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line and first line of body
NUCLEAR POLICY
1 Guardian Unlimited: N. Korea Holds Nuke Crisis Bargaining Chip
2 Korea Times: South and North Korean Diplomats Discuss NK Nuclear Iss
3 Guardian Unlimited: UN Reform Sought to Tackle Global Threats
4 Putin.Ru: India to pay $2 billion for Russian weaponry
NUCLEAR REACTORS
5 US: [NukeNet] Great Editorials on Oyster Creek
6 40% Cancer Increase In Chernobyl Effected Belarus
7 US: [BATN] US scientists claim hydrogen production breakthrough
8 US: [du-list] NRC FOIA: EPA petition
9 US: San Luis Obispo Tribune: Access linked to Diablo project
10 US: AP Wire: Nuclear generator at San Onofre remains off line due to
11 US: Northumberland News: Contamination testing on the horizon
12 The Herald: British Energy wins deadline extension
13 US: toledoblade.com: Davis-Besse plans update on Monday
14 UK Independent: British Energy chiefs in line for £30m Bonus
15 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Feds say Monticello neglecting mill tailings
16 US: APP.COM: Meeting on Oyster Creek license renewal to be held in B
17 Scotsman.com News: Brussels Orders Nuclear 'Aid' Probe
18 ITAR-TASS: DPRK prevents withdrawal of machinery from NPS site-KEDO
19 Guardian Unlimited: BE bosses in line for huge bonuses
20 FT.com: British Energy set to pay £104m in fees
NUCLEAR SAFETY
21 Depleted uranium: A death sentence here and abroad
22 [du-list] DOD Exemptions in EHP
23 [NukeNet] 40% Cancer Increase In Chernobyl Effected Belarus
24 US: Pilot That "Buzzed" Nuke Plant & Could Have Brought "Accidental
25 US: heraldtribune.com: Tallevast beryllium testing plan seems to ple
26 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Toxin from '88 Nevada explosion is tainting f
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
27 Re: [du-list] ?Question about war machines?
28 US: Bradenton Herald: County funds beryllium tests
29 Las Vegas SUN: Congress: Nevada counties can use federal funds
30 Las Vegas RJ: Congress resolves Yucca funding dispute
31 Las Vegas RJ: State finds change in repository's quality control
32 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Another safety gaffe at Yucca Mountain
33 Las Vegas SUN: Congress OKs money for Yucca oversight
34 US: Lincoln Journal Star: There Oughta Be A Law: Reader calls the nu
35 US: CTV.ca: Rocket fuel chemical found in organic milk
36 KVBC: What's Next For Yucca Mountain
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
37 chillicothe gazette: Piketon plant looks to start new legacy -
38 SPI: Justice Department to try and overturn initiative barring more
39 Tri-City Herald: DOE likely to challenge Hanford waste initiative
40 Pahrump Valley Times: DOE works on NTS 'legacy'
41 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Paducah
42 DOE: Revision of the Record of Decision for a Nuclear Weapons
OTHER NUCLEAR
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FULL NEWS STORIES
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1 Guardian Unlimited: N. Korea Holds Nuke Crisis Bargaining Chip
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Wednesday December 1, 2004 8:16 AM
AP Photo NY191
By PETER JAMES SPIELMANN
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - North Korea is holding South Korean construction
cranes, bulldozers, road graders, dump trucks and almost 200
cars hostage at the site of a suspended power plant project as a
bargaining chip in the international standoff over its bid to
develop nuclear weapons.
The South Korean companies that own the construction equipment
are dismayed since North Korea has refused to back down on
demands for compensation for the suspension of the power-plant
program.
The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), the
New York-based consortium set up to build safe power plants in
North Korea in exchange for Pyongyang's agreement to dismantle
its weapons program, says no progress has been made on the
impasse.
Construction of two 1,000-megawatt light-water reactors to
replace North Korea's Russian-model, plutonium-producing nuclear
plants was suspended in 2003 after the United States raised
suspicions that Pyongyang also concealed a secret program to
enrich uranium to weapons grade.
The freeze on the nuclear plant project was extended last week
for another year, effective Dec. 1, by KEDO, which is led by the
United States, Japan, South Korea, and the European Union.
The Bush administration has been contending that the project has
``no future,'' as the State Department said a year ago.
South Korea and Japan, which are most heavily invested in
construction of the $4.6 billion nuclear plant project about 125
miles north of the 38th parallel on North Korea's east coast
near Sinpo, hope to keep it on the table to entice North Korea
back into disarmament talks.
KEDO's extension of the freeze noted that ``the future of the
project will be assessed and decided by the Executive Board
before the expiration of the suspension period,'' suggesting it
will be revived or killed based on North Korea's willingness to
rejoin disarmament talks in coming months.
But in the meantime, North Korea has barred the removal of 93
pieces of heavy construction equipment, including three cranes,
plus bulldozers, steam shovels, dump trucks, road graders and
forklifts, and about 190 South Korean cars and some buses from
the site at Kumho, demanding that the United States pay
unspecified ``compensation'' for the suspension of the program.
Pyongyang has threatened to go in and seize the equipment along
with computers, office equipment and any technical documents
still on the site, but has made no move to do so.
KEDO's executive director, Charles Kartman, raised the issue in
talks with North Korea prior to the consortium's announcement
Nov. 26 of the extension of the freeze on construction.
KEDO spokesman Brian Kremer confirmed on Monday that no progress
has been made recently on breaking the impasse, but added,
``We're certainly hopeful that KEDO can resolve this issue.''
The South Korean companies with the most equipment at stake are
Hyundai, Doosan, Daewoo and Dong-ah, which subcontracted with
Korean Electric Power Co. to provide construction work.
A spokesman for the four major Korean subcontractors, speaking
in Seoul on condition of anonymity, said the seized equipment
amounted to a major loss and said the situation was ``awkward''
for the construction consortium since they had not been
compensated for it.
Their equipment had been shipped from South Korea directly to a
port at Kumo, avoiding the difficulty of negotiating road access
through the almost hermetically sealed North Korea.
KEDO is continuing to pay leasing fees to the South Korean
companies ``for equipment that is not being used. We have a
budget that we have to live within,'' Kremer said. The reduced
KEDO staff at the Kumho site is maintaining the partially built
project and caring for the equipment and vehicles.
The major and lesser subcontractors had sought to retrieve their
equipment when the nuclear project was shelved about a year ago,
when the project was a third of the way toward completion.
But a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said at the time,
``We will never allow the U.S. to take out facilities, equipment
and materials for the light water reactor construction and
technical documents now in the Kumho area unless the U.S. pays a
penalty.''
``Our measure has nothing to do with subcontractors
participating in the light water reactor construction,'' the
Foreign Ministry spokesman said, quoted by North Korea's
official news agency.
The value of the vehicles and equipment - perhaps in the tens of
millions of dollars - is a small fraction of the overall $4.6
billion estimated cost of the Kumho reactor project, which is 70
percent funded by South Korea.
But the impasse over removal of the equipment is emblematic of
the conflicting political demands from the United States, South
Korea and Japan, which the KEDO project is entangled in.
KEDO was set up in 1994 to fulfill a deal to take North Korea's
plutonium-producing nuclear plants offline and remove and seal
more than 8,000 used fuel rods, in exchange for the light-water
reactors and 500,000 tons of fuel oil sent annually by the
United States - which has also been halted for two years.
---
Associated Press writer Soo-jeong Lee in Seoul, South Korea
contributed to this report.
---
On the Web: the Korean Peninsula Energy Organization, including
its 2003 annual report:
www.kedo.org
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
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2 Korea Times: South and North Korean Diplomats Discuss NK Nuclear Issue
Hankooki.com > The Korea Times > Nation
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) _ Diplomats from the two Koreas met in New
York on Tuesday at a seminar on the dispute over North Korea's
nuclear program.
Wi Sung-lac, political minister at South Korea's embassy in
Washington, said he met Han Song-ryol, deputy chief of North
Korea's mission to the United Nations, at the luncheon seminar
organized by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy
(NCAFP).
``I attended as an individual at the invitation of the
NCAFP,¡¯¡¯ Wi said. ``About 20 participants, including U.S.
experts on the Korean peninsula, mainly heard North Korea's view
on six-party talks from Han.¡¯¡¯
Wi described the seminar as ``useful,¡¯¡¯ but did not disclose
details, including what the North Korean diplomat said. He said
no U.S. government official was present.
Founded in 1974, the NCAFP is a nonprofit, activist organization
dedicated to the resolution of conflicts.
The organization hosted a similar seminar on the nuclear problem
in August that brought together Ri Gun, deputy chief of North
Korea's delegation to six-party talks, his U.S. counterpart
Joseph DeTrani and South Korea's Ambassador to Washington Han
Sung-joo.
Before moving to Washington, Wi had also been deeply involved in
the nuclear talks, once serving as deputy chief of the country's
delegation to the forum.
The forum, which also involves China, Japan and Russia, has met
three times so far, with little progress so far.
A fourth session was supposed to take place before the end of
September, but has been delayed because the North refused to
attend.
The nuclear dispute began two years ago when U.S. officials said
Pyongyang had admitted to secretly pushing a uranium-based
nuclear program, in addition to its acknowledged plutonium-based
one. The North has denied the U.S. claim. 12-01-2004 17:44
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3 Guardian Unlimited: UN Reform Sought to Tackle Global Threats
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Wednesday December 1, 2004 8:01 AM
AP Photo NY113
By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - A high-level panel called for sweeping
reform of the United Nations to tackle global threats in the
21st century and said the Security Council must authorize any
pre-emptive or preventive military attack, which it refused to
do in Iraq.
The panel's long-awaited report, which was commissioned by
Secretary-General Kofi Annan after last year's divisive
diplomatic battle over the war against Iraq, said the dangers
confronting the world today cannot be dealt with by any nation
acting alone, even a superpower.
The 95-page report lays out a new vision for collective action
to tackle threats to global security and puts ``a more
proactive'' Security Council at the heart of a revitalized
United Nations.
``The case for collective security today rests on three basic
pillars,'' the panel said. ``Today's threats recognize no
national boundaries, are connected, and must be addressed at the
global and regional as well as the national levels. No state, no
matter how powerful, can by its own efforts alone make itself
invulnerable to today's threats.''
The issues facing the international community, the panel said,
go far beyond fighting wars and must include campaigns to fight
poverty, terrorism, environmental destruction, organized crime
and weapons proliferation.
The U.N. Charter now permits the use of force for self-defense
only in case of an attack or if authorized by the Security
Council.
But the panel said the international community must now be
concerned ``about nightmare scenarios combining terrorists,
weapons of mass destruction and irresponsible states ... which
may conceivably justify the use of force, not just reactively
but preventively and before a latent threat becomes imminent.''
``The question is not whether such action can be taken: it can,
by the Security Council as the international community's
collective security voice, at any time it deems that there is a
threat to international peace and security,'' the panel said.
It also broadened the global threats that could require military
action to include the protection of civilians from genocide and
other atrocities.
Whether the panel's wide-ranging recommendations attract
substantial support remains to be seen. Its members include
former top U.N. officials, the former prime ministers of Norway
and Russia, the former foreign ministers of Australia and China,
and former U.S. national security adviser Brent Scowcroft.
Annan plans to use the report as a basis for his own proposals
in March to the U.N.'s 191 member states. He has invited world
leaders to a summit in September to take action on U.N. reform
and the new global agenda.
``We'll give it our careful consideration,'' U.S. Ambassador
John Danforth said when asked about the report.
While the Security Council's refusal last year to authorize the
U.S.-led war in Iraq served as the backdrop for the report, the
panel only mentioned it as a case that sparked widely differing
opinions and intense public attention. It said the U.S. decision
to seek U.N. authorization - even in failing to win approval -
had reaffirmed ``the centrality'' of the U.N. Charter.
The panel said any good argument for preventive military action
should be put to the council in the future. If it refuses to
authorize an attack, there will still be time to use persuasion,
negotiation, deterrence and containment - and to try the
military option again.
In what appeared to be a post-Iraq message to the United States,
the panel said ``for those impatient with such a response, the
answer must be that, in a world full of perceived potential
threats, the risk to the global order ... is simply too great
for the legality of unilateral preventive action....''
The panel made 101 recommendations on how to achieve a more
secure world. They range from expanding the U.N. Security
Council from 15 to 24 members and defining terrorism to
overhauling the international system to prevent the spread of
nuclear weapons and authorizing a one-time buyout to put younger
staff in top U.N. positions.
The panel declared the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty - the
cornerstone of global security against atomic weapons - was ``at
risk'' because of noncompliance and the spread of technology.
``We are approaching a point at which the erosion of the
nonproliferation regime could become irreversible and result in
a cascade of proliferation,'' the report warned.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
*****************************************************************
4 Putin.Ru: India to pay $2 billion for Russian weaponry
[http://putinru.com]
Moscow, 02 December 2004 05:03
India to pay $2 billion for Russian weaponry 01 December
2004 14:47 President Vladimir Putin will visit India on December
3-5, when contracts for the delivery of Russian submarines and
aircraft, which are worth at least $2 billion, may be signed. A
Russian delegation led by Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has
already arrived in New Delhi to discuss the upcoming deals in
detail.
Vedomosti learned at a military complex enterprise working on
Indian contracts that India was "highly likely" to sign
documents on the ten-year lease of two decommissioned Project
971 Shchuka nuclear submarines, which are currently at the Amur
Shipbuilding Yard. Besides this, the countries may sign a
contract for the delivery of two Project 877 Varshavyanka diesel
submarines and three or four Tu-22M3 medium-range bombers.
The re-fitting of one Shchuka submarine is 70% complete (the
other is 30%-40% complete) and will cost India at least $400
million, while the leasing fees will be around $25 million a
year, according to a source with knowledge of the situation at
the shipyard.
Marat Kenzhetayev, an expert at the Center for Disarmament
Studies, said the refits, the construction of coastal
infrastructure, and crew training may bring Russia $2 billion.
The Shchuka submarines will probably be equipped with Bramos
anti-ship missiles developed by Russia and India. These missiles
can also be installed on Tu-22M3 bombers. According to Mikhail
Barabanov, a naval expert, India's Navy will thereby secure
superiority over its neighbors, including Pakistan and China, in
the Indian Ocean in the long term.
Moscow Defense Brief Editor Ruslan Pukhov said talks on the sale
of another three Project 1135.6 frigates (a contract for the
sale/purchase of three frigates worth $900 million was
implemented this year) and Amur type submarines will begin after
Mr. Putin's visit. Source: RIAN
[http://putinru.com]
*****************************************************************
5 [NukeNet] Great Editorials on Oyster Creek
Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2004 14:38:42 -0800
-----Original Message-----
From: Suzanne Leta [mailto:sleta@njpirg.org]
Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 10:51 AM
To: erusch@njpirg.org; Rob Sargent; dmottola@njpirg.org; domalley@njpirg.org
Subject: Great Editorials on Oyster Creek
Big guns needed to shut reactor
Published in the Asbury Park Press 12/01/04
An Asbury Park Press editorial
The state Assembly Environment Committee will hold a public hearing
tomorrow night on the 20-year license renewal being sought for the Oyster
Creek nuclear generating plant in Lacey. While the decision on renewal
rests with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the best hope for
heading it off is a well-coordinated coalition that includes the state and
the state's federal lawmakers as key partners. We hope all those partners
will be on hand at the hearing.
Oyster Creek's license should not be renewed beyond its 2009 expiration
date. The security, health and environmental risks associated with the
aging plant far outweigh the modest benefits of keeping it open. We hope
the hearing, set for 7 p.m. at the Brick Civic Plaza, will give rise to an
Assembly resolution that will put the full weight of the Legislature and
acting Gov. Codey behind efforts to shut Oyster Creek permanently. And we
hope it will help debunk the myths perpetuated by Oyster Creek's supporters
that the shutdown of the plant would be devastating for Lacey taxpayers and
the region's economy, and produce energy shortfalls in New Jersey.
Lacey officials continue to insist that the township would suffer severe
financial hardships if Oyster Creek were closed down. Not true. Lacey
receives an annual $11.5 million subsidy from the state for hosting the
plant. State law requires that the subsidy be granted in perpetuity, with
annual adjustments for inflation, whether the plant remains open or not.
Oyster Creek's proponents -- almost all of whom either live in Lacey or
work for, or lobby on behalf of, Oyster Creek owner AmerGen -- also insist
that the shutdown would cause severe damage to the region's economy. The
concerns are grossly overstated. If the plant were to be decommissioned, it
would take a decade or more to complete the work, and many of the plant's
present workers would be needed to do so. Job losses could be largely
absorbed through attrition and transfers to parent company Exelon's other
plants.
AmerGen officials also have tried to convince the public that Oyster
Creek's continued operation is crucial to meeting New Jersey's energy
needs. Hardly. The state Board of Public Utilities says the loss of energy
from the reactor would be more than offset by natural gas plants expected
to come online well before 2009. Oyster Creek, which has the eighth
smallest generating capacity of the nation's 103 reactors, supplies just 1
percent of the power to the regional grid of which New Jersey is a part.
The opposition to license renewal from local, state and federal officials
has been building in recent months. In July, then-Gov. James E. McGreevey
called on Oyster Creek to permanently close when its operating license
expires. That same month, Rep. H. James Saxton, R-N.J., whose district
includes Lacey, said he wouldn't support a license extension until an
independent study by the National Academy of Sciences showed that the plant
could operate safely beyond 2009. Saxton later introduced a bill that would
require the NRC to take into account a variety of factors now excluded from
the review process. Rep. Christopher H. Smith, R-N.J., whose district also
includes parts of Ocean County, recently came out against license renewal.
Unfortunately, we haven't heard much from New Jersey's senators, Jon
Corzine or Frank Lautenberg, on the issue. Neither has taken a position.
It's time for them to get off the sidelines and join the fray. Codey,
McGreevey's successor, also has yet to announce his stance on Oyster Creek.
But tomorrow's hearing was called by one of his confidants, Assemblyman
John F. McKeon, D-Essex, chairman of the Assembly Environment Committee.
That could be a good omen.
The fight to shut Oyster Creek down can be won. But New Jersey needs Codey,
Corzine and Lautenberg to help it do battle. They need to take a stand now.
Visit our Web site,www.app.comand click on the Opinion button for our
editorial series, "Oyster Creek: Time to Retire."
Oyster Creek renewal depends on risk assessment
Published in the Asbury Park Press 11/30/04
A meeting on Thursday, Dec. 9, offers public input on extending the power
plant's license.
By MICHAEL J. PANTER
An issue of critical importance to New Jersey residents' health and safety
will be considered at a public hearing of the Assembly Environment
Committee this week. The meeting, which will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday at
the Civic Plaza in Brick, will focus on the potential 20-year license
extension of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey.
With all of Monmouth and Ocean counties encompassed in the 50-mile radius
surrounding Oyster Creek, an accident at the facility could have a
devastating impact on the health and safety of our families, as well as our
environment and economy.
The last publicly disclosed study of projected casualties from a major
radioactive release at Oyster Creek was presented to the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission in 1981. When the study is adjusted for population increases
since then, nearly 22,000 deaths would occur in the 12 months following
such an event, with nearly 40,000 additional lives lost to cancer and other
illnesses over the lives of those exposed.
We have a duty to conduct an exhaustive review of the risks posed by the
continuing operation of Oyster Creek, and the adequacy of the plant's
safety measures.
In that review, we must be cognizant of the 451 full-time workers who would
be affected by any changes at the plant. We must also consider any possible
effects on the power supply, as well as the economic benefits Oyster Creek
provides to Ocean County and the state.
Oyster Creek opened in 1969 and is the oldest nuclear power plant in the
United States. The facility is a boiling water reactor that generates power
by heating water through nuclear fission created in a set of submerged,
uranium-filled fuel rods. The resulting steam is then used to generate
electricity.
Over time, plutonium and other byproducts of the fission process collect in
the fuel rods and decrease their efficiency. The waste contained in spent
rods remains highly radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years, and
proper storage is critical. Oyster Creek has generated nearly 150 tons of
nuclear waste, all of which is kept on site while the United States seeks
to establish a national location for permanent storage.
The most pressing issues facing Oyster Creek are the possibility of an
accident due to safety failures or a terrorist attack, and the feasibility
of an effective evacuation of surrounding areas after an accident or attack.
Oyster Creek recently completed an extensive security upgrade, including
the addition of more paramilitary guards and updated weaponry. The plant
also has new vehicle barriers and a new vehicle checkpoint, as well as
miles of new fencing with razor wire to delay or prevent unauthorized entry.
While the potential for an attack is difficult to quantify, we do know that
terrorists have considered nuclear plants in the United States as targets.
Although we are not aware of specific threats against Oyster Creek,
considering its proximity to Newark Liberty International Airport and Route
9 and our status as the most densely populated state in the nation, we
cannot rule it out. We also know that exercises at Oyster Creek in 2001
revealed significant security lapses.
The risk of an accident at Oyster Creek is more discernible. In 1985, the
NRC testified before Congress that there was a 45 percent chance of a
reactor accident over a 20-year time period given 100 nuclear plants in
operation (the United States has 103). Almost 20 years later, 27 plants
have been closed for periods greater than one year due to major safety
risks, although the NRC has never denied a relicensing application.
Oyster Creek's own safety record is cause for serious concern. First, its
design was discontinued due to safety flaws only four years after it came
online. Second, it has been cited for more violations than all but seven of
our nation's nuclear plants, including a critical loss of water in its core
in 1979, shortly after the meltdown at Three Mile Island.
In 1997, the plant's owners were cited by the NRC for having an inoperable
emergency water pump due to excessive corrosion, two inoperable
control-rod-drive pumps and insufficient emergency power, as well as
radiation monitors that had been calibrated incorrectly.
Nine more violations were found by the NRC in 1998, including the failure
of three of the plant's five valves meant to depressurize the reactor in
the event of an accident. Inspections in 2003 found that deteriorated power
cables, which had not been inspected after similar incidents in 1996 and
2001, had failed.
These are just a few of the topics we must address in our committee's
hearing Thursday.
On Dec. 9 at 7 p.m., I invite all Monmouth County residents to an open
meeting in the auditorium of Seabrook Village at 3000 Essex Road, Tinton
Falls, where I will share information gathered by our committee and receive
public input. I would also appreciate any questions or suggestions. Send
them to me at AsmPanter@njleg.org or call (732) 741-5599.
When our review is completed, I intend to offer a resolution urging acting
Gov. Codey to use the legal, regulatory and other resources at New Jersey's
disposal to support our state's position on Oyster Creek's relicensing. In
this manner, we will ensure that the safety and health of our families and
environment are the NRC's highest priorities.
Michael J. Panter is vice chair-man of the Assembly Environ-ment Committee.
He is a Demo-crat whose 12th Legislative District includes parts of
Mon-mouth and Mercer counties.
Suzanne Leta
Energy Associate
NJPIRG
11 N. Willow St
Trenton, NJ 08608
609 394 8155 x310
sleta@njpirg.org
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6 40% Cancer Increase In Chernobyl Effected Belarus
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 19:46:30 -0500
New paper on cancer rates in Belarus confirms
LLRC's predictions
The Swiss Medical Weekly has published findings
from the Clinical Institute of Radiation Medicine
and Endocrinology Research, Minsk, Belarus showing
a 40% increase in cancer between 1990 and 2000.
The researchers used data from the National Cancer
Registry, established in 1973. They compared the
post Chernobyl period with rates before the
accident on April 26, 1986.
Relative Risks all have high statistical
significance. Increases in the various oblasts
(regions) were:
Brest 33%
Vitebsk 38%
Gomel 52%
Grodno 44%
Minsk 49%
Mogilev 32%
Minsk city 18%
all Belarus 40%
The authors note that increases in breast cancer
are happening earlier in populations in the more
highly contaminated regions (Gomel and Mogilev)
than in less contaminated Vitebsk. This dose
related difference in the time lag for
radiation-induced cancers is known from other
studies and is most marked for breast cancer.
In 2001 Chris Busby reported to the Belarus
government that cancer would increase by 125% over
the lifetimes of the exposed population (
http://www.llrc.org/belarus.htm ). Now, 18 years
after the accident, 40% of that increase is
apparent. The view of conventional radiation
protection "experts", however, is that very little
if any cancer has resulted or will result from the
fallout. This was expressed, for example, in 2000
by a United Nations committee:
"Apart from the substantial increase in thyroid
cancer after childhood exposure observed in
Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine there
is no evidence of a major public health impact
related to ionising radiation 14 years after the
Chernobyl accident. No increases in overall cancer
incidence or mortality that could be associated
with radiation exposure have been observed. The
risk of leukaemia, one of the most sensitive
indicators of radiation exposure, has not been
found to be elevated even in the accident recovery
operation workers or in children. There is no
scientific proof of an increase in non-malignant
disorders related to ionising radiation.
. For the most part [the public] were exposed to
radiation levels comparable to or a few times
higher than the natural background levels. Lives
have been disrupted by the Chernobyl accident but
from the radiological point of view, based on the
assessment of this Annex, generally positive
prospects for the future health of most
individuals should prevail."
UNSCEAR (2000) United Nations Scientific Committee
on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. Sources and
Effects of Ionising Radiation 2000. UN General
Assembly, with Scientific Annexes. United Nations
New York. Annex J Final Summary
For evidence of increases in non-malignant
disorders see http://www.llrc.org/chernobyl.htm -
summaries of 100 papers from the affected
territories.
The Belarus paper is freely available for download
as a pdf:-
http://www.smw.ch/pdf200x/2004/43/smw-10221.pdf
We have sent you this email circular because you
are on our database of people who are concerned
about low level radiation and health. If you do
not want to receive information from us please
reply, putting "remove from LLRC" in the subject
line.
Richard Bramhall
Low Level Radiation Campaign
bramhall@llrc.org
The Knoll, Montpellier Park
Llandrindod Wells,
Powys LD1 5LW U.K.
+44(0)1597 824771
07887 942043
*****************************************************************
7 [BATN] US scientists claim hydrogen production breakthrough
Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2004 07:22:40 -0000
Published Tuesday, November 30, 2004, by the Associated Press
Scientists unveil hydrogen fuel project
Scientists announce project to produce hydrogen for fuel
By Mark Thiessen
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY -- If hydrogen created in a nuclear reactor ever
winds up fueling cars and homes and businesses decades from now,
it might all owe its thanks to a pottery kiln in Salt Lake City.
A government laboratory and a private electrochemistry company on
Monday announced they had been selected to lead a $2.6 million
project to develop hydrogen by high temperature electrolysis.
If successful, their efforts could lead to fuel that could reduce
the county's reliance on fossil fuels.
High temperature electrolysis, once thought to be cost prohibitive,
could become economically feasible by using the next generation of
nuclear reactors to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using
electric energy, officials with both Ceramatec Inc., and the Idaho
National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory said.
"We have been able to show that we can produce hydrogen at
commercially attractive rates in a very small unit and at conditions
that are typical of a high temperature, helium-cooled reactor," said
INEEL researcher Steve Herring.
The sample, about the size of a paperback book, had its successful
test in the kiln, used to simulate the high temperatures that would
be created in the so-called generation four nuclear reactors, about
1,800 degrees Fahrenheit.
During the test, the sample placed inside the kiln had a paper-thin
sheet of ceramic inside it. At the elevated temperatures, oxygen can
migrate through the membrane. When an electric voltage is applied,
it extracts oxygen from the stream, leaving hydrogen behind. The
oxygen continues through the membrane and is discharged on the other
side.
There are other methods that could be used to produce the high
temperatures needed for the separation process, like harnessed wind
power with solar concentrators, but using a nuclear reactor is the
only one being considered by this team.
Researchers said the process of obtaining hydrogen by splitting
water using electric energy has been known for about 150 years, but
costs in terms of dollars and electric energy made it an unpopular
choice.
"High temperature electrolysis has the potential to change that by
reducing the amount of electrical energy required and using a
proportion of thermal energy in its place," said Joseph Hartvigsen
with Ceramatec.
Ceramatec and INEEL will partner with Hoeganaes Corp. in New Jersey
and the University of Washington for the project to increase the
sample size one hundredfold over the next three years.
The Department of Energy is hoping for a demonstration of commercial-
scale hydrogen production using the process by 2017. The government
is considering building the necessary next-generation power plant at
INEEL, research Michael Anderson said.
The small-scale experiment "is a significant step on the trail to
this commercial-scale demonstration," Anderson said. It's also part
of the energy department's goal of developing the technology needed
for commercially viable hydrogen.
Researchers admit it would be decades if not a generation before
hydrogen power and its infrastructure is as commonplace as the one
in place today for petroleum-based energy such as refineries and gas
stations.
Instead, Herring said, the most immediate use of hydrogen using the
new process would be to upgrade poor quality petroleum for use as
motor fuels and then synthesizing existing fuels that cars can use,
like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, he said.
"Then the third stage in the use of hydrogen would be the use of
pure hydrogen as a transportation fuel," he said.
It's estimated that a 300 megawatt reactor could provide the power
to run 300,000 homes or provide transportation for about 500,000
people. Herring estimated that currently, Americans use one gallon
of gasoline per person per day.
"That's a quarter of a billion gallons of gasoline use, so it's
important to make a dent in that," he said.
On the Net:
Ceramatec Inc.: http://www.ceramatec.com
Idaho National Engineering & Environmental Lab: http://www.inel.gov
Energy Department: http://www.energy.gov/engine/content.do
[BATN: See also:
Researchers claim hydrogen production breakthrough
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BATN/message/21531 ]
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8 [du-list] NRC FOIA: EPA petition
Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2004 14:38:13 -0800
Commissioner Nils Diaz
Chair
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Gary Buckrop
AMSFS-SF
U.S. Army Field Support Command
Michael Leavitt
Wayne Nastri
Environmental Protection Agency
ALLEGATION RE: N.R.C. LICENSE SUC-1380, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
REQUEST; AND AMENDMENT OF E.P.A. EMERGENCY PETITION OF 23 NOVEMBER
Dear Dr. Diaz and Mr. Buckrop:
I allege that license application number SUC-1380, and its renewal at:
http://www.osc.army.mil/dm/DMWWEB/Lic%20pdf%20etc/1-DU%20RENEWAL%20PACKAGE.pdf
is flawed and can not be the basis of a valid license, because the
health risks of depleted uranium munitions in the form that they
exist today are not yet understood to the extent necessary to allow
the due process of application review.
There is likely another reason that the license was not properly
obtained, but in order to specify it, the following questions must
be answered:
How many pages of documents have been considered in the above-linked
license application and all prior and subsequent related license
applications pertaining to the depleted uranium combustion products
produced when ignited by various means, including heat and other
energy application in ordinary air, and by propellants available for
depleted uranium ammunition, and by explosives used in ordnance shells?
How many pages of documents have been considered in the above-linked
license application and all related license applications pertaining
to the detection of uranium combustion products as specified in the
previous question?
Thank you for your prompt attention to these questions. I submit
them both under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552.)
I request expedited processing of this request because failure to
obtain the requested documents within an expedited time frame could
reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to many
individuals' physical safety, and because there is an urgent need
to inform the public concerning the subjects of the requested records.
I reserve the right to request a waiver of fees until the number of
pages requested has been identified, and I have had the opportunity
to review the document titles and their respective page lengths.
I also request emergency expedited adjudication of my allegation,
because of the large number of lives at stake and the associated
large health care cost involved. Moreover, I request expedited
withdrawal of any licenses which are found to have been granted
without proper review, also on an emergency basis.
Dear EPA Administrators:
Because licensing procedures which I had been informed were
inapplicable to munitions are already in place within the U.S.,
I amend my emergency administrative petition of 23 November to
request the following regulation: "Depleted uranium burning
in air or in the presence of ordnance propellants or explosives
will produce toxic aerosol and (partially) soluble uranium
compounds, which produce six orders of magnitude more chromosome
damage than would be expected from their radioactivity alone.
Please discontinue use of depleted uranium munitions in any part
of the atmosphere unsealed from the United States' atmosphere.
All use of depleted uranium munitions capable of producing aerosol
depleted uranium or its compounds capable of dissolution in the
atmosphere of E.P.A. jurisdiction is henceforth forbidden."
That amendment has been made at http://bovik.org/du-petition.html
-- please update your copies.
My Freedom of Information Act Request of 29 November stands as
it is to all addressees except Colonel Suzan Denny of the U.S.
Army Aeromedical Center. Additionally, it will soon be submitted
to Colleen Weese, M.D. and David Alberth of the U.S. Army Center
for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine and Special Assistant
to the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Gulf War Illnesses, Dr.
Bernard Rostker.
Sincerely,
James Salsman
1910 Mt. Vernon Ct. #3
Mountain View, CA 94040
Telephone: +1.650.793.0162
P.S. Here is the essential excerpt of my above-referenced
Freedom of Information Act Request of 29 November:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552)
Please send me a copy of the following records:
1. All records describing the combustion products of depleted
uranium, excluding the following documents and any documents which
rely solely on any combination of these three sources for their
discussion of uranium combustion products:
a. J.J. Katz, G.T. Seaborg and L.R. Morss. "The Chemistry of the
Actinide Elements," (London: Chapman and Hall, 1986.)
b. Harley N, Foulkes CE, Hilborne L, et al. "A review of the
scientific literature as it pertains to Gulf War illnesses." Vol. 7
[MR-1018/7-OSD] (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1999.)
c. Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses.
"Environmental exposure report: depleted uranium in the Gulf (II)
and health risk assessment consultation." No. 26MF-7555-00D.
2. All records describing methods to detect aerosol uranium,
aerosol uranium ion, or aerosol uranium combustion products,
excluding the following articles, but not excluding any documents
which rely on them:
a. J. Senkyr et al., in Anal. Chem., vol. 51, pp. 786 (1979)
b. P.A. Bertrand et al., in Anal. Chem., vol. 55, pp. 364 (1983)
c. E. Malinowska, in Analyst, vol. 115, pp. 1085 (1990)
I request expedited processing of this request because failure to
obtain the requested documents within an expedited time frame could
reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to an individual's
life or physical safety, and because there is an urgent need to
inform the public concerning the subjects of the requested records.
I request a waiver of fees for this request because disclosure of the
requested information is in the public interest, because it is likely
to contribute significantly to public understanding of the serious
long-term health and safety risks of depleted uranium munitions, and
is not in my commercial interest. I intend to publish summaries of,
and excerpts from, the requested material. In order to help you
determine my status for the purpose of assessing fees, you should know
that I am affiliated with an educational scientific institution, and
this request is made for scholarly and scientific purposes and not for
any commercial use.
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9 San Luis Obispo Tribune: Access linked to Diablo project
| 12/01/2004 |
The Coastal Commission staff says Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
should open to the public three miles
David Sneed
The Tribune
SAN LUIS OBISPO - The public could have significantly more access
to land surrounding Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant within two
years if the state Coastal Commission approves plans to build a
storage facility for the plant's highly radioactive waste.
Commission staff is recommending that plant owner Pacific Gas and
Electric Co. be required to provide public access to three miles
of coastline north of Diablo Canyon.
The commission will hold a hearing on the proposal when it meets
Dec. 8 in San Francisco. PG&E officials declined to comment
Tuesday, saying they would make their comments directly to the
commission.
It is almost certain PG&E will oppose the new access
requirements. The utility opposed similar conditions suggested by
county planners and rejected a proposal to locate an underground
neutrino research facility near the plant because of the
additional public access it would entail.
"Clearly, we've had concerns about public access from a security
and emergency planning perspective," said Jeff Lewis, plant
spokesman.
PG&E needs the approval of the commission to build an
above-ground storage facility behind the plant for used reactor
fuel assemblies. The facility would consist of a thick concrete
slab upon which as many as 138 steel-and-concrete storage casks
would be mounted. Inside them would be placed the highly
radioactive spent-fuel rods.
The San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace and other environmental
groups appealed the county's approval of the project for a
variety of safety reasons. Their main concern is that the
dry-cask facility will become a de facto permanent nuclear waste
dump because it is unknown if a national storage facility at
Yucca Mountain in Nevada will ever be built.
Mothers for Peace spokeswoman Rochelle Becker said she is
disappointed that the commission staff did not try to limit the
amount of waste that could be stored at the site. Other states,
including Connecticut, Minnesota and Wisconsin, have successfully
placed limits on the number of casks allowed, pending the
establishment of the national storage facility in Nevada.
State law requires that additional coastal access be created to
offset any loss of access caused by a development project.
Commission staff is recommending these new requirements:
• Access to three miles of bluffs from Montaña de Oro State Park
south to Crowbar Creek, including three overlooks.
• Access to at least one beach in the 3-mile area, most likely
Point Buchon Beach near the state park's southern boundary.
• More frequent hikes on the Pecho Coast Trail on the southern
portion of the Diablo Canyon lands. The utility currently
provides two popular docent-led hikes per week, but the trail's
management plan allows daily hikes.
Staff is also recommending that PG&E consider providing
additional amenities that would enhance the increased public
access. Examples of this include improvements to the historic
Point San Luis Lighthouse, which is part of the Pecho Coast
Trail, and trail extensions from Montaña de Oro.
If the commission adopts the plan, PG&E would have six months to
prepare an access plan that would have to be approved by
commission executive director Peter Douglas and two years to
implement it, said Tom Luster, a commission staff analyst. The
plan would contain details about how and what type of access the
public would get.
For example, the staff recommendations do not require that people
visiting the new access corridor be accompanied by a docent as
they are on the Pecho Coast Trail. It would be up to PG&E to
justify that sort of requirement, Luster said.
Coastal Commission planners say the new access should not pose a
security risk. The proposed trail does not go near the 760-acre
security area that surrounds the plant.
"We think this access requirement will work, but we would be
willing to work with PG&E to address specific security concerns,"
Luster said.
The commission's approval of the storage facility is the final
regulatory hurdle PG&E must overcome. The federal Nuclear
Regulatory Commission already has approved the project.
Any access requirements or other conditions placed on the project
by the commission would be final. A lawsuit would be the only way
the commission's actions could be overturned, Luster said.
PG&E needs to build the storage facility because pools at the
plant, where the fuel is currently stored, will be full in 2006.
The utility has applied to the NRC for permission to install
temporary storage racks in the pools that would create an
additional two years of storage.
The temporary racks are an option if the Coastal Commission or
lawsuits delay the dry-cask facility, Lewis said. If that project
proceeds without delay, the temporary rack option would be
dropped.
David Sneed covers environmental issues for The Tribune. E-mail
story ideas and comments to him at [dsneed@thetribunenews.com] .
*****************************************************************
10 AP Wire: Nuclear generator at San Onofre remains off line due to tiny
cracks in water heaters
12/01/2004 |
Associated Press
SAN ONOFRE, Calif. - A 1,100-megawatt nuclear generator at the
San Onofre power plant will remain off line after engineers
discovered tiny cracks in its water heaters, according to a
newspaper report.
The North County Times reported Wednesday that microscopic cracks
were found during an inspection of about 30 water heaters
attached to Unit 3's pressurizers. The heaters keep the nuclear
reactor's coolant at a constant 2,200 pounds per square inch and
make sure the water inside the reactor's core does not boil.
Unit 3 was shut down Sept. 26 for a 55-day refueling and was
scheduled to return to service Nov. 21. Plant managers, however,
said it likely will remain off line until early January.
"Right now we are in the process of replacing those heaters,"
plant spokesman Ray Golden said.
Refueling work at the plant has stopped and crews have
temporarily resealed the reactor's core. New fuel cannot be added
until the heater work is complete.
Unit 3 was scheduled for repairs during its next refueling outage
in 2006, but Southern California Edison decided to get the work
done early even though the cracks were not yet large enough to
leak water, Golden said. SoCal Edison is San Onofre's majority
owner.
It will cost nearly $7 million to replace the heaters, he said.
The cracks do not pose an immediate safety risk because they are
so small, said Clyde Osterholtz, senior resident plant inspector
for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "They have found very
early signs," Osterholtz told the newspaper. "These are cracks
you can't even see with the naked eye."
The plant's two steam generators also are cracking, forcing San
Onofre officials to propose replacing them at an estimated cost
of $600 million.
*****************************************************************
11 Northumberland News: Contamination testing on the horizon
Independent research centre to conduct test on Port Hope
residents
By Jeanne Beneteau Staff Writer
from this author Nov 30, 2004
PORT HOPE - A Toronto-based research centre has joined forces
with a local health care concerns committee to study the
presence, type and quantity of radioactive materials in the
bodies of Port Hope residents.
At a recent meeting, Tedd Weyman, deputy director and
field team leader with the Uranium Medical Research Centre (UMRC)
told councillors after reviewing literature from Cameco
Corporation, the Low-level Radioactive Waste Management Office
and data from both the provincial and federal government, there
are questions not answered when it comes to levels of nuclear
materials in the bodies of Port Hope residents.
Mr. Weyman says UMRC, in partnership with the Port Hope
Community Health Concerns Committee (PHCHCC), will soon conduct
radiological studies to fill in missing pieces and gaps in
previous studies and reports. The investigations will focus on
determining what radioactive materials have been inhaled by Port
Hope residents; whether these materials are artificial as opposed
to naturally-occuring; and the biological and medical effects of
these radionuclides on residents.
Naturally-occuring radioactive materials existing in
their bound, mineral state, are not usually present in ways that
can contaminate humans, he explained. However, human activity
(commercial and military processing) modifies and deploys nuclear
material, making it "bioavailable", that is making it airborne.
When airborne, this particulate becomes an internal contamination
risk when inhaled. Its pathway into the body is by the lungs and
the problem is the slow rate of elimination. Artificial uranium
is practically insoluble, making it very difficult for the body
to metabolize.
"Ingested uranium is cleared in a few days," he says.
"Inhaled uranium can take months to decades to clear and if it is
insoluble, it can remain in the body permanently, even after
death."
Outside the body, the bulk of uranium's radioactivity is
not able to penetrate the skin, he added. But inside the body,
uranium penetrates fractions of centimetres, which is the
distance of thousands of cells.
The study will require six to 12 Port Hope residents. The
research will include clinical assessment by a physician which
will include a detailed history on exposure and symptoms. UMRC
staff will collect urine samples from all participants which will
be sent for analysis at labs in Japan and Germany to determine if
the contamination present is a result of naturally-occuring
radiation or radiation that comes from a commercial source such
as stack emissions or processing releases. The results of
individual testing will be provided to participants and their
physicians. The data collected as a whole will be peer reviewed
and serve as a basis for scientific reviews by UMRC for possible
publications in international scientific and medical journals.
In order to establish a baseline for the study, it will
be necessary to look farther afield of the community to remoter
areas where commercial uranium would not have found its way into
the environment in the form of air emissions, fill or in
fertilizer, he explains. Once complete, the studies will offer a
local biological and nuclear materials' baseline to enable
on-going measurements of changes over time.
The deputy director says UMRC's International Director of
Research, Dr. Asaf Durakovic, will serve as an advisor on
biological and clinical research. Dr. Durakovic, a professor of
nuclear medicine and radiology, is world renown for 35 years of
medical and clinical experience into the biological effects of
nuclear materials.
PHCHCC chairwoman Faye More says Dr. Durakovic and Mr.
Weyman will be in Port Hope at the Royal Canadian Legion on Dec.
10 with a presentation, 'Uranium and Health.' The presentation
begins at 7 p.m. following a silent auction slated for 6:30 p.m.
Proceeds of the auction are earmarked to help pay for work
conducted by the health concerns committee. After the
presentation, there will be an open microphone where residents
will have an opportunity to ask questions and offer comments on
the presentation.
The PHCHCC has been pushing for federally-funded,
independent health studies on the cumulative health effects of 70
years of exposure to radioactive and heavy metal waste may have
had on the community and recently submitted a four-year funding
model and health study outline to the federal government for its
consideration.
One component of the proposal includes biological and
terrestrial testing, she explains. The best case scenario would
have the federal government picking up the cost. However, the
committee is determined to get the ball rolling, despite lack of
financial support from the Canadian government to date.
"We are so fortunate UMRC staff is giving their time and
expertise at no cost," says Ms. More. "However, there is a cost
associated with the human testing, from $500 to $1,200 (per
person) for the lab work."
It is unfair that people would have to pay for their own
lab testing, she says. But the reality is, in the absence of
federal funding, the committee must undertake a serious
fundraising drive to help defray the costs to individuals.
"We need the federal government to understand we are
serious about getting this testing done and we intend to move
forward,' she concludes.
*****************************************************************
12 The Herald: British Energy wins deadline extension
Web Issue 2149 December 01 2004
Herald [http://www.sundayherald.com/]
BEN GRIFFITHS December 01 2004
TROUBLED nuclear power generator British Energy has secured
permission to postpone a deadline for its life-saving
restructuring to March as it fights objections to a £1bn rescue
deal.
The East Kilbride-based group said yesterday its creditors had
agreed in principle to put the final day for the completion of
the proposed debt-for-equity swap back from January to March 31.
The agreement came just a week after British Energy revealed it
may have to review its timings due to delays restarting plants
at Hartlepool and Heysham in northern England. The power
stations have been closed to allow modifications to be completed
but are likely to be operational by mid-December.
British Energy, which provides around a fifth of the UK's
electricity needs, also published listing particulars for the
reconstituted group, which will make a return to the London
Stock Exchange once its restructuring plan is approved by
shareholders and bondholders.
Among the creditors British Energy owes money to is the Royal
Bank of Scotland, which has a claim for more than £37.5m of
debt, according to details of the proposed allocation of new
shares and bonds. The Edinburgh-based bank will also get about
4.7% of British Energy's issued share capital if the
restructuring becomes effective, as well as a proportion of 76.6
million new shares allocated to another syndicate of banks which
includes RBS.
The prospectus and other documents now need approval at special
meetings later this month, while the restructuring also requires
the approval of Patricia Hewitt, the trade and industry
secretary, who has extended the government's own deadline to
April 30. Bondholders welcomed the developments as a
"significant milestone."
British Energy has repeatedly warned that the restructuring
remains at risk and is threatened by "signifi-cant
uncertainties", including approval by the Scottish courts. The
group reiterated this caution again yesterday, saying that if it
did not get approval for the extension and did not complete its
restructuring by January 31, it would have to commence
insolvency proceedings.
While institutional shareholders control around 70% of British
Energy's shares, about 215,000 small investors still have a
stake in the company's future. Many acquired shares in the
former state-owned group when it was privatised in 1996. British
Energy delisted its shares in October in an effort to stop rebel
US hedge funds from derailing the restructuring process.
The company also has sites at Hunterston in Ayrshire and
Torness in East Lothian. British Energy is believed to be
considering a share dividend for March 2007 along with around
£250m of annual investment in its power plants.
Plunging wholesale power prices sent the company to the brink
of collapse in 2002 before a government rescue deal.
Copyright © Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights
*****************************************************************
13 toledoblade.com: Davis-Besse plans update on Monday
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
OAK HARBOR, Ohio - The next public update about Davis-Besse will
be provided at 6 p.m. Monday.
Officials of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and FirstEnergy
Corp. will discuss the latest inspection results and assessments
of operating performance. It will be the NRC's first special
oversight panel meeting since Sept. 28. The meeting site has been
changed to the nuclear plant's administration building, 5501
North State Rt. 2. Most previous meetings have been at Oak Harbor
High School.
The oversight panel was created by the NRC in response to the
near rupture of Davis-Besse's reactor head in 2002 to update the
community periodically.
[http://www.realcities.com] © 2004 The Blade. By using this
service, you accept the terms of our privacy statement and our
visitor agreement. Please read them.
The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660
, (419) 724-6000
*****************************************************************
14 UK Independent: British Energy chiefs in line for £30m Bonus
[http://www.independent.co.uk]
scheme entitles executives to 14 times salary * Fees for
restructuring ailing nuclear giant hit £104m By Michael Harrison,
Business Editor 01 December 2004
British Energy's top executives could make more than £30m from a
bonus scheme being set up as part of the rescue of the
financially crippled nuclear generator, it emerged yesterday.
Details of the scheme, which entitles the company's seven most
senior directors to bonuses equivalent to 14 times their salary
over a three-year period, are contained in a restructuring
circular posted to shareholders.
The 708-page document also discloses that fees paid to
professional advisers in connection with the restructuring of the
company will total £104m. The lion's share has gone to lawyers,
investment banks and accountants with Clifford Chance, British
Energy's legal advisers, collecting £25.7m alone. But even its
public relations adviser, Financial Dynamics, has picked up
£1.2m.
Shareholders will vote on the restructuring, which will see their
stake in the company cut to 2.5 per cent, at an extraordinary
meeting on 22 December. The company is then due to re-list its
shares on 14 January, provided the courts approve the
restructuring. The company is expected to be worth about £1bn
when it re-lists compared with a stock market value of £87m when
it was delisted last month.
British Energy's bondholders will emerge with the vast majority
of the company, although existing shareholders will have the
right to subscribe for warrants giving them a further 5 per cent
of the company. The Government will be entitled to two-thirds of
the company's free cash flow in return for agreeing to shoulder
its £4.2bn of nuclear liabilities.
The bonus payments depend on British Energy achieving a number of
demanding financial and operational targets, ranging from profit
and share price growth to nuclear output and safety performance.
In addition to his salary of £425,000 a year, the company's chief
executive Mike Alexander could pick up a bonus of almost £6m. By
comparison, the company's 5,100 staff will be eligible for
employee shares worth a maximum of £3,000 a year.
The other executives who are eligible for the bonus scheme are
the finance director Stephen Billingham, the chief nuclear
officer Roy Anderson, the trading director Neil O'Hara, the human
relations director Sally Smedley, the company secretary Robert
Armour and a yet-to-be-appointed technical director.
The company's chairman, Adrian Montague, is not part of the bonus
scheme but will be entitled to a fee of £100,000 when the
restructuring becomes effective, on top of a salary this year of
£300,000.
In addition to the three-year executive bonus pool which is
potentially worth about £28m, there is also an interim bonus
scheme which could pay out up to one and a half times salary
depending on British Energy's performance in the year to 31 March
2005. This could be worth a further £3m.
Mr Alexander said the company would have to produce spectacular
results for maximum bonuses to be paid, increasing profits before
interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation seven-fold to £1.6bn
and generating 74 terawatt hours of electricity - 7 per cent more
than in its record year, 1998/99.
He admitted that the fees associated with the rescue looked high
and said he would have much preferred to invest the money in the
business. But he maintained that the board had scrutinised all
the professional fees it had paid to ensure the amounts were
justified.
If shareholders fail to approve the restructuring at next month's
meeting, they will receive no stake in the new company at all. In
the event that court approval for the deal is delayed, British
Energy said it had got a two-month extension to its creditor
restructuring agreement with the bondholders which could, if
necessary, be further extended to 31 October next year.
© 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
*****************************************************************
15 Salt Lake Tribune: Feds say Monticello neglecting mill tailings
[http://www.sltrib.com]
Article Last Updated: 12/01/2004 01:55:50 AM
Uranium contamination: The Energy Department is concerned about
the city's diversion of funds earmarked for maintaining the site
By Robert Gehrke The Salt Lake Tribune
WASHINGTON - The Energy Department's inspector general says
Monticello City is neglecting a public park built atop a
shuttered, contaminated uranium mill, posing a risk that erosion
could uncover radioactive "hot spots" buried below.
Instead of taking care of the site, Inspector General Gregory
Friedman wrote in a recent audit, the city spent $3.2 million in
federal money to add nine holes to a nearby golf course and $1.1
million to improve the city's water system.
The Energy Department already has stepped in to stave off
further erosion, and federal taxpayers could continue paying the
bill since the southeastern Utah city may not be able to afford
it.
The mill site was buried under an earthen cover because the
radon gas, radiation and heavy metals posed an excessive cancer
risk to residents of the town. The audit did not address what
health risks might be posed by "hot spots" uncovered by erosion.
City Manager Trent Schafer took issue with the inspector
general's criticism. He said Monticello has tried to keep up the
site, but the prolonged drought made it impossible to grow
vegetation to hold the topsoil in place.
"We're in the sixth year of a drought, and if anybody can
show us how to grow vegetation in a drought we'd like to see
it," Schafer said. "I will admit to anyone that we have some
erosion problems and some maintenance problems, but it's the
city's intent to not only cure those today, but maintain that
long term."
The city's agreement with the federal government entitled
Monticello to keep money left over from the project, so the city
expanded its golf course across the street from the mill site on
land donated by FranklinCovey chairman Hyrum Smith, Schafer said.
"We still saved them an absolute fortune on site
restoration," he added. The inspector general, however,
questioned the city's commitment to the project and recommended
that Monticello repay the federal treasury for stabilization
work already done.
"In our judgment, after the expenditure of nearly $7 million
in taxpayer-provided funds, the primary objective should have
been the restoration of the project site and long-term
maintenance of the site in its restored state," Friedman wrote.
On his visit to the site, Friedman said water had cut 12-inch
deep gullies in the topsoil. Walking paths were overgrown with
weeds, there were no signs, picnic tables had been removed, and
part of the park was used to store pipes and construction
debris, Friedman wrote.
Schafer said the city has made improvements to the park since
the inspector general's visit. ??when??.
The Vanadium Corporation of America built the Monticello mill
in 1941. It was bought by the federal government in 1948 and it
produced vanadium and uranium for 12 years before it was shut
down. Left behind were 2.5 million cubic yards of sand-like
uranium tailings contaminating the surface, releasing radon gas
and tainting Montezuma Creek, which meanders through the mill
site.
DOE moved the tailings into a lined pit, but remediation
work was still needed on the mill site. Monticello offered to do
the work in 1995 on condition it be allowed to build its golf
course on the site. The government agreed and in 1999 gave the
city the land and $7.8 million to do the project.
Restoration cost the city about $2.1 million and was
officially completed in 2001.
But annual reviews since have cited continuing erosion
problems that have not been addressed.
DOE program manager Art Kleinrath said that, while the city
hasn't fully complied with the department's wishes, the parties
are working it out.
"In terms of, are they incapable, or are they trying to get
out of their duties? I don't see that happening at all," he
said. "It's just a terrible, unfortunate chain of circumstances.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't do anything about it, it just
means that is what happened."
Kleinrath met with city officials Nov. 10 to discuss plans to
stop the erosion and he is putting together a plan of attack
that he hopes both sides can agree on before Christmas.
© Copyright 2004, The Salt Lake Tribune.
*****************************************************************
16 APP.COM: Meeting on Oyster Creek license renewal to be held in Brick
ASBURY PARK PRESS
Published in the Asbury Park Press 12/01/04By NICHOLAS CLUNN
MANAHAWKIN BUREAU
Assemblymen preparing a resolution that would explain the
state's position on a plan to extend the life of the Oyster Creek
nuclear power plant will hear tomorrow night from Shore area
residents and others with a stake in the reactor's future.
The Environmental and Solid Waste Committee decided to hold the
hearing and launch itself into the debate surrounding the
country's oldest operating commercial reactor after
municipalities and residents expressed concerns over a plan that
would allow the plant to generate power 20 years beyond its
initial 40-year license, which expires in 2009.
Although it's up to federal regulators to decide whether the
Lacey reactor can operate safely under a renewed license, state
lawmakers are morally responsible for the health and safety of
residents, said committee Chairman John F. McKeon, D-Essex.
"I would hate to have someone say: 'Why didn't you look into
this?' " he said.
The meeting -- at 7 p.m. at the Civic Plaza in Brick -- is a
rare move for the committee. Public hearings on legislation to
protect 400,000 North Jersey acres from development were the only
times this year the committee met outside Trenton. Hundreds of
people attended those meetings.
Another large crowd is expected tomorrow. Brick will prepare
Civic Plaza to seat 300. At least 12 advocacy groups, including
grass-roots organizations and national lobbyists, are expected to
testify.
"A lot of these groups are activating their members to come,"
said Suzanne Leta, an energy associate with the New Jersey Public
Interest Research Group, a lobbying organization that wants
Oyster Creek closed in 2009. "It should be a good turnout."
Plant owner AmerGen will also send representatives, said Gina
Scala, plant spokeswoman.
"Any forum that allows education of the public is a good thing,"
she said. "We need to get the facts out there and hear what
people's concerns are."
The committee will decide on holding additional hearings after
the one tomorrow, McKeon said. Public comment will be considered
when the committee drafts a resolution setting the state's
position on Oyster Creek.
A state position that calls for the reactor's decommissioning
would greatly influence federal regulators, according to license
renewal critics.
"If the state takes a position with some guidelines, some
recommendations, I think it would have a big effect on the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission," said Brick Mayor Joseph C.
Scarpelli, a license renewal opponent.
The NRC will hear outside opinions during appropriate times
built into the license renewal application process, said Diane
Screnci, a spokeswoman for the agency. Commenting on the
Assembly's plan to draft a resolution would be premature, she
said. As of now, AmerGen has said that it intends to apply for a
license renewal in July 2005.
"We focus on doing our jobs," she said. "We don't focus on what
other people say, although there are times that we ask people for
comments."
Public opinion compelled the committee to hold the hearing.
Resolutions either opposing relicensing, criticizing the
application process or seeking an immediate shutdown of Oyster
Creek have been passed in 17 of Ocean County's 33 towns.
A meeting between Scarpelli, a Democrat, and McKeon at the
assemblyman's summer home in the Ocean Beach section of Brick was
another factor in the committee becoming involved with the
plant's future, both men said.
Nicholas Clunn: (609) 978-4597 or nclunn@app.com [nclunn@app.com]
IF YOU GO
The Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee will hold a
public hearing regarding a plan to extend the life of the Oyster
Creek nuclear power plant at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Civic Plaza,
270 Chambers Bridge Road in Brick.
IF YOU CAN'T GO
New Jersey residents with something to say about Oyster Creek
can write to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee
Chairman John F. McKeon, D-Essex, at asmmckeon@njleg.org. They
can also mail comments to McKeon's office at 4 Sloan Street,
Suites D &E; South Orange, NJ 07079
the Asbury Park Press
*****************************************************************
17 Scotsman.com News: Brussels Orders Nuclear 'Aid' Probe
Wed 1 Dec 2004
By Geoff Meade, PA Europe Editor, in Brussels
The European Commission today launched a formal investigation
into the Government’s decommissioning plans for the nuclear
industry.
A Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is due to set up next April,
inheriting the current £42 billion liabilities of British
Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL).
Now the Commission inquiry will decide whether the scheme
amounts to unfair state aid to the UK nuclear sector.
The NDA will be a public body in charge of managing most of the
BNFL’s nuclear liabilities at 15 locations, including the
massive Sellafield complex and 11 nuclear power stations, four
of which are still operating.
The Commission said today that there will be no extra cost to
BNFL of setting up the new authority.
However, the transfer of responsibility will relieve the BNFL of
liabilities it would normally have to meet under the “polluter
pays†principle.
“The Commission considers at this stage of its analysis that
this advantage provided by the UK Government is likely to be
state aid within the meaning of the EU treaty.â€
All state aids to industry are illegal under EU rules, unless
expressly authorised by the Commission.
A Commission statement went on: “In view of the complexity and
the novelty of the case, as well as the importance of the sums
involved, the Commission has decided an in-depth inquiry is
necessary.â€
A Government spokesman said: “We knew this was coming. We have
been co-operating with the Commission and we will continue to do
so. We are confident of a successful outcome.†[
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18 ITAR-TASS: DPRK prevents withdrawal of machinery from NPS site-KEDO
01.12.2004, 05.54
TOKYO, December 1 (Itar-Tass) - The Democratic People's Republic
of Korea prevents a withdrawal of about 300 foreign building
machines and motor vehicles from the area of the suspended
construction of two nuclear power reactors and demands
compensation for the frustration of the accords, KEDO consortium
sources announced on Wednesday.
The United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the
European Union promised to provide the two reactors for
Pyongyang in the first half of the 1990's.
The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organisation (KEDO) was
set up after the US and the DPRK in 1994 reached agreement on a
freeze of Pyongyang's nuclear programme in exchange for the
provision of two 1,000-megawatt light-water reactors that are
hard to use for military purposes. However, in 2003, Washington
accused the DPRK of a continuation of secret nuclear research
and development and the project was frozen.
The US insists on complete elimination of the project. However,
Seoul and Tokyo oppose idea. They do not want to strain
relations with the DPRK still further and, on the other hand,
they had previously made the largest investments in the
4,600-million-dollar project to build the two reactors.
In result, at the end of November, the KEDO decided to extend
the moratorium on the implementation of the plan for another
year. Formally, the plan still holds.
The reactors were to be built near the North Korean town Kumho.
A foundation pit was dug there, and the foundation of a nuclear
power station was partially built.
Ninety-three heavy-duty building machines, including cranes,
bulldozers, trucks as well as about 180 automobiles and buses,
still remain at the construction site. The machinery belongs to
South Korean firms, with KEDO having to continue to pay for its
lease.
© ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy,
*****************************************************************
19 Guardian Unlimited: BE bosses in line for huge bonuses
Executives promised 14 times salary if targets are met
Terry Macalister
Wednesday December 1, 2004
The Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk]
British Energy was at the centre of a massive pay row last night
after disclosing that top executives were being promised bonuses
worth 14 times their salary if they meet certain targets by 2008.
The charge of profligacy against the nuclear generator, which is
only surviving thanks to public money, was enhanced by details
showing £104m has been handed out to City companies for
restructuring advice.
The revelations - in a stock market relisting document -came as
BE sought creditor approval to push back a financial rescue
deadline from January to March 31 next year.
Greenpeace believed the public would be "appalled" by the
remuneration offers and said it would only perpetuate the view
that the BE board was "out of touch with reality".
But Mike Alexander, the BE chief executive, who earns a basic
salary of £400,000 a year, said payments to himself and five
other senior executives would only be made if the company
achieved highly demanding profits before execeptional items and
tax of £1.6bn and passed a range of tough targets on safety and
plant efficiency. "They are linked to a transformational
performance," he said. More than 5,000 ordinary staff members,
meanwhile, are being offered £3,000 worth of new shares a year if
certain targets are reached.
Non-executives are to receive £10,000 initially plus £13,000 per
annum, as well as one-off payments such as £1,000 for travel to
or from the United States and £250 for each phone conference.
The biggest winners from the BE fees bonanza have been legal firm
Clifford Chance, which has earned £26m, investment banker
Citigroup Global Markets at £19m and public relations firm
Financial Dynamics, more than £1m.
BE took itself off the London stock market last month in a move
to thwart angry shareholders opposing a restructuring. The
company ran into trouble with liabilities of £5.8bn after prices
plummeted in the wholesale power market.
The company, which provides around 20% of the country's
electricity from eight nuclear plants, has won the con sent of
government to complete its internal shake-up by April 30 if it
needs that extra time.
Major creditors have previously accepted a deal with BE and the
government whereby they would receive 97.5% of BE equity in
return for cancelling more than £1.3bn of debt.
Shareholders would receive the remainder plus warrants for a
further 5%. Shareholders and bondholders will vote on the rescue
plan on December 22, but if it is not approved the company will
transfer all its assets into a new company and relist that.
BE is currently operating without production from its Heysham 1
and Hartlepool plants, which account for a quarter of output.
These two have been out of action for repairs since August and
will not be back until mid-December. This is costing BE huge sums
of money because it must contract alternative supplies at higher
market prices.
Jean McSorley, the nuclear campaigns campaigner at Greenpeace,
said the executive payments were a travesty for a generator which
remained inherently unreliable and dependent on state aid.
"The public will be appalled that executives are planning to
award themselves huge bonuses and paying exorbitant fees for work
they should be able to do in-house.
"It further signals the board is out of touch with reality."
Andrew Wilkinson, of law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft,
speaking on behalf of the ad hoc committee of BE bondholders,
said: "The committee welcomes today's announcement that British
Energy has posted the public documents in relation to the
proposed restructuring."
City gains
Some of the companies sharing the British Energy fees bonanza:
Clifford Chance: £25.7m
Citigroup Global Markets: £18.9m
DTI advisers - including CSFB and Slaughter&May: £13.1m
PwC: £11.1m
KPMG: £4.9m
Financial Dynamics: £1.2m
[UP]
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
*****************************************************************
20 FT.com: British Energy set to pay £104m in fees
[http://www.ft.com]
By Andrew Taylor, Utilities Correspondent
Published: December 1 2004 02:00 | Last updated: December 1 2004
[British Energy] British Energy will have paid fees totalling
about £104m to lawyers, bankers and other consultants by the
time its financial rescue is completed early next year, the
nuclear generator revealed on Tuesday.
The biggest fees of £25.7m are due to lawyers Clifford Chance.
Citigroup Global Markets is due to earn £18.9m and PwC £11.1m.
British Energy, which yesterday published its prospectus for the
restructuring, is to seek permission from creditors to allow it
to push the rescue deadline back to the end of March.
January had previously been proposed as the rescue deadline.
The generator still expected to complete the restructuring by
the end of January, said chief executive Mike Alexander.
The extended deadline, though, would provide more time to cope
with any further unforeseen delays.
These include restarting generation at its Heysham and
Hartlepool plants, which have halted output while unplanned
repairs and maintenance were carried out.
Under the debt-for-equity swap, creditors would end up owning
97.5 per cent of the group.
British Energy has warned shareholders that they will end up
with no stake at all if they reject the deal at an extraordinary
meeting on December 22.
The group had total liabilities of £5.8bn and assets of £2.6bn
at the end of August.
Mr Alexander defended a new bonus scheme agreed with creditors,
which would allow senior executives to earn up to 14 times their
annual salary over three years provided they meet stiff
performance targets.
This includes increasing annual earnings before interest, tax
and depreciation to £1.6bn, which is eight times higher than
the present level.
Mr Alexander said none of the directors were at the company when
it ran into trouble.
Seventy per cent of senior management had also been replaced.
The new team should be rewarded if it delivered the substantial
improvements that would be required if the company was to meet
its targets, he said.
Mr Alexander warned, however, that the company could struggle to
meet its targets in the current financial year owing to the
problems at the Heysham and Hartlepool plants.
Long-term power sales agreed after the group ran into trouble
also meant that it had not reaped the full benefit of recent
electricity price rises.
Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2004. "FT" and "Financial
Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times.
*****************************************************************
21 Depleted uranium: A death sentence here and abroad
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 20:34:54 -0600 (CST)
Depleted uranium: Dirty bombs, dirty missiles, dirty bullets
A death sentence here and abroad
by Leuren Moret
S.F. BAY VIEW.COM
At an April press conference, a group of New York Army National Guard vets
raised their hands when asked if they have health problems. The soldiers, all
from the 442nd Military Police Company, are complaining of headaches and
fatigue after what they think is exposure to depleted uranium during their
recent tour in Iraq.
Photo: www.american
freepress.net
"Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign
policy." - Henry Kissinger, quoted in "Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How the United
States Betrayed Its Own POW's in Vietnam"
Vietnam was a chemical war for oil, permanently contaminating large regions
and countries downriver with Agent Orange, and environmentally the most
devastating war in world history. But since 1991, the U.S. has staged four
nuclear wars using depleted uranium weaponry, which, like Agent Orange, meets
the U.S. government definition of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Vast regions in
the Middle East and Central Asia have been permanently contaminated with
radiation.
And what about our soldiers? Terry Jemison of the Department of Veterans
Affairs reported this week to the American Free Press that "Gulf-era veterans"
now on medical disability since 1991 number 518,739, with only 7,035 reported
wounded in Iraq in that same 14-year period.
This week the American Free Press dropped a "dirty bomb" on the Pentagon by
reporting that eight out of 20 men who served in one unit in the 2003 U.S.
military offensive in Iraq now have malignancies. That means that 40 percent
of the soldiers in that unit have developed malignancies in just 16 months.
Since these soldiers were exposed to vaccines and depleted uranium (DU) only,
this is strong evidence for researchers and scientists working on this issue,
that DU is the definitive cause of Gulf War Syndrome. Vaccines are not known
to cause cancer. One of the first published researchers on Gulf War Syndrome,
who also served in 1991 in Iraq, Dr. Andras Korinyi-Both, is in agreement with
Barbara Goodno from the Department of Defense's Deployment Health Support
Directorate, that in this war soldiers were not exposed to chemicals,
pesticides, bioagents or other suspect causes this time to confuse the issue.
This powerful new evidence is blowing holes in the cover-up perpetrated by the
Pentagon and three presidential administrations ever since DU was first used
in 1991 in the Persian Gulf War. Fourteen years after the introduction of DU
on the battlefield in 1991, the long-term effects have revealed that DU is a
death sentence and very nasty stuff.
Scientists studying the biological effects of uranium in the 1960s reported
that it targets the DNA. Marion Fulk, a nuclear physical chemist retired from
the Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab and formerly involved with the Manhattan
Project, interprets the new and rapid malignancies in soldiers from the 2003
war as "spectacular . and a matter of concern."
This evidence shows that of the three effects which DU has on biological
systems - radiation, chemical and particulate - the particulate effect from
nano-size particles is the most dominant one immediately after exposure and
targets the Master Code in the DNA. This is bad news, but it explains why DU
causes a myriad of diseases which are difficult to define.
In simple words, DU "trashes the body." When asked if the main purpose for
using it was for destroying things and killing people, Fulk was more specific:
"I would say that it is the perfect weapon for killing lots of people."
Soldiers developing malignancies so quickly since 2003 can be expected to
develop multiple cancers from independent causes. This phenomenon has been
reported by doctors in hospitals treating civilians following NATO bombing
with DU in Yugoslavia in 1998-1999 and the U.S. military invasion of Iraq
using DU for the first time in 1991. Medical experts report that this
phenomenon of multiple malignancies from unrelated causes has been unknown
until now and is a new syndrome associated with internal DU exposure.
Just 467 U.S. personnel were wounded in the three-week Persian Gulf War in
1990-1991. Out of 580,400 soldiers who served in Gulf War I, 11,000 are dead,
and by 2000 there were 325,000 on permanent medical disability. This
astounding number of disabled vets means that a decade later, 56 percent of
those soldiers who served now have medical problems.
The number of disabled vets reported up to 2000 has been increasing by 43,000
every year. Brad Flohr of the Department of Veterans Affairs told American
Free Press that he believes there are more disabled vets now than even after
World War II.
They brought it home
Not only were soldiers exposed to DU on and off the battlefields, but they
brought it home. DU in the semen of soldiers internally contaminated their
wives, partners and girlfriends. Tragically, some women in their 20s and 30s
who were sexual partners of exposed soldiers developed endometriosis and were
forced to have hysterectomies because of health problems.
In a group of 251 soldiers from a study group in Mississippi who had all had
normal babies before the Gulf War, 67 percent of their post-war babies were
born with severe birth defects. They were born with missing legs, arms, organs
or eyes or had immune system and blood diseases. In some veterans' families
now, the only normal or healthy members of the family are the children born
before the war.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has stated that they do not keep records of
birth defects occurring in families of veterans.
How did they hide it?
Before a new weapons system can be used, it must be fully tested. The
blueprint for depleted uranium weapons is a 1943 declassified document from
the Manhattan Project.
Harvard President and physicist James B. Conant, who developed poison gas in
World War I, was brought into the Manhattan Project by the father of
presidential candidate John Kerry. Kerry's father served at a high level in
the Manhattan Project and was a CIA agent.
Conant was chair of the S-1 Poison Gas Committee, which recommended developing
poison gas weapons from the radioactive trash of the atomic bomb project in
World War II. At that time, it was known that radioactive materials dispersed
in bombs from the air, from land vehicles or on the battlefield produced very
fine radioactive dust which would penetrate all protective clothing, any gas
mask or filter or the skin. By contaminating the lungs and blood, it could
kill or cause illness very quickly.
They also recommended it as a permanent terrain contaminant, which could be
used to destroy populations by contaminating water supplies and agricultural
land with the radioactive dust.
The first DU weapons system was developed for the Navy in 1968, and DU weapons
were given to and used by Israel in 1973 under U.S. supervision in the Yom
Kippur war against the Arabs.
The Phalanx weapons system, using DU, was tested on the USS Bigelow out of
Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in 1977, and DU weapons have been sold by the
U.S. to 29 countries.
Military research report summaries detail the testing of DU from 1974-1999 at
military testing grounds, bombing and gunnery ranges and at civilian labs
under contract. Today 42 states are contaminated with DU from manufacture,
testing and deployment.
Women living around these facilities have reported increases in endometriosis,
birth defects in babies, leukemia in children and cancers and other diseases
in adults. Thousands of tons of DU weapons tested for decades by the Navy on
four bombing and gunnery ranges around Fallon, Nevada, is no doubt the cause
of the fastest growing leukemia cluster in the U.S. over the past decade. The
military denies that DU is the cause.
The medical profession has been active in the cover-up - just as they were in
hiding the effects from the American public - of low level radiation from
atmospheric testing and nuclear power plants. A medical doctor in Northern
California reported being trained by the Pentagon with other doctors, months
before the 2003 war started, to diagnose and treat soldiers returning from the
2003 war for mental problems only.
Medical professionals in hospitals and facilities treating returning soldiers
were threatened with $10,000 fines if they talked about the soldiers or their
medical problems. They were also threatened with jail.
Reporters have also been prevented access to more than 14,000 medically
evacuated soldiers flown nightly since the 2003 war in C-150s from Germany who
are brought to Walter Reed Hospital near Washington, D.C.
Dr. Robert Gould, former president of the Bay Area chapter of Physicians for
Social Responsibility (PSR), has contacted three medical doctors since
February 2004, after I had been invited to speak about DU. Dr. Katharine
Thomasson, president of the Oregon chapter of the PSR, informed me that Dr.
Gould had contacted her and tried to convince her to cancel her invitation for
me to speak about DU at Portland State University on April 12. Although I was
able to do a presentation, Dr. Thomasson told me I could only talk about DU in
Oregon "and nothing overseas . nothing political."
Dr. Gould also contacted and discouraged Dr. Ross Wilcox in Toronto, Canada,
from inviting me to speak to Physicians for Global Survival (PGS), the
Canadian equivalent of PSR, several months later. When that didn't work, he
contacted Dr. Allan Connoly, the Canadian national president of PGS, who was
able to cancel my invitation and nearly succeeded in preventing Dr. Wilcox,
his own member, from showing photos and presenting details on civilians
suffering from DU exposure and cancer provided to him by doctors in southern
Iraq.
Dr. Janette Sherman, a former and long-standing member of PSR, reported that
she finally quit some time after being invited to lunch by a new PSR executive
administrator. After the woman had pumped Dr. Sherman for information all
through lunch about her position on key issues, the woman informed Dr. Sherman
that her last job had been with the CIA.
How was the truth about DU hidden from military personnel serving in
successive DU wars? Before his tragic death, Sen. Paul Wellstone informed
Joyce Riley, R.N., B.S.N., executive director of the American Gulf War
Veterans Association, that 95 percent of Gulf War veterans had been recycled
out of the military by 1995. Any of those continuing in military service were
isolated from each other, preventing critical information being transferred to
new troops. The "next DU war" had already been planned, and those planning it
wanted "no skunk at the garden party."
The US has a dirty (DU) little (CIA) secret
A new book just published at the American Free Press by Michael Collins Piper,
"The High Priests of War: The Secret History of How America's Neo-Conservative
Trotskyites Came to Power and Orchestrated the War Against Iraq as the First
Step in Their Drive for Global Empire," details the early plans for a war
against the Arab world by Henry Kissinger and the neo-cons in the late 1960s
and early 1970s. That just happens to coincide with getting the DU "show on
the road" and the oil crisis in the Middle East, which caused concern not only
to President Nixon. The British had been plotting and scheming for control of
the oil in Iraq for decades since first using poison gas on the Iraqis and
Kurds in 1912.
The book details the creation of the neo-cons by their "godfather" and Trotsky
lover Irving Kristol, who pushed for a "war against terrorism" long before
9/11 and was lavishly funded for years by the CIA. His son, William Kristol,
is one of the most influential men in the United States.
Both are public relations men for the Israeli lobby's neo-conservative
network, with strong ties to Rupert Murdoch. Kissinger also has ties to this
network and the Carlyle Group, who, one could say, have facilitated these
omnicidal wars beginning from the time former President Bush took office. It
would be easy to say that we are recycling World Wars I and II, with the same
faces.
When I asked Vietnam Special Ops Green Beret Capt. John McCarthy, who could
have devised this omnicidal plan to use DU to destroy the genetic code and
genetic future of large populations of Arabs and Moslems in the Middle East
and Central Asia - just coincidentally the areas where most of the world's oil
deposits are located - he replied: "It has all the handprints of Henry
Kissinger."
In Zbignew Brzezinski's book "The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its
Geostrategic Imperatives," the map of the Eurasian chessboard includes four
regions strategic to U.S. foreign policy. The "South" region corresponds
precisely to the regions now contaminated permanently with radiation from U.S.
bombs, missiles and bullets made with thousands of tons of DU.
A Japanese professor, Dr. K. Yagasaki, has calculated that 800 tons of DU is
the atomicity equivalent of 83,000 Nagasaki bombs. The U.S. has used more DU
since 1991 than the atomicity equivalent of 400,000 Nagasaki bombs. Four
nuclear wars indeed, and 10 times the amount of radiation released into the
atmosphere from atmospheric testing!
No wonder our soldiers, their families and the people of the Middle East,
Yugoslavia and Central Asia are sick. But as Henry Kissinger said after
Vietnam when our soldiers came home ill from Agent Orange, "Military men are
just dumb stupid animals to be used for foreign policy."
Unfortunately, more and more of those soldiers are men and women with brown
skin. And unfortunately, the DU radioactive dust will be carried around the
world and deposited in our environments just as the "smog of war" from the
1991 Gulf War was found in deposits in South America, the Himalayas and
Hawaii.
In June 2003, the World Health Organization announced in a press release that
global cancer rates will increase 50 percent by 2020. What else do they know
that they aren't telling us? I know that depleted uranium is a death sentence
. for all of us. We will all die in silent ways.
To learn more
Sources used in this story that readers are encouraged to consult:
American Free Press four-part series on DU by
Christopher Bollyn.
Part I: "Depleted Uranium: U.S. Commits War Crime
Against Iraq, Humanity,"
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/depleted_uranium.html
Part II: "Cancer Epidemic Caused by U.S. WMD: MD Says
Depleted Uranium Definitively
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/cancer_epidemic_.html
Part III: "DU Syndrome Stricken Vets Denied Care:
Pentagon Hides DU Dangers to Deny Medical Care to
Vets",
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/du_syndrome.html
Part IV: "Pentagon Brass Suppresses Truth About Toxic
Weapons: Poisonous Uranium Munitions Threaten World",
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/pentagon_brass.html
August 2004 World Affairs Journal. Leuren Moret:
"Depleted Uranium: The Trojan Horse of Nuclear War,"
http://www.mindfully.org/Nucs/2004/DU-Trojan-Horse1jul04.htm
August 2004 Coastal Post Online. Carol Sterrit: "Marin
Depleted Uranium Resolution Heats Up - GI's Will Come
Home To A Slow Death,"
http://www.coastalpost.com/04/08/01.htm
World Depleted Uranium Weapons Conference, Hamburg,
Germany, October 16-19, 2004:
http://www.uraniumweaponsconference.de/speakers.htm
International Criminal Tribunal for Afghanistan.
Written opinion of Judge Niloufer Baghwat:
http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/Afghanistan-Criminal-Tribunal10mar04.htm
"Discounted Casualties: The Human Cost of Nuclear War"
by Akira Tashiro, foreword by Leuren Moret,
http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/abom/uran/index_e.html
Leuren Moret is a geoscientist who has worked around the world on radiation
issues, educating citizens, the media, members of parliaments and Congress and
other officials. She became a whistleblower in 1991 at the Livermore Nuclear
Weapons Lab after experiencing major science fraud on the Yucca Mountain
Project. An environmental commissioner in the City of Berkeley, she can be
reached at leurenmoret@yahoo.com
http://www.sfbayview.com/081804/Depleteduranium081804.shtml
[demime 0.98e removed an attachment of type image/jpeg which had a name of 23b4ee3.jpg]
*****************************************************************
22 [du-list] DOD Exemptions in EHP
Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2004 14:38:52 -0800
The December 2004 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives - perhaps
the premier U.S. environmental health scientific journal - contains two
important articles about military toxins and environmental health. Both
are available for free on the EHP web site at
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2004/112-17/focus.html
One article is generally on the environmental cost of war including a
section on DU.
One of the articles - which is specifically about DOD's proposed
sweeping new exemptions from federal public health laws and the recently
settled Fort Richardson lawsuit.
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23 [NukeNet] 40% Cancer Increase In Chernobyl Effected Belarus
Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2004 17:47:12 -0800
New paper on cancer rates in Belarus confirms
LLRC's predictions
The Swiss Medical Weekly has published findings
from the Clinical Institute of Radiation Medicine
and Endocrinology Research, Minsk, Belarus showing
a 40% increase in cancer between 1990 and 2000.
The researchers used data from the National Cancer
Registry, established in 1973. They compared the
post Chernobyl period with rates before the
accident on April 26, 1986.
Relative Risks all have high statistical
significance. Increases in the various oblasts
(regions) were:
Brest 33%
Vitebsk 38%
Gomel 52%
Grodno 44%
Minsk 49%
Mogilev 32%
Minsk city 18%
all Belarus 40%
The authors note that increases in breast cancer
are happening earlier in populations in the more
highly contaminated regions (Gomel and Mogilev)
than in less contaminated Vitebsk. This dose
related difference in the time lag for
radiation-induced cancers is known from other
studies and is most marked for breast cancer.
In 2001 Chris Busby reported to the Belarus
government that cancer would increase by 125% over
the lifetimes of the exposed population (
http://www.llrc.org/belarus.htm ). Now, 18 years
after the accident, 40% of that increase is
apparent. The view of conventional radiation
protection "experts", however, is that very little
if any cancer has resulted or will result from the
fallout. This was expressed, for example, in 2000
by a United Nations committee:
"Apart from the substantial increase in thyroid
cancer after childhood exposure observed in
Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine there
is no evidence of a major public health impact
related to ionising radiation 14 years after the
Chernobyl accident. No increases in overall cancer
incidence or mortality that could be associated
with radiation exposure have been observed. The
risk of leukaemia, one of the most sensitive
indicators of radiation exposure, has not been
found to be elevated even in the accident recovery
operation workers or in children. There is no
scientific proof of an increase in non-malignant
disorders related to ionising radiation.
. For the most part [the public] were exposed to
radiation levels comparable to or a few times
higher than the natural background levels. Lives
have been disrupted by the Chernobyl accident but
from the radiological point of view, based on the
assessment of this Annex, generally positive
prospects for the future health of most
individuals should prevail."
UNSCEAR (2000) United Nations Scientific Committee
on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. Sources and
Effects of Ionising Radiation 2000. UN General
Assembly, with Scientific Annexes. United Nations
New York. Annex J Final Summary
For evidence of increases in non-malignant
disorders see http://www.llrc.org/chernobyl.htm -
summaries of 100 papers from the affected
territories.
The Belarus paper is freely available for download
as a pdf:-
http://www.smw.ch/pdf200x/2004/43/smw-10221.pdf
We have sent you this email circular because you
are on our database of people who are concerned
about low level radiation and health. If you do
not want to receive information from us please
reply, putting "remove from LLRC" in the subject
line.
Richard Bramhall
Low Level Radiation Campaign
bramhall@llrc.org
The Knoll, Montpellier Park
Llandrindod Wells,
Powys LD1 5LW U.K.
+44(0)1597 824771
07887 942043
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24 Pilot That "Buzzed" Nuke Plant & Could Have Brought "Accidental NuclearTerrorism" Is Sentenced
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 21:08:58 -0500
>Officials acknowledged at the time there was
little they could do, physically, to bring the
plane down ?after the North American Aerospace
Defense Command concluded it was not a terrorist
threat.
There's no way NAADefense Command could know
that this plane posed a terrorist threat. They
could pnly make an educated guess. Even if they
did know an accidental flying into a spent fuel
pool, reactor building or control room can have
the exact same effects as a terrorist attack. Only
the intenion differs. The radiation release,
massive deaths, environmental, economic, health &
psychological effects would be exactly the same.
Allowing the existence of a nuclear power
plant/facility is, consciously or not aiding and
abetting terrorism.
Nuke Terror Site:
http://www.tmia.com/sabter.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Plane-Diverted.html?oref=login
Drunken Pilot Who Buzzed Plant Sentenced
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 1, 2004
ARTICLE TOOLS
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Filed at 6:15 p.m. ET
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- A drunken pilot who buzzed
his plane near a nuclear power plant and came near
six commercial airliners was sentenced to six to
23 months in prison on Tuesday.
John V. Salamone had a blood alcohol level of 0.15
percent when he landed the plane after an erratic,
four-hour flight on Jan. 15 over the Philadelphia
region, authorities said. The legal limit for
pilots, set by the Federal Aviation
Administration, is 0.04 percent, half the amount
for drivers in Pennsylvania.
Salamone, 44, who faced up to nine years in
prison, must also serve five years probation and
undergo alcohol counseling, a Montgomery County
judge ordered.
Salamone was convicted of risking a catastrophe
and reckless endangerment after prosecutors
learned the initial state charge of driving under
the influence does not apply to pilots.
Lawmakers have since tried to rectify the legal
loophole, passing a bill -- now awaiting the
governor's signature -- that makes flying drunk a
crime.
Salamone, flying a single-engine Piper Cherokee,
meandered into New Jersey and flew into forbidden
airspace. He flew as low as 100 feet and within a
quarter mile of the Limerick nuclear power plant,
officials said.
A Philadelphia police helicopter helped force the
plane down. Officials acknowledged at the time
there was little they could do, physically, to
bring the plane down after the North American
Aerospace Defense Command concluded it was not a
terrorist threat.
*****************************************************************
25 heraldtribune.com: Tallevast beryllium testing plan seems to please no one
Southwest Florida's Information Leader
[http://www.michaelsaunders.com/]
Wednesday, December 1, 2004
By SCOTT CARROLL
scott.carroll@heraldtribune.com
MANATEE COUNTY -- It sounded like an idea nobody could possibly
oppose: the county spending $50,000 to test former American
Beryllium Co. workers for an incurable lung disease associated
with beryllium production at the Tallevast plant.
And the measure passed Tuesday with little discussion, except for
county commissioners and a public health official congratulating
one another on doing the right thing.
But outside the commission chambers the move was criticized on
several fronts. A community activist said the tests are
incomplete, a health department official said the money won't pay
for enough tests, and a beryllium industry official said the
tests could lead to an unnecessary panic in the community.
Wanda Washington, vice president of the Tallevast community group
FOCUS, called for full medical exams for everyone in the
community of about 85 homes. Such comprehensive tests are needed
because residents may have been exposed to other dangerous
chemicals emanating from the plant over the decades. Recent tests
found that ground water in the south Manatee County community
contains pollutants at levels more than 10,000 times the state
standard.
Washington also said a negative test could give a person a false
sense they are safe from berylliosis, a deadly lung disease
caused by inhaling beryllium dust. It can take 20 years for
symptoms of the disease to appear, meaning someone could test
clean today and still be at risk, Washington said.
"I don't want people to misunderstand the test results. There is
something to worry about until the day they die," Washington
said.
Beryllium is an extremely light and durable metal used for
missiles and in the space program. Employees at the Tallevast
plant cut beryllium for nearly 40 years, and former workers say
the plant was often thick with beryllium dust.
When the plant was sold to Lockheed Martin in 1996, swabs of the
plant's walls and ceilings showed beryllium thousands of times
higher than safe levels.
Studies have shown that beryllium dust can be carried on workers'
clothes and in the air for several miles, putting employees'
families and neighbors of the plant at risk.
Even public health officials who support the county-funded
testing say the money will only pay to test a fraction of those
who need it.
Public health officials will explain the testing program at a
meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Mount Tabor Missionary
Baptist Church.
Last modified: December 01. 2004 12:00AM
Herald-Tribune newspaper and SNN Channel 6 © Sarasota
Herald-Tribune. All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
26 Salt Lake Tribune: Toxin from '88 Nevada explosion is tainting food
[http://www.sltrib.com]
Article Last Updated: 12/01/2004 01:25:31 AM
Rocket fuel: Perchlorate in the Colorado River is getting into
lettuce and milk, says the FDA
By Patty Henetz The Salt Lake Tribune
Residue from a rocket fuel plant destroyed in an explosion
nearly 17 years ago near Henderson, Nev., continues to pollute
the lower Colorado River, whose waters irrigate much of the
lettuce consumed in the United States.
Now the Food and Drug Administration has confirmed earlier
studies showing perchlorate contamination from that plant and
other sites around the nation is concentrating in lettuce and
milk.
The agency's results, released this week on the FDA Web site
from tests conducted in August, underscore earlier studies by
the Environmental Working Group, university researchers and
California journalists, but they are the first to document
nationwide contamination of food.
The FDA reported finding perchlorate in 217 of 232 samples of
milk and lettuce in 15 states. Most of the samples were taken in
California, Nevada and Arizona. Nearly all the samples showed
perchlorate levels higher than the 1 part per billion the
federal Environmental Protection Agency has identified in a
preliminary risk assessment as acceptable for drinking water.
That standard currently is under review by the National
Academy of Sciences, which is expected to issue its evaluation
in January.
Massachusetts has adopted the 1 ppb standard. California has
set a preliminary safety standard of 6 ppb. Utah has no
standard. State law says only that Utah's standard can't be
more stringent than whatever the EPA adopts.
Perchlorate is the explosive component of rocket fuel. It is
used to manufacture fireworks, gunpowder and highway flares. It
also is used in tanning and leather finishing, rubber, paint and
enamel production.
The lower Colorado River supplies most of Southern
California's drinking water and irrigates over a million acres
of farmland in California and Arizona, where much of the
nation's winter produce is grown. Irrigation water used for
alfalfa production is the most likely source of perchlorate
contamination in milk.
FDA researchers say perchlorate at high doses disrupts
thyroid gland functions. The biggest risks are to children and
fetuses. Results include delayed development, mental
retardation, hearing loss and motor skills impairment. Chronic
lowering of thyroid hormones due to high perchlorate exposure
may also result in thyroid tumors.
Even so, Bill Walker, EWG's West Coast vice president, said
people shouldn't stop eating greens or drinking milk, because
the foods' health benefits generally outweigh the perchlorate
risk.
"The people we really think are getting the raw deal are the
lettuce growers and dairymen," he said. "It's not their fault
their products are contaminated with rocket fuels - or that
their markets could be damaged by these findings."
The FDA emphasized that the data are exploratory and limited
in scope, and that perchlorate levels don't necessarily
translate to perchlorate exposure.
The Environmental Working Group, a research group with
offices in California and Washington, D.C., has identified 162
sites in 36 states that use or manufacture perchlorate.
Twelve are in Utah.
The major pollution of the Colorado River started on May 4,
1988, when a series of explosions at the Kerr-McGee perchlorate
manufacturing plant, PEPCON, at Henderson killed two employees
and left a long-lasting legacy of perchlorate leaching into
Lake Mead.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 500 pounds of
perchlorate per day flows from the lake into the river.
© Copyright 2004, The Salt Lake Tribune.
*****************************************************************
27 Re: [du-list] ?Question about war machines?
Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2004 14:38:23 -0800
Irish sea and Solway.
This area is already contaminated by waste and leaks from Windscale
(Sellafield ) Nuclear power station and MOX reprocessing plant.
Hundreds of miles away, Norway has objected to the nuclear pollution form
this source, in addition to Ireland, where increased cancers are attributed
to Sellafield.
www.n-base.org.uk/public/report_links/danming_sellafield.html
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/contentlookup.cfm?ucidparam=20011107113023&Menupoint=D-E&CFID=227823&CFTOKEN=90719629
----- Original Message -----
From: Elaine Hunter
To: du-list@yahoogroups.com ; du-watch@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 10:58 AM
Subject: [du-list] ?Question about war machines?
Dear all,
Been reading, but not writing because--well lots of becauses. There is
an aspect of what's happening with radioactive materials in Iraq and
other war zones that needs more consideration. 1) Because of the
radioisotopes themselves, and 2) because of what interactions take
place when the equipment is destroyed by DU munitions.
What follows is an except from an article, full text is at:
http://www.sundayherald.com/41214
><> <>< "One of the most polluted areas was around the Raeberry firing
point and target, on cliffs overlooking the Solway Firth. But there the
radiation readings were confused by the discovery of a luminous radium
dial in an abandoned tank. The report recommends that this should be
disposed of as radioactive waste and the area resurveyed." <>< ><>
In the past, before I remembered to bookmark articles, I read another
account of radium dials in tanks not made in the USA.
Here's my question to those more knowledgeable about tanks, aircraft
[planes,helicopters], and other vehicles both allied and "enemy": it's
reasonable to assume all tanks, strategic aircraft, etc have
radioluminous dials of some sort and number. I've done a fair amount of
on-line search and can't come up with much detail. Besides radium paint
as a possibility for self-luminosity, there is tritium, I think possibly
promethium--tritium more likely. Back to the question: anybody know
more about dials on the instrument panels of war machines?
If a war machine is incinerated by a DU round the scenario would include
dispersal of previously encapsulated radioisotopes to be included in the
smoke cloud, PLUS possible interactions with the DU. Residue on war
machine would also have more isotopes present than U238 & daughter
products.
When Vets are checked for DU, does the testing include looking for other
radioisotopes?
Elaine
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28 Bradenton Herald: County funds beryllium tests
| 12/01/2004 |
[Phlebotomist Nancy Cool prepares to draw three vials of blood
from Terry Owen, a former American Beryllium worker.]
HERALD FILE PHOTO
Phlebotomist Nancy Cool prepares to draw three vials of blood
from Terry Owen, a former American Beryllium worker.
DONNA WRIGHT
Herald Staff Writer
MANATEE - County commissioners put $54,000 behind their promises
Tuesday to help former beryllium workers, their family members
and residents of Tallevast.
Even as they did, the nation's leading manufacturer of beryllium
sought to derail the county's proposed screening program to help
former workers of the now-defunct American Beryllium Co. and
their family members learn if they may have been sickened by
their exposure to the toxic dust from the plant.
Commissioners approved the screening program without comment,
except to laud Dr. Gladys Branic, director of the county health
department, for taking an important step to help people with
known past exposure to beryllium dust.
"This is the right public health thing to do," Branic told
commissioners as she thanked them for their support.
But Marc Kolanz, vice president of environmental health and
safety for Brush Wellman Engineered Materials, strongly
disagrees. Brush Wellman, based in Cleveland, Ohio, was a
supplier of beryllium to the Tallevast plant.
In an e-mail posted late Monday afternoon to commissioners and
copied to Branic and County Administrator Ernie Padgett, Kolanz
warned that the proposed screening program could "heighten
uncertainty and anxiety, as well as depress property values, to
no one's benefit."
Test debated
Kolanz cited several sources - including documents from the U.S.
Army, Air Force and Navy - that said the "blood test should not
be used for screening tests in absence of a clinical health
effect potentially due to beryllium exposure."
He also described the county screening program as an effort to
test for beryllium sensitivity among the general population in
Tallevast.
But that is not the population Branic has proposed testing, nor
is it the program the commission approved.
Branic agrees with Kolanz that the test is not an effective tool
to test a general population. To be effective, the test must be
used in populations with a known risk of exposure, she said.
Her request to the county specifically identifies test
populations who have a known risk of exposure: former ABC
workers, family members who lived in the same households as
those workers, and residents of Tallevast and elsewhere in
Manatee County whose close proximity to the plant or their
association to American Beryllium put them at risk for inhaling
beryllium dust.
While it is unclear if commissioners even read Kolanz's e-mail
letter on the eve of their decision, Branic did study her copy
and crafted a response to county commissioners and Padgett. She
did not send a copy to Kolanz.
"The purpose of conducting beryllium sensitivity testing is not
to seek some 'proof' as suggested, but rather to provide the
best possible diagnostic opportunity available for former
workers and family members of the community who may be at risk
for beryllium disease due to exposures that may have occurred
while the plant was operating," Branic wrote.
"The BeLPT test is an established medical screening tool used to
identify individuals who have developed sensitivity to beryllium
and therefore are at risk of developing chronic beryllium
disease," Branic wrote.
Here again Kolanz took issue, pointing out that the BeLPT test
is fraught with limitations, including the lack of standardized
test protocols among labs and inconsistent criteria for what is
defined as an abnormal test.
But a leading beryllium expert who conducts screening programs
for the federal government said those limitations must be put
into perspective.
Kolanz's statements are from an industry perspective, cautioned
Dr. Laurence Fuortes, professor of Occupational and
Environmental Health at the University of Iowa College of Public
Health.
"All of Kolanz's statements of limitations have some validity,"
Fuortes told the Herald. "But they also hold true for other
diagnostic medical tools.
"You could take out the name BeLPT test and insert mammography
or HIV or colorectal screening and the same statements would
hold true."
Fuortes said he hopes Branic and the health department can
operate independently from Kolanz's viewpoint.
"If mammography or HIV screening is acceptable to medical
community in non-occupational settings, why then is a different
standard applied to medical screening tools in an occupational
setting," said Fuortes, who lauded the county program as a
stellar example of an appropriate public health response.
Arthur W. Stange, writing for a recent 2004 issue of the
American Journal of Industrial Medicine, stated that the BeLPT
test is effective in medical surveillance of beryllium-exposed
individuals.
"Confirmation of an abnormal result is recommended to assure
appropriate referral for chronic beryllium disease," Stange
writes.
That referral to treatment, Branic said, is the purpose for the
county's testing program.
Commissioners agreed with Branic that Tallevast residents and
former ABC workers deserve no less.
Richard Miller, senior policy analyst for the Government
Accountability Project and lobbyist for beryllium workers
nationwide, questioned why the county program should solicit
such a strong reaction from Brush Wellman.
"This is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to try to
dissuade people from identifying a public health threat that
could be a potential liability for them," said Miller.
Kolanz told the Herald that Brush Wellman has no liability
concerns and would never have sent the letter if liability were
the issue.
"We just wanted to make sure the commission had information we
thought they should know," Kolanz said.
Kolanz had not received any replies to his letter as of Tuesday
evening.
More funding sought
Branic and the commission acknowledged that $54,000 won't go
far.
Manatee's elected representatives in Congress say help is on the
way.
U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Sarasota, has instructed her staff
to research federal options to help pay for the expensive blood
test which can cost anywhere between $210 to $600.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is exploring federal funding as
well, said spokesman Bryan Gulley.
Harris and Nelson have many precedents to study as they seek
federal funding, analyst Miller said.
"Beryllium workers in other states, including Pennsylvania and
Massachusetts, have access to beryllium screening programs
thanks to the thoughtful leadership of their congressional
delegations," Miller said.
He cited the efforts of Sen. Ted Kennedy and Rep. Jim McGovern,
both Democrats from Massachusetts who have procured $750,000 in
two appropriations from the Department of Energy to screen
beryllium workers in their home state.
Those eligible for testing programs include former workers from
beryllium vendors and Atomic Weapons employers in Massachusetts
identified as covered facilities under the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Act of 2000, said a spokesman
in Kennedy's office.
The same type of program could be set up for former American
Beryllium workers, Miller said.
Money exists in the federal compensation program administered by
the Department of Energy and Department of Labor, Miller said,
if Florida lawmakers have the political will to make it happen.
A step forward
Branic acknowledged the county program is just the first step.
One of her primary goals was helping workers who can't afford
the required test to qualify for a federal compensation program
to aid former nuclear weapon workers who helped fight the Cold
War.
American Beryllium workers are eligible for the compensation
program because they made parts for nuclear weapons and missile
guidance systems for the Department of Energy.
Miller lauded the commission and Branic for their foresight.
"This is the first time I have heard of a county doing this,"
Miller said. "The county commissioners are stepping in and
saying, 'Look, we have a public health problem facing the
community,' and they are willing to take some responsibility."
The commission's approval gives Branic and county staff the
green light to negotiate a contract with one of the only four
laboratories in the nation that can perform the specialized
blood test.
Branic hopes to negotiate a group price to stretch the program's
limited funding.
Commissioner Joe McClash said the screening program may be just
the first of what might be many requests to come before the
board.
"We need to make sure that if county resources are needed, that
they are there for the health department," McClash said.
Donna Wright health and social services reporter, can be reached
at (941)745-7049 or at dwright@bradentonherald.com
[dwright@bradentonherald.com] .
*****************************************************************
29 Las Vegas SUN: Congress: Nevada counties can use federal funds
overseeing Yucca
Today: December 01, 2004 at 10:04:11 PST
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Congress has sided with Nevada counties that
want to spend federal money monitoring federal plans for a
national nuclear waste repository, officials said.
A massive spending bill that lawmakers passed Nov. 20 clarified
that local governments can use Energy Department grants to take
part in upcoming licensing proceedings for the proposed Yucca
Mountain repository.
"It provides the specific language that answers the questions
that had come up over how we can use our oversight funds," said
Abigail Johnson, a nuclear waste consultant to Eureka County.
In another development, Nevada's legal team plans to challenge an
Energy Department decision not to subject plans for structural
supports in repository tunnels to strict quality assurance
control review.
"They are making an incorrect determination that the tunnel
supports are not important to safety, and we don't believe that
is the case," said Joe Egan, a McLean, Va., lawyer heading the
state's legal challenges of the Yucca Mountain project.
Egan said the state will challenge the decision during Nuclear
Regulatory Commission hearings on an Energy Department license
for the repository.
Energy Department and Yucca Mountain spokesman Allen Benson said
the tunnel supports will be built, but were left off the
so-called Q list of safety features "because other engineered
systems provide for radiological protection."
The department plans titanium drip shields over metal alloy waste
canisters entombing highly radioactive spent fuel in underground
tunnels at the repository, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
The tunnel supports consist of rock bolts and steel beams holding
up repository walls and ceilings.
The county funding issue arose after the Energy Department issued
new grant guidelines in August. One directive said grant money to
counties could not be used for activities such as loading
research into an electronic database for Yucca Mountain licensing
hearings.
County leaders protested that would restrict their ability to
fully participate in the hearings, expected to begin next year
before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
A provision reversing the directive was inserted into the omnibus
budget bill by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., a staunch opponent of the
Yucca project.
Benson said the department welcomed the instructions from
Congress.
Nine Nevada counties and Inyo County in California shared $4
million this year and are due to receive $8 million during fiscal
2005 to monitor Energy Department work at Yucca Mountain and
study the planned repository's potential impacts on their
residents.
Energy Department officials had said the August guidelines were
based on a law that prohibits the counties from spending federal
money on repository "litigation."
The Energy Department said recently it won't meet a self-imposed
Dec. 31 deadline to submit a license application to the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission. It hopes to open the Yucca Mountain
repository by 2010.
---
On the Net:
Yucca Mountain project: http://www.ymp.gov [http://www.ymp.gov]
Nuclear Regulatory Commission: http://www.nrc.gov
[http://www.nrc.gov]
Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects:
http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste [http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste]
*****************************************************************
30 Las Vegas RJ: Congress resolves Yucca funding dispute
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Counties can use DOE grants to take part in licensing for
project
By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- A dispute over how Nevada counties can spend
federal money on Yucca Mountain has been resolved by Congress in
favor of the counties, officials said this week.
A year-end spending bill that lawmakers passed Nov. 20 makes
clear that local governments can use Energy Department grants to
take part in licensing for the proposed nuclear waste repository,
they said.
Clark County commissioners protested after DOE issued new grant
guidelines in August. One directive disallowed use of grant money
for activities such as loading pertinent research into an
electronic database being built for Yucca Mountain license
hearings.
County leaders said the rules would restrict their ability to
fully participate in upcoming hearings before the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
A provision that reverses the directive was proposed by Clark
County officials and was inserted into the bill by Sen. Harry
Reid, D-Nev., according to Capitol Hill officials.
Abigail Johnson, a nuclear waste consultant to Eureka County,
said the problem appears to be solved for now. "It provides the
specific language that answers the questions that had come up
over how we can use our oversight funds," she said.
Reid aides said the provision will need to be renewed each year.
Nine Nevada counties and Inyo County in California shared $4
million this year and are being given $8 million during fiscal
2005 to monitor DOE's work at Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest
of Las Vegas, and to study the planned repository's potential
impacts on their residents.
Clark County's allocation for 2005 is expected to be about $2
million.
Yucca Mountain hearings will be conducted in a triallike format
before an NRC administrative panel.
DOE officials said their August guidelines were based on their
reading of a law that prohibits the counties from spending
federal money on repository "litigation."
Energy Department spokesman Allen Benson said DOE welcomed the
instructions from Congress.
"Congress has for many years provided us guidance as well as the
state and the (counties) on how the funds should be spent,"
Benson said. "Now we have congressional direction, which helps
all of us."
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
31 Las Vegas RJ: State finds change in repository's quality control
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Attorneys for the state of Nevada say they have
found another weapon to deploy against the proposed Yucca
Mountain nuclear waste repository.
State officials are focusing on an Energy Department decision
this summer to delete structural supports for the repository's
underground tunnels from a list of features requiring the
strictest quality assurance controls.
The supports consist of rock bolts and steel beams that hold up
repository walls and ceilings and add a layer of protection for
canisters of highly radioactive spent fuel that would be stored
within the tunnels.
DOE officials removed the tunnel supports from a "Q list" of
Yucca systems that are considered important to prevent radiation
from escaping the mountain and entering the environment.
Because they deal with deadly radiation, systems on the "Q
list" also require the most stringent quality assurance rules,
including pain-staking documentation and detailed reviews.
Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear
Projects, said DOE "is obviously trying to minimize the number
of areas that (quality assurance) has a role to play. I don't
think they can fully comply with QA requirements, so they are
trying to eliminate them."
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Government
Accountability Office have criticized the rigor of the Yucca
Mountain quality assurance in reports this year, prompting DOE
and contractor managers to increase their attention to that
program.
Allen Benson, an Energy Department spokesman, said in an e-mail
the tunnel supports are not on the Q list "because other
engineered systems provide for radiological protection."
DOE plans to install titanium drip shields over waste canisters
within the tunnels and to store the radioactive material in
special alloy containers scientists believe will be
corrosion-resistant.
Joe Egan, a Virginia attorney who leads a legal team
challenging the Yucca Mountain Project for Nevada, charged DOE
"is cutting corners one more time."
Egan said Nevada will file a formal contention on the tunnel
supports during repository license hearings. "They are making an
incorrect determination that the tunnel supports are not
important to safety, and we don't believe that is the case," he
said.
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
32 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Another safety gaffe at Yucca Mountain
Editorial: Another safety gaffe at Yucca Mountain
LAS VEGAS SUN
The federal government has always had a cavalier attitude
toward safely burying high-level nuclear waste. That's what led
to the choice of Yucca Mountain in Southern Nevada as the burial
site. The government, for example, never cared that Yucca
Mountain was in an earthquake zone. Now we're learning it
doesn't believe the mountain's structural integrity is important.
All along, the supports for the tunnels that have been dug
underneath the mountain have been viewed as critical. A tunnel
collapse could trigger rock falls, which could perforate the
drip shields and casks containing the deadly waste. But the
status of the supports changed this past July, as confirmed by a
memo reviewed by this newspaper. The memo was written in October
by two inspectors for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It said
the Energy Department and site construction managers concluded
that the supports had been "inappropriately classified as
important to safety or waste isolation." So they were removed as
prime factors to be considered in deciding the safety of Yucca
Mountain.
Earlier this year a federal court ruled that the Energy
Department, for the past decade, had been building Yucca
Mountain to the wrong radiation standard. It was building it to
be safe for 10,000 years as opposed to several hundred thousand
years. But without regarding the tunnel supports as important,
it's logical to ask how the mountain could ever be regarded as
safe even in our lifetimes.
If Yucca Mountain ever opens, it will be because the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission licensed it. We just hope they remember
this memo when their decision is at hand.
*****************************************************************
33 Las Vegas SUN: Congress OKs money for Yucca oversight
SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- The state of Nevada and eight counties in the
state will be able to use federal money for Yucca Mountain
oversight that the Energy Department sought to curb, according
to new federal legislation.
Congress approved $2 million for the state of Nevada and $8
million for nine counties, including Inyo County in California,
for Yucca watchdog activities as part of the $388 billion
omnibus spending bill approved Nov. 20. That's up from the
current fiscal year when the counties shared about $4 million.
Nevada and the counties, including Clark, typically receive
money each year from Congress to track the federal plan to
construct a national nuclear waste repository 90 miles northwest
of Las Vegas. But this year the Energy Department signaled that
it might limit some uses of the money.
Nevada officials specifically objected to what they said would
be new limits on their ability to use oversight money to analyze
a new database of Yucca documents and to research a proposed
nuclear waste rail route in Nevada.
Clark County commissioners and Nevada lawmakers in Congress
sought clarification from the department on how money could be
used.
But Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who sits on the Senate
Appropriations Committee, has put the matter to rest, at least
for this year. He inserted a provision into the spending bill
that specifically earmarks the monies "to conduct scientific
oversight responsibilities and participate in licensing
activities." That language should cover the oversight work
Nevada officials want to do, congressional sources said.
The Energy Department is seeking to finalize an application for
a license to construct Yucca, and state officials are planning
to challenge that application.
The bill language applies only to the current fiscal year and
would have to be renewed -- along with a new appropriation --
next year.
Concerns have been eased -- for now -- that the state would not
be able to use federal money to plan a number of challenges it
intends to make to the license application, said said Bob Loux,
executive director of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Agency.
Nevada officials anticipate that the application will be flawed
and will fail to make a case that Yucca would protect people and
the environment, Loux said.
"We have an obligation to challenge it," Loux said.
*****************************************************************
34 Lincoln Journal Star: There Oughta Be A Law: Reader calls the nuclear waste deal
'disappointing'
[http://www.journalstar.com]
BY NANCY HICKS/Lincoln Journal Star
IDEA: The state should properly dispose of low-level nuclear
waste generated within Nebraska's borders.
READER: Kurt Robak of Eagle has been reading about Nebraska's
attempts to find a site for a low-level radioactive waste site
for years and said he was "very disappointed with the way the
politicians handled the issue."
In February, a federal judge ordered the state to pay $151
million to utility companies after he determined that Gov. Ben
Nelson, now a U.S. senator, engaged in a politically motivated
and orchestrated plot to keep the site from being built in
Nebraska.
Attorney Gen. Jon Bruning and current Gov. Mike Johanns
negotiated the judgment down to $141 million — and an even
smaller amount if the state reaches an agreement with Texas to
accept waste from Nebraska and the compact states: Arkansas,
Oklahoma, Louisiana and Kansas.
Robak believes state leaders should have tried to erase the
judgment by building a low-level site in Nebraska.
"They chose the easy way out instead of making the responsible
decisions, and attitudes trumped science," Robak said.
"It is very disappointing that we go down this road … invest
millions and millions of dollars and have nothing to show for
it."
Low-level waste can be stored safely and cost effectively, said
Robak, who works for a small consulting firm doing laboratory
automation.
"We do it with our regular trash. We do it with our sewage. It
is the responsible thing to do."
ARGUMENTS FOR: Storing the low-level waste that comes from
modern medicine, research and producing cheaper electricity is
the responsible thing to do. In fact, Nebraska may be storing
its own radioactive waste in temporary in-state facilities after
2008, when the disposal sites currently taking the waste from
across the nation are closed down to out-of-state waste.
A Nebraska site also could bring in revenue. Many states soon
will be looking for new disposal sites. They would be eager to
bring low-level waste to a Nebraska site, for a fee.
ARGUMENTS AGAINST: Few people want to be neighbors to a
low-level radioactive waste site. So there are inherent problems
in finding a location as elected officials respond to citizen
outrage. The State Patrol monitored public hearings in Boyd
County, the proposed location of a low-level waste disposal site
in the early 1990s, because of the anger engendered by the
proposal.
In fact, no state has built a low-level disposal site in the
past two decades since the country began a systematic program to
get new sites.
Though much of the waste is very low contamination, some
requires long-term monitoring. State law required official
monitoring at the proposed Nebraska site for at least 135 years.
Nebraska could not have erased the $141 million judgment by
promising to build a Nebraska site, according to Terri Teuber,
aide to Johanns. The judgment, reflecting the money utility
companies spent on the first failed site in Nebraska, and having
a disposal site available are two different issues, she said.
Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or [nhicks@journalstar.com] .
There Oughta Be A Law
About this project: This fall the Journal Star asked readers to
submit ideas for a new state law. We will pick one idea
submitted by readers, try to find a senator to sponsor it and
follow the bill through the 2005 legislative process until it
passes or dies from lack of interest or too much controversy.
Recently, a group of readers helped us narrow a list of more
than 80 ideas to 10. Beginning today, we will highlight the pros
and cons of each idea.
Coming Thursday: Require running lights on cars.
Copyright © 2004, Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved.
This content may not be archived or used for commercial
purposes without written permission from the Lincoln Journal
Star.
926 P Street Lincoln NE 68508
402 475-4200 • [feedback@journalstar.com]
*****************************************************************
35 CTV.ca: Rocket fuel chemical found in organic milk
The Web CTV.ca [|]
[http://www.ctv.ca]
[ /] Wed. Dec. 1 2004 8:45 AM ET
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The government has found traces of a rocket fuel
chemical in organic milk in Maryland, green leaf lettuce grown
in Arizona and bottled spring water from Texas and California.
What's not clear is the significance of the data, collected by
the Food and Drug Administration through Aug. 19.
Sufficient amounts of perchlorate can affect the thyroid,
potentially causing delayed development and other problems.
But Environmental Protection Agency official Kevin Mayer called
for calm, saying in an interview Tuesday: "Alarm is not
warranted. That is clear."
"I think that it is important that EPA and FDA and other
agencies come to some resolution about the toxicity of this
chemical," Mayer said. "That has been, frankly, a struggle for
the last few years."
The FDA found that of the various food items it tested, iceberg
lettuce grown in Belle Glade, Fla., had the highest
concentrations of perchlorate. The greens had 71.6 parts per
billion of the compound, the primary ingredient in solid rocket
propellent. Red leaf lettuce grown in El Centro, Calif., had 52
ppb of perchlorate. Most of the purified, distilled and spring
bottled water tested around the nation tested had no detectable
amount of perchlorate.
Whole organic milk in Maryland, however, had 11.3 ppb of
perchlorate.
Asked whether that level of chemical in milk was worrisome,
Mayer, the EPA's regional perchlorate coordinator for Arizona,
California, Hawaii and Nevada, said, "The answer is, we don't
know yet."
The FDA said in a statement that consumers should not change
their eating habits in response to the test results, posted on
the agency's Web site Friday.
The testing comes as federal agencies try find how much
perchlorate people are exposed to from food so they can
determine whether action is needed to protect the public health.
Federal agencies have been trying since the early 1990s to
determine what level of perchlorate is safe.
The state of California, meanwhile, set a standard of no more
than 10 ppb of perchlorate in drinking water. That was lowered
to 6 ppb in drinking water to account for the chemical also
lacing food, Mayer said.
A more conservative suggestion, in a draft from the EPA, would
allow no more than 1 ppb of perchlorate in drinking water.
The FDA tested lettuce samples collected at farms and packing
sheds and bottled water from retail stores. Raw milk samples
came from a research facility in Maryland and other milk samples
were obtained from retail stores.
"These data are exploratory and should not be understood to be a
reflection of the distribution of perchlorate in the U.S. food
supply," the agency said in a statement. "Until more is known
about the health effects of perchlorate and its occurrence in
foods, FDA continues to recommend that consumers eat a balanced
diet, choosing a variety of foods that are low in trans fat and
saturated fat, and rich in high-fiber grains, fruits and
vegetables."
© 2004 Bell Globemedia Inc. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
36 KVBC: What's Next For Yucca Mountain
November 30, 2004
It appears theYucca Mountain project may be in dispute for
several more years. This, after one group says it won't take
their argument to the U.S. Supreme Court. News 3's Mitch
Truswell [Mtruswell@kvbc.com] explains what's changed and what's
next.
There are some who think opponents of Yucca Mountain got an early
holiday gift. The Nuclear Energy Institute, that's a lobbying
group for the nuclear power industry, said it will not ask the
U.S. Supreme Court to overrule a lower court's decision. That
puts the Department of Energy's plan to submit a license
application next month to store nuclear waste in jeopardy. It
also could jeopardize the plan to open the repository in 2010.
The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled earlier this year the 10,000 year
safety standard, used by the Department of Energy in planning the
Yucca Mountain project was not long enough to protect the public
health. So, according to Nevada 's office for nuclear projects,
which is fighting the Yucca project, there are two things that
could happen now:
First, congress could re-write the law, claiming the 10,000 year
standard is safe for the public. Some see that as a long shot and
a risky, politically. It's more likely the Environmental
Protection Agency will come up with a new safety standard for
storing waste inside Yucca Mountain . Will it be safe for 50,000
years -- 300-thousand years?
Only when that question is answered can the application to store
nuclear waste inside Yucca go to the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission. It's a slow process. The research, writing and public
commenting on any new health standard could take up to 5 years --
or longer. The Nuclear Energy Institute decided not to appeal
their case to the Supreme Court after realizing it was unlikely
the court would agree to even hear the case.
[http://www.worldnow.com] All content © Copyright 2000 - 2004
WorldNow and KVBC. All Rights Reserved. For more information on
*****************************************************************
37 chillicothe gazette: Piketon plant looks to start new legacy -
www.chillicothegazette.com
Wednesday, December 1, 2004
Plans to convert uranium waste in action
By Daniel Prazer, Dprazer@nncogannett.Com
Gazette Staff Writer
[Photo]
Cristina A. McMain/Gazette
Workers at the Piketon uranium enrichment plant move a 14-ton
cylinder of depleted uranium hexafluoride from the truck that
brought it from the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge,
Tenn.
[Photo]
Submitted photo
About 20 cylinders regularly arrive in Piketon each day from the
East Tennessee Technology Park, where they will join the massive
outdoor yards of cylinders. Once the roughly 4,800 cylinders are
finished being moved from Tennessee to Piketon, there will be
almost 25,000 containers on the site.
PIKETON -- Inside the Piketon uranium enrichment plant's
Perimeter Road lies a 50-year legacy of work that helped win the
Cold War and power naval ships and homes across the nation.
But there's another legacy officials plan to erase within the
decade.
In acres of yards, there are thousands of massive steel
cylinders full of depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF-6) --
essentially the leftovers from the years of enrichment
activities that went on in Piketon -- that should start
disappearing once a new plant to convert their contents into a
more stable form is operating.
Right now, though, they're stacked two high, and most weigh
about 14 tons, requiring an 80,000-pound machine to move them.
Some of their contents date back to the start of operations at
the plant in the 1950s, and the Department of Energy is in the
process of shipping nearly 6,000 more of them to Piketon from a
facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
They've been moving up on trucks at the rate of about 20
cylinders a day, growing the massive cylinder yards a little at
a time. They'll ultimately number near 25,000.
Exploring the process
In July, a cadre of congressmen and Department of Energy
officials broke ground on a plant with a sole purpose of
converting these nuclear leftovers -- called tails by those in
the field -- into a more stable form. It would be chemically
split into uranium oxide and hydrofluoric acid, said John Shine,
the Department of Energy's DUF-6 Portsmouth project manager.
"This conversion plant really is the missing piece of getting
the uranium that comes out of the ground back into the ground
that wasn't usable in the reactor," Shine said.
Once the conversion plant has processed the tails, the uranium
oxide would be put back into the cylinders, and the whole
package sent to a long-term storage facility for burial; it
would be classified as low-level waste, Shine said, similar to
some wastes created by radiology departments at hospitals.
The hydrofluoric acid has a commercial value -- it's used for
etching glass, among other things -- and would be sold to the
chemical industry.
The DUF-6 itself doesn't pose a serious radiological hazard,
Shine said, but a chemical one. Hydrofluoric acid can damage
mucous membranes, but if the cylinder should have a breach, the
DUF-6 would chemically react with the air and seal the hole
itself, he said.
"We're working really hard to get this conversion plant built on
time and at cost and to get this hazard out of here," Shine
said.
"The hazard will no longer be here," he said. "The thing that
keeps the hazard maintained is a program of surveillance and
maintenance."
Right now, the cylinders are subject to a rigorous inspection
regimen, and cylinders that show signs of wear are replaced. But
that's getting to be less cost-effective, said Mike Eversole,
project superintendent and facility manager for the cylinder
yard for Bechtel-Jacobs Company.
The conversion plant, in addition to handling the legacy waste
sitting outside, will employ 140 to 150 full-time employees,
Eversole said.
"It will run 24/7/365," he said.
But even at that pace, Shine said it will take 18 years to work
through the cylinder yards.
Security first
But what about these 20 cylinders a day rolling along roads
through Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio?
They haven't been running lately. In fact, Bechtel-Jacobs, which
is listed as the shipper and receiver on these moves, has been
working with the Department of Transportation to come to an
agreement on shipping terms, said Haylen Philpot,
Bechtel-Jacobs' facility manager for the cylinder yards at the
Oak Ridge East Tennessee Technology Plant.
"Starting October 1, the U.S. Department of Transportation has
adopted what formerly was the international shipping rules,
which means if you were shipping over 100 grams of UF-6 which is
not very much material, then you have to have a package that
meets a thermal test as well as a drop test," he said.
Uranium starts the enrichment process as UF-6, and once a large
enough percentage of the usable isotopes are extracted where
it's not economical to continue, it's considered depleted --
DUF-6.
Before a cylinder is even moved, it goes through a series of
inspections. The first is done in the cylinder yard, Philpot
said, "to ensure that they don't have a breech and, furthermore,
they're safe to handle."
Then they're moved to a staging area, where a certified
independent inspector does another round before they're moved
onto a trailer and inspected again.
Once on a trailer -- and secured with four chains and three
straps each, according to Shine -- the Tennessee Emergency
Management Agency inspects the vehicle, and counterparts in
Kentucky and Ohio take their turn when the trucks enter the
state, said Jim Kopotic, the Department of Energy's remedial
action team leader at East Tennessee Technology Park.
"There's all this independent inspection going on prior to those
vehicles actually being dispatched and hitting the road to
Piketon, " Kopotic said.
The trucks themselves go though a series of inspections, Philpot
said, but the drivers aren't exempt. Besides having to be
naturally-born American citizens, they go through a series of
background checks and are approved by all three states.
"There's a certain age that they have to be to drive these type
of shipments, and I think it is 25, and then they have to have
HAZMAT training beyond their commercial driver's licenses,"
Philpot said.
Each shipment is tracked by satellite to make sure it stays on
course, and all the first-responders along the routes -- which
the Department of Energy wouldn't disclose for security reasons
-- have access to this data and have been specially trained to
deal with an accident involving one of these trucks, Kapotic
said.
"In the event that there were an incident, they would be aware
of that almost immediately because they are tracking the trucks,
and in addition to that there are prescribed conditions," he
said.
"It's not like they're ... just driving of into the dark and
nobody knows where they are until they're in Portsmouth."
Originally published Wednesday, December 1, 2004
Home [http://www.chillicothegazette.com/index.html] | News
Copyright ©2004 Chillicothe Gazette. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
38 SPI: Justice Department to try and overturn initiative barring more
Hanford waste
[seattlepi.com] [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
Wednesday, December 1, 2004
By SHANNON DININNY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
YAKIMA -- The federal government plans to ask a judge to overturn
a Washington state initiative that bars the U.S. Department of
Energy from sending more nuclear waste to the Hanford Nuclear
Reservation.
Last month, Washington voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative
297, which blocks the Energy Department from sending more waste
to south-central Washington's Hanford site until all the existing
waste there is cleaned up. The measure is scheduled to take
effect tomorrow.
The Justice Department planned to seek a temporary restraining
order today in federal court in Yakima to keep the initiative
from becoming law, according to a government official familiar
with the case.
The government also planned to challenge the constitutionality of
the initiative on the grounds that it violates federal laws
governing nuclear waste and interstate commerce, the official
said.
The 586-square-mile Hanford reservation was created in World War
II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project to build the
atomic bomb. It remains the most contaminated site in the nation,
with cleanup costs expected to total $50 billion to $60 billion.
At issue are the federal government's plans for disposing of
waste from World War II- and Cold War-era nuclear weapons
production nationwide.
The Energy Department chose Hanford to dispose of some mildly
radioactive waste and mixed low-level waste, which is laced with
chemicals.
The site also would serve as a packaging center for some
transuranic waste -- plutonium-contaminated rags, tools and other
discarded items -- before it is shipped elsewhere for long-term
disposal. Transuranic waste is highly radioactive and can take
thousands of years or more to decay to safe levels.
In 2003, Washington state filed a lawsuit to block waste
shipments from entering the state, fearing Hanford would become a
radioactive waste dump. The Energy Department voluntarily
suspended the shipments after the lawsuit was filed, but the case
remains in federal court.
Energy Department officials have said the site's most dangerous
waste will be shipped out of state. Of the 405 million curies of
radioactivity at Hanford, about 374 million curies will be sent
to other states for long-term disposal.
Hanford already is home to 53 million gallons of highly
radioactive liquid, sludge and salt cake stored in 177
underground tanks.
The Energy Department aims to bury much of that waste in a
nuclear waste repository in Nevada.
Another 75,000 55-gallon drums of transuranic, radioactive and
hazardous waste also are buried at Hanford.
The roughly $1 million cost of the initiative was largely funded
by its sponsor, Heart of America Northwest, a Hanford watchdog
group that contends the initiative will withstand any court
challenges.
"Plenty of legal experts have looked at it and said we have the
authority to do this," said Gerald Pollet, executive director of
Heart of America Northwest. "We had hoped that the Department of
Energy would try to work with the state instead of wasting money
and effort fighting in court."
A citizens petition sent the initiative to the Legislature early
this year. Lawmakers declined to act on it, sending the measure
to the November ballot. Washington state voters approved it Nov.
2 by a more than 2-to-1 ratio.
[Seattle Post-Intelligencer] 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA
98119 (206) 448-8000
Home Delivery: (206) 464-2121 or (800) 542-0820
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39 Tri-City Herald: DOE likely to challenge Hanford waste initiative
This story was published Wednesday, December 1st, 2004
By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer
The state of Washington on Tuesday declared Initiative 297 had
officially passed, but whether it blocks shipments of
radioactive waste to Hanford is yet to be seen.
The state expects the federal government to file suit today,
challenging the legality of the initiative. It takes effect
Thursday unless the court intervenes.
In addition, the federal government already has filed motions to
halt rulings or agreements in federal court that now prevent it
from sending certain types of waste to Hanford.
The initiative, passed by voters Nov. 2 in every county of the
state except Benton and Franklin, would stop shipments of waste
to Hanford until waste already there is cleaned up. Hanford is
extensively contaminated from the past production of plutonium
for the nation's nuclear weapons program.
However, court proceedings already have temporarily stopped most
waste from being sent to Hanford.
The court temporarily barred the Department of Energy from
sending transuranic waste -- usually waste contaminated with
plutonium -- to Hanford in May 2003.
When the state moved five months ago to prevent DOE from sending
low-level radioactive waste and low-level waste mixed with
hazardous chemicals to Hanford, DOE agreed to a temporarily halt
of shipments.
Now the federal government is asking the court's permission to
resume shipments of transuranic and low-level waste.
On Feb. 3, federal Judge Alan McDonald in Yakima will hear the
state's arguments asking that the temporary ban on importing
low-level waste to Hanford be expanded. He also will hear
federal arguments asking that the ban be dropped.
Low-level waste includes debris such as radioactively
contaminated rubble from old buildings used in nuclear
processing.
Until the February court hearing and McDonald's decision, the
ban on importing low-level waste to Hanford remains in effect.
"The court will endeavor to determine the motion as soon as
possible following the hearing, but it must be kept in mind that
the issues are weighty and complex," McDonald wrote in a court
order Monday.
The state believes an environmental study released earlier this
year by the federal government did not provide a full accounting
of the basis for selecting Hanford as the disposal site for
nuclear waste produced elsewhere in the nation.
After the study was completed, DOE issued a decision in June
committing to sending no more than 82,000 cubic meters of
low-level and low-level waste mixed with chemicals to Hanford.
That's about a quarter of the amount of waste DOE needs to
dispose of throughout its nationwide nuclear complex.
The state also believes the DOE environmental study did not do
an adequate analysis of the risk posed by ground water
contamination at Hanford.
DOE is arguing that its study was thorough and included a
detailed discussion of ground water. Limits on waste shipments
addressed state concerns, it said.
It has asked the court to consider the national interest in the
comprehensive management of nuclear waste, not just the concerns
of the state of Washington. Further delays in shipments will
harm other DOE sites throughout the nation that face their own
obligations to dispose of waste, according to DOE.
Under DOE's plan for nuclear waste from the weapons program,
low-level waste would be sent to Hanford from other sites, but
Hanford's high-level waste would be sent to Yucca Mountain,
Nev., for disposal.
The federal government also believes that its environmental
study should answer the court's concerns that led it to
temporarily bar the shipment of transuranic waste to the site.
The study included information on the impacts of storing
transuranic waste at Hanford and transportation risks, according
to the federal government.
The state has yet to file a response to that argument. But David
Mears, the senior assistant attorney general for Washington,
said the state does not believe all its concerns about
transuranic waste shipments to Hanford have been addressed.
Among the state's concerns is that some of the transuranic waste
would be stranded at Hanford after it is treated there. DOE
intends to dispose of the transuranic waste in an underground
repository near Carlsbad, N.M., but the state believes DOE has
not received permission to send the waste there.
McDonald will consider arguments on the transuranic waste issue
Jan. 11.
© 2004 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
40 Pahrump Valley Times: DOE works on NTS 'legacy'
December 1, 2004
By PHILLIP GOMEZ PVT
Recent two-term presidents of the United States have often been
talked about regarding their "legacy," the repute they will have
with historians writing about their administration's impact on
American society and on international affairs. A few presidents,
like Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, have left historic
legacies lasting long after they are gone.
The Department of Energy, which manages the Nevada Test Site,
has a legacy of its own: a Cold War legacy. Between 1951 and
1992 the federal government conducted 828 underground nuclear
weapons tests, a third of them near or below the water table,
which resulted in radioactive contamination of much of Southern
Nevada's groundwater.
The depths of these underground tests ranged from 90 to 4,800
feet, and because the movement of water underground is
mysterious and uncertain, DOE has an environmental management
program in place to address the legacy of contamination at the
Nevada Test Site.
The strategy has been to monitor well water for contamination
and to continually evaluate the risk of groundwater
contamination down gradient to communities outside the test site.
DOE plans to monitor the groundwater for another 139 years. The
total cost of DOE's efforts is projected at more than $2
billion, which includes 100 years of long-term monitoring.
Each of the underground test areas has left a legacy of
contaminant movement unique to itself and its path of migration.
The monitoring is scheduled to be completed in 2130. Long-term
monitoring will not even begin until 2030.
Between now and then, data will be analyzed, computer modeling
will track groundwater movement and monitoring wells will be
installed and replaced (every 25 years) as they wear out.
The Community Advisory Board for Nevada Test Site programs is a
volunteer organization of 10 to 15 members from urban and rural
Nevada providing oversight and resident input on DOE's
environmental management activities. Four members are from Nye
County, three from Pahrump.
CAB's underground test area committee focuses on groundwater
movement at the test site. Its primary concern is assessing the
potential for off-site migration of contaminated water and DOE's
measures to adequately protect down gradient water sources.
The committee has been working with DOE and holding workshops
in the nearby communities to inform residents about the
department's early-warning monitoring system - a network of
wells on the Nevada Test Site to detect contaminants before they
reach hazardous levels that could cause harm downstream.
Amargosa Valley and Beatty are the two potentially affected
communities, and a "Groundwater 101" workshop was held in the
latter town last summer.
Thursday at the Beatty Community Center, at 100 "A" Avenue, CAB
members will meet with area residents to discuss their most
recent recommendations to DOE. The meeting, from 7-9 p.m., will
also provide opportunities for anyone with questions to ask them.
"This recommendation really reflects years of study by CAB
members, as well as feedback received from rural Nevada
stakeholders," said Carla Sanda, CAB's public relations person.
For comment or questions, please e-mail
webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com
[webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com]
Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2004
*****************************************************************
41 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Paducah
FR Doc 04-26469
[Federal Register: December 1, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 230)]
[Notices] [Page 69903] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr01de04-52]
AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of open meeting.
SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental
Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EMSSAB), Paducah. The
Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770)
requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the
Federal Register.
DATES: Thursday, January 20, 2005--5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
ADDRESSES: 111 Memorial Drive, Barkley Centre, Paducah, Kentucky
42001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William E. Murphie, Deputy
Designated Federal Officer (DDFO), Department of Energy
Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office, 1017 Majestic Drive, Suite
200, Lexington, Kentucky 40513, (859) 219-4001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Board: The purpose of
the Board is to make recommendations to DOE in the areas of
environmental restoration, waste management and related
activities.
Tentative Agenda 5:30 p.m. Informal Discussion 6 p.m. Call to
Order Introduction Review of Agenda Approval of November Minutes
6:05 p.m. DDFO's Comments 6:25 p.m. Federal Coordinator Comments
6:30 p.m. Ex-Officio Comments 6:40 p.m. Public Comments and
Questions 7:50 p.m. Task Forces/Presentations Waste Disposition
Task Force --Burial Ground Operable Unit Water Quality Task Force
Long Range Strategy/Stewardship Task Force --Annual Report --Site
Management Plan Update Waste Community Outreach Task Force 7 p.m.
Public Comments and Questions 8 p.m. Break 8:15 p.m.
Administrative Issues Review of Work Plan Review of Next Agenda
8:20 p.m. Review of Action Items 8:25 p.m. Subcommittee Reports
Executive Committee 8:40 p.m. Final Comments 9:30 p.m. Adjourn
Copies of the final agenda will be available at the meeting.
Public Participation: The meeting is open to the public.
Written statements may be filed with the Committee either before
or after the meeting. Individuals who wish to make oral
statements pertaining to agenda items should contact David
Dollins at the address listed below or by telephone at (270)
441-6819. Requests must be received five days prior to the
meeting and reasonable provision will be made to include the
presentation in the agenda. The Deputy Designated Federal Officer
is empowered to conduct the meeting in a fashion that will
facilitate the orderly conduct of business. Individuals wishing
to make public comments will be provided a maximum of five
minutes to present their comments as the first item of the
meeting agenda.
Minutes: The minutes of this meeting will be available for public
review and copying at the Freedom of Information Public Reading
Room, 1E-190, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20585 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday-Friday,
except Federal holidays. Minutes will also be available at the
Department of Energy's Environmental Information Center and
Reading Room at 115 Memorial Drive, Barkley Centre, Paducah,
Kentucky between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., on Monday thru Friday or by
writing to David Dollins, Department of Energy, Paducah Site
Office, Post Office Box 1410, MS-103, Paducah, Kentucky 42001 or
by calling him at (270) 441-6819.
Issued at Washington, DC, on November 24, 2004.
Rachel M. Samuel, Deputy Advisory Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-26469 Filed 11-30-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
*****************************************************************
42 DOE: Revision of the Record of Decision for a Nuclear Weapons
FR Doc 04-26470
[Federal Register: December 1, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 230)]
[Notices] [Page 69901-69903] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr01de04-51]
Nonproliferation Policy Concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent
Nuclear Fuel AGENCY: Department of Energy, National Nuclear
Security Administration.
ACTION: Revision of a record of decision.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in consultation
with the Department of State, has decided to revise its Record of
Decision (ROD) for the Final Environmental Impact Statement on a
Proposed Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Policy Concerning
Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel, issued on May 13,
1996 (61 FR 15902, May 17, 1996). That decision established the
U. S. Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Policy Concerning Foreign
Research Reactor (FRR) Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) (hereinafter
referred to as the ``Acceptance Policy''), which provides for DOE
acceptance of SNF containing uranium enriched in the United
States from research reactors located in 41 countries.
Under the current Acceptance Policy, only material of U.S. origin
that is irradiated and discharged from reactors before May 13,
2006, is eligible for acceptance. Eligible SNF can be accepted
through May 12, 2009. DOE has decided to extend the Acceptance
Program for an additional 10 years, until May 12, 2016, for
irradiation of eligible fuel, and until May 12, 2019, for fuel
acceptance. DOE will also accept a small number of SNF elements
from a reactor in Australia scheduled to be commissioned after
2005 to replace a reactor currently eligible for the acceptance
program, and analyzed in the FRR SNF Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS).
With less than 2 years remaining until the expiration date for
irradiation of eligible fuel and less than 5 years remaining for
fuel acceptance, DOE has received only about 35 percent of the
material eligible for return as estimated in the Final
Environmental Impact Statement on a Proposed Nuclear Weapons
Nonproliferation Policy Concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent
Nuclear Fuel (FRR SNF EIS, DOE/EIS-0218, February 1996), on which
the ROD was based. This is because some countries with eligible
fuel have not used their fuel as rapidly as projected in 1996,
some countries have made alternative spent fuel processing
arrangements, and there have been technical delays in the
development of new low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuels to enable
research reactors to convert from high-enriched uranium (HEU),
which can be used to create nuclear weapons.
DOE prepared a Supplement Analysis for the FRR SNF EIS, in
accordance with DOE National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
implementing regulations (10 CFR part 1021). This analysis
evaluated the potential health and environmental impacts of
extending the program for 5 and 10 years, and of including a
small number of additional fuel elements from the Australian
Replacement Research Reactor (RRR).
The analysis concluded that, although there could be very small
increases in health impacts such as from SNF transportation over
the extended period, these increases would not significantly
change the results reported in the FRR SNF EIS. Accordingly, DOE
has determined that a supplement to the FRR SNF EIS is not
required.
ADDRESSES: For copies of the Supplement Analysis, or for further
information about the FRR SNF Acceptance Program, contact:
Catherine R. Mendelsohn, Acting Director, Office of Global
Nuclear Material Threat Reduction, Office of Global Threat
Reduction, National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S.
Department of Energy, NA-21, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington DC 20585, (202) 586-0275, fax: (202) 586-6789,
kasia.mendelsohn@hq.doe.gov [kasia.mendelsohn@hq.doe.gov] . The
Supplement Analysis and related information will be available on
DOE's NEPA web site at http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/
[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leaving
FR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/] and in the
DOE Public Reading Room as follows: U.S. Department of Energy,
1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 1E-190, Washington, DC 20585,
(202) 586- 5955. The Public Reading Room is open from 9 a.m. to 4
p.m., Monday to Friday, except Federal holidays.
[[Page 69902]] FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information
concerning the FRR SNF Acceptance Policy and program, contact Ms.
Catherine R. Mendelsohn at the address or telephone number
provided above. Information on the DOE NEPA process may be
requested from: Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA
Policy and Compliance (EH-42), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585. Ms. Borgstrom may
be contacted by telephone at (202) 586-4600 or by leaving a
message at (800) 472-2756.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background DOE issued a ROD on May 13,
1996 (61 FR 25092, May 17, 1996), based on the FRR SNF EIS
(DOE/EIS-0218, February 1996), for which the U.S. Department of
State was a cooperating agency, stating that DOE would accept FRR
SNF containing uranium that was enriched in the United States
from 107 research reactors located in 41 countries. The ROD
further stated that only SNF that is irradiated and discharged
from eligible reactors before May 12, 2006, can be accepted. This
SNF can be accepted in the United States through May 12, 2009.
From May 1996, when the FRR SNF ROD was issued, to the present,
only about 35 percent of the SNF estimated in the FRR SNF EIS to
be eligible for the acceptance program has been received. Most of
the accepted FRR SNF elements are aluminum-based spent fuel
currently stored at the Savannah River Site (SRS). The remaining
FRR SNF is Training, Research, Isotope, General Atomics spent
fuel stored at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental
Laboratory (INEEL).
All of the FRR SNF will ultimately be disposed of at a geologic
repository.
As of November 2004, 30 shipments of FRR SNF have been received
in the United States. Of these 30 shipments, 1 shipment arrived
at the Concord Naval Weapons Station in California, and was
transported to INEEL. Two shipments entered overland through
Canada and were sent to SRS. The remaining 27 shipments arrived
at the Charleston Naval Weapons Station in South Carolina, with 5
of these shipments going to INEEL and 22 shipments going to SRS.
No accidents involving FRR SNF have occurred, and no shipment
received under the Acceptance Program has resulted in a release
of radioactive material from a cask containing FRR SNF.
Approximately 2 years remain until the Acceptance Policy's
expiration date for irradiation of eligible fuel and 5 years
remain for acceptance of eligible FRR SNF. DOE has received only
about 35 percent of the total SNF elements estimated in 1996
because some countries with eligible fuel have not used their
fuel as rapidly as projected in 1996, some countries have made
alternative spent fuel processing arrangements, and there have
been technical delays in the development of new low-enriched
uranium (LEU) fuels to enable research reactors to convert from
high-enriched uranium (HEU), which can be used to create nuclear
weapons.
The current Acceptance Policy applies only to reactors that were
operational in May 1996, when the Policy was established.
Although the High Flux Australian Reactor (HIFAR) has been
operational since 1958 and is eligible to participate in the
acceptance program, this reactor has been scheduled since 1997
for decommissioning in 2006. The HIFAR is expected to have used
all of its fuel by that time. Australia's Research Replacement
Reactor (RRR), scheduled for commissioning in 2005, will assume
the HIFAR research and medical isotope activities. In effect, the
RRR represents a conversion from the HEU used in the HIFAR to a
new type of LEU fuel that can be processed by non-U.S.
facilities. The delays in developing this new fuel will mean,
however, that the RRR must use a currently available type of LEU
fuel until approximately 2012. It is expected that SNF resulting
from the irradiation of the currently available LEU fuel would
need to be managed in the United States and would add a small
number of fuel elements, approximately 96 elements, to the 1996
total estimate of approximately 22,700 elements. All of the
Australian SNF would be managed at SRS until disposal is
available at a geologic repository.
Purpose and Need for Action Reducing the threat posed by the
proliferation of nuclear weapons is a foremost goal of the United
States. To continue to meet DOE's objective of reducing, and
eventually eliminating, HEU of U.S. origin from civil commerce
worldwide, DOE needs to extend its FRR SNF Acceptance Policy to
allow additional time for eligible material to be returned to the
United States and to allow SNF elements from an Australian
reactor commissioned after 2005 to replace a reactor currently
eligible for the acceptance program and analyzed in the original
FRR SNF EIS.
Proposed Action DOE and the U.S. Department of State propose to
revise the FRR SNF Acceptance Program by: Extending the
expiration date for irradiation of eligible spent for 10 years,
from May 12, 2006, to May 12, 2016; Extending the acceptance date
for eligible spent fuel 10 years, from May 12, 2009, to May 12,
2019; and Extending eligibility to Australia's RRR for
participation in the Acceptance Program.
The amount of potentially eligible SNF would remain at
approximately 20 metric tonnes of heavy metal total.
Target material (fuel for isotope production such as
Technetium-99) and damaged spent fuel also received under the
Acceptance Program currently can be treated in H-Canyon at SRS.
However, current plans call for H-Canyon facilities to be
maintained in operable condition through 2010 pending a review of
the facility. While target material and damaged SNF can be
accepted under the current Acceptance Policy, the material would
not be accepted if H-Canyon is unavailable after 2010 to prepare
the target material and damaged fuel for disposal. If SNF were to
be damaged once it arrived in the United States and H- Canyon
were not available, DOE would repackage or otherwise prepare the
fuel and safely store it pending disposal.
NEPA Review DOE prepared a Supplement Analysis in accordance with
DOE NEPA implementing regulations (10 CFR part 1021) to determine
whether a supplement to the FRR SNF EIS is needed for the
proposed action.
The analysis evaluated the potential health and environmental
impacts of extending the program for 5 and 10 years, and of
including the small number of additional fuel elements from the
RRR. The analysis concluded that although there could be very
small increases in health impacts such as from SNF transportation
over the extended period, these increases would not significantly
change the results reported in the FRR SNF EIS. Accordingly, DOE
has determined that there are no substantial changes to the
proposed action analyzed in the FRR SNF EIS or significant new
circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns
resulting from the extension of the Acceptance Policy. As
referenced in the Supplement Analysis, the onsite management of
SNF at INEEL and SRS was addressed in the Programmatic SNF and
INEEL Final EIS (DOE/EIS-0203, Volumes 1 and 2, 1995) and the
Savannah River Site Spent Fuel
[[Page 69903]] Management Final EIS (DOE/EIS-0279, 2000). The
onsite impacts identified for those sites would not be changed by
the extension of the Acceptance Policy. Transportation impacts
from INEEL and SRS to the geologic repository as analyzed in the
Final EIS for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent
Nuclear Fuel and High-level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain,
Nye, County, Nevada, (DOE/EIS-250, 2002) are also unchanged by
the extension.
Decision DOE has decided to extend the FRR SNF Acceptance Policy
for an additional 10 years beyond its current expiration, until
May 12, 2016, for irradiation of eligible fuel, and until May 12,
2019, for fuel acceptance. DOE has also decided to include the
Australian RRR as a reactor eligible to participate in the
acceptance program. For the small amount of RRR fuel that would
be added to 1996 estimates, DOE will continue limitations on
shipment cask curie activity and will ensure that the upper limit
estimate for the source term assumed in the FRR SNF EIS accident
analysis will not be exceeded.
DOE's decision furthers the nonproliferation objectives of the
United States. The extension of the Acceptance Policy is expected
to provide sufficient time for reactors to complete their planned
shipments, to complete development, testing, qualification and
fabrication of new LEU fuels which could be used by the RRR and
other reactors, and to provide time for reactors to convert to
the new LEU fuels or make alternative fuel management
arrangements.
Issued in Washington, DC on November 22, 2004.
Linton F. Brooks, Under Secretary and Administrator, National
Nuclear Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-26470 Filed 11-30-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
*****************************************************************
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