being consistent with the area. They put these biological and chemical agents out here first. If they had built greenhouses, that's what we'd do. If there were fields of alfalfa, that's what we'd grow." Bear, who worked as a security guard for 20 years at a now-closed rocket testing facility on the reservation, is convinced that the PFS site would be safe. In fact, he says, he spent a month as an intern at Prairie Island learning about nuclear-waste storage. And, says Bear, PFS will mean more than just jobs for the impoverished Goshute; the money will also ensure the survival of their culture. Despite Bear's assurances, though, the PFS deal became a source of discord almost immediately after it was signed. The tribe quickly divided over money and power. According to Bullcreek, band meetings degenerated into shouting matches. In one instance, a fistfight even broke out at tribal headquarters, resulting in a broken arm and hard feelings all around. The PFS windfall, Bullcreek charges, was never divided equally, instead finding its way into the pockets of those who support the project. In August of 2001, another group of dissident tribal members, led by a PFS dissenter named Sammy Blackbear, held an election at which, they claim, Bear was unseated as chairman. Although Blackbear's faction claimed victory, the recall election was never recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Further complicating the already tangled web of tribal politics is the fact that everyone in Skull Valley is either acquainted or related. Bullcreek, for instance, lives across the street from Bear, who happens to be Blackbear's cousin. "We're all family here," avers Blackbear. "If you sit down and talk to folks, [PFS] is taboo. No one talks about it." But confusion and anger over PFS isn't limited to the tiny Goshute reservation. According to Jason Groenewold, an activist with the environmental group Heal Utah, the PFS project is only the latest in a string of ecological outrages in the Utah desert. "What we're trying to do is change the pattern. If you're addicted to crack, it doesn't make much sense to start a heroin habit. Are you just going to say, 'Well, I'm already a drug addict'? You're not going to rectify anything by making it worse." Groenewold says he doesn't blame the Skull Valley band for courting PFS; he does, however, blame Xcel and its partners for courting the tribe. "It's really hard when you have an impoverished community, and then along comes these predatory corporations with these horrible waste products dangling money over you. They're saying, 'We've got the solution to all your problems, just take the money.' The sad thing is, this has already torn the tribe apart. It could lead to the tribe's disappearance. If I was a ratepayer in Minnesota, I'd be a little upset that Xcel is using my money to dump nuclear waste on this impoverished Indian reservation." Bear finds this view more than a little patronizing: After all, no one made much of a fuss about the sanctity of Goshute tribal land before PFS. "As soon as we started talking about doing the spent fuel storage here, everyone's head popped up: 'Oh, there's Goshutes living out there?'" When the tribe began studying the PFS idea, Bear even went to consult Utah Governor Mike Leavitt. Leavitt's response, says Bear, was that nuclear waste would enter the state "over [his] dead body." Indeed, Utah has done everything in its power to derail PFS, including passage of a law that would impose an enormous tax on rail shipments of waste destined for Skull Valley. Leavitt went so far as to form an entire government department charged solely with keeping PFS from happening. Dianne Nielson, the head of Utah's Department of Environmental Quality, likewise claims that Xcel is unfairly targeting the Goshute. "What they're doing is bypassing a whole series of federal and state laws designed to regulate high-level nuclear waste. By targeting an Indian reservation, notably one that's quite impoverished, with a minimal level of governance, they're just looking for an easy place to dump their nuclear waste." Thus far, however, Utah's attempts to stall PFS have largely come to naught. The band's sovereignty ensures that the state of Utah has little power over what the Goshute decide to put on their land. At present, the PFS plan is under review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Of 100 safety concerns raised by the state of Utah during NRC hearings, only two now remain points of contention. Firstly, the state has successfully argued that an F-16 from the nearby bombing range could potentially crash into the facility, rupturing the storage casks and creating a catastrophic radiation leak. PFS opponents also argue that the facility should include a "hot cell"--a sealed indoor area where a leaking cask could be contained before it released radiation into the environment. Meanwhile, the Goshute tribe, and particularly its leaders, have landed in hot water with federal law enforcement. Last year, agents from the FBI and the Department of the Interior raided the tribe's Salt Lake City business office, spurring rumors of a corruption investigation. Then, in December, a grand jury indicted Bear for allegedly embezzling $150,000 from the tribe in his capacity as chairman. In a strange twist, Blackbear, two of his fellow PFS dissenters, and their lawyer were also indicted for bank fraud and stealing from the tribe. According to the indictment, Blackbear and his faction, operating as though they were the tribal government--although, again, the Bureau of Indian Affairs had never recognized Bear's recall--had removed money from a collective tribal bank account. Neither case is connected to PFS directly, but the indictments do make mention of the nuclear-waste facility as the root of the tribe's spiraling problems. Both Blackbear and Bear say the truth will out eventually. "I'm not guilty of anything as far as I know of," says Bear. "I'll go to court." According to Bear, the investigation and indictments are simply political retaliation for his support of the PFS project--and a way for Utah to circumvent Indian sovereignty. "We're a little tribe," he says. "Because we're little, people think they can push us around or manipulate us. You know, there is a congressman or two pushing the buttons here. They think if they can get me out of the way, spent fuel will die. But I just represent the tribe." Bear's voice has an edge of bitterness when he talks about Utah's righteous rhetoric regarding PFS. As he says, the government has always been content to dump its toxic garbage on Goshute land before, and until now the tribe itself saw little or no benefit. Only a few years ago, the state legislature promised the band $2 million for economic development; the money never arrived. Maybe a nuclear-waste dump is just the shape taken by 200 years' worth of chickens coming home to roost. In 1967, the federal government built a small nuclear plant near La Crosse, Wisconsin. The La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor was intended to convince the Cold War public of nuclear energy's peacetime uses. Less than five years later, there were 20 commercial nuclear plants in the country. NSP's Monticello and Prairie Island plants came online in 1970 and 1973, respectively. Little thought was given to the problem of nuclear waste at the time--utilities simply assumed whatever spent fuel they generated would eventually be reprocessed. Unfortunately, one of the byproducts of this process was plutonium, the key ingredient in atomic weaponry. When Jimmy Carter signed a bill banning uranium reprocessing, nuclear utilities were left holding a very expensive, very toxic bag. The fuel rods that originally powered the La Crosse reactor are, in fact, still sitting in a pool of water beneath the now-defunct plant. As nuclear waste piled up on outdoor pads like the one at Prairie Island, federal lawmakers cast about for a permanent solution to the problem. Finally, in 1982, Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which guaranteed utilities that the federal government would build a repository to house all of the nation's nuclear waste. The underground complex would, hypothetically, remain sealed for millennia, a vast high-tech tomb for the world's deadliest poisons. Though the complex was to open in 1998, grinding bureaucracy and stout resistance from potential host states kept the project in limbo. NSP even sued the Department of Energy to get the government to honor its promise to collect the waste. Twenty years and more than $6 billion later, the government has made little progress except to select a site--a desert mountain some 90 miles from Las Vegas. As it searched for a permanent repository, the government also set up a post called the Nuclear Waste Negotiator to locate an interim storage site. The plan was to set up a Monitored Retrieval Storage area--a fancy name for the kind of "parking lot" facility slated for Skull Valley. In 1991, the Nuclear Waste Negotiator sent out letters to local government and Indian tribes offering $100,000 grants just to explore the idea of hosting the MRS site. The government was courting Indian communities: Of 20 responses to the government's query, 16 came from tribes--including both the Prairie Island and Skull Valley bands. Chip Ward, a Utah librarian and author of Canaries on the Rim, a book about the despoliation of Utah's western desert, says the targeting of Indian tribes was ingenious. Because of tribal sovereignty, the DOE could bypass state governments opposed to the project. "People think: out of sight, out of mind," Ward says. "And these groups are powerless." Yet political maneuvering ultimately killed the Nuclear Waste Negotiator's efforts, and the position was eliminated. Almost at once, private interests stepped in where the government had left off. The driving force in this renewed search for a temporary storage facility was NSP: Because Minnesota's state legislature had limited the amount of waste that the utility could keep on its Prairie Island campus, the company was facing a dire space crunch. Together with eight other nuclear utilities, NSP formed PFS, a "limited liability" company. In reality, PFS has always been a shell company, with one executive at the decommissioned La Crosse reactor and an extremely active public-relations firm in Salt Lake City. PFS first negotiated with an Apache tribe in New Mexico. When tribal opposition scuttled that deal, the utilities approached the Goshutes. According to Charlie Bomberger, Xcel's general manager for nuclear asset management, last year's state legislature decision to allow more storage at Prairie Island, while giving the utility some breathing room, didn't negate the need for a national interim storage facility. The compromise, he says, "gave us some options. But we also want to continue to pursue the most reasonable, short-term opportunity to move waste out of Minnesota." While other utilities have been less aggressive in their support of PFS--some have even suggested that they'll abandon the project if the Department of Energy makes sufficient progress at Yucca Mountain--Bomberger says once the facility has been licensed by the NRC, Xcel will be able to start selling space to other companies--turning the intractable problem of nuclear waste into a profit center. Opponents of nuclear power have a far different view of PFS. To them, the waste-storage problem is the choke point for the entire nuclear industry. Without a solution, nuclear energy must wither. "The question is, Do we want to continue on with this business?" says Lisa Ledwidge, a Minneapolis-based researcher for the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. "Or do we want to look at wind and biomass to replace this nuclear hot potato that we don't know what to do with?" And some anti-PFS activists believe that once America's nuclear waste is resettled in the Utah desert, it will never leave. Ward points out that, according to the PFS plan, it will take nearly 20 years to transport the country's waste to the Skull Valley site. If nuclear plants continue to operate, they will have by then generated far more than the 44,000 tons PFS is designed to contain. If the Department of Energy ever does complete Yucca Mountain, that repository will only hold 77,000 tons--barely enough capacity for all of the country's commercial nuclear waste now, much less in 20 years. "Do the math--it's fairly simple," Ward advises. "We already have 40 years of spent fuel. Yucca will take another 10 years to build--and if it's like other government projects I'm familiar with, probably a lot longer than that. Then you're talking about 20 years to move it all. That's twice as much fuel as Yucca is designed for right there. What happens then? The math dictates it'll sit out here forever." PFS's future remains unsettled. According to Xcel's Bomberger, the discord in Skull Valley and the indictment of Leon Bear won't keep the utility from pursuing its plans. Yet Utah's Nielson says the alleged improprieties could potentially derail the effort. And, in an unforeseen twist of events, Mike Leavitt, the Utah governor who once said that nuclear waste would arrive in the state over his dead body, was recently installed as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Meanwhile, Yucca Mountain remains in bureaucratic and regulatory limbo. The project suffered a setback recently when a federal court allowed a number of lawsuits brought by Nevada to block the facility. Margene Bullcreek might have summed up the situation for all involved. When I asked her about a recent tribal meeting, she sighed: "Very disorderly. What can I say?" At the same time, though, there are rumblings of renewed interest in nuclear power. The Bush administration has made nuclear energy a centerpiece of its national energy policy. And, indeed, just a few months ago, two different utility consortiums signaled their interest in applying for NRC licenses to operate nuclear reactors. If built, they would become the first new plants to come online in 30 years. And still, waste is piling up in places like Prairie Island. The day Joe Campbell showed me around the Prairie Island reservation, plant employees were awaiting a barge heading up the Mississippi from New Orleans. Onboard was the enormous $150 million steam generator that would replace a key aging component in one of the reactor's cores. While Bomberger insists that no decision has yet been made about the plant's future, it seemed a pretty clear signal that the Prairie Island tribe won't be bidding farewell to its nuclear neighbor anytime soon. As we were heading back to the casino, Campbell pointed out the house where his daughter, a onetime power plant employee, lives. The twin domes of the nuclear plant were clearly visible behind a line of pine trees. They were, almost literally, in his daughter's backyard. Campbell looked out the window and said, "It's like driving on a flat tire. When you get a flat, you can either get out and walk, or you can keep driving on it until your car breaks down. That's what they're doing here." --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.681 / Virus Database: 443 - Release Date: 5/10/04 ***************************************************************** 30 Las Vegas RJ: Reno Yucca rail hearing attracts fewer participants Thursday, May 13, 2004 By ED VOGEL REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU RENO -- A retired engineer said Wednesday that Nevadans must realize the dangers of America's dependence on Middle Eastern oil and back nuclear power and the Yucca Mountain repository project. Artemon Johnston, an 81-year Reno engineer who once worked on a rocket propulsion project at the Nevada Test Site was among the 41 people who attended a four-hour meeting on the U.S. Department of Energy proposal to construct a 319-mile railroad line from Caliente to the proposed Yucca Mountain repository 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The federal government wants to open the repository in 2010 to house 77,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel now in ponds outside nuclear power plants. The rail line would cost nearly $1 billion. Last week, 114 people attended a similar hearing in Caliente, and 91 people and 60 people attended hearings in Amargosa Valley and Goldfield, respectively. Allen Benson, an Energy Department spokesman, said he could not account for the low turnout in Reno. He said the turnout in Goldfield was equivalent to 10 percent of the entire Esmeralda County population. The DOE plans a similar hearing between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Monday at Cashman Center in Las Vegas. At one point Wednesday, Citizen Alert Northern Nevada Coordinator John Hadder was the only one in the room with a dozen DOE employees. Hadder said citizens should insist on numerous duplicative scientific experiments to determine that the casks that carry nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain cannot be breached. Bob Fulkerson, state leader of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, noted he has opposed Yucca Mountain for 20 years. He vowed to fight it for as long as he lives. Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal ***************************************************************** 31 Las Vegas SUN: Reid says Kerry would be friend to Nevada May 12, 2004 By Suzanne Struglinski SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is to be in Las Vegas on Sunday to speak at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Unity Conference at the Bally's event center. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., will be with Kerry on Sunday for the 3 p.m. speech. Nevadans like Kerry "and will like him even better after they get a chance to know him more," Reid said in a conference call this morning. "(John Kerry) is an extremely good friend to our state." Reid said he knows Kerry well from their work together in the Senate. Kerry is the junior senator from Massachusetts. Reid pointed to Nevada's "battleground state" status in the upcoming presidential election and said residents will be seeing more of Kerry as Election Day gets closer. "If you look at his opponent, President Bush came to Nevada on one occasion (as a candidate), hid up at the lake (Tahoe) and would not answer a single question," Reid said. Bush won his presidency with votes from Nevada, but "then just turned his back on it," Reid said, referring to Bush's campaign promise to reject the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository unless scientific evidence showed it would be safe. After he took office, Bush approved the project despite what opponents point to as documented flaws. "He (President Bush) didn't even look at the report," Reid said. "He took care of his pals in the utility industry, like big oil, and said go ahead and do Yucca Mountain. He, President Bush, acts in the best interest of energy companies and not in the state of Nevada." "I can speak from personal experience on how I went to John Kerry every time we needed him, especially on nuclear waste, and he was always there," Reid said. "He will fight for what I believe is important." Reid said he has not spoken to Kerry about the Yucca issue for some time, but will soon. Kerry has voted against the project in the past and has said during his presidential campaign that he is against it. Reid said that Kerry understands science and would want the department to do more research. Reid said he would "bet a lot" on a Kerry administration not requesting almost a billion dollars for the Yucca project, as the Bush administration has this year, on top of growing national debt. Kerry last visited Las Vegas on Feb. 13, a day before the state's Democratic Caucus. Kerry won that caucus in a landslide. ***************************************************************** 32 Las Vegas SUN: Letter: Negotiating on Yucca is crazy Today: May 13, 2004 at 8:48:52 PDT I read that some people of this state want to negotiate regarding the shipment of nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain. Are these people crazy? First, the proposed repository is not scientifically sound. Secondly, since when has the government ever negotiated in matters such as this? The best one can expect will be new or separate rail tracks or a direct highway to Yucca Mountain. Ask other states regarding their dealings on such matters, they'll tell you. New Mexico is one. Lastly, there is always the danger of a terrorist threat in shipping something as deadly as this, and to die from radiation or cancer, believe me, it's too high a price to pay. JIM HAMBY ***************************************************************** 33 Las Vegas SUN: U.S. legislators told DOE behind in Yucca licensing States get nuclear update at LV meeting By Stephen Curran LAS VEGAS SUN The Energy Department is "a little behind" in its effort to complete a necessary license application for a proposed rail route to Yucca Mountain, a top agency official told a meeting of state legislators in Las Vegas on Wednesday. John Arthur, the deputy director of the department's Las Vegas-based Office of Repository Development, estimated the agency had completed about 68 percent of the documents --of a total to be completed of 5,200 pages-- detailing safety procedures for the proposed 319-mile rail route to the nuclear waste dump. Based on weighted averages of several categories, the agency expected the necessary documents to be at least three-quarters finished by now, he told a National Conference of State Legislatures working group meeting this week at the MGM Grand to examine the project. The group, which includes legislators and staff members from all 50 states, advocates for state issues before Congress and federal agencies. The department has until December to submit a complete application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said Earl Easton, a senior transportation advisor for the NRC's spent fuel project office. The NRC will then decide whether to grant, deny, or conditionally authorize the shipments, he said. "Almost always we find something we don't like and want to clarify," Easton said of the public review process. The process includes a series of Bureau of Land Management, Energy Department and NRC "scoping meetings" to gauge rural support for the project. Such meetings have been held in past weeks in Amargosa Valley, Caliente and Pahrump. A Las Vegas meeting is slated for May 17 at the Sawyer State Office Building. Assemblyman Rod Sherer, R-Pahrump, whose district includes the proposed Yucca Mountain site, said the meetings did little to explain how the federal government plans to prepare Nevada's inadequate infrastructure for an influx of nuclear waste. "They (the Energy Department) are doing these scoping meetings but they're not getting people the answers," he said. "There are some major questions involving infrastructure. They keep saying the license is a done deal but I don't think it is." The Energy Department currently proposes spending an additional $186 million in 2005 to study transportation to the proposed site, a roughly three-fold increase above the 2004 budget. The total project is estimated at $880 million, Energy Department officials say. Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, part of a bipartisan state committee formed to oppose the project, called it a "delicate balancing act" between economic interests and concerns about proximity to the proposed dump. He cited a recent independent poll commissioned by the committee that found 75 percent of Nevadans "strongly oppose" the project while 65 percent would rather fight it than negotiate for benefits for the state's economically depressed counties. "It's hard to believe that after 20 years (since the project first surfaced) we should have to tell you (the federal government) how we feel," he told the convention. "We are stridently opposed." Assemblyman William Horne, D-Clark County, went a step further, describing the selection of Nevada as the site "arbitrary and unfair." Horne, an attorney, helped launch six separate lawsuits against federal agencies he said were pushing the project. A Federal Court of Appeals judge in January consolidated the suits, which target the Energy Department, the NRC and the Environmental Protection Agency. According to the suit, the agencies did not adequately prepare for the full life of the nuclear material or for future population growth in rural Nevada. A complete set of rulings is expected in June, Horne said. "These are not mere ploys to bolster the 'Not in my back yard' argument," he said. "All Nevada asks is that the decision be made on sound science, not political expediency." And, despite the likelihood that the Yucca project will go forward, the state will continue to fight in the courts, McGinness said. "Except for the outright termination of the Yucca Mountain project, which I don't think anyone here (at the meeting) thinks will happen, we will continue with our legal challenges." ***************************************************************** 34 RGJ: Group says metal to house nuclear waste could corrode faster RGJ.com By DOUG ABRAHMS RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL 5/12/2004 02:34 pm WASHINGTON — Scientists held a demonstration Wednesday they say shows that the metal that will be used to store nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain will corrode faster than Energy Department officials expect and could leak radioactive material. April Pulvirenti, a chemist at Catholic University, poured an acid on the metal alloy that will be used in the casks to simulate the effects of rust over a long period of time. She said the experiment showed the casks won’t last the 10,000 years the Energy Department expects. But she and other scientists couldn’t say how long the alloy would last. Another test showed that water would enter Yucca Mountain and contribute to corrosion of the casks, contrary to assumptions made by the Energy Department. “The experiments prove the inability of Yucca Mountain to isolate the nuclear waste from the public and the environment for any reasonable length of time,” said Bob Loux, who heads the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects that opposes Yucca Mountain. Nevada officials hired Pulvirenti and Don Shettel, a geochemist at Geosciences Management Institute, to study the cask’s alloy. Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett Co. Inc.Newspaper. Use ***************************************************************** 35 Bradenton Herald: Tallevast was never warned | 05/13/2004 | [Tallevast resident Charlie Ziegler, left, and Clarence Byers used to work for American Beryllium. Ziegler says knowing what he knows now, he would not have taken the job.] ALEX DIAZ-The Herald Tallevast resident Charlie Ziegler, left, and Clarence Byers used to work for American Beryllium. Ziegler says knowing what he knows now, he would not have taken the job. Chemical contamination found two years earlier KEVIN O'HORAN Herald Staff Writer TALLEVAST - More than two years before Tallevast residents learned that toxic chemicals from the former American Beryllium Co. plant had poisoned their groundwater, the company responsible for the site knew hazardous materials might be threatening nearby homes. Lockheed Martin Corp. officials knew of it but had no legal obligation to warn the men, women and children living in those homes. Florida regulators didn't require it. Nor did Manatee County officials. Nor anyone in power, anywhere. "If they're the people standing at the gate to guard you, and they're sleeping at the gate, or refusing to turn their head to see who's coming, what good does that do you?" said Laura Ward, a Tallevast resident and leader of FOCUS, a community activist group. "How does that help protect you?" It's a question on the minds of many, in light of the saga unfolding from the American Beryllium site. That, and wondering whether - or when - company leaders and regulators should be forced to warn communities when contamination is found. Tallevast residents learned in October 2003 - and only after approaching Lockheed leaders - that cancer-causing solvents from the plant at 1600 Tallevast Road had been discovered in the groundwater still feeding some area homes. Officials with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which has responsibility for managing waste cleanups like the Tallevast site, acknowledge that state law contains no such command for the company to alert the community. Manatee County Commissioner Jonathan Bruce noted the county also lacks a notice requirement, a situation he vowed to change. "Whether that involves a specific code or ordinance, or a change in procedure, I don't know yet," he said. "But the net result needs to be that there is notification, certainly." Chain of information Notice in Tallevast could have come at a number of points. Lockheed officials knew at least by early 2000 that cancer-causing chemicals had fouled soil and groundwater at the site, and noted so in Jan. 20 and Jan. 28 letters to Manatee's environmental staff and a report made to state regulators. In the second letter, company officials stated they had found the metals beryllium and chromium in soil and solvents dichloroethylene, trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene in groundwater. But they told no one in the Tallevast community. By July 2001, Lockheed's consulting firm, California-based Tetra Tech Inc., had penned into a report that its own data already showed the groundwater contaminants "may be migrating off-site" of the five-acre facility. As required, the report was delivered to Florida Department of Environmental Protection officials. But not a word went out to plant neighbors. And by May 2003, another Tetra Tech-penned report for Lockheed spelled out the extent of groundwater contamination, noting it had spread into the community north and east of the plant and already covered an area of about 12 acres. That report also went to the DEP. Not to home owners or renters, though. "No one contacted us to tell us anything," Ward said. Lack of communication The reasons for the silence differ. In Manatee, environmental staffers don't know exactly why silence ruled. When first asked by the Herald, they laid the blame first on not knowing the site was contaminated; they backtracked when told about Lockheed's January 2000 letters. They then shifted fault to state regulators for failing to contact local counterparts, only to reverse course after learning DEP claimed such a call in January 2000. They now are pinning the problem to a communications breakdown. "We could always have better coordination between DEP and the county," said Karen Collins-Fleming, director of Manatee's Environmental Management Department. "We probably need to communicate with them, to initiate communication with them. "You get a personnel change here or there, and where you might have had a really good communication channel before, it breaks down." Florida regulators said communications with the county can be improved, but they stand by their actions. They also say there was no reason to notify area residents. "In the case of the department," said Mike Zavosky, a DEP spokesman, "the department does not believe there have been impacts to private wells, so there was no need for a public notice." Lockheed's leaders didn't see a need to warn residents until tests confirmed the contamination had spread off plant grounds. Even then, the company left it to regulators to make the warnings - after nailing down a cleanup plan. "We made a decision to talk with the county and the FDEP and follow their regulations," said Meredith Davis, senior manager of corporate affairs for Lockheed. "We did ask throughout: Do we go to the public, what is the process, what is Florida's process? At that point, we were just told that FDEP, they notify the community when a remedial action plan is in place and approved. "In hindsight, we all could have strategized a little better for making the public aware." Not good enough, not at any level, Ward said. "We think that they all have fallen short in their response about notifying the community," she said. "I don't care what the problem is, it's better to face it head-on. "They knew what was going on; this wasn't something that crept up overnight." ***************************************************************** 36 Bradenton Herald: Tallevast to be surveyed Friday | 05/13/2004 | KEVIN O'HORAN Herald Staff Writer TALLEVAST - Environmental regulators and health officials plan a field survey of the community surrounding the former American Beryllium Co. plant Friday morning, trying to identify wells that tap into contaminated groundwater. Tests have shown cancer-causing solvents in unsafe amounts in the groundwater beneath the plant and neighboring areas. Officials with Lockheed Martin Corp., the aerospace giant that bought the site in 1996, have said they will pay to connect Manatee County-supplied water to any home that now draws from contaminated groundwater. The company also will provide bottled water until the hookups are made. Until recent years, most homes in the area drew from such wells, typically sinking the lines into a groundwater table that rolls as close as four feet to the soil surface. But, since many of the wells went unregistered and unregulated, only sketchy reports exist on how many homes still rely on the groundwater. ***************************************************************** 37 SF Chronicle: Lawmaker warns Energy Department of money cuts for nuclear waste project H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer Thursday, May 13, 2004 (05-13) 00:07 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Energy Department has been warned by an influential lawmaker that it may get a fraction of the money sought next year for a proposed nuclear waste dump in Nevada, jeopardizing any chance that site can open by 2010. Congress has given the project the go-ahead, pending a permit by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. But securing the money needed every year so the Yucca Mountain project can stay on schedule has frustrated planners. The latest potential roadblock came from the House Appropriations subcommittee that is considering a department request for $880 million for the budget year that begins Oct. 1. The project 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas is facing major challenges in getting an NRC license and developing a waste transportation plan. In a recent letter, Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, the subcommittee chairman, advised Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham that he may get only $131 million, an amount that department officials say essentially would shut down the program. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter. Hobson, a strong supporter of the project, asked Abraham for detailed information on how these limited funds would affect the program and the nuclear industry. "We're working closely with chairman Hobson to address his concerns ... and advance the ball forward in getting the money we need," department spokesman Joe Davis said. The proposed repository is where the government wants to bury 77,000 tons of highly radioactive used reactor fuel now kept at commercial power plants, as well as defense waste. The effort has wide support in Congress. In 2002, lawmakers blocked an attempt by Nevada to short-circuit the project. When it comes to annual funds, Yucca Mountain planners must compete with other programs under the subcommittee's jurisdiction, including popular water projects dear to individual lawmakers. This year, the Energy Department sought to resolve that problem. It linked about $750 million of the $880 million requested for Yucca Mountain to congressional passage of legislation assuring that money collected through a special nuclear waste fund actually is spent for the project. The legislation has languished in another committee. So Hobson is faced with a $750 million shortfall that -- if it is to be provided for Yucca -- will have to come from other programs. To make matters worse, the Energy Department always has relied on the House to come up with more money for Yucca Mountain. In the Senate, Nevada Democrat Harry Reid, an ardent Yucca opponent, is in the leadership, and this chamber has been more stingy in providing funds for the program. Recently the Senate Armed Services Committee authorized funds for Yucca Mountain at $577 million next fiscal year, a little less than current spending. In March, Margaret Chu, director of the DOE office that heads the program, emphasized at a congressional hearing that the program is reaching a critical stage where spending below what the department is requesting would make it impossible to meet the 2010 target for opening the facility. To stay on schedule, she predicted a need to raise spending over the next few years: $880 million in fiscal 2005, $1 billion in 2006 and $1.2 billion the year after that. The federal nuclear waste fund is collected from a one-tenth of a cent per kilowatt assessment on power produced by a nuclear power plant. Currently the $14 billion already collected helps hold down the deficit. "It's money ratepayers have paid. We want to use that money and move the project forward," department spokesman Davis said. The bill proposed by the administration would require that Congress free up whatever revenue is collected in a given year and use it on the Yucca project, so the program does not have to complete with other programs. The San Francisco Chronicle ***************************************************************** 38 Nevada Appeal: Cask crash testing for dummies May 13, 2004 Nevada Appeal editorial board It's nice to know that sound science will include Vince and Larry, or at least some semblance of the crash-test dummies. By this we mean the acknowledgement this week by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that casks designed to carry nuclear waste to Nevada's Yucca Mountain will get real crash tests. So far, we've had to rely on computer simulations to tell us the casks won't leak radioactivity if a truck is in an accident or a train car derails. So the NRC plan calls for crashing the 150-ton shipping containers at 75 mph and engulfing them in fire to see what happens. And agency officials are right when they say we'll all feel a little better about the transportation plan if we see the casks actually work. Unfortunately, the tests don't take into account one of the main rationalizations for shipping radioactive waste across the country to the Nevada desert and the reason cited by President Bush for approving the Yucca Mountain project -terrorist threat. Nevada opponents of the Yucca Mountain plan want the federal government to conduct more comprehensive tests, to the extent that it is determined exactly how much stress the casks will take. Federal officials say there's no realistic scenario in which an accident could cause the casks to break, so there's no need to test them beyond the Vince and Larry demonstration. Of course, prior to Sept. 11, 2001, there was no realistic scenario in which terrorists could hijack commercial jetliners and crash them into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. If a rocket-propelled grenade - the very plentiful weapon-of-choice for many terrorists - can penetrate the armor on an M1 Abrams battle tank, what can it do to one of these casks? If radioactive waste is unsafe at its present sites from terrorist threat - a reason cited by Bush - and needs to be herded to Nevada for safekeeping, why doesn't it need protection while en route, when it is most vulnerable? Or maybe it was just another excuse to screw Nevada. Visit our other news and portal sites. All contents © Copyright 2004 nevadaappeal.com Nevada Appeal - 580 Mallory Way - Carson City, NV 89701 ***************************************************************** 39 AU ABC: Nuclear watchdog calls for waste dump review. 13/05/2004. ABC News Online Australian Broadcasting Corporation Federal Government plans to build a radioactive waste dump in South Australia have been hit with a further delay. A committee of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, which is considering a licence for the dump, has called for further investigation on the dump's likely impact on groundwater. South Australian Environment Minister John Hill says he had feared the Federal Government agency may just rubber stamp the project, but instead it appears to be taking on board genuine environmental concerns. "The project going ahead is looking less and less likely all the time, particularly before a federal election," he said. "Now, that gives the people in South Australia an opportunity, of course, to make a political judgement about whether it ought to or not go ahead. "And I would hope the Federal Government will take all that in mind. "I think they should just say look it's been too hard, South Australians don't want it, all the scientists are saying don't put it there, let's start again." Mr Hill says the South Australian Government hopes the delays will make the dump a federal election issue. Arpansa chief John Loy says the body will not make any hasty decisions. "I have to be convinced if the repository was to be sited and constructed and operated on site, that it would be safe," Mr Loy said. He says there is no time deadline but says a decision may be at least many months away. © 2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ***************************************************************** 40 KRNV: Energy officials pitch proposed waste route to Reno residents RENO, NV, May 13 Reno residents now have a better idea of what will happen if nuclear waste is shipped through Nevada to a repository at Yucca Mountain. In a presentation at the University of Nevada Wednesday night, the Department of Energy showed its proposed train route to transport nuclear waste and it does not go through northern Nevada. Instead, it will go through Caliente in southern Nevada, circling around Yucca Mountain and entering the site through the south. Energy officials say the route emphasizes safety, but some residents, like John Hadder of Citizen Alert, are concerned waste could come through Reno anyway. "If the primary route is blocked for some reason like there's a derailment or some catastrophe it's likely the Department of Energy will want to keep the waste moving and won't want it to sit somewhere, and that's when it would come to Reno on secondary routes." Scientists working for the State of Nevada held a demonstration of their own in Washington Wednesday showing the metal they expect to be used for nuclear waste storage at Yucca would corrode and leak. Energy Department officials say the demonstration was unrealistic. All content © Copyright 2001 - 2004 WorldNow and KRNV. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 41 KRNV: Possible Energy Department money cuts for nuclear waste project WASHINGTON, May 13 The Energy Department has been warned by an influential lawmaker that it may get a fraction of the money sought next year for a proposed nuclear waste dump in Nevada, jeopardizing any chance that site can open by 2010. Congress has given the project the go-ahead, pending a permit by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. But securing the money needed every year so the Yucca Mountain project can stay on schedule has frustrated planners. The latest potential roadblock came from the House Appropriations subcommittee that is considering a department request for 880 million dollars. Ohio Congressman David Hobson, the subcommittee chairman, has advised Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham that he may get only 131 million dollars, an amount that department officials say essentially would shut down the program. (Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) All content © Copyright 2001 - 2004 WorldNow and KRNV. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 42 NEWS.com.au: Doubt on nuclear dump (May 14, 2004) By TOM RICHARDSON THE State Government has welcomed a report questioning aspects of the Federal Government's application for a nuclear waste dump in South Australia. State Environment Minister John Hill said he was "surprised and delighted" by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency report questioning a lack of detail about waterflows on and under the proposed site in the application. "This gives credence to the argument the State Government has been putting – there's a risk to our environment," Mr Hill said. "I'm very pleased ARPANSA is showing it's got a few independent attributes – we were concerned it would just rubber-stamp the development." Agency chief executive Dr John Loy said the Federal Government had the opportunity "to respond to information that might be adverse to their case", but said there was "no guarantee that even after they have done that they will reach the bar". Federal Science Minister Peter McGauran said the application had met all safety objectives. The Advertiser Copyright 2004 News Limited. All times AEST (GMT+10). ***************************************************************** 43 News & Star: DR JACK ATTACKS BNFL Published on 12/05/2004 BRITISH Nuclear Fuels has come under fire for putting jobs at risk by delaying a document which sets out all the work that will be done at Sellafield in the next two years, an MP said yesterday. Copeland MP Dr Jack Cunningham said this is threatening jobs in West Cumbria because contractors and associated businesses in the ‘supply chain’ - which BNFL spends more than £100 million a year on in Cumbria alone - cannot plan ahead. Glyn Llewellyn of the West Cumbria Cluster Group of Sellafield suppliers, confirmed that some companies had already been forced to make a number of redundancies, and were now looking at the economic impact of the delay on their business. Dr Cunningham told the House of Commons energy debate, that there were “real problems” in the supply chain of support industries and a threat to jobs in the West Cumbrian economy. He blamed the hiatus caused by proposals to create the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, and BNFL’s refusal so far to bring forward its near-term work plan. “There are already strains in the supply chain, reflected in the threat to jobs in West Cumbria, even before the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has come into existence,” he said. BNFL said it was aware that there are currently difficulties with the Sellafield supply chain, which it spends over £500 million on every year. A spokesman said: “The production of the near-term work plan has constituted a massive undertaking - detailing all the work that will take place at Sellafield over the next two years - and we have made a commitment to publish this plan by the end of June." The NDA is due to come into being in April 2005 and will take over ownership of the UK’s nuclear sites. Major changes to the way the nuclear industry is run and the potential loss of 8,000 jobs from Sellafield over the next 10 years could spell a major economic crisis for West Cumbria, and Dr Cunningham urged the Government to ensure that the area benefits rather than suffers. He said the area very much depends on the nuclear industry for employment, with more than 12,000 people working at Sellafield. “The work force in West Cumbria have the skill, experience, commitment and trust of local communities to deliver the decommissioning and remediation work, which it is broadly estimated has a value of about £50 billion. “I want the Government to ensure that the west Cumbrian economy benefits from the changes that British Nuclear Fuels and others will be obliged to grasp.” He called for NDA headquarters, which will be located in West Cumbria, to be based at Westlakes Science park, which is 10 miles from Sellafield and hosts a cluster of nuclear industries. He said it should also be the home of a nuclear skills academy. Dr Cunningham also demanded to know why the Government’s strategic taskforce, set up to ensure the economic future of West Cumbria after Sellafield is decommissioned, has not yet met. endsWhat's your view of this story? Email the News &Star at news@cumbrian-newspapers.co.ukor post it on our Forums ***************************************************************** 44 News & Star: BNFL DELAY WILL PUT JOBS AT RISK ’ Published on 13/05/2004 Job fears: Jack Cunningham By Andrea Thompson BRITISH Nuclear Fuels has come under fire for putting jobs at risk by delaying a document which sets out all the work that will be done at Sellafield in the next two years, an MP said yesterday. Copeland MP Dr Jack Cunningham said this is threatening jobs in West Cumbria because contractors and associated businesses in the ‘supply chain’ – which BNFL spends more than £100 million a year on in Cumbria alone – cannot plan ahead. Glyn Llewellyn of the West Cumbria Cluster Group of Sellafield suppliers, confirmed that some companies had already been forced to make a number of redundancies, and were now looking at the economic impact of the delay on their business. Dr Cunningham told the House of Commons energy debate, that there were “real problems” in the supply chain of support industries and a threat to jobs in the West Cumbrian economy. He blamed the hiatus caused by proposals to create the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, and BNFL’s refusal so far to bring forward its near-term work plan. “There are already strains in the supply chain, reflected in the threat to jobs in West Cumbria, even before the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has come into existence,” he said. BNFL said it was aware that there are currently difficulties with the Sellafield supply chain, which it spends over £500 million on every year. A spokesman said: “The production of the near-term work plan has constituted a massive undertaking – detailing all the work that will take place at Sellafield over the next two years – and we have made a commitment to publish this plan by the end of June." The NDA is due to come into being in April 2005 and will take over ownership of the UK’s nuclear sites. Major changes to the way the nuclear industry is run and the potential loss of 8,000 jobs from Sellafield over the next 10 years could spell a major economic crisis for West Cumbria, and Dr Cunningham urged the Government to ensure that the area benefits rather than suffers. He said the area very much depends on the nuclear industry for employment, with more than 12,000 people working at Sellafield. “The work force in West Cumbria have the skill, experience, commitment and trust of local communities to deliver the decommissioning and remediation work, which it is broadly estimated has a value of about £50 billion. “I want the Government to ensure that the West Cumbrian economy benefits from the changes which British Nuclear Fuels and others will be obliged to grasp.” He called for NDA headquarters, which will be located in West Cumbria, to be based at Westlakes Science park, which is 10 miles from Sellafield and hosts a cluster of nuclear industries. He said it should also be the home of a nuclear skills academy. Dr Cunningham also demanded to know why the Government’s strategic taskforce, set up to ensure the economic future of West Cumbria after Sellafield is decommissioned, has not yet met. What's your view of this story? Email the News &Star at or post it on our Forums ***************************************************************** 45 News Journal: DuPont's VX waste plans blocked www.delawareonline.com : The Company must seek permit amendment By JEFF MONTGOMERY Staff reporter 05/13/2004 The Delaware River Basin Commission has barred the DuPont Co. from treating neutralized nerve agent wastes at a plant near the foot of the Delaware Memorial Bridge pending a review and ruling by the multistate agency. Commission executive director Carol R. Collier notified the company by letter May 6 that DuPont is "not authorized" to begin the up to 4-million-gallon treatment job at its industrial wastewater plant in Deepwater, N.J., until the company seeks an amendment to a permit approved in 1991. Collier also called on the company to explain how its current permit allowed the company to begin a $30 million project in 2002 that could eventually treat 7 million gallons of caustic wastewater from a mustard gas chemical weapon stockpile at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The commission gave the company 30 days to acknowledge the ban on treating VX nerve agent wastes and to provide details on the mustard waste project, including an explanation of why DuPont believes its permit would allow the mustard byproduct treatment. "We're saying we don't think military waste was contemplated" in the company's current commission approval, spokesman Robert Tudor said Wednesday. "And, in fact, we don't think this facility is necessarily that effective in treating VX waste." DuPont said in a prepared statement Wednesday that executives were surprised by the commission's stand. The company said it consulted with the agency on the mustard project in 2002 without public objection. "Last year, we proactively consulted with the DRBC regarding our potential assistance to the Army with its wastewater from Newport, Ind. Again, the DRBC did not raise any concerns at the time. Only in the last couple weeks has the DRBC voiced any concerns." The commission oversees water supply and watershed environmental matters in the 13,500-square-mile area surrounding the Delaware and its tributaries, and issues permits for river water withdrawals, wells and wastewater discharges. Last month, Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner and New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey opposed the VX waste treatment plan in a joint letter to the Army. Both cited findings that DuPont's commercial industrial wastewater treatment plant will let at least two chemical disposal byproducts pass mostly untreated into the river. Other proposed new treatment plant ventures, including municipal sewage, infectious wastes and low-level radioactive wastes also will require commission review, Collier said. The company's permit renewal application identifies hundreds of new chemicals that could be discharged into the river compared with the previous application. The riverside plant is in New Jersey, but treated wastes are discharged in Delaware's portion of the river. DuPont has described the operation, which has a 47.8-million-gallon-a-day capacity, as the largest commercial industrial wastewater plant in North America. The commission last month said the Army proposal could cause DuPont to violate an important toxic pollution limit in its New Jersey permit, and said the plan requires additional testing for potential toxic effects on the river and aquatic life. DuPont has said it already has all approvals needed to treat caustic wastewater from destruction of VX nerve agent stockpiled at a depot in Newport, Ind. Current operations are carried out under one of the most stringent water pollution control permits issued by New Jersey, the company said. "We are confident that the facility can safely and effectively treat both the Aberdeen and Newport wastewaters," DuPont said. The company, facing public and state regulatory opposition, recently announced it would postpone acceptance of an Army contract for the project while awaiting reviews by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency. New Jersey said this week officials are investigating reports that DuPont may have treated 7,000 pounds of the VX-related wastes in the mid-1990s without notifying state officials. The state Department of Environmental Protection also has said that New Jersey plans to include new environmental protection requirements in DuPont's discharge permit regardless of the VX decision. Kevin C. Donnelly, water resources director for Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, said the commission's review could be time consuming. The Army has said it wants to begin neutralizing nerve agents in Newport this summer, with final treatment at DuPont beginning as early as next year. Indiana regulators have said they want the Army to have a "clear path" to final treatment before the neutralization process begins. Maya K. van Rossum, who directs the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, a multistate conservation group, said the Army has other options for the wastes, including treating the caustic wastewater on the same site as the neutralization operation. "Here DuPont was pushing through this effort to make themselves more money and get more business, where in reality what they may have ended up doing is creating for themselves a very large, unanticipated headache," van Rossum said. "They have spotlighted themselves now as a facility in need of attention." Reach Jeff Montgomery at 678-4277 or jmontgomery@delawareonline.com. Copyright ©2004, The News Journal. ***************************************************************** 46 AU ABC: NZ government rejects calls to scrap anti-nuclear laws The New Zealand government has reacted angrily to suggestions from the opposition National Party leader, Don Brash, that it should scrap its landmark anti-nuclear laws. The foreign minister, Phil Goff, says the laws are not only understood and accepted by major allies like Australia and the United States, but they are also overwhelmingly supported by New Zealanders. "New Zealand is a small but proudly independent country and it stands by a policy that is overwhelmingly endorsed by the majority of New Zealanders," Mr Goff said. "Our country makes no apology for standing up and expressing its own viewpoint on issues like this, as we've done over two decades," he said. Mr Goff has also dismissed suggestions by the opposition that the government is not spending enough on defence. Dr Brash says the country should be spending more than about 1.2 per cent of GDP on defence and says it is not pulling its weight overseas. However, Mr Goff says most defence spending cuts were introduced by the Nationals when they were last in power and says Dr Brash should stop running the country down in public. "New Zealand has made a huge investment in its defence forces, and our defence forces under this Labour government have been more active internationally than at any other time in New Zealand's history from the Second World War," Mr Goff said. "For Don Brash to run his own country down and say we're not pulling our weight is in fact not only inaccurate, but a disgrace," he said. 13/05/2004 17:06:33 | ABC Radio Australia News ***************************************************************** 47 LinuxElectrons: DOE Leadership-Class Computing Capability for Science will be Developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory Thursday, May 13 2004 @ 02:20 AM Contributed by: ByteEnable WASHINGTON, DC – Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will grant Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and its development partners, Cray Inc., IBM Corp. and Silicon Graphics Inc., $25 million in funding to begin to build a 50 teraflop (50 trillion calculations per second) science research supercomputer. The department selected ORNL from four proposals received from its non-weapon national labs. “This new facility will enable the Office of Science to deliver world leadership-class computing for science,” said Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham. “It will serve to revitalize the U.S. effort in high-end computing.” The supercomputer will be open to the scientific community for research. ORNL won the award in a peer-reviewed competition with three other Office of Science national laboratories. In response to a solicitation, the four laboratories submitted proposals designed to improve substantially the national research community’s computing capability – or ability to perform the largest, most complex simulations – and thereby enhance prospects for important research advances and scientific breakthroughs in all science disciplines supported by DOE and other federal science agencies. ORNL will be responsible for working with vendors and users to determine the best system architecture for the expected set of computation problems. It will work closely with Cray and IBM as well as Argonne National Laboratory, other DOE national laboratories, and universities to make the new DOE computing capability a success. The facility will be used by DOE for mission-related research, and it also will be open to researchers from around the world for competitive, peer-reviewed research. “The leadership-class computing capability that now will be developed at ORNL will enable researchers to probe the deepest secrets of Nature – and facilitate the technical, economic and social benefits such understanding will yield,” said Secretary Abraham. “It is no exaggeration to say that this machine will give both the U.S. scientific community and industrial sector a significant competitive advantage over the rest of the world. “We received four excellent proposals in response to our Solicitation for Leadership-Class Computing Capability for Science,” Secretary Abraham said. “We thank the four national laboratories for making this important process a win for DOE, the scientific community and the Nation, all well served by the world-class computational capabilities our complex provides for continued discovery and improved national welfare.” Congress set aside $30 million in the Fiscal Year 2004 Energy and Water appropriation, in the words of the conference report, for “the Department [of Energy] to acquire additional advanced computing capability to support existing users in the near term and to initiate longer-term research and development on next generation computer architectures.” The President’s FY 2005 request for the DOE Office of Science includes an additional $25 million for such a capability. It is anticipated – but not guaranteed – that, at a minimum, level funding will be available to support the DOE leadership-class computing capability for up to four years beyond FY 2004. The capacity of the current ORNL Cray X1 computer will be increased to 20 teraflops in 2004 with a 20-teraflop Red Storm-based system from Cray added in 2005. Argonne National Laboratory expects to install a 5-teraflop IBM Blue Gene computer as part of this project. A 100-teraflop Cray system at Oak Ridge is planned for 2006, with the potential to increase to 250 teraflops in 2007. The supercomputer at ORNL will be housed in a new 170,000 square foot facility that includes 400 staff and 40,000 square feet of space for computer systems and data storage. The machines will run on 12 megawatts of power supplied by the Tennessee Valley [DoE3] Authority. Computer simulation is now a major force for discovery in its own right. Researchers have moved beyond using computers to solve very complicated sets of equations to a new regime in which scientific simulation enables us to obtain scientific results and achieve discovery in the same way that experiment and theory have traditionally been used. High-end computation today joins theory and experimentation as the third pillar that supports scientific discovery. What’s more, there are areas where the only approach to a solution is through high-end computation. That has real consequences: computing capability is now essential for the research advances and scientific progress which will produce vital economic and societal benefits. According to the Science-based Case for Large-scale Simulation (SCaLeS) Report, “the availability of computers 100 to 1,000 times more powerful than those currently available will have a profound impact on computational scientists’ ability to simulate the fundamental physical, chemical, and biological processes that underlie the behavior of natural and engineered systems.” ORNL was one of four laboratories that submitted proposals in response to a solicitation letter sent to all 10 DOE Office of Science national labs. Proposals also were received from Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. DOE’s Office of Science conducted a rigorous and thorough review of the four proposals. The applications were peer-reviewed, with the six external reviewers selected for their scientific expertise and absence of conflict-of-interest. The peer-review panel met for two days to review the four proposals and the panelists submitted their analysis and recommendations to Office of Science Director Raymond L. Orbach. Orbach selected ORNL, based on the external reviewers’ advice. Only DOE Office of Science laboratories were eligible to respond to the solicitation. The department determined that a national laboratory was the logical place for a national computational user facility for capability limited science, because at such a venue the DOE Office of Science can ensure world-class operations, maintenance, security and equal access to all prospective users on a competitive, peer-reviewed basis. The DOE Office of Science has been a world leader in developing and using advanced computers as tools for scientific discovery and to achieve breakthroughs in targeted applications disciplines. An UltraScale Scientific Computing Capability – to be located at multiple sites and increasing by a factor of 100 the computing capability available to support open (as opposed to classified) scientific research – was listed as the second highest priority in the DOE facilities plan, Facilities for the Future of Science: A Twenty-Year Outlook. Released in November 2003 by Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, the plan proposed a portfolio of 28 prioritized new scientific facilities and upgrades of current facilities spanning the scientific disciplines to ensure the U.S. retains its primacy in critical areas of science and technology. The list anticipates the large-scale facilities that scientists will require across all fields of science supported by DOE over the next two decades. (The plan is available at www.science.doe.gov) The Office of Science’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program (www.science.doe.gov/feature/ASCR.htm) supports fundamental research in applied mathematics, computer science and networking – and provides world-class, high-performance computational networking tools that enable DOE to fulfill its science, energy security, environmental remediation and national security missions. ASCR annually funds research at about 65 academic institutions and the 10 Office of Science laboratories; more than 2,400 scientists in universities, federal agencies and U.S. companies use ASCR-funded high-performance computers each year. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the Nation, manages 10 world-class national laboratories and builds and operates some of the Nation’s most advanced R&D user facilities. More information about the office is available at www.sc.doe.gov. Copyright © 2004 LinuxElectrons and its licensors.  All rights ***************************************************************** 48 Oak Ridger: 'Uncovered' documentary to be shown in Oak Ridge Story last updated at 12:39 p.m. on May 13, 2004 A showing of the documentary "Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War" will be at 7 p.m. Friday in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center. The documentary examines the Bush Administration's use and misuse of information leading up to the war in Iraq. Produced and directed by Robert Greenwald, it includes interviews with government officials close to U.S. foreign policy and intelligence. The documentary was sponsored by MoveOn.org and the Center for American Progress. The showing is free and open to the public. To ensure seating, reply to 220-0829 or communications@dfet.org. The local showing is sponsored by the East Tennessee chapter of Democracy for America. Additional events and showings are listed at dfet.org. ***************************************************************** 49 Tri-Valley Herald: Officials approve funding for nukes Article Last Updated: Thursday, May 13, 2004 - By STAFF REPORTS Republicans beat back a Democratic attempt Wednesday to shift more than $30 million for a massive, nuclear bunker buster and other new nuclear weapons research requested by the Bush administration to conventional arms and intelligence. In a straight party-line vote, the majority on the House Armed Services Committee turned aside Rep. Ellen Tauscher's second drive in two years to withhold funding of research into the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, under way at federal labs mostly in her own district. Tauscher told the committee that she was proud of the nation's Cold War weaponeers but concerned "that the guise of the war on terrorism is being used to gain support for efforts to find new uses for existing nuclear weapons and to design new nuclear weapons -- weapons that the Pentagon hasn't even asked for." Democrats argued that the administration's plans for new and modified nuclear arms send the message that the United States is willing to go to war to prevent other countries from obtaining weapons of mass destruction while exploring new uses for such weapons itself. Republicans countered that the $26.7 million for high-yield earth penetrator and $9 million for exploring other potential nuclear weapons was strictly for research and necessary to keep U.S. scientists on the cutting edge of weapons development. A full House vote on the $424 billion defense bill, including money for the Defense Department and the U.S. Energy Department's nuclear-weapons research, and on the $25 billion supplemental to pay for U.S. activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, is expected late next week. The Oakland Tribune ***************************************************************** 50 Oak Ridger: Documents outline media activities Story last updated at 12:37 p.m. on May 13, 2004 By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff paul.parson@oakridger.com As part of a contract, Laine Communications provides monthly reports to BWXT Y-12 regarding public relations activities. The documents indicate they were prepared by Bill Gubbins, who works for the marketing and public relations firm, and they are reportedly sent to Dennis Ruddy, president and general manager of BWXT Y-12. Recently obtained by The Oak Ridger, these reports document a wide range of activities involving Ruddy, including his media appearances and meetings with newspaper representatives as well as local elected officials. The following are some excerpts from the monthly reports: * Week of Jan. 12 to 16 - "Worked on Judy Johns release, a release designed to deflect some of the negative security stories by announcing that Johns, BWXT Y-12's head of security, has been chosen by General Humble to join the Tennessee office of homeland security; we called General Humble's office and they agreed to have this release come from them, not BWXT Y-12, certainly giving it more credibility ..." * Week of Jan. 19 to 23 - "Dennis Ruddy appeared on Hallerin Hill's radio show for approximately one half hour on the morning of Friday, Jan. 23; the interview went very well even in light of another difficult Frank Munger security story that appeared that morning in the News Sentinel; security questions were answered clearly yet did not require any details (details that neither Hallerin nor his listeners were interested in); Hallerin invited Ruddy to come back." * Week of Jan. 26 to 30 - "Received word from Nashville that because of difficult security stories about the plant, General Humble had decided not to issue the Judy Johns press release from his office as originally planned; a setback: this change probably insured that the press release would not receive the hoped for coverage." * Week of Feb. 2 to 6 - "Our suggested strategy for the next several months is to have Dennis Ruddy appear on as many local TV interview shows (Gene Patterson's Tennessee This Week, Inside East Tennessee, etc.) as his schedule permits; the goal is to establish Ruddy as the 'face' of BWXT Y-12 as a prelude to the subsequent introduction of a series of 'Good News' stories to the local media ..." * Week of Feb. 9 to 13 - "Discussed Paul Parson's Oak Ridger interview request with Bill Wilburn" * Week of Feb. 23 to 28 - Reviewed Dennis Ruddy photo for use in the Oak Ridger with Paul Parson story. The photograph for this story could have been significantly better; it is critical that a member of the public relations staff (or Laine) accompany BWXT Y-12 staff photographers on these shoots, regardless of the time pressure, etc.; conversely, BWXT Y-12 staff photographers must be prepared to shoot simple action shots of people under the typical circumstances of standard photojournalism: tight time, less than great access, overcoming technical obstacles, etc., and be expected to return with images of daily newspaper quality." * Week of March 1 to 5 - "While the Zach Wamp BWXT Y-12 press conference (and subsequent media coverage) was a success, greater care could be taken at these events to make sure the BWXT Y-12 (or Y-12) logo is more prominently displayed. We were able to get a logo placed on the Gantry Mill drill head (which was shown in several reports), but there could have been a large logo above the mill itself and speakers could have work jackets/shirts with logos." * Week of March 8 to 12 - "Reviewed 'POGO' story in Oak Ridger" * Week of March 15 to 19 - Spoke with Dennis Ruddy re: the mistaken use by WVLT-TV of 'ORNL' instead of 'BWXT Y-12' in their report on the Libya story ... Called WVLT-TV newsroom to get correction on the Libya story ... Wrote email to WVLT-TV news director Steve Crabtree re: correction on the Libyan news story" * Week of March 22 to 26 - "Spoke with Teresa Woodard at WBIR-TV re: exclusive TV news story about BWXT Y-12 during sweeps week" ***************************************************************** 51 Oak Ridger: No comment' goes against advice Story last updated at 12:44 p.m. on May 13, 2004 REPORT: 'Ruddy should consider regular interviews with the local press, both print and television, and be the 'face' of BWXT Y-12 ...' By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff paul.parson@oakridger.com Dennis Ruddy's interaction with the news media - and public - could be described as hit and miss. The BWXT Y-12 president is usually visible at high-profile events, and often provides prepared comments for positive news articles. But, Ruddy routinely isn't available to comment on negative or controversial news stories. However, his "no comment" approach goes against advice given to him by the Knoxville-based marketing and public relations firm under contract to essentially make him "the face" of Oak Ridge's nuclear weapons plant, according to reports obtained by The Oak Ridger. Earlier this year, the Y-12 National Security Complex was at the heart of what some would consider negative news coverage. The media chronicled union pickets of the Y-12 cafeteria and various security-related problems, including missing keys and accusations that the plant did poorly on a review. "The plant took a 'no comment' position on most of these stories, a position that may have given the stories additional momentum," according to a January 2004 monthly report on Y-12-related public relations activities. As part of a contract, Laine Communications prepares the monthly reports that outline media-related activities and offers recommendations for improving communication tools and techniques - among other things. Laine officials noted in the January report "that 'no comment' is seldom the preferred answer to difficult stories. In fact, the more difficult the story, the less 'no comment' is the preferred response." The public relations firm urged that a senior member of the BWXT Y-12 staff - most likely Ruddy - be made available for comments to the press on even the most difficult stories. "Ruddy should consider regular interviews with the local press, both print and television, and be the 'face' of BWXT Y-12 ...," Laine officials noted in the January document. On the plus side, at least according to the January report, none of the negative news stories reported that month "took hold in the community and the long-term impact on BWXT Y-12's image was minimal. "However, they did emphasize the critical need to move quickly on getting the 'good news' stories assembled and released as soon as possible," the report also noted. "The more 'good news' stories that are covered, the greater the likelihood that the public will regard difficult stories as the exception rather than the rule." Reports issued to Ruddy from Laine officials in February and March also encouraged the BWXT Y-12 chief to appear on as many local TV interview shows as his schedule permitted. Laine officials also offered specific suggestions for improving Y-12's image as well as the plant's relationship with the news media, including Knoxville News Sentinel reporter Frank Munger, who has covered the Department of Energy for at least 20 years. "One suggestion for improving relations with Frank Munger is to give him packaged stories not offered to other media outlets," the March report from Laine noted." ... letting Munger interview the 'next generation' of BWXT Y-12 leaders, is one of several concepts that, over the long run, will help change Munger's perception of the facility." Additionally, the March report states that members of the local TV stations expressed "great fascination with being 'behind the fence'" at Y-12 while filming a press conference on a new piece of equipment. The event took place indoors so the cameras were actually limited in what could be filmed. "A natural step is to offer one of the stations an exclusive look inside the plant (this suggestion, as per Dennis Ruddy, has been implemented and WBIR-TV has agreed to do a multi-part story that would be aired, with great promotion, during May 'sweeps week' this year)," Laine's March report noted. WBIR aired the first segment of its "Behind The Fence" series on Y-12 Tuesday evening. Running for three minutes and 20 seconds, the segment focused heavily on modernization efforts at the plant. Ruddy's one-time appearance in the first segment barely clocked 10 seconds. In addition, a half-page ad appearing in Tuesday's edition of the News Sentinel to promote the segment mistakenly featured a photograph of Oak Ridge National Laboratory instead of the Y-12 plant. WBIR's Wednesday evening segment focused on security officers who guard Y-12. The segment lasted about three minutes and 10 seconds, and Ruddy was featured twice for a total of 13 seconds. ***************************************************************** 52 Oak Ridger: Sick worker, union issues dominate remembrance ceremony Story last updated at 12:06 p.m. on May 13, 2004 ATLC CHIEF: 'Sometimes you got to do things to get people's attention.' By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff paul.parson@oakridger.com Carl "Bubba" Scarbrough said he realized it wasn't a "pulpit for politickin'," but that didn't stop him from discussing current union woes during an event at Oak Ridge's First Presbyterian Church. Scarbrough, president of the Atomic Trades and Labor Council, was one of two guest speakers Wednesday afternoon at a Workers' Memorial Day service at the church. "We think we got a legit complaint," Scarbrough told the 30-plus crowd, which consisted of several union members. The ATLC chief said it appears the cost of health insurance is going up for workers at federal facilities while the amount of coverage is decreasing. Scarbrough's organization represents hourly workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Marie Moffitt/Staff The Rev. Kerra Becker English, who is with First Presbyterian Church, performed the memorial candle lighting ceremony Wednesday during the Workers' Memorial Day remembrance service. More than 30 people attended the ceremony. Scarbrough also pointed out that while the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge budget is substantial, it includes no money for insurance and no funds for pensions. However, he suggested that some positive pension-related news might be announced soon. ATLC officials are heading to Washington, D.C., this week to meet with Tennessee congressmen and DOE officials regarding the union contracts, which are currently on an extension that expires June 22. The negotiating process actually involves around nine deals for union members who are employed hourly with BWXT Y-12, UT-Battelle, Bechtel Jacobs Co., Duratek Federal Services, The Washington Group, WESKEM, Canberra, Bionetics Corp. and Buddy's Bar-B-Q. "Sometimes you got to do things to get people's attention," said Scarbrough, who noted that the possibility of a strike exists if union deals aren't inked. Negotiators will attempt to hammer out union deals over a four-day period beginning Monday. While ATLC members are concerned about their health insurance, Janet Michel warned the union members and other people attending the remembrance service about the health-related dangers of working at DOE's facilities. Michel, who suffers from health problems tied to her work at the Oak Ridge K-25 site, said she has been on disability for several years. A longtime sick worker advocate, Michel warned that the federal government's compensation plan for job-sickened nuclear workers is flawed. She also said Gov. Phil Bredesen's proposal to reform Tennessee's workers' compensation program could negatively impact sick workers. Michel said there are countless former DOE workers out there who suffer from work-related health problems. She even remembered several of those who lost the battle with their illnesses, including Jerry Tudor, who died in January 2003. "Let's not forget those who fought before us and, more importantly, let's not give up," said Michel, who was the other guest speaker at Wednesday afternoon's Workers' Memorial Day service. The remembrance event also paid tribute to 109 Tennesseans who died from unsafe working conditions in 2003. Jim Bass, president of the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Area Central Labor Council, participated in the event along with the Rev. Kerra Becker English of First Presbyterian Church and the Rev. Jake Bohstedt Morrill of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church. ***************************************************************** 53 Oak Ridger: POGO: Hard road ahead for security changes Story last updated at 11:51 a.m. on May 13, 2004 By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff According to one watchdog group, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham will face an uphill battle when he tries to implement his proposed new security measures at the nation's nuclear weapons complex. Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project On Government Oversight, testified on the issue Tuesday before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. POGO is not "sanguine" that the agenda outlined by Abraham will become a reality, according to a copy of Brian's testimony. "He will need to fight the weapons complex bureaucracy, its contractors and its handmaiden, the National Nuclear Security Administration, which wants to protect the status quo at all costs," Brian said. In the end, according to the POGO official, no changes will happen without Congress. "I believe it will be some of the most important work you will do," Brian testified. Abraham outlined his plans for improving security at the federal government's weapons site during a press conference last week. One element of this plan involves the expedited construction of a storage facility for highly enriched uranium at the Y-12 National Security Complex. "Some in DOE and the Congress have identified Y-12 as the most serious security concern in the complex," said Brian. "Given the obsolete infrastructure currently housing the HEU (highly enriched uranium), it should come as no surprise that the Y-12 guard force has been told to cheat in order to pass security performance tests. "They simply cannot protect the highly enriched uranium in the six material access areas given the multiple targets, dilapidated infrastructure and speed with which terrorists can reach their target," Brian continued. However, one lingering concern is the design of the storage facility that will house the bomb-grade uranium. The facility's current design -essentially an above-ground storehouse - would not be as secure as a previous plan. "All the security experts we have interviewed conclude that a bermed facility would be far more secure," Brian testified. "Immediate funding for underground storage at Y-12, and the blending down of the over 100 tons of excess HEU, should be the top priorities of the NNSA budget." In addition, Brian said Abraham's suggestion of federalizing the security forces guarding the weapons sites is worth considering. "It would address a number of the problems we have encountered across the complex," Brian said. "In the meantime, the current private security companies employing the security officers around the complex need to do a much better job in keeping their morale up by reducing overtime, increasing training and providing adequate compensation packages." ***************************************************************** 54 Oak Ridger: Weapons plant gets communications help Story last updated at 12:05 p.m. on May 13, 2004 LAINE PRESIDENT: 'There has been no attempt to puppeteer the media.' By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff paul.parson@oakridger.com A Knoxville-based marketing and public relations firm is under contract to provide technical support to BWXT Y-12's communication efforts. But, just how much power does Laine Communications wield with the company that manages Oak Ridge's nuclear weapons plant? Dennis Ruddy, president and general manager of BWXT Y-12, won't say. He declined to be interviewed about the depth of Laine's work, the monetary value and amount of Y-12 related contracts the public relations firm has, and whether any of those deals are under review - among other things. Dennis Ruddy Instead, Ruddy issued a prepared statement to The Oak Ridger regarding documents the newspaper obtained that describe Laine's work. "Subcontracting forms a substantial portion of the annual business at Y-12," according to Ruddy's statement. "Last year, we spent more than $180 million employing more than 1,000 subcontractors, many on-site. These services ranged from capital equipment to support services and construction. "To help us raise the level of both external and internal communication and to fill gaps left because of recent staff departures, we contracted with Laine Communications to provide public relations support and counsel," the statement continued. "As a part of their contractual obligation they provide us with monthly reports." Responding to a question about whether the Department of Energy's Inspector General's Office was reviewing any of the contracts BWXT Y-12 has with all of its subcontractors, Ruddy stated the following: "Last year, the Inspector General conducted 25 audits and investigations at Y-12. We are not going to comment on any on-going audit or investigation. In most cases, we will not comment on recommendations from completed audits." Chuck Laine, president of Laine Communications, confirmed this morning that his company is under contract with BWXT Y-12 to advise on public relations matters. He said it was against company policy to release the dollar figures associated with contracts, and he would not confirm or deny that Laine has a deal valued near $1 million. When The Oak Ridger cited examples of Laine's public relations activities, he asked "are we on the record?" When told yes, he put the phone conversation on hold for a couple of minutes. After returning to the conversation, he responded to those examples by saying: "There has been no attempt to puppeteer the media." BWXT Y-12 also issued a prepared statement by Oak Ridge High School Principal Ken Green, who is the co-chair of Y-12's Community Relations Council. Green verified that the statement was from him. "Wednesday, the Y-12 Community Relations Council (CRC) saw a presentation of the plant's 'Renewed Spirit' PR efforts," according to Green's statement. "We applaud these positive efforts and believe this outreach will benefit not only Y-12, but the Oak Ridge Community at large." Officials with Y-12 describe the council as a group of community volunteers who are helping to facilitate information exchange between Y-12 management and the Oak Ridge community. However, the council's meetings are not open to the public. Y-12 is one of the major contractors for the federal government in Oak Ridge. Two of the others, UT-Battelle and Bechtel Jacobs Co., don't contract directly or indirectly for private-sector support on public relations, according to spokesmen for the companies. Y-12 has a public affairs staff, but that department has lost a couple of people over the last year or so. ***************************************************************** 55 Paducah Sun: Uranium reuse firms building date a concern - Paducah, Kentucky Thursday, May 13, 2004;Paducah, Kentucky The company plans to go ahead with construction of a Paducah plant to convert low-level nuclear waste into safer material. By Joe Walker jwalker@paducahsun.com--270.575.8650 Despite governmental scrutiny over being partly foreign-owned, Uranium Disposition Services has targeted early July to start building a Paducah plant to convert low-level nuclear waste into safer material. Community leaders worry that the project is again languishing after repeated bureaucratic delays in the past few years. The factory is supposed to be built at the Paducah uranium enrichment plant to recycle 38,000 cylinders of spent uranium hexafluoride (UF6). It is expected to generate 100 to 150 construction jobs, then 150 workers to run the plant for 20 to 25 years. "The UDS folks continue to assure us they will have a groundbreaking in July," said Ken Wheeler, chairman of the Greater Paducah Economic Development Council. "I think there is a lot of concern whether there will be a ceremonial groundbreaking or they really will be in a position to move ahead with construction." UDS is a joint venture of three firms, including Framatome, a French consortium that has been converting uranium hexafluoride (UF6) waste in Germany since 1994 and in Washington state since 1998. The Department of Energy awarded a $558 million contract to UDS to build and run similar plants here and in Piketon, Ohio. UDS cylinder operations manager Dick Veazey said the firm is on track to break ground in early July if environmental issues are resolved. DOE is scheduled to issue an environmental impact statement May 28 and, following a month's waiting period, sign a record of decision June 28, he said. "We still haven't received our clearance on that (foreign ownership)," Veazey said. "It's something we'd like to get behind us, but it's not a show stopper. We can start construction without it." UDS managers planned to meet today with prospective bidders for site work and rail spur preparation for the factory, Veazey said. Bid packages went out two weeks ago. Congress mandated the conversion project in 1998, but the Office of Management and Budget argued that only one plant was needed, and some DOE officials claimed the law did not require that even one plant be built. After four years of delays, Congress passed strongly worded language in late summer of 2002 giving DOE about a month to award a contract. The new legislation requires construction to start by July 31 of this year, six months after the date set in the original law. It also requires DOE to seek adequate annual funding to ensure completion of the project, estimated at $1 billion to build and run two plants. Construction is supposed to take nearly two years with operation beginning in March 2006. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Louisville, who introduced the legislation, said Wednesday that the conversion work has "more than ample" money to stay on schedule. "I am closely following DOE's progress and will hold them accountable for meeting the law's requirement to begin construction this July and see it through to completion on a timely basis," he said. UDS' part-foreign ownership could present security concerns at the enrichment plant, particularly in escorting conversion workers. The issue should have been addressed when UDS was hired in August 2002, Wheeler said. "Why in the world it's an issue now, a year and a half later, I don't understand." Attempts were unsuccessful Wednesday in reaching Bill Murphie, Lexington-based DOE site manager for Paducah and Piketon. UDS is moving its base to Lexington from Oak Ridge, Tenn., to be near Murphie's office, Veazey said. In October, more than 400 people from several states attended a Paducah contractors' meeting in which UDS talked about the business prospects of the plant. Company officials said they hoped to begin construction this spring. The foreign-ownership concerns arose earlier this year in meetings of the Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization, a DOE-funded economic development group. PACRO Director John Anderson said Wednesday that his organization continues working with UDS on a contract to market fluorine and other byproducts of the conversion work. All staff photographs are available for purchase. Please call 270-575-8682 or 270-575-8683. ***************************************************************** 56 Seattle Times: Editorials: Hanford worker safety needs Senate hearing Thursday, May 13, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M. No matter how pointedly worded is the letter Washington state officials sent this week to U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham regarding Hanford worker safety, the state has very little authority to protect the health of its citizens working at the federal complex. Neither do federal workplace regulators — which leaves the Energy Department itself in charge of ensuring workplace safety. That the agency polices itself is particularly troublesome in light of recent allegations that as many as 100 workers at Hanford tank-waste farms might have been exposed to toxic vapors. This issue begs for more trans-parency from Secretary Abraham. He should immediately release the results of his agency's internal investigation. But that is not enough. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Domenici should honor Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell's 3-month-old request for hearings. The Government Accountability Project made the allegations in a report last fall, but concerns have grown to include reports that some health-care providers at a Hanford contractor discouraged workers from filing claims. This week's letter from Gov. Gary Locke and Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire included state investigators' findings that the Energy Department and its tank-farm contractor must do a better job of characterizing the tank waste and managing the data. Locke and Gregoire vowed to bring whatever authority the state has to bear on the agency and its contractors. That could come in the form of requiring vapor-management plans in required cleanup permits, more vigilantly watching for threats to the public health, watching for patterns in industrial insurance claims and pursuing complaints against state-licensed health-care providers. Again, not much authority. The Government Accountability Project is calling for Congress to give the Occupational Safety and Health Administration jurisdiction over the Hanford workers. But OSHA might not have the necessary expertise to regulate nuclear work. Former Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary made worker safety her priority when she took over in 1993, launching pilot projects of external oversight that were canceled in 1999. Now that concerns have emerged again, the question of outside oversight of worker safety needs another look. Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company ***************************************************************** 57 Google News Alert - nuclear Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 12:34:14 -0700 (PDT) N.KOREA Rejects US Demand for Nuclear Dismantlement Reuters - USA BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea said on Friday it would not be able to continue discussing possible solutions to a nuclear standoff unless the United States ... See all stories on this topic: COMMERCE secretary: Increased use of nuclear vital alternative Times Daily - Florence,AL,USA With prices and demand on the rise for oil and natural gas, nuclear energy must play a bigger role in the United States and the rest of the world to sustain ... See all stories on this topic: NEW nuclear security plan faces more tests Los Alamos Monitor - Los Alamos,NM,USA Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has recommended a battery of improvements for securing the nation's nuclear weapon's complexes. ... See all stories on this topic: POSSIBLE Energy Department money cuts for nuclear waste project KRNV - Reno,NV,USA The Energy Department has been warned by an influential lawmaker that it may get a fraction of the money sought next year for a proposed nuclear waste dump in ... See all stories on this topic: NUCLEAR submarines worldwide — current force structure and ... Bellona - UK There are two types of nuclear-powered submarine in service. ... Israel is reported to possess a 200kg nuclear warhead which could be mounted on cruise missiles. ... See all stories on this topic: IRAN to make nuclear report this week-Russian agency Gateway 2 Russia - Russia Iran will this week give the UN nuclear watchdog answers to "all questions" on its nuclear programme, an Iranian nuclear source was quoted as saying on Thursday ... See all stories on this topic: DOUBT on nuclear dump NEWS.com.au - Australia THE State Government has welcomed a report questioning aspects of the Federal Government's application for a nuclear waste dump in South Australia. ... See all stories on this topic: CATAWBA Nuclear Station gets positive safety review WCNC (subscription) - Charlotte,NC,USA ROCK HILL, SC -- The Catawba Nuclear Station in York County has received a positive safety review from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ... CATAWBA Nuclear Station gets positive safety review Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Sarasota,FL,USA ROCK HILL, SC -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given a positive safety review to the Catawba Nuclear Station on Lake Wylie. ... See all stories on this topic: NRC gives Catawba Nuclear Station positive safety review WIS - Columbia,SC,USA (Rock Hill-AP) May 13, 2004 - The Catawba Nuclear Station in York County has received a positive safety review from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ... See all stories on this topic: This daily-once News Alert is brought to you by Google News (BETA)... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Remove this News Alert: http://www.google.com/newsalerts/remove?s=92d1672a1b037a07&hl=en Create another News Alert: http://www.google.com/newsalerts?hl=en Try Google News: http://news.google.com/ ***************************************************************** 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. 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