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line and first line of body
NUCLEAR POLICY
1 Guardian Unlimited: Booth's chambers will help impeach Blair over
2 Guardian Unlimited: S. Korea Envoy to Discuss Nukes in U.S.
3 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: Beijing's No. 4 Man Holds Talks on Histor
4 [smygo] U.S. missile defence a 'coalition of idiots':
5 [DU-WATCH] Scott Ritter Interview - on Israel's nuclear
NUCLEAR REACTORS
6 Bellona: Russia assists China develop nuclear power industry
7 US: PPG: Portion of former nuclear facility ready for reuse
8 China Daily: Exhibition shows nuclear achievements
9 Expatica: Anti-nuclear group condemns safety rules in French plant
10 UK Independent: Another pro-nuke pr push
11 Sofia Morning News: Bulgaria Expects Hefty Energy Investments
12 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Whistleblowers ask NRC to reconsider decis
13 US: NRC: Decon licensing changes
NUCLEAR SAFETY
14 [du-list] Re: aljazeera DU article
15 US: [FOODIRRADIATIONCA] AB 1988 passes the Senate!
16 US: [FOODIRRADIATIONCA] Urge the Governor to Sign AB 1988!
17 US: [DU-WATCH] Dennis Kyne writes in Eastern Washington
18 US: TheDay.com: Let's Revisit Cancer Rate And Nuclear Link
19 US: Fiji Times: Radiation found at work - State
20 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes: Meeting
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
21 Las Vegas RJ: JOHN L. SMITH: Kerry's TV ad makes him clear-cut winne
22 Las Vegas RJ: Nevadans' letters present Yucca arguments to nuclear o
23 US: RGJ: Arco, BLM disagree on authority in cleanup
24 TheStar.com - Editorial: Nuclear waste dilemma
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
25 Tri-City Herald: DOE docks CH2M Hill $300,000
26 SF Chronicle: Questions continue to swirl around Wen Ho Lee
27 Rocky Mountain News: Top exec resigns from firm running DOE aid prog
28 Rocky Mountain News: Speakout: Flats cleanup thorough and rigorous
29 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: HANFORD
OTHER NUCLEAR
30 Google News Alert - nuclear
31 NG: New Process Could Help Make Hydrogen Fuel Affordable
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FULL NEWS STORIES
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1 Guardian Unlimited: Booth's chambers will help impeach Blair over
Iraq war
David Hencke, Westminster correspondent
Friday August 27, 2004
[http://www.guardian.co.uk]
Cherie Booth's chambers, Matrix, are to draw up the document to
impeach her husband, Tony Blair, for "high crimes and
misdemeanours" in the run up to the war against Iraq, it was
disclosed yesterday.
The 12 MPs planning to revive the ancient parliamentary procedure
- last used 156 years ago against Lord Palmerston - have engaged
his wife's chambers to frame the motion because of their record
in taking up human rights issues.
Two of Ms Booth's colleagues will be working on the motion. One,
Rabinder Singh, is of equal status to the PM's wife, being a QC
and a deputy high court judge.
He recently brought a case arguing that the Iraq war breached
international law.
The other is Conor Gearty, professor of human rights at the
London School of Economics and a founder partner of Matrix. He
recently took a case against the Ministry of Defence over a
personal injury claim.
He is also an expert on terrorism, having written and contributed
to books on the subject.
Yesterday Elfyn Llwyd, leader of Plaid Cymru, a lawyer and one of
the MPs bringing the impeachment, said: "Matrix will not be doing
this work on a pro bono basis, they will receive a full fee.
Cherie Booth will of course will be ruled out as it would be a
conflict of interest."
Matrix Chambers said it was not making any comment about its work
on the impeachment of one its member's spouses referring all
calls to a public interest rights solicitor in Birmingham.
The framing of the motion will be crucial to bringing the case.
The aim is to put the motion on the parliamentary order paper and
leave one MP to raise the matter with the Speaker.
Adam Price, the Plaid Cymru MP who initiated the process, said:
"The precedent is absolutely clear that if one MP has expressed a
desire to speak on an impeachment motion there has to be a
debate. It would be unprecedented for there not to be a debate on
an impeachment motion."
It was disclosed that the House of Commons authorities have ruled
that MPs can use public money - their researchers' allowances -
to fund the impeachment process as it is a legitimate
parliamentary procedure.
[politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk]
[UP]
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
*****************************************************************
2 Guardian Unlimited: S. Korea Envoy to Discuss Nukes in U.S.
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Friday August 27, 2004 1:16 PM
By BURT HERMAN
Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea's top envoy to North Korea
will travel to the United States for high-level talks amid
stalled negotiations on getting the communist nation to give up
its nuclear weapons program, officials said Friday.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young will leave Monday for
Washington and meet with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell,
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and National Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice, a ministry spokesman said on condition
of anonymity.
The two countries want to resolve the nuclear issue with the
North in talks that also include China, Japan and Russia.
However, the next round of negotiations scheduled to take place
by the end of September has been thrown into doubt because the
North says it won't attend preparatory meetings.
The dispute over North Korea's nuclear ambitions came after the
isolated nation admitted in 2002 to running a secret nuclear
program in violation of international agreements.
South Korean officials and analysts believe Pyongyang is seeking
to put off the talks until after the November presidential
elections, hoping it will have an easier time negotiating if
Democratic challenger John Kerry unseats Bush.
North Korea has recently leveled strong rhetoric against Bush,
calling him an ``imbecile'' and comparing him to Adolf Hitler.
South Korea's prime minister, Lee Hae-chan, said North Korean
leader Kim Jong Il should visit the South - fulfilling a pledge
made after the landmark June 2000 summit between the two nations'
presidents in Pyongyang - before a summit be held between the
nation's premiers.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
*****************************************************************
3 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: Beijing's No. 4 Man Holds Talks on History Dispute &N.K.
Updated Aug.27,2004 14:07 KST
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference chairman Jia
Qinglin, the Chinese Communist Party's No. 4 man, arrives in
Korea on Thursday through Seoul Airport and waves his hands.
/Yonhap
China's number four man is here in Seoul for talks with top
officials here on the recent dispute over the ancient Korean
kingdom of Koguryo and the North Korean nuclear row.
Jia Qinglin, Chairman of the People's Political Consultative
Conference, sat down with National Assembly Speaker Kim One-ki in
the morning and agreed to resolve recent disputes based on mutual
understanding and respect.
The Beijing official also plans to meet with President Roh
Moo-hyun and Prime Minister Lee Hai-chan during his five-day stay
here.
Jia arrived in Seoul Thursday, just two days after Korea and
China reached a five-point verbal accord on ways to settle the
sovereignty dispute over Koguryo including Beijing's pledge not
to distort the kingdom's history.
The dispute flared up in April this year when Beijing declared
the kingdom was its subject state and the Chinese foreign
ministry deleted references of Koguryo from its website.
Arirang TV
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4 [smygo] U.S. missile defence a 'coalition of idiots':
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 15:14:07 -0500 (CDT)
Well here's a woman that is certainly willing to
speak her mind in the Canadian parlimentary system!
-Dave W
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1093471812732&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News/News&pubid=968163964505&StarSource=email
U.S. missile defence a 'coalition of idiots': MP
Carolyn Parrish in hot water again
'I hate those bastards' she said last year
MARY GORDON AND LES WHITTINGTON
OTTAWA BUREAU
OTTAWALiberal MP Carolyn Parrish, who last year
called Americans "bastards," has done it again. This
time she's suggesting they're "idiots."
"Make sure people understand, we are not joining the
coalition of the idiots, we are joining the coalition
of the wise," Parrish said yesterday at a small
demonstration on Parliament Hill in support of Liberal
MPs who oppose Canadian participation in the U.S.
missile defence program.
Speaking to reporters later, the MP for
Mississauga-Erindale at first denied making the
comment, then said she wasn't suggesting Americans
were "idiots."
"I don't mean the Americans are idiots. What I'm
concerned about is they have a coalition now in Iraq
called the coalition of the willing. I think we need
to be the coalition of the wise."
Parrish then pleaded with reporters not to quote her,
saying she had suffered enough bad publicity from last
year's outburst. In February, 2003, after speaking to
reporters about Canada's diplomatic efforts on Iraq
and after most television cameras were turned off,
Parrish commented, "Damn Americans ... I hate those
bastards."
The off-the-cuff remark, which was reported
internationally and interpreted by many as emblematic
of anti-American sentiment in the Liberal party,
landed Parrish in hot water.
Attempting to head off a repeat of the nasty exchanges
with the U.S. that plagued the Chritien government,
Prime Minister Paul Martin said yesterday that Parrish
should temper her public remarks.
"This is a very, very important debate, and the
arguments are very strongly felt on both sides, and
there is no room in this debate for that kind of
language," the Prime Minister told reporters after a
national caucus meeting.
It was those kinds of comments that caused bad blood
between former PM Jean Chritien's government and the
White House. Frangoise Ducros was forced to quit as
Chritien's spokeswoman when she sparked an
international incident by calling President George W.
Bush "a moron."
In an interview, Parrish said she won't apologize for
yesterday's remarks, nor will she back down from
language Martin called inappropriate, given the
seriousness of the issue.
"I thought we had free speech in this country," she
said. "I tend to use inappropriate language on
occasion. It's an issue I feel passionately about.
"We go through life and they accuse politicians of
being passionless, boring, speaking out of both sides
of our mouths. This is a serious issue."
Martin wants Canada to hold talks with the U.S. over
possible Canadian participation in Washington's plan
to build a continental ballistic missile defence
shield.
The Liberal caucus is sharply split over any Canadian
participation in the program, with critics saying the
project is unproven, expensive and likely to prompt a
weapons race in space.
But "strongly held views," said Martin, "have got to
be expressed in language that is acceptable."
Defence Minister Bill Graham repeated the government's
position that it would never take part in a plan that
would lead to the weaponization of space. "If the
Americans said, for example, that this would mean Star
Wars or something like that, we would absolutely say
no," he said.
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5 [DU-WATCH] Scott Ritter Interview - on Israel's nuclear
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 13:27:52 -0500 (CDT)
Hi - Not exactly DU, but the interview deals with nuclear disarmament and
carries on a discussion - about Israel - that we had with Mordechai Vanunu
recently.
Best, Charlie
http://www.traprockpeace.org/scott_ritter_18aug04.html
Scott Ritter gave a wide ranging interview to Sunny Miller of Traprock Peace
Center on August 18th. Read the transcript at the link above. It is also
available for listening and download as an mp3 audio at
http://www.traprockpeace.org/audio/scott_ritter_18aug04.mp3
On Israel's nuclear policy:
"First of all, we need to understand that, as long as Israel has nuclear
weapons, it has chosen to take a path that is inherently confrontational,
and that's a very dangerous path."
On war against Iraq:
"We have lost this war. We have not only lost the war in Iraq but
we're in danger of losing the war on terror, and we're really in danger of
losing our status around the world."
On US politicians authorizing war:
"So we have politicians allowing the brave men and women in the United
States armed services to make sacrifice after sacrifice in Iraq to preserve
their political reputation. Not to preserve the security of the United
States."
Ritter, an UNSCOM weapons inspector in Iraq for 7 years, headed many of the
inspections between 1991 and 1998. Previously, he was an intelligence
officer of the US Marines and is a veteran of the Gulf War.
During the US build-up to the current war, Ritter toured the US bringing the
message that weapons inspection had succeeded in disarming Iraq of weapons
of mass destruction. For more on Traprock's work with Ritter, see
http://www.traprockpeace.org/scott_ritter.html
He is the author of End Game - Solving the Iraq Crisis, Simon and Schuster,
New York, 1999 (2002 2nd edition); and Frontier Justice, Weapons of Mass
Destruction and the Bushwhacking of America, Conatext Books, New York, 2003.
Charles Jenks, attorney at law
President of the Core Group
Traprock Peace Center
103A Keets Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
413-773-1633; Fax 413-773-7507
charles@mtdata.com
http://traprockpeace.org
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6 Bellona: Russia assists China develop nuclear power industry
China’s Tianwan nuclear power plant should be launched by the end
of the year, the Head of Russia‘s Federal Atomic Energy Agency
Alexander Rumyantsev told ITAR-TASS on August 13, after a meeting
of the Russian-Chinese atomic energy intergovernmental
sub-committee in Beijing.
2004-08-27 16:00
Pre-commissioning works, carried out with Russia's technical
assistance, have reached their finishing stage at the first power
unit of the Tianwan Atomic Energy Plant near the Chinese city of
Lianyungang. In the words of Rumyantsev, "the work is being
carried out according to the schedule". Its running-in has been
completed and by the end of the year, the reactor is expected to
become operational. The second power unit will be launched in
2005.
Rumyantsev acknowledged that some problems arose during the final
stages of the launch of the plant’s first block. He 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 August 12,
"Some parts of the equipment, however, have started to
malfunction, but we know how to fix them."
The Russian side also expects to receive permission on the second
phase construction of the third and the fourth units of the
Tianwan atomic power plant. Among other significant aspects of
bilateral energy cooperation Rumyantsev mentioned the
construction of a commercial-development fast neutron reactor. In
his words, China has also expressed interest in a Russian project
for the creation of a floating atomic power plant. Russia’s state
nuclear industry engineering and manufacturing company TVEL plans
to start supplying nuclear fuel for the second reactor of the
Tianwan plant late this year. Early this year, TVEL started to
supply the fuel for the first reactor of the plant, according to
the contract signed in 1997, PRIME-TASS reported.
Publisher: Bellona Foundation [bellona@bellona.no] , President:
Frederic Hauge [frederic@bellona.no] Information: info@bellona.no
[info@bellona.no] , Technical contact: webmaster@bellona.no
[webmaster@bellona.no] Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22
38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway Menu
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7 PPG: Portion of former nuclear facility ready for reuse
[North Neighborhoods]
Friday, August 27, 2004 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A 75-acre portion of the former Babcock & Wilcox plutonium
processing plant site in Parks, Armstrong County, has been
cleaned up enough to meet Nuclear Regulatory Commission standards
and released for unrestricted reuse.
The site is part of a 115-acre complex where, from 1960 until
1996, Babcock & Wilcox and previous owners used radioactive
materials for nuclear fuel fabrication, research and development.
"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 Gillen, deputy director for the Decommissioning
Directorate in NRC's Division of Waste Management and
Environmental Protection.
Gillen said independent radiation surveys by the NRC and its
contractor have verified the cleanup.
Assessment and cleanup efforts continue on the remaining 40
acres of the nuclear development facility known as the Parks
Township Shallow Landfill, a legal nuclear disposal site 32 miles
northeast of Pittsburgh.
[http://www.post-gazette.com/corrections.asp] Copyright
©1997-2004 PG Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
8 China Daily: Exhibition shows nuclear achievements
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-08-28 00:52
An exhibition reflecting the evolution of Chinese nuclear
industry in the past five decades raised its curtains on Friday
in the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution.
The exhibition, for the first time, displayed comprehensive and
systematic information, historical pictures and models about the
remarkable accomplishments in the history of Chinese nuclear
development.
Zhang Hanjie, a five-year-old boy in Beijing, shows curiosity
about the model of a nuclear project at the Exhibition of the
Achievements in the Nuclear Sector in the Past 50 Years at the
Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution on Friday.
[newsphoto]
It vividly reviews the development and research of nuclear
weapons, the production of nuclear materials, the development of
nuclear electricity, nuclear safety administration, application
of nuclear technologies, and international nuclear co-operation
programmes.
Since the 1980s, the national defence technology industry has
shifted the priority of nuclear development to civil use, said
Zhang Zhuzuo, vice-director of the Commission of Science
Technology and Industry for National Defence and director of the
China Atomic Energy Authority
He said that some key areas of China's nuclear industry ranked
first in the world.
Zhang made his speech at the opening ceremony of the exhibition
on Friday.
Zhang Hanjie, a five-year-old boy in Beijing, looks into a model
of a nuclear project at the Exhibition of the Achievements in the
Nuclear Sector in the Past 50 Years at the Military Museum of the
Chinese People's Revolution on Friday. [newsphoto]
He emphasized the significant social advancement and economic
growth promoted by the establishment of a series of nuclear power
plants and projects, such as those in Qinshan and Dayanwan.
The exhibition, which will last six days, lured hundreds of
people, old and young, to the museum on its first day.
In the hall were several groups of students whispering in front
of exhibition boards.
"I was really shocked and moved after I had learnt how those
scientists devoted themselves to the cause of nuclear development
regardless of any obstacles," said Huang Zhaoting, a Beijing
college student.
[http://app1.chinadaily.com
*****************************************************************
9 Expatica: Anti-nuclear group condemns safety rules in French plant
BORDEAUX, Aug 26 (AFP) - A French anti-nuclear group Thursday
denounced what it said was deficient management at the
3,600-megawatt nuclear power station at Blayais in the Gironde
river estuary near Bordeaux.
Basing its position on an internal memo, the activist group,
which calls itself Chernblaye, said inspectors had found a "lack
of rigour" in following safety rules.
It accused EDF, the operator of the plant, of being more
concerned with profitability than safety.
A spokesman for the Nuclear Safety Authority denied the
accusation and said safety was the overriding concern. The
spokesman, Valere Lagel, acknowledged that an inspection by the
authority had shown that the power station management did not
have a "completely formalised" plan for dealing with an accident.
© AFP
© copyright 2004 Expatica Communications BV
Expatica, Expatica.com and 'I am not a tourist' are registered
*****************************************************************
10 UK Independent: Another pro-nuke pr push
It was once the ultimate green taboo. Now, as the drawbacks of
fossil fuels become more apparent, is it time to learn to love
atomic energy? Two experts present the arguments
28 August 2004
No, thanks - Zac Goldsmith Editor of 'The Ecologist'
There is finally a consensus on the gravity of the threat we face
from climate change, and most people agree that something
urgently needs to be done to reduce our dependence on fossil
fuels. But given the depth of our dependence, that's no small
task. And so in panic, a number of high-profile commentators are
calling for the widespread adoption of nuclear power. Greens,
they say, have to choose between climate change and their old
enemy - nuclear power.
But it's a manufactured choice, peddled by an industry in the
final spasm of a struggle to survive. Fundamentally, nuclear
power is a problem, not a solution. And it's a problem on
virtually every level.
Take the issue of security. About a week before the 11 September
2001 atrocity, the director of the French nuclear installation
giant, Cogema, was asked about the risks of an airborne attack on
a French power plant. He answered that there was no risk, because
"it is forbidden to fly over it at low altitude." As far as I
know, it's also illegal to fly planes into New York buildings.
Shortly after the attacks, the International Atomic Energy Agency
warned that an attack on a nuclear plant is "far more likely"
following 11 September. "If the terrorist is willing to die," the
director general, Mohamed ElBaradei, said, "that changes the
security equation drastically." British Energy echoed those
calls, and pleaded with the Government to take protective
measures. British Nuclear Fuels meanwhile described the prospect
of a fuel-laden commercial jet colliding with a nuclear plant as
"unthinkable".
It's worth thinking about it, for an attack on Sellafield in
Cumbria would be 100 times more disastrous than the Chernobyl
accident and would likely cause more than 2 million people to die
of cancer.
But with or without terrorists, the lives of countless British
people dangle in the hands of the technocrats each and every day.
And as we know, technocrats make mistakes. Last year, for
instance, Sellafield came close to disaster when explosive gases
were allowed to build up in tanks that store highly-radioactive
nuclear waste. Amazingly, the BNFL staff on duty ignored warning
alarms for nearly three hours. Even without potential disasters,
routine radioactive emissions ensure cancer clusters around
virtually every installation. Sellafield, for instance, boasts a
cancer cluster 10 times the national average.
Two years ago, Vice-President Dick Cheney lamented that the US
government hadn't approved a single application for a new nuclear
power plant for 20 years. What he didn't say was that there had
been no application. Nuclear power is a bad investment. Without
massive government involvement and incalculable public subsidies,
it simply wouldn't exist. According to The Economist, OECD
governments poured $159bn (£89bn) into nuclear research between
1974 and 1998. BNFL, meanwhile, has admitted it faces a bill of
£34bn to clean up waste, and it expects that waste to increase by
a minimum of 500 per cent over the next decade.
On every level, nuclear is an unattractive option, unless you
happen to belong to al-Qa'ida and want to close down an economy
overnight. So for the industry to be granted a life-extension
requires belief that it is the only solution to an even bigger
problem - climate change.
But even there, nuclear power is a false hope. The instinctively
pro-nuclear Mr Blair was told last year by his own energy
advisors that nuclear is a "red herring". "You can achieve a
low-carbon economy without nuclear," they told him.
And, they might have added, such a goal can be realised without
smothering Britain in wind turbines. For one thing, such a
scenario assumes demand will always be as high, if not higher
than it is now. But demand need not grow. According to a recent
US study, investing $5.2bn in energy conservation in the federal
government's 500,000 buildings would lead to savings of more than
$1bn each year, indefinitely - an enormous return by any
standard. It's quite clear that with investments in energy
conservation, energy consumption would shrink dramatically
without the need for sacrifice of any sort.
Such a scenario also assumes that wind is the only renewable
alternative. Currently, it does seem to be the most effective.
The Cabinet Office's Performance and Innovation Unit has said
that offshore wind alone has the potential to provide 10 times
more electricity than is currently used. But equally, whole
villages in Britain's West Country are on the verge of being
powered by environmentally benign small hydro projects. Biomass
is emerging as the answer for others. Solar power is becoming
cheaper by the year, and more efficient.
All these alternatives exist, and with modest investment will
continue to improve. What's more, they carry none of the security
and health risks associated with nuclear power. Nor will the
taxpayer be forced to cough up limitless resources to keep them
going.
One way or another, the government needs to expand its pitiful
renewable energy programme and implement a massive programme of
energy conservation. And it needs to do so in a democratic
manner. If it fails, we face the frightening prospect of a
renewed nuclear programme, or almost as bad, dependence for
nearly four fifths of our energy on gas imports from such
countries as Algeria and Iran. In such a scenario, the
opportunities for disruptive terrorism would prove too tempting
by far, and Britain would find itself teetering permanently on
the edge of blackout ... or total contamination.
Zac Goldsmith is editor of 'The Ecologist' magazine,
[http://www.theecologist.org]
Yes, please - James Lovelock Creator of the 'Gaia' theory
Ispent my childhood in the English countryside over 70 years ago
where we lived a simple life without telephones or electricity.
Horses were still a normal source of power and we hardly imagined
radio and television.
One thing I remember well was how superstitious we all were. Men
and women who in other ways were intelligent, fearfully avoided
places said to be haunted. They would suffer inconvenience rather
than travel on Fridays that were the 13th day of the month.
Their irrational fears fed on ignorance and were quite common. I
cannot help thinking that they persist, but now these fears are
about the products of science. This is particularly true of
nuclear power plants that seem to stir the dread that in the past
was felt about a moonlit graveyard thought to be infested with
werewolves and vampires.
The fear of nuclear energy is understandable through its
association in the mind with the horrors of nuclear warfare, but
it is unjustified; nuclear power plants are not bombs. They are,
in fact, built solidly enough to withstand even a direct hit by a
plane in a terrorist attack, according to industry experts.
What at first was a proper concern for safety has become a
near-pathological anxiety. Much of the blame for this goes to the
news media, the television and film industries, and fiction
writers. All these have used the fear of things nuclear as a
reliable prop to sell their wares. They, and the political
disinformers who sought to discredit the nuclear industry as
potential enemies, have been so successful at frightening the
public that it is now impossible in many nations to propose a new
nuclear power plant.
No source of power is entirely safe, even windmills are not free
of fatal accidents, but compared to nuclear power, the dangers of
continuing to burn fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) as our main
energy source are far greater and they threaten not just
individuals but civilisation itself. Much of the First World
behaves like an addicted smoker: we are so used to burning fossil
fuels for our needs that we ignore their long-term risks.
Polluting the air with carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases
has no immediate consequences, but continued pollution leads to
climate changes whose effects are only apparent when it is almost
too late for a cure. Carbon dioxide poisons the environment just
as salt can poison us. No harm comes from a modest intake, but a
daily diet with too much salt can cause a lethal quantity to
accumulate in the body.
Although nothing we do will destroy life on Earth, we could
change the environment to a point where civilisation is
threatened. Sometime in this or the next century we may see this
happen because of climate change and a rise in the level of the
sea. If we go on burning fossil fuel at the present rate it is
probable that all of the cities of the world now at sea level
will be flooded.
Try to imagine the social consequences of hundreds of millions of
homeless refugees seeking dry land on which to live. In the
turmoil, they may look back and wonder how humans could have been
so foolish as to bring so much misery upon themselves by the
thoughtless burning of carbon fuels. They may then reflect
regretfully that they could have avoided their miseries by the
safe use of nuclear energy.
Nuclear power, although potentially harmful to people, is a
negligible danger to the planet. Natural ecosystems can stand
levels of continuous radiation that would be intolerable in a
city. The land around Chernobyl was evacuated because its high
radiation intensity made it unsafe for people, but this
radioactive land is now rich in wildlife, much more so than
neighbouring areas.
Even scientists seem to forget our planet's radioactive history.
When a star ends as a supernova, the nuclear explosive material,
which includes uranium and plutonium, together with large amounts
of iron and other burnt-out elements, scatters in space, as does
the dust cloud of a hydrogen bomb test.
Perhaps the strangest thing about the Earth is that it formed
from lumps of fall-out from a star-sized nuclear bomb. This is
why, even today, the Earth's crust has enough uranium left to
reconstitute the original event on a minute scale.
There is no other credible explanation for the great quantity of
unstable elements still present. The most primitive and
old-fashioned Geiger counter will indicate that we stand on the
fall-out of a vast ancient nuclear explosion. Within our bodies,
half a million atoms, rendered unstable in that event, still
erupt every minute, releasing a tiny fraction of the energy
stored from that fierce fire of long ago.
Life began nearly four billion years ago under conditions of
radioactivity far more intense than those that trouble the minds
of certain present-day environmentalists. Moreover, the air had
neither oxygen nor ozone so that the fierce unfiltered
ultra-violet radiation of the sun irradiated the surface of the
Earth. We need to keep in mind the thought that these fierce
energies flooded the very womb of life.
At least in the short term, alternative sources of energy remain
wildly uneconomical. A recent report by the Royal Academy of
Engineering showed that the nuclear option was the second
cheapest means of generating electricity, at 2.3p per kilowatt
hour, after gas at 2.2p (gas prices have since shot up), while
wind power costs more than 5p per kWH.
I hope that it is not too late for the world to emulate France
and make nuclear power our principal source of energy. At present
we have no other viable alternative.
'Environmentalists For Nuclear Energy' by Bruno Comby, with a
preface by James Lovelock (TNR Editions) is available from
[http://www.ecolo.org]
UK Independent Ltd.
*****************************************************************
11 Sofia Morning News: Bulgaria Expects Hefty Energy Investments
Sofia News Agency]
novinite.com
Bulgaria's Energy Minister Milko Kovachev expects investments
in major energy projects to exceed EUR 6 B by 2007. Photo by
Yuliana Nikolova (novinite.com)
Business: 27 August 2004, Friday.
Bulgaria plans investments in major energy projects to exceed
EUR 6 B by 2007, accounting for 28% of the total investments in
the country.
Funding for projects worth EUR 3 B has been secured and they are
already underway, including the upgrade of thermal plant Maritza
East 3 and nuclear power plant units 5 and 6, the launch of a
sulphur purifying installation at Maritiza East 2, the
rehabilitation of heating plants.
Energy Minister Kovachev expects the bidders for the power
distribution utilities to declare interest in the sale of the
heating utilities as well.[ width=]
WE are destroying some of the best agricaltural land in Europe
in Maritza Iztock's Open pit mines.
And we are poluting averithing around with base metals and
sulfer becuase it uses very poor coal with up to 40 persent
mineral content.
At the same way we are closing nuclear instaltions and most
important we are not building new instalations becuase of the
pressure from the EU. Why they do not whant to compeet in the
energy sector freely?
If it was the Big Oil that was doing this it may be
understandable but it is the EU that is trying to be global
player in the world economy.
I do not beleive it will happen.
If EU invest in Bulgaria only in order to de-industrialize it I
cant sea future for this organization in a along run.
Everithing coming from EU in the last 14 years resulted in
killing of some indigenous industries that are vital for the
local economy and replacing them with some light industry
operating on day by day bases or turism.
novinite.com Forum Google Tourism Business
*****************************************************************
12 Brattleboro Reformer: Whistleblowers ask NRC to reconsider decision on petition
[http://www.reformer.com/]
August 27, 2004 Brattleboro, VT
By CAROLYN LORI Reformer Staff
BRATTLEBORO -- Nuclear industry whistleblowers Paul Blanch and
Arnold Gundersen asked officials at the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission to reconsider their decision on a petition filed by
the two men last month.
On July 29, Blanch and Gundersen filed a petition with the NRC,
claiming that Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee officials had failed
to demonstrate how the plant conformed to design bases criteria.
They said that this information was vital for regulators as they
review Vermont Yankee's bid to increase power by 20 percent.
The petition requested that the NRC demand more information from
Entergy.
Last Friday, the NRC rejected the petition, stating that "the
design bases of Vermont Yankee are clear and unambiguous."
"I contend that this is inaccurate," said Blanch to several NRC
and Entergy officials taking part in a teleconference on Thursday
afternoon. It was held to allow Blanch and Gundersen to make a
case for reconsideration of the petition.
At issue is a set of design regulations first put forward in
draft form by the NRC in 1967. Four years later, the regulations
were clarified and finalized.
Blanch and Gundersen claim that the owners of Vermont Yankee --
both the previous owners, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp., and
present owners, Entergy Nuclear -- have made differing claims as
to which criteria the plants meets.
Without clear criteria, they said, the engineering assessment
currently being conducted at the plant would be "meaningless."
In the NRC's letter rejecting the petition, J.E. Dyer, director
of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, wrote that Vermont
Yankee "is licensed to the draft GDC [general design criteria]
published in 1967."
Dyer added that inspectors carrying out the engineering
inspection have methods available to them for obtaining more
information, making a demand for more information unnecessary.
Several times during Thursday's conference, Gundersen alluded to
the expertise held by both he and Blanch, saying that if the
information regarding design criteria was "clear and unambiguous"
the two should have been able to locate it in the plant's Updated
Final Safety Report and other documents.
"After a review of voluminous information, we cannot determine
if Vermont Yankee is compliant with general design criteria," he
said.
Blanch is an electrical engineer with more than 30 years
experience in the nuclear industry. He became a whistleblower in
the late 1980s, while working for the Millstone Nuclear Power
Station in Connecticut.
Gundersen, a nuclear engineer since 1971, was once vice
president of Nuclear Engineering Services in Connecticut, when he
blew the whistle in the early 1990s.
Both men have worked closely with the nuclear power watchdog
group, the New England Coalition. When Vermont Yankee's uprate
case was before the Vermont Public Service Board, Blanch and
Gundersen served as expert witnesses for the group.
Although members of the coalition listened in on Thursday's
teleconference, the organization is not officially part of the
petition and did not participate in the conference.
Entergy officials were invited to comment during the call but
chose not to.
Afterwards, Vermont Yankee spokesman Rob Williams, dismissed the
petition.
"The bottom line is that Vermont Yankee meets all applicable NRC
regulations," said Williams.
Neil Sheehan, NRC spokesman for Region I, said that the
information presented Thursday would be considered and the
petition review board would make a decision "sometime soon."
Copyright ©1999-2004 New England Newspapers, Inc., a
*****************************************************************
13 NRC: Decon licensing changes
Attachment 2); EA-03-099]
FR Doc 04-19585
[Federal Register: August 27, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 166)]
[Notices] [Page 52736-52737] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr27au04-74]
Decommissioning Power Reactor 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: John Hickman, Project Manager,
Decommissioning Directorate, Division of Waste Management and
Environmental Protection, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Rockville, MD
20852. Telephone: (301) 415-3017; fax number: (301) 415-5398;
e-mail
JBH@nrc.gov [ JBH@nrc.gov] .
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Introduction Pursuant to Code of
Federal Regulations Title 10 part 2.106, the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission is providing notice in the matter of decommissioning
power reactor licensees order modifying license (effective
immediately).
II. Further Information I. The licensees identified in Attachment
2 to this Order hold licenses issued by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC or Commission) authorizing possession of nuclear
power plants in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and
Code of Federal Regulations Title 10 (10 CFR) part 50. Commission
regulations at 10 CFR 50.54(p)(1) require these licensee to
maintain safeguards contingency plan procedures in accordance
with 10 CFR part 73, Appendix C.
Specific safeguards requirements are contained in 10 CFR 73.55.
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.
The Commission has also communicated with other Federal, State,
and local government agencies and industry representatives to
assess the adequacy of security measures at licensed facilities.
In addition, the Commission conducted a comprehensive review of
its safeguards and security programs and requirements.
As a result of its initial consideration of current safeguards
and security requirements and the Order issued on May 23, 2002,
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. Therefore, the Commission is imposing requirements,
as set forth in Attachment 1 \1\ of this Order, on all
decommissioning power reactor licensees with spent fuel in the
spent fuel pool. These requirements, which supplement existing
regulatory requirements, 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 SAGEGUARDS information and
will not be released to the public.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
---------- The Commission recognizes that licensees may have
already initiated many of the measures set forth in Attachment 1
to this Order in response to previously issued advisories, the
May 2002 Order, or on their own. It also recognizes that some
measures may not be possible or 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 safety.
Although the additional security measures implemented by
licensees in response to the Safeguards and Threat Advisories and
the May 2002 Order have been adequate to provide reasonable
assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety, the
Commission concludes that these security measures must be
supplemented further because the current threat environment
continues to persist. Therefore, it is appropriate to require
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, all
licenses 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 103, 104, 161b, 161i,
161o, 182 and 186 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended,
and the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR parts
50 and 73, it is hereby ordered, effective immediately, that all
licenses identified in Attachment 2 to this order are modified as
follows: A. All licensees shall, notwithstanding the provisions
of any Commission regulation or license to the contrary, comply
with the requirements described in Attachment 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 additional security
[[Page 52737]] measure B.4, which shall be implemented no later
than 365 days from the date of this Order.
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 its
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 safety of the facility 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 50.54(p), all
measures implemented or actions taken in response to this Order
shall be maintained until the Commission determines otherwise.
The Licensee's response to Conditions B.1, B.2, C.1, and C.2,
above shall be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 50.4. In
addition, licensee submittals that contain Safeguards Information
shall be properly marked and handled in accordance with 10 CFR
73.21. The Director, Office of Nuclear 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.
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--Decommissioning Power Reactor Licensees With Spent
Fuel in a Spent Fuel Pool Senior Executive Contacts Mr. K. J.
Heider, Vice President--Operations and Decommissioning, Haddam
Neck Plant, Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Co., Docket No.
50-213, License No. DPR-61, 362 Injun Hollow Road, East Hampton,
CT 06424-3099.
Mr. Gregory Rueger, Senior Vice President Generation and Chief
Nuclear Officer, Humboldt Bay Power Plant Unit 3, Pacific Gas and
Electric Co., Docket No. 50-133, License No. DPR-7, Pacific Gas
and Electric Company, 77 Beale Street, 32nd Floor, San Francisco,
California 94105.
Mr. William L. Berg, President & CEO, La Crosse Boiling Water
Reactor, Docket No. 50-409, License No. DPR-45, Dairy Land Power
Cooperative, 3200 East Avenue South, La Crosse, WI 54601.
Mr. Harold B. Ray, Executive Vice President, San Onofre Nuclear
Generating Station, Unit 1, Docket No. 50-206, License No.
DPR-13, 8631 Rush Street, Rosemead, CA 91770.
Mr. John L. Skolds, President and Chief Nuclear Officer, Zion
Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2, Docket Nos. 50-295 &
50-304, License Nos. DPR-39 & DPR-48, Exelon Nuclear, Exelon
Generation Company, LLC, 4300 Winfield Road, Warrenville, IL
60555.
[FR Doc. 04-19585 Filed 8-26-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
14 [du-list] Re: aljazeera DU article
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 16:54:58 -0700
Ref:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B93DF501-832A-423B-9E33-
5F4325676A46.htm
Although concerns regarding the side effects eventually following DU
intake have been of a practical interest, an apocalyptic picture by
L.Smallman in "Iraq's real WMD crime" seen a very much
exaggerated:
"Another tragic outcome is the delayed growth of children.
Skeletal age comparisons between boys from southern Iraq and boys
from Michigan show Iraqi males are 26 months behind in their
development by the time they are 12-years-old and girls are almost
half a year behind".
With regard to http://omega.twoday.net/stories/302957/ ,
segments on "Some commonly existing in particular areas of the world
diseases" and "Lactose intolerance" seem providing the more clear
understanding of, for instance, differences between offspring in the
USA and Iraq.
Truly,
Michael Kerjman
--- In du-list@yahoogroups.com, Tara Thornton wrote:
> * *
>
> **The article Elaine was trying to send.....
> http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B93DF501-832A-423B-9E33-
5F4325676A46.htm
> Iraq's real WMD crime***
> /By/ /Lawrence Smallman in Baghdad/
>
>
> Wednesday 17 March 2004, 13:03 Makka Time, 10:03 GMT *
>
> *Depleted uranium has a half life of 4.7 billion years *
>
> * Related:
> *
> UN nuclear inspectors return to Iraq
>
>
> Iraq and WMD: Timeline
>
>
> Misery in Baghdad's ailing hospitals
>
>
> Iraqi victims of war: Fact sheet
>
>
>
>
> * Tools:*
> Email Article window.open('/NR/exeres/4E8EED44-F54B-4EC4-9BCD-26450A6FF14E.htm?
sendhrefguid={B93DF501-832A-423B-9E33-
5F4325676A46}','_blank','toolbar=0,location=0,status=0,menubar=0,scrol
lbars=0,resizable=0,width=460,height=500');
> void(0);>
> Print Article window.open('/NR/exeres/554FAF3A-B267-427A-B9EC-54881BDE0A2E.htm?
printguid={B93DF501-832A-423B-9E33-
5F4325676A46}','_blank','toolbar=0,location=0,status=0,menubar=0,scrol
lbars=1,resizable=1');
> void(0);>
> Send Your Feedback window.open('/NR/exeres/BB2DFB69-AE83-48BF-8F1B-02E3A95BDDC0.htm?
feedbackguid={B93DF501-832A-423B-9E33-5F4325676A46}
&sendto=author','_blank','toolbar=0,location=0,status=0,menubar=0,scro
llbars=0,resizable=0,width=470,height=500');
> void(0);>
>
> ****
>
> **There are weapons of mass destruction all over Iraq and they were
used
> this past year. Iraqi children continue to find them every day.**
>
> *They have ruined the lives of just under 300,000 people during the
last
> decade - and numbers will increase.*
>
> *The reason is simple. Two hundred tonnes of radioactive material
were
> fired by invading US forces into buildings, homes, streets and
gardens
> all over Baghdad. *
>
> *The material in question is depleted uranium (DU). Left over after
> natural uranium has been enriched, DU is 1.7 times denser than
lead -
> effective in penetrating armoured objects such as tanks. *
>
> *After a DU-coated shell strikes, it goes straight through before
> exploding into a burning vapour which turns to dust. *
>
> *"Depleted uranium has a half life of 4.7 billion years that
means
> thousands upon thousands of Iraqi children will suffer for tens of
> thousands of years to come. This is what I call terrorism," says Dr
> Ahmad Hardan.*
>
> *As a special scientific adviser to the World Health Organisation,
the
> United Nations and the Iraqi Ministry of Health, Dr Hardan is the
man
> who documented the effects of depleted uranium in Iraq between 1991
and
> 2002. *
>
> *"This has caused a health crisis that has affected almost a third
of a
> million people."
> *
> Dr Ahmad Hardan,
> scientific adviser to the World Health Organisation
>
> *But the war and occupation has doubled his workload.*
>
> **Terrible history repeated**
>
> *"American forces admit to using over 300 tonnes of depleted
uranium
> weapons in 1991. The actual figure is closer to 800.*
>
> *"This has caused a health crisis that has affected almost a third
of a
> million people. As if that was not enough, America went on and used
200
> tonnes more in Baghdad alone (last) April. I don't know about other
> parts of Iraq, it will take me years to document that."*
>
> *Hardan is particularly angry because he says there is no need for
this
> type of weapon US conventional weapons are quite capable of
destroying
> tanks and buildings.*
>
> *"In Basra, it took us two years to obtain conclusive proof of what
DU
> does, but we now know what to look for and the results are
terrifying."*
>
> *Leukaemia has already become the most common type of cancer in
Iraq
> among all age groups, but is most prevalent in the under-15
category. It
> has increased way above the percentage of population growth in
every
> single province of Iraq without exception.*
>
> *Women as young as 35 are developing breast cancer. Sterility among
men
> has increased tenfold.*
>
> **Barely human **
>
> *
>
> *Depleted uranium has caused
> severe deformities in babies*
>
> *
>
> *But by far the most devastating effect is on unborn children.
Nothing
> can prepare anyone for the sight of hundreds of preserved foetuses
> barely human in appearance.*
>
> *There is no doubt that DU is to blame. *
>
> *"All children with congenital anomalies are subjected to
karyotyping
> and chromosomal studies with complete genetic back-grounding and
> clinical assessment. Family and obstetrical histories are taken
too.
> These international studies have produced ample evidence to show
that DU
> has disastrous consequences."*
>
> *Not only are there 200 tonnes of uranium lying around in Baghdad,
the
> containers which carried the ammunition were discarded. For months
> afterwards, many used them to carry water others used them to
sell
> milk publicly.*
>
> *It is already too late to reverse the effects.*
>
> *After his experience in Basra, Hardan says within the next two
years he
> expects to see significant rises in congenital cataracts,
anopthalmia,
> microphthalmia, corneal opacities and coloboma of the iris and
that is
> just in people's eyes.*
>
> *Add to this foetal deformities, sterility in both sexes, an
increase in
> miscarriages and premature births, congenital malformations,
additional
> abnormal organs, hydrocephaly, anencephaly and delayed growth.*
>
> *"A world famous German cancer specialist agreed to come, only to
be
> told later that he would not be given permission to enter Iraq" *
>
> Dr Ahmad Hardan,
> scientific adviser to the World Health Organisation
>
> **Soaring cancer rates**
>
> *"I had hoped the lessons of using DU would have been learnt
> especially as it is affecting American and British troops stationed
in
> Iraq as we speak, they are not immune to its effects either."*
>
> *If the experience of Basra is played out in the rest of the
country,
> Iraq is looking at an increase of more than 300% in all types of
cancer
> over the next decade.*
>
> *The signs are already here in Baghdad - the effects are starting
to be
> seen. Every form of cancer has jumped up at least 10% with the
exception
> of bone tumours and skin cancer, which have only risen 2.6% and
9.3%
> respectively.*
>
> *Another tragic outcome is the delayed growth of children.
> Skeletal age comparisons between boys from southern Iraq and boys
from
> Michigan show Iraqi males are 26 months behind in their development
by
> the time they are 12-years-old and girls are almost half a year
behind.*
>
> *"The effects of ionising radiation on growth and development are
> especially significant in the prenatal child", adds Dr Hardan.
> "Embryonic development is especially affected."*
>
> **Action needed**
>
> *Those who have seen the effects of DU hope the US and its allies
will
> never use these weapons again but it seems no such decision is
likely
> in the foreseeable future.*
>
> * *
>
> **Many affected foetuses are so
> deformed they cannot survive**
>
> *"I arranged for a delegation from Japan's Hiroshima hospital to
come
> and share their expertise in the radiological related diseases we
are
> likely to face over time," says Hardan. "The delegation told me the
> Americans had objected and they had decided not to come.*
>
> *"Similarly, a world famous German cancer specialist agreed to
come,
> only to be told later that he would not be given permission to
enter
> Iraq." *
>
> *Moreover, Hardan believes the authorities need to produce precise
> information about what was used and where, and there needs to be a
> clean-up operation and centres for specialist cancer treatment and
> radiation-related illnesses.*
>
> *Iraq only has two hospitals that specialise in DU-related
illnesses,
> one in Basra and one in Mosul this needs to change and soon.*
>
> *"I'm fed up of delegations coming and weeping as I show them
children
> dying before their eyes. I want action and not emotion. The crime
has
> been committed and documented but we must act now to save our
> children's future."*
>
> *
> Aljazeera
>
> *
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15 [FOODIRRADIATIONCA] AB 1988 passes the Senate!
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 13:16:54 -0500 (CDT)
(please forward widely)
AB 1988 passes the Senate, and heads back to the Assembly for
Concurrence -- Urge your Assembly Member to vote Yes!
AB 1988 (Hancock), the landmark legislation that restricts irradiated
food in schools, passed out of the California Senate today, Tuesday, Aug
24. Because this bill was amended in the Senate, it now must go back to
the Assembly for a concurrence vote later this week. If this bill
passes through the Assembly, it will be on the Governor's desk awaiting
his signature.
TWO IMPORTANT ACTION ITEMS!
1) CALL your Assemblymember and urge him/her to vote YES on the
Assembly Concurrence Vote! To find out who your Assemblymember is,
visit www.assembly.ca.gov Below is a target list of Assemblymembers and
their phone numbers.
Assemblyman Ed Chavez: 916-319-2057
Assemblyman Lou Correa: 916-319-2069
Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh: 916-319-2050
Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia: 916-319-2080
Assemblyman Jerome Horton: 916-319-2051
Assemblywoman Carol Liu: 916-319-2044
Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy: 916-319-2059
Assemblywoman Sarah Reyes: 916-319-2031
Assemblywoman Lois Wolk: 916-319-2008
Sample Rap: Hi my name is ________ and I am a constituent. I am
calling to urge Assemblymember__________ to vote YES on AB 1988 when it
comes back to the Assembly for Concurrence. This bill will protect
parents right to know what their children are eating in school. Thank
you.
2) THANK or SPANK your Senator for his/her vote in the Senate. Your
Senator needs to hear when s/he has done the right or wrong thing. To
find out who represents you and their contact info, visit
www.senate.ca.gov Below is the Senate vote count for AB 1988.
AYES
Richard Alarcon
Dede Alpert
Debra Bowen
John Burton
Gil Cedillo
Wesley Chesbro
Joseph Dunn
Martha Escutia
Liz Figueroa
Dean Florez
Betty Karnette
Sheila Kuehl
Kevin Murray
Deborah Ortiz
Don Perata
Gloria Romero
Byron Sher
Nell Soto
Jackie Speier
Tom Torlakson
John Vasconcellos
NOES
Sam Aanestad
Dick Ackerman
Roy Ashburn
Jim Battin
James Brulte
Jeffrey Denham
Denise Moreno Ducheny
Dennis Hollingsworth
Ross Johnson
Mike Machado
Bob Margett
Tom McClintock
Bruce McPherson
Bill Morrow
Rico Oller
Charles Poochigian
NOT VOTING
Jack Scott
Edward Vincent (absent)
Background
In May of 2003, the USDA approved included irradiated ground beef in
the National School Lunch Program, despite overwhelming opposition from
parents and the public. THe National School Lunch Program provides
subsidized school meals for needy children. Schools can now choose to
serve irradiated ground beef to students without public discussion or
parental consent or notification. Since the USDA made their decision, 6
California school districts have banned all irradiated foods from their
meal programs.
Irradiation exposes food to high doses of ionizing bacteria in order to
kill bacteria. In the process, nutrients are destroyed and new toxic
chemicals are formed. Studies link consumption of irradiated foods to
numerous health problemsn in humans and animals. Irradiation also
perpetuates the unsanitary and inhuman conditions on factory farms and
feedlots.
Assemblymember Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) introduced AB 1988 in February
of 2004. This landmark legislation, the first of its kind in the
nation, requires school board approval and parental notification before
a school can serve irradiated foods.
To learn more about irradiated foods and their inclusion in the
National School Lunch Program, visit www.safelunch.org
To read the text of AB 1988, visit www.leginfo.ca.gov
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tracy Lerman
Senior Organizer
Public Citizen, California Office
1615 Broadway, 9th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
ph: 510-663-0888 x 103 f: 510-663-8569
tlerman@citizen.org
http://www.citizen.org/california
Keep irradiated food out of your child's lunch!
Visit http://www.safelunch.org to find out more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**********
If you do not wish to recieve these emails in the future, please send a email to tlerman@citizen.org with "unsubscribe foodirradiationca" in the subject line.
*****************************************************************
16 [FOODIRRADIATIONCA] Urge the Governor to Sign AB 1988!
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 16:50:55 -0700
(please forward far and wide!)
AB 1988 Passed through the California Legislature and Awaits Governor
Schwarzenegger's Signature -
Urge the Governor to Sign AB 1988 into Law!
AB 1988, the landmark California legislation requiring school board
approval and parental notification before a school can serve irradiated
foods has miraculously PASSED the California Legislature and now
patiently awaits the Governor's signature. If this bill becomes law, it
will be the first of its kind in the nation, and will protect millions
of parents' basic right to know what their children eat while at school.
This legislation will serve as a model for other states to ensure that
school districts are accountable to parents when making controversial
decisions.
If you can do ONE THING to help this bill become law:
Contact the Governor and urge him to sign AB 1988 into law.
Call 916-445-2841 or send a FREE FAX to Governor Schwarzenegger at this
link:
http://www.citizen.org/fax/background.cfm?ID=364&source=38
Sample Phone Rap: Hi, my name is _________ and I am a California
resident. I am calling to urge Governor Schwarzenegger to sign AB 1988
into law. This bill simply protects parents basic right to know if
their children are eating irradiated foods in schools, and ensures that
school districts remain accountable to parents on this controversial
issue.
If you can do TWO THINGS to help this bill become law:
Do the above, and forward this email out to everyone you know in
California.
If you can do THREE THINGS to help this bill become law:
Do the above and get friends, neighbors and other members of your
community to sign postcards to the Governor. Public Citizen will
provide the free pre-printed postcards and even pay for the postage.
Contact Megan Garcia for more info mgarcia@citizen.org or call
510-663-0888.
To read the text of the bill, visit www.leginfo.ca.gov
To learn more about the California Stop Food Irradiation Campaign,
visit www.citizen.org/california/food
Below is Public Citizen's statement on the passage of AB 1988 through
the California Legislature:
Aug. 26, 2004
Contact: Tracy Lerman (510) 663-0888 x. 103, c: (650) 867-0389
Anna Blackshaw (510) 663-0888 x. 102
Victory for California Families: Governor Should Sign New Bill to
Protect Parents' Right to Know
Statement of Anna Blackshaw, Director of Public Citizen's California
Office
OAKLAND, Calif. -The California Legislature has served up a big win to
parents and students by passing a bill requiring school board approval,
public disclosure and parental notification before irradiated foods can
be purchased for school lunch programs.
Assemblymember Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) is largely to thank for
authoring the legislation (AB 1988), which protects parents' right to
know what their children eat at school and provides a democratic
decision-making process for a highly controversial issue that has
concerned parents across the state. Given the scientific uncertainty
over the safety of irradiated foods and their wide-scale rejection by
consumers, it is important to involve parents in decisions regarding
food their children will be served.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture included irradiated foods in the
National School Lunch Program in May 2003, despite overwhelming
opposition from parents and the public. Under federal law, schools have
no obligation to inform parents that their children are eating
irradiated foods. This lack of accountability to parents is
particularly egregious because the National School Lunch Program serves
27 million children annually nationwide, most of whom are from
low-income families and may be undernourished at home. More than three
million children are served by the program in California.
Six California school districts have banned irradiated food from their
cafeterias: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, Ukiah, Point Arena and
the Grant Elementary School District in Redding. While no school in the
state will serve irradiated meat in the upcoming school year, doing so
will remain an option for California school districts for the
foreseeable future. By passing this bill, lawmakers have ensured that
California remains accountable to both parents and disadvantaged
schoolchildren, who are among the most vulnerable of our state's
residents.
Irradiation exposes food to high doses of ionizing radiation to kill
bacteria. In the process, nutrients are destroyed and new toxic
chemicals are formed. Recent research has shown that one class of these
chemicals, cyclobutanones, promotes cancer development and causes
genetic damage to human cells. No long-term studies have been conducted
on how children's health is affected by eating irradiated food.
This bill will now head to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. We urge him to
sign it to preserve parents' and students' right to know what is served
in school meals. To learn more about irradiated foods and their
inclusion in the National School Lunch Program, visit
www.safelunch.org.
###
Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization
wish an office in Oakland, Calif.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tracy Lerman
Senior Organizer
Public Citizen, California Office
1615 Broadway, 9th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
ph: 510-663-0888 x 103 f: 510-663-8569
tlerman@citizen.org
http://www.citizen.org/california
Keep irradiated food out of your child's lunch!
Visit http://www.safelunch.org to find out more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**********
If you do not wish to recieve these emails in the future, please send a
email to tlerman@citizen.org with "unsubscribe foodirradiationca" in the
subject line.
*****************************************************************
17 [DU-WATCH] Dennis Kyne writes in Eastern Washington
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 15:17:52 -0500 (CDT)
Depleted Uranium by Dennis Kyne
In May of 2004 I attended my first Barter Faire ever, in Curlew,
Washington. Sponsored by the Veterans for Peace, I arrived as far
north as I had ever been in America. I came to tell the people of
Eastern Washington that depleted uranium needs to be dealt with. I
had a wonderful visit, met wonderful people, and made wonderful
friends. Thank you, Eastern Washington, for receiving me so nicely.
A year prior to my visit, in its May issue, Environmental Magazine
informed the world that, "Since the U.S. military's widespread use
of DU (Depleted Uranium, U238) in the Gulf became known in 1991,
the Pentagon has struggled to suppress mounting evidence that DU
munitions are simply too toxic to use. It has cashiered or attempted
to discredit its own experts, ignored their advice, impeded scientific
research into DU's health effects and assembled a disinformation
campaign to confuse the issue." Two months later the Seattle Post
Intelligencer stated, "The Pentagon and the United Nations estimate
that the U.S. and Britain used 1,100 to 2,200 tons of armor piercing
shells made of depleted uranium during attacks on Iraq in March and
April [2003] z far more than the 375 tons used in the 1991 Gulf
War." On February 2 of this year, Sara Flounders and John Catalinotto
of Swan's Commentary explained to America, "By now half of all the
697,000 U.S. soldiers involved in the 1991 war have reported serious
illnesses. According to the American Gulf War Veterans Association,
more than 30 percent of these soldiers are chronically ill and are
receiving disability benefits from the Veterans Administration."
So, if they have used far more DU than was used in 1991, we should
expect far more disabilities, death and chronic pain. That is the
truth.
In October of 2003, Leuren Moret, an expert on depleted uranium,
informed us at the World Uranium Conference in Hamburg, Germany,
about Strontium-90 levels in baby teeth from children with cancer.
Moret states very clearly, "Since 1975, national rates for children
with leukemia have increased by 44% and for children with brain
cancer by 50%." In Moret's most recent work, The Trojan Horse of
Nuclear War, published in the Hamburg Conference conclusions, she
adds that, "There was never any doubt about the great biological
hazard of massive nuclear fallout even before testing started. But
there was little concern about the global low level fallout from
atmospheric contamination by very small particles which remain
suspended until nucleating agents such as rain, snow and pollution
remove them from the air and deposit them in the environment,
exposing the global population to chronic low level radiation."
In addition to Moret, J. Gould's The Enemy Within illustrates
high-risk counties within 100 miles of nuclear reactors using a map
that plots breast cancer deaths that are reported annually by
counties to the CDC. In the western part of the U.S., the locations
of nuclear weapons labs and a few nuclear power plants are indicated
by the highest breast cancer deaths.
These are the newest victims of exposure to radiation.
We know very well that the mining of the uranium for decades has
unduly harmed the Native Americans who mined the ore. We know that
the government has used troops as guinea pigs in the proliferation
of nuclear weapons programs. Now as we accept our newest victims,
women and children of every race and class, it is imperative that
we recognize these radioactive weapons are omnicidal. That is the
truth.
In 1991, I served with the 24th Infantry Division, the most criminally
negligent division in Operation Desert Shield/Storm. As a medic, I
watched as soldiers walked into the carnage that 45 days of bombing
had left in the southern part of Iraq and in Kuwait. The signs and
symptoms of the exposure appeared quickly with countless troops
vomiting and getting pale. Upon return I experienced joint pains,
extreme itching that would have me shredding skin, and a feeling
that resembled rubbing alcohol burning a cut in the bottom of my
stomach. There are countless accounts of birth deformities and
miscarriages in returning soldiers.
And women have often complained of pain after having sex with
returning front line soldiers.
In 1995, four years after I filed my complaint about my recurring
health problems with the Veterans Affairs, I was finally tested for
ionizing radiation, twice. Having never been able to get my hands
on the results, I am not sure what my true uranium exposure was.
However, since 1995 the VA has compensated me for "undiagnosed
illnesses." Funny, the VA will admit I am sick, but they will only
diagnose me as undiagnosed. I am a VA statistic, which means I am
on record as a casualty. However, my stepbrother is not a VA
statistic. He has the same signs and symptoms I display, but is not
one of the casualties. My brother-in-law who served farther forward
than I did is often called an AIDS patient or cancer victim; he is
a casualty who is compensated at 100%. Sadly it took over a decade
for the VA to recognize his disability. Even sadder, they say he
is not a depleted uranium victim and will not test for ionizing
radiation. Three of my family members are sick, from the same war,
the same battlefield, and the same nuclear waste that is being
hurled at Iraq and Afghanistan currently. That is the truth.
How? Why? Is this some sort of Joke? No. Depleted uranium is not
new. What is new is the disposal mechanism. In the 80's then-President
Reagan made a deal with Russia to stop developing nuclear weapons.
We know how short-lived that was. We know that every treaty has
been violated and nuclear proliferation is on a rise again. What
we didn't know, though, was the answer to the question the
environmentalists asked Reagan in the late 80's. "Mr. President,
what are you going to do with the waste of the nuclear reactors?"
The President informed his citizens that he planned on sending it
to the moon or the bottom of the ocean.
That is what they had been doing for years; Reagan was the only
person whoever felt smart enough to tell anyone. Americans, who
would have nothing to do with this environmental desecration, put
a stop to it. In 1997, Dan Fahey, cited in Metal of Dishonor, tells
us that, "As a result of 50 years of enriching uranium for use in
nuclear weapons and reactors, the U.S. has in excess of 1.1 billion
pounds of DU waste material."
Of this incredible surplus of radioactive waste, some has been
buried in isolated spots and a load of it has been used by the
Department of Defense in its weapons programs. The military uses
this weapon because it is armor piercing. If this weapon is intended
for use against armor, and we destroyed most of the Iraqi's armor
in 1991, why have we increased the use of it in Iraq from 375 tons
to some ambiguous amount? Why is it being dropped all over Afghanistan
where there is not one tank verified to be driven by the Taliban
or al Quaeda?
Dennis Kyne is a fifteen-year veteran of the United States Army.
His book Support the Truth is available at The Book Depot in Colville,
and at his Web site:
www.denniskyne.com. It is dedicated to the half million homeless
veterans and depleted uranium victims.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
===== Dennis Kyne Support the Truth www.denniskyne.com
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18 TheDay.com: Let's Revisit Cancer Rate And Nuclear Link
Published on 8/27/2004
Letters To The Editor:
Back in the 1980s,there was an article in The Day requesting
volunteers to serve on a committee for the Health Services
Administration. The purpose of their work was to establish if
there was any possible link between the effects of nuclear
radiation and the high rates of cancers in this community. Over
the course of several months the members of the study group were
issued many articles and statistics to study regarding the latent
cancers resulting from radiation exposure and inheritance factors
from the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
Also many local physicians and scientists were interviewed as
well as hospital records were presented reporting numbers of
malignant tumors treated.
z After many months of reading, interviewing and sifting through
the collected data, the committee arrived at two significant
conclusions. Notably, the entire state of Connecticut showed a
larger proportion of cancers than other states. Second, the
southeastern Connecticut area showed a higher rate than the rest
of the state.
After arriving at those conclusions, the committee was preparing
to present its findings when members were informed that the
entire study was terminated because the population of this area
was too small to conduct a valid epidemiologic study. Considering
Dominion's latest request to increase the number of storage
facilities for radioactive material, which have half shelf lives
of thousands of years, isn't it about time for another
investigation of cancer incidents in this area before they are
granted those permits?
Hats off to lawyer Nancy Burton and the Coalition Against
Millstone for sounding the alarm.
Remember Rachel Carlson? Thanks to her efforts we now know the
dangers from chemicals in our air, water, ground and food.
Virginia Schmidt
Mystic
1998-2004 The Day Publishing Co.
*****************************************************************
19 Fiji Times: Radiation found at work - State
(Saturday, August 28, 2004)
WORKERS at a number of large organisations are being exposed to
radiation, the Ministry of Labour said.
And it was found that in a number of cases during the survey, the
employers had not told their workers of the dangers of exposure
to radiation.
The ministry is drafting laws on this issue to ensure workers'
safety.
Labour chief executive officer Brian Singh said it was obvious
that if the present work procedures continued over a period of
time, most of the exposed workers would suffer from irradiation
complications.
"This inspection has showed an urgent need for an OHS legislation
to address this issue," he said yesterday.
Mr Singh named Emperor Gold Mines, Airports Fiji Limited's Nadi
International and Nausori airports, Lautoka Hospital, Colonial
War Memorial Hospital, Nausori Health Centre, Coca-Cola Amatil
and British American Tobacco as workplaces with radiation
facilities that had been inspected.
The ministry could not name the exact number of companies whose
employees were exposed to radiation or how many workers were
affected around the country.
Fiji Nursing Association secretary Kuini Lutua said they were
concerned with the health of their members in hospitals.
She said they had sent the Health and Labour ministries a list of
nurses who had died while working.
Mrs Lutua said the nurses died of cancer and only through proper
research could the link between radiation and the disease proven.
Coca-Cola executive Lal Sharma said none of their workers were
exposed to any radiation in their operations.
British American Tobacco general manager Andrew MacDonald
welcomed the ministry's scrutiny and was confident the company's
workplace practices were of world-class.
Airports Fiji Ltd did not respond to queries.
Mr Singh said findings from the surveys and recommendations had
been sent to the companies concerned.
"The biggest concern for some of the workplaces visited was the
workers' lack of appreciation of the danger of exposure to the
radiation," he said.
"It appears that the users of industrial radiation facilities
have little or no knowledge of these dangers.
"Most of the industrial radiation facilities inspected do not
have any form of protective facilities to protect the workers.
"In some cases, workers did not even know that the equipment they
operate had radiation substance and they had no idea what
radiation can do to them.
"It was evident that the employers did not reveal this
information to the concerned workers.
"Therefore, the ministry is now working with employers informing
them of their duty of care as stipulated under the Health and
Safety at Work Act."
Mrs Lutua said their concerns on the issue rose after six nurses
died in the first half of the year.
"From our records, we have found that the cause of death is
cancer-related, but we can only prove this connection if there is
proper research done by the medical people," she said.
"We have since asked the Ministry of Health to help us conduct
research on the premature deaths of our members."
She said nurses were exposed to radiation when patients were
X-rayed.
Mr Sharma said Coca-Cola's radiation equipment (X-ray) was Fill
Level Inspector (FT-70) and standard equipment used to inspect
levels in canned products in modern canneries in the world.
"Our radiation equipment has an electrically generated X-ray
source which is non-existent once the machine is switched off. It
carries a certificate of compliance from Pacific Radiation
Corporation in the US."
He said safety inspectors visited the premises when the equipment
was installed and commissioned.
Mr MacDonald believes BAT has a role to play in improving the
social and environmental performance of local companies without
an international support network.
"We are confident our workplace practices are world class,
supported by past inspection findings of the ministry and our
stringent internal checks," he said.
"We would consider advice on management of equipment which
utilise radioactive material when we are able to do so."
BAT corporate manager Vikash Singh said they used Strontium 90 in
manufacturing as a weight control.
Copyright © 2004, Fiji Times Limited. All Rights Reserved Site
*****************************************************************
20 NRC: Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes: Meeting
FR Doc 04-19595
[Federal Register: August 27, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 166)]
[Notices] [Page 52735-52736] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr27au04-73]
Notice AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice
of meeting.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will convene a
meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes
(ACMUI) on October 13 and 14, 2004. A sample of agenda items to
be discussed during the public sessions includes: (1) Use of
I-125 Brachytherapy Seeds as Markers; (2) Proposed Changes to
Abnormal Occurrence Criteria; (3) Discussion of Medical Event
Criteria; and, (4) Update on St.
Joseph Mercy Hospital Dose Reconstruction Case. To review the
agenda, see
[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving
FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov/]
reading-rm/doc-collections/acmui/schedules/2004/ or contact
[arm@nrc.gov] . Purpose: Discuss issues related to 10 CFR Part
35, Medical Use of Byproduct Material.
Date and Time for Closed Session Meeting: October 13, 2004, from
8 a.m. to 10 a.m. This session will be closed so that NRC staff
can give the ACMUI its required annual ethics briefing.
Dates and Times for Public Meetings: October 13, 2004, from 8:30
a.m. to 5 p.m.; October 14, 2004, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Address
for Public Meetings: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Two
White Flint North Building, Room T2B3, 11545 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, MD 20852-2738.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angela R. McIntosh, telephone
(301) 415-5030; e-mail [arm@nrc.gov] of the Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
Conduct of the Meeting Leon S. Malmud, M.D., will chair the
meeting. Dr. Malmud will conduct the meeting in a manner that
will facilitate the orderly conduct of business. The following
procedures apply to public participation in the meeting: 1.
Persons who wish to provide a written statement should submit a
[[Page 52736]] reproducible copy to Angela R. McIntosh, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Two White Flint North, Mail Stop
T8F5, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738. Submittals
must be postmarked by September 15, 2004, and must pertain to the
topics on the agenda for the meeting.
2. Questions from members of the public will be permitted during
the meeting, at the discretion of the Chairman.
3. The transcript and written comments will be available for
inspection on NRC's Web site (
[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving
FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.nrc.gov] ) and at the NRC
Public Document Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD
20852-2738, telephone (800) 397-4209, on or about January 14,
2005. This meeting will be held in accordance with the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (primarily Section 161a); the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App); and the
Commission's regulations in Title 10, U.S. Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 7.
4. Attendees are requested to notify Angela R. McIntosh at (301)
415-5030 of their planned attendance if special services, such as
for the hearing impaired, are necessary.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of August, 2004.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Andrew L. Bates, Advisory Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-19595 Filed 8-26-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
21 Las Vegas RJ: JOHN L. SMITH: Kerry's TV ad makes him clear-cut winner of Yucca
Mountain argument
Friday, August 27, 2004
It's time for the GOP to change the subject. I think the
Republicans have lost the Yucca Mountain argument.
It's unofficial, of course, but a blistering television
advertisement leaves no doubt about Sen. John Kerry's position
against the proposed nuclear waste facility. It's hard to
imagine a comeback clever enough to offset the body blow on an
issue that's still sensitive to many Nevada voters.
The 30-second spot, which began airing statewide this week, was
introduced to reporters Wednesday by Sen. Harry Reid. The Nevada
Democrat punctuated Kerry's on-air rhetoric -- "I will not let
it happen" -- with some thumping jabs of his own.
"This is an issue that shouldn't be very confusing," Reid said.
"One guy is with us, and one guy's against us."
Kerry's statement, however, that President Bush "promised to
keep a nuclear waste dump out of Nevada and then went back on
his word" was inaccurate, although Reid was in denial. Bush
actually said he would base his decision on "sound science" and
not politics, which at least proves the president has a sense of
humor.
There are still plenty of places to hit Kerry, but short of
finding a diary entry in which he admits prevaricating about the
Yucca project, Republican image-makers would be wise to move on.
TREASURES INQUIRY: Ali and Hassan Davari risk losing their
liquor license over dancer shenanigans at their Treasures
topless cabaret, but word is they've commissioned a little
investigation of their own that they're preparing to drop at an
upcoming showdown before the City Council. I hear it's brutal.
Sounds like the Treasures boys are willing to take some
competitors with them -- and that means tough questions ahead
for the council.
DAN'S FINAL DEAL: Legendary casino host Dan Chandler is gone,
but not before helping to land one last deal. Chandler, who
suffered a fatal heart attack April 27, spent his last tour of
duty in the casino business with Bill Wortman, who operates the
J.W. Marriott and Cannery casinos.
When Wortman wanted to bring singer Glenn Frey to the Cannery
for a concert, his people had no luck landing the reluctant
original member of the Eagles. Then Frey's longtime pal Chandler
took over.
The result is a rare Frey concert on Sept. 5 at the Cannery, and
you know Dan the Bluegrass Man will be there in spirit.
QUOTABLE STUPAK: Leave it to gambling maverick Bob Stupak to
put life in perspective. Although he finds himself mentioned in
the Janet Moncrief campaign investigation, Stupak remains
decidedly unruffled.
"How can I politely say it to you without offending you? Who
gives a (expletive)?" he said. "Number one, I'm as clean as I
can possibly be clean. I can still do a shenanigan from time to
time. But I never cross the line."
NORM'S TIPS: Review-Journal gossip guru Norm Clarke's "1,000
Naked Truths" Las Vegas guidebook is jammed with juicy nuggets.
His Celebrity Stiffs (Worst Tippers) will make you wonder
whether some folks have never heard the phrase "You can't take
it with you."
On the list: Bill Gates, Michael Jordan, Phil Mickelson, Scotty
Pippen, Pete Rose, Britney Spears, Will Smith, Jerry Tarkanian,
Bruce Willis and Tiger Woods.
He calls multibillionaire Gates "Mr. Microtips."
The book is published by Stephens Press, a subsidiary of the
company that owns the Review-Journal.
STEIN'S SHIRTS: Steve Stein leaves no doubt about whom he's not
backing for president. The veteran defense attorney and former
federal prosecutor has ordered T-shirts printed with "ABB" on
the front and back in red, white and blue lettering.
"Anybody But Bush," that is.
ON THE BOULEVARD: Gov. Kenny Guinn was proud to place the late
Gov. Mike O'Callaghan's photograph on the state Web site as a
memorial. Guinn says he sought the savvy O'Callaghan's counsel
often and adds that he misses those conversations. ... It's been
said you can indict a ham sandwich if you try long enough, but
did it really take three grand jury presentments to indict City
Councilwoman Janet Moncrief? And have Moncrief's accusers Steve
Miller and Tony Dane really left themselves open to legal
challenge by not obtaining immunity in the case?
Have an item for the Bard of the Boulevard? E-mail comments and
contributions to Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0295.
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
22 Las Vegas RJ: Nevadans' letters present Yucca arguments to nuclear officials
Friday, August 27, 2004
REVIEW-JOURNAL
In a letter Thursday, a Nevada official urged the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission to protect its staff from bullying by the
Department of Energy when it weighs a license application for
the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.
"I write you because Nevada is counting on the NRC to provide a
fair forum for examining the validity and acceptability of DOE's
submission," states the letter from Nevada Nuclear Projects
Agency chief Bob Loux.
"That is not going to happen unless the commissioners protect
the NRC staff from bullying by the DOE," Loux wrote to NRC
Chairman Nils Diaz.
Loux claims the Energy Department is violating an agreement to
resolve key technical issues before submitting a license
application by December. Specifically, he says, DOE is failing
to address risks posed by volcanic activity where deadly, spent
nuclear fuel will be entombed.
In another letter on Tuesday, lawyers from the state warned NRC
General Counsel Karen Cyr that docketing the license application
without having a valid radiation protection standard in place
"would be like ignoring 'the elephant in the room.' "
The state said the law requires an application to be turned in
only with an acceptable standard in place. In July, a federal
appeals court rejected a 10,000-year radiation standard, saying
it defies a National Academy of Sciences recommendation for a
much longer protective period.
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
23 RGJ: Arco, BLM disagree on authority in cleanup
[http://www.rgj.com/
ASSOCIATED PRESS
8/26/2004 11:49 pm
Atlantic Richfield Co. is accusing the Bureau of Land Management
of a conflict of interest in its role as both regulator and
potential party responsible for the cleanup of a polluted Nevada
mine.
A lawyer for ARCO told BLM that ARCO will agree to new talks
about past costs and future cleanup at the former Anaconda Co.
copper mine if BLM agrees to cover more of the expenses and give
up its oversight role at the abandoned site at Yerington.
“It’s apparent there has been this conflict where they have both
an oversight role and ownership of about half the property,” ARCO
spokesman Dan Cummings said Thursday.
BLM, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Nevada
Division of Environmental Protection share responsibility for
regulating the site, where recent soil and ground-water sampling
has detected high levels of uranium contamination, apparently a
result of chemical processing of the copper from the early 1950s
through the early 1980s.
BLM spokeswoman Jo Simpson said Thursday her agency has no
intention of giving up its oversight role.
“We don’t agree with ARCO’s assertion we have liability. There’s
no conflict. We can’t back away from our responsibility to
protect public health and safety,” she said.
About half the 3,500-acre site is federal land managed by the
BLM, but BLM maintains the agency manages those lands as a public
trust and is not subject to the same liability as private
companies.
Arco is the leading party responsible for cleanup as a former
owner of the land it purchased from Anaconda in 1977 and sold in
1978. The property later was purchased by Arimetco, which went
bankrupt, resulting in responsibility for the cleanup reverting
to Arco.
Bob Abbey, BLM Nevada director, said in a letter to Arco
President R.D. Aghern on Aug. 5 he wants Arco to “indicate its
willingness to participate in discussions of future work and
reimbursement of past future costs incurred by BLM.”
The BLM earlier this month adopted a health and safety plan to
protect workers at the site and to better determine whether any
contaminants might have been in dust at the mine site.
Among other things, the plan calls for identifying and mitigating
obvious sources of the dust, initiating air monitoring of the
dust both on and off the mine site, fencing off the areas with
elevated levels of radiation and posting guards 12 hours a day,
seven days a week. It also proposes using helicopters to help
take aerial measurements of radioactivity both on the site and on
property neighboring the site.
Arco spokesman Dan Ferriter told a crowd of about 150 local
residents at a public meeting in Yerington on Wednesday night he
expects his company to agree to “95 percent” of the things BLM is
asking for. But he said the company needs more information about
the aerial tests. And Cummings said before the meeting Arco
doesn’t understand why it’s being asked to pay for new fencing
and provide security on land BLM owns.
Todd Normane, a senior attorney for Arco’s parent company, BP
American Inc., said in a letter to BLM solicitor Casey Scott
Padgett in Lakewood, Colo., on Aug. 23 that the company is
hopeful the plans will lead to “a fair and expedited process for
clean up at the Yerington mine site.”
But he said BLM must acknowledge its status as a property owner
of the mine site and potentially responsible party under federal
environmental law.
“It is fundamentally unfair for a governmental agency with
Superfund liability to attempt to exert oversight authority over
its co-potentially responsible parties. The dichotomy of
oversight agency and responsible party cannot be reconciled,”
Normane said.
Yerington City Manager Dan Newell and Lyon County Commissioner
Phyllis Hunewill said they agree with Arco’s call for BLM to
withdraw from a memorandum of understanding that gives BLM equal
footing with EPA and state regulators.
“I think it should happen. They own 49 percent of the property,”
Newell said Thursday.
Jim Sickles, EPA’s project manager for the site, said EPA has
agreed in the past with BLM’s opinion that BLM is not subject to
the same liability standards as a private company.
But he said EPA does not want to prejudge any legal claims Arco
might make in the future regarding BLM’s responsibility. He said
EPA still believes the best way to clean up the site is to
declare it a Superfund site with EPA assuming lead enforcement.
Jim Najima, chief of NDEP’s Bureau of Corrective Actions, said he
is optimistic a renewed effort to better define agency roles
within the memorandum of understanding will lead to better
cooperation between the three agencies.
But he said he understands Arco’s concerns about the potential
for a conflict of interest at BLM. He said one of the reasons his
bureau is separate from the NDEP’s parent Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources is to avoid “perception of a
conflict.”
Art Gravenstein, NDEP’s project manager for the Yerington site,
said he had no opinion on whether BLM should withdraw from the
memorandum of understanding.
“I can tell you the current situation isn’t working that well,”
he said. “Whatever way we end up going, it needs to be a team
effort.”
*****************************************************************
24 TheStar.com - Editorial: Nuclear waste dilemma
Aug. 27, 2004. 01:00 AM
One of the most difficult questions that the federal government
will face over the next few years, regardless of which political
party is in power, is what to do with the growing piles of
radioactive waste being generated from Canada's nuclear reactors.
There are three possible solutions: burying it deep into the
rocky Canadian Shield; storing it in an accessible "mausoleum" at
one location; or continue storing it in "temporary mausoleums" at
existing nuclear power stations, such as at Pickering.
Also to be decided, if Ottawa opts to put the used nuclear fuel
in one location, is where that spot would be. Currently, nearly
90 per cent of the existing used fuel is stored in temporary
facilities in Ontario, at sites like the Pickering nuclear power
station.
These questions have just become more difficult with the release
of a report that says Canadians don't want to dump the nuclear
waste down a deep hole — and that they don't trust anyone with
the job of handling any waste material.
The report, based on consultations with 450 citizens, is part of
the public outreach by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization,
an agency created by Ottawa, yet funded by the nuclear industry,
on how to dispose of 3.6-million bundles of used nuclear fuel.
The waste fuel stays radioactive for centuries.
The agency must recommend to the federal cabinet by November,
2005, a preferred disposal method and where it would be located.
Over the next year, Ottawa has much work to do before it can come
to grips with these issues.
First, it must ensure the public becomes engaged early in the
discussions. Despite years of reports, most Canadians are unaware
of the issue, or do not fully understand the complexity of
nuclear waste disposal.
Second, Ottawa should consider creating a new agency to oversee
the entire nuclear waste issue. The board of directors of the
current agency are all industry officials. There should be lay
people and environmentalists, as well as industry
representatives, on board.
Each of these issues deserves much greater scrutiny by the
public, as well as the government. That's because the piles of
nuclear waste are only getting bigger. They can't be swept under
a proverbial rug much longer.
Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All
*****************************************************************
25 Tri-City Herald: DOE docks CH2M Hill $300,000
This story was published Friday, August 27th, 2004
By Annette Cary Herald staff writer
The Department of Energy is docking the fee paid to CH2M Hill
Hanford Group by $300,000 after six incidents involving radiation
contamination, radiation doses to workers or other safety
concerns over the last 14 months.
"We feel CH2M Hill has demonstrated some basic weaknesses in how
they plan and conduct work," said Erik Olds, spokesman for DOE's
Office of River Protection in Richland.
Corrective actions taken after each event have not prevented the
recurrence of similar events, wrote Roy Schepens, manager of the
Office of River Protection, in a letter Wednesday to CH2M Hill.
Schepens attributed the problems to inadequate planning for work
projects, not identifying potential hazards, not planning for all
conditions that could be encountered and the contractor not
following its own procedures.
CH2M Hill manages the Hanford tank farms, where underground tanks
holding 53 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste are
arranged in fields in central Hanford. The waste is left from the
past production of plutonium at Hanford for the nation's nuclear
weapons program.
"We obviously are disappointed by the findings and have begun
work immediately to implement corrective actions," said CH2M Hill
spokeswoman Joy Turner in a prepared statement.
DOE has paid CH2M Hill about $10 million in fees so far this
fiscal year based on progress on specific projects, Olds said.
The $300,000 fee reduction will be withheld from additional fees
the contractor may earn before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30.
CH2M Hill, with the concurrence of DOE, has stopped work that has
the potential for radiological contamination or a radiological
dose to workers since July 22, the date of the latest incident
cited by DOE.
In that case, workers were using a crane to pull a 36-foot-long
thermocouple, a device used to measure temperature, out of an
auxiliary tank in an underground vault. As the tip of the device
that had been extended into the waste tank was pulled up, the
radiation dose rate meter went off the scale, according to a
report by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
"(A decision was made) to finish removing the thermocouple
because he believed more dose would be received trying to
re-insert the equipment or applying more shielding, and he wanted
to avoid leaving the equipment suspended in the air," according
to a report filed by the board, which provides independent
oversight of Hanford.
One worker's finger received a dose of 22 rems as the worker
applied duct tape to a bag surrounding the equipment. That
exceeds the administratively set limit of 15 rems yearly, but is
still below the federal legal limit of 50 rems per year to an
extremity such as a hand or foot.
Contamination was found on another worker's protective clothing
and his street clothes, according to the safety board's report.
DOE found that, according to written procedural requirements,
work should have stopped immediately when expected radiation
readings were exceeded.
Both Hanford officials and the safety board agreed the plan
developed for the work should have considered that little was
known about what contamination might be in the auxiliary tank and
been prepared to deal with higher levels of radiation.
Other events cited with problems similar to the July 22 event,
such as inadequate planning or delays in stopping work, include
the following, as described by DOE:
n On May 24, the clothing of two workers was contaminated as a
pump was removed from a trailer. Inadequate planning for the job
led to just one plastic bag between the pump and workers.
Multiple holes were found in the bag. In addition, a health
physics technician was not continuously present.
n On May 20, a lack of adequate planning led to a smudge of
contamination on a worker's clothing on a project to investigate
an earlier apparent spill from a transfer line.
n On May 6, a pressurization alarm went off in the 241-AP tank
farm. Some workers were told to finish lowering a load suspended
from a crane instead of immediately evacuating.
n On Nov. 14, 2003, a worker whose dosimeter was inadvertently
worn backward received a whole-body radiation dose greater than
the administratively set limit. It occurred as workers made a
second attempt to use a crane to remove a 3,000-pound mixing
pump. On the first attempt, inadequate radiation monitoring
instruments had been used and work was not immediately stopped
when radiation levels exceeded the limits set in the work plan.
n On June 25, 2003, two workers received skin contamination and
at least three workers inhaled radioactive particles as a dry,
radioactive powder fell from a long-abandoned jumper hose that
was being moved.
CH2M Hill is responding by including workers more in evaluating
work practices, Turner said. It's also focusing on work planning,
hazard identification and complying with procedures, she said.
"We realize that the work we are doing is complex and difficult,"
she said. "We are committed to address these issues head-on by
quickly identifying and correcting the root causes of these
problems."
© 2004 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
26 SF Chronicle: Questions continue to swirl around Wen Ho Lee
James Sterngold, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, August 27, 2004
From all appearances, these would seem to be days of vindication
for Wen Ho Lee, the former Los Alamos National Laboratory weapons
scientist whose politically charged fight with the federal
government is still being waged four years after he settled
charges he mishandled nuclear secrets.
A suit Lee filed claiming the government improperly leaked
private information about him has made progress, with a federal
judge ruling that five journalists must disclose the sources of
damning information they printed about Lee. And his former
employer, Los Alamos, has suffered from a string of security
scandals that mirror comments he and his attorneys had made about
lax procedures.
However, more quietly, new details about the crime Lee committed
are emerging, and they are reviving some of the unanswered
questions and ambiguities over why he downloaded a trove of
nuclear weapons secrets.
Lee never denied that he had downloaded a virtual library of data
on weapons tests and designs and placed some of the material on
10 portable cassettes that he took home, seven of which he said
he had destroyed and were never found. He insisted, though, that
he had not leaked the data to anyone else and that the
downloading had been for work purposes.
In order to learn some lessons from a security standpoint, the
federal government recently concluded a long and careful
technical reconstruction of all Lee's actions at Los Alamos.
Several experts and government advisers who received a highly
classified briefing at the Department of Energy on the results of
that forensic analysis said in interviews that its conclusions
were extremely critical of Lee, showing an extensive pattern of
deceptions on his part in circumventing computer security
safeguards, some of which were disclosed at hearings in his
criminal case.
None of the experts would disclose what Lee had allegedly done to
defeat computer restrictions on handling classified data, but
during those hearings, the government described how Lee had
allegedly transferred data from secure to unsecure computers
improperly or borrowed workstations from colleagues to download
secrets to cassettes.
Of even greater concern, said the experts, who spoke on condition
that they not be identified, the analysis also made clear that
the information Lee downloaded included some highly sensitive
secrets relating to warhead designs and performance that posed a
national security threat if they had been leaked. In hearings in
his case it was disclosed that the information related to
computer-based testing of different warhead designs.
"I was very surprised at how bad this was," said one of the
experts.
During a hearing in Lee's case, one senior official had called
the information "the crown jewels" of the weapons labs, while Lee
had once referred to most of it as flawed "garbage" that would be
of little use in actually designing a warhead.
The experts who heard the recent briefing said that the truth was
somewhere in between and that at least some of the information on
warhead specifications was highly important and its loss would
have been quite serious for the United States.
Brian Wilkes, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security
Administration, which oversees the weapons labs, confirmed that
the technical briefings took place earlier this year. He said
that since the information was classified, he could not comment
further, other than to say the analysis provided a step-by-step
look at what had happened -- but did not address the question of
why Lee had downloaded the material -- and that the aim was to
improve security.
Lee's attorney, Brian Sun, said he would not comment on the
analysis, adding that he would not go beyond what Lee admitted in
his one-count felony plea agreement -- essentially, mishandling
classified information.
Lee's daughter, Alberta, who has been one of his most tireless
supporters, said the analysis fit a pattern, in her view, of the
lab's management finding scapegoats to blame for broader
management weaknesses at Los Alamos.
"I think it makes logical sense for their careers to say this
about my dad," said Alberta Lee, who is now a law student at UC
Davis. "I maintain that my dad was just doing his job."
Lee had spent years as a nuclear weapons designer when he was
investigated on suspicions he had stolen the nuclear secrets and
possibly handed them to a foreign government. At one time,
federal officials had said they believed he might have provided
the information to China, a claim that eventually fueled charges
from his supporters that Lee was a victim of racial profiling
because he is Chinese American.
Lee was indicted on 59 counts in December 1999. He was held
largely in solitary confinement until the government agreed to
drop all but one of the least serious charges. Lee pleaded guilty
on Sept. 13, 2000, and was sentenced to time served and released.
But that was hardly the end of the matter.
The federal district judge who handled the case in Albuquerque,
James Parker, delivered a blistering rebuke of the federal
government at the plea hearing. He blasted the government for
fighting to keep Lee in solitary confinement on what he said were
misleading claims about the nature of the offenses. Parker
singled out the senior federal officials responsible, questioned
the seriousness of the charges in the original indictment, which
potentially carried a life sentence, and then issued an apology
for the way Lee had been treated.
Parker made it clear, though, that there was plenty of blame to
go around.
"Dr. Lee, you have pled guilty to a serious crime," he said.
"It's a felony offense. For that you deserved to be punished."
And in a recent interview with The Chronicle, the judge
reiterated that his criticisms of the government were for the way
it handled the case, not the fact that it had prosecuted Lee.
"This often has been overlooked," Parker said. "I said to Dr. Lee
at the time, 'You did commit a serious offense for which you
should be punished.' "
However, he added, he believed the government had misled him
about the threat that Lee posed. That may turn into just one of
many unanswered questions.
Lee's attorneys had charged that Lee had been unfairly singled
out for prosecution, known as selective prosecution, and that
other officials who had committed similar offenses had been
treated far less harshly. The defense won a motion demanding that
the government hand over a huge volume of documents on the
question of how others in a similar position as Lee had been
handled. The government settled the Lee case just days before the
deadline for providing that information. With the plea, the
documents remained secret.
Lee's attorneys had also claimed that most of the information Lee
had downloaded was actually available in scholarly journals and
other unclassified sources. It appears now that that question
will never be answered publicly.
Lee filed his civil law suit claiming his right to privacy was
violated by deliberate government leaks to the media. He won a
major victory when subpoenas to six journalists were upheld and
then more recently when a federal judge cited five of the
journalists for contempt for not disclosing their sources. The
matter may now be settled in an appeals court.
Even then, Sun said, he is not confident that the reporters would
actually reveal confidential sources. The leaks, he admitted, may
always be a source of conjecture. He said that there had been
some preliminary discussions with the government about settling
Lee's civil case out of court, but that there had been no
substantial progress.
Charles Miller, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said the
government would have no comment on the litigation.
E-mail James Sterngold at jsterngold@sfchronicle.com
[jsterngold@sfchronicle.com] .
[graphical line]
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©2004 San Francisco Chronicle | Feedback | FAQ
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27 Rocky Mountain News: Top exec resigns from firm running DOE aid program
By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News
August 27, 2004
A top executive has resigned his job with the prime contractor
for a largely unsuccessful Department of Energy program to help
workers at Rocky Flats and other nuclear weapons plants who were
sickened on the job.
Apogen spokesman Mike Smith said Vice Chairman Bobby Savoie's
sudden departure was unrelated to a recent federal auditor's
conclusion that the company's contract with DOE was improper.
DOE originally contracted for the development of a computer
system for the workers' aid program. But the computer firm ended
up actually compiling workers' applications for compensation. In
four years, DOE has spent nearly $95 million on processing
paperwork, while only 31 of 24,000 applicants have been paid.
The auditor said the contract was improper because DOE used the
company to hire nurses and other noncomputer staff.
The report said DOE paid $175,000 a year each for 120 "senior
management analysts" who were actually nurses reviewing
applications for aid.
Apogen said that work made the nurses data-processing personnel.
Savoie had been president of New Orleans-based Science &
Engineering Associates, which obtained and ran the DOE contract.
SEA merged with another company several months ago to become
Apogen.
Smith said Savoie was leaving due to "overlap on the leadership"
of the newly merged firm.
2004 © The E.W. Scripps Co. Privacy
*****************************************************************
28 Rocky Mountain News: Speakout: Flats cleanup thorough and rigorous
By Frazer Lockhart, Special to the News
August 27, 2004
As the cleanup of Rocky Flats nears completion, a handful of
individuals associated with old controversies but completely
unfamiliar with the cleanup of the former weapons site have
raised some startling charges. In essence, these individuals
formerly associated with the Rocky Flats grand jury matter, claim
that the agencies responsible for the cleanup either don't know
or don't want to know the extent of the contamination at the
site.
These claims are not credible. They contradict the deliberate
conclusions of multiple efforts of government agencies and
citizen's groups conducted at taxpayer expense over the last 15
years, and which are based on enormous amounts of factual
information. There may be issues at Rocky Flats where reasonable
people can disagree. This isn't one of them.
As the Department of Energy began the cleanup of Rocky Flats,
every effort was made to determine the extent of environmental
contamination at the site and in surrounding areas. Hundreds of
interviews were conducted with employees to record worker
knowledge of environmental issues (many employees from this time
still work at Rocky Flats, contributing their knowledge to the
cleanup). More than 4,000 documents relating to past
environmental practices were reviewed. These efforts resulted in
a comprehensive compilation of environmental contamination at
Rocky Flats, known as the 1992 Historical Release Report (this
report has been updated at least annually since 1992). This
document as well as thousands of other documents are available
for public review.
The Department of Energy has taken hundreds of thousands of soil,
air and water samples throughout the 6,400-acre site. The site
has been investigated with hand-held instruments, satellite
imagery, aerial surveys, photographs and physical inspections.
Any area even remotely suspected of being contaminated was
identified as a potential cleanup site; in all, 360 such areas
were identified. For the past 10 years these areas have been
systematically evaluated and cleaned up as needed.
The Rocky Flats cleanup has been and continues to be reviewed and
re-analyzed by federal and state agencies, including the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, the General
Accounting Office, and the Centers for Disease Control.
Additionally, some of the most important aspects of the cleanup,
including the calculation of cleanup levels, have received
independent peer review by nationally recognized experts.
Assertions that this process has missed areas of contamination
that could present a hazard to workers or future refuge visitors
are simply not credible.
Every aspect of the cleanup has received the benefit of early,
extensive public involvement. DOE has hosted technical workshops,
public hearings and comment sessions, special working groups for
the most involved members and groups, and has provided funding
for citizen groups to hire their own outside technical experts to
review and comment on site decisions and cleanup plans. DOE funds
two independent citizens and local government groups to oversee
Rocky Flats activities; the Rocky Flats Coalition of Local
Government and the Citizen's Advisory Board. Public involvement
and oversight have had a tremendous impact on site cleanup. Any
assertions that DOE has not been open and inclusive in performing
this cleanup are, again, simply not credible.
Independent oversight and citizen involvement at Rocky Flats will
continue. Notwithstanding DOE's confidence in the cleanup, the
site becomes a wildlife refuge only after the state and the
Environmental Protection Agency have independently validated the
cleanup. Once DOE concludes that the site is ready, the state and
EPA must undertake their own evaluation to verify that the site
is safe enough to become a refuge. Further, DOE will be required
to monitor and maintain the lands that it keeps, to ensure that
the cleanup remains safe and protective. These processes will
take place with numerous opportunities for public involvement.
The public should continue to stay involved in the Rocky Flats
cleanup - to provide input into the remaining cleanup decisions,
and to ensure that the vital history of this site is not lost or
forgotten. The public should rest assured that the cleanup will
be protective, that the refuge will be safe and that Rocky Flats
will not pose a risk to its workers, visitors or its neighbors.
The law requires it and DOE will insist on it. And, for
generations to come, the people of Colorado will benefit from
preservation of one of the last unspoiled prairie ecosystems in
the Front Range.
*****************************************************************
29 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: HANFORD
Letters to the Editor
[seattlepi.com]
If Initiative 297 passes, that's the time to pop corks Regarding
"Hanford reaches milestone after cleanup of tanks" (Monday),
Hanford workers celebrate? After decades of political maneuvering
and empty promises, liquid from 149 leaky single-shelled tanks
has been transferred to double-walled tanks.
Thank you, Hanford, for doing what should have been done long
ago; but this is no reason to celebrate.
The Department of Energy and the Bush administration are still
intent on cutting spending on cleanup by reclassifying high-level
waste as low level, making Washington the national repository for
low-level waste (or high-level in disguise) and cutting jobs at
Hanford.
The federal government can send waste anywhere in the United
States. It is our right and obligation to dictate the
circumstances under which we are willing to accept it. Initiative
297 does just that. It tells the DOE and the federal government
that they cannot bring in any more waste until the waste at
Hanford is cleaned up and stored properly. When I-297 passes in
November, then I will celebrate.
Wendy DiPeso Shoreline
Radioactive waste by any other name still dangerous The
reclassification of high-level radioactive waste as low-level
waste is ridiculous; it is simply a ploy to downplay the problems
in South Carolina and at Hanford and to reduce costs by not
dealing with the waste properly. If you call high-level
radioactive waste cotton candy, that does not make it pink and
delicious. The current waste classification standards must remain
in place for the safety of the public and the environment.
Matt Weber Seattle
[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
*****************************************************************
30 Google News Alert - nuclear
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 17:09:52 -0700 (PDT)
DIPLOMATIC Effort Under Way Ahead of North Korea Nuclear Talks
Voice of America - Washington,DC,USA
Diplomatic activity is increasing in Asian capitals, ahead of an anticipated
fourth round of six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons development.
...
See all stories on this topic:
GERMANS Allegedly Helped Libyan Nuclear Program
Deutsche Welle - Germany
Libya's nuclear disarmament has provided valuable information on its suppliers:
Authorities are now investigating two German businessmen suspected of
aiding ...
See all stories on this topic:
NUCLEAR waste dilemma
Toronto Star - Toronto,Ontario,Canada
... years, regardless of which political party is in power, is what to
do with the growing piles of radioactive waste being generated from Canada's
nuclear reactors ...
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NUCLEAR JOBS RUSH
Times & Star - Workington,Lake District,United Kingdom
MORE than 650 people have applied for the first 37 jobs advertised in the
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority due to be set up in West Cumbria. ...
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PORTION of former nuclear facility ready for reuse
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Pittsburgh,PA,USA
... of the former Babcock & Wilcox plutonium processing plant site in Parks,
Armstrong County, has been cleaned up enough to meet Nuclear Regulatory
Commission ...
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NUCLEAR power: time for a rethink?
Independent - London,England,UK
... And so in panic, a number of high-profile commentators are calling
for the widespread adoption of nuclear power. Greens, they say ...
EXHIBITION shows nuclear achievements
China Daily - Beijing,China
An exhibition reflecting the evolution of Chinese nuclear industry in the
past five decades raised its curtains on Friday in the Military Museum
of the Chinese ...
ANTI-NUCLEAR group claims safety lacking in French plant
Expatica - Netherlands
BORDEAUX, Aug 26 (AFP) - A French anti-nuclear group Thursday denounced
what it said was deficient management at the 3,600-megawatt nuclear power
station at ...
STRATEGIC games of atomic significance in Iran
New Zealand Herald - Auckland,New Zealand
... His country faces allegations it is secretly building a nuclear weapons
arsenal under the guise of a nuclear programme for peaceful purposes.
...
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PLEASE, not again
Salon (subscription) - USA
US claims about Iran's nuclear program sound eerily familiar, but Britain
should refuse to go to war this time. By Jonathan Steele. Aug. ...
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31 NG: New Process Could Help Make Hydrogen Fuel Affordable
Summary In what could be a step toward an affordable
source of clean energy, Australian scientists have announced a
breakthrough in using sunlight to create hydrogen from water.
Earthpulse ----->
[http://www.nationalgeographic.com/]
Stephanie Peatling in Sydney
for National Geographic News
August 27, 2004
THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES — -->
Scientists in Australia say they have have made a breakthrough in
the efficiency of using sunlight to generate hydrogen from water.
It may be a step toward an affordable source of clean energy.
A renewable source of energy to replace the world's declining
fossil fuel reserves is perhaps the scientific community's holy
grail. Hydrogen is all around us. It is seen by many as the
cleanest and most efficient fuel for powering everything from
vehicles to furnaces and air-conditioning—if only we can find an
affordable way to harness it.
Now two researchers in Australia say they have made substantial
progress.
[Shuttle Photo] Hydrogen
propels the space shuttle and other rockets into orbit. The
shuttle's electricial systems are powered by hydrogen fuel cells,
producing a pure byproduct— drinking water for the crew.
Hydrogen could power cars, trucks, aircraft—and generate the bulk
of Earth's electricity. Scientists are working on ways to harness
sunlight to produce hydrogen from water.
Scientists have known for a long time how to split water into its
two elements, oxygen and hydrogen. But the problem is that the
process requires electricity—typically derived from fossil
fuels—which makes the process counterproductive and expensive.
Janusz Nowotny and Charles Sorrell are researchers from the
Centre for Materials Research in Energy Conversion at the
University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. They have
been looking for an economical way to use titanium dioxide to act
as a catalyst to split water into oxygen and hydrogen—using solar
energy.
The Stuff of Toothpaste
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is widely used as a white pigment in
paint, paper, cosmetics, sunscreens, and toothpastes. It is found
in its purest form in rutile, a beach sand but is also extracted
from certain ores. Rio Tinto, a mining company that produces
titanium oxide, helps fund Nowotny's and Sorrell's research.
Nowotny and Sorrell announced their breakthrough today at the
International Conference on Materials for Hydrogen Energy, hosted
by the University of New South Wales in Sydney. They believe they
have found a way to considerably improve the productivity of the
solar hydrogen process (using sunlight to extract hydrogen from
water) using a device made out of titanium dioxide.
"This is potentially huge, with a market the size of all the
existing markets for coal, oil, and gas combined,'' Nowotny said
in a news statement released ahead of the conference. "Based on
our research results, we know we are on the right track."
Although Australia's sunny climate makes it an ideal place to
generate solar energy, Sorrell said the technology could be used
anywhere in the world.
"It's been the dream of many people for a long time to develop
it, and it's exciting to know it's within such close reach,"
Sorrell said.
Honda-Fujishima Effect
The Australians' research has not been tested yet by other
scientists, although the findings were applauded by the pioneers
of the solar hydrogen process, Akira Fujishima and Kenichi Honda.
In 1967 the Japanese scientists discovered that titanium dioxide
could be used to extract hydrogen from water in a process that
has become known as the Honda-Fujishima effect. The finding was
reported in the journal Nature and led to numerous awards,
including the 2004 Japan Prize in the category Chemical
Technology for the Environment.
Hydrogen is "very simple but very efficient,'' said Fujishima,
who is also in Sydney for today's conference. "We must keep
working hard on it.''
Since the 1967 discovery much research has focused on the
materials that might be used to split water with sunlight.
Fujishima, chairman of the Kanagawa Academy of Science and
Technology, says using titanium dioxide as a catalyst means
energy production will result in "cleaner air, cleaner water, and
a cleaner atmosphere."
Many Years to Hydrogen Power
The world is still a long way off from large-scale conversion
from fossil fuels to hydrogen for its energy needs. For one
thing, the Honda-Fujishima effect, even if it is greatly enhanced
by the research breakthrough announced today, still has to be
adapted into devices that can be used on a commercially viable
scale. Engineers will have to design fuel cells that collect
sunlight from rooftops and elsewhere.
The world's energy infrastructure is primarily based on fossil
fuels and nuclear energy. Transitioning from gasoline-powered
vehicles and gas stations to hydrogen-fuel replacements would
require a huge investment and many years. Storage and safety
issues still need to be resolved.
But the vision of a world powered by hydrogen is gaining momentum
and science and technology is catching up.
T. Nejat Veziroglu is the director of the Clean Energy Research
Institute at the University of Miami and the president of the
International Association for Hydrogen Energy. He was called a
"hydrogen romantic'" when he first started talking about a world
powered by hydrogen in the 1960s.
Veziroglu recently appeared before a U.S. Congressional hearing.
Afterward, he said, he was stopped by a committee member who told
him hydrogen would never be as cheap as existing forms of energy.
"I said, make the companies responsible for environmental damage
and no one will use anything but hydrogen. That way the whole
world will benefit.''
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For related Web sites and more alternate-energy stories, scroll
to bottom.
The Real Cost of Fossil Fuel?
One of the biggest arguments against using hydrogen as an
alternate source of energy is that it costs a lot more than
energy derived from fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas.
But what's the real cost of using these sources of energy once
damage to the environment has been factored in?
Two researchers calculated that the annual cost of powering Earth
with coal, natural gas, and petroleum is about three trillion
U.S. dollars—or $15.58 for each gigajoule of energy generated
from these traditional fuels.
Akira Fujishima, chairman of the Kanagawa Academy of Science and
Technology, and T. Nejat Veziroglu, based at the University of
Miami, are the researchers behind the calculation. They presented
their findings today at the International Conference on Materials
for Hydrogen Energy in Sydney, Australia.
Their reckoning takes present rates of energy consumption and
factors in the cost of declining air and water quality, the
impact of global warming on insurance premiums, and the declining
quality of life.
By contrast, they say, if the world switched to energy from solar
hydrogen it would cost just $13.55 per gigajoule. This is because
such energy would mean significantly lower greenhouse-gas
emissions, no ozone depletion, no acid rain, much lower
pollution—and a higher quality of life.
The environmental cost associated with using fossil fuels "is not
paid by companies," Veziroglu said. "It's paid by people through
higher insurance premiums and health costs.''
[http://www.nationalgeographic.com/] © 2004 National Geographic
Society. All rights reserved.
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