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Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject
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                         NUCLEAR POLICY
 
1 Bellona: Victor-III nuclear submarine to be scrapped soon in Severod
 
                         NUCLEAR REACTORS
 
2 US: [epa-impact] Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Notice of Change in
3 US: [NukeNet] NRC & PSEG ignore GE warning on defective B circ pump
4 US: Berkshire Eagle: Energy expert to lecture on nuclear power
5 US: NRC: NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment for Prairie Isla
6 Hindustan Times: Bangladesh, China to cooperate on nuclear energy
7 US: NRC: NRC to Meet with Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel Plant Officials 
8 US: Rutland Herald: Support for nuke facility is scant
9 Xinhua: Pakistan to construct more nuclear power plants   
10 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collecti
11 US: NRC: Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Notice of Change in Locatio
12 US: NRC: NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment for Calvert Clif
13 US: NRC: Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Notice of Consideration of 
14 US: NRC: Amergen Energy Company, LLC; Notice of Consideration of Iss
15 US: Wiscasset Newspaper: Maine Yankee Deal May Be Imminent
16 US: Portsmouth Daily Times: A-plant might face layoffs   
17 US: NRC: NRC Invites Public to Attend Decommissioning Workshop April
18 US: WCAX.com: Future of Vermont Yankee
19 CBC - New Brunswick: Companies ask PM to support Lepreau
20 US: NRC: NRC Issues Draft Safety Evaluation for Grand Gulf Early Sit
21 US: Press Herald: Maine Yankee, Wiscasset end property-tax dispute
 
                          NUCLEAR SECURITY
 
22 Secrecy News -- 04/08/05
23 Guardian Unlimited: Pakistani Accused of Nuke Device Exports
24 INSIDE JoongAng Daily: Roh says Seoul got U.S. to go softer on North
25 US: APP.COM: Pallone urges NRC to improve nuclear plant security fol
26 Stanford Report: Experts outline steps to halt spread of nuclear wea
27 Xinhua: DPRK warns to strengthen its nuclear deterrent   
28 US: Grist Magazine: Spent nuclear fuel vulnerable to terrorist attac
29 US: UCS: Eminent Physicists Call for Reality Check on Missile Defens
30 US: TVA: Spent reactor fuel 'well protected' but under review
 
                          NUCLEAR SAFETY
 
31 US: [du-list] Arnove, Gustafson and Ryabov debate US occupation
32 [du-list] 90,000 return to possible DU hot zone
33 US: Deseret News: Atomic test museum wins over a Utah visitor
34 Bellona: Human right activist revealed radiation accident
35 US: Sarasota Herald-Tribune: A long way to go
36 US: Vermont Guardian: Evacuation times more than doubled in new stud
37 US: NRC: NRC to Hold Public Meeting April 29 on Issues Associated wi
 
                         NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
 
38 [CMEP] Eye on Energy: April Edition
39 Las Vegas SUN: Interior turns down request for testimony from
40 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Dry-cask storage decried
41 US: AP Wire: Environmental group asks Sanford to block nuclear fuel 
42 US: Deseret News: Keep the pressure on tailings 
43 newsobserver.com Editorials: Message dump
44 Las Vegas RJ: NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY: DOE probes Yucca e-mails 
45 Las Vegas RJ: Two in controversy still part of project 
46 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Yucca scandal getting worse
47 US: Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Radioactive cleanup
48 Las Vegas SUN: Porter: DOE should explain why workers allowed to ret
49 RGJ: Yucca plan’s days numbered
50 ICT: Yucca Mountain data fabricated
51 News & Star: Nuclear future fuels early election agenda 
52 Pahrump Valley Times: DOE: E-mail scandal not a problem 
53 Pahrump Valley Times: Assembly approves $2 million to fight Yucca re
 
                           PEACE
 
 
                        US DEPT. OF ENERGY
 
54 Tri-City Herald: Bechtel lays off 185 more workers 
55 DOE: Notice of Availability of Draft Section 3116 Determination for 
*****************************************************************
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                         FULL NEWS STORIES
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 1 Bellona: Victor-III nuclear submarine to be scrapped soon in Severodvinsk
 
Zvezdochka shipyard is preparing to start dismantling of the
Victor-III multipurpose nuclear submarine, project 671RTM,
Interfax reported. 

2005-04-08 18:47

The submarine was placed in the dock on March 15. Canada
sponsors the work in the frames of the Global Partnership
program adopted in 2002 at the G8 summit. The program stipulates
allocating $20 billion for elimination of the excessive weapons
in the former USSR. Russia suggested spending some sum on the
decommissioning of the multipurpose nuclear submarine, even if
they are unable to carry nuclear weapons. 

At the fist stage of the dismantlement the nuclear fuel will be
removed from the submarine’s reactor, which will be placed for
storage with two neighbouring compartments. Then the rest of the
submarine will be scrapped. 
  
  Publisher: , President: 
Information: , Technical contact: 
Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62  * P.O.Box
2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway
*****************************************************************
 2 [epa-impact] Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Notice of Change in
 
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2005 11:50:30 -0400 (EDT)

 
http://epa.gov/EPA-IMPACT/2005/April/Day-08/  
=======================================================================


[Federal Register: April 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 67)]
[Notices]
[Page 18063]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08ap05-106]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 52-007]
 
Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Notice of Change in Location for 
Public Meeting the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for an Early 
Site Permit (ESP at the Exelon ESP Site

    On March 10, 2005, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the 
Commission) issued a notice of availability of NUREG-1815, 
``Environmental Impact Statement for an Early Site Permit (ESP) at the 
Exelon ESP Site: Draft Report for Comment,'' (70 FR 12022). In 
addition, the notice announced that the NRC staff will hold a public 
meeting on April 19, 2005 to present an overview of the draft 
environmental impact statement (DEIS) and to accept public comments on 
the document. Notice is hereby given that the public meeting will be 
held at a different location than that specified in the previous notice 
because of the potential number of attendees. The public meeting will 
be held at the Clinton Junior High School, 401 N. Center Street, 
Clinton, Illinois, 61727, on Tuesday, April 19, 2005. The meeting will 
convene at 7 p.m. and will continue until 10 p.m., as necessary. The 
meeting will be transcribed and will include: (1) A presentation of the 
contents of the DEIS, and (2) the opportunity for interested government 
agencies, organizations, and individuals to provide comments on the 
draft report. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal 
discussions one hour before the start of the meeting at the high 
school. No formal comments on the DEIS will be accepted during the 
informal discussions. To be considered, comments must be provided 
either at the transcribed public meeting or in writing. Persons may 
register to attend or present oral comments at the meeting by 
contacting Ms. Harriet Nash, by telephone at 1-800-368-5642, extension 
4100, or by Internet to the NRC at <A HREF="mailto:ClintonEIS@nrc.gov">ClintonEIS@nrc.gov</A> no later than 
April 13, 2005. Members of the public may also register to speak at the 
meeting within 15 minutes of the start of the meeting. Individual oral 
comments may be limited by the time available, depending on the number 
of persons who register. Members of the public who have not registered 
may also have an opportunity to speak, if time permits. Ms. Nash will 
need to be contacted no later than April 13, 2005, if special equipment 
or accommodations are needed to attend or present information at the 
public meeting, so that the NRC staff can determine whether the request 
can be accommodated.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harriet Nash, License Renewal and 
Environmental Impacts Program, Division of Regulatory Improvement 
Programs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 20555-
0001. Ms. Nash may be contacted at the aforementioned telephone number 
or e-mail address.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31 day of March, 2004.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Pao-Tsin Kuo,
Program Director, License Renewal and Environmental Impacts Program, 
Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, Office of Nuclear Reactor 
Regulation.
[FR Doc. E5-1617 Filed 4-7-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

------------------------------------------

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 3 [NukeNet] NRC & PSEG ignore GE warning on defective B circ pump
 
Date: Fri, 08 Apr 2005 14:42:49 -0700

 
<x-flowed>
NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net)

Good Day: On April 5, 2005, the NRC issued the attached Information Notice
to plant owners about the problems encountered at the Hope Creek nuclear
plant. In this notice, the NRC reported that a warning issued by General
Electric in 1991 recommended that owners inspect the shafts on their
recirculation pumps when greater than 80,000 hours of operation had been
accumulated. The NRC reported that the recirculation pumps at Hope Creek
have operated for greater than 130,000 hours without the recommended
inspections. The NRC reported that some nuclear plants like Hope Creek
have been operating recirculation pumps for even longer than 130,000 hours
without inspections. Apparently, there's some industry contest running to
see who can ignore GE's warning the longest.  Given that Hope Creek
ignored GE's warning for 14 years (and running), it's probably safe to
assume that other plant owners will ignore this NRC warning until 2019 or
so. After all, on the fourth page of this notice, the NRC informed plant
owners that "This information notices requires no specific action."  Very
odd, considering that it was "no specific action" by PSEG that prompted
this information notice in the first place. Thanks, Dave Lochbaum
Nuclear Safety Engineer
Union of Concerned Scientists
1707 H Street NW Suite 600
Washington, DC 20006-3962
(202) 223-6133 (office)
(202) 331-5430 (direct line)
(202) 223-6162 (fax)



UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555
April 5, 2005
NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 2005-08: MONITORING VIBRATION TO DETECT
CIRCUMFERENTIAL CRACKING OF REACTOR
COOLANT PUMP AND REACTOR
RECIRCULATION PUMP SHAFTS
ADDRESSEES
All holders of operating licenses for nuclear power reactors, except those
who have
permanently ceased operations and have certified that fuel has been
permanently removed
from the reactor vessel.
PURPOSE
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this information
notice (IN) to alert
addressees to the importance of timely detection of circumferential
cracking of reactor coolant
pump (RCP) and reactor recirculation pump (RRP) shafts to minimize the
likelihood of
consequential shaft failures.
It is expected that recipients will review the information for
applicability to their facilities and
consider actions, as appropriate, to avoid similar problems. However, the
suggestions in this
IN are not NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written
response is required.
DESCRIPTION OF CIRCUMSTANCES
General Electric (GE) Nuclear Services Information Letter (SIL) 459-S2,
issued October 21,
1991, informed GE boiling water reactor (BWR) owners of shaft cracking in
RRPs. The root
cause was determined to be fatigue initiated by thermal stresses that,
combined with
mechanical stresses, caused cracks to propagate. GE recommended
countermeasures
including shaft vibration monitoring, inspection of shafts with greater
than 80,000 hours of
service, and measures to reduce mechanical and thermal stresses.
At Hope Creek, RRPs had accumulated over 130,000 hours of service without
pump shaft
inspections. The licensee had operated the B RRP for several refueling
cycles with vibration
levels approaching vendor limits. During this time, the licensee also
identified failed and
degraded RRP seals and concluded that the most likely causes of the failed
and degraded
RRP seals were a possible bow in the pump shaft and low reliability of the
seal purge system.
ML050730093
RIS 2005-08
Page 2 of 4
The licenseeā€™s decision to restart following the fall 2004 refueling
outage without correcting this
condition led to heightened public interest and prompted a close NRC
review. The staff
evaluated site-specific technical details, related domestic and
international operating
experience, and the generic safety aspects of vibration-related shaft and
seal failure.
Circumferential cracking of RCP and RRP shafts had previously been
reported at several
facilities including Sequoyah, Palo Verde, St. Lucie, and Grand Gulf. In
addition, reactor
coolant pump shafts at Crystal River separated completely during operation
on two occasions
(see IN 86-19 and IN 89-15).
The staff evaluated the licenseeā€™s determination that the Hope Creek unit
could be safely
returned to power with the existing pump shaft and the interim
compensatory measures
implemented to provide reasonable assurance that a shaft failure could be
detected in its
incipient stage and operators would take prompt action to prevent the
occurrence of a potential
shaft and seal failure. The licensee committed to (1) replace the B pump
shaft at the next
outage of sufficient duration and to (2) establish a comprehensive program
of enhanced
continuous vibration monitoring to ensure timely detection of
circumferential crack propagation
with proceduralized contingency actions for plant operators to act
promptly at specified
administrative vibration limits to reduce pump speed or shut the pump down
completely. The
same monitoring regime was implemented for the A RRP.
The Hope Creek licensee implemented a program to continuously monitor the
synchronous
speed (1X) vibration amplitude, two times synchronous speed (2X) vibration
amplitude, 1X
phase angle, and 2X phase angle. These parameters provide a more sensitive
leading
indicator of circumferential crack initiation and propagation giving the
operators enough time to
respond. Alarm limits were established using the ASME OM standard,
"Reactor Coolant and
Recirculation Pump Condition Monitoring."
GE SIL 459 indicates that all Byron Jackson (now Flowserve) RRP shafts
inspected have
shown some degree of thermally induced cracking. The cracking occurs near
the pump
thermal barrier where the cold seal purge system water mixes with the hot
reactor coolant
water. The cracks initiate as axial cracks in the pump shaft. Axial cracks
are generally benign,
grow slowly, and do not affect the operation of the pump. However, given
sufficient
mechanical loads, the axial cracks can change direction and propagate
circumferentially. The
time it takes to transition from slow-growing axial cracks to more rapidly
growing circumferential
cracks depends on the magnitude of the mechanical loads on the pump shaft.
It could take
years. On the other hand, circumferential shaft cracking can propagate
rapidly and, if not
detected early, may result in complete severance of the shaft.
Circumferential shaft cracking or shaft separation could result in pump
damage and
degradation or failure of the pump seal package resulting in leakage of
reactor coolant through
clearances around the upper portion of the pump shaft. However, at Crystal
River - where the
only two instances of shaft failure occurred at domestic nuclear power
plants - there was no
evidence of seal degradation. A loss-of-coolant accident can occur if
leakage through the
seals of a RRP or RCP exceeds the capacity of the normal makeup systems.
Thus
circumferential shaft cracking that leads to shaft or seal failure is a
safety concern.
RIS 2005-08
Page 3 of 4
As noted above, vibration-monitoring systems are available to detect
circumferential cracking
of pump shafts. As circumferential cracks propagate, the stiffness of the
pump shaft changes.
These changes are detectable through changes in the pump vibration
signature prior to shaft
failure. Although overall pump vibration limits are necessary for
assessing gaps and
clearances in the pump, they are not the most appropriate indicator of
shaft cracking.
Monitoring the 1X and 2X steady-state vectors (1X and 2X amplitudes and
phase angles)
provides a better indication of changes in shaft integrity resulting from
circumferential crack
propagation.
Licensees should be alert to the possibility of circumferential RCP or RRP
shaft cracking and
should evaluate the information in this IN and determine what actions, if
any, are prudent to
provide early detection of circumferential shaft cracking and prevent
failure of RRP or RCP
shafts and shaft seals.
GENERIC IMPLICATIONS
A significant number (about half) of the BWR RRP pump shafts currently in
service are older
and have more hours of operation than those at Hope Creek and many have
not been
inspected as recommended in GE SIL 459-S2.
About a half-dozen BWR RRPs were identified as having higher vibration
levels than Hope
Creek. Such issues would not necessarily be reported to the NRC. The staff
contacted three
BWR licensees whose plants had been reported to have higher vibration
levels than Hope
Creek. The three plants included Susquehanna Units 1 and 2, Peach Bottom
Units 2 and 3,
and Browns Ferry Units 2 and 3. The staff discussed with each licensee how
it monitors pump
vibration, the vibration acceptance criteria used, and why the current
vibration levels are
acceptable. These licensees indicated that they have either replaced their
pump shafts (or will
in the near future) or are taking steps to monitor RRP vibration and have
established
acceptance criteria to detect anomalous behavior.
Operating experience suggests that pressurized water reactor (PWR) RCPs
are not immune to
vibration-related shaft and seal failure concerns similar to BWR RRP
concerns. PWR RCP
seal failure can be more safety significant than BWR RRP seal failure
because (1) PWR
reactor coolant systems operate at higher pressures, increasing the
differential pressure
across the pump seals and (2) PWR RCPs, unlike BWR RRPs, typically can not
be isolated
from the reactor coolant system following a seal failure. In addition,
while a number of BWR
RRP shafts have cracked, several PWR RCP shafts have completely severed.
IN 2005-08
Page 4 of 4
CONTACT
This information notice requires no specific action or written response.
Please direct any
questions about this matter to the technical contact(s) listed below or
the appropriate Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.
/RA/
Patrick L. Hiland, Chief
Reactor Operations Branch
Division of Inspection Program Management
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Technical Contacts: William Poertner, NRR Ross Telson, NRR
(301) 415-5787 (301) 415-2256
E-mail wkp@nrc.gov E-mail rdt@nrc.gov
Note: NRC generic communications may be found on the NRC public Web site,
http://www.nrc.gov, under Electronic Reading Room/Document Collections.

-- 
Coalition for Peace and Justice
UNPLUG Salem Campaign; 321 Barr Ave, Linwood
NJ 08221; 609-601-8583; cell 609-742-0982
ncohen12@comcast.net; http://www.unplugsalem.org
http://www.coalitionforpeaceandjustice.org

"A time comes when silence is betrayal.
Even when pressed by the demands of
inner truth, men do not easily assume
the task of opposing their government's
policy, especially in time of war.
Nor does the human spirit move without
  great difficulty against all the apathy
of conformist thought, within one's own
bosom and in the surrounding world."

- Martin Luther King Jr.



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*****************************************************************
 4 Berkshire Eagle: Energy expert to lecture on nuclear power
 
April 09, 2005 Pittsfield, MA                                                                          
 			 								 					
 WILLIAMSTOWN -- Richard Meserve, president of the Carnegie
Institution, will deliver a Class of 1960 Scholars Program
lecture titled "The Energy/Climate Dilemma and the Emerging Role
of Nuclear Power" on Tuesday at Williams College. The event is
scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Griffin Hall, room 7.

 Meserve holds a law degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D.
from Stanford University in applied physics. He served as law
clerk to Justice Harry A. Blackmun of the United States Supreme
Court and Judge Benjamin Kaplan of the Massachusetts Supreme
Judicial Court and as legal consul to President Jimmy Carter's
science advisor.

 During the Carter administration, Meserve was involved in
managing energy issues, including those as a result of the oil
shocks emanating from the Middle East and the nuclear disaster
at Three-Mile Island. 

After serving as a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm of
Covington &Burling, he joined the Clinton administration which
called on Meserve to chair the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
which regulates the civilian use of nuclear materials, and where
Meserve managed the controversies surrounding the David-Besse
nuclear plant in Ohio and Yucca Mountain in Nevada. After the
Sept. 11 attacks, he worked to implement new regulations to
protect American nuclear power plants from terrorist attack.

 The Carnegie Institution was founded in 1902 by industrialist
Andrew Carnegie to serve as a center for scientific discovery.
Meserve is the ninth president of the Carnegie Institution. 		  
	 	
Copyright ©1999-2005 New England Newspapers, Inc., 
*****************************************************************
 5 NRC: NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment for Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant
 
News Release - Region III - 2005-01
 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Office of Public Affairs, Region III
  No. III-05-012           April 8, 2005   
  CONTACT:     Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663
 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662     E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov  
  

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with
representatives of Nuclear Management Company on Tuesday, April
12, to discuss the agencys assessment of safety performance for
the year 2004 at the Prairies Island Nuclear Power Plant. The
plant is located at Welch, Minn. 

The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation,
is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Prairie Island Nuclear
Generating Plant Training Center, 1660 Wakonade Drive West,
Welch, Minn. 

Before the meeting is adjourned, NRC staff will be available to
answer questions from the public on the safety performance of
the Prairie Island plant, as well as the role of the NRC in
ensuring safe plant operation. 

The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Prairie
Island plant and the nations other commercial nuclear power
facilities, NRC Region III Administrator James Caldwell 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 III 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/prai_2004q4.pdf
[PDF Icon] . 

The NRCs assessment concluded that the Prairie Island 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. 

All of the inspection findings and performance indicators for
Prairie Island during 2004 were determined to be green. As a
result of this performance, the NRC will conduct the normal,
baseline level of inspections during the upcoming year. 

Routine inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors
assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the
Region III Office in Lisle, IL, 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, safety system design and performance capability,
problem identification and resolution, and fire protection. 

Current performance information for Prairie Island is available
on the NRCs web site at:
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PRAI1/prai1_chart.html
and
 http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PRAI2/prai2_chart.html.
  



  


 	Last revised Friday, April 08, 2005 	   
*****************************************************************
 6 Hindustan Times: Bangladesh, China to cooperate on nuclear energy

 South Asia :
 
  HindustanTimes.com » South Asia » Bangladesh » Story   

Dhaka, April 7, 2005|12:21 IST
       
Bangladesh and China have signed a key energy agreement that
will see them cooperate on the peaceful use of nuclear energy
and also explore coal mining.

"The accords were signed following official talks between the
prime ministers of China, Wen Jiabao, and Bangladesh's Begum
Khaleda Zia," Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Hemayetuddin told a
news briefing.

Wen, heading a 102-member entourage including four senior
ministers, arrived in Dhaka on Thursday on the second leg of a
South Asian tour.

During the talks, China agreed to give Bangladesh concessional
loans worth $600 million -- including $400 million for setting
up digital telephone exchanges in cities and urban centres.

"The peaceful use of nuclear energy includes power generation,
production of medicines and technology for treatment of
patients," Hemayetuddin said.

China also agreed to finance production and management at a 64
million tonne capacity coal mine at Barapukuria in northern
Dinajpur district.

The mine, developed by China National Import and Export
Corporation at a cost of $251 million, went into production late
last year.

The coal will be primarily used by a planned 250 megawatt power
plant at Barapukuria, energy ministry officials said.

China has helped Bangladesh build power plants, bridges and
highways since it established diplomatic ties in 1975.

Wen will also travel to Sri Lanka and India where he is due to
hold talks aimed at ending lingering distrust between the
world's two most populous countries.       
    
Formerly East Pakistan, Bangladesh came into being only in 1971,
when the two parts of Pakistan split after a bitter civil war
which drew in neighbouring India.       
    
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.  
*****************************************************************
 7 NRC: NRC to Meet with Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel Plant Officials April 12 to Discuss
Facility Safety Performance

News Release - Region II - 2005-01
 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Office of Public Affairs, Region II
  No. II-05-017   		        April 7, 2005   
  CONTACT:     Ken Clark (404) 562-4416
 Roger D. Hannah (404) 562-4417     E-mail: opa2@nrc.gov  
  

Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials will meet with officials
of the Westinghouse commercial nuclear fuel plant in Columbia,
S. C., on April 12 to discuss the agencys latest review of the
facilitys safety performance. 

The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Red Room of the South
Carolina State Museum, located at 301 Gervais Street in Columbia
and is open to observation by the public. NRC officials will be
available before the close of the meeting to answer questions
from interested observers. 

The NRC staff will discuss with Westinghouse safety performance
in the major areas of safety operations, radiological controls,
facility support and special topics. The evaluation covers a
period from December 7, 2003, through January 22, 2005. 

The review found that Westinghouse had conducted its activities
safely during the period of review and is currently engaged in
significant upgrades to its human performance and criticality
safety programs. However, it said that corrective actions
implemented by the company in response to numerous events in
those areas have not been fully effective. 

Westinghouses performance will result in additional NRC
inspection effort in the areas of nuclear criticality safety
analyses, plant operations and management controls. The NRC will
also conduct the next Licensee Performance Review at
Westinghouse in 12 months, rather than the normal 24-month
frequency. 

A copy of the NRC letter to Westinghouse which outlines details
of the review is available by contacting OPA2@nrc.govor from the
NRC web site at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html as document
ML050800009.   



  


 	Last revised Thursday, April 07, 2005 	   
*****************************************************************
 8 Rutland Herald: Support for nuke facility is scant
 	 	 	 	
April 8, 2005 

By Susan SmallheerHerald Staff   

MONTPELIER — Supporters of Vermont's only nuclear power plant
were few Thursday night during a legislative hearing on whether
to allow Entergy Nuclear to build a high-level nuclear waste
facility in Vernon.

A joint hearing held by the House and Senate Natural Resources
committees heard from Vermonters scattered all over the state,
with the majority of those testifying coming from Windham and
Rutland counties.

The hearing came a day after a National Academy of Science
report stated that nuclear power plants' water-cooled spent fuel
pools were an invitation to terrorists.

During the first two hours of the hearing, only five people
spoke in support of Entergy Nuclear's plan to build a so-called
dry cask storage facility, where the older and cooler highly
radioactive fuel rods would be moved out of their water-cooled
tank and put in air-cooled steel and concrete casks.

But more than a dozen people said if the facility were built,
the state should take advantage of its leverage over Entergy and
ensure that the plant shuts down in 2012, when its 40-year
federal license expires.

Several speakers also cited a national report issued Wednesday
saying nuclear power plants' spent fuel storage pools, which
hold decades of waste, were a natural target of terrorists.

Crea Lintilhac of Shelburne said she had worked as a graduate
student 20 years ago on deep ocean disposal of highly
radioactive nuclear waste.

But the project was abandoned, Lintilhac said, because it wasn't
safe or feasible.

Entergy is creating more of its own problem, she and others
said, because it has asked the federal government for permission
to boost power production by 20 percent, which will increase
waste by 20 percent as well.

Lintilhac said the Legislature should make sure the waste
facility would be tied to the plant's shutdown in 2012, and
Vermonters be compensated for the "inherent danger" of living
with a nuclear waste site.

A 12-year-old boy from Shrewsbury, Franklin Caval-Holme, told
legislators that the safety of Vermonters was at stake.

"Can anyone assure their safety for 1,000 years? I think not,"
he said, referring to the steel and concrete casks that would
hold the radioactive fuel.

Speaking in support of Entergy Nuclear's plans were William
Sayre, owner of a Bristol lumber company, and a board member of
the Associated Industries of Vermont.

Sayre, who is trained as an economist, said Entergy Nuclear
provides some of the cheapest electric power for Vermonters,
about 4 cents per kilowatt hour, when the average cost of other
power is 11 cents.

Sayre said after the hearing he had been skeptical of the costs
and dangers of nuclear power until recently, when he looked into
the storage issue.

Sayre said he supported the plan because Entergy Nuclear paid
the state of Vermont $200 million in taxes and employed 600
people in Windham County.

Paul Bousquet of West Townshend urged the Legislature to shut
the plant down and stop making "poisonous waste."

Bousquet said he had served his country in the armed services,
but he wasn't willing to make a similar sacrifice for nuclear
power.

"I'm not willing to die for my power plant," he said.

Peter Alexander of Putney, the executive director of the
anti-nuclear New England Coalition, said the Legislature should
use this opportunity to make sure Vermont Yankee is shut down in
2012, rather than let Entergy get a second federal license and
keep operating.

"Close the door on the future of a license extension," Alexander
said.

The issue of dry-cask storage of radioactive waste has put the
anti-nuclear community in a quandary of sorts, because most
scientists agree once the old fuel has cooled for about five
years, it is safer in cask storage than in the fuel pool.

The two committees are considering allowing the high-level
radioactive waste facility, but with conditions tied to the life
of the plant. The committees are also considering an annual tax
on the facility.

Entergy Nuclear says it is running out of storage space in its
spent fuel pool, which has been redesigned to allow more nuclear
waste than its original 1960s design. But the federal government
hasn't kept its promise to open a nuclear waste storage facility
at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

A second legislative hearing on the radioactive waste proposal
will be held next week in Brattleboro.

Contact Susan Smallheer at susan.smallheer@rutlandherald.com.
   
© 2005 Rutland Herald
*****************************************************************
 9 Xinhua: Pakistan to construct more nuclear power plants   

  www.xinhuanet.com

  www.chinaview.cn 2005-04-08 20:03:36   

    ISLAMABAD, April 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Pakistan would construct
more nuclear power plants after Chashma Nuclear Power Plant
Unit-2 (CHASSNUP-2) as it has abundant expertise, manpower and
reliable friends for cooperation in this regard, officials said
on Friday. 

    "Pakistan has now more dependable workforce and friends and
our nuclear power program is poised for expansion in order to
meet the higher needs of accelerated economic development of the
country," the official Associated Press of Pakistan Friday
quoted Advisor to the Prime Minister for Strategic Program
Ishfaquue Ahmed as saying in Chashma. 

    Ahmed was addressing the ground-breaking ceremony of Chashma
Nuclear Power Plant Unit-2, to be constructed in collaboration
with China. 

    Referring to Shahrah-e-Dosti, a road at Chashma site named
to signify Pak-China friendship, Ishfaque Ahmed said this road
has no end point, an allusion to ever growing cooperation
between the two countries in the peaceful usage of nuclear
energy. 

    "The creation of an independent Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory
Authority (PNRA) will be helpful in ensuring safety and
integrity of nuclear power plant," he said. 

    Earlier, in his welcome address, Chairman of Pakistan Atomic
Energy Commission (PAEC), Parvez Butt said Pakistan has
demonstrated its capability to operate nuclear power plants
efficiently and safely for the last 34 years. 

    The chairman said President General Pervez Musharraf and
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have provided their fullest support
for the development of strong base for producing nuclear
electricity as per requirement of the country. 

    There is resurgence of nuclear power in the world due to
global warming and soaring oil prices and Pakistan nuclear
electricity program will be expanded as per local and global
conditions, he said. Enditem   

  Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 10 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
 
                         FR Doc E5-1616 
[Federal Register: April 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 67)]
[Notices]               
[Page 18056]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08ap05-102]                         
 
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: Notice of
Enforcement 
Discretion (NOEDs) for Operating Power Reactors and Gaseous
Diffusion 
Plants (GDP).
 
2. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0136.
3. How often the collection is required: On occasion.
4. Who is required or asked to report: Nuclear power reactor 
licensees and gaseous diffusion plant certificate holders.
 
5. The number of annual respondents: 11.
6. The number of hours needed annually to complete the
requirement 
or request: 1,991 hours (1810 reporting [121 hours per response]
and 
181 recordkeeping [16.45 hours per recordkeeper]).
7. Abstract: The NRC's Enforcement Policy addresses
circumstances 
in which the NRC may exercise enforcement discretion. A specific
type 
of enforcement discretion is designated as a Notice of
Enforcement 
Discretion (NOED) and relates to circumstances which may arise
where a 
nuclear power plant licensee's compliance with a Technical 
Specification Limiting Condition for Operation or with other
license 
conditions would involve an unnecessary plant transient or
shutdown, or 
performance of testing, inspection, or system realignment that
is 
inappropriate for the specific plant conditions, or unnecessary
delays 
in plant startup without a corresponding health and safety
benefit. 
Similarly, for a gaseous diffusion plant, circumstances may
arise where 
compliance with a Technical Safety Requirement or other
condition would 
unnecessarily call for a total plant shutdown, or,
notwithstanding that 
a safety, safeguards or security feature was degraded or
inoperable, 
compliance would unnecessarily place the plant in a transient or 
condition where those features could be required. A licensee or 
certificate holder seeking the issuance of an NOED must provide
a 
written justification, in accordance with guidance provided in
NRC 
Inspection Manual, Part 9900, which documents the safety basis
for the 
request and provides whatever other information the NRC staff
deems 
necessary to decide whether or not to exercise discretion.
 
Submit, by June 7, 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, One White Flint North,
11555 
Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 20852. 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 (T-5 F53), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 
20555-0001, by telephone at (301) 415-7233, or by Internet
electronic 
mail to INFOCOLLECTS@NRC.GOV.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day of April 2005.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Brenda Jo. Shelton,
NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information Services.
 
[FR Doc. E5-1616 Filed 4-7-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 11 NRC: Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Notice of Change in Location for 
 
                         FR Doc E5-1617 
[Federal Register: April 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 67)]
[Notices]               
[Page 18063]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access 
[wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08ap05-106]                         
 
Public Meeting the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for an 
Early Site Permit (ESP at the Exelon ESP Site On March 10, 2005, 
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) 
issued a notice of availability of NUREG-1815, ``Environmental 
Impact Statement for an Early Site Permit (ESP) at the Exelon ESP 
Site: Draft Report for Comment,'' (70 FR 12022). In addition, the 
notice announced that the NRC staff will hold a public meeting on 
April 19, 2005 to present an overview of the draft environmental 
impact statement (DEIS) and to accept public comments on the 
document. Notice is hereby given that the public meeting will be 
held at a different location than that specified in the previous 
notice because of the potential number of attendees. The public 
meeting will be held at the Clinton Junior High School, 401 N. 
Center Street, Clinton, Illinois, 61727, on Tuesday, April 19, 
2005. The meeting will convene at 7 p.m. and will continue until 
10 p.m., as necessary. The meeting will be transcribed and will 
include: (1) A presentation of the contents of the DEIS, and (2) 
the opportunity for interested government agencies, 
organizations, and individuals to provide comments on the draft 
report. Additionally, the NRC staff will host informal 
discussions one hour before the start of the meeting at the high 
school. No formal comments on the DEIS will be accepted during 
the informal discussions. To be considered, comments must be 
provided either at the transcribed public meeting or in writing. 
Persons may register to attend or present oral comments at the 
meeting by contacting Ms. Harriet Nash, by telephone at 
1-800-368-5642, extension 4100, or by Internet to the NRC at 
ClintonEIS@nrc.gov no later than April 13, 2005. Members of the 
public may also register to speak at the meeting within 15 
minutes of the start of the meeting.
 
Individual oral comments may be limited by the time available, 
depending on the number of persons who register. Members of the 
public who have not registered may also have an opportunity to 
speak, if time permits. Ms. Nash will need to be contacted no 
later than April 13, 2005, if special equipment or accommodations 
are needed to attend or present information at the public 
meeting, so that the NRC staff can determine whether the request 
can be accommodated.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harriet Nash, License Renewal 
and Environmental Impacts Program, Division of Regulatory 
Improvement Programs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC, 20555- 0001. Ms. Nash may be contacted at the 
aforementioned telephone number or e-mail address.
 
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 31 day of March, 2004.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Pao-Tsin Kuo, Program Director, License Renewal and Environmental 
Impacts Program, Division of Regulatory Improvement Programs, 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
 
[FR Doc. E5-1617 Filed 4-7-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 12 NRC: NRC to Discuss 2004 Performance Assessment for Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant
 
News Release - Region I - 2005-01
 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Office of Public Affairs, Region I No. I-05-019                          
April 7, 2005 CONTACT:     Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. 
Sheehan (610) 337-5331                     E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov  
  


Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with
representatives of Constellation Generation Group, LLC, on
Thursday, April 14, to discuss the agencys annual assessment of
safety performance at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant.
The period of performance to be discussed is January 1 to
December 31, 2004. 

Constellation operates the twin-reactor plant, which is located
in Lusby, Md. 

The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation,
is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express,
355 Merrimac Court in Prince Frederick, Md. Before the session
is adjourned, NRC staff will be available to answer questions
from the public on the plants safety performance, as well as the
agencys role in ensuring safe operation of the facility. 

The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Calvert
Cliffs 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. 

Overall, the Calvert Cliffs plant operated safely during the
period. The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and
performance indicators to assess nuclear power plant
performance. The colors start with green and then increase to
white, yellow or red, commensurate with the safety significance
of the issues involved. During 2004, all of the inspection
findings and performance indicators for Calvert Cliffs Unit 1
were determined to be green. Therefore, the unit will receive a
baseline level of inspections during the upcoming assessment
period. 

In the case of Unit 2, the NRC identified a white inspection
finding, representing low to moderate significance, during the
second quarter of last year. The issue pertained to a relay
failure that caused the units steam dump valves to remain fully
open following a reactor shutdown in early 2004 when they should
have been closed. As a result, the agency conducted a
supplemental inspection in January 2005 to assess the companys
response to the issue. The inspectors determined that
Constellations evaluation of the performance deficiencies root
cause was thorough and that its planned corrective actions were
reasonable. Consistent with the NRCs Reactor Oversight Process,
the white finding will remain open for a total of four quarters. 

Routine inspections are performed by two 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 are emergency preparedness,
the effectiveness of the maintenance program and radioactive
effluent treatment and monitoring systems. 

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/calv_2004q4.pdf
[PDF Icon] . The notice and slides for the meeting area
available in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management
System (ADAMS) under accession numbers ML050760441 and
ML050760473, respectively. 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
PDR@nrc.gov. 

Current performance information for Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 is
available on the NRC web site at:
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV1/calv1_chart.html. 

Current performance information for Calvert Cliffs Unit 2 is
available on the NRC web site at:
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/CALV2/calv2_chart.html. 
 



  


 	Last revised Friday, April 08, 2005 	   
*****************************************************************
 13 NRC: Exelon Generation Company, LLC; Notice of Consideration of 
 
                         FR Doc E5-1618 
[Federal Register: April 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 67)]
[Notices]               
[Page 18058-18061]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access 
[wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08ap05-104]                         
 
Issuance of Amendment to Facility Operating License, Proposed No 
Significant Hazards; Consideration Determination, and Opportunity 
for a Hearing The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the 
Commission or NRC) is considering issuance of amendments to 
Facility Operating License No. NPF-39 and NPF-85, issued to 
Limerick Generating Station, Units 1 and 2, Montgomery County, 
Pennsylvania.
 
The proposed amendments would delete requirements from the 
Technical Specifications (TS) to submit monthly operating reports 
and annual occupational radiation exposure reports.
 
 
[[Page 18059]] The changes are consistent with Revision 1 of 
NRC-approved Industry/ Technical Specifications Task Force (TSTF) 
Standard Technical Specification Change Traveler, TSTF-369, 
``Removal of Monthly Operating and Occupational Radiation 
Exposure Report.'' The availability of this TS improvement was 
announced in the Federal Register (69 FR 35067) on June 23, 2004, 
as part of the Consolidated Line Item Improvement Process 
(CLIIP).
 
The NRC staff issued a notice of availability of a model no 
significant hazards consideration (NSHC) determination for 
referencing in license amendment applications in the Federal 
Register on September 25, 2003 (68 FR 55416). The licensee 
affirmed the applicability of the model NSHC determination in its 
application dated October 21, 2004, as supplemented by letter 
dated January 4, 2005.
 
The licensee requested approval of the license amendment in an 
application dated October 21, 2004, as supplemented January 4, 
2005, and requested approval by April 29, 2005. The application 
constituted a timely submittal for an amendment. However, due to 
an administrative oversight and to meet the licensee's requested 
date, a 14-day public comment period will be provided in 
accordance with the provisions of Section 50.91(a)(6) of Title 10 
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). That regulation 
states that where the Commission finds that exigent circumstances 
exist, in that a licensee and the Commission must act quickly and 
that time does not permit the Commission to publish a Federal 
Register notice (FRN) allowing 30 days for prior public comment, 
and it also determines that the amendment involves no significant 
hazards considerations, it may issue an FRN providing notice of 
an opportunity for hearing and allowing at least two weeks from 
the date of the notice for prior public comment.
 
Section 50.90(a)(6)(vi) of 10 CFR provides that the Commission 
will require the licensee to explain the exigency and why the 
licensee was unable to avoid it. Here, as noted above, the 
exigency was created by an administrative oversight of the NRC 
staff and could not have been avoided by the licensee.
 
This TS improvement is consistent with the NRC TSTF process.
 
The NRC staff interacted extensively with licensees, industry 
organizations, and other stakeholders during the development of 
this TSTF as demonstrated in the FRN published on September 25, 
2003, and June 23, 2004. The licensee stated that its application 
does not contain any variations or deviations from the TS changes 
described in TSTF-369, Revision 1, or in the model safety 
evaluation dated June 16, 2004. Therefore, the NRC staff has 
determined that the interaction conducted during the development 
of this TSTF constituted an extensive opportunity for public 
comments and, consequently, the 14-day prior comment period is 
adequate for the issuance of this proposed TS amendment, in 
accordance with the exigent provisions of 10 CFR 50.91(a)(6). 
Before issuance of the proposed license amendment, the Commission 
will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954, as amended (the Act) and the Commission's regulations.
 
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.91(a)(6) for amendments to be granted under 
exigent circumstances, the NRC staff must determine that the 
amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration. 
Under the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 50.92, this means 
that operation of the facility in accordance with the proposed 
amendment would not (1) involve a significant increase in the 
probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated; 
(2) create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident 
from any accident previously evaluated; or (3) involve a 
significant reduction in a margin of safety. As required by 10 
CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has provided its analysis of the issue 
of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented 
below: Criterion 1--The proposed change does not involve a 
significant increase in the probability or consequences of an 
accident previously evaluated.
 
The proposed change eliminates the Technical Specifications (TSs) 
reporting requirements to provide a monthly operating report of 
shutdown experience and operating statistics if the equivalent 
data is submitted using an industry electronic database. It also 
eliminates the TS reporting requirement for an annual 
occupational radiation exposure report, which provides 
information beyond that specified in NRC regulations. The 
proposed change involves no changes to plant systems or accident 
analyses. As such, the change is administrative in nature and 
does not affect initiators of analyzed events or assumed 
mitigation of accidents or transients. Therefore, the proposed 
change does not involve a significant increase in the probability 
or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
 
Criterion 2--Does the proposed change create the possibility of a 
new or different kind of accident from any accident previously 
evaluated? The proposed change does not involve a physical 
alteration of the plant, add any new equipment, or require any 
existing equipment to be operated in a manner different from the 
present design. Therefore, the proposed change does not create 
the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any 
accident previously evaluated.
 
Criterion 3--Does the proposed change involve a significant 
reduction in a margin of safety? This is an administrative change 
to reporting requirements of plant operating information and 
occupational radiation exposure data, and has no effect on plant 
equipment, operating practices or safety analyses assumptions. 
For these reasons, the proposed change does not involve a 
significant reduction in the margin of safety.
 
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on 
this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 
50.92(c) are satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to 
determine that the amendment request involves no significant 
hazards consideration.
 
The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed 
determination. Any comments received within 14 days after the 
date of publication of this notice will be considered in making 
any final determination.
 
Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the 
expiration of the 14-day notice period. However, should 
circumstances change during the notice period, such that failure 
to act in a timely way would result, for example, in derating or 
shutdown of the facility, the Commission may issue the license 
amendment before the expiration of the 14-day notice period, 
provided that its final determination is that the amendment 
involves no significant hazards consideration. The final 
determination will consider all public and State comments 
received. Should the Commission take this action, it will publish 
in the Federal Register a notice of issuance. The Commission 
expects that the need to take this action will occur very 
infrequently.
 
Written comments may be submitted by mail to the Chief, Rules and 
Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of 
Administration, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001, and should cite the publication date and page 
number of this Federal Register notice. Written comments may also 
be delivered to Room 6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville 
Pike, Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Federal 
workdays. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at 
the
 
[[Page 18060]] NRC's Public Document Room, located at One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 
Maryland.
 
The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to 
intervene is discussed below.
 
Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, the 
licensee may file a request for a hearing with respect to 
issuance of the amendment to the subject facility operating 
license and any person whose interest may be affected by this 
proceeding and who wishes to participate as a party in the 
proceeding must file a written request for a hearing and a 
petition for leave to intervene. Requests for a hearing and a 
petition for leave to intervene shall be filed in accordance with 
the Commission's ``Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing 
Proceedings'' in 10 CFR Part 2. Interested persons should consult 
a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309, which is available at the 
Commission's PDR, located at One White Flint North, Public File 
Area 01F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 
Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible from the 
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) 
Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web 
site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. If a 
request for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene is filed 
by the above date, the Commission or a presiding officer 
designated by the Commission or by the Chief Administrative Judge 
of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, will rule on the 
request and/or petition; and the Secretary or the Chief 
Administrative Judge of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board 
will issue a notice of a hearing or an appropriate order.
 
As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene 
shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner 
in the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the 
results of the proceeding. The petition should specifically 
explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with 
particular reference to the following general requirements: (1) 
The name, address, and telephone number of the requestor or 
petitioner; (2) the nature of the requestor's/petitioner's right 
under the Act to be made a party to the proceeding; (3) the 
nature and extent of the requestor's/petitioner's property, 
financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (4) the 
possible effect of any decision or order which may be entered in 
the proceeding on the requestor's/petitioner's interest. The 
petition must also identify the specific contentions which the 
petitioner/requestor seeks to have litigated at the proceeding.
 
Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue 
of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the 
petitioner/requestor shall provide a brief explanation of the 
bases for the contention and a concise statement of the alleged 
facts or expert opinion which support the contention and on which 
the petitioner intends to rely in proving the contention at the 
hearing. The petitioner/requestor must also provide references to 
those specific sources and documents of which the 
petitioner/requestor is aware and on which the 
petitioner/requestor intends to rely to establish those facts or 
expert opinion. The petitioner/requestor must provide sufficient 
information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the 
applicant on a material issue of law or fact. Contentions shall 
be limited to matters within the scope of the amendment under 
consideration.
 
The contention must be one which, if proven, would entitle the 
petitioner/ requestor to relief. A petitioner/requestor who fails 
to satisfy these requirements with respect to at least one 
contention will not be permitted to participate as a party.
 
Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to 
intervene, and have the opportunity to participate fully in the 
conduct of the hearing.
 
If a hearing is requested, the Commission will make a final 
determination on the issue of no significant hazards 
consideration. The final determination will serve to decide when 
the hearing is held. If the final determination is that the 
amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration, 
the Commission may issue the amendment and make it immediately 
effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any hearing 
held would take place after issuance of the amendment. If the 
final determination is that the amendment request involves a 
significant hazards consideration, any hearing held would take 
place before the issuance of any amendment.
 
Nontimely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be 
entertained absent a determination by the Commission or the 
presiding officer of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that 
the petition, request and/or the contentions should be granted 
based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 
2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). A request for a hearing or a petition for 
leave to intervene must be filed by: (1) First class mail 
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, 
Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; (2) courier, 
express mail, and expedited delivery services: Office of the 
Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, Attention: Rulemaking 
and Adjudications Staff; (3) E-mail addressed to the Office of 
the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
HEARINGDOCKET@NRC.GOV; or (4) facsimile transmission addressed to 
the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff at 
(301) 415-1101, verification number is (301) 415-1966. A copy of 
the request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene 
should also be sent to the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and it 
is requested that copies be transmitted either by means of 
facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to

 
OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. A copy of the request for hearing and 
petition for leave to intervene should also be sent to Mr. Thomas 
S. O'Neill, Associate General Counsel, Exelon Generation Company, 
LLC, 4300 Winfield Road, Warrenville, IL 60555, attorney for the 
licensee.
 
For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application for amendment dated October 21, 2004, as supplemented 
by letter dated January 4, 2005, which is available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), 
located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly 
available records will be accessible electronically from the 
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) 
Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC web 
site http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html. Persons who do not have 
access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the 
documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference 
staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e- mail 
to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of 
April 2005.
 
 
[[Page 18061]] For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Stephen P. Sands, Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate 
III, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
 
[FR Doc. E5-1618 Filed 4-7-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 14 NRC: Amergen Energy Company, LLC; Notice of Consideration of Issuance 
 
                         FR Doc E5-1620 
[Federal Register: April 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 67)]
[Notices]               
[Page 18056-18058]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access 
[wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08ap05-103]                         
 
of Amendment to Facility Operating License, Proposed No 
Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, and Opportunity 
for a Hearing The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the 
Commission or NRC) is considering issuance of an amendment to 
Facility Operating License No. DPR-16, issued to Oyster Creek 
Nuclear Generating Station, Ocean County, New Jersey.
 
The proposed amendment would delete requirements from the 
Technical Specifications (TS) to submit monthly operating reports 
and annual occupational radiation exposure reports. The changes 
are consistent with Revision 1 of NRC-approved Industry/Technical 
Specifications Task Force (TSTF) Standard Technical Specification 
Change Traveler, TSTF- 369, ``Removal of Monthly Operating and 
Occupational Radiation Exposure Report.'' The availability of 
this TS improvement was announced in the Federal Register (69 FR 
35067) on June 23, 2004, as part of the Consolidated Line Item 
Improvement Process (CLIIP).
 
The NRC staff issued a notice of availability of a model no 
significant hazards consideration (NSHC) determination for 
referencing in license amendment applications in the Federal 
Register on September 25, 2003 (68 FR 55416). The licensee 
affirmed the applicability of the model NSHC determination in its 
application dated October 21, 2004, as supplemented by letter 
dated January 4, 2005.
 
The licensee requested approval of the license amendment in an 
application dated October 21, 2004, as
 
[[Page 18057]] supplemented January 4, 2005, and requested 
approval by April 29, 2005. The application constituted a timely 
submittal for an amendment. However, due to an administrative 
oversight and to meet the licensee's requested date, a 14-day 
public comment period will be provided in accordance with the 
provisions of Section 50.91(a)(6) of Title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR). That regulation states that where 
the Commission finds that exigent circumstances exist, in that a 
licensee and the Commission must act quickly and that time does 
not permit the Commission to publish a Federal Register notice 
(FRN) allowing 30 days for prior public comment, and it also 
determines that the amendment involves no significant hazards 
considerations, it may issue an FRN providing notice of an 
opportunity for hearing and allowing at least two weeks from the 
date of the notice for prior public comment.
 
Section 50.90(a)(6)(vi) of 10 CFR provides that the Commission 
will require the licensee to explain the exigency and why the 
licensee was unable to avoid it. Here, as noted above, the 
exigency was created by an administrative oversight of the NRC 
staff and could not have been avoided by the licensee.
 
This TS improvement is consistent with the NRC TSTF process.
 
The NRC staff interacted extensively with licensees, industry 
organizations, and other stakeholders during the development of 
this TSTF as demonstrated in the FRN published on September 25, 
2003, and June 23, 2004. The licensee stated that its application 
does not contain any variations or deviations from the TS changes 
described in TSTF-369, Revision 1, or in the model safety 
evaluation dated June 16, 2004. Therefore, the NRC staff has 
determined that the interaction conducted during the development 
of this TSTF constituted an extensive opportunity for public 
comments and, consequently, the 14-day prior comment period is 
adequate for the issuance of this proposed TS amendment, in 
accordance with the exigent provisions of 10 CFR 50.91(a)(6). 
Before issuance of the proposed license amendment, the Commission 
will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954, as amended (the Act) and the Commission's regulations.
 
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.91(a)(6) for amendments to be granted under 
exigent circumstances, the NRC staff must determine that the 
amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration. 
Under the Commission's regulations in 10 CFR 50.92, this means 
that operation of the facility in accordance with the proposed 
amendment would not: (1) Involve a significant increase in the 
probability or consequences of an accident previously evaluated; 
(2) create the possibility of a new or different kind of accident 
from any accident previously evaluated; or (3) involve a 
significant reduction in a margin of safety. As required by 10 
CFR 50.91(a), the licensee has provided its analysis of the issue 
of no significant hazards consideration, which is presented 
below: Criterion 1--The proposed change does not involve a 
significant increase in the probability or consequences of an 
accident previously evaluated.
 
The proposed change eliminates the Technical Specifications (TSs) 
reporting requirements to provide a monthly operating report of 
shutdown experience and operating statistics if the equivalent 
data is submitted using an industry electronic database. It also 
eliminates the TS reporting requirement for an annual 
occupational radiation exposure report, which provides 
information beyond that specified in NRC regulations. The 
proposed change involves no changes to plant systems or accident 
analyses. As such, the change is administrative in nature and 
does not affect initiators of analyzed events or assumed 
mitigation of accidents or transients. Therefore, the proposed 
change does not involve a significant increase in the probability 
or consequences of an accident previously evaluated.
 
Criterion 2--Does the proposed change create the possibility of a 
new or different kind of accident from any accident previously 
evaluated? The proposed change does not involve a physical 
alteration of the plant, add any new equipment, or require any 
existing equipment to be operated in a manner different from the 
present design. Therefore, the proposed change does not create 
the possibility of a new or different kind of accident from any 
accident previously evaluated.
 
Criterion 3--Does the proposed change involve a significant 
reduction in a margin of safety? This is an administrative change 
to reporting requirements of plant operating information and 
occupational radiation exposure data, and has no effect on plant 
equipment, operating practices or safety analyses assumptions. 
For these reasons, the proposed change does not involve a 
significant reduction in the margin of safety.
 
The NRC staff has reviewed the licensee's analysis and, based on 
this review, it appears that the three standards of 10 CFR 
50.92(c) are satisfied. Therefore, the NRC staff proposes to 
determine that the amendment request involves no significant 
hazards consideration.
 
The Commission is seeking public comments on this proposed 
determination. Any comments received within 14 days after the 
date of publication of this notice will be considered in making 
any final determination.
 
Normally, the Commission will not issue the amendment until the 
expiration of the 14-day notice period. However, should 
circumstances change during the notice period, such that failure 
to act in a timely way would result, for example, in derating or 
shutdown of the facility, the Commission may issue the license 
amendment before the expiration of the 14-day notice period, 
provided that its final determination is that the amendment 
involves no significant hazards consideration. The final 
determination will consider all public and State comments 
received. Should the Commission take this action, it will publish 
in the Federal Register a notice of issuance. The Commission 
expects that the need to take this action will occur very 
infrequently.
 
Written comments may be submitted by mail to the Chief, Rules and 
Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of 
Administration, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, 
DC 20555-0001, and should cite the publication date and page 
number of this Federal Register notice. Written comments may also 
be delivered to Room 6D59, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville 
Pike, Rockville, Maryland, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Federal 
workdays. Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at 
the NRC's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland.
 
The filing of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to 
intervene is discussed below.
 
Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, the 
licensee may file a request for a hearing with respect to 
issuance of the amendment to the subject facility operating 
license and any person whose interest may be affected by this 
proceeding and who wishes to participate as a party in the 
proceeding must file a written request for a hearing and a 
petition for leave to intervene. Requests for a hearing and a 
petition for leave to intervene shall be filed in accordance with 
the Commission's ``Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing 
Proceedings'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult 
a current copy of 10 CFR 2.309, which is available at the 
Commission's PDR, located at One White Flint North,
 
[[Page 18058]] Public File Area 01F21, 11555 Rockville Pike 
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland Publicly available records 
will be accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access and 
Management System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the 
Internet at the NRC Web site, 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/. If a request 
for a hearing or petition for leave to intervene is filed by the 
above date, the Commission or a presiding officer designated by 
the Commission or by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic 
Safety and Licensing Board Panel, will rule on the request and/or 
petition; and the Secretary or the Chief Administrative Judge of 
the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will issue a notice of a 
hearing or an appropriate order.
 
As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene 
shall set forth with particularity the interest of the petitioner 
in the proceeding, and how that interest may be affected by the 
results of the proceeding. The petition should specifically 
explain the reasons why intervention should be permitted with 
particular reference to the following general requirements: (1) 
The name, address and telephone number of the requestor or 
petitioner; (2) the nature of the requestor's/petitioner's right 
under the Act to be made a party to the proceeding; (3) the 
nature and extent of the requestor's/petitioner's property, 
financial, or other interest in the proceeding; and (4) the 
possible effect of any decision or order which may be entered in 
the proceeding on the requestor's/petitioner's interest. The 
petition must also identify the specific contentions which the 
petitioner/requestor seeks to have litigated at the proceeding.
 
Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue 
of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the 
petitioner/requestor shall provide a brief explanation of the 
bases for the contention and a concise statement of the alleged 
facts or expert opinion which support the contention and on which 
the petitioner intends to rely in proving the contention at the 
hearing. The petitioner/requestor must also provide references to 
those specific sources and documents of which the 
petitioner/requestor is aware and on which the 
petitioner/requestor intends to rely to establish those facts or 
expert opinion. The petitioner/requestor must provide sufficient 
information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the 
applicant on a material issue of law or fact. Contentions shall 
be limited to matters within the scope of the amendment under 
consideration.
 
The contention must be one which, if proven, would entitle the 
petitioner/ requestor to relief. A petitioner/requestor who fails 
to satisfy these requirements with respect to at least one 
contention will not be permitted to participate as a party.
 
Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding, 
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to 
intervene, and have the opportunity to participate fully in the 
conduct of the hearing.
 
If a hearing is requested, the Commission will make a final 
determination on the issue of no significant hazards 
consideration. The final determination will serve to decide when 
the hearing is held. If the final determination is that the 
amendment request involves no significant hazards consideration, 
the Commission may issue the amendment and make it immediately 
effective, notwithstanding the request for a hearing. Any hearing 
held would take place after issuance of the amendment. If the 
final determination is that the amendment request involves a 
significant hazards consideration, any hearing held would take 
place before the issuance of any amendment.
 
Nontimely requests and/or petitions and contentions will not be 
entertained absent a determination by the Commission or the 
presiding officer of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that 
the petition, request and/or the contentions should be granted 
based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR 
2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). A request for a hearing or a petition for 
leave to intervene must be filed by: (1) First class mail 
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, 
Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; (2) courier, 
express mail, and expedited delivery services: Office of the 
Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking 
and Adjudications Staff; (3) E-mail addressed to the Office of 
the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
HEARINGDOCKET@NRC.GOV; or (4) facsimile transmission addressed to 
the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff at 
(301) 415-1101, verification number is (301) 415-1966. A copy of 
the request for hearing and petition for leave to intervene 
should also be sent to the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, and it 
is requested that copies be transmitted either by means of 
facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail to

 
OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. A copy of the request for hearing and 
petition for leave to intervene should also be sent to Mr. Thomas 
S. O'Neill, Associate General Counsel, Exelon Generation Company, 
LLC, 4300 Winfield Road, Warrenville, IL 60555, attorney for the 
licensee.
 
For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application for amendment dated October 21, 2004, as supplemented 
by letter dated January 4, 2005, which is available for public 
inspection at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), 
located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly 
available records will be accessible electronically from the 
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) 
Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC web 
site http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm.html. Persons who do not have 
access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the 
documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference 
staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e- mail 
to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of 
April 2005.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Stephen P. Sands, Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate 
III, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
 
[FR Doc. E5-1620 Filed 4-7-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 15 Wiscasset Newspaper: Maine Yankee Deal May Be Imminent
 
    | Apr 07 2005 

Vol. 36-No. 14   

Paula Gibbs 

Wiscasset selectmen held two meetings this week in closed
session in an effort to work out a tax deal with Maine Yankee. 

The reported settlement is $1.75 million a year until the
nuclear waste is removed, which could be 20 years or more. The
payments would be retroactive to the year 2003. 

In 2002, the town assessed the land and buildings for $35
million. In 2003, the land and buildings were assessed at $212
million. Maine Yankee has disputed the assessment, and has paid
the town $400,000 a year. The company was allowed to pay the
town the most recent assessment, according to state law, until
the dispute was settled. 

Last month the state Board of Tax Overseers heard testimony from
both sides. The last two days of testimony were postponed, and
rumors of a proposed settlement surfaced. 

The board met on Monday night and was scheduled to meet again on
Wednesday night. Notice was given to the press on Friday of
Monday's meeting and on Tuesday of Wednesday's meetings.
Although Town Manager Andrew Gilmore had reported that part of
Monday's session would be public, he called late Monday
afternoon to say it would probably all be held in executive
session. 

In a memo sent to the newspaper about the Wednesday, April 6
meeting, he noted that the selectmen would probably meet first
in closed session "with legal counsel to discuss final details
of a potential settlement agreement with Maine Yankee," then
return to public session. The meeting was set to start at 6 p.m.
at the town office. 

The valuation that the town has been fighting for is the result
of a study done by attorney Peter Murray who put together a team
to determine what Maine Yankee would have to pay to store the
nuclear waste somewhere else. Since Maine Yankee is one of the
first nuclear plants in the country to be shut down and
demolished, there is no track record on what nuclear plants pay
to store the waste. Some of the figures which Murray and his
team came up with were from other countries. 

Should the town receive $1.75 million a year, it will
substantially relieve the pressure on the town's reserve fund,
which has been tapped every year for the last five years to keep
taxes down. The reserve fund, which was once worth $15 million,
is now worth about $10 million. 

Wiscasset Newspaper    P.O. Box 429, Wiscasset, ME 04578 Tel: 
207.882.6355 
*****************************************************************
 16 Portsmouth Daily Times: A-plant might face layoffs   
 
April 9, 2005             

  August 5, 2001
 By SARAH POTTER

 PIKETON — WASTREN, Inc., a contractor to Bechtel Jacobs Company
LLC, has notified the United States Enrichment Corporation
(USEC) of a potential reduction in waste handler personnel
needed at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion plant in Piketon,
effective Oct. 1, 2001. 

The letter from WASTREN stated because of uncertainties with 
Bechtel Jacobs funding authorizations and final approval on Waste 
Management Projects in Fiscal Year 2002, WASTREN is currently 
projecting a minimum need of eight waste handlers to be available 
starting October 1.

Angie Duduit, public affairs manager for USEC, said the layoff
could be as many as 41 of the 49 hourly staff who are provided
to WASTREN through the local PACE union. 

“We are looking at a potential lay off of 41, but once they’re
laid off the potential is there that the budget will be approved
and they will be hired back,” Duduit said.

According to Sandy Childers, public affairs manager for Bechtel
Jacobs, the management and integration contractor to the
Department of Energy, this is typical of the end of year fiscal
situation.

“What’s going on is the budget has to be approved for these
people to continue,” Childers said.

WASTREN’s sub-contract with Bechtel Jacobs has a base scope for
waste storage requiring eight handlers to provide waste
management services under the DOE’s environmental management
program.

The subcontract concludes the end of the Fiscal Year 2001 on
Sept. 30, said Childers.

“Bechtel Jacobs is currently under negotiation with WASTREN to
finalize the FY 2002 year work scope which begins Oct. 1,”
Childers said. “We are not sure if they will be laid off, but
because there’s a potential, WASTREN had to give them 30 day
notice.”

She explained the subcontract with WASTREN began in January
2000, when WASTREN teamed with USEC for a base beriod of three
years, with two one-year options.

“But they still have to negotiate for the next fiscal year,”
Childers said.

USEC's Human Resources is taking steps to notify the local PACE
Union and the 41 chemical operators of this potential layoff,
Duduit said. USEC will then await official information from
Bechtel Jacobs as to whether the funding will be approved.   
    
  Story created Wednesday, September 05, 2001 at 10:36 AM.   
    
©2005 - The Portsmouth Daily Times 
*****************************************************************
 17 NRC: NRC Invites Public to Attend Decommissioning Workshop April 20 - 21 in Rockville, Md
 
News Release - 2005-06
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION   
  Office of Public Affairs     Telephone: 301/415-8200   
  Washington, DC 20555-0001     E-mail: opa@nrc.gov  
  No. 05-062     April 6, 2005   
  


The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct a workshop April
20 and 21 in Rockville, Md., on the decommissioning of sites
formerly used for NRC-licensed activities and termination of the
related NRC licenses. The April 21 session will feature an
address by Commissioner Jeffrey Merrifield beginning at 8:15
a.m. 

The workshop will be from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day at the
Shady Grove Center, Universities at Shady Grove, 9630 Gudelsky
Drive, Rockville. Members of the public are encouraged to
attend, ask questions and assist the staff in its development of
guidance on issues associated with decommissioning activities
and license termination. The agency plans to revise its
Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning Guidance, NUREG-1757, and
seeks suggestions on improvements and clarifications. 

Topics at the workshop focused on guidance development will
include incentives for decommissioning, finality of
decommissioning, definitions of clean versus contaminated soil,
information required for the decommissioning plan, and
additional controls for restricted site release. Sites affected
include former nuclear reactors and facilities that used uranium
or thorium to manufacture various products. The workshop also
will serve as a forum for stakeholders to provide feedback on
lessons learned in decommissioning. 

This workshop will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to
obtain information and provide feedback to the NRC staff on
technical issues associated with the decommissioning program,
lessons learned in decommissioning and the decommissioning
process in general, said Daniel M. Gillen, Director of the
Decommissioning Directorate, NRC Division of Waste Management
and Environmental Protection. NRCs goal is to seek stakeholder
assistance in improving the efficiency, openness and flexibility
of its decommissioning program. 

Further details on the workshop, including links to the latest
agenda and directions to Shady Grove Center, are available on
the NRC web site at
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/conference-symposia/decommissio
ning.html. A copy of NUREG1757 is available at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1757
/.   



  


 	Last revised Thursday, April 07, 2005 	   
*****************************************************************
 18 WCAX.com: Future of Vermont Yankee

Montpelier, Vermont - April 7, 2005

About 50 people turned out at the statehouse Thursday evening to
voice their views on an issue that will determine the future of
the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power plant. At issue, is whether
Vermont Yankee will gain legislative approval for a new storage
system for spent fuel rods. Without the approval, Yankee's
Corporate owners say they will run out of storage space and be
forced to shut the plant down in three years. 

At Thursday night's hearing, Yankee supporters told a
legislative committee that a shutdown would trigger economic
disaster in Vermont. But opponents told lawmakers that Yankee is
a nuclear disaster just waiting to happen.

"Please deny Entergy's request to use dry cask storage which
will create only a bigger mess and a bigger safety threat to
Vermont, for Vermont to deal with. And I think energy should be
put into wind power and other renewable sources," said Maya
Zelkin of Marlboro.

"The fact that this is a reliable, steady source of power at
about 4 cents a kilowatt hour compared to an overall statewide
average of 11 cents shows how important a source of energy this
is for the people of Vermont," said William Sayer of Bristol.

24 nuclear power plants in the United States are already using
the dry cask technology to store spent fuel rods. 

There will be another meeting on dry cask storage next Thursday
evening at Brattleboro Union high school.

Brian Joyce - Channel 3 News   

Copyright 2001 - 2005 WorldNow and WCAX. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 19 CBC - New Brunswick: Companies ask PM to support Lepreau

 WebPosted Apr 8 2005 08:41 AM ADT
 

SAINT JOHN  —  	Construction companies in New Brunswick have
written a letter to Prime Minister Paul Martin urging him to
support the refurbishment of the Point Lepreau nuclear plant. 	

The letter comes from five organizations, including the New 
Brunswick Building and Construction Trades Council and the Saint 
John Construction Association.   The groups say refitting the 
plant for about 20 years of service will provide significant 
advantages to all of the province and Atlantic region. They say 
it would help stabilize energy prices, especially for the 
industrial sector, which in turn would create more jobs. 

The construction companies also maintain that refurbishing Point 
Lepreau would help Canada meet its Kyoto targets because the 
generation of nuclear energy doesn't create greenhouse gas 
emissions. Point Lepreau is nearing the end of its productive 
life. The plant will have to be mothballed if NB Power doesn't 
retool the generator, at an estimated cost of $1.4 billion.

Premier Bernard Lord says the province won't go ahead with the 
project unless Ottawa makes a significant financial contribution. 
However, as an existing power station, Lepreau doesn't qualify 
for assistance under the pollution program announced in the 
federal budget. Lord says the rules don't make sense  because if 
New Brunswick doesn't refit Lepreau, it'll have to burn more oil 
or coal to meet its future energy needs. 

*****************************************************************
 20 NRC: NRC Issues Draft Safety Evaluation for Grand Gulf Early Site Permit Application
 
News Release - 2005-06 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office 
of Public Affairs     Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 
20555-0001     E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 05-063     April 7, 2005   
  


The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued a draft
safety evaluation report (SER) for an Early Site Permit (ESP)
for the Grand Gulf site, about 25 miles south of Vicksburg,
Miss. 

The ESP process allows an applicant to address site-related
issues, such as environmental impacts, for possible future
construction and operation of a nuclear power plant at the site.
The Grand Gulf application was filed Oct. 21, 2003, by System
Energy Resources, Inc., a subsidiary of Entergy. If approved,
the permit would give the company up to 20 years to decide
whether to build one or more nuclear plants on the site and to
file an application with the NRC for approval to begin
construction. 

NRC staff expect to finalize the safety evaluation late this
year. Along with the SER, the staff must complete an
Environmental Impact Statement, the Advisory Committee on
Reactor Safeguards must issue a report on the ESP application,
and the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel must conclude
its mandatory hearing on the matter before the Commission can
reach a final decision on issuing the permit. The NRC expects to
finish this process late in 2006. 

The 400-page draft SER contains the agency's review of the Grand
Gulf ESP application. The NRC staff is reviewing information on: 

 site seismology, geology, meteorology and hydrology;
  risks from potential accidents resulting from operation of a
nuclear plant at the site;
  the sites ability to support adequate physical security for a
nuclear plant; and
  proposed major features of the emergency plan System Energy
Resources would implement if a reactor is eventually built at
the site. 

System Energy Resources will have 14 days to review the draft
SER for proprietary information. The report will then be
available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public
Document Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md. It will also
be available on the NRCs Web site at:
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/esp/grand-gulf.html.
In addition, the Harriette Person Memorial Public Library at 606
Main St. in Port Gibson, Miss., has agreed to make the draft SER
available for public inspection.   



  


 	Last revised Thursday, April 07, 2005 	   
*****************************************************************
 21 Press Herald: Maine Yankee, Wiscasset end property-tax dispute

 The company will pay the town $19.8 million over 20 years in a
deal that puts an end to costly litigation. --> 

Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram]

  Friday, April 8, 2005 

By JUSTIN ELLIS, Portland Press Herald Writer

 Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.          

Maine Yankee and Wiscasset have reached a settlement in the
longstanding dispute over property taxes on the land where the
decommissioned nuclear plant once stood. 

Maine Yankee will pay the town $19.8 million in property taxes
and impact fees over a span of almost 20 years. Beginning with a
payment of $1.75 million for 2003, the company's taxes will
steadily decline to $600,000 in 2022. Both sides say the move is
necessary to avoid litigation and halt rising legal costs. 

"This has taken an extraordinary amount of energy and focus by
all of us," said Wiscasset Town Manager Andrew Gilmore. He cited
the work of the selectmen, consultants and officials from Maine
Yankee in reaching the settlement. 

As part of the deal, the amount of property taxes paid could
change depending on the uses of Maine Yankee's land or new
investments during the next two decades, Gilmore said. 

It's impossible to know if the agreement favors one party over
the other. 

Maine Yankee had paid property taxes of $682,000 in 2003 and
wanted its assessment lowered to $4.3 million, which would have
dropped its annual payment to $71,000. 

The town's appraisal team, on the other hand, had set Maine
Yankee's worth at more than $200 million for 2003, which would
have resulted in a tax bill of about $3.5 million. That
assessment took into consideration the company's Indepen- dent
Spent Fuel Storage Installation. 

The fuel storage site holds 60 airtight steel-and-concrete
canisters that contain about 600 tons of high-level radioactive
waste. It is now the only active part of Maine Yankee's
operations. 

Eric Howes, spokesman for Maine Yankee, said the company took
issue with the assessment, believing it was not a fair value for
an industrial property. 

Maine Yankee challenged the assessment, first by requesting a
property tax abatement from the town in 2004. When that failed,
the company took its request to the state's property tax board. 

Within the past six months, the two sides began working on a
compromise. Howes said it became clear to both that the case
eventually could make its way through Superior Court and
possibly all the way to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. 

"The settlement avoids the cost of future litigation and the
uncertainty of future litigation," Howes said. 

Under the agreement, Maine Yankee will also drop an application
to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for a
property tax exemption on the fuel storage facility. 

Maine Yankee, which began producing electricity in 1972, has
worked since 1997 to decommission the plant and remove buildings
around Bailey Point. One of the last structures was the nuclear
reactor dome, which was demolished last September. 

Howes said most of the decommissioning work should be finished
this spring. Storage and removal of the radioactive waste is the
responsibility of the U.S. Department of Energy. 

Gilmore said settling the issue now adds some certainty to the
tax base of the town, which at one time received $12 million
annually in property taxes from Maine Yankee. 

"Maine Yankee at one point paid 90 percent of (Wiscasset's)
taxes," Gilmore said. "Even after decommissioning, this shows
how closely tied one taxpayer is to our economic future." 

Staff Writer Justin Ellis can be contacted at 791-6380 or at: 

jellis@pressherald.com

Copyright© Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.  

*****************************************************************
 22 Secrecy News -- 04/08/05
 
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2005 11:23:15 -0400

 
SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2005, Issue No. 32
April 8, 2005


**	DEFENSE DOCTRINE WEB SITE GOES DARK
**	SECRECY IMPEDES SECURITY, NATIONAL ACADEMY SAYS
**	VANDENBERG LAUNCH SCHEDULE RESTORED TO WEB
**	FBIS VIEWS RUSSIAN FUEL FOR IRAN'S BUSHEHR REACTOR
**	NEW FROM CRS


DEFENSE DOCTRINE WEB SITE GOES DARK

A large portion of a major Department of Defense web site was
taken offline overnight after unclassified documents on the site
became the subject of news stories and public controversy.

The Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) Joint Electronic
Library, including hundreds or thousands of doctrinal and other
publications, has been replaced by a single page that reads "File
Not Found" (www.dtic.mil/doctrine/).

One of those publications was a draft entitled "Joint Doctrine for
Detainee Operations" (JP 3-63) that was circulated by Human
Rights Watch and others and that was widely and critically
reported in the press today.

Another was a draft "Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations" (JP
3-12), that was spotlighted and cleverly analyzed by Jeffrey
Lewis of ArmsControlWonk.com earlier this week.

In response, the Defense Department removed those draft documents,
but also many hundreds of others.  A DTIC spokesman was not
immediately available for comment.

A selection of DoD Joint Publications and other doctrinal
documents previously available through DTIC remains available on
the FAS web site here:

     http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/index.html


SECRECY IMPEDES SECURITY, NATIONAL ACADEMY SAYS

"Security restrictions on sharing of information ... are hindering
progress in address potential vulnerabilities of spent [nuclear]
fuel storage to terrorist attacks," a National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) committee reported this week.

The NAS study tends to confirm, as many people have intuited, that
indiscriminate or poorly conceived government controls on
information are impeding security instead of enhancing it.

"The committee fully agrees that information that could prove
useful to terrorists should not be released.  On the other
hand,... sharing information with industry is essential for
ensuring that mitigative actions to reduce vulnerabilities are
carried out."

"Sharing information with the public is essential in a nation with
strong democratic traditions for sustaining public confidence in
the [Nuclear Regulatory] Commission as an effective regulator of
the nuclear industry, and for reducing the potential for severe
environmental, health, economic, and psychological consequences
from terrorist attacks should they occur," the NAS Committee
wrote (p. 77).

"While it would be inappropriate to share all information
publicly, more constructive interaction with the public and
independent analysts could improve the work being carried
out...." (p. 78).

See "Safety and Security of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage:
Public Report," NAS Board on Radioactive Waste Management, 2005:

     http://books.nap.edu/books/0309096472/html/index.html


VANDENBERG LAUNCH SCHEDULE RESTORED TO WEB

After Vandenberg Air Force Base removed the unclassified launch
schedule from its web site (Secrecy News, 03/14/05), officials
reconsidered the move and reposted a revised schedule, Inside the
Air Force reported on April 1.

Instead of the previous one-year launch schedule, the revised site
provides a three-month launch schedule, with a one-year
projection (without fixed dates) beyond that.  See the new
Vandenberg AFB unclassified launch schedule here:

     http://mocc.vandenberg.af.mil/launchsched.asp

A new Defense Department publication "provides guidance and
procedures for designating and naming defense military aerospace
vehicles."

Aerospace vehicles -- rockets, satellites, manned and unmanned
aerial vehicles, etc. -- are identified by an alphanumeric
designation and by a popular nickname.  The new regulation
describes how both are to be chosen.

See "Designating and Naming Defense Military Aerospace Vehicles,"
March 14, 2005:

     http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/ar70-50.pdf


FBIS VIEWS RUSSIAN FUEL FOR IRAN'S BUSHEHR REACTOR

Russia will supply eighty metric tons of uranium fuel for Iran's
Bushehr nuclear reactor, Russian TV reported this week.

Excerpts from the television report, captured by the CIA's Foreign
Broadcast Information Service, may be seen here:

    http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/iran/nuke/bushehr-fuel.html


NEW FROM CRS

The Congressional Research Service does not make its products
directly available to the public.  Some recent CRS reports
obtained by Secrecy News include the following:

"Counterintelligence Reform at the Department of Energy: Policy
Issues and Organizational Alternatives," updated March 8, 2005:

     http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL31883.pdf

"Nuclear Weapons: Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty," updated March
11, 2005:

     http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/IB92099.pdf

"European Views and Policies Toward the Middle East," updated
March 9, 2005:

     http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL31956.pdf

"Iraq: Summary of U.S. Forces," updated March 14, 2005:

     http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL31763.pdf

"U.S. Embassy in Iraq," updated March 11, 2005:

     http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS21867.pdf

"Palestinians and Middle East Peace: Issues for the United
States," updated March 7, 2005:

     http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/IB92052.pdf

"The European Union in 2005 and Beyond," updated March 7, 2005:

     http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RS21757.pdf

"Detention of American Citizens as Enemy Combatants," updated
February 24, 2005:

     http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31724.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
*****************************************************************
 23 Guardian Unlimited: Pakistani Accused of Nuke Device Exports
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Friday April 8, 2005 11:01 PM

By LARA JAKES JORDAN 

Associated Press Writer 

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Pakistani businessman illegally exported
devices from the United States that could be used to test,
develop and detonate nuclear weapons, the government alleged on
Friday. 

A federal indictment against Humayun A. Khan was unsealed along
with a guilty plea by his alleged partner, Asher Karni, who
admitted routing sophisticated oscilloscopes and high-speed
electrical switches through South Africa to avoid raising
authorities' suspicions. The scopes and the switches were then
shipped to Pakistan. 

The United States prohibits the export of the switches - also
known as ``triggered spark gaps,'' which can be used in medical
and military devices - to Pakistan and a handful of other
countries to prevent nuclear proliferation. 

Khan, of Islamabad, maintained his innocence in an interview
with The Associated Press last year. Homeland Security officials
said he was not in custody and was believed to be in Pakistan. 

The case raised ``serious concerns,'' said Homeland Security
Assistant Secretary Michael Garcia, because of the nature of the
devices, the fact they were going to Pakistan, and efforts by
Khan to disguise their destination. 

``The proliferation of nuclear components is not only a homeland
security threat but a global threat,'' Garcia said. 

The indictment was unsealed Friday in U.S. District Court in
Washington. 

Authorities said Khan, owner and chief executive officer of
Pakland PME Corp. in Islamabad, sought help from Karni, an
Israeli citizen living in Cape Town, South Africa, to export
oscilloscopes manufactured in Oregon. Oscilloscopes can be used
to test and develop nuclear weapons and missile delivery
systems. They require special Commerce Department licenses to be
exported. 

Karni exported the oscilloscopes without the licenses three
times between March and August 2003, routing them through South
Africa to Pakistan, officials said. 

Meanwhile, authorities believe, Khan asked Karni to buy
triggered spark gaps for a Pakistani customer. The switches can
be used in medical equipment to treat kidney stones, but they
also can be used as nuclear weapons detonators. 

An anonymous source tipped federal authorities to Karni's plans
to ship 200 triggered spark gaps from New Jersey to Pakistan
through South Africa, authorities say. But the switch
manufacturers, Perking Elmer Optoelectronics of Salem, Mass.,
agreed to ship malfunctioning triggered spark gaps in a plot to
foil Khan and Karni. 

Karni was arrested on New Year's Day 2004 as he entered the
United States at Denver International Airport. He pleaded guilty
in September to five federal felonies, including conspiring to
export controlled nuclear technology items to Pakistan. 

It was unclear Friday whether Pakistani authorities would take
Khan in custody. 

During a February 2004 interview with the AP, Khan acknowledged
his ties to Karni, but he said he had done nothing wrong. 

Though his company is a supplier of high-tech for the Pakistani
military, Khan told the AP he imported military products only
for use in armed forces repair shops. He said he also supplied
civilian companies and Pakistan's Education Ministry. 

``There is a saying we have that robbers and thieves wear
masks,'' Khan said in the interview. ``Would I openly go and ask
this man for something that I wanted to put in a nuclear system
and use my own name? It is absurd.'' 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
 24 INSIDE JoongAng Daily: Roh says Seoul got U.S. to go softer on North
 
April 9, 2005 KST 16:54 (GMT+9)                                                          
                       
  April 09, 2005 ¤Ń In an interview with the German daily,
Frankfurter Allgemeine, President Roh Moo-hyun said yesterday
that South Korea played a role in getting the United States to
ease its stance towards North Korea in the six-party nuclear
talks. 

"We asked the United States not to make any remarks towards the
North that would suggest regime change or anything beyond the
scrapping of nuclear weapons," said the president, who is
scheduled to leave Sunday on a visit to Germany and Turkey. 

Pointing out that the overall U.S. attitude towards the North
has changed compared to the beginning of 2003, Mr. Roh said, "So
far, sometimes the United States has used emotional expressions,
but it has clearly stated that it has no intention of attacking
the North." 

The president also made clear that it is time for Pyongyang to
return to the negotiating table. 

"To ask the United States to make new concessions at this point
is unreasonable," he said. "Foremost, North Korea needs to
return to the table."

 As a precondition to any return to the negotiation table,
Pyongyang has repeatedly demanded an apology by the United
States for U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's "outpost
of tyranny" remarks in January.

 Mr. Roh also said that in regard to a future unification of the
Koreas, Germany's model is inappropriate because the economic
gap between the North and South is too great. 

"In order to resolve the conflict and social division from such
a disparity, great ability would be needed," said the president,
who suggested that a confederation-type of government similar to
the European Union would be a more feasible first step for the
two Koreas prior to the realization of the ultimate goal of a
total integration of the two countries. 

Touching on the frigid relations between Seoul and Tokyo over
territorial disputes and authorization of Japanese textbooks,
which he contends are distorted in their references to Japanese
behavior Korea endured as a Japanese colony, "It is true that
Japan has apologized on several occasions," Mr. Roh said. "But
recent events have nullified those apologies." 

Mr. Roh praised Germany's successful reconciliation with its
neighbors, while accusing Japan of whitewashing its past
aggression. He added that Japanese politicians' visits to the
Yasukuni war shrine are insulting to both China and South Korea.

by Brian Lee africanu@joongang.co.kr>   
	  
*****************************************************************
 25 APP.COM: Pallone urges NRC to improve nuclear plant security following warning
                                                             
Asbury Park Press Online

the Asbury Park Press 04/8/05 By ERIK LARSEN and JOSEPH CACCHIOLI 
STAFF WRITERS 
		 		 		 
WASHINGTON — Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., has challenged the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission to improve security at nuclear 
waste facilities at New Jersey's four reactors, one day after a 
scathing report about their vulnerabilities was released.

In a letter to NRC Chairman Nils J. Diaz Thursday, Pallone asked 
the federal agency to immediately implement the steps to improve 
safety and security at all nuclear facilities recommended in the 
report by the National Academy of Sciences.

"By taking quick action to act on the recommendations contained 
in the National Academy's report, you will go a long way toward 
restoring public confidence in the safety of our nation's nuclear 
plants," Pallone said in the letter.

Pallone also said he will cosponsor an amendment by Rep. Edward 
Markey, D-Mass., to enact the academy recommendations. The 
amendment will be added to President Bush's 2005 energy bill, now 
under consideration by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Officials for the NRC and the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in 
Lacey could not be reached for comment Thursday night.

In a largely classified, 130-page report, an academy panel 
concluded that if terrorists succeeded in partially draining 
cooling water from a reactor's spent-fuel pool, an intense fire 
likely would release large amounts of radiation.

Oyster Creek is among 32 plants with fuel pools elevated within 
the structures that house their reactors. This design, according 
to plant critics, makes the pool particularly vulnerable to an 
airborne attack.

"For a couple of years, I have had great concern with regards to 
the defense around the Oyster Creek nuclear plant against a 
potential air attack," said Joseph Monti, 62, of Lavallette.

Monti said Oyster Creek should have a permanent "no-fly" zone, 
military personnel armed with shoulder-to-air missiles and a 
warning system for aircraft.

Suzanne Leta of the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group has 
said Oyster Creek's design is among the riskiest in the country. 
She also has said the industry should put more of its spent-fuel 
rods into dry casks, sealed containers outside the reactor 
building.

  Copyright © 1997-2005 Asbury Park Press.
*****************************************************************
 26 Stanford Report: Experts outline steps to halt spread of nuclear weapons 

  	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	  
Stanford Report, April 8, 2005   
 
BY SHARAN DANIEL 

The nine nations that possess nuclear weapons have enough
plutonium and high-enriched uranium collectively to build more
than 100,000 additional nuclear weapons, according to a new
report aimed at controlling the spread of such weapons and the
materials to make them. 

This considerable surplus of nuclear-explosive, or fissile,
materials threatens global security, as other nations or
terrorists seek the means to build nuclear weapons. Despite a
compelling security requirement to keep nuclear weapons out of
the hands of terrorists and additional countries, the report
warns, not nearly enough is being done today to achieve this
objective. 

A group of 23 nuclear experts, convened by Stanford Universitys
Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) and
Princeton Universitys Program on Science and Global Security
(PS), issued the report, Preventing Nuclear Proliferation and
Nuclear Terrorism: Essential Steps to Reduce the Availability of
Nuclear-Explosive Materials. 

The report details which nations currently have the means to
produce nuclear weapons and how much fissile material they
possess. This distribution of fissile material defines the
critical tasks facing the international community, the report
states. It calls for nations to cooperate on seven steps. 

At the top of the reports to-do list for the international
community is closing what some see as a gaping loophole in the
nuclear Non-Proliferation Treatythe ability of a nation to
acquire nuclear weapons capabilities and then withdraw from the
treaty without penalty. So the report first proposes that the
United Nations Security Council establish sanctions to impose
against any country that withdraws from the treaty and attempts
to build weapons using fissile materials and facilities obtained
under the treaty for ostensibly peaceful purposes. 

The treaty, which has been in effect since 1970, will undergo
its seventh five-year review by more than 180 member states from
May 2 to 27 in New York. The report, issued in time for this
review, recommends six more steps for consideration by the
conference delegates and other nuclear nonproliferation
specialists: 

* strengthen international physical security standards; 

* stop the uncontrolled spread of uranium enrichment plants, and
subject all enrichment plants to an * extra layer of
multinational monitoring; 

* declare a moratorium on building new plants to reprocess spent
nuclear fuel that could be diverted to weapons production; 

* conclude a verified global treaty ending all further
production of fissile materials for weapons; 

* dispose of much more of the excess fissile materials recovered
from dismantled Cold War weapons; and 

* phase out the use of high-enriched uranium (HEU) as a reactor
fuel, in favor of low-enriched uranium, which cannot be made
into nuclear weapons without further enrichment. 

Some of the study groups recommendations have been on the
international agenda for decades, the report points out, but
most are barely moving forward, if not completely stalled. These
measures urgently need high-level attention. 

All of the reports proposals focus on weapons-usable fissile
materialshighly enriched uranium and plutoniumbecause they are
the essential materials for nuclear weapons, said CISAC
Co-Director Christopher Chyba, who led the study with PS
Co-Directors Harold Feiveson and Frank von Hippel. They and the
technologies to produce them must be much more strictly
controlled if further nuclear proliferation and nuclear
terrorism are to be prevented. The report lays out a series of
steps to do so, Chyba added. 

The researchers intended to strengthen similar proposals under
discussion. The report gives technical details and support to
policy ideas on the control of nuclear explosive materials and
their means of production that Mohamed ElBaradei
(director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency) and
others have been forwarding, explained Feiveson. 

While the report emphasizes physical security measures geared
toward reducing the supply of nuclear weapons materials, its
authors acknowledge that demand-side measures are equally
important. A comprehensive strategy to halt nuclear
proliferation must also address the reasons that certain states
choose to pursue nuclear weapons, the report states. 

The research group of scientists, political scientists and
international legal experts from leading research and regulatory
institutions met at Stanford in August 2003 to begin their
assessment of the global stock of nuclear weapons and the
nuclear-explosive materials needed to make them and to outline a
plan for limiting the spread of these materials. They continued
to refine their recommendations, to produce their report in time
for this years Non-Proliferation Treaty review. 

The full text of the report is available at and also is
scheduled to be posted at ~globsec. 

*****************************************************************
 27 Xinhua: DPRK warns to strengthen its nuclear deterrent   

  www.xinhuanet.com

  www.chinaview.cn 2005-04-09 00:14:52   

��  PYONGYANG, April 8 (Xinhuanet) -- A senior military official
of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday
warned that his country will strengthen its self-defensive
nuclear deterrent in face of the US moves to stifle it. 

    "The US persistent hostile policy toward the DPRK will only
prompt Pyongyang to bolster its self-defensive nuclear
deterrent,"said Kim Yong-chun, Chief of the General Staff of the
Korean People's Army, at a national meeting marking the 12th
anniversary of Kim Jong-il's election as chairman of the
National Defense Committee. 

    He accused that the United States should be chiefly blamed
for the present deadlock of the six-party talks, saying that the
United States is working hard to bring down the system in the
DPRKand is staging large-scale war exercises aimed at invading
the DPRK. 

    "If the US imperialists dare to launch a war of aggression
on the peninsula, the army and people of the DPRK will turn out
as one in a just war and mercilessly wipe out the aggressors and
win a final victory in the stand-off with the US," he said. 

    Pyongyang announced on Feb. 10 that it has already had
nuclear arms. Enditem   

  Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 28 Grist Magazine: Spent nuclear fuel vulnerable to terrorist attacks, experts warn

| Daily Grist | 07 Apr 2005
 
Spare the Rod, Foil the Riled
 
Spent nuclear fuel vulnerable to terrorist attacks, experts warn
 
Despite its renewed popularity (even Umbra's giving it a second
look!), nuclear power makes the eggheads at the National Academy
of Sciences nervous. Specifically, a new NAS report raises red
flags about the dangers posed by possible terrorist attacks on
the pools of spent fuel rods stored at nuclear reactors all over
the country. Such attacks could set off fires and spread
radiation in the surrounding environment, the scientists warn,
urging that each of the country's 103 commercial reactors be
evaluated to determine if alternative storage methods would be
safer. Nuclear-safety advocates praised the report, saying it
acknowledged for the first time the vulnerability of spent fuel.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and nuke-industry officials
disagree with the report's authors and say the spent-fuel pools
would not make for easy targets. Says industry spokesflack Craig
Nesbit, "I am more worried about getting hit by a meteor walking
out of my front door in the morning." We think he intends that
to be comforting.

Grist Magazine: Environmental News and Commentary
 [a beacon in the smog (tm)] ©2005. Grist Magazine, Inc. All
*****************************************************************
 29 UCS: Eminent Physicists Call for Reality Check on Missile Defense
 	 	 	 	 	 
[Union of Concerned Scientists]                                                       

April 7, 2005
 
 Congress Should Not Fund Unproven Weapons
 
Global Security

WASHINGTON, April 7 - Today 22 eminent physicists with expertise
in weapons systems called for the elimination of funding for
ground-based interceptors for the missile defense system the
Bush administration is seeking to deploy.
 
"[W]e urge you to eliminate all funding to purchase or deploy
any additional interceptor missiles until operationally
realistic tests of the system demonstrate that it would work
against a real world attack," wrote the physicists in a letter
delivered to key members of Congress today.
 
Nine Nobel laureates in physics signed the letter, including
Steven Weinberg of the University of Texas at Austin, Jerome
Friedman of MIT, Leon Lederman of the Illinois Institute of
Technology, Burton Richter of Stanford University, and Nicolaas
Bloembergen of Harvard University. Nineteen are members of the
National Academy of Sciences or the National Academy of
Engineering.
 
Noting that the ground-based missile defense (GMD) system has
"no demonstrated capability to defend against a real attack,
even from a single warhead," the scientists urged the Pentagon
to "refocus the GMD program on conducting operationally
realistic tests, which are the only means of collecting accurate
data on system performance."
 
The physicists explained that, even if the system was able to
overcome existing flaws and hit their intended targets,
"technical assessments demonstrate that the GMD system will be
unable to counter a missile attack that includes even
unsophisticated countermeasures." Countermeasures refer to often
simple measures an attacker can use to confuse, overwhelm, or
otherwise defeat the defense.
 
The Strategic Forces Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services
Committee is holding a hearing today on missile defense at 2:30
pm in 222 Russell Senate Office Building.
 
To set up interviews, or for UCS info, contact:
 
STEPHEN YOUNG Senior Analyst 202-223-6133 
syoung@ucsusa.org</font>

 © Union of Concerned Scientists
*****************************************************************
 30 TVA: Spent reactor fuel 'well protected' but under review
 
FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2005   
  
By Duncan Mansfield Associated Press Writer

 KNOXVILLE  The Tennessee Valley Authority said Thursday that
spent fuel at nuclear plants in Tennessee and Alabama is "well
protected," but the agency is looking into further safeguards
after scientists suggested such pools are vulnerable to
terrorist attack. 

"We are assessing the potential to effectively augment our
safety systems," TVA spokesman Gil Francis said Thursday. "This
is consistent with the National Academy of Sciences'
recommendations and is above and beyond the first series of
protective measures ordered in 2002." 

An academy report released Wednesday suggested that the deep
water pools where 68 nuclear plants in 31 states store their
highly radioactive used fuel are at a greater danger of a
terrorist attack than the reactors themselves. The scientists
said the reinforced concrete pools were more exposed and could
be compromised by a suicide aircraft or high explosive attack,
exposing the fuel rods and unleashing an uncontrollable fire and
large amounts of radiation. 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the potential for large
releases of radiation from such a fire would be "extremely low,"
but still advised reactor operators to consider refiguring their
pools' fuel rods. 

"As directed by NRC, we are assessing that now," Francis said. 

TVA, the nation's largest public utility, operates a two-reactor
station at the Sequoyah plant near Chattanooga, the
single-reactor Watts Bar station near Spring City and the
two-reactor Browns Ferry station near Athens. A third reactor is
scheduled to come on line at Browns Ferry in 2007. 

TVA has more than 2,260 metric tons of spent fuel stored at its
plants, waiting with the rest of the industry for the Department
of Energy to open a permanent repository at Yucca Mountain in
Nevada. 

TVA's storage pools are contained within the plant buildings and
are "extremely well protected," Francis said. But the Sequoyah
pool already is full and the Browns Ferry pool is nearing
capacity. 

TVA has spent more than $25 million adding three aboveground,
dry-cask storage units at Sequoyah and is spending about the
same to build three similar steel-lined, concrete-reinforced
containers at Browns Ferry. The academy considers the casks a
safer storage option. 

There are no immediate plans for dry casks at Watts Bar. The
plant has plenty of storage capacity in its pools because only
one of two reactors designed for the facility were completed and
it has been in operation only since 1996  the last licensed
nuclear plant in the United States. 

On the Net: TVA, www.tva.gov. 
Copyright 2005 THE DECATUR DAILY. All rights reserved.
 AP contributed to this report. --> 

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or

  THE DECATUR DAILY 201 1st Ave. SE P.O. Box 2213 Decatur, Ala. 
35609 (256) 353-4612 webmaster@decaturdaily.com  
  
*****************************************************************
 31 [du-list] Arnove, Gustafson and Ryabov debate US occupation
 
Date: Fri, 08 Apr 2005 14:42:51 -0700

 
<x-flowed>
  Greetings - Nice to see that antiwar movement picking up on DU. Here,
Anthony Arnove brings up DU in his prepared remarks, and a member of the
audience (ISO) mentioned it as well. I was in line to bring it into the
conversation but time expired. I was also audio-taping and photographing the
event (with Sunny doing the video).

http://www.traprockpeace.org/iraq_debate_06april05.html

"... if there were any genuine justice for the people of Iraq, not only
would war criminals like Rumsfeld and Bush and Wolfowitz face prosecution
for their crimes, the U.S. government would be forced to pay them
reparations." - Anthony Arnove

Anthony Arnove, Erik Gustafson (EPIC), and Alex Ryabov (IVAW.net), with
audience participation, debated the continued US occupation of Iraq on April
6, 2005 at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, NY. Carolyn Eisenberg of
sponsor Brooklyn Parents for Peace moderated.

Audio of both the presentations and rebuttals, and the following audience
comments and questions, are available for download at Traprock Peace
Center¹s website. Both MP3 and RealAudio versions are available. See also
photos from the event.

This debate comes at a critical time. It brought together proponents of
immediate withdrawal ­ Arnove and Ryabov, with Gustafson of the Education
for Peace in Iraq Center, who supports continued US occupation. EPIC has
joined with Veterans for Common Sense in supporting continued US occupation,
a rationale being that the US needs to stay to help Iraq. 40% of VCS members
reportedly object to this stance and support immediate withdrawal.

Arnove  and Ryabov called for immediate withdrawal.

Ryabov described his experience in Iraq ­ one that led him to oppose the war
and occupation.

Arnove, author of the definitive treatment of US sanctions against Iraq -
"Iraq Under Siege: The Deadly Impact of Sanctions and War" - considered US
intentions behind the war and occupation, and rebutted the argument that the
US needs to stay in Iraq due to its obligation to the Iraqi people.

"Does the U.S. government does have an obligation to the Iraq people?
Absolutely. An obligation for the crimes Washington supported for years when
Saddam Hussein was an ally. For arming and supporting both sides in the
brutal Iran-Iraq war. For the devastation of the 1991 Gulf War. For the use
of depleted uranium munitions, cluster bombs, and bunker busters. For the
devastating sanctions. For the invasion of 2003, and the humiliation and
destruction and deaths that caused.

  But the only way to begin to meet this obligation is to withdraw
immediately ‹ not six months or six years from now, but today.

Malcolm X once said, ³If you stick a knife nine inches into my back and pull
it out three inches, that is not progress.²

The U.S. first of all has to pull out the knife."

Traprock has posted Arnove¹s prepared comments and hopes to post a
transcript of the debate (presentations followed by audience responses and Q
and A) this weekend.

This event was billed as a forum, but a debate ensued. Please judge for
yourself by listening to the presentations, rebuttals and audience reactions
through its comments, questions and reactions.

Audio may be downloaded for private and non-profit use, including radio
airplay, with attribution to the panelists, Brooklyn Parents for Peace for
organizing the event and to Traprock Peace Center for creating the audio
recordings. Photos are copyright 2005 Charles Jenks; please contact him for
permission to reuse.


Charles Jenks, attorney at law
President of the Core Group
Traprock Peace Center
103A Keets Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
413-773-7427 Traprock line)
Fax 413-773-7507
charles@mtdata.com
http://traprockpeace.org



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 32 [du-list] 90,000 return to possible DU hot zone
 
Date: Fri, 08 Apr 2005 14:42:48 -0700

 
<x-flowed>
       IRAQ: Compensation for Fallujah residents slow - locals
       04 Apr 2005 16:36:14 GMT

       Source: IRIN

       http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/c120fe064e7e7ac1bec77a9054bc14e7.htm

FALLUJAH, 4 April (IRIN) - Compensation for residents of Fallujah city, 
some 60 km from the Iraqi capital, is happening at a slow pace, local 
people say.

Government studies suggest that 70 percent of buildings were destroyed in 
the city during the last conflict between US troops and insurgents. (sic 
-  most of the "insurgents" had  already dispersed and those   who were 
left  were those who were unable or refused to leave, including many 
elderly and women and children, staying in what became a   "free fire" 
zone, these becoming the victims of the second USUK Falujah massacre. db)

This left thousands of families still encamped on the outskirts of the 
city, waiting for a government solution to their problem.

Two-thirds of the city's population is said to have fled when the fighting 
started between November 2004 and January 2005. Based on studies, each 
family will receive a sum of money, depending on the damage and size of 
their property.

"I cannot return to my home because it has been totally devastated and the 
government told me that I have to be patient and wait for my name to come 
up on the list for compensation. But it is going very slowly and my family 
need a roof over their heads," Kareem Aydan, a resident from Fallujah, 
camped on the outskirts of the city, told IRIN.

Muhammad Abdul al-A'ani, deputy minister for industry, told IRIN that of 
the total number of houses damaged in the city, only 90 families had 
received compensation of around US $1,500 each so far.

He added that $100 million from the Iraqi Relief and Reconstruction Funds 
(IRRF) had been set aside by the government to compensate and help families 
to return to their homes.

"We have found that $500 million is required for total compensation in the 
city but the US [-led] Coalition has just offered us $100 million so far, 
but they have promised that soon the rest will come into our hands," 
al-A'ani added.

Doctor Hafid al-Dulaimi, director of the Commission for the Compensation of 
Fallujah Citizens (CCFC), established by the government, told IRIN that a 
study had been carried to assess the scale of destruction. He reported 
36,000 destroyed homes in all districts of Fallujah, along with 8,400 shops.

Al-Dulaimi pointed out that 60 children's nurseries, primary and secondary 
schools and colleges were destroyed and 65 mosques and religious 
sanctuaries were almost demolished by the attack, with 13 government 
buildings requiring new infrastructure.

"Most of the houses need to be rebuilt from scratch and the government 
should offer much more for families to enable them to return to their homes 
and [go back] to what it was like before the conflict started. Some shops 
have even disappeared and we hope that they stop discussing who will take 
the new government seats and remember that they have a lot to do here in 
Fallujah," al-Dulaimi urged.

However, there are some signs of normality returning to the stricken city, 
as basic facilities such as water pipes and sewage treatment plants are 
being repaired. Damaged schools are being renovated and new ones are being 
built by either the Coalition or the government.

According to Ahmed Salah, a senior officer from the public works ministry, 
two electricity substations, three water purification plants and two train 
stations were badly damaged, along with the sewage and surface water 
drainage subsystems throughout the city.

He explained that they were trying hard to meet basic needs. "Families in 
the city can find potable water in each corner of the city in tanks and 
through that we can guarantee healthy water until we have finished all our 
work and we believe that it won't take too long," Salah added.

A retired father of five, Abu Youssef received $1,500, but he said he needs 
five times more to repair his house and bring back everything they have had 
before inside it.

"Thank God I have received something. There are thousands of families that 
are still waiting for the compensation. But still, this amount of money is 
not enough to rebuild my house again," he told IRIN.

The Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS) said that people in Fallujah had at 
least started to receive their monthly ration parcels, including those 
still camped in areas around the city.

Nearly 90,000 people had returned to the city, with another 200,000 
families still waiting to enter, according to Lt. Gen. John Satler, a 
senior officer in the US Marines.

"Some families have started to be compensated and hospitals and schools 
have started to be opened. Soon Fallujah will be open to the people [in a] 
much better [condition] than before," Satler told IRIN.




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*****************************************************************
 33 Deseret News: Atomic test museum wins over a Utah visitor
 
[deseretnews.com] 
 	
Friday, April 8, 2005
 	   	 
By Lee Benson Deseret Morning News

LAS VEGAS — Since its grand opening here two months ago, the 
Atomic Testing Museum, like the enterprise it recognizes, has 
generated its share of controversy.

       Particularly on the Utah side of the jet stream, where 
sympathy and empathy abounds for those "downwinders" in 
southwestern Utah who caught the radioactive brunt of 100 
above-ground nuclear tests that were conducted between 1951 and 
1962 at the huge Nevada Test Site located 65 miles northwest of 
Las Vegas and due west of St. George.

       How appropriate is it to memorialize something that 
brought disease and death to innocent bystanders? And why doesn't 
the museum draw more attention to the pain and suffering caused 
by the testing?

      So I walked into the museum this past Wednesday morning
with a predisposition hovering between disgust and disdain.

       We were traveling through Vegas on the way home from a
spring-break vacation and I found the museum easily — just seven
blocks east of the Las Vegas Strip on Flamingo Road.

       I paid my $10 and was escorted into the museum by a
volunteer docent of senior citizen vintage named Jo Ann, who
said, "If you start to glow, we'll hurry and take you out."

       "That's not that funny," I responded. "I'm from Utah."

       Not a great start.

       I managed to shake Jo Ann, which wasn't easy, so I could
make my way through the 8,000-square-foot museum under my own
power.

      I watched the short film that explains nuclear fission. I
entered Ground Zero Theater and saw the video that chronicles
the history of the Nevada Test Site. I looked over photographs
and documents that hark back to a time — not that long ago —
when a fear of all things nuclear was trumped by a fear of all
things Soviet.

       The more I saw, the more it became crystal clear that the
people of the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation who turned
the Atomic Testing Museum into reality have an enormous sense of
pride about what originated in the middle of nowhere.

       They consider the expanse of desert designated by
President Harry Truman in 1951 "because it offered a greater
degree of safety from radiological hazards" to be "one of the
major battlegrounds of the Cold War."

       A war we won by shooting off bombs at nothing and nobody.

       The 100 above-ground and 828 underground tests that took
place until nuclear testing was banned outright in 1992 kept the
Soviets at bay until they self-destructed.

      While the museum does not overly emphasize the Utah
casualties of the Cold War, it does not, as far as I could tell,
try to revise or minimize what happened downwind, either.

       I found that "downwinders" are mentioned on a number of
occasions, in the films and the displays. One exhibit tells in
detail of the "Dirty Harry" explosion on May 19, 1953, that was
rapidly fanned by unexpectedly strong surface winds toward St.
George, where the sheriff was alerted to tell everyone to stay
indoors for two hours.

       And there is plenty of footage of nuclear protesters,
which began picketing at the site entrance as early as 1954.

       "We put people at risk," a scientist apologetically
acknowledges in the film in Ground Zero Theater. "We had no
choice. We were in a war."

       That's the way the wind blows in the new museum, where,
as always, the victors have written the history. Far from being
offensive, I found it to be both positive and enlightening.

Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.comand faxes to
801-237-2527.

 © 2005 Deseret News Publishing Company 
*****************************************************************
 34 Bellona: Human right activist revealed radiation accident
 
The Arbitrary court of the Ulyanovsk region in Russia allowed
human right activist Mikhail Piskunov to receive the documents
concerning 3-week radioactive discharge happened back in 1997. 

2005-04-06 17:29

In the beginning of March, human right activist the head of
Dimitrovgrad Centre for Assistance on Citizens’ Initiatives
Mikhail Piskunov managed to get approval for his application for
the documents on 3-week radioactive discharge happened in 1997
at the Nuclear Reactors Research Institute in Dimitrovgrad.
Dimitrovgrad is a city in Ulyanovsk county, its population
amounts to 50,000. The Nuclear Reactors Research Institute is
the biggest nuclear research centre in Russia. 

The mentioned radioactive discharge happened in summer 1997 and
presented big danger for the local inhabitants. Then, one of the
research reactors discharged continuously radioactive iodine-131
in the atmosphere what is rather harmful for the thyroid. In
some days the daily permitted levels of iodine discharge were
exceeded in 15-20 times. Mikhail Piskunov and his colleagues
from the Centre for Assistance on Citizens’ Initiatives
conducted independent public investigation and came to the
conclusion that the management of the Centre have to be
responsible for the non-disclosure of the information about the
health threat to the population and lack of protection measures,
like iodine protective treatment, Regnum.ru reported. 

Mikhail Piskunov published these and other facts in the local
newspaper what provoked the lawsuit against him filed by the
general director of the Nuclear Reactors’ Research Centre Alexey
Grachev, who is also a member of the local parliament. The first
and the second instance court agreed with the director who
accused the activist of lie. The last instance court, however,
disagreed with the previous decisions and demanded to return the
case to the first instance court and also obliged the nuclear
director to present the documents regarding the accident as
Mikhail Piskunov had required at the fist hearing. The documents
were presented but without 16 valuable attachments revealing the
details of the radioactive discharge. The court again obliged
the director to present 16 attachments. 

“We believe, the nuclear company should be hold responsible for
the consequences of the 3-week long radioactive discharge and
the damage to the health of the local population. So far, we
have to prove in court that the incident in the Nuclear
Reactors’ Research Institute is a “radiation accident”,
according to the current federal law “On radiation safety of the
population” as it is written in our article and questioned by
the general director of the Nuclear Reactors’ Research
Institute, but not an ordinary “event” as it stands in the
documents of the nuclear centre” said Mikhail Piskunov to
Regnum.ru. 
  
  2002-11-06 Nuclear Waste Management
 Radioactive waste to be dumped near Dimitrovgrad's water wells

  Publisher: , President: 
Information: , Technical contact: 
Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62  * P.O.Box
2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway
*****************************************************************
 35 Sarasota Herald-Tribune: A long way to go
 	 	 	 	 	
Government should do more for former beryllium workers Public 
officials should keep something in mind as they respond to the 
pollution and health crisis in the Tallevast community: For all 
the strides they've made, they still have a long, long walk 
ahead.

This week, the U.S. Department of Energy began providing free 
medical tests for people who worked at the now-defunct American 
Beryllium Co. plant in the late 1960s and in the 1980s, when the 
facility made nuclear-weapons components.

The workers came into contact with beryllium, a toxic metal that 
can cause a serious lung disease and other illnesses.

In the past, the DOE has covered testing and medical costs only 
for people directly employed by the government. This year, the 
agency extended aid to employees of federal contractors, thanks 
in part to the efforts of Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Longboat Key, 
and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

DOE officials are also checking to see if there were additional 
years when the agency contracted for work at the plant, which 
operated off U.S. 301 near the Manatee-Sarasota line from the 
early 1960s through the mid-1990s.

The search for secret or forgotten contracts is important, but 
--as Harris pointed out at a recent Herald-Tribune Editorial 
Board meeting -- the effort doesn't go far enough.

Harris says testing should cover all the years the plant operated 
because it's unlikely the facility was ever free of beryllium 
dust. Workers who started at the plant after the DOE contracts 
ended may have been harmed, too. The next step in this long, long 
walk is to ensure they're helped. 



Last modified: April 08. 2005 12:00AM Click on any link below to 

the Herald-Tribune newspaper and SNN Channel 6 ©
*****************************************************************
 36 Vermont Guardian: Evacuation times more than doubled in new study

By Kathryn Casa | 

BRATTLEBORO  The full evacuation of Brattleboro in a nuclear
emergency could take almost seven hours  more than double the
time emergency planners had previously assumed  according to an
extensive study completed for the owners of the Vermont Yankee
nuclear power plant. 

At more than 1,000 pages, the four-inch thick evacuation time
estimate (ETE) deconstructs a number of old assumptions about an
evacuation of the 400-square-mile emergency planning zone during
a radiological emergency, and suggests the need for a
significant revamping of the existing radiological emergency
response plans (RERPs). 

For example, planners previously believed it would take a
maximum of three hours to evacuate Brattleboro, the largest town
that lies entirely within Vermont Yankees 10-radial-mile,
tri-state emergency planning zone (EPZ). But the new study,
compiled for Entergy by a Long Island-based transportation
consultant KLD Associates, estimates that during a winter
midweek, midday emergency with snow on the ground, a full
evacuation of Brattleboro would take six hours and 48 minutes. 

The shortest predicted evacuation time for Brattleboro  during a
midweek, mid-summer day with good weather would take three hours
and 55 minutes, the new study suggests, nearly a full hour
longer than estimates made 10 years ago. The Federal Emergency
Management Agency requires evacuation estimate updates for
nuclear power plants every 10 years. 

Nuclear watchdogs say its possible for a major radiation release
to occur at a nuclear power plant within five to 10 minutes. 

KLD Associates partner Reuben Goldblatt said the new evacuation
estimates are based on local information about travel and
mobilization patterns gathered through a telephone survey of
residents within the EPZ, which is home to approximately 60,000
people, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. 

The study uses 13 combinations of seasonal, time, and weather
conditions to predict evacuation rates for 17 towns in Vermont,
New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. 

Since people dont have a sense of how they would act in an
emergency, we ask questions they do know something about,
Goldblatt said, such as how many cars are available, how long it
takes them to dig out their driveways during a snowstorm, and
how long it would take a commuter in the family to return home
from work. 

The study incorporates assumptions based on the reactions of
populations during real, albeit non-nuclear, emergencies. For
example, the study assumes that 50 percent of the Vermont Yankee
EPZ residents with no available transportation would get rides
with friends, neighbors, or relatives because in some real
emergencies more than 70 percent of residents arranged their own
rides, Goldblatt said. 

The study also assumes that 85 percent of the EPZ would be aware
of a nuclear accident within 30 minutes, and the entire EPZ
population would be aware within 50 minutes and ready to
evacuate with 100 minutes. 

That assumption is at odds with Dummerstons existing emergency
plan, which indicates it would take 45 minutes to notify rural
residents who live or work outside the range of sirens and do
not have functioning weather-alert radios. 

The whole [study] is based on something that everybody knows is
untrue, said Dummerston resident and anti-nuclear activist Ed
Anthes. 

Vermont Yankee officials were required to update EPZ siren and
radio coverage after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last year
cited them for failing to provide early notification and clear
instructions  specifically to a portion of the populace within
the EPZ who are outside of the range of sirens and did not have
tone-alert radios. 

In a March 3 response to the NRC, Vermont Yankee Site Vice
President Jay Thayer wrote that plant officials have distributed
an additional 1,300 radios, upgraded existing sirens, and will
install an automatic telephone dial-up system throughout the
region. 

However, VY spokesman Rob Williams said no new sirens had been
added. Were replacing the existing ones and they should provide
more coverage. They should be able to project the sound farther.
He said the plant will conduct a study this summer to determine
the coverage. 

The dial-up system will be in place by the end of April,
Williams said. 

Vermont Yankee officials are required to notify the state within
15 minutes of an emergency at the Vernon reactor, and the state
is required to notify communities within another 15 minutes.
That means that in the event of a radiation leak, some rural
residents could be exposed for more than an hour before they get
the word to evacuate. 

Another assumption in the study is that up to 50 percent of all
schoolchildren would be picked up by parents or friends.
Goldblatt said that is a conservative estimate that takes into
account the traffic snarls that could occur around schools if
parents tried to pick up their children. But, he added, its also
unlikely. 

Current plans call for schoolchildren to be evacuated first,
Goldblatt pointed out, so scenarios where schoolchildren get
picked up by family and friends are probably not going to happen
because schoolchildren will get bussed out before the general
population is alerted. 

The new study also factors in a 30 percent shadow evacuation 
that is, 30 percent of the people who live within 10 radial
miles beyond the EPZ would also try to leave the region. 

It remains unclear who would be responsible for updating the
existing emergency plans, which have been in a state of flux for
years after four of the five Vermont towns within the zone have
repeatedly refused to accept the documents, which they see as
flawed. 

The Brattleboro Selectboard was preparing to approve an update
of that towns RERP until a flawed Dec. 16, 2004, school
evacuation drill  the first time the plan was tested at the
schools  when dozens of buses failed to arrive. I have a hard
time approving a plan after seeing what happened with that
drill, Selectboard Chairman Steve Steidle told a reporter at the
time. The perception is that it didnt work. 

Local emergency planners said that it is the responsibility of
state emergency management officials to update the plans, but
according to Vermont Emergency Management Deputy Director Duncan
Higgins, They, the town fathers and mothers of the various
communities, will need to review the ETE and their own plans to
insure that they update them consistently with this new ETE. 

VEM will provide technical assistance, Higgins said. 

The Waterbury-based state agency has been criticized by local
officials for being slow in responding to community concerns
about a radiological emergency. It took VEM more than a year to
answer a March 2004 letter from the Dummerston selectboard that
presented a long list of questions and concerns. 

For a complete report on the evacuation study, including key
highlights, check out this week's edition of the Vermont
Guardian - available at newsstands throughout Vermont, as well
as New Hampshire and Massachusetts. 
Send us your news tips, a letter to the editor or general
comments.
 
Vermont Guardian

PO Box 335, Winooski, VT 05404
 Southern Vermont: 139 Main Street, Suite 702, Brattleboro, VT
05301
 Contact: 802.861.4880 (ph) | 802.861.6388 (fax) | 877.231.5382
(toll-free)

 ©2004-2005 Vermont Guardian | info@vermontguardian.com
*****************************************************************
 37 NRC: NRC to Hold Public Meeting April 29 on Issues Associated with Hemyc Fire Protection Material
 
News Release - 2005-06 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office 
of Public Affairs     Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 
20555-0001     E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 05-064     April 7, 2005   

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with interested
stakeholders on April 29 in Rockville, Md., to discuss the use
of a fire-resistant material marketed under the name Hemyc. 

The meeting will be held in the Auditorium of the NRCs Two White
Flint North building, 11545 Rockville Pike, from 8:30 a.m. until
noon. The discussions will focus on the capability of Hemyc with
respect to nuclear power plant fire protection strategies, given
that recent tests have raised questions about Hemycs ability to
fully protect electrical cabling as long as required by NRC
regulations. 

The agency has contacted those plants using Hemyc to inform them
about the test results so that any appropriate compensatory
actions can be taken. Since the material is used in areas with
both fire detection and suppression systems, the NRC remains
assured that those plants overall fire protection scheme will
ensure safe shutdown of a reactor in case of fire. The NRC will
issue letters to the affected plants to ensure they take
appropriate corrective actions. 

Members of the public are invited to participate by discussing
these issues with NRC staff throughout the meeting. For more
information on the meeting, contact Chandu Patel at 301-415-3025
(via email at cpp@nrc.gov) or Daniel Frumkin at 301-415-2280
(via email at dxf1@nrc.gov). Parties interested in participating
in the meeting via toll-free teleconference should contact Patel
or Frumkin.   



  


 	Last revised Thursday, April 07, 2005 	   
*****************************************************************
 38 [CMEP] Eye on Energy: April Edition
 
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2005 16:52:40 -0500 (CDT)

 
*** N O T I C E ***

April 8, 2005

The April edition of EYE ON ENERGY, the newsletter of the Critical Mass
energy program, is now available online in PDF and HTML formats:
http://www.eyeonenergy.org

In this issue:

* DOE and USGS announce that science supporting Yucca waste dump may
have been falsified
* House Energy & Commerce committee revisits the infamous omnibus
energy bill
* Consumer groups file motion to intervene in Exelon merger
* Public Citizen urges nuke agency to withdraw secrecy proposal
* National Academy of Sciences studies nuclear waste security
* Environmental analysis released for new Illinois nuke

..and more!

**********
To SUBSCRIBE to the CMEP ListServ, visit https://www.citizen.org/email/enteremail.cfm

If you would like to be removed from the CMEP ListServ, send an email to listserv@listserver.citizen.org with the words "unsubscribe CMEP" in the message.

Questions about the CMEP ListServ can be directed to CMEP-request@LISTSERVER.CITIZEN.ORG.

To learn more about this and other Public Citizen Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program campaigns, visit our website at http://www.citizen.org/cmep/

-Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program
*****************************************************************
 39 Las Vegas SUN: Interior turns down request for testimony from
Yucca Mountain scientists

 By ERICA WERNER ASSOCIATED PRESS 

WASHINGTON (AP) - Three scientists involved with e-mails about
falsifying documents on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump
won't be made available to testify before a congressional panel,
the Interior Department said Friday. 

The department's U.S. Geological Survey also released a letter
from the panel that reveals the scientists' names for the first
time. 

The letter sent Thursday by Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., requests
the presence of Joe A. Hevesi, Alan L. Flint and Lorraine E.
Flint "to meet with subcommittee staff regarding statements
contained in the e-mails in question." 

Porter's House Government Reform federal work force and agency
organization subcommittee has been investigating the e-mails,
written from 1998 to 2000 and made public by the Energy
Department last month, that show Yucca Mountain workers
discussing concocting facts and keeping two sets of figures, one
for themselves and one to show quality assurance officers. 

In one e-mail a USGS scientist wrote: "I don't have a clue when
these programs were installed. So I've made up the dates and
names. ... This is as good as it's going to get. If they need
more proof, I will be happy to make up more stuff." 

Only redacted versions of the e-mails have been made public so
it's impossible to tell what role Hevesi or the Flints had, and
subcommittee staff declined to elaborate. All are listed on USGS
Web sites as research hydrologists in Sacramento, Calif.
Messages left on their office voice-mails were not immediately
returned Friday. 

The Flints share a home number in Davis, Calif. 

The FBI and the inspectors general at the Interior and Energy
departments are investigating the possibility of fraudulent work
on the nuclear waste dump planned for 90 miles northwest of Las
Vegas. The Interior Department cited the investigations in
turning down Porter's request for the scientists' presence at a
hearing set for Wednesday. 

"Given the potentially serious implications for the employees
involved, the department believes it is inappropriate to require
the individuals identified by the subcommittee to testify in a
public hearing about the matters under active investigation,"
said a letter sent to Porter on Friday by Matt Eames, director
of the Interior Department's office of congressional and
legislative affairs. 

Chad Bungard, deputy staff director and chief counsel for
Porter's panel, said the subcommittee was evaluating how to
respond. He said subpoenas were a last resort. 

The workers who wrote the e-mails were studying how water moved
through the desert site where the government wants to store
77,000 tons of commercial and defense nuclear waste for at least
10,000 years. The USGS validated Energy Department conclusions
that water seepage was relatively slow, so radiation would be
less likely to escape. 

Hevesi and the Flints are listed on a Lawrence Berkeley Lab Web
site as co-authors of a report on water infiltration at Yucca
Mountain. 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 40 Brattleboro Reformer: Dry-cask storage decried

April 09, 2005 Brattleboro, VT                                                                                 
 			 								 					
By DAVID GRAM 
Associated Press

MONTPELIER -- Familiar arguments took on a new urgency in the
minds of several speakers testifying Thursday at a hearing on a
proposal for dry-cask storage of highly radioactive waste at the
Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.

 A Vermont law dating from the late 1970s gives lawmakers veto
power over any proposal to store nuclear waste in Vermont
outside the existing spent fuel pool at the Vernon reactor.

 Several of those speaking said lawmakers now had an opportunity
to end what many of them see as a 33-year mistake of nuclear
power generation in Vermont. At a minimum they want lawmakers to
use the dry cask storage issue as a way to bar the plant from
the 20 percent increase in power output it wants to implement,
or the 20-year extension beyond 2012 it is expected to seek on
its license. 

"Please use it (dry-cask storage legislation) as a way to close
the door on boosting power and extending the license," said
Peter Alexander, executive director of the nuclear watchdog
group New England Coalition.

 A handful of the more than 60 people who attended the hearing
spoke out in favor of the plant, saying its 600 jobs make it a
linchpin of the southern Vermont economy, and that the
relatively cheap power it produces makes it an important
economic engine statewide.

 "Economic security is in many ways just as important, if not
more so" than environmental and safety concerns, argued William
Sayre of Bristol, a lumber company owner, economist and board
member with the manufacturers' group Associated Industries of
Vermont.

 Sayer also told the legislators that nuclear power does not
pollute the air, as do fossil-fuel-burning power plants.

 But most of the comments were more like those of Paul Bousquet
of West Townshend. "I beg you to search your hearts and not your
pocketbooks. In the name of cheap electricity we have created a
monster."

 Franklin Caval-Holme, 13, one of several speakers who traveled
north from the Rutland County town of Shrewsbury, asked of the
steel and concrete cylanders in Vermont Yankee wants to use to
store waste, "Can anyone really guarantee their safety for 1,000
years? I don't think so."

 The Vermont debate comes against the backdrop of big trouble
for the site the U.S. Department of Energy has wanted to use for
permanent disposal of the waste. Yucca Mountain has been at the
midst of a scandal in recent weeks over allegedly forged
documents about a key environmental question -- the movement of
groundwater under the site

 Barry Bernstein of East Calais told panel members he attended a
meeting in Montpelier where the issue of nuclear waste disposal
was discussed in 1972, the year Vermont Yankee opened. He said a
nuclear industry engineer assured those in attendance that a
permanent waste repository would be open by the early 1980s. 

Copyright © 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
*****************************************************************
 41 AP Wire: Environmental group asks Sanford to block nuclear fuel shipment

| 04/08/2005 | 

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - An environmental group says radioactive fuel
headed to a South Carolina nuclear power plant is dangerous and
wants Gov. Mark Sanford to block the shipments. 

But Sanford's spokesman Will Folks said Friday the governor has
been assured safety requirements for the mixed-oxide fuel
shipment have been met. 

The MOX fuel, which is made partially from weapons-grade
plutonium, was shipped from France and should be arriving in
Charleston soon. The fuel is to be tested at Duke Power's
Catawba Nuclear Station on Lake Wylie, which is about 200 miles
from Charleston. 

Scientists and environmentalists disagree on the health and
safety risks of the fuel. The shipments are the beginning stages
of a U.S.-Russian agreement to convert 34 tons of plutonium no
longer needed. 

Nuclear nonproliferation activists said the Energy Department
cannot truck the material to the Lake Wylie reactor before the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission signs off on special conditions
required for delivery. Officials with the Energy Department,
Duke Power and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said they do
not foresee any problems meeting the regulatory requirements. 

NRC spokesman Ken Clark said his agency will have to make sure
special conditions have been met "prior to receipt of the fuel
on site." 

Folks said a federal agency overseeing the MOX program has
assured the governor the requirements have been met. 

"Everything would have to be in compliance prior to that
material being shipped," Folks said. 

The environmental group hauled a 20-foot-long replica of a
nuclear waste container near the Gov.'s Mansion on Thursday to
illustrate their concerns. 

"We are appealing to Gov. Mark Sanford to use his power," said
Lou Zeller of the defense league. "The governors in this state
have a tradition of standing up for their people and doing
whatever it takes. We hope Sanford is part of that." 

In 2002, then-Gov. Jim Hodges, a Democrat, tried to block
shipments of surplus plutonium from Colorado to the Savannah
River Site, but he lost in federal court. Folks said the
Republican governor doesn't have authority over the federal
process. 

Activists also called on Sanford to conduct an independent
security study for MOX fuel tests and shipments. 

Information from: The State,   

*****************************************************************
 42 Deseret News: Keep the pressure on tailings 

[deseretnews.com] 

Friday, April 8, 2005 

Deseret Morning News editorial 

Congress may choke on the nearly $400 million price tag to move 
radioactive mill tailings away from the Colorado River near Moab.
But it would be better to swallow that bitter pill than the 
billions of dollars the tailings could generate in health 
problems and lawsuits if they weren't moved. 

The government already seems skittish about acknowledging 
its role in the diseases and deaths caused by nuclear tests a 
generation ago. It ought to have learned its lesson. 

Fortunately, the new secretary of energy, Sam Bodman, 
ruled this week that the tailings should be moved to a spot near 
the I-70 and U.S. 191 interchange, safely away from the water. 
The other alternative was to cap the tailings in place, which 
scientists said would poison the river and threaten the health 
of 25 million water drinkers downstream in Arizona, Nevada and 
California. People like to hear glowing reports about their 
water supply, but not when the reports are literally about the 
water glowing. 

But, as good as the news from the Department of Energy 
was, Congress still has the final word. In an age where 
lawmakers are constantly on the lookout for ways to cut money in 
politically unimportant states, they may be tempted to tinker 
with this one. They shouldn't. 

Bodman's decision was a victory for the intense lobbying 
efforts of many elected officials in Utah, along with other 
advocates. Without these efforts, Washington probably would not 
have looked closely at the tailings pile, which was generated 
from uranium mill operations conducted between 1956 and 1984 to 
aid in the nation's Cold War efforts. But that lobbying should 
not stop until the money is in place and the contaminated dirt 
is being loaded onto rail cars. 

Scientists and others have cast a wary eye on the 
tailings for years. Most recently, heavy flooding in Southern 
Utah demonstrated how catastrophic nature could be in terms of 
sending the tailings downstream. University of Utah researchers 
used carbon dating to determine that twice in the last 1,000 
years, floods ripped through the land that now holds the 
tailings. Capping the tailings in place would not serve to 
protect anyone. 

If the tailings entered the water supply in such a large 
flood, they would introduce ammonia, uranium, radium, lead and 
other toxins . Already, some contaminants have leached into the 
river. 

This is a huge public health issue. Bodman is to be 
commended for understanding that. Now it's Congress' turn to do 
the right thing. 

© 2005 Deseret News Publishing Company 
*****************************************************************
 43 newsobserver.com Editorials: Message dump
 

Modified: Apr 7, 2005 12:31 PM
  
The discovery of several disturbing e-mail messages raises the
possibility that government scientists investigating the
long-term safety of a high-level nuclear waste dump at Yucca
Mountain in Nevada were willing to cook the research books to
ensure that the project won a regulatory thumbs up. That's
obviously of concern to residents of Nevada and California whose
drinking water comes from aquifers beneath the site.

 But news that safety documents might have been falsified also
should be a concern for residents of communities such as the
Triangle. There are 103 commercial nuclear reactors in 64 plants
that provide much of the nation's electricity, and spent but
very radioactive fuel rods are piling up while the federal
government tries to win approval to open a repository at Yucca.
The rods are accumulating at Progress Energy's Shearon Harris
plant in southwestern Wake County and at two other plants in
North Carolina.

 There is always the small but real danger that an accident
affecting the deep pools of water that cool, and in many cases
store, the rods could lead to a harmful release of
radioactivity. That danger is compounded, as a study by the
National Academy of Science recently suggested, by the risk that
terrorists may target the pools. In any event, power plants
weren't built to provide long-term storage for spent fuel rods.
The power companies, not U.S. taxpayers, should have been
responsible for building a long-term repository, but a promise
from federal officials to build one is a promise.

 A U.S. House subcommittee is looking into the 2002 approval of
the Yucca site, and it was in preparation for that hearing this
week that the e-mails were uncovered. Written from 1998 to 2000
by U.S. Geological Survey workers, the e-mails indicate that
study of the site was influenced by peer pressure and plagued by
factual "unknowns," as one writer put it.

The geological agency validated Energy Department findings that
water seepage under Yucca was relatively slow, so radiation
would be less likely to escape. The e-mails raise doubts as to
the certainty of that conclusion -- not a confidence-builder
regarding fuel rods that will be radioactive enough to be lethal
for the next 10,000 years. Nuclear waste generated by the
military also would be stored at Yucca Mountain.

 The Energy and Interior departments have opened investigations
into the messages, as has the FBI. The agencies need to be
aggressive enough to assure Americans that the choice of Yucca
wasn't a rush job, as opponents have alleged. Meanwhile, it
would be prudent for the government to begin searching for a
demonstrably safe, alternate dump site in case the conclusion
that Yucca Mountain would be safe must be rescinded.

© Copyright 2005, The News &Observer Publishing Company
A subsidiary of The McClatchy Company
*****************************************************************
 44 Las Vegas RJ: NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY: DOE probes Yucca e-mails 
 
Friday, April 08, 2005

Energy Department also plans to arrange outside review quality
assurance efforts By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
 
WASHINGTON -- Amid calls for an independent probe, the
Department of Energy is moving forward with its own
investigations to determine whether Yucca Mountain science was
compromised by allegations that documents may have been
falsified by frustrated scientists.
 
 DOE also plans to arrange an outside review of how it manages
quality assurance, a fundamental part of the nuclear waste
project that has been criticized consistently dating back almost
20 years to the early days of the Nevada program.
 
 DOE officials say the evaluations aim to weigh the scientific
fallout after disclosure that several scientists involved in
climate and water infiltration studies exchanged e-mails that
discussed making up documentation of data.
 
 The workers, who were assigned by the U.S. Geological Survey,
have not been publicly identified. Inspectors general at the
Energy Department and the Interior Department are investigating
possible misconduct that could result in criminal charges.
 
 E-mail messages and memos made public by a House subcommittee
indicate the most provocative messages may have been authored by
two or three people. DOE and USGS officials have said copies
were sent to others and as many as 10 people may have been
involved.
 
 Critics of the Yucca project said they put little faith in the
DOE evaluations. They renewed calls for an independent body to
examine the program.
 
 "I do not have much confidence in the DOE investigating
themselves," said Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev. "These e-mails were
written on the DOE's watch and now that they have become public,
the DOE expects Nevadans to believe them and trust them to do a
full and thorough investigation that could very well unearth
even more impropriety?"
 
 Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., said the House Government Reform
Committee has the authority to assemble a team of outsiders to
study the Yucca program. Porter, who heads one of its
subcommittees, said the committee's chairman, Rep. Tom Davis,
R-Va., supports the idea.
 
 "Now we're talking about the options," Porter said, including
possibilities of requesting a federal agency to perform the
study, or a consultant team or university academics. He offered
no timeline for such a study. 
In the meantime, an investigative work plan was posted to the
Yucca Mountain Web site on Wednesday, along with a letter from
John Arthur, head of the Office of Repository Development in Las
Vegas.
 
 Arthur said DOE "will proceed to assess the falsification
allegations, the work environment from which they arose and the
potential impacts of the allegations to the Yucca Mountain
Project."
 
 The documents were no longer on the Web site on Thursday.
Instead, a message said the posting "was premature since final
decisions on our plans for this important issue are still being
made."
 
 DOE spokesman Allen Benson said the document was withdrawn
because listed deadlines for the investigations were being
reworked.
 
 "We're still looking at the timing," Benson said, declining to
say whether the probes would take longer than announced.
 
 The work plan posted online set a May 31 deadline for a
technical investigation and a Sept. 2 deadline for a quality
assurance management study.
 
 Yucca employees said reviews are under way in Las Vegas
involving federal workers and employees of Bechtel SAIC Corp.,
the Yucca Mountain management firm.
 
 The investigation work plan that was posted online said they
are seeking to identify technical reports, software scientific
models and analyses that may be called into question, and if any
affected the Energy Department's justification for recommending
the Yucca site and pursuing a license to build a repository
there.
 
 Beyond that, DOE said it plans to seek three to five
individuals to conduct a broader management review of Yucca
quality assurance, a program that is supposed to ensure quality
controls for the repository.
 
 The study is DOE's latest stab at reforming Yucca quality
assurance, which has been criticized over the years by
congressional auditors, technical reviewers and the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
 
 In September 1988, the Government Accountability Office issued
one of its first Yucca Mountain audits. It said that quality
assurance was substandard.
 
 The study singled out U.S. Geological Survey personnel, quoting
a 1986 stop work order that said USGS technical staff "have not
achieved a full appreciation of the importance of QA on this
program. This is clearly a USGS management problem."
 
 
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
 45 Las Vegas RJ: Two in controversy still part of project 
 
Friday, April 08, 2005
 

Pair received copies of controversial e-mails By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
 

WASHINGTON -- Two geological workers tied to the controversy
over Yucca Mountain documents remain employed at the nuclear
waste site despite testimony to Congress this week that none was
still on the project, a federal spokeswoman said Thursday.
 
 A.B. Wade, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Geological Survey, said
the workers were among "seven or eight" people who received
copies of e-mails in which authors mentioned falsifying
documents to satisfy quality assurance requirements for climate
and water research.
 
 Wade said the two were not direct participants in the e-mail
exchanges and are not involved in a criminal investigation being
conducted by inspector generals at the Energy Department and the
Department of Interior.
 
 She said the USGS workers had been assigned to the energy
project for some time and were continuing to work and draw DOE
pay.
 
 Wade did not identify the workers and said she was unsure what
jobs they held.
 
 An Energy Department spokeswoman could not be reached Thursday
night.
 
 "There's been no controversy surrounding them," Wade said,
unlike a third USGS worker who has been identified as one of the
principal authors of the messages, which were written between
May 1998 and March 2000.
 
 That worker had left the repository program but was asked to
return last month for a 40-hour assignment even as DOE managers
became aware of e-mails he had written. 
The Energy Department ended the assignment Wednesday when the
arrangement became publicly known.
 
 Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., charged Thursday that Congress was
misled about the number of workers tied to the e-mails who are
still associated with the repository.
 
 Porter, who is chairman of a House Government Reform
subcommittee, sent letters to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and
USGS Director Charles Groat that demanded records of the three
workers and those involved in hiring them for the repository.
 
 Porter also demanded Groat explain why he was unaware of them.
At a subcommittee hearing Tuesday, Porter said, Groat testified
none of the workers linked to the e-mails was still on the
project.
 
 USGS officials called the following day to correct Groat's
statement and tell the subcommittee of the three workers.
 
 Wade said Groat had been told by the inspector general not to
interview workers about the e-mails while a criminal
investigation was ongoing, and Groat did not know their job
status. 
Some Yucca Mountain workers might have received copies of the
controversial e-mails, and though the workers did not write
them, some critics think they should not be exonerated if
wrongdoing is found.
 
 Attorneys for Nevada have discussed whether the workers could
be accused of involvement if they did not report the possible
document falsification to their supervisors. 

Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
 46 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Yucca scandal getting worse

April 08, 2005 

 LAS VEGAS SUN

 Details are still emerging about the e-mail scandal involving
the Energy Department's Yucca Mountain project, but information
so far reveals that up to 10 scientists were involved in either
sending or receiving the electronic messages between 1998 and
2000. The e-mails -- more than 50 have been uncovered -- contain
admissions that some of the scientific work undertaken to prove
the safety of Yucca Mountain was falsified.

 The scandal began when Nevada challenged documents that the
Energy Department filed last summer with the licensing board of
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The state claimed that the
filing was incomplete because it omitted a variety of documents,
including e-mails. The state's challenge was upheld, forcing the
Energy Department to review internal e-mails to determine which
could be released publicly. During that review, in December, the
Energy Department discovered the e-mails now at the center of
the scandal. The e-mails referenced a critical study on water
movement within the mountain by the U.S. Geological Survey, a
branch of the Interior Department.

 Even though the lives and health of thousands of people depend
on Yucca's safety, not to mention the whole economy of Nevada,
the Energy Department waited until March 16 to disclose the
existence of the e-mails. It used the three-month interim to
develop talking points and fact sheets, so that when the
information became known it could be spun and diffused.

 Now the news has come out that some of the authors of the
e-mails are still working for the government. Obviously, the
authors and recipients of the e-mails should have been fired.
Even more outrageous is the news that one of the e-mail authors,
a scientist attached to the U.S. Geological Survey, was let back
into the Yucca program last month on a temporary contract --
even though Energy Department managers knew what he had
previously written. That action was bizarre. It shows the Energy
Department reacting indifferently to the e-mails' content. In a
sane world, the e-mails would be enough to shut the whole
project down.

 After the e-mails were disclosed, this newspaper called for an
independent investigation either by the General Accountability
Office or a special prosecutor. It's critical that the public
receive unbiased information about the science being used to
justify Yucca Mountain. Nevada's congressional delegation
believes similarly, as it is calling for an independent
commission to investigate Yucca Mountain. Clearly, a lengthy and
in-depth investigation should be undertaken. And just as
clearly, it should be independent of the Energy and Interior
departments. 
 
*****************************************************************
 47 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Radioactive cleanup

April 08, 2005 

 LAS VEGAS SUN

 The Energy Department has finally decided, after years of
review, to recommend that a 12-million-ton pile containing
radioactive waste be moved away from its current location near
the Colorado River in Moab, Utah. Western states had pressed for
the waste's relocation because of concerns that the radioactive
pile would contaminate the Colorado River, which is the
principal source of drinking water for 25 million people,
including Las Vegans. It will be a costly venture to move the
tailings and bury them safely elsewhere in Utah -- estimates
range from $407 million to $472 million -- but the cleanup is
long overdue.

 The waste started accumulating at the site, just 750 feet from
the Colorado River, during the 1950s. Moab was then home to a
uranium mill, which provided the federal government with needed
uranium for its weapons programs. Along with radioactive
substances, the 94-foot-tall pile of waste contains toxic
chemicals such as ammonia, arsenic, lead and mercury. It's no
wonder that Westerners, so reliant on the Colorado River for
drinking water, want to prevent the river from becoming a toxic
brew.

 Now that the Energy Department has made a formal recommendation
that the waste be shipped 30 miles away for burial, the
department will receive public comment before releasing a final
decision, possibly within several months. Assuming that there
are no changes to the Energy Department's plan, Congress should
act quickly to secure the funding for the project to move the
dangerous waste. This is a top priority that involves protecting
public safety and the environment. 
 
*****************************************************************
 48 Las Vegas SUN: Porter: DOE should explain why workers allowed to return
 
By Suzanne Struglinski <suzanne@lasvegassun.com> SUN WASHINGTON 
BUREAU

 WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev. wants detailed records
from the Energy and Interior Departments that should indicate
who allowed employees under investigation for falsifying Yucca
Mountain project documents to continue to work on the project.

 Two of the 10 employees involved with e-mails sent between May
18, 1998, and March 20, 2000, are still working on the project
while a third, who is believed to have authored some the of
e-mails talking about altering scientific data, was allowed back
on the project briefly.

 The Energy Department announced last month that it discovered
e-mails written by U.S. Geological Survey employees that may
have lead to falsified data at the proposed nuclear waste
repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

 The House Federal Workforce and Agency Organization
Subcommittee, of which Porter is chairman, released redacted
copies of the e-mails and other documents a week ago which show
employees discussing how to "fudge" information, make things up
and get around a Quality Assurance program in place to back up
and document scientific work.

 In a letter sent to both departments Thursday, Porter told them
he wants all records related to the employees' "hiring,
reassignment or transfer." He also requested an organizational
chart of the project during the time the e-mails were sent
showing the employees and their superiors.

 "The (Energy) Department should also explain why it chose to
bring a certain employee back on the project after discovering
(the) alleged misconduct and why Deputy Director Garrish was
unaware that the aforementioned employees were working on the
project when he testified at the April 5th Subcommittee
hearing," Porter wrote.

 Ted Garrish, the Yucca Mountain project top official deferred a
question on the employees' current status to U.S. Geological
Survey Director Charles Groat at a House hearing Tuesday. Groat
said none of the employees in question were still working on the
Yucca Mountain project but some were still working for the
government.

 In the letter to Groat sent Thursday, Porter wrote: "Please
also explain why, as the Director of the U.S.G.S., you were
unaware that said employees were working on the project when you
testified at the April 5th Subcommittee hearing and why any
official at U.S.G.S. chose to bring a certain employee back on
the project after discovering (the) alleged misconduct."

 Porter plans to conduct another hearing on April 13 on the
alleged falsification and is working with the Interior
Department to get the employees in question to testify. The
employees have yet to be identified due to several ongoing
investigations.

 Meanwhile, the department's detailed plans to investigate the
effect of the work referenced in the e-mails appears to be in
flux. W. John Arthur, deputy director of the department's Office
of Repository Development wrote a "work plan" dated April 5 on
its Web site outlining its plans to review the scientific work
affected by the alleged falsifications and evaluate the Quality
Assurance program.

 The plan described a panel of three to five members "who will
have independence and autonomy from DOE" but who were familiar
with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's licensing process, had
a credible and impartial voice and "experience in dealing with
the public regarding sensitive/controversial issues."

 But a message now appears on the Yucca Mountain Project Web
site, www.ymp.gov, that says the plan was not finished.

 "This posting was premature since final decisions on our plans
for this important issue are still being made. We regret any
confusion this posting may have caused," according to the Web
site.

 Energy Department spokeswoman Anne Womack Kolton said the plan
was an internal document.

 Nevada officials and Yucca critics do not want the Energy
Department to be in charge of the review its own work, even with
an outside panel created by the department.

 During Tuesday's hearing, Garrish asked Porter how an
independent investigation would be different from the
department's plans to get independent experts to review the
quality assurance program and the NRC's ultimate review of the
license application.

 "The problem is it was under your watch this happened before,
that's the problem with bringing in another individual under
your watch," Porter said.

 Nevada's delegation is working to inform other elected
officials and high-ranking federal employees about the project's
latest setback.

 Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., sent a letter to all the members
of the House on Thursday explaining the latest setback for the
project, including lines from some of the e-mails and again
calling for work on the project to stop.

 "There can be no doubt after reading these emails, and the
hundreds more that have been compiled, that the integrity of the
project and years of scientific research into the repository
have both been fatally compromised," Berkley wrote. "The Yucca
Mountain Project continues to be plagued with problems and has
repeatedly failed to meet the necessary standard of 'sound
science' the Bush Administration promised not only Nevadans, but
all Americans."

 Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., sent a letter to President Bush and
Energy Secretary Bodman on March 24 calling for a stop to the
project based on the problems raised in the e-mails and "the
already existing scientific questions that have failed to be
answered."

 Bob Loux, executive director for Nevada's Agency for Nuclear
Projects, said Gov. Kenny Guinn is seeking a meeting with the
president to talk about the project and its latest problem.

 
 
*****************************************************************
 49 RGJ: Yucca plan’s days numbered
 
+ [Reno Gazette-Journal]  [Reno Gazette-Journal]

Reno, Nevada, USA  775-788-6200

4/7/2005 10:36 pm 

Topic: Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Our view: 
Evidence is mounting that the project won’t pass scrutiny. 


How much longer is the U.S. Department of Energy going to keep
trying to defend the indefensible? The Yucca Mountain project is
in shambles, as Gov. Kenny Guinn told a House committee this
week, and the time has come to find an alternative for storing
the nation’s growing supply of nuclear power plant waste.

The evidence that the plan cannot meet the stringent standards
that were supposed to be applied to this critical project grows
weekly, despite the apparent efforts by the federal government
and contractors to keep it quiet.

At the hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, members of
Congress heard allegations that scientific data were fudged or
even falsified several years ago in order to satisfy the
project’s quality assurance requirements. The evidence was
buried in a batch of e-mails written by workers recently made
public.

A day earlier, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported accusations
from workers at Yucca Mountain that they had been ordered to
install pipe to bypass a state water meter on line from a well
near the project so Nevada officials wouldn’t know exactly how
much water was being pumped. The state previously had rejected
the project’s request for permanent rights to 140 million
gallons of water a year but had agreed to temporary use of the
water to fill some potable water tanks.

Still, DOE insists that all is going well for the plan to store
waste that has been piling up at nuclear power plants deep below
Yucca Mountain in Southern Nevada and that an application for a
license will be filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Agency before
the end of the year.

However, as the allegations of mismanagement pile up, that seems
increasingly unlikely. Those who have worked on the project
themselves have provided more than enough ammunition for
opponents of the project to prevail in any honest proceedings.
Guinn put it most succinctly at Tuesday’s hearing when he said,
“The evidence is becoming overwhelming that the Yucca Mountain
project is broken beyond repair.”

It’s time for President George W. Bush, who promised that the
science would determine the fate of Yucca Mountain, to admit
what has become obvious to Nevadans of both parties: A new
solution to the nuclear waste problem must be found because
Yucca Mountain won’t do. Sen. Harry Reid’s proposal to have the
federal government take possession of the waste where it now
rests is a good start, far better than continuing with the
present project until the license is rejected, as it inevitably
will be. 

© Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a Newspaper.
*****************************************************************
 50 ICT: Yucca Mountain data fabricated

[2005/04/08]  
 
  Posted: April 08, 2005   								 								 	 									
									 										 										 											
  by: Brenda Norrell / Indian Country Today   												
									 								 								 								 								 								 								
Photo courtesy Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste
Management -- An unidentified worker conducts a moisture
migration experiment in Alcove 1 of Yucca Mountain's Exploratory
Studies facility in March 1998.       											 												
										
                                                                         
YUCCA MOUNTAIN, Nev. - The Department of Energy has admitted that 
data regarding the climatological safety of water infiltration 
systems at Yucca Mountain Nuclear Storage Facility were 
fabricated, as revealed in e-mails written by U.S. Geological 
Survey staffers.

        In those e-mails, USGS government scientists said they 
were clueless about project specifics and willing to backdate 
data and make things up. One expressed the desire to ''get the 
hell'' out of Yucca Mountain; another described the nuclear 
storage facility as being held together by quick fixes.

        ''This is what we felt was going on, they have not been 
truthful. It shows they want this so bad that they are willing to 
do anything to move forward with something that hasn't even 
really been studied,'' Timbisha Shoshone Chairman Joe Kennedy 
told Indian Country Today.

        As Congress began its probe in April, Energy Department 
Secretary Samuel Bodman said data pertaining to quality assurance 
at the high-level nuclear waste dump appears to have been 
falsified by staff of the USGS.

        ''During the document review process associated with the 
Licensing Support Network preparation for the Yucca Mountain 
project, DOE contractors discovered multiple e-mails written 
between May 1998 and March 2000, in which a USGS employee 
indicated that he had fabricated documentation of his work,'' 
Bodman said in a written statement.

        USGS employees said what Western Shoshone had long 
suspected: that scientists were willing to make things up to make 
the project work.

        One employee, identified as USGS employee 1, wrote, ''I 
don't have a clue when these 

programs were installed. So I've made up the dates and names ... 
This is as good as it's going to get. If they need more proof, I 
will be happy to make up more stuff, as long as it's not a video 
recording of the software being installed.''

        The revelations of government scientists' fabricated data 
were found in e-mails written to colleagues. The House Government 
Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Work Force and Agency 
Organization released redacted versions of some of the e-mails.

        An unidentified worker said Yucca Mountain is being held 
together by quick fixes: ''Some nights I have a hard time going 
to sleep because I realize the importance of trying to get the 
right answer, and I know how many serious unknowns are still out 
there, and how many quick fixes are still holding things 
together.''

        The revelation of fabricated data came in March, just 
after Western Shoshone leaders told ICT that if completed, the 
Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump would poison the waterways of 
their ancestral land - land described in Article 5 of the 1863 
Treaty of Ruby Valley.

        Kennedy and Western Shoshone National Council Chairman 
Raymond Yowell said Shoshone long ago predicted that if the 
mountain, known to Shoshone as ''Snake Mountain,'' were 
mistreated, it would move and cause a great deal of harm.

        Pointing out that nuclear science has not been developed 
to perfection and has already resulted in widespread pollution, 
Kennedy said if nuclear waste were stored on Yucca Mountain, 
Nevada's waterways would be poisoned.

        Western Shoshone have filed a federal lawsuit to halt the 
nuclear waste dump on their ancestral land, based on the 1863 
Ruby Valley treaty. The United States' exposure of fabricated 
data in regards to water follows separate claims by 
whistleblowers that they were told to circumvent gauges that 
would measure the amount of Nevada's water used at the Yucca 
Mountain facility.

        In the e-mails describing fabricated water data, USGS 
employee 2 said, ''Science by peer pressure is dangerous but 
sometime [sic] it is necessary.''

        One unidentified worker asked if he should create data 
and backdate it. ''Here's my question: When we go to start 
[quality assurance]'ing the site-scale modeling work, will I get 
taken to the cleaners because I am not referencing either a tech 
procedure or a scientific notebook? In other words, would it be 
cost-effective to create a [scientific notebook] for the 
site-scale work and back-date the whole thing??''

        USGS employee 2 wrote, ''This is now CYA and we had 
better be good at it. I seem to have let this one slip a little 
too much in an attempt to cover all our work (and get us the hell 
out of the long-term problem of Yucca Mountain) but now it's 
clear that we have a little to no choice. In all honesty I've 
never felt well-managed or helped by the USGS [Yucca Mountain 
Project] folks. In fact, as you know, I've often felt abandoned. 
This time it's no different, or worse, and we have to work 
together to get out of this one.''

        USGS employee 1, who also makes reference to Sandia Labs 
in New Mexico, wrote that the Yucca Mountain project ''has now 
reached a point where they need to have certain items work no 
matter what, and the infiltration maps are on that list. If USGS 
can't find a way to make it work, Sandia will [but for now they 
are definitely counting on us to do the job].''

        Bodman said the documentation referred to in the e-mails 
is required as part of the Department of Energy and Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission's quality assurance programs and verifies 
the accuracy and credibility of the work completed. The 
documentation relates to computer modeling involving water 
infiltration and climate.

        ''The Department of Energy has initiated a scientific 
investigation of the data and documentation that was part of this 
modeling activity. If in the course of that review any work is 
found to be deficient, it will be replaced or supplemented with 
analysis and documentation that meets appropriate quality 
assurance standards to ensure that the scientific basis of the 
project is sound.

        ''We are conducting a thorough review of all work 
completed by the identified individuals to ensure that other work 
was not affected,'' Bodman said.

        Bodman said the Energy Department's Office of Inspector 
General was asked to investigate. The Energy Department said it 
informed the USGS and the state of Nevada about the e-mails.

        ''The safe handling and disposal of nuclear waste and the 
sound scientific basis for the repository safety analysis are 
priorities for this Administration and the Department of Energy. 
All related decisions have been, and will continue to be, based 
on sound science.

        ''The fact remains that this country needs a permanent 
geological nuclear waste repository, and the Administration will 
continue to aggressively pursue that goal,'' Bodman said.

        Kennedy said it is good the fabricated data was revealed. 
''It is good in a way, but it sure makes the DOE look bad.''
									   													 								 		 								 						 	 		
Use and Privacy Statement. © 1998 - 2005 Indian Country 
Today. All Rights Reserved 
*****************************************************************
 51 News & Star: Nuclear future fuels early election agenda 
       
2005- 08/04/

Election battleground: Sellafieldā€™s future is firmly on the 
political agenda ' width=] Election battleground: Sellafieldā€™s 
future is firmly on the political agenda                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
						
By Chris Story
 
THE future of nuclear power in West Cumbria is already under the
General Election spotlight.
 
Prospective parliamentary candidates for the Copeland seat have
began to set out their stall for the industryā€™s prospects. 

Labourā€™s Jamie Reed has already met workforce representatives,
while Conservative hopeful Chris Whiteside has welcomed promises
made by Shadow Environment Secretary Tim Yeo.
 
Mr Reed, who works as a press officer with the British Nuclear
Group, discussed the handover of Sellafield to the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority.
 
He said afterwards: ā€There can be no doubt that the NDA is a
necessary body and has a large body of work to undertake.
 
ā€But this can only be done with a highly-skilled workforce
with the necessary skills, experience and abilities ā€“ and the
Sellafield workforce must be among the best in the world.ā€¯
 
Mr Whiteside, meanwhile, welcomed Mr Yeoā€™s promise that a
Conservative government would make a decision on the future of
nuclear power within a year.
 
He said: ā€The nuclear industry has to demonstrate that it can
be cost-competitive and that concerns over nuclear waste can be
dealt with.
 
ā€We get a fifth of our energy from nuclear power and this does
not produce carbon emissions. 

ā€The idea we can meet our carbon emission targets if we close
down the nuclear industry is pure fantasy,ā€¯ said Mr Whiteside.
 
                                                        
*****************************************************************
 52 Pahrump Valley Times: DOE: E-mail scandal not a problem 

April 8, 2005

DEPARTMENT AWARE OF MESSAGES MONTHS BEFORE DISCLOSURE 

By ERICA WERNER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 


WASHINGTON - Internal Energy Department memos contend that
e-mails by Yucca Mountain workers talking about making up data
"are not likely to discredit or bring into question" key
scientific conclusions about the proposed nuclear waste dump
site. 

But the memos, released Monday by a congressional committee,
also indicate department officials learned about the problem in
early December - more than three months before making it public. 

And while saying that "the potential for significant technical
impacts is believed to be low," the memos acknowledge "the
credibility and defensibility of the (U.S. Geological Survey)
technical work supporting the project is brought into question." 

At issue are dozens of e-mails written between 1998 and 2000,
mainly by two USGS field workers studying how water moves
through the proposed waste dumpsite in Nye County. The water
runs toward Amargosa Valley in the south, home to the largest
dairy in Nevada. The USGS validated Energy Department
conclusions that water seepage was relatively slow, so radiation
would be less likely to escape. 

The e-mails, portions of which were released last week, show the
workers discussing concocting facts and keeping two sets of
figures, one for themselves and one to show quality assurance
officers. 

"If they need more proof, I will be happy to make up more
stuff," one message read. 

The House Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Work
Force and Agency Organization, chaired by Rep. Jon Porter,
R-Nev., is holding a hearing on the issue Tuesday. Late Monday
the subcommittee released some Department of Energy memos
written when the e-mails surfaced about what they meant and
"talking points" about how to respond. 

Names, some proper nouns and other content were blacked out by
subcommittee staffers to avoid compromising ongoing
investigations by the FBI and the inspectors general at the
departments of Interior and Energy. 

But what can be read shows officials deeply concerned about the
effect of the e-mails on the project - but also insistent about
sticking to the message that no real harm to the underlying
science was done. 

"Depending on the current status of the work to which he
contributed, these e-mails may create a substantial
vulnerability for the program," says one memo, apparently
referring to the principle author of the e-mails. The page that
includes that assessment is almost entirely blacked out.

 One memo has a section entitled "key points for your discussion
with the secretary." Among those points: "We do not believe that
the questionable data has any meaningful effect on the results
supporting the site recommendation." 

An Energy Department spokeswoman declined comment because of the
continuing investigations. 

The memos show that the individuals named in the e-mails created
150 or more reports and data sets. They were producing data used
to estimate how much precipitation that falls on Yucca reaches
the depths of the proposed repository. But the memos say that
because large uncertainty factors are assumed in an overall
program assessment, the potentially manipulated records didn't
likely change outcomes. 

Yucca Mountain, approved by Congress in 2002, is planned as the
nation's underground repository for 77,000 tons of defense waste
and used reactor fuel from commercial power plants. The material
is supposed to be buried for at least 10,000 years beneath the
Nevada desert. 

The e-mails were only the latest setback for the program, which
has also suffered money shortfalls and an appeals court decision
last summer that is forcing a rewrite of radiation exposure
limits for the site. Department of Energy officials recently
abandoned a planned completion date of 2010 and they have yet to
set a new date. 

On the Net: 

Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management: www.ymp.gov

 State of Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects:
www.state.nv.us/nucwaste

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission: www.nrc.gov 

For comment or questions, please e-mail 
Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2005 
*****************************************************************
 53 Pahrump Valley Times: Assembly approves $2 million to fight Yucca repository 

April 8, 2005

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

CARSON CITY - The Assembly Ways and Means Committee approved $2
million in state funding Tuesday to continue the fight against a
proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nye County.

 The committee approved the funding for the Nevada Protection
Account and the High-level Nuclear Waste Fund, which support
scientific research and transportation studies used to mount
opposition against the federal plan to store waste at the site
50 miles northwest of Pahrump and 20 miles east and north from
Beatty and Amargosa Valley, respectively.

 The Senate Finance Committee approved $1 million, but noted
that the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee may make up the
difference if federal funding proposed in President Bush's 2005
budget doesn't come through. 

Although the administration supports using the site to store
waste, the president's budget allocates $3 million to help the
state fight the project. But Ways and Means members said they
don't want to rely on that money. 

"I don't know how we could possibly trust the federal government
to give us $3 million when they're trying to shove that stuff
down our throats," said Assemblywoman Kathy McClain, D-Las
Vegas. 

A committee staffer said the state has not yet seen $2 million
promised in last year's federal budget. 

For comment or questions, please e-mail
webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com
Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2005 
*****************************************************************
 54 Tri-City Herald: Bechtel lays off 185 more workers 

This story was published Friday, April 8th, 2005 

By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer 

Bechtel National has laid off 185 additional construction
workers at the Hanford vitrification plant and is warning that
more layoffs are being planned. 

The layoffs come as the Department of Energy contractor is
preparing a report to estimate whether the vitrification plant
will be completed and tested on time and within its $5.8 billion
budget. 

"We now have preliminary numbers that show technical and
engineering issues will have a substantial impact on our budget
and schedule," wrote Jim Henschel, project manager for Bechtel
National, in a message Thursday to employees. 

Construction is being slowed at the plant to turn radioactive
waste into a stable glass form for disposal after DOE said the
design standard for key parts of the plant was inadequate to
withstand a worst-case earthquake. 

Bechtel National is now reviewing and validating thousands of
engineering calculations to increase the design basis by 38
percent. Changes will include steps to make the design sturdier,
such as adding more pipe supports. 

The contractor has laid off a total of 276 construction workers
over the last 10 days and is not filling most open job
positions. In addition, it has ended some subcontracts and has
delayed or canceled some orders for material and equipment. 

The latest layoffs include 150 construction workers notified on
the Wednesday night shift that they will no longer be needed. In
addition, 35 day-shift workers were told Thursday that they had
lost their jobs so some valued night-shift workers the could be
reassigned to day work. 

"We can expect more," said John Britton, spokesman for Bechtel
National. Some may be announced next week and others may come
later in the year. 

Henschel told workers that a staffing plan was being finalized. 

All production work has been halted on the night shift, with the
exception of concrete placement. About 110 workers will remain
on the night shift doing that work, maintenance and other
preparation work for the next day's crews. 

The plant is being built as it is being designed to meet a legal
deadline of 2011 for the start of vitrification. 

Bechtel National now plans to move engineering further ahead of
construction on the two massive buildings that will handle
high-level radioactive waste left from the production of
plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program. 

The largest of the two buildings, the Pretreatment Facility, has
a footprint the size of four football fields and will be 119
feet tall. 

Construction on the multi-building vitrification plant, which is
spread over 65 acres in the center of Hanford, is about 35
percent complete, and design is 70 percent complete. 

The layoffs will free up money to advance the design and retain
800 engineers Bechtel National planned to lay off through 2005.
The civil, structural and mechanical engineers are needed now to
review and validate the thousands of engineering calculations
made on the High Level Waste Vitrification Facility and the
Pretreatment Facility. 

The layoffs also will help Bechtel National bring spending
levels down to meet a proposed budget that will dip about 10
percent when the new fiscal year begins in October. DOE is
proposing that the vitrification plant budget drop from $690
million this year to $626 million in fiscal year 2006. 

Until the layoffs, the project employed about 1,500 union craft
workers and 2,000 engineers, managers and other professionals. 

Changes on the project were made starting in late 2004 as a new
study concluded that the damage a massive earthquake might do
had been underestimated. Most overtime work was halted, and some
construction workers were moved to buildings unaffected by the
seismic issue, such as the Low-Activity Waste Facility and the
analytical laboratory. 

Bechtel National's updated estimates on cost and schedule are
due to DOE at the end of the month. The Army Corps of Engineers
is doing an independent validation of the numbers. 

© 2005 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
 55 DOE: Notice of Availability of Draft Section 3116 Determination for 
 
                         FR Doc 05-7027 
[Federal Register: April 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 67)] 
[Notices] [Page 17986] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08ap05-37]                         
 
Salt Waste Disposal at the Savannah River Site; Correction 
AGENCY: Office of Environmental Management, Department of Energy.
 
ACTION: Notice of availability; correction.
 
SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) published in the Federal 
Register on Friday, April 1, 2005, a notice of availability of a 
draft section 3116 determination for the disposal of separated, 
solidified, low-activity salt waste at the Savannah River Site 
(SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina. The notice contained an 
incorrect internet address. As a result, the period for 
submitting public comments will be extended.
 
Correction In the Federal Register of April 1, 2005, Vol. 70, on 
page 16809, in the third column, correct the DATES heading to 
read:
 
DATES: The comment period will end on May 20, 2005. Comments 
received after this date will be considered to the extent 
practicable.
 
In the ADDRESSES heading, 3rd line, the Internet address is 
corrected to read: http://apps.em.doe.gov/swd. Issued in 
Washington, DC on April 4, 2005.
 
Charles Anderson, Environmental Management.
 
[FR Doc. 05-7027 Filed 4-7-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

 
    
*****************************************************************

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: 
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml> 
    
*****************************************************************