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NUCLEAR POLICY
1 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: Seoul Asks Beijing to Use Korean Nuke Tec
2 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: U.S. Tells North Korea to Set a Date
3 Xinhua: US urges DPRK to set date for talks
4 Xinhua: Talks positive, despite nuclear impasse
5 Japan Times: Door wide open for resolving Korean nuclear issue
6 Guardian Unlimited: N. Korea Rebuffs Date for Nuclear Talks
7 Korea Herald: [EDITORIAL] Nukes are what matters
8 Korea Herald: Two Koreas agree to take 'substantial' measures to res
9 Korea Herald: What is behind North's approach to South?
10 US: Political Affairs Magazine - Nuclear Weapons: US Isolated in its
11 US: CCR: General Dynamics, Northrop, Lockheed Hit with False Claims
12 US: Public Citizen: If Senate Passes Flawed and Costly Energy Bill,
13 BBC ON THIS DAY | 24 | 1974: Labour rift over nuclear test
14 RIA Novosti: Swiss court extends Russian ex-minister Adamov's custod
15 RBC: Russian nuclear enterprises lagging behind foreign facilities
16 Xinhua: Russia's ex-minister to remain in Swiss prison
17 Mos News: US Ask Russia’s Former Nuclear Minister Adamov’s Extraditi
NUCLEAR REACTORS
18 RIA Novosti: Russia's energy concern lacks funds to decommission
19 US: NRC: New Resident Inspector Named at Indian Point 3
20 US: TheHometownChannel.com: Bill Could Fund Cleanup Of Strickler Nuc
21 US: Shore Publishing: Town Wins One Phase of Tax Battle
22 asahi.com: Nuclear plant data leaked on Internet
23 US: Brattleboro Reformer: NRC's stamp
NUCLEAR SECURITY
24 Bellona: US Survey: Next decade holds a 70 percent chance of a nucle
25 RIA Novosti: Ministry approves plan to enhance Russian energy system
26 NewsFromRussia.Com: Two attacks on Russian nuclear facilities foiled
27 Japan Times: Secret data on reactor inspections leaked to Internet
NUCLEAR SAFETY
28 US: [DU-WATCH] Collateral risk: DU research gap could impact
29 [du-list] Existential Warfare: Overwhelming our Opponents by
30 US: DOE Watch: Manhattan project's fluorine poisoning of workers
31 US: Hawk Eye: IAAP back on federal agenda
32 US: Columbus Dispatch: 88-year-old gains ground in pursuit of compen
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
33 US: Fwd: [shundahaialert] News in Skull Valley
34 US: [NukeNet] Japanese uranium-contaminated soil: correction and
35 US: Las Vegas RJ: Utah senator wants new look at nuclear waste polic
36 Las Vegas SUN: Hatch preparing bill on Yucca alternatives
37 Lansing State Journal: Waste transported both ways over Canadian bor
38 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Hatch pitches toughest assault to date on PFS
39 US: The Namibian: Uranium in groundwater 'not serious' - Roessing
40 US: NRC: Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Find
41 US: Waste News Report: EPA and Defense Department should better trac
42 US: Deseret News: Hatch blasts N-waste project
PEACE
43 US: Olympian: Military shipments debated
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
44 Hankyoreh [Editorial] Intra-Korean Relations and the Nuclear Issue
45 Paducah Sun: Bidding reopened to replace Bechtel -
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FULL NEWS STORIES
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1 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: Seoul Asks Beijing to Use Korean Nuke Technology
> Updated Jun.24,2005 19:08 KST
(englishnews@chosun.com )
Finance Minister Han Duck-soo has asked China to consider
adopting Korean-style nuclear power generators for its new
nuclear power plants, the Finance Ministry said Friday. Han made
the request during a meeting with Ma Kai, head of the Chinese
National Development and Reform Commission, during the fifth
round of economic talks between the two countries.
Han also asked his Chinese counterpart to expedite approval of
the Korean Electric Power CorporationˇŻs plan to build a
thermoelectric power plant in Henan Province. Han met with
Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan, and Secretary-General of State
Hua Jianmin on Friday afternoon to discuss issues like Olympics
sponsorship by South Korean companies and technological
cooperation in the next-generation IT industry, the ministry
said.
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2 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: U.S. Tells North Korea to Set a Date
Home> National/Politics Updated Jun.24,2005 19:51 KST
(englishnews@chosun.com )
The White House on Thursday again urged North Korea must set a
date for its return to six-party talks on its nuclear program
and do so as soon as possible without ifs and buts.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the U.S. had yet to
hear North Korea mention a date for its return to the talks. He
said North Korea must ponder how progress can be realized.
Meanwhile, Under Secretary of State Robert Joseph predicted
Thursday that North Korea would return to the six-party talks
shortly but added China must put economic pressure on Pyongyang
to make that happen.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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3 Xinhua: US urges DPRK to set date for talks
www.xinhuanet.com
www.chinaview.cn 2005-06-24 11:21:58
WASHINGTON, June 23 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States on
Thursday urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
to set a date for the resumption of six-party talks designed to
solve the nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula.
"North Korea (the DPRK) needs to commit to a date for
returning to the six-party talks, without preconditions, and be
ready to talk in a serious way about how to move forward," said
White Housespokesman Scott McClellan.
McClellan made the remarks after DPRK top leader Kim Jong Il
said last week his country could return to the negotiation table
as early as next month if it received appropriate respect from
Washington.
The six-party talks have been stalled since last June as the
DPRK accused the United States of adopting a hostile policy
towards Pyongyang. Enditem
Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
4 Xinhua: Talks positive, despite nuclear impasse
www.xinhuanet.com
www.chinaview.cn 2005-06-24 09:41:04
BEIJING, June 24 -- The 15th Inter-Korean Ministerial
Meeting has wound up without significant movement on the nuclear
impasse. But broad agreement was achieved on a range of issues,
and meetings between the two countries scheduled for the coming
months to foster economic and military cooperation.
The two days of high level talks ended on Thursday with the
two Koreas issuing a joint statement on reviving a range of
negotiations and exchanges.
The inter-Korean general-level military talks will resume in
a bid to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula. However, no date
was given.
The inter-Korean economic cooperation committee meeting and
Red Cross meeting will also resume, in July.
And, the two sides also agreed to open new talks on
agriculture and fishing to promote cooperation.
In addition, the South will provide food aid to the North on
humanitarian grounds.
Meanwhile, family reunions, suspended last year, will resume
in August.
On the nuclear impasse on the Korean peninsula, the two
sides agreed to take substantial steps to peacefully resolve the
issue through dialogue.
However, the South failed to persuade the DPRK to commit to
returning to the nuclear negotiating table.
Seoul had indicated it was hoping for a breakthrough after
DPRK leader Kim Jong-il last week said Pyongyang might return to
the six-party talks in July, depending on the US attitude.
However, as the nuclear issue involves a broad range of
interests, the DPRK ruled out the inter-Korean meeting as an
appropriate venue for discussing the issue.
The ministerial talks are the highest regular contact
between the two sides. And this round provided several surprises
include a round table format, and a joint press conference, both
seen as positive signs.
The next round of talks was set for September at Mount
Paektu in the DPRK.
(Source: cctv.com)
Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
5 Japan Times: Door wide open for resolving Korean nuclear issue
Friday, June 24, 2005
All Pyongyang has to do is reverse its policy and its desired
security assurances will come
By JAMES A. KELLY
Special to The Japan Times
HONOLULU -- There is no country in Asia, indeed in the world,
that behaves like the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK). Since its founding more than a half century ago, the
DPRK has pursued a different course, always troubling. For 13-15
years it has been the very center of Northeast Asian tensions.
This path has been one of uninterrupted hardship for most of
North Korea's people, with an exceptional loss of life, to
starvation. Now, as several times before, nuclear weapons are at
the center of these tensions. No one knows how this situation
will play out and there are serious dangers.
But these tensions can be eased at any time. DPRK sovereignty
is recognized and if it turns not just part way, but completely
and transparently from its nuclear weapons policy, it can have
solid security assurances. Indeed, many countries would hasten
to provide aid and support to the DPRK's participation in the
global system.
So far, the DPRK chooses not to ease these tensions. It will
negotiate but apparently only about negotiations -- not about
the central issue that would diminish tensions.
Why does a country seem to seek tension? It has been made clear
to the DPRK in and out of the six-party talks that U.S. security
assurances, guaranteed in a multilateral process, are available
to it if it verifiably ends all segments of its nuclear weapons
programs. Since 2003, the DPRK has said little about desiring
security assurances. Its leadership may believe that threats and
tensions serve its needs better than guarantees of security and
a peaceful atmosphere.
The only way to look at the present situation is to look
carefully at history. From that examination nations can devise
essentially peaceful policies that, although necessarily
uncertain, promise to offer the best chance of resolution.
The DPRK leadership decades ago set out on a path that would
allow it to acquire nuclear weapons. Recently released
Soviet-era documents show attempts as early as 1963 to obtain
nuclear materials.
North Korea began construction of its 5-megawatt reactor at
Yongbyon in 1979. Under international pressure, it joined the
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1985, but did not sign
its comprehensive safeguards agreement with the International
Atomic Energy Agency until 1992. Within months, the IAEA found
evidence of inconsistencies in North Korea 's declarations with
respect to its nuclear program. We now know that plutonium in
quantity sufficient for one or two nuclear weapons had been
reprocessed before 1992. This provided the first part of the
nuclear weapons program that the DPRK will someday have to
choose to end.
By 1993, IAEA requests for additional inspections which were
denied led North Korea to announce its intention to withdraw
from the NPT. As tensions mounted, the U.S. and North Korea
began talks that culminated in the "Agreed Framework" of 1994.
That agreement obligated the DPRK not to produce fissile
material at its declared nuclear facilities at Yongbyon. It
froze, under supervision by IAEA inspectors, some 8,000 spent
fuel rods that could have been reprocessed into plutonium. In
return, the United States offered deliveries of heavy fuel and a
consortium funded largely by South Korea and Japan began
construction on two reactors optimized for power generation.
Both the provision of heavy fuel and the new reactors
compensated for a myth, that North Korea 's Yongbyon reactor was
for power generation. In fact, the reactor produces very little
power other than to sustain itself, but is optimized to produce
sources of fissionable material. The Agreed Framework -- by no
means wrongly, given the situation of 1994 -- was a freeze in
exchange for a reward.
That agreement did not, as we learned later, end the North
Korean nuclear arms programs. By the summer of 2002, American
intelligence, with unusual unanimity, assessed that North Korea
was pursuing a large-scale covert program to produce enriched
uranium -- in violation of the Agreed Framework, the North-South
Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and the DPRK's
Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA.
In fact, North Korea had been pursuing the enrichment program
for a number of years, even as it was receiving a pledge of
nonhostility and negotiating with senior Clinton administration
officials about ballistic missiles.
Alleged hostile policy In October 2002, this writer led a
delegation to Pyongyang to confront the North Koreans with our
assessment that they had a uranium enrichment program. DPRK
First Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok Ju told us that the hostile
policy of the U.S. administration had left North Korea with no
choice but to pursue such a program. When we pointed out that
North Korea had been pursuing such a program long before
President George W. Bush's election, he had no response.
Once caught in violation of their international obligations,
instead of ending their covert uranium enrichment program, the
North Koreans escalated the situation after compensating heavy
fuel deliveries stopped. In December 2002, they expelled IAEA
inspectors and began to reactivate the 5-megawatt reactor at
Yongbyon. In January 2003, the DPRK announced its withdrawal
from the NPT. And on several occasions in 2003, it declared it
had finished reprocessing its 8,000-plus existing spent fuel
rods.
If that is indeed the case, it could have produced enough
fissile material for several additional nuclear weapons. Since
then, the DPRK has stated it is strengthening what it calls its
"nuclear deterrent capability."
The DPRK nuclear weapons program has three parts by my
assessment. One is the original (1990) plutonium, the second
part is whatever plutonium has been reprocessed since 2003, and
the third consists of fissionable material that the covert
uranium enrichment effort has or will produce.
The U.S. has adhered to two basic principles to deal with this
threat. First, we seek the dismantlement of all DPRK nuclear
programs in a permanent, thorough, and transparent manner,
subject to international verification. There is risk in all DPRK
nuclear weapons programs and no point in accepting another
partial solution that does not deal with the entirety of the
problem. The U.S. does not intend to allow North Korea to
threaten anyone further with a revival of its nuclear program.
Second, because the North's nuclear programs threaten its
neighbors and the integrity of the global nuclear
nonproliferation regime, we believe the threat can best be dealt
with through multilateral diplomacy. Each of the other four
parties is in communication with the DPRK and has a crucial
interest in a peaceful outcome.
The threat raised by North Korea and the nuclear weapons it
very likely possesses is a chronic problem. North Korea has had
at least 14 years to work with plutonium and to make a weapon,
even before the newer efforts. It has hard workers, smart, and
well educated.
Logic alone says the North could have weapons -- you don't need
particular intelligence. It was reported that Pakistani A.Q.
Khan has said that he was taken to a cave and shown three
nuclear weapons ready to fit on a missile. Eight or 10 times the
North has said that it has such weapons, and it has certainly
worked hard to that end.
But multilateral negotiations have been and remain the best
option. After a round of trilateral discussions in April 2003 in
Beijing, we held the first round of six-party talks, with China
as host, in August 2003. The other five parties all told North
Korea very clearly in plenary session that they will not accept
North Korea's possessing nuclear arms. And all including the
DPRK have agreed to the goal of a nuclear weapons-free Korean
Peninsula.
The second round of six-party talks was in February 2004. The
parties agreed to regularize the talks, and to establish a
working group to set issues up for resolution at the plenary
meetings.
In the third round of talks, held in June in Beijing, the U.S.
and South Korea tabled concrete, detailed proposals to achieve a
denuclearized Korean Peninsula.
The DPRK also participated actively in the plenary discussion,
offering a proposal for what it described as the first step
toward full denuclearization: a freeze of undefined
nuclear-weapons related programs in exchange for compensation
from the other parties.
Despite the agreement of all six parties in June to resume
talks by end-September with a working group in the interim, and
the willingness of five parties to hold to that commitment, the
DPRK has not yet agreed to return to the table. It has used
various pretexts to avoid responding to either the South Korean
or U.S. proposals made then. It has sought to shift the
discussion to what, if anything, might induce it to rejoin the
talks. For a time, it said it wanted to wait for the U.S.
election. When that was concluded, the DPRK declared they had to
hear what the president would say at his inaugural and State of
the Union addresses. More recently, an old saw, "hostile
policies" has been the alleged cause. What has been going on
recently, sadly, is about negotiating trivialities, not about
resolving critical issues.
North Korea's rhetoric notwithstanding, the U.S. leadership has
said repeatedly that it has no intention of attacking or
invading the DPRK, and that the U.S. has no hostile intent
toward the DPRK. If the DPRK is prepared to give up its nuclear
weapons ambitions, the U.S. remains ready to coexist with the
DPRK and to work in the context of the talks to resolve the full
range of issues of concern.
Diplomatic contacts among the six parties have never stopped.
The U.S. has repeatedly made clear that it is ready to resume
the talks, without preconditions. The U.S., now under delegation
leader Assistant Secretary Chris Hill, also met often with
partners in the talks in Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, and elsewhere.
All five parties agree that the six-party talks is the way
forward to deal with the threat of North Korea 's nuclear
programs, and to improve the lives of the North Korean people
and bring the DPRK into the international community.
My hope is that the serious and extensive discussions with the
United States, the Republic of Korea, Japan, China, and Russia
will convince the DPRK that a truly denuclearized Korean
Peninsula is its only viable option, and also its most favorable
choice. Then, perhaps, North Korea will come to understand that
all this delay is not in its interest.
The DPRK may be seeking a kind of respect by possessing nuclear
weapons that it may assess cannot be obtained any other way. The
example of India and Pakistan , and a de facto acceptance of its
nuclear power status may be the goal. Indeed, recent DPRK
statements support this. But India and Pakistan are large
countries, with particular security concerns, and neither had
ever joined the NPT. The parallel is not apt.
Pitfalls of 'Military First' Objectively, despite the cries
heard from DPRK organs, there is and has been little or no
military threat to the regime. Its concern is, I believe,
primarily internal and not external. It was in the late 1990s,
at a time of low tension, that the DPRK declared its "Military
First" or songun policy. No country can achieve economic
viability with a prohibitively costly Military First policy.
Worse, to sustain such a policy, it is essential to posit
unending threats and to maintain a state of internal fear and
tension. These tensions, by my reading, are deemed necessary to
justify the unending hardships that are the lot of most North
Korean people.
Against the backdrop of the six-party talks, the DPRK appears
to be trying to undertake some measures in response to its
disastrous economy. Its wage and price reforms are an important
first step but have created inflation and other economic and
social problems. Ultimately, then, it is too soon to evaluate
the overall nature or long-term impact of these steps, but we
encourage Pyongyang to move in this direction.
By addressing the world's concerns about its nuclear programs
and other issues, the DPRK would have both new resources and
opportunities to pursue policies for peaceful growth in the
region that is already perhaps the world's most vibrant, East
Asia.
The six party talks are an appropriate venue -- involving each
national player with essential interests -- but North Korea has
been working on nuclear weapons for very many years and it is
not about to easily give them up. Pyongyang is certainly willing
to make a deal, but I fear it wants an arrangement that
guarantees what it sees as its security, avoids any issues like
human rights, pays generously, and only requires it to give up a
portion of its nuclear weapons capabilities.
Solving this problem is going to be a long and difficult
process. Delay involves risks. The possibility that the DPRK
might sell weapons or other fissile material to any buyer,
although most recently it says that it would not, is a potential
nightmare. Yet, various ideas for a "quick" solution are
unattractive. Patient, but persistent, diplomacy is needed.
Resolution is not impossible. While there have been some
economic reforms, North Korea still requires certain resources
from the outside -- food, fuel, and cash. Its illicit attempts
to seek such resources offer vulnerabilities. Cooperative
measures against illicit drug and counterfeit efforts and
diminished missile sales have hurt cash flow to the North. The
prolonged opposition of Japan and the U.S., and the careful
attitude of South Korea put a certain amount of pressure on
North Korea. But is it enough?
I must stress that the door remains open for the DPRK, by
addressing the concerns of the international community, to
vastly improve the lives of its people, enhance its own
security, normalize its relations with the U.S. and others, and
raise its stature in the world. The United States, working with
others, remains committed to resolving the nuclear issue through
peaceful diplomatic means. Looking at what has been achieved in
the six-party talks thus far, all of the elements of a
resolution are clearly within sight. The only thing that is
missing is a strategic decision by Pyongyang to give up its
nuclear weapons ambitions and to negotiate in earnest.
James A. Kelly is the counselor of the Pacific Forum CSIS. He
was U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs, 2001-2005. This article is based on a paper presented
to the 19th Asia-Pacific Roundtable that was recently held in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Opinions expressed are those of the
author.
The Japan Times: June 24, 2005
(C) All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
6 Guardian Unlimited: N. Korea Rebuffs Date for Nuclear Talks
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Friday June 24, 2005 4:16 PM
By BURT HERMAN
Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Top North Korean envoys declined to
set a date for returning to international nuclear disarmament
talks but returned home Friday with a pledge of food aid from
Seoul and accords on resuming family reunions and other
cooperation across their tense border.
During Cabinet-level talks ending Thursday, the two Koreas also
agreed to a series of reconciliation meetings in coming months.
But the nuclear impasse continued, with the North lashing out at
President Bush for meeting a prominent North Korean defector.
Pyongyang has for the past year boycotted six-nation talks aimed
at getting it to end a nuclear program that U.S. intelligence
believes already has produced at least two atomic bombs. Those
talks include the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan
and Russia.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il raised hopes last week when he
told a visiting South Korean minister of a possible return to
the table as early as next month - provided the North gets
appropriate respect from the United States.
The South tried to get the North to commit to that timeframe,
but got no ``definite answer'' this week, said Kim Chun-shick,
spokesman for the South's delegation. However, both sides agreed
to resolve the nuclear dispute peacefully.
Washington has dismissed Kim Jong Il's recent comments, saying
Pyongyang needs to set a firm date to return to the negotiations
and talk substantively about giving up its nuclear program.
The failure to make concrete progress on the nuclear issue drew
criticism Friday from South Korea's conservative media, which
called on the government to reconsider its continued aid to the
North in light of Pyongyang's refusal to abandon its nuclear
aims.
``North Korea, in reality, has not taken one step forward from
the stance that the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il elucidated
recently in Pyongyang,'' the main Chosun Ilbo daily wrote in an
editorial.
The nuclear talks last convened June 23, 2004. Three rounds have
failed to yield notable progress, but Washington has insisted
the nuclear dispute be resolved in that forum, spurning the
North's requests for direct talks.
North Korea claimed in February that it had atomic weapons and
has moved in recent months to potentially harvest more
radioactive material to add to a supply believed enough for a
half-dozen bombs.
On Thursday, a senior U.S. diplomat expressed optimism the North
would return to arms talks and called on China to push Pyongyang
harder on the issue.
``My sense is that the North Koreans will come back,'' said
Robert Joseph, undersecretary of state for arms control and
international security. ``I hope in the near term.''
But the North's propaganda machine launched another tirade
Thursday at the United States, criticizing Bush for hosting Kang
Chol Hwan, a North Korean defector working as a journalist in
South Korea.
Bush met last week with Kang Chol Hwan, author of ``The
Aquariums of Pyongyang,'' a memoir detailing a decade of abuses
at a North Korean prison camp. The North's Korean Central News
Agency said the meeting was ``an act of throwing a wet blanket
on the efforts to resume'' the nuclear talks.
In agreements Thursday, the South offered the North unspecified
food aid. Reunions between families divided by the Korean border
will resume in August, after being put on hold since last year.
Plans also were made for economic, agricultural and fisheries
talks.
Meanwhile, the Red Cross societies of the two rivals agreed to
annual exchanges of medical personnel from hospitals in
Pyongyang and Seoul. The South Korean Red Cross announced the
decision Friday after the organization's head Han Wan-sang
returned from a four-day visit to the North.
This week's Cabinet-level meetings were the 15th since a
landmark 2000 summit between leaders of the two Koreas. Contacts
resumed last month after a 10-month hiatus, with the North angry
over mass defections of its citizens to the South.
The next high-level talks were set for Sept. 13-16 at the
North's Mount Paektu.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
7 Korea Herald: [EDITORIAL] Nukes are what matters
The ministerial Seoul-Pyongyang talks gave rise to high
expectations for a notable advance in inter-Korean relations in
the months ahead when they ended on Thursday. Working-level
officials are set to flesh out the agreements soon.
A breakthrough was anticipated even before Pyongyang's
delegation set foot in Seoul on Tuesday. Last week, Unification
Minister Chung Dong-young, acting as President Roh Moo-hyun's
special emissary, agreed with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on
a broad framework for inter-Korean relations.
A significant achievement was a decision to restore almost all
channels of dialogue, ranging from economic cooperation talks to
Red Cross talks. The delegations also agreed to resume
general-level military talks, with the main topic being the
prevention of accidental naval clashes off the west coast of the
peninsula.
The delegations even touched upon a very sensitive issue that
North Korea had steadfastly refused to deal with in the past - a
South Korean request to locate prisoners of war in the North
taken during the 1950-53 Korean War. A joint press statement
contained an agreement to find the whereabouts of "those missing
from wartime," who include prisoners of war and others taken to
the North.
Of course, all these concessions were closely related to South
Korea's willingness to help North Korea weather a food crisis
and begin an economic development plan. South Korea agreed to
discuss North Korea's request for additional food and fertilizer
aid as well as the main topic of economic cooperation when
economic talks are held in Seoul next month.
But North Korea will have to realize that all the South's
commitments can be undone if the conflict over its nuclear
weapons program gets out of control. It is urged to make a
"strategic decision" to give up its nuclear ambitions as soon as
possible, now that Washington is preparing to make a deal.
2005.06.25
*****************************************************************
8 Korea Herald: Two Koreas agree to take 'substantial' measures to resolve
nuclear standoff
By Joo Sang-min and Lee Joo-hee
2005.06.24
Fail to set date for resumption of 6-way talks
The two Koreas agreed yesterday to take "substantial measures"
to peacefully resolve the nuclear standoff but failed to set a
date for the North's return to the stalled 6-nation disarmament
talks.
In a 12-point joint statement announced after the three-day
discussions, the two sides also agreed to hold the next round of
the Cabinet-level talks in September and the generals-level
military talks at an unspecified date, both at the North's Mt.
Baekdu.
"The South and the North, under the ultimate goal toward the
peninsula's denuclearization, will take substantial measures to
peacefully solve the nuclear problem through dialogue when the
environment is created," the two sides said in a joint
statement.
President Roh Moo-hyun (right) shakes hands with North Korean
Senior Cabinet Councilor Kwon Ho-ung at Cheong Wa Dae yesterday.
At left is South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young.
[Joint Press Corps]
South Korean delegation spokesman Kim Chun-sig explained
"substantial measures" referred to such moves as the dumping of
nuclear weapons, and that the creation of environment referred
to the six-party talks resuming and the terms of the
negotiations being met.
The inter-Korean talks, which previously have continued
overnight in a strenuous tug of war, went smoothly this time, as
the meeting came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il told
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young in Pyongyang
last week that he is willing to rejoin the stalled six-party
talks in July only if the United States recognizes and respects
the communist state.
South Korea used the ministerial talks to the maximum in further
urging the North to return to the six-party talks also involving
the United States, China, Japan and Russia.
Though Seoul called on the North to return to the talks in July,
it "hadn't heard a definite answer" from the North, he said.
The joint statement was read in turn by South Korea's chief
delegate Chung and his counterpart senior Cabinet Councilor Kwon
Ho-ung.
In the statement, Seoul also agreed to allow North Korean
vessels to pass through Jeju Strait.
The 11th round of reunions of families separated by the 1950-53
Korean War will be held Aug. 26 at Mt. Geumgang, located on the
North's northeastern coastline. The two sides will also begin
discussion on establishing televised reunions of separated
family members from next month.
The North Korean delegation arrived in Seoul this Tuesday amid
wide-spreading optimism of seeing tangible results in the
negotiations that became the first inter-Korean talks among the
Cabinet-level negotiators in 13 months.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun invited the North Korean
delegation to Cheong Wa Dae for the first time under his
administration and urged an imminent return to the disarmament
talks.
"We pay due attention to Chairman Kim Jong-il's remark that
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was the final wish of
North Korea's late leader Kim Il-sung," Roh was reported as
saying by Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Man-soo.
Both Koreas agreed to hold the generals-level military meeting
on easing tensions on land and maritime borders in Mount Baekdu,
which sits at the North's northeastern tip. South Korea
suggested holding the talks next month but more discussion is
needed, Seoul officials said.
The second and last such talks were held in June last year with
unfulfilled promises to ease tension in the West Sea and
suspending propaganda activities in land border areas.
The two Koreas agreed to hold Red Cross talks in August to
discuss the return of hundreds of South Korean soldiers who were
believed to have been abducted to North Korea and prisoners of
war during and after the 1950-1953 Korean War.
The two Koreas also declared that a 1905 treaty - so-called Ulsa
treaty - forced on Korea by Japan that made way for its
colonization of Korea was invalid. The treaty gave leeway for
Japan to invade Korea and colonize it from 1910 to 1945.
The South and the North also agreed to excavate the remains of
Korean patriot Ahn Jung-keun, who shot Japanese leader Hirobumi
Ito on Oct. 26 1909 in China. Ahn, who was caught on the spot by
the Japanese police, was sentenced to death and executed in
March 1910 and is likely buried in China.
Chung and Kwon said the two sides have also reached a consensus
on holding fisheries talks in July to prevent naval clashes in
the West Sea and to open economic cooperation talks on July
9-12.
The South reaffirmed its promise to provide food aid for the
North on a humanitarian level to help ease the chronic food
shortage in the impoverished nation. The South did not specify
the amount.
South Korea is the second largest aid donor after China in the
belief that economic and other exchanges with North Korea will
help open up the isolated communist country to the outside
world.
The North and South have also agreed that a high-rank North
Korean delegation will attend the joint celebration of
Liberation Day from Japan on Aug. 15 in Seoul.
(smjoo@heraldm.com)
(angiely@heraldm.com)
*****************************************************************
9 Korea Herald: What is behind North's approach to South?
By Lee Joo-hee
2005.06.25
The two Koreas' agreement released yesterday after smooth
negotiations re-emphasized North Korea's intention to
denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and to take "substantial
measures" towards peaceful resolution through dialogue.
On a positive note, experts say the 12-point joint statement
has significantly secured South Korea's influence in the North's
nuclear standoff that has been mainly centered on North Korea
and the United States. It is thus expected to raise the level of
recently revived inter-Korean exchanges and create more
favorable conditions to break through North Korea's nuclear
standoff, the analysts said.
To be more pessimistic, the experts say the agreement has
failed to take any step further from the initial remarks made by
North Korea leader Kim Jong-il who told visiting South Korean
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young a week ago that the North
would return to the six-party talks when conditions are met.
As for the United States, the rapidly improving inter-Korean
relations are likely to pose more questions on what North
Korea's motive is in approaching and broaching the subject of
nuclear standoff with the South.
North Korea has long been maintaining a principle to separate
the nuclear issue from inter-Korean relations until recently.
"The United States will be leveling between two possibilities
that could explain the motive behind North Korea
enthusiastically approaching the South (after over a year-long
hiatus)," said professor Kim Sung-han of the Institute of
Foreign Affairs and National Security.
One could be that the North may be attempting to provoke a
strain in the tight alliance between South Korea and the United
States by emphasizing the role of the two Koreas as one, Kim
said.
"Another possibility could be that the North is trying to
secure an environment to return to the six-party talks by using
South Korea as a channel."
Professor Baek Seung-joo of the Korea Institute for Defense
Analyses explained that the North may be seeking closer ties
with the South as there is little hope of its demand for
bilateral talks with Washington being fulfilled. "The North
could be thinking that as the possibility of directly talking
with the United States appear slim, it should use the South to
gain what it needs and overcome the (nuclear) crisis through
cooperation," Baek said.
As for South Korea, the critical job now is to how balance
booming inter-Korean relations with luring North Korea back to
the disarmament talks awaited also by the United States, China,
Japan and Russia.
So far, the task appears to be tricky with the North remaining
rigid over becoming more outspoken in its future steps.
The joint statement, read in turn by the two chief delegates of
the Cabinet-level talks on Thursday evening, said, "The South
and the North, under the ultimate goal toward the peninsula's
denuclearization, will take substantial measures to peacefully
solve the nuclear problem through dialogue when the environment
is created."
Experts said future attention will be focused on what the
"substantial measures" would be, along with the "important
proposal" that the South reportedly offered to the North before
the Cabinet-level discussion this week in return for the
six-party resumption.
"South Korea's expectations for a quick breakthrough in the
nuclear standoff rose significantly since the meeting between
Kim Jong-il and Chung Dong-young," Prof. Kim Sung-han said.
He added although the joint statement lacks any details, the
re-emphasis on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula has a
significant meaning.
Professor Baek Seung-joo said the successful four-day
ministerial talks between the two Koreas in Seoul have so far
raised the possibility of the six-nation talks resuming. It
remains to be seen whether the two will manage to gain
productive results in the end.
The United States also appears to be stepping up its move on
the North's nuclear issue with news reports that U.S. Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice may visit South Korea, China and Japan
next month. It would be her second tour around the three key
nations belonging to the disarmament talks in three months.
(angiely@heraldm.com)
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10 Political Affairs Magazine - Nuclear Weapons: US Isolated in its Own "Backyard"
By Joel Wendland
Published: 06/24/2005 10:33
The Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly
adopted a resolution in support of the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) at its thirty-fifth Session
earlier this month.
The resolution, entitled "Inter-American support for the CTBT"
was adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on 7 June 2005
in Florida, United States of America. It is the sixth such
resolution to have been adopted by the OAS General Assembly
since 2000.
The OAS, which has 34 Member States, is the leading political
forum for multilateral dialogue and action in the American
region. Major policies and directions are established by the
General Assembly, which brings together the Hemisphere’s foreign
ministers once a year.
The OAS plays a central role in working towards many of the
goals shared by the countries of North, Central and South
America and the Caribbean, including the promotion of peace and
security.
The resolution urges all States of the Hemisphere, to implement
the "Measures to Promote the Entry into Force of the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)" adopted at the
Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT,
which took place in Vienna, September 2003.
It urges all States of the Hemisphere to attend and fully
participate in the next Conference on Facilitating the Entry
into Force of the CTBT, which will take place in New York,
United States of America, from 21 to 23 September 2005.
The resolution also urges those States of the Hemisphere that
have not yet done so, in particular States whose signature and
ratification are required for the Treaty to enter into force, to
sign and ratify so that the Treaty may enter into force as soon
as possible.
In addition, it urges States to refrain from contravening the
spirit of the obligations of the Treaty and to maintain in
particular the moratorium on all nuclear testing.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty bans all nuclear
weapon test explosions in any environment. To date the Treaty
has been signed by 175 States and ratified by 121 States.
Drafted at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, and opened
for signature on 24 September 1996, the Treaty must be ratified
by 44 named States before it can enter into force.
The US signed the treaty under President Clinton, but President
Bush has refused to promote passage in the Senate. In the early
months of the administration’s first term, Bush aides tried to
"bury" the treaty in order to prevent it from being taken up for
consideration by the Senate in the future.
Critics of Bush’s policies on nuclear weapons say that refusing
to adopt the treaty signals the administration’s intention to
develop ilegally a new generation of nuclear weapons.
The OAS move comes after a series of defeats for the
administration’s Latin America policy. The OAS refused to adopt
a US resolution aimed at isolating and criticizing Venezuela.
Leading countries rejected Bush’s call for OAS intervention in
Latin American countries he thinks need democracy. And, at the
outset of the meeting, two Bush-backed candidates for OAS
general secretary were overlooked in favor of Jose Miguel
Insulza, the Chilean foreign minister who has expressed support
for non-intervention and Venezuela’s sovereignty.
--Reach Joel Wendland at jwendland@politicalaffairs.net.
*****************************************************************
11 CCR: General Dynamics, Northrop, Lockheed Hit with False Claims Act
Lawsuit
Corporate Crime Reporter
General Dynamics, Northrop, Lockheed Hit with False Claims Act
Lawsuit
June 22, 2005
A False Claims Act lawsuit has been filed against a group of
defense contractors alleging that they defrauded the Pentagon by
falsely certifying that valves used on Navy submarines and at
uranium enrichment facilities met contract requirements, when
they did not.
The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Cleveland by
Tina and Charles Gonter, two former employees of the
manufacturer of the valves – Hunt Valve Company of Salem, Ohio.
Federal officials in Cleveland are in the midst of a criminal
investigation of the allegations contained in the complaint.
The criminal investigation is being run out of the United States
Attorney’s office in Cleveland and is being spearheaded by
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Blake.
For much of 2001, at the request of federal investigators, Tina
Gonter went undercover and wore a wire, while she was working at
Hunt Valve.
As a result, two former Hunt Valve executives have been
convicted of crimes in the case.
Earlier this month, Wayne Aldrich, a quality assurance manager
at the facility, was sentenced to 33 months in prison.
In April, Lawrence Kelly, a vice president of military sales for
Hunt Valve pled guilty to felony fraud in the case.
Kelly has yet to be sentenced.
At his sentencing on June 2 in Cleveland, Aldrich read a
statement saying that there was no way to know for sure whether
the valves posed a threat to the submarines.
"There will always be the uncertainty that there could someday
be a problem with this material," Aldrich said in an apology to
U.S. District Court Judge Lesley Wells in Cleveland.
"A sample product has been re-tested and found to be
acceptable," Aldrich said. "But in the environment that these
materials are used in, sampling will never replace a hundred
percent assurance of acceptability. This product assurance was
entrusted to myself and the management of Hunt Valve. I/we
failed to provide that assurance. Quality documents were
altered, had false statements made on them, and in particular,
testing functions were not carried out to contract and
specification requirements."
In addition to Hunt Valve, the False Claims Act lawsuit names as
defendants General Dynamics, Northrop, Lockheed Martin, Morpac
Industries of Pacific, Washington, All-Stainless Inc. of
Whitman, Massachusetts and Kelly.
The Justice Department intervened in the False Claims Act case
against Hunt Valve, but has not intervened in the case against
the other defendants.
Sources close the investigation say that federal prosecutors in
Cleveland are not happy with main Justice’s decision not to
intervene in the False Claims Act case against the large defense
contractors.
Hunt Valves customers included Electric Boat of Groton,
Connecticut, a unit of General Dynamics, Newport News
Shipbuilding, a unit of Northrop, and Lockheed Martin.
The Gonter lawsuit alleges that General Dynamics and Northrop,
“knew or were recklessly indifferent to the fact that Hunt
valves sold or delivered to the United States were not properly
manufactured and assembled, and that Hunt failed in myriad ways
to utilize and enforce the quality-system requirements which are
mandated by all contracts pursuant to which these valves are
made.”
The lawsuit alleges, for example, that Electric Boat had a
quality assurance inspector, identified as Harry Arnold,
physically posted at Hunt’s plant to ensure that “Hunt delivered
conforming product.”
The lawsuit alleges that on January 13, 2001, Arnold told Gonter
that he had “lost all confidence” in Hunt Valves and felt he had
been lied to by Hunt personnel.
Gonter alleges that on March 17, she asked Arnold why, when he
rejected Hunt product, “your people don’t back you up?”
Arnold replied by saying:
“Nothing I can do. I can’t go and raise a big stink and rage and
holler and scream. I have to live by it. That’s all. What else
can you do? You don’t have to like it. You just have to do it
and accept it. I told my boss. I don’t have to like what you
tell me to do, but I gotta do it.”
On March 20, 2001, Arnold allegedly told Gonter that he had
encountered “nowhere near” the level of problems at any other
supplier as at Hunt.
On the same day, he told Gonter “I’m not going to jail” for
Hunt.
On March 22, Arnold told Gonter: “I don’t know how you’re ever
going to straighten this mess out, I just don’t even know where
to begin.”
When Gonter asked for suggestions, Arnold replied: “Yeah, stick
of dynamite, blow this freaking place up.”
The lawsuit also alleges that General Dynamics and Northrop set
up a sham transaction with All-Stainless to meet federal demands
that it buy from small contractors.
"The sham relationship between All-Stainless and Hunt was a
conspiracy orchestrated by and participated in by defendant
General Dynamics Electric Boat so that it could falsely
represent to the United States Navy that it was making progress
in connection with its use of small, disadvantaged businesses as
subcontractors," the lawsuit alleged.
The Gonter lawsuit also charges Lockheed Martin with failing to
comply with contractual requirements governing valves delivered
to Oak Ridge National Labs, and uranium enrichment plants at
Paducah, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio.
Northrop is being represented by Richard Stauber of Fried Frank
in Washington, D.C.
General Dynamics is being represented by Charles Sklarsky of
Jenner & Block in Chicago.
The Gonters are being represented by Frederick Morgan of
Volkema, Thomas in Cincinnati.
Corporate Crime Reporter
1209 National Press Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20045
202.737.1680
*****************************************************************
12 Public Citizen: If Senate Passes Flawed and Costly Energy Bill,
It Will Fall Victim to Corporate Interests
June 23, 2005
Statement by Joan Claybrook, President, Public Citizen
Tonights likely passage by the Senate of an energy bill that
repeals a vital consumer protection statute and hands billions
of tax dollars over to the fossil fuel and nuclear industries,
will prove to the American public that it cares more about
rewarding business interests than protecting consumers, who will
predictably suffer from higher energy bills and corporate abuse
enabled by this legislation.
While the bill (S. 10) includes some significant provisions
promoting energy efficiency and renewables, it ultimately sells
out consumers by repealing the Public Utility Holding Company
Act (PUHCA) and by heavily subsidizing old-style polluting
industries. This bill will have passed without a single minute
of debate on the electricity title, which includes PUHCA repeal.
Yet, repeal of this law carries enormous repercussions. It
advances the destructive path of deregulation, which has already
proven to be a huge failure in many states, and encourages the
same type of corporate wrongdoing that gave us Enron and the
California energy crisis.
Public Citizen has repeatedly attempted to educate lawmakers on
the consequences of repealing this essential consumer and
investor protection, which limits utilities to investing profits
in utility-related businesses and keeps the electric industry
localized. PUCHA has protected ratepayers and utility investors
for 70 years and kept electricity reliable, stable and
affordable.
Repeal of PUHCA will mean a tidal wave of mergers in the utility
sector that will result in higher costs for electricity
consumers and leave state regulators with little or no ability
to oversee huge interstate utilities. In addition,
non-utilities, such as oil companies and banks, will be free to
own and control electric and natural gas utilities. The
interests of huge, multi-state and international conglomerates
as utility owners will replace for the first time since 1935
the interests of consumers and investors.
The bill also fails to address the most effective means of
decreasing our dependence on foreign oil and curbing vehicle
emissions: mandatory improvements in fuel economy for the
nations fleet of motor vehicles. Lawmakers should jettison this
bill, because it is bad medicine for consumers, the environment
and the economy.
###
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13 BBC ON THIS DAY | 24 | 1974: Labour rift over nuclear test
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk
The Labour Government has admitted Britain exploded a nuclear
device in the United States a few weeks ago.
It is thought the underground trial at America's desert test
range in Nevada was carried out on one of the new warheads for
the Polaris submarine missiles.
The announcement has sparked a row between senior ministers and
the left-wing Tribune group, which opposes Britain's - and
Labour's - involvement in the arms race.
The trial had been arranged by the previous Conservative
Government, but the Ministry of Defence said it was not ashamed
of its nuclear arsenal and intended to continue with the
programme.
'Grave danger'
Tribune member Frank Allaun said it was Labour policy to get rid
of what he termed "suicide weapons".
And the MP suggested scrapping missiles would set a good example
to aspiring nuclear powers.
"The danger at the moment is of the bomb spreading to more and
more countries - that's a grave danger," he said.
Defence Secretary Roy Mason said he could understand why people
in the Labour Party were opposed to the tests.
But he emphasized there was no party commitment to the abolition
of nuclear weapons and said the government had not broken a
manifesto pledge or international agreement by exploding the
device.
"If we had purposefully taken the decision to abandon the test
we would have been prematurely taking the decision to abandon
our strategic deterrent - that's not on," he said.
In Context
The world's first nuclear test was carried out
by the US on 16 July 1945 at Alamagordo Air Base, New Mexico.
Various treaties since the 1958 Geneva Conference have attempted
to reduce or abolish nuclear weapons testing, but the Cold War
ensured trials continued.
The five declared nuclear powers - Britain, France, US, Russia
and China - signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in
September 1996.
But to the consternation of much of the world the two newest
countries to obtain nuclear weapons, India and Pakistan, have
both exploded devices since the signing of the agreement.
Stories From 24 Jun
1983: US astronaut Sally Ride returns
1974: Labour rift over nuclear test
1968: Rail go-slow begins
1986: Ian Paisley's battle cry condemned
1993: Minister resigns over business links
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14 RIA Novosti: Swiss court extends Russian ex-minister Adamov's custody
25/06/2005
GENEVA, June 24 (RIA Novosti, Yekaterina Andrianova) - The Swiss
Federal Court in Lausanne ruled Friday to extend custody of
Russia's former Nuclear Minister Yevgeny Adamov.
Adamov will remain in prison while the court considers the Swiss
Justice Department's appeal on the legality of his arrest.
The Swiss Federal Court ruled to arrest Adamov in Bern on June 9
in Belinzona at the United States' request. But the criminal
court ruled to free the former minister.
However, the Swiss justice department immediately requested a
delay in Adamov's release until it appealed the ruling. The
court met the request on the same day.
The Justice Department appealed the decision on June 17. The
Federal Court of Lausanne, the supreme judicial body of
Switzerland, will consider the case at length and then make the
final decision. Its verdicts are not subject to appeal.
Adamov, who was nuclear minister from 1998-2001, was detained on
May 2 in Bern at the request of the U.S. Justice Department. The
U.S. has until June 30 to file a formal request to extradite
Adamov.
U.S. authorities accuse Adamov and his business partner, U.S.
citizen Mark Kaushansky, of misappropriating $9 million that the
U.S. government allocated for nuclear safety projects.
If extradited, Adamov faces up to 60 years in jail and a fine of
$1.75 million.
© 2005 "RIA Novosti"
*****************************************************************
15 RBC: Russian nuclear enterprises lagging behind foreign facilities
RosBusinessConsulting - News Online rbc.ru
RBC, 24.06.2005, Moscow 15:26:34.Russian nuclear
enterprises are non-competitive on the external market of
construction of nuclear facilities, Ivan Kamenskikh, deputy head
of the federal atomic energy agency (Rosatom) believes.
In his opinion, equipment at Russian nuclear facilities has gone
out of date, and its capacity is deteriorating.
Kamenskikh said that taking the current situation on the foreign
nuclear construction market into account, Russia could gain
enough pace, but this would require adequate financial support
for the industry's development plans.
All rights reserved. © 1995-2005 RosBusinessConsulting (095)
*****************************************************************
16 Xinhua: Russia's ex-minister to remain in Swiss prison
www.xinhuanet.com
www.chinaview.cn 2005-06-24 23:58:13
GENEVA, June 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Russia's former nuclear
minister Yevgeny Adamov must remain in a Swiss prison pending
hearings on an extradition request from Russia, Swiss Federal
Court said Friday.
The Federal Court, located in Lausanne, suspended a decision
made two weeks ago by another court ordering Adamov's release.
Earlier this month the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona
declared that Adamov should be released because Switzerland had
violated his immunity as a former minister when he was arrested
inthe Swiss capital Bern on a US warrant in May.
The Federal Justice Office immediately appealed against the
ruling and Adamov was kept in custody until the Federal Court
reached a decision on Friday.
"In extradition procedures, the incarceration of the person
sought is the rule, from which only exceptional cases should
deviate," said the country's supreme court.
Federal judges still have to decide whether Adamov's
immunity was violated when he was arrested. But they said that
there was nocompelling reason to release the former minister
until a decision on this has been reached.
Yevgeny Adamov was Russia's atomic energy minister from 1998
to2001, when a parliamentary commission accused him of
corruption.
He is charged by the United States with embezzling 9 million
USdollars, which had been destined for nuclear-safety upgrades
in Russia, and transferring the money to various US companies
under his control.
Russia has made a formal request to the Swiss authorities on
May 17, urging Adamov's extradition over fraud charges.
He could also face extradition to the US, which has until
June 30 to make the demand. Enditem
Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
17 Mos News: US Ask Russia’s Former Nuclear Minister Adamov’s Extradition -
- MOSNEWS.COM
[Photo: flb.ru]
Created: 24.06.2005 20:54 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 21:08 MSK
MosNews
The United States sent a request to Switzerland on Friday to
extradite Russia’s former nuclear energy minister Yevgeny Adamov.
Pittsburgh prosecutors have charged Adamov with theft of $9
million allocated by the United States for the security of
Russian nuclear objects.
Earlier on the same day, Switzerland’s Supreme Court has ruled
that Adamov must stay in custody pending a decision on his
extradition to either the United States or Russia.
Adamov was detained in Bern on May 2 after the U.S. request.
Russian authorities, concerned that he could divulge nuclear
secrets if extradited to the United States, have demanded his
extradition to Russia instead.
Write us: info@mosnews.com
Copyright © 2004 MOSNEWS.COM
*****************************************************************
18 RIA Novosti: Russia's energy concern lacks funds to decommission
nuclear power plants
25/06/2005
MOSCOW, June 24 (RIA Novosti) - Rosenergoatom, Russia's
state-owned nuclear energy concern, lacks the funds to
decommission old nuclear power units.
General Director Stanislav Antipov told a board meeting of the
Union of Nuclear Power Territories and Enterprises today that
the concern had a shortfall of about 6 billion rubles ($209.5
million) in 2004 for decommissioning energy units, while by 2010
the figure could exceed 8.5 billion rubles ($296.79 million).
Antipov said the concern would need at least 980 billion rubles
($34.22 billion) overall to fulfill plans and objectives
stipulated in Russia's energy strategy for the period till 2020.
"We can get this amount with the help of state secured loans,"
said the director.
Antipov said privatizing Rosenergoatom would help secure loans
for the concern's development. "This issue is being under
consideration at the moment," he said.
A commission considering the privatization of Rosenergoatom will
meet on June 28. The concern is expected to submit proposals to
accelerate the privatization process.
"Privatizing Rosenergoatom would help attract investment, ensure
equal competitive conditions, and encourage the emergence of
innovation projects," said Antipov.
© 2005 "RIA Novosti"
*****************************************************************
19 NRC: New Resident Inspector Named at Indian Point 3
News Release - Region I - 2005-03
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs, Region I
No. I-05-037 June 24, 2005
CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330
Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov
have selected Brian D. Wittick as the new resident inspector at
the Indian Point 3 nuclear power plant in Buchanan, N.Y.
Entergy Northeast operates both Indian Point 2 and 3. The NRC
has two inspectors assigned to each unit. Wittick joins Senior
Resident Inspector Tom Hipschman at Unit 3. He replaces Robert
Berryman, who was selected for a position in the NRC Region II
office in Atlanta.
"Brian Witticks experience and commitment to safety will help
the NRC ensure that Indian Point 3 conducts operations with the
highest safety standards to protect the public health and
safety," said NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins.
Wittick joined the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in September as
a reactor engineer in the Division of Reactor Safety.
Previously, he served in the United States Navy for 21 years. He
earned a bachelors degree in systems engineering from the United
States Naval Academy; a masters in acoustical engineering from
The Pennsylvania State University, and a master of business
administration from National University in San Diego.
Each U.S. commercial nuclear power plant has at least two NRC
resident inspectors. They serve as the agency's eyes and ears at
the facility, conducting regular inspections and monitoring
significant work projects.
The Indian Point 3 resident inspectors can be reached at
914/739-8565.
Last revised Friday, June 24, 2005
*****************************************************************
20 TheHometownChannel.com: Bill Could Fund Cleanup Of Strickler Nuclear Plant
Lincoln Says Federal Government Should Bear Cost Of SEFOR Cleanup
UPDATED: 12:13 pm CDT June 24, 2005
STRICKLER, Ark. -- Since the late 1960s, many in Washington
County have lived with a nuclear neighbor in their back yards --
but officials said Thursday that will soon change.
An experimental nuclear reactor was built in 1969 in the
Washington County community of Strickler. The U.S. Senate was
expected to pass a bill Thursday night that would free up
federal funds to clean up the old site.
The reactor site was permanently shut down in 1972. In 1975, the
University of Arkansas took ownership of the site.
The nuclear reactor is called the Southwest Experimental Fast
Oxide Reactor, or SEFOR. Officials who support the demolition of
the plant say that after decades of no use, SEFOR has become an
environmental hazard containing several contaminants and
explosive chemicals.
Officials said the old reactor contains radiation, lead,
asbestos and mercury. A Senate energy bill could provide the
money to clean the site.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said the federal government built
SEFOR and should also bear the cleanup cost. She said the final
price of the cleanup could be as much as $16 million.
If the bill passes, it will take four to five years for the site
to be cleaned. The university will still own the land, and it
will be up to officials there to decide how it will be used.
University officials and residents near the site have been
fighting to get the reactor removed since the 1990s.
Copyright 2005 TheHometownChannel.com. All rights reserved. This
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21 Shore Publishing: Town Wins One Phase of Tax Battle
By Julie Wernau Published on 6/24/2005
Waterford - The town has won one major battle in a protracted
legal war with Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc., owner of
Millstone Power Station, over taxes on the nuclear power plants.
Last week, after a superior court judge ruled in Waterford's
favor for the first part of the ongoing tax battle, Dominion
filed an appeal with the Connecticut Supreme Court.
The court refused to hear Dominion's appeal, meaning that the
superior court's decision stands, pending the outcome of the
second phase of the litigation. At stake is some $100 million in
yearly tax exemptions.
The Department of Environmental Protection had granted the
exemptions to Millstone's former owner, Northeast Utilities, in
1994 as a reward for equipment used to abate air pollution.
Dominion, which has owned the plant since 2000, refiled for the
exemptions in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Dominion filed for an expedited appeal process, saying that the
judge's decision was based on faulty logic and would muck up the
works as town across Connecticut tried to finalize their grand
lists.
New Britain Superior Court Judge Arnold Aronson has said that
the exemptions were given to Northeast Utilities and not
Dominion and that they did not transfer automatically with the
sale of the plant as Dominion claimed in court.
"The claim was excessive and unwarranted," First Selectman Paul
Eccard said of the appeal.
Eccard added that he does not expect the company will appeal the
latest legal setback until after the second phase of the
litigation is settled.
In the second phase of the tax battle, Waterford and Dominion
will argue over Millstone's worth. Both sides hired nuclear
experts to assess the plants but Waterford's assessment was $200
million more than Dominion's $1 billion assessment. The
difference between those two numbers means about $2.3 million in
yearly taxes for Waterford.
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22 asahi.com: Nuclear plant data leaked on Internet
[asahi.com]
06/24/2005 The Asahi Shimbun
A large amount of confidential information about inspections of
nuclear power plants was leaked on the Internet, raising
concerns that the data could be used for illicit purposes,
officials said Thursday.
The data were apparently leaked through the Winny peer-to-peer
file-sharing program from the personal computer of an employee
at a Mitsubishi Electric Corp. affiliate that inspects nuclear
plants.
The computer was infected with a virus, officials said.
"At this point, we have not confirmed any fatal leakage of
important information concerning the protection of nuclear
materials," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told
reporters Thursday morning.
Since Mitsubishi Electric does not build nuclear reactors or
turbines, the leaked data likely did not contain information
directly linked to radioactive substances.
But the breach has caused concerns.
According to Mitsubishi Electric, up to 44 megabytes of data
containing information collected over the past several years was
leaked, including reports on regular inspections conducted by
the affiliate, Mitsubishi Electric Plant Engineering Corp.
The information also included photographs of the insides of
nuclear power plants during inspections, the names of the
inspectors and where engineers in charge of the inspections were
staying, the officials said.
The data referred to pressurized water reactors, including those
at Hokkaido Electric Power Co.'s Tomari nuclear plant and Kyushu
Electric Power Co.'s Sendai power plant.
Information was also leaked on Kansai Electric Power Co.'s
Mihama nuclear plant and Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tsuruga power
station.
Officials of Mitsubishi Electric said the leakage was caused
when a 30-year-old engineer used his personal computer for
company operations, which the individual had been doing without
permission.
But the engineer's computer was infected with the "disclosure
virus," which has spread among users of the Winny software.
Anyone using the Winny software can open and retrieve files from
other people's virus-infected computers.
Mitsubishi Electric officials on Wednesday confirmed that some
of the leaked data that appeared on the Internet matched those
in the engineer's personal computer.
"It is deeply regrettable for the data to be leaked," said a
company official. "First, we need to fully confirm what happened
to deal with the situation. And we'd like to prepare measures to
prevent similar accidents from happening."
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the United States
in 2001, the security level was raised for nuclear facilities.
In Japan, revised national regulations on nuclear power plants
will take effect Dec. 1 to prevent information, such as the
location of fuel reserves and how the security system is set up,
from leaking.
The Winny software, created in Japan, has been tied to other
information leaks around the nation.
In March 2004, details of investigations by the Hokkaido and
Kyoto prefectural police departments were posted on Web sites.
In April that year, confidential Ground Self-Defense Force data,
including training reports and rosters, appeared on the
Internet.
Medical records held by a hospital in Tottori Prefecture were
posted on the Web.(IHT/Asahi: June 24,2005)
+ The Asahi Shimbun Company
*****************************************************************
23 Brattleboro Reformer: NRC's stamp
Editorials
June 25, 2005 Brattleboro, VT
Back in April, we wrote an editorial "The 'R' in NRC" in which
we stated our belief that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has
acted as a rubber stamp for the nuclear industry.
We based that assessment on the apparent lack of concern by the
NRC over the security and accountability of spent fuel at
nuclear plants around the country.
The editorial yielded a response from NRC spokesman Neil
Sheehan that his agency "takes its mission of overseeing U.S.
commercial nuclear power plants and protecting health and safety
very seriously."
Our question to the NRC is, if you indeed take that mission
seriously, why was Entergy Vermont Yankee not fined when it was
unable to account for two pieces of highly radioactive spent
fuel last year?
Entergy could have faced a civil fine of up to $60,000 by the
NRC. Instead, it just got a mild scolding from the NRC on
Wednesday.
While the sloppy record keeping that allowed the two fuel rod
pieces to be misplaced in the spent fuel pool for nearly 25
years happened under the plant's previous ownership, it's not an
excuse for Entergy. The buck stops with them.
Entergy may be working to set up a system to keep better track
of the materials in the future, may not have had any violations
in the previous two years that they owned the plant, and were
fortunate that the missing pieces never left the spent fuel
pool. These factors, in the NRC's view, justified their decision
not to fine Entergy.
However, we agree with Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt., who said
that the NRC's action sends the wrong message to nuclear plant
owners.
"The NRC should not send the message to licensees that simply
acting to recover fuel rods discovered missing only upon an
NRC-ordered inspection is sufficient to overcome years of poor
materials accounting," Jeffords wrote in a letter this week to
NRC Chairman Nils Diaz.
There have been three incidents in the past five years of
nuclear plants in the U.S. losing track of their spent fuel. We
feel that's three too many.
The NRC's reaction to the misplaced fuel rod incident at
Vermont Yankee again shows that the NRC puts the interests of
nuclear plant owners ahead of the public safety. We'll repeat
what we said in April. The "R" in NRC is supposed to stand for
regulatory, not rubber stamp.
Copyright ©1999-2005 New England Newspapers, Inc.,
*****************************************************************
24 Bellona: US Survey: Next decade holds a 70 percent chance of a nuclear terrorist act
The world faces an estimated 50 percent chance of a nuclear,
biological or chemical attack over the next five years,
according to national security analysts surveyed for a
congressional study released Wednesday.
Senator Richard Lugar, Chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee and co-founder of US CTR efforts.
Nils Břhmer/Bellona
Charles Digges, 2005-06-23 11:35
Those chances increase to 70 percent over the coming decade
years, says the report, which is based on a compilation of
commentary by 85 expert groups on non-proliferation, the
environment and national security world-wide, which included The
Bellona Foundation.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by Republican
Senator Richard Lugar, surveyed analysts around the world in
late 2004 and early this year to determine how critical they
considered the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction. The
committee’s study is entitled “The Lugar Survey on Proliferation
Threats and Responses.”
The study was commissioned by Lugar—who with former Georgia
Democratic Senator Sam Nunn founded the Nunn-Lugar, or
Co-operative Threat Reduction (CTR), act—whose non-proliferation
efforts in Congress have helped the states of the former Soviet
Union reduce their stockpiles of nuclear, chemical and
biological weapons. The CTR programme is driven by the US
Department of Defence, and was the first of its kind to spring
up after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
"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.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee aides sent the survey to
experts asking respondents to estimate the percentage
probability that a radiological, biological, and chemical attack
would occur over the next five to 10 years.
"If one compounds these answers, the odds of some type of WMD
attack occurring during the next decade are extremely high,"
said the report, using the acronym for weapons of mass
destruction.
The study concluded that there is a “significantly higher,” risk
of a radiological attack for both the next five year and 10 year
period. It also found that the risk of a biological or chemical
attack were almost on part with a nuclear attack of some sort,
but that the percentage risk for biological or chemical attacks
were almost even.
US funding in Russia should encourage nuclear reform in Moscow
It is the assertion of The Bellona Foundation that money sent
to Russia by the United States for the purposes of improving
nuclear and non-proliferation safety would be more effective if
that funding supported a fundamental reform of the Russian
nuclear industry. In Bellona’s assessment, simple and well
established programs supported by the United States, such as
submarine dismantlement, are in good working order. However,
more complicated programs involving western investment such as
the Mayak Fissile Materials Storage Facility (FMSF) in the
Southern Urals, and the shut down of Russia’s remaining
plutonium production reactors, have faltered. Such programs as
the HEU-LEU program—whose funding is allocated on a freer
basis—allows Russia to maintain the Soviet-era status quo of its
nuclear industry, and offer no impetus for Moscow to re-assess
the current structure of its nuclear industry.
Read Bellona's position »
The survey also reported that:
-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 as technology sharing between terrorist group could
inrease. Respondents also said that the likelihood of a state
sponsored nuclear attack were lower than those posed by
terrorist cells.
-Four-fifths of those surveyed said their country was not
spending enough money on non-proliferation efforts. Only one
fifth said their governments were spending the right amount on
non-proliferation efforts designed at averting a terrorist
attack.
Respondents also were in agreement that material to design a
crude or sophisticated nuclear weapon would most likely come
from black market purchases. With only 37 percent of Russian
weapons-usable nuclear material under reliable lock and key,
coupled with the poverty of former Russians weapons scientists,
makes both the material and the know-how available on the black
market.
Bellona’s Involvement
Bellona’s Nuclear physicist Nils Břhmer filled out the survey
for The Bellona Foundation.
“The finding of international experts is that there is a high
chance of terrorists obtaining Russian nuclear material, so
efforts of nations donating to Russian nuclear remediation must
focus on this problem with special attention,” he said.
He added that donor countries contributing to Russia’s nuclear
security must also assure that their donations do more good than
harm and do not inadvertently make this material even more
vulnerable than it is. For more than the past decade,
international efforts have paid for shipments of spent nuclear
fuel—containing uranium and plutonium—from Russia’s Northern
Fleet to the Mayak Chemical Combine, some 3000 kilometers to the
south in the southern Urals for reprocessing.
”Shipping this material such a distance by train makes it more
vulnerable to terrorists,” said Břhmer. “Reprocessing this
uranium and plutonium make it a significant security risk at a
plant that has questionable security to begin with.”
Bellona releases “The Russian Nuclear Industry—The Need for
Reform” in Washington
The Bellona Foundation has presented its report “The Russian
Nuclear Industry—The Need for Reform” to high-ranking US
government officials and NGOs in Washington, DC to a warm
reception and the accolades of those working within the United
States non-proliferation and environmental establishment.
Read on »
Bellona report singled out as required reading by Lugar survey
Břhmer, with Igor Kudrik, Alexander Nikitin and Charles Digges,
and Russian nuclear experts Vladimir Kuznetsov and Vladislav
Larin, is a co-author of Bellona’s newest report ”The Russian
Nuclear Industry - The Need for Reform”.
This new Bellona report is included in the “Lugar Survey on
Proliferation Threats and Responses” as recommended reading. It
was released to United States audiences on Capitol Hill and at
an event co-sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace and the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies.
"I've long admired the work of the Bellona Foundation for its
work in support of counter-proliferation efforts, especially
with the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program.
Bellona continues to break new ground on issues we need to
pursue," said Lugar of the report upon its release.
Lugar underscored in his committee’s survey the importance of
augmenting nuclear weapons and material security world-wide. He
wrote that though the US should have success in
democracy-building throughout the world, the world will never be
safe from small, fanatical cells that could possibly get their
hands on nuclear materials. Hindering these groups from doing
this is a far more important task than the weapons control
efforts that were at the centre of the world non-proliferation
stage in the 1970s and 1980s.
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
*****************************************************************
25 RIA Novosti: Ministry approves plan to enhance Russian energy system security
25/06/2005
MOSCOW, June 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Industry and Energy
Minister Viktor Khristenko has approved a plan to ensure the
Russian energy system's security.
The new measures envisage the state's enhanced control and
supervision of the energy sector and the protection of
electricity facilities from unauthorized access and tampering,
after the May 25 blackout that swept parts of the city and
neighboring regions, leaving thousands of people displaced.
Khristenko said electricity monopoly Unified Energy Systems'
outdated infrastructure, including its switching stations, power
grids and dispatch service, must be replaced.
Khristenko also proposed intensifying work on a set of
technical regulations to ensure the safety and reliability of
the electric and thermal power supply and the safe maintenance
of nuclear power plants.
UES personnel and those of independent electric companies are
scheduled to undergo a special appraisal.
Khristenko also said proposals would be made on enhancing
supervision during the ongoing energy sector reform.
The power outage affected hospitals, businesses and the metro,
which had to evacuate passengers stuck underground.
© 2005 "RIA Novosti"
*****************************************************************
26 NewsFromRussia.Com: Two attacks on Russian nuclear facilities foiled
11:28 2005-06-24
Lately the threat of terrorism has become one of the most
discussed topics of the international politics. The media and
politicians repeatedly discussed methods to combat terrorism.
Nuclear terrorism was singled out as the most dangerous
terrorist activity. However, there is not so much probability of
perpetrators getting hold of nuclear weapons. Terrorists are
more likely to infiltrate strategically important nuclear
facilities in an attempt to blow them up. Anybody can imagine
devastating consequences of such an attack. Still, we tend to
believe that Russia's nuclear facilities are kept under close
watch at all times.
However, the situation does not look very peaceful following
today's statement of the Chief of 12th Main Directorate of the
Russian Defense Ministry Igor Volonkin. Mr. Volynkin said that
terrorists had recently made two attempts to infiltrate the
Russian nuclear facilities. Fortunately, security forces
thwarted both the attempts.
Mr. Volynkin admitted that terrorism posed the main threat to
the Russian nuclear facilities these days. He assured the
journalists that security arrangements provided 100% protection
of the facilities. According to Mr. Volynkin, the current level
of security at the Russian nuclear facilities is on a par with
that in the United States. Mr. Volynkin said that previous
hands-on experience with nuclear weapons enabled Russian
security forces to carry out extremely successful protection of
the nuclear facilities.
Mr. Volynkin's statement can be a comfort to the public though
it would be wrong to assume that everything is under control.
Mr. Volynkin admitted that nobody could guarantee nuclear
facilities against a potential infiltration of terrorists.
Besides, a group of immigrants was reported to have sneaked into
one the closely watched nuclear installations in the US some
time ago.
Utro
Copyright ©1999 by "Pravda.RU". When reproducing our materials
*****************************************************************
27 Japan Times: Secret data on reactor inspections leaked to Internet
Friday, June 24, 2005
Confidential information on nuclear power plant inspections was
posted on the Internet recently by a virus in the computer of an
employee contracted to do the inspections, Mitsubishi Electric
Co. said Thursday.
The leak was on data on seven nuclear power plants and 13
thermal and hydroelectric power plants, according to Mitsubishi
Electric, which named subsidiary Mitsubishi Electric Plant
Engineering Corp. as the contractor in question.
The 20 facilities are run by 12 companies.
The seven nuclear power plants are located in Hokkaido, Fukui,
Kagoshima and Saga prefectures and are run by the Hokkaido,
Kansai and Kyushu electric power companies and Japan Atomic
Power Co.
The leaked data do not contain any information that compromises
the security of nuclear material, including details on reactors
or how the facilities are guarded, Mitsubishi said.
The computer was apparently infected by a virus that propagates
through Winny, a Japanese peer-to-peer file-sharing program,
Mitsubishi said.
The leak was about 40 to 50 megabytes -- the equivalent of 30
floppy disks.
The data included several years' worth of inspection reports
and manuals, as well as photos from the inspections and health
data on workers at the power plants, it said.
A Mitsubishi Electric spokesman said the incident is "truly
regrettable" and noted the company is investigating.
"Our company is stepping up management of confidential
information and will take steps to prevent a similar incident at
the company as well as affiliated concerns," he said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda acknowledged the data
leak and said the government has launched its own investigation.
It has not been determined whether "a leak of critical,
important information concerning protection of nuclear
materials" occurred, the government's top spokesman said. But
nuclear plants are important facilities subject to antiterrorism
measures, and the government will strengthen management of
nuclear information and publicize how the information was leaked
once the probe is concluded.
The data are believed to have leaked from the computer of a
maintenance management engineer at the Mitsubishi subsidiary,
according to the Mitsubishi Electric spokesman.
The engineer used his own computer when inspecting the power
plants, and the data are thought to have been leaked through
Winny, which was installed in his computer. A virus can
apparently cause Winny to send data to other computers on the
Internet.
Much of the data is categorized as "industrial secret" or
"classified for business purposes," and includes e-mail to the
engineer's boss detailing progress on the inspections, according
to the spokesman.
A Kepco spokesman said information on regular inspections of
the No. 3 reactor at Mihama and the No. 4 reactor at Oi was
leaked, including a list of reactor components supplied by
Mitsubishi Electric for the Mihama plant.
"Given the nature of his duties, he is not supposed to have
information on nuclear materials, so there was no leak of
information that would cause problems for protection of nuclear
materials," he said.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said it will summon
officials of the utilities to report on details on the leak and
whether it could compromise safety.
The Japan Times: June 24, 2005
(C) All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
28 [DU-WATCH] Collateral risk: DU research gap could impact
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 00:16:21 -0500 (CDT)
Collateral Risk: DU Research Gap Could Impact Vermont Troops Kathryn
Casa, The Vermont Guardian
June 17, 2005 - By the end of June, more than 600 Vermont National
Guard members will be deployed in and around heavy combat areas in
Iraq, where battlefield exposure to depleted uranium - a highly
toxic and radioactive battlefield poison widely used by the United
States in combat zones - has now become routine, military watchdogs
say.
During the recent legislative session, Vermont lawmakers and state
leaders turned aside a modest proposal to assess the impact of
Vermont National Guard members deployed in dangerous and highly
stressful war zones.
However, other legislatures have been aggressively pursuing measures
aimed at safeguarding their troops.
Louisiana last week became the first state to require returning
troops to be tested for exposure to depleted uranium. And, like
both the Louisiana House and Senate, the Connecticut House unanimously
passed similar legislation earlier this month. That bill, which has
broad bipartisan co-sponsorship, is now before the state's Senate.
Lawmakers from at least seven other states interested in drafting
similar legislation have contacted Rep. Patricia Dillon, D-New
Haven, the Connecticut author of the bill.
Ninety Vermonters are currently serving in combat zones, including
25 assigned to a military police company based in the Sunni stronghold
of Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein; and
65 are attached to a Mississippi National Guard unit in Najaf,
according to Lt. Veronica Saffo, a National Guard spokeswoman in
Colchester.
Twenty Vermont soldiers are in Iraq working as support staff; 600
are based in Kuwait, where they rotate in and out of combat; and
65 are guarding civilian security contractors in Saudi Arabia.
On Thursday, another 400 Vermont troops are scheduled to leave for
Iraq as part of a brigade combat team. Their base is not identified
ahead of time for security reasons, Saffo said. But "they will be
in the combat areas, definitely in the villages and working with
the Iraqi police as part of a significantly sized brigade combat
team," she confirmed.
The Department of Defense said depleted uranium use in Iraq is
significantly lower than the 320 tons fired during the first Gulf
War. Outside watchdogs say up to 150 tons of DU have been fired
during the current Iraq conflict.
No DU weapons systems have been used in Afghanistan, according to
the Pentagon, where six Vermonters are stationed and another 50 are
headed later this month.
"Previous to the Gulf War, no special training was mandated concerning
DU," according to Barbara Goodno with the Defense Department's
deployment health office. "Soon after the Gulf War, awareness
training was instituted for service members who may be exposed to
DU weapons, specialized teams . who may have higher than average
exposure receive increased training."
But according to a 2000 study by the nonpartisan Government
Accountability Office, a survey two years earlier by the Army's
Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses of more than 1,600 personnel,
found that only 65 percent received required DU training. "We also
found a great deal of disparity among units in that three units had
not conducted the required DU training at all," the GAO reported.
None of the branches of the military had made sufficient progress
in implementing DU training, the study found, concluding that
"service members were only marginally better prepared to contend
with DU hazards than they had been during the Gulf War."
Saffo said all Vermont troops participate in annual DU training and
get more intensified training prior to their deployment. "There is
a list of specific core training requirements mandatory for all
units in the Army. Every year the commanders of every unit in the
state have to make sure the soldiers get the specialized training
provided by the Army."
But Joyce Riley, a Gulf War National Guard veteran and executive
director of the American Gulf War Veterans Association in Versaille,
MO, calls the Pentagon's claim of better training "a lie."
"They have used hundreds of tons of DU over there," said Riley, who
hosts a daily radio talk show. "We are overwhelmed with phone calls
from people who have just returned from Iraq who are not getting
treatment."
Just 180 Vermont National Guard members have returned from Iraq and
Afghanistan thus far. Although they are given physical and mental
health screening, they are not routinely tested for DU exposure,
said Anselm Beach, a spokesman for the Veterans Administration
Hospital in White River Junction.
Returning troops are reporting primarily "readjustment issues,"
noted Beach. "Some muscular skeletal problems because you have
soldiers wearing 60 pounds of gear, some issues with hearing from
explosions . the regular things with combat, but nothing out of the
ordinary."
The hospital would test for DU exposure only if symptoms prompt a
doctor to recommend it, Beach said.
However, a group of congressional Democrats would like to see DU
testing standardized. On May 17, Washington Rep. Jim McDermott, a
Vietnam veteran, and 21 other Democrats introduced a bill in Congress
that would require the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to report to
Congress on the health effects of DU exposure, not only on veterans
but also on their children born after exposure to DU munitions.
"There are countless stories of mysterious illnesses, higher rates
of serious illnesses and even birth defects," McDermott said on the
floor of the House. "We do not know what role, if any, DU plays in
the medical tragedies in Iraq, but we must find out."
In 1997, federal medical researchers at the Naval Health Research
Center and the CDC determined that babies born to Gulf War veterans
were more likely to suffer from certain birth defects including
malformations of the eyes, jaw, and spine.
DU danger
Depleted uranium, a highly toxic and radioactive byproduct of the
uranium enrichment process, is widely used in U.S. weapons systems
because of its ability to penetrate steel and its low cost. It is
also used to line tanks, and advocates say its strength and efficiency
as a weapon is a benefit for U.S. troops.
But the term "depleted" is a misnomer, since DU contains about 60
percent of the radioactivity found in natural uranium, according
to Tod Ensign, a veteran and attorney with the veterans advocacy
group Citizen Soldier in New York.
"When a DU shell strikes its target, up to 70 percent of the depleted
uranium vaporizes into fine dust, which then settles out in the
surrounding soil and water," he wrote. "Over half of the aerosolized
particles are smaller than 5 microns and anything smaller than 10
microns can be inhaled. Once lodged in the lungs, these particles
can emit a steady dose of alpha radiation."
Goodno said all service members in the field carry protective masks
for use against chemical or biological attack, which could also be
used "in extreme cases" to prevent DU inhalation. "Protective
equipment is only required as a precaution for those who have
repeated, prolonged exposure" to DU, she noted.
Some veterans of the first Gulf War say DU exposure has led to a
battery of debilitating symptoms including headaches, fatigue, joint
pain, sleep disturbance, and frequent urination, which they call
Gulf War syndrome.
Ensign reports that months before the first Gulf War, the Army's
Armament, Munitions, and Chemical Command published the following
warning: "Following combat, the condition of the battlefield and
the long term health risks to natives [sic] and combat veterans may
become issues in the acceptability of the continued use of DU for
military applications." The report added that DU has been "linked
to cancer when exposures are internal."
Iraqi doctors and researchers have reported dramatic increases in
cancer and childhood leukemia since the early 1990s.
Of the nearly 700,000 troops who fought in the first Gulf War, more
than 187,000 had been granted some level of disability status for
injury or illness related to their service, according to Veterans
Administration statistics for February 2005. More than 10,000 of
the returning Gulf War veterans have died.
The Defense Department continues to insist that there is no scientific
evidence that links exposure to depleted uranium to any of the
symptoms, and that no single diagnosis explains the symptoms.
Of the 104 soldiers known to have been hit by "friendly fire" DU
munitions during the 1991 war, according to Goodno, 70 participated
in a VA follow-up program. All of them had inhalation exposure, and
about one third had embedded DU shrapnel. "Those veterans with
retained DU shrapnel continue to excrete elevated levels of urinary
uranium," she noted. "To date, none of these individuals have
developed kidney abnormalities, leukemia, bone or lung cancer, or
any other uranium-related health problems."
But McDermott asks, "If DU is so safe, why do American soldiers
need to wear protective clothing in the first place?"
He urged Congress, "Let the Pentagon prove that it is safe."
Copyright 2005 The Vermont Guardian
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29 [du-list] Existential Warfare: Overwhelming our Opponents by
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 14:24:11 -0700
Existential Warfare: Overwhelming our Opponents by Killing
Ourselves
by Matt Gonzalez, June 24, 2005 MESH Magazine (San Francisco)
http://meshsf.com/2005/print_article.php?art_id=009-0002&vol_id=009-0000
Depleted Uranium (DU) is a highly dense material (2.5 times
denser than iron and 1.7 times denser than lead) that, if
placed on the end of a projectile, can pierce through
armored tanks and other military shields with relative ease.
It is the radioactive waste product of the uranium
enrichment process and is normally disposed of under strict
federal guidelines. But when used as part of our military
arsenal, it is subject to no such precautions.
How does a nuclear waste product that must be handled and
disposed of with utmost care, suddenly become safe when
placed on the end of a missile and shattered into the
atmosphere during wartime?
The US and British military first started using DU in the
1991 Gulf War, exploding 340 tons of DU laden warheads
there. Later, DU was used by the Clinton Administration in
Yugoslavia (at least 10 tons) and most recently by the Bush
Administration in Afghanistan (1,000 tons) and Iraq (2,400
tons). In all, over 4,000 tons of DU has been released into
the world’s atmosphere. Because DU missiles ignite upon
impact, the resulting smoke, bullet fragments and dust
released poison everything in their wake. The resulting harm
is exactly what you would expect to see with such negligent
use of a radioactive material. Since 1991, American soldiers
have been complaining of a variety of health consequences
for which the US government cannot otherwise account, known
as Gulf War Syndrome. American soldiers returning from
conflict complain of chronic fatigue and kidney, liver and
respiratory disorders. Many have contracted leukemia, lung
cancer and other serious illnesses. They also have noted a
higher incidence of birth defects among their children. And,
in the places devastated by war, congenital birth defects,
lymph cancer and leukemia are well documented.
As of July of 1999, 251,000 of the 579,000 veterans
returning from the 1991 Gulf War were seeking medical
treatment for aftereffects of the war. Today it is estimated
to be closer to 350,000. Yet only 167 died from wounds
inflicted by opponents. According to the Department of
Veteran’s Affairs, 518,000 soldiers fighting in both wars in
Iraq have been placed on medical disability since 1991,
although only 7,000 have been wounded there.
Yet, the US government continues to publicly deny the
harmful effects of DU and suggests that the incidence of
health problems is consistent with that in the general
population, though they offer no data to support this claim.
Admittedly, DU, or U238, is not as radioactive as U235,
the isotope used in nuclear weapons and reactors.
Nevertheless, DU emits alpha radiation and has a halflife
of 4.5 billion years. In 1974 a military report noted that
the widespread use of DU munitions would likely result in
the inhalation and ingestion of U238 and would be “locally
significant.” A 1990 report by a military subcontractor,
Science Applications International Corporation, warned that
“Aerosol DU exposures to soldiers on the battlefield could
be significant, with potential radiological and
toxicological effects.” It also noted probable cancers from
internal exposures.
Realizing that its ability to garner widespread support for
military conflicts rests on its ability to overwhelm
opponents with superior firepower and few shortterm
American casualties, the US government has made DU its
weapon of choice for the new millennium, even if the
longterm costs are hundred of thousands of American war
dead. This sentiment is expressed in a 1993 General
Accounting Office report that found “Army officials believe
that DU protective methods can be ignored during battle and
other lifethreatening situations because DUrelated health
risks are greatly outweighed by the risk of combat.”
The mantra of “support the troops” becomes an ominous lie to
win popular support for a war, but in reality it is the
height of hypocrisy. Of course, this shouldn’t surprise us,
given the well documented history of the US government
knowingly harming the health of civilians and military
personnel. One need only recall the Tuskegee syphilis
experiment where the government purposefully failed to treat
infected men in order to study the disease’s progression. Or
the widespread spraying of Agent Orange in Vietnam which
continues to devastate Vietnamese communities and debilitate
veterans, despite the herbicide’s known toxicity.
The government persists in its lies about DU because it can.
Beginning in 1950 when the US Supreme Court issued its
decision in Feres v. United States (340 U.S. 135), the
military has been immune from any kind of actions under the
Federal Tort Claims Act for harm to soldiers during their
active military service. Lt. Rudolph Feres was a soldier who
died in a barracks fire at Pine Camp, New York. His widow
sued the U.S. government, alleging unsafe conditions. In
denying her negligence claim, the U.S. Supreme Court
unanimously ruled that tort actions could not be brought
against the military for injuries to soldiers. (In a
companion case that was decided at the same time, the court
denied a claim against a military doctor who had left an
18by30 inch towel in a soldier’s abdomen during surgery.)
The “Feres Doctrine”, as it has come to be called, has given
the military free license to expose soldiers to whatever
harm it wants and leaves soldiers without recourse to legal
actions and the protections these would engender. A rule
that dealt with simple negligence cases has been dubiously
extended, such that it applies to the government knowingly
and intentionally exposing soldiers to harm. In 1987,
conservative Justice Antonin Scalia agreed, noting that
Feres had been wrongly decided. But change isn’t going to
happen until at least five Justices overturn the Feres
Doctrine or until Congress legislates change. There is no
current effort among either Republicans or Democrats to
change this law.
And what should we think of any government that ignored the
scientific findings and used this material indiscriminately?
How does this compare to the crimes of Pinochet or those
prosecuted at Nuremberg? Certainly they are worthy for
consideration as war crimes.
In 2002 a United Nations subcommission declared DU a weapon
of mass destruction and its use a breach of international
law. Nevertheless, the Bush Administration continues to
utilize this weapon.
And things may be worse than we think. The US Department of
Energy has recently admitted that military reactor waste has
been mixed with DU, making the new compound even more
deadly. (Nuclear waste includes plutonium, uranium236,
neptunium and other isotopes thousands of times more
radioactive than DU.)
One is left to wonder; will the selfproclaimed policeman of
the world ever be held accountable for its actions?
Sources: Discounted Casualties, The Human Cost of Depleted
Uranium by Akira Tashiro (Japan: The Chugoku Shimbun, 2001).
“Depleted uranium: Dirty bombs, dirty missiles, dirty
bullets” by Leuren Moret, SF Bay View, August 18, 2004.
“Weapons of SelfDestruction” by David Rose, Vanity Fair,
December 2004, pp. 204218. “Has Our Country Abandoned Them”
by Kenneth Miller, Life, November 1995, pp. 4661. “WHO
‘suppressed’ scientific study into depleted uranium cancer
fears in Iraq” by Rob Edwards, Sunday Herald, February 22,
2004. “Radiological toxicity of DU” by Kevin Baverstock,
Carmel Mothersill & Mike Thorne, (Repressed WHO Document),
November 5, 2001.
Matt Gonzalez is an attorney in San Francisco. He is a Green
Party member and the former President of the San Francisco
Board of Supervisors.
--
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30 DOE Watch: Manhattan project's fluorine poisoning of workers
The CFS Report. The special relationship of fluorine retention
in the body to youth and learning vs death and dying with CFS.
Fluoride toxicity determines death, sets up population booms, and
is the root cause for CFS and many other immune system disorders.
CFS, CFIDS, AIDS, GWS, GWI, and fluoride. Fluoride the enzyme
poison mechanism. Se-Glutathione enzyme vs toxic metal poisoning.
Cu-Zn-superoxide dimutase and free radical damage to cells. 2-5A
RNase L and ROS damage. Fluoride forms AlFx G-protein mimic with
that shut down the GSH and SOD enzymes of cells that are critical
for clearing toxic metals from the tissues and brain. Radiation
hormesis explained.
A DOE Watch Exclusive Report
The Manhattan Project's poisoning of workers and communities
with fluorine.
The DOE's coverup on CFS, Fluoride, and its massive effect on
human health.
THE CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME REPORT
Final Diagnosis: Environmental Toxic Pathway Analysis and Immune
System Cytokine Modality Provide Key Insight into Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome Mechanism and Etiology of Varied Pathogen Driven
Illnesses.
By: J. E. Phelps Copyright 2005
Abstract:
The cytokine signature of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is
similar to that seen in chemical injury, Gulf War Syndrome
(GWS), and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). CFS is shown to
have a Th2 cytokine humoral modality from the shut down of the
Th1 cellular defense. Th2 is an allergic antibody biased mode
that takes precedence as the Th1 cellular mode that regulates
pathogen infection internal to cells is exhausted. Illnesses for
Department Of Energy gas diffusion plant workers have this
modality and many similarities to CFS due to similar toxic
exposures. This report investigates the stance that toxic
materials drive disease and presents an underlying common
mechanism that has been overlooked and more recently suppressed.
The report will show that there are new highs in toxic induced
immune damage that lead to extreme free radical damage from
toxic metals retention, then a proliferation of unregulated
pathogens that further damage health. Analysis of the toxic
pathways of nuclear industry toxic metals point to cytokine
signatures that offer key insight into progression of these
cytokine activations leading to long term CFS. Beryllium metal
cytokine factors are presented as a model for other toxic metals
and chemicals that form insoluble products in the lymph nodes
due to shut down of GSH and SOD clearance enzymes which then
leads to long term cytokine triggering and shutting down the
macrophage pathogen destruction function. The beryllium-fluoride
G-protein model is then expanded into a general model for other
toxic metals and fluorides that damage GSH and SOD and share
biological concentration of cytokine triggering toxic materials
build up in the lymph nodes. This effect leads to continual
cytokine triggering and toxic damage to the macrophage cells
that perform pathogen destruction and antigen presentation
function. The discussion also takes into account the time line
of scientific discoveries that have allowed these insights into
CFS since its recent popularized discovery in the mid 1980's.
Key points that will be considered are the G-protein mimic
effects of beryllium and aluminum when compounded with fluorine
that mode lock the lymph node dendritic cells when GSH and SOD
are suppressed. Then the effect of fluoride compound breakdown
that sequesters increasing fluorine atom concentrations in the
bone marrow that in turn robs immune cell formation of essential
metals for enzyme protection. This report is a comprehensive and
broad based discussion illustrated with practical examples and
referenced to peer reviewed scientific journals used to show the
key effect in CFS and human immune health.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The human immune system is a complex system of dynamic cells
with many cytokine feedback factors that have been explored in
the last decade to reveal many of the mechanisms for illness.
The immune defense takes on two distinct modes as set up by the
stimulation of T helper cells, as triggered from the lymph
nodes. The cellular Th1 immune system profile is one designed to
control pathogens internal to cells and the humoral Th2 system
response controls external cell pathogens.[1] Study of the cell
factors and cytokine signaling yields an understanding of how
these factors lead to and control many illnesses, including
chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This report outlines a cellular
mechanism and a toxic pathway for damage to the immune system by
analysis of the cellular cytokine response from toxic damage,
which then leads to more progressive disease factors from loss
of pathogen regulation.
This discussion will time line the discovery of CFS, correlate
toxic environmental factors with CFS, and connect the cell
mechanisms to the prime factors driving the CFS immune
dysfunction process. The nuclear weapon materials research
offers key insight into the toxic pathways and cellular
responses that lead to these theories and conclusions. This
report reflects my research into viral and immune system effects
since 1980, with direct experience from the Oak Ridge, Tennessee
nuclear site. I, as an ORNL Sr. Staff, proposed that fluoride in
bone had an insoluble precipitate effect, a metals speciation,
on the essential trace metals for immune cells formed in the
bone mass. The effects of fluoride forming G-proteins would lock
up and shut down the lymph node immune defense process. Fluoride
is a potent enzyme poison due to its affinity toward trace
metals. This key effect has not been reported by ORNL and has
been suppressed since 1986 due to Oak Ridge liabilities from
toxic HF emissions. Presenting a key finding on fluoride toxic
effect and its cumulative mechanism in a public forum is the
purpose of this report.
This report is principally concerned with the lymph system, its
cytokine signaling, and how it responds to toxic exposure. Cell
and lymph system response is nothing new as even snake venom
toxin drives cytokine response and nitrogen oxide (NO)
generation.[2] Snake bites require light tourniquet pressure to
prevent circulation of snake venom in the lymph system and
around the body leading to death in some cases. Many biological
toxins are handled well by the lymph system, but many toxic
materials enter the same pathways and cause serious problems due
to insolubility problems of mineralization or turning to stone
in these critical zones. Oddly enough, it has been suggested
that the symbolic imagery connected with the Virgin Mary icon
standing with foot placed on a snake emanating from the Earth
and the snake biting the apple as symbolism for contamination
from the Earth's lower regions connected to disease and illness.
Religion symbolism from Noah is connected to the largest land
mass volcano on the Earth and the toxic emanations to health
effects on man and animals. Religion and Revelations even speak
to the asteroid called "wormwood" that poisoned the planet with
volcanic like toxins from the heat of interactions from land
impacts, or caused massive floods when they impacted oceans.
This report will take a multi-disciplined investigation, using
volcanology, asteroid terminal event toxic releases, history,
religion, nuclear plants, wars, and toxic research to look more
deeply into these health effects.
From the nuclear weapons production, Oak Ridge is one of the
most chemically impacted industry sites in the U.S. and many
toxic linked illness patterns are evident. The toxic material
research studies from the nuclear industry and Oak Ridge health
problems provide a clear and unique view for some of the
mechanisms for toxic driven immune activation in illnesses.
These studies, that are well known in the nuclear plants, will
be used to illustrate and prove the process of toxic induced
immune illnesses. Toxic material pathways into the human body,
how they retain or concentrate with time, and vector to
different organ systems play pivotal roles in disease etiology.
Some of these toxic material pathways directly affect the immune
system resistance and lead to viral disease etiology. Examining
these patterns and how they overlap CFS is the focus of this
report.
The term "CFS" (or CFIDS) made its national appearance in the
mid 1980's with the investigations of Dr. Paul Cheney concerning
sick persons in the area of Lake Tahoe, on the California and
Nevada border. Most of these CFS persons were fine one day and
came down with mononucleosis like illness the next, with flu
like symptoms persisting. In 1999, Cheney described the illness
as one that depleted glutathione, used much ATP, and showed a
very significant up regulation in an enzymatic pathway known as
the 2-5A RNase L.[3] Looking for toxic exposure factors, the
waters of Lake Tahoe are pristine, but the area is of volcanic
origin that contaminate some wells and soils with volcanic
materials. Well waters are often contaminated with higher levels
of arsenic, manganese, radium, radon, and fluoride than surface
waters. South Lake Tahoe has public water supplies from wells
that have metal contamination, often associated with volcanic
zones or mining. South Lake Tahoe water reports have specific
caution for immune compromised persons because of these
pollutants.[4]
Cheney's CFS Tahoe cluster diagnosis was made possible by
detection of new chemical bio-markers, but CFS is not new as it
appears to be symptomatically reported in 1750 and in other
terms in earlier periods.[5] It is also speculated that the
biblical story of Jesus healing the person by the well is even
earlier evidence of the illness. The Cheney / Tahoe
mononucleosis like illness is associated with swollen lymph node
from activation of EBV, HHV-6, and other viral pathogens that
are associated with follow on disease factors, like MS.[6, 7]
Glutathione (GSH) depletion is associated with the cellular
oxidant repair process and detoxification of tissues and it is
lowered by chemical and pathogen damage to mitochondria of cells
that manufacture ATP.[8, 9] Lowered GSH can hasten cell
apoptosis and is an indicator in chronic disease, cancer,
arthritis, and rapid aging.[10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15] Glutathione
is important in liver detoxification and in maintaining the
mucosa cells that line the intestine.[16, 17] Selenium
associated Glutathion depletion drives shifts in cytokine mode
from Th1 to Th2.[18]
The "2-5A RNase L" enzyme is part of the activation process for
the Th1 interferon cytokine that inhibits viral replication in
cells.[19] 2-5A RNase L is also important in the control of HIV
replication.[20] These bio-markers point out that control of
viral pathogens in the body have been compromised. The mechanism
from just these indicators is not well defined, but these are
indicators of immune cell toxic effects. There is a enzyme
chimera effect for CFS associated 2-5A RNase L where persons
with CFS produce a 37 kDa enzyme inside their white blood cells,
where normal persons produce a slower but more effective 83 kDa
enzyme. The lighter weight enzyme is faster in dissemination,
but less effective in killing viral components. The damage to
the RNase L enzyme follows damage to GSH and SOD, which clears
toxic metals that damage mitochondial function, produce
excessive ROS generation, and reduce ATP production.
The appearance of this lighter weight chimera of the 2-5A RNase
L enzyme sets up the factor for viral infections and in white
cells not being controlled. The 37 kDa enzyme does not kill
viral presence inside cells, nor does it kill many of the white
cells. This is the key to transmission for the viral spreading
in the white cells of the immune system and infecting many cells
in the body. The rise in the RNase L causes damage to the
mitochondria and ATP production. It also sets up the causation
for the high levels of NO in the cells that damage the mtDNA.
This effect sets up the debilitating fatigue connected with CFS
that follows directly upon the RNase L chimera. The principle
question then becomes what causes this enzyme of the white cells
formed in the bone marrow to mutate into a lesser effective
enzyme.
The basic mechanism of cell enzymes that police viral and
pathogen infections inside the cells is also seen from high
radiation effects. Typically the high ROS produced by external
gamma radiation will result in cell infection problems that are
treated with antibiotics. Mycoplasma's, viruse's, and bacteria's
become problems when RNase L becomes less effective due to high
rates of ROS damage. The very same effect on RNase L can be had
from the loss of GSH and SOD due to chemical factors acting on
G-protein channels shutting down its production. In this way,
chemical induced free radical damage and radiation induced free
radical damage are the same and additive toward damage to the
RNase L. Cancer tumors occur from the activation of endogenous
DNA viruses and the mutations of those viruses the radiation
induces. Vaccines also included cancer viruse like SV-40, which
can become active when cells loose their RNase L enzyme
protection. When the Rnase L enzyme is impaired by free radical
damage, cancer viruses can proliferate and even produce their
own GSH and SOD to promote their growth. Cancer viruses also
promote cytokine TNFa which sets up higher blood circulation
that help the tumors grow more rapidly. Cancer virus and tumors
proliferate only with ROS damage to the RNase L enzymes impair
the process that causes cell apoptosis or death AND when the
back up system of Th1 cytokine signaling impairs the macrophage
and T-cell protection system. Both failures often hinge on
damage to GSH and SOD from chemicals affecting the GSH G-protein
channel.
Cheney's patients were from an extinct volcanic zone with
contaminates in well water. From the study of volcanology, we
know volcanic zones have many of the toxic fluorides and metals
problems associated with mining and operation of Department Of
Energy (DOE) plants that emit metals and fluorides.[21, 22, 23]
Volcanoes have more explosive power from H2S than nuclear
weapons and produce toxic fallout and contamination problems
with acids, toxic metals, and toxic halogen compounds [i.e.:
calcium fluoride, hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride]. Meteor
events also present toxic emissions like those from volcanoes
and these same factors play dominant roles in species survival.
Meteors that hit the oceans cause massive waves as in the times
of Moses flood, and those that hit the land mass produce huge
levels of very toxic acids like HF. The Earth, for many
millennia, was bathed in distilled waters from the heat of the
sun that produced a thin layer of less toxic soils on the
planets surface and clean surface waters. Mining, industry, and
well drilling often compromise this natural toxic isolation
process and lead to health problems in man.
Volcanoes and glacial effects have long been associated with
essential trace metals availability in soils. Soils in the US
and other areas have been highly depleted of these essential
trace metals by over farming, over grazing, and by acid rain
effects. Before man's energy needs the chemical speciation and
solubility factors for these trace metals was determined by
sulfur from volcanic emissions. As man's energy needs have
become dominate; the hydrochloric, carbonic, and nitric acid
effects have grossly upset the metals speciation from that of
sulfur dominated. This highly affects grazing animals health
that are highly coupled to the soils via the grass uptake of
these trace metals. The change in metal speciation puts more
toxic and dangerous metals into the grazing animal's diets and
with this effect comes the "mad cow," scrappie, and prion linked
problems we see today. One can easily find cattle being highly
affected by toxic aluminum, increased manganese, mercury, and
other metals offset. In the US, the practice of feeding cows
bone meal had to be stopped because the bone sequestered these
toxic metals and fluorides and this was linked to the prion
formation.
Toxic emissions from volcanoes have been associated to
bio-markers such as porphirine and porphyrins, which are
diagnostic indicators of toxic cell damage effects from metals
and chemicals.[24] Porphyrin is the killing chemical inside NK
cells and when these cells are destroyed it releases higher
rates of the porphyrins in the blood. CFS causes lowered NK cell
population and this is a result of their porphyrin content and
RNase L ineffectivity toward viral infections. Persistent toxic
gas emissions of volcanoes kill animals and cause long term
defoliation of downwind areas. This is often connected to
chemical damage effects to GSH and SOD enzymes, which increases
retention of toxic metals and ROS damage in cells. Mining and
smelting operations often cause similar problems with acid run
off contaminating soil and water with metals and fluoride. It
should be noted that century's earlier volcanic zones were
connected with rapid spread of disease. An example is the
Hawaiian Islands and their native residents weakened immune
resistance to measles, syphilis, and other diseases, as
Europeans traded and socialized with them. It is noted in
history that in this population disease spread incredibly fast
and devastated the islands inhabitants, which suggested their
immune resistance was degraded by their volcanic environment.
Volcanic eruptions are even postulated to have caused the
downfall of the Egyptian City of Memphis from massive plagues.
It was these early associations that connected toxic material to
the weakening of the immune protection system making persons
vulnerable to opportunistic infection and endogenous viruses in
the body, as well as exogenous viral transmission. These early
observations suggested CFS had environmental and industrial
linked toxic contamination origins.
In other centuries toxic metals such as arsenic, lead, and
mercury were associated with health effects. Lead was connected
to the neurological hearing illnesses that Beethoven experienced
and even associated with the demise of the Roman empire due to
the lead food storage methods.[25] Lead promotes a Th1 type
cytokine response and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFa) that
will activate the macrophage's and pull particulate into the
lymph nodes.[26] The leading Th1 cytokine called TNFa promotes
macrophage activation. Persistent triggering of Th1 inflammatory
cytokines by toxic materials is linked to CFS factors like
headache, fever, myalgia, fatigue, and are toxic in high doses.
Here the pathway was via food supply with absorption via stomach
and gut and retention of metal oxides in the local lymph nodes.
Toxic metal retention and damage to the immune system is
associated with cancer vulnerability.[27, 28, 29] The effects of
arsenic in well water are associated with the rising cancer
rates in India. It was attempted to improve the biologically
polluted, surface public water supplies in India via drilling
wells, but this resulted in high arsenic public water. Arsenic
is well connected to lung, bladder, and skin cancer, but is a
treatment for liver cancer that impairs the mitochondria of
cancer cells.[30, 31] A similar attempt to avoid biologically
contaminated surface water in Africa presented wells with high
fluoride content. How these toxic materials distribute in the
body organs and inner cell effect is important to immune
resistance. A dominate factor for metals retention and lymph
node build up is linked to chemical damage to two essential
enzymes, GSH and SOD, which convert metals to sulfides and
excrete them via the liver's bile pathway.
A metal oxide analogy from the mining industry is connected to
the mechanism of a controversial anti-cancer drug called
laetrile. In special mining practices, cyanide chemicals are
combined with insoluble metal oxides in a process called in-situ
mining to form extractable soluble metal products. The cyanide
radical makes metal oxides soluble via replacement of the oxygen
radical. The cyanide radical is unique in its ability to render
metal oxides soluble and the effect is used in mining for
various metals and in the electroplating process. Some enzyme
processes mimic this effect in human chemistry. Cyanide radicals
are also drawn into the lymph nodes, where the increased
probability to react with metal oxides may reduce their
concentration. Lessening the lymph node concentrations of
insoluble metals then linked to the anti-cancer effect by
restoring lymph node cell function. It is suggested that the
biblical symbolism of turning to stone is a version of these
metal oxide ore minerals forming stone and impairing the lymph
system. The function of the immune system is central to the
control of cancer viruses, yet many studies are done with only
the cancer tumor cells in mind. The laetrile studies omit the
immune system effects and the metal loading effects in the lymph
nodes. Many B vitamins are also cyanide involved compounds that
may play a role in the metal detoxification process. Vitamin
B-17 and laetrile share the cyanide radical. Many grains contain
B-17 and over processing of foods tend to denature the natural
beneficial content. These vitamin processes are highly
controlled by the GSH enzyme's availability. Food processing and
cooking often deplete food of vitamins, enzymes, and cyanide
compounds. In the last 50 years, the industrial dominance of
metals in immune damage has been replaced by more dominant
chemicals, such as fluorides.[32, 33] This makes the effects of
laetrile of lesser benefit in cancer treatment. When fluoride
enters the picture, damage to the GSH and SOD process become
dominate in the toxic metal retention and ROS cellular damage
process.
These simple observations began my thesis for the mechanism for
disease from the impact of toxic metals on cells in the early
1980s. These observations qualify that many toxic metals are
linked to disease, now it remains to determine what quantity and
what processes are involved. It was observed that many toxic
heavy metals damage cells and activates immune system response.
The toxic cell damage triggers cytokine production and T-cells
that kill the damaged cell with hyper-oxygen products and
trigger macrophage's, which clean up the material and process it
with hyper-oxygen reduction chemistry.[34] The process results
in the accumulation of insoluble metal oxides in the macrophage
region of lymph nodes and can be seen in data from many toxic
metals. This biological accumulation of toxic metals is seen in
the research data for beryllium, silicon, plutonium, uranium,
and other insoluble metal oxides.[35, 36, 37] The effect is very
clear in research for lung damage from airborne toxic metals
pathways to lung that activate the lung inflammatory immune
response. Toxic materials in the lung activate the cytokine
production of TNFa that promote macrophage's, and can be seen
with radiation and for toxic metals. [38, 39, 40] Cytokine TNFa
is directly delivered to the mitochondria of cells and involved
in apoptosis / necrosis.[41] The mitochondria of cells play
important roles in cell energy production and hormonal and
cytokine messaging.
Beryllium is the most detailed studied toxic metal and makes an
excellent example for the model of how a toxic metal activates
the immune system.[42] Beryllium workers can become sensitive to
beryllium and become sensitized to breathing it as determined by
a lymphocyte proliferation test. With any addition exposures
persons can acquire a fatal disease called chronic beryllium
disease, where the lungs cells are damaged by continual
inflammation. This is often mediated with steroid inhaler
medication. The disease is often mis-diagnosed as asthma
initially due to similarity of symptoms. Beryllium is taken into
the lymph nodes via the action of macrophages and as the lymph
concentration builds it triggers the lymph nodes to make T-cells
and B-lymphocytes in response to the toxic beryllium metal.[43]
As the concentration in the lymph nodes builds the insoluble
metal oxides retain long term and keep the local lung lymph
system triggered long term in the Th1 inflammation mode. In this
Th1 State the lung uses much glutathione for cell repair
processes.[44] Since this is an effect local to the lungs, the
glutathione is not depleted in the whole body. The key element
for beryllium disease is that beryllium-fluoride compounds are
the worst and this effect is tied to the issue of their BeFx
G-protein effects toward shutting down GSH and SOD production
within cells. The effect shuts down the prime clearance enzyme
for the beryllium and the cell ROS repair process. The air
pathway for beryllium used in the nuclear weapons business is a
well developed model for the immune activation process, and
shows a local process that is highly related to indicators seen
in CFS. Sensitization to beryllium compounds happens after cells
in the lymph nodes undergo blast cell transformation. It is
clear that beryllium concentrations of beryllium toxic metal in
lymph nodes set up the cytokine triggering of the immune system.
Beryllium and fluoride can combine either in manufacturing
processes or spontaneously inside the human body. Beryllium and
fluorine combine to form dangerous BeFx compounds that mimic
G-protein triggers for human immune cells. The fluorine atom is
the most electronegative of the elements and when bonded to
these cell sites it cannot be undone. The vaccine business uses
a similar technique with vaccine adjuvants made from aluminum,
which forms an AlFx complex that also mimic the G-protein
trigger effects.[45, 46, 47] Here the effect seeks to program
the lymph node dendritic cells for long term memory of the
vaccine. It is this effect that tends to lock on the immune
system memory and set up long term immune sensitivity to metals
like beryllium, and cause the immune system's tolerance for
varied pathogens to become negatively affected.
Man's industrial effects have produced a systemic shift in the
nature of the planet's processes that have resulted in a serious
problem for the immune system. The rise of HCl in the
environment has freed more aluminum into the food chain, and man
uses aluminum in many places from vaccines to toothpaste.
Fluoride has risen in the environment and into man due to
similar aspects. Fluoride in the body tends to spontaneously
interact with trace metals and can form the AlFx compounds that
trigger the cellular G-protein channels that shut down GSH and
SOD production. Man has also introduced dioxin, PCB, Hg, DDT and
other chemicals that have risen in man's body and that interfere
with the G-protein channel that regulates GSH and SOD cell
production. 80% of the drugs make in the US are directed at
controlling G-protein channels in cells that correct for these
toxic induced effects on GSH and SOD. It is a multi-trillion
dollar industry, where one system pollutes and causes illnesses,
which the other attempts to correct for the toxic induced
damages using pharmacology methods.
Other toxic metals cause the same problems at concentrations
lower than that needed to kill the cells directly, as long term
cytokine activation causes serious health problems.[48] As the
metals concentrations build in the lymph nodes the TNFa cytokine
causes necrosis of the macrophage and other lymph nodes cells
and continual generation of activated T and B cells. If the
lymph node concentrations get too high this disables the
pathogen destruction function of macrophages. Beryllium oxide
particles principally involves the local lung lymph nodes, but
other toxic metals that are more soluble and enter the body via
air or food chain can impair lymph nodes near the intestine or
all the lymph nodes at once. As the macrophages are disabled it
leaves cell fragment products scattered around the tissues that
then bias the system toward a Th2 response in the long term. Th2
modality excretes IL-10, which further shuts down the macrophage
function and exasperates the effect. This leaves the body
vulnerable to inner cell viruses and other pathogens such as
mycoplasma.
Metal prosthetic joints in the body further illustrate the
effect of metal particulate concentrating into the lymph nodes
and this triggering inflammatory cells that loosen the bone with
high levels of peroxides.[49, 50] Metal particles of less than 1
micron can be carried into the lymph nodes via the macrophage's
and concentrate there.[51] The lungs are sensitive to many
different metal particles that can also set up the Th1
inflammation mode. The effect is intensified if the particles
from airborne exposure have an acid like coating that is
insoluble. Regulations have attempted to mediate these toxic
particle exposures, but has made further poor choices. Gasoline
refining eliminated lead in the 1980's because of this effect on
the population and replaced it with hydrogen fluoride (HF),
which has even worse cumulative factors and time integral dose
effect on the macrophage function. Rising levels of pesticides
in food and water, rising industrial emissions of HF all combine
to contribute to effects of GSH and SOD reduction leading to
toxic metal retention that trigger the cytokines and lead to CFS
cytokine Th2 modality in the long term. The worsening
environmental metal effects can be seen in even the surface
waters of the Great Lakes with their increasing levels of toxic
metals that can damage the immune system, produce allergy,
increases susceptibility to disease, and autoimmune
disorders.[52] Even pollution of rivers from fluorides added to
public water supplies harm salmon.[53] Animals and man can be
highly affected by toxic metals and their phagocytosis cell
ability severely impaired by low concentrations of metals, while
NK cell activity is not impaired.[54] It is these poorly
controlled pollutants that drive increasing rates of CFS,
cancer, and many immune linked illnesses.
The key etiology of the toxic accumulation effect can be
anticipated by the function of oxygen based chemistry of
stationary macrophage's in the lymph nodes acting with the
mobile macrophage's carrying toxic cell material from around the
body to these local lymph zones. This is an often overlooked
important and key effect to have build up of insoluble toxic
material directly in the critical signaling network of lymph
nodes that keeps the immune system cytokine triggered and supply
high oxidative stress directly in the lymph nodes. This effect
can lead to toxic metals damaging the ability of the body to
control pathogens and even to rising viral presence in the body
from endogenous and exogenous sources.[55, 56] For air
pollutants the lungs nodes are most affected and for food and
water pollution the stomach and intestine nodes are the
principle effect zones. A pivotal role is carried by the proper
function of the lymph node pathogen regulation mechanism. Simple
local inflammatory activation of the immune system results in
increased glutathione to aid in DNA repair, and long term global
activation results in depletion of glutathione. Decreased levels
of glutathione promote cell apoptosis / necrosis. Toxic's that
damage the liver cause a lack of glutathione for DNA repair.
The importance of a cell organelle called the mitochondria was
better defined with respect to disease mechanisms in the mid
1980's with its critical role as the cell energy mechanism and
the source of ATP.[57] These organelles were small cells within
cells with bacterial like DNA that were vulnerable to oxidation
effect, metals, and oxidative halogens.[58] GSH plays a strong
role in the production of ATP and mtDNA repair from oxidative
damage.[59, 60] CFS is well connected to lowered ATP levels.[61]
Mitochondrial damage is connected to nerve damage and aging.[62,
63] Mitochondria is how the body converts stored fat into energy
and damage to these areas of cells is linked to weight gain and
obesity factors that are high in the US. Fluorides have the
capacity to affect the thyroid T-3 hormone production and modify
cellular ATP production throughout the body as well as diminish
mitochondrial numbers in cells.[64] Depletion of ATP is
connected to the Th1 to Th2 switch seen in CFS and other
diseases.[65] High concentrations of toxic metals and fluorides
in the lymph nodes will highly impact the mitochondria of these
cells. This leave little doubt that the worst case for
mitochondria damage due to toxic concentrations is the lymph
nodes and that this process is directly connected to CFS and
other immune dysfunction illnesses.
The role of GSH and SOD and the involvement with mitochondria
and ATP explains the issue of "radiation hormesis." Radiation
hormesis was seen in areas like Japan after the bombs were
dropped and it promoted more rapid tree growth as shown by tree
growth ring data. The increase in radiation in the area promoted
the cells and its feedback systems to call for more SOD to be
produced to handle the free radical damage effects. SOD and GSH
go hand in hand and to increase SOD the GSH levels are naturally
increased as well. The high GSH levels cleared the toxic metals
from the cells to greater extents that promoted less destructive
mitochondria interaction from the metals and greater amounts of
ATP generation. The higher levels of ATP promoted more rapid
cell growth and is the interaction mechanism for radiation
hormesis.
The enzymes GSH and SOD are also the prime clearance and repair
mechanism for the brain. Altered levels of GSH and SOD are tied
to all of the mental illness problems, and also to factors of
Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and etc. It is well known that the
metal lithium is used in the treatment for mental illnesses and
what the lithium drugs promote is higher levels of SOD being
made in the cells to repair the ROS damage to cells. The ROS
damage to cells stems from toxic metals like mercury or the
combination of aluminum and fluorine forming the AlFx type
G-protein. The lithium atoms are believed to interact with other
metals in the G-protein channels that direct the production of
SOD by the cells. This process of lithium on SOD appears to not
up-regulate the GSH levels needed to clear the brain of the
toxic metals, so the lithium drugs have to be used often to
control the mental illness.
One of the prime CFS symptoms is that of frequent diarrhea and
this again is associated with the levels of GSH and SOD in the
cells of the gut walls. Persons with CFS and GWI generally have
impaired levels of GSH and SOD enzymes. This effect is made much
worse in the local area of the gut when these persons drink
excessive levels of sugar-laden colas or other sugary foods.
Processed sugar is a GSH and SOD antagonist and this promotes
high levels of free radical damage to the cells of the gut wall.
The high rates of free radical damage causes the gut cells to
sluff-off with lots of water much as a blister type effect from
a burn. The same type effect occurs from the radiation
intestinal death effects for acute radiation doses that make the
same levels of ROS damage to the cells. The extreme damage from
the high levels of ROS damage also cause damage to the blood
vessels in the colon and cause bleeding hemorrhoid problems and
loss of blood and essential trace metals. The high levels of ROS
damage in these local cells also damages the 2-5A RNase L enzyme
resulting in lots of local cells having active viral infection
problems that involve the local lymph system. The problems of
reduction in the cell production of GSH and SOD well define the
mechanism of problems like persistent diarrhea and even the
issue of loss of cognitive abilities from similar problems in
the brain.
These intestinal effects are even spoken of in the Biblical
Narrative with recognition of guts like stinking sulfur bogs.
The Biblical Narratives also speak to the use of the plant
called "Aloe Vera" as a type of medicine. Aloe Vera has very
high levels of both the enzymes GSH and SOD. The high levels of
SOD in the plant is why it is often used so effectively to treat
burns, as it corrects for the free radical damage effects to
cells. Persons seeking to correct for the free radical damage of
their intestinal tract often consume Aloe Vera juice.
Another interesting association from the free radical effect
produced from the loss of GSH and SOD from toxic materials
exposures is that of nitric oxide production being increased.
Rising levels of nitric oxide (NO) in the tissues promote sexual
arousal and this is the effect produced by the drug called
"Viagra." When the Manhattan Project was begun in the 1940s the
plants in Oak Ridge had such a problem with workers having sex
on the job that all the plants office and lab area frosted glass
were changed to clear glass to cut down on these problems in the
work force. The NO effect was particularly strong at the plants
that released large amounts of hydrogen fluoride (K-25 and
Y-12), that cuts GSH and SOD production via the combination with
aluminum forming the AlFx G-protein. There is extensive evidence
from the Manhattan Project and from the US Dept. of Energy (DOE)
on the problems associated with toxic releases affecting the
cellular levels of GSH and SOD leading to illnesses.
Oak Ridge is an interesting place to study the effects of GSH
and SOD suppression via occupation chemical exposures, as it has
so many toxic materials that fall into this class of enzyme
damaging chemicals. Oak Ridge lost some 2 million pounds of
mercury from its lithium operations and this affects both
workers and a large area into which the mercury escaped. Oak
Ridge lost huge amounts of PCBs into area creek and burned PCBs
to release dioxin. Oak Ridge and the local TVA power plants
released huge amounts of hydrogen fluoride into plant and town
areas. All of these pollutants are well known to damage the
production of GSH and SOD, and often the workers in specific
areas have health problems from the particular workplace
chemical toxic of interest. The collective sum of all these
chemical agents that damage GSH and SOD is the reason the Oak
Ridge area is highly affected by chemical injury problems.
Toxic metal and fluoride releases are connected to the Oak Ridge
K-25 gas diffusion plant and a number of workers were noted to
be affected by symptoms similar to chronic fatigue syndrome. Gas
diffusion plant workers with CFS like symptoms number in the
hundreds. The K-25 gaseous diffusion plant lost huge amounts of
toxic hydrogen fluoride (HF) to the air of the plant and region
and was discovered by questioning workers about processes and
releases. Other HF releases from the X-10 "Molten Salt Reactor
Experiment" and the Y-12 UF-4 "Salt Shop" operations provided
similarly affected workers and correlation to HF toxic effect
due to cumulative low level exposures. The large losses of the
K-25 plant exposed not only workers, but also downwind residents
of the plant to fluorides. Fluorides were highly suspected as
area pine trees, which are very vulnerable to fluorides, were
showing impact. Fluorides damage the GSH and SOD enzymes of pine
trees and acts much like dioxin, which works via this enzyme
process to create ROS damage in plants. There was both air /
lung pathway effects, soil contamination / food pathways into
the gastrointestinal system, and ground and surface water
pathways into communities. These pathways for fluorides
connected them with the CFS like symptoms and asthma seen in
workers and communities. Asthma is directly connected to reduced
GSH and SOD. The workers had high levels of calcium that is
indicative of fluoride exposure.[66] They also had high
retention of metals and high porphyrin. Fluorides tend to be
accumulated (integrated) over a lifetime and the same net dose
occurs from a ten-unit dose over one year or that of a one unit
dose over ten years.
Fluorides cause some of the worst damage to the immune system
with very low concentrations. Industrial fluoride emission in
Germany in the late 1800s was perhaps the first chemical to
produce worker and community health problems. Fluoride is
connected to renal stone formation via insoluble calcium
fluoride formation, much like what happens with metals in lymph
nodes.[67] Veterinarians warn against using fluoride toothpaste
on animals and with the knowledge of the lymph node effects
fluoride tooth pastes and fluoridated public water become
dangerous to public health. Industrial fluoride emission was
linked to asthma and to arthritis.[68, 69, 70] Fluoride workers
also show their cytokine response biased toward the Th2 in the
long term.[71] Fluorides impair the macrophage's at very low
concentrations and the effect is strongest in the lymph nodes
from the insoluble product effect that is often combined with
metals and free radical synergy effects.[72, 73, 74, 75]
Fluorides cause swelling of the mitochondria indicating damage
to ATP processes.[76] Hydrogen fluoride sets off inflammation in
lungs.[77, 78] Fluorides toxic effects set up the same mechanism
as seen in the beryllium model. Fluorides are pulled into the
lymph nodes and the affinity of fluoride for calcium produces an
insoluble precipitate that is similar to the effects caused by
the insoluble metals. The effect sets up TNFa and hyper-oxygen
damage that locally lowers glutathione in the lymph cells. TNFa
promotes viral RNA replication. Increasing viral infection in
the type I macrophage's promotes more TNFa and this is
multiplied by the repeating effect of cells in the lymph system.
This activation of the Th1 process also sets up a switch to Th2
mode slowly as the macrophage's stop working and foreign cell
products accumulate in the tissues that trigger the Th2 mode.
Th2 suppressor effects on Th1, impaired ATP, glutathione, and
other effects contribute to the mode switch.[79] Th2 mode
involves IL-10 that further depresses and shuts down the
macrophage action and locks in the Th2 mode.
This lymph node / mitochondria impact thesis became a toxic
pathway mechanism for immune dysfunction in 1986 that explained
the process for all immune linked diseases and even aging /
longevity factors. The thesis was that insoluble toxic material,
metals and fluoride predominately, accumulated in the lymph
nodes and disabled this pathogen destruction mechanism and the
toxic presence set up a continuous cytokine response in the
lymph system that keeps the immune system triggered and allows
pathogen presence.[80] In the early stages of viral activation,
a Th1 profile with TNFa is often seen and in a normal immune
response these levels control the virus.[81] Internal cell
viruses such as EBV, CMV, HHV-6, mycoplasma, cancer viruses,
HIV, and etc. can run out of control with a system biased toward
Th2. The toxic material concentrations triggered the
inflammation effects that cause cell apoptosis, necrosis,
consume glutathione, etc. Add in pathogenic components and the
outcome is further modified. HIV spends cell energy and promotes
TNFa and IL-10, which helps in the demise of T-cells as the
disease progresses due principally to the loss of macrophage
activity from the IL-10.[82]
The 1991 Gulf War exposed thousands of veterans to various toxic
materials that have long retention in the body and set up the
same conditions as the toxic metal effects in the lymph nodes.
Many of these Gulf War Veterans experience the symptoms of CFS
and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).[83] Gulf War persons
were exposed to HF via hydrolysis of sarin and soman nerve
gases, to glutathione depleting insecticides and oil emissions,
and to toxic metals from vaccines (Al and Hg) and DU. They also
are biased toward the Th2 profiles because of the similarity to
the industrial pollution that drives CFS. They were exposed to
toxic metals in the form of DU and mercury preservative in Th2
promoting vaccines. They were exposed to halogens in the form of
bromine from PB tablets, excessive chlorides from water
treatment, various pesticides, and fluorides from nerve
gases.[84] Recent studies have shown that those exposed to
chemicals have brain damage.[85] CFS affected persons also show
brain damage.[86] Gulf War Syndrome (GWS) persons also have
fibromyalgia similar to CFS.[87] The pain is driven by loss of
sodium channel and ATP in nerve cells, and the calcium rich
myelin of nerves is high in fluoride retention that drives this
effect. It is not a single chemical factor analysis that solves
the illness toxic driven equation, but various toxins acting in
the same pathway to disable the lymph system's critical enzymes
(GSH, SOD, RNase L) that best explains GWS. This war was the
toxic equivalent of hell that dosed many there with 30 years of
industrial and environmental pollutants that aged them with
health effects to 60 years old females. There is one central
etiology mechanism involving chemical damage to GSH and SOD
levels leading to increased toxic metals retention in the lymph
nodes and cells triggering the cytokine response. The immune
dysfunction comes from multiple contaminates acting via a common
mechanism that allow varied illness outcomes as determined by
exogenous and endogenous viral predisposition's and other
opportunistic pathogens.
Food processing and preparation play a strong role in the
vitamin and free radical effects in the intestine that affect
these cells and their local lymph nodes. Foods processing and
cooking destroy most of the nutrients in food. Raw and uncooked
living vegetable foods supply more vitamins, as compared to
cooked vegetables or fried food.[88, 89, 90] Cooked food has
long been associated with delivery of free radicals from
foodstuffs to the stomach and intestines and this effect causes
some excess production of white blood cells, called digestive
leukosis. High temperature fried food supplies the most free
radical content and highest toxic exposure due to
bio-concentration in the food chain. Raw and uncooked foods
don't produce these free radical effects and provide better
delivery of enzymes and vitamins, as well as fiber to detoxify
the system. Raw food diets aid in mediation of CFS, cancers, and
other immune illnesses because of these vitamin and reduced free
radical factors. Raw vegetables supply glutathione that helps to
keep the metals clearance of tissues and brain working to avoid
the build up of toxic metals due to increased biological
half-life of the toxic metals from glutathione impairment.
The raw food verses cooked food is also involved with the
biblical issues of Genesis. Animal foods add a level of
bio-concentration of toxic material from airborne contamination
of the animal food chain. Cooking vegetables or animal products
produces free radicals from the pollutants and pesticides that
can retain more easily in the body. Vegan diets also make the
intestine more basic, which results in less immune activation
and less absorption of toxic metals. A shift of the blood pH
toward acid contributes to higher toxic metals retention because
it impairs the rate of metals clearance by the kidney. Because
of these effects, the raw uncooked vegan diet is connected
toward effective intervention for fibromyalgia, rheumatoid,
heart, and cancer.[91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96] Vegan diets also
alter the fecal bacteria levels and bacterial fatty acid
generation.[97, 98] The toxic load and nutrient supply in the
intestines is highly associated with immune illnesses and long
term effects result in leaking gut syndromes. The quick heating
pasteurization of milk also produces toxic effect.[99] Raw food
diets promote illness recovery. One must acknowledge that most
produce in the US is still short of the needed beneficial trace
metals that have been depleted by poor farming methods, even in
the organic farming realms. Serious persons should shift diets
to include sea vegetables to enhance their essential trace
metals nutrients.
Raw and uncooked vegetables promote better coupling of the human
nutrient absorption systems for uptake of the essential trace
metals (selenium, zinc, copper), which help to form the immune
repair system with enzymes (GSH, SOD, RNase L) and also helps to
remove fluorine from the body and bone mass. Soils in the US
have become increasing depleted of these essential trace metals
due to acid rain and over-farming without replacement of these
metals. Glacial and volcanic effects placed these essential
trace elements there, and the effects of industrial acid rains
remove or worsen their availability to the food chain. The
depletion of these trace metals sets up a rise in the rate of
fluorine retention in the bone masses, where the immune system
cells are formed. This effect starves the immune system cells
formed in the bone mass of the essential metals needed for
proper cell DNA repair and resistance against pathogen
infections. This effect of fluorine rising in the bone mass is
directly connected to the HIV infection process via loss of
manganese. The effect also sets up the shrinkage of the thymus
gland from these metals depletion effects on the immune cells.
Plant cells and enzymes closely match those in animals and
humans, and prove useful in helping return some of the enzyme
functions in fluoride affected persons. It sometimes takes 10
years of toxic exposures from materials like fluoride to set up
the cellular stress conditions that make for CFS. It also takes
around 10 more years to turn around the bone burden of fluoride
and get the cellular damage and enzyme processes back up to near
normal. The bone retention of fluoride sets up a very long
recovery period for those that chose to successfully modify
their nutrition and healthy eating habits.
There is more that supports the conclusion that the toxic
loading in the lymph nodes shut down the monocytes /
macrophage's and is the pivotal problem with HIV.[100] HIV
transmission and infections appear most prevalently in the
intestine and its local lymph system. Here the toxic load of the
food and water chain come into play with cytokine factors and
lymph node effect. The intestinal region is the most affected
from cooked food free radicals and the uptake of toxics in the
food and water chain. Regions in Africa with the highest
fluoride in well water and food have the largest problem with
HIV transmission.[101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106] Many of the high
fluoride regions follow the east African Rift Valley zone that
is lined with volcano and seismic zones. In many of these areas
the persons have frosty white teeth from dental fluorosis and
many are disabled by age 40. This is significant because
fluoride toxic effects set up cytokine profiles that HIV
transmission and growth require with TNFa in the lymph nodes and
loss of macrophage / monocyte performance driving Th2 bias in
the intestines and body as a whole.[107] The TNFa cytokine
promotes the viral proliferation of HIV.[108]
The rise of fluorides in the body is the principle trigger for
HIV infections due to the fluoride in the bone mass upsetting
the beneficial trace metal concentrations for cellular enzymes.
HIV shuts down the 2-5A RNase L enzyme pathway in cells, so the
fatigue associated with CFS is missing when HIV enters the
equation. Fluoride in the bone mass robs the immune cells that
form there of the essential metal manganese that is needed to
block reverse transcripion of HIV in cells.[109] This effect
sets up the high rates of infectivity in the lymph systems
immune cells by HIV, with the virus setting up the higher rates
of TNFa that promote rapid growth. HIV is highly sequestered in
the lymph nodes of the gut region, where the highest exposure
due to fluorides affects the lymph nodes and bone mass. The high
level of mtDNA damage from metals promotes excessive NO
production and damage factors.
HIV, as it infects more cells in the body, sets up its own
cytokine signatures that become the additional factors on top of
the toxic effects that keep it from being regulated. HIV also
produces IL-10, which suppresses macrophage action.[110]
Impaired monocyte / macrophage function is highly associated to
HIV progression and pathology for other viral infection.[111]
Rising IL-10 levels that suppress macrophage action directly
connect to the loss of CD-4+ T cells.[112] These T-cells are
preferentially attacked due to the gp120 bonding site on T-cells
that promotes HIV cellular transmission into these cells. The
early AZT treatment acted more to destroy cell mitochondria than
to oppose HIV replication.[113, 114] HIV always involves
activation of other viruses and these can worsen the cytokine
activation and AIDS progressions.[115] HHV-7 is often activated
in HIV infected persons and the lymph nodes are seen to be the
site of reactivation.[116] This leaves little doubt that the
failing lymph node effects play a central role in HIV
proliferation. This can also be seen in the case of cancer
viruses where the failing lymph node cellular regulation allows
cancer metastasis of lymph nodes and helps to spread the cancer
viral infection. The same effect also spreads HIV and other
viruses, rather than regulate and destroy them. The HAART
treatment for HIV lowers the AZT dose and avoids using TNFa
mechanisms that promotes HIV transcription and this has almost
rendered HIV a chronic survivable disease, with many having near
normal life-span with non-detectable HIV in their blood. The
principle problem with HIV and the immune system is that TNFa
triggers it and loss of manganese sustains its replication. The
key factor is macrophage and monocyte enzyme performance for
regulation of HIV, with the exposure to fluorides dominating
this performance in many countries.
The dominate effects of the fluorine atom's affinity toward
metals in the body is easily established via the fluorine
deposition rates in the bone mass and other calcium rich
tissues. Fluoride absorbs into the calcium phosphate or
hydroxyapatite of the bone mass, as well as the hydroxyapatite
in the pineal gland, where the serotonin / melatonin hormone
process is antagonistically affected.
Fluorides rise in the bone mass contributes to the depletion of
selenium needed for making the enzyme Se-glutathione and the
copper and zinc needed to produce Cu-Zn superoxide dismutases or
SOD. [117, 118, 119] Fluoride antagonism toward selenium also
upsets the thyroid autoimmune hormone process. [120, 121] The
depletion of these enzymes contributes toward the retention of
toxic metals (Hg, Cd) from acid rain effects on soil and food
chain uptake. The retention of these toxic metals damages the
cellular mtDNA and ATP production levels of cells due to the
mutated enzyme RNase L. Fluoride's affinity toward beneficial
trace metals damages literally 100s of enzyme processes that
lead eventually toward poor health, illness, and death.
GSH or Se-glutathione supplies a sulfur atom for toxic metals to
bind that renders to them the same solubility factors as were
dominate when the Earth's metals were formed from volcanic
dominated sulfur releases. The effects of HCl dominated Acid
Rain are upsetting the soils metals speciation and increasing
the levels of metals availability from the change from the
sulfur domination. This results in damage to the Cu-Zn SOD as
metallic elements like manganese compete against the
copper-zinc. The combination of rising fluoride and acid rain
set up loss of GSH and change of metals speciation for the SOD
that sets up the problems leading to prion and mad cow problems.
Chemicals like DMSO that supply sulfur atoms to bind metals deep
into tissues and the brain have been shown to reverse the
manganese amyloid plaques associated with prion diseases.
The fluoride damage to the enzyme processes like glutathione
(GSH) and others like it set up factors that result in retention
of the toxic metals such as mercury, cadmium, lead, nickel, and
others. [122] This results in the appearance of persons with
high fluorine effects having heavy metal poisoning. The fluoride
effect driving the retention of metals like mercury add
dramatically toward the nervous system damage and loss of
T-cells. The loss of GSH and other clearing enzymes results in a
see-saw like effect where the beneficial trace elements such as
selenium, zinc, magnesium, and copper are depleted and the
harmful metals like mercury, lead, cadmium are increased. [123,
124, 125] Such observations often lead to chelation type
therapy, which needs to be done carefully with reintroduction of
beneficial mineral cocktails and keeping GSH levels preserved or
increasing. This type effect is readily seen in the DOE K-25 gas
diffusion plant workers exposed to HF associated with Oak Ridge,
Tennessee.
The reduction of GSH for removing toxic metals via the bile
pathway shifts toxic metals into the kidneys and slows the
clearance of all toxic metals due to the pH effects on clearance
of metals by kidney cells, which promotes blood pH shifts toward
metabolic acidosis. Kidney damage and heart damage go hand in
hand because of this relationship with build up of toxic metals
within the body due to loss of GSH levels. Heart disease and
kidney disease always go hand in hand, as high blood pressure
from arterial disease causes renal failure. The cholesterol
build up on arteries is directly associated with toxic metals /
fluorides adhering to the arterial walls and the cholesterol
repair mechanism attempting to repair the problems. These are
processes that are the normal outcome of old age, but the onset
of these old age factors is a direct function of the GSH
impairment from both natural and industrial exposures. Cancers
and the neurological outcomes are the outcome of the same
process of loss of GSH and SOD with age due to environmental
accumulation.
Environmental legislation has slowed some of the toxic effects
from the chemicals that damage GSH and SOD enzyme levels. The
Government has not been clear as to why DDT, PCB, Dioxin, and
varied chemicals have been banned, but the major reason has been
to slow down the toxins that damage GSH and SOD enzymes. It is a
case of not enough or soon enough, as the problems continue to
mount. Eating fish has been suggested to be limited to once a
week over the same problems with mercury. The current trend is
that industry is being protected, while the citizens have been
increasing affected. The systemic health problems due to these
many chemicals and damage GSH and SOD enzymes show up clearly in
areas like Oak Ridge and the toxic releases and vaccine problems
from the Gulf War.
The analysis of the trace metals factors leads again to the
metals speciation shifts due to fluorine's presence in the body
and bone marrow. Here the issues of the Old World belief in the
trace metal copper being linked to eternal life come into play.
Copper is grouped with silver and gold in the valence column of
the Periodic Table. Examination of the elemental gold reveals
that in its Gold +0 metallic state that it very non-reactive
with most ions, with exceptions being mercury via the amalgam
effect and fluorine due to the high electronegative effect. Gold
colloid particles would become a sort of "teflon bullet" and be
able to migrate past brain and cellular membranes and become
effective in the removal of mercury from the tissues and brain,
as well as aid in the removal of fluorine itself. This concept
stems from ancient alchemical texts and the science arts from
Egypt and plays a strong role in early religious beliefs and
practices leading toward higher brain functioning and longevity.
Similar concepts called "acupuncture" for pain therapy using
metallic needles of copper, silver, and gold inserted into
tissues are associated with the same fluorine and mercury
removal concept. These concepts are applicable toward treatment
for CFS and other fluorine induced illnesses.
It is these factors that set the stage for the appearance of CFS
in volcanic zones like the Lake Tahoe region, as found by
Cheney. The loss of ATP, the depletion of GSH, and the
appearance of multiple endogenous viruses in the body are the
direct result of the synergistic effects of rising fluorides on
the beneficial trace metals needed for the proper functioning of
the human immune system. Fluorides in the body cause the loss of
the beneficial trace metals required for proper enzyme
protection of cells, and the rise of the toxic metals that
damage mtDNA and ATP production. The effects set up increased
rates of cellular damage from NO and other oxidation effects
(ROS). The net result is called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The
mechanism is common too not only CFS, but to HIV infectivity and
the process leading to cancers. Fluoride causes acidosis of the
body and with this comes even greater loss of ability to clear
toxic metals by the kidneys and the high levels of metals damage
that set up cancer by loss of immune system regulation.
In Conclusion, immune system diseases are caused by poor
environmental, industrial, and agricultural practices bringing
toxic material into contact with the air, food and water chain
leading to animals and humans. The principle toxic offenders are
fluorides (HF) and its halogen family relatives, closely
followed by toxic metals (Hg), and chemicals (dioxin, PCB, DDT)
that impact GSH and SOD. The leading damage vector is via GSH
and SOD enzymes leading to toxic metals damage to the cell
mitochondria of lymph node macrophage cells of the Th1 driven
cellular defense immune system. The failing RNase L enzyme
leaves cells infected with the pathogens seen in chemical plant
workers, CFS, GWS, MCS, and HIV. The critical or processional
pivotal event leading to this is the accumulation of toxic
products in the lymph nodes and fluoride in the bone mass that
robs the immune cells of essential DNA and mtDNA repair enzymes.
This effect produces the net aging effect of the body, as it
sets the net cellular degradation from unregulated pathogens.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Med Rev. 2003 May;8(2):106-28.
123. Gregus, Z., Varga, F., (1985) Role of glutathione and
hepatic glutathione S-transferase in the biliary excretion of
methyl mercury, cadmium and zinc: a study with enzyme inducers
and glutathione depletors. Acta Pharmacol Toxicol (Copenh),
56(5):398-403 1985 May.
124. Gregus, Z., Stein, A. F., Varga, F., Klaassen, C. D.,
(1992) Effect of lipoic acid on biliary excretion of glutathione
and metals. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol, 114(1):88-96 1992 May.
125. Ballatori, N., Clarkson, T. W., (1985) Biliary secretion of
glutathione and of glutathione-metal complexes. Fundam Appl
Toxicol, 5(5):816-31 1985 Oct.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Author:
The author formed and directs the Magnum-Opus Project to correct
and expose the wrongs the Manhattan Project and the abuses of
openness in national security. He is former Senior Development
Staff of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and has direct experience
with some of the most toxic materials from the nuclear industry.
He worked on toxic site remediation, radiation detection,
invented the USRADS survey system, and won ORNL significant
event award. He discovered high levels of hydrogen fluoride
emissions from the gas diffusion plants and noticed the link to
CFS like illnesses in the worker and local community
populations. He defined the basic mechanism for cancer, CFS, and
HIV in national security circles in the 1980's. He claims his
inspiration for the discovery came from the icon imagery of
volcanism connected to the story of the Ark and the
environmental imagery associated with Mary controlling the
poisons from the Earth entering the food chain. Author says
enzyme, bone, and lymph immune system mechanism information was
suppressed for more than a decade by industry control of
research, negligence on the part of CDC, ATSDR, and EPA, and
criminal cover up on the part of the DOE. He purposely chose
public publication of his work to express the need for
preventive and alternative medicine to take a more balanced
stance against AMA and pharmaceutical based dominance and
excessive profiteering in medicine.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
RETROSPECTIVE: The process of discovery of the principle failure
system in Human Health.
The aftermath for the Manhattan Project is the fitting setting
for the discovery of the principle failure mechanism leading to
cancer, CFS, immune illnesses, and AIDS. The Manhattan Project
discovered early on the acute effects of radiation due to ROS
forming in the marrow death, intestinal death, and nervous
system death effects. The studies in Oak Ridge also found that
sub-lethal radiation exposures lead to the need for antibiotics
to protect the person from the immune system loosing its ability
to protect against viruses, mycoplasma, and other infections.
The 1980s brought on the problems of AIDS and HIV nearly
simultaneously, and the research in this period identified the
loss of glutatione (GSH) and superoxide dimutase (SOD) enzymes
connected with CFS. The glutathione metals clearance mechanism
also pinned down that toxic metals upset the cell mitochondria
processes leading to high rates of ROS from the mitochondria ATP
production. CFS would involve endogenous DNA viruses, HIV
exogenous retrovirus from monkeys, and cancer the radiation
mutation of activated endogenous viruses. The entire process for
CFS, AIDS, and cancer was uniquely defined by three simple
enzymes: GSH, SOD, and 2-5A RNase L.
With the discovery of the function of the 2-5A RNase L enzyme in
controlling the internal cell viral infections the association
of the metals induced ROS and the radiation induced ROS paths
crossing became highly evident. The discovery that these three
enzymes dominated the failings of the immune system from either
radiation or toxic metals was fully discovered in the mid-1980s
at Oak Ridge National Laboratory by Jim Phelps.
Jim Phelps' discovery of this principle mechanism for illnesses
began when his father became sick while working as a uranium
machinist at the Y-12 plant and was highly exposed to PCBs used
as a uranium cutting tool coolant. This lead to gall bladder
problems, which are directly connected with PCB exposures. The
Y-12 managers moved Jim Phelps father from the dirty uranium
cutting operations to the 9201-1 buildings cleaner operation.
Jim Phelps' Division at ORNL designed the TSCA incinerator for
the K-25 plant in the 1980s and he discovered the issues behind
the need to ban PCBs and Dioxin were due to cumulative damage
effects to the enzymes GSH and SOD, which eventually lead to
free radical damage to the RNase L enzyme's effectiveness and
viral infection problems within cells. Jim Phelps' dad came down
with Parkinson's and had to take early retirement from Y-12, and
the mechanism of glutathione was the main clearance mechanism
for toxic metals and chemicals from the brain. Jim Phelps
quickly spotted this as associated with his father's progressive
illness pattern from his occupation exposures at Y-12.
With that mechanism defined, it was a short time before the
problems of hydrogen fluoride (HF) and other toxins were
identified as upsetting the GSH and SOD levels. HF effects were
quickly connected to the high rates of thyroid illness seen in
the work force due to accumulation of mercury in the thyroid
gland leading to thyroid cancer like problems normally
associated with radiation damage.
These were the natural order of events that lead to the major
discovery for the causes of cancers, CFS, immune disorders, and
even AIDS in the mid-1980s at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
by Jim Phelps.
Jim Phelps was the first to connect that HF emissions from the
Oak Ridge plants impacted GSH and SOD, and that this effect was
becoming worse from coal plant emissions of HF. The effect was
leading to problems of "Mad Cow" and "BSE" in even grazing
animals. Jim Phelps proposed the mediation factor by spraying
titanium dioxide from planes to offset the problem in grazing
animals.
This idea became the start of the so called "Chemtrails"
activities and top secret compartmented research at LLNL on the
rising problem in animals. Jim Phelps also discovered an
atmospheric injection vector involving HF and H2SO4 in
combination with hydrocarbons in the air that dominated the
global warming effects.
Jim Phelps discovery that all of medicine comes down to damage
factors from environment and industry to these three principle
enzymes proved highly embarrassing to the Govt., Industry, and
AMA, to the point that the AMA styled medicine could be forced
out of business and charged with malpractice on a national
scale. This began the massive cover up for this discovery that
could well change the world, if it became public knowledge. Jim
Phelps' discovery not only showed that the common cold could be
made extinct, but that man could be made to have the Biblical
longevity of Genesis. His discovery even impacted the
interpretations for religion and exposed massive problems there.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************************
31 Hawk Eye: IAAP back on federal agenda
Friday, June 24, 2005 Site updated daily at 11 a.m. CST
Industrial radiographers' health topic of St. Louis discussion.
By KILEY MILLER
kmiller@thehawkeye.com
It's not finished yet.
A federal panel in charge of reviewing radiation illnesses among
the nation's nuclear weapons workers will once again take up the
Iowa Army Ammunition Plant next month.
But this time, members of the Advisory Board on Radiation and
Worker Health gathering in St. Louis won't be talking about the
thousands of men and women who assembled nuclear weapons
components at the Middletown plant during the Cold War.
Instead, they will hash over the dangers faced by industrial
radiographers, a tiny subgroup of employees who used X–ray
machines to peer inside conventional weapons looking for chinks
and defects.
The advisory board meets July 5 to 7 at Chase Park Plaza Hotel,
212–232 N. Kingshighway Blvd. IAAP is on the first–day docket
for 5:15 p.m., with a public comment period following at 7:30
p.m.
A small number of industrial radiographers — "Certainly less
than 10," according to Marek Mikulski, a researcher at the
University of Iowa — worked in the energy section of the plant
from May 1948 to March 1949 and have since been diagnosed with
cancer. They were included in a wider petition filed by other
former weapons workers seeking automatic compensation from the
federal government for radiation–related cancers.
The advisory board got behind the bulk of the petition two
months ago, determining that anyone who worked for the
Department of Energy or Atomic Energy Commission at the plant
from 1949 to 1974 likely encountered dangerous radioactive
materials and should get government aid for their cancer
treatment.
The radiographers were put on hold until the National Institute
of Occupational Safety and Health could gather more facts.
Should they be added as a class of the Special Exposure Cohort —
a group set aside for automatic compensation in a mammoth
federal aid program for energy workers — the radiographers or
their survivors would be eligible for the same $150,000 payment
and medical coverage now available to other plant nuclear
weapons workers.
The nuclear program kicked off in the spring of 1949, but that
doesn't mean radiation was entirely absent before then.
Radiographers with their powerful X–ray equipment could have
endured a heavy bombardment of cancer–causing radiation during
quality checks on conventional bombs.
"If you're taking an X–ray through an inch of steel and 10
inches of explosives, it has to be pretty powerful to get down
that far," said Jack Polson, a West Burlington man who headed
the plant's laboratory four decades ago.
Some of the strongest radiation doses may have come from flash
X–rays, a technique allowing scientists to click super–fast
pictures of bomb explosions to determine their strength. Safety
measures were suspect, at best.
"We supposedly hid behind concrete bunkers," said Polson, who
watched the flash X–ray procedure but never participated.
The Hawk Eye 800 S. Main St., Burlington, Iowa 52601 319-754-8461
· 1-800-397-1708 · FAX 319-754-6824 · webmaster@thehawkeye.com
*****************************************************************
32 Columbus Dispatch: 88-year-old gains ground in pursuit of compensation
Man still has time to present evidence
Friday, June 24, 2005
Felix Hoover
Cecil W. Campbell filed a claim for up to $150,000 for illnesses
he says resulted from his work with uranium in ’43.
Cecil W. Campbell’s appeal at a medical-claim hearing yesterday
lacked the sizzle of the uranium he handled at a West Side plant
during World War II but left a ray of hope that the federal
government might compensate him for years of pain.
The 88-year-old South Side man, who has prostate cancer and
lymphoma of the bone marrow, now has legal representation and
has 30 more days to provide more evidence before a final
decision is issued.
In October, he filed a claim for up to $150,000 and medical
expenses, saying the illnesses resulted from his work at B &T
Metals. The company processed 50 tons of uranium rods in 1943 as
part of the Manhattan Project, the top-secret effort that
produced the first atomic bombs.
"I never told anybody; I can keep a secret," Campbell testified
before Tracy L. Smart, of the Department of Labor office in
Cleveland. The hearing was held Downtown at the Federal
Building, 200 N. High St.
Secretiveness might have been essential for the project but
detrimental to the initial preparation of his case. Both
Campbell and his current wife, Rita, testified that they had
kept secrets from each other about his health.
Usually reserved, he briefly wept at the end of his testimony,
which included information about a litany of illnesses that he
said began a few months after the uranium project ended. Mrs.
Campbell walked around the conference table to console him.
Mrs. Campbell testified that she was concerned not only about
her husband, but also other family members who might have been
harmed by contact with him.
Mr. Campbell, who worked at B &T from 1940 to ’68, hadn’t sought
legal advice until a couple of weeks ago, by which time the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health had
recommended that his claim be denied. The institute found a 32
percent probability that his cancers were caused by the
radiation exposure; 50 percent is needed for a claimant to
prevail.
Several lawyers declined to handle Campbell’s appeal.
Not until this week did he contact lawyer Clenzo B. Fox, who had
worked as a press operator at B &T after its uranium extrusion
had ended. Fox hadn’t seen Campbell’s files before yesterday’s
hearing but told Smart that he would review them and seek other
information on his former boss’s behalf.
Smart said an extension on the 30-day limit for more evidence
could be granted.
fhoover@dispatch.com
*****************************************************************
33 Fwd: [shundahaialert] News in Skull Valley
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 00:00:20 -0500 (CDT)
From: shundahai@shundahai.org
Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2005 21:56:48 -0700 (PDT)
List-Id:
List-Subscribe:
List-Archive:
Subject: [shundahaialert] News in Skull Valley
Bill to keep files on N-test fallouts -
Spending: Utah congressmen favor defense research, and support a new
wilderness area near Skull Valley
Salt Lake Tribune, The (UT)
May 26, 2005
Author: Robert Gehrke; The Salt Lake Tribune
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon would have to preserve records on fallout
from nuclear weapons tests, and a wilderness area would be created to
try to block nuclear storage in Utah as part of a major defense
spending bill the House passed Wednesday.
Language added to the bill by Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, prohibits
the Pentagon from destroying records and requires the department to
publish the information.
"It's just saying, 'Look, don't destroy this,' " Matheson said. He
added he supports "anything we can do to get more data out there
about the fallout" to allow more scientific studies.
The National Academies of Science recommended retaining the records
in a 2003 report, but the Pentagon does not have a policy for keeping
the files.
Rep. Rob Bishop added a provision that would create the Cedar
Mountain Wilderness Area in western Utah to try to block a rail line
that would deliver nuclear waste to the Skull Valley Goshute Indian
reservation, where a group of electric utilities wants to store waste
from nuclear reactors.
The 169th intelligence squadron of the Utah Air National Guard would
receive $7 million in new equipment for monitoring radio signals and
$5.2 million for new satellite antenna and software through language
Bishop added.
Bishop also pushed an amendment that provides $10 million for
research and development on supersonic cruise missile engines for a
new generation of missiles.
The bill includes $3 million Bishop requested for design and
construction of a beryllium processing plant, the first installment
in a multi-year effort.
Beryllium is a metal used in defense programs, and the only domestic
production is in Millard County.
The bill also directs the Defense Secretary to consult with NASA to
determine if the space shuttle can be used in place of other
heavy-lift boosters, which could benefit ATK-Thiokol, a manufacturer
of shuttle boosters.
"While we weren't able to fully fund or authorize everything at the
levels I think our fighting men and women deserve, we did make very
good progress," Bishop said in a statement.
The legislation is considered a must-pass bill, setting spending
levels for the Pentagon for the coming year, but it still must pass
the Senate and be signed by the president before becoming law.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
House OKs a study of N-sites
Deseret News, The (Salt Lake City, UT)
May 25, 2005
Author: Andrew Taylor Associated Press and By Jerry Spangler Deseret
Morning News
Estimated printed pages: 2
WASHINGTON -- The House voted Tuesday night to begin temporary
storage of commercial nuclear waste at one or more federal facilities
-- none in Utah -- fearing further delays in the proposed but
long-delayed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada.
The directive was included in a $29.7 billion measure funding the
Energy Department and came over the objections of lawmakers from
Washington and South Carolina, two states where the waste from
commercial power reactors might be located.
An attempt by Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., to strip the bill of $10
million for the interim storage program failed 312-110. The House
passed the spending measure by a 416-13 vote. Rep. Jim Matheson,
D-Utah, voted for the measure; Reps. Rob Bishop and Chris Cannon,
both R-Utah, voted against it. The legislation must still be
considered by Senate.
The House bill also provides $661 million for continued development
of the Yucca facility, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, which must
still get a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
While the legislation leaves it up to the Energy Department to select
one or more interim storage sites, a report accompanying the bill
suggested the Energy Department's Savannah River weapons facility in
South Carolina, the Hanford complex in Washington state and a
facility in Idaho as possible locations. It also said the department
should consider other federal sites, including closed defense bases
for temporary storage.
It calls on the energy secretary to produce a plan for interim
storage four months after the bill becomes law and begin accepting
waste before the end of next year.
Earlier Tuesday, the chairman of a House Energy and Water
Appropriations Subcommittee, in response to concerns expressed by
Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, insisted that language inserted in the Yucca
Mountain funding package is not intended to open the door for interim
storage of nuclear waste on Goshute tribal lands in Utah -- even if
the wording makes it appear so.
"I do not see any reason for the secretary (of energy) to consider
making a private site or a site on tribal land into a DOE site for
interim storage," said Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio. "My intent is for
the secretary to evaluate storage options at existing DOE sites."
Hobson's disclaimer as Bishop sought the chairman's assurances on the
record in the event the Department of Energy decides to utilize a
private site similar to the one proposed by Private Fuel Storage in
Tooele County's Skull Valley.
"The fact he said it on the record gives me a whole lot of comfort,"
Bishop told the Deseret Morning News. "Having him clarify his intent
is powerful if push ever comes to shove."
As has been often the case in the Utah's nuclear storage debates,
Washington and South Carolina lawmakers said Tuesday that if their
states are targeted, they fear the interim facilities could end up as
permanent waste repositories. They are concerned that establishing
interim waste dumps might reduce pressure to open Yucca Mountain --
which is opposed by many in Nevada.
"The state of Washington does not want to become . . . a nuclear
waste dump more than we are already," said Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash.
"Interim, in geologic time, could mean several lifetimes."
--------------------------------------------------
House OKs a study of N-sites
Deseret News, The (Salt Lake City, UT)
May 25, 2005
Author: Andrew Taylor Associated Press and By Jerry Spangler Deseret
Morning News
WASHINGTON -- The House voted Tuesday night to begin temporary
storage of commercial nuclear waste at one or more federal facilities
-- none in Utah -- fearing further delays in the proposed but
long-delayed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada.
The directive was included in a $29.7 billion measure funding the
Energy Department and came over the objections of lawmakers from
Washington and South Carolina, two states where the waste from
commercial power reactors might be located.
An attempt by Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., to strip the bill of $10
million for the interim storage program failed 312-110. The House
passed the spending measure by a 416-13 vote. Rep. Jim Matheson,
D-Utah, voted for the measure; Reps. Rob Bishop and Chris Cannon,
both R-Utah, voted against it. The legislation must still be
considered by Senate.
The House bill also provides $661 million for continued development
of the Yucca facility, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, which must
still get a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
While the legislation leaves it up to the Energy Department to select
one or more interim storage sites, a report accompanying the bill
suggested the Energy Department's Savannah River weapons facility in
South Carolina, the Hanford complex in Washington state and a
facility in Idaho as possible locations. It also said the department
should consider other federal sites, including closed defense bases
for temporary storage.
It calls on the energy secretary to produce a plan for interim
storage four months after the bill becomes law and begin accepting
waste before the end of next year.
Earlier Tuesday, the chairman of a House Energy and Water
Appropriations Subcommittee, in response to concerns expressed by
Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, insisted that language inserted in the Yucca
Mountain funding package is not intended to open the door for interim
storage of nuclear waste on Goshute tribal lands in Utah -- even if
the wording makes it appear so.
"I do not see any reason for the secretary (of energy) to consider
making a private site or a site on tribal land into a DOE site for
interim storage," said Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio. "My intent is for
the secretary to evaluate storage options at existing DOE sites."
Hobson's disclaimer as Bishop sought the chairman's assurances on the
record in the event the Department of Energy decides to utilize a
private site similar to the one proposed by Private Fuel Storage in
Tooele County's Skull Valley.
"The fact he said it on the record gives me a whole lot of comfort,"
Bishop told the Deseret Morning News. "Having him clarify his intent
is powerful if push ever comes to shove."
As has been often the case in the Utah's nuclear storage debates,
Washington and South Carolina lawmakers said Tuesday that if their
states are targeted, they fear the interim facilities could end up as
permanent waste repositories. They are concerned that establishing
interim waste dumps might reduce pressure to open Yucca Mountain --
which is opposed by many in Nevada.
"The state of Washington does not want to become . . . a nuclear
waste dump more than we are already," said Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash.
"Interim, in geologic time, could mean several lifetimes."
--------------------------------------------------
Agency rejects latest appeal of Skull Valley nuke storage -
Safety board: A consortium could be a step closer to building the
facility, but other avenues are available to the state
Salt Lake Tribune, The (UT)
May 25, 2005
Author: Robert Gehrke; The Salt Lake Tribune
WASHINGTON -- The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board on Tuesday
rejected Utah's latest appeal seeking to prevent Private Fuel
Storage's plans to store 44,000 tons of nuclear waste on the Skull
Valley Goshute Indian reservation.
The board's decision means PFS is inching closer to getting its
license to build an interim spent fuel-rod storage site 45 miles
southwest of Salt Lake City. PFS officials have said they could be
operating by 2007.
The state still has other avenues of administrative appeal, and the
Bureau of Indian Affairs has yet to sign off on the deal.
The state also is asking the Interior Department to throw out the
Skull Valley Band's contract with PFS, and to deny PFS a right-of-way
for a rail line to the reservation to move the waste. Another angle
of attack is U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop's proposal in a Defense Department
bill that would create a wilderness area to block the rail line.
Should PFS continue to prevail with the federal agencies, Utah can
take the issue to a federal appeals court, said assistant Utah
Attorney General Denise Chancellor.
Reaching that point "could be a month, it could be four months" she said.
Nevertheless, PFS views the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board's
decision as a victory.
"We're very pleased that the process is moving forward," said Sue
Martin, spokeswoman for PFS, the group of electric companies
proposing the facility. "It has been moving forward. It's just been
at a glacial pace."
The state had asked the licensing board to reverse a Feb. 24 ruling
in favor of PFS, arguing that the board underestimated the risk and
consequences of an F-16 fighter jet smashing into the waste dump
while training at the nearby Air Force range.
"Given the result we reach today, nothing said herein alters the
status quo, under which the commission has been, and continues to be,
vested by NRC regulations with the authority to issue the requested
license," the three-judge panel wrote.
In one part of the ruling, the judges were unanimous in rejecting the
Utah attorneys' contention that the board should consider what harm
might occur if one of the casks is damaged internally by an airplane
crash.
However, the panel did suggest that the commission direct NRC staff
to conduct "diminished shielding" studies to determine whether
radiation might escape from a cask that is damaged but not breached
and decide if those studies warrant further research.
In the second part of the ruling, Judge Peter Lam dissented from the
other two judges, arguing against the board's determination that the
risk of an F-16 crash was so remote -- less than one in 1 million per
year -- that it should not prevent the licensing from proceeding.
Lam argued the determination was based on inadequate F-16 crash data.
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, expressed frustration, but no surprise. "I
still think these are very legitimate concerns and I think it's very
disappointing that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approached
this the way it has."
Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch expressed optimism. "PFS will never, in
my opinion, overcome all the administrative, legal and economic
hurdles," he said.
Meantime, Utah's delegation was alarmed by language in an Energy
Department budget bill that seeks to create an interim nuclear
storage site by next year to house the waste until a permanent
repository in Yucca Mountain, Nev., is built.
A committee report accompanying the bill recommends interim storage
in Nevada, if existing law can be changed, or at Energy Department
sites in South Carolina, Washington, Idaho or Nevada. However, it
also leaves open the option of a "non-federal" storage site.
"I am very nervous about the interim storage issue that is in this
bill," said Matheson. "I'm nervous about its effect on validating or
enhancing the viability of Private Fuel Storage."
Bishop asked the chairman of the subcommittee that drafted the bill
for assurances the storage wouldn't take place at a site not run by
the Energy Department.
"I do not see any reason the [Energy] secretary would consider a
private site or a site on federal land or an Indian reservation for
interim storage," Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, replied.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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34 [NukeNet] Japanese uranium-contaminated soil: correction and
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 14:23:33 -0700
NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net)
Refer 13 June message 'US company to take Japanese uranium tailings'
Correction to original story, plus additional information
1. Correction
In our 13 June 2005 message we reported on a plan to send Japanese 'uranium
tailings' to the US for processing and disposal. The term 'tailings' was a
translation error of the Japanese word 'zando', which literally means
'left-over soil'. At the moment we are going with the translation
'uranium-contaminated soil', although this is probably not a perfect
translation either.
It is material that was excavated in order to get to a uranium ore seam.
Apparently the ore from the seam itself has been removed, but the soil etc.
through which they bored to get to the seam was abandoned, despite the fact
that it contained elevated levels of uranium. The purpose of the boring was
to ascertain whether a viable uranium mine could be established. As it
turned out, the quality of the uranium ore was low, so the mine and the
excavated material were abandoned.
2. What everyone wants to know
Unfortunately, we can't tell you what you really want to know about this.
The Japanese organization involved, Japan Nuclear Cycle Development
Institute (JNC), refuses to divulge the US firm to whom they hope to send
this uranium-contaminated soil. They won't even tell us what state it is in.
3. Avenues for pursuing the issue
In our previous message we stated that the question of whether or not this
uranium is covered by the Japan-US Nuclear Energy Agreement still has to be
investigated. However, at the very least we can say that approval would be
required from both the Japanese and US governments. Consequently, once a
contract is signed and before the material is sent to the US it should be
possible to extract information about the receiving company from both
governments. In any event, if US groups are concerned about this export,
presumably their first approach would be to the relevant US federal
authorities.
4. Further background
This 'uranium-contaminated soil' has been left abandoned at Ningyo Toge,
near the border of Tottori and Okayama Prefectures for over forty years.
'Toge' is a Japanese word meaning 'mountain pass'. The precise location of
the soil is the Katamo District of Yurihama Town, Tottori Prefecture. It
was originally excavated by a predecessor of what is now the Japan Nuclear
Cycle Development Institute (JNC). The immediate predecessor of that
organization was the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation
(PNC), but the organization that carried out the uranium excavation was an
even earlier incarnation known as Atomic Fuel Corporation. In any case, all
three incarnations are the same government owned organization.
JNC had referred to this uranium-contaminated soil as 'suteishi', another
term that is not easy to translate, but which literally means 'thrown away
rock'. However, now that they are thinking of sending it the US to be
refined, they have changed their term to 'junkoseki'. And, you guessed it,
this term has no precise translation either, but let us call it 'quasi-ore'
for convenience.
As reported in our previous message, the Supreme Court ordered JNC to
remove 3,000 cubic meters of this 'uranium-contaminated soil' from Katamo
District. Of this, the radioactivity of around 290 cubic meters is
relatively high. It is this which JNC is considering sending for processing
and storage to a company in the US. However, in the whole Ningyo Toge area
there is 420,000 cubic meters of abandoned material excavated during the
development of this uranium mine. Furthermore, elevated levels of
radioactivity have been found in paddy fields etc. in the area.
5. Brief history
1955: Japan's first uranium bearing ore found at Ningyo Toge.
1958: Atomic Fuel Corporation begins excavation at what is now Yurihama
Town (then Togo Town).
1963: Operations closed down.
1988: Discovery of abnormally high radioactivity in exposed soil.
1990 (August): Agreement between PNC and the local district council
regarding removal, but the proposed destination in Okayama Prefecture
refused to accept it.
2000 (November): The local council launches a legal case for removal of all
3,000 cubic meters.
2002 (June): Tottori District Court finds in favor of the local council.
2004 (February): Matsue branch of Hiroshima High Court rejects JNC's appeal.
2004 (October): Supreme Court rejects JNC's appeal.
2004 (December): The local council demands an enforcement order. Tottori
District Court orders JNC to remove 290 cubic meters by 10 March 2005, or
pay 750,000 yen per day there after as a penalty. The remaining 2,710 cubic
meters must be removed by May 2006, with a penalty of 50,000 yen per day
beyond that date.
2005 (February): JNC announces that it will remove the soil to another
district in the same town, where it owns a facility, but Tottori Prefecture
prohibits this.
2005 (March): Penalty begins to accumulate.
by Philip White
Citizens' Nuclear Information Center
3F Kotobuki Bdg, 1-58-15, Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0003
Phone: 81-3-5330-9520
Fax: 81-3-5330-9530
http://cnic.jp/english/
cnic@nifty.com
_______________________________________________________________________
Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/
Change your settings or access the archives at:
http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net
*****************************************************************
35 Las Vegas RJ: Utah senator wants new look at nuclear waste policy
Friday, June 24, 2005
Republican upset over storage site nearing OK for home state By
STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Saying he was growing "madder and madder" that a
nuclear waste site is close to final approval in Utah, Sen.
Orrin Hatch on Thursday proposed taking another look at the
government's policies for disposing of radioactive spent fuel.
Hatch, R-Utah, said he has prepared legislation calling for the
Energy Department to study keeping the material near utilities'
nuclear reactors or to store it at government-owned sites.
Both ideas have been floated as possible alternatives to Yucca
Mountain as the government faces continued delays in licensing a
Nevada underground repository. DOE officials have said a
repository opening, already seven years late, might slip to 2012
or 2015.
Hatch voted for a Nevada repository in a 2002 Senate vote.
After a Senate speech Thursday, he said he still supported Yucca
Mountain but was "rethinking" his position because of Utah's
failure to avoid being targeted for nuclear waste.
"I am coming to believe that we will have to reprocess in
place," at reactors, Hatch said. "That's the only feasible way
of doing it."
The Utah Republican said his legislation would order DOE to
direct more resources to nuclear waste reprocessing technology.
Scientists have said reprocessing could reduce nuclear waste
volumes and toxicity, but the science would not be practical for
decades.
The amendment also would tell DOE to study nuclear waste storage
alternatives.
Hatch said he prepared the amendment to be debated as part of a
major energy bill this week but withdrew it after Energy
Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., "agreed to work with
me."
The amendment, co-sponsored by Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, would
prohibit nuclear waste shipments to the Private Fuel Storage
waste site that is being developed on the Goshute Indian
Reservation in Skull Valley, Utah.
Utah officials expect the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to
grant final approval by the end of the year to the 100-acre
Goshute site.
Private Fuel Storage is a group of eight utility companies that
proposes to store 40,000 tons of nuclear waste in up to 4,000
temporary above-ground casks on reinforced concrete pads.
Hatch said allowing private storage in Utah would "hijack our
nation's nuclear waste strategy," which has been focused on
Yucca Mountain.
"There is no reason in God's good world why they should stick
this stuff in open air above ground," Hatch said. "It is just
idiotic. I am getting madder and madder about it."
Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
36 Las Vegas SUN: Hatch preparing bill on Yucca alternatives
Today: June 24, 2005 at 9:55:35 PDT
By Benjamin Grove
SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is preparing
legislation that would direct the government to oversee study of
two alternatives to Yucca Mountain: leaving high-level nuclear
waste stored where it is at power plants or temporarily storing
it at government sites.
The legislation would also ban shipments of nuclear waste to a
private, interim waste site on Goshute Indian reservation land
in Utah. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission could license the
site for nuclear waste storage as soon as this year. Utah
lawmakers strongly oppose the site, which many see as a
stepping-stone for nuclear waste that eventually would be bound
for the proposed permanent high-level nuclear waste dump planned
for Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
The Utah site is being developed by a coalition of nuclear
utilities called Private Fuel Storage. Nuclear utilities have
been frustrated with years of delays at Yucca.
Hatch is equally frustrated that plans for the Utah site are
progressing. Hatch said the plan is dangerous, in part because
it is in a training flight pattern for Air Force jets.
Hatch and Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, agreed to vote for Yucca
in 2002 after receiving White House assurances that the nation's
waste policy would be Yucca, not private sites.
"I understand why our colleagues from Nevada oppose the Yucca
Mountain site," Hatch said in a Senate speech Thursday. "I am
getting more and more understanding of that as I go along. But
if they are concerned about waste at Yucca Mountain, they should
be exponentially more concerned over the PFS site which is so
flawed as to be inherently dangerous, extremely dangerous."
Hatch believes Private Fuel Storage is attempting an end-run
around the federal government's high-level nuclear waste policy,
which is to bury waste in Yucca Mountain.
Hatch still supports Yucca, but he wants a more comprehensive
nuclear waste policy, which seems to be "broken," Hatch said.
"Sen. Hatch wants to look at the whole package and see what the
options are," Hatch spokesman Adam Elggren said of Hatch's bill.
Hatch plans to pursue the legislation "vigorously" this year,
Elggren said.
Nevada lawmakers generally favor leaving nuclear waste where it
is temporarily stored in pools and outdoor casks at the nation's
103 active nuclear reactors. Nuclear power industry leaders
strongly oppose that, saying it is not a long-term solution.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., advocates legislation
that would allow the government to take title, or ownership, of
waste at the plant sites.
*****************************************************************
37 Lansing State Journal: Waste transported both ways over Canadian border
Tom Horton:
Published June 24, 2005
State should consider repercussions of any attempts to stop
trash
Michigan and Canada share more than an international border. The
two nations are partners in the same economic, environmental and
social region. We share a work force, products and services,
environmental resources - and waste.
Canadian household waste is trucked to Michigan landfills for
disposal. Many Michigan politicians and newspapers have jumped
on the "Ban Canadian waste" bandwagon.
However, in the interest of fairness, Michigan residents should
understand that Michigan sends hundreds of millions of pounds of
waste to Canada and other states each year for disposal:
• Michigan annually ships more than 100 million pounds of
hazardous waste - stuff that can hurt people if not properly
handled - to Canada for disposal.
• Michigan sends E-scrap (discarded computers and technology
waste) to Canada, Illinois and Ohio.
• Michigan sends low-level nuclear waste to South Carolina and
Nevada.
• Michigan exports most of its medical waste to Ohio and
Illinois.
• Michigan sends Ontario much of its recyclable paper and
cardboard for processing.
Various waste products move nationally and internationally
within a trade system that works extremely well and, by sharing
capacity, minimizes the numbers and types of waste treatment
facilities each state must build.
Proposed public policies to further regulate - even stop - the
movement of waste between the two nations threatens the ability
of this system to meet Michigan's needs and flies in the face of
regional cooperation, not to mention international trade
agreements. These types of public policies also violate our
nation's inherent sense of fairness and smack of hypocrisy.
If Michigan moves to "close our borders" to Canadian waste, what
happens if Canada reciprocates? Do our political leaders have a
plan to dispose of in Michigan the hazardous waste and E-scrap
that Michigan sends to Canada? Are there plans to locate new
hazardous waste disposal sites in Michigan?
Some have suggested Michigan may be nearing its landfill limits,
referring to a state report saying the state has 14 years of
permitted landfill capacity. The reality is that Michigan's
solid waste management companies have control of property that
will meet the state's needs for many decades to come.
Suggesting that "permitted capacity" is all of the state's
capacity is akin to suggesting that all businesses with an
annual license to operate in a city that expires Dec. 31 will
not be in business next year.
While Michigan isn't going to run out of landfill space and a
ban on Canadian solid waste is a bad idea if we want to continue
using that nation's hazardous waste facilities, there is a way
to encourage Canada to do a better job of addressing its trash
issues. Contact your members of Congress and state legislators,
and tell them to ask Ontario's political and environmental
leaders to take the responsible step of creating facilities in
their nation to address more of Ontario's solid waste needs.
We can significantly reduce the flow of Canadian waste to
Michigan if Ontario approves now pending landfill expansions.
That is the fair and sensible solution.
Tom Horton is Waste Management Inc.'s Michigan government
affairs manager.
Service . Questions about this site? online@lsj.com
Copyright 2005
*****************************************************************
38 Salt Lake Tribune: Hatch pitches toughest assault to date on PFS
Article Last Updated: 06/24/2005 01:08:40 AM
On Senate floor:
He insists that nuclear waste should be kept in the hands of the
government
By Robert Gehrke The Salt Lake Tribune
WASHINGTON - Sen. Orrin Hatch took to the Senate floor
Thursday, condemning a plan by private utilities to store
high-level nuclear waste on a Utah Indian reservation and
floating a legislative proposal that would put a stake in the
heart of the proposed dump.
Hatch proposed - and promptly withdrew - an amendment to the
Energy Bill being debated in the Senate that would have
prohibited storage or shipments of nuclear waste in a private
facility away from the reactors that generated it.
Hatch's plan put forward the most direct legislative assault
to date on the proposal by Private Fuel Storage, a consortium of
electric companies, to store 44,000 tons of high-level waste on
the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes Indian reservation in western
Utah.
"A few nuclear power companies should not hijack our
nation's nuclear waste strategy by building an off-site,
above-ground storage site in Skull Valley," Hatch said on the
floor of the Senate. "Is our nuclear waste policy going to be
established by the federal government, or should that
policy-making rest with a couple of private companies driven by
profit?"
In a prepared response to Hatch's question, Senate Energy
Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said it is his belief
that "our focus should remain on a solution that puts this waste
directly in the hands of the federal government."
Domenici's statement does not change current policy, but
Hatch's office hailed it as an endorsement by the Senate's
undisputed leader on energy policy of keeping nuclear waste in
government control.
"Chairman Domenici has committed to Senator Hatch to work
toward a more aggressive federal oversight of spent nuclear fuel
than he thinks might be possible in the current PFS proposal,"
said Energy Committee spokeswoman Marnie Funk. "He remains
committed to federal controls as seen in Yucca Mountain or a
federal interim storage site. He has pledged to work with Senator
Hatch toward that goal."
She would not elaborate on what additional federal oversight
or control might be envisioned.
The Hatch amendment, cosponsored by Sen. Bob Bennett,
R-Utah, would prohibit depositing any spent nuclear fuel in a
facility not owned by the federal government, or shipping it to
such a site.
It also would bar the government from studying any such
plans.
Hatch withdrew the amendment, which likely would have been
voted down, but it could be turned into a separate bill or added
to future legislation.
"It seems like something that would not only affect our
project but would really potentially tie the hands of all the
utilities," said PFS spokeswoman Sue Martin. "Clearly the intent
is to stop our project - to stop something that is legal and has
been going through an approved regulatory process for the last
eight years."
The Hatch proposal also directs the Energy Department to
study interim storage of nuclear waste at DOE facilities or the
nuclear reactors, and mandates a study of reprocessing the waste
for re-use in reactors.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is in the final stages of
considering PFS' license application. A final decision is
expected later this summer. Preliminary decisions by the NRC and
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board have gone against the state,
and NRC staff has argued in favor of the license.
© Copyright 2005, The Salt Lake Tribune.
*****************************************************************
39 The Namibian: Uranium in groundwater 'not serious' - Roessing
Maggi Barnard
Friday, June 24, 2005 - Web posted at 8:03:29 GMT
Uranium in groundwater 'not serious': Roessing * MAGGI BARNARD
THE Roessing mine has confirmed that unusual uranium levels have
been detected in the Swakop River groundwater about 25 km from
the mine, but says it poses no health risks.
Rumours started spreading and people became concerned as news of
the uranium, found in groundwater at a vegetable farming project
about seven kilometres upstream from Goanikontes East, started
circulating.
"People said they knew there was something wrong, but did not
really know why," said Rainer Schneeweiss, Superintendent
Sustainable Development at Roessing, at a media information trip
to the area yesterday.
"We decided to state the facts as they are before the rumour
became too serious and negatively affected the livelihood of
about 250 people in the river valley."
In recent years the Swakop River valley has become renowned for
its fresh produce.
Delicacies such as asparagus, olives, dates, herbs, vegetables,
honey and goat cheese produced there are available at most shops
and restaurants.
Up to 20 tons of tomatoes, 16 tons of asparagus and five tons of
olives are produced in the river valley every year.
Schneeweiss said a specialist radiologist had confirmed that it
was safe for people to eat crops irrigated with the groundwater.
"The Swakop River products are of a high quality, and do not
pose any health risks to consumers," he said.
The specialist was contracted to do a study after the uranium
was detected in the groundwater.
Although there are no observable health effects and no
intervention is required, Schneeweiss said the principle of
keeping radiation as low as possible should be applied.
While it meant enormous costs, he said it had to be sorted out
to the satisfaction of all concerned.
A drilling programme of N$100 000 was started last week to
confirm the extent of the anomaly and to determine whether it
was stationary.
"If the anomaly moves with normal groundwater flow, it will take
six to seven years to reach the first farming area at
Goanikontes," said Schneeweiss.
Groundwater moves at a speed of one kilometre a year.
A helicopter survey was also carried out to determine whether
there were natural uranium deposits in the rock formations in
the area.
"We need these baseline values, should the proposed Langer
Heinrich uranium mine start operating, to be able to compare
results after a few years of production," said George Ellis, one
of the river valley farmers and member of a working group formed
to oversee further studies of the groundwater.
The groundwater survey was initiated by farmers in the Swakop
River when they raised concerns about the mine's future impact
on groundwater quality and quantity as part of an environmental
impact assessment on Roessing's mine life extension plan.
More than 100 boreholes and wells were identified and surveyed,
water levels measured and groundwater samples taken.
Schneeweiss said the Swakop River had not been surveyed before,
as samples in the Khan River never showed any anomalies and it
was not deemed necessary to sample the Swakop.
The mine is situated about 25 km upstream of the confluence of
the Khan and Swakop rivers.
Apart from the uranium anomaly found, very high salt levels were
also noted in the water.
This aspect is of greater concern for the farmers at the moment,
as salt can kill crops.
"I was frightened when I saw the salt in my groundwater," said
Ellis, a major producer of vegetables.
He said the salt content in his water had doubled over a period
of nine years.
This is mainly attributed to a reduction in recharge of
groundwater because of the two big dams built in the Swakop
River.
The average groundwater level has dropped by 30 cm.
The farmers said the only option for their long-term survival
would be to focus on products more tolerant of saline water,
such as asparagus and olives, or to stop farming.
The fear is that the water would become so salty that nothing
would grow there any more.
Ellis and other farmers on the working group said they had not
experienced any resistance or negativity from clients regarding
their products so far.
"There are jokes about my glowing vegetables, but nobody has
refused to eat them," said Ellis.
The groundwater is only used for irrigation, and is not deemed
fit for human consumption.
Drinking water for Swakopmund is supplied from the Kuiseb and
Omaruru rivers, and not the Khan and Swakop rivers.
Material on this site copyright The Free Press Of Namibia (Pty)
Ltd
PO Box 20783 - Windhoek - 42 John Meinert Street
Tel: +264 (61) 279600 - Fax: +264 (61) 279602
*****************************************************************
40 NRC: Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding
FR Doc E5-3291
[Federal Register: June 24, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 121)]
[Notices] [Page 36663-36664] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr24jn05-126]
of No Significant Impact for License Amendment for Rio Algom
Mining, LLC AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert A. Nelson, Chief, Uranium
Processing Section, Fuel Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of
Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555- 0001. Telephone: (301) 415-7298 fax number:
(301) 415-5955; e-mail: ran@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Introduction The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing an amendment to Materials License No.
SUA-1475 issued to Rio Algom Mining, LLC (the licensee), to
authorize the consolidating and transporting of materials
associated with the lined evaporation ponds at its Ambrosia Lake
facility near Grants, NM. NRC has prepared an Environmental
Assessment (EA) in support of this amendment in accordance with
the requirements of 10 CFR Part 51. Based on the EA, the NRC has
concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is
appropriate. The amendment will be issued following the
publication of this Notice.
II. EA Summary The proposed action is the relocation of the lined
evaporation ponds (Section 4 Ponds and Pond 9) at the Ambrosia
Lake facility. The action includes the consolidation and removal
of byproduct material, transport of the material to the disposal
site and disposal of material in accordance with NRC regulations.
In a letter dated November 1, 2004, Rio Algom Mining, LLC (Rio
Algom) submitted to the NRC, a Closure Plan-Lined Evaporation
Ponds (Relocation Plan) for its Ambrosia Lake uranium mill
facility.
In a follow-up to the proposed plan, Rio Algom submitted, under
letter dated January 28, 2005, a response to a request for
additional information and a Revised Relocation Plan. Rio Algom
requested that the Revised Relocation Plan be considered
initially by NRC so that work can commence at the site. The staff
has prepared the EA in support of the proposed license amendment.
Staff considered impacts to the land surface, water, air,
vegetation, public and worker health and safety, cultural
resources, wildlife, and wildlife habitat. The staff found that
the potential impacts of the proposed action are limited to the
land surface and are temporary due to construction activities.
The site Health, Safety and Environment Management System
provides adequate assurances to control impacts to the
environment. The proposed action will not result in adverse
impacts to cultural and historic properties or impact any
threatened or endangered species. The overall aesthetics of the
area will improve.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact On the basis of the EA, NRC
has concluded that there are no significant environmental impacts
from the proposed amendment and has determined not to prepare an
environmental impact statement.
IV. Further Information Documents related to this action,
including the application for amendment and supporting
documentation, are available electronically at the NRC's
Electronic Reading Room at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can
access the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System
(ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public
documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for the documents related
to this notice are as follows:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
------- ADAMS Document accession No. Date
-----------------------------------------------------------------
------- Rio Algom Mining LLC, ``Closure Plan- ML050240058
11/1/04 Lined Evaporation Ponds''.............. Rio Algom Mining
LLC, ``Response to ML050730258 1/28/05 Request for
Additional Information for Closure Plan--Lined Evaporation Ponds
at Rio Algom Mining LLC's Ambrosia Lake
Facility''............................. U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Letter to ML042780480 9/20/04 J.
Caverly............................. State of New Mexico
Environment ML051570252 4/22/05 Department Letter to
G. Janosko........ Rio Algom Mining, LLC, ``Response to
ML051670429 6/15/05 Request for Additional Information Concerning
Environmental Review''...... Environmental
Assessment................ ML051680226 6/17/05
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-------
[[Page 36664]] If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are
problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. These
documents may also be viewed electronically on the public
computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 F21, One White Flint
North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR
reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee.
Dated at Rockville, MD this 17th day of June, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert A. Nelson, Chief, Uranium Processing Section, Fuel Cycle
Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E5-3291 Filed 6-23-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
41 Waste News Report: EPA and Defense Department should better track perchlorate contamination
[Wastenews.com headlines e-mailed daily] [Win a DVD player]
June 23 -- It´s difficult to determine the extent of
perchlorate contamination and track cleanup efforts because the
federal government lacks a central database, and local and state
governments aren´t required to report the information, according
to a new report from the Government Accountability Office, an
arm of Congress.
In addition, the GAO report, made public June 21, says the
Defense Department is reluctant to sample for contamination near
active military bases unless it is required to do so by law and
has failed to act requests from Utah officials to sample for
contamination at two installations in that state.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of
Defense disagree with the GAO´s conclusion that the federal
government needs to create a central database to tack
contamination from the chemical used in rocket fuel and military
munitions. In addition, Philip Grone, the assistant deputy under
secretary of defense for installations and the environment, said
the GAO´s report was "factually incorrect and fundamentally
flawed."
The report, including responses from the EPA and Defense
Department, is available online at www.gao.gov. Search for
report number GAO-05-462.
Entire contents copyright 2005 by Crain Communications Inc.
All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
42 Deseret News: Hatch blasts N-waste project
[deseretnews.com]
Friday, June 24, 2005
By Jerry Spangler Deseret Morning News
WASHINGTON — The powerful chairman of the Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee said Thursday the nation's strategy
for dealing with nuclear waste should be focused on developing a
federal repository at Yucca Mountain.
But Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., stopped short of saying
he outright opposed a temporary nuclear waste storage facility
like the one proposed by the Private Fuel Storage consortium of
nuclear power companies for Goshute tribal lands in Tooele
County.
"I don't know whether the Skull Valley site will receive
the regulatory approval it needs, that's not my decision," he
said during debate on the energy bill. "However, in my view, our
focus should remain on a solution that puts this waste directly
in the hands of the federal government."
Domenici's comments came in response to questioning on
the Senate floor from Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who with Sen.
Bob Bennett, R-Utah, have proposed an amendment to the energy
bill that specifies that all spent nuclear fuel would have to go
to a facility owned by the federal government.
Since the PFS project is private, it would be barred from
accepting waste under the Hatch-Bennett amendment, which also
calls for a study into recycling nuclear waste. Hatch and
Bennett agreed not to pursue a Senate vote on their amendment at
this time.
But Hatch used Thursday's debate on the Senate floor to
launch a blistering attack on PFS and the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
"A few nuclear power utilities are attempting to hijack
our nation's nuclear waste strategy by joining forces to build
an away-from-reactor, above-ground storage site for one-half of
our nation's high level nuclear waste on a tiny Indian
reservation in Tooele, Utah," Hatch said.
"Even more unfortunate, the only tribe they could con
into taking this waste was the Skull Valley Band of the
Goshutes, whose small reservation just happens to sit on one of
the most dangerous sites you could imagine for storing high
level nuclear waste."
Hatch said it is "baffling" that the environmental impact
study for the PFS project does not even require PFS to have
on-site means to handle damaged or breached casks.
"Rather, the NRC staff concluded the risk of a cask
breach is so minimal that they did not have to consider such a
scenario in their EIS. I find this conclusion dubious and
dangerous," he said.
He also said the nation learned from the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks of the risk of suicide air attacks — something
that has not even been considered by the NRC for the PFS
project, which could receive its NRC license later this summer.
"It would seem inconceivable that a government entity
would consider giving their endorsement of the PFS plan without
thoroughly taking into account the added terrorist threat our
nation now faces," Hatch said.
Hatch pointed out that post 9-11 9/11 terrorism analyses
have been conducted at all federal facilities licensed by the
NRC, but the agency has refused to reopen the regulatory process
to even consider it in the PFS project.
Hatch added that he supports the Yucca Mountain
repository as a "safe, remote location where spent fuel could be
buried deep beneath the desert." But a national strategy
to deal with the waste is of critical importance.
"The president is calling for a robust nuclear power
strategy, and his reasons are clear: nuclear power is clean and
safe, and there is an abundant supply of cheap uranium in North
America," Hatch said. "But my question is, what are we going to
do with all the waste? We cannot have a nuclear power strategy
until we know what to do with all the spent nuclear fuel."
E-mail: spang@desnews.com
© 2005 Deseret News Publishing Company
*****************************************************************
43 Olympian: Military shipments debated
Olympia, Washington
Friday June 24, 2005
Activists, supporters air opinions at port forum
BY KATHERINE TAM THE OLYMPIAN
OLYMPIA -- Peace activists continued to raise environmental and
moral concerns Thursday about military shipments at the Port of
Olympia.
Meanwhile, several residents spoke out in support of the
shipments and urged the port to continue allowing them.
About 40 people gathered at St. John's Episcopal Church for a
forum on the state of the port that was intended to give
citizens a chance to ask questions and engage in a dialogue.
Most left with the same opinion they came in with.
The debate about whether the port should allow military cargo
started last year after the first shipments arrived. About 100
protested near the dock in November, and 150 packed a public
hearing that same month.
The port hasn't had military shipments since 1987, but officials
have sat down with military representatives annually to express
an interest in serving them, port Commissioner Bob Van Schoorl
said.
"It's not a new endeavor. It's an ongoing relationship we've
continued to develop," he said.
The shipments generated $858,000 last year, or 24 percent of the
revenue at the marine terminal, he said. The terminal, which
last year brought in $3.5 million, accounted for one-third of
the port's total income of $7.5 million.
But some residents urged the port Thursday to look elsewhere for
revenue.
"I believe it is morally wrong to kill or have my government
kill in my name," said Dennis Mills, an activist. "My property
taxes do help fund the port. What I'm encouraging Bob and others
to start thinking about is building on a peace economy and not
benefit from a war economy."
Questions remain about the health and environmental effects of
the shipments, said Carrie Lybecker, a member of Olympia
Movement for Justice and Peace, which sponsored the forum.
Is sonar, which can hurt marine life, being used? she asked. How
can officials ensure depleted uranium, which she said has been
tied to lung damage and cancer, won't come to Olympia from the
military equipment used in Iraq?
Several residents spoke in favor of the shipments.
"I'm honored to have military shipments through the port," said
Duane King, a Korean War veteran. He is a member of Veterans for
Peace, but was speaking as a private citizen Thursday.
Sonar is not used for security and cannot be used in Budd Inlet
because it's shallow, Van Schoorl said. Ships aren't dumping
bilge water into the inlet, either.
Vehicles and other equipment shipped from Iraq are washed of
contaminants before they're allowed into the United States, Van
Schoorl said.
"There is no and there will be no ammunition coming through the
Port of Olympia," he added. "We are not certified to ship
ammunition."
Katherine Tam can be reached at 360-704-6869 or at kathetam@
olympia.gannett.com.
©2005 The Olympian
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44 Hankyoreh [Editorial] Intra-Korean Relations and the Nuclear Issue
Updated : Jun.24.2005 07:02 KST
The intra-Korean ministerial talks that began with high
expectations have come to an end. They were more substantial and
the mood was more harmonious than previous meetings. The pace of
reconciliation, exchange, and cooperation needs to be increased
in all areas based on that.
The greater significance of the talks is that it decided the
framework and agenda for other intra-Korean talks such as on
military, economic, social, and cultural subjects. To begin
with, there will be talks between the military generals of both
sides next month. As for economics there will soon be a meeting
of the committee on economic cooperation, and the Red Cross
organizations of North and South will soon meet to discuss the
issue of separated families, Southerners kidnapped and taken
Northward, and Republic of Korea soldiers who were not returned
after the war. There will be a large-scale family reunion event
before Liberation Day, and there will be work on having video
reunions. There will also be meetings on social and cultural
cooperation such as joint research into the Korean language,
exchange among members of the media, and joint projects relating
to cultural assets. Of particular note is that there will be
more exchange and cooperation in agriculture and fishing, which
along with fertilizer and food aid will be of substantial
assistance to the North. We hope to see progress in establishing
a structure of peace by adding talks between defense ministers.
Preparing for a second intra-Korean summit will also be
important.
Progress in relations will also be a big help in resolving the
North Korean nuclear issue. The North stopped at merely
expressing its position that the Korean peninsula should be
nuclear free, so one hopes to see more concrete progress on a
"strategic decision" before the next major talks. It is worth
noticing that the US is taking a more appeasing attitude, with
state secretary Condoleezza Rice promising to refrain from
statements that might anger the North and with assistant
secretary Christopher Hill saying that he would like to visit
Pyongyang. The North must not miss the opportunity.
Progress in intra-Korean relations and the work to resolve the
nuclear issue are like two sides of the same coin and inevitably
must move together. North and South need to pool their strength
together with the attitude that together they can resolve all
the issues faced by the peninsula.
The Hankyoreh, 24 June 2005.
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45 Paducah Sun: Bidding reopened to replace Bechtel -
Joe Walker
Paducah, Kentucky
Because of protests, DOE is seeking a new firm to serve as lead
cleanup contractor for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.
By Joe Walker jwalker@paducahsun.com 270.575.8656
Friday, June 24, 2005
Having been confronted with multiple protests, the U.S.
Department of Energy has reopened bidding for a firm to replace
Bechtel Jacobs as lead cleanup contractor for the Paducah
Gaseous Diffusion Plant.
DOE posted the request for proposals Monday on the Internet,
saying it was "determined to be in the best interests of the
government to take corrective action and reopen the
competition." Bid requirements have been revised to account for
the time lag and to update work requirements, the agency said.
Revised proposals are due by Aug. 4. The new company will
replace Bechtel Jacobs on Nov. 1 under a contract through Sept.
30, 2009. The project will be worth about $279 million,
reflecting work done by Bechtel Jacobs since procurement went
awry earlier this year.
North Wind Paducah Cleanup Co. won a $303 million cleanup
contract in January, but several other bidders balked. Their
protests were dismissed with DOE's agreement to rebid the work.
Bechtel Jacobs' contract has since been extended until at least
Aug. 31, the latest of two years of extensions while a successor
is sought.
Bechtel Jacobs and predecessor cleanup firms have been based in
an industrial park at Kevil since cleanup went into full stride
in the mid-1990s. More than 500 people work for the company and
its subcontractors.
The new contract is supposed to have incentives to manage costs
effectively while completing the cleanup work on schedule. Prior
to the North Wind selection, DOE had twice delayed awarding the
contract since 2003, when it announced it would replace Bechtel
Jacobs, one of the nation’s largest cleanup firms, with a
smaller business. The delays baffled public officials and local
firms competing for the contracts.
On Monday, Swift & Staley of Paducah will assume Bechtel Jacobs’
infrastructure work at the plant, and Uranium Disposition
Services will take over maintenance of 37,000 cylinders of spent
uranium hexafluoride. UDS is building a factory in front of the
plant to convert the toxic material to a safer form.
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