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NUCLEAR POLICY
1 [NYTr] David Kay Blames Congress for WMD Fiasco
2 BBC: Blair pressed over case for war
3 CNN.com: Study debunks Gulf War bacteria theory -
4 NEWS.com.au: Iraq did not pose threat - top official
5 LA Times: Bush, CIA at Odds on Iran
6 ITAR-TASS: Report calls for constructive dialogue between USA and Ir
7 Xinhuanet: Nuclear issue to top agenda of S.Korean-Japanese summit
8 US: [NukeNet] SIGN ON RE NUCLEAR WEAPONS DE-ALERTING,
9 US: Independent: Congressman calls $100 million for rez just first s
10 US: EnergyPulse: Business Electric: Those Fightin' Attorneys General
11 US: Reid: Calls for Resignation of Two Energy Regulators Recommended
12 High Court Decision Due July 26
13 Reuters: New Pakistan PM Says He's Committed to India Peace
NUCLEAR REACTORS
14 US: NRC: Sunshine Act Meeting
15 US: NRC: Electronic Submittals
16 US: Public Citizen: Government Judicial Body Affirms Role of
NUCLEAR SAFETY
17 [DU-WATCH] Fwd: Dimona waste spreading Palestinian cancer --
18 Independent: Nuke ammo transport worries county
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
19 US: Bradenton Herald: Silence dismays Tallevast residents
20 US: heraldtribune.com: Tallevast residents to get DEP test results
21 Columbus Dispatch Editorials: Nevada’s NIMBYism is progress for rest
22 US: KESQ: Environmental group plans lawsuit over nuclear site's clea
23 US: L.A. Daily News: Suit threatened over cleanup
24 US: APP.COM: No escaping it - plan is flawed
25 US: Boston.com: Superfund site cleanup inches toward first phase
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
26 Los Angeles Times: Groups Plan to Sue Agency Over Lab Cleanup
27 Seattle Times: Editorials: Hanford's tanks of trouble
28 Tri-City Herald: Energy NW needs to cut costs, panel says
29 Tri-City Herald: DOE to halt waste shipments
30 The State: Case made for SRS waste
31 Oak Ridger: DOE, Oliver Springs working together
32 L.A. Times: Lab's Disks Still Missing
33 Charleston.Net: Time running out at SRS
34 SF Chronicle: Los Alamos chief halts all work
OTHER NUCLEAR
35 Google News Alert - nuclear
36 APP.COM - VX plan: What nerve
37 Mail & Guardian: Nagasaki nuke pilot dies
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1 [NYTr] David Kay Blames Congress for WMD Fiasco
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 11:37:51 -0500 (CDT)
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
sent by Andy Pollack
Do They Think We're Idiots?
OK, I know the answer is yes. But this still really galls. David Kay --
you remember him? The CIA's man inside the UN weapons inspection team who
spent the whole prewar period mocking and ridiculing Hans Blix -- now
says Congress should have asked tougher questions about the faulty
intelligence!
Of course Congress is in the middle of denying responsibility. "We just
used the intelligence we were given."
Well, I send them all a big Cheney hug (that's Potomac-ese for go fuck
yourselves). During that entire period millions around the world had the
real intelligence -- that everyone in Washington and their backers in the
corporate suites were lying through their teeths about every
justification for their coming war. - Andy
New York Daily News - July 12, 2004
http://www.nydailynews.com/07-12-2004/news/wn_report/story/211288p-182014c.html
WMD hunter Kay faults Congress
By JAMES GORDON MEEK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON - Congress rolled over when it came to questioning prewar
intelligence reports about Saddam Hussein's alleged terror arsenal, a
former top weapons hunter said yesterday.
"Congressional oversight clearly failed," said David Kay, the ex-United
Nations chief weapons inspector who led 1,400 CIA officers in a fruitless
search for nuclear and biochemical weapons in Iraq last year.
"In their defense ... they've gotten comfortable with the CIA not telling
them too much," Kay told the Daily News. "They purposely didn't ask
questions ... and accepted the agency's explanations."
On Friday, a blistering report by the Senate Intelligence Committee, on
which vice presidential hopeful Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) sits,
concluded that spy agencies were wrong about Saddam's being more of a
doer than a dreamer when it came to attacking America.
Among the findings was that the U.S. relied on a discredited source
code-named "Curve Ball," who "provided 98% of the assessment as to
whether or not the Iraqis had a biological weapon," panel chairman Sen.
Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
But Roberts and other lawmakers refused to accept blame yesterday for a
lack of oversight that helped plunge America into the bleak Iraq war.
Instead, they passed the buck in talk-show appearances by saying their
war-lust was prompted by faceless intelligence analysts touting
convincing evidence that Iraq had stockpiled weapons of mass destruction.
"Our [pre-war] statements were wrong because the intelligence was wrong,"
said Roberts, who also was on Fox and CBS.
Republicans place the blame squarely on the CIA, while Democrats also
fault Bush administration hawks for hyping Saddam's prewar threat.
"What we did is authorize the President to use force," Sen. Dianne
Feinstein (D-Calif.) told CNN's "Late Edition." "The timing of that force
was his, not ours, and that's not to escape any responsibility."
Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), another Senate Intelligence Committee member,
admitted that Congress dropped the ball on oversight but also excused his
support for the invasion by saying he was misled.
"I had all those briefings ... by [ex-CIA Director] George Tenet, and
much of that information was misrepresented to me," he told ABC's "This
Week." "Now, is it my fault?"
Likewise, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he had "no regrets" about
voting for war in 2002 after he got CIA briefings.
But at least one key player thinks all the self-examining over Iraq is
unwarranted because a tyrant is in chains now.
"We don't need to rethink this," Vice President Cheney's wife, Lynne,
said on CNN.
Asked by "Late Edition's" Wolf Blitzer if she has any second thoughts
about going to war on faulty intelligence, Lynne Cheney replied: "None,
zero."
*
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2 BBC: Blair pressed over case for war
Last Updated: Tuesday, 20 July, 2004
[Tony Blair]
Blair said he accepts the report's findings
Tony Blair has rejected questions about his credibility as he
said errors in pre-war intelligence do not mean the Iraq conflict
was unjustified.
Opening a debate on the Butler report, Mr Blair told MPs it was
still clear Saddam Hussein had posed a threat.
Lord Butler said much of the pre-war intelligence on Iraq was
unreliable.
But Tory leader Michael Howard accused Mr Blair of failing to
explain why the intelligence had not backed up what the country
had been told it said.
Over-egged?
The five-hour debate, which began at 1430 BST, has also saw
Liberal Democrat Charles Kennedy tell Mr Blair should feel
ashamed about the war.
People
have now gone to t other extreme and said there was no threat
Tony Blair Debate at-a-glance
The debate follows Lord Butler's criticisms last week of the way
the intelligence was presented in the September 2002 government
dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
He said the dossier, and Mr Blair's statement to Parliament on
the day of publication, may have given the impression of the
intelligence being "firmer and fuller" than it was.
The report also revealed some intelligence on Iraq's weapons had
now been withdrawn because it was unreliable.
Mr Blair was questioned by Mr Howard about Downing Street's
assertion that he only discovered the intelligence had been
withdrawn as a result of the Butler inquiry.
[Michael
Howard ] Michael Howard accused
Blair of "serial ignorance"
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was told about the withdrawal last
September, minister Baroness Symons told peers on Tuesday.
In the Commons Mr Straw said the intelligence referred did not
refer to the controversial claim that Saddam could deploy WMD in
45 minutes.
He said it was information that "had not been directly included
in the dossier or the JIC assessment but which ... gave some
comfort and backing to the assessments which had been made".
"The Intelligence and Security Committee had themselves been told
orally by the head of the secret intelligence service in July
about the nature of that intelligence and the fact that it was
being withdrawn," he said.
No evidence of 'distortion'
The Butler inquiry found no evidence of "deliberate distortion or
culpable negligence" in the treatment of pre-war intelligence.
And Mr Blair insisted there was "no doubt" from the intelligence
assessments that Saddam had the intent, programmes and weapons of
mass destruction themselves.
The international community had backed that view in United
Nations resolution 1441.
Mr Blair said: "Whatever the situation with actual readily
deployable weapons, part of the problem with this is that people
have now gone to the other extreme and said there was no threat.
That was not the case."
In testy exchanges Mr Blair was challenged by Mr Howard over the
report that the intelligence had been branded "sporadic and
patchy" by the JIC.
JIC chairman
Mr Blair said he fully accepted there had been errors but the
decision to go to war had not been a mistake.
Caveats about intelligence would be included if such information
was ever published again, he said.
But the failure to include such warnings in the government's 2002
dossier on Iraq's illegal weapons did not mean ministers had
tried to deceive people.
[Former Ministry of Defence WMD intelligence analyst Dr Brian
Jones] Brian Jones said intelligence mistakes were "staggering"
Mr Blair said a senior MI6 officer was now examining how to
implement its recommendations.
In future, the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) assessments
would be published separately from the government's case, he
said.
He also announced that Foreign Office official William Ehrman
would be the interim new JIC chairman.
Mr Ehrman is currently deputy chairman and will replace John
Scarlett, who is becoming MI6 director - although ex-Conservative
leader William Hague and former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook both
said Mr Scarlett should not take up his new post.
Mr Blair also promised that meetings of ministers and officials
on foreign policy would be made more formal - another of Lord
Butler's concerns.
Apology demands
The Tory leader said he could not see how any MP, knowing as they
did now that weapons of mass destruction were not likely to be
found, could have backed the government war motion, which had
stressed that Iraq had such arms.
But that did not mean he thought the war was unjustified as Iraq
had repeatedly flouted United Nations resolutions.
Mr Howard accused the prime minister of "serial ignorance" about
vital issues.
He had not known "vital" details about the claim that Iraq could
use biological weapons within 45 minutes, intelligence reports
being withdrawn last year and claims of abuse by coalition
troops.
"The prime minister's credibility is at stake today," said Mr
Howard.
'Hard to say sorry?'
He said Mr Blair "hasn't been straight with the British people
today" and asked "why does sorry seem to be the hardest word?".
The Lib Dems opposed the war and Mr Kennedy said the government
would perhaps have found it "mission impossible" to win MPs
support if the background to the intelligence had been known at
the time.
The public wanted Mr Blair to show "genuine contrition", said Mr
Kennedy.
*****************************************************************
3 CNN.com: Study debunks Gulf War bacteria theory -
Jul 20, 2004
Antibiotic treatments did nothing, researchers say
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A year on powerful antibiotics
did nothing to relieve the chronic health problems reported by
Gulf War veterans, demolishing the theory that so-called Gulf War
syndrome is caused by a bacterial infection, researchers say.
The bacterial-infection theory "is off the table at this point,"
said Joseph F. Collins, a VA Maryland Healthcare System
researcher and one of the study's authors. "It's disappointing,
but the results are definitive: This is not the smoking gun."
The study was done by the Department of Veterans Affairs and was
published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
An associate professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University
Medical Center was the principal investigator at the Nashville
Veterans Hospital, which was among 20 such facilities around the
country participating in the study.
Researchers have found that veterans of the Persian Gulf war in
1990 and 1991 are more likely to suffer from a range of chronic
symptoms, including memory and thinking problems, debilitating
fatigue, severe muscle and joint pain, depression, anxiety,
insomnia, headaches and rashes. However, the cause has proved
elusive.
Theories include stress, bacterial infection, chemical or
biological weapons, pollutants from burning oil fields,
depleted-uranium munitions, and vaccinations for anthrax and
other potential biological weapons.
The VA researchers studied 491 Gulf War veterans who complained
of symptoms and who were found to have a bacterium called
Mycoplasma in their bloodstream that was suspected to be the
culprit. The veterans were randomly assigned to take either the
broad-spectrum antibiotic doxycycline or a placebo daily for a
year; neither the patients nor their doctors knew who was getting
what.
The antibiotics at best did nothing, and at worst may have caused
harm, the researchers concluded. The side effects included nausea
and sun sensitivity. Also, scientists have long warned that
indiscriminate use of antibiotics can promote the development of
drug-resistant strains of bacteria.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Simon Wessely of King's College
in London praised the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans
Affairs, which have spent more than $200 million on hundreds of
studies researching Gulf War illness, for refusing to accept the
continued and dangerous overprescription of antibiotics to tens
of thousands of Gulf War veterans.
The positive news is that the study narrows the search for the
culprit, said Stephen L. Robinson, executive director of the
National Gulf War Resource Center in Silver Spring, Maryland.
"This confirms information that has already been out there," he
said. "We know that we can stop looking at this and we can focus
research on other areas that might prove fruitful."
Collins said that it will be a long time, if ever, before the
cause of Gulf War illness is identified.
"It may be that there were multiple exposures at low doses to
multiple toxins that made people sick," Collins said. "And that's
a very difficult thing to tease out."
He added: "The veterans are frustrated and they want answers,
they want to know why they have this. But I'm not optimistic that
medical research will ever to be able to reach a point in
establishing a cause."
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This
*****************************************************************
4 NEWS.com.au: Iraq did not pose threat - top official
(July 20, 2004)
From correspondents in London
IRAQ did not present a serious threat, contrary to claims made by
Prime Minister Tony Blair on the eve of the war, a former British
intelligence official said today.
Brian Jones, who until last year was a top official at Britain's
Defence Intelligence Staff, disputed claims made by the
Government in a September 2002 dossier that the danger from Iraq
was current and serious.
The dossier presented Britain's case for war.
Mr Jones, the head of nuclear, biological and chemical
intelligence analysis, led a team assessing Iraq's capability
that provided information for the dossier. "From our normal
definition of a threat we used in the international community,
then we would not have described Iraq as a presenting a major
threat," Mr Jones told BBC radio.
"There were concerns that there were dangers, if you like,
especially in relation to our deployed forces, and we had been
dealing with those for many, many years," he said.
"It's difficult to see what the specific threat relating to Iraq
was at that time."
Mr Jones made similar points earlier this month on the BBC
television program Panorama, and during last year's Hutton
Inquiry, which focused on intelligence used by Mr Blair's
government before the war.
Mr Jones today said Mr Blair was right to consider the
longer-term threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, "but if
you talk about that and conflate that with Iraq, I think you are
creating a great deal of confusion".
Mr Jones said intelligence teams did not know whether Iraqi
leader Saddam Hussein had produced any new chemical or biological
weapons since the first Gulf War.
He said he was surprised when a new secret piece of evidence was
put forward by the Joint Intelligence Committee shortly before
the conflict, which the Government believed made the case.
"I doubted at the time that there could be a single new piece of
evidence that could have shifted the picture in the way that was
being suggested," he said.
"We were told at the time that it did clinch it and we should
bury our concerns, if you like."
The information was later quietly withdrawn – without the
knowledge of many intelligence agents, including Mr Jones –
because it was provided by an unreliable source.
The Associated Press
Copyright 2004 News Limited. All times AEST (GMT+10).
*****************************************************************
5 LA Times: Bush, CIA at Odds on Iran
[Los Angeles Times - latimes.com]
July 20, 2004
[*] The president's interest in a possible 9/11 link goes
against the agency leader's assessment. They also disagree over
intelligence reforms.
By Edwin Chen and Greg Miller, Times Staff Writers
WASHINGTON President Bush said Monday that his administration
was investigating possible links between Iran and the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks, a statement that distanced the president from
acting CIA Director John McLaughlin, who had downplayed a
possible connection a day earlier.
"As to direct connections with Sept. 11, we're digging into the
facts to determine if there was one," Bush said of Iran.
In a second sign of a potential rift between the White House and
the intelligence agency, White House Press Secretary Scott
McClellan told reporters that McLaughlin was not speaking for the
president when he said it was unnecessary to create a new, more
powerful intelligence czar, despite faulty information before the
Iraq war.
"The president is very much open to ideas that build upon the
reforms that we're already implementing," McClellan said. "I
think [McLaughlin] was expressing his view."
McClellan's comments indicated that the White House was
receptive to the idea of fundamental reform in the intelligence
community, rather than the "modest changes" McLaughlin had
endorsed in an appearance on a Sunday talk show.
The White House-CIA differences emerged as the independent Sept.
11 commission prepared to release its final report Thursday on
the 2001 terrorist attacks. The report is expected to contain
recommendations that could touch off a contentious drive toward
reforming the nation's intelligence-gathering bureaucracy.
The independent commission is widely expected to report that
some of the Sept. 11 hijackers had traveled freely between Iran
and Afghanistan during 2000 and 2001. Last month, the panel's
chairman, former New Jersey Gov. Thomas H. Kean, said in a
television interview that Al Qaeda had "a lot more active
contacts, frankly, with Iran and with Pakistan than there were
with Iraq."
Iran's emerging prominence in the Sept. 11 investigations looms
as a potentially difficult issue for the White House, because it
could raise new questions about why Bush led a war against Iraq
but so far has taken a distinctly less bellicose stance toward
Iran.
McClellan argued that the United States indeed had been
"confronting" the threat from Iran, which Bush in 2002 listed,
along with Iraq and North Korea, as part of an "axis of evil." He
added, however, that Iraq was "a unique situation" because it had
invaded its neighbors and had possessed and used weapons of mass
destruction.
McClellan also said the White House was eager to learn what the
Sept. 11 commission knew about any connections between the
hijackers and Iran. "Apparently it's something that's evolved
over time," he said.
The Iranian government has denied knowledge or involvement in
the Sept. 11 plot.
McLaughlin had said Sunday that although "about eight" of the
Sept. 11 hijackers may have passed through Iran before their
mission, the CIA had "no evidence that there is some sort of
official connection between Iran and 9/11."
Bush on Monday noted McLaughlin's comments, but said: "We will
continue to look and see if the Iranians were involved."
The president also renewed his accusation that Iran's rulers
were "harboring Al Qaeda leadership," and urged Tehran anew to
dismantle its nuclear weapons program. The United States has
asked Iran to turn over Al Qaeda members to their respective
countries.
The president's spokesman dismissed weekend media reports that
Bush may delay naming a new CIA director until after the Nov. 2
election as having "no basis in fact."
In brief remarks to reporters after meeting with Chilean
President Ricardo Lagos, Bush said that he was "still taking a
good, hard look" at potential successors to George J. Tenet as
CIA director. Tenet left the agency July 11.
As for the reforming the intelligence-gathering apparatus, the
president said he was looking forward to seeing the Sept. 11
commission's recommendations.
"They share the same desires I share, which is to make sure that
the president and the Congress get the best possible
intelligence," Bush said.
"Some of the reforms, I think, are necessary: more human
intelligence, better ability to listen or to see things, and
better coordination amongst the variety of intelligence-gathering
services," he said. "And so we'll look at all their
recommendations, and I will comment upon that, having studied
what they say."
The commission is expected to recommend the creation of a single
Cabinet-level position overseeing the 15 agencies that make up
the nation's intelligence-gathering community.
McLaughlin acknowledged on "Fox News Sunday" that "a good
argument" could be made for such consolidation, but added that it
was unnecessary because the CIA already had taken steps toward
reform since Sept. 11 and because a restructuring would impose
additional bureaucracy on the system.
White House officials have described McLaughlin as a capable
leader, but have also indicated that they do not see him as a
permanent replacement.
That may be in part because McLaughlin was in a senior position
at the agency during a stretch that included the failure to
prevent the Sept. 11 attacks and the erroneous assessments that
Iraq had stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons and had
restarted its nuclear weapons program.
But it also appears that the professorial McLaughlin, who came
up through the analytical side of the CIA, doesn't have the sort
of rapport with Bush that the backslapping, gregarious Tenet did.
An anecdote in a recent book by Washington Post reporter Bob
Woodward describes McLaughlin giving a key briefing to Bush and
other senior White House officials on the evidence against Iraq
before the war. Bush was unimpressed by the presentation and
complained that the evidence was weak, prompting Tenet to call
the case against Iraq a "slam dunk."
McClellan said Monday that McLaughlin was "someone who is very
capable and is doing a good job at the CIA."
Times staff writer Ronald Brownstein contributed to this report.
Copyright 2004 Los Angeles Times
*****************************************************************
6 ITAR-TASS: Report calls for constructive dialogue between USA and Iran
[ITAR-TASS News Agency of Russia]
20.07.2004, 04.34
WASHINGTON, July 20 (Itar-Tass) – The United States should
embark upon a strategy of sustained engagement and direct
dialogue with Iran on issues of mutual concern. Such is the
conclusion of the report written by a task force sponsored by
the Council on Foreign Relations and released on Monday.
Co-chaired by former National Security Advisor Zbigniew
Brzezinski and former CIA Director Robert Gates, the task force
acknowledged that in the past similar efforts to engage Iran
failed. However, the current American military presence in Iraq
and Afghanistan, both of which border Iran, coupled with the
advanced stage of Iran's nuclear program, necessitates taking
steps to break the ongoing estrangement between Washington and
Tehran. Long-term U.S. interests include promoting democracy and
prosperity in the Middle East and ensuring a stable flow of oil
from the Persian Gulf.
By virtue of its population of nearly seventy million and its
location in the middle of the vast and volatile Eurasian region
that borders global powers such as China and Russia, Iran is
vitally important to a number of U.S. geopolitical interests.
Moreover, it's the largest Shiite state and has approximately
11% of the world's oil reserves and the second largest deposits
of natural gas.
The report excluded the possibility of regime change through
military confrontation and expressed skepticism at the
possibility of a "grand bargain" that can quickly solve the
problems that have plagued the relations between the U.S. and
Iran ever since the 1979 revolution that brought to power the
Islamic regime.
Instead, Brzezinski spoke in favor of a "cautious,
selective…national-interest oriented engagement," with Iran that
will allow for incremental improvement of bilateral relations.
He pointed to the initially cautious and slow nature of
relations between the U.S. and China as an example.
In summarizing the ideas presented in the report, Brzezinski and
Gates agreed that only a policy of engagement could bring more
democracy and respect for human rights in Iran. The country's
civil society, the most robust in the region, and its literate
and well educated youth could potentially serve as the domestic
source of change.
The report also argued that the Islamic republic is "solidly
entrenched" and that Iran is not likely to witness revolutionary
change anytime soon.
After the conclusion of the press conference a group of about 15
Iranians organized a protest in front of the building where the
report was presented. One participant told Tass the protesters
believe that "there should be no negotiations" between the U.S.
and the government of Iran.
© ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy,
*****************************************************************
7 Xinhuanet: Nuclear issue to top agenda of S.Korean-Japanese summit
www.xinhuanet.com
www.chinaview.cn 2004-07-20 17:26:41
SEOUL, July 20 (Xinhuanet) -- The nuclear issue will top the
agenda at the summit meeting between South Korean President Roh
Moo-hyun and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi scheduled
to be held on the southern resort island of Jeju of South Korea
on Wednesday, according to South Korean top diplomat on Tuesday.
"We basically have some strategic goals, and the first one is
enhancing bilateral cooperation to further develop the situation
at a time when we see a growing momentum on the nuclear issue,"
Ban told reporters.
"The two leaders will exchange opinions for strategic
cooperation," he added.
Koizumi will fly to Jeju Island Wednesday afternoon for the
summit meeting in the evening. The two heads of state are
scheduled to give a joint news conference at around 7:00 p.m.
(1000 GMT), said Yonhap.
Roh-Koizumi's meeting will come about one month after the
thirdround of six-nation meetings held in late June on the
nuclear issue.
Ban said Roh and Koizumi will also discuss ways to expedite
the ongoing negotiations for the signing of a Free Trade
Agreement that the leaders agreed on during their last summit in
Bangkok in October last year.
Among other topics are a future-oriented bilateral
relationship,strategic cooperation to achieve the era of
Northeast Asia, the spreading of the so-called "Korean wave" in
Japan and other cultural exchanges, and ways to help the Iraqi
interim government settle in smoothly.
"It will be a very informal summit meeting. We aim to have
dialogue without being attached to protocol and, therefore, there
will be no joint statement but a news conference at the end of
thesummit," Ban said. Enditem
Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
8 [NukeNet] SIGN ON RE NUCLEAR WEAPONS DE-ALERTING,
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 15:17:50 -0700
PLEASE SEND TO: John Hallam
Nuclear Weapons Campaigner Friends of the Earth
Australia,
nonukes@foesyd.org.au
PLEASE DO NOT SEND THIS BACK TO ME [
smirnowb@ix.netcom.com ] as it will be wasted.
Please dissemenate this e-mail to other lists,
NGOs and interested parties and ask them to pass
this along, too.
----- Original Message -----
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign
To: Recipient List Suppressed:
Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2004 1:49 AM
Subject: Please Sign Appeal to Take Nuke Weapons
Off Alert
You are invited to endorse the statement below
calling for the
lowering of the operational status of nuclear
weapons systems, and for
the adoption of resolutions on this issue in
parliaments and
international forums.
Attached is an example of a parliamentary
resolution adopted by the
Australian Senate and a model resolution for the
UN General Assembly.
(This text is being sponsored by the Association
of World Citizens and
Friends of the Earth)
When signing please include your title, name of
organisation, and location.
STATEMENT OF ENDORSEMENT
The Distinguished individuals and organisations
below, make the following appeal concerning
nuclear weapons, and the danger posed by the
maintainance of thousands of nuclear warheads and
delivery systems on launch-on-warning status.
We call on the governments of the United States,
Russia, China, France, and the UK, India,
Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea, to support and
implement steps to lower the operational status of
nuclear weapon systems in order to reduce the
risk of nuclear catastrophe and as part of thier
obligations, affirmed by the International Court
of Justice, to achieve the elimination of nuclear
weapons under strict and effective international
control.
We note that:
1)To this day, thousands of nuclear weapons in the
US and Russia are on Launch-on-warning status, and
that the megattonage involved remains more than
enough to destroy civilisation and perhaps the
human race.
2)That the Indian subcontinent is increasingly on
a 'hairtrigger' status.
3)That there have been numerous incidents in which
a nuclear exchange involving thousands of warheads
could have taken place, and in which the fate of
the earth has depended on the correct judgement of
a single individual.
4)That the US, Russia, China, France, and the UK
have failed so far to make further progress to
achieve the total and unequivocal elimination of
their nuclear arsenals, as called for under
international law.
5) That, in addition to the failure of the
'officlal' nuclear weapons powers to fulfil their
treaty obligations, India, Pakistan, Israel, and
North Korea also posess nuclear weapons, and that
the risk of their use is very real.
6)That a number of calls have been made by the UN
General Assembly and by the European Parliament to
lower the operational status of nuclear weapons.
Accordingly we call on the governments of the
United States, Russia,
China, France and the UK, India, Pakistan, Israel,
and North Korea, to:
a)Take immediate steps to lower the operational
status of nuclear weapons, and to revise nuclear
doctrines, policies and postures to reflect such
lowered operational status.
b)To implement in good faith their obligations
under international law , to accomplish the total
and unequivocal elimination of their nuclear
arsenals.
c)To implement the steps toward nuclear
disarmament outlined in the '13 steps' of the
final declaration of the Year 2000 NPT Review
Conference.
d) We call on non- nuclear nations to press for
nuclear disarmament in every available
international forum especially including the
United Nations General Assembly First Committee
and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
e)We call on legislators worldwide to pass
resolutions in national and other parliaments
pressing for the lowering of the operational
status of nuclear weapons and for nuclear
disarmament as mandated by international law.
We draw the attention of legislators and diplomats
to the two texts below:
i) A model for a resolution in the UN General
Assembly calling for the lowering of the
operational status of nuclear weapons (Note that
in the process of getting it through the GA First
Committee it may experience some alterations in
text)
ii) Motion passed by the Australian Senate
congratulating Colonel
Stanislav Petrov on preventing nuclear war during
the Serpukhov 15
incident of Sept 26 1983, and calling for the
lowering of the
operational status of nuclear weapons.
You are invited to endorse the statement above
calling for the lowering of the operational status
of nuclear weapons systems, and to give your
support to measures such as the texts below.
i) Model for a resolution in the UN General
Assembly Calling for the lowering of the
operational status of nuclear weapons
Operational status of nuclear weapons
The General Assembly
Convinced that the possible use of nuclear weapons
poses the most serious threat to humanity and to
the survival of civilization,
Convinced also that the maintenance of nuclear
weapons systems at a high level of
readiness-to-use increases the risks of
unintentional or accidental use of such weapons
which would have catastrophic consequences,
Noting that a high level of nuclear weapons
readiness-to-use has contributed to a number of
circumstances when nuclear weapons have become
very close to being used,
Welcoming steps taken by States possessing nuclear
weapons to reduce nuclear risks and prevent
nuclear war,
Welcoming particularly the agreement by Russia and
the United States of America on the Establishment
of the Joint Center for the Exchange of Data from
Early Warning Systems and Notification of Missile
Launches, but noting that the agreement has not
yet been implemented,
Considering that, until nuclear weapons are
eliminated, it is imperative that further steps be
taken to prevent the accidental, unauthorized or
unintentional use of nuclear weapons,
Expressing its deep concern that thousands of
strategic warheads remain on Launch-On-Warning
status,
Expressing its concern also about emerging
approaches to the broader role of nuclear weapons
as part of security strategies, including
rationalizations for the use, and the possible
development, of new types of nuclear weapons,
Recalling the program of action agreed at the 2000
Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference which
called for concrete agreed measures to further
reduce the operational status of nuclear weapons
systems
Recalling resolutions [specify resolution numbers]
on the floor of this assembly have called for
reductions in the operational status of nuclear
weapons,
Mindful that concrete steps to reduce the
operational status of nuclear weapons systems will
help reduce tensions, build confidence and support
negotiations leading to the elimination of nuclear
weapons,
1. Calls for a review of nuclear doctrines
emphasizing concrete steps to reduce the
operational status of nuclear weapons,
2. Encourages States to immediately implement
unilateral steps including, inter alia, the
rescinding of launch-on-warning policies, and to
urgently conclude negotiated steps, pending
agreements for the complete elimination of nuclear
weapons,
3. Calls on all States possessing nuclear weapons
to undertake not to increase the number or types
of weapons deployed and not to develop new types
of weapons or rationalizations for their use,
4. Calls for further confidence-building and
transparency measures to reduce the threats posed
by nuclear weapons,
5. Requests States possessing nuclear weapons to
report to the 60th session on steps they have
taken to implement this resolution
6. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of
its 60th session the item entitled "Operational
status of nuclear weapons."
ii)Motion passed by Australian Senate 23 June 2004
congratulating Colonel Stanislav Petrov
21
FOREIGN AFFAIRS-NUCLEAR WEAPON SYSTEMS-COLONEL
STANISLAV PETROV
Senator Allison amended general business notice of
motion no. 895 by leave and, pursuant to notice of
motion not objected to as a formal motion,
moved-That the Senate-
(a) recalls the incident that took place in the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) at
Serpukhov-15 on 26 September 1983 at 12.30 pm
Moscow time, and the role of Colonel Stanislav
Petrov in this incident;
(b) notes:
(i) that the Serpukhov-15 incident, in which
a newly installed Soviet surveillance system
reported that the United States of America (US)
had launched nuclear missiles at the USSR, is
considered by many analysts to have been the
closest the world has ever come to nuclear war,
(ii) that the megatonnage that was likely to
have been used at that time was between 30 and 60
times the amount required to produce a nuclear
winter, and that the number of nuclear weapons
that would have been launched would have been
enough to end civilisation and kill most living
things,
(iii) the role played by Colonel Petrov in
refraining from launching a number of thousands of
warheads at the US in retaliation and in pressing
his superiors to consider the report a false
alarm,
(iv) that the Canberra Commission of 1996
recommended that strategic nuclear weapons be
taken off `Launch on Warning' status, and
(v) the resolution of the European Parliament
of 11 November 1999, and the Senate's own
resolutions as well as repeated calls to lower the
alert status of strategic nuclear weapons made by
the Non-Aligned Movement and the New Agenda
Coalition that have been passed year after year by
the United Nations (UN) General Assembly;
(b) offers its congratulations to Colonel
Petrov for being presented with the World Citizen
Award on Friday, 21 May 2004, in recognition of
his actions; and
(c) urges the Government to give support to
measures aimed at lowering the readiness to launch
nuclear weapon systems and to support such
measures on the floor of the UN General Assembly.
Question put and passed.
url for this motion:
(Sometimes gives a 'runtime error')
http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?id=95635&table=journals
From:
John Hallam
Nuclear Weapons Campaigner Friends of the Earth
Australia,
nonukes@foesyd.org.au
61-2-9567-7533, fax 61-2-9567-7166
1 Henry Street Turella NSW Aust 2205
-------------------------------------------
Doug Mattern,
Association of World Citizens,
55 New Montgomery Street, Suite 224,
San Francisco, CA 94105.
1- 415 541 9610.
_______________________________________________________________________
Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/
Change your settings at:
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9 Independent: Congressman calls $100 million for rez just first step
July 19, 2004:
By Jim Maniaci Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK First District Congressman Rick Renzi said Sunday
the $100 million extra he has obtained for the reservation so far
is a foundation and just the first step to meet many more needs.
"We need more time to complete the work ahead of us," the
first-term Republican incumbent said in an interview. He is
scheduled to address the Navajo Nation Council this morning.
Renzi called the additional funds a "reinvestment to the Navajo
people."
A result of the recent Congressional sub-committee hearings on
housing at Tuba City will be a bill he plans to introduce to
privatize the Bureau of Indian Affairs' escrow operation if the
BIA cannot catch up on its 115 man-year backlog of escrow
settlements. Renzi said the BIA has assured him its new computer
system will do the job. The Congressman said it now takes 2-3
years to clear escrow on a reservation home.
"This will allow the Navajo Nation to take over the operation,
close, do its own title searches," he explained.
On getting the Transportation Equity Act renewed for a third
round of six years of popular federal funding, he predicted it
won't happen until after the election since it has become a
political football.
"But we've got to get it out. I have $46 million in it," he said,
adding about one-fourth of that will be for Navajo roads.
Against in situ
House Resolution 6 promoted by a 247-175 vote President George W.
Bush's energy policy. Renzi voted for an amendment, which failed,
to strip out a few million dollars for the uranium industry to
drill and operate uranium wells using an underground (in place,
or "in situ") leaching method which brings the deadly ore to the
surface in a water solution.
"The amendment I voted for would have gutted the in situ
program," he said.
Renzi defended the overall policy as having many good points,
such as promoting alternative methods of generating electricity,
adding "We've got to get it out."
As a husband who has been married only once, Renzi believes
marriage legally should be between a man and a woman, not two
members of the same gender.
Formal homosexual marriages he called "an erosion of the moral
traditions of American and certainly the spiritual teachings of
the Navajo people."
Renzi added a bill will be introduced in the House of
Representatives to provide that states do not have to recognize
such unions from other states. He admitted such a law would be
overturned on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and thus, "We'll
be forced to the amend the Constitution."
The freshman Congressman said he voted against this year's
automatic pay raise for representatives and senators and favors
returning to the previous public method of full committee
hearings, committee mark-ups (editing) of the line item in the
bill and full floor debate. This fiscal year each of the 435
Congressmen receives $165,000 in salary, he said and it will go
up to almost $170,000 come Oct. 1.
Peyote up to tribes
On the use of peyote in First American religious ceremonies, the
Congressman said "I cede peyote to the sovereign nation, but I
don't think peyote is good for you," because it is a
(hallucinogenic) drug. In a related matter, he explained that the
vote in the House on a federal override of states which have
approved marijuana for use in certain medical conditions was a
vote to take away federal money for the support of the programs.
Therefore, he said, the seven affected states can use their own
money to pay for the operation of facilities which distribute
medical marijuana.
In the House's split vote, 210-210, with 15 members not casting a
ballot, Renzi voted to amend the U.S. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act,
although the amendment failed on the split vote. The question was
whether to exempt libraries and book stores from the heavy-handed
authorization for federal investigators "to look at (what) books
the average American may have checked out from the library." The
Act and a closely related federal law allow the invasions of
privacy by forbidding the library or bookstore to tell the
customer they are being investigated.
"I voted to restrict the federal government from having too much
of that overreaching authority. The act needs to be highly
managed by Congress with consistent oversight. But the core
elements of the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act I very much support. I believe
the Act has helped save lives and it has gone to great lengths to
dismantle al-Qaida cells in America," he added.
Renzi also said he favors a sunset clause of the act so, "We can
be sure we're not setting up too much of a Big Brother," a term
referring to complete government control of a person's life.
As to establishing off-shore banking on the Navajo Reservation,
the Congressman said, "It is a financial investment that the
Navajo Nation needs to explore for certain economic development
advantages." Renzi sits on the House's investments and banking
panel.
Renzi voted in the majority, 300-125, for House Joint Resolution
4 to let states prohibit desecration (improper burning) of the
Stars and Stripes, although the Arizona delegation split 4-4, on
the question.
"Not everything in America should be allowed to be denigrated in
the name of free speech," he said, adding that each state should
have the right "to protect what is essentially sacred property,
when held in proper regard as part of moral teachings and
tradition of our country."
The Congressman's adopted Navajo clan is the Towering House
People (he is very tall) and his Navajo name means "Man with many
children," as he and his wife Roberta have seven sons and five
daughters from college age to toddler.
Monday July 19, 2004 Selected Stories:
City revels in Fire & Ice, rallies to 'Nam vets
Mayor may end effort to get state into booze debate
Applebee's opens with 110 'cream of the crop'
Vietnam-era Marine: It helps to talk
Congressman calls $100 million for rez just first step
Deaths | Home | Daily News | Archive | Subscribe | Please send
the Gallup Independent feedback on this website and the paper in
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10 EnergyPulse: Business Electric: Those Fightin' Attorneys General
[http://www.energypulse.net/default.cfm] > Current
7.20.04 Arthur O'Donnell
[http://www.energypulse.net/centers/author.cfm?at_id=495] ,
Editorial Director, Newsletters, Energy Central
In case you hadn't noticed, we are experiencing an historic
jurisdictional battle between states and the federal government.
Energy policy is just one of the fronts in conflict.
Personal and financial privacy laws, same-sex marriages, medical
marijuana laws, the purchase of Canadian pharmaceuticals, even
the limited right to physician-assisted euthanasia in Oregon, are
all issues of contention between state or local governmental
bodies and the law-enforcement/regulatory agencies of the United
States.
Those matters—and the strange politics of the present day that
witness a highly conservative administration actively encroaching
on presumed states’ rights in so many areas, while some state
politicians decry the lack of sufficient federal involvement in
others—are well beyond the purview of this column. So, I’ll stick
to the topics of energy, environment and corporate
accountability, focusing on actions by particular representatives
of state government: Offices of the Attorneys General.
By now, just about every sentient business and energy
professional knows the names of Elliot Spitzer, Bill Lockyer and
Richard Blumenthal. For anyone who doesn’t, they are,
respectively, the attorneys general of New York, California and
Connecticut, who have been redefining the cutting edges of
state/federal jurisdiction for several years. It was Spitzer who
successfully squeezed the Wall Street financial community while
goading the U.S. Securities &Exchange Commission into enacting
financial reforms and multi-billions of dollars in settlements.
Lockyer seems to schedule at least one news conference per week
castigating the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for some
aspect of the California market meltdown of 2000/01. Blumenthal
has recently shifted his battle plans from the Cross Sound Cable
uncivil war with Long Island, New York, to take on generators and
power sellers in the federally sanctioned wholesale markets run
by the New England Independent System Operator.
They are not the only “Top Cops” of various states who are
actively engaged in legal territorial disputes. Nevada Attorney
General Brian Sandoval has been confronting the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy for years over
the siting of a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain. The New
Jersey AG recently announced a $500,000 fine against NUI
Corporation’s Energy Brokers, Inc., unit for overcharging local
utilities for natural gas sales in what might be argued as
interstate commerce. Attorneys general from the Northwestern
states of Washington, Oregon and Montana pursue their own
grievances against FERC, Enron and others for various acts of
omission and/or commission during the Western power crisis.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott inherited an Enron Task Force
from his predecessor John Cornyn and has tried to keep pressure
on the federal bankruptcy case to limit professional fee payments
(see TBE 07/06/04)
[http://www.energypulse.net/centers/article/article_display.cfm?a
_id=772] . In the words of deputy attorney general Joe Boyd, “The
State of Texas is ultimately paying these fees since each dollar
spent on fees takes one dollar away from the funds available to
pay the creditors.”
Besides being the chief law-enforcement agency at the state
level, the attorneys general in many cases also are the top
consumer advocates, as well as overseers of corporations and
non-profit groups chartered in their jurisdictions. As such, they
intervene in state utility rate proceedings and the more novel
class of cases that sometimes involve federal issues. For
instance, the Rhode Island attorney general’s office practices a
traditional kind of oversight by helping negotiate a distribution
rate settlement with Narragansett Electric. But the Virginia AG’s
Division of Consumer Council is treading entirely new territory
when it openly questions whether utility AEP should be allowed to
join the PJM Interconnection for regional transmission services,
even though FERC claims jurisdiction over PJM.
State litigators have also joined forces on several occasions to
pursue environmental actions that cut across state borders. Among
the most protracted cases have been actions filed by East Coast
states against utilities that operate coal-fired power plants in
Ohio, with multiple jurisdictions seeking redress under the terms
of the 1970 Clean Air Act against such utilities as Ohio
Edison/FirstEnergy, AEP and Cinergy.
The basis for these states’ complaints is that they sit downwind
from pollution emitting power plants, and that while the
plaintiff attorneys general cannot pursue local actions across
state lines, they can take advantage of “citizen suit” provisions
of the Clean Air Act.
One of these suits, which pitted New York, New Jersey and
Connecticut—along with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency—against Ohio Edison, last August resulted in a federal
court finding that the utility skirted “new source review” (NSR)
regulations when it performed upgrades on seven power stations.
This precedent-setting outcome is being used as leverage in
similar cases against AEP and Cinergy. Meanwhile, the remedy
phase of the Ohio Edison case has been postponed from this month
to early next year while “meaningful settlement negotiations” are
being conducted, said a source from the plaintiffs side this
week. A global settlement of the issue with multiple states and
utilities is not out of the realm of possibility.
Of particular interest in these types of cases is that suits
filed during the Clinton Administration were cooperatively
pursued by states and federal EPA. Now, the states find
themselves taking on the cases without federal support, and
frequently in direct opposition to the Bush Administration’s
environmental policies. In May, New Jersey joined New York,
Connecticut and Pennsylvania in a suit against Allegheny Energy’s
coal-fired plants in West Virginia—sans U.S. EPA participation.
Last December, a federal judge issued a stay of EPA’s latest
interpretation of NSR rules at the behest of several of these
Eastern states. The pressure, from states as well as from
environmental groups, is forcing EPA to conduct a 180-day comment
period and review of how it distinguishes “routine maintenance”
from more sweeping refurbishments that would trigger a new permit
process.
Meanwhile, a broader coalition of Northeastern attorneys general
challenges everything from how EPA quantifies power plant
emissions to its lack of enforcement of such pollutants as carbon
and mercury. In late June, for example, eleven states, ranging
from Maine and Massachusetts to New Mexico and California, joined
in opposition to the EPA’s proposed standards allowing power
plants to purchase mercury offset credits rather than limiting
pollution.
“It is deeply disturbing that in order to protect our air quality
and the health of our citizens, state attorneys general must file
suit against the EPA, the very agency that should be leading the
fight against air pollution,” says Peter C. Harvey, the New
Jersey Attorney General. “EPA has proposed rules that would
create huge loopholes for industry, and it has abdicated its
enforcement responsibility in this area. We will continue to
fight EPA's rule changes and to aggressively pursue suits against
companies that have broken the law and polluted our air.”
It should be obvious that state attorneys general do not always
prevail in various cases, especially when they take federal/state
jurisdictional issues head on. A most recent example is the
dismissal this month of California AG Lockyer’s state-action
complaints against a half-dozen power generation companies,
ostensibly for double-dealing their reserve capacity during the
power crisis. Federal regulatory pre-emption trumped state
actions in this case.
Though just the latest frustration for California politicians,
the court’s determination at least helps clarify the bright line
between FERC’s authority over wholesale power markets and state
policing of intrastate commerce. This established a boundary
distinct from that in another California/FERC case that was
concluded in June, in which FERC was roundly chastised by the
U.S. Court of Appeals for trying to assert too much control over
the governing board of the California ISO.
Together with other actions—environmental, financial and
medical—these state/federal conflicts are redefining
jurisdictional boundaries and the electricity business in ways
never before contemplated.
Despite the emphasis on energy litigation and the associated
rhetoric, attorneys general are frequently more effective in
reaching settlements than in collecting court precedents. While
Lockyer has been singularly unsuccessful seeking redress against
“market manipulators” in the courtroom, this past week’s $208
million settlement with Duke Energy netted far more than what
Duke was expected to pay in the FERC’s California refund
proceeding (Duke will drop about $123 million in claims for
non-payment of energy deliveries and pay about $85 million in
cash to California and neighboring states). Similarly, the
biggest scores made by Lockyer over the past two years have been
by participating in global settlements with Williams ($1.4
billion) and El Paso ($1.7 billion).
The Bottom Line: Remember, New York AG Elliot Spitzer caught flak
from critics for settling with Merrill Lynch for $100 million
rather than taking the company all the way through court. But it
was that deal that led to across-the-board settlements between
the financial community and the SEC, proving that attorneys
general can effectively push the federal/state line without
breaking it.
Arthur O’Donnell is Energy Central’s Editorial
Director—Newsletters. The Business Electric is found exclusively
on Energy Central.
Copyright 2004 CyberTech, Inc.
*****************************************************************
11 Reid: Calls for Resignation of Two Energy Regulators Recommended
by Enron CEO Ken Lay
[Senator Harry Reid]
For Immediate Release DATE: Monday, July 19, 2004 CONTACT: Tessa
Hafen 202 224-9521
Says agency is protecting Enron over Nevada
WASHINGTON, D.C. – United States Senator Harry Reid Monday called
for the resignation of two members of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC), charging that they have failed to
protect Nevada consumers from the market manipulations of Enron
Corp.
The two FERC Commissioners were appointed by President Bush after
being recommended by his friend, Enron CEO Ken Lay. In a speech
on the Senate floor Monday, Reid said they should resign if FERC
can’t meet its responsibility to protect consumers and utilities.
Despite market manipulation, illegal activities and ultimate
collapse of the company, Enron is suing Nevada Power Company for
more than $300 million dollars because of a contract signed
during the Western Energy Crisis of 2000-2001, when Enron jacked
up electricity prices. FERC has the power to void the contract,
but has refused to hear the case.
“FERC was established to protect ratepayers, and the commission
has failed miserably to do so,” Senator Reid said. “Instead they
are protecting the criminal activities of one of the worst
corporate swindlers in our history. There appears to be a clear
conflict of interest when two of the commissioners owe their job
to the Chairman and CEO of Enron. I think they should resign.”
Sen. Reid’s comments came as part of a larger speech on energy
independence and specifically Nevada’s potential to lead the
country in renewable energy development and production, which
would create thousands of jobs in the Silver State and provide a
reliable source of electricity.
Reid’s legislation to offer tax benefits to renewable energy
sources such as wind, solar and geothermal were included in a
larger tax bill.
“Our nation desperately needs a new energy policy – one that
protects consumers, safeguards our environment and makes us
stronger by reducing our dependence on Mideast oil,”Reid said.
“We can’t create an energy policy for the future by simply
repeating the past. We need new ideas and new approaches.”
“For decades we have provided subsidies and tax breaks for the
big oil companies. Today we need some incentives to help spur
production of renewable energy.”
The full text of Reid’s speech follows: Senator Harry Reid
Renewable Energy and Energy Independence
This is the time of year when American families take their
vacations.
Most families drive. And this summer, although the price of gas
is not quite as high as a few months ago, it is still near record
levels in many parts of the country, including my home state of
Nevada.
Every time a family stops for gas … they are reminded that our
country needs reliable sources of energy that are not subject to
wild price swings.
Every time we see a scene from the Middle East on the TV news …
we are reminded that our nation depends too heavily on oil from
that volatile region.
And every time a parent tells a child with asthma that he can’t
play outside because the air isn’t safe … we are reminded that
fossil fuels harm our environment.
Our nation desperately needs a new energy policy – one that
protects consumers, safeguards our environment and makes us
stronger by reducing our dependence on Mideast oil.
We can’t create an energy policy for the future by simply
repeating the past. We need new ideas and new approaches.
We use about 25 percent of the oil that is produced, but we only
have about 3 percent of the proven oil reserves. So we can’t
drill our way out of the problem.
We need to remember the words of Benjamin Franklin, who said, “A
penny saved is a penny earned.”
In the case of oil, a barrel saved is better than a barrel
drilled and consumed … because it doesn’t pollute the air or
contribute to global warming.
After the Arab oil embargo of 1973, our nation got serious about
conserving oil. By 1990, our vehicles used about 40 percent as
much fuel as they did in ’73.
And we can do it again. America’s talented engineers and
scientists can still design vehicles that save fuel, without
sacrificing safety … if we make conserving oil a national
priority.
We have to do a better job of conserving oil … and we have to
develop new sources of energy that are clean and reliable.
Again, we are fortunate, because America is blessed with an
abundance of clean, renewable energy resources.
We can harness the warmth of the sun … the power of the wind …
and the heat within the earth.
All it takes is good old American ingenuity … and a little bit of
incentive.
Let’s be clear. For decades we have provided subsidies and tax
breaks for the big oil companies.
Today we need some incentives to help spur production of
renewable energy.
Mr. President, I have been in Congress long enough to know how
things work.
I know it takes time to get things done, and I’m a patient man.
But when we not only fail to make any progress on an important
issue, but actually move backward instead of forward … then I
must sound an alarm.
And that is what has happened on renewable energy. Instead of
making progress, we seem to be taking a step backward.
Over the last 15 years, wind power has been the fastest-growing
source of renewable energy, thanks to the Section 45 Production
Tax Credit.
This incentive spurred billions of dollars of investment and new
technology. As a result, wind energy has become increasingly
cost-effective.
I have worked for several years to expand this incentive to other
forms of renewable energy, especially solar power and geothermal
power.
But instead of expanding the tax credit that has been so
successful in promoting wind power … we have allowed it to
expire.
This is crazy. It is like allowing the insurance on your home to
lapse … or failing to properly maintain a vital piece of
equipment that you use every day.
The tax incentive for wind energy expired on December 31, 2003.
We need to restore it as soon as possible … and we need to extend
it to solar, geothermal and biomass energy.
I was encouraged that the FSC/ETI bill passed by the Senate last
month contains these incentives. I applaud Senators Grassley,
Baucus, and Domenici for that provision.
Unfortunately the companion House bill would only extend the
production tax credit for wind energy. But we now have another
chance to get it right, because this bill is going into
conference.
We must not squander this opportunity. We must get back on the
path toward renewable energy and energy independence.
Our nation is blessed with abundant renewable energy resources
–especially our Western states.
Last month, governors of nine Western states including Nevada
formally signed on to a plan that commits the region to
developing 30,000 megawatts of electricity — about 15 percent of
current demand — from renewable sources by 2015.
I applaud their determination and vision. They know that
developing renewable energy is not only good for consumers and
the environment, but that it also creates good jobs.
And because renewable energy is Made in the USA, it can reduce
our dependence on oil from the Middle East.
Many western states have already adopted "renewable portfolio
standards" requiring that a fixed percentage of energy sold
in-state come from renewable energy resources.
At this time, 13 states have set these goals, and the number will
almost certainly increase. I’m proud that Nevada has adopted one
of the most aggressive “renewable portfolio standards”of any
state.
It commits our state to produce 15 percent of our electricity
from renewable sources by the year 2013.
We had set a goal of 5 percent by the end of 2003 – but
unfortunately, we were unable to meet that goal.
One reason was uncertainty about whether the tax incentive for
wind power would be extended, or expanded to solar and geothermal
power.
The other reason is that utilities in Nevada and other Western
states are still reeling from the Western energy crisis of
200-2001, when Enron and other traders manipulated the energy
market to jack up prices.
Because of exorbitant contracts with Enron, our utilities are
almost bankrupt. As a result, companies that want to develop
renewable energy and sell it to these utilities have not been
able to attract the investment they need.
The investment community evaluates renewable energy projects
based on the strength of long-term purchase agreements between
the proposed facility and the local utility.
But if your utility is in trouble, investors shy away.
To address this problem, Nevada’s governor will ask our
legislature to create a Temporary Renewable Energy Development
Trust that would provide some protection to renewable energy
power plants if our utilities file for bankruptcy.
But we need action at the federal level also.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must provide relief to
utilities and ratepayers in Nevada and other Western states.
FERC needs to act … and act now … to vacate the exorbitant
contracts that were signed during the energy crisis.
We know that two of the FERC commissioners were recommended by
Ken Lay, the Enron CEO who was a major contributor to President
Bush’s campaign.
If FERC cannot clean up Enron’s mess while they are on the
commission, they should step down.
Our nation must have energy markets that function properly.
We must have incentives to develop our clean renewable energy
resources.
And we must apply our American ingenuity to do a better job of
conserving energy.
These are critical steps toward the kind of far-sighted energy
policy we need.
These steps will protect consumers … they will safeguard our
environment … and they’ll help make our nation stronger by moving
us closer to energy independence. *
You can contact Senator Reid's Press Secretary at
tessa_hafen@reid.senate.gov [tessa_hafen@reid.senate.gov]
You can subscribe/unsubscribe yourself from particular email
lists at my website at: http://reid.senate.gov/email_list.cfm
[http://reid.senate.gov/email_list.cfm] *
*****************************************************************
12 High Court Decision Due July 26
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 15:17:52 -0700
Free Mordechai Vanunu - Info & Action Alert #29 -
High Court Decision Due July 26
** PLEASE FORWARD TO SYMPATHETIC LISTS **
PLEASE NOTE - It seems as if an email with attachments, probably containing
a computer virus, was recently sent out to this Free Vanunu Yahoo Group
list. The U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu never sends out
attachments in our emails. DO NOT OPEN any attachments in emails that are
seemingly from us.
We have no reason to believe our computer is infected.
Felice Cohen-Joppa
Coordinator, U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu
1. Report from Fredrik S. Heffermehl, International Free Vanunu Committee
2. Postcards honoring Mordechai Vanunu on sale - 10/$5 postpaid
3. Write to Mordechai
==========================
1. Report from Fredrik S. Heffermehl, International Free Vanunu Committee
Fredrik S. Heffermehl
Cell phone: +47 91744783
St. George, Jerusalem: +972 - 0/2 628 3302/628 2726
Jerusalem, July 19, 2004
Dear friends,
I am in Jerusalem as an observer of the court proceedings in the petition
to the Supreme Court of Israel to have the restrictions against Vanunu lifted.
I have to announce that, with near certainty, the restrictions will be
permitted to stand.
The court has announced its reading of the verdict on Monday, July 26 at 9
am. and it will, with near certainty, state as findings of fact that 1)
Vanunu has "secrets", 2) Vanunu is a danger for "national security".
This is most unfortunate, since the logical consequence is that he should
remain in Israel until he has lost his mind and memory.
People I meet here in Jerusalem, Israelis, foreigners (not to speak of
Palestinians) all see it is a laughable proposition that Vanunu can be a
danger "After 20 years?" (in a "you must be kidding"-tone).
I can only appeal to everyone to address the Israeli authorities or the
media to underline how unfortunate and ill-advised such a verdict will be
and how inhuman and bad for the country´s reputation it is to continue the
revenge against Vanunu - after kidnapping, secret trial, solitary
confinement for almost 12 years, no parole after 12 years .... and, even
after all this more of their excessive vindictive punishment.
I hope that as many as possible will put arguments of the kind you will
find in my letter below to Haaretz/International Herald Tribune to their
own governments and to Israeli embassies and the media.
Fredrik S. Heffermehl
Vanunu - an Israeli problem that wishes to go away
"State seeks to prove that Vanunu still has classified data" is the title
of your July 12 report from an oral hearing in the Supreme court. The high
court is soon to decide on the legality of the restrictions imposed by the
government on nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu´s freedom of speech
and movement.
Even if Vanunu still should have secrets, this in itself cannot
automatically justify restrictions. Having attended the court session as a
foreign lawyer I wish to offer some observations.
It is hard to say what actually happened in court, since everyone,
including Vanunu and even his lawyers, were excluded from all but 25
minutes of the 3 1/2 hour long hearing. Independent experts, however, are
adamant that Vanunu has no secret knowledge that today could be used to
harm Israel. And would Vanunu use such secrets to harm. Considering his
motive and purpose, what purpose could it serve?
One who has served his sentence is entitled to his full rights and
freedoms, just as any other citizen. This is a fundamental rule of
civilized justice and prescribed in the Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, True, there is an exception related to national security, but all
measures taken have to be necessary for such purpose. Facts that are not
able to harm, or are already in the open, will not do.
As far as his motive is concerned, Vanunu always said that he wished to
warn against a devastating nuclear Holocaust. He went to a newspaper, to
inform the public, not to an enemy (a democracy cannot consider the media
as an enemy).
The Israeli government has read and censored Vanunu´s letters for almost 18
years and KNOWS what his concerns are. Even a limited nuclear disaster
could make Israel, with its small territory, uninhabitable). Vanunu used
his free time to pursue philosophical and ethical themes at the university.
And he was influenced by movies like "The Day After", "The China Syndrome"
and Meryl Streep as "Karen Silkwood". When, in 1986, Vanunu contacted the
Sunday Times, it was only 5 months after the Chernobyl disaster had spread
radioactivity to many countries.
One cannot punish a person for crimes he might commit in the future. For
the court to accept further restrictions for Vanunu would have daunting
consequences. Shall this go on until Vanunu loses his mind and memory?
Knowledge does not go away. The thieves and wife molesters are not
continually punished for the fact that they continue to have hands.
Vanunu has succeeded with what he wished to achieve - to have awareness and
debate of the nuclear threat. After 18 years in jail he wishes to rest and
rebuild his life elsewhere. He is one problem for Israel that only wishes
to go away.
Fredrik S. Heffermehl
Cell phone: +47 91744783
St. George, Jerusalem: 02
**************************************************
* Fredrik S. HEFFERMEHL *
* N. Juels g. 28 A, N-0272 Oslo, Norway *
* Phone +47-2244 8003 (fax: +47-2244 7616) *
* E-mail: fredpax@online.no *
* NFR: www.nowar.no or IPB: www.ipb.org *
* *
* Hon. President, Norwegian Peace Alliance *
* Vice President, International Peace Bureau *
* Vice Pres., I Assn. Lawyers Ag. Nuclear Arms *
* International Free Vanunu Committee *
**************************************************
Check out the new "Peace is Possible" website: On people, power and
peacemaking - in 12 languages! Click:
http://www.peaceispossible.info
" ...contains more undiscovered history than I have read for a long time
... bringing to light a hitherto unofficial and unheeded part of modern
history."
(Niels Jacob Harbitz in "Klassekampen", Oslo).
===================
2. Postcards honoring Mordechai Vanunu on sale - 10/$5 postpaid
Postcards with the same image as the posters held by supporters outside
Ashkelon Prison on April 21 ("Thank You Mordechai Vanunu - Peace Hero,
Nuclear Whistleblower") are available from the U.S. Campaign in packets of
12 for $5. Send payment in US$ to the U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai
Vanunu, POB 43384, Tucson, AZ 85733.
=================
3. Write to Mordechai
Mordechai would love to hear from his friends and supporters. You can
write to him at:
Mordechai Vanunu
c/o Cathedral Church of St. George
20 Nablus Road
PO Box 19018
Jerusalem 91190
Israel
and email him at
=================
If you would like to receive these alerts directly, please subscribe by
sending a blank e-mail to free_vanunu-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Felice Cohen-Joppa
Coordinator
U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu
POB 43384
Tucson, AZ 85733
Phone/Fax 520-323-8697
freevanunu@mindspring.com
www.nonviolence.org/vanunu
*****************************************************************
13 Reuters: New Pakistan PM Says He's Committed to India Peace
Tue Jul 20, 2004 06:42 AM ET
By Tahir Ikram and Y.P. Rajesh
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's new prime minister vowed
Tuesday to pursue peace with rival India and resolve their
decades-old dispute over Kashmir, at the heart of hostilities
between the nuclear armed South Asian neighbors.
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who became prime minister last month
for only an interim period, told a seven-nation regional meeting
of foreign ministers that the resumption of dialogue between
Pakistan and India augured well.
Pakistani and Indian diplomats have held informal talks on the
sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) economic forum being held in Islamabad.
"I want to assure all members of SAARC and indeed the world that
Pakistan is committed to pursuing peace with India," Hussain
said.
"I am happy to report that with the vision and the will Pakistan
has under the leadership of President (Pervez) Musharraf, we
have embarked upon a meaningful effort to resolve all
differences and disputes with India including the issue of Jammu
and Kashmir."
Despite positive official statements, there is little tangible
sign of how India and Pakistan intend to bridge their
differences over Kashmir.
Tens of thousands of people have died in a 15-year rebellion in
Indian Kashmir that New Delhi blames on Pakistani militants but
which Islamabad says is a struggle against Indian rule in the
Muslim-majority area.
In the latest violence, suspected Muslim insurgents killed a
retired soldier and four members of his family, including his
five-year-old son, Tuesday.
PEACE BEFORE WEALTH
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri said peace
with India was key to unlocking the region's economic potential.
The SAARC countries, with a population of around 1.4 billion,
form one of the world's poorest regions. Besides India and
Pakistan, the group also includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, the
Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
"The vision of South Asia joining the Asian mainstream with fast
economic growth and development can only be realized if there is
peace and harmony," Kasuri said.
Kasuri is expected to hold talks with his Indian counterpart
Natwar Singh Wednesday to push forward peace talks.
Later this week Singh is due to meet Musharraf, who along with
former Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is the main
architect of a peace process aimed at ending decades of enmity
over Kashmir, which they both claim.
Political analysts say they do not expect major breakthroughs
this week and view the talks as another opportunity to build
trust between the old foes.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two of them over
Kashmir which both countries claim. The neighbors came close to a
fourth conflict in 2002 after an attack on the Indian parliament
by Pakistan-based militants.
c Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
14 NRC: Sunshine Act Meeting
FR Doc 04-16529
[Federal Register: July 20, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 138)]
[Notices] [Page 43457] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr20jy04-91]
Agency Holding the Meeting: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Dates: Weeks of July 19, 26, August 2, 9, 16, 23, 2004.
Place: Commissioners' Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland.
Status: Public and Closed.
Matters To Be Considered: Week of July 19, 2004 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://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 issues (Closed--Ex. 1) Week of
August 23, 2004--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for
the Week of August 23, 2004.
*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 Gameroni, (301) 415- 1651.
* * * * * ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: By a vote of 3-0 on July 6 and
7, the Commissions determined pursuant to U.S.C. 552b(e) and Sec.
9.107(a) of the Commission's rules that ``Discussion of Security
Issues (Closed-- Ex. 1)'' be held July 15, and on less than one
week's notice to the public.
* * * * * The NRC Commission Meeting Schedule can be found on the
Internet at:
[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/schdule.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, August Spector, at 301-415-7080, TDD:
301-415- 2100, or by e-mail at [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] . Dated: July 15, 2004.
Dave Gamberoni, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-16529 Filed 7-16-04; 9:30 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-M
*****************************************************************
15 NRC: Electronic Submittals
EIE Notices
NRC's Electronic Information Exchange (EIE) allows NRC to
exchange material related to official agency business with its
customers and other Federal agencies across the Internet. The
EIE system uses a public key infrastructure and digital
signaturing technology to authenticate documents and validate
the person submitting the information. That is, the system
ensures that the exchanged material is secure and that the
person submitting the material is, in fact, who is indicated.
The NRC welcomes the EIE user community. See the following pages
for more information about the system and how to use it.
Submit Documents
+ First Time Users: Instructions
+ Repeat Users: Instructions for Renewing Certificates
+ Guidance for Electronic Submission to the Agency:
HLW Proceeding [PDF Icon] | General [PDF Icon]
+ Frequently Asked Questions
+ Contact Us about EIE
Related Information
+ 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart J, Final Rule "Licensing Proceeding
for a High-Level Radioactive Waste Geologic Repository;
Licensing Support Network, Submissions to the Electronic Docket"
[PDF Icon]
+ E-Rule (includes guidance) [PDF Icon]
+ Quick Start Guide [PDF Icon]
+ Download EIE Viewer and Plug-In (see "Browser Setup")
Last revised Thursday, July 15, 2004
*****************************************************************
16 Public Citizen: Government Judicial Body Affirms Role of
Citizens’ Groups in Licensing Hearing of Nuclear Plant
July 19, 2004
WASHINGTON, D.C. Todays ruling by a federal judicial board
affirming the participatory role of two public interest
organizations in the upcoming licensing hearing for a proposed
nuclear fuel plant in southeastern New Mexico is a step in the
right direction toward protecting the public interest,
co-petitioners Public Citizen and the Nuclear Information and
Resource Service (NIRS) said.
The board accepted all but one of the groups complaints (called
contentions ) about the application of Louisiana Energy Services
(LES), the multinational company seeking to build a uranium
enrichment facility near Eunice, N.M. The plant would process
uranium fuel for sale to operators of commercial nuclear power
reactors. The groups said that the company didnt adequately
address the environmental impacts of the plant, the disposal of
the radioactive waste it would produce and other factors. Public
Citizen and NIRS represent their members living near the site of
the proposed facility.
We applaud the boards ruling, which recognizes the validity
of our complaints as well as our right to participate in this
licensing process on behalf of our members in New Mexico, said
Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizens Critical Mass Energy
and Environment Program, which petitioned jointly with NIRS to
intervene in the licensing hearing. This is an important step
to ensure that all parties concerns are heard before the
government considers granting LES a permit for this plant.
The ruling came from a three-judge Atomic Safety and Licensing
Board (ASLB) appointed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC), the federal agency responsible for licensing and
regulating the domestic nuclear industry. The board will hear,
in a courtroom-style proceeding, disputes arising from LESs
license application and other relevant documents. The ASLB also
admitted contentions from New Mexicos attorney general and the
states Environment Department.
We are elated that the people will get a voice in this
hearing, said Michael Mariotte, executive director of NIRS.
The substance of our contentions is strong; we believe it will
be very difficult for LES to make a case before an impartial
board that it should be allowed to operate this unnecessary
nuclear facility.
The board confirmed that the citizens groups will be able to
formally participate in the licensing hearing by presenting their
disputes regarding such issues as the need for the proposed
plant, its possible impact on local water resources, LESs
uranium waste storage and disposal plan, and the companys
financial plan for dealing with the hazardous radioactive
material produced by the facility during and after its period of
operation.
The ASLB accepted the following contentions: + LESs application
does not contain a complete or adequate assessment of the
potential environmental impacts of the proposed project on ground
and surface water, contrary to regulatory requirements. + The
application does not contain a complete or adequate assessment of
the potential environmental impacts of the proposed facility upon
local water supplies, contrary to regulatory requirements.
Further, to introduce a new industrial facility with significant
water needs in an area with a projected water shortage runs
counter to the federal responsibility to act as a trustee of the
environment for succeeding generations, according to the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). + LES does not have a
sound, reliable or plausible strategy for disposal of the large
amounts of radioactive and hazardous depleted uranium
hexafluoride (DUF6) waste that the plant would produce.
Moreover, LESs application seriously underestimates the costs
and the feasibility of managing and disposing of the DUF6. + The
application fails to discuss the impacts of construction and
operation of facilities that will be required to manage the waste
that would be produced by the plant. + LES has presented
insufficient estimates of the costs of decommissioning the plant
at the end of its useful life. + LESs application does not
adequately describe or weigh the environmental, social and
economic impacts and costs of operating the facility, and LES
inadequately considers the need for the facility. + The
application does not contain a complete or adequate assessment of
the potential environmental impacts of accidents involving
natural gas transmission pipelines.
The NRCs licensing process is a formal legal procedure
administered by the ASLB. Contentions must involve genuine
disputes over factual issues instances where LES might be in
violation of federal regulations or where LESs license
application is incomplete or misleading. Contentions must be
backed up by affidavits and testimony from expert witnesses
people who are acknowledged leaders in their fields.
This is LESs third attempt to secure a site for its proposed
nuclear plant. The company withdrew its application to build a
similar plant in Louisiana after nearly a decade of intense
citizen opposition and unfavorable rulings by an ASLB. LES made
another attempt to locate the plant in Tennessee, but was again
expelled by local opponents before it had a chance to submit an
application to the NRC. Citizens were concerned about the
companys misleading statements and lack of a clear plan for the
disposal of its waste.
To read todays ruling,
[http://www.citizen.org/documents/LESContentions.pdf] .
*****************************************************************
17 [DU-WATCH] Fwd: Dimona waste spreading Palestinian cancer --
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 23:45:54 -0500 (CDT)
"Ronald" wrote:
Dimona's Buried Nuclear Waste Spreads Cancer and Sterility in
Southern Hebron and Negev
Nearly 70 cancer cases and the sterile rate soared to 62% among males
and females in the villages south of Hebron was mainly caused by the
nuclear waste buried by Israel in Hebron's mountains.
http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_e/ipc_e-1/e_News/news2004/2004_07/032.html
Israeli interrogators 'in Iraq'
Brig Gen Janis Karpinski told the BBC she met an Israeli working as
an interrogator at a secret intelligence centre in Baghdad. A BBC
reporter says it is the first time a senior US officer has suggested
Israelis worked with the coalition.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3863235.stm
Hydrologists warns of Israeli spreading diseases in N. Gaza
The Association of Palestinian Hydrologists on Saturday called on all
the legal institutions to work on disclosing the Israeli practices
that aim at spreading diseases and epidemics in the northern Gaza
Strip town of Beit Hanoun.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-07/03/content_1568336.htm
Gaza homeland: another generous offer? - By Mustafa Barghouthi
If indeed Sharon's intentions are not to withdraw from Gaza, his
rhetoric has proven an exceptional decoy to the media and
international community, distracting attention from Israel's
construction of the separation barrier through the West Bank -
perhaps the more significant element of Sharon's plan.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?
edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=5846
New Zealand to demand apology in passport affair
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark is to demand an apology from
the Israeli government and a pledge that Mossad operatives will not
try to steal or forge New Zealand passports or use them for their
activities, sources told the New Zealand media on Saturday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/446823.html
Pentagon Tried to Censor Saddam's Hearing - By Robert Fisk
"Fortunately, they were lazy and they didn't check all the tapes
properly so we got our 'audio' through in the satellite to London,"
one of the crew members told The Independent yesterday. "I had
pretended to unplug the sound from the camera but the man who claimed
he was a US admiral didn't understand cameras and we were able to
record sound.
http://www.counterpunch.com/fisk07032004.html
--- End forwarded message ---
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18 Independent: Nuke ammo transport worries county
Tuesday 20 July, 2004
By: JACK MABB
HUDSON-At any given time radioactive material in the form of
depleted uranium from nuclear power plants and munitions may be
traveling the rails and roadways of America.
And while local officials understand the need for
security surrounding these shipments, a growing number of them
also say the safety of local first responders, responding to a
train or truck accident involving these shipments, must be
considered.
Last week, Columbia County supervisors voiced their
concerns on the subject following a request from the Ulster
County Legislature.
"We need to protect our first responders at all cost. It
isn't fair that they have no clue what they are dealing with,"
says Susan Zimet, a member of the Ulster County Legislature. She
sponsored a resolution in her county that calls on the federal
Department of Transportation not to renew DOT-E9649, a
regulation that allows the Military Management Command to
transport explosives and radioactive material with only an
"explosive" placard affixed to the container. In the event of an
accident that released the material, first responders coming to
the scene would have no knowledge of the potential radioactive
danger.
The regulation expired June 30 of this year. And Ms.
Zimet says the DOT has listened to those opposed to continuation
of the regulation and has not yet
renewed it. In May, the Ulster County Legislature
unanimously approved the resolution calling for the DOT to
require identification of radioactive cargoes. The Columbia
County Board of Supervisors adopted a similar resolution at its
meeting last week.
While Columbia County seems far removed from weapons
production and nuclear power plants, the threads that link this
county with other vulnerable communities are the two CSX rail
lines that pass through eight towns here.
Ms. Zimet says Ulster's emergency management director
tried to find out the routes and times the material is shipped
but ran into a brick wall of silence.
She says federal officials were "not forthcoming on
information of the route or manner the material was transported
over." Ms. Zimet says at one point some radioactive material was
produced in the Albany suburb of Colonie, which leads here to
believe "that material passed though our counties at some time."
Opponents of the regulation describe DU as "extremely
toxic material," with the danger increased when it is shipped as
part of munitions. One group, Nukewatch, in Luck, Wis., says an
accident with these weapons could have the effect of igniting
what the federal government has described as "dirty bomb," a
device the government has said terrorist organizations might try
to build and detonate.
County Fire Coordinator James Van Deusen says it is a
good idea to mark the containers to give first responders a
fighting chance. "If they get there and then discover what it is
I think they will be out of luck," he says. He adds that while
firefighters are taught to check the scene for their own safety
first, the drive to help may overwhelm that learned prudence.
"Know what you're getting into-we teach it all the time.
But in the heat of a call sometimes it's how fast can you get
there," he says.
While train transport is relatively safe, the Department
of Transportation reports that there are 2,000 derailments and
7,300 train accidents annually.
The Military Management Command has said that because of
the risk of terrorism, a cask ruptured on purpose is essentially
a dirty bomb, and the government needs to keep security on the
shipments tight. Ms. Zimet understands the argument, but she
wonders why in lieu of a placard on the cars or trailer
identifying radioactive materials local emergency management
offices couldn't be notified of nuclear materials transportation
routes and times.
"I believe that they believe they need to keep this a
secret, but that doesn't mean we stop worrying about our first
responders," she says.
Mr. Van Deusen agrees that prior notification could work
well as long as that notice is well ahead of the transport.
©The Independent 2004
*****************************************************************
19 Bradenton Herald: Silence dismays Tallevast residents
| 07/20/2004 |
DEP-EPA MEETING
KEVIN O'HORAN Herald Staff Writer
Florida environmental regulators turned to their federal
counterparts Monday for a second opinion about the troubled
Tallevast community, but in the process may have deepened dismay
and distrust over their handling of the project.
The session in Atlanta's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
offices aimed at finding agreement on the dangers posed by
solvents believed to have leaked from a former American Beryllium
Co. plant in Manatee County.
But when Florida officials remained silent about the meeting's
highlights, declining even to release results of recent Tallevast
testing that agency staffers dubbed "tentative," it widened a
standing rift with community members.
"If they say 'tentative,' we can understand that, we can discern
that from the 'final' data," said Laura Ward, a Tallevast
homeowner and leader of Family Oriented Community United, Strong,
a local activist group.
"I just find that very discouraging."
Tallevast-area activists, led by FOCUS, have been at odds with
the Florida Department of Environmental Protection since
November, when they first learned that solvents likely leaked
from the plant had poisoned area groundwater.
The anger has focused on DEP and, to a lesser degree, then-owner
Lockheed Martin Corp. for not warning residents immediately after
finding signs of contamination at the 1600 Tallevast Road plant
in January 2000.
DEP's meeting with EPA was a by-product of that anger, which led
to Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Fla.,
asking the federal agency to wade into the mix and lend whatever
help possible.
Monday, that meant a sit-down session to pore over, analyze and
advise on the results of a battery of DEP soil and water tests,
but not much more for anyone outside either agency.
"I can confirm that we are talking with DEP at the office," said
Dawn Harris-Young, a spokeswoman with EPA's southwest district
office in Atlanta. "I can confirm we are looking at contamination
issues at the Tallevast site."
DEP spokeswoman Merritt Mitchell also confirmed the meeting, and
defended the agency's decision not to roll out preliminary
findings.
"It's imperative that this information is thoroughly reviewed in
order to make sure that we get the best possible information to
the community," she said.
That likely will come Thursday, when DEP staffers plan to unveil
the test results and other findings in a community meeting at the
Mount Tabor Missionary Baptist Church, 1703 Tallevast Road.
That's just two days away but still too long to wait, residents
maintain.
"I just don't know why they can't tell us what's going on," Ward
said. "Right now, we're just on hold. We're just waiting, sitting
until we get some answers.
"There's nothing we can do until we get them."
IF YOU GO
• WHAT: Tallevast community meeting to discuss solvent
contamination.
• WHERE: Mount Tabor Missionary Baptist Church, 1703 Tallevast
Road.
• WHEN: Tentatively scheduled for 6-8 p.m. Thursday.
• WHO: Open to public, hosted by Florida Department of
Environmental Protection.
Kevin O'Horan, environmental reporter, can be reached at
745-7037, or at kohoran@bradentonherald.com
[kohoran@bradentonherald.com] .
*****************************************************************
20 heraldtribune.com: Tallevast residents to get DEP test results
Southwest Florida's Information Leader
Subscribe [http://www.michaelsaunders.com/]
Tuesday, July 20, 2004 NEWS COMMUNITY BUSINESS SPORTS A&E
STAFF REPORT
TALLEVAST -- State officials will meet with Tallevast residents
Thursday to discuss the latest round of tests the agency
conducted on wells in the south Manatee County community.
On Monday, DEP officials shared the results with representatives
from the Environmental Protection Agency.
That agency has said it will assist with cleanup efforts.
At least 17 private wells located near the former American
Beryllium Co. plant are contaminated with potentially dangerous
chemicals.
On Monday, DEP officials refused to release the test results,
saying they want to talk to affected residents first.
Last modified: July 20. 2004 12:00AM
Sarasota Herald-Tribune. All rights reserved. Initializing : 15ms
*****************************************************************
21 Columbus Dispatch Editorials: Nevada’s NIMBYism is progress for rest of America
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
This nation desperately needs safe ways to dispose of
radioactive waste, so any development that brings containment of
such material one day closer is worth cheering.
A recent court decision removing most of the hurdles to building
a repository in Nevada drew applause from opponents as well as
supporters, which would be amusing if the subject weren’t so
serious. The two key groups fighting to stop the federal
government from building a nuclearwaste vault within Yucca
Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, won one small battle
of the many they waged.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of appeals for the
District of Columbia on July 9 rejected virtually all the
arguments brought against the Yucca project. Significantly, the
judges turned away Nevada’s not-in-my-backyard claims that the
government can’t put something in a state that doesn’t want it.
Clearly, the right and duty of Congress and the president to
ensure national security and protect public health must override
parochial interests. The court also refused even to consider
Nevada’s gripe that the process for selecting the site was
illegal.
But Nevada and its partners in the lawsuit, environmental groups
intent on shutting down the nation’s nuclearenergy industry,
scored a single point when the court agreed that container
designers, in planning to protect Americans from radiation for
10,000 years, did not follow the guidance of a report from the
National Academy of Sciences. It said any design should ensure
residents would be protected when the waste could be most
dangerous, and that could occur much later than 10,000 years
out.
This ruling is disappointing, but the court also ordered that
the safety matter remain on hold until seven days after any
appeal is decided. Thus, Energy Department officials said the
ruling would not stall the project.
Either side in the case can ask for a review of all the circuit
court’s judges and can appeal to the Supreme Court.
The sciences academy’s opinion is critical only because Congress
mandated that the Environmental Protection Agency base its
radiation standards on the academy’s recommendations.
The scientists, however, can provide no specific plan for
ensuring safety of nuclear debris beyond 10,000 years. And the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, charged with the
ridiculous task of coming up with such standards in a country
only slightly older than 200 years, correctly points out that no
computer models or other tools can project reliability of
containers and other factors beyond 10,000 years.
Considering the poor record of so many other projections
government agencies make, Americans also might wonder at the
accuracy of a 10,000-year forecast, but that’s not the issue.
As attorneys work on appeals, the EPA may try to devise a means
of meeting a stricter standard; that would be an exercise in
futility.
If the 10,000-year rule doesn’t win on appeal, Congress can
solve the problem easily by passing a law declaring that 10,000
or whatever number of years is adequate for safety. If
civilization continues to prosper, technology is on track to
deal with any nuclear-containment problems that might crop up
down the pike.
The Yucca Mountain repository already is six years behind its
planned opening date. For every day of delay, high-level
radioactive waste piles up in temporary storage at 131 power
plants and government sites in 39 states. This situation
presents potential health and security hazards.
As the litigation crawls on, each court victory for the
government is a welcome affirmation of federal agencies’
responsibility to act in the public’s best interests.
*****************************************************************
22 KESQ: Environmental group plans lawsuit over nuclear site's cleanup plan
NewsChannel 3 Palm Springs, CA:
July 20, 2004
SANTA SUSANA An environmental group says it will sue the federal
government for what it calls a failure to clean up contamination
at a former nuclear testing site.
The Natural Resources Defense Council says the U-S Department of
Energy has not done enough to clean up the site in Santa Susana.
The Department of Energy has spent 192 (m) million dollars on the
cleanup since it was revealed in 1989 that there were significant
amounts of radioactivity present.
The U-S Environmental Protection Agency has also challenged the
cleanup plan, saying it will not sufficiently clean radioactivity
from the site.
The former Energy Technology Engineering Center was home to ten
nuclear reactors and an open-air pit where workers burned
radioactive and chemical waste.(APcredit: Los Angeles Daily News)
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
*****************************************************************
23 L.A. Daily News: Suit threatened over cleanup
Activists say DOE broke its promises
Article Published: Monday, July 19, 2004 - 6:38:50
By Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer
The Natural Resources Defense Council announced Monday that it
intends to sue the U.S. Department of Energy over its plan to
leave 99 percent of contaminated soil at the Santa Susana Field
Laboratory where nuclear testing was conducted for decades.
The lawsuit threat comes after several failed attempts by
California's two senators and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency to have a new analysis of radiological contamination at
the lab and a recent discovery of high levels of radioactivity in
groundwater.
Local activists charge that the DOE has broken a string of
promises to thoroughly study and decontaminate the Simi Hills lab
and called the courtroom their last resort.
"The community seemed to have no clout to be able to force this
government agency to do the right thing and do what it promised,"
said Dan Hirsch, a longtime lab watchdog with Committee to Bridge
the Gap. "This levels the playing field."
Hirsch's group teamed with the Natural Resources Defense Council
and put the DOE on notice Monday that the groups would file a
lawsuit charging that the agency's cleanup plan doesn't address
the serious contamination at the lab. Federal law requires groups
to give 60 days' notice before suing an agency.
"Our hope is that this would be enough to serve as a wake-up
call," said Howard Crystal, an attorney with Meyer &Glitzenstein
representing the lab opponents.
A DOE spokesman responded by saying the agency is reviewing the
letter and would respond if warranted.
"We are making good progress cleaning up the Energy Technology
Engineering Center site in an environmentally safe and sound
manner," DOE spokesman John Belluardo said in a statement. "We do
not agree with those that wish to slow down the cleanup by
threatening to file lawsuits."
The debate is over the Energy Technology Engineering Center, a
90-acre section of the field lab where the government conducted
nuclear research from the 1950s to 1988. It was home to 10
nuclear reactors, one of which experienced a partial meltdown,
and an open-air pit where workers burned radioactive and chemical
waste.
The Daily News first disclosed in 1989 that a DOE survey had
found massive amounts of radioactive and chemical contamination
problems at the lab, triggering a cleanup that has cost $192
million so far and is expected to cost an additional $52 million
before it's completed in 2007.
However, lab neighbors have been skeptical of the DOE's efforts,
and in the 1990s the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was
brought in as an independent consultant to review the DOE's work.
Around the same time, the secretary of energy signed an agreement
to follow the EPA's stringent cleanup protocols at all former
nuclear sites.
However, last year the DOE announced that it had chosen the
less-stringent of two cleanup plans for the property, one that
would leave 15 milirem per year extra dose of radiation to
someone living on the site for 40 years. That would be a
one-in-3,333 cancer-death risk.
Activists and the EPA said the DOE should aim for a .05 milirem
cleanup goal, which would have a one-in-a-million cancer-death
risk.
The DOE has said its plan would leave the property safe enough
for future residents of the site, and agency consultants told
neighbors they would happily raise their grandchildren on the
land.
However, the EPA challenged the cleanup plan, saying it could
leave the former nuclear test site unsafe even for casual
picnicking. The EPA urged more thorough analysis of the property
but has no legal authority over the DOE.
U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein also pushed
unsuccessfully for the DOE to stick to EPA standards.
In their letter to the DOE, the NRDC and Committee to Bridge the
Gap charge that the DOE's plan violates several environmental
laws. Specific allegations include that:
The DOE broke a 1995 agreement with the EPA in which the Energy
Department committed to cleaning up former nuclear sites to the
EPA's stringent standards. The EPA in December said the DOE's
cleanup plan was not adequate.
The DOE did not thoroughly study the radioactive and chemical
contamination at the site and should have written a lengthy and
detailed environmental impact statement as required on heavily
polluted projects.
The DOE has violated endangered species laws by not taking
special care around the Braunton's milkvetch, an endangered plant
at the site.
Kerry Cavanaugh, (818) 713-3746 kerry.cavanaugh@dailynews.com
[kerry.cavanaugh@dailynews.com]
Copyright © 2004 Los Angeles Daily News Los Angeles
*****************************************************************
24 APP.COM: No escaping it - plan is flawed
[http://www.app.com/]
ASBURY PARK PRESS
THE JERSEY SHORE'S
Published in the Asbury Park Press 7/19/04 An Asbury Park Press
editorial
A hearing on the evacuation plan for the Oyster Creek Nuclear
Generating Station in Lacey will be held Wednesday at the Ocean
County Emergency Operations Center in Berkeley. The public will
have an opportunity to learn more about the plan's assumptions
and the logic behind emergency officials' conclusion that a plan
that would take 7 1/2 hours in a best-case scenario to fully
evacuate a 10-mile radius around the plant is somehow
satisfactory.
As we pointed out in our recent editorial series outlining the
case for shutting down Oyster Creek, the evacuation plan is badly
flawed. If there were to be a major accidental release of
radiation from the plant, the consequences would be devastating.
The fundamental flaw of the plan is that it is hamstrung by a
road network that is essentially the same as it was when
construction of Oyster Creek began in 1965, when Ocean County's
population was less than a third of what it is today. Since 1990,
the county has added another 115,000 people, many of whom live in
towns within the 10-mile zone around Oyster Creek -- Lacey,
Barnegat, Berkeley, Stafford and Waretown (Ocean Township). No
matter how emergency officials spin it, no evacuation plan will
work without substantial improvements to the region's roadways.
The plan itself pretty much concedes the point. It estimates
that in a worst-case scenario, radiation could be released into
the atmosphere in as little as an hour. In the summer, when the
population swells and the roads are even more congested, it would
take more than nine hours to fully evacuate the 10-mile radius.
Emergency planners contend that Oyster Creek's relatively long
evacuation-time estimates are misleading because it's unlikely
that the entire 10-mile radius around the plant would have to be
evacuated. An evacuation, should one occur, would take place only
in certain subzones of the 10-mile radius, depending on the
extent of the release and the wind direction, they say.
Yet the plan estimates that it would take more than two hours
under optimal circumstances to evacuate the first two of 20
subzones within the primary 10-mile evacuation zone. And during
the summer, it estimates that only three of the 20 zones within
the 10-mile radius could be evacuated within three hours. How can
that be considered acceptable?
These are not worst-case scenarios. They are estimates based on
optimistic assumptions about the behavior of the population and
of emergency and health care workers. Ocean County Undersheriff
Wayne Rupert, whose office is responsible for coordinating
evacuations, estimates that about 20 percent of the population
would leave on its own without waiting for instructions after
learning of a major release of radiation. Studies show that
percentage may be far higher.
Other studies have concluded that many emergency workers and
medical personnel counted on to assist with the evacuation and
treat the casualties would either not report to duty at all in
the event of a nuclear accident or would report only after first
ensuring the safety of their family members.
The evacuation planners at Oyster Creek have been handed the
task of ensuring the safety of more than 200,000 people living
within a 10-mile radius of the plant and more than 3 million
people living within a 50-mile radius. Given the growing
population and the inadequate escape routes, it's a job that no
agency, or group of agencies, is capable of performing
satisfactorily. It's a major reason the nuclear reactor should be
closed.
'The hearing begins at 7 p.m. It will be preceded at 6 p.m. by a
public information session. Representatives of the state Bureau
of Nuclear Engineering, Department of Environmental Protection,
and the Office of Emergency Management, Division of State Police,
will attend the hearings and respond to questions and comments. A
copy of the evacuation plan is available at the Ocean County
Library, 101 Washington St., Toms River, (732) 349-6200.
the Asbury Park Press
*****************************************************************
25 Boston.com: Superfund site cleanup inches toward first phase
Watchdog groups involved in effort
By Davis Bushnell, Globe Correspondent | July 18, 2004
A plan to explore the range of contaminants on the Starmet Corp.
Superfund site in West Concord is expected to be approved next
month. If that happens, then the first phase of the investigative
work will get underway in September, according to the US
Environmental Protection Agency.
The 46-acre property off Route 62 went on the agency's Superfund
list in June 2001.
A public meeting will be held in Concord some time after Labor
Day on the field work plan now being refined by a Connecticut
firm, de maximis Inc., said Melissa Taylor, the EPA's remedial
project manager charged with the Starmet property cleanup.
On Wednesday, EPA officials will review a work plan draft, Taylor
said, with members of two Concord groups, the 2229 Main St.
Committee and Citizens Research and Environmental Watch. The
latter has a $50,000 technical assistance grant from the EPA.
Also in September, the state Department of Environmental
Protection is planning to solicit proposals for the removal of
more than 3,700 barrels of depleted uranium that are now being
stored in Starmet buildings. A contractor is likely to be
selected in November, said department spokesman Joseph Ferson,
adding that the project probably will get started next January.
The department had hoped to pick a contractor in the spring or
summer, but the complexity of drawing up a request for proposals
has altered the timetable, Ferson said. The Army has agreed to
pay for the removal of the barrels containing low levels of
radioactive material.
In the 1970s, 1980s, and late 1990s, Starmet's predecessor
company, Nuclear Metals Inc., made uranium-tipped bullets for the
Army.
In June 2003, the EPA cited the Army, the US Department of
Energy, and three companies for being responsible for the
property's contamination. The companies are: Whittaker Corp. of
Simi Valley, Calif.; Textron Inc. of Providence, and MONY Life
Insurance Co. of New York City.
The delay in naming a contractor to get rid of the barrels of
depleted uranium will have no bearing on the work plan now being
fine-tuned, said Bruce Thompson, project coordinator for de
maximis Inc. The Weatogue, Conn.,-based firm is handling the
field work for the five responsible parties. The total tab for
this work is $8 million, Thompson said.
z The barrel-removal process is an important component of the
investigative work, "but we can plug that into the plan when the
timing is right," he said. The barrels are being guarded around
the clock at Starmet's expense.
The most important consideration is that the environmental
protection department is giving "top priority to the final
disposal of those barrels," said Anne Shapiro, the Concord Board
of Selectmen's liaison to the town's 2229 Main St. Committee,
which is monitoring activities at the Starmet site.
Meantime, de maximis, which has drafted a 2,000-page work plan,
is gearing up for more than 100 days of drilling on the Starmet
property, Thompson said, adding that most of this sampling work
will be done in the fall.
The second sampling phase will be done next spring, based on the
results of the soil and water samples this fall, he said. Then a
risk assessment process could begin next summer, followed by a
remedial plan for the site, now targeted for 2008 or 2009.
However, everything depends on the "extent of contamination
that's revealed," said Judith Scotnicki, of Concord, a founder of
the Citizens Research and Environmental Watch group. "It may be
that there are other areas" of the property that have to be
explored.
The group's technical assistance coordinator, James West, said,
however, that "what's being proposed so far is a comprehensive
investigation, one that will surely uncover the contaminants that
are there."
The EPA is also confident that the investigative work will prove
to be fruitful, "once everything gets moving in September, which
we think will happen," Taylor said.
Davis Bushnell can be reached at bushnell@globe.com. [ /] ©
Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company. [ /] More News
*****************************************************************
26 Los Angeles Times: Groups Plan to Sue Agency Over Lab Cleanup
- latimes.com]
July 20, 2004
LOS ANGELES
[*] Environmentalists say the Energy Department would leave
high levels of radioactive material.
By Amanda Covarrubias, Times Staff Writer
Two environmental groups announced Monday that they intended to
sue the Department of Energy for allegedly violating federal law
in its cleanup of nuclear and chemical contamination at Boeing's
Rocketdyne field laboratory near Chatsworth.
The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Committee to
Bridge the Gap say the Energy Department's cleanup plan for the
site where U.S. agencies conducted nuclear research over four
decades would leave dangerous levels of radioactive material
and other toxic chemicals in the soil at the field lab.
Energy Department officials have said that the site, where a
nuclear reactor meltdown occurred in 1959, would pose no
significant threat to human health or the environment after it is
cleaned up to at least minimum standards for radioactive
contamination set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
But critics and watchdog groups have demanded that a full
environmental impact review be conducted.
The Energy Department has 60 days to comply with the law or the
groups will file a lawsuit in federal court, said Howard Crystal,
an attorney for the Washington, D.C.-based council and Bridge the
Gap, an anti-nuclear group based in Los Angeles.
The outcome of a lawsuit could have implications far beyond the
2,700-acre hilltop lab because the Energy Department operates
many other contaminated nuclear and chemical sites around the
country.
"We're making good progress cleaning up the … site in an
environmentally safe and sound manner," said John Belluardo, a
spokesman for the Energy Department in Oakland. "We do not agree
with those that wish to slow down cleanup by threatening to file
lawsuits. DOE will review the letter and decide if any response
is necessary."
Boeing Co. officials did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Although the Energy Department's operations at Rocketdyne
comprised only a portion of the work conducted at the lab, its
legacy of nuclear and chemical contamination could affect public
health for generations, said Dan Hirsch, president of the
Committee to Bridge the Gap.
"I think [DOE officials] are sacrificing public health for cost
savings," he said. "The Bush administration has a tremendous
hostility to living up to its environmental responsibilities. So
it's partially to save money and partially an antipathy to
environmental protections."
In a 12-page letter to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, the two
groups demanded the agency prepare a more strict environmental
review.
"Given that one of the only reactor meltdowns in the world
occurred at this site … and the cleanup of the radioactive
contamination … is budgeted at approximately a quarter of a
billion dollars, it is apparent this cleanup is a 'major federal
action significantly affecting the quality of the human
environment' and therefore requiring an EIS," the letter states.
Specifically, the groups say the Energy Department is in
violation of the National Environmental Protection Act; the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability
Act; and the Endangered Species Act.
Through an environmental impact statement, the two groups are
demanding that the department address recent findings of high
levels of radioactive tritium, the solvents trichloroethylene and
perchlorate, a chemical used in rocket fuel and found in deep,
nonpotable groundwater wells on and near the lab site.
The groups say that the Environmental Protection Agency
determined last year that the Energy Department's plan to leave
99% of the contaminated soil in place would leave far too much
radioactivity behind to meet federal standards for unrestricted
land use.
The groups say the Energy Department is in violation of a joint
policy it adopted in 1995 with the EPA, agreeing to clean up all
nuclear sites to the same high standards as those required by
federal Superfund sites. Santa Susana Field Lab is not a
Superfund site.
The environmental groups also say there are several endangered
species on the site that have not been taken into account in the
current cleanup plan, as required under federal law. The only
species mentioned is Braunton's milkvetch, a small plant that
grows in the California chaparral.
From the 1950s to 1989, the Energy Department, NASA and the
Defense Department conducted nuclear experiments at the field
lab. A test reactor suffered a partial meltdown at the site in
1959.
Although the accident was not widely publicized until 20 years
later, company officials said later that there had been no danger
to the public or workers.
Former employees and nearby residents have filed lawsuits
against Boeing, alleging contamination at the plant led to
illness and death of relatives. Those lawsuits are pending in
federal court. If you want other stories on this topic, search
[http://www.latimes.com/archives] . [TMS Reprints] Article
Copyright 2004 Los Angeles Times
*****************************************************************
27 Seattle Times: Editorials: Hanford's tanks of trouble
Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.
Add another agency report that shows more could be done to
protect workers' health at Hanford's waste-tank farms.
And add another reason why Congress should establish outside
oversight of nuclear workplace safety. Currently, the Department
or Energy polices itself and its contractors at Hanford and other
sites. Friday, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health became the third agency to issue a report affirming
tank-farm workers may have been exposed to toxic vapors at
health-compromising levels. About 53 million gallons of
radioactive waste are stored in 177 underground tanks.
Part of the Centers for Disease Control, the institute in 2000
made recommendations for how the Energy Department should improve
its data collection and analysis so effects on workers at nuclear
sites could be better understood. Friday's report noted the
recommendations had not been implemented, creating a gap in
information that will require more medical monitoring.
The Energy Department and the tank-farm contractor, CH2M Hill,
say they already have made many of the changes recommended in the
latest report. Last month, the contractor announced the hiring of
a new environmental health director at Hanford and a new
ombudsman. It would also bring in a panel of experts to evaluate
and strengthen its current monitoring system.
These are good moves, but outside oversight might have prevented
the exposures in the first place.
The Government Accountability Project, which first publicized the
concerns last fall, has called for the Energy Department to put
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in charge of
worker safety. OSHA might not have the expertise required for
this specialized and uncommon work, but the group is on to
something.
Clearly, something went awry at the tank farms, which are the
responsibility of the Department of Energy.
Congress should put someone else in charge of monitoring worker
safety at Hanford and other nuclear sites.
Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company
*****************************************************************
28 Tri-City Herald: Energy NW needs to cut costs, panel says
This story was published Tuesday, July 20th, 2004
By Chris Mulick Herald Olympia bureau
Energy Northwest needs to be more aggressive at cutting costs but
is improving, says a panel convened by the Bonneville Power
Administration to find ways to reduce the region's power bills.
The group of utilities, tribes, state governments and others was
charged with reviewing the BPA's budget and finding ways to save
money.
Ultimately, BPA's Power Net Revenue Enhancement Sounding Board
found measures to trim the bottom line by $111 million for the
rest of this fiscal year and the next, which begins Oct. 1.
But two-thirds of that is from a one-time savings of $74.8
million on deferred interest costs and debt restructuring. Those
costs will be added to future budgets.
Even so, members of the sounding board, who have been more apt to
criticize Bonneville, praised the federal power marketer for
following through on a promise to find $100 million in cuts or in
additional revenue.
"They were being pretty industrious looking for opportunities,"
said John Saven, director of Northwest Requirements Utilities,
which represents dozens of public utilities and rural electric
co-ops.
Not everyone received such praise. "An attitude still prevails in
other quarters that 'the costs are what they are,' " the report
stated. "Such complacency undercuts the continuing sense of
urgency about operating efficiency that is essential to avoiding
unnecessary rate increases. Energy Northwest struck many of us as
an illustration of this problem, although we were heartened by
evidence of progress in our later meetings."
Energy Northwest, which operates the nuclear power plant north of
Richland, took issue with that statement, pointing out that it
helped ease BPA's financial strain by agreeing to restructure
debt. Energy Northwest also began reducing its work force by 66
in April, with 40 workers getting layoff notices.
"Anyone who doesn't think Energy Northwest has been cutting costs
probably should speak with one of the 40 employees we laid off,"
spokesman Brad Peck said.
More reductions are expected.
Ralph Cavanaugh, energy program director for the National
Resources Defense Council and a sounding board member who helped
edit the report, said the board's impression of Energy Northwest
improved over time.
"The sounding board acknowledges progress was being made," he
said.
The board and Bonneville praised the process, which Cavanaugh
said provided members with unprecedented access to BPA staff to
answer budget questions. BPA spokesman Ed Mosey said it allowed
customers and interest groups to hold his agency accountable
while making it easier for them to understand the agency's
challenges.
"That's a good thing for everyone," Mosey said. "When you don't
have that view, you tend to jump to conclusions that sometimes
aren't warranted."
Board member Larry Cassidy, a Washington member of the Northwest
Power and Conservation Council, said the panel will need to make
a greater commitment to fully comprehend Bonneville's budgets.
"It was very difficult to appraise their operating costs,"
Cassidy said. "The scrutiny required is much more difficult. It
would take a lot more work."
The report also suggested Bonneville consider merging its
separate transmission and power businesses to cut costs and
revisit long-standing contracts with certain irrigators that now
provide power at prices far below what other customers pay.
© 2004 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
29 Tri-City Herald: DOE to halt waste shipments
This story was published Tuesday, July 20th, 2004
By Annette Cary Herald staff writer
The federal government has agreed to temporarily halt some
shipments of low- level waste bound for burial at Hanford if it
can reach agreement with Washington state on a schedule for a
court decision.
Monday evening the state sent documents to federal district court
suing the Department of Energy over its June 23 record of
decision calling for Hanford to become a regional disposal site
for up to 62,000 cubic meters of low-level waste and up to 20,000
cubic meters of low-level waste mixed with hazardous chemicals.
Attorney General Christine Gregoire is asking for a federal court
ruling to prevent the shipment of wastes covered by the record of
decision while the case is being heard. About $2 billion of work
annually is done at Hanford to clean up contamination caused by
the production of plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons
during World War II and the Cold War.
The state contends that the decision to ship the solid waste to
Hanford was based on a flawed and incomplete environmental
analysis. It's amending a 2003 lawsuit against DOE to add
complaints about low-level waste to previous complaints about
transuranic waste, or waste that's typically contaminated with
plutonium.
Monday morning, attorneys for the federal government and the
state held a status conference by telephone with Judge Alan
McDonald in federal court in Yakima.
The federal government and the state agreed to try to work out a
schedule of court activities, said DOE spokeswoman Colleen Clark,
of the Richland Operations office, after the conference. The news
media were barred from the proceedings.
"If we reach an agreement on the schedule, then we would not ship
waste during the schedule period," Clark said.
The schedule likely would extend until McDonald rules on the
state's request to temporarily halt certain waste shipments while
the case is decided.
DOE believes its environmental study was thorough. The record of
decision limits DOE waste that would be sent to Hanford to about
25 percent of the maximum that it could have sent to Washington.
Whether DOE would temporarily stop sending all low-level and
mixed low-level waste to Hanford is unclear. Hanford accepted
almost 800 cubic meters of low-level waste in fiscal year 2003
from other DOE facilities, such as the Idaho National Engineering
and Environmental Laboratory and the Brookhaven National
Laboratory in New York.
The record of decision expands the DOE facilities that would send
low-level waste to Hanford for permanent disposal. The waste,
which includes contaminated building rubble without high
concentrations of plutonium, would be buried in lined trenches in
central Hanford.
Whether DOE might stop sending all low-level waste or just the
low-level waste from additional DOE sites is among the topics
expected to be negotiated as the court schedule is developed over
the next few days.
The record of decision also opened Hanford for disposal of
regional mixed low-level waste, which it had not accepted in
recent years. Shortly after the record of decision was issued,
109 drums of mixed low-level waste produced at the Rocky Flats,
Colo., nuclear site were accepted at Hanford.
Federal court already has ordered DOE to temporarily stop sending
transuranic waste to Hanford. '[sys/section/path]', map=>{
© 2004 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
30 The State: Case made for SRS waste
07/20/2
Energy needs approval from Congress to leave hazardous material
in containers
By SAMMY FRETWELL
Staff Writer
AIKEN Ginger Dickert held up a mostly empty jar of candy Monday
to illustrate why she thinks it is suitable to leave high-level
atomic garbage at the Savannah River Site.
The tiny amount represented the relatively small amount of
high-level waste the government wants to remain in the sites 49
steel waste tanks, said Dickert, a cleanup expert at SRS.
By comparison, a large, nearly full jar of candy represented the
amount the government intends to clean out of the tanks and ship
off to a waste disposal site in Nevada, federal officials said.
You understand the perspective, Dickert said.
Mondays demonstration for the media was part of a full-scale
push by the Department of Energy to gain support for a proposal
that environmental groups, Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., and
former President Jimmy Carter have roundly criticized.
The Energy Department is seeking Congressional approval to
abandon nuclear waste the government cant clean out of the 49
huge waste containers at SRS. The plan allows the Department of
Energy to pour grout, a cement-like substance, into the
750,000-gallon to more than 1-million-gallon underground tanks to
neutralize the remaining waste.
Federal officials Monday said they will leave only tiny amounts
of high-level waste in the tanks. The Energy Departments top
legal council, Lee Otis, led a contingent of agency officials
from Washington to SRS Monday.
Critics of the plan say the proposal before Congress is written
so broadly that it would allow the government to leave as much
waste as it wants in the tanks.
Without approval from Congress, the entire high-level waste
cleanup program could grind to a halt in 2008, agency official
Charles Hansen said.
Hansen, an assistant waste disposition manager with the DOE, said
leaving a small amount of waste in the tanks under the government
plan would not be dangerous.
Our plan is to only leave this small amount of radioactivity
here, Hansen said. It will protect the citizens. Thats what we
want to proceed with.
He noted that the DOE has already used this plan to close two
high-level waste tanks at SRS. The waste gives off a radioactive
dose thats far less than the average South Carolina citizen
receives in a years time, he said.
But because a federal court curtailed its authority last year,
the DOE says it needs Congress to restore authority to close the
49 other tanks in the same way.
High-level atomic waste is among the most dangerous wastes in the
world. If people were exposed directly to this waste, it could
kill them instantly.
Though SRS officials have contained the waste so far, about
one-fourth of the tanks at the site have leaked some in the
past three years.
That threatens to contaminate groundwater, which lies just a few
feet from the tank bottoms. The waste tanks also could explode
and send radioactivity into the atmosphere.
The 37 million gallons of sludge and salt wastes in the tanks
represent the single largest environmental threat to South
Carolina today, according to the S.C. Department of Health and
Environmental Control.
On Monday, the Energy Department spent more than four hours
leading tours of SRS waste areas and processing facilities for
the media and politicians. During the tour, officials said their
plan is the only realistic way to clean up the waste tanks.
U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C., told reporters the
governments tank cleanup process is not some haphazard type of
environment.
Barrett, whose district includes SRS, backs U.S. Sen. Lindsey
Grahams legislative proposal to leave some waste at SRS. He
spoke to reporters while standing atop one of the two underground
storage tanks the government had already closed with some
high-level waste remaining.
Its a good solution and one I proudly support, Barrett said.
Mondays media briefing drew criticism from the Natural Resources
Defense Council, an influential environmental group from
Washington, D.C. The NRDCs successful legal challenge in federal
court prompted the DOE to seek to change the law to allow some of
the waste to stay at SRS.
They were trying to do a snow job on the media, NRDC
legislative director Karen Wayland said of the DOE briefing
Monday.
Wayland criticized the legislation, pushed by Graham that allows
the DOE to leave some waste in the tanks. Grahams plan has been
approved by the Senate as part of the Defense Authorization Bill,
but does not have House approval. A final decision may not be
made until fall, after the Democratic and Republic Party
Conventions, she said.
DOE officials said even if they wanted to leave large volumes in
the tanks, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental
Control would not allow that by law. DHEC waste regulator David
Wilson said that how his agency reacts depends on individual tank
cleanup plans.
Reach Fretwell at (803) 771-8537 or sfretwell@thestate.com
[sfretwell@thestate.com] .
*****************************************************************
31 Oak Ridger: DOE, Oliver Springs working together
Story last updated at 11:36 a.m. on July 20, 2004
TO WHAT EXTENT: Training and equipment part of effort suggested
by federal agency.
By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff [paul.parson@oakridger.com]
While it apparently hasn't always been the case, the Department
of Energy's Oak Ridge chief has required that the town of Oliver
Springs receive direct notification of a general emergency on the
federal government's Oak Ridge Reservation.
DOE also plans to assist the municipality in getting training for
emergency response personnel and obtaining radiological detection
equipment.
The federal agency's assistance stems from concerns voiced by
Oliver Springs Mayor Ed Kelley as well as a meeting between him
and DOE officials.
At issue is what the mayor classifies as a communication failure
pertaining to a recent accident in addition to the shipment of
nuclear waste known as depleted uranium hexafluoride though his
town.
The mayor met earlier this month with Gerald Boyd, manager of
DOE's Oak Ridge Operations office, and Steve McCracken, the
federal agency's local cleanup chief. Boyd followed up that
meeting with a letter he sent out on Friday.
According to Boyd, a review of DOE's notification procedures and
of a multi-jurisdictional emergency plan for the Oak Ridge
Reservation showed that direct notification is not provided to
the town in the event of a general emergency.
"Direct notification to Oliver Springs would enhance the town's
ability to take whatever actions they deem appropriate as well as
communicate with town residents in a timely manner," Boyd's
letter noted.
Kelly previously told The Oak Ridger that it took him several
hours to get information during a weekend accident near the Oak
Ridge K-25 site.
Regarding the waste shipments that leave K-25 and ultimately end
up at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Boyd said DOE
conducted training sessions in Kentucky and Ohio where around 450
first responders, law enforcement personnel and other officials
were educated on various aspects of the material and its
transportation. Boyd indicated the Tennessee Emergency Management
Agency elected to conduct its own training for state responders,
and DOE instructional materials were provided to them for this
purpose.
"If there are emergency response personnel in Oliver Springs who
have not received first responder training, we will work with the
appropriate organizations to provide this opportunity," Boyd's
letter stated.
Depleted uranium hexafluoride is a byproduct of an operation
where uranium was ultimately processed into nuclear reactor fuel
and weapons-grade material. When Oak Ridge officials objected to
the material being shipped through the city, Kelley said DOE
began transporting the waste from K-25 through Oliver Springs -
where the trucks hit Highway 61 to Clinton and end up on
Interstate 75 to Ohio.
Previously, Kelley voiced concern when one of the transport
trucks was involved in a minor traffic accident, though the
driver was not at fault. In addition, another driver was recently
cited for following too closely.
As for additional help for Oliver Springs, there is a program in
place that makes radiological detection equipment, which is
surplus to DOE needs, available to first responder organizations.
Boyd said the town should qualify for equipment under the
program.
The DOE chief also suggested that Kelley contact the Tennessee
Emergency Management Agency to see if the town might be eligible
for any other emergency response-related assistance.
*****************************************************************
32 L.A. Times: Lab's Disks Still Missing
[Los Angeles Times - latimes.com]
July 20, 2004
THE NATION
[*] Officials are briefed at the Los Alamos nuclear facility on
the latest security lapses and the subsequent suspension of most
operations.
By Ralph Vartabedian and Christine Hanley, Times Staff Writers
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. The nuclear weapons laboratory here is still
searching for missing computer disks that contain secret
information, officials at the facility told visiting Bush
administration executives and members of Congress on Monday.
The disappearance of the disks is blamed in part on scientists
and engineers who flout rules intended to protect critical
nuclear weapons secrets, part of a culture that lab director Pete
Nanos said he intended to change.
"I think in the short term they will be beefing up security
measures," said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), a member of the
House Energy and Commerce Committee who attended Monday's closed
briefing by Nanos. "We want both short-term and long-term
changes."
Nanos gave a several-hour briefing and a tour to a group of
officials that included Deputy Energy Secretary Kyle McSlarrow,
National Nuclear Security Administration director Linton Brooks
and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas).
The lab this month acknowledged that it had lost two computer
disks containing classified information, and has confirmed that
it reported to the Energy Department that some classified
information was improperly transmitted over an open e-mail
system. The incident follows nearly a decade of problems at the
lab, ranging from financial fraud to improper storage of nuclear
waste. On Friday, Nanos ordered an indefinite suspension of most
operations at the facility.
Barton, who was not available after the tour, has been among the
lab's most outspoken critics. At a House Energy and Commerce
Committee hearing last week, Barton criticized Energy Department
officials, saying, "There's probably better security at the …
public library over CDs and videos."
Problems at the lab have turned up the heat on the University of
California, which manages Los Alamos under contract with the
Energy Department.
Michael Reese, a UC spokesman, said Monday that when the
university's contract expired next year, it might bid for a
renewal with a partner, possibly defense company Lockheed Martin.
"The discussions continue with a number of potential partners,
including Lockheed," Reese said. He said he did not know how soon
a decision would be made but noted that UC officials had not
determined whether to even pursue a bid.
DeGette said in an interview that she believed UC officials now
recognized the seriousness of the problems at Los Alamos. But,
she added, Congress is unlikely to accept vague promises to beef
up security after so many years of failure to do so.
Research at the lab remained largely shut down Monday while
supervisors reviewed security procedures with each employee.
Supervisors in the lab's 25 divisions, spread out over 36 square
miles, began taking steps to resume operations, lab spokesman Jim
Fallin said. These include one-on-one interviews to ensure that
employees understand and comply with established rules, and to
stress that the lab will not tolerate those who choose not to, he
said.
On Monday, Fallin conveyed to the public affairs staff the
gravity of the situation. "It is vitally important that you
understand this is not situation normal," he said.
Lab officials said they expected that some parts of the lab,
especially those operating at the lowest of the four security
levels, would be back in full operation by the end of the day
Monday. Critical missions that would affect national security
were not halted.
Vartabedian reported from Los Angeles and Hanley from Los Alamos.
Times staff writer Rebecca Trounson contributed to this report.
If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at
latimes.com/archives [http://www.latimes.com/archives] . [TMS
Reprints] Article licensing and reprint options
Copyright 2004 Los Angeles Times By visiting this site, you are
*****************************************************************
33 Charleston.Net: Time running out at SRS
07/20/04
Governmental steps delayed in cleanup of high-level radioactive
waste
BY BRIAN HICKS Of The Post and Courier Staff
AIKEN--The single biggest threat to South Carolina's environment
is buried in a few dozen aging, cracked steel tanks beneath the
grounds of the Savannah River Site, a state official said Monday.
Because of delays in the courts and Congress, time is running
out to clean up the more than 35 million gallons of high-level
radioactive waste.
Officials say there is barely three years worth of storage space
at SRS, mainly due to new waste generated by ongoing cleanup at
the site. More pressing may be the condition of the facility's
older tanks, some dating back to the 1950s. A recent report found
leaks or cracks in 15 of 51 of the storage tanks, which range in
size from 750,000 gallons to 1.3 million gallons.
WADE SPEES/STAFF Charles Hansen of the Department of Energy
talks Monday about steps to treat radioactive waste at the
Savannah River Site. Behind him are canisters that will contain a
molten mix of glass and high-level nuclear waste, which then will
be put into temporary storage.
"We've got to get that out of those tanks," said David Wilson,
with the state Department of Health and Environmental Control's
land and waste management office.
Already, there are limits on how high some of the tanks can be
filled because of cracks high on their steel walls.
The Department of Energy and officials with Westinghouse
Savannah River Co., which runs the Cold War-era weapons facility,
have plans for processing the waste and storing some of the least
potent material in concrete vaults buried on-site. Those plans
have been muddled by a recent court decision that had the effect
of barring DOE from having oversight on classifying radioactive
levels of waste.
The U.S. Senate approved a bill that would allow the department
more latitude and also allow some lower-level radioactive waste
to be stored in concrete vaults at the site with state approval.
That measure, pushed by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is
pending in the House.
Meanwhile, officials at SRS find themselves hamstrung, trying to
meet a cleanup deadline while fighting public opinion on plans to
bury some waste in concrete grout in a double-lined vault on
site.
WADE SPEES/STAFF A warning sign marks the entrance Monday to
the SRS Actinide Removal Facility where the salt waste from
underground storage tanks is treated to separate high-level waste
from low-level waste.
The waste is the byproduct of irradiating material to make
various forms of plutonium and uranium, most of which was made
for weapons and fuel sources, such as the NASA probe currently
orbiting Saturn and its moon.
After scientists took what they needed, the rest went to these
storage tanks, where it has sat for years.
Scientists and engineers plan to process the radioactive muck by
distilling the most harmful waste of plutonium and uranium, which
could kill a person, and combining it with molten glass. That
volatile cocktail will be poured into storage canisters and
shipped out of state.
Some of the less radioactive material forms a salt-like
material. Officials at SRS want to mix that salt with a concrete
grout and bury it in double-lined vaults that they say will last
for more than 2,000 years. EPA guidelines call for storage
facilities to last 500 years.
That salt, which makes up the greatest volume of the waste, also
contains the least amount of radioactive material. Officials says
only about .15 percent of the radioactive elements would remain
on site under their plan.
If something isn't done soon, however, the state could be stuck
with all of the waste for several years.
"If this legislation fails, we're going to have to shut down our
cleanup," Lee Otis, an attorney for the DOE said Monday. "We need
to get the salt out of those tanks. We'll be out of space in
2008."
DOE officials have taken the public relations offensive, touting
the endorsement of their plans by scientists and even the EPA.
They say the waste that would remain in South Carolina would be
less harmful to a person than having an X-ray taken. The most
deadly radioactive material would go to a waste storage facility
in Yucca Mountain, Nev.
Some have cried foul over attempts to store waste in South
Carolina, but Wilson said this has been in the cards for the
state. He says state officials don't have a problem with it --
generally.
WADE SPEES/STAFF The Defense Waste Processing Facility at the
Department of Energy's Savannah River Site.
"There had always been the proposal to put the most benign
material in concrete vaults here," Wilson said. "We approved that
in the early 1990s."
There is a sticking point, of course. DOE officials say they
will clean the old storage tanks to the point of removing 99
percent of the radioactive waste in them. Already, they have
cleaned out four of the 51 tanks, two of which have been filled
and sealed.
Wilson said the state is not going to rubber-stamp any
particular percentage. In some cases, 1 percent can be too much,
he said.
"We want to take this on a tank-by-tank basis," he said. "To us,
this is the right way to do it. But we want to monitor it
closely. That's why we want this federal legislation to pass. It
gives the state oversight, something we haven't had before."
For the time being, all the sludge and salt continues to sit in
the old steel tanks that were not designed as a long-term
solution. In 2001, a recent report says, workers found five
gallons of radioactive waste that had leaked out of a previously
undetected crack.
If something isn't done soon, there could be more where that
came from.
Copyright © 2004, The Post and Courier, All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
34 SF Chronicle: Los Alamos chief halts all work
/ Lapses in security, safety prompt angry message to staff
Keay Davidson, Chronicle Science Writer
Saturday, July 17, 2004
All regular work activities have been suspended at the University
of California-run Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico,
following a political firestorm over security lapses at the lab.
The extraordinary move Friday by Director G. Peter Nanos was
announced in a bracingly acidic memo to the 12,000 employees of
the nuclear weapons complex and came a day after he suspended
classified research at the lab. He said it was necessary to give
staff time to discuss "how we have gotten ourselves into this
mess."
The "mess" includes not only security but safety lapses, as well.
The Chronicle learned late Friday that a 20-year-old student
intern at the lab suffered a severe eye injury Wednesday while
she was working with a laser. The woman was being taken to Johns
Hopkins medical center in Baltimore for treatment to save her
vision.
The laser accident is just one of a number of recent safety
incidents at the lab -- for example, a "near-miss" in which
staffers might have been electrocuted -- that have stunned and
angered Nanos, lab spokesman Jim Fallin told The Chronicle.
Lab staff members are still looking for two data storage devices
that have been missing since July 9, and Nanos warned in his memo
that staffers may be given polygraph examinations. Also, he said,
some people might be fired.
"If you think the rules are silly, if you think compliance (with
security regulations) is a joke, please resign now and save me
the trouble," Nanos states in the memo.
Lab officials released a copy of the memo to The Chronicle late
Friday afternoon.
UC spokesman Chris Harrington emphasized that the suspension of
regular work won't be a vacation for Los Alamos employees.
"Employees are going to work, and they're going to have training
and retraining, et cetera" on security, safety and other matters,
he told The Chronicle. "The University of California fully
supports director Nanos' aggressive actions today and believes
this decisive action is part of a strategy to bring an end to the
security problems and the other incidents that the laboratory is
facing," Harrington added.
The University of California runs both Los Alamos and the Bay
Area's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract to
the U.S. Energy Department. The Los Alamos scandal has upset so
many high officials, from Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to
members of the UC regents, that some fear it portends the end of
UC's six-decade management of the Los Alamos lab, where the
atomic bomb was created in 1945.
Los Alamos is plagued by its size and crazy-quilt geography.
While its Bay Area sibling covers about one square mile, and all
of its classified- research buildings are grouped together and
surrounded by a single, common fence, Los Alamos covers about 35
square miles, and its classified-research sectors are scattered
all over the campus in individual fiefdoms.
Officials didn't say Friday how long the freeze in regular
functions would last.
Nanos was named interim director in January 2003 and became the
permanent director that summer. His memo Friday said he expects
to see "a point-to-point risk reassessment of all the
laboratory's day-to-day activities," including "eye-to-eye
contact" between managers and staff members.
"This action is not due to lack of confidence in your ability to
do your jobs, nor is it punitive in any way. I'm simply convinced
that we need time to reflect on our shared responsibilities and
on how we do our jobs," Nanos said in the memo, titled
"Suspension of All Activities."
"In extending this suspension from classified to all activities,
the SET (Los Alamos' senior executive team) and I have asked for
a point-to-point risk assessment of all the Laboratory's
day-to-day activities," said Nanos, whose lab is scheduled to be
visited by worried members of Congress on Monday. The scheduled
visitors include Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, who chairs the House
Energy and Commerce Committee.
"I've asked all Laboratory managers to talk with their employees
one on one to make sure they understand their roles in ensuring a
safe work environment and vigilant focus on security," Nanos
said. "This is NOT an e- mail exercise; I want eye-to-eye
contact."
On Wednesday, Nanos had bawled out Los Alamos employees during an
"all hands" meeting, following revelations of the latest lapse at
the security- challenged lab: the loss of two computer data
storage devices.
But if any event encapsulates Nanos' fury, it is Wednesday's
laser incident.
In a phone interview late Friday, Los Alamos spokesman Fallin
said that at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, the intern "was working
on a series of experiments involving a class-4 pulsed laser."
When the experiments were over, she remained for a time in the
lab, thinking the laser -- whose light is not visible to the
naked eye -- was turned off.
In fact, the laser was continuing to emit its intense, although
invisible, rays. Somehow the rays penetrated her eye.
"About 30 minutes later, she experienced blurred vision," Fallin
said. Doctors discovered she has a "lesion to her retina in her
left eye. ... There was also some hemorrhaging in her left eye."
Isolated in rural New Mexico, Los Alamos has a small-town
atmosphere and its residents take pride in caring for their own.
Hence "the laboratory is flying her parents from New Jersey to
New Mexico to visit with their daughter, " Fallin said. The lab
is also "arranging for her to be flown to Johns Hopkins in
Baltimore to ensure she gets the best eye care possible."
He declined to identify the young woman because she prefers
anonymity.
Asked if the laser incident inspired Nanos' stunning memo Friday,
Fallin stressed that the memo had been a long time coming.
A former three-star admiral in the U.S. Navy, Nanos found himself
increasingly upset by incidents involving lax security and
safety, such as a case in early 2003 in which a staff member
suffered a temporary eye injury when a toxic chemical "squirted
outside of the container" and hit his eye.
There also was a case involving a power source in which the
electricity "hadn't been properly shut down," Fallin said.
"Somebody could have been electrocuted, or there could have been
an explosion."
Fallin summed up the new memo in two sentences: "There are zero
(staff) exceptions to the (new) mandate. The rule of thumb is get
on board or ship out. "
In his memo, Nanos noted that he traveled to Washington and to
Oakland this week and met with members of Congress and UC
officials.
"Frankly," he wrote, "nobody understands how we have gotten
ourselves into this mess."
Thus, he continued, heads may roll: "I told them that, in
accordance with our policies, people will be terminated if they
ignore the safety, security and environmental regulations that
are at the core of what we do here. I emphasized to everyone I
met with that this willful flouting of the rules must stop, and I
don't care how many people I have to fire to make it stop.
"If you think the rules are silly, if you think compliance is a
joke, please resign now and save me the trouble."
Presumably alluding to the international crises over terrorism
and the Iraq war, Nanos said that during the shutdown, "I will
examine critical aspects of our national security mission on a
case-by-case basis" and grant a limited number of exceptions
under which work may continue.
But he also stated that "in no case will I authorize a restart
(of any work activities) until I'm absolutely convinced that each
organization (within Los Alamos) will not risk further compromise
of safety, security and environment."
E-mail Keay Davidson at kdavidson@sfchronicle.com.
©2004 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback | FAQ
*****************************************************************
35 Google News Alert - nuclear
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 14:24:13 -0700 (PDT)
IRAQ invites UN nuclear inspectors back
swissinfo - Switzerland
By Amil Khan. material, and the agency's head says UN arms experts should
also return to finish their job. Iraq's nuclear material would return
to Baghdad soon. ...
See all stories on this topic:
N.KOREA Ready to Negotiate Nuclear Program-Official
Reuters - USA
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior North Korean representative said on Tuesday
his government was ready to end its nuclear weapons program if the United
States ...
See all stories on this topic:
US arms control official meets S.Korean diplomats on nuclear issue
Xinhua - China
SEOUL, July 20 (Xinhuanet) -- The visiting US arms control official met
with South Korean senior diplomats on Tuesday afternoon on the nuclear
issue of the ...
See all stories on this topic:
PROBE begins into security lapses at top US nuclear weapons lab
SpaceDaily - USA
US government officials toured a key nuclear weapons facility Monday at
the start of a major probe into a string of security breaches at the top
secret Los ...
See all stories on this topic:
US report: Israel should not strike Iranian nuclear facilities
Jerusalem Post (subscription) - Jerusalem,Israel
The US should urge Israel not to strike Iranian nuclear facilities since
such a move would adversely affect US interests, and America would be
blamed for the ...
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ROH-KOIZUMI to Focus on Pyongyang's Nuclear Program
Korea Times - Seoul,South Korea
... Junichiro Koizumi in their summit talks on Wednesday will focus on
finding a peaceful solution to the impasse over North Korea’s nuclear
weapons program. ...
See all stories on this topic:
PERRY nuclear plant monitor malfunctions, prompts alert
Ohio News Network - Columbus,OH,USA
NORTH PERRY, Ohio -- An emergency alert was declared early Tuesday at the
Perry nuclear power plant when an instrument malfunctioned and falsely
showed an ...
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NUCLEAR cleanup depends on Yucca Mountain site
Hilton Head Island Packet - Hilton Head Island,SC,USA
America needs a dose of reality to cope with nuclear waste disposal. The
nation needs the Yucca Mountain waste repository, and it ...
See all stories on this topic:
US, Chinese Experts Discuss Preventing Spread of Nuclear Materials
Voice of America - Washington,DC,USA
US experts are calling on China to help prevent nuclear weapons from ending
up in the hands of terrorists. Dozens of American and ...
ENVIRONMENTAL group plans lawsuit over nuclear site's cleanup plan
KESQ - Palm Desert,CA,USA
... SUSANA An environmental group says it will sue the federal government
for what it calls a failure to clean up contamination at a former nuclear
testing site. ...
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36 APP.COM - VX plan: What nerve
ASBURY PARK PRESS THE JERSEY SHORE'S LARGEST NEWS SOURCE [
Published in the Asbury Park Press 7/20/04 An Asbury Park Press
editorial
The Army has come up with a battle plan for disposing of 4
million gallons of a deadly nerve agent that has the potential in
even trace amounts to kill millions of people: Dilute it, then
dump it in the Delaware River.
Brilliant. And people are wondering why things are going badly
in Iraq.
Gov. McGreevey, other state officials and New Jersey's
congressional delegation should join together and announce their
unqualified opposition to this harebrained scheme before it
proceeds any further.
Why is it even being considered? Because DuPont Co., which
stands to make millions from treating the deadly VX nerve agent
at its Deepwater plant in Salem County and then releasing it into
the river, has volunteered to do the job. The Army initially
wanted to ship the VX -- developed during the 1960s but never
used in combat -- to Dayton, Ohio, but community opposition there
stopped it. It must be stopped in New Jersey as well.
The Army says it believes its treatment plan is safe. It did a
test run earlier this year, dumping three gallons of the treated
waste into the river -- without notifying the public. That is
reason enough to tell them to go away and stay away.
When it comes to public health, the Army has no credibility.
Even if the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and the state Department of Environmental Protection ultimately
vouch for the safety of the plan, the nerve agent should be
disposed of elsewhere. If it's all that safe, why not sprinkle it
on the grounds of the Pentagon? It would undercut the skeptics.
And it just might help kill the crabgrass.
*****************************************************************
37 Mail & Guardian: Nagasaki nuke pilot dies
Monday, July 19, 2004, 6:18
Charles W Sweeney, a retired Air Force general who piloted the
plane that dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki in the final days
of World War II, has died at age 84.
Sweeney died on Thursday at Massachusetts General hospital in
Boston, hospital spokesperson Christine Johanson said. She did
not disclose the cause of death.
Sweeney was 25 when he piloted the B-29 bomber that attacked
Nagasaki on August 9 1945, three days after the Enola Gay dropped
an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and six days before Japan
surrendered.
About 70 000 people were killed in the explosion of the bomb,
dubbed "Fat Man". It was the first bomb Sweeney ever dropped on
an enemy target.
Sweeney was an outspoken defender of the bombings, appearing on
CNN and speaking at colleges and universities.
Sweeney also wrote a book, War's End: An Eyewitness Account of
America's Last Atomic Mission, to counter what he considered
"cockamamie theories" that the bombings were unnecessary.
"I looked upon it as a duty. I just wanted the war to be over, so
we could get back home to our loved ones," Sweeney told The
Patriot Ledger of Quincy in 1995. "I hope my missions were the
last ones of their kind that will ever be flown."
Sweeney also played a role in the bombing at Hiroshima, where he
flew an instrument plane that accompanied the Enola Gay during
that attack.
His own B-29, the Bock's Car, is not as well-known, although the
bombing was harrowing for the crew. The flight had fuel problems
from the start, and clouds and smoke were covering the mission's
primary target, the city of Kokura.
After making several dangerous passes over the city, Sweeney
abandoned the primary target for Nagasaki. Only a break in the
clouds allowed the bomb to be dropped, Sweeney said.
Sweeney was a graduate of North Quincy High School who traced his
passion for flying to a local airfield. He became a brigadier
general in 1956 and at the time was the youngest man in the Air
Force to reach that rank. He retired in 1976. -- Sapa-AP
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