***************************************************************** 08/17/04 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 12.196 ***************************************************************** 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 Las Vegas SUN: Iran Threatens Israel on Nuclear Reactor 2 AFP: IAEA report will not rule on Iran nuclear programme - diplomats 3 AFP: Iran's nuclear program must be brought to UN Security Council - 4 Korea Herald: [NEWS ANALYSIS]Korea scrambles as U.S. confirms troop 5 Guardian Unlimited: Australian Minister to Visit North Korea 6 BBC: Canberra offers N Korea incentive 7 AFP: Australian FM says 'great opportunities' for North Korea 8 Xinhuanet: DPRK says US hostile on nuke issue 9 KoreaTimes: 6-Way Nuke Talks to Start Sept. 25 10 ITAR-TASS: China urges Pyongyang to take part in working group meeti 11 AU ABC: Australia hopes to smooth NKorea talks 12 US: Bush: Personnel Announcement 13 US: CNEWS - Science: U.S. scientists and President Bush reach a heat 14 BBC: Britain 'knew about nuclear network' 15 Mos News: Supreme Court Upholds Sentence of Scientist Jailed for Esp NUCLEAR REACTORS 16 US: NRC Pulls Fast One on Davis-Besse Restart Public Meeting 17 US: NRC Pulls Fast One on Public Hearing on Davis-Besse Restart 18 US: New TMI Health Study 19 IPS-English ENERGY-VIETNAM: Japan Accident Prompts Rethink of 20 IPS-English FRANCE: Nuclear Accident in Japan Raises Fears, 21 US: NRC: Notice of Public Meeting of the Interagency Steering Commit 22 US: NRC: Sunshine Act Meeting 23 Mainichi Interactive: Fukui governor raps KEPCO over nuke plant acci 24 Daily Yomiuri: Police to seize burst N-plant pipe 25 US: Hampton Union Local News: Plant settles with N.H. over tax owed 26 US: Hampton Union Local News: Security workers win new contract 27 Mainichi Interactive: Scalding steam gushes out of ruptured pipe 28 UK Independent: '£18bn needed' to secure UK energy supply 29 Xinhuanet: Japan nuclear power plant accident results from pipe 30 ENERGY-VIETNAM: Japan Accident Prompts Rethink of Nuclear Plans 31 ITAR-TASS: Italy’s biggest power utility ENEL may stop using oil 32 ITAR-TASS: Construction of 2 reactors for India runs according to sc 33 US: TheDay.com: Group Appeals Millstone Storage Plan 34 US: PRN: PG Updates Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Investigation I 35 WSM: PBMR gets back to business with IFS Applications 36 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for th 37 US: NRC: Carolina Power & Light Company, et al. NUCLEAR SAFETY 38 US: [du-list] Only 12 of 4,300 sick 39 US: Portsmouth Herald Maine News: Sub arrives for $225M overhaul 40 US: Daily Press: Navy may delay work on carrier 41 US: Arizona Daily Sun: County health board opposes Nevada nuke testi NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 42 US: Las Vegas SUN: 1979 memo: Radioactive contamination 'problem' at 43 Tri-City Herald: Kerry's stand on Yucca is that of a candidate 44 Salt Lake Tribune: Nuke tests at issue in Senate race 45 US: PE.com: Briefing targets Wyle tensions NUCLEAR WEAPONS 46 [du-list] Mordechai Vanunu defies ban on speaking to 47 Guardian Unlimited: Russian Court Rejects Researchers' Appeal US DEPT. OF ENERGY 48 Hanford News: Hanford to improve monitoring for mercury 49 CBC: DOE awards nuclear energy grant to UC - OTHER NUCLEAR 50 Google News Alert - nuclear 51 [du-list] DU in the news - 17th Aug 04 52 Boston.com: Scientists sink their hopes into a mile-deep laboratory 53 UCS: Two Dramatically Different Futures Shown For California's ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Las Vegas SUN: Iran Threatens Israel on Nuclear Reactor By ALI AKBAR DAREINI ASSOCIATED PRESS TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Accompanied by a warning that its missiles have the range, Iran on Tuesday said it would destroy Israel's Dimona nuclear reactor if the Jewish state were to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. "If Israel fires a missile into the Bushehr nuclear power plant, it has to say goodbye forever to its Dimona nuclear facility, where it produces and stockpiles nuclear weapons," the deputy chief of the elite Revolutionary Guards, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, said in a statement. Bushehr, a coastal town on the Persian Gulf, is the site of Iran's first nuclear reactor. Built with Russian assistance, it's due to come online in 2005. Iran says its nuclear program is strictly for generating electricity. But Israel and the United States strongly suspect Iran is secretly building nuclear weapons. Israel has not threatened to attack the Bushehr reactor, but it has said it will not allow Iran to build a nuclear bomb. In 1981 Israeli fighters destroyed a nuclear reactor under construction outside Baghdad because it feared Iraq would acquire a nuclear weapon. Israel has never confirmed nor denied having nuclear weapons, but it is widely believed to be a nuclear power. Its reactor at Dimona in the Negev Desert is said to be the source of plutonium for its alleged nuclear warheads. Zolqadr did not say how Iran would attack Dimona, but the head of the Revolutionary Guards' political bureau, Yadollah Javani, said Iran would use its Shahab-3 missile. "All the territory under the control of the Zionist regime, including its nuclear facilities, are within the range of Iran's advanced missiles," Javani said in a separate statement. Iran announced last week it had successfully test-fired a new version of the Shahab-3, which has a range of about 810 miles. Israel is about 600 miles west of Iran. U.S. officials say the missile, whose name means shooting star in Farsi, is based on the North Korean "No Dong" rocket. Iran says Shahab-3 is entirely Iranian-made. With help from the United States, Israel has developed the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system. It is said to be capable of intercepting and destroying missiles at high altitudes. -- ***************************************************************** 2 AFP: IAEA report will not rule on Iran nuclear programme - diplomats + [http://www.spacewar.com/] VIENNA (AFP) Aug 17, 2004 The UN's nuclear agency will not say in a report next month whether Iran's nuclear activities are of a military nature, nor will it recommend bringing the case before the UN Security Council, diplomats said on Tuesday. "I suspect that this will be another of those reports where there is no 'smoking gun' which would allow the hardline countries to send this to the Security Council," a diplomat told AFP here. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is conducting a major probe into Iran's bid to generate electricity through nuclear power -- seen by the United States as a cover for secret weapons development. The IAEA board is due to deliver the report on Iran's nuclear activities during a meeting at the organisation's headquarters from September 13 after the last of a group of IAEA inspectors returned from Iran last week. However, the source said the report would not deliver "a so-called clean bill of health, which would allow Iran to say that they should be taken off the agenda of the board of governors" of the Vienna-based agency. According to the source, neither will it contain conclusive findings about traces of highly enriched uranium discovered, which can be used to manufacture an atomic bomb, detected at facilities in Iran. He said the IAEA had not yet concluded that the traces came from equipment bought on a black market network run by Pakistan's former nuclear chief scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, as reported by Jane's Defence Weekly this month. "That source was not entirely correct -- some of the samples support the idea that some of the protocols came from Pakistan but (IAEA inspectors) don't have the complete set of analysis and samples and are not yet able to say what Jane's said." The IAEA inspectors "are not going to say in the report that the contamination came from abroad," he said. The traces of 54 percent-enriched uranium have been at the heart of an ongoing international dispute over whether Tehran has reneged on its obligations to inform the IAEA of all enrichment activities. The Islamic republic, which insists that its nuclear program is peaceful in nature, says the traces were brought into the country on imported equipment and wants its dossier to be taken off the agenda of the UN nuclear watchdog. A spokesman for the IAEA, Mark Gwozdecky, said that the body would be conducting more inspections of Iran on the spot in the future. "This round of inspections is finished, they will be more in the future.". Iran has agreed to temporarily suspend uranium enrichment pending the completion of the IAEA probe, but is working on other parts of the fuel cycle and has recently resumed making centrifuges used for enrichment. Tehran has asserted that it has a "legitimate right" to enrich uranium, which is permitted under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). But the concern is that once fully mastered, a country possessing such technology can easily divert it into military usage. The European Union's "big three" -- Britain, France and Germany -- have been pressing Iran to cease working on the nuclear fuel cycle in exchange for increased trade and cooperation and the guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel. WAR.WIRE ***************************************************************** 3 AFP: Iran's nuclear program must be brought to UN Security Council - senior US official WAR.WIRE
[http://www.spacewar.com/] WASHINGTON (AFP) Aug 17, 2004 Iran's nuclear program, which the United States charges is a front for atomic weapons development, must be referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions to be imposed on the Islamic Republic, a senior US official said Tuesday. The under secretary of state for arms control and international security, John Bolton, a noted hawk in President George W. Bush's administration, would not say whether Washington would insist that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) send the matter to the council when it meets next month, but said failure to do so would be a mistake. "We ... believe that the Iranian nuclear weapons program must be taken up by the UN Security Council," Bolton told a forum on US policy toward Iran at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think-tank. "Clearly, the time to report this issue to the Security Council is long overdue," he said. "To fail to do so would risk sending a signal to would-be proliferators that there are not serious consequences for pursuing secret nuclear weapons programs." Bolton called for the international community to isolate Iran over the program, which Tehran adamantly insists is simply for civilian energy purposes, until it comes clean and dismantles any weapons components under independent supervision. "We cannot let Iran, a leading sponsor of international terrorism, acquire nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them to Europe, most of central Asia and the Middle East, or beyond," he said. "Without serious, concerted, immediate intervention by the international community, Iran will be well on the road to doing so," Bolton added. He spoke after diplomats at IAEA headquarters in Vienna said the agency's governing board was unlikely say in its report next month whether Iran's nuclear activities are of a military nature and would not recommend referring the case to the Security Council. However, one source said the report would not deliver "a so-called clean bill of health, which would allow Iran to say that they should be taken off the agenda of the board of governors" of the Vienna-based agency. The board is due to deliver the report on Iran's nuclear activities during a meeting at the organization's headquarters from September 13 after the last of a group of IAEA inspectors returned from Iran last week. WAR.WIRE ***************************************************************** 4 Korea Herald: [NEWS ANALYSIS]Korea scrambles as U.S. confirms troop cuts 2004.08.18 By Andrew Petty and Chang Yeojean Long anticipated, it is now official: U.S. troop levels in South Korea will be cut by one third during the next 18 months although Seoul will seek a delay. On Monday night U.S. President George W. Bush unveiled his plan to bring home 60,000 to 70,000 servicemen and over 100,000 civilians stationed in Europe and Asia over the next 10 years. The planned reduction of troops in South Korea to about 25,000 is part of an American military realignment aimed at mitigating a new age of warfare after the end of the Cold War. Koreans have been preparing for the announcement for over a year, yet they are still in the dark on security issues with arch enemy North Korea and whether the South can afford to build up its defense to be self-reliant. The Korean government is scrambling to buy time and will request the United States to delay its plan to withdraw a large portion of the troops now stationed here. ***************************************************************** 5 Guardian Unlimited: Australian Minister to Visit North Korea From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday August 17, 2004 9:31 AM By STEPHANIE HOO Associated Press Writer BEIJING (AP) - Australia's foreign minister said en route to North Korea on Tuesday that he would dangle the prospect of more economic aid for the impoverished country if it agrees to stop building nuclear weapons. Alexander Downer's trip to Pyongyang comes a day after North Korea said it won't attend low-level meetings to prepare for six-nation talks on the nuclear crisis - casting strong doubt over international efforts to get the country to disarm. The United States had said it wants to convene the so-called working meetings as soon as possible, ahead of higher-level talks by the end of September that would include South Korea, China, Japan and Russia. Australia is one of the few countries to have diplomatic relations with North Korea's secretive government. Downer said he would use his visit Tuesday and Wednesday to try to nudge Pyongyang toward the international mainstream. ``If North Korea were to abandon its nuclear programs, then obviously that would lead to a very substantial increase in Australia's economic engagement with North Korea,'' Downer said. That engagement would be ``certainly in terms in aid but I think too in terms of broader trade and investment activities,'' he said. Indeed, North Korea stands to gain ``substantial economic engagement with many countries'' if it abandons nuclear weapons development, he added. ``So it's a point that I'll make to the North Koreans.'' Downer met with top Chinese leaders while in Beijing, and he said the two countries agreed to strengthen economic ties and discussed the prospects of a free trade agreement. Australia is especially eager to sell more natural gas and coal to energy-hungry China, but it still has to decide whether to grant market economy status to China before talks on a free trade accord can begin, Downer said. The European Union has refused to grant China market economy status, saying Beijing still micromanages the economy. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 ***************************************************************** 6 BBC: Canberra offers N Korea incentive Last Updated: Tuesday, 17 August, 2004 [Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer gestures during a press conference in Beijing, 17 August 2004] Mr Downer held talks in Beijing before travelling to Pyongyang Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has said there will be great economic benefits for North Korea if it abandons its nuclear ambitions. He said there would be a "substantial" increase in trade and other links. He is going to Pyongyang after talks in Beijing on how to break the deadlock on North Korea's nuclear programme. Australia is not in formal six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear future but Mr Downer believes it can play a role in trying to solve the impasse. Months of intermittent multinational talks have produced little progress, and correspondents say that Australia is indeed well placed to help, because it has diplomatic links with the key players of the US, North Korea and China. "We already have some limited aid programmes in North Korea... and if North Korea were to abandon its nuclear programmes then obviously that would lead to a very substantial increase in Australia's engagement," Mr Downer told a news conference in Beijing. He added that this engagement included broader trade and investment initiatives as well as aid programmes. "There are great opportunities for the North Korean people if they abandon their nuclear programmes," Mr Downer said. Commitments demanded The dispute flared up in October 2002, when US officials accused North Korea of running a secret nuclear programme in violation of international agreements. [North Korean spent nuclear fuel rods in Yongbyon] The nuclear dispute has been raging for 22 months Since then there have been a series of six-party talks between South Korea, China, Japan, Russia, the US and North Korea but a deal has yet to be reached. North Korea has offered a nuclear freeze in return for economic aid, but says it is not getting the necessary US commitments in return. The US wants Pyongyang to disclose all its nuclear activities and allow outside monitors into the country. On Monday, North Korea said the US was "not interested in making the dialogue fruitful", and threatened to boycott a working meeting ahead of the next round of six-party talks. ***************************************************************** 7 AFP: Australian FM says 'great opportunities' for North Korea WAR.WIRE [http://www.spacewar.com/] BEIJING (AFP) Aug 17, 2004 Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer arrived in North Korea Tuesday ready to try to impress upon Pyongyang that abandoning its nuclear program will lead to "great opportunities," including aid. Downer's two-day visit comes after the reclusive Stalinist country suggested it might not attend a next round of preparatory talks aimed at ending the nuclear standoff. North Korea's state news agency KCNA reported late Tuesday that Downer had arrived in Pyongyang and had been met by foreign affairs officials. "If North Korea were to abandon its nuclear program, it would certainly lead to a very substantial increase in Australia's economic engagement with North Korea, not just in terms of aid... but also in terms of broader trade investment activities," Downer told reporters in Beijing earlier in the day. "It's a point I would make to North Korea (that) there are great opportunities for North Korean people if they abandon their nuclear programs. "Those opportunities will be borne out of substantial economic engagements with many countries, including a significant Asia-Pacific economy like Australia." The North said Monday it "had nothing to expect" from a fresh round of six-nation talks because of what it called a hardline US policy. The working level meeting is scheduled to be held prior to a fourth round of full-blown talks expected before the end of September. Downer, who met with Chinese leaders Monday, said he did not get the sense the working-group talks were cancelled. "The message I had from the Chinese was that no scheduled time had been scheduled for that meeting, not that the meeting had been cancelled," Downer told a news briefing. Chinese and North Korean officials also met in Beijing Monday. Downer asserted that Australia had an important role to play in resolving the near two-year standoff over the North's nuclear weapons drive. It is one of the few countries with diplomatic relations with North Korea and has a strong alliance with the United States as well as good ties with Japan, South Korea and China -- all parties in the talks along with Russia. "I think Australia can bring a unique perspective to the North Koreans about this issue and the way forward," Downer said. "I hope that our intervention will ensure that the next round of six-party talks in September, October in this period... can be more fruitful than might otherwise be the case." Prior to his trip, Downer said in Australia that the North Korean nuclear standoff was a "profoundly serious issue" that threatened Australia's security. He shook diplomatic sensitivities in Australia by warning that North Korea could launch a missile assault on the United States or Australia, which he admitted has no capacity to defend itself against such attack. WAR.WIRE ***************************************************************** 8 Xinhuanet: DPRK says US hostile on nuke issue www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2004-08-17 08:51:02 BEIJING, Aug.17 (Xinhuanet) -- North Korea says hosile United States policy has destroyed the fourth round of six-party talks to resolve the crisis on the peninsula. A spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry urged the US to stop its hostile policy to North Korea's nuclear program and lay the foundation for negotiations, reported China Radio International. Last Wednesday, the two-day informal meeting on Pyongyang's nuclear program ended in New York without substantial bilateral contact between Washington and Pyongyang. The closed-door meeting was organized by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. Delegates from five participating countries of the six-party talks, China, North Korea, Japan, South Korea and the United States, attended the informal meeting. (CRIENGLISH.com) Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 9 KoreaTimes: 6-Way Nuke Talks to Start Sept. 25 Hankooki.com > Korea Times > Nation By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter Despite North Korea dragging its feet over resolving the nuclear standoff, Russian media reported on Monday that the next round of six-party talks are likely to start on Sept. 25. Citing conference sources, the Interfax news agency said the fourth round of six-party talks aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the prolonged nuclear impasse will likely be held in Beijing for several days from the last Saturday of September. ``The six nations also plan to hold preliminary working-group talks to lay the groundwork for the plenary session,¡¯¡¯ it added. In a related development, a group of North Korean officials including Ri Gun, Pyongyang¡¯s deputy chief delegate to the six-way talks, made a secret visit to Beijing on Monday. Ri met with Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang and Ning Fukui, Chinese ambassador in charge of the North Korean nuclear issue, according to sources. Although no details of their closed-door talks were available, the officials from the old communist allies were believed to have discussed the schedule for the proposed working-group meeting ahead of the fourth round of talks. South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia have held the multinational dialogue three times since the multinational dialogue formula was designed in 2003 to address the nuclear crisis that erupted in October 2002. In the third round of talks, which ended without major breakthrough in late June, the six parties agreed to convene again by the end of September and hold the working group talks led by deputy chiefs at least once before the main session. The U.S. has reportedly suggested that the lower-level preparatory meeting be held in New York during an international seminar there, but Pyongyang is said to have rejected the proposal. In a strategy that appears designed to buy time before the U.S. presidential election in November, the North has been accused of delaying the nuclear talks deliberately, blaming the U.S. for the situation. North Korea said on Monday that it was getting ``impossible¡¯¡¯ for the country to attend the proposed working-group talks as the U.S. was sticking to a ``hostile policy¡¯¡¯ toward the North. ``The U.S. has itself destroyed the foundation of the talks, making it impossible for the DPRK (North Korea) to go to the forthcoming meeting of the working group,¡¯¡¯ North Korea¡¯s official Central News Agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying. Washington, however, dismissed Pyongyang¡¯s argument, saying it saw no change in the prospects for the fourth round of six-party talks. ``We haven¡¯t heard anything from the North Koreans at this point that would change our assumption about holding those talks,¡¯¡¯ State Department Press Relations Director Tom Casey told reporters. ``At this point, we¡¯re working with the Chinese, with the other parties, and think that we'll be moving forward on this shortly.¡¯¡¯ In the meantime, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday that his country hopes to help move forward the six-party talks by using its diplomatic ties with the North and links with other nations involved. ``We hope to be able to assist in moving this process toward a successful conclusion,¡¯¡¯ Downer said at a press conference at a Beijing hotel shortly before leaving for Pyongyang for a two-day visit. ``I hope that our intervention will ensure that the next round of six-party talks in Sept.-Oct. can be more fruitful,¡¯¡¯ he added. jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr 08-17-2004 16:35 ***************************************************************** 10 ITAR-TASS: China urges Pyongyang to take part in working group meeting [ITAR-TASS News Agency of Russia] 17.08.2004, 15.41 All the participants should coordinate, within the shortest possible period, the time of holding the new round of negotiations, China's pointman on North Korea Ning Fukui said in Beijing on Tuesday. Beijing is hoping that all the parties at the upcoming meeting will show sincerity and flexibility, and come up with more proposals aimed at reaching a compromise, Ning Fukui said. He emphasized that the statement by the North Korean Foreign Ministry on Monday did not imply a refusal to participate in the upcoming meeting of the working group, although the West interpreted it as such. The North Korean Foreign Ministry underlined in its statement that progress at the fourth round was impossible if the United States did not drop its hostile policy toward the republic. In these conditions, it is perfectly clear that even if Pyongyang sits down at the negotiating table, the talks will be unavailing, the Ministry said. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer who stopped over in Beijing on his way to Pyongyang, believes he would be able to convince the North Korean leadership of the necessity to drop the nuclear program. Australia is ready to contribute to the success at the Korean nuclear talks, Downer said. In case of Pyongyang's decision to drop plans to create nuclear weapons, Australia's economic interaction with North Korea will increase considerably, the foreign minister emphasized. © ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy, ***************************************************************** 11 AU ABC: Australia hopes to smooth NKorea talks RADIO AUSTRALIA [http://abc.net.au/ra/news/] Australia's Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, says he hopes to be able to help resolve the ongoing North Korean nuclear crisis. Our China correspondent, John Taylor, says Mr Downer is traveling to North Korea for only his second trip since diplomatic relations were resumed in 2000. Speaking in Beijing ahead of his departure Mr Downer said now was a timely opportunity for Australia to play a role in the long-running international standoff over North Korea's efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Australia has already held discussions with China, the United States, Japan, Russia and South Korea about the progress of multi-lateral negotiations. Mr Downer hopes Australia's intervention will help the next round of six-party talks to be held in Beijing next month. 17/08/2004 22:28:25 | ABC Radio Australia News [http://www.abc.net.au/privacy.htm] ***************************************************************** 12 Bush: Personnel Announcement For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary August 16, 2004 August 16, 2004 President George W. Bush today announced his intention to appoint seven individuals, designate two individuals and nominate one individual to serve in his administration: The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board: B. John Garrick of California, and designate Chairman upon appointment William Howard Arnold of Michigan Daryl Busch of Kansas George Milton Hornberger of Virginia Andrew C. Kadak of Rhode Island Ali Mosleh of Maryland Henry Petroski of North Carolina The President intends to designate W. Ronald Evans, of the District of Columbia, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Capital Revitalization Corporation for the remainder of a five year term expiring July 22, 2009. The President intends to nominate D. Michael Rappoport, of Arizona, to be a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation. # # # ***************************************************************** 13 CNEWS - Science: U.S. scientists and President Bush reach a heated collision August 17, 2004 By MATT CRENSON info@mosnews.com [info@mosnews.com] Copyright © 2004 MOSNEWS.COM ***************************************************************** 16 NRC Pulls Fast One on Davis-Besse Restart Public Meeting Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 16:00:30 -0400 ***************************************************************** 17 NRC Pulls Fast One on Public Hearing on Davis-Besse Restart Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 15:49:03 -0700 NEWS FROM NIRS Nuclear Information and Resource Service 1424 16th Street NW, #404, Washington DC 20036 202.328.0002; f: 202.462.2183; pgunter@nirs.org; www.nirs.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Paul Gunter, NIRS, plaintiff, 202-328-0002 August 17, 2004 Terry Lodge, Attorney-at-Law, 419-255-7552 Michael Keegan, plaintiff, 734-735-6373 NRC PULLS FAST ONE OVER PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN SAFETY OVERSIGHT OF DAVIS-BESSE NUCLEAR POWER STATION; COMMISSION ACTION FURTHER UNDERMINES PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN AGENCYS SAFETY PRIORITIES WASHINGTON, DC---The Nuclear Regulatory Commissioners quietly met on the afternoon of Monday, August 16, 2004 and by a unanimous vote of 3-0 decided to hold a public meeting at 9:25 AM EST on Tuesday, August 17, 2004 regarding an appeal of its licensing boards decision to deny a public hearing on the legality and safety of the restart of Ohios controversial Davis-Besse nuclear power station. The only notification (attached) of the public meeting was emailed to the Toledo, Ohio attorney for Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) and local interveners at 8:30 AM Tuesday morningless than one hour before the meeting began. Following its open to the public meeting,the Commission promptly issued an Order and Memorandum (attached) affirming the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) decision by email to the Attorney Terry Lodge. We attempted to raise documented Davis-Besse fire protection violations and public safety concerns to NRCs restart panel back in December 2003, months before the restart,said Paul Gunter, Director of the Reactor Watchdog Project for Washington, DC-based Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS). Reminiscent of the same regulatory malfeasance that led to severe reactor corrosion and a near miss accident, the agency sunset its own Sunshine Law to circumvent serious public safety questions,he said. NIRS and local plaintiffs pointed to publicly disclosed NRC documents where pre-restart NRC inspections of Davis-Besse records discovered pretty outrageousviolations of mandatory fire protection for reactor safe shutdown equipment.[1] "When serious safety allegations didn't fit the agencys restart script, NRC omitted them from any restart considerations,said Toledo Attorney Terry Lodge. The grand jury investigating wrongdoing around Davis-Besse's hole-in-the head is public safetys last chance for any justice," said Lodge. The ASLB dismissed contentions claiming that the plaintiffs had sought a hearing on actions beyond the scope of the NRC Restart Order. The plaintiffs then sought an appeal to the Commission. "This is simply contempt for public participation in the reactor safety process,said Michael Keegan, a plaintiff in the Davis-Besse restart decision. These rogues masquerading as regulators must be called out on the Congressional Oversight Carpet,concluded Keegan. [1] Email from Phil Qualls, Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. NRC Headquarters, to Dennis Kubicki, US DOE, Re: Memory test and possible warning,June 24, 2003, FOIA 2003-0358 Appendix N-19. -30- Attachment: Email NRC to Terry Lodge, Esq. --- HearingDocket wrote: > Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 08:30:47 -0400 > From: "HearingDocket" > To: , > , > "Charles Kelber" > , > "G Paul Bollwerk" > , > "Lisa Clark" , > "Peter Lam" , > > CC: "John Cordes" > Subject: Davis-Besse - Commission Memorandum and Order > By a vote of 3-0 on August 16, 2004, the Commission determined > pursuant to U.S.C. 552b(e) and Section > 9.107(a) of the Commission's rules that Affirmation of a Commission > Memorandum and Order regarding the FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating > Company (Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1) proceeding (Docket > No. 50-346-CO) will be held today, August 17, 2004 at 9:25 am, and on > less than one week's notice to the public. The meeting is open and > will be held at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission headquarters > building, Commissioner's conference room, 11555 > Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. > Please acknowledge receipt. Thank you. > Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff > Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission NIRS is just $4500 away from meeting the second installment of our $100,000 matching challenge grant! Please help us meet this grant and fight NRC abuses by donating to NIRS online at https://secure.campagne.com/Donation/donate.aspx?id=58 or by sending a check to NIRS, 1424 16th Street NW, #404, Washington, DC 20036. We appreciate your help and a sincere thank you to everyone who already has contributed! Michael Mariotte, NIRS This is the NIRS E-Mail Alert list. You are on this list because you signed up on our website, at a NIRS table at a concert, on a petition, or directly to NIRS. Your name and address are never sold, rented, or traded with anyone for any reason. For address changes or to unsubscribe, just send an e-mail to nirsnet@nirs.org. If you have friends or colleagues who would like to be on this list, have them send a note to nirsnet@nirs.org [1] Email from Phil Qualls, Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. NRC Headquarters, to Dennis Kubicki, US DOE, Re: Memory test and possible warning,June 24, 2003, FOIA 2003-0358 Appendix N-19. ***************************************************************** 18 New TMI Health Study Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 17:30:07 -0700 Three Mile Island Alert, Inc. 315 Peffer Street Harrisburg, PA 17102 Contact: (717)-233-7897 (717)-541-1101 Eric Joseph Epstein ericepstein@comcast.net Comments of Eric J. Epstein August 17, 2004 TMIA Calls on the Pennsylvania Department of Health to Re-Open its Examination of the TMI Accident Harrisburg, PA. - Three Mile Island Alert, a safe-energy group formed in 1977, called on the Pennsylvania Department of Health to reexamine the adverse health of effects of March-April 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island Unit-2. TMIA¹s Chairman, Eric J. Epstein stated, ³This latest study clearly demonstrates the need for an objective investigation into the long-term adverse health affects associated with the TMI accident². Epstein added, ³While every study has documented that this area lives with chronic elevated psychological stress, area residents deserve nothing less than a full and complete accounting of what they were exposed to during the core melt accident.² Mr. Epstein noted that Mr. Mangano¹s study affirms earlier findings documented by Dr. Gordon MacLeod, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Health. 1 In March, 1982, Dr. MacLeod reported his findings in The American Journal of Public Health: During the first two quarters of 1978, the neonatal mortality rate within a ten-mile radius of Three Mile Island was 8.6 and 7.6 per 1,000 live births, respectively. During the first quarter of 1979, following the startup of accident prone Unit 2, the rate jumped to 17.2; it increased to 19.3 in the quarter following the accident at TMI and returned to 7.8 and 9.3, respectively, in the last two quarters of 1979. In the period soon after the accident, concerns were raised about increased deaths to infants born near Three Mile Island. Mangano presented official vital health statistics showing that in the two years after the accident (1979-80), the infant death rate rose in 13 of 19 Pennsylvania counties downwind (north/northeast) of the stricken plant. In contrast, only 18 of the 48 other counties in the state experienced increases during this time. In Dauphin County, where Three Mile Island is located, the rate rose 37%. "Unfortunately, there are those who don't want to know the full truth about Three Mile Island," says Eric Epstein, Chairman of Three Mile Island Alert in Harrisburg. "We need to create an apolitical environment that allows researchers to conduct objective studies. With five nuclear reactors located in the Commonwealth, it is critical that we understand the full health risks associated with their continued operation." ***************************************************************** 19 IPS-English ENERGY-VIETNAM: Japan Accident Prompts Rethink of Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 15:41:17 -0700 ROMAIPS AP DV ENERGY-VIETNAM: Japan Accident Prompts Rethink of Nuclear Plans By Tran Dinh Thanh Lam HO CHI MINH CITY, Aug 17 (IPS) - The recent Mihama Nuclear Power Plant mishap -- Japan's worst nuclear accident to date -- has prompted many Vietnamese to question plans to develop the country's first atomic plant by 2017. ''The Mihama accident will turn the worries expressed by some Vietnamese experts (about the safety of a nuclear power plant) into actualities,'' Hoang Van, a writer at the 'Science and Life' magazine told IPS. In November 2003, Vietnam energy authorities completed a pre- feasibility study for the country's first atomic power plant, estimated to cost four billion U.S. dollars. A proposal was then submitted by the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (AEI) to the government to develop the nuclear plant by 2017. According to AEI, Vietnam's electricity consumption has increased by 12 percent to 15 percent a year in recent years. Currently, the country produces 5,500 megawatts to 6,000 megawatts a year, 55 percent of which is generated by hydropower plants. The institute said the country will need 20,000 megawatts to 30,000 megawatts of electricity by 2020, and nuclear power is needed to help meet that demand. The AEI has selected six places in four central provinces as possible locations for a nuclear power plant - one in Quang Binh, one in Phu Yen and two each in Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan provinces. But analysts have questioned why Vietnam, one of the world's poorest countries, needs to consider nuclear energy when it has plenty of natural gas and coal, and suitable conditions for hydropower. The Japan accident on Aug. 9 after super-heated steam leaked through a hole in a pipe that feeds steam in the turbine facility of the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant and killed four workers, has also prompted caution on Vietnam's plans. ''Obviously there are questions about safety (after the Mihama plant incident) and whether we have the proper trained personnel to run the plant,'' said Nguyen Ngoc Tran, deputy chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Committee. ''AEI says that we should put the nuclear power plant into operation by 2020 because at that time we will be in short supply of energy. I think it is not totally right,'' he said. Tran said he had conferred with many scientists in the National Committee for Science, and they all rejected AEI opinion. ''The time we need nuclear energy is still far away, maybe in three or four decades time,'' Tran told IPS. This was also the opinion of Professor Dang Vu Minh, Director of Vietnam's Institute of Science and Technology. ''We need to find out if by 2020 there are no other solutions to solve the energy problem, then we will consider developing the nuclear plant,'' he said in an interview. Japan is assisting Vietnam to build the nuclear power plant with the AEI working closely with the Japan Atomic Industry Forum or JAIF. The construction date has also got the experts worried. The AEI initially planned the plant for 2017, but after consulting JAIF it decided to advance the construction closer to 2012. ''Why such a hurry?'' asked Prof Pham Duy Hien, one of Vietnam's leading experts on atomic energy. Hien has expressed all his reservations about the safety of the plant in an article on 'VietnamNet' last June. ''As one of the persons in charge of developing nuclear energy 25 years ago, I have no other dream than seeing a nuclear power plant built in Vietnam during my life. However, I believe that unless all the scientific and technological criteria were met, the construction of the plant would be not viable,'' he wrote. In an interview with IPS, Hien said he doubted Vietnam would be ready for nuclear energy given the safety concerns following the recent Japan nuclear mishap. ''Even by the year 2017, Vietnam will not be ready for nuclear energy. The country lacks necessary human resources as well as a legal infrastructure (to address nuclear accidents if they happen),'' said Hien. The atomic energy expert said it takes at least 15 years to train specialists to operate a nuclear reactor. ''If we want them to manage and operate the power plant by 2020, we need to send them overseas to have some training now.'' Nguyen Ngoc Tran of the National Assembly's Foreign Committee also cautions the country not to hurry, and to wait for more reliable and environmentally friendly technology. ''We will adopt nuclear energy, but we will adopt it with care and safety. We should pick up the best and safest technology that has the less impact on the environment,'' he said. Tran said that the technology currently presented to Vietnam, to build the nuclear power plant, is of the third generation type. This, he said, is not very secure. He suggested waiting for the fourth generation of reactors, which are more secure and generate less nuclear waste. These reactors will only be available by 2025 at the earliest. Dr. Nguyen Khac Nhan from Strasbourg, France, a former adviser at Electricite de France (EDF) was more categorical. ''Saying there is no other way than nuclear energy is rejecting the world's efforts in saving energy and developing other sources, especially renewable ones,'' he told IPS. Nhan said out that by 2020-2030, renewable energies like wind and solar would be more economical and could compete with oil and gas - which by then could be scarce. He stressed that safety of nuclear plants is an issue that needed serious consideration. ''The Mihama accident should be an eye- opener for our planners.'' (END/IPS/AP/DV/TDTL/SI/04) = 08170508 ORP002 NNNN ***************************************************************** 20 IPS-English FRANCE: Nuclear Accident in Japan Raises Fears, Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 15:41:17 -0700 ROMAIPS EU AP EN=20 FRANCE: Nuclear Accident in Japan Raises Fears, And Hope By Julio Godoy=20 PARIS, Aug 17 (IPS) - The fatal accident at the Japanese nuclear power pl= ant Mihama last week has raised fears about French nuclear facilities -- = and also the desire to have more. The accident has stirred expectations that France can build the new inter= national nuclear power plant (ITER) for which Japan is the other candidat= e.=20 ITER is an experiment in new nuclear technology. The United States, Russi= a, China, Japan, South Korea and the European Union are cooperating to bu= ild an ITER plant beginning 2010, but are undecided on the location.=20 The European Union, Russia, and China support French candidacy while the = United States and South Korea prefer Japan.=20 Michele Rivasi, director of the independent French Environmental Observat= ory told IPS that the Mihama accident could strengthen the French candida= cy. French officials and nuclear industry representatives avoid speaking = publicly about the accident but in private they express hopes it would un= dermine Japan's chances, she said. =20 The Mihama accident in which at least four people were killed and seven s= eriously injured follows a string of nuclear accidents in Japan. A major = accident had occurred earlier at Mihama in 1991. Accidents were reported = following that at nuclear facilities in Monju in 1995, and in Tokaimura i= n 1997 and 1999.=20 But the French safety record is not much better, says Rivasi. =94We have = had our share of accidents at nuclear power stations, we cannot say Frenc= h technology is safer than the Japanese,=94 she told IPS. =94Extremely serious accidents, such as that of the nuclear power plant o= f Civaux in May 1998, were never discussed publicly,=94 St=E9phane Lhomme= , spokesperson of Sortir du Nucl=E9aire (Get Rid of Nuclear Power) told I= PS. =94Transparency, an essential in such a dangerous issue as nuclear po= wer, does not exist in France.=94=20 On May 12, 1998, the control panel at Civaux, the most modern French nucl= ear power plant, reported a sudden pressure drop. Engineers and technicia= ns worked frenetically to decode a set of confusing signals. It took them= nine hours to cool the system. Only after that technicians were able to = locate a leak and change a broken tube.=20 Just weeks later engineers discovered another construction error that bro= ught near catastrophe. Cracks were discovered in a welded tube. =94That n= ight we all, the French nuclear industry and the society at large, had en= ormous luck,=94 Lhomme said.=20 The German Agency for Nuclear Safety which inquired into the leak said Fr= ench technicians had shown =94considerable insecurity=94 in handling the = case. The plant had to undergo major reconstruction. Accidents have taken place at other French nuclear power plants. In Decem= ber 1999 the nuclear station at Blayes on the Atlantic coast near Bordeau= x had to be shut down after it was inundated by heavy tides.=20 Last year environmental activists say there were fires in six nuclear pow= er plants. Rescue teams needed more than 50 minutes on average to react, = well beyond the established limit of 15 minutes. =94All these facts confi= rm not only the inherent weakness of nuclear technology, but also of Fren= ch systems to react to a nuclear catastrophe,=94 Lhomme said. Fears over environmental damage have risen. From this year nuclear plants= have been authorised to discharge water into rivers above the earlier li= mit of 50 degrees C. The limit had been raised temporarily last year due = to the heat spell. =20 =94Nobody knows exactly the effects on public health and the environment = that the temporary permissions of 2003 had,=94 Lhomme said. =94Now radioa= ctive discharges into rivers will go without control for ever.=94=20 France relies heavily on nuclear power to meet its energy needs. It has 5= 8 nuclear plants providing over 80 percent of its electricity.=20 France continues to ignore renewable energy sources such as the wind and = sunlight. Germany has an installed capacity of 13,500 megwatts through wi= nd energy, France only 220 MW. (END/IPS/EU/AP/EN/JG/SS/04)=20 =20 =3D 08171200 ORP005 NNNN ***************************************************************** 21 NRC: Notice of Public Meeting of the Interagency Steering Committee FR Doc 04-18733 [Federal Register: August 17, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 158)] [Notices] [Page 51128] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr17au04-95] on Radiation Standards With the International Commission on Radiation Protection AGENCIES: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. ACTION: Notice of public meeting. SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will host a topical public meeting of the Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS) with representatives from the International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP) on September 15, 2004, in Rockville, Maryland. The purpose of ISCORS is to foster early resolution and coordination of regulatory issues associated with radiation standards. Agencies represented as members of ISCORS include the following: NRC; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Department of Energy; U.S. Department of Defense; U.S. Department of Transportation; the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor; U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ISCORS meeting observer agencies include the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Office of Management and Budget, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, as well as representatives from both the States of Illinois and Pennsylvania. The ICRP representatives, Dr. Roger Clarke, Chairman, and Dr. Lars- Erik Holm, Vice-Chairman, will be presenting the draft revision of the ICRP recommendations on radiation protection, currently available for public consultation at [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.icrp.org] . The objective of the meeting is to provide an opportunity for exchange of ideas and comments with the ICRP during the time the draft recommendations are available for public consultation. The tentative agenda includes an ICRP presentation followed by open, moderated discussion of the draft recommendations with attendees. There will be time on the agenda for members of the public to ask questions. The final agenda for the September 2004 meeting will be posted on the ISCORS Web site, [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.iscors.org] , shortly before the meeting. Space is limited and advanced registration is requested to assure attendance upon arrival. Attendees should plan to provide two forms of identification and arrive early in anticipation of security screening and related delays. In the executive summary of the draft report, ICRP concluded that its recommendations should be based on a simple, but widely applicable, general system of protection that will clarify its objectives and will provide a basis for the more formal systems needed by operating managements and regulators. The report specifies that ICRP also recognizes the need for stability in regulatory systems at a time when there is no major problem identified with the practical use of the present system of protection in normal situations. The use of the optimization principle, together with the use of constraints and the current dose limits, has led to a general overall reduction in both occupational and public doses over the past decade. The ICRP now proposes to strengthen its recommendations by quantifying constraints for all controllable sources in all situations. Further, the system of protection now recommended by the ICRP is intended to be seen as a natural evolution of, and as a further clarification of, their 1990 Recommendations. Specifically, the draft report addresses the following areas: quantities used in radiation protection; biological aspects; the general attributes of the system of protection; levels of protection for individuals; optimization of protection; exclusion of sources; medical exposures; potential exposure; and protection of the environment. DATES: The meeting will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, September 15, 2004. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the ACRS hearing room, T2B3, at Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Susanne Woods or Jennifer Davis, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, telephone (301) 415-7319; FAX (301) 415-5398; electronic mail to both [ SRW@NRC.GOV] and [BJD1@NRC.GOV.] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Visitor parking around the NRC building is limited; however, the Two White Flint North building is located adjacent to the White Flint Metro Station on the Red Line. Dated at Rockville, MD, this 11th day of August, 2004. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Scott Flanders, Deputy Director, Environmental and Performance Assessment Directorate, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Performance, Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards. [FR Doc. 04-18733 Filed 8-16-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 22 NRC: Sunshine Act Meeting FR Doc 04-18883 [Federal Register: August 17, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 158)] [Notices] [Page 51128-51129] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr17au04-96] Date: Weeks of August 16, 23, 30, September 6, 13, 20, 2004. Place: Commissioners' Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. Status: Public and Closed. Matters to be Considered: [[Page 51129]] Week of August 16, 2004 Tuesday, August 17, 2004 9:25 a.m. Affirmation Session (Public Meeting). a. Private Fuel Storage (Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation) Docket No. 72-22-ISFSI. b. Final Rule: Medical Use of Byproduct Material--Minor Amendments: Extending Expiration Date for Subpart J of Part 35. c. Tennessee Valley Authority (Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Unit 1, Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 & 2, Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2, & 3), Docket Nos. 50-390-CivP; 50-327-CivP; 50-328-CivP; 50-259- CivP; 50-260-CivP; 50-296-CivP; LBP-03-10 (6/26/03) (Tentative). 9:30 a.m. Meeting with Organization of Agreement States (OAS) and Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) (Public Meeting). (Contact: John Zabko, (301) 415-2308. This meeting will be webcast live at the Web address: http://www.nrc.gov [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov] . 1 p.m.--Discussion of Security Issues (Closed--Ex. 1). Wednesday, August 18, 2004 9:25 a.m. Affirmation Session (Public Meeting). a. Louisiana Energy Services, L.P. (National Enrichment Center) (Tentative). 9:30 a.m. Discussion of Security Issues (Closed--Ex. 1). Week of August 23, 2004--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of August 23, 2004. Week of August 30, 2004--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of August 30, 2004. Week of September 6, 2004--Tentative Wednesday, September 8, 2004 9:30 a.m. Discussion of Office of Investigations (OI) Programs and Investigations (Closed--Ex. 7). 2 p.m. Discussion of Intragovernmental Issues (Closed--Ex. 1 & 9). Week of September 13, 2004--Tentative Tuesday, September 14, 2004 9:30 a.m. Discussion of Security Issues (Closed--Ex. 1). Week of September 20, 2004--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the Week of September 20, 2004. *The schedule for Commission meetings is subject to change on short notice. To verify the status of meetings call (recording)--(301) 415- 1292. Contact person for more information: Dave Gamberoni, (301) 415- 1651. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By a vote of 3-0 on August 12, the Commission determined pursuant to U.S.C. 552b(e) and 9.107(a) of the Commission's rules that ``Affirmation of Louisiana Energy Services, L.P. (National Enrichment Center)'' be held August 18, and on less than one week's notice to the public. * * * * * The NRC Commission Meeting Schedule can be found on the Internet at: http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/policy-making/schedule.html [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/policy-makin g/schedule.html] . * * * * * The NRC provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in these public meetings, or need this meeting notice or the transcript or other information from the public meetings in another format (e.g., braille, large print), please notify the NRC's Disability Program Coordinator, August Spector, at (301) 415-7080, TDD: (301) 415- 2100, or by e-mail at aks@nrc.gov [aks@nrc.gov] . Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. * * * * * This notice is distributed by mail to several hundred subscribers; if you no longer wish to receive it, or would like to be added to the distribution, please contact the Office of the Secretary, Washington, DC 20555 ((301) 415-1969). In addition, distribution of this meeting notice over the Internet system is available. If you are interested in receiving this Commission meeting schedule electronically, please send an electronic message to dkw@nrc.gov [dkw@nrc.gov] . Dated: August 12, 2004. Dave Gamberoni, Office of the Secretary. [FR Doc. 04-18883 Filed 8-13-04; 9:41 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-M ***************************************************************** 23 Mainichi Interactive: Fukui governor raps KEPCO over nuke plant accident FUKUI -- Governor Issei Nishikawa has expressed his regret over a power supplier's failure to regularly check four important pipe parts in four nuclear reactors' secondary systems, including the one where a deadly accident occurred last week. The Fukui governor has also decided to dispatch nuclear experts from the prefectural government to monitor inspections that Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO) is poised to conduct on its nuclear reactors. "It's indeed regrettable. The prefectural government is set to keep a close eye on inspections in a bid to relieve the anguish of local residents," Nishikawa said. At a prefectural government task force meeting over the accident on Monday, a high-ranking official asked KEPCO executives why the power supplier failed to designate the four parts as main inspection parts subject to regular examinations. "We just forgot them. From the beginning, they were not designated as such," responded KEPCO Vice President Tetsuji Kishida. Hideyuki Nakagawa, dean of Fukui University's engineering faculty and a member of the prefectural government's nuclear safety committee, also displayed his distrust in the power supplier. "Prefectural government experts must closely monitor inspections." Kishida agreed to comply with the demand. Local residents have bitterly criticized KEPCO over its sloppy measures to ensure the safety of its nuclear reactors. "The accident was the result of KEPCO's over-confidence in its technology and the excessive pursuit of profits (at the sacrifice of safety)," said Takumi Kodama, 56, who owns an inn in Takahama. A high-ranking member of a citizens group opposing nuclear power plants urged that thorough inspections be conducted on all nuclear power plants. "It's not enough to inspect only the secondary systems (that do not contain radiation). All nuclear power plants, including their primary systems, should be thoroughly examined," said Miwako Ogiso, secretary-general of the organization. The fatal accident occurred in the third reactor of KEPCO's Mihama Nuclear Power Plant in Mihama, Fukui Prefecture, on Aug. 9. Four workers at a subcontractor died and seven others were injured after scalding steam leaked into a turbine room that is part of the reactor's secondary system. Inspections carried out after the accident showed that the thickness of the pipe had worn down from 10 millimeters to just 0.6 millimeters at the thinnest section. The minimum thickness to maintain proper safety was reportedly 4.7 millimeters. It was subsequently learned that the power supplier had failed to designate some important parts in its nuclear reactors' secondary systems as main inspection parts. (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, Aug. 17, 2004) © 2004 The Mainichi Newspapers Co. Under the ***************************************************************** 24 Daily Yomiuri: Police to seize burst N-plant pipe Yomiuri Shimbun The Fukui prefectural police will take possession of the section of pipe that burst in a fatal steam blowout on Aug. 9 at Mihama Nuclear Power Plant to try and ascertain the cause of the accident. The accident, which killed four people and injured seven others, occurred at the No. 3 reactor of Kansai Electric Power Co.'s plant in Mihamacho, Fukui Prefecture. The pipe will be taken as evidence during an investigation into the accident, and sent to a research institution for analysis. The police will try to determine whether the accident was a case of professional negligence resulting in death and injury. According to research by the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, the portion of the pipe has begun to rust and investigators want to take possession of it as soon as possible to prevent further rusting and preserve the damaged pipe in its current state. Investigators suspect that the accident occurred because KEPCO had failed to monitor the pipe's condition. The wall of the pipe had eroded to an extreme thinness in places, leading to the steam blowout. KEPCO employees and maintenance subcontractors are being questioned by investigators. Investigators will request a seizure warrant for the piece of pipe. An electron microscope analysis of the damaged pipe could reveal striations and pitting of the interior surface of the pipe caused by swirling water and aeration caused by turbulent water flow. Analysis would also show the mechanism of structural damage, such as ductile fractures caused by the stretching of materials, and fatigue fractures caused by vibration. Investigators believe that verifying how the blowout occurred will reveal whether KEPCO was negligent in checking the pipe. Speaking on behalf of the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Atsuyuki Suzuki said: "It (the portion of pipe) is oxidizing. If we don't act, patterns and other traces will be lost and we won't be able to obtain accurate data." === KEPCO president apologizes KEPCO held a meeting at a public hall Tuesday to explain the accident to residents of the Niu district of Mihamacho. KEPCO President Yosaku Fuji said: "I'm sorry to apologize so late. We'll do our utmost to restore the trust that has been lost in the accident." About 50 residents from the 65 households in the district attended the meeting. Fuji explained that some of the piping at KEPCO nuclear plants still needed to be checked. He apologized again, saying: "We'll study the cause of the accident and try to prevent similar accidents in the future. I do hope you'll forgive us." KEPCO employees later discussed the accident and admitted that the damaged pipe had not been examined for 28 years. === 'We have to lance the boil' Fukui Gov. Issei Nishikawa has expressed revolt at KEPCO's admission it failed to inspect cooling pipes at four other nuclear reactors it operates in the prefecture. "The news is truly deplorable," Nishikawa said Monday evening during a meeting at the prefectural government offices in Fukui over measures to prevent accidents such as last week's blowout. Besides the No. 3 reactor of the Mihama plant, the No. 1 reactor at the Takahamacho plant and reactors No. 3 and 4 at the Oi plant, there were no other inspection omissions, KEPCO Vice President Tetsuji Kishida told Nishikawa at the meeting. "I don't think there's any other way to think about it than to say that we forgot (to check similar pipes at the other plants)," Kishida eventually admitted, after being pressed for an explanation by the head of the prefectural government's general affairs division. "We have to lance the boil. We have to get to the bottom of this," an official from the prefectural government's atomic safety department said. Copyright 2004 The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 25 Hampton Union Local News: Plant settles with N.H. over tax owed Tuesday, August 17, 2004 By Susan Morse smorse@seacoastonline.com SEABROOK - FPL Energy Seabrook Station and the state have reached an agreement over the nuclear power plant’s assessed value. The agreement settles the amount of utility tax the power plant pays to the statewide education fund, according to George Philip Blatsos, commissioner of the state Department of Revenue. "We’ve settled on all of the outstanding issues," Blatsos said on Monday. All of the plant’s utility tax goes toward the statewide education fund, said Blatsos. The amount of utility taxes paid by the plant has no effect on the amount of money Seabrook residents or other taxpayers pay for the statewide education tax, said Blatsos. It also does not affect the amount of money the state sends to individual cities and towns for education, he said. Seabrook Station’s bottom line assessed utility value, after exemptions, is a little more than $621 million, according to Guy Petell, director of the Property Appraisal Division. The state initially assessed the plant at $734 million. FPL Energy, the plant’s majority owner, placed the value at $402 million, according to an appeal of the assessment filed by FPL Energy Seabrook LLC with the state Board of Tax and Land Appeals in January. The agreement was recently reached, said Blatsos, who did not know whether it was signed yet. "I know we’ve reached a tentative agreement with them," he said. Seabrook Station withdrew its appeal with the state Board of Tax and Land Appeals by July 22, according to records filed with that department. Seabrook Station spokesman Al Griffith referred all comment on the agreement to the state. The plant and the town also recently came to an agreement on Seabrook Station’s assessment. Under the three-year deal recently negotiated between the town and FPL Energy, the plant is valued at $975 million in 2003; $775 million in 2004; and $644 million in 2005. Seacoast Online is owned and operated by Seacoast Newspapers. Copyright © 2004 Seacoast Online. All rights reserved. Please ***************************************************************** 26 Hampton Union Local News: Security workers win new contract Tuesday, August 17, 2004 By Susan Morse smorse@seacoastonline.com SEABROOK - The security personnel union at Seabrook Station has reached an agreement with management over a new three-year contract. The contract between security workers and Wackenhut, the federal contractor for security at the nuclear power plant, has been accepted by the negotiating committee and by the "rank and file," according to Cliff Bullock, head of Local 501 of the Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America. "To our benefit, we have avoided a strike," Bullock said. "Everyone got some sort of raise." After the union rejected Wackenhut’s "last, best and final offer" on a contract in February, union representatives and Wackenhut officials met with a federal mediator in April to come up with a new contract agreement. Under the new contract, union members will receive a 4 percent pay increase over the next three years and "a much better deal on health insurance," said Bullock. New security officers will start at $15.03 an hour, a raise from the previous $14.54 an hour for new workers. The union didn’t feel $14.54 was enough for starting pay, Bullock said earlier this year. Nuclear watchdog groups such as the Project on Government Oversight - or POGO - in Washington, D.C., and C-10 in Newburyport, Mass., have said that custodians at nuclear power plants generally make more than plant security guards. Bullock said such pay comparisons are unfair. Watchdog groups also have criticized the number of overtime hours security guards are required to work. A Nuclear Regulatory Commission mandate handed down two years ago, based on research by POGO, required that security guards work no more than 48 hours a week. Bullock said work hours were not negotiated in the new contract. "We’ve tried to put some limitations on mandatory overtime," said Bullock. "It was not discussed (as part of the contract). To me, if a site is fully staffed, you would not need mandatory overtime. There is a turnover problem." Because of security issues, Bullock declined to give the number of security guards working at Seabrook Station. The present contract expired in February. Seacoast Online is owned and operated by Seacoast Newspapers. Copyright © 2004 Seacoast Online. All rights reserved. Please ***************************************************************** 27 Mainichi Interactive: Scalding steam gushes out of ruptured pipe at thermal power plant SOMA, Fukushima -- Scaling steam gushed out of a ruptured pipe at a 9-year-old geothermal power generator here Sunday afternoon, power station officials said Tuesday. Nobody was injured in the accident that occurred at Soma Kyodo Thermal Power Station, which is jointly owned by Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Tohoku Electric Power Co. The operation of the generator has since been suspended. Subsequent inspections have shown that the pipe had worn thin, just like a pipe at the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture where a fatal accident occurred last week. "We didn't assume that any of the pipes at the generator would rupture less than 10 years after it was built," Nobuyuki Funabashi, deputy director of the power station, told reporters. A drainpipe in a turbine building at the station's No. 2 geothermal power generator ruptured on Sunday afternoon, leaking scalding steam into the structure. Hot water measuring about 200 degrees Celsius was flowing in the pipe. At around 2:40 p.m. Sunday, an operator who was monitoring the generator at the control room noticed that steam was gushing out of the generator. Technicians who examined the generator found an 18-centimeter-long, 9-centimeter-wide hole in a drainpipe. Moreover, the pipe that was originally 10.3 millimeters thick, had worn thin to only 1.4 millimeters. The operator of the plant reported the accident later in the day to local governments and the local office of its central government regulator, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry. The two electric power suppliers jointly established the power station in 1981, and its No. 2 geothermal power generator began operations in July 1995. (Compiled from Mainichi and wire reports, Japan, Aug. 17, 2004) © 2004 The Mainichi Newspapers Co. Under the ***************************************************************** 28 UK Independent: '£18bn needed' to secure UK energy supply By Damian Reece, City Editor 16 August 2004 Britain will become dependent on imported gas as early as next year as North Sea reserves decline, a study has concluded. At the same time, up to £18.1bn needs to be spent on new infrastructure projects to ensure the country's energy demands are met. The report, commissioned by Centrica, which owns British Gas, saidthe UK energy system is facing a set of "radically different challenges", with a dependency on gas imports emerging as the most important, alongside concerns over global warming. To meet energy demands, as the country's own reserves start to dwindle, a huge investment programme is required in gas pipelines, storage facilities and offshore fields, combined with new electricity generation projects, the study by the consultancy firm Oxera concluded. Depending on how quickly gas reserves run down and demand grows, the amount of money the energy industry needs to spend will be about £10bn to £18.1bn between 2005 and 2010. Companies such as Centrica have already started investing in new liquefied natural gas terminals, for instance, to handle higher volumes of imports. The company is also expected to spend £300m on a new pipeline that will import gas from Turkmenistan to Western Europe via the Ukraine. The pipeline is expected to cost about £3bn and is being operated by a Russian-Austrian joint venture involving Gazprom of Russia, Naftogas of the Ukraine and Raiffeisenbank of Austria. A spokesman for Centrica said: "We are going to be talking to people in places such as the former Soviet Union but I cannot comment on specific countries." The report said that while demand for gas grows, industry figures suggest that import dependence will emerge as early as next year, with imports representing 46 to 72 per cent of total demand by 2009-10. "To enable this transition, the underlying infrastructure of the gas delivery system will need to be overhauled to ensure that the volume and diversity of import sources can be realised," it said. There has to be a shift away from investment in the North Sea gas fields - known as UK Continental Shelf reserves - to investment in import infrastructure. But as well as importing fuel, the report warns that there will have to be investment in power generation as the crop of nuclear power stations are gradually closed along with older, coal-fired stations. One positive knock-on effect of investing in greater importation infrastructure may well be to eventually lower wholesale gas prices, according to the report, which should benefit consumers. Rising gas prices through increased demand have been encouraging investment in gas infrastructure, although electricity prices have not been as strong. "In the longer term, as these projects enter the market, the volumes they deliver can be expected to exert a dampening effect on market prices as the immediate supply-demand constraint is relaxed," the report said. The UK became a net exporter of gas thanks to the North Sea boom, which began as the gas fields were opened in the 1970s-80s. However, as North Sea reserves start to run down, economists have warned about the impact this may have on the strength of sterling, which could weaken as we increase our fuel imports and rely increasingly on energy sources from abroad. Security is also a concern. The report stressed the country needs to ensure a diversity of supply sources - both pipelines and liquefied natural gas shipments - and entry points into the UK. UK Independent Ltd. ***************************************************************** 29 Xinhuanet: Japan nuclear power plant accident results from pipe www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2004-08-17 19:10:56 TOKYO, Aug. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Last week's disaster at west Japan's Mihama nuclear power plant was likely caused by Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO)'s failure to check on a well-known phenomenon in which steam pipes wear thin under the stress of erosion and corrosion. The accident occurred when super-hot steam erupted from a pipe at KEPCO's No. 3 nuclear reactor in Mihama, Fukui Prefecture, killing four workers and injuring seven. The pipe had not been changed in 27 years. According to a Kyodo News report, the accident was most likely caused when pressure was applied to the thin carbon steel pipe, tearing the metal. Metal becomes compromised by erosion from physical stress and chemical corrosion. The damaged pipe part is a complex structure used to regulate the flow of steam for volume measurement, the report said. The pipe was originally 10 millimeters thick, but had thinned to only 0.6 mm. "Even an amateur would be surprised to see the pipe problem," Kyodo quoted Shoichi Nakagawa, minister of economy, industry and trade, as saying after inspecting the accident site. After the disaster, the ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency asked operators of boiling water reactors, differentfrom Mihama's pressurized water reactor, and even entities runningthermal power plants to check their reactors because pipe-thinningis a well-known phenomenon. In 1986 in the United States, a similar accident occurred at the Surry nuclear plant, killing four workers. It prompted Japanese plant operators to devise pipe-checking plans, and carbonsteel pipes liable to erode were replaced with stronger steel ducts. A KEPCO subsidiary checked the Mihama plant last year and told the parent company the burst pipe was not covered by its inspection, but KEPCO took no immediate action to check pipe thickness. In secondary coolant pipes at the Mihama No. 3 reactor, there are about 60 pipes with the same structure as the damaged part, according to Kyodo. Local industry analysts said the fatal accident occurred because KEPCO failed to pay proper attention to a facility important for operation, but related less to radioactive substances. Enditem Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 30 ENERGY-VIETNAM: Japan Accident Prompts Rethink of Nuclear Plans [http://www.ips.org HO CHI MINH CITY, Aug 17 (IPS) - The recent Mihama Nuclear Power Plant mishap -- Japan's worst nuclear accident to date -- has prompted many Vietnamese to question plans to develop the country's first atomic plant by 2017. ''The Mihama accident will turn the worries expressed by some Vietnamese experts (about the safety of a nuclear power plant) into actualities,'' Hoang Van, a writer at the 'Science and Life' magazine told IPS. In November 2003, Vietnam energy authorities completed a pre-feasibility study for the country's first atomic power plant, estimated to cost four billion U.S. dollars. A proposal was then submitted by the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (AEI) to the government to develop the nuclear plant by 2017. According to AEI, Vietnam's electricity consumption has increased by 12 percent to 15 percent a year in recent years. Currently, the country produces 5,500 megawatts to 6,000 megawatts a year, 55 percent of which is generated by hydropower plants. The institute said the country will need 20,000 megawatts to 30,000 megawatts of electricity by 2020, and nuclear power is needed to help meet that demand. The AEI has selected six places in four central provinces as possible locations for a nuclear power plant - one in Quang Binh, one in Phu Yen and two each in Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan provinces. But analysts have questioned why Vietnam, one of the world's poorest countries, needs to consider nuclear energy when it has plenty of natural gas and coal, and suitable conditions for hydropower. The Japan accident on Aug. 9 after super-heated steam leaked through a hole in a pipe that feeds steam in the turbine facility of the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant and killed four workers, has also prompted caution on Vietnam's plans. ''Obviously there are questions about safety (after the Mihama plant incident) and whether we have the proper trained personnel to run the plant,'' said Nguyen Ngoc Tran, deputy chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Committee. ''AEI says that we should put the nuclear power plant into operation by 2020 because at that time we will be in short supply of energy. I think it is not totally right,'' he said. Tran said he had conferred with many scientists in the National Committee for Science, and they all rejected AEI opinion. ''The time we need nuclear energy is still far away, maybe in three or four decades time,'' Tran told IPS. This was also the opinion of Professor Dang Vu Minh, Director of Vietnam's Institute of Science and Technology. ''We need to find out if by 2020 there are no other solutions to solve the energy problem, then we will consider developing the nuclear plant,'' he said in an interview. Japan is assisting Vietnam to build the nuclear power plant with the AEI working closely with the Japan Atomic Industry Forum or JAIF. The construction date has also got the experts worried. The AEI initially planned the plant for 2017, but after consulting JAIF it decided to advance the construction closer to 2012. ''Why such a hurry?'' asked Prof Pham Duy Hien, one of Vietnam's leading experts on atomic energy. Hien has expressed all his reservations about the safety of the plant in an article on 'VietnamNet' last June. ''As one of the persons in charge of developing nuclear energy 25 years ago, I have no other dream than seeing a nuclear power plant built in Vietnam during my life. However, I believe that unless all the scientific and technological criteria were met, the construction of the plant would be not viable,'' he wrote. In an interview with IPS, Hien said he doubted Vietnam would be ready for nuclear energy given the safety concerns following the recent Japan nuclear mishap. ''Even by the year 2017, Vietnam will not be ready for nuclear energy. The country lacks necessary human resources as well as a legal infrastructure (to address nuclear accidents if they happen),'' said Hien. The atomic energy expert said it takes at least 15 years to train specialists to operate a nuclear reactor. ''If we want them to manage and operate the power plant by 2020, we need to send them overseas to have some training now.'' Nguyen Ngoc Tran of the National Assembly's Foreign Committee also cautions the country not to hurry, and to wait for more reliable and environmentally friendly technology. ''We will adopt nuclear energy, but we will adopt it with care and safety. We should pick up the best and safest technology that has the less impact on the environment,'' he said. Tran said that the technology currently presented to Vietnam, to build the nuclear power plant, is of the third generation type. This, he said, is not very secure. He suggested waiting for the fourth generation of reactors, which are more secure and generate less nuclear waste. These reactors will only be available by 2025 at the earliest. Dr. Nguyen Khac Nhan from Strasbourg, France, a former adviser at Electricite de France (EDF) was more categorical. ''Saying there is no other way than nuclear energy is rejecting the world's efforts in saving energy and developing other sources, especially renewable ones,'' he told IPS. Nhan said out that by 2020-2030, renewable energies like wind and solar would be more economical and could compete with oil and gas - which by then could be scarce. He stressed that safety of nuclear plants is an issue that needed serious consideration. ''The Mihama accident should be an eye-opener for our planners.'' (END/2004) Copyright © 2004 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 31 ITAR-TASS: Italy’s biggest power utility ENEL may stop using oil for fuel by 2008 [ITAR-TASS News Agency of Russia] 17.08.2004, 04.18 ROME, August 17 (Itar-Tass) -- Against the backdrop of soaring oil prices Italy’s dominant electricity company ENEL has revealed plans for curtailing the use of crude oil for electricity production and it does not rule out that nuclear power plants may begin to be used again. ENEL, a former natural monopoly once fully owned by the state, remains the biggest electricity producer in Italy. The Italian media quote ENEL’s chief executive, Paolo Scaroni as saying the company’s policy is to achieve full independence of crude oil. By 2008 up to 50 percent of electricity in Italy will be produced by coal-fuelled power plants, 30 percent, on the basis of renewable sources of energy, including water power, and a mere 20 percent by gas-fuelled power plants. The share of crude oil in ENEL’s fuel consumption structure shrank to 37 percent in 2003 from 45 percent in 2002. Scaroni believes that the possibility of building nuclear power plants should not be completely brushed aside. Italy closed all of its nuclear power plants after 1987 following a referendum. © ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy, ***************************************************************** 32 ITAR-TASS: Construction of 2 reactors for India runs according to schedule [ITAR-TASS News Agency of Russia] 17.08.2004, 17.03 MOSCOW, August 17 (Itar-Tass) - The works to build two reactors for India's Kudankulam plant runs according to schedule, the Federal Atomic Energy Agency told Itar-Tass on Tuesday, as a crane for the first reactor successfully passed the commissioning test at the Ural machine-building plant. The unique equipment was manufactured by Uralmashzavod for the first time. It meets the most stringent technical requirements and has a considerable margin of safety for operation in extreme conditions, the Agency said. The crane is intended for a maximum load of 450 tonnes and stability in a 9-magnitude earthquake. "By the end of August, the crane will be disassembled and delivered to the port of St.Petersburg and from there it will be shipped to India," Uralmashzavod executives said. The 1,000-megawatt reactors for Kudankulam are manufactured by the Izhora plants company. The first reactor is expected to be completed this year, the second - in 2005. The reactors will on on line in 2007 and 2008. Under a Russian-Indian inter-governmental agreement of 2001, a Russian concern has to manufacture and supply to India two steam 1,000-megawatt turbines, with a complete set of auxiliary equipment produced by the Leningrad metal plan, and two turbogenerators with the same capacity, produced by the Eletrosila company. Specialists of the Russian concern will assemble and tune the equipment. This contract is worth 200 million dollars, while the entire Kudankulam project is estimated to cost 1.5 billion dollars. The nuclear plant is being built by Russian and Indian specialists in the state of Tamil Nadu under a Russian project, and will supply electricity to four Indian states. To build the plant, Russia extended a state loan to India to cover 85 percent of expenses of the Russian organizations involved in its construction. © ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy, ***************************************************************** 33 TheDay.com: Group Appeals Millstone Storage Plan Tuesday, Aug 17, 2004 Potential Environmental Threat Cited In Legal Action By PATRICIA DADDONA Day Staff Writer, Waterford Published on 8/17/2004 Waterford  The Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone has appealed a Connecticut Siting Council ruling that allows additional radioactive waste storage at Millstone Power Station. In May, the council authorized Millstone owner Dominion Nuclear Connecticut Inc. to install up to 49 dry storage bunkers and casks on a concrete pad at the reactor site. The pad could potentially house up to 135 bunkers and casks. In an administrative appeal filed on July 16 in New Britain Superior Court, the coalition and three area residents sued not only the council as the decision-making body, but also the applicant  Dominion  and three parties to the council proceedings: the town of Waterford, Attorney General Richard S. Blumenthal and the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments. In her appeal, attorney Paulann H. Sheets of Groton asks the court to invalidate the council's certificate of environmental compatibility and public need, saying that the need was not proven, the environmental and radiological impacts were not fully considered, and terrorist vulnerabilities at Millstone were inappropriately dismissed as beyond the council's jurisdiction. Sheets asserts that allowing spent fuel assemblies now stored in wet pools to be moved to dry casks and maintained on site constitutes a de facto long term if not permanent nuclear waste repository. Waterford's zoning regulations prohibit such storage, she states. Yucca Mountain in Nevada, the federal government's proposed permanent repository for waste from 103 nuclear reactors around the country, is likely to miss its 2010 deadline to be ready to receive waste. Two of Millstone's three power plants, Millstone 2 and 3, are licensed to operate through 2015 and 2025, respectively, on 520 acres of a peninsula in Long Island Sound. The storage facility, which would occupy about two acres, should be complete by October, Dominion spokesman Pete Hyde said. Hyde declined to comment on the appeal. As of Monday, the concrete pad had been poured and some of the concrete sides and backs to the bunkers had arrived on site, he said. When Dominion sought permission from the state for extra storage, its attorneys and experts claimed that Millstone 2 would by next spring lose full core reserve, the capacity to remove all fuel from the reactors. Without such a system, company officials said, Millstone 2 would be forced to shut down in 2010, while Millstone 3 could close before 2025. Since receiving the state permit, Dominion has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend licenses for Millstone 2 and 3 to 2035 and 2045 respectively. The oldest plant, Millstone 1, is in the process of being decommissioned. In her appeal, Sheets claims there is no need for Millstone Unit 2 because it has suffered frequent interruptions in service, was shut down between 1996 and 1999, and is an unreliable provider of electricity whose usefulness has been supplanted by other electric generators ... in Connecticut. Without a public need for Unit 2 electricity, there is no public need for Unit 2 to continue operating and (generate) more nuclear waste for which there is no facility available for permanent, safe disposal, the appeal states. If Millstone 2 closed, Millstone 3 consequently would have plenty of storage space left in its spent fuel pools, she writes. Like the coalition, area residents Geralyn Cote Winslow, Clarence O. Reynolds and William H. Honan, who participated in the siting council proceedings, are aggrieved by the council's decision and would be injuriously affected by it, the appeal states. Sheets held a seat on the siting council from 1988 to 1994, when then-Gov. Lowell Weicker replaced her, she said. She is serving as pro bono legal counsel for the coalition on this single issue because longtime coalition attorney Nancy Burton has been disbarred from practicing in Connecticut. I have been a proponent of nuclear power, Sheets acknowledged Monday, but I have been complacent. I am concerned about this huge accumulation of highly radioactive waste and the failure to protect against terrorist attacks. Sheets said Monday that she plans to amend the appeal this week but she would not say in what manner. 1998-2004 The Day Publishing Co. ***************************************************************** 34 PRN: PG Updates Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Investigation Into Location of Used Nuclear Fuel at Humboldt Power Plant [http://www.prnewswire.com/] [ /] [http://www.pge.com] SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company has updated the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on the status of the investigation into the location of segments of a used nuclear fuel rod at its Humboldt Bay Power Plant near Eureka in northern California. Plant personnel have completed the physical search of the most likely locations and all easily accessible spaces in the plant's used fuel storage pool, but the segments have not yet been found. Further, the review of plant records, nuclear material shipping records, and interviews with former plant personnel have not definitively identified the location of the fuel segments. Based on the results of the investigation to-date, and the administrative, radiological, and security barriers in place at the plant, PG continues to believe that the segments are either safely stored in the used fuel pool, or were shipped to a facility licensed to accept radioactive material, no more recently than 1986. The company initially reported to the NRC on June 29, 2004, that there was conflicting documentation regarding the used fuel segments. The plant's records indicate that the segments were either stored in the used fuel pool in 1968, or had been shipped offsite in 1969. Since notifying the NRC, plant personnel began an investigation consisting of: 1) a meticulous review of the records associated with the used fuel pool as well as with shipments of used fuel and other significant radioactive materials; 2) interviews of former plant personnel and contractors; and 3) a physical search of the pool. All three efforts are continuing. Possible Locations Because the fuel segments have not yet been found in the used fuel pool, three possible scenarios exist. The highest probability is that the fuel segments are in an area of the pool that is not readily accessible, and will be located during a more detailed search of these locations. The second highest probability is that the fuel segments were shipped offsite to one of three appropriately controlled and restricted facilities licensed for analysis, storage or reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. The third and most remote possibility is that the fuel segments were unintentionally included in a shipment to one of three licensed, monitored, and restricted, radioactive waste disposal facilities. "Based on all the information we have collected so far, we believe the only possible locations for these fuel segments are the used fuel storage pool at Humboldt Bay Power Plant, or one of the few licensed, restricted and monitored facilities to which we previously shipped radioactive materials two to three decades ago," said Greg Rueger, senior vice president for generation and Chief Nuclear Officer for the utility. The three facilities to which the plant shipped used fuel (between 1968, when this fuel was removed from its assembly, and 1974, when the last shipment of used fuel occurred) are: -- Nuclear Fuel Services Inc in West Valley, New York -- Plant records show the fuel assembly which originally housed the rod in question was shipped to West Valley for reprocessing in 1969 with no mention of it missing a fuel rod. It is possible that the segments were reinserted into the canister containing the fuel assembly, prior to its shipment to West Valley; if so, the segments were likely reprocessed. Unfortunately, West Valley has informed PG that all shipping receipt records from that time period have been destroyed, so it will be difficult if not impossible to investigate this possibility further. -- GE's Vallecitos Nuclear Center in Livermore, California -- During the 1960s and 1970s, fuel rods were periodically removed from fuel assemblies, and sent to GE to gather data used to improve fuel design. Plant records indicate that 66 fuel rods were shipped to GE in 11 shipments; it is possible, although not likely, that the fuel segments were included in one of those shipments. PG has asked GE to review their records to determine if they received other fuel rod segments, and report back to the plant as soon as that review is completed. -- Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio -- Plant records indicate that PG cancelled the original 1968 shipment of fuel segments to the Battelle lab, and their records from the period support this. Based on this information, it appears very unlikely that the segments were sent to Batelle. There is no evidence that the used fuel segments were shipped to a radioactive waste disposal site, however, in an effort to exhaust all scenarios, plant staff are investigating this as a remote possibility. Between 1968 and 1986 (when the last shipment of any material from the pool occurred), the Humboldt plant shipped radioactive material to such waste facilities in Beatty Nevada, Richland Washington, and Barnwell South Carolina. If the fuel segments were inadvertently included in a shipment to one of these locations, they would have been placed in a licensed shipping container and properly transported. Such a shipment would not pose any health or safety risk for facility workers or the public. These radioactive waste disposal sites are licensed, restricted, and monitored, and while not authorized to receive used fuel, they are permitted to receive other types of nuclear waste of even higher radiation levels than the fuel segments in question. While it appeared that the remnants of the fuel rod from which the three segments were cut had been located in the used fuel pool in July, forensic analysis of those fuel fragments performed in early August indicated that they were not likely to have come from the cut fuel rod. Based on the discovery and review of the procedures used when the fuel was cut, it is now believed that when the cut pieces were removed, the remnants were left in place in the fuel assembly, where they remained when the entire assembly was shipped offsite for reprocessing in 1969. Low Potential for Theft or Diversion No evidence has been uncovered to support the possibility of theft or diversion of the three fuel segments. Since plant start-up, HBPP has been equipped with a system of radiation monitors for the refueling building (where the used fuel pool is located) with alarms designed to alert plant personnel of the movement of highly radioactive material, including used fuel. Due to the high radioactivity of this used fuel, to be handled safely the segments would have to be encased in a heavy, shielded container that would have to be moved with special handling equipment designed for this purpose, precluding an abrupt loss. This could not have occurred casually without plant staff or security personnel observing the movement. Next Steps Although comprehensive, the physical search of the pool has not ruled out the possibility that the fuel segments are in the used fuel pool. As a result, PG is continuing in its efforts to search other, less accessible locations in the pool, as expeditiously as it is practical and safe to do. However, it is possible that a complete search may not be concluded until the 390 used fuel assemblies, along with other components, are removed from the pool, as part of the plant decommissioning process currently set for 2009. Efforts also continue to research historical documentation regarding shipments of radioactive material for information that could lead to a conclusive resolution of the issue. In addition, interviews of personnel who worked at the plant in the past are continuing. Research is also ongoing into the records of the licensed facilities listed above as possible locations for the fuel segments. PG will continue to communicate fully with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other interested regulatory and governmental agencies, and thoroughly document the investigation. The utility will also continue to provide regular updates to the public, as appropriate and as developments occur. This investigation is expected to take at least an additional three months. SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company Web Site: http://www.pge.com [http://www.pge.com] [http://www.prnewswire.com/media/] ***************************************************************** 35 WSM: PBMR gets back to business with IFS Applications [ITWeb - The Technology News Site] 17 August 2004 ISSUED BY: WARSTREET MARKETING [Johannesburg, 17 August 2004] - The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) project, a joint venture between Eskom, the Industrial Development Corporation and British Nuclear Fuels, has been running its business on IFS Applications, the component-based business application from IFS South Africa, since the beginning of January 2004. Already the company is reaping the benefits of consistent and easily accessible information, faster turnaround times and better financial control, and according to PBMR's ERP manager Nico Scholtz, this is merely the beginning. PBMR intends building a 110 Mwe-class demonstration reactor at Koeberg near Cape Town, where Africa's only nuclear power plant is situated, and an associated fuel plant at Pelindaba near Pretoria, where fuel for Koeberg was previously manufactured. The commercial reactors would be sized to produce about 165 MWe each. To maximise the sharing of support systems, however, the PBMR has been configured into a variety of options, such as 2, 4 and 8-pack layouts. These are the most cost effective layouts and allow the plants to be brought on line as they are completed. PBMR was using three standalone information systems to capture and retrieve information. A contract management system managed the contracts placed on suppliers, while a separate accounting system saw to it that they were paid timeously. Yet another solution - a cost management system - recorded transactions and allocated costs to projects. Additionally, an HR application, which was also not integrated with the other three systems, was used to manage all the human resource elements of the company. "Because all these systems operated independently of each other, the relevant data had to be captured several times, which was not only time-consuming and meant duplication of effort, but also allowed for errors to creep in," Scholtz explains. "Information from the various systems had to be manually collated for reporting and control, and was almost always contradictory. Often three different sets of information were received from each system and it impossible to determine which source was the most accurate." Clearly an integrated solution was urgently needed and following an extensive tender process in which several offerings were evaluated, PBMR eventually chose to implement IFS Applications. "As a project-centric company, we wanted a system that could meet both our immediate and long-term needs," says Scholtz. "IFS offered a modular, yet integrated solution with the required functionality, at a competitive price. Additionally, the company boasts an international footprint but its local presence ensures reliable and comprehensive local support. The modularity of the solution enabled us to install the components we needed immediately and add more as the project develops." "Simplifying the ability to share information within the organisation was a critical issue for PBMR," adds Paul Whalley, managing director at IFS South Africa. "IFS Applications offers a simple and integrated lifecycle management solution that enables PBMR to gain real-time access to information and processes across the entire company and thus share knowledge. When information is easily accessible throughout the same system, users get the right information, at the right time, to make the right decisions - which is exactly what PBMR wanted." PBMR initially invested in the financial, HR, procurement and project management components of IFS Applications. Because the company is an advanced IT user, its existing hardware infrastructure supported the new applications. Only two servers were added to provide the platform for IFS. The implementation began in July 2003. "We were under considerable pressure to complete the roll-out before the start of PBMR's new financial year the following January," says Whalley. "To facilitate a smooth roll-out, PBMR opted for a standard implementation with no special customisations, except for a few minor modifications to ensure compatibility with the hardware." PBMR ran its old systems in parallel with IFS Applications while migrating supplier information, cleaning up the data as much as possible as it went along. The implementation was completed successfully and within the allotted timescales. "All the information users need is now available online and in real-time. With one integrated source of information, we only receive one answer to queries, which has significantly improved the accuracy of our data. This has also given us better financial control." "IFS Applications has enabled PBMR to get back to the business of doing business," says Whalley. "Its component-based architecture enabled quick, step-by-step implementation, resulting in streamlined business processes through its graphical business modeller, and easy-to-use personal and corporate performance management portals. PBMR will achieve rapid payback by adding new functionality when it needs to do so without having to go through a major overhaul." PBMR next plans to implement the document management, product data management and project delivery components from IFS Applications. More components may be added later, depending on users' requirements, Scholtz concludes. IFS and IFS Applications Paul Whalley Managing director (012) 663 5350 paul.whalley@ifs-sa.co.za Warstreet Marketing Rebecca Warsop (011) 233 8908 rebeccaw@warstreet.co.za Nico Scholtz ERP manager: PBMR (012) 677 9494 Nico.Scholtz@pbmr.co.za Copyright (c) 1996 - 2004 ITWeb Limited. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 36 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the FR Doc 04-18730 [Federal Register: August 17, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 158)] [Notices] [Page 51111-51112] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr17au04-92] Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request AGENCY: U.S. 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 agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a current valid OMB control number. 1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Revision. 2. The title of the information collection: 10 CFR Part 70-- Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material. 3. The form number if applicable: Not applicable. 4. How often the collection is required: Required reports are collected and evaluated on a continuing basis as events occur. Applications for new licenses and amendments may be submitted at any time. Generally, renewal applications are submitted every ten years and for major fuel cycle facilities updates of the safety demonstration section are submitted every two years. Nuclear material control and accounting information is submitted in accordance with specified instructions. 5. Who is required or asked to report: Applicants for and holders of specific NRC licenses to receive title to, own, acquire, deliver, receive, possess, use, or initially transfer special nuclear material. 6. An estimate of the number of responses: 1,256 (655 plus 601 recordkeepers). 7. The estimated number of annual respondents: 372. 8. The number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement or [[Page 51112]] request: 89,465 (81,765 reporting hours + 7,700 recordkeeping hours) or an average of 125 hours per response (81,765 reporting burden hours/655 responses) and an average of 13 hours per recordkeeper (7,700 recordkeeping burden hours/601 recordkeepers). 9. An indication of whether Section 3507(d), Pub. L. 104-13 applies: Not applicable. 10. Abstract: Part 70 establishes requirements for licenses to own, acquire, receive, possess, use, and transfer special nuclear material. The information in the applications, reports, and records is used by NRC to make licensing and other regulatory determinations concerning the use of special nuclear material. The revised estimate of burden reflects the addition of requirements for documentation for termination or transfer of licensed activities, and modifying licenses. 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://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comment/omb/index.html [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 September 16, 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 (3150-0009), 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 11th day of August 2004. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Beth St. Mary, Acting NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. 04-18730 Filed 8-16-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 37 NRC: Carolina Power & Light Company, et al. FR Doc 04-18732 [Federal Register: August 17, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 158)] [Notices] [Page 51112] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr17au04-93] Notice of Withdrawal of Application for Amendment to Facility Operating License The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has granted the request of Carolina Power & Light Company (the licensee) to withdraw its December 8, 2003, application for proposed amendment to Facility Operating License No. NFP-63 for the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1, located in Wake and Chatham Counties, North Carolina. The proposed amendment would have revised the Technical Specifications to allow a one-time revision to the steam generator (SG) inservice inspection frequency requirements to allow a 40-month inspection interval after the first inservice inspection following SG replacement rather than after two consecutive inspections resulting in C-1 classification. The Commission had previously issued a Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendment published in the Federal Register on February 17, 2004 (69 FR 7519). However, by letter dated August 6, 2004, the licensee withdrew the proposed change. For further details with respect to this action, see the application for amendment dated December 8, 2004 and the licensee's letter dated August 6, 2004, which withdrew the application for license amendment. 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://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/html [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 [ pdr@nrc.gov] . Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day of August 2004. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Chandu P. Patel, Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate II, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 04-18732 Filed 8-16-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 38 [du-list] Only 12 of 4,300 sick Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 15:49:01 -0700 http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_3115987,00.htm l Only 12 of 4,300 sick OR workers win DOE claims By RICHARD POWELSON, powelsonr@shns.com August 17, 2004 Only 12 former Oak Ridge weapons plant workers with serious illnesses have won workers' compensation benefits through Department of Energy assistance over three years, the department reported. They were among about 4,300 filing disability or survivor claims based on illnesses that employees allegedly developed from working at Tennessee facilities, mostly at Oak Ridge, from the 1940s through recent years, said a separate General Accounting Office study of cases filed through last year. The ongoing DOE-run program is much too complicated and slow, complained some ill workers and members of Congress. DOE through July has helped only 31 of nearly 25,000 applicants nationally to complete the process of receiving workers' compensation, according to a DOE analysis provided Friday. "DOE has set up a bureaucracy that Jesus Christ couldn't walk through," said Harry Lee Williams of Knoxville, a disabled former Oak Ridge security worker who has multiple diseases and battled DOE for years for compensation. "Sick people can't handle that." But Tennessee's delegation in Congress is split over what to do. Both of Tennessee's Republican senators, Majority Leader Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander, voted for a Senate-passed amendment to move the program from DOE management to the Department of Labor. Four of the state's U.S. House members have backed legislation or proposals for the same shift: Republican Bill Jenkins and Democrats Lincoln Davis, Jim Cooper and Bart Gordon. Taking another approach, Republican Reps. Zach Wamp of Chattanooga, who also represents the Oak Ridge area, and John J. Duncan Jr. of Knoxville want to keep DOE in charge with some improvements. They backed a successful House amendment that aims to get more physicians interested in reviewing claims by raising the limit on fees. More reviewers will speed processing, they said. A House-Senate panel will try to fashion a compromise next month as part of the defense authorization bill. Based on a law Congress passed in 2000, sick weapons workers also can apply for up to $150,000 in a lump sum if they have certain diseases caused by radiation, beryllium or silica ingestion. This program is administered by the Department of Labor. Former workers with a variety of other diseases have to go through the DOE review process to qualify for workers' compensation. Persons suffering from two or more specific diseases listed in federal law could apply for and receive benefits from both programs. The Department of Labor has reported much faster resolutions of claims than DOE. In the same period that DOE approved the 12 claims allowing former Oak Ridge employees to receive $415,000 in workers' compensation benefits, the Department of Labor said it awarded $214 million in benefits to 1,936 former Tennessee workers. "The workers," Alexander said, "have a right to be discouraged and upset because of the way the Department of Energy was handling the claims." While he has heard from DOE that the department is speeding up claims processing and doing better, "so far I'm not persuaded" to keep the work at DOE. Frist said in a statement he knows about the DOE problems administering the program. "I support efforts to fix those problems" through the Department of Labor's management. Wamp said he has studied the problems in great detail since it affects workers in his district. Changing administrators at a time when DOE now "is doing a much better job," Wamp warned, could penalize sick workers "even further" with much longer delays. He said the Department of Labor does not want the new duty and is not capable of assuming it quickly. "I really believe it's in the best interest of the people who are entitled to these benefits to keep it where it is," Wamp said, with the improvements to increase the number of higher-paid physicians to review claims. "It's a very complicated process to document" hazardous exposures in workplaces decades ago, Wamp said. "You can't just wave a magic wand over it by saying: 'Send it to the Department of Labor and it will all be better.' " Joe Davis, a spokesman at DOE, said the department has "made progress in hiring more doctors and streamlining" the review process. The process can take time, he said, because of the detailed application and the physicians' reviews in determining eligibility. If a former worker wins preliminary approval, DOE tells the worker's contract employer not to contest it, the employee files for benefits, and the state sets the amount. Duncan's views are similar to Wamp's. Duncan spokesman Matt Lehigh said "the current system is showing some improved efficiency. It doesn't make sense to step backward into a situation that the Department of Labor believes will only further complicate and slow matters." Harry Lee Williams, the former Oak Ridge security worker, said he pursued his health claims with DOE in vain in the late 1990s and then filed a lawsuit in state court. He said he won a financial settlement in 2002 but agreed not to disclose the amount. Having DOE review health claims about hazardous exposures in its own buildings, which are managed by DOE-paid private contractors, "is like having a fox in a henhouse," Williams said. "Common sense would tell you ... let the Department of Labor handle labor and worker issues and let DOE handle nuclear materials." Helen Tallent of Knoxville has been waiting three years for the Department of Labor to approve a claim about the death of her father in 1978 from leukemia after years of working at Oak Ridge's Y-12 and X-10 plants. She said she has heard that final approval may be soon. "I have thought about writing (President Bush)," to try to speed up her claim, the 72-year-old woman said. Instead, she has written monthly for three years to Labor officials. Richard Miller, a policy analyst with the Government Accountability Project in Washington, D.C., formerly worked with two Oak Ridge unions to win federal benefits for employees with workplace diseases. Miller said he does not understand why Congress keeps giving DOE more money each year to manage a program that in three years has helped win workers' compensation for only 31 persons in the country out of nearly 25,000 applications. "It makes about as much sense," Miller said, "to assign workers' compensation claims, processing and management to a weapons agency as it does assigning nuclear weapons production to a benefits agency like the Department of Labor." Tom Moser works with many current and former union employees of Oak Ridge's K-25 plant. He said he helps them take advantage of free medical screenings paid by the federal government under a five-year study. Moser said it is not fair that sick workers have to wait so long during the DOE review process. "These people fought the Cold War and they deserve more than this," he said. "They are getting the shaft. People are dying, and their problems were caused by their work." Richard Powelson may be contacted at 202-408-2727. To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT 3560d8.jpg 356227.jpg ---------- Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: * http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du-list/ * * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: * du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com * * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. Attachment Converted: 3560d8.jpg: 00000001,33b786f2,00000000,00000000 Attachment Converted: 356227.jpg: 00000001,33b786f3,00000000,00000000 ***************************************************************** 39 Portsmouth Herald Maine News: Sub arrives for $225M overhaul Tuesday, August 17, 2004 [PHOTO] The USS Jacksonville (SSN699) and a crew of 13 officers and 121 enlisted personnel moved upriver toward the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Monday afternoon. The vessel will undergo maintenance work and upgrades in a $225 million overhaul. Photo by Deb Cram Photographer's By Elizabeth Kenny ekenny@seacoastonline.com KITTERY, Maine - The USS Jacksonville pulled into the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Monday afternoon, delivering a $225 million overhaul-and-upgrade job to the yard’s work force of nearly 4,600. While at the shipyard for nearly two years, the Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine will undergo maintenance work and receive several system upgrades. Capt. Kevin McCoy, the shipyard’s commanding officer, said employees at the yard have been preparing for the submarine’s arrival. "We’ve been pre-planning and working on the ship in advance," McCoy said Monday. "This is particularly neat project for us because we’ve been working with this crew for about a year. Now, we’re ready to dive in. "It’s execution time," McCoy said. The commander said he expects the submarine’s overhaul to come in under budget and ahead of schedule, which has become a tradition for the yard. The USS Jacksonville was launched on Nov. 18, 1978, and commissioned on May 16, 1981. Since its commissioning, the Jacksonville has been homeported in Norfolk, Va. The submarine and its crew of 121 enlisted personnel and 13 officers were recently deployed for three months in the Caribbean Sea and the Southeastern Pacific, supporting the global war on terrorism. The USS Jacksonville’s arrival Monday will be the third submarine undergoing upgrades at the shipyard. According to shipyard public affairs officer Debbie White, the USS Montpelier, which arrived on May 27, and the USS Providence, which arrived on Oct. 29, 2003, are also undergoing maintenance at the yard. Cmdr. John O’Neill is the Jacksonville’s commanding officer. The Ohio native graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1985. Seacoast Online is owned and operated by Seacoast Newspapers. Copyright © 2004 Seacoast Online. All rights reserved. Please ***************************************************************** 40 Daily Press: Navy may delay work on carrier HAMPTON ROADS, VA. August 17, 2004 11:11 PM Work on a future ship could be put off for a year if a new budget plan wins approval. BY DAVID LERMAN [dlerman@tribune.com] 202-824-8224 WASHINGTON --The Navy has proposed delaying construction on a future aircraft carrier by a year, withholding funding planned for 2007 and threatening jobs at Northrop Grumman Newport News. The proposed delay until 2008 was included in a revised shipbuilding plan submitted to the secretary of defense this month as part of preparations for next year's defense budget, two sources confirmed. One industry source said the delay could cost about 1,000 jobs at the Newport News shipyard and delay the hiring of additional design engineers. "The job loss or job deferral is substantial," the source said. But it is not yet certain the delayed construction timetable will be approved. The Navy's submission of a new shipbuilding blueprint, which has not been made public, is only the first step in a yearlong budget process that will culminate with the president unveiling a new federal budget next February. Congress would then have to approve the plan, which could be adjusted several times between now and 2007, when a contract for the new carrier is due to be awarded. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has not yet approved the Navy's spending plan, which will be incorporated into a defense budget that gets submitted to the White House in December. Even so, news of the proposed delay alarmed the shipbuilding industry and some officials on Capitol Hill. Alerted to the change Monday, Virginia Sen. John W. Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called for a full briefing on the plan. "As yet, the Armed Services Committee has not been informed of or briefed on this proposal," Warner said through a spokesman. "But I would look with great concern on any delay in funding for this critical program." The Newport News shipyard has not seen the Navy's plan, said spokeswoman Jerri Fuller Dickseski. But, she said, "Any delay in CVN-21 would have an impact on the plan we have here for that ship and its affordability." With an estimated price tag of $11.7 billion, the next-generation carrier - the first of a new class - has long promised to pose a funding dilemma for Navy leaders seeking to expand the size of a dwindling fleet. The ship is even more costly than traditional Nimitz-class carriers because of the need for detailed research and development work to create a new nuclear reactor plant, a new electrical distribution system and a new electromagnetic aircraft catapult system, among other improvements. All the new technology is expected make the ship easier to maintain and less costly to operate, requiring at least 500 fewer sailors. The Navy did not respond to a request for comment Monday, but Navy officials typically decline to comment on any budget proposal that has not yet been made public by the president. One congressional source who requested anonymity said the Navy may have decided that funding for the carrier in 2007 had to be delayed a year to afford a new big-deck amphibious assault ship that could cost several billion dollars. "Those two actions may be linked," the source said. The amphibious ship, known as an LHA, would be built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi, which is owned by Northrop Grumman Corp. The existing shipbuilding plan calls for building the LHA in 2008. Moving it up to 2007 could have affected carrier funding for that year, the source said. The plan could mean that lawmakers from shipbuilding states will be divided. While the Virginia delegation is sure to oppose a delay in the Newport News-built carrier, the Mississippi and Louisiana delegations might welcome a plan that speeds up work on a future amphibious ship. "Everybody is still trying to understand the repercussions," said a source from the shipbuilding industry who had detailed knowledge of the new funding timetable. "There was no sign this was going to happen. This thing has huge impacts we are still struggling to understand." The source estimated a one-year delay could increase the price of the carrier by $1.2 billion because of the additional costs in rehiring and training workers and the higher overhead costs paid when a shipyard sits partly idle. Dickseski, the shipyard spokeswoman, said she could not quantify the impact of a delay because the yard has not seen any details of the Navy's plan. Congress has approved advance funding for the CVN-21 carrier in relatively small amounts since 2001. It provided about $1.2 billion for the ship this year, and agreed to provide about $626 million next year, according to the Congressional Research Service. But the bulk of the funding is due in 2007 and 2008, when the Navy was set to spend more than $3 billion in each of those years. The proposed delay comes at a time when Congress already has expressed irritation with the Navy for a years-long practice of drafting shipbuilding plans that regularly prove unaffordable in the long term. In approving a 2005 defense budget in June, the House Appropriations Committee took the Navy to task for failing to follow its own plans. "The committee remains deeply troubled by the lack of stability in the Navy's shipbuilding program," lawmakers wrote in a report accompanying the defense bill. "This continued shifting of the shipbuilding program promotes confusion and frustration throughout both the public and private sectors." Copyright ©2004 Daily Press ***************************************************************** 41 Arizona Daily Sun: County health board opposes Nevada nuke testing [http://www.azdailysun.com] By SETH MULLER Sun Staff Reporter 08/17/2004 The Coconino County health board has adopted a resolution that decries federal government intentions to resume nuclear testing in southern Nevada, citing concerns that the testing could pose health risks for residents. The resolution, which awaits the signature of the county attorney's office this week, is expected to go before the county's Board of Supervisors in early September for final approval. That allows the county to submit the decree, which would oppose the testing on principle, to congressional members U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Flagstaff and Republican Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl. Health department director Barbara Worgess has led efforts to draft the resolution. She learned of how Congress approved $34 million in November to fund an accelerated plan to ready the Nevada Test Site at Nellis Air Force Base. She said there has been interest to test a burrowing, anti-terrorism nuclear device, referred to as the "Bunker Buster." The tests would most likely be detonations that would take place 10 to 20 feet underground. Worgess explained to the Board during a July meeting that it's difficult to determine the level of exposure from such testing. Some reports suggest the potential fallout could be nothing more than a fraction of the radiation exposure that comes with a chest X-ray, while other studies indicate a long-term exposure that invites health problems such as cancer, she said. Even underground tests in the 1970s reportedly released radioactive material. The Shot Baneberry, detonated in 1970, was buried 900 feet below ground but radioactive debris erupted 10,000 feet into the air. But most fallout was associated with above-ground testing. The test site is located northwest of Las Vegas, and large portions of Coconino County are considered downwind from the location, according to Worgess. Arizona Clean Elections [http://services.azdailysun.com/adserver/redirect/clickthru.cfm?u =0.87951048&id=90&href=http://www.azcleanelections.gov?ovmkt=HA2I IFGOU5QHKCQN3FTR73VLHO&theLocation=http://www.azdailysun.com/non_ sec/nav_includes/story.cfm] Radioactive fallout was recorded during testing in Nevada stemming from the more than 900 nuclear weapons tests conducted between 1951 and 1992. The money allows the military to have the site ready for testing by May 2005, but Congress would have to vote to authorize the resumption of nuclear testing. The Bush Administration has told members of Congress it currently has no plans to resume testing. "I think that there's clearly some interest in this," Worgess said of the government's plan to resume testing. "Congress has allocated the money in readying the test site." If given final passage by the Supervisors, Coconino County would join Mohave County and Kane County, Utah, both which have signed off on decrees that object to the resumption of testing. In Congress, Renzi did vote in favor of the energy and water appropriations bill that funds the preparation of the test site. However, the bill contained the funding for Flagstaff's Rio de Flag flood mitigation project. So, he had to vote for it in order to secure that money. In a recent interview with the Daily Sun, Renzi said that he is in the process of reviewing the Department of Energy report about the testing of the bunker buster, formally known as the robust nuclear earth penetrator. He said he wants to learn more about it before taking a position. The push for possible resumption has already prompted legislation seeking to regulate it. Introduced by Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah in March, the Safety for Americans from Nuclear Weapons Testing Act calls for greater accountability from the federal government should testing reoccur. Matheson's father, former Utah Gov. Scott Matheson, died of cancer that the congressman says was linked to nuclear testing. Among other things, the legislation calls for the government to "ensure public safety in the event of future nuclear weapons tests through a thorough analysis of the environmental effects of testing, public notification, comprehensive and independent test monitoring and extensive health research efforts." The government already has paid out $325 million in claims to more than 7,000 people who have suffered from health problems as a result of being downwind from the tests. And a radioactive fallout study, conducted by the National Cancer Institute, showed that exposure was not limited to residents of Nevada and Utah. Extensive radiation exposure has been documented in all of the contiguous 48 states, with some counties in the Midwest and the eastern United States receiving more fallout than some areas directly downwind of the Nevada Test Site, according to Matheson's legislation. Reporter Seth Muller can be reached at 913-8607 or at smuller@azdailysun.com Site last updated: 08/17/2004, 05:48 AM © 2000-2004 Arizona Daily Sun ***************************************************************** 42 Las Vegas SUN: 1979 memo: Radioactive contamination 'problem' at Yerington mine Today: August 17, 2004 at 13:32:49 PDT By SCOTT SONNER ASSOCIATED PRESS RENO, Nev. (AP) - Anaconda Copper Co. officials noted a "problem" with radiological contamination at a northern Nevada mine 25 years ago as they considered options for selling the property at Yerington, an internal memo shows. "It now appears that the residue in the evaporation ponds is a problem because of radiological contamination," according to the memo obtained by The Associated Press. "If the property is disposed of as a mining operation, this might not be true as the ponds would continue to be used as evaporation ponds," said the previously undisclosed July 26, 1979 memo entitled "Yerington Evaluation Procedure and Status." The memo said an investigation was under way to determine whether federal environmental law - the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act - might affect selling the ponds for uses other than mining. That suggests for the first time that Anaconda officials were aware the radiological contamination could reach high enough levels to subject any waste disposal to federal environmental regulations. The concerns stemmed from a survey conducted in April 1979 by Anaconda personnel from Grants, N.M., the memo said. The disclosure comes as officials for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management were meeting Tuesday with state and federal regulators and Yerington residents to discuss the latest results of about 100 soil samples taken at the 3,500-acre mine site. Preliminary results of nine of those samples made public last month showed significantly high levels of radioactivity at the abandoned mine. State and federal experts have said there is no imminent danger to Yerington residents. But they acknowledged the levels of uranium and radium are far above what occurs naturally and are likely the result of decades of chemical processing of heavy metals in the ponds. Details of the latest samples were not immediately available, but BLM spokeswoman Jo Simpson said they were consistent with the earlier samples. Earlier tests also found concentrations of uranium in wells at up to 200 times the U.S. drinking water standard. State regulators remain convinced none of the contaminants have moved off the site to neighboring farms or neighborhoods. Last year an environmental watchdog group, the Great Basin Mine Watch, made public several documents federal contractors found in a records search of Anaconda archives at the University of Wyoming. One of those documents showed that at least one evaporation pond tested positive for high levels of uranium in the mid-1970s. Another showed that as demand grew and prices soared for the raw material of nuclear reactor fuel, Anaconda and Wyoming Mineral Corp. entered an agreement in March 1976 to produce yellowcake uranium from waste piles at the Yerington site. The decision to launch the "Yerington Uranium Project was based on samples taken from evaporation ponds that showed high levels of radiation, suggesting commercial quantities of uranium had been concentrated along with copper leached from the ore. The project never was carried out, but the discovery of that information last year led to additional testing of water and soil at the site. Anaconda was a subsidiary of the Atlantic Richfield Co., which bought the copper mine in 1977 about the time the mining operation shut down. Arco later sold it to a local construction firm, which in turn sold it to Arimetco, which since has gone bankrupt, leaving Arco responsible for the cleanup. Arco officials did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment Tuesday. Dan Ferriter, Arco's project manager for the cleanup, said last week that Arco inherited a number of mines when it purchased Anaconda. "It was kind of a blunder on the part of Arco," which had never been in the mining business, Ferriter said. Most of those mines ended up being shut down, several after the enactment of the federal Superfund law in 1981, he said. Ferriter has said Arco was not aware of any of the internal documents regarding uranium contamination at the site until the records search of the Anaconda archives last year. -- ***************************************************************** 43 Tri-City Herald: Kerry's stand on Yucca is that of a candidate This story was published Tuesday, August 17th, 2004 John Kerry's opposition to Yucca Mountain is about the convenience of candidacy. Earlier this month, the Democratic presidential contender tried to win votes in the battleground state of Nevada by promising, if elected, to stop a national nuclear waste dump there. His campaign said he would keep spent fuel rods and other atomic wastes scattered at current sites, with better security, while convening a National Academy of Sciences panel to work out a safer long-term plan. It's hard to fathom what is left for the National Academy to study. The federal government has spent $8 billion studying where to put the nuclear dump. Most of that money has gone to Yucca Mountain, which has been under review as a possible federal repository since 1978. Construction of the repository is key to fulfilling the federal government's commitment to clean up Cold War nuclear production sites such as Hanford and to ensuring that spent nuclear fuel from commercial power plants is stored as safely as possible. Kerry himself has voted to allow the Yucca project to proceed in the past, but now apparently finds opposition an easy way to win over voters in a swing state. Perhaps he should take another look at his map. The other states Kerry is courting are depending on Yucca to provide a safe place for nuclear waste. Here in Washington, a key state, Hanford tank wastes and Energy Northwest's spent nuclear fuel are destined for Yucca. Stopping Yucca doesn't make the waste go away. It just ensures that it stays put, spread out across the country in more vulnerable conditions. Kerry's opponent, President Bush, also once tried to score political points on Yucca. During the 2000 campaign, Bush vowed to veto any plan to temporarily store waste at Yucca, stopping just short of complete opposition to the project. At the time, Bush was the Texas governor and more accustomed to looking out for a state's interests than juggling federal solutions. Once elected, Bush approved Yucca as a permanent storage site. If Kerry is elected, he, too, might learn that issues like Yucca are what separate a state leader from a national one, and that what is said on the campaign trail doesn't always prove to be the right answer once the election is over. © 2004 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 44 Salt Lake Tribune: Nuke tests at issue in Senate race Updated: 08/17/2004 12:19:36 AM Flip-flopping? Van Dam says voters can't trust Bennett to resist testing By Mark Havnes The Salt Lake Tribune ST. GEORGE - Democratic candidate Paul Van Dam accused his opponent, Sen. Bob Bennett, on Monday of flip-flopping on whether nuclear testing should resume in the Nevada desert. "He has betrayed his constituents," said Van Dam, a former Utah attorney general, during a news conference in St. George. "How can Utahns trust Sen. Bennett to represent them and vote against testing when he has changed his mind and his vote on this issue four times in the past three months?" Van Dam accused Bennett of not listening to voters, who say they were subject to the debilitating radiation from nuclear weapons explosions at the Nevada Test Site in the 1950s and '60s. He said southwest Utah's Washington County endured more fallout from the tests than any of the nation's 4,000-plus counties, all of which received some fallout. Van Dam said a Bush administration proposal to give Congress the power to authorize preparation of the Nevada site for future testing goes against Utahns' wishes. The Democratic Senate candidate said he believes the Bush administration plans to move forward with development and testing of new nuclear weapons, including a bunker-buster bomb for incinerating subterranean targets. Such testing, he warns, will rekindle a Cold War-like arms race and make the United States more vulnerable - not less - to attack. Bennett was unavailable for comment Monday, but Larry Shepherd, his deputy state director in Salt Lake City, said the senator's position on nuclear testing has been consistent. "In a political year it is amusing that the senator's opponents would attempt to incorrectly label him as pro-testing so they could then turn around and call him a flip-flopper when he introduces legislation that they should agree with," Shepherd said. Earlier this month, Bennett traveled to St. George to unveil a bill that would make future testing contingent on strict environmental and safety requirements along with input from Utahns. Bennett also underscored the need for the nation to keep its testing options open at a time when "rogue" nations either possess or are developing their own nuclear weapons. "I'm not pro-testing," said Bennett during his visit to Utah's Dixie. "I'm anti-nuclear ignorance." Van Dam said the current testing debate is similar to a 1970s proposal to base MX missiles in a shell-game-like configuration in western Utah. He said Utah's delegation supported the MX proposal until LDS leaders spoke out against it. "They [the delegation] did the Mormon shuffle and all of them voted against it," Van Dam said. "I hope the LDS Church examines this latest insanity." Michelle Thomas, an activist with the fallout victims' group Downwinders, said the debate about nuclear testing should not be partisan. "Radiation doesn't care who you vote for," Thomas said. "We need to educate people about what happened before and never ever let people be used like a petri dish for a giant scientific experiment. People are not expendable for research." © Copyright 2004, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 45 PE.com: Briefing targets Wyle tensions | Inland Southern California | Corona-Norco NORCO: Neighbors press for U.S. EPA involvement despite state and federal regulators' assurances. 11:21 AM PDT on Tuesday, August 17, 2004 By PAIGE AUSTIN / The Press-Enterprise NORCO - About 100 people met with state and federal regulators Monday night to discuss health concerns in the community surrounding Wyle Labs, a hazardous-testing facility. Officials from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control arranged the meeting to explain the latest in efforts to clean up cancer-causing contamination in the ground and water at and around Wyle. State officials also fended off calls for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take over the cleanup of Wyle Labs. The meeting also was intended to ease tension of Wyle neighbors who believe the pollution has hurt their health and property values. "The federal and state agencies both follow the same rules and requirements to investigate and clean up the site," said Peter Garcia, branch chief for the state department. The state is rapidly investigating Wyle's pollution, he said. Wyle neighbor Larry Jenkins urged regulators to do more off-site testing for underground contamination around Wyle. "I'm not proud of either agency," he said. "In fact, I'm scared." Matt Hagemann, an environmental consultant and former EPA scientist, said that federal regulators would use a more strict screening level for contamination in the soil surrounding Wyle Labs. The U.S. EPA automatically would test for pollution farther out into the surrounding community, he said. Dozens of residents who have lived or attended school near Wyle have blamed the cancer and thyroid disorders they have suffered on the pollution. Various tests have found chemicals in soil beyond Wyle's property. This summer, traces of a solvent suspected of causing cancer were found in soil samples from a nearby neighborhood, although officials say the contamination does not pose a long-term health threat to residents. Last week, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control announced plans to test for indoor air pollution in three homes next to Wyle Labs and for soil gas contamination in the community downhill from Wyle. Wyle officials could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon, but company executives have repeatedly denied a link between the community's health problems and the contamination in the ground and water at Wyle. Health and environmental regulators have not determined whether the community has been exposed to the pollution in decades past, but state officials continue to assure residents that there is no immediate health danger from the contamination. State health officials are offering some health-related assistance, including a training program for local doctors on the potential health risks associated with the site, said Marilyn Underwood, a toxicologist with the state's Department of Health Services. Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that soil and groundwater pollution on Wyle Labs' 428 acres was serious enough to rank it among the nation's most toxic sites on its Superfund list. The agency, however, declined to add the Wyle property to the list because the state is overseeing its cleanup. The EPA's yearlong investigation uncovered high levels of pesticides, heavy metals, the rocket-fuel chemical perchlorate and an industrial solvent known as TCE in the soil and the groundwater. Wyle Labs tested military products, electronics and components for space shuttles and rocket engines beginning in 1959. A developer's proposal to build more than 300 homes on the land has been slowed by the cleanup effort, which is scheduled to end in 2006. Reach Paige Austin at (951) 893-2106 or paustin@pe.com [paustin@pe.com] More headlines... © 2004 Belo Interactive Inc. ***************************************************************** 46 [du-list] Mordechai Vanunu defies ban on speaking to Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 15:49:00 -0700 Hi - Not exactly DU, but related, and I thought people on this list may wish to see this. Charlie For Immediate Release ... August 17, 2004 Contact: Sunny Miller, 413 773-7427 Mordechai Vanunu, Israeli Anti-Nuclear Whistleblower, Asserts His Human Rights to Free Speech, Association and Travel U.S. Media Invited to Contact Vanunu and Publish Interviews Hear his August 14th interview and see the transcript at http://www.traprockpeace.org/mordechai_vanunu.html Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli who spoke the truth about nuclear weapons, spent 18 years in prison for doing so. Vanunu spent eleven and a half years in a small cell only 6 x 9 feet, and for thirteen years he endured solitary confinement. After years of cruelty he was released from prison on April 21st of 2004 and has a room now at an Anglican church, St. George Cathedral in East Jerusalem. Speaking to media, Vanunu again defies restrictions imposed by Israel by speaking to foreigners He has been prohibited from doing so for six months following his release. He also has been ordered not to leave the country for one full year. Vanunu initially defied the Israel authorities when he revealed to the Sunday Times in London in October of 1986 that the Israeli government was using a reactor provided through the Atoms for Peace program to produce fuel for nuclear weapons. Vanunu said the Israeli arsenal contains 100 to 200 nuclear weapons, including powerful hydrogen bomb and neutron bombs. Neutron bombs are designed to kill people while minimizing damage to buildings. Vanunu says, ³... (The) hydrogen bomb has no justification, nor any real excuse for Israel's defense. It's a real holocaust weapon, a hydrogen bomb, and it only can be used against civilians in cities ... ³ As a worker at the Dimona reactor, Vanuau claims that emissions there were released only when the wind was blowing toward Jordan. Vanunu objects to the reactors being operated for forty years without inspections from abroad, or from the Israeli government or Parliament, saying, ³No one was discussing what was going there.² After his revelation to the Sunday Times, Vanunu was lured to Rome by an American young woman. He says that Italian, French, and English kidnappers were waiting for him, representing some of the governments that promoted nuclear proliferation during the cold war. Vanunu hopes to leave Israel as soon as possible. ³I cannot feel safe. There are some threats to my life.² He hopes to visit supporters, including adoptive parents in Minnesota, and people throughout the U.S. whom he came to know through correspondence and through communications during visits with his younger brother, Meir Vanunu, and other family members during his captivity. The right to travel and to swim in the ocean remain a hope for Mordechai, alongside his hope for a world not threatened by nuclear annihilation by any country. ### Sunny Miller is the Executive Director of the Traprock Peace Center in Deerfield, Massachusetts, where many neighbors collaborate to advocate for nuclear disarmament, weapons inspections and nonviolence as a tool to achieve human rights and economic justice. Our thanks to Mike Gorse for making the transcript of the interview and to our neighbor Hattie Nestel's long dedication to promoting Mordechai Vanunu's freedom and human rights. Charles Jenks, attorney at law President of the Core Group Traprock Peace Center 103A Keets Road Deerfield, MA 01342 413-773-1633; Fax 413-773-7507 charles@mtdata.com http://traprockpeace.org ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/FGYolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du-list/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 47 Guardian Unlimited: Russian Court Rejects Researchers' Appeal From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday August 17, 2004 12:16 PM MOSCOW (AP) - The Russian Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal from an arms control researcher who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for treason in what rights advocates have called a politically motivated case. Igor Sutyagin, a scholar at Moscow's respected USA and Canada Institute, was convicted in April on charges that he sold information on nuclear submarines and missile warning systems to a British company that Russian investigators claimed was a CIA cover. Sutyagin maintained that the analyses he wrote were based on public sources and that he had no reason to believe the British company was an intelligence front. Sutyagin's lawyers appealed the conviction on the basis of procedural violations. They said the judge gave the jury incorrect instructions by asking it to determine whether Sutyagin had passed along the information - which the defendant did not deny - rather than whether he had passed on state secrets. They also cited an undue change of judge and jurors, as well as the use of evidence the defense says did not pertain to the case. The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the appeal and upheld Sutyagin's conviction. New York-based Human Rights Watch said that the Federal Security Service, the main successor to the KGB, had repeatedly provided the wrong documents to experts entrusted to determine whether Sutyagin had divulged secrets. ``Igor Sutyagin didn't get a fair trial, and we're concerned that he may have been the victim of politically motivated charges,'' Rachel Denber, a Human Rights Watch representative, said in a statement issued Monday. Sutyagin was arrested in 1999, one of a series of Russian scholars and journalists with foreign contacts whom the Federal Security Service, or FSB, has had prosecuted for alleged espionage. Rights advocates say former KGB officer and FSB head Vladimir Putin's rise to the Kremlin has emboldened the service in its aggressive efforts to discourage Russians' unsupervised contacts with foreigners. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 ***************************************************************** 48 Hanford News: Hanford to improve monitoring for mercury [http://www.hanfordnews.com] This story was published Saturday, August 14th, 2004 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer CH2M Hill Hanford Group will be improving its monitoring for mercury at the Hanford tank farms after a particularly nasty form was found at the Savannah River, S.C., nuclear reservation. Hanford officials have found measurable amounts of mercury vapor at the filters of one older tank at the Hanford nuclear reservation that vents vapors into the air. It and other tanks hold radioactive and chemical waste, including small amounts of mercury, from the past production of plutonium at Hanford. Tank vapors have been a worker health issue this year, after some workers and the Government Accountability Project, a watchdog group, said some workers who breathed the vapors have developed lasting health problems. Studies or reports by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Department of Energy's Independent Oversight and Assessment Office and the state of Washington have questioned whether enough is known about the tank contents and vapors to be certain that workers have not been harmed. CH2M Hill assumed that the mercury vapors detected were from a metallic form of mercury, such as that used in old thermometers. However, testing is being done to make sure the vapor is not dimethyl mercury, the form found at Savannah River. Dimethyl mercury is a more hazardous form of mercury, said Dale Allen, senior vice president for CH2M Hill. The American Congress of Government Industrial Hygienist standards for dimethyl mercury are twice as conservative as for other types of mercury. Dimethyl mercury in a liquid form also can be absorbed through the skin more easily than other forms of mercury, according to CH2M Hill. Allen does not believe industrial exposure standards for either type of mercury have been exceeded. However, some workers have been concerned enough to ask that some work be stopped until they can be assured that they are not being exposed to mercury, said Tom Carpenter of the Government Accountability Project. The call for a work stoppage has been resolved, said Bryan Kidder, spokesman for CH2M Hill. Despite the heat, some workers would like to be given bubble suits that would be impermeable to mercury vapors, which can penetrate the clothing they wear in the tank farms, Carpenter said. Part of the concern is that some of the symptoms of mercury exposure, such as skin rashes and disorientation, match those experienced by some workers who believe they were exposed to vapors, Carpenter said. Mercury also is a carcinogen, he said. CH2M Hill has said the main component of the vapors is ammonia. Workers are using supplied air respirators around tanks that are believed to contain some mercury. That's part of a new safety requirement in April for many areas with underground tanks that will be in force at least until CH2M Hill can determine workers would be safe without them. In addition, tank farm workers who may be exposed to mercury are receiving medical screening for evidence of it in their bodies. Industrial hygiene sampling also is being expanded to check for mercury vapors before, during and after activities that disturb tank waste. "This is not about regulatory compliance. It's about providing the most protective environment we can achieve," Allen said. The mercury monitoring protection plan was worked out in a collaboration among management, company safety officials and organized labor to satisfy the concerns of all, Allen said. © 2004 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 49 CBC: DOE awards nuclear energy grant to UC - 2004-08-17 - Cincinnati Business Courier The U.S. Department of Energy has granted $25,000 to the University of Cincinnati for programs that support nuclear energy technology education. According to a news release, the grant is part of a University Partnership program that supports students pursuing nuclear engineering degrees at both the undergraduate and graduate level. "The investment we make today in the education of a new generation of nuclear engineers and scientists will pay tremendous dividends in the future of this country," said Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham in a news release. The DOE also awarded a $131,000 grant to Ohio State University for an upgrade to its reactor and a a reactor sharing and fellowship program. © 2004 American City Business Journals Inc. ***************************************************************** 50 Google News Alert - nuclear Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 16:26:58 -0700 (PDT) DOWNER to begin nuclear talks NEWS.com.au - Australia FOREIGN Minister Alexander Downer will today begin talks with North Korean officials to try to convince the communist state to drop its nuclear weapons program ... See all stories on this topic: IAEA to delay decision on Iran nuclear programme Daily Times - Pakistan VIENNA: The UN’s nuclear agency will not rule in a report next month on whether Iran’s nuclear programme is of a military nature, nor will it recommend ... See all stories on this topic: WAR of (nuclear) words News24 (subscription) - South Africa Tehran - Iran said on Tuesday it would destroy Israel's Dimona nuclear reactor if the Jewish state were to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. ... See all stories on this topic: N Korea accuses US of stifling it over nuclear issue Daily Times - Pakistan SEOUL: North Korea on Tuesday accused the United States of seeking to stifle the communist state rather than resolve a stand-off over its nuclear weapons drive ... AUSTRALIAN FM arrives in Pyongyang in effort to prompt nuclear ... Xinhua - China ... Australia is keen to persuade the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to accept the so-called "Libyan Mode" of freezing its nuclear weapons program ... See all stories on this topic: JAPAN nuclear power plant accident results from pipe Xinhua - China TOKYO, Aug. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Last week's disaster at west Japan's Mihama nuclear power plant was likely caused by Kansai Electric Power Co. ... See all stories on this topic: SOUTH African defense minister calls peaceful use of nuclear ... Tehran Times - Tehran,Iran TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Visiting South African Defense Minister Mosiuoa Lekota here Tuesday stressed that making peaceful use of nuclear energy is the legitimate ... See all stories on this topic: PG&E Updates Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Investigation Into ... Yahoo News (press release) - USA 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company has updated the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on the status of the investigation into the ... NUCLEAR Accident in Japan Raises Fears, And Hope Inter Press Service (subscription) - World PARIS, Aug 17 (IPS) - The fatal accident at the Japanese nuclear power plant Mihama last week has raised fears about French nuclear facilities -- and also the ... See all stories on this topic: SCHIZOPHRENIA onset likened to nuclear disaster in brain Webindia123.com - India A new study published in the journal 'Molecular Psychiatry' has suggested that schizophrenia may be triggered by the equivalent of a nuclear disaster in the ... 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/ ***************************************************************** 51 [du-list] DU in the news - 17th Aug 04 Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 17:28:25 -0700 GULF war inquiry seeks legal advice on doctor's claims Guardian - UK ... A few individuals may have developed a disease due to such factors as vaccinations, depleted uranium, etc, but the plight of Iraqi civilians is much more acute ... IS Our Media Covering Its Errors Or Covering Them Up? ZNet - Woods Hole,MA,USA ... electricity, the widespread civilian casualties, the use of cluster bombs, napalm like fire bombs, and weapons hardened with radioactive depleted uranium? ... ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/FGYolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du-list/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 52 Boston.com: Scientists sink their hopes into a mile-deep laboratory Boston Globe Geologists say they need to go a mile beneath the Earth's surface to understand how ground water flows and look for life that thrives under extreme conditions. Physicists say an underground detector is the best place to learn more about neutrinos, particles that allow the sun to burn and the stars to shine. Carolyn Y. Johnson August 17, 2004 --> Geologists say they need to go a mile beneath the Earth's surface to understand how ground water flows and look for life that thrives under extreme conditions. Physicists say an underground detector is the best place to learn more about neutrinos, particles that allow the sun to burn and the stars to shine. The National Science Foundation is now drafting a plan to build a multidisciplinary underground laboratory in the United States that would foster both types of research. It would be the first of its kind in the world -- a single facility in which physicists grapple with questions about the origins of the universe while geologists in a neighboring cavern attempt to unearth the secrets underfoot. If approved and built, the lab could bring the United States firmly to the forefront of underground research -- regaining leadership it first claimed three decades ago at the Homestake lab in South Dakota. Now, American physicists interested in cutting-edge underground particle research have to travel to places such as Canada or Japan. And underground geologists have nowhere to turn at all. ''There isn't a basic, fundamental geology laboratory right now," said David Lambert, program director of the science foundation's division of earth sciences. Most geologists do their work by drilling deep cores of rock, modeling the underground environment on a small scale in their labs, using computers that give only a partial picture of what happens in real stone. Burying a lab beneath thousands of feet of rock provides a protective shield against the cosmic rays thatconstantly shower down on Earth, interfering with sensitive astrophysics and nuclear detection experiments. And the rock surroundings that are so beneficial to the physics experiments are themselves a source of data for geologists. This summer, the National Science Foundation began a three-stage process for selecting the experiments and the best location to conduct them. The cost is estimated at several hundred million dollars and construction could begin as soon as 2008, although scientists who have already been campaigning for a lab for two decades are well aware there is no guarantee that it will be built at all. American scientists pioneered underground science three decades ago with a buried solar ''telescope," a massive tank filled with ordinary dry cleaning fluid that reacted with particles from the sun. Raymond Davis Jr., who led the Homestake lab, shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2002 for detecting solar neutrinos, infinitesimally small particles that are byproducts of the fusion reactions of the sun and stars. Davis' ground-breaking work at the bottom of a working gold mine was in stark contrast to his surroundings, which were ''very wild west," according to physicist Harry Miley of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory who has been working underground for the last 20 years. Homestake, which was closed, along with the mine, in 2001, had rough floors, rough walls, dirt, dust, heat, and plenty of humidity. ''In our case, a single drop of sweat would kill our experiment," Miley said, recalling one of the unexpected experimental difficulties -- perspiration. Continued... 1 2 Next ***************************************************************** 53 UCS: Two Dramatically Different Futures Shown For California's Climate Depending On Emissions Choices Made Today, New Study Finds [Union of Concerned Scientists] August 16, 2004 WASHINGTON, DC - A landmark climate change study by 19 scientists will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today. The article was authored by leading experts from a number of universities and research institutions including Stanford University, University of California at Berkeley, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It provides a powerful demonstration of how the severity of climate change impacts on California will depend on the amount of future greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion and other human activities. Major findings include a dramatic increase in extreme heat and heat-related mortality and significant reductions in Sierra snowpack, with cascading impacts on water supply. These impacts are greatly worsened if California and the world continue on a pathway of high emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases. "The study reveals a big difference in consequences for California's future climate depending on the amount of emissions of heat-trapping gases," said Katharine Hayhoe, lead author of the study. "We looked at two different future scenarios for California, one heavily dependent on fossil fuels, and one more dependent on investment in alternative technologies. The differences were dramatic." The study focused on California due to its diverse climate zones, its large economy (5th in the world) which includes climate-sensitive industries such as agriculture, and its substantial contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions. "Our key finding is that California will experience widespread heat-related impacts. That would mean more frequent and extreme heatwaves and a sharp reduction in snowpack if we stick to a high emissions pathway," said author Michael Hanemann. "Earlier snowmelt will change the timing and availability of water supply to 85% of California's agricultural and residential users." Other findings showed that higher temperatures could seriously impair agricultural production. "California's position as a leader in the production of high quality wine grapes is at risk," said Chris Field. "What our findings tell us is that the decisions we make today will have long-term consequences that our children and grandchildren will experience in their lifetimes," concluded Stephen Schneider. The PNAS journal article can be found at: size="2">http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0404500101 [http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0404500101] To set up interviews or for UCS info, contact: LINDA GUNTER Press Secretary 202-223-6133 lgunter@ucsusa.org [lgunter@ucsusa.org] ERIC YOUNG Assistant Press Secretary 202-223-6133 eyoung@ucsusa.org [eyoung@ucsusa.org] Contact the Authors: KATHARINE HAYHOE Climate Scientist at ATMOS Research and Consulting 574-288-1507 hayhoe@atmosresearch.com [hayhoe@atmosresearch.com] MICHAEL HANEMANN Professor of Agricultural & Resource Economics and Director of the California Climate Change Center in the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley 510-693-2627 hanemann@are.berkeley.edu [hanemann@are.berkeley.edu] CHRIS FIELD Ecologist and Director of the Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution 650 462 1047 x 201 cfield@globalecology.stanford.edu [cfield@globalecology.stanford.edu] STEVE SCHNEIDER Climate Scientist in the Department of Biological Sciences and Co-Director of the Center for Environmental Science and Policy at Stanford University 650-725-9978 shs@stanford.edu [shs@stanford.edu] PETER FRUMHOFF Senior Scientist and Director, Global Environment Program, Union of Concerned Scientists 617-547-5552 pfrumhoff@ucsusa.org [pfrumhoff@ucsusa.org] Union of Concerned Scientists Page Last Revised: 08.17.2004 ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. 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