***************************************************************** 05/01/05 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 13.99 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 WorldNetDaily: The Bush-Blair war – legal, or not? 2 Guardian Unlimited: Iran May Resume Nuke-Related Activites 3 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Likely to Resume Nuclear Activities 4 UK The Times: Uranium work to restart ‘in days’ 5 BBC: Iran 'may resume' uranium project 6 WorldNetDaily: Iran nuke program resumes next week 7 Xinhua: Iran to continue nuclear talks even if resumes uranium enric 8 Xinhua: Iran likely to resume uranium enrichment 9 Iran Press Service: IRAN TO CONTINUE LOOKING FOR TIME IN NUCLEAR TAL 10 Mehr News: Maintaining suspension impossible for Iran - Musavian 11 Mehr News: Iran completely prepared to relaunch Isfahan UCF 12 Times of Oman: N-programme is none of your business, Iran tells US 13 SF Chronicle: Diplomacy on North Korean nukes urged / Seoul's ex-lea 14 Xinhua: DPRK expects no nuke solution in Bush term 15 Korea Times: Seoul Denies Report on NK A-Bomb Test 16 US: NAS: Many Deaths Still Expected With Earth-Penetrating Nuclear W 17 US: SignOnSanDiego.com: Energy bill could face some hurdles 18 US: Deseret News: 'Bunker buster' report draws fire 19 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Redford, Rocky to host conference on warming 20 US: BostonHerald.com - Opinion: Bush energy bill work in progress 21 [progchat_action] Comments from Vanunu 22 Guardian Unlimited: Deadlock looms over spread of nuclear arms 23 Ynetnews: Opinion - Israel’s nuclear options 24 Guardian Unlimited Summary: Nuke Priorities to Clash at U.N. 25 BBC: Japan restarts loans to Pakistan 26 Sunday Herald: Liar? Its much worse than that - 27 Japan Times: Japan scolds Pakistan on nukes, then resumes loans NUCLEAR REACTORS 28 US: Berkshire Eagle: The atomic opportunity 29 US: APP.COM: Nuclear reactor in safe hands 30 Guardian Unlimited: Too-Hot Ukraine Nuclear Plant Shuts Down 31 US: York Daily Record: TMI seeks license renewal - 32 US: Guardian Unlimited: Special Fuel Arrives at Nuclear Power Plant 33 US: PR_Newswire: PPL Susquehanna Restarts Unit 2 Reactor NUCLEAR SECURITY 34 [progchat_action] Master of Space 35 [progchat_action] RUSSIAN REACTION TO US SPACE WEAPONS PLANS 36 Blair planned Iraq war from start 37 [NYTr] The USA's Latest WMD Bogeyman: N.Korea 38 Guardian Unlimited: North Korean missile fired towards Japan 39 Guardian Unlimited Report: N. Korea May Have Fired Missile 40 Guardian Unlimited: N. Korea Missile Test Raises New Fears 41 The Observer: Iran ready to ignore US nuclear countdown 42 UK The Times: Revealed: Iran’s nuclear factory 43 United Press International: U.S. outlines preemptive nuke plan 44 Daily Yomiuri: North Korean missile fired into Japan Sea 45 Las Vegas SUN: World Powers Dominate U.N. Nuke Conference 46 BBC: Relics of the nuclear arms race - 47 BBC: North Korea 'tests new missile' 48 BBC: Iran issues nuclear warning to US 49 NewsFromRussia.Com: North Korea has the ability to arm a nuclear mis 50 Japan Times: U.S. may allow nuke strikes over WMD 51 ZAMAN DAILY NEWSPAPER: Iraq Turns out to be Terrorists' Playground 52 Guardian Unlimited Feds: N. Korea Could Build Nuke Missile 53 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Warns of Possible N. Korea Nuke Test NUCLEAR SAFETY 54 SABCnews.com: Earthlife repeats calls for radiation probe 55 US: Las Vegas RJ: Radiation compensation may decline 56 US: Las Vegas SUN: Mercury-Laden Clouds Threaten Utah 57 US: Great Falls Tribune: Burns, Baucus back nuclear fallout victims 58 US: Idaho Statesman: Otter, governor to back downwinder initiative 59 US: Idaho Statesman: Downwinder issues hit close to home for Sen. Cr 60 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Report: Fallout hit everybody 61 US: Salt Lake Tribune: A poison wind: Toxic mercury blows into Utah 62 US: Kansas City infoZine: Report Calls for Scientific Approach to Ra 63 US: Daily Local News: Nuclear gauge found on Route 1 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 64 US: [Radbull] Texas taking nations nuclear waste!!! 65 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Sharing in the risk 66 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Yankee waste 67 US: Arizona Republic: Navajo president signs uranium mining ban 68 The Herald: MOX fuel reaches Lake Wylie 69 Las Vegas SUN: Yucca e-mails: Smoking gun or blowing smoke? 70 US: CCDR: Cotter Corp. disputes violations 71 US: 10News.com: Is Rocket Fuel Tainting Our Water? 72 u.tv: Govt urged to close Sellafield 73 US: Rapid City Journal: Lethal Legacy? Abandoned uranium mines bring 74 US: Rapid City Journal: Timeline shows events of mine site cleanup, 75 US: Mount Vernon News: Town embraces radioactive waste storage, disp PEACE 76 [southnews] Japanese workers call for global nuke ban 77 Japan Times: Treaty against nuclear terror US DEPT. OF ENERGY 78 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Federal agency fined over nuclear sludge 79 ABQjournal: Retirements Up Sharply at Los Alamos 80 ABQjournal: Los Alamos residents still adjusting to new life after d 81 Lodinews.com: Lawrence Livermore Laboratory to nearly double plutoni 82 Tri-Valley Herald: Eyes of Texas back on Los Alamos lab ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 WorldNetDaily: The Bush-Blair war – legal, or not? SATURDAY APRIL 30 2005 © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Evidently, Prime Minister Tony Blair failed to "properly inform" the House of Commons about the "legality" of the Bush-Blair use of force against Iraq. Indeed, Blair may have deliberately misinformed them. Commons passed on March 19, 2003, the British Government's Motion on Iraq, which Notes that in the 130 days since Resolution 1441 was adopted Iraq has not co-operated actively, unconditionally and immediately with the weapons inspectors, and has rejected the final opportunity to comply and is in further material breach of its obligations under successive mandatory U.N. Security Council Resolutions; Notes the opinion of the attorney general that, Iraq having failed to comply and Iraq being – at the time of Resolution 1441 and continuing to be – in material breach, the authority to use force under Resolution 678 has revived and so continues today. Blair based his request to Parliament for authorization to invade Iraq on what Blair characterized as the "opinion of the attorney general." However, the several opinions of Lord Goldsmith have now been made public, and it is obvious that Blair mischaracterized those opinions to the House of Commons and to his own Cabinet. When Iraq invaded and "annexed" part of Kuwait in August 1990, the Security Council demanded – in Resolution 660 – that Iraq immediately withdraw all its armed forces and henceforth respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kuwait. In November, when Saddam hadn't yet withdrawn from Kuwait, Resolution 678 authorized member states to "use all necessary means" to enforce Resolution 660 and supplementary resolutions. Resolution 686 is the Gulf War "cease-fire" resolution. It requires Saddam Hussein to accept and abide by all previous Security Council resolutions – including Resolution 678 – "which remain in force." Resolution 678 is the only resolution that has authorized the use of "all necessary means" by member states against Iraq. It is important to know under what conditions and in what circumstances that authorization to use force applies. Clearly, if Saddam had done something deemed to be a "material breach" of Resolution 686 – such as invading Kuwait again – then member states would be authorized by Resolution 678 to use "all necessary means" to eject him. But what if Saddam were ever found to be in "material breach" of some Security Council resolution other than Resolution 686? Immediately following the cease-fire, U.N. observers entered Iraq and discovered that Saddam Hussein was in substantial noncompliance with several U.N. arms limitation conventions, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Their discoveries led to Resolution 687. Resolution 687 imposed economic sanctions that were not to be lifted until Iraq was once again in substantial compliance with all U.N. arms conventions, including the NPT. All chem-bio weapons and the facilities capable of making nukes and chem-bio weapons were to be destroyed – under the supervision of the U.N. Special Commission – and never rebuilt. By mid-1998, on the basis of reports submitted to them by the Commission, most members of the Security Council were of the opinion that Iraq was in substantial compliance with Resolution 687 and wanted to lift the economic sanctions. President Clinton "vetoed" that, however, making it clear he would never allow the sanctions to be lifted so long as Saddam Hussein was in power. Compliance with Resolution 687 should have meant the lifting of sanctions. Non-compliance with Resolution 687 merely meant the continuation of sanctions. There is no suggestion whatsoever that non-compliance with Resolution 687 would have automatically meant "the authority to use force under Resolution 678 has revived." More importantly, the recently released "opinion" of Lord Goldsmith reveal he realized that for the majority of the Security Council members, non-compliance with Resolution 1441 would also not have resulted in an automatic authorization to use "all necessary means." A second resolution, specifically authorizing that use, would have been necessary. Goldsmith's opinion closes with this warning: Finally, I must stress that the lawfulness of military action depends not only on the existence of a legal basis, but also on the question of proportionality. Any force used pursuant to the authorization in resolution 678 (whether or not there is a second resolution): "must have as its objective the enforcement the terms of the cease-fire contained in resolution 687 (1990) and subsequent relevant resolutions; "be limited to what is necessary to achieve that objective; and "must be a proportionate response to that objective, i.e., securing compliance with Iraq's disarmament obligations." So, what do you think? Did the Bush-Blair use of force in Iraq satisfy those requirements? Physicist James Gordon Prather has served as a policy implementing official for national security-related technical matters in the Federal Energy Agency, the Energy Research and Development Administration, the Department of Energy, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of the Army. Dr. Prather also served as legislative assistant for national security affairs to U.S. Sen. Henry Bellmon, R-Okla. -- ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee and member of the Senate Energy Committee and Appropriations Committee. Dr. Prather had earlier worked as a nuclear weapons physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico. © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. webmaster@worldnetdaily.com --> news@worldnetdaily.com--> Contact WND ***************************************************************** 2 Guardian Unlimited: Iran May Resume Nuke-Related Activites [UP] Saturday April 30, 2005 12:16 PM By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writer TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran will likely resume some nuclear activities related to uranium enrichment next week, Iran's top nuclear negotiator was quoted by the state-run news agency as saying Saturday. Hasan Rowhani said it was unlikely the Islamic Republic will resume actual uranium enrichment - injecting uranium gas into centrifuges - but that it expects to restart activities at its uranium conversion facility in Isfahan, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. ``It's unlikely that uranium enrichment ... which takes place in Natanz will be resumed but it's likely that some activities at Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility will restart next week,'' IRNA quoted Rowhani as saying. Rowhani's comments came the day after the latest negotiations aimed at persuading Iran to scrap its nuclear program ended in London without a breakthrough. France, Britain and Germany, acting on behalf of the 25-nation European Union, are seeking guarantees that Iran is not attempting to build an atomic bomb, as Washington suspects. The European countries want Tehran to abandon its enrichment activities permanently in exchange for economic aid, technical support and backing for Iran's efforts to join mainstream international organizations. The United States last month agreed to support the EU diplomatic effort, but signaled Iran should quickly accept or face the threat of harsh U.N. Security Council sanctions. The Iranians have warned that without success in negotiations soon, the talks would collapse. And Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi had warned Thursday, ``we will have no choice but to restart the uranium enrichment program'' if talks fail. Iran agreed in November to temporarily freeze the program so long as negotiations continued. Rowhani called the London talks that ended Friday ``perhaps the last opportunity'' for an agreement and acknowledged Iran and the Europeans had failed to achieve a compromise. ``The Europeans still insist on having more time to review the details of the plan (presented by Iran),'' IRNA quoted him as saying. But a senior British Foreign Office official had said Friday that both sides had agreed to reflect on what they had discussed in the latest round and that talks would continue. In Iran, both state-run television and the news agency reported that Rowhani was saying the activities will resume next week, though his remark as quoted by the agency appeared to leave some room for doubt. The central cities of Natanz and Isfahan house the heart of Iran's nuclear program. The conversion facility in Isfahan reprocesses uranium ore concentrate into gas. The gas is then taken to Natanz and fed into the centrifuges for enrichment. Uranium enriched to low levels is used as fuel for nuclear reactors to generate electricity, but further enrichment makes it suitable for atomic bomb. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 3 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Likely to Resume Nuclear Activities From the Associated Press [UP] Saturday April 30, 2005 11:01 PM AP Photo VAH104 By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writer TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran said Saturday it is likely to resume uranium enrichment-related activities within a week, a process it halted last year to build confidence in talks with European countries and avoid referral to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. Tehran's announcement came a day after talks in London with European negotiators yielded no results. France, Britain and Germany, acting on behalf of the 25-nation European Union, are seeking guarantees from Iran that it will not use its nuclear program to make weapons, as Washington suspects. Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Hasan Rowhani was quoted as saying Tehran expects to restart enrichment activities - injecting uranium gas into centrifuges - at its uranium conversion facility in Isfahan. ``It's unlikely that uranium enrichment ... which takes place in Natanz, will be resumed, but it's likely that some activities at Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility will restart next week,'' IRNA quoted Rowhani as saying Saturday. The central cities of Natanz and Isfahan house the heart of Iran's nuclear program. The Isfahan conversion facility reprocesses uranium ore concentrate into gas, which is then taken to Natanz and fed into the centrifuges for enrichment. In Vienna, Austria, a senior diplomat close to the International Atomic Energy Agency said the U.N. nuclear watchdog body had not been informed as of Saturday afternoon of Tehran's intention. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity. The Europeans want Iran to permanently abandon enrichment, a process that can produce nuclear reactor fuel and, when taken to a higher level, material for bombs. In return, it is offering Iran economic aid, technical support and backing for Tehran's efforts to join mainstream international organizations. Washington last month agreed to support the EU effort but signaled that Iran - which Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month labeled an ``outpost of tyranny'' - should quickly accept it or face harsh Security Council sanctions. Iran insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and for generating electricity. Iran says its November decision to suspend uranium enrichment-related activities was voluntary, temporary and not permanent, claiming it has a right to perform such activities under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The Islamic republic also has warned that the talks with the Europeans would collapse if they do not yield results soon. Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi warned Thursday that ``we will have no choice but to restart the uranium enrichment program.'' Rowhani called the London talks ``perhaps the last opportunity'' for an agreement and acknowledged Iran and the Europeans had failed to achieve a compromise. ``The Europeans still insist on having more time to review the details of the plan (presented by Iran),'' IRNA quoted him as saying. Rowhani said Iran also may reveal details of its plan that provides legal, political and technical guarantees that its nuclear fuel activities will remain peaceful. Restarting some nuclear activities does not mean Iran will end negotiations with the Europeans, he added. ``Iran will continue talks and will keep its contacts with Europe,'' he said. U.S. efforts to refer Iran to the Security Council were ``meaningless,'' he added without elaborating. Hossein Shariatmadari, a senior hard-liner and a close associate of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urged his government to immediately pull out of the talks and resume all nuclear activities. ``From now on, giving an opportunity to the Europeans is waste of time and it will seriously damage the prestige of Islamic Iran,'' Shariatmadari said in an editorial in his hard-line newspaper Kayhan. ``The prestige of our establishment requires ending the talks and resuming uranium enrichment.'' Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 4 UK The Times: Uranium work to restart ‘in days’ May 01, 2005 Tom Walker IRAN may resume work on its nuclear programme at Esfahan as early as next week, the country’s top nuclear negotiator was quoted as saying yesterday. Hassan Rohani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, reportedly said it was likely that unspecified nuclear activities related to uranium enrichment would begin again. Quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency, Rohani said: “It’s unlikely that uranium enrichment . . . which takes place in Natanz will be resumed, but it’s likely that some activities at Esfahan Uranium Conversion Facility will restart next week.” His comments came after talks in London with British, French and German officials about the future of Iran’s nuclear programme failed to achieve a breakthrough. Iran was pressed in vain for a permanent end to its enrichment activities. Kamal Kharrazi, the Iranian foreign minister, had said on the eve of the talks that if they failed, “we will have no choice but to restart the uranium enrichment programme”. However, a senior Foreign Office official said the two sides would reflect on what had been discussed and then continue to negotiate. The Sunday Times’s disclosure today that Iran has produced three tons of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas that could be used to enrich uranium for civil nuclear power or an atomic weapon, combined with Rohani’s remarks, caused unease among hawks close to the administration of President George W Bush. Michael Ledeen, the prominent neo-conservative who has led calls for an attack on Iran, said that he was not surprised to learn about the unannounced production of UF6. “I've always had maximum admiration for the Iranians’ ability to deceive us,” he said. The US State Department said that it was “interested” in the news of the UF6 while Gary Samore, director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London and a leading expert on the Iranian nuclear programme, said Tehran still faced technical difficulties in processing the UF6 into fuel or weapons material. Copyright The Times - timesonline.co.uk ***************************************************************** 5 BBC: Iran 'may resume' uranium project Last Updated: Saturday, 30 April, 2005 [Iran nuclear plant] Tehran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful Iran has threatened to restart its uranium enrichment activity after talks with EU negotiators over its nuclear programme ended in deadlock. Iranian negotiator Cyrus Nasseri said Tehran may be "forced to resume part of its enrichment programme", after meeting EU counterparts in London. Both sides are expected to meet again on the sidelines of a nuclear arms control summit in New York on 2 May. Iran denies US allegations it is aiming to secretly develop nuclear weapons. Suspension Iran has temporarily suspended nuclear enrichment as a confidence-building measure. France, the UK and Germany - known as the EU Three - have been trying to persuade Iran to abandon enrichment permanently. But Tehran wants to retain a phased, monitored uranium enrichment programme. Mr Nasseri said on Saturday that Iran and the EU had made "some progress" in their talks on Friday, but had still not reached an agreement on enrichment. "We believe there has been some progress on the framework for a long-term agreement... the difference is about the timing," he told AFP. In November Iran agreed to suspend uranium enrichment for the duration of negotiations, which began in December. The EU Three want Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, offering a package of political, economic and technological incentives. A previous round of talks in March ended with no agreement. The BBC's Pam O'Toole in London says Tehran suspects the Europeans are trying to transform a temporary halt into a de facto permanent suspension by dragging out the talks. The Europeans have warned they would back US moves to take Tehran to the UN Security Council if Iran breaches agreements or resumes uranium enrichment during the talks. Iran maintains its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, but Washington suspects it of secretly trying to build a nuclear weapon. ***************************************************************** 6 WorldNetDaily: Iran nuke program resumes next week SATURDAY APRIL 30 2005 [WND] NUCLEAR WAR-FEAR Iran nuke program resumes next week Uranium enrichment follows breakdown of negotiations between Tehran, Europe Iran said today it is likely to resume uranium enrichment-related activities next week, following a breakdown in negotiations between the Shiite regime and the European Union. Tehran's announcement came after yesterday's talks in London with European negotiators yielded no results. France, Britain and Germany, acting on behalf of the 25-nation European Union, were seeking guarantees from Iran that it will not use its nuclear program to make weapons. Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Hasan Rowhani was quoted as saying Tehran expects to restart enrichment activities injecting uranium gas into centrifuges at its uranium conversion facility in Isfahan. "It's unlikely that uranium enrichment ... which takes place in Natanz, will be resumed, but it's likely that some activities at Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility will restart next week," Rowhani said today. The central cities of Natanz and Isfahan house the heart of Iran's nuclear program. The Isfahan conversion facility reprocesses uranium ore concentrate into gas, which is then taken to Natanz and fed into the centrifuges for enrichment. Washington agreed to support the EU effort but signaled that Iran, which Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month labeled an "outpost of tyranny," should quickly accept it or face harsh Security Council sanctions. The breakdown in talks between Iran and Europe puts Tehran's nuclear program back in the international spotlight and is likely to force Washington to react. There is increasing concern within the administration and Congress over Iran's missile program, which has been determined by a commission of U.S. scientists to pose a serious threat to U.S. security. A report first published in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, a weekly, online, premium, intelligence newsletter affiliated with WND, revealed last week that Iran has been seriously considering an unconventional pre-emptive nuclear strike against the U.S. An Iranian military journal publicly floated the idea of launching an electromagnetic pulse attack as the key to defeating the U.S. Congress was warned of Iran's plans last month by Peter Pry, a senior staffer with the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack in a hearing of Sen. John Kyl's subcommittee on terrorism, technology and homeland security. In an article titled, "Electronics to Determine Fate of Future Wars," the journal explains how an EMP attack on America's electronic infrastructure, caused by the detonation of a nuclear weapon high above the U.S., would bring the country to its knees. "Once you confuse the enemy communication network you can also disrupt the work of the enemy command- and decision-making center," the article states. "Even worse today when you disable a country's military high command through disruption of communications, you will, in effect, disrupt all the affairs of that country. If the world's industrial countries fail to devise effective ways to defend themselves against dangerous electronic assaults then they will disintegrate within a few years. American soldiers would not be able to find food to eat nor would they be able to fire a single shot." WND reported the Iranian threat last Monday,explaining Tehran is not only covertly developing nuclear weapons, it is already testing ballistic missiles specifically designed to destroy America's technical infrastructure. The report was published first in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, a premium, online intelligence newsletter by WND's founder. Pry pointed out the Iranians have been testing mid-air detonations of their Shahab-3 medium-range missile over the Caspian Sea. The missiles were fired from ships. "A nuclear missile concealed in the hold of a freighter would give Iran or terrorists the capability to perform an EMP attack against the United States homeland without developing an ICBM and with some prospect of remaining anonymous," explained Pry. "Iran's Shahab-3 medium range missile mentioned earlier is a mobile missile and small enough to be transported in the hold of a freighter. We cannot rule out that Iran, the world's leading sponsor of international terrorism might provide terrorists with the means to executive an EMP attack against the United States." Lowell Wood, acting chairman of the commission, said yesterday that such an attack – by Iran or some other actor – could cripple the U.S. by knocking out electrical power, computers, circuit boards controlling most automobiles and trucks, banking systems, communications and food and water supplies. "No one can say just how long systems would be down," he said. "It could be weeks, months or even years." EMP attacks are generated when a nuclear weapon is detonated at altitudes above a few dozen kilometers above the earth's surface. The explosion, of even a small nuclear warhead, would produce a set of electromagnetic pulses that interact with the earth's atmosphere and the earth's magnetic field. "These electromagnetic pulses propagate from the burst point of the nuclear weapon to the line of sight on the earth's horizon, potentially covering a vast geographic region in doing so simultaneously, moreover, at the speed of light," said Wood. "For example, a nuclear weapon detonated at an altitude of 400 kilometers over the central United States would cover, with its primary electromagnetic pulse, the entire continent of the United States and parts of Canada and Mexico." The commission, in its work over a period of several years, found that EMP is one of a small number of threats that has the potential to hold American society seriously at risk and that might also result in the defeat of U.S. military forces. "The electromagnetic field pulses produced by weapons designed and deployed with the intent to produce EMP have a high likelihood of damaging electrical power systems, electronics and information systems upon which any reasonably advanced society, most specifically including our own, depend vitally," Wood said. "Their effects on systems and infrastructures dependent on electricity and electronics could be sufficiently ruinous as to qualify as catastrophic to the American nation." Subscribe to Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin Related offer: WND Books' latest blockbuster – "Atomic Iran" – by No. 1 best-selling "Unfit for Command" author Jerome Corsi exposes the threat of nuclear terror. webmaster@worldnetdaily.com --> news@worldnetdaily.com--> Contact WND ***************************************************************** 7 Xinhua: Iran to continue nuclear talks even if resumes uranium enrichment www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2005-04-30 22:51:01 TEHRAN, April 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani said on Saturday that Iran will continue negotiations with the European trio Germany, Britain and France even if it resumes parts of its uranium enrichment activities. Rowhani, also secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, made the remarks while visiting the newly opened Imam Khomeini International Airport. Referring to the European trio's support to take Iran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council if Tehran resumes uranium enrichment, Rowhani said, "Based on Iran's proposal, all our activities of nuclear fuel cycle will be peaceful." "The proposal will give legal and political guarantees. The Islamic Republic is ready to guarantee that its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes. And referral of Iran's nuclear dossier to the Security Council will be meaningless," the official stressed. On the possibility of US obstacles to the negotiations, Rowhani said, "The US may intend to put obstacles whenever they want but the current trend of talks will leave no place for Iran's nuclear case to be sent to the Security Council legally or technically." He rejected any link between the Iran-Europe nuclear talks and the upcoming June 17 presidential election in Iran. "The presidential election will have no impact on the negotiations," said Rowhani. The Europeans are interested in prolongation of talks, he said, stressing "Iran will make necessary decisions this week." Enditem Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 8 Xinhua: Iran likely to resume uranium enrichment www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2005-05-01 20:20:53 BEIJING, May 1 -- Iran announced on Saturday it will likely resume activities related to uranium enrichment, after talks with European negotiators yielded no results in London. "It's unlikely that uranium enrichment, as it is meant by enrichment, will be resumed, but it's likely that some activities will possibly restart," said Iran's top nuclear negotiator Hasan Rowhani France, Britain and Germany are seeking guarantees that Iran will not use its nuclear program to make weapons, as is suspected by Washington. The European countries want Tehran to abandon its enrichment activities permanently in exchange for economic aid, and technical support. Rowhani said restarting some nuclear activities does not mean Iran will end negotiations with the European powers. The United States last month agreed to support the EU diplomatic effort, but signalled Iran should quickly accept or face the threat of harsh UN Security Council sanctions. The US move has been rejected by Iran. "The Americans may intend to put obstacles in the way of negotiations whenever they want, but the current trend of talks will leave no place for Iran's nuclear case to be sent to the Security Council legally or technically," said Rowhani. Iran maintains that its decision to suspend all uranium enrichment-related activities was voluntary and temporary, saying Tehran will never abandon enrichment permanently as it's a right under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. It has also warned that without success in negotiations with the Europeans soon, the talks would collapse. Iran agreed in November to temporarily freeze all activities related to its enrichment program. (Source: CRIENGLISH.com) Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 9 Iran Press Service: IRAN TO CONTINUE LOOKING FOR TIME IN NUCLEAR TALKS By Safa Haeri Posted Sunday, May 1, 2005 LONDON-TEHRAN, First of May (IPS) Iran continued its favourite cat and mouse policy Saturday on the second day of negotiations with Britain, France and Germany over the issue of enriching uranium. As usual, the talks ended with producing no tangible result. "The informal talks have concluded. No conclusions were reached and both sides, the EU Three and Iran, have agreed to go away and reflect on what was discussed and to continue the discussions in future", said a British Foreign Office spokesman. Although all main Iranian officials reiterated that “whatever” the issue of the talks, Tehran would revert to enriching process, but some have been more cautious, saying the question was linked to the outcome of the negotiations. We are ready on continue talking and we are ready to give whatever insurances one wants, but enriching uranium is our right and we shall never abandon it under any circumstances. “We are ready on continue talking and we are ready to give whatever insurances one wants (assuring that Iran nuclear projects are not for military purposes), but enriching uranium is our right and we shall never abandon it under any circumstances”, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Chairman of the Expediency Council and the regime’s most powerful man after the leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i, told worshippers on Friday. He also called on the Europeans not to yield to American pressures aimed at stopping Iran getting nuclear technology and repeated that under no circumstances the Islamic Republic would produce atomic weapons. But both the United States and Israel suspects that the ayatollah’s final intention is to become a full fledged nuclear power, a suspicion also shared by many Iranians. Hojjatoleslam Hasan Rohani, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security in charge of the nuclear talks with both the European Troika and the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency has indicated that the doors of the exclusive Atomic Club must be opened to Iran. [ width=] But as Mr. Hoseyn Mousavian, one of the few senior negotiators expressed displeasure with the three Europeans nations, also referred to as the Big 3, accusing them of deliberately dragging their feet, Mr. Cirus Naseri, another negotiator warned that “time was running out”. “Time is much shorter than what the Europeans might think”, he said, adding that Iran would “sooner or later revert to its nuclear programs”. To some European diplomats who are reported to be inclined of continuation of the talks until after the outcome of the Iranian presidential elections, due on 17 June 2005, hoping that the next president could be in a position to take a firm stand on the nuclear issue, Mr. Naseri pointed out correctly that “this has no bearing on the country’s atomic programs”. "We don't want to break things up now and have a row. We want to continue the negotiating process after the Iranian election," said a European diplomat, declining to be identified. “No matter who is elected, the nation has a policy and an industry that can not suffer indefinite hold up”, he told journalists, hinting also that like all Iran’s main domestic and foreign issues, whether continuing or stopping nuclear projects depends on the decision of Mr. Khameneh’i alone. However, political analysts and informed Iranian sources say that the question is dividing the leadership on a vertical line, with some conservative tenors urging Mr. Khameneh’i to be more flexible, warning him that if the Europeans abandon the talks, Iran would face international sanctions. No matter who is elected, the nation has a policy and an industry that can not suffer indefinite hold up. According to the sources, the regime is more than ever fragile at home, as seen by the recent troubles in the oil-rich Province of Khouzestan, and isolated abroad. Contrary to official statements on the solidity of the Islamic Republic, the system is much more vulnerable than one might think. “This is exactly why the ruling ayatollahs are after the nuclear power”, commented one political observer, pointing to a possible scenario in which regions dominated by ethnics, like Kurdistan and Khouzistan in the west and Balouchistan on the east would erupt in violence. ENDS IRAN NUKE 1505 Copyright 2005 IRAN PRESS SERVICE. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 10 Mehr News: Maintaining suspension impossible for Iran - Musavian MehrNews.com spokesman Hossein Musavian said on Saturday that Iran is not satisfied with the result of the recent nuclear talks with the EU. Iran has not seen tangible and significant progress in the economic, political, and nuclear working group sessions, the steering committee session held in Paris on March 23 or the London session held on Friday, the chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) told the Mehr News Agency. Musavian noted that Iran has presented Europe strong guarantees on the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities in return for the expansion of bilateral political, economic, technological, nuclear, and security ties, adding that Europe has responded weakly to Iran’s requests. The European side has not presented any particular formula or proposal over the last three months in regard to the issue of objective guarantees from Iran but has merely called for a halt of uranium enrichment activities, he stated. “Europe has also failed to appropriately respond to Iran’s constructive and logical ideas and has only called for continuing negotiations on these proposals.” Musavian stressed that it would be illogical and impossible for Iran to continue talks for an indefinite period with no solution in sight. “We will not continue talks if Europe expects Iran to completely suspend uranium enrichment.” He noted that Iran has proven its goodwill and commitment to international regulations on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons over the past 18 months. “Iran will remain committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the safeguard agreements and will continue its transparent and active cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.” Iran will study “complete suspension” and make a decision over the next week, he added. “I think this decision will be different from the previous one.” Musavian noted that IAEA officials have repeatedly announced that they have found no evidence that Iran’s nuclear activities have been diverted toward a nuclear weapons program. On the possibility of Iran being referred to the UN Security Council, he said that Iran has acted in line with the regulations of the NPT and therefore a referral to the Security Council would be legally impossible. “But if the U.S. takes a politicized approach and tries to refer Iran’s case to the UN, it will deeply regret doing so after a short period of time.” HL/HG End MNA © 2003 Mehr News Agency ***************************************************************** 11 Mehr News: Iran completely prepared to relaunch Isfahan UCF MehrNews.com - Iran Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) confirmed on Saturday that the IAEO is completely prepared to relaunch the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Mehr news agency that the IAEO has always acted in line with the decisions of the country’s officials and will do so in the future. If the decision is finalized, uranium processing activities will be carried out at the Isfahan complex under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Nuclear activities at the Isfahan UCF were completely suspended in mid-November after a deal between Iran and the European Union trio of Germany, France, and Britain. Iran announced on Saturday that it may decide to resume nuclear activities at the Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility over the next several days but this decision will not include uranium enrichment activities at the Natanz nuclear facility. “This decision doesn’t mean a resumption of uranium enrichment, and it is only the start of some preliminary nuclear activities,” Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Hassan Rowhani told reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony for the Imam Khomeini International Airport, located just south of Tehran. MS/HG End MNA © 2003 Mehr News Agency ***************************************************************** 12 Times of Oman: N-programme is none of your business, Iran tells US Sunday, May 01, 2005 TEHRAN –– Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday in comments apparently directed at the United States that the Islamic republic's nuclear programme was "none of your business". In a speech carried on state television, the all-powerful Khamenei also said that the June presidential election would not bring any change to Iran's determination to press on with its controversial atomic activities. "The shameless arrogance and rudeness has gone so far that it has given rise to such comments that Iran does not need nuclear technology. This is none of your business," he told a gathering in the southern city of Kerman. "You do not have the right to judge if a nation needs nuclear energy or not," he said. His comments came the day after Iran said it was unhappy with the progress of nuclear negotiations with Britain, France and Germany, and warned it may resume uranium conversion activities next week in defiance of a key agreement. Uranium conversion -- or turning raw uranium into a gas to be fed into centrifuges for the enrichment process -- is covered by a freeze agreed to by Iran in November 2004 as a confidence-building measure. That deal that kick-started a series of talks with the so-called EU-3 that are aimed at easing international fears the Islamic republic is seeking an enrichment capacity so it could also produce an atomic bomb. The EU, backed by the United States, wants Iran to halt all nuclear fuel cycle activities. In return, it is offering a package of trade, security and technology incentives. But after the latest round of talks in London on Friday ended without an agreement, Iran accused the Europeans of trying to drag out the talks in order to prolong the suspension. However if Iran carries through its most serious challenge yet of the EU deal, it risks being hauled before the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. EU diplomats have also said they hoped a longer-term deal with Iran may be possible after the June 17 presidential election, when the regime could put an end to its reformist-hardline tensions and find it easier to deal with the West. But this idea was dismissed by Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state. "The spokespersons of the arrogant power say they are waiting for Iran's elections to be carried out and then they will decide on the issue of peaceful nuclear energy in Iran. But what have Iran's elections got to do with you?" Khamenei said. –– AFP ***************************************************************** 13 SF Chronicle: Diplomacy on North Korean nukes urged / Seoul's ex-leader says U.S. needs to take the initiative Matthew Yi, Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, April 30, 2005 When it comes to solving the North Korean nuclear crisis, the ball is squarely in the Bush administration's court, former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung said in an interview with The Chronicle. Kim said he believed there was little hope for the White House to help resolve the standoff unless it put an offer of security guarantees on the table, along with a specific list of economic compensations for the communist regime to give up its nuclear ambitions and allow thorough international inspections. "For a horse that's hungry, you have to encourage him with the carrot first. If you hit him with a stick first, he will not go forward," Kim said Thursday at his suite in San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel. Kim's comments came on the same day that Vice Adm. Lowell Jacoby, who heads the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that U.S. intelligence agencies believed North Korea had the technology to arm its missiles with a nuclear warhead. That report comes two months after North Korea declared publicly for the first time that it had nuclear weapons. The former president's weeklong visit to the Bay Area was his first trip to the United States since he completed his term in 2002 and was succeeded by President Roh Moo Hyun. Kim spent the week giving speeches in downtown San Francisco, at the University of San Francisco and at Stanford University as part of the Asia Foundation's 50th anniversary celebration. On Thursday, Kim emphasized that peaceful resolution of the nuclear standoff through diplomatic means is imperative. So far, diplomacy has yet to yield breakthroughs. Six-nation talks involving the United States, China, Japan, Russia and the two Koreas have been stalled since June. Kim argued that North Korea's goal was not to become a nuclear power. "North Korea's objective is not to possess nuclear weapons, but to improve relations with the United States and to get security assurances and economic assistance that it needs," he said. Some in the Bush administration have questioned whether North Korea can be trusted, given its history of accepting aid and then reactivating its nuclear program, but Kim said Pyongyang had compelling reasons to keep its word. "North Korea can't fill the stomachs of its hungry people with nuclear weapons,'' he said. "It is not a matter of whether North Korea will keep its promise because North Korea can't help but keep its promises. Getting security guarantees is a matter of survival for them." If there were an agreement between the United States and North Korea as part of the six-party talks and Pyongyang broke its promise, the remaining five nations in the talks should take "stern measures," Kim said. He would not say what those actions would be. T.J. Pempel, director of UC Berkeley's Institute of East Asian Studies, said he agreed that the United States had to take the initiative in negotiations with North Korea. However, he noted that some hard-liners in Washington believed the U.S. goal should be leadership change rather than negotiation. However, Kim stood by his "Sunshine Policy," a hallmark of his presidency that commits Seoul to openly engage the North rather than further isolating the communist government, and he rejected a reported plan by the Bush administration to ask the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on the North. As a democracy activist, Kim endured years of political persecution, imprisonment, house arrest and exile. He was elected president in 1997 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. E-mail Matthew Yi at myi@sfchronicle.com. Page A - 3 The San Francisco Chronicle] ***************************************************************** 14 Xinhua: DPRK expects no nuke solution in Bush term www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2005-04-30 23:16:20 PYONGYANG, April 30 (Xinhuanet) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Saturday said that it does not expect any solution to the nuclear issue or any progress in the DPRK-US relations during the tenure of incumbent US president George W. Bush. "Because, Bush is, indeed, a world dictator whose hands are stained with the blood shed by innocent civilians," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted a spokesman of the DPRK's Foreign Ministry as saying. "Peace can never settle in the world as long as Bush stays in power." The spokesman said that over more than four years since Bush's inauguration, the DPRK has shown "utmost magnanimity and patience." He stressed that it can no longer do so, "waiting for any shift in the US policy." The DPRK's anger came after Bush made accusation against the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong-il at a press conference on Friday, when Bush branded Kim as a "tyrant and a dangerous man." When asked about whether the DPRK can mount a nuclear device on a missile, Bush said it was best to expect the worst from the DPRK leader. "There is concern about his capability to deliver a nuclear weapon. We don't know if he can or not but I think it's best, when you're dealing with a tyrant like Kim Jong-il, to assume he can," Bush said at the press conference. In return, the DPRK spokesman termed Bush as "a hooligan bereft of any personality as a human being, to say nothing of stature as president of a country." "He is a half-baked man in terms of morality and a philistine whom we can never deal with," he added. Tension between the US and the DPRK has grown since earlier this week after a senior official of the US Defense Intelligence Agency said the DPRK may have mastered the technology for mounting a nuclear warhead on a missile capable of hitting the West Coast of the United States. Enditem Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 15 Korea Times: Seoul Denies Report on NK A-Bomb Test Hankooki.com > The Korea Times By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter South Korean officials dismissed as groundless a news report that the United States has warned its allies that North Korea may be ready to carry out an underground nuclear test as early as June. A senior diplomat in Seoul, deeply involved in the nuclear problem, said Sunday such a story was ``unheard of,ˇŻˇŻ adding that Christopher Hill, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, didnˇŻt talk about that either when he visited Seoul last week. ``We shouldnˇŻt take this kind of media reports, which lack concrete evidence, seriously as if it were a fact,ˇŻˇŻ he said. ``Some can call that a likely scenario, but I wouldnˇŻt say that is quite likely.ˇŻˇŻ Another government official, also denying the report, said, ``There is nothing we cannot say about the possibility. But is there any one among those recent reports that is backed up by concrete evidence?ˇŻˇŻ Citing unnamed diplomats in Vienna, the AP news agency reported on Saturday that the information on the NorthˇŻs possible test of an atomic weapon had been gathered in part from satellite imagery. jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr 05-01-2005 17:19 ***************************************************************** 16 NAS: Many Deaths Still Expected With Earth-Penetrating Nuclear Weapons National-Academies.org | Office of News and Public Information Date: April 27, 2005 Contacts: Patrice Pages, Media Relations Officer Megan Petty, Media Relations Assistant Office of News and Public Information 202-334-2138; e-mail FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON -- A nuclear weapon that is exploded underground can destroy a deeply buried bunker efficiently and requires significantly less power to do so than a nuclear weapon detonated on the surface would, says a new report from the National Academies' National Research Council. However, such "earth-penetrating" nuclear weapons cannot go deep enough to avoid massive casualties at ground level, and they could still kill up to a million people or more if used in heavily populated areas, said the committee that wrote the report. "Using an earth-penetrating weapon to destroy a target 250 meters deep -- the typical depth for most underground facilities -- potentially could kill a devastatingly large number of people," said John F. Ahearne, committee chair and director of the ethics program at the Sigma Xi Center of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, Research Triangle Park, N.C. Many countries use underground facilities to conceal and protect military personnel, weapons, and equipment. Most of these facilities are beyond the reach of conventional explosive weapons and can be destroyed only by nuclear weapons. Earth-penetrating weapons have been considered as an alternative to conventional nuclear weapons because they could destroy such targets with up to 25 times less energy than weapons detonated at the surface. The weapons' lower power would produce two to 10 times fewer surface casualties, but they still would lead to a large number of deaths and injuries, the report says. Fatalities could be further reduced if military commanders warned of an attack in time for people to evacuate. Commanders could also take advantage of wind conditions to minimize civilians' exposure to fallout. But a nuclear weapon burst in a densely populated urban area will always result in a large number of casualties, the committee emphasized. Most of the weapons' destructive effect on a target is achieved at a depth of three meters. Beyond that depth, the weapon may fail, the committee said. Significant explosive power is needed to destroy targets located as deep as 400 meters, the report notes. For example, a 300-kiloton earth-penetrating nuclear weapon has a high probability of destroying a target 200 meters below, but a 1-megaton weapon is needed to destroy a 300-meter-deep facility. The committee also examined the possible effects of using conventional or nuclear weapons to destroy chemical and biological weapons depots. Except for the BLU-118B thermobaric bomb -- a conventional bomb that can target a shallowly buried facility and destroy it with high pressure and heat -- conventional weapons are not likely to be effective in destroying chemical or biological agents, the report says. In a nuclear attack on a chemical weapons facility, far more civilian deaths will likely be caused by the nuclear blast itself than by the resulting dispersal of chemical agents. In contrast, the release of as little as 0.1 kilogram of anthrax spores, for example, would result in a number of fatalities similar to those caused by a 3-kiloton earth-penetrating nuclear weapon. The study was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The National Research Council is the principal operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. It is a private, nonprofit institution that provides science and technology advice under a congressional charter. A committee roster follows. Copies of will be available later this spring from the National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or order on the Internet at . Reporters may obtain a pre-publication copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above). [ This news release and report are available at ] NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences Committee on the Effects of Nuclear Earth-Penetrator Weapon and Other Weapons John F. Ahearne1 (chair) Director Ethics Program of the Sigma Xi Center Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society Research Triangle Park, N.C. Lynn R. Anspaugh Research Professor of Radiobiology University of Utah Salt Lake City Rodney C. Ewing Professor Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences University of Michigan Ann Arbor Steven A. Fetter Professor School of Public Affairs University of Maryland College Park Richard L. Garwin1,2,3 Emeritus Fellow IBM T.J. Watson Research Center Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Sydell P. Gold Senior Vice President and Deputy Sector Manager Science Applications International Corp. McLean, Va. Eugene G. Grewis Independent Consultant Tijeras, N.M. Theodore M. Hardebeck Director of Science, Technology, and Strategy Science Applications International Corp. Omaha, Neb. Raymond Jeanloz 2 Professor of Earth and Planetary Science, and of Astronomy Department of Earth and Planetary Science University of California Berkeley William J. Patterson Independent Consultant Albuquerque, N.M. Gloria S. Patton Independent Consultant Lake Oswego, Ore. Heinz W. Schmitt Independent Consultant Albuquerque, N.M. Eugene Sevin1 Independent Consultant Lyndhurst, Ohio C. Bruce Tarter Director Emeritus Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Livermore, Calif. Robert H. Wertheim1 Rear Admiral U.S. Navy (retired), and Consultant Science Applications International Corp. San Diego RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF James Killian Study Director 1 Member, National Academy of Engineering 2 Member, National Academy of Sciences 3 Member, Institute of Medicine ***************************************************************** 17 SignOnSanDiego.com: Energy bill could face some hurdles Versions by Senate, House may not mesh By Toby Eckert COPLEY NEWS SERVICE May 1, 2005 WASHINGTON  After watching a cornerstone of his domestic agenda languish on Capitol Hill for four years, President Bush went on the offensive last week. "Congress needs to get an energy bill to my desk by this summer so I can sign it into law," he said in a nationally televised news conference. Even before the president's push, the House passed legislation that included most of Bush's initiatives, on a largely party-line vote. Senators are now working on their own bill. While some major players in the debate are optimistic that legislation will reach Bush this year, they also warn that numerous obstacles could sink the initiative. Those range from controversial provisions included in the House bill to an unrelated battle over Bush's judicial nominees in the Senate. "I think the dynamics have changed," said Frank Verrastro, an energy policy expert at the nonpartisan Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It's a non-election year. The president has made this a bigger issue. Two-dollar gas and 50-dollar oil does wondrous things to wake up the Congress. So I think the prospects are better." The debate holds some high stakes for California, with energy companies eager to ease the moratorium on new offshore oil drilling and fend off lawsuits over contamination of water supplies by a gasoline additive that has been banned by the state. California also has become a flashpoint in efforts to expand the liquefied natural gas industry. The House bill contains a little-noticed provision that would create a right of way for electricity transmission lines in the Cleveland National Forest, through the Trabuco Ranger District. Environmental groups oppose the move. Democrats and Republicans are sharply divided on the legislation. "The energy bill passed by the House of Representatives is bad news for California," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "It will not prevent another energy crisis. It will not make California's air cleaner. And it will not let California determine the best way to meet its energy needs." But California Republicans unanimously supported the bill in the House, despite misgivings voiced by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration. After the vote, Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Escondido, issued a statement saying the bill "offers common-sense solutions that will improve national security and encourage energy conservation and efficiency." As in previous years, much of the House bill's emphasis is on expanding domestic production of oil, gas and coal and providing incentives for nuclear power. It includes $8.1 billion in tax breaks over 10 years, mostly for the energy industry but also for consumers who invest in energy-saving technologies. The surge in gasoline prices has been a volatile backdrop for the debate. A recent ABC News-Washington Post  poll indicated that 54 percent of Americans oppose Bush's handling of energy issues, and more blame his administration for the rise in oil and gas prices than other oil-producing countries or U.S. oil companies. Bush has acknowledged that his plan would do little in the short term to lower gasoline prices. But he said it would lay the groundwork for the future. In the past, the effort to pass energy legislation has foundered on differences between the House and Senate. Though Republicans control both, Senate rules give Democrats more ability to block legislation. Some moderate Republicans have also balked at provisions in previous House bills, making it difficult for the two chambers to compromise. "We're not real impressed with the House bill, but that shouldn't come as a big surprise," said Bill Wicker, a Democratic spokesman for the Senate Energy Committee. "It's essentially the same bill that they've passed over and over and over again that has gotten knotted up in (House-Senate) conference." The Senate has taken a more bipartisan approach to crafting a bill this time, Wicker said, with top committee Republicans and Democrats, and their staffs, meeting frequently. One Bush administration priority that has been a particularly large stumbling block in the Senate, opening Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, has been approved in a separate budget bill. But several other provisions in the House bill are likely to pose problems in the Senate. One would shield manufacturers of the gasoline additive MTBE, which has fouled drinking water supplies in numerous states, from defective product liability suits. Nineteen California communities have lawsuits pending over MTBE contamination, and critics of the liability shield say it would leave taxpayers holding the bag. "This provision would mean that MTBE producers will not have to pay the $1.2 billion in cleanup costs for those contaminated sites just in California," Feinstein said. "Rather, this cost would be passed on to the local water systems and the taxpayers." MTBE makers dispute that. They say the legislation merely recognizes that they shouldn't be liable for defective product claims because the federal government approved the use of the additive under clean air laws. "The provision ensures fairness and consumer protection, while allowing proper claims to proceed and additional funds to flow to remediation," said Bob Slaughter, president of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association. Wicker said the MTBE provision "sank the energy bill last time" and would mean a similar fate in the Senate this year if House negotiators demand its inclusion. House Republicans have indicated they are open to some sort of compromise involving a federal cleanup fund. Other observers say a new provision in the House bill could be a bigger problem. It would make it clear that federal regulators, rather than state officials, have the final say on where liquefied natural gas, or LNG, terminals are built. In a case arising from a proposed LNG terminal at the Port of Long Beach, the California Public Utilities Commission has gone to federal court to defend its demand that the developers get state approval. "I think it could be this year's poison-pill issue," said Tyson Slocum, energy research director for the consumer group Public Citizen, which opposes the LNG initiative. "It's extremely controversial and, like the MTBE issue, it's going to have a broad coalition, a bipartisan coalition" of opponents. Energy companies strongly favor the LNG provision and got an explicit endorsement from Bush last week. The California commission, backed by the Schwarzenegger administration, favors joint federal-state deliberations on the location of LNG facilities. Beyond the legislation itself, the biggest threat to Bush's energy push is the festering dispute over his nominees to serve on federal courts. Democrats are blocking several, objecting to the nominees' views on abortion and other issues. Republican leaders have threatened to squelch a rule that allows senators to indefinitely block a vote on the nominees. In that event, Democrats say, they will bring the Senate's legislative work to a halt. The dispute "could make this Senate comity fall apart," dooming the energy bill, said Verrastro of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. About the Union-Tribune | Contact the Union-Tribune © Copyright 2005 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. ***************************************************************** 18 Deseret News: 'Bunker buster' report draws fire [deseretnews.com] Sunday, May 1, 2005 Utah group fears bomb testing will be done at nearby Nevada Test Site By Joe Bauman Deseret Morning News An American attack with a "bunker buster" nuclear weapon could cause "from hundreds to over a million" casualties, a report by the National Academy of Sciences concludes. The report brought immediate reaction from Utah activists who worry about the Defense Department testing the devices at the nearby Nevada Test Site. Bunker busters — formal name: "nuclear earth-penetrators" — are weapons that would be able to slam into underground facilities. A debate has raged over whether the government would seek to test the bombs at the Nevada Test Site. The new NAS study, "Effects of Nuclear Earth-Penetrator and Other Weapons," says many of the more important strategic "hard and deeply buried" targets are beyond the reach of conventional explosive penetrating weapons and can be at risk of destruction only by nuclear weapons. Not all such sites that are known or identified could be destroyed "by one or a few nuclear weapons," however, it added. Experience and predictions indicate the bunker busters "cannot penetrate to depths required for total containment of the effects of a nuclear explosion," the study adds. The number of casualties from an earth-penetrator weapon detonated at a few yards' depth is, "for all practical purposes, equal to that from a surface burst of the same weapon yield," NAS concluded. If the United States were to attack a chemical weapons facility, civilian deaths from the effects of the nuclear weapon itself are likely to be much greater than that from dispersal of the chemical weapons. But if the target is a germ warfare facility, releasing as little as 0.1 kilogram of anthrax spores will result in a number of fatalities comparable to those from a 3-kiloton nuclear bunker buster, it says. A nuclear weapon exploding in a densely populated urban area will always result in a large number of casualties, adds the NAS. The report left Utah anti-nuclear activists shaking their heads. Jay Truman of the group Downwinders criticized Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for seeking to revive the bunker-buster program. According to the Reuters news service, the defense chief pressed Congress as recently as Wednesday to fund the research. If the program begins, it could bring about testing of the nuclear devices at the Nevada Test Site, said Truman. He charged that Rumsfeld was "busy asking Congress for funds to start the process to breed a new generation of us," he wrote in an e-mail, referring to downwinders. "There are enough downwinders already. We do not need anymore," he added. An activist with the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah also expressed opposition to developing a nuclear penetrator bomb. "The bunker buster is a costly weapon, both in terms of taxpayer dollars and in terms of the innocent lives that would be lost if the weapon were actually used," said HEAL's Vanessa Pierce. © 2005 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 19 Salt Lake Tribune: Redford, Rocky to host conference on warming 04/30/2005 12:20:55 AM Robert Redford Actor and activist Robert Redford and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson are playing host to a conference in Utah to which 100 mayors of North American cities will be invited to discuss local responses to global warming. The conference has been set for July 10-12 in Salt Lake City and Redford's Sundance resort in Provo Canyon, resort executive director Ray Grant said Friday. The conference will begin in Salt Lake City the night of July 10 and then move to Sundance the final two days. The principal sponsor of the event is a group called the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, whose U.S. branch is located at Berkeley, Calif. The organization works with local governments to reduce greenhouse gases that cause global warming. "The best call to action is happening locally and the biggest impact is what happens at the local level," Grant said. "It's really why our focus here at this summit is a gathering of mayors focused on a local solution versus a summit that would bring together federal policy makers." Redford, a longtime environmental activist, became involved in the conference as a follow-up to the 1989 Greenhouse Glasnost event he hosted at Sundance that brought together U.S. and Soviet scientists and officials to discuss global warming. Anderson has been active in speaking about the role of local governments in curbing global warming, including attending several international events. Salt Lake City has implemented environmental initiatives such as buying wind power and using energy-saving light bulbs. The city has also converted some city vehicles to natural gas. The mayor's communications director, Deeda Seed, said local action is needed on global warming "in light of the fact that there's so little or no action taking place by our federal government." Confirmed speakers include Heidi Cullen, on how climate change can affect local communities; Paul Epstein, associate director of the Harvard Medical School; John Holdren, director of science, technology and public policy at Harvard, and Jean-Michel Cousteau, president of the Ocean Futures Society. Grant said the meetings will be limited to the attending mayors, with some sessions open to the news media. - The Salt Lake Tribune © Copyright 2005, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 20 BostonHerald.com - Opinion: Bush energy bill work in progress '81032' order by pubdate DESC, id DESC limit 5//--> By Boston Herald editorial staff Sunday, May 1, 2005 Recently we praised President Bushfor opposing giveaway ``incentives'' to industry in the House version of the energy bill. He's now committing the same sin on the consumer side in the proposals contained in his energy speech last week. Notably, he wants to extend the tax credit for energy-efficient cars, now set to expire in 2007, and apply it also to high-mileage ``clean diesel'' models expected to be offered soon. (Based on European experience, these diesels should be able to get 50 miles per gallon, on a par with gasoline-electric hybrids.) In an earlier speech, Bush opined that the oil industry needed no exploration incentives when oil was $55 a barrel. With unleaded self-service regular averaging $2.24 per gallon nationwide ($2.84 in California), motorists have all the incentive they need to seek better mileage without a $2,000 subsidy on a new-car purchase price ($4,000 for an all-electric vehicle) through a tax credit. It makes little sense to offer such a giveaway incentive to buy hybrid cars for which many buyers have to wait months. The president's speech bears all the earmarks of one given just to show concern. And some of the proposals are simply not fully thought out. There is no reason to object to federal authority over the siting of tanker terminals for importing liquid natural gas - as long as Congress provides clear rules for doing so. There is no reason not to offer closed military bases as new refinery sites, but it isn't clear that many are well-located with respect to markets and supply routes. And the proposal for financial insurance against regulatory delays for new nuclear plants leaves us scratching our heads. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has good ideas on how to reform the delay-prone process; Congress should enact them instead of creating another avenue to a monetary handout. © Copyright by the Boston Herald and Herald Interactive No portion of BostonHerald.com or its content may be reproduced ***************************************************************** 21 [progchat_action] Comments from Vanunu Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2005 11:19:58 -0500 (CDT) Forwarded with Compliments of Government of the USA in Exile (GUSAE): Free Americans Proclaiming Total Emancipation and Working Towards Democracy. Vanunu Interview with Norwegian Chat Site Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2005 13:55:26 +0500 From: "Eric Walberg" http://simonjones1.blogspot.com/2005/04/mordechai-vanunu-interview.html Some of Mordechai Vanunu's answers to Norwegian chat site I have corrected most of the grammar and spelling and included the question only when it was necessary for clarification. I see now why the Israeli govt doesn't want MV to leave - he is eloquent, has a sharp wit, and will be a brilliant world peace campaigner once he is freed. Let's keep up the pressure to free him. Peace, SJ Q: Were there more people like you who wanted to tell the world that Israel had a nuclear weapons program, or were you the only one? -- Taufiqe MV: There is no one else in Israel who wants to speak about Israel nuclear weapons because you need to be not only against NWs but also believe in peace and criticise Israeli policies in many fields including their own Jewish religion. vmjc email: vmjc1954@gmail.com * The way to survive is to be very very strong, trusting your humanity and believing in humanity. But the human race is good and we are doing this for the survival of the human race on this earth. * I decided that they can imprison my body but not my mind and spirit, so I keep this belief all the time. I practice my freedom by exercising the freedom to read and write what I want. Also, to listen to classical music like opera. * Not at all bitter; I'm very sad for Israelis that they are not mature enough to accept my act and my life and to respect me as a human being. We need to save the Jewish people of Israel from their past history and bring them to live in this new age. * Your 'Israel - the only democracy in the region' is demolishing houses of families without any crimes, is arresting thousands of young people without trial... Israel invaded Italy to kidnap a citizen and they are occupying foreign territories for 35 years, building settlements. They expelled 80 per cent of the Arabs from their land and took their land and brought people who have never been born or raised here to build this anti-democratic state. Israel is no longer a democracy. Israel is an apartheid racist state. * The problem is time. We cannot waste more time with this Israel power dictatorship imposing on us their barbaric policy and aggressiveness in the Middle East. * I studied philosopy and geography in Beer Shiva University. I have my first degree. Started 2nd degree but didn't finish. But now I have a doctorate in modern psychological brainwashing in modern spy mind war. That what I learned in 18 years in prison. * I would do it again and again without any regret. Israel is a military dictatorship governed by security and secrecy. This is a modern phenomena in a democratic system. Israel is destroying the democratic system from the inside and exporting this policy to the US and Europe. * Q: Are you guided by a scientist's ethics, or are you a genuine humanist? Perhaps it is something else that drives you? -- Sigurd Yes, something from our humanity that no one can control is driving us to save this earth from crazy militarism spy power. * I am very proud and happy that I have 6 billion people around the world regarding me as a hero. * Q: Are you still interested in art and do you have a favorite Norwegian artist/painter? -- Joakim I like Edward Munch's The Scream. * I know you have very beautiful fjords and very beautiful women! And very beautiful human rights activists and the Alfred Nobel Peace Prize. * Why is it when someone like Salman Rushdie writes a book about Satan and 'hate all Muslims' poetry, you all lift Rushdie to the sky and worship him? But now when a man is imprisoned for 18 years because he let the world know about a nuclear project... And still I am paying for it. * Terrorism is not a real threat. The real danger is nuclear weapons in secret - that is the main problem for every state, including Norway. * About the US, we are now in the new century, post Cold War and we need to have a new world order. That could be started by all Europe and US behaving fairly with Israel to end the Middle East conflict. That could happen if both Europe and US making the right decision to demand from Israel to become a secular democracy, giving equal rights to every human being and ending Israel's colonialism of the Middle East with Nuclear Weapons. Next, we need all the world to be free from nuclear weapons, to take from every superpower their nuclear weapons. That is the only way for a new world order, governed by the people, by the United Nations for the people, and not for any State. * Q: You converted to Christianity from Judaism. Was it because you believed in Jesus? Was it because you disliked Judaism? Or was it another reason? What was the reason? -- Ken All the answers are very good. Another reason, Judaism is one of the faiths which believes, supports, and encourages racism, and is based on supremacy, creating an apartheid regime. * Israel is government by Judaism. But I believe in secular democracy. * Jews should accept and respect Jesus' teaching, values, and the New Testament as much as the Old Testament. * I'm a Christian. I was converted in Australia in 1986 because I reject the Jewish traditional beliefs of Judaism supremacy. I believe all human beings are equal. * In Israel if you are Jewish you have all the rights. If you are Christian or Muslim you are second class with no rights. * The best solution is a secular state with equal rights for all the people. Not a Jewish religious state or Muslim religious state, but one secular state. * I am a Christian and no one hates Jews [now]. All the world now respects any human being. Europe has all kinds of minorities. There is no more anti-semitism. * I think if I was [still] Jewish the Israelis and US would have loved me very much and received me as a hero in all the world. But because of my Christianity the Israelis trying to destroy my image and deny me celebrating my freedom. * In Israel I am still regarded as a double traitor for nuclear weapons and for Christianity. * Q: What reason do you believe Israel has for being a nuclear power? Offensive or defensive? Threat & power or war? -- Gabriel In my view, it was decided in 1950s as an act not to go for peace but to trust power and to impose on the Palestianians and the Arab world this Israeli Jewish apartheid state. Instead of making peace and receiving back the Palestinian refugees. Now they say for defence. But defence of this racist state. * Q: Is Israel capable of using these horrible weapons of mass destruction and do you think they will use them? -- Innsendt Yes, yes, they have them and they will use them. * Q: I guess you must now know what it is like to be a Palestinian living in occupied Palestine under tough restrictions? -- Innsendt Yes. And I knew before, and I was against it since the 1980s, and also since 1967. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Peter Myers, 381 Goodwood Rd, Childers 4660, Australia ph +61 7 41262296 http://users.cyberone.com.au/myers Mirror: http://mailstar.net/index.html I use a Mac & the old Mac OS; I send text from a word-processor, without attachments. If mail does not arrive, check the Trash can. To unsubscribe, reply with "unsubscribe" in the subject line; allow 1 day. ======================================================================== ======= ***************************************************************** 22 Guardian Unlimited: Deadlock looms over spread of nuclear arms Rift between America and Iran threatens to stymie attempts to update non-proliferation treaty Julian Borger in Washington Monday May 2, 2005 The global spread of nuclear weapons is at stake today as delegates from 190 countries convene in an attempt to salvage the 1970 non-proliferation treaty, but the chances of success look dim. The rift between nuclear and non-nuclear states, and between the US and Iran in particular, is so serious that a final agenda had still not been agreed on the eve of the month-long conference in New York, despite frantic shuttle diplomacy by its Brazilian chairman, Sergio de Queiroz Duarte. "If we could get out of this conference without a major blow-up we would be doing well," said Matt Martin, a deputy director of the British American Security Information Council, a transatlantic thinktank. Both sides agree the NPT is outdated, but they differ sharply on how it could be strengthened. The US, with support from Britain and France, wants stricter controls on the transfer of nuclear technology. The non-nuclear states, which met separately in Mexico City last week to agree a common position, argue more emphasis should be put on banning the development of new weapons by the existing nuclear powers. And there is disagreement on the NPT's third pillar: the clauses guaranteeing non-nuclear states access to "peaceful" nuclear power technology if they forgo nuclear arsenals. "The politics of the conference make it clear the treaty cannot continue and cannot be strengthened unless all three legs of the bargain can be preserved," said Daryl Kimball, head of the independent Arms Control Association. Iran believes the NPT's nuclear power clauses give it the right to enrich its own uranium or produce plutonium as long as it is - as Tehran insists - intended for peaceful use. The US says Iran is abusing its rights by using the NPT as a cover to go to the brink of weapons production with the intention of withdrawing abruptly from the treaty at a time of its choosing and assembling weapons within weeks. Such a strategy has already been pursued by North Korea. The US will also claim Tehran has forfeited any rights it might have as an NPT signatory by misleading the International Atomic Energy Agency over the extent of its uranium enrichment programme. Britain, France and Germany, which have been pursuing talks aimed at providing Iran with incentives to give up its uranium enrichment programme, are concerned the NPT conference will turn into a shouting match between the US and Iran and destabilise their precarious negotiations. Tehran said on Friday the talks had made so little progress, it might end its temporary uranium enrichment suspension. In an effort to find a compromise, the head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, has proposed a deal in which states forswearing uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing programmes would be supplied fissile material for civilian reactors by the current members of the nuclear club. But the compromise looks dead on arrival. The one thing the US and Iran agree on is that it would disrupt their nuclear power industries, and they have the support of Japan and France. At their Mexico City meeting, delegates complained that the IAEA spent its time monitoring compliance by the non-nuclear states, while the nuclear powers had failed to live up to the commitments they made the last two NPT reviews, in 1995 and 2000. The Bush administration has been trying for two years to persuade Congress to fund research on a new generation of weapons, including small-yield "mini-nukes" and nuclear "bunker-busters". Britain too has raised the possibility of replacing its Trident missiles. The US signed a bilateral arms control treaty with Russia in 2002, aimed at sharply reducing the number of operationally deployed warheads by 2012. But the weapons do not have to be destroyed, only mothballed, and there are no verification procedures. The Bush administration has also signalled it has no intention of joining the comprehensive test ban treaty, or signing a verifiable accord ending the production of new fissile material intended for nuclear weapons. Both were pledges it made in 2000. "If one state begins to reject commitments it made at past review conferences, other states may start to reject prior commitments. The non-proliferation treaty will quickly erode," Mr Kimball said. "If the states do not take serious action on a number of key fronts in the next five years, it is likely the treaty will not be able to withstand these challenges and we will see additional states withdraw from the NPT. The crisis is not quite here but it's fast approaching." Objectives of the pact · The Treaty on the non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons came into force in 1970. Its objectives are to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament. · A total of 187 countries, including the five declared nuclear-weapon states - the US, Russia, Britain, France and China - have joined. · Israel, India and Pakistan remain outside the treaty. · North Korea joined the treaty in 1985, but in January 2003 announced its intention to withdraw. · The operation of the treaty is reviewed every five years. Source: UN/US department of state [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 23 Ynetnews: Opinion - Israel’s nuclear options Israel's nuclear reactor in Dimona Photo: Reuters When Prime Minister Ariel Sharon recently spread out photographs of suspected Iranian nuclear sites during a lunch at U.S. President George Bush’s Crawford, Texas getaway he certainly wasn’t thinking of giving away Israel’s own ranch. But after warning the U.S. administration that Iran was nearing "a point of no return" in learning how to develop a nuclear weapon, increased attention is being put on two new U.S. State Department comments that call on Israel to forswear nuclear weapons and accept International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards on all nuclear activities. Nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu (Photo: Reuters) The State Department statements, just weeks ahead of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty's 35th anniversary and Israel’s own 57th birthday, highlight the Jewish state’s ongoing struggle to achieve a primary Zionist objective - normalcy. Israel never acknowledged possession of nukes They also came as the Israeli nuclear whistleblower, Mordecai Vanunu, went on trial for allegedly violating the terms of his release from prison. Vanunu was released after serving 18 years, nearly 12 of them in solitary confinement, for leaking details and pictures of the state’s alleged nuclear weapons facility in Dimona to a British newspaper. Alleged, of course, because despite evidence that suggests it has up to 200 bombs, Israel has never acknowledged that it possesses nuclear weapons. In some ways, the Jewish state’s policy of "nuclear ambiguity" contradicts the Zionist goal of normalizing the Jewish people, providing them with a state and asking that they be treated like all other nations. This has never been more true than today, with the United States having just led a war to disarm a nation accused of harboring weapons of mass destruction and members of the world community doubling efforts to halt rogue states’ acquisition of nuclear weaponry. Israel’s "strategic policy," however, means that it is not subject to controls of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it has not signed, or inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Those who charge that both the U.S. and Israel display an unfair double standard in demanding that Iran and others exercise transparency while exempting Israel have a point. As Avner Cohen, the author of Israel and the Bomb, wrote in Ha’aretz last year, Israel’s policy has "become a political burden on the U.S. and the international regime aimed at preventing nuclear proliferation. Since Israel remains outside that international regime, it makes it difficult for the need to strengthen the mechanisms preventing nuclear proliferation." Chilling message on first bomb? Even more chilling and perhaps more telling is the belief that the words "never again" are allegedly written on the first of Israel’s alleged bombs. This legend, and all it represents to a people traumatized by their history, underscores the resiliency of what has been called Israel’s last taboo as well as the state’s struggle to both act and be treated normally. But let’s be fair. What were the chances that a nation born amid the annihilation of a third its own people, the partial uprooting of another and the overall hostility of its neighbors, including Tehran’s uranium happy mullahs, could reach complete normalcy in just over 50 years? Moreover, the mantra of "never again" has not only affected Israel’s own development. The rise in anti-Zionist sentiment throughout Europe, as well as the region’s problematic response to acts of anti-Semitism, speaks to their own dysfunction vis-ŕ-vis Israel. Whatever Israel’s faults, too many Europeans seem to have relished the chance to finally take the Jewish victims to task for oppressing another people, the Palestinians. Israel’s unjust actions deserve to be criticized, but, at the same time, European states and their press have done a poor job at addressing their own role in today’s Mideast mess, which is born of both the destruction of European Jewry and the rule of mandatory Palestine and adjacent territories. When viewed from this perspective, Israel may have still not have reached full normalcy (whatever that is), but it is certainly above par for its course - the Middle East, where 22 Arab governments continue to have far less regard for democracy and human rights. But for Israel to more fully normalize it will at some point need to reassess its policy of nuclear ambiguity. When that time comes, one can only hope that the decision will help lead to a more equitable appraisal of Israel’s place in the world, in addition to a reduction in the efforts of Israel’s neighbors to acquire their own weapons of mass destruction. Jason Gitlin, a graduate of NYU’s Center for Near Eastern Studies, is a New York-based writer (04.30.05, 19:40) Copyright © Yedioth Internet. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 24 Guardian Unlimited Summary: Nuke Priorities to Clash at U.N. From the Associated Press [UP] Sunday May 1, 2005 8:46 PM By The Associated Press WHAT: As they do every five years, delegates from more than 180 nations meet at the United Nations to review the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. ISSUES: Washington wants action on the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea. Other nations also want the conference to spur the nuclear weapons state to move more quickly toward nuclear disarmament. OUTCOME: Experts fear this clash in priorities could lead to a stalemate at the monthlong meeting. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 25 BBC: Japan restarts loans to Pakistan Last Updated: Sunday, 1 May, 2005 [PM Koizumi and President Musharraf] Koizumi sought assurances over nuclear proliferation Japan will resume economic aid to Pakistan which was suspended after Pakistan held nuclear tests in 1998. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said the yen-dominated loans worth $154.9m would boost economic aid for Pakistan. Most of the loan money would go into repairing a canal system in the eastern Punjab province, officials said. Japan had imposed severe economic sanctions on both Pakistan and India after their 1998 nuclear tests. Japan lifted the sanctions on India in 2001. Mr Koizumi, who arrived in Pakistan for a day-long visit from India, held talks with both President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The issues ranged from economic co-operation to counter terrorism and nuclear non-proliferation. This is a reflection of o will to forge closer and more friendly relations between the two countries Junichiro Koizumi Prime Minister Koizumi was expected to announce the resumption of yen-denominated loans to Pakistan. 'Foolproof' "Today we decided to resume yen loans to Pakistan... This is a reflection of our will to forge closer and more friendly relations between the two countries," Mr Koizumi told reporters after holding talks with the Pakistani leaders. Japan also agreed to extend a total of $79.24m in grant aid for two water projects in Pakistan. [Junichiro Koizumi with Pakistan prime minister Shaukat Aziz] Mr Koizumi said the loans would boost economic aid This was part of $300m of grant aid Japan pledged to Pakistan four years ago, reports said. The two countries also issued their first-ever joint statement after 53 years of diplomatic ties. "Pakistan and Japan have common interest in the future of Asia with special focus on counter-terrorism, non-proliferation, economic co-operation and the propagation of democratic values," the countries said in their statement. Pakistani officials said that Gen Musharraf had told Mr Koizumi that Pakistan now has a foolproof system in place to prevent proliferation. Mr Koizumi left Pakistan on Sunday for Luxembourg with talks with the European Union officials, officials told the Associated Press. ***************************************************************** 26 Sunday Herald: Liar? Its much worse than that - Iain Macwhirter argues that Tony Blair has created a world of creative truth-telling where a selective reading of the facts can create something far more dangerous than lies Did Tony Blair lie? Did he actively conceal the illegality of the Iraq war from the Cabinet and parliament? Did he lie about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? This is the paramount question of this extraordinarily election. The Tory leader Michael Howard is in no doubt. Tony Blair is a liar a serial liar. A leader who could lie about going to war, the most important decision any prime minister takes, is no longer fit for office. Yet it is interesting how few Conservative politicians I speak to are prepared to use the L word, even about Tony Blair. It is the most serious charge you can make against a politician, and is an immediate resignation issue in the Commons. In fact, it is very hard to prove that Tony Blair lied about anything. Every statement the Prime Minister has made about weapons of mass destruction, about the legality of the war, about regime change has been carefully sourced to some independent authority. It was the Joint Intelligence Committee which said that the evidence of WMD was extensive and authoritative, when in fact it was patchy and sporadic. Nor did the PM actually lie about Lord Goldsmiths opinion on the legality of the war. The attorney general stands by his March 17 opinion that the war was justified. Now, Im not trying to make the case for Tony Blairs defence here. He will have to answer to history for taking Britain into an unnecessary and probably illegal war in which tens of thousands of people died. However, it is too easy just to say that the PM lied. Its much worse than that. Something sinister took place in the inner sanctuaries of government to persuade reasonable people to draw unreasonable conclusions from question able evidence. It was creative management of the truth, not actual false hood, that took us into this war. It was the politics of presentation elevated to a principle of government. Under New Labours philosophy of government, anything that isnt actually a lie is true. Labours moral relativists regard truth as the handmaiden of political expediency. You dont accept truth, you create it. Something like a lengthy lawyers opinion on the legality of the war in Iraq is not seen as a tablet of stone, but rather as a text which can be deconstructed, analysed, shaken down and reassembled much as a journalist would deconstruct a speech to ensure that it tells a story which fitted the editorial agenda of the paper. Yes, we hacks started it. Example: Tony Blair once caused a huge row by comparing the Scottish parliament to a parish council. In fact, what he said was that, since any parish council raises taxes, there is no reason why the Scottish parliament should not do likewise. The newspaper story was not untrue, even though it was a gross distortion. That is a very extreme example, but it illustrates what I mean by the creative management of the truth. Truth is something you use to win an argument, not something to bow down before. Gordon Brown is one of the most creative truth-tellers of all. He famously presented by crude double and triple accounting a severe tightening of spending limits in the first three years of the 1997 Labour government as a massive increase in spending on health and schools. In fact, Brown intended to increase spending by less than John Major had. The Chancellors promises on tax in the last parliament were of a similar order. He promised not to raise income tax. He insisted that the government had no reason to increase national insurance contributions. Then he went ahead and increased national insurance by the equivalent of one penny on the pound in income tax. When it came to the war in Iraq, the PM and his staff deployed all the skills they had honed over years of creative news management. The war was a done deal. The problem was how to justify it before the law and parliament. The attorney generals detailed account of the highly questionable legality of the impending invasion was not going to satisfy the public, let alone the generals who worried they might be classed as war criminals. So, by deft selection and trimming, the document was turned into its opposite an unequivocal declaration of confidence in the legality of conflict. However, Goldsmith had to be squared. He had to agree to his highly qualified opinion being boiled down to a gung-ho endorsement. Now, the attorney general had said that, while regime change was not a legal justification for an invasion without a second UN resolution mandate, the war could still be justified if there was a real and present danger to British national security and if there was conclusive proof that Saddam had been in material breach of UN resolutions on disarmament. The spin machine went to work to provide Goldsmith with what he needed. Unfortunately, there wasnt much evidence of either. No serious military analyst thought Saddam was in any position to attack Britain. He had no delivery systems. Moreover, Hans Blix, the UN weapons inspector, had told the UN that Saddam was engaged in serious disarmament. These arent toothpicks, he said, referring to the al Samoud missiles which the inspectors had seen dismantled. Blix pleaded for more time, so that his team could establish whether there were any weapons of mass destruction left in Iraq from 1991. Blix suspected that there were. So did the late weapons inspector, Dr David Kelly. They were fairly confident that quantities of VX nerve gas, botulinum and other chemical agents were still kicking around Iraq. They suspected too that Iraq was trying to get a nuclear weapons programme off the ground. Nobody thought that Saddam had stockpiles of WMD which could be used to attack Britain. However, a selective reading of Blixs reports, in particular his observation that Iraq was still not complying fully with his inspections, provided firm evidence that Saddam was in material breach of UN sanctions. The Joint Intelligence Committee, moreover, had evidence from as it turned out a highly unreliable source in Iraq that Saddam had battlefield weapons that could be used within 45 minutes of an order being given, which could possibly carry chemical agents. Throw all this together, and a capable newspaper journalist could easily turn it into a horror story that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction which he could use against Britain in 45 minutes. Thats the story the editor wanted, after all. The London Evening Standard duly splashed with the 45 minute claim in March 2003 in the run up to the Commons debate. It was a grotesque distortion. But no lies had been told. It was all true. There were WMD unaccounted for in Iraq, therefore there must be WMD in Iraq. Saddam is not complying, therefore he is in material breach. He has weapons, therefore Britain was at risk. Lord Goldsmith had his evidence of material breach, so logically he had to drop his caveats and qualifications and judge the war legal. The Cabinet was informed of this deadly threat and MPs given scary stories of impending armageddon. They duly voted for the war on March 18. Thus an ageing dictator who had no WMD whatsoever, who posed no threat to Britain and who had been complying with UN weapons inspectors and actively disarming his only remaining delivery system, was deemed to be a threat to global peace. Nothing lies better than the truth. 01 May 2005 © newsquest (sunday herald) limited. all rights reserved ***************************************************************** 27 Japan Times: Japan scolds Pakistan on nukes, then resumes loans Sunday, May 1, 2005 ISLAMABAD (Kyodo) Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Saturday that Japan is concerned about nuclear proliferation from his country, even as Tokyo plans to resume yen loans, a Japanese official said. In response to Koizumi voicing concerns over the black market network of Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, Musharraf reiterated that the Pakistani government and the military were not involved, the official said. Musharraf was quoted as saying the Pakistani government and military have taken thorough steps to prevent a recurrence and promised to immediately share with Japan any new related information. Khan has confessed to providing nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea. Pakistan has admitted the scientist had a black market network. The conversation took place in an hourlong one-on-one talk between Koizumi and Musharraf, accompanied only by interpreters, on the second leg of Koizumi's six-day, four-nation trip to South Asia and Europe. After stopping in India, Koizumi arrived in Islamabad in the morning and was scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in the evening. Koizumi announced that Japan will resume low-interest yen loans to Pakistan. They have been suspended since 1998 in protest against Pakistan conducting a nuclear test, the official said. On U.N. reform, Koizumi failed to win clear backing from the Pakistani president on Japan's hope to get a permanent seat on the Security Council, possibly in a decision by member states by September. However, Musharraf told Koizumi he has a favorable feeling in terms of Japan alone getting a permanent Security Council seat, alluding to Pakistan's opposition to rival India obtaining the status. The Japan Times: May 1, 2005 ***************************************************************** 28 Berkshire Eagle: The atomic opportunity Online - Editorials Pittsfield, MA Article Published: Saturday, April 30, 2005 - The one smart feature of the Republican energy bill passed by the House in April and now moving through the Senate is the effort to breathe new life into America's' stagnating nuclear-energy industry. It's been over 30 years since a nuclear-power plant went online in the U.S. Since then, costs have fallen and designs have greatly improved. Several plans for new plants are under review, and the Bush administration is right to promote a technology used efficiently and safely in much of the world. Three-quarters of France's electricity is from nuclear plants, as is a fifth of U.S. power. The deep antipathy toward nuclear power felt by many Americans, particularly environmentalists, was understandable 30 years ago but unjustified today. The Chernobyl catastrophe and near-disasters such as Three Mile Island, which scared the daylights out of millions of people in the 1970s, represented bad design and bad siting. There are now nearly 450 nuclear plants operating around the world at safe sites and with the kinks worked out. One new design approach, the pebble-bed reactor, is cheap, efficient and can't melt down. No nuclear plant is 100 percent safe. But nuclear-plant dangers are not nearly so severe as from the proven, ongoing harm caused by coal-burning power plants. Sixty people a day -- about 25,000 a year -- die from the soot pouring out of coal-fired plants. Nuclear plants don't pollute the air at all. It would be preferable if clean, renewable wind, solar and hydro power were being developed fast enough to take over from polluting, finite fossil fuels. But they aren't. The International Energy Agency forecasts that worldwide energy demand will more than double over the next 25 years. It's frightening to imagine the grievous harm to the planet resulting from doubling coal and oil combustion. Most of the world's industrial nations are struggling to head off the destruction that's inevitable with a continued buildup of greenhouse gases. It's mostly rogue nations like China and the U.S. that are putting profits ahead of survival -- even though far more people are likely to die from the climatic, health and economic ravages of global warming than perished at Chernobyl. A legitimate fear among anti-nukers is that the rabidly anti-regulatory Bush administration is not competent to oversee nuclear-plant construction and operations. Nuclear-plant safety does appear, however, to be a necessity the administration recognizes. It has been less successful at finding secure repositories for nuclear waste. Doing so should be a condition of nuclear-industry expansion. Nuclear energy is not cost-free. It has its risks and dangers. But -- like wind power, with its tall towers that some see as majestic symbols of clean energy and others consider eyesores -- nuclear power is a feasible and necessary alternative to the continued proliferation of ruinous fossil-fuel burning. The human race, if it is to survive, must work with what it's got. Copyright ©1999-2005 New England Newspapers, Inc., ***************************************************************** 29 APP.COM: Nuclear reactor in safe hands CENTER: 15 miles from plant AMERGEN: Paid for building Nuclear reactor in safe hands Published in the Asbury Park Press 04/30/05 By NICHOLAS CLUNN STAFF WRITER (STAFF PHOTO: TIM MC CARTHY) Oyster Creek Vice President Bud Swenson speaks to government officials and reporters touring the nuclear power plant's new emergency operations center Friday. INSIDE OYSTER CREEK Satellite telephones, real-time data indicating activity inside the reactor core and direct telephone lines to a state police emergency operations center near Trenton are some of the high-tech tools that could be used during an emergency. DOVER TOWNSHIP — If radiation ever threatened to escape the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, the top officials responsible for protecting the public from a release would keep a safe distance from the Lacey reactor. These officials would be about 15 miles away, working behind flat-screen computers on the second-floor of a nondescript building on Route 37, the site of the plant's new emergency operations center. Government officials and reporters toured the two-story building Friday. It replaces the company's former center, a leased office in Lakewood that would not have adequately accommodated technological improvements, plant officials said. Inside the new center, plant owner AmerGen set up dedicated telephone lines, special computers and kitchenettes. The company also designed a room on the ground floor that would accommodate dozens of reporters seeking the latest on a problem at the plant. By judging its exterior, some of AmerGen's neighbors on Disney Drive thought the new building was medical offices for doctors. Carrian Arneth, a 30-year-old mother of three, approved of her newest neighbor when she first learned its identity Friday afternoon. A wooden fence separates her home from the back of AmerGen's center. "It actually makes me feel safe knowing that all the emergency personnel would be there," she said. Federal regulators won't grade the center until October, when they plan to drill company and government officials on how they would handle an emergency. Company officials said the center meets all federal requirements. AmerGen paid for the new building, even though it provides office space for federal regulators and state environmental officials. State police would also have space here, as would other law enforcement agencies. All would gather in a large room on the second floor, an operations center where they could determine whether they needed to tell people to evacuate or stay. One large projector screen in the room showed real-time data, which indicated what was happening inside the reactor. Another screen showed the weather, an important tool for officials to forecast how a radioactive plume would travel. Unlike the Lakewood center, the new building has satellite telephones that plant officials would use to talk with workers measuring radiation levels around the reactor. State Police Lt. Tim Keenan, who is in charge of planning for a radioactive release, regarded the center as "a step in the right direction" and "another example of this company doing the right thing." Oyster Creek Vice President Bud Swenson said AmerGen kept in mind what worked at similar centers around the company's other reactors when designing this one. "We've incorporated the best of those facilities here," he said. In July, AmerGen plans to apply for a 20-year license renewal for Oyster Creek. If the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission denies the application, the plant would close in 2009. Nicholas Clunn: (609) 978-4597 or nclunn@app.com the Asbury Park Press Copyright © 2005 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 30 Guardian Unlimited: Too-Hot Ukraine Nuclear Plant Shuts Down [UP] Saturday April 30, 2005 2:31 AM KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - A nuclear reactor in western Ukraine shut down automatically Friday when sensors indicated rising temperatures in one of its systems, officials said. There was no increase in radiation levels at reactor No. 2 in western Ukraine's Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant, said Ilona Zayats, a spokeswoman for the state-run Energoatom company. The reactor has faced a series of shutdowns since its high-profile launch in August. Officials had said it was part of fine-tuning and testing procedures. Ukraine was the site of the world's worst nuclear accident, the 1986 explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, which spewed radiation over much of northern Europe. Chernobyl was shuttered in 2000. This ex-Soviet republic continues to operate 15 nuclear reactors, and it has said it is committed to modernizing all of them. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 31 York Daily Record: TMI seeks license renewal - [ydr.com] [York Daily Record/Sunday News] AmerGen will spend $4 million to extend the life of the reactor through 2034. By SEAN ADKINS Daily Record/Sunday News Saturday, April 30, 2005 At bottom: · TMI FACTS AmerGen Energy will assemble a 12-member team to develop an application to extend the operational life of Three Mile Island Unit 1 in Dauphin County. The utility, a wholly-owned company of Exelon Generation, expects to submit the license renewal application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by mid-2007. The commission’s approval would extend TMI Unit 1’s operating license to April 2034. The reactor’s current 40-year license is set to expire April 19, 2014. TMI Unit 1 went online Sept. 2, 1974. In anticipation of its successful license renewal, AmerGen expects to spend $600 million within the next 15 years on the replacement of the reactor’s two steam generators and computer and digital upgrades. That investment also will fund the replacement of feedwater heaters, upgrades of the plant’s cooling towers and condenser, and the improvement of other components. Those upgrades are not contingent on license renewal but rather make economic sense should the plant operate for an additional 20 years, said Rusty West, TMI’s site vice president. “We feel very confident that the license renewal will be approved,” he said. Neil Sheehan, NRC spokesman, said utilities usually make major improvements such as those planned by TMI if the plant is expected operate for an extended period of time. “Plants want to have the certainty that they will recoup the money they will invest,” he said. Eric Epstein of Three Mile Island Alert said he considers AmerGen’s decision to extend the life of the TMI Unit to be “arrogant and premature.” Created in 1977, TMI Alert is a group of activists concerned about the state and national regulation of the nuclear-power industry. “You don’t make ($600 million) in improvements if you don’t feel good about being re-licensed,” Epstein said. “This announcement should not have been made until they were cleared by the National Nuclear Accrediting Board.” In December, the National Nuclear Accrediting Board voiced its concerns about how plant workers would respond to abnormal conditions when it put TMI’s control room operator training program on probation. “They need to get their house in order,” Epstein said. West said he was confident that the board will renew TMI’s accreditation in June. Regardless of TMI’s past issues, the utility plans to spend $4 million on its efforts to seek license renewal for its Unit 1 reactor. That endeavor will not be easy. For the next two years, the plant will run internal inspections to look at whether or not the aging of the plant has been and will be properly managed, Sheehan said. Plant officials will review what types of environmental impacts, if any, might come about by extending the life of the plant by 20 years, he said. “This is a review process that we don’t take lightly,” Sheehan said. “We expect the applications to be of the highest quality.” All of TMI’s internal inspections and findings in regard to plant aging and site environmental impacts will be included in its re-licensing application. Once the plant submits its application, the NRC will conduct its own inspections to verify TMI’s reviews. The commission will create a site environmental impact statement that will be available to the public. “We have a standardized review process that is very rigorous and thorough,” Sheehan said. In total, the commission has approved 30 reactors for license renewal, including Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station’s Unit 2 and Unit 3 reactors. In May 2003, the NRC extended the operating license for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station’s Unit 2 to Aug. 8, 2033, and Unit 3 to July 2, 2034. Rep. Bruce Smith, R-Dillsburg, said he is not pleased that TMI has started to develop an application for license renewal. “The residents near TMI care greatly about safety at the plant as a result of our misfortune in 1979,” Smith said. TMI Unit 2 suffered a partial meltdown in 1979 and has been mothballed ever since. “I personally have not been comfortable with the operation of a nuclear power plant since March 1979,” Smith said. “(A license renewal) means that it will be that much longer before TMI is dismantled.” Reach Sean Adkins at 771-2047 or sadkins@ydr.com. TMI FACTS · The plant employs 520 full-time workers, not including security personnel. · Total payroll at TMI is more than $51 million a year. · In 2003, the plant and its workers donated more than $100,000 to community programs. · TMI Unit 1 continuously ships 850 megawatts of electricity to the PJM Interconnection grid — enough to power 500,000 homes. Source: AmerGen Energy Jobs at the York Daily Record Copyright © York Daily Record 2005 122 S. George St., P.O. Box 15122 York, PA 17405, (717) 771-2000 ***************************************************************** 32 Guardian Unlimited: Special Fuel Arrives at Nuclear Power Plant From the Associated Press [UP] Saturday April 30, 2005 2:46 AM By JULIE HALENAR Associated Press Writer COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A shipment of nuclear power plant fuel made from weapons-grade plutonium has been delivered to a South Carolina power station that will be the first in the United States to use it, officials said Friday. The MOX fuel, a mixture of plutonium oxide and uranium oxide, was converted at a nuclear plant in France and shipped back to the Charleston Naval Weapons Station earlier this month. It was then transported to the Catawba Nuclear Station on Lake Wylie, about 20 miles south of Charlotte, N.C., where it will be tested, officials said. The plan is part of a 2000 U.S.-Russia disarmament accord under which both countries promised to destroy 34 tons of military plutonium each. ``We're going to use this and actually look at how it performs,'' said Duke Energy spokeswoman Rita Sipe. Activists have argued that the MOX shipment posed environmental and terrorist threats. The environmental organization Greenpeace also opposes the use of MOX to run reactors, saying it becomes hotter and more radioactive than the enriched uranium used to fuel most reactors. However, Sipe said the nuclear station is meeting all Nuclear Regulatory Commission security requirements. ``It's an opportunity for us to help out not only our country, but the world,'' she said. ``We feel good that we are making a contribution to ridding the world of this surplus plutonium for weapons.'' After this first test run, U.S. officials plan to build a MOX conversion facility with French help at the Savannah River nuclear site, near Aiken, to dispose of the rest of the plutonium the United States has agreed to destroy. Another conversion facility would be built in Russia. No U.S. plant is capable of making MOX, which is produced only in France and Britain. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 33 PR_Newswire: PPL Susquehanna Restarts Unit 2 Reactor Saturday April 30, 3:24 pm ET BERWICK, Pa., April 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Operators safely restarted the Unit 2 reactor at the Susquehanna nuclear power plant and reconnected to the electrical transmission network Saturday (4/30) after repairing the cooling system on the unit's main transformer. A worn motor for one of the transformer's cooling system fans caused the unit to be shut down Thursday (4/28) morning. "We thoroughly inspected and tested the equipment to confirm the problem is resolved and the unit will return to full power safely," said Bob Saccone, PPL's vice president of Nuclear Operations. "We also checked other transformers on Unit 2 for similar conditions to ensure their continued operation." The main transformer is a non-nuclear component of the plant that increases the voltage of the electricity for distribution on the electrical transmission network. The plant's Unit 1 reactor operated at full power throughout the repairs. The dual-unit Susquehanna plant, located in Luzerne County about seven miles north of Berwick, Pa., is owned jointly by PPL Susquehanna LLC and Allegheny Electric Cooperative Inc. and is operated by PPL Susquehanna. PPL Susquehanna is one of PPL Corporation's generating facilities. Headquartered in Allentown, Pa., PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL- News) controls more than 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to nearly 5 million customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America. More information is available at http://www.pplweb.com. Source: PPL Susquehanna Copyright © 2005 PR Newswire. All rights reserved. Republication ***************************************************************** 34 [progchat_action] Master of Space Date: Sun, 1 May 2005 14:02:02 -0500 (CDT) Master of Space, by Karl Grossman Master of Space BY KARL GROSSMAN ON NOVEMBER 1, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY of the United Nations voted to reaffirm the Outer Space Treaty--the fundamental international law that establishes that space should be reserved for peaceful uses. Almost 140 nations voted for the resolution entitled "Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space." It recognizes "the common interest of all mankind in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes," reaffirms the will of all states that the exploration and use of outer space "shall be for peaceful purposes and shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interest of all countries," and declares "that prevention of an arms race in outer space would avert a grave danger for international peace and security." Only two nations declined to support this bill--the United States and Israel. Both abstained. For the United States, the issue goes way beyond missile defense. The U.S. military explicitly says it wants to "control" space to protect its economic interests and establish superiority over the world. Several documents reveal the plans. Take Vision for 2020, a 1996 report of the U.S. Space Command, which "coordinates the use of Army, Navy, and Air Force space forces" and was set up in 1985 to "help institutionalize the use of space." The multicolored cover of Vision for 2020 shows a weapon shooting a laser beam from space and zapping a target below. The report opens with the following: "U.S. Space Command--dominating the space dimension of military operations to protect U.S. interests and investment. Integrating Space Forces into warfighting capabilities across the full spectrum of conflict." A century ago, "Nations built navies to protect and enhance their commercial interests" by ruling the seas, the report notes. Now it is time to rule space. "The medium of space is the fourth medium of warfare--along with land, sea, and air," it proclaims on page three. "The emerging synergy of space superiority with land, sea, and air superiority will lead to Full Spectrum Dominance." The Air Force publishes similar pamph-lets. "Space is the ultimate 'high ground,' " declares Guardians of the High Frontier, a 1997 report by the Air Force Space Command. Proudly displayed in that report is a Space Command uniform patch and motto: Master of Space. Nuclear power is crucial to this scenario. "In the next two decades, new technologies will allow the fielding of space-based weapons of devastating effectiveness to be used to deliver energy and mass as force projection in tactical and strategic conflict," says New World Vistas: Air and Space Power for the 2lst Century, a 1996 U.S. Air Force board report. "These advances will enable lasers with reasonable mass and cost to effect very many kills. . . . Setting the emotional issues of nuclear power aside, this technology offers a viable alternative for large amounts of power in space." Corporate interests are directly involved in helping set the U.S. space doctrine--a fact the military flaunts. In its 1998 "Long Range Plan," the U.S. Space Command acknowledges seventy-five participating corporations--including Aerojet, Hughes Space, Lockheed Martin, and TRW. The P.R. spin is that the U.S. military push into space is about "missile defense" or defense of U.S. space satellites. But the volumes of material coming out of the military are concerned mainly with offense--with using space to establish military domination over the world below. "It's politically sensitive, but it's going to happen. Some people don't want to hear this, and it sure isn't in vogue, but--absolutely--we're going to fight in space," General Joseph W. Ashy, the former commander-in-chief of the U.S. Space Command told Aviation Week and Space Technology in 1996. "We're going to fight from space, and we're going to fight into space. That's why the U.S. has development programs in directed energy and hit-to-kill mechanisms. We will engage terrestrial targets someday--ships, airplanes, land targets--from space." Space is "increasingly at the center of our national and economic security," agreed General Richard B. Myers, current commander-in-chief of the U.S. Space Command, in a speech entitled "Implementing Our Vision for Space Control," which he delivered in April 1999 to the U.S. Space Foundation in Colorado Springs, Colorado. "The threat, ladies and gentlemen, I believe is real," he said. "It's a threat to our economic well-being. This is why we must work together to find common ground between commercial imperatives and the President's tasking to me for space control and protection." "With regard to space dominance, we have it, we like it, and we're going to keep it," said Keith Hall, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space, in a 1997 speech to the National Space Club. "Space is in the nation's economic interest." In Congress, one avid booster of U.S. space dominance is Senator Bob Smith, Republican of New Hampshire. Smith believes that national security depends on "space supremacy." He is interested in breaking up the Air Force and creating a "Space Force." Even the Council on Foreign Relations--usually characterized as centrist--has come on board. In 1998, it published a booklet entitled Space, Commerce, and National Security, written by Air Force Colonel Frank Klotz, a military fellow at the council. "The most immediate task of the United States in the years ahead is to sustain and extend its leadership in the increasingly intertwined fields of military and commercial space. This requires a robust and continuous presence in space," says the report. The U.S. government is pouring massive amounts of public money--an estimated $6 billion a year, not counting what is secretly spent--into the military development of space. And the United States has signed a multimillion dollar contract with TRW and Boeing to build a Space-Based Laser Readiness Demonstrator. The military's poster for this laser shows it firing a ray into space while above it an American flag somehow manages to wave. THE GLOBAL NETWORK AGAINST WEAPONS & NUCLEAR POWER IN SPACE is challenging these plans. Next April, the Global Network will come to Washington, D.C., for a protest, including a demonstration at the U.S. Treasury to stress how much money is being spent by the United States on military activities in space. "If the U.S. is allowed to move the arms race into space, there will be no return," says Bruce Gagnon, coordinator for the Global Network, based in Gainesville, Florida. "We have this one chance, this one moment in history, to stop the weaponization of space from happening. The peace movement must move quickly, boldly, and publicly." "Above all, we must guard against the misuse of outer space," said Kofi Annan as he opened the 1999 U.N. conference on space militarization in Vienna. "We must not allow this century, so plagued with war and suffering, to pass on its legacy, when the technology at our disposal will be even more awesome. We cannot view the expanse of space as another battleground for our Earthly conflicts." But, as the new century dawns, that is exactly what the U.S. military is doing. Karl Grossman, professor of journalism at the State University of New York/College at Old Westbury, wrote "The Wrong Stuff: The Space Program's Nuclear Threat to Our Planet" (Common Courage, 1997) and produced the video documentary"Nukes in Space: The Nuclearization and Weaponization of the Heavens" (EnviroVideo, 1-800-ECO-TV46). To reach the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, call (352) 337-9274, or e-mail globalnet@mindspring.com, or visit its web site at http://www.globenet.free-online.co.uk/. This page, and all contents, are Copyright ) 2000 by The Progressive, Madison [demime 0.98e removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of proglogohm.gif] [demime 0.98e removed an attachment of type image/gif which had a name of bottomnav.gif] ***************************************************************** 35 [progchat_action] RUSSIAN REACTION TO US SPACE WEAPONS PLANS Date: Sun, 1 May 2005 13:50:08 -0500 (CDT) ----- Original Message ----- From: Global Network To: Global Network Against Weapons Sent: Friday, April 29, 2005 6:38 AM Subject: LATEST RUSSIAN REACTION TO U.S. SPACE PLANS Outside View: U.S. weapons in space MOSCOW, (UPI) April 28, 2005 By ANDREI KISLYAKOV Miracles only happen in fairy tales, not in the high-tech world, which lives according to its own logic. In mid-April, Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, the director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, addressed the third Annual Missile Defense Conference in Washington, where he said new global threats highlighted the need to create space-based defensive systems. So, though there are no weapons in space today, they may well be there tomorrow. In particular, this means orbital interceptors, which, in Obering's opinion, should become part of America's ballistic missile defense program. Moscow expected Obering to say something like this, but was never likely to term it good news. "The deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems' information-reconnaissance and strike elements in space will reduce the threshold of global military danger," Vladimir Belous, leading research associate at the World Economy and International Relations Institute, said. "And an arms race will begin in space." Although President Bush recently said orbital weapons would not be deployed, the opposite seems inevitable, which is the main danger of the national missile defense program. Indeed, its "eyes" and "ears" (the information-reconnaissance infrastructure) that will be deployed on space vehicles must be given the appropriate protection. Bush assured Canada's premier in Ottawa last year his administration did not intend to deploy orbital weapons. However, it is worth repeating: miracles do not happen in the defense-technology world. First, any new invention requires adequate protection. Second, a more effective counter technology will always emerge. By introducing allegedly useful defense technologies, mankind could gradually lose control over its own achievements. There is a solution to this predicament. Alexei Arbatov, a leading Russian authority on strategic arms, said April 19 U.S. military security depended on the normal operation of auxiliary space systems like no other country. "Naturally, the United States does not want countries such as Russia, China and some others to develop anti-satellite weapons," Arbatov said. Arbatov said attempts cold be made to try to convince Washington it would be better to ensure spacecraft safety on the basis of various accords and international-law restrictions than to deploy anti-satellite weapons for shielding these systems. "Russia will have to modify its policy of the last few years and start producing more initiatives. This could rid us of a new threat that could be a serious problem for Russia: the deployment of attack weapons in space," he said. Moscow has already put forward this initiative. The Russian delegation told the First Committee of the 59th U.N. General Assembly last October it would not deploy any space weapons. This unilateral Russian initiative did not come with any preconditions attached, while Russia also called on all other space powers to follow its example. If the Russian initiative is supported, then unilateral military superiority in space will remain non-science fiction. (Andrei Kislyakov is a political commentator for the RIA Novosti news agency.) Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space PO Box 652 Brunswick, ME 04011 (207) 729-0517 (207) 319-2017 (Cell Phone) http://www.space4peace.org globalnet@mindspring.com http://space4peace.blogspot.com (Our blog) ***************************************************************** 36 Blair planned Iraq war from start Date: Sun, 1 May 2005 20:03:02 -0500 (CDT) 1st May 2005 The Sunday Times (UK) www.timesonline.co.uk Blair planned Iraq war from start (See also: Full Text: The secret Downing Street memo) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1593607,00.html Blair planned Iraq war from start Michael Smith Inside Downing Street Tony Blair had gathered some of his senior ministers and advisers for a pivotal meeting in the build-up to the Iraq war. It was 9am on July 23, 2002, eight months before the invasion began and long before the public was told war was inevitable. The discussion that morning was highly confidential. As minutes of the proceedings, headed Secret and strictly personal UK eyes only, state: This record is extremely sensitive. No further copies should be made. It should be shown only to those with a genuine need to know its contents. In the room were the prime minister, Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary, Lord Goldsmith, the attorney-general, and military and intelligence chiefs. Also listed on the minutes are Alastair Campbell, then Blairs director of strategy, Jonathan Powell, his chief of staff, and Sally Morgan, director of government relations. What they were about to discuss would dominate the political agenda for years to come and indelibly stain Blairs reputation; and last week the issue exploded again on the political scene as Blair campaigned in the hope of winning a third term as prime minister. For the secret documents seen by The Sunday Times reveal that on that Tuesday in 2002: Blair was right from the outset committed to supporting US plans for regime change in Iraq. War was already seen as inevitable. The attorney-general was already warning of grave doubts about its legality. Straw even said the case for war was thin. So Blair and his inner circle set about devising a plan to justify invasion. If the political context were right, said Blair, people would support regime change. Straightforward regime change, though, was illegal. They needed another reason. By the end of the meeting, a possible path to invasion was agreed and it was noted that Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, chief of the defence staff, would send the prime minister full details of the proposed military campaign and possible UK contributions by the end of the week. Outside Downing Street, the rest of Britain, including most cabinet ministers, knew nothing of this. True, tensions were running high, and fears of terrorism were widespread. But Blairs constant refrain was that no decisions had been taken about what to do with Iraq. The following day in the House of Commons, Blair told MPs: We have not got to the stage of military action . . . we have not yet reached the point of decision. It was typical lawyers cleverness, if not dissembling: while no actual order had been given to invade, Blair already knew Saddam Hussein was going to be removed, sooner or later. Plans were in motion. The justification would come later. As a civil service briefing paper specifically prepared for the July meeting reveals, Blair had made his fundamental decision on Saddam when he met President George W Bush in Crawford, Texas, in April 2002. When the prime minister discussed Iraq with President Bush at Crawford in April, states the paper, he said that the UK would support military action to bring about regime change. Blair set certain conditions: that efforts were first made to try to eliminate Iraqs weapons of mass destruction (WMD) through weapons inspectors and to form a coalition and shape public opinion. But the bottom line was that he was signed up to ousting Saddam by force if other methods failed. The Americans just wanted to get rid of the brutal dictator, whether or not he posed an immediate threat. This presented a problem because, as the secret briefing paper made clear, there were no clear legal grounds for war. US views of international law vary from that of the UK and the international community, says the briefing paper. Regime change per se is not a proper basis for military action under international law. To compound matters, the US was not a party to the International Criminal Court, while Britain was. The ICC, which came into force on 1 July, 2002, was set up to try international offences such as war crimes. Military plans were forging ahead in America but the British, despite Blair s commitment, played down talk of war. In April, Straw told MPs that no decisions about military action are likely to be made for some time. That month Blair said in the Commons: We will ensure the house is properly consulted. On July 17 he told MPs: As I say constantly, no decisions have yet been taken. Six days later in Downing Street the man who opened the secret discussion of Blairs war meeting was John Scarlett, chairman of the joint intelligence committee. A former MI6 officer, Scarlett had become a key member of Blairs sofa cabinet. He came straight to the point Saddams regime was tough and based on extreme fear. The only way to overthrow it was likely to be by massive military action. Saddam was expecting an attack, said Scarlett, but was not convinced it would be immediate or overwhelming. His assessment reveals that the primary impetus to action over Iraq was not the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction as Blair later told the country but the desire to overthrow Saddam. There was little talk of WMD at all. The next contributor to the meeting, according to the minutes, was C, as the chief of MI6 is traditionally known. Sir Richard Dearlove added nothing to what Scarlett had said about Iraq: his intelligence concerned his recent visit to Washington where he had held talks with George Tenet, director of the CIA. Military action was now seen as inevitable, said Dearlove. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. The Americans had been trying to link Saddam to the 9/11 attacks; but the British knew the evidence was flimsy or non-existent. Dearlove warned the meeting that the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy ***************************************************************** 37 [NYTr] The USA's Latest WMD Bogeyman: N.Korea Date: Sun, 1 May 2005 08:24:55 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by Simon McGuinness [As Ronnie Reagan would have said: "there he goes again" - the WMD justification for invasion is wheeled out again. Same "intelligence" sources, I didn't believe them last time and they have even less credibility now. Pull the other one, its got bells on.] The Scotsman - Apr 30, 2005 http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=460812005 North Korea 'could hit US with missiles' by MARGARET NEIGHBOUR AMERICAN intelligence agents are convinced North Korea is now able to build missiles that can deliver a nuclear weapon to targets in California. Defence Intelligence Agency chief Lowell Jacoby told senators that he and other spy masters believe the communist nation has the "capability" to do so, although he did not say whether it had built such missiles or even made the hardware for such a weapon. One intelligence official said United States agencies judged that a two-stage Taepo Dong could strike parts of the US west coast and that a three-stage version could probably reach all of North America. When asked by Senator Hillary Clinton during a hearing whether "North Korea has the ability to arm a missile with a nuclear device", he responded: "The assessment is that they have the capability to do that, yes maam." The president, George Bush, said later there was a "concern" about North Koreas ability to attack America with a nuclear weapon. "We dont know if he can or not, but I think its best when dealing with a tyrant like Kim Jong Il to assume he can," he said. * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 38 Guardian Unlimited: North Korean missile fired towards Japan Justin McCurry in Tokyo Monday May 2, 2005 International efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons programme were in danger of unravelling yesterday amid reports that it has launched a short-range conventional missile into the Sea of Japan. "It appears that there was a test of a short-range missile by the North Koreans and it landed in the Sea of Japan," the White House chief of staff, Andrew Card, told CNN. US agencies were still assessing the information to determine exactly what took place. Yonhap, the official South Korean news agency, quoted intelligence officials in Seoul saying a missile was launched just north of Hamhung on North Korea's east coast. Japanese media had earlier quoted government sources as saying that the missile, launched at around 8am Japanese time, had a range of about 60 miles and was most likely to have been an anti-ship or small ballistic missile. It was not immediately clear whether the launch was a test. There have been US warnings that Pyongyang has been preparing to conduct an underground nuclear test, possibly within two months. The launch of a missile would almost certainly damage the prospects for the multi-party nuclear talks involving the two Koreas, China, the US, Russia and Japan, which have been stalled for almost a year. But analysts say such launches are part of a familiar negotiating tactic - that of creating a minor crisis which could force concessions. The North is thought to have test-fired short-range missiles into the sea at least three times in 2003 amid condemnation of its suspected nuclear ambitions. In 1998 it test-fired a long-range missile over Japanese territory and into the Pacific Ocean, which prompted Tokyo to start work on missile defence with the US. The US defence intelligence agency has said that Pyongyang could soon be able to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile capable of striking the US west coast. In February North Korea said it had nuclear weapons, and would no longer take part in the six-party negotiations, citing bellicose language from the Bush administration. It later said it would return to talks if Washington showed more "trustworthy sincerity". Concern was raised when Pyongyang shut down a 5,000kW nuclear reactor: weapons-grade plutonium can be extracted from fuel rods that have been removed from reactors and left to cool. The North's calls for more aid, coupled with direct talks with the US, have so far been unsuccessful. It has also demanded an apology from the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, for calling it an "outpost of tyranny" this year. Last Thursday George Bush labelled the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, a "dangerous person" and a "tyrant". A day later the official North Korean news agency quoted the North Korean foreign ministry as calling Mr Bush a "hooligan, bereft of any personality as a human being, to say nothing of stature as president of a country. He is a half-baked man in terms of morality, and a philistine whom we can never deal with." Timelines 12.02.2003: North Korea's nuclear programme North Korea - 1991 to the present [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 39 Guardian Unlimited Report: N. Korea May Have Fired Missile From the Associated Press [UP] Sunday May 1, 2005 12:01 PM TOKYO (AP) - The U.S. military informed Japan that North Korea may have fired a short-range missile toward the Sea of Japan on Sunday morning, Kyodo News service and national broadcaster NHK reported. The reports quoted unidentified government sources as saying that the U.S. military informed Japan's Defense Agency of the possible missile launch. The government was attempting to confirm the information, the reports said. The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and the U.S. military both refused to comment, and an official at the Japanese Defense Agency said he could not confirm the report. The South Korean defense ministry also said it could not confirm the account. NHK said the missile was believed to have been fired from the reclusive nation's east coast and to have traveled 65 miles into the Sea of Japan. Word of the possible test came just days after a top U.S. military intelligence official told a U.S. Senate committee that North Korea has the ability to arm a missile with a nuclear weapon, a potentially significant advance for the communist state. Vice Adm. Lowell Jacoby, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, in testimony on Thursday, did not specify whether he was talking about a short-range missile or a long-range one that could reach the United States. Two defense officials later said that U.S. intelligence analysts believe North Korea is several years away from being able to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile that could reach the United States from the Korean Peninsula. North Korea's missile development program has spurred Japan to join the United States in putting together a joint missile-defense system. North Korea startled Tokyo in 1998 by launching a long-range ballistic missile over the Japanese archipelago and into the Pacific Ocean. Pyongyang has played upon the threat by intermittently test-firing short-range missiles since then. The Japanese Cabinet in February approved legislation that would allow the defense chief to order the military to shoot down incoming missiles. Six-nation talks aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions have been stalled since last June. Washington's top envoy on the issue, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, said on Thursday in South Korea that the North's refusal to return to the talks is a problem but they are still the best way to resolve the matter. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 40 Guardian Unlimited: N. Korea Missile Test Raises New Fears From the Associated Press [UP] Sunday May 1, 2005 7:31 PM AP Photo TOK203 By SOO-JEONG LEE Associated Press Writer SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea apparently test fired a missile into the Sea of Japan on Sunday, raising new fears about Pyongyang's nuclear intentions just days after a U.S. intelligence official said the secretive Stalinist state had the ability in theory to arm a missile with a nuclear warhead. News of the test launch first appeared in Japanese media reports, citing U.S. military officials as having informed the Japanese and South Korean governments of the test launch which took the missile about 65 miles off the North Korean coast. Later, the White House chief of staff confirmed the incident in an interview with CNN's ``Late Edition.'' ``It appears that there was a test of a short-range missile by the North Koreans and it landed in the Sea of Japan. We're not surprised by this. The North Koreans have tested their missiles before. They've had some failures,'' Andrew Card told the cable network. On Thursday, Vice Adm. Lowell Jacoby, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the U.S. Senate that the North Koreans knew how to arm a missile with a nuclear weapon, a potentially significant advance for the communist state. He did not specify whether he was talking about a short-range or long-range missile, the latter believed capable of hitting the United States. Two defense officials later said that U.S. intelligence analysts believe North Korea is several years away from being able to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile that could reach the United States from the Korean Peninsula. The Sunday test-firing occurred on the eve of a crucial gathering at the United Nations to review global progress on curbing nuclear proliferation. North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 2003. The United States, however, is expected to seek a consensus for tough action against the North Koreans as well as the Iranians - both accused by Washington of having nuclear weapons or ambitions to build them - during the U.N. session. North Korea has test fired short-range missiles many times in the past. In 2003, it test fired short-range land-to-ship missiles at least three times during a period of heightened tension over its nuclear weapons program. The Sunday test, however, occurred at an especially worrisome time as the North appeared to have resumed efforts to move forward with its nuclear weapons program. South Korean officials said last month that Pyongyang had recently shut down a nuclear reactor, possibly to harvest more weapons-grade plutonium. North Korea shocked the region in 1998 by test-firing a Taepodong-1 missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean. The North said that was an attempt to put a satellite in orbit. U.S. and South Korean officials are more concerned about a possible North Korean test of a Taepodong-2 missile, which analysts believe is capable of reaching parts of the western United States, though there are widespread doubts about its reach and accuracy. Washington says North Korea is a top global exporter of missile parts and technology. The Japanese Cabinet in February approved legislation that would allow the defense chief to order the military to shoot down incoming missiles. Six-nation talks aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions have been stalled since last June. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 41 The Observer: Iran ready to ignore US nuclear countdown [UP] Paul Kenyon penetrates the Islamic republic's most secret installations as weapons inspectors grow wary and America presses the UN for action Sunday May 1, 2005 Across a landscape scattered with snow, we drove along silent roads, past pitted fields, until the first gun tower came into view. A whole line of them followed the contours of the mountainside. What they're defending lies beneath, a warren of rooms and tunnels the size of eight football pitches. It's home to Iran's most sensitive nuclear facility, Natanz. Iran says it is part of a peaceful nuclear energy programme, but it has been built underground in case of air attacks. The Iranians' worries are not far fetched. In the minibus, the United Nations' nuclear inspectors swap stories of Iran's reaction to their presence. 'Whatever we do, they're behind us trying to record our movements and it's disturbing,' says one of the most senior inspectors, Chris Charlier. 'It's all part of the game.' Charlier is a Belgian nuclear scientist who has travelled the world inspecting nuclear installations for the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA], a nuclear arm of the UN. His conclusion on Iran is this: 'I believe they've tried to conceal their programme and their activities. And may be there are other things they're doing that we couldn't find. And that's why we're getting suspicious.' The UN's suspicions about Iran went into overdrive 18 months ago. The Iranian Vice President, Reza Agazadeh, had just told the IAEA: 'Complete transparency of my country's nuclear activities is a serious commitment.' Then an Iranian opposition group operating outside the country tipped off the inspectors about Natanz, and other nuclear activities Iran had chosen not to declare. Shortly afterwards, the inspectors asked for access to a nondescript warehouse in Tehran called The Kalaye Electric Company. At its heart were the highly-engineered centrifuges required to make nuclear fuel. The problem is, once a country has mastered enriching uranium for energy, it's not far off developing weapons grade uranium if it chooses. Which is why the UN inspectors wanted to test for nuclear particles. 'When they opened the door,' says Charlier, 'everything had been changed. There were new tiles to the roof, everything was brand new. It was still smelling of paint.' More dramatic still was Lavizan, a suspected nuclear site on the outskirts of Tehran. It took two months for the inspectors to get access. When they arrived, the buildings, the equipment had gone. The satellite 'before and after' shot shows gleaming silver buildings being replaced by a triangle of rough brown earth. Charlier is frank about what this pattern of behaviour means: 'The way they've been postponing, and trying to gain time, is suspicious. I don't think the IAEA has any facts to support the idea that they have a nuclear weapons programme, but the way that Iran has behaved in all those smaller issues has made the agency suspicious.' The Americans are less cautious. 'There's no question that Iran is embarked on a project to acquire nuclear weapons,' says the assistant secretary of state for arms control, Stephen Rademaker. As in Iraq, there's no smoking gun but the circumstantial evidence leaves the US snorting in disbelief at anyone who doesn't share their conclusion. Iran is unabashed by its apparent deceit. Its man at the IAEA is Syirous Naseri, a charismatic sharp-suited nuclear negotiator with an alligator grin, who appraised his handling of the American diplomats thus: 'If we talk to each other for five minutes we will have a fight.' Naseri's position is that everything the inspectors have found is for nuclear energy. 'What we have is the right, an inalienable right to produce nuclear energy, not just to use but to produce nuclear energy,' he said. He's right. Under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, each member state is supposed to share its peaceful nuclear technology with the rest. In theory that means that advanced countries, such as America, should be assisting the rest, Iran for example. The US sanctions imposed since the Islamic revolution, along with the West's traditional distrust of Iran, have put paid to that. Iran says that's why it has been so secretive. It went to the black market, built a multi-million pound nuclear programme and decided not to declare significant parts of it because, essentially, it knew everyone would be suspicious if it did. Simple. Nothing to worry about. America doesn't buy it. It wants Iran referred to the UN Security Council as soon as possible. All that is preventing that from happening are the three European countries who believe there's still mileage in diplomacy. The UK, France and Germany have been in meetings with Naseri and his men for six months. The last round of talks was in London on Friday night. They persuaded the Iranians to temporarily suspend their nuclear enrichment programme. But the Americans and Israelis are becoming impatient. There's a worry that these protracted negotiations with the Europeans are simply handing time to the Iranians to build a bomb. They have the centrifuges required - those they say are for making nuclear fuel - and they have the missile to launch them. So how long have we got before Iran goes nuclear? 'This issue is hotly debated among intelligent experts. We think it's measured in years, but not many years,' says Rademaker. Naseri is dismissive: 'Who are the Americans to say what we want to have, what we have, and what we should want? All they have done is made every effort that they could to deny us technology.' With Iran determined to resume its nuclear enrichment programme and America equally determined that such a resumption will send it to the UN Security Council, this crisis seems certain not to be resolved by diplomacy alone. · Paul Kenyon's documentary, 'Iran's Nuclear Secrets', is on BBC2 on Tuesday at 9pm. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 42 UK The Times: Revealed: Iran’s nuclear factory May 01, 2005 Elahe Mohtasham was given unique access to a plant that brought her face to face with Tehran’s nuclear ambitions RENOWNED for its towering Emam mosque and magnificent 11th-century bridge over the Zayandeh Rud river, the city of Esfahan is a peaceful place, even at the peak of the tourist season. But on the edge of the eastern outskirts is a cluster of modern buildings that has become the focus of growing international friction. Visitors here are few and far between. Esfahan’s Uranium Conversion Facility, one of the most sensitive parts of Iran’s nuclear programme, is surrounded by anti-aircraft guns, razor wire and armed soldiers. Although I had seen satellite images, it was not until I arrived with my companion from the Centre for Strategic Studies, which advises President Muhammad Khatami on nuclear, defence and security issues, that I grasped the scale of the plant, built around a hill. The facility was completed in 1998. In March last year it made uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas for the first time. UF6 is needed to enrich uranium in gas centrifuges in another plant at Natanz, 90 miles to the northeast. It is Iran’s recently acquired ability to enrich uranium — which could then be used for either nuclear power or an atomic weapon — that has caused so much tension. Last week I became the first independent western academic analyst to gain access to the building where the UF6 is produced. My visit was the culmination of a journey that began last September when, as a representative of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, I went to several other institutions involved in Iran’s nuclear programme. Iranian-born and fluent in Farsi, I accepted an invitation to return independently with the aim of seeing inside the Esfahan plant. This provided a unique opportunity to assess what was happening at the heart of the nuclear programme as officials from Iran, Britain, France and Germany were preparing for talks in London to resolve a looming diplomatic crisis. What I found was that thoughts of nuclear warheads appear to be far from the minds of the energetic young scientists. However, work at Esfahan has advanced further than published reports suggest. OUR 250-mile drive from Tehran, the Iranian capital, was hastened by a recently opened motorway and enlivened by dramatic vistas. Once we had passed the holy city of Qom, the sun glinted off rock faces rising sheer from the desert floor. In the valleys, the blue-tiled domes of abandoned mosques winked like tiny jewels. After an overnight stay in Esfahan, we boarded an official minibus to the plant. Despite the armed patrols, we were waved through the security barrier without any checks — not even a search of our bags. The director of the Esfahan centre greeted us warmly. At 35 years old, he seemed to typify the youth and vitality of his country’s nuclear industry. Over tea and pulak, a local sweet, in his office, I explained my hopes for the visit: to obtain answers to technical, political and organisational questions that have perplexed outside observers. He responded eagerly. Two hours later I was introduced to a group of his scientists. Most were young — about 25 — with a few over 55. Among them were several young women scientists. Although the plant has no formal policy of preventing women from working in radioactive areas, they are generally assigned in practice to posts related to safety and support. Nevertheless, it was pointed out that one of the women was primarily responsible for the development of electrical connections at the UF6 facility at a critical time when it was first being produced. The women scientists I met wore the traditional hijab, as required in any workplace in Iran. But it was fashionably pulled back over their hair and they wore make-up. These were modern women with an outlook to match. All the scientists spoke in an open and transparent manner, replying to detailed technical questions without any reservations and discussing security and supply lines. They used a large map and a model of the whole site to explain the equipment used for the production of UF6. There was even a film in which several of the scientists with me were proudly shown generating supercooled liquid UF6. Iran is only the ninth country in the world to accomplish the conversion process after the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India and Pakistan — all nuclear powers — and Brazil. At the end I asked how much UF6 had been made at Esfahan. The latest information published by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), whose inspectors visit every three to four weeks, showed that 40-45kg had been produced by last June. “The IAEA has been informed that in October three tonnes of UF6 were made,” said one of the scientists. The information was highly significant: it proved that Iran has the capacity to produce UF6 on an industrial scale. Would it be able to make enough to feed 50,000 centrifuges planned for the Natanz enrichment plant, I asked? “Yes,” came the reply. Iran says it would need enriched uranium from 50,000 centrifuges to sustain a domestic nuclear power industry and sell nuclear fuel commercially abroad. It has so far abided by a decision announced in October 2003 to suspend uranium enrichment at Natanz while negotiations over its programme continue with British, French and German officials. But having achieved the capability, it seems highly unlikely from what I heard that Iran will be prepared to give up its nuclear fuel cycle in exchange for the technological or economic benefits being offered. Europeans and Americans alike fear the capability will be used by Iran to develop atomic weapons. Experts estimate that between 1,500 and 2,000 centrifuges could produce enough highly enriched uranium for one atomic device a year. According to IAEA reports, Iran had 1,140 centrifuge rotors by the spring of last year. By October the number had risen to 1,274. In a television broadcast in Farsi on February 8, Hassan Rohani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, suggested that further progress had been made since. “Last year when we were going through the suspension period, we did not have enough centrifuges,” he said. “During the period of one year and several months we built and assembled all the centrifuges we needed.” Other experts believe that if Iran decides to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and make atomic weapons, it would take at least a year for different sections of the centrifuges to be tested and assembled for enrichment. An extra few months would be needed to produce enough UF6 at Esfahan and transfer it to Natanz as the feed material for the enrichment process. For the moment, however, the production lines are idle as talks aimed at preventing Iran from enriching uranium go on. Over lunch in the refectory — a traditional ghormeh sabzi of lamb, herbs and red beans with rice — the plant director told me sadly of scientists being laid off while there was no work for them to do. “Counselling sessions are being arranged for those in danger of losing their jobs,” he said. “Others are taking up offers in the oil industry.” Several scientists round the table were determined to stick it out. All appeared convinced that Esfahan would be up and running again soon. “What about the possibility of withdrawal from the NPT?” I asked tentatively, wondering how much the scientists knew about their obligation not to develop nuclear weapons. They were fully aware of the treaty’s requirements and of Iran’s obligations to the IAEA inspectors, they said. At the same time, they were prepared to accept any decision by their government, including a possible withdrawal from the treaty. The subject turned to the threat of a military attack on the site. It had been evident from my discussions with Iranian officials and analysts in Tehran that a Sunday Times report in March disclosing Israeli preparations for possible airstrikes on sites such as Esfahan and Natanz had been widely read. The scientists said that although they had standard safety measures to guard against radiation leaks, they did not have protection against a military attack. Analysts believe airstrikes would destabilise the region. Iran would probably withdraw from the NPT and initiate a nuclear weapons programme. “How far would any radioactive material spread in the event of an attack?” I asked. The scientists estimated that an area of more than a mile around the plant would be contaminated. Some workers could escape through underground tunnels leading from sensitive to safe areas, according to one scientist. But the tunnels were small, he added. “Only one or two people could use them at a time.” THE diplomacy of the coming weeks and months could determine whether the dispute between Iran and the countries most suspicious of its intentions — notably Israel and the United States — will escalate to the point of armed conflict. Iran wants to resume uranium enrichment under an IAEA inspection regime that it says would reassure the world. It is also seeking guarantees that other countries will never attack it with nuclear weapons. The British and Germans are trying to secure Iran’s agreement to abandon enrichment in return for benefits including a light water reactor for nuclear energy. France may be willing to support limited uranium enrichment — a compromise that at the present time would be unacceptable to America. Should the tangled talks collapse, Europe will come under strong pressure to back the Americans in referring Iran to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions. Iran might well start up its enrichment programme again. British diplomats hope that such a polarisation — and the risk of military action that may follow — can be averted by keeping the talks going until Iran’s presidential elections on June 17. They believe a pragmatic victor could open the way for an agreement. At Esfahan, the scientists’ hope is for a deal that would prevent the dismantling of the Uranium Conversion Facility. Our lunch resulted in permission for me to see the object of so much attention with my own eyes. In a changing area at the entrance to the facility, I was handed a green protective suit, along with mask and gloves. Tanks and pipes stretched to the ceiling 20ft above. Metal walkways and ladders offered views over the vast room where the UF6 gas is made. It is stored in tanks and could be moved to Natanz if the government defies the concerns of its negotiating partners. I concluded my discussions with Iranian scientists, diplomats and government officials by pointing out that the worries of western governments could not be ignored. Anxieties associated with a clash of ideologies and civilisations could not be alleviated by objective guarantees or IAEA inspections, I emphasised. Not only would Iran have to demonstrate the transparency of any continuing programme; it would also have to address systematically and conscientiously concerns about Iran’s associations with groups classified as terrorists in western Europe and America. Copyright The Times - timesonline.co.uk ***************************************************************** 43 United Press International: U.S. outlines preemptive nuke plan May 01, 2005 Washington, DC, May. 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. military has outlined plans to allow commanders in the Japan region to request permission to carry out preemptive nuclear strikes from the president. The measure, outlined in a draft nuclear operations paper by the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces, would allow commanders to preempt possible weapons of mass destruction attacks on the United States or its allies, Kyodo News reported Sunday. The paper also said submarines in Japanese waters are prepared for reloading nuclear warheads if necessary to deal with a crisis. The March 15 draft paper, titled "Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations," provides "guidelines for the joint employment of forces in nuclear operations ... for the employment of U.S. nuclear forces, command and control relationships, and weapons effect considerations." "There are numerous nonstate organizations (terrorist, criminal) and about 30 nations with WMD programs, including many regional states," the paper said. The paper identifies nuclear, biological and chemical weapons as requiring preemptive strikes to prevent their use. [UPI Perspectives] ***************************************************************** 44 Daily Yomiuri: North Korean missile fired into Japan Sea The Yomiuri Shimbun North Korea on Sunday morning fired a short-range missile from its east coast toward the Japan Sea in what could be a test-firing of a new type of ballistic missile, government sources said. The Defense Agency and other ministries and agencies were investigating whether it was a test-firing of a new type of surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 100 kilometers to 150 kilometers, the sources said. The missile was fired shortly after 8 a.m. and landed in the sea. North Korea frequently fires modified Silkworm missiles, surface-to-ship cruise missiles made by China. The sources said the missile might not be a surface-to-ship missile, but that if it was a short-range missile, it would not have an impact on Japan. In May 1993, North Korea test-fired a long-range Rodong missile into the Japan Sea, and in August 1998, the country also test-fired an advanced Taepodong missile over Japanese territory into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the Tohoku region. On Saturday, diplomatic sources in Vienna said the United States told the International Atomic Energy Agency and countries concerned, including Japan, that North Korea had been preparing for an underground nuclear test since March and might go ahead with the plan as early as June. The United States has pressured China to urge Pyongyang to suspend preparations for the test, but Beijing has not actively responded, according to the sources. An IAEA source said it was highly likely the underground test would be successful. Copyright 2005 The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 45 Las Vegas SUN: World Powers Dominate U.N. Nuke Conference Today: May 01, 2005 at 14:53:02 PDT By CHARLES J. HANLEY ASSOCIATED PRESS UNITED NATIONS (AP) - In a world of growing nuclear fears and mistrust, U.S. negotiators come to New York on Monday to urge a global nonproliferation conference to take action on Iran and North Korea. But the Americans and other nuclear powers will face demands themselves. Non-nuclear states last week complained the big powers were moving too slowly toward nuclear disarmament, described as "not an option, but a legal obligation" under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Because of this clash of priorities, treaty members on Sunday still hadn't completed an agenda for the monthlong conference opening Monday to review the NPT, whose workings are reassessed every five years. Hundreds of protesters made their priorities clear on the eve of the opening, as they marched past the United Nations in blustery New York spring weather. "Abolish nuclear weapons now!" and "No more Hiroshimas," read banners carried by a large Japanese contingent in the anti-nuclear march. "No nation, no group should test and make material for nuclear weapons. Everything should be banned," said Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima, the city obliterated by a U.S. atomic bomb in 1945. In distant capitals, nuclear tensions heightened over the weekend as the U.N. conference neared. After renewed talks with European negotiators made no reported progress, Iran said Saturday it would probably resume disputed operations this week related to uranium enrichment, a potential step toward an atom bomb. North Korea, meanwhile, denounced President Bush on Saturday as a "hooligan" and said it doesn't expect a solution to the standoff over its nuclear program during his tenure. The escalating rhetoric was followed Sunday by a test-firing of a North Korean short-range missile into the Sea of Japan. The North Koreans, who declared in 2003 they were withdrawing from the NPT, have since said they have built nuclear weapons. Under the 35-year-old NPT, North Korea and 183 other states were to have forsworn such arms in exchange for a pledge by five nuclear powers - the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China - to move toward nuclear disarmament. But, under treaty rules, Pyongyang was able to withdraw without penalty. Conference organizers anticipate a low-key approach toward North Korea, to avoid complicating efforts to draw it back into six-party talks aimed at shutting down its nuclear program. But Bush administration officials say they will work to make treaty noncompliance the focus of the review sessions. "The conference should condemn North Korea's egregious behavior," U.S. delegation leader Stephen G. Rademaker told a House subcommittee last Thursday. Without targeting Pyongyang, European and Canadian proposals before the conference would make it more difficult for future North Koreas to withdraw from the treaty without sanction. The Iran situation hinges on another part of the NPT "bargain," the treaty's guarantee that nonweapons states have access to peaceful nuclear technology, including uranium-enrichment equipment that can produce fuel for nuclear power plants and, with further enrichment, for nuclear bombs. The Bush administration says Iran's enrichment program, which was long secret, is meant for weapons-building, a charge Tehran denies. President Bush proposes banning such sensitive dual-use equipment from all but the United States and a dozen other countries that already have it. Mohamad ElBaradei, head of the U.N. nuclear agency, proposes a less discriminatory approach: putting fuel production under multilateral control, by regional or international bodies. Neither idea has yet gained wide support, but many conference participants see open access to the nuclear fuel cycle as an NPT loophole. Potential remedies are sure to be discussed. Iran has countered with a proposal to make the Middle East a nuclear weapons-free zone, which would mean elimination of Israel's arsenal. Israel, India and Pakistan - all with nuclear weapons - remain outside the Nonproliferation Treaty. Nonweapons states, meanwhile, say they're increasingly frustrated by Bush administration policies - its rejection of the nuclear test-ban treaty, its withdrawal from the antiballistic-missile treaty, and its talk of modifying and developing new nuclear weapons. An 89-nation meeting in Mexico City last week adopted a preconference declaration expressing "deep concern" over what is seen as moves contrary to the NPT's disarmament clauses. "Achieving nuclear disarmament is not an option, but a legal obligation contained in the NPT," Mexico's Luis Alfonso de Alba said at the meeting. -- ***************************************************************** 46 BBC: Relics of the nuclear arms race - Last Updated: Saturday, 30 April, 2005 By Brian Barron BBC North America correspondent This week sees the start of a five-yearly review of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and fireworks can be expected. There is controversy over budding nuclear powers like Iran and North Korea but also over whether the US plans to modernise its nuclear arsenal. Brian Barron travelled to the western state of Nevada, to visit the home of American nuclear weapons testing. [Explosion at Nevada nuclear test site in 1950s ] Radioactive fallout from the Nevada tests was detected in Europe 50 years later The unlikely gateway to America's nuclear past is Las Vegas - the desert community just 60 miles from the Nevada test site. I say "unlikely" because few today are aware that in the 50s and 60s - when Las Vegas itself was searching for its own road to riches, and casinos were not the money-for-old-rope, mega operations they are today - the city fathers cashed in on the seismic bangs that regularly broke their windows. Unused to the first earthquake-like shockwaves, gamblers took cover beneath roulette tables when the chandeliers shook. But soon motels were promoting the charms of rising at 5am and driving to the hills above Las Vegas, to see the horizon lit up by nuclear explosions above the test site. A thousand feet beneath t desert, weapon scientists conducted tests with plutonium and high explosives Nightclubs offered atomic cocktails and toyshops sold ingenious laboratory games for eight-year-old weapons scientists of the future. In those carefree days, little was admitted officially about the risks from radioactive dust and other contaminants. American TV showed stirring footage of US soldiers climbing into trenches, stoically waiting for the nuclear blast wave. But years later, it could prove fatal to have been down wind. Museum The other day the brand new Atomic Testing Museum opened its doors in Las Vegas. [Inside the Atomic Testing Museum] The museum is run in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution One of its managers, a retired physicist with many explosions behind him, showed me a prize exhibit - a full size mock-up of a very large bomb with a nuclear warhead. It was the T61 - still in the US arsenal. It is hard to imagine such openness with the British or French nuclear deterrents. I left the staff at the museum pondering how to tempt more visitors away from the casino slot machines and into their eye-catching tableaux of the nuclear arms race and the doctrine of mutually assured destruction. Airbase It's a great trip to the test site - past Sheep Mountain, the summit still dusted with snow, and then skirting a US military airbase at Indian Springs. Large men with holstered gu made sure each of us was wearing a radiation sensor Our guide, from the nuclear security administration, pointed towards the runways and said: "It's from here they control all unmanned missions over Iraq and Afghanistan. Inside you'll see pilots sitting at flight controls, manoeuvring their drones like the predator which can carry rockets and bombs." To me it seemed like one of those American cultural junction points, where the precise reality of hi-tech weaponry and the billions invested in defence morph into Hollywood fantasies - like The X Files. An hour after leaving Las Vegas, we were at the guard post outside Mercury - the nondescript town created to service the test site. Dose meter Large men in camouflage uniforms with holstered guns, all from a private security firm, checked credentials and made sure each of us was wearing a dose meter - a radiation sensor. [Map of Nevada] A national nuclear waste depository is planned for nearby Yucca Mountain Soon we were driving through the hills, down into vast depressions with names like Yucca Flat and Frenchman Flat, dotted with the twisted steel remains of towers and other structures destroyed in nuclear experiments. Tumbleweeds blew across the sandy soil. A jack rabbit, ears flapping, bounded over rusting railtracks that led to the nuclear rocket engines test plant - a relic from JFK's brief presidency over four decades ago and his generation's dream of reaching the stars under atomic propulsion. It's over 40 years since the last atmospheric test in Nevada and 13 since the US (and other major nuclear powers) stopped underground tests. Plutonium But 1,000 feet beneath the desert, in a labyrinth of tunnels constantly swept by giant motorised vacuum cleaners - to protect laser devices from dust - weapon scientists conducted what are called "sub-critical tests" with plutonium and high explosives. Their job is to ensure that America's ageing arsenal is safe and reliable. At laboratories in New Mexico and California, other weapons experts have quietly begun to draw up new designs for replacement weapons. But, barring a global crisis and total change of policy, the USA will never resume testing in Nevada, making do instead with simulations of nuclear explosions by super powerful computers. So the riveting cold war archaeology of the desert test site, along with its herd of wild horses, rattlesnakes and bald eagles, could well open up to determined tour groups - if they can jump through the hoops of federal security clearance. From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday, 30 April, 2005 at 1130 BST on BBC Radio 4. Please check the for World Service transmission times. ***************************************************************** 47 BBC: North Korea 'tests new missile' Last Updated: Sunday, 1 May, 2005 [A man looks at N Korea's Scud-B missile (centre, green) and other S Korean missiles at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, S Korea (file photo)] N Korea has not launched long-range missiles since 1998 The US and Japan say they are looking into reports that North Korea has test-fired a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan. Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the missile had flown about 100km (62 miles) into the sea. Tokyo has been monitoring the situation after earlier warnings that Pyongyang is close to testing a nuclear warhead. North Korea has already developed long-range missiles that reach Japan and has pulled out of nuclear talks. 'Not surprised' "It appears there was a test of a short-range missile by the North Koreans and it landed in the Sea of Japan," White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card told US media. He said that he would not be surprised if the North Koreans had tested a missile. "I think they are looking to be kind of bullies in the world and they're causing others to stand up and take notice," Mr Card said. The missile launch would come a day before the 187 nations who have signed up to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty meet in New York to review its progress. In March the North Korean government said it was no longer observing a self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile testing which had been in place since 1999. Japanese news agency Kyodo said Tokyo had been informed by the US military of the North Korean test, believed to have been carried out at 0800 (2300 GMT on Saturday). Prelude At a time when every move by North Korea has been scrutinised by its neighbours, the test-firing of even a short-range missile is a cause for anxiety, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Tokyo. Map shows range of Taepodong missile, flown over Japan in 1998. Range 1,500-2,000 km, payload: 1,000 kg Evidence that North Korea working on testing Taepodong 2. Range up to 8,000 km (could reach western US) Evidence from Jane's Defence of a pair of new ballistic missiles - one sea-based Other missiles: Scud-B: Range 300 km, payload 1,000 kg Scud-C: Range 500 km, payload 7600-800 kg Scud-D (Nodong): Range 1,000-1,300 km, payload: 700-1,000 kg No-one outside the secretive communist state has any clear idea what its intentions are, our correspondent says. US officials fear North Korea is now preparing to test its first nuclear device after its announcement in February that it already possessed nuclear weapons and that it would not be coming back to the six-party negotiations over its nuclear programme. On Thursday, a senior US intelligence official told senators in Washington that North Korea now had the capability to arm its missiles with nuclear warheads, although he was not sure how quickly it could do so. A full nuclear test would run the risk of alienating China and South Korea that are vital for North Korea's ruined economy, says our Tokyo correspondent. But analysts believe it may still feel it has to go ahead to prove to itself and to the world that it has mastered the technology to join the nuclear club. North Korea last launched a high-profile missile test in March 2003, to coincide with the inauguration of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. These were two short-range land-to-ship missiles fired into the Sea of Japan. It has not launched long-range missiles since 1998, when a Taepodong 1 missile flew over Japan. ***************************************************************** 48 BBC: Iran issues nuclear warning to US Last Updated: Sunday, 1 May, 2005 By Frances Harrison BBC News, Tehran [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ] Khamenei says the US cannot decide who has nuclear technology The spiritual leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has warned the United States to stay out of his country's nuclear programme. Speaking on a tour of south-east Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei said the US was arrogant, rude and deserved a punch in the mouth. He also said Iran's presidential elections in June would not make any difference to its nuclear policy. The US has expressed fears Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. Enrichment warning Ayatollah Khamenei said it was not up to the US to decide which countries needed nuclear technology. He also warned that Iran's forthcoming presidential elections were nothing to do with the Americans. No president would dare violate the country's national interests because the people would not allow it, he said. His comments came as Iran warned on Saturday it might resume suspended enrichment-related activities next week in defiance of an agreement that is underpinning nuclear talks with Europe. Iran is concerned that negotiations are dragging on too long and has proposed a phased resumption of its nuclear activities. ***************************************************************** 49 NewsFromRussia.Com: North Korea has the ability to arm a nuclear missile! 15:32 2005-04-30 North Korea theoretically can mount a nuclear weapon on a long-range missile, a Pentagon spokesman said late Friday, providing more details than congressional testimony delivered a day earlier by a top intelligence official. Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said the military has no evidence that the communist nation has actually put such a warhead atop a missile that could travel many thousands of miles. If it can, it would mark a significant advance in Pyongyang's ability to threaten the United States at a time when the two countries are at a standoff over U.S. efforts to curtail North Korea's nuclear program. On Thursday, Defense Intelligence Agency chief Vice Adm. Lowell Jacoby told a Senate committee that North Korea can arm a missile with a nuclear device. He had left unclear, however, whether he was referring to a short- or long-range missile, nor did he specify whether he believed North Korea had already done so, publishes the Guardian Unlimited. According to ABC News, North Korea is believed to have made at least one nuclear weapon, according to public intelligence estimates. But combining that weapon with the Taepo Dong 2 into a nuclear missile is a greater technical challenge, defense officials said. After Jacoby spoke, two defense officials said U.S. intelligence analysts believe North Korea is several years from being able to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile that is capable of reaching the United States from Korea. The defense officials, discussing intelligence assessments on the condition of anonymity, said analysts believe North Korea has not solved all the problems of turning a nuclear device into a small warhead for an intercontinental ballistic missile, so the meaning of Jacoby's statement remained somewhat ambiguous. Jacoby discussed North Korea's capabilities during questioning by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Clinton asked if "North Korea has the ability to arm a missile with a nuclear device?" Jacoby answered, "My assessment is that they have the capability to do that." NR Pravda.RU:World Copyright ©1999 by "Pravda.RU". When reproducing our materials ***************************************************************** 50 Japan Times: U.S. may allow nuke strikes over WMD Monday, May 2, 2005 Proposal would reverse 10-year policy WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The U.S. military is considering allowing regional combatant commanders to request presidential approval for pre-emptive nuclear strikes against possible attacks with weapons of mass destruction on the United States or its allies, according to a draft nuclear operations paper. The March 15 paper, drafted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is titled "Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations," providing "guidelines for the joint employment of forces in nuclear operations . . . for the employment of U.S. nuclear forces, command and control relationships, and weapons effect considerations." "There are numerous nonstate organizations (terrorist, criminal) and about 30 nations with WMD programs, including many regional states," the paper says in recommending that commanders in the Pacific and other theaters be given an option of pre-emptive strikes against "rogue" states and terrorists and "request presidential approval for use of nuclear weapons" under set conditions. The paper identifies nuclear, biological and chemical weapons as requiring pre-emptive strikes to prevent their use. Allowing pre-emptive nuclear strikes against possible biological and chemical attacks would effectively contradict a "negative security assurance" policy declared 10 years ago by the Clinton administration during an international conference to review the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Creating a treaty committing nuclear powers not to use nuclear weapons against countries without nuclear weapons remains one of the most contentious issues for the 35-year-old NPT regime. A Pentagon official said the paper "is still a draft which has to be finalized" but indicated that it is aimed at guiding "cross-spectrum" combatant commanders how to jointly carry out operations based on the Nuclear Posture Review report adopted three years ago by the Bush administration. Citing North Korea, Iran and some other countries as threats, the report sets out contingencies for which U.S. nuclear strikes must be prepared. It calls for developing earth-penetrating nuclear bombs to destroy hidden underground military facilities, including those for storing WMD and ballistic missiles. "The nature (of the paper) is to explain not details but cross spectrum for how to conduct operations," the official said, noting that it "means for all services -- army, navy, air force and marine." In 1991 after the end of the Cold War, the United States removed its ground-based nuclear weapons in Asia and Europe as well as strategic nuclear warheads on warships and submarines. But the paper says the U.S. has the capability of reviving sea-based nuclear arms. The Japan Times: May 2, 2005 (C) All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 51 ZAMAN DAILY NEWSPAPER: Iraq Turns out to be Terrorists' Playground (20050502) INTERNATIONAL 05.02.2005 Monday - ISTANBUL 07:08 The 8th Neighboring Countries of Iraq Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held in Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul yesterday. »» Signal for Face-to Face Meeting The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who took the first step about the genocide claims by writing a letter to Kocharyan is getting ready for his second initiative. Diplomatic sources expect a face-to-face meeting in up coming international meetings, in which the two leaders will participate in May. »» Suicide Attack in Egypt Three people died in two separate attacks, which occurred in the capital Cairo and were allegedly targeted at tourists. 10 were injured. »» Appointment for Velvet Revolution in Tblisi It was reported that US President George W. Bush will meet with the opposition leaders of Belarus, which is among the countries Erdogan Visits Israel, Palestine Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is going to Israel today with some ministers, bureaucrats, deputies in addition to a large delegation of businessmen. »» 'Visit will End Israel-Turkey Crisis' Israel-Turkey Business Council Chairman Dr. Alon Liel said that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Israel today will put an end to a crisis between the two countries. »» Renaissance in Former Soviet Republics While the velvet revolutions in the former Soviet republics continue, the observers have determined that the region is experiencing a certain "renaissance".»» [NEWS ANALYSIS] To Say 'No' to Constitution, Means 'Yes' to EU Crisis The probability that France, a founding member of the European Union (EU), may say 'no' to the European Constitution, which will save the EU from being a 'political dwarf' certainly concerns all the EU member states. »» Kyrgyz Presidential Race Prone to Rise North-South Tension After the velvet revolution on March 24, Kyrgyzstan is experiencing the excitement of presidential elections, which is another important turning point in its near future, on July 10.»» [NEWS ANALYSIS] Meeting of Neighboring Countries might Become Regional Dynamic The Meeting of Neighboring Countries to Iraq has developed a structure that it approves of. The neighboring countries as a geographical area have gathered officially eight times, ten times in total counting the unofficial sessions. »» Copyright© 1995-2004 Feza Newspaper Publishing Co. Cobancesme Mh. Kalender Sk. No: 21 34530 Yenibosna / Istanbul Phone:+90 (212) 639 34 50 (pbx), Fax: +90 (212) 652 24 23, e-mail: e.editor@zaman.com.tr ***************************************************************** 52 Guardian Unlimited Feds: N. Korea Could Build Nuke Missile From the Associated Press [UP] Saturday April 30, 2005 8:16 AM By JOHN J. LUMPKIN Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - North Korea could in theory mount a nuclear weapon on a long-range missile, but there's no evidence it has already done so, the Pentagon says. Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said officials have no indication the communist nation has actually put such a warhead atop a missile that could travel many thousands of miles. If it could, it would mark a significant advance in Pyongyang's ability to threaten the United States at a time when the two countries are at a standoff over U.S. efforts to curtail North Korea's nuclear program. On Thursday, Defense Intelligence Agency chief Vice Adm. Lowell Jacoby told a Senate committee that North Korea can arm a missile with a nuclear device. He had left unclear, however, whether he was referring to a short- or long-range missile, nor did he specify whether he believed North Korea had already done so. A statement issued Friday evening marked the Pentagon's latest attempt to explain and in part soften Jacoby's testimony. It pointedly used the term ``theoretical capability'' to describe North Korea's capacity to produce a nuclear-armed missile. On Thursday, Jacoby had said he believed ``they have the capability to do that.'' ``North Korea has a theoretical capability to produce a warhead and mate it with a missile, but we have no information to suggest they have done so,'' the statement said. It said the finding is ``based upon the fact that information concerning weapons design has been readily available for decades in unclassified literature, that North Korea has access to nuclear material and an assessment that North Korea has the capability to engineer a weapon based on those designs.'' The U.S. intelligence community believes North Korea has one or more nuclear weapons, and has untested two- and three-stage missiles capable of reaching U.S. soil . But it has been unclear whether Pyongyang has yet developed the technology to miniaturize a nuclear weapon so it fits on a missile, and provide it with the guidance systems so it can hit a target. Pressed on the matter Friday, Lawrence Di Rita, the chief spokesman for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, said the United States does not know whether the North Koreans have a nuclear warhead small enough to be carried by a missile that could reach U.S. territory. The Pentagon also said Jacoby's statement marked no new assessment, but simply restated remarks he made in March. Jacoby's previous statements, however, left unclear whether the U.S. believes the North Koreans had developed the necessary warhead technology. Two defense officials said they believe it will be several years before North Korea can deploy an intercontinental ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead. They discussed the intelligence analysis Thursday on the condition of anonymity. In the exchange Thursday, Jacoby was asked by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., whether ``North Korea has the ability to arm a missile with a nuclear device?'' Jacoby answered, ``My assessment is that they have the capability to do that.'' Clinton called Jacoby's testimony ``troubling beyond words.'' U.S. intelligence believes a two-stage North Korean Taepo Dong 2 missile could hit Alaska, Hawaii and perhaps parts of the West Coast. North Korea also has shorter-range missiles which, some officials have said, may be able to carry a nuclear warhead as far as Japan. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 53 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Warns of Possible N. Korea Nuke Test From the Associated Press [UP] Saturday April 30, 2005 10:16 AM VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The United States is warning allies that North Korea may be ready to carry out an underground nuclear test as early as June, diplomats said Saturday. The diplomats told The Associated Press that the information apparently had been gathered in part from satellite imagery. They spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of discussing intelligence information. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 ***************************************************************** 54 SABCnews.com: Earthlife repeats calls for radiation probe South African Broadcasting Corporation Copyright © Earthlife said radiation levels of radioactives were up to 30 microsieverts in Phelindaba April 30, 2005, 14:30 An environmental lobby group repeated calls today for an investigation into dangerous radiation levels at the Pelindaba nuclear site outside Pretoria, despite its claims being dismissed as reckless by President Thabo Mbeki. Olivia Andrews, a campaigner for Earthlife Africa said claims of dangerous radiation levels at the site near Pelindaba were validated yesterday when the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) ordered the construction of a fence and the placing guards around the vicinity. "We believe that a full, transparent investigation into the Pelindaba calibration site could lead to improvements in nuclear regulation, and we are prepared to work together to achieve this," Andrews said. Earthlife Africa said the NNR had in a report yesterday issued instructions to the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (Necsa) to erect a fence within three days and to put guards on duty in the interim. Mbeki said on Thursday Earthlife's claims were made without foundation and were creating unnecessary fear. But Earthlife says an experienced geologist and Geiger counter had investigated the site and found that the levels of radioactivity in the area were above the international norm. Inadequate warning Earthlife said it appeared that radioactive ores were "deliberately" buried in shallow concrete containers, with an open gate and inadequate warning signs. It claims to have measured the radiation from the buried sources and found levels of up to 20-30 microsieverts per hour. The legal limit for ionizing radiation measured directly outside a storage place for radioactive materials was not supposed to exceed a dose rate of 2.5 microsieverts per hour. "A child spending three minutes per day playing at this site would receive a radiation dose in excess of what is considered acceptable under South Africa regulations," the group said. Earthlife said the existence of the site was brought to it attention by a community that has an outstanding land claim covering the area. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the minister of minerals and energy, told reporters earlier this week that the "waste" found by Earthlife was actually a number of "concrete calibration pads" used for instrument calibration purposes by geologists working in the area. No radioactive waste was found and tests on the soil in the vicinity also yielded no radiation threat. She agreed that Necsa should have put signs up, and that the slabs should not have been lying around -- even though they did not pose a risk. - Sapa ***************************************************************** 55 Las Vegas RJ: Radiation compensation may decline Saturday, April 30, 2005 Recommended changes would widen area but tighten standards for deciding who gets payments THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SALT LAKE CITY -- A National Academy of Sciences report has recommended that the government's radiation compensation program be applied to a large territory but also be more restrictive in determining who is eligible. Radiation is not a particularly potent cancer-causer, and tightened compensation standards likely would "result in few successful claims," the report released Thursday said. It recommends widening the pool of potential claimants throughout the nation and to include people in uranium-related jobs and professions not covered by the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. Even there, the risks "for radiation-induced disease are generally low at the exposure levels of concern," the study said. The link between disease and radiation from uranium mining and from above-ground atomic testing in Southern Nevada during the 1950s and early 1960s has been controversial for decades, with studies drawing different conclusions. The National Research Council, part of the National Academy of Sciences, examined the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 at the request of Congress, which must decide if any action is needed. "New information since RECA was enacted in 1990 reveals a wider geographic distribution of dose from (radioactive iodine) than was generally recognized when Congress identified selected counties as affected areas for downwinder eligibility," the report said. But the report also said the number of cancers among Japanese atomic bomb survivors that are attributable to radiation "is relatively small, even though many in this population received doses much higher than doses received by most of downwinders." The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act allows compensation for people with diseases tied to radiation who lived in certain counties downwind from the Nevada Test Site in southwestern Utah, southeastern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. It also covered workers at the Nevada Test Site. In 2000, Congress extended coverage to uranium workers. Compensation for those who qualify is $100,000 for those exposed in the weapons-related uranium mining industry, $75,000 for on-site workers and $50,000 for downwinders. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, is concerned the recommendations might not address health issues facing Utah's downwinders. "I'm worried that moving away from geography as a basis for expanding RECA may result in thousands of downwinders falling through the cracks." U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he hopes any congressional changes to the program do not undercut people who are now eligible for compensation. The report recommended that the National Cancer Institute or other agencies carry out a nationwide pre-assessment survey of diseases related to radiation to provide guidance about how likely a person is to be compensated. The report also said Congress should establish a new method of awarding compensation, based not on residency in particular counties, but on figuring the probability of causation and assigned share of the risk. Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal ***************************************************************** 56 Las Vegas SUN: Mercury-Laden Clouds Threaten Utah Today: May 01, 2005 at 21:02:52 PDT ASSOCIATED PRESS SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Mercury-laden clouds from gold mine smokestacks near Elko, Nev., are floating east and could pose a health threat and damage the ecology of the Great Salt Lake. The mines account for as much as 11 percent of total Mercury emissions in the United States. Mercury is a heavy metal that occurs naturally. Exposure to the element has been linked to neurological and kidney diseases, autism, loss of motor control and death. Young children and pregnant women are most at risk. Congress has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make rules to cut mercury emissions, but the Elko-area mines are not under those regulations. Instead, they enrolled in a voluntary emissions program that has had mixed results, said Justin Hayes, spokesman for the Idaho Conservation League. The organization is ready to sue to force the EPA to impose emissions reductions rules on the Nevada mines. In an Oct. 21 letter to then-EPA Administrator and former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, the Conversation League charged that prevailing winds and atmospheric circulation patterns send huge plumes of mercury into southern Idaho, possibly contributing to mercury-related fish consumption advisories. And what goes for Idaho ought to go for Utah, Hayes said. A March report prepared for the EPA that uses 1998 emissions reports and extrapolates backward to 1985, estimated the 18 Nevada gold mines released between 70 and 200 tons of mercury. That's probably and underestimate, said Glenn Miller, the University of Nevada environmental science professor who prepared the report. Scientists know that mercury can travel great distances and the element's organic form, methylmercury, can get into humans through the consumption of fish and shellfish. Lesser known is how else mercury harms humans, animals and the environment. Consumption of swordfish and shark are high on the risk list in Asia and Africa, and California officials have issued warnings about some fish that populate streams in the Sierra fouled by gold mining. Mercury contamination "is potentially a major impact on the recreational industry in Utah," said Miller. "You're going to be wondering if you should eat the fish you catch." Studies of the Great Salt Lake have found some of the highest levels of mercury in the nation. But to date, Utah has no mercury-related fish consumption advisories. Because mercury is drifting around the globe, it would be difficult to determine exactly where the mercury in the Great Salt Lake, or anywhere else, came from, Miller said. It's unlikely the mining industry is responsible for all the mercury in Utah and Idaho, "but it is fair to say there is a significant fraction," he said. Still, "I would be surprised if in the Uintas you didn't have some pretty significant mercury loads." The Utah Department of Environmental Quality hasn't identified any such loads, although no fish have been tested. Division of Water Quality Director Walt Baker says the state is still developing testing protocols for fish tissue and other freshwater aquatic life, though a "limited number" of tissue samples have been sent to EPA. One sample exceeded the level of what they would consider acceptable, Baker said. Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com ***************************************************************** 57 Great Falls Tribune: Burns, Baucus back nuclear fallout victims in Montana www.greatfallstribune.com Saturday, April 30, 2005 By RICHARD ECKE Tribune Staff Writer Montana victims of nuclear weapons testing from a half-century ago "deserve both an apology and compensation from the U.S. government," U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., said Thursday. Burns' statement coincided with the release of a nearly 400-page report by the National Academy of Sciences. The report recommended that the government open the door to hearing cancer claims from people in all states who think they were affected by nuclear fallout from 1950s weapons tests in Nevada. However, it also suggested that those harmed would have to prove that nuclear fallout caused their health problems. The program already has paid more than $700,000 to 11,000 radiation victims and their families. In certain counties in Utah, Arizona and Nevada, fallout victims need not prove fallout caused their cancers. Proving fallout was the cause might not be easy, one expert told The Associated Press. "The fact that terrible things have happened to people can't necessarily be traceable to a specific event," noted Jonathan Moreno, a University of Virginia biomedical ethics official who did a peer review of the new study. "According to the study, Montanans at the time were exposed to the highest dosages of radiation of any state in the country as a result of this nuclear testing — even higher than folks in Nevada," Burns said. "Our folks have been hit the hardest from this, and their pain and suffering has been completely ignored." The federal government in the 1950s and early 1960s showered the country, notably the West, with radioactive fallout during nuclear weapons testing in Nevada. In creating a compensation program for fallout victims, called "downwinders," the government limited coverage largely to specific counties in Arizona, Utah and Nevada. U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., called the lack of compensation for Montanans an "outrage." Baucus said he was "deeply disturbed ... that Montanans suffered more from the nuclear testing that took place in Nevada in the 1950s and 1960s than any other state in the country." Effects from the testing were "awful," said Baucus, who pledged to "fight tooth and nail to get Montanans the compensation that has been withheld from them for so long." He promised to work with Burns, U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and others. The academy report recommended opening the program to anyone affected by the weapons tests, if they can prove the cause to some degree. Study authors left it up to Congress to resolve the contentious issue. Originally published April 30, 2005 ***************************************************************** 58 Idaho Statesman: Otter, governor to back downwinder initiative 05-01-2005 Statesman staff Edition Date: 04-30-2005 Rep. C.L. "Butch" Otter will back Sen. Mike Crapo's plan to add all of Idaho to the federal compensation program for downwinders. Crapo said Thursday he will introduce a bill in the next few weeks adding all of Idaho to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. Gov. Dirk Kempthorne also is endorsing Crapo's initiative, which came after the release of a National Academies of Science study that suggested reforming the law to include the whole U.S., with tough new scientific criteria to qualify for payments. "This legislation is a starting point to ensure Idahoans are treated fairly, whether the compensation remains based on geography or is ultimately reshaped according to more scientific principles," Kempthorne said. The law provides $50,000 to cancer victims who lived in 21 counties in Nevada, Utah and Arizona whose illnesses are presumed by Congress to have been caused by fallout from nuclear-bomb testing in Nevada. Otter's spokesman, Mark Warbis, said Friday that Otter will "support Sen. Crapo's legislative initiatives on this issue, whatever they may be. If that includes an all-Idaho bill, he will support that. If that includes a nationwide inclusion bill, he will support that." Sen. Larry Craig said Thursday he will co-sponsor Crapo's all-Idaho bill. Rep. Mike Simpson withheld judgment. ***************************************************************** 59 Idaho Statesman: Downwinder issues hit close to home for Sen. Craig Dan Popkey The Idaho Statesman | Edition Date: 05-01-2005 Sen. Larry Craig has kept it to himself, but he has his own heartbreaking downwinders story. I didn't hear it from Craig. His mother, Dorothy, told me about it last week, explaining there'd been a death in the family she believes is linked to nuclear fallout. "What do you think of this downwinder thing?" began Mrs. Craig, 84, who lives in Payette. "It's all true. Emmett is eaten up with cancer, and it's just a tragedy. It was on the grass, trees, shrubs and everything. The cows ate it, it went into their milk, the buttermilk, cheese and everything." She then told me a story like scores of others I've heard since first writing last August about the impact of nuclear fallout on Idaho from Nevada bomb tests between 1951 and 1962. Mrs. Craig's beloved niece, Dana Meyers, died March 24 at her home in Pocatello, felled by cancer that spread from her lung to her eye to her liver. She was just 47. And she was Sen. Craig's cousin. An outdoor writer, artist, publisher and business consultant who loved Yellowstone, skiing, bison, needlepoint and organic food, Dana was especially close to Mrs. Craig. When she visited the Treasure Valley on business, she stayed with Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Elvin. "She was a dynamic little redhead," said Mrs. Craig. "It's such a multiple tragedy for the family. It just about killed us all." In 2002, Dana and her husband, Dan Christopherson, built an apartment for Dana's mom, Mary Heavner, next to their house. Heavner, Mrs. Craig's younger sister, had broken her hip and Dana wanted her nearby. Dana laid a brick patio and planted tulips, daffodils and roses. "It's all in bloom right now," Heavner told me by phone. "I can sit here and look at it, and I'm sure she's looking down on it, too." Sen. Craig spoke with Dana several times after her diagnosis in early 2004, urging her and Heavner to write letters to the National Academies of Science (NAS) to consider as they weighed recommending expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). "He's always been caring and calls a lot," said Heavner. "He's a wonderful nephew." Heavner said Mrs. Craig explained how Dana was a likely candidate for compensation under RECA  if the law applied in Idaho. Dana was born in 1958 in Custer County, which ranked No. 2 in the nation in iodine-131 fallout, according to the National Cancer Institute. She also lived in Lemhi County, No. 5 in the nation. Her mother was unable to breast feed, so Dana drank milk from the dairy in Challis. That's the top risk factor for delivering high concentrations of radiation to the thyroid in children. "The only thing that agreed with Dana was whole milk," said Heavner. "When she was born, she had bottle after bottle, and when she was growing up, all my kids drank milk at the table." After learning of the i-131 data, Heavner said, "We just figured she didn't stand a chance." Sen. Mike Crapo has taken the lead on winning compensation for Idaho downwinders. It's not been lost on folks that he sees the issue through a personal lens. His brother, Terry, died of leukemia. A sister, Phyllis, is a cancer survivor. Crapo just completed his 38th treatment for a recurrence of prostate cancer. While Sen. Craig is healthy, he's been mum about illness in his family. But his cousin Mel's wife, Katherine, who lived in Custer and Lehmi counties, died of cancer in 2002. His dad, 87, has fought prostate cancer for 15 years. Elvin Craig told me he doesn't believe his cancer is connected to fallout, but that some illnesses in Gem, Payette and Washington counties may be a product of bomb tests. "It doesn't look good out there at all," said Elvin Craig. "It came right through the valley, but I never even gave it a thought. It hit Emmett the hardest, then it came on into Payette and into Weiser and I don't know how much farther it did go." Gem County was No. 3 in the nation for i-131, according to the Cancer Institute. Washington County, where Sen. Craig grew up, got more i-131 than all but four of the 21 counties in Nevada, Utah and Arizona where cancer victims qualify for $50,000 payments under RECA. Christopherson said he's convinced Sen. Craig will fight hard to win compensation for Idahoans. He spoke with Craig after the senator attended an NAS hearing in Boise in November. "He said the incidence of it really smacked him in the face," said Christopherson. "That really shook him up." Shortly after Dana's death, Sen. Craig visited his aunt and Christopherson. "He's following up and his heart is in it," said Christopherson. "It's not only his family, but he has a number of friends and people he knows that have a high incidence of cancer. That's affected him." "Larry's quite adamant about it," said Mrs. Craig. "He feels there's a definite tie-up." Heavner agrees. "He's not going to drop the ball on this  if only because of his Dad and Dana  but that isn't the reason he's doing this." I wasn't able to talk to Sen. Craig, who was away and not available. His staff declined comment, saying the topic was too personal. In August, I criticized Craig for dropping the ball when he vowed to fight for Idaho downwinders after release of the Cancer Institute report in 1997, but failed to seize the chance to add Idaho when RECA was expanded in 2000. Since the story exploded last summer, he's played it close to the vest, awaiting the NAS report. That changed Thursday, when the report was released. Craig swiftly said he's wants to add all of Idaho to RECA. I can't help but think his shared experience with Idahoans scarred by cancer is a force driving his fresh commitment to downwinders. ***************************************************************** 60 Salt Lake Tribune: Report: Fallout hit everybody Article Last Updated: 05/01/2005 03:23:20 AM DOWNWINDERS A National Academy of Sciences report to Congress released Thursday says existing compensation boundaries for people exposed to radioactive fallout from above-ground nuclear testing should be expanded to include the entire United States and U.S. territories. People from 21 counties, including 10 counties in southern Utah, now are eligible for compensation for sicknesses related to fallout from testing in Nevada in the 1950s and early 1960s. Critics of the new report question whether the recommended changes, most notably a new formula for determining the link between fallout exposure and disease, will make it easier for people in other areas, such as northern Utah and Idaho, to receive compensation. KANE COUNTY VS. FEDS The Bureau of Land Management on Tuesday gave Kane County two weeks to take down signs it has posted designating roads through federal lands or face legal action. Kane County began posting signs in February designating off-road-vehicle routes across BLM-admini- stered land, and last month designated a new route through an area northeast of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park that is being studied for potential wilderness designation. CONSUMER SERVICES DIRECTOR The Committee of Consumer Services on Wednesday confirmed former US West lobbyist Leslie Reberg as its director, granting Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s wish. The 4-2 vote in favor of Reberg ended weeks of controversy that began March 9 when Huntsman named her as his choice to lead the consumer utility watchdog organization after abruptly firing its longtime director, Roger Ball, for fighting too aggressively to keep utility rates low for the state's consumers. Reberg said she intends to fight just as hard, but in her own way. © Copyright 2005, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 61 Salt Lake Tribune: A poison wind: Toxic mercury blows into Utah from Nevada Article Last Updated: 05/01/2005 04:14:48 AM By Patty Henetz The Salt Lake Tribune Mercury is floating out of smokestacks into the atmosphere from a cluster of gold mines near Elko that account for as much as 11 percent of the nation's total mercury emissions. Utah's mountain high country, its urban heart and the irreplaceable ecology of the Great Salt Lake are directly downwind. Named for the Roman god of commerce, profit and thievery whose winged shoes sped him as the gods' messenger, mercury is a heavy metal that can foul the environment. Mercury exposure has been linked to neurological and kidney disease, loss of motor control and death. Pregnant women and young children especially are at risk. Federal researchers estimate that more than 300,000 newborns each year may have an increased risk of learning disabilities associated with prenatal exposure to organic mercury that their mothers ingest from fish and shellfish. University of Texas epidemiologists have linked increasing incidences of childhood autism to mercury. It is considered such a threat to human health that Congress ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to make rules to cut mercury coming from coal-fired power plants, the main source of global atmospheric mercury. Yet the Nevada mines are under no such state or federal regulations. Rather, the four largest mining companies have entered into a voluntary mercury emissions reduction program crafted with EPA's Region 9 office in San Francisco. The program's results have been mixed. "This voluntary program has resulted in some emissions reductions. But they could stop complying anytime they want," said Idaho Conservation League spokesman Justin Hayes. "Mercury is such a powerful neurotoxin, you want this stuff controlled to the maximal point possible, not to the levels the gold mining industry wants to." The Conservation League is ready to sue the EPA to force it to impose emissions reductions rules on the Nevada mines. In an Oct. 21 letter to then-EPA Administrator and former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, the Conversation League charged that prevailing winds and atmospheric circulation patterns send huge plumes of mercury into southern Idaho, possibly contributing to mercury-related fish consumption advisories. And what goes for Idaho ought to go for Utah, Hayes said. "It's probably time for the state of Utah to pull its head out of the sand," he said. "There's no safe level of mercury in your environment." Up the food chain: In that case, says Salt Lake City environmental activist Ivan Weber, Utah again is a guinea pig much as it was during Cold War atomic tests in Nevada that sent fallout eastward. "Salt Lake City's burgeoning, youth-weighted population may be the real canary in this mine, along with the birds of the Great Salt Lake extended migratory ecosystem," he said. Glenn Miller, a professor of natural resources and environmental science at the University of Nevada, Reno, is a Great Basin Mine Watch board member and an expert on Nevada gold mines and mercury. In a March report prepared for the EPA that uses 1998 emissions reports and extrapolates backward to 1985, Miller estimated the 18 Nevada gold mines released between 70 and 200 tons of mercury. That's probably an underestimate, he said, because several mines aren't reporting atmospheric emissions. One reported producing about 120 tons of byproduct mercury but zero emissions - which Miller says is a scientific impossibility. Scientists know that mercury can travel great distances. It's understood that methylmercury, the element's organic form, can get into the bodies of humans who eat fish and shellfish. Less clear is how else mercury might be harming people, animals or the environment. Research continues into whether mercury from amalgam dental fillings contribute to Alzheimer's disease. Methylmercury from gold mining is being blamed on the re-emergence in the Amazon of Minimata disease - named for a Japanese fishing village where 1,500 people were poisoned in the 1950s. Consumption of predatory fish high on the food chain such as swordfish and shark is of particular concern in south and southeast Asia, Africa and China. At the same time, California officials have issued warnings about eating bass, catfish, bluegill, hitch, carp, trout and crayfish from Sierra Range streams fouled by gold mining. Merthymercury contamination "is potentially a major impact on the recreational industry in Utah," Miller said. "You're going to be wondering if you should eat the fish you catch." "Urgent science": Federal scientists studying the Great Salt Lake have reported finding some of the highest levels of mercury anywhere in the nation. The lake is in a basin surrounded by mountains that act as a collector for passing storms. Storms from the west generally pass over northern Nevada, part of the larger area known as the Great Basin. The water that lands in the basin is in turn evaporated and redeposited nearby. "A mercury cycle looks a great deal like the water cycle," said Weber, a sustainable energy consultant. "Some mercury falls out near the source, but not all of it. There's a distance of travel function we need to understand. Those Nevada [mines] have suddenly made this urgent science." Miller said that because mercury is drifting around the globe, including huge amounts from China's coal-fired plants, it would be difficult to determine exactly where the mercury in the Great Salt Lake, or anywhere else, came from. It's unlikely the mining industry is responsible for all the mercury in Utah and Idaho, "but it is fair to say there is a significant fraction," he said. Still, "I would be surprised if in the Uintas you didn't have some pretty significant mercury loads." If so, the state Department of Environmental Quality hasn't identified them. Utah has no mercury-related fish consumption advisories. But that's because the state hasn't tested the fish to see whether mercury is accumulating in their flesh. Utah Division of Water Quality Director Walt Baker says the state is still developing testing protocols for fish tissue and other freshwater aquatic life, though a "limited number" of tissue samples have been sent to EPA. One sample exceeded the level of what they would consider acceptable, Baker said. Miller believes Utah environmental regulators ought to be talking seriously with their Nevada counterparts. "In Nevada, the only place mercury falls is in Elko. But who's due east of all the mercury releases? Salt Lake City," said Miller. "I would not live downwind of one of those places. Utah needs to tell Nevada to get the hell in gear. We need to go after the industry with both fists." The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality estimates the northern Nevada mines may be responsible for up to 11 percent of all the nation's mercury stack emissions. The EPA estimates the mines are responsible for 9.57 percent of the releases. The EPA has compiled its annual compendium of hazardous air emissions and their point sources, the Toxic Release Inventory, since 1987, but it wasn't until 1998 that mine emissions were included. Suddenly, Nevada zoomed to the top of the mercury emissions list. The culprit? Relatively new cyanide and thermal processing techniques used by a dozen or so gold mines, most of them in the state's remote northeast. "It's a huge issue. It caught everybody by surprise," said Dave Jones, EPA Region 9 associate director of waste management. A voluntary approach: Because there were no specific rules affecting mercury emissions from mines, Jones said, EPA officials had to decide whether to proceed with a regulatory process known as Maximum Achievable Control Technology, or MACT. But the process is cumbersome and has led to many lawsuits in other instances, Jones said. So San Francisco-based Region 9 in 2001 decided to try a voluntary approach: They asked cooperating mines either to put in MACT-like controls or reduce their mercury emissions by 50 percent by July of this year. The first mine to participate was the Barrick Goldstrike, the largest single gold mining complex in the nation. Barrick then helped convince the Jerritt Canyon, Newmont and Cortez mines to come along, said Rich Haddock, Barrick's vice president for environmental issues. On paper, the mines have made progress. The numbers, however, are inconsistent and confusing, because some are actual emissions as reported to the EPA while others are calculated to show what the emissions could be if the processors were running nonstop, Haddock said. In 2001, the five mines collectively emitted 11,793 pounds of mercury, or roughly 90 percent of all reported Nevada atmospheric releases. Jerritt Canyon alone reported to the EPA a release of 7,990 pounds. By 2003, their totals dropped to 4,446 pounds, largely due to reported reductions from the Jerritt mine, whose emissions fell to 793 pounds. By comparison, the average coal-fired plant emits 120 pounds of mercury. Older plants in the eastern U.S. report 250 to 400 pounds of mercury emissions. The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection controls the mines' permits, which are up for renewal this year. The state could include some of the voluntary emissions control measures as conditions of the permits. But those in the agency who spoke with The Tribune were unfamiliar with some of the basic issues. Colleen Cripps, chief of Nevada's air quality planning, didn't know how the voluntary program started and said she didn't know what emissions controls were in place. Mike Elges, Nevada's chief of air pollution control, didn't know whether the state would take a regulatory stance to further reduce the emissions. Elges said the state was assessing the program's results, but said he wasn't convinced that the mercury emitted from the mine's processors was the same type of mercury that comes out of coal-fired plants. Miller scoffed at that notion. "There is no scientific basis for suggesting mercury coming off a thermal process like a [gold ore] roaster or a power plant is going to be significantly different," he said. "It's all going to be elemental mercury, and that's the form that moves most quickly in the environment." Mercury facts Mercury facts l Mercury occurs naturally in the environment but also has been introduced through human activity, particularly from coal-fired power plants and mining. l It is toxic even in small amounts. While most heavy metals are toxic in the parts per billion, mercury is toxic in the parts per trillion. l Methylmercury, the organic and most toxic form of the element, collects in water, plants and animals. Predatory fish such as tuna, salmon, swordfish and trout have been found to have high levels of mercury in their tissues. Humans who eat mercury-laden fish, in turn, are tainted. See MERCURY, XX © Copyright 2005, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 62 Kansas City infoZine: Report Calls for Scientific Approach to Radiation Exposure Compensation Act - USA Saturday, April 30, 2005 :: infoZine Staff Calls for Scientific Approach to Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Congress should establish new scientific criteria for decisions about awarding federal compensation to people who developed certain cancers or other specific diseases as a result of exposure to radioactive fallout from U.S. nuclear weapons tests, says a new report from the National Academies' National Research Council. Washington, D.C. - infoZine - Because fallout from the tests covered a wide geographic area, the new approach should consider people in all parts of the United States and its territories. However, the changes that Congress may make in eligibility criteria based on this report would probably result in few additional successful claims, said the committee that wrote the report. Currently, only "downwinders" who lived in certain counties of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah at the times of the tests -- along with civilian test-site participants and some workers who mined and milled uranium for the nuclear weapons program -- are eligible for compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act; military personnel are covered under a separate program. But the committee found that residents in other counties and states, even some far from the Nevada Test Site, may have been exposed to higher amounts of radiation than those in the currently eligible areas. Other factors -- age at the time of exposure, consumption of contaminated milk or food, and age when a disease is diagnosed -- are also important when determining whether someone's illness was likely caused by radiation, the committee said. "To be equitable, any compensation program needs to be based on scientific criteria and similar cases must be treated alike," said committee chair R. Julian Preston, director, Environmental Carcinogenesis Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, N.C. "The current geographic limitations are not based on the latest science." Available data that map radioactive material from nuclear fallout throughout the United States during weapons testing indicate that radiation doses to sensitive human tissues generally were small. With the exception of radiation exposure of the thyroid, the amount of radiation received from radioactive fallout was of the same magnitude or less than that received from natural background radiation over the same time period. Even in communities presently eligible for compensation, the risk of radiation-induced diseases is generally low. This and other scientific evidence led the committee to conclude that in most cases it is unlikely that exposure to radioactive fallout is a substantial contributing cause of cancer in downwinders. Nevertheless, Congress should establish a new process for reviewing individual claims, the committee recommended. Any new claim should be based on "probability of causation," otherwise known as "assigned share" -- a method that is now widely used in the courts and in other radiation compensation programs. The PC/AS method employs a formula to determine whether radiation exposure is likely the cause of an individual's cancer. If the estimated PC/AS for that individual meets or exceeds the criteria established by Congress, then compensation is awarded. Establishing those criteria is a public policy decision that should be addressed by Congress, which needs to take into account scientific issues and uncertainties. And since it may seem unfair, because of the uncertainties involved, for a person not to get compensation when the PC/AS is just below the threshold, Congress may decide that a range of compensation amounts is more appropriate. The committee also recommended that the costs of screening, follow-up, diagnosis, and treatment for compensable diseases be covered for awardees. Before the revised process is implemented, the National Cancer Institute or other appropriate agency should first conduct a population-based assessment using PC/AS methodology to determine the likelihood that any individuals in a given population -- such as a group of people with certain diseases who lived in particular places and consumed similar amounts of potentially contaminated milk or food -- might meet the new eligibility criteria set by Congress. The results of this pre-assessment, which should be communicated to the public, will provide guidance to individuals and government agencies on who may qualify for compensation. Federal medical-screening programs should offer cancer-detection and other medical tests to individuals only after they have been shown to be eligible for compensation and should follow screening guidelines developed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the committee added. The committee also considered issues related to uranium workers who were employed in geographic areas not currently covered in the compensation program. Noting that states not covered now are allowed to apply for inclusion if uranium mining took place there, the committee recommended that the compensation program be expanded to include uranium milling and ore transportation. Uranium miners, millers, and ore transporters should be screened for diseases generally recommended for screening in other mining populations, and the millers and transporters also should be screened for chronic renal disease. No additions should be made to the list of cancers and other diseases covered under the compensation program, the committee concluded, based on a thorough review of the most recent scientific literature. The study was sponsored by the Health Resources and Services Administration at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The National Research Council is the principal operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. It is a private, nonprofit institution that provides science and technology advice under a congressional charter. A committee roster follows. Copies of Assessment of the Scientific Information for the Radiation Screening and Education Program will be available this summer from the National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or on the Internet at www.nap.edu. It will appear on your page as: Report Calls for Scientific Approach to Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Related Source Profile > more articles > web site > contact info > about: ['Profile Icon' title='Profile Icon'] National Academies, The ISSN 1082-7315 - © 1994-2005 INFOZINE ® A REGISTERED TRADEMARK. infoZine ® is generously hosted by KCServers.com ***************************************************************** 63 Daily Local News: Nuclear gauge found on Route 1 - News - 04/30/2005 - KOTOWSKI, Staff Writer04/30/2005 A nuclear gauge missing for nearly five days was found Friday and returned to the New Jersey-based company that lost it. A statement released by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the gauge, which contains radioactive material, was not damaged and there was no immediate health or safety concern. A member of the public notified officials that he had found the missing device on Route 1 and it was retrieved by representatives of Craig Testing Laboratories Friday morning. Diane Screnci, Region 1 spokeswoman for the commission, which is investigating the incident, said she did not know the exact location where the gauge was found. The Troxler Model portable moisture density gauge was reported missing by the company on Monday. The gauge reportedly fell off a work truck near routes 52 and 1 in Pocopson. Officials stressed that the danger was minimal and that the device contains a "small amount" of radiation. Many diners at Hank’s Place, located on Route 1 within the area where officials believe the gauge was lost, had no idea that a device containing radiation could have been lying somewhere nearby. Sutton Hays, of Kennett, said the next incident might be more serious. "It’s a little thing now," Hays said. "One day it’s going to be a big thing." But Ray Work, 61, said people tend to get overly worried when they hear the word "nuclear" because they don’t understand what it means. He said he is more concerned about some of the chemicals that are transported along Route 1 than he is about a small portable gauge missing. "Nuclear materials tend to strike fear into people," said Work, a resident of Kennett. Gail Dawson, of Chadds Ford, said the first thing that came to her mind when she read about the missing gauge was, "Oops." A report from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency said the device was loaded onto a the truck at about 3 p.m. after an employee of Craig Testing Laboratories used it near Chester County Prison. The employee drove a short distance from the prison and then realized the gauge was missing. The device is frequently used at construction sites to measure the density or moisture of different materials. It is unclear whether the gauge was used at Chester County Prison, but Craig Testing Laboratories is working on the prison’s renovation and expansion project. Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Peter Minko said no charges have been filed against the employee who lost the gauge. ©Daily Local News 2005 ***************************************************************** 64 [Radbull] Texas taking nations nuclear waste!!! Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2005 11:34:52 -0500 (CDT) DallasNews.com: Nuclear waste is headed to W. Texas Shipments are start of big expansion; U.S. says state oversight lax 07:10 AM CDT on Friday, April 29, 2005 By RANDY LEE LOFTIS / The Dallas Morning News West Texas on Thursday became the destination for some of the nation's most troublesome Cold War-era nuclear waste. But the announcement that 3,500 truckloads of uranium waste will head to Texas from a closed nuclear bomb materials plant in Ohio is just the start of a dramatic expansion of Texas' importation of radioactive leftovers. The decision to send the waste to Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists' facility in Andrews County came just one day after federal officials threatened to put the state's radiation control program on probation. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, meanwhile, is expected within two weeks to approve a Northeastern utility's request to send Waste Control Specialists 84 million pounds of radioactive demolition debris from a closed nuclear power plant in Massachusetts. Texas environmental officials strongly objected this week, challenging the NRC's authority to allow the shipments. But even more shipments of nuclear plant debris are possible. The owner of another closed nuclear power plant in Connecticut has asked the NRC to let it ship 100 million pounds of similar material to the West Texas facility. And as more of the nation's first-generation nuclear plants from the 1950s and 1960s close, they also could be dismantled and shipped to the facility if the NRC prevails. Other types of radioactive shipments to Waste Control Specialists are likely as nuclear operations open and existing waste facilities stop accepting shipments. Nebraska, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas have asked about shipping some of their radioactive waste to Texas. Any of those shipments could travel through Dallas and Fort Worth on Interstate 20, a designated hazardous materials route. 'Heightened oversight' As the state's role in taking nuclear materials grows, however, a recent federal review found that Texas radiation regulators couldn't handle many of the tasks they have now. Many inspections were overdue, staff experts had quit and vacancies went unfilled for months, NRC officials found after a check of Texas Department of State Health Services files in March. In addition, they said many incidents involving radioactive materials weren't reported until long after notification deadlines. As a result, the NRC notified Texas on Wednesday that the state is "in jeopardy of not being able to fulfill its responsibility to protect public health and safety." In a letter to the state obtained by The Dallas Morning News, the NRC placed the state program on "heightened oversight," a step the commission said could lead to probation or suspension of the state's authority to regulate radiation. Still, Waste Control Specialists president George E. Dials promised that the company's facility, Texas' only radioactive waste site, would protect the public from risk. "WCS has an excellent safety record and experience in handling and storing similar types of materials at its Andrews County facility," Mr. Dials said. But state Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, said the state needs to consider its nuclear future more carefully. He has filed a resolution to create a legislative study committee to weigh the risks of an expanded radioactive waste industry in Texas. "In light of all these changes, it's pretty irresponsible to move forward at this point," Mr. Gallego said Thursday. Legislative debate The House Energy Resources Committee heard testimony on the resolution Wednesday but took no action. Environmental group lobbyists backed the measure, but Waste Control Specialists lawyer Michael Woodward testified that another study would only postpone action needed to manage waste safely. "It is a reality in our country, and we can't just bury our heads in the sand and expect this material to take care of itself," Mr. Woodward said. However, Tom "Smitty" Smith, Texas director of Public Citizen, said the state is headed down a dangerous path paved by politics. "The Pandora's box has been opened, just as we all feared," he said. The Fernald, Ohio, waste is expected to start heading to Texas in late May. The material, which Nevada and Utah rejected, was left after the plant processed high-grade uranium ore into fuel for reactors that made plutonium for bombs. A contractor, Fluor Fernald, is dismantling and decontaminating the plant for the U.S. Energy Department. The $7.5 million contract announced Thursday lets Waste Control Specialists treat the waste and store it until the company gets a state health department license to dispose of it at the Andrews County site. Health department regulators say that license could come in October. If that happens, Waste Control Specialists would earn more money for disposing of the waste. Without a disposal license, the facility could keep the waste for only two years. The company is also seeking a license to dispose of low-level radioactive waste mostly contaminated tools, equipment, clothing and other items from nuclear power plants, oil companies, hospitals and other sources. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is processing that application, with a decision expected in 2007. Needed change? The split of radiation oversight duties between the health department and the environmental agency reflects one of the numerous shifts the Legislature has made. Now a bill filed by Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, would move all oversight to the environmental agency. Mr. Duncan maintains that the recent NRC review of the health department's performance, which occurred since he filed his bill, reinforces the need to change. That bill, which also would put new taxes on radioactive waste, is due for debate in the full Senate today. Alice Rogers, inspections unit manager with the state health department, said the problems that the NRC found resulted from budget shortfalls, noncompetitive salaries and a 2003 legislative reorganization of the department. She said the department hopes the 2005 Legislature will fix those problems. High-priority inspections of facilities such as Waste Control Specialists site haven't been delayed, she added. None of those factors directly affects the efforts of the two Northeastern power companies to ship their dismantled and demolished nuclear power plants to Texas. That's because the NRC is exempting such debris from regulation as radioactive waste, meaning it could be disposed of in Waste Control Specialists' already approved hazardous waste disposal landfill. The NRC expects to approve the request for the Yankee Rowe plant in Massachusetts within two weeks, commission spokesman David McIntyre said. The other request, for the Connecticut Yankee plant in Connecticut, is pending, but the commission has approved an alternative plan to let Connecticut Yankee ship its debris to a facility in Idaho. Both plants still have extremely hazardous spent nuclear fuel on their sites, but no spent fuel would be sent to the Waste Control Specialists site. Also, the most highly contaminated debris would go to other facilities. Texas objects In a three-page letter dated Tuesday, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality told the NRC that nothing in Texas law or in Waste Control Specialists' permits would allow the disposal of nuclear plant demolition debris without state approval. Among the state agency's questions: If the material is just routine hazardous waste, why ship it 2,000 miles to West Texas, passing hundreds of other facilities approved to take it? The NRC has not yet responded. Neither plant owner has made a final decision to send its debris to Texas, said Kelley Smith, a spokeswoman for both plants. A separate company owns each plant, but the companies have several investor-owners in common. "Both companies are looking at all possible options," Ms. Smith said. Email rloftis@dallasnews.com _______________________________________________ Radbull mailing list Radbull@energy-net.org http://www.energy-net.org/mailman/listinfo/radbull ***************************************************************** 65 Brattleboro Reformer: Sharing in the risk Editorials Brattleboro, VT Article Published: Saturday, April 30, 2005 - The central flaw in nuclear power is the highly radioactive waste it produces. What to do with this material has been a problem for decades. How do you safely store material that will stay hazardous for tens of thousands of years? In the beginning, the federal government allowed reprocessing of spent fuel. By doing this, only a small amount of waste would accumulate at nuclear plants. This was the case until President Jimmy Carter reversed this policy in 1978. It's since become legal, but is financially prohibitive. Then, the federal government decided it would collect the spent fuel and store it in a national repository. Yucca Mountain in Nevada was chosen as the site and it was expected that it would start accepting nuclear waste by 1998. It's 2005, and no one knows when or if Yucca Mountain will ever open. Since the prospect of Yucca Mountain ever opening looks more remote with each passing year, nuclear plants around the country have been forced to store their spent fuel on site. At Vermont Yankee, that waste is sitting in what amounts to a super-sized swimming pool. Designed for "temporary" storage three decades ago, the spent fuel pool is now jam-packed with waste and there is little room left for more. The solution to the problem of outgrowing the "temporary" storage of the spent fuel pool is creating another "temporary" storage solution -- encasing the material in concrete "dry casks" and storing them next to the plant. When the concept of dry cask storage was introduced, it was intended as a way to safely stabilize and store nuclear waste until it could be taken to a repository like Yucca Mountain. Now, it looks increasingly likely that these dry casks will stay indefinitely at the plants. The nation is peppered with nuclear power plants -- both active and decommissioned -- using this short-term solution to a long-term problem. Just down the road in Rowe, Mass., the former Yankee Rowe nuclear power plant is all but gone. Yet, the dry casks containing spent fuel remain, held hostage by the federal Department of Energy and the lack of action to open Yucca. This does not excuse the poor planning for radioactive waste from the start, and the fact that the nation still does not have a long-term solution for what to do with spent nuclear fuel. However, the opportunity has arrived to exercise some foresight, which is what we didn't have when the nuclear industry started. We need to ensure we have the money and an effective plan to deal with what looks to be the inevitable long-term storage of nuclear waste in Vernon. The problem is not just Vermont Yankee's. All of us -- the State of Vermont, Vermonters, ratepayers, and residents -- have inherited it. The answer is figuring how much this is going cost and who is going to pay for it. This is where the Vermont Legislature comes in. We believe the Legislature should take the hardest line on this issue. It has proposed an annual fee of $4 million to $8 million a year for the right to store the casks at Vermont Yankee. We feel this is fair and not a financial hardship for the company, especially considering it bought the plant at a discount and it stands to make an estimated $211 million profit on its operation between now and 2011. If anything, this is a pittance when one considers the long-term costs of maintaining a decommissioned nuclear power plant. One might ask why should Vermont Yankee, in essence, be "fined" for an issue that the Department of Energy hasn't addressed? The answer is Vermont Yankee is doing business in an industry -- and profiting in an industry -- that is problematic. But realizing that Vermont Yankee will make exhorbitant amounts of money -- especially if the uprate and license extension is granted -- the fee should be acknowledged as a cost of doing business. All of us -- the State of Vermont, Vermonters, ratepayers, and residents -- share in the risks associated with Vermont Yankee's nuclear power production, and it makes sense for part of our risk to be allayed in some form. Looking to the future, the assessments should either be applied to renewable energy and/or held in escrow if one day Vermont is left to deal with the waste in Vernon. In its testimony before the Legislature, Entergy, Vermont Yankee's owner, has been clear that it needs dry cask storage and that the state should give it what it wants with no strings attached. Vermont Yankee argues that the dry casks are a reasonable and safe option, but to us the casks still fail to offer a solution to long-term storage of nuclear waste. We believe that if Vermont Yankee is to stay open at least through the end of its current license in 2012, dry cask storage is needed. We also know that there is no way the plant can stay open past 2012, especially if it is granted its request for a 20 percent uprate, without dry cask storage. Entergy is pressuring the Legislature to act now. We say there's no rush. It is in the best interest of Vermont to get the best possible deal for its citizens when it comes to this issue. When you are dealing with something that will remain deadly for up to 100,000 years, it's worth it to take it slow -- especially if we all share in the risk. Copyright ©1999-2005 New England Newspapers, Inc., ***************************************************************** 66 Brattleboro Reformer: Yankee waste Brattleboro, VT Article Published: Saturday, April 30, 2005 - By CAROLYN LORIé Reformer Staff BRATTLEORO -- As the Vermont legislative session winds down for the year, a crucial matter remains unresolved: Should casks for the storage of spent fuel be installed at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant? And if so, under what conditions. The Request Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee now stores its spent fuel in a 40-feet square and 40-feet deep pool within the reactor building. It currently holds 2,787 fuel assemblies. Every 18 months, the plant shuts down for a refueling outage, during which about one-third of the reactor core's 368 assemblies are removed and added to the pool. According to plant officials, the spent fuel pool will be filled to capacity by 2007 or 2008, if the plant's request to boost energy production by 20 percent is approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In order to continue operation until at least 2012, which is when Vermont Yankee's current license expires, the plant needs to create space in the spent fuel pool. This can be accomplished by installing large concrete casks -- known as dry casks because they use a passive air system instead of water to cool the fuel -- on the plant grounds. Many other plants across the country, including the decommissioned Yankee Rowe plant in Massachusetts, store spent fuel in dry casks. As long as Entergy purchases casks that have already been approved by the NRC, it does not have to go through an application process on the federal level. State law, however, has a two-pronged process the company must abide by. First, it must get approval from the Legislature and then it must do the same before the Public Service Board. Last year and again this year, the company made an unsuccessful bid to amend the law requiring legislative approval for the storage of high-level nuclear waste. Entergy officials argued that an already-existing exception granted to the plant's previous owners should be extended to any entity which owned the plant. Legislators disagreed. The wrangling over the appropriate regulatory process ate up several months and now Entergy officials claim they need a decision before the end of the legislative session in order to keep the plant running without disruption. The issue is currently before the House Committee on Natural Resource and Energy. As soon as the committee crafts and votes on a final bill, it will either get picked up, and possibly changed, by another committee, or sent directly to the House floor for a vote. According to committee chairman Robert Dostis, D-Waterbury, a final bill will be voted on sometime next week. Some committee members, however, have balked at the prospect of rushing into a decision that state legislators never thought they would have to make. The ever-changing storage plan When Vermont's elected officials approved the construction of a nuclear power plant in the late 1960s, the question of where to store the waste was not a significant one. At the time the U.S. government allowed spent nuclear fuel to be reprocessed. This entailed separating the fuel into three components: Uranium, plutonium and unusable material. Because the uranium and plutonium were reused as fuel, the amount of waste created was nominal. In 1978, however, President Jimmy Carter banned reprocessing out of concern that it created large amounts of accessible plutonium, the main component in nuclear weapons. President Ronald Reagan reversed the ban, but because uranium was not hard to procure and reprocessing was expensive, the practice was never resurrected. When it became clear that reprocessing was not a viable option, the U.S. government passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. Ratepayers, who were using electricity produced by nuclear power, began paying an additional monthly charge to subsidize the plan. The Department of Energy agreed to remove and store all high-level nuclear waste, beginning in 1998. In 1987, the DOE began exploring Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a possible national repository for spent nuclear fuel. Located in a desert about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, the land is owned by the federal government and for various geological reasons was considered an optimal site. According to a report sponsored by the New England Council, Inc., Yankee Atomic Electric Co., and Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Co., the federal government has collected more than $17 billion -- $1.4 billion of which has come out of the pocket of New Englanders -- for the establishment of a national high-level nuclear waste site. Despite years of study and prodigious funding, Yucca Mountain has not opened. The most recent estimates call for the first shipments to arrive in 2010. Few people expect this to happen. In July 2004, the project suffered another setback when the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the state of Nevada which claimed DOE's assurances that the site will be safe for 10,000 years was insufficient. The court mandated scientific evidence showing the site can be safely maintained for 300,000 years. Because the federal government has defaulted on its promise to take and store the spent fuel, several utilities and private companies -- including Entergy -- have sued in an attempt to recoup storage costs. Most cases are pending. In the meantime, the nation's 103 nuclear reactors continue to produce high-level waste and state officials continue to wrangle with the question of what to do with it. The legal morass The problem is that ultimately state officials can't answer that question, only the federal government can. Because the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is the only entity that can make decisions regarding radiological health and safety, Vermont's lawmakers have to walk a fine line. They cannot reject or even limit Entergy's bid for dry casks out of the concern that long-term storage of high-level nuclear waste poses a threat to health or safety. A decision based on such a concern would be considered pre-emptive and would most likely be overturned in federal court. The state is also at risk if it postpones a decision until next year, as the company can go to court claiming that the delay is effectively forcing the plant to shut down. When Entergy officials have been pressed by state legislators about seeking federal pre-emption, they have refused to say whether it is a possibility they are considering. Despite the narrow legal constraints the state is working within, there may be some legal precedent on their side. According to testimony provided by Jon Block, an attorney working with the anti-nuclear group the New England Coalition, a 1983 case between the state of California and Pacific Gas &Electric (PG) may offer some insight as to how the state can proceed. That case revolved around California's refusal to build anymore nuclear power plants until the issue of high-level nuclear waste storage had been resolved. PG, which sought to build a new plant, sued, charging that states could not make regulatory decisions about nuclear power. The court ruled in favor of California, allowing that states could make decisions about nuclear power based on environmental and economic concerns. According to Block, a similar case can be made here as dry cask storage may have a long-term economic and environmental impact on the state, especially as long as the question of Yucca Mountain remains an open one. So while the state Legislature cannot outlaw dry cask storage -- as soon as the plant decommissions, it becomes necessary anyway -- it may successfully impose conditions, such as limiting the amount of casks the plant can have and imposing an annual charge on the spent fuel. The stumbling block Vermont Yankee officials, however, have made it clear that they consider a fee unfair and a potential financial burden that could lead them to prematurely shut the plant down. The possibility of losing Vermont Yankee, which supplies one-third of the state's power supply, has led at least two Republican members of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Energy to say they will not approve a bill that includes an annual fee. Reps. Sarah Edwards, P-Brattleboro and Steve Darrow, D-Putney, however, say they will not approve a bill that doesn't include one. Chairman Dostis postponed voting on a proposed bill last week in order to keep the issue from dividing his committee along party lines. He said a compromise was possible and that he hoped to reach one next week. In the meantime, the session inches toward a close. Vermont Yankee officials wait for a decision and the long-term answers on what to do with spent nuclear fuel remain elusive. ©1999-2005 New England Newspapers, Inc., ***************************************************************** 67 Arizona Republic: Navajo president signs uranium mining ban Associated Press Apr. 30, 2005 12:00 AM CROWNPOINT, N.M. - Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. on Friday signed a measure that outlaws uranium mining and processing on the Indian reservation that sprawls across parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Shirley signed the Dine Natural Resources Protection Act of 2005, a measure that the Navajo Nation Council overwhelmingly approved earlier this month. "With this law, mining and processing is prohibited on Navajo (land)," said George Hardeen, a spokesman for the Navajo Nation. There is currently no uranium mining on the Navajo Reservation, which covers 27,000 square miles in the Four Corners area and holds one of the world's largest deposits of uranium ore. Mining companies began blasting holes on Navajo Nation land in the 1940s and mining operations continued for nearly 40 years until decreased demand closed the operations. By then, the Navajos were left with radiation sickness, contaminated tailings and abandoned mines. To avoid repeating the past, Navajo leaders and grass-roots groups have been working for years to keep mining from starting again. Copyright © 2005, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 68 The Herald: MOX fuel reaches Lake Wylie [HeraldOnline] Updated: 04/30/05 Weapons-grade material 'safe and secure,' Duke says By Jason Cato The Herald LAKE WYLIE -- The much-anticipated arrival of nuclear fuel containing weapons-grade plutonium at the Catawba Nuclear Station has been confirmed by Duke Power. In a statement released Friday, the power company said that the mixed-oxide, or MOX, fuel had arrived "recently." Rumors began spreading Tuesday that the fuel had arrived at the York County nuclear plant, but neither Duke Power officials or the National Nuclear Security Administration would confirm that information. "It's here, and it's safe and secure," said Duke spokesperson Rita Sipe on Friday. However, Sipe could not say when the shipments arrived, saying that information is safeguarded by the federal government. "But everything went smoothly," Sipe said. The four MOX assemblies, or fuel rods, are now being stored in a spent fuel pool at the Catawba plant, according to details conveyed by Duke officials last fall. The approximately 15-foot tall, 1,500-pound fuel rods are virtually identical to the uranium oxide assemblies they are being stored with. The MOX fuel will be tested in Catawba's Reactor 1 during two fueling cycles, which will take about three years to complete. The reactor will be reloaded within a few weeks. The test program is designed to demonstrate that a small amount of weapons-grade plutonium oxide combined with uranium oxide, the material normally burned in nuclear plants to create energy, can be safely and efficiently used in commercial nuclear plants. Although MOX fuel has been used in European nuclear plants for years, Catawba is the first U.S. commercial nuclear plant to use the special fuel. Weapons-grade plutonium, however, has never been used as fuel in a commercial nuclear plant. "This is the first test of weapons-grade MOX, so this is a unique experiment Duke will be carrying out," said Tom Clements, the senior adviser to Greenpeace International's nuclear campaign. The MOX fuel program is the result of an agreement reached between the United States and Russia in 2000 for each country to dispose of 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium from nuclear weapons arsenals. The agreement stipulated that both countries were to carry out the program in "parallel," said Clements of Greenpeace. However, he doubts that the Russians are on schedule with the U.S. program. In addition to the test program at Catawba, a MOX fuel fabrication plant will be built at the Savannah River Site near Aiken. The Department of Energy has said it would begin site preparation next month, with construction set to begin in May 2006, Clements said. "But the Russians are nowhere near ready to begin MOX plant construction," Clements said. Much of the ability of the Russians to move forward with their part of the MOX agreement will depend on whether more money for the program can be secured from so-called G8 countries, Clements said. The next G8 summit, which brings together leaders of the world's major industrial democracies (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States), will be held in Scotland in June. The MOX fuel delivery to York County was delayed briefly after the shipment arrived in Charleston from France on April 12. The fuel was shipped to the Savannah River Site the following day, where it was held until Duke Power made a number of security upgrades required by a Nuclear Regulatory Agency licensing board. Clements assumed those conditions were met before the shipment arrived. He praised the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and the Union of Concerned Scientists for intervening during Duke's application process. Their efforts led to the increased security measures, Clements said. Janet Zeller of the Blue Ridge group, a nonprofit environmental organization, said that while the MOX fuel has been delivered and the program is moving forward, her group is not going away. "We've all been through a lot here in an attempt to make the communities around Catawba 1 more safe," Zeller said. "We're not about to stop watchdogging." Jason Cato " 329-4071 jcato@heraldonline.com -Heraldonline.com Staff The Herald is owned by The McClatchy Company The Herald is a Member of the South Carolina Press Association Copyright © 2005 The Herald, Rock Hill, South Carolina ***************************************************************** 69 Las Vegas SUN: Yucca e-mails: Smoking gun or blowing smoke? April 29, 2005 By Benjamin Grove SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF WEEKEND EDITION April 30 - May 1, 2005 WASHINGTON -- Nevada's congressional lawmakers say e-mails that suggest Yucca Mountain documents were falsified are solid insider information that could lead to a shutdown of the program. The e-mails are the "smoking gun" that prove Yucca is a bad place for a nuclear waste repository, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said. But it is not clear that the electronic missives herald the beginning of the end for the $58 billion project. Yucca advocates say the e-mails will be just another controversy that blows over in time. "I think what we have here is wishful thinking on behalf of project opponents," said former Nevada Gov. Bob List, now a consultant for the pro-Yucca nuclear power industry. List says the state should drop its Yucca fight and negotiate for federal benefits. "They (Congress) have spent $6 billion or $7 billion on this," List said. "They are not just going to walk away from it." More than 100 e-mails written by scientists working on the proposed dump were released by the Energy Department after officials flagged the documents, noting that the e-mails could be evidence of fabricated work. Some of the e-mails, written between 1998 and 2000, show a dismissive attitude of the quality assurance process, which is how scientists document and prove their work. Many of the e-mails deal with how water seeps or moves through the mountain. That's important because scientists were designing ways to protect the stored nuclear waste from the elements, and they needed to know how much water could come through the mountain and from where. The scientists in some of the e-mails, though, appear to take aim at some of the work. "I don't want to be too critical here," one scientist wrote in 1998. "I could probably tear apart any of our models." In a December 1998 e-mail a scientist wrote that the project "has now reached a point where they need to have certain items work no matter what, and the (water) infiltration maps are on that list." Nevada officials have said the e-mails are "damning" evidence of problems at Yucca Mountain, but their effect on the program cannot be known until several questions are answered: ••• And seven years after some of the e-mails were written -- about highly technical issues -- can the full truth ever be known? One Yucca quality assurance officer put it this way: "This isn't going to be easy, because it is so complicated." The questions are hard to answer -- for now. Portions of the released e-mails have been redacted, removed by those who released them. The e-mail authors aren't talking. Three investigations are ongoing. The e-mails themselves reveal only snapshots of moments from Yucca's long history. So it's difficult to know if the e-mails suggest mere paperwork problems or something more serious. It's hard to discern how, or if, flaws have been fixed. 'It's fundamental' The e-mails are believed to have been authored by U.S. Geological Survey scientists Joe A. Hevesi, Alan L. Flint and Lorraine E. Flint, who were working on studies related to how water would flow into and out of the proposed repository. The issue could determine whether Yucca could isolate nuclear waste for 10,000 years. Scientists were trying to prove Yucca could meet that standard. Energy Department officials say their scientific studies show that water would not significantly corrode metal containers or carry radioactive material into the environment outside Yucca in that time frame. Yucca critics strongly disagree. The e-mails suggest that the hydrologists allowed themselves a "fudge factor" on quality assurance documents, disregarding rules that required them to keep meticulous records of how Yucca data were being collected. "If they need more proof, I will be happy to make up more stuff," one e-mail says. Another put it simply, "Piss on QA." That kind of invective is sure to get the attention of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which will examine every facet of quality assurance at Yucca to determine if research data prove the repository to be safe. Quality assurance regulations require managers to keep detailed records about experiments, equipment and collected data. The rules are in place to ensure well-documented and easily defended data. So while quality assurance may seem like dull bureaucratic busy work, it is key to scientific research. At Yucca, quality assurance will help the Nuclear Regulatory Commission determine whether to grant the repository a license. Energy Department officials have long understood that quality assurance was a key to the project's future, experts said. "It's fundamental. All the science has to be backed up -- Who did it? How was it done?" said Greta Joy Dicus, who served on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for seven years until 2003. "It's clearly core to the entire process." But some Yucca critics said there was a "culture" of frustration among Yucca scientists who tried to conduct solid research but were under tremendous deadline and budget pressure from the Energy Department and contractors of project manager Bechtel SAIC, which were in turn under pressure from Congress and the nuclear industry. "They started cutting corners," said Washington attorney Joseph Egan, who represents Nevada on the issue. Tremendous pressure At the time the e-mails were written, Energy Department managers were weak, "almost a joke," charged former Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Victor Gilinsky, now a consultant for Nevada. Some resented having to adhere to time-consuming, strict quality assurance rules, he said. So sometimes they didn't, even though the regulations are "elementary" to a massive project such as Yucca, Gilinsky said. Yucca critics point to a number of examples of alleged quality assurance breakdowns. Three e-mails written by Energy Department employee James Raleigh in 2000 indicate scientific equipment -- in one case, a pressure-measuring device -- was not calibrated while it was being used. At least one equipment procurement record "gives the appearance that it was falsified," one of his e-mails said. "If you don't keep track of things like dates and calibrations of equipment, you don't know what you have," Gilinsky said. "On the basis of what we know, you can't have confidence in the science -- good or bad. You can't have confidence in the numbers." Gilinsky suspects scientists were likely under pressure to conduct studies that helped the Energy Department make a case in support of Yucca. "Scientists just don't behave this way unless they are under tremendous pressure," Gilinsky said. "They don't make stuff up. You get the feeling of an atmosphere that is not conducive to doing scientific work." The fact that department officials disclosed the e-mails indicates they suspect they have a big problem, Gilinsky said. They could have quietly cleaned up a small mess, but this one probably is viewed as potentially too big to keep under wraps, he said. "If you start looking at it, it will get worse," Gilinsky said. "And right now they are trying to figure out if they can stitch it all together." Department officials say they have launched an in-depth investigation of the e-mails. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman sought to stem a controversy in March by promptly announcing a probe by the department's inspector general. Department officials and industry leaders have urged critics not to jump to conclusions about how widespread alleged document falsifying might have been. "These e-mails are part of the back-and-forth that is reflective of any collaborative scientific process," department spokeswoman Anne Womack Kolton told the Sun. All Yucca science and safety issues will be fully reviewed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Womack added. Culture clash What an investigator delving into the late-1990s might find was a clash of cultures between two well-meaning sides -- "brilliant and creative" scientists who were focused on their research, and managers who were trying to get them to comply better with quality assurance requirements, said a former Energy Department Yucca manager, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Yucca budget cuts in Congress, typically negotiated by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., sometimes led scientists to spend less time and attention on quality assurance, the former manager claimed. "When the budgets were cut, the program focused on sound science priorities, with less emphasis on regulatory documentation," the former manager said. The former manager believes the truth about alleged falsifications will come out, at least by the time the Nuclear Regulatory Commission conducts its yearslong review of Yucca documents. In the meantime, the FBI is investigating as are the inspectors general for the Interior and Energy departments. "No program in the history of the world has been documented like this program," the former manager said. 'Not convinced' The e-mails do not indicate that any science was compromised, said a current Yucca quality assurance auditor who also requested anonymity. The official said no falsified work has surfaced in the years that the official has worked on Yucca, which date from before 1998. "I'm not convinced there is any there," the auditor said. "But I'm not saying that there isn't." The official noted a number of internal audits over the years have outlined quality assurance failures in the program. "We were trying to make sure that the work was good by the time it got to the site recommendation" -- in 2002, when then-Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham recommended Yucca as the nuclear waste repository to President Bush, the auditor said. "And we did find a lot of things." Allison Macfarlane, a research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who has studied Yucca, agreed the e-mails do not necessarily indicate actual scientific data was falsified. "What they indicate is a screwed up management system," she said. Scientists at Yucca wanted "to do good work," Macfarlane said, but program managers hampered their ability to do that amid budget and deadline crunches. It was the program managers who ultimately allowed quality assurance to slip, she said. Big improvements? Energy Department officials say Yucca managers have made significant improvements to the quality assurance program, an assertion backed by nuclear industry officials. The e-mails are not a "smoking gun," said Steve Kraft, director of waste management of the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry's lobbying arm. The department will resolve the issue to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's satisfaction, and Yucca will continue to move forward, he predicted. It's possible that the allegedly falsified documents have been caught and fixed during previous Energy Department internal reviews of research and data, Kraft said. Nuclear industry officials have said the Energy Department has undergone a "cultural shift" in recent years, especially as former department Yucca director Margaret Chu sought to re-direct the focus from scientific study to obtaining a license. Chu, who was Yucca chief for three years before resigning in February, put special emphasis on quality assurance, Kraft said. "They have improved a great deal," he said. In general, industry officials seem unconcerned about the e-mails. When a new coalition of pro-Yucca nuclear and utility groups launched a new Yucca Mountain Task Force on Monday, leaders shrugged off questions about the e-mails. They said they are more concerned about budget shortfalls and the radiation standard under revision by the Environmental Protection Agency, they said. Terry Freese, Nuclear Energy Institute director of legislative programs, said Nevada officials have overstated the effects of the e-mails. Water-cooler talk List said that in a worst-case scenario, the Energy Department faces redoing some work. "My reading is that this will be dealt with and in the end it will all blow over," List said. "Frankly, it comes across to me as being in the category of water-cooler talk -- the kind of chatter that in the old days people exchanged on a coffee break." List expects that between department investigators and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the controversy is certain to be "run to the ground." The commission won't treat alleged document falsifications lightly, especially since the Energy Department has been under intense pressure to reform quality assurance by the commission, the Government Accountability Office and the Energy Department's own auditors. Fed up with a lack of progress, the commission in May 2003 gave the department 30 days to prove its quality assurance program could work. "Quality is not being built into the project," then-commission management leader John Greeves said, scolding Energy officials in a meeting. An April 2004 GAO report cited "persistent" quality assurance problems, noting that audits revealed "some data sets could not be traced back to their sources, model development and validation procedures were not followed and some processes for software development and validation were inadequate or not followed." Yucca advocates say the Energy Department has implemented changes that have dramatically improved quality assurance. But Yucca critics aren't buying that. The e-mails likely are not an isolated case of worker griping, critics say. "I suspect that the three individuals in question are just the tip of the iceberg," Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., said at a press briefing. Porter, chairman of a House subcommittee on the federal workforce and agency organization, is leading a probe of the e-mails. The e-mail controversy will grow, not fade, Nevada officials say. Quality assurance failures over the years throw into question the results of scientific research on which the Energy Department has based its most fundamental case: that Yucca Mountain is safe. "This is the most substantive evidence we've had that the program is bad and not based on science," Reid said. "There's not even anything close." ***************************************************************** 70 CCDR: Cotter Corp. disputes violations 4-30-05 [Canon City Daily Record - Canon City and the Royal Gorge Region, Colorado] Company continuing to use lab condemned by health department Jason Starr Daily Record Staff Writer The Cotter Corp. will dispute many of the findings laid out in a Notice of Violation submitted earlier this month by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The department condemned the mill’s laboratory, saying it is not accurately measuring radiation levels inside and outside the facility. It ordered Cotter to immediately seek and employ an outside lab for these functions. Cotter Manager of Administration Jerry Powers said the company has not sought an independent facility to calculate its radiation levels and continues to use the lab in question. He said the company has sent a letter to the health department defending the lab. “We’re continuing to use it, and they’re aware of it,” Powers said. The health department met with Cotter representatives before submitting its April 12 Notice of Violations, and Cotter knew the lab would be cited. Steve Tarlton, the head of the Radiation Management Unit at the health department, said the two sides have had an ongoing dialogue on how to fix the problems the health department has with the laboratory. “We’re there with them and trying to talk through it with them,” he said, adding Cotter has until May 12 to file an official response and submit a plan of corrective action. Cotter officials said the company’s response will include disagreement over the validity of the health department’s citations, four of six of which were listed as repeat violations. Cotter disputes the idea that a worker who ingested more than the weekly intake limit of uranium twice since October represents a repeat violation. The recent Notice of Violation refers back to an intake violation in October of 2000 to justify calling it a repeat. The 2000 violation states “several employees have intakes exceeding the 10 milligram limit,” which is a problem of overall air quality and work conditions. The recent intake violation, on the other hand, is the result of an employee ingesting uranium in what Cotter calls an accident. Cotter Environmental Coordinator and Radiation Safety Officer Jim Cain said a hose the employee was using to transport uranium detached; the health department questioned the condition of the hose itself. That same employee also ingested uranium during a cleanup procedure, Powers said. “These are single incidents,” Powers said. “It happened, we found it and we reported it. It’s not the same thing that happened (in 2000).” The other two repeat violations in the most recent Notice of Violation charge Cotter with not having explicit protection guidelines - a radiation work permit and a radiation protection program - in place to deal with the procedure that resulted in the employee being overexposed to uranium. Cotter disputes this as well. “It’s semantics,” Powers said. “We do have procedures, but sometimes accidents happen. It’s one of the things we’re in discussions with with (the health department).” The health department understands all accidents can’t be prevented with guidelines. “We all know things will happen, but we want to know if it was a preventable thing, what could we have done to prevent it,” Tarlton said. The health department views repeat violations as possible institutional or managerial problems, but it is reluctant to fine its licensees, Tarlton said, adding that the fines the health department’s radiation division can levy are not significant to a corporation, such as Cotter. “The financial aspect of a fine isn’t that intimidating,” Tarlton said. The lack of fines - the health department has never fined Cotter despite issuing a total of 140 violations - is a point of contention with the Colorado Citizens Against Toxicwaste, a group that monitors Cotter and the health department’s monitoring of Cotter. “The radiation division (of the health department) in some ways has gotten a lot tougher in recent years, but they’re still handling them with kid gloves,” said CCAT co-chairwoman Sharyn Cunningham. Tarlton does not believe levying fines would be an effective tool against Cotter and would rather work with the company to fix the problems the health department uncovers. “Punishment isn’t what we’re all about,” he said. “We’re interested in compliance.” contents Copyright Ó 2004 Royal Gorge Publishing Corporation. All Rights Reserved. CUSTOMER SERVICE ***************************************************************** 71 10News.com: Is Rocket Fuel Tainting Our Water? U.S. Defense, Space Contractors Could Be To Blame UPDATED: 6:09 pm PDT April 30, 2005 SAN DIEGO -- Rockets powered our conquest of space and changed the face of warfare. However, what powered the rockets may now in be our water, according to a 10News investigation. "This is rocket fuel we are talking about, it has no benefit being in our water," clean water activist Penny Newman said. Newman is a school teacher transformed into an activist who wants clean water. 10News investigative reporter Thom Jensen uncovered records that reveal U.S. defense and space contractors have dumped massive amounts of rocket fuel into our water sources. One of the biggest offenders was a plant and waste site south of Las Vegas, run by defense contractor Kerr McGee. At least 20 million pounds of rocket fuel's main ingredient, perchlorate, leached into the Colorado River from the plant. As many as 350 wells in California contain the substance, according to 10News. Several scientific studies show perchlorate shuts down a human's thyroid ability to take in iodide, needed for proper metabolism. "We're finding a lot of thyroid problems," Newman said. "My own daughter-in-law has a growth on her thyroid," she said. Geological surveys show there is a huge plume of rocket fuel underground in her hometown of Glen Avon, Calif. It stretches to the north end of Glen Avon, near Riverside, Calif., all the way to the south end at the Santa Ana River. Perchlorate is also being found in food in varying amounts. According to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration report, perchlorate has been found in lettuce -- mainly iceberg, romaine, green leaf and red leaf -- at elevated levels. The report also finds it in milk, sold in stores throughout California. Why milk and lettuce? The Colorado River irrigates the lettuce fields and alfalfa that feeds dairy cows. It's the same river that provides half of San Diego County's water. So how much is too much? That depends on who you talk to. Three years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency said perchlorate is only safe at levels of 1 part per billion. That's the same as a half teaspoon in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Scientists for rocket fuel manufacturers argue it's safe at 42,000 times that amount -- almost 30 gallons of the chemical in the same pool. The amount of rocket fuel in San Diego's water supply has varied over the past eight years. The EPA says it is lower now because of cleanup efforts on the Colorado River. But upstream, the Torres-Martinez band of Cuhilla Indians are afraid the chemical is killing some of its members. Thyroid disease is the second leading cause of death on their reservation. "These are the the people that our agency and the federal government need to make sure we're protecting," EPA spokesman Kevin Mayer said. But the EPA and many health experts are most concerned about rocket fuel's effects on newborns and the unborn. University of Nevada Las Vegas professor Jaci Batista has studied the problem for more than six years and said she knows the dangers. "If I were pregnant, I definitely wouldn't drink the water," Batista said. Rocket fuel has been shown to cause birth defects in developing fetuses and stunt the growth of the brain. Batista said there have been no tests of how much rocket fuel is still in the soils along the banks of the Colorado River, and she is concerned about increased levels of perchlorate exposure during high water years when the pollution washes downstream. "We have enough evidence that harm is being done, and we should move to get it out of our drinking water at any level," Newman said. Kerr McGee and other rocket fuel makers insist our water is safe. The Department of Defense is currently seeking new laws that would make military contractors, like Kerr McGee, exempt from environmental cleanups. Water utilities are fighting against the legislation. Copyright 2004 by 10News.com. All rights reserved. This material © 2005, Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. ***************************************************************** 72 u.tv: Govt urged to close Sellafield Eddie McGrady SUNDAY 01/05/2005 14:53:07 The British Government must produce a decommissioning programme for the Sellafield nuclear plant which will result in its swift closure, it was urged today. By:Press Association The nationalist SDLP`s General Election candidate in South Down Eddie McGrady, who has campaigned for many years against the Cumbrian plant, welcomed moves to cut discharges of the radionuclide Technetium 99 by 90% from the plant. However, he said more needed to be done, with an end to reprocessing and Mox production. "The current situation is hardly reassuring," Mr McGrady said. "EU Commission inspectors have been denied full access to the Sellafield site and could not find out how much nuclear material is at the Sellafield site, how much plutonium waste lies in the open-air storage facility at Sellafield and when the British authorities will meet EU requirements for safety controls. "What is immediately required at Sellafield is a start to the run-down of all the processes that take place at the plant including the reprocessing of the world`s radioactive waste. "That means an end to the transportation of the world`s radioactive waste by land, sea and air to Cumbria and a complete cessation of the continuous discharges of radioactive and toxic waste into the Irish Sea. "Above all, we want to see a proper and effective decommissioning plan which addresses the safe demolition of the plant and the proper management and disposal of the radioactive waste. "That is what the people of Ireland, North and South want to see." The Irish Government, Scandinavian countries and environmental groups have been highly critical of the plant, formerly known as Windscale, which last month embarked on a 100 year decommissioning programme. The plant built in the 1940s, first began generating electricity in 1956. A fire in a chimney a year later triggered controversy and fears about radioactive pollution. A mixed oxide plant was built on the site in 1997 which processes waste from other countries` nuclear plants. Copyright © 2005 UTV Internet and the UTV plc Group. All ***************************************************************** 73 Rapid City Journal: Lethal Legacy? Abandoned uranium mines bring health worries Last Updated: Saturday, April 30, 2005 11:15 PM MDT By Jomay Steen, Journal Staff Writer BUFFALO -- In a series of bluffs and buttes near the Montana and South Dakota border are the leavings of the atomic age. A decade after the United States dropped atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, uranium mining claims were filed on the 65,000 acres of the North Cave Hills, South Cave Hills and Slim Buttes areas of Custer National Forest's Sioux Ranger District, about 100 miles north of Rapid City. By 1965, the mining companies had closed operations, packed up offices and equipment and disappeared from the prairie. Left behind and nearly forgotten were the 89 mined sites on national forest system land on the South Dakota portion of the Sioux Ranger District. Harding County residents worry that the abandoned uranium mines might have caused a higher incidence of cancer in the area. But state health officials say their fears are unfounded. Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service has taken steps to remediate problems caused by the mines in the North Cave Hills and has asked one of the mining companies to help with clean up. Conscious of cancer On March 15, abandoned uranium mines were the last things on the minds of Buffalo residents. Calving and lambing seasons were in full force. Many area ranchers and farmers had broken away from barnyard chores to drive to Harding County Courthouse in Buffalo to renew land leases. Linda Stephens greeted friends at a local diner and talked about the disappearance of an area businessman on his way to Rapid City. Part owner and publisher of the Nation's Center News, Stephens eventually turned the talk to health. "Talk to anyone here, and they have a brother, uncle or cousin who has cancer," Stephens said. She, too, has cancer. Eleven cases of rare brain tumors have been diagnosed in Harding County in the past decade. In the past 24 months, Stephens, Krystyna Nible, Janice Peck and Frank Clark were diagnosed with brain tumors. Doctors told Stephens, 60, and Krystyna Nible, 9, that they had pituitary tumors. Rose Blake, 50, of Camp Crook and LaQueta "Lucky" Teigen, 52, of Buffalo were diagnosed with pituitary tumors about 10 years ago and survived through surgery and treatment. The four females with pituitary tumors were the first in their families to develop brain tumors. Cancer may be caused by external factors, such as tobacco, chemicals, radiation and infectious organisms, or internal factors such as hormones, age, immune conditions and mutations that occur from metabolism, the American Cancer Society says. These factors may act together or in sequence to cause cancer. Ten or more years often pass between exposure to external factors and detectable cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. A letter from South Dakota Department of Health officials stated that pituitary tumors occur in one in 10,000 people at autopsy. Stephens said that Harding County, with a population of 1,500 people, has four pituitary cancer patients. Deena Nible, 36, received the devastating news that her daughter had a brain tumor in October 2003. "It just rips you in two," she said. The youngest of Deena and Jeff Nible's four children, Krystyna experienced severe headaches, vision problems and frequent urination. On Oct. 29, Krystyna underwent six hours of surgery by a nine-doctor surgical team at Children's Hospital in Denver. The team removed a third of the tumor. Krystyna began six weeks of radiation in December 2003. "They didn't say that anything environmental had caused it," her mother said. The doctors explained to the family that a sac encases the pituitary gland at birth, and the sac breaks as the child grows. The cells that remain from the sac may develop into a tumor later in life, Nible said. But Nible said her daughter's doctors did think it was unusual that several people in the same town would be diagnosed in the same year. "It doesn't happen very often," she said. In September 2003, Peck underwent surgery at St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver for acoustic schwannoma, a walnut-sized tumor lodged in the canal of her right ear. Peck, 68, lived most of her life in the Reva area before marrying Arlie Peck and moving to his ranch 30 years ago. "We lived real close to the Slim Buttes area and the uranium mines," Peck said. Retiring to Sturgis in 2001, she said she experienced pin-prickling sensations on her face, hearing loss and severe loss of balance before seeing a doctor. Healthy for most of her life, it was a shock to learn the seriousness of her ailments. "A brain tumor is a surprise," she said. Peck's doctors wouldn't speculate about what had caused her tumor, saying there were a number of external factors that may have contributed to her illness, including two serious concussions Peck had at an earlier age, she said. "If one thing doesn't get you, something else will," Peck said. Stephens grew up in Harding County near Ralph and has lived the majority of her life in Buffalo. On July 10, 2004, Stephens underwent 28 days of radiation at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The treatments arrested the growth of her tumor, a condition she had lived with undetected for nearly 20 years. Stephens believes the abandoned uranium mines about 25 miles north of Buffalo may be the culprits in Harding County's health problems. She said if she were to draw a circle on a map within a 65-mile radius from the mining sites, the number of people with cancer abounds. "In the late '50s and early '60s, everyone out here thought they would get rich if they had uranium on their property," Stephens said. Stephens said a uranium processing plant was across the border in Griffin, N.D., between Rhame and Bowman. Locals dug out the uranium and hauled the radioactive material to Griffin in open trucks and stock trailers. "They dug holes all over. They cut the top off Ludlow Hill," she said. While Stephens was at Mayo Clinic, one of the first questions she asked her neurologist, Dr. Joon Uhm, was the cause that would have placed four people in different age groups, different careers and lifestyles with this particular type of cancer. "His reply was, ‘uranium,'" Stephens said. Mining history In 1962, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission pushed for major uranium mining operations throughout the nation, including South Dakota. Uranium was mined in Harding and Fall River counties. The state ranked as the nation's sixth-largest uranium producer in 1964 and 1965. South Dakota produced 1 million tons of uranium ore and 3 million pounds of processed uranium between 1951 and 1973. According to Laurie Walters-Clark, on-scene coordinator of the U.S.F.S. Sioux Ranger District, unrestricted mining was permitted under the General Mining Laws and Public Law 357 and required no restoration. Active mining of the Slim Buttes and Cave Hills occurred from 1962 through 1964. Prospecting was conducted by bulldozer cuts, backhoe, rim cutting and drilling. Bulldozers removed dirt to allow access to the uranium-bearing lignite coal beds, which, in places, were 80 feet below the surface. During the mining, much of the spoils were piled on the outer edges of the pits. Today, the erosive spoils remain piled on the pit floors and rims. The uranium mining at the Riley Pass site in the North Cave Hills left behind areas with elevated radiation and heavy metal levels both in the mine area and the sediments, which are eroding. "Elevated levels of arsenic, boron, molybdenum and selenium are in the exposed spoils," Walters-Clark said. Reclamation effort In 1989, heavy erosion spurred the Forest Service to build five catch basins to trap sediment washing down from the former mine sites. By the next year, the Forest Service removed more than 6,700 cubic yards of sediment from the basins. With an estimated $2 million price tag, Forest Service officials decided against further reclamation efforts. Seven years later, Custer National Forest officials began reviewing soils tested in 1990 in the area to qualify for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or CERCLA, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. The project qualified for CERCLA, which provides reclamation funds to restore inactive hazardous waste sites. Results from the soil analyses showed 13 bluffs as sources of hazardous substances. The hazardous materials testing greater than three times the normal levels included arsenic, molybdenum, thorium, total uranium, radium 226 and uranium 235. As part of the CERCLA process, the Forest Service tracked Kerr-McGee as one of the businesses responsible for mining the area and abandoning eight bluffs considered hazardous. In 1972, Kerr-McGee paid for construction of dikes and dams at two locations and moved a segment of road at Riley Pass. In 2002, Forest Service officials negotiated with Kerr-McGee to clean out the sediment ponds. Kerr-McGee has declined to help with further cleanup, and no law requires them to do so. This year, the Forest Service plans to clean the sediment ponds and build a catch basin and diversion ditch. It will also release an engineering evaluation providing recommendations for reclamation and cost analysis later this month, Walters-Clark said. Expected to be finalized this summer, the report will be available for public review and comment at Harding County Courthouse for at least 60 days. The Forest Service will continue to work with representatives from Harding County and other interested groups regarding status and restoration activities in the project area. Worried about water Laurel Foust's ranch is three miles from the North Cave Hills and the open uranium mines there. Like Stephens, she suspects that contaminants have reached her livestock through wind and water systems. They may also have been a factor in her husband's cancer. Richard Foust was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1993. He died in 1994 at age 44. "He lived here all of his life," Foust said. Growing up close to the rugged terrain, he spent a great deal of his life hunting, riding and exploring the hills, she said. She acknowledges that her husband came into contact with the defoliant Agent Orange while serving in the military in Vietnam. But Foust and her children continue to drink bottled water because of her concerns about the water that comes from the taps. "People have spent thousands of dollars on water lines and wells here so their livestock won't have to drink the water out of dams and creeks," she said. Drinking from water sources that has runoff affects the livestock, Foust said. The animals develop copper deficiency, which can cause spontaneous abortions in cattle. Cattle's hair turns white after drinking the water for about six years, Foust said. A neighbor, Randy Feist, 47, said loss of livestock production and copper deficiencies led him to suspect something was wrong with his water. On his ranch 2-1/2 miles from the North Cave Hills, Feist had his water tested and discovered bad news. "There's arsenic in our drainages," he said. Before environmental and reclamation laws enacted in the '70s, mining companies were legally allowed to abandon the sites without sealing or reclamation of any kind. These abandoned sites have undergone natural erosion from 41 years of wind, rain and snow, he said. "There were no reclamation laws when these companies did the mining," he said. Feist said contaminants may have caused his two sisters' and a brother's health problems. "Half of my siblings have thyroid problems. It's one of the first symptoms of radiation poisoning," Feist said. He has also had his share of health problems. Last September, doctors removed a cancerous kidney from the father of four children. Feist has since recovered after surgery. But at night, when thoughts of his and his wife's relatives dying of cancer chases away sleep, he wonders about his own family. "What am I subjecting my kids to?" he asked. Skeptical response South Dakota State University Extension beef specialist Trey Patterson said graying or losing color in the hides of cattle is a symptom of copper deficiency. But he said copper deficiency in cattle is a common ailment in western South Dakota and not a symptom of radiation poisoning. Patterson said that high concentrations of sulfur in water, molybdenum in feed and iron in water or feed or both lead to this condition. "It is consistent with what I've seen on ranches in southwestern South Dakota," Patterson said. State veterinarian Sam Holland, head of the South Dakota Animal Industry Board, said animals would exhibit the same symptoms as people if exposed to acute radiation — bloody stools, welts and hair loss. But Holland said in his 18 years as assistant and state veterinarian he has never treated animals sickened from radiation poisoning because of hazardous materials. However, it isn't the first time Holland has dealt with questions about livestock being exposed to uranium. As many as 100 uranium mines operated from the 1950s through the 1970s in the Edgemont area. Years after the mines closed, Fall River County livestock owners complained of animals sickened by runoff and contamination from those mines. None of the complaints was ever substantiated, he said. "The anecdotal records never matched what was actually reported to us," Holland said. No safe level But for humans, there is no safe level of exposure to radiation, according to Diane D'Arrigo of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, a private environmental organization in Washington, D.C. Low levels of radiation damage tissues, cells and other vital functions, causing cell death, genetic mutations, cancers, leukemia, birth defects and reproductive, immune and endocrine system disorders, D'Arrigo said. The endocrine system includes the thyroid and pituitary glands. "Every amount of radiation increases all these health effects," D'Arrigo said. The organization's Web site, www.nirs.org, says long-term exposure to low levels of radiation can be more dangerous than short exposures to high levels. D'Arrigo said federal officials who write regulations are unduly influenced by the energy industry, which gives a skewed perspective of what is acceptable. "The science at any level will tell you any exposure is an increased risk," D'Arrigo said. Cindy Folkers, energy and radiation spokeswoman at Nuclear Information and Resource Service, said depleted uranium broken down into small particles can be suspended in the air and inhaled or ingested. Once absorbed into the blood stream, the particles are deposited mostly into bone and kidneys. Most of what is deposited in the kidneys cycles out in urine, but it can remain in bone for years, Folkers said. "It collects around the DNA molecules and muscles, and the body thinks it is potassium. This is a problem," Folkers said. She said that although companies took the uranium ore, what was left behind is still toxic and includes thoriums and heavy metals such as mercury or lead. "Meanwhile, people stuck in the community are dying," Folkers said. But statistics from the South Dakota Cancer Registry don't back up D'Arrigo and Folkers' claims about cancer links to exposure to hazardous contaminants from the uranium mines in Harding County, state officials said. Barb Buhler, information officer at the South Dakota Department of Health, said sparsely populated areas such as Harding County are simply too small for statistics to prove a cause. "The numbers are just not there," Buhler said. She checked into Harding County cancer rates listed in the South Dakota Cancer Registry. From 1996-2001, 21 cancer cases were reported in Harding County, an average of four per year. But Buhler said the age- adjusted cancer rate in Harding County was much lower than state and national rates. During 2001, South Dakota had 40 cases of thyroid cancers, the cancer most associated with uranium and fallout. The age-adjusted state rate was less than the national rate, Buhler said. But people such as Randy Feist are convinced there is a link between the local cancer victims and the uranium mines. Feist said most people in Harding County — and especially in his neighborhood — don't expect to live without their names going into the cancer registry at some point in their lives. "When we die, we're going to die of cancer," he said. Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com This entire Web site content copyright © The Rapid City Journal. All Rights Reserved. Call us at 605-394-8300 or 800-843-2300 If you have questions or comments about this site, send e-mail to debbie.renner@rapidcityjournal.com. ***************************************************************** 74 Rapid City Journal: Timeline shows events of mine site cleanup, restoration Last Updated: Saturday, April 30, 2005 11:15 PM MDT The following timeline details events of the past 50 years regarding uranium mine site cleanup and restoration in the Slim Buttes and Cave Hills areas, according to officials with the Sioux Ranger District, Custer National Forest. 1954 — First major uranium mining claim filed in the Slim Buttes and Cave Hills. 1962 — Major uranium mining operations in Harding County began. 1972 — U.S. Forest Service unsuccessfully negotiated to institute rehabilitation measures. However, mining company Kerr-McGee agreed to relocate a segment of the Riley Pass Road and build dikes and dams at two locations. 1989 — The Forest Service built five catch basins to trap sediment eroding from the mine site. 1990 — The Forest Service cleaned two of the five ponds, removing about 6,791 cubic yards of sediment. An evaluation found high levels of radium 226 and elevated levels of arsenic, lead, iron and molybdenum and selenium. The Forest Service decided against cleanup because of reclamation costs of more than $2 million. 1996 — Custer National Forest officials began reviewing soil samples analyzed in 1990 to determine if the area qualified for funds to clean up hazardous waste sites. 1997 — The Forest Service set a deadline to clean five sediment ponds. Sediments from the ponds are stored on site. Concurrently, the Forest Service regional office conducted a search for mining companies responsible for mining in the area more than 30 years ago. 2002 — Final site investigation recommended cleanup of hazardous waste in sediment ponds. The Forest Service began discussions with Kerr-McGee about cleanup of the sediment ponds, construction of a new pond and site remediation. Kerr-McGee declined. 2002 — The Forest Service commissioned a draft engineering evaluation and cost analysis, which estimated total clean-up cost at $13.5 million to $14 million. 2002 — Forest Service officials briefed Harding County Commissioners on hazards in the area and plans for remediation. They also talked to tribes known to use the area for ceremonies. 2002 — Forest Service installed hazard-warning signs next to bluffs that showed elevated levels of hazardous materials. 2003 — Forest Service began a further study of human health and safety hazards. 2004 — Forest Service and Environmental Protection Agency officials work to clarify human health and safety hazards. 2004 — Forest Service set a deadline to clean out sediment ponds and to build an additional sediment collection pond and diversion berm to capture sediment coming off bluffs. 2005 — The Forest Service expects the final engineering evaluation and cost analysis within 30 days. It continues discussions with the state of South Dakota, EPA and tribes. The Forest Service maintains that Kerr-McGee is responsible for site remediation for eight bluffs. This entire Web site content copyright © The Rapid City Journal. All Rights Reserved. Call us at 605-394-8300 or 800-843-2300 If you have questions or comments about this site, send e-mail to debbie.renner@rapidcityjournal.com. ***************************************************************** 75 Mount Vernon News: Town embraces radioactive waste storage, disposal industry mountvernonnews.com Published: Sunday, April 30, 2005 01:18 AM By BETSY BLANEY Associated Press Writer ANDREWS, Texas (AP)  This small West Texas town grew its economy on oil but may hang its hopes on what some folks believe is their next boom: storage and disposal of radioactive waste, maybe some from Ohio. Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists owns 14,400 acres about 30 miles outside town near the New Mexico line. About 1,340 acres are set aside for hazardous waste storage and disposal, and the company expects within a year to manage tons of federal uranium byproduct waste. Some residents believe the waste site will bring dozens of jobs from spin-off industries, and city leaders anticipate the site will pump millions of dollars into the economy. Its a reverse NIMBY  not in my back yard  with Andrews welcoming the radioactive waste rather than fighting to keep it out. If we thought we could get an NFL franchise or a Riverwalk, we wouldnt have looked at this industry, said Russell Shannon, vice president of the Andrews Industrial Foundation, a privately funded group formed decades ago to help attract companies to the city. We just believe it will bring us some jobs, bring people to our community to get involved in an industry, like they did with oil. The town was incorporated in 1937, about eight years after oil was struck in Andrews County. By 1956, the county led the nation in oil production, pumping more than 60 million barrels annually. The oil boom lasted through the 1960s, fell off and then picked up again in the early 1980s. But gradually the oil business dwindled, along with the towns population. In the late 1990s, Andrews hit another national high, this time with double digit unemployment, as oil prices sunk to $8 a barrel. Residents hope the waste site will turn around Andrews fortunes. They will soon learn whether the city will become the storage destination for tons of Department of Energy uranium byproduct waste now at the abandoned Fernald federal plant, just northwest of Cincinnati. The Fernald plant processed and purified uranium metal for use in reactors to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons from the 1950s until it ended production in 1989. Waste Control Specialists has an application pending with the Texas Department of State Health Services to dispose of the uranium byproduct waste. A decision could come early next year. If approved, some lawmakers want the state to profit from the transfer. Sen. Robert Duncan, a Lubbock Republican, has proposed a bill that would give the state 10 percent of gross receipts for storage, processing and waste disposal, plus a surcharge based on the level of radioactivity. That money would come from Waste Control, the only company to apply for Texas permits to handle the radioactive material. However, Rep. Mike Villarreal, a San Antonio Democrat, has introduced a bill to limit radioactive waste storage and disposal in Texas. Villarreals measure would prohibit other states from approaching Texas about taking their radioactive waste. Waste Control has stored, treated and disposed of hazardous waste at the Andrews site since 1997. In February, the state approved the companys request to expand the storage capacity to 1.5 million cubic feet  nearly five times its current size  making it eligible to accept the Ohio waste. The expansion space is the equivalent of about 800 railroad cars. George Dials, president and chief executive officer for Waste Control, said the expansion was necessary for the companys long-term plans to assist federal plants with site clean up and disposal of low-level waste. Andrews appears to have little competition for the Fernald waste. Nevada officials threatened a lawsuit if the DOE sent the waste to a government-run site north of Las Vegas. Residents near a private waste site in Clive, Utah  west of Salt Lake City  also rejected it. While the legislative and administrative wrangling in Texas continues, environmentalists worry about how the waste will effect the air, soil and water. An 800-foot-deep layer of red clay rises to near the surface at the site, which Andrews city leaders and company officials say makes the site geologically sound. But Melanie Barnes, a geology researcher at Texas Tech University and chairwoman of the League of Women Voters of Texas hazardous waste program, said surface fractures exist and shes unsure how deep they go. A major concern is that if the waste seeps through the soil, it could affect the Santa Rosa and Ogallala aquifers. The Ogallala is a primary source of drinking water in West Texas, and at least one ranch near the waste site uses the Santa Rosa to provide water for livestock. I believe that the long-term storage and/or disposal of radioactive material at this site is extremely dangerous for the health and well being of future generations, rancher John Post wrote to State Rep. Buddy West, an Odessa Republican. Post, whose 18,000-acre ranch is 11 miles from the waste site, fears his land will be useless if the Santa Rosa becomes polluted. Other townspeople oppose the site, but theyre in the minority. Peggy Pryor, 54, has lived in Andrews most of her life. She believes no good can come from any type of radioactive waste. Its all about money and how much money they can make, and its not about the environment at all, said Pryor, a retired cardiac technician. It just tears me up. Dials said the clay is impermeable to water. By and large there are no fractures that lead anywhere and were confident in the design, he said. We feel it will be safely contained and isolated from the biosphere for tens of thousands of years. Cyrus Reed, a registered lobbyist for the Sierra Club, said waste sites with clay beds in Maxey Flats, Ky., and West Valley, N.Y., were touted as impermeable, too. Contaminated groundwater was found at each years after they opened. The point is there were previous sites where people had made predictions that they were good sites, and there would be no problems and there were problems, he said. The national environmental group has requested a hearing before the Texas Department of State Health Services to contest the states decision to allow Waste Control to expand its Andrews site. No hearing date has been set.  On the Net: Waste Control Specialists: http://www.wcstexas.com Texas Department of State Health Services: http://www.tceq.state.tx.us Help save the life of a child. Support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's 'Thanks & Giving.' http://us.click.yahoo.com/mGEjbB/5WnJAA/E2hLAA/7gSolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Hundreds of thousands of workers gathered across Japan for annual May Day rallies Sunday, calling for a global ban on nuclear weapons and protesting higher domestic taxes and constitutional revisions. Workers rally on May Day, call for end to nuclear weapons, no tax hikes, constitutional changes AFP Sunday May 1, 4:07 AM Hundreds of thousands of workers gathered across Japan for annual May Day rallies Sunday, calling for a global ban on nuclear weapons and protesting higher domestic taxes and constitutional revisions. Labor union leaders said rallies were held in more than 350 locations nationwide, and police estimated the turnout at about 220,000 people. Though Japan's jobless rate recently has pulled back from record highs, union leaders criticized the government for not doing enough to improve labor conditions. "We cannot allow companies to slash jobs to boost profits," National Confederation of Trade Unions president, Kanemichi Kumagai, told a rally in Tokyo, according to Kyodo news agency. Labor leaders urged nations to ban nuclear arms as they prepare to mark the 60th anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945, after U.S. planes dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaski. Union officials also protested any tax hikes or changes to Japan's postwar constitution, which Parliament has been considering and a growing number of Japanese support. A constitutional revision under review would let the military play a bigger role in international peacekeeping operations by loosening a ban on the use of military force in settling international disputes. The rallies followed the government's announcement last week that Japan's unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent in March, from 4.7 percent in February, as the nation's economy rebounded. Data issued by the Ministry of Public Management showed that the total number of jobless fell on year for the 22nd month in a row to 3.13 million, down by 200,000 from the same month a year earlier The archives of South News can be found at http://southmovement.alphalink.com.au/southnews/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/southnews/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: southnews-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 77 Japan Times: Treaty against nuclear terror Saturday, April 30, 2005 EDITORIAL Recently the United Nations unanimously approved a treaty that outlaws the use of nuclear weapons by terrorists and their supporters. Incredibly, such actions were not illegal before. The treaty has been touted -- by the United States, no less -- as an important step in the fight against terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It thus seems that the U.N. is benefiting from low expectations. Every member of the General Assembly voted to approve the Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, the 13th antiterrorism treaty passed by the U.N., and the first to be adopted since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It opens for signature next September and will go into effect 30 days after it is ratified by 22 states. Negotiations began seven years ago as Russia's then-President Boris Yeltsin worried about the safety and security of his country's nuclear stockpiles. At the time of its collapse, the Soviet Union had more than 27,000 nuclear weapons, and possessed enough weapons-grade plutonium and uranium to triple that number. Reports of missing or stolen "suitcase bombs" and periodic arrests of individuals with radioactive materials suggest that the concerns were not exaggerated. The International Atomic Energy Agency has reported 175 nuclear-smuggling incidents since 1993, 18 involving highly enriched uranium. The treaty criminalizes the possession or use of radioactive material or a nuclear device "to cause death or serious bodily injury." It also makes it a crime to use a nuclear device to damage property or the environment, or to attack a nuclear facility. Governments that ratify the treaty must amend their laws to prevent terrorists and their supporters from financing, planning or participating in nuclear terrorism. They are also encouraged to share information, ease the extradition of suspects and pursue criminal prosecutions of suspects linked to such terrorist acts. Nonproliferation experts have applauded the agreement. It provides a legal basis for fighting terrorism involving radioactive material or nuclear devices. Significantly, it aims to prevent such attacks; governments need not wait until after terrorists have struck. Holes remain, though. Incredibly, there is as yet no agreement on how to identify a terrorist. The treaty struck a compromise that explicitly avoids a generic definition. This is an inexplicable omission, as there is no room for the romantic notion that "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." Moreover, the convention only applies to nonstate actors; governments remain free to use such weapons. That, too, is a glaring oversight, although supporters of the treaty say such a distinction was inevitable. Conspicuously, the treaty does not provide international funding to help governments secure nuclear stockpiles or build up their capability to detect the presence of nuclear materials. A number of international efforts, such as the Nuclear Threat Initiative, are aimed at protecting those materials. Those programs have made some progress but, as indicated, the scale of the problem is huge and funds are not sufficient. It is perplexing that governments can devote seven years to negotiating this treaty yet seem unwilling to allocate the funds needed to directly address this problem. To its credit, Japan has committed more than $200 million to the Group of Eight Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction. Unfortunately, that is just a fraction of what's needed. The U.S. has backed the treaty and sees it as another tool in the effort to stem the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Given the rocky U.S.-U.N. relationship over the past few years, American support for the initiative is to be welcomed. Mustering an international consensus on an issue of this significance is important. Still, the treaty sets the bar for meaningful international action awfully low. Yes, it does raise international consciousness of the threat posed by nuclear proliferation. Yes, it creates an affirmative obligation on the part of national governments to respond to that danger. But a rhetorical commitment of this sort looks suspiciously like the consequence-free, "feel good" action by the U.N. that critics in the U.S. have frequently denounced. More to the point, it is fair to ask whether this is the most effective use of limited U.N. resources. Of all the issues on the U.N. agenda, is this the most pressing? Or, is this the most politically convenient? As the U.N. debates structural reform, member states should be ever-conscious of the need to take actions that are both politically relevant and have a practical effect. These should be the guiding principles of U.N. action and a test for the U.N. agenda in the months and years ahead. The Japan Times: April 30, 2005 (C) All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 78 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Federal agency fined over nuclear sludge [seattlepi.com] Saturday, April 30, 2005 SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER NEWS SERVICES RICHLAND -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined the U.S. Energy Department $75,000 for failing to meet a legal deadline for moving radioactive sludge at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation into underwater containers. The Energy Department was required to have radioactive sludge in the K East basin in containers by March 1. The work is a little more than half done, the EPA said by letter Thursday. The EPA also issued a notice of violation for not following a required plan for analyzing radioactively contaminated debris removed from the K Basins for nearly 2 1/2 years. That potentially allowed waste contaminated with plutonium to be buried at a Hanford landfill, the EPA said. The federal government requires that such waste be sent to a national repository in New Mexico. The violation could lead to another fine. The Energy Department has 15 days to appeal the penalty. Agency officials said no decision had been made yet on whether to appeal. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer] 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA 98119 (206) 448-8000 Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com ©1996-2005 Seattle Post-Intelligencer ***************************************************************** 79 ABQjournal: Retirements Up Sharply at Los Alamos the Albuquerque Journal newspaper. Saturday, April 30, 2005 Albuquerque Journal--> By Adam Rankin Journal Staff Writer Los Alamos National Laboratory is projecting a 50 percent increase in retirements this year as a higher than usual number of scientists and technicians close to retirement age opt for the security of their current pension plan rather than to wait and learn what the next lab manager has to offer. As of Monday, nearly 2 percent of the laboratory work force, or about 146 workers, had completed its retirement paperwork. That figure is already more than half of the 251 workers who retired during all of last year. LANL spokesman James Rickman said it is difficult to attribute any causes to the projected increase, but he did say feedback from workers preparing to retire suggests that their decision is at least partly in response to the uncertainty posed by LANL's pending contract competition. Current LANL projections based on retirements thus far estimate that about 380 employees, or 4.6 percent of the 8,225-employee work force, will file for retirement by year's end, Rickman said. He said LANL will have a more accurate projection by June, when the largest number of retirements normally occurs due to an annual cost-of-living adjustment that becomes effective that month. For the past two years, the average annual work force retirement rate has been 3 percent, Rickman said. After more than 60 years as LANL's manager, the University of California must now decide if it will compete to regain the weapons lab's contract. Then-Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced in April 2003 his decision to put the LANL contract out for bid after a series of financial and security management problems. The university's contract expires at the end of September, but so far, its Board of Regents hasn't made a decision about whether to compete for the contract, though spokesman Chris Harrington said the school is preparing as if it will. He said a decision may come as early as the school's next regents meeting in May. In March, Sens. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., expressed their strong concerns that uncertainty from the competition process could provoke a "mass exodus" of LANL's most senior scientists who chose retirement to maintain their university benefits. LANL employees are eligible for retirement beginning at age 50. Rickman said the average age of the entire work force is slightly more than 46 years old. Of the 3,361 LANL scientists, about 1,350, or 39 percent, are 50 years old or older, he said. Of the lab's technicians, about 630, or 34 percent, are 50 years old or older. [Get Copyright Clearance] Copyright 2005 Albuquerque Journal Copyright Albuquerque Journal Steve@abqjournal.com ***************************************************************** 80 ABQjournal: Los Alamos residents still adjusting to new life after devastating blaze the Albuquerque Journal newspaper. Sunday, May 1, 2005 Albuquerque Journal--> By Laura Banish Journal Staff Writer Tom Geelan remembers the fire growing bigger by the day. Local officials told Los Alamos residents not to worry, that the fire, set on May 4, 2000, on Cerro Grande Peak by the National Park Service as a prescribed burn, could be contained. However, as the black smoke billowed closer, Geelan sensed that things in his quiet North Community neighborhood were about to change. "They seemed to think it was under control ... but you could see it getting larger and larger," the 81-year-old Los Alamos National Laboratory retiree recalled. He then motioned toward the back of his Yucca Street home where stark, black trees fill the distance. At 1:01 p.m., May 10, 2000, the entire town of Los Alamos was evacuated when the fire breached Los Alamos Canyon and entered the city's western perimeter. Fueled by an overly dense woodland, high winds and drought, the blaze burned more than 40,000 acres and more than 200 structures, including 39 structures owned by the national laboratory. More than 400 families, including Geelan's, lost their homes in the fire, which burned so hot that only the concrete foundations of many buildings survived. The fire's impact reached far beyond the borders of the small mountain town. It was among several wildfires that year that triggered a review of the federal Wildland Fire Management Policy. Five years after the Cerro Grande Fire, reminders of the inferno abound daily. Road and utilities reconstruction is continuing and new homes continue to go up. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, nearly $181 million was paid in individual claims to some 15,000 residents for fire-related damage claims and the replacement of homes and personal belongings through the Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Act, signed by President Bill Clinton. More than $123 million was given to the county government and $56 million to local businesses, not including $23 million in federal disaster declaration funds for infrastructure and individual assistance money. Although many residents say they were compensated fairly, it wasn't easy. Getting compensated Marco Lucero and his family, like many, had difficulty with their insurance adjuster and with processing their claim. Only part of trouble was having to document everything they lost in painstaking detail and put a fair market value on each item. Lucero said it took two years to complete his claim, but he couldn't comment because some aspects are still being discussed. Four unsettled cases remain, with two scheduled for arbitration and two in district court, according to FEMA spokesman David Passey. The post-fire flow of money into the community has helped rebuild the town, but at the same time, it's hampered the county's budget. The County Council is planning for a significant budget deficit, expected because of abnormal growth in taxable gross receipts over the last five years that are now in decline. Post-fire construction inflated annual GRT revenues from $49 million in 1999 to more than $280 million in 2004. Between now and 2008, revenues are expected to return to normal levels, which will likely not be sufficient to pay for existing services. Indirectly, the influx also has had a negative impact on neighborly relations, according to Los Alamos County residents. Locals acknowledge that resentment has grown between those who were handsomely compensated and built new homes and those whose houses survived, although no one interviewed by the Journal would admit to having those feelings. "I've heard people say there are hard feelings," Alice Horpedahl said. "I'm sure there are also still so many people who are just so angry with the fire that they can't get on with their lives." "To stop and think it's been five years is hard to believe," she said. Rebuilding Horpedahl and her husband LeRoy lost their government-built Arizona Street home, a blue two-story with white trim. They rebuilt a striking Santa Fe-style adobe with archways, skylights and Alice's "dream kitchen" at the same location. Many significantly larger and more elaborate houses have appeared on the lots where old, barracks-style structures built by the federal government once stood. Some folks say they miss the simplicity of their former neighborhoods, once lined with boxy, shingle-sided homes and now taken over by comparably lavish buildings. Houses that frequently come up in conversation are two round houses being built on North Road and a bright purple home and the one with twin watchtowers in the back, both in the Arizona Street area. It's not just the new houses that are difficult to get used to, but the new neighbors as well. "A lot of people who lived here are now in different areas," Geelan said. "... (M)any people say, well you got a new house, so things are better than they were before, but it's hard to make friends when you get older and adjust to a new neighborhood and new things." In contrast, Sue and Stan Bodenstein, who live on Arizona Street, said the fact that many of their neighbors rebuilt on the same lots has made the adjustment to post-fire life much easier. The couple say they actually know their neighbors better now than before the fire. "We feel very fortunate," Sue Bodenstein explained. "We started having wine and cheese parties as a neighborhood and now when you say 'Hello' to your neighbors you really mean it." The Bodensteins also have made an effort to not separate pre- and post-fire life, but combine the two. A black charred nativity set, a teacup with a salt shaker melted onto it and a carbonized Christmas stocking from Sue's childhood are among the salvaged fire remains showcased in their new duplex. Friends and family also have sent them pictures and mementos from the past to add some history to the house, making it feel less sterile. Finding good "A lot of good came out of the fire," Sue Bodenstein said. "All the love that came out from neighbors, the town, the state. It's not the material things that are most important. You have to look beyond what was taken away." "You can't focus on the negative if you're going to move forward," her husband, Stan, added. No one could agree more than Don Oschwald. If it hadn't been for the fire, he might not have met Kathleen, whom he affectionately calls his "little sweetheart wife." Don, 81, and Kathleen, 59, met in FEMAville, the temporary housing established on North Mesa for more than 100 residents who lost their homes. The couple met at the mail box of the trailer village in late summer of 2000. At the time, the feeling in their hearts seemed foreign. Don was still grieving for his first wife, Virginia, who had died in 1999, and Kathleen's parents had also died not long before. "I just remember this warm feeling happened when I met her," Don Oschwald said. "I felt like my prayers were answered." Shortly after the first meeting, they started having dinner together and on Dec. 3, 2000, they were engaged. Almost four years into the marriage, the couple still refer to their Sandia Loop home, built after the fire, as their "honeymoon cottage." Adjusting to life after Cerro Grande hasn't always been easy, Kathleen Oschwald admitted, but there's no sense in clinging to what used to be. "There are days when I look for things that were in my old house and then realize it's not there any longer, but you can't stay stuck in the past. You must let it go," she said. "The fire is part of our story and a larger story— that something good can come out of a tragedy. This fire pulled us together." In front of the Oschwalds' house lies a large wooden sign that reads "Phoenix." Much like the mythological bird, the Oschwalds' home appears to have truly risen from the ashes. Copyright Albuquerque Journal Steve@abqjournal.com ***************************************************************** 81 Lodinews.com: Lawrence Livermore Laboratory to nearly double plutonium use Lodi, California, News Lodinews.com By Bob Brownne San Joaquin News Service Last updated: Saturday, Apr 30, 2005 - 06:53:37 am PDT Completion of an environmental study will clear the way for increased activity at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and changes at Site 300, the lab's high explosives test site southwest of Tracy. The lab released its final environmental impact statement for continued operation of the lab Friday. The report is updated every 10 or so years and covers the range of potential effects on the environment from lab activities, including nuclear weapons research and storage of radioactive materials. The lab is planning to nearly double the amount of plutonium used in ongoing research on how best to make the core components of nuclear weapons. The latest document also states that the lab will not pursue a project, outlined in the draft report, to separate and observe the properties of plutonium isotopes. A lab watchdog group is pleased with some aspects of the final report, but still skeptical of lab operations and security. Marylia Kelley, executive director of Tri Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment, said she's glad that the lab is dropping the programs that would involve creation of plutonium isotopes through laser technology. "The fact that they're not going forward with it at Livermore is good news for both the community and the world," she said. Thomas Grim, documents manager for the lab, said lab officials determined that those programs wouldn't be needed in the next 10 years. Kelley also was pleased that roughly 9,000 public comments were mostly critical of nuclear weapons research at the lab, lab security from terrorist attacks, earthquake safety and the amount of plutonium at the site. "The community said quite clearly that the Department of Energy should go in the opposite direction than what it's choosing," she said. Grim said of 2,000 pieces of correspondence, most with multiple comments, about 1,500 came from organized letter, e-mail and postcard campaigns. "We had less than 500 unique commenters," he said. "For this type of project it's pretty low. It's less than I expected." Grim added that the lab typically doesn't address the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in environmental reports. This time the lab added a section to the report on how the lab's role in nuclear stockpile stewardship contributes to national security, and how the U.S. is committed to reducing the size of its nuclear weapons stockpile. Kelley said that research into production of plutonium pits, the core of nuclear weapons, still means doubling the amount of radioactive material at the lab even though a federal oversight committee recently released a report criticizing the lab's plutonium storage methods. The lab does not make the components that actually go into weapons, but it does the research on production methods. "It means heating the plutonium and pouring it," Kelley said. "The risk is the same or perhaps even greater because they're doing the experimental work at Livermore." Tracy resident Bob Sarvey also made comments on the lab's operations, including both the Livermore site and Site 300. The lab tests nonnuclear explosives at Site 300, along Corral Hollow Road at the San Joaquin and Alameda county line. It conducts about 200 tests a year, including 25 or so in the new contained firing facility where high-speed cameras and X-ray lasers record the results of tests. "They're not using that facility as much as I thought they would," Sarvey said, adding that Site 300 and the main site also have soil and groundwater cleanup issues. Changes at Site 300 include demolition of about 50 buildings, totaling about 130,000 square feet, and replacing them with a 40,000-square-foot building for explosives processing and a 23,000 square-foot building for high explosives development. Over the next month the lab will have the document out for final review to make sure that lab officials have addressed comments on the draft report, released in February 2004. The multiple-volume document is available on the lab's website or at the Tracy Library. To reach reporter Bob Brownne call 830-4227 or e-mail brownne@tracypress.com. 125 N. Church St. P.O. Box 1360 Lodi, CA 95241 (209) 369-2761 Fax: (209) 369-1084 Newsroom E-mail (209) 369-7035 Fax: (209) 369-6706 Subscriptions Subscribe Problems with your subscription? (209) 333-1400 Advertising E-mail (209) 369-2761 Fax: (209) 369-1084 Classifieds Place an ad E-mail (209) 333-1111 Fax: (209) 369-1084 About Us Site ***************************************************************** 82 Tri-Valley Herald: Eyes of Texas back on Los Alamos lab Article Last Updated: 04/30/2005 06:38:34 AM UT officials express renewed interest in managing facility FROM WIRE REPORTS AUSTIN, Texas — University of Texas officials have expressed renewed interest in managing the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, with Lockheed Martin Corp. as a partner. UT System Chancellor Mark Yudof had recommended in February against pursuit of the nation's largest nuclear weapons lab. Since then, Lockheed Martin has revived its intent to bid on the lab contract, and university officials have been in contact with the company, Yudof told UT regents at a meeting. The regents Thursday heard testimony from supporters and opponents of the system's possible involvement in the lab where the first nuclear bomb was developed a half century ago. Supporters, including U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, say the research and economic opportunities the lab could provide would be invaluable to the university and Texas. Opponents, including Democratic state Rep. Lon Burnam, want the university to back away from a relationship they say is tantamount to promotion of nuclear armaments. The University of California has run Los Alamos lab since 1943. The Department of Energy opened bidding on the contract after a spate of security and money management problems at Los Alamos. 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