***************************************************************** 11/10/04 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 12.269 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 Yahoo!: Iran at 'crucial point' in nuclear stand-off, issues 2 US: FCNL: No New Nuclear Weapons! 3 US: Mothers for Peace MDA comments 4 US: Grist Magazine: The energy bill is alive -- alive! -- and that c 5 US: projo.com: And now, the nuclear nightmares 6 BBC: No freedom for nuclear scientist 7 BBC: Energy: Meeting soaring demand NUCLEAR REACTORS 8 US: NRC: NRC to Meet with FirstEnergy on Nuclear Plant Performance 9 WE: Funds for decommissioning nuclear plants 10 US: Cornell Chronicle: ILR group helps Nuclear Regulatory Commission 11 Mos News: Nuclear Power Plant Blames Media, Greens for Meltdown Scar 12 UK Independent: Digby Jones says six new nuclear power plants needed 13 BusinessWeek: Japan: A Nuclear Powerhouse Dims 14 US: Lincoln Journal Star: NPPD to seek 20-year license renewal for C NUCLEAR SAFETY NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 15 US: [CMEP] Groups Sue DOT over Deregulation of Radioactive 16 US: 5 Groups Sue DOT Over New Nuclear Waste Transport Rules 17 US: 5 Groups Sue DOT Over Nuke Waste Transport Rules 18 US: NRC: NRC Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste to Meet Nov. 16-18 19 Pahrump Valley Times: Not for election 20 US: DRC: Uranium mine poses on going risk, UN reports - OCHA IRIN 21 OCHA IRIN: KAZAKHSTAN: Radioactive waste on the move, possible threa 22 US: AU ABC: PM - Govt defends Ranger mine record 23 US: Bradenton Herald: A growing menace 24 US: KLAS: Scientists Discuss Recycling Spent Nuclear Fuel at UNLV 25 Pahrump Valley Times: Yucca opposition growing 26 US: Bradenton Herald: Local doctor helps residents get tests 27 US: Bradenton Herald: Tallevast residents find no comfort in testing 28 Bellona: Truck with radioactive scrap metal stopped in Petropavlovsk 29 US: Des Moines Register: Rail inspectors missed 250-mile toxic leak NUCLEAR WEAPONS US DEPT. OF ENERGY 30 PISJ: Battelle alliance wins $4.8 billion INL contract 31 Albuquerque Tribune: UNM to have hand in Idaho lab 32 Chillicothe Gazette: Safety needs of Piketon plant change - 33 Tri-City Herald: Battelle team given Idaho lab contract 34 Salt Lake Tribune: DOE keeps mum on preferred option for uranium tai OTHER NUCLEAR 35 [du-list] DU in the news - 10th Nov. 04 ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Yahoo!: Iran at 'crucial point' in nuclear stand-off, issues fresh warning Messenger TEHRAN, Nov 10 (AFP) - Iran is at a 'crucial point' in its stand-off with the UN's atomic watchdog, one of the country's most senior figures was quoted as saying, as another official warned too much pressure could push nuclear activities 'underground'. 'We should have patience and fortitude to pass through these tough times,' former president and top regime cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was also quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA. On Sunday, Iran and the European Union's 'big three' - Britain, France and Germany -- managed to strike a tentative agreement to avert a major confrontation after two days of tough talks in Paris. The accord is centered on demands that Iran maintain and widen a suspension of its sensitive uranium enrichment activities, but subject to approval at the very top of the Iranian regime. Another Iranian official, negotiator Sirous Nasseri, also issued a warning that the Islamic republic could continue pursuing its nuclear drive 'underground' and quit the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if it came under too much pressure. 'If the West chooses to use the language of threats and force, we will leave the NPT and pursue our nuclear programme underground,' the official, who was involved in the Paris talks, told Iranian newspapers. 'We will see in one or two years where we are,' he added. 'We will continue the negotiations for as long as the Westerners do not move towards making serious threats.' According to European diplomats, the tentative deal still contains several sticking points, including the length and extent of any halt on fuel cycle work. Both the United States on one side and Iranian hardliners on the other have been critical of the diplomacy. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is apparently holding up publication of its latest report on Iran until next week in order to have an eventual EU-Iranian agreement included in the text, a key document for the November 25 meeting, diplomats said. Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told the news weekly Stern in an issue to be published Thursday that he had 'great concern' about Iran's nuclear programme but said he did not expect Western allies to go to war with Tehran over the issue. 'I do not think that we are heading anytime soon into a confrontation similar to the one in Iraq,' Fischer said. 'I think it is clear to all those involved that war is not an option,' he said, adding that he believed this was also the view held by the United States and Israel. Fischer said he was nevertheless worried by Iran's atomic ambitions, noting that Tehran acquiring a nuclear bomb 'would have unforeseeable consequences in one of the most dangerous regions in the world'. 'That would not only threaten Israel but Europe as well.' Fischer said Germany would continue to pursue talks with Iran along with its partners in Britain and France. 'The negotiations are difficult. The mistrust of Iran is justifiably large but a positive outcome is possible,' he said, adding that it was 'too early' to discuss economic sanctions to put pressure on Tehran. bur-sas/sjw Copyright © 2004 AFP AFX. All rights reserved. Republication or ***************************************************************** 2 FCNL: No New Nuclear Weapons! Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 14:35:07 -0600 (CST) Dear Friends, As soon as Wednesday, November 17, the full Senate Appropriations Committee may vote on whether to fund new nuclear weapons for fiscal year 2005. The committee is expected next week to take up an "omnibus" appropriations bill. An omnibus appropriations bill takes the place of the unfinished appropriations bills and is expected to include funding for the nuclear weapons program. The Bush administration has asked Congress for $27.6 million to continue a study on the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP), or nuclear "bunker buster," and $9 million for the Advanced Concepts Initiative for new nuclear weapons. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (CA) intends to offer an amendment in committee to delete the funds for new nuclear weapons. The amendment is unlikely to pass. However, the bill will then quickly go to a House-Senate conference committee, which is expected to complete its work before Christmas. The House earlier zeroed out new nuclear weapons funding and may insist on doing so in conference committee. A partial or complete victory for nuclear restraint is possible in the final bill coming out of the conference committee. The result will depend in part on how much opposition Senate Appropriations Committee members hear from their constituents. Please contact your two senators today, especially if either is on the Senate Appropriations Committee. You can view this list on our web site by going to http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/AIUHDZDFBQ/KVABDZDFLM/ clicking on "Congressional Directory," and then selecting the Senate Appropriations Committee from the drop-down list. Urge your senators to oppose funds for new nuclear weapons in the omnibus appropriations bill. Tell them that new nuclear weapons will not make the world more secure. Developing new nuclear weapons will send the wrong signal to the rest of the world that nuclear weapons are usable. In the long run, pursuing new nuclear weapons will undermine U.S. security. Contacting your congressperson is easy. You can call his or her office in Washington, DC using a phone number listed on our web site. You can also fax or email him or her from FCNL's web site. Start with the sample letter posted on FCNLs Legislative Action Center, personalize the language, then send your message directly from our site. To view the sample letter, click on this link: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/AIUHDZDFBQ/OVAUDZDFLO/ Given the urgency of these issues, we ask that you forward this action alert to 10 or more of your local friends. Every fax, letter, and phone call is important. Thanks for your help! Background: Some civilian military planners and nuclear scientists are promoting the creation of a new class of earth-penetrating nuclear weapons. These weapons are sometimes referred to as "bunker busters" because they would be designed to burrow into the ground to destroy underground military facilities that are protected by 100 to 300 feet of reinforced concrete or rock. The Energy Departments fiscal year 2005 (FY05) budget includes $27.6 million for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP). The RNEP would use an existing nuclear weapon, redesigned for use against underground bunkers. It would have explosive power up to 70 times that of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. RNEP proponents claim that, because the weapon penetrates the earth before detonating, it would be a "clean" nuclear weapon. In reality, this would be an extremely deadly weapon. If detonated in an urban setting, tens of thousands of people could receive a fatal dose of radiation within the first 24 hours. More would be killed or injured by the extreme pressures of the blast and thermal injuries arising from the heat of the explosion. Still more casualties would result from the resulting fires and the collapse of buildings from the seismic shock that the explosion would produce. According to Sen. Jack Reed (RI), Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrators, "are really city breakers, not bunker busters." The Bush administration has repeatedly claimed that the RNEP program is a study and nothing more. However, the administrations intentions regarding RNEP go well beyond their initial claims. Energy Department budget documents show funding for RNEP increasing dramatically after this year. The initial three-year study was to cost $45 million, but the administrations proposed spending in the next five years would total nearly $500 million and move RNEP into early development and engineering stages. The U.S. has rightly criticized Iran and North Korea for their nuclear weapons programs. The U.S. has expressed concerns about the nuclear programs in India and Pakistan. There is also a growing fear that nuclear materials could fall into the hands of a violent extremist group, such as al Qaeda. Yet U.S. criticism rings hollow as the U.S. resumes its own nuclear weapons development programs. The Bush administration is leading the world down the wrong path. Instead of adhering to our obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by reducing reliance on the most horrific weapons ever created and working for global disarmament, the administration is seeking new uses for nuclear weapons. Adopting such a nuclear posture is a step backward and a virtual invitation for other nations to opt out of their NPT obligations as well. _______________________________________ Contact Congress and the Administration: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/AIUHDZDFBQ/GRJQDZDFLP/ Order FCNL publications and "War is Not the Answer" campaign bumper stickers and yard signs: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/AIUHDZDFBQ/HABVDZDFLQ/ http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/AIUHDZDFBQ/BNHXDZDFLR/ Contribute to FCNL: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/AIUHDZDFBQ/GEGWDZDFLS/ Subscribe or update your information to this list: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/AIUHDZDFBQ/HVWEDZDFLT/ To unsubscribe from this list, please see the end of this message. Subscribe to other FCNL legislative, policy, and action alert lists: http://capwiz.com/fconl/utr/1/AIUHDZDFBQ/KDLUDZDFLU/ ________________________________________ Friends Committee on National Legislation 245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795 fcnl@fcnl.org * www.fcnl.org phone: (202)547-6000 * toll-free: (800)630-1330 We seek a world free of war and the threat of war We seek a society with equity and justice for all We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled We seek an earth restored. --- You may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time by visiting http://capwiz.com/fconl/lmx/u/?jobid=47124678. ***************************************************************** 3 Mothers for Peace MDA comments Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 20:37:35 -0800 P.O. Box 164 Pismo Beach, CA 93448 (805)773-3881 www.mothersforpeace.org November 8, 2004 MDA BMDS PEIS c/o ICF Consulting 9300 Lee Highway Fairfax, VA 22031 Comment regarding the Draft Ballistic Missile Defense Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (BMC PEIS) I am writing on behalf of the San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, a peace and environmental organization on the Central Coast of California. One of our major concerns is the proximity of the missile defense base and Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plants (DCNPP) and its associated activity. Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), a deployment base for ground-based midcourse missile defense system (GMD), is within 50 miles of DCNPP. Both VAFB and DCNPP went on high alert just after September 11, 2001 and, again, after the start of the Iraq War. This indicates that both entities are subject to attack from sources unfriendly to the United States. This also leads citizens to believe that the Central Coast is not secure from terrorism. Thus, the proximity of these two sites are disturbing. In the event that Yucca Mountain should become the national repository for nuclear waste, DCNPP would begin shipping high level radioactive waste in 2017 from Port San Luis to a BMD Aegis Destroyer Naval Base, Port Hueneme, past VAFB. We believe that the risk of terrorist attack is magnified by its proximity to VAFB and its destination to Port Hueneme. The public is offered three alternatives to the PEIS BMD system. This comment does not direct preference to any of these alternatives; it argues that any missile defense system activity so close to a nuclear power plant creates unacceptable risk. Sincerely, Jill ZamEk San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace ***************************************************************** 4 Grist Magazine: The energy bill is alive -- alive! -- and that could be bad news for ANWR | By Amanda Griscom Little | | Muckraker | 09 Nov 2004 By Amanda Griscom Little 09 Nov 2004 A day after winning the presidential election last week, George W. Bush made this now-legendary -- and, to some, menacing -- statement: "I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it." Without dwelling on the notion that conservatives are supposed to protect and grow capital, not fritter it away, environmentalists are wondering just where and how President Bush is going to spend his political booty in the natural-resource realm. Leavitt: A man with a plan -- or at least a clear agenda. In much the same way he spent his more limited allowance in the last go-round, according to U.S. EPA chief Mike Leavitt. As reported in Greenwire last Friday, Leavitt told the press that the Bushies will proudly stay the course on their environmental agenda -- one widely condemned by environmentalists, but newly bolstered by the election. "We now have a clear agenda, one that's been validated and empowered by the people of this country," he said. If past is indeed prologue in the Bush administration, say enviros, it's fair to assume that a key beneficiary of the president's newfound capital will be the energy industry. During Bush's first term, efforts to weaken clean-air regulations and expedite oil and gas drilling were regarded as paybacks for campaign contributions. This time around, the energy and natural-resources sector made record donations to Bush's campaign -- a total of $4.4 million for the 2004 cycle, according to the latest datafrom the Center for Responsive Politics, compared with $2.8 million in the 2000 campaign. "Right now Karl Rove is saying, 'First things first, George. These are the folks that floated our campaign, we need to give them our thanks,'" said Dan Becker, director of the Sierra Club's Global Warming and Energy Program. [Caribou in ANWR.] Caribou frolicking in the Arctic Refuge. Photo: Ken Madsen. Now that the Republicans have gained four seats in the Senate, giving them a 55-45 advantage, there's a good chance that the 109th Congress will enable President Bush to hand his corporate contributors one of the most sought-after prizes of all: Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Bush is also better positioned to get Senate approval for his stalled-out energy bill, which has been widely criticized on both sides of the aisle as pork at its worst, with its billions of dollars in subsidies for fossil-fuel producers and other special interests. There have been rumblings on Capitol Hill that the energy bill could come up for consideration during the lame-duck session that will begin on Nov. 16, even before the 108th Congress adjourns at the end of this year. Lame-duck sessions are typically more rushed and insulated from media scrutiny than other sessions, which could be advantageous when pushing forward a highly contentious and complex piece of legislation. But most observers think the energy bill won't get off the ground until 2005. "No one expects the Republicans to go to great lengths to move it now when they can just rewrite it next year, and they'll have the advantage of a bigger margin," said Karen Wayland, legislative director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Indeed, energy-bill advocates insist that the new Republicans who'll be taking office in January will put them in good stead: "We have more than enough votes for an energy bill," Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, declared at a press conference last Wednesday. Scott Segal, a lobbyist for the industry group Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, shares Allen's optimism. "Things are definitely looking up for an omnibus energy bill," he told Muckraker. "Not only is there a larger operating majority for Republicans, you've got to consider the cost of energy: We've had sustained oil prices above $50 [a barrel], which is a real red-flag zone, and natural gas at three times the historical average. This could very well stimulate the passage, particularly among moderate Democrats and more liberal Republicans." A big sticking point for the energy bill, though, is its MTBE provision, which would indemnify producers of the gasoline additive MTBE against water-pollution lawsuits. "The energy bill got jammed on the MTBE provision and never got unstuck," said Bill Wicker, spokesperson for Democrats on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "Even though there are nine new senators coming to town [seven Republicans, two Democrats], nearly all of them will vote the same way on this issue as their predecessors." It's true that extra support for the bill in the Senate will come from Richard Burr of North Carolina (replacing Democrat John Edwards), Mel Martinez of Florida (replacing Democrat Bob Graham), and Jim DeMint of South Carolina (replacing Democrat Fritz Hollings). But Republican John Thune, who will take the place of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D) from South Dakota, won't amount to a gained vote because Daschle was a strong supporter of the energy bill. Two more GOP gains are canceled out by Democrat Barack Obama of Illinois (replacing Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald) and Democrat Ken Salazar of Colorado (replacing Republican Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell). Salazar is from a strong oil and gas state, so his pro-environment vote on this bill is not guaranteed, but Becker, whose organization endorsed Salazar's campaign, says it's very likely. Moreover, peer pressure from reenergized GOP colleagues won't easily sway some New England Republicans: "John Sununu and Judd Gregg are Republican senators from New Hampshire who voted against the bill because of the MTBE provision," said Becker, "but New Hampshire is currently suing MTBE manufacturers because of water contamination in the state, so switching their vote would undermine their state's legal position." Also, the Republican senator from Nevada, John Ensign, is unlikely to change his no vote because the bill is loaded with subsidies for the nuclear-power industry and could therefore lead to the generation of more nuclear waste. As the Bush administration already wants to dump existing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, to the ire of Ensign's constituency, a nuke-friendly energy bill isn't likely to go over well in the Silver State. According to Wicker, many folks on both sides of the aisle now think the energy bill should be broken down into smaller digestible bites, and the MTBE provision dropped. "That's far more realistic than trying to force everyone to swallow one gargantuan bill whole," even with the new Republican votes, he said. The piecemeal strategy could prove successful on many fronts, including on the Arctic Refuge. "The vote numbers effectively haven't moved on MTBE [given the new makeup of the Senate], but the numbers have moved on ANWR," said Wicker. Here's why: While Daschle voted for the energy bill, he was a steadfast opponent of drilling in ANWR; his successor will support both. And while Obama will almost certainly vote against drilling in ANWR, his predecessor Peter Fitzgerald was one of the few Republicans who also opposed it, meaning that Obama adds no new votes to the ANWR opposition. Also, Republicans are much more vulnerable to peer pressure on this issue given that there are no regional reasons (such as MTBE contamination or Yucca Mountain) for them to oppose it. According to Wicker, the congressional leadership is expected to make opening ANWR a part of the budget reconciliation process early next year by tacking the ANWR provision onto a budget bill that cannot be filibustered, so it would need only 50 votes to pass rather than the 60 necessary to avert a filibuster. "They tried to do this in 2003 and failed, but the reality is that with four new Republican votes, open-ANWR proponents have the wind at their back," he said. Becker of the Sierra Club said this may be just what environmentalists need. "The public opposition to drilling in the Arctic Refuge is huge. People have come to associate it with greed rather than need." And historically the perception of greed has galvanized public opposition to initiatives that are overly friendly to industry and unfriendly to the environment and public health. Lawmakers and business lobbies overreach, and then get slapped by public opinion. This is precisely what happened with the MTBE liability exemption, for instance. It's what happened during Bush's first term when the EPA tried to weaken standards for arsenic in drinking water and exempt millions of acres of wetlands from protections -- initiatives that stirred up so much controversy they simply couldn't survive. "Right now," said Becker, "greed is the best friend that the environment has." Muck it up: We welcome rumors, whistleblowing, classified documents, or other useful tips on environmental policies, Beltway shenanigans, and the people behind them. Please send 'em to muckraker@grist.org. - - - - - - - - - - Amanda Griscom Little writes Grist's Muckraker column on environmental politics and policy and interviews green luminaries for the magazine. Her articles on energy and the environment have also appeared in publications ranging from Rolling Stone to The New York Times Magazine. Grist Magazine: Environmental News and Commentary [a beacon in the smog (sm)] ©2004. Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 5 projo.com: And now, the nuclear nightmares | Providence, R.I. | Opinion: Columnists 01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 Philip Terzian: WASHINGTON IT IS LITTLE consolation to John Kerry now, but this time next year he might be grateful to be sitting in the Senate, and not in the Oval Office, wrestling with two particular dilemmas. Neither of which is Iraq, but the other two-thirds of the Axis of Evil: Iran and North Korea. In all the post-election post-mortems, no one has mentioned the one pertinent story that the press not only failed to investigate but failed to examine altogether: namely, the decision any president will have to make about nuclear weapons, North Korea and Iran. It was, briefly, the subject of an instructive exchange in the first debate. (I say "instructive," by the way, to illustrate the inherent weakness of the debates.) Readers will remember that President Bush defended his reliance on multilateral talks with North Korea while Senator Kerry insisted that the United States should approach North Korea unilaterally. Both candidates explained the logic of their position, but neither addressed the underlying problem at stake: what to do about North Korea's nuclear program. And, characteristically, the press picked up on -- and emphasized -- the "irony" of the argument. President Bush, who had been widely derided for his unilateral action in Iraq, found himself extolling the virtues of allies. Senator Kerry, who was one of those deriding unilateralism in Iraq, thought the United States should confront North Korea on its own. It was, as the pundits were quick to say, an interesting role reversal; but it was also irrelevant. For while we may argue indefinitely about the merits of negotiating one-on-one with North Korea, or approaching Pyongyang as part of a united front, both roads lead to the same destination. At some point, if North Korea fails to respond to diplomacy, what will the United States, or anyone, do about it? To some degree, the same question applies to Iran. Thus far, the Bush administration has allowed the British, French, Russians and the United Nations to negotiate with Iran on America's behalf, and both John Kerry and George W. Bush endorsed the efforts of that particular quartet. But the problem is not whether the British, French, Russians and the U.N. are working on behalf of a sensible solution -- of course they are -- but whether such efforts are destined to succeed. They are not. Multilateral negotiations with Iran, like multilateral negotiations with North Korea, seem designed to buy time, and postpone an inevitable reckoning. For the inconvenient truth is that neither Iran nor North Korea has any interest in adjusting its posture in the face of diplomacy, and both seem determined to defy global pressure to build nuclear arsenals. Indeed, when Senator Kerry, in the course of the campaign, proposed to offer supplying Iran with nuclear fuel, in exchange for giving up its own fuel-making capacity, he was rebuffed with singular brutality: "We have the technology [to manufacture nuclear fuel]," an Iranian government spokesman told Reuters, "and there is no need for us to beg from others." North Korea has been similarly blunt. Last month, when there was heightened concern about a North Korean missile test, a U.S. destroyer began patrolling the Sea of Japan as a gesture of assurance for our vulnerable Asian allies, notably Japan. The North Korean reaction, according to the Associated Press, was devoid of nuance: "The United States should clearly understand that a pre-emptive attack is not its monopoly." So here we stand. The nuclear club is on the verge of acquiring two new members largely unconstrained by a decent respect for the opinions of mankind: Iran, which is governed by religious fanatics committed to confronting the West, and North Korea, which is led by a probable madman, who may or may not be in full control of a notably cruel dictatorship. North Korea seems willing and eager to sell its nuclear technology to anyone able to pay, and it misled a conciliatory American administration. Iran bankrolls terror, and would relish the prospect of nuclear blackmail. Military options are elusive. North Korea is distant, heavily defended, and perilously close to Japan and South Korea. Iran is similarly formidable and, not least, U.S. forces in the region are closely engaged in pacifying Iraq. There has been talk of an Israeli strike at Iranian installations, but Iran is not Iraq in 1981, when a single surgical raid destroyed Saddam Hussein's reactor. Not only is the Iranian program spread over several sites, but unlike Iraq, Iran is capable of retaliating against Israel. In the end, I would guess, diplomacy will falter, and North Korea and Iran will have nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. Would such regimes be constrained by self-interest -- as the Soviet Union was during the Cold War -- or are we contemplating something new, and unwelcome, in the world? Philip Terzian, The Journal's associate editor, writes a column from Washington. Providence Journal newsroom at (401) 277-7303. ***************************************************************** 6 BBC: No freedom for nuclear scientist Last Updated: Wednesday, 10 November, 2004 [AQ Khan Pakistani nuclear scientist] AQ Khan confessed in February to leaking nuclear secrets A petition seeking the release from house detention of disgraced nuclear scientist AQ Khan on health grounds has failed in Pakistan's Supreme Court. Dr Khan has been confined to his home near Islamabad since early this year when he admitted illegally transferring nuclear secrets overseas. The court said Dr Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear programme and still a hero to many, was not seriously ill. Dr Khan himself opposed the petition, filed by a friend, calling it illegal. House visit In February, Abdul Qadeer Khan publicly admitted involvement in the illegal transfer of nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea. However, a number of supporters still refused to believe he could ever be involved in any illegal activity. They became concerned about recent reports of his deteriorating health. [Supporters of Mr AQ Khan prior to his confession ] Khan is still regarded as a hero by many in Pakistan The concerns became more pronounced last month with the publication of a book about the arrest and detention of Dr Khan which claimed his health was deteriorating rapidly. The book, written by a newspaper publisher who is a friend of Dr Khan's family, claimed the scientist might even have suffered a stroke. A friend of Dr Khan, Hussam-ul Haq, approached the Supreme Court to investigate. His petition said that since the scientist was not being allowed to leave his house or meet visitors, government claims that he was not ill could not be verified. During Wednesday's hearing the two-member bench instructed the registrar to visit Dr Khan's home and report on his health. The petition must dismissed as illegal and without lawful authority AQ Khan After meeting the scientist and his physicians, the registrar informed the court that Dr Khan was not suffering any serious illness. The registrar said Dr Khan rejected the petition, saying it was not filed with his permission. Dr Khan submitted a letter to the court saying he was being "looked after very well". "I am shocked and surprised to read in the newspapers that a petition has been filed on my behalf. The petition must be dismissed as illegal and without lawful authority." A lawyer for Hussam-ul Haq said he had withdrawn the petition. The BBC's Zaffar Abbas in Islamabad says the mystery surrounding Dr Khan's international proliferation network has yet to unfold. Though President Pervez Musharraf pardoned Dr Khan on the condition that he would co-operate with the authorities, it is still not clear if the government plans to make its findings public. ***************************************************************** 7 BBC: Energy: Meeting soaring demand Last Updated: Tuesday, 9 November, 2004 The BBC's Alex Kirby looks at the challenge of providing the world with energy without damaging the environment, as part of Planet Under Pressure, a BBC series on environmental issues. By Alex Kirby BBC News website environment correspondent [Petrol prices in China, AP] We depend on oil for 90% of our transport The first problem with energy is that we are running short of traditional sources of supply. The International Energy Agency says the world will need almost 60% more energy in 2030 than in 2002, and fossil fuels will still meet most of its needs. We depend on oil for 90% of our transport, and for food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and the entire bedrock of modern life. But oil industry experts estimate that current reserves will only last for about 40 years. Views vary about how much more will be found or made economically viable to use. Pessimists predict production will start declining within 15 years, while optimists say we won't have to worry for a century - though rising prices are likely to push us towards alternative energy sources anyway. Gas, often a suitable replacement for oil, won't last indefinitely either. There's plenty of coal, but it's still usually hard to use without causing high pollution. Worrying signs Not everyone depends on the fossil trio, though. Nearly a third of today's world population (6.1bn people) have no electricity or other modern energy supplies, and another third have only limited access. About 2.5 billion people have only wood or other biomass for energy - often bad for the environment, almost always bad for their health. That's the second problem - understandably, they want the better life that cheap and accessible energy offers. But if everyone in developing countries used the same amount of energy as the average consumer in high income countries does, the developing world's energy use would increase more than eightfold between 2000 and 2050. The signs are already there. In the first half of 2003 China's car sales rose by 82% compared with the same period in 2002. Its demand for oil is expected to double in 20 years. In India sales of fuel-guzzling sports utility vehicles account for 10% of all vehicle purchases, and could soon overtake car sales. And the developed world is not standing still. In the last decade, US oil use has increased by almost 2.7 million barrels a day - more oil than India and Pakistan use daily altogether. Crossing continents Where our energy comes from is a third problem - energy sources are often long distances from the point of consumption. [Coal, BBC] There is plenty of coal, but it can cause major pollution Centralised energy generation and distribution systems are fairly new. A couple of centuries ago virtually everyone would have depended on the fuel they could find within a short distance of home. Now, the energy for our fuel, heat and light travel vast distances to reach us, sometimes crossing not only continents but political and cultural watersheds on the way. These distances create a whole host of challenges from oil-related political instability to the environmental risks of long-distance pipelines. But even if we could somehow indefinitely conjure up enough energy for everyone who wants it, without risking conflict and mayhem in bringing it back home, there would still be an enormous problem - how to use the energy without causing unacceptably high levels of damage to the natural world. Counting cost The most obvious threat is the prospect that burning fossil fuels is intensifying natural climate change and heating the Earth to dangerous levels. But forget the greenhouse effect if you want. There are still real costs that go with the quest for and use of energy: air and water pollution, impaired health, acid rain, deforestation, the destruction of traditional ways of life. It's one of the most vicious circles the planetary crisis entails. Cheap, available energy is essential for ending poverty: ending poverty is key to easing the pressures on the planet from the abjectly poor who have no choice but to eat the seed corn. But the tank is running dry. It doesn't have to be like this. Our energy use is unsustainable, but we already know what a benign alternative would look like. All we have to do is decide that we will get there, and how. It will make vastly more use of renewable energy, from inexhaustible natural sources like the Sun and the seas. Nuclear power? One key fuel may well be hydrogen, which is a clean alternative for vehicles and is in abundant supply as it is a chemical component of water. But large amounts of energy are needed to produce hydrogen from water, so it will not come into its own as a clean alternative until renewable energy is widely available for the process. [Smog over Kuala Lumpur's skyscrapers, AP] Air pollution is a major problem - often related to energy use Some analysts suggest that nuclear power will be needed to bridge the gap between now and the renewable future. Many environmentalists (but not all) are deeply unhappy with the idea - fission technology has been in use for a generation, but concerns remain about radioactive waste disposal and the risk of accidents. Nuclear fusion - a new form of nuclear power which combines atoms rather than splitting them apart - could be ready by around 2040, but that is too long to wait. However, we can also get energy to do several jobs at once, as combined heat and power plants do. And we can use less of it by becoming energy-efficient. The British government estimates that 56% of energy used in UK homes could be cut using currently available technologies - yet the original Model T Ford did more miles to the gallon than the average Ford vehicle produced today in the US. We can install power stations on our roofs by covering our houses with solar tiles, or buying miniature wind turbines the size of a satellite dish. Practically, the energy crisis is soluble. But reaching the broad sunlit uplands will mean a drastic mental gear change for policy-makers and consumers alike. ***************************************************************** 8 NRC: NRC to Meet with FirstEnergy on Nuclear Plant Performance News Release - Region III - 2004-04 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region III No. III-04-049 November 9, 2004 CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company officials on Tuesday, November 16, in Painesville, Ohio, to discuss the performance of FirstEnergys three nuclear power plants. The discussion will focus on how the company will deal with challenges resulting from the two-year shutdown at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Plant in Oak Harbor, Ohio, the degraded performance at the Perry Nuclear Plant in Perry, Ohio, and maintaining adequate performance at the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Plant near Shippingport, Pa. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the Renaissance Quail Hollow Resort, 11080 Concord-Hambden Road, in Painesville. The public is invited to observe the business portion of the meeting and will have an opportunity to make comments and ask questions of the NRC staff before the meeting is adjourned. The staff will also be available after the meeting for informal discussions with the public. Even though FirstEnergys nuclear plants are operating safely, two of the three plants face performance issues that need to be addressed. We expect to hear from utility officials how they intend to continue improving performance at Davis-Besse, address performance issues at Perry, and make sure that performance at Beaver Valley does not decline, said James Caldwell, NRC Regional Administrator. Davis-Besse was shut down from February 16, 2002, until March 8, 2004, due to the corrosion damage to the reactor vessel head. The NRC established a special panel to coordinate the agency's response to the corrosion damage and other safety system and staff performance problems. The panel will continue to oversee the plant until the NRC determines that Davis-Besses performance warrants its return to the agency normal reactor oversight program. At Perry, three issues of low to moderate safety significance identified in 2002 and 2003 led to increased oversight by the NRC. In response to the declining performance at the plant, the NRC has stepped up its regulatory scrutiny of Perry, including an in-depth inspection planned for next year to examine equipment problems, safety programs and human performance issues at the plant. At Beaver Valley, all performance indicators and inspection findings are of very low safety significance, and the plant does not require increased NRC inspection oversight. Documents related to the performance of Davis-Besse, Perry and Beaver Valley and the NRC oversight of these plants are posted on the NRC's web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/ Last revised Wednesday, November 10, 2004 ***************************************************************** 9 WE: Funds for decommissioning nuclear plants November 10 2004 Commission calls for greater transparency Fulfilling the undertaking it gave to the European Parliament when the Directive on the internal market in electricity was adopted, the Commission has published a report on the use of financial resources earmarked for the decommissioning of nuclear plants. Underlining that this is set to become an increasingly important issue (of the 155 reactors currently operating in the enlarged EU, some 50 to 60 are likely to be decommissioned by 2025), the Commission believes it is vital to ensure that, when the time comes, sufficient financial resources will be available to cover the costs of decommissioning work while guaranteeing a high level of nuclear safety. In addition, the creation of the internal market in electricity requires that these resources be managed with complete transparency and that they be used for the purpose for which they have been set aside. Specific support actions, trans-national access to large infrastructures and actions to promote and develop human mobility in the Euratom Research and Training Programme on Nuclear Energy WELCOMEUROPE, 42 rue eugθne carriθre - F - 75018 ParisPhone: 33+1 42 54 60 64 / Fax: 33+1 42 54 70 04 WELCOMEUROPE © 2000-2004 - ***************************************************************** 10 Cornell Chronicle: ILR group helps Nuclear Regulatory Commission CU group helps Nuclear Regulatory Commission solve workplace disputes By Linda Myers The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has adopted new dispute resolution guidelines and contracted with Cornell to supply mediators versed in the commission's rules as well as employment issues. The priorities are timeliness and safety. As part of the new working relationship, the Institute on Conflict Resolution, which is based at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, is making available a special group from its nationwide roster of trained neutrals. That group, which is experienced in mediating federal-sector disputes, also will be trained in the rules, regulations and safety issues of concern to the NRC. Rocco Scanza, director for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services at the Cornell-based institute, said: "We are pleased that the NRC has chosen to align with us. Their decision demonstrates the growing importance of resolving workplace disputes through mediation and recognizes the exceptional skills of the trained neutrals on our roster. We are justly proud to have been invited to play such a role." Through the NRC's ADR program, adopted this August, the neutrals will mediate in employee discrimination complaints and other allegations of wrongdoing where NRC regulations may have been violated. The program aims to promote a safety-conscious work environment by providing a means for prompt and fair resolution of worker complaints and timely and effective resolution of enforcement issues. "Cornell's participation will enhance our program for responding to disputes by reassuring both workers and licensees that their complaints or concerns will be considered by a truly neutral person if they choose the early ADR approach," said Frank Congel, director of the NRC's Office of Enforcement. The approach of using third-party neutrals in recent years has been employed with success in such federal agencies as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Labor, with assistance from the Cornell institute. Advantages include disputes resolved more quickly; litigation and other costs lowered; and creative solutions developed by the parties themselves. In 2005 Cornell's Institute on Conflict Resolution plans to roll out the first certificate training program in conflict resolution at the university. Scanza calls it "an important step in Cornell's expanding role as a leader in alternative dispute resolution." For more information on ICR, see: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/icr. November 11, 2004 | Cornell Chronicle Front Page | | Table of Contents | | Cornell News Service Home Page | ***************************************************************** 11 Mos News: Nuclear Power Plant Blames Media, Greens for Meltdown Scare - MOSNEWS.COM Photo from balaes.ru Created: 10.11.2004 17:11 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 17:11 MSK MosNews The Balakovsky nuclear power plant has accused the media and environmental activists of spreading rumors about a meltdown at the plant over the weekend. A malfunction at the plant led to a shutdown last Thursday, after a safety mechanism effectively reacted to a pipe leak. The incident sparked rumors of a disaster, and panic spread over central Russia’s Saratov region, with people taking iodine which they thought would fight the effects of radiation. Several people were hospitalized after taking too much iodine. “Several online news sources only helped the situation escalate by publicly doubting official statements denying reports of a disaster,” the Russian Information Agency Novosti reported, citing a statement from the nuclear plant’s press office. The statement also accused environmental activists of contributing to the hysteria by suggesting people take iodine. On Tuesday regional prosecutors launched a criminal case, seeking to persecute whoever was responsible for spreading the rumors. The nuclear plant said that Greenpeace called the panic a provocation only after the reports of a criminal case, implying the environmental group was somehow fearing prosecution. SEE ALSO Write us: info@mosnews.com Copyright © 2004 MOSNEWS.COM ***************************************************************** 12 UK Independent: Digby Jones says six new nuclear power plants needed CBI conference By Michael Harrison, Business Editor, in Birmingham 10 November 2004 The head of the CBI called yesterday for the construction of six new nuclear power stations over the next decade. But Digby Jones was rebuffed by representatives of all three main political parties, including the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Patricia Hewitt, who said there was no chance of a new nuclear programme within that timescale if at all. "There isn't a single company coming to me and asking to build a new nuclear station in the next 10 years or after that," she said. Mr Jones said new nuclear capacity was needed if Britain was to meet its environmental emissions targets and guarantee security of supply because relying on wind energy alone was not enough. He also criticised the "hypocrisy" of people who opposed nuclear power on environmental grounds and yet paid the state-owned French power company EDF to import nuclear-generated electricity. Ms Hewitt said the key to Britain meeting the target of a 20 per cent cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020 was the new emissions trading scheme, which takes effect across Europe next year. Oliver Letwin, the shadow Chancellor, said a Conservative government would allow the market to decide whether new nuclear stations were necessary, while Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokesman, argued that if private industry had to pay theclean-up costs and for decommissioning it would never be an economic proposition. Mr Jones also clashed with the politicians over the support given to UK Trade and Industry, the government body which promotes UK exports and inward investment. UKTI has suffered a 12 per cent budget cut. © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd ***************************************************************** 13 BusinessWeek: Japan: A Nuclear Powerhouse Dims NOVEMBER 15, 2004 • Editions: Edition Preference Amid fatal mishaps and scandal, the industry is in decline With oil prices stuck at 20-year highs and Japan dependent on imported fossil fuels for 80% of its total energy needs, the Japanese nuclear power industry should be in a strong position to press its case as a source of new energy. After all, Japan relies for one-third of its electric power on nuclear reactors and is considered home to some of the world's most advanced nuclear technology. But instead of revving up output and laying the groundwork for cutting-edge plants, Japan has put plans for a new generation of self-sufficient reactors in deep freeze. That's because a series of mishaps at Japanese plants and coverup scandals have seriously blackened the image of nuclear power. The latest accident took place in August, when four workers were killed and seven others injured after a pipe carrying superheated steam ruptured at the Mihama plant in Fukui prefecture on the Japan Sea coast. That marked the second fatal accident in less than five years at a Japanese nuclear facility. Indeed, while the government and the highly regulated electric power industry remain as committed as ever to nuclear energy, more plants are being shut down than completed. And the glitches that have plagued even the most advanced reactors have hurt Japan's reputation for top-notch technology. Plant equipment makers such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Hitachi (HIT ), and Toshiba (TOSBF ) are feeling the pinch from declining demand at home and few takers abroad, as orders from other Asian nations such as China have failed to materialize. The setbacks threaten to greatly delay, if not derail, government plans to increase use of nuclear power to 41% of energy needs by 2011. That goal included construction of a dozen new reactors to add to the current 53. And the government poured billions of dollars into the development of exotic technologies such as fast breeder reactors, which theoretically can produce more plutonium than they consume. The crown jewel of that effort was a $5 billion prototype fast breeder reactor named "Monju," after the Buddhist deity of wisdom. It was supposed to usher in a new nuclear era. But in late 1995 -- just four months after producing its first electricity -- Monju was shut down when it began leaking sodium coolant. The problem was compounded when plant officials later admitted to releasing an edited videotape that played down the extent of the damage. Monju has been mothballed since then, and a district court ruling last year has forced the government to put off plans to restart it as soon as next summer. Despite a pledge from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to move forward with the fast breeder program, some industry experts now say they may never be commercially viable. "In its current form, the technology is too complicated to commercialize," says Nobuo Ishizuka, a senior managing director at the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum. The Japanese public has been more indulgent of the nuclear power industry than either the U.S. or Europe. But the accidents and ethical lapses have put a big dent in the industry's reputation. Sure, three new nuclear plants are slated to start operations in the next two years. But unless the industry can break out of its one-step-forward-two-steps-back cycle, Japan will remain reliant on fossil fuels for many years to come. By Chester Dawson in Tokyo Copyright 2004, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights ***************************************************************** 14 Lincoln Journal Star: NPPD to seek 20-year license renewal for Cooper http://www.journalstar.com it will seek a 20-year license extension for Cooper Nuclear Station near Brownville. Cooper Nuclear Station (LJS File) The NPPD board authorized its executive management to proceed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission operating license renewal process for Cooper, whose license is set to expire in January 2014. If the NRC grants an extension, Cooper's license would then expire in 2034. Cooper is located about three miles south of Brownville on the Missouri River. "The board felt that it is in the best interest of the district and its customers to proceed with the license renewal process," said Board Chairman Wayne Boyd. "The license renewal project plan will provide contingency strategies should future conditions determine a different course of action is warranted, but we are confident that extending Cooper's license another 20 years will be economically beneficial for our customers." The board's action is a vote of confidence in the station, in that the utility has worked over the last two years to improve the power plant's operating and regulatory performance, NPPD officials said in a news release. The decision is the outcome of a 10-month study that assessed generation resources to be used by NPPD to supply customers with energy after 2014. The study analyzed nine options, including replacing the nuclear power plant with a coal-fired facility. Other scenarios considered involved plant capacity increases and refueling frequency. With the board's approval, NPPD will begin developing a license renewal project plan that will provide a framework for a sequential process that 26 other nuclear power plants have achieved since March of 2000. Eighteen other U.S. nuclear plants have submitted applications. The study determined that replacing Cooper in 2014 with a brand new coal-fired generating station could cost as much as $1 billion. The license renewal process will take about four years to complete beginning with a project plan. "It may take three months to create the project plan which is followed by more than a year of engineering and environmental analysis," said NPPD President and CEO Bill Fehrman. "Should everything go as planned, NPPD would then begin preparing a license renewal application, and this could take six months to complete." The NRC must review and approve the license renewal application — a process that could take an additional 22 months. Meanwhile, NPPD will continue to develop its generation resource plan and evaluate the future energy needs of its customers. "A license renewal for Cooper Nuclear Station does not preclude us from planning another generation resource sometime down the road," said Fehrman. "The board's decision today is a strategic commitment to NPPD's fuel diversity and extends the value of this important public power asset. -- Lincoln Journal Star 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 • NEWS FROM NIRS

NUCLEAR INFORMATION & RESOURCE SERVICE

SIERRA CLUB ∙ PUBLIC CITIZEN ∙ REDWOOD ALLIANCE

COMMITTEE TO BRIDGE THE GAP

šššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššš

Immediate Release: Nov. 10, 2004

 

Contacts: Diane D’Arrigo, NIRS (202) 841-8588 (cell)

Erica Hartman, Public Citizen (202) 454-5174

Dan Hirsch, CBG (831) 462-6136šššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššš ššššššššššš ššššššššššš

Michael Welch, Redwood Alliance (707) 822-7884

 

5 Groups Sue Dept. of Transportation for New Rules that

Allow Nuclear Waste to Move Unregulated, Unmarked

 

ššššššššš Five public interest organizations filed suit in a Northern California federal district court against the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for its adoption of rules which reduce public protections by allowing more radioactivity to move on roads, rails, planes and waterways without regulatory control. The groups are Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Sierra Club, Public Citizen, Redwood Alliance and Committee to Bridge the Gap. The groups are calling for withdrawal of the portions of the rule that exempt and weaken nuclear transport controls and for full environmental impact review.

 

ššššššššššš The regulations exempt various amounts of every radionuclide (all the radioactive forms of each element) from radioactive labeling, tracking, and control. šThey also allow some nuclear materials to be shipped without packaging. The groups will also challenge, in a separate case, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) which simultaneously adopted the same regulations. A whole new category of exempt quantities has been adopted—allowing radioactive packages (called consignments) to be considered not radioactive in transport. The exempt concentration limits have changed, exempting higher concentrations for more than half of the hundreds of radionuclides listed.

 

“At a time of heightened concern about dirty bombs, the federal government should not increase the amount of nuclear material that can be transported without any labeling or tracking. This is the exact wrong time to let go of nuclear materials and wastes,” stated Diane D’Arrigo, Radioactive Waste Project Director at Nuclear Information and Resource Service. “Watching for and detecting dirty bombs will be harder if more radioactive materials are shipped routinely without placards or manifests.”

 

ššššššššššš “Workers and the public will be exposed to radiation without their knowledge or consent. It is forced radiation exposure,” charged Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen’s Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program.

 

ššššššššššš Truck drivers, rail workers, loaders, emergency responders, even postal workers could be exposed routinely to more radioactivity than before without warning. Workers in the transport and shipping industries will get the highest doses but everyone who lives, works and travels along the routes could come into regular contact with unidentified nuclear waste. According to calculations in the DOT rule, truck drivers could get more radiation from hauling unmarked radioactive materials than one is allowed living next to a nuclear reactor or weapons site. DOT admits workers and the public will have more exposure to radioactivity but discounts the dangers of radiation, failing to consider the impacts on those more susceptible to radiation like children, the fetus, women and those with reduced immunity.

 

The transport rule fits into a larger picture of deregulating nuclear waste. Other federal agencies including the NRC, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Departments of Energy and Defense (DOE, DOD) are in various stages of deregulating nuclear wastes and sites over which they have jurisdiction. If they proceed with deregulating nuclear wastes as now proposed, radioactive materials could go to municipal and industrial landfills, incinerators and scrap recycling centers. Workers at those sites would be regularly exposed to more man-made radiation. Changing the transport regulations makes taking unmarked nuclear loads to unregulated destinations possible once they are cleared by those other agencies.

 

“Removing existing requirements for labeling in transit will make it easier for other agencies to let nuclear wastes get out into commerce. The public will be exposed both during transport and then again from the products, buildings and roads made from nuclear contaminated materials,” explained Dan Hirsch, President of the Committee to Bridge the Gap.

 

ššššššššššš “That is the real motivation,” said Dr. Judith Johnsrud of the Sierra Club, “to assist the nuclear industry in treating some nuclear waste as if not radioactive. This saves the nuclear generators money and pushes the economic and health burden onto unsuspecting transporters, recyclers, local governments, the public and the environment.”

 

ššššššššššš No meaningful justification for the exemptions is provided by either DOT or NRC for relaxing restrictions on nuclear materials transport. The exempt concentrations and amounts adopted are the same as those recommended by international nuclear advocacy organizations to allow nuclear waste to be cleared for commercial recycling.

 

“It is not a coincidence. This weakening of the nuclear transport laws is a deliberate attempt to bypass the American public’s opposition to nuclear waste deregulation and release into everyday commerce. DOT and NRC are teaming up with the global nuclear industry to make nuclear power appear cheaper while putting transport workers, the public and environment at unnecessary radioactive risk.” said Michael Welch of the Redwood Alliance.

ššššššššššš

-30-

 

For more information on Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), go to www.nirs.org.

 

For more information on Public Citizen, go to www.citizen.org.

 

For more information on Redwood Alliance, go to www.redwoodalliance.org.

 

For more information on Sierra Club, go to www.sierraclub.org.

***************************************************************** 17 5 Groups Sue DOT Over Nuke Waste Transport Rules Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 15:19:26 -0800 NUCLEAR INFORMATION & RESOURCE SERVICE SIERRA CLUB PUBLIC CITIZEN REDWOOD ALLIANCE COMMITTEE TO BRIDGE THE GAP šššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššš Immediate Release: Nov. 10, 2004 Contacts: Diane DArrigo, NIRS (202) 841-8588 (cell) Erica Hartman, Public Citizen (202) 454-5174 Dan Hirsch, CBG (831) 462-6136šššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššššš ššššššššššš ššššššššššš Michael Welch, Redwood Alliance (707) 822-7884 5 Groups Sue Dept. of Transportation for New Rules that Allow Nuclear Waste to Move Unregulated, Unmarked ššššššššš Five public interest organizations filed suit in a Northern California federal district court against the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for its adoption of rules which reduce public protections by allowing more radioactivity to move on roads, rails, planes and waterways without regulatory control. The groups are Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Sierra Club, Public Citizen, Redwood Alliance and Committee to Bridge the Gap. The groups are calling for withdrawal of the portions of the rule that exempt and weaken nuclear transport controls and for full environmental impact review. ššššššššššš The regulations exempt various amounts of every radionuclide (all the radioactive forms of each element) from radioactive labeling, tracking, and control. šThey also allow some nuclear materials to be shipped without packaging. The groups will also challenge, in a separate case, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) which simultaneously adopted the same regulations. A whole new category of exempt quantities has been adoptedallowing radioactive packages (called consignments) to be considered not radioactive in transport. The exempt concentration limits have changed, exempting higher concentrations for more than half of the hundreds of radionuclides listed. At a time of heightened concern about dirty bombs, the federal government should not increase the amount of nuclear material that can be transported without any labeling or tracking. This is the exact wrong time to let go of nuclear materials and wastes,stated Diane DArrigo, Radioactive Waste Project Director at Nuclear Information and Resource Service. Watching for and detecting dirty bombs will be harder if more radioactive materials are shipped routinely without placards or manifests. ššššššššššš Workers and the public will be exposed to radiation without their knowledge or consent. It is forced radiation exposure,charged Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizens Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program. ššššššššššš Truck drivers, rail workers, loaders, emergency responders, even postal workers could be exposed routinely to more radioactivity than before without warning. Workers in the transport and shipping industries will get the highest doses but everyone who lives, works and travels along the routes could come into regular contact with unidentified nuclear waste. According to calculations in the DOT rule, truck drivers could get more radiation from hauling unmarked radioactive materials than one is allowed living next to a nuclear reactor or weapons site. DOT admits workers and the public will have more exposure to radioactivity but discounts the dangers of radiation, failing to consider the impacts on those more susceptible to radiation like children, the fetus, women and those with reduced immunity. The transport rule fits into a larger picture of deregulating nuclear waste. Other federal agencies including the NRC, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Departments of Energy and Defense (DOE, DOD) are in various stages of deregulating nuclear wastes and sites over which they have jurisdiction. If they proceed with deregulating nuclear wastes as now proposed, radioactive materials could go to municipal and industrial landfills, incinerators and scrap recycling centers. Workers at those sites would be regularly exposed to more man-made radiation. Changing the transport regulations makes taking unmarked nuclear loads to unregulated destinations possible once they are cleared by those other agencies. Removing existing requirements for labeling in transit will make it easier for other agencies to let nuclear wastes get out into commerce. The public will be exposed both during transport and then again from the products, buildings and roads made from nuclear contaminated materials,explained Dan Hirsch, President of the Committee to Bridge the Gap. ššššššššššš That is the real motivation,said Dr. Judith Johnsrud of the Sierra Club, to assist the nuclear industry in treating some nuclear waste as if not radioactive. This saves the nuclear generators money and pushes the economic and health burden onto unsuspecting transporters, recyclers, local governments, the public and the environment. ššššššššššš No meaningful justification for the exemptions is provided by either DOT or NRC for relaxing restrictions on nuclear materials transport. The exempt concentrations and amounts adopted are the same as those recommended by international nuclear advocacy organizations to allow nuclear waste to be cleared for commercial recycling. It is not a coincidence. This weakening of the nuclear transport laws is a deliberate attempt to bypass the American publics opposition to nuclear waste deregulation and release into everyday commerce. DOT and NRC are teaming up with the global nuclear industry to make nuclear power appear cheaper while putting transport workers, the public and environment at unnecessary radioactive risk.said Michael Welch of the Redwood Alliance. ššššššššššš -30- For more information on Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), go to www.nirs.org. For more information on Public Citizen, go to www.citizen.org. For more information on Redwood Alliance, go to www.redwoodalliance.org. For more information on Sierra Club, go to www.sierraclub.org. ***************************************************************** 18 NRC: NRC Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste to Meet Nov. 16-18 in Rockville, Maryland News Release - 2004-14 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 04-142 November 10, 2004 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissions Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste will hold a public meeting Nov. 16-18, in Rockville, Md., to hear, among other things, a briefing on recent activities of interest in the agencys Division of High-Level Waste Repository Safety and Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection. The committee will also be briefed by the Department of Energy on the general format and content of the expected application for the Yucca Mountain project. The meeting on Tuesday will run from 10:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. and on Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The meeting will be held in Room T-2B3 of the agencys Two White Flint North Building, at 11545 Rockville Pike. A complete agenda will be available on the NRCs Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acnw/agenda/2004/. For additional information, please contact Howard Larson at 301-415-6805. Last revised Wednesday, November 10, 2004 ***************************************************************** 19 Pahrump Valley Times: Not for election November 10, 2004 The smoke has finally cleared from one of the most expensive and negative campaigns in a while, but one thing is constant: Yucca Mountain isn't an election issue. The anti's spent millions on a campaign that was based on falsehoods and fear. The anti's tried to scare residents of Clark County about the dangers of transportation even though the nuclear industry has an excellent safety record when it comes to transportation and more importantly, but not mentioned by the anti's, the waste will never go through Las Vegas; rural Nevada is going to bear the burden of Yucca Mountain's transportation program. I was raised in rural Nevada and we are an independent bunch and that's why rural Nevada carried President Bush. Now the administration has to take care of rural Nevada and provide them with the best in class training and emergency response equipment and locate project related facilities as appropriate in rural Nevada. If the project is located in rural Nevada, rural Nevada needs to benefit from the project. But one thing is clear, a repository at Yucca Mountain is ultimately inevitable. The question is, when will our elected officials face that reality? Respectfully, RYAN MOORE For comment or questions, please e-mail webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2004 ***************************************************************** 20 DRC: Uranium mine poses on going risk, UN reports - OCHA IRIN Thursday 11 November 2004 [ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] © IRIN/OCHA The Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit undertook an assessment mission of the Shinkolobwe uranium mine, DRC , which collapsed in July killing eight artisanal miners. NAIROBI, 10 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - The Shinkolobwe uranium mine in Katanga Province, in the southwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), must remain closed, according to a statement issued on Tuesday following an assessment of the site by a joint UN team. "Risks of mine collapse and potential chronic exposure to ionising radiation" were the two reasons for the recommendation, according to the team of experts from the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the UN Mission in the DRC. The mine collapsed in July, killing eight people. The team carried out its assessment from 25 October to 4 November. "We found levels of radiation that exceed international safety standards," Renι Nijenhuis, an official with the joint UNEP-OCHA Emergency Services Branch, told IRIN on Wednesday from Geneva. "People in the area potentially risk chronic exposure." Uranium from Shinkolobwe was used in the atom bombs that detonated over the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945. Officially, the mine has been closed for half a century, but some 15,000 people in and around Shinkolobwe were living off low-tech mining activities until the mine collapsed in July. Nijenhuis said no one appeared to be living in Shinkolobwe and the village had been destroyed. Although people were mining cobalt, not uranium, they still risked radiation exposure, according to the statement. "There is no respect for mining safety regulations," Bernard Lamouille, one of the team members specialised in low-tech mining, said. "The situation in Shinkolobwe could be described as anarchistic." In the coming weeks, the UN team will issue technical reports based on their finds from the visit. The reports will be on health, radiation safety, the environment, low mining safety and humanitarian issues. [IRIN Web Special on Ituri [Photo Credit: Christoffel Blinden]] All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004 ***************************************************************** 21 OCHA IRIN: KAZAKHSTAN: Radioactive waste on the move, possible threat - NGO Thursday 11 November 2004 ANKARA, 10 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - Kazakhstan is moving radioactive waste from the Baykonur space centre to a former nuclear testing ground in the northern Kazakh city of Semipalatinsk. Environmental NGOs told IRIN the move carried health and safety risks. "The preparatory work [on transporting the radioactive waste] has been going on for a while. It is very likely that the actual work on moving them has already started," Sergey Chelnokov, a senior expert on substance control of the Kazakh committee on nuclear energy, told IRIN from the Kazakh commercial capital of Almaty. Russia rents the Baykonur space launching site located in central Kazakhstan. "These are not nuclear substances, they are closed sealed sources of radiation that had been used to control some technical processes," Chelnokov explained, adding that the amount of radioactive waste awaiting transportation was not big. "They don't expose any threat to environment or people's health," he claimed. According to the nuclear energy committee, the radioactive waste will be stored in special containers to prevent radiation and exclude radioactive pollution in case of an accident. "All the security measures should be adhered to and the waste will be transported by a company that has a special licence to do that," he said. During Soviet times, the Baykonur space centre was used for various space programmes and some radioactive sources have remained there since. "They need to be moved to a special storage place in Semipalatinsk to be kept under secure conditions," the nuclear energy body official added. According to the local environmental Ecocentre NGO, based in the northern city of Karaganda, there are numerous radioactive sources, the so-called sources in ampoules, in the country. The issue is aggravated by a fact that there are also many unattended radioactive substances that can easily be accessed by people. "They all should be moved to the Baykal-I radioactive waste storage facility in Semipalatinsk," Kaysha Atakhanova, head of Ecocentre, told IRIN from Semipalatinsk. "Baykal-I is the only facility that meets international standards." She gave an example when some local people took out the protective lead layer of the containers with radioactive material to smelt it and sell to scrap metal dealers, exposing themselves to radioactivity and others by selling radioactively polluted metal. Some unofficial estimates suggest that around 5,000 radioactive ampoule waste items should have been moved to Baykal-I, but reportedly only 400 have been sent there so far. Facilities that have them mainly don't have resources to do that. "But if the safety requirements while transporting those substances fail, for example in case of an accident or other incidents, it can cause harm to the environment and people's health. The risk is always there," Atakhanova said, adding that the relevant bodies should ensure the necessary safety measures . All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004 ***************************************************************** 22 AU ABC: PM - Govt defends Ranger mine record ="Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online"> PM - Wednesday, 10 November , 2004 18:40:38 Reporter: Danielle Parry HAMISH ROBERTSON: The Federal Government has today defended its handling of safety and maintenance issues at the Northern Territory's Ranger Uranium Mine. This is despite a report by a Commonwealth agency detailing a pattern of safety and environmental breaches over the last year. The supervising scientist has released his annual report describing a culture of complacency at the mine. The regulator is satisfied that the mine is now lifting its game but environmental groups say it must be closed. Danielle Parry reports from Darwin. DANIELLE PARRY: Ranger is one of Australia's most controversial mines. Surrounded by the Northern Territory's world heritage listed Kakadu National Park, the facility has been in the spotlight since it started operating in 1981. The last two years have been among the worst for Ranger. Only days ago investigators were called in after a small amount of yellow cake splashed onto a worker's boot. In March, a piping mix-up allowed workers to drink and shower in water contaminated with uranium. Many of them became sick, the mine was temporarily closed and the matter is currently before the courts. In the past 12 months, three contaminated vehicles have also been allowed to leave the site. The Supervising Scientist, Arthur Johnston, is commissioned by the Commonwealth to carry out environmental monitoring at the mine. He's just released his annual report and admits it makes for a concerning read. ARTHUR JOHNSTON: I wouldn't describe it as frightening. I would describe it as disturbing and it certainly needs action to ensure that issues of this kind don't arise in the future. The question of closure, I think, is only one that should be addressed if ERA fails to comply with the instructions that are given to it by government. DANIELLE PARRY: The report details what it describes as a "culture of complacency" at ERA regarding radiation protection in recent years. But Dr Johnston is confident that's now being stamped out. ARTHUR JOHNSTON: That is happening now. It will take some time of course. You don't change these things overnight. But a whole series of measures are being taken to ensure that radiation protection is given a much higher profile, that all the staff on the site understand and appreciate the significance of it and that measures are taken by management to ensure that the highest standards of radiation protection are achieved. DANIELLE PARRY: The Federal Government says it's given the mine's operator a clear ultimatum its performance must improve or its license will be revoked. But the Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane says so far ERA has done everything he's asked. IAN MACFARLANE: Well ERA are complying with the conditions and very strict conditions that I have placed on them and at this stage the Government is not considering taking any action which would curtail operations or close the mine. That is not required. It is our understanding that ERA will be able to operate the mine safely and without impact on its workforce or the environment. DANIELLE PARRY: A spokeswoman for ERA points out Ranger has been given a clean bill of health in two audits so far but wouldn't comment further because of the pending court case. However, environmental groups remain adamant the mine should be closed. Dave Sweeney from the Australian Conservation Foundation believes the regulators and the mine's operator have become too close. DAVE SWEENEY: There's too much cosiness in the relationship between the Northern Territory and Commonwealth regulators and the mine operators, and what we're seeing now is incidents that are happening which are starting to break that cosy little club because the incidents are just too severe. DANIELLE PARRY: The mine's final audit is due early next year HAMISH ROBERTSON: Danielle Parry reporting from Darwin. [ ***************************************************************** 23 Bradenton Herald: A growing menace | 11/10/2004 | More need tests for beryllium poisoning The scale of the contamination threat from the American Beryllium Co. plant in Tallevast has grown exponentially with the awareness that second-hand exposure to beryllium dust could jeopardize the health of hundreds who never worked there. As detailed by Herald staff writer Donna Wright on Sunday, safety measures were so lax that workers tracked beryllium dust home with them every day, exposing family members to possible inhalation of toxic particles. Also, workers who went out to lunch without changing clothes exposed workers and customers in lunchrooms and restaurants around the plant. Laundry workers who picked up and washed the soiled uniforms of plant workers could have breathed in particles. And wind-borne dust could have spread a fine toxic cloud over a wide area. What makes the new information so disturbing is the incredibly high toxicity of beryllium. A "safe" exposure level of 2 micrograms per cubic meter per eight-hour shift - called "dangerously inadequate" by Dr. Lee S. Newman of the National Jewish Center - is easily exceeded by the lax safety procedures ex-plant workers described to Wright. That standard amounts to a pile of beryllium dust the size of a pencil eraser head dispersed in a space as big as a football field to a height of eight feet. It's easy to see the concern for second-hand exposure given the fact that the dust was everywhere and workers didn't always shower or change clothing when leaving the plant. It brings no comfort to learn that the Manatee County Health Department is not conducting a community surveillance program to routinely screen residents who may have been exposed to beryllium dust for signs of beryllium disease, which affects the respiratory system and is often mistaken as asthma or sarcoidosis. Health department officials say there is not yet enough evidence of positive results coming from blood tests on former workers who are registered in a Department of Energy compensation program to justify extending the tests, which cost up to $600 a person, to a wider audience. But beryllium disease is slow-developing, often taking 40 years to manifest itself with shortness of breath, weight loss, fatigue and skin rashes. By then treatment options are limited and organ damage can already have occurred. From the start of this pollution scandal, which began more than a year ago with the news that an underground plume of chemical-laden wastewater had contaminated wells in Tallevast, state and county officials have been too slow to react and too timid in their approach when they do. They should be aggressively seeking out ex-workers and family members who may have been exposed to the dust and have unexplained lung ailments or a diagnosis of sarcoidosis. Anecdotal evidence indicates the likelihood of a serious risk of exposure over several decades in and around Tallevast. Lacking such government help, ex-workers, their families and anyone who had a connection with the plant should seriously consider having regular blood tests, especially if they develop any kind of unexplained lung problems. Even a negative test today doesn't mean one is safe; scientists recommend being retested every three years as a safety precaution. There could be compensation for the cost of the tests down the road; meanwhile, it could be money well spent to to learn if one is safe for now. ***************************************************************** 24 KLAS: Scientists Discuss Recycling Spent Nuclear Fuel at UNLV November 10, 2004 (Nov. 10) -- About 120 scientists from around the world are meeting in Las Vegas this week to consider ways to recycle spent nuclear fuel. One expert attending the conference at UNLV compares reprocessing and transmutation to an alchemist's dream of turning lead into gold. But event host Gary Cerefice says the feasibility of the process hasn't been shown yet at the engineering level. An Energy Department expert says reprocessing and transmutation won't change the need for a repository the Energy Department wants to open in 2010 at Yucca Mountain -- 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. But he says it might reduce or eliminate the need for future repositories. (Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Copyright 2000 - 2004 WorldNow and KLAS. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 25 Pahrump Valley Times: Yucca opposition growing November 10, 2004 SURVEY SAYS ... SECOND POLL CLAIMS NEVADANS DON'T WANT REPOSITORY SPECIAL TO THE PVT CARSON CITY - Results of an annual statewide survey show that nearly 73 percent of all Nevadans believe the state should continue fighting, rather than seek some sort of deal with the federal government, in Nevada's battle against the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The news comes on the heels of another survey in which less than four percent of voters considered Yucca Mountain an issue in the presidential election. If given the chance to vote on the project, the survey found that nearly 77 percent of all Nevadans would vote against it, with only 19 percent saying they would vote for it. The poll shows opposition increasing since 2003, when 76 percent said they would vote against storing the nation's high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain - sited in Nye County, where the official government stance has been more favorable to the project - and 22 percent said they would vote for it. The survey of more than 402 randomly selected Nevadans was conducted between Oct. 7 and 18 by Northwest Survey and Data Services, which is based in Eugene, Ore., and affiliated with the University of Oregon. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percent. Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval and the state's Agency For Nuclear Projects released survey results last week. Sandoval said this survey is more credible and consistent than others on this topic since the same methodology; sample size and core questions have been used since 1989. He also noted the lack of any biasing preliminary questions or qualifying statements, noting that the question on whether the state should continue its opposition to Yucca Mountain or make a deal for benefits was the second question asked, right after the straightforward question about voting for or against the project. The poll found that Nevadans remain adamantly opposed to a nuclear waste dump planned for Yucca Mountain. In 2003, with the same research firm asking the same questions, the survey found that 65 percent of all respondents favored continuing opposition to the project and rejecting any negotiations with the federal government for benefits in exchange for accepting the project. That year, 30 percent of those polled favored making a deal with the government. In response to the same question this year, 67 percent said the state should keep fighting and turn down any possible benefits, with only 29 percent wanting to deal. The survey found that only 36 percent of all Nevadans are aware that a federal court decision this summer in Nevada's lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy "will make it very difficult for the federal government to move ahead with the project." When informed by pollsters that this court decision "found that the federal government did not use proper standards for long-term storage at Yucca Mountain," the number of Nevadans favoring continued opposition increased to 73 percent. Knowing the result of the state's lawsuit, only 25 percent said the state should stop opposing the project and make a deal. In addition to reaffirming strong opposition to Yucca Mountain and support for continuing to combat the project, the survey found that two of every three Nevadans (or 67 percent) support the state's lawsuits aimed at stopping the project and support the state water engineer's denial of water permits for it. "These results show that people throughout the state are even more opposed than in past years to this misguided project," Sandoval said. "With a federal court decision that can kill the project, Nevadans understand that the dump is far from a done deal. This is good news for Nevada and more bad news for the Department of Energy and the nuclear industry." The survey also showed a growing distrust of the DOE in Nevada. Asked if the DOE "can be trusted to live up to any benefits agreement the federal government would make with Nevada," 27 percent agreed and 69 percent disagreed. That's up from 2003, when 64 percent said the DOE could not be trusted. Robert Loux, executive director of Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects, said Nevada's opposition to Yucca Mountain has remained close to or above 70 percent since the state began commissioning such surveys in 1989. He said Nevadans have been just as consistent in opposing any deals that would weaken the state's opposition despite all the time and money the nuclear industry has poured into Nevada. "When you look at these survey findings and compare them with past survey results, the people of Nevada are sending a clear and consistent message to DOE and the commercial nuclear power industry," Loux said. "They are saying, 'We don't want this and we won't be fooled into cutting any deals.'" People in Nevada continue to view Yucca Mountain as a risk to public health, safety and the economy. Respondents identified rail and truck shipments to the site as the greatest risk (85 percent rated this as moderate to high risk). The second highest risk is the potential for radioactive contamination from the repository (81 percent), followed by the risk of property value losses to homes and businesses (76 percent), adverse health effects for Nevada residents (76 percent), risk of damaging Nevada's reputation (64 percent), risk of economic damage to major Nevada industries such as gaming and conventions (62 percent), and risk of loss of public revenues due to declines in tourists and visitors (62 percent). For complete survey results, please visit www.state.nv.us/nucwaste or contact George McCabe at Brown &Partners Public Relations at (702) 967-2222, (702) 325-7358 or gmccabe@brown-partners.com. For comment or questions, please e-mail webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2004 ***************************************************************** 26 Bradenton Herald: Local doctor helps residents get tests | 11/10/2004 | DONNA WRIGHT Herald Staff Writer SARASOTA - A Sarasota lung doctor is helping Tallevast residents and former American Beryllium Co. workers get medical tests and care for illnesses linked to toxic dust generated by the aerospace plant over the past four decades. Through a partnership with National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Dr. John Swisher of Suncoast Lung Center can help former workers and residents get a blood test that will indicate if they have beryllium disease. It is not necessary for workers or residents to be patients of Swisher, said office manager Maria Buck. Swisher will write a prescription for the blood test that a patient can take to either the AccuLab laboratory adjacent to Suncoast Lung Center, at 3920 Bee Ridge Road, Building C, Suite C, or to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, 1700 S. Tamiami Trail. As part of the community outreach, National Jewish Center has sent dozens of test kits to Swisher's office. AccuLab charges $5 for the blood draw, and Sarasota Memorial charges $25. Buck and the laboratories will handle shipping the blood specimens to National Jewish Center for testing. Patients must submit a check for $295, payable to National Jewish Center, that will be sent with the blood samples, Buck said. Because Swisher is simply acting as a collector of the specimens and blood test fee, his office is not set up to handle Medicare or insurance coverage for the tests, Buck said. If a patient's test comes back positive and further diagnostic work is necessary, Swisher can offer those services following the same treatment plan used by National Jewish Center. Raymond Stephens, who worked at American Beryllium from 1980 to 1992, was the catalyst for the partnership between National Jewish and Swisher. When Stephens blood test came back positive this fall, he was referred to National Jewish Center for treatment by the Department of Labor, administrators for a compensation program for former atomic weapons workers. But Stephens, who lives in Sarasota, wanted to find a doctor close to home. A former union official who still feels a deep kinship with his fellow American Beryllium workers, Stephens worried about his friends from work who did not have the money to travel to Denver for treatment. Stephens called Heather Davis, beryllium program coordinator at the National Jewish Center, to see what could be done. Davis called Sarasota Memorial, which put her in touch with Swisher, who volunteered to help workers and residents. National Jewish Center already has seen a 17 percent positive rate in the blood tests of former American Beryllium workers they have processed so far, Davis said. "That says to me that there are a lot more people out there who are going to have positive tests," Davis said. Dr. Lisa Maier, associate director of National Jewish Center's beryllium program, warned last week that the ring of toxic exposure created by American Beryllium could extend far beyond workers even into the greater community. Donna Wright, health and social services reporter, can be reached at 745-7049 or at dwright@bradentonherald.com. ***************************************************************** 27 Bradenton Herald: Tallevast residents find no comfort in testing | 11/10/2004 | PAUL GONZALEZ VIDELA-The Herald Workers position a truck-mounted drilling rig which will find groundwater samples hundreds of feet below ground level from locations underneath the former site of the American Beryllium Company. As one resident said Tuesday, 'the damage is already done' from groundwater pollution SCOTT RADWAY Herald Staff Writer TALLEVAST - A drill fastened to a large truck bed bored into the ground inside the former American Beryllium Co. plant Tuesday. A nearby air-conditioned mobile laboratory hummed as water samples were tested for cancer-causing solvents. Lockheed Martin crews had begun mapping just how deep and how wide the contamination from the former plant had seeped into the groundwater of this tight-knit, minority community. Across the street, Beatrice Ziegler, 69, was painting her front steps when she learned that Lockheed was taking the next critical step in cleaning up what she calls "the mess." But Ziegler, like other community members, was not struck with relief at the news. Boiling under the surface is unabated frustration at what as residents feel is a wounded community. "It won't help us none. The damage is already done," Ziegler said. "It is good for the next generation, but for us, we are on our way out. I don't think they are going to do anything for us." Residents were shocked in June that the contamination that slithered out from the plant had spread much further than experts thought. Some with wells were drinking water spiked with carcinogenic chemicals. The American Beryllium plant operated from 1961 to 1996. No one knows how long the groundwater has been contaminated. In recent months, scores of questions have also been raised about the exposure of workers at the plant to beryllium - another carcinogen. Some experts suspect workers over the years also carried that substance into the community as dust on their clothes. Looking over at the old plant site, where her husband worked for 21 years, Ziegler said, "Everyone has been here long enough that they got a touch of it. My mother died of cancer, my aunt. My brother. My son Joseph has had asthma all his life." Laura Ward, a resident and president of Family Oriented Community United Strong, said seeing the crews in her neighborhood is more a sign of what went wrong than what is going right in Tallevast. "I wish that it did not have to be done," Ward said. "We are the last surviving, predominantly black community in Manatee County and for this to happen to us is really very devastating." FOCUS was founded three years ago to foster community development programs, not to be an environmental watchdog, Ward said. Lockheed is conducting the water tests and also taking some soil samples as part of a state Department of Environmental Protection consent order. Lockheed bought the American Beryllium Co. plant as part of larger corporate purchase and soon after moved to sell off the property. But during an environmental assessment in 2000 Lockheed found contamination on the site and, as the new owner, took full responsibility for cleaning it. Residents did not find out about the plant contamination until November 2003. Seven months later, state officials found the contamination in residential wells. Remaining Tallevast wells have been tied in with county water lines and state DEP officials have said they cleared a half-mile radius around the plant to ensure no other homes were drawing tainted water. Lockheed has until January to complete this round of groundwater and also take soil samples - related to contaminated soil that might have been trucked to residents' homes. The primary focus though is groundwater, and 104 borings will be made into the aquifer to pinpoint exactly how far the contamination has spread. Once that information is gathered, Meredith Rouse Davis, a senior manager with Lockheed, said a cleanup plan can be designed. Davis said the main contaminant is trichloroethylene, or TCE, which has effectively been removed in other cases around the country. Lockheed officials say they are confident removal efforts will be successful in Tallevast. Lockheed plans to meet with residents Monday to explain exactly how it will take the samples in the community and where the cleanup project is headed. Coupled with that meeting will be an update on a health assessment being conducted by the county and state officials concerning the effects of the groundwater and soil contamination on community members. Davis said she doesn't have high expectations for the meeting, but she and her husband Charlie, who just had a knee replacement, will be there, to say their piece. "I am going to be at that meeting and my husband, too, even if I have to pull him in a wheelchair," Davis said. Scott Radway, environmental reporter, can be reached at 708-7919 or at sradway@bradentonherald.com. ***************************************************************** 28 Bellona: Truck with radioactive scrap metal stopped in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsk The security guards stopped the truck with radioactive scrap metal at the entry to the commercial port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsk, the Russian Far East. 2004-11-10 18:10 On October 19, RIA-Novosti reported that radiation alarm was triggered when a truck was passing the port’s checkpoint. The truck was loaded with scrap metal from the military unit in closed town Viluchinsk. The detected radiation levels were not dangerous. The radioactive cargo was sent back to the military unit for the thorough check of the container content. The Russian most eastern nuclear submarine base is situated near Viluchinsk. Publisher: Bellona Foundation, President: Frederic Hauge Information: info@bellona.no, Technical contact: webmaster@bellona.no Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway ***************************************************************** 29 Des Moines Register: Rail inspectors missed 250-mile toxic leak [DesMoinesRegister.com] Officials say the phosphoric acid loss posed little danger. Investigations are continuing. By REGISTER STAFF WRITER November 10, 2004 A train that dribbled toxic acid across more than half of Iowa over the weekend went unnoticed by a safety net of government agencies and railroad inspectors whose job is to prevent such incidents. It wasn't until hours after the faulty Union Pacific Railroad tank car left Cedar Rapids that it was spotted Saturday night in a Council Bluffs rail yard with a black substance pooled beneath it. Half the tank's phosphoric acid had drained. No one was hurt. Federal and state officials say the 3,973-gallon leak over 250 miles was a rare occurrence and posed only a minor threat. Phosphoric acid can cause skin burns or internal irritation if swallowed. The Federal Railroad Administration, which monitors safety and railroad operations, said Tuesday that the incident - deemed a "nonaccident release" - would be investigated. Mark Davis, spokesman for Union Pacific in Omaha, said the railroad took responsibility and is in the middle of its own investiga- tion. He said another company owned the tank car and contents, but "whenever we accept the shipment from a customer, then that becomes our property, our respons- ibility." Equipment is checked by the railroad's inspectors before it is moved down the tracks, he added. "We know there was a failure here, but what type, we don't know," Davis said. "Whether it was a defective valve or a weld or whatever, we don't know." Davis said Iowans nonetheless "can feel extremely safe and secure materials are transported safely. Railroads are the safest way to transport hazardous materials." Rodney Tucker, senior environmental specialist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said there has been only one railroad-connected hazardous spill in the state this year - a gallon of hydrochloric acid reported in Benton County. "It's very rare when we have anything chemical coming out of railroad cars," Tucker said. "Usually, there are problems when one of the locomotives hits something on the track and punctures a tank." Still, environmentalists say, the incident is troubling because the state is a major rail and highway route for dangerous materials such as gasoline, industrial solvents and nuclear waste. "This is a wake-up call," warned Jane Magers of Earth Care Inc., a Des Moines advocacy group that opposes the shipment of nuclear material. "We are way over our heads in allowing this stuff to be transported. There is no way to assure safety." Warren Flatau, a Federal Railroad Administration spokesman, said the agency is concerned about old equipment on the nation's railroads, but "age wasn't apparently a factor" in last weekend's leak. "Usually, the state of repair of the equipment is pretty good," he said. "It's something that we give close attention to." Flatau said the agency has about 800 employees, many of whom are inspectors who rely heavily on information supplied by the railroads. "Our oversight is done through a variety of means," he said. "We make unannounced visits, inspections and audits." Davis, the Union Pacific spokesman, said an employee spotted the leaking acid at 9:30 p.m. Saturday. State and federal agencies were notified. Council Bluffs firefighters built a dike around the leaky tank car to contain the liquid. "By 1:30 a.m. Sunday, we had the railroad police dispatchers contact all the county sheriff offices between Cedar Rapids and Council Bluffs," he said. Davis said the railroad would pay for cleanup costs. He said there had been no requests so far. "If in our investigation we determine failure was caused somewhere else or by something else, naturally we'll get reimbursed," he said. Copyright © 2004, The Des Moines Register. Use of this site ***************************************************************** 30 PISJ: Battelle alliance wins $4.8 billion INL contract Pocatello Idaho State Journal By Dan Boyd- Journal Writer Part of the job for the new INL contractor Battelle will be dealing with the low level nuclear waste located on the site. Journal photo by Doug Lindley. POCATELLO - Along with a new name, new faces are on the way to Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Tuesday, Battelle Energy Alliance - the leader of a multi-faceted bidding team - was awarded an estimated $4.8 billion Department of Energy contract to manage the new Idaho National Laboratory. Battelle will replace Bechtel, which has supervised the site along with BWX Technologies since 1999, beginning on Feb. 1, 2005. "We found the Battelle team had the qualifications and capabilities we found were necessary for success," said Bill Magwood, director of DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy. "We were very pleased with the plan they brought for the future." Bill Madia, executive vice president for laboratory operations for Battelle, said the entire team was listening in on the phone when the announcement was made Tuesday morning. "There was a gigantic roar," Madia said. "Frankly, the anxiety is pretty high. People are moving their families for this." Madia said the proposal package put together by Battelle and its cohorts focused on a two-step process including separate stages of transition and transformation. The first task facing Battelle at the site will be combining many of the facilities that now make up INEEL with Argonne National Laboratory West. The sites have been run separately, but will soon be united to form the INL - a facility that Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has said will lead next generation nuclear research. "First and foremost, (the contract was appealing) because of its future and its connection with nuclear energy research," Madia said. "We think the energy shortage is a serious problem and nuclear is a component of the solution." The new mission was a major draw for all four teams that submitted contract proposals. During the last decade, the INEEL has focused much of its energy and resources on environmental cleanup, not nuclear research and education, Magwood said. Although the level of federal funding for the new laboratory has yet to be established, Magwood said the new team in place will show congressional leaders that the site can, and will, be effective in its new role. As for the Idaho delegation, various state leaders voiced their excitement at working with the new site contractors. "Selecting a contractor sends an important message of stability to the people of eastern Idaho, while taking a crucial step toward advancing the lab's mission, our state's economy and our national priorities," said recently re-elected Rep. C.L. "Butch" Otter. "Research at the INL on the next generation of cleaner, more efficient nuclear reactors is key to America's energy future." Dan Boyd - Journal Writer"> Tuesday, Battelle Energy Alliance - the leader of a multi-faceted bidding team - was awarded an estimated $4.8 billion Department of Energy contract to manage the new Idaho National Laboratory."> While expressing their disappointment in not being selected to carry on their work, officials from Bechtel also pledged to support Battelle and the INL. "We are proud of the fact that we will turn over a stable laboratory with a bright future," wrote Bechtel BWXT Idaho President and General Manager Paul Divjak in a memo to staffers. "Under our watch, Bechtel BWXT Idaho has installed safety and management systems that put the Idaho National Laboratory on a solid foundation." In addition to Battelle, BWXT, Electric Power Research Institute, Washington Group International and Massachusetts Institute of Technology are among the other team members. With less than three months before the coalition takes control, Madia said it will be important for team members to use their individual strengths for the larger cause in order to make the mission, and the site, a success. "It's no different than putting a football team together," he said. "If you have 11 fullbacks, you're not going to win the game." Copyright © 2004 Pocatello Idaho State Journal P O Box 431 Pocatello, ID 83204-0431 ***************************************************************** 31 Albuquerque Tribune: UNM to have hand in Idaho lab November 10, 2004 -> By Tribune Reporter Students should benefit from the University of New Mexico's partnership in a new contract to operate Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, the dean of the UNM engineering school said today. The Department of Energy selected the Battelle Energy Alliance as the winning bidder for the $4.8 billion, 10-year contract to operate the lab. The alliance includes Battelle Corp., private military contractors and five major universities, led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The other universities are UNM, North Carolina State, Ohio State and Oregon state. "UNM will be involved in educational programs to help train the future work force for nuclear engineering," said Joe Cecchi, dean of the School of Engineering. "We will also be involved in various areas of collaboration in new nuclear power technology research." INEEL - which will change its name to Idaho National Laboratory in February, when the new contract begins - is tasked with developing new nuclear power technologies to fight national and global power shortages, Cecchi said. UNM is still working out the full details of its involvement with the lab, but the collaboration will undoubtedly allow UNM student internships at the lab and lead to an expansion of UNM's nuclear engineering faculty, Cecchi said. "The national university team that MIT is leading, we already have some collaborations with some of those universities, but I think those collaborations will grow," he said. "I think we'll see some of our graduate students going to those schools and some of theirs coming here as a result. I think there will be extensive exchanges." Battelle Corp. approached UNM and asked if it would be willing to participate in the consortium, Cecchi said. The university has unique strengths in space nuclear power and compact nuclear reactors, he said. "Some of that has been an outgrowth of our ongoing relationships with Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories," he said. "UNM has always had a strong nuclear engineering program, but that experience has certainly helped us." Both of New Mexico's national labs are also working to develop new nuclear power technologies, Cecchi said. MIT, which has one of the most prestigious engineering programs in the world, has also worked with other national laboratories in the past, but never on a contract this big, said David Moncton, director of MIT's nuclear reactor lab. Moncton said this morning there should be opportunities for UNM students to work with MIT and use some of its resources as part of the new arrangement. "MIT is quite interested in various partnerships and the roles these other universities can play," Moncton said. "One of the advantages here is that we can significantly enhance the work by partnering with these schools around the country. MIT wants to do everything to enhance opportunities for those local and regional schools." The contract also includes partnerships with three Idaho universities, Boise State, Idaho State and the University of Idaho. © The Albuquerque Tribune. ***************************************************************** 32 Chillicothe Gazette: Safety needs of Piketon plant change - chillicothegazette.com Wednesday, November 10, 2004 Officials to step up controls in facility By Daniel Prazer, dprazer@nncogannett.com Gazette Staff Writer PIKETON -- As the focus of the Piketon uranium enrichment plant has changed, so has its safety needs. United States Enrichment Corp. representatives laid out plans at a public meeting Tuesday to improve safety at the plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Agency, which hosted the meeting, conducts a performance review of the Piketon plant about every two years, said Jay Henson, chief of fuel facility inspection out of the NRC's Atlanta office. This latest review showed the plant was operating safely, but one area, radiological control, needed improvement. The general public outside the plant was never at risk, Henson said. "This was all worker dose issues within the plant," he said. USEC general manager Patrick Musser said the company continues to improve safety. "I think we've got the right kind of corrective action plans in place to deal with the radiological control," he said. Changes in the plant's mission in recent years has led to the need for employees to be more vigilant in terms of safety, Musser said. Now that the plant is cleaning radioactive material to be enriched later at the plant's sister facility in Paducah, Ky., there are more high-radiation areas, he said. And as the Piketon plant has shifted from enriching uranium to maintaining a cold-standby status -- being ready to restart the gaseous diffusion portion of the plant within 18 months to 24 months -- some tasks aren't being performed as often as they once were. As a result, Musser said, employees are being trained more frequently so they stay sharp when called on to perform those tasks. Musser said USEC is working with the workers' unions to devise training regimens that will help to continue to improve performance, heading off potential problems in the future. "I've asked the staff, I said, 'Look, can we get a 10 percent improvement, a 15 percent improvement? We've improved already. Can't we improve a little bit more?'" Musser said. Dan Minter, president of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers Local 5-689, the union that represents workers at the Piketon plant, said USEC's pre-emptive stance was the correct one. "You can't wait for things to happen," he said. "You have to be pre-emptive and seek out areas where you can continue to make improvements because, obviously, failure is not an area that is acceptable in those areas." Safety concerns have grown exponentially over the life of the plant, Minter said, and he noted worker safety goes hand-in-hand with public safety -- none of the employees put their paycheck ahead of their health or safety, and in that sense, they act as a sort of unofficial regulator to USEC. Overall, though, Minter said he's encouraged by the review's results. "The NRC doesn't give good grades, but when you adequately perform, you meet their standards, which is a good thing," he said. "We look at this as an opportunity to improve our safety process." Originally published Wednesday, November 10, 2004 Copyright ©2004 Chillicothe Gazette. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 33 Tri-City Herald: Battelle team given Idaho lab contract This story was published Wednesday, November 10th, 2004 By Annette Cary Herald staff writer A team led by Battelle Memorial Institute has won the contract to operate the Idaho National Laboratory and establish it as a center for nuclear energy research. Battelle operates Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. It also co-manages the national labs in Brookhaven, N.Y., and Oak Ridge, Tenn., and is a team member at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado. The Idaho contract won by the Battelle Energy Alliance will last for 10 years and has an estimated value of $4.8 billion, according to the Department of Energy. Battelle puts the contract value at about $6.5 billion. Unless protests by the losing bidders delay it, it will take effect Feb. 1. Also on the team are BWX Technologies, Washington Group International, the Electric Power Research Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. MIT will lead a national university consortium that includes the major Idaho universities and universities with nuclear engineering programs such as New Mexico, North Carolina State, Ohio State and Oregon State. John Grossenbacher, senior vice president for nuclear science and technology at Battelle, is proposed as director of the laboratory. It's too soon to know if scientists or other personnel at the Richland lab may transfer to Idaho, said Mark Berry, spokesman for Battelle. "Some of our staff will be called upon to assist during the transition," wrote Len Peters, the director of the Richland lab in a message to staff. He said the contract added "great strength to our laboratory operations sector." Battelle, a nonprofit science and technology organization with headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, now oversees 16,000 staff members. The Idaho lab will add about 3,000 staff to oversee. "The Battelle team brings an outstanding reputation, an excellent plan and a superior management team that will make the INL a world-class, multi-program laboratory," said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham in a prepared statement. "This new laboratory was the missing element in our strategy to provide long-term energy security for the nation." The Idaho contract has been divided into two parts, the national lab and the cleanup mission. The cleanup contract has not been awarded. The Idaho National Laboratory will lead an international research and development effort to create an advanced nuclear energy technology. The next generation of nuclear systems is planned to produce inexpensive power and large quantities of hydrogen to reduce the nation's dependence on imported fossil fuel, according to DOE. The Idaho lab will conduct science and technology across a wide range of disciplines. As a multi-program lab, it will have programs in materials, chemistry, environment and computation and simulation, according to DOE. It also will play a role in developing technology for homeland security and preventing the spread of nuclear material. © 2004 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 34 Salt Lake Tribune: DOE keeps mum on preferred option for uranium tailings Article Last Updated: 11/10/2004 12:50:23 AM By Patty Henetz The Salt Lake Tribune The long-awaited draft environmental impact study of what to do with 12 million tons of radioactive uranium ore tailings piled next to the Colorado River near Moab contains a mystery: What does the Department of Energy believe is the best solution? The 1,000-page study, released this week after several months of delay, outlines five possibilities, including capping the debris from the now-defunct Atlas Corp. where it sits, moving it off-site to one of three locations or doing nothing. But unlike most EIS drafts, there is no express preferred alternative - and DOE won't say what it is until after the 90-day public comment period ends in mid-February. Don Metzler, DOE's Moab project manager, said Tuesday that not offering a preference keeps all options open. But others, including Moab residents, environmentalists and members of Utah's congressional delegation, said DOE's dodge subverts good science as well as legislative intent. Moab resident Sarah Fields said she has read the 7-pound study's executive summary and will spend the next week looking over the full report. So far, she is not convinced the DOE fully studied all the issues identified in a National Academy of Sciences 2002 study, whose recommendations included consideration of the anticipated migration of the Colorado River toward the pile. "I don't think they address that in this report," Fields said. Added Bill Hedden, executive director of the Grand Canyon Trust, "Now is the time to read it very carefully and see what analyses [DOE] has offered to help us make the right decision here. Those details will be very important - and very telling." No matter which of the alternatives the DOE eventually chooses, it will clean up the groundwater around the site at an estimated cost of $10.75 million for design and construction plus an annual cost of $906,000. The cheapest alternative for the tailings would be to do nothing, which is unlikely. Capping the tailings in place would cost $166 million and take seven to 10 years to complete. Off-site disposal would cost between $329 million and $464 million, depending on which alternative was chosen. Moving the tailings would take about eight years. Money, as always, will be key. The draft EIS presented all alternatives with the assumption that Congress weren't forthcoming, or were pulled back, "there could be higher human health risks to exposed populations than the EIS estimates because of their more prolonged exposure to radiation from the open Moab pile or the incomplete new disposal cell." Utah Sen. Bob Bennett, who has been instrumental in getting the more than $6 million spent to date on studies and remediation, continues to support moving the tailings, said his spokeswoman Mary Jane Collipriest. The DOE study estimates 12 latent cancer fatalities among the public with any of the alternatives except doing nothing, which would cause 26 latent cancer fatalities. The Energy Department's ultimate decision will affect 25 million people in four states who rely on the Colorado River for drinking water. The uranium, ammonia and other pollutants also threaten the endangered southwest willow flycatcher, a bird that nests along the river, and four endangered fish. Alison Heyrend, spokeswoman for 2nd District Rep. Jim Matheson, said Matheson's "unequivocal position is this tailings pile needs to be moved. Gov. Olene Walker in June wrote to the DOE and also urged the agency to remove the tailings. Bill Sinclair, deputy director of the state Department of Environmental Quality, said the state and the federal Environmental Protection Agency have hired the U.S. Geological Survey to do a study on how the Colorado River has migrated over time. The study is expected by early January. "At sometime in the future, if you have the possibility of the river migrating and inundating the pile, that's a problem," Sinclair said. "The river migration is a deal breaker." --- Tribune correspondent Lisa Church contributed to this report. © Copyright 2004, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 35 [du-list] DU in the news - 10th Nov. 04 Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 14:50:18 -0800 Falluja's defiance of a new empire Guardian Unlimited Tue, 09 Nov 2004 7:24 PM PST George Bush and Tony Blair have apparently concluded that they can crush the Iraqi people's will to resist occupation and legitimise a puppet regime next January by occupying Falluja. Study shows tumbleweeds could remove uranium from soil KRQE Albuquerque Tue, 09 Nov 2004 7:43 AM PST Location: SOCORRO, N.M. A study at the New Mexico Institute of Technolgy and Mining in Socorro has found a use for the ill-regarded tumbleweed. Tumblin' tumbleweeds might roll up uranium Albuquerque Tribune Tue, 09 Nov 2004 10:44 AM PST The answer to uranium contamination in deserts across the world might be blowing in the wind. It turns out tumbleweeds are good for something other than classic cartoon fodder. BWXT and Battelle Energy Alliance Members Win Idaho National Laboratory Contract Stockwatch Tue, 09 Nov 2004 3:34 PM PST Γƒ‚ Γƒ‚ Γƒ‚ Γƒ‚š Γƒβ€š Γƒ‚ McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE:MDR) ("McDermott") annnounced today that the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") has awarded the Battelle Energy Alliance ("BEA"), of which BWX Technologies, Inc. ("BWXT") is a member, a contract valued at $6.5 billion to operate the Idaho National Laboratory ("INL") in eastern Idaho. Commentary Online Journal Mon, 08 Nov 2004 9:48 PM PST Adobe Acrobat Reader required. Click here to download a free copy. November 9, 2004 First, I'm still in shock and awe over the election. The man who was elected is not my president. ELF protesters found guilty The Ashland Daily Press Tue, 09 Nov 2004 8:48 AM PST MADISON Γ’€β€ In a nod to the recent shutdowwn of the Extremely Low Frequency system located near Clam Lake, a federal magistrate on Friday found six peace activists guilty of trespassing during a May demonstration at the transmitter site but didn't fine them. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/FGYolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du-list/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************