*****************************************************************
06/22/05 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 13.143
*****************************************************************
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 International Herald Tribune: Iran's nuclear program - Editorials &
2 Guardian Unlimited: North, South Korea Open High-Level Talks
3 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: Inter-Korean Ministerial Talks Underway
4 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: N.Korea Unresponsive at Seoul Ministerial
5 Korea Herald: Korea, China discuss joint nuclear agenda
6 BBC: N Korea asks South for more aid
7 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: U.S. Slams Seoul¡¯s Role as ¡®Pyongyang¡¯
8 Xinhua: China to work with ROK to promote ties
9 Korea Times: N. Korea Seeks Aid From Seoul
10 US: Las Vegas SUN: Senate Endorses Bush Policy on Climate
11 US: Las Vegas SUN: Senate Backs Offshore Energy Inventory
12 US: Las Vegas SUN: Senate Gives Regulators Override Power
13 US: Las Vegas SUN: Senate Backs Regulators on Energy Plan
14 US: CPI: Traveling on the Abramoff Plan
15 Interfax: Russia not ready to exchange info on tactical nukes with U
16 RIA Novosti: Russia goes an extra mile in its nuclear arsenal reduct
17 ITAR-TASS: Russia reduces nuclear warheads by 75 pc under START-1, D
18 IRNA: Iran-Russian nuclear deal 'consistent' with NPT, says Straw -
NUCLEAR REACTORS
19 US: [CMEP] Energy bill gives $10 billion to nuke industry
20 US: [NukeNet] Fwd: [JerseyShoreNuclearWatch] APP Letter -" A
21 US: nuclear power not the answer: Straight Goods
22 US: [NukeNet] Action Needed Now
23 Russia: Intruders Targeted Nuclear Site
24 US: Bush Pushes For More Nuke Plants While Study: World at Risk for
25 US: Las Vegas SUN: Bush: U.S. Needs More Nuclear Power Plants
26 US: NRC: NRC Seeks Public Input on Monticello Nuclear Plant Environm
27 US: NRC: NRC Issues Notice of Violation for Misplaced Vermont Yankee
28 US: NRC: Notice of Issuance of Amendment to Materials License SNM-25
29 US: NRC: NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to Meet July 6
30 US: NRC: Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear
31 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for th
32 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for th
33 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for th
34 US: NRC: Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc.; Independent Spent
35 Japan Times: Fishermen block nuclear plant study
36 ForUm: Ukrainians are against building of new nuclear reactors
37 US: LA Times: Nuclear Industry Lays Foundation for Comeback
38 US: NRC: Sunshine Act; Meetings
NUCLEAR SECURITY
39 US: Guardian Unlimited: False Alarms Plague Port Anti-Nuke System
40 RIA Novosti: Upper house ratifies Russia-Italy agreement on sub scra
41 RIA Novosti: No U.S. nuclear inspectors to check Russia nuclear defe
42 ITAR-TASS: Terrorists make two unsuccessfull attempts on Russia nucl
43 US: UCS: Provision in Energy Bill Would Weaken Controls on Nuclear B
NUCLEAR SAFETY
44 US: UN Health Agency Seeks To Minimize Risks Of Cancer-causing Radon
45 US: Guardian Unlimited: Pentagon Refuses Test for Toxic Chemical
46 US: Blogcritics.org: EPA, Defense Department Touting Pro-Industry St
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
47 US: La Crosse Tribune: Nuclear waste plan raises concerns
48 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada asks federal court to stop Yucca Mountain rail
49 US: Las Vegas RJ: NRC rejects Utah's argument
50 Las Vegas RJ: Nevada asks court to halt Yucca rail line plan
51 Interfax: Russian nuclear waste stores almost 100% full - official
52 Bellona: Russian nuclear storage facilities almost filled up
53 BBC: Sellafield 'deficiencies'
54 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada files its final legal brief in attempt to stop
55 News & Star: Clean up your act in four months, Thorp warned
56 News & Star: N-plant told to clean up act
PEACE
57 [du-list] 6/19: After 6 Decades, Japan Paper Runs Censored
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
58 Tri-City Herald: DOE urged to scrutinize safety records
59 Oak Ridge Observer: A picture's worth a thousand words
60 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Nevada
61 DOE: Office of Science; High Energy Physics Advisory Panel
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
FULL NEWS STORIES
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
1 International Herald Tribune: Iran's nuclear program - Editorials & Commentary -
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2005
It was extremely interesting to read, courtesy of llan Berman,
that "Russia can help U.S. curb Iran" (Views, June 11). Berman
might do well to brush up on the history of American policy
toward Iran before suggesting that we need the help of the
Russians to curb that country's nuclear ambitions. Beginning in
1957, the United States actively promoted Iranian nuclear
programs under Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi: We supplied Iran with
its first experimental reactor and made enriched uranium
available.
Later, when President Gerald Ford hesitated to further assist
Iran in its quest for nuclear capacity, his secretary of defense,
Donald Rumsfeld; his chief of staff, Dick Cheney; and his top man
at the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Paul Wolfowitz,
hastened to assure him that Iran was solely interested in the
peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
And now we need the Russians to undo the nuclear groundwork we
laid in Iran with these politicians' direct cooperation? It's
not unlike what happened in Iraq, which we tend to forget was our
ally in the early 1980s, when it fought against Iran and Donald
Rumsfeld made numerous trips to Baghdad to discuss strategic aid
for Saddam Hussein's regime.
Andrew L. Lorant, Paris Closer than that Regarding "Giscard lays
blame on Chirac" (June 15): To put the record straight, the
result of the 1981 French presidential election was roughly 52
percent to 48 percent in favor of François Mitterand.
A clear victory, yes, but hardly an "overwhelming defeat" for
Valery Giscard d'Estaing. Barnaby Capel-Dunn, Aubigny-en-Plaine,
France The mission at hand Frits Bolkestein offers much wisdom on
the European Union ("Here's how to get started again," Views,
June 15). But like any ambitious undertaking, the EU should have
started with a mission statement. If it still cannot agree on
one, it can confidently await endless trouble. Meanwhile, French
expertise should be tapped to create a horizontally operated
guillotine to ensure that all EU political leaders with their
heads in the clouds keep their feet on the ground.
Christopher Farley, Sheffield, England I was going to ask I was
surprised to read your characterization of the South African
Communist Party as "a left-leaning group" ("Mbeki fires deputy
over bribe case," June 15). Many thanks for unexpectedly
injecting such sophisticated humor in an otherwise grim story.
Jack Jolis, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France Tough times on the greens
Regarding your article about professional golfers who face
difficult conditions at the U.S. Open ("Players complain about
rough deal," June 17), my heart bleeds for them.
Welcome to the real world of golf, guys, where amateur golfers
face these conditions every day. At least the professionals have
an army of spotters looking for errant balls. Mere mortals need
20/20 vision and the luck of a saint to rescue any sort of score
if we miss the fairway.
Come on, guys, quit whining - you're supposed to be
professionals. If you can't hit the fairway off the tee with a
driver, try the putter. It's not as if you even have to even pay
for the balls like we do. Malcolm Knobel-Forbes, Great
Chishill, England
Copyright © 2005 the International Herald Tribune All rights
reserved
*****************************************************************
2 Guardian Unlimited: North, South Korea Open High-Level Talks
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Wednesday June 22, 2005 5:01 AM
AP Photo TOK202
By JI-SOO KIM
Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea urged North Korea to
commit to pledges made by leader Kim Jong Il to bridge their
divided peninsula as the sides opened high-level reconciliation
talks Wednesday.
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, head of
Seoul's delegation, said the delegates had a ``productive and
constructive discussion'' at opening meetings where he proposed
that the two sides elaborate on pledges made by Kim when he met
with Chung last week in the North's capital.
``I anticipate a productive agreement will be reached at the
talks,'' Chung said at the end of the opening session.
The head of the North's delegation, chief Cabinet counselor Kwon
Ho Ung, said the sides should ``have in mind the mutual interest
of the Korean peoples.''
The meeting comes despite Pyongyang's failure so far to return
to six-party nuclear disarmament negotiations.
Although South Korea is expected to raise the international
standoff over the North's nuclear weapons program, the North is
likely to focus on aid for its impoverished economy and maintain
its insistence that the nuclear issue can only be resolved with
the United States.
The talks that run through Friday are aimed at improving ties
and elaborating on agreements made during the surprise meeting
in Pyongyang last week between Kim and Chung.
The North Korean delegation's visit got off to a rocky start
Tuesday when protesters displayed banners condemning the
communist country's leader.
As the North Korean delegates were being driven from the airport
to the hotel where the talks were scheduled, vehicles adorned
with posters calling for Kim to be punished and displaying him
tied in ropes drove close to their motorcade, one of the
protesters said at a police station where he was taken for
questioning along with two other activists.
The North Koreans complained when confronted by the protesters,
slightly delaying their arrival at the hotel, South Korea's YTN
news channel reported.
In the North, Kim is the object of an official personality cult
along with his father, founding President Kim Il Sung, and
strict rules govern how their images are to be treated.
Contacts between the Koreas resumed last month in the North
Korean town of Kaesong after being severed by the North for 10
months in anger over mass defections of its citizens to the
South.
Formal talks were scheduled from Wednesday through Friday.
After his meeting last week with Kim, Chung said the North
Korean leader pledged to return as soon as July to the nuclear
disarmament talks he has boycotted for a year and rejoin the
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty if the standoff is resolved.
The two sides also agreed to work together on a variety of
bilateral issues - including family reunions between Koreans
divided by the border - which were expected to be discussed at
this week's talks in Seoul.
The two sides also agreed on the need to resume military talks.
The Koreas remain technically at war since the Korean War ended
in a 1953 cease-fire, not a peace treaty.
Another key area was Seoul's aid to the North. On Monday, South
Korean officials said North Korea had requested 150,000 tons of
fertilizer aid to help produce enough food to feed its
impoverished people. The South already has shipped 200,000 tons
of fertilizer this year.
Also Tuesday, South Korean Prime Minster Lee Hae-chan met with
his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Tuesday to try to secure
China's help in bringing North Korea back to the disarmament
talks.
In a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Lee said a smooth
resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue and the opening of
rail ties between North and South Korea would benefit trade and
personnel exchanges between Seoul and Beijing. He did not
elaborate.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
3 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: Inter-Korean Ministerial Talks Underway
Home> National/Politics Updated Jun.22,2005 14:55 KST
The much-anticipated inter-Korean ministerial talks have
gotten underway with the first plenary session Wednesday
morning. A wide range of agendas were presented by both the
South and North Korean delegations at the dialogue table.
South and North Korean officials walked into their first session
at around 10 a.m., opening their discussion in a positive mood.
Chief negotiators from the two sides agreed to cooperate in a
conciliatory manner, with Seoul's Unification Minister
highlighting the need to lay out the issues on the table with
honesty and to strive for peaceful relations.
The North Korean delegation's leader Kwon Ho-ung responded by
proposing that the two sides try and attain satisfactory results
this week, by engaging in discussions with open hearts, so as to
eventually improve bilateral relations.
Unlike the past, officials from the two sides are negotiating
over a round table instead of a rectangular one, which is part
of Seoul's efforts to create a more positive atmosphere.
High on the agenda are stalled, inter-Korean projects. The
South's goal is to discuss in more detail the agreements made
during last week's surprise meeting between Seoul's Unification
Minister Chung Dong-young and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
They agreed in principle to resume economic and military-level
talks as well as hold another round of separated family reunions
in August, among other issues.
The Pyongyang delegation is expected to request more fertilizer
aid of 150,000 tons as well as food assistance like rice and
corn. As for the nuclear issue, it's difficult to tell to what
extent it will be discussed because the North's chief delegate
is a Cabinet member without decision-making authority.
For now, the South will concentrate on cross-border projects
like family reunions and normalizing relations.
Arirang TV
*****************************************************************
4 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: N.Korea Unresponsive at Seoul Ministerial Talks
Home> National/Politics Updated Jun.22,2005 20:04 KST
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young on
Wednesday asked North Korea to help the Red Cross confirm the
fate of South Korean POWs and abductees and prepare by video
link for a fresh round of reunions of separated families. In his
opening speech at the 15th round of inter-Korean ministerial
talks, Chung also called for regular general inter-Korean talks
starting in July, and for separate talks of the two Korea¡¯s
defense ministers.
There was no response from Kwon Ho-ung, the head of the North
Korean delegation, on most of these points. The military talks
were agreed in principle during Chung¡¯s meeting with North
Korean leader Kim Jong-il last Friday, while the matter of the
POWs and abductees was agreed to during Red Cross talks in
September 2002. Kwon only commented on the family reunions
slated for August 15.
Kwon instead asked for continuing food aid from South Korea
because of a serious shortage in the North. Rice aid will
reportedly total about 400,000 tons. If a quarter of the rice is
Korean and three quarters from Southeast Asia as in previous
years, the cost would be about W140 billion (US$140 million).
Turning to the dispute over its nuclear program, the North
Korean delegation repeated remarks by Kim Jong-il that Pyongyang
will not need a single nuclear weapon if Washington treats it
¡°in a friendly manner.¡± But it made no comment about a call
from Chung to restart six-party talks on its nuclear program in
July and discuss the nuclear dispute during inter-Korean
ministerial talks.
Meanwhile, President Roh Moo-hyun will meet four or five members
of the delegation including Kwon at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday.
The presidential office was careful to point out that the
delegation is not acting as a special envoy for Kim Jong-il.
This will be the first time in four years North Korean figures
have set foot in Cheong Wa Dae since a North Korean delegation
for the fifth inter-Korean ministerial talks met with
then-president Kim Dae-jung. The meeting reportedly comes at the
president's request.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
*****************************************************************
5 Korea Herald: Korea, China discuss joint nuclear agenda
Top-ranked government officials from China and Korea, two big
guzzlers of foreign oil, began a six-day meeting yesterday to
discuss joint nuclear energy projects.
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said Zhang
Yunchuan, the minister of China's State Commission of Science,
Technology and Industry for National Defense, led a team of
high-ranking government and non-governmental officials to Seoul
to meet with Korea's Commerce Minister Lee Hee-beom.
The Chinese delegation includes about 40 Chinese nuclear energy
experts, who play influential roles in China's nuclear-related
policies.
During their meeting yesterday, both state ministers said that
they hope to work out specific collaborative plans, including
joint nuclear construction projects, exchange of technical
experts and establishment of new channels for cooperation.
The agenda also features a forum on Korea-China nuclear
technologies, which is scheduled for today at the Renaissance
Hotel. It will focus on nuclear energy development, nuclear
operations and know-how of each country, and possible
technology-sharing.
The Chinese team also is expected to receive a tour of Korea's
nuclear facilities and major companies involved in the business
like Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Co.
China, the world's fastest-growing economy, is trying to wean
itself from dependence on foreign oil. Nuclear power accounts
for only 1 percent of China's energy needs. It wants to raise
that to 4 percent by 2020, building 30 nuclear energy facilities
within 15 years
The world's most populous country with 1.3 billion people is a
huge oil producer, but its reserves would last only a week at
its current speed of development, experts say. By 2007, it aims
to establish strategic petroleum reserve in four locations, to
meet energy needs for 70 to 75 days. By 2020, China expects to
import 60 percent of its oil.
Like Korea, part of the problem for Asia's second-largest
economy is that its oil imports come from such unstable parts of
the world as the Middle East.
Korea depends entirely on imports for oil supplies, making it
the world's fourth-largest crude oil buyer. It brings in more
than 800 million barrels of crude a year and is the world's
seventh-largest consumer of oil.
(sohjung@heraldm.com)
By Yoo Soh-jung
2005.06.23
*****************************************************************
6 BBC: N Korea asks South for more aid
Last Updated: Wednesday, 22 June, 2005
By Charles Scanlon BBC News, Seoul
[Kwon Ho-ung, (L), the head of the North Korean delegation,
shakes hands with South Korean Unification Minister Chung
Dong-young, June 22, 2005. ]
The talks opened in a positive atmosphere
North Korea has requested more food aid from South Korea during
ministerial talks in Seoul, the first for a year.
Officials also repeated a pledge to give up nuclear weapons if
the US treated it in a friendly manner.
North Korea appears anxious to improve ties with its southern
neighbour, amid growing pressure from the US over its
development of nuclear weapons.
North Korea's chief delegate said his country would not need
nuclear weapons if the US dropped its hostile policy.
But there were no new offers to follow up on similar comments by
the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, last week.
Split between allies
South Korean negotiators stressed that the nuclear confrontation
needed to be resolved by dialogue.
But their main focus at these talks is to regularise
intermittent contact with the North Koreans.
The South hopes that improved bilateral ties will eventually
lead to progress on security issues.
Seoul is expected to respond favourable to the North's requests
for desperately needed food aid and fertiliser for this year's
crop.
Some analysts believe North Korea is trying to exploit tensions
between Seoul and Washington, which wants tougher action on the
nuclear issue.
South Korean officials have called on the US to be more flexible
and to stop antagonising the North Korean leadership by
describing it as a tyranny.
*****************************************************************
7 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: U.S. Slams Seoul¡¯s Role as ¡®Pyongyang¡¯s Spokesman¡¯
Home> National/Politics Updated Jun.22,2005 20:31 KST
(englishnews@chosun.com )
The Bush administration is reportedly disappointed by Friday's
meeting between South Korean Unification Minister Chung
Dong-young and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, saying Kim
wrapped the minister round his little finger.
Japan¡¯s Asahi Shimbun said even a former State Department
official critical of the Bush administration¡¯s hawkish attitude
accused Chung of being "North Korea's spokesman" and adding the
latest meeting was "just too much."
In a report from Washington, the paper said there was growing
alarm in Washington over North Korea launching a diplomatic
offensive and attaching various conditions to its return to
six-party talks on its nuclear program. U.S. Under Secretary of
State Paula Dobriansky's use of the "outpost of tyranny"
catchphrase to describe North Korea suggested Washington had
reached the limit of its flexibility, the paper said.
The daily said that flexibility went only as far as Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice acknowledging North Korea as a "sovereign
state" and President George W. Bush calling the North Korea
leader ¡°Mr.¡± Kim Jong-il, which Pyongyang appears to interpret
as an honorific. Now the U.S. feels Pyongyang is exploiting its
generosity rather than responding to it, the Asahi said.
The daily wrote Kim Jong-il's claim on Friday that the 1991
Joint Declaration on the denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula was still in effect flew in the face of a U.S.
conviction that Pyongyang breached spirit and letter of the
agreement when it started its uranium enrichment program. It
added the Bush administration¡¯s hands were tied when it came to
guaranteeing regime security because that would mean recognizing
a dictatorial system.
*****************************************************************
8 Xinhua: China to work with ROK to promote ties
www.xinhuanet.com
www.chinaview.cn 2005-06-22 20:10:40
Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with South Korean Prime
Minister Lee Hae-chan in the Great Hall of the Poeple in
Beijing, capital of China, June 22, 2005. (Xinhua Photo)
Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) shakes hands with South Korean
Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan during their meeting in the Great
Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, June 22, 2005.
(Xinhua Photo)
BEIJING, June 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao
said here Wednesday that China will work with the Republic of
Korea (ROK) to promote the further development of bilateral
ties, thus helping bilateral overall and cooperative partnership
yield more results.
Hu made the remarks at a meeting with visiting ROK Prime
Minister Lee Hae-Chan, who arrived here Tuesday on a three-day
official visit to China as guest of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Both sides also exchanged views during the meeting on such
issues as the process of the six-party talks on the Korean
Peninsular nuclear issue and cooperation in northeast Asia.
They expressed the hope that all parties will make concerted
efforts to actively push for the resumption of the six-party
talks and safeguard peace, stability and development in the
region.
In order to end the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue
peacefully, China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK), the United States, Russia, the ROK and Japan have
convened three rounds of six-party nuclear talks in Beijing.
Hu pointed to the rapid growth of bilateral relations since
thetwo countries forged diplomatic ties 13 years ago and the
consensus on building a strong partnership that was reached
between Hu and ROK President Roh Moo-hyun during Roh's visit to
China in 2003.
Hu mentioned the frequent exchanges of visits between
leaders of the two countries and the increasing trust in recent
years, as well as the expanding and fruitful cooperation in such
fields as the economy, culture, education, science, technology
and tourism.
He said the development of partnership conforms to the
fundamental interests and the common aspiration of the two
peoples,and enjoys strong vitality and good prospects.
Lee, who is on his first visit to China since he became
prime minister, said this visit is so far fruitful and that the
two sides have reached consensus on expanding cooperation.
China and the ROK witnessed a rapid growth in trade over
recentyears. In 2004, the volume of bilateral trade hit 90
billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 42.4 percent.
Bilateral trade is expected to exceed 100 billion US dollars
this year.
China is the ROK's largest trade partner while the ROK is
China's fourth largest trade partner. Enditem
Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
9 Korea Times: N. Korea Seeks Aid From Seoul
Hankooki.com > The Korea Times > Nation
By Ryu Jin Staff Reporter
North Korea has ``no reason to hold even a single nuclear
bomb¡¯¡¯ if the United States treats it in a friendly manner,
the North¡¯s chief delegate to the 15th round of inter-Korean
ministerial talks said Wednesday.
North Korea also asked for additional food assistance on a
humanitarian basis while expressing gratitude for the earlier
shipments of rice and fertilizer aid.
Senior Cabinet Councilor Kwon Ho-ung, who represents the North
at the meeting in Seoul, reaffirmed that the principle of a
nuclear-free Korean Peninsula is still valid, Kim Chun-sig,
spokesman for the South¡¯s delegation, said in a media briefing.
Kwon¡¯s remarks were reminiscent of those made by North Korean
leader Kim Jong-il, who held talks with South Korean Unification
Minister Chung Dong-young in Pyongyang last Friday. Chung now
heads the South Korean delegation to the ongoing inter-Korean
talks.
Kim¡¯s rare meeting with the South Korean envoy brightened
prospects for a resumption of the six-party talks on
Pyongyang¡¯s nuclear weapons program, which have stalled for
nearly a year, as Kim indicated that a new round of negotiations
could be possible as early as next month.
``The nuclear issue is not only a matter of international
concerns but also an inter-Korean problem,¡¯¡¯ Chung was quoted
as telling the Northern delegates during yesterday¡¯s meeting.
``We should discuss the issue and try to resolve it in this
ministerial meeting.¡¯¡¯
South Korea has promised to offer an ``important proposal,¡¯¡¯
in which North Korea could earn various political and economic
benefits in return for its nuclear dismantlement, once the North
comes back to the negotiation table.
U.S. President George W. Bush also said after a summit with
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun earlier this month that a
``more normal relationship¡¯¡¯ with North Korea would be
possible besides security assurances and substantial economic
aids that have so far been offered.
In the 110-minute main session, the two sides also discussed
ways to ease military tension along their heavily fortified
border and reinvigorate various reconciliation projects, such as
temporary reunions of separated families split apart by the
1950-53 Korean War.
South Korean officials proposed the two Koreas hold a
general-level military officers¡¯ meeting next month as well as
defense ministers¡¯ talks to build mutual confidence. North
Korea did not give an immediate response, according to a South
Korean official familiar with the talks.
Seoul also proposed a Red Cross meeting in July to discuss ways
to locate South Korean prisoners of war (POWs) and some civilian
abductees believed to still be in the North. The North¡¯s
delegates listened ``attentively¡¯¡¯ to the POW and abduction
issues, the official said.
The first main session of this week¡¯s conference, which kicked
off on Tuesday, was adjourned for informal sessions and a trip
outside of Seoul. One or two more formal sessions are expected
before the North Korean delegation returns home tomorrow.
``There has been a consensus to work out details to carry out
what has been agreed upon during the Kim-Chung talks last
Friday,¡¯¡¯ the South Korean official said, adding that positive
consultations could be made in the remaining session.
In the meantime, officials in the presidential office said Roh
would invite the North Korean delegates to Chong Wa Dae this
afternoon, a schedule that was not publicized.
jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr 06-22-2005 18:55
*****************************************************************
10 Las Vegas SUN: Senate Endorses Bush Policy on Climate
Today: June 22, 2005 at 6:55:31 PDT
By H. JOSEF HEBERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) -
President Bush's recipe for addressing climate change -
criticized by environmentalists and some European leaders - is
getting nods of approval from senators as they race toward
completion of sweeping energy legislation.
Senators backed away from urging stronger measures to reduce
heat-trapping greenhouse pollution on Tuesday. Instead, by a
better than two-to-one margin, they endorsed a climate policy
that relies on voluntary emission reductions by industry and
focuses on curtailing the growth of pollution rather than
reducing it.
The president argues that mandatory limits of greenhouse gases,
especially carbon from burning fossil fuels, could cripple the
economy and lead to higher energy prices. Even then, Bush says,
they would not ensure that climate risks would be addressed
unless countries like China also make emission cuts.
By a 66-29 vote, the Senate agreed with much of that argument,
approving a measure offered by Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., that
would provide government incentives to develop ways to reduce
emissions and capture carbon so less of it goes into the
atmosphere.
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said a lot of those kinds of
incentives already had been put in other parts of the energy
legislation, but he supported Hagel's amendment anyway.
Environmentalists had hoped the Senate might adopt a proposal
that would include mandatory pollution caps that, while less
stringent than those required by the Kyoto climate accord, would
still reduce emissions. They generally favored a proposal
offered by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Lieberman,
D-Conn., that calls for requiring industry to bring greenhouse
pollution back to where it was five years ago by 2010.
The Senate was expected to vote on the McCain-Lieberman proposal
Wednesday, but even its supporters said it has little chance of
being approved.
McCain, who has tangled with the administration over climate
policy, called Hagel's provision "meaningless" because it has no
requirements for industries to reduce emissions. While it
authorizes new programs, it does not guarantee they will be
funded by Congress.
McCain and Lieberman argue that emissions could be reduced
without huge costs to industry. Lobbyists for coal companies,
utilities and the business community maintain that thousands of
jobs would be lost and energy prices would increase.
"The McCain-Lieberman amendment will put coal out of business,"
said Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, as he expressed support for
the Hagel proposal.
Hagel said his proposal views a slowing of the growth of
greenhouse emissions "as a measure of success" and acknowledged
it won't actually reduce the tons of heat-trapping pollutants
that go into the atmosphere annually.
"We all agree on the need for a ... stable climate. The debate
is not about whether we should take action, but rather what kind
of action we should take," said Hagel. He described his measure
as "a market-driven, technology-based approach" to dealing with
climate change.
For weeks, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., had sought to forge a
compromise between the Hagel and McCain-Lieberman proposals, but
his efforts fell apart when it became clear he wouldn't have the
votes to get it passed.
---
On the Net:
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee:
White House Council of Environmental Quality:
Sen. Chuck Hagel:
--
*****************************************************************
11 Las Vegas SUN: Senate Backs Offshore Energy Inventory
Today: June 22, 2005 at 6:55:32 PDT
By H. JOSEF HEBERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate voted Tuesday to inventory all
offshore oil and gas resources - a step environmentalists saw as
a threat to bans on drilling - and debated a challenge to
President Bush's climate-change policies.
Many senators from coastal states criticized the offshore energy
inventory as a prelude to gas drilling in waters that have been
off limits to energy development for nearly a quarter-century.
Supporters of the measure called it necessary to know what
resources the country has available if they are needed.
An attempt by Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., and several other
coastal senators to strip the inventory requirement from a broad
energy bill was turned back 52-44.
Later the Senate turned its attention to climate change, one of
the most contentious issues facing senators as they move toward
approving sweeping energy legislation by the end of the week.
The House passed its version of a national energy policy in
April.
Most Republicans rallied around a climate proposal offered by
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., which would avoid mandatory greenhouse
emission cuts. It would focus instead on providing government
incentives to develop and make available new technologies - both
domestically and for export to developing countries - that would
reduce carbon emissions.
Carbon from burning fossil fuels is the leading greenhouse
pollutant that many scientists believe is trapping heat and
warming the Earth.
A more ambitious proposal, strongly opposed by the White House,
was expected to be offered by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and
Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., that would require greenhouse emissions
to be cut back to where they were in 2000 within five years. It
also would allow for an emissions credit trading system aimed at
holding down the costs to industry.
The two senators have argued that mandatory emission caps are
needed to make progress on dealing with the potential of climate
change.
The administration has opposed regulating carbon or other
greenhouse gases, arguing that voluntary actions by industry
already is reducing the growth of greenhouse emissions and to go
further would harm the economy and raise energy prices.
"The McCain-Lieberman amendment will put coal out of business,"
said Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, as he expressed his support
for the Hagel proposal.
Hagel described his measure as "a market-driven,
technology-based approach" to dealing with climate change
without imposing mandatory emission-reduction requirements on
industry. Yet it will dampen the growth of greenhouse gases both
in the United States and in developing countries, he said.
It would establish a system of loan guarantees and provide other
incentives to spur private companies to develop technologies
that would capture carbon or promote development of cleaner coal
and other fuels. Hagel acknowledged that the energy bill already
contains incentives for such programs, but he said his proposal
would focus more closely on emissions specifically affecting
climate.
Environmentalists have dismissed Hagel's approach, arguing that
it would do little to move climate policy beyond what the Bush
administration already is doing: relying on voluntary industry
measures and focusing not on actual reduction of greenhouse
emissions, only on slowing their growth.
The inventory of oil and gas resources beneath the nation's
Outer Continental Shelf was strongly criticized by some coastal
senators who argued it would lead to drilling in areas that have
been off limits to energy development since the 1980s.
"It's the first step to drilling. It's the proverbial camel's
nose under the tent," declared Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who
said the Interior Department already is conducting an inventory
of offshore energy resources every five years.
Proponents of the drilling inventory argued that the country
needs to know more specifically what offshore oil and gas
resources might be available in future years.
"This gives Americans full information of what is there," said
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. "This is not a drilling amendment."
Oil and gas development has been banned for more than two
decades in almost all of the country's coastal acreage outside
the western Gulf of Mexico. Congress enacted the first
moratorium in 1981 and later expanded its reach and reaffirmed
it every year. A succession of presidents have continued the
moratorium since 1990.
The latest extension, issued by President Bush, expires in 2012.
--
*****************************************************************
12 Las Vegas SUN: Senate Gives Regulators Override Power
Return to the referring page.
By H. JOSEF HEBERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate agreed Wednesday to give federal
regulators clear authority to override state objections to the
siting of liquefied natural gas import facilities, rejecting a
proposal that would have allowed governors to block a project
because of public health or the environmental concerns.
Supporters for increased federal authority over LNG import
facilities argued that the country will require huge increases
of natural gas imports in coming years and that state-imposed
roadblocks could hamstring needed import projects. They argued
states will continue to have a say in siting decisions because
of various local and state requirements for local permits.
The Senate rejected, 52-45, a proposed amendment to a sweeping
energy bill that would have allowed governors to veto a final
LNG siting decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The Senate was expected to finish the energy bill this week.
"States must have a role in siting LNG facilities in order to
protect the welfare of its citizens," argued Sen. Dianne
Feinstein, D-Calif., whose state has been the focus of a legal
fight over authority of FERC to approve an LNG terminal in Long
Beach despite state objections.
The energy bill includes a provision clarifying that FERC has
the "exclusive" authority to make a final decision on an LNG
import facility.
"Any governor that wants to participate ... has ample
opportunity to do that," maintained Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.,
adding that there were "a myriad" of zoning, environmental and
other permits that a project still must obtain.
But he said that the country is dependent on natural gas and
will need a growing amount of LNG imports to meet demand. "The
country can't wait around and say we'll wait until this matter
is litigated to see how many governors will say no until we find
one that will say yes," said Domenici.
A growing number of coastal states, especially in heavily
populated areas of the Northeast and West, have raised concerns
over siting LNG sites because of the potential for a spill or
possible terrorist attack against a site or incoming LNG tanker.
A report last year by the Sandia federal lab concluded
terrorists could tear one or more holes in a tanker that would
release LNG and create an intense fire capable of causing
significant property damage and serious burns as far as a mile
away.
"We're not talking about the siting a neighborhood ballpark or a
Wal-Mart," said Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, where communities
have rejected several LNG projects. "It's a state rights issue,
plain and simple."
There are four LNG import facilities currently operating in
Massachusetts, Maryland, Georgia and Louisiana. More than 40
additional facilities have been proposed, including some in
heavily populated areas where the projects have generated strong
local and state objections.
While currently LNG accounts for only about 3 percent of U.S.
natural gas use, the Energy Department estimates the market
share will grow to more than 20 percent by 2025 because of a
decline in domestic natural gas supplies.
LNG is natural gas that is cooled to minus-260 degrees
Fahrenheit to liquid form so it can be shipped on a specially
designed tanker. At an import facility that liquid is stored in
tanks before being gradually warmed and returned to a gaseous
state and shipped through conventional pipelines.
--
*****************************************************************
13 Las Vegas SUN: Senate Backs Regulators on Energy Plan
Today: June 22, 2005 at 11:36:52 PDT
By H. JOSEF HEBERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) -
0622dv-bushenergy The Senate agreed Wednesday to give federal
regulators clear authority to override state objections to the
siting of liquefied natural gas import facilities, rejecting a
proposal that would have allowed governors to block a project
because of public health or environmental concerns.
Supporters for increased federal authority over LNG import
facilities argued that the country will require huge increases
of natural gas imports in coming years and that state-imposed
roadblocks could hamstring needed import projects. They argued
states will continue to have a say in siting decisions because
of various local and state requirements for local permits.
The Senate rejected, 52-45, a proposed amendment to a sweeping
energy bill that would have allowed governors to veto a final
LNG siting decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The Senate was expected to finish the energy bill this week.
The chamber was also taking up a proposal to require automakers
to increase their vehicles' fuel economy and another amendment
that would address climate change by requiring industry to
reduce heat-trapping "greenhouse" pollution.
Both proposals are opposed by the White House and were viewed as
unlikely to be approved.
The Senate made clear on Tuesday its support for President
Bush's climate policies that rely solely on voluntary industry
efforts to curtail the growth of greenhouse emissions. By a
66-29 vote, the Senate endorsed a climate policy that increases
government support for developing new technologies to reduce
greenhouse emissions and avoids the imposition of mandatory
emission caps.
The LNG siting issue raised concerns from many senators from
coastal states where dozens of import facilities are being
proposed.
"States must have a role in siting LNG facilities in order to
protect the welfare of their citizens," argued Sen. Dianne
Feinstein, D-Calif., whose state has been the focus of a legal
fight over authority of FERC to approve an LNG terminal in Long
Beach despite state objections.
The energy bill includes a provision clarifying that FERC has
the "exclusive" authority to make a final decision on an LNG
import facility.
"Any governor that wants to participate ... has ample
opportunity to do that," maintained Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.,
adding that there were "a myriad" of zoning, environmental and
other permits that a project still must obtain.
But he said that the country is dependent on natural gas and
will need a growing amount of LNG imports to meet demand. "The
country can't wait around and say we'll wait until this matter
is litigated to see how many governors will say no until we find
one that will say yes," said Domenici.
A growing number of coastal states, especially in heavily
populated areas of the Northeast and West, have raised concerns
over siting LNG sites because of the potential for a spill or
possible terrorist attack against a site or incoming LNG tanker.
A report last year by the Sandia federal lab concluded
terrorists could tear one or more holes in a tanker that would
release LNG and create an intense fire capable of causing
significant property damage and serious burns as far as a mile
away.
"We're not talking about the siting a neighborhood ballpark or a
Wal-Mart," said Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, where communities
have rejected several LNG projects. "It's a state rights issue,
plain and simple."
There are four LNG import facilities currently operating in
Massachusetts, Maryland, Georgia and Louisiana. More than 40
additional facilities have been proposed, including some in
heavily populated areas where the projects have generated strong
local and state objections.
While currently LNG accounts for only about 3 percent of U.S.
natural gas use, the Energy Department estimates the market
share will grow to more than 20 percent by 2025 because of a
decline in domestic natural gas supplies.
LNG is natural gas that is cooled to minus-260 degrees
Fahrenheit to liquid form so it can be shipped on a specially
designed tanker. At an import facility that liquid is stored in
tanks before being gradually warmed and returned to a gaseous
state and shipped through conventional pipelines.
--
*****************************************************************
14 CPI: Traveling on the Abramoff Plan
Dozens of members of Congress have accepted trips from
non-profits with registered lobbyists on their boards
LobbyWatch -
The Center for Public Integrity
June 23, 2005 Company
Traveling on the Abramoff PlanDozens of members of Congress
have accepted trips from non-profits with registered lobbyists
on their boards
By Bob Williams and Stephen Henn
WASHINGTON, June 22, 2005 — At least 123 of Washington's top
lobbyists occupy the same ethical gray area now threatening to
bring down high-profile influence peddler Jack Abramoff,
according to a new study by the Center for Public Integrity,
American Public Media and Medill News Service.
Like Abramoff, these registered lobbyists sit on the governing
boards of non-profit organizations called 501(c)(3)s, which get
their name from the section of the tax code under which they are
authorized. As board members, these lobbyists can help set
policies for the groups and are privy to inside information
about the non-profits—including their sponsorship of
congressional travel.
Contributions to such groups are tax-deductible and, because
they are non-profits, by definition are supposed to be
restricted primarily to education, research and service
activities. IRS regulations prohibit 501(c)(3) groups from
attempting to influence legislation as a substantial part of
their activities. The IRS code does not define what it means by
"substantial."
In conjunction with
One such group, the Ripon Educational Fund, spent more than $1.3
million dollars sponsoring a single conference in London during
the summer of 2003, according to its tax return. Eighteen
members of Congress attended, along with more than 100 corporate
representatives, according to Ripon board members. That same
year the Ripon Educational Fund spent just $10,000 underwriting
a single university scholarship.
At the time of the trip, the REF board of directors counted
among its members at least four registered lobbyists, including
former U.S. Rep. Susan Molinari, a New York Republican.
While such non-profits can legally pay for trips for members of
Congress and staff, congressional rules forbid registered
lobbyists or agents registered to represent foreign interests
from paying for such travel themselves.
Credit card receipts and other documents that have surfaced in
recent weeks appear to show that Abramoff personally paid for
travel and entertainment for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
(R-Texas). DeLay's office has said he was unaware that Abramoff
had personally paid for the trip to England and Scotland, which
included a golf outing at the famed St. Andrews course.
DeLay's office has said that the majority leader believed the
trip was paid for by a non-profit called the National Center for
Public Policy Research. Abramoff was a member of that group's
board of directors at the time of the trip in 2000. Abramoff
went along on the trip with fellow lobbyist Edwin A. Buckham.
Both work for Preston Gates Ellis &Rouvelas Meeds LLP.
[Traveler's Aid]
The fact that non-profits have registered lobbyists sitting on
their boards is not unusual, or even uncommon, according to
government ethics lawyer Kenneth Gross.
"There are lots of folks who are lobbyists who sit on the
boards of these organizations," said Gross, who is a partner in
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher &Flom LLP. "Merely being on the
board and also being a lobbyist isn't a problem."
Gross said he would advise non-profits with registered
lobbyists on their boards to be extremely familiar with the
rules on paying for trips for congressional members and staffers
and follow those rules to the letter.
"To me, it is a matter of following the money," said Gross.
"The organization needs to make sure that it is staying
completely within the rules."
It can be next to impossible for the public and media to
determine who is staying within the rules, however. Disclosure
forms on privately-sponsored trips by congressional members and
staffers supply only bare bones information.
In fact, some of the most damning evidence in the DeLay
case—Abramoff's credit card receipts—were leaked to the
press. They were not found in public records. Neither trip
sponsors nor congressional members and staffers are required to
disclose any such documents to substantiate their disclosures.
Even when apparent violations of congressional travel rules are
disclosed, there is rarely a public investigation, or any
punishment meted out.
In one recent case, five members of Congress disclosed that a
registered lobbying firm, Kessler and Associates, paid for a
trip to Ireland's Ashford Castle. After that apparent violation
of House and Senate rules became public, the members of Congress
simply amended their travel disclosures—changing the name of
the trip's sponsor from the lobbyist to the non-profit group.
As a former board member of the Ripon Educational Fund and the
current president of the Ripon Society, Kessler and Associates
founder Richard Kessler has helped organize and sponsor well
over half-a-million-dollars of congressional travel—more than
any other single lobbyist in Washington.
Neither the members of Congress who traveled to Ireland, nor the
ethics committees in the House or Senate have made public any
travel receipts for the trip. And unlike in the DeLay case,
there has been no public investigation.
In some cases, the distinction between a lobbying firm and an
affiliated non-profit is so vague even members of Congress fail
to note the difference.
Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wy) recently amended a travel report that
originally listed a lobbying firm, Campbell Crane and
Associates, as the sponsor of an Independence Day trip to Cape
Cod. Enzi revised his form to show the sponsor was the Invest to
Compete Alliance—a non-profit trade association. The Invest to
Compete Alliance shares office space with Campbell Crane and
Associates and Jeanne Campbell, one of the firm's named
partners, organizes the Alliance's annual July 4th trip.
Enzi is not the only member of Congress to have disclosed that
Campbell Crane and Associates paid for a trip. Former Senator
John Breaux disclosed the lobbying firm paid for a weekend in
Florida in December 2003.
Non-profit groups who have registered lobbyists on their
governing boards include some of the best known names in
Washington's influence industry, the study found.
They include such policy influence heavyweights as the Aspen
Institute, the American Enterprise Institute, the Brookings
Institution, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Citizens
for a Sound Economy, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Grover
Norquist's Council for National Policy, the International
Republican Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's National
Chamber Foundation, the National Parks Conservation Association,
the Ripon Educational Fund, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the
United States-Spain Council and the United States-New Zealand
Council.
The Center, APM and Medill analyzed every Congressional junket
between Jan. 2000 and mid-2004. This analysis was done on the
most current lists of board members the Center could obtain.
Among the findings:
+ At least 850 trips with a total cost well over $4 million
were paid for by non-profit organizations with one or more
registered lobbyists on their boards. Many of those trips
included a member's spouse or children.
+ Among the international destinations of the trips were
Paris, London, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Cuba, the Cayman Islands,
Ireland, Scotland, Singapore, South Korea, Denmark, New Zealand,
Spain, South Africa and Greece.
+ Among the domestic destinations were Las Vegas, Miami, New
York, Los Angeles, Scottsdale, San Francisco, Boca Raton and San
Diego. Also on the list were St. Croix, St. Thomas and Puerto
Rico.
+ Many of the trips included substantial tabs for fine food,
first-class accommodations and other items, such as golf outings.
+ Just four groups sponsored about 600 of the more than 850
trips: the Aspen Institute, the Ripon Educational Fund, the
International Management and Development Institute and the
Korea-U.S. Exchange Council. The total cost of those trips was
$3.7 million.
An August 2001 trip paid for by the Korea-U.S. Exchange Council
that included DeLay and other Republican House members has come
under public scrutiny in recent weeks. Justice Department
documents showed that the council was a registered foreign agent
at the time of the trip. Members of Congress are prohibited from
accepting paid trips from such agents.
The head of the non-profit program that is the leading sponsor
of congressional travel thinks the disclosure rules need to be
tightened and better enforced.
Dick Clark, a former U.S. Democratic senator from Iowa and
ambassador at large, is director of the Aspen Institute's
Congressional Program, which has sponsored 488 trips for
congressional members in the last four and a half years, with a
total cost of more than $2.5 million.
"My personal feeling is that no one ought to be able to pay for
congressional travel if they hire a lobbyist or have a lobbyist
on their staff," said Clark, who founded Aspen's Congressional
Program in 1980. "I don't think members of Congress should
accept such travel."
Clark said his group discloses all of its funders to members of
Congress when they are invited to one of its meetings. He said
the group also has a policy prohibiting lobbyists from
participating in its congressional travel program meetings.
Clark said he has never approached top officials at Aspen
Institute about prohibiting registered lobbyists from serving on
the organization's board. He said he has never met most of the
members of the Aspen board.
"I think it would be a very good idea for any sponsor to have to
reveal exactly where their money comes from, to both the member
of Congress and the public," said Clark, who provided a list of
the group's funders for this report. "Otherwise, non-profits can
easily become just a pass-through for lobbyists."
Itineraries and influence Dozens of registered lobbyists sit on
the governing boards of non-profits that aggressively sponsor
congressional junkets. While lobbyists are prohibited from
paying for congressional travel, the non-profits they are
connected with are free to arrange and finance such trips. Many
of these lobbyists arrange such travel, however, and even go
along on the trips. Here are the leading sponsors of such trips,
along with their board members.
Organizations Total Lobbyists on Board *
$ 2,582,482 Berl Bernhard, Jack Valenti, Vin Weber
$ 603,585 Richard S. Kessler, Mike Bertman, Billy Lee
Evans, Susan Molinari
$ 448,383 Margery Kraus, Don Bonker
$ 133,871 Edward B. Stewart
$ 70,774 Timothy Regan, William Sweeney, Lloyd Hand,
William Ris, John Weinfurter, Joann Piccolo
$ 57,699 John W. Rowe, Kevin B. Rollins
$ 53,753 Weldon J. Rougeau
$ 29,808 James Courter
$ 29,532 H. Stewart Van Scoyoc
$ 24,191 Thomas Kiernan
Sources: Center for Public Integrity, American Radio Works,
Guidestar
* Board member names came from the latest IRS filings available
for the organization.
© 2005, The Center for Public Integrity. All rights reserved.
910 17th Street, NW · 7th Floor · Washington, DC 20006 · Tel.
(202) 466-1300
*****************************************************************
15 Interfax: Russia not ready to exchange info on tactical nukes with U.S. -
official
Updated: Jun 22 2005 9:45PM (MSK)
Jun 22 2005 2:02PM
MOSCOW. June 22 (Interfax) - The issue of signing an agreement
with the U.S. on control over tactical nuclear weapons is not
being discussed right now, said Lt. Gen. Igor Valynkin, head of
the Russian Defense Ministry's 12th Main Department.
"The U.S. has proposed that we exchange information about
tactical nuclear weapons. We are not yet prepared for this,"
Valynkin told the press on Wednesday.
The conclusion of an agreement in this area is a matter of
trust, he said.
© 1991-2005 Interfax
All rights reserved
News and other data on this web site are provided for
information purposes only, and are not intended for
republication or redistribution. Republication or redistribution
of Interfax content, including by framing or similar means, is
expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of
Interfax.
*****************************************************************
16 RIA Novosti: Russia goes an extra mile in its nuclear arsenal reductions
23/06/2005
Moscow, June 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has surpassed by 11% the
nuclear arsenal reductions targets set in a U.S.-Russian
presidential initiative, a Defense Ministry official reported
today.
Colonel General Igor Valynkin told a RIA Novosti news conference
today: "We had to reduce 64% of our nuclear armaments, but have
actually cut them by 75% - 11% above the targets set in the
initiative of the two presidents." He said he was referring to
tactical nuclear weapons.
The official added that there used to be more than 20 storages
for tactical nuclear weapons in Russia, but now this number had
been halved. Valynkin said only those facilities that would
store nuclear armaments in the future remained.
© 2005 "RIA Novosti"
*****************************************************************
17 ITAR-TASS: Russia reduces nuclear warheads by 75 pc under START-1, Defence
Ministry
22.06.2005, 14.22
MOSCOW, June 22 (Itar-Tass) - Russia has fulfilled its
obligations under the Russian-American Strategic Arms Reduction
Treaty (START-I) “totally and even exceeded the target,” head of
the 12th Main Department of the Defence Ministry Colonel-General
Igor Valynkin told journalists on Wednesday.
According to the official, “Under the START-1 Treaty and
fulfilling obligations assumed by our presidents we were to
reduce our nuclear arsenals by 64 percent, but reduced them by 75
percent.”
© ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy,
store in any medium (including in any other websites),
distribute, transmit, re-transmit, broadcast, modify or show in
public any part of the ITAR-TASS website without the prior
written permission of ITAR-TASS.
*****************************************************************
18 IRNA: Iran-Russian nuclear deal 'consistent' with NPT, says Straw -
Irna
London, June 22, IRNA
Iran-Nuclear-Straw
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw Tuesday rejected a call to
raise concerns with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov or
other G8 foreign ministers over Moscow's nuclear agreement with
Iran, saying that it was "consistent" with the Non-proliferation
Treaty.
"Russia is under contract first to provide both the design of
the nuclear power plant at Bushehr in Iran and also to supply it
with fuel and that is consistent with both Russia and Iran's
obligations under the NPT," Straw told Labour MP Eric Illsley
during Foreign Affairs questions in parliament.
The Foreign Secretary said that London felt "concern about the
enrichment, reprocessing and conversion facilities which Iran
has inside the country."
"The international community remains perplexed about the scale
of this fuel cycle programme in Iran given that they only have
one (nuclear) power station coming on stream and all the fuel
for that is due to come from Russia," he said.
Straw confirmed that he would meet Lavrov at a meeting with
other G8 foreign ministers in London on Wednesday ahead of next
month's summit of industrial countries.
He also hoped to hold bilateral talks with his Russian
counterpart.
Referring to the Paris Declaration, Straw stressed reiterated
that the European side had undertaken "to present proposals to
Iran by end of July or beginning of August."
"Officials are currently working on the proposals which will
include objective guarantees that Iran's nuclear programme is
exclusively for peaceful purposes," Straw said.
He further explained that the proposals would also include
"economical and technological cooperation assurances of fuel
supply and a political and security framework."
The Foreign Secretary said that he shared the view that Iran is
a "very, very important country" and that the ongoing
negotiations are "critical."
Noting that London relations with Tehran were "strictly
government-to-government as they are with any other sovereign
sate of the United Nations," Straw said that he had no
discussions with any of the Iranian presidential candidates.
Go Top [Go Top]
*****************************************************************
19 [CMEP] Energy bill gives $10 billion to nuke industry
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 10:31:29 -0500 (CDT)
June 22, 2005
This e-mail contains two messages:
(1) A press release about subsidies for the nuclear power industry in
the Senate energy bill.
(2) A special call to Mississippi activists to attend a public meeting
sponsored by the NRC on a proposal to build a new nuclear reactor at the
Grand Gulf nuclear station in Claiborne County.
==========
*** P R E S S R E L E A S E ***
For Immediate Release: June 22, 2005
Contact: Michele Boyd (202) 454-5134; Erica Hartman (202) 454-5174
Nuclear Industry to Receive More Than $10 Billion in Tax Breaks and
Subsidies in Senate Energy Bill
Public Citizen Says Nuclear Power Doesn't Deserve More Taxpayer
Handouts; 50-Year-Old Industry Should Stand on Its Own
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a new cost analysis of the Senate energy bill,
Public Citizen today said that the nuclear industry would stand to gain
more than $10.1 billion in subsidies and tax breaks, as well as
unlimited taxpayer-backed loan guarantees and other incentives.
"The government should not be promoting the construction of new
reactors, which will only add to the nuclear waste and security problems
while costing taxpayers billions," said Wenonah Hauter, director of
Public Citizen's energy program. "The nuclear industry is demanding
cradle-to-grave subsidies, and the Senate energy bill is an attempt to
give it to them."
The $10.1 billion includes $5.7 billion in production tax credits and
$4.4 billion in various subsidies, but does not include the potential
costs of loan guarantees or the Price-Anderson Act, which puts taxpayers
on the hook for potentially billions in cleanup costs in the event of a
major accident or terrorist attack on a reactor.
The production tax credits equal 1.8 cents for each kilowatt-hour of
electricity from new reactors (up to 6,000 megawatts) during the first
eight years of operation - costing $5.7 billion through 2025, according
to the Energy Information Administration. However, only $278 million
through 2016 is counted in the $18 billion in tax breaks in the bill,
because most of the nuclear credits would be claimed after 2016. This
means that the true cost of all the tax breaks, including those for
non-nuclear industries, is more than $24 billion.
Separately, the loan guarantees in the Senate bill could prove
extremely costly to taxpayers. According to the Congressional Budget
Office (CBO), the risk of loan default by industry would be very high --
"well above 50 percent" -- leaving the public to pay as much as 80
percent of the cost of building a reactor. This provision authorizes
"such sums as are necessary," but if Congress were to appropriate
funding for loan guarantees covering six nuclear reactors, this subsidy
could potentially cost taxpayers $6 billion (assuming a 50 percent
default rate and construction cost per plant of $2.5 billion, as the CBO
has estimated).
Other subsidies for the nuclear industry in the Senate energy bill
include:
* Reauthorization of the Price-Anderson Act, extending the industry's
liability cap to cover new nuclear power plants built in the next 20
years, which means in the event of an accident or attack, taxpayers
would be liable for the remainder of the cost, estimated to be $600
billion for a single serious accident (2004 dollars).
* Authorization of more than $432 million over three years for nuclear
energy research and development, including the Department of Energy's
Nuclear Power 2010 program to build new nuclear plants, and its
Generation IV program to develop new reactor designs. Half the cost of
applications for new reactors would be paid for by taxpayers, estimated
to be as much as $87 million per reactor.
* Authorization of more than $1.25 billion from FY2006 to FY2015 and
"such sums as are necessary" from FY2016 to FY2021 for a nuclear plant
in Idaho to generate hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen could be a clean fuel of
the future, but using nuclear power to produce it negates the benefits.
Existing reactors have been heavily subsidized for decades, receiving
56 percent of the federal energy supply research and development funding
between 1948 and 1998, capped insurance rates and limited liability in
the case of an accident, and billions in taxpayer bailouts in the 1980s.
"Despite a pro-nuclear push by the Bush administration and some members
of Congress, nuclear power is not an acceptable option for the future,"
said Hauter. "We have 'been there, done that' and it has been a failure.
After more than 50 years, the problems of nuclear power are far from
solved. In fact, they are more widely recognized than ever."
In March, e-mails were released indicating that government scientists
falsified data related to water infiltration and climate modeling for
the proposed Yucca Mountain waste dump site; investigations are still
ongoing. Also, recent reports by the National Academy of Sciences and
the Government Accountability Office pointed out security
vulnerabilities of the highly radioactive waste stored at reactor sites.
The energy bill contains no requirements for improving security at these
sites.
Nuclear power has made headlines this year as proponents attempt to
convince a wary public that nuclear energy can solve the global warming
problem. Last week, nearly 300 environmental and public interest
organizations sent a letter to Congress flatly rejecting nuclear energy
as an "acceptable or necessary" solution to combat rising temperatures
on the planet because it is an expensive, dangerous and polluting
technology.
"We urge the Senate to remove these unjustifiable subsidies, tax breaks
and loan guarantees from the energy bill," Hauter said. "After 50 years,
the nuclear industry should stand on its own. Instead of endless
subsidies to nuclear companies, Congress should dedicate funds to
harness the promise of energy efficiency and renewable technologies,
such as wind and solar energy."
Last month, Public Citizen released a new fact sheet series outlining
the five fatal flaws of nuclear power: cost, waste, safety, security and
proliferation (to read them, go to www.citizen.org/cmep/fatalflaws.) For
more information about the subsidies and other incentives in the Senate
energy bill, go to
http://www.citizen.org/documents/senatebillnukeprovisions.pdf. For a
copy of the statement opposing nuclear power, go to
http://www.citizen.org/documents/GroupNuclearStmt.pdf.
Yesterday, the Senate added Sen. Chuck Hagel's climate change
amendment, which authorizes additional financial assistance through
2010, including direct loans, loan guarantees, a line of credit and
production incentive payments, that could include new nuclear power
plants.
###
Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization
with 150,000 members. For more information, visit www.citizen.org
==========
Tell your senators to oppose this bill!
http://action.citizen.org/pc/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=7707271
==========
*** S P E C I A L N O T I C E T O M I S S I S S I P P I A C T I
V I S T S ***
Speak Out Against Nuclear Power in Mississippi!
This coming Tuesday, June 28, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) will host a public meeting in Port Gibson, Mississippi -- in
Claiborne County -- to discuss Entergy's proposal to build two new
reactors at the Grand Gulf nuclear plant along the Mississippi River.
The meeting will allow members of the public to give transcribed,
on-the-record comments about new reactors in Mississippi and their
environmental, health and safety impacts.
If possible, please attend this meeting to make your voice heard.
Visible public opposition has the power to stop this nuclear expansion.
For more information, visit http://www.citizen.org/cmep/grandgulf.
While the time allocated for each individual to give comments at the
meeting will be only several minutes, the impact will be huge. This is
the one and only public meeting to discuss the negative health, safety,
and economic consequences the new reactors will have on Port Gibson and
Mississippi. There's likely to be a substantial media presence there, so
high turnout among opponents of the project will be important.
The Grand Gulf plant is already a burden on the local population --
unjust tax laws prevent Claiborne County from recouping in taxes what
they have to pay to provide emergency services. As a result, those
services--from the police to fire fighters to hospital -- are not up to
the appropriate standard, posing a hazard that extends beyond the county
line. Even the NRC admits that with a new reactor, "It is not clear
whether Claiborne County would receive property taxes, sales, and use
taxes, or other taxes and public monies commensurate with the costs of
its additional emergency management and public services obligations.
The net financial burden may fall on local residents and taxpayers, most
of whom are minority and low-income persons."
As a nation, we can't afford to start down the road of nuclear power
again, after a 30-year hiatus. Nuclear power continues to rely heavily
on taxpayer subsidies because it is so expensive, and draft language in
the energy bill in the current Congress indicates billions more dollars
could be on the way. There is still no solution to the waste problem;
the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain is in a downward
spiral and wouldn't be large enough to hold waste from a new reactor
even if it did go forward. Safety continues to be sacrificed in favor of
higher profits by both the industry and the NRC. And security standards
at nuclear plants are downright pathetic.
Please help us put a stop to nuclear power once and for all by
attending this public meeting from 7-10 p.m. at the Port Gibson City
Hall, 1005 College Street, Port Gibson, MS. Please encourage family and
friends to attend also. If you'd like to speak at the meeting, be sure
to arrive at least 30 minutes early to register, or e-mail
GrandGulfEIS@nrc.gov. If you are unable to attend on Tuesday or
don't wish to speak publicly, we encourage you to send written comments
by July 14 via e-mail to GrandGulfEIS@nrc.gov.
For more information about the specific problems with a new reactor at
Grand Gulf, visit http://www.citizen.org/cmep/grandgulf. You can also
direct questions to Brendan Hoffman of Public Citizen's Critical Mass
Energy and Environment Program at bhoffman@citizen.org or (202)
454-5130.
**********
To SUBSCRIBE to the CMEP ListServ, visit https://www.citizen.org/email/enteremail.cfm
If you would like to be removed from the CMEP ListServ, send an email to listserv@listserver.citizen.org with the words "unsubscribe CMEP" in the message.
Questions about the CMEP ListServ can be directed to CMEP-request@LISTSERVER.CITIZEN.ORG.
To learn more about this and other Public Citizen Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program campaigns, visit our website at http://www.citizen.org/cmep/
-Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program
*****************************************************************
20 [NukeNet] Fwd: [JerseyShoreNuclearWatch] APP Letter -" A
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 17:09:34 -0700
NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net)
------- Forwarded message -------
From: Edith
To: JerseyShoreNuclearWatch@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [JerseyShoreNuclearWatch] APP Letter -" A Safrer Plant Without
A-Plant
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 12:02:00 -0400
CLASSIFIEDS CARS JOBS HOMES APARTMENTS NJ LOTTERY
SUBSCRIBE PRESSPIX DATING ShopLocal JERSEY SHORE GUIDE
•
E-mail to a friend Printer-friendly version Subscribe now
TOPIC OF THE DAY: Oyster Creek relicensing
Published in the Asbury Park Press 06/22/05
- advertisements -
A safer path without A-plant
Close your eyes and picture what it would be like if the Oyster
Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey were permanently shut down now.
Envision a cleaner and safer environment — free from
radioactive
emissions that now pollute our air and land. You can throw away those
potassium iodide tablets that offer protection from only one type of
cancer.
Marine life would be saved and the marine ecosystem would become healthy
and
thriving once more — with no more fish kills or entrapment.
Warning systems that are not always reliable would not be
needed. Our risk of a terrorist attack would be diminished. We would not
need to be concerned about evacuation plans that are not workable.
We would cease to add more highly radioactive spent fuel rods
to
the pile we have already accumulated and don't have room to store. We would
not have to live in fear of a nuclear meltdown that would kill all those
within a 10-mile radius of the plant and make the land uninhabitable.
We could focus our attention on using safe, abundant renewable
energy sources such as wind turbines and solar energy that are now readily
available.
Now open your eyes and face the realities of having this plant
continue operation for another 20 years. This old plant represents ancient
technology. I'm ready to embrace a safer way to supply our energy needs.
Grass-roots organizations and citizens closed the Ciba-Geigy
plant in Dover Township and the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant on Long
Island.
Don't underestimate the power of your voice. Call the Capitol switchboard,
800-839-5276, and let your legislators know you want their support in
closing this plant immediately.
State legislators and gubernatorial candidates need to hear
from
you, too. The Department of Environmental Protection should hear your input
at its public hearing on evacuation plans July 12 in the Ocean County
Administration Building in downtown Toms River. A standing-room-only crowd
will send the message that the DEP needs to really listen to our concerns,
and that a plan that is not realistic is unacceptable.
Joyce K
BERKELEY
Go Back | Subscribe to the Asbury Park Press
Copyright © 2005 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved.
Use of this site indicates your agreement to the Terms of Service.
(Updated 4/13/05)
Site design by Asbury Park Press / Contact us
--
Coalition for Peace and Justice
UNPLUG Salem Campaign; 321 Barr Ave, Linwood
NJ 08221; 609-601-8583; cell 609-742-0982
ncohen12@comcast.net; http://www.unplugsalem.org
http://www.coalitionforpeaceandjustice.org
"A time comes when silence is betrayal.
Even when pressed by the demands of
inner truth, men do not easily assume
the task of opposing their government's
policy, especially in time of war.
Nor does the human spirit move without
great difficulty against all the apathy
of conformist thought, within one's own
bosom and in the surrounding world."
- Martin Luther King Jr.
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.7.10/25 - Release Date: 6/21/05
_______________________________________________________________________
Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/
Change your settings or access the archives at:
http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net
Attachment Converted: "c:\program files\eudora\attach\attachment2792.dat"
*****************************************************************
21 nuclear power not the answer: Straight Goods
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2005 23:43:45 -0500 (CDT)
from: http://www.straightgoods.ca/ViewFeature5.cfm?REF=299
Energy Quest
Massive effort to achieve greater energy efficiency is the answer, as it
was in 1970.
Dateline: Sunday, June 19, 2005
by Linda McQuaig
It may be one of the worst problems the world faces, but global warming is
the best break the nuclear industry has caught in a long time.
Ever since the 1986 nuclear meltdown in Chernobyl left a wave of death and
mayhem, nuclear energy advocates have understandably been on the defensive.
There's been no investment in new nuclear plants in North America in 20
years. But now, with the public increasingly focused on the global warming
nightmare associated with coal, oil and gas, the nuclear lobby seems to
have carved out an improbable new niche for itself as a clean energy source.
320e8b7.jpgRight here in Ontario, the McGuinty cabinet, under pressure to
make good on promises to close coal-fired electricity plants, is
contemplating reviving its nuclear commitment.
But there's still that awkward question: What about the fact that waste
from nuclear plants remains radioactive for a million years?
This strikes me as a deal-breaker. Whatever kudos it wins on the global
warming front, nuclear energy still generates a deadly waste that lasts as
Roberta Flack once said about her love till the end of time....
whole article at: http://www.straightgoods.ca/ViewFeature5.cfm?REF=299
Penney Kome, author and journalist
http://penneykome.ca
Editor, Straight Goods, http://straightgoods.com
[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/jpeg which had a name of 320e8b7.jpg"; x-mac-type="4A504547"; x-mac-creator="4A565752]
*****************************************************************
22 [NukeNet] Action Needed Now
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 14:50:30 -0700
NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net)
Much of the specifics below refer to Indian
Point in New York State but the proposed piece of
legislation applies to all commercial reactors in
the USA. Every single one of the 103. You are
needed to right now get on the phone and ask your
Rep to co-sponsor this extremely important piece
of legislation and to ask both of your Senators to
back it. Please call- Congressional phone# is
[both]:
877-762-8762 & 202-224-3121.
Please forward this as widely as possible.
Thanks.
Lowey introduces bill that would change
relicensing guidelines
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--indianpoint0620jun20,0,1000571.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
Email this story
Printer friendly format
By JIM FITZGERALD
Associated Press Writer
June 20, 2005, 5:35 PM EDT
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Rep. Nita Lowey introduced a
bill Monday that would force the nation's nuclear
power plants, including the Indian Point reactors,
to meet the same standards for re-licensing that a
new plant would have to meet for an original
license.
If the bill became law, the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission would have to take into account such
factors as population density and vulnerability to
terrorist attacks if the owners of Indian Point
seek relicensing in the next decade. Currently,
the NRC concentrates on how the owners have
managed the aging of the plants and the plants'
effect on the environment.
"With 280,000 people living within a 10-mile
radius of the plants and millions more just
minutes away in New York City, Indian Point is
located in one of the most densely populated areas
of the country," Lowey said. "We couldn't locate a
new nuclear plant there today and it is a double
standard to allow Indian Point to continue
operating under such circumstances."
The legislation reflects the recent strategy of
Indian Point opponents to concentrate on blocking
the relicensing rather than seek an immediate
shutdown, which was tried and failed in 2003.
Indian Point 2's license runs until 2013, Indian
Point 3's until 2015.
Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano said
last week that he would propose to Entergy Nuclear
Northeast, the owners of Indian Point, that they
negotiate a shutdown of the plant in exchange for
compensation of up to $1.4 billion. He said that
proposal was the "carrot" of a "carrot-and-stick"
approach, with legislation like Lowey's the
"stick."
The Lowey bill does not include compensation for
plant owners.
Larry Gottlieb, an Entergy spokesman, said the
announcement of the bill showed "They've skipped
over the carrot and have gone right to the stick
part. That's not fair to Entergy because they're
not giving us the respect that they offered." He
said Spano had not yet contacted Entergy about
negotiating.
Passage of the bill appears problematic. Lowey
said she did not yet have House co-sponsors or a
Senate backer and acknowledged, "We have a lot of
work to do." She expressed the hope that even if
the bill, which would be an amendment to the
Atomic Energy Act, did not pass, it might
"influence" the NRC.
The bill would also mandate that any state within
50 miles of a nuclear plant approve the evacuation
plans for emergencies, which would bring
Connecticut and New Jersey, for example, into the
approval process for Indian Point.
Lisa Rainwater van Suntum, PhD
Indian Point Campaign Director
Riverkeeper, Inc.
PO Box 130
Garrison, NY 10524
Phone: 845.424.4149 x. 221
Fax: 845-424-4150
www.riverkeeper.org
_______________________________________________________________________
Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/
Change your settings or access the archives at:
http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net
*****************************************************************
23 Russia: Intruders Targeted Nuclear Site
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 01:55:34 -0400
Mothersalert Home: http://www.mothersalert.org
http://www.mothersalert.org/moreinfo.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Russia-Nuclear-Security.html
Russia: Intruders Targeted Nuclear Site
a.. E-Mail This
b.. Printer-Friendly
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 22, 2005
Filed at 11:24 a.m. ET
MOSCOW (AP) -- Authorities have thwarted two
attempts to break into Russian military nuclear
facilities since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet
Union, a Defense Ministry official said Wednesday.
There have been no terrorist attacks on the
facilities, but civilians twice tried
unsuccessfully to gain illegal access, said Col.
Gen. Igor Valynkin, chief of the ministry's 12th
Main Department, which is in charge of atomic
weapons.
The attempts to penetrate military nuclear
installations occurred in 2002 and 2003, both in
the European part of Russia, Valynkin said. In
both cases, the attempts involved one intruder.
The attempts ''were averted by our mobile units
and security at the facilities,'' he said,
asserting they were reliably protected from
penetration by intruders and potential terrorist
attacks.
''Our system is good, it works and it provides
nuclear security,'' he said.
However, Valynkin acknowledged that ''there are
problems with nuclear security'' and said it is
being improved with help from the United States
and other foreign donors, including by installing
security systems that eliminate the need for human
guards.
''The human factor plays a role everywhere,'' he
said. ''If you place a guard at an installation,
he is doubtless a protector, but he also can be an
individual who either violates or aids in the
violation or penetration of the facility.''
He said Russia is using U.S. and German funding,
as well as its own money, ''to strengthen our
facilities with security systems. This enables us
to take away the guard and fully control it
through technical means of protection.''
Valynkin said the main source of a potential
terrorist threat to the Kremlin's nuclear weapons
facilities is ''Chechen terrorist groups,'' which
have warned that they will target Russian
facilities of all kinds.
He suggested there had been warnings from the
Federal Security Service, or FSB, indicating
potential terrorist threats to specific
installations, but he would not discuss the issue
in detail.
''We get special information from the FSB on
terrorism and their plans as to our facilities,
and in connection with this we immediately take
measures at these facilities,'' he said.
*****************************************************************
24 Bush Pushes For More Nuke Plants While Study: World at Risk for Major Attack
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 02:14:09 -0400
Bush and industry just don't seem to care- the
real surprise would be if they did care:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Bush-Nuclear-Power.html
Bush: U.S. Needs More Nuclear Power Plants
a.. E-Mail This
b.. Printer-Friendly
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 22, 2005
Filed at 11:29 a.m. ET
LUSBY, Md. (AP) -- Pushing for the construction of
nuclear power plants, President Bush on Wednesday
pressed Congress to send him an energy bill,
though he acknowledged that even when he signs the
legislation, gasoline prices at the pump won't
fall overnight.
Bush is promoting nuclear power as a way to take
the pressure off fossil fuels -- oil, natural gas
and coal.
''It's time for this country to start building
nuclear power plants again,'' said Bush, who noted
that while the U.S. gets 20 percent of its
electricity from nuclear reactors, France meets 78
percent of its electricity needs with nuclear
power.
While Bush's speech was focused on energy, he also
spoke about economic concerns like Social
Security, medical liability insurance, education,
permanent tax relief and trade. It was part of a
White House effort to focus on economic security
for Americans as well as national security in the
war on terrorism.
''Listen, I understand parts of our country are
still struggling from the effects of the recession
and the attacks,'' he said, ticking off Americans'
worries about jobs going overseas and the need to
learn new skills, health care costs and retirement
security.
''So even though the numbers are still good, there
are still worries out there in the country,'' Bush
said.
''We're not taking the good numbers for granted --
we're moving aggressively with a pro-growth,
pro-worker set of economic policies that will
enhance economic security in this country.''
Before he spoke, Bush, wearing a white hard hat
and shirt sleeves, walked through the plant's
sweltering turbine building and its control room,
where he thanked workers for ''taking time to
explain all the dials and gauges.'' Executives
from the plant, operated by Constellation Energy
Group Inc., also showed Bush their confidential
plans for building a third reactor onsite -- if
they can get a federal license.
Calvert Cliffs is a candidate for the construction
of the first nuclear energy reactor in the United
States in 30 years. It is one of six sites that a
consortium of nuclear power companies, including
the Baltimore-based Constellation Energy, is
considering as a location for a new type of
advanced reactor.
''The energy bill will help us expand our use of
the one energy source that is completely domestic,
plentiful in quantity, environmentally friendly
and able to generate massive amounts of
electricity and that's nuclear power,'' Bush said.
''I look forward to signing that bill and it's
going to be an important part of developing a
national energy strategy,'' he said. ''I
recognize, and you recognize that when I sign that
bill, your gasoline prices aren't going to drop.
This problem has been long in the making.''
Not since 1973 has an order been placed for a new
reactor. Two events helped end, for a time, any
U.S. interest in reactors beyond those already
under construction: the partial meltdown at Three
Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania in 1979
and the 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl plant in
the Ukraine.
Even some environmentalists have abandoned their
opposition to nuclear power, arguing it is needed
to address climate change because reactors do not
produce ''greenhouse'' gases as do fossil fuels.
Other environmentalists are not convinced, citing
worries about reactor waste and safety.
Without some government help, no new reactors are
likely to be built before 2025, according to the
Energy Information Agency, the government's energy
statistical agency. Congress is considering loan
guarantees for new-design reactors, and lawmakers
are expected to come up with other tax breaks. But
a Bush proposal to provide ''risk insurance'' to
protect the industry against licensing or legal
delays has attracted little interest on Capitol
Hill.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Attacks-Risk.html
Study: World at Risk for Major Attack
a.. E-Mail This
b.. Printer-Friendly
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 22, 2005
Filed at 9:58 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The world faces an estimated 50
percent chance of a nuclear, biological, chemical
or radiological attack over the next five years,
according to national security analysts surveyed
for a congressional study released Wednesday.
Using a poll of 85 nonproliferation and national
security experts, the report also estimated the
risk of attack by weapons of mass destruction at
as high as 70 percent over the coming decade.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee surveyed
analysts around the world in late 2004 and early
this year to determine what they thought was the
threat posed by weapons of mass destruction.
The study was commissioned by committee Chairman
Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., whose nonproliferation
efforts in Congress have been credited with
helping the states of the former Soviet Union
lessen their stockpiles of nuclear, chemical and
biological weapons.
''The bottom line is this: For the foreseeable
future, the United States and other nations will
face an existential threat from the intersection
of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction,''
Lugar said in a statement.
Committee aides sent out surveys asking
respondents the percentage probability that a
biological, chemical, nuclear and radiological
attack would occur over the next five and 10
years.
''If one compounds these answers, the odds of some
type of WMD attack occurring during the next
decade are extremely high,'' the report said,
using the acronym for weapons of mass destruction.
The study said the risks of biological or chemical
attacks were comparable to or slightly higher than
the risk of a nuclear attack. However, the study
found a ''significantly higher'' risk of a
radiological attack.
It also said:
--Three-fourths of those surveyed said one or two
new countries would acquire nuclear weapons during
the next five years, and as many as five new
countries could have such weapons over the next 10
years.
--Four-fifths of those surveyed said their country
was not spending enough money on nonproliferation
efforts.
--Survey respondents also agreed that
terrorists -- rather than governments -- were more
likely to carry out a nuclear attack.
^----------
On the Net:
http://lugar.senate.gov/press.html CRAC-2:
http://www.mothersalert.org/crac.html
*****************************************************************
25 Las Vegas SUN: Bush: U.S. Needs More Nuclear Power Plants
Today: June 22, 2005 at 10:58:45 PDT
By NEDRA PICKLER ASSOCIATED PRESS
LUSBY, Md. (AP) -
0622dv-bushenergy Pushing for the construction of nuclear power
plants, President Bush on Wednesday pressed Congress to send him
an energy bill, though he acknowledged that even when he signs
the legislation, gasoline prices at the pump won't fall
overnight.
Bush is promoting nuclear power as a way to take the pressure
off fossil fuels - oil, natural gas and coal.
"It's time for this country to start building nuclear power
plants again," said Bush, who noted that while the U.S. gets 20
percent of its electricity from nuclear reactors, France meets
78 percent of its electricity needs with nuclear power.
While Bush's speech was focused on energy, he also spoke about
economic concerns like Social Security, medical liability
insurance, education, permanent tax relief and trade. It was
part of a White House effort to focus on economic security for
Americans as well as national security in the war on terrorism.
"Listen, I understand parts of our country are still struggling
from the effects of the recession and the attacks," he said,
ticking off Americans' worries about jobs going overseas and the
need to learn new skills, health care costs and retirement
security.
"So even though the numbers are still good, there are still
worries out there in the country," Bush said.
"We're not taking the good numbers for granted - we're moving
aggressively with a pro-growth, pro-worker set of economic
policies that will enhance economic security in this country."
Before he spoke, Bush, wearing a white hard hat and shirt
sleeves, walked through the plant's sweltering turbine building
and its control room, where he thanked workers for "taking time
to explain all the dials and gauges." Executives from the plant,
operated by Constellation Energy Group Inc., also showed Bush
their confidential plans for building a third reactor onsite -
if they can get a federal license.
Calvert Cliffs is a candidate for the construction of the first
nuclear energy reactor in the United States in 30 years. It is
one of six sites that a consortium of nuclear power companies,
including the Baltimore-based Constellation Energy, is
considering as a location for a new type of advanced reactor.
"The energy bill will help us expand our use of the one energy
source that is completely domestic, plentiful in quantity,
environmentally friendly and able to generate massive amounts of
electricity and that's nuclear power," Bush said.
"I look forward to signing that bill and it's going to be an
important part of developing a national energy strategy," he
said. "I recognize, and you recognize that when I sign that
bill, your gasoline prices aren't going to drop. This problem
has been long in the making."
Not since 1973 has an order been placed for a new reactor. Two
events helped end, for a time, any U.S. interest in reactors
beyond those already under construction: the partial meltdown at
Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania in 1979 and the
1986 explosion at the Chernobyl plant in the Ukraine.
Even some environmentalists have abandoned their opposition to
nuclear power, arguing it is needed to address climate change
because reactors do not produce "greenhouse" gases as do fossil
fuels. Other environmentalists are not convinced, citing worries
about reactor waste and safety.
Without some government help, no new reactors are likely to be
built before 2025, according to the Energy Information Agency,
the government's energy statistical agency. Congress is
considering loan guarantees for new-design reactors, and
lawmakers are expected to come up with other tax breaks. But a
Bush proposal to provide "risk insurance" to protect the
industry against licensing or legal delays has attracted little
interest on Capitol Hill.
--
*****************************************************************
26 NRC: NRC Seeks Public Input on Monticello Nuclear Plant Environmental Issues for
License Renewal
News Release - Region III - 2005-03
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs, Region III
No. III-05-032 June 22, 2005
CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663
Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov
The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold two
public meetings Thursday, June 30, in Monticello, Minn., on the
environmental review of Nuclear Management Companys application
to renew the operating license for Monticello Nuclear Power
Plant. The public is invited to attend and comment on
environmental issues the NRC should consider in its review of
the proposed license renewal.
The meetings will be in the Mississippi Room of the Monticello
Community Center, 505 Walnut St., Monticello.
There will be two similar sessions, one in the afternoon from
1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m., and one in the evening from 7 p.m.
until 10 p.m. In addition, the NRC staff will host informal
discussions one hour prior to each meeting to answer questions
and provide additional information about the process. However,
formal comments on environmental issues cannot be accepted
during the informal sessions.
For planning purposes, those who wish to present oral comments
at the meeting are encouraged to contact Jennifer Davis of the
NRC by telephone at 800-368-5642, extension 3835, or by email at
MonticelloEIS@nrc.gov. People may also register to speak before
the start of each session. Individual comment time may be
limited by the time available.
The meetings will include an overview and NRC staff presentation
on the environmental process related to license renewal. Members
of the public will then be given the opportunity to present
their comments on what environmental issues the NRC should
consider during its review.
Under NRC regulations, the original operating license for a
nuclear power plant is issued for up to 40 years. The license
may be renewed for up to an additional 20 years if NRC
requirements are met. The current operating license for the
Monticello plant will expire on Sept. 8, 2010. Nuclear
Management Co. submitted its application for license renewal on
Mar. 24, 2005.
The application is available for public review at the Monticello
Public Library, 220 W. 6th St., Monticello, and the Buffalo
Public Library, 18 NW Lake Blvd., Buffalo. It is also available
in the NRC Public Document Room at NRC Headquarters, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, and on
the Internet at
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applicati
ons/monticello.html.
An existing NRC document, Generic Environmental Impact Statement
for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, (NUREG-1437), assesses
the scope and impact of environmental effects that would be
associated with license renewal at any nuclear power plant site.
The NRC staff is gathering information at these meetings for a
supplement to the generic environmental impact statement that
will be specific to Monticello. It will contain a recommendation
regarding the environmental acceptability of the license renewal
action.
At the conclusion of the information-gathering process, the NRC
staff will prepare a summary of conclusions and significant
issues and will send a copy to interested persons who
participated in the scoping process. The summary will also be
available for public review at the local libraries and
accessible electronically at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
The NRC staff will then prepare a draft environmental impact
statement supplement for public comment and will hold a public
meeting to solicit comments. After consideration of comments
received on the draft, the NRC will prepare a final EIS
supplement.
Members of the public may also submit written comments on the
scope of the Monticello-specific supplement to the generic
environmental impact statement. Comments should be submitted by
Aug. 2, 2005, either by mail to the Chief, Rules and Directives
Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Mail Stop T-6-D-59,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C.,
20555-0001, or by email to: MonticelloEIS@nrc.gov.
Last revised Wednesday, June 22, 2005
*****************************************************************
27 NRC: NRC Issues Notice of Violation for Misplaced Vermont Yankee Spent Fuel Pieces
News Release - Region I - 2005-03
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs, Region I No. I-05-035
June 22, 2005 CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A.
Sheehan (610) 337-5331 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a Notice of
Violation to Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., for temporarily
losing track of two spent fuel rod pieces at the Vermont Yankee
nuclear power plant. Following an intensive search for the
pieces, measuring 9 and 17 inches respectively, Entergy found
them in the spent fuel pool at the Vernon, Vt., facility last
year.
Reviews determined the fuel pieces never left the pool but were
in a location not consistent with plant records. The material
remained in the pool at all times, and there were no impacts on
plant workers or members of the public.
In a letter to Entergy announcing the enforcement action, NRC
Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins stated that losing
track of the irradiated fuel pieces increased the possibility
they could be mixed with other irradiated components and shipped
offsite to a low-level radioactive waste burial site. As such,
the staff considers this to be a significant failure of the
licensees MC&A (Material Control & Accountability) program,
designed to prevent or detect the theft, loss of diversion of
strategic Special Nuclear Material, Mr. Collins wrote.
The NRC has Resident Inspectors assigned to each operating U.S.
nuclear power plant. After two entire spent fuel rods could not
be located in the spent fuel pool at the permanently shutdown
Millstone 1 nuclear power plant in 2000, the Resident Inspectors
carried out inspections of spent fuel MC&A programs at each
plant. As a result of that inspection at Vermont Yankee in March
2004, Entergy confirmed on April 20, 2004, that two fuel pieces
were not in a container on the bottom of the spent fuel pool, as
plant records indicated.
Entergy promptly launched a wide-ranging investigation to search
for the missing pieces. In addition, the NRC initiated a special
inspection into the apparent loss of the material. On July 13,
2004, Entergy discovered the pieces were in a container known as
a liner in a different part of the spent fuel pool.
Three issues were identified by the special inspection and are
cited in the Notice of Violation. Specifically, beginning in
January 1980 and continuing until July 13, 2004, Entergy and the
previous owner of Vermont Yankee failed to (1) keep adequate
records of the location of the fuel pieces; (2) follow its
Special Nuclear Material Inventory and Accountability procedure
when transferring the pieces from the container to the liner in
January 1980; and (3) conduct adequate periodic physical
inventories since January 1980 of all Special Nuclear Material
in its possession.
The NRC has characterized the violation as Severity Level III.
(Severity Level I represents the greatest significance and
Severity Level IV the lowest level.) While a civil penalty is a
possibility for such infractions, the agency considers several
factors when making that decision, including a review of what,
if any, corrective actions have been undertaken by the company.
In this case, Entergy took numerous steps to correct the
violation and prevent a recurrence, which included performing a
complete physical inventory of all Special Nuclear Material at
the plant; conducting a corporate assessment of the Vermont
Yankee MC&A process; revising the plants MC&A process; and
establishing a multi-disciplinary team to evaluate and recommend
future improvements to the facilitys MC&A process.
Entergy will have 30 days to respond to the notice.
Last revised Wednesday, June 22, 2005
*****************************************************************
28 NRC: Notice of Issuance of Amendment to Materials License SNM-2505;
FR Doc E5-3222
[Federal Register: June 22, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 119)]
[Notices] [Page 36215] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22jn05-168]
Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc., Calvert Cliffs
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation AGENCY: Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of issuance of license amendment.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph M. Sebrosky, Senior
Project Manager, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Telephone: (301) 415-1132; fax
number: (301) 415-8555; e-mail: jms3@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Introduction The U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) has issued
Amendment 6 to Materials License SNM-2505 held by Calvert Cliffs
Nuclear Power Plant, Inc. (CCNPP) for the receipt, possession,
transfer, and storage of spent fuel at the Calvert Cliffs
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), located in
Calvert County, Maryland. The amendment is effective as of the
date of issuance. II. Background By application dated December
12, 2003, as supplemented on May 12, 2004, and June 7, 2005,
CCNPP requested to amend its ISFSI license to add the NUHOMS-32P
as an optional design to the existing NUHOMS-24P design for dry
storage of spent fuel. The NUHOMS-32P design stores eight more
spent fuel assemblies than the NUHOMS-24P design.
III. Finding This amendment complies with the standards and
requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the
Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations. The Commission
has made appropriate findings as required by the Act and the
Commission's rules and regulations in 10 CFR Chapter I, which are
set forth in the license amendment.
In accordance with 10 CFR 72.46(b)(2), a determination has been
made that the amendment does not present a genuine issue as to
whether public health and safety will be significantly affected.
Therefore, the publication of a notice of proposed action and an
opportunity for hearing or a notice of hearing is not warranted.
Notice is hereby given of the right of interested persons to
request a hearing on whether the action should be rescinded or
modified.
Also in connection with this action, the Commission prepared an
Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant
Impact (FONSI). The EA and FONSI were published in the Federal
Register on May 24, 2005 (70 FR 29784).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The NRC maintains an Agencywide
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), which provides
text and image files of NRC's public documents. These documents
may be accessed through the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room
on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. If
you do not have access to ADAMS, or if there are problems in
accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public
Document Room Reference staff at 1-800- 397-4209, 301-415-4737,
or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this
10th day of June, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph M. Sebrosky, Senior Project Manager, Licensing Section,
Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E5-3222 Filed 6-21-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
29 NRC: NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to Meet July 6-8 in Rockville, Maryland
News Release - 2005-09 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office
of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC
20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 05-095 June 22, 2005
The Nuclear Regulatory Commissions Advisory Committee on Reactor
Safeguards will hold a public meeting July 6-8 in Rockville,
Md., to discuss, among other items, the license renewal
application for the Donald C. Cook nuclear power plant, in
Michigan. The committee will also discuss the final safety
evaluation report related to the North Anna (Virginia) early
site permit application and the final draft of Regulatory Guide,
DG-1137, which provides guidelines for protecting nuclear power
plants from lightning.
The meeting, to be held in Room T-2B3 of the agencys Two White
Flint North building, at 11545 Rockville Pike, will begin at
8:30 a.m. each day. The meeting will end at 7 p.m. on Wednesday,
6:45 p.m. on Thursday and 4:30 p.m. on Friday. A complete agenda
is available on the NRCs Web site at:
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acrs/agenda/2005/.
Individuals with questions or those wanting to make public
statements during the meeting should contact Sam Duraiswamy at
301-415-7364.
Last revised Wednesday, June 22, 2005
*****************************************************************
30 NRC: Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear
FR Doc E5-3223
[Federal Register: June 22, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 119)]
[Notices] [Page 36216] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22jn05-170]
Operations, Inc.; Receipt of Request for Action Under 10 CFR
2.206 Notice is hereby given that by petition dated May 3, 2005,
the New England Coalition (NEC or the petitioner) has requested
that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission)
take action with regard to the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power
Station (Vermont Yankee). The NEC petition requested that the NRC
promptly restore reasonable assurance of adequate protection of
public health and safety with regard to the fire barriers in
electrical cable protection systems at Vermont Yankee, or
otherwise to order a derate of Vermont Yankee until such time as
the operability of the fire barriers can be assured.
Specifically, the petition requested that the Commission take the
following actions: (1) Require Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee
(ENVY) to promptly conduct a review at Vermont Yankee to
determine the extent of condition, including a full inventory of
the type, amount, application, and placement of Hemyc, and an
assessment of the safety significance of each application; (2)
require ENVY to promptly provide justification for operation in
nonconformance with 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R; and (3) upon
finding that Vermont Yankee is operating in an unanalyzed
condition and/or that assurance of public health and safety is
degraded, promptly order a power reduction (derate) of Vermont
Yankee until such time as it can be demonstrated that ENVY is
operating in conformance with 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R, and all
other applicable regulations.
The request is being treated pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Section 2.206, of the Commission's
regulations. The request has been referred to the Director of the
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. As provided by 10 CFR
2.206, appropriate action will be taken on this petition within a
reasonable time. Mr. Raymond Shadis, in his capacity as the
petitioner's Staff Technical Advisor, participated in a telephone
conference call with the NRC's Petition Review Board (PRB) on May
17, 2005, to discuss the petition. The results of that discussion
were considered in the PRB's determination regarding the
petitioner's request for action and in establishing the schedule
for the review of the petition. During the May 17, 2005, PRB
conference call, the petitioner requested that the licensee
review fire barriers beyond the Hemyc electric raceway fire
barrier system. This request will not be accepted under the 2.206
process because the petitioner did not provide adequate
information to justify expanding the scope of the review.
A copy of the petition and the transcript of the telephone
conference call are available for inspection at the Commission's
Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North,
Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor),
Rockville, Maryland, and from the NRC's Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System (ADAMS), Public Electronic Reading
Room, on the Internet at the NRC Web site,
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html (ADAMS Accession Nos.
ML051370182 and ML051610042). Persons who do not have access to
ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents
located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff by
telephone at 1-800-397- 4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to
pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of June
2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
R.W. Borchardt, Acting Director, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. E5-3223 Filed 6-21-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
31 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the
FR Doc E5-3224
[Federal Register: June 22, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 119)]
[Notices] [Page 36214] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22jn05-165] [[Page 36214]]
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Notice
of the OMB review of information collection and solicitation of
public comment.
SUMMARY: The NRC has recently submitted to OMB for review the
following proposal for the collection of information under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35). The NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that a person is not
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Extension.
2. The title of the information collection: Grant and Cooperative
Agreement Provisions.
3. The form number if applicable: N/A. 4. How often the
collection is required: On occasion, one-time.
5. Who will be required or asked to report: Grantees and
Cooperators.
6. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 148. 7. The
estimated number of annual respondents: 60. 8. An estimate of the
total number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement
or request: 1,160 hours [1,055 for reporting (17.58 hours per
response) and 105 for recordkeeping (.57 hours per
recordkeeper)].
9. An indication of whether Section 3507(d), Pub. L. 104-13
applies: N/A.
10. Abstract: The Division of Contracts uses provisions, required
to obtain or retain a benefit in its awards and cooperative
agreements to ensure: Adherence to Public Laws, that the
Government's rights are protected, that work proceeds on
schedule, and that disputes between the Government and the
recipient are settled.
A copy of the final supporting statement may be viewed free of
charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 20852. OMB
clearance requests are available at the NRC worldwide Web site:
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comment/omb/index.html. The
document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days
after the signature date of this notice.
Comments and questions should be directed to the OMB reviewer
listed below by July 22, 2005. Comments received after this date
will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of
consideration cannot be given to comments received after this
date. John A. Asalone, Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs (3150- 0107), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and
Budget, Washington, DC 20503.
Comments can also be e-mailed to John A. Asalone@omb.eop.gov or
submitted by telephone at (202) 395-4650.
The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda Jo. Shelton, 301-415-7233.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of June, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brenda Jo. Shelton, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information
Services.
[FR Doc. E5-3224 Filed 6-21-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
32 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the
FR Doc E5-3225
[Federal Register: June 22, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 119)]
[Notices] [Page 36214] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22jn05-166]
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Notice
of the OMB review of information collection and solicitation of
public comment.
SUMMARY: The NRC has recently submitted to OMB for review the
following proposal for the collection of information under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35). The NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that a person is not
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Extension.
2. The title of the information collection: 48 CFR 20, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Acquisition Regulation (NRCAR).
3. The form number if applicable: N/A. 4. How often the
collection is required: On occasion; one time.
5. Who will be required or asked to report: Offerors responding
to NRC solicitations and contractors receiving awards from NRC.
6. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 3837. 7. The
estimated number of annual respondents: 355. 8. An estimate of
the total number of hours needed annually to complete the
requirement or request: 26,265 [25,462 hours reporting (7.3 hours
per response) + 632.5 hours reporting (9.7 hours per
recordkeeper)].
9. An indication of whether Section 3507(d), Pub. L. 104-13
applies: N/A.
10. Abstract: The mandatory requirements of the NRCAR implement
and supplement the government-wide Federal Acquisition
Regulation, and ensure that the regulations governing the
procurement of goods and services within the NRC satisfy the
needs of the agency.
A copy of the final supporting statement may be viewed free of
charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 20852. OMB
clearance requests are available at the NRC worldwide Web site:
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comment/omb/index.html. The
document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days
after the signature date of this notice.
Comments and questions should be directed to the OMB reviewer
listed below by July 22, 2005. Comments received after this date
will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of
consideration cannot be given to comments received after this
date. John A. Asalone, Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs (3150- 0169), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and
Budget, Washington, DC 20503.
Comments can also be e-mailed to John_A._Asalone@omb.eop.gov or
submitted by telephone at (202) 395-4650.
The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda Jo. Shelton, 301-415-7233.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of June, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brenda Jo. Shelton, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information
Services.
[FR Doc. E5-3225 Filed 6-21-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
33 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the
FR Doc E5-3226
[Federal Register: June 22, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 119)]
[Notices] [Page 36215] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22jn05-167] [[Page 36215]]
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Notice
of the OMB review of information collection and solicitation of
public comment.
SUMMARY: The NRC has recently submitted to OMB for review the
following proposal for the collection of information under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35). The NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that a person is not
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Extension.
2. The title of the information collection: NRC Form 450,
``General Assignment''.
3. The form number if applicable: NRC form 450. 4. How often the
collection is required: Once during the closeout process.
5. Who will be required or asked to report: Contractors,
Grantees, and Cooperators.
6. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 100. 7. The
estimated number of annual respondents: 100. 8. An estimate of
the total number of hours needed annually to complete the
requirement or request: 200 hours (2 hours per response).
9. An indication of whether Section 3507(d), Pub. L. 104-13
applies: N/A.
10. Abstract: During the contract closeout process, the NRC
requires the contractor to execute a NRC Form 450, General
Assignment. Completion of the form grants the government all
rights, titles, and interest to refunds arising out of the
contractor performance.
A copy of the final supporting statement may be viewed free of
charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 20852. OMB
clearance requests are available at the NRC worldwide Web site:
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comment/omb/index.html. The
document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days
after the signature date of this notice.
Comments and questions should be directed to the OMB reviewer
listed below by July 22, 2005. Comments received after this date
will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of
consideration cannot be given to comments received after this
date. John A. Asalone, Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs (3150- 0114), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and
Budget, Washington, DC 20503.
Comments can also be e-mailed to John_A._Asalone@omb.eop.gov or
submitted by telephone at (202) 395-4650.
The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda Jo. Shelton, (301) 415-7233.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of June, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brenda Jo. Shelton, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information
Services.
[FR Doc. E5-3226 Filed 6-21-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
34 NRC: Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc.; Independent Spent Fuel
FR Doc E5-3227
[Federal Register: June 22, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 119)]
[Notices] [Page 36216] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22jn05-169] [[Page 36216]]
Storage Installation; Notice of Docketing of Materials License
SNM- 2505; Amendment Application AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: License amendment.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph M. Sebrosky, Senior
Project Manager, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Telephone: (301) 415-1132; fax
number: (301) 415-1179; e-mail: jms3@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By letter dated May 16, 2005, Calvert
Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc., (CCNPP or licensee) submitted
an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or
the Commission), in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 72.56, requesting the amendment of
the independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) license
for the ISFSI located in Calvert County, Maryland. CCNPP proposes
to incorporate changes to the updated safety analysis report to
alter the design basis limit for the ISFSI dry shielded canister
internal pressure from 50 psig to 100 psig.
This application was docketed under 10 CFR Part 72; the ISFSI
Docket No. is 72-8 and will remain the same for this action. Upon
approval of the Commission, the CCNPP ISFSI license, SNM-2505,
would be amended to allow this action.
The Commission may issue either a notice of hearing or a notice
of proposed action and opportunity for hearing in accordance with
10 CFR 72.46(b)(1) regarding the proposed amendment or, if a
determination is made that the proposed amendment does not
present a genuine issue as to whether public health and safety
will be significantly affected, take immediate action on the
proposed amendment in accordance with 10 CFR 72.46(b)(2) and
provide notice of the action taken and an opportunity for
interested persons to request a hearing on whether the action
should be rescinded or modified.
For further details with respect to this amendment, see the
application dated May 16, 2005, which is publically available in
the records component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS). The NRC maintains ADAMS, which
provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. These
documents may be accessed through the NRC's Public Electronic
Reading Room on the Internet at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. If you do not have
access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the
documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room
(PDR) Reference staff at 1- 800-397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by
e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 7th day
of June, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Joseph M. Sebrosky, Senior Project Manager, Spent Fuel Project
Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E5-3227 Filed 6-21-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
35 Japan Times: Fishermen block nuclear plant study
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
YAMAGUCHI (Kyodo) Fishermen in the town of Kaminoseki, Yamaguchi
Prefecture, on Tuesday blocked a seabed geological survey for a
planned Chugoku Electric Power Co. nuclear power station.
The fishermen blocked the survey by surrounding two offshore
platforms with about 50 fishing boats.
Chugoku Electric Power tried to negotiate with the fishermen,
but they refused to move their boats, which prevented the
platforms from being moved to the site of the seabed drilling
study some 200 meters offshore.
The fishermen claim the planned power plant on the shore of the
Seto Inland Sea will destroy the environment.
The Japan Times: June 22, 2005
(C) All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
36 ForUm: Ukrainians are against building of new nuclear reactors
Ukrainian Internet Newspaper
22 June
More than half of Ukrainians disapprove the government's plan to
build 11 new nuclear reactors by 2030, according to an opinion
poll conducted by the Razumkov centre, UNIAN news agency
reported.
About 57.2 per cent of those polled said they were against the
plan, while 19.9 per cent were in favour. About 9.6 per cent said
the issue did not concern them, and 13.3 per cent could not
answer the question.
Some 84.1 per cent of people said they are not getting enough
information from the government about the plan to build new
nuclear reactors.
The poll was conducted on April 23-28, 2005 among 2,010 people
over the age of 18 across Ukraine. The margin of error is 2.3 per
cent.
by © LTD. Inter-Media,
ForUm 2001-2005.
*****************************************************************
37 LA Times: Nuclear Industry Lays Foundation for Comeback
[The Los Angeles Times - latimes.com]
June 22, 2005
THE NATION Nuclear Industry Lays Foundation for Comeback
By Ralph Vartabedian, Times Staff Writer
CLINTON, Ill. Along the streets of this economically depressed
farming town, optimism is running high that a proposed nuclear
power plant could bring in new jobs, give a boost to local
retailers and increase taxes for schools.
The U.S. has not started a reactor project for 29 years, but
President Bush is calling for a new era of nuclear power, saying
it would reduce air pollution and dependence on foreign energy.
If new reactors are built, the first could go into Clinton or two
other possible sites nationwide.
"It is the best option for power," says Stan Winterroth, a high
school shop teacher in Clinton. "I don't agree with President
Bush on anything else, but I think he is right on the issue of
nuclear power."
To promote his program, Bush is to visit Calvert Cliffs Nuclear
Power Plant in Maryland today. It will be the first time a
president has stepped inside a nuclear plant since Jimmy Carter
rushed to Three Mile Island in 1979 to calm public fears just
after the reactor's partial meltdown, industry officials say.
The Senate, meanwhile, is preparing subsidies and incentives for
utilities to build nuclear plants. The nuclear industry has
poured hundreds of millions of dollars into new technology in
recent years. And the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has hired
scores of engineers to accommodate an atomic renaissance.
But the sober reality of nuclear power is that the U.S. will
move slowly and cautiously, at best, because Wall Street
financiers and the nation's utility industry still have vivid
memories of the legal, financial and regulatory debacles that
resulted from the building binge of the 1970s.
Even with subsidies and other incentives, few expect any
construction to start within five years, and only a handful of
plants are expected to begin during the next 10 years.
Most utilities will wait to see whether the new regulatory
system works as advertised before they begin a more ambitious
construction effort. It could be two decades before additional
nuclear power plants have a significant effect on the U.S.
energy supply.
"There is much more confidence in the new process, but not
enough yet to make a new investment," acknowledges Marilyn Kray,
president of the NuStart Energy Development, a consortium of
nine utilities preparing an application for a nuclear
construction license. "Financiers are saying they are not yet
comfortable."
Still, the industry is taking preliminary steps under government
sponsorship. Three consortiums of utilities are getting $539
million in taxpayer subsidies through the Energy Department to
seek nuclear construction licenses under the new regulatory
system. By going through the bureaucratic motions of applying
for a license, the utilities hope to gain confidence in
licensing rules intended to reduce delays and litigation.
Separately, three utilities have put in early site applications
for reactors at existing plants, including ones in Illinois,
Virginia and Mississippi. The early site approval system is
another change meant to reduce risks that projects will become
mired in delays.
Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), the Senate's powerful energy
broker and a big force behind new nuclear power, argues in a
recent book that it is the only major source of electricity that
does not contribute to global warming by burning carbon-based
fuels.
Largely unnoticed, existing nuclear plants have significantly
increased their generating capacity in recent years, adding the
equivalent of six plants of output, and have vastly improved
their reliability. At the same time, natural gas prices have
soared.
Existing nuclear plants already produce electricity more cheaply
than coal or natural gas. A new nuclear plant would need to cost
about $1.2 billion to compete effectively with coal, according
to James K. Asselstine, a managing director of Lehman Bros. But
the first wave of plants would cost an estimated $1.8 billion,
assuming there were no legal or regulatory delays.
As a result, utilities and Wall Street want government
guarantees and assistance, some of which are contained in a
major energy bill now before the Senate. The legislation also
includes a renewal of the Price-Anderson Act, which provides
legal immunity in the case of a meltdown or other nuclear
accident.
Utilities also need resolution of the nuclear waste problem.
There are 50,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste spread across
the nation, because the government's plan for an underground
repository in Nevada is tied up in political and legal knots.
Another factor is electricity demand. In the 1970s, the Energy
Department and utilities grossly overestimated electricity
demand, expecting it to double every 10 years. The faulty
estimates helped lead to massive overbuilding. Today, by
contrast, they project that electricity demand will grow by 50%
during the next 15 years.
The lower estimates mean there is not enough demand for basic
generating capacity to justify new nuclear plants, Kray said.
No matter how hard the federal government tries to revamp
regulations and encourage utilities, however, the events of the
1970s and 1980s are stark reminders that nuclear power is a
politically and financially risky proposition, still opposed by
many environmentalists.
"The industry is going to face just as much opposition to new
reactors as it did in the 1970s," said Kevin Kamps, an
antinuclear activist at the Nuclear Information and Resource
Service in Washington. "Everywhere the industry has talked about
new reactors, new groups to oppose them have sprung up. There
are going to be large numbers of people committing civil
disobedience."
Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times
*****************************************************************
38 NRC: Sunshine Act; Meetings
FR Doc 05-12438
[Federal Register: June 22, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 119)]
[Notices] [Page 36217] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22jn05-171] [[Page 36217]]
Date: Weeks of June 20, 27, July 3, 11, 18, 25 2005.
Place: Commissioners' Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland.
Status: Public and closed.
Matters to be Considered: Week of June 20, 2005 Monday, June 20,
2005 3 p.m. Affirmation Session (Public Meeting). a. Yankee
Atomic Electric Co. (Yankee Nuclear Power Station), Licensee's
and NRC Staff's appeal of LBP-04-27 (Tentative).
b. Private Fuel Storage (Independent Spent Fuel Storage
Installation) Docket No. 72-22-ISFSI. c. U.S. Army (Jefferson
Proving Ground Site) (Possession-only license for Depleted
Uranium munitions).
d. Duke Energy Corp. (Catawba Nuclear Station, Units 1 and 2),
Commission sua sponte review of the Licensing Board's March 10,
2005 final decision on security contention.
Week of June 27, 2005--Tentative Tuesday, June 28, 2005 9:30 a.m.
Briefing on Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Program (Public
Meeting) (Contact: Corenthis Kelley, 301-415-7380).
This meeting will be webcast live at the Web
address--http://www.nrc.gov .
Wednesday, June 29, 2005 9:30 a.m. Discussion of Security Issues
(Closed--Ex.1). Week of July 4, 2006--Tentative There are no
meetings scheduled for the week of July 4, 2005.
Week of July 11, 2006--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled
for the week of July 11, 2005.
Week of July 18, 2006--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled
for the week of July 18, 2005.
Week of July 25, 2006--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled
for the week of July 25, 2005.
*The schedule for Commission meetings is subject to change on
short notice. to verify the status of meetings call
(recording)--(301) 415- 1292. Contact person for more
information: Michelle Schroll, (301) 415- 1662.
* * * * * The NRC Commission Meeting Schedule can be found on the
Internet at:
http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/policy-making/schedule.htm/* * * *
* The NRC provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with
disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable
accommodation to participate in these public meetings, or need
this meeting notice or the transcript or other information from
the public meetings in another format (e.g. braille, large
print), please notify the NRC's Disability Program Coordinator,
August Spector, at 301-415-7080, TDD: 301-415- 2100, or by e-mail
at aks@nrc.gov. Determinations on requests for reasonable
accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
* * * * * This notice is distributed by mail to several hundred
subscribers; if you no longer wish to receive it, or would like
to be added to the distribution, please contact the Office of the
Secretary, Washington, DC 20555 (341-415-1969). In addition,
distribution of this meeting notice over the Internet system is
available. If you are interested in receiving this Commission
meeting schedule electronically, please send an electronic
message to dkw@nrc.gov. Dated: June 16, 2005.
R. Michelle Schroll, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-12438 Filed 6-20-05; 11:36 pm] BILLING CODE 7590-01-M
*****************************************************************
39 Guardian Unlimited: False Alarms Plague Port Anti-Nuke System
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Tuesday June 21, 2005 11:46 PM
By DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The post-Sept. 11 security blanket designed to
keep nuclear material out of U.S. ports still has plenty of
holes, including scores of false alarms from radiation
detectors, scientists told Congress on Tuesday.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey security manager
Bethann Rooney said the facility receives ``about 150 alarms a
day'' from the 22 radiation portal monitors at the site. That's
more than 10 times the number of false alarms originally
expected.
Rooney was among a handful of experts who testified before a
House Homeland Security subcommittee reviewing the nation's
anti-nuke efforts.
Federal agents at Rooney's facilities use radiation detectors on
about 45 percent of containers, and they plan to raise that to
85 percent at the end of the year after receiving additional
detectors.
Rooney said the false alarms have not slowed shipping out of her
port because follow-up inspections usually take less than 10
minutes.
Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., said he was worried that the high
number of false alarms has prompted some agents to reduce the
sensitivity of the devices, making them less effective in
spotting real danger.
An official with the Government Accountability Office, the
investigative arm of Congress, said the high number of false
alarms is not limited to the New Jersey port.
Gene Aloise also noted that some border agents have been
improperly using handheld radiation detectors to try to sweep an
entire container, and he urged better training to rectify that
error.
Since Sept. 11, the government has spent hundreds of millions of
dollars at U.S. ports and overseas posts in an effort to keep
out a so-called ``dirty bomb.'' Characterized by Dr. Benn
Tannenbaum as a ``weapon of mass disruption,'' a dirty bomb
would spread radioactive material over an area but not likely
cause the high death toll of a nuclear weapon.
Dr. Richard Wagner of the Los Alamos National Laboratory
cautioned that the port radiation detection devices, which stand
some 20 feet tall, are not effective in detecting the highly
enriched uranium that would be the key component of a nuclear
weapon.
Wagner said that if the U.S. wants to keep out a nuclear bomb,
it would do better to keep close tabs on the foreign sources of
uranium in places like the former Soviet Union.
``It will always be far easier to monitor a lump of uranium at a
known location than it will be to detect uranium smuggling,'' he
said.
The scientist also urged lawmakers not to worry about missteps
in the development and use of various high-tech tools.
``There will be false starts and there will be money wasted,''
Wagner said. ``You're going to have to find some way for finding
just the right degree of oversight.''
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
40 RIA Novosti: Upper house ratifies Russia-Italy agreement on sub scrapping
23/06/2005
MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Federation Council (the
upper chamber of parliament) ratified an agreement today between
the Russian and Italian governments on the joint dismantling of
Russian nuclear submarines.
The agreement covers vessels that have been decommissioned by
the Russian Navy, and the joint handling of radioactive waste
and spent nuclear fuel.
Gennady Khripel, the deputy chairman of the international
affairs committee, said the document had been signed in November
2003 as part of an agreement on global partnership in
counteracting the proliferation of weapons and materials of mass
destruction.
"The agreement establishes the legal framework for Russia to
use free of charge financial and technological aid from Italy
worth 360 million euros within the next ten years to dismantle
nuclear submarines," the senator said. He said the aid would
also go toward solving other nuclear and environmental issues in
dealing with radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.
According to Khripel, the document was based on a framework
agreement on a multilateral nuclear and environmental program
that Russia ratified in December 2003.
He said the ratification met Russia's national interests and
would be crucial for its foreign policy. In particular, he said
it would reaffirm Russia's consistent and predictable steps in
its efforts to achieve a high level of nuclear safety.
"Moreover, the ratification of the agreement will help reduce
the burden on the federal budget and provide orders to Russian
enterprises and organizations that operate on a contract basis
and that were chosen by the Italian contractor," said Khripel.
© 2005 "RIA Novosti"
*****************************************************************
41 RIA Novosti: No U.S. nuclear inspectors to check Russia nuclear defense facilities
23/06/2005
MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. inspectors will not be
permitted to inspect Russian nuclear facilities under the
auspices of the Defense Ministry's 12th Department, the Defense
Ministry's Gen. Igor Valynkin said at a news conference
Wednesday.
"Inspections of [nuclear] facilities are conducted in
accordance with the START-II Treaty," said Valynkin.
According to Valynkin, the facilities in question are not
subject to inspections under the treaty. Foreign inspectors are
granted limited access only if nuclear safety equipment was
purchased with foreign funds. In this case, inspectors can check
if the equipment is properly assembled.
However, the Defense Ministry receives no money from foreign
partners, and pays for the equipment and the assembly with its
own money, said Valynkin.
© 2005 "RIA Novosti"
*****************************************************************
42 ITAR-TASS: Terrorists make two unsuccessfull attempts on Russia nuclear
facilities-DM
22.06.2005, 14.04
MOSCOW, June 22 (Itar-Tass) - Terrorists have never made a
successful attack on Russia's nuclear facilities in the country's
history. “Two single attacks were attempted, but the attempts
were quickly suppressed by the facilities' security guards, head
of the 12th Main Department of the Defence Ministry
Colonel-General Igor Valynkin told journalists on Wednesday.
“This testifies to the fact that we have good mobile guard and
defence units of nuclear facilities,” the official stressed.
Valynkin heads the Defence Ministry’s main department for
ensuring security of the country’s nuclear arsenals.
© ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy,
store in any medium (including in any other websites),
distribute, transmit, re-transmit, broadcast, modify or show in
public any part of the ITAR-TASS website without the prior
written permission of ITAR-TASS.
*****************************************************************
43 UCS: Provision in Energy Bill Would Weaken Controls on Nuclear Bomb Material
[Union of Concerned Scientists]
June 21, 2005
Kyl and Schumer Aim to Strip the Dangerous Language
Take Action
[spffffff] Urge your senators to restrict exports of nuclear
weapons materials
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) today denounced a
controversial and dangerous provision in the Senate energy bill,
S.10, that would overturn long-standing restrictions on the
export of weapons-usable uranium to foreign companies. This
misguided provision would lead to unnecessary shipments of
nuclear weapons-usable materials abroad, where they are
vulnerable to theft by terrorists seeking to make nuclear bombs.
"At a time when the threat of nuclear terrorism has never been
greater, Congress should be tightening controls on nuclear
weapon-usable materials, not weakening them," said Dr. Edwin
Lyman, Senior Staff Scientist for the UCS' Global Security
Program. "If this irresponsible provision is enacted, it will
cripple U.S. efforts to keep terrorists from acquiring nuclear
weapons."
Senators Schumer and Kyl are offering amendments that will
strike this language and preserve current export controls on
bomb-usable uranium. It is essential for U.S. security that the
Senate vote to strip the offending provision from the Energy
Bill and maintain the current law (Section 134 of the Atomic
Energy Act).
For decades, a major goal of U.S. non-proliferation policy has
been the phasing out of the commercial use of HEU in research
reactors worldwide. Currently, companies producing medical
isotopes can purchase highly enriched uranium (HEU) from the
U.S., but only if they commit to eventually converting to the
use of low enriched uranium (LEU) targets. This conversion is
beneficial because LEU, unlike HEU, cannot be used directly in
nuclear weapons. But the language in the Senate energy bill
could stall the conversion effort by allowing foreign companies
to receive U.S. HEU without promising to convert when feasible.
The proposed weakening of U.S. non-proliferation policy would
benefit a single foreign company, MDS Nordion of Canada, which
is currently the only recipient of U.S. exports of HEU for
medical isotope production. According to an October 4, 2003
Washington Post article, Nordion has halted cooperation with the
U.S. on conversion efforts and instead is lobbying Congress to
change the law so that it would have unrestricted access to U.S.
HEU supplies.
"Congress should not jeopardize the security of U.S. citizens by
catering to special interests," said Dr. Lyman. "Passage of the
Kyl-Schumer amendments would provide Americans with continued
access to an ample supply of medical isotopes while helping to
reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism worldwide."
Dr. Edwin Lyman Senior Staff Scientists, Global Security
Program 202-331-5445
© Union of Concerned Scientists
Page Last Revised: 06.21.2005
*****************************************************************
44 UN Health Agency Seeks To Minimize Risks Of Cancer-causing Radon Gas
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 11:00:24 -0400
X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on pascal.ctyme.com
X-Spam-Level:
X-Spam-Status: No, score=-13.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,FROM_ORG,
SPF_HELO_PASS,SP_HAM_SUPER,SUBJ_ALL_CAPS autolearn=ham version=3.0.4
X-Spam-filter-host: pascal.ctyme.com - http://www.junkemailfilter.com
Status: O
UN HEALTH AGENCY SEEKS TO MINIMIZE RISKS OF CANCER-CAUSING RADON
GAS
New York, Jun 22 2005 11:00AM
In an effort to reduce the rate of lung cancer worldwide, the United
Nations health agency is <"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2005/np15/en/index.html">launching
an international project
to help countries reduce the risks of radon, a natural radioactive
gas that emanates from the ground into the air and is the second
leading cause of the disease after tobacco.
“Radon poses an easily reducible health risk to populations all over
the world, but has not up to now received widespread attention,”
the coordinator of the World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/about/en/">WHO)
Radiation and Environmental Health Unit,
Mike Repacholi, said in announcing the initiative in Geneva.
“Radon is all around us. Radon in our homes is the main source of
exposure to ionizing radiation, and accounts for 50 per cent of
the public's exposure to naturally-occurring sources of radiation
in many countries,” he added.
The <"http://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/env/radon/en/index.html">International
Radon Project will identify effective strategies
for reducing the health impact of the colourless, odourless and
tasteless gas, promote sound policy options for countries and increase
awareness of the consequences of exposure, setting up a global
network of radon scientists, regulators and policy makers.
Radon in the air is present worldwide, its concentration depending
on the highly variable uranium content of the soil. It is the second
most important risk factor for lung cancer, causing between
6 and 15 per cent of all cases. Yet, there is little public awareness
of radon as a threat to human health, which can be mitigated
with relatively simple steps.
Although average exposure varies enormously, recent studies have
shown that, when exposed to a concentration of 100 Bq (Becquerels)/m3,
a non-smoker's risk of lung cancer by age 75 years increases
by 1 in a 1,000 compared to non-exposed persons. Among those who
smoke and are exposed to the same radon concentration, the risk
of lung cancer is about 25 times greater.
On a global level, tens of thousands of lung cancer deaths annually
can be attributed to radon. Most of those cases occur among smokers.
For the average citizen, by far the greatest exposure to radon
comes in the home, where concentration levels are higher than
outdoors.
Exposure can be easily mitigated during construction of new homes,
but existing buildings can also be protected. Most measures such
as increasing under-floor ventilation and sealing cracks and gaps
in the floor require simple alterations.
Radon is produced from radium in the decay chain of uranium, an
element found in varying amounts in all rocks and soil. It escapes
easily from the ground into the air and emits heavily ionizing
radiation called alpha particles. These particles are electrically
charged and attach to aerosols, dust and other particles in the
air we breathe. As a result, radon progeny may be deposited on the
cells lining the airways where the alpha particles can damage
the DNA and potentially cause lung cancer.
2005-06-22 00:00:00.000
________________
For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
To change your profile or unsubscribe go to:
http://www.un.org/news/dh/latest/subscribe.shtml
*****************************************************************
45 Guardian Unlimited: Pentagon Refuses Test for Toxic Chemical
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Wednesday June 22, 2005 1:31 AM
By ERICA WERNER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon at times refused to conduct tests
for a toxic chemical when environmental regulators said such
tests were needed, congressional investigators said in a report
Tuesday.
The report drew a stinging Pentagon response criticizing it as
``factually incorrect and fundamentally flawed.''
The General Accountability Office study of contamination from
perchlorate - an ingredient in rocket fuel and other defense
manufacturing that has been found to interfere with thyroid
function - said it was found in at least 395 sites in 35 states.
The study said Defense Department activities are a leading cause
of the contamination. It also said Pentagon policies require
testing for the chemical only under limited circumstances, such
as when there is a reasonable likelihood of human exposure.
In a number of cases, the GAO says, the Pentagon refused state
or federal requests to conduct sampling. For example, Utah state
officials reported that the Defense Department had refused its
request to sample at an Army base where perchlorate had been
used for 20 years, saying there wasn't a clear potential for
human exposure.
``The report mischaracterizes DOD's response to perchlorate, a
chemical which is unregulated by the federal government and for
which no state has promulgated standards,'' said Philip W.
Grone, a Defense Department assistant deputy undersecretary for
environmental issues.
Grone said the Pentagon has tested at 800 sites and spent more
than $40 million to develop cleanup techniques.
The GAO also said a formal system to monitor perchlorate
detections and cleanup nationwide was needed because there is no
standardized approach for reporting contamination. As a result,
the pollution may be even more widespread than is now known, the
report said.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Pentagon
said a formal system was unnecessary.
``The benefits of a new, large and complex system are unclear,''
Barry N. Breen, EPA principal deputy assistant administrator,
wrote in a response letter included in the GAO report. ``EPA
already has significant information and data on perchlorate
concentrations.''
The Pentagon is facing lawsuits and potential litigation from
communities nationwide that are fighting to rid their water
supplies of perchlorate, though there is disagreement about what
levels are dangerous.
The GAO report offered perhaps the most comprehensive accounting
to date of contamination from the chemical, which was
little-known before 1997 when tests were developed that could
detect it at low levels.
Of the 395 sites GAO identified, California and Texas accounted
for more than half.
Cleanup is planned or under way at just 51 of the sites, the
report said. It attributed the low number mainly to the fact
that there is no federal requirement to limit perchlorate in
water supplies. EPA is considering whether to issue such a
regulation.
---
On the Net:
GAO: http://www.gao.gov/
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
46 Blogcritics.org: EPA, Defense Department Touting Pro-Industry Study
On Safe Levels of Rocket-Fuel Chemical Perchlorate in Drinking Water
A study used to determine "safe" levels of the rocket-fuel
chemical perchlorate in drinking water is fueling a controversy.
The study -- funded with $310,250 from perchlorate manufacturers
and users Lockheed Martin, Kerr-McGee, Aerojet and Boeing -- was
used to support Defense Department arguments for a 200 parts per
billion limit on perchlorate in drinking water, saying that such
a level had "no effect" on those studied.
If the perchlorate levels are adopted, perhaps the Bush
Administration will call it the "Clean Water Initiative," or
some other similar Luntz-ian phrase.
In February, the Environmental Protection Agency used the
research -- the so-called "Greer" study, named after the lead
researcher, the late Dr. Monte Greer -- as a guideline for
setting future limits on perchlorate in drinking water.
Strangely, that decision rejected the work of the agency's own
scientists, who in 2003 found "considerable uncertainty" in the
data, and questioned whether the data's small test group could
reliably determine anything. The EPA, using primarily animal
studies, estimated in early 2002 that 1 part per billion in
water was known to be safe.
***
The Greer study was published in 2002 in the journal
Environmental Health Perspectives. But the authors failed to
report the effects on the individuals, instead mathematically
summarizing the data in ways that made it impossible to see
potential effects, Michael S. Hutcheson, head of the air and
water toxics division for the Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection, told the Press-Enterprise of
Riverside, Calif., for a June 3 story.
The unpublished data, obtained by the Press-Enterprise, showed
that the research team in 2000 had 37 people drink water laced
with tiny amounts of perchlorate. Seven people were given the
lowest dose and became the basis of the study's reported "no
observed effect level." Of those, a 34-year-old woman had a 39
percent reduction in iodide absorption and a 46-year-old woman
had a 36 percent reduction. Three others had increased function,
including one whose absorption increased by 39 percent.
***
Critics such as Massachusetts environmental chief Robert W.
Gollege Jr., told the Press-Enterprise that the Greer study
tested too few people for too short a time to provide the basis
of national policy. The federal government too liberally applied
the test of seven healthy adults to millions of more vulnerable
people -- including babies, fetuses and people with impaired
thyroids -- several scientists said to the newspaper.
Last week, Connecticut and Maine environmental health officials
published a scientific paper disputing the Greer study's
conclusions. The officials contend the "safe" level accepted by
the EPA "is higher than what is needed to protect public health
with a reasonable margin of safety."
Those at a greater risk are babies, said the paper by Gary
Ginsberg and Deborah Rice, public health officials,
respectively, in Connecticut and Maine. They said they were
especially concerned because of studies that have found
perchlorate in breast milk.
But for now, the Bush administration is sticking with the Greer
study's results -- not surprisingly picking the most
pro-industry research.
***
So why is the Bush Administration moving forward with such a
questionable study?
According to the Press-Enterprise, study co-author Richard
Pleus, a Seattle-based toxicologist and a consultant for
corporations that have used or made the chemical, and other
industry-hired consultants began touting the study to water
conferences, newspapers and the White House Office of Management
and Budget. Industry and Defense Department scientists
repeatedly said that 1 part per billion didn't make sense, that
it would trigger expensive and unnecessary cleanups and that 200
parts per billion is safe for everyone, including fetuses and
babies.
To settle the dispute between the EPA and Greer studies, the
Bush administration in 2003 asked the nonpartisan National
Academy of Sciences to evaluate. When the academy panel
completed its work earlier this year, the Greer study prevailed.
Still, the National Academy suggested that to protect the most
sensitive people -- fetuses, babies and the half-percent or more
of the population with under-performing thyroids -- it
considered a "no-effect" dose of 24.5 parts per billion. The
National Academy also suggested testing 90 healthy adults for as
long as six months to clarify how chronic exposure affects
people. It's unclear if those recommendations will be adopted.
***
This article first appeared on Journalists Against Bush's B.S.
Posted by David R. Markon June 21, 2005 12:00 PM (See all posts
by David R. Mark)
. All Rights Reserved. Blogcritics uses
*****************************************************************
47 La Crosse Tribune: Nuclear waste plan raises concerns
http://www.lacrossetribune.com
- Wednesday, June 22, 2005
By GAIL VAUGHN Ferryville, Wis.
Our local utilities, Xcel and Dairyland Power, are part of a
consortium named Private Fuel Storage that wants to send many
shipments of highly radioactive nuclear fuel rods via railroad
out West.
They want to ship them to the Indian reservation of a tiny Utah
tribe, the Skull Valley Goshute. These 124 American Indians are
supposed to caretake thousands of tons of these dangerous fuel
rods.
The PFS plan is to park the waste there "temporarily" until the
Yucca Mountain Repository can be opened. But this repository may
never open.
They plan to put millions of people at risk by shipping 4,000
waste casks down the train tracks, right through our
neighborhoods. How can they protect the public from a horrific
rail accident?
And what if the Yucca Mountain repository doesn't open and
they have to find another place to ship it?
Wisconsin is on the short list for that site. In that case, will
they pay to have the rods shipped right back here?
Why is PFS proposing to do all this? So their reactors can
generate more waste just like it.
The state of Utah, which has no nuclear reactors, is adamantly
opposed to this scheme and is using every legal means possible to
fight it.
Please contact your utilities and tell them you want our
radioactive waste handled in a more responsible manner than what
they are planning.
Please also thank Dairyland Power for closing its reactor years
ago. If only Xcel would do the same.
mailto:letters@lacrossetribune.com
Copyright © 1997 - 2005 The La Crosse Tribune. All rights
*****************************************************************
48 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada asks federal court to stop Yucca Mountain rail plan
By KEN RITTER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada asked a federal court Tuesday to derail
Energy Department plans for a rail line to ship radioactive
waste to Yucca Mountain, claiming "abuses of authority" by the
administration and its "decide-first, analyze-later approach."
"We say they have to go back to the drawing board," said Joe
Egan, a Vienna, Va.-based lawyer for the state.
The state wants the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia to halt planning for the rail line and
order the Energy Department to complete studies Nevada says are
required before construction begins.
Energy Department spokeswoman Anne Womack Kolton declined
comment, saying department lawyers were reviewing the filing and
the matter was being litigated.
No rail line runs to the site the Bush administration and
Congress picked in 2002 to entomb 77,000 tons of high-level
radioactive waste stored at nuclear reactors and military
facilities in 39 states.
The Energy Department announced in April 2004 that it intends to
build a line from a railhead near Caliente, a small town 150
miles northeast of Las Vegas, to the Yucca Mountain site, 90
miles northwest of Las Vegas.
The state brief dismisses as "naked assumption" the Energy
Department's assurances that the 319-mile rail line and nuclear
waste cask transfer stations could be built within six years of
opening the Yucca Mountain repository. The cost has been
estimated at $880 million.
Nevada officials call the plan dangerously flawed. Egan said
Nevada does not believe Yucca planners can ensure the safety of
the tens of thousands of shipments they expect to make over 24
years through cities including Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City
and Salt Lake City.
The state also asks the court to order the government to fully
analyze the risks of an interim plan to ship casks of spent
nuclear fuel to the state by train, but complete the journey by
truck while the Nevada rail line is being built.
"None of us has any doubt whatsoever that interim would become
permanent," Egan said. "They save time and money. We end up with
a mode of transport they themselves determined was the most
dangerous."
Egan said the 34-page brief filed in Washington, D.C., was the
last of the state's written arguments in a lawsuit it filed
against the Energy Department last September. Womack said final
briefs are due next month. The court has yet to schedule oral
arguments.
The state claims the Energy Department violated the National
Environmental Policy Act, a federal law that requires
environmental studies before federal projects are finalized.
The state also claims the Energy Department usurped the
jurisdiction of the government's railroad and land management
agencies.
The lawsuit is one of several tactics Nevada is using to fight
the Energy Department over the Yucca Mountain repository,
recently beset by controversy, delays and budget shortages.
Last year, the same federal appeals court tossed out a key
radiation standard for the repository. The Environmental
Protection Agency has said it expects to issue a new standard by
September.
The Energy Department also been delayed posting documents about
the project to a database, a requirement for seeking an
operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
In March, officials revealed government workers may have
falsified data concerning water infiltration and climate tests
at the site. Several inquiries are under way.
Project officials have pushed back the opening date from 2010 to
a least 2012.
---
On the Net:
Nevada's Agency for Nuclear Projects:
Yucca Mountain project:
*****************************************************************
49 Las Vegas RJ: NRC rejects Utah's argument
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SALT LAKE CITY-- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has rejected
another of Utah's arguments against licensing a nuclear waste
storage area on the Goshutes' Skull Valley Indian reservation 45
miles southwest of Salt Lake City.
The argument turned down on Monday was that the storage, while
billed as only temporary until a permanent repository is built
elsewhere, could end up being permanent.
The state still is pursuing an argument that the possibility of
a fighter jet crash at the site was too great a risk.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s general counsel, Mike Lee, told The Salt
Lake Tribune that he expects the NRC's final determination by
the end of the summer.
"We're profoundly disappointed, but we remain optimistic about
our other arguments, including the remaining argument before the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission," Lee said.
"We're still several steps away from any point we would deem
even the beginning of construction on the project to be
imminent," he said.
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
50 Las Vegas RJ: Nevada asks court to halt Yucca rail line plan
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
By KEN RITTER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nevada asked a federal court Tuesday to derail Energy Department
plans for a rail line to ship radioactive waste to Yucca
Mountain, claiming "abuses of authority" by the Bush
administration and its "decide-first, analyze-later approach."
"We say they have to go back to the drawing board," said Joe
Egan, a Vienna, Va.-based lawyer for the state.
Nevada wants the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia to halt planning for the rail line and order the
Energy Department to complete studies Nevada says are required
before construction begins.
Energy Department spokeswoman Anne Womack Kolton declined
comment, saying department lawyers were reviewing the filing and
the matter was being litigated.
No rail line runs to the site the Bush administration and
Congress picked in 2002 to entomb 77,000 tons of high-level
radioactive waste stored at nuclear reactors and military
facilities in 39 states.
The Energy Department announced in April 2004 that it intends to
build a line from a railhead near Caliente, a small town 150
miles northeast of Las Vegas, to the Yucca Mountain site, about
100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
The state brief dismisses as "naked assumption" the Energy
Department's assurances that the 319-mile rail line and nuclear
waste cask transfer stations could be built within six years of
opening the Yucca Mountain repository. The cost has been
estimated at $880 million.
Nevada officials call the plan dangerously flawed. Egan said
Nevada does not believe Yucca planners can ensure the safety of
the tens of thousands of shipments they expect to make over 24
years through cities including Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City
and Salt Lake City.
The state also asks the court to order the government to fully
analyze the risks of an interim plan to ship casks of spent
nuclear fuel to Nevada by train, but complete the journey by
truck while the Nevada rail line is being built.
"None of us has any doubt whatsoever that interim would become
permanent," Egan said. "They save time and money. We end up with
a mode of transport they themselves determined was the most
dangerous."
Egan said the 34-page brief filed in Washington was the last of
the state's written arguments in a lawsuit it filed against the
Energy Department in September.
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
51 Interfax: Russian nuclear waste stores almost 100% full - official
Updated: Jun 22 2005 9:45PM (MSK)
MOSCOW. June 22 (Interfax) - Russia's technical oversight
authority, Rostekhnadzor, said the country's storage facilities
for radioactive wastes and spent fuel are almost 100% full, the
authority's acting chief Andrei Malyshev told a Wednesday news
conference.
Work should be intensified to build new storage facilities, he
said.
Russia has accumulated 650 million cubic meters of liquid and
solid radioactive wastes, over 99% of which are concentrated at
facilities of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency. Most of them are
low radioactivity wastes, he said.
© 1991-2005 Interfax
All rights reserved
News and other data on this web site are provided for
*****************************************************************
52 Bellona: Russian nuclear storage facilities almost filled up
According to Rostekhnadzor, the Russian storage facilities with
radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel are approaching their
maximum capacity, said today the acting chief of the Russian
Nuclear Federal Agency (Rosatom) Andrey Malyshev.
2005-06-22 14:30
He added that it is needed to build more storage facilities.
According to Malyshev, today Russia accumulated about 650
million cubic meters of liquid and solid radioactive waste. 99%
of it is located at the Rosatom facilities. The major part of
the waste is low-level radioactive waste, Interfax reported.
The biggest problem with liquid radioactive waste is its dumping
into the open water reservoirs as it goes on at the Mayak plant
in Chelyabinsk region, although by 2010 the Mayak plant should
stop dumping liquid radioactive waste after completing a
modernisation program, Malyshev said. The Mayak has limits for
liquid radioactive waste discharges, and at the moment the
authorities are checking whether the plant really followed the
set limits, Interfax reported.
Publisher: Bellona Foundation, President: Frederic Hauge
Information: info@bellona.no, Technical contact:
webmaster@bellona.no
Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box
2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway
*****************************************************************
53 BBC: Sellafield 'deficiencies'
Last Updated: Wednesday, 22 June, 2005
[Thorp reprocessing plant]
The leak is thought to have begun last August
Bosses at the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria
have been ordered to make improvements following a leak of
radioactive material.
Acid containing 20 tonnes of uranium and 160kg of plutonium
spilled from a ruptured pipe into a sealed cell earlier this
year.
An ongoing investigation by the Nuclear Installations
Inspectorate (NII) has found "significant deficiencies".
It has issued two improvement notices which must be acted upon by
October.
Work at the Thorp complex was halted when the leak, which could
have occurred as long ago as August 2004, was discovered in
April.
Investigations are focusing in part on how long the leak had lain
undetected and reliability of monitoring systems.
Enforcement action
A clean-up operation is continuing and similar pipe work
elsewhere in the plant has been checked.
Sellafield's managing director, Barry Snelson, has admitted that
the plant may remain closed for months.
Now, the NII says that during initial investigations it has found
evidence of "significant deficiencies" and has issued two
improvement notices.
The watchdog says these do not prevent further enforcement action
when more investigations have been completed.
The British Nuclear Group, which operates Sellafield, has until 8
October to take the necessary action. This includes improving
leak detection, and making sure the detection equipment is fully
maintained.
A NII spokesman said the organisation wanted to ensure management
took "prompt action to prevent similar events recurring".
The inspectorate says it has not ruled out legal action over the
leak, which managers say was contained.
*****************************************************************
54 Las Vegas SUN: Nevada files its final legal brief in attempt to stop nuclear waste
By Suzanne Struglinski
SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Nevada filed its final legal brief Tuesday in its
quest to derail the Energy Department's plan to ship waste to
Yucca Mountain via train.
The state's attorneys filed the document in the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia, the same court that
rebuked the government in an order that that has thrown the
proposed nuclear waste repository project at Yucca off schedule.
It is now up to the court to decide if oral arguments will take
place.
Nevada argues that the department did not follow federal
environmental policy and other laws when it settled on the
proposed 319-mile railroad through through Lincoln County and it
is shutting out important outside regulators on the project.
The department wants to build the railroad to move canisters of
nuclear waste from commercial reactor sites and former nuclear
weapons construction plants. It announced last year that it
plans to use the "Caliente Corridor" route to move nuclear waste
to Yucca, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Nevada argues the department selected the route and applied for
the land but only now is evaluating the environmental impact. It
should have looked at the impact first and decided if the route
was the best option, according to Nevada Attorney General Brian
Sandoval. Caliente was one of five routes proposed for a
railroad because no rail line exists in the state to move waste
containers to the mountain.
All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
55 News & Star: Clean up your act in four months, Thorp warned
Published on 22/06/2005
By Pamela McGowan
SELLAFIELD has less than four months to make significant safety
improvements after the massive Thorp leak earlier this year.
Industry watchdog, the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII),
has now carried out initial investigations into the spill.
It has served two improvement notices after finding evidence of
“significant deficiencies†at the nuclear reprocessing plant.
The leak was discovered by a CCTV camera on April 19.
It later emerged that the highly-radioactive nuclear fuel had
started seeping from the fractured pipe three months earlier.
In total, 83 cubic metres of the dangerous liquid escaped and the
incident measured a worrying level three on the nuclear event
scale.
Although the leaked fuel was contained in a steel-lined concrete
cell, it still forced the closure of Thorp and has cast doubt on
its future.
Now the NII has issued a deadline of October 8 for British
Nuclear Group to comply with the notices.
Mark Wheeler, a spokesman for the nuclear regulator, said he
wants to make sure prompt action is taken to prevent similar
disasters in future.
But he added that this does not preclude further enforcement
action later when more investigations are complete.
One notice calls for BNG to improve its leak detection system.
The second requires all leak checks and responses to associated
alarms to be carried out in accordance with proper instructions.
A Sellafield spokeswoman said today that the work is already
underway following its own formal investigations.
“We have received two improvement notices from the NII on the
Thorp Feed Clarification Cell. The improvements required form
part of those already identified in our own internal board of
enquiry and work is underway to address them,†she said.
*****************************************************************
56 News & Star: N-plant told to clean up act
Published on 22/06/2005
BRITISH Nuclear Group has until October 8 to make significant
improvements after the Thorp leak this year.
Industry watchdogs, the NII (Nuclear Installations Inspectorate),
have carried out initial investigations at Sellafield into the
spill.
It served two improvement notices after finding evidence of
“significant deficiencies†at the reprocessing plant.
One notice calls for BNG to improve its leak detection system and
ensure this equipment is fully maintained.
The second requires all leak checks to be carried out with proper
instructions.
A NII spokesman, said it wanted to make sure BNG takes prompt
action to prevent another major incident in the future.
*****************************************************************
57 [du-list] 6/19: After 6 Decades, Japan Paper Runs Censored
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2005 15:04:41 -0700
Peace No War Network
URL: _http:/www.PeaceNoWar.net_ (http:/www.PeaceNoWar.net)
Japan Paper Runs Censored A-Bomb Stories
By KENJI HALL
.c The Associated Press
TOKYO (AP) - An American journalist who sneaked into Nagasaki soon after the
Japanese city was leveled by a U.S. atomic bomb found a ``wasteland of war''
and victims moaning from the pain of radiation burns in downtown hospitals.
Censored 60 years ago by the U.S. military, George Weller's stories from the
atom bombed-city surfaced this month in a series of reports in the national
Mainichi newspaper.
A woman at a hospital ``lies moaning with a blackish mouth stiff as though
with lockjaw and unable to utter clear words,'' her legs and arms covered
with
red spots, Weller wrote.
Others suffered from a dangerously high-temperature fever, a drop in white
and red blood cells, swelling in the throat, sores, vomiting, diarrhea,
internal bleeding or loss of hair, his censored dispatch said, describing the
then-unknown effects of atomic radiation.
By hiring a Japanese rowboat, catching trains and later posing as a U.S.
Army colonel, Weller, an award-winning reporter for the now-defunct Chicago
Daily News, slipped into Nagasaki in early September 1945, Mainichi said -
about
a month after the Aug. 9 bombing that killed 70,000 people.
In a Sept. 8, 1945 dispatch, Weller wrote of walking through the city - a
``wasteland of war'' - and finding evidence to back the talk of radiation
fallout in American radio news reports.
``In swaybacked or flattened skeletons of the Mitsubishi arms plants is
revealed what the atomic bomb can do to steel and stone, but what
the riven atom
can do against human flesh and bone lies hidden in two hospitals of downtown
Nagasaki,'' he wrote.
Weller's reportage about the unknown affliction he called ``disease X''
appeared in Mainichi in Japanese and on its Web site in English.
The United States dropped two atomic bombs - the first on Hiroshima on Aug.
6, and the second three days later on Nagasaki, about 614 miles southwest of
Tokyo. The twin bombings led to Japan's Aug. 15, 1945, surrender ending the
war.
Weller, who died in 2002, was the first foreign journalist to set foot in
the devastated city, which Gen. Douglas MacArthur, head of the U.S.
occupation
in Japan, had designated off-limits to reporters, the newspaper said.
Carbon copies of his stories, running to about 25,000 words on 75 typed
pages, along with more than two dozen photos, were discovered by his son,
Anthony, last summer at Weller's apartment in Rome, Italy, Mainichi said.
Anthony Weller, a novelist living in Annisquam, Mass., couldn't be reached
for comment. He previously said he plans to publish his father's stories.
Though he skirted American authorities to get into Nagasaki, Weller
submitted his reports - the first was dated Sept. 6 - to the censors.
The stories
infuriated MacArthur and he personally ordered them quashed. The originals
were
never returned to him.
Anthony Weller told Mainichi he thought wartime officials wanted to hush up
stories about radiation sickness and feared that his father's reports would
sway American public opinion against building an arsenal of nuclear bombs.
The
first batch of stories were finished just as a delegation of American
scientists was to visit the city to test for radiation.
Though thousands of burn victims had died within a week after the attack,
doctors were stumped by ``this mysterious 'disease X''' which sickened and
was
killing many Japanese as well as allied soldiers freed from prison camps a
month later.
Weller met a Japanese doctor and X-ray specialist who thought that the bomb
had showered the population with harmfully high levels of beta and gamma
radiation. But nobody could say for sure.
``The atomic bomb's peculiar 'disease,' uncured because it is untreated and
untreated because it is not diagnosed, is still snatching away lives here,''
Weller wrote.
Weller was 95 when he died in December 2002. He won the Pulitzer Prize for
an eyewitness account of an emergency appendectomy carried out by a
pharmacist's mate on a Navy submarine underwater in the South China Sea.
He also
covered the French Indochina war in Southeast Asia and World War II in
Europe. He
also sent dispatches from the Mideast, Africa, the Soviet Union and other
parts of Asia.
On the Net:
Mainichi newspaper: _http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/specials/0506/0617weller.html_
(http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/specials/0506/0617weller.html)
06/19/05 18:50 EDT
=============================================================
Peace, No War
War is not the answer, for only love can conquer hate
Not in our Name! And another world is possible!
Information for antiwar movements, news across the World, please visit:
_http://www.PeaceNoWar.net_ (http://www.PeaceNoWar.net)
Please Join PeaceNoWar Listserv, send e-mail to:
peacenowar-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
or visit: _http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/peacenowar_
(http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/peacenowar)
Please Donate to Peace No War Network!
Send check pay to:
ActionLA/SEE
1013 Mission St. #6
South Pasadena CA 91030
(All donations are tax deductible)
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
*To Translate this page to Arabic, please visit ajeeb.com:
http://tarjim.ajeeb.com/ajeeb/default.asp?lang=1
*To Translate this page to French, Spanish, German, Italian or Portuguese,
please visit Systran:
http://www.systransoft.com/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to
du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type
unsubscribe and send.
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du-list/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
*****************************************************************
58 Tri-City Herald: DOE urged to scrutinize safety records
This story was published Wednesday, June 22nd, 2005
By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer
The Hanford Advisory Board is recommending that the Department
of Energy give more attention to the safety records of small
companies bidding on environmental cleanup work at Hanford.
"Recent contract awards seem to suggest that the appropriate
standards, which the board and the public would expect to be
utilized in evaluation, may not have been met," wrote HAB
Chairman Todd Martin in a letter sent to DOE's Office of River
Protection and Richland Operations Office.
The advice comes after DOE awarded a small-business contract to
a team headed by a division of Safety and Ecology Corp. of
Knoxville, Tenn. The company dripped radioactive waste down a
state highway and remains barred from bidding on work for
contractor Bechtel Jacobs at Oak Ridge, Tenn., more than a year
later.
And this month, SEC received notice of an unrelated fine for
violating whistleblower protection laws on another project,
according to DOE.
HAB also is concerned about safety oversight of small businesses
that may be doing work for other Hanford contractors rather than
directly for DOE. Requests for bids on the work may not be
specific enough about describing the authority of DOE, according
to HAB.
If DOE accepts the advice, "it will go a long ways toward making
certain that contractors are screened more carefully for past
transgressions, and that they also will be better informed, up
front and after the fact," said Keith Smith, a HAB
representative who championed the advice.
"It should also give DOE health and safety folk more input to
the contracting process and more regulatory authority," he said.
The advice calls for DOE to place a higher priority on a
company's past safety and environmental violations when
evaluating its bid. DOE representatives with responsibility in
safety and the environment should serve on selection boards that
review and recommend small contractors for work at Hanford,
according to HAB.
Prospective bidders also should be given information on Hanford
safety systems, such as the integrated safety management program
which calls for identifying possible problems and plans for
dealing with them before work begins.
In addition, contractors should be reminded of their
responsibility for the actions of subcontractors, according to
HAB.
For some projects, DOE limits bidding to small contractors as
part of an initiative to help small businesses. In other cases,
such as the recent award of the $1.9 billion contract for
cleanup of Hanford along the Columbia River, it requires the
contractor to pass on work to small businesses.
Washington Closure, for example, is required to award 30 percent
of the work on the river corridor contract to small businesses.
The contract to shut down and possibly tear down Hanford's Fast
Flux Test Facility is set aside as direct work for a small
business. SEC Closure Alliance was awarded a $235 million
contract for the work last fall, but the award was successfully
protested by FFTF Restoration Co., a group headed by Federal
Engineers and Constructors and Nuvotec, both of Richland.
DOE requested revised proposals from the original bidders and
those are being evaluated.
Last week DOE said that it planned to fine SEC $55,000 for
firing an employee who raised nuclear safety concerns at the
Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Project in Portsmouth, Ohio. The
DOE decision that the employee had been improperly fired was
upheld by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
However, SEC said it released the employee in 2001 for failing
to pass the radiological control technician exam after three
attempts. The firing had nothing to do with the reporting of
safety concerns, said SEC President Mark Duff in a statement.
Although the company is not allowed to bid on work for Bechtel
Jacobs now, it continues work on old contracts and is performing
more work for Bechtel Jacobs as measured by revenue than any
other subcontractor in Tennessee, Duff said.
In addition, SEC has performed more than 20 projects for other
DOE contractors in the past 18 months with no incidents, Duff
said.
© 2005 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
59 Oak Ridge Observer: A picture's worth a thousand words
Issue 27, Volume 1- June 16, 2005
Paul Parson: Eye on DOE
Gladys Owens is a polite and charming woman, soft-spoken and
sharp as a whistle. Shes likely to blush, though when talking
about the reason she came to World War II-era Oak Ridge the
single men. The 80-year-old Kingsport resident was one of two
former Manhattan Project workers who basically stole the
spotlight during a recent tour at the Y-12 National Security
Complex. Media representatives surrounded her, hanging on her
every word, waiting for their turn to ask a question and even
somewhat ignoring the elected official who was present. Sitting
on a wooden stool in the building she used to work in, Owens
handled all the attention like an old pro like a queen on a
throne. Thats because at that moment in time, she was royalty.
Oak Ridge is known as the Secret City, and Owens is living proof.
She said she was unaware of the true nature of the work she was
doing in the Y-12 Beta 3 facility. You didnt know why, she
said. You just knew how.
Beta 3 and its associated calutrons were used to enrich uranium
for the atomic bomb during WWII. At its peak of production during
the war, Y-12 had 1,152 calutrons in operation. The calutrons
were used for separating the isotopes of uranium. The uranium
enriched in Oak Ridge ultimately fueled the Little Boy bomb
that was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945.
Sixty years later I found out, Owens said.
In fact, she literally came face-to-face with her past,
during a September 2004 visit to the American Museum of
Science and Energy. Thats when she saw herself in the
forefront of a 1945 photograph on display there.
My teeth almost fell out, she said, regarding her reaction.
One thing led to another, and now Owens is part of another
once-in-a-lifetime event the brief and limited opening of
Y-12s doors to the general public, more specifically, the Beta 3
building. In addition to participating in an advance tour of the
facility for media representatives and community members on
Monday, June 13, Owens will also be center stage for the public
tours as part of the citys Secret City Festival.
And, based on what I saw, WWII history buffs are in for a treat.
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but theres nothing like
the real thing. And, thats in part thanks to you, Ms. Owens.
Id like to say the tour was an amazing experience, but I used
that word to describe my 2004 trek into the U-shaped K-25
building. So, I guess I need another adjective. Incredible?
Astounding?
For me, it was also like seeing Y-12 for the first time all over
again. The first time was a 2000 driveby tour courtesy of Steven
Wyatt, the former public relations chief for the Department of
Energys Oak Ridge Operations office. It was one of the first
things he did when I started reporting on DOE. A couple of years
and numerous visits later, Y-12 employee Ray Smith took me on a
more comprehensive tour. Heck, guess it was only fitting both
guys were on this most-recent trip.
Im told around 600 people are signed up for the public tours
that take place on Saturday, June 18. In addition, theres a
waiting list of people who want a glimpse of the high-security
weapons plant. The hour-plus tours start at 9 a.m. and end around
5:30 p.m., with about 40 people on each trip. Thats a manageable
number, considering my tour had more than 80 people on it and
things were just a little too close for comfort.
Paul Parson has reported on the Department of Energy for more
than four years. He can be reached at
pparson@oakridgeobserver.com or (865) 483-1866.
Issue 26, Volume 1- June 9, 2005
Column: A matter of life and death
Paul Parson: Eye on DOE
When I started covering the Department of Energy back in
mid-2000, there were high hopes for the compensation program
created for job-sickened nuclear workers. In the years that
followed, those sick workers and their advocates have fought to
remedy what was quickly identified as a flawed program. Here it
is June 2005 and the program is running smoothly not.
Even turning over the entire program to the Department of Labor
apparently didnt help. For those who dont know, it was once
split between DOE and the Labor Department. A lot of critics felt
the Energy Department shouldnt have a decision-making role in
the program, especially since the impacted parties worked at the
federal agencys facilities.
Now, a number of suffering employees and advocacy groups say
theyre losing hope the majority of the sick nuclear weapons
workers will ever receive compensation promised to them. The
recent wave of concern pertains to a so-called set of interim
final rules for whats officially known as the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Act. The problems range from
how the Labor Department will determine impairment ratings to
burdensome document submission requirements for claimants to
prove they suffer from a covered illness and are impaired from
it.
Once again federal agencies have thwarted congressional intent
to compensate the sick nuclear weapons workers, says Harry
Williams, a sick worker and longtime crusader for an adequate
compensation program. Im disgusted. We knew the regulations
would not be perfect, but what they wrote is riddled with
obstacles for the claimants. DOL has decided to walk down the
same unjust path that DOE did.
I just dont understand whats going on with the compensation
program. Are the sick workers correct? Is this program still
flawed? If so, whats it going to take to fix it? I wish I had
answers to these questions. Heck, if I did, Id probably look
like a hero in the eyes of all those desperately trying to get
some kind of compensation.
But, what I do know is that five years of people struggling with
this program and even dying before receiving compensation is
wrong. This program needs to be functioning properly. It is a
matter of life and death. ***
SHH: Whats the old saying, Loose lips sink ships? Well, if you
ask managers at the Y-12 National Security Complex, theyll
likely say, Through idle chatter, social engineers may obtain
sensitive information. By the way, they define social
engineering as a humanistic method of obtaining confidential
information.
And here I thought the plants top manager, Dennis Ruddy, had set
up a laboratory to conduct experiments on his anti-social
employees. Even worse, imagine what he might do to those
reporters who grab him out of a buffet line for an interview or
stalk him in a hotel lobby.
On a more serious note, the whole social engineering issue
surfaced in the latest issue of BWXTymes a newsletter-like
publication issued every so often by the company that manages the
Y-12 weapons plant. An eight-paragraph article quotes a Y-12
secuirty official, Ron Wantland, as saying the goal of social
engineering is to get the keys to the next level of the
kingdom. He also notes that through seemingly innocent
conversation, targets may unknowingly provide those keys, which
include occupation, co-workers names and phone numbers,
passwords, schedules, etc. ***
OPEN HOUSE: For the first time since 1997, Oak Ridge
National Laboratory is gearing up to have a community day at the
federal research facility. Though the big day is still in the
planning stages, its tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Aug.
27.
Other national labs that have had open houses recently have
drawn huge crowds, and with our new campus and new facilities
like the Spallation Neutron Source, we expect droves, says
Community Outreach Manager Brenda Hackworth.
Paul Parson has reported on the Department of Energy for four
years. He can be reached at pparson@oakridgeobserver.com or (865)
483-1866.
The Oak Ridge Observer 969 Oak Ridge Turnpike. # 281 Oak Ridge,
TN 37830 Phone: (865) 483-1866 Fax: (865) 483-1630 email:
smitchell@oakridgeobserver.comWebsite by Rumbolt
*****************************************************************
60 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Nevada
FR Doc 05-12287 [Federal Register: June
22, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 119)] [Notices] [Page 36130-36131]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22jn05-79]
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of open meeting.
SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental
Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EMSSAB), Nevada Test
Site. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86
Stat. 770) requires that public notice of these meetings be
announced in the Federal Register.
DATES: Wednesday, July 13, 2005, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Amargosa Valley Community Center, 821 East Amargosa
Farm Road, Amargosa Valley, Nevada.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kay Planamento, Navarro Research
and Engineering, Inc., 2721 Losee Road, North Las Vegas, Nevada
89130, phone: 702-657-9088, fax: 702-295-5300, e-mail:
NTSCAB@aol.com.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Board: The purpose of
the Board is to make recommendations to DOE in the areas of
environmental restoration, waste management, and related
activities.
Tentative Agenda: Members of the Citizens' Advisory Board's (CAB)
Underground Test Area Committee will provide a briefing to update
stakeholders on their work related to groundwater issues at the
Nevada Test Site. CAB members will also discuss technical
committee activities and their work plan developed for FY 2006
activities.
Public Participation: The meeting is open to the public.
Written statements may be filed with the Board either
[[Page 36131]] before or after the meeting. Individuals who wish
to make oral statements pertaining to agenda items should contact
Kelly Kozeliski, at the telephone number listed above. Requests
must be received five days prior to the meeting and reasonable
provision will be made to include the presentation in the agenda.
The Deputy Designated Federal Officer is empowered to conduct the
meeting in a fashion that will facilitate the orderly conduct of
business. Individuals wishing to make public comment will be
provided a maximum of five minutes to present their comments.
Minutes: The minutes of this meeting will be available for public
review and copying at the Department of Energy's Freedom of
Information Public Reading Room, 1E-190, Forrestal Building, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585 between 9 a.m. and
4 p.m., Monday- Friday, except Federal holidays. Minutes will
also be available by writing to Kay Planamento at the address
listed above.
Issued at Washington, DC, on June 17, 2005.
R. Samuel, Deputy Advisory Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-12287 Filed 6-21-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
*****************************************************************
61 DOE: Office of Science; High Energy Physics Advisory Panel
FR Doc 05-12288
[Federal Register: June 22, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 119)]
[Notices] [Page 36131] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr22jn05-80]
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of open meeting.
SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the High Energy
Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP). Federal Advisory Committee Act
(Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 70) requires that public notice of
these meetings be announced in the Federal Register.
DATES: Monday, July 11, 2005; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesday, July
12, 2005; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The Madison, 15th & M Streets, NW., Washington, DC
20005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce Strauss, Executive
Secretary; High Energy Physics Advisory Panel; U.S. Department of
Energy; SC-25/ Germantown Building, 1000 Independence Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC 20585-1290; Telephone: 301-903-3705.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of Meeting: To provide advice
and guidance on a continuing basis with respect to the high
energy physics research program.
Tentative Agenda: Agenda will include discussions of the
following: Monday, July 11, 2005, and Tuesday, July 12, 2005
[cir] Discussion of Department of Energy High Energy Physics
Programs [cir] Discussion of National Science Foundation
Elementary Particle Physics Program [cir] Reports on and
Discussions of Topics of General Interest in High Energy Physics
[cir] Public Comment (10-minute rule) Public Participation: The
meeting is open to the public. If you would like to file a
written statement with the Panel, you may do so either before or
after the meeting. If you would like to make oral statements
regarding any of these items on the agenda, you should contact
Bruce Strauss, 301-903-3705 or Bruce.Strauss@science.doe.gov
(e-mail). You must make your request for an oral statement at
least 5 business days before the meeting. Reasonable provision
will be made to include the scheduled oral statements on the
agenda. The Chairperson of the Panel will conduct the meeting to
facilitate the orderly conduct of business. Public comment will
follow the 10-minute rule. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting
will be available for public review and copying within 90 days at
the Freedom of Information Public Reading Room; Room 1E-190;
Forrestal Building; 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington,
DC, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
Issued at Washington, DC, on June 16, 2005.
R. Samuel, Deputy Advisory Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-12288 Filed 6-21-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8010-01-P
*****************************************************************
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who
have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for
non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more
information go to:
*****************************************************************