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Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject
line and first line of body
NUCLEAR POLICY
1 90 Iraqi Dual-use Sites Looted Or Razed - UN Weapons Of Mass Destruc
2 BBC: Iran defiant over nuclear plans
3 AFP: Iran says joining WTO not an incentive in nuclear talks
4 UN Nuclear Watchdog Urges Dpr Of Korea To Resume Six-party Talks
5 Korea Herald: N.K. nukes most serious threat, says Ban
6 United Press International Analysis: Another puzzle in N. Korea -
7 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: IAEA Calls on N. Korea to Return to Talks
8 Korea Times: Roh Warned of Possible Nuclear Crisis
9 Korea Times: Nuclear-Free Korea Vital to APEC Prosperity
10 Guardian Unlimited: North Korea Postpones Meeting
11 US: [du-list] 3/2 Nuke Watch: Members of Congress Should Not
12 Nuclear Proliferation Threatens Not Just Some States But All, Annan
13 Bellona: Harmonisation of chemical legislation
14 US: RGJ: Land sales are not a ‘windfall’
15 Daily Times: Generals used Khan for Pakistan’s nukes, says US report
16 Guardian Unlimited: Congressman Says Syria Nuke Comment a Joke
17 Guardian Unlimited: Blix Urges Nuclear-Free Middle East
NUCLEAR REACTORS
18 US: Las Vegas SUN: Alaska Community Researches Nuclear Power
19 US: Sacramento Bee: UCD finds multiple uses for reactor at McClellan
20 US: The Herald: Duke gets OK to use new nuclear fuel at Catawba site
21 US: NRC: NRC Issues Annual Assessments for Nation's Nuclear Plants
22 Turkish Daily News: Open door for cooperation in nuclear energy sect
23 US: Hudson Valley News: NRC gives IP good grades
24 US: NRC: NRC Authorizes Use of Mixed Oxide Fuel Assemblies at Catawb
25 US: NRC: FirstEnergy Corporation and FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating
26 US: NRC: Notice of Issuance of Renewed Materials License SNM-2501;
NUCLEAR SAFETY
27 US: [DU-WATCH] Protesters bash Bush, war, military
28 US: SF Chron: Today 25 years ago: Atomic submarine Nautilus decommis
29 Independent: Vietnam War victims of Agent Orange poisoning sue US ch
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
30 Las Vegas RJ: Yucca Mountain foes challenge 1990 decision on nuclear
31 Las Vegas SUN: Tribe files federal lawsuit against Yucca Mountain nu
32 US: Las Vegas SUN: NRC's deadline for opening nuke waste dump is cha
33 Las Vegas SUN: Domenici wants complete review of Yucca's status
34 Las Vegas SUN: D.C. delegation speaks against Bush land sales plan
35 Pahrump Valley Times: County passes Calvada Eye resolution
36 US: PE.com: Baca will chair rocket-fuel panel
37 Pahrump Valley Times: The 'mighty' Amargosa sparks Yucca fear
38 Peace Treaty of 1866 Could Stop Yucca Mountain Project
39 US: Pahrump Valley Times: North Nye residents balk at plan to buy Ra
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
40 Rocky Mountain News: Flats cleanup could be done by October
41 Tri-City Herald: DOE offers tank farm workers options
42 Tennessean: Y-12 security force defends its practices amid probe -
43 SF Chron: New Mexico's senators accuse Energy Dept. of anti-UC bias
44 Tri-Valley Herald: UC seeks new Los Alamos director
OTHER NUCLEAR
45 [du-list] DU in the news - 5th March 05
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FULL NEWS STORIES
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1 90 Iraqi Dual-use Sites Looted Or Razed - UN Weapons Of Mass Destruction Panel
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 15:00:28 -0500
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90 IRAQI DUAL-USE SITES LOOTED OR RAZED – UN WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
PANEL
New York, Mar 4 2005 3:00PM
About 90 of 353 sites in Iraq containing dual-use equipment and materials
that can be used for either peaceful uses or acquiring weapons
of mass destruction (WMDs) have been looted or razed, according
to the latest <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2005/129">report
of the United Nations commission that was in
charge of disarming <"http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=50&Body=Iraq&Body1=">Iraq
of such arms.
The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (<"http://www.unmovic.org/">UNMOVIC),
which withdrew from Iraq on the eve
of the United States-led invasion two years ago, reached this conclusion
based on continuing examination of imagery from sites that
were subject to monitoring, it writes in its latest quarterly
report to the Security Council.
As part of its ongoing investigation into the removal of items, equipment
and materials, mainly as scrap, that were subject to UNMOVIC
monitoring, the Commission notes that four of Iraq's neighbours
– Jordan, Turkey, Kuwait and Syria – have replied to its queries
on whether such materials found their way into or through their
territory, the latest being Syria's negative response. Iran and
Saudi Arabia have yet to reply.
The report also states that the question of the continued existence
of "seed stock," the reference strains of micro-organisms that
can be used in the future production of biological weapons agents,
remains "part of the residue of uncertainty."
"Given its unresolvable nature, the issue could best be dealt with
through monitoring to detect inter alia any possible future activity
associated with biological weapon agent production or significant
laboratory research work," it says.
2005-03-04 00:00:00.000
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*****************************************************************
2 BBC: Iran defiant over nuclear plans
Last Updated: Friday, 4 March, 2005
[Hashemi Rafsanjani]
Mr Rafsanjani said Iran had a right to nuclear power
Iran will not abandon its right to nuclear technology, a former
president and one of the country's most influential politicians
has said.
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani told worshippers at Friday prayers in
Tehran that foreign negotiators faced trouble unless they changed
their approach.
His remarks come after the UN nuclear watchdog called for Iran to
step up its co-operation with nuclear inspectors.
Iran says it wants nuclear power for peaceful purposes.
"I say to Europe, US and the [International Atomic Energy] agency
(IAEA) that this style of confrontation will definitely not bring
you a favourable result, and it will cause trouble for you," Mr
Rafsanjani said.
He added that Iran "will certainly not refrain from its right to
use peaceful nuclear energy".
European negotiators want Iran to abandon uranium enrichment in
return for trade and security benefits.
The US has accused Iran of secretly trying to develop nuclear
weapons - a charge Tehran denies.
However, Washington has suggested it is considering whether to
back the EU initiative.
A high-level meeting of the IAEA ended in Vienna on Thursday with
the board of governors calling on Iran to increase its
transparency about its nuclear activities.
However, the governors expressed optimism about the outcome of
talks between Tehran and Britain, France and Germany.
*****************************************************************
3 AFP: Iran says joining WTO not an incentive in nuclear talks
Friday March 4, 11:04 AM
TEHRAN (AFP) - Allowing Iran to join the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) should not be considered as an incentive
during nuclear negotiations with the European Union, its
commerce minister was quoted as saying. "Whether the United
States and Europe accept it or not, this is not a favour to Iran
and they cannot demand something from Iran in return," Mohammad
Shariatmadari told the student news agency ISNA on Friday.
The minister said Iran joining the WTO would merely benefit the
United States and the EU, by giving them "freer access" to the
Iranian market. WTO membership is one of the "carrots" being
dangled in front of Iran by the European Union's 'big three' --
Britain, France and Germany -- in negotiations aimed at securing
guarantees the clerical regime will not seek nuclear weapons.
The United States, which has consistently vetoed Iran's
membership of the 148-member pact, is also reportedly considering
reversing its position in order to boost the European diplomatic
effort. But Shariatmadari said that if Iran were to join the
bloc, it was the EU and US "who should be providing some
privileges to us" -- and he added that Iran "is not very willing
to join the WTO under the current circumstances."
Supporting Iran's membership of the WTO has been presented by the
EU as a tangible "incentive" for the Islamic republic, along with
a separate trade agreement, easing its security concerns and
offering technological help on peaceful nuclear technology. The
EU is seeking "objective guarantees" that Iran will not develop
nuclear weapons or press on with the capacity to make them -- and
wants Iran to abandon its work on the nuclear fuel cycle,
especially uranium enrichment.
Enrichment is a process which makes nuclear fuel but can also be
the explosive core of atomic bombs. Iran says it only wants to
generate atomic energy, and argues such work is therefore
authorised by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Copyright © 2005 AFP AFP. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
4 UN Nuclear Watchdog Urges Dpr Of Korea To Resume Six-party Talks
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 10:00:16 -0500
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UN NUCLEAR WATCHDOG URGES DPR OF KOREA TO RESUME SIX-PARTY TALKS
New York, Mar 4 2005 10:00AM
Declaring actions by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)
a “serious challenge” to efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear
weapons, the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency has called
on the country to resume at an early date, without preconditions,
six-party talks seeking a peaceful solution to the crisis.
Noting earlier calls by its General Conference for the DPRK to completely
dismantle any nuclear weapons programme under credible international
verification, the International Atomic Energy Agency
(<"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2005/bog0303_dprk.html">IAEA)
Board of Governors expressed “its serious concern” over the
DPRK’s suspension of participation in the talks and its announcement
“The Board emphasized the importance of continued dialogue to achieve
a peaceful and comprehensive resolution of the DPRK nuclear
issue, and attached great importance to the crucial role played by
the six party talks in this regard,” Chairperson Ingrid Hall of
Canada said in a statement yesterday on the 35-member panel’s deliberations
In the so-called Beijing process, the six parties – the DPRK, the
Republic of Korea (ROK), China, Japan, the Russian Federation and
the United States – undertook, in the words of the Board, “peaceful
efforts to address the serious challenge posed by the DPRK nuclear
The Board noted that the DPRK, which withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT) in 2002, had yet to take any of the
steps the panel has urged to allow a resumption of on-the-spot verification,
and thus the IAEA was still not in a position to provide
any assurances about nuclear material and activities in the DPRK.
But it also noted the DPRK’s commitment to solve the issue through
dialogue and negotiations and its stated goal of denuclearizing
the Korean Peninsula, as well as its statement last month indicating
“In this regard, the Board strongly encouraged all the parties concerned
to redouble their efforts to facilitate an early resumption
of the six party talks with a view to achieving a peaceful resolution
of the DPRK nuclear issue, and urged particularly the DPRK
to agree to the resumption of the six party talks at an early date
2005-03-04 00:00:00.000
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5 Korea Herald: N.K. nukes most serious threat, says Ban
(bluelle@heraldm.com) By Choi Soung-ah
2005.03.05
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon yesterday called the ongoing North
Korean nuclear issue "one of the most serious threats to peace
and prosperity" on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the world.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the APEC Senior Officials
Meeting in Seoul, Ban said South Korea, along with the entire
region, is facing the challenge of addressing the nuclear
standoff and all concerned nations are "striving to find a
peaceful solution" to the issue through the six-party talks.
"It is our sincere hope that the North Korean nuclear issue will
be resolved as quickly as possible," he said. "This will be a
vital element in fostering a stable and peaceful environment
conducive to building an economic community in the APEC region."
Officials from the 21 APEC member governments attend the first
session of the APEC Senior Officials Meeting that opened in
Seoul yesterday. [The Korea Herald]
The senior officials meeting or SOM is the first official APEC
gathering hosted by South Korea, the chair country of this
year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit scheduled for
Busan in November. Some 800 participants, including senior
officials from the 21 APEC member governments have joined the
two-day conference. APEC members altogether account up to half
of the world's trade and 60% of global GDP.
Ban also said the APEC's mission is to move forward in efforts
to build an "open and free trade and investment environment in
the Asia-Pacific region."
"This task is of such importance due to the weight that APEC
members take in the world economy," he said.
South Korea has played a key role in APEC as one of the
founding members since its inception in 1989, and also played
host to the 3rd APEC Ministerial Meeting in 1991, at which the
Seoul Declaration was adopted, according to Ban.
"In this regard, we have the momentous task of not only
achieving the advancement of APEC, but also working for the
smooth resolution of global issues."
The APEC SOM meeting is set to cover a wide range of regional
and global issues, including fighting corruption, promoting
transparency, human security, anti-terrorism, energy security,
and preparing against natural disasters.
At the opening ceremony, Ban and all participants paid a silent
tribute to the millions of victims of the Dec. 26
earthquake-tsunami disaster in South Asia.
"We are very grateful for the APEC members having collectively
expressed their active support for us on all possible occasions.
It is our hope that the APEC members will continue to render
their valuable support," Ban said.
Under the theme "Towards One Community: Meet the Challenge,
Make the Change," APEC 2005 represents its aspiration to take
meaningful and substantial steps toward building an Asia-Pacific
community.
*****************************************************************
6 United Press International Analysis: Another puzzle in N. Korea -
March 04, 2005
By Jong-Heon Lee UPI Correspondent
Seoul, South Korea, Mar. 4 (UPI) -- South Korean officials and
analysts were puzzled on Friday when North Korea announced that
it would delay its legislative session due to start next week.
Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency gave no valid
explanation for the abrupt postponement of a Supreme People's
Assembly (SPA) session, just saying the decision was made at the
request of deputies to the SPA "in all domains of the socialist
construction."
The official media said the new date of the session would be set
later. North Korea announced last month that it would convene a
session of the North Korean version of parliament on March 9.
It is the first time North Korea has postponed a planned SPA
session. The assembly convenes once or twice a year to approve
budgets or major policy decided by the ruling Workers' Party.
The 687-member unicameral assembly, chaired by North Korea's No.
2 leader Kim Yong Nam, is constitutionally the highest organ of
state power, exercising legislative power. Kim Yong Nam serves as
the country's official head of state as the chairman of the SPA
Presidium.
The country's dictator, Kim Jong Il, rules the reclusive nation
in the capacity of the chairman of the National Defense
Commission and supreme commander of the People's Army. The
1.1-million-strong armed forces, the world's fifth largest, are
the backbone of Kim's iron-fisted rule.
Seoul's government officials say the postponement of the SPA
session seems attributable to "technical" domestic problems in
the North.
"I think North Korea might have decided to delay the session due
to a lack of preparations in drawing up the budget," a senior
government official told United Press International.
"North Korea is focusing its policies this year on agriculture
to ease its chronic food shortages. It may be facing some
troubles in setting aside the budget for the farming sector," he
said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Officials ruled out political unrest in Pyongyang as the reason
for the postponement. "The North's power structure remains
unchanged, and its leader Kim Jong Il has been carrying out his
official duties as normal," said an official at the Unification
Ministry.
But some analysts here interpret the postponement of domestic
political event as a move to concentrate its efforts on finding a
way out of the deepening nuclear standoff amid growing U.S.-led
pressures.
The delay comes at a time when North Korea is raising the stakes
in the 28-month nuclear standoff with the United States.
North Korea stunned the world last month by declaring it has
manufactured nuclear weapons and was pulling indefinitely out of
the multilateral disarmament talks. It also threatened to use
atomic bombs to counter any U.S. nuclear strike.
The Stalinist nation further ratcheted up its threat this week
when it threatened to resume long-range missile testing and
demanded that the United States apologize for calling the
reclusive country "an outpost of tyranny."
In a lengthy foreign ministry statement issued on Wednesday
night, North Korea said it was "no longer bound to the moratorium
on the missile launch," adding the move was caused by "hostile"
U.S. policy.
North Korea rattled nerves in Asia and Washington in August 1998
by firing a long-range ballistic Taepodong missile over Japan
that landed in the Pacific. Facing international pressures, North
Korea promised to keep its moratorium on missile tests until at
least 2003.
Some analysts predict North Korea could test-fire ballistic
missiles capable of loading nuclear warheads, which would sharply
raise military tensions on the Korean peninsula. The communist
state is now believed to be developing longer-range missiles that
could strike western parts of the United States, such as Alaska
and Hawaii.
In response, The U.S.-led allies are stepping up pressure on
North Korea. Lawmakers in both houses of the U.S. Congress have
recently introduced a pro-democracy bill, which would oblige
Washington to actively work for democracy and freedom in North
Korea and elsewhere.
The move comes after the United States enacted the North Korean
Human Rights Act aimed at promoting human rights and freedom in
North Korea. Japanese and South Korean lawmakers are also moving
to follow by enacting a similar bill.
Tokyo has already passed two laws allowing it to ban North
Korean ships from Japanese ports and cut off remittances sent by
Koreans in Japan to the cash-strapped North.
North Korea has angrily reacted to the moves, blasting them as a
concerted scheme to topple the North's political system through
its use of human rights issues.
"By delaying the planned SPA session, North Korea wants to show
the world that it is now concentrating all its efforts on the
nuclear issue that could determine the fate of the communist
regime," said Paik Hak-soon, a North Korea analyst at the Sejong
Institute in Seoul. "The North seems consider the nuclear issue
as a matter of survival," he said.
Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea specialist at Dongguk University in
Seoul says the postponement of the SPA session is largely aimed
at tightening domestic control over the people by raising
military tensions within country to cope with mounting outside
pressures.
Many analysts say the SPA will convene a session in the near
future for an approval on budget bills. If held, the session is
also expected to announce further surprising military measures.
In September 2003, the SPA endorsed a government decision to
increase its "nuclear deterrent force" by reprocessing 8,000
spent nuclear fuel rods to extract weapons-grade plutonium.
[UPI Perspectives]
*****************************************************************
7 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: IAEA Calls on N. Korea to Return to Talks
Updated Mar.4,2005 16:55 KST
Thursday urged North Korea to return to six-party nuclear
disarmament talks promptly and unconditionally.
The IAEA board of governors convened its fourth day of meetings
Thursday, with the 35 member states unanimously adopting the
chairperson's statement while strongly pressing for a prompt
reconvening of the six-party talks.
The IAEA "emphasizes the importance of continuing dialogue to
achieve a peaceful and comprehensive resolution of the DPRK
nuclear issue and attaches great importance to the crucial role
played by the six party talks in this regard," the statement
read. It urged North Korea to come back to the table
unconditionally.
A chairman's statement carries more weight than summary
statements adopted by every board of governor's meeting since
North Korea withdrew from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT) in 2003 as it is an expression of the combined will of the
board rather than a summary of different positions.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
*****************************************************************
8 Korea Times: Roh Warned of Possible Nuclear Crisis
Hankooki.com > The Korea Times
By Shim Jae-yun
A leading opposition lawmaker warned yesterday the lingering
standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons program could evolve
into a crisis unless checked.
``Members of the Grand National Party foresee another nuclear
crisis on the Korean Peninsula with the lax response on the part
of the South Korean government and the failure of its North
Korean policies,'' said Rep. Park Jin, chairman of the party's
international relations committee.
``If there is no visible progress in resolving the North Korean
nuclear problem, the Roh administration will have to revise its
North Korean policy,'' Park said during an annual meeting of the
Korea-U.K. Forum for the Future at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul.
Park pointed out that despite Pyongyang's nuclear declaration,
the South Korean government remains optimistic in saying it is
too early to officially designate North Korea a nuclear state.
For the goal of achieving the denuclearization of North Korea by
peaceful means, he strongly urged the Roh administration to
directly address the problem, criticizing its insensitivity and
groundless optimism toward the dangers posed by North Korea.
But Park gave high marks to Roh's policy for strengthening the
alliance between South Korea and the United States.
``The party welcomes his policy, which is yet to achieve
concrete results but is steering toward a strengthened alliance
with the U.S.,'' Park said.
It is rare for an opposition member to praise current government
policy toward the U.S. during an official function.
He also acknowledged the priority Roh has placed on pragmatism
and his anti-corruption drive coupled with administrative
reform.
``Although bribery has not been totally eliminated in Chong Wa
Dae or among high-ranking government officials, the `corruption
index' is now lower than for past administrations,'' he said.
Roh has been employing a pragmatic approach for pending issues
such as in security and the alliance with the U.S.
Roh's move was accepted as a shift in policy, as the head of
state formerly pursued ideological policies, largely preferring
a progressive reform drive.
Participants in the meeting included Foreign Affairs and Trade
Minister Ban Ki-moon, former foreign minister and forum's
president Han Seung-soo and former Prime Minister Kang
Young-hoon from the Korean side. British dignitaries included
forum's president Lord Richard, forum's chairman Paul Newall and
British Ambassador to Korea Warwick Morris.
Rep. Park and Rep. Chung Eui-yong delivered speeches on Korean
politics and North Korean issue while Tony Colman MP spoke on
behalf of the British side. The second day session today will
deal with economic issues between the two nations.
Park re-emphasized his party's commitment to implementing a
``North Korean Marshall Plan,'' to economically aid North Korea
with the international community, and a roadmap toward
reunification if North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons
program and adopts economic reforms.
He cited the need to carefully review the North Korean aid
program and inter-Korean exchanges to coordinate with efforts to
resolve the issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.
``Although South Korea has put in enormous efforts toward aiding
North Korea and holding dialogue, North Korea has chosen to
declare itself a nuclear state as part of its brinkmanship,'' he
said.
``Another point agreed by the GNP and a sector of society is
that inter-Korean reconciliation is an important foundation for
peace on the Korean Peninsula, and should not be used as a
political tool by the ruling administration,'' he said.
03-04-2005 17:21
Participants discuss ways to improve relations between South
Korea and the United Kingdom during the 13th Korea-U.K. Forum at
the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, Friday. / Yonhap
*****************************************************************
9 Korea Times: Nuclear-Free Korea Vital to APEC Prosperity
Hankooki.com > The Korea Times > Nation
Nuclear-Free Peninsula Vital to APEC Prosperity:Foreign Minister
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter
A peaceful and quick resolution to the North Korean nuclear
issue is a ``vital elementˇŻˇŻ in creating economic prosperity
for the whole Asia-Pacific region, Minister of Foreign Affairs
and Trade Ban Ki-moon said Friday.
In his opening remarks at a meeting of senior officials of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum at a Seoul hotel,
he asked for the support of 21 member states for South KoreaˇŻs
efforts towards a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
``South Korea and the countries concerned are striving to find
a peaceful solution to the North Korean nuclear issue through
the six-party talks,ˇŻˇŻ he said, showing strong hope that the
nuclear issue will be resolved ``as quickly as possible.ˇŻˇŻ
``This will be a vital element in fostering a stable and
peaceful environment conducive to building an economic community
in the APEC region,ˇŻˇŻ Ban said. ``WeˇŻre very grateful to APEC
members for giving us their active support on all occasions. It
is our hope they will continue to render their valuable
support.ˇŻˇŻ
The gathering was the first Senior OfficialsˇŻ Meeting (SOM) of
the APEC forum to culminate in the APEC summit in November in
the southeastern port city of Pusan.
Throughout the year South Korea will host several more SOMs and
other ministerial meetings in cities across the nation,
including the resort island of Cheju, to work out agreements to
be adopted at the summit.
``WeˇŻre gathered here today to achieve the mission of moving
forward in efforts to build an open and free trade and
investment environment in the Asia-Pacific region,ˇŻˇŻ Ban told
the foreign delegates.
He stressed the task is of such importance given the weight
APEC members carry in the global economy, noting that they
account for as much as half the worldˇŻs trade and 60 percent of
its total GDP.
APEC was formed in 1989 to facilitate economic growth,
cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.
But the forum has dealt with more security and political issues
in recent years.
APEC 2005 will be an important venue in terms of
counter-proliferation efforts as all the heads of state involved
in the nuclear standoff, except North Korea, will take part in
the two-day summit.
The ongoing nuclear standoff erupted in the autumn of 2002,
when the United States accused North Korea of having a secretive
weapons program based on highly enriched uranium (HEU), which
the North denied.
The two sides have held negotiations three times along with
other regional powers, including China, Japan, Russia and South
Korea, but no clear breakthrough was made.
The six parties agreed in the last round of talks in Beijing
last June to gather again in the same place by the end of
September, but North Korea has been boycotting the fourth round
citing the U.S. ``hostileˇŻˇŻ policy.
There has been talk that North KoreaˇŻs leader Kim Jong-il
might be invited to the APEC summit, but officials have said
``itˇŻs very unlikelyˇŻˇŻ unless the nuclear issue sees a clear
breakthrough.
Technically, North Korea could be invited to the APEC forum as
a non-member observer country, but even that might require the
approval of APEC members.
Experts point out that it might take some more time before
North Korea and the U.S. strike a deal to end the nuclear
standoff, citing that it required more than a couple of years
for them to conclude the first nuclear crisis in 1994.
jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr 03-04-2005 15:38
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon, left, shakes
hands with a participant after delivering opening remarks at a
meeting of senior officials of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, Friday. /
Yonhap
*****************************************************************
10 Guardian Unlimited: North Korea Postpones Meeting
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Friday March 4, 2005 2:01 AM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea has decided to postpone a
meeting of its rubber-stamp legislature, the communist country's
official news agency said Friday, without elaborating on the
reasons for the delay.
The decision comes as international efforts to lure the North
back to nuclear disarmament talks are gaining momentum. North
Korea flouted the U.S. and its allies on Feb. 10 by announcing
it had built nuclear weapons and would boycott the six-nation
talks indefinitely.
The Supreme People's Assembly, originally scheduled to convene
next Wednesday, will be postponed ``at the requests made by
deputies,'' the North's Korean Central News Agency said in a
short dispatch. It added that a new date will be announced
later.
The legislature usually meets once or twice a year to approve
budgets or discuss policy. At a meeting in 2003, it also
approved the government's decision to increase its ``nuclear
deterrent force.''
The assembly is not a forum for robust debate, usually signing
off on policies already set by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's
inner circle.
Top U.S. and Chinese negotiators to the nuclear talks agreed
Thursday in Seoul to try to bring the North back to the
negotiating table as soon as possible. China has hosted three
rounds of inconclusive disarmament talks since 2003.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
11 [du-list] 3/2 Nuke Watch: Members of Congress Should Not
Date: Fri, 04 Mar 2005 20:23:09 -0800
Members of Congress Should Not Advocate for Nuclear War
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
4201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20008
Tel: (202) 244-2990, Fax: (202) 244-3196, E-mail: adc@adc.org _www.adc.org_
(http://www.adc.org)
March 2, 2005, Washington, DC -- Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) has advocated for
attacking Syria with nuclear weapons. Rep. Johnson was quoted telling a
recent church gathering, "Syria is the problem. Syria is where those
weapons of
mass destruction are, in my view. You know, I can fly an F-15, put two nukes
on 'em and I'll make one pass. We won't have to worry about
Syria anymore."
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is outraged at Rep.
Johnson's statement advocating for mass destruction and genocide and views
this
as a sad day in our country's tradition when an elected member of the United
States Congress openly advocates for attacking another country with nuclear
weapons.
ADC calls upon Rep. Johnson to provide an immediate and public explanation
for his remarks. Additionally, ADC calls on the White House to publicly
distance itself from such un-American views. In a letter faxed to Rep.
Johnson
today, former congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar, president of ADC, said,
"While we
recognize the current differences between the Bush Administration and the
Syrian Government, these differences should be addressed in negotiations
at the
conference table, in coordination with our international partners, rather
than confrontation in the battle field by using nuclear weapons," Oakar
continued, "Advocating for genocide by nuclear attack against any country is
completely unacceptable and contrary to our American values and traditions."
Oakar said, "These remarks have no place in the United States Congress."
ADC urges its members, supporters, and friends to contact Rep. Johnson and
request a clarification and, if necessary, an immediate apology. Rep.
Johnson
can be reached at:
District Office- 2929 North Central Expressway
Suite 240
Richardson, TX 75080
Phone (972) 470-0892
Fax (972) 470-9937
Washington Office- 1211 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone (202) 225-4201
Fax (202) 225-1485
ADC Letter to Rep. Johnson:
March 2, 2005
Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX)
1211 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
VIA FACSIMILE: 202-225-1485
Dear Congressman Johnson:
I am writing you on behalf of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee (ADC), which was established in 1980 by former US Senator James
Abourezk
and is today our nation’s largest membership organization dedicated to
protecting the civil rights and liberties of Americans of
Arab descent. The purpose
of this letter is to request an immediate clarification to remarks attributed
to you demonstrating your advocacy for using nuclear weapons against Syria
or any country.
Specifically, our members in the Dallas metro area contacted ADC concerning
this matter. You were quoted as saying at a recent church gathering,
“Syria
is the problem. Syria is where those weapons of mass destruction are, in my
view. You know, I can fly an F-15, put two nukes on 'em and I'll make one
pass. We won't have to worry about Syria anymore.” If these remarks are
correct as attributed to you, ADC and the Arab-American community both in the
Dallas area, Texas, and on the national level are outraged and demand a
retraction
or explanation.
While we recognize the current differences between the Bush Administration
and the Syrian Government, these differences should be addressed in
negotiations at the conference table, in coordination with our
international partners,
rather than confrontation in the battlefield using nuclear weapons. We are
sure that you would not want to see any harm to any civilians let alone to
the
tomb of John the Baptist, St. Paul’s Church where he converted to
Christianity, and the ancient icons of St. Luke, all of which
are historical treasures
of significance to all faiths located in Syria.
Advocating for genocide is completely unacceptable and contrary to our
American values and traditions. Indeed, it is a sad day when an elected
member of
the United States Congress openly advocates for attacking another country,
any country, with nuclear weapons. The remarks attributed to you demonstrate
that you are an advocate for mass destruction and genocide. These remarks
have no place in the United States Congress.
Before we contact our national constituency, it is our hope that this was a
result of some misunderstanding and that a clarification of this issue will
help resolve the matter. I look forward to hearing from you soon concerning
this urgent issue.
Very truly yours,
Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar (Ret.)
President
Cc: President George W. Bush
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
=================================================================
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12 Nuclear Proliferation Threatens Not Just Some States But All, Annan Says On Treaty's 35th Anniversary
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 14:00:09 -0500
X-Spam-Level:
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NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION THREATENS NOT JUST SOME STATES BUT ALL, ANNAN
SAYS ON TREATY'S 35TH ANNIVERSARY
New York, Mar 4 2005 2:00PM
It is imperative to recognize that nuclear proliferation threatens
not just some states but all, United Nations Secretary-General
Kofi Annan said today in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=1334">statement
marking on the 35th anniversary of the Treaty
on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
"Thus all States Parties should agree to necessary measures for more
credible verification and enforcement for the NPT," he declared.
"Given the grave perils that nuclear proliferation poses for all
states, the <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dda/WMD/treaty/">NPT has been
a true cornerstone of global security," he said, noting that the
pact, which with 188 States Parties is the most universally supported
international treaty, has defied gloomy predictions that
today there would be between 15 and 50 nuclear weapon states.
But today the NPT confronts profound challenges to its effectiveness
and credibility, he added, stressing that at the <"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2005/npt_2005.html">NPT
Review Conference
in May these challenges will test the commitment of all countries
to the treaty's three pillars - non-proliferation, disarmament
and peaceful uses of nuclear technology.
"Progress in both disarmament and non-proliferation will be essential,
and neither should be held hostage to the other," he said.
"Recent efforts by nuclear weapon states towards disarmament should
be recognized, yet the unique status of these States also entails
unique responsibility. They should do even more to inspire confidence
in their commitments," he added.
"And while the right to peaceful uses of nuclear technology should
be preserved, States Parties should agree to exercise this right
in conformity with non-proliferation obligations, and with due
regard for current challenges to the NPT," he declared.
2005-03-04 00:00:00.000
________________
For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
To change your profile or unsubscribe go to:
http://www.un.org/news/dh/latest/subscribe.shtml
*****************************************************************
13 Bellona: Harmonisation of chemical legislation
The 3-year-old REACH proposal, designed to improve European
information about, and protection from, harmful chemicals
represents a giant step towards increased control and regulation
on substances with harmful effects on human health and the
environment.
Gunnar Grini, Marius Dalen, 2005-03-04 15:22
Current European Union (EU) legislation for chemical substances
is a patchwork of many different directives and regulations,
which has developed over time. Existing legislation does not
provide sufficient information about the effects of the majority
of existing chemicals on health and the environment and does not
obligate manufactures and industrial users of new chemicals to
provide information regarding possible health and environmental
effects.
The REACH Directive
The REACH initiative will impose that industry evaluate and
handle the environmental risks associated with the import an
production of chemicals in the EU. Two looming problems are that
there is little information about the chemicals in use in
Europe, and, secondly, that the public has the burden of proving
risks. The REACH initiative proposes that all producers or
importers of chemicals in quantities of over one tonne per year
bear the onus of informing the public.
The Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals
(REACH) system was proposed by the EU Commission on October 29th
2003. The two most important aims of this system are to enhance
the competitiveness of the EU chemicals industry and to improve
protection of human health and the environment from the risks of
chemicals though REACH.
The proposed REACH regulation will represent a harmonisation of
the legislation of both new and existing chemicals for the
entire EU, and furthermore place the responsibility of providing
information for health and environmental effects on the industry
itself. REACH has the potential pushing European industry
towards sustainability. In the long term REACH will also
increase the competitiveness of the chemical industry because it
gives European producers and manufactures incentives to develop
cost-efficient ways of meeting future environmental legislation.
Inclusion of intermediates and radioactive substances
There is no doubt that REACH represents a giant step towards
greater control of the use of harmful chemicals. So far the
initiative does not include substances used as intermediates in
production, despite the fact that some of the highest
concentrations of harmful chemicals are found at production
facilities.
High concentration of harmful substances in production
facilities might cause severe health damages for workers with
daily exposure. Therefore it is important that the REACH
directive include intermediates and impose the same requirements
on the producers and importers as those governing chemicals used
in products.
The same principle holds for radioactive substances, which so
far have been defined as outside the scope of REACH. Radioactive
substances have obviously harmful effects on human health and
the environment, but traditionally these have not been regulated
in the same legislation and other chemicals. The implementation
of REACH is a golden opportunity to change this, and impose of
the producers and users of such substances to provide
information on the properties and risks of using radioactive
substances in production. In a harmonised chemical legislation,
it is only fair that radioactive substances are controlled by
the same demands imposed on other chemicals.
Bellona has argued for the development of a plan for phasing in
radioactive substances into the language of the REACH directive.
The inclusion of radioactive substances should take place within
five years from the start of the REACH registration.
Volume or risk; an either or question?
In the EU there is an ongoing debate over whether harmful
chemicals should be phased into the REACH directive based on
volume produced or on the risk of harmful effects on health and
environment. The argument from the industry is that it would be
wise to prioritise the most dangerous chemicals first. It is
also claimed that this would lighten the administrative burden
on the industry. However, there are many chemicals, especially
old substances, about which there is little or no knowledge of
the effects they might have on human health and the environment.
A system only based on risk might exclude chemicals that are
produced in great amounts with lesser known impacts on health
and environment Therefore it is important that the commission
not veer from its approach wherein the time schedule for the
phase-in of the substances is decided depending on volume
manufactured.
However there are cases where it is possible to prove a
substance used in great volume to be harmless to human health
and the environment. The Bellona Foundation believes that all
substances within the scope of REACH will not need to undergo
the full registration dossiers. There is a danger that the REACH
system might place a heavy administrative burden on the
industry, dulling their competitive edge against competitors in
other parts of the world. This might especially apply to small
down-stream users.
The Bellona Foundation suggests the obligatory performance of a
risk assessment by certain pre-determined criteria. This should
be used to decide whether the substances can be considered
harmless and placed in Annex II and III of the REACH proposal
which exempts certain substances and materials from
registration. This approach will also clarify that criteria
apply for the chemicals to be listed in the annexes.
Read Bellona's new position paper
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
*****************************************************************
14 RGJ: Land sales are not a ‘windfall’
[Reno Gazette-Journal] [Reno Gazette-Journal] March 04, 2005
Reno, Nevada, USA 775-788-6200 [ BORDER=] Special Offers at
3/2/2005 10:35 pm
Topic: Federal land sales Our View: The funds are repayment to
the state for a bad deal it was forced to make in 1864.
Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton was wrong when she told a
Senate committee on Tuesday that Nevada is reaping a windfall
from the sale of federal land in Clark County.
“The funding for projects in Nevada is far more than is
available anywhere else in the country,” Norton was reported to
have said after the hearing on the Interior Department’s budget.
Well, yeah. After all, the percentage of the state owned by the
federal government (an estimated 87 percent) is far more than
anywhere else in the country (in Alaska, it’s about 80 percent).
The money that Nevada gets to spend from the sale of federal
lands isn’t a windfall; it’s repayment — not very generous
repayment at that — for a bad deal it was forced to make when it
became a state 141 years ago. The fact that land in Clark County
is fetching so much more than expected is just an indication of
how bad the deal really was.
As part of the statehood process, Nevada had to accept the
federal government’s claim to all of the public land in the
state and agree, according to the Nevada Constitution, that
“…the unappropriated public lands … shall be and remain at the
sole disposition of the United States…”
That’s a requirement that no other territory had to meet to
become a state (some Nevadans argue that it also was illegal),
and the result is that the federal government controls the vast
majority of the Silver State. That leaves many small communities
land-locked and economically depressed because they are unable
to expand to bring in new businesses. It also allows the federal
government to ride roughshod over the state’s wishes, trying to
force on it, for instance, a nuclear waste repository at Yucca
Mountain.
In fact, Rep. Jim Gibbons practically had to beg Congress a few
years ago to deed over to Elko County a 2-acre cemetery in
Jarbidge that residents had been using for nearly a century.
That shouldn’t be necessary for a sovereign state.
Despite the land sales in the Las Vegas area, however, the
percentage of the state owned by the feds hasn’t gone down in
recent years because much of the money that the sales have
raised has been spent to buy more land for the public … often
environmentally sensitive land in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The
government has made out pretty well from the program.
Fortunately, the state’s entire congressional delegation and
Gov. Kenny Guinn oppose this federal money grab. They understand
that there’s more at stake than just the few dollars that
President George W. Bush wants to apply to his budget. The
question is whether folks in Washington, D.C., are going to
continue treating Nevada like a second-class citizen.
Nevada gave up a lot when it accepted Congress’s demands to
become a state in 1864. It’s only fair that Nevada get something
back for the bad deal. The approximately $1.6 billion generated
by land sales, swaps and auctions since 1999 seems like a good
start.
Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Gannett Co. Inc.Newspaper.
*****************************************************************
15 Daily Times: Generals used Khan for Pakistan’s nukes, says US report
Saturday, March 05, 2005
WASHINGTON: A disarmament group has claimed that Pakistan used
the Khan network for 25 years to “obtain technology, components,
and materials for its own nuclear weapons.”
The Arms Control Association (ACA), a Washington-based group
formed in 1971 to promote arms control, in an article by Leonard
Weiss in its March newsletter to members states that though Dr
Khan’s activities had been tracked by US intelligence for “more
than two decades, little attempt had been made to roll up the
network he created. Rather than focusing on this profound
long-term strategic danger to national security, the United
States had chosen to pursue short-term, tactical foreign policy
gains with Pakistan.”
But according to a briefing given to Pakistani journalists on
February 1, 2004, by Lieutenant General Khalid Kidwai, commander
of Pakistan’s Strategic Planning and Development Cell, Dr Khan
signed a 12-page confession in which he admitted to providing
Iran, Libya, and North Korea with technical assistance and
components for making high-speed centrifuges used to produce
enriched uranium.
In addition, according to three of the 20 Pakistani journalists
who attended the briefing, Khan was defending himself by saying
that he was pressured to sell nuclear technologies by two (now
deceased) individuals associated with Bhutto, that nuclear
assistance to Iran was approved by then army chief General Mirza
Aslam Beg, and that the deal with North Korea was reportedly
supported by two former army chiefs, one of whom now Pakistan’s
ambassador to the United States.
Describing it as a “misguided policy approach”, the writer
charges that the Bush administration has chosen to subordinate
nonproliferation goals, including fully breaking apart the Khan
network, to the short-term goal of building a relationship with
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Nor has Bush proposed a
long-term strategy to prevent a similar network from taking
birth in the future.
Tracing the history of US-Pakistan relations, Weiss notes that
the US turned a blind eye during the Afghan war to Pakistan’s
nuclear programme that allowed Dr Khan to “obtain all the
technology, materials, and equipment needed to build nuclear
weapons.” He writes that the National Security Agency (NSA) was
“routinely intercepting faxes and telexes from high-tech firms
in Germany and Switzerland looking for a Pakistani nuclear
connection and they were aware of assistance coming from firms
in Turkey.
Indeed, dozens of démarches were issued to the Turkish
government during the late 1970s and 1980s protesting ongoing
shipments of electrical components - many of them made in the
United States - to Pakistan. Turkey claimed that its export laws
were insufficient to allow the government to interfere with such
trade. After some time, Turkey passed a stronger export control
law, but its enforcement was feeble. Additionally, the US
government refused to acknowledge the Turkish role officially
because doing so would have required the cutoff of military
assistance to an important NATO ally.”
According to Weiss, the Reagan and Bush administrations “did all
they could to keep Congress in the dark about the details of the
Pakistani programme.” Richard Kerr, a senior CIA official, has
said that Pakistan had the bomb by 1987, something that Benazir
Bhutto confirmed in an interview to the Voice of America this
week. When she visited the United States in 1989, she was told
that the determination of “no possession” made that year would
be the last one. “Yet, there is little evidence that any of
Khan’s suppliers were shut down at the time. Khan realized that
he could use the network he had created, now also including
Pakistan’s nuclear infrastructure, to enable other countries
with nuclear ambitions to obtain critical components and
materials for their own weapon programmes, with Pakistan (and
Khan) reaping large rewards in the process.”
Iranian nuclear scientists began to receive training in Pakistan
beginning in 1988. Assistance was also provided to Iran’s
centrifugue programme in 1989. The Khan laboratory began
publishing brochures, distributed at arms fairs, advertising
equipment for sale that was useful in the construction and
operation of centrifuges, including vacuum devices to enable
rotors to spin in relatively frictionless chambers. “The Khan
laboratory was not the only one, however, touting sales and
delivery of equipment useful for nuclear-enrichment purposes. In
1999, following its nuclear-weapon tests the previous year, the
Pakistani government put out its own advertisement of procedures
for the export of nuclear equipment and components. The ad also
listed equipment for sale, including ‘gas centrifuges and magnet
baffles for the separation of uranium isotopes.’ ”
Weiss states that the ads had the desired effect and other
countries began viewing Pakistan as a source for building
nuclear weapons. Khan was contacted and began selling off
surplus centrifuges and components. Shipments were sometimes
made using official government cargo planes to middlemen in
other countries, who were used to disguise the origin of the
cargo.
Khan later arranged for parts to be ordered through his
middlemen and to be delivered directly from his network sources.
The spectrum of supplies that could be provided by the network
included older and advanced centrifuges, bomb design (based on
the original Chinese design given to Pakistan in 1983),
electronic components, and advanced materials. The network also
provided logistical and technical assistance.
The sales, claims the article, were not only producing funds for
support of Dr Khan’s laboratory; they were also helping Pakistan
in its development of missile capability, a programme that was
run out of the Khan laboratory as well. For years, North Korea
had been selling missiles to Pakistan. Pakistan had been paying
cash for the missiles but ran into a foreign currency reserves
crunch around 1996. At that point, it is believed, the North
Koreans agreed to a barter transaction involving the provision
of centrifuges in exchange for missiles. Iran is believed to
have been the first customer of Pakistan/Khan nuclear sales.
khalid hasan
Daily Times - All Rights Reserved
*****************************************************************
16 Guardian Unlimited: Congressman Says Syria Nuke Comment a Joke
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Friday March 4, 2005 11:01 PM
DALLAS (AP) - A congressman who raised eyebrows with recent
remarks about personally wanting to drop a nuclear bomb on Syria
now says he was joking.
The Feb. 19 remarks by Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, at a church
pancake breakfast were first reported this week in Roll Call.
The Capitol Hill newspaper reported it had heard a recording of
the talk made by someone in attendance.
According to Roll Call, Johnson said he was talking with
President Bush and GOP Rep. Kay Granger at the White House about
weapons of mass destruction that troops failed to find in Iraq.
According to Roll Call, Johnson said he told the president:
``Syria is the problem. Syria is where those weapons of mass
destruction are, in my view. You know, I can fly an F-15, put
two nukes on 'em and I'll make one pass. We won't have to worry
about Syria anymore.''
Johnson, 74, is a former Air Force combat pilot who served in
Korea and Vietnam, where he was shot down and spent 7 years as a
prisoner of war.
Johnson did not respond to a request for comment by The
Associated Press on Friday. However, he told The Dallas Morning
News that he was surprised anyone took his comments seriously
and has never advocated a nuclear strike on Syria.
``I was kind of joking - you know, we were talking between
veterans,'' he said. He added that President Bush knew he was
joking.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
17 Guardian Unlimited: Blix Urges Nuclear-Free Middle East
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Friday March 4, 2005 8:01 AM
AP Photo NY124
By CHARLES J. HANLEY
AP Special Correspondent
NEW YORK (AP) - Iraq's nuclear past and Iran's possible nuclear
future should spur the world toward making the Middle East -
including Israel - a zone free of weapons of mass destruction,
arms expert Hans Blix says.
After all, Blix points out, even without Saddam Hussein the
``new'' Iraq still has the technical know-how to resurrect its
nuclear bomb program if it feels threatened by neighbors.
The former chief U.N. arms inspector, who helped oversee the
dismantling of Iraq's weapons programs, sets out proposals for a
less ``nuclearized'' world in a 27-page epilogue to a new,
paperback edition of his book ``Disarming Iraq,'' first
published a year ago.
In the intervening year, more evidence has accumulated to debunk
U.S. claims that Iraq had current nuclear, chemical and
biological weapons programs, the Bush administration's stated
rationale for invading that country two years ago. American arms
hunters now acknowledge the weapons didn't exist.
Blix's criticism of U.S. leaders and their British allies,
sometimes muted in the past, grows sharper in this updated book,
published by Bloomsbury of London.
Their ``exaggeration and spin'' and ``shrill'' claims ``helped
to mislead the world into believing there were stocks of weapons
of mass destruction in Iraq ready for use,'' the Swedish
ex-diplomat writes of the Bush White House and British Prime
Minister Tony Blair.
The chief U.S. weapons hunter, Charles Duelfer, has conceded
that the ousted government of President Saddam hadn't built such
arms since 1991, when U.N. inspectors, including experts of the
Blix-led International Atomic Energy Agency, began destroying
weapons stocks and equipment after the first Gulf War.
In his report in October, Duelfer contended, without presenting
hard evidence, that Saddam in 2003 still ``intended'' to rebuild
the weapons in the future. But Blix notes that Iraq would have
remained under intrusive, open-ended U.N. monitoring for years
to come, controls that had long been planned but that the Bush
administration repeatedly ignored in raising alarms over a
supposed Iraqi threat.
Now, with the U.N. inspectors driven out by the U.S.-British
invasion, Iraq still has ``the theoretical and technical
know-how'' to revive advanced weapons programs, Blix writes,
including the expertise built up by hundreds of Iraqi nuclear
scientists and engineers in the atom-bomb project that was
aborted in 1991.
Add to that neighboring Iran's status as a ``near nuclear weapon
state,'' one whose secretive program is the subject of
international negotiation, and the situation ``should trigger a
more active discussion of the idea of a zone free of weapons of
mass destruction in the Middle East, including Israel and
Iran,'' Blix writes.
Although Israel will neither confirm nor deny it, experts
believe it has between 75 and 200 nuclear weapons.
Arab nations also have pressed for the Middle East to be free of
weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons. In
spring 2003 Syria urged the United States to support a U.N.
resolution banning such weapons in the region.
The proposed resolution, which was clearly aimed at Israel,
called on all Middle East countries to ratify the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, the nuclear test ban treaty and the
conventions to control chemical and biological weapons.
Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell said at the time that the
United States supported the idea of a Middle East free of
weapons of mass destruction but first wanted progress toward
peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Blix also notes that the 1991 Security Council resolution
authorizing the U.N. disarmament of Iraq envisioned a negotiated
prohibition on ``WMD'' in the Middle East.
Iran says it favors such a Mideast no-nukes zone, while Israeli
leaders say any negotiations would have to await a settlement of
the Arab-Israeli conflict. Under various treaties, nuclear
weapons-free zones already exist for Latin America, Africa and
the South Pacific.
Blix writes that with a Mideast zone in mind, it would be unwise
to shut down the U.N. weapons inspection office in charge of
dismantling Iraq's chemical, biological and long-range missile
programs. Its future may soon be taken up by the Security
Council.
Blix headed the inspectors' office, the U.N. Monitoring,
Verification and Inspection Commission for Iraq, in 2000-2003,
and says its chemical, biological and missile experts could also
serve the council in other crises involving advanced weapons.
He now leads an international Weapons of Mass Destruction
Commission, financed by the Swedish government.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
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18 Las Vegas SUN: Alaska Community Researches Nuclear Power
Today: March 04, 2005 at 13:56:46 PST
By DAN JOLING ASSOCIATED PRESS
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -
Electric stoves are a convenience, but in the Yukon River city
of Galena, many people pass them by - the appliances suck up
more juice than residents can afford.
With Galena tucked into the western part of Alaska, diesel oil
that powers the electrical plant must be towed 350 miles by
barge. Customers pay 30 cents per kilowatt hour, compared to a
national average of 8.71 cents, so they cook with propane, turn
off lights and limit television time.
In need of relief, the community of 700 people is turning to
nuclear power. But Galena's plant would be far different from
other U.S. commercial nuclear power plants - at 10 megawatts, it
would be downright tiny.
City officials met recently with staff from the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission to discuss licensing a plant being
developed by Toshiba Corp. that could be a test case for
providing cheap power to rural communities.
"Some people believe nuclear is coming around again," said
Marvin Yoder, Galena's city manager.
The smallest U.S. commercial nuclear power plants are the Fort
Calhoun Nuclear Plant, 19 miles north of Omaha, Neb., and the
Ginna Nuclear Plant, east of Rochester, N.Y. Both have
electrical output of 470 megawatts, roughly 45 times larger than
what Toshiba is contemplating, said NRC spokesman Scott Burnell.
Joe Williams, an NRC senior project manager in the new reactors
section, described the meeting with Galena officials as a
get-acquainted session to hear about the city and lay out the
formidable process for building a nuclear plant.
Williams and Burnell stressed that the commission's role is not
to discuss whether nuclear power is a viable alternative for
rural America, but to ensure that reactors are safe.
Few places are as rural in America as rural Alaska and options
for low-cost power are few. Galena is 185 miles west of the
nearest link to the nation's highway system. Diesel oil is
shipped to residents on the Yukon and Tanana rivers.
Like all of Interior Alaska, Galena experiences wild temperature
extremes, from a summer high of 92 to a winter low of 64 below
zero.
"It's a little bit like people in Florida getting used to
hurricanes," Yoder said. "Cars don't like to run. You hope the
windows are insulated good. If they aren't, you feel the cold
coming right through."
A reactor would be a dramatic contrast with Galena's austere
infrastructure. Its roads are gravel, and only a few homes are
on a piped water and sewer system. Most have water delivered and
sewage pumped out of holding tanks.
Galena began considering nuclear power after determining that
wind and solar power were impractical and that coal was too
costly. After discussions with Toshiba, city officials concluded
nuclear power would be the cleanest and least expensive
alternative, lowering costs to 10 cents per kilowatt hour.
Toshiba officials said the small reactor would not be
operational for five to 10 years. The actual reactor would be
about 7 feet tall and 30 inches in diameter and would be near
the bottom of a concrete tube about 60 feet below the ground.
The reactor's fuel, which has not been specified, would stay
encapsulated for 30 years, unlike fuel at a conventional reactor
that is routinely replenished.
Yoder expects an encased reactor, with few moving parts using a
low-grade plutonium or other fuel that could not be reused for
weapons, would be cheaper to operate and protect than a
conventional reactor.
It will take at least another two years to determine whether
Galena is an appropriate site for a reactor. It also remains to
be seen whether such a small plant presents economies of scale
that would allow such a tiny plant to pay for security costs,
disposal of spent fuel and other expenses.
"We don't have information to be able to judge that at this
point," the NRC's Williams said.
If it's successful in Galena, there are likely to be
applications elsewhere.
Yoder said no opposition has surfaced at City Council meetings,
but attributed that to the fact that there are so many unknowns
and that the council's endorsement must be renewed again in two
years.
Yet Galena's neighbors on the Yukon River, the fourth-largest
drainage basin in North America and home to the world's largest
inland salmon run, have misgivings. Rob Rosenfeld of the Yukon
River Intertribal Watershed Council, an organization created by
the Yukon's indigenous people to protect the river, said
villages around Galena worry about the experimental status of
the reactor and what would happen to spent fuel.
Paul Gunter, director of the Reactor Watchdog Project for the
Nuclear Information and Resource Service in Washington, D.C.,
voiced concerns about how a reactor would stand up to the harsh
Alaskan climate.
"This design pushes all those envelopes to an extreme," he said.
---
On the Net:
www.nrc.gov
www.toshiba.com
--
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19 Sacramento Bee: UCD finds multiple uses for reactor at McClellan -
sacbee.com
By Walt Wiley -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, March 4, 2005
When McClellan Air Force Base was going full-blast repairing
airplanes and airplane components, a nuclear reactor was part of
the equipment base workers used.
The device had nothing to do with nuclear weapons or generating
electricity. It was strictly a tool to inspect aircraft
components to see that they were sound. It was brand new in
1990, so when the government announced five years later that the
base would be closed it raised the question of what to do with
the reactor.
In 2000 the Air Force turned it over to UC Davis, hoping the
school could use it for medical research, perhaps brain tumor
treatment.
The move seems to have worked, and medical research is only
part of the picture.
New uses for the reactor keep cropping up regularly, said David
Slaughter, the reactor's administrator and director of UCD's
reactor program who came aboard in June 2004 after serving as
director of a nuclear program at the University of Utah.
"I'm loving it," Slaughter said. "It's wonderful to know we
have this kind of facility, and we haven't even tapped into its
full potential."
Though the installation was not built for academic research, it
is proving fruitful for that purpose, he said. Like other
research reactors, it is classified as a TRIGA (Training,
Research and Isotope production General Atomic) reactor.
Of all the TRIGA units in the United States, the McClellan unit
is the newest and most powerful, rated at 2 megawatts.
TRIGA reactors are rated in watts and megawatts, but they do
not generate electricity. They also are much smaller than
power-generating reactors, and are passive devices that require
no action to make them safe.
The McClellan reactor was built to inspect airplane parts to
detect early hints of corrosion and other weaknesses, Slaughter
said. It works like a sort of X-ray machine, except that it uses
neutron radiation instead of X-rays to see through materials.
The installation at McClellan was designed to handle airplane
parts and includes a large bay with robot positioning systems to
handle samples up to 34 feet long, 12 feet high and weighing 2
1/2 tons.
If researchers want to expose samples to radiation, even high
doses in the core of the reactor, the facility has a variety of
irradiators to hold the materials ranging in size from that of a
one-pound coffee can down to the size of a cigar.
The reactor can produce flat films and three-dimensional
images. For medical research, it makes radioactive isotopes,
mainly Iodine-125, which is used in medical research and in
treating certain cancers.
Then there is radiation hardness testing and neutron activation
analysis, which is used to find the elements in a sample.
There are about 25 workers at the nondescript, blocky building
in the center of what is now McClellan Park in North Highlands,
Slaughter said, plus five graduate students in engineering and
geology. "We have five this year, but I expect we'll have 10
grad students next year," Slaughter said.
The reactor works on a budget funded equally by the university,
government and industry, he said. Jobs of late have included
studies of the vulnerability and survivability of materials in
outer space. There have been studies for the U.S. Department of
Energy and the National Institutes of Health. There have been
analyses of agricultural materials and products.
One upcoming job may be analyzing components of aging airplanes
for the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection, he said. "That'll be getting us
back to the business the Air Force had in mind in the
beginning," Slaughter said.
About the writer:
+ The Bee's Walt Wiley can be reached at (916) 321-1063 or
wwiley@sacbee.com.
[The Sacramento Bee] - Get the whole story every day -
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20 The Herald: Duke gets OK to use new nuclear fuel at Catawba site
Updated: 03/04/05
By Jason CatoThe Herald
LAKE WYLIE -- The Catawba Nuclear Station will begin using
weapons-grade plutonium as fuel this spring, after the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission approved Duke Power's application on
Thursday.
The approval process to use mixed-oxide, or MOX, fuel took more
than two years. Duke has faced opposition from groups concerned
about the safety of such fuel and the possibility that the plant
could become an increased terrorist target.
The Catawba plant will be the first commercial nuclear reactor
in the United States to use MOX fuel, although more than 30
plants in Europe have used the fuel for decades.
Tim Pettit, a Duke spokesperson, said the company is excited
that the NRC granted a license to use MOX fuel and said the
approval further underscores the company's reputation.
"Duke Power has always been respected and recognized as a
leader of commercial nuclear power in the United States," Pettit
said.
The NRC said a thorough review of the Catawba plant
demonstrated the test MOX program will comply with the agency's
strict safety requirements.
"We found that there is reasonable assurance that use of the
MOX fuel at Catawba will be safe and will comply with the
commission's regulations," said Tad Marsh, director of the NRC's
Division of Licensing Project Management, in a written
statement. "Additional protective measures proposed by Duke will
provide enhanced security for the MOX fuel assemblies, beyond
the measures currently in place for the conventional uranium
fuel."
MOX assemblies, or fuel rods, contain 5 percent plutonium oxide
and 95 percent uranium oxide, the fuel that is now used at the
Duke plant. The fuel rods are being made in France. The 15-foot,
1,500-pound rods will be shipped to Charleston, then trucked to
York County. Once they reach Catawba, the assemblies will be
stored in the spent fuel pool with hundreds of other visually
identical uranium assemblies.
Opponents of the MOX program, including the Blue Ridge
Environmental Defense League and Greenpeace, have expressed
safety concerns about the transporting and storage of
weapons-grade materials.
The Blue Ridge group filed several safety complaints with the
NRC about the MOX program. In December, the NRC's Atomic Safety
and Licensing Board ruled the program would not endanger the
public health and safety.
Officials with the Blue Ridge group and Greenpeace could not be
reached Thursday night.
During the three-year test phase, Catawba will have four MOX
assemblies among the 193 assemblies in the core of Unit 1. MOX
will account for roughly 2 percent of fuel in that core.
After being in the reactor for two cycles (which run about 18
months each), the plutonium will no longer be weapons grade,
Duke officials said.
A full MOX program could be up and running by 2010, Duke
officials have said. At that point, 36 to 40 MOX assemblies will
be used in the core. Those assemblies will account for 40
percent of the plant's output. Before that can happen, Duke
power would have to undergo another approval process with the
NRC. In addition to the Catawba plant, Duke also plans to
request that MOX fuel be allowed at the McGuire Nuclear Station
on Lake Norman, north of Charlotte.
The MOX program is designed to dispose of 34 tons of plutonium
taken from nuclear weapons by burning it in U.S. nuclear
reactors. The same will be done in Russia to reduce that
country's stockpile of nuclear material.
Jason Cato " 329-4071
jcato@heraldonline.com
-Heraldonline.com Staff
Copyright © 2005 The Herald, Rock Hill, South Carolina
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21 NRC: NRC Issues Annual Assessments for Nation's Nuclear Plants
News Release - 2005-04 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office
of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC
20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 05-042 March 3, 2005
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued annual assessment
letters to 102 of the nations 103 operating commercial nuclear
power plants. The Davis-Besse nuclear facility in Ohio will not
be issued an annual assessment letter by the agency because it
is currently under a special NRC oversight program.
These letters give interested members of the public an overview
of how the plants have performed, said Bruce Boger, Director of
the Division of Inspection Program Management in the NRCs Office
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. The NRC will meet with the
licensees of each plant to publicly discuss their performance
over the past year.
A separate announcement will be issued for each plant meeting.
In addition to the annual assessment letters, plants also
receive an NRC inspection plan. Updated information on plant
performance is posted to the NRC web site every quarter. Most
plants also receive a mid-cycle assessment letter during the
year; the next mid-cycle letters will be issued in September.
The assessment letters sent to each licensee are available on
the NRC web site at:
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/index.html and through
ADAMS, the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System.
Help in using ADAMS is available from the NRC Public Document
Room by calling (301) 415-4737 or (800) 397-4209.
Last revised Friday, March 04, 2005
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22 Turkish Daily News: Open door for cooperation in nuclear energy sector
tdn.com.tr
Friday, March 4, 2005
Turkish PM and South African vice president say cooperation in
the peaceful use of nuclear energy a possibility
ANKARA Turkish Daily News
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdođan and South African Vice
President Jacop Zuma, who met in South Africa on Thursday, said
they were open to the possibility of cooperation in the field of
nuclear energy.
Prior to their meeting both sides signed agreements regarding
economic and trade cooperation and customs. At a joint press
conference after the meeting, Erdođan stated that the current
level of trade between the two countries is around $1.2 billion,
with the trade balance in favor of South Africa. Erdođan added
that Turkey desired a more balanced level of trade.
Erdođan was asked by a journalist on whether or not there were
any developments concerning a joint effort of the two countries
in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, an issue voiced during
the South African deputy president's visit to Turkey.
Erdođan said, “We indicated that we are ready for such steps
to be taken but that we would not be part of any effort that
would jeopardize peace.” Noting that there is fierce competition
in technology and industry in the world, Erdođan said that
energy forms the greatest input cost for these sectors and
countries that obtain energy the cheapest become the rulers in
these markets.
Answering the same question Zuna said: “The relevant minister
and deputy minister of the two sides discussed the matter. Work
groups will be established to examine the prospect in greater
detail. They will allow each other some time and will get back
to us.” Zuna also noted that he supported a peaceful resolution
to the Cyprus problem.
© 2004 Dogan Daily News Inc. | Rights and Permissions
turkishdailynews.com.tr: Contact Us | About
turkishdailynews.com.tr | E-mail Newsletters | Archives | Media
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23 Hudson Valley News: NRC gives IP good grades
Friday, March 4, 2005
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the Indian Point Two and
Three nuclear power plants improved significantly during 2004.
In a March 2 letter, the NRC said, Overall, Indian Point
operated in a manner that preserved public health and safety and
fully met all cornerstone objectives.
James Steets, Indian Points spokesman for owner Entergy Nuclear
Operations, was pleased with the report. Entergy is fully
committed to operating the plants safely, he said. Theyve
invested the money to make sure that happens, done the training
and were quite pleased with results that weve had. Steets said
the company Is not going to sit on our laurels; you can always
make improvements.
The NRC letter said, Overall performance at Indian Point has
improved over the last few years.
MidHudsonRadio.com, the Hudson Valley's
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24 NRC: NRC Authorizes Use of Mixed Oxide Fuel Assemblies at Catawba Nuclear Power Plant
News Release - 2005-04
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200
Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov
No. 05-043 March 3, 2005
Corp. to use four mixed oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies, containing
uranium and plutonium, as part of the nuclear fuel at its
Catawba nuclear power plant near Rock Hill, S.C.
NRCs careful and thorough safety review addressed the areas of
reactor systems, radiological dose consequences, spent fuel pool
cooling, reactor vessel materials, occupational dose and routine
effluents, and quality assurance to ensure that the plant, in
using MOX fuel, will operate in compliance with the agencys
strict safety requirements.
We found that there is reasonable assurance that use of the MOX
fuel at Catawba will be safe and will comply with the
Commissions regulations, said Tad Marsh, Director of NRCs
Division of Licensing Project Management. Additional protective
measures proposed by Duke will provide enhanced security for the
MOX fuel assemblies, beyond the measures currently in place for
the conventional uranium fuel.
The NRC also conducted an environmental assessment, which
concluded that the proposed use of the MOX fuel assemblies would
not have a significant effect on the quality of the human
environment.
Duke filed an application in February 2003 to amend its
operating license at Catawba to allow use of the four MOX fuel
assemblies. The dimensions and layout of the four MOX fuel
assemblies, which will be placed among 189 other conventional
fuel assemblies in the reactor, are very similar to those of the
fuel assemblies currently in use at Catawba.
Fresh nuclear fuel used in commercial power reactors in this
country contains uranium. As the reactor operates, some of the
uranium is converted to plutonium that is also usable as a fuel.
Thus current reactors in this country use both uranium and
plutonium in their reactor fuel. Dozens of European reactors use
mixed oxide fuel obtained from recycling or reprocessing
plutonium extracted from spent European power reactor fuel.
The MOX fuel assemblies designed for use in the Catawba reactor
were produced by combining surplus plutonium from dismantled
U.S. nuclear weapons with uranium into a form that can be used
by commercial nuclear power plants. The program to use surplus
plutonium in nuclear power plants in order to eliminate the
plutonium as a weapons material is part of the ongoing
U.S.-Russian plutonium disposition program, being implemented by
the U.S. Department of Energy. This usage of the MOX fuel
assemblies at Catawba is the first use of MOX fuel in a
commercial power reactor in support of this disposition program.
Copies of the staffs evaluation, environmental report and their
supplements will be available on the NRCs Agencywide Document
Access and Management System (ADAMS) at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html. Help in
using ADAMS is available from the NRCs Public Document Room
(PDR) by calling 301/415-4737 or 1/800/397-4209.
An NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board held a hearing on Dukes
request to use the MOX fuel assemblies. The Board issued its
decision on the safety aspect of that hearing on Dec. 22, 2004,
finding that there is reasonable assurance that the proposed use
of the MOX assemblies in Catawba will not endanger the public
health and safety.
Although the Licensing Board has not issued a decision on the
security aspect of the hearing, NRC regulations and procedures
permit issuance of the license amendment after completion of the
staffs safety and environmental review, provided the amendment
would not (1) involve a significant increase in the probability
or consequences of an accident previously evaluated, (2) create
the possibility of a new or different kind of accident, or (3)
involve a significant reduction in a margin of safety. On July
12, the NRC published in the Federal Register for public comment
its proposed determination that those three conditions were met
for the Catawba request. Following evaluation of comments
received, the agency finalized that determination, and is now
issuing the license amendment.
Last revised Friday, March 04, 2005
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25 NRC: FirstEnergy Corporation and FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating
FR Doc 05-4174
[Federal Register: March 4, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 42)]
[Notices] [Page 10694] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr04mr05-130]
Company; Notice of Receipt and Availability of Application for
Renewal of Beaver Valley Power Station, Units 1 and 2 Facility
Operating License Nos. DPR-66 and NPF-73 for an Additional
20-year Period The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or
Commission) has received an application, dated February 9, 2005,
from FirstEnergy Corporation and FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating
Company, filed pursuant to sections 104b (DPR-66) and 103
(NPF-73) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and 10 CFR
part 54, to renew the operating licenses for the Beaver Valley
Power Station, Units 1 and 2, respectively. Renewal of the
licenses would authorize the applicant to operate each facility
for an additional 20-year period beyond the period specified in
the respective current operating licenses. The current operating
license for Beaver Valley Power Station, Unit 1 (DPR-66) expires
on January 29, 2016. The current operating license for Beaver
Valley Power Station, Unit 2 (NPF-73) expires on May 27, 2027.
Beaver Valley Power Station, Units 1 and 2 are pressurized water
reactors designed by Westinghouse. Both units are located near
Shippingport, PA. The acceptability of the tendered application
for docketing, and other matters, including an opportunity to
request a hearing, will be the subject of subsequent Federal
Register notices.
Copies of the application are available for public inspection at
the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville,
Maryland 20582 or electronically from the NRC's Agencywide
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic
Reading Room under accession number ML050540047. The ADAMS Public
Electronic Reading Room is accessible from the NRC Web site at
In addition, the application is available at .
, on the NRC Web page, while the application is under review.
Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems
in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the
NRC's PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, extension (301)
415-4737, or by e-mail to .
A copy of the license renewal application for the Beaver Valley
Power Station, Units 1 and 2, is also available to local
residents near the Beaver Valley Power Station, Units 1 and 2, at
the B. F. Jones Memorial Library, 663 Franklin Ave., Aliquippa,
PA 15001. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 23 day of February
2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Pao-Tsin Kuo, Program Director, License Renewal and Environmental
Impacts, Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 05-4174 Filed 3-3-05 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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26 NRC: Notice of Issuance of Renewed Materials License SNM-2501;
FR Doc 05-4175
[Federal Register: March 4, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 42)]
[Notices] [Page 10695] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr04mr05-131] [[Page 10695]]
Virginia Electric and Power Company, Surry Independent Spent Fuel
Storage Installation The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC
or the Commission) has issued renewed Materials License SNM-2501
to Virginia Electric and Power Company (Dominion) for the
receipt, possession, transfer, and storage of spent fuel at the
Surry Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI),
located in Surry County, Virginia. The renewed license authorizes
operation of the Surry ISFSI in accordance with the provisions of
the renewed license and its Technical Specifications.
The application for the renewed license complies with the
standards and requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (the
Act), as amended, and the Commission's regulations. The
Commission has made appropriate findings as required by the Act
and the Commission's rules and regulations in 10 CFR Chapter 1,
which are set forth in the license. Public notice of the proposed
action and opportunity for hearing regarding the proposed
issuance of the renewed license was published in the Federal
Register on January 14, 2003 (69 FR 1871).
Supporting documentation is available for inspection at NRC's
Public Electronic Reading Room at:
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ADAMS.html. A copy of the license
application, dated April 29, 2002 as supplemented October 6,
2003, and the staff's EA, dated February 2005, can be found at
this site using the ADAMS accession numbers ML021290068,
ML032900118, and ML040560156. Any questions should be referred to
Mary Jane Ross-Lee, Spent Fuel Project Office, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Mailstop O13D13,
telephone (301) 415-3781; fax number (301) 415-8555.
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 25th day of February, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Mary Jane Ross-Lee, Senior Project Manager, Licensing Section,
Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 05-4175 Filed 3-3-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
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27 [DU-WATCH] Protesters bash Bush, war, military
Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2005 00:39:11 -0600 (CST)
"I donbt think the American people are fully aware of what the
depleted uranium is doing not only to Iraqis, but also to our own
soldiers."
Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2005 8:24 AM Subject: [gulf-chat] News2
Protesters bash Bush, war, military Jim Shelton, Register Staff
02/26/2005
WEST HAVEN b A determined patchwork of veterans and concerned
citizens lashed out Friday at the war in Iraq, as well as proposed
changes in veteransb medical benefits and the use of depleted uranium
by the U.S. military.
About 30 protesters gathered outside the Veteran Affairs medical
center, holding placards and passing out leaflets, as passing
motorists honked in support.
"Ibm concerned about benefits and Ibm concerned about the Bush
administra-tion," said Jack Mordente, director of veteransb affairs
at Southern Connecticut State University.
The protesters noted that the presi-dentbs proposed budget would
increase veteransb prescription co-payments from $7 to $15, among
other changes.
Al Marder, a noted local peace activ-ist and also a veteran of World
War II, wore his Bronze Star to the protest.
"The treatment of our veterans is de-plorable," he said. "I donbt
think the American people are fully aware of what the depleted
uranium is doing not only to Iraqis, but also to our own soldiers."
A New Haven soldier, Persian Gulf War veteran Melissa Sterry,
testified in Hartford recently that depleted-uranium ammunition and
armor have led to chronic health problems for her.
"The government is turning its back on these soldiers. The
administration is not supporting our troops," said pro-tester Hubert
Woodard, chairman of Veterans for Peace Chapter 33 in New Haven.
Woodard, one of the organizers of the protest, said publicity for
the event led several veterans to call him in support.
Many of the protesters took pains to explain they had no quarrel
with the local Veteran Affairs medical center.
However, one counter-demonstrator wanted to make that point
particularly clear.
"I agree with a lot of these guys, but theybre in the wrong place,"
said Jason Muldoon, 34, of West Haven, a Green Beret who served in
the Gulf War and in Afghanistan.
Muldoon was in a wheelchair. He took shrapnel in his left leg while
serving in the military.
"They need to be up in Hartford," Muldoon said of the protesters.
"This hospital runs very well."
Iraq ideal situation for illness Experts see disorder more in new
veterans, but stress is old thorn
By ROGER W. HOSKINS BEE STAFF WRITER Last Updated: February 27,
2005, 04:38:57 AM PST There is a reason more service personnel are
returning from Iraq with mental and emotional problems than at any
time since the Vietnam War.Steve Robinson, director of the Gulf War
Resource Center in Washington, D.C., described the fighting in Iraq
for a Tennessee TV station."It's a 360-degree threat, above you and
below you. There's difficulty in identifying the enemy."As a combat
veteran of the Persian Gulf War, Robinson said it's not easy for
soldiers to turn off the stress. "That's not good for the heart,
for the soul to be in a traumatic situation for extended periods
of time."Denver Mills supervises treatment of veterans in the East
Bay and Modesto-Stockton regions at the Concord Vet Center.Mills
said his center is averaging one new case per day of Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder among recent Iraq veterans."Anytime anyone goes
through a combat experience, it's going to have an effect, and the
people closest to a veteran are going to notice changes," Mills
said.Constant war threat takes tollPTSD is one of the more common
disorders in America, he said."It can come when people are in traffic
accidents and they don't want to get in a car again or they have
nightmares. The difference in combat is the increasing number of
traumatic events or anticipation of them lasts a lot longer. The
body reacts physically to perceived threats," said Mills. "These
hormones are good for survival. It's why little old ladies can lift
cars."But for some veterans, they don't come down over time. They
can't sleep. They're hyper-alert or hyperactive. It's a memory
disorder that is complicated by physical reaction and it can be
chronic."Mills said acute stress disorder will happen in most of
the men and women coming back from a combat zone, but "that should
taper off in four to six months. If it goes on longer, the vet
should seek help."And he pointed out that Veterans Affairs offers
help for free. "I have seven therapists working here and counselors
in Modesto, Stockton, Sonora and San Andreas. They are all specialists.
All the!
vet nee
Story last updated at 2:46 AM on February 27, 2005
In unconventional war, Army's gender rules don't keep women out of
combat By Robert Burns AP Military Writer WASHINGTON -- When a
roadside bomb in Iraq exploded on Feb. 9, Army Sgt. Jessica M.
Housby became the 21st female soldier killed in action since the
war began nearly two years ago.That may seem a small number, given
that hostile deaths among U.S. troops recently surpassed 1,000 and
is getting closer to 1,500 when fatal accidents and other nonbattle
deaths are included.But by historical measure it is high, and
reflects the fundamentally different nature of this war, where even
a truck driver such as Housby is a target.No one is suggesting that
women be kept off the modern-day battlefield. But some question
whether an Army that is being reconfigured to respond swiftly and
more effectively to conflicts such as the one in Iraq is placing
some female soldiers in what amounts to the front lines of fighting.As
in past wars, women are barred from units assigned to direct ground
combat. That keeps women out of the infantry, armor, artillery,
combat engineers and Special Forces. But it does not keep them out
of danger.The nature of combat itself has changed a great deal in
Iraq since the toppling of Baghdad in April 2003. Within weeks a
violent insurgency took hold. It remains a deadly force.In Iraq,
there is no front line in the traditional sense of armies fighting
armies. The front lines are everywhere -- at a site where insurgents
lay an ambush, plant a roadside bomb, lob a mortar or detonate an
improvised car bomb.Thus it is not just infantrymen, trained to
kill in close combat, who are dying in Iraq, although they are
taking the heaviest losses. Soldiers whose roles are categorized
as ''support,'' where most of the women in the U.S. military are
found, sometimes find themselves in the insurgents' line of
fire.Housby, 23, from Rock Island, Ill., had been in Iraq since
October as a member of the Illinois Army National Guard's 1644th
Transportation Company. Two other female soldiers of the Illinois
Guard have been killed in Iraq -- one by mortar fire, the other by
a roadside bomb.In all, 31 fe!
male sol
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28 SF Chron: Today 25 years ago: Atomic submarine Nautilus decommissioned at Mare Island
Laura Perkins
Friday, March 4, 2005
Here is a look at the Bay Area's past. Items have been culled
from The Chronicle's archives of 25, 50 and 75 years ago.
1980
March 4: The submarine Nautilus, the world's first atomic ship
and first vessel of any kind to reach the North Pole, is
decommissioned at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. The Nautilus had
her first sea trial on Jan. 17, 1955, and sailed under the ice
at the North Pole on Aug. 5, 1958.
March 5: Officials of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
announce final plans to acquire 55 acres of the threatened
Antioch Dunes on the Contra Costa County banks of the San
Joaquin River. The valuable land is home to rare plants and
insects, including the Contra Costa wallflower and Lange's
metalwork butterfly.
-- The National Football League's other 27 teams sue the Oakland
Raiders, claiming it would be a breach of contract for the team
to move to Los Angeles without their permission. This is one of
a number of recent legal actions involving the Raiders. The City
of Oakland has taken legal action to take over the franchise
under eminent domain.
March 7: The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory will stop flushing
radioactive tritium down its drains because residues have
appeared near Livermore's sewage treatment plant. The amounts
are within drinking water standards.
-- The Bay Conservation and Development Commission unanimously
approves a $150 million development on the Alameda side of the
Oakland Estuary. Plans for the 206-acre Alameda Marina Village
site include 1,000 residential units, 300, 000 square feet of
commercial space and 110,000 square feet of offices.
-- Alameda County Superior Court Judge Allen Broussard sets a
hearing date for Al Davis to face contempt charges for trying to
move the Raiders to Los Angeles in defiance of a judge's order.
March 8: Gov. Jerry Brown appoints film director Francis Ford
Coppola to replace Jane Fonda on the California Arts Council.
Coppola was selected after Fonda's nomination was angrily
rejected by the state Senate in 1979.
-- The new University of California Dental School building on
Parnassus Avenue is formally dedicated. School officials admit
many of the school's finest features are due to years of
vehement opposition by neighborhood groups. The school had
planned a much larger building than the one finally built.
March 10: Johnny Miller ends one of golf's most mysterious
slumps when he wins the Jackie Gleason-Inverrary Golf Classic in
Lauderhill, Fla. Miller finished with a 274 total, 14 shots
under par. The Napa-based golfer's last American triumph was in
1976.
1955
March 4: A nervous man in a brown suit becomes the first person
in its 32- year history to rob the Bank of America's Day and
Night branch and get away with it. The man stole $1,500 and
disappeared into downtown crowds.
March 5: The State of California has banned publication of any
books or articles by inmates of San Quentin's Death Row. State
Director of Corrections Richard McGee has ordered all
manuscripts produced by condemned prisoners confiscated until
after their executions.
March 6: Herbert C. Clish resigns his $25,000-a-year post as
head of San Francisco's public school system. He has accepted an
offer to be the superintendent at Lynbrook, Long Island, a New
York suburb. Members of the school board express deep regret
over his announcement.
-- The San Francisco Opera Company signs Mattiwilda Dobbs for
its fall 1955 season. She is the first African American to
appear with the San Francisco Opera Company. Dobbs was born in
Atlanta but will make her American operatic debut in Rimsky
Korsakoff's "Le Coq d'Or." Previously she sang in Europe.
March 7: An Atomic Energy Commission spokesman reports that a
low-level section of the cloud from a big atomic blast at the
Yucca Flat testing site in Nevada passed over the Central
California coastline. The cloud moved at about 20 miles an hour
and passed somewhere "considerably south" of San Francisco.
March 9: Raul Macias, the "Mighty Mouse" of Mexico, defeats
Chamrern Songkitrat of Thailand in 11 rounds at the Cow Palace
to win the National Boxing Association version of the world
bantam-weight championship.
1930
March 4: Ceremonies marking the City of San Francisco's
acquisition of the Spring Valley Water Company are held in the
rotunda of City Hall. Nelson Eckart is general manager of the
water company under city management.
March 5: The Federal Grand Jury indicts George Noel Keyston,
president of the San Francisco Stock Exchange, along with eight
others, for an alleged conspiracy in which approximately
$550,000 was embezzled from the Post and Fillmore branch of the
Bank of Italy in 1929.
March 6: Keyston relinquishes charge of the San Francisco Stock
Exchange. The board of governors of the exchange accepts his
letter and expresses confidence in his integrity. Rumors fly
through the city that members of other brokerage firms might be
involved in the embezzlement case.
-- Following a parade of unemployed workers from Third and
Howard streets, a crowd of about 10,000 gather in front of City
Hall for "Red Thursday," a nationwide and worldwide unemployment
demonstration organized by Trade Union International of Moscow.
In Oakland, a crowd of about 5,000 masses in front of City Hall.
The rallies are quiet in the Bay Area, but there are some
arrests for violence in New York and Detroit, among other
cities.
March 8: Only $132,978 short of its goal of $2,290,000, the
Community Chest campaign continues for several days beyond what
was planned in the hope of meeting the goal.
March 9: Leo Bernstein, 27, of 1255 48th Ave., is trapped in
quicksand in a ravine off Ocean Beach, a half mile from the
Olympic Club golf course at Lakeside. A dozen people try
unsuccessfully to extricate him before he is finally freed by
the Coast Guard 26 hours after the incident began. His condition
is serious due to exposure and exhaustion.
E-mail Laura Perkins at lperkins@sfchronicle.com.
Page F - 2
San Francisco Chronicle]
*****************************************************************
29 Independent: Vietnam War victims of Agent Orange poisoning sue US chemical
companies By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
www.independent.co.uk
04 March 2005
Vietnamese citizens who say they have suffered a lifetime of
health problems after being poisoned by Agent Orange during the
Vietnam War are suing the American chemical companies that
provided the Pentagon with the toxic defoliant.
The case has huge implications. If successful it could open the
way for claims against companies that produce weapons such as
depleted uranium-tipped munitions, which have been strongly
linked to cancer.
In the lawsuit filed this week, it was alleged that up to four
million Vietnamese suffered persistent respiratory and
reproductive problems as a result of being contaminated by Agent
Orange. They are seeking compensation that could run to billions
of dollars from 30 companies, such as Dow Chemical and Monsanto.
One of the plaintiffs, Dr Phan Thi Phi Phi, told the court in
New York she had worked in an area that was heavily sprayed with
the defoliant and suffered four miscarriages during the early
1970s. "We did not know what happened to us, what was the cause
of it, so we were very sad because we had so many miscarriages
and we could not have children," she said.
US forces routinely sprayed the defoliant to clear areas of
jungle where they believed Communist forces were hiding, and to
destroy their crops.
Although $300m (Ł160m) has been paid out to American troops who
fought in Vietnam, there has never been any compensation paid to
the Vietnamese. Scientists have stated that the defoliant can
cause cancer, diabetes, birth defects and other problems.
Jonathan Moore, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said: "The
companies ... knew Agent Orange contained high levels of dioxin
and did not care because ... they figured the only people
getting sprayed were the enemy."
The firms have sought to dismiss the claim. This week their
lawyers argued that the US courts had no power to penalise
companies for executing the orders of a president exercising his
powers as commander in chief. Lawyers also stated that companies
normally enjoyed exemption from criminal and civil liability for
alleged war crimes. The Justice Department also sought dismissal
of the lawsuit, arguing that opening the US courts to former
wartime enemies could threaten presidential power to wage war.
The US government has argued that the effects of Agent Orange
are not supported by direct evidence.
District Judge Jack Weinstein questioned whether presidential
orders exempted the firms, citing the actions of German
corporations during the Second World War.
Dave Cline, of Vietnam Veterans against the War, supported the
action. He said US veterans had fought for years to receive
compensation for 11 separate conditions and illnesses linked to
Agent Orange. "In Vietnam they say three million people still
suffer," he said.
No one from Dow Chemical was available to comment.
©2005 Independent News &Media (UK) Ltd.
*****************************************************************
30 Las Vegas RJ: Yucca Mountain foes challenge 1990 decision on nuclear waste
Friday, March 04, 2005
By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Exploring a new tactic to fight Yucca Mountain,
Nevada attorneys are challenging a long-standing government
regulation that predicts the nation's nuclear waste problem will
be solved by 2025.
Nevada is targeting a "waste confidence" decision the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission wrote in 1990.
The regulation is one of the building blocks on which the agency
relies when it weighs nuclear reactor license applications and
temporary nuclear waste storage permits.
For purposes of streamlining the license process, the regulation
assumes that a repository -- at Yucca Mountain or a backup site
-- will be open by 2025 to handle nuclear waste.
Nevada lawyers filed a formal petition this week asking the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reconsider the date, which was
set when it was believed that a Yucca repository would be up and
running by 1998.
The Energy Department missed that deadline and now says a Yucca
repository may not be ready until at least 2012.
If the Nevada site is rejected, it could take years longer to
study a new site and build a facility.
Unless the 2025 date is officially changed, Nevada officials
contend the NRC may feel pressure to approve Yucca Mountain.
State officials argue that the site cannot safely contain
highly radioactive waste.
"The inescapable effect of the 1990 rule is to prejudge the
result of the upcoming Yucca Mountain license proceeding," the
state said in its petition.
NRC officials could not be reached Thursday night. There is no
deadline for the agency to respond to the petition.
Bob Bishop, general counsel for the Nuclear Energy Institute,
said it would be premature for the NRC to consider changing its
2025 date.
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
31 Las Vegas SUN: Tribe files federal lawsuit against Yucca Mountain nuclear dump
By KEN RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Leaders of an American Indian tribe filed a
lawsuit Friday asking a federal court to stop the government
from allowing a national nuclear waste dump in Nevada.
Members of the Western Shoshone National Council say a 19th
century treaty with the federal government prohibits building a
nuclear dump on the Yucca Mountain site that Congress and the
Bush administration picked for the repository.
The lawsuit and a request for an injunction, filed in U.S.
District Court in Las Vegas, cites the Ruby Valley Treaty of
1863. It recognized vast stretches of territory in present-day
Nevada, California, Utah and Idaho as tribal ancestral land.
"We're saying there are only five uses allowed under the
treaty," said Robert Hager, a Reno-based lawyer for the tribe.
"A nuclear dump is not one of them."
Provisions of the treaty allow for mining; ranching and
agriculture; railroads; roads and communications routes; and
settlements.
Hager said the lawsuit avoids referring to ownership of the
land, which the Western Shoshone have never relinquished but the
federal government maintains is no longer practical.
--
*****************************************************************
32 Las Vegas SUN: NRC's deadline for opening nuke waste dump is challenged
By Benjamin Grove SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU
CHIEF
WASHINGTON -- Nevada has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
to revise one of its obscure technical rules that lawyers say
prejudges the opening of Yucca Mountain.
Without naming Yucca, the 15-year-old agency rule predicts that
a national nuclear waste repository will be constructed by 2025.
The NRC, which regulates the nuclear industry and would license
and regulate Yucca, set the "waste confidence" rule in 1990 for
the purpose of licensing and re-licensing nuclear power plants.
As part of licensing and re-licensing, the agency must review
how plants plan to dispose of waste in a safe and timely way.
The rule provides the plant owners and agency a set guideline
for a long-term waste plan.
But the rule also unfairly and prematurely assumes that Yucca
Mountain will be deemed safe by the NRC, Nevada lawyer Joseph
Egan said.
The state objects because the NRC would be responsible for
conducting an objective three- to four-year review of an
application for a license to construct the underground
repository 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
So the agency should not have a rule that assumes the
repository will be open in 20 years, Egan said.
In a petition filed with the NRC Tuesday, Egan argues that the
NRC should set a new "generic" rule that doesn't set a specific
date for the opening of a national geologic repository. Egan
suggests a "simpler" rule that states waste will be removed from
plants "well before storage causes any significant safety or
environmental impacts."
The rule change effectively requests that the NRC state that
on-site storage of waste at plant sites is safe until a viable
permanent storage site can be licensed and opened -- even if
that occurs decades into the future and the site is not Yucca.
"It's a highly significant paradigm shift that we're asking
for," Egan said. "We believe that shift is already happening on
its own and we're trying to push it along."
The rule change also seeks to capitalize on the recent comments
of nuclear industry officials who have said Yucca is not vital
to their plans to construct new U.S. nuclear plants.
"We want to make that official," Egan said.
Nuclear industry officials say they are as committed as ever to
Yucca construction. The nuclear industry has been suing the
Energy Department for not hauling their waste away to Yucca by
1998, as promised by Congress.
Egan said the rule change could ease legal as well as political
and regulatory pressure on the Energy Department to complete
Yucca.
But industry officials said the rule, if adopted, would have no
practical effect on Yucca.
The Energy Department would still be obligated to construct and
open the repository and the NRC would still be obligated to
license and regulate it, said Robert Bishop, a lawyer for the
Nuclear Energy Institute, the leading industry lobby group.
"The agency has to comply with the law," he said.
NRC officials could not be reached for comment.
*****************************************************************
33 Las Vegas SUN: Domenici wants complete review of Yucca's status
Today: March 04, 2005 at 9:20:16 PST
By Suzanne Struglinski SUN WASHINGTON
BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., asked Energy Secretary
Samuel Bodman to review the current status of the Yucca Mountain
project so he will have a better understanding of what problems
it faces.
Bodman said he was willing to work on such a review. He said
the Yucca project was a "major responsibility" of his job and
would try to determine what the "practical and reasonable and
responsible way of proceeding is."
At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing this
morning, Domenici, the committee's chairman, said the problem is
not just with the project's budget or a new licensing date, but
a variety of things. The department should do an analysis to see
"how we can get to where we need to go."
"I think you have to know, realistically, what this is all
about," he said to Bodman.
Domenici added that Bodman may be the secretary who says the
department should start looking at something else, because the
Yucca project is taking so long.
The administration requested $651 million for the proposed
nuclear waste repository at Yucca, 90 miles northwest of Las
Vegas, a decrease from the $1 billion it had predicted the
project would need by this time. Congress approved $577 million
for the repository's 2005 budget, which was $303 million less
than the department wanted.
The department -- and the nuclear industry -- have insisted for
years that the repository needs sufficient funding to stay on
track. The Bush administration strongly supports changing
congressional budget rules to allow money collected through a
fee paid by nuclear ratepayers to bypass the traditional money
competition among federal programs and go straight to the
project.
Domenici, who also heads the Senate Appropriations Energy and
Water Development Subcommittee, which writes the energy spending
bill, supports the change.
But Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who is the top
Democrat on the same committee, fiercely opposes it and would
not let any funding proposal go through. Reid and other Yucca
critics believe putting money directly toward the program limits
congressional oversight.
The department missed its goal of turning in a license
application by the end of 2004, for a variety of reasons.
Nevada officials repeatedly called the project "dead" based on
the lack of a radiation protection standard thrown out by a
federal court last year, problems with documentation and other
obstacles. At the same time, the department has shown no sign of
backing off the project, declaring it has every intention to
move forward. Just before she resigned, former Yucca Chief
Margaret Chu said in January the repository was more likely to
open in 2012 versus 2010.
The department anticipates submitting a license application to
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by the end of this year.
*****************************************************************
34 Las Vegas SUN: D.C. delegation speaks against Bush land sales plan
By Suzanne Struglinski SUN WASHINGTON
BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Nevada lawmakers spoke Thursday against the Bush
administration's plan to put the state's public lands sales
money toward decreasing the federal deficit.
All three of Nevada's House members told the House Budget
Committee the plan was unfair and should not go forward. The
Committee held its annual "Members Day" meeting, when it hears
from fellow House members on what should --or should not--be
included in the federal budget.
Currently, under the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management
Act, all the money from public land auctions in Nevada stays
within the state and different percentages go to the education
fund, water treatment and federal land conservation projects.
But in the 2006 budget proposal, President Bush wants to funnel
70 percent of money earned from Nevada public land sales to the
general treasury, leaving 30 percent to the state.
Rep. Shelley Berkely, D-Nev., told the committee this would
deny the state an estimated $700 million a year, but "it won't
make a dent in the federal deficit."
She said the reduction in money would mean the difference
between land getting protected, creating trails and protecting
wilderness area or not.
"That's why I am so concerned that this money will be taken
from where it can do the most good and we can see tangible
results and put into the general fund where is it going to be
dissipated and its impact won't be felt," Berkely said. "The
only impact will be on the state of Nevada and it will be
adverse."
Berkley said it will be largely up to her Republican colleagues
to tell the administration how bad this is for the state. Budget
negotiators are looking for other ways to fill tight budgets and
the discussion are mainly done behind closed doors. She said
other states looking for this type of money could create their
own law similar to Nevada's.
Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., said if the change goes through,
Nevada will have to start asking Congress for money to help
protect land and resources to make up the difference for the
money lost from the smaller percentage.
"It has to come from somewhere," Porter said "Now it frees up
money for other programs."
Porter said there are better ways to find money to help reduce
the deficit. He generated a list of "duplication and waste in
federal programs" highlighting that 10 different agencies
administer 35 different food safety laws. He points out that the
Agriculture Department regulated frozen pepperoni pizzas while a
separate office inside the Food and Drug Administration inspects
cheese pizzas.
Porter wants to use his new chairmanship of the House Civil
Service and Agency Organization subcommittee to examine federal
agencies, find other forms of wasteful spending to eliminate and
use the savings to decrease the deficit, instead of using money
from Nevada.
Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said he wants to work with other
members from Western states, especially those with large federal
land areas, to show how this is an "unfair burden."
"For every dollar in Nevada taxes that goes to Washington, DC,
Nevada receives only 70 cents back to our communities," Gibbons
said. "The administration's proposal to divert revenue from
SNPLMA to the federal treasury means Nevada would be sending
more money to Washington, D.C., and getting even less back."
Gibbons has a meeting with House Resources Chairman Richard
Pombo, R-Calif., next week and plans to meet with Budget
Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, R-Iowa., As head of one of his
subcommittees, Gibbons hopes the proposal will go through the
Resources Committee so he would have more control over it.
Porter said he plans to meet with House Republican leaders and
has already met with Nussle and Pombo about the issue.
The three House members also spoke against money for the
proposed nuclear waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain, 90
miles northwest of Las Vegas.
"They politely listened," Berkley said.
Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., the committee's top Democrat asked
Gibbons how much money would he support for the Yucca project,
Gibbons said "Zero!" and Porter said the same from the audience.
Berkley said every year the project is getting less money and
it is getting harder to keep the project on track.
Berkley and Porter also objected to another Bush proposal that
would have casinos garnish someone's winnings if he or she won
over a certain amount and was found to owe child support.
Both lawmakers said they want law enforcement to be able to
collect missing payments, but this option sets a bad precedent
for other businesses.
Berkley asked if banks or car dealers would need to check the
Child Support Federal Parent Locator Service.
"The answer is no, but the Administration's proposal will open
the door to additional costly and unreasonable mandates on our
business communities and by singling out gaming, it is a huge
mistake that leads us down a slippery slope we do not want to go
down."
*****************************************************************
35 Pahrump Valley Times: County passes Calvada Eye resolution
March 4, 2005
By PHILLIP GOMEZ PVT
Still feeling the sting from last week's spanking by Nye
County's auditor for irregularities in managing its budget and
facing a new deficit at the end of the fiscal year, Nye County
commissioners on Tuesday warily approached earlier spending
proposals.
But the rebuke they received from auditor Dan McArthur didn't
stop them from unanimously passing a resolution authorizing
their financial expert, Johnson Consulting, to go ahead and
secure a loan for $6 million to obtain water rights and to fix
up county property at the Calvada Eye.
The commissioners' plan is to pay back the $3.2 million
"borrowed" from PETT funds last fall for the purchase of the
property. PETT is the Payments Equal To Taxes; the money Nye
County receives from the Department of Energy for the Yucca
Mountain project.
Additionally, water rights are needed for the Pahrump
fairgrounds. The county made it a priority Tuesday for its
Washington, D.C., lobbyist to try to secure federal
appropriations for development of the first phase of the
fairgrounds.
Marty Johnson, principal with Johnson Consulting, said that
interest charges would not begin to accrue until the $6 million
with medium-term financing was actually drawn down.
Meanwhile the renovation and reconstruction of the Calvada Eye
remains a murky work in progress.
Commissioner Patricia Cox said that a more detailed capital
improvements plan was necessary in order to know the intended
use of the property, how many water rights were needed and how
much the construction work would cost.
Commissioner Gary Hollis said that according to the county's
PETT ordinance, spending authorizations for projects utilizing
PETT funding needed to have a detailed plan.
Some $800,000 is roughly estimated as the cost to "refurbish"
the Calvada Eye structures.
"At this point I don't know where we stand," said Budget
Director Charlie Rodewald. "The opportunities you have for using
the Eye are many and varied. You have a lot of choices of what
you can do with that property, but ... you haven't had that
discussion yet."
"We do have somewhat of a plan to move offices down there,"
said Commission Chairwoman Candice Trummell.
"How are we going to guarantee paying for this?" asked Cox.
"We're going to continue to assume that PETT funding is going
to go forward," said Rodewald.
Of the $10.5 million in PETT monies received from the
government, only $1.8 million remains uncommitted for the year,
according to Rodewald's projections.
"The other option we would have, if PETT went away, is to sell
the Eye," said Trummell.
That could be a distinct possibility if the county fails to
bring its general fund budget under control within the next four
months. The county faces a 3 percent rise in employee salaries
for a total of $600,000, plus $1 million in new expenses in the
projected $29 million budgeted for FY 2004-05.
By Rodewald's calculations, including PETT financing, Nye
County would be $1.6 million short in meeting its projected
needs.
"We can entertain no increases in services," he said.
webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com
Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2005
*****************************************************************
36 PE.com: Baca will chair rocket-fuel panel
| Inland Southern California | San Bernardino Metro
12:36 AM PST on Friday, March 4, 2005
The Press-Enterprise
Assemblyman Joe Baca Jr., D-Rialto, has been appointed chairman
of a state Assembly panel to investigate perchlorate
contamination.
"This issue affects the people of my Assembly district, and I am
going to stand with them to ensure their concerns are being
addressed through state legislation," Baca said in a written
statement.
It is the second legislative panel focused on perchlorate. State
Sen. Nell Soto, D-Pomona, has chaired a Senate select committee
on perchlorate since 2003.
*****************************************************************
37 Pahrump Valley Times: The 'mighty' Amargosa sparks Yucca fear
March 4, 2005
SOUTHERN INYO COUNTY GROUP BEGINS BASELINE WATER STUDY TO WARN
FUTURE GENERATIONS
By ROBIN FLINCHUM SPECIAL TO THE PVT
SPECIAL TO THE PVT
Southern Inyo County Fire Chief Paul Postle took this
photograph of a school bus coming from Pahrump to Shoshone
wading its way across a flooded Highway 127.
Swollen by record rainfalls, Death Valley's seldom seen Amargosa
River rushed through its Tecopa monitoring station at more than
a thousand cubic feet per second last week, measuring eight and
a half feet high, according to the USGS, and raging on to spill
onto California Highway 127, causing brief closures and some
hair-raising moments for motorists trying to navigate the rising
waters. Running at about five hundred times its normal strength,
the river caught the attention of desert enthusiasts interested
in kayaking or rafting this rare phenomenon they've dubbed the
Mighty Amargosa.
But the mighty and sometimes unpredictable Amargosa, normally
shy and flowing at about two cubic feet per second under the
surface of the dust dry desert, is also the subject of a quieter
and more somber study. For both independent and government
employed scientists, the Amargosa and its tributaries, otherwise
so little thought of or noticed, are of grave importance.
The course of this water could help decide the future of the
proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nye County.
And if the development of the repository succeeds, studying this
water could help protect future generations living in the region.
"Every drop of surface water in the Yucca Mountain area of
Nevada that is not evaporated flows south to Inyo County," said
Jennifer Viereck, coordinator of an independent research project
formed to study and document current levels of elements
identified in the Safe Drinking Water Act. And she added, some
studies indicate that the Amargosa is fed by deep aquifer
systems running from under the Yucca Mountain area into
California. In short, this means that the residents of the small
Inyo County communities such as Death Valley Junction, the
Timbisha Shoshone reservation, the employee housing complex at
Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park, and the families
living in Tecopa and Shoshone "would be among the first to be
poisoned if something went wrong."
Despite ongoing assurances by the DOE that nothing could go
wrong in the packaging, transportation, or storage of nuclear
waste that must remain contained for at least 10,000 years,
Viereck and several other researchers are unconvinced. So, under
the auspices of a nonprofit called Healing Ourselves and Mother
Earth (HOME), they are developing baseline water tests in order
to create a record for future generations to use when evaluating
the amounts of radiation and other carcinogens that could leak
from Yucca Mountain or the Nevada Test Site nuclear waste dumps
into the water tables.
In January the team visited locations all along the course of
the river from Beatty to its terminus in the Badwater basin
inside Death Valley National Park. Along its route, south to the
Dumont Dunes area where it turns north again, the winding
Amargosa crosses under California Highway 127 13 times. This
highway currently sees sometimes as much as a truckload a day of
low or mixed level nuclear waste rolling over its surface on the
way to the Nevada Test Site, according to a 2004 report released
by the DOE.
"This is not a road specifically engineered for heavy traffic.
This is just an old two lane road made of asphalt rolled out
over the desert," Viereck said. Minor flooding in the roadway is
common during heavy rains and could lead to accidents involving
vehicles carrying nuclear waste.
While the federal government gambles the nation's environmental
future on the ability of its scientists and engineers to design
containment systems that will last several hundred thousand
years, HOME and other groups are tackling the task of how to
respond if this gamble fails. Transportation issues are an
immediate concern, but Viereck's group is currently focused on
collecting data that could help protect future generations if
concerns arise over whether the water has become polluted with
radionuclides.
Some testing has already been done in this area, Viereck said,
but most testing is to determine water direction and levels. "We
don't want to reinvent the wheel so we're investigating what
other researchers have already done and trying to pull all of
that information together."
While a variety of organizations, including federal and Nye and
Inyo county commissioned agencies, are studying the local water
tables, few are coordinating their program objectives with one
another, Viereck said, or publishing their findings so far. This
makes getting basic information difficult, so another of the
team's objectives is to establish a collection of this material
for public access.
"Remember Erin Brockovich?" Viereck asked. When Brockovich
began her campaign to prove that PG had poisoned the people of
Hinkley, Calif., with hexavalent chromium, she had no baseline
studies to go from. If residents of Inyo or Nye counties find
themselves wondering in the future, they will have a place to
start. And the Brockovich analogy is relevant in another way,
Viereck said, since some of the new protective cask designs
include chromium in their makeup. "This will make them last
longer but when they do start to break down, and inevitably they
will, then there will also be chromium hexafluoride leaking into
the water."
But knowing how to preserve the information for a time when it
might be needed is tricky. "It could be 500 years before anyone
needs this," Viereck said. "Information mediums are changing
every couple of years so predicting what will be most accessible
in 500 years or more is difficult." Depositing copies of the
material in university libraries seems the most sensible choice,
Viereck said. "We hope we'll still have universities in 500
years, but we don't really know what we'll have."
The HOME studies are funded by a grant from the Citizens
Monitoring and Technical Assessment Fund, created with a 1996
settlement from the DOE after 39 organizations charged the
Department with failure to provide affected citizens with
adequate information about their nuclear projects. The CMTA
money, Viereck said, has funded a variety of similar studies and
projects all over the country. "It allows the people to hire
their own experts," she said.
The HOME experts on this project are hydrologist George Rice,
and John Hadder, a chemist who has been working on the Yucca
Mountain issue for many years. Together, Viereck said, they will
decide what tests seem most appropriate and work with other
interested agencies to get the testing done. "Obviously we can't
drill our own wells for testing," Viereck said, so the group
hopes to cooperate with landowners and other agencies such as
Inyo County's Yucca Mountain Repository Assessment Office in
obtaining samples. Studies done by Inyo County in wells drilled
especially for that purpose were among the first to begin
establishing the connection between the aquifer under Yucca
Mountain and the springs inside Death Valley National Park.
So far these wells and the studies done through them, said
Viereck, "tell us where the water is moving. That tells us who
would be poisoned first, but it doesn't tell us whether the
water meets Safe Drinking Water standards now. We hope this
testing can clarify current conditions and encourage ongoing
monitoring. We have to be able to predict what people might be
exposed to and you can't do that if you don't have a starting
point.
The testing can be expensive, Viereck said, so the group has to
choose wisely. Costs can range between $15 and $1,000 per test,
"so we have to figure out what's most important."
Meanwhile, Viereck laments the fact that more nuclear energy
plants are applying for a renewal of operating permits. "I think
this is absolutely dangerous and insane," Viereck said. "The
first thing I tell the kids I work with is if a project is going
to make a mess we can't clean up, then we don't do it. There's
no way to clean up this mess now, and the only smart solution is
to stop making it."
According to Viereck, nuclear reactors produce about 20 percent
of the nation's overall electrical usage. Each household in the
country could easily cut its electric consumption 20 percent,
she said, by remembering to turn off lights, using appliances
sparingly, using solar energy for things like hot water heaters,
and making other small adjustments.
"Really," she said, "they could just turn off all the neon in
Las Vegas and it would be done."
For more information, visit www.h-o-m-e.org.
For comment or questions, please e-mail
Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2005
*****************************************************************
38 Peace Treaty of 1866 Could Stop Yucca Mountain Project
March 4, 2005
Tim Zeitlow, Photojournalist
The western Shoshone Nation is suing the DOE in federal court,
claiming the proposed nuclear dump violates a land-use treaty
dating back to the 1800.
Brian Allen, Reporter
Peace Treaty of 1866 Could Stop Yucca Mountain Project
There's a new legal challenge Friday against Yucca Mountain. The
Western Shoshone Nation is suing the Department of Energy in
federal court, claiming the proposed nuclear dump violates a
land use treaty dating back to the 1800s.
The chief of the Western Shoshone Nation has had just about
enough. "We had hoped to, instead of doing this, enter into
negotiations with the United States government." Raymond Yowell
asked, begged, pleaded to discuss Yucca Mountain with the
Department of Energy and has been turned down every time.
"There's been nothing from the government." Shoshone council
member John Wells says the tribe has history on its side. His
ancestors lived on Yucca Mountain. It was their home, their
land. The federal government acknowledged that 139 years ago.
In 1866, Congress ratified a peace treaty with the Western
Shoshone and under that treaty the federal government could use
Shoshone land for agriculture, ranching, the construction of
roads and railroads. The treaty said nothing about the storage
of radioactive waste.
"I'm confident that a federal judge will look at this and say a
deal is a deal." Attorney Robert Hager represents the Western
Shoshone, and says the passage of time doesn't change the intent
of the agreement -- that the Shoshone would keep Yucca Mountain,
that the federal government could use it with conditions.
"We have a treaty with the United States that is in full force
and effect and we expect the courts will uphold that," says
council member John Wells.
With the lawsuit filed, it's now up to the court to decide if an
1866 peace treaty will stop Yucca Mountain. The Western Shoshone
pray their time to be heard has come.
A federal judge in Las Vegas will likely hear the case within 30
days.
Shoshone attorney Robert Hager says if their case is dismissed,
he will appeal to the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco.
Eyewitness News calls to the Department of Energy in Washington
for comment were not returned.
Tribe Files Federal Lawsuit Against Yucca Mountain Nuclear Dump
An American Indian tribe filed a federal lawsuit Friday, hoping
to stop the government from building a national nuclear waste
dump in Nevada.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2005 WorldNow and KLAS. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
39 Pahrump Valley Times: North Nye residents balk at plan to buy Railroad Valley
water rights; county ends bid
March 4, 2005
By PHILLIP GOMEZ PVT
Due to strong political opposition from north county rural
residents, Nye County commissioners on Tuesday scuttled plans to
obtain 640 acres of land in the Railroad Valley in northeast Nye
County in order to bank 2,560 acre-feet of water rights,
transferable for future county use in the southern part of the
county where growth is expected.
The commissioners, in turn, caricatured voters' attitudes for
misconstruing the water initiative as akin to the
much-publicized Lincoln County water project, billed as the
largest public works project in Nevada history.
That federally approved $2 billion project envisions building a
pipeline and electric transmission lines from Lincoln County to
Clark County, taking water from the rural north to supply the
mushrooming development of metropolitan Las Vegas.
In January the state water engineer approved plans of the
Southern Nevada Water Authority to pump groundwater from four
basins in northwest Clark and southwest Lincoln counties.
Reportedly, the authority has other far-reaching plans to tap
groundwater in rural Nye, Lincoln and White Pine counties, in
order to reduce its dependence on the Colorado River and to keep
the economic development of Las Vegas strong.
It was for those very reasons that the Nye County commissioners
had earlier considered purchasing water rights in the county's
remote northeast as a defensive maneuver, in order to ward off
what they see as a threat from the south to Nye's future
development.
Instead, they were the ones perceived as a threat within Nye
County - from "the south."
"It's their perception," said Commissioner Joni Eastley.
"They think it's going to Yucca Mountain," said Commissioner
Midge Carver of the water.
The motion to deny directing staff to obtain a $7,000 to
$10,000 appraisal of the property, necessary by state law before
making a bid on it, was unanimously supported.
"Motion to deny and let the chips fall where they may," said
Eastley.
webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com
Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2005
*****************************************************************
40 Rocky Mountain News: Flats cleanup could be done by October
By Felix Doligosa Jr., Rocky Mountain News
March 4, 2005
BROOMFIELD - The cleanup of Rocky Flats is scheduled to finish
under budget and by the end of this year, possibly as early as
October, according to the company in charge of the project.
"To see all the progress and the end in sight, it's very
rewarding," said David Shelton, vice president for Kaiser-Hill
Co., the cleanup contractor at the former nuclear weapons site.
Kaiser-Hill and the Department of Energy presented an update on
the cleanup of the site to the Rocky Flats Citizens Advisory
Board on Thursday.
The company is a year ahead of schedule with 90 percent of the
cleanup complete, Shelton said. The final price tag for the
project is expected to come in at $7 billion, 7 percent below
the estimated cost.
"We have a great team that is dedicated, who believed in this,"
Shelton said. "It wasn't magic. We used innovative ways to
transfer waste and we've had excellent support from the state."
Crews have been working on the 6,400 acres at Rocky Flats since
1995. When finished, the site will be converted to a national
wildlife refuge.
"If we don't have any safety problems, we can finish this," he
said. "Injuries are the quickest thing to stopping the work.
Industrial safety is the big issue."
The company has been cautious this week about workers' safety as
crews started taking down buildings that once stored plutonium.
Highly contaminated from a 1969 fire, Building 776 was
demolished Wednesday. The Energy Department ranked it as the
second-most dangerous building in the United States. Crews plan
to ship the rubble to a nuclear waste dump.
Shelton said there was "a lot of stripping of the insides and
cleaning the asbestos" inside the building before Wednesday's
demolition. "We started taking this down 10 years ago."
The removal of Building 776 rubble is expected to be completed
in May, leaving Building 371 as the last standing building at
Rocky Flats to have contained plutonium. The company plans to
decontaminate the upper floor and then use explosives to
collapse it into the basement. It plans to complete the work in
October.
With work winding down, Kaiser-Hill plans to lay off 500 workers
at the site on March 17.
doligosaf@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2970
SITE MAP PHOTO REPRINTS CORRECTIONS 2005 © The E.W. Scripps
*****************************************************************
41 Tri-City Herald: DOE offers tank farm workers options
This story was published Friday, March 4th, 2005
By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer
Hanford workers concerned about health problems from inhaling
tank vapors may be screened through a new University of
Washington program starting next month.
John Shaw, the Department of Energy's new assistant secretary
for environment, safety and health, announced the start of the
program Thursday during his first visit to the Hanford nuclear
reservation.
It was a chance to bring a message to workers that new Energy
Secretary Samuel Bodman and Shaw's office are committed to their
health and safety, Shaw said in an interview after the tour.
In July, a report by the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health stressed the importance of medical monitoring
for workers who might be exposed to tank vapors. Hanford has 177
underground tanks holding 53 million gallons of radioactive and
hazardous chemical waste left from the past production of
plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons project.
In the NIOSH study, 65 percent of workers who volunteered to be
interviewed complained of either short term or chronic symptoms
after breathing chemical vapors vented from the tank to the
atmosphere.
Many changes have been made over the last year to protect
workers in the tank farms, including a Congressional order and
money to initiate medical screening of the workers in a program
run by Dr. Tim Takaro at the University of Washington. The
$790,000 appropriation is to pay for both the new program and
also to continue a broader screening program for former Hanford
workers through the university.
Some workers had feared that a past occupational medicine
contractor had been pressured to maintain a good safety record,
although DOE investigations found no impropriety.
Tank farm workers with vapor concerns may choose to be screened
by the current occupational medicine contractor, AdvanceMed
Hanford, or the new university program. Workers also may use the
university program to get a second opinion, Takaro said.
Takaro will assemble an advisory board of workers and expects to
offer screening at several medical centers or hospitals in the
Tri-Cities and at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Screening will include a physical exam, a blood test, a chest
X-ray and a breathing test at no cost to the worker. If needed,
workers will be referred to a specialist for further testing.
Takaro also plans to do some characterization and estimation of
exposure and help with an assessment of what additional
monitoring will be done.
The program has funding only through November.
"We'll work with Dr. Takaro and see what happens," Shaw said.
Shaw's tour also included a visit to the HAMMER training center
and the $5.8 billion vitrification plant that is under
construction to turn tank waste into a stable glass form for
permanent disposal. He made a surprise visit to a medical clinic
and also sought out workers to talk to throughout the tour, he
said.
"What surprised me the most is no one readily identified a major
problem," he said. "Hanford is a well-run site. The sentiments
of the workers reflect that."
He presented the DOE's Voluntary Protection Program Star flag to
Hanford's 222-S Laboratory, Hanford's primary analytical lab for
highly radioactive samples. Star sites are considered by DOE to
be models of excellent safety and health programs.
The lab won star status in 2003 shortly before operation of the
lab was transferred to CH2M Hill Hanford Group, the contractor
operating the underground tanks. Star status does not transfer
to a new contractor and CH2M Hill had to reapply.
Employees have done a good job incorporating the elements of the
Voluntary Protection Program into their everyday work, resulting
in a strong safety culture, Shaw said.
© 2005 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
42 Tennessean: Y-12 security force defends its practices amid probe -
Friday, 03/04/05
By DUNCAN MANSFIELD Associated Press
Wackenhut's contract renewal not a certainty
KNOXVILLE — The corporate head of security at the Y-12 nuclear
weapons plant defended his 400-member guard force yesterday from
an image portrayed by demonstrators dressed like bumbling
''Keystone Kops.''
''All these allegations are investigated,'' and ''the
investigations show that they are not true,'' insisted Jean
''John'' Burleson, senior vice president and general manager of
Wackenhut Services Inc. in Oak Ridge.
The U.S. Department of Energy continues to give Wackenhut high
marks for protecting Y-12 — a warhead component factory and the
nation's chief storehouse of bomb-grade uranium. It is in Oak
Ridge, about 20 miles west of Knoxville.
But whether Wackenhut's contract will be renewed after six
years, on Dec. 31, is unclear.
DOE-Oak Ridge managers supported Wackenhut after the DOE
inspector general said a mock attack at the plant in January
2003 was ''compromised'' when two guard supervisors saw plans in
advance, and when a live bullet discharged into a refrigerator
during training last September.
A separate ''force-on-force'' mock assault in September drew
attention from the Project on Government Oversight, a public
watchdog group, when a ''shadow force'' of armed guards nearly
confronted the laser-tag intruders. There was a communication
problem but no face-off, Burleson said.
Meanwhile, the DOE inspector general has another investigation
under way involving Wackenhut billing and training in Oak Ridge.
The Service Employees International Union, a national union that
doesn't represent Oak Ridge workers, revealed the probe this
week.
Burleson said there was an allegation that Wackenhut
shortchanged training by not requiring guards to attend classes
for their scheduled duration.
''If we have four hours on the schedule to qualify on weapons
and people come out and qualify in two hours, why should we hold
them for two more hours to just hang around? We train to
standard, not to time.''
But the inspector general isn't closing the books just yet.
''The inspection is still ongoing,'' Wilma Slaughter,
spokeswoman for the DOE inspector general in Washington, said
yesterday.
Four demonstrators with the grass-roots group Protects USA
dressed like Keystone Kops from the silent-movie era felt no
such restraint yesterday, appearing at Tennessee
Labor-Management Conference in Knoxville. Burleson is president
of the conference.
Burleson charged that Protects USA is a spinoff of the SEIU,
which he claimed is trying to discredit Wackenhut nationally and
become its primary labor union.
Copyright © 2005, tennessean.com. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
43 SF Chron: New Mexico's senators accuse Energy Dept. of anti-UC bias
Bush administration has opened contract for Los Alamos to
competitive bidding
Zachary Coile, Chronicle Washington Bureau
Friday, March 4, 2005
Washington -- Two powerful senators accused the Energy
Department Thursday of an anti-University of California bias in
how the agency is shaping the competition over who will manage
Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
UC has run the nation's premier nuclear weapons lab for more
than 60 years, but the Bush administration has opened the $2.1
billion-a-year contract to competitive bidding because of a
series of security lapses and management problems at the lab.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete
Domenici, R-N. M., put new Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman on the
hot seat at a hearing Thursday by saying that new rules for the
competition proposed by federal officials two weeks ago would
put UC at a disadvantage.
"These new specs seem as if they want to make it very, very hard
for the University of California to get the bid," Domenici told
Bodman.
The ranking Democrat on the committee, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, also
of New Mexico, complained that new bidding rules seemed designed
"to ensure whoever wins the contract, (lab) employees can be
employed by the University of California no longer and can no
longer enjoy the benefits of the University of California,
including its pension."
Bodman, the former No. 2 official at the Treasury Department who
has been at his job for just more than a month, defended the
administration, saying the new rules do not discriminate against
any potential bidder.
"The goal of the (competition) is to level the playing field and
not to exclude anyone," Bodman said.
UC has run Los Alamos since before World War II, when the top
secret lab gave birth to the atom bomb, as well as the Lawrence
Livermore and Lawrence Berkeley national labs under exclusive
contracts with the Energy Department. But criticism of UC's
oversight from former Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, members
of Congress and watchdog groups forced open the competition for
all three labs, and the university is battling to keep its
historic role.
The National Nuclear Security Administration, a semi-autonomous
agency in the Energy Department, issued its preliminary
guidelines for the Los Alamos competition in December.
The draft request for proposals had some provisions that seemed
to benefit UC -- such as weighting science, UC's strong suit,
heavily in determining who should win the management contract.
But the rules also called for more business-like accounting and
management practices, which could favor private firms bidding
for the lab.
New Mexico lawmakers, lab employees and UC officials were
startled when the Source Evaluation Board, a federal panel
overseeing the competition, issued guidelines Feb. 18 that
appeared to undermine UC's chances.
The newly proposed rules would require that any bidder be
chartered as a limited liability corporation. While UC is
expected to find a private firm to become a partner in its bid,
forcing the university to form a separate management corporation
could mean that Los Alamos' 8,000 full-time employees would no
longer be UC employees, separating them from a prestigious
academic affiliation.
The board also added a new requirement that all competitors must
offer a "stand alone" pension plan that covers only Los Alamos
employees.
That provision would be a blow to what is seen as one of UC's
greatest strengths as a bidder: a generous retirement plan seen
as a key tool in recruiting and retaining top scientists.
The Energy Department, however, is also feeling heat from UC's
critics in Congress, especially Republican House members who
urged the lab contract be put out to bid. The board's latest
changes appear aimed at enticing more bidders to compete.
Some expected competitors have already dropped out, such as the
University of Texas, Texas A and Lockheed Martin. But others,
including Northrop Grumman, General Atomics and Battelle, have
been eyeing the competition.
The UC Board of Regents has yet to decide whether it will bid,
but the university is acting like an active competitor. UC's
Vice President for Laboratory Management S. Robert Foley, a
retired Navy admiral, talked to Energy Department officials in
Washington this week about the latest bidding rules.
The regents are expected to vote once the agency issues a final
request for proposals soon. The administration will choose a
contractor this summer, with a new five-year contract starting
Oct. 1.
The Energy Department has sweetened the pot for competitors,
doubling the fee that a contractor can charge to run the lab
from 1.5 percent to 3 percent of the contract's value, or $60
million. UC now is paid $8 million a year.
At Thursday's hearing, Bingaman said he feared the competition
and employees' worries about pensions and benefits were
distracting scientists from their work.
"I'm concerned the effect of this competition is to destabilize
the lab and cause many of the most talented people to consider
jobs somewhere else," Bingaman said. "I'm seriously concerned
about the impact of the competition process on the laboratory."
E-mail Zachary Coile at zcoile@sfchronicle.com.
Page A - 4
San Francisco Chronicle]
*****************************************************************
44 Tri-Valley Herald: UC seeks new Los Alamos director
Updated: 03/04/2005 10:11:00 AM
Despite expressing confidence in embattled leader, officials are
quietly searching for his replacement
By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER
While the University of California has expressed high
confidence in the embattled director of Los Alamos National
Laboratory, university officials quietly have been searching for
his replacement.
Headhunters for the executive-search arm of A.T. Kearney
recently contacted senior figures in business and the
nuclear-weapons complex in what the recruiters termed a
"sensitive" recruitment of a director "for one of the national
labs."
It's no secret which one. Retired Vice Adm. Pete Nanos, tapped
by the university to turn around a troubled Los Alamos, now
faces a virtual mutiny after verbally berating scientists as
"buttheads" and shutting down the New Mexico desert lab for
months, largely over a security breakdown that apparently never
happened.
Last month, the National Nuclear Security Administration and the
FBI confirmed what scientists had muttered for months — that two
disks of nuclear secrets that supposedly were lost last summer
never in fact existed.
Los Alamos attaches bar codes to all its portable electronic
secrets. Within a day or two of reporting the "loss,"
rank-and-file scientists and a senior weapons manager realized
that someone mistakenly had created two more bar codes than
disks.
Those scientists say Nanos and federal officials at the NNSA
dismissed that explanation. By then, several lawmakers in
Congress were demanding accountability and swift discipline for
the losses. Several scientists lost their jobs or were demoted.
When a senior physicist criticized Nanos in the pages of Physics
Today, the director suggested the scientific journal lacked
integrity, was not peer-reviewed and that the scientist had
"perjured" himself. For reasons unclear, that edition of Physics
Today never reached more than half of the lab's 400-plus
subscribers.
With acknowledgment by federal authorities that the disks never
existed, hundreds of Los Alamos scientists have signed a
petition demanding Nanos' resignation, and the university is
searching for a new Los Alamos chief.
The hunt for a new leader of Los Alamos comes at a delicate time
for the university and for the lab that maintains, by number,
most of the nuclear explosives in the U.S. arsenal.
The NNNSA is expected by the end of March to begin taking
competitive proposals to run Los Alamos, starting a 90-day clock
for the University of California to identify its executive
team.
Los Alamos public relations officials waved off speculation on
Nanos' departure, saying new and creative rumors of his tenure's
end circulate every week. But UC officials did not repeat their
usual assurances about Nanos' leadership.
University spokesman Chris Harrington steered clear of
mentioning Nanos in response to questions about the leadership
of the laboratory and the search for a new lab chief. Because
federal officials will judge the university's operations partly
by its management team, he said, "it is therefore important to
the University of California that the best people, with the
right skills and expertise, are in the right management
positions at the lab."
Tri-Valley Herald All Rights Reserved
*****************************************************************
45 [du-list] DU in the news - 5th March 05
Date: Fri, 04 Mar 2005 20:23:11 -0800
Vietnam War victims of Agent Orange poisoning sue US chemical
companies
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=616652
Independent Thu, 03 Mar 2005 5:39 PM PST
Vietnamese citizens who say they have suffered a lifetime of
health problems after being poisoned by Agent Orange during the Vietnam War
are suing the American chemical companies that provided the Pentagon with
the toxic defoliant.
Duke gets approval to use mixed fuel in reactor
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/11044112.htm
The State Thu, 03 Mar 2005 3:46 PM PST
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Duke Power has received final approval to
begin testing nuclear reactor fuel that contains weapons-grade plutonium at
its power plant on Lake Wylie.
First Army caring for soldiers
http://www.news-daily.com/articles/2005/03/04/news/news1.txt
News Daily Thu, 03 Mar 2005 8:05 PM PST
Army Master Sgt. Anthony Kingston was doing physical training
in Uzbekistan when he noticed that one of his legs would grow numb when he
ran.
Galway gets ready for International Women's Day
The Galway Advertiser Thu, 03 Mar 2005 9:04 AM PST
Events will be taking place throughout Galway city in the run
up to and on International Women's Day on Tuesday. A number of events are
being organised by Women In Media And Entertainment.
Iran bans inspectors from some sites, fears attack
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/11036432.htm
Miami Herald Thu, 03 Mar 2005 0:20 AM PST
The debate over Iran's nuclear program intensified: Iran said
it would not allow inspectors into certain sites; the United States urged
Security Council action.
U.S. sees deceit in Iran’s nuke claims
s
Nashua Telegraph Thu, 03 Mar 2005 6:12 AM PST
VIENNA, Austria â€â€ś The United States accuused Iran on
Wednesday of “cynicallyâ€Â€ pursuing nuclear weapons, saying
Tehran’s claimsims that its aims were peaceful constituted willful
deceit and required action by the U.N. Security Council.
U.S. urges action as Iran restricts inspectors
Billings Gazette Thu, 03 Mar 2005 0:14 AM PST
VIENNA, Austria - Declaring some sites off-limits to U.N.
inspectors, Iran said Wednesday it fears that leaked information gathered
by them could help those planning a possible strike on its military
installations.
Iran puts limits on nuclear inspectors
The Philadelphia Inquirer Thu, 03 Mar 2005 0:04 AM PST
It said it feared leaks of information to people who might
attack its sites. The U.S. called for sanctions.
U.S. slams Iran over its nuclear ambitions
Seattle Times Thu, 03 Mar 2005 2:15 AM PST
The United States accused Iran yesterday of deceiving U. N.
inspectors over its nuclear-weapons program, amid reports President Bush
is...
World News
Axis of Logic Wed, 02 Mar 2005 10:42 PM PST
KIEV - Ukraine's SBU security service arrested a man at Kiev's
airport who had a case containing radioactive uranium-238 in his car, the
Emergencies Ministry said Tuesday.
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