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                         NUCLEAR POLICY
 
1 Guardian Unlimited: Senators Complain Iraq Material Withheld
2 baltimoresun.com: 9/11 panel sees no link between al-Qaida, Iraq 
3 US: CBS News: White House: Iraq-Qaeda Ties Exist 
4 US: Las Vegas SUN: White House Statements on Iraq, al-Qaida
5 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Gives Mixed Signals on Nuclear Intent
6 AFP: Iranian president warns UN nuclear watchdog over tough resoluti
7 Korea Herald: N.K. issues 'jeopardize' Korea-U.S. alliance: experts 
8 Korea Herald: To prevent WMD falling into wrong hands   
9 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: Time Asks, 'Why is Kim Jong-il Smiling?' 
10 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: U.S. Reaffirms Stance on 6-Way Talks   
11 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: Seoul, Pyongyang Mark Fourth Anniversary 
12 FT: US 'plans to keep up pressure' on Pyongyang to scrap nuclear
13 US: [progchat_action] CIA Restricts One-Third of U.S. Senate WMD
14 US: News-Miner: Energy bill steams through House
15 US: Tri-Valley Herald: Dems fail to stop nuclear spending 
16 US: New York Times: Senate Backs New Research on A-Bombs
17 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Senate endorses funding for bunker-buster res
18 US: Las Vegas RJ: Vote keeps 'bunker buster' alive 
19 US: Las Vegas SUN: Senate backs A-bomb research
20 US: RGJ: Bush to talk about economy, security
21 US: SF Chronicle: Bunker-buster bomb foes lose vote on amendment
22 US: Las Vegas SUN: Official: Cheney Not Briefed on Iraq Work
23 Asia Times:  Is the US clever enough to rule the world?
24 US: Grist: House to repass energy bill to vex Democrats 
25 US: Las Vegas SUN: House OKs $10B Contract for Accenture
26 UPI: IAEA says Japan plans no nuclear weapons - 
27 EurActiv.com: Nuclear Energy in the CEECs
28 CJAD 800: Cameco, partners amend deal to buy uranium from dismantled
29 Toronto Star: New agency to ensure energy supply
30 Mos News: Nuclear Physicist Faces Retrial for High Treason - 
 
                         NUCLEAR REACTORS
 
31 US: 9/11 Terror Plans Called For Nuclear Power Plant Attacks From Pl
32 US: Arizona Republic: Nuke team looks into Palo Verde shutdown
33 US: projo: PSB sets June 28 hearing        
34 US: Las Vegas RJ: Nuclear power plant shutdown wreaks havoc 
35 US: NRC: NRC Enforcement Policy
36 BBC: Strike hits French nuclear plants 
37 US: Ithaca Journal: NYC emergency plans to be written in 30 days - 
38 US: Rutland Herald: State raises questions about Yankee uprate 
39 US: NRC: Nuclear Management Company, LLC, Palisades Plant; Environme
40 The Globe and Mail: Government set to increase nuclear and hydro pow
41 Russia Journal Daily: IAEA to inspect Russian power plants
42 US: TBJ: Progress makes sales, joins nuclear consortium - 
43 US: Lincoln County News: Radioactive Survey                         
44 US: TheDay.com: Evacuation By Inference (Millstone)
45 US: WBAY : Nuclear Plant Supporters Outnumber Opponent at Meeting
 
                          NUCLEAR SAFETY
 
46 [du-list] JORDAN Considers Ban On Iraqi Scrap Imports
47 US: [du-list] Powerful postcard about DU
48 US: Rocky Mountain News: New plan sought for nuclear workers
49 New York Times: In D-Day's Shadow, Pacific Veterans Celebrate
50 US: Progress-Index: Uranium-tainted water is topic for supervisors  
51 US: ONN: Senate passes measure to ensure sick weapons workers get pa
 
                         NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
 
52 US: [du-list] Tennessee nuclear waste takes long way home
53 US: idaho mountain express: Idaho senators embrace Trojan Horse —
54 US: Deseret News: Panel divided on waste issues
55 NEWS.com.au: Trespass threat over N-dump 
56 US: The Herald: Few concerns expressed during MOX fuel hearing
57 Las Vegas SUN: Letter: Yucca decision made long ago
58 Las Vegas SUN: State: Yucca rail would go through LV
59 US: The State: Carter joins foes of SRS waste
60 SF Chronicle: New Kerry campaign chief in Nevada focuses on Yucca is
61 Scotsman.com: Nuclear Waste Train Derailed
62 ITAR-TASS: World Bank extends credits to Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
63 AU ABC: Rann warns Commonwealth to stay off waste dump site. 
64 AU ABC: Fed Govt laughs off Rann's Woomera comments. 
65 US: DodgeGlobe.com: Officials practice 'what-if' incident involving
66 Las Vegas SUN: Lawmakers Tackle Nuclear Project Budget
67 US: WATE: Oliver Springs officials concerned over DOE waste transpor
 
                         NUCLEAR WEAPONS
 
 
                        US DEPT. OF ENERGY
 
68 Rocky Mountain News: Former Rocky Flats chief leaves environmental j
69 Tri-City Herald: DOE's Hanford cleanup official resigns 
70 Times-News: Vacuum system pulls dangerous gases from beneath INEEL
71 Oak Ridger: Officials eye lab's scientific agenda 							 							 		
72 Oak Ridger: DOE loses top cleanup chief 							 							 							
73 Oak Ridger: 'Disturbing events' lead ORNL chief to improve lab safet
74 Oak Ridger: Report: TVA failed to charge DOE $9.4 million for tritiu
 
                          OTHER NUCLEAR
 
75 Google News Alert - nuclear
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 1 Guardian Unlimited: Senators Complain Iraq Material Withheld
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Wednesday June 16, 2004 2:46 AM

By KATHERINE PFLEGER SHRADER 

Associated Press Writer 

WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Intelligence Committee members are 
frustrated with the amount of material the CIA wants to keep 
secret in a congressional report expected to be highly critical 
of the intelligence community's assessments of prewar Iraq. 

Because of the strict rules governing classified material, the 
members are limited in how much they can say about even the 
extent of the material in their 400-page report that has been 
classified by the CIA. However, through a spokeswoman, Sen. Jay 
Rockefeller, D-W.Va., the top Democrat on the committee, said the 
agency has been overly conservative in deciding what could not be 
released to the public. 

When asked about the amount of material withheld, Senate 
Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, looked over the top 
of his glasses, furrowed his brow, and asked: ``Do I look 
happy?'' 

The committee has been working for a year to examine the quality 
and quantity of prewar intelligence on former President Saddam 
Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, his ties to terrorist 
groups and the threat he posed to the region, among other lines 
of inquiry. While the bulk of the report is done, the members are 
still handling disputes over the conclusions. A final vote on the 
report, which could have come Tuesday, was postponed until at 
least Thursday. 

Speculation has swirled for nearly two weeks about whether the 
report was a factor in CIA Director George Tenet's decision to 
resign, despite his public insistence that his upcoming departure 
is for family reasons. Speaking generally, Roberts said the 
report is ``not flattering'' to the intelligence community. Sen. 
Carl Levin, D-Mich., called it ``solid, powerful and very tough 
stuff.'' 

At least a half dozen committee members interviewed Tuesday were 
eager to get the report completed. 

Heading into a closed committee session on the subject, Sen. 
Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said, ``The question is, can we get 
through this redaction process in a way that keeps our report 
intact? I think that is going to be a concern.'' 

Earlier this week, CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield said the agency 
has been working closely with the committee to declassify the 
report in a way that protects intelligence sources and methods - 
``highly sensitive information that if disclosed could be harmful 
to national security.'' 

The CIA has been conducting a declassification and fact-checking 
review since May, a process that Mansfield called ``painstaking 
work.'' The agency declined to comment Tuesday. 

Roberts hopes to release a public version of the report shortly 
after the Fourth of July recess. His spokeswoman, Sarah Ross 
Little, said the committee intentionally kept sensitive 
information out of the report, hoping the declassification 
process would go smoothly. 

Now, members are considering their options if a compromise can't 
be reached with the CIA. For instance, the senators could take a 
highly unusual step and vote to release the report, called the 
``nuclear option.'' 

If the agency is trying to bury negative findings under 
classification, Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said ``that is 
unacceptable.'' 

Added Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.: ``This administration has done 
everything possible to make it hard to find the facts, and 
certainly it's been the most inventive administration I've seen 
in terms of coming up with arguments for secrecy.'' 
  
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
*****************************************************************
 2 baltimoresun.com: 9/11 panel sees no link between al-Qaida, Iraq 

  Nation/World > war on terror 9/11 panel sees no link between
al-Qaida, Iraq 	Commission reports on bin Laden meeting with
Hussein official in 1994, but 'no credible evidence' found tying
ousted regime to terror attacks against U.S. 


Jun 16, 2004                                                    

By Hope Yen     

The Associated Press    

WASHINGTON - Bluntly contradicting the Bush administration, the 
commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks reported today 
there was "no credible evidence" that Saddam Hussein had ties 
with al-Qaida.
 
In a chilling report that sketched the history of Osama bin 
Laden's network, the commission said his far-flung training camps 
were "apparently quite good." Terrorists-to-be were encouraged to 
"think creatively about ways to commit mass murder," it added.
 
As devastating as the Sept. 11 attacks were, the commission 
disclosed that an earlier, more ambitious plan called for 
hijacking 10 planes instead of four. The target list for such a 
strike ranged from coast to coast, including the CIA and FBI 
headquarters as well as unidentified nuclear plants, and tall 
buildings in California and Washington state.
 
Bin Laden made overtures to Saddam for assistance, the commission 
said, as he did with leaders in Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan and 
elsewhere in his drive to build an Islamic army.
 
While Saddam dispatched a senior Iraqi intelligence official to 
Sudan to meet with bin Laden in 1994, the commission said it had 
not turned up evidence of a "collaborative relationship."
 
The Bush administration has long claimed links between Saddam 
Hussein and al-Qaida, and cited them as one reason for last 
year's invasion of Iraq.
 
On Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney said in a speech that the 
Iraqi dictator "had long established ties with al-Qaida."
 
President Bush has said there is no evidence that Saddam was 
involved in the Sept. 11 attacks.
 
But critics have alleged the administration has left a contrary 
impression with the public. Last fall, Cheney referred to what he 
called a credible but unconfirmed intelligence report that 
Mohamed Atta, one of the Sept. 11 hijackers, had met at least 
once in Prague with a senior Iraqi intelligence official a few 
months before the attacks.
 
The panel report said that meeting never happened.
 
The report prompted a fresh attack on Bush from Sen. John Kerry, 
the Democratic presidential candidate. "The administration misled 
America. The administration reached too far," the Massachusetts 
Democrat told Detroit radio station WDET in an interview.
 
Fred Fielding, a Republican member of the commission, prodded 
witnesses on the relationship between al-Qaida and Saddam, noting 
a 1998 indictment of the terrorist leader that alleged ties.
 
U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald of Illinois said that while 
such claims were contained in the original indictment, they were 
dropped when later charges were filed.
 
The bipartisan commission issued its findings as it embarked on 
two days of public hearings into the worst terrorist attacks in 
American history.
 
The panel intends to issue a final report in July on the 
hijackings on Sept. 11, 2001 that killed nearly 3,000, destroyed 
the World Trade Centers in New York and damaged the Pentagon 
outside Washington. A fourth plane commandeered by terrorists 
crashed in the countryside in Pennsylvania.
 
With the commission's work winding down, testimony by lower-level 
officials lacked the drama of earlier appearances by national 
security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Attorney General John Ashcroft 
and others.
 
An FBI official, John Pistole, said the government has "probably 
prevented a few aviation attacks against both the East and West 
Coast" since 2001. He added, "There are operatives involved in 
those plots that we still cannot account for."
 
The staff report pieced together information on the development 
of bin Laden's network, from the far-flung training camps in 
Afghanistan and elsewhere, to funding from "well-placed financial 
facilitators and diversions of funds from Islamic charities."
 
Reports that bin Laden had a huge personal fortune to finance 
acts of terror are overstated, the report said.
 
The description of the training camp operations contained 
elements of faint, grudging praise.
 
"A worldwide jihad needed terrorists who could bomb embassies or 
hijack airliners, but it also needed foot soldiers for the 
Taliban in its war against the Northern Alliance, and guerrillas 
who could shoot down Russian helicopters in Chechnya or ambush 
Indian units in Kashmir," it said.
 
According to one unnamed senior al-Qaida associate, various ideas 
were floated by mujahadeen in Afghanistan, the commission said. 
The options included taking over a launcher and forcing Russian 
scientists to fire a nuclear missile at the United States, 
mounting mustard gas or cyanide attacks against Jewish areas in 
Iran or releasing poison gas into the air conditioning system of 
a targeted building.
 
"Last but not least, hijacking an aircraft and crashing it into 
an airport or nearby city," it said.
 
The Iraq connection long suggested by administration officials 
gained no currency in the report.
 
"Bin Laden is said to have requested space to establish training 
camps, as well as assistance in procuring weapons, but Iraq 
apparently never responded," the report said. "There have been 
reports that contacts between Iraq and al-Qaida also occurred" 
after bin Laden moved his operations to Afghanistan in 1996, "but 
they do not appear to have resulted in a collaborative 
relationship," it said.
 
"Two senior bin Laden associates have adamantly denied that any 
ties existed between al-Qaida and Iraq," the report said.
 
In a separate report, the commission staff said that senior 
al-Qaida planner Khalid Shaihk Mohammed initially proposed a far 
larger Sept. 11 attack.
 
Mohammed, who is in U.S. custody at an undisclosed overseas 
location, told interrogators that rather than crashing his 
hijacked plane into a target, he wanted to land and make a 
political statement. Mohammed proposed killing every male 
passenger aboard and landing at a U.S. airport. He envisioned 
making a "speech denouncing U.S. policies in the Middle East 
before releasing all the women and children."
 
On the Net:
 
Sept. 11 panel: http://www.9-11commission.gov
 
Text of the report is available at:
 
http://wid.ap.org/documents/911/040616staff15.pdf
 
Text of a second report is available at:
 
http://wid.ap.org/documents/911/040616staff16.pdf 	 	
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press 	 	 
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  baltimoresun.com > war on terror    back to top  

baltimoresun.com (TM) and sunspot.net (R) are copyright © 2004
by The Baltimore Sun. 
*****************************************************************
 3 CBS News: White House: Iraq-Qaeda Ties Exist 

| June 16, 2004 20:16:58

  No Saddam-Osama Link  

"For the American people," in the lead-up to the war in Iraq, 
"the most important reason for thinking about taking on Iraq was 
seeing it as part of the war on terrorism." Andrew Kohut, 
director, Pew Research Center 

(CBS) The commission investigating the Sept. 11 attackssaid on 
Wednesday there is "no credible link" between Iraq and the 
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, just days after Vice 
President Dick Cheney repeated his assertion that Saddam Hussein 
had "long established" ties with al Qaeda. 

Sometimes reality matters less than perception. 

For nearly two years, President Bush and senior administration 
officials claimed links between Saddam and al Qaeda while 
allowing the impression that Iraq could have been behind the 
Sept. 11 attacks – an impression that could lend support to the 
war in Iraq. 

The administration never outright said Saddam directed or 
contributed to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, just that the 
now fallen Iraqi dictator supported terrorists, as National 
Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice has put it. 

"It is always difficult to prove a negative. Can you prove there 
was no al Qaeda in Iraq? What you can say is there is no proof of 
the positive," said James Dobbins, the first special envoy for 
Afghanistan during the Bush administration and current director 
of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the 
Rand Corporation. 

"There is al Qaeda in Indonesia, Canada, Saudi Arabia. Were there 
al Qaeda in Iraq from time to time? Probably. It would be 
surprising if there hadn't been," he continued. "Was there any 
substantial degree of complicity by the Iraqi regime? The answer 
is there doesn’t appear to be any evidence to that affect." 

In September 2003, for the first time, President Bush stated 
explicitly that, "we've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was 
involved with September 11th." But he stood by claims that Iraq 
and al Qaeda had ties. "There is no question," he added. 

There is certainly is some question now, according to the 
bipartisan commission. 

The panel disclosed Wednesday that "Bin Laden is said to have 
requested space to establish training camps, as well as 
assistance in procuring weapons, but Iraq apparently never 
responded." 

The commission added that while there have been "reports" that 
"contacts between Iraq and al-Qaida also occurred," any possible 
contacts "do not appear to have resulted in a collaborative 
relationship." 

Vice President Dick Cheney has led the administration's charge on 
the Iraq-al Qaeda ties, repeatedly stating that Sept. 11 
ringleader Mohamed Atta met with Iraqi agents in Prague only 
months prior to the attacks. 

The CIA and FBI have refuted those claims, citing lack of 
evidence and even some indications that Atta was in Florida at 
the time of the alleged Prague meeting. 

Asked Tuesday about Cheney's latest comments, President Bush said 
Tuesday that "the best evidence of connection to al Qaeda 
affiliates and al Qaeda" is Musab al Zarqawi, an alleged al Qaeda 
operative said to be behind many of the recent insurgent attacks 
in Iraq. 

But Zarqawi's role began after the war in Iraq started, after 
dozens of assertions of ties by the Bush administration. 

A Washington Post poll in August 2003 found that 69 percent of 
Americans believed Iraq was "likely" behind the Sept. 11 attacks. 

"I think that it was an easy assumption for the American public 
to make and a hard one for them to give up on because the al 
Qaeda people come from that same dangerous part of the world and 
they shared a hatred of America with Saddam Hussein and that is 
the linkage in the minds," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew 
Research Center for the People and the Press. 

"Part of it is the natural inclination of the American public 
post 9/11," he added. "I mean there are lots of ideas you can't 
get across to people no matter how hard you push them." 

Kohut, a pollster by training, said his organization found that 
"for the American people," in the lead-up to the war in Iraq, 
"the most important reason for thinking about taking on Iraq was 
seeing it as part of the war on terrorism." 

President Bush continues to bank his presidency on the war in 
Iraq being one and the same with the war on terror, absent any 
link between Saddam and terror attacks on the United States. 

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry asserts that 
the Bush administration "misled" Americans when making the case 
for the war in Iraq. 

Kerry states that no weapons of mass destruction – the 
administration's primary justification for war – have been found 
in Iraq. But he also speaks to an atmosphere that associated Iraq 
with Sept. 11. Whether a voter agrees with this association is 
key indicator of whether he or she will support Kerry or Mr. Bush 
on Election Day. 

"The administration argument was that 9/11 demonstrated that 
there are people out there who are more than willing to... 
inflict mass casualties," Dobbins said. "Evidence also suggests 
that these people are looking to improve their capacity to 
inflict mass casualties through the acquisition of chemical, 
biological, and nuclear weapons technology," he continued, 
summarizing the Bush administration argument. 

"So if you are going to make a demonstrative effort to 
demonstrate to the world that that kind of behavior doesn't pay, 
Iraq was arguably a good place to start," he added. "Not because 
it was the most culpable but because it was culpable and it was 
the most vulnerable... The argument is not that there was a 
connection between Iraq and 9/11, the argument was there was a 
connection between 9/11 and Iraq." 

By David Paul Kuhn ©MMIV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights 
*****************************************************************
 4 Las Vegas SUN: White House Statements on Iraq, al-Qaida

Today: June 16, 2004 at 16:01:54 PDT 

 By The Associated Press ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Comments by President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and 
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice alleging links between 
al-Qaida and Iraq under Saddam Hussein: 

2002 

Rice, Sept. 25: "There clearly are contacts between al-Qaida and 
Iraq that can be documented; there clearly is testimony that some 
of the contacts have been important contacts and that there's a 
relationship here. ... And there are some al-Qaida personnel who 
found refuge in Baghdad." 

Bush, Oct. 7: "We know that Iraq and the al-Qaida terrorist 
network share a common enemy - the United States of America. We 
know that Iraq and al-Qaida have had high-level contacts that go 
back a decade" and "we've learned that Iraq has trained al-Qaida 
members in bomb-making and poisons and deadly gases." 

2003: 

Bush, State of the Union address, Jan. 28: "And this Congress and 
the American people must recognize another threat. Evidence from 
intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by 
people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and 
protects terrorists, including members of al-Qaida." 

Bush, Feb. 6: "Senior members of Iraqi intelligence and al-Qaida 
have met at least eight times since the early 1990s. Iraq has 
sent bomb-making and document forgery experts to work with 
al-Qaida" and "Iraq has also provided al-Qaida with chemical and 
biological weapons training." 

2004: 

Cheney, Jan. 21: "I continue to believe - I think there's 
overwhelming evidence that there was a connection between 
al-Qaida and the Iraqi government. I'm very confident that there 
was an established relationship there." 

Cheney, Monday: Saddam Hussein "had long-established ties with 
al-Qaida." 
*****************************************************************
 5 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Gives Mixed Signals on Nuclear Intent
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Wednesday June 16, 2004 2:01 PM

AP Photo XHS101 

By GEORGE JAHN 

Associated Press Writer 

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran's president said his country had no
``moral'' obligation to stop enriching uranium even as support
grew for a resolution reprimanding - but not punishing - the
country for blocking a U.N. probe of its nuclear activities. 

President Mohammad Khatami stopped short of saying Iran will
resume enrichment or stop all cooperation with the International
Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog. 

But he said Iran would reject any resolution from the agency's
board of governors that strongly criticizes Iran. 

``With the ongoing trend, we have no moral commitment anymore to
suspend uranium enrichment,'' Khatami told reporters in Tehran.
``Of course, we don't declare that we want to do something ...
it also doesn't mean that we are withdrawing from (the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty).'' 

A toughly worded draft resolution under consideration at the
IAEA 35-nation board of governors meeting lacked a direct threat
of sanctions but did keep pressure on Iran to come clean on
aspects of its 20-year covert nuclear program that was
discovered two years ago. 

The document - written by Germany, France and Britain - was
expected to be accepted by the meeting later this week,
diplomats said on condition of anonymity. 

In Vienna, Iranian chief delegate Hossain Mousavian said his
country had ``no option'' but to continue working with the
nuclear agency. 

But he suggested Iran could terminate talks with France, Germany
and Britain - the authors of the draft - on future sales of
nuclear technology to his country in retaliation for the tone of
the document, which he called ``counterproductive for the
continuation of cooperation.'' 

The three European powers have held out the prospect of such
sales if Iran agrees to scrap its uranium enrichment program.
Iran has instead suspended enrichment but reserves the right to
resume them - a threat implied by Mousavian on Wednesday. 

Khatami addressed the same theme in Tehran. 

``If the draft resolution proposed by the European countries is
approved by the IAEA, Iran will reject it,'' Khatami said. ``If
Europe has no commitment toward Iran, then Iran will not have a
commitment toward Europe.'' 

Iran maintains that the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty gives it
a legitimate right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program,
including enrichment. 

``A resolution that denies us of our definite right (to keep a
peaceful nuclear program) will not be valid. There will be no
guarantee for its enforcement and we won't accept it,'' Khatami
said. 

Chief U.S. delegate Kenneth Brill accused Tehran of engaging in
a ``full-court press of intimidation'' to sway the IAEA meeting
to tone down the language of the draft. 

The new draft toned down demands on Iran to abort plans to build
a heavy water reactor and slightly modified language taking
Tehran to task for hampering the IAEA probe. But the overall
wording remained tough, according to the envoys. 

One key phrase in the planned resolution ``deplored'' Iran's
spotty record on cooperating with the agency. Other omissions by
Iran were noted with ``concern'' or ``serious concern.'' All the
phrases are tough language in the diplomatic context. 

The draft contained no deadline or ``trigger mechanism'' as
sought by the United States and its allies that could set into
motion possible sanctions if Iran continued its foot-dragging
past a certain date. 

However, in an apparent nod to the United States, Canada,
Australia and other nations calling for more action, the draft
contrasted the ``the passage of time'' - a year since the IAEA
probe began - and the still blurry contours of Iran's nuclear
program. 

The draft appeared to echo the sentiments of IAEA chief Mohamed
ElBaradei, who said Monday in unusually blunt comments that his
agency's probe ``can't go on forever.'' 

The United States wants the IAEA to declare Iran in breach of
the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and to refer Iran's case to
the U.N. Security Council, which could impose sanctions. 

A diplomat - speaking like all delegates on condition of
anonymity - told The Associated Press that Washington recognized
it could not get majority board support for a direct or implicit
threat of U.N. sanctions. 

Instead, he said, the Americans were looking ahead to the next
board meeting in September with the expectation that new
revelations about Iran's nuclear program would surface by then. 

The results of analysis of enriched uranium traces found on
military sites in Iran and now being evaluated by the agency
could provide the trigger in September, said the diplomat,
suggesting such a finding could support suspicions that Tehran
enriched uranium domestically. 

Iran denies working on enrichment beyond the experimental stage
and says the traces found within the country, which include
minute amounts at weapons-grade levels, were inadvertently
imported. 

Under growing international pressure, Iran has suspended uranium
enrichment and stopped building centrifuges. It also has allowed
IAEA inspections of its nuclear facilities without notice. But
recent revelations have raised new suspicions. 

An IAEA report, written by ElBaradei, says Iran inquired about
buying thousands of magnets for centrifuges on the black market
- casting doubt on Iranian assertions that its P-2 centrifuge
program was purely experimental and not aimed for full uranium
enrichment. 

--- 

On the Net: 

International Atomic Energy Agency, http://www.iaea.org 
  
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
*****************************************************************
 6 AFP: Iranian president warns UN nuclear watchdog over tough resolution

TEHRAN (AFP) Jun 16, 2004

 President Mohammad Khatami warned Wednesday that Iran could back 
away from key commitments over its nuclear programme if the UN 
atomic energy watchdog adopted a European-drafted resolution that 
is highly critical of the Islamic republic.

Khatami said Iran would have "no moral obligation" to maintain a 
suspension of uranium enrichment and allow tougher International 
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections, but offered some 
reassurances by dismissing any immediate talks of quitting the 
nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"For the moment, we do not want to leave the NPT or stop applying 
the additional protocol" which gives inspectors more power, 
Khatami told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

"But if the European resolution is adopted in its current form, 
that means the Europeans do not respect their obligations to us 
and we will not have any obligations to them," he said.

The draft, set to be discussed in Vienna this week, calls for the 
probe into Iran's suspected nuclear weapons programme to be 
stepped up, and is highly critical of Iran's level of cooperation 
so far with the anti-proliferation watchdog.

"If this process continues, we will not have any moral obligation 
to continue the voluntary suspension of enrichment," the 
president warned.

He described the British-French-German draft as "very bad", and 
took issue with continued calls for Iran to stop not only 
enrichment but also other parts of the sensitive nuclear fuel 
cycle.

"We will not accept a resolution that is illegal and contrary to 
our rights," he asserted, adding that Iran will continue work at 
a uranium conversion facility at Isfahan and a heavy water 
reactor at Arak.

"We are determined to continue our programme to master civil 
nuclear technology and to master the nuclear fuel cycle," the 
president said.

While fuel cycle work is permitted under the NPT, the IAEA is 
asking Iran to suspend its enrichment-related activities as a 
confidence-building measure and pending the completion of complex 
inspections.

The IAEA also has to uncover the source of traces of highly 
enriched and possible bomb-grade uranium found here.

Iran says the traces came into the country on equipment bought on 
the black market abroad, and denies a US contention that it is 
using a bid to generate nuclear power as a cover for weapons 
development.

The Europeans would prefer Iran abandon the fuel cycle 
althogether, given that it could eventually be turned from civil 
to military purposes.

"For the moment we want to continue cooperating with the 
Europeans, the international community and the agency. We do not 
want to stop," Khatami added.

Iran has been particularly incensed at the prospect of being 
slapped with yet another tough resolution at the IAEA, as it was 
the European Union's "big three" who helped broker its continued 
cooperation with the IAEA during a visit by their three foreign 
ministers to Tehran last October.

In return for Iranian compliance with a string of IAEA demands, 
the Europeans pledged that Iran could eventually hope to receive 
technological assistance.

Iran says it has met its side of the bargain, even though IAEA 
chief Mohamed ElBaradei said in Vienna on Monday that cooperation 
from the clerical regime -- lumped into an "axis of evil" by US 
President George W. Bush -- had so far been "less than 
satisfactory".

Khatami complained that "the Europeans committed themselves that 
our dossier is normalised in June, and not only has that not 
arrived but the report of ElBaradei and the resolution are in 
contradiction with the different reports on our nuclear 
programme".

  WAR.WIRE
*****************************************************************
 7 Korea Herald: N.K. issues 'jeopardize' Korea-U.S. alliance: experts   

 (bluelle@heraldm.com)

By Choi Soung-ah

2004.06.17

[HERALD INTERVIEW]
        
The half-century-old alliance between South Korea and the United 
States is in danger, American experts agree, and one even said it 
is "jeopardized" by Washington's changing policies toward their 
last Cold War foe, North Korea.

 While both Seoul and Washington continue to deny any fallout, 
Leon V. Sigal, director of the Northeast Asia Cooperative 
Security Project at the Social Science Research Council in New 
York, stresses that the alliance is in serious condition.

 "We are in danger of shattering this alliance by our own 
policies. This is the United States jeopardizing political 
support for alliance in a democratic country," Sigal told The 
Korea Herald.

 Sigal pointed to a series of U.S. policies toward the North that 
"do not make sense" as the key threat to the alliance and said 
there has been a long standing difference between the Bush 
administration and the government of South Korea.

 "There is a profound change underway on the Korean Peninsula and 
it is irreversible. So I think there are benefits in security 
terms to Korea, Japan and the United States by going the 
cooperative route. Now the Bush Administration obviously didn't 
see it that way and all they succeeded in doing was getting the 
North Koreans stepping up their nuclear armament programs.

 "The North Koreans have said a lot of interesting things at the 
negotiating table but the United States seems to have its ear 
plugs on. Everyone's gotten it except for the Americans. So it's 
time for the Americans to play and play seriously at the 
negotiating table," Sigal said.

 On the issue of growing anti-American sentiment in South Korea 
that may possibly hinder the future of the Seoul-Washington 
alliance, Sigal said the situation is "very serious" and began 
with the Korean public's dislike of American policies.

 "If we don't change policy within the next year or so, I think 
this is going to turn into a very different kind of circumstance 
in which increasingly America will be seen as a country that is 
an impediment to reconciliation between North and South." 

Donald Gregg former U.S. ambassador to South Korea and a former 
national security adviser to the first President Bush, agreed 
that the Korea-U.S. alliance is at one of its "most difficult 
times," with the two countries taking different policy routes on 
the Stalinist state.

 "A number of things that happened, including a generation change 
on the attitude toward North Korea and the overall changes to 
South Korea's perception of the North, allowed Korea to be more 
into 'rehabilitation' than 'punishment' for the Kim Jong-il 
regime," Gregg told The Korea Herald.

 "But the U.S. perception of North Korea is still 'dangerous' and 
now, with continued trouble in Iraq, Washington is more committed 
to getting what they want out of North Korea with a stronger 
position."

 Bonding between Seoul and Washington began with the end of the 
1950-53 Korean War, which left South Korea heavily dependent on 
American military forces as a deterrent against any North Korean 
attack. 

But changes of inter-Korean relations in recent years following 
the historic summit in 2000 between then President Kim Dae-jung 
and Korean leader Kim Jong-il have thawed the five-decade-old 
barrier between the Koreas. Tuesday marked the fourth anniversary 
of the summit meeting.

 Gregg said the Pentagon's new global defense posture review, 
which seeks to realign the U.S. military presence overseas, is 
not a factor in weakening the Korea-U.S. alliance. Under its 
global review, the United States plans to withdraw 12,000 of its 
37,000 troops from South Korea by the end of 2005, including 
3,600 being redeployed to Iraq this summer.

 "I don't think there will be much of an impact on the alliance, 
with the troops being pulled out where there is not much purpose 
for them in a modern military system. The major thing is airpower 
and Washington already reported it will spend $11 billion to make 
up for that," Gregg said.

 "So, that doesn't in any way lessen America's global 
peacekeeping role in the future especially on the Korean 
Peninsula and that doesn't change the Pentagon considering the 
alliance with Korea as one of the most important."

*****************************************************************
 8 Korea Herald: To prevent WMD falling into wrong hands   

 By Lee Sun-jin

2004.06.17
      
Editorial/Op-Ed   
    
This year's G8 Summit, held at Sea Island in the United States, 
ended on June 10 with several important decisions reached. The G8 
leaders renewed their commitment, among other things, to 
strengthening global cooperation to prevent the proliferation of 
weapons of mass destruction (WMD). In particular, the leaders 
agreed to expand the Global Partnership, which was launched by G8 
leaders two years ago, to support projects to halt the spread of 
WMD by destroying stockpiles of WMD, retraining scientists in 
non-military fields, dismantling decommissioned nuclear 
submarines, and disposing of fissile materials.

 At the beginning of June, the Republic of Korea decided to join 
the Global Partnership in the hope that in the foreseeable future 
it will expand its geographical scope further to address 
proliferation challenges in other parts of the world, including 
the Korean Peninsula. The Korean government's participation in 
the Partnership was enthusiastically welcomed by all the G8 
leaders. 

Korea's contribution to the non-proliferation of deadly arsenals 
is not limited to the Global Partnership. Since the early 1990s, 
Korea has been taking part in multilateral non-proliferation 
efforts to combat the illicit trafficking of WMD-related 
equipment and technologies by taking a variety of measures on its 
own. The following actions Korea has taken recently well 
exemplify this.

 First, it has been an active partner in all multilateral export 
control regimes, such as the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the 
Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Australia Group 
(AG), and the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA). The non-proliferation 
regimes attenuate the threats to international peace and security 
posed by the spread of sensitive or dual-use equipment and 
technology, while each regime focuses on the areas of nuclear 
weapons, ballistic missiles, chemical and biological weapons, and 
conventional weapons respectively.

 The Republic of Korea became the first Asian country to host the 
Plenary Meeting of the NSG, in Busan in May 2003. With Korea's 
active mediating role as chair country, China, Estonia, Lithuania 
and Malta finally gained membership of the NSG last month. Being 
both a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council and a major 
nuclear supplier, China's participation in the Group is sure to 
contribute to the advancement of the nuclear non-proliferation 
regime. The Korean government's role was, therefore, highly 
appreciated by all partners of the NSG, including China.

 Second, Korea is to host the annual Plenary of the Missile 
Technology Control Regime in Seoul in October of this year. The 
MTCR is the only multilateral instrument dedicated to the 
prevention of the spread of missiles capable of delivering 
weapons of mass destruction. The Seoul MTCR Meeting this year is 
expected to draw international attention in particular to the 
issue of missile proliferation in the Asian region. After the 
MTCR Plenary, Korea, as the Chair of the MTCR, will play a 
leading role in representing the regime in other forums and 
conducting outreach activities with non-participating countries, 
with a view to raising their awareness of missile 
non-proliferation. 

Third, Korea has been thoroughly reviewing and upgrading its 
institutional mechanisms to achieve more reliable export controls 
on strategic items. Inter-agency meetings, both at the 
ministerial- and working-level among officials of ministries 
concerned with export controls on strategic goods have been 
frequently convened to discuss ways and means to map out 
efficient and effective non-proliferation policies. Furthermore, 
in order to reflect and cope with new international measures, 
such as the UN Security Council Resolution on Non-Proliferation, 
the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), and the 
above-mentioned Global Partnership, a new consultative group 

Continued on Page 7

 of high-level officials, the Counter-WMD Committee, has recently 
been launched and will also coordinate non-proliferation efforts 
made by several government agencies.

 On the regulatory front, Korea reinforced its export control 
system by introducing the "catch-all" system to deter the export 
of dual-use items which may be used to produce or develop WMD or 
missiles. Currently, Korea is revising export control 
regulations, such as the Foreign Trade Act, and its Enforcement 
Decree and Public Notice, to introduce clearer and better 
functioning control regulations. 

In this regard, it should be noted that there were two recent 
cases in which Korean companies were charged for violation of 
non-proliferation regulations. Both cases were related to the 
re-export of sodium cyanide - one of the chemical weapon 
precursors and items controlled by the Australia Group - to a 
country of concern without the permission of the Korean 
government. The Korean government was able to withhold the goods 
from export and ordered the companies to redeem the sodium 
cyanide in question. Having found forgery and negligence in these 
cases, the Korean authorities brought the companies to trial. 
These cases clearly demonstrate the strong will of the Korean 
government to strictly implement export controls on strategic 
items. 

Last but not least, bearing in mind that voluntary compliance by 
companies and grass-roots support are critical in the export 
control of strategic goods, the government undertakes to enhance 
public awareness of the importance of non-proliferation efforts. 
In this regard, government agencies have initiated, in 
cooperation with major manufacturers/exporters associations, 
several education and training programs, seminars for exporters, 
suppliers, freight forwarders and other companies dealing with 
WMD-related and dual use items.

 The Korean Peninsula is in no way immune to the danger of 
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Rather, it is high 
on the agenda as a threat to the security of the Korean people. 
We are therefore fully aware of the importance and urgency of 
stemming the perilous proliferation of WMD. As a responsible 
member of the international community, the Republic of Korea has 
been making a full and staunch contribution toward international 
endeavors to prevent the proliferation of WMD, not only for the 
sake of international peace but also its own peace, security and 
national interest.

The writer is the deputy minister for policy planning and 
international organizations.-Ed.

 
*****************************************************************
 9 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: Time Asks, 'Why is Kim Jong-il Smiling?'   
 
      Updated Jun.16,2004 19:18 KST   
 
  "Teachers need little encouragement to use such texts. Park 
Geun Byung, a teacher at Song Chun elementary school in Seoul, 
uses a storybook that instructs his fourth-grade class in the 
tale of an evil dragon that prevents a Romeo and Juliet on either 
side of a river from marrying. The river is plainly the DMZ. The 
evil dragon is meant to represent the U.S. Park is a believer in 
what he calls 'unification education.' 'Teachers,' he adds, 
'don't have to be neutral.'" 

The U.S. current events magazine Time placed on the cover of its 
latest edition an image of Kim Jong-il, dressed in a military 
uniform and smiling smugly, and ran as its cover story a piece 
entitled, "Why is This Man Smiling?" 

Time wrote that about 50 years after the Korean War, the status 
quo written in the blood of 2.5 million victims is rapidly 
changing. It said that with a leftist-nationalist president and 
ruling party in charge of South Korea, changes in the attitudes 
of Japan, China and other surrounding countries toward North 
Korea, turmoil in the Korea-U.S. alliance, changes in the 
ideological education in South Korea, the strengthening of the 
determination of the North Korean regime in accordance with its 
nuclear development, and other regional trends blowing favorable 
to Pyongyang, Kim Jong-il has become stronger than ever. 

Time said Kim's skill at manipulating the outside world has been 
surprising and consistently adept. He was quickly able to see 
that former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung's adoption of the 
"Sunshine Policy" was due to fears of the tremendous price of 
unification should North Korea collapse. 

Suddenly, South Korea took the position of wanting the same thing 
Kim Jong-il wanted most -- his own survival. This situation drove 
a wedge into the Korea-U.S. relationship, and brought about a 
tense bilateral relationship between the two allies with the U.S. 
doing things like reducing USFK because of its Global Posture 
Review. Citing Lee Dong Bok, a former top South Korean official 
who led negotiations with North Korea, Time said, "The winner is 
North Korea." 

Showing how the alliance is far from healthy, Time pointed to the 
gulf between the U.S. and Korea in their evaluations of the 
North's nuclear program; U.S. officials believe the North 
possesses nuclear weapons, while South Korean Foreign Minister 
Ban Ki-moon states that he "isn't sure" North Korea has nuclear 
weapons. 

Time also said, "Indeed, South Korean newspapers no longer harp 
on the hard life in the North but instead find lots of space to 
report on fledgling economic reforms or the progress of economic 
projects between the two countries," and said that such internal 
changes within South Korea are causing tensions between the U.S. 
and Korea. 

It also pointed out, "South Korean schoolbooks used to teach 
grade-schoolers to hate and fear 'the enemy.' Today's texts 
contain pictures of North Korean food shops ('A lot of women,' 
reads the caption, helpfully, 'are participating in economic 
activity') and suggest students practice writing letters to their 
counterparts across the border (without mentioning that North 
Korea prohibits mail from the South.)" 

The magazine also said that with the attitudes of surrounding 
powers changing in accordance with their interests, Kim Jong-il 
needs to do little else but keep those powers off balance. Now 
you know why Kim Jong-il is smiling, Time wrote. 

(Yoon Hui-yeoung, hyyoon@chosun.com ) 

*****************************************************************
 10 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: U.S. Reaffirms Stance on 6-Way Talks   
 
      Updated Jun.16,2004 14:06 KST   

The United States is urging North Korea to completely dismantle 
its nuclear weapons programs. 

The U.S. demand comes in response to Pyongyang¡¯s warning that 
nothing can be achieved in the 6-way talks on the nuclear issue 
later next week, if Washington does not tone down its position. 

The United States reaffirmed its demand that North Korea must 
scrap its nuclear weapons program in the CVID manner, which is a 
complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement. 

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher outlined the goal 
of the upcoming six party talks in China. 

"The purpose of these talks is to find a diplomatic resolution to 
the threat that's posed by North Korea's pursuit of nuclear 
weapons. That's a threat to the security and stability on 
Northeast Asia and to global non-proliferation efforts." 

Mr. Boucher also acknowledged Beijing's efforts in trying to 
resolve the nuclear issue. 

"The Chinese view and the Chinese strong view as they've 
expressed it is that they want to see the de-nuclearization of 
the peninsula. They're as concerned about the potential of a 
nuclear threat in their neighborhood as anybody is." 

Earlier Tuesday, North Korea warned that the 6-way talks in 
Beijing from June 23rd to the 26th would be fruitless if 
Washington insists on complete dismantlement. 

North Korea maintains it is willing to freeze its program in 
exchange for economic aid and will dismantle the nuclear 
development in return for a security guarantee. 

*****************************************************************
 11 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: Seoul, Pyongyang Mark Fourth Anniversary of Historic Summit 
 
      Updated Jun.16,2004 14:13 KST   
 
      Cultural events co-hosted by the two Koreas mark the fourth 
anniversary of the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration held at 
the Munhak Stadium in Incheon, Wednesday.   
          
Over the past four years since the leaders of the South and North 
met for the first time and pledged to work towards peace and 
harmony on the divided peninsula, there has been progress made. 

More has been accomplished over the past four years than in the 
previous 50 years, experts would agree. 

The landmark meeting on June 15th four years ago brought not only 
political, social, economic and cultural cooperation and 
exchanges but also catalyzed a change of paradigm on the Korean 
Peninsula. 

"Inter-Korean relations were based on confrontation, hostility 
and distrust. But after the June 15th summit in 2000, there was a 
shift in direction to one of reconciliation and cooperation." 

All the evidence indicates that the two Koreas are headed towards 
a more amicable relationship. 

Seoul and Pyongyang have held 123 cross-border talks since the 
summit, in stark contrast to the 13 negotiations held in 1998 and 
1999. 

The frequent talks have led to some tangible results, such as 
exchanging radio contact near the de facto maritime border, as 
well as agreeing to open cross-border roads in late October. 

Civilian exchanges have also increased and more than 55,000 South 
Koreans visited the North in the last four years and that figure 
didn't include the thousands of tourists to the North's scenic 
resort of Mount Geumgang. 

Plus, more than 9,000 people have been reunited with their 
separated kin. 

The importance of these inter-Korean contacts is immeasurable, 
since the mood and attitude towards the North seems to have 
significantly changed in South Korea as illustrated when South 
Koreans extended support to North Korean victims of the train 
explosion at Ryongchon. 

But experts agree that resolving the North Korean nuclear threat 
remains the greatest challenge on the road to peace. 

"North Korea should stop first of all, its nuclear program. On 
top of that, North Korea should also stop interfering in South 
Korean domestic affairs, such as its tumultuous demands for 
American troop withdrawal from South Korea." 

"All in all, the two Koreas have moved forward to tear down their 
walls of hostilities over the past four years. But much hinges on 
the progress is Pyongyang¡¯s nuclear standoff, which will affect 
its relations with not only South Korea but also with the 
international community. 

Arirang TV 
*****************************************************************
 12 FT: US 'plans to keep up pressure' on Pyongyang to scrap nuclear
projects  

  By Guy Dinmore in Washington and Andrew Ward in Seoul  
  Published: June 16 2004 5:00 | Last Updated: June 16 2004 5:00
 
The US intends to stick to its demand for the "complete, 
verifiable and irreversible dismantlement" of all North Korea's 
nuclear programmes when six-party talks resume in Beijing next 
week, a US official said, dismissing speculation of a change in 
the Bush administration's hardline position. 

Analysts in Washington said neither side seemed serious about 
trying to break the impasse before the US presidential election 
in November.

While still receiving considerable economic aid from its 
neighbours and the US, the communist regime sees cracks appearing 
among Washington's allies and is holding out for a bilateral deal 
on better terms that might come with a new US president. For its 
part, the Bush administration is in no mood to make concessions 
in an election year.

However, the US official, who asked not to be identified, 
acknowledged there was a policy debate within the administration. 
"There are some battles still going on," he said. But a decision 
had been made to stick to the demand for dismantlement.

China confirmed yesterday that the third round of six-party 
talks, involving the US, North and South Korea, China, Japan, and 
Russia, would take place from June 23-26. North Korea said 
immediately that no progress would come without change by the US.

"Nothing will be expected from the forthcoming talks, should the 
United States continue to insist that North Korea dismantle its 
nuclear programme in a complete, verifiable and irreversible 
manner," the foreign ministry said. "It is a demand that can be 
forced on a defeated country only."

Analysts said they did not expect North Korea to push the issue 
by taking its weapons programme further with a nuclear or 
long-range missile test.

Charles Pritchard, a former US envoy at the Brookings 
Institution, said he did not expect a breakthrough and described 
the talks as "almost an exercise in futility". China had 
questioned the reliability of US intelligence on North Korea's 
alleged uranium enrichment programme and asked the US to produce 
evidence next week, he said.

North Korea claims to have produced material for nuclear weapons 
from reprocessing plutonium, but denies enriching uranium.

Richard Boucher, the State Department spokesman, said there was 
not a large gap between the US and Chinese positions over this 
issue, which Colin Powell, secretary of state, and Li Zhaoxing, 
his Chinese counterpart, discussed in Washington last week.

Pyongyang demands security assurances and economic assistance in 
return for first freezing and eventually dismantling the nuclear 
facilities, with both sides making concessions simultaneously. 
But Washington has ruled out rewards until the facilities are 
dismantled.

Donald Gregg, former US ambassador to South Korea, told a 
conference in Seoul: "The longer the US refuses to enter into 
negotiations, the higher the price becomes for [improved 
relations with Pyongyang], while the dangerous prospect of North 
Korea becoming a permanent nuclear power steadily increases."  
     
      © Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2004. "FT" and
"Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. Privacy
*****************************************************************
 13 [progchat_action] CIA Restricts One-Third of U.S. Senate WMD
 
Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 14:24:24 -0500 (CDT)

 
CIA Restricts One-Third of U.S. Senate WMD Report

Tue Jun 15, 2004 07:45 PM ET By Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA has decided that about one-third of
a U.S.

Senate report criticizing prewar intelligence on Iraq contains
secret information that should not be released to the public,
intelligence sources said on Tuesday.

After reviewing the roughly 400 pages for classified data, the
intelligence agency returned the report to the Senate Intelligence
Committee with brackets around 30 percent to 40 percent of the
contents to signal the information was secret, intelligence sources
said.

The report examines the intelligence on Iraq before the U.S.-led
invasion last year, including estimates that Baghdad had stockpiles
of chemical and biological weapons.

President Bush justified his decision to go to war by citing a
threat from Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. No large stockpiles
of chemical or biological weapons have been found.

A closed-door Senate Intelligence Committee meeting on Tuesday to
discuss the report and the CIA's redactions ended without any
decisions on how the panel would move forward toward making it
public.

"We're going to try to vote on Thursday to approve the report. There
have been no decisions in regard to the redactions," Senate
Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican,
said.

Members of the committee disagreed over some of the proposed
conclusions, which also raised questions over when the report would
be publicly released.

Roberts said it was unlikely the report would be released next week
-- "not the way things are now." He would not identify the contentious
issues.

The committee has several options to deal with the CIA's redactions.
It could reword the passages that the agency identified as containing
classified information, or take the unprecedented action of ignoring
the intelligence agency's views and put out the full report as
originally written.

The latter option was considered unlikely because the committee
would not want to be seen as releasing classified information. "It's
always an option, but probably as a last resort," Sen. Evan Bayh,
an Indiana Democrat, said.

The CIA tried to preserve as much of the report in its original
format as possible, but some sections contained information that
revealed sources, operational techniques and intelligence collection
methods, one intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.

"I think they (CIA) went way overboard. Clearly what they are doing
is taking the heart of the report out of it," Sen. Richard Durbin,
an Illinois Democrat, said.

Asked how critical the report was of the CIA and its director,
George Tenet, who is leaving next month, Durbin replied: "I think
it's very honest and there are parts of it that are very critical."

The report was expected to be highly critical of U.S. intelligence
gathering and analysis on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, but
less critical of the intelligence on terrorism, government sources
say. It was expected to specifically criticize Tenet in some
instances.

Copyright Reuters 2004.

-- TO THE SOURCE:

http://reuters.us.ed10.net/t/JEOMG/2O9RB/7V/PHLKK -- NOTICE: In
accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for research and educational
purposes.

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 14 News-Miner: Energy bill steams through House
 
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner · 200 North Cushman Street · 
Fairbanks, AK · 99707 · (907) 456-6661   
    		             
June 17, 2004 
 			 								 					
By SAM BISHOP News-Miner Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON--Those wielding the gavel in the House of 
Representatives Tuesday afternoon reminded their colleagues no 
less than five times not to say unkind things about the U.S. 
Senate, advice that illustrated the prime target in the GOP 
majority's decision to pass, yet again, an energy policy bill.

 House leaders, frustrated with the stalemate over energy 
legislation, are bringing several proposals back to the floor 
this week in hopes of pressing the Senate into action. 

The broadest policy bill in the package, which contains several 
Alaska provisions, passed the House 244-178 Tuesday. Rep. Don 
Young, R-Alaska, voted for the bill.

 The bill does not carry language to open the Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge's coastal plain to oil drilling. A separate bill 
on that subject is scheduled for a vote today.                  

 				
 					   						 					   				 				
 					   						

 							
 								   									
 									 									
 									 									
 									 									
 									 


  OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS SECTION 6/17/2004 - Lights go out - Men 
accused of torching car - Fort Yukon man faces deportation - Army 
seeks input on new training ranges - Police Report - Group 
refutes need for rescue - Healy volunteer fire department 
threatens to quit - Anderson facing sewage overload - Leaders 
doubtful about session - Bill makes it easier to become an organ 
donor - State's pollock fishery awarded eco-label - EPA reissues 
permit for Valdez port's treatment plant   

									
 									 								   							 						

 					   				 			

 			

 Republicans touted the energy bill passed Tuesday as a step 
toward resolving troubling trends in the energy business. It 
offers tax incentives for developing domestic oil and gas 
supplies, as well as renewable and nuclear energy sources. It 
also sets up new rules to improve the electricity grid's 
reliability and encourages research into new energy sources and 
alternative vehicles. 

Democrats ridiculed the proposal as a waste of time. Rep. John 
Dingell, D-Mich., dubbed it "summer reruns" and said the Senate 
has already rejected it "in bipartisan fashion." 

Democrats also attacked the bill for its "special interest" 
perks. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said it would give $20 
billion worth of subsidies to the oil and gas industry, which, he 
noted, contributed most heavily to Republican campaigns.

 "This bill returns the favor using taxpayer dollars," Waxman 
said.

 Rep. Jim McCrery, R-La., objected to such maligning of his 
motives.

 "It would also be easy for me to charge members of the minority 
with not caring about the price of energy in this country, not 
caring what people pay at the pump for gasoline," McCrery said. 
"'They don't care,' it would be easy for me to say. But those 
things are not before us today. We have before us today a very 
serious, well-crafted, well-rounded approach to a comprehensive 
energy policy in this country."

 McCrery also objected to Dingell's claim that the Senate has 
rejected the bill. The Senate has never voted on it, he said, 
because of procedural obstacles requiring 60 votes to overcome.

 "Is that rejection or not?" Dingell interjected.

 "No, it is not," McCrery said. "I predict they would pass this 
bill. It's a good bill."

 Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., also lamented the Senate's inaction 
in a Capitol news conference.

 "I don't think the Senate will take these bills up but I 
congratulate the House for its efforts and its commitment," he 
said. "The more we talk about our energy challenges, the closer 
we come to delivering an energy bill to the president of the 
United States."

 Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee, blamed the lack of legislation on Senate Democrats. 
Several Republicans, though, also oppose the Senate bill. 
Supporters would likely break the 60-vote margin if they were on 
board.

 Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said it was still reasonable to 
blame Democrats because the Republican conference and most 
Republicans back the energy bill, while most Democrats do not.

 The Alaska provisions in the bill approved by the House Tuesday 
include:

 * A construction loan guarantee of up to $18 billion for a 
proposed natural gas line from the North Slope to the Lower 48.

 * A tax credit for a North Slope natural gas processing plant 
needed for the gas line and language allowing pipeline owners to 
deduct the line's value from their taxes over seven years instead 
of 15.

 * Language streamlining judicial and agency reviews of the 
proposed gas line.

 * A $125 million loan to refit an experimental coal-fired 
generator in Healy.

 * Authorization to spend $3 million annually on an Arctic 
Engineering Research Center at the University of Alaska 
Fairbanks.

 * Authorization to spend $61 million to build the proposed 
Barrow Geophysical Research Facility.

 Separately, the House Ways and Means Committee passed a tax bill 
Tuesday that contains no tax credits for the proposed Alaska 
natural gas line. A Senate version of the bill, passed in May, 
offers a tax credit to sellers of North Slope natural gas during 
periods of extremely low prices.

 Sen. Murkowski said Tuesday that Rep. Bill Thomas, the Ways and 
Means chairman, wanted a cleaner tax bill. The administration 
also opposed the price-linked tax credit.

 The House Ways and Means bill, however, does offer Alaska Native 
whaling crew captains the option of deducting whaling expenses 
from their taxes as if they were charitable contributions.

 Alaska's congressional delegation has tried to get the whaling 
deduction into law for several years. They say it's justified 
because whale meat is distributed throughout North Slope villages 
and captains often spend a lot of money to support the hunts.

 The House tax bill must now be merged with the Senate version in 
a conference committee before it can go back to each house for a 
final vote.

 Washington, D.C., reporter Sam Bishop can be reached at 
sbishop@newsminer.comor (202) 662-8721.

©2004 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Inc.                           
*****************************************************************
 15 Tri-Valley Herald: Dems fail to stop nuclear spending 
 
Article Last Updated: Wednesday, June 16, 2004 -
 		   	 	
$36 million plan to study new warheads barely passes the Senate 

By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER

 Democrats narrowly failed to eliminate $36 million Tuesday for 
the Bush administration's research into new and modified nuclear 
weapons. 

The 42-55 vote reprised the outcome of last year's attempt by 
Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., to 
cut money in the annual defense bill for a high-yield nuclear 
bunker-buster and for unspecified new nuclear weapons studies. 
Kennedy called the pursuit of new and modified nuclear arms "a 
shameful double standard" that would hobble U.S. efforts to keep 
other nations from acquiring nuclear arms. 

Backers of the research at weapons labs in California and New 
Mexico said it was limited to feasibility studies. 

"You can keep saying over and over that it's more. It's not," 
said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. 

Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., said it would be "foolhardy and 
irresponsible to not even look at the facts." 



"If we want to have some response to terrorism and that flexible 
threat we have out there, we have to look at a more flexible 
defense posture," he said. "We need to look at alternatives." But 
Feinstein, Kennedy and others said statements by the 
administration and some allies in Congress clearly show a desire 
to deploy and perhaps use the new bunker buster, known as the 
Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator. 

The administration said scientists are looking at turning one of 
two existing bombs -- Los Alamos lab's B61 or Lawrence 
Livermore's B83 -- into a more rugged weapon capable of plowing 
through dozens of feet of rock. All of the research is focused on 
the B83, which with a yield of 1.2 megatons of TNT equivalent, is 
the most powerful deployed U.S. weapon. 

Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz., recently suggested that such a nuclear 
bunker buster might have succeeded at killing Saddam Hussein 
where conventional bombs failed in the opening days of the Iraq 
war. "Only nuclear weapons can address the deeply buried targets 
that are protected by manmade or even hard geology," Kyl said. 
"Our current nuclear penetrator, the B61-11, is only capable of 
penetrating a few feet of frozen soil and is incapable of 
attacking successfully a growing number of these hardened 
targets." 

Senators rarely call out specific colleagues for rebuke, but 
Feinstein and others took Kyl to task. 

If we had used a nuclear earth penetrator, we might have killed 
Saddam Hussein, Feinstein said. But at the same time the United 
States would have used a nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear 
state, detonating it in the middle of a city of five million 
people. Would leveling Baghdad have been the right way to 
liberate an oppressed people from a brutal dictator? 

Kennedy and Carl Levin, D-Mich., were even blunter. 

We would have killed hundreds of thousands of people, including 
American aid workers and journalists, Kennedy said. We would have 
inflamed a hatred of America in Iraq (and) the Arab world far 
beyond what we have seen in response to the prison scandal at Abu 
Ghraib. 

Levin noted that in two bombing attacks on Saddam Hussein, it 
appeared that neither he nor the reported bunker were present 
when the bombs fell. Designing a nuclear weapon for decapitating 
foreign leadership puts even more pressure on intelligence that 
the second Iraq war has shown to be faulty, Levin said. 

Feinstein pointed to administration projections of $485 million 
for studying and prototyping the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, 
through 2009. 

That's the ball game -- the development of a new warhead, 
Feinstein said. 

The debate over the administration's weapons policies now shifts 
to the Senate energy and water appropriations bill and a probable 
compromise with a House bill that eliminates all of the research 
funding. 

It could be a small cut or it could be a large cut. There is no 
doubt there will be a cut in the administration's request, said 
David Culp, legislative liaison for the Friends Committee on 
National Legislation, a Quaker group that favors disarmament.>

 Contact Ian Hoffman at 

©2004 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
*****************************************************************
 16 New York Times: Senate Backs New Research on A-Bombs
 
Armament, Defense and Military Forces    

 By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Published: June 16, 2004

[W] ASHINGTON, June 15 - The Senate renewed its support Tuesday 
for research into a new generation of nuclear weapons, overcoming 
opposition from Democrats who said they feared that the Bush 
administration had already decided to develop such arms.

In its consideration of a $447 billion Pentagon spending measure, 
the Senate defeated, 55 to 42, a Democratic proposal to eliminate 
$27.6 million for a study of a nuclear weapon capable of 
penetrating underground bunkers and $9 million to explore other 
nuclear concepts, including smaller bombs known as mini-nukes. 

In a vote on another provision of the bill, the Senate agreed, 65 
to 33, to add to the definition of federal hate crimes those 
committed because of the victim's "sexual orientation, gender or 
disability."

 That vote set up a showdown with the House, whose own version of 
the bill includes no such change in the definition, which now 
applies to race, color, religion and national origin.

As for the research on new nuclear weapons, Republicans said that 
not to proceed with it would be irresponsible, given a changing 
nature of threats to the United States.

 "Irrational rogue nations and nonstate actors have emerged as a 
greater threat to us," said Senator Wayne Allard, Republican of 
Colorado.

But Democrats, who lost a similar battle last year, said that the 
research would spur other nations to turn to such weapons and 
that even bombs exploding underground would pose risks of fallout 
far beyond their targets. That the administration has budgeted 
$485 million over five years for the so-called bunker buster is 
evidence that the Pentagon already intends to move beyond 
research, said the opponents, led by Senators Edward M. Kennedy 
of Massachusetts and Dianne Feinstein of California.

Backers of the administration denied that a decision to produce 
the weapons had already been made, saying money was included in 
projections of future budgets only in case Congress gave 
approval.

 "This is a feasibility study; it is nothing more than that," 
said Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma. 

The House version of the legislation also provides for the 
research, but a House Appropriations subcommittee on nuclear 
issues, considering a related measure, decided last week to 
eliminate all money for it. (The same House panel reduced 
spending for the program last year, though much of the money cut 
was restored in later negotiations.)

 Taken together, the votes in the Senate and the House have made 
clear that Congress will be battling over this issue throughout 
the summer.

The hate crimes proposal was pushed by Mr. Kennedy and Senator 
Gordon H. Smith, Republican of Oregon. Mr. Smith called the 
change in the definition "long overdue" and said it was relevant 
to the Pentagon legislation because of violent crimes that have 
been committed against gay members of the armed forces. 

"You cannot fight terror abroad and accept terror at home," he 
said.

Similar measures have been passed by the Senate before but have 
been stripped from final bills. This time, Mr. Kennedy and Mr. 
Smith said, they believe that the strong show of support in the 
vote will give them leverage in talks with the House. They also 
have assurances from the chairman of the Senate Armed Services 
Committee, John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia, that he will 
back the language in those negotiations on the overall bill.

Some Senate Republicans criticized the proposal, saying that it 
would require the authorities to try to ascertain the 
psychological motive for a crime and that there was no evidence 
that offenses against the specified groups were not being 
prosecuted now.

 "I think it is a reach both in terms of need and in terms of the 
danger of criminalizing thought processes rather than actions," 
said Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama.

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company | Home|
*****************************************************************
 17 Salt Lake Tribune: Senate endorses funding for bunker-buster research 
 
June 16, 2004   
 
By Robert Gehrke 
 
    WASHINGTON -- Republican senators refused Tuesday to strip 
funding for studies of a nuclear "bunker-buster" from a Defense 
Department spending bill, a move critics say could lead to new 
nuclear weapons tests in Nevada. 
 
    The Senate has budgeted $27.6 million to study the "Robust 
Nuclear Earth Penetrator," designed to burrow deep into the earth 
and detonate, and another $9 million to research a tactical 
nuclear weapon. 
 
    Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy sought to strip the funding 
from the bill, but was defeated in a 42-55 vote. Utah Republican 
Sens. Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch voted to keep the funding in 
the bill, saying the money only pays for research, not to build 
or test a bomb. 
 
    "I want to make clear my goal is to see to it there be no 
nuclear testing in the name of a study unless there is a specific 
congressional vote," Bennett said. He is seeking to amend the 
bill to require specific congressional approval for any nuclear 
test. 
 
    The United States conducted its last nuclear weapons test in 
1992. Since then, scientists have used computer modeling and 
thorough inspections to try to maintain the nation's nuclear 
stockpile. Some have argued that new tests are needed to ensure 
the weapons are reliable. 
 
    The Bush administration has said it doesn't plan to conduct 
new tests, but the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service 
wrote in March that the administration's budget request for 
nuclear testing raises doubts about that assertion. 
 
    The Senate will continue consideration of the Pentagon 
spending bill all this week. 
 
    The House already approved the weapons funding in its version 
of the Defense Department budget bill, but a subcommittee on 
energy and water development stripped the sought-after funding 
from an Energy Department budget bill. 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
    Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson, one of the most ardent 
opponents of nuclear weapons development, hosted a discussion 
Tuesday, featuring prominent academics discussing the threat of 
renewed weapons testing. 
 
    Professor Frank Von Hippel of Princeton University's Program 
on Science and Global Security, said nuclear testing is 
unnecessary and carries a high cost. 
 
    "The idea of promoting nuclear weapons as usable in any other 
context than national survival is ludicrous and would make them 
more usable" by other countries, Von Hippel said. "It would be 
very hard, to put that Humpty Dumpty together again." 
 
    And Robert Musil, executive director of the group Physicians 
for Social Responsibility, said new testing could create a whole 
new generation of fallout victims. 
 
    Matheson has introduced legislation that would make it more 
difficult for the Bush administration to resume nuclear weapons 
tests by requiring a comprehensive environmental review, 
requiring congressional approval for any future nuclear weapons 
testing. His proposals would also task the Environmental 
Protection Agency with monitoring radiation releases and direct 
the National Cancer Institute to develop risk levels for 
radiation exposure. 
 
    Matheson also wants to establish the National Center for the 
Study of Radiation and Human Health as a clearinghouse for 
nuclear test information and medical research on the topic. 
 
    "If we pass this legislation now, it's going to give us an 
opportunity to thoroughly assess it," said Matheson. However, 
with a Republican-controlled Congress in an election year, it is 
unlikely that Matheson's bill will pass. 
 
    gehrke@sltrib.com
 
Copyright Salt Lake City Tribune
*****************************************************************
 18 Las Vegas RJ: Vote keeps 'bunker buster' alive 
 
Wednesday, June 16, 2004

Senate rejects cutting nuclear weapons study 

By TONY BATT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted Tuesday to continue research on
nuclear weapons that some believe could spark a resumption of
nuclear testing in Nevada.
 
 Senators voted 55-42 to reject an amendment to cut $27.6
million in funding next year for the Robust Nuclear Earth
Penetrator, also known as the "bunker buster." The amendment
also would have cut $9 million from research into low-yield
nuclear weapons, or "mini-nukes."
 
 The vote was a victory for the Bush administration, which
supports studies projected to cost more than $485 million over
five years. The bunker buster would be used to destroy buried
command centers or weapons depots.
 
 Last week, a House subcommittee voted to eliminate all funding
for the bunker buster study from next year's budget.
 
 Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., voted to continue funding the bunker
buster.
 
 "If protecting the security of the United States requires us to
develop a weapon to get at weapons of mass destruction buried in
the ground, that is what we should pursue," Ensign said.
 
 The National Nuclear Security Administration has said the
bunker buster would be developed from weapons that have already
been tested and, therefore, would not require any new tests at
the Nevada Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. But some
arms control experts believe the program could usher in new
nuclear testing. 
"I have never been opposed to testing at the Nevada Test Site,
if scientists tell us it would ensure the safe use of the
nuclear weapons stockpile," Ensign said.
 
 Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., voted to stop funding for the bunker
buster.
 
 "I do not support creating a new generation of nuclear weapons,
and that is essentially what we are talking about," Reid said in
a statement. "I think it sends the wrong signal for the United
States to call on other countries to stop producing nuclear
weapons, while pushing for the development of such weapons in
our own country."
 
 Critics note estimated costs of the bunker buster study jumped
from $7.5 million in this year's budget to $27.6 million
requested for fiscal 2005.
 
 Fearing the Bush administration is poised to end a nuclear
testing moratorium that has existed since September 1992, Rep.
Jim Matheson, D-Utah, has introduced legislation that would
require congressional approval before another test is conducted.
 
 
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
 19 Las Vegas SUN: Senate backs A-bomb research

Today: June 16, 2004 at 11:25:05 PDT 

By Carl Hulse
 NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

 WASHINGTON -- The Senate renewed its support Tuesday for
research into a new generation of nuclear weapons, overcoming
opposition from Democrats who said they feared that the Bush
administration had already decided to develop such arms.

 In its consideration of a $447 billion Pentagon spending
measure, the Senate defeated, 55-42, a Democratic proposal to
eliminate $27.6 million for a study of a nuclear weapon capable
of penetrating underground bunkers and $9 million to explore
other nuclear concepts, including smaller bombs known as
mini-nukes.

 Nevada's senators split on the vote. Senate Minority Whip Harry
Reid, a Democart, voted for the amendment, while Sen. John
Ensign, voted against it.

 The vote could have long-standing implications for testing in
Nevada, historically the site of nuclear testing, said David
Cherry, a spokesman for Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev.

 "She (Berkley) has long maintained opposition to restarting
nuclear testing at the (Nevada) Test Site," Cherry said. "We are
concerned this program to fund a new generation (of nuclear
weapons) would involve resuming testing in Nevada."

 Berkley is also co-sponsoring legislation with Rep. Jim
Matheson, D-Utah, that would set strict regulations for future
testing in Nevada, Cherry said.

 If such regulations are not in place, the United States could
find itself in the middle of "another arms race," Cherry said.

 Ensign's vote reflects his belief that testing was "a question
of national security," Ensign spokesman Jack Finn said.

 "In this era of seeing new dangers our country faces we have to
be prepared," Finn said. "The bunker busters play a role in
this."

 Without testing the weapons, the United States would be taking
"a step back" in terms of national security, Finn said, echoing
the Republican position.

 A spokesman for Reid was not available for comment this morning.

 Amy Spanbauer, a spokeswoman for Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said
he was not familiar with the language of the Senate bill but had
in May voted for testing of the new generation of nuclear
weapons. She said he opposed any immediate nuclear testing.

 "I have always maintained that there is a very high threshold
of national security necessity that must be met before resuming
nuclear testing," Gibbons said in an earlier statement. "At this
point, that threshold has not been met, and consequently, I
cannot and do not support the resumption of nuclear testing."

 Gibbons later stated that he would support testing if presented
with "compelling evidence that nuclear testing is absolutely
necessary for the safety and security of the United States."

 Adam Mayberry, a spokesman for Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., said
the congressmen supported weapons testing, but agreed with
Gibbons that testing should only be conducted in the case of "a
national security crisis," he said.

 The position reflects Porter's feeling during the May vote to
research the weapons, Mayberry said.

 "Congressman Porter does support research but not the testing
at the Nevada Test Site," Mayberry said. "Only in the case of a
national security crisis would he support the actual testing."

 In a vote on another provision of the bill, the Senate agreed,
65-33, to add to the definition of federal hate crimes those
committed because of the victim's "sexual orientation, gender or
disability."

 That vote set up a showdown with the House, whose own version
of the bill includes no such change in the definition, which now
applies to race, color, religion and national origin.

 As for the research on new nuclear weapons, Republicans said
that not to proceed with it would be irresponsible, given a
changing nature of threats to the United States.

 "Irrational rogue nations and nonstate actors have emerged as a
greater threat to us," said Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo.

 But Democrats, who lost a similar battle last year, said that
the research would spur other nations to turn to such weapons
and that even bombs exploding underground would pose risks of
fallout far beyond their targets. That the administration has
budgeted $485 million over five years for the so-called bunker
buster is evidence that the Pentagon already intends to move
beyond research, said the opponents, led by Sens. Edward M.
Kennedy of Massachusetts and Dianne Feinstein of California.

 Backers of the administration denied that a decision to produce
the weapons had already been made, saying money was included in
projections of future budgets only in case Congress gave
approval.

 "This is a feasibility study; it is nothing more than that,"
said Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-Okla.

 The House version of the legislation also provides for the
research, but a House Appropriations subcommittee on nuclear
issues, considering a related measure, decided last week to
eliminate all money for it. (The same House panel reduced
spending for the program last year, though much of the money cut
was restored in later negotiations.)

 Taken together, the votes in the Senate and the House have made
clear that Congress will be battling over this issue throughout
the summer.

 The hate crimes proposal was pushed by Kennedy and Sen. Gordon
H. Smith, R-Ore. Smith called the change in the definition "long
overdue" and said it was relevant to the Pentagon legislation
because of violent crimes that have been committed against gay
members of the armed forces.

 "You cannot fight terror abroad and accept terror at home," he
said.

 Similar measures have been passed by the Senate before but have
been stripped from final bills. This time, Kennedy and Smith
said, they believe that the strong show of support in the vote
will give them leverage in talks with the House. They also have
assurances from the chairman of the Senate Armed Services
Committee, John W. Warner, R-Va., that he will back the language
in those negotiations on the overall bill.

 Some Senate Republicans criticized the proposal, saying that it
would require the authorities to try to ascertain the
psychological motive for a crime and that there was no evidence
that offenses against the specified groups were not being
prosecuted now.

 "I think it is a reach both in terms of need and in terms of
the danger of criminalizing thought processes rather than
actions," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

 
 
*****************************************************************
 20 RGJ: Bush to talk about economy, security
 
Reno Gazette-Journal                                                                                                                                

ASSOCIATED PRESS 6/16/2004 12:12 am      

President Bush will talk about a booming economy and national 
security on Friday in Reno during his second visit to Nevada 
since his 2000 election, his campaign chairman said.

In a telephone interview Tuesday, Bush-Cheney campaign chairman 
Marc Racicot said Bush’s stop in this battleground state, which 
he narrowly won four years ago, won’t be his last this year 
because Nevada voting “is going to be very, very close.”

Bush plans to deliver an afternoon speech at the Reno-Sparks 
Convention Center after appearances in the state of Washington.

Racicot said he didn’t know whether Bush’s support for a 
high-level nuclear waste dump at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain — 
support that came after the 2000 election — will figure in 
tightening his race against the expected Democratic nominee, U.S. 
Sen. John Kerry, who opposes the dump.

Nevadans, he said, “know the president has been entirely honest 
with them” about Yucca Mountain. In the 2000 campaign, Bush said 
he would base his decision on “sound science” and not politics, 
and Racicot said the president lived up to that promise.

Racicot also said the campaign’s hope is that Nevada voters will 
understand “their obligations and duties” in helping resolve a 
strategic problem on disposal of the nuclear waste that has 
collected over the years throughout the nation.

Nevada, with almost equal numbers of registered Democrats and 
Republicans, has a long history of close elections, Racicot said.

“That gives us comfort,” he said.

Those contests include the closest U.S. Senate race in the 
nation’s history, the late Howard Cannon’s 48-vote victory over 
Paul Laxalt in 1964. A recount gave the Democratic winner an 
84-vote victory over Republican Laxalt — who in 1974 won a Senate 
seat by just 611 votes.

Democrat Harry Reid, who lost that race, eventually made it to 
the Senate in 1986, and won a third term in 1998 by just 428 
votes.

Those contests, Racicot said, show that Nevadans “think for 
themselves. And if they do, we’ve got a darn good chance.”

The campaign chairman also said demographic changes in Nevada — 
notably an influx of newcomers to the Las Vegas area in southern 
Nevada — means Bush strategists can’t rely on “a presumption that 
may have been there in the past.”

“We know we have to be competitive in the north and the south” of 
the state, he said, adding that Bush, Vice President Cheney and 
other members of the Bush administration plan to campaign “in 
virtually every part of the state.”

While Nevada is seen as a battleground state, Bush’s Reno stop 
and a visit to Las Vegas in November are far below his trips to 
other key states — including 17 to Ohio, 18 to Missouri, 22 to 
Florida and 28 to Pennsylvania — all of which have more electoral 
votes than Nevada’s five.

Kerry has been to Nevada since becoming a candidate in February 
and mid-May, both in Las Vegas. Kerry hopes to make other visits 
in coming months, including one to Reno, said Sean Smith, Kerry’s 
Nevada communications director.

Smith said Bush’s visit to Reno “only underscores how afraid the 
Republicans are of losing this state to John Kerry. And they 
should be scared.”

“I’m amazed that guy is showing his face in this state,” Smith 
said. “The first words out of his mouth when he’s here should be 
an apology for lying to us about Yucca Mountain.” Smith said 
Kerry has a 16-year record of opposing the Yucca Mountain project 
90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Racicot said Kerry has “very opportunistically” said there won’t 
be a nuclear waste dump in Nevada — but hasn’t proposed an 
alternative.

Racicot also said the nation’s economy is “firing on all 
cylinders,” with major job growth and other improvements as a 
result of Bush’s policies.

But Smith said many of the new jobs pay poorly.

“The middle class really has been facing a squeeze under this 
administration. Bush has a lot of explaining to do,” he said.   

© Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett 
*****************************************************************
 21 SF Chronicle: Bunker-buster bomb foes lose vote on amendment
 
Zachary Coile, Chronicle Washington Bureau        

Wednesday, June 16, 2004
  
Washington -- The Senate rejected a measure Tuesday that would 
have stripped millions of dollars for research into a new class 
of smaller, bunker-buster nuclear weapons that arms control 
advocates believe could trigger a new global arms race. 

Senators voted 55-42 to defeat an amendment to the defense 
authorization bill that would have cut $36.6 million from two 
Energy Department programs: a study of the Robust Nuclear Earth 
Penetrator, a weapon capable of destroying underground bunkers, 
and the Advanced Concepts Initiative, which includes research 
into smaller or "low yield" nuclear warheads. 

The vote was a victory for the Bush administration, which has 
battled for money to research the new weapons that supporters say 
could be used to destroy deeply buried bunkers that hide weapons 
of mass destruction. The House narrowly defeated a similar 
measure last month. 

The amendment was sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and 
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who argued that even studies of 
the new warheads would encourage other countries to develop 
nuclear weapons. 

"It's going to make it more difficult to achieve arms control in 
the area of nuclear arms," Kennedy warned on the Senate floor. 
"It's going to make our goals harder to achieve and make nuclear 
war more likely." 

Last year, Senate Democrats persuaded their colleagues to cut 
funding in half for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, from $15 
million to $7.5 million. But the administration asked for far 
more money for the weapons research this year -- $96.5 million -- 
and plans to ask for $485 million for 2005-09, according to the 
Congressional Research Service. 

Supporters of the weapons programs insist the money is being used 
only for studies and Congress would have to approve any future 
weapons production. 

"This is really a matter of allowing us to do the basic 
research," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. "We can research these 
weapons as a way to protect ourselves and indeed make America 
safer." 

But Feinstein said statements by administration officials and 
White House budget projections indicate plans to build the 
weapons one day. 

"This ramp-up in funding can mean one thing and one thing only: 
The administration is determined to develop and deploy a new 
generation of nuclear weapons," Feinstein said. "The 
administration is seeking to reopen the nuclear door and is 
seeking more 'usable' nuclear weapons." 

E-mail Zachary Coile at zcoile@sfchronicle.com. 

©2004 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback | FAQ
*****************************************************************
 22 Las Vegas SUN: Official: Cheney Not Briefed on Iraq Work

Today: June 16, 2004 at 5:46:56 PDT 

 By LARRY MARGASAK ASSOCIATED PRESS 

WASHINGTON (AP) - 

Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff was told in 2002 that 
Cheney's former company would receive no-bid work to secretly 
plan restoration of Iraq's oil facilities, but the information 
wasn't given to the vice president, a White House official said 
Tuesday. 

Kevin Kellems, Cheney's spokesman, told The Associated Press he 
confirmed the decision not to inform Cheney with the vice 
president's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby. 

"The vice president was not informed" that Halliburton would get 
the Defense Department contract, Kellems said. 

Libby informed participants at a Defense Department briefing in 
October 2002 that "the vice president's office would not be 
involved and would have nothing to do with the matter," Kellems 
said. 

Libby's presence was controversial because Cheney repeatedly has 
said he had no involvement in that contract or any other matters 
involving Halliburton, a Houston-based energy and construction 
company. 

At the briefing, a Defense official told a multi-agency group 
including Libby that Halliburton would secretly develop 
contingency plans to extinguish any oil fires set by Saddam 
Hussein if there was a war with Iraq. 

Kellems said he also spoke with National Security Council aide 
Frank Miller, who attended the 2002 briefing and confirmed that 
Libby told the group Cheney would not be informed. 

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., senior Democrat on the House 
Government Reform Committee, revealed Libby's presence in a 
letter to Cheney last weekend seeking more information. 

Waxman said Libby's involvement contradicts Cheney's statements 
that he had no knowledge of the contract, which was awarded in 
March 2003. 

When Hussein didn't set the oil facilities on fire, Halliburton 
was asked to take on a much bigger role. Again without 
competitive bids, the company was chosen to supervise the postwar 
reconstruction of Iraq's oil industry. 

At a hearing of the Government Reform Committee Tuesday, Lawrence 
Lanzilotta, an acting undersecretary of defense, first revealed 
that it was agreed that Cheney would not be told of the decision 
to give Halliburton the contract. 

Also at the hearing, leaders of the committee agreed that top 
executives of Halliburton would be asked to testify next month in 
the panel's investigation of Iraq contracting. 

The executives are Halliburton's chief executive officer, David 
Lesar, and the CEO of the company's KBR subsidiary, Randy Harl. 

Halliburton has been awarded more than $7 billion in Iraq 
contract work that involves not only the oil restoration work, 
but feeding and housing U.S. troops. 

Six Defense Department witnesses at the hearing all said they 
knew of no Cheney influence. They said the 2002 briefing of the 
vice president's office was simply a routine notification, not an 
attempt to win approval. 

Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., and Waxman agreed to issue 
the invitation to the executives and said they would work 
together to determine whether documents should be subpoenaed. 
Waxman said he also wants to subpoena Defense Secretary Donald H. 
Rumsfeld to produce records on Department of Defense contracts 
with Cheney's office. 

Waxman said he also wants records on construction giant Bechtel, 
which has a major Iraq contract, and several lawmakers added 
companies they want to include in the investigation. 

Halliburton spokeswoman Wendy Hall was noncommittal on whether 
the executives would agree to testify. 

"Today, our primary concern is to monitor the hearing to see what 
issues come forward," she said. "Halliburton believes its actions 
in Iraq are designed to deliver the best quality products and 
services on the best terms available as called for in our 
contract. We will work with the committee to assist them in 
fulfilling their important oversight functions." 

The agreement did not stop Republicans from accusing Waxman of 
politically motivated criticism of Halliburton and Cheney, nor 
did Waxman let up on that criticism. 

"Too many Democrats, for political reasons I completely 
understand but personally find distasteful, have chosen to 
practice oversight by press release, oversight by leaking draft 
reports and confidential briefings," Davis said at Tuesday's 
committee hearing. 

"This is a strategy being driven top down by the House Democratic 
leadership," Davis charged. 

Waxman responded with examples of waste, fraud and abuse that, he 
said, came from former Halliburton employees who spoke privately 
with the committee. Among the allegations: 

- A former logistics specialist said Halliburton charged 
taxpayers $10,000 a day to house employees in a five-star hotel 
in Kuwait instead of the $600 per day cost of using the same 
air-conditioned tents that house U.S. troops. 

- A former "convoy commander" said Halliburton removed spare 
tires from its new $85,000 trucks and gave instructions to 
abandon or "torch" the vehicles if they had a flat tire. 

Waxman also said the cost of a food service contract was reduced 
by 40 percent after Halliburton's middleman role was eliminated. 

Davis said there may be explanations, stating it might be a sound 
policy to abandon a truck rather than change a tire if a convoy 
comes under attack. 

Hall, the Halliburton spokeswoman, said of the allegations: "This 
does not serve to feed a single member of our military, create a 
single unit of housing, repair a single oil well or supply a 
single piece of material for reconstruction." 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 23 Asia Times:  Is the US clever enough to rule the world?

By Ian Williams 

Will the Iraq debacle cure, or at least ameliorate, the 
megalomania that has infected the foreign policy of the United 
States? 

During the Cold War, the US often tended toward a position of 
primus inter pares, first among equals, with its allies. However, 
the past two years have seen both the culmination and, in Iraq, 
the catastrophic failure of a trend toward being solus sine 
paribus, alone without equals. The rest of the world is aware 
that the US is not equal to the task of ruling the world. In the 
light of Iraq, is Washington aware? 

That the administration of President George W Bush even made the 
attempt is a demonstration that being a military and economic 
giant does not necessarily translate into diplomatic or 
intellectual acuity. We should also point out that this 
administration is not alone in its hubris; it took a 
unilateralist trend well established during the two 
administrations of president Bill Clinton and pursued it to a 
reductio ad absurdum et tragediam, reduced to absurdity and 
tragedy. 

The overdose of Latin is a partial tribute to the imperial role 
model that set the standards - of decline and fall as well as 
triumphalism. 

Former United Nations secretary general Boutros Boutros-Ghali, 
who unsuccessfully tried to teach US secretary of state Madeleine 
Albright the art of statecraft, once noted that neither the Roman 
Empire nor the US had any patience for diplomacy, which is 
"perceived by an imperial power as a waste of time and prestige 
and a sign of weakness". 

However, as the Goths, Huns and Vandals, among others, 
demonstrated soon enough, this was a dangerous misperception for 
the Romans and is currently proving equally dangerous for the 
Americans. 

Even if Bush is defeated for the chaos and casualties that his 
unilateralism has wrought, a John Kerry administration is at best 
likely to revert to the Clintonian norm of remaining unilateral 
in its formation of foreign policy, albeit with a more 
cosmopolitan and sophisticated attempt at multilateral execution. 

There is no doubt that, short of some science-fiction-style 
cataclysm of the kind that Hollywood is so good at showing, the 
US is, and will remain, a world power. Whether it will be the 
world power, capable of independent unilateral action regardless 
of the views of the rest of the world, is another story 
completely. 

Regardless of the opinions of the rest of the world, we really 
have to question whether such an ambition is even consonant with 
the views of most Americans, especially in view of the sacrifices 
such ambitions may entail. 

We are used to a certain cynicism in world affairs, in which 
national interest often tempers morality. For example, while then 
French foreign minister (now Interior Minister) Dominique de 
Villepin's UN speech against the proposed Anglo-American invasion 
of Iraq was in the best traditions of Cartesian logic, we would 
need to be very naive indeed not to accept that the interests of 
Total-Elf-Aquitaine had much to do with French policy on the 
subject. 

Indeed, it would be good if France had practiced in Bosnia, 
Rwanda, or Western Sahara and West Africa the lofty principles 
that it was recommending to the US and Britain on this occasion. 

However, no one would accuse either the Bush or even the Clinton 
administration of Cartesian logic in its recent policy 
formulations. Indeed, what makes recent US foreign policy so 
anomalous is how often it is in violation of any rational 
national interest, let alone of abstract moral and legal 
principles. 

In this less than perfect world, real powers with real problems 
will occasionally bend and stretch the rules, but this 
administration has gone further. It has challenged the rules 
themselves, and denied their normative power. 

The doctrine of preemptive strikes and unilateral action, and the 
scorn for the United Nations and its Charter, represented a 
fundamental threat to the very global order that the US did so 
much to bring about in 1945. 

In 1990, George Bush Sr spoke of a New World Order, which he 
presented as a revival and continuation of the 1945 settlement 
that the Cold War suspended. By 2003, Bush Jr was presiding over 
a Hobbesian disorder, in which his ideologues were telling the 
world that rules did not apply to the US, and in fact only 
applied to others when Washington deemed it appropriate. 

This scofflaw tendency applies not only to existing normative 
rules but, in a profoundly disruptive and self-defeating way, to 
new and developing international conventions and normative rules 
that the rest of the world considers essential to cope with the 
growing challenges, military, social, economic and environmental, 
that threaten global prosperity and even survival. 

For example, a small group of conservative ideologues has 
succeeded in delaying the US signature of the Law of the Sea. It 
is a hopeful sign that among the factions that want it ratified 
are Senator Richard Lugar, the chair of the Foreign Relations 
Committee, and the US Navy. The distressing thing is that a small 
group of fundamentalists obsessed with sovereignty can stall 
participation in a treaty that is so self-evidently in the 
interests of the US. 

It reinforces the messages sent by the refusal to honor the Kyoto 
conventions, to sign the landmines treaty, and to control the 
small-arms trade. Similarly, the US has expended huge diplomatic 
capital across the world to sabotage the International Criminal 
Court. All across the world, US envoys bullied small countries 
into signing bilateral treaties protecting Americans from a 
non-existent threat - in the process getting a very bad lesson in 
international ethics. 

One of the major problems with US foreign-policy formulation is 
that the democratic process of checks and balances does not 
function effectively, not least because far too many Americans 
have neither the information about nor the interest in what 
happens elsewhere, which leaves the field open to obsessive 
interest groups. 

Indeed, there is a satirical dictionary definition of "war" as 
"God's way of teaching Americans geography". Sadly, it has much 
truth in it, except that it seems that with the current teaching 
aids of Fox TV, MSNBC and talk radio, the curriculum does not get 
beyond Geography 101. It does not bode well for democratic debate 
of foreign policy, and leaves the field open even more to the 
lobbyists and fundamentalists. 

That is why, for example, while it may seem to much of the Arab 
world that the invasion of Iraq was an imperial enterprise, we 
should bear in mind that to most Americans, and certainly to a 
majority of those reservists drafted to staff the prisons of Abu 
Ghraib, this was an exercise in self-defense, payback for 
September 11, 2001. They would not have supported an overtly 
imperial agenda. 

Sadly, not only ordinary Americans are geographically challenged. 
In many ways, the ideologues of unlimited US hegemony who 
contrived the Iraq invasion had as little awareness of the 
realities of the world as those many Americans misled by a potent 
combination of White House spin and cable-TV collusion. 

In the end, the USA is indeed powerful, but in reality, it could 
not exercise the sole hegemony that the more visionary planners 
in the Pentagon imagined. 

Imperial over-reach Despite spending as much on defense as the 
next 10 largest military powers, the US armed forces are 
hard-pressed to maintain the occupation of Iraq, let alone to 
attack other countries such as Syria and Iran that seemed to be 
very seriously in the sights of the Pentagon planners a year ago. 

One of the more obvious lessons was that military power could not 
be effective without "soft" moral factors, such as diplomacy, 
which in turn are helped by moral legitimacy. 

In over-reaching, the US has shown its weaknesses. US abilities 
to wage conventional war across the globe depend on willing 
allies abroad and a public at home prepared to make sacrifices. 
All those military bases are on sufferance from other countries, 
which have often imposed restrictions on their use for purposes 
that they disagree with. The Turks and Saudis, for example, 
severely disrupted US plans to attack Iraq when they refused to 
host the invasion forces. 

Money, and credit, said Daniel Defoe, are "the sinews of war". 
Paradoxically, in relation to the rest of the world, the US is 
economically weaker than at any time since the end of World War 
II. The combination of ideologically motivated tax-cutting and 
increasing military spending has made the US more vulnerable than 
ever before. Domestically, it is politically impossible for a US 
administration to increase taxes. 

In a little-reported report it published on the US budget at the 
beginning of January, the International Monetary Fund hints at a 
rapidly undeveloping country, whose fiscal irresponsibility is 
compounded by a political immaturity that tends to ignore 
geopolitical and economic reality. 

Ironically, the globalization that some have denounced as an 
instrument of US global domination has actually made the United 
States more vulnerable than ever before. Once a relatively 
autarkic, self-contained trade system, the US economy is now 
integrated into world trade systems. 

One simple basis of the "Bush boom" is that China is recycling 
its US$100 billion-plus trade surplus with the United States back 
into dollars, and especially into Treasury bonds. Almost half of 
US Treasury bonds are now owned by Asian countries. 

Among Asian countries, the Pentagon dreamers have identified 
China as the major future threat. Yet if Taiwan, for example, 
became a major crisis, those Chinese T-bonds could do more damage 
than H-bombs. All Chinese Prime Minister Hu Jintao has to do is 
shout "sell" down the phone in order to devastate the US economy 
more than any Chinese nuclear strike. 

The US refusal to take the measures necessary to reduce its oil 
consumption has also made it extremely vulnerable to creeping 
measures of readjustment, such as a decision by oil states to 
price their product in euros rather than dollars. There are very 
good economic and political arguments for them to do just that: 
why take payment in a depreciating currency from a country such 
as the US where your holdings are vulnerable to strange tort 
actions and arbitrary political decisions? In that light, the 
mystery is really why the oil states still accept dollars. 

Globalization, even as it makes the US more vulnerable, also 
gives it some measure of protection, since anyone who pulls the 
plug on the dollar would get very wet himself in the resulting 
splash. Nevertheless, even with that qualification, the fact is 
you cannot be a solo superpower on borrowed money. 

Apart from military and economic power, there is a power of 
leadership. Opinion polls worldwide show that almost no other 
country in the world would elect George W Bush. 

At one time, the US had high moral stature, certainly in much of 
the world, although we should remember the trend represented even 
by Franklin Roosevelt, an undoubted hero, who is on record as 
calling Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza a "son of a bitch" 
but excusing him as "our son of a bitch". 

Going further, there has been a strong and increasing tendency in 
US thought toward Manichaean binary thinking, to see the world in 
terms of absolute good and evil, indeed, one might say, cowboys 
and Indians. Allegedly in the Levant they say that "my enemies' 
enemy is my friend", but in the US they take it a stage farther 
and consider that my enemy's enemy must necessarily be morally 
superior, a saint. 

There is also an adage about knowing people by the company they 
keep. Support for the Saudi and Uzbek regimes, let alone Israeli 
practices, does not cover the US with glory. 

Above all, to attack Iraq, allegedly for its violation of UN 
resolutions, in defiance of the wishes of most UN members and the 
UN Charter is a sin for which the US is now paying penance as it 
implores the international community to relieve it of its burden 
there. It will take a long time for Washington to regain 
international credibility. 

Can anything be done? At the time of the tragic and murderous 
attacks on New York's World Trade Center, the one consolation was 
that it would focus the American public on what its government 
was doing abroad in their name. After all, perhaps for the first 
time since the British burned the White House in 1813, Americans 
had foreign policy happening to themselves, rather than it being 
something that their rulers inflicted on others. 

Sadly, that was clearly not the case. There was little or no 
public debate on the origins of al-Qaeda, no realization that 
expedient and ad hoc US policies had brought about and indeed 
financed the organization, that it was a US ally, Pakistan, that 
with general US support had put the Taliban in power in 
Afghanistan. 

The rest of the world was much more aware of that, and despite 
that, it was the soon-to-be-hated French who quickly moved the 
resolution in the Security Council expressing solidarity for 
September 11, shortly followed by another that in effect provided 
legal cover for the US to attack Afghanistan in "self-defense". 

The rest of the world watched with puzzlement as the US gave up 
on Afghanistan and finding Osama bin Laden while the American 
public were, almost subliminally, persuaded that the battleground 
for the "war on terror" should be Iraq. 

It took not much more than a year for the Bush administration to 
boil away nearly all the unprecedented international support it 
had immediately after the September 11 attack. 

Of course, there are different trends in US foreign policy, with 
the State Department, which has the unenviable task of explaining 
it to the rest of the world, much more able to see the benefits 
for the US from a general support of a normative global structure 
of law and order, and a predisposition to go along with it 
principle. 

Indeed, it is more likely to recall that the US was the main 
sponsor of the United Nations and in its drafting of the Charter, 
and throughout the decades, from Korea to Suez, has invoked its 
authority whenever it can - and sometimes, as in Iraq, when it 
really could not. 

It is not surprising that for past few years, the leaders of the 
United Nations and most of the major powers have had as the first 
item in their bedtime prayers a plea that Secretary of State 
Colin Powell would stay on at the State Department, and much of 
their diplomacy has been directed at boosting his position inside 
the Bush administration. 

It is not always successful, since the Pentagon-Powell dualism 
sometimes looked like a planned good-cop-bad-cop routine. On the 
other hand, the State Department's attempts to keep some vestiges 
of multilateralist faith have occasionally been pathetically 
touching, like the attempt to pull together a list of states that 
supported the "coalition", most of whom were so vulnerable and 
weak that initially the department was too embarrassed to name 
them. However, we should take the attempt as a signal that even 
in the darkest days of triumphal unilateralism from the Pentagon 
civilians, there was a flicker, or at least a smolder, of 
multilateralism in the State Department. 

The conundrum is that the US needs counterbalancing, as 
traditional political theory would suggest, but the question is 
whether that can be achieved without reverting to some form of 
antagonistic great power system. However, it is possible if we 
take into account one of the Anglo-Saxon inventions in domestic 
politics: the concept of a "loyal opposition". We often forget 
that for most of history, and across much of the globe even now, 
this is an oxymoron. Sadly, that is also true of some sections of 
the US body politic who have shown difficulty in accepting 
opposition at home or abroad as anything but starkest treachery. 
Last year's rabid francophobia was very embarrassing to any 
sophisticated American. 

However, a loyal opposition is still a useful concept. If it 
stood together, the European Union is big enough to insist on a 
hearing in Washington, and even more so if it teams with Russia 
and China, although it has to beware of expediency in joining 
with, let us say, incompletely democratic societies. In 
conjunction with countries such as India, and many states in 
Latin America, it could indeed assemble a loyal opposition. 

In this connection, perhaps the British were almost as important 
as Prime Minister Tony Blair thinks they are. Harold Macmillan 
had fond paternalistic hopes of London playing the role of Athens 
to Washington's Rome, perhaps forgetting that the Athenians who 
taught the Romans were often literally slaves. 

However, for some years now the British have indeed played a 
special role with the US. It has been surprising how little 
contumely the British have attracted over the years for their 
role as amanuensis for successive US administrations - like Colin 
Powell, they have functioned at once as a bridge and a fudge 
between the more outrageous US wants and the realities of the 
world and norms of international law. 

Other countries I suspect saw it as on a par with cleaning 
sewers: it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it, and much 
better someone else than us. It also has to be said that the 
British have done a reasonable job of it most of the time. Their 
constructive engagement as a reliably loyal ally did indeed give 
them an occasional hand on the steering wheel, as Tony Blair 
said. 

It seems fairly certain that President Bush would not have gone 
to the UN at all if were not for the British prime minister's 
blandishments. Nevertheless, in the end it became clear that what 
Blair thought was the steering wheel in a car was just the 
whistle on a runaway locomotive. All he could do was warn that 
the train was rattling down the tracks and would not stop until 
it hit Iraq. 

Confronted with the realities of the US style of occupying Iraq, 
and the reaction of the occupied, the British have reverted to 
their former role. In the various drafts of the resolution to end 
the Iraq occupation, they have been assiduously supporting a much 
more sovereign sovereignty for Iraq, even as they draft the 
successive resolutions. 

The British invented the special relationship for their own 
reasons, once they realized that the empire thing was a dead 
duck. As they put it at the time, the British foreign minister in 
the 1945 Labour government wanted the North Atlantic Treaty 
Organization to keep "the Americans in, the Germans down, and the 
Russians out". 

I would question whether that historical basis still exists, and 
would urge the Europeans, particularly the French and Germans, to 
work hard on the British, to suborn and turn the British Trojan 
Horse so that instead of being a source of unilateralist US 
infiltration into the EU, it takes multilateralism into 
Washington. That is always assuming that Blair survives his 
election and that Kerry overlooks the British prime minister's 
somewhat promiscuously rapid switch from Clinton to Bush. 

Will things change if Bush loses? Returning to the point at the 
beginning, the present US policy has much continuity with the 
previous administration's. Remember the conversation between 
Madeleine Albright and her British counterpart, Robin Cook, over 
Kosovo, in which Cook cited problems "with our lawyers" over 
using force in the absence of UN endorsement. Albright's response 
was, "Get new lawyers." 

Certainly, a Kerry policy has to be an improvement over Bush's - 
but it may be a more marginal improvement than most of us would 
wish. There is the dreadful possibility that his fudging on 
foreign policy, his support for Ariel Sharon, is not just a 
cynical electoral maneuver, it may be the real thing. 

However, no amount of internal argument or external exhortation 
can do as much to change US policy as has now been done by the 
over-reachers in the Pentagon, whose hubris has reduced the US to 
begging for international help to get out of the hole they dug in 
Iraq. Ironically, our best hope for a change of policy is the 
effect of the cold shower of reality on their fevered apocalyptic 
visions. 

Whoever is elected has to pay the bills for this war, for the tax 
cuts, for the energy policy and all the other enormities of this 
administration. In the world councils where it will need help and 
indulgence, the next president is going to need a lot of 
forbearance and indulgence from other countries, since bullying 
has failed so egregiously. 

The real battle is to get that message across to US legislators, 
opinion formers and indeed the electorate to maintain a 
continuing interest in foreign policy, what it does to others 
and, most tellingly, what the cost will be to them. Since the US 
is a world power, this is a global task, an essential task for 
everyone in the world. Stop pandering. Be firm but friendly. Real 
allies do not applaud your every move. They shout "Stop!" when 
you want to run over a cliff edge. Next time Gerhard Schroeder 
offers a US president advice, the latter should listen. 

(Copyright 2004 Asia Times Online, Ltd. All rights reserved. 

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 24 Grist: House to repass energy bill to vex Democrats 

[Grist Magazine]

The dirt on environmental politics and policy 

by Amanda Griscom 

15 Jun 2004 

Our House is a very, very, very fine House.

If at first you succeed, well, try again anyway.

 That's how GOP leaders in the House are reinterpreting the old 
elementary-school bromide as they attempt to create the illusion 
of hope for the doomed, pork-laden energy bill -- and to deflect 
the political heat over high gas prices away from the White House 
and onto the Democrats.

 For more than a month, the Republican House leadership has been 
planning a much-touted "energy week" centered on legislation[PDF] 
that mimics nearly verbatim the Energy Policy Act -- that same 
old bill that sailed through the House last fall with avid 
support from the White House, but was then defeated twice by 
filibusters in the Senate.

 Energy week, which was scheduled for last week but sputtered in 
the face of memorial services for Ronald Reagan, has now been 
condensed into a two-day event starting today, during which the 
House will vote on the revived energy bill and a series of other 
bills designed to boost energy production in the United States -- 
and ostensibly reduce gas prices.

[Pombo] Richard Pombo. Photo: U.S. House.
   
Among the bills is a renewed effort[PDF] introduced by Rep. 
Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) last week to open up the Arctic National 
Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration. Another bill[PDF] would 
give the Department of Energy authority to build new oil-refining 
facilities in low-employment communities nationwide, even if the 
U.S. EPA objects on the grounds that the refineries would cause 
disproportionate pollution problems in those areas. A third[PDF] 
proposes to weaken National Environmental Policy Act requirements 
for the siting of "renewable energy projects" -- a term loosely 
defined in the bill as "any proposal to utilize an energy source 
other than nuclear power or the combustion of coal, oil, or 
natural gas," meaning it could accelerate not only the 
development of hydroelectric dams but also, bizarrely, the 
exploration for and drilling of fossil fuels.

 "The public should be outraged," said Mark Wenzler, director of 
global warming and energy programs at National Environmental 
Trust. "Congress is wasting time and energy on bills that are so 
preposterous, so damaging to the environment, and so irrelevant 
to the larger pursuit of lowering gas prices that they would 
surely be dead on arrival in the Senate"

 Critics say the House leadership knows full well that the bills 
will never make it to the president's desk. They argue that the 
energy package is a transparently political maneuver to push 
through a series of bills that Senate Democrats will be sure to 
vote against, thereby creating an opportunity for Republicans to 
blame Democrats for high gas prices.

 "The whole thing is a sham," said Jim Waltman, director of 
refuge and wildlife programs for the Wilderness Society. "It's 
just an elaborate Beltway blame game."

 Lisa Miller, a spokesperson for the House Energy and Commerce 
Committee, made no bones about the fact that GOP leaders in the 
House are making a political statement: The shortened energy week 
"is simply a way to reinforce the fact that the nation requires a 
cohesive policy which provides energy to people at prices they 
can afford to pay."

One of her colleagues on the committee staff, who asked to remain 
anonymous, put it even more directly: "This is designed as 
basically a nudge to the Senate. It makes the statement at a time 
of high gas prices that America needs an aggressive energy policy 
and we need it now." 

Yet there's no reason to believe that the energy bill would do 
anything at all to ease the pinch at the pump. In fact, according 
to a report released recently by the Energy Information 
Administration, a data-collection arm of the Department of 
Energy, even if the bill were passed, "changes to production, 
consumption, imports, and prices [would be] negligible."

 Still, President Bush has been pressing for the bill in the name 
of lower gas prices: "I'll repeat it again: Congress, pass the 
energy bill," he told reporters at a press conference on June 1. 
"What you're seeing at the gas pumps is something I've been 
warning for two years, and that is that we're hooked on foreign 
sources of energy ... Had we drilled in ANWR back in the 
mid-'90s, [it would have taken] enormous pressure off the 
American consumer."

[Daschle] Tom Daschle. Photo: U.S. Senate.

At a June 2 press conference, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay 
(R-Texas) not only told reporters that it was time to "turn up 
the heat a notch" on Senate Democrats to pass the energy bill -- 
he said that the real culprits for America's energy woes were 
Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), who he 
blamed for failing to get enough Democratic votes to push the 
bill through the Senate.

 Daschle's press secretary, Sarah Feinberg, dismissed the House's 
maneuvering as a stunt: "This effort is the definition of the 
do-nothing Congress. ... The Republican leaders of the House are 
now spending days of taxpayer time and dollars making a big to-do 
about passing legislation that they've already passed simply to 
make political hay out of this issue. How much more desperate can 
they get?"

 Feinberg added that the GOP leaders aren't really serious about 
passing the energy bill: "If they were, they'd remove the 
liability waiver for MTBE manufacturers, which is the major point 
of contention for the bipartisan opposition to the bill," she 
said.

 Bill Wicker, spokesperson for the Democratic members of the 
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, added that "the 
greatest irony of all is that on some level it isn't in the GOP's 
interest for this energy bill to pass." Here's why: It would be 
seen as a political win for Daschle, who has been the leading 
Democratic voice in favor of the bill. Daschle is in a tight race 
for reelection, and Republicans eager to see him knocked from his 
seat don't want to give him any good news to take home to corn 
growers in his home state, who would stand to benefit from 
ethanol subsidies in the bill. 

"The House wants to repass this energy bill for one reason alone: 
to put the bogey on Senate Democrats," Wicker told Muckraker. 
"It's shameless politicking. But what else can you expect in an 
election year?" 

Muck it up: We welcome rumors, whistleblowing, classified 
documents, or other useful tips on environmental policies, 
Beltway shenanigans, and the people behind them. Please send 'em 
to . 

Grist columnist Amanda Griscom writes Muckraker and Powers That
Be.  Her articles on energy, technology, and the environment
have appeared in publications ranging from Rolling Stone to The
New York Times Magazine. 
                                
© 2004, Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. 
*****************************************************************
 25 Las Vegas SUN: House OKs $10B Contract for Accenture

Today: June 16, 2004 at 14:46:56 PDT 

 By ALAN FRAM ASSOCIATED PRESS 

WASHINGTON (AP) - A drive to block a massive federal contract
awarded to Accenture LLP for tracking visiting foreigners was
all but scuttled Wednesday by the House, despite arguments that
the company should be punished for avoiding some U.S. taxes. 

The near party-line 234-197 vote by the GOP-led chamber meant
that language disallowing the contract - valued at up to $10
billion over the next decade - was likely to be removed later
this week from a $32 billion bill financing the Department of
Homeland Security. 

The Accenture contract would benefit a wide array of
subcontractors, and is strongly supported by the business
community and the House Republican leadership. Accenture
opponents say the company shrunk its tax bill by moving its
headquarters to Bermuda, but conceded they face an uphill fight
and were hoping the Senate would keep the issue alive. 

"These companies have an obligation to the United States of
America to pay their taxes," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. "If
you want to feed at the public trough, you have to pay your
taxes." 

The vote came as Congress belatedly plunged into its budget work
for 2005, with leaders hoping to finish as many of the 13 annual
spending bills as they can by the Oct. 1 start of the
government's new fiscal year. Lawmakers took action on
everything from adding money for U.S. diplomats in Iraq to
ending the U.S. Capitol Police's new mounted police force. 

The Accenture vote was no surprise - similar provisions have
been killed or weakened over the last two years. The bill was
expected to retain language barring the Homeland Security
department from entering future contracts with companies
headquartered offshore. 

Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., said DeLauro's amendment was designed
to "score some political points" and was picking on a company
that pays all the taxes it legally owes. 

In other work Wednesday: 

-The House debated a $19.5 billion measure, financing the
Interior Department and other land and cultural programs, that
increases spending for battling wildfires but eliminates funds
for buying new land for parks. 

-The House Appropriations Committee approved a $416.9 billion
defense measure, including $50 billion for military operations
in Iraq and Afghanistan. The panel added $685 million for
diplomatic costs in both countries that, like the military
money, the Bush administration had said would not be needed
until at least next January. 

Committee members also added $95 million for victims of
starvation and fighting in Sudan and Chad; a requirement for a
White House report by Oct. 1 of the expected U.S. price tag in
Iraq and Afghanistan; and language curbing contracts with
private companies to manage Iraqi reconstruction. 

-The House Appropriations Committee approved a $28 billion
energy and water measure that cuts President Bush's request for
work on a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. It
boosts spending for water projects in lawmakers' home districts,
and eliminates funds Bush wanted to develop some new nuclear
weapons. 

-A subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee approved
a $32 billion measure for the Homeland Security Department that
adds money for protecting rail systems Bush did not request. The
bill does not address the Accenture contract. 

-A House Appropriations subcommittee approved $2.8 billion for
Congress' own operations, excluding Senate money that chamber
will add later. The total is the same as this year's, though the
House's own budget would grow by 3.6 percent to $1.04 billion. 

The panel also voted to abolish the six-horse, seven-officer
mounted police force the Capitol Police started this spring,
which Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., called "a police fashion
accessory." 

It also defeated an amendment by Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill., that
would have forbidden departing House members from filing
complaints with the House ethics committee - in effect barring
Rep. Chris Bell, D-Texas, from pursuing his ethics charges
against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas. 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 26 UPI: IAEA says Japan plans no nuclear weapons - 

(United Press International)
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
  June 16, 2004 			   

Tokyo, Japan, Jun. 16 (UPI) -- The International Atomic Energy 
Agency has said it will reduce inspections of Japan's nuclear 
facilities, convinced they are only for peaceful purposes. 

After a four-year investigation, the IAEA announced it would 
halve the number of annual inspections of Japan's facilities, as 
it is convinced Japan has no plans to develop nuclear weapons, 
the Asahi Shimbun reported Wednesday.

 At a board of governors meeting in Vienna Monday, 
Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei confirmed the agency would 
apply what it calls "integrated safeguards" to Japan, similar to 
those applied to Australia, Norway and Indonesia, which possess 
only research reactors.

 His decision is based on inspections of 5,000 buildings at 170 
power plants, research facilities and production sites. 

The move will allow the IAEA to use its limited resources for 
other nations suspected of implementing nuclear arms programs. 
Until now the IAEA has had to spend about 10 percent of its 
annual budget on inspecting Japan.

[UPI Perspectives]                                                                    
*****************************************************************
 27 EurActiv.com: Nuclear Energy in the CEECs
              
  Date: 16/06/2004       [back] [Homepage]   

 This article summarizes the current situation of Central and
Eastern European Countries (CEECs) regarding electricity
generated by nuclear energy, and analyses the implications of EU
membership for the activity of existing nuclear power plants. 		
  	 	
Source:MINEFI - DREE elargissement                                                                                     
	 	 	 	
Author:Louis, Olivier                   

Number of nuclear reactors in service and quantity of electricity 
generated from nuclear power (TWh and % of total electricity 
generated in 2001) 

      
Reactors
N     
Generation
TWh     
Nuclear
%   
  
BU     
6     
18.2     
45   
  
HU     
4     
14.2     
40.6   
  
LIT     
2     
8.4     
73.7   
  
CZ     
5     
13.6     
20.1   
  
ROU     
1     
5.1     
10.9   
  
SLK     
6     
16.5     
53.4   
  
SLV     
1     
4.5     
37.4   


Source : French Economic Departments 
As shown in the table opposite, electricity from nuclear power
plays an important role in five of the ten new members of the
Union and in the two applicant countries. But their nuclear
power stations differ both in age and technology: 

+ Four of the reactors at the Kozloduy nuclear power station in
Bulgaria, two of those at Bohunice (Slovakia) and both the
reactors at Ignalina (Lithuania) are over 20 years old and are
of the Soviet RMBK or VVER type. In the context of the
negotiations for their accession to the EU, and although there
is strictly speaking no acquis communautaire in the nuclear
sector, the new member states and the candidate countries have
committed themselves to closing down these reactors and will
receive financial support to help them to do so, subject to the
following conditions: 
  + Lithuania: closure of reactor I at Ignalina before January 1
st 2005 and reactor II before December 31 st 2009. Financial aid
of 285 Mio Euro has been allocated over the period 2004-2006,
which will continue after 2006: the amount of the aid will be
decided in the EUs next financial projections. 
  + Slovakia: closure of reactor I at Bohunice before December
31 st 2006 and reactor II before December 31 st 2008. Financial
aid of  90 M has been awarded to Slovakia between 2004-2006. It
will continue beyond 2006. 
  + Bulgaria: negotiations on the "energy" chapter of the acquis
communautaire have been completed. After heated debates, the
Bulgarian government has agreed to close reactors I and II at
the Kozloduy power station in return for financial aid of 185
Mio Euro. It has also committed itself to closing reactors III
and IV before December 31 st 2006. However, the latter decision
remains highly controversial in Bulgaria 

+ The other nuclear power stations in the area meet European
safety standards. The nuclear power stations in Romania and
Slovenia use Western technologies (Candu and Westinghouse
respectively), and their maintenance benefits from the technical
cooperation of large European companies (AREVA and Siemens). 

+ The nuclear countries of Central and Eastern Europe are in
favour of nuclear energy, and public opinion in Bulgaria and
Lithuania has found it difficult to accept the closures imposed
upon them as a condition of their present or future accession to
the European Union. New nuclear programmes, to replace the power
stations to be closed, have strong backing. In Lithuania, the
construction of a new generation power station is currently
being studied. In Slovakia, the completion of reactors III and
IV at Mochovce is dependent upon the implication of a strategic
investor. The Slovak authorities indicated recently that, in the
privatisation of the electricity national operator SE, the owner
of the Mochovce power station (a disposal which should take
place before the end of this year) preference would be given to
the bidder undertaking to complete these two reactors. In
Bulgaria, the completion of the thermo-nuclear power station at
Béléne, the construction of which stopped in 1990, is again on
the agenda, the feasibility study having been entrusted to the
American company Parsons. In Romania, work on the second phase
of Cernavoda should be completed in 2007. A third is envisaged
by 2010. 

      IMPORTANT REMARK     
  			'Analysis' documents are commentaries by external
contributors. EurActiv - as a neutral platform - does not state
policy positions of its own. Any opinions in 'Analysis'
documents are those of the author only.   

  © EurActiv 2000 - 2003

*****************************************************************
 28 CJAD 800: Cameco, partners amend deal to buy uranium from dismantled
Russian nukes
 
Updated at 19:00 on June 16, 2004, EST.

SASKATOON (CP) - Cameco Corp., the world's biggest uranium 
company, and two partners have amended a deal that allows them to 
buy uranium derived from dismantled Russian nuclear weapons, 
agreeing to forego some future options on the radioactive 
material to ensure enough of it is left in Russia. 

Cameco and two partners - radioactive waste management company 
RWE Nukem, based in South Carolina, and Cogema, a European 
provider of services to the nuclear power industry - agreed to 
changes in their contract with Russia's Tenex through to 2013. 

The change provides that the western companies will forego a 
portion of their future options on non-quota, HEU-derived uranium 
- in other words, options on uranium for consumption outside of 
the United States - "to ensure there is sufficient material in 
Russia." 

The change was needed in light of Russia's rising requirements 
for uranium to fuel their expanding nuclear plant construction 
program within Russia and abroad. 

The contract amendment is subject to approval the U.S. and 
Russian governments. 

Highly enriched uranium (HEU) from dismantled nuclear weapons is 
blended down to low-enriched uranium (LEU) in Russia and 
delivered to the United States for use in nuclear power plants in 
both the U.S. and abroad. The HEU contract gives the western 
companies the right to purchase, from Tenex, the natural uranium 
component of the LEU derived from HEU. 

The western companies have had an agreement with Tenex since 1999 
to facilitate the disarmament initiative providing for the 
delivery of the HEU-derived uranium for use as fuel in western 
world reactors. 

"Cameco is proud to be part of an international initiative that 
is successfully turning uranium from Russian nuclear weapons into 
fuel for clean energy," Jerry Grandey, Cameco's president and 
CEO, said in a separate statement. 

  The Canadian Press, 2004   
© Copyright Standard Radio Inc., 2004. 
*****************************************************************
 29 Toronto Star: New agency to ensure energy supply

TheStar.com - 

  Wed. Jun. 16, 2004. | Updated at 07:16 PM  

DICK LOEK/TORONTO STAR                        

Energy Minister Dwight Duncan unveils plans for the new Ontario 
Power Authority yesterday. The agency’s job will be to ensure 
there is an adequate, long-term supply of electricity for the 
province. Critics complain it just creates a new level of 
bureaucracy.             

Province unveils arms-length body to deliver hydro Government
eager to curb consumer consumption

JOHN SPEARS AND RICHARD BRENNAN STAFF REPORTERS

The Ontario government introduced sweeping changes yesterday to 
the province's electricity sector that it says will guarantee a 
long-term supply of power at reasonable prices.

Energy Minister Dwight Duncan introduced legislation setting up 
the Ontario Power Authority, an arms-length body that will 
predict the province's energy needs and will have the power to 
sign contracts to make sure the power is delivered.

The authority will also have a conservation bureau that will work 
with local hydro utilities to curb electricity use.

Duncan said an over-all plan is needed because demand for power 
is growing and 18,000 megawatts of the province's 30,000 
megawatts of generating capacity must be overhauled or replaced 
over the next 16 years.

Opposition critics denounced the plan.

 "This policy is the policy of privatization of Mike Harris with 
a lot of Liberal double-speak," New Democratic Party Leader 
Howard Hampton said. "But for Ontario consumers it means a much 
higher electricity price."

Conservative Leader Ernie Eves said the Liberal government is 
creating whole new levels of bureaucracy to get a handle on 
future power needs and pricing.

"I'm sure that every government that has been in power in the 
province of Ontario has had a plan or policy in place for the 
creation of new power generation," he said. "The question is, 
does it work and can you keep up with the demand as time goes on.

"They (the Liberals) have put additional pressure on themselves 
by promising to eliminate every coal burning plant by the end of 
2006. That's a pretty big challenge," he said.

Duncan said it is "crucial that private investors be allowed to 
enter Ontario and support the construction of thousands of 
megawatts of electricity that we need to build."

The new power authority, which Duncan hopes to have up and 
running by January, will estimate how much power the province 
will need for a decade or more to come.

"The authority will give clearer delineation of not only how much 
we're going to need, where we're going to get it, who we're going 
to get it from," Duncan said.

"Remember we're looking at a $30 (billion) to $40 billion 
investment over the next 20 years."

 The new power authority could sign long-term contracts to buy 
set amounts of power at set prices, or other types of contracts 
such as those that pay generators a regular fee to be on call if 
needed.

That's similar to the role Ontario Hydro used to play, but Duncan 
said Ontario Hydro's vision was blurred because it was in the 
business itself of generating power and building power lines.

He said the new authority is needed because the market system 
that the Conservative government set up, and then quickly 
squelched when prices soared, didn't encourage investors to 
build.

"We could just leave it as it is and have no one doing this, and 
we could be navel-gazing a year from now, hoping the market will 
provide something, crossing our fingers, and at the end of the 
day it won't," he said. 

While the power authority will do the contracting for new 
electricity, Duncan said the government will decide what 
percentage of power should be delivered by each of nuclear, hydro 
and gas-fired generators, and from renewable sources.

Meanwhile, the Ontario Energy Board will continue to regulate 
rates for consumers in the province, based in part on the prices 
negotiated by the power authority.

Dave Butters, president of the Association of Power Producers of 
Ontario, said his members need to see more details before they 
can assess the plans.

"I think that's the biggest question: How does it actually work?"

He said it is unclear how the Ontario Energy Board will translate 
the contract prices negotiated with the generators into the 
regulated consumer price for electricity.

Another crucial question is the future role of government-owned 
Ontario Power Generation, which produces two-thirds of the 
province's power, said Butters. Its status is under review.

Duncan said the government is eager to curb consumption wherever 
possible through measures such as installing "smart meters" that 
can charge varying prices for power.

Charlie Macaluso, who represents local hydro utilities, cautioned 
that replacing meters for Ontario's more than 4 million hydro 
customers is a huge job.

 "We need to make sure we target consumers where the meter makes 
sense," he said. "It could be billions of dollars."

Tom Adams, of Energy Probe, an electricity-sector watchdog, said 
the reform plan is "an explosion of new bureaucracy" and warned 
it will lead to an even higher electricity debt.

"The first step to any serious solution to our electricity crisis 
is to start charging customers the real cost of electricity," 
Adams said.

Murray Elston, president and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear 
Association, said he was glad to see the emphasis on stabilized 
pricing but wants more details.

Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All
*****************************************************************
 30 Mos News: Nuclear Physicist Faces Retrial for High Treason - 

MOSNEWS.COM
 
="The Moscow News"

    [Nuclear physicist Valentin Danilov smoking a pipe in front
of Russia&#146;s Supreme Court / Photo: ITAR-TASS] 

Created: 16.06.2004 15:53 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 15:53 MSK 

Alexei Tarasov 
The Moscow News
 
Russia’s Supreme Court overturned the not guilty verdict handed
down by a jury in the case of Valentin Danilov, a
Krasnoyarsk-based nuclear physicist, late last year. The
specialist on plasma physics, who was instrumental in greatly
extending the service life of domestic orbital spacecraft, is
once again being charged with spying for China as well as with
financial fraud. He is once again facing 20 years in a
high-security prison, which to a 55-year old scientist is
tantamount to a life sentence: More than four years of jitters,
580 days of custody, and 39 court hearings have left him with a
bunch of health problems. 

And now it is starting all over again. Once again, Nobel Prize
winner Vitaly Ginzburg, who strongly defended his colleague, is
saying that the case against Danilov is in fact aimed against
Russia. Only now, six months after the acquittal, Danilov’s
chances for success look increasingly slim. What has happened
during this time? A sentence has been passed on Igor Sutyagin.
In Valentin Danilov’s own admission, he was discouraged by both
the alacrity with which the jury dealt with the Sutyagin case
and their verdict: No leniency.

“All the indications are that the outcome of my case is a
foregone conclusion because it is not criminal but purely
political. At any rate, this ruling by the Supreme Court, unjust
and unjustified, did not come as a surprise to me,” Danilov
said. “The head of the Federal Security Service regional
directorate press service and a whole TV camera crew were flying
on the same plane with me to Moscow for the trial. The state
security people already knew the result. They might at least
have observed the proprieties — you know, by pretending that
they did not. They seem to have recovered from the shock after
their resounding defeat in court, last December, when they
thought that it was all in the bag and that the jury would vote
in their favor 12:0 (then eight jurors out of 12 found Danilov
not guilty on all counts. — A.T.).” 

Letting the Cat Out of the Bag 

The legal grounds for challenging a jury verdict, as opposed to
a verdict passed by professional judges, are very limited.
Nonetheless, the Krasnoyarsk Krai Prosecutor’s Office decided to
go ahead, and scored an interim victory. The Supreme Court
partially upheld the Prosecutor’s Office’s argument, sending the
case back to Krasnoyarsk for a new hearing by a different court.
According to Yelena Yevmenova, Danilov’s de-fense counsel, the
decision as to which particular judge is to handle it will be
made in about a month. The physicist himself believes that the
new trial will be swift because his case seems to have been
“expedited”: The Supreme Court handed down the ruling far too
quickly. 

The court found substantial violations of procedural rules that
apparently affected the jury verdict: Impo-tantly, violations of
the Code of Criminal Procedure were made by both the defense and
the prosecution as well as by the presiding judge — like a
number of “technical inaccuracies” pointed to by a Supreme Court
judge. 

Yevmenova noted that enclosed with the prosecutor’s office’s
appeal were statements by three jurors alleging pressure on the
part of the defense (apparently one of the jurors even got into
a road accident because of that). The defense counsel claims
that these statements have similar wording, coming to the
conclusion that the prosecutor’s office presumably questioned
the jurors, thus disclosing the secrecy of the jury conference:
Otherwise how would the prosecutor’s office have known who voted
and how? The lawyer also said that on Monday, when she returned
to Krasnoyarsk, she would file a lawsuit over protection of her
business reputation since the Supreme Court threw out the
prosecutor’s office claim that Yevmenova had exerted undue
pressure on the jury.

In Defense of the Physicist

It will be recalled that the Federal Security Service (FSB)
accused Danilov of selling classified information to China. The
scientist signed a contract to produce a simulator modeling the
integrated impact of the space environment on satellites, and to
develop related software. This is a dual-use facility.
Furthermore, the information that was passed to the Chinese side
purportedly contained data on yet another piece of equipment — a
lab simulator of casualty/damage producing elements of nuclear
weapon systems. This device has an exclusively military purpose.

According to counterintelligence agencies, the scientist and his
Chinese partners were detained just as they were concluding
contract on the transfer of this second simulator. Later on the
charge of high treason was expanded to include “financial
fraud”: Allegedly, Danilov misappropriated 466,000 rubles that
the Chinese paid as an advance for what was essentially team
work. 

Danilov’s own comments on his never-ending case as well as
comments by his numerous defenders from various international
re-search centers boil down to a well known formula: “It’s like
a guinea-pig — it’s neither a guinea nor a pig.” That is to say,
to them, there is simply no case in the legal sense of the word
because there is no evidence that state secrets were actually
sold (a fact that the jury agreed with). What Danilov passed to
the Chinese were exclusively non-secret materials, available in
the public domain, that were declassified way back in 1992. All
of his cooperation was sanctioned by the authorities. But then,
Danilov believes, intelligence and security services took
then-Security Council Secretary Sergei Ivanov’s statement on
tightening control over space technology leaks at face value. 

Letters in the physicist’s defense were signed by many
scientists and politicians. Russian men of letters also appealed
to the prosecutor’s office: “A treaty has been signed with
China, covering, among other things, joint space research
programs. Now as a result of the ’Danilov case,’ our state for
the umpteenth time is sustaining losses running into tens of
thousands of dollars while possibly losing out on the vast
Chinese market in this sphere of science.” People who came out
in defense of the physicist said that the Chinese, rebuffed by
the FSB, had to use European Space Agency know-how and so the
money earmarked for Russia went to Europe. In Danilov’s
estimate, the FSB Investigations Department caused science at
least $5 million worth of damages. This is the cost of training
Chinese specialists and the contribution that China pledged to
joint fundamental research programs.

A Bitter Victory

This is not the first time that Danilov and his supporters have
had to start everything from scratch. For various reasons,
consideration of his case was repeatedly suspended or stopped
and then it had to begin all over again. An assistant judge was
removed from the bench, for example, after criticizing the
behavior of an FSB officer. 

In short, thus far the state has not had much luck with either
people’s assessors or with jurors in the Danilov case.

Danilov himself has always taken it in stride: “Physics always
has models. Events always happen in a series. Say there is a
random, separate event that has its own probability rate. Rare
events also come in series. You won the lottery but then a brick
fell on your head. So I am terribly afraid of all wins.” Danilov
said this when he was already released from custody pending
trial but had yet to win in court.
 
  Write us: <b>info@mosnews.com</b>
Copyright © 2004 MOSNEWS.COM
 Designed by <b>kB "Gazeta.Ru"</b>

*****************************************************************
 31 9/11 Terror Plans Called For Nuclear Power Plant Attacks From Planes
 
Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 18:40:13 -0400

 


  CRAC-2 Report On Fatalities, Injuries, Cancers,
Economic Damage at nuclear power plants from the
nuclear industry itself [greatly watered down from
what would really happen]:
http://www.mothersalert.org/crac.html
http://www.mothersalert.org/crac.html

  Some of the 9/11 terrorist plans, the commission
staff said, called for the hijacked jets to be
crashed into the headquarters of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and the Central
Intelligence Agency, various nuclear power plants,




http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/16/politics/16CND-REPORT.html?hp
Original Plan for 9/11 Attacks Involved 10 Planes,
Panel Says
By DAVID STOUT

Published: June 16, 2004



                  Agence France-Presse -- Getty
Images
                  Ted Davis, a C.I.A. official,
testified today to the Sept. 11 commission along
with other government experts on Al Qaeda.




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                  Associated Press
                  John Pistole, an assistant
director of the F.B.I., testified today to the
Sept. 11 commission along with other government
experts on Al Qaeda.




ASHINGTON, June 16 - As horrendous as they were,
the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, were only a small
part of terrorist visions that called for using 10
hijacked airplanes to attack both the East and
West Coasts, including the United States Capitol
and the White House, the staff of the independent
commission investigating the attacks reported
today.

The staff also asserted that "no credible
evidence" had been found that Iraq and Al Qaeda
terrorists cooperated in the attacks, a conclusion
likely to fuel the debate over President Bush's
decision to go to war to topple Saddam Hussein.

Some of the 9/11 terrorist plans, the commission
staff said, called for the hijacked jets to be
crashed into the headquarters of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and the Central
Intelligence Agency, various nuclear power plants,
and skyscrapers in California and Washington
State, a captured leader of Al Qaeda, Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed, has told interrogators.

Mr. Mohammed, who is believed to have originated
the idea for the Sept. 11 attacks and whose
nephew, Ramzi Yousef, was the mastermind of the
1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, was seized
in Pakistan in March 2003 and is being held at an
undisclosed location.

The reports, the 15th and 16th by the panel staff,
were issued as the commission, meeting in
Washington, began its last two days of public
hearings. A final report is to be issued by July
26.

Today's interim report on the outline of the 9/11
plot offers new details and far more context than
has previously been known. It says, for instance,
that Zacarias Moussaoui, who has often been dubbed
"the 20th hijacker" out of speculation that he was
to have joined the 19 actual hijackers, was
instead meant to participate in a "second wave" of
attacks, an idea thwarted when he was arrested in
August 2001 after his behavior at a Minnesota
flying school aroused suspicion.

The 9/11 conspirators and their leaders, while
joined in their hatred of the United States, often
argued among themselves over what targets to
attack, and when, the staff of the bipartisan
investigating commission said.

For instance, Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda's top
leader, initially pushed for a date of May 12,
2001, exactly seven months after terrorists
attacked the American destroyer Cole in Yemen.
Then, when he learned that Prime Minister Aeriel
Sharon of Israel would visit the White House in
June or July, Mr. bin Laden pressed to amend the
timetable.

"In both instances," the report notes, Mr.
Mohammed "insisted that the hijacker teams were
not yet ready."

The plot was also riven by personality clashes
and, it seems, by at least one case of cold feet.
In the summer of 2001, Mohamed Atta, the
operational leader of the conspiracy, drove
another conspirator, Ziah Jarrah, to Miami's main
airport so that Mr. Jarrah could fly to Germany to
visit his girlfriend.

That Mr. Atta drove Mr. Jarrah to the airport was
an "unusual circumstance suggesting that something
may have been amiss," the report said. At the
time, Khalid Mohammed was fretting to his fellow
terrorists that if Mr. Jarrah "asks for a divorce,
it is going to cost a lot of money," apparently an
allusion to the costs of putting another hijacker
in place.

"Given the catastrophic results of the 9/11
attacks, it is tempting to depict the plot as a
set plan executed to near perfection," the staff
report said. "This would be a mistake."

One apparent "failure" of the plot has been known
since the day of the attacks: the Boeing 757
designated United Flight 93, which took off from
Newark, crashed in a field in southwestern
Pennsylvania, apparently after its hijackers
struggled with the doomed passengers. (That plane
is believed to have been piloted by Mr. Jarrah,
who got over his case of cold feet and said
good-bye to his girlfriend, and his life.)

There has been conjecture ever since that the
hijackers on Flight 93 meant to crash the plane
into a high-profile Washington target - the White
House, perhaps, or the Capitol. Another jet,
hijacked after it took off from Dulles Airport,
near Washington, crashed into the Pentagon, while
two jetliners that were hijacked after taking off
from Boston were flown into the World Trade
Center, destroying the Twin Towers.

Mr. Mohammed has told interrogators that "the U.S.
Capitol was indeed on the preliminary target list"
that he originally developed with Al Qaeda's top
leader, Osama bin Laden, and other terrorist
ringleaders as early as the spring of 1999.

"That preliminary list also included the White
House, the Pentagon and the World Trade Center,"
said the staff of the commission, formally known
as the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks
Upon the United States. Mr. Mohammed "claims that
while everyone agreed on the Capitol, he wanted to
hit the World Trade Center, whereas bin Laden
favored the Pentagon and the White House."

Among Mr. bin Laden and his confederates, the
Capitol was "the perceived source of U.S. policy
in support of Israel," while the White House was
considered "a political symbol."

Mr. bin Laden expressed his target preferences in
the summer of 2001 to Mr. Atta, who was destined
to fly a jetliner into the North Tower of the
World Trade Center. Had he not been able to hit
the tower, Mr. Atta was determined to crash the
jet he was flying into the streets of Manhattan,
the report says.

Mr. Atta said he thought the White House would be
too difficult a target, though it was not clear
why. Better to hit the Capitol, Mr. Atta
reportedly argued. "Atta selected a date after the
first week of September so that the United States
Congress would be in session," the report states.

As have previous staff reports on the Sept. 11
carnage, this one reveals some tantalizing "what
ifs." Two of the hijackers got speeding tickets in
the months before the attacks, and one was
involved in a car crash on the George Washington
Bridge.

There is no suggestion whatever that the police
officers should have sensed that the people
involved in the traffic incidents were up to
something. On the other hand, Timothy McVeigh, the
Oklahoma City bomber, was brought to justice in
part because of a traffic stop.





*****************************************************************
 32 Arizona Republic: Nuke team looks into Palo Verde shutdown
 
June 16, 2004 

Backup's failure has feds worried

 Max Jarman

Federal regulators are sending a team to Arizona to investigate 
the emergency shutdown of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating 
Station, saying Monday's incident involved the failure of an 
important backup system.

 A second backup system kicked in, and others were available. But 
the incident at Unit 2 prompted Arizona Public Service Co., the 
operator, to declare an "alert" for a few hours, the 
second-lowest of four levels of emergency classification.

 It was the third such declaration at Palo Verde in 11 years and 
the fifth unexpected shutdown there this year. 

The shutdown of the nation's largest nuclear power plant Monday 
morning threatened the stability of the power grid and cut 
electricity to about 65,000 customers in Pima and Maricopa 
counties.

 "Because of some complications, we want to take a detailed look 
at what occurred," said Thomas P. Gwynn, deputy regional 
administrator for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Region IV, 
based in Arlington, Texas.

 Palo Verde, which can light 3 million homes, remained shut for 
the second day and could be down for the rest of the week. The 
shutdown prompted utilities that rely on its electricity to 
restart seldom-used generators and buy electricity on the open 
market.

 The price of wholesale electricity at the Palo Verde Switchyard 
surged $11.13, or 20 percent, on Tuesday to $66.59 per megawatt 
hour. The price had risen 16 percent on Monday. 

Salt River Project, which relies on Palo Verde for some power 
during the summer, can pass along the higher costs to its 
customers but has not said it will do so. APS would have to apply 
to the state for higher rates, using the costs as a 
justification.

 APS and SRP, which own a combined 47 percent of Palo Verde, 
believe they have enough power to get through the week but say 
the loss of another plant or major transmission line could cause 
shortages. California utilities that own 26 percent of the power 
from Palo Verde also are affected. 

APS said Monday's outage was caused by a sequence of events that 
included a faulty insulator on a high-voltage transmission tower 
in the northeast Valley and the failure of several safety systems 
designed to isolate such problems. 

"It should have been stopped at a number of points on the 
system," APS spokesman Jim McDonald said. 

The cause of the system failures is under investigation.

 But what concerns the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was the 
failure of one of two backup electrical systems inside one of the 
plant's three reactors. The emergency power is needed to safely 
shut down and cool the reactors. 

The second system safely shut down the reactor. Had it failed, 
too, officials would have had to rely on other systems that 
provide backup power to the entire plant.

 Victor Dricks, a spokesman for the NRC's Region IV, was unable 
to say how long the inspectors would be in Arizona but added that 
their presence would not delay restarting the plant. 

McDonald said crews were evaluating the plant's three generators 
to determine when they can be restarted. The three generators 
need to be started one at a time and then slowly brought up to 
full power over a period of days.

 The last time APS declared an "alert" was in 1996, when a fuel 
rod assembly became jammed in the reactor core. In 1993, an alert 
was declared when a steam generator tube ruptured. 

The most serious emergency designation is a "general emergency," 
and the second is a "site emergency."

 This was the fifth unexpected shutdown at Palo Verde this year. 
Three of those involved internal radiation leaks at Units 1, 2 
and 3 in February. Unit 3 was shut again June 9 when a control 
system failed. Print This 

The Republic | about KPNX-TV | 

Copyright 2004, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. 
*****************************************************************
 33 projo: PSB sets June 28 hearing        

Providence, R.I. | AP's The Wire
 
  projo.com     
   
06.16.2004 06:54 A.M.   

The Associated Press        

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - State utility regulators will hear from
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission later this month on the NRC's
plan to conduct a special review of the Vermont Yankee nuclear
power plant. 

The NRC has announced that it will conduct a 4,000-hour
engineering assessment to determine whether Vermont Yankee can
boost its power by 20 percent. 

Susan Hudson, clerk of the Public Service Board, said the board
will hear June 28 from the NRC on the details of that plan. 
The board granted Entergy Nuclear a state certificate of public
good for the power increase, but conditioned it on what it
called "an independent engineering assessment." 

"The purpose of the meeting is to allow the NRC to describe the
regulatory process and the new engineering inspection," Hudson
said, noting that the board had not made any final decision on
whether it would accept the new NRC inspection program. 

A spokesman for the NRC, Neil Sheehan, said two top-level NRC
officials from Washington would explain the first-in-the-country
engineering assessment. 

"In the case of the Vermont Yankee inspection, it will include
components from multiple systems that are potentially affected
by a power uprate, such as the emergency core cooling systems,
the containment system, power conversion systems and auxiliary
systems," Sheehan said. 

He said the regular review will involve three weeks of on-site
inspection and more than 700 hours of direct inspection time. At
this point, he said, the on-site inspection work is tentatively
planned for August. 	   

Providence Journal newsroom at (401) 277-7303. 

© Belo Interactive Inc.   
*****************************************************************
 34 Las Vegas RJ: Nuclear power plant shutdown wreaks havoc 
 
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
 
By JOHN G. EDWARDS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Nevada Power Co. narrowly avoided an outage following the
unexpected shutdown of all three units at an Arizona nuclear
power plant, Mark Shanks, director of regional transmission for
the Las Vegas-based electric utility, said Tuesday.
 
 Federal nuclear regulators arrived Tuesday at the Palo Verde
Nuclear Generating Station to begin an inspection following the
shutdown.
 
 Shanks said the electrical frequency at Nevada Power didn't
drop below the trip point but did in Arizona and New Mexico,
causing temporary outages.
 
 "It got very close," he said. "From a supply perspective, we
didn't see any impact at all from having these units down,"
Shanks said. Nor did he believe the incident cast uncertainty on
power reliability for the summer.
 
 "I think the system held together very well," Shanks said. "It
wasn't a major breakup. It did create some havoc in Arizona and
New Mexico."
 
 The nuclear plant inspectors planned to look at the causes of
the shutdown and the response.
 
 Nuclear regulators were concerned that diesel generators that
are supposed to provide backup power did not do so, said Victor
Dricks, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
 The units are supposed to each have two diesel generators that
will operate if power is lost. Only one of the generators at
Unit 2 worked properly, Dricks said. 
The plant shut down as a fail-safe on Monday morning after a
disruption in the western power grid. The disruption caused
roughly 65,000 Arizona customers to lose power for about an
hour. Customers in New Mexico and Northern California also were
affected.
 
 Power was restored using alternative supplies, said Jim
McDonald, a spokesman for Arizona Public Service Co., the
utility that operates the plant 50 miles west of Phoenix.
 
 It was expected to take several more days for Palo Verde to be
operational again, McDonald said.
 
 Monday's shutdown was the first time all three units at the
plant, one of the nation's largest nuclear facilities,
automatically shut down because of a disruption.
 
 By Tuesday, APS officials had concluded that the outage started
with the failure of an insulator on a large transmission line in
northwest Phoenix. The failure should have tripped breakers that
are designed to isolate the problem and protect the rest of the
grid. But the breakers also failed, causing Palo Verde and a
nearby gas-fired plant to shut down.
 
 The disruption caused about 30,000 customers in Phoenix and
35,000 customers in Tucson to briefly lose power. In
Albuquerque, N.M., about 16,000 customers lost power for five to
12 minutes, and in San Jose, Calif., about 5,000 people lost
power, according to the East Valley Tribune.
 
 Palo Verde supplies power to about 4 million customers in
Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
 
 
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
 35 NRC: NRC Enforcement Policy
 
                        FR Doc 04-13523 
[Federal Register: June 16, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 115)] 
[Notices] [Page 33684-33685] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr16jn04-90]                         
 
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
ACTION: Policy statement: revision.
 
SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is revising its 
General Statement of Policy and Procedure for NRC Enforcement 
Actions (NUREG-1600) (Enforcement Policy or Policy) to include an 
interim enforcement policy regarding enforcement discretion for 
certain issues involving fire protection programs at operating 
nuclear power plants.
 
 
DATES: This revision is effective June 16, 2004. Comments on this 
revision to the Enforcement Policy may be submitted on or before 
July 16, 2004.
 
 
ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to: Michael T. Lesar, Chief, 
Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, 
Office of Administration, Mail Stop: T6D59, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Hand deliver 
comments to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, between 
7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Federal workdays. Copies of comments 
received may be examined at the NRC Public Document Room, Room 
O1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD.
 
You may also e-mail comments to .
 
The NRC maintains the current Enforcement Policy on its Web site 
at , select What We Do, Enforcement, then Enforcement Policy.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Birmingham, Office of 
Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, (301) 415-2829, e-mail () or 
Ren[eacute]e Pedersen, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555-0001, (301) 415-2742, 
e-mail ().
 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a separate action published in 
today's Federal Register, the NRC is revising its regulations in 
10 CFR 50.48 governing fire protection at operating nuclear power 
plants. The revision adds a new paragraph (c) to Sec.  50.48 that 
allows reactor licensees to voluntarily comply with the 
risk-informed, performance- based fire protection approaches in 
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 805 NFPA 
805), ``Performance-based Standard For Fire Protection For Light 
Water Reactor Electric Generating Plants,'' 2001 Edition (with 
limited exceptions stated in the rule language), as an 
alternative to complying with Sec.  50.48(b) or the requirements 
in their fire protection license conditions.
 
As part of the transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c), licensees will 
establish the fundamental fire protection program identified in 
NFPA 805. Licensees will perform a plant-wide assessment to 
identify fire areas and fire hazards and evaluate compliance with 
their existing fire protection licensing basis. This fire 
protection assessment is beyond the normal licensee review of 
their fire protection program.
 
During the assessment process, licensees may identify 
noncompliances with their existing fire protection licensing 
basis which must be evaluated to restore compliance with the 
existing plant requirements or to establish compliance with a 
performance-based approach under NFPA 805. These noncompliances 
would normally be identified by the licensee as part of the above 
fire protection assessment, entered into the licensee's 
corrective action program, and dispositioned for corrective 
action, including any compensatory measures. The NRC believes it 
is appropriate to provide incentives for licensees initiating 
efforts to identify and correct subtle violations that are not 
likely to be identified by routine efforts.
 
Therefore, the NRC is issuing an interim policy that provides 
enforcement discretion for certain fire protection noncompliances 
identified as part of the transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c). For 
these noncompliances discussed above, the enforcement discretion 
period would begin upon receipt of a letter of intent from the 
licensee stating their intention to adopt the risk-informed, 
performance-based fire protection program under 10 CFR 50.48(c) 
and providing a schedule for the transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c). 
The enforcement discretion period would be in effect for up to 
two years under the letter of intent and, if the licensee submits 
a license amendment request to complete the transition to 10 CFR 
50.48(c), will continue until the NRC approval of the license 
amendment request is completed.
 
If the licensee decides not to complete its transition to 10 CFR 
50.48(c), the licensee must submit a letter stating their 
intention to retain their existing license basis and withdrawing 
their letter of intent. Enforcement discretion would be provided 
for those violations that were identified under the letter of 
intent to transition to NFPA 805 provided those violations are 
resolved under the existing licensing basis and meet the criteria 
included in this policy for these violations. Violations 
identified after the date of the withdrawal letter will be 
dispositioned in accordance with normal enforcement practices.
 
Additionally, licensees who plan to comply with 20 CFR 50.48(c) 
may have existing identified noncompliances which could 
reasonable be corrected under 20 CFR 50.48(c). For these 
noncompliances, the NRC is providing enforcement discretion for 
the implementation of corrective action so that those 
noncompliances may be corrected in accordance with the 
requirements of 10 CFR 50.48(c). Those noncompliances must be 
entered into the licensee's corrective action program, must not 
be associated with findings that the Reactor Oversight Process 
Significance Determination Process would evaluate as Red, or 
would not be categorized at Severity Level l, and appropriate 
compensatory measures have been taken. To prevent undue delay in 
either restoring these existing noncompliances to 10 CFR 50.48(b) 
(and any other requirements in fire protection license 
conditions) or establishing compliance to 10 CFR 50.48(c), the 
letter of intent must be submitted within 6 months of the 
effective date of the final rule amending 10 CFR 50.48. This 
interim enforcement discretion policy is consistent with the 
long-standing policy included in Section
 
[[Page 33685]] VII.B.3, ``Violations Involving Old Design 
Issues,'' of the Enforcement Policy addressing discretion when 
licensees voluntarily undertake a comprehensive review and 
assessment. This exercise of discretion provides appropriate 
incentives for licensees initiating efforts to identify and 
correct subtle violations that are not likely to be identified by 
routine efforts.
 
However, the NRC may take enforcement action when a violation 
that is associated with a finding of high safety significance is 
identified. The staff intends to normally rely on the licensee's 
risk assessment of an issue when making a decision on whether to 
exercise enforcement discretion under this policy.
 
Accordingly, the proposed revision to the NRC Enforcement Policy 
reads as follows: General Statement of Policy and Procedure for 
NRC Enforcement Actions * * * * * Interim Enforcement Policies 
Interim Enforcement Policy Regarding Enforcement Discretion for 
Certain Fitness-for-Duty Issues (10 CFR Part 26) * * * * * 
Interim Enforcement Policy Regarding Enforcement Discretion for 
Certain Fire Protection Issues (10 CFR 50.48) This section sets 
forth the interim enforcement policy that the NRC will follow to 
exercise enforcement discretion for certain violations of 
requirements in 10 CFR 50.48, Fire protection (or fire protection 
license conditions) that are identified as a result of the 
transition to a new risk-informed, performance-based fire 
protection approach included in paragraph (c) of 10 CFR 50.48 and 
for certain existing identified noncompliances that reasonably 
may be resolved by compliance with 10 CFR 50.48(c). Paragraph (c) 
allows reactor licensees to voluntarily comply with the 
risk-informed, performance-based fire protection approaches in 
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 805 (NFPA 
805), ``Performance-Based Standard For Fire Protection For Light 
Water Reactor Electric Generating Plants,'' 2001 Edition (with 
limited exceptions stated in the rule language).
 
For those noncompliances identified during the licensee's 
transition process, this enforcement discretion policy will be in 
effect for up to two years from the date of a licensee's letter 
of intent to adopt the requirements in 10 CFR 50.48(c) and will 
continue to be in place until NRC approval of the license 
amendment request to transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c). This 
discretion policy may be extended upon a request from the 
licensee with adequate justification.
 
If, after submitting the letter of intent to comply with 10 CFR 
50.48(c) and before submitting the license amendment request, the 
licensee determines not to complete the transition to 10 CFR 
50.48(c), the licensee must submit a letter stating their intent 
to retain their existing license basis and withdrawing their 
letter of intent to comply with 10 CFR 50.48(c). Any violations 
identified prior to the date of the above withdrawal letter will 
be eligible for discretion, provided they are resolved under the 
existing licensing basis and meet the criteria included in this 
policy for these violations.
 
Violations identified after the date of the above withdrawal 
letter will be dispositioned in accordance with normal 
enforcement practices.
 
A. Noncompliances Identified During the Licensee's Transition 
Process Under this interim enforcement policy, enforcement action 
normally will not be taken for a violation of 10 CFR 50.48(b) (or 
the requirements in a fire protection license condition) 
involving a problem such as in engineering, design, implementing 
procedures, or installation, if the violation is documented in an 
inspection report and it meets all of the following criteria: (1) 
It was licensee-identified as a result of its voluntary 
initiative to adopt the risk-informed, performance-based fire 
protection program included under 10 CFR 50.48(c), or, if the NRC 
identifies the violation, it was likely in the NRC staff's view 
that the licensee would have identified the violation in light of 
the defined scope, thoroughness, and schedule of the licensee's 
transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c) provided the schedule reasonably 
provides for completion of the transition within two years of the 
date of the licensee's letter of intent to implement 10 CFR 
50.48(c) or other period granted by NRC; (2) It was corrected or 
will be corrected as a result of completing the transition to 10 
CFR 50.48(c). Also, immediate corrective action and/or 
compensatory measures are taken within a reasonable time 
commensurate with the risk significance of the issue following 
identification (this action should involve expanding the 
initiative, as necessary, to identify other issues caused by 
similar root causes); (3) It was not likely to have been 
previously identified by routine licensee efforts such as normal 
surveillance or quality assurance (QA) activities; and (4) It was 
not willful.
 
The NRC may take enforcement action when these conditions are not 
met or when a violation that is associated with a finding of high 
safety significance is identified.
 
While the NRC may exercise discretion for violations meeting the 
required criteria where the licensee failed to make a required 
report to the NRC, a separate enforcement action will normally be 
issued for the licensee's failure to make a required report.
 
B. Existing Identified Noncompliances In addition, licensees may 
have existing identified noncompliances that could reasonably be 
corrected under 10 CFR 50.48(c). For these noncompliances, the 
NRC is providing enforcement discretion for the implementation of 
corrective actions until the licensee has transitioned to 10 CFR 
50.48(c) provided that the noncompliances meet all of the 
following criteria: (1) The licensee has entered the 
noncompliance into their corrective action program and 
implemented appropriate compensatory measures, (2) The 
noncompliance is not associated with a finding that the Reactor 
Oversight Process Significance Determination Process would 
evaluate as Red, or it would not be categorized at Severity Level 
I, and (3) The licensee submits a letter of intent within 6 
months of the effective date of the final rule stating their 
intent to transition to 10 CFR 50.48(c). After the 6 month period 
described in (3) above, this enforcement discretion for 
implementation of corrective actions for existing identified 
noncompliances will not be available and the requirements of 10 
CFR 50.48(b) (and any other requirements in fire protection 
license conditions) will be enforced in accordance with normal 
enforcement practices.
 
* * * * * Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day of June, 
2004.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Annette Vietti-Cook, Secretary of the Commission.
 
[FR Doc. 04-13523 Filed 6-15-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-M

 
*****************************************************************
 36 BBC: Strike hits French nuclear plants 
 
  Last Updated: Wednesday, 16 June, 2004
 
[An EdF nuclear reactor]                                

The strike action looks set to continue                                                                 

Workers at France's state utility EdF have cut power supplies to 
five nuclear power stations in protest against the partial 
sell-off of their firm. 

Workers cut output by 5,700 megawatts - said to represent 10% of 
capacity - and severed an export cable to Spain. 

The workers fear the privatisation move could lead to job losses. 

They have warned that the strike action - which has included 
cutting power to the home of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin 
- may go on until 14 July. 

Network investment required 

EdF and Gaz de France employees walked out on Tuesday, as a 
parliamentary debate began on a bill to transform utilities into 
limited liability companies, a move which paves the way for 
privatisation. 

The main CGT union said the 5,600 megawatts which were cut from 
1100 local time on Wednesday was equivalent to 10% of available 
capacity. 

EdF's Saint Laurent, Nogent, Chinon, Cruas and Golfech nuclear 
power plants were affected, according to the union. 

The centre-right government wants to sell off up to 30% of EdF in 
order to fund urgently-needed investment in France's electricity 
network without putting its already overstretched finances under 
additional strain. 

But the CGT union said the government had neglected alternatives 
to privatisation. 



*****************************************************************
 37 Ithaca Journal: NYC emergency plans to be written in 30 days - 

ithacajournal.com
 
Local News - Wednesday, June 16, 2004   

By Timothy Williams The Associated Press 
  
NEW YORK -- The Bloomberg administration announced Tuesday it 
will have a written protocol of how the police and fire 
departments will divide emergency response duties within 30 days, 
even as the plan continues to generate disputes. 

A key provision of the Citywide Incident Management System, or 
CIMS, gives overall authority for hazardous-materials, chemical, 
biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies to the police 
department, even though those areas have traditionally been under 
fire department control. 

Despite opposition from some members of the fire department and 
several members of the City Council, Office of Emergency 
Management Commissioner Joseph Bruno told a council committee 
Tuesday that he is working on a written protocol laying out the 
changes. The plan will be finished within 30 days and implemented 
by an Oct. 1 federal deadline, he said. 

Acknowledging the controversy about the plan, Bruno said, "It may 
suffer from a lot of things, but it doesn't suffer from a lack of 
logic." 

Changes to the city's emergency response system were mandated by 
the federal government after the 2001 World Trade Center attack 
to formalize responses to terrorist attacks and other major 
emergencies. 

Cities that fail to adopt a uniform national program by the Oct. 
1 deadline will not be eligible for federal homeland security 
funding. 

The federal mandate is meant to ensure the smooth interworking of 
federal, state and local agencies by assuring that they use a 
consistent set of terms and roles known as the national incident 
command system. 

As the city prepared to meet the federal requirements, the police 
department insisted on being the lead agency in any situation 
involving terrorist attacks, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg agreed. 

The fire department will continue to be responsible for all 
safety operations and decontamination during such incidents, 
though the police will be in charge of the site management, 
according to the city's plan. 

Though police Commissioner Ray Kelly and fire Commissioner 
Nicholas Scoppetta support the plan, several firefighter unions 
said the change makes little sense and will increase the 
traditional rivalry between the departments. 

The president of the Uniformed EMTs and Paramedics, Patrick 
Bahnken, said the new protocol was "like gift-wrapping garbage." 

"It may look nice on the outside, but on the inside it stinks 
just the same," he said. "It does not work, and I assure you -- 
mark my words -- this will not reduce conflicts." 

Scoppetta, however, said that as long as the two departments 
train jointly the protocol will work. 

"I think it's an important first step in delineating issues of 
command and control," he said. 

Kelly defended the police department's new role, saying the Sept. 
11 trade center attack changed everything so that now even a 
routine Hazmat accident must be treated with a high level of 
security. 

"Due to the very real possibility that (a Hazmat incident) could 
be a terrorist attack or a rehearsal or diversion for an actual 
attack, site security is paramount," Kelly said. 

But council members remained skeptical, saying that in several 
emergency situations outlined in the plan -- including Hazmat 
emergencies and explosions -- neither department is clearly in 
charge and even in circumstances similar to the trade center 
attack the lead agency remains unclear. 

"The whole idea behind this was to create a clear chain of 
command," Councilwoman Yvette Clarke said. "And what you're doing 
now is you are really muddying the situation." 

-- New York City councilwoman Yvette Clarke 

Originally published Wednesday, June 16, 2004
 
 Copyright ©2004 The Ithaca Journal. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 38 Rutland Herald: State raises questions about Yankee uprate 

 Jun. 16, 2004

By SUSAN SMALLHEER Herald Staff 

The Douglas administration has raised questions about the safety 
of several key areas with Vermont Yankee nuclear plant's plan to 
increase power. 

The Department of Public Service has asked the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission not to rely on the calculations done by Entergy 
Nuclear engineers, but to do its own, independent calculations 
into the safety of Yankee's cracked steam dryer, the anticipated 
increase in vibration in the piping throughout the plant due to 
increased steam flows, and containment overpressure in the 
reactor. 

Additionally, the department said the potential release of 
additional radiation from the plant, in the event of an accident, 
because of the proposed changes, was unacceptable. 

The steam dryer and pipe vibration have been trouble spots at 
other nuclear reactors in Illinois that have undergone similar 
power increases. 

"Vermont asks that NRC perform independent calculations in three 
areas to confirm the adequacy of the proposed uprate," wrote 
David O'Brien, commissioner of the Department of Public Service, 
the state's liaison with the federal agency. 

O'Brien sent a second letter last week, opposing a key request of 
Entergy's uprate plan, that could ultimately increase the release 
of radiation in the event of an emergency at Vermont Yankee. 

"Doubling the allowable leakage would mean potentially exposing 
Vermonters to twice as much radioactive leakage from the main 
steam isolation valves in the event of a design basis 
loss-of-coolant accident," O'Brien wrote."Exposing Vermonters to 
this increased potential is unnecessary and undesirable," O'Brien 
wrote. 

The uprate changes would increase the radiation dose at the fence 
line surrounding the plant. 

O'Brien asked the NRC to provide information about the increased 
risks to Vermonters. 

At the same time, the Public Service Board, the quasi-judicial 
board that hears utility matters, scheduled a conference with the 
NRC on the power boost, specifically to address whether the NRC's 
announcement of a 4,000-hour engineering assessment would satisfy 
the board's conditional approval of the so-called power uprate. 

Susan Hudson, clerk of the Public Service Board, said the hearing 
conference on June 28 would allow the board to ask NRC officials 
questions about the extent of the engineering assessment that it 
announced last month it would do. 

The Public Service Board granted Entergy Nuclear a state 
certificate of public good for the power increase, but 
conditioned it on what it called "an independent engineering 
assessment." 

"The purpose of the meeting is to allow the NRC to describe the 
regulatory process and the new engineering inspection," Hudson 
said, noting that the board had not made any final decision on 
whether it would accept the new NRC inspection program. 

A spokesman for the NRC, Neil Sheehan, said two top-level NRC 
officials from Washington would explain the first-in-the-country 
engineering assessment. 

"In the case of the Vermont Yankee inspection, it will include 
components from multiple systems that are potentially affected by 
a power uprate, such as the emergency core cooling systems, the 
containment system, power conversion systems and auxiliary 
systems," Sheehan said. 

He said the regular review will involve three weeks of on-site 
inspection and more than 700 hours of direct inspection time. At 
this point, he said, the on-site inspection work is tentatively 
planned for August. 

Robert Williams, a spokesman for Entergy Nuclear, downplayed the 
significance of the two letters from the state about the uprate 
review and the upcoming hearing conference. 

"This type of communication is part of the oversight process," 
Williams said. "We stand ready to provide any additional 
information." 

The Public Service Board, by federal law, cannot consider safety 
issues because of a federal pre-emption. Its domain is economic 
and environmental issues. The NRC has sole responsibility for 
evaluating safety issues. 

William Sherman, the state's nuclear engineer with the Department 
of Public Service, said the letters to the NRC were a follow-up 
on letters the department had written late last year. The state 
has yet to receive an answer from federal regulators on several 
key issues. 

He said the two letters identified key technical issues that were 
emerging on the power increase. 

Sherman said the state was concerned about the adequacy of the 
steam dryer, which was discovered to have 20 cracks this spring; 
only two were serious enough to require repairs. 

The steam dryer, technically not a safety component, could crack 
and break, sending a piece down a pipe, compromising other safety 
components. 

Almost two months ago, the NRC discovered that two pieces of a 
highly radioactive fuel rod were missing and unaccounted for at 
Vermont Yankee. That discovery had led to increased scrutiny and 
criticism of Vermont Yankee, particularly by Vermont's 
congressional delegation and Gov. James Douglas. Officials 
believe the fuel rod pieces, recently described by Entergy as 
bigger than originally thought, as 9 and 17 inches long. 

The leading critic of Entergy Nuclear's plans said the Douglas 
administration was a Johnny-come-lately to the problems behind 
the uprate, noting that the department had long opposed any 
additional engineering or safety review by the NRC of the power 
increase. 

"Basically, they hear the pitter-patter of little ballots coming 
up behind them," said Raymond Shadis, senior technical advisor 
with the anti-nuclear New England Coalition. 

"Anything that the state does to get NRC to do better work and 
more work on this case is good," he said. 

But Shadis said the state made a mistake when it asked that the 
NRC include those three potential problem areas in its new 
engineering assessment. Those calculations should be made in 
addition to the engineering assessment, he said. 

Contact Susan Smallheer at susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com. 
  
Copyright © 2004 and Barre-Montpelier 
*****************************************************************
 39 NRC: Nuclear Management Company, LLC, Palisades Plant; Environmental 
 
                        FR Doc 04-13524 
[Federal Register: June 16, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 115)] 
[Notices] [Page 33686] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr16jn04-91] [[Page 33686]]
 
Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact The U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance of an 
amendment to Facility Operating License No.
 
DPR-20, issued to Nuclear Management Company, LLC (the licensee), 
for operation of the Palisades Plant, located in Van Buren 
County, Michigan. Therefore, as required by Title 10 of the Code 
of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 51.21, the NRC is 
issuing this environmental assessment and finding of no 
significant impact.
 
Environmental Assessment Identification of the Proposed Action 
The proposed action would give approval to the licensee to update 
the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) to reflect a change in 
the licensing basis for the handling of heavy loads using the L-3 
crane main hoist. Specifically, the proposed changes would credit 
the L-3 crane as a single-failure-proof design, meeting the 
guidelines of NUREG-0612, ``Control of Heavy Loads at Nuclear 
Power Plants'' and NUREG-0554, ``Single-Failure-Proof Cranes for 
Nuclear Power Plants,'' and the amendment would also approve use 
of the L-3 crane for below- the-hook loads up to 110 tons.
 
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated January 29, 2004, as supplemented by letters 
dated May 14, and June 2, 2004.
 
The Need for the Proposed Action The proposed action is needed to 
allow the licensee to increase the rated capacity of the spent 
fuel pool crane and incorporate a single- failure-proof design. 
Upgrading the crane is necessary to allow the loading of a new 
dry fuel storage cask.
 
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action The NRC has 
completed its safety evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that: (1) There is reasonable assurance that the health 
and safety of the public will not be endangered by operation in 
the proposed manner; (2) such activities will be conducted in 
compliance with the Commission's regulations; and (3) the 
issuance of the amendment will not be inimical to the common 
defense and security or to the health and safety of the public. 
The details of the staff's safety evaluation will be provided in 
the license amendment that will be issued as part of the letter 
to the licensee approving the license amendment.
 
The proposed action will not significantly increase the 
probability or consequences of accidents. No changes are being 
made in the types of effluents that may be released off site and 
there is no significant increase in the amount of any effluent 
released offsite. There is no significant increase in 
occupational or public radiation exposure. Therefore, there are 
no significant radiological environmental impacts associated with 
the proposed action.
 
With regard to potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed 
action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites.
 
It does not affect nonradiological plant effluents, and it has no 
other environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant 
nonradiological environmental impacts associated with the 
proposed action.
 
Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
 
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action 
As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered 
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' 
alternative). Denial of the application would result in no change 
in current environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of 
the proposed action and the alternative action are similar.
 
Alternative Use of Resources The action does not involve the use 
of any different resources than those previously considered in 
the Final Environmental Statement for the Palisades Plant, dated 
February 1978.
 
Agencies and Persons Consulted On June 9, 2004, the staff 
consulted with the Michigan State official, Mary Ann Elzerman, of 
the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, regarding the 
environmental impact of the proposed action. The State official 
had no comments. Finding of No Significant Impact On the basis of 
the environmental assessment, the NRC concludes that the proposed 
action will not have a significant effect on the quality of the 
human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined not to 
prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed 
action.
 
For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the 
licensee's letter dated January 29, 2004, as supplemented on May 
14 and June 2, 2004. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for 
a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One 
White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike 
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records 
will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading 
Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have 
access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the 
documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference 
staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by 
e-mail to

 
pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 9th day of June 
2004.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
John F. Stang, Sr. Project Manager, Section 1, Project 
Directorate III, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office 
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
 
[FR Doc. 04-13524 Filed 6-15-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 40 The Globe and Mail: Government set to increase nuclear and hydro power   

  Conservation and renewable energy also part of Ontario's
$40-billion plan
 
By RICHARD MACKIE

 Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - Page A11 

Ontario's Liberal government is expected to approve a plan to 
rebuild three mothballed nuclear reactors at Pickering as part of 
a new plan to moderate increases in electricity rates while 
refurbishing the province's aging power system. 

The $40-billion plan to renew the power system also would see the 
government attempt to squeeze more electricity out of Niagara 
Falls, which already has two generating plants on the Canadian 
side of the river. 

Energy Minister Dwight Duncan announced the broad details of the 
proposal yesterday. 

More specific plans for Pickering and Niagara Falls likely will 
be announced within a few weeks. Mr. Duncan said he has yet to 
receive formal recommendations on the fate of the Pickering plant 
from Ontario Power Generation, which is owned by the government. 

The rebuilding of the three reactors at Pickering would cost up 
to $2.7-billion, according to a report presented to the 
government in March. 

The corporation already has invested $1.3-billion in the project 
and has prepared plans to continue the work by rebuilding Unit 1 
at a cost of more than $800-million. 

Unit 1 could be in operation by the end of next year. Units 2 and 
3 would be refurbished after that. Unit 4 was rebuilt at a cost 
of $1.25-billion, three times the original estimate made in 1999. 
It was brought back into service last September, two years behind 
schedule. 

The proposal unveiled yesterday by Mr. Duncan also will force 
consumers to pay higher prices and encourage them to cut the use 
of power in peak hours. 

The Ontario Energy Board will set prices, and residential and 
small-business users will be able to sign on to annual rate plans 
that will set their rates for a year. 

For most of the 10 years prior to April 1, the rate for 
electricity for most consumers was capped at 4.3 cents a kilowatt 
hour, far below the cost of production. At times last year the 
price to provide the power hovered above 7 cents a kilowatt hour. 

The government also is putting an emphasis on new, renewable 
sources of energy, including wind and biomass generating plants. 
Its target is to have 5 per cent of the province's capacity 
coming from renewable sources by 2007 and 10 per cent by 2010. 

The Liberal government also is committed to shutting down the 
coal-fired plants that provide about 25 per cent of the 
province's power by the end of 2007. 

The purpose of the massive renewal plan is to refurbish, rebuild, 
replace or conserve 25,000 megawatts of generating capacity over 
the next 15 years. That is equivalent to 80 per cent of the 
province's theoretical capacity and equal to the maximum demand 
experienced by the province. 

Building and fuelling new plants is expensive, especially as the 
price of natural gas increases. And the time lines are uncertain 
as environmental assessments and construction problems can cause 
delays. 

To moderate any sharp increases in the overall prices of power, 
Mr. Duncan said, a large portion of the province's electricity 
will come from the cheap water-powered plants and from the 
nuclear plants, which are almost as inexpensive to operate. 

At the centre will be a new agency, the Ontario Power Authority, 
which will be required to ensure that the province has an 
adequate, long-term supply of electricity. No arm of the 
government has this responsibility now. It was performed by the 
old Ontario Hydro prior to its breakup in 1998. 

The OPA will have a Conservation Bureau, which will push to 
achieve the cut in demand for electricity of 5 per cent that the 
government has said will help hold down prices. 

Central to these efforts will be the installation of so-called 
smart meters for the province's four million electricity 
consumers. These meters will record how much power is drawn from 
the system and when it is used. 

Prices for power will be higher in peak hours to encourage 
consumers to use appliances after 8 p.m. and before 6 a.m.   

*****************************************************************
 41 Russia Journal Daily: IAEA to inspect Russian power plants
 
June 16, 2004 Posted: 15:51 Moscow time (11:51 GMT)       

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plans to inspect 
the safety of Russian nuclear power plants in 2006. 

The inspection would be carried out on Russia’s initiative, 
Miroslav Lipar, the head of the IAEA Operational Safety Section, 
said at a news conference on Wednesday. 

According to him, the IAEA is going to hold a seminar at the 
Volgodonsk Power Plant in October and December 2004 on the 
preparation for the inspection. The previous IAEA inspection was 
carried out in the 1990s. 

Mr. Lipar said the IAEA welcomed Russia’s activities on building 
power plants abroad. In particular, he stressed that a system to 
localize major breakdowns had been put into use at the Tianwan 
Nuclear Power Plant in China, for the first time ever. 

According to the IAEA, the operational safety level at the 
Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran meets international 
standards. Mr. Lipar said the Operational Safety Section 
monitored the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. 

The International Atomic Energy Agency has carried out 124 
inspections in 31 countries of the world. In 2004, it plans 
inspections in Pakistan, Canada, China, Germany, Ukraine, Japan 
and France. IAEA to inspect Russian power plants   

The Russia Journal Publishing Company   
*****************************************************************
 42 TBJ: Progress makes sales, joins nuclear consortium - 

2004-06-16 -

Triangle Business Journal
 
Raleigh-based Progress Energy on Wednesday said that it had sold 
about half of its stake in a synthetic fuel operation, reached 
power supply agreements with three Georgia electric membership 
cooperatives and signed up as the 11th member of a nuclear energy 
consortium. 

Progress Fuels Corp., a Progress subsidiary, sold off a combined 
49.8 percent of Colona Synfuel Limited Partnership in two 
separate connections. Progress said that it would continue to 
operate the facilities for its partners, which the company 
declined to name. 

The deals will bring Progress $15 million to $20 million a year 
in pre-tax income through 2007. The company is not changing its 
2004 earnings guidance of $3.50 to $3.65 per share. 

Another Progress subsidiary, Progress Energy Ventures, has landed 
wholesale power-supply agreements with the Grady, Three North and 
Altamaha electric membership cooperatives in Georgia. Financial 
terms were not released for the agreements, which run through 
2010. 

Also Wednesday, Progress Energy joined the NuStart Energy 
Development, which comprises eight other energy companies and two 
nuclear reactor vendors. NuStart is working to have a new nuclear 
power plant constructed by 2010. NuStart's proposal is designed 
to test the new Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing process 
by preparing and filing what would be the first license 
application for a new nuclear plant in 30 years. 

The consortium members are sharing the cost of the application 
process. None of the members have yet committed to building the 
plant. 

Other members of the group include Charlotte-based Duke Energy 
and GE Energy's nuclear operations in Wilmington. Nine of the 11 
consortium members operation 60 of the 103 nuclear power plants 
in the United States. 

© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
 
Triangle Business Journal email: 
*****************************************************************
 43 Lincoln County News: Radioactive Survey                                                                                                                            
 		   			
June 17, 2004                                                                 
                     
Representatives of Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company, Friends of 
the Coast, and a radiological survey contract consortium, 
comprised of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, University of 
Maine at Orono, and Normandeau Associates of Yarmouth, met June 9 
at the Wiscasset Town Landing to take the first samples in what 
will be an extensive survey and mapping of trace radioactivity 
from the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Station. The survey will 
include both deep marine sediments from the bottom of the 
Sheepscot River and tidal area surveys of sediments and biota, 
including shellfish and seaweed.

 The survey is the result of settlement agreements between Maine 
Yankee and Friends of the Coast in two federal proceedings: one 
before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ending in 1999 
and one before the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ending in 
2002. 

Representing Maine Yankee as an observer was George Pillsbury of 
Augusta. Pillsbury heads Maine Yankee’s final site survey team 
for decommissioning the plant, which last operated in 1996.

 Environmental scientists Marcia Bowen and Kim Payne collected 
samples of intertidal area sediments (mud) from Pottle Cove 
(adjacent to Wiscasset harbor), the Eddy in Edgecomb, the 
Entrance to the Sassanoa River in Woolwich, and Robinhood Cove. 
Bowen is Senior Aquatic Ecologist for the environmental 
consulting firm of Normandeau Associates (www. normandeau.com). 
The sample locations mark the outer bounds of the survey, which 
will focus on the more immediate environs of Maine Yankee and the 
marine features around the plant site, Bailey Point in Wiscasset.

 The samples will be sent to the University of Maine for 
“counting”. There the samples will be placed in a specially 
designed chamber to isolate them from radiation in the 
environment. Sensitive detectors will then register radiation 
emanating from the samples over many hours allowing laboratory 
technicians to discriminate between natural and man-made 
radioactive contents as well as between nuclear weapons fall-out 
and nuclear power reactor material.

 Friends of the Coast Directors and members on hand for the 
inauguration of the survey included John Grill and Doris Nuesse 
of Woolwich, Anne D. Burt of Edgecomb, and Cynthia Fischer of 
Wiscasset. 

Friends of the Coast Executive Director Raymond Shadis of 
Edgecomb monitored the sample collection and took two “split” 
samples of surficial deposits for independent laboratory 
analysis. It will likely be “several weeks”, Shadis said, before 
the first lab results are ready. All of the survey results will 
be included in a public report to be distributed by Maine Yankee 
and Friends of the Coast when the project is completed sometime 
late this year. 

The Normandeau team also took “control” samples at several remote 
locations along the Maine coast for comparison with local survey 
samples.

 Friends of the Coast, which was founded in 1995, worked to gain 
additional regulatory oversight of Maine Yankee calling for an 
independent safety and economic study of the plant. An 
Independent Safety Assessment conducted by NRC in 1996 led to the 
decision to close the plant in 1997. Friends of the Coast has 
been the only environmental group actively engaged in the 
decommissioning (demolition and clean-up) of Maine Yankee and 
clean-up of the 770 acre site. Friends of the Coast has held a 
seat on the MYAPC Community Advisory Panel on Decommissioning 
since 1997. 

An active intervenor in official proceedings and an advocate 
before the state Legislature, Friends of the Coast has worked to 
secure the strictest radiological clean-up standards in the 
nation, and numerous environmental concessions including the 
donation of the 200-acre Eaton (saltwater) Farm for the purpose 
of establishing a nature preserve and center for environmental 
policy dialogue.

 Friends of the Coast continues to work for increased security 
and stewardship of Maine Yankee’s 700 ton high level nuclear 
waste storage site. It is not expected that nuclear fuel will be 
removed from the site for permanent disposal before 2028 at the 
earliest. 

Friends of the Coast is a (501-c-3) non-profit volunteer 
organization. All donations are tax deductible.
																			   																		 																	

Vol. 129 - No. 22 [ 
This site is owned by Lincoln County News © 2002              
*****************************************************************
 44 TheDay.com: Evacuation By Inference (Millstone)
                        
Published on 6/16/2004

It is hard to imagine a more exhaustive review of evacuation 
plans in the event of a nuclear accident at Millstone Nuclear 
Power Plant than the one the James Lee Witt Associates undertook 
last year. The New York State Power Authority hired the 
consulting group to examine emergency preparedness around the 
Indian Point Nuclear Plant, and as part of the 256-page report, 
the firm looked at Millstone's plans as well. 

In general, the firm found the evacuation plans here to be 
realistic. It found the emergency information available to 
citizens to fall short, however, of the information that should 
be provided. It recommended a number of changes, urging the state 
to provide more realistic descriptions of the impact of possible 
radiation poisoning, and to tell residents what to do if they 
stay put rather than evacuate. 

The state Office of Emergency Management produces the booklet 
along with Dominion, Inc., which owns the nuclear plants here. 

Despite the criticisms in the Witt report, the state published 
the booklet with no substantive changes, saying that the book is 
fine the way it is. It should have paid more heed to the Witt 
recommendations. 

As written, the booklet underscores the need for citizens to 
learn on their own what is at stake in the event of an emergency. 
The booklet will help you find the roads to get away, but won't 
give you much, if any, information on possible negative 
consequences of an accident. Instead, it is replete with 
assurances that nuclear power is safe, that the plants are built 
safely, and that there is nothing to worry about. 

It provides some information on radiation, but no information on 
how, specifically, it could hurt a person. It says that potassium 
iodide pills help protect the thyroid from the impact of 
radiation, but doesn't say what that impact could be. It neglects 
to mention that it is especially important for young people to 
get the pills in the event of exposure to high levels of 
radiation to avoid developing thyroid cancer years later. 

Pete Hyde, a Dominion Inc. spokesman, said the point of the 
booklet is not to unduly frighten people. If we can avoid 
creating panic, we want to do that, he said. Point taken. But as 
written, the booklet errs so much on the side of reassurances 
that all is well with nuclear power that it gives people no 
reason to evacuate and certainly no reason to pop a potassium 
iodide pill in case of an emergency. 

As published, the booklet is a case study in the responsibility 
of citizens to get their own information. This is one example in 
which they can rely upon the state to learn where to go in case 
of an emergency, but not why they need to be concerned.   

The Day Publishing Company
*****************************************************************
 45 WBAY : Nuclear Plant Supporters Outnumber Opponent at Meeting

Story added June 16, 2004 10:17 AM   

  Mishicot

Some neighbors of the Point Beach nuclear power plant in Two 
Rivers want to see it keep operating for years to come. Only one 
of about a dozen people speaking at a hearing Tuesday didn't 
favor renewal of the licenses for the plant's two reactors. 

One license expires in October 2010 and the other in March 2013. 

Nuclear Management Company of Hudson operates the plant for owner 
We Energies. It's applied for 20-year extensions. The Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission is midway through the re-licensing process, 
with a decision expected about August 2006. 

The afternoon hearing focused on environmental and socio-economic 
aspects of renewing the licenses. A second hearing is scheduled 
for next week. 

Greg Buckley, the Two Rivers city manager, says the plant's more 
than 700 high-paying jobs are critical. 
  

Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2004 WorldNow and WBAY. All
*****************************************************************
 46 [du-list] JORDAN Considers Ban On Iraqi Scrap Imports
 
Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 14:25:51 -0700

 
<x-flowed>
JORDAN Considers Ban On Iraqi Scrap Imports
Islam Online - UK
... Jordanians fear that these military vehicles were shelled by depleted
uranium during the US-British invasion of Iraq . On April ...
<<http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2004-06/16/article06.shtml>http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2004-06/16/article06.shtml>


To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to 
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Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
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*****************************************************************
 47 [du-list] Powerful postcard about DU
 
Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 14:25:52 -0700

 
<x-flowed>
Dear All,

A few weeks ago I was in Washington, DC at a conference and received a 
batch of the powerful postcards at the link below.  As some of my 
addressees cannot receive attachment, I'm just sending the link.

For quantities of postcard contact Paul: 
<mailto:BigCitygrx@aol.com>BigCitygrx@aol.com,    212 NYPRINT

NOTE SAYS:  NOT FOR CHILDREN, pre-K-HS

<http://216.158.173.6/33o/progressiveconvergence/postcard.htm>http://216.158.173.6/33o/progressiveconvergence/postcard.htm

Sponsor:National Coalition of Organized Women, 
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Rev. Elaine A. Hunter, D.Sc., D.Ac., Fellow Royal Complementary 
Practioners  [King Buddhadasa - Sri Lanka] (Medicina Alternativa)

<http://www.worldisround.com/articles/2025/index.html>http://www.worldisround.com/articles/2025/index.html

That the Creator intends for us to be well is evidenced by the myriad of 
healing ways inspired in the minds, hearts and hands of Her creations.


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 48 Rocky Mountain News: New plan sought for nuclear workers

By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News
June 16, 2004

A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators is lining up behind a plan to 
reform a compensation program for sick atom bomb makers that has 
spent nearly $95 million on paperwork and paid just four workers. 

The effort by 18 senators is opposed by the Bush Administration. 
It wants to leave the program in the Department of Energy, which 
has had four years to fix it. 

 Congress created the compensation program in 2000, saying 
nuclear bomb workers, including those at Rocky Flats outside 
Denver, put their lives on the line for the nation's defense. 
Many died young. Others ended up with huge medical bills for 
cancer and other illnesses they blame on their jobs. 

The program is currently split between the Energy Department and 
the Department of Labor. 

During a hearing in March - at a point when DOE had paid only one 
worker $15,000 - Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska called 
the program "a catastrophic failure." Sen. Chuck Grassley, 
R-Iowa, said taxpayers were being gouged, and the problems "are 
not going to be solved by throwing more money into a black hole" 
at the DOE. 

The Bush administration disagrees. "I think they have made 
substantial improvements," explained Chad Colton, spokesman for 
the Office of Management and Budget. 

Three days after the senators' scathing comments and a Rocky 
Mountain News report on the program, the undersecretary and 
assistant undersecretary in charge of the program resigned for 
personal reasons. 

The senators' proposal would move the entire program to Labor, 
which has paid out nearly $846 million in federal compensation. 

The reform plan also would also commit the federal government to 
paying all valid claims. Now, it pays only claims in the Labor 
program. In contrast, thousands of sick workers on the DOE side 
can only file for workers' compensation. 

And in Colorado, there is no one willing to pay such claims from 
the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant, according to the General 
Accounting Office. Those workers expect they will have to sue 
companies that insured Rocky Flats for workers' compensation to 
collect. 

Sen. Wayne Allard supports both planks of the reform plan, 
assuming that any additional costs will be covered by budget cuts 
elsewhere, said his spokeswoman, Angela de Rocha. 

Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell's spokeswoman was unable to say how 
the senator will vote. 

Energy spokesman Joe Davis said Congress recently gave his agency 
another $23 million to speed up processing of the 24,000 
applications that it has received. 

"Moving the program will delay these cases," he said. 

Reform proponents say the Labor Department, with years of 
experience handling other claims programs, will be vastly more 
efficient than Energy. They say the tens of millions spent on 
paperwork at Energy could instead be used to pay sick workers. 

Currently, the Labor program covers cancer, beryllium disease and 
silicosis, while the Energy program covers all other ailments 
caused by radiation and toxic chemicals in nuclear weapons 
facilities. 

Energy has spent much of the $94 million allocated through 
September tracking down old records of radiation exposure, and 
developing a computer program to keep track of them. A panel of 
physicians must decide if the ailment was caused by the job. 

So far, the physicians have made decisions on 681 of the 24,000 
applications. Another 1,881 applications have been withdrawn or 
rejected. 

Nuclear workers compensation 

24,000 applications received for compensation for illnesses 
related to the making of U.S. nuclear weapons 

1,881 applications withdrawn or rejected 

681 applications have been decided by physicians 

$95 million spent on paperwork 

4 workers actually paid compensation so far 

imsea@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5438  

*****************************************************************
 49 New York Times: In D-Day's Shadow, Pacific Veterans Celebrate

  [American veterans paraded on Tuesday, celebrating the 60th
anniversary of the invasion of Saipan.] 

Jae-hyun Seok for The New York Times American veterans paraded on 
Tuesday, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the invasion of 
Saipan.
   
By JAMES BROOKE

Published: June 16, 2004

[S] AIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands, June 15 - Sixty years after 
they charged onto beaches here, aged American veterans strolled 
past tourist hotels on Beachfront Street on Tuesday in a parade 
marking the start of the 60th anniversaries of a series of 
battles that they describe as the "D-Days of the Pacific."

On June 15, 1944, thousands of United States marines poured off a 
floating city of steel and launched a bloody 25-day battle here 
that set the stage for the end of Japanese power in the Pacific.

Washington dignitaries could not make it. The Marine Corps Band 
had other commitments. The biggest out-of-town press team was The 
Pacific Daily News, from Guam.

"It's the old story: out of sight, out of mind," Brig. Gen. Paul 
W. Tibbets of the Air Force, who is retired, said Tuesday on this 
remote island 3,700 miles west of Hawaii. "The world knew about 
Normandy right away."

As a tropical drizzle fell on the veterans' parade, the 
89-year-old general, a former bomber pilot, rode in the passenger 
seat of a white golf cart. The last time he was in the Northern 
Marianas, almost 60 years ago, he piloted the Enola Gay, a B-29, 
on its Aug. 6, 1945, sortie to Hiroshima, the world's first 
nuclear bomb attack.

After a week of Atlantic D-Day television specials culminating 
with the June 6 gathering of heads of government in Normandy, 
many Saipan veterans and their supporters gathered here on 
Tuesday said that just as in World War II, the American popular 
mind continued to relegate the Pacific theater to second-class 
status.

"I used to say that everyone was willing to cross the Atlantic to 
honor the European theater, but no one was willing to cross the 
Potomac to honor the Pacific theater," Robert A. Underwood 
recalled Tuesday of a badgering campaign he waged 10 years ago as 
Guam's Congressional representative to cajole high-ranking 
officials in Washington to turn out for a Pacific theater wreath 
ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National 
Cemetery in Virginia.

Jerry Facey, co-chairman of the Saipan's 60th Anniversary 
Committee, said that during two years of organizing Tuesday's 
events, he received a long series of "no's" from Washington 
politicians and Pentagon brass who were invited to attend the 
ceremonies. Recalling the last big commemoration that he 
organized, he said: "It is just like the 50th, we were 
overshadowed by Normandy. We are so remote, people just forget."

On July 21, Guam will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its 
liberation from Japanese military rule. Although the battle for 
Tinian started three days later, Tinian and Saipan are jointly 
marking the 60th anniversaries of their liberation this week. 
Guam, Saipan and Tinian are focusing events on honoring the 
returning foot soldiers and on educating younger islanders about 
the Japanese occupation and the American liberation. They no 
longer hold out much hope for national attention from the news 
media and high-level visits. 

"We are disappointed, but we don't think our veterans necessarily 
are insulted by the lack of attention because they know in their 
hearts what they have done," Mr. Facey said of the fight over 
this 72-square-mile island, a raging battle that left 30,000 
Japanese dead, 3,144 American soldiers dead, and another 10,952 
Americans wounded.

In Guam, where the fighting and carnage was often equally 
intense, Tony Lamorena, an organizer of its anniversary event, 
said Tuesday by telephone: "We are not necessarily going to get 
CNN or any of the major networks to cover us, but we are going to 
get 200 actual veterans for sure. We want to say thanks to our 
liberators and to teach our young people about what they did."

 Historians say that the American victories in Saipan, Guam and 
Tinian irrevocably turned the tide against Imperial Japan's 
military.

"With the capture of Saipan, the U.S. forces could put long-range 
bombers on it, and the end of the Japan was inevitable," Daniel 
Martinez, historian of the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in Hawaii, 
said here Monday during a break in a day of historical seminars, 
referring to Japan's defeat in World War II. 

Speaking of Saipan's close neighbor, Tinian, about 1,250 miles 
south of Tokyo, Mr. Martinez added: "This is where the massive 
air raids were launched against Japan. This is where the two 
B-29s took off with the bombs against Japan."

F. Haydn Williams, a retired diplomat with long service in 
Micronesia, sent a message to the veterans: "The fate of the free 
world was just as much on the line here in the Marianas, as it 
was at the cliffs of Pointe de Hoc, St. Lô and Caen in Normandy."

On Sunday, a memorial was dedicated to the 933 indigenous people 
who died in the World War II battles and their aftermath.

On Tuesday, this new monument was at the end of the short parade, 
which saw some of the octogenarian veterans walking, others 
riding while standing in the backs of two balky World War II-era 
military trucks.

"It's changed a lot, but we sure love it," Hal Olsen, a Navy 
veteran from New Jersey, shouted down from one truck, referring 
to Saipan, and perhaps to the open-air thrill of riding in the 
back of a truck. In World War II, Mr. Olsen won a rapt following 
among airmen for the scantily clad women he painted on the nose 
cones of American bombers. Six decades later, his cult-like 
following was so strong that he gave a well-attended lecture 
Tuesday on "Nose Art and Air Corps Morale."

For the veterans, the return to Saipan has been a cocktail of 
emotional highs and lows.

"So many of the young fellows did not come back, so many good 
young boys," David McCarthy, a former Navy medical corpsman, said 
Monday night while nursing a beer at the bar of the Pacific 
Island Club, a resort built on Chalan Kanoa, one of the beaches 
where marines first stormed ashore.

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company | Home|
*****************************************************************
 50 Progress-Index: Uranium-tainted water is topic for supervisors                  
 	 			 							 							
By:BEN BAGWELL Staff Writer                        

06/16/2004  

DINWIDDIE - A strategy to solve the uranium-tainted water 
concerns in two Dinwiddie subdivisions emerged Tuesday during a 
session of the Board of Supervisors.                                                   

The Crater Health District had advised residents in 116 homes on 
June 4 to consume bottled water until uranium problems could be 
solved in community well systems in the Chesdin Manor and River 
Road Farm subdivisions.
 
Dinwiddie Public Safety Director Dave Jolly said a water 
emergency had been declared last Thursday after the Fox Run Water 
Co. asked the county to help. This document was sent to the 
state's Emergency Operations Center and approved Tuesday by the 
supervisors.

Bernard McNamee, spokesman for Fox Run Water Co., told the 
supervisors Fox Run was looking into the possibility of 
installing a filtering system that would clean out the uranium 
from the water system. "This system has been proven successful 
elsewhere," he said.

"The Virginia Health Department will check on the water and be 
certain the filtering process is working. We aren't certain about 
the timing, but it will hopefully be done in a month. We don't 
want to over-promise what can be done. We appreciate what the 
county and (state) Health Department officials have done," 
McNamee said.

Jerry Peaks, director of the Office of Drinking Water for the 
Virginia Health Department, told supervisors his department has 
secured two grants to help the process along. The first grant for 
$50,000 was to work out a temporary solution to provide safe 
drinking water. The second grant for $25,000 was to arrange a 
long-term solution.

McNamee said Fox Run was hiring a professional engineer to 
determine which filtering system might be used. 

"We will work along with the engineer. This is a well-known 
process," Peaks said.

McNamee said the long-term solution would probably be similar to 
the short-term filtering system.

Dr. Michael Royster, director of the Crater Health District, also 
addressed the supervisors. "We plan to offer tests to determine 
if anyone has experienced serious effects with the uranium in the 
water." He said the tests would be free to residents who are 
willing to be tested.

"We are also updating physicians in the community about the urine 
test for uranium and other matters," Royster said. 

"We are also working with the Dinwiddie Social Services 
Department to help with children who may have been exposed to 
uranium in their water."

He said there are a few laboratories in the state that are 
certified to test private wells for those people interested. He 
suggested calling 863-1652 for information.

Ken Burchett, a resident of Chesdin Manor, said, "I think they 
are dealing with the issues." 

He indicated there was a need to inform the public after the 
filtering system is installed. 

Peaks agreed with Burchett's suggestion.

Burchett said consumers "need to be assured their water was safe 
and would be safe in the future."

Peaks said, "Our first clients are the consumers. But the testing 
must be done by a certified lab."
 
* Ben Bagwell may be reached at 732-3456, ext. 260. 

©The Progress-Index 2004                                          
*****************************************************************
 51 ONN: Senate passes measure to ensure sick weapons workers get paid

Ohio News Now: 

June 17, 2004   

WASHINGTON The Senate approved a plan Wednesday to have the
government, not federal contractors, compensate Cold War-era
nuclear weapons workers sickened from exposure to toxic
substances while on the job.The amendment to the Senate defense
bill also would transfer the program to the Labor Department.

Lawmakers had complained that the Energy Department, in its
administration of the $100 million program, has paid out only
$140,000 in claims over the past four years.In Ohio, the program
includes workers from 35 sites, including the Portsmouth Gaseous
Diffusion Plant in Piketon and the Mound site in Miamisburg. 

The most common illness is cancer."It became clear that the 
program has not been working as intended and this measure will 
help correct the situation," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., 
chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The Energy Department now helps present and former workers at its 
weapons plants file claims for lost wages and medical expenses 
under state compensation programs, but relies on contractors who 
operated the plants to pay them.But in many states, such as Ohio, 
these contractors are no longer in business. Another problem for 
Ohio workers is that these contractors were required to purchase 
workers' compensation insurance from the state-run fund, and the 
Energy Department lacks the authority to tell Ohio to pay the 
claims.

The Energy Department can't pay claims directly, since the 
workers were not federal employees because they worked for 
contractors.Under the Senate plan, approved by a voice vote, the 
government would pay the claims once it has evidence a worker's 
illness was job-related. Payments would be based on compensation 
laws in states where claimants worked."These men and women have 
paid a high price for our freedom, and in their time of need, 
this nation has a moral obligation to provide some financial and 
medical assistance to these Cold War veterans," Sen. George 
Voinovich, R-Ohio, said.

Most of the nearly 25,000 claims the Energy Department has 
received are from people who worked at weapons-making facilities 
in Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, New Mexico, Ohio, South 
Carolina, Tennessee and Washington."Many of these workers are 
dying and should not have to wait even longer for the Department 
of Energy to get its act together to process and pay the valid 
claims in a timely manner," said Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky.The 
House-passed defense bill makes smaller changes to the program, 
such as raising fees paid to medical experts who review claims, 
but keeps it in the Energy Department.___On the Net:Energy 
Department Program: 
http://www.eh.doe.gov/advocacy/prog_stats/index.htmlLabor

Department Program:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/owcp/eeoicp/main.htm	 			

Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This

All content © Copyright 2004, WorldNow and Dispatch Productions,
Inc. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 52 [du-list] Tennessee nuclear waste takes long way home
 
Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 14:25:54 -0700

 
<x-flowed>
Waste takes long way home

MAYOR: 'I just have a terrible, terrible time understanding
how they can justify appeasing Oak Ridge and bringing it the
long way around through Oliver Springs.'

By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff
paul.parson@oakridger.com
June 14, 2004

http://www.oakridger.com/stories/061404/new_20040614016.shtml

When it comes to shipments of waste cylinders, Oak Ridge's
loss is apparently Oliver Springs' and Clinton's gain,
according to at least one official.

Oliver Springs Mayor Ed Kelley confirmed that shipments of
depleted uranium hexafluoride cylinders have been coming
through his town, hitting Highway 61 to Clinton and ending
up on Interstate 75 to Ohio. He also noted that one of the
trucks hauling the material was involved in a minor traffic
accident last month.

On the other hand, Clinton Mayor Wimp Shoopman said he was
unaware that the waste was being shipped through his city.

The depleted uranium hexafluoride in question is a byproduct
of an operation where uranium was ultimately processed into
nuclear reactor fuel and weapons-grade material. Stored in
cylinders at the Oak Ridge K-25 site, the material is being
shipped to Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio.

Transport of the waste cylinders was met with a little
controversy last year when it appeared the material would be
hauled through the city of Oak Ridge. Though DOE and its
cleanup contractor, Bechtel Jacobs Co., have declined to
disclose transport routes, some officials have suggested
that Oak Ridge Turnpike was never considered for use in
transporting the material to Clinton and I-75.

"I just have a terrible, terrible time understanding how
they can justify appeasing Oak Ridge and bringing it the
long way around through Oliver Springs," said Kelley, who
added the shipments come out of K-25 and hit Blair Road en
route to Oliver Springs.

The Oliver Springs mayor said the early morning waste
shipments stopped at least three times at the school
crossing in front of Norwood schools. Kelley also said at
least one of the transport trucks has been involved in a
traffic accident.

A report filed by Oliver Springs Police Officer Tim Elmore
indicates a vehicle ran into one of the trucks while it was
preparing to turn onto Highway 61 to go to Clinton. The
driver of the cylinder truck was not at fault, and neither
the transport truck nor its load was reportedly damaged.

Kelley said DOE had a "screaming fit" because Oliver Springs
officials released the truck involved in the accident so it
could proceed to its destination.

"We didn't have any idea what we were supposed to do,"
Kelley said.

Both DOE spokesman Walter Perry and Bechtel Jacobs spokesman
Dennis Hill said they were unaware of any other accidents
involving the cylinder transport trucks. They also declined
to confirm the transport route mention by Kelley or comment
on whether multiple routes are being utilized.

Hill said more than 700 cylinders have been shipped to date,
with about 5,200 remaining to be transported to Portsmouth.
The goal is to have all of the cylinders out of Oak Ridge by
the end of fiscal year 2005.

"The frequency and size of individual shipments is security
sensitive information," Hill said. "Because of that, we
don't want people to have enough information to calculate
how many or how often cylinders are shipped."

With more shipments ahead, Kelley has sent a letter to DOE
requesting that the federal agency make some kind of payment
to Oliver Springs because the "large and heavy trucks" will
be using roads through the town. The mayor said the payments
would be used to maintain and upgrade streets in addition to
various other projects to improve the town.


-- 


Posted for educational and research purposes only,
~ in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 ~

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 53 idaho mountain express: Idaho senators embrace Trojan Horse —
              
Our View :  Wednesday, June 16, 2004
 
  Produced & Maintained by Idaho Mountain Express, Box 1013, 
Ketchum, ID 83340-1013 208.726.8060 Voice 208.726.2329 Fax   
  
If Idaho’s senators had seen the recent movie "Troy," they might 
not have been so quick to embrace a Trojan Horse. They would have 
been reminded of the folly of welcoming attractive gifts that may 
eventually disgorge very ugly contents. 

Earlier this month, Sen. Larry Craig and Sen. Mike Crapo embraced 
$350 million in nuclear cleanup funds from the U.S. Department of 
Energy in exchange for their votes to allow the department to 
reclassify high-level nuclear waste so it could remain on site at 
Savannah River in South Carolina. 

DOE had threatened to withhold the funds from South Carolina, 
Idaho and Washington if its move to reclassify waste was not 
approved. 

Both Idaho senators voted "No" on a motion that would have struck 
down the DOE’s move. The motion failed on a 48-48 vote. 

The two ignored the advice of Idaho’s present governor and two 
former governors who warned publicly and loudly that 
reclassification will endanger the state’s 1995 agreement with 
the DOE. The agreement requires high-level waste to be removed 
from the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Lab to 
other, safer, storage facilities outside the state. 

The governors warned the senators that the "reclassified" waste, 
which sits above a huge underground aquifer in southern Idaho, 
would pose a safety threat for ages to come if it is not removed. 
They urged the senators to stick with them and refuse to pass the 
problem of high-level waste on to future generations. 

Crapo argued on the floor of the Senate that the vote did not 
create a precedent in which Washington and Idaho will be forced 
to emulate South Carolina where bottom-of-the-barrel radioactive 
sludge will be sealed with grout and allowed to remain in the 
state forever. 

Back home, his argument rang as hollow as the streets of Troy 
after it was sacked by the Greeks. 

The DOE now knows that when it threatens, Idaho will fold in the 
face of blackmail. It knows it can have its way in the state for 
puny amounts of money. It knows that if it makes senators look 
like they are bringing home the bacon in the short term, it 
doesn’t have to worry about the long-term effects of nuclear 
waste on a sparsely populated state a long way from the corridors 
of power. 

Until Idaho senators welcomed the Trojan Horse, the DOE had no 
option but to remove high-level nuclear waste from Idaho. It had 
no option but to obey a federal court ruling prohibiting 
reclassifying waste and leaving it in the tanks. 

Will the sacking of Idaho be next? 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and
*****************************************************************
 54 Deseret News: Panel divided on waste issues
 	 
[deseretnews.com] 
        
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
 	   	 
By Josh Loftin Deseret Morning News

Despite a state audit that calls for
improved oversight of hazardous-waste facilities, legislators
are divided about what kind controls are needed and how much
supervision is necessary.

       Without adequate supervision, some legislators were
especially concerned that waste facilities like Envirocare of
Utah could receive hotter nuclear waste than is allowed. Because
of lacking enforcement, however, the state would only realize
that the waste is being stored there if contamination or leaks
occurred.

       "They could have all kinds of stuff in a facility, and
because of the barriers and the lining nothing could have
leaked," Sen. Greg Bell, R-Farmington, said. "But there is no
analysis of what is coming into the site."

       Improved oversight, although only one facet of the 53
page report from the Utah State Auditor General released last
month, was the primary focus for legislators on the Hazardous
Waste Regulation and Tax Policy Task Force. During the almost
three hours of discussion and public comment Tuesday evening,
they questioned auditors and regulators extensively about the
kinds of testing that is done to protect against contamination,
the frequency of those tests, and the accuracy.

      The report was heavily focused on Envirocare, the Tooele
County facility that currently takes low level Class A nuclear
waste and has applied to the state for a permit to accept hotter
Class B and C wastes. Under state and federal regulations, the
facility must conduct semi-annual tests of groundwater and
verify that none of their waste exceeds the allowed levels. Any
violations they find must be reported or the company will face
civil and criminal penalties.

       The audit, however, pointed to a lack of "split sampling"
of tests, which essentially means that the state and company
each test half of a sample at two different labs to ensure
accuracy. While legislators on both side of the issue agreed
that the split sample tests would improve accuracy, they did not
all agree that improved accuracy was needed because of the
presence of regulators from the Department of Environmental
Quality during the sampling.

       "If you have someone from the state monitoring the
sampling, that's pretty good quality assurance," Rep. Roger
Barrus, R-Centerville, said. "I don't think we have a large
problem because they aren't doing split sampling."

E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com
	 
 © 2004 Deseret News Publishing Company 
*****************************************************************
 55 NEWS.com.au: Trespass threat over N-dump 

(June 16, 2004)
 	 	 	 
SOUTH Australia has threatened federal government contractors 
with trespass charges should they enter the site of a proposed 
nuclear waste dump.

SA Premier Mike Rann said today he had warned the Federal 
Government that sending contractors to the site in the state's 
north could be "actionable trespass".

 The contractors were due to sink four wells on land at the site 
near Woomera, which has been earmarked by the Commonwealth as the 
location for a national nuclear waste dump.

 The Commonwealth recently made a compulsory acquisition of the 
site after learning SA wanted to designate the area a national 
park and thereby stop the dump being established.

 SA has appealed the compulsory acquisition to the full bench of 
the Federal Court. 

"This land is still owned by the State Government, unless the 
full Federal Court decides otherwise," Mr Rann said today.

 "We are continuing to appeal against the Federal Government's 
compulsory acquisition of the site and that has yet to be 
settled."

 Mr Rann said he had been advised that the Federal Government had 
no right to sink wells on the land without the permission of SA 
"or else it would be deemed to be trespass and a breach of state 
law".

 The Premier questioned why the sinking of wells was needed for 
tests when the site had already been designated for the low-level 
nuclear waste dump.

 "As far as I'm concerned, it's too late to go back into the site 
and start tests," Mr Rann said.                                                                    

AAP
Copyright 2004 News Limited. All times AEST (GMT+10).                            
<img src="http://www.news.com.au
*****************************************************************
 56 The Herald: Few concerns expressed during MOX fuel hearing

The McClatchy Co.  

By Erica PippinsThe Herald 

(Published June 16‚ 2004)

 CHARLOTTE -- Area residents had the opportunity Tuesday to tell 
federal regulators how they feel about Duke Energy's request to 
use weapons-grade plutonium as fuel at the Catawba Nuclear 
Station. 

Not even a handful showed up. 

A three-person panel from the Atomic Safety Licensing Board held 
public meetings to get feedback from people about Duke's desire 
to amend the operating license of the plant on Lake Wylie to 
allow the use of mixed-oxide, or MOX, fuel. The two sessions took 
place in a mostly empty ballroom at the Omni Hotel in downtown 
Charlotte. 

The sparse crowd of roughly 20 people was primarily made up of 
Duke Energy officials and Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League 
supporters. During the first two-hour meeting, only four people 
came forward to make statements to the panel, none from York 
County. But people also had a chance to submit their comments in 
writing prior to the meetings. 

MOX fuel contains a mix of plutonium and uranium oxides. Duke has 
submitted a request to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to 
use MOX as part of a U.S.-Russian test program to dispose of 
surplus plutonium from nuclear weapons. The plutonium will be 
converted into MOX fuel and used in nuclear power reactors. 

Testing would take place in 2005. If approved, Duke wouldn't 
start using the fuel in its reactors until 2008. 

"It's not unusual for Duke Energy to go through public meetings 
and hearings. We are used to it and respect the process," said 
Duke spokeswoman Rose Cummings. "We believe in the project and 
there is a lot of good science behind it." 

But the Rev. Marshall Schenck, who heard about the sessions on 
the morning news, said he came because he had a lot of unanswered 
questions. For instance, how will the fuel be transported? How 
will the company ensure that "it doesn't fall into the hands of 
local terrorists?," he asked, adding that he was surprised more 
community leaders hadn't turned out to pose similar questions. 

"When you are moving material like that around central Charlotte 
and the surrounding areas, there are some real safety concerns," 
said Schenck, an associate minister at Mount Moriah Primitive 
Baptist Church in Charlotte. "I don't have that much confidence 
in anyone." 

'Sounds scary' 

But Mike Tuckman, Duke's former executive vice president and 
chief nuclear officer, said the MOX fuel would contain only a 
relatively small amount of plutonium. He said federal guards 
would accompany all transports to the Catawba Nuclear Station. 

"Using weapons-grade plutonium is a new technique, and I 
understand that it sounds scary to some people," said Tuckman, 
who recently retired and owns a cabin on the North Carolina side 
of Lake Wylie about three miles from the plant. "But we've been 
working on this for several years looking at all aspects, 
including safety. We would not be recommending this unless it was 
a good program." 

Not everyone, agrees, however. 

The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League has long opposed the 
use of MOX fuel at the Catawba plant or Duke's McGuire Nuclear 
Station in Huntersville, N.C. The league recently presented 
information from the French Institut de Radioprotection et de 
Surete Nucleaire showing that MOX fuel rods fail at lower 
temperatures than traditional uranium fuel rods. 

"I know the company says there are financial incentives to the 
program," said Louis Zeller, safe energy campaign director for 
the league. "But how much are those savings worth? Are they more 
important to the people of Charlotte and Rock Hill than their 
safety?" 

Erica Pippins " 329-4072 

epippins@heraldonline.com  
      
The Herald is owned by The McClatchy Company  

  Copyright © 2004 The Herald, South Carolina   
*****************************************************************
 57 Las Vegas SUN: Letter: Yucca decision made long ago

Today: June 16, 2004 at 9:19:38 PDT 

Again we have a politician playing politics with the proposed 
repository at Yucca Mountain. In a June 13 commentary, "Bush is 
playing politics with Yucca," Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., 
blames President Bush for his ill-conceived decision on Yucca 
Mountain.

 Don't be fooled by Berkley's commentary, folks. The Yucca 
decision was made long before President Bush came into office. 
Why would the government spend millions of dollars to study, 
explore and dig tunnels, if it wasn't going through with this 
program?

 I don't like having a nuclear dump site in our state either, but 
don't play politics -- go to the root of this problem and ask 
yourselves why Yucca was chosen and why was it allowed to 
proceed? You'd have to go back several administrations. 

MARK SMITH

 
 
*****************************************************************
 58 Las Vegas SUN: State: Yucca rail would go through LV

Today: June 16, 2004 at 9:45:23 PDT 

By Suzanne Struglinski <suzanne@lasvegassun.com> SUN WASHINGTON 
BUREAU

 WASHINGTON -- Nuclear waste destined for Yucca Mountain will
still move through the Las Vegas Valley, as an Energy Department
plan to use a rail route through Caliente won't prevent its
shipment through the state's most populous region, state
officials claimed.

 The Energy Department plans to ship most of the waste to the
proposed nuclear waste storage site at Yucca, 90 miles northwest
of Las Vegas via train, including a new rail line to be built in
Lincoln County.

 In a 120-page document sent to the Energy Department May 25,
the state attempted to make clear that choosing the Caliente
corridor option doesn't mean that no waste would come to Clark
County. The state sent comments to the department for the
department's draft environmental report on the rail line.

 "Any waste coming to Yucca Mountain from Southern California
and Arizona would have to go through Las Vegas, and in winter
months, rail shipments coming from Texas through New Mexico and
Arizona and into California would pass through Barstow,
(Calif.), and the only route it would have to Yucca Mountain
from there would be through Las Vegas," wrote Bob Loux,
executive director of the state's Agency for Nuclear Projects.

 In the April announcement designating the Caliente route, the
department said the private carriers would pick the routes,
which could include the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe or Union
Pacific lines. The Union Pacific Line runs along Interstate 15,
and connects Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., with Salt Lake
City and the eastern United States. Most of the waste is stored
in East Coast states.

 "The Caliente route, therefore, does not do as it is
advertised," Loux said.

 The state said that "even if DOE (the Energy Department)
shipped an average of three casks per train, there could be
2,854 shipments over 24 years, or an average of two train
shipments per week, through Las Vegas."

 The state has been saying that a rail route wouldn't keep the
waste out of Las Vegas,even before the department finalized the
Caliente selection in April.

 Bob Halstead, the state's transportation consultant, said at a
nuclear waste conference in March that all rail shipments to
Yucca Mountain, except those from the Pacific Northwest and
Idaho, could travel to Caliente through downtown Las Vegas under
credible alternative routing scenarios.

 "In addition to the potential impacts on residents, the
proximity of the Union Pacific mainline to the world-famous Las
Vegas Strip and to other major commercial properties creates
truly unique local impact conditions," Halstead wrote in a paper
prepared for the conference.

 The Energy Department did not return calls seeking comment.

 
 
*****************************************************************
 59 The State: Carter joins foes of SRS waste
 
 06/16/2
 
Former president says dangerous residue could get into
groundwater

 By SAMMY FRETWELL

 Staff Writer

Former President Jimmy Carter is criticizing a Bush 
administration plan to leave radioactive waste in South Carolina, 
rather than ship it to Nevada for burial. 

In a statement released late Monday, Carter urged Congress to 
reject the plan championed by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. 

The proposal is a dangerous, ill-conceived attempt to reverse 
more than two decades of federal policy by leaving high-level 
waste at the Savannah River Site, said Carter, who was asked by 
environmentalists to take a position. 

Grahams plan would abandon at S.C.s Savannah River Site the 
same high-level waste I fought to contain as governor of 
Georgia, Carter said. 

Graham and U.S. Department of Energy spokesman Joe Davis disputed 
Carters charges, saying the plan is a safe and realistic way to 
clean up. The DOE wants to leave only small amounts of waste in 
the tanks, Davis said. 

But Carters statements add to an increasingly lively dispute 
over disposal of some of the worlds deadliest nuclear waste. 

Some 37 million gallons of liquid waste is contained in about 50 
aging steel tanks, which, in some cases, have begun to leak. This 
waste could kill a person instantly. It also can linger in the 
environment, in some cases, for thousands of years. The waste was 
produced by the atomic weapons-making process. 

Since the early 1980s, the government has planned to ship 
high-level waste from SRS and other federal nuclear weapons 
complexes to a long-term disposal site. That site is at Yucca 
Mountain, Nev. 

Now, the Department of Energy wants to change the law so the 
agency can leave some high-level waste in the storage tanks at 
SRS near Aiken. The DOE tried to reclassify the waste previously, 
but a court decision said it had no authority to do so. 

The DOE says it will remove 99 percent of the waste but will have 
a hard time getting residual amounts out of the tanks. The agency 
wants to mix any tank waste that cant be cleaned out with a 
grout to stabilize it. Graham estimated that leaving some waste 
in tanks will speed cleanup efforts by two decades and save $16 
billion. 

What were trying to do at Savannah River Site is to remove 37 
million gallons of high-level liquid 23 years ahead of schedule 
so it wont leak into groundwater, Graham said Tuesday. 

Carter, U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings and other Democrats are 
skeptical. They say leaving high-level waste in the tanks is an 
environmental hazard that sets a bad precedent. 

Letting high-level atomic waste remain in SRS tanks could one day 
allow the material to seep into groundwater and rivers or lakes 
from the corroding steel tanks, Carter said, noting that a large 
aquifer beneath SRS provides drinking water to much of the 
Southeast. 

Critics say Grahams proposal gives the DOE too much leeway to 
leave larger amounts of high-level waste at SRS than the 
government now says will be left. Davis and Graham disputed that. 

Carter, who served as president from 1977-81, said the Graham 
proposal has received little input from the public and, if 
nothing else, needs more study before Congress decides what to do 
with all the waste 

By a razor-thin margin, the Senate declined two weeks ago to 
strip Grahams amendment from the defense authorization bill. It 
is expected to be discussed again, perhaps as early as this week. 

Carter also said Grahams plan sets a disturbing precedent for 
high-level cleanup nationwide. The DOE is threatening to 
withhold cleanup funds unless states go along with its plan to 
reclassify the waste, Carter said. 

Graham and Davis said the government cant proceed until 
uncertainty about cleanup is cleared up. 

I think hes one of our finest ex-presidents, and his 
characterization of the issue is completely inaccurate, 
scientifically and otherwise, Graham said. 

Reach Fretwell at (803) 771-8537 or .   

TheStateOnline
*****************************************************************
 60 SF Chronicle: New Kerry campaign chief in Nevada focuses on Yucca issue
 
Wednesday, June 16, 2004

(06-16) 14:40 PDT LAS VEGAS (AP) -- 

Sen. John Kerry's new Nevada campaign chief said Wednesday she 
thinks federal plans for a national nuclear waste dump in the 
state will be a defining issue in the November presidential 
election. 

Anne Sheridan pointed to what she called President Bush's "broken 
promise" to Nevada to rely on sound science to decide whether to 
bury the nation's most radioactive waste in Nevada. Sheridan 
previously served as the national organizer for Transportation 
Safety Coalition, a group opposed to the Yucca Mountain project. 

In 2002, the Bush administration and Congress overrode state 
objections and picked Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las 
Vegas, as the nation's nuclear repository. The Energy Department 
hopes to open it in 2010. 

Opponents claim the selection overlooked scientific shortcomings. 

Bush campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt accused Kerry, D-Mass., 
of using Yucca Mountain "to distract voters from Kerry's 
troubling record on the economy and defense." 

"The president based his decision on sound science," Schmitt 
said. 

©2004 Associated Press 

*****************************************************************
 61 Scotsman.com: Nuclear Waste Train Derailed
 
Thursday, 17th June 2004    	 

By Sam Marsden, PA News 

A train carrying radioactive waste derailed in a naval dockyard, 
it emerged today.
 
The locomotive pulling a container of nuclear submarine fuel came 
off tracks in Devonport Royal Dockyard, Plymouth, on Monday 
evening, yard operator DML said.
 
At the time the train was probably travelling at only 2mph and 
the fuel container remained on the tracks, the company added.
 
In a statement DML said: â€œAt no time was there any radiological 
or conventional safety hazard to anyone on our site or members of 
the public outside of the site.
 
â€œThe incident will be the subject of a full independent 
regulatory investigation in addition to our own formal 
investigation.â€
 
The dockyard, which is located approximately two miles from 
Plymouth city centre, has two diesel locomotives for moving new 
and used submarine fuel.
 
Devonport is the UKâ€™s only refitting and defuelling site for
nuclear submarines.   		  [ border=]    	 

*****************************************************************
 62 ITAR-TASS: World Bank extends credits to Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
 	 	 	 
[ITAR-TASS News Agency of Russia]     

16.06.2004, 11.03

WASHINGTON, June 16 (Itar-Tass) - The World Bank announced on
Tuesday that it would extend loans to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Kyrgyzstan will get 6.9 million dollars, while Tajikistan will
get 19.79 million dollars. 

The credit is granted to Kyrgyzstan for preventive and
rehabilitation work at storehouses for uranium ore waste, and
first of all near the city of Mailu-Suu, a press release of the
World Bank said. 

According to available data, some of these facilities are in a
critical condition, as no repair works have been done at them
since the collapse of the former USSR. There is no money in the
Kyrgyz budget for that aim. 

A natural calamity in the vicinity of Mailu-Suu may result in an
ecological catastrophe in Central Asia. 
Tajikistan gets the loan to fight against soil erosion as well
as to raise the standards of living for the population of rural
areas. 

© ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy,
*****************************************************************
 63 AU ABC: Rann warns Commonwealth to stay off waste dump site. 

16/06/2004. ABC News Online
 	
"Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online">   

South Australia's Premier Mike Rann has warned the Federal
Government it will be trespassing if it attempts to send
contractors onto the site of the proposed radioactive waste dump
in the State's far-north.

 The Commonwealth has informed the State Government that it
needs to go onto the land this Friday to sink four wells, as
part of testing of the site.

 Mr Rann says the State is still appealing against the
Commonwealth acquisition of the site and therefore the land is
still owned by South Australia.

 He has told a State Parliamentary estimates hearing that he has
written to the Federal Government telling it to stay away.

 "Australians should have lost all confidence that the Federal
Government knows what it's doing on this national radioactive
waste dump and we believe it's time they abandon their plans,"
he said.

 "We will regard any move this Friday to sink wells around the
proposed radiation dump as an act of trespass, in breach of
South Australian law." 

© 2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation 
*****************************************************************
 64 AU ABC: Fed Govt laughs off Rann's Woomera comments. 

16/06/2004. ABC News Online
 	
"Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online">   

Federal Science Minister Peter McGauran has criticised South
Australian Premier Mike Rann over the issue of access to the
site of the proposed radioactive waste dump near Woomera.

 Mr Rann has warned the Federal Government it will be
trespassing if it attempts to send contractors onto the site.

 The Commonwealth has told the State Government that it needs to
go onto the land on Friday, to sink four wells as part of site
testing.

 Mr Rann says the state is still appealing against the
Commonwealth's acquisition of the site, and that therefore the
land is still owned by South Australia.

 But Mr McGauran says the Premier's comments show he is
"ideologically insane" about the dump issue.

 "What's Mike Rann going to do? Stake out the block in the
middle of the desert 24 hours a day to prevent any access by
contractors going about their lawful duty?" he said.

 "It's an absurd situation that makes Mike Rann the laughing
stock of Australia." 

© 2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation 
*****************************************************************
 65 DodgeGlobe.com: Officials practice 'what-if' incident involving
nuclear fuel 

06/16/04

By John Milburn 
Associated Press Writer 

TOPEKA -- Two people driving a stolen 2 1/2-ton truck sideswipe a 
sedan stopped at a railroad crossing, then strike a Union Pacific 
train carrying a container of spent nuclear fuel bound for Idaho.

 Soon, emergency personnel arrive, treating victims and searching 
for the drunken truck occupants.

 The scene Tuesday was a drill, the scenario was a traffic 
accident and the nuclear fuel from Navy ships was simulated. But 
officials conducting the exercise said the event heightens 
awareness of the pains taken to protect against intentional 
attack on shipments crossing the country.

 Spent nuclear fuel is transported by rail from Naval shipyards 
on the East and West coasts to the Naval Reactors Facility at the 
Idaho National Energy and Environmental Laboratory west of Idaho 
Falls. The fuel is transported in a rail container with 14-inch 
thick steel, sandwiched between flatcars. Two U.S. Marshalls in 
the caboose guard the shipment.

 Kevin Davis, of the Naval Reactors Program, said between three 
and 20 rail shipments of spent fuel are made each year.

 "It's simply a matter of efficiency and safety," he said.

 Training exercises occur every two years, but Tuesday's was the 
first not on federal property. It was held near a grain elevator 
in Topeka.

 Over the past decade, railroads have been strengthening their 
security, said Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis. Union Pacific 
has 2,500 trains operating daily, including 125 a day through 
Kansas.

 "For all the hazardous materials that we carry, a person is 10 
times more likely to be struck by lightning than be injured by a 
hazardous material accident," Davis said. "But we don't rest on 
our laurels."

 Although training exercises help test response and allow 
officials to address any shortfalls, much of the burden for 
maintaining safety still falls on the railroads' employees and 
their own police forces.

 "If you look at our day-to-day operations, our own employees are 
the best eyes and ears," Davis said.

 Railroads receive an average of 75 calls each day from the 
public about suspicious activity, he said, down from a high of 
300 a day after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

 The railroads hold daily meetings to discuss security and safety 
issues and to share information, Davis said. Beyond their own 
surveillance, railroads must bear the costs of much of the 
ongoing infrastructure upgrades.

 Ed McKechnie, executive vice president for Watco Cos., a 
shortline railroad company in Pittsburg, said response to a 
security threat has to be quick to protect cargo and the public.

 Watco, which owns 2,800 miles of track throughout the United 
States, activates a 24-hour operation center when alerted of a 
potential treat. McKechnie said that when that happens, officials 
find all hazardous materials on the rails and make sure it's 
secure.

 The goal is to balance safety with the free flow of commerce, he 
said.

 "It has to be done in a way that makes sense," he said, adding 
that the biggest hole in safety is where automobiles and trains 
intersect.

 Kansas' investment in railroad infrastructure includes about $9 
million annually in upgrades to the 6,000 highway railroad 
crossings, and a $75 million program to improve crossings on 
non-state highways, said Al Cathcart, coordinating engineer in 
the bureau of design for the state Department of Transportation.

 Joy Moser, spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Emergency 
Management, said rail accidents occur frequently in the state, 
such as train-car accidents and accidental derailments. But in 
the past three years, accidents are viewed warily.

 "You always think of this happening on the East Coast or West 
Coast, but the potential is here," Moser said. "I think everybody 
takes is more seriously."

 --------

 On the Net:

 Navy: http://www.navy.mil

 Union Pacific: http://www.up.com

 Watco Cos.: http://www.watcocompanies.com

 Kansas Department of Emergency Management:
http://www.accesskansas.org/kdem

*****************************************************************
 66 Las Vegas SUN: Lawmakers Tackle Nuclear Project Budget

Today: June 16, 2004 at 12:46:57 PDT 

 By H. JOSEF HEBERT ASSOCIATED PRESS 

WASHINGTON (AP) - The proposal for a nuclear waste site in
Nevada took a tiny step forward Wednesday as House members tried
to resolve a budget problem that threatens to dramatically
curtail work. 

The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee approved legislation
that would send a steady stream of money for the Yucca Mountain
waste project over the next five years, so the facility could
open on schedule in 2010. 

But Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, the bill's sponsor, acknowledged
there's no assurance the bill will get through the House and
it's likely to run into trouble in the Senate. The full
committee was expected to take up the bill next week, Barton
said. 

Meanwhile, proposed spending for the Yucca Mountain project for
the 2005 fiscal year beginning in October has been set at only
$131 million, well short of the $880 million requested by the
Bush administration. At that spending level the program will be
thrown into turmoil, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has said. 

Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, chairman for the drafting of the
spending bill that includes the Yucca program, said he could
find no additional money because the administration linked $749
million of its request with congressional approval of Barton's
legislation. 

The Barton bill approved by a voice vote in the subcommittee
Wednesday would require that at least $750 million a year
collected over the next five years for the nuclear waste fund
must be spent on the Yucca project. 

The fund was created in 1982 specifically to pay for development
of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility. The money comes
from a one-tenth of a penny per kilowatt assessment on users of
electricity generated by nuclear reactors. 

The fund "has been cannibalized over the years to pay for
unrelated federal programs (and) ... to pay down the national
debt," Barton said. 

Barton acknowledged that the legislation would apply only to
future revenue and not require drawing on the $15 billion the
fund already has collected. 

Attempts to tinker with the way Congress uses the fund have been
unsuccessful in the past and are expected to run into trouble
again. Some lawmakers believe at most a one-year fix of the
problem - enough to assure continue funding of the Yucca project
next fiscal year - may be all that will be possible. 

While Barton expressed optimism about getting his bill through
the House and clearing the way for more spending on Yucca
Mountain, he acknowledged problems in the Senate. 

It was "unlikely" that similar legislation would have much of a
chance in the Senate given the strong opposition to the Yucca
Mountain project by Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, who as the
second-ranking Democrat could find ways to block it, Barton told
reporters. 

Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., was talking with administration
officials about ways to get more money for Yucca Mountain in the
Senate, but has conceded it could be "very, very difficult." 

The government wants to bury 77,000 tons of nuclear waste - used
reactor fuel now held at power plants in 31 states as well as
defense waste - at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las
Vegas. 

Next year has been described as pivotal for the program since
the Energy Department will begin the process for getting a
permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and developing a
transportation plan for the waste. 

Margaret Chu, director of the DOE office that heads the program,
has told lawmakers that if it does not get the full $880 million
it would be impossible to meet the 2010 deadline for accepting
the first load of waste. 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 67 WATE: Oliver Springs officials concerned over DOE waste transport
      
  The route being used is Highway 61 to Clinton to I-75.
   
Oliver Springs officials concerned over DOE waste transport   

June 15, 2004 

By YVONNE NAVA 6 News Anchor/Reporter 

OLIVER SPRINGS (WATE) -- The mayor of Oliver Springs is upset 
over potentially hazardous cargo being transported through his 
town by the DOE. 

Highway 61 has plenty of traffic recently, including trips by 
trucks from Oak Ridge carrying shipments of hazardous waste. 

Mayor Ed Kelley says, take it somewhere else. "They come through 
this town several times a day. We've had one involved in an 
accident, a minor accident, and we didn't know how to handle it." 

The trucks passing through Oliver Springs contain cylinders of 
uranium hexafluoride, a material used to make nuclear bombs. 

According to the Depleted Uranium Management Information Network, 
uranium hexafluoride can be a liquid, solid or a gas. 

Uranium hexafluoride doesn't react with oxygen, nitrogen, carbon 
dioxide, or dry air. But it does react with water or water vapor 
and can form corrosive hydrogen fluoride. 

Kelley said the city doesn't have the manpower or the money to 
handle a possible spill or leak. "My duty is to try and protect 
the people of this city, as well as the ones who visit here." 

Kelley sent a letter to the DOE, expressing his concerns. 

DOE representatives declined to go on camera with 6 News, but 
said they're working on a response to the letter. 

Marilyn Newman said she's lived in Oliver Springs for 35 years. 
"I'd rather they didn't come through here. If that were the only 
way, it'd be fine. But since there are other alternatives that 
are closer..." 

The route being used is Highway 61 to Clinton to I-75, to a plant 
in Portsmouth, Ohio. 

Kelley said the shorter, more direct route is the Oak Ridge 
turnpike. He said that weeks ago, waste shipments stopped several 
times at the crossing in front of Norwood Schools. "I don't think 
that's right." 

Trucks have already shipped more than 700 cylinders, with 5,200 
to go. The goal is to have them all out of Oak Ridge sometime in 
2005. 

The mayor said the city will continue holding Hazmat training 
sessions with the DOE. The city is also trying to put together a 
camera system for security in its sewer and water plants. 

All content © Copyright 2000 - 2004 WorldNow and WATE. All
*****************************************************************
 68 Rocky Mountain News: Former Rocky Flats chief leaves environmental job

By Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News
June 16, 2004

Jessie Roberson, the nuclear engineer who helped kick-start the 
Rocky Flats cleanup, is leaving her job as the Energy 
Department's top environmental official. 

Roberson said Tuesday that she is committed to spending more time 
with her daughter, Jessica, 15, a high school student in 
Virginia. 

 "It's the right thing to do," said Roberson, 45, a single 
parent. 

Roberson was 37 when she was named Rocky Flats manager in 1996. 

The Alabama native was the first woman and black to head the 
defunct nuclear weapons plant. 

But Roberson had already made headlines as assistant manager by 
combining dozens of administrative units that were generating 
massive paperwork but doing little cleanup. 

She applied the same approach to the rest of the nation's nuclear 
complex in her current job. 

"The only thing that makes a difference is action. Generating 
paper does not solve environmental problems," she said. 

President Clinton appointed Roberson to the Nuclear Defense 
Safety Board in 1999. President Bush tapped her for the 
environmental job in 2001. 

Roberson said she was always conscious that other people saw her 
as a role model. 

"It was a big deal," she said. "It was not a big deal for me, but 
was a big deal for others."  

*****************************************************************
 69 Tri-City Herald: DOE's Hanford cleanup official resigns 

This story was published Wednesday, June 16th, 2004 

By Annette Cary Herald staff writer 

The Department of Energy assistant secretary in charge of Hanford 
cleanup and other environmental programs resigned Tuesday, ending 
months of rumors that she would be leaving DOE. 

Jessie Roberson will leave the agency July 15 to spend more time 
with family after three years as assistant secretary for 
environmental management. 

Paul Golan, her top deputy, will fill in until the Bush 
administration picks a new assistant secretary and that person is 
confirmed. 

"Cleanup is on the right track," Roberson said in a telephone 
interview. "People are in place to keep it on track." 

She took the job saying she was impatient with "70-year schedules 
and mind-boggling budgets" and set out to get cleanup done faster 
and at less cost. 

In Roberson's years as assistant secretary, Hanford saw 
considerable progress toward cleaning up contamination left from 
the production of plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons 
program during World War II and the Cold War. 

Construction started on the $5.8 billion vitrification plant to 
treat radioactive waste, workers finished stabilizing and 
packaging nearly 20 tons of material containing plutonium, and 
they are close to removing spent nuclear fuel from leak-prone 
pools near the Columbia River. 

In addition, almost all radioactive liquid waste has been pumped 
from huge underground single-shell tanks that are prone to 
leaking. The first tank has been emptied of almost all solid 
waste. 

"It's a beautiful thing to see in the bottom of the tank," 
Roberson said. 

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham praised her for implementing 
DOE's accelerated cleanup program. 

But she frequently clashed with Washington state officials. 

DOE "was often the victim of political sniping from state to 
state," she said. 

Most recently, Washington state officials have fought a DOE move 
to allow it to reclassify high-level waste and leave more of it 
permanently in the bottom of underground tanks. 

"We may have had some differences, as would be expected, but I 
firmly believe she made a positive difference in the difficult 
and complicated task of cleaning up our nation's nuclear waste 
sites," said Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., in a prepared statement. 

He added that leading DOE's environmental management program 
takes a strong individual "and Jessie Roberson did the job ably." 

State officials also had kind words for Roberson. 

"Jessie had been a positive force to work with," said Tom 
Fitzsimmons, Gov. Gary Locke's chief of staff. "We will have to 
adapt to whoever is her replacement." 

Linda Hoffman, director of the Washington State Department of 
Ecology, said Roberson had been responsive to Ecology's concerns. 

However, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sees Roberson's resignation 
as a chance for a new era of cooperation between Washington state 
interests and DOE. 

"I have been deeply disappointed in the lack of a cooperative 
approach the department has taken over the past several years on 
issues related to Hanford cleanup," Murray said in a prepared 
statement. "It's unclear whether this unilateral approach was Ms. 
Roberson's design or those higher up in the administration." 

The list of conflicts involving cleanup at Hanford continues to 
grow as DOE makes decisions without consulting workers, the 
Tri-City community or the state, Murray said. That list includes 
potentially reduced pension benefits for Hanford workers, 
compromised safety, the proposed end to subsidized day care, the 
loss of federal payments in lieu of taxes and reduced cleanup 
standards, she said. 

"I didn't always agree with the choices the DOE made under her 
watch, but Assistant Secretary Roberson's commitment to her job 
was never a question," said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. 

Roberson, a single mother, told the energy secretary more than a 
year ago that she wanted to spend more time with her daughter. 
But she agreed to continue as assistant secretary for another 
year, Abraham said in a prepared statement. 

"She has fundamentally changed the culture of the Department's 
Environmental Management program, thereby ensuring that this very 
difficult program has a road map for success," Abraham said. 

Roberson said that as an engineer she is excited about the 
continuing plans for cleanup at Hanford. 

"I think the challenges before us are some of the most daunting 
any engineer faces," she said. "There's no cookbook." 

For the remainder of the summer, Roberson will keep a promise to 
her 15-year-old daughter to do some traveling together, then she 
will consider the next phase of her career, she said. 

Roberson's resignation is the third among top DOE officials this 
spring. Undersecretary Robert Card and Beverly Cook, assistant 
secretary for environment, health and safety, announced their 
resignations in April. 

© 2004 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
 70 Times-News: Vacuum system pulls dangerous gases from beneath INEEL

    www.magicvalley.com         The Times-News | AG Weekly 

    Thursday, June 17, 2004   •   Twin Falls, Idaho   

Originally published Wednesday, June 16, 2004The Associated Press 
ARCO -- The Energy Department is still developing its plan to 
remove chemically contaminated waste buried at the Idaho National 
Engineering and Environmental Laboratory decades ago.

But since the mid-1990s, the government has been operating a 
giant vacuum system to reduce the spread of the chemical residue 
and lower the risk of further contamination of the Snake River 
Plain Aquifer until removal of the waste begins, probably in 
three years.

"It's not as high-profile as some of our other cleanup projects, 
but it's been quietly protecting the aquifer for eight years 
now," INEEL spokesman Joe Campbell said.

The aquifer is the source of drinking water for much of southern 
Idaho.

The vacuum system, operated through 20 wells running from 110 to 
240 feet deep, is sucking up vapors from an estimated 194,000 
gallons of industrial degreasers that covered rags, tools and 
other materials used in the production of nuclear bomb triggers 
at the old Rocky Flats plant in Colorado. The material was buried 
in the 1950s and 1960s.

The system was developed after contaminants were detecting by 
monitoring wells in 1987. It pulls the chemical vapors from the 
ground and sends them through a high temperatures and a device 
similar to a car's catalytic converter that converts the vapor 
into low levels of hydrochloric acid and water.

Technical improvements made in the past year have increased the 
system's efficiency and tripled the amount of contamination it 
treats, project manager Lisa Harvego said.

Since 1996, the area of underground contamination has been 
reduced from about 1.2 miles across to barely a half mile, she 
said, and about 14,000 gallons of chemicals have been destroyed.

The impact on groundwater remains unclear; some monitoring wells 
still show low concentrations of chemicals, some slightly above 
safe drinking water standards.

But INEEL hydrologist Eric Neher said the 600 feet of rock and 
soil above the main aquifer has protected drinking water wells 
from any contamination, and over time the chemical levels 
reported through the monitoring wells will become diluted to safe 
levels.

The government intends to operate the vacuum system for up to 10 
years after the buried waste is removed to assure even latent 
chemical vapors are eliminated.                 

Copyright © 2004, Lee Publications Inc.

Magicvalley.com is an on-line division of The Times-News,
published daily at 132 W. Fairfield St.,
Twin Falls, Idaho 83301 by Lee Publications, Inc., a subsidiary
of Lee Enterprises.  
*****************************************************************
 71 Oak Ridger: Officials eye lab's scientific agenda 							 							 							
 
Story last updated at 12:14 p.m. on June 16, 2004

By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff paul.parson@oakridger.com

Department of Energy headquarters officials paid a scheduled 
visit Tuesday to Oak Ridge National Laboratory for an on-site 
review of the research complex's scientific agenda.

As part of the annual program, the DOE officials were briefed on 
a variety of topics including the Spallation Neutron Source 
project and the area of computational sciences - among other 
things, according to the lab's communications chief, Billy Stair.

A number of lab managers participated in the briefings for the 
DOE officials.

While the one-day review doesn't yield a so-called "score card" 
of any type, it can be used to shed some light on potential 
problems involving budgets or schedules or something to that 
effect, according to Stair.

ORNL, which conducts research in virtually all areas of science 
and energy, is managed by a partnership between the University of 
Tennessee and Battelle - a global science and technology 
enterprise that develops and commercializes technology and 
manages laboratories. 







*****************************************************************
 72 Oak Ridger: DOE loses top cleanup chief 							 							 							
 
Story last updated at 11:52 a.m. on June 16, 2004

By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff paul.parson@oakridger.com

Ending months of speculation, the Department of Energy finally 
confirmed Tuesday that its top environmental management chief is 
resigning.

The Oak Ridger first reported on May 18 that Assistant Secretary 
Jessie Roberson planned to resign, but a DOE spokeswoman denied 
the departure at the time. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham ended 
any doubts when he released a statement Tuesday indicating 
Roberson's resignation will be effective July 15.

Though Roberson is departing, she said in a telephone interview 
Tuesday that DOE's cleanup program has a strong management team 
in place and should continue without any disruption.

Roberson also noted that DOE headquarters is keeping a close eye 
on the recent cleanup-related accidents, including one incident 
that resulted in a Roane County road being shutdown. Though she 
didn't have all the details, she said a headquarters team will be 
dispatched to Oak Ridge to look at the issue.

The departing cleanup chief said DOE headquarters believes all 
accidents are preventable.

In a letter to President Bush and Abraham, Roberson noted that 
"personal family matters" contributed to her decision to leave 
office.

According to Abraham, Paul Golan has been appointed to serve as 
acting assistant secretary for DOE's Environmental Management 
Program. He currently serves as principal deputy assistant 
secretary for the program.

Just a couple of months ago, two other top DOE officials 
announced they were stepping down. Energy Department 
Undersecretary Robert Card submitted his resignation citing 
personal family reasons; while Beverly Cook, assistant secretary 
for Environment, Safety and Health, said she was leaving her post 
to be closer to family members in the Southwest.

More faces could change at DOE headquarters if the November 
election results in a new president being chosen. 

*****************************************************************
 73 Oak Ridger: 'Disturbing events' lead ORNL chief to improve lab safety
 
Story last updated at 11:52 a.m. on June 16, 2004
							 							 							
RESULT: Starting next week, the lab director will meet with
officials to discuss various safety issues and to determine how
the entire complex can be accountable. 

By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff
paul.parson@oakridger.com

In light of an accident that could have resulted in the death of
a worker, Jeff Wadsworth said he is "deeply concerned" about the
safety of his employees at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The lab director shared his personal feelings on the issue in
an e-mail he sent to ORNL employees this week. His note was the
result of a June 4 accident where a 2,000-pound hoist was
dropped 12 feet and landed five feet from two workers.

"When I visited the scene, I was shocked at the severity of the
accident and how it could have been allowed to happen,"
Wadsworth wrote. "I found myself thinking about what might have
been: Suppose one or both of the employees had been killed or
severely injured?

"How would their families have felt when told that we had
allowed such an accident to take place? Finally, I reflected on
how terrible it would be to inform a family that such a tragedy
had happened."

When the accident occurred, the hoist and an associated piece
of overhead crane rail were actually being removed from what is
known as Building 7930, which is part of the Radiochemical
Engineering Development Center in the Nonreactor Nuclear
Facilities Division.

Wadsworth said this is the third accident involving lifting
since he arrived at ORNL last year. It's also one in a serious
of preventable accidents that have happened at the lab and other
Department of Energy-related sites.

"We recently had a guest researcher leave unattended a water
container that was being filled, allowing the overflowing water
to spread across two labs and eventually find its way to some
electrical equipment," the lab director's e-mail noted.

"A couple of weeks ago during cleaning and maintenance, an
employee found potentially shock-sensitive chemicals in a drawer
that supposedly had been cleaned up last year."

There have been several other local incidents involving
DOE-related contractors, including a forklift that turned over
in a contaminated creek and a chemical spill that shut down a
Roane County road.

Additionally, Wadsworth said that Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory in Washington state had a "near miss" incident some
weeks ago involving an explosion in a laboratory and Brookhaven
National Laboratory in New York narrowly missed a fatal accident
when an employee "fortunately" stopped drilling into a conduit
that contained a high-voltage line.

"I have talked to each of my fellow lab directors and heard
them describe these near misses," Wadsworth wrote in his e-mail.
"The stories convince me we need to respond to this disturbing
series of events."

As a result, starting next week, Wadsworth said he will be
meeting with lab officials to discuss various safety issues and
to determine how the entire complex can be accountable so that
"we never have to see a colleague injured or have to make that
call to an employee's family."

Though ORNL has experienced some recent accidents, the lab
director said the statistics also show that the facility has
made some significant progress in safety over the last few years.

"We have celebrated several times the achievement of
injury-free time periods," his e-mail noted.

"Where safety is concerned, however, these accomplishments are
diminished when we have near misses and scares like the recent
events." 







*****************************************************************
 74 Oak Ridger: Report: TVA failed to charge DOE $9.4 million for tritium work
 
Story last updated at 12:14 p.m. on June 16, 2004

The Tennessee Valley Authority failed to bill the Department of
Energy for $9.4 million in overhead costs for making the bomb
material tritium.

A semiannual report Monday from TVA Inspector General Richard
Moore suggested the contract to make tritium at the Watts Bar
Nuclear Plant near Spring City is flawed and the overlooked
charges - apparently for office space and supplies - should have
been included.

"There is no problem from our perspective and certainly not
from what the agreement says," said Bryan Wilkes, spokesman for
DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees
the nuclear weapons program. "I am not sure if the IG actually
read the agreement."

From DOE's view, TVA is being paid "market costs for their
services" and any overhead charges are "costs that TVA absorbs,"
Wilkes added.

Additionally, TVA spokesman Gil Francis said Tuesday the
authority billed for all that was allowed under the contract.
However, he said TVA "will review the agreement with DOE
concerning overhead charges in future discussions."

The TVA inspector general's audit said TVA has billed DOE $57.5
million over a 39-month period. Of that, the auditors found only
$47,000 in direct costs "inadvertently not billed."

Anne Ferrell, spokeswoman for the inspector general, said
auditors based their finding on the federal Economy Act, which
requires one federal agency to perform work for another agency
within its capabilities if it can do so at less expense. Under
the Economy Act, overhead charges are considered part of the
cost and should be billed.

TVA was picked as the cheapest option for a new source of
tritium a few years ago, DOE isn't about to redraw the contract
or offer to pay more for what the federal agency considers
third-party costs.

Tritium-producing rods were loaded into the Watts Bar reactor
in October and are expected to be removed next spring during
scheduled refueling. The tritium will be extracted from the rods
at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

TVA, the country's largest public utility, is trying to reduce
a $25 billion debt and was supposed to at least break even on
the tritium deal. TVA provides electricity directly to large
industries and more than 8.3 million consumers in Tennessee and
parts of Kentucky, Alabama, North Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia
and Virginia. 







*****************************************************************
 75 Google News Alert - nuclear
 
Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 13:33:29 -0700 (PDT)

 
IAEA close to agreement on draft resolution on Iran nuclear ... 
Channel News Asia - Singapore
VIENNA : Diplomats at the UN nuclear watchdog were meeting into the evening
to hammer out a resolution on Iran's nuclear program amid suspicions that
Tehran is ...
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/90361/1/.html>
See all stories on this topic:
<http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&num=30&hl=en&client=google&newsclusterurl=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/90361/1/.html>

NUCLEAR talks after polls - Brash
Stuff.co.nz - New Zealand
By TRACY WATKINS. National Party leader Don Brash has signalled that the
nuclear-free debate is off the party's agenda till after the next election.
...
<http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2943552a6160,00.html>
See all stories on this topic:
<http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&num=30&hl=en&client=google&newsclusterurl=http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2943552a6160,00.html>

NUCLEAR Waste Panel Warns of Hot Storage at Yucca Mountain
Environment News (subscription) - USA
WASHINGTON, DC, June 16, 2004 (ENS) - Plans to store high-level nuclear
waste deep under Yucca Mountain at temperatures greater than the boiling
point of water ...
<http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2004/2004-06-16-04.asp>
See all stories on this topic:
<http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&num=30&hl=en&client=google&newsclusterurl=http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2004/2004-06-16-04.asp>

KHARRAZI Says Officials Will Take Proper Decision on Nuclear ... 
Merh News Agency - Tehran,Iran
... Kharrazi bitterly accused Britain, France and Germany Wednesday of
bowing to US pressure and submitting a draft resolution to the UN nuclear
watchdog that is ...
<http://www.mehrnews.com/wfNewsDetails_en.aspx?NewsID=87659&t=Political>
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NUCLEAR bunker-buster research gets nod
NEWS.com.au - Australia
UNITED States research into new nuclear "bunker buster" and "mini-nuke"
nuclear warheads survived a vote in the Senate after a House subcommittee
refused last ...
<http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9869236%255E401,00.html>
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<http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&num=30&hl=en&client=google&newsclusterurl=http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9869236%25255E401,00.html>

SOUTH Korea Says Nuclear Talks Will Not Stall
Reuters - USA
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea expects to see some progress at next week's
multilateral talks on the North's nuclear programs but a lack of results
would not ...
<http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=5435433>
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NUCLEAR alert for SA
Independent Online - South Africa
The United Nations nuclear watchdog has issued a worldwide high-security
alert warning countries, including South Africa, about the dangers of
possible nuclear ...
<http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20040616011300129C190347>

IAEA looks to verify Russian nuclear power plant safety in 2006
Interfax - Moscow,Russia
June 16 (Interfax) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is looking
to conduct safety verification at nuclear power plants in Russia, head
of the ...
<http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/0/28.html?id_issue=9711460>
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IRANIAN president warns UN nuclear watchdog over tough resolution ... 
Hi Pakistan - Lahore,Pakistan
TEHRAN: President Mohammad Khatami warned Wednesday that Iran would have
no moral obligation to maintain a suspension of uranium enrichment and
allow tougher ...
<http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en68224&F_catID=&f_type=source>
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INQUIRY LAUNCHED AFTER NUCLEAR TRAIN DERAILS
Western Morning News - Plymouth,England,UK
Mps last night condemned the handling of a nuclear waste train derailment
in Plymouth - and called for the results of an investigation to be made
public. ...
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