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Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject
line and first line of body
NUCLEAR POLICY
1 Xinhuanet: Israel urges Paris, London, Berlin to make pressure on Te
2 KoreaTimes : `Nuclear Standoff Hangs on US Poll'
NUCLEAR REACTORS
3 US: Wired News: Reactors Trim Radioactive Waste
4 US: SPI: State's only commercial nuclear power plant back in service
5 JoongAng Daily: Seoul wants light water reactors to stay alive
6 Mainichi Interactive: Worker injured in Fukui nuke accident dies
7 US: Minneapolis Star Trib: Minnesota's power grid to get $1 billion
8 US: The Advocate: Reactor tax deal attacked
9 Xinhuanet: Death toll in Japan's nuke plant leak rises to 5
10 Xinhuanet: DPRK nuclear reactor project likely to be suspended
11 Toronto Star: Coal plant to close despite nuclear power woes
12 US: NRC: NRC to Discuss Safety Significance of Inspection Finding at
13 KoreaTimes: 1-Year Suspension Due for KEDO Project
14 US: MENAFN - Analysis: Nuclear power gaining popularity
15 ENN: Hungary restarts troubled nuclear reactor
16 US: NRC: NRC Releases Cleaned-up Pennsylvania Site for Unrestricted
17 US: NRC: Revision 9 of NUREG-1021, ``Operator Licensing Examination
NUCLEAR SAFETY
18 [NukeNet] More Disabled US Vets From Gulf War Than WW2
19 BBC: Barents Sea 'faces major threats'
20 US: projo.com: Dispute over emissions impacts
21 US: EPA: Withdrawal of Rule on Uranium contamination of water
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
22 Las Vegas RJ: Nuclear industry appeals Yucca ruling
23 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Ultimate double take
24 Herald Sun: The Nimby fallout
25 Paducah Sun: USEC seeks centrifuge plant permit -
26 Scoop: Greenpeace concerns over plutonium shipment
27 Pahrump Valley Times: Yucca Mt: Wrong direction
28 Pahrump Valley Times: Government declines appeal of Yucca ruling
29 US: NRC: In the Matter of All Independent Spent Fuel Storage Install
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
30 Korea Herald: Fifty-nine years after Hiroshima
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
31 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Idaho
32 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Savannah
33 ABQjournal: Suit Says LANL Working Conditions Unsafe
34 PISJ: INEEL beefs up security measures: Idaho facility react to New
35 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Oak Ridg
OTHER NUCLEAR
36 Google News Alert - nuclear
37 PRN: MKM Wins Largest Contracts in Its Corporate History Valued
38 NEI: Naval Reactors Director Bowman Named President-Elect at Nuclear
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FULL NEWS STORIES
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1 Xinhuanet: Israel urges Paris, London, Berlin to make pressure on Tehran
www.xinhuanet.com
www.chinaview.cn 2004-08-25 09:10:15
Israeli Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom was on his two-day visit
to Paris,Aug. 24, 2004.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
Israeli Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom(L) shakes hands with his
French counterpart Michel Barnier, Aug. 24, 2004.(Xinhua/AFP
Photo)
PARIS, Aug. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Israeli Foreign Minister Sylvan
Shalom, on his two-day visit to Paris, called Tuesday on Paris,
London and Berlin to "intensify" their pressure on Tehran to cope
with the threat of Iranian nuclear program.
"We have discussed the necessity to intensify the diplomatic
pressure on Iran," said Shalom when he met with his French
counterpart Michel Barnier and hailed the efforts of France,
Germany and London to tackle this issue.
He said that Barnier and he agreed on the urgent need to cope
with the threat imposed to all the international community by
Iran's nuclear program.
After the visit to Tehran paid by French, German and British
foreign ministers, Iran accepted in October 2003 to suspend
unilaterally and temporarily its uranium enrichment activities,
topermit further inspections of its equipment and to make a
completereport on its nuclear activities.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is making an inquiry
on Iran's nuclear program that would conceal, as the West doubts,
a military program.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi declared Tuesday that
Iran would make reprisals if Israel attacked its nuclear
facility,referring to a possible preventive attack by Israel, the
same as the air raid destroying Osirak Iraqi nuclear reactor
launched by Israel on June 7, 1981. Enditem
Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
2 KoreaTimes : `Nuclear Standoff Hangs on US Poll'
Hankooki.com > Korea Times
By Reuben Staines Staff Reporter
The North Korean nuclear standoff appears increasingly to hinge
on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election as Pyongyang
continues to blast President George W. Bush and insist there is
no point in discussing the issue with his administration.
U.S. nonproliferation expert Daniel Pinkston, who is currently
visiting professor at Korea University, Wednesday said the
protracted crisis could head in a number of directions depending
on the outcome of the November polls.
North Korea tends to view Democratic candidate John Kerry as an
easier person to deal with over the nuclear dismantlement issue
but Bush might also soften his line if he won a second term, said
Pinkston, a senior research associate at the Monterey Institute
of International Studies.
``Most North Koreans I've talked to say the important thing is
that whoever becomes president drops what they see as a hostile
policy (towards Pyongyang),'' he said. ``They probably estimate
it is more likely for that hostile policy to change under a new
administration.''
However, the worst-case scenario, Pinkston said, is that a
victorious Bush will toughen his approach further and the North
will respond by pulling out of negotiations entirely.
``It could be that if Bush is reelected then this problem could
become impossible to solve,'' he said.
Pinkston warned that if North Korea were then allowed to continue
its nuclear weapons development, regional powers such as China,
Japan, South Korea and Taiwan would also seek nuclear arms. ``It
could trigger a series of events that would have devastating
effects,'' he said.
Following a barrage of personal insults directed at Bush this
week, some U.S. officials have accused Pyongyang of attempting to
disrupt the ongoing nuclear talks and damage the president's
chances of reelection.
Carrying on its attack for a second straight day Tuesday, North
Korea labeled Bush a ``fascist tyrant.''
``It is the greatest tragedy for the U.S. that Bush, a political
idiot and human trash, still remains in the presidential office
of the world's only superpower, styling himself an emperor of the
world,'' the North's Korean Central News Agency said in a
commentary.
The unusually strong rhetoric came after Bush described North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il as a ``tyrant'' during an election
campaign rally last week.
``Now that the U.S. has clearly revealed its true intention, the
DPRK can no longer pin any hope on the six-party talks and there
is a question as to whether there is any need for it to negotiate
with the U.S. any more,'' the mouthpiece news agency said, using
an acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea.
At the third round of talks in June, delegates from the six
participating nations agreed to reconvene again before the end of
September.
Washington sought to play down Pyongyang's threat of boycotting
the ongoing six-party talks. ``I wouldn't make the connection,
certainly, between these comments and the talks,'' State
Department spokesman Adam Ereli said during a briefing Tuesday.
``I would simply reiterate what we said yesterday: that obviously
we take issue with those statements.''
rjs@koreatimes.co.kr 08-25-2004 17:28
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3 Wired News: Reactors Trim Radioactive Waste
By John Gartner
02:00 AM Aug. 25, 2004 PT
Ask most folks -- including the governor of Nevada -- if they
want radioactive waste stored in their state for a few hundred
centuries, and you'll get a resounding no.
So, in the pursuit of better options, while the Bush
administration battles to find a location to store a football
field's worth of glowing waste, the Department of Energy is
developing new uranium fuel rods that could reduce the amount of
nuclear waste produced in the future by half. Special Partner
Promotion
Nuclear energy has its proponents, but finding anyone
[http://www.toxicavenger.com] who feels safe around nuclear waste
dumps has been a chore for the government. The Bush
administration intends to store the radioactive material produced
during the past 40 years deep inside Yucca Mountain, Nevada,
under a plan initiated in the early 1980s. The decision prompted
several lawsuits
[http://www.yuccamountain.org/court/lawsuits.htm] aimed at
blocking the move, including one by the state of Nevada.
According to the Department of Energy, nuclear energy produces 17
percent of the electricity used globally. The total amount of
nuclear waste is about 43,000 metric tons
[http://crystals.llnl.gov/energy.html] .
To create more fuel-efficient nuclear reactors and minimize the
not-in-my-backyard problem, the Department of Energy is
developing technology for the next generation of nuclear reactors
[http://www.ne.doe.gov/infosheets/geniv.pdf] (PDF).
For nuclear power plants to become more efficient and reduce the
amount of waste produced, fuel must be processed at higher
temperatures, according to David Hill, the associate lab director
for energy and engineering sciences at the Department of Energy's
Oak Ridge National Lab [http://www.ornl.gov] . Hill, whose lab is
the lead agency in developing materials for so-called Generation
IV reactors, said reducing the amount of nuclear waste is an
important secondary aspect of the research.
"The question is how much nuclear waste a society will tolerate,"
Hill said.
Oak Ridge is teaming up with materials company Gamma Engineering
[http://www.gamma-eng.com] to develop ceramic "cladding" material
that could double the life span of nuclear fuel rods. The silicon
carbide material underwent an initial round of testing in July,
and did not degrade as quickly as the zirconium alloy tubes
currently used.
Cladding is the tubing surrounding uranium rods, preventing the
oxidation that allows water to penetrate and degrade the uranium,
according to Oak Ridge research scientist Michael Lance. Ceramic
material should be less likely to swell and crack at high
temperatures than the metals currently in use, he said. Lance
said during the test the cladding "did not recess in the
high-temperature environment," indicating a longer useful life
for the rods, and therefore fewer rods that must be sequestered
for thousands of years.
z Stronger cladding material allows the amount of uranium inside
to be enriched so that the rods could last up to 10 years instead
of the current five-year limit, said Herbert Feinroth, president
of Gamma Engineering. Feinroth said the material was tested at
500 degrees centigrade, substantially higher than the 300 degrees
currently used in reactors.
Feinroth described the test as preliminary but said, "even if it
is risky development work, it is worthwhile because of the
potential benefit" of reducing the amount of waste.
"One of the big trends in research is trying to get a higher
burn-up rate, which means you can use the same fuel longer," said
Rod McCullum, senior project manager at the Nuclear Energy
Institute [http://www.nei.org/] , a policy organization of the
nuclear energy industry.
McCullum said that one-third of the nuclear rods in a reactor are
usually removed every 12 to 18 months. When fuel rods break down,
they begin to fission and become unusable or "spent." The
exchange of fuel rods adds to the mounting pile of nuclear waste,
but also requires the reactors to be shut down for two to three
weeks.
"When you shut down the (reactor) core, you are not producing
energy or money," McCullum said, providing another incentive to
move to longer-lasting fuel rods.
According to the NEI, Generation III reactors were developed in
the 1990s, and Generation IV will be functional around 2030.
The Department of Energy has requested $30.5 million in funding
for Generation IV research for 2005. Oak Ridge is overseeing
several research projects for the Department of Energy, lab
director Hill said, including using nuclear reactors to create
hydrogen from water.
written by John Gartner [[Print
*****************************************************************
4 SPI: State's only commercial nuclear power plant back in service
[seattlepi.com] Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
By SHANNON DININNY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
YAKIMA -- Washington state's only commercial nuclear reactor went
back into service at 100 percent power yesterday, several weeks
after it had to be shut down when an electronic device failed.
The Columbia Generating Station was shut down July 30 after a
faulty electronic device caused a steam valve to close, which led
to a pressure increase in the reactor. Crews have repaired the
device and performed maintenance on steam valves and other
systems.
The plant was reconnected to the Northwest power grid at about
8:15 p.m. Sunday and began a gradual ascent to full power. It was
at 100 percent power at 7:30 a.m. yesterday, Energy Northwest,
the company that operates the plant, said in a news release.
Columbia Generating Station is a boiling water reactor that
produces 1,150 megawatts of electricity, which is sold to the
Bonneville Power Administration for the Northwest electricity
grid.
BPA officials had calculated that the shutdown was costing $1
million a day.
The shutdown at Columbia Generating Station occurred after an
electronic device failed and closed one of the reactor's four
steam-flow valves. The valves channel nuclear-heated steam to the
turbines driving the generator.
The valve closure caused an increase in pressure inside the
reactor, and when the reactor attempted to automatically shut
down, a panel indicated that not all of the 185 control rods had
been fully inserted. The control rods are inserted into the
reactor during a shutdown.
The control-room crew then executed a manual shutdown as a
precaution. A review later showed that the automatic shutdown was
successful.
The problems triggered an alert in which state agencies prepared
to respond if needed to help Benton and Franklin counties.
State emergency officials said there was no release of radiation
and no danger to the public.
Formerly known as the Washington Public Power Supply System No. 2
reactor, Columbia Generating Station is the only one of five
reactors started in the late 1970s to be completed before
construction was halted in 1982-83.
The reactor is on land leased from the U.S. Department of Energy
within the boundaries of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, but is
a separate entity.
The reactor's next scheduled shutdown is May for a refueling
outage. The plant is shut down every two years to replace fuel
inside the reactor. select.nwsshopads{font-size:8pt;width:140px;}
[Seattle Post-Intelligencer] 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA
98119 (206) 448-8000
Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com [newmedia@seattlepi.com]
©1996-2004 Seattle Post-Intelligencer Terms of Service/Privacy
*****************************************************************
5 JoongAng Daily: Seoul wants light water reactors to stay alive
August 26, 2004 KST 13:24 (GMT+9)
Hoping to forestall the abandonment of non-military nuclear
reactor construction in North Korea, Seoul is seeking to prolong
the suspension of the international project for another year, a
top policymaker for the South said yesterday.
With little progress made in the talks over North Korea's
nuclear arms program, Washington is believed to want to end the
reactor project.
Before the National Assembly's unification and foreign affairs
committee, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Seoul has
been consulting with members of a U.S.-led international
consortium on the future of the energy project.
The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, or KEDO,
was formed to build two light water nuclear reactors in North
Korea in return for Pyeongyang's freezing of its nuclear
programs under a 1994 U.S.-North Korean agreement.
It suspended the project for one year as the nuclear crisis grew
on the peninsula. The executive board of the consortium,
consisting of representatives from the United States, South
Korea, Japan and the European Union, decided to halt
construction on Dec. 1, 2003, to pressure North Korea to give up
its nuclear aspirations.
"We are seeking to extend [the suspension] for another year by
consulting with KEDO executive member countries," Mr. Chung
said. "The light water nuclear reactor project is linked with
efforts to resolve North Korea's nuclear issue."
Another ministry official said Washington is currently weighing
the option of completely scrapping the reactor projects. "That
will be decided at the KEDO executive board meeting in October,"
the official said.
The $4.6 billion reactor project was a key part of the 1994
Geneva accord between Washington and Pyeongyang. The deal
faltered in 2002, when it was found that North Korea had been
pursuing nuclear programs in violation of the accord. The
reactors, which are 30 percent complete, are 70 percent funded
by Seoul.
by Ser Myo-ja myoja@joongang.co.kr>
2004.08.25
Copyright by Joins.com, Inc. Terms of Use
*****************************************************************
6 Mainichi Interactive: Worker injured in Fukui nuke accident dies
FUKUI -- A worker who had been in a critical condition after he
was exposed to scalding steam in a nuclear power plant accident
died at a hospital here Wednesday, bringing the number of the
victims to five, hospital officials said.
Masaru Kameiwa, 30, an employee of a subcontractor of Kansai
Electric Power Co. (KEPCO), was pronounced dead at Fukui
University Hospital.
The accident occurred at the No. 3 reactor of KEPCO's Mihama
Nuclear Power Plant in Mihama on the afternoon of Aug. 9.
Scalding steam gushed out of a turbine pipe in the secondary
system of the reactor, and filled the structure that houses it.
Four workers died and seven others, including Kameiwa, were
injured after being exposed to the steam, which had a temperature
of about 200 degrees Celsius. All the eleven victims and
survivors were employees of Kiuchi Keisoku, an Osaka-based
subcontractor that was commissioned by KEPCO to check the Mihama
plant.
Subsequent inspections of the reactor have proven that the pipe
had worn alarmingly thin. The steam was not radioactive.
The accident prompted the Osaka-based power supplier to decide to
stop all its nuclear power plants for thorough inspections.
(Compiled from Mainichi and wire reports, Japan, Aug. 25, 2004)
© 2004 The Mainichi Newspapers Co. Under the
*****************************************************************
7 Minneapolis Star Trib: Minnesota's power grid to get $1 billion upgrade
[http://www.startribune.com]
contact info Last update: August 25, 2004 at 6:34 AM
Minnesota's power grid to get $1 billion upgrade
Chris Serres, Star Tribune August 25, 2004 ENERGY0825
Minnesota's rickety power grid is about to undergo its biggest
upgrade in more than 20 years, as utility companies scramble to
keep pace with higher demand and to prevent future blackouts.
The state's four largest power companies recently told state
regulators that they plan to spend at least $1 billion over the
next 15 years to build new power lines and to upgrade existing
ones. The project, dubbed "Cap X 2020," would increase the
state's transmission capacity by 5,000 megawatts per hour --
about the same amount of electricity produced by five nuclear
power plants the size of Prairie Island.
The four companies are Xcel Energy Inc. of Minneapolis, Otter
Tail Power Co. of Fergus Falls, Great River Energy of Elk River
and Minnesota Power in Duluth.
Executives at the companies said in interviews Tuesday that they
can no longer put off investing in new lines. Demand for
electricity in this state is growing faster than supply, and the
power lines carrying electricity into and out of Minnesota are
frequently operating at full capacity. That limits the amount of
affordable power that Minnesota utilities can buy from energy
companies in other states and increases the possibility of a
major blackout.
"Our power system load has increased tremendously over the past
20 years, and it has put greater stress on the transmission
infrastructure," said Rod Scheel, vice president of asset
management at Otter Tail Power, which serves 127,000 customers
in the Upper Midwest.
"Without [this capital expenditure], the probability of a
blackout or other reliability issues would be elevated," Scheel
said.
The reliability of the nation's electricity grid has come under
renewed scrutiny since a widespread blackout on the East Coast a
year ago left 50 million people without power. Many energy
experts blamed deregulation of the nation's wholesale power
industry. In 1996, federal regulators allowed energy companies
to buy and sell power across state lines, which led to more
power being transmitted long distances over lines that were
never built to serve that purpose.
At the same time, consumer demand for electricity has increased,
which has created bottlenecks along key power lines leading to
and from Minnesota. For instance, the 345,000-volt transmission
line that stretches from the Twin Cities to Milwaukee is often
operating at full capacity during hot or cold days, when
electricity usage is high.
"We're trying to use the system in a way in which it wasn't
designed to be used," said Bill Head, chief operating officer of
MAPPCOR, a contractor for the Mid-Continent Area Power Pool, a
regional planning agency.
These bottlenecks are costly to consumers because they can
prevent utility companies from accessing affordable power. On
hot days in July, for instance, power companies are sometimes
forced to rely on expensive, natural-gas fired plants, rather
than importing power from lower-cost coal-based power plants in
other states.
In 1999, Great River's Coal Creek power plant in Underwood,
N.D., shut down during one of the hottest days of the year.
Because many of the power lines leading into Minnesota already
were operating at full capacity, Great River had to buy the
electricity at an exorbitant price.
"It's like paying $500 for a Snickers bar," said Don Jones,
director of transmission asset management at Xcel Energy.
The four companies will spend the next several months analyzing
the future needs for power lines in this state and how to build
them. The group plans to submit a draft report to the Minnesota
Public Utilities Commission and the state Department of Commerce
in October. A final report will follow in March.
Chris Serres is at [cserres@startribune.com] .
[Star Tribune] © 2004 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
feedbackterms of useprivacy policymember center
[http://www.startribunecompany.com]
425 Portland Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488
*****************************************************************
8 The Advocate: Reactor tax deal attacked
08/25/04
[2theadvocate.com]
Charles Parish's tax assessor has asked the 19th Judicial
District Court to throw out a property tax exemption granted to
Entergy Louisiana on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.-->
Assessor: Action unconstitutional
By NED RANDOLPH nrandolph@theadvocate.com
[nrandolph@theadvocate.com] Advocate business writer
St. Charles Parish's tax assessor has asked the 19th Judicial
District Court to throw out a property tax exemption granted to
Entergy Louisiana on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.
Entergy is spending $33.8 million to upgrade its Waterford 3
nuclear power plant in Taft, which it says falls under the
state's Industrial Tax Deferment program that rewards expanding
businesses.
On June 23, the state Board of Commerce and Industry granted the
utility a five-year exemption on its property taxes to offset the
investment.
In his petition filed Tuesday, Assessor Clyde Gisclair claims
that the state constitution limits property tax exemptions to
"manufacturing establishments" and only for "additions." That
means it applies to either a new plant or an expanding plant that
"engages in the business of working raw materials" into suitable
use.
Gisclair claims that none of the equipment purchases and repairs
fits that definition.
z Entergy spokesman Bill Benedetto said the company has not had a
chance to look over the suit to comment on it.
"But we can say that the company's position regarding the tax
exemption application is that it was presented fairly and in
accordance with accounting regulations of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission," Benedetto said. "And after hearing our
position in a thorough review, the board unanimously approved our
application."
In addition to Entergy, Gisclair named as defendants: the
Department of Economic Development, the Board of Commerce and
Industry and the Attorney General's Office.
DED spokeswoman Sandy Deslatte also declined to comment on the
petition until the department reviews the suit.
z The commerce and industry board had delayed voting on the
Entergy application at its April meeting after Gisclair spoke out
against it.
He said the life of the exemption would cost St. Charles Parish
$6 million in lost revenue.
"Somebody will have to pay the bill," he said then.
His attorney, Bill Edelman, pointed out that Entergy had
upgraded its plant as required by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, but told assessors it was falling in value.
If the $33 million is an addition, "the plant should increase in
value. But when they talk to the assessors and the tax
commission, they say the plant is going down in value," he said.
Copyright © 1992-2004, 2theadvocate.com, WBRZ, Louisiana
Broadcasting LLC and The Advocate,
Capital City Press LLC, All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
9 Xinhuanet: Death toll in Japan's nuke plant leak rises to 5
www.xinhuanet.com
www.chinaview.cn 2004-08-25 20:46:55
TOKYO, Aug. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- A worker who suffered from burn
in the Aug. 9 nuclear power plant steam leak in western Fukui
Prefecture died Wednesday, raising the death toll in the accident
to five.
Masaru Kameiwa, 30, died at the Fukui University Hospital,
Kyodo News reported, quoting local police. He had been in serious
condition with burn to 80 percent of his body.
A section of pipe of the No. 3 reactor at Kansai Electric
PowerCo.'s Mihama Nuclear Power Plant ripped off. Hot steam
killed fourworkers immediately and left seven injured, including
Kameiwa. Another worker is still in critical condition.
There was no leakage of radiation in the most deadly accident
in the history of Japan's nuclear power industry. The Japan's
second-largest power provider had shut down all reactors.
All the workers belonged to another company responsible for
maintenance of facilities. They were preparing to start a checkup
work on the pipe which had been out of examination since the
reactor came into service in 1976. It had been found that the
pipe was badly worn out.
Nuclear power is important to resources-stripped Japan. There
are more than 50 reactors in action and 12 more are expected to
come into play by 2015. The nuclear power accounted for around
one-third of the electricity output in 2002.
But safety-linked troubles, like fire, cover-ups and
radiation leak, kept rattling the Japanese. In 1999, two
employees of the Tokai office of JCO. Co., a nuclear
fuel-processing plant in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture, were
killed after being exposed to radiation. Enditem
Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
10 Xinhuanet: DPRK nuclear reactor project likely to be suspended
www.xinhuanet.com
www.chinaview.cn 2004-08-25 19:32:49
SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- A US-led international
consortium is seeking to suspend the construction of a nuclear
reactor project in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK) for one more year, a South Korean official said Wednesday.
"The project is linked with North Korea's nuclear issue,"
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young was quoted by
Yonhap News Agency as saying in testimony to the National
Assembly's committee handling unification, diplomacy and trade.
Chung also said South Korea and other executive board members
of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) --
the United States, Japan and the European Union -- are discussing
whether to extend the one-year suspension.
The KEDO announced in December 2003 a one-year suspension of
two power-generating nuclear reactors under construction in the
DPRK under a 1994 deal.
The decision was made for the United States and its allies who
wanted to pressure the DPRK to abandon its nuclear program.
Nevertheless, the six-party talks aimed at solving the nuclear
issue on the Korean Peninsula did not make important breakthrough
after three rounds of talks.
Moreover, according to Yonhap, Chang Sun-sup, South Korea's
envoy in charge of the project, said KEDO officials have already
sounded out the opinions of all executive members about
suspending the project further.
The 4.6 billion US dollar reactor project is a key part of the
1994 deal. The project was originally scheduled to be completed
by 2004. Enditem
Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
11 Toronto Star: Coal plant to close despite nuclear power woes
Wed. Aug. 25, 2004. | Updated at 10:50 PM
FROM CANADIAN PRESS
A coal-fired electricity plant west of Toronto will close on
schedule by the end of next April despite maintenance issues at
the Pickering nuclear plant, Energy Minister Dwight Duncan said
today.
Maintenance of the generators at the Pickering B nuclear plant
could result in shutdowns, but that won't affect the closure date
for the Lakeview coal-fired plant in Mississauga, Duncan said
before a cabinet meeting.
Even without any additional power being produced for the City of
Toronto, which is served by the coal plant, Lakeview will close
as planned since transmission wires have been put in place to
ensure the lights stay on in Canada's biggest city, Duncan said.
"We've had to reroute some wiring to ensure that there's enough
power coming into Toronto," he said. "That's on schedule and on
time and it's ready to go."
The four generating units at Lakeview, built in 1961, can
produce up to 1,200 megawatts of power a day. The plant is used
mainly to provide power to the province during peak demand hours.
The province's four other coal-fired power plants in Atikokan,
Thunder Bay, Sarnia and Simcoe are scheduled to close by the
end of 2007. The five coal-fired plants produce about 25 per cent
of the province's power.
Duncan anticipates that private companies will respond to the
province's latest request for proposals for 2,500 more megawatts
of energy production.
He expects some of those proposals will deal with measures to
provide more power to Toronto.
Although not directly related to the Lakeview shutdown, a new
$140-million transformer station in north Toronto being built to
deal with rising energy demands will also ensure there's adequate
power flowing into the city, said Peter Gregg, a spokesman for
Hydro One.
But the situation at Pickering B "is a serious challenge and it
will continue to be," Duncan said.
Ontario Power Generation said last week that inspections of
Pickering B reactors showed that fuel channels, which contain
uranium bundles in the reactor, will need maintenance earlier
than expected.
"They're still operating, but it means they'll have to be tested
more and they'll be out of service more," Duncan said.
"And depending on what the additional testing shows, it could be
longer periods of one or all of the reactors out of service."
bCopyright Toronto Star
*****************************************************************
12 NRC: NRC to Discuss Safety Significance of Inspection Finding at Oconee Nuclear Plant
News Release - Region II - 2004-04 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs, Region II No. II-04-047
August 25, 2004 CONTACT: Ken Clark (404) 562-4416 Roger D.
Hannah (404) 562-4417 E-mail: opa2@nrc.gov [opa2@nrc.gov]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with
representatives of Duke Energy on Monday, September 13, in
Atlanta to discuss the safety significance of NRC concerns with
staffing in the event of a fire at the Oconee nuclear power
plant. The plant is located near Seneca, S. C.
An NRC inspection in February found that Oconee fire response
procedures were not consistent with the plants licensing basis
for manning of the Standby Shutdown Facility. That facility can
provide alternative controls for some of the plants systems
should those functions be lost in the main control room. The NRC
found that in some scenarios there may be a delay in the
transfer of control to the alternate facility and resulting
problems meeting NRC fire protection regulations.
The NRC staffs preliminary assessment concluded that the
finding has greater than very low safety significance because
it could affect fire protection defense in depth. However, it
does not represent a current safety concern because Duke has
modified plant procedures to address the issue.
The September 13th meeting, called a regulatory conference,
allows Duke Energy to provide the NRC with any new information
and to present its view of the issues safety significance. The
meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m. in the NRCs Region II office
in Atlanta, located on the 24th floor in the Atlanta Federal
Center at 61 Forsyth Street. The public can observe the meeting,
and NRC officials will be available before its conclusion to
answer any questions.
The NRC evaluates regulatory performance at commercial nuclear
power plants with a color-coded process which classifies
inspection findings as either green, white, yellow or red, in
order of increasing safety significance. The NRC preliminary
evaluation found the safety significance of this issue to be
greater than green.
No final decision on the safety significance, any apparent
violation or any enforcement action will be made during the
regulatory conference. Information presented at the conference
will be used by the NRC staff, along with the inspection
findings, to determine the final safety significance of the
problem. Those results will be posted on the NRCs web site at
www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/regulatory/enforcement/current.html#reacto
r.
Last revised Wednesday, August 25, 2004
*****************************************************************
13 KoreaTimes: 1-Year Suspension Due for KEDO Project
Hankooki.com > Korea Times > Nation
Ministry Seeks to Keep KEDO Afloat
By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter
In a bid to keep the project for building two light-water
reactors in North Korea afloat, the Unification Ministry is
seeking to extend the suspension period of the energy project by
one more year.
Telling lawmakers in the National Assembly, Unification Minister
Chung Dong-young expressed willingness to sustain the Korean
Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) project designed
to help ease the North's energy shortage.
KEDO decided on Dec. 1 last year to temporarily suspend its
project to build the two power plants at Kumho, eastern North
Korea, by one year.
``We will discuss with KEDO's council members the feasibility of
extending the suspension period by one more year,'' Chung said at
a meeting in the parliament's Unification, Foreign Affairs and
Trade Committee, ``because the project is closely related to
international efforts to solve the North's nuclear arms
program.''
A Unification Ministry official in Seoul explained that Chung's
remarks reflect Seoul's hope to keep the $4.6 billion project
alive, adding that it might also play an important role in
inducing Pyongyang to give up its ambition for nuclear arms.
The U.S. government will reconsider the fate of the project in
December.
Experts on foreign affairs believe U.S. President George W. Bush,
if reelected in the November election, might seek to scrap the
project, which was an integral part of an agreement between
Washington and Pyongyang in 1994, under which the North pledged
to freeze its nuclear activities in exchange for the reactors and
heavy oil shipments.
However, the North was later found to have violated the agreement
by operating a secret nuclear weapons program in 2002. The U.S.
officially halted its oil shipments and has been pushing to
terminate the KEDO project. Japan and the European Union, the
other two KEDO members, have been siding with the United States.
``Laying off the construction for one more year doesn't
necessarily mean it's a complete stop,'' said Chang Sun-sup, who
oversees Seoul's planning for the KEDO project. ``We still need
to work out how to preserve the plant site for a possible
resumption of construction work.''
South Korea, which shares 70 percent of the total cost to build
the two power plants, wants to resume the project after the
on-going nuclear crisis is resolved by the six-way talks.
The Seoul government stands to lose all of the $931 million it
has invested so far if the project is scrapped for good.
The executive board members of the consortium from South Korea,
the U.S., Japan and the EU reached the consensus on a one-year
temporary suspension of the project when they met in New York in
November last year.
im@koreatimes.co.kr 08-25-2004 18:26
*****************************************************************
14 MENAFN - Analysis: Nuclear power gaining popularity
Middle East North Africa . Financial Network
- Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Date: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 8:41:22 AM EST By ANDREA R.
MIHAILESCU, UPI Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Nuclear power has become
increasingly popular worldwide, particularly in the developing
world, as a source of energy consumption, yet accidents
involving radiation leaks continue in some of the world's safest
nuclear plants. Amid rising oil prices, developing countries
have little alternative but to depend on nuclear power.
Developing countries are increasing their nuclear power usage.
Armenia has one working reactor; Bulgaria has two; Ukraine
three, and Romania one. One nuclear power plant is under
construction in Iran and three more are planned. A total of 27
nuclear power plants are under construction in developing
countries.
Within the next several decades, energy consumption will at
least double or triple in developing countries with growing
populations and economies, according to Turkey's Hurriyet.
Building nuclear power plants is expensive, but their
operational costs are relatively low. It is not difficult to
obtain nuclear fuels such as uranium or thorium. Nuclear power
plants also produce virtually no carbon emissions.
These power plants currently generate 16 percent of the
electricity the world consumes, and currently account for 78
percent of electricity generation in France, about half of
Belgium and Sweden's electricity, 28 percent of Germany's
electricity, 20 percent in the United States, and 17 percent in
Russia.
But even as nuclear power becomes increasingly popular
worldwide, some developed countries are considering shutting
down their plants amid plant malfunctions. Belgium, the
Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden have decided to gradually phase
out their nuclear power plants.
The oldest operating powerplant in Spain, the Jose Cabrera power
station in Almonacid de Zorita, will be shut down on April 30,
2006. In 1994, more than 170 cracks were detected in the cover
of the reactor vessel; the cracks were only repaired in 1997.
Dismantling the station is expected to start in 2008 and
completed in 2014 at a projected cost of $165 million, according
to Spain's National Radioactive Waste Company.
Sweden's Nuclear Power Inspectorate intends to impose stricter
safety measures on the country's nuclear power plants, which
generate about half of the country's electricity, to bring the
country into line with IAEA and UN standards, according to the
Svenska Dagbladet. Renovation work will total $809 million.
Citizens voted in 1980 to phase out nuclear power by 2010, but
the deadline was scrapped in 1997 because the country had not
worked out how to replace lost generating capacity.
Nuclear power plants have seen massive leaks throughout the
decades in some of the world's safest plants as well as the
world's worst, and increased safety measures by the IAEA and the
UN nuclear watch dog have not helped prevent such leaks. The
third-safest power plant in Russia, the Volgodonsk facility in
the Rostov region, had to be stopped twice within the past nine
months due to emergencies in November 2003 and January 2004.
Even Japan's Mihama plutonium-thermal plant, considered the
world's safest power plant, saw four workers killed when steam
leaked from a turbine reactor on August 9.
Japan's Asahi Shimbun reported the accident as the worst ever in
Japan's nuclear powerplants: "Trust was lost and the accident
will have a great impact on future nuclear power development."
And as nuclear powerplants get older and older, problems like
pipe corrosion and equipment malfunction may increase.
Following the Mihama accident, Greenpeace Russia has expressed
concerns over conditions at Russian nuclear plants. "Japan's
nuclear power plants are among the best in the world,"
Greenpeace said in a press release on Aug. 10. But in 2003,
Japan failed to disclose the critical state of several of its
reactors, which led to an immediate halt in operations at
several nuclear plants.
Greenpeace reported that major disasters in Russia's nuclear
plants were similar to the accident in Japan. "There will be
accidents as long as the nuclear power industry exists, and
there could be a new Chernobyl at any moment," Russian
Greenpeace head Ivan Blokov told Interfax on Aug. 8.
Russia has a history of accidents. Three people were killed in
an accident at the Leningrad nuclear powerplant on February 6,
1974. The facility was the venue for another disaster in autumn
1975, which involved a radiation leak that continued for more
than a month. Fourteen people were killed in an accident at the
Balakovo nuclear plant on June 27, 1985.
A radiation leak also happened on U.S. soil when the 1979 Three
Mile Island reactor leaked radioactive material.
Despite such malfunctions, developing countries continue to
construct nuclear plants. A newly-built reactor in Ukraine,
launched at the Khmelnytskyy nuclear power plant, went offline
due to massive overheating on August 13. Ukraine has had several
radiation leaks throughout the decade, according to
Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative reports.
Equipment problems have also developed in two China-based power
plants which Russia helped China build. Russian Federal Atomic
Energy Agency Head Alexander Rumyantsev said that glitches arose
in one reactor's equipment but hopes to eliminate those glitches
within the next two months. Regarding another reactor close to
Beijing, Rumyantsev told Interfax on Aug. 12, "Some parts of the
equipment, however, have started to malfunction, but we know how
to fix them."
Slovenia's only nuclear power plant shut down automatically on
August 10 as a safety precaution after a mistake occurred in the
system that regulates the amount of nuclear reaction taking
place in the reactor. According to a statement from the Nuclear
Power Plant Krsko, the control rods that regulate the amount of
fission lost power after their power source broke down on the
evening of Aug. 9.
Another issue to consider is that nuclear technology can be used
to make weapons as well as electricity. China and Pakistan
signed a contract to supply a reactor pressure vessel for the
second phase of the Chashma Nuclear Power Station in Pakistan.
China Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation Deputy General Manager
Huang Guojun said Pakistan had pledged that technology would be
used solely for peaceful purposes with no transferal to a third
parties. It is difficult to ignore the fact that nuclear
technology has benefits in addition to its primary function of
electricity generation.
With no oil or gas of its own, Turkey has been debating the
issue of construction of nuclear power plants in the country.
But even if Turkey decides not to construct nuclear plants of
its own, the country will be affected by any accidents that may
occur in nearby countries -- just as in the case of the 1986
Chernobyl accident.
Earthquake-prone countries such as Armenia may see disastrous
radiation leaks to one of its units if an earthquake occurs. One
of Armenia's power plant units has been shut down for repairs
and nuclear fuel loading in late July, according to plant
General Director Garik Markosian.
Proper disposal of nuclear waste, meanwhile, is a growing
problem in developing and developed countries. In short, nuclear
power plants may be environmentally friendly and cheaper to
operate generating a cheaper source of energy consumption -- but
with the risks the plants pose, no one wants to live near one.
"Until about 2 billion years ago, it was impossible to have any
life on Earth. That is, there was so much radiation on Earth you
couldn't have any life -- fish or anything. Gradually, about 2
billion years ago, the amount of radiation on this planet
reduced and made it possible for some form of life to begin. It
started in the seas, I understand from what I've read. And that
amount of radiation has been gradually decreasing because all
radiation has a half-life, which means ultimately there will be
no radiation. Now, when we go back to using nuclear power, we
are creating something that nature tried to destroy to make life
possible," said Admiral Hyman Rickover, known as the father of
the U.S. nuclear navy.
--
Copyright 2004 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
--
[http://www.inlumen.com]
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15 ENN: Hungary restarts troubled nuclear reactor
Wednesday, August 25, 2004By Associated Press
BUDAPEST, Hungary Hungary's only nuclear power plant has
restarted a reactor shut down since April 2003 due to an
accident, officials said Tuesday.
The No. 2 reactor at the plant at Paks, 120 kilometers (70 miles)
south of Budapest, has been running at 5 percent capacity since
it was restarted Thursday, plant spokesman Istvan Mittler said.
The output of the reactor will slowly be increased and tested
before it is reconnected to the national power grid, Mittler
said.
The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority, the country's nuclear
watchdog, gave the plant permission last month to restart the
reactor for a test period of four months. Greenpeace and other
environmentalist groups protested, saying that the risks involved
in restarting the reactor had not been fully investigated.
The April 11, 2003, accident led to small amounts of radioactive
gas being released into the atmosphere after uranium fuel rods
overheated and warped due to a failed cooling system. The damaged
rods had to be sealed in the deep-water tank next to the reactor
and have remained stranded there since.
An operation to recover the rods will probably take place in
early 2005, plant officials say.
The nuclear watchdog ruled that no operation to recover the rods
may take place while the reactor is operating.
The plant's other three reactors were operating normally. Paks
provides around 40 percent of Hungary's electrical energy.
Source: Associated Press
ENN is a registered trademark of the Environmental News
Network Inc. Copyright © 2004 Environmental News Network Inc.
*****************************************************************
16 NRC: NRC Releases Cleaned-up Pennsylvania Site for Unrestricted Use
News Release - 2004-09 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office
of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC
20555-0001 E-mail: [opa@nrc.gov] No. 04-099 August 24,
2004
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has granted the request of
Babcock and Wilcox Company, Pennsylvania Nuclear Operation
(B&W), to terminate its license to possess radioactive material
at a former nuclear service operations site in Parks Township,
Penn., about 35 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, and released the
site for unrestricted use.
Radioactive material on this site has been cleaned up to meet
our strict criteria, and the site is now safe for other uses,
said Daniel M. Gillen, Deputy Director for the Decommissioning
Directorate, NRC Division of Waste Management and Environmental
Protection. We have verified this through independent radiation
surveys by the NRC and its contractor.
B&W and its predecessors used radioactive material at a facility
on the site from 1960 until 1996 for nuclear fuel fabrication,
research and development and service work. Based on the remedial
actions taken by the licensee, the staffs review of the
licensees termination surveys, and the results of the staffs
confirmatory surveys, the NRC concluded that the licensee has
completed the decommissioning activities in accordance with its
approved decommissioning plan, and the site is suitable for
unrestricted release.
Last revised Wednesday, August 25, 2004
*****************************************************************
17 NRC: Revision 9 of NUREG-1021, ``Operator Licensing Examination
FR Doc 04-19403
[Federal Register: August 25, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 164)]
[Notices] [Page 52313-52314] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr25au04-117]
Standards for Power Reactors;'' Notice of Availability AGENCY:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued
Revision 9 of NUREG-1021, ``Operator Licensing Examination
Standards for Power Reactors,'' which provides policy and
guidance for the development, administration, and grading of
written examinations and operating tests used to determine the
qualifications of individuals who apply for reactor operator (RO)
and senior reactor operator (SRO) licenses at nuclear power
plants pursuant to the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR part
55, ``Operators' Licenses.'' NUREG-1021 also provides guidance
for verifying the continued qualifications of licensed operators
when the staff determines that NRC requalification examinations
are necessary.
NUREG-1021 has been revised to implement a number of
clarifications and enhancements that have been identified since
Revision 8, Supplement 1, was published in April 2001. A draft of
Revision 9 was issued for comment and voluntary trial use on
February 3, 2003 (68 FR 5312), and seven responses were received
during the comment period, which closed on December 31, 2003. The
public comments and recommendations, as well as others that were
provided by the NRC regional offices and staff, are available for
review via the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room
(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]
) and in the NRC's Public Document Room located at 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland; the Accession Number for the
comment summary is ML041240004.
[[Page 52314]] Revision 9 includes a number of changes that the
NRC staff believes will maintain operational safety and public
confidence, while reducing the regulatory burden on facility
licensees and improving efficiency: notably, the RO written
examination has been shortened from 100 to 75 questions, the
design of the 100-question SRO written examination has been
clarified and simplified, the administrative and systems portions
of the walk-through operating test have been combined and
reapportioned, and the grading criteria for the simulator
operating test have been clarified to enhance consistency. A
number of additional changes have been made to address questions
raised since Revision 8, Supplement 1, was issued and to conform
with other regulatory activities. The changes in Revision 9 are
outlined in the Executive Summary, and the new or revised text is
identified with vertical lines in the margins.
Revision 9 will become effective for operator licensing
examinations that are administered 180 or more days after the
date of this notice, or at an earlier date agreed upon by the
facility licensee and its NRC Regional Office. After the
effective date, facility licensees that elect to prepare their
examinations will be expected do so based on the guidance in
Revision 9 of NUREG-1021, unless the NRC has reviewed and
approved the facility licensee's alternative examination
procedures.
Copies of Revision 9 are being mailed to the plant or site
manager at each nuclear power facility regulated by the NRC. A
copy is available for inspection and/or copying for a fee in the
NRC's Public Document Room, located at 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland. NUREG-1021 is also available for downloading
from the NRC's Web site
(http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr102
1/
[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving
FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collecti
ons/nuregs/staff/sr1021/] ). If you do not have electronic access
to NRC documents, you may request a single copy of Revision 9 by
writing to the Office of the Chief Information Officer,
Reproduction and Distribution Services Section, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001 (facsimile:
301-512-2289). Telephone requests cannot be accommodated. NUREG
documents are not copyrighted, and Commission approval is not
required to reproduce them.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 18th day of August 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David C. Trimble, Chief, Operator Licensing and Human Performance
Section, Reactor Operations Branch, Division of Inspection
Program Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 04-19403 Filed 8-24-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
18 [NukeNet] More Disabled US Vets From Gulf War Than WW2
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 14:47:23 -0700
In June 2003, the World Health Organization
announced in a press release that global cancer
rates will increase 50 percent by 2020. What else
do they know that they aren't telling us? I know
that depleted uranium is a death sentence . for
all of us. We will all die in silent ways.
And what about our soldiers? Terry Jemison of
the Department of Veterans Affairs reported this
week to the American Free Press that "Gulf-era
veterans" now on medical disability since 1991
number 518,739, with only 7,035 reported wounded
in Iraq in that same 14-year period.
The number of disabled vets reported up to 2000
has been increasing by 43,000 every year. Brad
Flohr of the Department of Veterans Affairs told
American Free Press that he believes there are
more disabled vets now than even after World War
II.
Depleted Uranium: Dirty Bombs, Dirty Missiles,
Dirty Bullets
by Leuren Moret
SF Bay View
A death sentence here and abroad
"Military men are just dumb stupid animals to
be used as pawns in foreign policy." - Henry
Kissinger, quoted in "Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How
the United States Betrayed Its Own POW's in
Vietnam"
Vietnam was a chemical war for oil,
permanently contaminating large regions and
countries downriver with Agent Orange, and
environmentally the most devastating war in world
history. But since 1991, the U.S. has staged four
nuclear wars using depleted uranium weaponry,
which, like Agent Orange, meets the U.S.
government definition of Weapons of Mass
Destruction. Vast regions in the Middle East and
Central Asia have been permanently contaminated
with radiation.
And what about our soldiers? Terry Jemison of
the Department of Veterans Affairs reported this
week to the American Free Press that "Gulf-era
veterans" now on medical disability since 1991
number 518,739, with only 7,035 reported wounded
in Iraq in that same 14-year period.
This week the American Free Press dropped a
"dirty bomb" on the Pentagon by reporting that
eight out of 20 men who served in one unit in the
2003 U.S. military offensive in Iraq now have
malignancies. That means that 40 percent of the
soldiers in that unit have developed malignancies
in just 16 months.
Since these soldiers were exposed to vaccines
and depleted uranium (DU) only, this is strong
evidence for researchers and scientists working on
this issue, that DU is the definitive cause of
Gulf War Syndrome. Vaccines are not known to cause
cancer. One of the first published researchers on
Gulf War Syndrome, who also served in 1991 in
Iraq, Dr. Andras Korényi-Both, is in agreement
with Barbara Goodno from the Department of Defense
's Deployment Health Support Directorate, that in
this war soldiers were not exposed to chemicals,
pesticides, bioagents or other suspect causes this
time to confuse the issue.
This powerful new evidence is blowing holes in
the cover-up perpetrated by the Pentagon and three
presidential administrations ever since DU was
first used in 1991 in the Persian Gulf War.
Fourteen years after the introduction of DU on the
battlefield in 1991, the long-term effects have
revealed that DU is a death sentence and very
nasty stuff.
Scientists studying the biological effects of
uranium in the 1960s reported that it targets the
DNA. Marion Fulk, a nuclear physical chemist
retired from the Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab and
formerly involved with the Manhattan Project,
interprets the new and rapid malignancies in
soldiers from the 2003 war as "spectacular . and a
matter of concern."
This evidence shows that of the three effects
which DU has on biological systems - radiation,
chemical and particulate - the particulate effect
from nano-size particles is the most dominant one
immediately after exposure and targets the Master
Code in the DNA. This is bad news, but it explains
why DU causes a myriad of diseases which are
difficult to define.
In simple words, DU "trashes the body." When
asked if the main purpose for using it was for
destroying things and killing people, Fulk was
more specific: "I would say that it is the perfect
weapon for killing lots of people."
Soldiers developing malignancies so quickly
since 2003 can be expected to develop multiple
cancers from independent causes. This phenomenon
has been reported by doctors in hospitals treating
civilians following NATO bombing with DU in
Yugoslavia in 1998-1999 and the U.S. military
invasion of Iraq using DU for the first time in
1991. Medical experts report that this phenomenon
of multiple malignancies from unrelated causes has
been unknown until now and is a new syndrome
associated with internal DU exposure.
Just 467 U.S. personnel were wounded in the
three-week Persian Gulf War in 1990-1991. Out of
580,400 soldiers who served in Gulf War I, 11,000
are dead, and by 2000 there were 325,000 on
permanent medical disability. This astounding
number of disabled vets means that a decade later,
56 percent of those soldiers who served now have
medical problems.
The number of disabled vets reported up to
2000 has been increasing by 43,000 every year.
Brad Flohr of the Department of Veterans Affairs
told American Free Press that he believes there
are more disabled vets now than even after World
War II.
They brought it home
Not only were soldiers exposed to DU on and
off the battlefields, but they brought it home. DU
in the semen of soldiers internally contaminated
their wives, partners and girlfriends. Tragically,
some women in their 20s and 30s who were sexual
partners of exposed soldiers developed
endometriosis and were forced to have
hysterectomies because of health problems.
In a group of 251 soldiers from a study group
in Mississippi who had all had normal babies
before the Gulf War, 67 percent of their post-war
babies were born with severe birth defects. They
were born with missing legs, arms, organs or eyes
or had immune system and blood diseases. In some
veterans' families now, the only normal or healthy
members of the family are the children born before
the war.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has stated
that they do not keep records of birth defects
occurring in families of veterans.
How did they hide it?
Before a new weapons system can be used, it
must be fully tested. The blueprint for depleted
uranium weapons is a 1943 declassified document
from the Manhattan Project.
Harvard President and physicist James B.
Conant, who developed poison gas in World War I,
was brought into the Manhattan Project by the
father of presidential candidate John Kerry. Kerry
's father served at a high level in the Manhattan
Project and was a CIA agent.
Conant was chair of the S-1 Poison Gas
Committee, which recommended developing poison gas
weapons from the radioactive trash of the atomic
bomb project in World War II. At that time, it was
known that radioactive materials dispersed in
bombs from the air, from land vehicles or on the
battlefield produced very fine radioactive dust
which would penetrate all protective clothing, any
gas mask or filter or the skin. By contaminating
the lungs and blood, it could kill or cause
illness very quickly.
They also recommended it as a permanent
terrain contaminant, which could be used to
destroy populations by contaminating water
supplies and agricultural land with the
radioactive dust.
The first DU weapons system was developed for
the Navy in 1968, and DU weapons were given to and
used by Israel in 1973 under U.S. supervision in
the Yom Kippur war against the Arabs.
The Phalanx weapons system, using DU, was
tested on the USS Bigelow out of Hunters Point
Naval Shipyard in 1977, and DU weapons have been
sold by the U.S. to 29 countries.
Military research report summaries detail the
testing of DU from 1974-1999 at military testing
grounds, bombing and gunnery ranges and at
civilian labs under contract. Today 42 states are
contaminated with DU from manufacture, testing and
deployment.
Women living around these facilities have
reported increases in endometriosis, birth defects
in babies, leukemia in children and cancers and
other diseases in adults. Thousands of tons of DU
weapons tested for decades by the Navy on four
bombing and gunnery ranges around Fallon, Nevada,
is no doubt the cause of the fastest growing
leukemia cluster in the U.S. over the past decade.
The military denies that DU is the cause.
The medical profession has been active in the
cover-up - just as they were in hiding the effects
from the American public - of low level radiation
from atmospheric testing and nuclear power plants.
A medical doctor in Northern California reported
being trained by the Pentagon with other doctors,
months before the 2003 war started, to diagnose
and treat soldiers returning from the 2003 war for
mental problems only.
Medical professionals in hospitals and
facilities treating returning soldiers were
threatened with $10,000 fines if they talked about
the soldiers or their medical problems. They were
also threatened with jail.
Reporters have also been prevented access to
more than 14,000 medically evacuated soldiers
flown nightly since the 2003 war in C-150s from
Germany who are brought to Walter Reed Hospital
near Washington, D.C.
Dr. Robert Gould, former president of the Bay
Area chapter of Physicians for Social
Responsibility (PSR), has contacted three medical
doctors since February 2004, after I had been
invited to speak about DU. Dr. Katharine
Thomasson, president of the Oregon chapter of the
PSR, informed me that Dr. Gould had contacted her
and tried to convince her to cancel her invitation
for me to speak about DU at Portland State
University on April 12. Although I was able to do
a presentation, Dr. Thomasson told me I could only
talk about DU in Oregon "and nothing overseas .
nothing political."
Dr. Gould also contacted and discouraged Dr.
Ross Wilcox in Toronto, Canada, from inviting me
to speak to Physicians for Global Survival (PGS),
the Canadian equivalent of PSR, several months
later. When that didn't work, he contacted Dr.
Allan Connoly, the Canadian national president of
PGS, who was able to cancel my invitation and
nearly succeeded in preventing Dr. Wilcox, his own
member, from showing photos and presenting details
on civilians suffering from DU exposure and cancer
provided to him by doctors in southern Iraq.
Dr. Janette Sherman, a former and
long-standing member of PSR, reported that she
finally quit some time after being invited to
lunch by a new PSR executive administrator. After
the woman had pumped Dr. Sherman for information
all through lunch about her position on key
issues, the woman informed Dr. Sherman that her
last job had been with the CIA.
How was the truth about DU hidden from
military personnel serving in successive DU wars?
Before his tragic death, Sen. Paul Wellstone
informed Joyce Riley, R.N., B.S.N., executive
director of the American Gulf War Veterans
Association, that 95 percent of Gulf War veterans
had been recycled out of the military by 1995. Any
of those continuing in military service were
isolated from each other, preventing critical
information being transferred to new troops. The
"next DU war" had already been planned, and those
planning it wanted "no skunk at the garden party."
The US has a dirty (DU) little (CIA) secret
A new book just published at the American Free
Press by Michael Collins Piper, "The High Priests
of War: The Secret History of How America's
Neo-Conservative Trotskyites Came to Power and
Orchestrated the War Against Iraq as the First
Step in Their Drive for Global Empire," details
the early plans for a war against the Arab world
by Henry Kissinger and the neo-cons in the late
1960s and early 1970s. That just happens to
coincide with getting the DU "show on the road"
and the oil crisis in the Middle East, which
caused concern not only to President Nixon. The
British had been plotting and scheming for control
of the oil in Iraq for decades since first using
poison gas on the Iraqis and Kurds in 1912.
The book details the creation of the neo-cons
by their "godfather" and Trotsky lover Irving
Kristol, who pushed for a "war against terrorism"
long before 9/11 and was lavishly funded for years
by the CIA. His son, William Kristol, is one of
the most influential men in the United States.
Both are public relations men for the Israeli
lobby's neo-conservative network, with strong ties
to Rupert Murdoch. Kissinger also has ties to this
network and the Carlyle Group, who, one could say,
have facilitated these omnicidal wars beginning
from the time former President Bush took office.
It would be easy to say that we are recycling
World Wars I and II, with the same faces.
When I asked Vietnam Special Ops Green Beret
Capt. John McCarthy, who could have devised this
omnicidal plan to use DU to destroy the genetic
code and genetic future of large populations of
Arabs and Moslems in the Middle East and Central
Asia - just coincidentally the areas where most of
the world's oil deposits are located - he replied:
"It has all the handprints of Henry Kissinger."
In Zbignew Brzezinski's book "The Grand
Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic
Imperatives," the map of the Eurasian chessboard
includes four regions strategic to U.S. foreign
policy. The "South" region corresponds precisely
to the regions now contaminated permanently with
radiation from U.S. bombs, missiles and bullets
made with thousands of tons of DU.
A Japanese professor, Dr. K. Yagasaki, has
calculated that 800 tons of DU is the atomicity
equivalent of 83,000 Nagasaki bombs. The U.S. has
used more DU since 1991 than the atomicity
equivalent of 400,000 Nagasaki bombs. Four nuclear
wars indeed, and 10 times the amount of radiation
released into the atmosphere from atmospheric
testing!
No wonder our soldiers, their families and the
people of the Middle East, Yugoslavia and Central
Asia are sick. But as Henry Kissinger said after
Vietnam when our soldiers came home ill from Agent
Orange, "Military men are just dumb stupid animals
to be used for foreign policy."
Unfortunately, more and more of those soldiers
are men and women with brown skin. And
unfortunately, the DU radioactive dust will be
carried around the world and deposited in our
environments just as the "smog of war" from the
1991 Gulf War was found in deposits in South
America, the Himalayas and Hawaii.
In June 2003, the World Health Organization
announced in a press release that global cancer
rates will increase 50 percent by 2020. What else
do they know that they aren't telling us? I know
that depleted uranium is a death sentence . for
all of us. We will all die in silent ways.
To learn more:
Sources used in this story that readers are
encouraged to consult:
American Free Press four-part series on DU by
Christopher Bollyn. Part I: "Depleted Uranium:
U.S. Commits War Crime Against Iraq, Humanity,";
Part II: "Cancer Epidemic Caused by U.S. WMD: MD
Says Depleted Uranium Definitively Linked,"
August 2004 World Affairs Journal. Leuren
Moret: "Depleted Uranium: The Trojan Horse of
Nuclear War,"
August 2004 Coastal Post Online. Carol
Sterrit: "Marin Depleted Uranium Resolution Heats
Up - GI's Will Come Home To A Slow Death,"
World Depleted Uranium Weapons Conference,
Hamburg, Germany, October 16-19, 2004
International Criminal Tribunal for
Afghanistan. Written opinion of Judge Niloufer
Baghwat
"Discounted Casualties: The Human Cost of
Nuclear War" by Akira Tashiro, foreword by Leuren
Moret
----------
Leuren Moret is a geoscientist who has worked
around the world on radiation issues, educating
citizens, the media, members of parliaments and
Congress and other officials. She became a
whistleblower in 1991 at the Livermore Nuclear
Weapons Lab after experiencing major science fraud
on the Yucca Mountain Project. An environmental
commissioner in the City of Berkeley, she can be
reached at leurenmoret@yahoo.com.
_______________________________________________________________________
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*****************************************************************
19 BBC: Barents Sea 'faces major threats'
Last Updated: Wednesday, 25 August, 2004
By Alex Kirby BBC News Online environment correspondent
[Arctic trawlers in harbour A Kirby]
The waters of the Barents are cold and clean
Overfishing, pollution by the energy industry and the legacy of
the Cold War all threaten the future of the Barents Sea, the UN
Environment Programme says.
A Unep report says the overexploitation of fish stocks is "the
most alarming problem for the region at present".
It says the transport of oil and gas through the Barents Sea's
Arctic waters is likely to increase six-fold by 2020.
Other threats Unep identifies include the storage of radioactive
waste, and the introduction of new alien species.
Rules flouted
Unep's warning comes in a report prepared by its Global
International Waters Assessment division, and launched at the
Offshore Northern Seas conference in the Norwegian city of
Stavanger.
The report says the main reason for the various threats is an
absence of long-term planning and legislation, with cod and
haddock still overfished despite the existence of regulations and
controls.
It says the Barents Sea, which lies north of Norway and Russia in
the Arctic Ocean, is much cleaner than other European seas.
But pollution, it says, is the next most serious problem, because
of the risks linked to the expansion of the hydrocarbon
industries in the region.
Russia's Klondike
Dr Klaus Toepfer, Unep's executive director, said, "The increased
exploration activities for petroleum resources in the Barents
Sea, the offshore developments and the shipping of oil and gas
along the coasts represent significant potential threats."
[Oil tanker AP]
Tanker movements are set for a huge increase
The report says the development of the huge oil and gas deposits
on Russia's Arctic shelf will increase oil transport to 40
million tonnes by 2020, increasing trans-Barents shipping by a
factor of six.
It says the risk of accidental oil spills is expected to increase
in the near future, and suggests ways to cut the risk of possible
emergencies, including safety plans to prevent accidental oil
spills, and contingency plans for responding to accidents.
The region around the Russian port of Murmansk houses more
radioactive waste than anywhere else in the world.
Scuttling westwards
Unep says current levels of radioactivity are low and pose no
threat to human health or the environment, but it calls for
long-term strategies for the handling of stored nuclear material
in the region.
The most striking example it cites of an alien species is the
king crab, deliberately introduced to the Barents Sea in Soviet
times.
Unep fears the crab may be competing with other species and
damaging commercially-important fish stocks.
It says another problem is the unintentional introduction of
alien species in the ballast water of oil tankers, posing a
serious threat to the economy of northern Norway as well as to
coastal communities in Russia.
*****************************************************************
20 projo.com: Dispute over emissions impacts
Providence, R.I.,
East Side residents argue that the federal government did not
sufficiently study the impact of the facility's air emissions on
the neighborhood.
07:49 AM EDT on Wednesday, August 25, 2004
BY MICHAEL CORKERY Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- A group of East Side residents is suing Brown
University in U.S. District Court over the construction of a
$95-million Life Sciences Building, claiming that the school and
federal government failed to adequately assess the hazardous
waste that the facility could produce.
The lawsuit also names the U.S. Department of Energy and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which together are
contributing about $6.2 million to the project.
The residents argue that the federal government did not
sufficiently study the impact of the building's air emissions on
the surrounding neighborhood.
"We think it's a dangerous, hazardous building, and it has no
place near a residential neighborhood," said William Touret, a
plaintiff.
In response, Brown cites a federal environment assessment that
shows the building would have no adverse impact on nearby homes.
The lawsuit comes after months of neighborhood opposition to the
project, which is located in a dense residential and commercial
area, near Thayer Street.
The suit was filed by 11 residents, a KSD trustee and the College
Hill Neighborhood Association in May, about seven months after
construction began.
Brown, meanwhile, has dug the building's gaping foundation on
Meeting Street and expects to complete the project by 2006. The
plaintiffs are asking the judge to stop the construction until a
new environmental study is completed.
At the heart of the lawsuit is the constant tension between the
East Side's educational institutions and its organized and
outspoken residents.
The five-story Life Sciences Building represents one of Brown's
largest, most expensive expansion projects in recent years, but
some residents claim they were given scant opportunity to voice
their concerns.
The legal dispute revolves around the type of environmental study
that was conducted on the proposed building.
NASA and the Department of Energy published an environment
assessment, which found that the emission of gases and other
wastes from the building would have "no significant impact" on
the neighborhood.
The residents argue the report is insufficient. They claim that
the agencies were required by law to produce a more rigorous
environmental impact statement.
The federal agencies and Brown University stand by their findings
that the neighborhood will not be harmed and have asked U.S.
District Judge Ernest C. Torres to dismiss the lawsuit.
Federal investigators determined that about 1,500 pounds of
"fugitive emissions" would be released a year from the building
-- primarily from the use of ethanol -- a common substance used
in biological research.
None of these emissions would rise to a level requiring an air
toxics permit from the state Department of Environmental
Management, according to the report.
All hazardous and radioactive waste would be stored in designated
rooms and subject to federal and state regulations, the report
states.
The report, which was conducted by NASA and the Energy
Department, concludes that neither the construction or operation
of the building would have a "significant impact on the quality
of the human environment."
The Life Sciences Building will house Brown's molecular biology,
biochemistry and neuroscience departments. According to Brown
University, more than 50 faculty members will work in the
building over the next several years.
Brown considered building the facility in seven different
locations, according to the assessment. In the end, school
officials decided that locating the building off campus would
hinder undergraduates from accessing it.
Brown is also building a new biomedical research facility, at 70
Ship St., in the Jewelry District. Together, the two projects are
Brown's first major investments in life sciences research space
in more than a decade.
Touret says Brown is chasing after funding for research, without
heeding the concerns of its neighbors.
"The goal of this is to attract federal research funding," Touret
said. "There is a lot of money at stake. That is what is driving
Brown."
Brown spokeswoman Tracie Sweeney declined to comment on the
complaints in the lawsuit. She said the school concurs with the
federal findings.
© Belo Interactive Inc. [http://www.belointeractive.com]
*****************************************************************
21 EPA: Withdrawal of Rule on Uranium contamination of water
FR Doc 04-19334
[Federal Register: August 25, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 164)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 52181-52182]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25au04-9]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 141
[OW-2003-0067; FRL-7805-6]
RIN 2040-AE62
Withdrawal of Direct Final Rule; National Primary Drinking Water
Regulations: Analytical Method for Uranium
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Withdrawal of direct final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
------
SUMMARY: EPA published a direct final rule on June 2, 2004 (69
FR
31008), concerning three additional analytical methods for
compliance
determinations of uranium in drinking water. EPA stated in the
direct
final rule that if the Agency received adverse comment by July
2, 2004,
EPA would publish a timely notice of withdrawal in the Federal
Register. We subsequently received a somewhat ambiguous comment
letter.
EPA will address the comments in that letter in a final action
based on
the parallel proposal also published on June 2, 2004 (69 FR
31068). As
stated in the parallel proposal, we will not institute a second
comment
period on this action.
DATES: As of August 25, 2004, EPA withdraws the direct final
rule
published at 69 FR 31008 on June 2, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: General Information--Lisa
Christ,
Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, Mail Code: 4606M,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 564-8354; e-mail
address:
christ.lisa@epa.gov [christ.lisa@epa.gov] . Technical
information--David Huber, Office of
Ground Water and Drinking Water, Mail Code: 4606M, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200
[[Page 52182]]
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number:
(202)
564-4878; e-mail address: huber.david@epa.gov
[huber.david@epa.gov] .
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA published the direct final rule
and
companion proposed rule for approval of the use of three
additional
analytical methods for compliance determinations of uranium in
drinking
water in the Federal Register on June 2, 2004 (69 FR 31008 and
31068).
In the companion proposal, EPA proposed the approval of three
methods
that use an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
(ICP-MS)
technology. Specifically, EPA proposed the approval of ICP-MS
methods
published by EPA, ASTM International, and the Standard Methods
Committee (EPA 200.8, ASTM D5673-03, and SM 3125) for compliance
determinations of uranium in drinking water. The proposed
approval of
the three ICP-MS methods did not affect approval of the 15
methods
currently specified at 40 CFR 141.25(a) for compliance
determinations
of uranium.
In the companion proposed rule (69 FR 31068) section of the
June 2,
2004, EPA invited comment on the substance of the direct final
rule and
stated that if adverse comments were received by July 2, 2004,
the
direct final rule would not become effective and a notice would
be
published in the Federal Register to withdraw the direct final
rule
before the August 31, 2004, effective date. The EPA subsequently
received comment on the proposed rule.
List of Subjects for 40 CFR Part 141
Environmental protection, Chemicals, Incorporation by
reference,
Indians-lands, Intergovernmental relations, Radiation
protection,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Water supply.
Dated: August 5, 2004.
Benjamin H. Grumbles,
Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 04-19334 Filed 8-24-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
*****************************************************************
22 Las Vegas RJ: Nuclear industry appeals Yucca ruling
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Attorneys for the Nuclear Energy Institute asked a
federal appeals court to reconsider a July ruling against a key
part of the Yucca Mountain Project, saying judges made mistakes
in applying the law.
The advocacy arm of the nuclear power industry urged a review by
the full court before judges formalize a decision that has
roiled plans for a nuclear waste repository.
The bid to persuade the court to reopen the Yucca Mountain case
is a long shot.
"We can go whole years without that happening," said Mark
Langer, clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit, where the NEI appeal was filed late Monday.
Langer said motions to reconsider a case, or to have it
reviewed by all the judges in the circuit, usually are limited
to "extraordinary circumstances."
"There would have to be some extraordinarily egregious error or
conflict with prior precedent before the court," Langer said.
He did not comment specifically on the Yucca case, which was
decided unanimously by a three-judge panel.
Government attorneys declined to file an appeal. An Energy
Department spokesman said federal agencies will devise a new
radiation health rule for the Yucca repository after the judges,
in one of their major decisions, threw out a 10,000-year
protection standard as inadequate.
In their appeal, NEI lawyers said the court's ruling on the
radiation issue was inconsistent with earlier decisions that
give federal agencies authority to write regulations.
The judges ruled the Environmental Protection Agency
disregarded a National Academy of Sciences study that
recommended repository radiation safeguards be proved effective
for hundreds of thousands of years, rather than the 10,000 years
set by the EPA.
But NEI said the judges made a mistake to subordinate EPA's
authority to a private organization like the academy. And since
the national academy was created by Congress, NEI attorneys
said, the July ruling upset the separation of powers between the
legislative branch and the executive branch.
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
23 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Ultimate double take
LAS VEGAS SUN
Informed viewers in Nevada will do a double take when President
Bush's latest re-election ad comes across their TV screens. The
pitchman for Bush ravages John Kerry' voting record on Yucca
Mountain.
What?! Does the Bush campaign really believe Nevadans are that
ill-informed? Yes, Kerry did vote in 1987 to restrict the search
for a nuclear waste site to Nevada (but not to "establish" it,
as the ad says). Subsequently, though, in votes strictly related
to Yucca, Kerry voted against the project. Bush's ad goes on to
focus on other yes votes cast by Kerry affecting Yucca issues.
It distorts the truth, however, by not mentioning that these
Yucca issues had been tacked on to important bills regarding
other subjects that Kerry felt compelled to support.
While Bush has been on a mad dash to stick Nevada with Yucca
Mountain, Kerry has sided with us. In 2002 Bush persuaded a
majority of Congress -- but not Kerry -- to vote for Yucca
Mountain. Candidate Bush in 2000 promised to use "sound science"
in judging Yucca's fate, but as President Bush he abandoned the
promise.
Kerry is four-square against Yucca; Bush is full-speed ahead.
To suggest otherwise takes the worst kind of gall -- the kind
that leads candidates to beat their chests while stamping on the
truth.
*****************************************************************
24 Herald Sun: The Nimby fallout
[25aug04]
launchTime: 21-08-2004-->
[http://www.heraldsun.com.au]
25aug04
REPORTS that the Federal Government is considering establishing a
nuclear waste dump in Victoria has caused predictable outrage.
The not-in-my-back yard syndrome, backed by a Federal Court
ruling, has already forced the Government to abandon plans for
such a dump in the desert in outback South Australia.
Now Fran Bailey, Minister assisting Defence Minister Robert Hill,
has described as ``not at all accurate'' that Puckapunyal and
Bandiana in Victoria and Mulwala in New South Wales were on a
short list.
Even though her words imply there are degrees of accuracy, her
concern to set the record straight is understandable, given that
Puckapunyal is in her electorate.
The Federal Government's search for a site is because the
Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency won't
approve the new $335 million nuclear reactor in Sydney's Lucas
Heights until a dump site is found.
The reactor is an important facility; a nuclear dump somewhere is
inevitable.
But, as well as South Australia, Western Australia and the
Northern Territory are actively working to avoid playing host.
The Bracks Government has justifiably vowed to fight any move to
build a nuclear dump here -- it is already having enough trouble
over its plans for a toxic waste dump near Mildura.
Australia is renowned for wide-open spaces. There is no cause to
dump nuclear waste in closely settled states such as Victoria.
Surely a remote corner of this wide, brown land can be found, far
enough from the Nimbys to keep everyone happy?
© Herald and Weekly Times
*****************************************************************
25 Paducah Sun: USEC seeks centrifuge plant permit -
[http://www.paducahsun.com/] The Paducah Sun Paducah, Kentucky
By Joe Walker
jwalker@paducahsun.com [jwalker@paducahsun.com] --270.575.8656
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
USEC Inc. has applied with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for
a license to build and operate a gas centrifuge plant in Piketon,
Ohio, by the end of the decade.
The Bethesda, Md., firm filed the request Monday, seven months
ahead of schedule. It is the latest step toward replacing the
1,300-employee Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, whose technology
is outdated and expensive. USEC plans to phase out the plant
starting in 2010 and replace it with a revamped decades-old
technology called American Centrifuge.
Before granting the Piketon plant license, the NRC will do an
extensive safety and environmental review, USEC said. Employing
500, the factory will be housed in some of the same buildings
where the Department of Energy operated hundreds of similar
centrifuge machines in the early 1980s. By leasing facilities
from DOE — including process buildings large enough to house 20
football fields — USEC expects to reduce deployment costs and
save time.
The license application seeks an initial annual production
capacity of 3.5 million units of enriched uranium — the same
minimum amount at which the Paducah plant must be operated under
terms of a June 2002 agreement with the Energy Department. The
Paducah plant normally produces about 5 million units a year.
According to the agreement, Paducah's minimum standard may be
reduced only after USEC is within six months of operating a
replacement gas centrifuge plant with the same capacity.
An environmental report submitted with the NRC application also
evaluates the modular expansion of the Piketon plant to a maximum
annual production capacity of 7 million units. Completing the
evaluation should make it easier in the future for USEC to amend
the license to expand capacity beyond 3.5 million units, the firm
said.
*****************************************************************
26 Scoop: Greenpeace concerns over plutonium shipment
[http://www.scoop.co.nz/]
Thursday, 26 August 2004, 9:13 am
Press Release: Greenpeace
Greenpeace concerns over plutonium shipment echoed by US
Congressmen
Paris, August 25, 2004 - Greenpeace today reiterated its
opposition to the planned transport of plutonium from US to
France as US Congressman Jim Turner expressed his concerns over
the same controversial shipment.
Turner, a Democrat Congressman on the US Select Committee on
Homeland Security, has communicated Spencer Abraham, US
Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary, that he is concerned about
the lack of security for the proposed shipment.
"This shipment is unnecessary and dangerous and must be stopped,"
said Tom Clements of Greenpeace International. "While on the one
hand Bush is voicing his concerns about international terrorism
and security, on the other he is pushing forward this dangerous
plan to ship nuclear material around the world. It's a relief to
hear these ill-conceived plans being questioned."
Greenpeace has recently met with members of the U.S. Government
Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative branch of
Congress, to discuss the shipment and view a video that exposes
the lack of security measures provided for previous transports of
plutonium in France.
The Bush Administration plans to ship the plutonium from
Charleston, South Carolina to Cherbourg, France in two lightly
armed UK-flagged ships. The 140 kilograms of weapons-grade
plutonium would be carried in containers that would not withstand
an attack by a rocket-propelled grenade (1). Once in France, the
nuclear material will be transported 1,000 km south of the
country in lightly guarded trucks that could also be subject to
attack or theft.
Another US Congressman has also questioned adequacy of security
for the shipment. Rep. Edward Markey Questions released letters
to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday regarding the upcoming
shipment (2). He expressed his concern that the Bush
Administration isn't doing enough to ensure full protection
against possible terrorist threats.
Greenpeace advocates treating plutonium as a nuclear waste
through immobilization, which is a safer, cheaper, and more
secure method.
For more information please contact: Tom Clements - Greenpeace
International Nuclear Campaigner, + 1 202 415 6158 Yannick
Rousselet - Greenpeace France Nuclear Campaigner, +33 685 806 559
Cecilia Goin, Greenpeace International Media Officer, + 31 6 212
96 908
Notes to Editor: (1). According to the French Government's agency
IRSN - Institut de Radioprotection et Sûreté Nucléaire:
http://www.irsn.fr/net-science/liblocal/docs/docs_DEND/frenchappr
oach.pdf
(2) News release and letter at: http://www.house.gov/markey/ To
get the video clips see:
http://frodo.greenpeace.org/photos/pumovies/ For domestic action
to halt plutonium transport in France, see:
http://www.stop-plutonium.org
For local opposition to the US plutonium shipment via Charleston,
South Carolina: http://www.noplutonium.org
Home Page [http://www.scoop.co.nz/welcome.htm] | International
[http://www.scoop.co.nz/international.htm] | Previous Story
[http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0408/S00248.htm] | Next Story
[http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0408/S00250.htm]
Copyright (c) Scoop Media
[http://www.positive-energy.co.nz/]
*****************************************************************
27 Pahrump Valley Times: Yucca Mt: Wrong direction
Nye County's Largest Newspaper Circulation
August 25, 2004
It's hard to move forward when the back pedaling is so furious
and that's what the state Democrats are doing with the latest
revelation that their hero fight against Yucca Mountain, John
Kerry, voted in support of developing Yucca Mountain as a
repository.
I'm either going to get dizzy or get caught in a serious web as
the political spinner do their damage control and try to put
Senator Kerry in a better light. But, the facts remain that John
Kerry supported what is commonly referred to as the Screw Nevada
Bill in 1987 that singled out Yucca Mountain as the only site to
be studied. And nine years ago, John Kerry went against Senator
Reid and then Senator Bryan to reduce the budget for Yucca
Mountain.
The Democrats have been pushing Kerry's long time opposition to
Yucca Mountain now it looks like another flip-flop from Senator
Kerry. John Kerry is consistent in one area, he selected John
Edwards as his vice president and Edwards supported Yucca
Mountain as a Senator from North Carolina and now John Edwards
says he's against Yucca Mountain.
They flip-flop more than a cook at a pancake house - Kerry and
Edwards better watch their weight because it looks like they want
their cake and eat it, too.
CHRISTI TURNER
LAS VEGAS
For comment or questions, please e-mail
[webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com]
Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2003
*****************************************************************
28 Pahrump Valley Times: Government declines appeal of Yucca ruling
Nye County's Largest Newspaper Circulation
August 25, 2004
By STEVE TETREAULT PVT WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON - The nuclear power industry will be acting alone to
appeal a federal court ruling on Yucca Mountain after government
agencies decided not to prolong a legal fight over the nuclear
waste project, officials said Monday.
Rather than return to court, the government will seek to rework
a 10,000-year radiation protection standard that was thrown out
on July 9 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit, according to Energy Department spokesman Joe
Davis.
"Our general belief is that the framework the court decision
required is a workable deal," Davis said. "Our best way to
proceed is not to engage in litigation but to allow the
Environmental Protection Agency to develop a regulatory response.
"Whatever standard they come up with, our commitment is to ensure
the repository will meet the standard," Davis said.
The decision to pass up an appeal was made by the Justice
Department in collaboration with attorneys from the Energy
Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, Davis said.
Davis said the Energy Department still plans to file a repository
application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by the end of
the year, although NRC officials have said they are unsure
whether it can be docketed without complete safety standards in
place.
The government's decision to sit this one out appears to give
some shape to other potential paths forward for the embattled
Yucca Mountain Project.
Besides the possibility of reworking repository radiation rules,
Yucca supporters in Congress are contemplating an attempt to
overturn the court's ruling through legislation. The New York
Times in an editorial encouraged that option on Monday.
And while Davis said the government would not seek a rehearing
at the appeals court level, he did not rule out asking the
Supreme Court to take up the case directly. A deadline to file a
Supreme Court petition falls in November.
The Justice Department did not reply to a request for comment.
An EPA spokesman said he had no information on the matter.
The EPA official, John Millett, also said it was too soon to
discuss plans within the agency to rework the invalidated
radiation standard.
Nevada officials had expected a government appeal but welcomed
the absence of one.
"For us it seems to be good news in the sense they are
acknowledging we were right on the merits of the EPA standards,
and it keeps us from having to pay lawyers more money," said Bob
Loux, executive director of the state Agency for Nuclear
Projects.
Joe Egan, the state's lead nuclear waste lawyer, said it was
possible the Justice Department withheld a rehearing request
before the circuit court - considered a long shot by many
attorneys - so as not to damage a possible case before the
Supreme Court.
"There is a theory that would say if the case had been denied
rehearing, it would be one more strike against it on a cert
petition," Egan said, referring to the writ of certiorari the
Supreme Court would need to issue in order to consider the case.
While the government is staying out of court for now, attorneys
for the Nuclear Energy Institute planned to submit a 15-page
petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals by a midnight Monday
deadline, spokeswoman Melanie Lyons said.
The NEI was requesting the court reconsider its July ruling that
threw out an EPA standard requiring the nuclear repository shield
the public from radiation doses for 10,000 years. A three-judge
panel said the EPA deviated from a National Academy of Sciences
study that recommended safeguards be extended thousands of years
longer.
"We take issue with the court's July decision because the EPA did
what it was supposed to do by starting with the NAS report,
factoring in policy considerations and coming up with a
standard," said Michael Bauser, NEI associate general counsel.
The NEI, the nuclear industry's lobbying arm, also appealed a
second issue in the court's July 9 ruling.
The judges upheld a separate radiation standard for groundwater
outside the repository over the industry's objections that it
provided no additional protections while being costly and
time-consuming for the Energy Department to meet.
For comment or questions, please e-mail
webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com
[webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com] Copyright © Pahrump Valley
Times, 1997 - 2003
*****************************************************************
29 NRC: In the Matter of All Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
FR Doc 04-19404
[Federal Register: August 25, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 164)]
[Notices] [Page 52314-52317] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr25au04-118]
Licensees Order Modifying License (Effective Immediately) AGENCY:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Issuance of order for implementation of additional
security measures associated with access authorization.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Barr, Project Manager,
Licensing and Inspection Directorate, Spent Fuel Project Office,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Rockville, MD 20852. Telephone: (301)
415-4015; fax number: (301) 415-8555; e-mail CSB2@nrc.gov
[CSB2@nrc.gov] .
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Introduction Pursuant to 10 CFR
2.106, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is providing
notice in the matter of all independent spent fuel storage
installation licensees order modifying license (effective
immediately).
II. Further Information I The licensees identified in Attachment
2 to this Order hold licenses issued by the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) authorizing the
operation of Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI)
facilities in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and
Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) part 50
and/or 10 CFR part 72. Commission regulations at 10 CFR 72.184
and 10 CFR 72.212 require these licensees to have a safeguards
contingency plan to respond to threats of radiological sabotage,
and to protect the spent fuel against the threat of radiological
sabotage.
Inasmuch as an insider has an opportunity equal to or greater
than any other person to commit radiological sabotage, the
Commission has determined these measures to be prudent. This
Order is being issued to all licensees who currently store spent
fuel or have identified near term plans to store spent fuel in an
ISFSI.
II On September 11, 2001, terrorists simultaneously attacked
targets in New York, N.Y., and Washington, DC, utilizing large
commercial aircraft as weapons. In response to the attacks and
intelligence information subsequently obtained, the Commission
issued a number of Safeguards and Threat Advisories to its
licensees in order to strengthen licensees' capabilities and
readiness to respond to a potential attack on a nuclear facility.
On October 16, 2002, the Commission issued Orders to the
licensees of operating independent spent fuel storage
installations to put the actions taken in response to the
Advisories in the established regulatory framework and to
implement additional security enhancements which emerged from the
NRC's ongoing comprehensive review. The Commission has also
communicated with other Federal, State, local government agencies
and industry representatives to discuss and evaluate the current
threat environment in order to assess the adequacy of security
measures at licensed facilities. In addition, the Commission has
been conducting a comprehensive review of its safeguards and
security programs and requirements.
As a result of its consideration of current safeguards and
security requirements, as well as a review of information
provided by the intelligence community, the Commission has
determined that certain additional security measures are required
to address the current threat environment in a consistent manner
throughout the nuclear ISFSI community. Therefore, the Commission
is imposing requirements, as set forth in Attachment 1 \1\ of
this Order, on all licensees of these facilities. These
requirements, which supplement existing regulatory requirements,
will provide the Commission with reasonable assurance that the
public health and safety and common defense and security continue
to be adequately protected in the current threat environment.
These requirements will remain in effect until the Commission
determines otherwise.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
---------- \1\ Attachment 1 contains SAFEGUARDS INFORMATION and
will not be released to the public.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
----------
[[Page 52315]] The Commission recognizes that licensees may have
already initiated many of the measures set forth in Attachment 1
to this Order in response to previously issued advisories, the
October 2002 Order, or on their own. It also recognizes that some
measures may not be possible or necessary at some sites, may need
to be tailored to accommodate the specific circumstances existing
at the licensee's facility to achieve the intended objectives and
avoid any unforeseen effect on the safe storage of spent fuel.
Although the additional security measures implemented by
licensees in response to the Safeguards and Threat Advisories
have been adequate to provide reasonable assurance of adequate
protection of public health and safety, the Commission concludes
that these actions must be supplemented further because the
current threat environment continues to persist. Therefore, it is
appropriate to require certain additional security measures and
these measures must be embodied in an Order, consistent with the
established regulatory framework. In order to provide assurance
that licensees are implementing prudent measures to achieve a
consistent level of protection to address the current threat
environment, licenses issued pursuant to 10 CFR 72.40 and 10 CFR
72.210 to the licensees identified in Attachment 2 to this Order
shall be modified to include the requirements identified in
Attachment 1 to this Order. In addition, pursuant to 10 CFR
2.202, I find that in the circumstances described above, the
public health, safety and interest require that this Order be
immediately effective.
III Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 53, 103, 104, 161b, 161i,
161o, 182 and 186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended,
and the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR parts
50, 72 and 73, it is hereby ordered, effective immediately, that
all licenses identified in Attachment 2 to this order is modified
as follows: A. All licensees shall, notwithstanding the
provisions of any Commission regulation or license to the
contrary, comply with the requirements described in Attachment 1
to this Order except to the extent that a more stringent
requirement is set forth in the licensee's security plan. The
licensees shall immediately start implementation of the
requirements in Attachment 1 to the Order and shall complete
implementation no later than 180 days from the date of this Order
with the exception of the additional security measures B.4, which
shall be implemented no later than 365 days from the date of this
Order, or the first day that spent fuel is initially placed in
the ISFSI, whichever is later.
B. 1. The Licensee shall, within twenty (20) days of the date of
this Order, notify the Commission, (1) if it is unable to comply
with any of the requirements described in Attachment 1, (2) if
compliance with any of the requirements is unnecessary in their
specific circumstances, or (3) if implementation of any of the
requirements would cause the licensee to be in violation of the
provisions of any Commission regulation or the facility license.
The notification shall provide the licensee's justification for
seeking relief from or variation of any specific requirement.
2. Any licensee that considers that implementation of any of the
requirements described in Attachment 1 to this Order would
adversely impact the safe storage of spent fuel must notify the
Commission, within twenty (20) days of this Order, of the adverse
safety impact, the basis for its determination that the
requirement has an adverse safety impact, and either a proposal
for achieving the same objectives specified in the Attachment 1
requirements in question, or a schedule for modifying the
facility to address the adverse safety condition. If neither
approach is appropriate, the licensee must supplement its
response to Condition B.1 of this Order to identify the condition
as a requirement with which it cannot comply, with attendant
justifications as required under Condition B.1. C. 1. All
licensees shall, within twenty (20) days of this Order, submit to
the Commission a schedule for achieving compliance with each
requirement described in Attachment 1.
2. All licensees shall report to the Commission when they have
achieved full compliance with the requirements described in
Attachment 1.
D. Notwithstanding the provisions of 10 CFR 72.186 and 10 CFR
72.212(b)(5), all measures implemented or actions taken in
response to this Order shall be maintained until the Commission
determines otherwise. Licensee's response to Conditions B.1, B.2,
C.1, and C.2, above shall be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR
72.4. In addition, licensee submittals that contain Safeguards
Information shall be properly marked and handled in accordance
with 10 CFR 73.21. The Director, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, may, in writing, relax or rescind any of
the above conditions upon demonstration by the Licensee of good
cause.
IV In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202, the licensee must, and any
other person adversely affected by this Order may, submit an
answer to this Order, and may request a hearing on this Order,
within twenty (20) days of the date of this Order. Where good
cause is shown, consideration will be given to extending the time
to request a hearing. A request for extension of time in which to
submit an answer must be made in writing to the Director, Office
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, and include a
statement of good cause for the extension. The answer may consent
to this Order. Unless the answer consents to this Order, the
answer shall, in writing and under oath or affirmation,
specifically set forth the matters of fact and law on which the
licensee or other person adversely affected relies and the
reasons as to why the Order should not have been issued. Any
answer or request for a hearing shall be submitted to the
Secretary, Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ATTN: Rulemakings and
Adjudications Staff, Washington, DC 20555. Copies also shall be
sent to the Director, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555, to the Assistant General Counsel for Materials Litigation
and Enforcement at the same address, to the Regional
Administrator for NRC Region I, II, III or IV as appropriate for
the specific facility; and to the licensee if the answer or
hearing request is by a person other than the licensee. Because
of possible disruptions in delivery of mail to United States
Government offices, it is requested that requests for a hearing
be transmitted to the Secretary of the Commission either by means
of facsimile transmission to 301-415-1101 or by e-mail to
hearingdocket@nrc.gov [hearingdocket@nrc.gov] and also to the
Office of General Counsel either by means of facsimile
transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to
OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov [OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov] . If a person other
than the licensee requests a hearing, that person shall set forth
with particularity the manner in which his/her interest is
adversely affected by this Order and shall address the criteria
set forth in 10 CFR 2.714(d). If a hearing is requested by the
Licensee or a person whose interest is adversely affected, the
Commission will issue an Order designating the time and place of
any hearing. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered at
such hearing shall be whether this Order should be sustained.
[[Page 52316]] Pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202(c)(2)(i), the Licensee
may, in addition to demanding a hearing at the time the answer is
filed or sooner, move the presiding officer to set aside the
immediate effectiveness of the Order on the grounds that the
Order, including the need for immediate effectiveness, is not
based on adequate evidence but on mere suspicion, unfounded
allegations or error.
In the absence of any request for hearing or written approval of
an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the
provisions specified in Section III above shall be final twenty
(20) days from the date of this Order without further order or
proceedings. If an extension of time for requesting a hearing has
been approved, the provisions specified in Section III shall be
final when the extension expires, if a hearing request has not
been received. An answer or a request for hearing shall not stay
the immediate effectiveness of this order.
Dated this 18th day of August, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Margaret V. Federline, Deputy Director, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards.
Attachment 2 To Order Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation
Addressee List James E. Ellis, Manager, Morris Operation, General
Electric Company, GE Morris Operation Plant, Docket No. 72-1,
7555 East Collins Road, Morris, IL 60450-9740.
David A. Christian, Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear
Officer, Virginia Electric and Power Company, Surry Power
Station, Units 1 and 2, Docket No. 72-2, Innsbrook Technical
Center, 5000 Dominion Boulevard, Glen Allen, VA 23060-6711.
J. W. Moyer, Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer,
Progress Energy, H. B. Robinson Steam Electric Plant, Unit 2,
Docket No. 72-3,3581 West Entrance Road, Hartsville, NC 29550.
Henry B. Barron, Group Vice President Nuclear Generation and
Chief Nuclear Officer, Duke Power Company, Oconee Nuclear
Station, Units 1, 2 and 3, Docket No. 72-4, 526 South Church
Street, EC07H, P.O Box 1006 (28201-1006), Charlotte, NC 28202.
John Paul Cowan, Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear
Officer, Nuclear Management Company, LLC, Point Beach Nuclear
Plant, Units 1 and 2, Docket No. 72-5, 700 First Street, Hudson,
WI 54016.
John Paul Cowan, Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear
Officer, Nuclear Management Company, LLC, Palisades Nuclear
Plant, Docket No. 72-7, 700 First Street, Hudson, WI 54016.
George Vanderheyden, Vice President, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power
Plant, Inc. Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2,
Docket No. 72-8, 1650 Calvert Cliffs Parkway, Lusby, MD
20357-4702. Elizabeth D. Sellers, Manager, INEEL c/o Deeann
Long-Security, U.S. DOE, Idaho Operations Office, South, Fort
Saint Vrain Power Station, Docket No. 72-9, 785 DOE Place,
Mailstop 1170, Idaho Falls, ID 83401- 1203, John Paul Cowan,
Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Nuclear
Management Company, LLC, Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant,
Docket No. 72-10, 700 First Street, Hudson, WI 54016.
Steve Redecker, Plant Manager, Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating
Station, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Rancho Seco
Nuclear Generating Station, Docket No. 72-11, 14440 Twin Cities
Road, Herald, CA 95638-9799, Michael Kansler, President, Entergy
Nuclear Operations, Inc.
James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant, Docket No. 72-12, 440
Hamilton Avenue, White Plains, NY 10601.
Jeffrey S. Forbes, Site Vice President, Entergy Nuclear
Operations, Inc., Arkansas Nuclear One, Units 1 and 2, Docket No.
72-13, 1448 S. R. 333, Russelville, AR 72802.
Gary Leidich, Vice President, First Energy, Davis-Besse Nuclear
Power Station, Docket No. 72-14, 76 S. Main Street, Akron, OH
44308.
Christopher M. Crane, President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Exelon
Generation Company, LLC, Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station,
Docket No. 72-15, 4300 Winfield Road, Warrenville, IL 60555.
David A. Christian, Senior Vice President and Chief Nuclear
Officer, Virginia Electric and Power Company, North Anna Power
Station, Docket No. 72-16, Innsbrook Technical Center, 5000
Dominion Boulevard, Glen Allen, VA 23060-6711.
Stephen M. Quennoz, Vice President Power Supply Generation,
Portland General Electric Company, Trojan Nuclear Power Plant,
Docket No. 72-17, 121 South West Salmon Street, Portland, OR
97204. Elizabeth D. Sellers, Manager, INEEL, c/o Deeann
Long-Security, US DOE, Idaho Operations Office, South, Three Mile
Island Power Station, Unit 2, Docket No. 72-20, 785 DOE Place,
Mailstop 1170, Idaho Falls, ID 83401-1203.
Bryce L. Shriver, Senior Vice President and CNO, Susquehanna
Steam Electric Company, Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Units
1 and 2, Docket No. 72-28, 2 North Ninth Street, Allentown, PA
18101. Christopher M. Crane, President and CNO, Exelon Generation
Company, LLC, Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3,
Docket No. 72- 29, 4300 Winfield Road, Warrenville, IL 60555.
Michael Meisner, Chief Nuclear Officer, Maine Yankee Atomic Power
Company, Maine Yankee Atomic Power Station, Docket No. 72-30, 321
Old Ferry Road, Wiscasset, ME 04578-4922.
Richard Kackick, Chief Nuclear Officer, Yankee Atomic Electric
Company, Yankee Rowe Nuclear Power Station, Docket No. 72-31, 19
Midstate Drive, Suite 200, Auburn, MA 01501.
John Paul Cowan, Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear
Officer, Nuclear Management Company, LLC, Duane Arnold Energy
Center, Docket No. 72-32, 700 First Street, Hudson, WI 54016.
Karl Singer, Chief Nuclear Officer, Tennessee Valley Authority,
Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, Docket No. 72-34, 1101
Market Street 6A Lookout Place, Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801.
J.V. Parrish, Chief Nuclear Officer, Energy Northwest MD 1023,
Columbia Generating Station, Docket No. 72-35, Snake River
Warehouse North Power Loop, Richland, WA 99352.
Louis Sumner, Site Vice President, Southern Nuclear Operating
Company, Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, Docket No.
72-36, 40 Inverness Center Parkway, Birmingham, AL 35242.
Christopher M. Crane, President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Exelon
Generation Company, LLC, Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Units 2
and 3, Docket No. 72-37, 4300 Winfield Road, Warrenville, IL
60555. Henry B. Barron, Group Vice President Nuclear Generation
and Chief Nuclear Officer, Duke Power Company, William B. McGuire
Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2, Docket No. 72-38, 526 South
Church Street, EC07H, P.O Box 1006 (28201-1006), Charlotte, NC
28202. Wayne A. Norton, President, Connecticut Yankee Atomic
Power Company, Haddam Neck Nuclear Plant, Docket No. 72-39, 362
Injun Hollow Road, East Hampton, CT 06424-3099.
Henry B. Barron, Group Vice President Nuclear Generation and
Chief Nuclear Officer, Duke Power Company, Oconee Nuclear
Station, Docket No. 72-40, 526 South Church Street, EC07H, P.O
Box 1006 (28201-1006), Charlotte, NC 28202.
Harold B. Ray, Executive Vice President, Southern California
Edison,
[[Page 52317]] San Onofre Nuclear Station, Units 2 and 3, Docket
No. 72-41, 8631 Rush Street, Rosemead, CA 91770.
Mike Stinson, Site Vice President, Southern Nuclear Operating
Company, Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2, Docket
No. 72- 42, 40 Inverness Center Parkway, Birmingham, AL 35242.
Robert A. Fenech, Senior Vice President, Nuclear, Fossil, and
Hydro Operations, Consumer Energy Company, Big Rock Point
Restoration Site, Docket No. 72-43, 1945 W. Parnell Road,
Jackson, MI 49201. Gregg R. Overbeck, Senior Vice President,
Arizona Public Service Company, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating
Station, Units 1, 2 and 3, Docket No. 72-44, 5801 South
Wintersburg Road Mail Station 7602, Tonopah, AZ 85354-7529.
David A. Christian, Senior Vice President, Chief Nuclear Officer,
Virginia Electric and Power Company, Millstone Power Station,
Units 2 and 3, Docket No. 72-47, Innsbrook Technical Center, 5000
Dominion Boulevard, Glen Allen, VA 23060-6711.
Paul Hinnenkamp, Vice President Operations, Entergy Operations,
Inc., River Bend Station, Unit 1, Docket No. 72-49, 5485 U.S.
Highway 61, St. Francisville, LA 70775. Michael Kansler,
President, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Indian Point Nuclear
Generating Station, Units 2 and 3, Docket No.
72-51, 440 Hamilton Avenue, White Plains, NY 10601.
Karl Singer, Chief Nuclear Officer, Tennessee Valley Authority,
Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 1, 2 and 3, Docket No. 72-52,
1101 Market Street 6A Lookout Place, Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801.
[FR Doc. 04-19404 Filed 8-24-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
30 Korea Herald: Fifty-nine years after Hiroshima
2004.08.26
By Brother Anthony
Once again, August has nearly passed, with many people recalling
the first use in 1945 of an atomic weapon, against the unwarned,
unsuspecting city of Hiroshima. Three days later, Nagasaki
became the target of the second bomb. In both cities,
considerable numbers of Koreans were living, many of them
forcibly brought from their homes to work in support of the
Japanese war effort. Thousands of them were among the victims.
"It was still quite early in the morning, when suddenly I had
the impression of something like a flash of lightning, then a
fierce blast of wind came blowing. It was terrifying; the upper
floor of the building beside us went flying through the air.
Fortunately, we children were sitting in the shadow of some
trees and we escaped safely without being affected by burns.
*****************************************************************
31 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Idaho
FR Doc 04-19420
[Federal Register: August 25, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 164)]
[Notices] [Page 52241-52242] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr25au04-42]
National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory AGENCY:
Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of open meeting.
SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental
Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EMSSAB), Idaho National
Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. The Federal Advisory
Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public
notice of these meetings be announced in the Federal Register.
DATES: Tuesday, September 21, 2004, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.,Wednesday,
September 22, 2004, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Opportunities for public
participation will be held Tuesday, September 21, from 12:15 to
12:30 p.m. and 5:45 to 6 p.m., and on Wednesday, September 22,
from 11:45 a.m. to 12 noon and 3:30 to 3:45 p.m. Additional time
may be made available for public comment during the
presentations.
These times are subject to change as the meeting progresses,
depending on the extent of comment offered. Please check with the
meeting facilitator to confirm these times.
ADDRESSES: Sun Valley Inn, One Sun Valley Road, Sun Valley, ID
83353.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Peggy Hinman, INEEL CAB
Administrator, North Wind, Inc., P.O. Box 51174, Idaho Falls, ID
83405, Phone (208) 557-7885, or visit the Board's Internet home
page at http://www.ida.net/users/cab
[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving
FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.ida.net/users/cab] .
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Board: The purpose of
the Board is to make recommendations to DOE in the areas of
environmental restoration, waste management, and related
activities.
Tentative Topics (agenda topics may change up to the day of the
meeting; please contact Peggy Hinman for the most current agenda
or visit the CAB's Internet site at http://www.ida.net/users/cab/
[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving
FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.ida.net/users/cab/] ): Snake
River Aquifer Protection.
Waste With No Path for Disposition (Orphan Waste).
Site-wide Groundwater Monitoring, Including Results of Annual
Off-site and On-site Environmental Monitoring.
Test Reactor Area Catch Tanks.
Fast Flux Text Facility Decommissioning Impacts to INEEL.
The Chemical Processing Plant at INEEL.
Other Issues and Topics of Interest.
Public Participation: This meeting is open to the public.
Written statements may be filed with the Board facilitator either
before or after the meeting. Individuals who wish to make oral
presentations pertaining to agenda items should contact the Board
Chair at the address or telephone number listed above. Request
must be received five days prior to the meeting and reasonable
provisions will be made to include the presentation in the
agenda. The Deputy
[[Page 52242]] Designated Federal Officer, Richard Provencher,
Assistant Manager for Environmental Management, Idaho Operations
Office, U.S. Department of Energy, is empowered to conduct the
meeting in a fashion that will facilitate the orderly conduct of
business. Every individual wishing to make public comment will be
provided equal time to present their comments.
Minutes: The minutes of this meeting will be available for public
review and copying at the Freedom of Information Public Reading
Room, 1E-190, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20585 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through
Friday except Federal holidays. Minutes will also be available by
writing to Ms. Peggy Hinman, INEEL CAB Administrator, at the
address and phone number listed above.
Issued at Washington, DC, on August 19, 2004.
Rachel Samuel, Deputy Advisory Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-19420 Filed 8-24-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
*****************************************************************
32 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Savannah
FR Doc 04-19421
[Federal Register: August 25, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 164)]
[Notices] [Page 52242] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr25au04-43]
River AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of open meeting.
SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental
Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Savannah
River. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86
Stat. 770) requires that public notice of these meetings be
announced in the Federal Register.
DATES: Monday, September 27, 2004, 1 p.m.-5 p.m.; Tuesday,
September 28, 2004, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Ramada Limited, 2100 Boundary Street, Beaufort, SC
29902.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerri Flemming, Closure Project
Office, Department of Energy, Savannah River Operations Office,
P.O. Box A, Aiken, SC 29802; Phone: (803) 952-7886.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Board: The purpose of
the Board is to make recommendations to DOE in the areas of
environmental restoration, waste management, and related
activities.
Tentative Agendas Monday, September 27, 2004 1 p.m. Combined
committee session. 4:30 p.m. Executive committee meeting. 5 p.m.
Adjourn. Tuesday, September 28, 2004 8:30 a.m. Approval of
minutes, agency updates. 8:45 a.m. Public comment session. 9 a.m.
Chair and facilitator update. 9:30 a.m. Waste Management
Committee report. 10:45 a.m. Facility Disposition & Site
Remediation Committee report.
11:45 a.m. Public comment session. 12 noon Lunch.
1 p.m. Closure business unit update. 1:45 p.m. Nuclear Materials
Committee report. 2:30 p.m. Strategic & Legacy Management
Committee report. 3:15 p.m. Administrative Committee report. 3:45
p.m. Public comment session. 4 p.m. Adjourn. A final agenda will
be available at the meeting Monday, September 27, 2004.
Public Participation: The meeting is open to the public.
Written statements may be filed with the Board either before or
after the meeting. Individuals who wish to make the oral
statements pertaining to agenda items should contact Gerri
Flemming's office at the address or telephone listed above.
Requests must be received five days prior to the meeting and
reasonable provision will be made to include the presentation in
the agenda. The Designated Federal Officer is empowered to
conduct the meeting in a fashion that will facilitate the orderly
conduct business. Each individual wishing to make public comment
will be provided equal time to present their comments.
Minutes: The minutes of this meeting will be available for public
review and copying at the Freedom of Information Public Reading
Room, 1E-190, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20585 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays. Minutes will also be available
by writing to Gerri Flemming, Department of Energy Savannah River
Operations Office, P.O. Box A, Aiken, SC 29802, or by calling her
at (803) 952-7886.
Issued at Washington, DC, on August 20, 2004.
Rachel Samuel, Deputy Advisory Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-19421 Filed 8-24-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
*****************************************************************
33 ABQjournal: Suit Says LANL Working Conditions Unsafe
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Albuquerque Journal--> By Adam Rankin
Journal Staff Writer
Even before Stanley J. Yost was taken to a Los Alamos
medical clinic, coughing up blood, Marc A. Pearson knew their
working conditions in 2002 were unsafe, according to a lawsuit
filed against a Los Alamos National Laboratory subcontractor and
the University of California, which runs the lab.
Pearson and Lindsay Yost, Yost's daughter, filed the suit
last week alleging Johnson Controls of northern New Mexico and
UC created unsafe working conditions and that despite concerns
of various supervisors and workers, allowed work to continue.
According to the lawsuit, Yost killed himself because he
"was so depressed and despondent over his injuries and inability
to weld that he suffered extreme depression, delirium or
insanity."
The lawsuit seeks damages for the health effects and
emotional distress suffered by Yost and Pearson.
Neither UC nor Johnson Controls officials immediately
returned phone calls seeking comment.
Yost and Pearson were working to refurbish two pumphouses
at LANL's Technical Area-55, welding braces to the existing
structures to make them more sturdy.
The lawsuit says the braces were coated with an epoxy resin
that when ignited by the welding equipment released cyanide gas,
which the workers inhaled.
Pearson and other workers, including some supervisors,
expressed concerns over the possible effects of the epoxy fumes
early in the construction process, the suit says. But the
lawsuit alleges Johnson Controls was under pressure from UC to
finish the work quickly and so did not follow proper safety
procedures and provide the workers with respirators.
Work only stopped after Yost fell ill and was treated at
the Los Alamos Medical Center, according to the lawsuit. Yost
was treated for a bloody nose and was coughing blood and had
trouble breathing as well as kidney and bladder problems,
according to the complaint. The suit alleges Pearson had similar
breathing difficulties.
A supervisor then took a group of workers to a LANL medical
clinic where a physician there "advised (the supervisor) and the
workers that such epoxy turns to cyanide gas when ignited,"
according to the lawsuit.
Work was halted and, according to the complaint, the
manager said all the epoxy was going to be stripped before work
resumed, though it never was. The welding was eventually
completed by a welder who was provided with a respirator,
according to the suit.
[Get Copyright Clearance] Copyright 2004 Albuquerque
Journal
*****************************************************************
34 PISJ: INEEL beefs up security measures: Idaho facility react to New
Mexico cases
Pocatello Idaho State Journal:
ARCO - While the U.S. Department of Energy works to improve
security on national borders, it is also looking more closely at
internal ones.
By [dboyd@journalnet.com] - Journal Writer
ARCO - While the U.S. Department of Energy works to improve
security on national borders, it is also looking more closely at
internal ones.
Another case of missing data involving nuclear weapons was
uncovered Thursday, when a DOE inventory review at a branch
office in Albuquerque, N.M., turned up missing computer software.
One month ago, two similar data storage devices were reported
missing from Los Alamos National Laboratory, also in New Mexico.
At the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory
site, where nuclear and national security research occurs on a
daily basis, officials aren't oblivious to those events. "It's
had an impact on the entire Department of Energy complex," said
Tim Leahy, INEEL's director of nuclear safety. "To the best of my
knowledge, we haven't had those types of problems here, but we
are re-doubling our vigilance."
Leahy said additional mandatory training was implemented in the
aftermath of the New Mexico cases to prevent any such incident at
INEEL. Some classified software is stored at INEEL, but not a
large amount, DOE spokesman John Walsh said.
He said a recent review of INEEL security procedures led to one
substantive change. "We found we were in compliance with
everything except weekly inventories," Walsh said. "We are
instituting those and getting them in place."
Leahy spoke Tuesday in Pocatello to the Gate City Rotary Club. He
said INEEL is prepared to assume the mantle of command center for
new Generation IV nuclear systems research.
"We can create our future or we can have it overtake us," Leahy
told one Rotarian.
Leahy said many of the challenges facing INEEL aren't site
specific, but rather are similar to those faced by all national
laboratories. As a result of the ongoing investigation in New
Mexico, 23 employees have been suspended. The three missing data
devices have not been found.
[dboyd@journalnet.com] covers higher education and natural
resource issues for the Journal. He can be reached at 239-3168 or
by e-mail at [dboyd@journalnet.com] .
Laboratory earns STAR status for safety program
ARCO - Tuesday, the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental
Laboratory celebrated re-certification of STAR status for its
safety program.
Several high-ranking INEEL and Department of Energy officials
were on hand for a brief ceremony celebrating the STAR status
designation, the department's highest safety award for workplace
safety.
Two dangerous gas leaks occurred at INEEL this summer, on June 24
and July 26, but INEEL spokesman John Walsh
said detailed procedures limited the threat posed by the leaks
and helped prevent serious injuries.
"What we would hope is the procedures serve to protect our
employees as well as the environment," Walsh said. "When
(outside) companies see that safety is part of our culture, they
are more comfortable dealing with us."
INEEL originally received STAR status in 2001. This was the first
time the three-year designation was up for review.
[dboyd@journalnet.com] covers higher education and natural
resource issues for the Journal. He can be reached at 239-3168 or
by e-mail at [dboyd@journalnet.com] .
Copyright © 2004 Pocatello Idaho State Journal P O Box 431
Pocatello, ID 83204-0431
*****************************************************************
35 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Oak Ridge
FR Doc 04-19419
[Federal Register: August 25, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 164)]
[Notices] [Page 52241] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr25au04-41]
Reservation AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of open meeting.
SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental
Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Oak Ridge.
The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770)
requires that public notice of these meeting be announced in the
Federal Register.
DATES: Wednesday, September 8, 2004; 6 p.m.
ADDRESSES: DOE Information Center, 475 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak
Ridge, TN.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pat Halsey, Federal Coordinator,
Department of Energy Oak Ridge Operations Office, P.O. Box 2001,
EM-90, Oak Ridge, TN 37831. Phone (865) 576-4025; Fax (865)
576-5333 or e- mail: [halseypj@oro.doe.gov] or check the Web
site at
[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving
FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.oakridge.doe.gov/em/ssab] .
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Board: The purpose of
the Board is to make recommendations to DOE in the areas of
environmental restoration, waste management, and related
activities.
Tentative Agenda: Dynamic verification.
Public Participation: The meeting is open to the public.
Written statements may be filed with the Committee either before
or after the meeting. Individuals who wish to make oral
statements pertaining to agenda items should contact Pat Halsey
at the address or telephone number listed above. Requests must be
received five days prior to the meeting and reasonable provision
will be made to include the presentation in the agenda. The
Deputy Designated Federal Officer is empowered to conduct the
meeting in a fashion that will facilitate the orderly conduct of
business. Each individual wishing to make public comment will be
provided a maximum of five minutes to present their comments.
Minutes: Minutes of this meeting will be available for public
review and copying at the Department of Energy's Information
Center at 475 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN between 8 a.m.
and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or by writing to Pat Halsey,
Department of Energy Oak Ridge Operations Office, P.O. Box 2001,
EM-90, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, or by calling her at (865) 576-4025.
Issued at Washington, DC, on August 19, 2004.
Rachel M. Samuel, Deputy Advisory Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-19419 Filed 8-24-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
*****************************************************************
36 Google News Alert - nuclear
Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2004 17:31:24 -0700 (PDT)
`NUCLEAR Standoff Hangs on US Poll'
Korea Times - Seoul,South Korea
The North Korean nuclear standoff appears increasingly to hinge on the
outcome of the US presidential election as Pyongyang continues to blast
President George ...
See all stories on this topic:
IRAN expects to be acquitted in next UN nuclear report
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
TEHRAN/VIENNA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Iran said on Wednesday it has cleared
up all major outstanding ambiguities over its nuclear programme to reassure
the world ...
See all stories on this topic:
DPRK nuclear reactor project likely to be suspended
Xinhua - China
25 (Xinhuanet) -- A US-led international consortium is seeking to suspend
the construction of a nuclear reactor project in the Democratic People's
Republic of ...
See all stories on this topic:
DEATH toll from Japan's worst nuclear plant accident rises to five
SpaceDaily - USA
The death toll from an accident at a Japanese nuclear plant rose to five
on Wednesday after one of the injured died in hospital, police said. ...
See all stories on this topic:
NRC gives former nuclear plant a clean bill of health
Centre Daily Times - Centre County,PA,USA
PITTSBURGH - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says a former Babcock &
Wilcox nuclear plant site has been cleaned up enough to be released for
"unrestricted use ...
See all stories on this topic:
NAVAL Reactors Director Bowman Named President-Elect at Nuclear ...
Yahoo News (press release) - USA
25 /PRNewswire/ -- Admiral Frank L. "Skip" Bowman has been named president
and chief executive officer-elect at the Nuclear Energy Institute, the
organization ...
See all stories on this topic:
PAK-INDIA war impossible after Pakistan becoming nuclear country
Xinhua - China
... war is almost impossible with the strengthening of Pakistan's political
importance and geographic position on international level after becoming
a nuclear power ...
See all stories on this topic:
SHIPPINGPORT nuclear workers face layoffs
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh,PA,USA
said Tuesday it is laying off 29 workers at the Beaver Valley nuclear plant
in Shippingport, as part of a reorganization of the nuclear power operation.
...
See all stories on this topic:
TEHRAN repeats warning amid fears of attack against its nuclear ...
WorldNetDaily - Grants Pass,OR,USA
Insisting again its nuclear program is peaceful, Iran repeated a warning
yesterday that it would retaliate if Israel attacks any of its nuclear
facilities. ...
See all stories on this topic:
NUCLEAR plant's owner says it's completely safe
Baltimore Sun - Baltimore,MD,USA
... The plant's two nuclear reactors are housed in a solid concrete containment
building in concrete structures that are designed to contain any heat
or pressure ...
See all stories on this topic:
This daily-once News Alert is brought to you by Google News (BETA)...
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*****************************************************************
37 PRN: MKM Wins Largest Contracts in Its Corporate History Valued
at $142 Million From USACE Louisville and Tulsa
[http://www.prnewswire.com/]
MKM Wins Largest Contracts in Its Corporate History Valued at
$142 Million From USACE Louisville and Tulsa
MKM Engineers, Inc. logo. (PRNewsFoto)[TC]
STAFFORD, TX USA 07/14/2004
[http://www.mkmengineers.com]
STAFFORD, Texas, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- MKM Engineers, Inc.
(http://www.mkmengineers.com [http://www.mkmengineers.com] )
announced it has won the two largest contracts in its corporate
history. MKM Engineers, an 8(a) Small Disadvantaged Business,
won:
-- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District,
Multiple Award
Remediation Contract (MARC) valued at $100 million,
distributed among
five small businesses as Set-Asides
-- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, Multiple
Award Task
Order Contract (MATOC), valued at $42 million, competed
among three firms in the 8(a) small business pool
MKM Vice-President of Federal Programs, Don Brenneman, said,
"These are the most significant wins in our corporate history.
Contract work can range from Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive
Waste (HTRW) to remedial construction services in all 10 states.
The Corps noted in its award letter that quality, cost and time
are the three critical performance aspects, with safety
paramount. We intend to deliver outstanding performance
throughout the life of these contracts."
Brenneman was formerly a VP at Halliburton Kellogg Brown &
Root (KBR), Tetra Tech, and NUS, all major U.S. engineering
firms. Brenneman also won the first U.S. Navy and Department of
Energy (DOE) contracts for MKM. Other MKM contracts include
those with the Department of Homeland Security (U.S. Coast
Guard), Defense Reutilization Marketing Services (DRMS), Defense
Logistics Agency (DLA), EPA, and others.
MKM's initial Aug. 23 MARC award was part of a $100,000,000
Department of Defense (DoD) contract for remediation services.
Performance is expected to be completed by Aug. 23, 2014 within
the boundaries of the Louisville District (KY, IN, IL, OH, MI).
The Tulsa MATOC will be performed within its own boundaries (TX,
OK, LA, AR, NM).
MKM President Khodi Irani said, "Since 2000, MKM Engineers
has grown over 300%. Our revenues for FY 2003 were $42 million.
We are poised to reach $48 million revenues by the close of 2004.
We are enhancing our safety and QA programs. They will help
ensure success in all our contract executions."
The U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command (JMC), Rock Island
Arsenal HQ, tapped MKM to serve in its worldwide rapid response
Army Contaminated Equipment Retrograde Team (ACERT) program. JMC
deployed MKM to Kuwait to clean up depleted uranium. As part of
Operation Enduring Freedom, MKM was invited by the Army Bomb
Damage Assessment Team to review war damage in Iraq. Also, DOE
BWXT Pantex recently awarded MKM an additional contract to
perform work at its nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly
plant in Amarillo, TX.
MKM was contracted by U.S. Army JMC to provide turnkey
sampling, characterization, and profiling, brokering,
transportation and disposal services for the former McClellan AFB
CS10 project, which was the U.S. Air Force's largest low level
radiological waste (LLRW) disposal project. As a subcontractor
to EG, a division of URS, MKM participated in the largest seizure
in Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) history of 4.2
million pounds of explosives stored illegally in a Kansas
warehouse as well as the FBI/BATF seizure of over 2,500 missiles
in Roswell, NM.
MKM Engineers received the U.S. SBA Administrator's Award for
Excellence, Region 6, in 2004. The Air Force AFCEE program also
selected MKM for its Mentor-Protege Program, teamed with MWH.
Since its inception in 1991, MKM has successfully completed
over 400 projects in 46 states. MKM's businesses include
munitions response/unexploded ordnance (UXO), radiological waste,
homeland security, design-build, and environmental remediation.
MKM currently has over 150 employees and offices in 17 locations,
including Kuwait. MKM is providing environmental/munitions
response services at four of over 10 Army ammunition plants
served.
Contact:
Chief Public Information Officer:
Colonel (Ret.) Paul Ihrke
281-814-2038
paul.ihrke@mkmengineers.com [ paul.ihrke@mkmengineers.com]
or
Gurinder M. Rana, P.E.
330-962-8877
gm.rana@mkmengineers.com [ gm.rana@mkmengineers.com]
MKM Engineers, Inc.
4153 Bluebonnet Drive; Stafford, TX 77477
V 281-277-5100 Fax 281-277-5205
1-800-277-4095
http://www.mkmengineers.com [http://www.mkmengineers.com]
SOURCE MKM Engineers, Inc.
Web Site: http://www.mkmengineers.com
[http://www.mkmengineers.com]
*****************************************************************
38 NEI: Naval Reactors Director Bowman Named President-Elect at Nuclear Energy Institute
[http://www.prnewswire.com/]
Naval Reactors Director Bowman Named President-Elect at Nuclear
Energy Institute
[http://www.nei.org]
WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Admiral Frank L. "Skip"
Bowman has been named president and chief executive officer-elect
at the Nuclear Energy Institute, the organization announced
today.
Bowman will begin at NEI on Jan. 1, 2005, working with NEI
President and CEO Joe Colvin during a transition period, after
which Bowman will begin serving as President and Chief Executive
Officer. Bowman is Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion, Naval
Sea Systems Command, and will retire from the Navy at the end of
the year. He also is deputy administrator - Naval Reactors in the
National Nuclear Security Administration at the Department of
Energy. Bowman is the third successor to Admiral Hyman G.
Rickover.
In these dual positions, Bowman is responsible for 105
reactors aboard 83 warships and four training sites. He also
oversees two Department of Energy laboratories in Pittsburgh and
Schenectady, N.Y., that employ approximately 6,000 scientists.
Bowman also supervises the 25,000 Naval officers and enlisted
personnel who operate the Naval reactors program safely and
reliably. U.S. Naval nuclear ships have safely traveled more than
130 million miles, equivalent to more than 5,000 times around the
earth.
"Admiral Bowman's strong leadership qualities, political
experience and knowledge of nuclear technology make him an
excellent choice to lead NEI and the industry at a time when
there is great opportunity for both our current plants and the
potential for new plant deployment," said George Hairston,
chairman of the NEI Board of Directors and president and chief
executive officer at Southern Nuclear Operating Company. "He has
demonstrated exemplary leadership of the U.S. Navy's nuclear
fleet -- maintaining a world-class safety and operational record
for more than 100 reactors on U.S. Navy ships around the world.
"Joe Colvin has provided superb leadership to our industry as
NEI's CEO. He has helped the industry create the opportunities
that are before us now. Further, his expertise and vision have
developed NEI into the policy leader for our industry," Hairston
continued. "The nuclear industry is grateful for Joe's
significant contributions."
"Admiral Bowman brings to the industry the policy and
technical expertise that is imperative as we look to expand the
significant role of nuclear energy to our nation's energy
security, environmental protection and economic growth," Hairston
said.
"Skip has overseen the design, development, maintenance and
operation of reactors onboard 40 percent of the Navy's major
combatant fleet, and he has demonstrated leadership that has
earned him international recognition," said Colvin, NEI's
president and CEO since 1996. "He is well respected by members
of Congress with whom he has worked during his Navy career and by
commissioners at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)."
In his role directing the joint U.S. Navy and DOE program,
Bowman has worked closely with Congress and the Executive Branch
on policy issues in addition to maintaining an impeccable
efficiency and safety record among the U.S. Navy's nuclear fleet.
Bowman also meets with the NRC on issues related to naval nuclear
propulsion.
"America is at a crossroads in determining our energy future,
and what our quality of life will be in the decades ahead,"
Bowman said. "This is a critical time for our nation and for the
nuclear energy industry. Nuclear energy plays and will continue
to play an important role in our nation's energy future. We must
take the necessary steps to maintain the high levels of safe and
reliable operations at our current plants and ensure that these
plants as well as new reactors are part of a diverse energy
supply for our high-tech, electricity-driven economy. NEI plays
an important role in leading the industry in taking those steps.
I am proud to have been selected and look forward to the role I
will play in that."
Prior to these assignments, Bowman served as Chief of Naval
Personnel from 1994 to 1996, as Director of Political-Military
Affairs on the Joint Staff from 1992 to 1994, and as deputy
director of operations on the Joint Staff from 1991 to 1992.
Bowman has served on active duty for 38 years.
The Nuclear Energy Institute is the nuclear energy industry's
policy organization. This news release and additional
information about nuclear energy are available on NEI's Internet
site at http://www.nei.org [http://www.nei.org]
Contact NEI's media relations staff at 202-739-8000 during
business hours or 703-644-8805 after hours and weekends.
SOURCE Nuclear Energy Institute Web Site: http://www.nei.org
[http://www.nei.org]
*****************************************************************
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
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