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NUCLEAR POLICY
1 Independent: Robert Fisk: Iraq, 1917
2 UK Independent: Bush defies 911 commision over Iraq/Al Qaida link
3 UN Watchdog Agency Deplores Iran's Lack Of Cooperation On Nuclear Pr
4 BBC: UN raps Iran over nuclear stance
5 ABCNEWS.com: IAEA Reprimands Iran for Nuclear Coverups
6 Indian Express: Iran hiding another atomic site - US
7 AFP: Russia welcomes new nuclear resolution on Iran
8 ITAR-TASS: N Korea demands US allow inspections in S Korea mil bases
9 US: Star-Tribune: Corra: New regs coming for energy development
10 US: ABCNEWS.com: Bush Takes Issue With 9/11 Panel Findings
11 US: Bush: Continuation of WMD emergency
12 Guardian Unlimited: MPs demand details of nuclear treaty
13 Straits Times: China told to use nukes if Taiwan hits dam -
14 Times of India: Pak team arrives for Nuke talks -
15 Mid-Day Mumbai: Akhtar back in police custody - Lawyer
16 St. Petersburg Times: Russia likely to boost defense-related expendi
17 Bulletin Wire: A friend like Pakistan
18 GARAVI GUJARAT: Critical nuclear talks under way between India and
19 News-Leader.com: Cold War over but bases remain
NUCLEAR REACTORS
20 US: Fire Shuts Vermont Yankee Nuke Plant
21 US: [NukeNet] More On Vermont Yankee Fire & VY History
22 US: [NukeNet] sid goodman on nuke power
23 US: NRC: Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., Environmental Assessment and
24 US: Guardian Unlimited: Vermont Nuke Plant Shuts Down After Fire
25 Guardian Unlimited: State aid ruling looms over BE's return to profi
26 UK The Times: Fresh delays to British Energy’s restructure
27 Herald: Nuclear generator climbs back into black
28 US: NRC: In the Matter of Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, Wisc
29 New York Times: Ontario Considers Building a Nuclear Plant
30 UPI: Czech nuclear plant goes back on line -
31 US: Portsmouth Herald: Utility workers plan to strike
32 US: NRC: Regulatory Guide; Issuance, Availability
33 US: NRC: Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.; Vermont Yankee Nuclear Po
34 US: KRT Wire: Nuclear power business engineering a worldwide comebac
35 US: WLBZ: MAINE YANKEE SAYS DECOMMISSIONING ON SCHEDULE
36 US: maine today: Maine Yankee demo around labor day
37 Paducah Sun: A visit for hope
NUCLEAR SAFETY
38 [DU-WATCH] Fw: 30x thyroid cancer increase in Belarus women
39 [DU-WATCH] News of Huda Ammash
40 US: Buffalo News: Senate gives N-workers from '50s hope for compensa
41 US: Salt Lake Tribune: No means no
42 US: USATODAY.com: EPA gives grant to leukemia cluster study
43 BBC: Radioactive discharge
44 US: RGJ: Federal grant awarded for Fallon cancer study
45 Mid Day Mumbai: AEC chief for action in radiation case
46 NZ Scoop: Safety concerns on nuclear-powered vessels persist
47 US: Charleston.Net: Pills going to nuclear neighbors
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
48 [epa-impact] Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., Environmental Assessment
49 US: Salt Lake Tribune: State's N-waste oversight process to be delay
50 Daily Yomiuri: N-fuel reprocessing makes sense for Japan
51 Daily Yomiuri: N-reprocessing seen key to energy policy
52 Las Vegas RJ: Democrats close voter gap
53 Las Vegas RJ: Poll finds slight rise in acceptance of Yucca plans
54 RGJ: Nevadans want to hear about Yucca Mountain
55 US: Bradenton Herald: Tallevast prompts change in DEP policy
56 Journal Gazette: Nuclear waste issue shadows Bush in Nevada
57 Press Herald: Nevada storage for nuclear waste not expected soon
58 Charleston.Net: Opinion: Editorials Full funding for Yucca Mountain
59 US: OA Online: Conference on uranium-enrichment plant ends
60 News & Star: BNFL RAP OVER CONTAMINATED PIPELINE
61 Las Vegas SUN: Northern Nevada Democrats accuse president of
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
62 Vanunu Interview on BBC World; Appeal Hearing Set
63 [southnews] Helen help us
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
64 Seattle Times: DOE vows to remove nuclear waste
65 Las Vegas SUN: State prepares for case against Energy Department
66 Hanford News: House committee approves funding
67 Hanford News: Senators OK plan to transfer program from DOE to Labor
68 Hanford News: Gregoire presses Bush about cleanup
69 AP Wire: Nobel laureate appointed head of Berkeley laboratory
70 The State: SRS waste must be housed in saf
OTHER NUCLEAR
71 Google News Alert - nuclear
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1 Independent: Robert Fisk: Iraq, 1917
NEWS YOU WON'T FIND ON CNN
By Robert Fisk
Thursday 17 June 2004 "The Independent" --
They came as liberators but were met by fierce resistance outside
Baghdad. Humiliating treatment of prisoners and heavy-handed
action in Najaf and Fallujah further alienated the local
population. A planned handover of power proved unworkable.
Britain's 1917 occupation of Iraq holds uncanny parallels with
today - and if we want to know what will happen there next, we
need only turn to our history books...
On the eve of our "handover" of "full sovereignty" to Iraq, this
is a story of tragedy and folly and of dark foreboding. It is
about the past-made-present, and our ability to copy blindly and
to the very letter the lies and follies of our ancestors. It is
about that admonition of antiquity: that if we don't learn from
history, we are doomed to repeat it. For Iraq 1917, read Iraq
2003. For Iraq 1920, read Iraq 2004 or 2005.
Yes, we are preparing to give "full sovereignty" to Iraq. That's
also what the British falsely claimed more than 80 years ago.
Come, then, and confront the looking glass of history, and see
what America and Britain will do in the next 12 terrible months
in Iraq.
Our story begins in March 1917 as 22-year-old Private 11072
Charles Dickens of the Cheshire Regiment peels a poster off a
wall in the newly captured city of Baghdad. It is a turning point
in his life. He has survived the hopeless Gallipoli campaign,
attacking the Ottoman empire only 150 miles from its capital,
Constantinople. He has then marched the length of Mesopotamia,
fighting the Turks yet again for possession of the ancient
caliphate, and enduring the grim battle for Baghdad. The British
invasion army of 600,000 soldiers was led by Lieutenant-General
Sir Stanley Maude, and the sheet of paper that caught Private
Dickens's attention was Maude's official "Proclamation" to the
people of Baghdad, printed in English and Arabic.
That same 11in by 18in poster, now framed in black and gold,
hangs on the wall a few feet from my desk as I write this story
of empire and dark prophecy. Long ago, the paper was stained with
damp - "foxed", as booksellers say - which may have been Private
Dickens's perspiration in the long hot Iraqi summer of 1917. It
has been folded many times; witness, as his daughter Hilda would
recall 86 years later, to its presence in his army knapsack over
many months.
In a letter to me, she called this "his precious document", and I
can see why. It is filled with noble aspirations and
presentiments of future tragedy; with the false promises of the
world's greatest empire, commitments and good intentions; and
with words of honour that were to be repeated in the same city of
Baghdad by the next great empire more than two decades after
Dickens's death. It reads now like a funeral dirge:
"Proclamation... Our military operations have as their object,
the defeat of the enemy and the driving of him from these
territories. In order to complete this task I am charged with
absolute and supreme control of all regions in which British
troops operate; but our armies do not come into your cities and
lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators... Your
citizens have been subject to the tyranny of strangers... and
your fathers and yourselves have groaned in bondage. Your sons
have been carried off to wars not of your seeking, your wealth
has been stripped from you by unjust men and squandered in
different places. It is the wish not only of my King and his
peoples, but it is also the wish of the great Nations with whom
he is in alliance, that you should prosper even as in the past
when your lands were fertile... But you, people of Baghdad... are
not to understand that it is the wish of the British Government
to impose upon you alien institutions. It is the hope of the
British Government that the aspirations of your philosophers and
writers shall be realised once again, that the people of Baghdad
shall flourish, and shall enjoy their wealth and substance under
institutions which are in consonance with their sacred laws and
with their racial ideals... It is the hope and desire of the
British people... that the Arab race may rise once more to
greatness and renown amongst the peoples of the Earth...
Therefore I am commanded to invite you, through your Nobles and
Elders and Representatives, to participate in the management of
your civil affairs in collaboration with the Political
Representative of Great Britain... so that you may unite with
your kinsmen in the North, East, South and West, in realising the
aspirations of your Race.
(signed) F.S. Maude, Lieutenant-General, Commanding the British
Forces in Iraq."
Private Dickens spent the First World War fighting Muslims, first
the Turks at Suvla Bay at Gallipoli and then the Turkish army -
which included Iraqi soldiers - in Mesopotamia. He spoke "often
and admirably," his daughter would recall, of one of his
commanders, General Sir Charles Munro, who at 55 had fought in
the last months of the Gallipoli campaign and then landed at
Basra in southern Iraq at the start of the British invasion.
But Munro's leadership did not save Dickens's sister's nephew,
Samuel Martin, who was killed by the Turks at Basra. Hilda
remembers: "My father told of how killing a Turk, he thought it
was in revenge for the death of his 'nephew'. I don't know if
they were in the same battalion, but they were a similar age, 22
years."
In all, Britain lost 40,000 men in the Mesopotamian campaign. The
British had been proud of their initial occupation of Basra. More
than 80 years later, Shameem Bhatia, a British Muslim whose
family came from Pakistan, would send me an amused letter, along
with a series of 12 very old postcards, which were printed by The
Times of India in Bombay on behalf of the Indian YMCA. One of
them showed British artillery amid the Basra date palms; another
a soldier in a pith helmet, turning towards the camera as his
comrades tether horses behind him; others the crew of a British
gunboat on the Shatt al-Arab river, and the Turkish-held town of
Kurna, one of its buildings shattered by British shellfire,
shortly before its surrender. The ruins then looked, of course,
identical to the Iraqi ruins of today. There are only so many
ways in which a shell can smash through a home.
As long ago as 1914, a senior British official was told by "local
[Arab] notables" that "we should be received in Baghdad with the
same cordiality [as in southern Iraq] and that the Turkish troops
would offer little if any opposition". But the British invasion
of Iraq had originally failed. When Major-General Charles
Townshend took 13,000 men up the banks of the Tigris towards
Baghdad, he was surrounded and defeated by Turkish forces at Kut
al-Amara. His surrender was the most comprehensive of military
disasters, ending in a death march to Turkey for those British
troops who had not been killed in battle.
The graves of 500 of them in the Kut War Cemetery sank into
sewage during the period of United Nations sanctions that
followed Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, when spare parts for the
pumps needed to keep sewage from the graves were not supplied to
Iraq. Visiting the cemetery in 1998, my colleague Patrick
Cockburn found "tombstones... still just visible above the slimy
green water. A broken cement cross sticks out of a reed bed... A
quagmire in which thousands of little green frogs swarm like
cockroaches as they feed on garbage."
Baghdad looked much the same when Private Dickens arrived in
1917. Less than two years earlier, a visitor had described a city
whose streets "gaped emptily. The shops were mostly closed... In
the Christian cemetery east of the high road leading to Persia,
coffins and half-mouldering skeletons were floating. On account
of the Cholera which was ravaging the town [three hundred people
were dying of it every day] the Christian dead were now being
buried on the new embankment of the high road, so that people
walking and riding not only had to pass by but even to make their
way among and over the graves... There was no longer any life in
the town."
The British occupation was dark with historical precedent. There
was, of course, no "cordial" reception of British troops in
Baghdad. Indeed, Iraqi troops who had been serving with the
Turkish army but who "always entertained friendly ideas towards
the English" were jailed - not in Abu Ghraib, but in India - and
found that while in prison there they were "insulted and
humiliated in every way". These same prisoners wanted to know if
the British would hand Iraq over to Sherif Hussein of the Hejaz -
to whom the British had made fulsome and ultimately mendacious
promises of "independence" for the Arab world if he fought
alongside the Allies against the Turks - on the grounds that
"some of the Holy Moslem Shrines are located in Mesopotamia".
British officials believed that control of Mesopotamia would
safeguard British oil interests in Persia (the initial occupation
of Basra was ostensibly designed to do that) and that "clearly it
is our right and duty, if we sacrifice so much for the peace of
the world, that we should see to it we have compensation, or we
may defeat our end" - which was not how Lt-Gen Maude expressed
Britain's ambitions in his famous proclamation in 1917.
Earl Asquith was to write in his memoirs that he and Sir Edward
Grey, the British foreign secretary, agreed in 1915 that "taking
Mesopotamia... means spending millions in irrigation and
development". Which is precisely what President George Bush was
forced to do only months after his illegal invasion in 2003.
Those who want to wallow in even more ghastly historical
parallels should turn to the magnificent research of the Iraqi
scholar Ghassan Attiyah, whose volume on the British occupation
was published in Beirut long before Saddam's regime took over
Iraq, at a time when Iraqi as well as British archives of the
period were still available. Attiyah's Iraq, 1902-1921: A
Socio-Political Study, written 30 years before the Anglo-American
invasion, should be read by all Western "statesmen" planning to
occupy Arab countries.
As Attiyah discovered, the British, once they were installed in
Baghdad, decided in the winter of 1917 that Iraq would have to be
governed and reconstructed by a "council" formed partly of
British advisers "and partly of representative non-official
members from among the inhabitants". The copycat 2003 version of
this "council" was, of course, the Interim Governing Council,
supposedly the brainchild of Maude's American successor, Paul
Bremer.
Later, the British thought they would like "a cabinet half of
natives and half of British officials, behind which might be an
administrative council, or some advisory body consisting entirely
of prominent natives". The traveller and scholar Gertrude Bell,
who became "oriental secretary" to the British military
occupation authority, had no doubts about Iraqi public opinion:
"The stronger the hold we are able to keep here the better the
inhabitants will be pleased... They can't conceive an independent
Arab government. Nor, I confess, can I. There is no one here who
could run it."
Again, this was far from the noble aspirations of Maude's
proclamation issued * * 11 months earlier. Nor would the Iraqis
have been surprised had they been told (which, of course, they
were not) that Maude strongly opposed the very proclamation that
appeared over his name, and which in fact had been written by Sir
Mark Sykes - the very same Sykes who had drawn up the secret 1916
agreement with F Georges-Picot for French and British control
over much of the post-war Middle East.
But, by September 1919, even journalists were beginning to grasp
that Britain's plans for Iraq were founded upon illusions. "I
imagine," the correspondent for The Times wrote on 23 September,
"that the view held by many English people about Mesopotamia is
that the local inhabitants will welcome us because we have saved
them from the Turks, and that the country only needs developing
to repay a large expenditure of English lives and English money.
Neither of these ideals will bear much examination... From the
political point of view we are asking the Arab to exchange his
pride and independence for a little Western civilisation, the
profits of which must be largely absorbed by the expenses of
administration."
Within six months, Britain was fighting a military insurrection
in Iraq and David Lloyd George, the prime minister, was facing
calls for a military withdrawal. "Is it not for the benefit of
the people of that country that it should be governed so as to
enable them to develop this land which has been withered and
shrivelled up by oppression? What would happen if we withdrew?"
Lloyd George would not abandon Iraq to "anarchy and confusion".
By this stage, British officials in Baghdad were blaming the
violence on "local political agitation, originated outside Iraq",
suggesting that Syria might be involved.
Come again? Could history repeat itself so perfectly? For Lloyd
George's "anarchy", read any statement from the American
occupation power warning of "civil war" in the event of a Western
withdrawal. For Syria - well, read Syria.
AT Wilson, the senior British official in Iraq in 1920, took a
predictable line. "We cannot maintain our position... by a policy
of conciliation of extremists. Having set our hand to the task of
regenerating Mesopotamia, we must be prepared to furnish men and
money... We must be prepared... to go very slowly with
constitutional and democratic institutions."
There was fighting in the Shia town of Kufa and a British siege
of Najaf after a British official was murdered. The British
demanded "the unconditional surrender of the murderers and others
concerned in the plot", and the leading Shia divine, Sayed Khadum
Yazdi, abstained from supporting the rebellion and shut himself
up in his house. Eleven of the insurgents were executed. A local
sheikh, Badr al-Rumaydh, became a target. "Badr must be killed or
captured, and a relentless pursuit of the man till this object is
obtained should be carried out," a British political officer
wrote.
The British now realised that they had made one big political
mistake. They had alienated a major political group in Iraq - the
ex-Turkish Iraqi officials and officers. The ranks of the
disaffected swelled. For Kufa 1920, read Kufa 2004. For Najaf
1920, read Najaf 2004. For Yazdi, read Grand Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani. For Badr, read Muqtada al-Sadr.
In 1920, another insurgency broke out in the area of Fallujah,
where Sheikh Dhari killed a British officer, Colonel Leachman,
and cut rail traffic between Fallujah and Baghdad. The British
advanced towards Fallujah and inflicted "heavy punishment" on the
tribe. For Fallujah, of course, read Fallujah. And the location
of the heavy punishment? Today it is known as Khan Dari - and it
was the scene of the first killing of a US soldier by a roadside
bomb in 2003.
In desperation, the British needed "to complete the façade of the
Arab government". And so, with Winston Churchill's enthusiastic
support, the British gave the throne of Iraq to the Hashemite
King Faisal, the son of Sherif Hussein, a consolation prize for
the man the French had just thrown out of Damascus. Paris was
having no kings in its own mandated territory of Syria.
Henceforth, the British government - deprived of reconstruction
funds by an international recession, and confronted by an
increasingly unwilling soldiery, which had fought during the
1914-18 war and was waiting for demobilisation - would rely on
air power to impose its wishes.
There are no kings to impose on Iraq today (the former Crown
Prince Hassan of Jordan pulled his hat out of the ring just
before the invasion), so we have installed Iyad Allawi, the
former CIA "asset", as prime minister in the hope that he can
provide the same sovereign wallpaper as Faisal once did. Our
soldiers can hide out in the desert, hopefully unattacked, unless
they are needed to shore up the tottering power of our
present-day "Faisal".
And so we come to the immediate future of Iraq. How are we to
"control" Iraq while claiming that we have handed over "full
sovereignty"? Again, the archives come to our rescue. The Royal
Air Force, again with Churchill's support, bombed rebellious
villages and dissident tribesmen in Iraq. Churchill urged the
employment of mustard gas, which had been used against Shia
rebels in 1920.
Squadron Leader Arthur Harris, later Marshal of the Royal Air
Force and the man who perfected the firestorm destruction of
Hamburg, Dresden and other great German cities in the Second
World War, was employed to refine the bombing of Iraqi
insurgents. The RAF found, he wrote much later, "that by burning
down their reed-hutted villages, after we'd warned them to get
out, we put them to the maximum amount of inconvenience, without
physical hurt [sic], and they soon stopped their raiding and
looting..."
This was what, in its emasculation of the English language, the
Pentagon would now call "war lite". But the bombing was not as
surgical as Harris's official biographer would suggest. In 1924,
he had admitted that "they [the Arabs and Kurds] now know what
real bombing means, in casualties and damage; they know that
within 45 minutes a full-sized village can be practically wiped
out and a third of its inhabitants killed or injured".
TE Lawrence - Lawrence of Arabia - remarked in a 1920 letter to
The Observer that "it is odd that we do not use poison gas on
these occasions". Air Commodore Lionel Charlton was so appalled
at the casualties inflicted on innocent villagers that he
resigned his post as Senior Air Staff Officer Iraq because he
could no longer "maintain the policy of intimidation by bomb". He
had visited an Iraqi hospital to find it full of wounded
tribesmen. After the RAF had bombed the Kurdish rebel city of
Sulaymaniyah, Charlton "knew the crowded life of these
settlements and pictured with horror the arrival of a bomb,
without warning, in the midst of a market gathering or in the
bazaar quarter. Men, women and children would suffer equally."
Already, we have seen the use of almost indiscriminate air power
by the American forces in Iraq: the destruction of homes in
"dissident" villages, the bombing of mosques where weapons are
allegedly concealed, the slaughter-by-air-strike of "terrorists"
near the Syrian border, who turned out to be a wedding party.
Much the same policy has been adopted in the already abandoned
"democracy" of Afghanistan.
As for the soldiers, we couldn't ship our corpses home in the
heat of the Middle East 80 years ago, so we buried them in the
great North Wall Cemetery in Baghdad, where they lie to this day,
most of them in their late teens and twenties. We didn't hide
their coffins. Their last resting place is still there for all to
see today, opposite the ruins of the suicide-bombed Turkish
embassy.
As for the gravestone of Samuel Martin, it stood for years in the
British war cemetery in Basra with the following inscription: "In
Memory of Private Samuel Martin 24384, 8th Bn, Cheshire Regiment
who died on Sunday 9 April 1916. Private Martin, son of George
and Sarah Martin, of the Beech Tree Inn, Barnton, Northwich,
Cheshire."
In the gales of shellfire that swept Basra during the 1980-88 war
with Iran, the cemetery was destroyed and looted and many
gravestones shattered beyond repair. When I visited the cemetery
in the chaotic months after the Anglo-American invasion of 2003,
I found wild dogs roaming between the broken headstones. Even the
brass fittings of the central memorial had been stolen. Sic
transit gloria.
Copyright: The Independent.
*****************************************************************
2 UK Independent: Bush defies 911 commision over Iraq/Al Qaida link
By Colin Brown, Deputy Political Editor and David Usborne in New
York
18 June 2004
President George Bush and the Prime Minister's Office yesterday
defied the independent US commission on 11 September and insisted
that there were links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qa'ida.
The report by the commission on Wednesday dealt a devastating
blow to the credibility to one of President Bush's reasons for
going to war against Iraq by finding there was no credible
evidence linking Saddam's regime to Osama bin Laden's terrorist
organisation.
In a carefully co-ordinated riposte to the commission, London and
Washington both insisted that Saddam had allowed al-Qa'ida to
operate inside Iraq before the 11 September 2001 attacks on the
US.
"The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship
between Iraq and Saddam and al-Qa'ida is because there was a
relationship between Iraq and al-Qa'ida," Mr Bush said. "This
administration never said that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated
between Saddam and al-Qa'ida. We did say there were numerous
contacts between Saddam Hussein and al-Qa'ida."
A few hours earlier, Tony Blair insisted that Saddam had created
"a permissive environment" for terrorists and al-Qa'ida
operatives in Iraq.
"The Prime Minister has always said Saddam created a permissive
environment for terrorism and we know that the people affiliated
to al-Qa'ida operated in Iraq," said a spokesman for Mr Blair.
"The Prime Minister always made it clear that Saddam's was a
rogue state which threatened the security of the region and the
world."
In contrast to the US administration, Tony Blair has carefully
avoided claims that Saddam was involved in the 11 September
attacks. Even the so-called "dodgy dossier'' avoided making such
a claim.
Challenged by The Independent, the Downing Street spokesman said
the Government was not claiming a direct link between the
attackers on 11 September and Saddam, but insisted there was
evidence that Saddam had created a "permissive regime" in which
al-Qa'ida could operate.
Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, also refused to back
down. He told al-Jazeera television there was a connection
between Iraq and al-Qa'ida. "We have seen these connections ...
and we stick to that," he said. "We have not said it was related
to 9/11."
The link was a key factor in President Bush's justification for
the war. But it did not play a part in Mr Blair's argument for
action, which rested entirely on Saddam Hussein's supposed
weapons of mass destruction.
In a further embarrassment for the Bush administration yesterday,
the independent commission reported that America's defence forces
failed to respond quickly enough on the morning of 11 September.
The ensuing chaos and miscommunications caused a crucial delay in
relaying orders for the planes to be intercepted and shot down.
"On the morning of 9/11, the existing protocol was unsuited in
every respect for what was about to happen," the report asserted.
"What ensued was a hurried attempt to create an improvised
defence by officials who had never encountered or trained against
the situation they faced."
Such was the lack of coordination between air traffic
controllers, military officials and senior members of the
government, that when Mr Cheney, the Vice-President, finally
authorised shooting down the planes they had already hit their
targets. Yet, Mr Cheney briefly believed that two of the planes
had in fact been shot down.
"It's my understanding that they've already taken a couple of
aircraft out," Mr Cheney told the Defence Secretary, Donald
Rumsfeld, in a telephone conversation, the transcript of which
was released last night.
The panel also played segments of tapes carrying portions of
other conversations from that day. One apparently carried words
spoken by Mohamed Atta, the ringleader of the hijackers, while he
was at the controls of American Airlines flight 11, which took
off from Boston and was the first plane to strike the World Trade
Centre.
"We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be OK. We are
returning to the airport," Atta is heard telling the passengers.
Later he warns: "If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger
yourself and the airplane."
The commission held its final public hearing yesterday on the
terror strikes before issuing a complete and final report next
month.
UK Independent Ltd.
*****************************************************************
3 UN Watchdog Agency Deplores Iran's Lack Of Cooperation On Nuclear Programme
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 15:01:17 -0400
UN WATCHDOG AGENCY DEPLORES IRAN’S LACK OF COOPERATION ON NUCLEAR
PROGRAMME
New York, Jun 18 2004 3:00PM
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors
adopted a resolution today deploring the fact that, overall, Iran’s
cooperation with it has not been as “full, timely and proactive”
as it should have been.
The resolution unanimously approved by the 35-member Board underlined
that, with the passage of time, “it is becoming ever more important
that Iran work proactively to enable the Agency to gain a
full understanding of Iran’s enrichment programme by providing all
relevant information.”
The resolution also called on Iran to urgently take all necessary
steps to help resolve all of the IAEA’s outstanding questions, including
those related to uranium contamination found at various
locations in the country, and the nature and scope of its P-2 centrifuge
programme.
“Make no mistake we have been making very good process in understanding
the nature and extent of Iran’s nuclear programme,” IAEA Director-General
Mohamed ElBaradei said at a press conference in Vienna.
“But at the same time, as I have indicated and the Board confirms
that, we still have an important, central question, and that is
has Iran declared fully to us its enrichment program? That is really
the issue which is still before us. The issue that I would like
to see accelerated, [with] active corporation on the part of Iran,”
he added.
2004-06-18 00:00:00.000
________________
For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
To change your profile or unsubscribe go to:
http://www.un.org/news/dh/latest/subscribe.shtml
*****************************************************************
4 BBC: UN raps Iran over nuclear stance
Last Updated: Friday, 18 June, 2004
[Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant]
A bad report card for Iran from the IAEA but no sanctions yet
Iran has been sharply rebuked by the United Nations atomic agency
for failing to co-operate fully with an inquiry into its nuclear
activities.
The International Atomic Energy Agency called on Iran to do more,
so the probe can be concluded in the coming months.
But the resolution does not threaten to report the country to the
Security Council for possible sanctions.
The US has accused Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons -
a charge the government in Tehran denies.
Harsh words
The IAEA's board in Vienna voted to adopt the resolution which
"deplores" the fact that "Iran's co-operation has not been as
full, timely and proactive as it should have been."
The IAEA expresses serious concern that important information
about Iran's P2 centrifuges, which can be used to produce
bomb-grade uranium, has been incomplete and unclear.
The motion says that after almost two years since Iran's
undeclared programme came to light, "a number of questions remain
outstanding".
[Aerial view of Natanz facility]
Iran has been accused of keeping some of its nuclear activities
secret [Photo: Digitalglobe]
It acknowledges that
some progress has been made into establishing the nature of the
activities but says the inquiry should be wrapped up in the next
few months.
Correspondents said the text used strong language by the
standards of diplomatic terminology.
But it did not contain any deadline or trigger mechanism to set
into motion possible sanctions against Iran.
Britain, France and Germany drafted the resolution as a
compromise after the US wanted to hold Iran to a timetable that
could lead to UN sanctions.
Tehran has accused the three of working with its arch-foe
Washington, which says Iran is developing nuclear arms.
Crunch time
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi criticised the resolution
but repeated that Iran would meet its commitments to the UN
nuclear watchdog.
"We will work within the framework of international obligations,"
he said, while saying that Iran would "not accept any new
obligation".
The BBC's Jim Muir in Tehran says the Iranians clearly feel the
UN body, prompted by the US, is being excessively fussy over
details.
The crunch point may come later this year after the next IAEA
board meeting to discuss the issue in September, our
correspondent says.
The US chief delegate to the IAEA, Kenneth Brill, said the
resolution put the board "on record as rejecting Iran's
continuing tactics of delay, denial and deception."
Under growing international pressure, Iran has suspended uranium
enrichment and allowed the IAEA to inspect its nuclear facilities
without notice.
But Tehran rejects US allegations that its nuclear programme is
being used to make weapons and says it is solely for generating
electricity.
On Thursday, the IAEA admitted it had wrongly reported that Iran
withheld information from it.
The IAEA reported in June that Tehran had failed to inform it
about importing magnets for advanced centrifuges which can
produce weapons-grade uranium.
However, it now says Iran made an oral statement about the
magnets in January.
*****************************************************************
5 ABCNEWS.com: IAEA Reprimands Iran for Nuclear Coverups
June 18, 2004
(AP Photo) IAEA Reprimands Iran for Nuclear Coverups U.N.
Atomic Watchdog Agency Reprimands Iran for Past Cover-Ups, but
Tehran Escapes Sanctions
The Associated Press
VIENNA, Austria June 18, 2004 — The U.N. atomic watchdog agency
censured Iran for past cover-ups in its nuclear program in a
resolution adopted Friday, warning Tehran to be more forthcoming.
While escaping sanctions, Iran threatened that it still might
retaliate by reconsidering plans to suspend its uranium
enrichment.
In harsh language, the resolution approved by the 35-member board
of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency said it
"deplores" that "Iran's cooperation has not been as full, timely
and proactive as it should have been."
It notes that since Iran's undeclared program came to light two
years ago, "a number of questions remain outstanding."
The resolution submitted by France, Germany and Britain was a
product of days of diplomatic maneuvering over the wording.
IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said the resolution
"calls in very explicit terms on Iran to accelerate its
cooperation with the agency."
Asked whether a deadline was needed to force Tehran to comply, he
said the board "expects these issues to come to a close in the
next few months."
U.S. Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton said Washington was
"very pleased."
"The results will keep Iran's nuclear program and its efforts to
deceive and obstruct IAEA inspectors at the center of
international attention for quite some time," he said in a
statement to The Associated Press.
In a veiled condemnation of the United States, which insists
Tehran has nuclear weapons ambitions, Iranian delegate Amir
Zamaninia told the meeting that the tone of the resolution was
affected by "wild and illusionary allegations of a secret Iranian
nuclear weapons program."
He warned that his country was reviewing its "voluntary
confidence-building measures," an indication that Iran might
rethink the suspension of its uranium enrichment activities.
Enrichment can lead to fuel for electricity or weapons-grade
uranium for warheads.
As the agency put final touches on the wording late Thursday,
diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity said the IAEA was
looking into accusations that Iran was razing parts of a
restricted area next to a military complex in a Tehran suburb.
Satellite photos showed that several buildings had been destroyed
and topsoil had been removed at Lavizan Shiyan, one diplomat
said.
Iran's chief delegate to the IAEA's board of governors, Hossein
Mousavian, denied there was a cover-up and told the AP the agency
was free to see the site. "There is nothing there," he said.
Asked about Lavizan Shiyan, ElBaradei said his agency would "like
to ... clarify" suspicions about the site, but he added that the
IAEA for now was withholding judgment on whether there had been
undeclared nuclear activities there. He said he hoped inspectors
could go to the site and report their findings to the next
scheduled board meeting in September.
Chief U.S. delegate Kenneth Brill, in comments to the board
Friday, accused Iran of taking "the wrecking ball and bulldozer"
to the site "to deal with some particularly incriminating facts."
He said the resolution put the board "on record as rejecting
Iran's continuing tactics of delay, denial and deception."
Most of the still-unanswered questions in Iran focus on the
sources of traces of highly enriched uranium found at several
sites in Iran, and the extent and nature of work on the advanced
P-2 centrifuge, used to enrich uranium.
Though the resolution does not give a deadline, it states that it
is essential for Iran to deal with issues "within the next few
months."
It does not contain a "trigger mechanism" a clause sought by
Washington that could send the Iran case to the U.N. Security
Council for violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Tehran says the minute finds of highly enriched uranium were not
produced domestically but were inadvertently imported in
purchases through the nuclear black market an assertion the
agency has not yet proven.
Tehran says it is interested only in generating electricity;
Washington says Iran's nuclear activities are a smoke screen for
a weapons program.
In a clear warning to Iran that its activities will be closely
followed, the resolution also asked ElBaradei to report on his
findings "well in advance" of the next board meeting in September
if warranted.
The rebuke was agreed on despite Iranian efforts to tone it down
substantially, including tactics that led ElBaradei on Thursday
to acknowledge one mistake in a report criticizing Tehran for
repeated lack of cooperation with the agency probe.
Earlier, the agency criticized Iran for not admitting to a
purchase of 150 magnets for P-2 centrifuges that Iran was
building secretly. On Thursday, ElBaradei acknowledged the
veracity of an audio tape submitted the day before by Iran that
records an agency inspector being informed about their purchase.
The report also said Iran inquired about buying thousands of such
magnets on the black market substantially more than Tehran needed
for what it said was a research program. ElBaradei on Thursday
said Iran expressed interest in 100,000 of such magnets.
"We still have no concrete proof that this has a military
dimension but we are still are not in a position to say that this
is exclusively for peaceful purposes," ElBaradei said.
Iran asserted the revelation showed its honesty.
On the Net:
International Atomic Energy Agency: www.iaea.org
photo credit and caption:
Secretary General of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei gestures as he talks to a delegate
prior to the start of a meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation board of
governors, on Friday, June 18, 2004, at Vienna's International
Center. (AP Photo/Rudi Blaha)
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
*****************************************************************
6 Indian Express: Iran hiding another atomic site - US
Saturday, June 19, 2004
www.expressindia.com
LOUIS CHARBONNEAU &MARK TREVELYAN
VIENNA, JUNE 18: The UN nuclear watchdog sharply rebuked Iran on
Friday for not fully cooperating with it, and diplomats said UN
inspectors were probing the possibility that Tehran was hiding
another atomic site.
A resolution adopted unanimously by the International Atomic
Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors said the board
‘‘deplores... the fact that, overall...Iran’s cooperation has not
been as full, timely and proactive as it should have been’’.
Co-sponsored by France, Britain and Germany, the final text
emerged after days of haggling. Iranian President Mohammad
Khatami rejected the draft resolution on Wednesday as ‘‘very
bad’’ and threatened to resume uranium enrichment if it was
approved.
Amir Zamaninia, a senior Foreign ministry official, told the IAEA
board that Iran had been cooperating fully with the agency and
rejected the resolution as ‘‘alien to the real situation on the
ground as observed and verified by the inspectors’’.
But the US said Iran had violated its international obligations
on non-proliferation and should be reported to the UN Security
Council, which can impose economic sanctions. ‘‘The US continues
to believe that Iran’s documented non-compliance should be
reported to the UN Security Council and that its nuclear
programme presents a threat to international peace and
security,’’ US Ambassador to the UN in Vienna Kenneth Brill said.
The resolution penned by Europe’s ‘‘big three’’ states made no
mention of the Security Council or any future punitive action if
Tehran failed to improve its cooperation with the IAEA,
reflecting the Europeans’ reluctance to push Iran too hard.
New doubts about Iran’s honesty arose because satellite photos
taken in summer 2003 and March 2004 show buildings razed and
topsoil removed at Lavizan Shiyan in Tehran — which Washington
said was proof Iran was hiding an undeclared site from UN
inspectors.
‘‘I think the IAEA is going to investigate this discovery very
seriously,’’ a Western diplomat from an influential board member
state said of the satellite images.
A senior Iranian official denied Iran had anything to hide. ‘‘The
IAEA is welcome to come there. There is nothing. Anyone who makes
such allegations will be ashamed when he sees this site,’’
Hossein Mousavian said. —(Reuters)
© 2004: Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
*****************************************************************
7 AFP: Russia welcomes new nuclear resolution on Iran
MOSCOW (AFP) Jun 18, 2004
Russia on Friday welcomed a tough new resolution adopted by the
UN atomic agency rebuking Iran for not fully cooperating with the
international community about its nuclear program.
Russia, under international pressure to end its nuclear
cooperation with Iran -- which Washington claims is trying to
develop a secret atomic weapons program -- said the new
resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
should improve cooperation between Tehran and the world
community.
"The most important thing is that this resolution is meant to
resolve all questions that the international community has about
Iran's nuclear program," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak
told the Interfax news agency.
"We believe that this will be done, as relations between the IAEA
and Iran continue to develop," he said.
Russia has been under pressure to halt construction of Iran's
Bushehr nuclear reactor until the IAEA is fully satisfied that
Tehran is not hiding its potential nuclear weapons ambition, or
using the project to develop an atomic bomb.
The resolution by the IAEA's 35-member board deplored the level
of Iranian cooperation and called for the agency's 15-month-old
investigation into Iran's nuclear activities to be wrapped up
within a few months.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi criticized the text but
said Iran would meet its commitments to the IAEA.
WAR.WIRE
*****************************************************************
8 ITAR-TASS: N Korea demands US allow inspections in S Korea mil bases
[ITAR-TASS News Agency of Russia]
18.06.2004, 11.40
SEOUL, June 18 (Itar-Tass) - North Korea has demanded the United
States give consent to conduct inspections of U.S. military
bases in South Korea and called for withdrawal of nuclear,
chemical and bacteriological weapons from the South, said the
statement of the Korean National Committee for Peace, published
by the North Korean news agency on Friday.
According to the organisation, indications of chemical weapon
presence have been revealed at an ammunition depot of forces
that are in Panmunjon in the demilitarized zone dividing the two
Koreas.
The statement gives no details what indications were found.
The U.S. military command in South Korea described the
accusations as absurd.
The United States published a declaration in 1991, reporting
about withdrawal of its tactical nuclear weapons from South
Korea, and then Pyongyang and Seoul signed a joint declaration
on the nuclear-free status of the Korean Peninsula.
There are 37,000 U.S. servicemen at 90 U.S. military bases and
facilities in South Korea at present.
© ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy,
*****************************************************************
9 Star-Tribune: Corra: New regs coming for energy development
Casper, Wyoming - Friday, June 18, 2004
By WHITNEY ROYSTER
environmental writer
MORAN -- Business will not be usual for energy companies in
Wyoming in upcoming years, the Department of Environmental
Quality director told the Wyoming Mining Association here
Thursday.
John Corra said Wyoming is "ground zero" for energy development
in the Rocky Mountains in the next five years, and industry needs
to be ready for regulatory changes.
For example, a lawsuit filed by the Environmental Defense Fund
may force the state to look at cumulative impacts of issuing new
energy permits.
"It could be that when we want to look at a new site we want to
permit, we have to look at coal mines, trona mines ... and gravel
pits nearby," Corra said. "It's significant."
Corra also told the group of about 100 that states on the East
and West coasts are looking at regulating green house gas
emissions to stem global warming.
"Somewhere that will gain enough political viability that we will
be regulating those kinds of gasses," he said.
The state's coal production is expected to double by 2020, and
uranium mining is expected to come back with the spike in uranium
prices, the director said. Southwest Wyoming is expected to grow
its well numbers from 8,500 to 15,000 in the next few years.
Corra, who was the president of the Wyoming Mining Association
before being appointed as director of the DEQ by Gov. Dave
Freudenthal last year, was not shy about telling the group where
regulations might become more stringent.
He said 21 of 53 landfills in the state are leaking and need to
be cleaned up.
"You can imagine what is in those landfills," he said.
He said permitting for coalbed methane is another "big thing" for
the agency.
"We want to add structure to how development takes place and to
how we handle the water," Corra said. "The way that has unfolded
is not the way that play is going to unfold in the next five or
six years."
Water, in fact, is a big issue for the DEQ. Corra said the agency
is in "significant debate or discussion" with Montana and South
Dakota officials about Wyoming's water quality.
"Where we end up with those two states will have a lot to do with
how the coalbed methane play will continue," he said.
Regarding air quality, Corra said coal miners "have done a great
job controlling their dust." But, he said last year there were 10
violations of PM10s -- particulate matter that is a large
contributor to smog and haze. Nine of those violations were in
the southwest part of the state.
"If we don't get our dust under control, we could become a
non-attainment area," Corra said. "We don't want to go there."
He said the agency is reviewing new standards for nitrous oxide
emissions and particulate matter, and he said the agency was
going to address emissions by smaller gravel operators more.
"(Emissions rules) are probably going to be more stringent than
you're currently used to," he said. "We will have answers to
those by the middle of next year."
The agency is also working on regulations to control flaring on
sites such as the Jonah Field in Pinedale, "currently, quite
frankly, there are none," Corra said.
Corra said the agency is re-examining its standards on
reclamation.
"What does species diversity really mean?" he said as an example.
"How much is a rule versus a guideline?"
Corra said the agency needs to define how to determine "completed
reclamation" -- is it supportive of a land use or a vegetative
community?
Still, he said he was working to streamline efforts of the DEQ to
process permits more quickly and create performance reviews for
the agency.
He told the mining group he planned to "pick your brains" to
understand where industry might be going.
"This is an opportunity to help me help you to get ready for the
next big thing that might hit the state," he said.
Copyright © 2004 by the Casper Star-Tribune published by Lee
*****************************************************************
10 ABCNEWS.com: Bush Takes Issue With 9/11 Panel Findings
June 18, 2004
(AP Photo) Bush Takes Issue With 9/11 Panel Findings Bush
Takes Issue With 9/11 Panel Finding 'No Credible Evidence' of
Link Between Iraq and al-Qaida
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON June 18, 2004 — Disputing the findings of the
commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks, President
Bush continues to insist there was a link between Saddam Hussein
and al-Qaida.
"This administration never said that the 9-11 attacks were
orchestrated between Saddam and al-Qaida," Bush said Thursday
after meeting with his Cabinet at the White House.
"We did say there were numerous contacts between Saddam Hussein
and al-Qaida. For example, Iraqi intelligence officers met with
(Osama) bin Laden, the head of al-Qaida, in the Sudan. There's
numerous contacts between the two," he said.
Saddam's alleged link with terrorists was a central justification
the Bush administration had for toppling the former Iraqi regime.
Bush also argued that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction,
which have not been found, and that Saddam ruled his country with
an iron fist and tortured his opponents, claims that no one has
disputed.
"The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship
between Iraq and Saddam and al-Qaida is because there was a
relationship between Iraq and al-Qaida," Bush said.
The Sept. 11 panel reported this week that while there were
contacts between al-Qaida and Iraq they did not appear to have
produced "a collaborative relationship."
"We're very clear on that," former Indiana Rep. Timothy Roemer, a
Democratic member of the commission, said Friday on CNN. However,
he said, given the scope of the panel's report it's inevitable
"we're going to have a disagreement or two with the
administration."
What's important now is that the United States find ways to
improve its response to terror groups, like al-Qaida, which are
trying to get their hands on biological, chemical and nuclear
weapons, Roemer said.
Senior members of the commission seemed eager to minimize any
disagreement with the White House.
"What we have found is, Were there contacts between al-Qaida and
Iraq? Yes. Some of them were shadowy but they were there," said
Tom Kean, the Republican former governor of New Jersey, who is
chairman.
Like Bush, he said there was no evidence that Iraq aided in the
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Former Rep. Lee Hamilton of Indiana, the Democratic vice chairman
of the panel, said media reports of a conflict between the
administration and the commission were "not that apparent to me."
Although bin Laden asked for help from Iraq in the mid-1990s,
Saddam's government never responded, according to a report by the
commission staff based on interviews with government intelligence
and law enforcement officials.
"There have been reports that contacts between Iraq and al-Qaida
also occurred after bin Laden had returned to Afghanistan, but
they do not appear to have resulted in a collaborative
relationship," the commission's report said. "Two senior bin
Laden associates have adamantly denied that any ties existed
between al-Qaida and Iraq."
Bush said Saddam had ties to other terrorist networks as well.
"He (Saddam) was a threat because he was a sworn enemy to the
United States of America, just like al-Qaida," Bush said. "He was
a threat because he had terrorist connections not only al-Qaida
connections, but other connections to terrorist organizations."
The president said Saddam had links, for example, to the Abu
Nidal Palestinian terror organization and sheltered Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi, considered the most dangerous foreign fighter in Iraq
and one of the world's top terrorists.
"He was a threat because he provided safe haven for a terrorist
like al-Zarqawi, who is still killing innocents inside Iraq,"
Bush said.
Attention on al-Zarqawi has increased in recent months as he
became a more vocal terror figure, due in part to three
recordings released on the Internet, including the video showing
the beheading of American businessman Nicholas Berg.
photo credit and caption:
President Bush arrives at King County International Airport
Thursday evening, June 17, 2004, in Seattle. Bush arrived in
Seattle on Air Force One and transferred to Marine One for a
25-minute flight to Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Wash., where he is
scheduled to address Army troops Friday morning. He appeared
earlier in the day at a fund-raiser for Republican Senate
candidate George Nethercutt in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine
Thompson)
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
*****************************************************************
11 Bush: Continuation of WMD emergency
FR Doc 04-13980
[Federal Register: June 18, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 117)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Page 34047-34048]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18jn04-172]
Presidential Documents
[[Page 34047]]
Notice of June 16, 2004
Continuation of the National Emergency With
Respect to the Risk of Nuclear Proliferation
Created by
the Accumulation of Weapons-Usable Fissile
Material in
the Territory of the Russian Federation
On June 21, 2000, the President issued Executive
Order
13159 (the ``Order'') blocking property and
interests
in property of the Government of the Russian
Federation
that are in the United States, that hereafter
come
within the United States, or that are or
hereinafter
come within the possession or control of United
States
persons that are directly related to the
implementation
of the Agreement Between the Government of the
United
States of America and the Government of the
Russian
Federation Concerning the Disposition of Highly
Enriched Uranium Extracted from Nuclear Weapons,
dated
February 18, 1993, and related contracts and
agreements
(collectively, the ``HEU Agreements''). The HEU
Agreements allow for the downblending of highly
enriched uranium derived from nuclear weapons to
low
enriched uranium for peaceful commercial
purposes. The
Order invoked the authority, inter alia, of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50
U.S.C.
1701 et seq., and declared a national emergency
to deal
with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the
national security and foreign policy of the
United
States posed by the risk of nuclear
proliferation
created by the accumulation of a large volume of
weapons-usable fissile material in the territory
of the
Russian Federation.
A major national security goal of the United
States is
to ensure that fissile material removed from
Russian
nuclear weapons pursuant to various arms control
and
disarmament agreements is dedicated to peaceful
uses
(such as downblending to low enriched uranium
for
peaceful commercial uses), subject to
transparency
measures, and protected from diversion to
activities of
proliferation concern. Pursuant to the HEU
Agreements,
weapons-grade uranium extracted from Russian
nuclear
weapons is converted to low enriched uranium for
use as
fuel in commercial nuclear reactors. The Order
blocks
and protects from attachment, judgment, decree,
lien,
execution, garnishment, or other judicial
process the
property and interests in property of the
Government of
the Russian Federation that are directly related
to the
implementation of the HEU Agreements and that
are in
the United States, that hereafter come within
the
United States, or that are or hereafter come
within the
possession or control of United States persons.
The national emergency declared on June 21,
2000, must
continue beyond June 21, 2004, to provide
continued
protection from attachment, judgment, decree,
lien,
execution, garnishment, or other judicial
process for
the property and interests in property of the
Government of the Russian Federation that are
directly
related to the implementation of the HEU
Agreements and
subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Therefore, in
accordance
with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies
Act (50
U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the
national emergency with respect to
weapons-usable
fissile material
[[Page 34048]]
in the territory of the Russian Federation. This
notice
shall be published in the Federal Register and
transmitted to the Congress.
(Presidential Sig.)B
THE WHITE HOUSE,
June 16, 2004.
[FR Doc. 04-13980
Filed 6-17-04; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
*****************************************************************
12 Guardian Unlimited: MPs demand details of nuclear treaty
Richard Norton-Taylor
Friday June 18, 2004
The government was under pressure last night to disclose the
contents of a secret nuclear weapons treaty it has renegotiated
with the US.
MPs demanded a full debate on the updated mutual defence
agreement based on a treaty first negotiated in 1958 and regarded
as a cornerstone of the special relationship.
In a hitherto unreported move, the White House this week
announced the amended treaty had been sent to the US Congress to
be ratified. "In light of our previous close cooperation ... I
have concluded that it is in our interest to continue to assist
them in maintaining a credible nuclear force," George Bush said.
MPs yesterday expressed concern that the amended treaty could
have significant implications for Britain's obligations under the
nuclear non-proliferation treaty and the nuclear test ban.
They said they were concerned in particular about growing
pressure in some sections of the US military and policy-makers to
develop "mini-nukes" and nuclear "bunker busters".
Sophisticated equipment is being installed at the atomic weapons
establishment at Aldermaston, Berkshire, enabling Britain to
produce a new generation of nuclear warheads. But the Ministry of
Defence says there are no existing plans to do so.
Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs
spokesman, said yesterday: "If parliament is to fulfil its
constitutional role of scrutiny and its responsibility for
ensuring the security of our citizens, it can hardly do so if it
is denied the opportunity to have an informed debate about the
terms of the relationship between ourselves and the US."
Sir Menzies was commenting on a report about the renewal of the
mutual defence agreement produced by a thinktank, the British
American Security Information Council.
Nigel Chamberlain, the report's author, said the fundamental
purpose of the treaty was to prevent wider dissemination of
nuclear weapons.
The Labour MP Alan Simpson said: "We have to insist the
government line doesn't drift into a new era of nukes or
mini-nukes that are in violation of the non-proliferation
treaty."
Peter Hain, the leader of the Commons, yesterday dismissed a call
for a special debate on the amended treaty from the Scottish
Nationalist MP Angus Robertson.
"The last time the treaty was updated, there was outrage over the
Conservative government pushing it through after a rushed debate
at 2am," Mr Robertson said.
He added: "At that time, Labour MP's were highly critical of the
lack of scrutiny. Sadly, nearly all of them ... seem to have
forgotten their opposition to that travesty, and seem intent on
repeating it."
The MoD said the government had not set aside any time for a
debate on the issue. If the Commons defence committee asked for
one, the government would give it "due consideration".
Email comments for publication to:
politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk
[UP]
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
*****************************************************************
13 Straits Times: China told to use nukes if Taiwan hits dam -
JUNE 19, 2004 SAT
Some parliamentary delegates call on Beijing to retract its
no-first-use pledge to deter 'terrorist acts' like dam strike
By Guo Shiping
SHENZHEN - China should withdraw its undertaking on no first-use
of nuclear weapons should Taiwan try to blow up the Three Gorges
Dam, according to some parliamentary delegates.
The call was made by them - as well as some who sit on the
country's top political advisory body - in the wake of a recent
US Defence Department report which suggested that Taiwan could
target the dam in a pre-emptive strike.
That study sparked off a public debate in Taiwan on developing a
military offensive strategy.
In response, delegates to China's National People's Congress
(NPC), the de facto parliament, and the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) wrote to the central
government in Beijing, calling for it to revise its no-first-use
pledge on nuclear weapons.
Their argument is that the undertaking needs to be changed now
that the country is facing hostile forces planning attacks
against its densely populated regions and the dam, the world's
biggest hydroelectric project.
They feel that such strikes should be viewed as terrorist attacks
and that China should use nuclear weapons as a deterrence.
On their side are some American think-tank scholars who have
expressed strong objections to any Taiwanese attempt to blow up
the dam.
They believe such an attack will bring destruction to Taiwan
itself.
The NPC and CPPCC delegates also want Beijing to freeze Taiwanese
businessman Hsu Wen-long's assets in China to punish him for his
support of Taiwanese independence.
After China's Taiwan Affairs Office and the official People's
Daily singled him out for criticism, Chinese websites were
inundated with calls for economic sanctions against the Taiwanese
tycoon.
The cyber-postings urged the Chinese people to boycott the
products of Mr Hsu's Chi Mei Group and not to work for his
companies.
Such calls have been growing in intensity within China, which
explains why many NPC and CPPCC delegates scrambled to ask for
his assets in China to be frozen.
Some analysts in Beijing argue that the delegates' request is
totally reasonable given that Mr Hsu has committed treason and is
determined to split the country.
In the United States, they note, the authorities have the right
to freeze the assets of anyone guilty of instigating secession.
To the suggestion that the Taiwanese businessman merely gave
vocal support, the delegates' counter was that he had gone beyond
words.
During critical junctures in Taiwan's 2000 presidential election,
he declared openly that Mr Chen Shui-bian was the only person who
could truly carry out 'Lee Teng-hui's line' and he played a role
in helping Mr Chen win the support of Taiwanese voters.
The delegates also said the Taiwanese tycoon had long been
bankrolling President Chen's pro-independence Democratic
Progressive Party, something Mr Hsu himself never denied.
According to reliable sources in Beijing, China will be taking a
carrot-and-stick approach in its future dealings with Taiwanese
businessmen.
Chinese officials in charge of Taiwan affairs said that Taiwanese
investors' support for independence, or the lack of it, would
determine how China would treat them.
Those who back independence can expect the stick; those who do
not will be welcomed warmly.
In fact, for the latter group, China will soon be offering more
benefits, including tax and land-price concessions, special
protection even if cross-strait ties worsen, and appointment as
advisers on Taiwan affairs to help China keep abreast of
developments there.
The writer is a professor of economics at Shenzhen University in
China.
Straits Times
*****************************************************************
14 Times of India: Pak team arrives for Nuke talks -
FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2004
NEW DELHI: A six-member high-level Pakistani delegation arrived
here on Friday for crucial expert level talks with their Indian
interlocutors on Nuclear Confidence Building Measures.
The two sides will discuss a range of issues covering nuclear
risk reduction and strategic stability at the two-day meeting
from Sunday.
The Pakistani delegation is led by Tariq Usman Haider, Additional
Secretary in the Pakistan Foreign Office. He will be assisted by
former Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi and at
present Director General of South Asia, Jalil Abbas Jilani and
top nuclear and defence officials.
The Indian side will be headed by Sheel Kant Sharma, Additional
Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry.
The two sides are expected to pick up threads from the February,
1999, Memorandum of Understanding dealing with nuclear CBMs
signed in Lahore during the visit of then Prime Minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee.
Under the MoU, the two countries agreed to abide by their
unilateral moratorium on conducting further nuclear tests,
"unless either side, in exercise of its national sovereignty
decides extraordinary events have jeopardised its supreme
interests".
The two sides will also engage in bilateral consultations on
security, disarmament and non-proliferation issues within the
context of negotiations on these issues in multilateral fora, the
1999 MoU said.
They agreed to give advance notice about tests of ballistic
missiles, take steps to reduce risks of accidental or
unauthorised use of nuclear weapons and notify each other about
accidental, unauthorised or unexplained incidents to prevent
outbreak of hostilities between the two countries and work out a
mechanism to communicate in this regard.
During the parleys, the suggestion by External Affairs Minister K
Natwar Singh for a common nuclear doctrine among India, Pakistan
and China may come up though there is no formal proposal in this
regard by the Manmohan Singh government.
The meeting on Nuclear CBMs comes close on the heels of talks in
Islamabad between top officials of the two countries to prevent
drug trafficking and smuggling and ahead of the Foreign
Secretary-level talks slated later this month in Delhi.
Foreign Secretary Shashank and his Pakistani counterpart Riaz
Khokhar will deliberate on peace and security including CBMs and
Jammu and Kashmir besides reviewing the progress of talks held so
far, when they meet here on June 27-28.
indiatimes.com
Copyright © 2004 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
15 Mid-Day Mumbai: Akhtar back in police custody - Lawyer
By: Shibu Thomas
June 18, 2004
Akhtar Hussaini Qutbuddin, deported from Dubai allegedly for
selling India’s nuclear secrets, was yesterday detained by Mumbai
police after he was released by the Intelligence Bureau, his
lawyer said today.
Advocate Mubin Solkar said Akhtar was put on a flight to Delhi
after his release by Intelligence officials at Mumbai airport
yesterday morning.
But when Akhtar did not meet his brother Syed Adil Hussaini, who
is a practising doctor in the national capital, he returned to
Mumbai and finally caught up with him in Andheri in the evening.
Akhtar was immediately picked up by police, Solkar said, and
suggested that it may be the Andheri Crime Branch who had taken
him.
Syed had on Tuesday petitioned the Bombay High Court about the
whereabouts of his brother Akhtar.
However, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Dhananjay
Kamlakar, when contacted this morning, refused to comment on the
matter. Asked about Akhtar’s whereabouts, Kamlakar said: ‘‘I
cannot say anything.’’
Akhtar was first detained by security agencies on his arrival at
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on June 12.
© 2003 All rights reserved Disclaimer
*****************************************************************
16 St. Petersburg Times: Russia likely to boost defense-related expenditures
RosBusinessConsulting - News Online
RBC, 18.06.2004, Moscow 11:16:32.Russia plans to boost
spending on domestic arms purchases by a third in 2005 to $6bn
to help the defense sector recover from a post-Soviet slump, the
Russia Journal reported citing industry sources. But a big
player in the industry said the measure may not yield immediate
results as the government remained divided over which sectors
the money should favor. The arms industry shrank in the 1990s.
The sector started to pick up three years ago but production
remains below Soviet levels. The 2005 budget would likely
allocate about RUR180bn (about $6.20bn) to arms purchases - a
rise of about RUR45bn from 2004, the daily said citing media
sources.
Total defense spending, including security and
emergencies, will rise RUR146bn to RUR894bn (about $30.8bn) in
2005 - or about five percent of the economy - according to a
draft budget. The rise is in line with a longstanding plan to
bolster military capability by reforming the ill-equipped and
demoralized army, reorganizing the nuclear sector and increasing
exports to Asia to offset decrease in sales to Eastern Europe.
Defense officials have hinted the government wants to
concentrate on researching next-generation technology rather
than purchasing modified versions of existing stocks. Aviation,
growing at double-digit rates due to rising exports, hopes to
get the largest slice. Jet sales form the backbone of arms
exports and the government could give it priority due to the
industry's high profitability. Russia's best combat jet
producers like Sukhoi and MiG - which have brought in billions
of dollars in export revenues in recent years - need cash to
develop new-generation jets as existing models will become
obsolete in about 10 years. But some analysts say the lion's
share of the budget could go to the government's pet project -
development of new technology for its strategic rocket forces.
Send your notes and suggestions to max@rbc.ru
All rights reserved © 1995-2000 RosBusinessConsulting
*****************************************************************
17 Bulletin Wire: A friend like Pakistan
June 18, 2004
Pakistans assistance to the U.S. war against terrorism paid big
dividends this week as President George W. Bush added it to a
list of major non-NATO allies.
The designation will make Pakistan eligible for priority delivery
of defense material . . . [allow it to] stockpile U.S. military
hardware, participate in defense research and development
programs, and benefit from a U.S. government loan guarantee
program, which backs up loans issued by private banks to finance
arms exports, according to an Agence France Presse report (June
16).
Pakistan joins Argentina, Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan,
Jordan, Kuwait, and others on the list of U.S. major non-NATO
allies.
Although Pakistan has made contributions to the U.S. campaign
against Al Qaeda, it has done little to stem nuclear
proliferation and may have even been directly or indirectly
involved in the illicit nuclear trades set up by the father of
the Pakistani bomb, Abdul Qadeer (A. Q.) Khan.
BulletinWire. >>>
*****************************************************************
18 GARAVI GUJARAT: Critical nuclear talks under way between India and
Pakistan
19 June 2004
Best Asian Newsweekly Established for 36 years
A HIGH-level Pakistani delegation has arrived in New Delhi for
crucial expert-level talks on nuclear confidence building
measures with there Indian counterparts.
The two sides will discuss a range of issues covering nuclear
risk reduction and strategic stability at the two-day meeting on
Saturday and Sunday.
The talks will also coincide with a meeting of the two countries`
foreign ministers in China on the sidelines of a regional
conference - their first exchange since a change of government in
New Delhi.
Anti-nuclear activists are demanding both sides agree to
dismantle warheads from missiles and that the arch-rivals
institute safeguards against accidental use of their weapons of
mass destruction.
But in Islamabad, Pakistani foreign office spokesman Masood Khan
said the discussions in New Delhi would focus on "strategic
stability, nuclear crisis management, risk reduction and
coordinated as well as responsible stewardship".
The Pakistani delegation is led by Tariq Usman Haider, Additional
Secretary in the Pakistan Foreign Office, and includes top
nuclear and defence officials.
The two sides are expected to pick up the threads from the
February 1999 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dealing with
confidence-building measures (CBMs) signed in Lahore during the
visit of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
"Since India now has a less hawkish government and Pakistan is
now an ally of the United States, one would expect tangible CBMs
from the talks," said Jay Prakash of the Delhi Science Forum, one
of India`s top disarmament groups. Nuclear rows
The former government of Vajpayee conducted nuclear weapons tests
in May 1998, prompting Pakistan to carry out tit-for-tat tests a
few days later - which drew a slew of US-led sanctions against
both.
However, the two neighbours have refused to endorse nuclear
non-proliferation treaties.
Islamabad and New Delhi, however, agreed to discuss
confidence-building measures and launch a dialogue after a
landmark pact between Pakistani
President Pervez Musharraf and Vajpayee in January to resolve all
issues, including the dispute over Kashmir.
Disarmament groups in both countries appeared gladdened by
Musharraf`s recent statement that Pakistan was prepared to cut
down its nuclear arsenal if India did the same, but experts said
mere pledges would be futile.
"We don`t have any worldwide military ambitions. We maintain a
force for deterrence," Musharraf said in Dubai on June 4 and
offered to make South Asia a "nuclear-free zone" if India agreed.
Strategic analyst Raja Mohan said the two sides must focus on
practical steps to enhance nuclear security.
"For India and Pakistan, the priority on the nuclear front is to
put in place effective CBMs and avoid such unverifiable proposals
as non-deployment of nuclear weapons," Mohan said.
"The two sides must al
Copyright 2004 Garavi Gujarat Publications Ltd & Garavi
Gujarat Publications USA Inc
*****************************************************************
19 News-Leader.com: Cold War over but bases remain
Published June 18, 2004
Abandoned but not forgotten, Nike missile bunkers lie buried all
around us.
[A rusted steel door at a former Nike base that housed
Hercules missiles until 1968 in Hecker, Ill. The site was one of
four Nike bases designed to guard the St. Louis area from attack
by Soviet bombers.]
A rusted steel door at a former Nike base that housed Hercules
missiles until 1968 in Hecker, Ill. The site was one of four
Nike bases designed to guard the St. Louis area from attack by
Soviet bombers.
Wayne Crosslin / St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Rick Pierce
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis — Zeno Birkner wipes the sweat from his forehead as
he fumbles for the right key. A few moments later, he unlocks a
heavy chain wrapped around the gate and pulls it open.
Once inside, he kneels before a concrete mound, opens another
lock, then another and finally opens a heavy metal door that
angles into the ground.
A rush of cold air greets him as he steps into the past, down a
long stairwell that opens into a giant concrete bunker that was
once the last defense against communism. This site, amid rolling
wheat fields near Hecker — in Monroe County, Ill., southeast of
St. Louis — was one of four Nike bases that housed nuclear
missiles designed to guard the St. Louis area from attack by
Soviet bombers.
Today, the old missile bunker is empty, as are similar sites
near Grafton and Marine in Illinois and Pacific in Missouri. At
Hecker, the soldiers and the Hercules missiles have been gone
since summer 1968, and the only sound now deep in the ground is
the purr when the sump pump kicks in. The Beck Career Center now
owns the property.
To Birkner, who helps maintain the site, the old missile bunker
is a piece of Cold War history. In the '50s and '60s, most major
U.S. cities were guarded by Nike bases. Kansas City had five
such sites, Chicago 11.
That history, though, is rapidly disappearing. A few years ago,
the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior
conducted a survey of Nike missile sites in Illinois and
concluded the Hecker site and a second in Deer Park, outside of
Chicago, were the two best preserved sites in the state. The
Deer Park site has since been sold, and a shopping mall is now
located there.
The Grafton site, situated inside Pere Marquette State Park, has
largely disappeared, and the old missile bunkers have been
filled in. At the site near Marine, the missile bunkers are
filled with water and most of the buildings are gone. The
Pacific site is in better shape. The old barracks serve as a
warehouse and maintenance facility for the Meramec Valley school
district. A school, Nike Elementary, sits next to the old
barracks. The missile bunker itself, located nearby on another
school-owned site, is closed but remains in good condition.
Scott Air Force Base, which served as the headquarters for the
St. Louis defense area, did not have any Nike missiles.
David Benefield, who patrolled the Grafton site with guard dogs
from late 1959 to May 1961, remembered that the missiles were
always brought into the site at night. The warheads would arrive
separately in another truck convoy. And frequent alerts confined
the staff to the base.
"There was very little talk about what you did," he said. "It
was very secretive. You just didn't talk about it."
Rich Griffin, the former Red Bud High School athletic director,
served at the Hecker site in 1968 after returning from Vietnam.
The times had changed, and the threat of a Soviet missile attack
had subsided. Griffin remembered the Hecker base as a quiet,
out-of-the-way place.
"There wasn't much going on," he said. "There was a little lake
there. You could go fishing any time you wanted to."
The missile bases could have spewed horrific destruction, and
not just on enemy bombers. In the '60s, most Nike bases were
equipped with Hercules missiles armed with nuclear warheads.
In the process of destroying enemy bombers — and preventing them
from dropping their own nuclear cargo — the ensuing blast and
fallout from a nuclear warhead likely would have caused
considerable damage.
Typically, Nike bases were situated in areas on the outskirts of
a major city.
"If, in fact, the Russians were coming with nukes, people were
willing to exchange smallville rather than the city of St.
Louis," said Ed Thelen, who served as a technician at a Nike
site near Chicago and now runs a Web site devoted to the Nike
systems.
The size of the warheads on the Hercules missiles varied from 2
kilotons to 40 kilotons. By comparison, the yield of the bomb
used at Hiroshima was about 15 kilotons.
John Porter, who oversees a restored Nike missile site at Golden
Gate National Recreation Area near San Francisco, said there was
no real alternative. He said it was imperative that the Nike
bases, as the last line of defense, destroy the enemy bombers,
which would also likely be equipped with nuclear weapons.
"There was a trade-off," he said. "The greater good was being
protected."
Each Nike base was actually divided into two or three different
sites. One site was a radar control center. The missile bunker
itself was usually several miles away. At the Hecker site, the
vocational center is located in the old barracks complex two
miles from the missile bunker.
Copyright © 2004, The Springfield News-Leader, a Gannettcompany.
*****************************************************************
20 Fire Shuts Vermont Yankee Nuke Plant
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 15:08:54 -0400
Just one more example of what can happen at any
nuke facility at any time. Fortunately no
catastrophe this time. Given enough time it'll
happen again. Chernobyl on the Hudson anyone? The
big lie/nuclear experiemnt on all of us and the
environment continues with polititians, media and
much of the public responsible. Only the nuclear
utility company was quoted below.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-utilities-entergy-nuke.html
Fire Shuts Vermont Yankee Nuke Plant
By REUTERS
Published: June 18, 2004
Filed at 10:13 a.m. ET
BOSTON (Reuters) - Vermont Yankee nuclear power
plant was shut Friday after an early morning
transformer fire in one of its non-nuclear units,
a company spokesman said.
There were no injuries.
``The plant is shut down,'' said Rob Williams, a
spokesman for Entergy Corp. (ETR.N) which runs the
510 megawatt power plant. One MW can power 1,000
homes.
``Around 7 (EDT) this morning there was a fire.
The fire is now extinguished, but the fire
department is still on the scene.''
Advertisement
Williams said it was too soon to say what damage
the fire caused to the plant, which is located in
Vernon, Vermont, roughly 100 miles northwest of
Boston.
After the fire was discovered, the plant declared
an ``unusual event,'' the lowest form of
emergency. The plant was automatically shut down
after the transformer failed, Williams said,
adding this happened in one of the plant's
non-nuclear units. The transformer steps up the
voltage for transmission of electricity on power
lines.
``Unusual events'' happen only every few years,
Williams said, pointing out that the last time it
occurred at the Vermont plant was when a seismic
monitor thought an earthquake had been detected.
*****************************************************************
21 [NukeNet] More On Vermont Yankee Fire & VY History
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 14:37:06 -0700
Anything for a dollar:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Nuclear-Plant-Fire.html
Vermont Nuke Plant Shuts Down After Fire
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 18, 2004
Filed at 11:21 a.m. ET
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- The Vermont Yankee nuclear
power plant was shut down Friday after a
transformer caught fire in the non-nuclear part of
the facility, officials said. The fire was put
out, and no radiation was released, they said.
The operators declared an ``unusual event,'' the
lowest of four emergency classifications set by
the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Advertisement
The fire was detected just before 7 a.m. and the
nuclear reactor was automatically shut down, said
plant spokesman Rob Williams.
The unusual event status was still in effect after
the fire was put out. Williams said the fire cause
had not yet been determined. No release of
radiation occurred, and no one was injured, he
said.
``Since the fire lasted longer than several
minutes, by procedure we declared an unusual
event,'' Williams said.
The transformer is used to step up the voltage of
the electricity generated at the plant so it can
be transmitted efficiently.
It was unknown how badly the transformer was
damaged, and Williams said he could not estimate
when the plant might be back on line again.
As part of the plant's emergency procedure,
officials in Vermont, New Hampshire and
Massachusetts have been notified, Williams said.
The plant is in Vernon, at Vermont's southeast tip
near the other two states.
Vermont's lone nuclear plant, which began
operations in 1972, is seeking permission from
regulators to boost its power output.
In April, about 20 cracks were discovered in the
plant's steam dryer, a component that has been
prone to cracking at other plants that have
increased their power output.
Also that month, two fuel rod segments were
discovered missing from the plant's spent fuel
storage pool. Officials believe it was most likely
shipped to a disposal facility.
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22 [NukeNet] sid goodman on nuke power
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 14:37:04 -0700
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: The "case" for nuclear power
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 05:06:01 -0700
From: Sidney Goodman
Reply-To: gizmoguy@mindspring.com
To: a
Mahwah, NJ 07430
June 18, 2004
Editor, Time Magazine:
The casefor nuclear power
Extensive disinformation has brainwashed many people, even the extensively
published James Lovelock, an environmentalist.
He recently called for the expansion of nuclear power to solve the problem
of global warming.
Folks have taken notice because of his prominence.
He is evidently unaware that many of the worlds top scientists were
persecuted, censored, or had their careers harmed
in some foul way when they revealed why their initial support for nuclear
power was misguided.
A description of what happened to them is in my book, Asleep at the Geiger
Counter, published by Blue Dolphin Publishing, Inc.
The history of nuclear power is a history of silenced concerns, rigged
studies, suppressed scientists, and in
Mr. Lovelocks case, bamboozled environmentalists.
The incessant claim of the industry is that nuclear power eliminates the
burning of fossil fuel. Actually, vast amounts
of coal and fossil fuel have been guzzled in the preparation of nuclear
fuel. It has contributed to global warming
directly and will do so even more in the future by the consumption of
fossil fuels to cope with radioactive wastes
and decommissioning nuclear plants. Details and documentation about this
are in my book,
Dr. Helen Caldicott, founding president of Physicians for Social Responsibility
endorsed my book. She is painfully aware of the total picture and has a deep
concern for the environmental effects of global warming.
A wealth of renewable energy alternatives has been available all along.
They are cleaner, safer
and cheaper than nuclear energy, when total costs to the American taxpayer
and ratepayer are tallied.
The problem is that our government has favored dangerous and polluting
sources for the worst of political reasons.
The Wall Street Journal once quoted Dr. Carl Sagans lament that our
government was spending about
as much money on non-nuclear alternatives to fossil fuel as we spent during
one hour of our first war with Iraq.
Just as tobacco executives lied to Congress about the hazards of smoking,
government officials were caught lying
under oath about how much energy is really obtainable from uranium. There
is evidence that there really isnt enough
fissionable uranium for a greatly expanded nuclear program unless we make a
big commitment for the plutonium breeder reactor.
The breeder poses hideous economic, environmental, and nuclear weapons
proliferations problems.
The Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Atomic Energy Commission admitted
to Congress that many
nuclear poisons are a million to a billion times worse than other
chemicals. He said that human weaknesses
and equipment flaws must not be allowed. Famous last words!
Mr. Lovelock stated that the problems of radioactive waste are
minuscule. That is ludicrous. My book explains
why uranium tailings, the debris of making nuclear fuel, pose a health
hazard that is ten times worse than the
dirtiest coal plant operation. Those tailings give off gaseous fumes which
blow clear across the nation.
The tailings are toxic for billions of years. Deposits from those gases
were found in the lungs of lung cancer victims during autopsies.
Given the hideous toxicity of radioactive waste, leaks during the first
thirty years of the nuclear age
demonstrated that the industry has already been thousands of times less
reliable than they have to
be to make good on their assurances about health and safety.
The very serious problem of radioactive waste has not been solved and it
will never be solved.
To solve the problem requires retrieving those leaks and re-isolating them.
That is impossible.
It is bad science to put our wastes in Yucca Mountain, the most earthquake
prone region
of our nation, where there is also a dormant volcano.
Dr. Edward Teller (father of the hydrogen bomb) wrote that a nuclear plant
is potentially more
deadly than a hydrogen bomb. He urged that plants should be buried deep
underground as a
safety precaution. Utilities have refused to do this because it would add
about 10% to their construction costs.
Every nuclear plant is a potential weapon of mass destruction. In 1977, a
government report admitted that nuclear
plants are vulnerable and attractive targets. It recommended police state
methods as a precaution.
It admitted that even if we had a complete police state (fascism) there is
still no way to predict what
the chances are for a terrorist induced catastrophe.
After studying health statistics, some doctors in India are convinced that
the fallout from the Chernobyl
nuclear plant accident in the Soviet Union caused the death of at least a
million children over the years.
Despite white wash reports to the contrary, there was a high casualty toll
from the Three Mile Accident
although that was only a partial meltdown. This has eluded high government
officials who are in denial
about harm that has already been caused. The government will put a warning
on a pack of cigarettes
telling you that smoking is dangerous. It will not tell you that nuclear
power is dangerous because it is the
governments own product. The same government facilities, which are used to
make nuclear weapons,
are used to make nuclear fuel. Hundreds of billions of dollars in
subsidies are up for grabs. Every government
involved with building nuclear weapons has a political need to put a
friendly face on nuclear technology. .
A catastrophe at the Indian Point (near NYC) would kill a large number of
people though out the NYC
metropolitan area and points beyond. It could cause a trillion dollars
damage, updating the CRAC 2 report
by our federal Sandia Laboratory, NM.
The owners and operators of nuclear plants are afraid to take full
responsibility for the risk they happily impose on us all.
They insist on keeping the Price Anderson Act reauthorized. This Act is a
federal law, which essentially excuses their
liability for the harm they can inflict. This law abolishes every
onesproperty rights to protect the property rights of nuclear operators.
Every nuclear plant can be used to make nuclear weapons. Our atoms for
peace program has really been a program
of bombs for sale. American manufacturers have dominated the export market
with the help of government subsidies,
to bail out the ailing nuclear industry. This has proliferated the threat
of terrorists who now have access to nuclear materials.
Nuclear power cannot survive or compete without endless multi-billion
dollar subsidies and bailouts. Right now,
our government is knuckling under to the nuclear lobby, at the expense of
better energy alternatives. The high price
of gasoline is a direct result of decades of irresponsible government
priorities.
Every energy source has its downsides. None can compare with the downsides
of nuclear power.
For decades, we have been cheated out of what could have been a golden age
of economic
and environmental benefits, with less inflation and less war.
Sidney J. Goodman, PE, MSME
Professional Engineer. NJ License # 15326
Sidney Goodman
gizmoguy@mindspring.com
Why Wait? Move to EarthLink.
--
Coalition for Peace and Justice
(http://www.coalitionforpeaceandjustice.org);
and the UNPLUG Salem Campaign
(http://www.unplugsalem.org); 321 Barr Ave.,
Linwood, NJ 08221; 609-601-8583/37;
ncohen12@comcast.net. The Coalition for Peace
and Justice is a chapter of Peace Action
(http://www.peace-action.org). "You can say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one" (Lennon). "Don't be late for your
life" (Mary Chapin Carpenter).
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23 NRC: Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., Environmental Assessment and
FR Doc 04-13749
[Federal Register: June 18, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 117)]
[Notices] [Page 34198-34202] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr18jn04-148]
Finding of No Significant Impact Related to Proposed License
Amendment Authorizing Operations at the Oxide Conversion Building
and the Effluent Processing Building at the Blended Low-Enriched
Uranium Complex AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Finding of no significant impact and environmental
assessment.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin M. Ramsey, Fuel Cycle
Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T-8A33, Washington, DC
20555-0001, telephone (301) 415-7887 and e-mail .
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Introduction The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) staff is considering the issuance of an
amendment to NRC Materials License SNM-124 to authorize
processing operations in the Oxide Conversion Building (OCB) and
the Effluent Processing Building (EPB) at the Blended
Low-Enriched Uranium Preparation (BLEU) Complex. A notice of
receipt and opportunity to request a hearing for this action was
published in the Federal Register on December 24, 2003 (68 FR
74653). The NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in
support of this action. Based upon the EA, the NRC has concluded
that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate
and, therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will not
be prepared.
II. Environmental Assessment Background The Nuclear Fuel Services
(NFS) facility in Erwin, TN is authorized under License SNM-124
to manufacture high-enriched nuclear reactor fuel. NFS is
undertaking the BLEU Project to manufacture low-enriched nuclear
reactor fuel. NFS is constructing a new complex at the Erwin site
to house the operations involving low-enriched uranium. On July
27, 2003, Amendment 39 to License SNM-124 was issued to authorize
storage of low-enriched uranium in the new complex. This was
[[Page 34199]] the first of three amendments planned for the BLEU
Project.
On January 13, 2004, Amendment 47 was issued to License SNM-124
to authorize downblending operations in the BLEU Preparation
Facility. This was the second amendment planned for the BLEU
Project.
These operations involve the blending of high-enriched uranium
with unenriched (natural) uranium to produce low-enriched
uranium.
Much of the downblending will be performed at other facilities,
but NFS plans to perform some downblending at its facility. The
BLEU Preparation Facility is located within the older complex
because that complex is already authorized to handle
high-enriched uranium. After the high- enriched uranium is
downblended and converted to a low-enriched uranium liquid, it
will be transferred from the BLEU Preparation Facility to the new
complex.
On October 23, 2003, NFS requested an amendment to authorize
operations in the remainder of the new BLEU complex (Ref. 5).
Supplemental information was submitted by letter dated April 30,
2004 (Ref. 9). This is the third and last amendment planned for
the BLEU Project. The request includes OCB operations to convert
low-enriched, uranium liquid to a solid, uranium oxide powder. It
also includes EPB operations to treat process effluents for
disposal.
Review Scope The purpose of this EA is to assess the
environmental impacts of the proposed license amendment. It does
not approve the request. This EA is limited to the proposed OCB
and EPB operations at the BLEU Complex and any cumulative impacts
on existing plant operations.
The existing conditions and operations for the Erwin facility
were evaluated by the NRC for environmental impacts in a 1999 EA
related to the renewal of the NFS license (Ref. 1) and a 2002 EA
related to the first amendment for the BLEU Project (Ref. 2). In
addition, the 2002 EA assessed the impact of the entire BLEU
Project (including the proposed operations) using information
available at that time. This assessment presents up-to-date
information and analysis for determining that issuance of a FONSI
is appropriate and that an EIS will not be prepared.
Proposed Action The proposed action is to amend NRC Materials
License SNM-124 to authorize processing operations in the OCB and
EPB. The buildings are being constructed within the new BLEU
Complex at the NFS site.
The operations will convert low-enriched, uranium liquid to a
solid, uranium oxide powder. The uranium oxide powder will be
shipped to another facility for fabrication of fuel for a
commercial power reactor. The duration of the project is
approximately five years. The proposed action in the amendment
request is consistent with the proposed action previously
assessed in the 2002 EA (Ref. 2). The OCB operations are composed
of four processes--the Feed Batch Make-Up Process, Uranium
Precipitation Process, Oxide Production Process, and Uranium
Recovery Process.
The Feed Batch Make-Up Process involves the transfer of uranyl
nitrate solution from the Uranyl Nitrate Building to a blend tank
in the OCB. If there is any solution available from the Uranium
Recovery Process, it is added also. After the solution is mixed,
it is fed to the Uranium Precipitation Process.
The Uranium Precipitation Process involves the heating and mixing
of uranyl nitrate with ammonium hydroxide. This forms ammonium
diuranate (ADU) precipitate. The ADU slurry is pumped to a
centrifuge feed tank where the pH is adjusted. Then, the slurry
is fed to a centrifuge where the solid ADU is separated from the
liquid.
The Oxide Production Process involves the drying of ADU solids in
a dryer. Then, the solids are fed to a calciner (i.e., rotary
kiln) where hydrogen is used to reduce the ADU solids to uranium
oxide powder. The powder is fed to a blender hopper where it is
mixed and loaded into shipping pails.
The Uranium Recovery Process involves the treatment of the liquid
centrate from the centrifuge with filters and ion exchange resin
to remove residual uranium from the liquid. The uranium is
returned to the process and the remaining liquid is sent to the
EPB. In addition, the Uranium Recovery Process has a dissolution
system where off- specification uranium oxide powder is dissolved
in nitric acid to form a uranyl nitrate solution. This solution
is returned to the Feed Batch Make-Up Process.
The EPB operations are composed of three processes--the Ammonia
Recovery Process, the Liquid Waste Treatment Process, and the
Waste Solidification Process.
The Ammonia Recovery Process involves the mixing of ammonium
nitrate waste solution with sodium hydroxide to form ammonium
hydroxide and sodium nitrate. The solution is heated and sent to
a stripping column. In the stripping column, steam is used to
generate ammonia vapor which is sent to a condenser. The
condensed distillate is an ammonium hydroxide solution which is
returned to the OCB for reuse. The stripping column bottoms are
composed of a sodium nitrate solution which is sent to the Liquid
Waste Treatment Process.
The Liquid Waste Treatment Process involves the concentration of
sodium nitrate waste in an evaporator. The water vapor from the
evaporator is condensed, sampled, and discharged to the sanitary
sewer. The evaporator bottoms are sent to the Waste
Solidification Process.
The Waste Solidification Process involves the mixing of
evaporator bottoms with clay and cement. The mixture is cured and
shipped to a licensed disposal facility.
Need for Proposed Action Framatome ANP Inc. has contracted with
NFS to downblend surplus high-enriched uranium material to a
low-enriched uranium product. The NFS product is expected to be
converted to commercial reactor fuel for a Tennessee Valley
Authority (TVA) nuclear power reactor; however, the NFS proposed
action is limited to the production of low-enriched, uranium
oxide powder as feed material for Framatome. The BLEU Project is
part of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program to reduce
stockpiles of surplus high-enriched uranium through re-use or
disposal as radioactive waste. Re-use is considered the favorable
option by the DOE because: (1) Weapons grade material is
converted to a form unsuitable for nuclear weapons (addressing a
proliferation concern); (2) the product can be used for peaceful
purposes; and (3) the commercial value of the surplus material
can be recovered (Ref.
3). An additional benefit of re-use is to avoid unnecessary use
of limited radioactive waste disposal space.
Alternatives The alternatives available to NRC are: 1. Approve
the license amendment as described; or 2. No action (i.e., deny
the request). Other alternatives to the proposed action are
addressed in the DOE Environmental Impact Statement (Ref. 3) and
are not re-analyzed in this EA.
Affected Environment The affected environment for the proposed
action and the alternative is the NFS site. The affected
environment is identical to the affected environment assessed in
the 2002 EA related to the first amendment for the BLEU Project
[[Page 34200]] (Ref. 2). A full description of the site and its
characteristics is given in the 2002 EA. Additional information
can be found in the 1999 EA related to the renewal of the NFS
license (Ref. 1). The NFS facility is located in Unicoi County,
Tennessee, about 32 km (20 mi) southwest of Johnson City,
Tennessee. The plant is about 0.8 km (0.5 mi) southwest of the
Erwin city limits. The site occupies about 28 hectares (70
acres). The site is bounded to the northwest by the CSX
Corporation (CSX) railroad property and the Nolichucky River, and
by Martin Creek to the northeast. The plant elevation is about 9
m (30 ft) above the nearest point on the Nolichucky River.
The area adjacent to the site consists primarily of residential,
industrial, and commercial areas, with a limited amount of
farming to the northwest. Privately owned residences are located
to the east and south of the facility. Tract size is relatively
large, leading to a low housing density in the areas adjacent to
the facility. The CSX railroad right-of-way is parallel to the
western boundary of the site. Industrial development is located
adjacent to the railroad on the opposite side of the
right-of-way. The site is bounded by Martin Creek to the north,
with privately owned, vacant property and low-density residences.
Effluent Releases and Monitoring A full description of the
effluent monitoring program at the site is provided in a 2002 EA
related to the first amendment for the BLEU Project (Ref. 2).
Additional information is available in the 1999 EA related to the
renewal of the NFS license (Ref. 1). The NFS Erwin Plant conducts
effluent and environmental monitoring programs to evaluate
potential public health impacts and comply with the NRC effluent
and environmental monitoring requirements. The effluent program
monitors the airborne, liquid, and solid waste streams produced
during operation of the NFS Plant. The environmental program
monitors the air, surface water, sediment, soil, groundwater, and
vegetation in and around the NFS Plant.
During the review of the amendment request (Ref. 5), NRC
discovered that the stack constructed for the OCB was in a
different location than shown in the Supplemental Environmental
Report submitted by NFS in 2001 (Ref. 6). NFS confirmed that the
location and height of the as-built stacks differ slightly from
the descriptions provided previously. However, NFS stated that
the differences do not change the results of the radiological and
chemical consequence analyses (Ref. 9). The NRC agrees.
Airborne, liquid, and solid effluent streams that contain
radioactive material are generated at the NFS Plant and monitored
to ensure compliance with NRC regulations in 10 CFR Part 20. Each
effluent is monitored at or just before the point of release. The
results of effluent monitoring are reported on a semi-annual
basis to the NRC in accordance with 10 CFR 70.59. Airborne and
liquid effluents are also monitored for nonradiological
constituents in accordance with State discharge permits. For the
purpose of this EA, the State of Tennessee is expected to set
limits on effluents under its regulatory control that are
protective of health and safety and the local environment. A new
sewer pretreatment permit was issued to NFS by Erwin Utilities on
August 26, 2003 (Ref. 9). Environmental Impacts of Proposed
Action A full description of the environmental impacts of the
proposed action is provided in a 2002 EA related to the first
amendment for the BLEU Project (Ref. 2). The environmental
impacts of the proposed action are consistent with the impacts in
the 2002 EA.
1. Normal Operations For the proposed action, construction and
processing operations will result in the release of low levels of
chemical and radioactive constituents to the environment. Based
on the information provided by NFS, the safety controls to be
employed for the proposed action appear to be sufficient to
ensure planned operations will have no significant impact on the
environment.
Radiological Impacts: For normal operations, the effluent air
emissions from the OCB and the EPB will be discharged through new
stacks at each building. Liquid effluents will be discharged to
the sanitary sewer. While effluents from the proposed action will
increase in relation to current releases, the total annual dose
estimate for the maximally exposed individual from all planned
effluents is less than 0.01 milliseivert (mSv) or 1 millirem
(mrem). This result is well below the annual public dose limit of
1 mSv (100 mrem) in 10 CFR 20.1301, and the constraint on air
emissions to the environment of 0.1 mSv (10 mrem) in 10 CFR
20.1101. OCB and EPB operations are not expected to increase the
dose to workers at the NFS facility because the types and
quantity of material, and the processing, will be similar to what
is already licensed at the site. Surface water quality at the NFS
site is currently protected by enforcing release limits and
monitoring programs. No significant change in surface water
impacts is expected from OCB and EPB operations. The proposed
action will not discharge any effluents to the groundwater;
therefore, no adverse impacts to groundwater are expected.
The proposed action involves transportation of radioactive feed
material to the NFS site and transportation of radioactive waste
material from the NFS site. All transportation will be conducted
in accordance with the applicable NRC and U.S. Department of
Transportation regulations; therefore, no adverse impacts from
transportation activities are expected.
Land Use: OCB and EPB operations will be conducted in new
buildings constructed on NFS-owned property that has been
disturbed previously. The developed area will increase from
approximately 75 to 80 percent of 69.9 acres. No adverse impact
to land use is expected. Cultural Resources: There are no
National Register or Historic Places listed or eligible
properties affected by the proposed action. No adverse impact to
cultural resources is expected.
Biotic Resources: For biotic resources, a vacant and previously
disturbed field containing no critical habitat will be used. The
only Federally endangered species in Unicoi County is the
Appalachian elktoe mussel (Alasmidonta raveneliana) near the
confluence of the Nolichucky River and South Indian Creek. This
location is upstream of the NFS site and, therefore, the NRC
finds the proposed action is not likely to affect the species.
The only Federally threatened species in Unicoi County are the
small whorled pagonia (Isotria medeoloides) and the Virginia
spiraea (Spiraea virginiana). A field investigation was conducted
in 2002 and neither of these species was found to be present on
the site of the proposed action. Therefore, the NRC finds the
proposed action is not likely to affect either of these species.
2. Potential Accidents Under accident conditions, higher
concentrations of materials could be released to the environment
over a short period of time. An evaluation of potential accidents
is provided in section 5.1.2 of the 2002 EA (Ref. 2). In
addition, detailed accident analyses have been performed by NFS
in an integrated safety assessment (ISA). The NRC's detailed
review of the ISA is ongoing, however preliminary findings
indicate that the potential accidents
[[Page 34201]] identified in the ISA are consistent with the
previous evaluation. NRC finds that the safety controls to be
employed in the proposed action appear sufficient to ensure
planned processing will be safe.
3. Cumulative Impacts An evaluation of cumulative impacts is
provided in section 5.1.3 of the 2002 EA (Ref. 2). The evaluation
considers the impacts of the proposed action with the known
impacts of the existing facility.
After reviewing the updated information provided by NFS, the NRC
concludes that the cumulative impacts represent an insignificant
change to the existing conditions in the area surrounding the NFS
site.
Environmental Impacts of No Action Alternative Under the no
action alternative, NFS would not be able to carry out its
contract obligations to produce a commercial product from U.S.
Government surplus, weapons-usable, high-enriched uranium.
Failure to fulfill its role in the DOE program could cause DOE to
select other alternatives for disposition of the surplus material
that may be less cost effective and incur greater environmental
impacts. For example, the disposal option would incur additional
costs and consume available disposal space that may be better
utilized for non-reusable wastes. If NFS were not able to fulfill
its contract, DOE may transfer the work to other facilities.
Based on its review, the NRC has concluded that the environmental
impacts associated with the proposed action are insignificant
and, therefore, do not warrant denial of the proposed license
amendment. The NRC has determined that the proposed action,
approval of the license amendment as described, is the
appropriate alternative for selection. Based on an evaluation of
the environmental impacts of the proposed license amendment, the
NRC has determined that the proper action is to issue a FONSI in
the Federal Register.
Agencies and Persons Contacted On May 31, 2002, the NRC staff
contacted the Director of the Division of Radiological Health in
the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC)
concerning the 2002 EA (Ref.
2) and the potential impact of the BLEU Project on the
environment.
Upon conclusion of the consultation process, TDEC had no
remaining concerns about potential environmental impacts. On
March 12, 2004, the NRC staff contacted the Director of the TDEC
Division of Radiological Health concerning the revised
environmental impacts in this EA. On April 12, 2004, the Director
responded that they had reviewed the draft EA and had no comments
(Ref. 7). On May 22, 2002, the NRC staff contacted the Tennessee
Historical Commission (THC), Division of Archeology concerning
the 2002 EA (Ref. 2) and the potential affect of the BLEU Project
on cultural resources. The consultation concluded that no
cultural resources would be affected by the proposed action. On
March 11, 2004, the NRC staff contacted the THC concerning the
revised environmental impacts in this EA. On March 22, 2004, the
THC responded that they had reviewed the draft EA and had no
comments (Ref. 8). On June 6, 2002, the NRC staff contacted the
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) concerning the 2002 EA (Ref. 2)
and the potential affect of the BLEU Project on endangered
species. The consultation concluded that no endangered species
would be affected by the proposed action. On March 8, 2004, the
NRC staff contacted the FWS concerning the revised environmental
impacts in this EA. On April 8, 2004, the FWS responded that they
had reviewed the draft EA and requested that NRC clarify the
finding in the 2002 EA that the proposed action is not likely to
affect any endangered or threatened species in the area. On April
27, 2004, NRC provided a revised EA with requested finding. On
May 11, 2004, FWS responded that it concurred with the finding.
References 1. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental
Assessment for Renewal of Special Nuclear Material License No.
SNM- 124,'' January 1999, ADAMS No. ML031150418. 2. U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental Assessment for Proposed
License Amendments to Special Nuclear Material License No.
SNM-124 Regarding Downblending and Oxide Conversion of Surplus
High-Enriched Uranium,'' June 2002, ADAMS No. ML021790068.
3. U.S. Department of Energy, ``Disposition of Surplus High
Enriched Uranium Final Environmental Impact Statement,'' DOE/EIS-
0240, Volume 1, June 1996. This document is available to the
public from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port
Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161.
4. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental Assessment
and Finding of No Significant Impact for the BLEU Preparation
Facility,'' September 2003, ADAMS No. ML032390428. 5. B. M.
Moore, Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., Letter to U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, ``License Amendment Request for the Oxide
Conversion Building and the Effluent Processing Building at the
BLEU Complex,'' October 23, 2003, ADAMS No. ML033420637. 6. B. M.
Moore, Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., Letter to U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, ``Supplemental Environmental Report for
Licensing Actions to Support the BLEU Project,'' November 9,
2001, ADAMS No. ML013330459. 7. D. Shults, Tennessee Division of
Radiological Health, E-mail to K. Ramsey, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, ``Consultation on Environmental Assessment for
Nuclear Fuel Services,'' April 12, 2004, ADAMS No. ML041050007.
8. H. Harper, Tennessee Historical Commission, Letter to K.
Ramsey, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``NRC, BLEU Project/
Nuclear Fuel Services, Erwin, Unicoi County,'' March 22, 2004,
ADAMS No. ML040930253. 9. B. M. Moore, Nuclear Fuel Services,
Inc., Letter to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``NFS
Response to Request for Additional Information for Oxide
Conversion Building and Effluent Processing Building at the BLEU
Complex,'' April 30, 2004, ADAMS No. ML041280552.
10. L. Barclay, U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife
Service, Letter to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, May 11,
2004, ADAMS No. ML041450299. III. Final Finding of No Significant
Impact Pursuant to 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff has considered
the environmental consequences of amending NRC Materials License
SNM-124 to authorize operations in the OCB and EPB. On the basis
of this assessment, the Commission has concluded that
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action would
not be significant and the Commission is making a finding of no
significant impact.
Accordingly, the preparation of an EIS is not warranted.
IV. Further Information For further details, see the references
listed above. Unless otherwise noted, documents may be examined,
and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR),
located at One White Flint North, Room O-1F21, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland. In addition, documents related to this
proposed action will be available electronically for public
inspection from the NRC Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web
site at (the Public Electronic Reading Room). Persons who do not
have access to ADAMS, or who encounter problems accessing
documents in ADAMS, should contact the PDR reference staff at
(800) 397-4209 or (301) 415-4737, or by e-mail to .
[[Page 34202]] Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of
June, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Gary S. Janosko, Chief, Fuel Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of
Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 04-13749 Filed 6-17-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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24 Guardian Unlimited: Vermont Nuke Plant Shuts Down After Fire
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Saturday June 19, 2004 12:16 AM
By DAVID GRAM
Associated Press Writer
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant was
shut down Friday after a transformer caught fire in a non-nuclear
part of the plant, officials said. The fire was put out, and no
radiation was released, they said.
The operators declared an ``unusual event,'' the lowest of four
emergency classifications set by the federal Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
The nuclear reactor was automatically shut down as soon as the
fire was detected, plant spokesman Rob Williams said. The cause
of the blaze had not been determined.
``Since the fire lasted longer than several minutes, by procedure
we declared an unusual event,'' Williams said.
Ten to 20 gallons of oil from the transformer flowed into the
Connecticut River through a storm drain, Williams said. A
clean-up crew was called in to contain the spill.
The transformer is used to step up the voltage of the electricity
generated at the plant so it can be transmitted more efficiently.
Officials did not know how badly it was damaged, and Williams
said he could not estimate when the plant might be back on line
again.
Williams said the transformer was installed less than two years
ago.
An anti-nuclear group, the New England Coalition, quoted what it
said was a witness account that the transformer exploded before
burning. Williams said he could not confirm the report.
As part of the plant's emergency procedure, officials in Vermont,
New Hampshire and Massachusetts were notified. The plant is in
Vernon, at Vermont's southeast tip near the other two states.
Vermont's lone nuclear plant, which began operations in 1972, is
seeking permission from regulators to boost its power output.
In April, about 20 cracks were discovered in the plant's steam
dryer, a component that has been prone to cracking at other
plants that have increased their output.
Also that month, two fuel rod segments were discovered missing
from the plant's spent fuel storage pool. Officials believe they
were most likely shipped to a disposal facility.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
*****************************************************************
25 Guardian Unlimited: State aid ruling looms over BE's return to profit
Terry Macalister
Friday June 18, 2004
British Energy has returned to profit but its financial
turnaround has not impressed critics of the nuclear power
generator, who yesterday said it was still in a "substantial
mess".
Britain's biggest electricity producer reported a post-tax profit
after exceptional items of £234m to the end of March, compared
with a loss of £3.9bn 12 months earlier.
A bounce-back in wholesale prices plus lower production costs
helped the company but it is still surviving on state aid, which
has yet to be approved by the European commission.
British Energy itself admitted that a financial restructuring
deal with creditors and the government "still remains subject to
a large number of uncertainties".
Shares in the group, which are just a fraction of their previous
value, plunged 10% in early trading but recovered later to end
the day unchanged, at 12.5p.
Some of its ageing nuclear plants have a poor operating record.
The company's Dungeness B unit is out of action this week and a
turbine at Sizewell B is still off line, despite hopes that it
would restart earlier this month.
British Energy has missed some of its electricity output targets
but chairman Adrian Montague said the past 12 months had been a
period of "considerable progress" and "significant milestones"
had been passed.
One of the issues remains the authorisation of state aid but a
decision on this has now been postponed from this summer until
the autumn.
Despite this delay, there has been widespread speculation that
the commission is minded to approve the deal, although it would
impose strict conditions in doing so.
British Energy's future has become a political issue with
mainstream parties, as well as environmentalists, who have always
wanted it closed.
Malcolm Bruce, the Liberal Democrat trade and industry spokesman,
said the financial figures were irrelevant be cause any normal
company would have been in liquidation a long time ago.
"British Energy is still in a substantial mess. It is badly
managed and only continues to trade because the government
stepped in," he said.
"The energy bill going through parliament at the moment means
that taxpayers have to pick up a huge tax bill for historic costs
and management. We do not see why private shareholders and banks
should be bailed out by the taxpayer."
[UP]
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
*****************************************************************
26 UK The Times: Fresh delays to British Energy’s restructure
June 18, 2004
By Angela Jameson, Industrial Correspondent
BRITISH ENERGY, the troubled nuclear generator, yesterday
admitted to fresh delays to its financial restructuring as the
group said that it had swung back into the black.
The nuclear generator, which supplies a fifth of Britain’s
electricity, said that the European Commission was unlikely to
give its decision on whether the restructuring would be allowed
until autumn at the earliest.
The Commission’s approval was expected by July but there have
been delays in compiling the necessary evidence for the review.
The agreement of the Commission to the £5 billion financing plan
is the main obstacle. Unless it is achieved, British Energy may
be put into administration.
The Commission will rule on whether the restructuring plan agreed
with the UK Government and other creditors last October
constitutes illegal state aid. Industry sources believe the
Commission will approve the UK Government’s financial support
because of the environmental problems that could arise if the
company had insufficient funds to decommission defunct nuclear
plants and deal with spent fuel.
But there are likely to be conditions to the approval, such as
ring-fencing of funding so that the company does not use it for
other activities.
Under the terms of the restructuring, the energy group’s banks,
bondholders and other senior creditors have agreed to swap £1.3
billion of company debt for £425 million of new debt and shares.
The Government has agreed to shoulder the costs of
decommissioning outdated nuclear power stations, estimated by the
Commission to be worth £3.3 billion.
British Energy’s operating position has improved steadily since
2002, when falling electricity prices forced the company to
appeal to the Government for help.
The nuclear generator made post-tax profits after exceptional
items of £234 million for the year to March 2004, against a £3.9
billion loss last time.
Underlying operating profits were £57 million, compared with
operating profits of £7 million last time. Earnings were boosted
by lower production costs and a recovery in selling prices from a
year ago.
The improvement was made despite a three-month unplanned outage
at the group’s Heysham plant, after sea water burst through
cast-iron pipes and flooded the engine hall.
Problems at Heysham have led to a programme of replacing old
cast-iron pipes across all plants. This will lead to lower output
from the nuclear power stations next year but profits are
unlikely to be affected as prices are expected to continue to
rise.
Copyright The Times - timesonline.co.uk
*****************************************************************
27 Herald: Nuclear generator climbs back into black
Web Issue 2030 June 18 2004
BEN GRIFFITHS June 18 2004
TROUBLED nuclear power generator British Energy has climbed
back into the black but warned yesterday that a key decision
regarding its life-saving restructuring plan had been delayed
until the autumn.
The UK's biggest electricity producer unveiled pre-tax profits
of £234m compared with a £3.9bn loss in the previous year.
Earnings were boosted by lower production costs and a recovery
in selling prices.
East Kilbride-based British Energy, which generates around a
fifth of the UK's power, has been awaiting a decision about its
future from the European Commission. However, the group said the
government had been unable to present all the necessary
information to the EC in time for it to reach a decision before
the summer break.
The EC is expected to look closely at whether it meets rules on
state aid. British Energy has been kept afloat by state loans
which helped it escape being placed into administration in
October 2003 after a slump in wholesale electricity prices
pushed it close to the brink.
The company later secured the agreement of banks and
bondholders to write off £1.3bn in debt, while around 235,000
shareholders remain investors from its privatisation in 1996. As
part of the deal, British Energy pledged to improve reliability
and its financial performance. It also requires EC approval
because the proposals will see the government meet some
decommissioning liabilities.
Besides EC approval, the way forward is subject to a number of
conditions, including court sanction and settling certain
documents with creditors. British Energy must also convince the
trade and industry secretary that it remains a viable business.
Adrian Montague, the chairman, said: "It is intended that the
proposed restructuring be implemented in the current financial
year but there is a great deal to do in order to achieve this,
and the size of the task should not be underestimated."
Under the agreements with creditors and the government, British
Energy is required to complete the restructuring by January 31,
2005, at the latest. If for any reason the restructuring does
not proceed, it has warned it may seek the protection of
insolvency proceedings, making it highly unlikely shareholders
would see any return.
British Energy said it did not expect to pay a dividend in the
2005 or 2006 financial years as the board prefers to invest in
the business to enable a successful turnaround.
Copyright © Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights
*****************************************************************
28 NRC: In the Matter of Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, Wisconsin
FR Doc 04-13750
[Federal Register: June 18, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 117)]
[Notices] [Page 34197-34198] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr18jn04-147]
Power and Light Company, and Nuclear Management Company, LLC
(Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant, Unit No. 1); Order Approving
Transfer of Operating Authority and Conforming Amendment I
Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPSC), Wisconsin Power and
Light Company (WPL), and Nuclear Management Company, LLC (NMC)
(the licensees), are the holders of Facility Operating License
No.
DPR-43, which authorizes operation of Kewaunee Nuclear Power
Plant, Unit No. 1 (Kewaunee or the facility). The facility is
located at the licensees' site in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin. The
license authorizes WPSC and WPL to possess, and NMC to use and
operate, Kewaunee.
II By application dated December 19, 2003, as supplemented
February 18 and March 17, 2004, NMC, acting on behalf of itself
and WPSC and WPL, requested approval of the transfer of Facility
Operating License No. DPR-43 for Kewaunee from NMC, WPSC, and WPL
to Dominion Energy Kewaunee, Inc. (Dominion Energy Kewaunee). NMC
also requested approval of a conforming license amendment to
reflect the transfer. The initial application and the supplements
are hereinafter referred to as ``the application'' unless
otherwise indicated. The application is in connection with the
sale of the respective ownership interests in Kewaunee currently
held by WPSC (59 percent) and WPL (41 percent) to Dominion Energy
Kewaunee and the related transfer of operating authority for the
facility from NMC to Dominion Energy Kewaunee.
The application also requested a conforming amendment to reflect
the transfer. The proposed amendment would reflect the proposed
transfer of ownership and operating authority for Kewaunee to
Dominion Energy Kewaunee; delete references to NMC, WPSC, and WPL
in the license; change the name of Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant
to Kewaunee Power Station to reflect the name under which
Dominion Energy Kewaunee plans to operate the facility,
consistent with other nuclear plants owned by Dominion companies;
and authorize Dominion Energy Kewaunee to possess, use, and
operate Kewaunee, and to possess and use related licensed
materials, under the same conditions and authorizations as in the
current license.
Approval of the transfer of operating authority under the
facility operating license and conforming license amendment was
requested by NMC pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80 and 50.90. Notice of
the application for approval and an opportunity for a hearing was
published in the Federal Register on January 20, 2004 (69 FR
2734). No hearing requests or written comments were received.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license, or any right thereunder,
shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through transfer of
control of the license, unless the Commission shall give its
consent in writing. After reviewing the information in NMC's
application and other information before the Commission, and
relying upon the representations and agreements contained in the
application, the NRC staff has determined that Dominion Energy
Kewaunee is qualified to hold the license and that the transfer
of the license to Dominion Energy Kewaunee is otherwise
consistent with applicable provisions of law, regulations, and
orders issued by the Commission,
[[Page 34198]] subject to the conditions set forth below. The NRC
staff has further found that the application for the proposed
license amendment complies with the standards and requirements of
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's
rules and regulations set forth in 10 CFR chapter 1; the facility
will operate in conformity with the application, the provisions
of the Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission;
there is reasonable assurance that the activities authorized by
the proposed license amendment can be conducted without
endangering the health and safety of the public and that such
activities will be conducted in compliance with the Commission's
regulations; the issuance of the proposed license amendment will
not be inimical to the common defense and security or the health
and safety of the public; and the issuance of the proposed
amendment will be in accordance with 10 CFR part 51 of the
Commission's regulations and all applicable requirements have
been satisfied. The foregoing findings are supported by a safety
evaluation dated June 10, 2004.
III Accordingly, pursuant to sections 161b, 161i, and 184 of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2201(b),
2201(i), and 2234, and 10 CFR 50.80, it is hereby ordered that
the transfer of the license as described herein to Dominion
Energy Kewaunee, Inc., is approved, subject to the following
conditions: (1) After receipt of all required regulatory
approvals of the license transfer to Dominion Energy Kewaunee,
NMC and Dominion Energy Kewaunee shall inform the Director,
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, in writing of such receipt
within 5 business days and of the date of the closing of the
transfer no later than 7 business days before the date of
closing. If the transfer is not completed by June 30, 2005, this
Order shall become null and void, with the provision that, upon
written application and for good cause shown, such date may in
writing be extended.
(2) Dominion Energy Kewaunee shall take no action to cause
Dominion Resources, Inc., or its successors and assigns, to void,
cancel, or diminish their $60 million contingency commitment to
Dominion Energy Kewaunee, the existence of which is represented
in a Support Agreement in a letter to the NRC dated February 18,
2004, or cause them to fail to perform or impair their
performance under the commitment, or remove or interfere with
Dominion Energy Kewaunee's ability to draw upon the commitment.
Also, Dominion Energy Kewaunee shall inform the NRC in writing
any time that it draws upon the $60 million commitment.
(3) Dominion Energy Kewaunee is required to provide qualified
decommissioning funds with a net (after tax) cash value of no
less than $391.9 million for radiological decommissioning
purposes. The funds will be deposited in an external trust fund
to be segregated from Dominion Energy Kewaunee's other assets and
outside its administrative control, as required by NRC
regulations, and Dominion Energy Kewaunee shall take all
necessary steps to ensure that this external trust fund is
maintained in accordance with the requirements of the Order
approving the transfer of the Kewaunee operating license and with
the safety evaluation supporting the Order.
(4) Prior to completion of the transfer of the Kewaunee operating
license, Dominion Energy Kewaunee shall provide the Director,
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, satisfactory documentary
evidence that it has obtained the appropriate amount of insurance
required of licensees under 10 CFR part 140 of the Commission's
regulations.
It is further ordered that consistent with 10 CFR 2.1315(b), a
license amendment that makes changes, as indicated in Enclosure 2
to the cover letter forwarding this Order, to conform the license
to reflect the subject license transfer is approved. The
amendment shall be issued and made effective at the time the
proposed transfer is completed.
This Order is effective upon issuance.
For further details with respect to this action, see the initial
application datedDecember 19, 2003, and supplements dated
February 18 and March 17, 2004, and the safety evaluation dated
June 10, 2004 , which are available for public inspection at the
Commission's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint
North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland,
and are accessible electronically through the ADAMS Public
Electronic Reading Room link at the NRC Web site
(http://www.nrc.gov). Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day
of June, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
J. Dyer, Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 04-13750 Filed 6-17-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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29 New York Times: Ontario Considers Building a Nuclear Plant
By BERNARD SIMON
Published: June 18, 2004
[T] ORONTO, June 17 - With Ontario on the brink of an energy
supply squeeze, and some of its aging nuclear plants facing an
uncertain future, moves are under way in the province, Canada's
most populous, to build the first nuclear reactor in North
America in more than two decades
Memories of last August's power blackout, which was felt in a
wide swath of southern Ontario as well as in the Northeast and
Midwest of the United States, have only increased pressure for
the province to become more self-sufficient.
Ontario's energy minister, Dwight Duncan, said in a recent
interview that in any overhaul of the power sector, the province
would have to consider nuclear energy. "The use of nuclear power
is controversial," he said. "We have some significant decisions
to make."
Introducing a bill to streamline regulation of the power sector
and to attract private sector investment, Mr. Duncan said earlier
this week, "It is absolutely critical that we move forward
quickly to boost new supply, increase conservation and maintain
price stability for consumers."
A new nuclear plant would most likely be built on the shore of
one of the Great Lakes, where Ontario's three existing nuclear
plants are.
It would be the first in North America since confidence in atomic
energy was shattered by an accident at the Three Mile Island
plant in Pennsylvania in 1979.
Energy policy in Canada is largely in the hands of the provinces,
and a committee set up by the Ontario government to examine power
supplies concluded in March that "the right nuclear strategy will
play a key role in ensuring that Ontario has reliable,
competitively priced power over the long term." The panel, whose
chairman was John Manley, a former deputy prime minister of
Canada, said that the province "must begin planning now to
supplement and ultimately replace its aging nuclear assets with
new and better generations of nuclear technology."
Mr. Duncan, Ontario's energy minister, said in an interview that
his government would probably decide this fall on the future role
of nuclear power in the province.
According to Roger W. Gale, chief executive of GF Energy, an
industry consulting firm based in Washington with clients on both
sides of the border, while "the United States is at the study
stage, Canada could potentially be at the doing stage."
Canadian authorities are more likely to support the nuclear
industry than their American counterparts, he and other experts
said. Ontario is facing tight energy supplies, and a
government-owned Canadian company ready and eager for new
business has supplied every existing nuclear reactor in the
country. The approval and other regulatory processes for new
nuclear plants is also simpler in Canada. And public opposition
will probably be more muted north of the border.
The last fulfilled order for a nuclear power plant in the United
States was in 1973; Canada's last was in 1978. Since then, almost
all sizable generating stations built in either place have been
fueled either by coal or, more recently, natural gas, though
several other countries, like China, Japan, India and Russia,
have continued to build nuclear plants.
Ontario's existing nuclear power plants have been dogged by
problems. Several units of the Pickering plant, east of Toronto
on the shores of Lake Ontario, and the Bruce plant, on the shores
of Lake Huron, have not been restarted since they were taken out
of service seven years ago for safety reasons.
Nuclear power accounts for 45 percent of electricity generating
capacity in Ontario, but 14 percent in Canada.
That compares with 20 percent in the United States, where several
proposals for new nuclear plants are inching forward. Various
consortiums - among them, one that includes the Exelon
Corporation of Chicago and the Entergy Corporation of New
Orleans, two of the country's largest nuclear plant owners - are
in the early stages of applying for licenses to build and operate
new plants.
In May, the Department of Energy agreed to finance half the $4.25
million cost of a detailed study by a different group, led by the
Tennessee Valley Authority, to build two nuclear generating units
at a site near Hollywood, Ala.
Construction of any American projects is not expected to start
before 2010 at the earliest, however, said J. Scott Peterson, a
vice president at the Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade group in
Washington.
The sense of urgency is considerably greater in Canada, where,
experts say, construction could begin a couple of years earlier.
Mr. Duncan said Ontario needed to refurbish, replace or conserve
25,000 megawatts of generating capacity by the year 2020, equal
to 80 percent of current power supplies. He estimated that these
investments would cost 25 billion to 40 billion Canadian dollars
($18 billion to $29 billion).
At the same time, the provincial government, seeking to cut
pollution, has pledged to phase out all five of Ontario's
coal-fired generating stations by 2007, plants that now generate
about a fifth of the province's electricity.
Compounding the drive for new capacity is uncertainty over the
future of three idled units at the big Pickering plant, run by
the government-owned Ontario Power Generation. The estimated cost
of repairs to these and another unit that was restarted last
year, originally 1.1 billion Canadian dollars, has escalated to 3
billion to 4 billion Canadian dollars. The authorities are now
mulling whether to press ahead with the repairs or abandon the
reactors.
With the coal plants destined for oblivion and the attraction of
natural gas diluted by volatile prices, some consider nuclear the
clear favorite for expansion of the province's base load power
capacity.
"There's certainly a climate now where it's being seriously
considered," said Duncan Hawthorne, chief executive of Bruce
Power, the company that operates the 6,200-megawatt Bruce station
on Lake Huron.
Another factor favoring the nuclear option is the development of
a new reactor by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., a government
corporation known for its heavy-water Candu - Canada Deuterium
Uranium - plants. All 17 reactors currently operating in Canada
are Candu models. Ian Dovey, a company spokesman, said it
expected to win regulatory approval for the new model, known as
the ACR-700, by the end of 2006.
According to Tom Adams, executive director of Energy Probe, a
Toronto-based research group that campaigns against nuclear
power, the climate is friendlier toward the nuclear industry in
Canada than in the United States in large part because of
government support for Atomic Energy of Canada.
Mr. Gale, the Washington consultant, said that if all went
smoothly, construction work on a new nuclear plant in Ontario
could begin by 2008.
But numerous obstacles must be overcome. According to Mr.
Hawthorne of Bruce Power, there needs to be greater certainty on
the cost and financing of a new plant, as well as the selling
price of its output.
Bruce Power's 2,300-acre site, 150 miles northwest of Toronto, is
a possible location for a new plant. Mr. Hawthorne said that the
company would probably decide within the next year whether to
refurbish those of its eight existing reactors nearing the end of
their lives by 2012, or build new ones, or both.
The prospect of new nuclear plants has so far raised little
public concern in Ontario. Glenn R. Sutton, the mayor of
Kincardine, the town closest to the Bruce plant, describes the
local community as "pro-nuclear."
Most of Bruce Power's 3,000 workers live in or near Kincardine,
population 12,000.
Still, nuclear power is not without critics in Ontario, and
protests could grow as the planning process moves forward.
A recent report by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, an
environmental group, concluded that the Manley committee's
findings were based on unreliable assumptions.
In an interview, the group's chairman, Jack Gibbons, rated the
chances that a new nuclear station would be built in the province
as "extremely low," because the province's needs could be met by
cheaper and more reliable power sources, like natural gas and
hydro and wind power and by conservation.
Besides, said Frank de Jong, chairman of the Green Party of
Ontario, "people are still not convinced of the safety of nuclear
power."
*****************************************************************
30 UPI: Czech nuclear plant goes back on line -
(United Press International)
June 18, 2004
Prague, Czech Republic, Jun. 18 (UPI) -- The Czech Republic's
nuclear power station at Temelin went back on line after a two
week shutdown, power plant officials said Friday.
One of the plant's reactors had to be taken off line due to a
fault in an electricity transformer. Officials said there was no
danger of the fault affecting radioactive materials.
Such statements were not received warmly in neighboring Austria,
which is fiercely anti-nuclear. Austria has deep reservations
about the safety of Soviet-era nuclear reactors in the countries
it borders.
Austria has issued several efforts to have nuclear power plants
closed down in neighboring Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
The governments of both countries say they have made every
effort to protect the environment and say nuclear power is
important for their energy needs.
[UPI Perspectives]
*****************************************************************
31 Portsmouth Herald: Utility workers plan to strike
Friday, June 18, 2004
By Mark Jewell Associated Press
BOSTON - The Pilgrim Station nuclear plant in Plymouth will
continue operating even if more than 300 plant workers strike
next month during the Democratic National Convention, a plant
spokesman said Thursday.
But the head of the plant workers’ union questions whether the
plant can be operated safely without members of the Utility
Workers Union of America, which voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday
to authorize a strike.
Plant operator Entergy Corp. will enlist about 150 non-unionized
plant managers to operate the plant, spokesman David Tarantino
said. The New Orleans-based company also would bring in another
150 employees from its nine other nuclear plants.
Tarantino’s comments follow the vote by Local 369 of the Utility
Workers Union of America to authorize a strike for July 13, when
the union’s current contract expires. The Democratic Party is
scheduled to begin its four-day convention July 26 at Boston’s
FleetCenter.
The vote was 96 percent in favor of a strike at the plant,
located about 35 miles south of Boston.
"If there is a strike, we have the resources to continue
operating the plant indefinitely," Tarantino said. He added that
New England’s power grid has extra capacity to meet regional
energy demands, even if the plant were shut down.
The Pilgrim Station plant has a production capacity of 670
megawatts, enough to provide electricity to about 500,000 homes.
Gary Sullivan, president of the union local, said a strike would
leave the company without sufficiently experienced workers to run
the plant safely.
"I think they truly believe they think they can run the plant
without us, but I know in my heart they cannot run the plant
safely without us," he said. "They’re going to find that out very
shortly, I think, if they force us out."
The union is not trying to gain negotiating leverage from the
fact that a possible walkout would coincide with increased summer
energy demands and final preparations for the convention,
Sullivan said. He acknowledged that the timing could add some
urgency to the talks.
"It is not an issue of whether it (the convention) can help us,"
Sullivan said. "We’re just trying to get a contract."
Local 369 represents about 350 workers negotiating two separate
contracts - one for a unit of nearly 270 mechanics, electricians
and other plant operators with a contract due to expire next
month, and one for 80 other newly organized workers seeking their
first contract.
The prospect of the nuclear plant workers’ strike comes as talks
continue in another contract dispute involving Boston’s
1,400-member police union, which is threatening to picket the
convention if its contract demands are not met.
Entergy, which took ownership of the plant in 1999 from the
former Boston Edison Co., has been negotiating with the union for
about six months. The sides are scheduled to continue meeting
twice a week.
Sullivan said a recent staff reduction has left employees
overworked, creating potential safety issues.
"We are just way too far apart from where we should be in these
negotiations," he said. "We’ve got a lot of ground to cover by
July 13."
Tarantino declined to discuss issues in the talks.
Portsmouth Herald
Seacoast Online is owned and operated by Seacoast Newspapers.
Copyright © 2004 Seacoast Online. All rights reserved. Please
*****************************************************************
32 NRC: Regulatory Guide; Issuance, Availability
FR Doc 04-13751
[Federal Register: June 18, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 117)]
[Notices] [Page 34202] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr18jn04-149]
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a
revision of a guide in its Regulatory Guide Series. This series
has been developed to describe and make available to the public
such information as methods acceptable to the NRC staff for
implementing specific parts of the NRC's regulation, techniques
used by the staff in evaluating specific problems or postulated
accidents, and data needed by the staff in its review of
applications for permits and licenses.
Revision 32 of Regulatory Guide 1.84, ``Design, Fabrication, and
Materials Code Case Acceptability, ASME Section III,'' contains
comprehensive guidance on all Section III Code Cases, including
those oriented to materials and related testing in Division 1.
With the issuance of Revision 32 to Regulatory Guide 1.84,
Regulatory Guide 1.85, ``Materials Code Case Acceptability, ASME
Section III, Division 1,'' is being withdrawn because the
guidance in Regulatory Guide 1.85 has been updated and
incorporated into Revision 32 of Regulatory Guide 1.84. Comments
and suggestions in connection with items for inclusion in guides
currently being developed or improvements in all published guides
are encouraged at any time. You may submit comments by any one of
the following methods. Comments may be accompanied by relevant
information or supporting data. Written comments may be submitted
by mail to the Rules and Directives Branch, Office of
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555-0001; or they may be hand-delivered to the Rules and
Directives Branch, Office of Administration, at 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, MD. Copies of comments received may be examined
at the NRC's Public Document Room, 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, MD.
You may also provide comments via the NRC's interactive
rulemaking web site through the NRC home page
(http://www.nrc.gov). Regulatory guides are available for
inspection at the NRC's Public Document Room, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, MD; the PDR's mailing address is USNRC PDR,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone (301) 415-4737 or (800) 397-
4209; fax (301) 415-3548; e-mail pdr@nrc.gov. Requests for single
copies of draft or final regulatory guides (which may be
reproduced) or placement on an automatic distribution list for
single copies of future draft guides in specific divisions should
be made in writing to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: Reproduction and
Distribution Services Section, or by fax to (301) 415-2289;
e-mail distribution@nrc.gov. Telephone requests cannot be
accommodated. Regulatory guides are not copyrighted, and NRC
approval is not required to reproduce them. (5 U.S.C. 552(a))
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of June, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Carl J. Paperiello, Director, Office of Nuclear Regulatory
Research.
[FR Doc. 04-13751 Filed 6-17-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
33 NRC: Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.; Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power
FR Doc 04-13752
[Federal Register: June 18, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 117)]
[Notices] [Page 34197] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr18jn04-146] [[Page 34197]]
Station; Receipt of Request for Action Under 10 CFR 2.206 Notice
is hereby given that by petition received on April 22, 2004, the
New England Coalition (petitioner) has requested that the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) take action with
regard to Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (Vermont Yankee).
The petitioner requests that until such time as Entergy Nuclear
Operations, Inc. (Entergy or the licensee) has rendered an
accurate and NRC- verified account of the location, disposition,
and condition of all irradiated fuel, including fuel currently
loaded in the reactor core, that the NRC order a halt to all fuel
movement at Vermont Yankee.
As the basis for this request, the petitioner states that because
Entergy has lost control of the spent fuel inventory at Vermont
Yankee, the petitioner has no confidence that Entergy did not put
leaking fuel or suspected leaking fuel assemblies back into the
reactor core during this refueling outage.
The request is being treated pursuant to title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 2.206 of the Commission's
regulations. The request has been referred to the Director of the
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. As provided by 10 CFR
2.206, appropriate action will be taken on this petition within a
reasonable time. Mr. Raymond Shadis, in his capacity as the
petitioner's Staff Technical Advisor, participated in a
conference call with the NRC Petition Review Board (PRB) on May
5, 2004, to discuss the petition. The results of that discussion
were considered in the PRB's determination regarding the
petitioner's request for immediate action, and in establishing
the schedule for the review of the petition. The PRB stated that
the petitioner's request to stop all fuel movement at Vermont
Yankee is now moot as all fuel movement had been completed by
time of receipt of the petitioner's request. During the
conference call, the petitioner reaffirmed to the PRB the
petition's request to stop all fuel movement but stated their
understanding that at the present time the request would be
limited to the spent fuel pool. The petitioner stated they wanted
an order issued to the licensee to do a verification of the
inventory of all the special nuclear material in the spent fuel
pool that is to be verified by the NRC. A copy of the petition is
available for inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room
(PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21,
11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. In
addition to other publicly available records, this petition will
be accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management
System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at
the NRC Web site, using accession number ML041180245, at
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 28th
day of May, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Ledyard B. Marsh, Director, Division of Licensing Project
Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 04-13752 Filed 6-17-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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34 KRT Wire: Nuclear power business engineering a worldwide comeback
| 06/18/2004 |
BY MELITA MARIE GARZA
Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO - (KRT) - Two years ago, when many college graduates were
scrambling for a single job offer, seven landed in the hands of
Ryan Hagler.
The mechanical engineering graduate picked Westinghouse Electric
Co., which is providing full tuition payment for his master's
degree in nuclear engineering from Penn State University.
At Westinghouse, Hagler, 26, has traveled to Spain, Portugal and
South Korea, primarily to instruct other engineers on how to sell
and install Westinghouse products and services for nuclear
plants.
"I'm very optimistic about nuclear power opportunities in the
U.S. and the rest of the world," Hagler said.
The Kansas State University graduate picked the right industry at
the right time. The once-moribund nuclear power business is
undergoing a revival that is having a profound impact on academia
and industry.
Emerging economies, led by China, have tremendous need for power.
Volatile oil and natural gas prices, and concerns about carbon
dioxide emissions from coal, have combined to make nuclear power
seem increasingly attractive. China is seeking bids for four new
nuclear reactors.
And even though it has been three decades since the last nuclear
power plant was built in the U.S., North American companies are
suddenly exploring development of new nuclear plants in this
country.
This year, three separate consortiums of energy companies,
reactor manufacturers and architect-engineering firms have
submitted proposals to the Department of Energy to test the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission's process for obtaining a combined
construction and operating license for a new nuclear plant.
The revitalization of the U.S. nuclear industry was a prime topic
at the American Nuclear Society's meeting in Pittsburgh Sunday.
The La Grange Park, Ill.-based organization is celebrating the
50th anniversary of the nation's commercial nuclear energy
industry, putting the spotlight on the need to bring more young
people into the pipeline for education and training.
The organization has 1,200 student members, up from 750 in 1999,
a 60 percent increase.
With many nuclear engineers in private industry and government at
or near retirement, demand for freshly minted engineers is high.
It's also breathing new life into academic departments, many of
which had been consolidated or closed in recent years.
Recently, the United States Military Academy at West Point, the
University of South Carolina and the University of Nevada at Las
Vegas have opened or announced that they will begin nuclear
engineering programs.
And even if no new nuclear plants are built in the United States,
many of the nation's 103 nuclear reactors, the bulk of whose
operating licenses are to expire between 2015 and 2020, are in
the process of receiving license renewals.
The renewals would allow the reactors to continue to operate for
another 20 years, until roughly 2040.
---
The re-licensing effort is pressuring the industry to step up
recruitment and hiring, especially since the nation's nuclear
engineering work force is aging, with roughly 20 percent of the
7,800 power plant engineers eligible to retire in the next five
years, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute.
So far, 26 reactors have received license renewals, another 18
have filed, and 24 more are expected to apply for license
renewals in the next three years, according to the Nuclear Energy
Institute.
"The economics of nuclear plant life extension look very, very
good," said Lawrence Makovich, senior director of American
Natural Gas and Power Group, for Cambridge Energy Research
Associates.
"You look out into the years 2015 to 2020 and you have this big
portion of U.S. electric supply scheduled to close down, and it's
non-carbon dioxide emitting.
"People would love to believe that we could conserve our way out
of having to build another power plant. People would love to
believe that we could satisfy this need with wind, solar, other
renewable energy sources and even some hydrogen technology. But
all those combined aren't likely to make up even a minority of
the supply that's needed."
Makovich believes nuclear power suffers from misperceptions about
risk. "Politically, there are places in this country where
nuclear expansion is possible," he said.
Many existing plant sites were originally designed for additional
plants, and are located in communities whose tax base and
employment are tied to the nuclear business, making them prime
spots for new nuclear plants, he said.
Rachel Slaybaugh, 19, a junior at Penn State University, is
training to become a licensed nuclear reactor operator at Penn
State's research reactor.
"It's an awesome opportunity," said Slaybaugh, who in two weeks
will take the exam to obtain her reactor operating license.
She's not necessarily geared to working at a utility when she
gets her degree, but she's having trouble getting information
from other graduates about career opportunities.
"You ask someone what they're doing and they say, `Oh, I'm
working on nuclear submarines - it's classified, I can't talk
about it," Slaybaugh said.
On the other hand, Chris Rojas, 22, a junior at the University of
Illinois, is in the middle of his second internship with Exelon
Corp., the nation's largest operator of nuclear power plants.
"From the start I've been fascinated with power plants," said
Rojas, who took a semester off school last spring to work at the
Chicago-based energy company's Dresden, Ill., nuclear reactor.
"At the moment, nuclear energy is the only viable source to
produce all the electricity we will need for the future."
Jerry Ellis, vice president for human resources at Exelon
Nuclear, said that five years ago "we would have just been
reviewing resumes as they came in."
Now he said the company targets universities and looks for a
broad mix of engineers. In the last two years, Ellis says Exelon
Nuclear has "hired a minimum of 20 a year."
Last year, Exelon also formalized its intern program and
developed a mentoring program for new graduate engineers, pairing
each with an executive.
---
Another career track involves working for firms that manufacture
products and provide services to nuclear plants, such as
Westinghouse and GE Energy, a unit of General Electric Corp.
In the past five years Westinghouse has hired about 400
university graduates, most of them in engineering and computer
science, said spokesman Vaughn Gilbert.
The firm expects to hire roughly 1,500 people in the next 8 to 10
years.
Westinghouse has had offices in Beijing and Shanghai since 1981,
and has been involved in joint ventures and other projects,
serving and maintaining China's existing nuclear power plants.
If its newest design for a nuclear reactor, the AP1000, receives
final design certification from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
next year as expected - and it receives Chinese contracts -
Westinghouse estimates that it could generate 5,000 skilled U.S.
jobs over the construction period.
The Wilmington, N.C., nuclear energy unit of GE Energy expects to
expand its engineering force by 15 percent this year, said Peter
Wells, marketing manager.
"We are in the process of hiring right now for the engineering
technology group, which we expect to increase by 30 to 50 people,
including mechanical and electrical engineers," Wells said.
---
© 2004, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at
http://www.chicagotribune.com
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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35 WLBZ: MAINE YANKEE SAYS DECOMMISSIONING ON SCHEDULE
June 19, 2004
Officials at Maine Yankee showed members of its community
advisory panel just how far the plant has come since it started
its decommissioning process in 1997.
According to project managers, Maine Yankee has finished
90 percent of the work. The plant's remaining buildings are
expected to be torn down by next summer.
Maine Yankee will have to keep spent nuclear fuel rods on site
until at least 2010. That's when the Department of Energy
expects it can start taking some of the waste to Yucca Mountain
in Nevada. In the meantime, Maine Yankee's president says the
spent fuel will not cause a risk to the community.
After the tour, the community advisory panel held a meeting to
update the public on its progress.
Maine Yankee is selling 430 acres of its property to the town
of Wiscasset for development and another 200 acres to the
Chewonki organization. As long as the spent fuel rods are housed
on Bailey Point peninsula, that piece of land will not be for
sale.
[WCSH6.com and WLBZ2.com]
© 2004
WLBZ2.com WCSH6.com
All Rights Reserved
WLBZ 2 - Bangor, Maine WCSH 6
- Portland, Maine
*****************************************************************
36 maine today: Maine Yankee demo around labor day
WISCASSET, Maine Maine Yankee´s most visible landmark, its
15-story reactor containment dome, is slated for demolition
around Labor Day.
Explosives will be used to blow out the dome´s foundation,
causing it to collapse, William Henries, Maine Yankee´s director
of engineering, told the Community Advisory Panel on
Decommissioning on Thursday night.
"When it hits the ground it is going to go bang," Henries said.
Maine Yankee will take steps to ensure that the resulting
aftershock will not knock out vibration sensitive relays at a
nearby Central Maine Power switching station, Henries said.
The company plans to evacuate a nearby office building because
the impact from the 20 million pound dome could shatter windows.
The advisory panel also heard from a U.S. Department of Energy
official, who provided an update on plans for storage of
high-level nuclear waste.
Senior policy analyst Susan Smith said the government would like
to see Yucca Mountain in Nevada begin accepting nuclear waste in
2010.
But Smith was unable to provide assurances that Maine Yankee
waste now stored in Wiscasset would be given priority at the site
or that the Yucca Mountain facility would actually be operating
in six years.
A more likely date, according to Maine Yankee Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer Michael Meisner, is 2023.
The project faces financial and legal hurdles. The state of
Nevada is suing the DOE, claiming the site is ill suited for such
a use. And Maine Yankee is one of 65 utility companies nationwide
suing the DOE for breach of contract over delays in accepting
nuclear waste. The target date had been January 1998.
Maine Yankee, which is being joined in the legal action by Yankee
Rowe and Connecticut Yankee, is seeking $160 million in damages,
spokesman Eric Howes said. The so-called "Yankees suit" is
scheduled to begin next month in the U.S. Court of Claims.
Copyright © Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
*****************************************************************
37 Paducah Sun: A visit for hope
Paducah, Kentucky
Friday, June 18, 2004;Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah families provide nine Belarusian youngsters a chance to
live temporarily in a radiation-free area.
By Andrew Parker
For Danick Voronin, visiting Paducah was a change of fate.
"Every year I look forward to coming back to this country,"
Voronin said. "I never know what will happen to me, but I am very
excited."
By leaving his Klintsy home in Belarus, Voronin's body can fight
the effects of the radiation from the nuclear accident in
Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986.
Voronin and eight other Belarusian children ages 7 to 16 are
staying with five host families from Immanuel Baptist Church of
Paducah. Five of the nine children had never been to the United
States before. Voronin; his 12-year-old brother, Anton; his
13-year-old sister, Lesia; and a friend, Masha Chashei, 13, have
visited North Carolina in the past. Lena Kaleychyk, 9; Losha
Makhliankou, 7; Anastasia Lesnikouskaya, 10; Valeryia Kapylova,
9; and Pavel Khamaunenka, 9, are first-time visitors.
Through the Belarusian Charitable Association's "Hope for the
Future," Immanuel Baptist raised $14,000 to bring the children to
Paducah. Since the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident, the health
of the children living in the region is in decline.
Through the church's trips to Klintsy, the Rev. Jamie Broome,
pastor of Immanuel Baptist, has become familiar with the needs of
the people in what he calls the contamination zone. The zone is
an area measuring hundreds of square miles around Chernobyl.
"In some areas, no human can live there," Broome said. "The
food, the drink ... Everything is contaminated."
Broome said that the people suffer from leukemia, digestive
problems, colon cancer and thyroid problems because of the
radiation.
Svetlana Goman coordinates the project that brought the children
to America. Having lived in Belarus, Goman sees the changes since
the nuclear accident.
"If the children got a cold before the catastrophe, the sickness
would pass in maybe three days," Goman said. "Now it may take 15,
16, 17, or even 20 days to cure a cold."
Seeing the situation firsthand, Broome and Immanuel Baptist
wanted to help.
"We asked ourselves, ‘How can we minister to these people?’ ”
Broome said. "Our experience in Belarus has contributed to our
understanding of the world's people. Christians ought to be known
for compassion."
The experience began in 1996 when Immanuel partnered with a
church in Belarus to put on a summer camp for children in
Klintsy. Several years ago, Immanuel began to coordinate a trip
to the United States for the children in Belarus.
During those summers in Klintsy, Broome and his wife stayed with
Voronin's family. Having studied English since the first grade,
the boy acted as a translator for his American guests.
"Danick spoke English really well, so he was our interpreter,"
Rita Broome said. "I remember one morning Danick woke us up with
a big 'Good morning' because he had just learned those words. He
was so proud."
The children were brought to the United States because getting
them out of the radiation zone alone will start to counter the
effects of radiation.
"It is our understanding from the U.N. that every month that
these children spend outside the contamination zone adds two
years to their lives." Jamie Broome said.
The nine children will receive basic health screenings. The
children spend the weeks traveling, swimming and playing. On
Monday, the children, with their chaperone, Tatsianna Pronina
from Belarus, will leave for Orange Beach, Ala., for a six-day
trip to the beach.
Pronina believes the children are adjusting well to living with
American families.
"I love these families; they are so hospitable," Pronina said.
"All the host families know some Russian. They do their best."
Other children make the transition from Belarus easier. "The
children get along well with the children here," Pronina said.
"Children get along better with children due to their games and
movies."
Through developing relationships with people from Belarus,
Immanuel is better prepared for the children's visit, Broome
said.
"In the world we live in, we must do everything in our power to
break down barriers of class, race, language and culture," he
said. "We all have the same hopes, desires and aspirations."
Voronin is thankful for his visit to Paducah and for the people
who opened their homes to him.
"There is a difference between the people's hearts," Voronin
said. "In this country, everyone is polite and willing to help. I
see people like that in Klintsy but not so often. It is very
comfortable here."
* E-Mail this article to a friend.
All staff photographs are available for purchase. Please call
270-575-8682 or 270-575-8683.
*****************************************************************
38 [DU-WATCH] Fw: 30x thyroid cancer increase in Belarus women
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 22:45:17 -0500 (CDT)
Hi all
BMJ is free on line and is active on radioactive remnants of war.
Cheers,
Robert
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/328/7453/1394-a?ecoll
BMJ 2004;328:1394 (12 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7453.1394-a
Thyroid cancer has increased 12-fold in women since Chernobyl
Roger Dobson
Rates of thyroid cancer among women in Belarus have increased up to 12-fold
since the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, near Kiev,
Ukraine, in April 1986.
Among young women aged under 14 in higher risk areas of the republic the
rates have increased almost 30-fold since the disaster, new research has
shown.
"This study documents dramatic increases in the incidence of thyroid cancer
among both higher exposure and lower exposure areas within the republic of
Belarus and among all age groups studied," says an "advance access" report
of the study published online on 27 May in the International Journal of
Epidemiology
(www.ije.oupjournals.org ( doi:10.1093/ije/dyh201[Abstract/Free Full
Text])).
It adds: "The magnitude of increases observed is remarkable given the
relatively limited time interval since Chernobyl and argues for continued
surveillance in Belarus as well as other affected areas."
The explosion at Chernobyl resulted in the release of substantial amounts of
radioactive materials over western regions of what was then the Soviet
Union, including radioisotopes of iodine, caesium, strontium, and plutonium.
The most significant contamination was in Belarus and Ukraine, as well as
the western region of the Russian Federation.
The report says that although previous studies of the incidence of thyroid
cancer in Belarus have shown an increase since the Chernobyl explosion, the
size of the increase is not well quantified.
The authors, from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, New York, and the
Institute of Oncology, Minsk, used data from the Belarus national cancer
registry and trends in average annual incidence of thyroid cancer.
The data show big increases since 1986. Between 1980 and 1986, for example,
there were 0.15 cases per 100 000 diagnosed in girls aged under 14 in high
risk areas. By the period 1997-2001, the rate had gone up to 43.84. Among
males of the same age, the rate went up from 0.08 to 18.81.
Collections under which this article appears:
Environmental Issues
Other Oncology
HomeHelpSearch/ArchiveFeedbackTable of Contents
) 2004 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
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39 [DU-WATCH] News of Huda Ammash
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 22:59:47 -0500 (CDT)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0406100237jun10,1,5001383.story
THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ HIGH-PROFILE PRISONER
Hussein aide, family kept in the dark
Huda Ammash is one of about 100 major Iraqi detainees facing judgment by a
new government
By Deborah Horan
Tribune staff reporter
Published June 10, 2004
BAGHDAD -- Ahmed al-Obeidi tied the blindfold over his eyes and a U.S.
military officer tugged at the cloth to make sure it was tight.
For the next 10 minutes, the 52-year-old Iraqi mathematician recalled, he
sat in darkness next to his 70-year-old mother-in-law, also blindfolded, on
the way to a high-security prison to see his wife. She wasn't just any
prisoner: Huda Ammash was the notorious five of hearts in the deck of cards
used by soldiers to hunt down the 55 most wanted members of Saddam Hussein's
regime.
"She still had her sharpness, that's all," al-Obeidi said, recounting the
elaborate September visit to the secretive detention center near Baghdad
International Airport. "When it comes to her health, it's deteriorating."
Ammash's legal status hasn't fared much better. Since her arrest in May
2003, the woman known as "Mrs. Anthrax" for her alleged role in building
Iraq's biological weapons program has been held as a prisoner of war,
captured on Iraqi soil, held prisoner in foreign custody in a country
without a sovereign government.
No one yet knows what will happen to her or the other high-value targets
captured by U.S. forces in the wake of the war and kept at a military prison
in sunless, solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, according to a February
Red Cross report.
Their fate is being worked out. But a question remains: When the U.S.-led
coalition transfers limited sovereignty to Iraq's new interim government
June 30, what will become of the high-ranking Baathists being held by the
coalition?
"It's not entirely clear how the issue will be resolved," said Feisal
Istrabadi, a legal adviser to a member of Iraq's recently dissolved
Governing Council.
Since his wife's capture, al-Obeidi has tried to persuade authorities to put
her under house arrest. Ammash is a cancer survivor, he said, who suffers
from many other medical ills.
So far he has been unsuccessful.
"There isn't any person in charge you can talk to and get an answer,"
al-Obeidi said.
The prison where al-Obeidi said Ammash is being kept is considered so
sensitive that U.S. military authorities in Baghdad are reluctant to
acknowledge its existence. Asked about Ammash, a military spokesman refused
to confirm that she was being held near the airport or whether she had
received visitors there.
When Ammash was captured, U.S. officials viewed her detention as a giant
step toward finding Hussein's hidden weapons of mass destruction. They
assumed the U.S.-educated biologist--sought for years for questioning by UN
weapons inspectors--would be able to reveal the whereabouts of the alleged
weapons programs.
A year later, no significant weapons of mass destruction have been found in
Iraq.
"The whole thing started with a lie, the lie of WMD," al-Obeidi said.
Iraqis working on a special tribunal created to try high-ranking
Baathists--including Hussein--say they expect the high-level detainees to be
transferred to Iraqi custody as soon as the country's fledgling security
forces have the means to keep them detained.
"The plan is to issue arrest warrants very soon and then begin the process
of taking control of the individuals," said Salem Chalabi, a Northwestern
University Law School graduate who is executive director of the Iraqi
Special Tribunal.
Investigations go on
Chalabi said he has hired investigative judges and prosecutors to collect
evidence against about 100 detainees, including the 55 named in the deck of
cards. When that process is completed, he said, the judges will issue
indictments. Until then, the detainees could remain held without charge as
POWs under the control either of Iraqis or coalition forces.
Chalabi said the detainees could be indicted under an international law
called "command responsibility," which holds high commanders responsible for
abuses that occur under their authority.
When Ammash was captured she was a member of the Baath Party Regional
Command, the country's top policymaking body. The position could make her
eligible for prosecution under the "command responsibility" law.
It also has tainted her in the eyes of many Iraqis, who associate her with
the highest tier of a hated regime.
"There's no sympathy for her," said Ismael Zayer, editor of the Iraqi daily
Al-Sabbah Al-Jadeed.
Ammash was particularly disliked because she climbed the ranks of Hussein's
regime even after the dictator reportedly ordered her father to be poisoned
in 1983, Zayer said. Salih Magdi Ammash, a former vice president and defense
minister in Hussein's government, died in Finland, where he was serving as
Iraq's ambassador.
"She accepted that," Zayer said. "She was pro-Saddam. It was very, very
nasty."
Similarly, Iraq's Shiite Muslims and Kurds, two groups killed by the
thousands by Hussein's regime during the 1980s and '90s, have no pity for
Baath Party leaders in coalition custody.
"People want them to be tried," said Safeen Dizayee, a spokesman for the
Kurdistan Democratic Party. He said Ammash is "as guilty as the president of
the state. She was known as a strong supporter of the policies of the
regime."
Ammash was not, however, a member of the Baath Party Regional Command until
2001, long after most of the alleged crimes of Hussein's regime had been
committed, a fact that could work in her favor as prosecutors investigate
her case.
Her supporters paint her as a positive force for women's rights in Iraq and
point to her many accomplishments in biology, particularly her work studying
the effects of depleted uranium. She has written extensively on the subject.
"She's extremely articulate, poised, a very attractive woman," said Sara
Flounders, a member of a New York-based anti-war group, the International
Action Center. "She has done a great deal to promote the role of women in
science and technical fields."
Three weeks after Hussein's regime fell, U.S. soldiers surrounded the
scientist's Baghdad home overlooking the Tigris River, al-Obeidi said. Two
tanks parked across the street while soldiers stormed inside.
Al-Obeidi had just left the house with a relative when the soldiers arrived,
he said. He watched them surround the house from across the street and then
drove away. His wife had known soldiers would come searching for the
stern-faced woman pictured saluting and draped in a loose green head scarf
on the five of hearts.
When al-Obeidi returned 30 minutes later, the soldiers were gone, he said.
They had carted away computers and documents and turned the house upside
down. Other family possessions were missing--small silver daggers, a Buddha
statue, kerosene lamps, photo albums and memorabilia, he said.
A week later, Ammash surrendered.
Al-Obeidi appealed to tribal leaders to secure his wife's release. They put
him in contact with a U.S. military official, he said.
On a clear day in September, he met the official at the Republican Palace,
which had become the epicenter of coalition operations. He brought his
mother-in-law and two head scarves to serve as blindfolds. They rode in a
sport-utility vehicle toward the airport, stopping along the road to put on
the blindfolds.
Weight loss, health woes
When the blindfolds were removed, al-Obeidi was standing in a pleasant room
filled with sofas, a dining table and chairs. He visited Ammash for two
hours, eating hamburgers and french fries while she inquired about the
health of family members within earshot of an Iraqi translator stationed in
the room.
"She said, `I tried to do the right thing for my family. I never thought
something like this would happen,'" al-Obeidi recalled.
He repeated the trip in February, this time bringing his son, daughter,
granddaughter and his wife's sister as well as his mother-in-law to the
meeting. All of them were blindfolded before they reached the prison.
She was 25 pounds lighter, he said, after months spent locked in solitary
confinement. She had seen doctors while in prison but still suffered from
kidney problems and chronic arthritis.
"She can hardly move," al-Obeidi said.
He has given up attempts to persuade authorities to put her under house
arrest until after June 30, he said.
But he hasn't given up hope.
"We are trying our best to get her out," al-Obeidi said. "It's criminal to
keep her, a woman in her health. Either there is a case against her or
there's not."
Copyright ) 2004, Chicago Tribune
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40 Buffalo News: Senate gives N-workers from '50s hope for compensation
By DOUGLAS TURNER News Washington Bureau Chief
6/18/2004
File photos
Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, left, helped GOP leadership kill a
companion bill to benefit nuclear workers, while Rep. Jack F.
Quinn did not speak on behalf of his legislation.
WASHINGTON - The Senate on Thursday gave thousands of aging
survivors of a Cold War hydrogen bomb program in the Buffalo
Niagara region a measure of hope that they finally may be
compensated for exposure to nuclear radiation.
Even though the Senate passed the aid bill unanimously, however,
final passage is in doubt.
That is partly because Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, R-Clarence, whose
district includes many potential claimants, helped the Republican
leadership kill a companion House measure in committee.
The Senate bill sponsored by Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Hillary
Rodham Clinton, both D-N.Y., would make many of those exposed to
enriched uranium in the 1950s, or their survivors, eligible for
payments of up to $150,000 each.
The Senate bill also would create a "resource center" to advise
exposed workers at plants in Buffalo, Lackawanna, the Tonawandas,
Niagara Falls and Lockport who have so far been denied help.
There are upward of 1,200 people in Buffalo Niagara - many
suffering from lung, colon and other forms of cancer - and their
survivors, who might be eligible under the Democratic
legislation, and many thousands more across the nation.
Despite the suffering experienced by those workers and their
families, prospects for final passage are slim.
The House Republican leadership, in concert with the Bush
administration, quietly killed a companion bill in the House
Rules Committee.
Among those voting against the House version was Reynolds, a
powerful Rules Committee member who represents many potential
claimants in Niagara County. Reynolds is also chairman of the GOP
congressional campaign.
A prominent Republican co-sponsor of the House legislation,
retiring Rep. Jack F. Quinn of Hamburg, did not speak on behalf
of his legislation at the Rules Committee meeting in May. Nor did
Quinn send any testimony to the committee supporting the bill
originally introduced by Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport.
Quinn had been meeting with families of former Bethlehem Steel
workers who had been denied aid because of an administrative
ruling.
"I'm really disappointed," Frank J. Panasuk of Hamburg said when
he heard of what happened - or didn't happen - in the Rules
Committee.
Panasuk, chairman of Bethlehem Steel Radiation Victims and
Survivors, said his group "had some real good planning meetings
with Quinn, Hillary Clinton" and a member of Reynolds' staff.
"We were pretty hopeful they would do something," Panasuk said.
One Buffalo-area man who had been working with Quinn on the
issue, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "I guess Mr.
Quinn retired a little early."
Quinn, who is not seeking re-election, could not be reached to
comment.
But Michael Brady, Reynolds' chief of staff, said Slaughter
brought up her bill at a Rules meeting in violation of the
established "processes" of the House.
Brady said Reynolds' vote merely upheld the procedures of the
House. Slaughter should have pushed her bill through a standing
committee, such as Education & the Workforce, instead of going
through Rules to get it on the floor, Brady said.
Richard Miller, senior analyst of the Governmental Accountability
Project, took issue with that: "Listen, the Rules Committee is
really a function of what the House leadership wants to do."
Miller said the Rules Committee clears many emergency bills that
the leadership wants to pass, when it wants them passed.
At issue is whether the government will compensate any workers
who said they were exposed to radiation after 1952.
That is when a semi-independent agency said the government
stopped preparing uranium and other nuclear weapons material in
the Buffalo Niagara region for shipment to its Savannah River,
Ga., plant for H-bomb assembly.
Anyone working in any of the plants after 1952 was ineligible for
help, the National Institutes for Occupational Safety and Health
said last year. The Clinton-Schumer-Slaughter bills would extend
eligibility beyond 1952.
Just as the Rules Committee was preparing to act on Slaughter's
bill, the White House Office of Management and Budget sent an
advisory opposing any expansion of the nuclear aid program.
Besides Bethlehem, other facilities affect were:
Bliss & Laughlin Steel, Buffalo; Ashland Oil, Linde Ceramics, and
Seaway Industrial Park, Town of Tonawanda; Titanium Alloys
Manufacturing, Niagara Falls; and Simonds Steel, Lockport.
Bureau assistant Breann Howell contributed to this report.
*****************************************************************
41 Salt Lake Tribune: No means no
June 18, 2004
It was both laughable and discouraging to hear that Tooele
leaders have sent Jon Huntsman a warning ("On the stump: Stop
whole affair somewhat arrogant on the part of Tooele County
leaders.
According to the article, they "caution (Huntsman) against
following the advice of groups which may not have the majority
interest in mind." What majority do they want when, according to
a recent poll, 84 percent of Utah citizens are opposed to higher
levels of radioactive waste coming here?
I heard Sen. Ron Allen, R-Tooele, testify before the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission that he had tried to steer companies to
settle in Tooele, but they would not consider it because of the
negative reputation Tooele has. Perhaps Tooele leaders should
start looking out for the welfare of their county and try to
improve its business reputation instead of continuing to protect
one of the companies that fosters that bad reputation.
Envirocare will be gone in a few years and Tooele, and Utah,
will be left with nothing but a bad reputation. Protecting our
reputation is called self-respect, which should be important to
everyone.
After U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop and Envirocare tried to sneak in
the Fernald waste from Ohio, I thought everyone understood where
Utah stands. The question now is, what part of "no" do some of
these people not understand?
Jeri Roos
Centerville
Copyright Salt Lake City Tribune
*****************************************************************
42 USATODAY.com: EPA gives grant to leukemia cluster study
Posted 6/18/2004 9:11 AM
EPA gives grant to leukemia cluster studyFALLON, Nev. (AP) — The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $224,000 to an
Arkansas research institute to study a leukemia cluster found
among the town's children.
The Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute will use the
funding to evaluate whether certain factors, including genetics,
the environment and diet, may have played a role in the cancer
cluster.
The University of Nevada, Reno, will provide administrative
support for the study.
Sixteen Fallon children have been diagnosed with leukemia since
2000. The cause of the cluster is unknown despite exhaustive
studies, including one by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Researchers with the Little Rock-based institute plan to build
on the results of the CDC study, which identified several
contaminants in the Fallon area, including arsenic, antimony,
cobalt, tungsten and uranium, said Jill James, a professor with
the institute's pediatrics department who will head the study.
"We remain hopeful that this research will provide us with vital
information to understand the leukemia cases in Fallon," said
Alexis Strauss, director of the EPA's water division for the
agency's Pacific Southwest office.
The CDC concluded there was no single exposure that caused the
leukemia in the town's children, she said.
"What we're saying is that it may not be a single metal, but
maybe cumulatively, the exposure reached a threshold that
precipitated the leukemia," James said.
Researchers will take blood samples from families in which a
child was afflicted by the disease and from families in which no
child had leukemia.
The study, which is expected to begin by the end of the summer,
will also focus on the mothers of the children who had the
disease.
"When a cancer occurs that early in a child's life, it's likely
that there was a maternal exposure, that there was damage when
the mother was pregnant," James said.
Senator Harry Reid, D-Nev., helped secure the funding for the
study.
"It is critically important to harness the expertise of outside
specialists to investigate the cluster, and the retention of Dr.
James is an important step in this effort," Reid said. "The
families deserve no less than the most skilled of eyes to find
clues to the cause of the cluster."
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
43 BBC: Radioactive discharge
Last Updated: Friday, 18 June, 2004
Radioactive water vapour was released into the atmosphere during
an incident at Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station last week, it has
emerged.
British Energy declared a site incident on 9 June after a leak on
a pipe carrying radioactive by-products.
At the time, British Energy said the leak of contaminated water
had been contained within the site.
The Environment Agency now say there was a release of radioactive
vapour, but stressed it was a very low level.
It's about trust - it's abo representing the ward next to a
nuclear power station and knowing that statements made are
accurate and that we can trust British Energy Hartlepool
Councillor, Geoff Lilley
The incident happened after water carrying radioactive
by-products was released into the reactor building.
A spokesman for British Energy said they are allowed to discharge
a certain amount of material into the atmosphere and, because
this limit was not exceeded, it was left to the Environment
Agency to inform the public.
He said: "In accordance with Environment Agency regulations water
vapour was discharged through our designed facilities in line
with normal station processes.
"As this was within the authorised discharged limits our usual
reporting process is through the Environment Agency.
'Great concern'
"Close liaison has been maintained with the Environment Agency
throughout the event."
However, Hartlepool councillor Geoff Lilley has expressed concern
over the time taken to inform the public about the radioactive
vapour.
He said: "What we find of great concern is when British Energy
tell us there have been no emissions into the atmosphere and then
later on we find out that there have been.
"It's about trust. It's about representing the ward next to a
nuclear power station and knowing that statements made are
accurate and that we can trust British Energy."
'Wanted to be sure'
A spokesman from the Environment Agency defended the delay on
reporting the atmospheric emissions.
He said: "We knew very quickly that the release posed no
significant risk to the public and we didn't want to release
provisional information while the recovery operation was going
on.
"We wanted to be sure of the data and be sure of our
interpretation before giving information to the public.
"From this incident, the maximum exposure to radioactivity
someone could have suffered was two microsieverts. On average, a
person absorbs around 2,200 microsieverts each year. Just flying
to Spain and back, you absorb around 20 microsieverts."
*****************************************************************
44 RGJ: Federal grant awarded for Fallon cancer study
"RGJ.com"
Friday | Jun 18, 2004
Reno Gazette-Journal]
Lenita Powers
The University of Nevada, Reno will assist an Arkansas cancer
researcher in conducting a federally funded study this summer
into the high rate of acute lymphocytic leukemia among children
in Fallon.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $224,000 to
the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute and UNR to
study leukemia among children living in Fallon. Sixteen children
who live in or had ties to the rural town about 60 miles east of
Reno have been diagnosed with the disease since 1997. Three of
those children have died. The study will expand on one conducted
last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jill
James, the study’s principal investigator and a professor in the
Department of Pediatrics at the Arkansas research institute, said
Thursday. Mark Walker, an associate professor of environmental
and resource sciences, will be the principal investigator from
UNR.
The CDC, which tested 205 Fallon residents’ blood and urine,
found no link between environmental pollutants and the leukemia
cases.
But James said those tests showed elevated levels for the metals
arsenic, tungsten, uranium, cobalt and antimony.
“The CDC came up with a list of metals, and their conclusion was
no single exposure could be linked with the Fallon cases,” James
said. “We’re going to expand that approach and focus more on the
individual children, looking at their cumulative exposure to
metals.”
Exposure to metals increases the production of free radicals in
the body that can damage DNA just like radiation, she said.
The study also will look at possible genetic susceptibility the
children to exposure of metals.
“We’re going to look more carefully at maternal exposures because
there could have been in utero damage, then the child got another
exposure (after birth) and that could have triggered the
leukemia,” James said.
James is a highly skilled and highly regarded researcher, said
Floyd Sands, a former Fallon resident now living in Mahoopany,
Pa.
Sands’ daughter, 21-year-old Stephanie, died of leukemia in 2001.
“I think it’s great,” Sands said of James’ upcoming study. “She
came forward with a just a great proposal to work this study. The
possible association she’s looking for and the tack she’s taking,
no one’s done before. It’s original research, and whenever we get
original, valid research into this, I’m delighted. It’s not too
often it happens.”
U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., helped appropriate the funding for
the study.
“I think it is critically important to harness the expertise of
outside specialists to investigate the (cancer) cluster, and the
retention of Dr. James is an important first step in this
effort,” Reid said. “The families deserve no less than the most
skilled of eyes to find the clues to the cause of the cluster.”
*****************************************************************
45 Mid Day Mumbai: AEC chief for action in radiation case
By: PTI
June 18, 2004
Even after two months of three employees of Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre (BARC) at Tarapur allegedly being exposed to
radiation, officials have yet to pinpoint anybody responsible for
keeping the small vial containing radioactive liquid under the
seat of a chair of the laboratory which caused the exposure.
The BARC's security and safety officials who are independently
probing the case that the investigations at BARC's Waste
Immobilisation Plant (WIP) at Tarapur are still on and "it is
taking time to get hard evidences to pinpoint the culprit."
"Although there are only 80 to 90 employees, including scientists
at WIP, it might take some more time to get hard evidences in the
case," they said.
WIP at Tarapur is one of the BARC facilities engaged in
vitrification of radioactive waste generated in the nearby spent
fuel reprocessing plant.
Three employees of WIP were allegedly exposed to radiation on
April 17.
However, the health of all the three employees was "normal" since
there was no overexposure, official sources said.
Meanwhile, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission Dr Anil Kakodkar
said that it was a serious matter and severe disciplinary action
would be taken against the person found guilty.
BARC has elaborate mechanism to review various incident of
radiations and accordingly the April 17 exposure was being
reviewed by the safety committees.
Since the radioactive material in the above case was found in a
place where it should not have been, the matter has been taken up
seriously, the sources said.
Based on the recommendations, additional measure will be taken to
avoid recurrence of such incidence, they added.
© 2003 Mid-Day
Multimedia Ltd. All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
46 NZ Scoop: Safety concerns on nuclear-powered vessels persist
http://www.scoop.co.nz
Friday, 18 June 2004, 5:20 pm
Press Release: Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
Safety concerns about nuclear-powered vessels persist
THE NEW ZEALAND MEDICAL JOURNAL
Vol 117 No 1196 ISSN 1175 8716
NZMJ 18 June 2004, Vol 117 No 1196 Page 1 of 2
URL: http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/117-1196/942/ © NZMA
Safety concerns about nuclear-powered vessels persist New
Zealand's major opposition political party has released a
discussion paper on improving the relationship between New
Zealand and the United States.1 One key aspect of the paper
considers changing New Zealand's nuclear-free legislation by
dropping the section banning nuclear-propelled vessels (section
11).
However, the safety concerns around nuclear-propelled vessels are
glossed over by this discussion paper. For example, it does not
consider reports of past radiation releases by the US nuclear
navy (eg, involving the USS Guardfish and the USS Nimitz2). Also
ignored are recent accidents involving US nuclear submarines,
including the collision of the USS Greeneville with a fishing
vessel3 and the grounding of the USS Hartford on the Italian
coast in 2003.4 Fortunately, none of these events have had major
consequences, but the potential for such an event cannot be
ignored given the inherent safety limitations of complex and
tightly coupled technologies such as nuclear power.5
Even the grounding of a nuclear-powered vessel could still have
serious implications for the country's trade and tourism-which
could then have downstream health impacts if the economy was
disrupted.
A new consideration that is not mentioned in the discussion paper
is the potential for terrorist attacks on shipping. There have
been such attacks on US naval vessels (eg, the USS Cole in
Yemen6) and on other shipping (eg, on the Limburg, a French oil
tanker7).
It is therefore of concern that this discussion paper, which
could ultimately become government policy, does not have an
appropriate evidence base. Surely, it is time for New Zealanders
to demand of their politicians a higher standard of policy
analysis, and to make sure that the potential health impacts of
policies are appropriately considered.
Dr Nick Wilson
Chairperson, International Physicians for the Prevention of
Nuclear War (IPPNW) New Zealand Branch)
References:
1. New Zealand National Party Taskforce. The Relationship between
New Zealand and the
United States. Wellington: New Zealand National Party; May 2004.
2. Arkin WM, Handler JM. Nuclear disasters at sea, then and now.
Bulletin of the Atomic
Scientists 1989; (July/August): 20-24. Available online. URL:
http://www.prop1.org/2000/accident/1989/8907a1.htm Accessed June
2004.
3. BBC. US completes sub collision inquiry. BBC News Online, 14
April, 2001. Available
online. URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1276594.stm
Accessed June 2004.
4. Owen R. US nuclear sub ran aground off Italian coast. The
Times, 12 November; 2003.
5. Perrow C. Normal Accidents: Living with high-risk
technologies. New York: Basic Books;
1984.
NZMJ 18 June 2004, Vol 117 No 1196 Page 2 of 2
URL: http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/117-1196/942/ © NZMA
6. BBC. Yemen attack highly 'sophisticated'. BBC News Online, 23
October 2000. Available
online. URL:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/985824.stm Accessed
June 2004.
7. BBC. TNT found in stricken Yemen tanker. BBC News Online, 11
October 2002. Available
online. URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2320893.stm
Accessed June 2004.
Copyright (c) Scoop Media
*****************************************************************
47 Charleston.Net: Pills going to nuclear neighbors
06/18/04
Associated Press
COLUMBIA--Midlands residents who live near the V.C. Summer
Nuclear Station can receive potassium iodide pills that could
protect them in case of an accident.
The Department of Health and Environmental Control will
distribute the pills June 26 to those within 10 miles of the
station.
Potassium iodide can help block the buildup of radioactive
iodine in the thyroid and reduce the risk of cancer.
About 15,000 pills have been sent to Richland, Lexington,
Newberry and Fairfield counties for distribution, said Sandra
Threatt, manager of DHEC's Nuclear Response and Emergency
Environmental Surveillance section.
The agency distributed the pills to residents in Pickens and
Oconee counties in July 2003 and York County residents in May
2003.
Copyright © 2004, The Post and Courier, All Rights Reserved.
webmaster@postandcourier.com
*****************************************************************
48 [epa-impact] Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., Environmental Assessment
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 11:40:35 -0400 (EDT)
http://www.epa.gov/EPA-IMPACT/2004/June/Day-18/i13749.htm
http://www.epa.gov/EPA-IMPACT/2004/June/Day-18/index.html
http://epa.gov/fedreg/search.htm
http://epa.gov/fedreg/
=======================================================================
[Federal Register: June 18, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 117)]
[Notices]
[Page 34198-34202]
>From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18jn04-148]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 70-143]
Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., Environmental Assessment and Finding
of No Significant Impact Related to Proposed License Amendment
Authorizing Operations at the Oxide Conversion Building and the
Effluent Processing Building at the Blended Low-Enriched Uranium
Complex
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Finding of no significant impact and environmental assessment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin M. Ramsey, Fuel Cycle Facilities
Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Mail Stop T-8A33, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone (301) 415-7887
and e-mail kmr@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is considering the
issuance of an amendment to NRC Materials License SNM-124 to authorize
processing operations in the Oxide Conversion Building (OCB) and the
Effluent Processing Building (EPB) at the Blended Low-Enriched Uranium
Preparation (BLEU) Complex. A notice of receipt and opportunity to
request a hearing for this action was published in the Federal Register
on December 24, 2003 (68 FR 74653). The NRC has prepared an
Environmental Assessment (EA) in support of this action. Based upon the
EA, the NRC has concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact
(FONSI) is appropriate and, therefore, an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) will not be prepared.
II. Environmental Assessment
Background
The Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) facility in Erwin, TN is authorized
under License SNM-124 to manufacture high-enriched nuclear reactor
fuel. NFS is undertaking the BLEU Project to manufacture low-enriched
nuclear reactor fuel. NFS is constructing a new complex at the Erwin
site to house the operations involving low-enriched uranium. On July
27, 2003, Amendment 39 to License SNM-124 was issued to authorize
storage of low-enriched uranium in the new complex. This was
[[Page 34199]]
the first of three amendments planned for the BLEU Project.
On January 13, 2004, Amendment 47 was issued to License SNM-124 to
authorize downblending operations in the BLEU Preparation Facility.
This was the second amendment planned for the BLEU Project. These
operations involve the blending of high-enriched uranium with
unenriched (natural) uranium to produce low-enriched uranium. Much of
the downblending will be performed at other facilities, but NFS plans
to perform some downblending at its facility. The BLEU Preparation
Facility is located within the older complex because that complex is
already authorized to handle high-enriched uranium. After the high-
enriched uranium is downblended and converted to a low-enriched uranium
liquid, it will be transferred from the BLEU Preparation Facility to
the new complex.
On October 23, 2003, NFS requested an amendment to authorize
operations in the remainder of the new BLEU complex (Ref. 5).
Supplemental information was submitted by letter dated April 30, 2004
(Ref. 9). This is the third and last amendment planned for the BLEU
Project. The request includes OCB operations to convert low-enriched,
uranium liquid to a solid, uranium oxide powder. It also includes EPB
operations to treat process effluents for disposal.
Review Scope
The purpose of this EA is to assess the environmental impacts of
the proposed license amendment. It does not approve the request. This
EA is limited to the proposed OCB and EPB operations at the BLEU
Complex and any cumulative impacts on existing plant operations. The
existing conditions and operations for the Erwin facility were
evaluated by the NRC for environmental impacts in a 1999 EA related to
the renewal of the NFS license (Ref. 1) and a 2002 EA related to the
first amendment for the BLEU Project (Ref. 2). In addition, the 2002 EA
assessed the impact of the entire BLEU Project (including the proposed
operations) using information available at that time. This assessment
presents up-to-date information and analysis for determining that
issuance of a FONSI is appropriate and that an EIS will not be prepared.
Proposed Action
The proposed action is to amend NRC Materials License SNM-124 to
authorize processing operations in the OCB and EPB. The buildings are
being constructed within the new BLEU Complex at the NFS site. The
operations will convert low-enriched, uranium liquid to a solid,
uranium oxide powder. The uranium oxide powder will be shipped to
another facility for fabrication of fuel for a commercial power
reactor. The duration of the project is approximately five years. The
proposed action in the amendment request is consistent with the
proposed action previously assessed in the 2002 EA (Ref. 2).
The OCB operations are composed of four processes--the Feed Batch
Make-Up Process, Uranium Precipitation Process, Oxide Production
Process, and Uranium Recovery Process.
• The Feed Batch Make-Up Process involves the transfer of
uranyl nitrate solution from the Uranyl Nitrate Building to a blend
tank in the OCB. If there is any solution available from the Uranium
Recovery Process, it is added also. After the solution is mixed, it is
fed to the Uranium Precipitation Process.
• The Uranium Precipitation Process involves the heating and
mixing of uranyl nitrate with ammonium hydroxide. This forms ammonium
diuranate (ADU) precipitate. The ADU slurry is pumped to a centrifuge
feed tank where the pH is adjusted. Then, the slurry is fed to a
centrifuge where the solid ADU is separated from the liquid.
• The Oxide Production Process involves the drying of ADU
solids in a dryer. Then, the solids are fed to a calciner (i.e., rotary
kiln) where hydrogen is used to reduce the ADU solids to uranium oxide
powder. The powder is fed to a blender hopper where it is mixed and
loaded into shipping pails.
• The Uranium Recovery Process involves the treatment of the
liquid centrate from the centrifuge with filters and ion exchange resin
to remove residual uranium from the liquid. The uranium is returned to
the process and the remaining liquid is sent to the EPB. In addition,
the Uranium Recovery Process has a dissolution system where off-
specification uranium oxide powder is dissolved in nitric acid to form
a uranyl nitrate solution. This solution is returned to the Feed Batch
Make-Up Process.
The EPB operations are composed of three processes--the Ammonia
Recovery Process, the Liquid Waste Treatment Process, and the Waste
Solidification Process.
• The Ammonia Recovery Process involves the mixing of
ammonium nitrate waste solution with sodium hydroxide to form ammonium
hydroxide and sodium nitrate. The solution is heated and sent to a
stripping column. In the stripping column, steam is used to generate
ammonia vapor which is sent to a condenser. The condensed distillate is
an ammonium hydroxide solution which is returned to the OCB for reuse.
The stripping column bottoms are composed of a sodium nitrate solution
which is sent to the Liquid Waste Treatment Process.
• The Liquid Waste Treatment Process involves the
concentration of sodium nitrate waste in an evaporator. The water vapor
from the evaporator is condensed, sampled, and discharged to the
sanitary sewer. The evaporator bottoms are sent to the Waste
Solidification Process.
• The Waste Solidification Process involves the mixing of
evaporator bottoms with clay and cement. The mixture is cured and
shipped to a licensed disposal facility.
Need for Proposed Action
Framatome ANP Inc. has contracted with NFS to downblend surplus
high-enriched uranium material to a low-enriched uranium product. The
NFS product is expected to be converted to commercial reactor fuel for
a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) nuclear power reactor; however, the
NFS proposed action is limited to the production of low-enriched,
uranium oxide powder as feed material for Framatome. The BLEU Project
is part of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program to reduce
stockpiles of surplus high-enriched uranium through re-use or disposal
as radioactive waste. Re-use is considered the favorable option by the
DOE because: (1) Weapons grade material is converted to a form
unsuitable for nuclear weapons (addressing a proliferation concern);
(2) the product can be used for peaceful purposes; and (3) the
commercial value of the surplus material can be recovered (Ref. 3). An
additional benefit of re-use is to avoid unnecessary use of limited
radioactive waste disposal space.
Alternatives
The alternatives available to NRC are:
1. Approve the license amendment as described; or
2. No action (i.e., deny the request).
Other alternatives to the proposed action are addressed in the DOE
Environmental Impact Statement (Ref. 3) and are not re-analyzed in this
EA.
Affected Environment
The affected environment for the proposed action and the
alternative is the NFS site. The affected environment is identical to
the affected environment assessed in the 2002 EA related to the first
amendment for the BLEU Project
[[Page 34200]]
(Ref. 2). A full description of the site and its characteristics is
given in the 2002 EA. Additional information can be found in the 1999
EA related to the renewal of the NFS license (Ref. 1). The NFS facility
is located in Unicoi County, Tennessee, about 32 km (20 mi) southwest
of Johnson City, Tennessee. The plant is about 0.8 km (0.5 mi)
southwest of the Erwin city limits. The site occupies about 28 hectares
(70 acres). The site is bounded to the northwest by the CSX Corporation
(CSX) railroad property and the Nolichucky River, and by Martin Creek
to the northeast. The plant elevation is about 9 m (30 ft) above the
nearest point on the Nolichucky River.
The area adjacent to the site consists primarily of residential,
industrial, and commercial areas, with a limited amount of farming to
the northwest. Privately owned residences are located to the east and
south of the facility. Tract size is relatively large, leading to a low
housing density in the areas adjacent to the facility. The CSX railroad
right-of-way is parallel to the western boundary of the site.
Industrial development is located adjacent to the railroad on the
opposite side of the right-of-way. The site is bounded by Martin Creek
to the north, with privately owned, vacant property and low-density
residences.
Effluent Releases and Monitoring
A full description of the effluent monitoring program at the site
is provided in a 2002 EA related to the first amendment for the BLEU
Project (Ref. 2). Additional information is available in the 1999 EA
related to the renewal of the NFS license (Ref. 1). The NFS Erwin Plant
conducts effluent and environmental monitoring programs to evaluate
potential public health impacts and comply with the NRC effluent and
environmental monitoring requirements. The effluent program monitors
the airborne, liquid, and solid waste streams produced during operation
of the NFS Plant. The environmental program monitors the air, surface
water, sediment, soil, groundwater, and vegetation in and around the
NFS Plant.
During the review of the amendment request (Ref. 5), NRC discovered
that the stack constructed for the OCB was in a different location than
shown in the Supplemental Environmental Report submitted by NFS in 2001
(Ref. 6). NFS confirmed that the location and height of the as-built
stacks differ slightly from the descriptions provided previously.
However, NFS stated that the differences do not change the results of
the radiological and chemical consequence analyses (Ref. 9). The NRC
agrees.
Airborne, liquid, and solid effluent streams that contain
radioactive material are generated at the NFS Plant and monitored to
ensure compliance with NRC regulations in 10 CFR Part 20. Each effluent
is monitored at or just before the point of release. The results of
effluent monitoring are reported on a semi-annual basis to the NRC in
accordance with 10 CFR 70.59.
Airborne and liquid effluents are also monitored for
nonradiological constituents in accordance with State discharge
permits. For the purpose of this EA, the State of Tennessee is expected
to set limits on effluents under its regulatory control that are
protective of health and safety and the local environment. A new sewer
pretreatment permit was issued to NFS by Erwin Utilities on August 26,
2003 (Ref. 9).
Environmental Impacts of Proposed Action
A full description of the environmental impacts of the proposed
action is provided in a 2002 EA related to the first amendment for the
BLEU Project (Ref. 2). The environmental impacts of the proposed action
are consistent with the impacts in the 2002 EA.
1. Normal Operations
For the proposed action, construction and processing operations
will result in the release of low levels of chemical and radioactive
constituents to the environment. Based on the information provided by
NFS, the safety controls to be employed for the proposed action appear
to be sufficient to ensure planned operations will have no significant
impact on the environment.
Radiological Impacts: For normal operations, the effluent air
emissions from the OCB and the EPB will be discharged through new
stacks at each building. Liquid effluents will be discharged to the
sanitary sewer. While effluents from the proposed action will increase
in relation to current releases, the total annual dose estimate for the
maximally exposed individual from all planned effluents is less than
0.01 milliseivert (mSv) or 1 millirem (mrem). This result is well below
the annual public dose limit of 1 mSv (100 mrem) in 10 CFR 20.1301, and
the constraint on air emissions to the environment of 0.1 mSv (10 mrem)
in 10 CFR 20.1101. OCB and EPB operations are not expected to increase
the dose to workers at the NFS facility because the types and quantity
of material, and the processing, will be similar to what is already
licensed at the site. Surface water quality at the NFS site is
currently protected by enforcing release limits and monitoring
programs. No significant change in surface water impacts is expected
from OCB and EPB operations. The proposed action will not discharge any
effluents to the groundwater; therefore, no adverse impacts to
groundwater are expected.
The proposed action involves transportation of radioactive feed
material to the NFS site and transportation of radioactive waste
material from the NFS site. All transportation will be conducted in
accordance with the applicable NRC and U.S. Department of
Transportation regulations; therefore, no adverse impacts from
transportation activities are expected.
Land Use: OCB and EPB operations will be conducted in new buildings
constructed on NFS-owned property that has been disturbed previously.
The developed area will increase from approximately 75 to 80 percent of
69.9 acres. No adverse impact to land use is expected.
Cultural Resources: There are no National Register or Historic
Places listed or eligible properties affected by the proposed action.
No adverse impact to cultural resources is expected.
Biotic Resources: For biotic resources, a vacant and previously
disturbed field containing no critical habitat will be used. The only
Federally endangered species in Unicoi County is the Appalachian elktoe
mussel (Alasmidonta raveneliana) near the confluence of the Nolichucky
River and South Indian Creek. This location is upstream of the NFS site
and, therefore, the NRC finds the proposed action is not likely to
affect the species. The only Federally threatened species in Unicoi
County are the small whorled pagonia (Isotria medeoloides) and the
Virginia spiraea (Spiraea virginiana). A field investigation was
conducted in 2002 and neither of these species was found to be present
on the site of the proposed action. Therefore, the NRC finds the
proposed action is not likely to affect either of these species.
2. Potential Accidents
Under accident conditions, higher concentrations of materials could
be released to the environment over a short period of time. An
evaluation of potential accidents is provided in section 5.1.2 of the
2002 EA (Ref. 2). In addition, detailed accident analyses have been
performed by NFS in an integrated safety assessment (ISA). The NRC's
detailed review of the ISA is ongoing, however preliminary findings
indicate that the potential accidents
[[Page 34201]]
identified in the ISA are consistent with the previous evaluation. NRC
finds that the safety controls to be employed in the proposed action
appear sufficient to ensure planned processing will be safe.
3. Cumulative Impacts
An evaluation of cumulative impacts is provided in section 5.1.3 of
the 2002 EA (Ref. 2). The evaluation considers the impacts of the
proposed action with the known impacts of the existing facility. After
reviewing the updated information provided by NFS, the NRC concludes
that the cumulative impacts represent an insignificant change to the
existing conditions in the area surrounding the NFS site.
Environmental Impacts of No Action Alternative
Under the no action alternative, NFS would not be able to carry out
its contract obligations to produce a commercial product from U.S.
Government surplus, weapons-usable, high-enriched uranium. Failure to
fulfill its role in the DOE program could cause DOE to select other
alternatives for disposition of the surplus material that may be less
cost effective and incur greater environmental impacts. For example,
the disposal option would incur additional costs and consume available
disposal space that may be better utilized for non-reusable wastes. If
NFS were not able to fulfill its contract, DOE may transfer the work to
other facilities.
Based on its review, the NRC has concluded that the environmental
impacts associated with the proposed action are insignificant and,
therefore, do not warrant denial of the proposed license amendment. The
NRC has determined that the proposed action, approval of the license
amendment as described, is the appropriate alternative for selection.
Based on an evaluation of the environmental impacts of the proposed
license amendment, the NRC has determined that the proper action is to
issue a FONSI in the Federal Register.
Agencies and Persons Contacted
On May 31, 2002, the NRC staff contacted the Director of the
Division of Radiological Health in the Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation (TDEC) concerning the 2002 EA (Ref. 2) and
the potential impact of the BLEU Project on the environment. Upon
conclusion of the consultation process, TDEC had no remaining concerns
about potential environmental impacts. On March 12, 2004, the NRC staff
contacted the Director of the TDEC Division of Radiological Health
concerning the revised environmental impacts in this EA. On April 12,
2004, the Director responded that they had reviewed the draft EA and
had no comments (Ref. 7).
On May 22, 2002, the NRC staff contacted the Tennessee Historical
Commission (THC), Division of Archeology concerning the 2002 EA (Ref.
2) and the potential affect of the BLEU Project on cultural resources.
The consultation concluded that no cultural resources would be affected
by the proposed action. On March 11, 2004, the NRC staff contacted the
THC concerning the revised environmental impacts in this EA. On March
22, 2004, the THC responded that they had reviewed the draft EA and had
no comments (Ref. 8).
On June 6, 2002, the NRC staff contacted the Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) concerning the 2002 EA (Ref. 2) and the potential affect
of the BLEU Project on endangered species. The consultation concluded
that no endangered species would be affected by the proposed action. On
March 8, 2004, the NRC staff contacted the FWS concerning the revised
environmental impacts in this EA. On April 8, 2004, the FWS responded
that they had reviewed the draft EA and requested that NRC clarify the
finding in the 2002 EA that the proposed action is not likely to affect
any endangered or threatened species in the area. On April 27, 2004,
NRC provided a revised EA with requested finding. On May 11, 2004, FWS
responded that it concurred with the finding.
References
1. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental
Assessment for Renewal of Special Nuclear Material License No. SNM-
124,'' January 1999, ADAMS No. ML031150418.
2. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental
Assessment for Proposed License Amendments to Special Nuclear
Material License No. SNM-124 Regarding Downblending and Oxide
Conversion of Surplus High-Enriched Uranium,'' June 2002, ADAMS No.
ML021790068.
3. U.S. Department of Energy, ``Disposition of Surplus High
Enriched Uranium Final Environmental Impact Statement,'' DOE/EIS-
0240, Volume 1, June 1996. This document is available to the public
from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal
Road, Springfield, VA 22161.
4. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for the BLEU
Preparation Facility,'' September 2003, ADAMS No. ML032390428.
5. B. M. Moore, Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., Letter to U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``License Amendment Request for the
Oxide Conversion Building and the Effluent Processing Building at
the BLEU Complex,'' October 23, 2003, ADAMS No. ML033420637.
6. B. M. Moore, Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., Letter to U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Supplemental Environmental Report
for Licensing Actions to Support the BLEU Project,'' November 9,
2001, ADAMS No. ML013330459.
7. D. Shults, Tennessee Division of Radiological Health, E-mail
to K. Ramsey, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``Consultation on
Environmental Assessment for Nuclear Fuel Services,'' April 12,
2004, ADAMS No. ML041050007.
8. H. Harper, Tennessee Historical Commission, Letter to K.
Ramsey, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``NRC, BLEU Project/
Nuclear Fuel Services, Erwin, Unicoi County,'' March 22, 2004, ADAMS
No. ML040930253.
9. B. M. Moore, Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., Letter to U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ``NFS Response to Request for
Additional Information for Oxide Conversion Building and Effluent
Processing Building at the BLEU Complex,'' April 30, 2004, ADAMS No.
ML041280552.
10. L. Barclay, U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife
Service, Letter to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, May 11, 2004,
ADAMS No. ML041450299.
III. Final Finding of No Significant Impact
Pursuant to 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff has considered the
environmental consequences of amending NRC Materials License SNM-124 to
authorize operations in the OCB and EPB. On the basis of this
assessment, the Commission has concluded that environmental impacts
associated with the proposed action would not be significant and the
Commission is making a finding of no significant impact. Accordingly,
the preparation of an EIS is not warranted.
IV. Further Information
For further details, see the references listed above. Unless
otherwise noted, documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at
the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North,
Room O-1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. In addition,
documents related to this proposed action will be available
electronically for public inspection from the NRC Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC
Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (the Public
Electronic Reading Room). Persons who do not have access to ADAMS, or
who encounter problems accessing documents in ADAMS, should contact the
PDR reference staff at (800) 397-4209 or (301) 415-4737, or by e-mail
to pdr@nrc.gov.
[[Page 34202]]
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of June, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Gary S. Janosko,
Chief, Fuel Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and
Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 04-13749 Filed 6-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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49 Salt Lake Tribune: State's N-waste oversight process to be delayed
June 18, 2004
By Judy Fahys
Federal regulators need a couple of more months before
putting Utah in charge of all the low-level radioactive waste
coming to the state.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said August will
be the soonest that Utah can become an "agreement state," giving
the Utah Department of Environmental Quality broader control over
hot waste.
"It's just taking longer than expected," said the NRC's
Dennis Sollenberger. The problem is not technical or
philosophical, he said, just a backlog within his agency.
Although the move has been in the works for five years, the
state's push for greater oversight became more urgent last fall.
That's when Congress cleared the way for highly contaminated
radium waste to be disposed of at Envirocare of Utah in Tooele
County -- even though the same waste would be banned by Utah
under a different label. The waste could have come to Utah
because part of the privately owned and operated Envirocare
landfill is under federal oversight, not the state's.
"Agreement-state" status will give the Division of Radiation
Control authority over all the operations at Envirocare, and the
state will have more say over the International Uranium Corp.
recycling mill near Blanding.
The NRC has its own standards for how radioactive waste
should be disposed. It already has granted full agreement-state
status to Texas, Colorado and Washington. South Carolina and Ohio
also have the NRC's blessing to handle low-level waste regulation
within their borders.
For most of the past year, federal regulators have been
discussing the strengths and weaknesses of Utah's oversight with
state officials and interested citizens.
Moab resident Sarah Fields praised state oversight as a way
of improving regulation of the sites, especially with regard to
water quality.
"I think they'll keep on top of the situation at White Mesa,"
she said.
But in written comments on behalf of the Glen Canyon Group of
the Sierra Club, Fields criticized the state for failing to
include Indian tribes and environmentalists on an advisory task
force and questioned whether federal law will allow the state to
have full authority over the type of material typically processed
and disposed at the White Mesa site.
She also urged regulators to make sure that full access to
licensing and oversight documents is readily available to the
public, as it is on the NRC's Web site.
The state's regulatory program for radiation came under fire
last month after a review by the legislative auditor general. The
auditors criticized how the agency handles paperwork and budget
-- administrative chores that support state efforts to ensure
that radioactive waste facilities are operated safely.
With state control, citizens and radioactive waste companies
will have better access to those carrying out the law, said Dane
Finerfrock, director of the Utah Division of Radiation Control.
Instead of having to communicate with NRC officials in Texas or
Washington, they can arrange to meet with NRC's Utah counterpart
in the Department of Environmental Quality.
He said: "We are more open to citizens being active and
involved in our process."
fahys@sltrib.com
Copyright Salt Lake City Tribune
*****************************************************************
50 Daily Yomiuri: N-fuel reprocessing makes sense for Japan
Yomiuri Shimbun
A nuclear fuel-reprocessing plant constructed in Rokkashomura,
Aomori Prefecture, by Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. has finished
preparations for test operations. The government has already
approved the test. It can start next month if the Aomori
prefectural government also approves it. Since some problems
occurred during construction of the plant, the test should be
conducted carefully.
The facility will become the hub for the nuclear fuel cycle in
Japan. It should be put into full operation as soon as possible
so it can fulfill that role.
At the plant, plutonium and uranium will be extracted from spent
nuclear fuel and used again as fresh fuel for nuclear plants.
This is a more efficient way to use uranium rather than using it
only once and discarding it. The amount of nuclear waste
generated will be drastically reduced, too. The nuclear fuel
cycle will maximize the advantage that nuclear power generation
offers--ensuring a stable supply of electricity for a long time.
===
Cost not only factor to weigh
Construction of the plant began in 1993, funded by 2.14 trillion
yen from Japan Nuclear Fuel, which is financed jointly by the 10
electric power companies in the nation. The government has
supported the construction, too, touting realization of the
nuclear fuel cycle as a national policy.
Nonetheless, some members of the government are now demanding a
review of that policy as the time for revision of the
government's long-term plan for the study, development and use of
nuclear energy, which comes round every five years, has arrived.
The review advocates see the enormous costs of reprocessing as a
problem. Preparing for further liberalization of the electricity
market, the electric power industry has estimated long-term costs
for reprocessing to be 19 trillion yen. They consider this too
high.
But this is the total cost necessary for the next 80 years. Even
with this amount added, the costs of nuclear power generation
will still be less than those incurred through power generation
using oil and other fuels.
Some critics of the reprocessing plan say it should be aborted.
But if not reprocessed, spent nuclear fuel has to be stored or
abandoned. That also costs a lot, which means that the 19
trillion yen cost is not so outrageous.
Even if the reprocessing cost is passed on to consumers, it is
estimated to total only 105 yen per month per household. This is
a burden, but seeing the costs involved as a problem is
shortsighted because there is no guarantee that adequate oil and
gas supplies will continue to be available in the future.
===
N-power key energy source
The Aomori prefectural government has become concerned about the
possible change in the central government's nuclear fuel cycle
policy and is growing increasingly cautious of approving the
plant's test operations.
But if the plant is not run for a long time, nuclear power plants
around the country will experience trouble. The amount of spent
nuclear fuel is approaching the limit of storage capacity at some
plants. That may force them to halt operations.
Of course, the facility in Rokkashomura alone cannot reprocess
all the spent nuclear fuel from the nuclear power plants around
the nation. Part of it will have to be kept at interim storage
facilities. How it should be treated in the future remains a
problem.
Nuclear power generates nearly 40 percent of electricity in
Japan. Measures to protect this major electricity source should
be discussed in the process of revising the government's
long-term nuclear development plan.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 19)
Copyright 2004 The Yomiuri Shimbun
*****************************************************************
51 Daily Yomiuri: N-reprocessing seen key to energy policy
Masae HonmaC Takeshi Kurihara and Toshinao Ishii Yomiuri Shimbun
Staff Writers
The tests operations approved Thursday at Japan Nuclear Fuel
Ltd.'s nuclear fuel-reprocessing plant in Rokkashomura, Aomori
Prefecture, are a giant step toward securing a stable supply of
energy for the country, but there are many hurdles still to be
overcome. For one thing, the cost of running the nuclear
fuel-reprocessing plant remains enormous. In addition, a way has
to be found to reduce the nation's stocks of dangerous plutonium.
With debate heating up over whether nuclear fuel reprocessing
should be carried out, Rokkashomura residents view the
forthcoming tests with a mixture of expectation and anxiety.
Full-scale test operations at the facility will use real
radioactive waste. The tests are crucial for Japan's nuclear
power policy, since any failure would mean the plant could not
open in 2006 as scheduled.
With a lack of conventional energy resources, Japan has sought to
establish a nuclear fuel cycle. This would involve reprocessing
plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel to produce fresh
nuclear fuel.
After a series of problems, the plan is on the brink of falling
apart, however.
The Monju fast-breeder reactor, which would have consumed a large
amount of plutonium, was shut down after a leak of sodium coolant
occurred in 1995.
Four years later, the implementation of the pluthermal plan,
under which plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel (MOX) was to be
used in conventional nuclear reactors, was suspended when British
Nuclear Fuels Ltd. was found to have falsified data on MOX fuel.
Implementation of the plan was subsequently postponed to 2007.
As a result, stocks of spent nuclear fuel at nuclear power plants
have been increasing.
Meanwhile, the lifetime cost of running and later decommissioning
the fuel reprocessing plant was revealed to be about 19 trillion
yen, giving fresh ammunition to those pressing the government to
abandon reprocessing.
Even government officials are divided over whether the project
should be given the green light.
A senior official of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry
said that, under the current circumstances, a review of the
nuclear fuel cycle would be inevitable if terrorists attacked the
reprocessing plant or if there was an accident.
After more than 400 technical problems, including a pipe leak,
other countries are watching to see whether the test will
succeed.
On the other hand, while the reprocessing plant involves some
risk, it could bring investment and jobs to Rokkashomura.
The prefectural government has to conclude a safety agreement
with Japan Nuclear Fuel before the test begins. As a precondition
for concluding the agreement, Aomori Gov. Shingo Mimura plans to
seek assurance from the central government that it will not alter
existing plans for the nuclear fuel cycle. Mimura plans to make
his appeal after the cabinet reshuffle that is expected to follow
the July 11 election.
The experience of the Mutsu Ogawara Kaihatsu development project
taught prefectural politicians to be wary of changes of heart in
Tokyo.
To be funded by national and local governments, as well as the
private sector, the 5,200-hectare development project was to
create a massive new industrial park. The 1965 project has
languished following prolonged wrangling, however.
Against this backdrop, the prefecture accepted the construction
of the nuclear fuel reprocessing facility. The prefectural
government is expected to rake in about 11.7 billion yen in
fiscal 2004 in nuclear fuel taxes from the reprocessing plant and
other related facilities. That is about 10 percent of the
prefectural government's tax revenues.
The local business sector hopes the plant will go into operation
as early as possible since its operations are expected to create
business opportunities.
But many citizens in the prefecture are concerned about the
nuclearization of northern Honshu.
A prefectural assembly member said he could not accept the
government's policy of imposing unwanted facilities on
depopulated areas. But Yosaku Fuji, the head of the Federation of
Electric Power Companies of Japan, said that in the long run, the
reprocessing plant would contribute to the nation's limited
resources. The plant can also reprocess spent nuclear fuel
produced by nuclear power plants, stocks of which have been
accumulating in the absence of any reprocessing plant.
As of the end of March, 11,110 tons of spent nuclear fuel was
stored at 52 nuclear power plants across the country. Tokyo
Electric Power Co. and Kansai Electric Power Co. have already
transported 888 tons of such fuel to the Rokkashomura plant.
If the nuclear fuel cycle is suspended, the spent nuclear fuel
will have to be moved out of the plant in line with a memorandum
drawn up by Rokkashomura and Japan Nuclear Fuel.
The storage facilities at TEPCO's Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power
plant and other facilities that supply electricity to the
metropolitan area will be full in two years if they are not
allowed to transport spent nuclear fuel to other locations.
That would force TEPCO to suspend operation of its nuclear power
plants.
But the estimated 19 trillion yen cost of the reprocessing plant
over its expected 40 years of operation and the additional 40
years it will take to decommission it remains a huge problem. The
general energy research council, an advisory panel to the METI
minister, is studying ways to help shoulder such a cost, which
equates to about 105 yen per household, per month.
Copyright 2004 The Yomiuri Shimbun
*****************************************************************
52 Las Vegas RJ: Democrats close voter gap
Friday, June 18, 2004
Bush to visit today in bid for re-election By SEAN WHALEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
CARSON CITY -- As President Bush prepared to visit Nevada today
to win support for his re-election campaign, the secretary of
state's office reported that the battleground state with five
electoral votes is getting more competitive between the major
parties.
Secretary of State Dean Heller, in information released
Thursday, showed that Democrats in May closed the gap with
Republicans by 1,442 voters.
The gap now stands at 10,131, with 358,321 Republicans, 348,190
Democrats and 129,913 non-partisan voters.
Bush is expected to talk about the war in Iraq and the nation's
economy when he delivers his remarks at 1:50 p.m. at the
Reno-Sparks Convention Center.
He is expected to be introduced by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Democrats started their protests of his visit early, holding a
news conference outside the Veterans Administration's Lougaris
Medical Center in Reno to criticize Bush on a range of topics
from the Yucca Mountain Project to his funding of the Veterans
Administration.
The main focus was Bush's 2002 approval of Yucca Mountain as the
site for a high-level radioactive waste dump.
Bush said during his first election campaign in 2000 that he
would base his decision on Yucca Mountain on "sound science,"
but Democrats criticized his decision as a political one.
"We think President Bush has a whole lot to answer for over the
last four years," said Chris Wicker, chairman of the Washoe
County Democratic Party. "President Bush came to Nevada four
years ago, and he lied. What he told Nevada is that he would
allow sound science to determine whether or not to support Yucca
Mountain in Nevada."
John Kerry, who is the presumptive Democratic presidential
candidate, opposes the repository, Wicker said.
Nevada's top Republican political leaders, including Gov. Kenny
Guinn and Attorney General Brian Sandoval, who is the state
chairman for the Bush-Cheney re-election effort, also oppose the
Yucca Mountain repository.
Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said Democrats are
focusing on Yucca Mountain in Nevada because Kerry has no vision
for the country and nothing to offer Nevada voters.
Kerry's campaign is all about "doom and gloom," and he
continually talks down the economy, he said.
Bush's policies are working and Nevada's economy is doing very
well, Schmidt said.
"The two big issues facing the country are winning the war on
terror and growing the economy to create jobs and opportunity,"
Schmidt said. "That will be the focus for voters."
The Democratic protest of Bush's visit will continue today, with
at least 200 demonstrators expected at the convention center.
And Northern Nevada residents who tune into the radio will hear
an ad on several stations highly critical of Bush because of his
Yucca Mountain decision.
Paid for by the Democratic-leaning group the Media Fund, the ad
features Nevadan Judy Treichel, who has spent years fighting the
Yucca Mountain repository with the Nevada Nuclear Waste Task
Force.
In the ad, which will run in the morning only, Treichel says,
"Mr. Bush, your plan for Yucca Mountain is wrong. The science is
wrong. The site is wrong. And the way you lied to us is wrong.
Four years ago, you told us sound science would decide Yucca
Mountain."
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
53 Las Vegas RJ: Poll finds slight rise in acceptance of Yucca plans
Friday, June 18, 2004
Many see building offacility as inevitable By KEITH ROGERS
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Nevadans since last year have warmed up slightly to the Yucca
Mountain nuclear waste project, and a large majority of voters
still feel a repository will be built, according to a new poll
conducted for the Nuclear Energy Institute.
The poll's results, released Thursday, show that 33 percent of a
random sampling of registered voters approved of the government's
plans to put the nation's spent nuclear fuel and highly
radioactive waste in the mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las
Vegas.
That's up from 26 percent who approved of the project in a
similar poll conducted last year for the institute, the lobbying
arm of the nuclear power industry.
Likewise, the percentage who disapproved of the project dropped
to 64 percent, down from 71 percent in 2003. The poll was
criticized by opponents of the project. Bob Loux, executive
director of the Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency and a critic of
the Department of Energy's plans for a repository, said the
survey used "classic push-poll techniques" in which the answer is
set forth in the question to obtained a desired answer.
For example, one question asks, "Given that the Yucca Mountain
site has been deemed scientifically safe, do you support
continued development?" The poll found that 35 percent supported
development, down from 40 percent in 2003.
Loux was quick to note, "It has not been deemed scientifically
safe by anybody, even the president and the Department of Energy.
They don't even say it's been deemed safe. They say it's suitable
for the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) to see if it's safe.
"This reminds me of the same sort of junk science DOE is using
where you have the answer in mind that you know you want and you
ask the questions to get it," he said. But Robert List, a
consultant for the institute, said the poll "tells us that
Nevadans feel this project is upon us and ... we as a state and
communities need to face the realities that it's going to happen.
"We need to meet it head-on and make sure it's done right and
make sure we catch the benefits as they flow," said List, a
Republican who was Nevada's governor from 1979 to 1982.
He estimated that the repository, which first must be licensed
and then constructed to accept waste as early as 2010, will bring
2,000 jobs and a $200 million payroll to Nevada.
Like last year's poll conducted for the Nuclear Energy
Institute, this year's found that most voters, 78 percent, think
Nevada should start negotiating for federal money for hosting a
repository at Yucca Mountain, up from 76 percent in 2003.
Similarly, a combined 89 percent believe a Yucca Mountain
repository is either "inevitable" or "probably" will be built, a
1 percent increase in what the Nuclear Energy Institute poll
found last year.
A poll conducted in 2002 for the Review-Journal by Mason-Dixon
Polling &Research Inc. found that 83 percent of Nevada voters
were opposed to building a repository at Yucca Mountain.
This year's Nuclear Energy Institute poll by MRCGroup was
conducted by computer-assisted telephone interviews of 1,000
respondents from May 5 through May 12. The sample size leaves a
plus-or-minus 3 percent margin of error.
Based on political parties, the survey included 37 percent
Democrats and 47 percent Republicans.
The survey's executive summary states that the poll weighted the
data to compensate for the political differences, which "produced
no significant changes in conclusions or observations."
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
54 RGJ: Nevadans want to hear about Yucca Mountain
Reno Gazette-Journal
Anjeanette Damon
6/17/2004 11:44 pm
When President Bush addresses a crowd of 6,500 supporters in Reno
today, Republicans and Democrats alike want to hear him talk
about the one issue that has topped the campaign lists of Nevada
politicians for decades: Yucca Mountain.
Democrats hope Bush’s approval to store the nation’s nuclear
waste at Yucca Mountain in Southern Nevada is the key to his
defeat in the Silver State.
And while most of the state’s top-ranking Republicans remain
steadfastly opposed to the dump, a growing contingent of GOP
voters and politicians are convinced the project is inevitable
and safe. They want to see Nevada start benefiting from the
project and want to hear Bush say how that will happen.
The fact Bush approved the site at all makes a convenient
platform for Democrats and they plan to take advantage of it.
When Democrats begin swinging at Bush, one of the first punches
thrown is on Yucca Mountain.
“He lied,” said Chris Wicker, chairman of the Washoe County
Democratic Party. “He lied to every single person in Nevada.”
During Bush’s 2000 campaign, he wrote a letter to Gov. Kenny
Guinn promising to base his decision on where to send the
nation’s nuclear waste on science, not politics.
“As president, I would not sign legislation that would send
nuclear waste to any proposed site unless it’s been deemed
scientifically safe,” Bush’s letter said. “I also believe the
federal government must work with the local and state governments
that will be affected to address safety and transportation
issues.”
Two years later, U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham
recommended and Bush approved Yucca Mountain as the site for the
nation’s nuclear waste repository. An estimated 77,000 tons of
the nation’s most radioactive waste would be stored deep inside
the mountain about 90 miles north of Las Vegas under the plan.
Guinn vetoed the president’s decision, but Congress overrode the
veto.
In an interview last week, Karl Rove, Bush’s top political
adviser, said the president based his decision on more than 20
years of research.
“It was not a decision he made lightly,” Rove said. “He based his
decision on what he thought was right. He came to a sober,
reasoned, thoughtful conclusion.”
But critics contend scientific questions abound about the safety
of the canisters and the site itself.
“There is not a single independent scientific organization or
body that supports the Department of Energy’s position on Yucca
Mountain,” said Bob Loux, Nevada’s director of nuclear projects.
“President Bush took less than a day to review thousands of pages
of documents and thousands of pages of scientific studies and
literally did it overnight. That is what is causing a lot of
people to question this is based in sound science.”
The question of whether Yucca Mountain is relevant to this
campaign is moot.
The state is in the middle of a massive federal lawsuit to stop
the project. Congress is debating how to make sure the project
gets enough funding to succeed. How the waste will be transported
through the state tops the list of issues Reno Mayor Bob Cashell
wants to discuss with Bush.
And most importantly, a sitting president has the power to stop
it.
The Department of Energy is preparing to submit a license
application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which will
review millions of documents to determine whether the site meets
health and safety requirements.
“Any president could direct the department not to submit a
license application,” Loux said. “It would be a very easy thing
for Bush or a new president to do.”
Bush’s presumed Democratic rival, U.S. Sen. John Kerry, has
opposed Yucca Mountain in his congressional voting record and in
campaign speeches in Las Vegas.
Bob List, a consultant for the Nuclear Energy Institute, which
supports Yucca Mountain, said it is unfair to blame Bush for the
dump.
“This project has been advanced over a period of 20 years, by
four presidents,” he said. “At the time (Bush) made his decision,
$6 billion had been spent to understand the science.”
Many of Nevada’s highest ranking elected Republicans, including
Guinn, U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Reno, and Attorney General Brian
Sandoval oppose the nuclear waste dump and are fighting in court
to stop it.
Guinn and Sandoval, ironically, co-chair Bush’s campaign in
Nevada. They said they and the president have “agreed to
disagree” on the Yucca Mountain issue.
Other Republicans are beginning to lobby for a different
approach.
Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, toured
the Yucca Mountain facility last month. When he returned, he
announced the state should begin negotiations for benefits.
“I’m absolutely convinced there is no significant risk,” he said
last month. “And we aren’t going to convince anyone there is a
significant risk. Therefore we’re going to get it.
“If we don’t do something soon to negotiate for it, we’ll get
nothing.”
At the Republican State Convention, the party adopted a platform
that urged the state to negotiate with federal officials to
mitigate activities on federally-controlled land in the state.
Bill Brainard, a 69-year-old retired lawyer who is active in
Republican politics, said he favors building the repository in
Nevada, saying the state could benefit from it.
“For people who are reasonable, it is only a question of when it
happens, not whether it is going to happen,” he said. “In my
judgment, we are hurting our chances of making the best deal for
Nevada possible.”
Brainard said he doesn’t expect Bush to change his mind about
Yucca Mountain, but he hopes to hear the president tell Nevadans
today what the government will do to compensate them.
And many Democrats admit they wouldn’t vote for Bush, even if he
changed his mind about Yucca Mountain. Instead, they say it is
more of an indication about his integrity and reliability.
“This is the seminal issue of this election,” said U.S. Rep.
Shelley Berkley, D-Las Vegas. “It has as much to do with
credibility and veracity and honesty and truth as it does with
the substantive part of the issue, which is fundamentally
important to the people in Nevada.”
But Eric Herzik, political analyst and political science
professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, said the issue
doesn’t have the power to sway the presidential election in
Nevada.
“The people for whom Yucca Mountain is important wouldn’t vote
for Bush anyway,” he said. “And while a majority of Nevadans
oppose Yucca Mountain, it is not one of their key decision
issues.”
© Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett
*****************************************************************
55 Bradenton Herald: Tallevast prompts change in DEP policy
| 06/18/2004 |
KEVIN O'HORAN
Herald Staff Writer
TALLEVAST - Florida regulators, stung by criticism they kept
Tallevast residents in the dark for years about groundwater
pollution near the former American Beryllium Co. plant, plan to
let residents know immediately about contamination found in
communities.
In a June 17 internal memo, Allan Bedwell, regulatory programs
director at Florida's Department of Environmental Protection,
called for writing state rules that would require companies to
alert residents as soon as pollution hits their land.
While a step forward, the change still wouldn't go far enough,
said Laura Ward, president of Family Oriented Community United,
Strong (FOCUS), a Tallevast-area group.
"Why wouldn't they notify everyone in a community?" Ward said.
"Why would they just tell the people where they find
contamination and not the entire community?"
Residents near the beryllium plant at 1600 Tallevast Road have
wondered that often in recent weeks, noting that nearly four
years passed between officials finding cancer-causing solvents at
the site and community members learning of the problem.
Officials with Lockheed Martin Corp., the aerospace giant that
bought the 5-acre plant in 1996, discovered the contamination in
January 2000 as they prepared to sell the site to WPI Inc., the
current owners.
Even after subsequent testing found grease-cutting solvents like
trichloroethylene had moved to groundwater beyond plant
boundaries and at quantities far exceeding state standards,
neither the company nor DEP told residents.
Steps in the process
Lockheed leaders have said they were only following the direction
of regulators and reiterated that thought when reached for
comment about the proposed rule.
"There's a process to follow, but sometimes it doesn't move as
fast as we'd like," said Gail Rymer, a Lockheed spokeswoman.
DEP officials have stood by that process, and the decision not to
notify residents, noting their practice has been to alert
residents only if contamination poses a direct risk or after a
cleanup plan is in place.
They've stood by it, that is, until now.
"The experience at the American Beryllium site has underscored
the need to put this rule into place without delay," Bedwell
said.
American Beryllium may have underscored it, but Florida lawmakers
actually spelled it out, passing the Global Risk-Based Corrective
Action bill during the 2003 session in Tallahassee.
That legislation directed the department to apply the same strict
rules already spelled out for petroleum, dry cleaning and a host
of industries to sites contaminated by solvents, like American
Beryllium.
Namely, requiring companies to search for, though not necessarily
test, public wells and private wells in the area. Companies also
would have to notify not just DEP but also local government
agencies. And, as now, notify the public when a cleanup plan is
cleared.
Notification debated
"What we're trying to do is put together a notice provision that
is actually consistent and effective among all the different
activities that occur statewide," said Mike Sole, director of
DEP's waste management division.
But, he acknowledged, that doesn't include notifying everyone in
a community about contamination at a plant. Nor does it mean
spreading the word to everyone in a community if contamination is
found only at sporadic homes, as in Tallevast.
That's the best approach, Sole said, because that keeps the
agency from having to go door to door for every minor,
nonthreatening release, such as a plant worker tipping over a
5-gallon can of gasoline and then mopping it up.
"At what point do you draw the line?" Sole said.
Whenever there's contamination found, Ward replied.
"That's ridiculous," she said of the limited-notice approach.
"You don't have to go out and alarm people, but you have to at
least go out and tell people, 'There's the possibility you may
get contamination, and we're going to test for it.' "
Ward and other Tallevast residents still have a chance to get
that wider approach written into state law.
The proposed rule, already in the works for "several months"
according to Bedwell, will head to the state's environmental
regulatory commission for its first public review until August. A
month later, that panel is expected to decide on the proposal.
Anyone interested in weighing in on the plan can do so in writing
or by phone to DEP in the meantime or sound off at either of the
meetings, Sole said.
Just as Ward plans to.
"We certainly will comment," Ward said of the FOCUS group.
"It's actually trauma, the trauma that we've gone through. If
this can prevent another community from having to suffer through
this, then we'll do it."
*****************************************************************
56 Journal Gazette: Nuclear waste issue shadows Bush in Nevada
| 06/18/2004 |
Associated Press
CARSON CITY, Nev. President Bush is expected to promote a
booming economy and national security during a campaign visit
today to Nevada, where controversy lingers over a high-level
nuclear waste dump the president has supported and Democratic
rival John Kerry has opposed.
Bush, in his second visit to Nevada as president, plans to
deliver an afternoon speech in Reno after appearances in the
state of Washington. His campaign chairman, Marc Racicot, said he
didnt know whether Bushs support for the nuclear waste dump at
Yucca Mountain will tighten a race he already expects to be
close.
In 2002 the Bush administration and Congress approved a plan to
store at Yucca Mountain 77,000 tons of radioactive waste held in
39 states.
Nevada is challenging the project in the courts, and Sen. Harry
Reid, D-Nev., has opposed financing funding for the project.
Racicot said Nevada residents know that the president has been
entirely honest about the Yucca Mountain plan. During the 2000
campaign, Bush pledged to base a decision on science instead of
politics, which Racicot said the president has done. The
Bush-Cheney campaign hopes Nevada voters will understand their
obligations and duties in helping resolve a strategic problem on
disposal of nuclear waste from across the nation, Racicot said.
Sean Smith, Kerrys Nevada communications director, questioned
Bushs position on the plan to send nuclear waste to the state.
Im amazed that guy is showing his face in this state, Smith
said.
*****************************************************************
57 Press Herald: Nevada storage for nuclear waste not expected soon
Maine Yankee's nuclear plant waste probably won't be moved for
20 years, a plant official says. -->
Friday, June 18, 2004
By DENNIS HOEY, Portland Press Herald Writer
WISCASSET — It looks as though Maine will be stuck with high
level nuclear waste for at least another 20 years. Susan A.
Smith, a senior policy analyst with the U.S. Department of
Energy, told the Community Advisory Panel on Decommissioning
Thursday night that the federal government wants Yucca Mountain
in Nevada to begin accepting nuclear waste in 2010.
But Smith was unable to give any assurances that the waste from
the Maine Yankee nuclear power plant, which is stored in
Wiscasset, would be given disposal priority or that the Yucca
Mountain facility would actually be operating in six years. Maine
Yankee Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Michael
Meisner, said 2023 is a more likely date than 2010.
The project faces financial and legal hurdles. The state of
Nevada is suing the DOE, claiming the site is ill-suited for such
a use. And Maine Yankee is one of 65 utility companies nationwide
suing the DOE for breach of contract over delays in accepting
nuclear waste - the target date was January 1998.
Maine Yankee, which is being joined in the legal action by Yankee
Rowe and Connecticut Yankee, is seeking $160 million in damages,
according to spokesman Eric Howes. The so-called "Yankees suit,"
which will be heard by the U.S. Federal Court of Claims, is
scheduled to begin next month.
"We're going to have to keep the nuclear waste here and that
means having a great security concern for years to come," said
Maria Holt, a nuclear activist from Bath, who was unable to
attend Thursday's presentation.
Howes said Smith's visit was the first time a high-ranking DOE
official has met with the 15-member panel, which was formed to
monitor the decommissioning of Maine Yankee. The panel includes
state legislators, private citizens, nuclear activists and
environmentalists. The decommissioning will be completed next
year.
Maine Yankee officials also gave a presentation Thursday on the
dome, the last remnant of the state's only nuclear power plant.
The 15-story dome, which contained the nuclear reactor, will be
demolished around Labor Day, according to William Henries, Maine
Yankee's director of engineering. Explosives will be used to blow
out the dome's foundation, causing it to collapse.
"When it hits the ground it is going to go bang," Henries said.
Smith, the DOE official, said her agency plans to file a
construction application for Yucca Mountain with the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission in December. The NRC is expected to take
about three years to review the application before authorizing
the DOE to proceed with construction.
In the meantime, the DOE is developing plans for a 300-mile-long
railroad in Nevada that will allow high level nuclear waste to be
transported to the Yucca Mountain site, where the materials will
be buried 1,000 feet under ground.
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 725-8795 or at:
*****************************************************************
58 Charleston.Net: Opinion: Editorials Full funding for Yucca Mountain
06/18/04
Funding for the federal government's nuclear waste repository at
Yucca Mountain is in jeopardy this year, in part because Congress
has yet to accept restrictions on how it uses a trust fund for
the project. Failure to keep the repository in Nevada on track
violates a federal promise for a waste disposal site, and further
delay will only fuel political opposition to the project.
Indeed, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry recently
promised to end the project if elected, according to the Las
Vegas Sun. While that position should play well with critics of
the repository, it doesn't answer the need to deal responsibly
with commercial and defense nuclear waste.
The byproducts of commercial reactors and defense operations are
currently stored at various sites across the nation. Savannah
River Site, for example, holds 34 million gallons of high-level
waste that is expected to be converted into glass logs and
shipped to the central repository for long-term storage.
Meanwhile, 50 nuclear power companies have filed
breach-of-contract lawsuits against the federal government for
failing to provide for long-term disposal of commercial waste as
promised. Initially, the Yucca Mountain facility was expected to
open in 1998. Now, the Department of Energy estimates that the
earliest opening date will be 2010. Scana Corp. and Santee Cooper
are among the utilities that have filed suit, seeking federal
payments to cover the cost of storing waste on site.
The Associated Press reports that a House budget subcommittee
has approved $131 million for the program next fiscal year, or
$749 million less than the Department of Energy requested. The
administration's funding request for the project is linked to
congressional restrictions on the nuclear waste trust fund,
provided by utility payments. Congress has diverted $15 billion
from the fund, mainly for deficit reduction, according to the AP.
The opposition of Nevada to the project is understandable from a
parochial point of view. But the necessity of eliminating
scattered interim waste storage around the nation is an
overarching national concern. Congress recognized that when it
promised to provide a secure, central site for waste storage.
Providing the funds for its creation is a prerequisite for
completing the preparations for Yucca Mountain, and eliminating
further delays.
Copyright © 2004, The Post and Courier, All Rights Reserved.
webmaster@postandcourier.com
*****************************************************************
59 OA Online: Conference on uranium-enrichment plant ends
Thursday, 17 June 2004
American Online c /o Odessa American 222 E. 4th Street P.O. Box
2952 Odessa, TX 79760
Odessa American
HOBBS, N.M. — A pre-hearing conference on a proposed uranium
enrichment plant near Eunice has ended with a suggestion to the
parties that they work out issues where there is some agreement.
The event was conducted Tuesday by the Atomic Safety and
Licensing Board at the Lea County Event Center in Hobbs. It had
been scheduled to continue into Wednesday, but everything was
wrapped up Tuesday, said Scott Burnell, public affairs officer
for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Louisiana Energy Services, a consortium of energy companies,
proposes spending $1.2 billion on the proposed plant called the
National Enrichment Facility.
The New Mexico Environment Department, New Mexico attorney
general, Nuclear Information and Resource Service and Public
Citizen want to participate in a future mandatory hearing on the
plant. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board has until July 19 to
decide which contentions it views as valid.
After that, Burnell said the board will schedule a mandatory
hearing.
Nuclear Information and Resource Service raised the possibility
that runoff could possibly carry contamination from waste storage
cylinders to groundwater, Burnell said.
The Washington, D.C.-based organization also said the plant would
put a higher demand on the local aquifer. But LES said its
projected usage would not impact the aquifer, Burnell said.
The panel also suggested further analysis of possible accidents
at the natural gas transmission facility near the proposed plant,
Burnell said.
Among the other concerns covered during the hearing were the
economic viability of the plant, the question of where and how
the spent nuclear waste will be disposed of and whether LES will
have the money to pay to decommission the plant after its
proposed 30-year lifespan.
*****************************************************************
60 News & Star: BNFL RAP OVER CONTAMINATED PIPELINE
06:35 - 19 June 2004
Published on 18/06/2004
By Andrea Thompson
SELLAFIELD has come under fire for faulty pipelines used to pump
radioactive waste into the sea.
The Environment Agency yesterday served an enforcement notice on
the nuclear reprocessing site for its failure to properly
maintain pipelines used to discharge low level radioactive waste
from the site into the Irish Sea.
Two pieces of rubber gasket, contaminated with radioactivity,
were found by BNFL during routine surveys of beaches earlier this
year.
It was later discovered that both sections had become detached
from the seaward end of one of the operational pipelines.
Both gaskets were discovered separately during routine BNFL
checks of the Sellafield and Seascale beaches in January and
February.
The radiation levels of both items were found to be low and
presented little potential hazard to the public.
But they were confirmed as being above the agreed reporting
levels.
Andy Mayall, the Environment Agency's Nuclear Regulator, said:
“Although the risks to the public on this occasion were low, this
type of incident is both undesirable and preventable.
“That is why we have issued the enforcement notice.”
It means BNFL will have to undertake a thorough review of its
inspection and maintenance of the discharge pipelines and make
any required improvements."
The agency will also need a review to be undertaken of the
company's pipeline design, with all work to be completed within
an agreed timescale.
The enforcement notice has been issued because of BNFL's failure
to comply with a condition of the authorisation granted to them
by the Environment Agency, which allows Sellafield to discharge
radioactively contaminated water from the site via pipelines into
the Irish Sea.
A key condition of the permit requires BNFL to maintain and keep
in good repair the systems used for the discharge of radioactive
waste.
A Sellafield spokesman said: “The discovery of gasket material on
the beach was publicly reported by us at the time of the event.
Since then, we have carried out a detailed internal inquiry and
are already implementing a range of improvements, including all
of the work required by the Environment Agency.
“We are determined to learn from this event to ensure that no
repeat occurs."
What's your view of this story? Email the News &Star at
news@cumbrian-newspapers.co.ukor post it on our Forums
*****************************************************************
61 Las Vegas SUN: Northern Nevada Democrats accuse president of
lying on Yucca Mountain
ASSOCIATED PRESS
RENO, Nev. (AP) - On the eve of George W. Bush's first visit to
northern Nevada, Democrats again accused the Republican president
of lying about a southern Nevada issue - Yucca Mountain.
"President Bush came to Nevada four years ago and he lied," Chris
Wicker, chairman of the Washoe County Democratic Party said at a
news conference on Thursday.
"He said it was based on sound science and he lied."
A handful of Democrats spoke out to reporters and television
crews a day before Bush was scheduled to tout a booming economy
and national security at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.
The Democrats, along with opponents of the war in Iraq and foes
of the Patriot Act said they planned to be on hand outside
Friday's visit by the president.
In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Bush-Cheney campaign
chairman Marc Racicot said he didn't know whether Bush's support
for a high-level nuclear waste dump in southern Nevada would
figure in tightening his race against the expected Democratic
nominee, John Kerry, who opposes the dump.
Racicot said the president has been entirely honest with Nevadans
about Yucca Mountain. In the 2000 campaign, Bush said he would
base his decision on "sound science" and not politics. Racicot
said the president lived up to that promise.
--
*****************************************************************
62 Vanunu Interview on BBC World; Appeal Hearing Set
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 14:37:10 -0700
Free Mordechai Vanunu - Info & Action Alert #24 -
Vanunu Interview on BBC World; Appeal Hearing Set
** PLEASE FORWARD TO SYMPATHETIC LISTS **
1. BBC World TV to broacast Vanunu interview
2. Hearing set for appeal of restrictions on Vanunu's freedom
3. Summer, 2004 "I Am Your Spy" (newsletter of the U.S. Campaign) now
available
4. Postcards honoring Mordechai Vanunu on sale - 10/$5 postpaid
5. Write to Mordechai
===================
1. BBC World TV to broacast Vanunu interview
BBC World TV will broadcast the interview with Mordechai Vanunu this
Saturday, 19th June.
Time zones:
In the US Eastern Time: 03:10, 07:10, 14:10
In Europe:Germany: 10:10, 14:10, 21:10
In The UK: 09:10, 13:10, 20:10
In Israel: 11:10, 15:10, 22:10
In Australia: 18:10, 22:10
===================
2. Hearing set for appeal of restrictions on Vanunu's freedom.
Regarding the appeal of the restrictions filed on behalf of Mordechai
Vanunu by Dan Yakir and Oded Feller with the Association of Civil Rights in
Israel (ACRI), there is a hearing scheduled for Monday, June 28 at 9 a.m.
before a panel of the most senior justices of the Supreme Court - President
Barak, Deputy President Maza and Justice Cheshin. It is not certain if
this is a preliminary or full hearing.
===================
3. Summer, 2004 "I Am Your Spy" (newsletter of the U.S. Campaign) now
available
If you would like to receive a printed copy of the latest issue of "I Am
Your Spy", the newsltter of the U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu,
please send your postal address to us via e-mail to freevanunu@mindspring.com
===================
4. Postcards honoring Mordechai Vanunu on sale - 10/$5 postpaid
Postcards with the same image as the posters held by supporters outside
Ashkelon Prison on April 21 ("Thank You Mordechai Vanunu - Peace Hero,
Nuclear Whistleblower") are available from the U.S. Campaign in packets of
10 for $5. Send payment in US$ to the U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai
Vanunu, POB 43384, Tucson, AZ 85733.
=================
5. Write to Mordechai
Mordechai would love to hear from his friends and supporters. You can
write to him at:
Mordechai Vanunu
c/o Cathedral Church of St. George
20 Nablus Road
PO Box 19018
Jerusalem 91190
Israel
and email him at
=================
If you would like to receive these alerts directly, please subscribe by
sending a blank e-mail to free_vanunu-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Felice Cohen-Joppa
Coordinator
U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu
POB 43384
Tucson, AZ 85733
Phone/Fax 520-323-8697
freevanunu@mindspring.com
www.nonviolence.org/vanunu
*****************************************************************
63 [southnews] Helen help us
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 20:45:52 -0500 (CDT)
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Dr Caldicott's crusade to rid the world of nuclear weapons is captured
on film by her niece
HELENS WAR tracks, through Annas eyes, the American launch of Helens
latest book, The New Nuclear Danger George W. Bushs Military
Industrial Complex (which coincided with the 9-11 attacks), and her
fund-raising efforts for the Nuclear Policy Research Institute, a
left-wing Thinktank designed to saturate the mainstream media with
sobering facts about Americas nuclear policy.
Helen help us
SMH: June 4 2004
Dr Caldicott's crusade to rid the world of nuclear weapons is captured
on film by her niece, reports Alexa Moses.
Helen's War: Portrait of a Dissident
http://www.helenswar.com/
Director: Anna Broinowski
Rated: PG
Opens: Sunday
There's a business adage, as worn as an ancient pair of Blundstones,
that says one should never do business with family. When you piss off
your family, you must live with the repercussions.
Sydney filmmaker Anna Broinowski chose to live with the consequences
when she made her documentary Helen's War: Portrait of a Dissident. It's
about her aunt, the tireless Australian anti-nuclear campaigner Dr Helen
Caldicott.
By mixing business and family, the biopic turned into a film as much
about Caldicott's relationship with her family as her politics.
A scene shows the two pugnacious redheads - one in her 30s, the other in
her 60s - arguing in a hotel room. Broinowski, who looks as if she's
partly baiting Caldicott for the camera, partly fed up with her aunt's
stridency, has told Caldicott she's a bit extreme and that's why she
loses the media.
Broinowski is lounging sulkily and Caldicott is sitting bolt upright,
but there's no mistaking their genetic link. Caldicott's set jaw and
proud nose are mirrored in Broinowski's face. Then there's the anger.
Both women are bristling.
But the on-camera fight wasn't the worst part of making the film. The
worst was when Broinowski showed Caldicott the first cut of Helen's War.
Caldicott told her niece in no uncertain terms what she thought.
"That cut had evolved after two months of me and my Canadian editor
watching Helen give speeches about the end of the world," says
Broinowski in her inner-city flat, waiting for her tiny daughter to wake.
"We had become pretty jaded and the cut showed that. Helen said, 'Anna,
what have you done? You've made me look like an anti-nuclear bag lady!
It doesn't show everything I'm about!'"
In her definite, intense way, Broinowski stresses Caldicott was right.
"I sat down with another editor and concentrated on warming her up," she
says. "That wasn't hard. She's funny and engaging and an affectionate woman.
"When Helen saw the next cut, she said she looked like a dickhead in
some scenes, but to leave the scenes in: 'It helps to convey to the
audience what I'm on about.' She's not ashamed or afraid of being angry
in public."
Helen's War is a Canadian-Australian co-production that follows
Caldicott in the US promoting her book, The New Nuclear Danger, before
and after the Bush Administration declared war on Iraq.
The documentary also covers Caldicott's anti-nuclear crusade and shows
her with her family. Broinowski made the doco after following her aunt
for a year.
When making the film, Broinowski was forced to balance three competing
interests. Broinowski the Filmmaker had to dissent with the dissident,
and choose the boldest footage, even when her subject objected.
Broinowski the Activist wanted to broadcast Caldicott's political
message. Meanwhile, Broinowski the Niece was trying to please and
protect someone she loved.
"That was what was hard," she says.
"That line between protecting Helen and what I passionately believe in,
while satisfying the audience's need to be entertained.
"I only just crossed that line safely. I do think that it's a loving
portrait of Helen. But I can't make a film about someone that's
convincing, without showing them warts and all, and Helen is brave
enough and sophisticated enough to know that I had to show that
cantankerous side."
Balancing those interests was so thorny that Broinowski spiralled into
depression.
"I had sleepless nights, I went into a very black depression when I was
making this film," she says.
"When Helen watched the rough cut, that set me off into this spiral -
'I've f---ed up my life and f---ed up my relationship with my aunt.' I
was willing to walk, to destroy my film career as opposed to put
anything out which would damage her."
But Caldicott intervened.
"I was six months' pregnant and Helen - she's a doctor - was demanding I
go on anti-depressants," says Broinowski. "She didn't care about the
film. She cared about me."
Broinowski didn't go on anti-depressants in the end.
Caldicott is also balancing competing interests. Caldicott the Activist
wants her message to be taken seriously, Caldicott the Subject doesn't
want too much of her personal life on display, while Caldicott the Aunt
is fiercely proud.
She was cautious about working with her niece.
"I had mixed feelings," Caldicott says. "I was worried that I would not
be seen to be credible by the American public, and it was a little bit
too revealing about who I was and my family and the like. I felt it
didn't really put the message out about what I wanted to talk about, it
was more a portrait of me.
"But I'm very proud of Anna and we're very close, partly as a result of
the film, which is a good one."
Back in the flat, Broinowski has carried her tiny daughter into the
living room. Perhaps the baby is the next in a line of intense,
pugnacious women who speak their mind?
"She's a fighter," Broinowski says.
Story Picture: Talking head: Helen Caldicott gets on her box.
The archives of South News can be found at
http://southmovement.alphalink.com.au/southnews/
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64 Seattle Times: DOE vows to remove nuclear waste
Friday, June 18, 2004 - Page updated at 12:31 A.M.
By H. JOSEF HEBERT The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Energy Department is committed to removing 99
percent of the nuclear waste in underground tanks at Hanford and
other weapons sites and anything less is "off the table," the
head of the cleanup program told lawmakers yesterday.
Assistant Energy Secretary Jessie Roberson told a Senate hearing
that even if the department is allowed to keep residual sludge at
the bottom of the buried containers, she saw no chance that as
much as 10 percent of the waste might be kept in the tanks.
The assurance came as Roberson was pressed by senators about the
cleanup of highly radioactive waste left over from decades of
plutonium production for nuclear weapons at the Energy
Department's Hanford nuclear reservation in Eastern Washington as
well as at sites in Idaho and South Carolina.
The department would like to reclassify the residual sludge that
will be left at 177 buried tanks at Hanford and in dozens of
similar waste tanks at the Savannah River site in South Carolina
and the INEEL facility in Idaho as having a low level of
radioactivity.
The proposal, which would require Congress to change the
nuclear-waste law, has been met with concern in Washington state
and Idaho, where officials argue the sludge should be buried in a
special repository to be built in Nevada for high-level
radioactive defense waste. The department wants to mix the sludge
with a cementlike grout and not remove it.
Roberson, who is leaving her job next month for personal reasons,
sought to allay some of the states' concerns at a hearing by the
Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told Roberson he had been informed that
the department was considering leaving as much as 10 percent of
the waste and "dangerously high" levels of radiation in the
Hanford tanks.
Unless the state agrees to something different, said Roberson,
"99 percent is what we're living by. ... I don't see any chance
that we're going to go to [disposing only] 90 percent."
Wyden said he was encouraged but not totally satisfied by the
assurance and asked for it in writing.
Washington state politicians have tried for years to get the
Energy Department to commit to a 99 percent cleanup. Sen. Maria
Cantwell yesterday called Roberson's statement a "significant
step forward in protecting Washington state from shortcut cleanup
tactics."
But Cantwell is skeptical that the Energy Department will follow
through on the pledge and also asked for a written commitment.
Roberson said she would put her statement in writing, according
to a Cantwell aide.
On a related issue, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., told Roberson
that, should residual radioactive sludge be allowed to be kept in
the tanks, he was concerned that the Energy Department would
determine whether the grout-sludge mixture met NRC criteria for
low-level waste.
"I would feel much more comfortable if the NRC made the decision
on whether its own criteria had been met," Bingaman said.
Roberson said she was confident waste left in the tanks would
have a low-enough radioactive intensity to classify it as
low-level once mixed with the grout.
Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff reporter, contributed to this
report.
Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company
*****************************************************************
65 Las Vegas SUN: State prepares for case against Energy Department
June 17, 2004
By Suzanne Struglinski
SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Oral arguments in yet another legal challenge
brought by the state against the Energy Department may come by
the end of the year, based on a schedule released by a federal
appeals court Tuesday.
Nevada sued the Energy Department in March, claiming the
department shortchanged the state $4 million this fiscal year
for the oversight of the nuclear waste storage site at Yucca
Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
The state is spending the $1 million appropriated by Congress
for 2004 to do additional research, pay lawyers and do general
preparations to object to the license application the department
aims to file with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in December.
However, the state can't do everything it wants to do with the
limited budget. The state wants the $5 million it has received
in past years and has requested $13 million for fiscal year 2005.
The department told the state earlier this month it would not
get any additional money without approval from Congress.
But the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia issued a schedule Tuesday that requires all the legal
briefs for the case to be filed by Oct. 19.
Attorney Joe Egan, who represents Nevada on nuclear waste
issues, said this is an accelerated schedule, which could get
oral arguments started by the end of the year and a decision
could come early next year. If the state wins, the department
will have to make retroactive payments.
The state is still waiting for the outcome of six legal
challenges against the project that it argued in the same court
in January. Egan said even if the state won all those cases,
this additional case would still be relevant as the state
believes that the department owes it money.
*****************************************************************
66 Hanford News: House committee approves funding
This story was published Thursday, June 17th, 2004
By John Trumbo, Herald staff writer
The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved full
funding for nuclear cleanup at Hanford, $8 million for the
Volpentest HAMMER facility and $9.5 million to help relocate the
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory out of the 300 Area at
Hanford.
The committee's recommendation means Hanford would be in line for
$64.1 million with no contingencies if the appropriation wins
Congress' approval. It also includes the full $690 million
scheduled for vitrification plant construction in 2005.
"This bill directs the (Department of Energy): if you can't spend
all the money on cleaning up tank wastes at Hanford, spend the
remainder on other cleanup," said Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., in
a prepared statement.
"Full funding for Hanford cleanup and $8 million for HAMMER is
great," said Hasting's spokeswoman, Jessica Gleason in
Washington, D.C.
The House of Representatives could vote on the bill as early as
next week.
"It's very, very good news," said Karen McGinnis, director at
HAMMER, a hazardous materials management and emergency response
training and education center at Hanford. "This will give us room
to grow."
Sam Volpentest, executive vice president of TRIDEC and for whom
the HAMMER facility is named, said the prospect of receiving $8
million in 2005 is encouraging, because the allocation for 2004
was $6 million.
"This comes after a month of hard work. We had tremendous support
from Doc (Hastings)," Volpentest said. "We've had to fight for
funding every year."
The fact that Hastings invited the energy and water
appropriations subcommittee chairman, David Hobson, to tour
Hanford and HAMMER in May was a "good move," Volpentest said.
Hobson's subcommittee drafted the bill.
The approval of $9.5 million to help PNNL find a new home by 2009
for nearly 1,000 scientists is an outstanding start, said Mike
Lawrence, the deputy laboratory director for campus development.
The money, if approved by Congress, comes on top of $1.5 million
approved for 2004, which Lawrence said will help design
facilities for the Office of Science and the Nuclear Security
Administration.
"It's an indicator that Congress is supporting the capabilities
at PNNL," he said.
Hastings noted that the House Appropriation Committee approved
the fiscal year 2005 bill providing $4.5 million to the Office of
Science and $5 million to the National Nuclear Security
Administration.
"This funding is a critical step on the long path to replacing
the unique facilities that would otherwise have been lost with
the accelerated cleanup of the Hanford 300 Area," said Len
Peters, director of PNNL, in a prepared statement.
Earlier this year, Hastings was successful in pushing back by two
years the date PNNL must vacate the 300 Area per the River
Corridor Cleanup contract.
Hobson's tour of Hanford included a visit to PNNL and briefing on
the need to transition facilities out of the area targeted for
cleanup.
In a memo Wednesday to PNNL staff, Peters said the future for the
new campus includes "keeping and growing PNNL's nuclear and
radiochemical science and technology capabilities, as our clients
come to us for solutions in environmental security, nuclear
nonproliferation, homeland security and advanced nuclear energy.
"We need to continue to press ahead in pursuing the many
strategies we have for building our Research Campus of the
Future, but I am encouraged by the good news we have heard
today," he said in the memo.
© 2004 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
67 Hanford News: Senators OK plan to transfer program from DOE to Labor
This story was published Thursday, June 17th, 2004
By Les Blumenthal, Herald Washington, D.C., bureau
WASHINGTON - Frustrated senators approved a plan Wednesday that
would strip the Department of Energy of its program to compensate
workers who became sick from working at Hanford and other nuclear
defense sites and turn it over to the Department of Labor.
DOE's handling of the program has been sharply criticized by
congressional investigators, who have said it has been fraught
with problems and delays in the handling of more than 23,000
claims filed.
"The Department of Energy has failed in this effort," said Sen.
Patty Murray, D-Wash., one of the co-sponsors of an amendment to
the Defense Authorization Bill that was adopted on a voice vote.
"Many of these workers are dying. We can wait no longer. We must
compensate them, and do it now."
Murray and other senators said the department has received more
than $95 million in administrative funding and processed only
four claims.
Washington state's other senator, Democrat Maria Cantwell who
also was a co-sponsor of the amendment, said the department's
compensation program has been mired in "bureaucratic bottlenecks"
that have left many Hanford workers feeling helpless.
"They have been left to fight their own battles, to fight to get
compensation, to fight to prove that they actually had exposure,
and to fight to pay their medical bills," Cantwell said.
"With thousands of people in Washington state affected by this,
I've been a big supporter of moving those responsibilities over
to the Department of Labor."
Congress created a complicated, two-part program in 2000 to deal
with compensation for workers at nuclear defense sites who have
become sick. The original legislation was part of a Defense
Authorization Bill.
Under the program, eligible workers who developed cancer or other
diseases after being exposed to radiation or several toxic
substances were to be eligible for a one-time payment of up to
$150,000 through a program administered by the Department of
Labor.
The other part of the program required the Energy Department to
help its contractor employees file claims with state worker
compensation boards if a panel of physicians concluded their
illness was caused by exposure to toxic substances at DOE
facilities.
As the DOE program has faced mounting criticism, the Labor
Department has issued final decisions in nearly half of the
claims it received and awarded almost $800 million in
compensation and medical benefits.
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy's program has been in
disarray, with one senator charging that claimants faced a
six-year delay in receiving a decision on their cases.
More than 1,800 former Hanford workers have filed claims with the
Energy Department.
Murray and Cantwell said the Labor Department would do a better
job in processing the claims than the Energy Department.
"This is a major step forward for workers who deserve to be
fairly compensated for the illnesses contracted while working on
behalf of our nation," Murray said.
Final passage of the Defense Authorization Bill in the Senate
still could be days away. The House version of the bill does not
include similar language involving the Energy Department's
workers compensation program.
© 2004 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
68 Hanford News: Gregoire presses Bush about cleanup
This story was published Thursday, June 17th, 2004
By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer
Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire used President
Bush's planned visit to the state today and Friday to call for a
national discussion on issues of waste cleanup at Hanford and
other nuclear reservations.
Washington wants to be a good partner with the Department of
Energy in advancing cleanup at Hanford, she said in a letter sent
to Bush on Wednesday.
"Serious differences, however, continue to plague this
partnership and raise crucial concerns that Energy is placing
expediency and cost above the comprehensive cleanup necessary to
ensure the health and economic vitality of our region," she
wrote.
The state expects DOE to announce in the next few days that it
plans to resume sending transuranic and low-level radioactive
waste to Hanford from other complexes around the nation.
DOE had agreed not to resume shipping the waste until a record of
decision is issued on an environmental study. However, in
Washington a court injunction would continue to bar the shipment
of transuranic waste to Hanford, but not low-level waste.
Transuranic waste at Hanford typically is waste contaminated with
plutonium 239 and americium 241.
"This comes at a time when we continue to have serious concerns
about Energy's accountability in cleaning up the transuranic
waste already improperly stored at the Hanford Reservation,"
Gregoire wrote.
On Monday, the Washington State Department of Ecology accused DOE
of importing at least 83 drums of radioactive waste to Hanford
without the state's knowledge and in violation of the agreement
with the state. Some of the drums hold transuranic waste.
Gregoire also is concerned that cleanup be done to the standards
in the 1989 Tri-Party Agreement between the state, DOE and the
Environmental Protection Agency, she wrote.
DOE is behind legislation that would allow it to reclassify
high-level waste in huge underground tanks. The state believes
that would allow it to leave more of the waste permanently in
leak-prone tanks.
"The accelerated cleanup plan cannot depend on a shortened
yardstick of success," she wrote. "We cannot allow the federal
government to declare success by simply lowering the bar."
© 2004 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
69 AP Wire: Nobel laureate appointed head of Berkeley laboratory
| 06/17/2004 |
MICHELLE LOCKE
Associated Press
BERKELEY, Calif. - University of California regents have
appointed Nobel laureate Steven Chu to head the Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory.
UC President Robert C. Dynes said the appointment, effective Aug.
1, demonstrates UC's commitment to making a good case that it
deserves to remain lab manager, should it decide to compete for
the contract.
"We are as serious as can possibly be, as illustrated by
appointing the best candidate that we can possibly find," Dynes
said in a teleconference call following the vote Thursday. "We
will go into this potential competition with all resources
a-blazing."
Chu, professor in the physics and applied physics departments at
Stanford University and a co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize in
physics, is the first Asian-American to head a national lab,
according to federal officials.
Chu takes over Aug. 1 and will replace Charles V. Shank, who is
returning to teaching after taking a sabbatical.
Lawrence Berkeley, a non-weapons lab that was founded by UC
Berkeley physics pioneer Edward O. Lawrence in the 1930s, is one
of three federal scientific and weapons laboratories operated by
UC. The other two are nuclear weapons labs in Los Alamos, N.M.,
and Livermore.
Although UC has run all three labs for the federal government
since they were founded, the university's operation of the labs
has become increasingly controversial and Congress has declared
that the management contracts be put up for bid.
The Lawrence Berkeley management contract expired last January,
but was extended for a year. The Los Alamos and Livermore
contracts expire in 2005, but federal officials have said they
will extend the Livermore contract by at least two years.
No date for the contract bidding process at Los Alamos has been
announced and UC hasn't decided whether it will compete, although
UC regents have told administrators to get ready to bid.
Chu, 55, earned his doctorate from UC Berkeley and has been on
the faculty at Stanford since 1987. He was awarded the Nobel
Prize in physics with Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and William D.
Phillips for developing methods to cool and trap atoms with laser
light.
Chu will earn $350,000 a year in his new job and will oversee an
operation with a $521 million budget and about 4,000 employees.
As with all lab employees, Chu's salary will be paid from the
federal contract, not state funds.
---
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70 The State: SRS waste must be housed in saf
06/18/2
THESE UNITED STATES are best served by taking a national view on
certain issues by looking at the 50 states and their people as
a whole, and determining what is best for the health, strength
and security of our nation. Certainly, the national defense is
paramount among those issues. We have long believed that Aikens
Savannah River Site plays a key role in that defense. We see the
potential for new missions at SRS, including the possibility of
reprocessing excess defense stores into energy. However, whatever
happens on the munitions and energy front, one thing cannot be
denied. A national, long-term examination leads to the
inescapable conclusion that Savannah River Site is not the best
long-term repository for any of our nations high-level
radioactive waste.
SRS is dangerously close to natural resources that make it a poor
choice for permanent waste storage. It is near important water
sources, the Tuscaloosa aquifer and the Savannah River. The site
sits at the edge of a seismic fault, and the threat of future
earthquakes along this fault is real. Populated areas, including
Aiken and Augusta, are nearby. Meanwhile, 37 million gallons of
high-level radioactive waste remain housed in aging tanks at SRS.
For more than 20 years, national law has specified that the waste
will be solidified and moved to a permanent, deep geologic
repository. However, politics, the high cost and some interest
group objections have blocked the opening of such a facility at
Yucca Mountain in Nevada. These delays are short-sighted national
policy, as they leave high-level waste in temporary, more
ecologically fragile storage. Moving forward with this cleanup
process must be a top national priority.
Recently, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., offered a measure
that he says will help. The provision in a defense spending bill
allows for removal of 99 percent of the waste at SRS to begin.
Sen. Graham says the plan which was approved in the Senate by
the narrowest possible margin moves cleanup efforts ahead by 23
years and saves taxpayers $16 million. We believe Sen. Graham is
sincere in his desire to break the logjam that has put cleanup
efforts at SRS at a standstill. He is to be commended for his
efforts to move the process forward.
Nonetheless, we share the concerns of those such as U.S. Sen.
Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., and former President Jimmy Carter, who
object to part of the Graham provision. That would allow the
remaining 1 percent of the high-level radioactive waste to remain
at SRS permanently. The material would stay at the bottom of
those aging tanks, covered by grout. By volume, the radioactivity
in the material which would remain is more potent than that which
would be taken away. And, there is simply no way to safely
predict the long-term security of material treated and left
behind in this fashion.
We call upon the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Energy
to move ahead with the funding and authorizations necessary to
begin the process of solidifying and moving high-level
radioactive waste to Yucca Mountain. The truth is that they can
do that anytime they muster the will to do so, with or without a
provision leaving some waste at SRS forever. It is long past
time, for the good of our entire nation, to get moving on the
process of constructing and operating a permanent, national
disposal site.
TheStateOnline
*****************************************************************
71 Google News Alert - nuclear
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 13:47:22 -0700 (PDT)
IAEA Rebukes Iran Over Nuclear Cover-Ups
ABC News - USA
VIENNA, Austria June 18, 2004 — The International Atomic Energy Agency
rebuked Iran Friday for past cover-ups in its nuclear program and warned
the Islamic ...
See all stories on this topic:
IRAN Assailed for Lack of Cooperation on Nuclear Program
New York Times - USA
... Energy Agency passed a resolution today sharply criticizing the Iranian
government for its lack of cooperation in disclosing the details of its
nuclear program ...
See all stories on this topic:
INDIA, Pak gear up for historic nuclear security talks
Central Chronicle - Bhopal,India
... hot and blowing cold follow- ing the Kargil battle, India and Pakistan
have finally come to the talking table to defuse the undercurrents of
nuclear and war ...
See all stories on this topic:
NUCLEAR power business engineering a worldwide comeback
Kansas City Star (subscription) - Kansas City,MO,USA
... mechanical engineering graduate picked Westinghouse Electric Co., which
is providing full tuition payment for his master's degree in nuclear engineering
from ...
CZECH nuclear plant goes back on line
Washington Times - Washington,DC,USA
18 (UPI) -- The Czech Republic's nuclear power station at Temelin went
back on line after a two week shutdown, power plant officials said Friday.
...
RUSSIA says never bows to pressures on nuclear deal with Iran
Payvand - Iran
... Head of Russian Atomic Energy Agency Alexander Rumyantsev said here
on Friday that Russia will never bow to foreign pressure to stop nuclear
cooperation with ...
See all stories on this topic:
FIRE on property of Yankee nuclear plant
Washington Times - Washington,DC,USA
18 (UPI) -- The Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Vernon, Vt., declared what
it called an "unusual event," following a transformer fire outside the
plant. ...
See all stories on this topic:
FORMER PM Says Japan Considered Going Nuclear
Reuters - USA
TOKYO (Reuters) - Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone once ordered
defense officials to look into developing a nuclear capability for Japan,
the only ...
See all stories on this topic:
US accepts India, Pak won't roll back nuclear programmes
Webindia123.com - India
The US believes that India and Pakistan will not roll back their nuclear
programmes and that it (US) was prepared to work with the two nations
to prevent ...
See all stories on this topic:
NUCLEAR CBMs should establish verification procedures of NSM
Deepika - India
New Delhi, Jun 18 (UNI) India and Pakistan should establish mechanisms
for verification of each other's nuclear safety measures and put in place
warning ...
See all stories on this topic:
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