***************************************************************** 07/06/04 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 12.160 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 AFP: Blair accepts Iraqi weapons may never be found 2 Las Vegas SUN: Blair Says Iraqi WMD May Never Be Found 3 BBC: WMD may never be found - Blair 4 BBC: Blair grilled: Main points 5 BBC: Analysis: Confessional tone 6 UK Independent: Iraq WMD may never be found admits Blair 7 UK Independent: Blair to offer partial apology over war 8 Guardian Unlimited: Blair reignites nuclear debate 9 AFP: Russian FM meets North Korea leader, says nuclear talks could 10 Korea Herald: Seoul reported to seek second N.K. summit 11 Pravda.RU: Russian gas to compensate for North Korean nuclear progra 12 KoreaTimes: Is NK Really Ready to Play Ball? 13 US: www.GovExec.com: GOP leaders face multiple hurdles on spending b 14 US: Deseret news: Wind study caught in doldrums 15 US: Las Vegas SUN: Legislature to experience major turnover 16 US: Novel Approaches to the Management of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) 17 IPS-English MIDDLE EAST-NUCLEAR WEAPONS: El Baradei faces 18 Guardian Unlimited: Blair hints at further anti-yob laws 19 Las Vegas SUN: U.N. Nuke Watchdog Chief Visits Israel 20 BBC: Sharon sticks to nuclear policy 21 Guardian Unlimited: Sharon Will Not Change Israeli Nuke Policy 22 US: Tri-City Herald: Energy NW working toward new wind farm 23 RNW: Israel's nuclear ambiguity 24 asahi.com: EDITORIAL: Southeast Asia security NUCLEAR REACTORS 25 US: NRC: FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company, Davis-Besse Nuclear 26 Las Vegas SUN: Experts Try to Affect Romanian Nuke Laws 27 Toronto Star: Pickering A passes safety review 28 US: TheWGALChannel.com Group: Unguarded Nuclear Plant Gates Wouldn't 29 US: TheDay.com: Planning Timeline Touted As Good Reason For Early Mi 30 US: TheDay.com: State Senator Runs Risk Of A Conflict (Millstone) 31 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Marek will run for second House term 32 US: TheDay.com: Citizens May Just Be Nuclear Guinea Pigs 33 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Officials: VY transformer fire started by 34 US: NRC: NRC to Meet with Public in New York on Nine Mile Point Lice 35 US: NRC: NRC to Meet with Public to Discuss Spent Fuel Storage at In NUCLEAR SAFETY 36 [du-list] Gulf War syndrome probe launched - BBC 37 ScienceDaily: Researchers Probe Island For Radiation 38 AFP: Ukraine gets 42-million-dollar EBRD loan for nuclear reactor sa 39 US: Las Vegas RJ: Doctor to study cancer in Fallon NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 40 AFP: NGOs criticise Russian plan for nuclear waste dump 41 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada congressional delegation criticizes Yucca Moun 42 US: Hanford News: Judge tosses suit blocking shipments 43 Sen. Reid: Reid Gets Edwards Commitment To Stop Yucca Mountain 44 asahi.com: EDITORIAL:Hiding vital facts, data NUCLEAR WEAPONS 45 US: Reaping the whirlwind- The Nuclear Arms Race 46 AFP: UN atomic chief to urge Israel to keep Middle East nuclear-weap US DEPT. OF ENERGY 47 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada Dems like Kerry's choice of Edwards 48 Hanford News: Construction cost likely to rise for Hanford nuclear w 49 Hanford News: Gel cleanup technique a possibility at Hanford Monday 50 Rocky Mountain News: Sickened workers, including 1,700 at Flats, wai OTHER NUCLEAR 51 [du-list] DU in the news - 7th July 04 52 Google News Alert - nuclear ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 AFP: Blair accepts Iraqi weapons may never be found WAR.WIRE
[http://www.spacewar.com/] LONDON (AFP) Jul 06, 2004 British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday he now accepts that weapons of mass destruction may never be found in Iraq. "I have to accept that we haven't found them, that we may not find them," said Blair during a question-and-answer exchange with senior members of the British parliament. "We don't know what has happened to them," he added. "They could have been removed. They could have been hidden. They could have been destroyed." WAR.WIRE ***************************************************************** 2 Las Vegas SUN: Blair Says Iraqi WMD May Never Be Found By ED JOHNSON ASSOCIATED PRESS LONDON (AP) - Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday that Saddam Hussein's illicit weapons of mass destruction may never be found in Iraq, but insisted the dictator had posed a threat to the world. Saddam's alleged chemical and biological weapons programs served as London and Washington's chief stated reasons for going to war. However, the Iraq Survey Group's hunt for evidence has proved largely fruitless. "I have to accept that we have not found them, that we may not find them," Blair told a committee of lawmakers Tuesday. "We do not know what has happened to them. They could have been removed, they could have been hidden, they could have been destroyed." Blair rejected any suggestion that the stockpiles never existed and that Saddam had not been a danger to the world. "To go to the opposite extreme and say therefore no threat existed from Saddam Hussein would be a mistake," he told the House of Commons Liaison Committee. He said the survey group had already shown that Saddam had the "strategic capability, the intent and was in multiple breaches of the United Nations resolutions." "I genuinely believe that those stockpiles of weapons were there," Blair added. In September 2002, Blair's government published a dossier of intelligence about Iraq. At the time, Blair told the Commons that Saddam's "weapons of mass destruction program is active, detailed and growing." Blair said some of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons "could be activated within 45 minutes." Even after no weapons were found during the war, Blair insisted they would be found. A year ago, he told one critic the search was continuing, and results would be published. "I think that when we do so, the honorable gentleman and others will be eating some of their words," he said in Commons. Serious questions have been asked about the quality of Britain's prewar intelligence on Iraqi weapons. An inquiry, instigated by the government, will publish its report on July 14. White House press secretary Scott McClellan responded to Blair's comments by saying the search for weapons has not been completed. "Obviously the Iraq Survey Group continues to do its work so that we can learn more about what happened to the weapons of mass destruction," McClelland said. "We know from the work of the Iraq Survey Group that Saddam Hussein's regime continued to have the intent and capability. "As as prime minister blair pointed out, Saddam Hussein's regime was a threat. The international community recognized his regime was a threat. So we want to let the Iraq Survey Group continue to do its work and see what they find." -- ***************************************************************** 3 BBC: WMD may never be found - Blair Last Updated: Tuesday, 6 July, 2004 [Tony Blair] Blair: Not run out of steam Tony Blair has said Iraq's weapons of mass destruction "may never be found". Mr Blair said he had "to accept we haven't found them and we may never find them" - but that did not mean Saddam Hussein had not been a threat. He said the former Iraqi leader had been in breach of UN resolutions and his weapons may have been "removed, hidden or destroyed". Mr Blair also said US security concerns had to be tackled before British detainees at Guantanamo Bay are freed. 'Clear evidence' The prime minister was being grilled by senior MPs in his twice-yearly appearance before the Commons liaison committee. His comments come eight days before an inquiry reports on the pre-war intelligence about Iraq's weapons. He said Saddam Hussein had previously had weapons of mass destruction and there was "very clear evidence" of his desire to develop and use them. It's important when paren come to decide their secondary schools that there are a range of good schools for them to choose from Tony Blair Blair grilled: Main points Terror concern over UK detainees But he added: "I have to accept we haven't found them and we may never find them, We don't know what has happened to them. "They could have been removed. They could have been hidden. They could have been destroyed." In an interview broadcast later on BBC Radio 2, Mr Blair said there was no doubt Saddam Hussein had been a threat - even if the nature of the threat turned out to be different in some respects. Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy argued Mr Blair was diminishing his office by continuing to believe the weapons existed at the time he had tried to make the case for the war. And Tory shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram said Mr Blair owed the country an explanation after being so clear about Iraq's weapons before the conflict. But US President George Bush told reporters later: "I know that Saddam Hussein was a threat." The former Iraqi leader had possessed the intent and capability to produce weapons of mass destruction and had harboured terrorists, added Mr Bush. Other highlights from Mr Blair's news conference included: + Mr Blair said extensive house building would go ahead in south-east England but insisted there was "no question of concreting over" the green belt + The prime minister said police had been given new powers to deal with anti-social behaviour but he was willing to legislate again if there were still problems with using the law + On energy, the door was still open to building more nuclear power plants if necessary, said Mr Blair. Guantanamo Bay Mr Blair mounted a robust defence of Britain's relationship with the US, saying other countries would "give their eye-teeth" to be in a similar position. He said progress on security issues in Libya, Iran and North Korea would not have been possible "without Iraq". But he added: "If I did not believe that the security of this country was enhanced by taking the action in Iraq, I would not have done it, irrespective of how many compliments the president [George Bush] paid me." [Guantanamo Bay] Guantanamo Bay is an 'anomaly', says Blair The prime minister argued that Guantanamo Bay was "an anomaly that at some point has to be brought to an end". He admitted the UK Government still did not have the "machinery" in place to ensure the remaining British prisoners there would not pose a security threat if they were released. He confirmed that he had personally discussed the case of the four detainees with Mr Bush. I am very willing to go ba and legislate again on this anti-social behaviour Tony Blair Blair accused over climate change But he said he did not believe that the US was being obstructive in holding on to the detainees until the UK could give assurances that they would not be a security threat to it or any other country. "I don't think the United States is being unreasonable. We need to make sure that there is proper security in place for these people," he told MPs. Mr Blair confirmed a Cabinet committee on US-UK relations had been set up. He also said there would be no defence cuts in next week's spending review. 'Stigmatising' Muslims On race relations, Mr Blair warned concerns over international terrorism and the recent controversy over the stopping and searching of Asians were "new dimensions" that "we need to watch". [An Irish smoker lights his last cigarette before the ban] Mr Blair believes public opinion has shifted on smoking "I know from my conversations with leaders of the Muslim community that they feel very strongly that if someone who calls themselves a Protestant goes on to the streets of Northern Ireland and murders a Catholic that doesn't reflect on the whole of the Protestant religion. "Whereas they feel if you get Muslim extremists and terrorists then somehow this can be taken as stigmatising the entire community. I think we need to be sensitive to that." Choice Mr Blair also defended the concept of greater choice in public services, but said there had to be an expansion in "capacity" at the same time, otherwise the debate was "meaningless". On health, he agreed about the importance of preventative measures and better education. But he said he was also wary of creating a "nanny state" in relation to issues such as childhood obesity. "In the end, I cannot tell someone how to live their lives," he told MPs. However, the smoking debate had moved on, he added, allowing the government to contemplate legislation where a few years ago "people would have said what on earth are they doing". ***************************************************************** 4 BBC: Blair grilled: Main points Last Updated: Tuesday, 6 July, 2004 [Tony Blair] Here are the main points from the questioning of the prime minister by the senior MPs on the House of Commons liaison committee. IRAQ + Weapons of mass destruction may not now be found in Iraq, Tony Blair told the committee. + All the evidence and intelligence was that Saddam Hussein did have the weapons, he said + But he added: "What I have got to accept is that I was very, very confident we would find the weapons. I have to accept that we have not found them - that we may not find them." + It would be a mistake to say that just because weapons had not been found that therefore Saddam Hussein was not a threat, Mr Blair said. + Mr Blair stressed he would not have taken Britain into the war with Iraq if he had not believed that it would benefit the security of Britain. + It had been necessary to take a stand against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction technology because there was a risk WMDs and this new form of terrorism would come together. I genuinely believe th those weapons were there and that is why the international community came together as they did Tony Blair Blair says 'WMDs may never be found' + The "biggest rebuttal" to the terror threat was getting countries like Iraq and Afghanistan "on their feet". + We would not have seen the progress we have made in Libya and in North Korea if Iraq hadn't happened, Mr Blair added. + He also dismissed any suggestions Britain had undertaken the Iraq campaign just to please its American allies. + "Let people say whatever they like about it - at the end of the day it's an important relationship for us not just because we share their views but because the best security we have is the spread of freedom and democracy about the world." + MIDDLE EAST + The road map was the first time Israel had committed itself to two-state solution. + "It's true we haven't made the progress that we would have wished to make," he said, adding that work was continuing on resolving the dispute. + The on-going Israeli-Palestinian conflict was something that stirred up war and conflict all around the world, he said. GUANTANAMO BAY I actually need to be ve clear in respect of our own country - that we are not putting anyone at risk Mr Blair Terror concern over UK detainees + But, he said: "Guantanamo Bay is an anomaly which at some point has to be brought to an end." + With regard to the British detainees, the UK have already got five of them back and the future of the remaining four was still being discussed with the US. + "If we do have them back we have to ask do we have the necessary arrangements for security," said Mr Blair + He was not convinced the UK had the "machinery" in place to ensure that the remaining British detainees at Guantanamo Bay would not pose a security threat if they were released. + "I hope we can resolve it reasonably soon but I do not think that the United States is being unreasonable in saying we need to make sure that there is security in place for these people". + "We all know that we are faced with a significant terrorism threat. These people were picked up in circumstances where we believe at the very least there are issues that need to be resolved, let us say, in respect of those individuals. ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR + There are many reasons for the breakdown of social cohesion from time to time but "we cannot justify any violent behaviour" by young people. + Anti-social behaviour and "yob culture" is a "real issue in communities up and down the country," said Mr Blair. + The government had attempted to tackle this problem of low-level crime which "made life hell" for people by giving the police a whole range of new powers. + But, Mr Blair said, he was prepared to "go back and legislate again on anti-social behaviour if there was a problem with the way the laws are being used." RACE RELATIONS + On race relations, he said he thought matters had improved "in some ways" since race riots in Burnley and other Northern towns three years ago. + But he warned international terrorism was "a new dimension that we need to watch" in terms of causing racial tension in communities. Sometimes there is unnecessary tension that enters into local relations. Obviously this is what has happened in certain parts of the North West [ src=] Mr Blair + There was a need to avoid tarnishing the Muslim community as a whole because of the actions of a few Muslim extremists. + "We need to give publicity to the fact that the vast majority of Muslim Leaders are responsible people who have a positive effect on their local communities." + Some might say faith schools did not help social cohesion, said Mr Blair, but he believed that if Catholic and Church of England schools were allowed it would not be right to ban Jewish or Muslim schools. + "It was a choice that should not be taken away from people," he said. HOUSING + Mr Blair predicted housing and pensions would be the big issues of the next few years. We have to recognise the fa that there is an excess of demand over supply for housing in the south Mr Blair + Efforts were being made to increase the number of affordable homes for key workers with 10,000 public service workers like teachers and policemen already being helped in London. + The government had got to get the balance between affordable homes to rent and affordable homes to buy right, Mr Blair said. But he acknowledged others might see it differently. + "There is no question of us concreting over the south east [of England]." SCHOOLS AND HOSPITALS + Mr Blair denied his administration had "run out of steam" on the reform of public services. + The government was prepared to be "very radical" in the education of 14 to 19-year-olds for example, he said. + "We need to ensure that the vocational stream is given the importance that the academic stream has always had," Mr Blair said. + Giving the public a choice of schools and hospitals did not mean giving subsidies to private education and health care. + "It's important when parents come to decide their secondary schools that there are a range of good schools for them to choose from." + It should not be the case that a good school is not allowed to expand just because there are surplus places at a school which nobody wants to go to. You have got to combi choice with expanding capacity and raising standards Mr Blair + Mr Blair said his "passionate belief is that public services should remain for all parts of the community". They shouldn't just be for those who could not afford to go private, he said. + "We are not going to have a free-for-all but we are going to give greater freedoms and greater independence," he said. ENERGY POLICY + "Climate change is the single biggest long-term problem we face," Mr Blair said. + Nuclear power cannot be removed from the agenda "if we are serious about climate change", he said. + Without a huge increase in action the world is not going to be able deal with the problem in anything like the way that is necessary, he said. You cannot remove it [nucle power] from the agenda if you are serious about the issue of climate change Mr Blair + The Kyoto agreement, if enforced, would reduce emissions by 1%, but there is a requirement to have a 60% reduction in emissions by 2050. + There is a disagreement with the United States on Kyoto, but it is a dialogue that should be pursued as there is a shift in view on the science there towards accepting climate change issues, Mr Blair said. + "It's an issue where there is a tremendous need for the beginnings of agreement at the international level. We would hope to get agreement on certain key principles," Mr Blair added. + Mr Blair was positive Britain would meet its Kyoto targets, but he said, the difficult thing to achieve was the interplay between energy needs and environmental requirements. + There was a need to "step up" investment in renewable energy. We should not "shut the door" on the nuclear option, Mr Blair added. + It was a question of balancing the cost and making sure the concerns that people have about safety are satisfied, he said. ***************************************************************** 5 BBC: Analysis: Confessional tone Last Updated: Tuesday, 6 July, 2004 Analysis By Nick Assinder BBC News Online political correspondent It is hard to think of a forum less like a confessional than the Commons liaison committee. [Tony Blair] Prime minister faced questions on Iraq No privacy and very little in the way of absolution is on offer here. Yet it was in front of this panel of senior MPs that Tony Blair confessed he now accepted that Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction might never be found. And that the deposed Iraqi dictator might actually have destroyed those weapons before the war - presumably just as he told the UN he had done all along. It appeared to be just another of the small steps the prime minister has been making over the past 12 months to "clarify" just why he took Britain to war. It was, as he told the committee, to enforce UN resolutions which the UN was not prepared to enforce itself. Silly extremes Step forward father confessor, in the even less likely figure of Tory Edward Leigh, who has made a name for himself in using these six-monthly occasions to torment the prime minister over Iraq. [Saddam Hussein] Saddam may have destroyed his weapons "So," he asked the prime minister in the most reasonable of terms, "Can not you find it in yourself to accept that we went to war for the wrong reasons and say you are sorry for that?" Of course not. That would be taking the whole confessional thing to silly extremes. Thanking Mr Leigh for putting his question so reasonably, the prime minister went on to say that he remained convinced Saddam Hussein had been a threat in terms of WMD. An exasperated tormentor sighed and admitted he wasn't going to get anywhere with that line of inquiry even though - and this brought a smile to the PM's face - "the whole world accepts WMD were not there." He was a touch less restrained later when pressing the prime minister to detail precisely what he had got from his relationship with President Bush. Domestic issues Mr Leigh's normally rosy glow became an angry fire as Mr Blair suggested the idea he was looking for scraps in return for supporting the US was "pathetic." And apart from that, it was pretty much business as normal with a series of questions largely on just the sort of domestic issues the prime minister has been eager to get back at the top of the agenda. A large slice of the two-and-a-half hour grilling was about precisely what the prime minister meant by "choice", how he was going to boost social cohesion and whether he was about to bring back nuclear power. On the last one, by the way, there appeared to be the vaguest of hints that this widely-feared technology may be creeping back into ministerial favour. Once again, it was a shirt-sleeved, first-names-terms and relaxed performance by the prime minister who gives the impression he uses these examinations as the intellectual equivalent of his daily physical workouts. He tries not to overdo it, likes to break an invigorating sweat without exhausting himself, and almost always feels much better, and certainly more virtuous, afterwards. Although it is probably too much to suggest in this context that confession is good for the soul. ***************************************************************** 6 UK Independent: Iraq WMD may never be found admits Blair By Helen William, PA News 06 July 2004 Tony Blair today accepted that Saddam Hussein's stockpile of weapons of mass destruction may never be found. A year after the war on Iraq, the Prime Minister told MPs that Saddam's secret stockpile may have been "hidden, removed or destroyed". Asked by the House of Commons Liaison Committee if he would accept or even apologise for going to war for the wrong reasons, Mr Blair said: "It has got rid of Saddam Hussein and he was a tyrant. "I do not believe there was not a threat in relation to weapons of mass destruction. "I have to accept the fact that we have not found them, but we have found very clear evidence of intent and desire. "Whether they were hidden, removed or destroyed, he was in clear breach of UN resolutions." Mr Blair told the committee: "What I have to accept is that I was very, very confident that we would find them. "I was very confident when I spoke to you this time last year that the Iraq Survey Group would find them . "I have to accept that we have not been found them – that we may not find them." But he said it would be wrong to now say that Saddam was not a threat. He would not say it was a mistake to place such great emphasis on WMD in the run–up to the war rather than on regime change. "It is very important not to go to the other extreme and say that because we have not found WMD that he was not a threat," Mr Blair said. "The ISG found he had the strategic capacity and intent and he was in multiple breaches of UN resolutions." Mr Blair insisted that Saddam was a threat to the region and the world. He said: "I genuinely believe that those weapons were there and that is why the international community came together as they did." UK Independent Ltd. ***************************************************************** 7 UK Independent: Blair to offer partial apology over war By Andrew Grice, Political Editor 06 July 2004 Tony Blair is preparing to issue a partial apology over Iraq in response to strong criticism of Britain's pre-war intelligence about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction expected in the Butler inquiry report next week. The Prime Minister has rejected the idea of saying "sorry" for the war when the investigation reports a week tomorrow, but is being urged by close advisers to admit that mistakes were made in the gathering of the intelligence and its use by the Government. In a Commons statement on the day the report is published, Mr Blair will try to finally end debate over the Iraq war by promising to implement the inquiry's recommendations about the use of such intelligence in the future. Allies say he will not apologise for a war he insists was justified to oust Saddam Hussein and is sure that history will judge as right. But there is an intense debate inside Downing Street about the tone that Mr Blair should adopt when he describes what went wrong over the intelligence about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Some aides want Mr Blair to try to turn the Butler report to his advantage by issuing a frank admission that he was wrong to base the case for war on WMD. "This could be a cathartic moment - but only if we say it strongly enough," one said yesterday. Other advisers are arguing that Mr Blair has nothing to apologise for despite the failure to find WMD in Iraq. Some Blair aides hope the Butler report will enable the Government to finally "move on" from Iraq and focus on the domestic political agenda, but admit that its ability to do so will be determined by events in Iraq. Some advisers believe the Prime Minister will not draw a line under the war until he has won another general election. Although the Prime Minister's statement will not be finalised until he receives the Butler report, close allies believe he will adopt a middle course. "He won't say sorry but he will accept that mistakes were made if that is what Butler concludes and he will promise that lessons will be learnt," one said. Mr Blair is expected to argue that Saddam intended to acquire WMD even if - as is widely believed - he failed to do so. He will accept responsibility for the claims issued by the Government about Iraq's weapons programme and is adamant that he will not try to shift the blame on to intelligence chiefs. Indeed, he is expected to praise them for doing an excellent job for Britain in difficult circumstances. Lord Butler of Brockwell, the former cabinet secretary, is expected to criticise the "systems and procedures" used in the build-up to the war, including informal meetings in Mr Blair's office at which minutes were not taken. The inquiry team has studied closely the compilation of the dossier on Iraqi weapons, published in September 2002, which included the claim that Saddam could deploy his weapons within 45 minutes. Downing Street is bracing itself for strong criticisms. The former cabinet secretary has interpreted his brief widely and witnesses questioned by his team say that he has conducted a thorough investigation. A partial apology by Mr Blair will not satisfy many of his critics. Some Labour MPs have said that "saying sorry" is not enough and want a promise that Britain could never again go to war on such a basis. UK Independent Ltd. ***************************************************************** 8 Guardian Unlimited: Blair reignites nuclear debate American lobbying adds to pressure as PM battles to keep controversial energy option on climate change agenda Patrick Wintour and Paul Brown Wednesday July 7, 2004 The Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk] Tony Blair yesterday signalled that Britain may have to build a new generation of nuclear power stations to meet the challenge of climate change. Appearing before a committee of senior MPs, he disclosed that America was pressing Britain to look again at the nuclear option, including a new generation of stations that some claim will be safer and cheaper. Britain would have to take "some very difficult decisions", the prime minister said. Mr Blair also revealed that the door to a fresh round of nuclear stations had been kept open in last year's energy white paper at his personal insistence. "I have fought long and hard, both within my party and outside, to make sure that the nuclear option is not closed off," he told the Westminster session. Even though Mr Blair insisted big political and economic hurdles remained in the way of further nuclear stations, his remarks were hailed by pro-nuclear MPs, but caused consternation among environmentalists. Mr Blair said the evidence was now overwhelming that climate change was the single biggest long-term problem facing the country, and conceded the world was nowhere near finding a mechanism to cut carbon dioxide emissions by the government's target of 60% by 2050. He told MPs that there was no way nuclear power could be removed from the agenda "if you are serious about the issue of climate change". His argument is echoed today in a joint letter to the Guardian from Michael Meacher, the former Labour environment minister, and the former Conservative environment secretary, John Gummer. The pair argue that "a failure to take decisive action at home will undermine the UK's credibility". Mr Blair said the question did not arise of nuclear power "for decision today but will arise within the next few years - whether as your existing nuclear power stations run down you try and replace that and replace it with the latest technology which round the world is developing in a different way from the generation of nuclear power stations that we have now". He revealed he was being lobbied by the US to look at nuclear power as the best way of cutting carbon emissions. But Mr Blair repeatedly stressed that no decision had been made in government and the nuclear industry had to do more to meet the public's concerns about safety and costs. "I think we have got to be realistic about this. Unless we overcome these two hurdles our progress will be limited," he said. Mr Blair's remarks reflect the battle between ministers in the departments of trade and industry and environment. The energy white paper in February 2003 came down firmly in favour of energy effi ciency and renewables being given priority as the best option for Britain's future. Nuclear energy was not ruled out forever but put on hold for at least five years. In the last six months the debate has been reopened by some environmental gurus such as James Lovelock, originator of the Gaia theory, who said that Britain and the world could not reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the 60% scientists see is needed by 2050 without the help of nuclear power. The UK is committed to reducing its 1990 greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5% by 2010, and is on course to do so. The bigger manifesto commitment made in 2001 to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by the same time was later reduced to an aspiration and looks unlikely to be met. Government policy in the white paper was to get to a 60% reduction by 2050. The problem with nuclear power is that it is both expensive and the industry takes a decade or more to find sites and get planning permissions. The latest design, the AP 1000, which has been developed by a British Nuclear Fuels-owned company, is not licensed to operate in Britain. Reaction from environmentalists to Mr Blair's comments was amazement. Tony Juniper, director of Friends of the Earth, said: "It took months to hammer out a policy in the white paper and nothing has happened since to change the basics, which were that energy efficiency and renewables were the best bet. It would be 15 years before there was one kilowatt of energy from a new nuclear station." Special report The nuclear industry Graphics The Mox ships' journey around the world (pdf) [http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2002/09 /17/nuclear_ship.pdf] Nuclear map of Britain US nuclear map Useful links British Energy [http://www.british-energy.com/] Department of Trade and Industry [http://www.dti.gov.uk/] British Nuclear Fuels Ltd [http://www.bnfl.co.uk/website.nsf/default.htm] Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament [http://www.cnduk.org/] Greenpeace [http://www.greenpeace.org/homepage/] HSE nuclear glossary [http://www.hse.gov.uk/nsd/ilrwglos.htm] UK atomic energy authority [http://www.ukaea.org.uk/] National Radiological Protection Board [http://www.nrpb.org.uk/] Friends of the Earth [http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/climate/press_for_change/dump_nuc lear/index.html] World Nuclear Association [http://www.uilondon.org/] World Nuclear Transport Institute [http://www.wnti.co.uk] [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 ***************************************************************** 9 AFP: Russian FM meets North Korea leader, says nuclear talks could yield accords +  WAR.WIRE
[http://www.spacewar.com/] Russian FM meets North Korea leader, says nuclear talks could yield accords MOSCOW (AFP) Jul 05, 2004 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met North Korea's top leader Kim Jong-Il on Monday and said his talks had led to optimism over upcoming round of negotiations on Pyongyang's nuclear programme, Russia's Interfax news agency said. The next round of six-way talks in Beijing could result in "quite concrete agreements," Lavrov was quoted as saying following his meetings in North and South Korea over the past few days. Lavrov arrived in Pyongyang on Sunday following a 24-hour visit to South Korea. The third round of six-nation nuclear crisis talks ended in Beijing last month without a breakthrough, although the United States, the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia agreed to meet again by the end of September. "The result of talks (in Seoul and Pyongyang)... allow us to await with optimism the upcoming round of negotiations," Lavrov said, according to Interfax. "At the meeting with Kim Jong-Il, and at the meeting with North Korea's foreign minister, there was a general consensus that the positive momentum on the third round of six-way talks in June allow us to count that, with proper preparation, quite concrete results will be achieved during the fourth round." The United States has offered to give North Korea three months to shut down and seal its nuclear weapons facilities in return for economic and diplomatic rewards. Pyongyang has proposed freezing its nuclear program and pledged to stop building, testing and transferring nuclear weapons, but insisted Washington's rewards for concessions were the only way to resolve the impasse. During Lavrov's meeting in Pyongyang, the North Korean side supported "the principle of comprehensive approach to regulating the nuclear problem," Interfax said. The Russian side supported "North Korea's proposal that during the first phase there should be a concept of 'freezing (the nuclear program) in return for compensation'". The stand-off erupted in October 2002 when the United States said North Korea had admitted developing nuclear weapons, violating a 1994 international agreement. Lavrov met Kim on the second and final day of his Pyongyang visit, North Korean state media said earlier. He "conveyed a personal letter from Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to Kim Jong-Il" at the meeting, the official Korean Central News Agency reported from Pyongyang. "Kim Jong-Il thanked for this and had a conversation with him in a cordial atmosphere," the agency said without elaborating on the discussions. In a separate dispatch, the agency said the Russian minister had stressed "the solidity of the traditionally friendly relations" with North Korea during a dinner held in Pyongyang on Sunday. "Underscoring the particular importance of joint efforts and cooperation, he (Lavrov) said this was proved by the result of the recent (third) six-party talks," the agency said. WAR.WIRE ***************************************************************** 10 Korea Herald: Seoul reported to seek second N.K. summit 2004.07.07 By Choi Soung-ah Amid persistent speculation whether a second inter-Korean summit will be held in the near future, latest reports out of Seoul yesterday said the government is pushing for a meeting this year between President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korea's Kim Jong-il. But the South Korean government refuted the report, denying any plans for a summit. A high ranking official said Seoul was sounding out Pyongyang about a meeting between Roh and Kim, but the North's reaction was not known, according to the reports. "My understanding is that the government is trying to arrange a second summit with North Korea before the end of the year at the latest," Yonhap News Agency quoted the official as saying. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official also said, "The timing of the summit is likely to be before the U.S. presidential election in November." Seoul believes another summit would help resolve Pyongyang's nuclear issue and dramatically push forward cross-border relations, the official said. The first inter-Korean summit was held in June 2000 when then President Kim Dae-jung met the North's Kim in Pyongyang. Kim Jong-il's official title is Chairman of the National Defense Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the highest position in the communist country. As part of the summit accord, Kim Jong-il promised a return visit to Seoul at a later date. No date has been set so far. The presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae denied it was planning for a summit in the near future. "It is totally groundless," presidential spokesman Kim Jong-min said. "There is no truth in the report that a detailed schedule is being prepared or that it has been attempted yet." New Unification Minister Chung Dong-young stressed there should be no rush into a summit, adding that one would be held "when the time is right." Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon yesterday also denied reports that Roh was pursuing a three-way summit with Kim Jong-il and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok on the 21-month-long nuclear impasse and other matters of mutual concern. "No discussions have been made on that, although newspapers are reporting it," Ban told the press. "You know Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied it when he visited here." Lavrov visited Seoul Saturday and Pyongyang the following two days. The New York Times Sunday cited Russian experts on Korean affairs as saying Lavrov's visit to the Koreas was to arrange an inter-Korean summit meeting hosted by Russia. Roh is expected to make a state visit to Russia in September. An aide to Kim Dae-jung recently quoted Chinese officials as saying they heard from Kim Jong-il, during a trip to Beijing in April, that he was ready to visit South Korea at an opportune time. The aide, who accompanied Kim Dae-jung on a Beijing visit last week, said he met Chinese officials who talked to Kim Jong-il personally in April. Roh has said he is not in a hurry to have a summit with the North Korean leader, noting any resolution of the nuclear issue should precede an inter-Korean summit. (bluelle@heraldm.com) ***************************************************************** 11 Pravda.RU: Russian gas to compensate for North Korean nuclear programme [PRAVDA.RU] Last update:07/07/2004 08:00 MSK 19:07 2004-07-06 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has completed his visit to North and South Korea. One theme discussed in Pyongyang and Seoul was the freezing of North Korea's nuclear programme. According to Lavrov, Russia has supported the principle of the package approach to tackling this problem, as well as North Korea's proposal, at the first stage, to freeze its nuclear programme in exchange for compensation In particular, North Korea is expected to receive fuel supplies at cut prices in exchange for stopping work on its nuclear programmes. Today, this means fuel oil supplies from the United States. However, in the near future, the compensation mechanism may be extended to Russian gas supplies to North Korea. Valery Yazev, the chairman of the State Duma committee for energy, transport and communications and president of the Russian Gas Society, told journalists, "the decision to freeze North Korea's nuclear programmes directly depends on the methods and delivery time of energy resources to that country; therefore the Russian gas supply project may become a priority." In replying to a RIA Novosti question as to who put forward this initiative, Mr Yazev said, "the idea was in the air." He went on to say, "Russia is looking for new gas markets in the East since there is no reason to expect any large increases in gas supplies to Europe." Mr Yazev also said that there were currently two projects for gas supplies to North Korea. The first one is to supply gas from Sakhalin through a pipeline about 2,400km long (from the Sakhalin gas fields across North Korea to South Korea). However, the only trunk gas pipeline on the Korean peninsula is still on the drawing board. This project has been preliminarily discussed as a feasibility study, which involved both Russian companies (such as Gazprom, Stroitransgaz and ITERA) and American companies. The cost of the gas pipeline projecthas been put at about $5 billion. The second project is within the framework of the development of Eastern Siberia and the Far East using the Kovykta field. This programme, which aims to create an integral gas supply system for Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East, has been worked out by Gazprom and is being considered by the government now. Mr Yazev said that it might be finally endorsed this year. In line with a Russian government decision, Gazprom will act as coordinator of work on this programme. The Kovykta gas condensate field should be incorporated into an integral gas transport system for Russia. The reserves of the Kovykta field are estimated at 1.9 trillion cubic metres, so for more than 30 years, it may ensure supplies of 34 billion cubic metres of commercial gas to Russian and other markets. While the programme was being drafted, various versions of gas export supplies were considered, including to China, the two Koreas and Japan. In particular, liquid gas supplies were discussed. The point is that a plant for liquefied gas production is being built in Sakhalin and the Korean gas market fully depends on liquefied natural gas imports. In Mr Yazev's opinion, the North Korean gas supply project could involve investors from Russia, the United States, Japan and other countries. "There are no real agreements now," the Russian deputy explained. Naturally, before launching the project the investors must receive risk insurance guarantees, including those against political risks. Mr Yazev stressed that the mechanism of compensation for gas supplies to North Korea must be endorsed by international agreements in advance. He recalled, "North Korea will obtain gas at cut prices, and South Korea at world prices." The project's future depends on the compensation mechanism; if there is no such mechanism, gas exporters will see no reason to investment in it. Valery Yazev believes that the project for building gas pipeline to the Korean peninsula can be implemented within three to four years. Mr Yazev stressed that he intended to "have a round-table discussion at the State Duma this autumn on the political, legal and economic aspects of Russian-Korean energy dialogue." In his opinion, the decision on Russian gas supplies to North Korea may be taken by the end of this year. © RIAN [http://engforum.pravda.ru] Copyright ©1999 by "Pravda.RU [http://www.pravda.ru/] ". ***************************************************************** 12 KoreaTimes: Is NK Really Ready to Play Ball? Hankooki.com > Korea Times > Nation By Reuben Staines Staff Reporter A flurry of diplomatic activity by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in recent months has raised hopes that Pyongyang is ready to make the transition from rogue state to responsible member of the global community. But experts say evidence that the North has changed its ways is yet inconclusive and money remains the main motivation for its increased friendliness toward regional neighbors. Since April, the usually reclusive Kim has visited China and had meetings in Pyongyang with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Russia's foreign minister. Now he says he is willing to travel to South Korea to reciprocate the landmark inter-Korean summit of June 2000, an idea the administration of President Roh Moo-hyun is reportedly seriously considering. Park Sang-seek, professor at Kyung Hee University's Graduate Institute of Peace Studies, said that while this increased openness is encouraging, it is too early to tell if there has been any fundamental change in North Korea's approach to the outside world. ``That's the key question,'' he said. ``All these things that are happening now are just cosmetic.'' Park believed that Pyongyang's attempts to normalize diplomatic ties with Japan are driven primarily by its financial difficulties. ``It is desperately in need of hard currency, and it knows the two likely sources are Japan and South Korea,'' he said. North Korea announced Monday that it is willing to hand over to Tokyo four members of a Japanese leftist group who hijacked a plane and flew it to the North more than 30 years ago. The move follows Kim's decision to allow the children of Japanese abductees to accompany Koizumi back to Tokyo following the leaders' summit in May. Pyongyang's readiness to extradite the hijackers is of particular interest as it was one of the main reasons cited by the United States for listing North Korea as a terrorist-sponsoring nation, blocking it from access to international financial organizations. But Park Joon-young, associate professor at Ewha Womans University, did not expect the decision to make any difference to Washington's attitude towards Pyongyang. ``Originally it was the main point for being on the list of rogue states, but now the U.S. is more concerned about its nuclear weapons programs,'' he said. Pyongyang offered to freeze its nuclear facilities in exchange for compensation at last month's six-way talks in Beijing. However, it is at odds with Washington over who should take the first step. Park said a combination of fear, ambivalence and uncertainty in the North Korean leadership continues to prevent it from fully engaging in international relations. ``North Korea's leadership has been showing signs of adopting a legitimate way of diplomatic engagement,'' he said. ``But Kim Jong-il is being very cautious and it is a slow process.'' rjs@koreatimes.co.kr 07-06-2004 16:34 ***************************************************************** 13 www.GovExec.com: GOP leaders face multiple hurdles on spending bills (7/6/04) DAILY BRIEFING July 6, 2004 By Peter Cohn, CongressDaily Republican leaders face several issues with party-splitting potential as the fiscal 2005 appropriations process and the November elections approach, putting them in the difficult position of fending off Democratic attacks and internecine warfare simultaneously. Across the spectrum of appropriations fights -- from drug reimportation to government outsourcing and Yucca Mountain -- the fiscal 2005 cycle presents few easy choices for GOP leaders, particularly in the Senate, where floor time on spending bills has averaged 45 days over the past seven years. The Defense and Homeland Security bills are the only measures approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee -- the Defense measure was approved before the July Fourth recess and the Homeland Security measure is likely to reach the floor this month. With the number of legislative days dwindling, the Homeland Security bill could be among the last attempts by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., to move individual spending measures across the Senate floor if debate drags, sources said. Leaders in both chambers have expressed a firm desire to wrap up the Defense bill conference this month, and the Homeland Security bill could also be completed separately from a fiscal 2005 omnibus spending bill. Among the most intractable issues could be veterans' health care funding, with veterans' groups looking to hold lawmakers voting against their positions accountable at the polls. On the $92.9 billion VA-HUD measure, appropriators in both chambers are expected to increase spending for veterans' health care by at least $1.2 billion over the president's request of $29.8 billion, and $2.5 billion over last year's enacted level. Republican leaders argue they have greatly increased veterans' spending in recent years. But veterans' advocates, including Republicans such as House Veterans Affairs Chairman Christopher Smith, R-N.J., are insisting on at least $2.5 billion more than the president's request. They argue that is the minimum necessary to prevent cuts in services. The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up its version July 22. VA-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman James Walsh, R-N.Y., said he expects a tough fight even in committee. Democrats such as Rep. Chet Edwards of Texas, ranking member on the House Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee, will try to convince enough Republicans to oppose the rule for floor debate, to force a vote on increasing the health care funds. "If I were the House Republican leadership, when faced with a decision to cut veterans' services in a time of war, I'd probably want that vote to be after the elections," Edwards said. Having the vote prior to November "is probably not the way to get Republican incumbents back to Washington," added Scott Lilly, former Democratic staff director for the House Appropriations Committee. The VA-HUD and Transportation-Treasury bills will be the last to move through the committee process, and are unlikely to see House floor time until September. Senate subcommittee markups of the Transportation-Treasury, VA-HUD, Labor-HHS and the District of Columbia bills have been put off at least until next week, while House panels will work on the D.C. and Labor-HHS measures this week. On the Labor-HHS measure, annual fights loom over education, children's health care and low-income energy funding, to name a few. And the issue of overtime compensation rules promulgated by Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, which held up completion of the fiscal 2004 omnibus, is back again. "Labor-H will be a very ugly bill," Lilly said. An amendment by Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee ranking member Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, to block the overtime rules -- which would, among other things, increase the salary threshold to qualify for overtime -- was attached to the corporate tax bill in the Senate. GOP leaders are expected to try to strip it in conference. But if the $142.5 billion Labor-HHS bill comes to the House floor in July, a labor official said there could be another battle to attach language blocking the rules, one which House GOP leaders narrowly won last year. While the measure would not be enacted in time to head off the Aug. 23 rule implementation, "a strong vote could send a message" to the Labor Department to delay or revise the rules, the official said. Pro-labor House Republicans oppose the administration's overtime policy. Fifteen of them wrote to Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., last month, asking him to schedule a floor vote on the matter. Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., is also opposed. Specter relied on labor's support to defeat Rep. Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., in the April primary, and is hoping for union help against Democratic challenger Rep. Joseph Hoeffel, D-Pa., in November. The Transportation-Treasury spending bill also faces an array of funding issues. At $25.4 billion in discretionary budget authority, the allocation is $3 billion shy of last year's enacted level, although that measure contained about $1.5 billion in one-time funds to update voting systems standards. Fights on the Transportation-Treasury bill include how to keep the Amtrak passenger rail service afloat and how to reconcile competing House-Senate GOP demands for highway and transit spending -- currently the subject of much haggling with the White House over the six-year surface transportation reauthorization bill. The bill also faces another fight over the administration's "competitive sourcing" program aimed at putting some government services up for competitive bidding with the private sector. Several other controversial issues, including Yucca Mountain and prescription drug reimportation, could emerge as stumbling blocks this week. House and Senate appropriators are tying to find a way to keep the proposed nuclear waste repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain on schedule despite parochial and budgetary concerns. Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., could unveil his plan to raise almost $450 million through a one-year surcharge on nuclear utilities, although it is likely to run into opposition from Minority Whip Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., as well as fiscal conservatives in that chamber. "It's a tax increase, proposed by a Republican in an election year," one aide said, arguing that the higher fees would be passed onto consumers through higher electric bills. But Yucca Mountain is a top priority of the Bush administration and the nuclear power industry, which traditionally favors Republicans, and aides said the issue is likely to remain unresolved until after the elections. On prescription drugs, the House Agriculture measure includes a provision blocking the Food and Drug Administration from banning the import of prescription drugs from Canada -- a move opposed by the White House but with support on both sides of the aisle in Congress. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and others may seek to add similar language to the Senate version, which is up for subcommittee consideration this week. Also on the Agriculture measure, backers of country-of-origin labeling for meat products are looking to hold Stevens to his promise to remove a two-year delay in the program. That promise was made last year to Western Republicans such as Wyoming Sens. Craig Thomas and Michael Enzi, in exchange for their support of the fiscal 2004 omnibus. Adding to the troubles for appropriators are the inevitable last-minute riders members will seek to attach to spending bills. That process began before the recess as GOP leaders sought to attach language paving the way for a must-pass increase in the statutory debt limit in conference on the Defense bill. "Most of the problems we have are not appropriations issues," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young, R-Fla., who argued against including the debt-ceiling provision. The sticking points have led GOP leaders and appropriators to conclude that an omnibus is inevitable, with Young planning in September to bundle any bills the Senate has not approved. There has even been talk of attaching a continuing resolution to the fast-moving Defense bill, with the expectation that lawmakers will be back after the elections. But Young said those decisions should wait until September at the earliest. "I don't want to do a CR yet," Young said. govexec.com ***************************************************************** 14 Deseret news: Wind study caught in doldrums [deseretnews.com] Tuesday, July 6, 2004 Tower builder faces frustrating permit process By Sharon Haddock Deseret Morning News DRAPER, Utah County — Phillip Green believes the wintry gusts that blew down his windmill tower last December prove his point. Deseret Morning News graphic Green believes there is enough wind power blowing across the Traverse Mountain peaks to provide clean, cheap energy. Green's effort to amass the data needed to determine the viability for such a project came up short with the downfall of his experimental tower, however. He now must return to the Utah County Commission — and perhaps Draper city officials — for permission to reconstruct the anemometer tower. Green said the tower was up for just 4 1/2 months — he was hoping for a yearlong test run — before it was toppled in December. The state's Energy Office is ordering new parts for the tower and would like Green to continue his experiment. The problem is, his test permit expires in January. Getting the initial permit wasn't easy as Green's request met stiff opposition from area developers and homeowners concerned over the impact the tower — and the expected clones that inevitably will follow a successful test — will have on the view from the expensive homes dotting the ridge. Although he weathered the storm of controversy in the first go-round, he isn't anxious to go through it again. He was granted a permit in December 2002 and posted a $5,000 bond to guarantee removal of the test tower within two years. Green said he is frustrated with laws that limit towers to just 60 feet high in the critical environment zone. Green wants a tower that has a windmill hub at least 150 feet above ground level. "It's one of those things where the law is all inclusive, they don't look at the common sense of things," Green said. "I'm getting no co-operation from the Utah County people, and we're in an energy crunch. The basic technology is there to cut pollution, but because of zoning restrictions, it makes it very difficult to do anything." Green will need a time extension from the Utah County Commission to continue the test, and it now appears he will also need a conditional-use permit from Draper city. Maps filed with the Utah County recorder indicate the land was part of an annexation by Draper in 2003. Green claims he was illegally included in the annexation and that the boundary line on the map was simply redrawn, skirting due process. Draper planning manager Grant Crowell said city records do not indicate Green's property was part of the annexation. Utah County deputy attorney David Shawcroft said in a County Commission meeting in early 2003 that Draper may not have intended to annex Green, but the maps filed with the recorder's office show Green's property lies inside Draper boundaries. Buck Rose, Utah County planner, says Green's property lends itself well to something like the proposed windmill farm and not much else. E-mail: [haddoc@desnews.com] © 2004 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 15 Las Vegas SUN: Legislature to experience major turnover Lawmakers cite personal matters -- not tax issue -- as reasons for not running By Kirsten Searer LAS VEGAS SUN Josh Griffin's baby was three weeks old last year when Griffin left for his first term in the state Legislature. When Griffin returned, the boy had lived much of the first six months of his life without his Dad. It was one of several reasons that prompted Griffin, a young father of four who comes from a political family, to not seek re-election this year, even though he was seen as a rising star in the Republican party. "From my standpoint, it was becoming increasingly challenging," Griffin said of his one-term legislative career. He is now running a lobbying firm that promises to provide much more income than the $7,800 he would make for each legislative session. In all, nine legislators have decided not to run again this year for their Carson City seats -- one-fifth of the entire Legislature. Even more seats could change hands after this election season, which promises several competitive races. But while several of the departing legislators, including Griffin, were criticized for their tax vote, not a single legislator says his or her reason for leaving is last year's contentious tax debate. In fact, this year could prove to have less turnover than average, depending on the outcome of several key races. Since 1983, an average of 18 new legislators have taken office in the biennial sessions. Of those, an average of 13 were legislators who ran for open seats vacated by the former incumbent. The other five defeated an incumbent either in a primary or general election. Incumbents fared poorly in several elections, particularly in 1990 and in 1994, which was one session after a tax increase. But typically incumbents win if they decide to run. Most turnover results from lawmakers who decide not to run again for their Carson City seats. For many of those legislators, the cause is mostly "the family factor," said Erik Herzik, head of the political science department at the University of Nevada, Reno. "It's not like Nevada has an atypical or meanspirited Lesiglature, or that issues are driving these folks out," Herzik said. Legislators leave their full-time jobs for at least 120 days to work in Carson City, which is at least a seven-hour drive or an hour plane ride away from jobs and families. Griffin wasn't the only legislator whose young family was 435 miles away -- Assemblymen William Horne, D-Las Vegas, and Chad Christensen, R-Las Vegas, both had wives who gave birth during the last session. And Nevada legislators received the ninth lowest pay in the nation last year, according to the National Conference of State Legislators. All of these factors helped Nevada's Assembly develop the 15th worst turnover rate in the nation compared with other lower houses in the 1990s, according to the National Conference of State Legislators. All but one of the legislators departing voluntarily this year serves in the Assembly. Three Assemblymen are running for the Clark County Commission, where they would start at a base pay of $54,000 a year and exercise power over the Strip -- and the state's largest industry. Longtime Sen. Joe Neal also is leaving to run for the County Commission. Another Assemblyman, Bob Beers, is running for the state Senate, and two others have cited personal reasons for leaving the Legislature. Some say there are advantages to having a fresh crop of legislators each session. "It's good that you're always getting new people and new ideas," said Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas. "It reflects a citizen legislature." Assemblywoman Dawn Gibbons, R-Reno, is leaving the Legislature after three and a half terms to spearhead the Education First initiative, a constitutional amendment that would require legislators to fund the education budget first. "We don't make it too complicated in Nevada," Gibbons said of the state Legislature. "People have access. I think it works well. "There were times last session that we didn't do our jobs the way we should have done, and shame on all of us," she said. "I'm including myself in that. I think a breath of fresh air is not a bad thing." On the flip side, legislators have just a few months from their election to the beginning of the session to learn issues. And since they don't have staff members to help brief them, they often turn to lobbyists for help in making votes and writing bills. In the 2003 session, there were 842 registered lobbyists for the state's 63 legislators. Turnover, Titus said, "does give the lobbyists more power." Many of these lobbyists have the most institutional memory around, said Carole Vilardo, president of the Nevada Taxpayers Association. Even with lobbyists, legislators sometimes felt like "you never get caught up," Griffin said. "That may have been unique to the last legislative session because of the budget and taxes, but every session is going to have dozens of issues," he said. "The budget is a pretty daunting document," Griffin said. "I really tried to learn it, and I think I have a pretty good conversational grasp of the budget. But it's obviously hundreds of pages and a lot of detail." When she was in the Assembly leadership, Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, helped train new lower house members with basic lessons on the major issues and how to research them, she said. "We have people who run for office who have never made a trip to Carson City and who have never been involved in state or local government," she said. Cegavske noted that, starting in 2010, veteran legislators will begin to phase out of office under the state's new term limits, which limit Assembly and Senate members from serving for more than 12 years. That caused problems in the California Legislature when the Golden State instituted term limits and freshmen ended up running committees. "We've seen it in our state," Cegavske said. "I do think when you have the turnover that the lobbyists and the staff are going to be the ones that wield the power." ***************************************************************** 16 Novel Approaches to the Management of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Energy Systems Global Navigation [http://www.nationalacademies.org/elements/navbartop.map] About the National Academies [http://www.nationalacademies.org/about] Employment Information [http://www7.nationalacademies.org/careers] Information for Congress [http://www4.nationalacademies.org/ocga/reso.nsf] Information for Members [http://www.nationalacademies.org/memarea] Giving to the National Academies [http://www7.nationalacademies.org/giving/] Information about our Presidents [http://www.nationalacademies.org/president] Subscribe to our Mail List [http://www.nationalacademies.org/mail.html] [View Current Projects] View Projects by Last Update [http://www4.nas.edu/cp.nsf/View+by+Date?OpenView] View Projects by Subject [http://www4.nas.edu/cp.nsf/Projects+_by+_Subjects?OpenView] View Projects by Title [http://www4.nas.edu/cp.nsf/Projects+_by+_Name?OpenView] View Projects by Unit [http://www4.nas.edu/cp.nsf/Projects+_by+_Unit?OpenView] View Projects by Former Unit [http://www4.nas.edu/cp.nsf/By+Former+Unit+Current?OpenView] Provisional Committee Appointments Open for Formal Public Comment [http://www4.nas.edu/webcr.nsf/open+for+comment?OpenView] [View Completed Projects] View Completed Projects by Subject [http://www4.nas.edu/cp.nsf/Completed+Projects+by+Subject?OpenVie w] View Completed Projects by Title [http://www4.nas.edu/cp.nsf/Completed+Projects+by+Project+Title?O penView] View Completed Projects by Unit [http://www4.nas.edu/cp.nsf/Completed+Projects+by+Unit?OpenView] View Completed Projects by Former Unit [http://www4.nas.edu/cp.nsf/By+Former+Unit+Completed?OpenView] Search Projects [http://www4.nas.edu/cp.nsf/search+all/$SearchForm?SearchView] View Other Projects [http://www4.nas.edu/cp.nsf/Projects+_by+_Subjects?OpenView] Project Title: Novel Approaches to the Management of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Energy Systems Date Posted: - Project Identification Number: BEES-J-02-02-A Major Unit: Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences [http://www7.nationalacademies.org/deps] [http://www.nationalacademies.org] [http://www.nationalacademies.org] Sub Unit: Board on Energy and Environmental Systems [http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bees] Links to Project Information: Project Scope [http://www4.nas.edu/webcr.nsf/ProjectScopeDisplay/BEES-J-02-02-A ?OpenDocument] Committee Membership [http://www4.nas.edu/webcr.nsf/CommitteeDisplay/BEES-J-02-02-A?Op enDocument] Meeting 1 [http://www4.nas.edu/webcr.nsf/MeetingDisplay1/BEES-J-02-02-A?Ope nDocument] - 10/23/2002 Meeting 2 [http://www4.nas.edu/webcr.nsf/MeetingDisplay2/BEES-J-02-02-A?Ope nDocument] - 02/12/2003 Meeting 3 [http://www4.nas.edu/webcr.nsf/MeetingDisplay3/BEES-J-02-02-A?Ope nDocument] - 09/24/2003 Meeting 4 [http://www4.nas.edu/webcr.nsf/MeetingDisplay4/BEES-J-02-02-A?Ope nDocument] - 03/17/2004 Reports: Reports having no URL can be seen at the Public Access Records Office Novel Approaches to Carbon Management: Separation, Capture, Sequestration, and Conversion into Useful Products [http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10699.html] Letter Report on Review of Proposals on Novel Approaches to Carbon Management [http://books.nap.edu/catalog/10869.html] Final Letter Report on Novel Approaches to Carbon Management [http://www4.nas.edu/webcr.nsf/MeetingDisplay11/BEES-J-02-02-A?Op enDocument] [http://domino.nas.edu/webcr1.nsf/MeetingsEditView12/BEES-J-02-02 -A?OpenDocument] [http://domino.nas.edu/webcr1.nsf/MeetingsEditView12/BEES-J-02-02 -A?OpenDocument] FEEDBACK [http://www4.nationalacademies.org/webfdbk.nsf/Feedback?OpenForm& BEES-J-02-02-A] .Viewers may use this FEEDBACK button to provide comments on the project at any time over its duration. Contact the Public Access Records Office [publicac@nas.edu] to make an inquiry or to schedule an appointment to view project materials available to the public. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Overview of CPS | Browsing for projects | Searching for project information| Communicating with the National Academies Copyright Statement [http://www.nationalacademies.org/legal] Global NavigationThe National Academies [http://www.nationalacademies.org/elements/navbarbot.map] Current Projects [http://www4.nationalacademies.org/cp.nsf] Publications [http://www.nationalacademies.org/publications] Directories [http://www.nationalacademies.org/directories] Search [http://wwwsearch.nationalacademies.org] Site Map [http://www.nationalacademies.org/sitemap] Feedback [wwwfdbk@nas.edu] ***************************************************************** 17 IPS-English MIDDLE EAST-NUCLEAR WEAPONS: El Baradei faces Date: Tue, 06 Jul 2004 14:22:23 -0700 AF WA AB DV EN HE=20 MIDDLE EAST-NUCLEAR WEAPONS: El Baradei faces tough mission in Israel, Att.Editors: The following item is from the Emirates News Agency (WAM) ABU DHABI, July 6 (WAM) - A United Arab Emirates (UAE) paper hoped today that the U.N. nuclear watchdog head could bring Israel to the negotiating table to ridding the Middle East of nuclear weapons. =94Israel, which practices state terrorism under the protection of the U.S., always wants to be above international laws and doesn't want to be held accountable for the crimes it commits,=94 wrote the Dubai-based 'Al Bayan' about El Baradei's visit to Israel today. El Baradei's last trip to Israel was in 1998. Israel is the only count= ry in the Middle East that has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Trea= ty (NPT). This means it is not obligated to show or declare its nuclear facilities or activities to U.N. inspectors. =94Will the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed El Baradei be able to convince Israel to ink the NPT?=94 t= he paper asked. El Baradei has proposed to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.= S. Security Advisor Condaleeza Rice a =94roadmap=94 for making the Middle Ea= st free of weapons of mass destruction. =94We hope El Baradei will put the ball on Israel's court and manage t= o make his plans succeed so as not to let the Jewish state escape nuclear accountability,=94 'Al Bayan' added. =94It is illogical that the internat= ional community strives to hold North Korea, Iran and others accountable and tu= rn a blind eye on Israel,=94 concluded the paper. (WAM) =20 ***************************************************************** 18 Guardian Unlimited: Blair hints at further anti-yob laws [http://www.guardian.co.uk/ Blair: WMD 'may never be found' Blair before the MPs: minute-by-minute report [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/media/story/0,12123,1255101,00.ht ml] Matthew Tempest and agencies Tuesday July 6, 2004 [Tony Blair before the liaison committee] Tony Blair before the liaison committee. Photo: PA Tony Blair conceded today that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction "may never be found" but claimed that they could have been "hidden, removed or destroyed". Appearing before the Commons liaison committee of senior MPs, the prime minister said: "I was very, very confident the Iraq Survey Group would find them - I have to accept we haven't found them and we may not find them." But - a week before the Butler inquiry into intelligence failures over Iraq reports back - Mr Blair warned against going to the "other extreme" and believing that Saddam never held WMD; they could have been "hidden, removed or destroyed", he added. Mr Blair's biannual grilling by the panel, consisting of the chairs of Commons select committees, lasted two and a half hours and covered topics ranging from Iraq to his plans for the public services. Asked by Tory MP Sir George Younger if it had been a mistake to put so much emphasis on Iraqi WMD and not regime change, he replied: "Just because we haven't found stockpiles of WMD doesn't mean he was not a threat." "I genuinely believed those stockpiles were there," he insisted. "He [Saddam] was a threat in WMD terms." In an unexpected hint ahead of next Monday's comprehensive spending review by the chancellor, Mr Blair let slip that, contrary to some leaks, defence would not be one of the departments facing cuts. Asked by the Tory MP Robert Key where cuts may fall, Mr Blair surprised MPs by saying: "I don't think we'll be cutting defence spending at all." Many reports had speculated that Geoff Hoon would be forced to find 1% of cuts. Foreign affairs Mr Blair also revealed that one of the constraints on returning the remaining four UK detainees in Guantánamo Bay was a proper "security infrastructure" in Britain - implying that there were unresolved intelligence concerns about the men. Quizzed by MPs, he confirmed that he had personally discussed the case of the four detainees with the US president, George Bush, "a few weeks ago". Although he was careful not to comment on individual cases, Mr Blair told the committee: "I am not yet satisfied that we have the necessary machinery in place but we are working on that. "We all know that we are faced with a significant terrorism threat. These people were picked up in circumstances where we believe at the very least there are issues that need to be resolved, let us say, in respect of those individuals. "I just have to be careful in terms of the security of this country." Although he was pressed by several MPs - both Labour and Tory - to list the achievement of his "special relationship" with the US, he rejected that Britain was merely "thrown scraps" by Mr Bush. Showing some real anger, he said: "And if you really want to know I think most countries round the world would give their eye teeth to have that relationship. "And it is a shame that here it is seen somehow as a sign of mockery that we have the closeness of that relationship." In one of today's most difficult questions, Tory Sir George Young reminded Mr Blair that he had told the Labour party conference two years ago that "another Rwanda" would not be allowed to happen - and contrasted those words with the current situation in Darfur, Sudan. The prime minister agreed it was a "very serious situation" - but that no country had done more for Africa than Britain. Anti-social behaviour The prime minister also promised to bring in more legislation to crack down on yobs, if anti-social behaviour continues to make people's lives "hell". He said: "I am very willing to go back and legislate again on this anti-social behaviour, if there are problems with the way the law is being used because it is a big, big issue for people." Burnley Labour MP, Peter Pike, complained about gangs hanging around the streets terrorising people, while Tory MP Sir Nicholas Winterton said that residents in his Macclesfield constituency were having "their lives made hell" by small gangs of yobs. Labour's John Denham, however, queried whether tough policing, and the emphasis on fighting terrorism, had led the police to downgrade community cohesion. Mr Blair responded by insisting that communities back "tough policing" against drug-dealers, vandals and yobs. He added that most people were in favour of "some pretty hard stuff" to deal with the problems. "For a lot of these local communities, they want pretty tough policing," he said. "They do want their community cohesion, but they want tough policing as well. "Provided they think the tough policing is fair on the basis to whom it is applied - in other words it is applied whatever the colour of your skin or your religion - then actually they are up for some pretty hard stuff in dealing with drug-dealers, in dealing with people who cause dissent and difficulty within their community." Public services The prime minister also insisted that the expansion of "choice" in public services would not mean a "free-for-all" in schools and hospitals. He told the committee that giving parents and patients real choice in health and education meant building up capacity. With both Labour and the Conservatives putting forward rival policies for expanding choice in public services, Mr Blair said that while it was an "important lever" for driving up standards it was not the "be-all and end-all". "Choice is meaningless unless the capacity is there, unless you are providing, for example, the good schools," he said. "You have got to combine choice with expanding capacity and raising standards." But both Tony Wright and Alan Williams - Labour MPs - said they did not understand how the concept of choice would work. Mr Williams said: "Of course, what everyone wants is the good school and the good hospital on their door step. The question is that given that we live in an imperfect world, and they don't always have it, are they then just stuck with a failing or poor service on their doorstep or can they exercise the choice to go elsewhere?" Mr Blair said it was "highly inequitable" if people did not have the right to exercise choice over which schools or hospitals they used. His comments come as a BBC-commissioned poll found that the public were enthusiastic about having more choice in education and health provision but had mixed views about the involvement of private companies in the public sector. Some 79% of those questioned wanted to be treated as customers in education and health services, while 74% said choice would make the health service better and almost 60% saying it would make education better. Some 70% overall - and 68% of Tory voters - were opposed to the idea of the state subsidising people who opt to go private to purchase health care. And 37% said they did not think that private companies should be involved in any way in providing public services. [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 ***************************************************************** 19 Las Vegas SUN: U.N. Nuke Watchdog Chief Visits Israel By GEORGE JAHN ASSOCIATED PRESS TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - The head of the U.N. atomic watchdog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, arrived for a two-day visit Tuesday and was expected to press Israel for tacit acknowledgment of its nuclear weapons. However, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he would not budge from his country's traditional "no show, no tell" policy. "I don't know what he (ElBaradei) is coming to see. Israel has to hold in its hand all the elements of power necessary to protect itself, by itself," Israel Army Radio quoted Sharon as saying in May. "Our nuclear policy has proven itself and will continue." Israel is widely believed to have a nuclear arsenal, but does not comment directly on its capacity. ElBaradei said ahead of the trip that Israel should start talking seriously about a Middle East free of nuclear arms, regardless of whether it admits to having them. Earlier this year, he condemned the imbalance in the Middle East because of "Israel sitting on nuclear weapons." Sharon plans to take ElBaradei on a helicopter tour over Israel, the office of the International Atomic Energy Agency said. Israel often gives such tours to dignitaries to illustrate the country's small size and security concerns in a volatile Mideast. IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozcecky linked ElBaradei's visit to the need "for a strategic dialogue on nuclear issues, aimed at building up ... mutual confidence and, in the long run, making the region free of weapons of mass destruction." Reflecting Israel's continued policy of keeping the agency at arm's length, senior diplomats familiar with the Vienna-based IAEA said ElBaradei would not be visiting Dimona, the nuclear facility in the Negev Desert thought to be at the heart of Israel's weapons program. ElBaradei was to meet Sharon and other senior officials. Still, Israeli analysts warned against even low expectations. "There is no foundation for a change in Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity under present circumstances, and the topic is not on the agenda," wrote Gerald M. Steinberg, a fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Evidence that Israel has nuclear arms is overwhelming, much of it based on details and pictures leaked in 1986 by Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu, as well as by other leaks, research and statements made by Israeli leaders. "Give me peace, and we will give up the atom," declared former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres in 1995, when hopes for a Middle East settlement were still alive. "If we achieve regional peace, I think we can make the Middle East free of any nuclear threat." Israel's doctrine of "nuclear ambiguity" - never formally confirming or denying that it has such weapons - is meant to keep the Islamic world from considering an annihilating attack while denying it the rationale for developing its own nuclear deterrent. While the United States accuses Iran and possibly Syria of interest in such weapons, Israel is believed to be the only country in the region thought to have nuclear missiles ready to launch. Still, Israel has left few footprints in developing a weapons program. And because it has resisted international pressure to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Israel does not formally have to declare itself a weapons state or agree to any curbs on its nuclear activities. That leaves the IAEA and the rest of the world guessing about the nature and scope of Israel's program. Experts say Israel may already have as many as 300 warheads as well as the capability of building more quickly. In Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell declined to take a stand on whether Israel's suspected atomic weapons program should be forced open to international inspection. But Powell, at a joint news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, renewed his demand for international pressure on Iran to stop development of nuclear weapons. Shalom, meanwhile, said Israel would cooperate with the U.N. official and that he planned to meet him Thursday in Israel. "The main problem is Iran," Shalom said. David Albright, a former Iraq nuclear inspector who runs the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, says that despite turbulence in the Middle East, the time might be right for ElBaradei's mission because "Iraq has been dealt with" as a threat to Israel and "Iran is being isolated" as the world pushes for exposure of its nuclear secrets. Nuclear expert Avner Cohen, a senior fellow at The University of Maryland, says Israel's policy has served it well by acting as a deterrent while denying enemies the chance of arguing they have the right to nuclear weapons as well. But he says "opacity" has outlived its usefulness and Israel should now be up front about its capacities. --- On the Net: Israel Atomic Energy Commission, www.iaec.gov.il/ International Atomic Energy Agency, www.iaea.org -- ***************************************************************** 20 BBC: Sharon sticks to nuclear policy Last Updated: Tuesday, 6 July, 2004 [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon] Sharon said Israel would not change its "no show, no tell" policy Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says his country's "ambiguous" nuclear policy is working and will continue. His comments came hours before the head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, arrived for talks in Israel. Mr ElBaradei is expected to press for a nuclear arms-free zone in the region. Israel is widely believed to have a large stockpile of nuclear warheads, but it refuses to confirm or deny that it has a nuclear deterrent. Mr ElBaradei arrived on Tuesday evening, with the main meetings due to take place on Thursday. He told reporters he did not expect Israel to reveal its nuclear secrets, but wanted to see "the beginning of a dialogue on how a... nuclear security free zone could look". "If I get the parties closer on the need for a dialogue, I think I'll be successful," he said. Before the visit, Israel released photos of its nuclear plant in the Negev desert for the first time. The images appear on a new website for the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission. Analysts believe Israel has about 200 warheads at the plant in the town of Dimona. But there is little sign that Israel is set to be more open about its nuclear activities, the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says. 'Nuclear ambiguity' Mr Sharon, quoted by Israeli Army Radio, said the country did not intend to change its "no show, no tell" policy of nuclear ambiguity. [Dimona plant in Israel (aerial photo)] src=] Israel's nuclear programme "I don't know what he [ElBaradei] is coming to see," Mr Sharon said. "Israel has to hold in its hand all the elements of power necessary to protect itself by itself. "Our policy of ambiguity on nuclear arms has proved its worth, and it will continue," Mr Sharon added, without elaborating. In December, Mr ElBaradei urged Israel - a member of the IAEA - to surrender its alleged nuclear weapons. But, unlike Iran and North Korea - two nations whose alleged nuclear ambitions have recently come under international scrutiny - Israel has never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, designed to prevent the global spread of nuclear arms. As a result, it is not subject to inspections or the threat of sanctions by the IAEA. With a programme dating back to the early 1950s, Israel is widely believed to have become a fully-fledged nuclear armed power. When compared with India and Pakistan - other states that have relatively recently developed nuclear arms - Israel's deterrent is probably the most sophisticated, our correspondent says. It can be delivered by long-range ballistic missiles or advanced warplanes. Some reports suggest that Israel is even developing a submarine launched missile that might carry a nuclear warhead. ***************************************************************** 21 Guardian Unlimited: Sharon Will Not Change Israeli Nuke Policy From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday July 6, 2004 11:31 AM AP Photo JRL109 JERUSALEM (AP) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was quoted Tuesday as saying Israel would not change its ``no show, no tell'' nuclear policy, and that he would ensure the country had all the necessary weapons to protect itself. Sharon was quoted on Israel's Army Radio hours before a visit by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei. The Israeli leader was scheduled to meet ElBaradei, who has said Israel should start talking seriously about a nuclear free Middle East whether or not it admits to having such weapons. Israel has an official policy of ``nuclear ambiguity,'' under which it neither confirms nor denies having such weapons. Experts assess Israel has the world's sixth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, including some 300 warheads and the ability to rapidly expand. ``I don't know what he is coming to see. Israel has to hold in its hand all the elements of power necessary to protect itself by itself,'' Sharon said. ``Our nuclear policy has proven itself and will continue.'' Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 ***************************************************************** 22 Tri-City Herald: Energy NW working toward new wind farm This story was published Tuesday, July 6th, 2004 By Chris Mulick Herald Olympia bureau Energy Northwest is working with a European wind farm developer to pitch a large-scale project in Garfield County. There are a number of obstacles in the way, all centered around finding enough buyers. But if it gets built, the Hopkins Ridge wind project would be more than half again larger than the wind farm now overlooking the Tri-Cities. Under the arrangement, United Kingdom-based Renewable Energy Systems, or RES, would build and own the project in the Pomeroy area, and Energy Northwest, the public power consortium that runs the commercial nuclear power plant north of Richland, would operate it. After 10 years, when key tax credits would expire, Energy Northwest would have the option to buy the project to provide public utilities with its power at the cost of production. Its obstacles make the project different from the Nine Canyon Wind Farm Energy Northwest owns and operates south of the Tri-Cities. First, the weakening U.S. dollar has made wind turbine equipment shipped from Europe more expensive. And as a private developer, RES will seek to have a profit margin built in to the costs of the project's power. It is believed Hopkins Ridge must be built out to have a capacity of 100 megawatts -- enough to generate nearly 30 megawatts on average -- in order to spread costs thin enough to make it economical. But the potential pool of buyers appears to be limited to the Northwest because of transmission constraints. Would-be customers in California have been turned off by the unavailability of a guaranteed transmission path, with the usual bottleneck coming west of McNary Dam. "I don't think they're completely disinterested, but it's pretty unlikely," said Dan Porter, an Energy Northwest project manager. "This issue stopped us." In the Northwest, there's been enough public utility interest to buy up almost half the project. That's not enough. RES also is pitching the project to regional investor-owned utilities that are asking for wind power proposals, though no commitments have been made so far. "We'd like to have more Northwest utilities interested in it," said Sid Morrison, a member of the Energy Northwest executive board. "If we don't do this, someone is going to grab this property." Part of the problem with finding buyers among public utilities is many of them already have more than enough power to serve their customers, said Sara Patton, director of the green-leaning Northwest Energy Coalition. Some also are waiting to see if their primary supplier -- the Bonneville Power Administration -- is going to be adding resources in the future. "All of the publics who have access to BPA are trying to figure out who is going to be in charge," Patton said. The final obstacle may be the most fundamental. The 1.8-cent-per-kilowatt-hour federal tax credit for environmentally friendly power plants has expired, and Congress has yet to re-up it. Without the credit, wind power can't compete. Nonetheless, Energy Northwest has made a second pitch to regional public utilities, offering an alternative pricing structure, and hopes to hear back by July 15. "We're not giving up," Porter said. © 2004 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 23 RNW: Israel's nuclear ambiguity [http://www.rnw.nl/cgi-bin/home/enhomestandard.pl] Tuesday, 06 July, 2004 Interview by Robert Chesal, 6 July 2004 [elbaradei+israeliflag] IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei (composite photo) The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency is visiting Israel for talks about his aim to rid the entire Middle East of nuclear arms. But Israel's policy of "strategic ambiguity" about its nuclear stockpile – neither admitting nor denying that it has an arsenal of such weapons – poses a major obstacle to Mr ElBaradei's plans. Despite the revelations about Israel's nuclear arms programme made 20 years ago by Mordechai Vanunu, who was jailed by his country for betraying its secrets, the "say nothing" policy has stayed firmly in place. In this interview, Radio Netherlands' Robert Chesal speaks to nuclear arms expert Yossi Melman of Ha'aretz newspaper in Tel Aviv, and begins by asking him whether the IAEA has a chance of gaining access to Israel's nuclear secrets. "No, as long as Israel's policy is not going to change, the policy of ambiguity - the policy that Israel neither denies nor conforms that it does have nuclear weapons - I don't think that Israel would allow inspectors to visit the nuclear site of Dimona. However, Israel is very active in other activities and operations of the International Atomic Energy Agency, including the recent IAEA inspection on the smaller nuclear research at Nahal Soreq, which [was] well received from the United States in 1960. It's a very small, two-megawatt production reactor, and Israel has no problems with what's going on there." [Nahal-Soreq-facility-Israel] Israel´s Nahal Soreq nuclear research plant RN: "The ambiguity policy that you just mentioned, why is it that Israel still maintains this policy?" "I think it's a very clever policy because it helps to lower the pressure on Israel, especially from the United States, because unlike India or Pakistan, which officially and publicly announce that they have nuclear weapons and tested them, Israel doesn't say it. Therefore, officially Israel does not have nuclear weapons, therefore there is less need for US pressure on Israel." "And the United States and the international community, including Mr ElBaradei and the IAEA, are under tremendous pressure, for example, nowadays from Iran, which is asking why are you picking on us, putting that pressure on us not to produce nuclear weapons, while we are signatory members of the non-proliferation treaty, and you don't do it [to] Israel which does have nuclear weapons? So, the policy of ambiguity is helping to lower the pressure on Israel, especially from the United States." RN: "What you just mentioned about Iran saying ‘why are picking on us?' doesn't Iran have a point in a way, because they also don't admit that they have any nuclear capacity?" "On the contrary, Iran is saying we don't have nuclear weapons and we have no intentions of having nuclear weapons, of course there is a point. ElBaradei sees Israel as a source of instability in the region, as a source which is providing incentives to other countries to balance Israel's nuclear supremacy and Israel's strategic position by trying to obtain chemical, biological and nuclear weapons." "Therefore, he's here in Israel to try to promote the notion of a nuclear-free zone. And, by the way, Israel is not against the idea – the dispute between Israel and ElBaradei is about the modalities of that notion of a nuclear-free zone. Israel claims that the issue of nuclear weapons should be last on the table after peace is achieved in the Middle East, after security arrangements are on the ground, and then [as] part of the overall deal Israel would be ready to talk about its nuclear arsenal." Disclaimer: Radio Netherlands is not responsible for the content ***************************************************************** 24 asahi.com: EDITORIAL: Southeast Asia security ASEAN Regional Forum shows a sign of change. Every year at the close of the meeting of the Regional Forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the chairman issues a statement confirming that talks were held at a pace palatable to all participating nations. The meeting involves representatives of Southeast and Northeast Asian countries, the United States and the European Union, who discuss security matters. The chairman's statement is considerate of the diverse interests represented by the leaders in the meeting. But that has made it difficult to reach a really effective agreement. The 11th ministerial meeting held in Jakarta last week, however, showed signs of a change among Asian leaders. A decision was made to set up a forum for defense officials of participating nations to discuss security policy. A special statement was also adopted on the prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including black-market transactions of nuclear materials, and steps to fight piracy and terror on the Strait of Malacca. The forum on security policy was proposed by China. After taking into account the establishment of the East Asian Community, which handles mostly economic matters, China began to assume a more cooperative attitude regarding security issues as well. The forum's first meeting will be held in China within this year with the participation of military officials. The membership of the ASEAN Regional Forum includes all the countries taking part in the six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear development. Participation of a nuclear-armed Pakistan as well as that of India was also approved at the Jakarta meeting. The security policy forum may be helpful in easing tensions over nuclear arms in the region. The widespread concern in Asia over U.S. unilateralism was also instrumental in setting up the security policy forum. Discussions with U.S. military officials may not necessarily be comfortable for other participants. But the talks will be worth it if they produce tangible results. In the eyes of the U.S. government, for instance, Asian countries have taken a tepid attitude toward the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and international terror. That is why the United States proposed a plan to fight terror and piracy by organizing a coalition of the willing countries. But the U.S. proposal raised hackles in Malaysia and Indonesia, which argued that the presence of American troops will attract terror and that their sovereignty might be jeopardized. As many as 50,000 vessels, most of which belong to Japan, China or South Korea, pass through the piracy-prone Malacca Strait every year. But safeguarding of the strait by coastal countries has not been adequate. Those countries, concerned about their territorial integrity, do not like patrol vessels of other nations entering their territorial waters in pursuit of pirates. But terrorism against oil and gas tankers cannot be prevented with such an attitude. The special statement adopted at the Jakarta meeting mentioned joint maneuvers by coastal countries and a joint study into measures to fight terrorism and suicide bombings. This will be a first step forward for the ASEAN Regional Forum to transform itself into an organization that can take joint action, even though such a step may have been partly prompted by member nations' wish to avoid intervention by the United States. ASEAN has come a long way in its agreement to set up an ASEAN Security Community by 2020, despite its many problems, including the military junta ruling Myanmar (Burma). The ASEAN Regional Forum has matured into a grouping that can help stabilize Asia as a whole by involving North Korea as well as big powers out of the region, such as the United States, China and Japan. Asia will evolve if the plan of the East Asian Community-which consists of ASEAN plus Japan, China and South Korea-and a broader Regional Forum fit together. --The Asahi Shimbun, July 5(IHT/Asahi: July 6,2004) (07/06) ***************************************************************** 25 NRC: FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company, Davis-Besse Nuclear Power FR Doc 04-15171 [Federal Register: July 6, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 128)] [Notices] [Page 40668] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr06jy04-83] [[Page 40668]] Station, Unit 1, Withdrawal of Exemption 1.0 Background The FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (the licensee) is the holder of Facility Operating License No. NPF-3 which authorizes operation of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1 (DBNPS). The license provides, among other things, that the facility is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) now or hereafter in effect. The facility consists of a pressurized-water reactor located in Ottawa County in Ohio. 2.0 Request Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), part 50, appendix R, subsection III.L.1 requires that alternative or dedicated shutdown capability be able to achieve cold shutdown conditions within 72 hours. The NRC granted an exemption to this requirement by letter dated August 20, 1984, for DBNPS. In summary, the licensee now concludes that DBNPS meets the requirement and the exemption is no longer required; therefore, the licensee requests that the exemption be withdrawn. 3.0 Evaluation Two issues caused the licensee to originally request the exemption. They were the ability to depressurize the reactor coolant system and a limitation on cooldown rate. The licensee has recently performed an evaluation and determined that alternate pressurizer spray from the high pressure injection pumps could be used for depressurization and the limit on cooldown rate can be increased. The licensee concluded that DBNPS can now comply with the regulation and the exemption is no longer required. Based upon the licensee's recent evaluation determining that DBNPS alternative shutdown capability can achieve cold shutdown within 72 hours, the staff concludes that the exemption can be withdrawn. 4.0 Conclusion Accordingly, the Commission hereby grants FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company withdrawal of the exemption from the requirements of CFR part 50, appendix R, subsection III.L.1, granted by letter dated August 20, 1984, for DBNPS. Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the granting of this exemption withdrawal will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment (69 FR 28951). This exemption withdrawal is effective upon issuance. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of June, 2004. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Ledyard B. Marsh, Director, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 04-15171 Filed 7-2-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 26 Las Vegas SUN: Experts Try to Affect Romanian Nuke Laws ASSOCIATED PRESS CLUJ, Romania (AP) - Romanian and French scientists met Tuesday in a seminar that aims to harmonize Romania's nuclear legislation with EU standards for safety and environmental protection. Some 130 scientists, experts and Romanian government officials were taking part in the five-day seminar that opened Monday in the Transylvanian city of Cluj. The seminar, organized by the city's Babes-Bolyai University, gives nuclear and environmental experts a forum for sharing information, said Iustinian Petrescu, head of the university's department of environmental studies. Among those participating was the head of legal affairs at the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as Romanian government officials for nuclear issues. Romania is aiming to improve its nuclear legislation, as it hopes to join the European Union in 2007. However the Eastern European country has never suffered any nuclear accidents, and for decades has not had a Soviet-era nuclear plant on its soil. A Canadian-designed nuclear power plant, opened seven years ago in the southeastern city of Cernavoda, provides 10 percent of the country's electricity with only one of its four reactors in use. -- ***************************************************************** 27 Toronto Star: Pickering A passes safety review TheStar.com - Tue. Jul. 6, 2004. | Updated at 04:39 PM DICK LOEK/TORONTO STAR Agency inspects restarted Unit 4 Spare parts need better handling JOHN SPEARS BUSINESS REPORTER The Pickering A nuclear generating station has received a generally passing grade in a safety review by the International Atomic Energy Agency. But the review says improvements are needed in some areas, including the way plant staff obtain and track spare parts. In a submission prepared for the Canadian Nuclear Safety Association, the station's owner, Ontario Power Generation Inc,. says it is already at work fixing some of the issues identified in the review. The review was carried out in February to look at operating practices at Pickering A's Unit 4, which returned to service last September following a six-year shutdown. The Ontario government is expected to decide very soon whether to return a second Pickering A unit to service, and then will consider whether the final two units should also be restarted. The restart project has been plagued with delays and cost overruns; conceived as an $800 million project, the board first approved spending of $1.1 billion to return all four units to service. But it's now estimated it could cost up to $4 billion to return all four units to service. The review team said Pickering A has good emergency preparedness practices, a good safety culture, strong training programs and is receptive to external reviews. But it zeroes in on the availability of spare and replacement parts as an obstacle to refurbishing the reactors. Lack of parts "sometimes interferes with the ability to accomplish work," the review notes. The same problem was highlighted in a report last December by a provincially appointed review panel probing the reasons for Pickering A's cost overruns and delays. The plant has made progress on clearing the backlog of parts that are ordered but not delivered, the review says, but that has just increased the backlog of parts being cleared through quality control checks. Nuclear plants must meet quality control standards set by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Agency. "Without a more effective strategic spare-parts program, it will be difficult to maintain appropriate plant material condition," the review notes. While a new warehouse has been built 20 kilometres from Pickering, the review says that two warehouses on the Pickering site don't meet international standards. The warehouses are old, dusty and poorly organized, and they lack appropriate lighting, temperature and humidity controls, the review says. That could result in "a degraded state of the spare parts and that could lead to a failure of the equipment on which they have been installed and as a consequence impair safe and reliable operation of the plant," the review says. The review also says Pickering A managers need to do a better job of telling their staff about operating goals and about new practices. In a response to the review, station manager John Coleby says Pickering management invited a team of experts from the World Association of Nuclear Operators to help OPG fix some of the problems highlighted by the review. The spare parts issue is difficult, he acknowledges in notes to a presentation scheduled for Thursday at the nuclear safety commission. "Procurement of spare parts is an issue facing all of OPG's plants as equipment becomes obsolete and suppliers go out of business," Coleby says. Pickering A is the province's oldest operating nuclear station, dating from the early 1970s. The plant has a set up a "strategic materials availability initiative" to work on the problem, and has hired more design engineers as well, Coleby says. Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All ***************************************************************** 28 TheWGALChannel.com Group: Unguarded Nuclear Plant Gates Wouldn't Violate Federal Rules [http://www.ibsys.com/] UPDATED: 4:43 pm EDT July 6, 2004 HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Nuclear plants probably wouldn't leave their entrances unguarded, but a watchdog group said doing so wouldn't violate federal requirements. The Harrisburg-based group, Three Mile Island Alert, asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the day after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to require armed guards at nuclear power plant entrances. The agency hasn't made a decision, and Scott Portzline, a member of the group, accuses the agency of dragging its feet because it fears such a rule would be unpopular. It isn't unusual for such petitions for rulemaking to take a long time, NRC spokeswoman Diane Screnci said. She said she disagrees "with the statement that the NRC is stonewalling on the request." The NRC has issued new security requirements including increased security forces and patrols, addition of barriers and fencing, vehicle checks and deeper background checks of plant workers that make the facilities "heavily defended and physically robust." An unguarded gate is admittedly unlikely, but "if you have no regulation," Portzline said, "then there is no standard that they have to meet. "A busload of terrorists could drive onto a plant, exit and do a commando raid," Portzline said. Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This [http://www.ibsys.com/] . ***************************************************************** 29 TheDay.com: Planning Timeline Touted As Good Reason For Early Millstone License Renewals Wednesday, Jul 7, 2004 By PATRICIA DADDONA Day Staff Writer, Waterford Published on 7/6/2004 Waterford  Even nuclear power watchdogs see the merits of the decision by the owner of Millstone Power Station to seek license renewals for its nuclear reactors years ahead of their expiration dates. Three years ago, Dominion Resources of Virginia paid $1.3 billion for the power station on the peninsula that juts into Long Island Sound. The station includes Millstone 1, a plant being decommissioned, and Millstone 2 and 3. The two operating reactors provide 48 percent of Connecticut's electricity, according to a 2003 analysis by the Nuclear Energy Institute. Early this year, Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, the corporation formed to manage Millstone, asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend licenses another 20 years for Millstone 2 and 3, through 2035 and 2045, respectively. The NRC could make a decision on the application sometime in 2006. If renewed at that time, Millstone 2's license would be good through its expiration date in 2015 and for another 20 years after that, for a total of 29 years. Likewise, the license for Millstone 3 would hold for another 39 years. They paid a lot of money for Millstone, and I've got to assume that part of their business decision was predicated on getting another 20 years of life out of Millstone 2 and Millstone 3, said David Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Dominion knows if they do their homework ... the NRC will grant extensions. I'm not sure they'd want to gamble by waiting. Lochbaum is a nuclear safety engineer and a frequent, vocal critic of the industry. His book, Nuclear Waste Disposal Crisis, published in 1996, called attention to the government inaction in establishing a national repository for radioactive waste generated by nuclear reactors. Federal re-licensing focuses chiefly on safe operation of the power plants as they age. On average, owners apply for license renewal 10 or 11 years before a plant's expiration date, said NRC safety expert Johnny Eads. The NRC is currently considering 21 applications, according to its Web site. Reactor owners need a long planning horizon, said Eads, because, even though the NRC has never rejected a renewal application, it could. Then, owners would need years to develop alternative uses for their property, he said. The NRC uses expert inspections, detailed records, and public feedback to determine whether continued operation is viable. The re-licensing process takes about two years, but preparation leading up to it can take several years, NRC officials and Dominion spokesmen said. These days, despite growing national support for building a new generation of power plants, the owners of nuclear reactors are more likely to renew licenses at existing plants than they are to build new, said James Asselstine, a senior utility analyst for electric utilities with Lehman Brothers. He was an NRC commissioner from 1982 to 1987. Increasingly, this is the trend that we're seeing, Asselstine said. Most companies are beginning to realize this is a very cost-effective way to acquire additional generation. Construction, staffing and financing for a new nuclear power plant could cost between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion, Asselstine said. License renewals, said Eads, typically cost much less  up to $15 million, including about $4,000 in application fees. Dominion spokesman Pete Hyde refused to disclose the company's projected renewal costs. """Since a long timeline is normal, Lochbaum said he finds little fault with Dominion's strategy for securing license renewals early. He even cited some public benefits. With license renewal for Millstone 2, for example, Lochbaum said, aging monitoring is done over 29 years instead of 20, so from our standpoint, we're glad those additional measures go into effect now rather than having to wait. If license renewals were granted, Lochbaum added, the company would trade in its current license for a new one that would span the time left on the old license as well as the extension period. Then, he said, you have a seamless understanding: The plant owner knows that from this day forward, they have to play by these rules. With extended licenses in hand, plant owners can make more sophisticated and timely decisions about maintenance of key equipment. The value of the site increases and that makes business forecasting easier for the company, he said. Dominion spokesman Karl Neddenien confirmed that the company's decision to buy the power station in the first place was based in part on whether renewing plant licenses would be feasible. As soon as Dominion acquired Millstone in March 2001, the company began preparing to extend those two licenses, he said. That was a consideration: how long we would have to operate the plants and earn a return on our investment, he said. The goals are not just an uninterrupted supply of electricity for customers but also a profit for investors, he said. So far, Dominion has encountered little public opposition to its plans, except for challenges from one anti-nuclear activist group, the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone. Nonetheless, the company decided it could better assess community feeling by hiring state Sen. Melodie Peters, D-Old Lyme, as a public relations consultant through the end of the year, Hyde said. Peters, who currently chairs the General Assembly's Energy and Technology Committee, will seek out community views about re-licensing that are not available through legal challenges, public meetings or the media, Hyde said. Hiring her is a standard corporate approach that helps the company evaluate its public image, he said. The coalition's opposition to re-licensing did not prompt Peters' hiring, he added. """Headquartered in Richmond, Va., Dominion produces energy in the form of electricity or natural gas in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. The company employs 16,856 workers and has 5 million customers in nine states. It reports $10.2 billion in operating revenue and $37.9 billion in assets, and answers to 350,000 shareholders, according to a fact sheet on its Web site. Dominion sought an exemption last year to apply for Millstone 3 re-licensing. Federal rules permit re-licensing only if a plant has 20 years of operating experience, and Millstone 3 has only 18 years' experience. The NRC granted the exemption in December, saying the two plants shared enough similarities to warrant simultaneous renewal applications. Armed with a recent, favorable NRC review, Dominion is forging ahead in the renewal process, despite inheriting Millstone's turbulent history. The entire station was shut down for three years in 1996 as the previous owner, Northeast Utilities, was cited for mismanagement. The NRC itself was found to be negligent in its oversight of the plants. Then, in 2001, two spent fuel rods were reported missing at Millstone 1. The radioactive waste was never recovered. NU, which was originally responsible for the rods, was required to pay fines for the loss. Lochbaum said the only drawback he sees to early license renewal lies in the NRC's policy of requiring so-called one-time inspections at the end of a plant's 40-year life span. The inspections should be required as part of the licensing renewal process instead, he said. The one-time inspection the NRC mandates is meant to provide proof of the assumption that the plant works properly, Lochbaum said. If something is wrong, the burden is on the plant owner to fix it. However, if license extensions are already approved and something significant is wrong, the burden is on the NRC to assess the situation and provide remedies, he said. A problem at one type of reactor could have implications for all other reactors like it, he said. Why wait 40 years for a one-time inspection? Lochbaum asks. The longer you wait, the bigger the surprise would be. The oldest reactor in the country is 39 years old, according to NRC officials. Millstone 2 began operating in 1976, and Millstone 3 in 1986. I'm confident that if real safety concerns are identified, the agency (the NRC) will take action, regardless of how difficult it is, said Eads. Our mission is the protection of the public health, safety and the environment. Federal resident inspectors conduct routine and unannounced inspections every day at Millstone, and the company constantly inspects its own equipment, Hyde said. It is in our best interests to maintain our equipment to high standards of safety and reliability, not to avoid inspections, he said. For now, Dominion is busy putting in place up to 49 storage bunkers and dry casks so spent fuel can be removed from Millstone 2 wet fuel pools there and preserve full core reserve  the capacity to remove all spent fuel from the power plants. The Connecticut Siting Council approved the storage facility in May. A national repository for high-level radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada remains years away from completion. License renewal at Millstone does not prevent Dominion from building a new power plant there, or eventually re-powering the site with related energy generation systems. The company has no plans at the moment to build any other type of electrical generation at Millstone, said Hyde. Yet Dominion is applying to the NRC to locate a site for a new power plant at its North Anna Station in Virginia. The company is also spearheading international research into a new generation of nuclear reactors, along with other nuclear power consortiums, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. I would think Dominion is looking at those options plus quite a few others to see what makes sense for them down the road, Lochbaum said. If (North Anna) is successful, that opens the door for building another plant at Millstone or somewhere else. 442-2200 | © 1998-2004 The Day Publishing Co. You are 1 of ***************************************************************** 30 TheDay.com: State Senator Runs Risk Of A Conflict (Millstone) Jul 7, 2004 Published on 7/6/2004 Letters To The Editor: How can anyone claim that Sen. Melodie Peters working for Dominion as a public-relations consultant isn't a conflict of interest? (Dominion hires Peters to help with Millstone license renewal, July 2.) They say that she must not lobby for Dominion? Just by the nature of being a public-relations consultant, no matter who gets the job, they're lobbying for Dominion. I know the powers that be will try to split hairs and say she' not officially lobbying since that has specific meaning. The article even says they wanted Sen. Peters because she's a respected figure. So, c'mon Dominion, don't you really want her because you think she'll help your cause? If you deny this, then why not hire a public-relations firm that really has no interest either way to take the pulse of the area? If it walks like a duck and squawks like a duck, then it is, indeed, a duck. Please don't anyone tell us there's no conflict of interest. Just by nature of the work, there is. It was these exact tactics used by the previous owners of Millstone that lead me to leaving before reaching the age of 55. They forced the wrong people to leave and if they didn't leave, they wished they did. They also took on the wrong people to replace them. It seems that no matter who runs the place, their attitude continues. I'm not anti-nuke nor anti-Sen. Peters, but with the ethics problems all around us, wouldn't it have been good judgment to make other arrangements? Francis DiCarlo New London 1998-2004 The Day Publishing Co. ***************************************************************** 31 Brattleboro Reformer: Marek will run for second House term [http://www.reformer.com/] July 06, 2004 Brattleboro, VT By CAROLYN LORIÉ Reformer Staff NEWFANE -- According to Rep. Richard Marek, D-Newfane, plenty of good work was accomplished during the recent legislative term but there was plenty left undone. "We've got a lot of work to do for the next two years and I would love to be there to do it," said Marek, announcing his plans to run for re-election. The former lawyer from Michigan, who won his first race for the House in 2002, said that there were two aspects of the Vermont Legislature that left him deeply impressed: Its history and its openness. "There's a huge sense of continuity up there. You are in one of the oldest legislative chambers in the country," said Marek. "If you're reflective at all you think about all the decisions made in that chamber." But the weight of its past has not changed the nature of its purpose. "It's still very much a citizen's legislature," said Marek. "I think Vermont has the most open state government in the country." Among the successes of the last term, Marek considers the passage of Act 68 -- the recalculation of the education tax -- to be an important one. Its accomplishment, he said, was twofold: It significantly reduced the property tax burden and it preserved the intent of Act 60. Marek called the need to insure the education of every Vermont child a "fundamental responsibility." Marek was also behind legislation that will significantly increase reimbursement of crime victims by handing over the responsibility to Crime Victim Services. While supporting a new law that punishes those caught trafficking drugs, Marek said there is growing consensus that the current system of incarcerating low-level drug users is counterproductive and ineffective. "The goal is really to get the people selling and trafficking the drugs out of the system," he said. For low-level users, he added, "what you need is a lot more resources dedicated to education and treatment. Incarceration is not going to solve the problem." During the last two years, Marek also worked to insure that clergy are among the state's mandated reporters if they suspect a child is being abused. On the other end of the age spectrum, if someone in a nursing home or hospital is being abused, the worker who reports it is protected under new whistleblower legislation that Marek was behind. Despite all that was done, Marek, like many other legislators, expressed frustration over the lack of progress in access to health care. "Health care is number one. We didn't accomplish anything really significant in the health care arena this year," he said. Marek said that ultimately he supports universal access to health care but supports incremental steps in the right direction. He also strongly advocates re-importation of drugs from Canada, calling concerns that unsafe medicines might come across the border "ludicrous." "Canadian citizens aren't dropping in the streets from bad drugs," he pointed out. Also on the representative's to-do list for next year, is to deal realistically with what he called Vermont's impending financial crisis. According to Marek, a $40 million budgetary shortfall is predicted for next year, leading him and other Democrats to question the decision to increase corporate tax cuts. Finally, said Marek, the state needs an energy plan. "The administration delivered up a plan that really was an embarrassment," said Marek, referring to the 100-page document that had to be withdrawn because of widespread criticism. In terms of Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, Marek said that it was premature to make a decision in favor of or in opposition to relicensing, as many other plant-related issues must be tackled first. Namely, said Marek, the issue of dry cask storage needs to be resolved. At the tail end of the legislative session, Entergy officials requested the a statute giving the previous plant owners permission to build on-site storage for nuclear waste be extended to Entergy. This issue never left committee and was controversial as many accused the company of trying to slip in the amendment at the 11th hour. "The notion that there would be open-ended storage on the banks of the Connecticut River was not even considered [in 1972]," said Marek, referring to the fact that all nuclear power plants in the country expected to be shipping waste to the federal repository Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The site remains unopened. Marek said that there are advantages and disadvantages to dry cask storage and that he needed to hear testimony on the issue before making a final decision. Despite the difficulty of the work that lies ahead, Marek said that he has confidence that it will get done. He pointed out that for the last 10 years, the Legislature has passed a balanced budget, despite the fact that Vermont is the only state lacking a constitutional mandate to do so. "We do things because we ought to do it, not because we have to." Copyright ©1999-2004 New England Newspapers, Inc., a ***************************************************************** 32 TheDay.com: Citizens May Just Be Nuclear Guinea Pigs Published on 7/6/2004 Letters To The Editor: Media coverage regarding health concerns of the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone has not fallen on deaf ears. I cannot help but be reminded of the ever-present insult to our health and environment that many people are unaware of, or choose not to become informed. Unfortunately, it took my son's leukemia diagnosis to cause me to be enlightened. As a registered nurse tending to high-risk pregnancies, breast and gynecologic cancers, I have had to educate myself on environmental carcinogens. Chemicals, pesticides - many acting as endocrine disrupters  and electromagnetic radiation are well documented in the literature as potential carcinogens. Ionizing radiation, however, is a known carcinogen. I was surprised to learn that radioactive emissions, which are released by nuclear-power plants during normal operations, are a daily occurrence. Add chronic effects of low-level radiation, pesticides and assorted chemicals, and this makes for a toxic brew. Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, probably had it right a long time ago. Have we learned anything? Perhaps we can explore a few rather surprising facts about nuclear power that few people may realize. According to emission information reports by Nuclear Information Resource Service, distributed by Peoples Action for Clean Energy, Millstone's nuclear reactor in Connecticut has released 23,000 curies of tritium, a known cancer-causing radioactive toxin causing birth defects and genetic damage, directly into the air and water between 1991 and 2002. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, from 1971 to 2001 the total combined radioactive releases from Millstone units 1, 2 and 3 was 7,928,466 curies. Many radioactive gases decay into solid radioactive particles after they are released. The industry claims these releases are within the standards; however, some of these standards are being disputed by the industry experts themselves. I assume we are the guinea pigs of the future, just the same. Agnes M. Reynolds Wethersfield ***************************************************************** 33 Brattleboro Reformer: Officials: VY transformer fire started by broken part [http://www.reformer.com/] July 06, 2004 Brattleboro, VT By The Associated Press RUTLAND (AP) -- The fire that shut down the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant last month was apparently unrelated to modifications made in preparation for a proposed power boost, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been told by the owner of the Vernon facility. The fire was caused by a piece of an expansion joint that broke off in a duct carrying electricity to Vermont Yankee's transformer, according to the NRC. "Part of an expansion joint just basically peeled off and, rattling around in the duct, it caused (electrical) shorts and faults," NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said. "Because of the violence, because of the resulting effects of this, an oil pipe came loose and because of very high temperatures associated with the raw electricity, a fire started." Sheehan said the expansion joint, which was part of the duct or pipe that conducted electricity from the plant's generator to its transformer, was original equipment on the 32-year-old reactor. Entergy Nuclear, the owner of Vermont Yankee, has proposed increasing power output at the plant by 20 percent, a process known as the "uprate." Sheehan said Entergy had told the NRC it believed the fire was not connected to plant modifications during the plant's regular refueling outage in April. But Sheehan stressed that the NRC did not yet agree with this conclusion. "We're still looking at it," he said, noting that the NRC had sent a special team to Vermont to help with the investigation. Sheehan said Entergy's investigators found the broken piece of expansion joint in the duct, leading them to their fire theory. The plant has been off line since the June 18 fire, forcing utilities that usually buy power from the facility to look elsewhere for energy. According to an agreement with the state Public Service Board Entergy agreed to pay the difference in increased power costs if the plant closed because of uprate-related problems. Sheehan said two weeks of investigation and repair work had revealed very little damage to the transformer itself, which was installed two years ago by Entergy, shortly after it bought the plant. The new transformer is needed to handle the proposed power increase. Entergy spokesman Robert Williams declined comment on the root cause of the fire. But he said the plant could be "reconnecting to the grid next week." Copyright © 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 34 NRC: NRC to Meet with Public in New York on Nine Mile Point License Renewal News Release - Region I - 2004-03 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I No. I-04-035 July 1, 2004 CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331 E-mail: [opa1@nrc.gov] The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public information meeting on Thursday evening, July 8th, to discuss the process the agency will follow in reviewing the application submitted by Constellation Nuclear to renew the licenses for Nine Mile Point Units 1 and 2 in Scriba, N.Y. Constellation Nuclear submitted a license renewal application for the two units on May 27. The current operating licenses for Units 1 and 2 expire on August 22, 2009, and October 31, 2026, respectively. The meeting will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Joint News Center, 10 Airport Road, in Fulton, N.Y. The NRCs presentation will include information on how the process works and how the public can participate. Members of the public are invited to ask questions on the NRCs license renewal review process. Its an opportunity for the public to learn about the license renewal process early on. We look forward to helping the public better understand our review process, said Samson S. Lee, NRC license renewal section chief. Under NRC regulations, the original operating license for a nuclear power plant is issued for 40 years. It may be renewed for up to an additional 20 years if NRC requirements are met. The license renewal process requires that both a technical review of safety issues and an environmental review be performed for each application. The NRC staff is currently reviewing Constellations application to determine whether it contains enough information to begin the required formal review. If the application has sufficient information, the NRC will formally docket, or file, the application and will announce an opportunity to request a hearing. A copy of the license renewal application for the Nine Mile Point units is available for review at the Penfield Library (Selective Depository), Reference and Documents Department, State University of New York, Oswego, N.Y., and on the NRCs web site at www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/nin e-mile-pt.html. Last revised Tuesday, July 06, 2004 ***************************************************************** 35 NRC: NRC to Meet with Public to Discuss Spent Fuel Storage at Indian Point News Release - Region I - 2004-03 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I No. I-04-036 July 6, 2004 CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov [opa1@nrc.gov] The staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet with the public on July 15 to discuss the licensing and regulatory programs that will govern plans to construct and operate a dry cask interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel at the Indian Point 2 and 3 nuclear power plants. Indian Point is located in Buchanan, N.Y., and operated by Entergy Nuclear Northeast. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Crystal Bay on the Hudson-Charles Point Marina, at 5 John Walsh Blvd., Peekskill, N.Y. This is a good opportunity for members of the public to learn more about dry cask storage, its intended use at Indian Point and the NRCs oversight of those activities, said Larry W. Camper, Deputy Director of the Licensing and Inspection Directorate in the NRCs Spent Fuel Project Office. We look forward to an exchange of information on this important topic." During the first part of the meeting, NRC staff members will provide details of the agencys oversight role in reviewing dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel. Among the topics will be: the NRCs overall regulatory program for spent nuclear fuel and technical reviews and licensing processes for dry cask systems, as well as the agencys inspection program for such facilities, including oversight of design, fabrication, pre-operational demonstrations and operational activities. Following the NRCs presentation, a facilitated question-and-answer session will be conducted with members of the public. Entergy notified the NRC late last year of its intention to build a dry cask storage facility, also known as an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), at Indian Point. There are currently about 30 such ISFSIs at nuclear power plants across the nation. Other plants are also either actively pursuing or considering such facilities. Spent nuclear fuel consists of long, thin rods -- they can be 12 feet or more in length and have a diameter about the size of a pencil -- holding enriched uranium pellets. The rods are grouped into assemblies or bundles containing as many as 256 rods each. Once the assemblies have been used in a reactor, they are placed in interim storage facilities, such as a circulating-water spent fuel pool or a dry cask storage system. With the dry cask storage option, fuel is removed from the pool after a sufficient period of cooling time has elapsed and placed inside robust stainless-steel casks. Those casks are then sealed, filled with an inert gas and placed inside specially designed storage overpacks, in this case cylindrical vaults made of steel-reinforced concrete. Convective air flow through vents at the top and bottom of the units helps ensure that the fuel remains properly cooled. The amount of heat given off by spent fuel assemblies loaded into a cask would typically be less than that generated by an average home heating system. The storage units must be capable of resisting floods, tornadoes, projectiles, temperature extremes and other unusual scenarios. Dry cask storage is a temporary storage solution pending construction of a permanent U.S. repository for high-level radioactive waste. The Department of Energy, which hopes to open such a repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., is expected to apply to the NRC later this year for a license to begin construction of that facility. An NRC fact sheet on dry cask storage is available on the NRC web site at: www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/dry-cask-stora ge.html. Last revised Tuesday, July 06, 2004 ***************************************************************** 36 [du-list] Gulf War syndrome probe launched - BBC Date: Tue, 06 Jul 2004 14:29:35 -0700 Gulf War syndrome probe launched http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3869065.stm An independent inquiry into thousands of British troops who reportedly suffered ill health after the first Gulf War is being launched on Tuesday. Retired judge Lord Lloyd of Berwick was appointed by the Royal British Legion to question veterans, relatives and medical experts. Over 5,000 British veterans report illnesses they believe may be linked to vaccines or exposure to chemicals. The government has never acknowledged the existence of Gulf War syndrome. Lord Lloyd, a 75 year-old former Lord Justice of Appeal, was called upon to head the inquiry by Lord Morris of Manchester, who is honorary parliamentary advisor to the British Legion. On Tuesday, Lord Lloyd will explain details of the inquiry, and the parameters within which it will operate. Vaccinations Thousands of veterans say they have suffered from unexplained ailments including kidney pains, memory loss, chronic fatigue and mood swings. They blame a cocktail of tablets and vaccinations they were given to protect them against nerve agents, anthrax and botulism. Lord Lloyd said that although the government had claimed it was not closed to an inquiry, it had "repeatedly resisted one". The Ministry of Defence maintains the illnesses are so varied there can be no distinct syndrome or a specific cause. The Legion first called for a public inquiry into the illnesses surrounding the 1991-1992 Gulf War veterans seven years ago. o1.gif Lord Morris, who announced the inquiry in June, said the Legion had repeatedly called for an inquiry into the reported illnesses from the first Gulf War. He said: "With 2,585 veterans - many now terminally ill - already in receipt of war pensions, and over 5,000 reporting a wide range of undiagnosed illnesses, there is clearly a major problem to be addressed." He said many veterans, now in failing health, found themselves locked in a long battle to have their illnesses accepted as war related. 'Whitewash' The National Gulf Veterans and Families Association has said it fears the inquiry could be a "whitewash". When the inquiry was announced, Chairman Shaun Rusling said: "My first concern would be that the scope of the inquiry would be narrow and we would get a whitewash. "That is something we would find unacceptable - it has to be a fully open and complete inquiry and nothing withheld from the public." He added: "I would very much like to see, for all my members, full medical care and proper pensions. "It's absolutely despicable to make these soldiers fight for these pension rights and entitlements." To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT a6a7f.jpg a6ac2.jpg ---------- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: * http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du-list/ * * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: * du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com * * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. Attachment Converted: o1.gif: 00000001,533b9d5a,00000000,00000000 Attachment Converted: a6a7f.jpg: 00000001,533b9d5b,00000000,00000000 Attachment Converted: a6ac2.jpg: 00000001,533b9d5c,00000000,00000000 ***************************************************************** 37 ScienceDaily: Researchers Probe Island For Radiation Source: University Of Alberta [http://www.ualberta.ca/] Date: 2004-07-06 For Dr. Martyn Unsworth and his research team, a nice June day means no risk of hypothermia, and only a couple of days with rain and a cruel wind that can blow up to 80 kilometres an hour. "In the Aleutians, that's pretty good," Unsworth mused. The University of Alberta researcher and a team of five students toiled under those very conditions during a nine-day visit last month to the remote string of US-owned islands, which extend southwest of Alaska. The group, with the permission of the US Department of Energy and the aid of a grant, travelled to Amchitka Island to measure how much radioactivity is leaking from underground blast sites. The remote island was used for three American underground nuclear tests in the 1960s and 1970s. Amchitka, which became the heart of anti-nuclear protests and eventually spured the formation of Greenpeace, was the home of Project Cannikin, the largest of the three tests. The 1971 blast from the five-megaton warhead test measured 7.1 on the Richter Scale and left a caved-in crater almost two kilometres wide and 18 metres deep. The crater later became the largest lake on the island. Though the US government cleaned up the surface in 2001, "there's not been a systematic examination" of the underground sites since the 1970s, said Unsworth, a geophysics professor in the U of A’s Faculty of Science. He and his team--U of A students Wolfgang Soyer, Volkan Tuncer and William Shulba and two students from the universities of Alaska and British Columbia--were funded by the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP). The organization was set up by the US government to remediate all Cold War-era nuclear weapons sites. Visiting the abandoned island was a poignant experience, Unsworth said. "It was the frontier in the Cold War…the end of the line against the Soviets. It was such a needless test. We saw such a pristine wilderness area, and you've got to ask yourself if it was necessary to do that. It was a little bit haunting." Bundled against the elements and wearing radiation badges (which showed safe readings for surface radiation), they traversed the island, which is 48 kilometres long and almost five km wide. They measured radiowaves from the atmosphere that penetrate the Earth, revealing fractures around the test sites that in turn, lead to clues about the condition of the groundwater. Especially vital is information about contamination of the island's tables of saltwater and fresh water. "The contaminated groundwater will, within 50 to 100 years, start oozing into the Bering Sea," Unsworth said. While little can be done to prevent the leakage, nearby fishermen and Aleut communities can be warned when it does happen, he added. "If you know this stuff is coming out, you can do more enhanced monitoring and keep people away from contaminated areas." The leakage will flow out more quickly if it is in the fresh water, as opposed to the more stagnant layer of saltwater, Unsworth said. The team also took some global positioning measurements to gather updated information on how much the island is changing shape in response to plate tectonics, he added. Previous data has shown that the island is stretching lengthways, which could open up fractures. While the team must first share its findings with CRESP, the information will also be published in scientific journals, Unsworth said. ### Related links Dr. Martyn Unsworth's U of A webpage: http://www-geo.phys.ualberta.ca/~unsworth/ [http://www-geo.phys.ualberta.ca/~unsworth/] The U of A Department of Physics website: http://www.phys.ualberta.ca/ [http://www.phys.ualberta.ca/] CRESP website: http://www.cresp.org/ [http://www.cresp.org/] Editor's Note: The original news release can be found here [http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/expressnews/articles/news.cfm ?p_ID=5923&s=a] . This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University Of Alberta. Web sciencedaily.com ——————— Copyright © 1995-2004 ScienceDaily LLC | ***************************************************************** 38 AFP: Ukraine gets 42-million-dollar EBRD loan for nuclear reactor safety +  WAR.WIRE
[http://www.spacewar.com/] KIEV (AFP) Jul 06, 2004 The Ukraine has received a 42 million dollar loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to improve safety at two new nuclear reactors in the country which are to enter service by the end of the year, the EBRD said Tuesday. The European Community was to provide a further 83 million dollars as part of the project which also aims improve security at the country's 13 other reactors, EBRD spokesman Anton Ossov here said. The Ukraine accepted to close the Chernobyl power plant, where one of the worst nuclear accidents ever occured in 1996, in exchange for international aid to build new reactors. But the EBRD said that "this financing is no longer under consideration". WAR.WIRE ***************************************************************** 39 Las Vegas RJ: Doctor to study cancer in Fallon Tuesday, July 06, 2004 Research on cluster to focus on genetics By CARYN ROUSSEAU THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- An Arkansas doctor is hoping a study of genetic factors reveals the cause of a cancer cluster in Fallon that has sickened 16 children with leukemia since 2000, killing three. The cause of the cluster in the Northern Nevada community is unknown despite exhaustive studies, including one by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found higher-than-normal concentrations of arsenic, antimony, tungsten, cobalt and uranium in the Northern Nevada town of 7,500. But the CDC found no single cause for the leukemias. Between 1997 and 2002, 16 children with ties to Churchill County were diagnosed with the deadly blood and bone marrow cancer. Three have died. With $224,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Dr. Jill James of the Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute hopes to build on the CDC study and focus her work on any genetic causes for the cluster. "We're interested in individual genetic profiles, whether they could interact with these metals to increase the cancer," James said. "All of the Fallon residents were exposed to the same stuff. What's different about the kids who got leukemia than the families who did not? What's changed, because these metals have presumably been there forever." The reason the metals are interesting is because all of them independently will cause damage to DNA. James said she is researching whether the metals combined reach a threshold that might trigger leukemia. She also plans to look at the mothers of the children who had the disease, including their diet, genetics and metabolism to see if the sick children were exposed to something before they were born. "When a cancer occurs that early, there may be some prenatal exposure," James said. "Most cancers take time to develop. What we're really looking at is whether exposures during pregnancy could interact with the genetics." The Arkansas researchers will take blood samples from the Fallon families with children who have leukemia and two control groups: One of Fallon families without health problems but who were also exposed to the metals and one of Arkansas families who have not been exposed to the metals. The study is to begin by the end of the summer. U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., helped secure the money through the University of Nevada, Reno to fund the study. Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal ***************************************************************** 40 AFP: NGOs criticise Russian plan for nuclear waste dump + TERRA.WIRE
[http://www.terradaily.com/] NGOs criticise Russian plan for nuclear waste dump MOSCOW (AFP) Jul 05, 2004 Environmental non-governmental organisations on Monday slammed plans by Russian authorities to build an international depository to house spent nuclear fuel. The project has received the backing of the UN nuclear watchdog, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency. Russian atomic energy chief Alexander Rumyantsev said last Tuesday that he could see "no reason" why the construction of the centre should not go ahead as planned. Russia, he said, had "experience in the re-processing of spent fuel," as well as the appropriate legislation to go with it. But Vladimir Chuprov of environmental group Greenpeace Russia said: "This project is a slap in the face to the Russian population which is opposed to the import of nuclear waste into Russia." He said it violated Russian legislation "which authorises the stocking of spent nuclear fuel only if it is to be reprocessed." He added that Russia did not have the financial resources needed to build a depository in which spent material could be stored in complete safety. "The Russian authorities are prepared to sacrifice nature and the health of future generations to large financial gain," said another environmental group, Ekozachtchita (Eco defence) in a statement. Their protests follow complaints last week by the Russian branch of the WWF global environmental group. In June 2001, Russia's parliament adopted amendments to environmental legislation that authorized the import of spent nuclear fuel, sparking protests from environmental activists. At the time, the energy ministry estimated that the Russian budget could earn up to 20 billion dollars (16 billion euros) over 10 years from the project, according to the respected Vedomosti business daily. The group said that it was likely the centre would be built in Siberia's Krasnoyarsk Region, currently home to the nation's largest nuclear waste facility. TERRA.WIRE ***************************************************************** 41 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada congressional delegation criticizes Yucca Mountain data Today: July 06, 2004 at 12:32:14 PDT By KEN RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS LAS VEGAS (AP) - The completeness and complexity of data the Energy Department posted to a Web site to support plans for a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain came under question Tuesday by Nevada's congressional delegation. Officials can't tell whether the Web site answers key safety, security, and health questions about the repository, according to Reps. Jim Gibbons, Shelley Berkley and Jon Porter and Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign. "We have strong concerns regarding the disorganized and complex manner in which DOE has posted the portions of the data that are available," the bipartisan delegation said in a letter to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. The Nevada lawmakers asserted the information doesn't meet Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements. Energy Department officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The criticism comes after Nevada state officials complained last week they couldn't tell whether the Energy Department met legal requirements with its June 30 certification that it posted 20 years' of scientific studies on the repository to a Web site for Nuclear Regulatory Commission and public review. Like the state, the congressional delegation acknowledged it has to wait for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to appoint a presiding officer for the Yucca Mountain license application before lodging an official complaint. An appointment is expected by July 15. The Energy Department has said it posted 1.2 million documents totaling 5.6 million pages onto the Web site, with more documents to come. However, Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Sue Gagner said the NRC only received about 500,000 of the electronic documents - and that many remained unavailable pending resolution of privacy questions and Web site technical problems. Gagner said the "prelicensing application presiding officer" will determine whether the database is complete and resolve Energy Department data privacy concerns. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission computer system can index about 150,000 documents a week, so it will take several weeks to post documents that have yet to be submitted, Gagner said . The Energy Department is required by law to certify that all Yucca Mountain documents are publicly available six months before applying to the NRC for a license to build the repository 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The department plans to submit an application by a self-imposed December 2004 deadline. It expects NRC approval in time to begin entombing 77,000 tons of the nation's most radioactive waste from power plants and military storage at the repository in 2010. --- On the Net: Energy Department Yucca Mountain project: http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov [http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov] Nuclear Regulatory Commission Licensing Support Network: http://www.lsnnet.gov [http://www.lsnnet.gov] -- ***************************************************************** 42 Hanford News: Judge tosses suit blocking shipments Home [http://www.hanfordnews.com] This story was published Saturday, July 3rd, 2004 By the Herald staff A federal judge in New Mexico has dismissed the Department of Energy from a lawsuit aimed to block radioactive waste shipments to a treatment and disposal plant in that state. Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping hoped to halt operation of the Waste Isolation Treatment Plant with the 1999 suit. The group challenged DOE's process for preparing the WIPP's environmental impact statement. Judge M. Christina Armijo dismissed the group's claim against DOE on Wednesday, the agency announced, and blocked CARD from filing additional actions on the same grounds. Hanford has shipped more than 100 truckloads of transuranic wastes to the WIPP site in Southeastern New Mexico. Such wastes are contaminated with radioactive elements heavier than uranium. They emit mostly alpha particles that travel only a short distance in air, but remain radioactive for thousands of years. Dept. of Energy: Judge tosses suit blocking shipments 07/03/04 Fluor: Fluor Foundation maintains 50 percent donation match 07/02/04 Bechtel: Bechtel Hanford plans to issue subcontracts 05/12/04 Battelle/PNNL: Extra care taken at PNNL after metal rod accident 07/02/04 CH2M Hill: Hanford project to test bulk vitrification 06/22/04 Homeland Security: Security official praises HAMMER 06/30/04 FFTF: FFTF news conference comes to abrupt halt 02/26/04 Cleanup: Gel cleanup technique a possibility at Hanford 07/05/04 Energy Northwest: Ex-lawmaker marks restoration of defunct power plant 06/30/04 B Reactor: Hanford's future explored 06/25/04 Vit Plant: Construction cost likely to rise for Hanford nuclear waste plant 07/03/04 © 2004 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This material may ***************************************************************** 43 Sen. Reid: Reid Gets Edwards Commitment To Stop Yucca Mountain [http://reid.senate.gov] Tuesday, July 6, 2004 WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a conversation earlier this morning, Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards told Sen. Harry Reid that he is fully committed to stopping the Yucca Mountain project. Edwards joins John Kerry’s fierce opposition to a nuclear waste dump opening in Nevada. Sen. Harry Reid released the following statement: "John Edwards supports John Kerry on all issues important to the people of Nevada , including Sen. Kerry’s pledge to stop nuclear waste coming to Nevada. "As a presidential candidate, we saw John Edwards’ intellect, optimism and ability to connect with people from all walks of life. He is a self-made man whose success comes from hard work, perseverance and belief in the American dream. He has worked to strengthen the middle class by fighting for better health care, education and jobs. "He brings these qualities with him to the ticket, and I look forward to an exciting few months and an ultimate Kerry/Edwards victory this November." ### ***************************************************************** 44 asahi.com: EDITORIAL:Hiding vital facts, data Nuclear fuel reprocessing tests should be frozen. Mysteriously, a vital document on nuclear power policy that was compiled 10 years ago has suddenly turned up at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Improbably, ministry officials said the document was found in a locker. The document contains a cost analysis comparing the recycling of spent nuclear fuel with burying radioactive waste deep underground. For decades, Japan has pursued a policy of establishing a full recycling system that involves reprocessing spent nuclear fuel to extract plutonium for reuse. The estimated cost of this approach, however, is nearly twice as high as that for the so-called once-through cycle, according to the newly ``discovered'' document. In an Upper House Budget Committee session in March, a senior METI official said no such cost estimations existed. This turned out to be a barefaced lie. This episode reminds us of the scandal involving the former Ministry of Health and Welfare over lost documents concerning HIV infection among hemophiliacs due to tainted blood products. More recently, new demographic data showing lower-than-expected birthrates in Japan-figures which cast serious doubt on the government's pension reform-were belatedly released. These events suggest the government has a propensity to hide facts and data that contradict official policy. The latest revelation further undermines already weak public confidence in the government's nuclear power policy. The Atomic Energy Commission has just started work on revising the government's long-term nuclear development program. The focus of this review is on economic comparison of the two options, which was also the key issue 10 years ago when the ``lost'' document was written. The results of the new cost analysis should have a major impact on the future of the reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, which is almost complete. The commission should first examine the government's long-hidden cost estimations. Looking back on the situatioin 10 years ago makes clear the importance of the figures in the document. In 1994, nations started coming around to the view that the recycling option was too costly, so some countries started abandoning plans to set up recycling systems. In Japan, too, METI's predecessor, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), was already voicing skepticism about the government's policy choice. MITI distanced itself from the position taken by the then Science and Technology Agency, which championed the recycling option. At a government meeting held to discuss the cost estimates in question, MITI argued that the data should be made public, while the science agency and representatives of the electric power industry took the opposite view, saying it would create social confusion. Construction of the Rokkasho plant had started the previous year. Initially, it was projected to cost 760 billion yen. But that figure has been revised repeatedly and the price tag for the project is now over 2 trillion yen. The Monju prototype fast breeder reactor, the key facility for fuel recycling, was just about ready to start operations. If the results of the cost comparison had been published, it would have triggered legitimate debate over fuel recycling from the economic point of view and Japan's nuclear energy policy could have taken a much different course. This makes the concealment of the data all the more serious. Despite the disclosure of hidden cost data, the government shows no sign of changing its position that nuclear fuel recycling is indispensable for a stable energy supply. While the Atomic Energy Commission starts to discuss the cost aspect of the policy, moves toward nuclear fuel recycling operations continue inexorably. At the Rokkasho plant, preliminary test operations using uranium are scheduled to start this summer. They will be followed by full trial operations using real spent nuclear fuel next year. Once spent fuel is introduced into the facility, we will have passed the point of no return. The series of planned test operations should be frozen, for a while at least. In the meantime, the government should ponder the nation's nuclear future from a new perspective. If it sticks to the current recycling option in order to avoid changing a policy decision made long ago, the credibility of its nuclear policy will suffer another major blow. --The Asahi Shimbun, July 5(IHT/Asahi: July 6,2004) (07/06) ***************************************************************** 45 Reaping the whirlwind- The Nuclear Arms Race Date: Tue, 06 Jul 2004 14:29:31 -0700 creese_logo_lg.gif For Monday, June 28, 2004 ---------- http://reese.kingonline.com/Reese_20040628/index.php The Nuclear Arms Race According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Russia today is estimated to have 7,800 operational nuclear warheads in its arsenal. I emphasize "estimated" because Russia, like all the nuclear powers, remains quite secretive about its nuclear arsenal. Altogether, Russia's nuclear arsenal of intact warheads is put at 17,000. The difference is classified as being in an "indeterminate" status. The point is that the administration of George W. Bush has restarted the nuclear arms race. It did so by abandoning the START II treaty, by withdrawing from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and by expanding NATO to the borders of Russia. If you were a Russian, none of those acts could be considered friendly. They can be viewed as unfriendly, especially in light of the president's new doctrine of "pre-emptive wars" that was not only announced but actually put into practice; his decision to deploy a virtually untested anti-ballistic missile system; and his decision to pursue the development of new types of nuclear weapons. All of this makes up potentially the most catastrophic of Bush's blunders, but for some reason, it can't compete in the news media with the Laci Peterson trial or Kobe Bryant or the latest poll numbers on the presidential horse race. The threat of nuclear war still exists. It could happen by accident or by a series of stupid blunders, such as those that caused World War I. Someone observed long ago that science would produce weapons of complexity that would far exceed the capacity of the simpletons who ended up in positions of political power to control them. History is a record of human stupidity writ in blood. I have often said that history is a lot scarier than Stephen King's horror stories. I get scared every time I hear Bush talk or try to talk. If the Boy Emperor wishes to exercise his ego by attacking practically defenseless Third World countries, that's one thing. To put the matter in brutally frank terms, the overwhelming majority of Americans have no loved ones in the U.S. military. The more than 800 Americans killed so far is less than the murder rate in some of our more badly governed cities. Since Mr. Bush is fighting his imperial war on credit, the general public is not even asked to sacrifice so much as a minor convenience. Nuclear war, however, is another matter entirely. Such a catastrophe puts at risk the lives of all Americans, not to mention the rest of the world. Nothing any American president can do is more important than pursuing nuclear disarmament. The collapse of the Soviet Union presented us with an almost miraculous opportunity to build a peaceful world, and Mr. Bush and the Clinton administration have blown it. We should have disbanded the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, just as the Russians disbanded the Warsaw Pact. We should have welcomed the Russians into the West like a long-lost brother. Instead, American politicians exploited Russia's temporary weakness and scorned it. NATO is an organization without a legitimate purpose. It was created to beat back a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. There is no Soviet Union. There is no one even tempted to invade Western Europe. Yet the United States has not only kept NATO alive, but expanded it and misused it in a way that any sensible Russian leader must view with suspicion. It's no wonder the Russians have started to rebuild their strategic nuclear forces. The major threat to Americans lives is not terrorism, but stupid leaders who don't have the sense to recognize that the equivalent of mental children should not be allowed to play with nuclear weapons. Since the politicians refuse to do it, the American people will have to put nuclear disarmament back on the agenda. Your life and the lives of your children and grandchildren might depend on it. ---------- © 2004 by King Features Syndicate, Inc. Attachment Converted: creese_logo_lg.gif: 00000001,6f128d1c,00000000,00000000 ***************************************************************** 46 AFP: UN atomic chief to urge Israel to keep Middle East nuclear-weapons-free +  WAR.WIRE
[http://www.spacewar.com/] UN atomic chief to urge Israel to keep Middle East nuclear-weapons-free JERUSALEM (AFP) Jul 06, 2004 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said his country's policy of refusing to confirm or deny that it has nuclear weapons would continue Tuesday ahead of the arrival of the UN's atomic energy agency chief. Mohamed ElBaradei is expected to ask for help in ridding the Middle East of nuclear weapons during his visit, despite Israel allegedly being the only state in the region to have the bomb. Experts said the mission of ElBaradei, the director general of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), had almost no chance of succeeding and was more of a political gesture to convince Arab states the IAEA is as concerned about Israel as it is about Iran, which it is investigating on suspicions of Tehran's hiding a secret nuclear weapons program. "I don't know what he is coming to see" in Israel, Sharon said in a brief statement carried on military radio. "Israel is obliged to hold in its own hands all the force components needed for its defence. "Our policy of ambiguity on nuclear arms has proved its worth, and it will continue," Sharon added. He did not elaborate. Many foreign experts believe that Israel does possess a nuclear arsenal, comprising around 200 warheads. ElBaradei said in Moscow last week that Israel should "clarify" its nuclear activities and start working towards ridding the Middle East of nuclear weapons. IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky confirmed Saturday that these would be key topics on ElBaradei's visit Tuesday to Thursday. ElBaradei is to meet with Israeli atomic energy officials as well as cabinet ministers and Sharon himself on Wednesday. Israeli analyst Gerald Steinberg held out little hope for ElBaradei to make much progress. Steinberg, from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, said in a written forecast of the visit sent to AFP that Israel was not about to change its ambiguity policy and sign on to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that mandates the IAEA to verify atomic activities worldwide. "There is no foundation for a change" since "the threat to Israel has not diminished much in the past five decades and hatred of Israel in the Arab and Muslim worlds remains intense," Steinberg said. He said Israel was particularly worried about its arch enemy Iran. Steinberg said Israel's giving up its "nuclear insurance policy . . . would actually make the region more unstable" and that Israel would not accept a trade-off "linking Iran's illegal nuclear program with pressure on Israel to abandon its deterrent." Jon Wolfsthal of the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told AFP in a telephone interview that ElBaradei has "been talking a lot about Iran and now he has to work the other side." He described the mission as a "political balancing" act. ElBaradei had said: "I think the message we need at the end of the day is to rid the Middle East of all weapons of mass destruction. Israel agrees with that. They say that has to be in the context of a peace agreement." ElBaradei said that rather than waiting there should be a "parallel dialogue on security and... the peace process. I don't think you'll have peace without people understanding what sort of security structure you will have." IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said it would be ElBaradei's first trip to Israel in six years and that he would be carrying out his mandate from the 137-member agency "to promote non-proliferation and a nuclear weapon-free zone in the Middle East." India and Pakistan, two other relatively new nuclear powers, have also refused to sign the NPT, while long-established nuclear states China, Britain, France, the United States and Russia are founding members of the treaty. WAR.WIRE ***************************************************************** 47 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada Dems like Kerry's choice of Edwards By BRENDAN RILEY ASSOCIATED PRESS CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - More than half of Nevada's Democratic National Convention delegates wanted Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry to pick former rival John Edwards as his running mate - and those who were undecided quickly signaled their support Tuesday. A survey by The Associated Press of the 32 DNC delegates from Nevada in advance of Kerry's selection Tuesday showed 18 wanted Edwards while three liked Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, three favored New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, two backed Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, one wanted retired Gen. Wesley Clark and five were undecided. "It's going to create a whole new dynamic at the national convention," said Pam duPre of Reno, one of the undecided delegates until Tuesday. "John Edwards just exudes a level of energy and enthusiasm and optimism that has widespread appeal." "John Edwards can appeal to the working- and middle-class voters, and Dick Cheney doesn't even know we exist," she added. Delegate Emma Rubalcava-Micelli of Las Vegas, had expressed early support for Edwards, noting his experience as a U.S. senator, his opposition to corporate takeovers - and adding that he ran second behind Kerry in the Democratic caucuses and primaries earlier this year. Superdelegate Yvonne Atkinson-Gates of Las Vegas, who also expressed early support for the North Carolina senator as Kerry's pick, said the move will "probably help us out in the South quite a bit. He has that Southern constituency that will hopefully help us win the presidency back." Delegate Chris Wicker of Reno, another early Edwards supporter, described him as "very knowledgeable on the issues - and he's somebody you can envision as being president if Kerry serves four or eight years and then Edwards can come into his own after that." Delegate Jeanne Maust of Las Vegas was one of the three delegates who wanted Kerry to pick McCain even after McCain had rejected Kerry's overtures to be No. 2 on the Democratic ticket. "It would bring us support from people we don't have now," she said. Delegates who liked Richardson included Brian Hutchinson of Reno, who described Richardson as a moderate who would appeal to the Hispanic community as well as to potential swing voters. Delegates who favored Gephardt included former Rep. Jim Bilbray of Las Vegas, who said he had served with Gephardt in Congress, knew him well and saw him as an "outstanding" vice president. Randy Soltero of Las Vegas was the only delegate to favor Clark as vice president. "Given the situation in Iraq, we should go with the general.," he said. "As vice president he could take care of the war and President Kerry could run this country and get us back to where we need to be." The Kerry-Edwards ticket will be nominated at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, which begins July 26. -- ***************************************************************** 48 Hanford News: Construction cost likely to rise for Hanford nuclear waste plant Home [http://www.hanfordnews.com] This story was published Saturday, July 3rd, 2004 By The Associated Press An Army Corps of Engineers report concludes construction costs may well increase at the giant Hanford plant being built to encase radioactive wastes in glass logs. The vitrification plant, now estimated to cost $5.7 billion, is the federal government's largest construction project. The report was requested by members of the U.S. House of Representatives, which approved full funding for Hanford cleanup as part of a major spending bill last week. Lawmakers noted that the Corps report reveals "uncontrolled cost growth" also is apparent at other Department of Energy sites. Underground tanks at Hanford hold about 53 million gallons of wastes left over from producing plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program. Plant construction was estimated at $4.35 billion before a contract was awarded in 2000. "The committee has little confidence in the accuracy of the current cost and schedule baselines for these projects and even less in the ability and motivation of DOE and its contractors to control these costs," the bill says. Erik Olds, spokesman for DOE's Office of River Protection in Richland, said the agency has worked to refine cost and schedule estimates for the plant in the past two years. "We have also provided the final Corps report to our contractor and will be looking for any opportunities ... to continue the quality of our cost and schedule estimates," he said Friday. In a recent tour of the plant site, John Eschenberg, DOE's project manager, noted only 10 percent of the plant design was complete four years ago. By year's end, the design is expected to be 75 percent complete. The plant is scheduled to be running by 2011. "With each increment of design completed, you gain more precision in estimating the costs to build," Eschenberg said. "I treat this like my own money. I'm stingy." He also said Congress has allowed $5.781 billion for the project, which is more than the current estimate. The House bill funding Hanford cleanup in 2005 still requires Senate approval. It does not include specific funding levels for Hanford, but it is in line with Bush administration requests for $2.19 billion for the site. In the bill, lawmakers said the Corps review identified several problems "systemic with DOE's cost and schedule baselines: inadequate government estimating, inadequate government contract management, and inadequate contingency amounts." The bill directs DOE to notify, in writing, immediately when there is a projected cost increase of 10 percent or more in any construction projects exceeding $20 million. Dept. of Energy: Judge tosses suit blocking shipments 07/03/04 Fluor: Fluor Foundation maintains 50 percent donation match 07/02/04 Bechtel: Bechtel Hanford plans to issue subcontracts 05/12/04 Battelle/PNNL: Extra care taken at PNNL after metal rod accident 07/02/04 CH2M Hill: Hanford project to test bulk vitrification 06/22/04 Homeland Security: Security official praises HAMMER 06/30/04 FFTF: FFTF news conference comes to abrupt halt 02/26/04 Cleanup: Gel cleanup technique a possibility at Hanford 07/05/04 Energy Northwest: Ex-lawmaker marks restoration of defunct power plant 06/30/04 B Reactor: Hanford's future explored 06/25/04 Vit Plant: Construction cost likely to rise for Hanford nuclear waste plant 07/03/04 © 2004 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This material may ***************************************************************** 49 Hanford News: Gel cleanup technique a possibility at Hanford Monday Home [http://www.hanfordnews.com] This story was published Monday, July 5th, 2004 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer A cleanup technique being tested this month at Hanford could reduce some of the drudgery needed to scrub equipment free of plutonium contamination left from Cold War weapons production. Now workers clean the inside of a "hot cell" where radioactive materials were handled much the same way as a diligent homemaker might clean a dirty kitchen - lots of elbow grease and cleaning solution. But Cogema, a subsidiary of Areva, plans to demonstrate a less labor-intensive, and possibly safer, technology used in the French nuclear system to decontaminate metal equipment. The technology was developed by another Areva subsidiary, STMI, based in Gif sur Yvette, France. "We believe this technology offers our customers a proven technology that will minimize worker exposure inherent with any decontamination activity and represents a significant cost savings," said Martin Talbot, president of Cogema Engineering Corp. in Richland. The system depends on a gel that reacts with metals to leach out contaminants. Fluor Hanford has contracted with Cogema to spray the gel on the contaminated surfaces of a glove box that is about 16 feet long at the Plutonium Finishing Plant at Hanford as a demonstration project. The plant has more than 200 of the glove boxes - which are sealed metal and glass boxes, often with two holes for arm-length gloves, so workers could be shielded from radiation as they manipulated radioactive material. Fluor Hanford has the Department of Energy contract to decontaminate and tear down the Plutonium Finishing Plant, where plutonium produced at Hanford was processed for the nation's nuclear weapons program during the Cold War. The Cogema process for decontaminating metal starts with a bucket of bright orange paste. It's chemically activated by mixing in a surfactant, a chemical that makes the compound fluid enough to spray, much like house paint through a spray gun. Because of the bright orange color, workers can make sure that they have all the metal surfaces within a glove box covered so no plutonium residue is missed, Talbot said. The gel etches away a micron's width of metal - far less than a hair's width - getting into all the crevices and rough spots even on metal that looks smooth to the human eye. Plutonium caught in the metal bonds to the gel. Workers only have a couple of hours to work with the gel after the surfactant activates it. Within about four hours, it's turned into a white crystalline powder containing the plutonium. Vacuum it up and the metal surfaces should be clean. If the demonstration works as Cogema expects it to, Fluor could extend the Cogema contract to do work in 2005 and 2006. Cogema is turning to two local companies to help with the project. Thompson Mechanical Contractors of Richland will build a unit a little bigger than a popcorn cart with equipment for mixing, spraying and vacuuming. Cogema is in talks with RJ LeeGroup in Pasco to manufacture the gel as part of its educational partnership with Columbia Basin College. The company operates an analytical laboratory on the CBC campus. Dept. of Energy: Judge tosses suit blocking shipments 07/03/04 Fluor: Fluor Foundation maintains 50 percent donation match 07/02/04 Bechtel: Bechtel Hanford plans to issue subcontracts 05/12/04 Battelle/PNNL: Extra care taken at PNNL after metal rod accident 07/02/04 CH2M Hill: Hanford project to test bulk vitrification 06/22/04 Homeland Security: Security official praises HAMMER 06/30/04 FFTF: FFTF news conference comes to abrupt halt 02/26/04 Cleanup: Gel cleanup technique a possibility at Hanford 07/05/04 Energy Northwest: Ex-lawmaker marks restoration of defunct power plant 06/30/04 B Reactor: Hanford's future explored 06/25/04 Vit Plant: Construction cost likely to rise for Hanford nuclear waste plant 07/03/04 © 2004 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 50 Rocky Mountain News: Sickened workers, including 1,700 at Flats, wait to be paid Trapped in red tape By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News July 6, 2004 It started with the Department of Energy spending $4.8 million on a computer system when its own consultant said a $50,000 version would have done just fine. And it got worse from there, according to interviews, DOE records audits and Senate testimony. So far, only 10 people have received compensation in the 4-year-old, $95 million program designed to help nuclear weapons workers sickened by radiation and toxic chemicals. Among those awaiting help from the DOE are 1,700 workers from the Rocky Flats atom bomb plant on the outskirts of Denver. "DOE has squandered four years," said Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Kentucky, an architect of a proposed reform plan. "Many of these workers are dying and should not have to wait any longer for the DOE to get its act together." "These are years that many claimants do not have," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. The reform plan, written by Bunning and Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., calls for the program to be transferred to the Department of Labor, which has paid $845 million to 11,000 victims and their kin under its side of the same program, which covers different illnesses and provides different aid. But the Bush Administration has resisted, saying DOE's investment in the latest computer technology was cost-effective, and will pay off with faster processing. Colorado Republican Sen. Wayne Allard will champion the reform in a Congressional conference committee taking up the issue, said his spokeswoman, Angela de Rocha. Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colorado Springs, who is likely to be on the conference committee, will neither support it nor oppose it, said his spokeswoman, Sarah Shelden. Meanwhile, even senators who've hounded DOE for four years to make sure sick veterans of the Cold War get help find it mind-boggling that DOE could spend so much and accomplish so little. Digging into the program documents provides some clues. A tale of two computers The story begins with DOE's choice of a computer system. Even though its sister agency, the Labor Department, was charged by Congress to run a similar program, the two agencies didn't cooperate on a single computer system. Both agencies needed to collect employment, medical and radiation and chemical exposure records on the workers who applied for help. In fact, some 16,000 of the 24,000 applicants to the DOE program also applied to Labor, so the two agencies have been collecting the same information on the same people. But rather than make a deal with the Department of Labor, which had extensive experience handling workers' compensation programs, the DOE hired the U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. "We wanted to do it with the latest ideas and equipment," said Tom Rollo, manager of the DOE program. "They had experience in personnel and health records." The Navy, in turn, contracted with Science & Engineering Associates, an information technology company that has become the target of Senate ire. In the middle was the General Services Administration, which took a 1 percent commission. Todd Stottlemyer, chief executive of SEA's new parent company, Apogen, said SEA won the contract because of its track record working for DOE at its Sandia and Los Alamos nuclear weapons labs, and because it has substantial experience in records management. High rates, low performance But then DOE asked the computer programming firm to actually process the workers' compensation claims, even though it had no experience in this area. SEA charged the government for time and materials at rates starting at $36 an hour for a file clerk. The manager was billed at $200 an hour - $400,000 a year. Those rates infuriated Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. "Only in a government contract can people make so much money and perform so poorly," Grassley told his colleagues in a hearing earlier this year. "If this were the private sector, these people would get canned and be out on the street." Energy Undersecretary Robert Card, who has since resigned, told Grassley the rates were justified because they covered overhead as well as salaries. But records show the government provided the office space and computers on this contract. SEA's overhead consisted only of fringe benefits and general overhead like accounting and human resources. Rollo and SEA said the rates are typical for U.S. government contracts. But two years passed and SEA had finished processing only a few cases. So, a year ago, the DOE hired Hays Group, a consulting firm, to figure out the problem. Hays went on for 28 pages about everything that SEA was doing wrong. "The entire process was over-complicated and cumbersome," Hays wrote in its report to DOE. For example, a second computer system didn't talk to the main one, requiring double entry of information. It was Hays that said DOE could have purchased an adequate computer system off the shelf for $50,000. It was Sen. Grassley who discovered the SEA's elaborate version cost $4.8 million. As it happens, the Labor Department built a computer system from scratch to handle its side of the program, at a cost of $1.2 million, Labor spokeswoman Dolline Hatchett said. Rollo insists that DOE's computer program is far more complex than commercially available alternatives. It has electronic imaging of worker records and Internet access to 11 local offices that help workers file and track their applications, he said. It also "moves the information from station to station electronically in the process," he said. Promises of better work The Labor and Energy programs do diverge after records are collected. Labor covers workers with three diseases, including cancer, if they were exposed to enough radiation or other toxins to cause these illnesses. Energy handles all other diseases, and in some cases, it's harder to prove the connection between job and illness for these ailments. So SEA organizes the files to help physicians decide if the worker's illness was caused on the job, Rollo said. These case managers are expected to complete six cases a week, Rollo said. He said that's actually a lot of work. "You should see some of these cases. They're a minimum of 200 to 300 pages." Last August, DOE was spending $113,000 a week just collecting and organizing these records. For that money, the processors were completing 30 cases a week. At that rate, they wouldn't get to the last application for a dozen years. Rollo said the workers were working on many other cases at the same time - they just weren't finishing them. SEA's Stottlemyer blamed "staffing and funding issues" for the slow pace until last fall. At that point, DOE asked for $9 million. A few months later, it asked for another $23 million, bringing its total appropriations over four years to $95 million. But Rollo said that $23 million is just arriving now. So while Congress debates cancelling the DOE program altogether and giving it to Labor, Rollo is tripling the size of his staff, adding 200 new contract employees. He says that will allow DOE to process 300 claims a week starting in October rather than 100 now - a rate faster than his Labor counterparts will be able to achieve quickly. Richard Miller, a reform proponent with the Government Accountability Project, begs to differ. Because at least two-thirds of the DOE applicants applied to both programs, not knowing whether they qualified for one or both, Labor already has files on many of them. Labor, he said, "has begun processing claims that DOE hasn't even opened." Questions on who will pay But the biggest problems in the DOE program come after all the records are collected. DOE has had a hard time finding physicians to review the cases because the law limits their pay to $55 an hour. SEA is charging the government $90 an hour for nurses to prepare case files for those doctors who are working on the project. So far, the physicians have approved only 275 cases. But still, only 10 people have been paid. That's because the law promised the federal government would pay $150,000 in compensation to victims of the three illnesses in the Labor program - but not to victims of the diseases covered under the Energy program. The Energy applicants won only the ability to collect evidence - often previously secret - to use in fighting for state workers compensation. In many states, including Colorado, there's no one to pay the compensation. At Rocky Flats, victims expect to have to sue. Only 63 of the 275 who have won approval from DOE have actually applied for state compensation, Rollo said. Ten have been paid as of this week, he said. The payments range from a few hundred dollars to more than $100,000. The amount depends on the length of illness, extent of disability and varying state compensation rates. Senators were particularly infuriated with DOE for doing nothing to solve this problem. It meant that thousands of applicants would go through years of waiting for a decision, potentially win their cases, and still get nothing. Senators said they expected DOE to tell Congress if the law wasn't working and request a change. The pending reform plan, backed by a bipartisan group of senators and passed by the Senate on a voice vote, would have the federal government pay all valid claims at state workers compensation rates. The Bush Administration, by opposing the senators' entire reform package, will leave this problem untouched. "Even if (DOE is) right that they can now speed up the claims process, they have no willing payor," said victim advocate Miller. DOE's plan will just "hurry people up so they can hit a brick wall," Miller said. Rollo concedes the DOE has been slow, both in getting started and dealing with the problems that arose. "We underestimated the job," he said. The expected 7,500 applications in 10 years turned out to be 20,000 in the first two years. "We probably did not react as quickly as we could," he said. "And there is a lag time in getting funds" to handle the additional cases. But he said he has 2,400 application finished - nearly all are rejections - and another 4,000 nearly complete. He insists he can now do the job faster than Labor. But with a record of 10 cases paid out of 24,000, that's a hard sell on Capitol Hill. Bomb worker claims A program to compensate atom bomb workers sickened by radiation and chemical exposures on the job is split between the departments of Labor and Energy. A bipartisan group of senators is so unhappy with the performance of the Energy Department that it is trying to shift DOE's part of the program to Labor. The two departments' track records so far: Energy • Applications received 24,606 • Denied 2,439 • Approved 275 • Workers paid 10 Labor • Applications received 55,512 • Denied 17,365 • Approved 12,588 • Workers paid 11,232 M.E. Sprengelmeyer contributed to this story. Contact him at sprengelmeyerm@shns.com. Contact Ann Imse at imsea@rockymountainnews.com. ***************************************************************** 51 [du-list] DU in the news - 7th July 04 Date: Tue, 06 Jul 2004 14:29:50 -0700 VENEZUELA: The Spatial-Temporal Chains of Illusion CMAQ - Québec,Canada ... in its genocidal "new wars", it is using low intensity atomic warfare all over the show; at whim and caprice, anywhere it is dropping depleted uranium and the ... <http://www.cmaq.net/fr/node.php?id=17484> CLINTON'S Life: In the Grip of Mass Murder Press Action - Arlington,VA,USA ... Of course, this does not take into account the number of Serbs who will die as a result of depleted uranium munitions used by NATO and the US A British ... <http://www.pressaction.com/news/weblog/full_article/nimmo07062004/> " Bless God America ! " : : Satire : : Media Monitors Network - USA ... Thus, we thank God Almighty for depleted uranium and cluster bombs to decimate the Iraqi people and poison their homeland for 4.5 billion years because those ... <http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/7995/> LAWYER: Saddam trial `illegal' Asahi Shimbun - Tokyo,Japan ... He accused both President George W. Bush and his father of using depleted uranium weapons in Iraq during the latest war and the first Persian Gulf War. ... <http://www.asahi.com/english/world/TKY200407060109.html> ANDY D: Bush should be charged for war crimes Pravda - Moscow,Russia ... Because they did not hesitate to use nuclear weapons in the form of depleted uranium (DU) on the innocent populations of Serbia, Afghanistan and Iraq and did ... <http://english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/98/395/13283_Bush.html> TALK of Reinstituting Draft Prompts Disquieting Questions Common Dreams - USA ... Vietnam War, in spite of a draft. Will Jenna suffer radiation sickness, along with my children, from our depleted uranium bombs? ... <http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0704-07.htm> To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT aa470.jpg aa4c8.jpg ---------- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: * http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du-list/ * * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: * du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com * * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. Attachment Converted: aa470.jpg: 00000001,33e06c94,00000000,00000000 Attachment Converted: aa4c8.jpg: 00000001,33e06c95,00000000,00000000 ***************************************************************** 52 Google News Alert - nuclear Date: Tue, 06 Jul 2004 14:42:29 -0700 (PDT) US, Israel highlight Iran's nuclear weapons program ABC Online - Australia The United States and Israel have highlighted Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program as the UN's atomic energy agency moved to probe Tel Aviv's nuclear strength ... See all stories on this topic: GROUP: Unguarded Nuclear Plant Gates Wouldn't Violate Federal ... WGAL Channel.com - Lancaster,PA,USA HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Nuclear plants probably wouldn't leave their entrances unguarded, but a watchdog group said doing so wouldn't violate federal requirements. ... See all stories on this topic: RUSSIA holds key to Iran's nuclear ambitions Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney,New South Wales,Australia Iran has appealed to Russia, which is helping build its first nuclear power plant, not to yield to US pressure to abandon the multi-million dollar deal, the ... See all stories on this topic: IRAN to Resume Nuclear Talks With Europe Late July Merh News Agency - Tehran,Iran TEHRAN, July 6 (MNA) – Majlis will resume nuclear talks with the European Union big Three, Britain, Germany and France late July, said the Iranian Foreign ... See all stories on this topic: METI to punish ex-energy agency head over nuclear fuel coverup Japan Today - Tokyo,Japan ... Tuesday he will reprimand a former chief of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy for failing to publicize data on the cost of burying spent nuclear fuel ... See all stories on this topic: INDIA Tests Nuclear-Capable Missile DefenseNews.com (subscription) - USA India on July 4 tested a short-range variant of its nuclear capable surface-to-surface Agni missile from a testing site off the country’s east coast, a ... See all stories on this topic: SHARON: Israel's Nuclear Policy will not Change Zaman - Turkey Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said earlier today that Israel has no intentions of deviating from its present nuclear policy. ... NON-NUCLEAR Mid-East Something Jewish - UK The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency is in Israel for talks expected to focus on ridding the Middle East of nuclear weapons. ... CHINA supports Mongolia's nuclear weapon-free status: communique Xinhua - China BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhuanet) -- China supports the efforts by Mongolia to strengthen its nuclear weapon-free status to help promote the regional stability, said ... See all stories on this topic: US Removes Iraqi Nuclear and Radiological Materials; Joint ... U.S. Newswire (press release) - Washington,DC,USA ... of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have completed a joint operation to secure and remove from Iraq radiological and nuclear materials that ... This daily-once News Alert is brought to you by Google News (BETA)... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Remove this News Alert: http://www.google.com/newsalerts/remove?s=92d1672a1b037a07&hl=en Create another News Alert: http://www.google.com/newsalerts?hl=en Try Google News: http://news.google.com/ ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. 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