***************************************************************** 07/13/04 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 12.166 ***************************************************************** 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 UK The Times: Butler report will contain no lethal 'silver bullet' 2 BBC: Blair defiant ahead of Iraq inquiry 3 Evening Times: Blair on the rack as spy chiefs attack Iraq claims - 4 Guardian Unlimited: Blair Braces for Intelligence Study Storm 5 Guardian Unlimited Leakwatch: the Butler report 6 UK Independent: Butler inquiry took evidence from Blix 7 Guardian Unlimited Robin Cook: Blair and Scarlett told me Iraq had n 8 AFP: Iran says fresh nuclear talks ahead with Europeans 9 Asia Times: Iran's need for nuclear engagement 10 Korea Herald: Roh, Koizumi to discuss N.K. 11 KoreaTimes: Roh-Koizumi Summit Will Focus on NK Nukes 12 KoreaTimes: `Gas for Nukes' Proposal Gains Momentum 13 US: U.S. Nuclear War Plans A "Hazard to Ourselves as Well as Our 14 US: [du-list] Nuclear Weapons Media Packet & Call-In Alert 15 US in talks over biggest missile defence site in Europe 16 US: Las Vegas RJ: STEVE SEBELIUS: Lonely at the top 17 US: Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Candor isn't found in Bush's dictionar 18 Guardian Unlimited: Pakistan, India Agree on Series of Talks 19 Interfax: Russia views nukes as basis for global stability 20 UPI: Kazakhstan delivers radioisotopes to U.S. - 21 ITAR-TASS: Russia to continue developing strategic nuclear forces NUCLEAR REACTORS 22 US: NRC: In the Matter of All Power Reactor Licensees and Research 23 US: NRC: Sunshine Act Meeting 24 canadaeast.com: POINT LEPREAU Shutdown costs about $1.5M 25 US: Newsday: Radioactive Fuel, Reported Missing, Found 26 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Container that may house missing VY fuel t NUCLEAR SAFETY 27 [southnews] DU: America's Silent Weapon of Mass Destruction 28 [du-list] I am a mutant 29 [du-list] Depleted uranium: Trojan Horse of Nuclear war 30 [DU-WATCH] sick veterans 'made to feel like the enemy 31 US: [DU-WATCH] Depleted Uranium Munitions Transport in KY 32 US: [du-list] British Gulf syndrome victims are heard at last 33 [du-list] turkey syria negotiations mention trucks of 34 US: NEWS.com.au: Probe on mine accident 35 BBC: 'No proof of' Gulf war syndrome 36 Scotsman.com News: Inquiry into first Gulf war illness opens 37 Expatica: French study finds no 'specific' Gulf War Syndrome 38 UK Independent: Gulf syndrome victims are heard at last NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 39 Court: Revised radiation plan needed at Yucca Mtn 40 The Australian: MP backs nuclear dump in NT 41 AFP: Kyrgyz experts give nod to German nuclear waste imports 42 US: NRC: Commissioners: Nils J. Diaz, Chairman, Edward McGaffigan, J 43 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada nuclear dump continues pending appeal of 44 US: Las Vegas RJ: DAMAGE CLAIMS: Nuclear waste trials starting 45 Las Vegas RJ: Yucca project work to proceed 46 Las Vegas SUN: Utilities' case on nuclear waste storage in court 47 US: heraldtribune.com: U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris says a Tallevast r 48 OneWorld US: Court Orders EPA To Revise Safety Standard For Yucca 49 US: Press & Dakotan: Neb. Commissioner Faces Recall After Nuke Comme 50 Middletown Press: Yucca Mountain delays could result in higher charg 51 CSB: Berkley Says Court Ruling Could Bury Nuclear Waste Storage at 52 AU ABC: MP says Territory should consider nuclear dump 53 AU ABC: Democrats criticise dump decision delay. 54 AU ABC: Fed Govt undecided about national nuclear waste dump 55 AU ABC: Labor divided over SA dump. 56 AU ABC: Downer denies Cabinet split over dump. 57 AU ABC: Differences emerge in Opp over nuclear waste dump 58 US: DenverPost.com: Cotter should focus on own mess NUCLEAR WEAPONS 59 BBC: Nuclear rivals unveil peace map US DEPT. OF ENERGY 60 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Cost of Hanford waste plant could quadru 61 Hanford News: BNFL resumes work at Hanford 62 U.S. Newswire: DOE Officials to Testify Before Congressional Committ 63 Oak Ridger: Officials pleased with Bush's talk 64 Oak Ridger: Bush meets, greets in OR 65 Oak Ridger: What President Bush had to say 66 Rocky Mountain News: Building at Flats will be destroyed 67 Oak Ridger: Our View: Oak Ridge speech significant one for Bush 68 Oak Ridger: Katydids 2004, the Albuquerque Isotopes and more 69 SVBI: Department of Energy Awards netForensics Enterprise-Wide 70 Daily Camera: Flats buildings disappearing OTHER NUCLEAR 71 Google News Alert - nuclear 72 [du-list] DU in the news - 14th July 04 ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 UK The Times: Butler report will contain no lethal 'silver bullet' July 14, 2004 THE six-month Butler inquiry into the war in Iraq reports today. Tom Baldwin looks at some of the crucial questions. What is the Butler review? An inquiry set up in February by Tony Blair in the face of sustained political pressure on both sides of the Atlantic over Iraq’s missing weapons of mass destruction. The terms of reference cover the the collection, assessment and use of intelligence on WMD. Is it an independent cross-party affair? It has met in secret and reports to the Government. The Liberal Democrats have refused to co-operate and the Tories withdrew their support. Michael Mates, the Conservative representative, has stubbornly remained. Will it be a “whitewash”, like the Hutton report? After initially being dismissed by the many newspapers and opposition parties as an “establishment stooge”, there has been a recent flurry of stories predicting that Lord Butler of Brockwell, this fine, upstanding public servant, will deliver devastating blows to Mr Blair. Where might those blows land and will they cause real damage? Press speculation in the past few days has included the following: + Jonathan Powell, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, will be criticised for changing final drafts of the dossier + The inquiry has cast a sceptical eye over the dossier’s claim that Iraq was trying to buy uranium through Niger, information that even the US did not believe to be true Jack Straw will be “in the dock” for ignoring Foreign Office legal advice that the war would not be justified under international law without United Nations support. Is all of that true? Maybe not. Well-informed sources suggested yesterday that the Government was relaxed about all this potentially incendiary material. They do not expect Mr Powell’s memo to feature significantly and point out that the Niger claims have already been declared valid by the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee. Whitehall officials say that the Government did not rely on Foreign Office advice but that of Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney-General. What is worrying the Government? It expects criticism over the inclusion in the dossier of claims that Iraq could deploy WMD within 45 minutes. The report is likely to quote former members of the Defence Intelligence Staff, who believed that this information was wrong, even if there is no evidence that Downing Street was aware of such concerns. It will go on to express dismay that the dossier, including Mr Blair’s personal foreword, did not contain the caveats and qualifications needed when presenting such intelligence. Sir Richard Dearlove, the head of MI6, and John Scarlett, the head of the Joint Intelligence Committee, face criticism over the way information was collected and assessed. Leaked extracts suggested this week that Lord Butler will describe this as institutional, rather than personal, failure, and that there is no reason Mr Scarlett should not succeed Sir Richard as “C” next month. Possibly the most damaging conclusions will be about the informal style of Mr Blair’s Government, where crucial meetings were not minuted and key decisions apparently taken in a very casual fashion. Is there a “silver bullet” for Mr Blair in the report? Probably not. Aides say that it will be “embarrassing and tough; not lethal”. Copyright The Times - timesonline.co.uk ***************************************************************** 2 BBC: Blair defiant ahead of Iraq inquiry Last Updated: Tuesday, 13 July, 2004 [Lord Butler] Butler's verdict: Due Wednesday Tony Blair has insisted the world is safer without Saddam Hussein as he ponders a key inquiry's findings about the intelligence before the Iraq war. The prime minister spoke after Lord Butler handed him an advance copy of his report into intelligence on Iraq, which will be published on Wednesday. Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy is urging the prime minister to apologise for misleading people over Iraq. But Mr Blair denied "duff" intelligence had made him look foolish. 'Foolish' claim At a news conference with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Mr Blair urged people to wait for Lord Butler's report. But he said he felt the same about Iraq as he had before the war. [Tony Blair] We a better, safer, more secure without Saddam Hussein in office Tony Blair What will Butler say? Watch Blair's speech "With the history of Saddam and what he did, not just to his own country but to the wider world, we are better, safer, more secure without him in office," said Mr Blair. He said the situation in Iraq was changing, although it was far too early to be anything other than "immensely cautious". Lord Butler will publish his report at a news conference on at 1230 BST on Wednesday, with Mr Blair addressing MPs on the issue at about 1330 BST. Spy chief criticism? The Tories and Lib Dems will be able to see the report from 0600 BST on Wednesday, leaving about seven hours to prepare for a Commons statement by Mr Blair. The timings are similar to those used in January when Lord Hutton published his report into Dr David Kelly's death. As speculation mounts about what the Butler inquiry's findings will mean for Downing Street and the intelligence services, Mr Kennedy predicted it would again raise issues about trust in the prime minister and his decision to take the country to war. Downing Street said it would not comment on a claim by ITV News that the report would criticise MI6 boss John Scarlett but also say he should not be sacked. The inquiry was set up in February in the wake of the failure to find any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, amid suggestions that the UK's pre-war intelligence might have been wrong. Intelligence doubt Last week Mr Blair admitted that Iraq's WMD might never be found. John Ware, from the BBC's Panorama programme, was told that key intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction used to back the case for war has recently been withdrawn. Two ex-intelligence officers meanwhile have cast doubt over the way the premier went about trying to justify war with Iraq. Dr Brian Jones, formerly of the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS), told the BBC's Panorama programme that nobody on his staff had seen evidence of the scale of weapons capability being touted by Downing Street. Over-egged? John Morrison, former deputy chief of DIS, said Mr Blair's claims on Iraqi WMD were met by disbelief in Whitehall. "The prime minister was going way beyond anything any professional analyst would have agreed," he said. Their statements seem to challenge assertions by the prime minister in the run-up to war that Iraq posed a "current and serious" threat to Britain. Panorama also claimed that Mr Scarlett, chairman of the JIC, was warned a month after the dossier's publication the intelligence was not strong enough to back the presentation of some of its claims. ***************************************************************** 3 Evening Times: Blair on the rack as spy chiefs attack Iraq claims - [online@eveningtimes.co.uk] BRITAIN's intelligence community united today in a series of astonishing attacks on Tony Blair and his handling of the run-up to war in Iraq. Firstly, spy chiefs retracted information that Saddam Hussein had continued to produce weapons of mass destruction. Then the former Chief of Defence Intelligence accused the government of allowing policy to drive intelligence – rather than the other way about. And he is expected to come under fire in the Butler report on the handling of intelligence about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction. The report will be handed to No 10 tomorrow followed by its publication on Wednesday. The Prime Minister's evidence to the Hutton inquiry and claims about Iraqi WMD were also questioned last night by the BBC1 Panorama programme. His September 2002 dossier stated that: "Iraq has continued to produce chemical and biological agents." This was a central plank of Mr Blair's case that the action was needed to counter the "current and serious" threat from Saddam. But in a rare move MI6 has now withdrawn it, a senior intelligence source told Panorama. Mr Blair has already admitted that Iraqi WMD may never be found ahead of Lord Butler's report on intelligence failings. However, he insisted it would have been wrong to suggest that Saddam did not pose a WMD threat. Former senior secret service figures have gone on the record with their criticisms of Mr Blair in the Panorama programme. Dr Brian Jones, a retired Defence Intelligence Staff branch head, called for the retracted intelligence to be published, which would show "what exactly it was and what was going on." Dr Jones also said he was "confused" by Mr Blair's evidence to the Hutton inquiry which cleared No. 10 of "sexing-up" intelligence. The PM told the Hutton inquiry that a "tremendous amount" of information about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction had crossed his desk. But Dr Jones, a long-standing critic of the Government's Iraq dossier, said he "couldn't relate" to that account. "Certainly no one on my staff had any visibility of large quantities of intelligence of that sort," he told the programme. The attack was intensified when John Morrison, the former Deputy Chief of DIS, questioned Mr Blair's claim that the threat from Iraq was serious and current. When the PM told that to MPs he could "almost hear the collective raspberry going up around Whitehall", he said. Mr Blair's public statements in the run-up to war went beyond what a professional analyst would have concluded from the evidence, he said. Today Mr Blair came under further pressure when former deputy chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee Sir John Walker said it would be "quite customary" for intelligence organisations to issue corrections if their assessments were shown to be faulty by new information. Asked if it would be normal for Mr Blair to issue such a correction, Sir John replied: "I would doubt that that would have happened, would it?" Sir John raised serious concerns about the relations between the Government and the intelligence community in the run-up to the Iraq War. He said: "I have never in my experience come across the JIC being used in this way before. "It was clearly way outside the normal way in which the JIC operates. "The normal run of the system should be that intelligence produces the information that it can from the information that it has and produces that information to Government and policy-makers. It is intelligence into policy. "The thing that does worry me about this, because of the dire results of it – let's face it, the nation went to war – is that that was reversed. "It seems to me that policy was driving intelligence and that is an extremely dangerous thing to do as a nation-state." Fresh speculation about Mr Blair's future was triggered by news that he had been on the verge of quitting last month and Cabinet ministers had appealed to him to soldier on. Sources said the PM was now determined to stay after telling friends there was no deal to hand power to Chancellor Gordon Brown. But Cabinet tensions were said to be "as bad as at any stage in recent years" at the start of a crucial week. Opponents said the Government was "losing the plot" and either the PM or Chancellor must go. The criticism came as Mr Brown prepared to set the scene for the coming General Election in today's three-year spending review. Tory leader Michael Howard said: "Tensions at the top of Government have now got so great they are interfering in the good government we all want to see. "So I think it is becoming increasingly clear that one or other of them has to go." Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy added: "This Government is losing the plot." Cabinet colleagues who rallied round Mr Blair after it emerged he suffered a "long dark night of the soul" are said to have included John Reid, Charles Clarke, Tessa Jowell and Patricia Hewitt. ***************************************************************** 4 Guardian Unlimited: Blair Braces for Intelligence Study Storm From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday July 13, 2004 1:46 PM AP Photo LRL104 LONDON (AP) - A report Tuesday on the quality of prewar British intelligence on Iraqi weapons programs will be given Tuesday to Prime Minister Tony Blair and senior government officials, a day before the potentially embarrassing findings are released to opposition politicians and the public. Blair is expected to review the findings of the six-month inquiry after talks with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi in London. The government will not make a formal statement before Lord Butler, who headed the five strong inquiry team, makes the report public on Wednesday. ``The Butler inquiry was set up to do a serious job and we believe it will do a serious job,'' said Blair's official spokesman Tuesday, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity. ``We are not going to give any comment in advance of it.'' As it built a case for military action, Blair's government insisted Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons; could deploy them within 45 minutes; and was trying to buy uranium in Africa to develop nuclear weapons - assertions that appear to have collapsed. Last week a U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee inquiry concluded that most of the Central Intelligence Agency's claims on Saddam's alleged arsenal were overstated or unsupported. The committee chairman, noting that the United States was not alone in its beliefs, called it a ``global intelligence failure.'' Blair's office has declined to comment on the findings, saying the ``Senate report is a matter for the U.S.'' Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 ***************************************************************** 5 Guardian Unlimited Leakwatch: the Butler report Matthew Tempest, political correspondent Tuesday July 13, 2004 With the Butler inquiry proving a particularly leak-proof nut to crack, Fleet Street's finest have been doing their best to read the runes into what his Lordship will say - and, most importantly, who he will criticise. Back in January, of course, the Sun was leaked the entirety of the Hutton report prior to publication, and was able to trump the rest of the press with its conclusions on the day it was released. Such a leak from as closed a committee as Lord Butler's seems unlikely - although printers are usually the weakest link in the chain - but that hasn't stopped a rash of quasi-leaks and speculation appearing in the papers. Here is a round-up of the best guesses so far ... The Guardian, Tuesday, July 13 The Guardian reports that the "Whitehall consensus" is that Downing Street will be cleared of one of the potentially most serious allegations of "leaning" on the attorney general to change his advice on the legality of the war. It also quotes ITV as claiming that John Scarlett will specifically be mentioned as deserving of his new post as MI6 chief. Panorama, Sunday July 12 A Panorama broadcast claims that MI6 - at a date unspecified - retropsectively withdrew its intelligence assessment that Saddam Hussein was still trying to produce WMD right up until the outbreak of the war. The claims are based on the evidence of Dr Brian Jones, who also testified before the Hutton inquiry. Financial Times, July 9 In the strongest-looking leak so far, the FT claims the "central finding" of the report is that MI6 was forced to hastily assemble evidence against Iraq - after a decision had already been taken in Downing Street to back Washington's desire for regime change in Baghdad. The paper says the report will compliment the security services for the pre-existing work they were doing on WMD and Libya, Iran and the nuclear network of the Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. However, after the political decision was made to go to war, MI6 had to rapidly backtrack to include Iraq in their threat assessments - using unreliable sources. (Those familiar with the Hutton inquiry may remember as much - retired spin doctor Alastair Campbell told Lord Hutton that Downing Street had asked the security services to drop an initial dossier on the so-called "axis of evil" states of North Korea, Libya and Iran in favour of one solely on Iraq.) However - disappointingly for journalists - the paper says the report will not include any personal criticisms of either government members or intelligence officials. Independent, July 9 Er ... however, the Indy's intro states confidently: "Lord Butler of Brockwell is to defy the government by including personal criticism of Britain's intelligence chiefs in his inquiry ..." It says preliminary letters have been sent to John Scarlett, the former JIC chair and incoming head of MI6, the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, and Sir Richard Dearlove, the outgoing head of MI6. Financial Times, July 8 In a short front-page story, the FT's security correspondent claims the report will find that the 45-minute claim was "not supported" by the intelligence. It says the inquiry will find that the intelligence to substantiate the claim was of insufficient quality, and that the intelligence material gathered on Iraq was generally inadequate. Daily Telegraph, July 5 Lord Butler is likely to be highly critical of the "structure, system and process" which allowed Mr Scarlett and Mr Campbell to produce the infamous dossier, the Telegraph reports. It also notes that Lord Butler's lengthy service - he has worked as a civil servant to prime ministers including Harold Wilson, Edward Heath and Margaret Thatcher - has left him "appalled" at the informal relationships between No 10 and the spooks. Apparently the Lord is most exercised by the fact that Mr Scarlett and Mr Campbell were "mates", and that there was no note-taking done for meetings in Tony Blair's Downing Street "den". The paper says Mr Scarlett will be in the firing line, too, for allowing Mr Blair to "distort the dossier" once he alighted on the 45-minute claim, and that MI6 should have been more sceptical of the claim to begin with. However, the Telegraph claims that Lord Goldsmith will not be criticised for his judgment that the war was legal under international law - because that is outside the remit of the report. Independent on Sunday, July 4 The paper reveals that the intelligence services will have the final say on the report, censoring ("redacting" as it is officially known) passages they feel compromise security before the 100-page draft is published. It also says Mr Scarlett and Mr Campbell will come in for particular criticism. The Sunday Times, July 4 The Sunday Times goes further, saying specifically that Sir Richard, Lord Goldsmith and Mr Scarlett will all be criticised. The Times, June 30 The Thunderer reports that the government is "bracing" itself to be criticised directly, after ministers had received the "body of fact" of the report's thrust - and held a meeting on how to deal with the fallout. It also repeats the claim that Lord Butler has written to newspaper editors demanding to know what pre-briefings on the dossier they may have received from Downing Street. The Independent, June 28 The Indy picks up on Paul Routledge's New Statesman story (below), and takes it further - getting hold of a copy of Lord Butler's letter to regional editors. It states: "One of the issues the review committee is exploring is the use of the intelligence in the dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction published on 24 September 2002. One aspect of this is any action taken by the government to guide the media towards reporting particular aspects of the dossier. "In that context, it would be very helpful to the committee to know whether you or your reporters were briefed by representatives of the government about the dossier in the period immediately prior to its publication and whether, post-publication, you were guided to report particular aspects, such as the statement that some chemical and biological weapons were deployable by Iraq within 45 minutes of an order to use them." The Observer, June 27 Lord Butler is interested in why Downing Street allowed the false story of Iraq attempting to buy "yellow cake" uranium from Niger into the dossier, when the International Atomic Energy Authority had already received an explanation from Iraq as early as 1999 as to why the erroneous claim had arisen. The dossier stuck to the claim, despite the US later admitting it was based on forged documents. New Statesman, June Paul Routledge claims in his New Statesman column that Lord Butler has twigged that the Evening Standard's "45 minutes from doom" front-page splash must have "gone to bed" (to use newspaper jargon) before the dossier was made public that lunchtime. QED, someone, probably Downing Street, was briefing the papers ahead of schedule. [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 ***************************************************************** 6 UK Independent: Butler inquiry took evidence from Blix By Kim Sengupta and Anne Penketh 13 July 2004 The Butler inquiry has taken evidence from two critics of the Government's stance on weapons of mass destruction, Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, who headed international weapons inspection teams in Iraq. The inquiry is understood to have put particular emphasis on Tony Blair's claim that Saddam Hussein was trying to obtain uranium from Niger. Lord Butler of Brockwell's decision to extend his inquiries to Mr Blix and Mr ElBaradei, and their staff, is seen as ominous for Downing Street. Both the men have in the past disputed British claims about Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction. The Niger claim is especially problematic for the Government, as well as MI6, which has continued to back its alleged veracity despite it being widely dismissed by, among others, the US government. The Independent has learnt that the Butler committee has sent separate letters requesting information from Mr Blix, the chief UN arms inspector, and Mr ElBaradei, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Mr ElBaradei has stated publicly that, contrary to government claims: "There is no indication that Iraq has attempted to import uranium since 1990." Downing Street is unlikely to get much comfort from Mr Blix either. He said recently about the claim, in Mr Blair's dossier, that Iraq can deploy chemical and biological weapons in 45 minutes: "The intention was to dramatise it, just as the vendors of some merchandise are trying to exaggerate the importance of what they have. But from politicians and our leaders in the Western world, I think we can expect more than that. A bit more sincerity. "They say some WMDs can be ready to be used within 45 minutes. Well, which ones? It certainly wasn't nuclear, because the report says they were not developing nuclear, so they didn't have them. And what is meant by being 'ready'? Is it a phial of anthrax that can be tossed at somebody? "I am very interested in the question of whether or not there were WMDs, and I am beginning to suspect there possibly were none." Lord Butler has received submissions from Jacques Baute, who led the IAEA mission on the ground in Baghdad, and the director of the agency's Iraq Nuclear Verification Office. Mr Baute examined a set of documents supplied by the American government which purported to prove the existence of an Iraq/Niger intelligence link. At the time it was reported that the documents, which originated from a third nation, were passed to Washington by London. It took Mr Baute and his team just a few hours to conclude that the documents were crude forgeries. Asked about the matter, Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, said they "came from other sources. It was provided in good faith to the inspectors." A former diplomat, Joseph Wilson, visited Niger in 2002 on behalf of the CIA, and reported that there was no evidence that Saddam had sought to buy uranium from the country. George Tenet, the CIA director at the time, declared that the Niger claim was "not tenable". And in last week's damning senate report on pre-war intelligence, a memo by a senior CIA official was revealed which said: "We told Congress that the Brits have exaggerated this issue." Mr Blair's Iraq dossier claimed Saddam "sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa, despite having no active, civil nuclear programme that could require it." But the IAEA points out that it would have been impossible for Iraq to acquire uranium from Niger without this being discovered. The country's entire output at the time came from two mines controlled by a French company, and its entire output was pre-sold to France, Japan and Spain. UK Independent Ltd. ***************************************************************** 7 Guardian Unlimited Robin Cook: Blair and Scarlett told me Iraq had no usable weapons [UP] This is the most extraordinary failure in the history of British intelligence Robin Cook Monday July 12, 2004 The Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk] It seems almost cruel to remind those who sold the case for the Iraq war of what they claimed at the time. But it is necessary, because they appear to be forgetting it themselves. President Bush was definite and apocalyptic: "Saddam is building and hiding weapons that could enable him to intimidate the civilised world." Donald Rumsfeld went one better: "We know where they are." On the eve of war, Tony Blair was equally specific that Saddam Hussein had the real thing: "Saddam has chemical and biological weapons." At the last minute, the title of the September dossier was changed from Saddam's Programme for Weapons of Mass Destruction to Saddam's Weapons of Mass Destruction to convince the reader that the weapons already existed. Now Tony Blair tells us that he hopes to come up with not actual weapons but evidence of Saddam's intentions to develop weapon programmes. We always knew that left to himself Saddam would try to acquire any weapon system going. That, after all, is why the west put in place a strategy of containment based on a mix of sanctions and UN inspections to frustrate his intentions. We now know that containment was an unqualified success in denying Saddam a single weapon of mass destruction. The case that George Bush and Tony Blair made for war was that containment had failed and that we must launch a pre-emptive strike before Saddam used his imaginary weapons. Indeed, the claim that Saddam already had weapons of mass destruction ready for use was central to their argument that military action must be taken urgently. As Donald Rumsfeld warned in alarmist terms, "within a week, or a month, Saddam could give his WMD to al-Qaida". Lord Hutton was factually correct to acquit Tony Blair of lying over the intelligence on Saddam's weapons. I never imagined that Downing Street would have committed itself to a flat untruth. But neither were they candid with the British public, as the evidence paraded before the Hutton inquiry copiously demonstrated. Nor did Downing Street reveal the unfolding intelligence which cast doubt on the September dossier. Indeed, it was not until a year after the war that the government admitted a Joint Intelligence Committee assessment had warned that "intelligence on the timing of when Iraq might use CBW [chemical and biological weapons] was inconsistent and that the intelligence on deployment was sparse". This revised assessment was dramatically different from the September claim that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction ready for firing in 45 minutes, but it was not shared with parliament before the vote on war. The intelligence agencies had good reason to doubt their own claims before the invasion because the leads they kept feeding the UN inspectors kept drawing a blank. Hans Blix has since observed: "This shocked me. If this was the best [intelligence], what was the rest?" If Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction, there was no urgent need to invade Iraq. George Bush and Tony Blair could have given Hans Blix the extra few months for which he pleaded to finish his job and prove Saddam was no threat. What created real urgency in Washington to start the invasion may have been the dawning realisation that Hans Blix was about to remove their pretext for war. Unfortunately for Downing Street, the one-dimensional endorsement of the government case by the Hutton report encouraged it to be triumphant when it would have been wiser to have been conciliatory. That hubris may explain why in the Commons debate on the report Tony Blair stumbled into fresh controversy by letting slip that he had never realised before the war that the chemical weapons described as ready at 45-minutes notice in the September dossier were only battlefield munitions and not missiles. I was astonished by his reply as I had been briefed that Saddam's weapons were only battlefield ones and I could not conceive that the prime minister had been given a different version. My briefing took place in February at my residence at Carlton Gardens, where I was visited by John Scarlett, chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee. We spoke for almost an hour and - as always - I found him professional, dispassionate and frank in his replies. When I put to him my conclusion that Saddam had no long-range weapons of mass destruction but may have battlefield chemical weapons, he readily agreed. When I asked him why we believed Saddam would not use these weapons against our troops on the battlefields, he surprised me by claiming that, in order to evade detection by the UN inspectors, Saddam had taken apart the shells and dispersed them -with the result that it would be difficult to deploy them under attack. Not only did Saddam have no weapons of mass destruction in the real meaning of that phrase, neither did he have usable battlefield weapons. I put these points to the prime minister a couple of weeks later. The exchange is recorded in my diary on March 5 2003. Tony Blair gave me the same reply as John Scarlett, that the battlefield weapons had been disassembled and stored separately. I was therefore mystified a year later to hear him say he had never understood that the intelligence agencies did not believe Saddam had long-range weapons of mass destruction. I have been told that Tony Blair does not recall me telling him that Saddam had no long-range weapons. But did nobody else tell him? How often did he meet before the war with the chief of defence staff, who would certainly have known the weapons the enemy was believed to possess? Why did Tony Blair himself never ask John Scarlett whether he was talking about long-range or battlefield weapons? Given that the prime minister was justifying war to the nation on the grounds that Saddam was a serious threat to British interests, he showed a surprising lack of curiosity as to what that threat actually was. We are asked to accept that from September to March the prime minister was allowed to think that Saddam had long-range chemical weapons, while the intelligence agencies assessed he had only battlefield weapons, despite the Joint Intelligence Committee sending to Downing Street three separate assessments on Saddam's weapons capacity. This must represent the most extraordinary failure of communication in the history of the British intelligence agencies. · Robin Cook was foreign secretary 1997-2001 and leader of the House of Commons 2001-03. This is an edited extract from the new and updated paperback edition of his Point of Departure, published by Pocket Books on July 29. To order a copy for £7.99, p&p free, call the Guardian book service on 0870 836 0875 Special report Iraq Chronology Iraq timeline: Feb 1 2004 - present [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/page/0,12438,1151021,00.html] Useful links Provisional authority: rebuilding Iraq [http://www.rebuilding-iraq.net/] Iraqi-American chamber of commerce [http://www.i-acci.org/main.shtml] cnn.com: David Kay's evidence to US Senate committee [http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/01/28/kay.transcript/] [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 ***************************************************************** 8 AFP: Iran says fresh nuclear talks ahead with Europeans WAR.WIRE [http://www.spacewar.com/] TEHRAN (AFP) Jul 13, 2004 Iran's top national security body said Tuesday that talks with Britain, France and Germany on the Islamic republic's nuclear programme would resume later this month, the state news agency IRNA reported. The Supreme National Security Council, which is headed by nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani, made no reference to where the talks would be held or, more importantly, at what level. European diplomats here would only say that officials from the two sides had been in "regular contact" on the nuclear issue anyway, and went on to rule out ministerial-level negotiations unless Iran was open to making more concessions to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Last October the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany -- the European Union's so-called "big three" -- converged on Tehran to secure Iran's cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. Iran agreed to suspend sensitive uranium enrichment activities, allow tougher IAEA inspections and file a comprehensive declaration of its nuclear activities. But since then the deal has been under pressure, with inspectors discovering omissions in Iran's reporting, inspection visits delayed and the regime backing away from a pledge to suspend all enrichment-related activities. Iran has also accused the Europeans of damaging the deal by sponsoring a critical resolution last month at the IAEA. The clerical regime in Tehran is accused by the United States of using an atomic energy programme as a cover for top secret weapons development, a charge Iran denies. WAR.WIRE ***************************************************************** 9 Asia Times: Iran's need for nuclear engagement www.atimes.com By Kewmars Bozorgmehr Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click here if you are interested in contributing. Two issues in their relations with Iran, both perceived by many to be inextricably linked, sound alarm bells in Europe and the United States: nuclear energy and the bomb. The pursuit of nuclear power in the presence of ample hydrocarbon reserves is considered foolish at best, so when Iranians speak of reactors for peaceful uses most Western experts dismiss the notion as an example of putting prestige before practicality. More ominously, the US and others regard any interest in the nuclear field to be a precursor to a sinister weapons program. After all, here is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' second-biggest exporter with enough oil and gas to last a century or more digging in its heels to gain access to the forbidden technology. "Why"? officials in Washington and US representatives at the International Atomic Energy Agency enjoy asking. "Why nuclear energy when the country is swimming in oil?" Yet that line of reasoning is not always compelling, at least from Tehran's perspective. Access to reliable sources of oil and gas, Iranians say, has not dissuaded others from developing nuclear technology for power generation. The US, among the top three global oil producers, operates over 100 nuclear power stations; Russia, which sits on the world's largest gas reserves and is the second-biggest oil exporter, has 30. At last count there were 440 commercial reactors in 31 countries and a further 284 research reactors in operation in 56 countries. Thirty years ago, Iran had already embarked on an ambitious nuclear power generation program comprising some 20 reactors. By the time of the Islamic revolution in 1979, when construction was halted, eight plants had been approved and work on the first reactor in Bushehr was well underway. In those days, far from sniggering at "taking coals to Newcastle", Western governments and firms were beating down the doors to gain a slice of lucrative contracts. Iranians claim the arguments in favor of the nuclear option, even for a major oil producer, are straightforward. Except for brief periods of political uncertainty, they say, crude oil as a fuel remains relatively cheap, though non-replaceable commodity. Production of oil and gas derivatives, on the other hand, leads to substantial added value. It also helps to establish a range of downstream industries that will create much-needed employment for a young and growing work force. The exploitation of nuclear energy simply makes it possible to divert crude oil into areas that are more profitable. They would also argue that, as a matter of principle, Iran is entitled to establish a peaceful nuclear industry if it so chooses and, if need be, to call on the cooperation of others in doing so, as provided for under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Much of the available data tend to support Tehran's case. Iran's own requirements for oil have doubled in recent years, forcing the industry to siphon off nearly 1.5 million barrels per day from vital exports to meet domestic needs. Within 10 years, local demand will absorb nearly all of the production, leaving little or nothing for export. Gas supplies, though expanding rapidly, still account for only about half of energy consumption. Meanwhile, electricity production of 34,000 megawatts per year already outstrips the world average by a wide margin and demand is growing at between 7-8% annually, a rate that stretches new investment facilities to the limit. Roughly 13% of the national capacity is from hydroelectric power, which has been steadily developed since the late 1950s by harnessing the country's river waters. Over 100 new dam projects, many having power generation potential, are under construction or on the drawing board. A more modest amount of electricity is expected to be generated from minor rivers for local and community consumption. In addition, plans are at an advanced stage to produce 250 megawatts of wind power, while solar and thermal power plants are also being considered. Aside from limited reserves of coal, which is used mainly by the steel industry, nuclear power remains the only untapped and viable alternative. However, the real issue in the ongoing tussle is Western suspicions that Iran is developing the bomb, despite repeated and vigorous Iranian denials. The NPT, the main instrument the West has relied on to prevent an Iranian "breakout", aims to restrict the spread of nuclear weapons to those countries that had acquired them prior to 1968. Its success, though less than complete, has been effective enough to avoid the dire predictions of the 1960s, when 30-50 states were seen joining the nuclear club within a decade or two. When Iran signed the NPT in 1968, only the Soviet Union, a superpower, possessed nuclear weapons in the region. At that time even the Chinese had managed to build a mere nuclear "device", as the Central Intelligence Agency liked to describe Beijing's crude early efforts. Today, however, the region is rife with such weaponry, with China, India, Israel and Pakistan as well as Russia maintaining arsenals of varying destructive power. Several former Soviet republics also have access to weapons technology, if not the actual hardware and means of delivery. It is this incongruity and the West's open disregard of Iran's security fears that rankle Tehran. Why, they ask, is their country being singled out for undue attention when non-proliferation has clearly failed (or, as some would darkly suggest, has been allowed to fail) in the case of India, Israel and Pakistan? It should come as no surprise that Tehran accuses the West of using the NPT simply as an anti-Iranian mechanism. In describing the mindset of the West, indeed of all nuclear-capable countries, one recent column in the English-language daily Iran News commented: "We have nuclear weapons but you can't have any. If you try to acquire them we will nuke you. But if you don't, you're at our mercy anyway. Some catch, that NPT." Furthermore, Tehran points to the string of military bases the US has established in recent years that virtually surround Iran from the Caucasus, across the Caspian Sea to Central Asia, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf and Iraq, linking up with existing North Atlantic Treaty Organization facilities in Turkey to complete the encirclement. Given the current level of US animosity, any government in Tehran entrusted with providing adequate security against possible foreign incursions could be open to accusations of negligence or worse. In the wake of the disastrous invasion of Iraq, even Washington hawks may be less inclined to mount another military campaign in the Middle East in the near term. The only sensible policy, it seems, would be one of engaging Iran in serious dialogue to allay its legitimate security concerns, but also to gain its cooperation where Western interests are at stake. The European Union is committed to pursue such a course, and the US should reconsider its 25 years of hostility and join the process. It is said that America has not so much a policy as an attitude towards Iran. Perhaps a change of direction would be less painful than at first it might appear. Kewmars Bozorgmehr is a former editor of The Tehran Journal. Jul 14, 2004 without written permission. Copyright 2003, Asia Times Online, 4305 Far East Finance Centre, 16 Harcourt Rd, Central, Hong Kong ***************************************************************** 10 Korea Herald: Roh, Koizumi to discuss N.K. 2004.07.14 By Seo Hyun-jin [http://www.voiceware.co.kr] Korea, Japan leaders will hold summit in Jeju next week President Roh Moo-hyun and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi are expected to focus on ways to settle North Korea's nuclear issue when they hold a summit on the southern island of Jeju next Wednesday. The meeting of the two leaders attracts particular attention as it comes at a time when the participants in the six-party nuclear talks are reviewing specific proposals to end the prolonged nuclear tension and positive signs are surfacing. "The top priority goes to the North Korean nuclear issue," Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said when asked about the agenda of the Seoul-Tokyo summit. The presidential office also said Roh and Koizumi will discuss the peaceful settlement of the nuclear problem, as well as measures to enhance bilateral cooperation, when Koizumi makes a two-day visit to Jeju at Roh's invitation. The two sides are scheduled to hold summit discussions Wednesday afternoon, followed by a joint news conference and dinner. They will have a more casual meeting the next day before Koizumi returns home. "The need for consultations between the two countries' leaders has increased recently in regard to the nuclear issue, the North Korea-Japan summit, the situation in Iraq and regional cooperation in Northeast Asia," presidential spokesman Kim Jong-min said. Roh and Koizumi will promise to stimulate diplomatic efforts to defuse the nuclear tension based on their meetings with U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice last week, government officials said. Kim said the Roh-Koizumi meeting, the fifth of its kind, will be an occasion for them to exchange "candid" opinions on pending issues. Their last summit was in October on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Bangkok. Government officials believe the upcoming talks will help the two countries enhance cooperation on issues pertaining to North Korea, especially the nuclear standoff, as Japan has recently demonstrated a softer stance toward the communist country. During the third round of the six-party nuclear talks last month, Japan agreed to join other partners in providing energy assistance to Pyongyang if it agrees to dismantle its nuclear weapons programs. Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il agreed to resume talks on normalizing their relations and the Japanese prime minister promised to offer the North food and medical supplies when they held their second summit in Pyongyang in May. Besides North Korea, Roh and Koziumi wiill talk about ways to boost bilateral exchanges and the free trade agreement, the presidential office said. (shj@heraldm.com) ***************************************************************** 11 KoreaTimes: Roh-Koizumi Summit Will Focus on NK Nukes Hankooki.com > Korea Times > Nation By Shim Jae-yun Staff Reporter Foreign Affairs-Trade Minister Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday said the summit meeting between President Roh Moo-hyun and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will focus on ways to help resolve the impasse over North Korea¡¯s nuclear weapons program. ``The North Korean nuclear issue will be at the top of the agenda for the summit talks,¡¯¡¯ Ban told reporters prior to a Cabinet meeting at Chong Wa Dae. He went on to say the summit will also address measures for solidifying bilateral relations ahead of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations next year. Chong Wa Dae officially announced Tuesday the summit will take place on the resort island of Cheju July 21-22. ``The two leaders will discuss a wide range of issues including the troop dispatch to Iraq as both nations have contingents there,¡¯¡¯ presidential spokesman Kim Jong-min said during a media briefing. Another Chong Wa Dae official added that they will focus on means of assisting the interim government of Iraq to effectively cope with the situation after the power transfer from the United States. There has been growing speculation that the summit is designed to promote an atmosphere favorable to the envisioned establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and North Korea. ``The issue can be dealt with in relation to the North Korean nuclear problem but it will not be raised as a main item on the agenda,¡¯¡¯ the official said. The summit will be conducted in a very relaxed atmosphere with the two leaders, wearing no ties, strolling together and conversing freely on various topics, Kim said. Roh invited Koizumi to visit South Korea during a summit in Tokyo in June last year and Japan opted for late this month after the Japanese parliamentary elections of July 11. The upcoming summit has been attracting much attention as it comes amid brisk diplomatic activity with the goal of finding a solution to the long-protracted standoff over North Korea¡¯s nuclear program. Hopes have been raised since U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice made her first tour of South Korea, China and Japan and revealed there would be ``surprising reward¡¯¡¯ for North Korea once it agrees to discontinue its nuclear weapons program. 07-13-2004 17:32 ***************************************************************** 12 KoreaTimes: `Gas for Nukes' Proposal Gains Momentum Hankooki.com > Korea Times By Reuben Staines Staff Reporter With the United States appearing to soften its line at the six-way talks, momentum is building behind a proposal to offer Russian gas to North Korea as part of a compensation package in return for scrapping its nuclear programs. Russian officials have expressed hope at the possibility of piping natural gas from deposits off Sakhalin Island through North Korea to the South. Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Seoul and Pyongyang, and reportedly discussed the feasibility of the pipeline. Valery Yazev, the chairman of Russia's parliamentary committee on energy, is also backing the proposal, projecting that it would take about $5 billion and four years to implement once an international consensus was reached. Under a possible proposal, Pyongyang would be able to tap the pipeline at a subsidized price to ease its serious energy shortages, while Seoul would get direct access to gas at market rate. President Roh Moo-hyun is expected to discuss the gas pipeline with President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Russia in September. However, experts are split on whether the two can come up with a realistic proposal to present at the next round of six-party talks in Beijing. James Clay Moltz, deputy director at the Monterey Institute of International Studies' Center for Nonproliferation Studies in the U.S., believed Roh and Putin are certain to discuss the gas compensation proposal, which has been floated at the nuclear talks for the past two years but failed to gain support from the United States. ``I would not be surprised to see it raised at the next round (of nuclear talks), as the United States is likely to be increasingly interested in a settlement before the November U.S. presidential election, particularly if that proposal is initiated by other parties,'' Moltz told The Korea Times. Washington presented a five-point compensation offer to Pyongyang at last month's third round of nuclear talks, including a provisional security guarantee and energy aid. The subsidized Russian gas would likely come at the final stage of the incentive package to convince North Korea to irreversibly dismantle its nuclear facilities. The gas pipeline, along with other energy aid, might also replace the two light-water nuclear generators promised to the North by the U.S. as part of a deal to solve the first nuclear standoff back in 1994. Moltz said Russia's gas proposal will be helped by the fact that the U.S. State Department, which supports compensation for North Korea as a means to end the nuclear standoff, is gaining leverage over hard-liners in the Defense Department. ``In this regard, the gas deal could be very important. It would address North Korea's energy concerns, but do so in a non-nuclear manner,'' he said. ``This is definitely in the interests of the United States.'' Moltz believed Moscow is keen on the gas proposal not only for the boost it would give the economy of Russia's Far East, but also to raise its diplomatic profile. ``Russian brokering of a deal that guarantees a non-nuclear North Korea would be a considerable achievement in that regard,'' he said. However, a Russian expert at Carnegie¡¯s Moscow Center was less optimistic about the chances of putting a gas pipeline through North Korea. Vasily Mikheev, chair of the center's Asia security program, said presenting the proposal at the next round of six-way talks would just be a way of scoring diplomatic points. ``It is too early to discuss serious long-term projects with North Korea because its totalitarian and command-distribution economy is not ready for cooperation with market economies on market principles,'' he said. Mikheev argued that Roh and Putin would instead focus on another pipeline proposal to bring gas from Siberia to South Korea via China. Officials planning the Siberian pipeline originally considered routing it through North Korea but eventually decided to leave it out of the plan. Kim Byung-ki, professor of International Studies at Korea University's Graduate School, also said the longer pipeline through China is favored. He thought that the U.S. will continue to oppose providing energy to North Korea, while Moscow and Seoul will reject the proposal based on an economic risk assessment. ``The critical factor is the stability of a pipeline through North Korea, and I think they would consider it to be too unstable,'' he commented. rjs@koreatimes.co.kr 07-13-2004 17:40 ***************************************************************** 13 U.S. Nuclear War Plans A "Hazard to Ourselves as Well as Our Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 12:49:10 -0500 (CDT) National Security Archive Update, July 13, 2004 U.S. Nuclear War Plans A "Hazard to Ourselves as Well as Our Enemy" Overkill Problem Led Top Commanders to Complain About the SIOP's Destructiveness THE CREATION OF SIOP-62 http://www.nsarchive.org For more information Contact: William Burr 202/994-7032 Washington D.C., 13 July 2004 - The U.S. included so many nuclear weapons in its first missile-age plan for nuclear war that top military commanders called it a "hazard to ourselves as well as our enemy," according to newly declassified documents posted today by the National Security Archive at George Washington University. Under the first Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP), prepared during 1960, a Russian city the size of Nagasaki--devastated in 1945 with a twenty kiloton bomb--would receive three 80 kiloton weapons. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, then leaving office, along with Navy leaders and White House Science Adviser George Kistiakowsky, was deeply critical of the SIOP's overkill. Eisenhower was later reported to have said that the plan "frighten[ed] the devil out of me." Incoming Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara soon decried the "fantastic" levels of fallout that attacks on a multitude of Soviet targets would produce. Ever since its creation, the SIOP has been one of the U.S. government's deepest secrets. Even historical information about U.S. nuclear war plans has been hard to come by and documents once available become reclassified again. Today's posting includes never before published as well as previously declassified key documents from 1959-1961 on the history of SIOP-62 (for fiscal year 1962). Among the disclosures in the documents: * the SIOP included preemptive and retaliatory options; preemption could occur if U.S. authorities had strategic warning of a Soviet nuclear attack; * a full SIOP strike launched on a preemptive basis would have delivered over 3200 nuclear weapons to 1060 targets in the Soviet Union, China, and their allies in Asia and Europe; * a full nuclear strike by SIOP forces on high alert, launched in retaliation to a Soviet strike, would have delivered 1706 nuclear weapons against a total of 725 targets in the Soviet Union, China, and allied states; * targets would have included nuclear weapons, government and military control centers, and at least 130 cities in the Soviet Union, China, and their allies; * the Marine Corp commandant complained that the SIOP provided for the "attack of a single list of Sino-Soviet countries" and made no "distinction" between those that were at war with the United States and those that were not; * the Defense Department continues its long-standing pattern of overclassification and inconsistencies over the release of information on the SIOP. Some evidence exists that after the Cold War ended, Strategic Air Command commander-in-chief General Lee Butler tried to curb what he saw as the SIOP's "grotesque excesses" by paring down the huge target lists. Security classification, however, hides whether General Butler's reforms took hold or whether the SIOP remains an instrument of overkill. Please follow the link below: http://www.nsarchive.org _________________________________________________________ THE NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVE is an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A tax-exempt public charity, the Archive receives no U.S. government funding; its budget is supported by publication royalties and donations from foundations and individuals. _________________________________________________________ PRIVACY NOTICE The National Security Archive does not and will never share the names or e-mail addresses of its subscribers with any other organization. Once a year, we will write you and ask for your financial support. We may also ask you for your ideas for Freedom of Information requests, documentation projects, or other issues that the Archive should take on. We would welcome your input, and any information you care to share with us about your special interests. But we do not sell or rent any information about subscribers to any other party. _________________________________________________________ TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THE LIST You may leave the list at any time by sending a "SIGNOFF NSARCHIVE" command to . You can also unsubscribe from the list anytime by using the following link: ***************************************************************** 14 [du-list] Nuclear Weapons Media Packet & Call-In Alert Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 14:51:41 -0700 Dear Friends, Here is a Media Packet, calendar and publications your group can use for Trinity, Hiroshima or Nagasaki anniversary events as part of the BE SAFE Nuclear Days of Action (see list of items below). Also, please download an important ALERT to distribute for the August 9th National Call-In Day when we will call on Presidential Candidates Bush & Kerry to reduce and eliminate the nuclear weapons stockpile. Help generate thousands of calls by distributing alerts at events and emailing your network! Distribute the National Call-In Day Flyers! Full Page Flyer (pdf) Two 1/2 page Handouts (pdf) The alerts can also be downloaded by going to http://www.besafenet.com/nukematerials.htm If you have trouble downloading it, let me know and I can email it. Media Packet: Please consider using some of the attached items in your media outreach. a) sample News Advisory (can use text for Advisory sent out before event); b) sample national News Release (can use text for Release distributed at event); c) Media Statements from national groups (can add one or more to your news release or read at your event); d) Blueprint for Precautionary Action on Nuclear Weapons (can be attachment to News Release, distributed or read at event). 2) National Calendar of Events - Go to http://www.besafnet.com/nuclear.htm to download the calendar. So far, there are 57 events in 18 states! We will update the calendar every couple of days through August 2nd so please keep sending us event information. 3) Publications - The following useful fact sheets can be downloaded for your Media Packet or to distribute at events by going to http://www.besafenet.com/nuclear.htm High-Level Nuclear Waste - pdf version or html version Nuclear Waste in Products & Landfills - pdf version or html version "Depleted" Uranium Ammunition - pdf version Nuclear Transport - pdf version New Nuclear Weapons Proposals - pdf version We will send out a national News Release and calendar this Weds. with an emphasis on the July 16th Trinity anniversary. Then, we will send out an updated News Release/calendar on August 2nd with an emphasis on the Hiroshima/Nagasaki events. Thanks so much for all your great work! Let me know if any questions or concerns. Anne Rabe BE SAFE (www.besafenet.com) Center for Health, Environment & Justice 518-732-4538, annerabe@msn.com 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 5b2da.jpg 5b31d.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: 5b2da.jpg: 00000001,268e5aa4,00000000,00000000 Attachment Converted: 5b31d.jpg: 00000001,268e5aa5,00000000,00000000 Attachment Converted: "c:\program files\eudora\attach\Nuclear Weapons National Media Packet.doc" ***************************************************************** 15 US in talks over biggest missile defence site in Europe Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 19:24:13 -0500 (CDT) Tuesday July 13, 2004 The Guardian (UK) US in talks over biggest missile defence site in Europe Ian Traynor in Warsaw The US administration is negotiating with Poland and the Czech Republic over its controversial missile defence programme, with a view to positioning the biggest missile defence site outside the US in central Europe. Polish government officials confirmed to the Guardian that talks have been going on with Washington for eight months and made clear that Poland was keen to take part in the project, which is supposed to shield the US and its allies from long-range ballistic missile attacks. Senior officials in Prague also confirmed that talks were under way over the establishment of American advanced radar stations in the Czech Republic as part of the missile shield project. "We're very interested in becoming a concrete part of the arrangement," said Boguslaw Majewski, the Polish foreign ministry spokesman. "We have been debating this with the Americans since the end of last year." Other sources in Warsaw said Pentagon officers have been scouting the mountain territory of southern Poland, pinpointing suitable sites for two or three radar stations connected to the so-called Son of Star Wars programme. As well as radar sites, the Poles say they want to host a missile interceptor site, a large reinforced underground silo from where long-range missiles would be launched to intercept and destroy incoming rockets. Under Bush administration plans, two missile interceptor sites are being built in the US - one in California, the other in Alaska. Such a site in Poland would be the first outside America and the only one in Europe. "An interceptor site would be more attractive. It wouldn't be a hard sell in Poland," said Janusz Onyszkiewicz, a former Polish defence minister. "This is a serious runner," said a west European diplomat in Warsaw. "It's pretty substantial. The Poles are very keen to have an interceptor site. They want a physical American presence on their territory. They wouldn't be paying anything. It would be a totally American facility." "I knew about possible radar sites, but I was surprised to hear talk about missile silos," said another source in Warsaw. In the Czech Republic, too, the proposed radar site, extending to 100 sq km, could be declared extraterritorial and a sovereign US base. The talks are at the exploratory stage and no decisions have been taken, officials stressed. US officials played down talk of central European participation in the missile shield. But the confidential nature of the negotiations, being led on the US side by John Bolton, the hardline under-secretary of state for arms control, has angered senior defence officials in the region, who have been kept in the dark. Milos Titz, deputy chairman of the Czech parliament's defence and security committee, learned of the talks last week and immediately called the defence minister, Miroslav Kostelka, to demand an explanation. According to the Czech web newspaper, Britske Listy, Mr Kostelka conceded to Mr Titz that the talks were going ahead and promised to supply details to the committee this week. The committee is to hold an extraordinary session today, apparently to demand more information on the issue from the government. According to a Washington-based thinktank, the Arms Control Association, the Pentagon has already requested modest funding for preliminary studies on a third missile interceptor site based in Europe. Lieutenant General Ronald Kadish, director of the Pentagon's Missile Defence Agency (MDA), told Congress this year of plans to construct a missile shield base abroad. "We are preparing to move forward when appropriate to build a third [ground-based interceptor] site at a location outside the United States," he said. In addition to Poland and the Czech Republic, the Washington thinktank reported last week that the US was also talking to Hungary about possible involvement in the missile shield which is yet to be properly tested and which many experts believe is unworkable. Sources in Warsaw said the US was also talking to Romania and Bulgaria. Last week, the Australian government signed a 25-year pact with the US on cooperating in the missile shield programme. The two interceptor sites being built in Alaska and California are primarily to insure against a potential ballistic missile attack on the US by North Korea. The possible European site is being widely seen as a shield against missiles from the Middle East, notably Syria or Iran. But many believe that any such facility in Poland would be concerned mainly and in the long term with Russia. Such concerns appear to be reflected in Polish government thinking. While the Poles were still waiting for specific proposals from the Americans, said Mr Majewski, they were also insisting that any Polish participation had to be squared first with Moscow for fear of creating military tension in the region. "The Americans are working quite hard on this," he said. "They need to clear the path with the Russians and reach a consensus before we will move ahead." ------------ http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1260037,00.html ***************************************************************** 16 Las Vegas RJ: STEVE SEBELIUS: Lonely at the top Tuesday, July 13, 2004 In America, we tend to think of our government as all-knowing, all-seeing and all-powerful. Maybe it's the influence of Tom Clancy, whose novels portray Republican politicians as America-loving he-men bent on doing the right thing for their nation; CIA officers as canny college grads doing a noble service; and military officers as always capable, always faithful. Clancy, in fact, is the Ian Fleming of his day (minus Fleming's obvious talent, of course). Both were adept at propaganda that made their respective governments look more adroit than they really were. In reality, our government agencies on a couple of recent occasions more closely resemble another character from literature, or at least television literature: Cosmo Kramer. That's why you've got to pity poor President Bush, elected to the highest office in the land, overseeing a vast network of intelligence, military, and civilian government resources, all at his disposal to discharge his duties as the most powerful man on Earth. And yet they treat him like a mushroom, keeping him in the dark and feeding him loads of ... well, you get the idea. Take Yucca Mountain, for example. Bush must have studied the issue for hours, mindful of a solemn promise he'd made on the campaign trail to let sound science decide the issue once and for all. The Environmental Protection Agency must have mustered experts to tell the president that repackaging nuclear waste at scores of sites around the nation, sending it by truck and train to the Nevada desert, and burying it forever in a geologically questionable hill was perfectly safe. And the president believed his advisers, and signed off on Yucca Mountain .0000002 seconds after the papers hit his desk. But the trouble was, "sound science" had a huge, 290,000-year hole in it, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia found last week. Since the material being dumped into Yucca Mountain will be radioactive for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years, the puny 10,000-year safety standard just doesn't hold up. Or, in the more somber words of the court: "It would have been one thing had EPA taken the the (National) Academy (of Sciences) recommendations into account and then tailored a standard that accommodated the agency's policy concerns. But that is not what EPA did. Instead, it unabashedly rejected NAS' findings, and then went on to promulgate a dramatically different standard, one that the Academy had expressly rejected." Sound science? Maybe when winged monkeys fly out of Yucca Mountain. (And given the mutating effects of radiation, it could happen.) That wasn't the only place poor President Bush was misled. After Sept. 11, 2001, he was asking all his intelligence and national security team to investigate what role Iraq had played in the attacks. Instead of telling the president the bad news -- Iraq didn't have a damn thing to do with Sept. 11, 2001 -- our intel services went into full Tom Clancy mode, spinning ever wilder tales about "connections," and "links" and even "relationships." Why, there was a shadowy first-chapter meeting in Prague between an Al Qaida hijacker, Mohammed Atta, and an Iraqi intelligence official! So Bush went to war, invading a country that we were told was quite literally on the verge of nuking civilization. Whoops. No Al Qaida connection on the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. No weapons of mass destruction. No mighty army, ready to spill over the borders at a moment's notice. No nuclear bombs, with ticking timers. Not even a deadly "laser." Or, in the more somber words of U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, Republican of Kansas, who led one of the two investigations that have largely discredited the administration's rationale for war: "In the end, what the president and the Congress used to send the country to war was information provided by the intelligence community, and that information was flawed." Flawed. What some people call, "dead wrong." What's a president to do? Wait, hold on a second. Before he signed off on Yucca Mountain, Bush was visited by Gov. Kenny Guinn and others, who pitched the "sound science" case. He even took notes, according to one participant in the meeting. So he had to know something was up with the science. And journalist Bob Woodward reports that when now-departed CIA Director George Tenet came to the same Oval Office and told him the case against Iraq was a "slam dunk," even Bush had his doubts, saying the average Joe wouldn't buy it. So he had to know something was up with the intel, too. But he eventually signed off on Yucca, and on war in Iraq, and stands behind both decisions even today. Could it be that President Bush heard what he wanted to hear in those dry science briefings and classified intelligence talks? Could it be that he decided to go ahead -- perhaps even believing what he was doing was the right thing -- based not so much on his advice as on his gut? Sure it could. But that won't help the commander-in-chief much when the buck finally comes to stop on that Resolute desk in the lonely Oval Office. Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist. His column runs Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Reach him at 383-0283 or by e-mail at ssebelius@reviewjournal.com. Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal ***************************************************************** 17 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Candor isn't found in Bush's dictionary LAS VEGAS SUN On Friday the Senate Intelligence Committee issued a scathing report that offered further confirmation that the United States went to war with Iraq based on faulty intelligence. This flawed intelligence, the bipartisan report found, exaggerated the threat that Saddam Hussein's weapons programs posed to our nation. So, in the face of the growing evidence that this war was made on false claims, is the White House displaying contrition for an invasion that has cost the lives of nearly 900 U.S. soldiers? Hardly. On Monday Bush contended the war in Iraq was justified because it removed a regime that had the "capability" of producing weapons of mass destruction. Of course, Bush neglected to mention that we haven't invaded Iran and North Korea, countries more capable of producing WMD than Iraq was. There is no way that Congress would have gone to war if it had known that Saddam didn't have stockpiles of WMD and that there weren't strong ties between Iraq and al-Qaida. And for Bush to try to employ political spin on these revelations, when candor is what's needed instead, is self-destructive. George W. Bush sold himself as a straight shooter when he campaigned during 2000, but his continuing refusal to own up to his failures involving Iraq raises more doubts about his leadership. ***************************************************************** 18 Guardian Unlimited: Pakistan, India Agree on Series of Talks From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday July 13, 2004 12:46 PM By PAUL HAVEN Associated Press Writer ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan and India agreed Tuesday to hold a series of talks in coming weeks on a variety of issues, including a dam being constructed in India's portion of Kashmir that Pakistan says threatens the water supply on its side of the disputed border, the Foreign Ministry said. The talks will begin in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on July 28-29, when senior bureaucrats will discuss India's Baglihar hydroelectric dam, which is under construction on the Chenab River in India's Jammu-Kashmir state. Pakistan says the dam will deprive its agricultural heartland in Kashmir and Punjab of much needed water. Officials from the two countries will meet again in New Delhi on Aug. 3-4 to discuss ways to build confidence after more than a half-century of mistrust. On Aug. 5-6, officials from the two nations will meet in New Delhi to discuss a lingering dispute over the world's highest battleground, the Siachin glacier, which straddles the Himalayan mountains between Pakistani and Indian portions of Kashmir. Despite a thaw in relations in recent months, both nations maintain forces on the frigid mountainside. India earlier this week announced a 27 percent increase in defense spending, sparking alarm in Pakistan. Islamabad also increased defense spending, but only by 7 percent. Observers say both nations' march toward prosperity is being hamstrung by their continued poor relations, and that money spent on the military is badly needed for education and infrastructure development. On Aug. 6-7, another round of talks will be held in the Indian capital. These will focus on a boundary dispute in the marshlands of Sir Creek, along the border between Pakistan's southern Sindh province and India's western Gujarat state. All the issues are among a list of disputes between the nuclear-armed nations, many of which stretch back decades to their independence from Britain in 1947. Officials have said they hope to work through the problems and eventually reach a final solution for the larger issue of Kashmir. Both nation's claim the region in its entirety, and the dispute has sparked two of the three full-scale wars between them. India accuses Pakistan of backing Islamic militants who have fought Indian security forces since 1989 to win independence for Indian Kashmir or its merger with Muslim-dominated Pakistan. Pakistan denies the allegation. Two further meetings are to take place in Islamabad in the first half of August. The first, on Aug. 10-11, will deal with fighting terrorism and drug trafficking. The second, on Aug. 11-12, will focus on economic and commercial cooperation. Finally, the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India are to meet in New Delhi on Aug. 25 for already-scheduled talks. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 ***************************************************************** 19 Interfax: Russia views nukes as basis for global stability Updated: Jul 14 2004 6:25AM (MSK) Ðóññêàÿ âåðñèÿ Jul 13 2004 7:11PM LONDON. July 13 (Interfax) - Moscow still considers nuclear weapons to be the basis of global stability, said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov. Delivering a report in English on "Russia and NATO: Strategic Partners Responding to Emerging Threats" at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies on Tuesday, Ivanov noted that new conditions do not necessarily lead to the dismantling of the entire military-political heritage of the past. He said that nuclear deterrence is a burden that great powers have to carry and the politicians who went through the school of nuclear deterrence are usually more realistic. If this phenomenon did not exist, the modern world would be far more violent, he said. The Russian leadership views the guaranteed protection of Russia's and its allies' sovereignty, territorial integrity, and other vitally important interests a priority in the nuclear deterrence field, Ivanov said. The defense minister said Russia is closely following American programs to create super-small nuclear warheads, because any new type of weapon adds new elements to the general picture of global stability, which must be taken into consideration in military plans. Russia is prepared to take part in providing global strategic stability regardless of the development of the world military or political situation, in which strategic threats are coming to the forefront, Ivanov said. © 1991-2004 Interfax ***************************************************************** 20 UPI: Kazakhstan delivers radioisotopes to U.S. - United Press International) July 13, 2004 Almaty, Kazakhstan, Jul. 13 (UPI) -- Kazakhstan has delivered its first shipment of radioactive isotopes to the United States, local media reported Tuesday. The Nuclear Physics Institute of Kazakhstan's National Nuclear Center delivered a small amount of the radioisotope germanium-68 to the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, the Kazakhstan Today news agency said. The institute will deliver a larger shipment next year. An isotope is one of a few forms of a chemical element with the same chemical properties, but different physical traits. Some isotopes are radioactive and their elements undergo spontaneous decay with the release of particles. Germanium-68 is used in diagnosing heart disease, some types of cancer and other ailments with a technique called positron emission tomography. [UPI Perspectives] ***************************************************************** 21 ITAR-TASS: Russia to continue developing strategic nuclear forces [ITAR-TASS News Agency of Russia] 13.07.2004, 17.10 LONDON, July 13 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian leaders have allocated and will continue to allocate considerable funds for the maintenance and development of the nuclear component of the Armed Forces, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London on Tuesday. The Russian Army will be manned by soldiers and sergeants under a mixed system -- both on conscription and under contract -- in the foreseeable future, the minister said. “We have no plans to switch the entire personnel of the Armed Forces to service under contract as this would be extremely expensive. Also we aim to reduce the duration of the military service from two years to one year from 2008”, Ivanov said. He said from this year the 42nd motorized rifle division deployed in Chechnya would be manned entirely by those serving under contract. The switching to contractual basis of other units in permanent combat readiness will be continued. The sum of 80 billion roubles is allocated for these purposes. “The personnel of all the units in permanent combat readiness will be serving under contract by 2008”, Ivanov said. © ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy, ***************************************************************** 22 NRC: In the Matter of All Power Reactor Licensees and Research FR Doc 04-15789 [Federal Register: July 13, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 133)] [Notices] [Page 42071-42073] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr13jy04-86] Reactor Licensees Who Transport Spent Nuclear Fuel; Order Modifying License (Effective Immediately) I The licensees identified in Attachment 1 to this Order have been issued a specific license by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission) authorizing the possession of spent nuclear fuel and a general license authorizing the [[Page 42072]] transportation of spent nuclear fuel (in a transportation package approved by the Commission) in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and 10 CFR parts 50 and 71. This Order is being issued to all such licensees who transport spent nuclear fuel. Commission regulations for the shipment of spent nuclear fuel at 10 CFR 73.37(a) require these licensees to maintain a physical protection system that meets the requirements contained in 10 CFR 73.37(b), (c), (d), and (e). II On September 11, 2001, terrorists simultaneously attacked targets in New York, NY, and Washington, DC, utilizing large commercial aircraft as weapons. In response to the attacks and intelligence information subsequently obtained, the Commission issued a number of Safeguards and Threat Advisories to its licensees in order to strengthen licensees' capabilities and readiness to respond to a potential attack on a nuclear facility or regulated activity. The Commission has also communicated with other Federal, State and local government agencies and industry representatives to discuss and evaluate the current threat environment in order to assess the adequacy of security measures at licensed facilities. In addition, the Commission has been conducting a comprehensive review of its safeguards and security programs and requirements. As a result of its consideration of current safeguards and security plan requirements, as well as a review of information provided by the intelligence community, the Commission has determined that certain compensatory measures are required to be implemented by licensees as prudent, interim measures, to address the current threat environment in a consistent manner. Therefore, the Commission is imposing requirements, as set forth in Attachment 2 of this Order, on all licensees identified in Attachment 1 of this Order.\1\ These compensatory requirements, which supplement existing regulatory requirements, will provide the Commission with reasonable assurance that the common defense and security continue to be adequately protected in the current threat environment. These requirements will remain in effect until the Commission determines otherwise. ---------- \1\ Attachments 1 and 2 contain Safeguards Information and will not be released to the public. ---------- The Commission recognizes that licensees may have already initiated many of the measures set forth in Attachment 2 to this Order in response to previously issued Safeguards and Threat Advisories or on their own. It is also recognized that some measures may not be possible or necessary for all shipments of spent nuclear fuel, or may need to be tailored to accommodate the licensees' specific circumstances to achieve the intended objectives and avoid any unforeseen effect on the safe transport of spent nuclear fuel. Although the additional security measures implemented by licensees in response to the Safeguards and Threat Advisories have been adequate to provide reasonable assurance of adequate protection of common defense and security, in light of the current threat environment, the Commission concludes that the security measures must be embodied in an Order consistent with the established regulatory framework. In order to provide assurance that licensees are implementing prudent measures to achieve a consistent level of protection to address the current threat environment, all licenses identified in Attachment 1 to this Order shall be modified to include the requirements identified in Attachment 2 to this Order. In addition, pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202, and in light of the common defense and security matters identified above which warrant the issuance of this Order, the Commission finds that the public health, safety, and interest require that this Order be immediately effective. III Accordingly, pursuant to sections 53, 103, 104, 161b, 161i, 161o, 182 and 186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR parts 50 and 71, it is hereby ordered, effective immediately, that all licenses identified in Attachment 1 to this order are modified as follows: A. All Licensees shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any Commission regulation or license to the contrary, comply with the requirements described in Attachment 2 to this Order except to the extent that a more stringent requirement is set forth in the Licensee's security plan. The Licensees shall immediately start implementation of the requirements in Attachment 2 to the Order and shall complete implementation by August 1, 2004, unless otherwise specified in Attachment 2, or before the first shipment after July 2, 2004, whichever is earlier. B.1. All Licensees shall, within twenty (20) days of the date of this Order, notify the Commission, (1) if they are unable to comply with any of the requirements described in Attachment 2, (2) if compliance with any of the requirements is unnecessary in their specific circumstances, or (3) if implementation of any of the requirements would cause the Licensee to be in violation of the provisions of any Commission regulation or the facility license. The notification shall provide the Licensee's justification for seeking relief from or variation of any specific requirement. 2. Any Licensee that considers that implementation of any of the requirements described in Attachment 2 to this Order would adversely impact the safe transport of spent fuel must notify the Commission, within twenty (20) days of this Order, of the adverse safety impact, the basis for its determination that the requirement has an adverse safety impact, and either a proposal for achieving the same objectives specified in the Attachment 2 requirement in question, or a schedule for modifying the activity to address the adverse safety condition. If neither approach is appropriate, the Licensee must supplement its response to Condition B1 of this Order to identify the condition as a requirement with which it cannot comply, with attendant justifications as required in Condition B1. C.1. All Licensees shall, within twenty (20) days of the date of this Order, submit to the Commission a schedule for achieving compliance with each requirement described in Attachment 2. 2. All Licensees shall report to the Commission when they have achieved full compliance with the requirements described in Attachment 2. D. Notwithstanding any provisions of the Commission's regulations to the contrary, all measures implemented or actions taken in response to this Order shall be maintained until the Commission determines otherwise. Licensee responses to Conditions B1, B2, C1, and C2 above, shall be submitted to the NRC to the attention of the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation under 10 CFR 50.4. In addition, Licensee submittals that contain Safeguards Information shall be properly marked and handled in accordance with 10 CFR 73.21. The Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, may, in writing, relax or rescind any of the above conditions upon demonstration by the Licensee of good cause. IV In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, the Licensee must, and any other person adversely affected by this Order may, submit an answer to this Order, and [[Page 42073]] may request a hearing on this Order, within twenty (20) days of the date of this Order. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the time to request a hearing. A request for extension of time in which to submit an answer or request a hearing must be made in writing to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555- 0001, and include a statement of good cause for the extension. The answer may consent to this Order. Unless the answer consents to this Order, the answer shall, in writing and under oath or affirmation, specifically set forth the matters of fact and law on which the Licensee or other person adversely affected relies and the reasons as to why the Order should not have been issued. Any answer or request for a hearing shall be submitted to the Secretary, Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, attn: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Copies also shall be sent to the Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555- 0001, to the Assistant General Counsel for Materials Litigation and Enforcement at the same address; to the Regional Administrator for NRC Region I, II, III, or IV, as appropriate for the specific facility; and to the Licensee if the answer or hearing request is by a person other than the Licensee. Because of potential disruptions in delivery of mail to United States Government offices, it is requested that answers and requests for hearing be transmitted to the Secretary of the Commission either by means of facsimile transmission to (301) 415-1101 or by e- mail to hearingdocket@nrc.gov [hearingdocket@nrc.gov] , and also to the Office of the General Counsel either by means of facsimile transmission to (301) 415-3725 or by e-mail to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov [OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov] . If a person other than the Licensee requests a hearing, that person shall set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is adversely affected by this Order and shall address the requirements set forth in 10 CFR 2.309. If a hearing is requested by the Licensee or a person whose interest is adversely affected, the Commission will issue an Order designating the time and place of any hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered at such hearing shall be whether this Order should be sustained. Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), the Licensee may, in addition to demanding a hearing, at the time the answer is filed or sooner, move the presiding officer to set aside the immediate effectiveness of the Order on the ground that the Order, including the need for immediate effectiveness, is not based on adequate evidence but on mere suspicion, unfounded allegations, or error. In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions specified in section III above shall be final twenty (20) days from the date of this Order without further order or proceedings. If an extension of time for requesting a hearing has been approved, the provisions specified in section III shall be final when the extension expires if a hearing request has not been received. An answer or a request for hearing shall not stay the immediate effectiveness of this order. Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of July, 2004. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. J.E. Dyer, Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 04-15789 Filed 7-12-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 23 NRC: Sunshine Act Meeting FR Doc 04-15893 [Federal Register: July 13, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 133)] [Notices] [Page 42074-42075] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr13jy04-88] DATES: Weeks of July 12, 19, 26; August 2, 9, 16, 2004. PLACE: Commissioners' Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. STATUS: Public and Closed. MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: Week of July 12, 2004 Tuesday, July 13, 2004 2:15 p.m.--Discussion of Security Issues (closed--ex. 1). Wednesday, July 14, 2004 1:15 p.m.--Affirmation Session (Public Meeting). (If needed.) Thursday, July 15, 2004 11:30 a.m.--Discussion of Security Issues (closed--ex. 1). Week of July 19, 2004--Tentative Wednesday, July 21, 2004 9:30 a.m.--Meeting with Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) (Public Meeting). (Contact: John Larkins (301) 415-7360.) This meeting will be webcast live at the Web address http://www.nrc.gov [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov] . Week of July 26, 2004--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of July 26, 2004. Week of August 2, 2004--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of August 2, 2004. Week of August 9, 2004--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of August 9, 2004. Week of August 16, 2004--Tentative Wednesday, August 18, 2004 9:30 a.m.--Discussion of Security Issued (closed--ex. 1). *The schedule for Commission meetings is subject to change on short notice. To verify the status of meetings call (recording)--(301) 415- 1292. Contact person for more information: Dave Gamberoni, (301) 415- 1651. * * * * * ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: By a vote of 3-0 on July 6, the Commission determined pursuant to U.S.C. 552b(e) and 9.107(a) of the Commission's rules that ``Affirmation of (1) Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (Diablo Canyon Power Plant, Units 1 and 2); Applicant's motion to terminate proceeding and Intervenor's motion to vacate, (2) Duke Energy Corp. (Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2), Order on the Board's certified questions on admissibility of a security contention, and (3) Appointment of a Pre-License Application Presiding Officer (PAPO) for High Level Waste Repository Pre-License Application Phase'' be held July 7, and on less than one week's notice to the public. * * * * * The NRC Commission Meeting Schedule can be found on the Internet at: http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/policy-making/schedule.html [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/policy-makin g/schedule.html] . * * * * * The NRC provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in these public meetings, or need this meeting notice or the transcript or other information from the public meetings in another format (e.g. braille, large print), please notify the NRC's Disability Program Coordinator, [[Page 42075]] August Spector, at (301) 415-7080, TDD: (301) 415-2100, or by e-mail at aks@nrc.gov [ aks@nrc.gov] . Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. * * * * * This notice is distributed by mail to several hundred subscribers; if you no longer wish to receive it, or would like to be added to the distribution, please contact the Office of the Secretary, Washington, DC 20555 (301) 415-1969). In addition, distribution of this meeting notice over the Internet system is available. If you are interested in receiving this Commission meeting schedule electronically, please send an electronic message to dkw@nrc.gov [dkw@nrc.gov] . Dated: July 8, 2004. R. Michelle Schroll, Office of the Secretary. [FR Doc. 04-15893 Filed 7-9-04; 9:37 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-M ***************************************************************** 24 canadaeast.com: POINT LEPREAU Shutdown costs about $1.5M Telegraph Journal Number of votes cast: 6854 As published on page A2 on July 13, 2004 Plant taken off-line after lightning strikes BY JAMES RISDON Telegraph-Journal The Point Lepreau generating station came back online Monday after three lightning strikes zapped high-voltage lines linked to the nuclear plant Friday night. NB Power shut down the plant after the lightning strikes. The plant was down for two days and the utility had to buy extra electricity. "We bought about 4,000 megawatt hours" from the Bayside Power generating station in Saint John, said Rod White, vice-president of NB Power's nuclear division. He said that amounted to about 13.5 per cent of the electricity used over the weekend by NB Power customers. The cost of that relative small amount of electricity that had to be bought was about $160,000. But that's not all that the temporary shutdown of Point Lepreau cost the utility because NB Power had to increase its output from oil and coal-powered generating stations to make up the shortfall in power. And since nuclear power is cheaper to produce than electricity from oil or coal-powered plants, NB Power took a substantial hit during the interruption at Point Lepreau. "It cost us a little more than $1.5 million," said Mr. White. "That's the difference between what it costs to produce 600,000 megawatts at Lepreau and 600,000 megawatts from other sources." Lightning first tripped a high-voltage line's systems at 9:18 p.m. Friday. But that initial lightening bolt didn't leave the power out for more than a few moments. It was the second and third lightening bolts, at 9:47 p.m. and 10:06 p.m., that led to the longer power interruptions. The lightning bolts triggered a series of safety mechanisms at the power plant that tripped the turbine and set off "all sorts of alarms and things that aren't normal," said Mr. White. Although there was no danger at any time to the nuclear power plant itself, officials there decided to shut down the reactor to stabilize things. Due to the physics of nuclear power generation, that meant Point Lepreau had to go off-line for two days. The nuclear power plant came back online Monday at 4:42 a.m. Reach our reporter [tjbath@nb.aibn.com] Copyright © 2004 Brunswick News Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 25 Newsday: Radioactive Fuel, Reported Missing, Found Newsday.com [July 13, 2004] By DAVID GRAM Associated Press Writer MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Two highly radioactive pieces of spent nuclear fuel were found Tuesday where they belong, in the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant's spent fuel pool, three months after they were reported missing. The discovery was made by engineers using a special tool to open a container in the pool, which houses thousands of spent nuclear fuel assemblies from the plant's 32 years of operation, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman said. Two earlier robotic searches of the pool had failed to turn up the container. Its existence became known last week when investigators found a record at a General Electric laboratory in California that the container had been shipped to Vermont Yankee sometime during the 1980s. "We earlier had checked all the containers in the pool, but when we learned that General Electric had designed and sent a pipe-like cylinder for the fuel-rod pieces, we rechecked the videotapes," said Jay Thayer, site vice president in charge of Vermont Yankee for its owner, Entergy Nuclear. "That's when we noticed that what was previously thought to be part of an existing in-pool structure could very well be the canister that GE sent here," Thayer said. The news in April that the radioactive spent fuel segments, likely lethal to anyone exposed to them, were unaccounted for came at a sensitive time for the 32-year-old reactor. Entergy Nuclear has a request pending before the NRC to boost its power output by 20 percent. Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the NRC's Northeast regional office, said the federal agency was withholding judgment on the latest developments at the Vermont plant. The discovery of the GE records prompted engineers at Vermont Yankee to build a new tool that could go into the spent fuel pool, open the container and check its contents. The container was described as a 40-inch-long cylinder about four inches across -- easily large enough to hold the two fuel pieces, described as 9 and 17 inches long and about as thick as a pencil. After the announcement that the fuel segments were missing, plant officials said they believed the segments were in cylinders welded to a bucket at the bottom of the 40-foot-deep spent fuel pool. Raymond Shadis of the nuclear watchdog group New England coalition said Tuesday that the discovery of the fuel rods in a separate cylinder raised questions about what had been in the bucket and what had become of it. "These kinds of open questions, they don't give anyone any feeling of security with respect to how they handle spent nuclear materials," he said. Vermont Yankee spokesman Robert Williams said discussions about the fuel having been in the bucket were "speculation early in the investigation." "We've done a thorough search of the pool and this completes the inventory," Williams said. Sheehan said the NRC plans its own an investigation. Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press Policy. Copyright © Newsday, Inc. ***************************************************************** 26 Brattleboro Reformer: Container that may house missing VY fuel to be opened [http://www.reformer.com/] July 13, 2004 Brattleboro, VT By CAROLYN LORIÉ Reformer Staff BRATTLEBORO -- The container in Vermont Yankee's spent fuel pool that may house the two lost segments of fuel is due to be opened this week, perhaps as soon as today. Officials at the plant announced last week that they received word from General Electric, which manufactures the fuel used at the plant, that the company sent a cylinder to Vermont Yankee around the same time that the two segments were separated from the rest of the faulty fuel assembly. The rods were found to be missing on April 20, when a resident inspector from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ordered that canister believed to contain the fuel opened. According to Vermont Yankee spokesman, Rob Williams, the cylinder was not noticed during the plant's initial search of the pool because it was believed to be part of a channel rack -- a piece of equipment used to disassemble fuel assemblies. On May 27, the company sent an e-mail out to the news media claiming to have completed a video camera search of the pool, which including looking inside all containers. In addition to searching the pool, former personnel are being interviewed and records are being searched. When asked whether there were other containers in the spent fuel pool that have not been examined Williams said: "At this point we have a full accountability of all the spent fuel except for these two segments. When we identify these two segments, really, that resolves the issue." Copyright ©1999-2004 New England Newspapers, Inc., a ***************************************************************** 27 [southnews] DU: America's Silent Weapon of Mass Destruction Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 18:15:21 -0500 (CDT) ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/7gSolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Over 1,000 radioactive sources in Iraq - Ruba'i Date 11 Jul 04 KUNA (Kuwait) BAGDHAD, July 11 (KUNA) -- A recent aerial survey in Iraq has revealed over 1,000 sources of strong radioactivitiy in the country, a senior Iraqi security official said Sunday. Muwaffaq Ruba'i, the National Security Council Adviser, said in a news conference following a statement by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi on the matter, that the survey uncovered some 1.77 tons of radioactive material and depleted uranium. Ruba'i said that the U.S. Energy and Defense Departments had transferred these materials to guarantee they don't fall into the wrong hands. He said that the materials were found in six areas and that the former regime was going to use them. He added that the former regime could have transferred other quantities of those materials to neighboring countries, but could not elaborate. Ruba'i said that his country is committed to agreements on banning the use or manufacturing of weapons of mass destruction. U.S. sources had confirmed that radioactive materials had been transferred to the United States on June 22. _____________________________________________ Depleted Uranium: America's Silent Weapon of Mass Destruction by Sally Carless Published on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 by CommonDreams.org American troops are coming home poisoned -- not by Saddam -- but by their own government's weapons of mass and indiscriminate destruction. The first reports from soldiers returning from Iraq have come in, and they are testing positive for depleted uranium (DU) in their systems. And these are not just random soldiers many are police officers and fire fighters from New York who serve in the NY Army National Guard. These are the very symbols of what this war was supposedly about. Depleted uranium is a component of toxic nuclear waste. As such, it is extremely cheap. It is also very effective -- the densest material available on the market, it can smash through tanks as if they were butter. When DU weapons explode, a fine aerosol of radioactive dust (uranium oxide) is formed. This dust -- which remains radioactive for billions of years -- is small enough to be inhaled. Once inhaled, uranium oxides lodge in the body and emit radiation indefinitely. The U.S. military has used hundreds of tons of these weapons - not just in the Iraqi conflict, but also in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia, and in the first Gulf War. This dust attaches itself to tanks, clothing and equipment, becomes absorbed in the soil, plants, and water, and is propelled around every time the wind blows. DU powder does not discriminate; it gets into the lungs of Iraqi men, women, and children, as well as in the lungs of American service people. The recently tested soldiers from New York were not even in combat - imagine the amounts of DU waiting to be found in those who were in the midst of fighting and deploying these weapons. Many of the troops currently in Iraq are suffering from "mysterious" symptoms. Why is it that so many of the troops do not even know what depleted uranium is? Why were they told to camp in areas where DU weapons were used? Why weren't they told that the destroyed Iraqi tanks they pass on their patrols are highly radioactive? The rates of birth defects and cancer in Iraq have skyrocketed since the first Gulf War. Thousands of veterans from that war have fallen ill with a range of symptoms that have come to be known as Gulf War Syndrome. Common complaints include chronic fatigue, multiple cancers, musculoskeletal pain, neurological damage, signs and symptoms involving skin (including skin rashes and unusual hair loss), sleep disturbances, menstrual disorders, gastrointestinal problems, abnormal weight loss, upper and lower respiratory problems, memory loss, and chemical sensitivities. Veterans' children suffer increased rates of sickness as well. Babies whose fathers served in the first Gulf War are 50 percent more likely to have physical abnormalities than those born to soldiers who were not sent to that region, according to a recent study funded by the UK's Ministry of Defense. The study cited increased risks of genital, urinary and renal abnormalities, deformed limbs, bones and muscles. The Gulf WarVeterans Association reports that at least 300,000 Gulf War vets have developed incapacitating illnesses. This is the fallout from the supposedly "quick and easy" war that lasted only a few weeks. While the U.S. military claims Gulf War Syndrome is a mystery, many vets -- and scientists -- believe that depleted uranium is one of the major causes of their ailments. It took the U.S. thirty years to admit that Agent Orange actually did harm our Vietnam vets, so perhaps the military believes it can put off admitting what is already known about DU for many years to come. In the meantime, service people are denied proper care. Major Doug Rokke (Ret.) led the Pentagon's depleted uranium assessment team, which spent several months in the Persian Gulf in 1990-91 involved in DU cleanup, research, and follow-up medical care for U.S. personnel exposed to DU. Rokke has since become seriously ill, and many on his team have already died. He published his research in an Army pamphlet which, according to Rokke, was never distributed to NATO troops operating in the Balkans or to civilians living in areas bombarded by DU shells. Rokke's research concluded that anyone who comes in contact with DU must get medical attention, including those who fired the weapons, as well as anyone who has been near equipment or structures struck with DU shells. In 1999 a United Nations subcommittee called for an initiative banning the use of DU worldwide. The initiative died in committee where it was blocked by the U.S. In 2003 the European Parliament called for a moratorium on the use of depleted uranium. Despite the fact that the U.S. Army acknowledges the hazards of DU in a training manual, the Pentagon continues to deny that DU is dangerous. Saddam's WMDs were not found. But, America's DU weapons continue to contaminate our soldiers and are likely to contaminate the planet for billions of years to come. Our troops have not been informed of the danger they face from DU. The American corporate media remains silent. The politicians are looking the other way. These weapons are being used in our name; these are our tax dollars at work. Who is keeping watch here? Sally Carless is the founder and director of Global Village School for Peace and Diversity Studies, an international K-12 distance-learning diploma program dedicated to teaching about peace and justice. She can be reached at sally@globalvillageschool.org. Additional resources as well as articles documenting the facts stated in this article can be found at www.globalvillageschool.org/resources.html and www.globalvillageschool.org/troops.html. ### The archives of South News can be found at http://southmovement.alphalink.com.au/southnews/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/southnews/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: southnews-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: ***************************************************************** 28 [du-list] I am a mutant Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 14:51:48 -0700 http://www.westpress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=146049&command=displayContent&sourceNode=145779&contentPK=10576238 I AM A MUTANT Western Daily Press 09:30 - 12 July 2004 A Former defence worker has won legal aid to sue an aerospace firm over claims he was poisoned by depleted uranium at a West factory, it emerged yesterday. Richard "Nibby" David suffers from health problems, including breathing difficulties and a serious kidney condition as well as skin, bowel and joint disorders. He worked for Normalair Garrett in Yeovil between 1985 and 1995, during which time his health declined to the point where he was forced to give up work. The former Somerset county councillor believes his debilitating condition was caused by exposure to controversial depleted uranium (DU) at the factory. Yesterday, Mr David, 49, told the Western Daily Press that his life was "a living hell", but the legal aid at last gave him a chance to argue his case. He says medical tests have revealed mutations to his DNA and chromosome damage, and hopes to recruit world-famous barrister Michael Mansfield to fight his case. US firm Honeywell, which now owns the factory, denies depleted uranium was ever used at Yeovil and the case is heading for a 10-day hearing at London's Royal Courts of Justice. The landmark case is set to send shockwaves through the armaments trade and provide hope for many Gulf War veterans who claim DU has damaged their health. Nineteen years ago, Mr David was physically fit and an aerobics instructor in his spare time. He told the Press yesterday his health first began to decline soon after starting work at the Yeovil factory in February 1995. "Within three weeks of working there, I had a horrifically sore throat," he said. "That soon became a permanent feature. I felt like I was going down with flu. "I felt a complete change in my personality, my outlook and my emotions. Every doctor I saw said I was imagining it." His health continued to decline until in 1995 he says he was paralysed with pain and said: "The hospital were concerned. They were trying to work out what I had been exposed to. They thought I had caught a mysterious viral infection, which I hadn't." A chance viewing of part of a TV programme which featured a Gulf war veteran struggling with apparently similar symptoms, led Mr David to wonder if there was a link. "I thought she must have what I've got. You could tell the pain she was in," he added. Urine samples revealed high levels of uranium and tests in 2001 also showed damage to his chromosomes, according to Mr David. This suggested exposure to radiation. After leaving his job as a component fitter in 1995, Mr David moved from his home near Yeovil to Seaton, in Devon, where he had a boat. He fell in love with and married Jane in 1998, but his condition has put huge strains on their private life. "It is a living hell, for myself and my family," he said. "The stress on my family is phenomenal." According to Mr David other former colleagues have also become mysteriously sick. "A lot of my work mates were simply ill," he said. He believes exposure to DU at work is the cause of his many ills. A spokeswoman for Honeywell declined to comment beyond saying DU was not used at Yeovil. Daily Press Fact File Depleted Uranium is what is left over after ordinary uranium has been enriched for use either in nuclear weapons or in reactors. It is a dense, heavy metal used for warfare in shells and projectiles to enhance their armour-piercing capacity. When a DU round strikes a solid object like a tank, it bursts into a burning spray of radioactive dust. This dust can remain on site for years and is claimed to have caused disease in soldiers using the munitions and in the local populations. According to the MoD, two kinds of DU ammunition are used by UK forces: 120mm anti-tank rounds fired by the Army's Challenger tanks, and 20mm rounds used by the Royal Navy's PHALANX Close-In Weapon System, a missile defence system. The MoD insists no satisfactory alternative material provides the level of penetration needed to defeat modern battle tanks and says many of the claims about the effects of DU are "groundless". ___________________________________________________________ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - sooooo many all-new ways to express yourself http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/FGYolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 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 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: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 29 [du-list] Depleted uranium: Trojan Horse of Nuclear war Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 14:51:44 -0700 Depleted Uranium: The Trojan Horse of Nuclear War by Leuren Moret, posted July 7, 2004 World Affairs ­ The Journal of International Issues, July 2004 http://globalresearch.ca/articles/MOR407A.html The URL of this article is: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/MOR407A.html Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it do singe yourself. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) The use of depleted uranium weaponry by the United States, defying all international treaties, will slowly annihilate all species on earth including the human species, and yet this country continues to do so with full knowledge of its destructive potential. Since 1991, the United States has staged four wars using depleted uranium weaponry, illegal under all international treaties, conventions and agreements, as well as under the US military law. The continued use of this illegal radioactive weaponry, which has already contaminated vast regions with low level radiation and will contaminate other parts of the world over time, is indeed a world affair and an international issue. The deeper purpose is revealed by comparing regions now contaminated with depleted uranium — from Egypt, the Middle East, Central Asia and the northern half of India — to the US geostrategic imperatives described in Zbigniew Brzezinski’s 1997 book The Grand Chessboard. SOUTH REGION: “This huge region, torn by volatile hatreds and surrounded by competing powerful neighbors, is likely to be a major battlefield, both for wars among nation-states and, more likely, for protracted ethnic and religious violence. Whether India acts as a restraint or whether it takes advantage of some opportunity to impose its will on Pakistan will greatly affect the regional scope of the likely conflicts. The internal strains within Turkey and Iran are likely not only to get worse but to greatly reduce the stabilizing role these states are capable of playing within this volcanic region. Such developments will in turn make it more difficult to assimilate the new Central Asian states into the international community, while also adversely affecting the American-dominated security of the Persian Gulf region. In any case, both America and the international community may be faced here with a challenge that will dwarf the recent crisis in the former Yugoslavia.” Brzezinski The fact is that the United States and its military partners have staged four nuclear wars, "slipping nukes under the wire" by using dirty bombs and dirty weapons in countries the US needs to control. Depleted uranium aerosols will permanently contaminate vast regions and slowly destroy the genetic future of populations living in those regions, where there are resources which the US must control, in order to establish and maintain American primacy. Described as the Trojan Horse of nuclear war, depleted uranium is the weapon that keeps killing. The half-life of Uranium-238 is 4.5 billion years, the age of the earth. And, as Uranium-238 decays into daughter radioactive products, in four steps before turning into lead, it continues to release more radiation at each step. There is no way to turn it off, and there is no way to clean it up. It meets the US Government’s own definition of Weapons of Mass Destruction. After forming microscopic and submicroscopic insoluble Uranium oxide particles on the battlefield, they remain suspended in air and travel around the earth as a radioactive component of atmospheric dust, contaminating the environment, indiscriminately killing, maiming and causing disease in all living things where rain, snow and moisture remove it from the atmosphere. Global radioactive contamination from atmospheric testing was the equivalent of 40,000 Hiroshima bombs, and still contaminates the atmosphere and lower orbital space today. The amount of low level radioactive pollution from depleted uranium released since 1991, is many times more (deposited internally in the body), than was released from atmospheric testing fallout. A 2003 independent report for the European Parliament by the European Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR), reports that based on Chernobyl studies, low level radiation risk is 100 to 1000 times greater than the International Committee for Radiation Protection models estimate which are based on the flawed Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Studies conducted by the US Government. Referring to the extreme killing effects of radiation on biological systems, Dr. Rosalie Bertell, one of the 46 international radiation expert authors of the ECRR report, describes it as: "The concept of species annihilation means a relatively swift, deliberately induced end to history, culture, science, biological reproduction and memory. It is the ultimate human rejection of the gift of life, an act which requires a new word to describe it: omnicide." 1943 MANHATTAN PROJECT BLUEPRINT FOR DEPLETED URANIUM In a declassified memo to General Leslie R. Groves, dated October 30, 1943, three of the top physicists in the Manhattan Project, Dr James B Conant, A H Compton, and H C Urey, made their recommendation, as members of the Subcommittee of the S-1 Executive Committee, on the ‘Use of Radioactive Materials as a Military Weapon’: "As a gas warfare instrument the material would be ground into particles of microscopic size to form dust and smoke and distributed by a ground-fired projectile, land vehicles, or aerial bombs. In this form it would be inhaled by personnel. The amount necessary to cause death to a person inhaling the material is extremely small … There are no known methods of treatment for such a casualty … it will permeate a standard gas mask filter in quantities large enough to be extremely damaging." As a Terrain Contaminant: "To be used in this manner, the radioactive materials would be spread on the ground either from the air or from the ground if in enemy controlled territory. In order to deny terrain to either side except at the expense of exposing personnel to harmful radiations … Areas so contaminated by radioactive material would be dangerous until the slow natural decay of the material took place … for average terrain no decontaminating methods are known. No effective protective clothing for personnel seems possible of development. … Reservoirs or wells would be contaminated or food poisoned with an effect similar to that resulting from inhalation of dust or smoke." Internal Exposure: "… Particles smaller than 1µ [micron] are more likely to be deposited in the alveoli where they will either remain indefinitely or be absorbed into the lymphatics or blood. … could get into the gastro-intestinal tract from polluted water, or food, or air. … may be absorbed from the lungs or G-I tract into the blood and so distributed throughout the body." Both the fission products and depleted uranium waste from the Atomic Bomb Project were to be utilised under this plan. The pyrophoric nature of depleted uranium, which causes it to begin to burn at very low temperatures from friction in the gun barrel, made it an ideal radioactive gas weapon then and now. Also it was more available because the amount of depleted uranium produced was much greater than the amount of fission products produced in 1943. Britain had thoughts of using poisoned gas on Iraq long before 1991: "I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilized tribes. The moral effect should be good... and it would spread a lively terror..." (Winston Churchill commenting on the British use of poison gas against the Iraqis after the First World War). GUIDED WEAPONS SYSTEMS Depleted uranium weapons were first given by the US to Israel for use under US supervision in the 1973 Sinai war against the Arabs. Since then the US has tested, manufactured, and sold depleted uranium weapons systems to 29 countries. An international taboo prevented their use until 1991, when the US broke the taboo and used them for the first time, on the battlefields of Iraq and Kuwait. The US military admitted using depleted uranium projectiles in tanks and planes, but warheads in missiles and bombs are classified or referred to as a ‘dense’ or ‘mystery metal’. Dai Williams, a researcher at the 2003 World Depleted Uranium Weapons Conference, reported finding 11 US patents for guided weapons systems with the term ‘depleted uranium’ or ‘dense metal’, which from the density can only be depleted uranium or tungsten, in order to fit the dimensions of the warhead. Figure 2 - Hard target guided weapons in 2002: smart bombs & cruise missiles with "dense metal" warheads (updated September 2002) Warhead weight Warhead weights include explosives (~20%) and casing. Dense metal ballast or liners (suspected to be DU) estimated to be 50-75% of warhead weight - necessary to double the density of previous versions. AUP = Advanced penetrators. S/CH = Shaped Charge. BR = BROACH Multiple Warhead System (S/CH+AUP). P = older 'heavy metal' penetrators. © Dai Williams 2002 source: Depleted Uranium weapons in 2001-2002 : Occupational, public and environmental health issues - Mystery Metal Nightmare in Afghanistan? Collected studies and public domain sources compiled by Dai Williams, first edition 31 January 2002 Extensive carpet bombing, grid bombing, and the frequent use of missiles and depleted uranium bullets on buildings in densely populated areas has occurred in Iraq, Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan. The discovery that bomb craters in Yugoslavia in 1999 were radioactive, and that an unexploded missile in 1999 contained a depleted uranium warhead, implies that the total amount of depleted uranium used since 1991 has been greatly underestimated. Of even greater concern, is that 100 per cent of the depleted uranium in bombs and missiles is aerosolized upon impact and immediately released into the atmosphere. This amount can be as much as 1.5 tons in the large bombs. In bullets and cannon shells, the amount aerosolized is 40-70 per cent, leaving pieces and unexploded shells in the environment, to provide new sources of radioactive dust and contamination of the groundwater from dissolved depleted uranium metal long after the battles are over, as reported in a 2003 report by the UN Environmental Program on Yugoslavia. Considering that the US has admitted using 34 tons of depleted uranium from bullets and cannon shells in Yugoslavia, and the fact that 35,000 NATO bombing missions occurred there in 1999, potentially the amount of depleted uranium contaminating Yugoslavia and transboundary drift into surrounding countries is staggering. Because of mysterious illnesses and post-war birth defects reported among Gulf War veterans and civilians in southern Iraq, and radiation related illnesses in UN Peacekeepers serving in Yugoslavia, growing concerns about radiation effects and environmental damage has stirred up international outrage about the use of radioactive weapons by the US after 1991. At the 2003 meeting of parties to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, discussing the U.S. desire to maintain its nuclear weapons stockpile, the Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi AKIBA stated, "It is incumbent upon the rest of the world ... to stand up now and tell all of our military leaders that we refuse to be threatened or protected by nuclear weapons. We refuse to live in a world of continually recycled fear and hatred". ILLEGAL UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW Four reasons why using depleted uranium weapons violates the UN Convention on Human Rights: LEGALITY TEST FOR WEAPONS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW TEMPORAL TEST ­ Weapons must not continue to act after the battle is over. ENVIRONMENTAL TEST ­ Weapons must not be unduly harmful to the environment. TERRITORIAL TEST ­ Weapons must not act off of the battlefield. HUMANENESS TEST ­ Weapons must not kill or wound inhumanly. International Human Rights and humanitarian lawyer, Karen Parker, determined that depleted uranium weaponry fails the four tests for legal weapons under international law, and that it is also illegal under the definition of a ‘poison’ weapon. Through Karen Parker’s continued efforts, a sub-commission of the UN Human Rights Commission determined in 1996 that depleted uranium is a weapon of mass destruction that should not be used: RESOLUTION 1996/16 ON STOPPING THE USE OF DEPLETED URANIUM - DU The military use of DU violates current international humanitarian law, including the principle that there is no unlimited right to choose the means and methods of warfare (Art. 22 Hague Convention VI (HCIV); Art. 35 of the Additional Protocol to the Geneva (GP1); the ban on causing unnecessary suffering and superfluous injury (Art. 23 §le HCIV; Art. 35 §2 GP1), indiscriminate warfare (Art. 51 §4c and 5b GP1) as well as the use of poison or poisoned weapons. The deployment and use of DU violate the principles of international environmental and human rights protection. They contradict the right to life established by the Resolution 1996/16 of the UN Subcommittee on Human Rights. FOUR NUCLEAR WARS "Military Men Are Just Dumb, Stupid, Animals To Be Used As Pawns In Foreign Policy" — Henry Kissinger Although restricted to battlefields in Iraq and Kuwait, the 1991 Gulf War was one of the most toxic and environmentally devastating wars in world history. Oil well fires, the bombing of oil tankers and oil wells which released millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Arabia and desert, and the devastation from tanks and heavy equipment destroyed the desert ecosystem. The long term and far reaching effects, and dispersal of at least 340 tons of depleted uranium weapons, had a global environmental effect. Smoke from the oil fires was later found in deposits in South America, the Himalayas and Hawaii. Large annual dust storms originating in North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia will quickly spread the radioactive contamination around the world, and weathering of old depleted uranium munitions on battlefields and other areas will provide new sources of radioactive contamination in future years. Downwind from the radioactive devastation in Iraq, Israel is also suffering from large increases in breast cancer, leukemia and childhood diabetes. RADIATION RESPECTS NO BORDERS, NO SOCIOECONOMIC CLASS, AND NO RELIGION The expendability of the sanctity of life to achieve US political ends was described by US soldiers on the ground, and from the air, along the Highway of Death in Iraq in 1991: "Iraqi soldiers [whether they] be young boys or old men. They were a sad sight, with absolutely no fight left in them. Their leaders had cut their Achilles’ tendons so they couldn’t run away and then left them. What weapons they had were in bad repair and little ammunition was on hand. They were hungry, cold, and scared. The hate I had for any Iraqi dissipated. These people had no business being on a battlefield." (S Hersh, New Yorker , May 22, 2000) American pilots bombing and strafing, with depleted uranium weapons, helpless retreating Iraqi soldiers who had already surrendered, exclaimed: "We toasted him…. we hit the jackpot….a turkey shoot….shooting fish in a barrel….basically just sitting ducks… There’s just nothing like it. It’s the biggest Fourth of July show you’ve ever seen, and to see those tanks just ‘boom’, and more stuff just keeps spewing out of them… they just become white hot. It’s wonderful." (L A Times and Washington Post, both February 27, 1991) Nearly 700,000 American Gulf War Veterans returned to the US from a war that lasted just a few weeks. Today more than 240,000 of those soldiers are on permanent medical disability, and over 11,000 are dead. In a US Government study on post-Gulf War babies born to 251 veterans, 67 per cent of the babies were reported to have serious illnesses or serious birth defects. They were born without eyes, ears, had missing organs, fused fingers, thyroid or other malfunctions. Depleted uranium in the semen of the soldiers internally contaminated their wives. Severe birth defects have been reported in babies born to contaminated civilians in Iraq, Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan and the incidence and severity of defects is increasing over time. Women in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq are afraid now to have babies, and when they do give birth, instead of asking if it is a girl or a boy, they ask ‘is it normal?’. KNOWN ILLNESSES INFLICTED BY INTERNALIZATION OF DEPLETED URANIUM PARTICLES Table 1: Compiled by Leuren Moret from Interviews with Gulf War Vets and their families GENERAL abnormal births and birth defects abnormal metabolism of semen: contains amine & ammonium alkaline acute autoimmune symptoms (lung-, liver-, kidney failure) acute myeloid leukemia (deadly within days or weeks) acute immune depression acute respiratory failure asthma auto-immune deficiencies Balkan-syndrome blood in stools and urine body function control loss bone cancer brain damage brain tumors burning semen burning sensations calcium loss in body cardiovascular signs or symptoms chemical sensitivities Chronic Fatigue Syndrome chronic kidney and liver disorders chronic myeloid leukemia chronic respiratory infections colon cancer confusion diarrhea digestive problems dizziness Epstein Barr Syndrome fluid buildup fibromyalgia gastrointestinal signs/symptoms general fatigue genetic alterations glandular carcinoma Gulf war-syndrome headaches (severe) heart attack/disease high blood pressure high frequency of micturition Hodgkin lymphoma immune system deficiency infections insomnia involuntary movements joint/muscle/leg pain kidney failure/damage leukemia liver carcinoma loss of feeling in fingers Lou Gehrigs Disease -ALS low blood oxygen saturation ( low HbO2) low lung volume lung damage lung cancer lymph cancer lymphoma melanoma memory loss metallic taste Microplasma fermentans/ incognitis infections mood swings ­ violence homicide/suicide multiple cancers multiple myeloma myeloma muscle pain nerve damage neuro-muscular degenerative disease non-Hodgkin lymphoma other malignancies pancreas carcinoma Parkinsons disease petit & grand mal fits rashes reactive airway disease reduced IQ respiratory ailments shortness of breath sinus diseases skin cancer skin damage: sweat glands with trapped du-particles skin infections skin spotting smell, loss of sleep disturbances stiffening of fingers teeth crumbling thyroid cancer thyroid disease unable to walk unusual fevers/night sweats unusual hair loss vision problems weight loss CHILDREN alimentary disorders asthma bladder & sphincter paralysis blindness complete range of known and unknown Congenital Defects deafness dyspraxia headache kidney disease leukemia lymphoma malformations of legs, arms, toes & fingers respiratory disorders stillbirth neural tube defects FEMALE abdominal pain breast cancer breast cancer at very young age (20) cervix cancer endometriosis headaches incontinence joint pain lung cancer at age 20 and non-smoker menstrual problems miscarriages nausea ovarian cancer paralysis of digestive system thyroid problems uterine cancer MALE (acute) headache acute myeloid leukemia arthritis avoiding people breathing problems (stridor) chemical sensitivity chronic myeloid leukemia endometriosis in partners gastrointestinal disorder hip and leg pain joint pain lung cancer at young age lymphoma skin cancer skin eruptions stomach pain suicide testicular cancer unable to walk VISIE: http://www.xs4all.nl/~stgvisie/VISIE/du-diagnosis.html DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM website: http://www.ushostnet.com/gulfwar/articles.htm 04/1504 Soldiers who served in Bradley fighting vehicles, where it was common to sit on ammunition boxes where depleted uranium ammunition was stored, are now reporting that many have rectal cancer. For the first time, medical doctors in Yugoslavia and Iraq have reported multiple in situ unrelated cancers developing in patients, and even in families who are living in highly contaminated areas. Even stranger, they report that cancer was unknown in previous generations. Very rare and unusual cancers and birth defects have also been reported to be increasing above normal levels prior to 1991, not only in war torn countries, but in neighbouring countries from transboundary contamination. Dr. Keith Baverstock, a senior radiation advisor who was on the staff of the World Health Organization, co-authored a report in November 2001, warning that the long-term health effects of depleted uranium would endanger Iraq’s civilian population, and that the dry climate would increase exposure from the tiny particles blowing around and be inhaled for years to come. The WHO refused to give him permission to publish the study, bowing to pressure from the IAEA. Dr. Baverstock released the damning report to the media in February 2004. Pekka Haavisto, Chairman of the UN Environment Program’s Post-Conflict Assessment Unit in Geneva, shares Baverstock’s anxiety about depleted uranium but UNEP experts have not been allowed into Iraq to assess the pollution. "DEPLETED URANIUM SCARE" - Claimed by President George W. Bush on the official White House website: "During the Gulf War, coalition forces used armor-piercing ammunition made from depleted uranium, which is ideal for the purpose because of its great density. In recent years, the Iraqi regime has made substantial efforts to promote the false claim that the depleted uranium rounds fired by coalition forces have caused cancers and birth defects in Iraq. Iraq has distributed horrifying pictures of children with birth defects and linked them to depleted uranium. The campaign has two major propaganda assets:" "Uranium is a name that has frightening associations in the mind of the average person, which makes the lie relatively easy to sell; and Iraq could take advantage of an established international network of antinuclear activists who had already launched their own campaign against depleted uranium." "But scientists working for the World Health Organization, the UN Environmental Programme, and the European Union could find no health effects linked to exposure to depleted uranium." The US war in Afghanistan made it clear that this was not a war IN the third world, but a war AGAINST the third world. In Afghanistan where 800 to 1000 tons of depleted uranium was estimated to have been used in 2001, even uneducated Afghanis understand the impact these weapons have had on their children and on future generations: "After the Americans destroyed our village and killed many of us, we also lost our houses and have nothing to eat. However, we would have endured these miseries and even accepted them, if the Americans had not sentenced us all to death. When I saw my deformed grandson, I realized that my hopes of the future have vanished for good, different from the hopelessness of the Russian barbarism, even though at that time I lost my older son Shafiqullah. This time, however, I know we are part of the invisible genocide brought on us by America, a silent death from which I know we will not escape." (Jooma Khan of Laghman province, March 2003) In 1990, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) wrote a report warning about the potential health and environmental catastrophe from the use of depleted uranium weapons. The health effects had been known for a long time. The report sent to the UK government warned "in their estimation, if 50 tonnes of residual DU dust remained ‘in the region’ there could be half a million extra cancers by the end of the century [2000]." Estimates of depleted uranium weapons used in 1991, now range from the Pentagon’s admitted 325 tons, to other scientific bodies who put the figure as high as 900 tons. That would make the number of estimated cancers as high as 9,000,000, depending on the amount used in the 1991 Gulf War. In the 2003 Gulf War, estimates of 2200 tons have been given — causing about 22,000,000 new cancer cases. Altogether the total number of cancer patients estimated using the UKAEA data would be 25,250,000. In July of 1998, the CIA estimated the population of Iraq to be approximately 24,683,313. Ironically, the UN Resolution 661 calling for sanctions against Iraq, was signed on Hiroshima Day, August 6, 1990. THE PARALLELS War can really cause no economic boom, at least not directly, since an increase in wealth never does result from destruction of goods. ­ Ludwig von Mises The parallels between Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan are startlingly similar. The weapons used, the unfair treaties offered by the US, and the bombing and destruction of the environment and entire infrastructure. In every city of Iraq and Yugoslavia, the television and radio stations were bombed. Educational centres were targeted, and stores where educational materials were sold were destroyed on nearly the same day. Under UN sanctions, Iraq was not even allowed pencils for schoolchildren. Cultural antiquities and historical treasures were targeted and destroyed in all three countries, a kind of cultural and historical cleansing, a collective national psychic trauma. The permanent radioactive contamination and environmental devastation of all three countries is unprecedented, resulting in huge increases in cancer and birth defects following the attacks. These will increase over time from unknown effects due to chronic exposure, increasing internal levels of radiation from depleted uranium dust, and permanent genetic effects passed on to future generations. Clearly, this has been a genocidal plan from the start. Fig. 3: Map of regions within a 1000 mile radius of Baghdad and Afghanistan which have been contaminated with depleted uranium since 1991. Depleted uranium dust will be repeatedly recycled throughout this dry region, and also carried around the world. More than ten times the amount of radiation, released during atmospheric testing, has been released from depleted uranium weaponry since 1991. In 2002 the US government admitted that every person living in the US between 1957 and 1963 was internally contaminated with radiation. Note that the contaminated region corresponds with the "South" region on the Eurasian chessboard in Fig. 1. What has happened to Human Rights, to the Rights of the Child, to civil society, and to common humanity? It is up to the citizens of the world to stop the depleted uranium wars, and future nuclear wars, causing irreversible devastation. There are just a few generations left before the collapse of our environment, and then it will be too late. We can be no healthier than the health of the environment — we breathe the same air, drink the same water, eat food from the same soil. "Our collective gene pool of life, evolving for hundreds of millions of years has been seriously damaged in less than the past fifty. The time remaining to reverse this culture of ‘lemming death’ is on the wane. In the future, what will you tell our grandchildren about what you did in the prime of your life to turn around this death process?" (Rosalie Bertell, 1982) THE DEEPER PURPOSE: G*O*D* [Gold, Oil, and Drugs] "We must become the owners, or at any rate the controllers at the source, of at least a proportion of the oil which we require." (British Royal Commission, agreeing with Winston Churchill's policy towards Iraq 1913). "It is clear our nation is reliant upon big foreign oil. More and more of our imports come from overseas." (US President George W. Bush, Beaverton, Oregon, Sep. 25, 2000). "If they turn on the radars we're going to blow up their goddamn SAMs (surface-to-air missiles). They know we own their country. We own their airspace... We dictate the way they live and talk. And that's what's great about America right now. It's a good thing, especially when there's a lot of oil out there we need." (US Brig. General William Looney in 1999, referring to Iraq). Millions of years ago, before India crashed into the Eurasian continent and uplifted the Himalayas, the ancient shallow Tethys sea stretched from the Atlantic across what is now the Mediterranean, Black, Caspian and Aral seas. Rich oil deposits are now located where ancient life accumulated and ‘cooked’ under just the right conditions to form large oil deposits in the ancient sediments. Long before 1991, Unocal in Afghanistan, Amoco in Yugoslavia, and various oil companies interested in Iraq oil deposits, had conducted extensive exploration and characterisation of oil deposits in the Middle East and Central Asian regions, including the northern half of India. Britain has maintained an interest in Middle Eastern oil deposits for a century, and has been the staunchest military partner of the US since the first depleted uranium war in 1991 in Iraq. Germany, another military partner in Yugoslavia with forces now in Afghanistan, was one of the major economic beneficiaries of the breakup of Yugoslavia and the colonisation of the Balkans. US interest in Yugoslavia had much to do with building pipelines from Central Asia to the Mediterranean warm water ports in Yugoslavia. A silent and hidden partnership between the US and Japan provided large amounts of cash from Japan to finance the 1991 Iraq and 1995/1999 Yugoslavian wars, with additional help in Afghanistan by providing not only cash, but fuel for the war, from Aegis warships of the Japanese Self Defense Forces in the Indian Ocean. Nippon Steel, Mitsubishi, and Halliburton are now partners in a Central Asian oil pipeline project. In 2004, despite much citizen opposition in Japan, the Japanese government has sent Self Defense Forces to Iraq for ‘reconstruction’. This action taken by the Japanese government, of placing troops on the ground in a war zone, will lead to rescinding Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which forever prohibits military aggression by Japan. THE IRON TRIANGLE (all under one roof): MILITARY, BIG BUSINESS, POLITICS The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic State itself. That, in its essence, is Fascism -- ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power. - Franklin Delano Roosevelt But what do oil, military partners, depleted uranium wars, and US foreign policy have to do with nuclear weapons? The answer came to me in 1991 when I became a whistleblower at the Livermore Nuclear Weapons Laboratory near San Francisco, California. Richard Berta, the Western Regional Inspector for the Department of Energy, told me "The Pentagon exists for the oil companies… and the nuclear weapons labs exist for the Pentagon." Depleted uranium was used beginning in 1991 for three reasons: * To test the radiobiological effects of 4th generation nuclear weapons, which are still under development * To blur and break down the distinction between conventional and nuclear weapons * To make it easier to reintroduce nuclear weapons into the US military arsenal Today, the US is number one in 4th generation nuclear weapons research and development, followed by Japan and Germany tied for number two, and Russia and other countries follow. The Carlyle Group, a private massive equity firm, the 12th largest defense business with an obscenely high profit margin, is a business "arrangement" between the Bush and Bin Laden families, wealthy Saudis, former British Prime Minister John Major, James Baker III, Afsaneh Masheyekhi, Frank Carlucci, Colin Powell, other former US Government administrators, and Madeleine Albright’s daughter. The Carlyle Group is the ‘gatekeeper’ to the Saudi investment community. It owns 70 percent of Lockheed Martin Marietta, the largest military contractor in the US, and because Carlyle is privately owned, has no scrutiny or accountability whatsoever. A journalist who calls himself ‘a skunk at the garden party’ described investigating the Carlyle Group, he said ‘it’s like shadow boxing with a ghost’. The Group hires as lobbyists the best known politicians from around the world, in order to influence the politics of war, and privately profit from their previous public policies. The conflict of interest is obvious: President George W. Bush is creating wars as his father, former President George Bush, is globally peddling weapons and "protection". Lockheed Martin Marietta now owns Sandia Laboratories, a private contractor that makes the trigger for nuclear weapons, with a Sandia laboratory facility across the street from Los Alamos and Livermore National Laboratories, where the nuclear bombs are made. At the May 2003 University of California Regents meeting which I attended, Admiral Linton Brooks was present and newly in charge of the nuclear weapons programme under the Department of Energy. Admiral Brooks informed California Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante and the UC Regents that the management contract for the nuclear weapons laboratories, held unchallenged by the University of California for over 60 years, will be put up for competitive bid in 2005. The favoured institution, with a faculty member on the ‘blue ribbon committee’ making the contract award, is the University of Texas. This privatisation and management contract transfer of the US nuclear weapons programme will put control of the US nuclear weapons programme close to the Carlyle Group. The incestuous relationship between the US government, private companies, and the Bush and Bin Laden families in a way answers many of the lingering questions in everyone’s minds about many of the ill fated decisions and policies that have been implemented. Leuren Moret has worked at two US nuclear weapons laboratories as a geoscientist. In 1991 she became a whistleblower at the Livermore nuclear weapons lab, and since then has worked as an independent citizen scientist and radiation specialist in communities around the world, and contributed to the UN subcommission investigating depleted uranium. Her research on the environmental and public health effects of low level radiation from atmospheric testing fallout, nuclear power plants, and depleted uranium weaponry, is available on the internet and at http://www.mindfully.org . In 2003, she testified at the International Criminal Tribunal for Afghanistan held in Japan, and presented at the World Depleted Uranium Weapons Conference in Hamburg, Germany, and at the World Court of Women at the World Social Forum in Bombay, India in January 2004. She is a Global Research Contributing Editor, a City of Berkeley Environmental Commissioner, and the Past President of the Association for Women Geoscientists. More on Mindfully.org by Leuren Moret Websites: * International Criminal Tribunal for Afghanistan written opinion of Judge N. Bhagwat : also at http://www.traprockpeace.org/tokyo_trial_13march04.doc * Question 11: What does the US Government know about depleted uranium: http://traprockpeace.org/moret_25nov03.pdf * World Depleted Uranium Weapons Conference: http://www.uraniumweaponsconference.de * Radiation and Public Health Project: http://www.radiation.org * "A comparison of delayed radiobiological effects of depleted-uranium munitions versus fourth-generation nuclear weapons" by A. Gsponer, J.-P. Hurni, and B. Vitale, 4th International Conference of the Yugoslav Nuclear Society, Belgrade, September 30-October 4, 2002. http://arXiv.org/abs/physics/0210071 * "Fourth Generation Nuclear Weapons: The Physical Principles Of Thermonuclear Explosives, Inertial Confinement Fusion, And The Quest For Fourth Generation Nuclear Weapons" by Andre Gsponer and Jean-Pierre Hurni http://www.inesap.org/publ_tech01.htm * 54 minute VPRO Dutch TV "Carlyle Group" documentary on internet: http://www.vpro.nl/info/tegenlicht/index.shtml?7738514+7738518+7738520+11838857 For media inquiries: editor@globalresearch.ca ___________________________________________________________ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - sooooo many all-new ways to express yourself http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Yahoo! 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Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 30 [DU-WATCH] sick veterans 'made to feel like the enemy Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 23:20:43 -0500 (CDT) http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3194698 Sick Gulf Veterans 'Made to Feel Like the Enemy' By Jennifer Sym, PA News Troops in the first Gulf War were inoculated with a cocktail of drugs which they believe left them with debilitating illnesses and may have contributed to fatal birth defects, an inquiry heard today. Veterans were even made to feel like the enemy when they complained of a range of conditions following the 1991 conflict, including chronic fatigue, memory loss, depression, mood swings, aching joints, sensitivity to chemicals and cancerous tumours, the hearing was told. The Gulf War Illnesses independent inquiry started hearing evidence in London today from veterans and relatives of those who served in the war. Flight Lieutenant John Nichol, who served as an RAF Tornado navigator, is now president of the Gulf Veterans Branch of the Royal British Legion. Together with pilot Flt Lt John Peters, he was shot down on the first day of the conflict, captured and held as a prisoner of war for 49 days. He told the three-man inquiry panel: The men and the women you will hear from over the coming days are not the enemy but many times over the past few years that is exactly how theyve been made to feel they deserve better. He said during the conflict troops were given up to 14 inoculations, experienced the first ever mass use of NAPS tablets the nerve agent pre-treatment used as an antidote against chemical weapons and were exposed to heavy use of pesticides including those purchased locally. They were exposed to atmospheric pollution from burning oil wells and depleted uranium dust whilst decommissioning site and vehicles attacked with DU weapons and were possibly exposed to nerve agents when Iraqi chemical weapons storage facilities were destroyed, he said. Vicky Warriner, 36, from Peterborough, told the inquiry she attributes the deformities of her late baby Catherine to injections and tablets her former husband Mark was given when he served in the Gulf. In January 1999 a requested scan at 35 weeks revealed their baby had hydrocephalus and a body measuring 37 weeks but a head measuring 39 weeks. Their baby was subsequently born with a range of deformities including no ears, widely spaced eyes, club foot and a set of ribs missing, and lived for just seven and a half hours. Addenbrookes Hospital said although mutogenic effects seemed unlikely, knowledge of what went on in the Gulf War was so limited they would hesitate to completely rule it out. The couple subsequently divorced and Mrs Warriner said: I think he blamed himself for Catherine from what he received in the Gulf. I said I dont blame you, he didnt have a choice as far as Im aware. He had to have the injections and the tablets. Larry Cammock, chairman of the Gulf Veterans Association, told the inquiry he was given a series of more than 16 vaccinations, including smallpox, yellow fever (twice), cholera, polio, meningitis, hepatitis B and C, rabies, plague, anthrax, biologicals and issued with malaria and NAPS tablets. He said the programme was chaotic, while Shaun Rusling, vice chairman of the National Gulf Veterans and Families Association (NGVFA), told the hearing he was the only veteran receiving a pension on the basis of Gulf War Syndrome. Without the diagnosis, pensions cannot be passed on to widows, the hearing was told. Mr Rusling appealed for the Government to support the inquiry and accused the MoD of dereliction of duty and gross crass negligence for not disseminating information at the time or testing troops in the subsequent 14 years for depleted uranium. The independent inquiry is funded by an anonymous donor, and the three-week probe aims to establish the facts about Gulf War illnesses and resolve the long-standing dispute over their causes. Support groups claim about 6,000 veterans have suffered unexplained ill health since the 1991 conflict, and more than 600 are said to have died. The MoD has always denied the existence of a so-called Gulf War Syndrome, insisting there was no single cause of the illnesses suffered. Hundreds of veterans have tried to claim compensation but they were dealt a blow earlier this year when solicitors advised that there was insufficient evidence to prove their cases in court. Lord Lloyd of Berwick, a former Lord Justice of Appeal, is sitting alongside Dr Norman Jones, treasurer of the Royal College of Physicians, and Sir Michael Davies, formerly Clerk of the Parliaments. The inquiry was adjourned until next Monday, when more veterans are expected to give evidence. ___________________________________________________________ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - sooooo many all-new ways to express yourself http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70 http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/Sj.0lB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> [Brought to you by HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du-watch/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: du-watch-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: ***************************************************************** 31 [DU-WATCH] Depleted Uranium Munitions Transport in KY Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 01:11:10 -0500 (CDT) Dear all, We now know that Depleted Uranium Munitions are transported to and from Blue Grass Army Depot and have been exempt fro HazMat identification placards. Your input is needed to insist that HazMat placards be required for the safety of the public and the public servants at risk if an accident should happen. Please take a few minutes to respond to Mr. Billings of DOT. Also, please take time to read the whole article from Glen. Thank you, DUinKY Awareness Campaign--deep inside the DU Triangle. Elaine Hunter [Thank you for the heads-up,Glen] What to do Contact the Department of Transportation Exemptions division and ask that the DOT immediately terminate and not renew DOT-E 9649. Depleted uranium munitions should have a Radioactive placard and an Explosives placard on shipments. Depleted uranium is an extremely toxic material and much more dangerous when shipped with an explosive propellant as in the case of DU munitions. In case of a fire, first responders (local police and fire fighters) would have no idea the shipment contained radioactive material. The public has a right to know about hazardous shipments through their communities. Send correspondence regarding DOT-E 9649 to: Mr. Delmer Billings DHM-31 Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Exemptions and Approvals Department of Transportation 400 7th St. SW Washington, D.C. 20590 Fax: (202) 366-3308 E-mail: delmer.billings@rspa.dot.gov Glen Milner wrote:Depleted Uranium Munitions Action Plan Updated July 11, 2004 by Glen Milner DOT-E 9649 has not been renewed. Letters may still be sent to the Department of Transportation. The Depleted Uranium Munitions Action Plan is an attempt by activists across the United States to prevent the renewal of a special U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) exemption, DOT-E 9649, which allows the shipment of depleted uranium munitions without a DOT Radioactive placard displayed on the shipment. The expiration date for the exemption was June 30, 2004. The complete action plan is posted at http://www.traprockpeace.org/du_mun_action_plan.pdf or contact info@gzcenter.org for a copy. The following is updated information based on discussions with Mr. Delmer Billings of the Department of Transportation on May 3, 2004 and July 9, 2004 and a letter from the U.S. Army to Congressman Jay Inslee dated July 6, 2004: DOT-E 9649 has not been renewed. Mr. Delmer Billings of the DOT stated on July 9, 2004 that his agency is waiting for further information regarding the shipment of depleted uranium munitions. The U.S. Army Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC, formerly MTMC), which manages the shipment of depleted uranium munitions, has been granted a time extension in order to provide information requested by the DOT. Congressman Jay Inslee (north Seattle area) received a letter dated July 6, 2004 from Major General Ann Dunwoody, of the U.S. Army, SDDC, that stated, "...the Department of Defense shipped depleted uranium munitions in the United States and overseas in both 2003 and 2004. DOD used DOT-E 9649 for those shipments. This statement directly contradicted a statement by Major Mark Wyrosdick, of the U.S. Army, SDDC, in the March 2, 2004 renewal application for DOT-E 9649, which said, There were no shipments made by DOD using this exemption Congressman Inslee also received a statement from the DOT dated July 6, 2004 which said the DOT is still reviewing the exemption. Mr. Delmer Billings, Director of the Office of Hazardous Materials of the Department of Transportation (DOT), stated on May 3, 2004 he thought he had received approximately 50 to 75 statements against the exemption renewal through e-mail and the postal service. It is likely activists have sent well over 100 letters or e-mail messages to Delmer Billings against the renewal of this exemption. Mr. Billings stated on July 9, 2004 that the DOT would soon be placing all letters, messages and documents regarding the renewal of DOT-E 9649 on the DOT docket management system which will be available for viewing online at http://dms.dot.gov. Mr. Delmer said the docket number should be available around July 16, 2004. Statements by activists may still be made to the Department of Transportation regarding DOT-E 9649. Mr. Billings stated on July 9, 2004 that he did not know why U.S. Army officers of the same military command, managing depleted uranium shipments, would give contradicting statements about whether the exemption is used. Mr. Billing also stated he could not deny the application for renewal until the Department of Defense is given the chance to respond to opposing allegations. A related statement from 1998: A letter from the Chief of the Transportation Operations Team, E. M. Jones, of the Department of the Army dated December 3, 1998, to the Commander of the Military Traffic Management Command stated that DOT-E 9649, at that time, needed to be renewed. The letter stated the current exemption expired on December 31, 1998. The letter stated, "The requirements for military shipments of munitions containing components made of depleted uranium has not changed." The Chief of the Transportation Operations Team further stated, "Historically, we have shipped millions of tons of this type of ammunition without incident under this exemption since this exemption was first approved." (emphasis added--note that just 2 million tons over the 12 year period since DOT-E 9649 had been approved would average 166,000 tons of depleted uranium munitions shipped under this exemption each year.) I apologize for the delay in reporting on this issue. Congressman Inslee had been trying since May 20, 2004 to obtain the statement from the U.S. Army that the exemption is used by the military. I will post the docket number for DOT-E 9649 when it is available. I can be contacted at gkaajm@juno.com or at (206) 365-7865. Glen Milner The following is from the original Depleted Uranium Munitions Action Plan: What to do Contact the Department of Transportation Exemptions division and ask that the DOT immediately terminate and not renew DOT-E 9649. Depleted uranium munitions should have a Radioactive placard and an Explosives placard on shipments. Depleted uranium is an extremely toxic material and much more dangerous when shipped with an explosive propellant as in the case of DU munitions. In case of a fire, first responders (local police and fire fighters) would have no idea the shipment contained radioactive material. The public has a right to know about hazardous shipments through their communities. Send correspondence regarding DOT-E 9649 to: Mr. Delmer Billings DHM-31 Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Exemptions and Approvals Department of Transportation 400 7th St. SW Washington, D.C. 20590 Fax: (202) 366-3308 E-mail: delmer.billings@rspa.dot.gov Please also (if you want) send a copy to info@gzcenter.org Please share this information with others and local officials. Organizations sponsoring the Depleted Uranium Munitions Action Plan: Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, Poulsbo, Washington Website: www.gzcenter.org E-mail: info@gzcenter.org Traprock Peace Center, Deerfield, Massachusetts Website: www.traprockpeace.org E-mail: traprock@crocker.com Military Toxics Project, Lewiston, Maine Website: www.miltoxproj.org Email: mtp@miltoxproj.org Nukewatch, Luck, Wisconsin Website: www.nukewatch.com E-mail: nukewatch@lakeland.ws 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 SponsorADVERTISEMENT --------------------------------- 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. 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Groups is subject to: ***************************************************************** 32 [du-list] British Gulf syndrome victims are heard at last Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 14:51:37 -0700 1- Inquiry into first Gulf war illness opens 2- Gulf syndrome victims are heard at last -- Inquiry into first Gulf war illness opens RUSSELL JACKSON Tue 13 Jul 2004 Scotsman http://news.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=800322004 TROOPS in the first Gulf war were inoculated with a cocktail of drugs which they believe left them with debilitating illnesses and may have contributed to fatal birth defects, a privately funded independent inquiry heard yesterday. Veterans were even made to feel "like the enemy" when they complained following the 1991 conflict of a range of conditions, including chronic fatigue, memory loss, depression, mood swings, aching joints, sensitivity to chemicals and cancerous tumours, the hearing was told. The Gulf War Illnesses independent inquiry began hearing evidence in London yesterday from veterans and relatives of those who served in the war. Flight Lieutenant John Nichol, who served as an RAF Tornado navigator, is now the president of the Gulf Veterans’ Branch of the Royal British Legion. He and his pilot, Flt Lt John Peters, were shot down on the first day of the conflict, captured and held as a prisoners of war for 49 days. He told the three-man inquiry panel: "The men and the women you will hear from over the coming days are not the enemy - but many times over the past few years that is exactly how they’ve been made to feel. They deserve better." Flt Lt Nichol said that, during the conflict, troops were given up to 14 inoculations, experienced the first-ever mass use of NAPS tablets - the nerve agent pre-treatment used as an antidote against chemical weapons - and were exposed to heavy use of pesticides including those purchased locally. They were exposed to atmospheric pollution from burning oil wells and depleted uranium (DU) dust while decommissioning sites and vehicles attacked with DU weapons and were possibly exposed to nerve agents when Iraqi chemical weapons storage facilities were destroyed, he said. Vicky Warriner, 36, from Peterborough, told the inquiry she attributed the deformities of her late baby, Catherine, to injections and tablets that her former husband, Mark, was given when he served in the Gulf. In January 1999, a requested scan at 35 weeks revealed their baby had hydrocephalus and a body measuring 37 weeks but a head measuring 39 weeks. Their baby was subsequently born with a range of deformities, including no ears, widely spaced eyes, a club foot and a set of ribs missing. She lived for just seven and a half hours. Addenbrookes Hospital said that, although mutogenic effects seemed "unlikely", knowledge of what went on in the Gulf war was so limited they would hesitate to rule it out. The couple subsequently divorced and Mrs Warriner said: "I think he blamed himself for Catherine from what he received in the Gulf. I said, ‘I don’t blame you’ - he didn’t have a choice as far as I’m aware. He had to have the injections and the tablets." Larry Cammock, the chairman of the Gulf Veterans’ Association, told the inquiry he was given a series of more than 16 vaccinations, including for smallpox, yellow fever (twice), cholera, polio, meningitis, hepatitis B and C, rabies, plague and anthrax, and was issued with malaria and NAPS tablets. Shaun Rusling, the vice-chairman of the National Gulf Veterans’ and Families’ Association, told the hearing he was the only veteran receiving a pension on the basis of Gulf War Syndrome. Without the diagnosis, pensions cannot be passed on to widows, the hearing was told. Mr Rusling appealed for the government to support the inquiry and accused the Ministry of Defence of "dereliction of duty and gross crass negligence" for not disseminating information at the time or subsequently testing troops for depleted uranium. The independent inquiry is funded by an anonymous donor, and the three-week hearing aims to establish the facts about Gulf war illnesses and resolve the long-standing dispute over their causes. Support groups claim about 6,000 veterans have suffered unexplained ill health since the 1991 conflict, and more than 600 are said to have died. The MoD has always denied the existence of a so-called Gulf War Syndrome, insisting there was no single cause of the illnesses suffered. ---- Gulf syndrome victims are heard at last By Terri Judd UK Independent 13 July 2004 http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/story.jsp?story=540458 Veterans were "dismissed as trouble-makers" when they complained of a range of debilitating illnesses after the Gulf War in 1991, the first day of an independent inquiry into the suspected syndrome was told yesterday. The three-week hearing in London, headed by the former Lord Justice of Appeal Lord Lloyd of Berwick, will take evidence from 30 ex-servicemen, medical experts and government representatives in an attempt to establish the facts about Gulf War illnesses. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has always denied the existence of "Gulf War syndrome", insisting there was no single cause of the illnesses suffered by veterans of the conflict. Flight Lieutenant John Nichol, who became a familiar face during the war when he was captured by the Iraqis and paraded on television, told the inquiry yesterday that more than 637 previously young and fit servicemen had died since the end of the war. Of the 5,585 who had been granted disablement, 1,388 had specified conditions related to Gulf War illness, he said. He said that those afflicted had been rebuffed and treated like the enemy. "When the veterans were begging for advice, begging for answers, they were being fobbed off and dismissed as trouble-makers," he said. He added that the MoD had failed to heed warnings about the dangers of the cocktail of drugs given to servicemen and women in 1990 and 1991. Flt Lt Nichol, a former RAF Tornado navigator and president of the Gulf Veterans branch of the Royal British Legion, said he considered himself lucky not to have returned with the same health problems as many of his comrades. He said many had been "assaulted" by multiple inoculations programmes, including anthrax and plague, mass use of nerve agent pre-treatment tablets, heavy use of pesticides, atmospheric pollution from burning oil wells, possible exposure to nerve agents when storage facilities were destroyed and depleted uranium dust. Sufferers displayed a variety of symptoms - chronic fatigue, memory loss, depression, mood swings and aching joints - and some developed cancer. Of the 53,000 servicemen and women deployed, about 6,000 had complained of health problems, the inquiry heard, while others suffered in silence. Flt Lt Nichol said the MoD had spent £8.5m researching the illnesses since 1997, approximately the same amount as its annual entertainment budget. Lord Lloyd also heard from Samantha Thompson, whose husband, a naval officer, died two years ago of motor neurone disease, a condition which is more than twice as prevalent among Gulf War veterans than others of their age-group. She said the authorities in America recognised that the disease was attributable to the conflict. "For my daughter Hannah, I want her to see her father's death has been thoroughly investigated," she said. Shaun Rusling, who won an important ruling two years ago when a War Pensions Agency tribunal officially recognised Gulf War syndrome as a disease, also appeared at the inquiry. The inquiry, which is independent from the Government, is funded by an anonymous donor and cannot demand evidence from the MoD or the Department of Health. Lord Lloyd has written to the departments requesting they take part in the hearings, but they have yet to respond. Lord Lloyd said: "I hope very much they will co-operate with this inquiry. It seems to me they have nothing to lose from doing so." Lord Lloyd, 75, will sit alongside Dr Norman Jones, treasurer of the Royal College of Physicians, and Sir Michael Davies, formerly clerk of the parliaments. The donor, who is meeting the costs of between £50,000 and £100,000, is said to be concerned about the welfare of ex-servicemen and women. The MoD and the Department of Health said they were considering whether to give evidence to the inquiry, which was described by Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, as "long overdue". The inquiry was adjourned until next Monday. 'EVERY WEEK YOU HEAR OF SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAS DIED' Major Christine Lloyd considered herself 100 per cent fit when she volunteered to go to the Gulf in 1990 as a nursing officer; two months later, she returned exhausted, permanently aching and unable to concentrate long enough to administer medication. Yesterday she told the independent inquiry that she attributed her continuing ill health to the cocktail of vaccines and drugs she was given. Ms Lloyd was a 43-year-old reservist when she answered a call for medical volunteers. Before she left Britain in January 1991 she was given seven inoculations, including one described as "biological", which she later realised was anthrax. Two weeks later she arrived in Saudi Arabia to help set up a field hospital and prepare for what they believed would be a major influx of casualties. She noticed that the area was being sprayed with pesticides, including organophosphates, the safety of which is now questioned. The stress of Scud missile alerts was compounded by the poor facilities, she said. Many of the drugs dispatched to the field hospital were out of date, she claimed, while the equipment looked like something more suited to the Second World War. She began taking nerve agent pre-treatment (Naps) tablets and immediately became disoriented and dizzy. "The side effects of the Naps tablets continued: diarrhoea, frequency of urination and headaches," she added. But there were more vaccines to come. In February she was given another series, including inoculations against anthrax and plague. In mid-March she returned home. "After three weeks leave I returned to work. I was always exhausted. I had headaches. I couldn't concentrate. I was becoming a danger giving out medication. I had short-term memory loss. I could no longer walk up hills and mountains." In October 1992 she was declared unfit for work, and still suffers from a range of problems. "Every week you hear of another colleague who has died ... We need to get to the bottom of this," she said. -- Posted for educational and research purposes only, ~ in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 ~ NucNews Links and Expanded Archives - http://nucnews.net ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70 http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/FGYolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 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 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: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 33 [du-list] turkey syria negotiations mention trucks of Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 14:51:38 -0700 Is it just me, or are the countries in the middle east waking up to the fact America just nuked Iraq? (I know that radiation controls for scrap metal may have existed before "Depleted" Uranium warfare, and thats probably the line that officials might take..) http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=22217 Syria To Reduce Its Territorial Waters From 35 To 12 Miles ...The sources said that Erdogan expressed Turkey's uneasiness about Syria's controlling Turkish trucks loaded with scrap metal while the Syrian side said that those trucks were controlled against the risk of radiation.... This email is intended only for the above named addressee(s). The information contained in this email may contain information which is confidential. The views expressed in this email are personal to the sender and do not in any way reflect the views of the company. If you have received this email and you are not a named addressee, please contact the sender and then delete it from your system. 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 5a777.jpg 5a7ba.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: 5a777.jpg: 00000001,0170549c,00000000,00000000 Attachment Converted: 5a7ba.jpg: 00000001,0170549d,00000000,00000000 ***************************************************************** 34 NEWS.com.au: Probe on mine accident (July 13, 2004) AN investigation has been launched by Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) into an accident at the company's Ranger uranium mine. A 31-year-old contracted fitter is in a satisfactory condition in Royal Darwin Hospital after he was injured at the mine, in the Kakadu National Park yesterday. An ERA spokeswoman could not comment on the nature of the accident, but said it happened in the ball mill section of the Ranger mine processing plant at about 6pm (CST) yesterday. "The scene of the incident has been isolated for a full investigation by the company," she said. The fitter had a fractured leg and arm, and other cuts and bruises. The accident comes five months after 28 workers fell ill at the site after accidentally drinking water contaminated with uranium. In March, the site's water supply became polluted with uranium and other chemicals, after processed water was mistakenly connected to the drinking water supply. The Northern Territory Government is now considering whether to prosecute ERA over the water contamination after an investigation found the company had breached NT legislation. AAP ***************************************************************** 35 BBC: 'No proof of' Gulf war syndrome Last Updated: Monday, 12 July, 2004 [Soldiers] Illness rates are relatively high among Gulf war veterans A major study of former soldiers has cast doubt on the existence of Gulf war syndrome. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine researchers quizzed more than 40,000 former soldiers. The study, published in BMC Public Health, found veterans of the 1991 Gulf War were more likely to report symptoms of ill-health. But similar symptoms were reported by both those who served in the Gulf, and those who did not. This finding provid evidence against a unique Gulf war syndrome. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine These included mood swings, memory loss, lack of concentration, night sweats, general fatigue and sexual problems. The researchers said: "The study confirmed that Gulf war veterans report significantly more symptoms of disease than non-Gulf war veterans in almost all ill-health categories examined, yet there is still no consistent explanation for this discrepancy. "More than one in every 20 UK servicemen who served in the first Gulf war believes that they have Gulf war syndrome. "However, in common with other studies of veterans, those who thought that they might have Gulf war syndrome reported exactly the same types of symptom as veterans who had not been deployed to the Gulf. "They just reported these symptoms at higher frequencies. This finding provides evidence against a unique Gulf war syndrome." No one cause The Ministry of Defence, which funded the latest study, has always denied the existence of a so-called Gulf war syndrome. It argues that there was no single cause of the illnesses reported veterans from the conflict. Support groups claim about 6,000 veterans have suffered unexplained ill-health since the conflict, and more than 600 are said to have died. An independent inquiry is currently under way, which will hear evidence from ex-servicemen, medical experts and government representatives to establish the facts about Gulf war illnesses. In the latest study, the LSHTM team found that 61% of Gulf war veterans reported at least one new medical symptom since 1990. This compared with 37% of those who did not serve in the Gulf. More than one in 20 (5.6%) of those who served in the Gulf believed they had Gulf war syndrome and a further 40% said they were "unsure". The Gulf veterans reported conditions such as skeletal and muscular problems (15.1%), general fatigue (10.8%), memory loss or lack of concentration (7.9%), and skin allergies (7.6%). The researchers said there was no real consensus of opinion about the cause of ill-health among Gulf war veterans. But they called for better routine health surveillance of soldiers. We were all fit young m prior to going to the Gulf, and now we are either ill or dead Tony Flint Tony Flint, of the National Gulf War Veterans and Families Benevolent Association, questioned the timing of the release of the study to coincide with the start of the independent inquiry into Gulf war syndrome. He told BBC News Online: "So many of us are suffering. We were all fit young men prior to going to the Gulf, and now we are either ill or dead. "It may be true that other veterans report one or two or these symptoms, but most Gulf veterans report at least eight or nine." Mr Flint said he had posttraumatic stress disorder, asthma, bowel, bladder and stomach problems, damaged discs in his neck and back, nerve damage to his right arm and right leg, memory problems and night sweats. Vaccines against anthrax and the plague, nerve agents from Iraqi chemical weapons storage facilities, pesticides and exposure to pollution from burning oil wells have been cited as possible causes of ill-health in Gulf veterans. The researchers sent a questionnaire to all UK armed forces personnel who had been deployed to the Gulf area some time between August 1990 and June 1991. The responses from Gulf war veterans were compared with answers from 18,439 male armed-service personnel who had not served in the Gulf. ***************************************************************** 36 Scotsman.com News: Inquiry into first Gulf war illness opens Tue 13 Jul 2004 RUSSELL JACKSON TROOPS in the first Gulf war were inoculated with a cocktail of drugs which they believe left them with debilitating illnesses and may have contributed to fatal birth defects, a privately funded independent inquiry heard yesterday. Veterans were even made to feel "like the enemy" when they complained following the 1991 conflict of a range of conditions, including chronic fatigue, memory loss, depression, mood swings, aching joints, sensitivity to chemicals and cancerous tumours, the hearing was told. The Gulf War Illnesses independent inquiry began hearing evidence in London yesterday from veterans and relatives of those who served in the war. Flight Lieutenant John Nichol, who served as an RAF Tornado navigator, is now the president of the Gulf Veterans’ Branch of the Royal British Legion. He and his pilot, Flt Lt John Peters, were shot down on the first day of the conflict, captured and held as a prisoners of war for 49 days. He told the three-man inquiry panel: "The men and the women you will hear from over the coming days are not the enemy - but many times over the past few years that is exactly how they’ve been made to feel. They deserve better." Flt Lt Nichol said that, during the conflict, troops were given up to 14 inoculations, experienced the first-ever mass use of NAPS tablets - the nerve agent pre-treatment used as an antidote against chemical weapons - and were exposed to heavy use of pesticides including those purchased locally. They were exposed to atmospheric pollution from burning oil wells and depleted uranium (DU) dust while decommissioning sites and vehicles attacked with DU weapons and were possibly exposed to nerve agents when Iraqi chemical weapons storage facilities were destroyed, he said. Vicky Warriner, 36, from Peterborough, told the inquiry she attributed the deformities of her late baby, Catherine, to injections and tablets that her former husband, Mark, was given when he served in the Gulf. In January 1999, a requested scan at 35 weeks revealed their baby had hydrocephalus and a body measuring 37 weeks but a head measuring 39 weeks. Their baby was subsequently born with a range of deformities, including no ears, widely spaced eyes, a club foot and a set of ribs missing. She lived for just seven and a half hours. Addenbrookes Hospital said that, although mutogenic effects seemed "unlikely", knowledge of what went on in the Gulf war was so limited they would hesitate to rule it out. The couple subsequently divorced and Mrs Warriner said: "I think he blamed himself for Catherine from what he received in the Gulf. I said, ‘I don’t blame you’ - he didn’t have a choice as far as I’m aware. He had to have the injections and the tablets." Larry Cammock, the chairman of the Gulf Veterans’ Association, told the inquiry he was given a series of more than 16 vaccinations, including for smallpox, yellow fever (twice), cholera, polio, meningitis, hepatitis B and C, rabies, plague and anthrax, and was issued with malaria and NAPS tablets. Shaun Rusling, the vice-chairman of the National Gulf Veterans’ and Families’ Association, told the hearing he was the only veteran receiving a pension on the basis of Gulf War Syndrome. Without the diagnosis, pensions cannot be passed on to widows, the hearing was told. Mr Rusling appealed for the government to support the inquiry and accused the Ministry of Defence of "dereliction of duty and gross crass negligence" for not disseminating information at the time or subsequently testing troops for depleted uranium. The independent inquiry is funded by an anonymous donor, and the three-week hearing aims to establish the facts about Gulf war illnesses and resolve the long-standing dispute over their causes. Support groups claim about 6,000 veterans have suffered unexplained ill health since the 1991 conflict, and more than 600 are said to have died. The MoD has always denied the existence of a so-called Gulf War Syndrome, insisting there was no single cause of the illnesses suffered. ***************************************************************** 37 Expatica: French study finds no 'specific' Gulf War Syndrome PARIS, July 13 (AFP) - French researchers have concluded that there is no "specific" illness that can be called Gulf War Syndrome, the man who led the study said Tuesday after releasing his report to the defence ministry. "The results of the inquiry did not demonstrate the existence of a specific Gulf syndrome, a finding that is in line with most studies conducted abroad," wrote Roger Salamon, a director at the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM). "We must nevertheless report that only a quarter of the subjects concerned participated in the study," Salomon, who led a research team in Bordeaux, wrote in the synopsis of the report released to the media. Of 20,261 French veterans of the first Gulf War contacted by INSERM, about 10,500 responded and 5,666 participated in the inquiry. "Gulf War Syndrome" is a term popularly applied to a vast range of symptoms among veterans of the 1990-91 conflict in Iraq, from memory loss, chronic fatigue and dizziness to swollen joints, depression and lack of concentration. About 100,000 US troops as well as thousands of British, Canadian and French troops who took part in the operation against Baghdad to liberate Kuwait have reported one or more of these problems. The results of the INSERM study revealed that 14 percent of respondents suffered from respiratory illnesses and 13 percent had vision problems. Of the French veterans who participated in the study, 83 percent said they suffered from headaches at least once a month, 71 percent had trouble sleeping and 63 percent had back problems. Several explanations for the syndrome, ranging from exposure to depleted uranium in artillery shells to vaccines and poison gas antidotes, have been put forward. A French association for Gulf War victims, Avigolfe, says that six French veterans have died from Gulf War illnesses since the end of the conflict. © AFP [http://www.expatica.com © copyright 2004 Expatica Communications BV ***************************************************************** 38 UK Independent: Gulf syndrome victims are heard at last By Terri Judd 13 July 2004 Veterans were "dismissed as trouble-makers" when they complained of a range of debilitating illnesses after the Gulf War in 1991, the first day of an independent inquiry into the suspected syndrome was told yesterday. The three-week hearing in London, headed by the former Lord Justice of Appeal Lord Lloyd of Berwick, will take evidence from 30 ex-servicemen, medical experts and government representatives in an attempt to establish the facts about Gulf War illnesses. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has always denied the existence of "Gulf War syndrome", insisting there was no single cause of the illnesses suffered by veterans of the conflict. Flight Lieutenant John Nichol, who became a familiar face during the war when he was captured by the Iraqis and paraded on television, told the inquiry yesterday that more than 637 previously young and fit servicemen had died since the end of the war. Of the 5,585 who had been granted disablement, 1,388 had specified conditions related to Gulf War illness, he said. He said that those afflicted had been rebuffed and treated like the enemy. "When the veterans were begging for advice, begging for answers, they were being fobbed off and dismissed as trouble-makers," he said. He added that the MoD had failed to heed warnings about the dangers of the cocktail of drugs given to servicemen and women in 1990 and 1991. Flt Lt Nichol, a former RAF Tornado navigator and president of the Gulf Veterans branch of the Royal British Legion, said he considered himself lucky not to have returned with the same health problems as many of his comrades. He said many had been "assaulted" by multiple inoculations programmes, including anthrax and plague, mass use of nerve agent pre-treatment tablets, heavy use of pesticides, atmospheric pollution from burning oil wells, possible exposure to nerve agents when storage facilities were destroyed and depleted uranium dust. Sufferers displayed a variety of symptoms - chronic fatigue, memory loss, depression, mood swings and aching joints - and some developed cancer. Of the 53,000 servicemen and women deployed, about 6,000 had complained of health problems, the inquiry heard, while others suffered in silence. Flt Lt Nichol said the MoD had spent £8.5m researching the illnesses since 1997, approximately the same amount as its annual entertainment budget. Lord Lloyd also heard from Samantha Thompson, whose husband, a naval officer, died two years ago of motor neurone disease, a condition which is more than twice as prevalent among Gulf War veterans than others of their age-group. She said the authorities in America recognised that the disease was attributable to the conflict. "For my daughter Hannah, I want her to see her father's death has been thoroughly investigated," she said. Shaun Rusling, who won an important ruling two years ago when a War Pensions Agency tribunal officially recognised Gulf War syndrome as a disease, also appeared at the inquiry. The inquiry, which is independent from the Government, is funded by an anonymous donor and cannot demand evidence from the MoD or the Department of Health. Lord Lloyd has written to the departments requesting they take part in the hearings, but they have yet to respond. Lord Lloyd said: "I hope very much they will co-operate with this inquiry. It seems to me they have nothing to lose from doing so." Lord Lloyd, 75, will sit alongside Dr Norman Jones, treasurer of the Royal College of Physicians, and Sir Michael Davies, formerly clerk of the parliaments. The donor, who is meeting the costs of between £50,000 and £100,000, is said to be concerned about the welfare of ex-servicemen and women. The MoD and the Department of Health said they were considering whether to give evidence to the inquiry, which was described by Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, as "long overdue". The inquiry was adjourned until next Monday. 'EVERY WEEK YOU HEAR OF SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAS DIED' Major Christine Lloyd considered herself 100 per cent fit when she volunteered to go to the Gulf in 1990 as a nursing officer; two months later, she returned exhausted, permanently aching and unable to concentrate long enough to administer medication. Yesterday she told the independent inquiry that she attributed her continuing ill health to the cocktail of vaccines and drugs she was given. Ms Lloyd was a 43-year-old reservist when she answered a call for medical volunteers. Before she left Britain in January 1991 she was given seven inoculations, including one described as "biological", which she later realised was anthrax. Two weeks later she arrived in Saudi Arabia to help set up a field hospital and prepare for what they believed would be a major influx of casualties. She noticed that the area was being sprayed with pesticides, including organophosphates, the safety of which is now questioned. The stress of Scud missile alerts was compounded by the poor facilities, she said. Many of the drugs dispatched to the field hospital were out of date, she claimed, while the equipment looked like something more suited to the Second World War. She began taking nerve agent pre-treatment (Naps) tablets and immediately became disoriented and dizzy. "The side effects of the Naps tablets continued: diarrhoea, frequency of urination and headaches," she added. But there were more vaccines to come. In February she was given another series, including inoculations against anthrax and plague. In mid-March she returned home. "After three weeks leave I returned to work. I was always exhausted. I had headaches. I couldn't concentrate. I was becoming a danger giving out medication. I had short-term memory loss. I could no longer walk up hills and mountains." In October 1992 she was declared unfit for work, and still suffers from a range of problems. "Every week you hear of another colleague who has died ... We need to get to the bottom of this," she said. Terri Judd UK Independent Ltd. ***************************************************************** 39 Court: Revised radiation plan needed at Yucca Mtn Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 00:47:22 -0500 (CDT) http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/crime_courts/9124271.htm?1c *By Juliet Eilperin* *WASHINGTON POST* *WASHINGTON - *A federal appeals court threw the future of proposed nuclear waste repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain into doubt Friday by demanding that the federal government devise a new plan to protect the public against radiation releases beyond the next 10,000 years. Although the three-judge panel rejected Nevada's constitutional challenge to the project, which has been under consideration for more than two decades, it required the government to meet a radiation standard some Energy Department officials have described as unrealistic. Still, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham welcomed the decision and said he was confident the government could move forward now that the court has "dismissed all challenges to the site selection." "Our scientific basis for the Yucca Mountain project is sound," Abraham said. "The project will protect the public health and safety." He said Energy officials would work with the Environmental Protection Agency and Congress to "determine appropriate steps to address" the call for a new radiation standard. Nevada officials, however, said the ruling meant the end of the Yucca project, which is slated to accept up to 70,000 metric tons of nuclear waste -- an amount that would fill a football field 19 feet deep. The waste consists of highly radioactive used fuel rods and other waste from national defense activities and commercial power reactors. "We think the project's effectively dead," said Robert Loux, Nevada's state nuclear project director. In recent years federal officials have been pressing aggressively for construction of the radioactive waste repository at the site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The Bush administration determined in 2001 that it was technically and scientifically feasible to build the facility at Yucca Mountain, and Congress approved the site in 2002 over Nevada's objections. Without question, the ruling means more legal obstacles for the Energy Department, which was planning to seek a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this fall to begin construction. In addition to setting a new radiation standard, the federal government may have to defend itself against new challenges to the project's environmental impact. Joseph Egan, Nevada's lead attorney for the Yucca Mountain Project, said the state could sue on matters ranging from transportation to whether the government should store nuclear waste on site. "There's all sorts of things now that are fair game for us," he said. The court dismissed Nevada's assertion that locating the site at Yucca was unconstitutional and that other measures violated the nuclear waste law. But in a separate section of the 100-page decision, the judges took aim at the EPA for disregarding findings by the National Academy of Sciences that called for a storage system that would protect against radiation releases beyond the next 10,000 years. In 1992 Congress approved legislation requiring federal officials to take the Academy's recommendations into account. The three-judge panel wrote EPA "unabashedly rejected NAS's findings, and then went on to promulgate a dramatically different standard, one that the Academy had expressly rejected." Either side could appeal Friday's ruling to the Supreme Court, but it's unclear whether they will. These same groups -- in addition to Nevada authorities and environmental organizations, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear energy industry's policy organization, also challenged aspects of the plan -- are likely to challenge the Energy Department's license application before the NRC. The department has already filed 5.6 million pages of scientific material as part of its application, Energy Department spokesman Joe Davis said, and the process could take between three and four years to complete. He added that federal officials were re-evaluating whether to seek a license this fall in light of the court's ruling. "We still have to take ***************************************************************** 40 The Australian: MP backs nuclear dump in NT [July 13, 2004] This story is from our news.com.au network By Karen Michelmore AUSTRALIA'S nuclear waste dump should be housed in the Northern Territory if it was deemed the safest place for it, a local federal MP said today. David Tollner, the Country Liberal Party Member for Solomon in Darwin, said territorians had a responsibility to the rest of Australia to accept the facility if it was the safest possible location for it. The NT Government has said it is opposed to a low level waste facility being built in the NT. The Federal Government wants to build the dump near Woomera in South Australia's outback, but has been stopped by a legal ruling. The Full Bench of the Federal Court recently ruled the Government's compulsory acquisition of the land was invalid, and the Government is yet to decide whether it will appeal against the decision. Mr Tollner – who holds the most marginal seat in Australia for the Coalition – said the South Australian Government's moves to oppose the dump were "selfish". "I think that nuclear waste needs to be stored in the safest possible location," he said. "If that's in the Northern Territory, or South Australia, or Queensland or New South Wales, it should be stored wherever its safest. "I'm a bit peeved about (SA Premier) Mike Rann who seems to believe that it should all be stored in NSW because a lot of it is generated by Lucas Heights. "I don't see him rejecting all the benefits that come from the Lucas Heights research station." Mr Tollner said most of the waste came from medical research. "At the end of the day all Australians benefit from the work at Lucas Heights," he said. "It may not be a popular view but at the end of the day we have got to do what's right. "I don't think anybody wants nuclear waste in their backyard but the fact is ... (if the NT is) deemed to be the safest location in the country I think we have a responsibility to the country to store it here." The NT's other federal MP, Labor's Warren Snowdon, who holds the outback NT seat of Lingiari, described Mr Tollner's comments as bizarre. "The CLP Member for Solomon has no right to offer Territory land for use as a dump without extensive consultation with the public or the agreement of the NT Government," Mr Snowdon said. "His suggestion was particularly offensive given that those likely to be affected by such a site are the people in my electorate of Lingiari. "It says much about the Member for Solomon's concept of political representation that he lent his support to this proposal before any public discussion had taken place." Environmentalists were also opposed to any moves to have the dump in the NT. "If its not safe enough to put it in South Australia, its not safe enough to put in the NT," Environment Centre campaign coordinator Peter Robertson said. "Dave Tollner obviously doesn't realise that a lot of the NT is Aboriginal land. "Which Aboriginal community or traditional owner group is going to want to have a nuclear waste dump on their country?" Mr Robertson said the NT lacked the resources to properly manage such a facility. privacy © The Australian ***************************************************************** 41 AFP: Kyrgyz experts give nod to German nuclear waste imports WAR.WIRE
[http://www.spacewar.com/] BISHKEK (AFP) Jul 13, 2004 An expert commission in Kyrgyzstan has approved a plan for the impoverished former Soviet republic to process German nuclear waste despite environmentalists' objections, the commission said Tuesday. "The graphite material containing natural uranium and the technology for processing it comply with International Atomic Energy Agency standards and with Kyrgyz legislation," the commission said in a report cited by the AKIpress news agency. Under the one million dollar plan, German-based RWE NUKEM GmbH would send around 1,700 tonnes of uranium-bearing graphite for processing at Kyrgyzstan's Kara-Balta Ore Processing plant. The deal was signed in 2002 but ran into licencing difficulties following objections from non-governmental organisations and from Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev, whose views may not necessarily prevail, observers say. Kara-Balta's management have defended the deal, saying it will help them to renew their dangerously decaying facility. The graphite from Germany will contain no more than five percent uranium, Kara-Balta has said. This mountainous Central Asian country is renowned for its natural landscape but is also dotted with numerous Soviet-era nuclear waste dumps, some of which threaten not only Kyrgyzstan but its downstream neighbour Uzbekistan. WAR.WIRE ***************************************************************** 42 NRC: Commissioners: Nils J. Diaz, Chairman, Edward McGaffigan, Jr., FR Doc 04-15788 [Federal Register: July 13, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 133)] [Notices] [Page 42073-42074] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr13jy04-87] Jeffrey S. Merrifield; In the Matter of U.S. Department of Energy (High Level Waste Repository: Pre-Application Matters); CLI-04-20; Order The Commission has promulgated regulations, found in 10 CFR part 2, subpart J, which, among other things, provide for the use of an electronic information management system to make documents available to the participants in any eventual licensing proceeding on a high-level radioactive waste repository. Requiring participants to place pertinent documents into the Licensing Support Network (LSN) for use by the other participants obviates the need for the traditional means of document discovery and will allow potential parties to use some part of the pre- application period to review documentary information and prepare contentions for filing in petitions to intervene. In promulgating its regulations, the Commission recognized that there is a potential for disputes among the participants regarding document withholding from the LSN. Section 2.1010 of subpart J requires that the Commission designate an official to rule on those disputes, a Pre-License Application Presiding Officer (PAPO). Subpart J defines the PAPO as ``one or more members of the Commission, or an atomic safety and licensing board (ASLB), or a named officer who has been delegated final authority in the pre-license application phase with jurisdiction specified at the time of designation.'' 10 CFR 2.1010(a)(1). That official is to be designated no later than fifteen days after the Department of Energy (DOE)--the potential applicant for a license authorizing construction of a high-level radioactive waste repository--provides a written certification to the NRC pursuant to 10 CFR 2.1009(b) that DOE has identified the pertinent documentary information and made it electronically available.\1\ DOE provided that certification to NRC on June 30, 2004. The purpose of this order is to designate a PAPO and set forth the jurisdiction of that official. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- \1\ We note receipt of a June 2, 2004, letter from counsel for the State of Nevada requesting the Commission ``to appoint a Pre- Application Presiding Officer immediately.'' This Order addresses that request. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- Designation of the PAPO The Commission hereby designates the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, G. Paul Bollwerk, III, as the PAPO. As set forth below, he is authorized to delegate that authority. PAPO's Powers and Jurisdiction The Commission authorizes the PAPO to delegate his authority in whole or in part to any member or members of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel to serve singly or jointly on one or more boards. Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.1010(e), the PAPO possesses all the general powers specified in Sec. 2.319 and Sec. 2.321(c) that the PAPO requires to carry out its responsibilities. As provided by 10 CFR 2.1010(a)(1) and (b), the PAPO is granted this authority solely for the purpose of ruling on disputes over the electronic availability of documents, including disputes relating to claims of privilege and those relating to the implementation of recommendations of the Advisory Review Panel established under Sec. 2.1011(d). Pursuant to Sec. 2.1010(b), the PAPO shall rule on any claim of document withholding except as otherwise provided in this order or subsequent order of the Commission. In 10 CFR 2.1005, the Commission has delineated classes of documents that are to be excluded from the LSN. The Commission calls attention to recent changes to that section of the regulations. See 69 FR 32836 (June 14, [[Page 42074]] 2004). No issue lacking a direct relation to the LSN is to be entertained by the PAPO. The Commission's interest is in assuring the availability of information and not in dissipating resources on meaningless disputes. The PAPO possesses authority under 10 CFR 2.1010(e) and 2.319 to restrict irrelevant, unreliable, duplicative or cumulative arguments and to regulate the course of the proceedings and the conduct of the participants. The Commission expects the PAPO to use this authority to ensure a fair and impartial process. Clarification Regarding Appeals of PAPO Actions Although 10 CFR 2.1010(a)(1) refers to ``a named officer who has been delegated final authority on the matter to serve as the [PAPO]'' (underlining added), a right of appeal from a PAPO order issued under 10 CFR 2.1010 is recognized under Sec. 2.1015(b). A notice of appeal, accompanied by a supporting brief, must be filed with the Commission no later than ten days after service of the order in accordance with 10 CFR 2.1015. Termination of Jurisdiction The jurisdiction of the PAPO shall terminate at the time that an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board has been appointed to preside over the high-level waste repository licensing proceeding,\2\ the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel or the Commission rules otherwise, the PAPO shall retain jurisdiction over those disputes pending before it at the time a Licensing Board has been appointed for the high level waste repository licensing proceeding. ---------- \2\ The Commission expects that none of the one or more Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards that may be needed for such proceeding will be appointed until after DOE files an application, the application has been docketed by the NRC staff, a Notice of Opportunity for Hearing has been published by the NRC, and at least one person has filed a petition to intervene and request a hearing. ---------- Application of Ex Parte and Separation of Functions Rules The ex parte and separation of function rules (10 CFR 2.347 and 2.348 respectively) shall apply to those limited matters falling within the PAPO's jurisdiction and to appeals to the Commission of PAPO rulings. Technical Requirements for Legal Filings An addendum to the order discusses and displays how the participants shall caption any filing seeking a ruling or other action from the PAPO. The caption includes, as will be noted, both the identification of the originator of the request and the number of the request by that particular originator. Subsequent responses and any other related papers should carry the same caption. This will aid electronic retrieval of the documents and facilitate identification of filings and rulings on any specified dispute. Other requirements governing submissions shall be as the part 2 rules provide unless the PAPO or the Commission provides otherwise. It is so ordered. Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of July, 2004. For the Commission. Annette L. Vietti-Cook, Secretary of the Commission. Addendum to CLI-O4-20 The caption used on the above Order appointing a PAPO should be used for all filings with the PAPO. Beneath the caption, the participant shall number each of its requests for action by the PAPO. Thus, for example, a participant's first request should be numbered [name of participant]-01. Its second request will be numbered [name of participant]-02. By requiring each of the participants to number its requests, it will make it easy for the PAPO and the participants to refer to the various requests. Thus were a participant to file a request, its first filing would read as follows: U.S. Dept of Energy: High Level Waste Repository Pre-Application Matters Docket No. PAPO-00 Name of Participant-01 [FR Doc. 04-15788 Filed 7-12-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 43 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada nuclear dump continues pending appeal of court rulings Today: July 13, 2004 at 8:42:19 PDT ASSOCIATED PRESS LAS VEGAS (AP) - A one-paragraph court order issued as Nevada officials celebrated a federal appeals court ruling on the Yucca Mountain project will let work continue on the nuclear waste repository, at least for the time being, attorneys said. The three-judge panel that issued Friday's decision in Washington, D.C., also ordered its ruling on a key health regulation be withheld until seven days after any appeal is decided. Attorneys and nuclear industry officials said Monday that could delay the court's mandate for up to a year. A Nevada state official said any delay would be shorter. Some industry officials said the order represented a reprieve for the Energy Department, because it lets work continue toward licensing the repository in the Nevada desert while project supporters seek a favorable ruling or a rescue by allies in Congress. "Everything is the same, nothing is different," said Steve Kraft, a director of the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry lobbying group. "It's hard for us to imagine how this project does not keep going forward until the process keeps playing out." Marta Adams, a Nevada deputy attorney general, characterized the court order as a "holding action." "That does mitigate the immediate vacating of the rule," she said. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out a 10,000-year radiation standard for the repository, saying it defied a National Academy of Sciences recommendation for a longer period. The standard, which aimed to shield residents from harmful exposures to radioactivity, was devised by the Environmental Protection Agency and incorporated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Neither agency has commented on the ruling. The decision said the EPA must either revise the standard consistent with academy findings or get Congress to let it deviate from the recommendations. Parties have 45 days to request a rehearing or seek a review by all the judges in the circuit, attorneys said. In another section of the ruling, the judges said the state can contest environmental issues about the repository during a licensing process. The Energy Department noted the judges upheld most other elements of the project, and rejected the state's contention that the selection of the Yucca site was a violation of the U.S. Constitution. That ruling could be appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Adams said lawyers were continuing to digest the 100-page decision, and said Nevada could file motions urging the judges to remove the hold. Joe Egan, Nevada's lead nuclear waste lawyer, said the circuit court ruling didn't leave the Energy Department much room for appeal. Egan said he didn't think the Energy Department can "appropriately" proceed toward applying for a repository operating license by the end of the year, but said he expected the agency would try. The plan to entomb 77,000 tons of the nation's most radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, also has problems away from the courthouse. It faces a budget crisis in Congress and challenges to its management of millions of pages of backup documents for an online database supporting the license application. Attorneys for the state asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday to declare invalid the Energy Department's certification that the database was complete. --- Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com [http://www.lvrj.com] -- ***************************************************************** 44 Las Vegas RJ: DAMAGE CLAIMS: Nuclear waste trials starting Tuesday, July 13, 2004 Three utilities seek money from government for its failure to build central storage site By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON -- The government's failure to open a dump site for commercial nuclear waste could expose taxpayers to tens of billions of dollars in damages. One of the first in an expected string of trials to determine exactly how much began Monday in a courtroom across the street from the White House. Owners of three reactors in New England claim they are spending hundreds of millions of dollars building storage facilities and maintaining spent nuclear fuel that the government under a contract had promised to pick up six years ago. In all, more than 60 claims have been filed seeking damages from the government. More than two decades ago, the government signed a contract with utilities promising to take charge of the highly radioactive used reactor fuel at commercial power plants beginning in 1998. But the government has yet to come up with a central storage site. A number of court cases have ruled that the Department of Energy is liable for the cost of keeping the waste because of a breach of contract. How much is at stake is anyone's guess, but the industry has put the number as high as $56 billion. Three utilities that own the Yankee group of reactors in Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut, went to trial Monday before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The trial is expected to last seven weeks. Jerry Stouck, an attorney representing the utilities, outlined a case that was expected to focus on expenses utilities had to pay because of the government's repeated failures, dating back to 1983, to get approval for a central waste dump at Nevada's Yucca Mountain and its refusal in the interim to accept the waste at some other facility. "They built these facilities for one reason only -- because of DOE's default," Stouck said of the utilities. A Justice Department attorney countered that the damage claims were "speculation" and wrongly assumed that if the government had met the 1998 deadline, the New England reactors' waste would have been taken within a few years. In fact, the companies would have had to build storage facilities and maintain fuel for years as they awaited their turn for shipping waste to a central repository, the government argued. "Even though there was a delay, the (utilities) cannot prove there was incremental damage," argued Harold Lester, the government's lead attorney, representing the Energy Department. The courts already have ruled the government violated its contract with the nation's utilities to take charge of the waste. Now the utilities are seeking damages, with a total of 65 claims having been filed, including a rush of them at the beginning of the year, just before the six-year statute of limitation for lawsuits expired. "Damages. Damages. It's all about damages. How much money are we entitled to," Stouck said during a break in the proceedings. "If this litigation is successful, it will provide some financial relief to the electric customers who bear the increasing costs to store fuel at these sites as a result of the DOE's failure to meet its legal obligations," said Bruce Kenyon, chairman of Yankee Atomic Electric Co. The utilities together are asking for $548 million in damages for costs incurred to keep the spent reactor fuel in dry-cask storage until 2010, the year the proposed Yucca Mountain waste site could be opened. The amount is nearly double the $268 million cited in 1999 when the New England utilities began litigation. Stouck said the cost of keeping the waste on site, initially underestimated, has grown because today's terror threats require increased security. But the money sought in this trial is only a fraction of what the government may have to pay, given that these are only three of 65 claims filed by owners of the country's 102 reactors at 72 power plants. The bill could grow if the Yucca Mountain waste site does not open in 2010 as planned. Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal ***************************************************************** 45 Las Vegas RJ: Yucca project work to proceed Tuesday, July 13, 2004 Ruling on health standards on holdas appeals play out By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- A one-paragraph court order issued as Nevadans were celebrating a federal appeals court ruling on the Yucca Mountain Project will allow work to continue on the nuclear waste repository, at least for the time being, attorneys said. While Nevada officials were hailing Friday's decision as a potentially fatal blow to the project, the three-judge panel ordered its ruling on a key health regulation be withheld until seven days after the outcome of any appeal. Attorneys and nuclear industry officials said this could delay the court's mandate for months or a year. A Nevada state official said delays, if any, would be much shorter. In the view of some industry officials, the overlooked court order means a reprieve for the Energy Department. It allows work to continue toward licensing a Nevada repository while Yucca supporters angle for a more favorable ruling on appeal, or a rescue by allies in Congress. "Everything is the same, nothing is different," said Steve Kraft, a Nuclear Energy Institute director. "It's hard for us to imagine how this project does not keep going forward until the process keeps playing out." Marta Adams, a Nevada deputy attorney general, examined the order on Monday and said it appeared the judges had issued a "holding action" on their ruling. "That does mitigate the immediate vacating of the rule," Adams said. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out a 10,000-year radiation standard for the repository, saying it was put in place in defiance of a National Academy of Sciences recommendation for a longer protective period. The standard, which aimed to shield residents from harmful exposures to radioactive materials, was devised by the Environmental Protection Agency and incorporated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Neither agency has commented on the ruling. The decision said the EPA must either issue a revised standard consistent with the NAS findings or get Congress to give it authority to deviate from the recommendations. Parties to the lawsuit have 45 days to request a rehearing, or to ask the court for an en banc review by all the judges in the circuit, attorneys said. Another option is for an appeal straight to the U.S. Supreme Court, although it was not clear how the order would come into play in that circumstance. Adams said Nevada could file motions urging the judges to remove the hold on their ruling. She said any appeals by the government or the nuclear industry likely would be quickly dismissed. "I don't think this has a whole lot of significance," Adams said. "Rehearings are rarely granted." Adams added attorneys are continuing to digest the 100-page outcome of the complex litigation. Joe Egan, the state's lead nuclear waste lawyer, said Yucca supporters who are projecting a quick rebound in the courts or in Congress were engaged in "wishful thinking." "I don't think the court left them much to appeal. There is no basis for a stay here, none at all," Egan said. "I don't think the licensing proceeding can appropriately proceed but I don't doubt DOE's facility to try to do that." Beyond the legal issues, Egan said he doubted there will be much appetite in Congress to overturn a court ruling that invalidates health and safety science behind the government's effort to bury nuclear waste at a site 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The Yucca project also has problems away from the courthouse. The program is facing a budget crisis in Congress and challenges to its management of millions of pages of backup documents for an online database. Attorneys for the state on Monday filed a motion with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to have DOE's database certification declared invalid. But an attorney not involved in the lawsuits said his reading suggested DOE could continue its work while appeals are in progress. "They can probably proceed under the current ground rules until the current ground rules are invalidated. If there are appeals, that will keep the decision from going into effect," said the attorney, who spoke on the condition he not be identified because he is a party in other DOE litigation. That was the same message that nuclear industry executives delivered Monday during a meeting on Capitol Hill with several lawmakers, staffers and Energy Department officials according to a Senate aide who received a report afterward. NEI executive vice president Angelina Howard said the gathering was a get-together of the organization's executive board and Yucca Mountain was among several issues discussed. Aides said the meeting was authorized by Senate Energy Committee chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., although it was not clear if he attended. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., and Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Texas, the chairman of the House energy and air quality subcommittee, attended parts of the meeting. The Senate aide said the officials appeared less worried about the court ruling than about a Domenici proposal to increase industry fees to make up a shortfall in next year's Yucca Mountain budget. Nevada claimed a victory when the circuit court judges invalidated the 10,000-year radiation standard. In another section, the judges confirmed the state will be allowed to contest a wide variety of environmental issues during repository licensing. But in what is being described overall as a mixed ruling, the Energy Department noted the judges upheld most other segments of the project, and dismissed the state's contention that the selection of the Yucca site was a violation of the U.S. Constitution. The Energy Department had been anticipating an unfavorable ruling on the radiation standard and already was at work forming a response, a top manager told Yucca Mountain employees in an e-mail on Friday. "We have been preparing to address this issue in the event that the court ruling upheld the challenge to the standard," said Margaret Chu, director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. "We are already consulting with the other appropriate agencies and we will be discussing options in the coming days." Chu reported the court "ruled in our favor on all issues except one," and said the decision "is a reaffirmation of the very hard work done by all participants in the program." DOE spokesman Allen Benson said he had no comment on the e-mail. He said Yucca employees were continuing work toward completing a license application to be filed later this year. Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal ***************************************************************** 46 Las Vegas SUN: Utilities' case on nuclear waste storage in court By Suzanne Struglinski SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- A federal court on Monday began hearing the case of a group of utilities suing the federal government over the failure to open Yucca Mountain. The government was supposed to take commercial nuclear waste from the reactors in 1998, but six years later the utility companies still store their own waste. The utilities also pay for additional onsite storage and put billions into the Nuclear Waste Fund to pay for the Yucca Mountain federal nuclear waste repository, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. "Congress locked itself into a policy that was unreachable," said David Cherry, spokesman for Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev. A case involving three utilities that own the Yankee group of reactors in Maine, Vermont and Connecticut, went to trial Monday before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The trial is expected to last seven weeks. The case before Judge James Merow is limited to used reactor fuel that is being stored at the Maine Yankee, Vermont Yankee and Yankee Rowe (Connecticut) nuclear plant sites. The issue is especially important to the New England utilities because the reactors have been shut down and keeping the waste is expensive and may affect site cleanup. "If this litigation is successful, it will provide some financial relief to the electric customers who bear the increasing costs to store fuel at these sites as a result of the DOE's failure to met its legal obligations," said Bruce Kenyon, chairman of Yankee Atomic Electric Co. The company is asking for $548 million. The utilities are among the 65 that filed lawsuits against the department for missing the 1998 deadline to open the nuclear waste repository. Indiana Michigan Power Co. previously sued, asking for $107.7 million in damages in a case heard earlier this year. In a May 27 ruling, the court decided the department breached the contract but the utility should not receive payment yet because it has not been hurt by the missed deadline, according to court documents. Other trials are expected. The lawsuits and possible $56 billion in damages the government may have to pay, by the industry's estimate, are what those watching the project say push Yucca forward. Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee, which creates the Yucca budget, has concerns about cost to taxpayers posed by the looming lawsuits. Hobson's been working to fully fund the program, although so far this year he was only able to approve $131 million in Yucca funding, a sharp cut from the department's $880 million request. The funding problems on top of the recent federal court decision criticizing the project's radiation standard could slow down the project beyond the new 2010 deadline, causing even a longer delay. Prices for storing nuclear waste onsite vary, but the containers can cost at least $1 million, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham estimates it will cost the government at least $500 million a year for each year of delay just for the government's nuclear waste sites. For each year beyond 2010, the department estimates the nuclear industry will pay $500 million a year to store spent fuel at utility sites. "A delay in opening the repository could substantially increase the Department's liability," Abraham wrote. He did not answer Hobson's question earlier this year about how much it would cost the federal government if the delay in opening Yucca lasts much longer. Cherry said the government brought the problem on itself by leaving no other option to study but Yucca Mountain. As the 1998 deadline came and went, Congress --by federal law--could not study any other site but Yucca, leaving no option but to study a site it knew was flawed, Cherry said. "The American taxpayer will be on the hook for this," Cherry said. "They (the nuclear industry) argue the ratepayers are getting hurt since there is not a central storage location, but they always look to the taxpayers for the bailout." The Associated Press contributed to this story. ***************************************************************** 47 heraldtribune.com: U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris says a Tallevast relocation should be temporary. Tuesday, July 13, 2004 Harris supports Tallevast relocations By DEBI SPRINGER debi.springer@heraldtribune.com [debi.springer@heraldtribune.com] TALLEVAST -- The idea of relocating families worried about contamination in the neighborhood got a boost Monday from U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, who said she supports the idea. "The residents should be relocated as soon as possible by whatever means necessary if their health and safety is proven to be at risk," Harris said in a written statement. "Hopefully, such relocation could be temporary, so that they may preserve the character and cohesiveness of their community." Harris did not say what such a move might cost or who would pay for it. She and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson are scheduled to meet in Washington today with Environmental Protection Agency officials to discuss contamination in Tallevast and how to address it. The former American Beryllium Co. plant on Tallevast Road left a plume of contaminated ground water. Tests show that at least 17 private wells are polluted with potentially dangerous chemicals, some at levels more than 50 times state drinking water standards. Tests also found arsenic in the soil at one home at 14 times the state standard. Residents say they fear the poison is responsible for a high rate of cancers, miscarriages and other health problems. Defense industry giant Lockheed Martin, which bought the plant in 1996 and is responsible for the cleanup, said it could take 10 years to clean up the pollution. "We all love living here, but nobody wants to intentionally expose their families to this," resident Wanda Washington said. Not everyone in the community is ready to pack up, however. Some say they don't trust the state or the county and wonder if the pollution warnings are part of a conspiracy to get their land. The community near the Sarasota-Bradenton airport has been eyed by several industries. Moving entire communities away from polluted sites is rare, but it has occurred. In 1996, the EPA relocated more than 500 people in Pensacola who lived near one of the nation's most dangerous hazardous waste sites. And in 2003, the Monsanto Co. agreed to a $700 million settlement that helped move residents in Anniston, Ala., from next to a toxic site. Connie Tucker, an Atlanta-based activist who has participated in cleanup efforts in more than 100 contaminated communities, including Anniston and Pensacola, said it may be time for Tallevast folks to move too. "They have reason to be concerned. A just thing to do would be to relocate them," Tucker said. "Lockheed Martin, and to some extent the regulatory agencies, are responsible parties in trying to find a resolution." Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Meredith Davis has said the company is not in the real estate business and has no intention of buying property or paying anyone to move. Davis also said nothing in the cleanup process itself, scheduled to begin later this year, will harm residents. "They're being done all over the country. There's no reason to believe that the impact to the residents would be adverse," Davis said. That does little to appease residents like Guirlene Duvignaud, a divorced mother of six who bought a Tallevast home in February. When she found out about the pollution problems a couple of months later she tried to back out of the purchase, but couldn't. "When I found out I was really devastated," she said. "I do like the community a lot, but I wouldn't have bought into the neighborhood if I knew." ***************************************************************** 48 OneWorld US: Court Orders EPA To Revise Safety Standard For Yucca Nuclear Repository [http://www.oneworld.net] Wed., Jul. 14, 2004 Environment News Service (ENS) News --> WASHINGTON, DC, July 12, 2004 (ENS) - Both sides are claiming victory after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit handed down its ruling Friday on challenges to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. The 10,000 year federal safety requirement for the highly radioactive waste is illegal, the court ruled, because it is inconsistent with the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences. But the court rejected Nevada's constitutional challenge to the repository. The repository site, located 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada on the edge of the Nevada Nuclear Test Site, was approved by Congress and President George W. Bush in 2002. Ruling in a group of consolidated cases, the appellate court rejected all but one of the legal challenges raised by the state of Nevada, including a constitutional challenge. The state of Nevada and environmental groups brought lawsuits against the three agencies with responsibility for the site: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the Department of Energy (DOE). They also challenged actions of the President and Energy Secretary leading to approval of the Yucca site. The industry association, the Nuclear Energy Institute, argued that the Yucca Mountain project is scientifically sound and is needed for the safety and security of the nation. The appeals panel ruled illegal the 10,000 year compliance period for ensuring that radiation would not escape from the repository. The judges said the 10,000 year period selected by the EPA violates the Energy Policy Act because it is not "based upon and consistent with" the findings and recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences. But the court supported the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s licensing requirements and ruled that they "are neither unlawful nor arbitrary and capricious except to the extent that they incorporate EPA’s 10,000-year compliance period." The appeals judges rejected Nevada's argument that the actions of the Energy Department and the President in selecting and approving Yucca Mountain were unconstitutional. "The congressional resolution selecting the Yucca site for development represents an appropriate exercise of Congress’s Article IV, section 3 authority over federal property," the court decided. "The Department of Energy’s and the President’s actions leading to the selection of the Yucca Mountain site are unreviewable," the judges said. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said he was "pleased" with the court's decisions, saying, "The Court dismissed all challenges to the site selection of Yucca Mountain. Our scientific basis for the Yucca Mountain Project is sound. The project will protect the public health and safety." "While the Court did not question the scientific validity of the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards, it did vacate one aspect of the standard, the 10,000 year compliance period," Abraham said. "Therefore, DOE will be working with the EPA and Congress to determine appropriate steps to address this issue." Still, Nevada Senator John Ensign, a Republican, claimed victory on behalf of Nevada's Congressional delegation, all of whom are opposed to Yucca Mountain, Democrats and Republicans alike. "Today’s court ruling provides Nevada a crucial legal tool to defeat the Yucca Mountain project once and for all," Ensign said at a press conference. "Our state’s legal team should be congratulated for this victory against all those forces that would like to turn Nevada into the country’s nuclear dumping ground. Our united effort, in which Nevadans of all political affiliations joined, is the reason for this victory and our celebration today," Ensign said. Nevada Senator Harry Reid, a Democrat, said the court's ruling dealt a death blow to the Yucca Mountain repository. "I’ve never believed Yucca Mountain would open, and today it could not be more clear that’s true. The court’s ruling is a significant blow to the Department of Energy and the Yucca Mountain project and I believe enough to effectively kill the project." "There is a reason we have fought this project for more than two decades," said Reid. "It is impossible to open this kind of nuclear waste repository and still guarantee the health and safety of Nevadans." The environmental organization Natural Resources Defense Council said the court ruled in favor of environmental groups and the state of Nevada, finding that the Environmental Protection Agency illegally issued inadequate environmental and public health standards for Yucca Mountain. "On one of the most crucial issues in the Yucca case, the court has sent EPA back to the drawing board to write a radiation protection standard that safeguards public health," said Geoff Fettus, the NRDC attorney that argued the case for the environmental groups - Citizen Action Coalition of Indiana, Citizen Alert, Nevada Desert Experience, Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, and Public Citizen. "When dealing with a project of the magnitude of a nuclear waste repository," Fettus said, "the law requires that EPA do it right rather than rush it through." But for the industry, Nuclear Energy Institute’s Executive Vice President Angie Howard also claimed victory. "Congress’ 2002 endorsement of the Yucca Mountain site and the Department of Energy’s work at the site are unaffected by this ruling," he said. "The court held that this important environmental protection program can go forward as planned. The one exception in the court ruling should not impede work at the repository." "Work at the site and on the Energy Department’s upcoming license application for the repository, scheduled to be submitted to the NRC this December, should be allowed to continue under existing regulations," Howard said. "The reason is that the NRC is not scheduled to decide whether to issue a construction license for the state-of-the-art repository until 2007 or 2008." The court suggested two possible options for dealing with the 10,000 year compliance period. First, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission could revise their regulations to extend the compliance period beyond 10,000 years. Second, the judges suggested that the EPA might ask Congress to intervene and pass legislation giving agencies permission to maintain the 10,000 year standard. Saying that the court's validates the industry's belief that the overall decisionmaking process for Yucca Mountain project "rests on sound scientific ground," Howard said the repository is environmentally and economically beneficial to the country. "Safe isolation of used nuclear fuel in a centralized location allows the nation to continue to rely on nuclear energy, which provides electricity to one of every five U.S. homes and businesses, as a vital part of a diverse energy portfolio at a time when there is tremendous turmoil and volatility with regard to other energy sources,” Howard said. But Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn, a Republican, sees the appellate court's ruling as a vindication for the state. "This is an important victory for the State of Nevada and a major setback for the Department of Energy’s effort to place nuclear waste in our state," he said. He said the decision reinforces what the state of Nevada has said all along, "that the science used by the Department of Energy is not sound nor is it safe, and that the 10,000 year standard used by the Environmental Protection Agency is woefully inadequate and is inconsistent with the Congressionally mandated recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences." "I truly believe Nevadans can sleep more peacefully tonight, confident in the knowledge that there is recognition in our courts that the EPA deliberately rejected the sound advice of the scientific community and adopted a standard that runs contrary to the health, safety and well-being of the citizens of Nevada," the governor said. The Yucca Mountain repository is the intended destination for 77,000 tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste from Defense Department sites and spent nuclear fuel from the 103 operating nuclear reactors across the United States. The federal government considers that the waste will be safer consolidated in one repository. With more than 100 interim storage locations sprinkled across 39 states, over 161 million people reside within 75 miles of a nuclear waste storage facility. Current plans call for the waste to be moved by road and rail from its current locations to Yucca Mountain, a process that could take as long as 18 years. But many panels, including the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board as well as the National Academy of Sciences, have expressed doubts about the safety of the waste once it is entombed in Yucca Mountain. In its ruling, the court acknowledged, "Radioactive waste and its harmful consequences persist for time spans seemingly beyond human comprehension. For example, iodine-129, one of the radionuclides expected to be buried at Yucca Mountain, has a half-life of seventeen million years." "Neptunium-237, also expected to be deposited in Yucca Mountain, has a half-life of over two million years," the court wrote. As of 2003, nuclear reactors in the United States had generated approximately 49,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel. By the year 2035, the United States will have produced 105,000 metric tons of nuclear waste – approximately twice the current amount. The court's ruling could set the Yucca Mountain project back for an indefinite period of time while federal agencies go back to Congress, pursue new legal appeals, possibly to the Supreme Court, or change their rules to satisfy the court. The Energy Department plans to apply to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to construct and operate Yucca Mountain. Approximately 1.2 million documents totaling some 5.6 million pages related to the license application are searchable online at: http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov, and will be available through the NRC's website at: http://www.lsnnet.gov. ***************************************************************** 49 Press & Dakotan: Neb. Commissioner Faces Recall After Nuke Comment 07/13/04 By KEVIN O'HANLON Associated Press Writer LINCOLN, Neb. -- Voters are to decide Tuesday whether to recall Kimball County Commissioner Rick Soper from office for remarks he made about possibly locating a nuclear dump in the area. The recall effort was launched after Soper told The Associated Press in March he was open to discussing the prospects of a dump for low-level radioactive waste near Kimball. And it's caused a bit of a stir in the Panhandle town of some 2,500 people. ŒŒIt's been talked about quite a bit,'' said Sherry Blanche, publisher of the Western Nebraska Observer. ŒŒIt's not a very common thing here.'' The option of locating a waste site in Nebraska is reportedly part of the state's effort to settle a lawsuit in which it was ordered to pay $151 million for blocking construction of such a facility within its borders. Soper told the AP in March: ŒŒI like to be progressive and not reactive. I would love to see our county grow, and any business that would want to come, I'd certainly sit and listen to what they had to offer.'' That was enough to set off Sharlet Morgan, a local resident who is spearheading the recall against Soper. Morgan, a local real estate agent, said Soper has been unresponsive or dismissive to citizens on other issues and that his comments about the dump were ŒŒthe last straw.'' U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf of Lincoln ruled in 2002 that former Gov. Ben Nelson, now a U.S. senator, engaged in a politically motivated and orchestrated plot to keep the regional dump from being built in Nebraska. He ordered Nebraska to pay $151 million, but Nebraska is short on money because of an ongoing budget crisis. Nebraska has lost appeals of the ruling and is considering asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case -- but few people give the state much chance of winning if the court takes it up. The dump was to be built in Boyd County in the northeast part of the state to hold waste from Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma -- which joined in 1983 to form the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact. Nebraska officials argued that they refused to license the dump because of concerns about possible pollution and a high-water table at the proposed site. Last week, it was learned that Gov. Mike Johanns had approached Texas officials about the possibility of sending the compact's waste to a dump to be built in that state. Johanns reportedly offered that Nebraska pay Texas $50 million to accept the waste, but officials for both states declined to talk about any details. ------ On the Net: Central Interstate Low Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission: http://www.cillrwcc.org/ All Contents ©Copyright Yankton Daily Press &Dakotan . Please ***************************************************************** 50 Middletown Press: Yucca Mountain delays could result in higher charges for CY customers By JOSH MROZINSKI Middletown Press Staff 07/13/2004 HADDAM -- The decision by the United States Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., which has been interpreted starkly by those for and against the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste depository, could increase costs to Connecticut Yankee customers. Any more delays in the mountain’s opening could add millions more to the costs that the power company customers are already shouldering. If the Connecticut Yankee continues to store the spent fuel through 2020, the power company could see a charge of $65 million, according to CY spokeswoman Kelley Smith. That charge would filter down to customers. Yankee Atomic Electric Company, Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company and Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company are now in court trying to reclaim costs associated with past delays in taking the waste and spent fuel from their sites. "There is a potential for a delay but there is also a potential for the parties to resolve it," Smith said. "Regardless, the department of energy has an obligation to remove the fuel." The court ruled last week, in a case brought by Nevada and environmental agencies, that the 10,000-year standard of the Environmental Protection Agency to protect the public against radiation leaks at the repository is too short. The government has to adopt new standards through Congress or the agency because of the ruling. The three-judge panel didn’t suggest how long of a standard is needed but cited a National Academy of Sciences report that said the flows from a repository could be predicted up to a million years. Smith said there are other facilities across the country that could be used to dispose of spent-fuel. "Yucca Mountain was not the only option," Smith said. "We don’t see Yucca Mountain as the only option." She said these sites, such as the one in South Carolina, could store the plant’s spent-fuel rods. She said the capability for these sites to store the spent-fuel is there because it is already storing spent-fuel from other countries through nonproliferation agreements. "They are doing it for foreign countries and that’s why we’ve asserted they can take the small amount of fuel to these facilities," Smith said. "We’ve had discussions with regard to it but no resolution." She said the court ruling, though, doesn’t have any impact on the plant’s plan to have the spent-fuel stored in dry casks at its Haddam Neck property by the first half of 2005. Attorney Nancy Burton and Frank Warmsley, Sr., have claimed the site as the property of Venture Smith, a 18th century and descendant of Warmsley. The 43 containers of waste and spent-fuel are being transferred to the site as the plant’s decommissioning, which began in 1998. The plant shut down in 1996 and the fuel could be out of Haddam Neck by 2023. The power company is now in court to try to reclaim $197 million for its customers from the Department of Energy for its delay in taking the spent-fuel and waste from the site. The delay has made the power company spend more money on security. Sue Gagner, spokeswoman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said there are many sites around the country at where spent fuel is stored but they aren’t permanent. Yucca Mountain is the only permanent disposal site, she said. The NRC conducts the license process to evaluate potential repositories such as Yucca Mountain, using regulation that reflects Environmental Protection Agency regulation. "We are evaluating the implications of this decision," Gagner said. Steve Kerekes, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear energy industry’s policy organization, thinks the problems with the regulation will be solved and won’t delay the project. He thinks there is plenty of time before the construction license is issued in 2007 or 2008 for the parties to decide how they are going to proceed. He said the energy department will still file its application as it originally scheduled. "They will put in the application," Kerekes said. "Right now they are on track to do that in September." He thinks the decision last week also proved that the repository is on solid scientific footing, because the court rejected the argument that it was unconstitutional for Congress to force the project on a state that doesn’t want it. Michelle Boyd, spokeswoman of Public Citizen, a consumer nonprofit group formed in 1971 by Ralph Nader, said the court decision was a huge blow to the Yucca Mountain project. "It’s a serious blow to the project and the project should be moth-balled at this point," Boyd said. "It says the Department of Energy has to ensure the site’s drinking water would meet drinking water standard for several thousand of years and their research says it’s not possible." She said the only way to protect the public is to stop making nuclear waste. She said a study needs to be completed to find alternatives. "It’s certainly not going to solve our problem, it’s going to make it worse," Boyd said. To contact Josh Mrozinski, call (860) 347-3331, ext. 222. The Middletown Press 2004 [editor@middletownpress.com] . ***************************************************************** 51 CSB: Berkley Says Court Ruling Could Bury Nuclear Waste Storage at Yucca Mountain Congresswoman Shelley Berkley - Legislation: Press Releases 2003 July 9, 2004 (July 9, 2004 – Washington, D.C.) U.S. Representative Shelley Berkley today declared that a ruling by a U.S. federal appeals court may spell the end of efforts to bury high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. In its ruling, the court found that a radiation standard established by EPA for the Yucca dump did not meet legal requirements for protecting public health and safety. In response to the ruling, Berkley issued the following statement: "The people of Nevada should throw up their arms and cheer at this court ruling. By tossing out the EPA's radiation standard, the court has said that the Bush Administration's plan for Yucca Mountain will not protect the health and safety of Nevada residents. I have no doubt that the White House and the nuclear power industry are going to fight the court's action, but this should serve as a warning to both, that science, not politics, must guide this process. “It is long past time that we pull the plug on funding for Yucca Mountain and invest in the safe storage of nuclear waste at the sites where it was produced. This solution is good for a century and is already in use around the nation. “The days of burying our heads in the sand by attempting to bury nuclear waste in Nevada are over. Technology ultimately holds the answer to the nation's nuclear waste problem, and we should be investing more in research. We have already wasted billions of dollars on a hole in the Nevada desert, and today's court ruling only proves that the Yucca Mountain is unsafe, unwise and unworkable." # # # 439 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone - (202) 225-5965 Fax - (202) 225-3119 2340 Paseo Del Prado, Suite D-106 Las Vegas, NV 89102 Phone - (702) 220-9823 Fax - (702) 220-9841 ***************************************************************** 52 AU ABC: MP says Territory should consider nuclear dump "Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online"> [http://abc.net.au/] Tuesday, 13 July 2004 The Federal Member for Solomon Dave Tollner says the Northern Territory should accept a nuclear waste dump if it was found to be the safest place for the facility. The Federal Government is reviewing its options for disposing of radioactive waste. It comes after a Federal Court ruling that the Commonwealth's compulsory acquisition of land for the dump in South Australia was unlawful. Mr Tollner says while it is easy for people like Labor's Warren Snowdon to reject the dump, opponents have not suggested alternatives. Mr Tollner says a nuclear waste facility requires a secure and stable environment like that found in central Australia. "If parts of the Northern Territory were deemed to be the safest possible location to store this waste I think we have an obligation to Australia to store the waste here," he said. [ more news ] Last Updated: 11:30:00 AM (ACST) [http://www.abc.net.au/privacy.htm] ***************************************************************** 53 AU ABC: Democrats criticise dump decision delay. 13/07/2004. ABC News Online Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online"> [http://www.abc.net.au/] The Australian Democrats have criticised Federal Cabinet's silence on plans for a national radioactive waste dump in South Australia, as part of a cynical political bluff. It was discussed yesterday but no statement was made. That has led to speculation that Cabinet is split on whether to abandon the plan to avoid the political fallout, or proceed with an appeal over a court rejection. Democrat science spokeswoman Natasha Stott Despoja is suspicious. "I think it's a cynical bluff by the Cabinet in an attempt to shore up their marginal seats in a difficult election campaign," she said. "South Australians deserve better than this. "I hope the Government will give up now. It's a bad plan from an environmental, health, social and political perspective and it should be stopped." © 2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ***************************************************************** 54 AU ABC: Fed Govt undecided about national nuclear waste dump Australian Broadcasting Corporation [http://www.abc.net.au/] The World Today - Tuesday, 13 July , 2004 12:42:00 Reporter: Nance Haxton ELEANOR HALL: To South Australia now where the State Government says the Federal Cabinet is split on the contentious issue of where to locate Australia's proposed nuclear waste dump. Despite extensive discussions in Cabinet yesterday, federal ministers have refused to talk about the future of the waste repository. The Federal Government's plans to build the dump in South Australia's outback were thrown into disarray by a federal court decision that ruled the Commonwealth acquired the land unlawfully. Now the Government now has to decide whether to take the case to the high court, or to abandon its plan to locate the dump in South Australia. In Adelaide, Nance Haxton reports. NANCE HAXTON: With five key marginal seats in South Australia, some with a swing of less than one percent, the Liberal Government cannot afford to put South Australian voters off side. And one issue which has repeatedly come up in the polls as of being concern to South Australians, is the national radioactive waste repository proposed for a site near Woomera in the state's north. The State Government has relentlessly pursued every legal avenue to stymie the Federal Government's plans. Premier Mike Rann says the Prime Minister John Howard has realised the dump will cost vital Liberal votes. MIKE RANN: I think he got the message loud and clear from both federal ministers who are based in South Australia and from also of course, marginal seat MPs, that the radioactive waste dump being imposed on South Australia is a political nightmare for the Coalition going into the federal election. NANCE HAXTON: Federal Science Minister Peter McGuaran was not contactable today for comment as he is in his Gippsland electorate, while South Australian Senator and Finance Minister Nick Minchin also refuses to comment on the matter, saying a final decision on the dump's future has not yet been made. The state's environment minister John Hill says the lack of an announcement after yesterday's Cabinet meeting points to a split in the ranks. JOHN HILL: Well, it's interesting that the Commonwealth Government was unable to resolve this issue yesterday. It means that they've got a big conflict internally about radioactive waste and it's interesting that South Australian senators and members seem to be playing active roles on both sides of the debate. So I guess they have to resolve it sometime. NANCE HAXTON: Do you think it necessarily does point to an internal conflict, though? Could it just be Cabinet being tactical about when it will announce its decision? JOHN HILL: No, I think reports coming out of Cabinet indicate that they're spilt right down the middle on what to do with this issue. NANCE HAXTON: The Australian Conservation Foundation's Executive Director Don Henry says not only is South Australia not the right site for the dump, but the entire concept of a national repository is flawed. DON HENRY: We should have a proper national inquiry into radioactive waste management because there's many options, particularly for low-level waste, including improving onsite storage around Australia. NANCE HAXTON: Flinders University Professor of Politics Dean Jaensch says the issue of how to dispose of Australia's nuclear waste has now become one of the crucial issues in the federal election. DEAN JAENSCH: This really has been a political festering sore for both federal and state governments for a long time. I think what the Federal Government will try and work out is whether there's any electoral damage in maintaining its pressure to get the dump built in South Australia. NANCE HAXTON: When do you think an announcement could be made about this – as late as possible? Would that be the tactical approach? DEAN JAENSCH: Well, I think in terms of tactics, it would be better to get this thing settled. At the moment there's just uncertainty about the whole issue and that really can't help the Liberal Party in its campaign. So I think settling it one way or the other – and if it's going to be settled with the Federal Government deciding to go ahead with it, then settle it early in the hope that voters will forget about it. On the other hand, if they're going to cancel it, also settle it early so that it will take away any tactics the Labor Government in South Australia can use. ELEANOR HALL: Flinders University Professor of Politics Dean Jaensch speaking to Nance Haxton. [http://www.abc.net.au/privacy.htm] ***************************************************************** 55 AU ABC: Labor divided over SA dump. 13/07/2004. ABC News Online "Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online"> [http://www.abc.net.au/] A rift has emerged between the Federal and South Australian Labor parties over the issue of radioactive waste in South Australia. Federal Labor has ruled out establishing a national radioactive waste dump in South Australia. But shadow Environment minister Kelvin Thomson says a Federal Labor government would not remove 2,000 cubic metres of low-level waste transported from Sydney to Woomera in 1994 under the Keating government. South Australian Premier Mike Rann says that is not acceptable. "Well, I want the barrels out, anything that comes from other states, I want out of South Australia," he said. "I mean, that's been my position right from the start and it applies to whoever's in power federally." © 2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ***************************************************************** 56 AU ABC: Downer denies Cabinet split over dump. 13/07/2004. ABC News Online [http://www.abc.net.au/] Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has denied reports that federal Cabinet is divided over the issue of a radioactive waste dump. Yesterday, federal Cabinet discussed a recent Federal Court ruling that the compulsory acquisition of land for a national dump in South Australia's far-north was illegal. Mr Downer says Cabinet is still considering what to do in the wake of the court decision, but will not reveal what his position is about a national dump in his home state. "Nuclear waste needs to be stored safely and at the moment every state is saying ... they don't want it stored in their state or their territory," he said. "So it does present the Federal Government with something of a dilemma." In other developments: + A rift has emerged between the Federal and South Australian Labor parties over the issue of radioactive waste in South Australia. ( [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200407/s1153054.htm] ) + The Australian Democrats have criticised Federal Cabinet's silence on plans for a national radioactive waste dump in South Australia, as part of a cynical political bluff. ( [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200407/s1152912.htm] ) + The Federal Member for Solomon Dave Tollner says the Northern Territory should accept a nuclear waste dump if it was found to be the safest place for the facility. ( [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200407/s1152784.htm] ) [http://www.abc.net.au] © 2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ***************************************************************** 57 AU ABC: Differences emerge in Opp over nuclear waste dump Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online"> [http://www.abc.net.au/] Reporter: Nance Haxton MARK COLVIN: The first crack appears to have opened up in the Labor Party's united front against the national radioactive waste repository. Federal Cabinet discussed the issue yesterday, but ministers have not revealed what decision they made. State and Federal Labor have lobbied hard against establishing the nuclear waste dump in South Australia. But today, differences emerged between the Federal Opposition and the State Labor Government on the issue of the waste that's already being stored temporarily in South Australia, as Nance Haxton reports from Adelaide. NANCE HAXTON: Federal Government ministers are holding the line today, not revealing the nature of yesterday's Cabinet discussions on the future of the national radioactive waste repository. Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, denied that Cabinet was split on the issue, but refused to reveal whether Cabinet had made a decision or not. ALEXANDER DOWNER: The Government will make a decision and announce the decision at an appropriate time. REPORTER: What about your position? ALEXANDER DOWNER: Well I have my position, which I'm not articulating publicly, I articulate in the Cabinet, in consistent with the traditions of the Westminster system. NANCE HAXTON: Mr Downer's fellow-South Australian, the Defence Minister Robert Hill, also gave the strongest warning yet that if the States continue to agitate, then they can look after the waste themselves. ROBERT HILL: If each State Government refuses to cooperate, notwithstanding that they said they all supported a national, this was back in those days, a national repository and an objective method of determining where it should be located, but now, with their constitutional responsibilities for land management, if they all refuse to cooperate, it provides a great difficulty for the Commonwealth Government. NANCE HAXTON: The Cabinet's silence is not making it easier for Opposition politicians at State or Federal level. The Democrats' Environment Spokesman, Natasha Stott-Despoja, says the Federal Government is manipulating the issue by not making a definitive announcement. NATASHA STOTT-DESPOJA: Well it could mean indecision among the Liberal ranks, or it could be just a cynical pre-election ploy. That is, the Government doesn't want to make a decision because they don't want to risk upsetting their marginal electorates when the people of South Australia deserve some certainty on this issue, and of course the people of South Australia would prefer no national waste dump in our State. NANCE HAXTON: Meanwhile, Labor in Canberra didn't seem to have checked with Labor in Adelaide. The ALP's Federal Environment Spokesman, Kelvin Thomson, told ABC radio this morning that Labor would not site a national low-level radioactive waste dump in South Australia. KELVIN THOMSON: We're to look at alternative sources for radiopharmaceutical production, we're to look at the security issues relating to the reactor, the question of transport risks, all those sorts of things will be part of a proper inquiry. NANCE HAXTON: So far so good with his State colleagues, but then Mr Thomson said Labor would not move the 2,000 cubic metres of radioactive waste that's already temporarily stored at Woomera. KELVIN THOMSON: There's no proposal been put before me in that regard. As I say, I don't have a present intention regarding things that have already been done. NANCE HAXTON: South Australia's Premier, Mike Rann, does not approve. Mr Rann says the State Government's policy remains that each State should look after its own radioactive waste, and because the waste already at Woomera was not created by the South Australian Government, it should be taken back to where it came from. MIKE RANN: I want it out. It's as simple as that. I know that I'm acting in the State's interest in fighting a radioactive waste dump that no one here wants. We don't want Lucas Height's radioactive waste brought across our borders and dumped in South Australia. People from the food industry, the wine industry, from the tourist industry, told me they did not want us to have the tag – the nuclear waste dump State. And that's what we've been fighting. We've been backed by the Federal Court. We're prepared to continue the battle, whether it's politically or through the courts. I mean this is not a question of 'not in my backyard.' It's actually quite different. It's why is it always our backyard and no one else's? NANCE HAXTON: Since the waste was originally shipped from Sydney during the Keating years, that could also put Mr Rann on a collision course with his NSW colleague, Bob Carr. MARK COLVIN: Nance Haxton in Adelaide. [http://www.abc.net.au/privacy.htm] ***************************************************************** 58 DenverPost.com: Cotter should focus on own mess Article Published: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 editorial At first blush, you think it's a bad joke looking for a punchline. How would Colorado like to be the dumping ground for radioactive soil from New Jersey? State health officials acted prudently in rejecting just such a plan. Cotter Corp. wanted to import 470,000 tons of New Jersey soil tainted with the radioactive element thorium to its facility near Cañon City. But Cotter's plant has a troubled history, which did not inspire confidence that the company could take on the additional chore of caring for someone else's wastes. From 1958 to 1984, Cotter's plant processed uranium ore into yellowcake for nuclear reactor fuel, but by today's standards the wastes were poorly stored. Neighbors complained the facility hurt their property values. Of four lawsuits filed against it, Cotter lost three and settled the fourth. The facility was declared a Superfund site in 1984 but continued having cleanup problems. In 2002, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment cited the company 16 times for safety violations. It cited Cotter again in 2003. The company's cleanup plan involves building impoundments to hold the facility's tainted dirt and building rubble. But Cotter also wants to use the site to make money on out-of-state wastes. Cotter's uranium wastes and New Jersey's thorium-laced dirt are low-level radioactive materials to be sure, but long-term exposure can cause health problems. The most fundamental question facing state health officials was whether Cotter could safely store the thorium-tainted soil. Health officials concluded that there was no assurance that it could. Moreover, the health department worried that if Cotter took the New Jersey wastes, the company wouldn't have room to store the entire volume of soil and rubble from Cotter's own facilities. As has been typical of controversies involving Cotter, information given to the health department has changed over time. At one time, the company told the state it needed 500,000 cubic yards of storage capacity for its wastes, but more recent estimates approached 5 million cubic yards. If Cotter took the New Jersey soils, Colorado could have been left holding the proverbial bag - filled with radioactive wastes. Cotter contends the state had raised "bogus, red-herring reasons" for denying the needed permits. But the company misunderstood that its most fundamental burden is to take care of its own waste - and to do it exactly right. Editorials alone express The Denver Post's opinion. The members of The Post editorial board are William Dean Singleton, chairman and publisher; Jonathan Wolman, editorial page editor; Bob Ewegen, deputy editorial page editor; Todd Engdahl, assistant editorial page editor; Peter G. Chronis, Dan Haley, Julia Martinez and Penelope Purdy, editorial writers; Mike Keefe, cartoonist; Barbara Ellis, news editor; Cohen Peart, letters editor; Fred Brown and Barrie Hartman, associate members. All contents Copyright 2004 The Denver Post or other copyright ***************************************************************** 59 BBC: Nuclear rivals unveil peace map Last Updated: Tuesday, 13 July, 2004 [Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar (R) and Indian counterpart Shashank] The sides have held two rounds of talks India and Pakistan have announced a series of meetings ahead of landmark talks between their foreign ministers in late August. The two nuclear rivals will hold six rounds of talks in Delhi and Islamabad over the next six weeks. These will cover a range of issues, including the dispute over the Himalayan region of Kashmir. Peace talks between the two countries began earlier this year after months of hostilities. Border rows Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh will meet his Pakistani counterpart, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, in Islamabad on 25 August to "review overall progress" of the dialogue process, a statement released in Islamabad said. Ahead of that officials will hold several key meetings: + Islamabad 28-29 July - on the Wullur barrage row + Delhi 3-4 August - on "friendly exchanges" + Delhi 5-6 August - on the Siachen glacier + Delhi 6-7 August - on the Sir Creek dispute + Islamabad 10-11 August - on terrorism and drug trafficking + Islamabad 11-12 August - on economic co-operation The Wullur barrage relates to a project which India began on the Jhelum River in 1984 which Pakistan says violates an earlier treaty between the two countries. Both the Siachen and Sir Creek issues relate to border disputes - the former is a glacier high in the Himalayas, the latter a marshy area lying between India's Gujarat state and Sindh Province in Pakistan. Progress India and Pakistan have already held two round of talks during which they agreed to notify each other before testing missiles and to restore embassies to full strength. [Indian troops in Kashmir] The nations have fought two wars over Kashmir since 1947 They have also pledged to hold "sustained and serious" talks to resolve the dispute on Kashmir, over which they have fought two wars since independence in 1947. The territory, claimed by both sides, was the main focus of the talks. The discussions will take place amid a distinct improvement in relations between the two nations, which came close to conflict again two years ago. Much-hyped peace negotiations three years ago failed over the wording on how to proceed on Kashmir. Neither side has indicated if they plan to involve Kashmiri separatists opposed to Indian rule at any stage of the peace talks. ***************************************************************** 60 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Cost of Hanford waste plant could quadruple seattlepi.com Tuesday, July 13, 2004 GAO report critical of accelerated plans for the project By LISA STIFFLER SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER A $6 billion effort to build and operate a massive plant at Hanford is at risk of delays and cost overruns that could more than quadruple the project's price tag, according to federal investigators. U.S. Energy Department officials have accelerated the planning and preparations for a facility that will trap in glass a complex mixture of deadly waste stored in buried tanks. That's led to increased costs in the short term and possibly set the stage for more serious problems down the road, the investigators say in a report released last week by the General Accounting Office. The department "has adopted a high-risk strategy," the GAO report concludes. The Hanford Nuclear Reservation is the site of the nation's largest nuclear waste cleanup, and treating 53 million gallons of radioactive and dangerous tank waste is going to be tricky no matter how it's tackled, countered Jessie Roberson, the head of the Energy Department's cleanup program. "This is a huge construction project," she told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "It's not going to be risk-free under any profile." Roberson, who has resigned from her position, citing family reasons, will leave the department later this month. She said she is proud of the progress that has been made at Hanford and believes the project will be successful. The plant is 30 percent constructed. But construction is so out of sync with the planning process that workers ready to build interior walls for the plant are being given other projects to do while the planners catch up, the report found. And a plan initiated by Roberson almost three years ago that called for accelerated cleanup -- meaning more waste would be treated faster -- required significant alterations to plans for the plant. To stay on schedule for turning the waste into glass beginning in 2011, the Energy Department had to make cuts elsewhere. The accelerated cleanup is supposed to reduce the cost of treating the tank waste from $56 billion to $36 billion by getting the job done faster -- the project would be completed by 2028, a reduction of almost 20 years. The investigation, however, concluded that these savings were overestimated and amounted to around $12 billion. And by speeding up the project, the Energy Department hasn't fully investigated alternative approaches to separating the tank waste, a key step to the treatment process that precedes turning the waste to glass or "vitrifying" it. That omission could cost the project about $50 million annually and locks it into a sole provider of a product key to the process. A battle is still being waged in the federal courts to reclassify some portions of the tank waste so that it can be dealt with in ways less protective of the environment. The Energy Department tried earlier this year to get congress to change the definition but that effort has failed. However, the department is proceeding with plans that assume the waste will be reclassified. If this occurs, the Hanford site could see a $350 million savings, the investigators concluded. If reclassification doesn't happen, there could be $19 billion in extra costs, an estimate deemed low by both Roberson and the investigators. Roberson vowed the Energy Department is committed to turning 99 percent of the waste into glass -- whether in the plant that's being built or through a process under development called "bulk vitrification" where train-car sized containers of waste are turned to glass. The $2 billion-a-year cleanup of the Eastern Washington site is addressing waste generated during plutonium production for nuclear bombs. "Challenge and controversy are a natural part of this program," Roberson said. "This is a program that is designed to address problems. We're not in the business of growing daisies." P-I reporter Lisa Stiffler can be reached at 206-448-8042 or lisastiffler@seattlepi.com [Seattle Post-Intelligencer] 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA 98119 (206) 448-8000 Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com [newmedia@seattlepi.com] ©1996-2004 Seattle Post-Intelligencer Terms of Service/Privacy Policy ***************************************************************** 61 Hanford News: BNFL resumes work at Hanford [http://www.hanfordnews.com] This story was published Tuesday, July 13th, 2004 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer BNFL Inc. is once again working on Hanford's massive vitrification plant to turn waste from underground tanks into glass logs for permanent disposal. Bechtel National Inc., which is building the $5.7 billion waste treatment plant, has awarded a $12 million contract to BNFL to design and supply the plant's automated sampling system. BNFL Inc. is the Virginia-based American subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. of Great Britain. BNFL set up a Richland operation in the late 1990s as the original designer and manager of Hanford's massive radioactive tank waste glassification complex. The Department of Energy fired BNFL from that project in 2000 because its price tag grew too large. BNFL has since expanded its Richland office, turning it into a headquarters for much of its nationwide DOE operations. As a new subcontractor on the vitrification project, BNFL will provide all design and engineering work for the auto-sampling system. That includes procurement, fabrication and testing of equipment. It also will train operators, provide technical support during installation and lead testing and start-up of the automated sampling system. Samples of waste will be collected without manual intervention at various stages of processing from heavily shielded tanks of radioactive waste at the pretreatment building, the high-level waste treatment building and the low-activity waste treatment building. The samples will be sent by a pneumatic transport system to a centralized analytical laboratory at the vitrification plant complex. The samplers, which will be adjacent to shielded cells holding waste tanks, also will require shielding. The waste was produced at Hanford during production of plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program during World War II and the Cold War. It is now stored in underground tanks. The BNFL contract calls for design and manufacture of 10 automated sampling machines, three laboratory receipt stations, ancillary equipment to support the pneumatic transfer system and the design of that system. "Meeting Bechtel's aggressive schedule is a challenge, but one BNFL Inc. is determined, able and committed to achieving," said John Richardson, engineering manager. The equipment is to be delivered to the vitrification plant between July 2005 and January 2006. System testing and commissioning must be completed by February 2008. © 2004 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 62 U.S. Newswire: DOE Officials to Testify Before Congressional Committees [http://www.usnewswire.com/index.html] 7/12/2004 4:23:00 PM To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor Contact: Jeanne Lopatto, 202-586-4940; Tom Welch, 202-586-5806, both of the U.S. Department of Energy News Advisory: Officials from the Department of Energy are scheduled to testify before Congress this week as listed below: -- Tuesday, July 13, 2004 WHO: Deputy Secretary of Energy Kyle McSlarrow WHAT: Testimony on the role of nuclear power in the national energy policy, before the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee WHERE: Dirksen Senate Office Building (DSOB), Room 366 WHEN: Tuesday, July 13, 10 a.m. -- Tuesday, July 13, 2004 WHO: Director of Human Resources Management Claudia Cross WHAT: Testimony on the federal hiring process, before the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization WHERE: Rayburn House Office Building (RHOB), Room 2154 WHEN: Tuesday, July 13, 10 a.m. -- Thursday, July 15, 2004 WHO: Energy Information Administration Administrator Guy Caruso WHAT: Testimony on the status of the U.S. refining industry, before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality WHERE: Rayburn House Office Building (RHOB), Room 2322 WHEN: Thursday, July 15, 11 a.m. -- Thursday, July 15, 2004 WHO: National Nuclear Security Administrator Linton Brooks WHAT: Testimony on Secretary Abraham's legislative initiative on counterintelligence, before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality WHERE: Cannon House Office Building (CHOB), Room 311 WHEN: Thursday, July 15, 2 p.m. -- Thursday, July 15, 2004 WHO: Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Energy Policy John Brodman WHAT: Testimony on energy security in West Africa, before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Economic Policy, Export and Trade Promotion WHERE: Dirksen Senate Office Building (DSOB), Room 311 WHEN: Thursday, July 15, 2 p.m. [http://www.usnewswire.com/] /© 2004 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/ ***************************************************************** 63 Oak Ridger: Officials pleased with Bush's talk Story last updated at 12:08 p.m. on July 13, 2004 CONGRESSMAN WAMP: It was a 'very important speech at a very important time.' By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff [paul.parson@oakridger.com] Dennis Ruddy actually cut his vacation short so he could hear President Bush's talk when the nation's leader visited Oak Ridge on Monday. "It isn't often you get to say to your wife: 'You know honey, for anybody else but the president, I wouldn't leave,'" he joked before turning more serious. "It really is an honor and really is a privilege for us to be here to listen to his words and for him to pick this site to try to kind of connect the dots for people on the war on terrorism." Lynn Freeny/DOE President Bush talks with ORNL staff members during a visit Monday to the federal research facility. Bush's 30-minute speech focused heavily on the United States' war on terrorism - and the president defending his decision to invade Iraq. The president's talk also featured some nods to the role Oak Ridge has played in that effort. Ruddy, president and general manager of BWXT Y-12, and Jeff Wadsworth, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, both said it was great to get acknowledgment for the contributions their facilities make toward the security of the nation. BWXT Y-12 manages the Y-12 National Security Complex for the NNSA - the quasi-independent agency within the Department of Energy that oversees the nuclear weapons complex. Ruddy and Bill Brumley, the Oak Ridge chief of the National Nuclear Security Administration, were two of the local officials who greeted Bush before a brief tour where the president saw centrifuge components that were transported from Libya to Oak Ridge earlier this year for storage at Y-12. Like the president's speech, the tour also took place at ORNL because it was easier to handle security at the research facility rather than the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, officials said. "The material that was brought back from Libya is material that could be used to enrich uranium," Wadsworth explained. "If you can enrich uranium, you can make nuclear weapons. "If a country is developing that capability, you have the concern that the material they're making could be used in a nuclear device or it could be used in a dirty bomb." Oak Ridge Mayor David Bradshaw said it's important for people to see that the work done in Oak Ridge has international implications. State Rep. Jim Hackworth, D-Clinton, agreed. "He (the president) made it clear he intends to use the resources available to him," Hackworth said. "I look forward to any role that Oak Ridge may play in addition to what's already here and what's already being done. "The Oak Ridge area is contributing a great deal already toward the fight on terrorism and looking for ways to better defend and protect our nation." Gerald Boyd, manager of the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Operations office, said he was proud to have the president visit, adding that it said a lot about what's going on locally as far as nonproliferation efforts are concerned. "It sends a strong message," said Boyd, who was able to greet the president before his speech. "We have the capability, the trained personnel and the experience." ORNL's 273-seat Wigner Auditorium was packed Monday with lab staff members, political figures and local officials who were eager to hear what Bush had to say and many other people watched via a Web cast at the laboratory. Attending the president's talk were Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-4th District. "Please pass the word to your fellow employees Š the nation counts on your great expertise and your professionalism in producing, protecting, and maintaining material that is critical to our security," Bush told his audience. "America is safer because of your service at Oak Ridge. You need to know our nation is grateful for that service." The president said the materials being stored in Oak Ridge are "sobering evidence of a great danger. These materials, voluntarily turned over by the Libyan government, are also encouraging evidence that nations can abandon those ambitions and choose a better way." Standing in front of a large collage titled "Protecting America," the president also told his audience: "Although we have not found stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, we were right to go into Iraq." He said that effort removed a declared enemy of America, who had the capability of producing weapons of mass murder and could have passed that capability on to other terrorists. "The war on terror will not end in a draw, it will end in a victory. And, you and I will see that victory of human freedom," Bush said. After the event, Mike Hughes, president of Bechtel Jacobs Co., said he enjoyed the president's speech. The company serves as DOE's cleanup manager in Oak Ridge. "He recognized the important role that Oak Ridge plays Š as far as being able to take the materials that are a threat to the world and put them away and keep them in safe storage," Hughes said. "I thought that was pretty unique. He knows that's important. "And, it's also important that we have the capability of doing that." U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-3rd District, said Bush delivered a "very important speech at a very important time." He added the president's words were poignant, precise and direct. "We have to continue to state our case for what we are doing and what we have done in Iraq and the war on terror," the congressman said. In connection with Bush's visit, Bill Wilburn, a Y-12 spokesman, said there were a couple of protesters - probably no more than 18 - who were on the front lawn of the weapons plant off and on for about two hours Monday. ORNL officials were unaware of any protesters near their facility. ***************************************************************** 64 Oak Ridger: Bush meets, greets in OR Story last updated at 12:09 p.m. on July 13, 2004 MELISSA LAWSON: 'I can't imagine anybody else that I'd want to meet more than him.' By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff paul.parson@oakridger.com [paul.parson@oakridger.com] U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-3rd District, said it was "really cool" to watch President Bush take time to shake hands and meet some Oak Ridge National Laboratory staff members on Monday. Something even cooler, according to Brenda Hackworth, was she got the president's autograph on a picture of her and husband Jim's grandson - 18-month-old Riley. Marie Moffitt/Staff Brenda Hackworth had a picture of her grandson autographed by President Bush during his visit to Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Monday. "It was an accident," said Hackworth, the lab's manager of Community Outreach Programs. "It was not planned." Hackworth was actually showing the pictures to some coworkers when she heard someone say, "He's out back, he's out back," referring to Bush. She then headed outside of Building 4500 North, where the president was greeting some lab staff members. "I just went: 'Here, would you sign this,'" she said. "He had his Sharpie with him." Cindy Ross Lundy, who works in ORNL's Communications and Community Outreach Office, also got Bush's autograph on the back of a laminated, almost index card-size phone list. "I did stop long enough to go through the metal detector - a guy with a hand-held wand," Lundy said. "People were getting hugs galore (from the president). "We were just like kids," she continued. "He seemed to be enjoying himself, though." Marie Moffitt/Staff Melissa Lawson and Teresa Powers sit at a picnic table where a security guard approached them and asked if they wanted to meet President Bush, which they did. Melissa Lawson, a legal assistant, and Teresa Powers, who works in the lab's medical department, said they were having lunch at a picnic table outside Building 4500 North when a security guard asked them if they wanted to meet the president. "I can't imagine anybody else that I'd want to meet more than him," Lawson said. "I was honored." Lawson, who shook hands with the president, described him as being very personable. "He was the same kind of person I imagined he would be," she said. Powers also shook hands with Bush and told him: "God bless you." Powers also paged health division staff members so they could come meet the president because she said he seemed very interested in what they did there - probably because they were dressed in scrubs. ***************************************************************** 65 Oak Ridger: What President Bush had to say Story last updated at 11:52 a.m. on July 13, 2004 Here are some excerpts from the speech President Bush delivered Monday at Oak Ridge National Laboratory: * "I've just had a close look at some of the dangerous equipment secured in this place. Eight months ago, the centrifuge parts and processing equipment for uranium were 5,000 miles away in the nation of Libya. They were part of a secret nuclear weapons program. Today, Libya, America and the world are better off because these components are safely in your care." * "Every potential adversary now knows that terrorism and proliferation carry serious consequences, and that the wise course is to abandon those pursuits. By choosing that course, the Libyan government is serving the interests of its own people and adding to the security of all nations." * "America's determination to actively oppose the threats of our time was formed and fixed on Sept. 11, 2001. On that day we saw the cruelty of the terrorists, and we glimpsed the future they intend for us. They intend to strike the United States to the limits of their power. They seek weapons of mass destruction to kill Americans on an even greater scale. And this danger is increased when outlaw regimes build or acquire weapons of mass destruction and maintain ties to terrorist groups." * "To protect our people, we're staying on the offensive against threats within our own country. We are using the Patriot Act to track terrorist activity and to break up terror cells. Intelligence and law enforcement officials are sharing information as never before. We've transformed the mission of the FBI to focus on preventing terrorism." * "To overcome the dangers of our time, America is also taking a new approach in the world. We're determined to challenge new threats, not ignore them, or simply wait for future tragedy. We're helping to build a hopeful future in hopeless places, instead of allowing troubled regions to remain in despair and explode in violence. Our goal is a lasting, democratic peace, in which free nations are free from the threat of sudden terror." * "Today, Afghanistan is a world away from the nightmare of the Taliban. That country has a good and just president. Boys and girls are being educated. Many refugees have returned home to rebuild their country, and a presidential election is scheduled for this fall. The terror camps are closed and the Afghan government is helping us to hunt the Taliban and terrorists in remote regions. Today, because we acted to liberate Afghanistan, a threat has been removed, and the American people are safer." * "The world changed on September the 11th, and since that day, we have changed the world. We are leading a steady, confident, systematic campaign against the dangers of our time. There are still terrorists who plot against us, but the ranks of their leaders are thinning, and they know what fate awaits them." ***************************************************************** 66 Rocky Mountain News: Building at Flats will be destroyed By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News July 13, 2004 Rocky Flats plans to start chopping up its worst-contaminated building in December. It is the only building at the former atomic weapons factory so radioactive that every bit of it must be shipped to nuclear waste dumps. Building 776/777 was a major bomb-production building and the site of Rocky Flats' worst accident, a 1969 plutonium fire that nearly melted the roof. That could have sent plutonium ash all over Denver. Firefighters extinguished the fire but sent water and smoke into every corner and crack of the 500,000-square-foot building. Rocky Flats painted over the radioactive walls and floors, temporarily sealing in the contamination, so that bomb-building could resume. Now, with the entire complex due to be demolished by 2006, clean-up contractor Kaiser-Hill must tear down Building 776/777 without releasing that plutonium to the environment. Workers already have removed radioactive glove boxes, snaking pipes of toxic chemicals, contaminated vats and other industrial equipment. Now workers are cutting out the nooks and crannies where the worst contamination collected. Workers are shaving off as much as a half-inch of the concrete floor, which contains 95 percent of the building's radioactive contamination. But they are jack-hammering deeper - several inches - at expansion joints, where firefighting water seeped into cracks and sent the level of radioactivity soaring, project manager Victor Pizzuto told the Rocky Flats Coalition of Local Governments meeting on Monday. Because rising smoke carried contamination up, workers are removing the false ceiling, and upper sections of concrete walls, said Pizzuto, who is overseeing demolition of the building for clean-up contractor Kaiser-Hill. The north wall of the building is the most contaminated section that cannot be removed in advance, because it is part of the structure holding up the building, Kury said. It will be marked with orange paint. Workers will soak it with water before demolishing that section, he said. When the worst of the contamination has been removed, or at least as much as clean-up officials can manage, they will use huge earth-moving equipment to chomp the building into pieces while spraying it with millions of gallons of fog. The mist works to grab any airborne dust and pull it down to the ground. There, the water will be collected and treated for contamination before being released. Demolition of this one building is estimated to cost taxpayers $250 million, Pizzuto said. Much of the money has been spent on removing equipment and shipping it to nuclear waste sites. Officials hope to finish next March. imsea@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5438 ***************************************************************** 67 Oak Ridger: Our View: Oak Ridge speech significant one for Bush Story last updated at 11:48 a.m. on July 13, 2004 administration Though perhaps not his most momentous speech, President Bush's address in Oak Ridge Monday was nonetheless a headline-grabber. "Bush Forcefully Defends War, Citing Safety of U.S. and World," reads today's main headline of The New York Times. "'We Were Right to Go Into Iraq, Bush Says,'" states a Page 1 headline of today's Washington Post. "President defends Iraq war rationale," notes today's leading story in The Boston Globe. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory, located near the Y-12 National Security Complex, provided a perfect backdrop for the president to defend the war in Iraq. As pointed out in yesterday's second edition of The Oak Ridger, Bush stated: "I had a choice to make - either take the word of a madman or defend America. Given that choice, I will defend America." The Associated Press reported that President Bush's Oak Ridge speech "offered a broad defense of the March 2003 invasion of Iraq three days after the release of a Senate report that harshly criticized unsubstantiated intelligence cited in the run-up to the war in Iraq - a crucial battle in the war on terrorism." Perhaps, the president's most powerful remarks, from an international standpoint were: "Although we have not found stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, we were right to go into Iraq." And, he also stated, "The world changed on Sept. 11. And, since that day, we have changed the world." The Oak Ridge speech was still getting airplay on major broadcasts 24 hours after it was given. Whether you agree with the context or not, it is a powerful speech, presented at an important time for the Bush administration, and Oak Ridge's operations provided a tremendous backdrop for such a significant message. We appreciate the president's visit, just as we hope to receive a visit to Oak Ridge from Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry in the near future. Locally, however, perhaps the most important remarks made by the president were in relation to his acknowledgment of the fine job performed by the thousands of workers at the national lab and Y-12. "The nation counts on your great expertise and your professionalism in producing, protecting and maintaining material that is critical to our security," President Bush remarked. We couldn't have said it better ourselves. ***************************************************************** 68 Oak Ridger: Katydids 2004, the Albuquerque Isotopes and more Story last updated at 11:48 a.m. on July 13, 2004 By: Dick Smyser | Editor's License In brief as the katydid chorus - undiminished, apparently, by recent heavy rains - swells: Speaking of which, katydids, Dave Reichle, relatively recently retired from Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Life Sciences Division, and a fellow katydid listener, reports hearing his first for 2004 on leaving the DoubleTree Hotel on Saturday night July 3. Dave is a resident of Kingston and usually his first "katydid, katydidn't" calls are heard at his home near Watts Bar Lake there. Dave writes: "You may remember my old prediction to Dub Shults (fellow ORNL retiree) when debating the quantitativeness of ecology (actually the science of phenology) that katydids sign on July 4 plus or minus days (plus or minus being one standard deviation, or 66 percent of the occurrences"). *** In a June 22 column here on the death of former President Ronald Reagan, I neglected to mention two important Oak Ridge gains during his eight-year administration. Both patent and consulting policies affecting local scientists and engineers were relaxed - liberalized. In previous years many opportunities for consulting by local personnel were deemed legally conflicts of interest. To patent some important innovation at local facilities was also extremely difficult. Both of these restrictive policies seriously inhibited opportunities for local industrial development that would assist the city in developing private sources of jobs and local tax income. During the Reagan years, the Department of Energy, at the urging of local U.S. Rep. Marilyn Lloyd especially, enacted patent and consulting reforms that made local industrial promoters in particular happy. *** In reaction to recent discussion here about whether Washington Butler Jr. is the last surviving member of Oak Ridge's first official City Council (elected in June 1959 after incorporation in May of that year), John Clark suggests that he may be the last surviving member of the Advisory (unofficial) Town Council that Oak Ridge's early residents elected most every two years from 1943 through early 1959. Clark, who has run unsuccessfully for the official council as recently as last year, was elected from the Linden district to two terms on the Advisory Council - in 1945 and 1947. To my knowledge there are only unofficial records of the members of that unofficial council on which members often served for only brief periods and, in many cases, left town soon after election, the city's population then much more transient than now. Offhand, I can't think of any Advisory Council member other than Clark still alive. Members of that beginning effort at self-government are difficult to track. Top U.S. Atomic Energy Commission officials listened but were under no official obligation or direct political pressure to respond to that council's actions requests, like no rent increases for homes or dormitory rooms. Does anyone want to contest Clark's claim? *** Corrections: The first location of Tennelec (see this column for July 6) was in the basement of Ed Fairstein and his former wife, Helen Jernigan, at 100 Ontario Lane. As this pioneer local "spinoff" private industry became better established, it moved to 140 East Division Road and then to 601 Oak Ridge Turnpike, corner of what is now Fairbanks, where briefly the sheet metal and mechanical assembly operations occupied the former Jaycee clubhouse until construction of Tennelec's own building there. Also, the nomination that Ed Fairstein made of Peter Pflasterer, young early employee of Tennelec, was as a Raytheon Fellow, not a fellow of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers. *** Still more to make amends: Also in this column of June 22 listing guests at a Reagan White House state dinner, Joe Namath was a star quarterback for the New York Jets, not the New York Giants. *** Who's afraid of the big bad nukes? Not the Triple A Pacific Coast League baseball Albuquerque Isotopes. Only on reading last week of an impressive rehabilitation performance for the Iowa Cubs by Chicago Cubs' pitching ace Kerry Wood, was I aware that this New Mexico franchise has adopted this very much nuclear-related name, along with a team logo featuring the whirling orbits of the long recognizable nuclear symbol. Albuquerque is obviously proud of the location of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory close by and has named its baseball club in recognition. Wood pitched for the Iowa farm team against the Isotopes (a Florida Marlins farm club) in preparation for his winning return to the major league Cubs for Sunday night's game against the St. Louis Cardinals, ending both the Cubs' losing and the Cardinals' winning streak. Isotopes as a name beats an early Oak Ridge baseball team named the Oak Ridge Bombers, although one wonders how many times, as Albuquerque plays Portland, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Oklahoma, Salt Lake City, Iowa and other Pacific Coast League teams, perplexed fans ask, "What's an Isotope?" - RDS ***************************************************************** 69 SVBI: Department of Energy Awards netForensics Enterprise-Wide Security Information Management Contract Silicon Valley Biz Ink: www.svbizink.com [http://www.prnewswire.com/] netForensics nFX Selected by the National Nuclear Security Administration Information Assurance Response Center Following Competitive Vendor Evaluation EDISON, N.J., July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- netForensics, Inc., the pioneer and recognized market leader in Security Information Management (SIM), today announced that the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Information Assurance Response Center (IARC) has selected netForensics nFX(TM). The netForensics solution will monitor approximately 400 security devices across the NNSA enterprise to provide cyber security and IT personnel with the information required to understand risks and make informed decisions. Following months of reviewing various SIM products, the NNSA IARC selected netForensics nFX based upon scalability, performance and stability. netForensics capabilities were evaluated and tested against other SIM vendors including ArcSight, GuardedNet and eSecurity. According to the IARC and based upon their required features and functions, netForensics best provides a true enterprise-class SIM solution. "We are looking forward to a long-term partnership with netForensics and expect great things will come from our work together to strengthen the computer security posture of the NNSA enterprise," said Michael Sanders of NCI Information Systems, contractor to the NNSA and IARC Center Director. "Managing the vast amounts of security data and being able to act upon it to make intelligent decisions is critical for us to ensure our assets are protected across the enterprise. netForensics SIM solution will empower us to manage our overall security environment while simultaneously protecting our organization against potential threats." netForensics nFX provides customers with support for a SANS-based, predefined, security process, ensuring that Security Information Management goes beyond gathering information to enable issue resolution. It enables customers to gather high volumes of security information and intelligently interpret the meaning and importance of the data in order to take action. Additionally, netForensics' unique methodology to perform security posture analysis enables security analysts to not only monitor and respond to their company's overall security threat score in real time but also, through multi- dimensional correlation of threats, vulnerabilities and predetermined asset values, to pinpoint immediately the target of the most serious attacks. netForensics real-time, intuitive platform makes threat easy to identify and supplies all the integrated tools needed to stop and prevent them. "This award follows on the heels of several other significant commercial and government wins as well as recent accolades that include being listed as a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant and a Red Herring Top 100 Private Company," said Bob Cariddi, vice president of worldwide sales. "At the end of the day, if organizations are willing to take the time to evaluate Security Information Management solutions side-by-side, like NNSA has done, we are able to demonstrate the depth and breadth our technology provides in a real-word enterprise environment. We offer an end-to-end solution that helps organizations prepare, identify and respond to threats. Bottom line -- netForensics delivers real value to the enterprise today." About the Department of Energy-National Nuclear Security Administration The National Nuclear Security Administration is a semi-autonomous agency of the Department of Energy. It enhances U.S. national security through the military application of nuclear energy, maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, promotes international nuclear nonproliferation and safety, reduces global danger from weapons of mass destruction, provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion, and oversees its national laboratories to maintain U.S. leadership in science and technology. About netForensics netForensics is the leading authority in Security Information Management having invented a family of enterprise-class solutions that deliver unsurpassed security information control with greatly accelerated time-to- value. With award-winning technology, netForensics nFX(TM) aggregates and correlates data from best-of-breed security products into a single data repository, pinpointing and flagging the most-critical 'real' issues and launching integrated incident resolution and reporting remediation processes. nFX integrates security operations with security policy, minimizing risks and creating a repeatable policy and compliance platform to create value for the enterprise. Headquartered in Edison, NJ, netForensics has the largest SIM install base in the world with 300+ clients including Global 1000 enterprises and government organizations operating some of the largest networks in the world. For more information, please call 732.393.6000 or visit http://www.netforensics.com [http://www.netforensics.com] . Media Contact: Evan Weisel of Welz & Weisel Communications, +1-703-323-6006, or evan@w2comm.com [ evan@w2comm.com] , for netForensics. © 2004 Silicon Valley Business Ink. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 70 Daily Camera: Flats buildings disappearing Mailing address: Broomfield Enterprise 1006 Depot Hill Road, Suite G Broomfield, CO 80020 Cleanup challenge of Building 776/777 looms larger By Todd Neff, Camera Staff Writer July 13, 2004 BROOMFIELD — The former "most dangerous building in America" will come down later this week, but the company cleaning up Rocky Flats finds itself with an even bigger cleanup challenge. For decades, building 771 was one of the main plutonium processing centers at Rocky Flats, which churned out 70,000 plutonium triggers for the U.S. nuclear arsenal between 1952 to its closure in 1989. Along the way, the building saw leaks, spills and a 1957 fire. In 1994, the U.S. Department of Energy called it the most contaminated building in the United States. Kaiser-Hill spokesman John Corsi said the demolition of building 771 is planned to start on Thursday or Friday, with a final decision to be made today. Yet from the perspective of a nuclear cleanup, Kaiser-Hill has faces an ever bigger challenge with the building just to the south. Building 776/777 — it is one structure, separated by a single wall — ranked second to neighboring 771 in the "most dangerous" survey a decade ago. But a 1989 fire made building 776/777 much more difficult to clean up, said Steven Gunderson, the Rocky Flats cleanup coordinator for the Colorado Department of Health and Environment. "It was the hardest building to handle because of the 1989 Mother's Day fire," said Gunderson, adding that the fire was the most expensive industrial fire in U.S. history. Smoke coated the 224,000-square-foot building's equipment, walls and pipe-snaked rafters in radioactivity; fire crews' water penetrated into the floor and its seams. The $250 million in cleanup effort should come to an end by early next year, said Victor Pizzuto, project manager for Kaiser-Hill's cleanup efforts in building 776/777. Pizzuto presented the building 776/777 cleanup status to the Rocky Flats Coalition of Local Governments on Monday to positive reviews. As with other contaminated buildings at the former nuclear weapons plant, the structure must be cleaned before it can be dismembered. The process began with the removal of 279 of contaminated glove boxes, 244 storage tanks, 57 miles of piping, nearly a mile of ductwork. More recent efforts, involving about 300 workers working day and night, have focused the stripped-down structure itself, Pizzuto said. Workers walk behind lawnmower-like machines that scrape the top one-eighth inch from the first floor's cement. They chisel out seams where radioactive water settled. They test cinder-block walls, where "hot" areas are removed and shipped out. And the rest gets a latex whitewashing, a sort of dress-up for demolition. Then it will all be gone, shipped to nuclear-waste sites in Utah, Nevada or New Mexico. "This whole building is going offsite," Pizzuto said. Contact Camera Staff Writer Todd Neff at (303) 473-1327 or nefft@dailycamera.com. [http://www.scripps.com] Copyright 2004, The Daily Camera ***************************************************************** 71 Google News Alert - nuclear Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 18:10:06 -0700 (PDT) PLAN for nuclear waste dump scrapped The Age - Melbourne,Victoria,Australia The federal government has dropped plans for a nuclear waste dump in South Australia and the backflip was today welcomed by SA Premier Mike Rann. ... See all stories on this topic: IRAN To Resume Nuclear Talks With European States Radio Free Europe - Prague,Czech Republic 13 July 2004 -- Iran has agreed to resume talks on its nuclear program with Britain, Germany, and France. Iran's Supreme National ... See all stories on this topic: NEVADA nuclear dump continues pending appeal of court rulings San Jose Mercury News (subscription) - San Jose,CA,USA ... order issued as Nevada officials celebrated a federal appeals court ruling on the Yucca Mountain project will let work continue on the nuclear waste repository ... See all stories on this topic: TENTATIVE labor pact reached at Pilgrim Nuclear Station MLive.com - MI,USA BOSTON (AP) -- A union representing nearly 300 workers at the Pilgrim Nuclear Station said Tuesday it had reached a tentative contract agreement with the plant ... See all stories on this topic: NUCLEAR Crisis Shows Signs of Easing Korea Times - Seoul,South Korea An air of expectation surrounds the Korean peninsula as the main actors in the North Korean nuclear standoff have put their best feet forward in recent weeks ... See all stories on this topic: DEFENSE News, "US Develops Missile Targeting NK's Nuclear ... Chosun Ilbo - South Korea The US army is reported to have developed a missile capable of destroying North Korea's suspected underground facilities of nuclear weapons. ... See all stories on this topic: WE don't want nuclear dump in Qld: Beattie ABC Regional Online - Australia The Queensland Government has rejected the Commonwealth's proposal for each state to handle its own nuclear waste. The Commonwealth ... NEVADA nuclear dump continues pending appeal of court rulings KESQ - Palm Desert,CA,USA Las Vegas-AP -- Last week's key court decision on the Yucca Mountain project hasn't stopped work on the national nuclear waste repository in the Nevada desert. ... NUCLEAR rivals unveil peace map BBC News - London,England,UK ... in late August. The two nuclear rivals will hold six rounds of talks in Delhi and Islamabad over the next six weeks. These will ... See all stories on this topic: IRAN'S need for nuclear engagement Asia Times Online - Hong Kong ... issues in their relations with Iran, both perceived by many to be inextricably linked, sound alarm bells in Europe and the United States: nuclear energy and ... 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: ***************************************************************** 72 [du-list] DU in the news - 14th July 04 Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 14:51:49 -0700 DOUG Grow: Vet believes in peace; how very threatening Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription) - Minneapolis,MN,USA ... There's no campaign discussion of depleted uranium, another big issue of Vets for Peace and other organizations. (Depleted uranium ... <http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4872822.html> BRITON to sue Honeywell Taipei Times - Taipei,Taiwan ... British defense worker has won legal aid to sue the giant US military corporation Honey-well over claims that he was poisoned by depleted uranium (DU) while ... <http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/07/13/2003178831> HASHI-YAN'S Last Dispatch from Iraq ZNet - Woods Hole,MA,USA ... The incendiary elements also produced much less smoke, but the hardened casings, including the depleted uranium, were frighteningly penetrating. ... <http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=5871> 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 5d23a.jpg 5d279.jpg ---------- Yahoo! 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