***************************************************************** 07/26/04 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 12.177 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 Belfast Telegraph: Butler 'wrong' on Iraq uranium link 2 UK Independent: Intelligence officer fired for criticising Blair ove 3 Asia Times: Russia sticks with Iran 4 asahi.com: New N. Korea talks set for mid-August 5 US: The Californian: Deregulation bill in hands of the Senate - Opin 6 [NYTr] Israel Won't Let Vanunu Leave 7 Court Rejects Vanunu Petition Against Security Restrictions 8 UPI: Israel reins in nuclear dissident Vanunu - 9 BBC: Should Vanunu be allowed to travel? 10 FT: Energy investors hope for change 11 Guardian Unlimited: Israeli court backs Vanunu travel ban 12 asahi.com: EDITORIAL:Limits on arms exports NUCLEAR REACTORS 13 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Subcommittee Meet 14 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Subcommittee Meet 15 US: Brattleboro Reformer: NRC seeks more data on VY cracks 16 Globe and Mail: Burn, baby, burn: Why we're back to nuclear power 17 US: APP.COM: Govenor wants nuke plant out at expiration 18 MosNews: Handicapped Chernobyl Veteran Dies After Hunger Strike - 19 PIB Press Release: Ministry of Power (Tarapur) 20 DW: EU Energy Commissioner Criticizes Germany's Nuke Policy 21 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for th 22 US: NRC: Virginia Electric and Power Company; Notice of Withdrawal o NUCLEAR SAFETY 23 Guardian Unlimited: MoD papers sealed in asbestos scare NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 24 US: Deseret news: Incinerator vapors cause resolved? 25 US: sacbee.com: Perchlorate threat looms for farmers 26 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada delegates excited to be in Boston 27 Las Vegas SUN: Biggest Yucca obstacle may be budget 28 San Francisco Chronicle: Yucca Mountain is not the site 29 CBS News: Yucca Mountain: A Target For Terrorists? 30 Guardian Unlimited: Inquiry urged into nuclear fuel plant NUCLEAR WEAPONS 31 US: Washington Dispatch: Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty US DEPT. OF ENERGY 32 Hanford News: Los Alamos case halts some work at PNNL 33 Daily Californian: Classified Research Ceases at All DOE Labs - 34 KTVB.COM: Workers moved indoors following acid leak at INEEL 35 Oak Ridger: Security issues affect Y-12 36 Oak Ridger: Bechtel Jacobs' contracts extended in Kentucky, Ohio 37 lamonitor.com: DOE orders nationwide stand down OTHER NUCLEAR 38 Google News Alert - nuclear 39 Nuclear Calendar 40 Spectrum: Small Boy has big effect on small boy ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Belfast Telegraph: Butler 'wrong' on Iraq uranium link [http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk] By Raymond Whitaker 26 July 2004 A leading nuclear expert has pointed out a technical error in the Butler report on WMD intelligence in Iraq, and criticised the committee's finding that intelligence on Saddam Hussein seeking uranium from Africa was "credible". The Butler report demolished the most controversial allegation in the Government's September 2002 WMD dossier - that Iraq could deploy chemical or biological weapons in 45 minutes - but observers were surprised that the uranium claim passed scrutiny. American investigators have dismissed the suggestion that Iraq was seeking uranium from the west African state of Niger in a quest for nuclear weapons, because it was based on forged documents. It was also inherently implausible, they added, since Iraq had 550 tons of "yellowcake" - uranium which has undergone the first stage of processing. But the Butler committee accepted the Government's contention that it had separate intelligence, which has never been disclosed, to support the claim. Norman Dombey, retired professor of theoretical physics at Sussex University, said yesterday that the Butler report wrongly described Iraq's stocks of uranium as unprocessed. But Professor Dombey, credited with pointing out numerous flaws in the story of an Iraqi defector whose nuclear claims were widely circulated in the US during the 1990s, was more critical of the committee's intelligence findings on the Niger issue. "The Butler report says the claim was credible because an Iraqi diplomat visited Niger in 1999, and almost three-quarters of Niger's exports were uranium. But this is irrelevant, since France controls Niger's uranium mines," he said. Last year this newspaper interviewed the now-retired diplomat, Wissam al-Zahawie, who said he had been sent on a tour of African countries in 1999 to invite their leaders to a trade fair in Iraq. In Niger he met only the President, who was assassinated two months later. British intelligence on the issue appears to be based entirely on speculation by other Niger officials about the purpose of Mr Zahawie's visit. Professor Dombey pointed out that the recent Senate Intelligence Committee report in the US quoted widespread scepticism about the British information on Niger. One agency said "the claims of Iraqi pursuit of natural uranium in Africa are highly dubious". Asked by the committee to comment on Britain's WMD dossier, the deputy director of central intelligence, John McLaughlin, said "they stretched a little bit beyond where we would stretch" on the African uranium question, adding: "I think they reached a little bit on that one point." Another senior official singled out the same part of the dossier, saying: "They put more emphasis on the uranium acquisition in Africa than we would." Despite doubts at the time, George Bush said in his January 2003 State of the Union address that "the British government has learnt that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa". The head of the CIA, George Tenet, who has since stepped down, apologised for its inclusion. But Britain stood by the claim, saying it was not based on the forged documents that had fooled other countries. Other US intelligence on the issue was conspicuously thin, the Senate committee noted. © 2004 Independent News and Media (NI) ***************************************************************** 2 UK Independent: Intelligence officer fired for criticising Blair over Iraq's WMD By Kim Sengupta and Andrew Grice 26 July 2004 Downing Street was accused yesterday of conducting a vendetta after the sacking of a senior intelligence official who accused Tony Blair of misleading the public over Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction. The decision to terminate the contract of John Morrison as the investigator for Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee was due to pressure from No 10, according to senior Whitehall sources. It stemmed from Mr Morrison's appearance on BBC Television's Panorama programme. The Independent has learnt that the dismissal took place even though Mr Morrison had informed Alistair Corbett, the secretary to the ISC, and its chairman, the former Labour chief whip Ann Taylor, that he was going to appear on the programme. Neither person raised any objections. Mr Morrison, a former deputy director of the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS), secretary to the Joint Intelligence Committee and intelligence representative to Nato, is the only official to lose his job following the failure to find any WMD in Iraq and over the Butler report. His dismissal has caused concern among some colleagues. One said yesterday: "It's rather ironic that the only person who goes as a result of the Butler inquiry is someone who told it as it was." The Cabinet Office said: "John Morrison is currently employed as a contractor by the Cabinet Office on behalf of the Intelligence and Security Committee as their part-time investigator. Mr Morrison has worked for the committee for five years and his contract will end in October 2004. The committee has no plans to employ a new investigator." Although the Cabinet Office claimed he had no further assignments, it is understood his contract was not due to run out until April next year, and that he is carrying out an investigation for the ISC, which is now likely to be abandoned. Mr Morrison's appearance on Panorama is said to have caused widespread alarm, as well as anger in Downing Street. Sir David Omand, Mr Blair's security and intelligence co-ordinator, is said to have complained to Ms Taylor. Mr Morrison told how intelligence officials had reacted with incredulity to the Prime Minister's claim that Iraq was "a serious and current threat to the United Kingdom". He said: "When I heard him using those words, I could almost hear a collective raspberry going up around Whitehall." Many of the accusations made by Mr Morrison were upheld by the report of the former cabinet secretary Lord Butler of Brockwell in his report the following week. Labour MPs opposed to the war on Iraq have called on Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, to refer Britain to the International Court of Justice to investigate claims that the conflict was illegal. The group, led by Alan Simpson, has also written to the prime ministers of 18 countries that opposed the war, including France, Germany and Russia, urging them to support the demands for a reference to the court, which recently ruled against Israel over its security wall in occupied Palestinian land. UK Independent Ltd. ***************************************************************** 3 Asia Times: Russia sticks with Iran atimes.com By Sergei Blagov MOSCOW - Russia has indicated that an agreement on delivering nuclear fuel rods - which can be used to obtain plutonium - could be finalized this year. Last week, the head of Russia's nuclear energy agency, Alexander Rumyantsev, told the Iranian ambassador to Russia that the deal on the return of spent rods to Russia could be clinched during his upcoming trip to Tehran, tentatively set for October. This agreement was reported as close to being signed last September, but nothing happened. The deal would open the way for Russia's nuclear supplies to Iran. Moreover, in October, Russia and Iran are expected to sign a protocol of intent on the construction of Bushehr-2 reactor, according to Russian media reports. Russia has said it would freeze construction on the US$1 billion Bushehr nuclear plant and would not begin delivering fuel rods for the reactor until Iran signed an agreement that would oblige it to return all of the spent fuel to Russia for reprocessing and storage. Sending the spent fuel out of the country would ensure that Iran could not reprocess it into material that could be used in nuclear weapons. According to Russia's Federal Nuclear Energy Agency, the first power unit of the Bushehr nuclear station is 90% ready: all heavy equipment, including the reactor, has been brought and assembled. The Russian agency noted that what was left to do was "assemble and tune up control equipment as well as control in the reactor zone". Russia has long been under fire for its help in building the Bushehr nuclear plant. Russian President Vladimir Putin has brushed off repeated US demands that it cancel the Bushehr 1,000-megawatt light-water nuclear-reactor project. Last month, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohammed ElBaradei, said Russia's construction of Iran's first nuclear reactor was "no longer at the center of international concern". Bushehr was a bilateral project between Russia and Iran to produce nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, he said after talks with Putin in Moscow. Yet Moscow's insistence on its nuclear deal with Tehran continues to cause lively debate internationally as the US and Israel accuse Iran of seeking to produce nuclear weapons. This month, US Secretary of State Colin Powell claimed at a joint press conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom in Washington that Iran was "pursuing nuclear-weapons development, or worse, acquiring a nuclear weapon". Iran's Foreign Ministry said Powell's remarks were "a source of disgrace" for the US administration. "The US is not following an independent policy towards Iran's nuclear programs but instead is toeing the line of the Zionist regime," said a ministry spokesman. Iranian Defense Minister Admiral Ali Shamkhani has warned that the Islamic Republic will abandon its commitments to the IAEA if its nuclear installations are attacked. "If there is a military attack, that would mean that the IAEA has been collecting this information to prepare for an attack," he said. There has been widespread speculation that Israel might attack Iran's nuclear facilities, and it has reportedly conducted military exercises for such a preemptive strike by long-range F-15I jets, flying over Turkey. An Israeli defense source in Tel Aviv told the London Sunday Times that Israel would on no account permit the Iranian Bushehr reactor to go critical. The Sunday Times also quoted a senior US official warning of a preemptive Israeli strike if Russia continued cooperating with the Iranians. He said Washington was unlikely to block Israeli attacks against Bushehr and other Iranian targets, including a facility at Natanz, where the Iranians have attempted to enrich uranium, and a plant at Arak. Under the Iranian deal with Moscow, waste produced at the Bushehr plant containing plutonium that could be used in bomb-making would be shipped back to Russia for storage, but the material must first be "cooled", providing Iran with what Washington fears could be up to two years in which to extract the plutonium. Israel estimates that Iran will be able to build a nuclear bomb by 2007, said an intelligence report delivered to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in private and recently leaked in part to the media. A senior US official told the London Times that the United States would take action to overturn the regime in Iran if President George W Bush is elected for a second term in November. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper that Bush would provide assistance to Iran's population to help them revolt against the ruling theocracy. Iran has remained a sore point in Russian-US relations, despite a new wave of cooperation after September 11, 2001. Although Russia's insistence on its nuclear ties with Iran seems inflammatory, to say the least, Moscow still insists it is driven by mainly commercial interests. Russia's nuclear executives have claimed that "competitors" were trying to undermine Russia's nuclear energy exports. Obviously, the $1 billion Bushehr reactor is a big deal for Russia financially. But in addition the issue fuels Middle Eastern volatility, which keeps crude-oil prices high, something of true interest to Moscow. Oil and natural gas account for about one-fifth of Russia's economy and bring more than half of its export revenue. Russia overtook Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer in the first five months of this year. Because of booming exports and high crude prices, Russia's currency reserves have reached an unprecedented $90 billion, a nearly ninefold increase in little more than five years. Russia's private oil companies (except embattled Yukos) are also flush with cash. However, Russia's growth in oil output and exports could falter next year as companies deplete fields and pipelines run at full capacity. Therefore, sustaining high oil and other commodity prices by any means could be of interest to Moscow. (Copyright 2004 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 4 asahi.com: New N. Korea talks set for mid-August The Asahi Shimbun Officials expect word on the fate of 10 missing Japanese. In working-level talks likely to be held in mid-August, Japan expects Pyongyang to provide information on 10 Japanese believed abducted to North Korea decades ago, sources said. North Korean officials previously said the 10 were either dead or that it had no records of them entering the country. They include Megumi Yokota, who was abducted as a teenager and known to be living in Pyongyang until the early 1990s. At the May 22 summit in Pyongyang, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il promised Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to reopen an investigation into the fate of the 10 Japanese. Tokyo has yet to receive any new information on this issue. Japanese officials are eager to hear what North Korea has to say on the matter at the working-level talks in Pyongyang next month. Also on the agenda is the return to Japan of fugitive former Japanese Red Army hijackers who have been holed up in Pyongyang since 1970. Planned humanitarian assistance to North Korea will also be discussed, the sources said. Officials are hoping the talks will get under way in the second week of August, possibly from Aug. 10, several government sources said. If Pyongyang is to be represented by Song Il Ho, a senior Foreign Ministry official, Tokyo plans to dispatch Akitaka Saiki, deputy director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau. The meeting likely will be followed by talks in or after September on normalizing diplomatic ties between the two countries. This, however, depends on the outcome of the working-level talks and the next round of six-nation talks aimed at resolving the standoff over North Korea's nuclear development programs, sources said. Now that all eight family members of five repatriated abductees are in Japan, Tokyo says the time is ripe to resume bilateral normalization talks. Before that process starts, though, the government is eager to go over agreements reached in the May summit, sources said. Normalization talks have been stalled since October 2002.(IHT/Asahi: July 26,2004) (07/26) [Copyright Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 5 The Californian: Deregulation bill in hands of the Senate - Opinion - thecalifornian.com Monday, July 26, 2004 By THOMAS ELIAS COLUMNISTS Now it's just the state Senate standing between California and another experiment with electric deregulation, one whose design is disturbingly similar to the disgraced system that caused the energy crisis of 2000-2001. This time, the Assembly wasn't unanimous in passing the plan. The vote was 49-25, with two Republicans supporting it, though the bill embodies much of what Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for. The vote was 5-2 in the first Senate committee to consider it. Eight years ago, every single legislator voted for deregulation. The latest votes mean some lawmakers are aware the new plan invites a consumer disaster that could be worse than the last one, for which all California electricity users must pay inflated rates at least through 2008. Easy Assembly passage of the new plan, AB 2006, sponsored by Democratic Speaker Fabian Nunez, demonstrated the fear Democrats feel of the popular governor. Schwarzenegger has not yet endorsed the Nunez bill, but it gives him most of what he wants. The bill would let the state's largest businesses stop buying power from large utilities like Pacific Gas &Electric. Instead, they could negotiate supply contracts directly with generators. They would go after the cheapest power available, produced by the same companies that have paid large fines for manipulating the energy market. These generators, Dynegy, Reliant Resources, Mirant and AES, produce electricity at natural gas-fired plants built by the utilities with money from consumers that were sold off by the utilities under the old, discredited deregulation scheme. The Nunez plan would leave all other California residents and small businesses to buy power from the utilities, that would produce it partly at new plants called for in the bill. That power, plus what's produced at nuclear plants, would likely be more expensive. What's more, the Nunez plan would let the big utilities build power plants with virtually no cost limits, guaranteeing that all cost overruns could be passed on to consumers unable to opt out of the general grid. Even some business interests that usually favor deregulation can't accept this notion. Among them: the California Farm Bureau, Building Owners and Managers Assn., League of Food Processors and the Wine Institute. Few of their members are big enough energy users to qualify for the opt-out, so they'd be stuck in the small-business/residential pool and exposed to ever-higher rates. "Good public policy," said Douglas Heller, executive director of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, "would have electricity costs shared equitably among all consumer classes." What if companies raise their prices to milk the large corporate market? With no price controls, they could do this. If it happened, the big corporations could come back onto the utility company grids, demanding more power and likely producing a shortage. Which means the Nunez plan -- certain to be signed by Schwarzenegger if it passes the Senate in the next two months -- is a likely ticket to a rerun of the energy crunch. Said Heller, "The most important lesson from the disastrous deregulation experiment passed in 1996 is that electricity is too vital to our economy and public safety to leave it in an unregulated marketplace. For legislators, a more important lesson is that all those perceived as architects of the last deregulation plan saw their political careers decimated, something Schwarzenegger and senators ought to remember. THOMAS ELIAS, a journalist based in Southern California, writes about state politics. His column appears in Opinion on Mondays. E-mail to: Tdelias@aol.com. [Tdelias@aol.com] Originally published Monday, July 26, 2004 Copyright ©2004 The Salinas Californian. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 6 [NYTr] Israel Won't Let Vanunu Leave Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 16:22:11 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Reuters via Yahoo - July 26, 2004 http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=586&e=9&u=/nm/20040726/wl_nm/israel_vanunu_dc Nuke Whistleblower Vanunu Loses Bid to Quit Israel By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's top court rejected an appeal by Mordechai Vanunu on Monday to be allowed to leave the country, saying the nuclear whistleblower freed in April after 18 years in jail was still a threat to national security. The Justice Ministry said it may even prosecute Vanunu again if unauthorized interviews he gave foreign media since leaving prison are found to have violated the terms of his release. "This is a very sad day and shameful day," Vanunu said after the High Court of Justice rejected a petition arguing he had no more secrets to tell about Israel's main atomic reactor at Dimona, and that the travel ban violated his civil rights. Vanunu, 49, was abducted by Israeli agents and convicted of treason in 1986 after discussing his work as a mid-level Dimona technician with Britain's Sunday Times newspaper. His revelations led independent experts to conclude Israel had amassed between 100 and 200 nuclear weapons -- a superpower arsenal -- and all but blew away the Jewish state's policy of "strategic ambiguity" over its non-conventional capabilities. A convert to Christianity, Vanunu has sequestered himself at a Jerusalem church since he was freed on April 21. "I want to go abroad and start my life as a free man. If Israel is a democracy it should allow me to do it," he told reporters at the court. But the government ordered him confined to Israel for at least a year and restricted his contacts with foreigners, based on Defense Ministry allegations that he planned to divulge more classified details about Dimona once out of the country. "Clearly, when a person knowingly breaks the law, he endangers himself anew," state prosecutor Shai Nitzan said on Monday, referring to the unauthorized press interviews. NAMES AND NOTES According to security sources, Israel fears Vanunu could name his former Dimona colleagues, putting them at risk of international sanctions or reprisal attacks. The Defense Ministry has also cited a jailhouse scrapbook, in which Vanunu noted technical information on the reactor from memory, as proof that he intends to go public again. Vanunu, who declined to give names of staff at Dimona to the Sunday Times, said he would continue to withhold them. "After 18 years, no one is interested in these people," he said on Monday. Asked about the scrapbook, he described its contents as "basic information with no importance for Israel's security." The restrictions on Vanunu are subject to government review and could be extended indefinitely. Supporters fear for Vanunu's safety in Israel, where most people despise him as a traitor and see the country's presumed nuclear capability as an insurance policy against numerically superior Middle East foes and a repeat of the Nazi Holocaust. In an interview conducted by an Israeli intermediary and broadcast by the BBC in early June, Vanunu said he exposed Dimona because he wanted to save Israel from a "new holocaust." But he has also questioned Israel's right to exist. * Search the NYTr Archives at: http://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ To subscribe or unsubscribe or change your settings via the web, visit: http://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= ***************************************************************** 7 Court Rejects Vanunu Petition Against Security Restrictions Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 14:28:53 -0700 Free Mordechai Vanunu - Info & Action Alert #30 - Court Rejects Vanunu Petition Against Security Restrictions ** PLEASE FORWARD TO SYMPATHETIC LISTS ** 1. Court Rejects Vanunu Petition Against Security Restrictions (Haaretz, July 26, 2004) 2. Postcards honoring Mordechai Vanunu on sale - 10/$5 postpaid 3. Write to Mordechai ======================== 1. Court Rejects Vanunu Petition Against Security Restrictions Haaretz - July 26, 2004 By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent, and Itim The High Court of Justice rejected Monday a petition filed by nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu against the restrictions imposed on him by the security services following his release from prison in April. Vanunu was released from prison in April after serving an 18-year term for revealing secrets about Israel's nuclear program to the London Sunday Times. After the ruling was handed down, Vanunu said the whole world can now see how two-faced the state of Israel is. "We are saying always that Israel is not a real democracy and today we are seeing it inside the High Court," Vanunu told reporters. "We will find a way to continue to survive and demand the rights to live as best we can." Vanunu has said he wants to live abroad and insists he has no more state secrets to reveal. "My country is not Israel. My country is outside of Israel. Israel didn't respect me for 18 years. For 18 years, Israel condemned me as a traitor, as a spy. I don't like Israel, I don't want to live in Israel. I want to be free and to leave Israel," Vanunu said. Vanunu's attorney, Dan Yakir, said he regretted the High Court ruling, and that the limitation imposed on his client violated basic human rights. Vanunu said he is considering further legal action. He could request the three-judge Supreme Court panel be expanded to hear the case again, however such appeals are often rejected. Vanunu - who insists on speaking English - said he would continue to live in St. George's Cathedral, a church not far from Jerusalem's Old City, explaining that he feels more comfortable among Palestinians and foreigners. Vanunu, who is now a prominent figure in the international anti-nuclear weapons movement, also criticized a recent visit to Israel by Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog. "I am very disappointed by Mr. Baradei because I expected him to go and inspect the Dimona reactor," Vanunu said. "The job of Mr. Baradei is to go and see if what I said ... if it's true. However, Vanunu did not wait for the court's ruling: the London-based Arabic newspaper Al Hayat published an interview with him Sunday, which would constitute a violation of these restrictions. Since his release from prison, Vanunu has been forbidden to talk to the foreign press or maintain any contact with foreigners; to travel abroad; to change his address without giving the security services 48 hours notice; or to leave town without giving them 24 hours notice, among other restrictions. His petition argued that these restrictions unreasonably infringe on his basic human rights, and that there is no security consideration to justify them because he has already told the world everything he knows about Israel's nuclear program. The state argued that the restrictions are necessary because he still has important information that he has indicated he would reveal if given the chance. In the Al Hayat interview, Vanunu charged that the Dimona nuclear reactor endangers lives throughout the Middle East, because a strong earthquake in the region could crack the reactor and cause radioactive leakage that would result in the death of millions. He also told the paper that the Jordanian government should start preparing for possible leaks from the reactor, just as Israel recently decided to distribute anti-radiation iodine pills to people who live near the Dimona reactor. He said that Jordanians living close to the border with Israel should be tested for radiation exposure, claiming that the Hashemite Kingdom is particularly at risk from the reactor because it operates mainly when "the wind blows toward Jordan." Vanunu said that he does not believe that the United States or European nations will press Israel to reveal the full extent of its nuclear capabilities. He also blasted Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, for visiting Israel earlier this month and not putting any pressure on Israel to open its nuclear program to international inspection. "He should have done here what he did in Iraq," the paper quoted him as saying. Vanunu went on to say that he told the Sunday Times all he knew about Israel's nuclear program, and that the information he had "was enough to conclude that Israel presents a real danger to the entire Middle East." Vanunu also said he believes Israel has managed to build up its nuclear arsenal during the years in which he was incarcerated. Al Hayat said that this is the first interview Vanunu has given to a newspaper since his release from an Israeli prison in April. -end- =================== 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 ***************************************************************** 8 UPI: Israel reins in nuclear dissident Vanunu - (United Press International) July 26, 2004 Jerusalem, Israel, Jul. 26 (UPI) -- Israel's Supreme Court has upheld a government edict that former nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu cannot leave the country, the BBC reported. Vanunu was convicted of treason after he revealed details of the nuclear plant at Dimona to the Britain's Sunday Times newspaper in 1986. He was subsequently captured in Italy by Israeli agents. He was released from prison in April after serving 18 years for treason, and government lawyers at his appeal hearing said he is still considered a security risk. His lawyers had petitioned he be allowed to travel to the United States or Britain. "The court proved it does not respect freedom of expression, freedom of travel and other basic rights," Vanunu told reporters after his failed appeal. "I don't like Israel, I don't want to live in Israel. I want to be free and to leave Israel." [UPI Perspectives] ***************************************************************** 9 BBC: Should Vanunu be allowed to travel? Last Updated: Monday, 26 July, 2004 The Israeli Supreme Court has refused to lift an order preventing the man who revealed the country's nuclear secrets, Mordechai Vanunu, from leaving the country. The order was imposed when Mr Vanunu left jail in April after serving eighteen years for disclosing information to the press about the Israeli nuclear plant where he worked as a technician. The Israeli government says it still regards Mr Vanunu as a security risk. Mr Vanunu, who maintains he has nothing left to reveal, said the court's decision showed Israel was not a real democracy. Israel is generally regarded as a nuclear power, although it consistently refuses to comment on whether it has a nuclear weapons capability. Should Mordechai Vanunu be allowed to travel? Is he still a security risk? After eighteen years in prison are his civil rights now being infringed? The following comments reflect the balance of views we have received so far: As a traitor Israel should have imprisoned him for life. However, he has served the sentence imposed by the Israeli courts and should now be a free man to leave the country when and if he chooses. Otherwise he is still a prisoner. Carole, UK Whatever secrets he might have known, they are not that important today. 18 years is enough, he must be allowed to travel if he so wishes. Steve Atrib, Moedling, Austria Mordechai Vanunu is a hero to the peoples of the world. He risked everything to inform us all of the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. I don't know why Israel continues to punish Mr Vanunu. We all know they possess nuclear weapons. Wallace Ryan, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada I think Mr Vanunu should be allowed to travel for two reasons; firstly he doesn't have anything to disclose now and secondly neither he nor Israelis wanted him in Israel. However, a nuclear secret traitors' usually spend their lives being house arrested and watched by intelligence. It's the same with Pakistani nuclear scientist. Jasvant Singh, Pakistan Mr. Vanunu was returned to Israel by force rather than extradition. Therefore Israel had no right to try him, let alone restrict his movements now. Mark Norman, Dundee, Scotland No one believes a guy w cheated his own country Prasad, USA What would have happened to him if he did the same thing in countries such as Saudi Arabia or Iran? He would have never seen the light. He is lucky to be alive and it is better if he shut up. No one believes a guy who cheated his own country. Prasad, USA 18 years in prison, he served his time for the crime regardless of what view you take. He is now either a free man or if a threat should go back in jail. N, UK Iraqis, Pakistanis, Saudis, North Koreans anyone with a story to tell about the development of nuclear weapons in their homelands would be welcomed as people looking to avert war and tyranny - whereas if it is against the state of Israel or the US then apparently there are alternate views that we should consider. The reality is there is no other view - he spoke out against what he saw and what the world knows is wrong, he should be applauded and protected by the same powers that would welcome any other whistle-blower. Jamal, London If the UK, US or any other Western democracy had arrested an individual who was a threat to its national security, I suspect that the individual would have been imprisoned for life so that his betrayal of his countries' secrets would be locked forever behind prison bars. Israel is a humane country and Vanunu's punishment for his actions was only 18 years behind bars. Denial of international travel for Vanunu to avoid his causing further damage to his nations' national security is a much more humane punishment than a life in prison. Obviously, in the eyes of today's world, Israel can do no right and it is judged by a standard that is not applied to any other country. David, Miami, Fl., U.S.A. I don't think that he wou have any new information to disclose Georgine, Vancouver USA Am I missing something here? Has he not served his time? I don't think that he would have any new information to disclose after being locked up for 18 years. I would think that Israel would want him gone. Georgine, Vancouver USA If it is true that the Israelis regard Mr Vanunu as a traitor, then they should let him leave the country. Their treatment of him seems vindictive. What is his crime - to tell the truth against the wishes of his government? Chris Boyne, Edinburgh UK Vanunu is a traitor and a menace to the security of Israel. He should have been convicted to a life in jail. Consequently he should not be allowed to travel. He has declared publicly that he hates his former country and hence he will lie and try to hurt Israel in every way through the media and the enemies of this country. Traitors should not be free. Gilbert, USA I think that Mr. Vanuunu should be allowed to travel, as he hasn't anything more to reveal. He was in prison for 18 years and I can understand that he doesn't wish to stay in Israel any more. He should be free to go. Angel Jackson, Brighton, UK Mr Vanunu was employed by the state of Israel and revealed state secrets to the world's press; if this happened in any country he would be deemed a traitor and at risk of never seeing the "light of day" again, in some countries .His restrictions could be deemed a small price to pay for his freedom! Graham, Beverley, England Vanunu hasn't worked in the nuclear industry for almost 20 years - what dangerous secrets can he possibly be harbouring given that the world knows a great deal about the Dimona nuclear plant? His continued draconian treatment can only be explained by the Israeli establishment's continued desire to persecute him. A state that calls itself a democracy should not be treating one of its citizens in this fashion. Nick Fraser, Jordan Still a risk after 18 years? Come on! More like because he's a vocal opponent of Israel's behaviour. Israel is continually portraying itself as a western-style, liberal democracy. However, this case, the Barghouti trial, and the barrier verdict all strongly suggest that Israel's judiciary are no more independent than those of its neighbours. Jon E, France If this man is guilty gross acts of betrayal then he is a continuing threat to security Mark H, UK A nation that faces a security threat such as that in Israel cannot afford to be totally democratic. We all know that terrorist thrive within the safe haven of a democracy. It gives them freedom to murder. If this man is guilty of gross acts of betrayal then he is a continuing threat to security. He made his bed. Now he must lie in it. Mark H, UK After 18 years Israelis nuclear capabilities have changed drastically. What Vanunu knew 18 years ago can no longer be considered a threat today. They should let him go so that he can reorganise his life in a free environment. Ochieng, Entebbe, Uganda Of course he should be allowed to leave; he has served his sentence. Alex, London This man has already spent 18 years in prison, as I understand it predominantly in solitary confinement. He has now been ostensibly released from prison but has none of the rights of a free person and may as well still be serving time. The Israeli government has clearly shown that it has no respect for human rights, even of its own people, and constantly uses self-defence as its excuse for acting in any way it sees fit. Paul Nolan, London, UK Of course he should be allowed to leave the country, just another example of Israel's total disregard of Human rights. Guy has done his time let him go now, period!! Sager Khan, Alexandria, USA Vanunu is a convicted traitor, and he is complaining about being forced to live as a free citizen after doing his time? Maybe he should have committed treason somewhere like Thailand or Saudi Arabia and see how well they would treat him. Gil Eliav, London, UK He's done his time and Isra should let go of him Topi Lappalainen, Helsinki, Finland Eighteen years is a very long time in prison. He probably just wants to start afresh in another country. He's done his time and Israel should let go of him. After all this time, his information about the nuclear programme can't be up to date anymore. Let bygones be bygones. Topi Lappalainen, Helsinki, Finland Yet another example of arrogance and disregard for human rights by Sharon and his government. But then again, it appears as though Israel is the only country that can get away with serious breaches of international law with the full blessing of the US and to some extent the UK, what a pity. Jonathan Chibafa, Surrey, England Why not ask the same question about all other traitors who sell their country for money? In China or Russia he would have got a bullet in the head, we need not bother to mention would happen in say Iran or Syria. In Israel he breaks terms of release and he has not even been put back in to jail, he is doing just fine. Rae Emmerson, Katoomba, Australia He was tried and found guilty of breaking the law. If he were an American, I don't think he would be out of jail yet and he certainly would not be allowed to travel overseas. The man is on appropriately on probation as a direct result of his actions. Would you even be asking this question if it were any other country than Israel? Lisa Starrfield, Gregory, USA After spending 18 years in solitary confinement, what possible harm could Mr. Vanunu do, except tell the truth! Which after all those years could be very damaging for the Israeli &US governments. Bob Beadman, Hong Kong He served his sentence fully and should now be free to do what he pleases. The high court decision to stop his free movement only highlights Israel's undemocratic side. Kern, Napoli ***************************************************************** 10 FT: Energy investors hope for change [http://www.ft.com] By Neil Dennis Published: July 26 2004 5:00 | Last Updated: July 26 2004 5:00 Polygon Investments, owner of 5.6 per cent of the voting rights of British Energy, hopes the Financial Services Authority's plan to accelerate new rules on companies wishing to delist help extract a better deal from the company and its creditors. The current restructuring plan would pay bondholders in full, but leave existing shareholders with just 2.5 per cent of the collapsed nuclear generator. Creditors say there are mechanisms, which could include delisting, preventing shareholders altering the terms in their favour. Polygon already has the support of Invesco Perpetual, which has 6 per cent. In May, the UK Listing Authority, part of the FSA, said it planned to accelerate a rule to give greater protection to minority shareholders that might be forced to sell at a price they considered unfairly low. If an issuer wished to delist shares, it would have to obtain 75 per cent of the votes cast at a general meeting. However, the rule may not be introduced in time to influence the outcome. British Energy said last night it had signed binding agreements with creditors last October. Without them, the company would have faced administration and shareholders the likelihood of no return at all. It had an obligation to implement the agreements." In February, British Energy shares surged on speculation that Appaloosa Investment Management, a hedge fund, might lead a revolt to get better terms. However, it made a profit of more than £1m selling the bulk of its 4.5 per cent stake less than a week after it disclosed it had bought the shares. FT.com © Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2004. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. Privacy ***************************************************************** 11 Guardian Unlimited: Israeli court backs Vanunu travel ban www.guardian.co.uk Staff and agencies Monday July 26, 2004 The Israeli supreme court today upheld a travel ban on nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, refusing to let him move abroad on the grounds that he may reveal further state secrets. Mr Vanunu, a former technician at the Dimona nuclear reactor, served an 18-year prison term for revealing to the world the existence of Israel's nuclear weapons programme. After his release in April, Israel's security establishment barred him from leaving the country or speaking to foreigners. His movements around seaports and airports have also been restricted. Mr Vanunu responded to today's verdict by saying it was "a very sad day and shameful day" for Israel. He has said he has no more secrets to reveal and wants to emigrate to Europe or the US. "I want to go abroad and start my life as a free man. If Israel is a democracy it should allow me to do it," Mr Vanunu told Israeli and foreign media outside the court. The Israeli defence ministry alleges that Mr Vanunu planned to divulge more classified details about Dimona once out of the country. In particular, Israel fears he could name Dimona colleagues, putting them at risk of international sanctions or reprisals. "The court ruled that Vanunu has the desire ... to damage the security of the state and publish all the secrets," said Shai Nitzan, a lawyer for the state prosecutor's office. "Thus the court accepted the restrictions in their entirety." Mr Nitzan said the state was considering action against Mr Vanunu for violating several of his post-release restrictions, including interviews he granted to foreign media. Mr Vanunu said he is considering further legal action. He could request the three-judge supreme court panel be expanded to hear the case again, even though such appeals are often rejected. Mr Vanunu provided extensive evidence of Israel's nuclear weapons programme, gathered through his work at the Dimona reactor, in a 1986 interview with the Sunday Times. Israel operates a police of "nuclear ambiguity", refusing to confirm or deny that it possesses nuclear weapons. After the article's publication, Mr Vanunu was abducted by Israeli agents and jailed for treason. The American CIA estimates that Israel has between 200 and 400 nuclear warheads, making it the world's fifth largest nuclear power. The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, visited Israel earlier this month to urge the government to begin talks about ridding the Middle East of nuclear arms. Israel has refused to allow UN nuclear inspectors into the country, and its refusal to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty has prompted 13 votes by the UN general assembly since 1987 calling on it to do so. Mr Vanunu, who is now a prominent figure in the international anti-nuclear weapons movement, criticised Dr ElBaradei's visit. "I am very disappointed by Mr Baradei because I expected him to go and inspect the Dimona reactor," Mr Vanunu said. "The job of Mr Baradei is to go and see if what I said ... if it's true." Government sites Israeli Knesset (parliament) [http://www.knesset.gov.il/main/eng/engframe.htm] Israeli ministry of foreign affairs [http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/home.asp] Israeli government site [http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH000a0] Office of the Israeli prime minister [http://www.info.gov.il/eng/min-pmo.htm] Palestinian Ministry of Information [http://www.minfo.gov.ps/] Media Ha'aretz (Israel) [http://www.haaretzdaily.com/] Israel Insider (Israel) [http://web.israelinsider.com/bin/en.jsp?enPage=HomePage&enDispla y=view&enDispWhat=Zone&] Jerusalem Post (Israel) [http://www.jpost.com] Maariv (Israel) [http://www.maarivenglish.com/] Arabic Media Internet Network (Palestinian) [http://www.amin.org/] Palestine Chronicle (Palestinian) [http://www.palestinechronicle.com/] Electronic Intifada (Palestinian) [http://www.electronicintifada.net] Bitter Lemons (Israeli-Palestinian) [http://www.bitterlemons.org] [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 ***************************************************************** 12 asahi.com: EDITORIAL:Limits on arms exports Nippon Keidanren should keep this noble ethic. Nippon Keidanren, the Japan Business Federation, has proposed reviews of restrictions regarding arms exports as well as the principle of the peaceful use of outer space. Its thinking is that, with the development and shared use of cutting-edge arms technology being advanced beyond national borders, to allow Japan to become isolated in such an era runs the risk of its lagging behind in weapons capability. This is seen as an impediment to national security. Nippon Keidanren is clearly apprehensive of any change in military threats to Japan and of the economic situation, which it considers to be the cause of a continued decline in arms procurement by the Self-Defense Forces. It, therefore, feels that the future of the arms industry may be in peril. To date, Nippon Keidanren has twice proposed changes in the three arms-export principles, which prohibit exports to former communist bloc nations, countries under U.N. arms embargoes and those involved in, or likely to be involved in, international conflict. Within the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party as well, last year's Cabinet decision to introduce a missile defense system prompted work aimed at revising those principles. The goal of this latest proposal, obviously, lies in advancing that trend. In Europe, there is increasing development of military technology and joint use of arms involving collaboration between industrialized nations. This is also true of the Japan-U.S. missile defense development project, which under the present approach promises to lead to supply of parts to the United States. Under the current rules, however, such transactions are banned. We earnestly question, however, if actual conditions are grounds for modifying the three principles. It has been nearly four decades since they were adopted. The benefits to the global community during those years, of Japan's trust and reputation as a ``peaceful nation,'' are immeasurable. Though Japan has often been said to lack a clear foreign policy, it has maintained its ability to speak out on the fields of arms control and disarmament. It would be tragic to ignore the arms export restrictions in the future. Yohei Kono, speaker of the House of Representatives and veteran LDP legislator, has criticized the Nippon Keidanren proposal, labeling it ``a threat to Japan's very presence in the international community.'' We could not agree with him more. The business world is also concerned that failure to enter joint development of state-of-the-art armaments will cause Japan to fall behind in other areas of technological development, which would affect demand for consumer goods. We strongly suggest, however, that equal attention be devoted to the downside of making changes in long-help principles of national behavior. In terms of missile defense, questions remain about how effective the deployment of such a system would be. On this front, it will be vital to proceed with a close eye on the linkage with the situation surrounding North Korea's nuclear development program. Under current conditions, we cannot support hasty changes in arms commitment. Within the ranks of Nippon Keidanren, there appear to be certain factions with an interest in moving into broad-ranging exports of munitions, other than the advanced technologies. During calendar 2003, worldwide military expenditures totaled $880 billion, up about 20 percent from a decade ago. In a growth market of this caliber, ``made in Japan'' weapons might sell well. Such business dealings, however, represent a clear step down the dark road to becoming a reviled ``merchant of death.'' Nippon Keidanren head Hiroshi Okuda, also chairman of Toyota Motor Corp., has used the avenue of private sector business to help build Toyota into one of the world's super blue-chip companies. While Nippon Keidanren membership also includes companies in the defense business, we see no need to bow to their every commercial interest. The forward of the Nippon Keidanren Charter of Corporate Behavior, a document prepared under the auspices of Okuda himself, reads, ``Members should contribute to the sound development of society by supplying quality products and services and in doing so, members must reinforce the importance of business ethics.'' We hope that Nippon Keidanren will keep this noble commitment uppermost in mind, and play its part in helping to chart the course to a future for Japan --The Asahi Shimbun, July 25(IHT/Asahi: July 26,2004) (07/26) ***************************************************************** 13 NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Subcommittee Meeting FR Doc 04-16900 [Federal Register: July 26, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 142)] [Notices] [Page 44553] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr26jy04-83] on Safeguards and Security; Notice of Meeting The ACRS Subcommittee on Safeguards and Security will hold a closed meeting on August 24-26, 2004, at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico. The entire meeting will be closed to public attendance to protect information classified as national security information and safeguards information pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(1) and (3). The agenda for the subject meeting shall be as follows: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, August 24-26, 2004--8:30 a.m. Until the Conclusion of Business The Subcommittee will hear presentations from the NRC staff, NRC staff consultants, and representatives of the industry regarding safeguards and security issues. The purpose of this meeting is to gather information, analyze relevant issues and facts, and formulate proposed positions and actions, as appropriate, for deliberation by the full Committee. Further information contact: Mr. Richard K. Major (telephone: 301- 415-7366) or Dr. Richard P. Savio (telephone: 301-415-7362) between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (ET). Dated: July 20, 2004. Michael R. Snodderly, Acting Associate Director for Technical Support, ACRS/ACNW. [FR Doc. 04-16900 Filed 7-23-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 14 NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Subcommittee Meeting FR Doc 04-16901 [Federal Register: July 26, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 142)] [Notices] [Page 44553-44554] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr26jy04-84] on Thermal-Hydraulic Phenomena; Notice of Meeting The ACRS Subcommittee on Thermal-Hydraulic Phenomena will hold a meeting on August 17-18, 2004, Room T-2B3, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. [[Page 44554]] The agenda for the subject meeting shall be as follows: Tuesday and Wednesday, August 17-18, 2004--8:30 a.m. Until the Conclusion of Business The Subcommittee will review the staff's final safety evaluation report on the industry guidelines related to resolution of GSI-191, ``Assessment of Debris Accumulation on PWR Sump Performance.'' The Subcommittee will also review the final staff resolution of GSI-185, ``Control of Recriticality Following Small-Break LOCAs in PWRs.'' The Subcommittee will gather information, analyze relevant issues and facts, and formulate proposed positions and actions, as appropriate, for deliberation by the full Committee. Members of the public desiring to provide oral statements and/or written comments should notify the Designated Federal Official, Mr. Ralph Caruso (Telephone: 301-415-8065) five days prior to the meeting, if possible, so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Electronic recordings will be permitted. Further information regarding this meeting can be obtained by contacting the Designated Federal Official between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (ET). Persons planning to attend this meeting are urged to contact the above named individual at least two working days prior to the meeting to be advised of any potential changes to the agenda. Dated: July 20, 2004. Michael R. Snodderly, Acting Associate Director for Technical Support, ACRS/ACNW. [FR Doc. 04-16901 Filed 7-23-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 15 Brattleboro Reformer: NRC seeks more data on VY cracks [Brattleboro Reformer] [http://www.reformer.com/] July 26, 2004 Brattleboro, VT By The Associated Press MONTPELIER (AP) -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it needs more information from Entergy Nuclear about cracks in Vermont Yankee's steam dryer. The steam dryer was the subject of two top-level, closed-door meetings at NRC headquarters outside Washington last week. After the meetings, an NRC official said additional information is still needed. Earlier this month, the NRC said the steam dryer cracking was the biggest obstacle to Entergy Nuclear's plans to produce an additional 100 megawatts of power from Vermont Yankee. Rick Ennis, NRC project manager for Vermont Yankee, based at NRC's headquarters in Bethesda, Md., said Thursday that the two days of meetings didn't result in any action, but that General Electric and Entergy engineers provided information to the NRC technical staff. The steam dryer problems are a concern because GE, the main nuclear industry consultant on reactor uprates, hasn't been able to solve the cracking problem at other nuclear reactors' steam dryers, despite repeated "fixes." "It's the biggest issue," Ennis said of the steam dryer. "It's the inability of the industry to get a handle on it, and resolve the issue." In the case of the Quad Cities reactors in Illinois, GE has tried to fix the problem at least three times and failed, Ennis said. Ennis said the NRC wants additional information from Entergy and GE. Steam dryers are only in boiling-water reactors, such as Vermont Yankee. "I feel we are making progress, we had some very good information exchanges," he said. While the steam dryer is not related to safety,, the cracking could result in pieces breaking off, and falling back into the steam lines that lead out of the reactor. In the case of several reactors in Illinois, the plants have been forced to shut down because of the cracking, making the plants less reliable. Copyright © 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This Copyright ©1999-2004 New England Newspapers, Inc., a ***************************************************************** 16 Globe and Mail: Burn, baby, burn: Why we're back to nuclear power [http://www.globeandmail.com By WILLIAM THORSELL Monday, July 26, 2004 - Page A13 As the anniversary of Ontario's power blackout approaches, the volatility of energy markets rises around the globe. Our social survival depends on the consumption of energy, especially electricity. Oil requires a military perspective on the world. The environment weighs in. And so we contemplate the resurrection of nuclear power. The Chinese are running out of electricity to feed their economic boom; brownouts and shutdowns have been common this summer as hot weather drains power for air conditioning even as manufacturing continues to expand. While Ontario plans to shut down five coal-fired generating plants by 2007, China is striving to open at least 16 by the same date, as well as gas and nuclear plants. Approved new power plants in China will create almost twice the electrical capacity of Britain in 10 years. And China is just getting started on the road to much higher power consumption as a neo-capitalist society thrilled to be back in economic action after a dark age. Throw in the explosion of car sales in Asia and the emergence of India and Russia in the global economy, and it's "burn, baby, burn." If consuming fossil fuels creates global warming, we are in for a lot of global warming. We are also in for supply restrictions and higher prices on oil and natural gas. Global demand for oil is expected to expand by 50 per cent in the next 25 years, as developing countries take up the torch. Unlike the occasional restriction of oil supply through OPEC's political actions, the growth in demand tips the market toward shortage. At the same time, the world's major sources of oil have rarely been more politically insecure. The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. military has been spending $4 to $5 a barrel to protect oil exports by sea from the Middle East since the early 1980s, a transaction cost growing higher as the adventure in Iraq ignites Arab-on-Arab terrorism. New supplies elsewhere do not promise to fill any void created by Middle East internecine passions. North America, meanwhile, is no longer replacing its consumption of natural gas with new reserves. No surprise, then, that we are turning more attention to nuclear power. What else offers more security at digestible cost with little environmental consequence? What provides more insurance against external events? Wind? Solar? Hydrogen power cells? Ontario has just announced a $900-million refit of another generator at its old Pickering nuclear power plant, an inevitable consequence of the decision to close the coal-fired plants. Coal supplies about 22 per cent of the province's current electricity demand, so Ontario has to replace that and create additional supply as well. With nuclear power already producing 40 per cent of the province's power, its seems inevitable that additional nuclear capacity will soon be required. Natural gas supplies will be volatile and expensive over time. And the priority claim on natural gas should be home heating. Conservation will not close the gap. Wind does not have the credibility yet, either in its capacity or price, on which to bet the welfare of 12 million Ontarians. The same goes for small-scale generators here and there. Water is pretty much exhausted except in Manitoba and Quebec. So nuclear it is. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, there are 442 nuclear power plants in the world, with another 27 under construction, 18 of them in Asia. There is little current development in North America and Western Europe, where fears for safety, some concern for cost, and a dollop of ideology have interrupted things. But France, Finland and Ontario look to be moving back into the nuclear market, as the options become more stark. On all three major grounds -- security of supply, environmental weight and cost -- nuclear comes through quite nicely, compared with the alternatives. The challenge for hapless Ontario will be producing new capacity competently, perhaps through new suppliers. The handling of nuclear waste is not a pressing technical issue, and can be safely enmeshed in endless public hearings, where its essentially political nature ensures harmless inaction. With nuclear back in favour, prospects for supply brighten, but the dependability of distribution remains at issue, as we saw Aug. 14. Technical and terrorist threats to this centralized system remain significant, and contingency planning for long-term distribution interruptions appears inadequate. What is the emergency plan for 30 days without any home heating or water in Toronto in January if the power goes down because of a distribution failure? Maybe there just can't be one, given the certainty of chaos, so a dependable supply of electricity is the closest equation there is these days to peace, order and good government. Lose electricity and we lose the social order. Medicare gets all the political attention, while the much more fundamental question of our energy supplies and systems percolates off-stage. The first duty of the state is the security of the citizen, not the care of the ill. We got a glimpse of that last August. William Thorsell is director and CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum. ***************************************************************** 17 APP.COM: Govenor wants nuke plant out at expiration ASBURY PARK PRESS Published in the Courier News on July 26, 2004 TRENTON (AP) -- Gov. James E. McGreevey wants the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant closed when its license expires and is calling the plant's bid to stay open "an unnecessary risk," according to a published report. McGreevey cited safety, aging and terrorism concerns in a letter to the president and chief nuclear officer of AmerGen Energy Co., the Illinois-based operator of the plant, the Asbury Park Sunday Press reported. The plant's current operating license expires in 2009, and its officials have said they plan to apply next year for a renewal. If approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the extension would be until 2029, according to AmerGen, a wholly-owned Exelon Corp. company. "The 20-year extension is an unnecessary risk to communities across New Jersey," McGreevey said in the June 29 letter, the text of which was printed in the newspaper. AmerGen said it did not receive McGreevey's letter until it was provided by a third party on Saturday. Company officials said the document contains outdated and incomplete information. "We are going to proceed full speed ahead in evaluating this license application," said spokesman Craig Nesbit. "We are not going to stop or slow down one bit." If approved to stay open an additional two decades, Oyster Creek could become the first nuclear plant to operate for more than 40 years. McGreevey, in an interview with the newspaper, said keeping the plant open for that long would "defy common sense." "Our main concern is for the safety and well-being of families, particularly in the outlying years," he said. He said he wants to begin planning for the plant's decommissioning. McGreevey's letter said the plant's containment system is suffering due to age, and that its computers are outdated. It also states that "there are still too many questions and concerns about the security of the facility and its vulnerability to terrorist attack." The governor's letter does note that he neither believes the plant poses an immediate threat, nor that it is violating NRC regulations. © copyright 2004 The Associated Press Go Back | ***************************************************************** 18 MosNews: Handicapped Chernobyl Veteran Dies After Hunger Strike - MOSNEWS.COM Petr Budyonny / Frame from NTV Channel Created: 26.07.2004 17:07 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 18:26 MSK MosNews A Russian man handicapped for life by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster died late Sunday night in the south Russian region of Krasnodar, where he was hunger striking in protest at his living conditions, Interfax reported. A veteran of the Chernobyl rescue effort, he had been waiting for years for a new flat that the Chernobyl victims were supposed to receive by law within months. Petr Budyonny, 57, suffered circulation problems, and as a result had had both legs amputated. Circulation problems are a common ailment among people who were near the Chernobyl nuclear plant melt-down in 1986. Budyonny, who won a medal of honor for his rescue efforts, went on a hunger strike early this month while living in a clay house in the Krasnodar region together with his wife, Vyacheslav Grishin, president of the rights group Chernobyl Union, was quoted by Intefax. “After a week, he became ill and was hospitalized,” the news agency quoted Grishin as saying. But Budyonny resumed his hunger strike upon being released. By law, Grishin said, Chernobyl victims were entitled to housing within three months of getting on a waiting list, but Budyonny has been on the waiting list for several years. “We tried to talk him out of the hunger strike, and opened an account to raise money for a new flat,” Interfax quoted Grishin as saying, “but we only raised a few thousand rubles.” One thousand rubles is just over $30. Copyright © 2004 MOSNEWS.COM ***************************************************************** 19 PIB Press Release: Ministry of Power (Tarapur) Monday, July 26, 2004 The Tarapur Atomic Power Project-4 has entered the phase of commissioning. This is within four years from the first pour of concreting ("0 date"). A monthly average of 25000 inch-diameter welding and about 35000 inch-meter erection of piping has helped complete all the major systems of the unit in time. Fresh water system, auxiliary cooling water system, fire hydrant system, end- shield cooling system, part calandria vault cooling system have been commissioned and operating from the Control Room. Production of de-mineralized water is in full swing to meet the commissioning requirement. Test run of all auxiliary service water pumps and service water pumps has also been completed. Different categories of compressors and chillers are under commissioning. Testing of heavy water recovery system is also nearing completion. The turbo generator has been boxed up. Installation of incoming and outgoing transmission power lines is in progress. The system needed for hydro-test has been commissioned ahead of schedule. So far 93 per cent of TAPP-4 is over. The progress of TAPP-3 has also picked up a momentum. Three steam generators are already installed and electrical, piping and instrumentation system is progressing as per schedule. The dream of constructing a nuclear power plant in less than six years will be fulfilled for the first time by TAPP-4, which has a 540 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor(PHWR). [http://pib.nic.in] Press Information Bureau "A" - Wing, Shastri Bhawan, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi - 110 001 ***************************************************************** 20 DW: EU Energy Commissioner Criticizes Germany's Nuke Policy Deutsche Welle | 26.07.2004 [http://dw-world.de EU Energy Commissioner Loyola de Palacio has criticized the nuclear policy of Jürgen Trittin, Germany's environment minister. Palacio told the German news magazine Focus that the EU wants all member states to name national final disposal sites for nuclear waste. Palacio complained that Trittin has put off making any concrete decision on Germany's proposed nuclear dumping site at Gorleben, which is threatening to unravel the whole project within the bloc. The commissioner has called for all EU countries to fix locations by 2008 and has demanded that all member states submit proposals to that effect. 26.07.2004 Munich Beats ***************************************************************** 21 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the FR Doc 04-16898 [Federal Register: July 26, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 142)] [Notices] [Page 44552-44553] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr26jy04-81] Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Notice of the OMB review of information collection and solicitation of public comment. SUMMARY: The NRC has recently submitted to OMB for review the following proposal for the collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). The NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an [[Page 44553]] agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. 1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Extension. 2. The title of the information collection: 10 CFR Part 4, ``Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Commission Programs''. 3. The form number if applicable: Not Applicable. 4. How often the collection is required: On occasion and annually. 5. Who will be required or asked to report: Recipients of Federal Financial Assistance provided by the NRC (including 33 Agreement States, 6 Educational Institutions and 15 Other Nonprofit Organizations). 6. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 108 (54 responses + 54 recordkeepers). 7. The estimated number of annual respondents: 54. 8. An estimate of the total number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement or request: 432 hours (270 hrs for reporting or 5 hours per response and 162 hours for recordkeeping or 3 hours per recordkeeper). 9. An indication of whether Section 3507(d), Pub. L. 104-13 applies: N/A. 10. Abstract: Recipients of NRC financial assistance provide data to demonstrate assurance to NRC that they are in compliance with non- discrimination regulations and policies. A copy of the final supporting statement may be viewed free of charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 20852. OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC worldwide web site: [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comm ent/omb/index.html] . The document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days after the signature date of this notice. Comments and questions should be directed to the OMB reviewer listed below by August 25, 2004. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of consideration cannot be given to comments received after this date. OMB Desk Officer, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (3150-0053), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20503. Comments can also be submitted by telephone at (202) 395-3087. The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda Jo. Shelton, 301-415-7233. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 20th day of July, 2004. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Beth St. Mary, Acting NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. 04-16898 Filed 7-23-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 22 NRC: Virginia Electric and Power Company; Notice of Withdrawal of FR Doc 04-16899 [Federal Register: July 26, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 142)] [Notices] [Page 44553] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr26jy04-82] Application for Amendments to Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-4 and NPF-7 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has granted the request of Virginia Electric and Power Company (the licensee) to withdraw its March 4, 2004, application for proposed amendments to Renewed Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-4 and NPF-7 for the North Anna Power Station, Units 1 and 2, located in Louisa County, Virginia. The proposed amendments would have revised the Technical Specifications by deleting the Note from Surveillance Requirement 3.4.12.7 for the power-operated relief valves. The Commission had previously issued a Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendments published in the Federal Register on April 13, 2004 (69 FR 19577). However, by letter dated July 1, 2004, the licensee withdrew the proposed change. For further details with respect to this action, see the application for amendments dated March 4, 2004, and the licensee's letter dated July 1, 2004, which withdrew the application for license amendments. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the internet at the NRC Web site, [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/html] . Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or (301) 415-4737 or by e-mail to [ pdr@nrc.gov] . Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day of July 2004. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Stephen Monarque, Project Manager, Section 1, Project Directorate II, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 04-16899 Filed 7-23-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 23 Guardian Unlimited: MoD papers sealed in asbestos scare Richard Norton-Taylor Tuesday July 27, 2004 The Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk] Thousands of precious Ministry of Defence documents, described as the "crown jewels" of contemporary history, have been placed in plastic sacks closed indefinitely to the outside world. To the alarm of historians and researchers, the ministry has discovered that the archives containing all of its most highly sensitive files are contaminated by asbestos. The files were kept in the basement of the Old War Office building in Whitehall. They include important documents relating to British nuclear policy and defence intelligence assessments throughout the cold war. Some of the papers had already been selected to be released at the National Archives in Kew, south London. Historians are worried that the MoD will use the asbestos scare as an excuse to delay the release of the files. Some researchers are concerned that documents will be lost for ever. One historian described the files as "politically hugely important". He called them the "absolute crown jewels", including papers which would shed light on the way British nuclear weapons were controlled. An MoD spokesman said yesterday: "All the documents will be safeguarded until an assessment is made about what action is required to restore access." The documents have been removed to a site on the periphery of London. Regulators The information commissioner [http://www.dataprotection.gov.uk/] Parliamentary ombudsman [http://www.ombudsman.org.uk] Freedom of Information Act The Act explained [http://www.lcd.gov.uk/foi/foiact2000.htm] Freedom of Information Act 2000: full text [http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/20000036.htm] Downing Street Timetable for implementation [http://www.pm.gov.uk/news.asp?NewsId=3015] Report of Advisory Group on Openness in the Public Sector [http://www.lcd.gov.uk/foi/foiadvgp.htm] Speech The Lord Chancellor [http://www.cfoi.org.uk/opengov.html] Pressure group Campaign for Freedom of Information [http://www.cfoi.org.uk/] What do you think? Email your comments for publication to: politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk [politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk] [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 ***************************************************************** 24 Deseret news: Incinerator vapors cause resolved? [deseretnews.com] Monday, July 26, 2004 By Joe Bauman Deseret Morning News As the Army's chemical weapons incinerator switches to a new effort, destroying spray tanks filled with deadly VX nerve agent, a controversy over unusual plant emissions may be nearing resolution. Crews prepare to move containers holding VX nerve agent at the Army's chemical weapons incinerator at Deseret Chemical Depot. [''] Army photo/Chuck Sprague The spray tank project started Friday at the incinerator, located near Stockton, Tooele County. Stored at Deseret Chemical Depot are more than 800 container tanks, each holding 160 gallons of VX. The material is so toxic that if a drop smaller than the period at the end of this sentence were to settle on a person's hand, it would be deadly. A demonstration test showing how to destroy the spray tanks is scheduled for August, said Chuck Sprague, depot spokesman. One of two liquid incinerators used to burn nerve agent, LIC-1, remains shut down. It was closed on July 17 "when a compound with characteristics similar to VX agent was detected on the main furnace exhaust stack," Sprague added in a press release. While LIC-1 is idle, a second liquid incinerator is being used to process VX agent and burn up spent decontamination solution. All furnaces were shut down when the strange vapors were detected, but LIC-2 and the metal parts furnace went back to work on Wednesday. At first, plant officials were suspicious that mortar used in a recent rebricking of LIC-1 was to blame. The assertion drew sharp comments from activists worried about safety. "Either VX nerve agent or its 'evil twin' came out of that smokestack for three days, and the Army is trying to claim it's no big deal," Jason Groenewold, director of the Health Environment Alliance of Utah, said in a written statement. As recently as Monday afternoon, he added, monitors showed the material at 14 times the allowable concentrations for VX. Marty Gray, manager of the state's Chemical Demilitarization Section, said that if VX had been released at the plant, the levels detected were not dangerous. But he emphasized it was not VX. "We know that it's not VX" because all detector devices agreed on that. The fact that a false alarm rang does not mean that whatever was released is as dangerous as VX or nearly that dangerous, he said. The monitors search for particular compounds, and anything containing those compounds will set off the alarms. But many other types of material could have the same compounds — even everyday products. In past years, when the plant was burning GB nerve agent (sarin), "they used to have false alarms a lot," Gray said. "With VX it's fairly rare that they have them." The alarm was in a common smokestack that handles different parts of the incinerator. So how do regulators know LIC-1 was the origin? "You know what, we don't know for sure," Gray said in a telephone interview Sunday. "They shut down that furnace." As temperatures fell, "the interferant went down." They concluded that was the source. "We thought they should have continued to look at other furnaces and we asked them to look at other data." Officials are poring over records from around the time of the alarm, looking for any other suspicious signs. They will check old data from the Depot Area Air Monitoring System tubes. When processing resumed at other parts of the plant, if alarms had rung or interferant had shown up in the DAAMS tubes, "they would have been shut back down," Gray said. But that didn't happen. Groenewold is upset that Gray won't give him copies of the data they are studying. "They will not release any information to me, which I find just astonishing," he said. Gray said when the state carries out an inspection, as it did after the alarm went off, "we keep that (data) confidential until we have done what we are going to do." That could include some type of enforcement action, if the state decides anything happened that was contrary to the plant's operating permit. But nothing has shown up so far that might lead in that direction. While they are studying the material, it is in a status called "enforcement confidential." E-mail: bau@desnews.com [bau@desnews.com] © 2004 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 25 sacbee.com: Perchlorate threat looms for farmers Sacbee.com [http://www.sacbee.com] The Sacramento Bee Tony T. Azevedo thinks his cows are free of perchlorate, but sees a larger problem. Sacramento Bee/Bryan Patrick They want the FDA to quickly evaluate the risk to the public. By Mike Lee -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, July 26, 2004 When Merced County dairyman Tony T. Azevedo heard that a rocket fuel component was showing up in California milk, he immediately started working down a mental checklist of his herd's food and water sources. Could his organic dairy's drinking water contain traces of the pervasive pollutant perchlorate? How about alfalfa purchased from other farms? Azevedo assured himself that he was probably clean, but he didn't stop there. His co-op, Wisconsin-based Organic Valley, has commissioned a handful of tests nationwide to see whether its milk contains the compound linked to delayed mental development in children. What's glaringly missing is definitive word from government authorities about the combined risk posed by the compound at levels at which it's being discovered nationwide in vegetables, water and milk. It will take several more months for a national picture to emerge even though perchlorate has been suspected in foods since the late 1990s. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is launching a dragnet of "high-priority" perchlorate tests this summer to gauge the extent of perchlorate in the nation's food supply. The food industry, legislators and environmental groups are waiting impatiently for results that won't be complete until 2005. "If you say rocket fuel in milk, people get pretty upset," said Rachel Kaldor, executive director of the Dairy Institute, a Sacramento-based group of milk processors. "We need more information." California's multibillion-dollar dairy sector was unnerved in June by news that separate studies done by the California Department of Agriculture and an environmental group found low levels of perchlorate in 63 of 64 milk samples taken statewide. Federal and state experts were quick to say that the levels discovered - 1 to 11 parts per billion - were not an imminent threat. Such assurances didn't entirely allay concern. "It's time for the federal government to ... protect our children from exposure to this harmful chemical," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a recent letter to health officials. The issue already had some attention in Washington, D.C. - although the FDA's critics contend that the agency has reacted slowly. The FDA's own tests on 20 milk samples confirm that perchlorate is present in milk across the country, but for now the agency is not recommending any dietary changes to avoid perchlorate. "Further studies are needed," said one agency statement. In December, the FDA announced that it would do 500 "high-priority" perchlorate tests, including 150 on lettuce, 120 on milk, 55 on tomatoes, 45 on carrots, 45 on canteloupe and 35 on spinach. The lettuce tests are done, with results to be posted on the FDA's Web site in several weeks. Now, the agency is doing the rest of its "food basket" tests, which could continue into 2005. The Environmental Working Group has investigated perchlorate pollution for years and authored the June study that found widespread contamination in milk. Vice President Bill Walker in Oakland hasn't been impressed with the FDA's timeliness or transparency. "We don't think their response has been adequate to match the potential severity of the problem," he said. Terry Troxell, director of the FDA's Office of Plant and Dairy Foods, said the new round of tests will focus on areas such as the Colorado River Basin, where waters are known to contain perchlorate. The agency has not set a level at which it would bar foods from being marketed, nor have initial results in lettuce warranted agency alarm, Troxell said. The FDA's food samples won't be a statistically rigorous assessment of the nation's food supply. "We are just trying to get a reasonable number (of samples) so we have a reasonable sense of the distribution of perchlorate," Troxell said. The agency aims to combine food test results with data about consumption patterns to better understand if sensitive consumers, such as young children, are overexposed to perchlorate. Perchlorate has been around for decades but has been of increasing concern since the late 1990s as it's been detected in an array of foods by increasingly sophisticated tests. The National Academy of Sciences is currently assessing efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to set safe levels for perchlorate in drinking water. That process, the centerpiece in the federal response to perchlorate, is expected to take at least until the end of the year. Perchlorate can hamper the thyroid gland's ability to take up the essential nutrient iodide and make thyroid hormones. In addition, long-term perchlorate exposure could be dangerous for infants and children because thyroid hormone disruption is known to retard development. Perchlorate contaminates more than 350 water sources in California, along with waters in 22 states. In the Rancho Cordova area, perchlorate pollution from rocket builder Aerojet has forced abandonment of several wells. A variety of methods are being deployed and explored in California to treat perchlorate-contaminated wells - for instance, removing unwanted particles - but they can be costly. The Colorado River is among the most polluted water bodies, the result of a shuttered rocket fuel plant that has been leaking perchlorate into the river. The river provides drinking water for millions of people and irrigates some of the nation's most valuable croplands. Many suspect California's milk is tainted by alfalfa grown with Colorado River water, then fed to dairy cows. If perchlorate levels in milk turn out to warrant action, dairies likely would have to identify areas where feed is grown with untainted water. Azevedo, the Merced County dairyman, gets water from Yosemite and feed from north state farms that aren't near known sources of perchlorate contamination. However, he figures some dairies won't be so lucky. "This touches all our lives," he said. "If you eat at any time of the day, you are part of farming." The dairy industry, larger in California than anywhere else in the country, pays close attention to anything that might turn off parents. "Any time that you have a compound that you didn't expect in any way to see in your product, you are concerned," said the Dairy Institute's Kaldor. She said sales numbers don't show consumers shying away from milk because of the attention to perchlorate in June. The institute and others are pressing politicians to clean up tainted wells and other water supplies, find replacement water sources and stop the compound from entering waterways. "That is where it has to be fixed," Kaldor said. She also emphasized the need for a national perchlorate health standard, saying it would help address consumer concerns. Almost immediately after the June report, dozens of consumers started calling the phone number on Organic Valley milk cartons. They asked questions about whether the co-op's milk had been tested and how perchlorate affects pregnant women. Trader Joe's, the Monrovia-based grocery chain, wanted some of the same answers, prompting Organic Valley to take test milk in the regions of the country where it has member dairies, including California. "We need to respond to our consumers' fears - and we need to know," said Theresa Marquez, marketing director for Organic Valley in La Farge, Wis. Even though there's a chance that perchlorate could scare consumers away from milk, Azevedo welcomes the attention. He said it's important for people to realize that pollution can cause problems for decades and eventually permeate the food chain. "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out," he said. The Bee's Mike Lee can be reached at (916)321-1102 or mflee@sacbee.com [mflee@sacbee.com] . Azevedo watches son Adam wash off milking tools. Concerns over perchlorate surfaced in June when studies found low levels of the rocket fuel component in 63 of 64 milk samples statewide. Federal and state experts say the levels pose no imminent threat - but farmers and consumers are still concerned. Sacramento Bee/Bryan Patrick ***************************************************************** 26 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada delegates excited to be in Boston By Suzanne Struglinski < [suzanne@lasvegassun.com] > SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU BOSTON -- Energy filled the room as Nevada's delegates to the Democratic National Convention kicked off the four-day event with a mix of enthusiasm and hope. At their first official breakfast today, delegates talked about their excitement and predicted Kerry winning the state in November and taking the presidency. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., is slated to accept the party's presidential nomination on Thursday. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina will accept the vice-presidential nomination on Wednesday. Delegate Dwayne Chestnut from Las Vegas said he was looking forward to the "second American Revolution" and delegate Ida Gaines, also from Las Vegas said she was excited "to be part of the history that's going to be made." The delegates can attend a variety of events and workshops throughout the day before heading to the Fleet Center for the main speeches this afternoon. Altria Group, the parent company of Kraft and Philip Morris sponsored the breakfast, held at the Lenox Hotel in Boston where most of the delegation is staying. Convention organizers have made clear that this week is to learn more about Kerry and put him in the White House. "This is the most important election in our lifetime," said Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee on Sunday. "When everybody leaves this convention they are going to leave with an assignment to get John Kerry and John Edwards elected." The convention's theme "Stronger at home, respected in the world" will be broken into different themes each night, with tonight's being the "Kerry-Edwards Plan For America's Future." Former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and former Vice President Al Gore are some of tonight's main speakers. The delegates know where the Democrats and John Kerry stand on issues important to Nevada, like Yucca Mountain. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., reminded attendees that Nevada is the only state to be specifically named in the party's platform, which will be adopted this week. The platform calls for a stop to the planned nuclear waste storage site at Yucca, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Nevada delegates think Yucca Mountain will be a deciding issue. Delegate Edna Flores of Henderson said she was excited to be here this week and wants to "send Mr. Bush back to Crawford." The city of Boston officially welcomed the delegation Sunday night with a party at the USS Constitution museum at the Navy Yard in the Charleston neighborhood. Delegates toured the historical ship, nicknamed Old Ironsides, after eating dinner inside the museum. The city has been taken over by the 35,000 attendees here for the convention. "It's nice to walk down the street and see other people who are Democrats," said former Nevada congressman James Bilbray. Delegate Jim Wallace from Carson City said it's "nice to be around so many Democrats for a change." ***************************************************************** 27 Las Vegas SUN: Biggest Yucca obstacle may be budget Congress has yet to boost funding By Suzanne Struglinski < [suzanne@lasvegassun.com] > SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- While a court battle threatens to derail the Energy Department's plans to ship nuclear waste to Nevada, the department could see the Yucca Mountain project delayed by a budget crunch. Nevada officials have placed their hopes to kill the project on the courts, which issued a favorable ruling earlier this month, but so far the budget could be the key. Congress began its monthlong summer break Friday without passing the budget for Yucca Mountain project. Without requested increases to work on the project next year, the Energy Department and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have said they will have a hard time meeting the project's self-imposed deadlines. The department says it must submit its license application for the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, in December, but will need money from Congress to keep the project on schedule. It also may need new scientific guidelines, after a federal appeals court struck down Environmental Protection Administration standards that say the repository must keep radiation from the environment for 10,000. The court said the EPA did not follow National Academy of Sciences recommendations, which were for a much longer period of time. The Energy Department is expected to appeal that ruling in court, and work will continue during any appeals, but the department and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission still faces the immediate problem of a lack of money for Yucca Mountain work. Congress has little time when it comes back from recess before the November election. If it does not pass the 13 spending bills individually, all of the outstanding spending bills could be rolled into one large one, called an omnibus, or Congress could pass a continuing budget resolution, leaving the agencies to work at this year's budget levels until next year. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Nils Diaz told Congress last month that a continuing resolution "would delay the NRC's review of the Department of Energy's high-level waste repository application," according to a letter to the Senate made public Wednesday. The commission requested $69.1 million to work on the license application next year, a $36 million increase from this year. Diaz said keeping the funding level at just over half its request "would disrupt our preparation to review the DOE application and delay our review of that application, once submitted." Planned tests for containers used to ship the spent nuclear fuel to Yucca Mountain would also be put on hold, Diaz said. For the department's budget, the House has passed only $131 million for the project, despite the department's $880 million request. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a bill that would permanently change the way Congress puts money toward the program, allowing Yucca Mountain money to come directly from the Nuclear Waste Fund, which is funded by a surcharge on nuclear power, without having to compete with other federal programs. But even supporters of the bill say it is unlikely to go through the Senate. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has told Congress that the license application deadline would be "at risk" if the budget stayed at $131 million. The Senate has not come up with a budget number yet. The Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee plans to hold meetings when Congress returns in the fall, but what will happen yet is not clear, according to the committee. In the Senate, the department will run into Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who has led the delegation's fight to cut funding for Yucca Mountain. The Energy Department will not speculate about what it can accomplish at the $577 million level it would likely receive under a continuing resolution, the same amount received this year, and it is hard for anyone to predict what level would be approved in an omnibus spending bill. "We are early in the budget process," department spokesman Joe Davis said. "We are watching the process very closely and will make decisions accordingly." Congress passed the 1987 law that singled out Yucca Mountain to be the only site to be study for the nuclear waste repository in an omnibus bill, which can serve as a catch-all for various projects and other legislation. David Cherry, spokesman for Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said in Washington spending money creates the impression that things are moving ahead. "If the money wasn't there, many people would say, 'Wait a minute,' and the project is less likely to move forward," he said. Cherry said by providing less money, Congress is sending a signal that there's some reluctance toward the project. ***************************************************************** 28 San Francisco Chronicle: Yucca Mountain is not the site LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [http://sfgate.com] Sunday, July 25, 2004 Editor -- Your editorial, "Yucca Mountain's troubled history" (July 18), got it right when you observed that "haggling, political posturing and legal maneuvering" have dominated decision-making with respect to the proposed nuclear-waste dump site in Nevada. But you are wrong in concluding that "the best option isn't finding another site, but funding and properly designing Yucca Mountain." The recent federal appeals court decision does nothing more than affirm what federal law and national policy have long held as the paramount requirement for a repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Whatever site is chosen, be it in Nevada or anywhere else, must meet minimum radiation health protection standards for the period of time during which significant risks to people and the environment will occur -- not merely for some arbitrarily concocted compliance period. Yucca Mountain simply cannot do that. The notion that Congress can fix the problem by legislating over the court's decision so as to "shore up the facility's design shortcomings" is absurd. No amount of tinkering with designs or manipulating health and safety regulations is going to make Yucca Mountain suitable. Rather, the federal court's decision provides an opportunity for the country to revisit the nuclear-waste disposal issue, admit that the obsessional focus on Yucca Mountain has been a serious mistake and get about the task of finding real, workable solutions to the nuclear waste problem. JOSEPH C. STROLIN Administrator Planning Division Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects Office of the Governor Carson City, Nev. Editor -- Regarding your editorial: A national radioactive waste dump at Yucca Mountain would not only be Nevada's problem. Yucca is only 200 miles from Los Angeles -- not that far depending on the wind direction, in the event of an earthquake, accidental fire or terrorist attack releasing large amounts of radioactivity. If the dump opens, the U.S. Department of Energy proposes shipping thousands of containers of high-level radioactive waste on California interstates, railways and even off the coast on barges. The majority of these shipments would come from atomic reactors or nuclear weapons facilities in other states. A severe accident or successful attack upon just one of these shipments could cause an unprecedented catastrophe for an entire area. In addition to transport dangers or catastrophic accidents at Yucca, leaks from the dump would also imperil California. Yucca's groundwater flows to California, just 30 miles downstream. A nearby dairy exports large amounts of milk products to California, risking contamination of the food supply. President Clinton was right to veto efforts to rush its opening long before the scientific studies were done, and the courts were right to require that regulations protect future generations from the waste's long-lasting hazard. KEVIN KAMPS Nuclear waste specialist Nuclear Information and Resource Service Washington, D.C. [graphical line] Page E - 4 ©2004 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback | FAQ ***************************************************************** 29 CBS News: Yucca Mountain: A Target For Terrorists? | July 23, 2004 10:00:43 [http://www.cbsnews.com] The DOE has spent many years, and billions of dollars, to begin work on a subterranean vault on federal land under Yucca Mountain. (Photo: CBS) “I think there’s a general understanding that we move hazardous materials in this country, an understanding that the federal government knows how to do it safely.” Spencer Abraham Nevada Sen. Harry Reid is upset that the government hasnt told anyone how it plans to safely transport the deadly material across the country. (Photo: CBS) (CBS) For nearly 50 years, the U.S. government and the nuclear regulatory industry have been trying to figure out what to do with massive quantities of deadly radioactive waste that has been piling up at nuclear power plants and munitions factories since the dawn of the atomic age. Right now, it's sitting in temporary storage facilities, many of them near major metropolitan areas, vulnerable to accidents, environmental disasters and terrorism. Every possible solution has been explored, from dumping it in the ocean to launching it towards the sun. Finally, President Bush, the Department of Energy, and the U.S. Congress decided that all of that nuclear waste should be moved to Nevada and buried under a mountain in the middle of the desert. Needless to say, people in Nevada aren't crazy about this idea, and, as Correspondent Steve Kroft reported last fall, they believe most Americans will agree when they find out how the plan might affect them. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Yucca Mountain sits on federal land in Nevada, not far from Death Valley, in a remote stretch of desert, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The nearest commercial establishment is a brothel 15 miles away. If the U.S. government has its way, this will be the final resting place for 70,000 tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste. Beginning in the year 2010, it will be shipped here from all over the country by truck or by rail, and stored under the mountain in tunnels for the next 10,000 years -- which is how long the waste will remain deadly. Mike Voegele, the chief scientist at Yucca Mountain, gave 60 Minutes a tour. Even in stainless steel casks lined with lead or depleted uranium to absorb the radiation, the nuclear waste will still be so hot and so dangerous it will have to be moved with remote-controlled machinery. "The temperature might be in the range of 300 degrees Fahrenheit," says Voegele. "Very, very hot." The nuclear waste is currently being kept in temporary facilities scattered across 39 states, in cooling ponds and in storage buildings outside nuclear reactors. Some of it sits adjacent to rivers or on top of water tables. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham says 161 million Americans live within 75 miles of one of these sites. “We think that it just stands to reason that consolidating the waste in one facility in a very remote part of America will make it much easier to protect on a long-term basis,” says Abraham. How important is the Yucca Mountain Project to the United States? Abraham says it's critical: “We need to find a permanent storage facility so that communities that have the waste building up can get rid of it. And without doing that, we'll have not only environmental challenges, but we, I think it will undermine our energy security and our national security.” With the president and Congress on board, billions of dollars already in the ground and only one more regulatory hurdle to clear, using Yucca Mountain to store nuclear waste might seem like a foregone conclusion. But the battle is far from over, and the state of Nevada is in full-scale revolt. A coalition of elected officials, environmentalists and businessmen is waging a guerrilla war to kill a project they believe has been shoved down their throats. One of them is Brian Greenspun, the president and editor of The Las Vegas Sun: “Congress started looking around and said, ‘OK, let's bury it someplace.’ ‘OK, who has only two senators and only one representative, no political clout whatsoever? And who lives in a place that is perceived, at least, to be nothing but desert and wasteland?’ And they said, ‘Ah-ha! Nevada.’" The federal government still owns 87 percent of the land in Nevada. But people here say all roads - not to mention rail lines - lead to Las Vegas. When the Yucca Mountain project was first proposed 20 years ago, Las Vegas was still a fairly small city. Today, with a population of 1.6 million, it's the fastest growing metropolis in the country. Approximately 5,000 people move here every month, and there are 35 million tourists who come here every year. City fathers say if you look at the existing transportation routes, as much as 85 percent of the nuclear waste could have to come right through the metropolitan area on its way to Yucca Mountain. “Makes no sense to me. Who wants to be the unlucky person who's here outside a hotel on the Las Vegas Strip when one of those trucks turns over and the nuclear waste spills?” says Greenspun. “And you know it's going to happen. Accidents happen.” The mood in Nevada is one of outright defiance. The state is trying to kill the project by denying water to Yucca Mountain, on the grounds that it is not in the public interest. And Las Vegas has passed a law making it illegal to haul nuclear waste through the city. Mayor Oscar Goodman says he plans to enforce it: “If it comes by rail, the only rail goes right through the heart of my city. And I guarantee you one thing: as long as I'm the mayor, it ain't comin' through.” How does he plan to stop it? “If I have to put up barriers up and arrest whoever is trying to transport it, I promise you that's gonna be done,” says Goodman. “I’m dead serious.” Mayor Goodman says this isn't just a case of Las Vegas or Nevada screaming "not in our backyard." The nuclear waste will have to travel through a lot of backyards before it gets to Nevada. The Department of Energy (DOE) hasn't disclosed exactly how it plans to get all that nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, except to say that it will be transported by rail and heavily guarded truck convoys over the interstate highway system, and require between one and six shipments every day for 24 years. But Dr. Robert Halstead, who's been a transportation adviser to the state of Nevada since 1988, says if you take a map of the U.S. transportation system and mark the locations of nuclear facilities, you get a pretty good idea of potential shipping routes. “They would heavily affect cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, in the Chicago metropolitan area, in Omaha,” says Halstead. “Coming out of the south, the heaviest impacts would be in Atlanta, in Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City, moving across through Salt Lake City, through downtown Las Vegas, up to Yucca Mountain. And the same cities would be affected by rail shipments as well.” Halstead said when Congress voted last year to go forward with the Yucca Mountain project, it did so based on poor or non-existent information about how the plans would affect their states or congressional districts. Does Halstead think the DOE is intentionally holding back that information? “Sure. I think it's part of DOE's political strategy to withhold information about the transportation impacts from the Congress. Period,” says Halstead. Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, the second highest-ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate, agrees: “Stuff isn't gonna suddenly appear out of the sky and be in Yucca Mountain. You have to get it there some way. And that's the problem.” Reid says the devil in the Yucca Mountain project is in the details. “How are you going to haul the most poisonous substance known to man across the highways and railways of this country? Thousands of miles through cities, towns, past farms, past businesses, churches, schools, residences,” says Reid. “This is the big secret that the DOE has. We'll give you that later, folks in America. In the meantime, we'll just say we have a repository in Nevada." If most of the nuclear waste moves by rail (a plan now favored by the Department of Energy), the city most affected would be Chicago, where shipments from the East Coast would have to be consolidated, then re-routed to Yucca Mountain. “One out of every three rail shipments would go through the metropolitan Chicago area,” says Halstead. “One out of every six rail shipments would actually go through downtown Chicago within a mile or so of Lake Michigan and the Art Institute.” Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham didn't deny it. “I think there's a general understanding that we move hazardous material in this country. I think there's an understanding that the federal government knows how to do it safely,” says Abraham. “No routes have been finalized. We haven't made decisions yet. We are gonna do it safely. We're gonna do it in concert with local communities and state governments.” And Abraham says the government has been transporting nuclear waste for the past 30 years, but most of the shipments have been relatively small and not clear across the country. While there have been a few minor accidents, none of them have resulted in significant releases of nuclear materials. “I would stress that, that we move much hazardous material via rail and via truck in this country today. And we know how to do it in a fashion that is safe for the public,” says Abraham. “We are, we are not going to endanger the public.” The casks used to transport nuclear waste have been smashed into concrete barriers, broadsided by roaring trains, dropped from high altitudes and burned in jet fuel for 90 minutes. They've stayed intact, but how secure are these casks? How durable are they? “They're among the best containers that humans know how to make to contain hazardous materials,” says Halstead. “On the other hand, the payload is so hazardous that only a tiny fraction has to escape in an accident or in a terrorist incident in order to have a disastrous or even a catastrophic clean-up cost.” Halstead says the casks are not designed to withstand all disasters, like the Baltimore Tunnel fire in July of 2001, when a freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed and burned for four days with temperatures inside the tunnel reaching 1,000 degrees. But it's not just accidents Sen. Reid fears. He worries about terrorism. “Every one of these trucks, every one of these trains, is a target of opportunity for a terrorist to do bad things,” says Reid. “I mean, you talk about a dirty bomb. I mean this is, this is really a filthy bomb.” Twenty years of tests and studies have demonstrated the vulnerability of the shipping casks to a variety of possible terrorist weapons, concluding they can be breached by explosive charges or anti-tank weapons. “These caravans so far are going to be 300 feet long -- a football field long,” says Greenspun. “Going 35, 40 miles an hour across the federal highways. Do you think it's going to be hard to hit that with anything? Even I could hit it.” Could they be blown open by a demolition charge? Could they be blown open by a shoulder-fired rocket? “Well, the question I think you should be asking is not whether those casks can be attacked only, but whether or not the current location of the nuclear waste is a more vulnerable target,” says Abraham. “We have invested $4 billion in the science and the safety. And based on that investment, I am confident that we know how to do this in a way that's safe. Yes, it can be trusted.” But trust is a rare commodity in Nevada when it comes to the federal government. Many people, like Greenspun, still think of themselves as nuclear guinea pigs. He remembers watching atomic bomb tests with his father back in the 1950s. “He would take us up to the top of Mount Charleston when we were little kids, so that we could watch the blasts. You could see the mushroom cloud go off. And we thought that was the neatest thing in the whole world,” recalls Greenspun. “And then, minutes later, this pink cloud would come over and we would get sprinkled with dust. No one ever thought anything of it. Thirty-forty years later, we are the thyroid cancer capital of the world.” This is a fact that has not escaped the notice of Mayor Goodman, who keeps a copy of a 1957 handbook on those nuclear tests put out by the Atomic Energy Commission. “They say that fallout of this contaminant, this radiation, this deadly material, can be inconvenient. That's the way they expressed it,” says Goodman. “So I'm not going to help the federal government lie to us again. Nope, not, not during my administration.” The state of Nevada is still battling to keep Yucca Mountain from opening. It sued the federal government to stop the project, and it's trying to stall the Department of Energy's efforts to get a license to operate the site. Nevada also has recruited a powerful ally in its fight. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry told Las Vegas voters that he's against the project. There will be no Yucca Mountain nuclear waste depository in a Kerry administration. © MMIV, CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. [http://www.cbsnews.com] ***************************************************************** 30 Guardian Unlimited: Inquiry urged into nuclear fuel plant Paul Brown and Rob Evans Tuesday July 27, 2004 The Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk] Michael Meacher, the former environment minister, called for an official investigation yesterday into a nuclear fuel factory which has so far cost taxpayers more than £600m. He said that even as a minister he had been prevented from gaining access to the figures which the government used to justify opening the plant. Mr Meacher has written to the National Audit Office, which scrutinises government expenditure, to call for an investigation. Yesterday, the Guardian detailed how the factory is eight years behind schedule, and has yet to deliver anything to customers. The factory, run by the state-owned British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL), was approved in 2001 by the prime minister, who overruled critics from inside and outside government who said that it would be a financial disaster. The basis for the approval was two reports by consultants who forecast that the factory would be profitable. Yesterday Mr Meacher, who was a minister between 1997 and 2003 while the government was deciding whether to allow the factory to go ahead, said that the reports were so sensitive he had not been given full access. The government has refused to publish the complete reports, from consultants Arthur D Little and PA Consulting Group, arguing they contain commercially sensitive information which could damage BNFL. The Irish government and environmental campaigners have called for full versions of the reports to be published so the economic justification for the factory could be properly evaluated. The factory, at Sellafield in Cumbria, produces nuclear fuel derived from plutonium and uranium from BNFL's reprocessing operations. It is called a Mox plant because the fuel consists of mixed oxides of plutonium and uranium. Mr Meacher said: "The nuclear industry was supposed to produce electricity which it claimed would be too cheap to meter. But it is now apparent that BNFL's costs are too expensive to measure. Taxpayers' money seems to be consumed by BNFL at a terrifying rate. "I am calling for an investigation by the National Audit Office as BNFL and the DTI do not seem to be frank about the cost of the Mox plant." In his letter Mr Meacher says the cost of building and running the plant was originally put at £239m in 1997, but rose by stages to £500m. In addition, a scandal involving falsified quality control documents for Mox fuel from a demonstration plant cost £113m, including £40m in compensation to the Japanese company involved, and shipping costs for an armed escort to take the plutonium-based fuel back to Sellafield from Japan. "A further cost was incurred when BNFL was obliged to buy Mox from a Belgian nuclear company because it had no Mox of its own, in order to fulfil an order from Switzerland." He says the total costs of Mox could be more than £700m, yet no fuel has so far been sold and there is no sign of new orders which could offer commercial viability. Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrats' environment spokesman, said: "This isn't simply a white elephant, it's a lame duck as well. "This shows the ability of the nuclear industry to absorb taxpayers' cash and give nothing in return except radioactive waste... Those responsible should be examining their consciences. Quite clearly the devil is in the DTI." Special report The nuclear industry Graphics The Mox ships' journey around the world (pdf) [http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2002/09 /17/nuclear_ship.pdf] Nuclear map of Britain US nuclear map Useful links British Energy [http://www.british-energy.com/] Department of Trade and Industry [http://www.dti.gov.uk/] British Nuclear Fuels Ltd [http://www.bnfl.co.uk/website.nsf/default.htm] Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament [http://www.cnduk.org/] Greenpeace [http://www.greenpeace.org/homepage/] HSE nuclear glossary [http://www.hse.gov.uk/nsd/ilrwglos.htm] UK atomic energy authority [http://www.ukaea.org.uk/] National Radiological Protection Board [http://www.nrpb.org.uk/] Friends of the Earth [http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/climate/press_for_change/dump_nuc lear/index.html] World Nuclear Association [http://www.uilondon.org/] World Nuclear Transport Institute [http://www.wnti.co.uk] [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 ***************************************************************** 31 Washington Dispatch: Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty washingtondispatch.com Commentary by Rachel Neuwirth July 26, 2004 The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty is on the verge of collapse, according to confidential sources, who reveal a history of internal mismanagement and inaction attributable to the leadership of the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) Executive Secretary Dr.Wolfgang Hoffman, and obstructionism by the Bush Administration. The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBTO PrepCom) - the Vienna, Austria-based United Nations organization set up to implement the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) - has been in crisis since January 2002 due to the shutting off of a monitoring station by the Islamic Republic of Iran and a damning report on the human resources problems within its PTS. More than two years later, these matters have not been resolved. Instead, the PTS has been beset by a series of internal and external crises. To date the CTBT has been signed by 172 states and ratified by 115. Executive secretary Hoffmann has so far failed to increase the number of signatures and ratifications, especially of the nuclear-capable 44 states listed in Annex 2 of the CTBT. India, Pakistan and North Korea (DPRK) are part of this group of 44 that have not yet signed the Treaty, and they are unlikely to do so in the near future. China, Colombia, DRC (Zaire), Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, USA and Viet Nam have yet to ratify it. The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate rejected the CTBT in October 1999. The CTBT was opened for signature on 24 September 1996 and was to have entered into force three years later. The International Monitoring System (IMS) consisting of 321 stations and 16 radionuclide labs were to be ready in 1999; however, this system may not be ready till 2007. The United States, United Kingdom and other states are getting frustrated with Dr. Hoffmann's foot-dragging in this area. In 2001 the Bush Administration cut funding ($800,000) to the On Site Inspections (OSI) Division of the CTBT, saying that this could only be used after Entry Into Force of the CTBT. This was an indication that the Administration did not want to seek the ratification of the CTBT and thereby bring its Entry Into Force closer. The Bush Administration did not attend the Entry Into Force Conference held at the UN in New York in November 2001 and did not attend the one in September 2003 in Vienna. Also, the U.S reduced its contribution to the overall budget from 25 to 22 percent. This has sent a negative message to other states. If the U.S stops funding in 2006, other states are unlikely to pick up the tab. About 80 states never pay their dues at all. Of the major states, Italy is a persistent defaulter. Colombia has not yet even paid a cent in dues to the Preparatory Commission. Due to a long-running dispute, the Middle East and South Asia (MESA) regional Group of the CTBT has been in a mess since its start. The Islamic/Arab states will not allow for the election of a Vice-Chair from this Group, as this would acknowledge that they have accepted Israel as part of this Group, as stated in the CTBT. Since the problem within the MESA group has not been resolved, it has been unable to elect a Chair of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, as it is required by the Treaty. The Chair rotates annually according to the regional groups. The international community tried to put Israel in its correct geographical region for the first time with the CTBT, but without success. Unfair employment practices have undercut the effectiveness of the Nuclear Test-Ban Preparatory Commission. A damaging Cedar Human Resources report in January 2002 found, among other things, a climate of "fear and mistrust" in the commission's secretariat. Dr. Hoffman responded to the report by firing the chief of the Personnel Section, whose only offense had been to faithfully carry out Hoffman's orders. The commission has lost two cases brought against it before the International Labor Organization's administrative tribunal by disgruntled former employees. In one of these cases, the administrative tribunal awarded substantial compensation, back wages and perks to a former employee of the commission's Personnel Section. This money could have been used to build the IMS, but was wasted due to Dr. Hoffmann's dictatorial management style. Iran has taken advantage of the turmoil within the CTBTO Preparatory Commission situation to shut off its monitoring station. This is a violation of the CTBT. Iran may withdraw from the NPT and the CTBT in the future as well. North Korea may conduct a nuclear test in the future. Because of the failure of the CTBTO regime, Israel may be forced to bomb Iran's nuclear plants before they come online in 2005 (shades of Osirak, Iraq in June 1981). For the same reason, the next U.S president will have to give serious consideration to the resumption of nuclear testing, in order to modernize its aging stockpile and deal with the dangers posed by rogue states and non-state suicide actors. The Bush Administration would like to resume nuclear testing in 2007, and has already taken several steps in this direction, including preparing the Nevada test site and the research on mini nukes. Dr. Hoffmann has successfully portrayed himself to the world as the courageous captain of a ship on an uncertain course. The truth is rather different. Dr. Hoffmann, who is a career diplomat and the former German Ambassador to the Conference for Disarmament in Geneva where the CTBT was negotiated, is 68 years old, and suffers from high blood pressure and heart problems. He should have left on 16 March 2004 when he completed his seven-year tenure; however, he has obtained an extension till July 2005. He has successfully abused his position by offering the maximum number of posts in the Secretariat to German nationals and nationals of the 25 European Union states. In fact, the Organization is international only in name, but essentially a smaller version of the European Union. The PTS has a staff of 310 from 69 member states. More than 60 percent of the staff members are of European origin. If Dr. Hoffmann had his way he would employ all the 4.5 million unemployed persons of his native Germany. The On-Site Inspection (OSI) Division is still in operation although it does nothing useful except for providing employment and other benefits to a group of aging bureaucrats who spend most of their office time smoking and drinking coffee on the 4th and 7th floor bars of the C Building of the Vienna International Centre (VIC). Most of the chiefs of sections of the Nuclear Test-Ban Commission's secretariat, as well as one senior officer from the office of the Executive Secretary, can be seen spending his working day at the VIC coffee bars chatting up pretty secretaries. Since there is no time registering system for professional staff they are free even not to come to office. In fact most senior Professional staff come to office only to check email and surf the Internet. Most senior employees earn in excess of US $100,000 annually, and this income is tax-free. Multimillionaire Dr. Hoffmann earns over US$140,000 yearly. If fact most of the senior management comprises dollar millionaires, thanks to the American taxpayer. In addition, professional staff receive a rental subsidy and several other perks. This is how the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty abuses the money of U.S taxpayers. Do you want to be a millionaire? Then join the Nuclear Test Ban Commission's secretariat at a senior level. The authors work inside the CTBTO organization and are accredited diplomats to it. They aspire to see the CTBTO "fulfill its mandate under a new and effective leadership." They have requested anonymity. ***************************************************************** 32 Hanford News: Los Alamos case halts some work at PNNL [http://www.hanfordnews.com] This story was published Saturday, July 24th, 2004 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham ordered a halt Friday to classified operations using computer disks at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland and at Hanford. Classified operations across the national Department of Energy complex must stop temporarily by Monday if they use computer disks similar to those missing from a New Mexico weapons research laboratory, Abraham said. A July 7 inventory at Los Alamos National Laboratory concluded that two zip disks containing classified material were missing. The search of more than 2,000 safes and vaults continued at the lab Friday to try to find the disks. "While we have no evidence that the problems currently being investigated are present elsewhere, we have a responsibility to take all necessary action to prevent such problems," said Abraham in a prepared statement. The national laboratory in Richland is not a weapons lab, but it does do classified work for the Office of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense and DOE. Security officials started performing an inventory of computer disks there earlier this month following news reports of the security problem at Los Alamos, said lab spokesman Geoff Harvey in Richland. "Early in the week, we think we'll have a pretty good indication of our CREM" or controlled removable electronic media, he said. Lab officials believe the effect on work will be minimal because of the early start on the inventory and the limited number of the disks at the lab expected to be covered by the work stoppage. In addition to creating an inventory, DOE labs and sites doing security work are being required to conduct training, review security procedures and ensure someone is accountable for each disc. Abraham will personally approve the restart of classified operations at each site or lab, he said. Once restarted, weekly inventories will be required and disks will only be released from safes or other repositories through a formal checkout process. "These procedures are designed to guarantee a complete inventory of our classified electronic holdings and make certain that specific individuals can be held responsible and accountable for future problems," Abraham said. Hanford also makes limited use of classified computer systems. Although little information was released Friday, the systems most likely are used in connection with a heavily guarded vault in central Hanford that stores plutonium left when the Cold War ended. Hanford produced plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program during World War II and the Cold War. Efforts are under way to clean up the site. "We will be in full compliance with the order, but it will have no impact on cleanup," said Colleen Clark, DOE spokeswoman in Richland. © 2004 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 33 Daily Californian: Classified Research Ceases at All DOE Labs - [http://www.dailycal.org/] By LISA HUMES-SCHULZ Contributing Writer Monday, July 26, 2004 COURTESY/LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY The Los Alamos National Laboratory halted all classified research July 9 after two classified disks went missing. Classified work has now been stalled at all DOE labs. U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham suspended all classified operations involving removable electronic data at the nation’s 24 Department of Energy laboratories beginning today, grinding nearly all DOE research in the country to a halt. The suspension will be lifted once lab and government officials take a comprehensive inventory of classified media and establish new security protocol. Abraham’s order comes in the wake of the most recent security breaches at the UC-managed Los Alamos National Laboratory, which has sent officials on a wall-to-wall search for two classified discs. “The situation at L.A.N.L. suggests that we must minimize the risk of human error or malfeasance to a much greater extent,” Abraham said in his announcement Friday. “While we have no evidence that the problems currently being investigated are present elsewhere, we have a responsibility to take all necessary action to prevent such problems from occurring at all.” The complexwide stand-down will put the brakes on classified nuclear research at UC-managed Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, but will not affect work at its Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which does not conduct classified research for national security. Nearly all work was shut down at the Los Alamos lab last week and will not resume until government officials are satisfied that newly implemented protocol will more adequately protect the classified materials. Los Alamos Lab Director Pete Nanos pointed to the lab’s “cowboy culture” as the culprit for the missing data, which he said has left the lab vulnerable to rule violations and reluctance to turn over guilty parties. Unlike past security lapses at the lab—which have been because of human error—Nanos said there is evidence linking the willful negligent behavior of some lab employees to the missing data. Nineteen Los Alamos employees were suspended Thursday while lab officials conduct an official investigation into their involvement in the security breach and other safety lapses. The lax culture at the Los Alamos lab, the birthplace of the atomic bomb, has come under heavy fire from officials all over the country, many of whom are calling for the immediate termination of UC’s contract to manage the lab. “In Washington, Los Alamos’ reputation as a crown jewel of science is being eclipsed by a reputation as being both dysfunctional and untouchable,” said Senator Pete Domenici, R-N.M., in a statement, who has fiercely defended the lab and UC throughout the string of debacles. “As the proudest defender of the laboratory, I can tell you that the defense can no longer be sustained unless the laboratory changes.” All labs will undergo extensive policy changes, including creating consolidated repositories to store classified data and a formal check-out process, Abraham said. But despite the changes, lab officials said there is no way to guarantee security breaches will never happen again. “It does not mean that we are never gonna have another one of these incidents again—our work lends itself to human error,” said Robert Foley, vice president for laboratory management at UC. “There very well may be one or more of these incidents in the future.” Berkeley, California dailycal@dailycal.org ***************************************************************** 34 KTVB.COM: Workers moved indoors following acid leak at INEEL 04:27 PM MDT on Monday, July 26, 2004 Associated Press ARCO -- Emergency crews have responded to another accidental release of a toxic acid at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. No employees were exposed to the release at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center today. But they were told to remain indoors as a precaution. I-N-E-E-L spokesman Ray Grant says a small leak of anhydrous hydroflouric gas from an old cylinder was detected. The chemical is used to remove rust. Workers are recovering the cylinders from an old burial pit. A similar leak occurred at the site on June 24th. No one was injured in that incident, either. ©2004 Belo Interactive Inc. ***************************************************************** 35 Oak Ridger: Security issues affect Y-12 Story last updated at 12:56 p.m. on July 26, 2004 POGO: 'National security has suffered because of nuclear weapons complex personnel stonewalling important security reforms. These changes need to happen immediately ...' By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff paul.parson@oakridger.com [paul.parson@oakridger.com] A watchdog group that's been highly critical of Department of Energy-related security measures has given a thumbs up to the federal agency's decision to halt classified operations that involve the use of removable electronic media like hard drives and disks. Locally, the Y-12 National Security is the facility that's most affected by the decision, according to Steven Wyatt, who serves as a spokesman for DOE and its National Nuclear Security Administration - the quasi-independent agency that oversees the nuclear weapons complex. "We are rapidly responding to this," Wyatt said. While the federal spokesman indicated the Oak Ridge consequences of the DOE decision was not fully known, he suggested that there was no impact to Y-12 employment, but possibly to production at the nuclear weapons plant. While the electronic media decision stems from security breaches at New Mexico's Los Alamos National Laboratory, Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project On Government Oversight, said the watchdog group has always believed poor cybersecurity was a systemwide problem with DOE. "Until the problems are fixed, the labs are more of a Homeland Security liability than an asset," Brian said. "National security has suffered because of nuclear weapons complex personnel stonewalling important security reforms. These changes need to happen immediately so our nuclear secrets aren't compromised." Brian said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's decision to halt the use of removable electronic media is an important step in moving to an accountable system. In a nutshell, POGO said these reforms could prevent future incidents like the one at Los Alamos where officials are in the process of searching more 2,000 safes and vaults in an attempt to locate missing disks. While DOE's decision on removable electronic media primarily involved Y-12 on the local level, other Oak Ridge facilities are reporting less impacts - if any. Billy Stair, a spokesman for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, estimated that only 10 percent of the research facility's operations were impacted by the DOE electronic media decision. About the same percentage of DOE's Office of Scientific and Technical Information work was also affected. "We have quite a bit of this classified removable media so we are like everybody else," said Brian Hitson, associate director of OSTI's Administration and Information Services. "We'll be standing down and complying with these requirements until it's validated that we can resume operations." Elsewhere, there apparently isn't any impact to programs managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities, according to spokeswoman Pam Bonee. As part of Abraham's plan, a 100 percent initial physical inventory of accountable removable electronic media is to be conducted, with weekly inventories done thereafter. In addition, a formal checkout process for all these types of media will be initiated, with access to repositories storing the items strictly limited. ***************************************************************** 36 Oak Ridger: Bechtel Jacobs' contracts extended in Kentucky, Ohio Story last updated at 12:56 p.m. on July 26, 2004 By: Paul Parson | Oak Ridger Staff [paul.parson@oakridger.com] The company that oversees the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge cleanup efforts has received a six-month extension on its contract for work at two other federal sites. DOE announced the extension for Bechtel Jacobs Co. last week, citing in a news release that the additional time would "allow for the award of the infrastructure and remediation contracts" in Paducah, Ky., and Portsmouth, Ohio. However, Bechtel Jacobs isn't one of the bidders on the new contracts, according to company spokesman Dennis Hill. Originally, the cleanup deals outside of Tennessee were part of an Oak Ridge-related contract awarded to Bechtel Jacobs in 1997, but that all changed last year. That's when the local deal was rebid essentially as a standalone contract. Prior to the extension, the Bechtel Jacobs contract for the Kentucky and Ohio work would have expired on Sept. 30. ***************************************************************** 37 lamonitor.com: DOE orders nationwide stand down The Online News Source for Los Alamos [http://www.lanl.gov/worldview] [http://www.lac-nm.us] ROGER SNODGRASS, roger@lamonitor.com, Monitor Assistant Editor Missing computer zip drives at Los Alamos exposed a universal weakness in the Department of Energy's classified operations that is about to be addressed. Taking a cue from Los Alamos National Laboratory's current stand down, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham late Friday ordered a halt to all work in the department that uses the portable data devices. A DOE statement said work involving removable data storage devices would cease Monday across the country, pending an inventory. Weekly inventories will be conducted at each site in the future. Jeanne Lopato, a spokesperson for DOE, said Friday that DOE has 59 sites across the country, including headquarters buildings, laboratories, field offices and the strategic petroleum reserve. "Of those less than half will be affected by this directive," she said. How long it will take in any given site, she said, will depend on how much classified material they have. "The situation at LANL suggests that we must minimize the risk of human error or malfeasance to a much greater extent," Abraham said. "Thus, while we have no evidence that the problems currently being investigated are present elsewhere, we have a responsibility to take all necessary action to prevent such problems from occurring at all. Los Alamos has been wracked by the consequences of two classified disks reported missing July 7. They were listed as present in an April inventory, but the inventory itself has been questioned, reported LANL Director G. Peter Nanos, because two other disks listed in the inventory were not immediately found. The DOE statement said the laboratory is searching over 2,000 safes and vaults in an attempt to locate the missing discs Nanos ordered a halt to classified operations the next week. A serious safety problem at that time brought a total stand down while the laboratory began a project to deal with the cultural weaknesses that were blamed for a series of embarrassments in recent years. DOE's plans calls for a wall-to-wall physical inventory, beginning Monday followed by weekly inventories. Authorized and trained custodians will maintain higher levels of Classified Removal Electronic Memory (CREM) in a special repository. Only the custodians will have access to the data and a formal checkout procedure will be followed. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Tex, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee who accompanied Deputy Energy Secretary Kyle McSlarrow and Linton Brooks, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration on a fact-finding visit to Los Alamos earlier this week, issued a statement approving the steps that are being taken. "These efforts reflect a view that such lapses are serious and must be stopped. We will know that they have succeeded, however, only when new security protocols are devised and implemented, time passes and no further lapses occur," he said. He added that that matter was of high priority to him and said the committee would pay close attention to further reforms that would have to occur. The Project on Government Oversight, the Washington public interest group that has been a source of leaks about security problems in DOE, concurred. "Until the problems are fixed, the labs are more of a homeland security liability than an asset. National security has suffered because of nuclear weapons complex personnel stonewalling important security reforms. These changes need to happen immediately so our nuclear secrets aren't compromised," POGO's Executive Director Danielle Brian said. © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 38 Google News Alert - nuclear Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 12:38:06 -0700 (PDT) ISRAELI Court Says Nuclear Whistleblower a Danger Voice of America - Washington,DC,USA Israel's top court ruled that Mordechai Vanunu, who once exposed the country's secret nuclear program, is still a danger to national security and must be ... See all stories on this topic: LOS Alamos is the birthplace of the nuclear bomb Sky News - UK America's nuclear weapons research industry is to grind to a halt over a crippling security scandal. The suspension was ordered ... See all stories on this topic: US Nuclear Cleanup Carries Major Risks Slashdot - USA ... in this pretty alarming article that there is a 50-50 chance of a major radiation or chemical accident during the cleanup of the dirtiest nuclear site in the ... See all stories on this topic: NUCLEAR plant backed by Blair is £600m 'white elephant' Guardian - UK A nuclear fuel factory which was personally approved by Tony Blair has so far cost the taxpayer more than £600m - and rising - without producing a single ... SIX-WAY talks on North Korea's nuclear drive due next month: Japan ... SpaceDaily - USA Six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program are likely to be held next month to discuss US and North Korean proposals tabled at a meeting in June ... See all stories on this topic: NUCLEAR Bunker Buster Bombs Scientific American (subscription) - USA By Michael Levi. Potential opponents of the US armed forces learned an important lesson during the first Gulf War. As smart bombs ... 20 years on, US ships can visit NZ ... if they ask The Australian - Australia NEW Zealand might allow a United States ship to enter Kiwi waters, two decades after the nuclear ban which cut military ties between the nations. ... See all stories on this topic: FORMER Clinton Advisor Warns That Even Kerry Would Need Time to ... Chosun Ilbo - South Korea Kenneth Quinones, the director of the Korean Peninsula Program of International Action, said Monday that negotiations on the North Korean nuclear issue might ... See all stories on this topic: IF Iran's people won't stop the mullahs, it's up to us Seattle Times - Seattle,WA,USA ... of three — the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany — that has been meeting with the Iranians to get them to shut down their nuclear program. ... See all stories on this topic: This daily-once News Alert is brought to you by Google News (BETA)... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Remove this News Alert: http://www.google.com/newsalerts/remove?s=92d1672a1b037a07&hl=en Create another News Alert: http://www.google.com/newsalerts?hl=en Try Google News: http://news.google.com/ ***************************************************************** 39 Nuclear Calendar Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 09:34:42 -0400 (EDT) FCNL Nuclear Calendar
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Friends Committee on National Legislation

Nuclear Calendar

July 19-30 Biological Weapons Convention meeting of experts. Geneva
July 24-Sept. 6 House and Senate summer recess
Week of July 26 Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton visits China to discuss North Korea's nuclear program.
July 26 Classified work at U.S. nuclear weapons facilities is temporary suspended by the National Nuclear Security Administration for security violations.
July 26-29 Democratic National Convention. Boston
July 26-Sept. 10 Conference on Disarmament third session. Geneva
July 29 9:30 a.m., National Research Council, Committee to Assess the Scientific Information for the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program, public meeting to take testimony. Salt Lake City Library Auditorium, 210 E. 400 S., Salt Lake City. To testify or submit written testimony, contact Laura Waters at lwaters@nas.edu or (202) 334-2743, or Isaf Al-Nabulsi at ialnabul@nas.edu or (202) 334-2671.
July 29 10 p.m., John Kerry gives his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. Boston
July30-Aug. 1 Pax Christi USA annual assembly. Barry University, Miami Shores, FL
July or Aug. Missile Defense Agency issues the draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) on the Ballistic Missile Defense System
Week of Aug. 2 Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, hearing on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission with commission chairman Thomas Kean and vice chairman Lee Hamilton
Aug. 2-9 Japan Council against A- and H-Bombs (GENSUIKYO). "World Conference against A- and H-Bombs." Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan
Aug. 5-9 Fellowship of Reconciliation national conference. Occidental College, Los Angeles
Aug. 6 Hiroshima Day. (Calendar of events.)
Aug. 7 Australian general election
Aug. 9 Ri Gun, North Korean deputy chief delegate to the six-party talks, speaks at a conference of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (closed). New York
Aug. 9 Nagasaki Day. (Calendar of events.)
 
 

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***************************************************************** 40 Spectrum: Small Boy has big effect on small boy thespectrum.com Monday, July 26, 2004 By Nick Adams + For more information on the RESEP clinic, call (435) 688-5990. + For more information on nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site, visit: http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/index.html. [http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/index.html] + For more information about the potential threats from radiation exposure from nuclear testing, visit the National Cancer Institute Web site: http://www2.nci.nih.gov/. [http://www2.nci.nih.gov/] At about half past noon on July 14, 1962, a 64-pound nuclear bomb measuring about 15 inches around was detonated on a tower at the Nevada Test Site. The device, code-named Small Boy, was likely my introduction to nuclear fallout at the tender age of six months. Though several nuclear tests had occurred since my birth, Small Boy was the first in my life to sprinkle significant radioactive material over me, instantly transforming me into a Downwinder. Only I did not know it. The Downwinder club is not one I was eager to join. I moved to Las Vegas the next month, where I lived my childhood. Though many members of my extended family have been affected, until recently I had never considered myself a Downwinder. Then the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program opened at Dixie Regional Medical Center last spring. The RESEP clinic, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Division of Primary Health Care, reaches out to Downwinders, offering free health exams with special attention given to radiation-related cancers. To qualify as a Downwinder, one must have lived for two years from 1951-1958, or July 1962, in Washington, Iron, Beaver, Kane or Garfield counties; northern Mohave or Coconino counties in Arizona; or Lincoln or northeast Clark counties in Nevada. July 1962. Hey, that's me, I thought to myself. I was living in Santa Clara. With a little research, I found out why. That month saw the Sedan test, a subsurface excavation explosion that hurled 12 million tons of earth into the air leaving a crater a quarter mile across and 320 feet deep; two below-ground tests; and four above-ground low-yield tactical weapons tests, including Small Boy. After July, there were no more above-ground tests at the Nevada Test Site. So there I was, now technically defined as a Downwinder. I decided to make an appointment at the RESEP clinic. From my point of view the clinic did not differ all that much from a standard checkup with my family physician. There was a medical history to fill out in advance. My blood pressure was taken, I was weighed and blood was drawn. The physician looked over my skin, felt my thyroid and other glands, performed the dreaded rectal exam and I was done. I was told to expect a written summary via registered mail in a few weeks. I was relieved when the summary arrived and indicated no cancers were detected. Of course it doesn't mean I won't become a cancer victim, but the experience at the clinic and the realization that I am a Downwinder has made me more aware of the potential threats to my health. And I am left puzzled that anyone ever took serious the notion that a thermonuclear device could ever be a practical excavation tool. Originally published Monday, July 26, 2004 Copyright ©2004 The Spectrum. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************