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Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject
line and first line of body
NUCLEAR POLICY
1 [DU-WATCH] Iraqi Scientist-Mercenaries Targeted
2 [NYTr] Nature: Iraqi Scientists Targeted
3 WorldNetDaily: Gulf War III
4 BBC: N Korea 'sent uranium to Libya'
5 WorldNetDaily: North Korea linked to Libya's uranium
6 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: The Weakening Korea-U.S. Alliance and the
7 Korea Herald: [EDITORIAL]Normalizing N.K.-Japan ties
8 Korea Herald: N.K.-Japan summit
9 US: UCS: Bunker Buster Missing Its Target with Members of Congress
10 Epoch Times: Nuclear Proliferation and A.Q. Khan's China Connection
11 Times of India: Indo-Pak talks postponed -
12 Times of India: N-talks put off, but dialogue on -
13 HollandSentinel.com: Energy alternatives back in style
14 Japan Times: Power and the People
15 ITAR-TASS: Ukraine hopes Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine to produce N-fu
16 Scotsman.com News: UK plans 'mini-nuke' strike force
NUCLEAR REACTORS
17 US: NRC Abolishes Public Hearings On Reactor Safety
18 Bellona: Russia found $1 million and place for floating NPP
19 Bellona: 13 extra security guards for Kola NPP
20 Sunday Herald Sheep still contaminated by Chernobyl
21 TIMES OF INDIA: System failure caused excess N-power -
22 US: Bradenton Herald: FPL touts profitable year
23 JoongAng Daily: Regions vying to host nuclear plant
24 The Sofia Echo: The Kozlodui game
25 Times of India: Kakodkar smells foul play in Barc incident -
26 Japan Times: Doubt cast on nuclear recycling policy
27 Japan Times: Japan's deadly game of nuclear roulette
28 US: Boston.com: Pressure builds on Vt. Yankee
29 May 2004 Nuclear Energy Agency Online Bulletin April 2000 pubs
30 Korea Herald: Korea Electric Power lights up overseas
NUCLEAR SAFETY
31 US: [RADFOOD] DC School Board Bans Irradiated Food!
32 US: RGJ: Children’s baby teeth sought for environmental study
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
33 US: [DU-WATCH] Fwd: Fw: Nuclear Waste
34 US: Deseretnews.com: Report on waste criticized
35 Persian Journal: Iran nuclear waste
36 US: heraldtribune: Well-users to get county water (Tallevast)
37 US: L.A. Daily News - Your Opinion: "'Hot' water at Santa Susana"
38 US: Times Herald: Radioactive sludge creates 'gray area'
39 US: Mercury: Confused regulators acted slowly when radioactive sludg
40 US: DenverPost.com: Denver, 2 contractors to pay $265,000 in landfil
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
41 U.S. Newswire: Sec. Abraham Signs Agreement with China's National
42 U.S. Newswire: U.S. Energy Secretary Abraham Signs Department's
43 WVLT VOLUNTEER TV: More Nuclear Materials Arrive at Y-12
44 Las Vegas SUN: NEVADA FOCUS: Stewards of U.S. nuclear stockpile
OTHER NUCLEAR
45 Google News Alert - nuclear
46 Google News Alert - nuclear
47 BBC: EU 'confident' of star power site
48 Daily Press: $1.39B contract reached for CVN-21
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FULL NEWS STORIES
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1 [DU-WATCH] Iraqi Scientist-Mercenaries Targeted
Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 12:51:19 -0500 (CDT)
If no ammunition was left-what is a reason for these killings?
Iraqi scientists targeted
Killings prompt calls for US to evacuate weapons researchers.
13 May 2004
JIM GILES
This story is from the news section of the journal Nature.
http://www.nature.com/nsu/040510/040510-9.html
Iraqi scientists hold considerable knowledge of chemical, biological
and nuclear weapons.
The assassination of several of Iraq's former weapons scientists has
hit US plans to employ them to help rebuild the war-torn country. The
killings, together with the deteriorating security situation in Iraq,
have led some non-proliferation experts to call for the researchers
to be evacuated from the country.
Between five and ten scientists have been killed in the past six
months, according to a US Department of State official who runs
programmes aimed at keeping former weapons scientists in
employment. "The most common explanation is that they've shown an
interest in working with the coalition," says the official, who
declined to be identified by name and who returned from Iraq earlier
this month.
Between them, the Iraqi scientists hold considerable knowledge of
chemical, biological and nuclear weapons from programmes that now
seem to have been defunct long before the US-led coalition invaded
Iraq in March 2003. But the killings are only the latest setback in
plans to redirect their knowledge and skills. Non-proliferation
experts who wanted to work with Iraqi scientists were angered when
initial responsibility for contacting them was given to military
forces. Some scientists hid, fearing that they could be taken
prisoner (see Nature 423, 371; 2003).
Such independent experts have since left Iraq because of security
concerns, further weakening non-proliferation efforts. And David
Albright, a former nuclear-weapons inspector in Iraq, says these
problems mean that attempts to keep researchers in Iraq should no
longer be a priority for the US government. "They should shift the
programme to getting people out," says Albright, who now heads the
Institute for Science and International Security in
Washington. "There are scientists with secret documents who could go
to Iran or Syria."
Such a change in policy would come too late for Majid Hussein Ali, a
nuclear scientist reported to be at Baghdad University. Ali was not
directly involved in weapons research, but he was said to have met
with US weapons inspectors. He was killed by an unknown gunman in
Baghdad in February.
Despite the death of Ali and other researchers, state-department
officials insist that most scientists want to stay in their country.
Officials have visited Iraq regularly this year, and say that they
were able to win the confidence of Iraqi scientists by distancing
themselves from the military activities of the coalition forces.
Job creation
The state department sought to ramp up its activities last November
with a US$2-million programme aimed at identifying former weapons
researchers and finding them work in Iraq (see Nature 426, 371;
2003). Since then, officials have drawn up a list of 400 scientists,
engineers and technicians who had worked on weapons research and
related fields. Officials say that about 75 of these people are
unaccounted for, but nearly all of the others have been located in
Iraq.
The officials add that these researchers would stay in Iraq if
meaningful work can be found for them. Most are currently employed in
industry and academia, at least in theory. But many universities and
other facilities have been closed by the invasion and subsequent
insurgencies.
"They are all employed in the sense that they get a pay cheque," says
the state-department official. "But some are very unhappy because
they have nothing to do." The official is trying to raise $40 million
for reconstruction projects over the next three years. "We're talking
to coalition partners now," he says.
State-department staff have meanwhile established an International
Center for Science and Industry in Baghdad, consisting of office
space that they say will be used to house Iraqi researchers who will
determine how any reconstruction money will be spent.
Many Iraqi scientists have criticized schemes by outsiders to unite
the country's researchers, officials at the state department
acknowledge. They say that scientists felt excluded from an attempt
by a largely expatriate group of Iraqi researchers to form an Iraqi
academy of science (see Nature 426, 484; 2003). By ensuring that
local scientists play a prominent role in the new centre, the
officials hope that the facility will be accepted as legitimate by
Iraqi researchers.
But Albright, who initially backed the state department's programme,
is worried about what will happen to the former weapons scientists.
He went to Iraq last year and helped US officials to locate many of
them. Such trips ended in the autumn, as the security situation
worsened. Even then, Albright says, "everyone wanted to get out".
) Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2004
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2 [NYTr] Nature: Iraqi Scientists Targeted
Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 01:32:14 -0500 (CDT)
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
This story is from the news section of the journal Nature.
http://www.nature.com/nsu/040510/040510-9.html
Iraqi scientists targeted
Killings prompt calls for US to evacuate weapons researchers.
13 May 2004
JIM GILES
Iraqi scientists hold considerable knowledge of chemical, biological
and nuclear weapons.
The assassination of several of Iraq's former weapons scientists has
hit US plans to employ them to help rebuild the war-torn country. The
killings, together with the deteriorating security situation in Iraq,
have led some non-proliferation experts to call for the researchers
to be evacuated from the country.
Between five and ten scientists have been killed in the past six
months, according to a US Department of State official who runs
programmes aimed at keeping former weapons scientists in
employment. "The most common explanation is that they've shown an
interest in working with the coalition," says the official, who
declined to be identified by name and who returned from Iraq earlier
this month.
Between them, the Iraqi scientists hold considerable knowledge of
chemical, biological and nuclear weapons from programmes that now
seem to have been defunct long before the US-led coalition invaded
Iraq in March 2003. But the killings are only the latest setback in
plans to redirect their knowledge and skills. Non-proliferation
experts who wanted to work with Iraqi scientists were angered when
initial responsibility for contacting them was given to military
forces. Some scientists hid, fearing that they could be taken
prisoner (see Nature 423, 371; 2003).
Such independent experts have since left Iraq because of security
concerns, further weakening non-proliferation efforts. And David
Albright, a former nuclear-weapons inspector in Iraq, says these
problems mean that attempts to keep researchers in Iraq should no
longer be a priority for the US government. "They should shift the
programme to getting people out," says Albright, who now heads the
Institute for Science and International Security in
Washington. "There are scientists with secret documents who could go
to Iran or Syria."
Such a change in policy would come too late for Majid Hussein Ali, a
nuclear scientist reported to be at Baghdad University. Ali was not
directly involved in weapons research, but he was said to have met
with US weapons inspectors. He was killed by an unknown gunman in
Baghdad in February.
Despite the death of Ali and other researchers, state-department
officials insist that most scientists want to stay in their country.
Officials have visited Iraq regularly this year, and say that they
were able to win the confidence of Iraqi scientists by distancing
themselves from the military activities of the coalition forces.
Job creation
The state department sought to ramp up its activities last November
with a US$2-million programme aimed at identifying former weapons
researchers and finding them work in Iraq (see Nature 426, 371;
2003). Since then, officials have drawn up a list of 400 scientists,
engineers and technicians who had worked on weapons research and
related fields. Officials say that about 75 of these people are
unaccounted for, but nearly all of the others have been located in
Iraq.
The officials add that these researchers would stay in Iraq if
meaningful work can be found for them. Most are currently employed in
industry and academia, at least in theory. But many universities and
other facilities have been closed by the invasion and subsequent
insurgencies.
"They are all employed in the sense that they get a pay cheque," says
the state-department official. "But some are very unhappy because
they have nothing to do." The official is trying to raise $40 million
for reconstruction projects over the next three years. "We're talking
to coalition partners now," he says.
State-department staff have meanwhile established an International
Center for Science and Industry in Baghdad, consisting of office
space that they say will be used to house Iraqi researchers who will
determine how any reconstruction money will be spent.
Many Iraqi scientists have criticized schemes by outsiders to unite
the country's researchers, officials at the state department
acknowledge. They say that scientists felt excluded from an attempt
by a largely expatriate group of Iraqi researchers to form an Iraqi
academy of science (see Nature 426, 484; 2003). By ensuring that
local scientists play a prominent role in the new centre, the
officials hope that the facility will be accepted as legitimate by
Iraqi researchers.
But Albright, who initially backed the state department's programme,
is worried about what will happen to the former weapons scientists.
He went to Iraq last year and helped US officials to locate many of
them. Such trips ended in the autumn, as the security situation
worsened. Even then, Albright says, "everyone wanted to get out".
(c) Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2004
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3 WorldNetDaily: Gulf War III
SATURDAY MAY 22 2004
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
American Likudniks have been "examining" the consequences to our
national security of an Israeli "pre-emptive" strike against
certain Iranian facilities and programs, all now subject to an
International Atomic Energy Agency Safeguards Agreement.
Whenever President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Sharon get
together, they invariably discuss Iran's "nuclear weapons
programs."
"It would be intolerable for the Middle East if they [Iran] get a
nuclear weapon," Bush said after their April 14 meeting.
There doesn't seem to be much doubt in Washington that the
Iranian programs have to be "taken out" – safeguarded or not.
Recall that the Iraqi programs that Israel "took out" back in
1981 – using U.S.-supplied fighter bombers – were also
safeguarded.
A decade later, then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney thanked the
Israelis for having done so. But the rest of the world didn't
thank the Israelis then, and they won't now.
Here are excerpts from U.N. Security Council Resolution 487
(1981), condemning the Israeli pre-emptive strike.
Fully aware of the fact that Iraq has been a party to the Treaty
on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons since it came into
force in 1970, that, in accordance with that treaty, Iraq has
accepted IAEA safeguards on all its nuclear activities, and that
the agency has testified that these safeguards have been
satisfactorily applied to date;
Fully recognises the inalienable sovereign right of Iraq – and
all other states, especially the developing countries – to
establish programmes of technological and nuclear development, to
develop their economy and industry – for peaceful purposes – in
accordance with their present and future needs, and consistent
with the internationally accepted objectives of preventing
nuclear-weapons proliferation;
Strongly condemns the military attack by Israel – in clear
violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the norms of
international conduct;
Calls upon Israel to refrain in the future from any such acts or
threats thereof;
Further considers that the said attack constitutes a serious
threat to the entire IAEA safeguards regime, which is the
foundation of the non-proliferation treaty.
For the record, no non-nuke NPT signatory subject to the IAEA
Safeguards regime has ever developed nukes. Israel, Pakistan and
India have never been NPT signatories. China and South Africa
were not NPT signatories at the time they developed nukes. Iraq,
Libya and North Korea may have tried to develop nukes, but they
didn't succeed.
During the past year or so, Iran has given IAEA inspectors
unprecedented and unlimited access to go anywhere and see
anything thought suspicious. The IAEA has found no evidence that
Iran now has – or has ever had – a nuke development program.
Nevertheless, on May 6, the U.S. House of Representatives passed
by an overwhelming margin (376-3) a resolution that said – among
other things – that Congress:
1. Condemns in the strongest possible terms Iran's continuing
deceptions and falsehoods to the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) and the international community about its nuclear
programs and activities;
2. Calls upon all State Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), including the United
States, to use all appropriate means to deter, dissuade and
prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, including ending all
nuclear and other cooperation with Iran (including the provision
of dual use items), until Iran fully implements the Additional
Protocol between Iran and the IAEA for the application of
safeguards;
3. Declares that Iran, through its many breaches for 18 years
of its Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, has forfeited the
right to be trusted with development of a nuclear fuel cycle,
especially with uranium conversion and enrichment and plutonium
reprocessing technology, equipment and facilities.
So what's going on? Rep. Ron Paul, R, Teaxas – one of the three
who voted against the resolution – thinks he knows:
I find it incomprehensible that as the failure of our Iraq policy
becomes more evident – even to its most determined advocates – we
here are approving the same kind of policy toward Iran.
With Iraq becoming more of a problem daily, the solution as
envisioned by this legislation is to look for yet another fight.
And we should not fool ourselves: This legislation sets the stage
for direct conflict with Iran.
The resolution "calls upon all State Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), including the United
States, to use all appropriate means to deter, dissuade and
prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. ..."
Note the phrase "... use all appropriate means ..."
So, will U.S. pilots – or Israeli pilots "under contract" – "take
out" the Iranian Safeguarded facilities? Stay tuned.
Physicist James Gordon Prather has served as a policy
implementing official for national security-related technical
matters in the Federal Energy Agency, the Energy Research and
Development Administration, the Department of Energy, the Office
of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of the Army. Dr.
Prather also served as legislative assistant for national
security affairs to U.S. Sen. Henry Bellmon, R-Okla. -- ranking
member of the Senate Budget Committee and member of the Senate
Energy Committee and Appropriations Committee. Dr. Prather had
earlier worked as a nuclear weapons physicist at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory in California and Sandia National
Laboratory in New Mexico.
[WorldNetDaily.com]
webmaster@worldnetdaily.com
--> news@worldnetdaily.com--> Contact WND
[http://www.fiberinternetcenter.com]
*****************************************************************
4 BBC: N Korea 'sent uranium to Libya'
Last Updated: Sunday, 23 May, 2004
[Core of Libya's Tajura nuclear reactor, east of Tripoli]
Libya has opened up its research facilities to international
inspection
The UN atomic agency is investigating reports that North Korea
secretly sent uranium to Libya when Tripoli was trying to develop
nuclear weapons.
Diplomats quoted by The New York Times said the agency had found
evidence that Pyongyang provided Libya with nearly two tons of
uranium in early 2001.
Libya handed over the uranium to the US in January this year,
after deciding to abandon its quest for nuclear weapons.
Pakistan's former nuclear chief AQ Khan ran a huge secret nuclear
black market.
The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is
investigating various leads emerging from interviews with former
members of Mr Khan's network and their associates.
Wide-ranging investigation
IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky told BBC News Online that the
investigation "spans three continents and involves entities or
individuals in at least eight countries".
He said the IAEA had not yet reached any conclusions about the
alleged North Korea connection.
The newspaper said the uranium shipped to Libya could not be used
as nuclear fuel unless it was enriched in centrifuges, which the
Libyans were assembling as part of a $100m programme to purchase
equipment from the Khan network.
It quoted US officials as saying the discovery of a North Korean
connection was an intelligence success springing directly from
Libya's decision to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme and
the subsequent drive to smash the Khan network.
Abdul Qadeer Khan has admitted selling nuclear secrets to Libya,
Iran and North Korea.
Intelligence services are trying to find out whether North Korea
made similar clandestine sales to other countries or even terror
groups.
According to the IAEA, Libya produced a small amount of plutonium
- but not enough to make a bomb.
*****************************************************************
5 WorldNetDaily: North Korea linked to Libya's uranium
SUNDAY MAY 23 2004
by 'axis of evil' in 2001 went undetected
Posted: May 23, 2004
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
In what is being called both an intelligence success and failure,
inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
have discovered evidence North Korea secretly supplied Libya with
1.7 tons of uranium for its nuclear weapons program in 2001, the
New York Times has reported.
The material, in the form of uranium hexafloride, was not
sufficiently potent to use as nuclear fuel but appears to have
been slated for testing in thousands of centrifuges being
constructed in Libya with help from the network of secret
suppliers set up by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the former head of
Pakistan's main nuclear laboratory. Centrifuges are required to
concentrate the U-235 isotope, which is at a level of about 1
percent in the hexaflourine, to 90 percent for weapons grade
uranium.
If IAEA intelligence is confirmed, this will be the first known
instance of the North Koreans selling key ingredients for the
manufacture of nuclear weapons to another country. To date, the
North Koreans were believed to have restricted their involvement
in major weapons' proliferation to missile technology. It was
reported that the recent train explosion in that country
destroyed a shipment of missiles destined for Syria. In 2002, as
reported by WorldNetDaily, a shipment of 12 North Korean Scuds
were seized from a freighter in the Arabian Sea.
The giant cask of uranium hexafluoride was flown to the United
States in January as part of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's agreement
to end Libya's nuclear program. As recently as March, U.S.
officials were saying they believed the materials had been
supplied by Pakistan. But interviews with members of the secret
Khan network developed information pointing to North Korea as the
likely source.
IAEA inspectors were evicted from North Korea at the end of 2002
and, since then, have had almost no contact with the country.
The volume of hexaflourine delivered would have been sufficient
for the building of a single atomic bomb, but experts say that
this discovery suggests North Korea may have the mining and
manufacturing capacity to produce far more and that it is
exporting the materials to other countries or terrorist groups
seeking atomic weapons.
The Federation of American Scientists describes North Korea's
reserves as "four million tons of exploitable high-quality
uranium."
While American officials describe discovery of the Libya-North
Korea link as an intelligence success, the uranium shipments went
undetected since 2001, despite the the fact American satellites
monitor North Korea almost more than any other nation.
"That's a big thing," one unidentified European diplomat told the
New York Times. "It means they have a capability they have been
hiding from us."
"The North Koreans are actively involved in the network," he
continued. "We want to talk to them," he said, adding that right
now "our relationship is zero."
[WorldNetDaily.com]
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc.
webmaster@worldnetdaily.com
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[http://www.fiberinternetcenter.com]
*****************************************************************
6 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: The Weakening Korea-U.S. Alliance and the Future
of DPRK-Japan Ties
Updated May.23,2004 19:49 KST
In the second North Korea-Japan summit meeting, there was some
improvement in the two nations¡¯ bilateral relationship, a
relationship that had been blocked by the Japanese kidnapping
issue. It seems that Japan got its own results not through the
Beijing six-party talks structure, but through trying to find a
solution through bilateral negotiations. North Korea, too, was
able to establish fixed channels with Japan and earn economic
assistance at a time when it has brought diplomatic isolation
upon itself due to the nuclear issue.
The North Korean-Japan summit may reveal how even within the
framework of the joint-project to solve the North Korean nuclear
issue, things may be made more complicated by individual nations
pursuing their own interests independently. Concerning North
Korea, what we have is not a single track of South
Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation, but a diverse rail line that can at
times split apart. The ¡°qualitative changes¡± in the Korea-U.S.
relationship and the growing multiplicity of relations in
Northeast Asia may in the days ahead serve to determine the
degree of change in the North Korea-Japan relationship. Moreover,
progress in the North Korea-Japan relationship may have subtle
affects on the U.S.- Japan relationship, inter-Korean
relationship and the Korea-Japan relationship. As the Korea-U.S.
relationship weakens, the Northeast Asian response to North Korea
may find itself centered more on a new U.S.-Japan axis rather
than the Korea-U.S. one.
As the Korea-U.S. relationship shows a notable trend of
weakening, attention must be paid as to what variable changes in
the North Korea-Japan relationship will play in solving the North
Korean nuclear issue. The government must use multi-faceted
diplomatic means to ensure that an agreement to normalize ties
between North Korea and Japan and economic aid are conducted in
support of the six party talks to solve the North Korean nuclear
issue. This is because it¡¯s clear that North Korea will use the
relaxing of the Korea-U.S. alliance and contacts between the
North and Japan to create a situation favorable to Pyongyang, and
this may become a new variable in the North Korean nuclear issue.
The North Korea-Japan summit can be seen as an opportunity to
directly see how qualitative changes in the Korea-U.S. alliance,
when taken together with changes in the political situation in
Northeast Asia, could do nothing but greatly weaken our ability
to influence change in Northeast Asia.
*****************************************************************
7 Korea Herald: [EDITORIAL]Normalizing N.K.-Japan ties
2004.05.24
When Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi went to Pyongyang
on Saturday for a one-day working visit, his stated mission was
to bring home family members of the returned Japanese abductees.
That mission was accomplished when five of the eight family
members came to Japan.
The American husband of a Japanese abductee, a U.S. AWOL,
reportedly decided to remain in North Korea, together with his
two children, for fear of being extradited to the United States
for a court-martial. There was no easy solution to his tragic
case, whose origin was rooted in Japan's colonial occupation of
Korea and the U.S. intervention in the Korean War. Still, Koizumi
demonstrated compassion for the former U.S. serviceman and his
children when he promised to arrange a safe family reunion in a
third country.
The Japanese prime minister also garnered a promise from North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il to reinvestigate the kidnapping of 10
other Japanese, eight of whom Pyongyang earlier said had died.
But it claimed the two others had never set foot in North Korea.
Some Japanese critics, who questioned if it was necessary for
Koizumi to go to Pyongyang in the first place, suspected he made
the visit to save himself and some of his cabinet members from
the pension premium scandal. Others claimed that by making the
trip, he wanted to boost his party's chances of winning the House
of Councilors elections, scheduled for July.
Whatever motivations he might have had for the trip, Koizumi
helped improve the outlook for securing peace in Northeast Asia.
One immediate effect of his summit talks with Kim was North
Korea's reassurance that a moratorium on missile test launches
would remain intact.
But the major concern of the two leaders was to restart the
process of normalizing relations between Japan and North Korea
which was halted in late 2002 when the abductees making a
temporary visit to Japan refused to return to North Korea.
By normalizing ties, Japan undoubtedly wishes to free itself
from the disgraceful legacy of its past imperialism, which
"caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of Korea
through its colonial rule," as the Pyongyang declaration, signed
by Koizumi and Kim in September 2002, read in part.
On the other hand, North Korea is in dire need to rebuild its
moribund economy with Japanese assistance, including grants and
long-term loans with low interest rates, as South Korea did after
establishing formal relations with Japan in 1965. But the road to
normalization is bumpier for Tokyo and Pyongyang than it was for
Tokyo and Seoul.
The communist North may not face strong domestic opposition to
normalization, as South Korea did. But its talks with Japan may
be derailed anytime if no progress is made in the U.S.-led
international efforts to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons
program. Pyongyang will have to realize that the normalization
process and the six-way talks on the North Korean nuclear project
are closely related, regardless whether it likes it or not.
Japan, a participant in the six-way talks, is advised to speed
up the normalization process and thus make the prospect of
economic aid more appealing to North Korea. By doing so, it will
help prod North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions and opt
for promoting economic advancement with Japanese help.
2004.05.24
[http://www.heraldcampus.co.kr/Premium/]
*****************************************************************
8 Korea Herald: N.K.-Japan summit
2004.05.24
By Choi Soung-ah
help or hindrance to nuke talks?
Saturday's summit between Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has brought on
positive and negative views from Korea, Japan and the rest of
the world, while many Asia-watchers believe it made no headway
in resolving issues related to Northeast Asia's peace and
security.
The Koizumi-Kim meeting asks the question of whether the meeting
actually helped or hindered the ongoing six-party nuke talks on
the communist country's 19-month long nuclear standoff.
Some experts believe that with Kim's affirmation to resume with
the Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration is a positive sign
that the Stalinist state is taking another step towards opening
up to the world, leading to a resolve on the nuclear issue,
while others criticize that the North Korean leader's verbal
promises are just more of the usual rhetoric to win more
international aid for his famine-stricken country.
Speaking to reporters before departing Pyongyang, Koizumi said
he urged Kim to abandon his nuclear ambitions, and said Kim
responded by saying he wanted a nuclear-arms-free Korean
Peninsula and reaffirmed a moratorium on ballistic missile
launches.
"I said very strongly to Kim Jong-il that the best thing for
North Korea would be to completely abandon its nuclear program,"
Koizumi was quoted as saying. "I told him he shouldn't miss this
chance to become part of the international society, and he
should instead seize it . . . By abandoning nuclear weapons,
North Korea would in fact be safer."
But Koizumi said the reclusive North Korean leader expressed
uncertainty about how his nation could guarantee its own
security without nuclear arms, according to Japanese reports.
In spite of this, the prime minister pledged to provide North
Korea with 250,000 tons of food and medical supplies worth $10
million as humanitarian assistance.
Japan has previously provided North Korea with humanitarian aid
in the form of 1.18 million tons of food, hoping to create "a
better environment" for improving the bilateral relationship.
All this aid was given to the cash-strapped nation, in effect,
for reasons of "political considerations." However, Japan's aid
has never improved the situation.
But neighboring countries including South Korea and China, gave
the thumbs up on the Japan-North Korea trip, pinning high hopes
that the Japanese premier's second Pyongyang-visit will work as
quantum leap forward in improving strained bilateral ties and
leading the Stalinist regime to opening its doors for global
negotiations.
Meanwhile, many Japan watchers believed Koizumi's summit meeting
with Kim Jong-il would result in the homecoming of the eight
families of the Japanese abducted nearly a quarter century ago
and boost lost support in Japan's political arena.
And as expected, Koizumi did return home with the family
members.
But that wasn't enough to fully win back domestic support, as he
was only able to bring back five of the eight members, eliciting
disappointment and sharp criticism among the former abductees
and the families of Japanese who remain missing after being
kidnapped by Pyongyang, as well as the general public.
Hopes had been high that Koizumi would secure the release of all
eight family members of the five Japanese who were abducted in
1978 and repatriated in 2002.
But Charles Robert Jenkins, the American husband of freed
abductee Hitomi Soga, and their two daughters said they could
not come to Japan at this time, as Jenkins, whom the United
States alleges is an army deserter, could be extradited and
court-martialed if and when he makes a touch-down in Tokyo.
Shigeru Yokota, the father of Megumi Yokota, who was abducted at
age 13 in 1977, and the head of a group of relatives of people
believed kidnapped by North Korean agents, told reporters the
summit in Pyongyang yielded "the worst imaginable" results,
according to Japan Times.
"We had thought it only natural that all of the eight" family
members of the five repatriated abductees would come to Japan,
Yokota told reporters after the summit ended. "Not one of us is
convinced. We feel betrayed."
At the same time, there was widespread dissatisfaction because
Koizumi failed to extract any clear answer regarding the fate of
10 others Japan recognizes as abductees. During their summit in
September 2002, North Korea said eight of them had died and the
other two had never entered its territory.
But Japan is skeptical of these claims, noting various errors
and contradictions in "proof" presented by North Korea on the
purported deaths.
Although the prime minister said he extracted a promise that
North Korea would reinvestigate the cases in question, relatives
of the 10 criticized the agreement for again apparently putting
the issue on the back burner.
By Choi Soung-ah
(bluelle@heraldm.com)
2004.05.24
*****************************************************************
9 UCS: Bunker Buster Missing Its Target with Members of Congress
[Union of Concerned Scientists]
[http://www.ucsaction.org]
Support grows for eliminating budget
Support for the Bush administration's Robust Nuclear Earth
Penetrator or "bunker buster" further eroded today when a House
amendment led by Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) that would have
eliminated the project's funding was narrowly defeated by 214
votes to 204. The vote reflected mounting support among members
to reject the bunker buster. A similar amendment offered last
year lost by 226 votes to 199.
"Congress is tightening the noose around this dangerous White
House push to create new nuclear weapons," said Stephen Young,
senior analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists' Global
Security program. "Increasing numbers of House members are
voicing their strong opposition to this reckless project," Young
added. "The bunker buster would kill millions of people if used
near a major city, and only undermines our push to stop other
countries from pursuing nuclear weapons. It must be eliminated."
The Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator is a study to modify existing
nuclear weapons in an attempt to give them the capability to
destroy hard and deeply buried targets. Even at the very large
yields that are planned, these weapons would be unable to
penetrate effectively to depths that modern bunkers can easily be
built. At the same time, even low-yield earth penetrators would
scatter deadly radioactive debris over wide areas.
The Bush administration requested $27.6 million for the study
this year, after Congress cut in half last year's request,
limiting the budget to $7.5 million.
"On a scientific basis, we can already say the bunker buster will
not do what its supporters want it to do. On a political basis,
it is a disaster for our already damaged reputation as a global
leader," said Young.
To set up interviews or for UCS info, contact:
ERIC YOUNG
Assistant Press Secretary
202-223-6133
[eyoung@ucsusa.org]
LINDA GUNTER
Press Secretary
202-223-6133
[lgunter@ucsusa.org]
Home | Search | Contact | Sitemap
© Union of Concerned Scientists
Page Last Revised: 05.21.2004
*****************************************************************
10 Epoch Times: Nuclear Proliferation and A.Q. Khan's China Connection
Mohan Malik
Association for Asia Research
May 23, 2004
When it comes to their friends and allies, the nuclear weapons
states have long turned a blind eye or actively supported prol
iferation, in viola tion of their Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty commitments. Geopolitical and national security interests,
balance-of-power considerations and alliance commitments always
override non-proliferation concerns, norms and laws. China is a
case in point. Beijing's reaction to recent revelations
concerning the proliferation activities of Pakistani nuclear
scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan has not drawn much attention or
analysis, despite the fact that Chin a has been and is likely to
remain a source of supplies f or Pakistan's nuclear weapons
program. Several recent developments have once again highlighted
not only the central role that Beijing has played in the
nuclearization of the world's most volatile regions, but also Dr.
Khan's intimate links with China's nuclear establishment.
Interestingly, the Chinese seem to have been thoroughly beaten in
the proliferation game by their own clients and allies - Pakistan
and North Korea.
R eacting to reports about the Khan nuclear network, the Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesperson urged Islamabad to undertake the
investigations "properly" and bring them to a conclusion
"quickly." The Chinese preference for conducting investigations
"properly" and ending them "quickly" reveals Beijing's
apprehensions over exposing the Chinese nuclear establishment's
long standing ties with Khan. His numerous visits to China's
nuclear installations over the last three decades and gains
accrued to China's weapons program from the Dutch centrifuge
technology stolen by Khan in the mid-1970s are particularly
sensitive issues for Beijing. A senior member of the Pakistan
Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam) told a Pakistani journalist in early
February that "Chinese officials had expressed a desire for the
proliferation inquiry to end quickly as they feared that Dr. Khan
would publicly detail his network's 'China connection,'
thereby embarrassing a crucial ally that Pakistan considers a
strategic counterweight to Ind ia."
Thus, in contrast with the stance adopted by the International
Atomic Energy Agency and many other countries that called for a
"thorough," "comprehensive," "objective and impartial" inquiry
into the Khan saga, Beijing obviously fears an open ended
inquiry. According to The Nation (February 16, 2004), China's
deputy chief of mission in Islamabad expressed regret over the
turning of "Pakistan's famous scientist Dr. A. Q. Khan from a
'hero to a zero' status." Furthermore, Beiji ng fully
supported General Musharraf's decisio n to pardon Dr. Khan for
all his "nuclear sins."
However, China's initial attempts to play the role of a
disinterested, neutral bystander in the fast unraveling nuclear
network came to an abrupt halt soon after fresh evidence of the
China-Pakistan-Libya nexus turned up in the 55,000 tonnes of
nuclear material and documents that Libya turned over to the
United States and which was flown to the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory in Tennessee in early 20 04. Apparently, the design
that Khan delivered to t he Libyans in the shopping bag of his
Islamabad tailor was of a Chinese nuclear weapon tested on
October 27, 1966. As soon as Libyan arms designs sold by Khan
were traced to China, Washington's leverage over Beijing
increased significantly. The evidence provided clinching proof of
Beijing's involvement in Pakistan's nuclear weapons program and
insights into the state of both Chinese and North Korean nuclear
weapons capabilities. It als o raised new questions about the
extent and nature of Chinese contributions to Pakistan's nuclear
proliferation activities. Although the bomb designs sold to Libya
were of a 1960s Chinese vintage, an analysis of Pakistan's May
1998 nuclear tests reveals that China supplied more advanced
nuclear weapons designs of the late 1980s and early 1990s to
Pakistan, which may have been shared with other countries.
Furthermore, it is inconceivable that Chinese security agencies
were unaware of Pakistan's nuclear dealings with North Korea ,
Iran and Libya.
In a departure from the past, Beijing did not deny the report on
Chinese-Pakistani links with Libya's nuclear weapons program but
launched an "investigation" of its own, while reiterating its
non-proliferation commitments. Asked to comment on the Washington
Post (February 15, 2004) report about the discovery of some
Chinese language documents in Libya giving detailed instructions
for assembling an implosion-type nuclear bomb, Foreign Ministry
Spokesperson Zhang Qiyu e said: "The Chinese side is seriously
con cerned by the related reports and we are trying to get more
information on this issue." She declined, however, to comment on
a Reuters report (February 15, 2004) about U.S. officials'
claim that "China is still helping Pakistan and Saudi Arabia with
nuclear weapons and missile development despite Beijing's
promises to control arms proliferation." Since Zhang's statement
of February 17, Beijing has said nothing on the outcome of its
"investigation" nor has Washington revealed any more informa tion
on Libya's "China connection."
Interestingly, almost two weeks later, on March 5, the U.S. State
Department declassified government documents on "China, Pakistan,
and the Bomb: 1977-1997." These shed new light on three decades
of U.S. concern over China's nuclear cooperation with Pakistan.
According to one of the declassified documents, "China has
provided assistance to Pakistan's program to develop a nuclear
weapon capability in the areas of fissile material production and
possibly also in nuclear device design." Soon thereafter, the
Bush Administration imposed sanctions against private Chinese
entities for proliferation activities.
The proliferation modus operandi - whether in China or Pakistan -
remains strikingly similar: first, complete denial and
protestations of innocence; second, when that becomes
unsustainable in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary,
denial of state sponsorship; third, shift of responsibili ty to
some rogue individuals or non-state actors, followed by some
token "action" against them; fourth, when even this becomes
unsustainable or if sanctions are imposed, some stronger action
(in the form of new policy guidelines, attribution of
responsibility to previous administrations, and "sacrifice" of
some individuals to salvage the regime's reputation) and new
assurances to the international community that past proliferation
activities have now been "completely and permanently shut down."
This cycle is repeated despite the fact that state account
ability c annot be absolved on grounds that proliferation was the
result of private enterprise.
Many U.S. officials believe that embarrassing revelations about
the transfer of Chinese nuclear weapon designs to Libya and
possibly other countries by a Pakistani proliferation network
would force Beijing to reevaluate the strategic costs of its
proliferation activities in the larger interests of stability in
the Middle East and China's desire to project its image as a
responsible g reat power. Beijing's rec ent decision to join the
Nuclear Suppliers Group is cited as another indication of China's
desire for full participation in the nonproliferation regime and
a move away from the balance-of-power approach that has hitherto
characterized its proliferation policy.
However, many long time China-watchers see no evidence of Beijing
abandoning its national security strategy based on the principle
of "containment through surrogates" that requires proliferation
to countries that can countervail its perceiv ed rivals and
enemies. Believing that proliferation is inevitable, the Chinese
military has long practiced what John Mearsheimer calls "managed
proliferation" it calls for providing nuclear or missile
technology to China's friends and allies (Pakistan, Iran, North
Korea) so as to contain its rivals through proxies (India in
South Asia, the United States in the Middle East and Japan in
East Asia). Beijing has also engaged in proliferation to pressure
Washington to curb its arm s sales to Taiwan.
Ma ny proliferation-watchers believe that China will not stop
playing "the proliferation card," as it is the most powerful
bargaining chip Beijing possesses, leaving "the China shop" open
for business to a select few. Given the Pakistani nuclear
program's heavy dependence on external suppliers, a complete
shutting down of the Khan nuclear bazaar could lead to the
progressive degradation of Pakistan's nuclear deterrent - an
outcome that Beijing cannot accept because Chin a's geostrategic
interests re quire a nuclear-armed Pakistan to pin down India. In
other words, having made huge strategic investments in Pakistan
over the last four decades, China will not remain a mute
spectator to the gradual denuclearization of Pakistan. Therefore,
Islamabad's dependence on Beijing for both missiles and nukes
will increase, not decrease, if it is to keep up with India.
As in the past, contradictions between Beijing's grand strategy
and nonprolifera tion objectives, China's military alliances, and
c ommercial goals will continue to dictate Beijing's
proliferation policy. This tension also explains China's
reluctance to sign on to the U.S.-led Proliferation Security
Initiative under which countries pledge to interdict shipments of
weapons of mass destruction.
Dr. Mohan Malik is Professor of Security Studies at the
Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu. The views
expressed here do not reflect the official policy or position of
the Center or the U.S. Department of Defense.
Copyright 2004 - The Epoch Times
*****************************************************************
11 Times of India: Indo-Pak talks postponed -
SUNDAY, MAY 23, 2004
[http://www.indiatimes.com]
ISLAMABAD: The expert-level Indo-Pak talks on nuclear CBMs,
scheduled to be held in New Delhi on May 25-26, have been
postponed following a request from the new Indian government, the
Foreign Ministry here said on Sunday.
"Today, the Government of India has requested us for the
postponement of the talks on nuclear CBMs because, as a result of
the recent transition in leadership, an External Affairs Minister
of India has not yet taken office".
"India has proposed that the talks on nuclear CBMs could be held
two days before the Foreign Secretary-level talks," a Foreign
office statement said.
"Pakistan attaches importance to the continuation of the
composite dialogue process and looks forward to an early
scheduling of the Foreign Secretary-level talks as well talks on
nuclear CBMs," the statement said.
The postponement came a day ahead of the departure of the
Pakistani delegation to India to take part in the talks.
Besides specialists from the nuclear field, Pakistan Foreign
office nominated two of its senior officials, Additional
Secretary Tariq Usman Haider and Director General South Asia
Jalil Abbas Jilani for talks. Jilani is also former deputy high
commissioner to India.
The earlier decision apparently was that the two countries would
go ahead with the talks despite the transition currently underway
in New Delhi.
In view of this, Deputy High Commissioner of the Indian High
Commission, T C A Raghavan, had reached New Delhi on Saturday to
take part in talks along with Indian delegation, which was also
named by the Indian External Affairs Ministry.
www.indiatimes.com
Copyright © 2004 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. |
*****************************************************************
12 Times of India: N-talks put off, but dialogue on -
SUNDAY, MAY 23, 2004
THE TIMES OF INDIA
[http://www.indiatimes.com]
SIDDHARTH VARADARAJAN
NEW DELHI: The unseemly delay in the process of government
formation claimed its first casualty on Sunday.
With the external affairs ministry still groping in the dark
about the identity of its minister till late Sunday, the
high-level talk Indo-Pak meeting on nuclear CBMs, originally
slated for May 25-26 has been postponed.
The talks, said senior officials, would now be held in "early
June," perhaps a couple of days before the two foreign
secretaries kick-off the long-awaited "composite dialogue"
between India and Pakistan. According to a time-table agreed in
February, the two foreign secretaries were supposed to meet in
"May/June" to discuss "peace and security" and J. This key
meeting, say officials, will be held in either the first week of
June or the second week "at the latest".
Officials say that apart from Pakistan, a slight delay on the
China front is also likely given the unexpected transfer of power
that has taken place. The third round of Sino-Indian dialogue on
the border question was originally scheduled for the end of May.
This is likely to be pushed back, possibly by several weeks.
Asked about the reason for postponing the nuclear CBMs talks with
Pakistan, an official said the subject to be discussed was a
sensitive one and that it was important that the two delegations
were "fully empowered." With Pakistan expected to come with a
number of concrete proposals, the Indian side had to work out its
positions on the basis of the mandate provided by the external
affairs minister.
Officials also say that since India's nuclear weapons come under
the purview of the Nuclear Command Authority — a key role
within which is assigned to the National Security Advisor — it
is necessary for the new government to complete the process of
transition before issues concerning nuclear CBMs could be fully
signed off on.
Among the possible set of nuclear CBMs on the table are
unverifiable proposals like dealerting and detargeting of nuclear
weapons, and no forward deployment of nuclear-armed missiles.
Copyright © 2004 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. |
*****************************************************************
13 HollandSentinel.com: Energy alternatives back in style
05/23/04
SentinelWASHINGTON -- High gasoline prices and instability in
the Middle East are renewing Americans' interest in alternative
sources of energy and ways to use existing conventional fuels
more efficiently.--> Web posted Sunday, May 23, 2004
By Robert S. Boyd Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON -- High gasoline prices and instability in the Middle
East are renewing Americans' interest in alternative sources of
energy and ways to use existing conventional fuels more
efficiently.
Power sources such as the sun, wind, waves, tides -- even turkey
guts, corn stalks and old sneakers -- are being touted as partial
substitutes for expensive oil and gas.
"Two-dollar-a-gallon gasoline helps a lot," said Peter Smith,
president of the New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority in Albany, an advocate of clean, renewable energy.
The problem isn't just gasoline, which is up more than 50 cents
compared with a year ago. Natural gas prices have doubled since
the 1990s, and home-heating oil is up 33 percent. The price of
coal, the most plentiful fossil fuel, is rising, too.
But even these prices aren't high enough to make alternative
fuels competitive with oil and coal, except in limited areas.
Instead, experts say much greater and faster benefits can be
gained from improvements in energy efficiency, such as better
automobile gasoline mileage and energy-saving buildings and
appliances.
Refrigerators, for example, use 75 percent less energy than they
did 25 years ago, according to a study for the House Subcommittee
on Energy. Similar savings average 25 percent for home heating
and 60 percent for home cooling systems.
"There is enormous potential for additional cost-effective
energy savings," said Steven Nadel, the executive director of the
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy in Washington.
Nadel said a comprehensive push for greater efficiency could cut
the nation's energy use by more than 10 percent by 2010 and by
more than 20 percent by 2020, saving up to $500 billion in energy
costs.
Meanwhile, Democrats and some Republicans in Congress are
objecting to a proposal in President Bush's 2005 budget to reduce
spending for energy efficiency by 10 percent.
Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Science
committee, called the $63 million cutback "very short-sighted.
... Restoring these cuts would provide handsome dividends," he
said.
"How stupid are we?" asked Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., a member
of the energy subcommittee.
Federal fuel economy standards haven't been raised since 1987,
and the spread of gas-guzzling SUVs has lowered average passenger
vehicle mileage from 25.9 to 24.2 miles per gallon since then.
In the last few weeks, however, some auto dealers have reported
fewer sales of large SUVs and rising interest in fuel-efficient
hybrid gasoline-electric cars as a result of higher fuel prices.
Energy efficiency already has produced substantial gains. Nadel
said Americans now use the same amount of energy as they did in
1973, even though the economy has expanded by 75 percent in that
time.
John Carberry, director of environmental technologies for E. I.
Dupont de Nemours Inc., in Wilmington, Del., said Dupont has kept
its energy use constant since 1990, while production grew by 40
percent. Savings came from such things as combining heat and
electricity generation and more efficient lighting and product
packaging, he said.
Carberry worried that the administration's proposed cut in
spending for energy efficiency would "destroy the momentum" of
gains by industry for three to 10 years.
A National Academy of Sciences study estimated that every dollar
spent on energy efficiency between 1978 and 2000 generated four
dollars in economic benefits. In an extreme case, $2.5 million
for efficient lighting research saved $5.3 billion, the study
said.
Efficiency standards for appliances, such as refrigerators,
furnaces and air conditioners, offer "the most bang for the
buck," Nadel said.
Unfortunately, the federal government "is retreating on
efficient appliance standards" for air conditioners and
refrigerators, said Daniel Sosland, executive director of
Environment Northeast, an advocacy organization based in
Connecticut and Maine.
Meanwhile, the development of alternative sources of energy,
such as solar and wind power, is continuing, but gains are
relatively slow. These resources are often called "renewables,"
since their supply, unlike coal and oil, will never run out.
Renewables supplied about 3.3 percent of U.S. energy consumption
in 2002 and will rise to about 4.4 percent by 2020 at the present
rate. The Union of Concerned Scientists, however, estimates that
renewables, combined with great energy efficiency, could take
care of 10 percent of the country's energy needs by 2020.
New York Gov. George Pataki has set a goal for his state to draw
at least 25 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by
2010, Smith said.
Wind and solar power are already cost competitive with fossil
fuels in especially sunny or windy areas and for special niche
programs, such as remote weather stations. Some experts believe
that as the technology improves they will be able to compete in
most regions of the country.
Worldwide, wind generation is growing by 35 percent a year and
solar power by 15 percent, according to the energy subcommittee.
In the United States, 1,687 megawatts of additional electricity,
enough to power almost half a million homes, were added last
year.
In 2004, however, less than 500 megawatts will be added,
primarily because Congress hasn't renewed the 12-year-old wind
power tax credit. The Senate has passed a three-year extension,
but the House hasn't acted yet.
The United States is lagging behind Europe and Japan. In parts
of Germany, wind provides more than 50 percent of the electricity
used in some months of the year.
"We can't afford to sit on the sidelines," said Rep. Judy
Biggert, R-Ill., chairwoman of the energy subcommittee. "We must
continue to invest in research and development."
The use of solar power is also growing. Sales of photovoltaic
cells, like those on rooftops, rose sevenfold over the past 10
years. Solar heat collectors used to generate electricity nearly
doubled in capacity.
Nuclear power, however, which provides 20 percent of U.S. energy
demands, remains stuck. No new nuclear power plant has been
started since 1977, and the next generation systems won't be
available for a decade or more.
Biological materials, such as wood chips, corn stalks, animal
fats, industrial and municipal waste -- including parts of
discarded sneakers -- can be converted to gas to produce energy.
Agricultural waste produces enough electricity annually to supply
the state of Colorado.
In Carthage, Mo., for example, the ConAgra Corp. is turning 200
tons of turkey guts into electricity daily, according to the
Alternative Energy Institute, a nonprofit interest group based in
Tahoe City, Calif.
Some more exotic alternative energy sources:
-- Ocean waves can be harnessed to drive a turbine that
generates electricity. According to the Department of Energy, 65
megawatts of power could be retrieved per mile of coastline.
-- High tides can be captured by a dam. When sea level outside
the dam falls, the tidal water can be run through a sluice to
power an electric generator.
-- An ocean thermal generator produces power by exploiting the
temperature difference between warm surface water and cold deep
ocean water.
-- Solid-state lighting, using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) like
those in electronics and toys, can be twice as efficient at
fluorescent bulbs and 10 times more efficient than incandescent
lamps.
-- The Energy Department is experimenting with miniature power
plants using microbes to generate electricity from sugar for use
in small devices.
[http://hollandsentinel.com/
All contents © Copyright 2003 The Holland Sentinel
*****************************************************************
14 Japan Times: Power and the People
Sunday, May 23, 2004
In Japan and the United States, many fear the dangers of nuclear
power -- but who in charge cares?
By ROBERT L. CUTTS Special to The Japan Times
North Korea is not the only country casting a long nuclear
shadow over Japan and America. The citizens of both nations are
right now under threat from precarious atomic programs -- ones
which are being forced on them by their own governments.
[News photo]
A protest in Tokyo on Sept. 30, 2000 to commemorate the fatal
accident at the Tokai nuclear-fuel reprocessing plant in Ibaraki
Prefecture exactly one year before. The banners read, "No to the
reopening of the plant!" and "Be angry over the criticality
accident!"
In Japan, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry --
historically one of the nation's most effective bureaucratic
agencies -- insists on advancing a nuclear-energy construction
program that many of the affected communities are questioning or
flatly opposing.
The program is run by an industry-government nexus -- Cabinet and
ministry-level agencies networking with enormous utility
companies and subcontractors, and even the suppliers of cheap
day-laborers -- that has proven chronically dishonest with the
public. The nexus also has the distinction of being responsible
for one of only two fatal nuclear-power radiation accidents in
world history, that in the village of Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture,
in 1999. The other was Chernobyl in Ukraine in the former Soviet
Union in 1986.
Across the Pacific, there is an unremarkable ridge rising from a
somber Nevada desert landscape, not far from the sparkle of Las
Vegas' lights. It is called Yucca Mountain.
There, the U.S. government, despite strong opposition from the
state of Nevada, is bent on completing history's most costly
civil works project -- one that will create a gigantic radiation
risk that will menace the region for a quarter of a million
years.
In both America and Japan, dependent as they are on imported
resources for so much of their energy, nuclear power has been
sold to the people by their governments as a seeming gift of the
gods of science. Japan, with 52 active reactors, already relies
on it for 30 percent of its electricity; the United States, with
118 reactors, for 20 percent.
Now people in both countries are afraid of the "peaceful" atom,
and some fear for their very lives. How could this have happened?
Nuclear power is not a mystery; it is merely a technology --
albeit one demanding the same careful safeguards and control
priorities as nuclear weapons themselves.
But it requires only the errors and fatuities of man to let loose
the dangerous genie in the bottle of the nuclear reactor. Just
look at Japan's recent record.
In 1995, the experimental, plutonium-powered Monju fast-breeder
reactor at Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, had to be shut down when
its cooling system leaked more than a ton of volatile liquid
sodium. It wasn't the leak itself that shocked the country so
much as the government's attempted cover-up of the incident,
including falsified reports and altered video evidence.
In March 1997, an explosion and fire at the Tokai plant
irradiated 37 workers, none seriously, but released radiation
into the open air that registered as far away as Tokyo, 120 km to
the southwest.
In September 1999, three improperly instructed workers at
another part of the Tokai plant, a fuel-processing facility, set
off a nuclear criticality reaction when they took a "short cut"
by using a bucket to mix a uranium compound with nitric acid --
and put in almost seven times the proper amount of uranium.
[News photo] Yucca Mountain in Nevada, which is contentiously
slated to store all America's high-level nuclear waste. PHOTO
COURTESY OF U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
It was enough to expose them to Hiroshima bomb-level doses of
radiation. Two died, 12 other employees were poisoned and 663
local residents were irradiated in the 20-hour chain reaction
that followed. More than 300,000 people had to be evacuated.
In August 2002, Japan's largest electric-power provider, Tokyo
Electric Power Company, admitted it had been misreporting reactor
inspection records to hide flaws for a decade. The company, whose
atomic infrastructure provides 40 percent of Tokyo's electricity,
was ordered to shut down all its 17 reactors for new,
government-mandated safety inspections. This shutdown was
completed by mid-April 2003.
Public confidence challenged Tokyo got through the summer without
power outages, only to read in October a Kyoto Sangyo University
researcher's calculations that a large-scale, Chernobyl-style
leak of a reactor in Japan could, depending on various factors,
kill as many as 400,000 and cost nearly 500 trillion yen.
These and other mishaps have given the Japanese people something
to think about: Almost a quarter of Japan's 863 reported
nuclear-related incidents and failures between 1966 and 1995 were
caused by human error.
Public confidence in the safety record was again challenged when
the government's White Paper on Nuclear Energy, an "annual"
report that had gone unissued for 5 1/2 years -- "due largely,"
the Cabinet Office's Atomic Energy Commission said, "to serious
incidents that fueled safety concerns" -- finally was published
in December 2003.
In it, the commission urged the promotion of "broad-based public
hearings aimed at deepening mutual understanding" between the
public and administrative and industry officials on the subject
of nuclear power policies.
Skeptics may have wondered whether such hearings would allow for
an "understanding" of Japan's atomic managers as incompetent, or
negligent.
So who are these "managers"?
The Cabinet's Atomic Energy Commission creates the nation's
nuclear-power policy drafts. There is the Industrial and Nuclear
Safety Agency, and there is the former Science and Technology
Agency, now reorganized as a part of the Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology Ministry.
There are the usual electrical and construction industry
suppliers who build the facilities; there are the 10 major
electric utilities who finance and operate the supply of electric
power to the nation (not all have nuclear reactors).
There is the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, and more
prosaically there are suppliers of services and equipment such as
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., whose former subsidiary JCO Co.
employed the inadequately trained workers responsible for
triggering the Tokai disaster.
There are labor brokers from the big cities, who recruit
day-laborers to keep costs down at the reactor plants by getting
them to do the dirty and sometimes the dangerous work.
Another question: Who's held responsible when things go wrong?
JCO had spent almost 15 billion yen by midsummer last year
compensating local businesses whose sales suffered as a result of
the mini-criticality at Tokai.
But responsibility differs, depending upon the results of the
mishaps and consequent accident investigations. Human error is
indicted far more often then nuclear technology itself.
Now, though, the technology is causing shock waves of its own. In
Japan, the Federation of Electric Power Companies has released a
report announcing that facilities and operating expenses required
to establish the necessary complete nuclear-fuel recycling
process in Japan will cost at least another 19 trillion yen (more
than $170 billion) in the next 80 years.
That rips away the cloak of back-end expenses that had given the
nuclear power industry the guise of cost-effectiveness. With the
extra 1 yen to 1.5 yen this will tack onto the cost of every
kilowatt-hour the atom generates in Japan, nuclear will be no
cheaper than natural-gas-fired or coal-fired power plants, and
could end up being more costly.
On top of this, the demand for electricity in Japan has begun to
stagnate, due, commentators say, to the aging of the population,
the restructuring of Japanese industry and the liberalization of
the electric-power markets.
Renewable energy technologies such as wind, solar and hydrogen
power could come to the price-competitive fore over the next 80
years. This, while costs to repair and update all the utilities
and plants involved in the nuclear fuel cycle will remain, as
part of nuclear energy's sunk costs.
Popular resistance in areas where reactors now stand, or will be
built, has already meant the government's 2001 plan of adding 10
to 13 new reactors by the year 2010 is likely to be shrunk to
just seven.
Yet the Cabinet Office's Atomic Energy Commission, and by
extension the government itself, still pushes nuclear power as
the central plank of Japan's energy policy for the future.
Japan, we all know, suffered history's hellish lessons of the
atom's destructive capability. But Nevada, with no nuclear power
plants at all, has learned painful lessons of its own since the
press got hold of an unpublished federal survey which estimates
that nuclear bombs tested above ground in the ranges of the
Nevada desert from 1951 to 1963 (together with other detonations
in the Soviet Union and on Pacific islands) caused a probable
minimum of 15,000 cancer deaths among Americans from radioactive
fallout.
Washington's atomic "program" today is to gather and bury 77,000
tons of high-level nuclear waste now stored at 131 locations in
39 states -- most of it spent reactor fuel from the 118 power
plants, as well as material from numerous weapons facilities --
inside Yucca Mountain. It is rousing a fear and loathing that
would be familiar to Japanese.
Here too, the problems originate with pernicious political
dishonesties and betrayals. Since 1950, the U.S. government has
ordered the ever-accumulating quantities of spent fuels to be
held in anti-radiation pools or casks at the plant sites while it
searched for a permanent answer.
In 1983, Washington promised the power firms it would ready
repositories by 1998. By 1987, four years later, it was clear
that the residents of the 10 final-candidate states across the
country were not about to accept lethal nuclear waste in their
own backyards. Dozens of "drop dead" lawsuits opposing the
Department of Energy's proposals for even testing candidate sites
-- as many as 20 suits on file at a time -- were soon emanating
from those states' capitols.
Legal obligations overturned The DOE, spearheading the search,
eventually found itself crumbling under these essentially
political pressures. In the end it scrapped search plans for all
the candidate sites -- except Nevada. The DOE overturned many of
its legal obligations of fairness and due process simply because
the Congress was, in 1987, willing to back it by passing the
"Screw Nevada Law," as it became colorfully known. Nevada became
the sole site targeted for the repository.
As James Flynn and Paul Slovic wrote in their policy-analysis
report for Decision Research as long ago as 1995, "How [can] the
program be considered a success if a repository were built only
at exorbitant cost, after a long and bitter intergovernmental
struggle, and in opposition to community, state and public values
for a fair and equitable process and outcome?"
Neither the state government nor its 2 million residents --
about 70 percent of whom are flatly opposed to the project --
think the process equitable nor want to cooperate. Nevada
immediately began enforcing its own laws and denying permits so
as to hinder the testing that got under way at Yucca Mountain.
A long series of lawsuits, demands for further tests, scientific
charges and counter-charges ensued. But the DOE, despite the
discovery of two ancient volcanoes near the mountain and an
earthquake registering 6 on the Richter scale 160 km west of it
in 1993, persists in its position. It claims that the
repository's site, 305 meters below the crest of the ridge and
the same distance above the area's water table, will remain safe
for the bureaucratically mandated limit of 10,000 years.
That time limit, incidentally, has no scientific basis.
Plutonium, which will be mixed in with the spent uranium,
requires almost 250,000 years to burn itself out of dangerous
radioactivity.
Other difficulties appeared. Nine years ago, 245 meters below the
mountain's crown, a government geologist found traces of chemical
by-product from 1950s nuclear-bomb testing in a sample of
trickle-down rainwater.
If that could happen in less than 50 years, let alone 10,000,
then to qualify as safe, Yucca Mountain obviously had to be
turned from a "geologically guaranteed" natural repository to an
engineered one.
However, the efficiency of thousands of titanium shields
designed to cover the huge metal entombment casks in the 80 km of
tunnels and galleries is already being questioned. As the casks
will have to withstand constant temperatures of 160 degrees or
more generated by their radioactive loads and the natural
underground heat, there is concern lest they acquire their own
sudden "criticality" that the shields could not contain.
Despite the major testing already done -- an 8-km corridor and
branch galleries have been driven into the mountain's heart, and
$8 billion of experiments have so far been conducted inside and
outside the mountain -- the project is still way behind schedule.
A formal construction permit must be filed within this year, and
the DOE says it will begin loading the waste by 2010. It is
racing now to complete its testing, but many other experts,
ranging from analysts of the U.S. General Accounting Office to a
member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission itself, Edward
McGaffigan, say that for various technical reasons 2015 is a much
likelier date.
It's not clear if the estimated total cost -- $58 billion, some
paid by the electrical utilities and possibly some by the
taxpayers -- will suffice, because no one knows how much of the
48,000 new tons of waste America's reactors will produce while
the repository is filled will be added to the existing 77,000
tons.
And no one knows what will be the ultimate cost of transporting
the waste, by truck and train and possibly barge, through 43
states, within 1.5 km of the homes of at least 50 million
Americans, to get it there. Some informed commentators are
already talking of costs going as high as $308 billion.
All Las Vegas knows is that any mistakes at all -- either due to
human error, scientific miscalculation or some kind of natural
disaster -- will, to say the least, destroy its vital tourism
business, possibly forever. And it knows that the possibility of
the city growing westward toward Los Angeles, which would
inevitably put homes closer and closer to the mountain, is dying
a slow death.
In both Japan and the United States, one could observe that it's
all about the money. If Japan does not complete perfectly and
on-schedule all the myriad components necessary to support the
nuclear fuel cycle, the cost of atomically generated power will
skyrocket.
If Washington can't get its way, through the regulatory
commissions and the courts, into the heart of Yucca Mountain,
then it may face an astronomical $60 billion in penalties from 65
noncompliance lawsuits filed by private power companies citing
the federal government's violation of its contract obligations to
start taking control of the waste by 1998. If awarded, this sum
would be spent expanding the temporary waste-holding sites at
each power plant, so that they could continue operating.
And every one of those dollars will come from the taxpayers.
But all the vitriol and illogic ultimately flow from someplace
deeper than pocketbooks. These nuclear problems and the way they
are handled have become problems that lie at the very heart of
the social contract between citizen and government.
Moreover, they are made worse, not better, each year with the
ever-growing capabilities, and promises, of the technologies that
underlie them.
In the case of almost all major technological advances in modern
history, governments in Japan and America -- assuming them to be
economically beneficial to the common good -- have spearheaded
investment in their application and worked to extend them across
society: railroads, telephones, broadcasting, electrification,
interstate highways . . . and nuclear energy.
But all these technologies exact social costs of one type or
another -- costs once assumed to be outweighed by the benefits.
In our generation, however, new technologies do not necessarily
deliver more good than bad.
Karel Van Wolferen, Professor of Comparative Political and
Economic Institutions at Amsterdam University, points out that
"the growth of technocratic forms of government conceals a
falsehood.
"It is this: the citizen, who indeed is a citizen only because
he is represented within the government, remains in charge. In
reality the citizen is ever less represented in a technocracy."
A true technocracy, in the sense of formal government, exists
neither in Japan nor in America, as yet.
Both nations, though, because of the paths of their modern
economic development, operate on many technocratic principles:
There are no problems of government that are not in the end
quantifiable, and so ultimately all can be solved using
scientific methods -- including the application of our
ever-advancing technologies.
This ignores the political nature of society. Atomic power may
be just one more technology, but even a technology may disrupt
the constitutional rights of a sovereign populace when leaders
permit its demands to take precedence over the political choices
of the citizen.
It is the demands of such "national technologies" -- those whose
adoption is dictated by government -- that then come to rule us.
Even government leaders themselves become captive.
Now, as the nuclear crises prove, elected governments in Japan
and America will no more take away the tyranny of the atom than
they can take away seagoing freighters or banish jet airliners.
We live in an age of international terrorism. We must yield to
the demands of still more technologies, which inspect our shoes,
our bodies, our belongings. We must allow immigration authorities
to photograph us, and thumbprint us, because these technologies
preserve us from the danger.
They do little enough of that. What they do that is more
important is transfer power over freedoms and privacies from the
hands of the individual to the hands of the government agencies
who adopt them.
What they do is further legitimize technology as an instrument of
rule, while de-legitimizing the political authority we have over
it. They subtract steadily, that is, from the sovereign rights of
all citizens.
Robert L. Cutts is a college journalism instructor in Nevada who
lived in Japan and reported on its social and industrial issues
for more than 20 years.
The Japan Times: May 23, 2004 (C) All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
15 ITAR-TASS: Ukraine hopes Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine to produce N-fuel
[ITAR-TASS News Agency of Russia]
23.05.2004, 15.54
KIEV, May 23 (Itar-Tass) - The Crimean summit of member
countries of a United Economic Space plans to discuss work of a
Ukrainian-Russian-Kazakh enterprise on output of nuclear fuel
for Ukrainian nuclear power stations, said deputy head of the
Ukrainian president’s office Vassily Baziv. The Ukrainian
president is to hold on Sunday bilateral meetings with the
Belarussian, Kazakh and Russian presidents.
According to Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Minister and president of
the Energoatom Company Sergei Tulub, the joint venture operates
ineffectively so far. This was precisely the reason why the
company's leadership was reshuffled last May 18, the first since
the time of its establishment in 2001.
The enterprise is to produce nuclear fuel for reactors of the
VVER-1000 type, which will help Ukraine to cut by 25 percent
annual expenses for its purchase. Ukrainian companies will
supply zirconium rods, rolled stock and components. The joint
venture operates, for the time being, thanks to supplies of
Ukrainian uranium to ‘Russia and sells part of fresh nuclear
fuel for Ukrainian stations.
The venture was established on equal shares by the fund of
Ukrainian state property, the Kazakh national atom company
Kazatomprom and the Russian TVEL Company.
© ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy,
*****************************************************************
16 Scotsman.com News: UK plans 'mini-nuke' strike force
[http://www.scotsman.com/]
Sun 23 May 2004
BRIAN BRADY WESTMINSTER EDITOR
BRITAIN is on the verge of abandoning its long-range nuclear
missiles in favour of cheaper ‘mini-nukes’ that could be used
to strike rogue states, Scotland on Sunday can reveal.
A decision on whether to replace the ageing Trident system has to
be taken by the end of the decade but a secret MoD poll suggests
there would be enormous public opposition to spending tens of
billions on new missiles.
Ministers and MoD chiefs are understood to be in advanced
negotiations with the United States over developing a new range
of much smaller and cheaper nuclear weapons that could be used to
launch first-strike attacks on enemies.
More than 200 British scientists have visited American nuclear
laboratories in the past year. The government has also taken on
dozens of physicists to work at its top-secret Aldermaston
nuclear plant in Berkshire, which is in line for a £2bn
redevelopment. They will be equipped with the world’s most
powerful laser, seen as crucial to the effort to produce modern
nuclear weapons that could be targeted more precisely at enemy
facilities.
Ministers have ensured the looming decision on whether to replace
the Trident nuclear warheads, carried by specially-equipped
submarines patrolling British coastal waters, will not be taken
until after the next election, in an acknowledgement of the acute
political sensitivities surrounding the move.
They have already begun to marshal their forces in preparation
for a debate that threatens to reawaken the furious rows during
the Cold War in the 1980s, when campaigners and the Labour party
itself argued that Britain should unilaterally abandon its
nuclear weapons.
Scotland on Sunday can reveal that a secret opinion poll
commissioned by the Ministry of Defence has exposed a rising tide
of anti-nuclear feeling in the country. The results, showing that
almost four in 10 of the population want the nuclear arsenal
scrapped altogether, demonstrate that if Labour is re-elected it
will face a battle to justify any move to a more offensive
nuclear capability.
Out of more than 2,000 adults questioned by Mori pollsters late
last year, the narrowest majority - 51% - rejected the premise
that the UK should not possess nuclear weapons. But while 11%
strongly disagreed, the other 40% only "tended to agree". Some
45% overall agreed that nuclear weapons are less central to UK
security in the 21st century. A senior MoD source last night
admitted the level of opposition to Britain’s status as a
nuclear power had been "a big surprise".
Ministers have consistently denied they have already decided to
replace the Trident warheads, carried on four submarines based at
Faslane, on the Clyde. Maintaining Britain’s sole nuclear
weapons system, swallows up to 3% of the MoD’s under-pressure
budget, about £1bn a year.
But Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon last week confirmed that
"decisions on whether to replace Trident are likely to be
required in the next Parliament". He added: "The costs of the
design and manufacture of any nuclear warhead would depend on a
range of factors, and these will be considered as part of any
such decision."
Military experts believe the Trident system, brought into service
in 1994, has a life-span of 30 years at most, but work on a
replacement would have to begin by 2010.
Britain has taken an active part in international efforts to
reduce nuclear weapons, slashing its stockpile of warheads by 70%
to fewer than 200.
The operational readiness of its nuclear forces has also been
reduced to the point where a single Trident submarine is now on
deterrent patrol, with its missiles "de-targeted" and normally on
several days’ "notice to fire".
But amid the continuing threat of nuclear proliferation among
other nations, notably India and Pakistan, and fears that the
technology could eventually fall into the hands of terrorists,
ministers have signalled that they are not prepared to go any
further.
Scotland on Sunday understands that hawks within the Ministry of
Defence along with Hoon himself, are determined to maintain a
significant nuclear capability. But they now favour more
up-to-date "usable" alternatives, including the smaller and
cheaper battlefield weapons with less radioactive fall-out
proposed by the Americans.
In the past 12 months, British scientists have made visits to all
America’s major weapons laboratories, including the Los Alamos
complex. At Aldermaston, their new Orion laser will simulate
conditions "found at the centre of a star or within a nuclear
detonation".
Relatively small ‘battlefield’ nuclear weapons can be
delivered by aircraft, cruise missiles, and even artillery. Bush
this month agreed a multi-million-dollar package to fund research
into the new generation of low-yield nuclear weapons.
Kate Hudson, chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said
last night of the poll: "These figures show the views of the
British public are worth more than the current policy of the
British government.
"Nuclear weapons are proven weapons of mass destruction and the
idea that more usable nuclear weapons could be developed that
could be used in further pre-emptive wars is abhorrent. It goes
against the grain of international law and basic morality." [
[http://www.scotsman.com/] |
*****************************************************************
17 NRC Abolishes Public Hearings On Reactor Safety
Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 14:59:31 -0400
Source: National Whistleblower Center
www.whistleblowers.org
NRC Blocks Safety Hearings
Washington, D.C. May 11, 2004 For the first time
in the history of the
civilian nuclear power industry, the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission
(NRC) has ended the public's right to a hearing on
safety issues. The
National Whistleblower Center (NWC), along with
other public interest
organizations, has challenged the NRC's actions in
federal court. The
NWC's opposition to the rule is currently
scheduled to be filed on June 7,
2004.
"This is a major blow to public safety and
whistleblower protection," said
Stephen M. Kohn, the Chairman of the Board of the
National Whistleblower
Center. "The NRC's abolition of the public's right
to a contested safety
hearing on issues related to nuclear power is a
radical departure from
past precedent. It closes one of the most
important procedures used by
whistleblowers for calling attention to safety
hazards."
The nuclear industry had lobbied strongly for
changes to the hearing
process. The NRC's new rule bars the public from
any form of meaningful
participation in the agency's licensing
proceedings. For over 50 years
whistleblowers have relied heavily upon the
hearing process to force the
nuclear industry to implement safety procedures.
"The NRC's new rule was designed to improperly
encourage construction of
new nuclear power plants by gagging the ability of
employees to
effectively blow the whistle," Kohn said. The rule
is consistent with
Secretary of Energy Spence Abraham's plan to
encourage utilities to build
dozens of new nuclear power plants by 2010.
The NWC fully participated in the rule making
proceedings before the NRC
and filed a comprehensive 75 page public comment
opposing the new rule.
Despite the opposition from the NWC and over 1,400
members of the public,
the NRC announced the abolition of public hearings
on January 14, 2004.
The NWC, along with other public interest groups,
filed a timely appeal of
the new rule. The appeal is currently pending
before the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the First Circuit Court.
The NWC public comment, along with the public
comments submitted by the
other parties to the case, can be located at [
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html
]http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.htm
l[
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html
].
*****************************************************************
18 Bellona: Russia found $1 million and place for floating NPP
Rosenergoatom concern promised $1m for the Russian-Chinese
project on floating NPP construction, while Arkhangelsk region
found a place for the plant.
2004-05-21 18:38
The head of Rosenergoatom Oleg Sarayev said to RIA-Novosti, the
money would be spent on ”some works….of demonstrational nature”.
”This is not only the step towards the creation, but the step
towards a practical demonstration of Russia’s intention to create
this installation” Sarayev said. Sarayev mentioned about the
interest of the western and asian counties to the Russian
achievements in the field of fast neutron reactors. He said Japan
and China would like to take part in the construction of BN-800
type fast neutron reactor. He claimed such reactors ”practically
do not generate radioactive waste and even may ”burn” earlier
accumulated waste, RIA-Novosti reported.
According to the Guardian, the local government in Archangelsk
said they had allotted land for the 70-megawatt reactor near the
Sevmashpredpriyatiye shipyard on the northern coast. It will
occupy 1.5 hectares (3.8 acres) of sea space, and require 0.6
hectares of coastline to which it can be tethered. Despite
environmentalists calling the project "crazy", government
officials said they were determined for it to go ahead.
Yet Vladimir Slivyak, of the environmental group Ecodefense, said
the project - for years a pipe dream of Russia's poorly funded
yet imaginative nuclear industry - was close to realisation. He
said other states needed to get involved in the project for it to
become a reality as Rosenergoatom has only invested $1m thus far.
"This is nothing," he said. He added: "India is very interested
in this, but Russia would face problems over its
non-proliferation commitments if it gave them the technology.
China is the most interested, but their conditions are not
favourable to Moscow." He said that despite this interest, it
would probably take three to four years to build. But he added:
"It is too crazy to be implemented, even in a country like
Russia", the Guardian reported.
Publisher: Bellona Foundation
[bellona@bellona.no] , President: Frederic Hauge
[frederic@bellona.no] Information: info@bellona.no
[info@bellona.no] , Technical contact: webmaster@bellona.no
[webmaster@bellona.no] Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22
38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway
*****************************************************************
19 Bellona: 13 extra security guards for Kola NPP
A new public security police squad for Kola NPP protection will
be soon established in Murmansk region.
2004-05-22 21:41
Murmansk region governor Yury Yevdokimov signed the appropriate
order. The squad will consist of 13 policemen, who will be
responcible for the control of the roads and the territory in the
so-called sanitary protection zone around Kola nuclear plant.
According to murman.ru, the purpose of the new squad will be
prevention of terrorist activities as the Kola NPP is the most
potentially dangerous site amongst all the civil sites in the
region. Local budget will finance the new security squad.
Publisher: Bellona Foundation [bellona@bellona.no] ,
President: Frederic Hauge [frederic@bellona.no]
Information: info@bellona.no [info@bellona.no] , Technical
contact: webmaster@bellona.no [webmaster@bellona.no]
Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box
2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway
*****************************************************************
20 Sunday Herald Sheep still contaminated by Chernobyl
- [Sunday Herald]
Eighteen years after nuclear disaster, ban on Scots farmers
selling mutton affected by radiation remains in force By Rob
Edwards, Environment Editor
It happened 2500km away and 18 years ago, but it is still
contaminating Scottish sheep with levels of radioactivity
considered unsafe to eat.
After the nuclear reactor at Chernobyl in the Ukraine exploded
and spewed radio activity over most of Europe in April 1986,
people were assured by the authorities that its effects would be
seen off in a matter of weeks.
But new figures released by the government show just how
misguided those assurances were. Today 14 farms covering 16,300
hectares of southwest and central Scotland are still subject to
restrictions on the movement and slaughter of radioactive sheep.
The concentrations of radioactive caesium-137 from Chernobyl in
the animals muscles still exceed the safety limit of 1000
becquerels of radioactivity per kilogram. Farmers have to mark
con taminated sheep with indelible paint, and must wait until
they fall below the limit before they can have them slaughtered
for food.
It is incredible that a small number of Scottish farms are still
under restriction 18 years on from an accident that occurred
hundreds of miles away, said James Withers, the spokesman for
National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS).
The initial advice in 1986 was that the effects would be over in
a few weeks. It is obviously extremely frustrating and
disappointing for the individuals concerned.
Ten of the farms with sheep restrictions are in East Ayrshire,
three are in Stirling and one is in East Renfrewshire. The
farmers have not been named. Similar restrictions on the movement
and slaughter of sheep still apply down south. In Wales they
cover 359 farms totalling 53,000 hectares in Snowdonia and the
north, while in England they affect nine farms totalling 12,000
hectares in West Cumbria.
The information was given by ministers in response to recent
questions in the Commons from anti-nuclear Labour MP for Blaenau
Gwent, Llew Smith. Chernobyl showed how nuclear accidents are
both deadly to those in the area immediately affected, and have
an impact thousands of miles away, he said. I strongly believe
that all nuclear power should be scrapped.
It has turned out to be the most costly and certainly the most
dangerous means of generating fuel.
Chernobyl was the worlds worst nuclear accident. Errors by
control room staff in an old and poorly designed Soviet-era
reactor led to a blast which ripped apart the building.
Over several days a massive cloud of radioactivity blew over
western Europe, falling to earth wherever it rained. Caesium-137
and other radio active isotopes got into the soil and were then
taken up and recycled by grass and plants.
As a result, grazing animals, particularly those in rainy upland
areas, became con taminated. As well as sheep, high levels of
caesium-137 were detected in deer and grouse.
Chernobyl also triggered an epidemic of thyroid cancers among
children in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. According to the World
Health Organisation, the accident released 200 times more
radioactivity than the US atomic bombs which devastated Hiroshima
and Nagasaki in 1945.
In the months immediately after the accident, more than 2000
farms in Scotland were subject to sheep restrictions. But by 1991
this had dropped to 60, and by 2001 to 18.
Farmers affected are compensated under the 1986 Sheep
Compensation Scheme. The government has paid out £2.8 million to
Scottish farmers, including £330,000 over the past five years.
Our primary concern is to ensure public safety, said a spokesman
for the Scottish Executive. Monitoring of sheep on affected farms
will continue until radioactive caesium levels comply with
internationally agreed standards.
According to environmentalists, there are lessons to be learned
from Chernobyls legacy. When nuclear power plants go wrong they
tend to go wrong in a big way, said Duncan McLaren, chief
executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland.
The fact that Scottish farmers today are still feeling the
impacts of this accident should be a warning to all those who
think that nuclear power deserves a second chance.
He said two of the countries that have just joined the European
Union Lithuania and Slovakia are still relying on old
Soviet-style reactors. And that the Euratom Treaty which
underpins the EU obliges them to pursue nuclear power.
Instead of asking these countries to increase their capacity in
dangerous nuclear power we should be assisting them to shut these
plants and move towards safer, cleaner forms of energy
production, McLaren argued.
He added: In the run-up to the European elections the public
should challenge candidates as to whether they support replacing
this outdated treaty with something that will prevent future
Chernobyls. 23 May 2004
© newsquest (sunday herald) limited. all rights reserved
*****************************************************************
21 TIMES OF INDIA: System failure caused excess N-power -
AMARENDRA JHA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, MAY 23, 2004 12:01:51 AM ]
KAKARAPAR (Surat district): Following recommendations from the
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for modification to system
hardware and associated parameters to help prevent unwanted
increase in reactor power production, as occurred on March 10 in
Unit-I at Kakarapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) here which was
shut down on April 22, even the Unit-II was made inoperative on
Friday for the same necessary technical incorporation.
Sudden rise in reactor power in the Unit-I on March 10 from 73
per cent to 98 per cent causing the safety caution rating to go
up to level 2 on one to three levels of the International Nuclear
Event Scale (INES), led to automatic tripping and the reasons to
cause it, remained unexplained then, according to experts at the
KAPS.
The Unit-I which was operating at its normal 73 per cent level,
that is production of 170 MW, started producing over 210 MW at 98
per cent of its 220 MW capacity and excess production was termed
as a cause for safety concerns, according to KAPS chief
superintendent S K Tapkir.
Investigations revealed that power supply isolation component in
the reactor, which regulates the internal system, had then become
inoperable, giving rise to reactor power, Tapkir said and added
that the shut-down provision remained intact and the unit got
tripped automatically.
Neither any radiation got emitted nor any damage caused to any
installation in the reactor, as safety parameters took care of
all system and procedures, said KAPS station director R Bhiksham.
According to Bhiksham, a detailed analysis by experts into the
cause and effect of the increase in reactor power by 25 per cent
in the Unit-I, have found that all the protection parameters were
normal but to avoid its recurrence, certain modifications in both
the units are being carried out.
In a week, both the units will be modified and after approval of
the same, the units will be made operational, Bhiksham added.
Asked about as why reactor power rose in the Unit-I, Tapkir said
that some work had been carried out in the electrical segment of
the reactor and the power production increased by 25 per cent.
As required, the whole matter was reported to the AERB and
meanwhile, the concerned Unit was re-started on March 12, deputy
general manager S K Sharma said.
Since Unit-II also functions on the same parameters, it has been
also shut down, for modifications. Besides, training to technical
personnel is being imparted.
Notably, the power supply to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhatisgarh
and the Union territory of Daman and Dadara and Nagar Haveli will
remain disrupted due to shut down of both the units at KAPS, said
Tapkir. Due to no-production of power, on an average Rs 90 lakh
per day is the revenue loss for KAPS.
indiatimes.com
Copyright © 2004 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. |
*****************************************************************
22 Bradenton Herald: FPL touts profitable year
| 05/22/2004 |
MATT GRISWOLD
Herald Staff Writer
FPL Group officials had nothing but good news for its investors
at the energy giant's annual shareholders meeting in Palm Beach
Gardens on Friday.
Coming off another profitable year in which FPL Group, the parent
company of Florida Power & Light Co., achieved a 13 percent
return to shareholders, company Chairman Lew Hay told the group
that FPL expects "to deliver solid returns in 2004."
Steve Stengel, a spokesman for FPL Group, said superior
cost-management practices have made the company a stronger
financial performer than any other U.S. energy company.
The industry average for operation and maintenance cost per
retail kilowatt hour is 1.79 cents, Stengel said. FPL Group's was
1.26 cents for 2003.
"There is tremendous growth going on in our service territory,
yet we're able to keep our cost down," he said.
Like Manatee County, much of Florida is experiencing a heavy
influx of new residents every day. FPL officials told
shareholders that 97,000 new Florida customers were added in
2003, the most since the late 1980s.
FPL has spent $3 billion to enhance system reliability over the
past five years. Electric utilities enhance reliability by
upgrading transmission and distribution lines and by building new
electrical substations.
FPL officials anticipate spending nearly $3.4 billion in next
five years.
All told, financial investments between 1999 and 2008 will total
about $13.6 billion for upgraded system reliability and new power
plant construction - about 60 percent more than the previous
decade.
Holly Binns, a clean air and energy advocate for the
Tallahassee-based Florida Public Interest Research Group, said
all the growth spells trouble for Florida's air quality if
greater emphasis isn't placed on reducing air emissions and
working toward more energy efficient products.
"There's no silver bullet," Binns said. "The first thing we have
to do is take a hard look at policies in this state and whether
they hinder energy conservation and energy efficiency.
"As oil and natural gas prices are going through the roof, coal
prices are doubling. It doesn't matter how you're generating
electricity, the price is going to go up, so we need to get
serious about energy efficiency."
Despite being the third-largest producer of smog-forming
pollutants in the United States, Florida's air quality is still
considered among the nation's best. Many scientists credit the
weather patterns over the peninsula as reason behind it.
In an effort to reduce air emissions, FPL entered this week into
a consortium with other power companies across the country to
develop new licensing methods for next-generation nuclear power
plants. The consortium, called NuStart Energy Development LLC,
will share the cost of developing the new license procedure with
the U.S. Department of Energy. The energy department's Nuclear
Power 2010 is an initiative to have a new nuclear power plant
designed and under construction by 2010.
The most recent nuclear power plant came online in Tennessee in
1996. FPL's newest nuclear power plant that it built came online
in 1983, said Rachel Scott, FPL's nuclear communications manager.
The industry wants to come up with a standard nuclear plant
design that experts estimate could save millions of dollars in
training and operating costs, Scott said.
Matt Griswold, East Manatee business reporter, can be reached at
708-7908 or at [mgriswold@bradentonherald.com] .
*****************************************************************
23 JoongAng Daily: Regions vying to host nuclear plant
May 24, 2004 KST 12:04 (GMT+9
As the deadline approaches for regions of Korea to submit a
letter to the government expressing interest in hosting a
nuclear power plant, several local governments have either
turned in letters of intent or are scrambling to do so. The
deadline is May 31.
Cho Hyun-chang leads a group of about 40 people from
Soryongdong, South Jeolla province who are actively seeking the
new plant. "The construction of a nuclear power plant will act
as a catalyst to revive this region economically," said Mr. Cho,
who vows to get one third of the 14,000 people living in the
area ¡ª the ratio needed to file a letter of intent ¡ª to
support construction there. Already, some 3,000 people living in
Yeonggwang, South Jeolla have approved the building of the
facility in their area.
Geunnam, a small village in South Gyeongsang province, has
formed an organization and gathered around 3,000 signatures.
"The plant is essential for the development of the area and we
are planning to get it," said Hwang Ji-seong, a member of the
group.
Most of those bidding for the plant want government development
aid. The Ministry of Commerce, Energy and Industry said formal
bidding will take place from September to November, and that a
site will be selected by the end of this year.
by Seo Hyung-sik africanu@joongang.co.kr>
2004.05.23
[http://joongangdaily.joins.com
*****************************************************************
24 The Sofia Echo: The Kozlodui game
- Bulgaria's English-language newspaper
May 24, 2004
Issue 21: May 21 to 27, 2004
Velina Nacheva
A member of the European Parliament, Finland's Piia-Noora
Kauppi, said recently that the European Commission, in dealing
with the future of Bulgaria's Kozlodui nuclear power plant, is
"purposely crippling the economy of a struggling future member
state". VELINA NACHEVA looks into the issues around the fate of
the plant's units 3 and 4.
MEP Piia-Noora Kauppi told the European Parliament that the
signing of an agreement on the decommissioning of Units 3 and 4
between the previous Bulgarian government and the European
Commission was "one of the greatest blackmail scams in the
Commission's murky history". The Sofia Echo asked her to clarify
her views.
Why do you refer to the closure (decommissioning) of the two
units as blackmail?
In 1999 the European Commission made the beginning of the
accession negotiations with Bulgaria conditional on the closure
of 4 units of Bulgaria's Kozlodui. This closure demand was based
on the presumption that these units could not be economically
upgraded to satisfy current safety standards. The European
Commission refuses to review this agreement, even after the units
have been economically upgraded and declared to meet all nuclear
safety requirements, according to both the International Atomic
Energy Agency and the European Council's Atomic Questions Group.
I view that to make Bulgaria's EU accession dependable on the
closure of these units, could be considered as blackmail, as
Bulgaria heavily depends on the Kozlodui for its electricity
supply, the development of its economy and the protection of its
environment, and closure of these units is simply unnecessary.
Moreover, Bulgaria has invested more than 600 million euro in
Kozlodui to address the safety concerns and the European
Commission has given an additional 250 million euro to help them.
Would it be correct to say that there are lobbies within the EU,
which define the policy of each country in its energy sector?
No, each member state develops its own energy policy, taking into
account the general guidelines. There are, as well, anti-nuclear
and pro-nuclear organisations that try to lobby at the EU
institutions in order to influence decision-making with regard to
the harmonisation of legislation in the field of nuclear energy.
Before the enlargement, nuclear energy was in use in eight of the
15 EU Member States. Now the EU has grown to 25 countries, 13 of
them users of nuclear energy and in 2007, 15 of the 28 member
states will be 'nuclear'. The fact that there remains a slight
majority of countries using nuclear energy will of course have an
impact on the decision-making process.
To what extent could EU member states that lack energy sources
for the development of their economies rely on nuclear power (for
example as a percentage of their common energy needs) or would
they have to resort to importing electricity?
Each member state is allowed to determine its own energy
options, reflecting its natural resources and its energy needs.
The share of nuclear energy in France, for example, is almost 80
per cent and if they wish to increase that share further, they
are free to do so.
Not all experts expressed concern about the safety level in
Kozlodui. Thus, why is there constant pressure for its closure?
Until the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, little was known in the EU
and US about nuclear power plants in Central Europe and the New
Independent States. With the Chernobyl disaster, international
concerns about nuclear safety grew, further heightened by the
difficulty of obtaining reliable information and co-operating on
safety issues with the authorities in the region. The break-up of
the Soviet Union in 1989 threw the nuclear sectors in the former
Soviet Union into economic, technical and regulatory disarray.
Kozlodui has nothing to do with Chernobyl-type RBMK reactors.
Nuclear safety experts from the G7 countries considered it
likely that many of the shortcomings at Kozlodui would be common
to other similar Soviet-designed reactors. At its 1992 Munich
summit, the G7 responded by putting in place a strategy to tackle
the problem of nuclear safety in central Europe and the NIS.
Reactors were classified according to one of two categories:
those that could be upgraded and those that could not and should
therefore be decommissioned. Unfortunately this decision was
taken on political grounds and has done no justice to the
upgraded Kozlodui B-4, which are now operating safely and
reliably
To what extent nuclear energy is considered (in Brussels) a
non-alternative as a source of electric energy?
The European Union does not consider nuclear energy as a
non-alternative. Furthermore, it must be noted that each member
states should be allowed to choose its own energy sources -
nuclear included.
After the results of the peer review of Kozlodui done by EU
experts, what measures does Bulgaria need to implement for the
use of Kozlodui?
The working parties of the Council of the EU (the Atomic
Questions Group/Working Party on Nuclear Safety (AQG/WPNS) have
concluded that sufficient information was provided by Bulgarian
Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA), Kozlodui, and the Ministry of
Energy and Energy Resources (MEER), about the status of
activities implementing AQG recommendations; there was evidence
that all the recommendations had been addressed adequately.
Furthermore, many of the recommendations are already implemented,
those remaining are in progress according to established
schedules. The current status of planned actions, which still
need to be carried out:
General Recommendations regarding the plant-specific safety
improvements programs: under implementation as planned.
General Recommendations regarding completion of SARs and EOPs:
under implementation as planned.
Specific Recommendations regarding implementation of specific
up-grading improvements at Kozlodui units 3-4: further actions
underway.
Specific Recommendations regarding high energy pipes at Kozlodui
units 5-6: implementation underway.
The AQG/WPNS has not considered further monitoring activity on
the recommendations of the AQG/WPNS to be necessary.
Nuclear energy has a positive role in the discussions on
security of EU's energy supply, sustainable development, and
CO2-free energy production.
AN international marathon in defence of nuclear energy and
against the decommissioning of two units of Kozlodui nuclear
power plant concluded with the handing over of a petition
entitled "Preserve Kozlodui, Build Belene NPP" to Bulgaria's
Energy Minister Milko Kovachev.
The petition, addressed to Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg,
insisted on the non-closure of the units.
"Kozlodui's plant is modern and secure. The closing down of the
reactors will be a political mistake," the petition said.
Almost 300 nuclear workers from 15 countries protested in Sofia
against the expected closure of reactors 3 and 4 of Kozlodui.
"Our message to the Bulgarian Government is simple: please let
Kozlodui live," said Andre Maisseu, president of the World
Council of Nuclear Workers (WONUC).
Kovachev said that Bulgaria has relied and would continue to rely
on nuclear energy.
He said the petition he accepted defended Bulgaria's position
about the operation of Kozlodui.
Asked whether it was possible that the timeline for the
decommissioning of power units 3 and 4 would be reconsidered,
Kovachev said that "When a given country makes a promise and
makes commitments, it should have a predictable policy".
Negotiating the terms of its accession with the European
Commission, Bulgaria undertook to close down Units 3 and 4 of
Kozlodui in 2006, much ahead of the end of their service life in
2008-2010.
And the EU Presidency says:
Austin Gormley, Charge d'Affaires embassy of Ireland
BULGARIA has continued to implement the recommendations contained
in the June 2001 Council Report on Nuclear Safety in the context
of enlargement. The law on the Safe Use of Nuclear Energy adopted
in 2002 has set the legislative and regulatory framework in this
area.
As the Presidency, we welcome the commitment of the Bulgarian
Government to respect the undertakings entered into at the time
of provisional closure of the Energy Chapter with respect to the
future closure of units 3 and 4 of Kozlodui. We also welcome the
publication of the recent peer review report on nuclear safety in
Bulgaria which examined operational safety issues. The peer
review also gave due respect to the closure commitments for units
3 and 4.
The European Commission has proposed a substantial package of
financial assistance to alleviate the economic, environmental and
social costs of closure of units 3 and 4. This assistance will,
in our view, be important in ensuring that the economic and
social welfare of the region within which the Kozlodui NPP is
situated is protected.
© 2004, Sofia Echo Media Ltd.
*****************************************************************
25 Times of India: Kakodkar smells foul play in Barc incident -
SUNDAY, MAY 23, 2004
[http://www.timescity.com]
PUNE: The radioactive exposure of three employees at the Bhabha
atomic research centre unit (Barc) near Tarapur on April 17 was
due to disciplinary failure and not an accident, said Anil
Kakodkar, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).
Speaking to reporters here on Friday, Kakodkar, who is also the
secretary of the department of atomic energy (DAE,) said he
suspected foul play in the incident.
A full inquiry has been initiated to find out how a "radioactive
bottle" was found at a place where it was not supposed to be,
Kakodkar said, while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a
programme at the College of military engineering (CME) here on
Friday.
"Senior safety officials, as well as an independent group, are
already investigating into the incident," he said, admitting that
this is the first-of-its-kind incident at any nuclear
establishment in the country.
Barc, in a statement, said the three employees received doses
ranging from 0.04 to 0.03 Rem, which is very low exposure as
compared to the permissible annual dose of 2 Rem.
Continued...1 |
Copyright © 2004 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. |
*****************************************************************
26 Japan Times: Doubt cast on nuclear recycling policy
Friday, May 21, 2004
Plans to reprocess spent fuel opposed on grounds of danger, cost
AOMORI (Kyodo) Doubt has been cast on Japan's atomic fuel
recycling policy, with lawmakers of the ruling parties calling
for changes to the nation's long-term plan for nuclear power
development.
Central to the debate is the plan to reprocess all spent nuclear
fuel in order to obtain plutonium for reuse as a fuel, industry
sources said.
Taro Kono, a House of Representatives member of the Liberal
Democratic Party, told a meeting of citizens here on May 8,
"Let's stop and deepen the nationwide debate."
Kono, the son of House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono,
advocated the postponement of a uranium test to confirm the
ability of a plant in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, to reprocess
spent nuclear fuel.
The reprocessing plant, which is being built by Japan Nuclear
Fuel Ltd. with investment from electric power companies, is the
pillar of Japan's nuclear fuel recycling policy, but the work has
been delayed due to construction problems.
The plant was originally scheduled to open in 2005 but is now
scheduled to start operating in 2006.
Kono's remark has sparked controversy because the Aomori
governor and other officials have repeatedly asked the central
government to continue with existing plans.
Japan already has a stockpile of 33 tons of plutonium obtained
by reprocessing spent nuclear fuel overseas, as well as 5.4 tons
of plutonium extracted at home.
There are numerous problems with using plutonium as a fuel. It
is one of the world's most toxic substances and is the raw
material used to make atomic bombs.
The largest consumers of plutonium would be high-speed breeder
reactors, but these reactors have been plagued with trouble
across the globe.
A massive leak of sodium coolant at the the Monju fast-breeder
reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, in 1995 forced a suspension
of operations. It remains unclear when, if ever, it will restart.
Under the so-called pluthermal (plutonium thermal) project to
burn plutonium at conventional nuclear power plants, 16 to 18
plants were to be converted by 2010.
However, there is a long way to go before Kansai, the Kyushu and
Shikoku Electric Power companies can reach this goal, industry
sources said.
Even if the reprocessing plant in Rokkasho starts operating, its
annual reprocessing capacity will be 800 tons, compared with the
1,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel that comes from domestic nuclear
power stations annually.
An interim storage facility is scheduled to be built in order to
hold the spent nuclear fuel until the completion of a second
reprocessing plant.
But there is little likelihood the plan will be carried out.
"We have no intention whatsoever to build a second reprocessing
plant," said an executive of an electric power company.
According to an estimate by the Federation of Electric Power
Companies, the cost of reprocessing at the Rokkasho plant,
including the disposal of radioactive waste, would be 18.8
trillion yen.
Industry sources said it is quite natural for electric power
companies, facing challenges as a result of deregulation, to
rethink the building of a second plant.
There are calls to bury the spent fuel underground instead, as
is the case in the United States.
The government's Atomic Power Commission will create a forum
next month to review the long-term plan over a period of one
year, sources said.
The Japan Times: May 21, 2004 (C) All rights reserved
The Japan Times Ltd. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
27 Japan Times: Japan's deadly game of nuclear roulette
Sunday, May 23, 2004
By LEUREN MORET Special to The Japan Times
Of all the places in all the world where no one in their right
mind would build scores of nuclear power plants, Japan would be
pretty near the top of the list.
[News photo]
An aerial view of the Hamaoka plant in Shizuoka Prefecture,
"the most dangerous nuclear power plant in Japan"
The Japanese archipelago is located on the so-called Pacific Rim
of Fire, a large active volcanic and tectonic zone ringing North
and South America, Asia and island arcs in Southeast Asia. The
major earthquakes and active volcanoes occurring there are caused
by the westward movement of the Pacific tectonic plate and other
plates leading to subduction under Asia.
Japan sits on top of four tectonic plates, at the edge of the
subduction zone, and is in one of the most tectonically active
regions of the world. It was extreme pressures and temperatures,
resulting from the violent plate movements beneath the seafloor,
that created the beautiful islands and volcanoes of Japan.
Nonetheless, like many countries around the world -- where
General Electric and Westinghouse designs are used in 85 percent
of all commercial reactors -- Japan has turned to nuclear power
as a major energy source. In fact the three top nuclear-energy
countries are the United States, where the existence of 118
reactors was acknowledged by the Department of Energy in 2000,
France with 72 and Japan, where 52 active reactors were cited in
a December 2003 Cabinet White Paper.
The 52 reactors in Japan -- which generate a little over 30
percent of its electricity -- are located in an area the size of
California, many within 150 km of each other and almost all built
along the coast where seawater is available to cool them.
However, many of those reactors have been negligently sited on
active faults, particularly in the subduction zone along the
Pacific coast, where major earthquakes of magnitude 7-8 or more
on the Richter scale occur frequently. The periodicity of major
earthquakes in Japan is less than 10 years. There is almost no
geologic setting in the world more dangerous for nuclear power
than Japan -- the third-ranked country in the world for nuclear
reactors.
"I think the situation right now is very scary," says Katsuhiko
Ishibashi, a seismologist and professor at Kobe University. "It's
like a kamikaze terrorist wrapped in bombs just waiting to
explode."
Last summer, I visited Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka
Prefecture, at the request of citizens concerned about the danger
of a major earthquake. I spoke about my findings at press
conferences afterward.
[News photo] A map of Japan annotated by the author, showing
the tectonic plates, areas of high ("observed region") and very
high ("specially observed") quake risk, and the sites of nuclear
reactors
Because Hamaoka sits directly over the subduction zone near the
junction of two plates, and is overdue for a major earthquake, it
is considered to be the most dangerous nuclear power plant in
Japan.
Together with local citizens, I spent the day walking around the
facility, collecting rocks, studying the soft sediments it sits
on and tracing the nearly vertical faults through the area --
evidence of violent tectonic movements.
The next day I was surprised to see so many reporters attending
the two press conferences held at Kakegawa City Hall and Shizuoka
Prefecture Hall. When I asked the reporters why they had come so
far from Tokyo to hear an American geoscientist, I was told it
was because no foreigner had ever come to tell them how dangerous
Japan's nuclear power plants are.
I told them that this is the power of gaiatsu (foreign
pressure), and because citizens in the United States with similar
concerns attract little media attention, we invite a Japanese to
speak for us when we want media coverage -- someone like the
famous seismologist Professor Ishibashi!
When the geologic evidence was presented confirming the extreme
danger at Hamaoka, the attending media were obviously shocked.
The aerial map, filed by Chubu Electric Company along with its
government application to build and operate the plant, showed
major faults going through Hamaoka, and revealed that the company
recognized the danger of an earthquake. They had carefully placed
each reactor between major fault lines.
"The structures of the nuclear plant are directly rooted in the
rock bed and can tolerate a quake of magnitude 8.5 on the Richter
scale," the utility claimed on its Web site.
From my research and the investigation I conducted of the rocks
in the area, I found that that the sedimentary beds underlying
the plant were badly faulted. Some tiny faults I located were
less than 1 cm apart.
When I held up samples of the rocks the plant was sitting on,
they crumbled like sugar in my fingers. "But the power company
told us these were really solid rocks!" the reporters said. I
asked, "Do you think these are really solid?' and they started
laughing.
On July 7 last year, the same day of my visit to Hamaoka,
Ishibashi warned of the danger of an earthquake-induced nuclear
disaster, not only to Japan but globally, at an International
Union of Geodesy and Geophysics conference held in Sapporo. He
said: "The seismic designs of nuclear facilities are based on
standards that are too old from the viewpoint of modern
seismology and are insufficient. The authorities must admit the
possibility that an earthquake-nuclear disaster could happen and
weigh the risks objectively."
After the greatest nuclear power plant disaster in Japan's
history at Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, in September 1999, large,
expensive Emergency Response Centers were built near nuclear
power plants to calm nearby residents.
After visiting the center a few kilometers from Hamaoka, I
realized that Japan has no real nuclear-disaster plan in the
event that an earthquake damaged a reactor's water-cooling system
and triggered a reactor meltdown.
Additionally, but not even mentioned by ERC officials, there is
an extreme danger of an earthquake causing a loss of water
coolant in the pools where spent fuel rods are kept. As reported
last year in the journal Science and Global Security, based on a
2001 study by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, if the
heat-removing function of those pools is seriously compromised --
by, for example, the water in them draining out -- and the fuel
rods heat up enough to combust, the radiation inside them will
then be released into the atmosphere. This may create a nuclear
disaster even greater than Chernobyl.
If a nuclear disaster occurred, power-plant workers as well as
emergency-response personnel in the Hamaoka ERC would immediately
be exposed to lethal radiation. During my visit, ERC engineers
showed us a tiny shower at the center, which they said would be
used for "decontamination' of personnel. However, it would be
useless for internally exposed emergency-response workers who
inhaled radiation.
When I asked ERC officials how they planned to evacuate millions
of people from Shizuoka Prefecture and beyond after a
Kobe-magnitude earthquake (Kobe is on the same subduction zone as
Hamaoka) destroyed communication lines, roads, railroads,
drinking-water supplies and sewage lines, they had no answer.
Last year, James Lee Witt, former director of the U.S. Federal
Emergency Management Agency, was hired by New York citizens to
assess the U.S. government's emergency-response plan for a
nuclear power plant disaster. Citizens were shocked to learn that
there was no government plan adequate to respond to a disaster at
the Indian Point nuclear reactor, just 80 km from New York City.
The Japanese government is no better prepared, because there is
no adequate response possible to contain or deal with such a
disaster. Prevention is really the only effective measure to
consider.
In 1998, Kei Sugaoka, 51, a Japanese-American senior field
engineer who worked for General Electric in the United States
from 1980 until being dismissed in 1998 for whistle-blowing
there, alerted Japanese nuclear regulators to a 1989 reactor
inspection problem he claimed had been withheld by GE from their
customer, Tokyo Electric Power Company. This led to nuclear-plant
shutdowns and reforms of Japan's power industry.
Later it was revealed from GE documents that they had in fact
informed TEPCO -- but that company did not notify government
regulators of the hazards.
Yoichi Kikuchi, a Japanese nuclear engineer who also became a
whistle-blower, has told me personally of many safety problems at
Japan's nuclear power plants, such as cracks in pipes in the
cooling system from vibrations in the reactor. He said the
electric companies are "gambling in a dangerous game to increase
profits and decrease government oversight."
Sugaoka agreed, saying, "The scariest thing, on top of all the
other problems, is that all nuclear power plants are aging,
causing a deterioration of piping and joints which are always
exposed to strong radiation and heat."
Like most whistle-blowers, Sugaoka and Kikuchi are citizen
heroes, but are now unemployed.
The Radiation and Public Health Project, a group of independent
U.S. scientists, has collected 4,000 baby teeth from children
living around nuclear power plants. These teeth were then tested
to determine their level of Strontium-90, a radioactive fission
product that escapes in nuclear power plant emissions.
Unborn children may be exposed to Strontium-90 through drinking
water and the diet of the mother. Anyone living near nuclear
power plants is internally exposed to chronically low levels of
radiation contaminating food and drinking water. Increased rates
of cancer, infant mortality and low birth weights leading to
cognitive impairment have been linked to radiation exposure for
decades.
However, a recent independent report on low-level radiation by
the European Committee on Radiation Risk, released for the
European Parliament in January 2003, established that the ongoing
U.S. Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Studies conducted in Japan by the
U.S. government since 1945 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors
underestimated the risk of radiation exposure as much as 1,000
times.
Additionally, on March 26 this year -- the eve of the 25th
anniversary of the worst nuclear disaster in U.S. history, at the
Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania -- the Radiation and
Public Health Project released new data on the effects of that
event. This showed rises in infant deaths up to 53 percent, and
in thyroid cancer of more than 70 percent in downwind counties --
data which, like all that concerning both the short- and
long-term health effects, has never been forthcoming from the
U.S. government.
It is not a question of whether or not a nuclear disaster will
occur in Japan; it is a question of when it will occur.
Like the former Soviet Union after Chernobyl, Japan will become
a country suffering from radiation sickness destroying future
generations, and widespread contamination of agricultural areas
will ensure a public-health disaster. Its economy may never
recover.
Considering the extreme danger of major earthquakes, the many
serious safety and waste-disposal issues, it is timely and urgent
-- with about half its reactors currently shut down -- for Japan
to convert nuclear power plants to fossil fuels such as natural
gas. This process is less expensive than building new power
plants and, with political and other hurdles overcome, natural
gas from the huge Siberian reserves could be piped in at
relatively low cost. Several U.S. nuclear plants have been
converted to natural gas after citizen pressure forced energy
companies to make changeovers.
Commenting on this way out of the nuclear trap, Ernest
Sternglass, a renowned U.S. scientist who helped to stop
atmospheric testing in America, notes that, 'Most recently the
Fort St. Vrain reactor in Colorado was converted to fossil fuel,
actually natural gas, after repeated problems with the reactor.
An earlier reactor was the Zimmer Power Plant in Cincinnati,
which was originally designed as a nuclear plant but it was
converted to natural gas before it began operating. This
conversion can be done on any plant at a small fraction [20-30
percent] of the cost of building a new plant. Existing turbines,
transmission facilities and land can be used."
After converting to natural gas, the Fort St. Vrain plant
produced twice as much electricity much more efficiently and
cheaply than from nuclear energy -- with no nuclear hazard at
all, of course.
It is time to make the changeover from nuclear fuel to fossil
fuels in order to save future generations and the economy of
Japan.
Leuren Moret is a geoscientist who worked at the Lawrence
Livermore Nuclear Weapons Laboratory on the Yucca Mountain
Project, and became a whistle-blower in 1991 by reporting science
fraud on the project and at Livermore. She is an independent and
international radiation specialist, and the Environmental
Commissioner in the city of Berkeley, Calif. She has visited
Japan four times to work with Japanese citizens, scientists and
elected officials on radiation and peace issues. She can be
contacted at [leurenmoret@yahoo.com]
The Japan Times: May 23, 2004 (C) All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
28 Boston.com: Pressure builds on Vt. Yankee
Pressure builds on Vt. Yankee Boston Globe State officials are
turning up the heat on Vermont Yankee, the state's only nuclear
power plant, over the whereabouts of two small pieces of highly
radioactive spent fuel rods. The pieces, which were removed from
the reactor in 1979, were discovered missing last month, and a
plant official said last week that the rods were probably
removed from the reactor ... B.J. Roche May 23, 2004 --> ![]( "]")
[fmullen@rgj.com]
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
5/22/2004 09:07 pm
FALLON — A group of parents is collecting children’s baby teeth
from local families as part of the national environmental project
called the Tooth Fairy Study.
“It’s a worthwhile program,” said Jeff Braccini, a member of
Families in Search of Truth (FIST). “It’s going on all over the
country, and it’s especially important in Fallon because of the
leukemia cluster.”
Since 1997, 16 Fallon-area children — including Braccini’s son,
Jeremy, have been diagnosed with leukemia. Three patients have
died. A government investigation of the cancer cluster was
inconclusive, but families of the patients formed FIST. The group
is dedicated to continuing research on the cancer outbreak and
its possible environmental causes.
The group is accepting donations of baby teeth to send to the
Radiation and Public Health Project’s Tooth Fairy Study, which
will then analyze the radioactive strontium-90 levels in the
teeth. The families will be notified of the results, Braccini
said.
“All baby teeth from children who had or have cancer and who live
in Fallon or anywhere else in Nevada — will be accepted,” said
Patty Wadsworth, FIST president. “At this time, we’re only
looking for eight baby teeth from Fallon children who do not have
cancer.”
She said the study includes children with all forms of cancer,
not only leukemia.
The Radiation and Public Health Project’s Tooth Fairy Study to
date has analyzed the strontium-90 levels in more than 2,000 baby
teeth, mainly from those born in recent years near nuclear
reactors, according to the project. About 50 percent have levels
of the radioactive isotope far above the expected trace levels,
in some cases 30 or 40 times higher, according to the study’s Web
site.
When 10,000 baby teeth are collected, the project plans to
analyze the medical histories of each child to determine the
degree to which children with high levels have had cancer or
childhood illnesses such as asthma, learning disabilities and
infections. Many teeth collected so far are from children with
cancers, the project said.
The study is based on a similar effort started by Dr. Barry
Commoner in St. Louis in 1958. After collecting 60,000 teeth,
that study found that strontium-90 levels in children’s teeth
rose 100-fold from 1948 to 1963.
That information was used in the fight to ban above-ground
nuclear bomb tests. The federal government stopped funding the
project in 1970, but it has continued under grants and private
donations.
© Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett
*****************************************************************
33 [DU-WATCH] Fwd: Fw: Nuclear Waste
Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 13:24:05 -0500 (CDT)
----- Original Message ----- From: "Ken DeBacker" <> To:
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2004 12:27
PM Subject: Nuclear Waste
Subject: Please call Senator Campbell today-Please forward this
urgent alert on high level nuclear waste
Dear Colleagues - Senator Ben Campbell is seen as a swing vote on
the High Level Waste votes which will be happening shortly. We
really need help in getting constituent calls into his office to
ask him to support the motion to strike DOE's authority to reclassify
high-level radioactive waste. Please call ASAP! Thanks for your
help. Please pass this action alert to others who will make calls
quickly. Susan Gordon, Director, Alliance for Nuclear Accountabilty
On the House side, Joel Hefley is seen as a swing vote too. Thanks!!
Judith Mohling, Rocky MOuntain Peace and Justice Center
URGENT ACTION ALERT: Defense Authorization Bill Tell Congress to
strike DOE's authority to reclassify high-level radioactive waste
and cut new nuclear weapons programs, including the bunker buster,
mini-nukes, and a new plutonium bomb plant. Call your Senators and
Representatives at 202-224-3121 (Congressional switchboard). Write
your Senators and Representatives using email at
http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.html
Timing: Act Now! Both the House of Representatives and the Senate
are expected to bring the Fiscal Year 2005 Defense Authorization
bill to the floor the week of May 17. The Senate will vote on a
motion to strike DOE's authority to reclassify high-level radioactive
waste. Both the House and Senate are expected to vote on funding
for key nuclear weapons programs. 7 High Level Radioactive
Waste - Support the motion to strike DOE's authority to reclassify
high-level radioactive waste.
Uphold the Nuclear Waste Policy Act and designate that the $350
million in DOE's "High Level Waste Fund" be spent on continuing
cleanup of the high level waste tanks. The DOE urgently needs to
clean up the mess now, not "cap and cover" the waste, jeopardizing
the water supply of those downstream for generations to come.
Please forward!! Defense Authorization Bill on Senate and House
Floor This Week The Defense Authorization bill is expected to reach
the floor in the Senate Monday with votes occuring as early as
Monday evening and debate and votes taking place up until Thursday
evening. The House is expected to take up the bill on the floor
beginning Wednesday. We are anticipating the following motions and
amendments relevant to our priorities:
SENATE (Fiscal Year 2005 Defense Authorization bill, S. 2400) *
High-Level Waste - Senators Cantwell (D-WA), Hollings (D-SC) and
possibly others are expected to offer a motion to strike sections
3116 and 3119 relating to the high-level waste issue. Section 3116
would (1) exempt DOE from complying with the requirements of the
Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) in South Carolina; (2) overturn an
Idaho federal court ruling that DOE may not arbitrarily and
unilaterally reclassify high-level radioactive waste; and (3) allow
DOE sole discretion in deciding what is high-level radioactive waste
in South Carolina. Section 3119 eliminates $350 million in necessary
nuclear waste cleanup funding to Idaho and Washington unless they
agree by June 1, 2005 to allow DOE sole discretion to reclassify
high-level radioactive waste as "waste incidental to reprocessing."
* Nuclear Weapons - Senators Feinstein (D-CA) and Kennedy (D-MA)
are expected to offer an amendment to strike all funding for the
Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (bunker buster) and Advanced Concepts
Initiative. Senators Feinstein and Kennedy are not including the
Modern Pit Facility in their amendment because the committee
incorporated language restricting 50 percent of funding for the MPF
until 30 days after the NNSA submits a report on pit production
requirements as well as the Stockpile Plan. Their feeling was that
it would be better to move forward with that language as support
for future conferencing in Energy & Water approps following anticipated
cuts to MPF in the House rather than lose on a vote and scare
appropriators away from cutting the MPF.
HOUSE (Fiscal Year 2005 Defense Authorization bill, H.R. 4200)
* Nuclear Weapons - Reps. Tauscher (D-CA) and Markey (D-MA) are
expected to offer an amendment to strike all funding for the Robust
Nuclear Earth Penetrator and Advanced Concepts Intitiatve.
* Modern Pit Facility - Rep. Markey (D-MA) is expected to offer an
amendment to strike all funding for the Modern Pit Facility. Unlike
the Senate where Senators are free to offer up amendments, the House
amendments will have to be ruled in order by the Rules Committee,
which is not expected to make a decision until late Tuesday night,
ahead of the Wednesday floor action. Thus we have to mobilize in
support of both, in anticipation that one or both come to the floor.
The ANA alert on these issues is reprinted below.
URGENT ACTION ALERT: Defense Authorization Bill Tell Congress to
strike DOE's authority to reclassify high-level radioactive waste
and cut new nuclear weapons programs, including the bunker buster,
mini-nukes, and a new plutonium bomb plant. Call your Senators and
Representatives at 202-224-3121 (Congressional switchboard). Write
your Senators and Representatives using email at
http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.html
Timing: Act Now! Both the House of Representatives and the Senate
are expected to bring the Fiscal Year 2005 Defense Authorization
bill to the floor the week of May 17. The Senate will vote on a
motion to strike DOE's authority to reclassify high-level radioactive
waste. Both the House and Senate are expected to vote on funding
for key nuclear weapons programs.
Background: Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) pushed a provision through
committee providing South Carolina with an exemption to the Nuclear
Waste Policy Act, allowing the Department of Energy to abandon
millions of gallons of highly radioactive waste behind in rusting
tanks at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Funding for
cleanup of high-level waste at other key sites in Washington and
Idaho is being held hostage until those states agree to DOE's
proposal to also leave more waste behind at those sites. The DOE
wants the exemption so it can cement the wastes in place as part
of its accelerated cleanup strategy to "finish"
cleanup early and save billions of dollars. Doing so, however, would
create massive high level waste dumps at these sites and threaten
future generations with severe contamination. The federal court in
Idaho already ruled in 2003 against DOE's plan to reclassify waste.
The DOE has appealed the case, but the affected states have all
submitted friends of the court briefs opposing DOE's plan. Congress
is also about to vote on key nuclear weapons programs. The President
has requested the highest budget for nuclear weapons research,
development, testing and production programs since the all-time
record set under President Reagan during the Cold War. At a time
of war and record deficits, Congress needs your support to cut the
nuclear weapons budget and curb the pursuit of new nuclear weapons
programs. These programs send a clear "do as I say, not as I do"
message to the rest of the world and threaten to undermine the
nation's attempts to stem the world's appetite for weapons of mass
destruction. Three key nuclear weapons programs are likely to be
voted on in Congress, the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, the
Advanced Concepts Initiative, and the Modern Pit Facility. 7
High Level Radioactive Waste - Support the motion to strike DOE's
authority to reclassify high-level radioactive waste. Uphold the
Nuclear Waste Policy Act and designate that the $350 million in
DOE's "High Level Waste Fund"
be spent on continuing cleanup of the high level waste tanks. The
DOE urgently needs to clean up the mess now, not "cap and cover"
the waste, jeopardizing the water supply of those downstream for
generations to come. 7 Nuclear Bunker Buster - Eliminate the
$27.5 million in funding for the "Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator,"
research and development to modify two existing types of nuclear
weapons with explosive powers fifty times that of the bomb used
over Hiroshima for destroying deep underground bunkers. Even these
large nuclear weapons would be ineffective to the depths that modern
bunkers can be built and the collateral damage from such an explosion
would kill millions if the bunker was located beneath a major city.
7 Advanced Nuclear Weapons - Eliminate the $9 million in
funding for the "Advanced Concepts Initiative" which gives U.S.
nuclear weapons labs money to design new mini-nuclear weapons and
other new nukes. Even the smallest yield nuclear earth penetrator
would create heavy collateral damage. Their small size could lead
the President to more readily consider their use in future conflicts.
Their research, development and potential use encourages other
nations to consider them a desirable weapon to own. 7 New
Nuclear Bomb Plant - Eliminate the $29.8 million in funding for the
"Modern Pit Facility," a factory that will cost at least $4 billion
and could produce 125-450 plutonium pits, the cores of modern nuclear
warheads, each year. The United States and Russia are supposed to
be reducing their arsenals of nuclear weapons under the "Strategic
Offensive Reductions Treaty," not building new ones. Replacement
warheads are not needed as new studies are finding that existing
weapons last much longer than previously expected.
Tell Congress to support amendments that would maintain standards
on high level radioactive waste and cut new nuclear weapons programs.
For more information, go to www.ananuclear.org.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jim Bridgman, Program Director Alliance for Nuclear Accountability
322 4th Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002 202-544-0217; 202-544-6143
(fax) jcbridgman@e...; www.ananuclear.org
--- End forwarded message ---
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34 Deseretnews.com: Report on waste criticized
[deseretnews.com]
Sunday, May 23, 2004
By Lisa Riley Roche Deseret Morning News
A new audit of the state's oversight of
hazardous waste disposal facilities found no threat to the
public, but that hasn't reassured the Department of
Environmental Quality's critics.
"This is a scathing audit that totally undermines the
claim that there aren't health and safety concerns," said Jason
Groenewold of the Healthy Environmental Alliance of Utah after
reading the 53-page report from the Utah Legislative Auditor
General.
Utahns, Groenewold said, "should be totally outraged. I
think most people have a false sense of security that the
regulators are watchdogs protecting our health. What the report
shows is that they are industry lap dogs."
But the findings don't worry Sen. Ron Allen, D-Stansbury
Park. Allen is a member of the Legislature's Hazardous Waste
Regulation and Tax Policy Task Force, which sought the audit
that was released this past week.
"The thing that caused me not to be overly concerned was
the first part of the report, which said none of the issues they
found are compromising public health or safety. I think that's
really important," Allen said.
He characterized the report as "good news and not-so-good
news" that held no surprises. "They can be fixed," Allen said of
problems pointed out by the auditors. "I believe their
assessment when they say there's no damage."
The task force has yet to discuss the report, which was
only briefly presented at their May meeting. Members plan to
discuss the findings in depth when they meet again in June.
Testimony from the public about the report will also be taken
then.
The department will also respond in more detail to the
audit, although Executive Director Dianne Nielson told the task
force in brief remarks that she looks forward to the opportunity
"to build on what I see as already a strong and effective
program."
Among the sites regulated by the state is Envirocare of
Utah, which operates a Tooele County landfill for low-level
radioactive waste from sites around the country.
The report begins with a statement that the department's
regulatory oversight of hazardous and radioactive waste disposal
"appears to adequately follow safeguards for the health and
safety of Utah's population."
It goes on to spell out, however, some questionable
operating procedures, including the need to ensure companies are
paying the full fees and fines required and to more carefully
monitor ground water testing.
Allen said the underpayments — in one case, more than
$270,000 in fees over a two-year period at an unidentified
facility — is relatively small. "In the grand scheme of how big
the state budget is, it was not that much money," he said.
He is also not alarmed by issues surrounding the
department's monitoring of ground water testing done by the
disposal facilities. Allen said he expects the department will
make changes based on the determination that the effort "is in
need of direction and planning."
The report noted that while the aim of the program is to
make sure radioactive waste has not seeped into ground water,
the department chooses the cheapest wells to sample rather than
those most likely to be contaminated.
Also questioned was the frequency of sampling by the
department. The split-sampling that is supposed to be conducted
regularly calls for water to be drawn from a site by both the
department and the disposal facilities, then sent to different
laboratories.
Auditors said they believe "the department has implied to
the task force that certain oversight activities were being
conducted that in actuality were not." Information provided by
the department suggests that split samples are done twice a year.
But the audit reveals that split samples were taken only
four times in the past decade. And even though the number of
wells to be sampled doubled in that period, the actual number of
split-samples taken decreased slightly.
Groenewold found that amazing. "I was blown away," he
said. "The regulators haven't even bothered to conduct their own
samples." He said the findings just deepen his belief that the
state's oversight is lax.
Another critic of the way the state monitors hazardous
waste disposal companies, Claire Geddes of Utah Legislative
Watch, said the audit turned out "much worse than I thought it
would be."
Geddes said she could not understand how the auditors
could conclude that the public wasn't at risk given their other
findings. "How do they know that?" she asked, noting it can take
many years before the effects of radioactive contamination
surface.
Legislative Auditor General Wayne Welsh said the auditors
"feel like their program does ensure health safety for the
public. The things that we have recommended they do are
refinements or improvements that can make their program even
better."
He said that even though the auditors didn't have enough
time to examine all parts of the department's oversight program,
"we didn't feel that we could say there was any danger from the
way they were overseeing the facilities."
Welsh was surprised that the audit received such strong
criticism. "I didn't think what we had was that negative. I
think part of the problem is that people read into it what they
want to," he said. "I think it's more of a medium or
middle-of-the-road kind of audit."
E-mail: lisa@desnews.com [lisa@desnews.com]
© 2004 Deseret News Publishing Company
*****************************************************************
35 Persian Journal: Iran nuclear waste
[http://www.iranian.ws/]
May 23, 2004, 02:29
Morteza Aminmansour [moryamin@yahoo.com]
In 1967 the US government supplied 5-megawatt research reactor,
which was started at Tehran University. The US was too happy to
provide Iran with nuclear technology. Because Iran was considered
a friendly State.
Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is peaceful,
ratifying the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1970 and
allowing IAEA inspections of its nuclear facilities. Back in the
1970, this was enough to give the green light for the nuclear
industry to seek business in Iran.
The first contract came in 1974, west Germany Kraftwerk Union won
a contract to build two 1200 MW reactors at Bushehr on the
Persian Gulf. Construction of the two reactors began in 1975 and
1976. France also agreed in 1974 to supply nuclear reactors to
Iran, although the deal did not go so smoothly and the formal
contract for Framatome to build two 900 MW reactors at Karun was
not agreed until 1977. The Shah's nuclear exploits extended
beyond reactors. He made a loan of $ 1 billion to France in 1975
in return for a 10% share in the Eurodif Uranium enrichment
plant, a share still owned by the Iranian government, despite
disputes and international court cases. The most appalling plans
were to dump other countries nuclear waste in the Iranian desert.
First the Shah offered the desert as a dump for West Germany's
nuclear waste. Later Austria negotiated on dumping the waste from
its soon to- be- completed ZWENTENDORF nuclear power station.
This came to nothing after the Austrian people voted in a
referendum against the opening of Zwentendorf.
At the time of the revolution, one of the Bushehr reactors was
80% complete and other 50% and work focused on these two
reactors. However, Iran has never joined the additional protocol
to the NPT, which would give the IAEA the right to take and
analyze samples from around the plants.
The Russians, who were contracted in January 1995 to complete
Unit 1 by installing one VVER-1000 reactor in pace of the wrecked
Siemens reactor. This required modification of the Containment
building, since the Russian steam generators are too large to fit
into the German designed containment.
The arrangement with Russia included supplying nuclear fuel for
the reactor and taking back the nuclear waste. This means that
Iran does not need fuel cycle facilities for Bushehr.
Iran has started mining Uranium near the city of Yazd and is
developing the facilities needed to operate a complete Uranium
fuel cycle. A yellow-cake facility, a Uranium conversion
facility, a Uranium enrichment facility and a fuel fabrication
plant. The Uranium enrichment facilities since could be used for
a Uranium-based nuclear bomb program. The Natanz plant hosts
about 200 operational gas centrifuges.While the plant's
construction does not violate Iran's safeguard, Iran is required
to notify the IAEA before enrichment begins.If Iran already
carried out any Uranium enrichment, this would constitute
violation of the safeguards agreement. US Officials claim that
Iran may be running a covert military nuclear program parallel to
the peaceful one it has opened to international scrutiny in
efforts to dispel suspicions it has weapons ambitions.
Iran said it suspended Uranium enrichment last year under
international pressure but continued manufacture of
Uranium-enriching centrifuge components and also stopped building
centrifuges.
Since the initial discovery of the centrifuges traces of weapons
grade, highly enriched Uranium, new, more advanced centrifuge
prototypes and suspicious covert experiments that can also have
military application have increased suspicious. Iran says it was
interested only in low-enriched uranium for power generation. The
involvement of the military has been for the civilian sector.
Russia had all agreements necessary for the transfer of the
nuclear waste. A clause will be added to agreement with IAEA
concerning the return of spent nuclear fuel. The environmental
group Greenpeace claims that Iran refused to return the spent
fuel to Russia. Charging that its only use for Iran was to equip
itself with nuclear weapons. The official in Moscow will continue
to press for the return of the radioactive material. Russia says
that it will not supply nuclear fuel to the Bushehr nuclear power
plant until Iran signs an agreement for the return of nuclear
waste to Russia. The used nuclear fuel needs to be stored first
in a cooling basin on the premises of Bushehr for three years
before being transported to Russia. Transportation is impossible
without prior storage.
The low-grade spent reactor fuel could in theory be upgraded to
make atomic bombs in addition to so called "DIRTY BOMBS". Of
lower radioactivity. Nuclear waste poses great health risk to
people. It increases disease for al life downwind, pollutes the
air and ground water. Cancer and birth defects are often
multifactorial. Combination of radiation with sulfur dioxide can
likely cause mutation. The more toxins a child is exposed to, the
greater the risk of developing cancer. Though it may not be
enough to kill us overnight, the gradual worsening of health
makes people feel steadily sicker. When a child is born deformed,
or with cancer.
Nuclear weapons need to be dismantled globally. The Russian
reactor of Chernobyl two decades ago caused a humanitarian and
ecological catastrophe. If DIMONA (in ISRAEL) meltdown, it would
affect an area 500 aerial kilometer in radius, reaching Cyprus
and the entire neighboring region. The Israeli are aware of the
possibly of a meltdown in DIMONA reactor, which in turn would
affect the whole region. The radioactive substances are leaking
from the DIMONA reactor in a way that has increased rates of
Cancer diseases among nearby population, particularly those of
the Tafila City.Israel is considered the fifth nuclear power in
the world. And is in possession of 200 nuclear bombs. Israel also
own massive quantities of Uranium and plutonium that enable it of
producing an additional 100 bombs. Israeli nuclear reactor
consumes 14,00 tons of Uranium a year. The average manifestation
of cancer in Tafila (Jordan) is higher than the other Jordanian
cities.
Literatures:
· Israel DIMONA death factory exposed · Dimona reactor
a mystery · Nuclear potential of individual countries. ·
Jerusalem post oct, 2003 · Los Alamos nuclear waste cover-up
· Russia dragging feet on nuclear waste agreement. ·
Iran's nuclear program
Morteza Aminmansour [moryamin@yahoo.com] Seattle, WA, USA
© Iranian.ws
*****************************************************************
36 heraldtribune: Well-users to get county water (Tallevast)
com: Southwest Florida's Information Leader
Sunday, May 23, 2004
The temporary hookups will be in place while Tallevast wells are
tested for harmful chemicals. By SCOTT CARROLL
scott.carroll@heraldtribune.com
TALLEVAST -- The county will provide water to 17 homeowners here
while their wells are tested for dangerous chemicals.
Next week the homes either will be hooked up to county water
through temporary pipes or a large water tank will be set up for
the residents, said Dave Schofield, the county's water
distribution superintendent.
The homes are near the former American Beryllium Co. plant on
Tallevast Road. The plant polluted the ground water, and a
five-acre plume of contaminated water is threatening private
wells.
Officials from the state Department of Health and Department of
Environmental Protection took samples from the wells Thursday.
This Monday, Lockheed Martin, which has owned the property for
several years and is responsible for the cleanup, will take its
own samples. The company will split its samples with area
residents, who plan to hire a lab to perform their own tests.
The residents will get county water until the tests are complete,
which should take about two weeks, Schofield said.
The county started hooking homes up to county water Thursday, but
homeowners resisted.
Installing the temporary hookups would require capping off the
wells, and the residents said they were worried that might hinder
or alter the tests planned for Monday.
"We just want to make sure that we're all testing the wells the
same way," said Tallevast resident Wanda Washington.
Washington said she refused when county workers asked on Thursday
if they could hook her up to county water.
But she said she got a call Friday morning from a neighbor who
said county workers were about to make the hookup.
"You can't leave home for a second," Washington said. "I might
have to put a cage and lock on some of these things overnight."
Last modified: May 22. 2004 12:00AM
Herald-Tribune newspaper and SNN Channel 6 © Sarasota
Herald-Tribune. All rights
*****************************************************************
37 L.A. Daily News - Your Opinion: "'Hot' water at Santa Susana"
(May 20):
Article Published: Saturday, May 22, 2004 -
Radioactive water and perchlorate percolate at the Santa Susana
Field Laboratory. Inactive, inert Los Angeles County supervisors
and City Council members represent the west San Fernando Valley.
Districts of Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Michael Antonovich,
as well as Councilmen Dennis Zine and Greig Smith, are in the
watershed of the field laboratory.
Wind and rain bring the laboratory's pollution into our homes
and gardens. The west end of Roscoe Boulevard and some other
areas are referred to as "cancer alley" by local residents
because of the inordinate number of cancer victims and deaths.
Are there independent test reports available?
M.G. Pearcy
Canoga Park
Copyright © 2004 Los Angeles Daily News
*****************************************************************
38 Times Herald: Radioactive sludge creates 'gray area'
By: EVAN BRANDT For The Times Herald 05/22/2004
POTTSTOWN - The "gray area" in which the regulation of
radioactive sludge apparently falls made for a fretful few hours
when radioactive sludge was discovered at Pottstown's wastewater
treatment plant - 100 hours to be exact. That's how long it took
from the time the sludge was detected last month by a Bucks
County landfill's radiation monitors until inspectors came to see
the problem for themselves.
Part of the reason is the two government agencies involved, the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the state Department of
Environmental Protection, were having trouble deciding whose
problem it actually was, or, more specifically, whose
regulations needed to be followed.
"When we called the DEP, they told us it was an NRC problem and
bounced it to them," Pottstown Borough Manager Jack Layne said.
"And then the NRC said it was DEP's problem and sent it back."
"They played hot potato with this, and it was 100 hours before
the first (DEP) inspector showed up," Layne said.
That estimate was confirmed this week by Brent Wagner, the
chief operator at the wastewater treatment plant.
The potato in this case was sludge shipped to Pottstown from
the wastewater treatment plant in Royersford.
For several years, the Royersford plant had been processing
wastewater from a nuclear laundry facility run by UniTech, a
Springfield, Mass., company that operates the facility on Third
Avenue in Royersford.
The laundry facility, which officials say followed all
applicable regulations, washes clothing worn by workers at
Exelon Nuclear's Limerick Generating Station.
As a result, small amounts of a radioactive substance called
cobalt-60 were washed into Royersford's sewer system.
As that water was treated, the sludge that's left over began to
accumulate cobalt-60, which is not considered a severe health
risk in tiny amounts.
But as the sludge accumulated at the Royersford plant, so did
the cobalt-60 inside.
Royersford Borough Manager Robert Umstead denies that his
borough held on to the irradiated sludge for too long.
The Royersford and Pottstown plants treat wastewater for
eventual discharge into the Schuylkill River, but only Pottstown
has the equipment to "de-water" the sludge. This means it
extracts more water from the sludge, making the waste easier to
handle, regulate and dispose of.
The Pottstown plant de-watered one load of Royersford's sludge
and sent it on to be buried at the GROWS landfill in Tullytown,
Bucks County. That's where the radiation was discovered.
The remainder of the sludge was in three roll-off containers at
the Pottstown plant, where it stayed once the landfill
inspectors figured out where it had come from.
That was when the regulatory confusion began, said David
Allard, the DEP's director of radiation protection and Gov. Ed
Rendell's liaison with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
` "DEP has no regulatory authority over cobalt-60," Allard said
Friday. "The NRC for this region is the regulatory authority for
these materials."
The NRC has no authority, however, over the operation of
municipal wastewater treatment plants or sludge, hence what
Allard calls "the gray area."
"It's a situation that's been going on for 10 or 20 years now,"
Allard said. "It's really an issue that cuts across a couple of
areas of regulation."
When the sludge activated alarms at the landfill, which is
owned by Waste Management, it brought the issue to a head.
Allard said the DEP took action as quickly as it could.
"This has really had the (DEP bureau in Norristown) spun up for
the past few weeks," he said.
Wednesday night, the Pottstown Borough Authority, which
oversees the operation of the wastewater treatment plant, agreed
to de-water the remainder of the sludge at its facility, as well
as 400,000 gallons of the stuff now being stored in Royersford.
But because of the income it has lost while it awaited a
decision on how to handle the radioactive sludge, and because of
the extra cost incurred, the authority intends to charge
Royersford "in excess of $50,000" for the service, Layne said.
And it is a service that will be very closely monitored, Allard
said.
He described as "rigorous" the extensive testing, computer
modeling and data collection that will go along with the
processing of these final amounts.
In fact, a team of DEP inspectors was at the Pottstown plant
Friday taking radiation readings of the sludge in question.
Although preliminary analysis shows the levels to be "OK,"
Allard said, "We're not just going to use computer models. We're
going to be out there taking measurements."
"We're using computer models and sampling, and if the levels
(of gamma radiation) end up being too high, we will not allow it
to be buried in the landfill," Allard said.
Instead, he said, it would be taken to one of the federally
licensed disposal sites for low-level radioactive waste. There
is one in South Carolina and one in Utah.
Those sites are exactly where the sludge collected from the
UniTech facility will be going from this point forward.
The nuclear laundry facility has constructed its own wastewater
treatment facility on site and has been permitted by the DEP to
discharge its effluent directly into the Schuylkill River.
Keith Dudley, a sanitary engineer and the chief of the
municipal planning section for the DEP's Norristown office, said
the wastewater will receive better treatment at the UniTech
plant than it did at the Royersford plant.
"The Royersford plant was only designed to treat domestic
sewage," Dudley said.
Dudley said UniTech's equipment, "which is designed solely to
handle laundry waste," passed muster in February.
"Every batch is going to be tested prior to it going into the
river, and we will be analyzing samples upstream and downstream
of their discharge," Dudley said.
Michael Fuller, a manager of health physics for UniTech, said
his company obtained the proper DEP permit to discharge into the
river "in the mid-1990s, but we just started using it this year."
He said it will take nearly a year before the UniTech facility
gathers enough sludge to be transported to either of the
out-of-state facilities.
©The Times Herald 2004
*****************************************************************
39 Mercury: Confused regulators acted slowly when radioactive sludge was
found
Evan Brandt Mercury Staff Writer 05/23/2004
POTTSTOWN --The "gray area" in which the regulation of
radioactive sludge apparently falls made for a fretful few hours
when radioactive sludge was discovered at Pottstown’s wastewater
treatment plant -- 100 hours to be exact.
That’s how long it took from the time the sludge was detected
last month by a Bucks County landfill’s radiation monitors until
inspectors came to see the problem for themselves.
Part of the reason is that the two government agencies involved,
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the state Department of
Environmental Protection, were having trouble deciding whose
problem it actually was, or, more specifically, whose regulations
needed to be followed.
"When we called the DEP, they told us it was an NRC problem and
bounced it to them," Pottstown Borough Manager Jack Layne said.
"And then the NRC said it was DEP’s problem and sent it back."
"They played hot potato with this, and it was 100 hours before
the first (DEP) inspector showed up," Layne said.
That time estimate was confirmed this week by Brent Wagner, the
chief operator at the wastewater treatment plant.
The potato in this case was sludge shipped to Pottstown from the
wastewater treatment plant in Royersford.
For several years, the Royersford plant had been processing
wastewater from a nuclear laundry facility run by UniTech, a
Springfield, Mass., company that operates the facility on Third
Avenue in Royersford.
The laundry facility, which officials say followed all applicable
regulations, washes clothing worn by workers at Exelon Nuclear’s
Limerick Generating Station.
As a result, small amounts of a radioactive substance called
cobalt-60 were washed into Royersford’s sewer system.
As that water was treated, the sludge that’s left over began to
accumulate cobalt-60, which is not considered a severe health
risk in tiny amounts.
But as the total amount of sludge accumulated at the Royersford
plant, so did the cobalt-60 inside.
Royersford Borough Manager Robert Umstead denies that his borough
held on to the irradiated sludge for too long.
The Royersford and Pottstown plants both treat wastewater for
eventual discharge into the Schuylkill River, but only Pottstown
has the equipment to "de-water" the sludge. This means it
extracts more water from the sludge, making the leftover waste
easier to handle, regulate and dispose of.
The Pottstown plant de-watered one load of Royersford’s sludge
and sent it on to be buried at the GROWS landfill in Tullytown,
Bucks County. That’s where the radiation was discovered.
The remainder of the sludge was in three roll-off containers at
the Pottstown plant, where it stayed once the landfill inspectors
figured out where it had come from.
And it was at this point that the regulatory confusion began,
said David Allard, the DEP’s director of radiation protection and
Gov. Ed Rendell’s liaison with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
"DEP has no regulatory authority over cobalt-60," Allard said
Friday. "The NRC for this region is the regulatory authority for
these materials."
The NRC has no authority, however, over the operation of
municipal wastewater treatment plants or sludge, hence what
Allard calls "the gray area."
"It’s a situation that’s been going on for 10 or 20 years now,"
Allard said. "It’s really an issue that cuts across a couple of
areas of regulation."
When the sludge activated alarms at the landfill, which is owned
by Waste Management, it brought the issue to a head.
Allard said the DEP took action as quickly as it could.
"This has really had the (DEP bureau in Norristown) spun up for
the past few weeks," he said.
Wednesday night, the Pottstown Borough Authority, which oversees
the operation of the wastewater treatment plant, agreed to
de-water the remainder of the sludge at its facility, as well as
400,000 gallons of the stuff now being stored in Royersford.
But because of the income it has lost while it awaited a decision
on how to handle the radioactive sludge, and because of the extra
cost incurred, the authority intends to charge Royersford "in
excess of $50,000" for the service, Layne said.
And it is a service that will be very closely monitored, Allard
said.
He described as "rigorous" the extensive testing, computer
modeling and data collection that will go along with the
processing of these final amounts.
In fact, a team of DEP inspectors was at the Pottstown plant
Friday taking radiation readings of the sludge in question.
Although preliminary analysis shows the levels to be "OK," Allard
said, "We’re not just going to use computer models. We’re going
to be out there taking measurements."
"We’re using computer models and sampling, and if the levels (of
gamma radiation) end up being too high, we will not allow it to
be buried in the landfill," Allard said.
Instead, he said, it would be taken to one of the federally
licensed disposal sites for low-level radioactive waste. There is
one in South Carolina and one in Utah.
Those sites are exactly where the sludge collected from the
UniTech facility will be going from this point forward.
The nuclear laundry facility has constructed its own wastewater
treatment facility on site and has been permitted by the DEP to
discharge its effluent directly into the Schuylkill River.
Keith Dudley, a sanitary engineer and the chief of the municipal
planning section for the DEP’s Norristown office, said the
wastewater will receive better treatment at the UniTech plant
than it did at the Royersford plant.
"The Royersford plant was only designed to treat domestic
sewage," Dudley said.
Dudley said UniTech’s equipment, "which is designed solely to
handle laundry waste," passed muster in February.
"Every batch is going to be tested prior to it going into the
river, and we will be analyzing samples upstream and downstream
of their discharge," Dudley said.
Michael Fuller, a manager of health physics for UniTech, said his
company obtained the proper DEP permit to discharge into the
river "in the mid-1990s, but we just started using it this year."
He said it will take nearly a year before the UniTech facility
gathers enough sludge to be transported to either of the
out-of-state facilities.
©The Mercury 2004
Copyright © 1995 - 2004 [http://www.poweronemedia.com] All
*****************************************************************
40 DenverPost.com: Denver, 2 contractors to pay $265,000 in landfill lawsuit
Published: Saturday, May 22, 2004
By Theo Stein Denver Post Staff Writer
The city of Denver and two contractors have agreed to pay the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency $265,000 to settle
allegations that they failed to report toxic gas leaking from the
Lowry Landfill Superfund site six years ago.
Between August 1998 and January 1999, federal officials said
monitors identified 10 different chemical vapors leaking from the
landfill. The concentrations exceeded daily federal limits 848
times.
Many of the results were not verbally reported to the EPA within
24 hours, as required.
The 480-acre landfill, in unincorporated Arapahoe County, was a
regional hazardous waste-disposal site from 1966 to 1980. About
138 million gallons of liquid industrial waste and 6 million to
10 million tires were dumped in the landfill during its lifetime,
officials said.
The landfill was declared a federal Superfund site in 1984.
The landfill is currently operated by Denver, Waste Management of
Colorado Inc. and Chemical Waste Management Inc.
The consent decree was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court to
settle a lawsuit filed by federal prosecutors at the same time.
The fine will be paid from the Lowry Trust Fund, a cleanup fund
created when the city settled lawsuits in 1993 against companies
that contributed to landfill pollution.
"It's worth noting the standards governing the subsurface gas
have been changed by the EPA," said Denver city attorney Cole
Finegan. "If those releases were measured under the EPA's new
standards, they would be in compliance."
Critics of the cleanup have questioned the city's handling of the
landfill, alleging that chemical liquids were leaking beyond
containment walls and groundwater wells. Some activists maintain
that the landfill still contains radioactive waste.
Bonnie Lavelle, the EPA's Lowry project manager, said further
study showed that chemicals found outside the containment
barriers had not leaked during the cleanup but were dumped
outside the landfill while it was still operating.
Those recently discovered areas of contamination are being
cleaned up, she added.
Lavelle also said that tests on effluent released into Aurora's
sewer system from the landfill's wastewater treatment plant
showed no signs of elevated radioactivity.
Staff writer Theo Stein can be reached at 303-820-1657 or
[tstein@denverpost.com] .
--> All contents Copyright 2004 The Denver Post or other
*****************************************************************
41 U.S. Newswire: Sec. Abraham Signs Agreement with China's National
Development and Reform Commission; MOU Will Strengthen
Energy-Related Cooperation
5/23/2004 12:01:00 PM
To: National Desk, Energy Reporter
Contact: Jeanne Lopatto, 202-586-4940, or Drew Malcomb,
202-586-5806, both of the U.S. Department of Energy
WASHINGTON, May 23 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Secretary of Energy Spencer
Abraham today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with
Minister Zhang Guobao, vice chairman of China's National
Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) that will launch the
U.S.-China Energy Policy Dialogue. The Dialogue will strengthen
energy-related interactions between China and the United States,
the world's two largest energy consumers. The MOU follows
Secretary Abraham's meeting in Beijing with NDRC Chairman Ma Kai
in January 2004.
"This agreement helps expand the energy relationship between the
U.S. and China and will allow Minister Zhang and I and our
respective staffs to continue our discussions of energy issues at
the policy level," Secretary Abraham said. "Our two nations'
economies continue to improve, which means we both will need
increased reliable and affordable energy supplies. This agreement
will allow us to share our challenges and successes so we can
both benefit from the solutions we create."
The U.S.-China Energy Policy Dialogue will build upon the two
country's current cooperative ventures. The U.S. and China are
currently engaged in bilateral collaboration in high energy
nuclear physics, fossil energy, energy efficiency and renewable
energy and energy information exchanges, and the NDRC and the
Department of Energy cooperate in the exchange of views and
expertise on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technologies, and the Oil
and Gas Industry Forum.
Under the Energy Policy Dialogue, some active discussions on
issues like energy security and regulatory reform are expected.
[http://www.usnewswire.com/]
/© 2004 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
*****************************************************************
42 U.S. Newswire: U.S. Energy Secretary Abraham Signs Department's
First-Ever Bilateral Agreement with Norway
[http://www.usnewswire.com
5/22/2004 12:02:00 PM
To: National Desk and Energy Reporter
Contact: Jeanne Lopatto, 202-586-4940, or Drew Malcomb,
202-586-5806, both of the U.S. Department of Energy
WASHINGTON, May 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- U.S. Secretary of Energy
Spencer Abraham today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
with Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy Einar Steensnaes
that will enhance each country's research in a number of areas of
mutual benefit, including carbon sequestration, hydrogen and
clean fuels, among other energy topics.
"This MOU marks a significant advancement in our efforts to
improve energy security in the United States and Norway, as well
as the entire world," Secretary Abraham said. "I think this
agreement is particularly significant because the United States
was the first nation to recognize the independent state of Norway
and, through this agreement, we will expand our cooperation in
the field of energy security. We've worked very successfully with
the Norwegians in the past in the fields of carbon sequestration
and hydrogen research, and this agreement will build on those
achievements."
Secretary Abraham and Minister Steensnaes signed the MOU while
attending the International Energy Forum (IEF), held in Amsterdam
May 22-24. The IEF is a high-level biennial informal gathering
that brings together energy-producing and energy-consuming
nations to discuss the world's energy issues. The IEF expects
delegations from 80 countries to participate, with approximately
500 attendees.
Under the non-binding MOU, the U.S. and Norway will conduct joint
research in a number of energy areas that are of mutual interest
and benefit. These include carbon sequestration, the two
countries also have existing cooperative agreements through the
auspices of the International Energy Agency, but this is the
first formal agreement between the U.S. and Norway to advance
energy research and development projects. Additionally, Norway is
a charter member of the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum and
the International Partnership for a Hydrogen Economy.
Norway is the world's third-largest exporter of both oil and
natural gas, and a major supplier to the Northeast corridor of
the U.S.
[http://www.usnewswire.com/]
/© 2004 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
*****************************************************************
43 WVLT VOLUNTEER TV: More Nuclear Materials Arrive at Y-12
Knoxville, TN:
May 23, 2004
Leaders at Y-12 confirm they have safely received another
shipment of nuclear equipment from Libya.
This comes with the Department of Energy still being questioned
about its response and care for a radioactive leak on Highway 95
last week.
Back in January, the National Security Complex received its first
shipment of nuclear materials as part of Libya's disarmament
program. In March, the government showed off the initial load.
No details have been released concerning the latest shipment.
5/23/04 8:54am
[http://www.worldnow.com] All content © Copyright 2001 -
2004 WorldNow and WVLT VOLUNTEER TV,
*****************************************************************
44 Las Vegas SUN: NEVADA FOCUS: Stewards of U.S. nuclear stockpile
plan new test
May 22, 2004
By KEN RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEVADA TEST SITE, Nev. (AP) - At ground zero for the nation's
nuclear testing, the stewards of the atomic stockpile stopped
creating mushroom clouds and craters more than a decade ago.
Now they devise complex underground experiments like the
upcoming "Armando" test using radar, laser and X-ray imaging to
explore the finer points of how plutonium performs in an
explosion.
Scientists call the experiments "subcritical" because they don't
set off full-scale thermonuclear blasts like those that rocked
the Nevada desert northwest of Las Vegas from 1951 to 1992.
"When you had the nuclear test, what was the proof? It
exploded," said James Danneskiold, a spokesman for Los Alamos
National Laboratory in New Mexico, where plutonium triggers for
bombs are produced.
"Now, you have to ask the necessary questions to show that the
weapon still functions as it was designed," Danneskiold said,
"that it's safe, reliable, and will work when needed."
The Nevada Test Site encompasses 1,375 square miles, nearly the
size of Rhode Island. The site is surrounded on three sides by
the 4,562-square-mile Nellis Air Force Base bombing range.
Combined, the federal reservation is larger than the state of
Connecticut.
A short distance from the underground test laboratory is the
Frenchman Flat dry lake bed, where the first of 1,021 Nevada
nuclear weapons tests was conducted. After 14 atmospheric and
five underground tests, Frenchman Flat remains strewn with
structures built in the 1950s to measure the effects of
primitive nuclear blasts.
Steel reinforcement bars from a crumbled concrete dome curl like
hair blown back. Rusting pens mark where pigs dressed in Army
uniforms were subjected to shock, heat and radiation waves.
Warped wooden benches sit on a knoll where VIPs watched
detonations from only nine miles away.
Before boarding a steel cage elevator for the 75-second descent
down a mine shaft to the lab, Ghazar Papazian, Los Alamos
project director at the test site, characterized the safety
zones of the laboratory as a "nested bottle concept."
"The idea is, if the first cork leaks, the second can contain
it. If the second leaks, the third can contain it," he said,
pointing to escape routes on a three-dimensional mock-up of one
mile of underground tunnels.
Underground, a horizontal vault 300 feet deep is filled with
concrete where the 20 kiloton Ledoux underground nuclear test
was conducted in September 1990. The bomb dropped on Hiroshima,
Japan, in World War II measured 16 kilotons.
Other sealed vaults entomb most of the 20 previous subcritical
experiments, and quarter-inch steel doors can be closed to seal
tunnel sections like compartments in a submarine. Rubber-soled
shoes squeak on painted gray cement floors.
As experiments by Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories
have become more refined, electrical and communications lines
and trigger wiring bundles along the hallways have grown fat.
Detonation chambers have become smaller, and Papazian said
project engineers now aim to reuse space and materials.
"Armando" is the third experiment in a series. Its predecessors,
"Mario" and "Rocco" in August and September 2002, were conducted
in six-foot diameter wells drilled 35 feet deep beneath the
tunnel floor of one finger of the complex.
The upcoming detonation 963 feet underground will involve high
explosives inside a steel sphere that would fit in the back of a
pickup truck. The tunnels will be cleared of workers, while
diagnostic equipment shielded in tractor-trailer sized
containers collect data.
"Armando" is designed to answer questions about how plutonium
ages and whether weapons triggers produced by milling or casting
processes perform the same, Papazian said.
Production of weapons-grade plutonium was suspended in 1989 at a
mill in Rocky Flats, near Denver. A cast process at Los Alamos
is expected to resume producing 10 plutonium pits a year by
2007, Danneskiold said.
Papazian estimated annual costs of the Nevada Test Site
laboratory at $18 million to $20 million per year. Experiments
can cost up to $40 million each, compared with full-fledged
underground nuclear tests of $90 million a piece, he said.
Papazian said he did not know what "Armando" would cost.
Test site officials call the program "stockpile stewardship" -
essential to the U.S. policy of nuclear deterrence. The test
site is the only place in the nation where the government has
environmental permits to subject plutonium to explosives.
Critics, from those who picket for disarmament outside the test
site to those who lobby in Washington for a nuclear test ban,
call the subcritical testing program unnecessary.
"They're still doing bomb testing," complained Peggy Maze
Johnson, director of Citizen Alert, a Nevada anti-nuclear
advocacy group that organizes annual Mother's Day anti-nuclear
protests at the gate at Mercury, 80 miles northwest of Las
Vegas.
Christopher Paine, an analyst with the Washington-based National
Resources Defense Council, called the program a colossal waste
of money.
"You have to look at what this is really about," Paine said from
his home in Charlottesville, Va. "It's about building a new
nuclear arsenal."
The number of U.S. warheads is classified. The National
Resources Defense Council, which has monitored nuclear issues
since 1970, estimates the U.S. has about 10,400 warheads - about
half the nuclear weapons in the world.
Darwin Morgan, spokesman for the National Nuclear Security
Administration, the agency that oversees the site, said nuclear
tests are strictly defined by international treaty.
"We do experiments," he said. "There's no sustained nuclear
reaction."
However it is defined, the work has taken on new emphasis with
the Bush administration seeking to cut the lead time needed to
resume full-scale underground nuclear testing from three years
to 18 months. Congress last year agreed to shorten the time to
two years.
The U.S. has observed a nuclear testing moratorium since 1992,
but has not ratified the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Papazian, who was part of a team on the nuclear test "Icecap"
when it was suspended in 1992, noted that equipment in place at
the underground testing complex could be used for full-scale
nuclear testing.
"We're having to test if things designed for 20 to 30 years can
last for 40 to 60 years," he said.
---
On the Net:
National Nuclear Security Administration:
http://www.nnsa.doe.gov [http://www.nnsa.doe.gov]
National Resources Defense Council: www.nrdc.org
Nevada Test Site: http://www.nv.doe.gov/nts
[http://www.nv.doe.gov/nts]
Los Alamos National Laboratory: http://www.lanl.gov
[http://www.lanl.gov]
--
*****************************************************************
45 Google News Alert - nuclear
Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 12:48:12 -0700 (PDT)
IRAN Submits Nuclear Report to IAEA
Voice of America - Washington,DC,USA
Iran has submitted a report to the United Nations nuclear watchdog on its
nuclear activities. The declaration, delivered late Friday ...
See all stories on this topic:
N. Korea Will Continue Developing Nuclear Weapons, UN Envoy Says
Voice of America - Washington,DC,USA
A UN envoy to North Korea says the country's officials have told him they
intend to continue developing nuclear weapons programs. ...
See all stories on this topic:
STEWARDS of US nuclear stockpile plan new test
North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
-- At ground zero for the nation's nuclear testing, the stewards of the
atomic stockpile stopped creating mushroom clouds and craters more than
a decade ago. ...
See all stories on this topic:
EUROPE to block freeze on nuclear processing
Financial Times - London,England,UK
Opposition from Washington's European allies to a White House proposal
to freeze the number of states with nuclear enrichment and processing
technology has ...
See all stories on this topic:
DPRK wants Korean Peninsula free from nuclear weapons: Japanese ...
Xinhua - China
... May 22 (Xinhuanet) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
said Saturday that it wants a Korean Peninsula free from nuclear weapons,
visiting ...
See all stories on this topic:
ACTIVISTS could target Finnish nuclear plants: security police
SpaceDaily - USA
As Finland prepares to start building a new nuclear reactor, the threat
of environmental activists and extremists targeting the country's nuclear
power ...
OSU'S Klein elected to nuclear panels
Corvallis Gazette Times - Corvallis,OR,USA
Andrew Klein, director of the Radiation Center and head of the department
of nuclear engineering and radiation health physics at Oregon State University,
has ...
NUCLEAR Waste Debate Stalls Defense Bill in Senate
NPR (audio) - USA
... Senate action on a defense spending bill is stalled by a debate over
a provision buried in the bill that would reclassify South Carolina's
nuclear waste as low ...
See all stories on this topic:
NEVADA FOCUS: Stewards of US nuclear stockpile plan new test
Las Vegas Sun - Las Vegas,NV,USA
By KEN RITTER. NEVADA TEST SITE, Nev. (AP) - At ground zero for the nation's
nuclear testing, the stewards ... When you had the nuclear test, what
was the proof? ...
NUCLEAR Waste Clean-Up Plans Fuel Debate
NPR (audio) - USA
Description: The Department of Energy wants to clean up its aging underground
tanks of high level nuclear waste. But environmental ...
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46 Google News Alert - nuclear
Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 12:56:47 -0700 (PDT)
INDO-PAK talks on nuclear CBMs put off
Rediff - Mumbai,India
The expert-level India-Pakistan talks on nuclear confidence building measures,
to be held in New Delhi on May 25-26, have been postponed following a
request ...
See all stories on this topic:
IRAN says its nuclear file should be shut by June
Deepika - India
TEHRAN, May 23 (Reuters) Iran said today that experts from the UN nuclear
watchdog had all the facts to disprove US allegations that Tehran was
seeking a ...
See all stories on this topic:
NYT Reports NK's Nuclear Dealings With Libya
Chosun Ilbo - South Korea
... The uranium shipped to Libya could not be used as nuclear fuel unless
it was enriched in centrifuges. But if enriched, the fuel ...
See all stories on this topic:
MORE Nuclear Materials Arrive at Y-12
WVLT - Knoxville,TN,USA
Leaders at Y-12 confirm they have safely received another shipment of nuclear
equipment from Libya. This comes with the Department ...
See all stories on this topic:
INDIA ’ s Nuclear Assets not in safe hands ? Manmohan to take ...
International Reporter - India
Most of the people had fear that the nuclear and other defence related
secrets might be leaked at some stage if Sonia Gandhi holds the highest
chair of the ...
See all stories on this topic:
INDIA puts nuclear talks on hold
BBC News - London,England,UK
India has asked Pakistan to delay nuclear talks as Indian cabinet posts
have still not been allocated. The Congress Party wants ...
See all stories on this topic:
NUCLEAR waste plan fractures railroad town
Houston Chronicle - Houston,TX,USA
... Kevin Phillips has figured out a way to lift the fortunes of his struggling
hamlet tucked in the mountains about 130 miles north of Las Vegas: Nuclear
waste. ...
See all stories on this topic:
PAKISTAN and India postpone nuclear talks
MSNBC - USA
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan and India have postponed nuclear talks scheduled
for Tuesday and Wednesday because of the transition under way in India's
...
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MULLAHS Expect Closure of Nuclear Case
Persian Journal - Iran
Iran expects the UN nuclear watchdog to close its disputed nuclear dossier
as the body is to finish this week a crucial report on Iran's nuclear
program. ...
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JAPAN'S deadly game of nuclear roulette
The Japan Times - Japan
Of all the places in all the world where no one in their right mind would
build scores of nuclear power plants, Japan would be pretty near the top
of the list. ...
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47 BBC: EU 'confident' of star power site
Last Updated: Sunday, 23 May, 2004
By Jo Twist BBC News Online science staff
[Jet, Europe's 'star']
The Jet machine can produce 'star power' plasma (right)
Europe is still confident that it will be chosen to host Iter,
the world's biggest nuclear fusion reactor.
Philippe Busquin, the EU's research commissioner, told gathered
experts the volume of Europe's fusion research would double from
2007 to 2013.
Fusion powers stars and is seen as a cleaner approach to energy
production than nuclear fission and fossil fuels.
Mr Busquin was speaking at a 25th anniversary event at the Jet
(Joint European Torus) fusion centre.
The Jet project is one of the world's leading fusion research
facilities, and holds the record for fusion energy production.
Based at Culham in Oxfordshire, it is a collaboration between all
European fusion organisations, and involves technology and
physics research from the global scientific and engineering
community.
Prime Minister Tony Blair sent a message of support for the
achievements of the project, which could lead to a substantial
reduction in the use of fossil fuels to produce electricity.
At the anniversary celebrations, Mr Busquin reaffirmed Jet's
position as the main driver in the progress towards eventually
producing commercially viable, clean, safe and cheap energy.
Summer decision?
But the decision on whether the Iter project (International
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is built at Rokkasho-mura in
Japan, or Cadarache in France, has been delayed several times.
Iter would be more than double the size of the facility at Jet,
and would aim to generate 500 megawatts of fusion power for 500
seconds or longer.
In a special message, Mr Blair said he "hoped to see the siting
issue resolved in the next few months."
Mr Busquin told BBC News Online that his hope was that the
decision would be made quickly, before the end of the summer.
Crucial to the decision is the plan for a broader approach to the
Iter project and the technological support involved, which
includes the location of further research sites and data centres.
This includes the location of the International Fusion Material
Irradiation Facility (IFMIF), which would help develop materials
for fusion production.
He also reiterated the importance of gaining full European
support for Iter.
[Jet, Europe's 'star']
The Jet machine is a massive machine
At a recent European ministerial meeting, the plans to adopt a
broader approach to the Iter project were given to ministers.
Mr Busquin said that both Japan and Europe had recognised the
plans, which would mean that the site not chosen to be the
location of Iter would still have a crucial technological role in
the project as a whole.
Behind the scenes, there has been much political manoeuvring, and
the decision is said to be as much about wider geopolitical
concerns as technical issues.
The European Union, Russia and China want France to win; but
South Korea, the United States and Tokyo are backing Japan.
In some quarters, it is felt the US objects to the French option
because of its position on the war in Iraq.
Star power
After the International Space Station, Iter would be the largest
international research and development collaboration.
In terms of the physics and huge amounts of energy involved, the
project would be akin to building a star on Earth.
It would be the first fusion device to produce thermal energy at
the level of conventional electricity-producing power stations,
and would pave the way for commercial power production.
In a fusion reaction, energy is produced when light atoms - the
hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium - are fused together to
form heavier atoms.
To use fusion reactions as an energy source, it is necessary to
heat a gas to temperatures exceeding 100 million Celsius - many
times hotter than the centre of the Sun.
The technical requirements to do this, which Jet has been working
on for 25 years, are immense. But the rewards, if it can be made
to work at a commercial level, are extremely attractive.
One kilogram of fusion fuel would produce the same amount of
energy as 10,000,000 kg of fossil fuel.
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48 Daily Press: $1.39B contract reached for CVN-21
[http://dailypress.com/]
HAMPTON ROADS, VA.
The shipyard and the Navy completed a design deal for the
next-generation aircraft carrier.
BY PETER DUJARDIN [pdujardin@dailypress.com] 247-4749
May 22, 2004
NEWPORT NEWS --
The Navy and Northrop Grumman Newport News announced a $1.39
billion contract Friday to cover the detailed design and advanced
purchases for the next-generation aircraft carrier.
The award, expected to cover the three years from now until the
yard gets the actual construction award for the CVN-21 in 2007,
includes a possible profit to the shipyard of $161.9 million.
The contract includes several incentives to make sure that the
shipyard keeps the ship's design on time and within budget.
Those inducements are considered particularly important on the
CVN-21 because the first ship of the class carries an expected
price tag of $11.7 billion, more than twice the cost of a new
Nimitz-class flattop.
Construction of the CVN-21, the first radical transformation of a
carrier since the USS Nimitz was designed in the 1960s, is
scheduled to begin in 2007.
It's expected to include a reduced need for personnel, a newly
designed nuclear power plant that makes more electricity and an
improved aircraft-launching rate.
The yard is hiring about 600 workers from outside the company,
including designers and engineers, to ramp up its work force on
the CVN-21 program.
The yard plans to have 2,700 workers in the program by year's
end.
Get home delivery of the Daily Press for only $3.30 a week.
Copyright ©2004 Daily Press
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