***************************************************************** 03/23/05 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 13.66 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 Las Vegas SUN: Reid: 'This place is devastated' 2 Intl. Herald Tribune OpEd Iran & Nukes March 24 3 [NYTr] Iran to restart nuclear programme 4 Guardian Unlimited: Iran to Extend Nuclear Talks With Europe 5 Guardian Unlimited: Iran, Europe Discuss Nuclear Ambitions 6 Xinhua: EU, Iran to continue nuke talks in weeks 7 Xinhua: US presses DPRK to return to six-party talks 8 Secrecy News -- 03/23/05 9 Israel Trying to Gag Nuclear Whistleblower 10 Canadian PM given thumbs up on BMD stand 11 CNW Telbec: Atomic Energy of Canada Limited: Efford Appoints 12 Japan Times: New energy technologies showcased in Aichi Expo 13 Japan Times: Nuclear shadow follows Ms. Rice 14 The Tribune: USA allowed Pak to go nuclear - report NUCLEAR REACTORS 15 [NukeNet] NY Timed Nuclear Power Is Good: U.S. and Iran Have 16 US: deseretnews: Utah to get 2nd chance before NRC 17 US: San Luis Obispo Tribune: Additional storage requested for Diablo 18 US: Deseret News: Nuclear power is best answer 19 BBC: Nuclear power 'is off the agenda' 20 Evening Times: Move for new Scots nuclear power plant - 21 US: NRC: NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance at North Anna Nuclear Power 22 US: Portsmouth Herald: Broken breaker forces nuclear disconnect 23 US: toledoblade.com: FirstEnergy to hire up to 3,000 in 3 years 24 US: NRC: NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance at Surry Nuclear Power Plan 25 US: NRC: NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment for Millstone Nu 26 US: York Daily Record: PEACH BOTTOM: NRC, Exelon to meet - 27 AU ABC: Nuclear conference boasts benefits of 'clean' energy. 28 US: ONN: TVA agrees to pay half of three (m) million dollars in ques 29 US: NRC: Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear 30 Philippine News: Nuclear plant fiasco among ‘monuments of corruption 31 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collecti 32 US: NRC: Department of Energy; Three Mile Island 2 Independent Spent NUCLEAR SAFETY 33 [du-list] Aussies to hunt uranium hazard 34 US: [du-list] Parents of slain soldiers protest U.S. involvement 35 US: Depleted Uranium: Cause and Effe 36 US: United Press International: Lawmakers urge cash for anti-nuke pr 37 US: Las Vegas SUN: EPA Chided for Disregarding Mercury Study 38 Bellona: No radiation – no compensation 39 BBC: EU-Iran nuclear talks break down 40 Haaretz: Arbitrator: Reactor workers cannot blame cancer on radiatio 41 express and star: Dark secrets of our atom bomb bunker 42 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Workers now focus of leak inquiry 43 US: Salt Lake Tribune - Opinion: Closer to a million 44 US: PR Web: Depleted Uranium: Cause and Effect 4 Hour Special on The 45 Korea Times: Nuclear-Powered US Submarine Enters Chinhae Port 46 US: Newsday.com: Deal near in N-fuel suit 47 US: WHO TV - Des Moines: Medical advisory board for IAAP to meet in NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 48 US: Bradenton Herald: Pollution notice bill revised 49 Bellona: Lithuania found place for underground repository for spent 50 US: AFP: Persistently High Oil Prices To Benefit Uranium - Analyst 51 Platts: House panel to look into Yucca Mt. allegations 52 Las Vegas SUN: Hunt letter urges Bush to re-evaluate dump stance 53 US: Salt Lake City Weekly: Such a Waste 54 US: Monticello Times: Waste storage public meeting will be April 4 55 Pahrump Valley Times: County Yucca officials alarmed by allegations NUCLEAR WEAPONS US DEPT. OF ENERGY 56 L.A. Daily News: DOE to sample soils at 25 more Santa Susana lab sit 57 Tri-City Herald: Audit rates DOE pollution control 58 Tri-City Herald: DOE awards $1.9 billion Columbia River cleanup cont 59 PR News: DOE Selects CH2M-WG Idaho, LLC to Lead Idaho Cleanup Effort 60 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Oak Ridg OTHER NUCLEAR 61 Las Vegas SUN: U.S. Sen. Ensign defends Bush plan for Social Securit ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Las Vegas SUN: Reid: 'This place is devastated' Today: March 23, 2005 at 9:14:33 PST By Benjamin Grove SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- The United States needs to focus on four goals in Iraq -- security, reconstruction and political and economic stability, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said after spending Tuesday in the war-torn capital of Baghdad. Reid said he was shaken by the destruction of the country caused by by former leader Saddam Hussein's policies and by the U.S. military. "The place is devastated," Reid said in a telephone interview with Nevada reporters Tuesday, speaking from Georgia in the former Soviet Union, mid-way through an eight-day overseas congressional trip. "It is going to take years to reconstruct Iraq." Each of the four goals poses massive challenges for the United States, Reid said. Rebuilding the economy is a daunting task given the violence, demolished infrastructure and rampant unemployment, he said. "It (economy) is a mess, to say the least," Reid said. Reid is leading a delegation of five Democrats and two Republican senators on a trip to examine security and issues in developing democracies that took them to Israel for a meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, then to Kuwait via Jordan, Iraq, and Georgia, Reid said. The senators are scheduled to meet Thursday with newly elected Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko in Kiev before a brief stop in France to meet with military officials and a scheduled Saturday return. In Iraq, the senators met with U.S. military officials as well as Kurdish and Sunni leaders. Reid also met with Nevada reservists from the Henderson-based Nevada National Guard 1864th Transportation unit, including a junior high school teacher from Elko. Reid described them as mostly lonely young men who want to get home. A few asked Reid to contact their loved ones. "I've got several phone calls to make to wives and mothers," Reid said. The soldiers appear well-trained and generally well-supplied, Reid said, although it was noted to Reid that some vehicle armor was not scheduled to arrive for four months. For soldiers awaiting that armor in a unit that trucks supplies to fellow soldiers, "every day is an eternity," Reid said. The Nevada senator reiterated a call for a clearer U.S. plan for an eventual exit in Iraq. But he also said U.S. military forces could not begin a withdrawal until more stability has taken hold. Security measures in Iraq are extreme, Reid said. Drivers routinely weave their cars to avoid being an easy target, he said. Reid attended a press conference in Iraq where 15 to 20 members of the media asked questions while about 50 law enforcement officers stood watch "guns at the ready." Reid said it seemed nearly everyone -- people of all ages -- were armed. "Every place you went there were people with guns," Reid said. ***************************************************************** 2 Intl. Herald Tribune OpEd Iran & Nukes March 24 Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 21:31:09 EST   [Unable to display image]   A way to break the nuclear impasse By Bennett Ramberg International Herald Tribune Thursday, March 24, 2005 Dealing with Iran LOS ANGELES Iran is on a nuclear roll. In recent weeks it signed a deal with Russia to acquire nuclear fuel for its Bushehr reactor, rebuffed reprimands from the International Atomic Energy Agency, berated European interlocutors for bad faith and got the United States to back off from veiled military threats and even to agree to modest economic incentives. In addition, the mullahs have stonewalled continuing efforts to end their nuclear fuel enrichment program while denying international inspection of suspicious sites. The West's response: We can still make a deal. . While President George W. Bush remains unequivocal about not letting Iran have nuclear weapons, the new tack offers little to bring Tehran around, and options are wearing thin. What is required at this point is a new face-saving, risk-taking, bluff-calling alternative. Co-opting Iran's demands for enrichment offers an unexplored prospect. . The instrument of this strategy would be a joint enrichment venture between Iran and the three European countries it has been dealing with on the nuclear issue - France, Germany and Britain. Iran would agree for European personnel to permanently operate and monitor the operation, and would agree to allow snap inspections of suspect sites by the nuclear energy agency. . Enforcement would include a Security Council resolution and/or a commitment by the European Union, the United States and NATO that would automatically apply specified sanctions if Iran were to remove foreign partners, impede investigations or engage in suspicious nuclear activities. . For Iran, the benefits should be clear, assuming its intentions are benign. The joint venture would provide the nuclear fuel to support the energy independence that the regime claims it wants. At the same time, a rejection by Tehran would signal that its nuclear direction was more than suspect. The proposal would also accord with the recent European position that if Iran insists on enriching uranium, it should "put in place objective guarantees as good as their abandoning the fuel cycle." . .Given the potential benefits, why would Iran rebuff such a proposal? First the regime may still believe that it can play hide-and-seek to develop nuclear weapons, counting on divisions in the global community to prevent sanctions. . But Iran's leadership may also actually prefer continued nuclear tension, which generates public support for a failing regime. After a quarter-century, the Iranian revolution appears to be running out of political capital. Its aspirations have not generated the prosperity it promised, and the exclusion of reformists from parliamentary elections in 2004 has undermined outlets for political expression. . Regionally, Iran is increasingly isolated. Iraq may become a democratic Shiite nation with America's blessing, even as Iran finds itself encircled by U.S. forces. Better Israeli-Palestinian prospects undermine its ambitions to eliminate the Jewish state. . In the mullahs' view, the nuclear ambition, which enjoys broad public support, may offer political salvation. Military action against Iran's nuclear plants could re-energize popular revolutionary fervor. Tehran would capitalize on such an act to press regional sympathizers to redouble efforts to expel the West from the region and confront Israel. Iran's national security adviser, Hassan Rowhani, has declared that a military strike would prompt his government to accelerate the nuclear program. An exit from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty would be in the cards. . Iran's customary brazenness emerges in its repeated snubbing of efforts by the atomic energy agency to promote nuclear transparency and in its rhetorical jousting with the Europeans. Declarations that it may end negotiations if the European countries persist in "killing time" and "fail to honor commitments" may be simple puffing; but it is the sort of audacity that the West has been unable to overcome. . History shows that dealing with eccentric regimes that have nuclear ambitions is challenging. North Korea marks a failure, Libya a success. In both cases t he international community applied political and economic isolation, but the results were quite different, suggesting that there is no reliable key. . Given Iran's behavioral pattern, buying it off with a joint enrichment venture would be difficult. But the strategy offers the regime a clear choice to end the current confrontation on terms consistent with a peaceful nuclear program that includes "objective guarantees" over nonproliferation that the mullahs claim to embrace. It affords the United States and Europe a way to stem a dangerous, independent program. . If Tehran says no, the way will be clear for the West to become far more assertive. . . Copyright © 2005 The International Herald Tribune | www.iht.com . ***************************************************************** 3 [NYTr] Iran to restart nuclear programme Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:54:48 -0600 (CST) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit [Depending on the headline writer, the latest EU talks with Iran have been going well or going nowhere. What's not in dispute is that Iran isn't rolling over on its nuclear program.-NY Transfer] Al Jazeera - Mar 23, 2005 http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9FDF57A3-A27C-4BE6-A26E-378F800E1CDC.htm Iran to restart nuclear programme A senior Iranian official has confirmed that the Islamic republic is to end its self-imposed moratorium on the national nuclear programme and continue to work for its completion. Speaking at a conference in Paris on Tuesday, the government official said Tehran would recommence mining uranium and enriching it. Iran is also to build a heavy-water reactor which can produce plutonium, Muhammad Saidi, vice president of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), said. "The people and government of Iran are determined to open their way through the tortuous path of peaceful use of nuclear technology despite all imposed restrictions and difficulties," he said. Saidi told a conference on nuclear power that Iran, one of the world's major oil producers, still needed nuclear energy "to reverse the trend of unrestrained use of fossil resources". The US charges that Iran is using its civilian nuclear energy programme as a cover for secretly developing nuclear weapons. Iran has consistently denied the allegation. Ongoing dialogue Iran has asked the European Union and Russia to respect its right to enrich uranium, an activity the EU is trying to convince Iran to give up to ensure it is not producing nuclear weapons. Britain, France and Germany have been negotiating for the EU with Iran since December to secure "objective guarantees" that the government will not use its atomic energy programme to acquire nuclear weapons. Iran insists it does not even consider abandoning enrichment to be on the table in the talks, despite its having temporarily suspended enrichment as a confidence-building measure. A new round of negotiations is due to start in Paris on Wednesday. A steering committee has to evaluate work done since December and decide how negotiations can go on. Agencies * Search the NYTr Archives at: http://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ To subscribe or unsubscribe or change your settings via the web, visit: http://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= ***************************************************************** 4 Guardian Unlimited: Iran to Extend Nuclear Talks With Europe From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday March 23, 2005 7:16 PM AP Photo PAR101 By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press Writer PARIS (AP) - Iranian diplomats agreed Wednesday to extend nuclear talks with three European Union nations, signaling they also will continue their suspension of uranium enrichment activities as long as talks go forward. High-level negotiators in Paris reported a ``positive climate'' in the talks, which come amid U.S. concerns that Tehran is masking plans to build atomic bombs by insisting on possessing the enrichment technology needed to refine nuclear fuel for a civilian reactor. ``There was a constructive and positive climate,'' French Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said after negotiators met for seven hours. The negotiations were suspended until a later, unspecified date - an arrangement that also extends Iran's agreement to cease enrichment activities. Tehran has repeatedly said it will not enrich uranium as long as the talks continue. In a joint statement Wednesday by Iran and the three European Union nations - France, Britain and Germany - diplomats said the meetings would hold to an accord reached in Paris in November that specified Iran should voluntarily suspend uranium enrichment. Iran presented ``certain ideas'' on who should provide guarantees that its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes and on efforts concerning nuclear, technological and economic cooperation and security issues, the statement said. The three EU nations and Iran said the talks had led to an ``enhanced relationship'' that would set the stage for further progress in later talks, according to the statement. Europeans have been very clear with Iran that there will have to be certain ``objective guarantees'' that its program is purely peaceful, a Western diplomatic official said on condition of anonymity. Iran suspended all uranium enrichment activities last year to try to build confidence in its talks and avoid International Atomic Energy Agency referral to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. The United States accuses Iran of having a secret program to make nuclear weapons, but Tehran insists its nuclear activities are for peaceful energy purposes and that it should be able to pursue them. Uranium enriched to low levels can be used as fuel in nuclear reactors to generate electricity. Further enrichment makes it suitable for a nuclear bomb. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 5 Guardian Unlimited: Iran, Europe Discuss Nuclear Ambitions From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday March 23, 2005 1:01 PM AP Photo PAR102 By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press Writer PARIS (AP) - Iran returned Wednesday to the negotiating table with three European countries hoping for assurances from the Islamic regime that it will not build nuclear weapons. The discussions, led by France, Britain and Germany, were shrouded in secrecy as they got under way at the French Foreign Ministry. High-level negotiators were following up on three months of work by a working group examining civil nuclear technology, trade and political and security issues with Iran. Similar talks ended without result earlier this month, with Tehran saying progress with Europe was too slow and reiterating its repeated warning that it could pull out of the talks. Javad Zarif, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, was heading the country's delegation in the Paris talks, said an Iranian diplomatic official on condition of anonymity. The negotiations were expected to last one day, but could be extended until Thursday. Europeans have been very clear with Iran that there will have to be certain ``objective guarantees'' that its program is purely peaceful, a Western diplomatic official said on condition of anonymity. Iran suspended all uranium enrichment-related activities last year to try to build confidence in its talks and avoid referral to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. Tehran says extending the voluntary freeze depends on progress in the talks with the Europeans. The United States accuses Iran of having a secret program to make nuclear weapons, but Tehran insists its nuclear activities are for peaceful energy purposes and that it should be able to pursue them. Uranium enriched to low levels can be used as fuel in nuclear reactors to generate electricity; further enrichment makes it suitable for a nuclear bomb. As an incentive, the United States closed ranks with Europe in agreeing to drop its opposition to Iranian membership in the World Trade Organization and agreeing to allow some sales of spare parts for civilian aircraft. Iran has said economic incentives may help improve foreign relations but won't permanently stop the country from pursuing the nuclear program. Britain, France and Germany, leading the EU effort, have offered economic incentives to Tehran to permanently freeze its nuclear activities. A confidential European Union document obtained by The Associated Press earlier this month indicated that the 25-member body would back U.S. calls to refer Iran to the Security Council if it does not end alleged programs linked to nuclear weapons. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 6 Xinhua: EU, Iran to continue nuke talks in weeks www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2005-03-24 04:41:42 PARIS, March 23 (Xinhuanet) -- The troika of the European Union (EU) (Britain, France and Germany) and Iran decided on Wednesday to continue their nuclear talks after one-day discussions in Paris on Iran's nuclear program. According to a European diplomat, the negotiations proceeded in"a positive and constructive climate". Sirus Nasseri, negotiator of Iran, said that there was no final agreement reached on Wednesday but "there will be a further discussion within the next weeks," adding that each party continues to have its own stand. No exact date was unveiled for the following negotiations. According to Nasseri, Iran has made it clear that it waits for firm guarantees from the troika. On the eve of the discussions, an Iranian high official, Hossein Mussavian, reiterated Tuesday that Iran would not give up on uranium enrichment. On Wednesday, Ali Agha Mohammadi, spokesman of the Supreme national council of Iranian security, said "in the ongoing negotiations, we are expecting to reach to an agreement on these firm and objective guarantees on the issue of the enrichment resumption." The United States wants Iran to abandon its nuclear program that Washington believes to have a military nature. Enditem Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 7 Xinhua: US presses DPRK to return to six-party talks www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2005-03-24 04:43:53 WASHINGTON, March 23 (Xinhuanet) -- US President George W. Bush reiterated on Wednesday his call for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to return to the six-party talks, but he did not set a deadline for Pyongyang's return. "I'm a patient person," said Bush, responding to a question at a news conference with the leaders of Mexico and Canada on whether he had a deadline in mind for the DPRK's return to the multiparty talks. However, Bush noted that Pyongyang must know that all other five parties to the talks - the United States, the Republic of Korea, China, Japan and Russia - want a nuclear-weapons free Korean peninsula. Bush said he had heard report from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who just returned from a week-long visit to Asia.In her tour of the region, Rice suggested that Pyongyang may face sanctions if it does not cooperate. The six-party talks, which began in August 2003, has held three rounds of talks in Beijing aimed at peacefully resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. The DPRK last took part in the talks in June 2004. It declared last month that it had nuclear weapons and that it was indefinitely suspending its participation in the dialogue, citing hostile US policy. Enditem Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 8 Secrecy News -- 03/23/05 Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:26:07 -0500 SECRECY NEWS from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy Volume 2005, Issue No. 26 March 23, 2005 ** FBIS PHOTOS OF IRAN'S BUSHEHR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT ** IN CONGRESS ** MILITARY TRIBUNALS AND PRESIDENTIAL POWER ** GOVT AGENCIES PROPOSE TO SUE INFO REQUESTERS ** A BOUQUET OF CRS REPORTS FBIS PHOTOS OF IRAN'S BUSHEHR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT The CIA's Foreign Broadcast Information Service has compiled a new gallery of photographs of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant. The photographs were taken from the Iranian Fars News Agency and from the Persian blog rasanic.com. The monitoring of blogs is a relatively new and fruitful expansion of FBIS coverage of world media outlets. The CIA has not made the new FBIS compilation on Bushehr available to the public. But a copy was obtained by Secrecy News. See "News Agency, Blogger Post Photos of Bushehr NPP," Foreign Broadcast Information Service, February 2005 (2.4 MB PowerPoint file): http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/iran/nuke/bushehr.ppt IN CONGRESS Recent congressional activity on secrecy and intelligence matters includes the following. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) asked the Inspector General of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to investigate NRC restrictions on the dissemination of unclassified and formerly public information. A copy of his March 21 letter is here: http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2005/markey032105.pdf Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) introduced the "Restore FOIA Act" to narrow the FOIA exemption previously enacted for "critical infrastructure information." See: http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2005/s622.html Senators Leahy and Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the "Faster FOIA Act" that would establish a Commission to investigate ways to expedite the processing of FOIA requests. See: http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2005/s589.html Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) introduced a baffling bill to exempt livestock identification information collected by the Department of Agriculture from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. See: http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2005/hr1256.html Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) introduced a bill that would make past employment in Air America, and other former CIA front companies, count for civil service retirement purposes. See: http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2005_cr/hr1276.html A bill introduced by Sens. Chambliss and Nelson would establish a new Military Intelligence Command that would serve as an intermediary between the new Director of National Intelligence and the various defense intelligence agencies. See: http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2005_cr/s640.html Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee introduced a resolution calling for a new multi-level security clearance system that would facilitate the hiring of linguists and cultural experts in U.S. intelligence agencies. See: http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2005_cr/hres173.html Rep. Rush Holt paid tribute to Mark Lowenthal, the Assistant Director of Central Intelligence for Analysis and Production, who is the latest high-level official to announce his departure from the troubled Agency. See: http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2005_cr/h032005.html The transcript of last year's none-too-edifying confirmation hearing of Porter J. Goss to be Director of Central Intelligence has been published. (The PDF version, linked on the page below, includes Mr. Goss' detailed answers to questions for the record on various aspects of intelligence organization and management.) A copy is here: http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2004_hr/091404goss.html MILITARY TRIBUNALS AND PRESIDENTIAL POWER The largely unchecked expansion of presidential authority to prosecute the "war on terrorism" forms the backdrop to a new book by Louis Fisher, the constitutional scholar and specialist on separation of powers. The author focuses on presidential war powers and specifically on the history and development of military tribunals. He concludes with a constitutional critique of the current system for detaining and trying enemy combatants. "Tribunals are created by Presidents, staffed by Presidents, and guided by rules and procedures developed by the executive branch, all with little or minimal involvement of the other two branches. It is a form of government that the framers would find repugnant," he writes. "It is especially in time of war that the apparatus of the presidency poses the highest risk, executive errors inflict the greatest damage, and individual liberties are placed at maximum peril. Institutional checks are needed more, not less." "Military Tribunals and Presidential Power" by Louis Fisher is published next month by the University Press of Kansas. See: http://www.kansaspress.ku.edu/book6.html GOVT AGENCIES PROPOSE TO SUE INFO REQUESTERS In North Carolina, "government agencies are pursuing the authority to sue citizens who ask to see public records." That would be a delightful story if it appeared in The Onion or some other "fake news" outlet. Unfortunately, however, it is from the Associated Press. See "N.C. Cities Want To Sue Over Public Records Requests," March 20: http://www.wral.com/news/4301487/detail.html The AP story is based on "Cities, agencies seek right to sue" by Matthew Eisley, Raleigh News and Observer, March 20, 2005 (free reg. req'd): http://tinyurl.com/52wdj A BOUQUET OF CRS REPORTS As previously observed, the Congressional Research Service does not permit direct public access to its publications. Some more recent CRS reports obtained by Secrecy News include the following: "U.S. Space Programs: Civilian, Military, and Commercial," updated February 28, 2005: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/space/IB92011.pdf "Critical Infrastructures: Background, Policy and Implementation," updated February 17, 2005: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL30153.pdf "Mexico-United States Dialogue on Migration and Border Issues, 2001-2005," updated February 16, 2005: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32735.pdf "Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami: Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Operations," updated February 10, 2005: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32715.pdf "Proliferation Control Regimes: Background and Status," updated February 10, 2005: http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/crs/RL31559.pdf "China-Southeast Asia Relations: Trends, Issues, and Implications for the United States," updated February 8, 2005: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32688.pdf "Democracy in Russia: Trends and Implications for U.S. Interests," updated January 28, 2005: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL32662.pdf "Nuclear Arms Control: The U.S.-Russian Agenda," updated January 24, 2005: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/IB98030.pdf "Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Weapons and Missiles: Status and Trends," updated January 14, 2005 (2.6 MB PDF file): http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL30699.pdf "Nuclear Terrorism: A Brief Review of Threats and Responses," updated February 10, 2005: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/RL32595.pdf _______________________________________________ Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists. To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, send email to secrecy_news-request@lists.fas.org with "subscribe" in the body of the message. To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a blank email message to secrecy_news-remove@lists.fas.org OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org Secrecy News is archived at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html Secrecy News has an RSS feed at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.rss _______________________ Steven Aftergood Project on Government Secrecy Federation of American Scientists web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html email: saftergood@fas.org voice: (202) 454-4691 ***************************************************************** 9 Israel Trying to Gag Nuclear Whistleblower Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 09:11:03 -0600 (CST) Institute for Public Accuracy 915 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045 (202) 347-0020 * http://www.accuracy.org * ipa@accuracy.org ___________________________________________________ Wednesday, March 23, 2005 Israel Trying to Gag Nuclear Whistleblower MORDECHAI VANUNU, vanunumvjc2[at]yahoo.com, Vanunu exposed the Israeli nuclear weapons arsenal in 1986. He was released from prison in April 2004 after serving an 18-year sentence, most of it in solitary confinement. Since then, Israeli authorities have placed numerous restrictions on his activities and attempted to prevent him from speaking to non-Israelis or media. Last week, a Knesset committee hearing on his case was abruptly cancelled and Vanunu was indicted for violating the Israeli government restrictions. The charges include speaking to various media and attempting to attend Christmas Eve Mass in Bethlehem. [The charge sheet is at: ] Despite the prospect of being taken to prison again, Vanunu is continuing to speak to journalists. Reached yesterday by the Institute for Public Accuracy, Vanunu said: "The charges against me are another total failure of Israeli democracy. They are not ready to admit that I am alive, free and have survived 17 and a half years of barbaric treatment. They are unable to respect my most elementary rights of freedom of speech." JENNIFER HARBURY, jharbury[at]yahoo.com Harbury is a noted human rights attorney. She said today: "I was one of several international human rights advocates recently invited to speak to a Knesset committee about the case of Mordechai Vanunu. As we arrived in Jerusalem after long overseas journeys, the presentation was abruptly cancelled and Mr. Vanunu was indicted instead. The basis of the charges? He has been speaking out against nuclear weapons. As the world community grows ever more concerned about the development of weapons of mass destruction by Iran, [North] Korea and potentially even Al Qaeda networks, one would think that such comments would be welcome. Obviously, this is not the case. "Nearly 20 years ago, Mr. Vanunu was working his way through his university studies by working as a technician at the Dimona nuclear research center in Israel. ... Gifted in math and physics, he was fully aware that a nuclear attack or accident would destroy not only the surrounding nations but Israel itself. He traveled to London and gave the information to the Sunday Times for free. In return the Mossad kidnapped him from the streets of Rome, beat and drugged him and returned him to Israel for a secret trial. He spent the next years in prison, eleven and a half in solitary, two of those with the lights on 24 hours a day. "After serving his full, savage and frankly illegal sentence, he was released last April. However, the security forces placed him under additional restrictions, forbidding him to leave the country or to speak with foreigners on any subject. Courageously, he defied those orders and continued to speak out for the abolition of nuclear weapons. For this he was twice arrested and his files and computer confiscated. Now he is under indictment simply for speaking, although no new secrets were revealed and no security interests were harmed. "People like Mr. Vanunu and Dr. Martin Luther King will always contribute to human society in priceless and permanent ways. They push us forward, past our comfortable limits. In return we inevitably 'kill the messenger.' Isn't it time to learn from our mistakes and to set Mr. Vanunu free?" DANIEL ELLSBERG, EllsbergD@cs.com, http://www.truthtellingproject.org Ellsberg has also just returned from Jerusalem, where he too was to have testified against the restrictions placed on Vanunu. Ellsberg, author of the recent book "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers," is available for a limited number of interviews. He said today: "The fact that Israel has a large and growing nuclear arsenal -- larger than Britain's -- has been recognized by the rest of the world ever since Mordechai Vanunu revealed it conclusively 19 years ago. "The notion that any further details he could disclose, 19 years later, could harm Israel's national security is absurd. Why then, after he has served his full sentence, is the state of Israel invoking British Mandate Emergency Regulations of 1945, pre-dating its own independence, to threaten him with prison for exercising his fundamental human rights to speak to foreigners and foreign journalists? "Here's one possible answer. This very month both Israel and the U.S. are making open threats of armed attacks as early as this summer on Iran's nuclear weapons potential. For Israel to confirm openly Vanunu's revelations at this particular time -- dramatically abandoning 40 years of obfuscation -- would attract unfavorable attention to the fact that such threats or attacks against Iran are aimed not at achieving a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East but at prolonging, indefinitely, Israel's monopoly of nuclear weapons in the region. That is an unstated aim for both the U.S. and Israel, but a less than compelling justification for war. There may lie a reason -- but not a legitimate one -- for returning Mordechai Vanunu to silence in solitary." "What the world needs of this prophet of the nuclear era is not his silence but his freedom to speak and travel, to inspire others to follow his example of truth-telling in their own countries, including ours." FELICE COHEN-JOPPA, freevanunu@mindspring.com, http://www.vanunu.com Cohen-Joppa is the coordinator of the U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu. Cohen-Joppa was at Ashkelon Prison in April 2004 with 100 others from over a dozen countries on the day of Vanunu's release, to welcome him to freedom. She will return in mid-April 2005 as part of another international delegation which will hold vigils and protests calling for restrictions on Vanunu to be lifted and for Israel to let him go. Audio and video interviews with Vanunu are available at: , and . For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy: Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167 _________________________________________________________________ You received this message as a subscriber on the list: public@lists.accuracy.org To be removed from the list, send any message to: public-unsubscribe@lists.accuracy.org For all list information and functions, including changing your subscription mode and options, visit the Web page: http://lists.accuracy.org/lists/info/public ***************************************************************** 10 Canadian PM given thumbs up on BMD stand Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 06:21:29 -0600 (CST) http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/03/22/pf-969232.html March 22, 2005 PM given thumbs up on BMD stand By ALEXANDER PANETTA OTTAWA (CP) - Canadians are giving Prime Minister Paul Martin an overwhelming thumbs up for his refusal to join the U.S. missile defence project, a new poll suggests. The numbers offer some vindication for Martin as he heads into a meeting Wednesday with U.S. President George W. Bush armed with Canadian public sentiment on his side. The prime minister angered the White House and drew scorn from critics at home, but two-thirds of poll respondents - 57 per cent compared to 26 per cent - supported him, according to the survey by Decima Inc. A Canada-U.S.-Mexico summit in Texas will be the first meeting between Martin and Bush since last month, when the prime minister tried informing the president of his decision and waited days before having his phone call returned. U.S. officials said Bush was angered by Martin's failure to convey Canada's decision face-to-face when the two men met in Brussels late last month. The Decima poll indicates Martin would have flown into a public opinion hurricane had he decided to take part in Bush's missile program. Virtually every constituency in the country approved of Canada's stand - from teenagers to senior citizens, men and women, urban and rural dwellers, and a majority of respondents in every single province. Just one group fell outside the statistical norm: Conservative party supporters sided 49 per cent to 35 per cent in favour of joining the missile project. Pollster Bruce Anderson says opposition to the plan has little to do with missile defence and a lot to do with opposition to Bush's foreign policy, particularly his prosecution of the war in Iraq as well as White House trade policies. "(But) I think people would be misunderstanding these results if they came to the conclusion that this is a mandate from Canadians to be churlish with the U.S. administration," said Anderson, who conducted the survey. "Most Canadians want a friendly and closer relationship between the two countries, but there's caution and skepticism in matters of military and foreign policy." He said the poll results indicate proponents of missile defence have to do a much better job selling the concept if they ever hope to get Canadians onside. Here are some other findings of the survey of 1,023 Canadians, conducted March 10-14 and considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20: -Lack of confidence in Bush (34 per cent) was the main reason given by the those asked to explain their support for Martin's decision. The second-most common reason given was frustration over U.S. handling of the softwood lumber and mad-cow disputes, as 21 per cent agreed "Canada shouldn't co-operate with the U.S. until the U.S. treats Canada more fairly." -The Canadian announcement was most popular with supporters of the Bloc Quebecois and NDP, followed by Liberals. Only self-described Conservatives disapproved. Seventy-two per cent of Bloc supporters agreed with the move while 71 per cent of those who identified themselves as pro-NDP said they agreed. Sixty-four per cent of Liberals supported Martin's stand, while 22 per cent were against. -Young people were by far the most supportive of Martin's move, at 74 per cent, but every age category had a similar opinion. Respondents over age 55 were 55 per cent in favour and only 29 per cent opposed Martin. -The move was most appreciated in Quebec, where 63 per cent endorsed it. It was least popular in Alberta, where 50 per cent supported Martin's announcement and 35 per cent opposed it. As early as two years ago, Martin had made it clear he supported the U.S. project but didn't sign on when he first became prime minister. His initial enthusiasm dwindled in the final days of last year's tightly fought federal election campaign, when Martin suddenly began qualifying his support in an attempt to curry favour with NDP and Bloc Quebeceois voters. Then he remained largely silent on the issue while public opposition to the project mushroomed. ***************************************************************** 11 CNW Telbec: Atomic Energy of Canada Limited: Efford Appoints Lajeunesse to Board 24 mars 2005 RECHERCHE Attention News Editors: OTTAWA, March 22 /CNW Telbec/ - The Honourable R. John Efford, Minister of Natural Resources Canada, today announced the appointment of Dr. Claude Lajeunesse as a member of the board of directors of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL). "Dr. Lajeunesse has a wealth of experience and expertise that will certainly benefit AECL," said Minister Efford. "His appointment brings to the board one of the best minds in the field of nuclear engineering, and further strengthens the decision-making team at the helm of this important Crown corporation." Dr. Lajeunesse is the President and Vice-Chancellor of Ryerson University in Toronto, a position he has held since September 1995. He also served for seven years as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ottawa-based Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. He was a Director of Targeted Research for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and former General Manager of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers. Dr. Lajeunesse is a graduate in engineering physics from the Ecole Polytechnique de Montréal, and received both his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. At the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Dr. Lajeunesse served as Professor, Head of the Engineering Physics Division and Head of the Engineering Department. AECL is a customer-driven Crown corporation that develops, markets and manages the construction of CANDU(R) power reactors and MAPLE research reactors, carries out reactor research, supplies CANDU and light-water reactor support services and offers radioactive waste management products and services. AECL, the design authority for CANDU nuclear power reactors that provide emissions-free electricity to the world, is completing the development of an innovative next-generation system - the Advanced CANDU Reactor (ACR(TM)). For further information: media may contact: Ghyslain Charron, Media Relations, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, (613) 992-4447; Tom Ormsby, Director of Communications, Office of the Minister, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, (613) 996-2007; NRCan's news releases and backgrounders © 2005 Groupe CNW Ltée ***************************************************************** 12 Japan Times: New energy technologies showcased in Aichi Expo Tuesday, March 22, 2005 By ERIC JOHNSTON Staff writer NAGAKUTE, Aichi Pref. -- An 18,000-year-old woolly mammoth and robots that do everything except brush your teeth drew lots of squeals from excited visitors during a preview of the World Exposition in Aichi Prefecture. [News photo] A power plant built by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization at the Aichi Expo site uses fuel cell batteries to provide electricity to the NEDO pavilion and other pavilions nearby. Only slightly less popular, and arguably far more important to the future of mankind, was an exhibit of new environmentally friendly energy technologies expected to replace fossil fuels and nuclear power within this century. The special three-day preview of the expo was held through Sunday, ahead of its official start this Friday. Beside a group of pavilions representing African nations is the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization's pavilion. NEDO, a quasi-governmental organization made up of corporations, utilities, government officials and academics, explores new energy technologies. Power generation at the NEDO pavilion comes from three different kinds of fuel-cell batteries, which provide 100 percent of the electric power needs for NEDO and the nearby Japan pavilion. NEDO is offering tours of its new energy plant, located on the ground floor of the pavilion. On display are three kinds of fuel cells: solid oxide, molten carbonate and phosphoric acid. The huge fuel cells, each nearly the size of a boxcar, can generate about 2,180 kilowatts of power, enough for the power consumption of about 900 households, and emit no greenhouse gases or pollutants. Fuel for the cells comes from wood left over from the construction of the expo site as well as daily garbage, which is picked up at various locations around the site and transferred to the NEDO center. By using an advanced high-temperature gasification system that can process about 20 kg per hour, wood waste is turned into carbon dioxide and oxygen, which fuel the batteries. In a separate methane fermentation system, garbage is transformed into methane gas and has the added advantage of reducing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. The water produced by heat from the fuel cells is being used to partially air condition the NEDO pavilion. The NEDO pavilion also features the latest in solar power technology, which is being used to supply some of the expo's energy needs. The potential for new energy technologies such as fuel cells and solar power to eventually replace fossil fuels and nuclear power has long been recognized. But the key question is when such replacement will occur. Advocates of the continued use of fossil fuel and nuclear power are often skeptical of or hostile to the potential of new energy forms to play a major role within the next century. They say such energy forms are more costly and sometimes less reliable than conventional energy supplies. But advocates of new energy technologies insist that alternate energy sources could replace fossil fuels and nuclear power in most areas of the world within a decade, given sufficient political backing. Yuko Yasunaga, director of NEDO's policy planning and coordination department, says alternate energies like those on display at the Aichi Expo will be the answer in the future. "Fossil fuels and nuclear power will continue to play an important role in the next few decades," he said. "But by the end of the century, most experts, and even groups like the International Atomic Energy Agency, would agree that fuel cells and solar power are expected to largely replace fossil fuels and nuclear power." From a technological standpoint, the potential for replacement could happen a lot sooner than the official predictions, he said. "Over the past 30 years, costs for solar power have decreased drastically, and many Japanese companies are now the world leaders in solar technology, while fuel cell technology has advanced more rapidly than many predicted," he said. Thirty-five years ago, at the Osaka Expo, another form of new energy was trumpeted as cheap and environmentally friendly. A flashing neon sign proudly told visitors that electricity was being supplied commercially in Japan for the first time by a nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture. In 2005, it is solar, wind and above all fuel cells that are being touted as the future. "New energy technologies still have a ways to go. But in recent years, the government has gotten serious about funding research and development of such new technologies, and we've seen budget increases year after year," Yasunaga said. The Japan Times: March 22, 2005 ***************************************************************** 13 Japan Times: Nuclear shadow follows Ms. Rice Thursday, March 24, 2005 EDITORIAL Ms. Condoleezza Rice has just completed her first tour of Asia as U.S. secretary of state. The trip took her to the major capitals of the region -- Delhi, Islamabad, Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing -- as well as to Afghanistan, briefly. At each stop, she confirmed U.S. commitment to the region and pledged to deepen ties with each government she met. It was an impressive performance, and one that is much appreciated given the value that Asian governments put on face-to-face diplomacy. The trip underscored the challenges the Bush administration faces in its second term, including the most daunting task of all -- dealing with North Korea. On this issue, the signs are worrying. Ms. Rice began in South Asia, reaffirming U.S. determination to improve relations with India and Pakistan, and highlighting Washington's mutual interests and shared concerns with Delhi and Islamabad. In India, Ms. Rice explained American worries about a proposed pipeline that would bring Iranian energy supplies to the Indian subcontinent -- thus extending Tehran's influence and providing it with much-needed hard currency. In Pakistan, the top U.S. priority is closing down the nuclear black market of Dr. A.Q. Khan. She also found time to stop in Kabul to see firsthand the progress that has been made in Afghanistan since the elections last year. The second half of the trip focused on East Asia. In South Korea, she applauded the U.S.-South Korea security alliance and repeated Washington's preference for a diplomatic solution to the crisis set off by North Korea's determination to develop nuclear weapons. In a departure from protocol, Ms. Rice visited a frontline U.S. military headquarters. It is unusual for the secretary of state to make a high-profile stop at a military base. The visit occurred during annual bilateral war games that the North has always protested. Plainly, the visit signaled U.S. resolve in dealing with the North and reminded Pyongyang of who the ultimate guarantors of peace on the Korean Peninsula are: the U.S. and South Korean military forces stationed there. In Tokyo, topics ranged from the celebration of "the best relations ever" between Japan and the United States to U.S. complaints about the ban on U.S. beef exports due to concerns about mad cow disease. She also expressed support for Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. In Beijing, her final stop, Ms. Rice expressed U.S. concern over relations between Taiwan and China. She criticized the new law that prohibits secession by Taiwan as "not welcome" and unhelpful. She pushed the Chinese to be more transparent in their military activities, and to strengthen efforts to protect human rights. The release of a high-profile political prisoner on the eve of Ms. Rice's arrival continued the Chinese tradition of using such detainees for political purposes. She met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, who echoed her desire to build a constructive bilateral relationship and agreed that Taiwan poses a serious threat to regional stability. For him, like the rest of the Beijing leadership, Taipei is responsible for the tensions that punctuate cross-strait relations. At every stop, Ms. Rice focused on U.S. determination to work with other nations to stem the threat from nuclear proliferation. She emphasized the U.S. commitment to a peaceful solution to the North Korean crisis, but gave the first indication by a senior U.S. official that the U.S. is contemplating "using other" more aggressive options to resolve the problem. It is unclear what the U.S. has in mind; most likely it favors either tightening scrutiny of all North Korean trade to ensure that weapons of mass destruction or their components are not exported, or referring the issue to the U.N. Security Council. Only a united front among the other five nations in the six-party talks will convince North Korea to take those negotiations seriously. Key to persuading Pyongyang is getting Beijing and Seoul, the main source of economic support for North Korea, to use their leverage against the North. Thus far, both governments have been reluctant to play hardball. They worry about instability on their borders, while China sees relations with Pyongyang as a card to play against Seoul and as a means of getting Washington to respond to Beijing's concerns about Taiwan. Ultimately, the choice is North Korea's. Ms. Rice repeated that the U.S. has no intention of invading or attacking North Korea. Washington is ready to provide security assurances to the North if Pyongyang is ready to negotiate seriously. According to Ms. Rice, it is time for Pyongyang to make "a strategic choice for peace." Ms. Rice's tour signaled that the time for that is running out. The Japan Times: March 24, 2005 ***************************************************************** 14 The Tribune: USA allowed Pak to go nuclear - report Chandigarh, India - World Washington, March 23 The USA and other Western powers allowed Pakistan to develop nuclear weapons because they needed Islamabad's support to fight Soviet forces in Afghanistan, says a think-tank report distributed in Washington yesterday. By arrangement with the Dawn The USA and other Western powers allowed Pakistan to develop nuclear weapons because they needed Islamabad's support to fight Soviet forces in Afghanistan, says a think-tank report distributed in Washington yesterday. The USA and the erstwhile West Germany had prior knowledge of Pakistan's clandestine efforts to buy nuclear material, but decided to ignore them, says the Observer Research Foundation, which is affiliated with the Washington's Brookings Institution. The report claims that even the present US Vice-President Dick Cheney, who was Secretary of Defence during the Afghan war, had blocked an in-house report on Pakistan's proliferation activities to help sale of F-16 aircraft to Islamabad. "Washington's priorities changed dramatically following the occupation of Afghanistan by Soviet forces in 1979," says the report, adding, "The Americans were far too obsessed with driving out the Soviets to waste time worrying about stopping Pakistan from going nuclear." In the case of Iran, the report says, the USA seems to have taken a diametrically opposite stand. While Iran insists it intends to use enriched uranium only in power stations, Washington argues that Iran is making fuel for atomic warheads. Britain, France and Germany are also putting diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to scrap uranium enrichment. Pakistan's nuclear programme, which began after India's first nuclear test in 1974, also had the tacit support of China, the report claims. The genesis of Pakistan's programme, the report says, goes back to former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who way back in 1965 said, "If India builds the bomb, we will eat grass or leave, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own. We have no alternative." The report claims, "Pakistan relied heavily on clandestine deals with nations like Germany, the USA, China and North Korea to buy, sell and barter nuclear know-how and materials." Pakistan had maintained such extreme security to its nuclear programme that its army, which guarded the installations, did not even allow the then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to visit Kahuta, where a uranium enrichment centrifuge facility was established, the report says. Centrifuges are used to purify uranium for use as fuel for nuclear power plants or weapons. ***************************************************************** 15 [NukeNet] NY Timed Nuclear Power Is Good: U.S. and Iran Have Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 15:21:33 -0800 NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/23/international/middleeast/23iran.html?pagewanted=print&position= March 23, 2005 Nuclear Power Is Good: U.S. and Iran Have No Argument There *By ELAINE SCIOLINO * PARIS, March 22 - In an unadorned conference center at the French Ministry of Finance, the United States and Iran discovered this week that they had something in common. They are both passionate cheerleaders for nuclear power. It's just that the United States wants to deny Iran the right to develop its own nuclear power capacity. In a speech on Monday at a two-day conference on "nuclear energy for the 21st century," Constance Morella, the American ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, told an audience of government officials and nuclear experts from more than 70 countries that American support of nuclear energy "has never been stronger." Nuclear energy is clean, reliable, necessary for the world to have a secure energy supply and "a benefit to humankind," she said. Ms. Morella cited a study estimating that global energy demand was expected to rise by about 60 percent over the next 25 years. "America hasn't ordered a nuclear power plant since the 1970's, and it's time to start building again," she quoted President Bush as saying recently. In a speech on Tuesday, Mohammad Saeidi, a vice president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, delivered more or less the same message. Citing Iran's half-century history of developing nuclear energy, he called the generation of nuclear power "the prime priority" of Iran's nuclear program. Oil and natural gas "are limited and belong to all subsequent generations, and unrestrained use of this source of energy is not prudent," he said. The only problem with the presentations was what the speakers left out. The United States wants nuclear energy plants for itself. But it believes Iran's uranium enrichment programs have nuclear bombs and not electricity as their goal. In a de facto reinterpretation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the Bush administration has taken the position that a country like Iran is too dangerous to be allowed the technology to produce nuclear material for electricity, even if the treaty itself does not explicitly ban it. On Wednesday, officials from France, Britain and Germany, which negotiated a temporary freeze on Iran's uranium enrichment activities last November, will meet in Paris with Iranian officials to review three months of negotiations toward a permanent settlement of Iran's nuclear plans. While the United States is convinced that Iran is hiding a secret weapons program, the three European countries are less categorical in their assessment. Still, the Europeans' suspicions are serious enough that they are negotiating to persuade Iran to give up its uranium enrichment program permanently in exchange for political and economic incentives. (Uranium enrichment is a process that can be used to make nuclear material for use in either electricity or bombs.) Iran, by contrast, has declared that it would never abandon its right to enrich uranium, and in his speech on Tuesday, Mr. Saeidi reaffirmed that Iran would pursue a full-scale nuclear program. "The people and government of Iran are determined to open their way through the tortuous path of peaceful use of nuclear technology despite all imposed restrictions and difficulties," he said. He called research activities, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes an "inalienable right" of signers of the nonproliferation treaty - "without discrimination." Mr. Saeidi did not mention Iran's agreement with the Europeans or the continuing negotiations. In fact, he described some of Iran's nuclear facilities as if all were functioning normally, even though some are not operating because of the freeze. In her speech in Paris, made in the name of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, Ms. Morella never uttered the word "Iran." However, she said the pursuit of civilian nuclear power must not be diverted to dangerous weapons programs, citing, among other things, the importance of universal adherence to the additional protocol of the nonproliferation treaty. The additional protocol is a supplement to the treaty that substantially expands the ability of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency, to check for clandestine nuclear facilities. Ms. Morella did not point out that the United States signed the protocol in 1998 but that Congress has never approved it, so the United States has yet to put it in place. _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/ Change your settings or access the archives at: http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net ***************************************************************** 16 deseretnews: Utah to get 2nd chance before NRC [deseretnews.com] Wednesday, March 23, 2005 State attorneys to argue against N-waste storage By Joe Bauman Deseret Morning News Utah officials will get another chance April 6 to argue that the Private Fuel Storage high-level radioactive waste storage facility planned for Tooele County is too risky. Deseret Morning News graphic Three assistant state attorneys general will travel to Rockville, Md., to appear before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, seeking to overturn the board's earlier decision against state attempts to block the project. PFS would place most of America's nuclear power plant waste, some 40,000 tons, in "temporary" storage that could continue for 40 years. With a stream of challenges undermining plans to build a permanent repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., officials have expressed concern that if the Tooele County facility is constructed, it will become a permanent storage site. On Feb. 24, in a 2-1 split vote, the board ruled that Utah's arguments citing danger from airplane crashes were not enough to torpedo the PFS plant. The board specifically refused to consider hazards of terrorism at the site, which is about 50 miles southwest of Salt Lake City on land owned by the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians. That seemed to be the last roadblock erected in the way of PFS other than the final ruling by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and such organizations as the Bureau of Indian Affairs. But the state quietly appealed the ruling, and the board is hearing the appeal. On March 7, according to an NRC document, the state filed a motion for reconsideration of the board decision. PFS and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave the board responses to the state's position. The board's three members wrote that they have reviewed the answers and "we believe that a resolution of this matter would be served by having the state submit a reply." That is to be in their hands by the morning of Wednesday, March 30, they added. "The parties are also advised that we have now determined, based on our review of the pleadings thus far before us, that our analysis and resolution of the matter would be aided by having counsel appear before us for oral arguments," the board added in a note dated March 22. The arguments will commence at 1 p.m. in the board's hearing room in Rockville, Md., and could last three hours, says the order. It was signed by administrative judges Michael C. Farrar, board chairman, Peter S. Lam and Paul B. Abramson. Utah's appeal could not be released as a public document under NRC rules. However, Denise Chancellor, one of the assistant attorneys general who is traveling to Rockville, summarized its contents. According to Chancellor, points being challenged are: • The legal theory underlying the decision. • The technical standard. • Data on aircraft crashes. Based on the filings, the board wants more information, she said. "It certainly cannot hurt" the state's case, she added. "They are interested in the issues that the state raised, and in particular the legal standards," Chancellor added. "Every time we can hang in there, we're thankful for that." E-mail: bau@desnews.com © 2005 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 17 San Luis Obispo Tribune: Additional storage requested for Diablo | 03/23/2005 | PG&E wants to install temporary dry racks for radioactive used fuel David Sneed The Tribune Pacific Gas and Electric Co. wants to create additional storage at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant for highly radioactive used fuel. To do this, the company would install temporary racks that would fit into the plant's storage pools. PG&E officials say the racks are needed as backup storage if a planned above-ground storage facility at the plant is delayed. One temporary rack that can hold 154 used reactor fuel assemblies would be added to each pool. The utility applied for permission to use the racks from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission in November. The agency has not yet issued a permit. "We want to have them there as an insurance measure in case we run into any problems with the dry cask facility," said PG&E spokeswoman Sharon Gavin. PG&E has all the regulatory permits it needs to begin construction of the above-ground dry cask storage installation. It is expected to open in February 2007. If the dry cask facility proceeds without delay, the temporary racks will either be stored or installed in the pools and used as additional storage. The nuclear watchdog group San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace is opposed to the racks, saying they will add more spent fuel to pools that are already more densely loaded than plant designs originally intended. Jill ZamEk, a Mothers for Peace spokeswoman, said the temporary racks pose several potential problems. Foremost is the increased threat of a pool fire. Densely racked fuel assemblies are more likely to catch fire if the pools were ever drained by an accident or a terrorist attack. Addition of the temporary racks will also cause the assemblies in the pools to be moved around, increasing the likelihood of a mishandling accident. Mothers for Peace finds "the many uncertainties, unanswered questions, additional risks, reduced safety margins and added costs disturbing," ZamEk said. Even if the temporary racks are used, the number of assemblies in the pools will be within the limits allowed by the NRC. In 1987, PG&E received permission from the NRC to increase the number of spent fuel assemblies it can store in the pools, Gavin said. Uranium fuel assemblies are removed from the plant's reactors after they have become depleted. The used assemblies are highly radioactive and must be stored in the pools for five years before they can be placed into dry casks. Diablo Canyon's spent fuel pools will be full in 2006 if no additional storage is created. The temporary racks would extend the life of the pools to 2010. The dry cask facility will create enough storage to contain all of the plant's fuel through 2025. ***************************************************************** 18 Deseret News: Nuclear power is best answer [deseretnews.com] Wednesday, March 23, 2005 I heard something disturbing yesterday. In Virginia, they've gone beyond strip-mining for coal and are cutting the tops off of mountains. Mercury in the environment is being linked to air pollution from power plants burning fossil fuels. Global warming is scaring everybody. Wind power and solar energy aren't the answer. We'd have to cover the country with windmills or solar panels. But there is a solution: nuclear power. However, the word "nuclear" terrifies people. There is a great deal of ignorance and misinformation on the subject. Jeff Anderson Salt Lake City © 2005 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 19 BBC: Nuclear power 'is off the agenda' Last Updated: Wednesday, 23 March, 2005 [Scottish Parliament chamber] Scottish ministers have power over planning consent Labour's coalition partners have warned that they would aim to block any attempt to build a new nuclear power station in Scotland. The Scottish Executive would have to grant planning consent for any such development north of the border. Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael said he could not foresee any circumstances in which his colleagues at Holyrood would support such a move. The Greens and Scottish National Party also oppose a new nuclear option. They were speaking following the publication of a report by Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee. 'Sound analysis' MPs called for an audit of the country's energy resources and suggested a renewed role for nuclear power and coal. Mr Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat member of the committee, said the report provided "sound analysis" without suggesting any particular solutions. He said the possibility of a new nuclear plant in Scotland had not been excluded, although no recommendation had been made. If Labour in Westminster do try to force a new nuclear power station on Scotland they will be faced with massive opposition Mike Weir Scottish National Party MP However, he pointed out that the Scottish Executive would have to approve any planning application. "As things stand I cannot foresee the circumstances in which my colleagues in the Scottish Parliament would be prepared to support that decision," he said. "For Scotland, therefore, nuclear energy is off the agenda for the foreseeable future." That warning was echoed by the SNP's Mike Weir, who also sits on the committee. "If Labour in Westminster does try to force a new nuclear power station on Scotland they will be faced with massive opposition," he said. Extending production is not option, neither is a new station Shiona Baird Green MSP "There are huge issues such as waste and security to be considered." And he argued that green energy provided an alternative. The Scottish Green Party agreed that efforts should be focused on developing renewable energy, rather than the "dead end" of nuclear power. MSP Shiona Baird said: "Those political dinosaurs who recommend a new nuclear power station seem happy to deny the huge threat this poses to health and the environment in Scotland. "Extending production is not an option, neither is a new station." There is no medium-term viab alternative to nuclear if Scotland is to meet its climate change obligations Stephen Boyd STUC Labour MP and former Energy Minister Brian Wilson said a decision had to be taken "sooner rather than later" on the need or otherwise for nuclear new build. "I think the more we move this debate into the context of global warming and carbon reduction then the less sense it makes to get rid of the one source of electricity in this country which produces large volumes of carbon-free electricity," he said. The report received an enthusiastic welcome from Stephen Boyd, assistant secretary of the STUC. He said Scotland needed a "balanced energy strategy" based on a diversity of fuel sources, with the renewable element increasing as technologies like tidal and wave power proved themselves. "There must also be a continuing role for coal generation subject to introduction of clean coal technologies and recognition that there is no medium-term viable alternative to nuclear if Scotland is to meet its climate change obligations," he said. ***************************************************************** 20 Evening Times: Move for new Scots nuclear power plant - NUCLEAR and coal power could provide a greater role in helping to secure Scotland's long term energy supplies. Ministers are expected to be urged to support the findings following a report by Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee. The report is also expected to recommend that a new nuclear power station is built north of the border. Two nuclear power plants generate much of Scotland's energy but are reaching the end of their lives. MPs have concluded renewable energy and imports cannot plug the gap. There are four Scottish sites licensed for nuclear power. Torness in East Lothian has a licence to keep operating until 2023. Hunterston on the North Ayrshire coast has only six years left. Chapelcross in Dumfriesshire is being decommissioned while Dounreay in Caithness had two research reactors that are also being decommissioned. However, extending production at the plants could be a stop-gap measure. But the committee is thought to favour building a new nuclear power station and boosting the role of coal. Building new power stations is a matter reserved to Westminster, but granting planning permission for them lies with the Scottish Executive. MPs are concerned that Scotland - and the rest of Britain - could end up relying on other nations for its power. Within years the UK could rely on French nuclear power and Russian gas to keep its lights on. Anniesland Labour MP John Robertson, a member of the committee, said: "We need to audit our energy to find out exactly what we have now and what is in the pipeline for 20-30 years. "We have to follow that up with a balanced energy policy that covers fossil fuels and renewables like wind power and nuclear." And ministers in Scotland are committed to 10% of electricity being generated from renewable sources by 2010 with that figure doubling to 20% 10 years later. So any proposal for new nuclear or coal power stations could be highly controversial. Plans to roll out windfarms across the country have been backed by celebrities such as actor Brian Cox, Franz Ferdinand singer Alex Kapranos and designer Anna Ryder Richardson. ***************************************************************** 21 NRC: NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance at North Anna Nuclear Power Plant News Release - Region II - 2005-01 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II No. II-05-011 March 23, 2005 CONTACT: Ken Clark (404) 562-4416 Roger D. Hannah (404) 562-4417 E-mail: opa2@nrc.gov The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with Virginia Electric and Power Company officials on March 29 to discuss the NRCs annual assessment of safety performance at the North Anna nuclear power plant, located near Mineral, Va. The period covered is the calendar year 2004. The meeting will begin at 1:00 p.m. (EST) in the main auditorium of the North Anna Nuclear Information Center, located at 1022 Haley Drive in Mineral. It is open to public observation. Before the end of the meeting, the NRC staff will be available to answer questions from interested observers related to the plants safety performance, as well as the NRCs role in ensuring safe operation of the facility. Dr. William Travers, Administrator of the NRCs Region II office in Atlanta, said the NRC staff rates the performance of each of the nations licensed, commercial nuclear power plants each year. He said the public meeting with the company gives the NRC a chance to discuss the assessment with company and local officials and interested residents living near the plant. He said NRC officials will answer any questions people may have related to the agencys oversight of safety and operations at North Anna. A letter sent from the NRC Region II office in Atlanta to plant officials addresses the plants performance during 2004 and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/na_2004q4.pdf [PDF Icon] . The NRC uses color coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear power plant performance. The colors start with green and increase to white, yellow, or red, commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved. North Anna Units 1 and 2 operated safely during 2004, the NRC report said. The NRC report said all inspection findings and performance indications for the plant in 2004 were classified as green (of very low safety significance), and the agency will conduct only normal reactor oversight safety inspections during the next evaluation period. Routine Inspections are performed by NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by specialists from the Region II office in Atlanta and the agencys headquarters in Rockville, Md. In addition to baseline inspections in 2005, the NRC plans inspections of the plants pressurizer nozzles and steam space pipe connections and of its Independent Spent Fuel (Dry Cask) Storage Installation. Current information for the North Anna plant is available on the NRC web site at: www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/NA1/na1_chart.html and www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/NA2/na2_chart.html Last revised Wednesday, March 23, 2005 ***************************************************************** 22 Portsmouth Herald: Broken breaker forces nuclear disconnect Wed. March 23, 2005 By Shir Haberman SEABROOK - The Seabrook Station nuclear power plant was forced to disconnect from the New England Power Grid Tuesday, after workers failed to fix a damaged circuit breaker found during a routine maintenance review of the plant’s solid state protection system. "We took the turbine off-line at about 3 p.m.," said plant spokesman Alan Griffith. "It should be hooked back up to the grid by mid-day Wednesday." While the breaker is being fixed, the reactor is being cooled down, Griffith said. Workers had tried to fix the breaker while the plant was still running, but were unable to within the strict time frame allowed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Seabrook spokesman said. The shutdown comes just as the nuclear plant prepares to undergo another refueling process. While a specific date for the refueling has not been released because of security concerns, Griffith said it will take place sometime in April. Seacoast Online is owned and operated by Seacoast Newspapers. ***************************************************************** 23 toledoblade.com: FirstEnergy to hire up to 3,000 in 3 years Article published Wednesday, March 23, 2005 FirstEnergy Corp., the Akron parent of Toledo Edison Co., said yesterday it will hire up to 3,000 utility workers in the next three years in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Most of the hires will replace skilled and experience workers expected to retire in the next few years, the firm said. About 1,600 of the hires are expected this year and next. Executives said the company is taking the step to enable new employees time to work with experienced colleagues. The company employs 13,000 in the three states. FirstEnergy will hire for just about every operation, including engineering, finance, dispatching, information-systems, line, and technical jobs, said spokesman Ellen Raines. She said the firm cannot forecast how many new jobs will be offered in the Toledo Edison region of northwest Ohio, which includes the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant near Oak Harbor. © 2005 The Blade. The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660 , (419) 724-6000 ***************************************************************** 24 NRC: NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance at Surry Nuclear Power Plant News Release - Region II - 2005-01 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II No. II-05-012 March 23, 2005 CONTACT: Ken Clark (404) 562-4416 Roger D. Hannah (404) 562-4417 E-mail: opa2@nrc.gov Electric and Power Company officials on March 30 to discuss the NRCs annual assessment of safety performance at the Surry nuclear power plant, located near Surry, Va. The period covered is the calendar year 2004. The meeting will begin at 2:00 p.m. (EST) at the Surry Government Center, located at 45 School Street in Surry. It is open to public observation. Before the end of the meeting, the NRC staff will be available to answer questions from interested observers related to the plants safety performance, as well as the NRCs role in ensuring safe operation of the facility. Dr. William Travers, Administrator of the NRCs Region II office in Atlanta, said the NRC staff rates the performance of each of the nations licensed, commercial nuclear power plants each year. He said the public meeting with the company gives the NRC a chance to discuss the assessment with company and local officials and interested residents living near the plant. He said NRC officials will answer any questions people may have related to the agencys oversight of safety and operations at Surry. A letter sent from the NRC Region II office in Atlanta to plant officials addresses the plants performance during 2004 and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/sur_2004q4.pdf [PDF Icon] . The NRC uses color coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear power plant performance. The colors start with green and increase to white, yellow, or red, commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved. Surry Units 1 and 2 operated safely during 2004, the NRC report said. One inspection finding and one Performance Indicator, both designated as white, (of low to moderate safety significance), occurred during the review period. A subsequent NRC inspection found that the companys corrective actions were adequate to address the issues. Based on these results and overall performance, the NRC will conduct only normal reactor oversight safety inspections during the next evaluation period. Routine Inspections are performed by NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region II office in Atlanta and the agencys headquarters in Rockville, Md. In addition to the baseline inspections in 2005, the NRC plans inspections of Surrys Independent Spent Fuel (Dry Cask) Storage Installation. Current information for the Surry plant is available on the NRC web site at: www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/SUR1/sur1_chart.html and www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/SUR2/sur2_chart.html. Last revised Wednesday, March 23, 2005 ***************************************************************** 25 NRC: NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment for Millstone Nuclear Power Plant News Release - Region I - 2005-01 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I No. I-05-014 March 23, 2005 CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331 E-mail: Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with representatives of Dominion Resources on Tuesday, March 29, to discuss the agencys annual assessment of safety performance at the Millstone nuclear power plant. The period of performance to be discussed is Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2004. Dominion operates the Unit 2 and 3 reactors at the Waterford, Conn., site. The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. at the Leland F. Sillin Jr. Nuclear Training Center, located at the plant on Rope Ferry Road. NRC staff will also hold a joint meeting at 6 p.m. the same day with Connecticuts Nuclear Energy Advisory Council (NEAC) to discuss the annual assessment. That session will take place at Waterford Town Hall, 15 Rope Ferry Road in Waterford. Before the meetings are adjourned, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the safety performance of the Millstone plant, as well as the role of the NRC in ensuring safe plant operation. The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Millstone plant and the nations other commercial nuclear power facilities, NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins said. This meeting will provide an opportunity for a discussion of our annual assessment of safety performance with the company and with local officials and residents who live near the plant. Our goal is to explain the NRC oversight process and make as much information as possible available to the public regarding our regulation of these facilities. A letter sent from the NRC Region I Office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during the period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/mill_2004q4.pdf [PDF Icon] . Notices for the meetings, with agendas attached, and slides for the annual assessment meeting are available in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML050730393. ADAMS is accessible via the agencys web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting the NRCs Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737 or by e-mail at . Overall, the Millstone plant operated safely during the period. The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear plant performance. The colors start with green and then increase to white, yellow or red, commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved. Because all of the inspection findings and performance indicators for Millstone during 2004 were determined to be green, the plant will receive a baseline level of inspections during the upcoming assessment period. Millstone Unit 2 had a white performance indicator during the second and third quarters of the 2004 assessment period, for exceeding the number of unplanned scrams, or shutdowns, per 7,000 critical hours of operation. The NRC staff performed a supplemental inspection to assess the companys response to the events and, after finding satisfactory corrective actions, determined the indicator could be returned to green. Routine inspections are performed by three NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa., and the agencys headquarters in Rockville, Md. Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected this year by NRC specialists are reactor vessel head replacement, fire protection and radiological safety. Current performance information for Millstone Unit 2 is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/MILL2/mill2_chart.html. Current performance information for Millstone Unit 3 is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/MILL3/mill3_chart.html. Last revised Wednesday, March 23, 2005 ***************************************************************** 26 York Daily Record: PEACH BOTTOM: NRC, Exelon to meet - [ydr.com] [York Daily Record/Sunday News] PEACH BOTTOM NRC, Exelon to meet Wednesday, March 23, 2005 Officials with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet with representatives of Exelon Generation on March 29 to discuss the agency's annual assessment of safety performance at Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station. The period of performance to be discussed ranges from Jan. 1, 2004, through Dec. 31, 2004. The public meeting will start at 7 p.m. at the Peach Bottom Inn, 6085 Delta Road, Peach Bottom Township. · AIRGAS: Letter of intent signed (Mar 23, 2005) · PEACH BOTTOM: NRC, Exelon to meet (Mar 23, 2005) · ADVANCED COOLING: Contract with Lockheed (Mar 23, 2005) · JOB BANK: $34M loaned in first year (Mar 23, 2005) · ALCOA: 2,000 jobs to be cut (Mar 23, 2005) ADVANCED COOLING (2005-03-23) AIRGAS (2005-03-23) Copyright © York Daily Record 2005 122 S. George St., P.O. Box 15122 York, PA 17405, (717) 771-2000 ***************************************************************** 27 AU ABC: Nuclear conference boasts benefits of 'clean' energy. 23/03/2005. ABC News Online "Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online An international conference on nuclear power has wrapped up in Paris, trumpeting atomic energy as an answer to the world's galloping fuel needs and fears of global warming. In a final statement, the 74-nations at the conference have said the majority of participants believe nuclear power can make a major contribution to sustaining the world's development in the 21st century. The statement also praises nuclear power for not generating air pollution or greenhouse gas emissions and for being a proven technology. But the statement says for nuclear power to thrive all states must commit themselves to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The conference has been organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the French government. - AFP (AFP), APTN, Reuters, CNN and ***************************************************************** 28 ONN: TVA agrees to pay half of three (m) million dollars in questioned charges . Ohio News Now: March 24, 2005 KNOXVILLE, Tenn. A contractor at a Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear power plant inflated its bill for labor and other items, then gave itself a 250-thousand dollar bonus. Those details come from an internal audit released after The Associated Press made a request under the Freedom of Information Act. The report says Bechtel Power Corporation billed the authority for three (m) million dollars in questionable charges for work at the Sequoyah nuclear station near Chattanooga. The charges uncovered by the T-V-A inspector general included 98-thousand dollars in entertainment expenses for meals, golf fees, wine, flowers, hunting vests and a television _ at least some of which was spent on T-V-A employees.T-V-A has agreed to pay half the disputed charges. Bechtel says most of the charges are legitimate. Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All Copyright 2004 - 2005, WorldNow and Dispatch Productions, Inc. ***************************************************************** 29 NRC: Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear FR Doc 05-5679 [Federal Register: March 23, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 55)] [Notices] [Page 14734-14735] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr23mr05-160] Operations, Inc. Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station; Exemption 1.0 Background Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (Entergy or the licensee) are the holders of Facility Operating License No. DPR-28 which authorizes operation of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS). The license provides, among other things, that the facility is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) now or hereafter in effect. The facility consists of a boiling-water reactor located in Vernon, Vermont. 2.0 Request/Action Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), section 50.54(o), requires primary reactor containments for water-cooled power reactors to be subject to the requirements of Appendix J to 10 CFR part 50. Appendix J specifies the leakage test requirements, schedules, and acceptance criteria for tests of the leak-tight integrity of the primary reactor containment and systems and components which penetrate the containment. Option B of Appendix J is titled ``Performance-Based Requirements.'' Option B, section III.A., ``Type A Test,'' requires that the overall integrated leakage rate must not exceed the allowable leakage rate (La) with margin, as specified in the Technical Specifications (TSs). The overall integrated leakage rate, as specified in the 10 CFR part 50, Appendix J, Option B, definitions, means the total leakage rate through all tested leakage paths. The licensee is requesting a permanent exemption from Option B, section III.A., requirements to permit exclusion of the main steam pathway leakage contributions from the overall integrated leakage rate Type A test measurement. Main steam leakage includes leakage through all four main steam lines and the main steam drain line. Option B, Section III.B of 10 CFR part 50, Appendix J, ``Type B and C Tests,'' requires that the sum of the leakage rates of all Type B and Type C local leak rate tests be less than the performance criterion (La) with margin, as specified in the TSs. The licensee also requests exemption from this requirement, to permit exclusion of the main steam pathway leakage contributions from the sum of the leakage rates from Type B and Type C tests. The main steam leakage effluent has a different pathway to the environment, when compared to a typical containment penetration. It is not directed into the secondary containment and filtered through the standby gas treatment system as is other containment leakage. Instead, the main steam leakage is collected and treated via an alternative leakage treatment (ALT) path having different mitigation characteristics. In performing accident analyses, it is appropriate to group various leakage effluents according to the treatment they receive before being released to the environment (e.g., from main steam pathways). The proposed exemption would more appropriately permit ALT pathway leakage to be independently grouped with its unique leakage limits. In this manner, the VYNPS containment leakage testing program will be made more consistent with the limiting assumptions used in the associated accident consequence analyses. The licensee has analyzed the main steam leakage pathway (with an increase in leakage from 62 standard cubic feet per hour (scfh) to 124 scfh at [[Page 14735]] the calculated peak containment internal pressure (Pa)), the secondary containment bypass leakage pathways, and the containment leakage pathway (La) separately in their dose consequence analyses. The calculated radiological consequences of the combined leakages are within the criteria of 10 CFR 50.67. The NRC staff reviewed the licensee's analyses and found them acceptable. 3.0 Discussion Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50 when (1) the exemptions are authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to public health and safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security, and (2) when special circumstances are present. Special circumstances are present whenever, according to 10 CFR part 50.12(a)(2)(ii), ``Application of the regulation in the particular circumstances would not serve the underlying purpose of the rule or is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. * * *'' The licensee's exemption request was submitted in conjunction with a TS amendment application to increase the allowable leak rate for the main steam isolation valves (MSIVs). The proposed amendment will be issued concurrently with this exemption. The exemption and amendments together would implement the recommendations of Topical Report NEDC- 31858, ``BWR Report for Increasing MSIV Leakage Rate Limits and Elimination of Leakage Control Systems.'' The topical report was evaluated by the NRC staff and accepted in a safety evaluation dated March 3, 1999. The special circumstances associated with MSIV leakage testing are fully described in the topical report. These circumstances relate to the monetary costs and personnel radiation exposure involved with maintaining MSIV leakage limits more restrictive than necessary to meet offsite dose criteria and control room habitability criteria. The underlying purpose of the rule which implements Appendix J (i.e., 10 CFR 50.54(o)) is to assure that containment leak tight integrity is maintained (a) as tight as reasonably achievable and (b) sufficiently tight so as to limit effluent release to values bounded by the analyses of radiological consequences of design basis accidents. The NRC staff has determined that the intent of the rule is not compromised by the proposed action. Based on the foregoing, the separation of the main steam pathways from the other containment leakage pathways is warranted because a separate radiological consequence term has been provided for these pathways. The revised design basis radiological consequences analyses address these pathways as individual factors, exclusive of the primary containment leakage. Therefore, the NRC staff finds the proposed exemption from Appendix J to be acceptable. 4.0 Conclusion Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR part 50.12, the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security. Also, special circumstances are present. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants Entergy an exemption from the requirements of sections III.A and III.B of Option B of Appendix J to 10 CFR part 50 for VYNPS. Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the granting of this exemption will have no significant impact on the quality of the human environment (69 FR 67612). This exemption is effective upon issuance. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day of March 2005. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Ledyard B. Marsh, Director, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. 05-5679 Filed 3-22-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 30 Philippine News: Nuclear plant fiasco among ‘monuments of corruption’ Lara Climaco, Mar 23, 2005 DESPITE an improvement in its corruption perception index for 2004, the Philippines received special mention in Transparency International’s 2005 corruption report for the botched Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. The project was among six “monuments of corruption” highlighted in the Global Corruption Report (GCR) 2005 released by the international corruption monitoring group last March 16 in London. The 2005 report focused on the many ways corruption in the construction sector have undermined economic development. According to Peter Eigen, chairman of Transparency International, at least $400 billion is lost every year to bribery in government procurement. Public infrastructure contracts account for over $4 trillion in world spending every year, according to the GCR. The report compiles results of around 18 surveys done independently by global and regional groups. Corruption, if left unchecked, would undermine rebuilding efforts in conflict areas, according to the 2005 report. This could lead to Iraq becoming the “biggest corruption scandal in history,” it warned. Poor countries suffer more from corrupt contracting practices, Eigen noted in his statement, because it leads to excessive debt and substandard infrastructure. “Lessons must be drawn from the colossal corruption cases in the Philippines, Germany, Uganda and Lesotho,” he stressed. The Philippine monument of corruption involved $17 million in commissions paid by Westinghouse to a friend of former president Ferdinand Marcos, Transparency International recalled. Despite Westinghouse’s claim that these were not bribes, Transparency International noted the reactor’s location on an active fault line as an indication that the project should not have been started in the first place. Indeed, even when the BNPP was completed in the ‘80s, it remains unused to this day. The other “monuments of corruption” in the 2005 report were the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, the Cologne incinerator project in Germany, Yacyreta hydropower project on the border of Argentina and Paraguay, the Bakun dam project in Sarawak, Malaysia, and the Bujagali dam project in Uganda. Case studies from Indonesia and India were also mentioned in the full report, but were not highlighted in TI’s press release. The corruption perception index for the Philippines in 2004 averaged at 2.6, on a scale of zero to 10 – zero being highly corrupt and 10, highly clean. The score is based on 14 independent surveys conducted on the Philippines, including that of Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, Inc. which so irked the Philippine government. In 2003, the Philippines’ CPI averaged at 2.5, based on 12 surveys conducted for that year. With its present score, the Philippines joined Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar and Bangladesh among the cellar dwellers in the global corruption report. Bangladesh is at the bottom of the heap with its CPI at 1.5, although slightly improving from 2003’s 1.3 score. Among Asian countries, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia enjoyed perceptions of highly-clean regimes. Singapore scored highest at 9.3. - © 2005 Philippine News ***************************************************************** 31 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; FR Doc 05-5680 [Federal Register: March 23, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 55)] [Notices] [Page 14733-14734] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr23mr05-158] Comment Request AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Notice of pending NRC action to submit an information collection request to OMB and solicitation of public comment. SUMMARY: The NRC is preparing a submittal to OMB for review of continued approval of information collections under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). Information pertaining to the requirement to be submitted: 1. The title of the information collection: 10 CFR part 75-- Safeguards on Nuclear Material, Implementation of US/IAEA Agreement 2. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0055 3. How often the collection is required: Installation information is submitted upon written notification from the Commission. Changes are submitted as they occur. Nuclear material accounting and control information is submitted in accordance with specified instructions. 4. Who is required or asked to report: All persons licensed or certified by the Commission or Agreement States to possess source or special nuclear material at an installation specified on the U.S. eligible facilities list as determined by the Secretary of State or his designee and filed with the Commission, as well as holders of construction permits and persons who intend to receive source material. 5. The number of annual respondents: Seven, one of which perform the reporting and recordkeeping and the other six perform the recordkeeping only. The NRC-licensed facilities selected for inspection will be reporting or updating design information. This one facility and the six facilities selected pursuant to a separate protocol will maintain transfer and material balance records, but reporting to the IAEA will be through the U.S. State system (Nuclear Materials Management and Safeguards System). 6. The number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement or request: 2,800 (.2 hours for reporting and 2,800 hours for recordkeeping [400 hours per recordkeeper]). 7. Abstract: 10 CFR part 75 establishes requirements to implement the agreement between the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Under that agreement, NRC is required to collect information and make it available to the IAEA. Currently, the IAEA has selected and is inspecting two NRC-licensed facilities pursuant to 10 CFR 75.41. Submit, by May 23, 2005 comments that address the following questions: 1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the NRC to properly perform its functions? Does the information have practical utility? 2. Is the burden estimate accurate? 3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected? 4. How can the burden of the information collection be minimized, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology? A copy of the draft supporting statement may be viewed free of charge at the NRC Public Document Room located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC Worldwide Web site (http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comment/omb/index.html ). The document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days after the signature date of this notice. Comments and questions about the information collection requirements may be directed to the NRC Clearance Officer, Brenda Jo. Shelton, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, T-6 E 6, [[Page 14734]] Washington, DC 20555-0001, by telephone at (301) 415-7233, or by Internet electronic mail at infocollects@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 14th day of March 2005. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Brenda Jo. Shelton, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. 05-5680 Filed 3-22-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 32 NRC: Department of Energy; Three Mile Island 2 Independent Spent Fuel FR Doc 05-5681 [Federal Register: March 23, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 55)] [Notices] [Page 14734] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr23mr05-159] Storage Installation; Notice of Docketing of Materials License SNM-2508 Amendment Application AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: License Amendment. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph M. Sebrosky, Senior Project Manager, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Telephone: (301) 415-1132; fax number: (301) 415-1179; e-mail: jms3@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By letter dated January 31, 2005, the Department of Energy (DOE or licensee) submitted an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission), in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 72.56, requesting the amendment of the Three Mile Island 2 (TMI-2) Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) license for the ISFSI located in Butte County, Idaho. DOE proposes to change the technical specification corrective actions if the 5 year leak test of the dry shielded canisters fails. This application was docketed under 10 CFR part 72; the ISFSI Docket No. is 72-20 and will remain the same for this action. Upon approval of the Commission, the TMI-2 ISFSI license, SNM-2508, would be amended to allow this action. The Commission may issue either a notice of hearing or a notice of proposed action and opportunity for hearing in accordance with 10 CFR 72.46(b)(1) regarding the proposed amendment or, if a determination is made that the proposed amendment does not present a genuine issue as to whether public health and safety will be significantly affected, take immediate action on the proposed amendment in accordance with 10 CFR 72.46(b)(2) and provide notice of the action taken and an opportunity for interested persons to request a hearing on whether the action should be rescinded or modified. For further details with respect to this amendment, see the application dated January 31, 2005, which is publically available in the records component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). The NRC maintains ADAMS, which provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. These documents may be accessed through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, (301) 415-4737 or by email to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of March 2005. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. John D. Monninger, Chief, Licensing Section, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. [FR Doc. 05-5681 Filed 3-22-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 33 [du-list] Aussies to hunt uranium hazard Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 15:21:44 -0800 1- Australasia - Troops ready to go now-commander 2- Aussies to hunt uranium hazard -- Australasia - Troops ready to go now-commander Sunday, March 20, 2005 Australian http://seven.com.au/news/nationalnews/171267 http://www.keralanext.com/news/indexread.asp?id=156663 Australia's latest troops for Iraq were ready but would not ship out for a few more weeks, their commander said on Sunday. Most of the 450 troop deployment have spent the past two days undergoing intensive live ammunitions training at the Mt Bundey range in the humid Australian outback. Commander of the Al Muthanna Training Group (AMTG) Roger Noble said the soldiers were prepared and ready to leave now, but would spend the next few weeks training ahead of their departure. The mostly 21- and 22-year-old soldiers, predominantly from Darwin's 1st Brigade, would leave Australia in stages by sea and air for southern Iraq between mid-April and mid-May, Lieutenant Colonel Noble said. The troops would be based in camps at Al Muthanna province, where they would protect Japanese troops rebuilding the province, and help train the Iraqi army. "We have got enough time, the prime minister gave 10 weeks and we are going to fit as much extra as we can into that to get ready. "But we are ready to go now." As well as facing the threat of attack, the Australian troops faced the added danger of the presence of depleted uranium in southern Iraq, Lt Col Noble said. However, he was confident the defence forces would deal with the risk appropriately. "We know the risk is pretty small and we tend to know the places where we might come across it. "We have got procedures that basically keep soldiers away from those sort of sites." Other concerns is the extreme heat in Iraq, with temperatures set to climb to 50 degrees Celsius during the northern summer. In Iraq, Australia's troops will stay in a series of camps, formerly occupied by the Dutch forces whom they will replace - complete with a gym and coffee shop. "It's basically a walled compound in the desert, the walls are made out of dirt, guarded and protected by the coalition. "Inside it's basic but it's got the essential things that we need, an area to fix vehicles, it's got a gym ... place for soldiers to sleep. "It even has a coffee shop." Lt Col Noble, who recently returned from a reconnaissance mission to southern Iraq, described the situation in Al Muthanna as "stable", compared to other places in the Middle East country. "It's still dangerous but it's not like Baghdad," he said. Australia's troops will take a whole suite of weapons and upgraded ASLAVs (Australian Secured Light Armoured Vehicles), which Lt Col Noble praised as the best such vehicles in Iraq even before the added protection. He said the troops - a third of whom have been deployed to Iraq before - were highly motivated and keen to deploy to Iraq. "They are happy as Larry," the 39-year-old Queenslander said. "Most of them are very keen to go and do their job. "The problem for us is more people want to go than actually are going." ---- Aussies to hunt uranium hazard By Ian McPhedran 21mar05 news.com.au network http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,12607629%255E421,00.html http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,12607629%255E421,00.html A TEAM of Australian experts will travel to Iraq's Al-Muthanna province to find and remove depleted uranium munitions potentially hazardous to the 450 Diggers being sent there. During a live fire exercise yesterday on the second anniversary of the Iraq war, task group commander Lt-Col Roger Noble said the depleted uranium war waste threat was low, but he was taking no chances. "There will be an Australian hazardous materials survey done right at the beginning," Lt-Col Noble said during the exercise involving troops and armoured vehicles from the army's Darwin-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment and 5/7 Battalion. "A team will come in and identify any potential threat." The team, training at Mt Bundey south of Darwin yesterday, will go to Iraq sometime next month, and troops are due to be in place and operating by mid-May. Tonnes of the potentially deadly depleted uranium munitions remain in Al-Muthanna province and the British have also conducted a survey Australian commanders are using to map the threats. The Australian troops will be based in the province from early May and yesterday was the last day of the final large-scale "live fire" rehearsal before the men and 40 armoured vehicles depart for southern Iraq. Lt-Col Noble and his boss, CO of the 1st Brigade Brigadier John Cantwell, said their soldiers were ready. They will help protect Japanese engineers and aid workers, and train members of the Iraqi security forces. Brigadier Cantwell said the departure would be staggered, starting with some troops in mid-April followed by vehicles and troops by sea and air in the weeks after that. He said he was very happy with what he was seeing from the soldiers. Lt-Col Noble said the Australian Light Armoured Vehicle was the best vehicle in Iraq for the job they had to do and, even without planned security upgrades, was more than adequate for the job. "That is battle-proven in Baghdad where it survived two bombs at point-blank range without a penetration," Lt-Col Noble said. Vehicles are being fitted with extra protection for the mission. He said his men would face several human and environmental threats, including the searing heat of the Iraqi desert. Lt-Col Noble said the Al-Muthanna Task Group would have support from British helicopters, particularly for medical evacuation. -- Posted for educational and research purposes only, ~ in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 ~ NucNews Links and Expanded Archives - http://nucnews.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Need a home for your web domain? We recommend our provider, Hosting Direct https://support.hostingdirect.net/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=nucnews ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts! http://us.click.yahoo.com/RzSHvD/UOnJAA/79vVAA/FGYolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du-list/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 34 [du-list] Parents of slain soldiers protest U.S. involvement Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 15:21:42 -0800 Parents of slain soldiers protest U.S. involvement in Iraq DANIEL YEE Associated Press Fri, Mar. 18, 2005 [lots of papers picked this one up] http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/special_packages/iraq/11174122.htm http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/special_packages/iraq/11174122.htm http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/local/11174122.htm http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/11174122.htm http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/special_packages/iraq/11174122.htm http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=57453 http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/special_packages/iraq/11174122.htm http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/politics/11174122.htm http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/politics/11174122.htm ATLANTA - Two years ago, Patricia Roberts' world was in order. Her son, Spc. Jamaal Addison, had just gotten married and she became a grandmother. Four days into the Iraq war, however, the 22-year-old soldier was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade, the first Georgian to die in the war. Addison's wife moved on. Roberts was left to care for Addison's son, Jamaal II, who was born prior to his marriage. The 44-year-old grandmother moved from Conyers, Ga., to Lithonia, Ga., in order to be near her son's cemetery. "Once you die for this country, they forget who you are," Roberts said of the government. "Now I have a grandson they're not even helping raise. What about the rest of my life, the rest of his life? He'll never be able to see his dad." Roberts is one of several parents of U.S. soldiers killed who are participating in a series of anti-war marches in Atlanta and Fayetteville, N.C., commemorating two years of war in Iraq. "We don't need to be out there," she said. "There's too many people like me, their lives have changed forever." In Friday's Atlanta rally, timed to coincide with the city's infamous rush-hour traffic, about 300 marchers gathered at Centennial Olympic Park carrying black coffins with U.S. and Iraq symbols and black balloons saying "Bring the Troops Home Now." The demonstrators planned to march to a park in the city's Midtown neighborhood, a few miles away. "The vast majority of people in the peace movement in America and Europe were aware there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, no nuclear program and no al-Qaeda link," said organizer Gloria Tatum, 61, of Decatur, Ga., who is with the activist groups International Action Center and Georgia Peace and Justice. Activists say more than 1,500 U.S. soldiers and more than 100,000 Iraqis have died, that Iraq's infrastructure has been crippled and its environment polluted because of U.S. depleted-uranium tank rounds. March speaker Gary Pelphrey, who served in the Navy during the Vietnam War, said he is not against all war but opposes the current U.S. involvement in Iraq. Pelphrey, a member of the group Military Families Speak Out, said he finds parallels to the Vietnam War. "We've gotten ourselves into a mess and we have leadership unwilling to admit it," said Pelphrey, 69, of Marietta. "It seems to me we wound up getting out of Vietnam at least partially from the pressure the public came to bear" and that similar public pressure can force U.S. officials to withdraw American troops from Iraq. Another rally was expected Saturday in Fayetteville, N.C., the town next to Fort Bragg, the home of the 82nd Airborne Division. The rally there is one of the largest being organized by the United for Peace & Justice group. On its Web site, the group says war opponents in 726 cities and towns across the country plan rallies this weekend. Last year, a similar protest there involved about 1,200 activists and drew hundreds of observers and a group of people protesting the protesters. An organization called Free Republic has prepared for this year's rally by asking supporters of the war in Iraq to attend a counter-demonstration. In Lithonia, Roberts said she's been working hard to raise her grandson and to steer others away from her son's career path in the military. She started the Jamaal Addison Motivational Foundation, which will raise money to provide scholarships to young people, so they do not have to depend on the military for an education. "My son joined (the Army) to go to school. He wanted to come out and start his own business with computers," Roberts said. Roberts and her foundation are planning fundraisers in Atlanta for Wednesday - the two-year anniversary of Addison's death - and on Oct. 7, which would be his 24th birthday. "People should find out what they can do to protest against this war to bring these troops home," she said. On the Web: United for Peace & Justice: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/ -- Posted for educational and research purposes only, ~ in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 ~ NucNews Links and Expanded Archives - http://nucnews.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Need a home for your web domain? We recommend our provider, Hosting Direct https://support.hostingdirect.net/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=nucnews ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> In low income neighborhoods, 84% do not own computers. At Network for Good, help bridge the Digital Divide! http://us.click.yahoo.com/EA3HyD/3MnJAA/79vVAA/FGYolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du-list/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 35 Depleted Uranium: Cause and Effe Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 19:23:27 -0600 (CST) Subj: Official Release Date: 3/23/05 3:29:22 PM Mountain Standard Time From: xzone@xzone-radio.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Depleted Uranium: Cause and Effect 4 Hour Special on The bXb Zone Radio Show and TalkStar Radio Network http://www.talkstarradio.com http://www.xzone-radio.com Monday, March 21, 2005: Hamilton, Ontario: On Thursday evening, March 24 at 10 PM, Rob McConnell, host and executive producer of the TalkStar Radio Networkbs bThe bXb Zone Radio Showb will be dedicating his 4 hour show to the horrors and world-wide effect of Depleted Uranium. McConnellbs show, The bXb Zone, which is produced from his studio in Hamilton, Ontario and syndicated internationally by the US-based TalkStar Radio Network, beams around the world on two satellites (Galaxy 4R and AMC-4) and the Internet via audio streaming (http://www.talkstarradio.com) Monday through Friday from 10 PM b 2 AM Eastern. The bXb Zone Radio Show, now in its 10th year, deals in the world of the paranormal and the science of parapsychology, government conspiracies and cover-ups. Just prior to the 2004 US Presidential elections, McConnell asked US Presidential and US Congressional candidates that if elected, bwould they see to the release of all government presently being held on UFOs?b All candidates said yes, but none of them were elected. The showbs interest in Depleted Uranium started a few short weeks ago when a listener sent McConnell internet images of what the listener believed was an balien baby.b The alien baby turned out to be a child suffering from the effects of Depleted Uranium. McConnellbs subsequent investigation into Depleted Uranium and the effects that these weapons of mass destruction are having on the world today, including the long term effects on the world and her inhabitants were shocking and are a crime against humanity. bI knew that as a broadcaster and a member of the media, that this is a story that has to be told,b said McConnell. bThe stories and the efforts of the people who are desperately trying to make a difference b& doing their part to save the world and humanity, and bring the parties responsible for this atrocity to justice, deserve our time, attention and support.b McConnellbs guest list for his DU (Depleted Uranium) Special includes international experts and speakers: Bob Nichols - Writer, Project Censored Award Winner. Uranium Weapons material in hundreds of newspapers, magazines, Internet, radio and TV shows. Leuren Moret - Famous former Nuclear Weapons Lab scientist. Spoken in 42 countries on dangers of US Uranium Weapons. Major Doug Rokke, Ph.D. Ret - A Warrior. The Pentagon's man in charge of Depleted Uranium Project and clean up. Till he said "Oh my God, we can't use uranium weapons. It kills our own troops." Karen Parker, JD - A veteran American lawyer at the UN, she wrote the book on uranium weapons law. Lead attorney on international lawsuits on use of uranium weapons. Joyce and Dave Riley - Famous film makers of uranium weapons documentary. Susan Riordan - Famous Canadian uranium weapons celebrity. Her husband, Captain Terry Riordan, was internally contaminated by ceramic uranium oxide gas and dust in the First Gulf War. Terry died in 1996. 12,000,000 pounds of Uranium weapons [Ramsey Clark number.] later Susan asks the American Generals "Why are you doing this? It is insane!" British and American coalition forces were using depleted uranium (DU) shells in the war against Iraq and deliberately flouting a United Nations resolution which classifies the munitions as illegal weapons of mass destruction. DU contaminates land, causes ill-health and cancers among the soldiers using the weapons, the armies they target and civilians, leading to birth defects in children. Professor Doug Rokke, ex-director of the Pentagon's depleted uranium project -- a former professor of environmental science at Jacksonville University and onetime US army colonel who was tasked by the US department of defence with the post-first Gulf war depleted uranium desert clean-up -- said use of DU was a 'war crime'. According to a August 2002 report by the UN subcommission, laws which are breached by the use of DU shells include: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the Charter of the United Nations; the Genocide Convention; the Convention Against Torture; the four Geneva Conventions of 1949; the Conventional Weapons Convention of 1980; and the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, which expressly forbid employing 'poison or poisoned weapons' and 'arms, projectiles or materials calculated to cause unnecessary suffering'. All of these laws are designed to spare civilians from unwarranted suffering in armed conflicts. DU has been blamed for the effects of Gulf war syndrome -- typified by chronic muscle and joint pain, fatigue and memory loss -- among 200,000 US soldiers after the 1991 conflict. It is also cited as the most likely cause of the 'increased number of birth deformities and cancer in Iraq' following the first Gulf war. 'Cancer appears to have increased between seven and 10 times and deformities between four and six times,' according to the UN subcommission. The Pentagon has admitted that 320 metric tons of DU were left on the battlefield after the first Gulf war, although Russian military experts say 1000 metric tons is a more accurate figure. In 1991, the Allies fired 944,000 DU rounds or some 2700 tons of DU tipped bombs. A UK Atomic Energy Authority report said that some 500,000 people would die before the end of this century, due to radioactive debris left in the desert. The use of DU has also led to birth defects in the children of Allied veterans and is believed to be the cause of the 'worrying number of anophthalmos cases -- babies born without eyes' in Iraq. Only one in 50 million births should be anophthalmic, yet one Baghdad hospital had eight cases in just two years. Seven of the fathers had been exposed to American DU anti-tank rounds in 1991. There have also been cases of Iraqi babies born without the crowns of their skulls, a deformity also linked to DU shelling. A study of Gulf war veterans showed that 67% had children with severe illnesses, missing eyes, blood infections, respiratory problems and fused fingers. For more information on Rob McConnell and The bXb Zone Radio Show, please visit http://www.xzone-radio.com or call, (905) 575-5916 or by e-mail to xzone@talkstarradio.com. The bXb Zone Radio Show is a division of REL-MAR McConnell Media Company, Inc. of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. ***************************************************************** 36 United Press International: Lawmakers urge cash for anti-nuke program March 23, 2005 Washington, DC, Mar. 23 (UPI) -- Lawmakers Wednesday urged the restoration of funding for a government program that helps police officers and firefighters train for a nuclear terror attack. In a letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, 56 members of the House of Representatives urged appropriators to restore funding for the Metropolitan Medical Response System, which was slated for elimination by the administration in its 2006 budget. Its defenders says the system is the only federal program that "helps first responders, medical personnel, emergency management workers, businesses and other stakeholders develop ... capabilities to minimize casualties in the event of a terrorist attack using a weapon of mass destruction, including a so-called 'dirty bomb'." The system was established in the wake of the deadly release of Sarin nerve gas in a Tokyo subway and the bombing of the Alfred Murrah Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. It provides funds to 125 municipal authorities in 43 states for local first responder planning, training, exercises, equipment, and pharmaceutical caches. [UPI Perspectives] ***************************************************************** 37 Las Vegas SUN: EPA Chided for Disregarding Mercury Study Today: March 23, 2005 at 9:45:54 PST By JOHN HEILPRIN ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) - The Environmental Protection Agency's decision to ignore researchers' analysis of possible health benefits from reducing mercury pollution from power plants was criticized Tuesday by Democrats in Congress. "Why is the EPA suppressing the evidence that mercury pollution can be controlled better and faster?" asked Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. EPA officials said the study by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis wasn't submitted until Feb. 22, more than a month after the deadline the agency set for considering new data. The agency published its new regulations on mercury pollution from power plants on March 15. The agency had received an overview of the Harvard study in early January, but it didn't include the authors' responses to peer reviewers' comments or all of the final numbers, said James Hammitt, a co-author of the study and director of the Harvard center. EPA officials said they rejected the preliminary document as flawed. Hammitt's study estimated the potential public health benefits from cutting mercury pollution from coal-burning power plants in half 15 years from now at $5 billion a year, compared to the EPA's estimate of up to $50 million a year. The EPA put the cost of the cleanup to utilities and users of electricity at $750 million a year in 2020. The difference in the benefit numbers comes from Hammitt's inclusion of fewer cases of cardiovascular disease and less-contaminated oceangoing fish in his calculations. The EPA estimates that U.S. power plants account for 1 percent of global mercury pollution. The government now advises that high levels of mercury in some fish, including albacore tuna, can pose a hazard for children and for pregnant or nursing women, causing brain and nerve damage. EPA spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman said the agency doesn't believe the science on mercury is solid enough to weigh possible benefits from fewer cases of heart disease and cleaner ocean fish. She said the Harvard study assumes each pound of mercury coming from plant smokestacks will wind up in the ocean, a conclusion counter to what EPA researchers found. Bergman acknowledged the benefits could be greater than the EPA estimated, because the agency took into account only freshwater benefits, but not 100 times greater. Hammitt acknowledged "wide uncertainty" over calculating the benefits. "It could be ten times bigger, or ten times smaller," he said. "Part of the science underlying the subject is just not solid enough to specify things really precisely." But Hammitt said the EPA should have provided a range of benefits, even though that might have undercut its regulatory approach of letting industry trade rights to pollute rather than insisting each plant install new pollution controls. "In analyzing the benefits of this or any other rule, we need to be honest that there is quite a lot of range of uncertainty, and we ought to characterize that range," he said. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said he was outraged that the EPA would suppress the Harvard study while claiming stricter controls would cost industry far more than the projected health benefits of its regulatory proposal. ***************************************************************** 38 Bellona: No radiation – no compensation The Russian Nuclear Federal Agency deprived the inhabitants of the 30-km zone around Siberian Chemical Combine of the compensation for electricity payments. 2005-03-23 18:15 Tomsk region authorities want to fight back the 50% compensation of the electricity payments for those living in the 30-km zone around the Siberian Chemical Combine, the Tomsk region deputy governor Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn stated to the media on February 24. He said the Nuclear Agency representatives refer to the normal radiation levels in the zone and, therefore, are denying the compensation. Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn pledged to send a legislative initiative on the compensation restitution to the Russian Parliament, Regnum.ru reported. The 50% compensation for electricity payments for the inhabitants of the 30-km zone around Siberian Chemical Combine had existed until 2005. The financing of the compensation was in the form of 50% discount for the local energy stock buyer Tomskenergo. The compensation for 2005 is estimated as $2.1m. Approximately 650,000 inhabitants from 80 settlements, including Tomsk and Seversk cities, live in the 30-km zone. One of the biggest in Russia Petrochemical Company Tomskneftekhim is situated just a few kilometres from the reactor and radiochemical plants of the Combine. Besides, all the hazardous cargo for the Combine is shipped right through the densely populated districts of the Tomsk City, Regnum.ru reported. 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 ***************************************************************** 39 BBC: EU-Iran nuclear talks break down Last Updated: Wednesday, 23 March, 2005 [Iran nuclear plant] Tehran says its right to nuclear power is non-negotiable Iran and leading EU nations have failed to reach agreement in talks about Tehran's nuclear ambitions. The EU Three - France, Germany and the UK - want Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities. They are offering Tehran economic, political and technological incentives for giving up the programme. Iranian negotiators, who insist Iran has the right to a civilian nuclear programme, said all sides have agreed to meet again in the coming weeks. Iranian nuclear negotiators had said on Tuesday that Tehran would reconsider its position on the talks if no real progress was made. Wednesday's meeting offered a chance to review progress made in working groups over three months. At the end of the talks, Sirus Nasseri, a senior Iranian negotiator, confirmed the four parties would meet again, adding: "Each side still has its own views." Optimism The EU Three recently admitted that progress had not been as rapid as they might have wished. Nevertheless, the BBC's Pam O'Toole says they appear encouraged that Iran is willing to suspend uranium enrichment while negotiations are under way. Publicly, Iranian officials have been dismissive about a US offer of limited economic incentives. The Europeans have warned they would back US moves to take Tehran to the UN Security Council if Iran breaches agreements or resumes uranium enrichment during the talks. Iran maintains its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, but Washington suspects it of secretly trying to build a nuclear weapon. ***************************************************************** 40 Haaretz: Arbitrator: Reactor workers cannot blame cancer on radiation Israel News Last Update: 24/03/2005 03:19 By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent There is no causal connection between the cancer contracted by 31 nuclear reactor workers and the level of their exposure to radioactive substances, ruled judge (ret.) Vardi Zeiler this week. The workers are therefore not eligible for compensation from the state, which they are suing, said Zeiler, the arbitrator between the workers and the state. However, Zeiler also could not rule out a causal connection between the workers' disease and their exposure to chemicals and dangerous, cancer-causing substances during their work in the reactor. Zeiler's ruling about the radioactive radiation was in keeping with the conclusion of a court-appointed panel of medical experts, which concluded that in the case of 31 out of 37 plaintiffs, no causal connection was found between the workers' disease and their job. Zeiler said he did not have sufficient data to rule out the connection between the workers' morbidity and their exposure to dangerous substances. He blasted the nuclear reactor's management for failing to put together the relevant data and said the data and evidence provided by the management was "flimsy, incomplete and inaccurate." Zeiler asked for information about all the substances that the workers were exposed to during the years they worked at the nuclear reactor, so that he could make a decision. The six plaintiffs in whose case the medical experts did not rule out the causal relation between the disease and their work can take their suit to the next stage - proving the state's guilt. The suits for damages filed by nuclear reactor workers who developed cancer and of the families of those who had died of cancer are being heard in the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv District Courts. The plaintiffs, who filed suits at different times in Jerusalem, claim that the diseases they contracted were caused by their exposure to dangerous substances or to radioactivity. They say the state is responsible as its negligence led to their exposure to the substances and radiation. At a certain stage the suits were merged into one and four years ago Zeiler, who was the judge dealing with the case, decided to set up a medical experts committee headed by Professor Eran Dolev. The committee would serve as an "expert witness" about the causal relation between working in the reactor and illness. The committee members were given free access to hear and receive all the information the plaintiffs wanted them to have with no restriction. They learned how the workers used to monitor their exposure to radiation. The committee's conclusion, ruling out any causal relation in 31 of 37 cases, was presented in November 2003. According to the regulations in force, the total radiation a worker could be exposed to was 5 RAMs a year. Zeiler says the nuclear reactor workers were exposed to much lower levels of radiation than those permitted - - about 10 RAMs over a period of decades. This level of radiation is equal in fact, to less than that of two CT treatments. The state's representatives, attorneys Michal Brandenstein and Moshe Tadmor-Bernstein, showed the arbitrator epidemiology surveys conducted among the workers, showing that the morbidity rate of fatal diseases among the workers is no higher than those among the general population. Zeiler ruled that these statistical studies have considerable weight as evidence. He also rejected the plaintiffs' demand to shift the "burden of proof" onto the state and said that since all the required material for the legal proceedings was at their disposal, they do not suffer from "lack of evidence." The plaintiffs' lawyer, Reuven Lester, says "the arbitrator's decision about the dangerous substances confirms what we claimed all along - that in the absence of data, it is hard for the committee to deny the causal connection. If you work in a place that has cancerous materials and nobody records, documents or measures them, it is unacceptable to come to court afterward and say there is no data. The nuclear reactor management already told the court that it failed to document or record the dangerous materials, so what do they expect of the workers?" Lester said the arbitrator's ruling to continue the arbitration about the exposure to cancerous substances opens the way to shift the burden of proof onto the state. © Copyright Haaretz. All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 41 express and star: Dark secrets of our atom bomb bunker www.expressandstar.com By Peter Rhodes Mar 23, 2005, 08:04 It is like the opening scene of Titanic. A single beam of light penetrates the blackness, like the robot camera six miles deep probing the stricken liner’s cabins. A collapsed pile of timber comes into view, festooned with dry rot as thick as a snowdrift. All is decay, darkness and silence. At this point in the movie, the rusting sunken hulk of Titanic suddenly comes to life. Peter Rhodes and Paul Stokes in the crudely-blasted tunnels network under Kinver Edge - the seat of regional government At this point in my trip, I recall the summer of 1980 when this dying, echoing place was full of life, noise and purpose. It seems like yesterday. From the canteen came the cheerful smell of bacon as dozens of pairs of cutlery clattered. The corridors were thronged with soldiers, scientists and civilians moving back and forth as we rehearsed for Armageddon. For this is the “hole,” the nuclear bunker deep beneath Kinver Edge where, if the worst happened, a small group of experts would manage the survival and recovery of what would be known as 9 Region, the counties of West Midlands, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Hereford-Worcester and Shropshire. It was part of a policy known as MAD, Mutually Assured Destruction. From 1945-90 Europe was divided. In the East the Soviet bloc had thousands of nuclear missiles aimed at us. In the West we had thousands more pointing at them. The regional nuclear bunkers were the proof that, if the worst happened, Britain was prepared not only to use her nukes but to accept nuclear retaliation – and survive. As a lad growing up in Kinver, Paul Stokes, who has just written a history of the site, knew there was something secret under the Edge. But locals kept tight-lipped According to whispered folklore, there was a massive bunker on several levels, like something out of a James Bond film. “A lot of people knew the secrets of this place and kept quiet,” he says as he unlocks a solid steel door and enters the bunker. “Even today we find that people who worked here are reluctant to talk about it. They just feel they shouldn’t.” It’s hardly surprising. Drakelow, as the complex is generally known, was built in extreme secrecy early in the Second World War. Five vast tunnels were blasted deep into the sandstone cliff. More than six million cubic feet of stone was scooped out. By 1942 the underground complex was a “shadow” Rover factory, turning out the equivalent of 15,000 aero engines for the war against Germany. Paul switches on the diesel generator. Light floods the tunnels. Wartime notices and 1940s clocks and Tannoy speakers still hang from the whitewashed walls and ceilings. You can almost hear the distant strains of Workers’ Playtime. After the war Drakelow became an even bigger secret. As the Cold War between Russia and the West grew more bitter, Regional Seats of Government were created all over Britain. Some were in specially built blast-proof bunkers. But where better to put 9 RSG than in the empty tunnels beneath Kinver Edge? By the 1980s it was equipped with communications equipment, scientific charts, batteries, decontamination showers and the BBC studio from which the wartime Regional Commissioner would address the shell-shocked and irradiated residents of 9 Region. The radios and switchboards were entrusted to specialised Territorial Army units. In the 1980s I was a TA officer commanding a Royal Signals troop sent to Drakelow for a full-scale nuclear exercise. It was a bizarre experience. For three days and nights scientists plotted the blasts and radioactive contamination plumes of dozens of Soviet nuclear warheads landing on Britain. Ancient teleprinters chattered into life with requests for food, water, transport and thousands of coffins. Mutually Assured Destruction may have been MAD but it worked. By 1990 the Cold War was over. With what seemed to some of us like indecent haste, the regional bunkers were sold off by the Home Office. In 1993 Paul Stokes and a friend cheekily posed as potential buyers and were allowed in to inspect the place. The big secret of his childhood was laid bare. Not some James Bond super-bunker, but the crudely-blasted tunnels of total warfare. Soon afterwards, Drakelow passed into the hands of a private company. Paul Stokes and a few pals formed The Friends of Drakelow Tunnels and now spend their spare time running guided tours, keeping an eye on the place and doing maintenance. It is, he admits, an uphill struggle against nature. Some other nuclear bunkers have been preserved as museums. The wartime tunnels beneath Dover Castle are rightly regarded as a national treasure. Churchill’s war rooms deep beneath Whitehall have just been refurbished. And yet Drakelow crumbles. “It’s not right,” says Paul, 42. “This place is unique. None of the other bunkers have the history, going right back to the last war.” As he raises funds and tries to stimulate interest in this national treasure, he smiles at how old legends never die. “To this day,” he says, “you still find people who are convinced there’s a lot more here than you can see. They still think it has five levels with secret lifts. “There is a persistent rumour that thousands of cardboard coffins are stored here. Well, I’ve been all over the place and I’ve never seen them yet.” + Drakelow Unearthed by Paul Stokes is available in local bookshops. Details at www.drakelow.org. For details of tours call 07901 898120. ***************************************************************** 42 Salt Lake Tribune: Workers now focus of leak inquiry Article Last Updated: 03/23/2005 01:17:36 AM By Patty Henetz The Salt Lake Tribune An investigation into radioactive liquid found leaking nearly two weeks ago from rail cars at the Envirocare of Utah waste facility is now focused on the workers who loaded contaminated dirt from a cleanup operation at the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, N.Y. George Good, a spokesman for the federal Energy Department lab, said Tuesday a project to remove radioactive soil and groundwater from the Brookhaven site has been stopped until regulators and investigators figure out exactly how a small quantity of radioactive cesium 137 mixed with melted snow in the covered rail car and then dripped out at Envirocare on March 10. Investigators believe workers for a transport company may have tracked the radioactive material onto large soft-sided, heavy-duty plastic waste containers known as "burrito bags" as they loaded them into open gondola rail cars for shipment, Good said. At some point after the bags were loaded, snow fell into the rail cars, which then were covered by tarpaulins. Investigators believe liquid found in the rail cars upon arrival in Utah was melted snow. Envirocare inspectors sampled the liquid leaking from drain holes and determined that one car had been contaminated with cesium 137 at a concentration no higher than usual background radiation at the facility, said company Senior Vice President Tim Barney. Another radioactive isotope, americium 241, was detected at levels too small to be quantified, he said. Americium and cesium are byproducts of nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons tests. Brookhaven, established in 1947, is a multi-program laboratory whose research includes nuclear and high-energy physics. Dane Finerfrock, director of the state Division of Radiation Control, said Envirocare inspectors examining 17 rail cars that arrived at the facility 80 miles west of Salt Lake City between March 10 and March 14. "What people are missing in this is yeah, this was discovered at Envirocare. But I look at the rail car. Where did the leak begin?" Finerfrock said. "Has it been dropping radiation across the country?" Envirocare has notified Union Pacific of the findings, he said. The inspections by Envirocare and Brookhaven personnel found no measurable radioactivity in the soil or rails below the car, nor could they find any at a switching yard in Wendover or a rail yard in North Platte, Neb., where the rail cars went on route to Envirocare, Good said. © Copyright 2005, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 43 Salt Lake Tribune - Opinion: Closer to a million Article Last Updated: 03/22/2005 11:33:50 PM I would like to thank The Tribune for its March 21 coverage of the Atomic Testing Museum. I would like to correct one misleading figure, however. The article implies that there are thousands of downwinders. While it is impossible to say how many Americans suffered the ill effects of radioactive fallout, the number is more likely in the hundreds of thousands. A National Cancer Institute study released in 1997 concluded that up to 212,000 lifetime cases of thyroid cancer alone could be related to fallout from testing. That's just one kind of cancer. The government compensates for 13 fallout-related cancers and is looking at increasing the number of cancers compensated. Keep in mind, too, that autoimmune diseases, birth defects and genetic damage also result from exposure to radioactive fallout. Given all of this, the number of affected Americans could be closer to a million. The 1997 NCI study concluded that every county in the continental United States received some level of fallout from nuclear testing. Currently, downwinders in northern Utah, Idaho, Arizona and Montana are pressing to be included for compensation. Additionally, an article in the March 14 New Jersey Star-Ledger headlined, “N.J.'s soaring rate of thyroid cancer stumps the experts” includes atomic weapons testing in Nevada as one of the possible explanations. Fallout from nuclear testing was far wider in scope than most Americans will ever realize. Mary Dickson Salt Lake City © Copyright 2005, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 44 PR Web: Depleted Uranium: Cause and Effect 4 Hour Special on The ‘X’ Zone Radio Show and TalkStar Radio Network March 23, 2005 Global News & Press Release Distribution @PRWeb.com E-Mail On Thursday evening, March 24 at 10 PM, Rob McConnell, host and executive producer of the TalkStar Radio Network’s ‘The ‘X’ Zone Radio Show” will be making broadcast history by dedicating his 4 hour show to the horrors and world-wide effect of Depleted Uranium. Hamilton, Ontario (PRWEB) March 23, 2005 -- On Thursday evening, March 24 at 10 PM, Rob McConnell, host and executive producer of the TalkStar Radio Network’s ‘The ‘X’ Zone Radio Show” will be making broadcast history by dedicating his 4 hour show to the horrors and world-wide effect of Depleted Uranium. McConnell’s show, The ‘X’ Zone, which is produced from his studio in Hamilton, Ontario and syndicated internationally by the US-based TalkStar Radio Network, beams around the world on two satellites (Galaxy 4R and AMC-4) and the Internet via audio streaming (http://www.talkstarradio.com) Monday through Friday from 10 PM – 2 AM Eastern. The ‘X’ Zone Radio Show, now in its 10th year, deals in the world of the paranormal and the science of parapsychology, government conspiracies and cover-ups. Just prior to the 2004 US Presidential elections, McConnell asked US Presidential and US Congressional candidates that if elected, “would they see to the release of all government presently being held on UFOs?” All candidates said yes, but none of them were elected. The show’s interest in Depleted Uranium started a few short weeks ago when a listener sent McConnell internet images of what the listener believed was an “alien baby.” The alien baby turned out to be a child suffering from the effects of Depleted Uranium. McConnell’s subsequent investigation into Depleted Uranium and the effects that these weapons of mass destruction are having on the world today, including the long term effects on the world and her inhabitants were shocking and are a crime against humanity. “I knew that as a broadcaster and a member of the media, that this is a story that has to be told,” said McConnell. “The stories and the efforts of the people who are desperately trying to make a difference … doing their part to save the world and humanity, and bring the parties responsible for this atrocity to justice, deserve our time, attention and support.” McConnell’s guest list for his DU (Depleted Uranium) Special includes international experts and speakers: • Bob Nichols - Writer, Project Censored Award Winner. Uranium Weapons material in hundreds of newspapers, magazines, Internet, radio and TV shows. • Leuren Moret - Famous former Nuclear Weapons Lab scientist. Spoken in 42 countries on dangers of US Uranium Weapons. • Major Doug Rokke, Ph.D. Ret - A Warrior. The Pentagon's man in charge of Depleted Uranium Project and clean up. Till he said "Oh my God, we can't use uranium weapons. It kills our own troops." • Karen Parker, JD - A veteran American lawyer at the UN, she wrote the book on uranium weapons law. Lead attorney on international lawsuits on use of uranium weapons. • Joyce and Dave Riley - Famous film makers of uranium weapons documentary. • Susan Riordan - Famous Canadian uranium weapons celebrity. Her husband, Captain Terry Riordan, was internally contaminated by ceramic uranium oxide gas and dust in the First Gulf War. Terry died in 1996. 12,000,000 pounds of Uranium weapons [Ramsey Clark number.] later Susan asks the American Generals "Why are you doing this? It is insane!" British and American coalition forces were using depleted uranium (DU) shells in the war against Iraq and deliberately flouting a United Nations resolution which classifies the munitions as illegal weapons of mass destruction. DU contaminates land, causes ill-health and cancers among the soldiers using the weapons, the armies they target and civilians, leading to birth defects in children. Professor Doug Rokke, ex-director of the Pentagon's depleted uranium project - a former professor of environmental science at Jacksonville University and onetime US army colonel who was tasked by the US department of defence with the post-first Gulf war depleted uranium desert clean-up - said use of DU was a 'war crime'. According to a August 2002 report by the UN subcommission, laws which are breached by the use of DU shells include: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the Charter of the United Nations; the Genocide Convention; the Convention Against Torture; the four Geneva Conventions of 1949; the Conventional Weapons Convention of 1980; and the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, which expressly forbid employing 'poison or poisoned weapons' and 'arms, projectiles or materials calculated to cause unnecessary suffering'. All of these laws are designed to spare civilians from unwarranted suffering in armed conflicts. DU has been blamed for the effects of Gulf war syndrome - typified by chronic muscle and joint pain, fatigue and memory loss - among 200,000 US soldiers after the 1991 conflict. It is also cited as the most likely cause of the 'increased number of birth deformities and cancer in Iraq' following the first Gulf war. 'Cancer appears to have increased between seven and 10 times and deformities between four and six times,' according to the UN subcommission. The Pentagon has admitted that 320 metric tons of DU were left on the battlefield after the first Gulf war, although Russian military experts say 1000 metric tons is a more accurate figure. In 1991, the Allies fired 944,000 DU rounds or some 2700 tons of DU tipped bombs. A UK Atomic Energy Authority report said that some 500,000 people would die before the end of this century, due to radioactive debris left in the desert. The use of DU has also led to birth defects in the children of Allied veterans and is believed to be the cause of the 'worrying number of anophthalmos cases - babies born without eyes' in Iraq. Only one in 50 million births should be anophthalmic, yet one Baghdad hospital had eight cases in just two years. Seven of the fathers had been exposed to American DU anti-tank rounds in 1991. There have also been cases of Iraqi babies born without the crowns of their skulls, a deformity also linked to DU shelling. A study of Gulf war veterans showed that 67% had children with severe illnesses, missing eyes, blood infections, respiratory problems and fused fingers. For more information on Rob McConnell and The ‘X’ Zone Radio Show, please visit http://www.xzone-radio.comor call, (905) 575-5916 or by e-mail to e-mail protected from spam bots. For information on re-broadcasting or carrying The ‘X’ Zone Radio Show, please contact Victor Ives at TalkStar Radio Network e-mail protected from spam botsor by calling (503) 638-4839. The ‘X’ Zone Radio Show is a division of REL-MAR McConnell Media Company, Inc. of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. ### Rob Mcconnell REL-MAR MCCONNELL MEDIA COMPANY Visit Our Site 905-575-5916 File Name: iraqbirthdefects006.jpg Uploaded: Mar 22, 2005 File Name: iraqbirthdefects003.jpg © Copyright 1997-2004, PR Web™. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 45 Korea Times: Nuclear-Powered US Submarine Enters Chinhae Port Hankooki.com > The Korea Times By Moon Gwang-lip Staff Reporter A local leading civic group confirmed on Wednesday that a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine was anchored at a military base in South Korea. Green Korea United confirmed that the U.S. nuclear-powered submarine SSN-688-LA was at the naval base in the southeastern naval port city of Chinhae. The civic group made public the photograph of the SSN-688 Los Angeles-class submarine that they took on March 16 at the base, claiming that the presence of the submarine within Korean waters breached the 1992 Joint Declaration on Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The picture taken on March 16 shows the nuclear-powered U.S. submarine SSN-688 anchored at a naval base in Chinhae, South Kyongsang Province. Green Korea United released the picture on Wednesday. The declaration stipulates that the two Koreas are only allowed to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The civic group said that the submarine anchored in the naval base on March 16 to replenish Korea's military supplies, raising suspicion that the submarine might have dumped nuclear waste from its nuclear reactors into an island near the port during its stay. ``We've suspected the American nuclear-powered submarine of anchoring at the Korean territory two or three times a year, but we confirmed it with a photograph this time,'' the civic group said. ``The government and the U.S. should give up pushing forward with the joint military tactics of nuclear-powered submarines on the Korean Peninsula,'' it added. The ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) and the South Korean Ministry of Defense denied any dumping of nuclear waste but acknowledged that the submarine had entered the peninsula. ``The submarine was on the Korean Peninsula to participate in a military exercise. But the claim that it has dumped nuclear waste is not true,'' a CFC official said. ``American nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers come into our waters to take part in joint military drills on a regular basis,'' he added. ``No nuclear waste was dumped because the radioactive check that we performed on the submarine showed no evidence of change in nuclear waste,'' a defense ministry official said. Asked about the civic group's claim that the port call of the submarine breached the denuclearization declaration, he declined to comment, saying only that it is not for the defense ministry to comment on. joseph@koreatimes.co.kr 03-23-2005 17:49 ***************************************************************** 46 Newsday.com: Deal near in N-fuel suit Business: Long Island and New York City Plaintiffs in suit on contamination from Hicksville plant site may share $11M [Site of former nuclear fuel plant] BY MARK HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER March 23, 2005 A 3-year-old lawsuit claiming operators of a former nuclear-fuel plant in Hicksville negligently released deadly radioactive material into the surrounding neighborhood decades ago is nearing a settlement, according to court papers. The amount has not been released, but people familiar with the case said the payout will be about $11 million. A special master is to oversee distribution of the settlement, which still awaits a judge's final approval, according to documents filed with federal court in Central Islip. More than 280 plaintiffs, including cancer-stricken residents and the heirs of those who had lived near the plant, had asked for $1.6 billion from companies that included Verizon Communications Inc. Verizon is the successor of Sylvania Electric Products Inc., which operated the facility 1952-1966. In pretrial interviews, former employees said they routinely incinerated uranium shavings in large steel drums, releasing ash and radioactive particles into the air, according to court documents. Experts say radioactive airborne particles can lead to lung and thyroid cancers. The plant, which abuts Cantiague Park, is surrounded by several neighborhoods, whose past and current residents charged that the fuel-making operations were never fully disclosed until decades after the plant was shuttered in 1966. State environmental officials have said the site poses no current hazard to residents, and that the number of cancer cases in the area were not abnormal, but assessments of its effect on underlying soil and groundwater are ongoing. The case was fraught with complications. Lawyers for plaintiffs charged that some 200,000 pages of documents that represented critical evidence had gone missing before the case came to federal court in 2002. The plant was opened by Sylvania in 1952 to produce nuclear fuel rods. The company, which was acquired by GTE, closed in 1966, but residual radioactive uranium and thorium, among other toxic materials, remain in the ground, according to health officials. Some equipment from the plant, including lockers, wound up in Hicksville schools but were removed last year after their presence came to light. GTE in 2000 merged with Bell Atlantic to become Verizon, the primary defendant in the suit. Verizon funded more than a year of cleanup at the site, estimated at tens of millions of dollars, before the federal government decided to step in earlier this year. Verizon is still overseeing it until a full assessment of the contamination is complete. "A settlement is being negotiated among the parties," said Peter Thonis, a Verizon spokesman, saying final court approval is required. "Terms of the pending settlement are confidential." Attorneys for the plaintiffs also declined to comment or did not respond to inquiries. David Jaroslawicz, of Manhattan, who represents residents, said complexities and the age of the case made fighting it challenging. "In light of the circumstances and the amount of years that passed, we got a very fair settlement," he said. "It was not an easy case." Copyright © 2005, Newsday, Inc. ***************************************************************** 47 WHO TV - Des Moines: Medical advisory board for IAAP to meet in Iowa March 24, 2005 BURLINGTON, Iowa A federal advisory board considering compensation for Iowa workers sickened by their nuclear jobs during the Cold War will meet next month in Iowa. Officials say the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health is tentatively scheduled to meet in late April, likely in Cedar Rapids. From the late 1940s until the mid-1970s, about four-thousand workers assembled and test-fired nuclear weapons at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant at Middletown. Many became ill. The advisory board works with the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety.Last month, the board accepted the Iowa workers' application for special status, the designation needed to smooth the compensation process. But a subsequent decision from the national institute rendered that decision moot. Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This Copyright 2001 - 2005 WorldNow and WHO-TV, a division of NYT ***************************************************************** 48 Bradenton Herald: Pollution notice bill revised 03/23/2005 | STEPHEN MAJORS Herald Staff Writer TALLAHASSEE - After negotiations with the state Department of Environmental Protection, Rep. Bill Galvano has changed the deadline in his contamination notification bill from 10 days to 30 days. The bill will be heard today in the House Environmental Regulation Committee. It would require the DEP to notify affected residents that contamination has spread into their property within 30 days of receiving the information. Galvano, R-Bradenton, originally filed the bill with a 10-day deadline in response to contamination found in the Tallevast community. Residents found out that dangerous contaminants had spread off-site from the former American Beryllium Co.'s property three years after the DEP knew of the contamination. The DEP said it wanted to have enough time to investigate information it receives before turning around and notifying the public. The agency asked Galvano for 60 days, but he settled on 30. "We wanted to ensure that there is a thoughtful and responsive process involved in notification," said DEP spokesman Russell Schweiss. He said the DEP would comment on the 30-day deadline after the amendment is officially introduced today in committee. Galvano said he didn't mind giving the DEP more time. "They're going to turn around and give additional information so they're not just taking the notice and sticking it in the mail," he said. "They won't have all the answers in 30 days, but they will be expected at that point to at least have a little more meaty stuff for the owners." The DEP would be required to send, within 30 days, a notice of contamination to all owners of the properties on which contamination was found. That notice would include information about the type and concentration of the pollutants. The DEP would also have to provide a telephone number to call for additional information. Galvano is confident about the bill's chances in committee, but said he doesn't expect it to be loved by everyone. "This bill has gotten a lot of attention," he said. "I don't think the DEP is going to come out hard against it because of the work we put into it. I don't think it's a bill that everybody loves but they know what my goal is." Galvano has spoken with representatives of the petroleum and energy industries, as well as the Associated Industries of Florida. No one has opposed the bill, but Galvano said industry in general tends to be nervous when rule changes are being considered. "We support the representative's desire to speed up the notification process," said Jim Smith, president of the Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association. "We think that's absolutely necessary." If the bill passes the Environmental Regulation Committee, its next stop will be Water & Natural Resources. Stephen Majors, Tallahassee reporter for The Herald covering state politics, can be reached at . HERALDTODAY.COM: ***************************************************************** 49 Bellona: Lithuania found place for underground repository for spent nuclear fuel The specialists found the proper geological horizon for the construction of the underground reporsitiry for spent nuclear fuel from the Ignalina NPP. 2005-03-23 15:36 The Lithuanian and Swedish experts from SKB concluded in the 4-year research project that construction of the repository and placing the spent nuclear fuel would cost Lithuania about $3.4 billion. The press-secretary of the Lithuanian Radioactive Waste Management Agency Ruta Jarasuniene said to Baltic News Service (BNS), that the Swedish specialists believe the proper place for the facility is the territory around Ignalina NPP and Lithuanian towns Varena and Alytus. There are no specific plans regarding construction or financing at the moment. The SNF is stored in the containers at the Ignalina NPP since 1999, where it can be stored temporarily, but no longer than for 50-60 years. Lithuania has to know for certain how this waste will be disposed of afterwards. Currently, three options are under consideration: the waste could be buried in Lithuania, transported to other states or Lithuania could cooperate with other countries and build a regional repository. It is estimated that about 2.5 tonnes of the SNF will be collected by 2010, BNS reported. Lithuania pledged the EU to decommission the Ignalina second unit in 2009. Despite millions of dollars invested in the safety of the Chernobyl-type reactors at Ignalina, they are still considered dangerous. The first Ignalina reactor was shut down on December 31, 2004, the second one is in operation. 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 ***************************************************************** 50 AFP: Persistently High Oil Prices To Benefit Uranium - Analyst Wednesday March 23, 4:49 PM SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Uranium, a metallic element used in nuclear power generators, is likely to benefit from persistent high oil prices which are creating opportunities for mining companies with uranium assets, an equities analyst said late Tuesday. "Uranium will be traded as part of the energy portfolio, since nuclear power plants as an energy source is fairly widely accepted," said David McGlashan, director of research company Intersuisse Corporate. Nuclear power plants are accepted as a clean source of energy in many countries, despite strong resistance in places like Australia, he said. Speaking at the Australian Mining Investment Forum here, McGlashan said Australian mining major BHP Billiton Ltd.'s (BHP) bid to buy Melbourne-based WMC Resources (WMC) would give BHP "big exposure" to WMC's uranium resource. "WMC's assets are very complimentary to that of BHP Billiton," McGlashan said. While some funds that originally held BHP shares opted to "divest" those shares on grounds of "unethical" businesses including uranium mining that the company might get into after acquiring WMC, such sales are unlikely to have an impact on BHP's share price because of sufficient liquidity in BHP shares, he said. BHP is a "fairly conservative" company and the acquisition plan looks like a "terrific fit" in terms of the company going forward, McGlashan said. BHP is already three times the size of its rival Rio Tinto (RIO.AU), and the company "will become a substantial global organization with good dividends outlook," he said at the forum, pitching Australian mining companies to potential Singapore investors. Copyright © 2005Dow Jones &Company Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 51 Platts: House panel to look into Yucca Mt. allegations [The McGraw-Hill Companies] + A House panel will probe allegations that some documents were falsified on the DOE repository project at Yucca Mountain, Nev. A House Government Reform subcommittee chaired by Rep. Jon Porter (R-Nev.), who opposes the disposal facility, will hold the 10 a.m. hearing April 5 in room 2247 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Last week, DOE and the U.S. Geological Survey disclosed that some USGS e-mails between 1989 and 2000 indicated that some documents associated with water infiltration and climate studies may have been falsified. Washington (Platts)--22Mar2005 Copyright © 2005 - Platts, All Rights Reserved [The McGraw-Hill Companies] ***************************************************************** 52 Las Vegas SUN: Hunt letter urges Bush to re-evaluate dump stance Today: March 23, 2005 at 11:29:36 PST By Kirsten Searer LAS VEGAS SUN CARSON CITY -- Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt sent a letter to President Bush reminding him that she was a strong supporter of his in the last election and urging him to "re-evaluate the evidence used to make decisions regarding the Yucca Mountain project." Hunt, who has said she is looking at a bid for governor in 2006, said she was disturbed by recent revelations that Department of Energy employees might have falsified documents regarding testing of the site. Several major officials have responded publicly to news of the falsified documents, but this is the first letter addressed to Bush from a Republican or a top Nevada official. In her letter dated Tuesday, Hunt reminded the president that she introduced him and First Lady Laura Bush at several events last fall in Nevada, which was considered one of the nation's electoral battleground states. Bush had promised Nevadans when he was running for president in 2000 that he would use "sound science" to make his decision on Yucca Mountain. Hunt said she thinks Bush has done his best to deal with the Yucca Mountain site, which originated in the early 1980s. But she said she hopes he sees the faults in the project especially now that it appears that some testing at the site was falsified. "The president inherited this whole plan and process that goes back to 1982," she said. "I'm sure he was dealing with it in the most responsible way he saw fit." She said she would rather spend the money that the government has allotted for Yucca Mountain and store nuclear waste safely at the power sites where it is generated. And, she said, she would support a "world class" research facility at the Nevada Test Site that would look into better ways to store nuclear waste. Greg Bortolin, spokesman for Gov. Kenny Guinn, said Guinn plans to send out an electronic message today pointing to the problems with the testing conducted by the Department of Energy. "We're just going to point out that this is yet another reason to hold the federal government accountable on Yucca Mountain," Bortolin said. But, Bortolin said, Guinn has no immediate plans to write the president directly. He said Bush is well aware of Guinn's objections to the site. "We'll continue to oppose the project," he said. Nevada's GOP members of Congress are not planning to write the White House directly, but their spokespeople noted they have sought answers and probes from other administration agencies. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., requested investigations from the U.S. Attorney General's Office and the FBI, and Reid and Ensign staffers are in communication with U.S. Geological Survey staffers to learn more about the alleged document falsifications. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., sent a letter to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman requesting an independent investigation. "If the lieutenant governor's letter helps us, that's great," Ensign spokesman Jack Finn said. "More power to her." Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., who is considering a run for governor, called on the Energy Department to shut down the Yucca project pending investigations. "The president knows how the delegation feels, Republicans and Democrats alike," said Adam Mayberry, spokesman for Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev. ***************************************************************** 53 Salt Lake City Weekly: Such a Waste Editorial - March 24, 2005 by Ben Fulton As Private Fuel Storage gears up for what now seems its inevitable housing of up to 40,000 tons of spent nuclear-fuel rods on land owned by the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians, most of us stand appalled and frightened. But, as my grandmother used to say when faced with a situation she couldnt control, Sometimes its better to laugh than to cry. Weve got plenty to laugh about. It would, of course, be fantastic if Utahs congressional delegation found an 11th-hour solution blocking this massive shipment of nuclear waste inside state lines. But barring some last-minute miracle by the White House, which some people oddly reckon owes us a big favor, the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the sudden emergence of nuclear-waste-recycling technology, lets take stock of some rather cool ironies. First on the list has to be Utahs 3rd Congressional District hypocrite, Rep. Chris Cannon. Heres a man who opposes the storage in Utah of PFS nuclear waste produced for pragmatic purposes of power and electricity, then calls for resumption of nuclear testing similar to Cold War-era testing that claimed 15,000 American lives. Riddle me this, Chris: Is nuclear technology necessarily safer in the hands of the white man? Then weve got Rep. Rob Bishop, gun enthusiast extraordinaire and anti-environmental bugaboo of Utahs 1st Congressional District. Hes normally allergic to all things wilderness, but wants federal land surrounding the Goshutes site declared as such to bar PFS from constructing its rail line for transportation of waste to the site. Environmentalism isnt an end in itself, you see. Its a means, a brute tool. Why else would Bishop, at this late hour, talk of proposing a similar measure this year to bookmark his failed proposal of last year? Third prize in our Lets Stop Those Nuclear-Crazy Indians sweepstakes is a little harder to discern, but weve got to put Republican Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett somewhere in the mix. Supporting the storage of nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain like good little boys, they reasoned selfishly that storing nuclear waste in Nevada is somehow a great idea, but a bad idea for Utah. Now that Yuccas reached yet another snag thanks to allegedly falsified data, its not like we can go running to Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid. The man may be Mormon, but hes also a Democrat opposed to storing at Yucca. In all this last-minute shuffling to stop a tiny band of American natives from doing what white men have been doing for decades, a rather bizarre picture emerges. Americans hog all the energy and gas we want, then cry about the consequences. We cant condemn nuclear technology categorically, so were selective in our judgments. But most entertaining is the sight of Republican lawmakers suddenly in camp with leftist environmentalists. Nuclear waste is bad, yes. But far more disturbing environmental hazards exist, none of which Republicans seem to care about. Fact: Current coal-burning power plants are responsible for 41 percent of all mercury emitted into the air, which can later become trapped in watersheds. Everyone knows mercury causes neurological damage in children, but recent research shows it may be responsible for the upsurge in cases of autism, as well. The Bush administration could have cut mercury emissions by 28 tons with one recent proposal, but instead chose to cut emissions by 12 tons. If the Goshutes were dealing only in mercury, we might see something done. template_sidebar story search [click here for a City Weekly promotion] Salt Lake City Weekly and slweekly.com ©1996-2004 Copperfield Publishing, Inc.. All rights reserved. offices: 248 S. Main Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 801-575-7003 ***************************************************************** 54 Monticello Times: Waste storage public meeting will be April 4 www.monticellotimes.com Thursday, March 24, 2005 Members of the public will have a chance next month to review draft scoping for an environmental impact statement on a proposed waste storage facility at Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant (MNGP). An open house meeting is scheduled from 2-9 p.m. Monday, April 4, in the Monticello Community Center’s Mississippi Room. Xcel Energy will conduct a presentation at about 7 p.m. At the meeting, people will have the opportunity to review information pertaining to dry cask storage of nuclear waste on the MNGP site. They will also bbe able to comment on the draft scoping decision. The draft scoping decision identifies issues analyses to be completed for an environmental impact statement. The period for public comment on draft scoping ends April 13. Copies of the draft scoping decision are also available at the Monticello Public Library for review. Xcel is seeking to extend its operating license for MNGP until 2030; it is on track to file that request with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission before the end of the month. Copyright 2005, Monticello Times ***************************************************************** 55 Pahrump Valley Times: County Yucca officials alarmed by allegations of falsified data March 23, 2005 By PHILLIP GOMEZ PVT Nye County officials are keeping an eye on recent developments at the Department of Energy, where it was learned last week that a quality assurance worker had falsely verified the accuracy of computer modeling projections of rainwater infiltration and climate change at Yucca Mountain over thousands of years. The Associated Press last week reported an e-mail flap over false documentation of evidence by a United States Geological Service (USGS) worker, further straining the credibility of the Yucca Mountain project and giving ammunition to opponents ready to make political hay out of the incident. However much the damage may have been overblown, everyone connected with Yucca Mountain is concerned about the physical as well as the political ramifications. David E. Swanson, project administrator for Nye County's Department of Natural Resources and Federal Facilities, said Monday the falsified documents perpetrated by an unidentified worker between 1998 and 2000 might be found to represent only a minor transgression. "There's a possibility of that happening," he said. The Nye County Department of Natural Resources and Federal Facilities is the county's watchdog agency on the Yucca Mountain project "The data collected was probably good," Swanson said in an interview. "The mistake could have been in how it was documented. But if the employee manufactured the data, that would place a dark cloud over the whole thing." Energy Department officials are saying little until investigators sort out who did what, when. Reportedly, they don't know at this point whether the falsification involved only quality assurance documents designed to verify the accuracy of previous work, or the scientific data itself. "We are very much concerned about that," Swanson said. "I can assure you we will stay on top of this issue." As it happens, Nye County's two consultants with the Department of Energy were scheduled to visit Swanson this week to perform an audit. "They are familiar with the problem," he said. "They expressed concern about the ramifications of this, also. But he added, "To impugn the entry of all of that work (on the projected safety of the repository over the long-term) is certainly not fair. This is something we'll keep our eye on." A similar stumbling block was encountered last year by the Department of Energy when an appeals court panel ruled that the Environment Protection Agency's safety standard of 10,000 years duration did not take into account peak doses of radiation that could leak out hundreds of thousands of years in the future. "Someone familiar with the investigation" at DOE's Las Vegas office said on background that only one USGS employee was determined to have sent the e-mail alleging falsification of documents, and that it was still unknown if any other employees replied or were involved. In early assessments of the engineering design of the repository, experts used hundreds of computer models simulating different geologic, hydro-geologic and chemical processes the repository could conceivably undergo. The results were then incorporated into more comprehensive models analyzing climate change, water infiltration into the mountain, possible seepage into the tunnels and the effects of water seepage into the corrosion-resistant metal cladding that contains the nuclear waste packages. Other models examined the effects of possible seepage of radioactive particles through the tunnel floor and their transport through the rock below into the groundwater 1,000 feet below the surface. Also analyzed, and of particular importance to Nye County, were the transport of radioactive particles in the groundwater and the effects that would have on people and the environment. These "process" computer models also produced reports documenting the effects of "disruptive events," such as volcanoes and earthquakes affecting repository safety. From there, the security of the repository was evaluated using results from the process models to develop a "total system performance assessment" model determining how all the parts work together. "Rainfall infiltration is just one component - one model - of a gigantic total systems performance model," said Swanson. "If one piece of that model is inaccurate it throws off the entire projection model. "What we're concerned with here is the probability of the contamination getting into the water and impacting our citizens," Swanson said. That's why DOE has gone to such lengths in making the mathematical models projecting hypothetical corrosion rates of the outer-layer of carbon-steel, as well as for the nickel-alloy inner-layer containing the nuclear waste packages. Computer simulations indicate that most of the waste packages would last more than 10,000 years, even if water were dripping on them. However, the models estimate that some waste packages may fail after about 4,000 years, and more substantial penetrations could occur some 10,000 years later. "Projections of waste package performance also assume that at least one waste package will fail in 1,000 years due to a manufacturing defect," according to DOE performance assessments. "The total systems performance assessment model includes hundreds of assumptions and conclusions," said Swanson. "They are needed to show the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the design is appropriate. If the NRC agrees and grants DOE a license, then performance confirmation is the next step. That's where they perform monitoring of the actual corrosion." Rainwater infiltration would then be measured to verify the predictions of the computer models, Swanson said. "A lot of safeguards are built into the program." For comment or questions, please e-mail webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2005 ***************************************************************** 56 L.A. Daily News: DOE to sample soils at 25 more Santa Susana lab sites Article Published: Wednesday, March 23, 2005 - By Kerry Cavanaugh, Staff Writer The Department of Energy said Tuesday night that it intends to sample for radioactivity at 25 more former building sites at the Santa Susana Field Lab, which would complete the cleanup of the former nuclear research facility. The federal agency and the lab owner, the Boeing Co., presented the results of their historical site assessment, which revisits the entire former nuclear research area and considers whether individual areas meet DOE's cleanup standard or whether more radiation surveys are needed. The full site assessment is expected to be released in late April. It will include short reports on all buildings and facilities that were used in the former Energy Technology Engineering Center. "The bottom line is, we're making a decision to do additional soil sampling," said Mike Lopez, DOE project manager. But lab watchdogs are skeptical of the report. "Why should anyone believe a single word of the polluter, who asks himself if he polluted and then answers he didn't?" said Dan Hirsch, with the Committee to Bridge the Gap. ETEC is a 90-acre section of the field lab where the government conducted nuclear research from the 1950s to 1988. It was home to 10 nuclear reactors, one of which experienced a partial meltdown, and an open-air burn pit where workers burned radioactive and chemical waste. The DOE and Boeing have been decontaminating the site, however neighbors and environmental groups have sued, saying the cleanup plan would leave too much radiation at the site. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the DOE plan would leave the site unsafe for even casual picnicking. As part of the site assessment, the DOE and Boeing looked at 272 former building sites. Some 175 were never used for radiological activity, and were released without further study. Some 95 sites had radiological activity, of which 70 were studied and released, and 25 more sites require sampling. Kerry Cavanaugh, (818) 713-3746 kerry.cavanaugh@dailynews.com Copyright © 2005 Los Angeles Daily News ***************************************************************** 57 Tri-City Herald: Audit rates DOE pollution control This story was published Wednesday, March 23rd, 2005 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer The Department of Energy could do a better job of pollution prevention to reduce costs and minimize waste at sites such as Hanford, according to an audit released Tuesday by DOE's Office of the Inspector General. The report called for holding managers accountable for pollution prevention and trying new strategies, such as fees for producing new waste. Less emphasis on finding new ways to prevent pollution may have led to a loss of potential savings at Hanford, the audit said. Hanford reported an average of $70 million in pollution prevention cost savings in 2000 and 2001. But after nationwide changes in the program, that fell to an average of $32 million in 2002 and 2003 at Hanford, the audit said. Hanford officials said past efforts led to the implementation of the most promising opportunities, contributing to the decrease in annual cost savings. DOE also pointed out Hanford had some major projects that reduced radioactive waste costs. It named demolition of Hanford's 233-S Plutonium Concentration Facility as a winner in its 2005 pollution prevention program. Careful characterization of waste from the facility was used to greatly reduce the amount of wastes characterized as transuranic, which is typically contaminated with plutonium. Transuranic wastes must be sent to an underground repository in New Mexico and disposed of at a cost of about $39,000 per cubic meter. But most of the waste from a four-story-high process hood at the plant was separated and characterized as low-level waste, allowing it to be buried at Hanford for about $89 per cubic meter. Typically, all the waste from the hood would have been considered transuranic. The project saved $2.7 million, and such characterization methods are expected to be used at other DOE sites, according to Fluor Hanford, the project contractor. In addition, Hanford plans to separate high-level radioactive waste from the 53 million gallons of waste stored in its underground tanks left from the past production of plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program. Much of the other waste can then be treated and buried as low-activity radioactive waste at Hanford -- at far less cost that disposing of high-level radioactive waste. High-level waste must be sent to an underground repository, such as Yucca Mountain, Nev. Pollution prevention managers at all four DOE sites visited by auditors said they needed more support to do a more thorough job. At Hanford, the pollution prevention staff has been cut from seven to one employee since fiscal year 2003. The remaining employee focuses on monitoring ongoing recycling activities and reporting waste generation data. The staff of DOE's Richland office for Hanford has been cut by about 80 people in the last four years. The report did not list potential projects at Hanford, but listed projects that have been discussed and not started at other sites. They included using lead-free bullets on firing ranges and using more water-efficient cleaning systems. The audit also praised a program at the Los Alamos, N.M., site that charges a fee for waste generated and invested the $600,000 it collected last year in pollution prevention projects. © 2005 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 58 Tri-City Herald: DOE awards $1.9 billion Columbia River cleanup contract This story was published Wednesday, March 23rd, 2005 By the Herald staff The Department of Energy today awarded a seven-year, $1.9 billion contract for cleanup of the Columbia River Corridor at Hanford to Washington Closure. The five-member team includes Washington Group International, Bechtel National, CH2M Hill, Everline Services and Integrated Logistics Services. Work includes cleanup up in north Hanford along the Columbia River where nine reactors produced plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program. It also covers work in the 300 Area just north of Richland where nuclear fuel was fabricated and processes to be used in central Hanford were tested. Additional work will be done under the contract to clean up the highly radioactive burial grounds, 618-10 and 618-11, and facilities, other than the Fast Flux Test Facility, in the 400 Area. Sixty percent of the work must be contracted, with half of that going to small businesses. In 2002, Washington Group teamed with Fluor Federal Services and Earth Tech to submit what was named the winning bid in 2003. That bid was successfully challenged by another team, Bechtel National and CH2M Hill, on the grounds it was based on unrealistic cost calculations. © 2005 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services ***************************************************************** 59 PR News: DOE Selects CH2M-WG Idaho, LLC to Lead Idaho Cleanup Effort IDAHO FALLS, Idaho, March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today that CH2M-WG Idaho, LLC, was selected to lead the $2.9-billion Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP). The ICP is a seven-year project focusing on the safe, environmental cleanup of the 890-square-mile Idaho National Laboratory site. CH2M-WG Idaho combines the capabilities of CH2M HILL and Washington Group International (Nasdaq: ), leaders in risk reduction and accelerated cleanup of large, complex nuclear facilities. "We are honored to be entrusted with this important project. As someone who grew up in the state, I understand how critical this project is to the future of Idaho. We need to safely and effectively perform this work to protect our environment," stated Alan Parker, CH2M-WG Idaho president and chief executive officer. CH2M-WG Idaho's scope of work includes treatment and disposal of various radioactive waste streams, management of spent nuclear fuel, disposal or disposition of nuclear materials, demolition of reactor and non-reactor nuclear facilities, and environmental remediation activities currently funded through DOE's Office of Environmental Management. "Our team brings a fundamental focus on safety that entails partnering with the workforce and front-line supervisors," said CH2M-WG Idaho Chief Operating Officer, Bill Johnson. "We will tackle the highest risk projects first to reduce or eliminate health and environmental hazards." Partnering with pre-qualified small businesses to meet aggressive cleanup milestones has been a key component of the teams' success at both Rocky Flats and Mound, and will be essential at Idaho. For example, CH2M-WG Idaho's small business partner, Premier Technology, will support project critical path activities. The Pocatello-based company brings expertise in the design-build of specialty fabricated stainless steel equipment. "As a Boise State graduate with a strong interest in Idaho's future, I am honored to have the opportunity to work with the local Department of Energy leadership, Idaho delegation, local regulators and other stakeholders to make this project a world-class success," said CH2M HILL Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Peterson. "We have assembled a team with unmatched capability that will do everything possible to deliver results that are protective of the environment and the Snake River Aquifer." "Washington Group has been a contractor at the site for more than a half-century during which time we either designed, built or operated many of the primary facilities on the site. We're thrilled to continue our involvement in work so vital to our state and nation," said Washington Group President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen G. Hanks. "As someone who grew up in nearby Rexburg and is part of a company that was founded in Idaho more than 90 years ago, I am especially proud of being a part of this effort." CH2M-WG Idaho team members have deep roots in Idaho and have served Idaho communities for more than 140 years. Boise-based Washington Group International has provided integrated engineering, construction, and management solutions for Idaho businesses and governments since 1912 and either designed, built or managed many of the original facilities on the Idaho National Laboratory site. Since the opening of its Boise office in 1950 and its second office in Idaho Falls in 1999, CH2M HILL has provided engineering, planning, construction, and operations services in the areas of energy, water, environment, industrial design and construction, and transportation. CH2M-WG Idaho, LLC, a joint venture company combining the capabilities of CH2M HILL and Washington Group International, will lead DOE's cleanup effort at the Idaho National Laboratory site. CH2M HILL is an employee-owned, global project delivery firm headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The company has more than 14,000 employees working in 200 offices worldwide. Washington Group International, based in Boise, Idaho, delivers integrated engineering, construction, and management solutions to clients worldwide. The company's 27,000 employees work in over 40 states and more than 30 countries. SOURCE CH2M-WG Idaho, LLC Copyright © 1996-2004 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights ***************************************************************** 60 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Oak Ridge FR Doc 05-5727 [Federal Register: March 23, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 55)] [Notices] [Page 14661-14662] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr23mr05-80] Reservation AGENCY: Department of energy. ACTION: Notice of open meeting. SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Advisory Board (EMSSAB), Oak Ridge Reservation. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. No. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register. DATES: Wednesday, April 13, 2005, 6 p.m. ADDRESSES: DOE Information Center, 475 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pat Halsey, Federal Coordinator, Department of Energy Oak Ridge Operations Office, PO Box 2001, EM-90, Oak Ridge, TN 37831. Phone (865) 576-4025; Fax (865) 576-5333 or e- mail: halseypj@oro.doe.gov or check the Web site at http://www.oakridge.doe.gov/em/ssab . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Board: The purpose of the Board is to make recommendations to DOE in the areas of environmental restoration, waste management, and related activities. Tentative Agenda: Overview of CERCLA Documentation. Public Participation: The meeting is open to the public. Written statements may be filed with the Board either before or after the meeting. Individuals who wish to make oral statements pertaining to the agenda item should contact Pat Halsey at the address or telephone number listed above. Requests must be received five days prior to the meeting and reasonable provision will be made to include the presentation in the agenda. The Deputy Designated Federal Officer is empowered to conduct the meeting in a fashion that will facilitate the orderly [[Page 14662]] conduct of business. Individuals wishing to make public comment will be provided a maximum of five minutes to present their comments. Minutes: Minutes of this meeting will be available for public review and copying at the Department of Energy's Information Center at 475 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, or by writing to Pat Halsey, Department of Energy Oak Ridge Operations Office, PO Box 2001, EM-90, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, or by calling her at (865) 576-4025. Issued at Washington, DC on March 17, 2005. Rachel M. Samuel, Deputy Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. 05-5727 Filed 3-22-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P ***************************************************************** 61 Las Vegas SUN: U.S. Sen. Ensign defends Bush plan for Social Security By BRENDAN RILEY ASSOCIATED PRESS CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Republican U.S. Sen. John Ensign, addressing Nevada legislators Tuesday, defended President Bush's proposal to let younger workers divert some of their payroll taxes into private investment accounts. In his 15-minute speech and at a follow-up news conference, Ensign insisted the Bush plan wouldn't "privatize" Social Security or undercut the system. He told lawmakers the current trust fund for the system has been tapped so heavily by politicians that it's "nothing but a farce." Despite an apparent lack of strong public support for the Bush plan, Ensign told reporters that "doesn't mean it doesn't have to be done." Ensign also said the fact that he and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., are poles apart on the Social Security issue won't keep them from working in concert on Nevada-related issues. Reid on Tuesday said the GOP proposal is "a flawed plan to privatize Social Security" that would slash benefits and increase the national debt by trillions of dollars. Ensign also criticized the Bush administration's attempt to divert most of the windfall profits from public land sales in Clark County to the federal government, saying he had worked to thwart the move to "steal" the funding. Ensign also told reporters he wasn't disappointed that Vice President Dick Cheney, in Reno on Tuesday as part of a public relations tour to promote the proposed Social Security changes, didn't say anything about the proposed nuclear waste dump at Nevada's Yucca Mountain. In the latest development to slow the project, government officials have said a hydrologist's e-mails to his supervisor has led the Energy Department to conclude that some scientific documents in support of the dump might have been falsified. Ensign said he spoke to Cheney about Yucca Mountain and Cheney was prepared to answer questions about the dump, but none was asked. However, no reporters were able to question the vice president at the Reno event. "This latest round (of disclosures) could be the death knell" for the dump, Ensign said, adding, "The momentum is clearly on our side." Asked about a new national poll indicating strong public opposition to congressional intervention in the case of brain-damaged Terry Schiavo, Ensign said, "Congress didn't say whether she should live or die. They just erred on the side of giving her another chance." "We do that for someone on death row. When there's a question, shouldn't we do that for any other American?" Other conservatives aren't happy with the decision by Congress and Bush to intervene, and say it's an example of the big government they have always opposed. Ensign also praised the American-led war in Iraq. He said the recent national elections in Iraq and Afghanistan have helped to end "regimes of hate." "All of God's children deserve to be free," he added. -- ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************