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NUCLEAR POLICY
1 Xinhua: EU not to accept resumption of Iran's nuclear activities
2 MNA: Iran’s access to civilian nuclear fuel cycle irreversible - I
3 Guardian Unlimited: U.S., France Differ on Approach to Iran
4 Hankyoreh: [Editorial] NK & US: Stop Arguing and Return to Talks
5 Guardian Unlimited: S.Korea Hopeful N.Korea Will Come to Talks
6 Korea Times: Japan, NK Trade Blows on Nuke Issue
7 US: Herald: Science to the rescue?
8 UN Conference Seeks To Close Loopholes Against Nuclear Terrorism
9 [NukeNet] UN Urges Tougher Measures on Nuclear Security, IAEA
10 RIA Novosti: Russia for broadening scope of nuclear convention
11 BBC: Nuclear treaty to be strengthened
12 Daily Times: AQ Khan should be produced in NA - Rafique
13 ITAR-TASS: Ex Russian nuclear minister refuses extradition to USA
14 MNA: Uranium, world’s future source of fuel - expert
15 US: Guardian Unlimited: Senate Keeps 'Bunker-Buster' Program Alive
16 Guardian Unlimited: IAEA to Weigh Strengthening Nuclear Laws
NUCLEAR REACTORS
17 [NYTr] Cuba Still Treating Chernobyl Victims
18 Herald Sun: Doubts over 'clean' nuke power
19 inadaily.com: US visited nuclear sites
20 RIA Novosti: Russia prepared to build more power units in Bushehr
21 The Herald: Who will build Blairs nuclear power plants?
22 US: The Indiana Star: Going nuclear can reap benefits
23 US: PoughkeepsieJournal.com: Power plants under pressure
24 US: PR_Newswire: Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant Sale Closes
25 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for th
26 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collecti
27 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for th
28 US: NRC: Notice of Availability of Model Application Concerning Tech
29 Japan Times: Reactor shuts down; no leak reported
30 US: The Advocate: Tiny filament seen as culprit in April shutdown at
31 AU ABC: New Zealand opposition defiant on antinuclear policy
32 US: The Courier: NRC renews license (Arkansas 1)
33 MANAWATU STANDARD: Nuke issue returns
NUCLEAR SECURITY
34 US: deseret news: Army devices flawed
35 US: Biz Journal: Security firm wins nuclear contracts -
NUCLEAR SAFETY
36 US: DU Afflicts Soldier's Daughter
37 [du-list] Photo report of the ICBUW conference in European
38 US: Paducah Sun: Scrutiny expected on radiation risks
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
39 [right-to-water] Coke Dumping Cadmium in India
40 US: Courier-Mail: Berkeley in yellow cake
41 Moscow Times: Bellona Urges Nuclear Reform
42 Las Vegas SUN: Scientist's testimony in Yucca e-mail probe raises qu
43 Palestine News Network: Dimona nuclear waste looking for a dumping g
44 US: ABQJOURNAL: Waste Disposal Still Question in DOE Plan for Idaho
45 US: The Dispatch Report: Department of Defense avoided testing for p
46 US: Globe and Mail: China courting Canadian uranium
47 asahi.com: Safeguards eyed for waste from nuke plants
PEACE
48 Guardian Unlimited: Hundreds protest at nuclear base
49 Guardian Unlimited: Einstein's pacifist dilemma revealed
50 Japan Times: America's blase approach to doomsday
51 Guardian Unlimited: Anti-Nuke Campaigners Protest in Scotland
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
52 Santa Fe New Mexican: LANL running terror-attack simulations
53 EPA: Hanford Transuranic waste characterization
54 lamonitor.com: Lab refines nuclear fuels as LANL is in forefront
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FULL NEWS STORIES
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1 Xinhua: EU not to accept resumption of Iran's nuclear activities
France
www.xinhuanet.com
www.chinaview.cn 2005-07-06 04:38:13
WASHINGTON, July 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The European Union will
not accept Iran's resumption of any military nuclear activity,
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Tuesday.
"It is absolutely necessary to state that the Europeans will
never accept a resumption of the Iranian military nuclear
activity," Douste-Blazy said after talks with US Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice.
For her part, Rice stressed that the United States is in
"very close" contact with European counterparts over the Iranian
nuclear issue and urged Iran to continue negotiations with
France, Britain and Germany.
"What we are trying to do is to make certain that Iran does
not have the technology or technological know-how that could be
turned from civilian use to making of a nuclear weapon," Rice
said.
The United States has accused Iran of developing nuclear
weapons under the civilian cover. However, Iran has insisted
that its nuclear programs are for civil purposes only. Enditem
Copyright 2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
2 MNA: Iran’s access to civilian nuclear fuel cycle irreversible - IAEO director
MehrNews.com - Iran, world, political, sport, economic news
Economic
TEHRAN, July 5 (MNA) -- Iran Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO)
Director Gholamreza Aqazadeh said on Tuesday that the capacity of
the Europeans to solve Iran’s nuclear issue is very weak.
“I am not very optimistic about the European proposals,” he
told the Iran Students News Agency (ISNA).
The European Union big three of Britain, Germany, and France
have promised to come up with the outlines of a long-term accord
on Iran’s nuclear program by the end of July.
“The Europeans were waiting for the election of the new
president to present their proposals, so I think the
negotiations will be more difficult now,” Aqazadeh added.
Dismissing speculation that Iran plans to abandon its efforts to
master the complete nuclear fuel cycle in exchange for economic
and political incentives from Europe, he said, “We are even
willing to give concessions, on condition that we can continue
our nuclear activities. Killing time now is neither to the
benefit of Europe nor Iran.
“Technically speaking, Iran’s nuclear issue is resolved.”
This stage of Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic
Energy Agency has practically reached its outcome, he added.
Referring to the West’s politicized approach toward Iran’s
nuclear program, Aqazadeh stated, “If some people inside the
country believe we can resolve the nuclear issue without
resolving various political issues first, they are mistaken and
too optimistic.
“The more solidarity we achieve within the country, the more
success we can achieve in the nuclear issue.
“We should not cast hope on the foreigners or allow them to
influence our national policy.
“If the foreigners discover a weak spot anywhere in Iran, they
will put pressure on the country by targeting that spot.”
Aqazadeh noted that the negotiating process would be complicated
and that the country is entering a sensitive period.
The IAEA has a clear picture of Iran’s nuclear activities
after all its inspections and is currently awaiting the result
of Iran’s political negotiations with Europe, he said.
“Today there are no concerns about the future of Iran’s
nuclear program, technically or legally, at the IAEA.
“Iran is determined not to abandon its nuclear program, so if
the Westerners want us to give objective guarantees, that is
possible, and we are even ready to give concessions if they
expect them due to Iran’s strategic and special position in
the region and the world,” Aqazadeh explained.
“It is a misconception that Iran expects Europe to facilitate
its accession to the World Trade Organization, since, in fact,
these are only minor issues compared to mastering the nuclear
fuel cycle.
“If the next government and Iran’s nuclear negotiators
convince Europe that we will not abandon our nuclear activities
while continuing confidence-building measures, then we will be
successful.”
Aqazadeh pointed out that the most important step the Islamic
Republic must take in the nuclear talks is to assure Europe that
Iran is not concerned about a possible referral of its nuclear
dossier to the UN Security Council.
“We have great potential in Iran that can increase our
negotiating power, but we have not taken full advantage of these
opportunities,” the IAEO director added.
“If we believe, as the Europeans do, that the nuclear fuel
cycle is irreversible in Iran, we will certainly maintain it.
“The Europeans want to convince us to abandon our nuclear fuel
cycle because they know that it is impossible to halt our
nuclear activities by force.
“Iran will make the greatest historical mistake if it
intentionally abandons the nuclear fuel cycle, and every
government that comes to power in the country should try to
complete this process,” Aqazadeh said in conclusion.
HL/HG
End
MNA
© 2003 Mehr News Agency
*****************************************************************
3 Guardian Unlimited: U.S., France Differ on Approach to Iran
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Tuesday July 5, 2005 10:31 PM
AP Photo DCHG103
By ANNE GEARAN
AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her
French counterpart tried to present a united front Tuesday
against any Iranian ambitions for a nuclear weapon, but it was
clear that Europeans and the United States still see the problem
differently.
Meanwhile, Iran's top nuclear official said he was pessimistic
about forthcoming proposals from European negotiators in
nonproliferation talks with Iran. The talks are due to resume in
August, coinciding with the installation of a new government in
Iran following election last month of hard-liner Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad as president.
Standing with Rice after a State Department meeting, French
Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy suggested that Europeans
might offer Iran unspecified security guarantees in exchange for
giving up its nuclear program. He quickly added that the United
States would need to agree.
``I think what we need to do is to base ourselves on finding a
package which is credible for the Iranians,'' Douste-Blazy said
through a translator. Along with technical agreements that would
give Iran seismological and meteorological equipment, the
European negotiators should ``make sure, also, that we discuss
with them the security of their country,'' he said.
Rice did not respond directly, but the United States has not
expressed concern that Iran would risk its own security by
giving up its nuclear program. Instead, the United States
focuses on the threat it claims a nuclear Iran would pose to its
neighbors and the world.
``There must be objective guarantees that Iran is not
surreptitiously gaining the technology or technological know-how
that might lead to the development of a nuclear weapon,'' Rice
said. ``And that means enrichment, reprocessing and the entire -
all of the activities associated with the fuel cycle.''
Iran rejects that position and insists that it will keep some
part of the nuclear manufacturing process. Uranium enriched to
low levels has energy uses, while highly enriched uranium can be
used in bombs.
Iran insists it is pursuing nuclear technology for peaceful
purposes, such as generating power.
Iran suspended all uranium enrichment-related activities in
November to avoid possible sanctions from the U.N. Security
Council, but it said all along that the suspension was
temporary.
``We have been very clear that we do not see the need for
civilian nuclear power in Iran,'' Rice said.
Douste-Blazy had a different view: ``I'd like to say that France
was the first to start the negotiations and discussions with
Iran on the possibility of having civil nuclear energy.''
The United States broke diplomatic ties with Iran over the 1979
storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, in which 52 Americans
were held hostage for 444 days.
The Bush administration has used harsh rhetoric to demand that
Iran give up what it claims is a covert nuclear weapons program,
but it agreed earlier this year to go along with a European
program to try to talk Iran out of further nuclear development.
France, like other European nations, has diplomatic relations
with Tehran.
France, Britain and Germany, which are negotiating on behalf of
the European Union, have offered economic incentives in hopes of
persuading Iran to halt enrichment permanently.
The European effort has made little headway. Ahmadinejad's
surprise victory may complicate the negotiations further.
``We have taken note with the European Union of the election of
President Ahmadinejad and we must say that we, as others, regret
that not all candidates were able to run in the election,''
Douste-Blazy said. ``But that's where we are now and we must now
continue our diplomatic relations with Iran.''
The three European nations say they will propose a long-term
accord on Iran's nuclear program in the coming weeks.
In Tehran, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization told
the semiofficial Iranian Student News Agency that he doubts
European diplomats can offer a workable proposal.
``The Europeans have low capability to solve this case. I am not
optimistic their proposal will capture Iran's interest,''
Gholamreza Aghazadeh was quoted as saying.
^---
On the Net:
State Department: http://www.state.gov
Guardian Unlimited Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
4 Hankyoreh: [Editorial] NK & US: Stop Arguing and Return to Talks
Updated : Jul.05.2005 06:59 KST
The war of nerves between North Korea and the United States about
restarting the six-party talks continues. We hope each side
places the greatest priority on reopening the talks and takes a
step back. Our government, for its part, must work harder in a
leadership role so that the talks may open quickly and produce
substantial results.
Attending an academic conference in New York that ended last
weekend, senior North Korean diplomat Ri Gun said it is the US
that must give the right reasons for returning to the six-party
talks. He meant that the US must withdraw the statement about the
North being an "outpost of tyranny." The US, on the other hand,
is ignoring such North Korean demands while pressuring it to just
return to the talks first. On the surface the situation looks
like there is no room for compromise. However, both sides are
refraining from saying anything that would upset the other side.
Han Song Ryol, deputy North Korean ambassador to the UN, said
last month that he thinks the talks can be held "maybe even in
July if the US does not use the 'tyranny' term for at least a
month." Things are moving in a direction where talks would be
held this month.
The biggest obstacle to progress in the six-party talks has been
the distrust that exists between the North and the US. The war of
nerves over the "tyranny" comment can be seen in that context.
The North takes that implies that the US will eventually attempt
regime change in Pyongyang, and the US tries to use "tyranny" as
a means of keeping the North in check, since it does not trust
Pyongyang's actions. With that being the situation there will be
problems even if the talks do open again. If the Bush
Administration really wants to resolve the North Korean nuclear
issue it first needs to alleviate Pyongyang's concerns about
regime change. The North needs to return to the talks without
setting conditions and by doing so earn trust from the
international community. We hope each side stops the unnecessary
war of nerves at the follow-up contact about to be made and that
they engage in substantial discussion.
The Hankyoreh, 5 July 2005.
*****************************************************************
5 Guardian Unlimited: S.Korea Hopeful N.Korea Will Come to Talks
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Monday July 4, 2005 10:31 AM
By JI-SOO KIM
Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Senior South Korean officials said
Monday they are optimistic North Korea will return this month to
nuclear disarmament talks after Seoul's point man on the
discussions made a visit to the United States last week.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told his ministry it
should focus on achieving a resumption of the talks this month.
``We must make creative efforts for resolution of the North
Korean nuclear issue, once the six-party framework is activated
and opened,'' Chung said.
North Korea has for the past year boycotted the talks aimed at
shutting down 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. Previous meetings have been held in Beijing.
Kim Jong Il raised hopes last month when he told Chung that the
North might return to the table as early as this month. But he
offered no specific date.
Chung then held talks in Washington last week with senior U.S.
officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, and later
alluded to a secret proposal the South Korean government intends
to introduce in the negotiations.
``We agreed that the next six-party talks, when they open, will
gain momentum if we combine the proposals from the previous
talks and South Korea's 'important proposal,''' Chung said
Friday. Seoul has not publicly disclosed the contents of the
``important proposal.''
South Korean media have reported it is a broad package of
economic and energy incentives, including a ``Marshall Plan''
type of program for the impoverished North, referring to the
massive aid program the United States provided Western Europe
after World War II.
Chung said he explained the proposal to North Korean leader Kim
when they met in Pyongyang on June 17. Kim responded that he
would give an answer after careful consideration.
Christopher Hill, U.S. assistant secretary of state and the
official in charge of U.S. efforts on the North's nuclear
program, has said that the United States has no problems with
Seoul's proposal.
Kim Sook, director-general of the South Korean Foreign
Ministry's North American Affairs Bureau, said the visit was
positive and also predicted an early resumption of disarmament
talks after the meeting in Washington.
Guardian Unlimited Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
6 Korea Times: Japan, NK Trade Blows on Nuke Issue
Hankooki.com > The Korea Times > Nation
By Reuben Staines Staff Reporter
Japan is losing patience with North Koreas refusal to return
to multilateral talks aimed at resolving the standoff over its
nuclear weapons program, a top Tokyo official has warned.
Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said on Monday
that despite recent optimism that North Korea is preparing to
resume the stalled nuclear negotiations, ``the Japanese
government is neither extremely optimistic nor extremely
pessimistic.
``Soon we will reach the limits of our patience, Machimura
said in an interview with Reuters news agency. ``The passage of
time helps North Koreas nuclear development. We need to deal
with this with a sense of urgency.
The comments continued a pointed war of words between Tokyo and
Pyongyang, which still harbors resentment toward Japan for its
harsh colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula.
Hitting back at recent Japanese calls for a tougher
international approach to the nuclear issue, North Koreas
state-run media on Monday labeled Tokyo a ``political dwarf
and said it should be excluded from future nuclear negotiations.
``It is desirable that Japan step aside to see the settlement
of the (nuclear) issue, Minju Chosun, a daily run by
Pyongyangs Workers Party, said in a commentary.
``The nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula is not a matter for
such an insincere and clumsy political dwarf as Japan to deal
with, the newspaper was quoted as saying by the Norths
Korean Central News Agency.
South Korean officials have voiced hope that North Korea will
return to the six-party talks this month following a rare
meeting with communist countrys reclusive leader Kim Jong-il
on June 17. However, Pyongyang has yet to set a date for the
talks, which were last held more than a year ago.
rjs@koreatimes.co.kr 07-05-2005 20:36
*****************************************************************
7 Herald: Science to the rescue?
Web Issue 2304 July 05 2005
Editorial Comment July 05 2005
The sherpas have done their work. Now it is time for the G8
leaders, the men on whose behalf the backroom officials laboured
to produce the draft agreement for the Gleneagles summit, to
show if they can make a successful assault on tackling the
priorities set by Tony Blair. On climate change, the prospects
might seem poor. George W Bush last night repeated that America,
the world's biggest producer of greenhouse gas emissions, would
not sign up to the Kyoto Protocol on climate change because it
would damage the US economy. Has national self-interest
condemned the summit to failure before it has even started?
Not necessarily. Mr Bush has belatedly accepted that global
warming exists and that collective action is needed to tackle
it. If Kyoto is not the answer, what is? Mr Bush regards new
technology as the key. It was appropriate that he should speak
of his faith in technology on the day America demonstrated its
prowess in applied science when the Deep Impact project scored a
direct hit on a comet 85 million miles from earth. Nasa's
achievement was likened to firing a bullet at a playing card
side-on from 20 miles away and hitting it. The purpose of the
experiment is to learn more about the origins of the universe.
Global warming is in the here and now and will cause
potentially catastrophic environmental damage unless
carbon-dioxide emissions are greatly reduced. Is new technology
a viable magic bullet? Mr Bush believes the US can reach its
emissions targets by investing in science. He has outlined three
areas where he says technology can address climate change. These
are hydrogen fuel cells (seen as the transport technology of the
future, although making hydrogen itself produces emissions);
carbon sequestration (cleaning carbon dioxide from power plant
flues or fossil fuels and storing them undersea, technology
Britain is also investing in); and nuclear power (which does not
directly generate greenhouse gases but produces radioactive
waste active for thousands of years).
If the technology proves itself, it could be exported to
benefit the world at large, and especially those developing
countries not obliged by the protocol to cut emissions and whose
economies are making rapid advances. Fuel consumption in China
(the second biggest producer of carbon dioxide) and India
increased by 15% and 7% respectively last year, which also saw
the biggest-ever rise in carbon emissions. It is no mere
coincidence. In environmental impact terms, eating up fuel at
such rates is unsustainable.
Yet fuel powers growth. The other half of the G8 development
agenda is eradicating poverty. Helping poor countries become
rich will exacerbate global warming unless carbon emissions are
tackled. At the same time, poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa
that contribute least to global warming suffer
disproportionately from its impact. Technology might be the
answer. But Mr Bush has a duty to cut US emissions today. He
must do so until the science proves itself as a viable
alternative.
Copyright Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights
Reserved
*****************************************************************
8 UN Conference Seeks To Close Loopholes Against Nuclear Terrorism
Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2005 13:01:18 -0400
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UN-BACKED CONFERENCE SEEKS TO CLOSE LOOPHOLES AGAINST NUCLEAR TERRORISM
New York, Jul 5 2005 12:00PM
Seeking to close loopholes that could help terrorists get their hands
on nuclear material, hundreds of delegates from some 90 countries
are meeting in Vienna this week to strengthen a United Nations-backed
treaty with amendments to avert theft and smuggling of
such materials and sabotage of nuclear facilities.
In short, the amendments now before this conference are vitally
important and, if adopted, will take another significant step in
reducing the vulnerability of States Parties, and, indeed, the entire
world, UN International Atomic Energy Agency (<"http://www.iaea.org">IAEA)
Deputy Director General David Waller <"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2005/cppnm040705.html">told
the opening
session yesterday.
He noted that the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear
Material (CPPNM), drawn up in 1980, is not sufficiently comprehensive
for todays world since it protects nuclear material used
for peaceful purposes while in international transport, but most
fundamentally covers neither the physical protection of nuclear
material in peaceful domestic use, storage and transport, nor nuclear
facilities themselves.
The proposed amendments would remedy these shortcomings, Mr. Waller
said. They would also provide for expanded cooperation between
and among States regarding rapid measures to locate and recover
stolen or smuggled nuclear material, mitigate any radiological
consequences of sabotage, and prevent and combat related offences.
The Vienna-based IAEA is the depositary of the CPPNM, which currently
has 111 States Parties. It is the only legally binding international
treaty providing physical protection of nuclear material
and ensuring improved security in the aftermath of the September
2001 terrorist attacks against the United States, since when a
group of experts has been working on strengthening its safeguards.
2005-07-05 00:00:00.000
________________
For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
To change your profile or unsubscribe go to:
http://www.un.org/news/dh/latest/subscribe.shtml
*****************************************************************
9 [NukeNet] UN Urges Tougher Measures on Nuclear Security, IAEA
Date: Tue, 05 Jul 2005 16:40:35 -0700
NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net)
1. IAEA to Weigh Strengthening Nuclear Laws
2.UN Urges Tougher Measures on Nuclear Security
3. Senate Votes to Shut Down Laser Meant for
Fusion Study
http://www.mothersalert.org/crac.html
http://www.tmia.com/sabter.html
1.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-UN-Nuclear-Agency.html
IAEA to Weigh Strengthening Nuclear Laws
a.. E-Mail This
b.. Printer-Friendly
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 4, 2005
Filed at 5:17 p.m. ET
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Delegates from about 100
countries began work Monday to revamp an
international treaty on protecting nuclear
material, arguing existing laws fail to do enough
to safeguard nuclear power plants from terrorism.
The push to shield nuclear facilities has gained
urgency since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, amid
new security concerns and nightmare scenarios of
fuel-laden jumbo jets smashing into an atomic
power plants.
''We can't go on with an old instrument in a new
world,'' the conference chairman, Alec Jean Baer
of Switzerland, said after the opening session. He
said the proposed changes to the Convention on the
Physical Protection of Nuclear Material would
amount to an overhaul.
The existing treaty was signed in Vienna and New
York in 1980, long before the threat of terrorist
nuclear attacks had become a pressing fear. It
covers the international transport of nuclear
material used for peaceful purposes, as well as
some provisions on domestic storage and use.
After years of talks on amending the treaty,
experts said it was time to undertake the job. But
so many changes are necessary, Baer said, that
delegates were essentially ''tearing it (the
treaty) down and building it up again.''
He likened the convention to an aging building
that needed so much renovation that only its outer
skeleton could remain intact. For the measure to
be updated to meet the current threat, a ''more
modern ... of course, more expensive'' structure
is needed, he said.
The changes under consideration by some 350
delegates would strengthen existing law by
establishing an international standard to protect
nuclear facilities from sabotage. The new changes
also would call for cooperation between countries
to locate and recover stolen and smuggled material
and to combat such offenses.
Though experts have long worried nuclear plants
and materials could be targeted by terrorists,
drawing up rules to protect them from such attacks
has taken time because the efforts cost money and
require expertise some countries don't have.
Baer had no estimate on how much each country will
have to spend to conform to the new rules, but it
would be up to states to finance the necessary
changes.
''The amendments now before this conference are
vitally important and if adopted, will take
another significant step in reducing the
vulnerability of states, parties and indeed the
entire world,'' David B. Waller, an IAEA deputy
director general, said in his opening remarks.
The session is not expected to produce instant
results. Even if experts agree to amend the
treaty, the countries that have signed it will all
have to ratify the changes -- a process that could
take time.
2.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-nuclear-security.html?
UN Urges Tougher Measures on Nuclear Security
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b.. Printer-Friendly
By REUTERS
Published: July 4, 2005
Filed at 11:25 a.m. ET
VIENNA (Reuters) - States must boost security at
their nuclear sites and cooperate more to track
down stolen or smuggled atomic materials to stop
them falling into the wrong hands, the U.N.
nuclear watchdog said on Monday.
Skip to next paragraph
The global body urged delegates from 83 countries
gathered in Vienna to close loopholes in an
international law on the protection of atomic
materials against terrorists and saboteurs.
Many countries agree that the 1979 Convention on
the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material
(CPPNM) needs to be adapted to the post-Soviet
era, said International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) Deputy Director-General David Waller.
``The scope of the CPPNM is not sufficiently
comprehensive to for today's world,'' he said.
In particular, Waller said, it does not cover the
physical protection of nuclear materials being
used, transported or stored for peaceful domestic
purposes.
The amendments to the pact would make it easier to
quickly locate and recover stolen or smuggled
nuclear material and ``lessen the radiological
consequences of sabotage,'' he added.
Some 91 pact signatories have promised to attend
the week-long conference to strengthen the CPPNM.
On the first day of the conference, 83 states had
registered to participate, enough to have the
legal authority to amend the convention.
According to the IAEA's Web site, among the
countries not party to the CPPNM are Iran, Georgia
and Kazakhstan -- all states that at some time
represented significant nuclear security threats,
according to non-proliferation analysts.
The draft amendments -- submitted jointly by the
United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and 20
European states -- require signatories to protect
nuclear material by adopting proper legislation,
ensuring that a competent regulatory body is
chosen and taking any other appropriate measures.
Waller said the IAEA's board of governors had met
on Sept. 11, 2001 to discuss nuclear security but
the proceedings were interrupted by the airline
hijack attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon.
This was ``an event that left no doubt regarding
the increased vulnerability we all face,'' he
said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/02/politics/02laser.html
Senate Votes to Shut Down Laser Meant for Fusion
Study
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b.. Printer-Friendly
c.. Reprints
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
Published: July 2, 2005
The Senate voted early yesterday morning to stop
construction of the nation's costliest science
project, a laser roughly the size of a football
stadium that is meant to harness fusion, the
process that powers the Sun.
The project, the National Ignition Facility, or
NIF (pronounced niff), is at the Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory in California and
has cost $2.8 billion. About 80 percent complete,
NIF is scheduled to be finished in 2009 at a cost
of $3.5 billion and operate for three decades at
an annual cost of $150 million, for a total of $8
billion.
The Senate's action, part of the $31 billion
energy and water appropriations bill, prompted
warnings from the project's leaders that its
demise could damage the nation's leadership in a
field important to confronting energy shortages.
This week, an international consortium picked
France as the site of the world's first
large-scale, sustainable nuclear fusion reactor, a
project with an estimated cost of $10 billion.
"What's at stake here is the opportunity to meet
one of the grand challenges of science," Michael
R. Anastasio, director of the Livermore
laboratory, said in an interview. "It's essential
for investigating fusion, which will help sustain
confidence in our nuclear stockpile and inform our
future thinking about fusion energy."
Other Livermore officials warned of a parallel to
the Superconducting Supercollider, a proposed
54-mile particle accelerator that Congress killed
in 1993 after spending $2 billion. Some physicists
regard its fate as a symbol of the erosion of the
nation's scientific standing.
The Bush administration backs the National
Ignition Facility, and the Senate action could be
reversed or modified later this summer in
conference with the House.
"There's going to be some meeting of the minds,"
said Greg Mello, director of the Los Alamos Study
Group, a private organization in Albuquerque that
monitors the nation's nuclear laboratories. "I
think NIF will be hurt, but I doubt that it will
come to a complete standstill."
In nuclear fusion, atoms merge and release bursts
of energy, as in the sun or in hydrogen bombs.
The facility's powerful laser beams are intended
to produce blistering hot conditions similar to
those in exploding nuclear arms, helping
scientists ensure the reliability of the nation's
nuclear stockpile without the need for underground
tests. Less directly, scientists want to use the
beams to explore laser fusion as a way of
producing commercial power.
But last month, Senator Pete V. Domenici, the New
Mexico Republican who heads the Subcommittee on
Energy and Water, proposed to delete all
construction money, $146 million, from the
administration's request for the coming year.
The bill does provide $314 million for limited
research. Livermore scientists have built 4 of
NIF's planned 192 laser beams and are firing them
at targets the size of a BB, producing the first
scientific insights.
Mr. Domenici, whose state includes both the Los
Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories, in recent
statements has accused the administration of
"single-mindedly" supporting the California
project at the expense of other worthy efforts.
The ignition facility "is just one of many tools
that must be supported," he said.
"The Senate bill will correct this imbalance," he
said.
_______________________________________________________________________
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10 RIA Novosti: Russia for broadening scope of nuclear convention
6/07/2005
MOSCOW, July 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is in favor of broadening
the scope of the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear
Material, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
"Russia is in favor of essentially broadening the scope of the
Convention, so that besides international transportation, it can
be applied to activity using nuclear material inside a country,"
the ministry's press department said in a statement to coincide
with a conference at the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) in Vienna on July 4 to review the Convention.
It also said Russia wanted to improve cooperation between states
in the prevention and management of nuclear accidents.
The ministry stressed that most countries shared Russia's views
and supported its approach toward improving nuclear security.
"It is obvious that these objectives can be achieved by
improving interaction in prosecuting those who violate the
Convention's regulations," the document released by the ministry
reads.
The Convention provides for the safety of nuclear material
during international transportation to prevent it from falling
into the hands of terrorists and other criminals.
This week 550 delegates from 92 countries will consider ways to
improve the physical protection of nuclear material and make
amendments to improve the global community's ability to counter
the threat of nuclear terrorism, and to improve global nuclear
security.
The conference will end with the adoption of a final act on July
8.
2005 "RIA Novosti"
*****************************************************************
11 BBC: Nuclear treaty to be strengthened
Last Updated: Monday, 4 July, 2005
[Iranian nuclear facility]
9/11 raised fears about the possibility of nuclear terrorism
UN delegates meeting in Vienna are expected to adopt new measures
to protect nuclear material from terrorism, sabotage and
smuggling.
The review of the Convention on the Physical Protection of
Nuclear Material was prompted by the 9/11 attacks.
Tougher security measures are envisaged for nuclear sites such as
storage plants for spent fuel.
Proposals also provide for more co-operation between nations to
locate and recover stolen nuclear material.
Terror threat
Delegates from 80 countries are considering the proposals at the
UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in
the Austrian capital.
The 1980 convention was designed mainly to protect nuclear
material in international transport and includes some provisions
on domestic storage and use.
But following the 11 September 2001 attacks, a decision was taken
to strengthen the convention amid concerns about the possibility
of nuclear terrorism.
"What is happening now is the realisation that virtually any
nuclear reactor could be the target of a highly co-ordinated
terrorist attack," said Daryl Kimball, of the Washington-based
Arms Control Association.
"If damaged, [a reactor] could become a weapon by scattering
nuclear material over a broad area."
The five-day conference is expected to adopt a series of
amendments expanding the scope of the convention, to include the
protection of nuclear material within countries.
Mohammed ElBaradei, head of the UN's atomic watchdog, said the
amendments will be another milestone in international efforts to
protect nuclear facilities.
*****************************************************************
12 Daily Times: AQ Khan should be produced in NA - Rafique
| Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Staff Report
LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has asked the
government to produce nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan
before the National Assembly and give him an opportunity to
clarify himself.
MNA Khawaja Saad Rafique, former PML-N Punjab general secretary,
while addressing a press conference on Sunday said that it was
Khans fundamental right to defend himself. Rafique said the
government had no right to put him under house arrest and that
Khans life was not safe in their custody.
He said that the party would protest against the recent increase
in petrol prices on the direction of Mian Nawaz Sharif and its
schedule of rallies would be announced in a couple of days.
Daily Times - All Rights Reserved
Site developed
and hosted by WorldCALL Internet
*****************************************************************
13 ITAR-TASS: Ex Russian nuclear minister refuses extradition to USA
05.07.2005, 15.49
GENEVA, July 5 (Itar-Tass) - Former Russian nuclear minister
Yevgeny Adamov refused extradition to the United States,
Switzerland's Federal Justice Department spokesman Folco Galli
told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.
Adamov, kept in a Bern remand ward, was notified about the U.S.
request for his extradition on July 4 by a representative of
Canton of Bern's authorities.
"Yevgeny Adamov was informed and heard out. He had an
opportunity to have his say. He stated that he still refused
extradition to the USA," Galli said.
Earlier, Adamov refused extradition to Russia. At the July 4
meeting, Swiss authorities did not raise the issue of his
possible extradition to Moscow. "He was only informed about the
U.S. request for extradition," the spokesman said.
The former Russian nuclear minister was arrested in Bern on May
2 on U.S. request. The United States suspects him of
misappropriating nine million dollars.
The USA sent the extradition request to Switzerland on June 24,
six days before the deadline.
Swiss authorities will have to decide which of the two requests
should be given priority.
However, things may not go that far, because Adamov may be freed
by a ruling of the Lousanne court, the highest judicial
authority of the country.
The court is expected to review the appeal by the Federal
Justice Department against the ruling by the federal criminal
court in Bellinzone, which said on June 9 that the arrest of
Adamov had been made in violation of international treaties that
guarantee the inviolability of person.
Galli told Tass he did not know when the appeal might be
considered. The press service of the Lousanne court could not
immediately name the date either.
ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy,
*****************************************************************
14 MNA: Uranium, world’s future source of fuel - expert
2005/07/06
TEHRAN, July 4 (MNA) -- Uranium is the world’s future source of
fuel and under no circumstances should Iran deprive itself from
it, nuclear expert Rasul Khodabakhsh said on Monday.
It usually takes about 70 years for every country to develop
various indigenous nuclear technologies, Khodabaksh told the
Mehr News Agency.
“Nuclear activities began in Iran from 30 years ago and we
still face a long way ahead regarding various issues like the
production of light water power plants,” he observed.
He noted that by producing 1000 megawatts of electricity in the
Bushehr nuclear power plant, which is equal to the amount of
energy derived annually from two million tons of coal or 27.3
million barrels of oil, Iran can save up to two billion dollars
per annum.
Former IAEA envoy says next govt. should use Iran’s scientific
potential
Iran’s former envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency
Mohammad Kiarashi said that the next government should make use
of the country’s scientific potential as well ass the young,
brave and determined forces to resolve the country’s nuclear
issue.
“Today, Iran serves as a model for many developing nations and
Third World countries and this is why we face a wave of threats
from the West against access to modern nuclear technology,”
Kiarashi told the Mehr News Agency on Sunday.
“The next president cannot gain the approval of the West
through confidence-building measures since in the Western
liberalism, no country other than Western states have the right
to gain access to advanced nuclear technology,” he observed.
HL/MS
End
MNA
© 2003 Mehr News Agency
*****************************************************************
15 Guardian Unlimited: Senate Keeps 'Bunker-Buster' Program Alive
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Friday July 1, 2005 10:16 PM
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration may get another chance
to try to develop an earth-penetrating nuclear warhead. The
Senate on Friday agreed to revive the ``bunker-buster'' program
that Congress last year decided to kill.
Administration officials have maintained that the country needs
to try to develop a nuclear warhead that would be capable of
destroying deeply buried targets including bunkers tunneled into
solid rock.
But opponents said that its benefits are questionable and that
such a warhead would cause extensive radiation fallout above
ground killing thousands of people. And they say it may make it
easier for a future president to decide to use the nuclear
option instead of a conventional weapon.
The Senate early Friday voted 53-43 to include $4 million for
research into the feasibility of a bunker-buster nuclear
warhead. Earlier this year, the House refused to provide the
money, so a final decision will have to be worked between the
two chambers.
The money is included in a $31.2 billion spending measure for
the Energy Department and other programs. Last year Congress
killed the program, but the Bush administration asked that it be
revived.
Supporters of the program said the $4 million does not signal
development of any new warheads. They argue that the money would
be used to see whether a sufficiently hardened casing could be
developed for an existing warhead so that it can penetrate
beneath the earth before exploding and destroy reinforced
underground bunkers.
But Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., one of Congress' most vocal
opponents of the bunker-buster, said the program ``sends the
wrong signals to the rest of the world by reopening the nuclear
door and beginning the testing and development of a new
generation of nuclear weapons.''
``A bunker-buster cannot penetrate into the Earth deeply enough
to avoid massive casualties and the spewing of millions of cubic
feet of radioactive materials into the atmosphere,'' said
Feinstein.
Last April, a panel of the National Academy of Sciences,
concluded that an earth-penetrating nuclear device would likely
cause the same casualties as a surface burst if the weapons are
of the same size. Such a bomb could cause from several thousand
to 1 million casualties depending on its yield and location,
according to the report requested by Congress.
At a congressional hearing earlier this year, Linton Brooks,
head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, which
oversees nuclear weapons programs, acknowledged that there is no
way to avoid significant fallout of radioactive debris from use
of a bunker-buster warhead.
He said the administration never intended to suggest ``that it
was possible to have a bomb that penetrated far enough to trap
all fallout. I don't believe the laws of physics will ever let
that be true.''
Nevertheless, Brooks and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have
argued that a nuclear weapon that can destroy hardened, deeply
buried targets is needed in the U.S. arsenal.
When challenged by Feinstein over the bunker buster at a hearing
in April, Rumsfeld said there are many potential U.S.
adversaries that are capable of putting hardened facilities deep
underground, often in solid rock, that conventional weapons
cannot reach.
Guardian Unlimited Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
16 Guardian Unlimited: IAEA to Weigh Strengthening Nuclear Laws
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Monday July 4, 2005 11:31 AM
By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Representatives of 80 countries gathered
at the U.N. nuclear agency's Vienna headquarters Monday to
consider strengthening international laws meant to safeguard
nuclear materials from theft and prevent terrorist attacks on
atomic power plants.
The push to shield nuclear materials has gained urgency since
Sept. 11, which focused attention on other potential targets of
catastrophic terrorist attacks.
After years of talks, 350 delegates from around the world met in
Austria's capital to discuss the adoption of international
standards for protecting nuclear sites and materials.
``What is happening now is the realization that virtually any
nuclear reactor could be the target of a highly coordinated
terrorist attack,'' said Daryl Kimball, executive director of
the Washington-based Arms Control Association. ``If damaged, (a
reactor) could become a weapon by scattering nuclear material
over a broad area.''
Though experts have long worried that nuclear plants and
materials could be targeted by terrorists, drawing up rules to
protect them from such attacks has taken time because the
efforts cost money and require expertise that some poorer
countries don't have. While the International Atomic Energy
Agency has provided help to some nations, more needs to be done.
The resistance of some nations to move quickly on safeguarding
material has frustrated nonproliferation advocates.
``We have our hair on fire on this issue,'' said Rose
Gottemoeller, a senior associate of the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace.
The five-day session at the U.N. nuclear agency will consider
amending the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear
Material. The treaty, signed in Vienna and New York in 1980,
applies to nuclear material used for peaceful purposes while it
is being moved between countries, and includes some provisions
on domestic storage and use.
The amended treaty would strengthen existing law by establishing
an international standard to protect the facilities from
sabotage and the material against theft and smuggling. The new
convention also calls for cooperation between countries to
locate and recover stolen and smuggled material and to combat
such offenses.
But the effort has been complicated because domestic laws in
some member countries need to be changed.
Having countries accept the new measures ``will be no
cakewalk,'' Gottemoeller said, citing past disagreements. Even
if experts agree to amend the treaty, the countries that have
signed it will all have to ratify the changes.
``Treaty making is always a long, slow process,'' said Mark
Gwozdecky, the spokesman for the U.N. agency. ``This is a
milestone on the way there.''
Guardian Unlimited Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
17 [NYTr] Cuba Still Treating Chernobyl Victims
Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2005 10:14:01 -0500 (CDT)
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
Reuters - July 4, 2005
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N29443941.htm
Young Chernobyl victims heal in Cuban sun
By Anthony Boadle
TARARA, Cuba, July 4 (Reuters) - At a beach resort near Havana, children
with bald heads and skin lesions splash with joy in the warm Caribbean sea.
They are victims of radiation fallout from the worst civilian disaster of
the nuclear age -- the 1986 power plant explosion in Chernobyl -- and are in
Cuba for treatment.
"I want to stay here," says Sveta, a blue-eyed 15-year-old from Ukraine's
capital Kiev whose eyelashes are beginning to grow back.
Since 1990, communist Cuba has treated free of charge 18,000 Ukrainian
children for hair loss, skin disorders, cancer, leukemia and other illnesses
attributed to the radioactivity unleashed by the reactor meltdown years
before they were born.
Up to 800 children travel to the Tarara Pediatric Hospital each year for at
least two months, accompanied by parents or tutors. Some stay years. They
live in bungalows built as beach houses by rich Cubans before Fidel Castro's
1959 revolution.
Most get treatment for hair loss, spending 15 minutes a day under an
infrared light after a lotion made from human placenta is applied to their
heads. Hair grows back in 60 percent of cases, said Dr. Giraldo Hernandez.
Many children suffer from vitiligo, a patchy loss of skin pigmentation,
which is treated with another placenta-based lotion and lots of sunlight on
the beach. Psoriasis is also common.
More serious cases of cancer require chemotherapy or surgery. Six leukemia
patients have received bone marrow transplants in Cuba.
While some disorders, such as the 30-fold increase in thyroid cancer among
Ukrainian children, are directly linked to the Chernobyl accident,
scientists do not know whether hair loss is caused by radioactive pollution
or post-traumatic stress.
FUN IN THE SUN
Recreation in the tropical sun is as much a part of the cure as the medical
treatment, Cuban doctors say.
Baldness is particularly difficult to bear for adolescent girls painfully
aware of their looks, some of whom arrive in Cuba wearing wigs.
Playing on Tarara's palm tree-lined beach, they soon shed their complexes
and recover a joy for life and personal goals, said Dr. Hernandez.
"It helps. We sit under the infrared lamp and they put a lotion on our
heads. Then we go to the beach," said 16-year-old Alina Petrusha from
Zaporozhe, in southeast Ukraine.
She began to lose her hair when she was 8 and has spent a total of 2-1/2
years at Tarara since 2001. Wearing jeans and tanktop, three rings on an
ear, glitter lip gloss and eyebrows painted on with a makeup pencil, Alina
says she and her friends love to go dancing at Tarara's disco at night.
"My hair starts to grow here, but when I go home I lose it again," she said.
CUBAN SOLIDARITY
Havana began helping Chernobyl children when Ukraine was a Soviet republic
and communist ally. The program was maintained after Soviet communism
collapsed, plunging Cuba into deep economic crisis from which it has not
recovered.
Cuba has never revealed the cost of the program, which Ukrainian officials
estimate at some $300 million to date.
"Like no other country Cuba held out a helping hand at a very difficult
moment. We suffered an immense catastrophe and needed help for the most
valuable thing any nation has: its children," said Raisa Moinsenko, a
Ukrainian Health Ministry official.
Many of the children are orphans or come from poor families that cannot
afford medical treatment in Ukraine, where public health care has
deteriorated since the demise of the communist state and private medicical
care is expensive.
The radioactive contamination from Chernobyl will take decades to break down
and genetic defects among Ukrainian children are expected to continue
occurring for years.
Tania Syomka from Zaporozhe flew to Cuba a year ago with her crippled
daughter for an operation to treat a deformation of her spine that she could
not pay for at home.
"Now Irina can do everything she wants, go to the beach and the disco. She
is a tall and very pretty girl now," Syomka said.
The longest resident at Tarara, Vladimir Zaslaski, could not walk when he
arrived 11 years ago suffering from a progressive neurological movement
disorder. His spasms ended after Cuban neurosurgeons operated.
"This comes from Chernobyl. Thanks to Cuba I began to walk a year ago," the
21-year-old said.
*
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18 Herald Sun: Doubts over 'clean' nuke power
[04jul05]
NUCLEAR power generates more damaging greenhouse gas emissions
than gas-fired power, an Australian scientist says.
As federal and state politicians debate the merits of starting
down the nuclear power path to help reduce Australia's
contribution to global warming, scientists say it may not be so
clean after all.
University of NSW Institute of Environmental Studies senior
lecturer Dr Mark Diesendorf says nuclear power stations do not
emit carbon dioxide (CO2) themselves, but the processes involved
in creating nuclear energy do.
Mining, milling, uranium enrichment, nuclear fuel production,
power station construction and operation, storage and
reprocessing of spent fuel, long-term management of radioactive
waste and closing down old power stations all require the
burning of fossil fuels, he says.
"Most of the energy inputs to the full life cycle of nuclear
fuel come from fossil fuels and are therefore responsible for
CO2 emissions," Dr Diesendorf writes in this month's edition of
the Australasian Science magazine.
Nuclear power stations using high-grade uranium ores would have
to run for seven to 10 years before they created enough power to
cancel out the energy required to establish them.
Wind power takes just three to six months to do the same.
For lower grade uranium ores, greenhouse gas emissions
outweighed those produced by an equivalent gas-fired power
station, Dr Diesendorf said.
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
(ANSTO) has argued nuclear energy could help tackle climate
change, saying it saves about 30 per cent of CO2 emissions in the
United States.
NSW Premier Bob Carr has been running a campaign for months to
get nuclear power onto the national political agenda and says it
could provide a bridge between harmful fossil fuels like coal and
renewable energy.
Despite this, the NSW Labor Party voted to oppose the
construction of nuclear power plants at a conference last month.
But Prime Minister John Howard has welcomed the debate amid
speculation over where a future nuclear waste dump would be
located in Australia.
No state or territory is keen to take on the burden.
Meanwhile, The Nationals research arm, the Page Research Centre,
has launched an inquiry into fuel and energy use in Australia.
The group convened to conduct the research will be headed by
Nationals MPs Bruce Scott and John Forrest and will look into the
future of uranium, natural gas, LPG, coal and biofuels.
"We are particularly keen to investigate possible strategies for
nuclear energy," Mr Forrest said.
The group is expected to report at The Nationals federal council
meeting in September, but one of the party's members has already
poured cold water on nuclear power.
Outspoken Queensland Nationals senator-elect Barnaby Joyce has
said there are too many arguments against nuclear power and
Australia's coal resources remain strong.
He says if nuclear power goes awry, it will be a
multi-generational mistake and is also concerned about the
implications for nuclear war.
Herald and Weekly Times
*****************************************************************
19 inadaily.com: US visited nuclear sites
[International News Alliance]
The Asian AgeIndia | Seema Mustafa
New Delhi: The Americans were given a conducted tour of India's
nuclear installations under the guise of mutual concern over
nuclear security and expanded "civilian nuclear activities".
In February this year the Manmohan Singh government facilitated
the visit of a five-member delegation from the US Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (USNRC) to Indian nuclear installations
for a first-hand assessment of India's nuclear safeguards.
The USNRC delegation was led by commissioner Jeffrey S.
Merrifield and visited the Dhruva reactor, some of the
engineering research and development facilities at Barc in
Trombay, the Tarapur site where two US-designed boiling water
reactor units are operational and two units of 540 MW each of
pressurised heavy water reactors are under construction, as well
as the Kota site where four PHWR units are operating and two are
under construction. Informed sources said a visit by
commissioner Merrifield to the military nuclear installations
was also organised, although this could not be independently
confirmed.
The US embassy here arranged for a select meeting of a few
Indian security experts with commissioner Merrifield at the
time. He was particularly enthusiastic about Indian nuclear
safeguards, maintaining he was "very impressed".
The import of the visit escaped attention here at the time, more
so as it was the first time that a foreign delegation had been
allowed full access to Indian nuclear sites. The visit was
supposedly part of a workshop co-hosted by the USNRC and the
Indian Atomic Energy Regulatory Board as part of what is
described by the latter as "the ongoing nuclear safety
cooperation between the two regulatory authorities".
The AERB maintains that the discussions "were found to be
extremely useful by both sides and provided deeper insights into
the nuclear process in the two countries". The US, according to
official statistics made available here, has 103 operating
nuclear power reactors while India has 14 nuclear power plants
in operation and nine under construction.
Interestingly, a beginning was made in 2003 under the NDA
government with the USNRC head at the time, Mr Richard A.
Meserve, visiting India for what were described as detailed
discussions with top officials of both the AERB and the Atomic
Energy Commission. Since then four meetings in India, and two in
the US, have been held with this year's February meeting taking
the cooperation to a physical visit of a US team of officials to
Indian nuclear installations.
Interestingly, as is part of official US procedure regarding
India now, the UNSRC has offered to host AERB personnel to
"provide exposure" to its nuclear safety regulatory procedure.
Three meetings between the two sides are planned during this
year with the next scheduled to be held in August-September in
the US. The excuse for the growing cooperation between
Washington and New Delhi in this sensitive area is to "lay a
foundation for a strong programme of nuclear safety".
In January last year, US President George W. Bush was more
explicit when he announced that India and the US will "expand
cooperation in three specific areas, civilian nuclear
activities, civilian space programme and high-technology trade.
In addition, we agree to expand our dialogue on missile
defence".
In this sense, the offer made by US secretary of state
Condoleezza Rice to step up civilian nuclear cooperation during
her recent visit here was not new, but just a follow-up of an
already taken decision. Experts pointing to this were sceptical
about the Indian rush to tie up a civilian nuclear agreement
with the US.
Mr Brahma Chellaney did not hesitate in pointing out that "we
are not prepared to spend more than half a billion dollars in
our own commercial nuclear energy industry, but are now
clamouring to spend billions of dollars for nuclear reactors and
fuel from the US."
He was particularly critical of the government's disinclination
to indiginise its nuclear energy programme. President Bush,
elaborating on his proposal, had said, "It will include expanded
engagement on nuclear regulatory and safety issues and missile
defence." The UPA government, the sources said, was following
the policies set into motion by the BJP-led NDA coalition with
one difference: "It has accelerated the pace."
http://www.asianage.com/?INA=2:175:175:167459
2005 The Asian Age
Copyright 2005 The International News Alliance.
All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
20 RIA Novosti: Russia prepared to build more power units in Bushehr
6/07/2005
TEHRAN, July 5 (RIA Novosti, Nikolai Terekhov) - The head of the
Russian Audit Chamber, the country's financial watchdog, said
Russia was interested in building more power units at the
nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Iran. "While visiting the first
unit of the Bushehr nuclear power plant being built by Russian
specialists, Russian and Iranian officials discussed whether
Russia would take part in the construction of second, third, and
fourth units," Sergei Stepashin said. Stepashin said: "Russia is
prepared for and genuinely interested in this."
"However, the question is what the current Iranian government
means by the new nuclear policy of the Islamic Republic," said
Stepashin.
"Russia will continue constructing more power units in Bushehr
if Russia, Europe and Iran will succeed in coordinating their
positions on Iran's nuclear programs," he said.
"Iran's nuclear programs are a sore point in the current
negotiation process," Stepashin said. He added that it was
important to see how existing agreements were observed, which
primarily concerned the positions of the International Atomic
Energy Agency and European countries.
According to him, the first unit of the Bushehr plant will be
put into operation in late 2006. Stepashin said everything was
ready with exception of a few technical problems remaining.
"It is worth mentioning that we have a capable team working at
the plant. Another 500 Russian specialists are expected to join
it soon," he added.
"This team of specialists is ready to complete the construction
and in next five or six months can start drafting agreements on
the construction of other power units in Bushehr," Stepashin
said.
2005 "RIA Novosti"
*****************************************************************
21 The Herald: Who will build Blairs nuclear power plants?
Web Issue 2304 July 05 2005
ALF YOUNG on Tuesday July 05 2005
BEFORE his re-election in May and since, there have been broad
hints that Tony Blair sees a significant role for nuclear power
in meeting Britain's future energy needs, while cutting our
emissions of greenhouse gases.
This time last year, the prime minister told senior MPs: "I
have fought long and hard, both within my party and outside, to
make sure that the nuclear option is not closed off". Blair, who
revealed he had been lobbied by the Americans to look again at
the nuclear option as the best way of cutting carbon emissions,
sounded a cautionary note about the chances of meeting the
government's long-term target of a 60% reduction in carbon
dioxide emissions by 2050 without a substantial nuclear
contribution.
Nuclear power could not be removed from the agenda, he
insisted, "if you are serious about the issue of climate change".
Then, just before May's poll, there was another flurry of
reports that a strategy team, under the PM's blue skies thinker
Lord Birt, was drawing up an action plan for building a
generation of nuclear stations to take over from the current
capacity when it is phased out by 2025.
Since the election, Sir David King, the government's chief
scientific adviser, has argued publicly that one more generation
of nuclear stations is needed to plug the supply gap that will
open up when today's plants, which currently supply a quarter of
the UK's power, are switched off.
Blair, we are told, is sympathetic to that viewpoint. If he is,
Friday's news that state-owned British Nuclear Fuels is intent
on selling Westinghouse, its profitable US subsidiary,
constitutes something of a conundrum.
Westinghouse designs and builds nuclear power plants. Indeed,
it is now in the running to build four reactors for China. If it
can land that order, there could be upwards of 30 more in the
pipeline over the next two decades, if the fastest-growing
economy on the planet builds all the nuclear capacity it is
currently planning.
There are 15 possible bidders, including some from the US,
France and Japan, already in the queue to acquire Westinghouse.
One of them, the French group Areva, is a rival bidder for the
Chinese contract. So why, given the prime minister's stance on
nuclear power, is the heavily loss-making BNFL so intent on
selling off a profitable American arm with a famous name that
still knows how to build nuclear power stations?
The official explanation is that BNFL sees its future as a
contractor rather than an owner-operator or manufacturer of
nuclear facilities. It is currently transferring ownership of
the Magnox generation of UK stations (including Hunterston A and
Chapelcross in Scotland), the Sellafield reprocessing plant in
Cumbria and its other nuclear liabilities in Britain to the new
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
BNFL, which employs 23,000 people at 51 sites (including one in
Beijing) in 16 countries, no longer wants to span the entire
nuclear cycle from reactor design to decommissioning and
clean-up. In the words of its chairman, it wants to "control
risks to the UK taxpayer" and become the "contractor of choice"
for decommissioning and clean-up to the new NDA.
Westinghouse, whose current AP1000 light water reactor design
has now had final approval from the American authorities, does
not fit that strategy. Better still, with interest in nuclear
generation reviving and buyers already at the door, Westinghouse
looks like a handy cash windfall for a shareholder (the British
government) which has grown used to writing cheques to get BNFL
out of various financial holes, not receiving them.
Westinghouse is thought to be worth around 1bn. A tidy sum
when the UK's public finances are looking a trifle strained. But
if Tony Blair really is serious about building another
generation of nuclear plants, does it make good strategic sense
to sell off your only in-house reactor builder just before you
press ahead with that policy?
There is one other twist to this tortuous tale. Westinghouse's
efforts to land the China contract, against French and Russian
competition, have just suffered a backlash in Washington. The
protectionist anti-Chinese sentiment sweeping Congress in the
wake of a provocative bid by a state-controlled Chinese oil and
gas group for Unocal, one of America's smaller oil majors, is
threatening to destabilise the BNFL subsidiary's chances of
being picked by the Chinese to build those four reactors.
It is not just a matter of diplomatic tit-for-tat. The
Westinghouse offer to the Chinese was dependent on a $5bn
financing loan sanctioned by the federally-controlled
Export-Import Bank. The House of Representatives has now voted
to disallow that loan.
Without it, Westinghouse may struggle to compete for the
contract. Worse, that could shrink the price BNFL can expect to
get for what group chief executive Mike Parker has called "a
prime asset that has all the skills to prosper in the private
sector". Gordon Brown may get a smaller cheque than he was
hoping for. And Tony Blair may find his government has sold off
a successful reactor builder on discounted terms at the very
moment he hopes to revive Britain's own nuclear power industry.
Copyright Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights
*****************************************************************
22 The Indiana Star: Going nuclear can reap benefits
July 5, 2005
today's editorial
Our position is: The nation's energy policy should include new
nuclear power plants.
President Bush's recent call to build more nuclear power plants
has stirred lingering memories of reactor meltdowns at Chernobyl
and Three Mile Island. But despite the fears often associated
with nuclear power, reality paints a far more benign picture.
The Senate last week approved an energy bill that contains
several provisions regarding nuclear energy, including
incentives to begin building new plants later this decade. Those
provisions should survive the conference committee's makeover of
the bill.
Meltdown of one of the reactors at Three Mile Island was largely
a human failure, not a failure of design. Despite the meltdown,
its containment facilities worked as advertised, without
radiological harm to anyone. Radioactive gases that escaped were
no more lethal than a chest X-ray.
Thirty-one deaths were reported in the immediate aftermath of
the 1986 meltdown at Chernobyl, which had no containment
facilities. Although about 130,000 people received significant
radiation exposure, to date there have been about 10 deaths
related to thyroid cancer, but no increase in leukemia or other
cancers.
During the same period, about 1,000 miners a year have died in
accidents while digging coal for electrical power generation.
Natural gas explosions annually kill about 50 people. Mining
causes long-term ground and water pollution. Power plants emit
mercury, greenhouse gases that may lead to global warming and
air pollution that cuts short an untold number of lives.
Nuclear power, used to generate about 20 percent of the
electricity in the United States, has by far the best safety
record of any widely used technology. New reactor designs and
better training requirements have further reduced the risks. And
tests indicate that reactors aren't nearly as vulnerable to
terrorist attacks as feared.
Nuclear technology needs to be revisited in a country where
fossil fuel reserves are diminishing, dependence on foreign oil
is growing and the accumulation of greenhouse gases poses
unknown risks.
Copyright 2005
IndyStar.com. All rights reserved
Indiana network:
*****************************************************************
23 PoughkeepsieJournal.com: Power plants under pressure
Monday, July 4, 2005
Groups call for utilities to install less-invasive cooling
technology
By Dan Shapley
Poughkeepsie Journal
Photos by Lee Ferris/Poughkeepsie Journal
Riverkeeper boat captain John Lipscomb travels up the Hudson
River past Dynegy's Danskammer plant in Newburgh.
NEWBURGH For centuries, March would bring with it huge schools
of rainbow smelt swimming up the Hudson River to spawn.
Fishermen netted them in tidal creeks and families feasted on
the Hudson's first harvest of spring.
Today, a quarter century after smelt grew so scarce commercial
fishing ended, there are virtually no smelt left to catch in the
Hudson.
"I wish they were here because I love to eat smelt," said Bob
Gabrielson Sr., a longtime commercial fisherman from Nyack. "I
pan fry them cut the heads off, gut 'em a little bit, scrape
'em a little touch, and you eat them like pretzels. They're
excellent."
Smelt have declined, the prevailing theory goes, because they
just couldn't take the heat. A slight warming of the river,
probably due to the changing climate, is mainly to blame for the
decline and apparent disappearance of smelt, a fish that thrives
only in cold water.
But power plants probably played a contributing role, according
to a 2003 Department of Environmental Conservation analysis. In
addition to smelt, the plants may be reducing the overall
population of a number of species, from American shad and
striped bass to Atlantic tomcod and bay anchovy, according to
the DEC environmental impact statement. The analysis is the
basis for controversial permits the plants need to renew if they
are to continue using Hudson River water.
Five older power plants, built between 1955 and 1976, use Hudson
River water to cool the steam that turns generators that keep
Hudson Valley light bulbs lit and air conditioners humming. The
process uses more than a trillion gallons of water each year,
killing billions of fish eggs and larvae that get sucked through
the plants or caught on screens at intake pipes.
The plants discharge the water, heated on average about 16
degrees.
Clearly, power plants are only one of several factors that
affect smelt and the river's other fish. Pollution, the vagaries
of weather, fishing and habitat changes often harm or help fish
in more dramatic and obvious ways. Since fishing restrictions
were imposed 20 years ago, for instance, striped bass numbers
have mushroomed despite the continued use of river water by
power plants.
"I've never seen the river so bountiful and healthy in my life,"
said Gabrielson, who is 75 and has been fishing since he was
young.
The ups and downs of fish in the Hudson, and the complex natural
and human forces that influence them, are at the heart of the
40-year-old controversy about how the state should regulate the
use of Hudson water at power plants.
Plants built today, including Hudson Valley plants recently
built in Athens, Greene County, and Bethlehem, Albany County,
use little or no water because they were built with cooling
towers that recycle water rather than continually withdrawing it
from the river.
The old plants Dynegy's Roseton and Danskammer plants in
Newburgh; Entergy's Indian Point plant in Buchanan, Westchester
County; and Mirant's Lovett and Bowline plants in Rockland
County have been under pressure to retrofit with modern
technology for 30 years.
Disagree on culpability
Environmental groups see the power plants as a significant
player in the declines of several fish species. The law, they
say, clearly requires the plants to use the "best technology
available" to minimize the damage. The best technology
available, they say, are large and expensive cooling towers that
would use much less water and kill far fewer fish.
The plant owners say there's no evidence killing fish eggs and
larvae even billions of them harms overall populations. In
other words, reducing fish killed at plants would not increase
the number of fish available for fishermen. In the wild, for
instance, a single female striped bass lays many thousands of
eggs, and far less than one percent of them will survive their
first year.
"We are focused not on the number of fish lost, but the effect
on the river and whether it affects sustainability," said Larry
Barnthouse, a consultant for Indian Point. "Organisms die and
populations persist."
The DEC, in a 2003 environmental impact statement for the
Roseton, Indian Point and Bowline plants, saw it differently:
Power plants have a cumulative effect on the river similar to
destroying habitat, with the effect of diminishing whole
populations of fish, it determined.
"The millions of fish that are killed by power plants each year
represent a significant mortality and are yet another stress on
the river's fish community," the DEC's analysis reads. "Although
the primary cause of these population changes cannot
conclusively be attributed entirely to the operation of these
three steam electric generating stations, the mortality that
they cause must be taken into account when assessing these
population declines."
The plants are in the midst of protracted negotiations with the
DEC to renew their permits for using river water. The permit
renewals are being considered for the first time since 1987, and
30 years after the Environmental Protection Agency said the
then-newly built Roseton, Bowline and Indian Point plants should
install cooling towers to comply with the Clean Water Act.
Cooling towers recycle water in big steaming structures, vastly
reducing the water used and fish killed to produce electricity.
The towers are large and possibly unsightly. The water they
withdraw would be released as steam, rather than returned to the
river, and that could allow salt water to creep up the estuary
toward drinking water intakes in Poughkeepsie and elsewhere.
In 1975, the towers for all of the plants would would have cost
an estimated $500 million to build, and $180 million to operate
each year.
Today, the cost to build a tower at Danskammer alone could reach
$80 million, said Martin Daley, a senior director of regulatory
affairs and administrative services for nine of Dynegy's plants.
It may not be expensive enough to close the 46-year-old coal
plant, but it would be a "big challenge," he said.
"It would be an incredible expense that would cascade down to
the customers," Daley said.
Entergy estimates the cost of installing cooling towers at
Indian Point's two nuclear reactors at $1.5 billion enough to
put the plant out of business, spokesman James Steets said.
Closing the plant is the environmental groups' true goal, Steets
believes. He pointed out that unlike plants that burn coal, oil
or natural gas, Indian Point produces no air pollution.
"This ends up being fish eggs versus air quality," Steets said.
Riverkeeper, the environmental group from Garrison, has been the
most outspoken voice arguing in favor of closing Indian Point
because of concerns over safety and the long-term fate of
nuclear waste. It also advocates installing cooling towers at
the old plants.
"These fisheries are in decline, and the power plants are part
of the problem," said Victor Tafur, a Riverkeeper attorney. "The
whole idea of the Clean Water Act was that every five years (as
permits are renewed) as technology got better, it was supposed
to eliminate impacts."
The power plants challenged the EPA's 1975 decision, the state
took over the permitting process and three decades of studies,
lawsuits, lapsed agreements and controversy are only now
reaching a head.
Hearings planned this month
The DEC has proposed new permits for Roseton, Indian Point and
Danskammer. Hearings about new draft permits for Roseton are set
for this month. Indian Point and Danskammer permits are also
being challenged.
Environmental groups have challenged the draft permits for
loosening some restrictions, like raising the maximum allowed
temperature of discharged water, and for not requiring immediate
installation of cooling towers.
Ideally, they'd like to see the plants turned off and "re-fired"
with new cooling towers and natural gas as fuel.
Except at Indian Point, the DEC has proposed a variety of
measures other than cooling towers. They include the
installation of mesh screens on intake pipes to prevent passage
of all but water, controls on pumps so plants only suck in the
water they need, and in one case the use of a device that emits
sonic noise to deter herring from entering the intake pipes.
At Indian Point, installation of cooling towers depends on
approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the renewal
of licenses for the plant's two reactors, in 2013 and 2015.
The DEC determined the expense of towers at Dynegy's plants
would be "wholly disproportionate" to the environmental benefits.
The measures proposed by the DEC would reduce fish killed by
upward of 80 percent, though Tafur calls that number a result of
an "accounting gimmick."
It refers to the reduction of fish killed assuming the plants
run at full capacity and do nothing to stop fish from dying. In
fact, plants rarely run all the time and have been required
since 1981 to take various steps to reduce fish kills.
Because the Hudson River is a nursery for so many spawning fish
that live in the ocean, the impact of the power plants is not
isolated to the Hudson, Tafur said.
"The whole economy of the North Atlantic is affected," he said.
Dan Shapley can be reached at dshapley@poughkeepsiejournal.com
Copyright 2005 PoughkeepsieJournal.com All rights reserved.
Use of this site indicates your agreement to the Terms of
Service (updated December 17, 2002).
*****************************************************************
24 PR_Newswire: Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant Sale Closes
Source: WPS Resources Corporation
Tuesday July 5, 12:48 pm ET
TOWN OF CARLTON, Wis., July 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today,
officials of Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, a subsidiary
of WPS Resources Corporation (NYSE: - ) and Wisconsin Power and
Light Company (WP&L), a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corporation
(NYSE: - ), formally transferred ownership of the Kewaunee
nuclear power plant to Dominion Energy Kewaunee, a subsidiary of
Dominion Resources (NYSE: - ).
The Wisconsin utilities agreed to pursue the plant sale in
November 2003 and cleared the last of all required regulatory
hurdles when the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW)
issued its final written order approving the sale in April 2005.
"Wisconsin utility customers will see clear benefits now that
the sale is complete," said Charlie Schrock, Public Service
President and Chief Operating Officer - Generation. "With price
certainty through 2013 at a cost approximately what the state
utilities projected under continued ownership and the
availability of more than $200 million from the two utilities'
individual decommissioning funds for return to customers as
determined by the PSCW and the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, it's hard to argue that the sale is not in the
public interest."
Another key benefit of the transaction is the shift of financial
risk associated with owning a single-unit nuclear plant from
smaller Wisconsin utilities to an organization with a proven
track record of successful ownership of multiple nuclear units.
"We're confident the outcome of the PSCW's thorough and rigorous
decision is in the best interests of our customers and
shareowners," says Barbara J. Swan, president of WP&L. "In
addition, Wisconsin is gaining the presence of a
nationally-known good corporate citizen and operator of a
nuclear fleet of facilities that have had an important and
positive community impact. Wisconsin will certainly benefit from
Dominion's presence in our state."
At closing, Public Service received approximately $113 million
in cash and WP&L received approximately $78.5 million for their
respective 59% and 41% interests in the facility.
Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary
of WPS Resources Corporation (NYSE: - ), is an investor-owned
electric and natural gas utility headquartered in Green Bay,
Wisconsin. It serves approximately 420,000 electric customers
and 309,000 retail natural gas customers in residential,
agricultural, industrial, and commercial markets, as well as
wholesale customers. The company's service area includes
northeastern and central Wisconsin, as well as an adjacent
portion of Upper Michigan. For more information, visit the
company's Web site at .
Alliant Energy Corporation is an energy-services provider with
subsidiaries serving more than three million customers.
Providing its customers in the Midwest with regulated
electricity and natural gas service remains the company's
primary focus. Alliant Energy's domestic utility subsidiaries,
Interstate Power and Light and Wisconsin Power and Light, serve
982,000 electric and 416,000 natural gas customers. Other
business platforms include the international energy market and
non-regulated domestic generation. Alliant Energy, headquartered
in Madison, Wis., is a Fortune 1000 company traded on the New
York Stock Exchange under the symbol LNT. For more information,
visit the company's Web site at .
Source: WPS Resources Corporation
- PR Newswire (Tue Jul 5)
*****************************************************************
25 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the
FR Doc E5-3483
[Federal Register: July 5, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 127)]
[Notices] [Page 38711] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr05jy05-82]
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Notice
of OMB review of information collection request to OMB and
solicitation of public comment.
SUMMARY: The NRC has recently submitted to OMB for review the
following proposal for the collection of information under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35). The NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that a person is not
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
1. Title of submission, new, revision, or extension: Extension.
2. The title of the information collection: NRC Form 445, Request
For Approval of Official Foreign Travel.
3. The form number if applicable: NRC Form 445. 4. How often the
collection is required: On occasion. 5. Who will be required or
asked to report: Non-Federal consultants, contractors and NRC
invited travelers (i.e., non-NRC employees).
6. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 200. 7. The
estimated number of annual respondents: 200. 8. An estimate of
the total number of hours needed annually to complete the
requirement or request: 200 hours (200 forms x 1 hour each).
9. An indication of whether Section 3507(d), Public Law 104-13
applies: N/A.
10. Abstract: Form 445, ``Request for Approval of Foreign
Travel,'' is supplied by consultants, contractors, and NRC
invited travelers who must travel to foreign countries in the
course of conducting business for the NRC. In accordance with 48
CFR part 20, ``NRC Acquisition Regulation,'' contractors
traveling to foreign countries are required to complete this
form. The information requested includes the name of the Office
Director/Regional Administrator or Chairman, as appropriate, the
traveler's identifying information, purpose of travel, listing of
the trip coordinators, other NRC travelers and contractors
attending the same meeting, and a proposed itinerary.
A copy of the final supporting statement may be viewed free of
charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 20852. OMB
clearance requests are available at the NRC World Wide Web site:
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comment/omb/index.html. The
document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days
after the signature date of this notice.
Comments and questions should be directed to the OMB reviewer
listed below by August 4, 2005. Comments received after this date
will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of
consideration cannot be given to comments received after this
date. John A. Asalone, Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs (3150- 0193), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and
Budget, Washington, DC 20503.
Comments can also be e-mailed to JohnA.Asalone@omb.eop.gov or
submitted by telephone at (202) 395-4650.
The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda Jo. Shelton, 301-415-7233.
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of June 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Beth C. St. Mary, Acting NRC Clearance Officer, Office of
Information Services.
[FR Doc. E5-3483 Filed 7-1-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
26 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
FR Doc E5-3484
[Federal Register: July 5, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 127)]
[Notices] [Page 38711-38712] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr05jy05-83]
Comment Request AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
ACTION: Notice of pending NRC action to submit an information
collection request to OMB and solicitation of public comment.
SUMMARY: The NRC is preparing a submittal to OMB for review of
continued approval of information collections under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35). Information pertaining to the requirement to be
submitted: 1. The title of the information collection: 10 CFR
Part 9, Public Records.
2. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0043. 3. How often the
collection is required: On occasion. 4. Who is required or asked
to report: Individuals requesting access to records under the
Freedom of Information or Privacy Acts, or to records that are
already publicly available in the NRC's Public Document Room.
Submitters of information containing trade secrets or
confidential commercial or financial information who have been
notified that the NRC has made an initial determination that the
information should be disclosed.
5. The number of annual respondents: 7,987. 6. The number of
hours needed annually to complete the requirement or request:
2,120 (3.8 responses per respondent). 7. Abstract: 10 CFR Part 9
establishes information collection requirements for individuals
making requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) or Privacy Act (PA). It also contains requests to waive or
reduce fees for searching for and reproducing records in response
to FOIA requests; and requests for expedited processing of
requests. The information required from the public is necessary
to identify the records they are requesting; to justify requests
for waivers or reductions in searching or copying fees; or to
justify expedited processing. Section 9.28(b) provides that if
the submitter of information designated to be trade secrets or
confidential commercial or financial information objects to the
disclosure, he must provide a written statement within 30 days
that specifies all grounds why the information is a trade secret
or commercial or financial information that is privileged or
confidential.
Submit, by September 6, 2005, comments that address the following
questions: 1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary
for the NRC to properly perform its functions? Does the
information have practical utility? 2. Is the burden estimate
accurate? 3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected? 4. How can the burden
of the information collection be minimized, including the use of
automated
[[Page 38712]] collection techniques or other forms of
information technology? A copy of the draft supporting statement
may be viewed free of charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville,
MD 20852. OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC
worldwide Web site: http://www.nrc.gov /public-involve
/doc-comment /omb/index.html. The document will be available on
the NRC home page site for 60 days after the signature date of
this notice.
Comments and questions about the information collection
requirements may be directed to the NRC Clearance Office, Brenda
Jo. Shelton (T-5 F53), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, by telephone at 301-415-7233, or by
Internet electronic mail to infocollects@nrc.gov. Dated in
Rockville, Maryland, this 24th day of June, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brenda Jo. Shelton, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information
Services.
[FR Doc. E5-3484 Filed 7-1-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
27 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the
FR Doc E5-3485
[Federal Register: July 5, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 127)]
[Notices] [Page 38712] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr05jy05-84]
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Notice
of the OMB review of information collection and solicitation of
public comment.
SUMMARY: The NRC has recently submitted to OMB for review the
following proposal for the collection of information under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35). The NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that a person is not
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it
displays a current valid OMB control number.
1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Extension.
2. The title of the information collection: 10 CFR 31, General
Domestic Licenses for Byproduct Material.
3. The form number if applicable: Not applicable. 4. How often
the collection is required: Reports are submitted as events
occur. Registration certificates may be submitted at any time.
Changes to the information on the registration certificate are
submitted as they occur.
5. Who will be required or asked to report: Persons receiving,
possessing, using, or transferring byproduct material in certain
items.
6. An estimate of the number of responses: 51,205 (1977 NRC
responses + 6600 NRC recordkeepers + 16,228 Agreement State
responses + 26,400 Agreement State recordkeepers).
7. The estimated number of annual respondents: Approximately
6,600 NRC general licensees and 26,400 Agreement State general
licensees.
8. An estimate of the number of hours needed annually to complete
the requirement or request: 15,118 (2,474 hours for NRC licensees
[1,650 hours recordkeeping and 824 hours reporting] and 12,644
hours for Agreement State licensees [6,600 hours recordkeeping
and 6,044 hours reporting] or an average of 0.4 hours per
response and .25 hours per recordkeeper).
9. An indication of whether Section 3507(d), Pub. L. 104-13
applies: Not applicable.
10. Abstract: 10 CFR part 31 establishes general licenses for the
possession and use of byproduct material in certain items and a
general license for ownership of byproduct material. General
licensees are required to keep records and submit reports
identified in part 31 in order for NRC to determine with
reasonable assurance that devices are operated safely and without
radiological hazard to users or the public.
A copy of the final supporting statement may be viewed free of
charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F23, Rockville, MD 20852. OMB
clearance requests are available at the NRC worldwide Web site:
http://www.nrc.gov /public-involve /doc-comment /omb/index.html.
The document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60
days after the signature date of this notice.
Comments and questions should be directed to the OMB reviewer
listed below by August 4, 2005. Comments received after this date
will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of
consideration cannot be given to comments received after this
date. John Asalone, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
(3150-0016), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and Budget,
Washington, DC 20503.
Comments can also be e-mailed to John_A._Asalone@omb.eop.gov or
submitted by telephone at (202) 395-4650.
The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda Jo. Shelton, 301-415-7233.
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of June, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Beth C. St. Mary, Acting NRC Clearance Officer, Office of
Information Services.
[FR Doc. E5-3485 Filed 7-1-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
28 NRC: Notice of Availability of Model Application Concerning Technical
FR Doc E5-3486
[Federal Register: July 5, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 127)]
[Notices] [Page 38729-38731] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr05jy05-86]
Specifications for Combustion Engineering Plants To Risk-Inform
Requirements Regarding Selected Required Action End States Using
the Consolidated Line Item Improvement Process AGENCY: Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the staff of the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) has prepared a model application
related to the revision of Combustion Engineering (CE) plant
required action end state requirements in technical
specifications (TS). The purpose of this model is to permit the
NRC to efficiently process amendments that propose to revise CE
TS required action end state requirements. Licensees of nuclear
power reactors to which the model applies may request amendments
utilizing the model application.
DATES: The NRC staff issued a Federal Register notice (70 FR
23238, May 4, 2005) that provided a model safety evaluation (SE)
and a model no significant hazards consideration (NSHC)
determination relating to changing CE TS required action end
state requirements. The NRC staff hereby announces that the model
SE and NSHC determination may be referenced in plant-specific
applications to adopt the changes.
The staff has posted a model application on the NRC Web site to
assist licensees in using the consolidated line item improvement
process (CLIIP) to revise the CE TS required action end state
requirements. The NRC staff can most efficiently consider
applications based upon the model application if the application
is submitted within a year of this Federal Register notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Reckley, Mail Stop:
O7D1, Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555- 0001, telephone 301-415-1323.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Regulatory Issue Summary
2000-06, ``Consolidated Line Item Improvement Process for
Adopting Standard Technical Specification Changes for Power
Reactors,'' was issued on March 20, 2000. The CLIIP is intended
to improve the efficiency of NRC licensing processes. This is
accomplished by processing proposed changes to the standard TS
(STS) in a manner that supports subsequent license amendment
applications. The CLIIP includes an opportunity for the public to
comment on proposed changes to the STS following a preliminary
assessment by the NRC staff and finding that the change will
likely be offered for adoption by licensees. The CLIIP directs
the NRC staff to evaluate any comments received for a proposed
change to the STS and to either reconsider the change or to
proceed with announcing the availability of the change for
proposed adoption by licensees. Those licensees opting to apply
for the subject change to TS are responsible for reviewing the
staff's evaluation, referencing the applicable technical
justifications, and providing any necessary plant-specific
information. Each amendment application made in response to the
notice of availability will be processed and noticed in
accordance with applicable rules and NRC procedures.
This notice involves the revision of CE TS required action end
state requirements. This proposed change was proposed for
incorporation into the STS by participants in the Technical
Specification Task Force (TSTF) and is designated TSTF-422,
Revision 1. TSTF-422 can be viewed on the NRC Web site
(http://www.nrc.gov). Applicability This proposed change to
revise CE TS required action end state requirements is applicable
to licensees for CE PWRs who have adopted or will adopt, in
conjunction with the proposed change, technical specification
requirements for a Bases control program consistent with the TS
Bases Control Program described in Section 5.5 of the applicable
vendor's STS.
To efficiently process the incoming license amendment
applications, the staff requests each licensee applying for the
changes addressed by TSTF-422 using the CLIIP to provide the
information identified in the model application posted on the NRC
Web site.
Public Notices In a notice in the Federal Register dated May 4,
2005 (70 FR 23238), the
[[Page 38730]] staff requested comment on the use of the CLIIP to
process requests to revise the CE TS regarding required action
end state requirements.
TSTF-422, as well as the NRC staff's safety evaluation and model
application, may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the
NRC's Public Document Room, located at One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly
available records are accessible electronically from the ADAMS
Public Library component on the NRC Web site, (the Electronic
Reading Room).
The staff did not receive any comments following the notice
published on May 4, 2005 (70 FR 23238), soliciting comments on
the model SE and NSHC determination related to TSTF-422, Revision
1.
The NRC staff has not made any changes to the previously
published model SE and NSHC determination related to TSTF-422,
Revision 1. The staff finds that the previously published models
remain appropriate references and has chosen not to republish the
model SE and model NSHC determination in this notice. As
described in the model application prepared by the staff,
licensees may reference in their plant-specific applications to
adopt TSTF-422, the SE and NSHC determination previously
published in the Federal Register (70 FR 23238; May 4, 2005).
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 23rd day of June 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Thomas H. Boyce, Section Chief, Technical Specifications Section,
Operating Improvements Branch, Division of Regulatory Improvement
Programs, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
For Inclusion on Technical Specification Web Page The following
example of an application was prepared by the NRC staff to
facilitate the use of the consolidated line item improvement
process (CLIIP). The model provides the expected level of detail
and content for an application to adopt TSTF-422, Revision 1,
``Risk- Informed Modifications to Selected Required Action End
States,'' for Combustion Engineering Plants using CLIIP.
Licensees remain responsible for ensuring that their actual
application fulfills their administrative requirements as well as
NRC regulations.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Document Control Desk,
Washington, DC 20555.
Subject: Plant Name Docket No. 50- Application for Technical
Specification Improvement Regarding Risk- Informed Modifications
to Selected Required Action End States for Combustion Engineering
Plants Gentlemen: In accordance with the provisions of 10 CFR
50.90 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR),
[LICENSEE] is submitting a request for an amendment to the
technical specifications (TS) for [PLANT NAME, UNIT NOS.]. The
proposed amendment would revise the Combustion Engineering (CE)
TS requirements related to Required Action End States. The change
is consistent with NRC-approved Technical Specification Task
Force (TSTF) Standard Technical Specification Change Traveler,
TSTF- 422, Revision 1, ``Risk-informed Modifications to Selected
Required Action End States.'' The availability of this TS
improvement was announced in the Federal Register on [DATE] ([ ]
FR [ ]) as part of the consolidated line item improvement process
(CLIIP).
Attachment 1 provides a description of the proposed change and
confirmation of applicability.
Attachment 2 provides the existing TS pages marked-up to show the
proposed change.
[LICENSEE] requests approval of the proposed license amendment by
[DATE], with the amendment being implemented [BY DATE OR WITHIN X
DAYS].
In accordance with 10 CFR 50.91, a copy of this application, with
attachments, is being provided to the designated [STATE]
Official.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United
States of America that I am authorized by [LICENSEE] to make this
request and that the foregoing is true and correct. [Note that
request may be notarized in lieu of using this oath or
affirmation statement].
If you should have any questions regarding this submittal, please
contact [ ].
Sincerely, Name, Title Attachments: 1. Description and Assessment
2. Proposed Technical Specification Changes cc: NRR Project
Manager Regional Office Resident Inspector State Contact
ATTACHMENT 1--Description and Assessment 1.0 INTRODUCTION The
proposed license amendment revises the requirements in Combustion
Engineering (CE) Technical Specification (TS) requirements
related to Required Action End States. The changes are consistent
with NRC approved Technical Specification Task Force (TSTF)
Standard Technical Specification Change Traveler, TSTF-422,
Revision 1, ``Risk-informed Modifications to Selected Required
Action End States.'' The availability of this technical
specification improvement was announced in the Federal Register
on [DATE] as part of the consolidated line item improvement
process (CLIIP).
2.0 DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT Consistent with the
NRC-approved TSTF-422, Revision 1, the proposed TS changes
include: Revised TS [3.3.5 (analog)], ``Engineering Safety
Features Actuation Signal (ESFAS) Logic and Manual Trip'' Revised
TS [3.3.6 (digital)], ``ESFAS Logic and Manual Trip'' Revised TS
[3.3.8 (digital)], ``Containment Purge and Isolation Signal
(CPIS)'' Revised TS [3.3.8 (analog), 3.3.9 (digital)], ``Control
Room Isolation Signal (CRIS)'' Revised TS [3.3.9 (analog)],
``Chemical and Volume Control System (CVCS) Isolation Signal''
Revised TS [3.3.10 (analog)], ``Shield Building Filtration
Actuation Signal'' Revised TS [3.4.6], ``Reactor Coolant System
(RCS) Loops--MODE 4'' Revised TS [3.5.4], ``Refueling Water
Tank'' Revised TS [3.6.2], ``Containment Air Locks'' Revised TS
[3.6.3], ``Containment Isolation Valves'' Revised TS [3.6.4],
``Containment Pressure'' Revised TS [3.6.5], ``Containment Air
Temperature'' Revised TS [3.6.6A], ``Containment Spray and
Cooling Systems (Atmospheric and Dual)'' Credit taken for iodine
removal by the Containment Spray System Revised TS [3.6.6B],
``Containment Spray and Cooling Systems (Atmospheric and Dual)''
Credit not taken for iodine removal by the Containment Spray
System Revised TS [3.6.11], ``Shield Building (Dual)'' Revised TS
[3.7.7], ``Component Cooling Water System'' Revised TS [3.7.8],
``Service Water System'' Revised TS [3.7.9], ``Ultimate Heat
Sink'' Revised TS [3.7.10], ``Essential Chill Water'' Revised TS
[3.7.11], ``Control Room Emergency Air Cleanup System (CREACS)''
Revised TS [3.7.12], ``Control Room Emergency Air Temperature
Control System (CREATCS)'' Revised TS [3.7.13], ``Emergency Core
Cooling System Pump Room Exhaust Air Cleanup System (ECCS
PREACS)'' Revised TS [3.7.15], ``Penetration Room Exhaust Air
Cleanup System (PREACS)'' Revised TS [3.8.1], ``AC
Sources--Operating'' Revised TS [3.8.1], ``AC
Sources--Operating'' Revised TS [3.8.4], ``DC
Sources--Operating'' Revised TS [3.8.7], ``Inverters--Operating''
Proposed revisions to the TS Bases are also included in this
application. As discussed in the NRC's model safety evaluation,
adoption of the revised TS Bases associated with TSTF-422,
Revision 1 is an integral part of
[[Page 38731]] implementing this TS improvement. The changes to
the affected TS Bases pages will be incorporated in accordance
with the TS Bases Control Program.
3.0 BACKGROUND The background for this application is adequately
addressed by the NRC Notice of Availability published on [DATE
]([ ] FR [ ]), the NRC Notice for Comment published on May 4,
2005 (70 FR 23238), and TSTF-422, Revision 1.
4.0 REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDANCE The applicable
regulatory requirements and guidance associated with this
application are adequately addressed by the NRC Notice of
Availability published on [DATE ]([ ] FR [ ]), the NRC Notice for
Comment published on May 4, 2005 (70 FR 23238), and TSTF-422,
Revision 1.
5.0 TECHNICAL ANALYSIS [LICENSEE] has reviewed the safety
evaluation (SE) published on May 4, 2005 (70 FR 23238) as part of
the CLIIP Notice for Comment. This included the NRC staff's SE
supporting the changes associated with TSTF-422, Revision 1.
[LICENSEE] has concluded that the justifications presented in the
TSTF proposal and the SE prepared by the NRC staff are applicable
to [PLANT, UNIT NOS.] and justify this amendment for the
incorporation of the changes to the [PLANT] TS.
6.0 REGULATORY ANALYSIS A description of this proposed change and
its relationship to applicable regulatory requirements and
guidance was provided in the NRC Notice of Availability published
on [DATE ]([ ] FR [ ]), the NRC Notice for Comment published on
May 4, 2005 (70 FR 23238), and TSTF- 422, Revision 1.
6.1 LIST OF REGULATORY COMMITMENTS The following table identifies
those actions committed to by [LICENSEE] in this document. Any
other statements in this submittal are provided for information
purposes and are not considered to be regulatory commitments.
Please direct questions regarding these commitments to [CONTACT
NAME].
-----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------- Regulatory
commitments Due date/event
-----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------- [LICENSEE] will
establish the Technical [Complete, implemented with
amendment OR within X days of Specification Bases for the revised
implementation of amendment] specifications as adopted with the
applicable license amendment.
[LICENSEE] will follow the guidance [Ongoing, or
implement with amendment] established in Section 11 of NUMARC
93-01, ``Industry Guidance for Monitoring the Effectiveness of
Maintenance at Nuclear Power Plants,'' Nuclear Management and
Resource Council, Revision 3, July 2000.
[LICENSEE] will follow the guidance [Implement with
amendment, when TS Required Action End State established in
Revision 00 of WCAP-16364-NP, remains within the APPLICABILITY
of TS] ``Implementation Guidance for Risk Informed Modification
to Selected Required Action End States at Combustion Engineering
NSSS Plants (TSTF-422),'' Westinghouse, November 2004.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------- 7.0 NO
SIGNIFICANT HAZARDS CONSIDERATION [LICENSEE] has reviewed the
proposed no significant hazards consideration determination
published on May 4, 2005 (70 FR 23238) as part of the CLIIP.
[LICENSEE] has concluded that the proposed determination
presented in the notice is applicable to [PLANT] and the
determination is hereby incorporated by reference to satisfy the
requirements of 10 CFR 50.91(a). 8.0 ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION
[LICENSEE] has reviewed the environmental consideration included
in the model SE published on May 4, 2005 (70 FR 23238) as part of
the CLIIP. [LICENSEE] has concluded that the staff's findings
presented in that model SE are applicable to [PLANT] and the
determination is hereby incorporated by reference for this
application.
9.0 PRECEDENT This application is being made in accordance with
the CLIIP. [LICENSEE] is not proposing variations or deviations
from the TS changes described in TSTF-422, Revision 1, or the NRC
staff's model SE published on May 4, 2005 (70 FR 23238).
10.0 REFERENCES Federal Register notices: Notice for Comment
published on May 4, 2005 (70 FR 23238) Notice of Availability
published on [DATE]([ ] FR [ ]) ATTACHMENT 2--PROPOSED TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION CHANGES (MARK-UP) ATTACHMENT 3--PROPOSED TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION PAGES ATTACHMENT 4--PROPOSED TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION BASES PAGES (MARK-UP) [FR Doc. E5-3486 Filed
7-1-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
29 Japan Times: Reactor shuts down; no leak reported
Monday, July 4, 2005
A reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in
Niigata Prefecture shut down automatically Sunday afternoon, but
no radioactivity leaked from the plant and no other
environmental damage was observed, the Nuclear and Industrial
Safety Agency said.
The plant's No. 5 reactor came to an emergency halt at around
2:37 p.m. after a condenser malfunctioned, the agency said.
The shutdown took place as workers were preparing for a regular
checkup of the reactor beginning Monday, according to Tokyo
Electric Power Co., the plant's operator.
The reactor was put into operation in April 1990.
The Japan Times: July 4, 2005
(C) All rights reserved
The Japan Times Ltd. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
30 The Advocate: Tiny filament seen as culprit in April shutdown at Millstone
Associated Press
Published July 5 2005
WATERFORD, Conn. -- A thin filament of metal, barely visible
to the eye, was the culprit in an electrical short that forced
the Millstone Power Station to shut in April, technicians have
found.
The presence of the filament, known as a "tin whisker," is the
focus of a study by engineering experts at the federal Nuclear
Regulatory Commission that could result in a notice alerting the
industry, The Day of New London reported Monday.
Dominion, the plant's owner, has notified reactor owners in the
United States and abroad.
During the first 24 hours of the nuclear reactor shutdown at
Millstone on April 17, technicians zeroing in on a computer
malfunction were stumped.
Two technicians for Dominion and their supervisor, Timothy
Reyher, figured out that a computer circuit card had signaled an
unsafe drop in pressure in the reactor's steam system, as if a
break in a steam line occurred. The condition led safety systems
to automatically shut down the reactor as intended and brought
the electric generator to a halt. The plant was not restarted for
two weeks.
Reyher said the pressure was not low. The card, also known as a
digital logic card, had no obvious signs of wear or damage such
as burn spots or discoloration. Still, the card failed tests
aimed at replicating the correct electrical signal.
Reyher and lead engineer Keith Deslandes said a technician took
a closer look through a magnifying glass.
"They saw something different," Reyher said. "And they asked
themselves, 'What can this be? A piece of solder? Something's
there. Let's take a picture.' "
Under a high-powered microscope, they spotted the filament.
The tin whisker can disrupt electrical flow and disable
satellites and interrupt service, according to the Goddard Space
Flight Center.
The tin whisker that shorted out at Millstone's Unit 3 reactor
triggered an automatic shutdown designed to protect the reactor,
but that is not what worries the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Instead, the tin whisker could prevent a safety system from
working properly, said NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan.
Dominion officials have removed, photographed, cleaned and
inspected 103 computer monitoring circuit cards at Unit 3 and
replaced four that showed signs of tin whiskers, said Dominion
spokesman Pete Hyde.
Kevin Pelletier, a sales and marketing manager at Massachusetts
Materials Research Inc., which examined Millstone's circuit card,
said scientists have seen tin whiskers before, but "never related
to a nuclear power plant."
The April 17 shutdown induced a variety of systems to shut down
and protected the reactor.
"You want the system to detect problems at the very initial
stages rather than later so the system functioned as it should,"
Sheehan said.
Copyright 2005, The Associated Press
2005, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. All rights
*****************************************************************
31 AU ABC: New Zealand opposition defiant on antinuclear policy
Australian Broadcasting Corporation Online
Updated 05/07/2005, 22:43:06
The leader of New Zealand's opposition National Party, Don Brash
says the party could change the country's anti-nuclear policy
without a referendum if it wins government.
Dr Brash, favours scrapping the nuclear ban imposed in 1985,
allegedly telling United States officials last year that it
would be 'gone by lunchtime'.
The National party had previously indicated it would seek a
referendum before making any changes to the legislation.
However, Dr Brash says if the National Party wins power with a
clear mandate to change the law, it will do so.
The government in New Zealand has yet to announce the date of
elections, which must be held within the next twelve weeks.
US calls for more honest dialogue on nuclear issue
On Monday, the United States ambassador, Charles J Swindells
said strains in the US relationship with New Zealand over its
anti-nuclear policy could worsen unless the two countries open a
more open dialogue.
New Zealand's nuclear free policy has been enshrined in
legislation for nearly 20 years.
It has led to an end of US ship visits to New Zealand and New
Zealand being suspended from a defence agreement with the US.
Mr Swindells says the effects of the dispute linger and leaving
the relationship in its current state will see it slide
backwards, a situation the US is keen to avoid.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark says the two countries
are talking but any dialogue will have to remain within the
boundaries of New Zealand's anti-nuclear legislation.
"There's no way that this government is going to sell out on
that," Clark said.
*****************************************************************
32 The Courier: NRC renews license (Arkansas 1)
, Russellville, Ark.
The Courier 201 East Second St P.O. Box 887 Russellville, AR
72811-0887
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Unit 2 ANO operating renewed for additional 20 years
By Sean Ingram
managingeditor@couriernews.com
Friday was another historic day in the history of Arkansas
Nuclear One, the states only nuclear power plant.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced Friday the
extension of the operating license for the plants Unit 2
reactor for another 20 years, through July 17, 2038.
ANOs Unit 1 reactor license was renewed June 20, 2001, and runs
through May 20, 2034.
Arkansas Nuclear One owned by Entergy Operations Inc., a
subsidiary of Entergy Corp., based in New Orleans submitted
its license renewal application Oct. 15, 2003, for Unit 2. The
commissions environmental review for license renewal is
described by the federal agency in a site-specific supplement to
its Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal
of Nuclear Power Plants issued in April.
The review concluded there were no environmental impacts that
would preclude renewal of the license for environmental reasons.
Two public meetings to discuss the environmental review were
held near the plant Feb. 3 and Oct. 21, 2004.
After carefully reviewing the plants safety systems and
specifications, the staff concluded that there were no safety
concerns that would preclude license renewal, because the
licensee had demonstrated the capability to manage the effects
of plant aging, the commission stated. The agencys Safety
Evaluation Report Related to the License Renewal of Arkansas
Nuclear One, Unit 2 was published last month. The commission
also conducted inspections of the plant to verify information
submitted by Entergy.
In May, the commissions Advisory Committee on Reactor
Safeguards an independent body of technical experts
recommended the Unit 2 operating license be renewed.
Arkansas Nuclear Ones Unit 2 renewal brings the total number of
license renewals to 33 reactor units throughout the country.
Unit 2 opened in 1980. Another Entergy subsidiary, Entergy
Arkansas, is the states largest electrical service provider.
Entergy submitted an application to the commission for license
renewal of Arkansas Nuclear Ones Unit 1 on Jan. 31, 2000. The
commission conducted two inspections of the plant to verify
information submitted by Entergy before Unit 1s license renewal
in June 2001.
Copyright 2005, Russellville Newspapers, Inc.
*****************************************************************
33 MANAWATU STANDARD: Nuke issue returns
New Zealand's leading news and information website
05 July 2005
By IAIN BUTLER
A National government may change New Zealand's anti-nuclear
policy without a referendum, leader Don Brash has revealed.
In an interview with the Manawatu Standard at Palmerston North's
Kapiti Fine Foods factory, Dr Brash elaborated on what would be
needed for National to change the policy if it forms part of a
government.
A year ago, the National Party decided against a recommendation
from within its own ranks to scrap the 1985 anti-nuclear
legislation after polls suggested public support for the stance
was still overwhelmingly strong.
However, Dr Brash said if National gained power and had a "clear
mandate" to change the legislation, it would do so.
Dr Brash was seen to be in favour of scrapping the ban after
allegedly telling United States officials in January 2004 that
the ban would be "gone by lunchtime".
Previously the party had indicated it would seek a referendum
before making any changes.
Yesterday, Dr Brash told the Standard this was still the most
likely way of determining support, but he also said if the party
campaigned on scrapping the ban and won the election, it would
consider this a mandate for change as well.
That was the only moment approaching controversy on the
Opposition leader's factory tour of the rapidly expanding Kapiti
site in Makomako Road, however.
He gave a reminder of his relative greenhorn status when Kapiti
chief executive Greig Shearer gave him a rundown on the merits
of the Dairy Restructuring Act, which installed Fonterra as by
far the largest buyer and marketer of milk in New Zealand.
The man who ousted Bill English as leader in his first term of
office asked, "Did National bring that in, or Labour?"
The act became law in 2001, the year before Dr Brash quit his
post as Reserve Bank governor to have a try at gaining a seat in
Parliament.
Despite that, he looked to be in his element during the visit to
the rapidly expanding Kapiti site, which will soon house a
13,000-square-metre distribution plant for parent company
Foodstuffs.
He assured Mr Shearer the company had his sympathies over labour
shortages, compliance costs and exporting inequalities with
Australia.
Less easy was answering questions on policy. With the election
date still unknown - although it must be September at the latest
- National has been coy about specifics.
Dr Brash confirmed National will bring in tax cuts, but wasn't
saying when or how much.
National wants to increase police numbers, he said, but would
not say to what level.
The Opposition leader took in Levin and Palmerston North
destinations on his quick lower North Island tour.
*****************************************************************
34 deseret news: Army devices flawed
[deseretnews.com]
Tuesday, July 5, 2005
Audit cites greater risk for loss of life after failed tests at
Dugway
Copyright 2005 Deseret Morning News
By Lee Davidson Deseret Morning News
After reviewing records at Utah's Dugway Proving Ground, Pentagon
inspectors warn that three Army reconnaissance systems designed
to detect nuclear, biological or chemical attack contamination
have a major problem.
The Biological Detection System that's used by the U.S. Army.
U.S. Army
The equipment, and the vehicles that carry it, might not
operate in the contaminated areas they are supposed to detect.
They failed some tests, and inspectors could not determine if
corrective upgrades were ever made or tested before the systems
were put in the field.
In addition, inspectors said the Army also did not verify
that Comanche and Apache helicopters, Stryker armored vehicles
and some in-development systems could survive and operate in
such contaminated areas, as intended by war plans, even though
the Army's deputy chief of staff ordered such verification and
testing five years ago.
"As a result, the risk for loss of life and equipment
could be significantly increased through the use of
mission-essential systems that may not be fully survivable or
sustainable in contaminated environments," states a March 28
report by the U.S. Army Audit Agency obtained by the Deseret
Morning News.
A letter from that agency to the newspaper says different
levels of the Army are still debating what action to take to
rectify the problems.
Until that internal debate ends, the Army has denied a
formal Freedom of Information Act request by the newspaper for a
copy of the report. However, the Morning News was able to obtain
a copy despite that denial.
The report says inspectors decided to review records for
six major weapons systems to determine if the Army had complied
with a directive issued in 2000 to ensure that "all
mission-essential systems were capable of surviving the nuclear,
biological and chemical environments in which they may operate."
The report concluded, "Mission-essential Army systems
weren't fully assessed for survivability and operation."
Inspectors wrote that they found that three of the six
systems all of which were designed to detect battlefield
contamination had actually failed tests, and they could find
no evidence that they ever had been upgraded. They said the
three other systems never had specific, measurable survivability
criteria developed to allow testing.
Systems that failed to meet key criteria include the FOX
Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance System; the
Biological Detection System; and the Stryker family of armored
combat vehicles.
The report states, for example, that an engineering study
of the Biological Detection System was made at Dugway between
1999 and 2001. "The study concluded that the system wasn't
expected to meet the decontaminability and hardness requirements
. . . and recommend configuration changes and corrective
actions," it said.
However, inspectors wrote, the higher-up U.S. Army Test
and Evaluation Center recommended release of the system anyway
saying its survivability is "generally equivalent to that of
other wheeled vehicle systems." Inspectors noted that "program
managers had no plans to conduct follow up survivability testing
for this system."
Inspectors noted that engineering studies of the Stryker
and FOX also showed they failed to meet criteria for ease of
decontamination and hardness against penetration by nuclear,
germ or chemical agents.
It said Dugway was planning to test the Stryker family's
nuclear, biological and chemical reconnaissance variant for its
ability to detect such contaminants "but no tests were planned
to assess system survivability."
Inspectors complained that the Army had never truly
evaluated the survivability of the other three major systems it
looked at: the Apache and Comanche helicopters and the Future
Combat Systems family of weapons under development.
The major problem, according to the inspectors, is the
Army never developed firm and measurable criteria to evaluate
survivability.
Instead, they "typically stated that systems must be
nuclear-, biological- and chemical-survivable without further
explanation or reference," the report said.
Inspectors also complained that "the Army didn't fully
test its mission-essential systems against live agents or
simulants," relying instead on computer modeling and engineering
studies when any evaluation was made at all.
They added, "The Army built a test facility at the West
Deseret Test Center and Dugway Proving Ground, which it
completed in September 1997 at a cost of about $24.6 million.
The Army has not used the facility to conduct tests of a
complete system. Instead, engineering studies and analyses were
used almost exclusively to assess the survivability of systems
in contaminated environments."
Inspectors made several recommendations to rectify
problems, but commands overseeing the Army systems evaluated
sometimes disagreed with them or proposed alternates. A letter
from the Army Audit Agency said the Army is reviewing them
before adopting a final, formal Army position on them.
For example, inspectors called for system overseers to
make survivability from nuclear, biological and chemical
contamination "a key threshold performance requirement for all
mission-essential systems" that must be met before they are put
in the field or mass produced.
But the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for
Acquisition, Logistics and Technology did not agree. It proposed
a somewhat less rigorous requirement that it be just a
"threshold requirement," omitting the words "key" and
"performance."
Inspectors also called for program officers to
periodically report the status of survivability of major
programs, but the assistant secretary again disagreed saying
that "would impose additional bureaucratic requirements."
Inspectors also called for development of more clear and
measurable requirements to ensure survivability, and to
centrally track test results for survivability of all major
systems, which the assistant secretary also labeled as another
level of unnecessary review.
E-mail: lee@desnews.com
2005 Deseret News Publishing Company
*****************************************************************
35 Biz Journal: Security firm wins nuclear contracts -
2005-07-04
bizjournals.com
Printable Version | Email Story From the July 1, 2005 print
Safety of Russian assets worth millions Dan Reynolds
An East Pittsburgh security services firm has added a $2.2
million contract to its list of government work helping to
prevent nuclear materials developed in the former Soviet Union
from falling into the wrong hands.
Gregg Protection Services, an off-shoot of Gregg Services Inc.,
is now past the $8 million mark in its share of a massive U.S.
financial effort to forestall civil and military nuclear
materials from drifting from former Soviet nations into Iran,
Iraq or some other part of the Middle East where they could be
turned against U.S. citizens. For this contract, Gregg
Protection Services is a subcontractor with Raytheon Technical
Services, a division of defense industry giant Raytheon Inc.
Raytheon Technical Services recently was awarded a $57 million
contract for work securing and upgrading Russian nuclear
facilities. The work is being funded through the Defense Threat
Reduction Agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Defense.
Robert Keib, a vice president with Gregg Protection Services,
said the $2.2 million contract is to provide security for one
year at four former nuclear military facilities in Russia. He
said because of the sensitive nature of the work, further
details are being held confidential. Keib said there are
approximately 38 Gregg Protection Services employees on the
ground in Europe and western Asia performing security to prevent
the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Keib said there are a total of 40 former nuclear military
facilities in Russia that will need to be guarded. He said as
the Russian government makes available further sites, Gregg
Protection's contract amounts for that sort of work could grow.
"The Department of Energy and the Department of Defense are
putting huge amounts of money into this," Keib said.
But U.S. taxpayers aren't the only ones funding the security
effort. Keib said members of the G-8, a group of eight major
industrial nations including France, Great Britain, Canada and
Germany, also contribute.
On Sept. 7, 2001, the U.S. Army awarded a $5 billion ongoing
Cooperative Threat Reduction Integrating Contract to five U.S.
companies to help ensure that nuclear materials couldn't be
stolen and handed off to terrorists. In addition to Raytheon
Technical Services, contracts were awarded to Bechtel National
Inc. of San Francisco, Parsons Delaware Inc. of Pasadena,
Calif., Washington Group International Inc.'s International
Alliances of Cleveland and Brown & Root Services, a division of
Haliburton International Inc. of Arlington, Va. Four days after
the award, terrorists used commercial airliners to attack the
United States.
Raytheon Technical Services also has contracts for hundreds of
millions of dollars to provide transportation services for the
Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and to transport
materials regulated by the Cooperative Threat Reduction program,
according to Raytheon spokeswoman Kristen Giddens Pinto-Coelho.
Keib said two previous $1.5 million contracts through the
Argonne National Laboratory-Westin Idaho Falls, Idaho, and the
Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., awarded
through the Department of Energy have been completed. He said
work on a $3 million contract with the DOE's Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., is ongoing.
DAN REYNOLDS may be contacted at dreynolds@bizjournals.com.
2005 American City Business Journals Inc.
*****************************************************************
36 DU Afflicts Soldier's Daughter
Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2005 23:42:02 -0500 (CDT)
In early September 2003, Army National Guard Spec. Gerard Darren
Matthew was sent home from Iraq, stricken by a sudden illness.
One side of Matthew's face would swell up each morning. He had
constant migraine headaches, blurred vision, blackouts and a burning
sensation whenever he urinated.
The Army transferred him to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in
Washington for further tests, but doctors there could not explain
what was wrong.
Shortly after his return, his wife, Janice, became pregnant. On
June 29, she gave birth to a baby girl, Victoria Claudette.
The baby was missing three fingers and most of her right hand.
Matthew and his wife believe Victoria's shocking deformity has
something to do with her father's illness and the war - especially
since there is no history of birth defects in either of their
families.
They have seen photos of Iraqi babies born with deformities that
are eerily similar.
In June, Matthew contacted the Daily News and asked us to arrange
independent laboratory screening for his urine. This was after The
News had reported that four of seven soldiers from another National
Guard unit, the 442nd Military Police, had tested positive for
depleted uranium (DU).
The independent test of Matthew's urine found him positive for DU
- low-level radioactive waste produced in nuclear plants during the
enrichment of natural uranium.
Because it is twice as heavy as lead, DU has been used by the
Pentagon since the Persian Gulf War in certain types of "tank-buster"
shells, as well as for armor-plating in Abrams tanks.
Exposure to radioactivity has been associated in some studies with
birth defects in the children of exposed parents.
"My husband went to Iraq to fight for his country," Janice Matthew
said. "I feel the Army should take responsibility for what's
happened."
The couple first learned of the baby's missing fingers during a
routine sonogram of the fetus last April at Lenox Hill Hospital.
Matthew was a truck driver in Iraq with the 719th transport unit
from Harlem. His unit moved supplies from Army bases in Kuwait to
the front lines and as far as Baghdad. On several occasions, he
says, he carried shot-up tanks and destroyed vehicle parts on his
flat-bed back to Kuwait.
After he learned of his unborn child's deformity, Matthew immediately
asked the Army to test his urine for DU. In April, he provided a
24-hour urine sample to doctors at Fort Dix, N.J., where he was
waiting to be deactivated.
In May, the Army granted him a 40% disability pension for his
migraine headaches and for a condition called idiopathic angioedema
- unexplained chronic swelling.
But Matthew never got the results of his Army test for DU. When he
called Fort Dix last week, five months after he was tested, he was
told there was no record of any urine specimen from him.
Thankfully, Matthew did not rely solely on the Army bureaucracy -
he went to The News.
Earlier this year, The News submitted urine samples from Guardsmen
of the 442nd to former Army doctor Asaf Durakovic and Axel Gerdes,
a geologist at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. The German
lab specializes in testing for minute quantities of uranium, a
complicated procedure that costs up to $1,000 per test.
The lab is one of approximately 50 in the world that can detect
quantities as tiny as fentograms - one part per quadrillionth.
A few months ago, The News submitted a 24-hour urine sample from
Matthew to Gerdes. As a control, we also gave the lab 24-hour urine
samples from two Daily News reporters.
The three specimens were marked only with the letters A, B and C,
so the lab could not know which sample belonged to the soldier.
After analyzing all three, Gerdes reported that only sample A -
Matthew's urine - showed clear signs of DU. It contained a total
uranium concentration that was "4 to 8 times higher" than specimens
B and C, Gerdes reported.
"Those levels indicate pretty definitively that he's been exposed
to the DU," said Leonard Dietz, a retired scientist who invented
one of the instruments for measuring uranium isotopes.
According to Army guidelines, the total uranium concentration Gerdes
found in Matthew is within acceptable standards for most Americans.
But Gerdes questioned the Army's standards, noting that even minute
levels of DU are cause for concern.
"While the levels of DU in Matthew's urine are low," Gerdes said,
"the DU we see in his urine could be 1,000 times higher in concentration
in the lungs."
DU is not like natural uranium, which occurs in the environment.
Natural uranium can be ingested in food and drink but gets expelled
from the body within 24 hours.
DU-contaminated dust, however, is typically breathed into the lungs
and can remain there for years, emitting constant low-level radiation.
"I'm upset and confused," Matthew said. "I just want answers. Are
they [the Army] going to take care of my baby?"
We track soldiers' sickness For the last five months, Daily News
columnist Juan Gonzalez has chronicled the plight of soldiers who
have returned from Iraq with mysterious illnesses.
His exclusive groundbreaking investigation began with a front-page
story on April 4 that suggested depleted uranium contamination was
far more widespread than the Pentagon would admit.
At the request of The News, nine soldiers from a New York Army
National Guard company serving in Iraq were tested for radiation
from depleted uranium shells - and four of the ailing G.I.s tested
positive.
The day after Gonzalez's story appeared, Army officials rushed to
test all returning members of the company, the 442nd Military Police,
based in Rockland County.
By week's end, the scandal had reverberated all the way to Albany,
as Gov. Pataki joined the list of politicians calling for the
Pentagon to do a better job of testing and treating sick soldiers
returning from the war.
Gonzalez's expos sparked a huge demand for testing. By mid-April,
800 G.I.s had given the Army urine samples, and hundreds more were
waiting for appointments.
Two weeks later, the Pentagon claimed that none of the soldiers
from the 442nd had tested positive for depleted uranium. But The
News' experts found significant problems with the testing methods.
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/236934p-203326c.html
Originally published on September 29, 2004
*****************************************************************
37 [du-list] Photo report of the ICBUW conference in European
Date: Tue, 05 Jul 2005 16:41:11 -0700
Dear all,
On www.bandepleteduranium.org you can find a nice photo impression of the
ICBUW conference in Brussels, 23 & 24 June 2005.
I think the conference was very informative, good for lobbying and networking
and I hope a step forward in the abolishment of uranium weapons.
Peace,
Henk van der Keur
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unsubscribe and send.
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*****************************************************************
38 Paducah Sun: Scrutiny expected on radiation risks
Paducah, Kentucky
A panel concluded last week that even low doses of radiation
pose a risk of cancer or other health problems.
By Joe Walker jwalker@paducahsun.com 270.575.8656
Monday, July 04, 2005
A new expert panel finding that there is no perfectly safe level
of radiation is sure to undergo intense scientific scrutiny
worldwide, said Dr. Peter Locken of Paducah, who treats cancer
with radiation.
"I think this is probably going to be looked at for years and if
it does result in long-term changes, it probably will occur
through the regulatory process," he said.
A National Academy of Sciences panel said last week that the
bulk of scientific evidence shows even very low doses of
radiation pose a risk of cancer or other health problems, and
there is no level below which exposure can be viewed as
harmless. After five years of study, the panel rejected claims
by the nuclear industry and some independent scientists that
very low levels of radiation aren't harmful and may even be
beneficial.
The finding addresses radiation amounts commonly used in medical
treatment and also might ultimately influence radiation levels
at sites like the 1,270-employee Paducah Gaseous Diffusion
Plant.
Thousands are employed in the Paducah area by virtue of the
plant and its cleanup contractors, as well as two regional
hospitals and their spin-off medical community. Hundreds of
current and former plant workers have sought federal
compensation for job-related illness including radiation-induced
cancers.
It's "too early to tell" if the finding will change standards on
which the compensation program was built, said Richard Miller,
Washington-based policy analyst for the Government
Accountability Project. Miller, who formerly represented the
nuclear workers' union, helped advise writers of the
compensation laws.
Miller said all types of leukemias are covered under
compensation except for chronic lymphocetic leukemia, which is
generally accepted as unrelated to radiation exposure.
"Congress has asked NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational
Safety and Health) to study that, and this report doesn't ask or
answer that question," Miller said. "But it's certainly an area
for further research."
Elizabeth Stuckle, spokeswoman for plant operator USEC Inc.,
declined comment on the panel findings. The Paducah plant is
regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
"We have more stringent radiation-protection measures at the
plant than what is required," she said. "We already take a
conservative approach."
Locken said he and other local medical users of radiation are
very careful in their approach, but the benefits outweigh the
risks. Patients with cancer have little to lose, he said.
"I get a fair amount of exposure and it's not going to change my
practice or habits at this time," he said. "I always try to
minimize exposure. That's just common sense."
Locken said his practice is licensed by the state and NRC, and
meets those regulations as well as medical standards. Medical
workers, like nuclear workers, are allowed more radiation
exposure than the public, he said.
Dr. Gershom Lundberg, a Paducah radiologist, said it is true
that the scientific community generally has accepted the
"linear, no threshold" model for radiation risk.
"However, it remains an unproven theory," he said, adding that
various studies contradict the no-threshold approach. Almost all
studies showing increased incidence of radiation-related cancer
are based on high levels of radiation, he said.
Lundburg cited a U.S. study of radon in homes showing a lower
incidence of lung cancer in counties with higher levels of
radon. A Taiwanese study found significantly lower incidence of
lung cancer and birth defects in people living in buildings with
cobalt in structural steel than the general population, he said.
But despite the scientific disagreement, it is prudent to limit
medical radiation as much as possible, Lundberg said. "My
personal philosophy about X-rays is if it won't affect therapy,
don't do the test."
A report summary is available at www.nationalacademies.org.
*****************************************************************
39 [right-to-water] Coke Dumping Cadmium in India
Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2005 23:29:05 -0500 (CDT)
Right to Water -- posted by
svarghese@iatp.org
============================================================ This
is another major blow to coke .
MATHRUBHUMI Dated 02-06-2005
July 01 TRIVANDRUM.
CADMIUM IN SOLID WASTE _ NOTICE TO BE SENT TO COCACOLA
TheKerala State pollution control board has decided to send show
cause notice to Cocacola Company Plachimada since no explanation
has been receiving from Cocacola, about disposal of Cadmium found
in the solid waste from the plant.
The decision was taken on the request, for renewing the licence,
from the company which expired on Dec.2004. The demand of the
pollution control Board to explain ,the reason, with in 15 days for
not preventing the function of the company.
The company has failed to implement the directives of the pollution
control board on the disposal of the haxardous waste and also has
failed to give a satisfactory explanation to the Board. It has not
been implemented the Reverse Osmosis, to clean the waste wated,
even though the Board has instructed it.
The presence of Cadmium in the Solid waste along with waste water
has been detected in the labtest by theKPCB. It is believed that
cadmium is either used in the process of Cocacola or may be a bi-
product formed in the process. But the company has no explanation
regarding the formation of Cadmium or the method to eliminate it.
That is the main reason fohr rejecting the application of the company
to renew the licence.
A technical error in the applications has also been pointed out in
the notice. As per rules the preson authenticated to run the plant
is entitled to submit the applications. But here, the plantmanager
has submitted the application .It is to be noted that plant manager
is not an authenticated official.Having considering all the above,
the kpcb has decided to sent the notice to HCBL.The decision to
issue showcause notice was after the serious consultation with
eminent Lawyers and legal experts by KPCB.. It is known that the
notice would be send within two days to the coke .
Contact:
R.Ajayan, Convener Plachimada Solidarity Committee Ph:- Res
0471-2730464 Mob- 09847142513 Res Add - Neerajam, Kudappanakunnu,
Trivandrum-695043 Kerala, India
============================================================ View
the ARCHIVES of this list at:
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*****************************************************************
40 Courier-Mail: Berkeley in yellow cake
[04jul05]
By Robin Bromby
BERKELEY Resources is the latest junior to prove that including
the word "uranium" in a release gets the market's attention - and
fast.
And it also helps if the company is not talking about projects in
Australian states with anti-uranium Labor governments, notably
Queensland and Western Australia.
Its shares rose 50 per cent within an hour of a trading halt
being lifted on Friday after the company said it had acquired
six advanced uranium projects in Spain. It is also applying for
other ground in Portugal.
Berkeley finished the first trading day of the new financial
year up 6c to 17c.
Unlike Australia, neither Spain nor Portugal has any impediments
to uranium mining. Spain has nine nuclear reactors that need
1600 tonnes a year of uranium.
Also, Berkeley has picked up a Spain-based team of mining
professionals.
"The thing (Iberian venture) manages itself," said Berkeley
managing director Matt Syme.
Berkeley is buying Minera de Rio Alagon to get the uranium
properties by paying with shares and committing to spend up to
E3.5 million ($4.9 million).
Queensland Newspapers
*****************************************************************
41 Moscow Times: Bellona Urges Nuclear Reform
Tuesday, July 5, 2005. Page 3.
In a report presented at a Moscow news conference on Monday,
campaigners from the Bellona environmental watchdog urged Russia
to reform its nuclear energy industry and the handling of
Soviet-era nuclear waste.
The report, called "Russian Nuclear Industry: The Need for
Reform," said Russia had to safely store spent nuclear fuel,
rather than reprocess it, and stop implementing the "potentially
dangerous and expensive" program of extending operation of aging
nuclear plants. It also called for the cleanup of contamination
around nuclear power stations and nuclear-powered submarine
bases.
This is only an excerpt from the full story.
The entire article is approximately 218 words in length.
Click here to proceed to the full story.
(Note: you will be prompted for your username and password)
Copyright 2005 The Moscow Times. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
42 Las Vegas SUN: Scientist's testimony in Yucca e-mail probe raises questions
Today: July 05, 2005 at 11:11:43 PDT
By Suzanne Struglinski <> SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Testimony last week from a Yucca Mountain
scientist at the center of the investigation into the alleged
falsification of documents did little to help resolve the issue.
"We have really just begun," said Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev.,
chairman of the House subcommittee looking into the allegations.
"I still think there are a lot of questions to be answered."
Last Wednesday's congressional hearing seemed to further
entrench the proponents of the planned nuclear waste repository
90 miles northwest of Las Vegas and the project's opponents.
Porter and other Nevada officials say a series of e-mails sent
between project scientists as much as 10 years ago raise serious
questions about the scientific integrity of the project.
Scientists wrote about "fudging" work and made disparaging
remarks about quality assurance. One e-mail suggested keeping
two sets of documents -- one for inspectors the other with the
real data.
Project supporters, though, dismiss the e-mails and say any
questions about the science will be answered when the Energy
Department applies to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a
license to build the repository.
"We don't lay out our safety case in e-mails," Yucca Mountain
project spokesman Allen Benson said.
He said technical documents supporting the Energy Department's
work on Yucca will be evaluated by the commission, not the
e-mails.
Still, the e-mails paint a troubling picture. U.S. Geological
Survey scientist Joe Hevesi wrote of being able to poke holes in
the scientific work.
Hevesi had to be subpoenaed to testify Wednesday before the
House Federal Workforce and Agency Organization Subcommittee.
But he provided few answers.
He dismissed his remarks as "poor wording" or emotional
responses. He and the Energy Department have described the
e-mails as "water cooler chatter."
Porter said Hevesi's statements "absolutely" do not take away
any of the e-mail's value in the fight against Yucca Mountain.
He said the testimony will open the door for other aspects of
his investigation.
Porter said Hevesi has agreed to meet with the subcommittee
staff to answer at least 50 to 100 more questions. Two other
scientists have also met with staff members. Porter said he
would continue to put and would not hesitate to subpoena Energy
Department documents or others involved with the e-mails to
testify.
Nevada officials have long criticized project management and
the science supporting the work. Porter said he is concerned by
the frustration Hevesi seemed to have with the department
management and Hevesi's inability to recall why he would write
"Live by the sword, Die by the sword" in one message. Porter
also found it hard to believe that Hevesi did not know anything
about the "Tiger Teams" he referred to in several e-mails beyond
that they were part of a review process.
"I am hoping for his sake he is telling us the truth," Porter
said.
Joe Egan, a Washington attorney who handles Yucca issues for
Nevada, said the full story will come out when the state
challenges the Energy Department's license application. State
officials expect to depose scientists and others involved during
their challenge.
"This guy's deposition will be a lot more interesting," Egan
said. "Clinton said he didn't have sex either."
Egan said a deposition is different than testifying before a
congressional subcommittee. They are likely to go document by
document and line by line asking what he may have falsified or
changed. Egan noted that Porter does not have all the documents
yet so it was hard to ask specific questions.
"We never got to the uncomfortable questions," Egan said.
"We're lawyers, we're litigators, we can cross examine. We have
much more time."
Until then, Porter will use his subcommittee's jurisdiction
over all federal agencies and their employees to investigate the
problem, which includes looking at data that was allegedly
changed to support the Energy Department's position.
"The real question is, did in fact those findings that were
changed, give the tools to DOE (the Energy Department), the
Congress and the White House to make a decision that it was safe
and based on sound science," Porter said in an interview. "I
think those e-mails go to the genesis of the whole project and
that is the mountain leaks, and it was chosen as the site
because it didn't."
Porter continues to battle with the Energy Department over
getting documents.
W. John Arthur, deputy director of the department's Office of
Repository Development, said during the hearing that his
appearance is part of the department's cooperation with the
investigation and the department sent an e-mail to Porter last
week. The e-mail told Porter that he can go to the department
headquarters to view certain documents.
Arthur said he wanted to put the matter "into perspective."
"Out of more than 10 million e-mails, the object of this
hearing is a handful of e-mails that indicate a possible
intentional circumvention or misrepresentation of compliance
with Yucca Mountain Project quality assurance requirements by
these same U.S.G.S. employees," Arthur said.
Porter called Arthur's answers to his questions the "classic
bureaucratic response" and said that going to the library to
view documents was "unacceptable."
Even when the department has turned over documents, they have
been incomplete, he said. He asked for an organizational chart
of employees from 1995 to today, and it was sent without names.
"I believe part of it is arrogance on the part of the
Department of Energy because they have never really been
questioned," Porter said. "I don't believe they have ever been
questioned by Congress to this degree. I don't believe that they
can find part of the documents that we've asked for, which is
part of the management culture, but I think the bulk of it is
arrogance."
He said he would like to see that information in the next two
weeks or he may request another subpoena.
But site supporters say these issues should be dealt with in
the licensing process.
Rod McCullum, senior project manager for waste at the Nuclear
Energy Institute, the nuclear industry's trade group, said the
e-mails are just a tiny portion of thousands of pages of
documents related to the Yucca project.
He said there's nothing to support Porter's idea that the
e-mails signify widespread problems with the project.
"Mr. Porter wants to get to the truth, the vehicle that takes
us to the truth will be the licensing process," McCullum said.
"The ultimate test if the science is correct is the licensing
process."
McCullum said since 2000, the department has gone through and
looked at quality assurance problems.
"We knew there were scientists venting about QA (quality
assurance)," he said.
McCullum said all types of documents, even beyond what Porter
is requesting, will be available once the department finalizes
its document collection for the NRC's database.
"You have to ask yourself what they did about it (issues raised
in the e-mails)," McCullum said. "We have that in the licensing
process. These are statements made by individuals. What about
e-mails after that? They didn't just ignore these things."
Porter, however, said there "is still the underlying question
of falsifying data on the very genesis of Yucca Mountain and
that is whether the mountain leaks."
All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
43 Palestine News Network: Dimona nuclear waste looking for a dumping ground
Mustafa Sabre, Qalqiliya 1:00 pm 5.07.05
Nuclear affairs expert Shafiq Al Horani disclosed in Amman,
Jordan important and dangerous information related to Dimona,
the Israeli nuclear reactor in the Negev Desert in southern
Palestine.
In an interview with Al Horani, he affirmed that the real danger
of Dimona lies in the nuclear weapons it has produced during the
past 42 years since its establishment. The number has reached
200.
The Israeli nuclear reactor has produced a great deal of waste
that the Israelis want to get rid of by dumping it into the
neighbouring regions to renew the Negev region and construct
settlements for the new settlers.
Israel may try to get rid of the old and rusty nuclear reactor
on the bill of the neighboring countries. Concerning the
dangerous radiation and the increase in instances of cancer
patients, Al Horani explained that the information related to
Dimona is highly secretive and so these issues must be verified.
When Israeli Vanunu tried to speak up about what he say while
working in Dimona, the Israeli government imprisoned him for
nearly 20 years. Upon his release, the Israelis imposed another
gag order.
According to a report from the Environmental Association of
Jordan, regions in the south of Palestine, in Karak, Jordan and
Syria were affected by nuclear radiation.
*****************************************************************
44 ABQJOURNAL: Waste Disposal Still Question in DOE Plan for Idaho
Plutonium Project
the Albuquerque Journal newspaper.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Albuquerque Journal-->
Associated Press
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho The Department of Energy holds
hearings this month to lay out plans to produce plutonium at the
Idaho National Laboratory, but officials acknowledge they still
can't answer a key question: what to do with the radioactive
waste created by the plant.
The federal government has proposed building a $300 million
complex at the eastern Idaho nuclear research site to
consolidate production of plutonium-238 and the assembly of the
long-lasting batteries that run off heat generated by the
decaying radioactive fuel. Currently, production is done at
three separate sites: Oak Ridge National Laboratory in
Tennessee, Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and the
Idaho complex west of Idaho Falls.
Because the existing inventory of plutonium-238 will be gone
in five years, the agency says it needs to produce new supplies
for the batteries, which are needed for unspecified national
security missions and NASA's deep space exploration vehicles.
The Energy Department says the batteries will not be used in
military applications.
The agency wants to make 11 pounds of plutonium-238 annually
for 35 years beginning in 2011, and estimates the program will
create 20 cubic meters a year of waste such as gloves, rags,
tools and other debris contaminated during plutonium production
and battery assembly.
The Energy Department wants to encase that radioactive
debris in melted glass and store it at the Idaho lab until it
can be shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad,
N.M., where waste from nuclear weapons production is stored in
ancient salt beds 2,150 feet underground.
There are still unresolved questions as to whether the New
Mexico waste site can accept radioactive waste that does not
come from defense-related programs.
"The only piece that's missing is whether the waste can be
confirmed to go to (the New Mexico site),'' said Tim Frazier,
head of radioisotope power systems for the Energy Department.
"We certainly wouldn't start operations without a disposal path
for the transuranics, but that's not until 2012.''
Frazier said he's confident waste generated at the Idaho
site from the battery program will go to the New Mexico waste
dump because the facility already accepts similar waste from the
Idaho lab and from Los Alamos, where some of the plutonium
battery work is now done.
But opponents of the government's plan to begin producing
the highly toxic material at the Idaho site say they don't want
the Energy Department guessing on such a critical issue as
out-of-state waste disposal.
"They are sliding this thing under the door,'' said Jeremy
Maxand, director of the Boise-based watchdog group Snake River
Alliance.
The public has until Aug. 29 to comment on the Energy
Department's plutonium production plan. The agency will hold
public meetings to discuss the project July 18 at the Double
Tree Hotel in Oak Ridge, Tenn.; July 19 at University of New
Mexico-Los Alamos in Los Alamos, N.M.; July 20 at the Sun Valley
Inn in Sun Valley, Idaho; July 21 at the Snow King Convention
Center in Jackson Hole, Wyo.; July 25 at the Shiloh Inn in Idaho
Falls, Idaho; July 26 at the Fort Hall Tribal Business Center in
Fort Hall, Idaho; July 27 at the College of Southern Idaho in
Twin Falls, Idaho; and July 28 at the Red Lion Hotel Downtowners
in Boise, Idaho. All meetings begin at 7 p.m.
Copyright Albuquerque Journal
Steve@abqjournal.com
*****************************************************************
45 The Dispatch Report: Department of Defense avoided testing for perchlorate
Monday, July 04, 2005
By Matt King
San Martin - A new federal report on perchlorate criticizes the
U.S. Department of Defense for avoiding testing for the
contaminant unless specifically required by law.
In the report, published by the U.S. Government Accountability
Office, federal and state environmental officials say that
private industry and public water suppliers have generally
complied with regulations requiring sampling for contaminants
and agency requests to sample or cleanup perchlorate.
The defense department, however, has been reluctant to sample
on or near active installations.
The GAO report recommends a formal system to track and monitor
perchlorate contamination and cleanup efforts across the
country, a suggestion rejected by both the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and the defense department.
The report mischaracterizes DODs response to perchlorate, a
chemical which is unregulated by the federal government and for
which no state has promulgated standards, said Philip W. Grone,
a Defense Department assistant deputy undersecretary for
environmental issues. Grone said the Pentagon has tested at 800
sites and spent more than $40 million to develop cleanup
techniques.
In local perchlorate news, Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz,
has amended legislation he introduced earlier this year to give
the Central Coast Regional Water Resources Control Board more
authority to set a replacement standard for drinking water
contaminated by perchlorate.
The legislation is in response to a recent state water board
decision that the regional board abused its discretion by
ordering the Olin Corp. to provide bottled water to San Martin
residents who get their water from wells that test below the
states public health goal for perchlorate of 6 parts per
billion.
If approved, the bill would clarify the water code to allow a
regional board to set an appropriate standard.
Sylvia Hamilton, president of the Perchlorate Community Advisory
Group, said shes appreciative of the work done by Assemblyman
Laird.
I believe he epitomizes what an elected official should be.
Hes responsive, he listens to his constituents, and acts in
their best interest, Hamilton said Friday. I think the intent
of the water code is very clear, and in my view, it gives the
regional board the authority to be flexible. Folks that are
closer to the community and have a better understanding of what
the needs are have a better understanding of what needs to be
done.
Laird aide Craig ODonnell said that procedural hurdles may
prevent AB 1421 from getting a final hearing this year. All
legislation must be approved and forwarded to the governors
office by early September.
Another bill, SB 187, that would force state environmental
officials to review the public health goal whenever new
information about perchlorate becomes available has passed the
Senate and will be heard in the Assembly sometime this summer.
Matt King
Matt King covers Santa Clara County for The Dispatch. He can be
reached at 847-7240 or mking@gilroydispatch.com.
*****************************************************************
46 Globe and Mail: China courting Canadian uranium
theglobeandmail.com
Surge in demand predicted if Beijing commits to building more
nuclear plants
By GEOFFREY YORK AND WENDY STUECK
Monday, July 4, 2005 Updated at 6:10 AM EDT
From Monday's Globe and Mail
Beijing and Vancouver Chinese officials and investors have
been sizing up the Canadian uranium sector, in what may be the
early stages of an attempt to nail down raw materials for a
nuclear building boom.
A Chinese delegation visited Cameco Corp. last fall, says Alice
Wong, a spokeswoman for the Saskatoon-based uranium giant.
And a separate four-person Chinese investment team recently
dropped in to the Vancouver offices of CanAlaska Ventures Ltd.,
a junior exploration company hunting for uranium in
Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin.
Then, last week, a group from the Chinese consulate in Calgary
visited the Saskatoon offices of Cogema Resources Inc., the
uranium-mining arm of the French nuclear energy company Areva
Group.
Analysts said they'd be surprised if China weren't actively
scouting Canadian uranium prospects. China plans to invest
$40-billion (U.S.) on nuclear generating capacity by 2020, which
includes building as many as 30 new reactors to provide
electricity for its booming economy.
An official with Natural Resources Canada said China has been
scouring the globe for uranium, talking to potential suppliers
in Canada as well as Australia and Kazakhstan.
China is interested both in buying the raw materials and
participating in joint ventures, the official said.
Ms. Wong said the Cameco visit was set up to provide information
and contacts to the Chinese, and that official business was not
on the agenda.
"I would call them exploratory chit-chat rather than anything
more specific," she said.
CanAlaska vice-president Emil Fung said the group that visited
his company wanted to know about land holdings and potential
development projects.
x Cogema spokesman Alun Richards said he gave a "generic
presentation" on uranium in Saskatchewan to the Chinese group,
who were also touring potash facilities in the province.
Industry experts are forecasting a global uranium shortage of
45,000 tonnes over the next decade, according to a report last
month by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, and the Chinese
boom is one of the key reasons for the expected shortage.
Canada is the world's biggest uranium producer, with an
11,600-tonne-a-year output, and has shipped uranium to China
before as fuel in two Candu reactors. But Canada's biggest
customer is the United States, which buys almost half of
Canada's annual production.
A recent report in the International Herald Tribune suggested
uranium sales were on the agenda when Prime Minister Paul Martin
visited Beijing to meet Chinese leaders in January.
Canadian officials would not confirm or deny the report, but
Foreign Affairs spokesman Andr Lemay said it would "seem
feasible" that Mr. Martin might have discussed uranium sales
with the Chinese leaders.
"Given that the Chinese are looking to increase dramatically the
number of nuclear stations, it would logically follow that they
would be looking to Canada to increase their imports of
uranium," Mr. Lemay said. "Canada would definitely like to
supply the reactors and the uranium."
One of the agreements signed between Canada and China in
January, during Mr. Martin's visit to Beijing, was an agreement
that included a commitment from the two countries to "work
together" in the "uranium resources field."
Chinese officials and Canadian diplomats in Beijing would not
discuss whether any talks on uranium sales are currently active.
The uranium market is dominated by a handful of large suppliers,
and Cameco itself accounts for roughly 20 per cent of world
production.
Canada might have to move hastily to keep pace with new
competition from Australia, the world's second-biggest uranium
producer, which is planning a splashy entry into the Chinese
uranium market in the near future.
Australia currently does not sell uranium to China, but plans to
negotiate a safeguard agreement within the next year to allow it
to do so. The agreement would guarantee that Australian uranium
is not used for Chinese nuclear weapons.
Australian political leaders are forecasting that Chinese
uranium demand could cause a doubling in Australia's global
uranium sales from current annual exports of about $300-million
and the figure could double as early as 2010 if Chinese demand
keeps growing.
Uranium sales are a sensitive issue because of controversies
over nuclear energy and the possible links to nuclear weapons.
But federal officials say Canadian uranium sales to China would
be fully legal, as the two countries signed a nuclear
co-operation agreement when Canada sold two Candu reactors to
China in the 1990s, and the pact would authorize future sales of
Canadian uranium to China.
As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, China
has also accepted international safeguards on the use of nuclear
energy, officials say.
Over the past few years, China has invested in nickel in Cuba,
copper in Chile and recently made a controversial bid for
American oil giant Unocal Corp. China is, however, also known
for shopping far and wide without necessarily reaching any
deals.
Globeandmail.com
*****************************************************************
47 asahi.com: Safeguards eyed for waste from nuke plants
07/05/2005
The Asahi Shimbun
The Environment Ministry plans to establish a national
management system to ensure safety when very low-level
radioactive material from scrapped nuclear plants is disposed of
like ordinary industrial waste.
A bill to revise nuclear power plant regulations was passed in
the current Diet session, enabling companies to legally dispose
of extremely low-level nuclear waste as ordinary industrial
waste by the end of next March.
The ministry will gather information about such waste to create
a database so that authorities will be able to take
countermeasures if the waste sites become too contaminated with
radiation. The database will also be used to prepare for on-site
inspections.
"If this method succeeds, it could become a model case for
industrial waste management in the future," said a deputy chief
of the ministry's industrial waste management division.
More than 90 percent of waste created during the dismantling of
a nuclear power plant is considered "ordinary," and does not
qualify as nuclear waste.
"Low-level" radioactive waste makes up about 2 percent of the
overall waste, while 5 percent contains "extremely low" levels
of radioactive material.
The "extremely low-level waste" is also called "clearance
waste," which contains 0.01 sievert or less of radiation, only a
tiny fraction of the annual amount an average person is exposed
to in the natural environment.
Under the revised regulations, business operators can dispose of
clearance waste as ordinary industrial waste after confirming
that it does not exceed a certain level of radiation. The
central government must approve of the measuring methods of the
operators.
Such waste will include concrete, reinforcing steel and beams of
nuclear plants, as well as parts of fuel-replacement devices and
heat exchangers.
An average boiling water reactor capable of generating 1.1
million kilowatts of electricity could produce up to 28,000 tons
of clearance waste after it is scrapped.
Currently, low-level radioactive waste can only be discarded in
metal barrels and taken to Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd.'s facility in
Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture.
Concerns are rising that such fields will run out of space if
clearance waste is also disposed of there.(IHT/Asahi: July
5,2005)
+ The Asahi Shimbun Company
*****************************************************************
48 Guardian Unlimited: Hundreds protest at nuclear base
Matthew Tempest at Faslane
Monday July 4, 2005
[A police officer stands guard in front of a peace banner on the
gates of the Faslane submarine base in Scotland. Photograph:
Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA] A police officer stands guard in front of
a peace banner on the gates of the Faslane submarine base in
Scotland. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA
Hundreds of protesters today gathered at a key naval base to
demonstrate against the UK's nuclear weapons.
The demonstration, organised by anti-nuclear groups CND and
Trident Ploughshares, began at the Faslane submarine base on the
Clyde at 7am.
Blockade organisers claimed around 2,000 protesters had gathered
at the base, spread between its four main entrance gates. A
Strathclyde police spokeswoman put the number at 600. The
Ministry of Defence said one man was arrested when he managed to
enter the compound, but he was quickly removed.
Demonstrators good-naturedly goaded the police with drumming,
dancing and - at midday - a religious communion in front of the
barbed wire approach gates to Faslane.
Protest coordinator Joss Garman said: "We aim to keep the base
shut for as long as possible.
"The idea is to highlight the link between war and poverty and
the way that the military is used to enforce destructive
globalisation."
Former Scottish Socialist party leader and MSP Tommy Sheridan
was at the protest. He said: "Faslane is a carbuncle on the face
of Scotland. It despoils our landscape, and represents all
that's wrong with the G8 meeting in Gleneagles, spending
billions on destruction, when we are standing here today for
peace and solidarity."
Declaring the protest a success, he added: "We've closed down
Faslane for one day - I want to close it down for the other 364."
Former CND head Monseigneur Bruce Kent said he was disappointed
that the Live 8 events had not focused more on militarisation.
He said: "The NGOs have a responsibility to put militarisation
on the map, because within six months or so, Tony Blair is going
to make a decision on Trident's replacement, which will cost
billions.
"Trident itself was only supposed to cost 5bn when it was first
proposed in 1980. To buy a replacment system would be a legal
violation of our obligation to negotiate to reduce our nuclear
capacity. But our so called independent nuclear British
deterrent is none of those things - it's not independent, and
who's it deterring?"
Also among the demonstrators were several members of the church
who had travelled from all over the country to make their voices
heard.
Retired vicar David Platt, 74, a Christian CND member, had
travelled for 10 hours by bus from Oxford to attend the
demonstration. He said: "I think that nuclear weapons are
inherently immoral. They are indiscriminate - you can't
distinguish between enemies and civilians. They are illegal,
they are irresponsible and totally irrelevant. If we are to make
poverty history we must make war history."
The protest climaxed with a DJ set from a pedal powered electric
generator, and ceremonial march past by the self-styled Rebel
Clown Army.
First up was the "Rinky Dinky" sound system, a sort of portable
PA on a tricycle which converted into a electric generator when
a volunteer turned the pedals. Beats pumped out and a DJ
imporovised raps about the G8 and Gleneagles.
Meanwhile, men and women of the Rebel Clown Army, dressed in Doc
Martens, tiaras, tinsel and face paint paraded under the noses
of the frontline of police officers in front of Faslane's
heavily fortified north gate - but without provoking the police
into a response.
Some protesters maintained their sit-down protest outside the
oil refinery entrances to the base, but the police tactic of
patience and non-provocation seemed to have worked in exhausting
protesters without inciting them.
[UP]
Guardian Unlimited Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
49 Guardian Unlimited: Einstein's pacifist dilemma revealed
Shingo Ito, Associated Foreign Press in Tokyo
Tuesday July 5, 2005
Previously unpublished letters from Albert Einstein to a Japanese
pen pal show the physicist to be defensive over the atomic
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which became possible through
his genius.
The widow of Seiei Shinohara, a philosopher and German-Japanese
translator who corresponded with Einstein in the last years of
the scientist's life, has chosen to go public with the letters in
the run-up to the 60th anniversary of the world's only nuclear
attacks.
Einstein's opposition to nuclear warfare has been documented, but
his letters to Shinohara show him trying to reconcile his
pacifism with his scientific work.
The correspondence began in 1953 when Shinohara sent a letter to
Einstein criticising the physicist over his role in developing
nuclear weapons.
Einstein responded by hand on the back of the typed letter.
"I have always condemned the use of the atomic bomb against
Japan but I could not do anything at all to prevent that fateful
decision," Einstein wrote in German to Shinohara.
This year also marks the centenary of Einstein's theory of
relativity, essential in the US development of the atomic bomb.
The Hiroshima bombing killed about 140,000 people, almost half
the city population of the time. More than 70,000 died three
days later in the bombing of Nagasaki.
"The only consolation, it seems to me, in the development of
nuclear bombs is that this time the deterrent effect will
prevail and the development of international security will
accelerate," Einstein wrote in another letter.
But Einstein, whose Jewish origins led him to flee Germany in
1933, also said war was sometimes acceptable. "I didn't write
that I was an absolute pacifist but that I have always been a
convinced pacifist. That means there are circumstances in which
in my opinion it is necessary to use force," he wrote.
"Such a case would be when I face an opponent whose
unconditional aim is to destroy me and my people."
[UP]
Guardian Unlimited Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
50 Japan Times: America's blase approach to doomsday
Monday, July 4, 2005
By TOM PLATE
LOS ANGELES -- The policy of the United States, at the moment
the world's only superpower, lacks an overall sense of urgency
about the spread and possible use of nuclear weapons. In all
probability, this lapse will someday lead to immense tragedy.
The world has been sitting on a ticking time bomb for six
decades. It is an inexplicable miracle rather than superior
national-security policy or international-control management
that a nuclear weapon hasn't exploded on one or more population
centers.
Don't, of course, run this superficial observation by the
Japanese, who still have the painful memory of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. It is not for nothing that this technologically
brilliant but overpopulated nation remains, despite recent
militant uptick emotions, on the whole antinuclear and pacifist.
But Japan someday will go nuclear if North Korea establishes
itself as a palpable nuclear power, as with Pakistan and India,
a pair of competing nuclear powers (and someday -- dare I
suggest it? -- Taiwan because of nuclear China).
Russia still has piles of nukes; the British and the French
have not relinquished their stockpiles; Israel denies --
unconvincingly to many -- that it has the bomb; Iran denies --
equally unconvincingly to many -- any intention of developing a
nuclear capability. And so it goes.
The U.S. takes the prize, though. It maintains (on 24-hour
alert hair-trigger status, no less) more than 10 times (at
least) as many nuclear warheads as there are nations in the
world. This absurd and risky over-readiness has drawn new fire
here from warriors old and new.
The late former President Ronald Reagan, though anything but a
notable dove while in office, appears to have been a passionate
nuclear abolitionist both behind the scenes and deep in his
heart, at least in the view of author and academic Paul Lettow.
His "Ronald Reagan and His Quest to Abolish Nuclear Weapons," a
new book published by Random House, has been raising major
eyebrows in liberal circles as well as conservative and has been
helping generate a sense of national unease about the defects of
our nonproliferation policy and the lack of a serious nuclear
reduction/disarmament policy.
The newly aroused antinuclear campaign in America has been
joined with octogenarian vehemence by Robert McNamara, now 89 no
less. The former defense secretary in the Kennedy and Johnson
Administrations, in newspaper interviews and Op-Ed essays, has
been a one-man band warning of the inherent (or, as he puts it,
"insane") dangers of so many ready-to-blow nukes in so many
countries.
As one of the chief architects of the Vietnam War, McNamara in
office was no more of a leftist than Reagan. But his regrets
about that war and his unmistakable intellect have added a touch
of establishment credibility to the abolitionist position.
This has enhanced the credibility of enduring firebrands like
Helen Caldicott, the near-legendary Australian physician who has
all but dedicated her life to the antinuclear campaign, and of
the many antiproliferation nonprofits that populate the globe.
Take a look, for illustration, at the astoundingly energetic
Web site of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation ( www.wagingpeace.org ), with whom Caldicott
and many others are allied. This nonprofit organization, located
in otherwise laid-back Santa Barbara, California, one of the
most gorgeous and otherwise untroubled places on planet earth,
has emerged as a kind of 24/7 center of the antinuclear
movement. In August, for instance, a national youth conference
on nuclear issues ("Think Outside the Bomb") will take place on
the sun-slashed campus of the University of California at Santa
Barbara, thanks to the foundation.
There's a feeling in the air, at least on the U.S. West Coast,
that the antinuclear movement is gaining traction. The war in
Iraq is obviously going badly and the hawks and "neocons" in
Washington, if not exactly in retreat, seem not to be pounding
their chests with such prideful arrogance these days.
The recent endless United Nations summit retreat on advancing
the venerable Nuclear Proliferation Treaty was a colossal and
embarrassing failure. The U.S. -- which has brutally tabled the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and even raised the probability of
funding further nuclear-weapons research -- refuses to conform
to the NPT's call for drawing down existing nuclear arsenals.
As Alyn Ware of the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy has put
it, "It is impossible to prevent nuclear proliferation while the
nuclear-weapons states insist on maintaining large stockpiles of
weapons themselves. It's like a parent telling a child to not
smoke while smoking a pack of cigarettes in their face. It's not
going to work."
The smoking gun in Washington is the North Korean dilemma. We
have invaded a country that possessed no weapons of mass
destruction at the cost of more than 1,700 U.S. lives, unknown
U.S. treasure and countless Iraqi lives, while fumbling big-time
as Pyongyang played hard-ball on the nuclear issue.
We have obviously got our national security-policy priorities
upside down. Thus we desperately need those fearless
nongovernmental organizations like the Nuclear Age Peace
Foundation -- not to mention old warriors like McNamara and
Caldicott to continue to campaign tirelessly if we are not to
realize the kind of nuclear calamity that, present trends
unchecked, seems increasingly predictable.
UCLA professor Tom Plate, a veteran U.S. journalist, is a
member of the Pacific Council on International Policy and
director of the UCLA Media Center. Copyright Tom Plate 2005
The Japan Times: July 4, 2005
(C) All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
51 Guardian Unlimited: Anti-Nuke Campaigners Protest in Scotland
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Monday July 4, 2005 11:16 AM
AP Photo TOKPA801
By ED JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer
FASLANE, Scotland (AP) - In a protest aimed at this week's Group
of Eight summit in Scotland, anti-nuclear campaigners
demonstrated outside the major naval base for Britain's
nuclear-armed Trident submarine fleet on Monday.
About 450 activists sat in the road, blocking the entrance to
the Clyde Naval Base in rural western Scotland. Some waved
rainbow peace flags, and many carried placards reading ``No War,
No Nukes.'' A samba band added a carnival atmosphere.
``It is vitally important that people make the link between the
industrial war machine and the poverty that so many people are
suffering from around the world,'' said protester Jenny Gaiawyn,
26. ``If the workers here cannot get to work, then it will slow
down part of the machine.''
More than 100 police officers were stationed at the base's
entrance and at intervals around its perimeter. They appeared to
be adopting a low-key approach aimed at avoiding confrontations
with the protesters; no arrests had been reported.
Dozens of buses packed with demonstrators traveled from the
Scottish capital Edinburgh and from Glasgow and other towns
across Scotland for the protest, dubbed the ``big blockade.''
An annual event, the protest this year has been billed as one of
the major demonstrations ahead of the G-8 industrialized nations
summit, which begins Wednesday.
``We went to war in Iraq on the pretext that they had weapons of
mass destruction. At the same time we have weapons of mass
destruction just a few yards from here,'' said Maureen Jack, a
member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, standing in
front of the 13-foot high fence topped with razor wire that runs
around the base.
``I invite Prime Minister Tony Blair to take a stand for peace
and security by dismantling our nuclear weapons program,'' she
added.
Yoshi Maruta, originally from Japan, gently tapped what she said
was a celestial Buddhist peace drum as she stood outside the
gate in front of a line of police officers.
``We had the experience of Hiroshima,'' she said. ``With many
nuclear weapons, millions of people will be killed. We want to
close this base down so people can live peacefully.''
Sally Williams, who had traveled from her home in Horsham, south
of London, for the demonstration, said Britain's nuclear
submarines represented a ``dreadful threat.''
``How can we press Iran not to go ahead with a WMD program when
we've got our own? This is a real threat to everybody,''
Williams said.
Later, the protesters broke up into smaller groups and marched
around the base's perimeter fence. At several entrance points,
groups of between six and 10 sat on the ground and joined hands
with plastic piping covering their arms in an often-used tactic
that makes it more difficult for police to separate them and
remove them from the scene.
Guardian Unlimited Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
52 Santa Fe New Mexican: LANL running terror-attack simulations
Tue Jul 5, 2005 5:32 pm
eNewMexican
By ARIANA EUNJUNG CHA | The Washington Post
LOS ALAMOS Deep inside the cave-like laboratories of the
legendary research center that created the atomic bomb,
scientists have begun work on a Manhattan Project of a different
sort.
In the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, they have been constructing the
most elaborate computer models of the United States ever
attempted. There are virtual cities inhabited by millions of
virtual individuals who go to work, shopping centers, soccer
games and anywhere else their real life counterparts go. And
there are virtual power grids, oil and gas lines, water
pipelines, airplane and train systems even a virtual Internet.
The scientists build them. And then they destroy them.
On a recent weekday at the Los Alamos National Laboratory,
researcher Steve Fernandez took several power-relay plants in
the Pacific Northwest offline with a few clicks of his keyboard
while Kristin Omberg and Brent Daniel were working up
mathematical models that calculated the worst places to release
biological agents in San Diego.
Were trying to be the best terrorists we can be, said James
P. Smith, who is working on simulations of a smallpox virus
released in Portland, Ore. Sometimes we finish and were like,
Were glad were not terrorists.
The Los Alamos experiments are part of the Homeland Security
Departments efforts to harness technology to aid the war on
terror. Like government data mining projects that use flight
itineraries, credit-card reports and other data and try to find
patterns to predict who might be a likely terrorist, the
simulations are attempts to guess the bigger picture.
The government is using the simulations to provide options in
the event of a real terrorist attack. The information is so
sensitive that most of the labs work is classified, and the
physical facility is secured with its own experimental
technologies. If the simulations got into the wrong hands,
researchers say, they could be used as the ultimate weapon
against Americans. It would be a terrorist recipe for doing
something terrible, Smith said.
Some urban planners have criticized the project for its cost
each simulation can cost tens of millions of dollars and have
argued that such modeling can never be precise. A book on
publichealth threats by the Institute of Medicine of the
National Academies, for example, notes some critics say
simulations cannot provide clear evidence for or against any
option. But advocates say the exercise is providing crucial
information for protecting the country.
When planes crashed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon
almost four years ago, the government had little understanding
of the weaknesses and interdependencies of power, water,
transportation and telecommunications networks. Richard Clarke,
the former counter-terrorism czar under the Clinton and Bush
administrations, warned that this opened the possibility of
cascade failures domino effects that authorities had
little power to stop.
In 2003, for instance, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
revealed a computer worm on the Internet penetrated the control
systems of a nuclear-power plant, disabling its safety
mechanisms for about five hours. That same year, much of the
East Coast and Midwest were hit with an electrical blackout that
experts thought should have been limited to one area.
Clarke created a critical infrastructure protection group made
up of the top officials from the government and from industry.
The Los Alamos simulations are the cornerstone of their work.
The models have helped officials pinpoint and prioritize where
changes need to be made. Fernandezs work has led to upgraded
security at certain power plants. Omberg and Daniel have created
biosensors which can detect a wide variety of biological
threats that have been placed in areas of major cities that
the computer program calculated were vulnerable, such as near
sports arenas or transportation hubs.
Smiths findings have been a major component of the debate over
whether its necessary to synthesize enough smallpox vaccine for
the entire country. He found that in the event of an outbreak,
targeted vaccination would work almost as well as mass
vaccination if officials moved quickly to establish quarantine
zones for those infected.
Traditionally, estimates of infection and deaths are made using
a simple multiple that denotes how fast the disease spread.
Smiths program is far more detailed and uses a mixture of
mathematical data and basic psychology to simulate an area and
the behavior of its population.
It begins by modeling every city block using census data, then
populates the city using information on household income and age
of residents. Next the scientists simulate peoples movements on
a daily basis by using data from diaries kept by commuters ;
foot traffic patterns on streets, malls and other public places;
and public transportation schedules. The hope is to see how
different social interactions are in America in 2005 from other
areas where the spread of disease has been studied such as in
rural Africa, where communities are much more isolated, or in
the United States in 1918 when some cities like Portland saw
much traffic from soldiers on boats.
It turns out that the average person in Portland, population 1.6
million, has about five activities per day. That is, they
might get up and drop the children off at school, go to work,
buy gas, buy groceries and then pick up the children . The
average travel time for each person is 30 minutes.
The thing that makes it unique is the estimate of who comes
into contact with whom in a large urban area and how long the
contacts last, said Stephen Eubank, a researcher at the
Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech who worked with Smith
on the smallpox simulation.
The scientists continuously run the simulations, which operate
about 100 times faster than real time, testing actions like
closing the airport, quarantining a neighborhood or shutting
down workplaces.
Its like the movie Groundhog Day. You could reach in and say
what I did yesterday didnt work so well and lets see how
something else works, Eubank said.
In one simulation, Smith unleashed the smallpox virus in a
university building in downtown Portland, with several students
becoming victims. Soon after the 10-day incubation period
passed, hospitals throughout Portland began to report cases.
Smiths computer chronicled the devastation. Day 1: 1,281
infected, zero dead. Day 35: 23,919 infected, 551 dead. Day 70:
380,582 infected, 12,499 dead.
Smith wondered: How would the results change if local officials
closed the schools? If they started mass vaccination? If they
locked down the whole city?
Smith programmed a cluster of computers to run through these
scenarios and hundreds of others, trying to determine which
response would save the most lives.
Each time the model is run, it produces more data than the
contents of the Library of Congress. Some findings are obvious:
The invention of air transportation might be the biggest factor
in the spread of disease. Others arent as easy to guess:
Shutting down schools might not help as much as expected because
parents are likely to take their children to malls and
playgrounds where they can come in contact with others who have
been infected. It also turned out the speed of intervention is
much more important than the type of intervention.
If officials waited 10 days or more, Smith found, We didnt get
to enough people so a lot of people died. It was almost as bad
as a do nothing strategy, which was depressing .
Eubank said when he runs simulations for governors or mayors,
they inevitably ask him to quarantine the whole city, to make
sure residents stay in their houses.
But if I had to do that I would basically be shooting anybody
who walks out on their doorstep. Thats not acceptable, Eubank
said. We are trying to understand the cost-benefit trade-off
if you implement a quarantine it may give you the benefit
youre looking for but it may be too costly socially.
The biggest challenge simulation researchers face is that its
unlikely theyll ever know how accurate they were until a real
attack occurs. The only system thats been tested against a
real-life event is Fernandezs program for how hurricanes will
affect the electricity grid.
In September 2004, his team used the system to predict the route
of Hurricane Frances based on historical information about
similar hurricanes as well as its wind profile, intensity and
other data 40 hours before landfall. He advised Florida
officials to position emergency repair teams in certain parts of
the state he thought would receive the most damage and he
turned out to be correct.
His computer was also right about the 11 days it would require
to get power back up for 90 percent of the state, and about the
estimate of damage: $28 billion; the final damage total was $27
billion.
Fernandez said the pinpoint accuracy of the Hurricane Frances
simulation was just plain luck. The world is too complex, he
said, to be captured that specifically in a computer program.
No matter how much money is spent, he said, or how long
scientists work on the task, well never understand all the
interdependencies of life.
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53 EPA: Hanford Transuranic waste characterization
FR Doc 05-13166
[Federal Register: July 5, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 127)]
[Proposed Rules] [Page 38642-38644] From the Federal Register
Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr05jy05-19]
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 194 [FRL-7931-5]
Waste Characterization Program Documents Applicable to
Transuranic Radioactive Waste From the Hanford Site for Disposal
at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant AGENCY: Environmental
Protection Agency. ACTION: Notice of availability; opening of
public comment period.
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing
the availability of, and soliciting public comments for 30 days
on, Department of Energy (DOE) documents applicable to
characterization of transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste at the
Hanford site proposed for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant (WIPP). The documents are available for review in the
public dockets listed in
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. EPA's inspection of waste
characterization systems and processes at Hanford is conducted to
verify that the site can characterize transuranic waste in
accordance with EPA's WIPP compliance criteria. EPA performed
this inspection the week of June 20, 2005. DATES: EPA is
requesting public comment on the documents. Comments must be
received by EPA's official Air Docket on or before August 4,
2005.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by mail to: EPA Docket
Center (EPA/DC), Air and Radiation Docket, Environmental
Protection Agency, EPA West, Mail Code 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460. Attention Docket ID No.
OAR-2005-0143. Comments may also be submitted electronically, by
facsimile, or through hand delivery/ courier. Follow the detailed
instructions as provided in Unit I.B of the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Rajani D. Joglekar, Office
of Radiation and Indoor Air, (202) 343-9462. You can also call
EPA's toll- free WIPP Information Line, 1-800-331-WIPP or visit
our Web site at http://www.epa/gov/radiation/wipp.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. How Can I Get Copies of This Document and Other Related
Information?
1. Docket. EPA has established an official public docket for
this action under Docket ID No. OAR-2005-0143. The official
public docket consists of the documents specifically referenced
in this action, any public comments received, and other
information related to this action. Although a part of the
official docket, the public docket does not include Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure
is restricted by statute. The official public docket is the
collection of materials that is available for public viewing at
the Air and Radiation Docket in the EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC)
EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC.
The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.
The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202)
566-1744, and the telephone number for the Air and Radiation
Docket is (202) 566-1742. These documents are also available for
review in paper form at the official EPA Air Docket in
Washington, DC, Docket No. A-98-49, Category II-A2, and at the
following three EPA WIPP informational docket locations in New
Mexico: in Carlsbad at the Municipal Library, Hours:
Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.,
and Sunday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m.; in Albuquerque at the Government
Publications Department, Zimmerman Library, University of New
Mexico, Hours: vary by semester; and in Santa Fe at the New
Mexico State Library, Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. As
provided in EPA's regulations at 40 CFR part 2, and in accordance
with normal EPA docket procedures, if copies of any docket
materials are requested, a reasonable fee may be charged for
photocopying.
2. Electronic Access. You may access this Federal Register
document electronically through the EPA Internet under the
Federal Register listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
An electronic version of the public docket is available
through EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA
Dockets. You may use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/
to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of
the contents of the official public docket, and to access those
documents in the public docket that are available electronically.
Once in the system, select ``search,'' then key in the
appropriate docket identification number.
Certain types of information will not be placed in the EPA
Dockets. Information claimed as CBI and other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute, which is not included in the
official public docket, will not be available for public viewing
in EPA's electronic public docket. EPA's policy is that
copyrighted material will not be placed in EPA's electronic
public docket but will be available only in printed, paper form
in the official public docket. To the extent feasible, publicly
available docket materials will be made available in EPA's
electronic public docket. When a document is selected from the
index list in EPA Dockets, the system will identify whether the
document is available for viewing in EPA's electronic public
docket. Although not all docket materials may be available
electronically, you may still access any of the publicly
available docket materials through the docket facility identified
in Unit I.B. EPA intends to work towards providing electronic
access to all of the publicly available docket materials through
EPA's electronic public docket.
For public commenters, it is important to note that EPA's
policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically
or in paper, will be made available for public viewing in EPA's
electronic public docket as EPA receives them and without change,
unless the comment contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA
identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will
provide a reference to that material in the version of the
comment that is placed in EPA's electronic public docket. The
entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will
be available in the public docket.
Public comments submitted on computer disks that are mailed
or delivered to the docket will be transferred to EPA's
electronic public docket. Public comments that are mailed or
delivered to the Docket will be scanned and placed in EPA's
electronic public docket. Where practical, physical objects will
be photographed, and the photograph will be placed in EPA's
electronic public docket along with a brief description written
by the docket staff.
[[Page 38643]]
For additional information about EPA's electronic public
docket visit EPA Dockets online or see 67 FR 38102, May 31, 2002.
B. How and to Whom Do I Submit Comments?
You may submit comments electronically, by mail, by
facsimile, or through hand delivery/courier. To ensure proper
receipt by EPA, identify the appropriate docket identification
number in the subject line on the first page of your comment.
Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the
specified comment period. Comments received after the close of
the comment period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required
to consider these late comments. However, late comments may be
considered if time permits.
1. Electronically. If you submit an electronic comment as
prescribed below, EPA recommends that you include your name,
mailing address, and an e-mail address or other contact
information in the body of your comment. Also include this
contact information on the outside of any disk or CD ROM you
submit, and in any cover letter accompanying the disk or CD ROM.
This ensures that you can be identified as the submitter of the
comment and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA cannot read
your comment due to technical difficulties or needs further
information on the substance of your comment. EPA's policy is
that EPA will not edit your comment, and any identifying or
contact information provided in the body of a comment will be
included as part of the comment that is placed in the official
public docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public
docket. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may
not be able to consider your comment.
i. EPA Dockets. Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to
submit comments to EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method
for receiving comments. Go directly to EPA Dockets at
http://www.epa.gov/edocket , and follow the online instructions
for submitting comments. To access EPA's electronic public docket
from the EPA Internet Home Page, select ``Information Sources,''
``Dockets,'' and ``EPA Dockets.'' Once in the system, select
``search,'' and then key in Docket ID No. OAR- 2005-0143. The
system is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will
not know your identity, e-mail address, or other contact
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.
ii. E-mail. Comments may be sent by electronic mail (e-mail)
to a-and-r-docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2005-0143.
In contrast to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail
system is not an ``anonymous access'' system. If you send an
e-mail comment directly to the Docket without going through EPA's
electronic public docket, EPA's e-mail system automatically
captures your e-mail address. E-mail addresses that are
automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system are included as
part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket,
and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
2. By Mail. Send your comments to: EPA Docket Center
(EPA/DC), Air and Radiation Docket, Environmental Protection
Agency, EPA West, Mail Code 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20460. Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2005-0143.
3. By Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to: Air
and Radiation Docket, EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room
B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC, Attention
Docket ID No. OAR- 2005-0143. Such deliveries are only accepted
during the Docket's normal hours of operation as identified in
Unit I.A.1.
4. By Facsimile. Fax your comments to: (202) 566-1741,
Attention Docket ID. No. OAR-2005-0143. C. What Should I Consider
as I Prepare My Comments for EPA? You may find the following
suggestions helpful for preparing your comments:
1. Explain your views as clearly as possible.
2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
3. Provide any technical information and/or data you used
that support your views.
4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you
arrived at your estimate.
5. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.
6. Offer alternatives.
7. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
8. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, identify the appropriate
docket identification number in the subject line on the first
page of your response. It would also be helpful if you provided
the name, date, and Federal Register citation related to your
comments. Background
DOE is developing the WIPP near Carlsbad in southeastern New
Mexico as a deep geologic repository for disposal of TRU
radioactive waste. As defined by the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act
(LWA) of 1992 (Pub. L. 102- 579), as amended (Pub. L. 104-201),
TRU waste consists of materials containing elements having atomic
numbers greater than 92 (with half- lives greater than twenty
years), in concentrations greater than 100 nanocuries of
alpha-emitting TRU isotopes per gram of waste. Much of the
existing TRU waste consists of items contaminated during the
production of nuclear weapons, such as rags, equipment, tools,
and sludges.
On May 13, 1998, EPA announced its final compliance
certification decision to the Secretary of Energy (published May
18, 1998, 63 FR 27354). This decision stated that the WIPP will
comply with EPA's radioactive waste disposal regulations at 40
CFR part 191, subparts B and C.
The final WIPP certification decision includes conditions
that (1) prohibit shipment of TRU waste for disposal at WIPP from
any site other than the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
until the EPA determines that the site has established and
executed a quality assurance program, in accordance with Sec.
Sec. 194.22(a)(2)(i), 194.24(c)(3), and 194.24(c)(5) for waste
characterization activities and assumptions (Condition 2 of
Appendix A to 40 CFR Part 194); and (2) prohibit shipment of TRU
waste for disposal at WIPP from any site other than LANL until
the EPA has approved the procedures developed to comply with the
waste characterization requirements of Sec. 194.22(c)(4)
(Condition 3 of Appendix A to 40 CFR Part 194). The EPA's
approval process for waste generator sites is described in Sec.
194.8. As part of EPA's decision-making process, the DOE is
required to submit to EPA appropriate documentation of quality
assurance and waste characterization programs at each DOE waste
generator site seeking approval for shipment of TRU radioactive
waste to WIPP. In accordance with Sec. 194.8, EPA will place
such documentation in the official Air Docket in Washington, DC,
and informational dockets in the State of New Mexico for public
review and comment.
EPA performed an inspection of Hanford's technical program
for waste characterization in accordance with Condition 3 of the
WIPP certification the week of June 20, 2005. The inspection is
used to evaluate the adequacy, implementation, and [[Page 38644]]
effectiveness of the applicable technical activities related to
the Hanford TRU waste characterization program. EPA's intent is
to confirm the continued adequacy of waste characterization
equipment and processes at Hanford for retrievably-stored,
contact-handled (CH) debris waste. More specifically, EPA
inspected new equipment (e.g., the Super HENC Box Counter System)
used for non-destructive assay (NDA) purposes.
EPA has placed DOE documents pertinent to the inspection in
the public docket described in ADDRESSES. These include: (1)
Hanford Site Transuranic Waste Certification Plan, HNF-2600, Rev.
15, May 2005, and (2) Hanford Site Transuranic Waste
Characterization Quality Assurance Project Plan, HNF-2599, Draft
Rev. 13, May 2005. The documents are included in Air Docket
A-98-49, category II-A2, as well as online at the EDOCKET Web
site (http://www.epa.gov/edocket) in Docket ID No. OAR-
2005-0143. In accordance with 40 CFR 194.8, as amended by the
final certification decision, EPA is providing the public 30 days
to comment on these documents.
If EPA determines as a result of the inspection that the
proposed processes and programs at Hanford adequately control the
characterization of transuranic waste, we will notify DOE by
letter and place the letter in the official Air Docket in
Washington, DC, as well as in the informational docket locations
in New Mexico. A letter of approval will allow DOE to dispose of
transuranic waste characterized by the approved equipment and
processes from Hanford to the WIPP. The EPA will not make a
determination of compliance prior to the inspection or before the
30-day comment period has closed. Information on the
certification decision is filed in the official EPA Air Docket,
Docket No. A-93-02 and is available for review in Washington, DC,
and at three EPA WIPP informational docket locations in New
Mexico. The dockets in New Mexico contain only major items from
the official Air Docket in Washington, DC, plus those documents
added to the official Air Docket since the October 1992 enactment
of the WIPP LWA.
Dated: June 24, 2005. Jeffrey R. Holmstead, Assistant
Administrator for Air and Radiation. [FR Doc. 05-13166 Filed
7-1-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
b
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54 lamonitor.com: Lab refines nuclear fuels as LANL is in forefront
The Online News Source for Los Alamos
ROGER SNODGRASS, roger@lamonitor.com, Monitor Assistant Editor
There are many signs that nuclear energy is making a comeback in
the United States, although no new nuclear power plants have
been ordered since 1978.
Peter Lyons, former nuclear policy aide to Sen. Pete Domenici,
R-N.M., and recently appointed commissioner of the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, visited Los Alamos and Sandia National
laboratories two weeks ago, where he was briefed on several
ongoing nuclear energy issues.
Among them, he said, were safety and security, computational
capabilities, and specific engineering questions, including a
long-standing concern related to nuclear reactor sumps, that
have been studied collaboratively by LANL and the University of
New Mexico, among other institutions.
"We continue to be the regulator of issues in the safety and
security arena, where both labs have very unique capabilities,"
said Lyons, mentioning LANL's accident analysis codes.
At LANL, where nuclear science, safety and safeguards are a
national specialty, nuclear energy research increasingly
overlaps many other areas of the laboratory's primary national
security mission.
Energy dependence, the nation's growing reliance on imported
fuels, the high price of gas - have fundamental economic
consequences and, therefore, fundamental national security
implications.
The sensitive association between hazardous nuclear fuels and
potentially catastrophic nuclear weapons materials, the
geophysics and hydrology of nuclear storage, and the character
and behavior of radiological materials under neutron bombardment
and lifecycle decay - are among key volumes in the knowledge
equity the laboratory has developed in its six decades of
research and experiment.
Dana Christensen, office director for nuclear technology,
touched on some of these issues by way of introducing LANL's
part of the Department of Energy's roadmap for constructing new
nuclear power plants in the next decade.
"My role is to look at where this nexus of the nuclear energy
aspect stands with respect to national security," he said. "The
overall goal is to be able to deploy powerful applications of
energy and avoid the misuse of that energy for weapons'
purposes."
Among the problems facing the nuclear revival is the question of
storing vast amounts of radioactive materials that will remain
deadly for thousands of years.
Legal and political roadblocks continue to delay DOE's
application for licenses to go forward with a deep geologic
repository at Yucca Mountain, with no resolution in sight, as
Domenici, has detailed in his book, "A Brighter Tomorrow:
Fulfilling the Promise of Nuclear Energy."
"I am very concerned that the progress on licensing this first
waste repository will be hamstrung by court challenges," he
wrote.
"While I support progress in developing an underground nuclear
waste repository at Yucca Mountain, I believe that our
single-minded focus on the permanent disposition of spent
nuclear fuel rods does not serve our nation."
By about 2010, even before the Yucca Mountain repository in
Nevada can be expected to begin receiving spent fuel rods from
existing power plants, it will be theoretically reserved to
capacity and unable to hold any more.
The DOE's nuclear roadmap, taking into account accelerating
energy demand, foresees a need for 393,000 megawatts of new
electricity by the year 2020.
"This growth would require the United States to build between
1,300 and 1,900 new power plants over the next two decades," the
plan stated. That might mean building a couple of hundred power
plants a year, by the time new licenses are permitted.
Since there are currently 103 nuclear power plants operating in
the United States, the burden of storing waste from many times
that number becomes obvious.
This is where LANL's expertise in radioactive chemistry and
chemical engineering has been called upon to develop what is
known as the "advanced fuel cycle" or "transmutation of nuclear
waste."
The laboratory's task is to take nuclear fuel and extract the
one percent of the material - the plutonium, neptunium,
americium, curium iodine and technetium that poses long-term
hazards and contains enormous energy potential - while leaving
the 99 percent of the material that would be far less harmful in
the long run.
The plutonium and other transuranic elements would be used as
fuel in the next generation of nuclear power reactors and the
whole process would reduce the volume and danger of the waste
that needs to be stored for the long term.
"What are the options? More and more greenhouse gasses?" asked
Christensen. "That's something we have the responsibility to
help avoid."
Christensen said the longer-term solution now rests with the
hopes for nuclear fusion, which can provide energy from ocean
water, leaving only short-term radioactive products and no waste.
"Do we have enough capacity in nuclear power to bridge to
fusion? And can we convince the world of that?" Christensen
asked. "I can't answer that."
Pressing climate concerns, the threat of global warming from
carbon emissions from over-reliance on fossil fuels for
generating electricity, have brought some well-known
environmentalist into the nuclear fold.
James Lovelock, who propounded the Gaia theory of a "living
earth," made an urgent statement last year on behalf of nuclear
energy as the only "green" solution to reduce the impact of
greenhouse gasses in the earth's atmosphere.
He was joined this year by Stuart Brand, best known for
publishing The Whole Earth Catalogue, whose article in
Technology Review listed nuclear power as one of a handful of
"environmental heresies," that he predicted would be have to be
reversed to avoid the "permanent disaster" of climate change.
But Lovelock and Brand remain exceptions to the rule.
"They correctly deduce that greenhouse gas emissions are a clear
and present danger, so I salute them for that," said Jay Coghlan
of Nuclear Watch New Mexico. "But they are reaching or wavering
towards a wrong solution to the ever-increasing problem."
Arjun Makhijani, President of the Institute for Energy and
Environmental Research, whose books include Nuclear Wastelands
and Mending the Ozone Hole, has many arguments with the
laboratory's transmutation project.
Along with many other environmentalists, he believes that
renewable energy sources should have priority for future
investments
"Nuclear energy is not alone in allowing us to address the
carbon dioxide problem, but it is alone in causing proliferation
problems, requiring a vast amount of money up front without
solving the waste problem, and leaving us with the risk of
accidents," he said. "We don't need it."
A bill approved by the Senate last week earmarked $85 million to
DOE's Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative, an increase of $15 million
over the budget request. The bill includes $7 million for
Material Test Station at Los Alamos Neutron Scattering Center to
support material science research.
2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved.
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NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who
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