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                         NUCLEAR POLICY
 
1 Interfax: Iran to continue nuclear cooperation with Russia - officia
2 RIA Novosti - Iran: EU, Russia and U.S. have similar apprehensions
3 RIA Novosti: Iranian delegation, Russian officials discuss nuclear c
4 AFP: Iraq to launch military, anti-terror cooperation with Iran
5 RIA Novosti: G8 calls on North Korea to end nuclear programs, 
6 US: Coastal Post: Depleted Uranium Bill Introduced Into Congress 
7 US: Daily Texan - Opinion: Nuclear demands show hypocrisy -
8 US: i-Newswire.com:  Energy Secretary Bodman Heads to West Virginia 
9 In Effort To Avert Nuclear Terrorism, UN Treaty To Be Strengthened
10 Mos News: Russia to Complete Tests on New Sea-Launched Ballistic Mis
 
                         NUCLEAR REACTORS
 
11 TheStar.com: Reasons to reject nuclear power
12 US: APP.COM: Group urges bolstering NRC relicensing rules
13 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Subcommittee Meet
14 US: NRC: NRC Begins Special Inspection at James A. FitzPatrick Nucle
15 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for th
16 Prague Daily Monitor: Over half of Czechs back nuclear power use - 
17 US: Palladium Times: NRC INTERVENES TO INSPECT FITZPATRICK
18 US: NY Newsday: Second crack found at nuclear plant
19 US: WTNH.com: Regulators tell Millstone owners to improve emergency
 
                          NUCLEAR SECURITY
 
20 Mos News: Georgia Reports Attempts to Smuggle Enriched Uranium - 
21 Reuters: Georgia reports 4 new nuclear smuggling attempts
 
                          NUCLEAR SAFETY
 
22 US: Coastal Post: Depleted Uranium Horror Stories Emerging For For R
23 US: Norwich Bulletin: U.S. finally does right by sick soldiers
24 US: Hawk Eye: More Cold-War workers added to list 
25 The Standard: Pacific lives with legacy of nuclear tests -
26 US: Cibola County Beacon: Uranium workers' meeting planned
27 US: WAVY.COM: Authorities clean up radioactive debris after crash
28 News & Star: TERROR ALERT AT SELLAFIELD
29 US: DOD: Dose Reconstruction board
 
                         NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
 
30 Las Vegas RJ: New leader named at Yucca firm
31 BBC: Nuclear staff told 'stay at
32 Pahrump Valley Times: LETTER: Haste, waste 
33 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Notice of Meeting
34 US: NRC: NRC Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste to Meet July 19-21 
35 US: Carlsbad Current-Argus: Asbill confident Eunice uranium plant wo
36 KRNV: Bechtel SAIC changing chiefs on Yucca Mountain project
37 US: Canon City Daily Record: Cotter soil may be shipped
 
                           PEACE
 
 
                        US DEPT. OF ENERGY
 
38 Tri-City Herald: Mock canister passes the test
39 Oakland Tribune: Lab: Nuclear arsenal rides on big laser
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
                         FULL NEWS STORIES
*****************************************************************
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 1 Interfax: Iran to continue nuclear cooperation with Russia - official

Interfax.com    Text version    Site map
  
Jul 8 2005 2:56PM
 
MOSCOW. July 8 (Interfax) - Iran intends to continue cooperation
with Russia in the nuclear energy sector, Mohammad Khoshchehreh,
an aide to president-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told Interfax in
Moscow on Friday. 

Khoshchehreh is currently visiting Moscow and has held meetings
with leaders from the State Duma and Federation Council on
prospects for continued nuclear cooperation. In particular, he
met with Federal Atomic Energy Agency chief Alexander
Rumyantsev. 

"There are no concerns that Russia might be ousted from the
Iranian power industry market," said Khoshchehreh, who is a
parliamentary deputy specializing in relations with Russia. Iran
is satisfied with how Russian specialists are constructing the
Bushehr nuclear power plant, he said. 
    
© 1991-2005 Interfax
 All rights reserved
 
*****************************************************************
 2 RIA Novosti - Iran: EU, Russia and U.S. have similar apprehensions

Opinion &analysis - 

9/07/2005

Moscow (RIA Novosti political commentator Marianna Belenkaya).

Iran's nuclear programs are one of the headaches of world
politics. It is on the agenda of every summit, be it G8 or EU or
any other forum. 

The U.S., EU, Russia, to name but a few, are equally concerned
about Iran's nuclear programs. The difference lies in their
approach to the problem. Washington, for one, subjects Iran to
heavy pressure that goes beyond Iran's nuclear effort and
affects its home policy as a whole. The U.S. can afford this
because it has nothing to lose: its economic ties with Iran are
not a big deal. But both EU and Russia maintain close economic
cooperation with Iran. 

Moreover, Moscow helps Tehran develop its civilian atomic power
engineering under IAEA control. But U.S. tireless criticism of
Moscow, fuelled by this cooperation, has recently come to a
halt. 

This is explained by many factors. To start with, Washington
knows only too well that because of proximity to Iran Russia is
much more interested in keeping Tehran away from nuclear weapons
than the U.S. and even Europe. Furthermore, Washington
understands that Russia cooperates with Iran in civilian atomic
programs under the vigilant eye of the world community. Once
barred from this cooperation Iran will seek clandestine ways for
developing its nuclear power engineering. This is exactly why
the European Three (France, Germany, and Britain) are discussing
a possibility of transferring some nuclear technologies to Iran.
Needless to say, this is being done with U.S. approval. 

This issue has a different aspect. Many experts in Russia and
the West believe that Iran has two nuclear programs. Vladimir
Sazhin, a Russian expert in Oriental studies, writes in an
article published on the site of the Middle East Institute, that
these programs "are not directly linked with each other. The
first one deals with civilian atomic power engineering. The
second program is the one that causes concern of the public in
Russia and the rest of the world". Sazhin makes a point that
once Iran creates an infrastructure for the full nuclear fuel
cycle, it will gain a technical capability for joining the
nuclear club. 

He writes: " Russia and some EU countries, including Germany,
believe that Iran has not yet made a final political decision on
nuclear weapons development. But in all probability, its leaders
are unanimous in the view that Iran should by all means develop
a scientific, technical and industrial 

infrastructure that would allow it to start the production of
nuclear weapons when such a need arises, and in the shortest
time possible." 

In this context Moscow, Brussels and Washington are equally
interested in preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and
are acting at one. At the Kaliningrad summit with Russian
President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder
in early July French President Jacques Chirak emphasized that
"our views on non-proliferation coincide". He approved of
Russia's policy towards Iran and expressed his wish that Tehran
and the European Three would find a solution on
non-proliferation in a calm and normal atmosphere. 

Indicatively, during his trip to Iran Audit Chamber Chairman
Sergei Stepashin said that Russia is interested in building more
power units at the Bushehr atomic power plant, but "the question
is what the current Iranian leaders imply by the new nuclear
strategy of the Islamic Republic." 

"If Russia, Europe and Iran coordinate their positions on Iran's
nuclear programs, there will be no obstacles to Russia's
continued participation in the construction of other power
units," concluded Stepashin. 

To sum up, when it comes to international security, Iran cannot
exploit the obvious contradictions and economic rivalry between
EU, U.S. and Russia in the region. The economy is a different
issue. Russia and a number of European nations are trying to
find a peaceful solution of the Iranian problem exactly because
see Iran as a promising partner in many economic spheres, such
as atomic and electric power engineering, oil and gas industry,
and transit of commodities. But a failure to resolve the Iranian
nuclear program issue will inevitably slow down economic
cooperation, no matter how much this may contradict the
interests of Moscow and Brussels.

© 2005 "RIA Novosti"   
*****************************************************************
 3 RIA Novosti: Iranian delegation, Russian officials discuss nuclear cooperation
 
9/07/2005

MOSCOW, July 8 (RIA Novosti) - The head of Russia's nuclear
power agency and an Iranian parliamentary delegation met
Thursday to discuss cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear
energy."A whole range of issues related to Russian-Iranian
cooperation, including in the peaceful use of nuclear power, was
discussed at the meeting," the Russian Federal Nuclear Power
Agency said in a press release.

 The Iranian delegates arrived in Russia on July 5 at the
invitation of a group in the State Duma, the lower house of the
Russian parliament. The group maintains contacts with the
Iranian parliament. 

Russian experts are finishing the construction of the first
energy unit of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran. With a
capacity of 1,000 MW, the plant will be commissioned next year
and Russia is expected to supply up to 80 metric tons of nuclear
fuel to the plant, an Agency official said. "The fuel will be
supplied to Iran when it is technologically necessary," he said. 

Spent fuel will be kept for three or four years in a special
storage near the plant's radiation zone. "There will be no
access to the fuel as there is no access to the radiation zone
in water-cooled reactors," said Alexander Rumyantsev, the head
of the Nuclear Power Agency and cochairman of the
Russian-Iranian commission on trade and business cooperation.
"When enough fuel for a shipping package is accumulated, it will
be sent back to Russia." 

He said the spent fuel could not be sent back to Russia
immediately. "This is difficult due to the high radioactivity
and temperature of the spent fuel," Rumyantsev said, before
adding that both would fall significantly in three years, which
meant the fuel could be transported. 

Rumyantsev said the spent fuel would be placed in nuclear waste
storages, where it would remain for another ten years after it
arrives in Russia. "After reprocessing, 95% of the fuel will be
used in the energy cycle again. The 5% of the waste left over
will be vitrified and stored," Rumyantsev said. 

The Iranian delegation will leave Russia on July 10.

© 2005 "RIA Novosti"   
*****************************************************************
 4 AFP: Iraq to launch military, anti-terror cooperation with Iran

Thursday July 7, 9:56 PM
 

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iraq's defence minister, on a landmark visit to
Iran, called for reconciliation between the two neighbours and
former arch-foes and pledged not to allow Iraqi soil to be used
for attacks against the Islamic republic.
 
"We have come here to turn a painful page and to open another,"
Saadun al-Dulaimi said Thursday at a press conference with
Iranian counterpart Ali Shamkhani.
 
"I have come to Iran to ask forgiveness for what Saddam Hussein
has done," he said, referring to Saddam's attack on Iran in 1980
that sparked a bitter eight-year war and led to hundreds of
thousands of deaths.
 
Dulaimi pledged that the two sides would begin military and
anti-terrorist cooperation, but nevertheless asserted it was too
soon for US and other foriegn troops to pull out of his country. 

Iran is concerned about the US military presence on its borders
and has repeatedly called for their withdrawal, but Dulaimi
asserted that "given the present situation, if foreign forces
leave Iraq there will be nothing but chaos and more trouble."
 
"Iraq will not be a source of insecurity and instability for any
of its neighbors. Nobody can use its soil to attack Iraq's
neighbors," Dulaimi insisted, in response to Iranian concerns
over a possible American attack.
 
Tensions between Iran and the US are high over Washington's
claims the clerical regime here is seeking to arm itself with
nuclear weapons. Tehran has also been accused of backing Iraqi
insurgents and Palestinian militants.
 
Shamkhani announced the formation of joint committees for
military cooperation, the fight against terrorism, clearing
minefields and investigating the missing soldiers from the
1980-1988 between Iran and Saddam's Iraq.
 
The military committee is aimed at "equipping the Iraqi army ...
to create an independent and self-sufficient Iraqi army", he
said.
 
The Iraqi minister pledged that the United States could not
oppose the cooperation between the two countries: "We are going
to cooperate and no one can stop this cooperation".
 
The two ministers, however, agreed that more sensitive issues
such as a peace treaty and war reparations were far from being
resolved. The United Nations resolution that ended 1980-88
Iran-Iraq war did not provide for reparations.
 
"We have come to our Iranian brothers to ask them for help and
we have not yet started on the more sensitive issues," the Iraqi
minister said about the massive reparations -- up to 100 billion
dollars -- claimed by Iran.
 
"Our Iranian brothers have promised us a billion dollar aid as a
loan," he added.
 
About a peace pact, the Iranian defence minister said "it is
still too soon, that will be the final step in cooperation".
 
The two ministers also discussed the continued presence in Iraq
of Iran's main armed opposition group, the People's Mujahedeen,
which Saddam supported in its cross-border raids on Iran.
 
"The Mujahedeen can stay in Iraq if they act like political
refugees but they will have no place if they act against Iran,"
Dulaimi said.
 
Shamkhani said the Mujahedeen would be on the agenda of the
anti-terrorism committee.
 
Tehran and Baghdad resumed diplomatic relations in September
2004, and Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi paid an historic
visit to Iraq in May this year.
 
Dulaimi arrived in Tehran on Tuesday night for a three-day visit.
 
Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari is also scheduled to visit
Iran in the coming days.
           
Copyright © 2005 AFP. All rights reserved. All information
*****************************************************************
 5 RIA Novosti: G8 calls on North Korea to end nuclear programs, 
resume negotiations
 
9/07/2005

GLENEAGLES (Scotland), July 8 (RIA Novosti) - The G8 group of
industrialized nations has urged North Korea to end its nuclear
program and return to the negotiating table, a summit statement
said.

 The G8 leaders fully supported six-party negotiations and said
they provided a possibility to achieve a comprehensive solution
to the North Korea nuclear problem. 

The G8 countries were deeply concerned over North Korea's
nuclear arms program, especially in the wake of its latest
statement that it had nuclear weapons and a missile program, the
document said. 

Pyongyang breached its commitments under the nuclear weapons
non-proliferation treaty and an agreement on guarantees signed
with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the statement said. 

The G8 leaders also highlighted the importance of North Korea
indefinitely maintaining its moratorium on missile launches.

© 2005 "RIA Novosti"   
*****************************************************************
 6 Coastal Post: Depleted Uranium Bill Introduced Into Congress 
              
    By The Lone Star Iconoclast 

Coastal Post Online Article July, 2005
 
MARIN COUNTY'S NEWS MONTHLY - FREE PRESS (415)868-1600 - 
(415)868-0502(fax) - P.O. Box 31, Bolinas, CA, 94924


Washington, DC - Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), a medical
doctor, on May 17 introduced legislation with 21 original
co-sponsors in the House of Representatives that calls for
medical and scientific studies on the health and environmental
impacts from the US Military's use of depleted uranium (DU)
munitions in combat zones, including Iraq. The McDermott bill
also calls for cleanup and mitigation of sites in the US
contaminated by DU. 

"The need is urgent and imperative for full, fair and impartial
studies," McDermott said. "We may be endangering the health and
lives of US soldiers and Iraqi civilians. All we've gotten so
far from the Pentagon are assurances. We need facts backed by
science. We don't have that today." 

Because of its density, the military uses DU as a protective
shield around tanks, and in munitions like armor piercing
bullets and tank shells. DU tends to spontaneously ignite upon
impact, disintegrating into a micro-fine residue that hangs
suspended in the air where it can be inhaled and falls to the
ground to leach into the soil. 

DU is a by-product of the uranium enrichment process; it is
chemically toxic and DU has low-level radioactivity. About 300
metric tons of DU munitions were fired during the first Gulf
War, and about half that amount has been used to date in the
Iraq War. 

"I've been concerned about DU since veterans of the first Gulf
War began to experience unexplained illnesses, commonly called
'Gulf War Syndrome' that remain mysterious," McDermott said. 
McDermott added that there are reports from Iraqi doctors and
others today of seemingly unexplained serious illnesses
including higher rates of cancer and leukemia, and even birth
defects. 

"We pretended there was no problem with Agent Orange after
Vietnam and later the Pentagon recanted, after untold suffering
by veterans. I want to know scientifically if DU poses serious
dangers to our soldiers and Iraqi civilians." 

The Depleted Uranium Munitions Study Act of 2005 has 21 original
co-sponsors, all Democrats, including: Reps. Charles Rangel,
Pete Stark, Sherrod Brown, Peter DeFazio, Maurice Hinchey, Raul
Grijalva, Jan Schakowsky, Robert Wexler, Sam Farr, Tammy
Baldwin, Robert Andrews, Bob Filner, Jay Inslee, Jose Serrano,
Lynn Woolsey, Earl Blumenauer, Bart Stupak, Mike Honda, Tom
Udall, Barney Frank and Ed Markey. 

Coastal Post

*****************************************************************
 7 Daily Texan - Opinion: Nuclear demands show hypocrisy -

 Opinion | 7/8/2005 

 By Mark Son "We cannot advocate for nuclear nonproliferation
around the globe, while pursuing more usable nuclear weapons
options here at home." 

- Rep. David L. Hobson, R-Ohio

As the United States urges other countries such as Iran and
North Korea to stop their nuclear weapons programs, the U.S.
Senate agreed last Friday to revive a nuclear bunker-buster
study. 

The Air Force-led study, officially called Robust Nuclear Earth
Penetrator, is designed to measure the feasibility of modifying
an existing nuclear warhead to burrow underground before
exploding. The program was stalled last year when the Congress
declined to fund the study. 

The Pentagon hopes that such weapons will improve U.S.
capabilities to destroy hardened and deeply buried targets.
President Bush supports the study. 

The Senate voted 53-43 to include $4 million for the research.
The U.S. House refused to provide the money last month, leaving
a final decision to be worked between the two chambers. 

"One of the most pressing threats posed by our potential
adversaries in the international arena today is the
proliferation of hard and deeply buried facilities," according
to a 2002 written statement by John T. Byrd, director of Plans
and Policy of the U.S. Strategic Command. "Our current arsenal,
developed in the Cold War, was not designed to address this
growing worldwide threat."

However, the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit
environmental organization, argues that the current
precision-guided conventional weapons are a more effective
alternative to RNEP. Such weapons can be used to cut off a
bunker's communications, power and air support. 

The Union of Concerned Scientists further argues that a nuclear
bunker buster would cause tremendous radioactive fallout because
even the strongest casing will crush itself by the time it
penetrates 10-to-30 feet into rock or concrete. 

For comparison, even a one kiloton nuclear warhead, which is
one-tenth as powerful as the Hiroshima bomb, must be buried at
least 200-to-300 feet to contain radioactive fallout, its Web
site said. 

"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 Sen.
Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a vocal opponent to the study. 

The U.S. Congress assigned a panel of the National Academy of
Sciences to report the feasibility of a nuclear bunker buster.
It reached a similar conclusion last April that such a bomb
would likely cause the same casualties as a surface burst if the
weapons are of the same size, according to a recent article by
The Associated Press. 

Byrd argued in his statement that RNEP's purpose is to "tailor
weapons to strenthen deterrence," which in turn makes them less
likely to be used. While President Bush recognizes that Cold-War
tactics like deterrence do not work against terrorists (this is
where preemptive strike comes in), he pretends to be blinded to
this. 

"[RNEP] is not to develop. It's not to deploy. It's not to use.
It's to study ... You make a study for a very simple reason: to
learn whether you do believe that that is a need," said Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during a press conference in May.

As a college student, I can grasp what he is saying. 

I decided to major in government to learn whether I believe that
there is a need. In the future, when I graduate with a
government degree, I could say a new set of options opened up in
front of me. 

However, these options are out of reach unless I use my degree
to achieve them. 

Similarly, any benefit we can possibly see from the study will
have to come from the fact that we proceed with using the
weapons, whether for deterrence purposes or deploying it in
battlefields. 

Even if government officials are serious in claiming that this
is only a study, the government is planning to spend millions of
tax dollars and risk an international uproar to study something
they have no intention of using.

That's like me saying, "I'll go to college for four years on
borrowed money for the joy of learning." 

"The message hasn't changed. We continue working with Great
Britain, France and Germany to send a focused, concerted,
unified message that says the development of a nuclear weapon is
unacceptable," President Bush said recently. 

We know that President Bush is not exactly a master of English
language, but reviving a nuclear bunker buster study is not
sending a "focused, concerted, unified message."

The United States is applying double standards and consequently
sending wrong messages to other countries including some that
are waiting to jump on any opportunity to have a nuclear weapon. 

If we are not practicing what we are preaching, other nations
will not heed what we say. 

What will we say to North Korea and Iran when they claim to be
conducting a "study" to see if they believe that there is a need
for nuclear weapons? 

Borrowing the words of Patrick Tyler, a New York Times
journalist, after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, "there may still
be two superpowers on the planet: the United States and world
public opinion." 

Son is a government senior.

*****************************************************************
 8 i-Newswire.com:  Energy Secretary Bodman Heads to West Virginia 
to Promote Energy Bill
 
  BELLE, WV - Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman today
traveled to West Virginia to urge the Congress to pass
comprehensive energy legislation that is now before them. The
bill reflects many of the principles of President Bush’s
national energy policy including the diversification of
America's energy supply to include more alternative and
renewable sources; encouraging energy efficiency and
conservation; promoting more domestic production in
environmentally responsible ways; and modernizing our
electricity delivery system to minimize the risk of blackouts.
President Bush has called on Congress to pass energy legislation
before the August Congressional recess.     

(I-Newswire) - "Many of the people locked inside Washington’s
Beltway tend to forget just where our energy comes from. They
forget that it’s the end result of a long process that began in
the mines and coal fields in places like West Virginia,"
Secretary Bodman said.

As part of his comprehensive energy plan, President Bush
announced the Clean Coal Power Initiative ( CCPI ). The
initiative will invest $2 billion over ten years to promote
research into clean coal technologies, including cutting-edge
coal gasification technology that represents one of the best
methods of utilizing coal for electricity production, with
little-to-no emissions of hazardous air pollutants.

In addition, the President’s energy plan would take a number of
critical steps toward ensuring secure, stable supplies of
energy. They include promoting the resurgence of nuclear power;
promoting renewable energies and energy efficiency; expanding
liquefied natural gas importation; and upgrading the nation’s
energy infrastructure.

In Belle, WV, Secretary Bodman joined U.S. Congresswoman Shelley
Moore Capito for a tour of the Kanawha River Terminal, before
going on to West Virginia University in Morgantown. While at
WVU, Secretary Bodman announced $3 million in funding under the
University Coal Research Program ( UCR ), the department’s
longest-running student-teacher research grant initiative.

"Coal is our most abundant source of energy, and the University
Coal Research Program helps us identify new ways to utilize coal
in a more efficient and environmentally responsible way,"
Secretary Bodman said. "The continued use of coal will have a
number of very concrete benefits. It will help support the
economy of the great state of West Virginia. It will help lead
us to a stable, secure energy future at a time when we know our
economy’s appetite for electricity will grow. And it will help
us safeguard our skies and rivers and other environmental
treasures."

Now in its 26th year, UCR has invested more than $116 million in
nearly 1,700 science students and their professors as their work
on 685 projects aims to develop clean and efficient technologies
for the use of coal. UCR research has developed concepts that
are now in commercial practice-from new ways to wash impurities
from coal to a spin-off technology that provides more efficient
use of carbon inks in office copiers.

After visiting the university, Secretary Bodman toured the
National Energy Technology Laboratory in Morgantown.

Media contact:
Craig Stevens, 202/586-4940

  Published on:   
  2005-07-08   
  
*****************************************************************
 9 In Effort To Avert Nuclear Terrorism, UN Treaty To Be Strengthened
 
Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2005 11:01:23 -0400

 
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IN EFFORT TO AVERT NUCLEAR TERRORISM, UN-BACKED TREATY TO BE STRENGTHENED
New York, Jul  8 2005 11:00AM
In a bid to prevent terrorists getting their hands on nuclear materials, 
delegates from 89 countries today agreed to substantially 
reinforce a United Nations-backed treaty with amendments that would 
reduce the risks of theft or smuggling of such materials, as 
well as of sabotage at nuclear facilities. 

“This new and stronger treaty is an important step towards greater 
nuclear security by combating, preventing, and ultimately punishing 
those who would engage in nuclear theft, sabotage, or even terrorism,” 
UN International Atomic Energy Agency (<"http://www.iaea.org/index.html">IAEA) 
Director General Mohamed ElBaradei <"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/PressReleases/2005/prn200503.html">said 
at 
the end of a weeklong <'http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Meetings/cppnm.html">conference 
in Vienna.

“It demonstrates that there is indeed a global commitment to remedy 
weaknesses in our nuclear security regime,” he added of the amendments 
to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear 
Material (<"http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Conventions/cppn.html">CPPNM), 
which was drawn up in 1980 and applied then 
only to such material in international transport.

The changes make it legally binding for States Parties to protect 
nuclear facilities and material in peaceful domestic use, its storage 
as well as its transport. They also provide for expanded cooperation 
between 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. 


A group of experts has been working on strengthening CPPNM safeguards 
since the September 2001 terrorist attacks against the United 
States raised serious concerns about its effectiveness. The Vienna-based 
IAEA is the depositary of the treaty.

The new rules will come into effect once they have been ratified 
by two-thirds of the 112 States Parties of the Convention, expected 
to take several years. 

“But concrete actions are already taking place around the world,” 
the director of the IAEA Office of Nuclear Security, Anita Nillson, 
said. “For more than three years, the IAEA has been implementing 
a systematic Nuclear Security plan, including physical protection 
activities designed to prevent, detect and respond to malicious 
acts.”

The Agency´s Nuclear Security Fund, set up after the 2001 attacks, 
has delivered $19.5 million in practical assistance to 121 countries, 
helping them to carry out the very kinds of things called 
for under the amendments, whether in terms of helping States identify 
vulnerabilities, training staff, or carrying out physical protection 
work.
 2005-07-08 00:00:00.000 


________________

For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news

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 10 Mos News: Russia to Complete Tests on New Sea-Launched Ballistic Missile in 2006 - 

NEWS - MOSNEWS.COM

    [Topol-M (SS-27) / Photo from www.indiadaily.com] 

Created: 08.07.2005 11:31 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 11:53 MSK 

MosNews
 
Russia plans to complete its experiment on the new Bulava
intercontinental ballistic missile system by the end of 2006,
the Russian navy’s commander-in-chief, Vladimir Kuroyedov, was
quoted by Itar-Tass as saying.

The research and manufacture of the new missile have been going
on as scheduled, and only after the process is 70 percent
completed can the related departments decide when to hand the
missile over to the navy and other troops, Kuroyedov reported.

The solid-fuel Bulava missile, which is under a three-year
testing program, is capable of carrying up to 10 individually
guided nuclear warheads, with a range of up to 8,000 kilometers.

The Bulava (SS-NX-30) is the submarine-launched version of
Russia’s most advanced missile, the Topol-M (SS-27) solid fuel
ICBM.

The SS-NX-30 is a derivative of the SS-27, except for a slight
decrease in range due to conversions in the design for submarine
launch. The SS-27 is 21.9 meters long, far too large to fit in a
typical submarine.

The largest previously deployed Russian SLBM was the R-39 /
SS-N-20 STURGEON, which was 16 meters long. The Bulava will have
a range of no less than 8,000 kilometers, and reportedly
features a 550 kT yield nuclear warhead. 
 	
  Write us: <b>info@mosnews.com</b>
Copyright © 2004 MOSNEWS.COM
*****************************************************************
 11 TheStar.com: Reasons to reject nuclear power
 
July 8, 2005Updated at 07:37 AM  

Ontario needs a bolt of energy

Editorial, July 7.

The Toronto Star mistakenly suggested that clean power
alternatives "cannot be expected to close the vast replacement
gap" that would be caused by phasing out coal and nuclear plants
in Ontario, and comes to the unjustified conclusion that
"Ontario seems fated to build new reactors."

There are a multitude of reasons to reject nuclear power. For
starters, it's not clean. It routinely and accidentally releases
radioactive pollutants and has created 40,000 tonnes of
radioactive waste in Canada that will remain deadly for 1
million years. In addition is the risk of meltdown that could
render huge areas of the province uninhabitable.

The Rocky Mountain Institute recently noted nuclear power's main
supply competition (decentralized co-generation and renewable
energy) have more installed capacity, are growing six times
faster and already produce 92 per cent of the electricity of
nuclear power world-wide. Nuclear power is declining primarily
because conservation, distributed co-generation and many
renewables are cheaper.

Greenpeace research shows that Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
has received $18.5 billion in federal subsidies. When Ontario
Hydro was broken up in 1999, the successor companies were
relieved of $21 billion in debt, which was effectively a nuclear
bailout, allowing Ontario Power Generation to proceed with
refurbishment of old nuclear plants.

When eight out of 20 reactors in Ontario were forced to shut
down in 1997 due to poor performance and safety problems, CANDU
nuclear technology was proven a blatant failure. Because past
Ontario governments had not invested in green energy, this
resulted in a doubling of coal use. It's time to stop repeating
the catastrophic mistakes of the past. Green energy alternatives
are cheaper, cleaner, safer and more reliable than nuclear power.

 Dave Martin, Energy Coordinator, Greenpeace Canada, Toronto

Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All
*****************************************************************
 12 APP.COM: Group urges bolstering NRC relicensing rules
         
Asbury Park Press Online

Asbury Park Press 07/8/05 BY NICHOLAS CLUNN

STAFF WRITER

  WHAT'S NEXT

 The attorney for an ad-hoc coalition opposed to the relicensing
of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant plans to submit a
petition next week to federal regulators requesting they amend
rules governing license renewal.

Regulators will then decide whether to allow the public to
comment on the petition. 			   

BRICK — A coalition that wants the Oyster Creek nuclear power 
plant closed when its operating license expires announced 
Thursday its intention to petition federal regulators to 
strengthen the rules under which nuclear plants seek to renew 
their licenses.

The announcement comes as plant owner AmerGen prepares to apply
for a 20-year renewal sometime this month. Without a renewal
from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Lacey
reactor would likely close in 2009.

In the petition, Brick Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli and leaders from 
several state environmental advocacy groups ask regulators to 
increase the number of factors they look at when considering 
renewal applications. They want the NRC to consider security, 
emergency evacuation plans and the size of the surrounding 
population.

"The process is flawed, and it must be changed," Scarpelli said 
during a news conference at Bayside Park on the barrier 
peninsula.

If an attorney for the coalition submits the petition next week 
as planned, it would become the second such request made to the 
NRC. Andrew J. Spano, county executive in Westchester County, 
N.Y., submitted a similar petition in May. Spano has been 
critical of the Indian Point nuclear power plant, about 24 miles 
north of New York City.

Because it takes regulators at least two years to decide on 
rule-change petitions and up to 30 months to review renewal 
applications, an amendment to the rules governing license 
extensions may come too late to help Oyster Creek's critics.

If regulators accept Scarpelli's petition, they would then open a 
window to accept public comments, a period that would last 
several months. For instance, regulators will accept comments on 
Spano's petition through late August, though they received it in 
May.

Both petitions ask regulators considering renewals to apply the 
same standards they would use in reviewing proposals for new 
plants.

Scarpelli said he did not invite lawmakers or local elected 
officials to cosign the petition but wanted them to support it. 
His supporters echoed this hope.

"I wish other public officials will step up to join you in this 
petition," Paula Gotsch, coordinator of Grandmothers, Mothers and 
More for Energy Safety, told Scarpelli during the press 
conference.

Gotsch joined Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of 
the Sierra Club, Dena Mottola, executive director of the New 
Jersey Public Interest Research Group, and several officials from 
the New Jersey Environmental Federation in signing the petition.

Regulators will consider Spano's petition and take a look at the 
one Scarpelli and other leaders intend to submit, but the agency 
as a whole is confident with the rules it has in place, said Neil 
Sheehan, a commission spokesman.

"Our view is that the current license renewal process was 
developed over a considerable amount of time and it's worked very 
well," he said.

The commission also disagrees with the idea of including 
emergency planning as a factor when considering renewals. It 
feels the topic should be reviewed separately and on a regular 
basis, he said.
 
Nicholas Clunn: (609) 978-4597 or nclunn@app.com

the Asbury Park Press
*****************************************************************
 13 NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, Subcommittee Meeting
 
                         FR Doc E5-3599 
[Federal Register: July 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 130)] 
[Notices] [Page 39535-39536] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08jy05-86]                         
 
on Thermal-Hydraulic Phenomena; Notice of Meeting The ACRS 
Subcommittee on Thermal-Hydraulic Phenomena will hold a meeting 
on July 19-20, 2005, Room O-1G16, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, Maryland.
 
The agenda for the subject meeting shall be as follows: Tuesday, 
July 19, 2005--8:30 a.m. until the conclusion of business 
Wednesday, July 20, 2005--8:30 a.m. until the conclusion of 
business The Subcommittee will review the latest proposed staff 
revision to Regulatory Guide 1.82 related to ECCS Net Positive 
Suction Head. The staff will describe its plans to provide 
guidance related to containment overpressure credit. The staff 
will also present the results of ongoing research concerning 
interactions of reactor coolant with debris in the reactor 
containment sump. The Subcommittee will hear presentations by and 
hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff, their 
contractors, and other interested persons regarding this matter. 
The Subcommittee will gather information, analyze relevant issues 
and facts, and formulate proposed positions and actions, as 
appropriate, for deliberation by the full Committee.
 
Members of the public desiring to provide oral statements and/or 
written comments should notify the Designated Federal Official, 
Mr. Ralph Caruso (Telephone: (301) 415-8065) five days prior to 
the meeting, if possible, so that appropriate arrangements can be 
made. Electronic recordings will be permitted.
 
Further information regarding this meeting can be obtained by 
contacting the Designated Federal Official between 7:30 a.m. and 
4:15 p.m. (e.t.). Persons planning to attend this meeting are 
urged to contact the above named
 
[[Page 39536]] individual at least two working days prior to the 
meeting to be advised of any potential changes to the agenda.
 
Dated: June 30, 2005.
 
Sharon A. Steele, Acting Branch Chief, ACRS/ACNW.
 
[FR Doc. E5-3599 Filed 7-7-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 14 NRC: NRC Begins Special Inspection at James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant
 
News Release - Region I - 2005-03 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY 
COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I 475 Allendale Road, 
King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 No. I-05-039                          
July 7, 2005 CONTACT:     Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. 
Sheehan (610) 337-5331                     E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov  
  

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has initiated a special
inspection at the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant in
response to the discovery of cracking in the facilitys torus, or
pressure suppression chamber, and a shutdown cooling line.
Members of the three-person team arrived this afternoon at the
Scriba, N.Y., plant, which is operated by Entergy.
 
Among the objectives of the special inspection in the short term
will be to review the adequacy of Entergys initial evaluations
of the cause, the companys assessment of whether any additional
cracking exists and its repair work prior to the plant returning
to service. Subsequently, the inspectors will more closely
examine Entergys corrective actions, including its investigation
into the defects, its root-cause evaluation and any potential
generic safety concerns.
 
We expect Entergy to undertake a vigorous and thorough review of
these issues, NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins said.
The purpose of this special inspection is to help ensure these
problems are fully understood and addressed so that the plants
safety margins are preserved.
 
The plants torus is a large, doughnut-shaped structure that is
partially filled with water (identified in graphic below as the
pressure suppression chamber). It is located at the base of the
reactor building. During a severe event at the facility, steam
generated by the reactor would be deposited into the chamber to
help reduce heat and pressure levels and cool down the plant.
 
On June 27, a crack measuring about 4.6 inches in length was
found on the torus. Because it represented a potential loss of
the plants containment mechanisms during an emergency, the
reactor was subsequently shut down. It remains out of service
while reviews and repairs are undertaken.
 
Entergy also identified a crack on a shutdown cooling line on
July 4. This crack, measuring about 6.5 inches in length, is of
concern because a failure of the line could complicate the
cooling of the plant.
 
Once the inspection is completed, the special inspection team
will document its findings and conclusions in a report that will
be issued within 45 days of an exit meeting with plant managers.
 
[Cross-section of a pressure suppression chamber, also known as
a torus] 

The above graphic shows a cross-section of a pressure
suppression chamber, also known as a torus. The cross-section
measures 29.6 feet wide. The chamber typically holds 790,000
gallons of water.
   



  


 	Last revised Friday, July 08, 2005 	
*****************************************************************
 15 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the 
 
                         FR Doc E5-3601 
[Federal Register: July 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 130)] 
[Notices] [Page 39534] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08jy05-84]                         
 
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: Revision. 2. 
The title of the information collection: 10 CFR part 32-- 
Specific Domestic Licenses to Manufacture or Transfer Certain 
Items Containing Byproduct Material.
 
3. The form number if applicable: NRC Form 653, 653A,and 653B, 
``Transfers of Industrial Devices Report.'' 4. How often the 
collection is required: There is a one-time submittal of 
information to receive a license. Renewal applications are 
submitted every 10 years. In addition, recordkeeping must be 
performed on an on-going basis, and reports of transfer of 
byproduct material must be reported every 5 years, and in a few 
cases, every year.
 
5. Who will be required or asked to report: All specific 
licensees who manufacture or initially transfer items containing 
byproduct material for sale or distribution to general licensees 
or persons exempt from licensing.
 
6. An estimate of the number of responses: 4147 (650 responses + 
275 recordkeepers for NRC licensees and 2522 responses + 700 
recordkeepers for Agreement State licensees).
 
7. The estimated number of annual respondents: 975 (275 NRC 
licensees and 700 Agreement State licensees).
 
8. An estimate of the number of hours needed annually to complete 
the requirement or request: 135,741 (36,623 hours for NRC 
licensees [5,225 hours reporting, or an average of 8 hours per 
response + 31,398 hours recordkeeping, or 114 hours per 
recordkeeper] and 99,118 hours for Agreement State licensees 
[20,863 hours reporting, or an average of 8.3 hours per response 
+ 78,255 hours recordkeeping, or an average of 112 hours per 
recordkeeper]).
 
9. An indication of whether Section 3507(d), Pub. L. 104-13 
applies: Not applicable.
 
10. Abstract: 10 CFR part 32 establishes requirements for 
specific licenses for the introduction of byproduct material into 
products or materials and transfer of the products or materials 
to general licensees or persons exempt from licensing. It also 
prescribes requirements governing holders of the specific 
licenses. Some of the requirements are for information which must 
be submitted in an application for a specific license, records 
which must be kept, reports which must be submitted, and 
information which must be forwarded to general licensees and 
persons exempt from licensing. In addition, 10 CFR part 32 
prescribes requirements for the issuance of certificates of 
registration (concerning radiation safety information about a 
product) to manufacturers or initial transferors of sealed 
sources and devices. Submission or retention of the information 
is mandatory for persons subject to the 10 CFR part 32 
requirements. The information is used by NRC to make licensing 
and other regulatory determinations concerning the use of 
radioactive byproduct material in products and devices.
 
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 8, 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 
(3150-0001), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and Budget, 
Washington, DC 20503.
 
Comments can also be e-mailed to John_A._Asalone@omb.eop.gov or 
submitted by telephone at (202) 395-4650.
 
The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda Jo. Shelton, (301) 415-7233.
 
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of June, 2005.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Beth C. St. Mary, Acting NRC Clearance Officer, Office of 
Information Services.
 
[FR Doc. E5-3601 Filed 7-7-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 16 Prague Daily Monitor: Over half of Czechs back nuclear power use - 

SATURDAY 9 JULY                                                                           
    
(PDM staff with CTK) 8 July - Some 54 percent of Czechs support
the use and development of nuclear energy, compared to 63
percent at the end of 2000, when the Temelin nuclear power plant
launched operations in South Bohemia, according to a spring poll
by the STEM agency. 

The highest level of support for nuclear energy, around 68
percent, was in 1994. 

Nearly 50 percent of people living in the area surrounding the
plant support nuclear power development in the long term. This
year, 48 percent of them were in favour of nuclear energy use. 

More than two-thirds of Czechs think the technologies used in
the Temelin plant are comparable to those in modern power plants
around the world. 

In South Bohemia alone, some 69 percent of people believe that
Temelin is on par with the world's top power plants, the share
remaining around the same in the long term. 

Some 58 percent of South Bohemia's inhabitants are convinced
that Temelin's security measures are sufficient, compared to 54
percent in 2000. 

People living near the plant have the most trust in the plant's
experts, and the representatives of the local municipalities and
the region. 

In other institutions, including environmentalist groups and the
Ministries of Industry and Trade and Environment, people's trust
is lower than 50 percent, the poll showed. 

CTK news edited by the staff of the Prague Daily Monitor, a
          
- The Prague Journal of Central European

*****************************************************************
 17 Palladium Times: NRC INTERVENES TO INSPECT FITZPATRICK

pall-times.com/

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has
initiated a special inspection at the James A. FitzPatrick
nuclear power plant in response to the discovery of cracking in
the facility's torus, or pressure suppression chamber, and a
shutdown cooling line.

Members of the three-person team arrived this afternoon at the
Scriba plant, which is operated by Entergy, an NRC spokesman
said.

He said among the objectives of the special inspection in the
short term will be to review the adequacy of Entergy's initial
evaluations of the cause, the company's assessment of whether
any additional cracking exists and its repair work prior to the
plant returning to service. Subsequently, the inspectors will
more closely examine Entergy's corrective actions, including its
investigation into the defects, its root-cause evaluation and
any potential generic safety concerns.

"We expect Entergy to undertake a vigorous and thorough review
of these issues," NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins
said. "The purpose of this special inspection is to help ensure
these problems are fully understood and addressed so that the
plant's safety margins are preserved."

The plant's torus is a large, doughnut-shaped structure that is
partially filled with water. It is located at the base of the
reactor building. During a severe event at the facility, steam
generated by the reactor would be deposited into the chamber to
help reduce heat and pressure levels and cool down the plant.

On June 27, a crack measuring about 4.6 inches in length was
found on the torus. Because it represented a potential loss of
the plant's containment mechanisms during an emergency, the
reactor was subsequently shut down. It remains out of service
while reviews and repairs are undertaken.

Entergy also identified a crack on a shutdown cooling line on
July 4. This crack, measuring about 6.5 inches in length, is of
concern because a failure of the line could complicate the
cooling of the plant.

Once the inspection is completed, the special inspection team
will document its findings and conclusions in a report that will
be issued within 45 days of an exit meeting with plant managers.

Repairs to the torus are progressing, according to the Entergy.
"We contracted with a diving company (PCI Energy Services) who
is highly skilled in doing this type of work - to help with the
repairs and to conduct inspections of the torus. We are working
closely with the divers," she said.

The plant is expected to remain shut down for the next week or
so until the repairs are completed.
 
*****************************************************************
 18 NY Newsday: Second crack found at nuclear plant

New York City - AP New York
 
Newsday.com   
                        		     
July 7, 2005, 10:59 PM EDT

SCRIBA, N.Y. (AP) _ A second crack has been found at the 
30-year-old James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant, which was 
closed last week after a small leak was found in its cooling 
system. 

Monday's second discovery won't delay the reopening of the 
central New York plant, Entergy spokeswoman Bonnie Bostian said 
Thursday. Bostian predicted the plant would be back online by the 
end of next week. 

Entergy inspectors on Monday found a 6.5-inch crack on a reactor 
shutdown cooling line. The original crack, found June 30, was 
found in a water tank used as a backup cooling system. The plant 
was then shut down. 

The cooling system helps disperse heat from the plant's nuclear
core during routine or emergency shutdowns. 

"The danger with a crack like this is that it could complicate a
shutdown of the reactor," U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
spokesman Neil Sheehan said Thursday. 

Two regional NRC inspectors arrived Thursday to join a
FitzPatrick resident inspector in a special inspection. The team
will oversee repairs and look at Entergy's general safety
procedures, Sheehan said. 

The plant has been in commercial operation since 1975. Its
operating license expires in 2014. 

Members of the Central New York Citizens Awareness Network said
they worry that the cracks point to increasing deterioration of
the reactor. 

The final NRC inspection report will be available online at
www.nrc.gov. 

Information from: The Post-Standard, http://www.syracuse.com 

        Copyright © 2005, The Associated Press     
*****************************************************************
 19 WTNH.com: Regulators tell Millstone owners to improve emergency
assessments

(Waterford-AP, July 8, 2005 5:40 AM) _ Federal regulators have
told Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, owner of Millstone Power
Station, to improve the way it assesses emergencies like the
unplanned shut-down that occurred on April 17th. 

A filament of metal called a "tin whisker" on a computer circuit
card triggered an accidental shut-down of the Unit Three
reactor. 

Some mechanical malfunctions and an alert followed. The alert
overstated the seriousness of the shut-down. 

The Day of New London reports that the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission wants the company to improve the way supervisors and
workers operate the plant during emergencies and keep equipment
in more reliable condition. 

A spokesman for Dominion says software used to simulate
conditions has been corrected and workers and supervisors at
Unit Three have been retrained under new guidelines. 

Dominion says it has replaced faulty circuit cards and shared
information with other reactor owners. 

*****************************************************************
 20 Mos News: Georgia Reports Attempts to Smuggle Enriched Uranium - 

MOSNEWS.COM
 
Created: 08.07.2005 12:42 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 12:42 MSK 

MosNews
 
Georgia has foiled at least four attempts to smuggle highly
enriched uranium out of the former Soviet country over the last
two years, a senior nuclear official told Reuters.

“There were four attempts at smuggling highly enriched uranium
(HEU) via Georgia during the last two years,” Soso Kakushadze,
head of Georgia’s Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department at
Georgia’s Ministry of Environment said in an interview with
Reuters.

“In all these cases, Georgian security officials prevented
attempts to smuggle HEU through Georgia to other countries. The
HEU had been brought to Georgia from abroad,” he said.

When enriched to low levels, uranium can be used in nuclear
power plants to generate electricity. Enriched to very high
levels it can be used in atomic weapons. Kakushadze, however,
did not specify countries the HEU had been brought from and
whether the uranium seized was weapons grade.

Kakushadze explained that Georgia did not want to report the HEU
seizures before as officials were investigating these cases.

Prior to the newly reported incidents, the last smuggling
attempt Georgia reported was in September 2000 and involved a
small amount of plutonium, which can also be used in weapons if
it is pure enough.

A source close to U.N. nuclear watchdog International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) told Reuters that during a recent
inspection trip to Georgia agency officials indicated an active
black market for HEU in the country.
 
An IAEA team arrived in Georgia last month to try to assess the
status of Georgia’s nuclear material. Due to security fears, the
IAEA experts did not to go to the breakaway region of Abkhazia,
though they would like to go there as soon as possible.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, several IAEA officials said
there were questions about whether some 9 kilos of plutonium
might have gone missing from a nuclear institute in Abkhazia.

However, one IAEA diplomat said this week any such plutonium may
have come from Soviet nuclear generators that use plutonium to
produce heat and electricity in remote locations.

If the plutonium comes from such a generator, it would not be
pure enough to use in atomic weapons and would not represent a
significant health hazard, the diplomat said.

“But it’s good to be sure,” the diplomat said, adding that the
IAEA wanted to account for all potentially lost, missing or
stolen nuclear materials in Georgia and other ex-Soviet states. 
 	
  Write us: <b>info@mosnews.com</b>
Copyright © 2004 MOSNEWS.COM
*****************************************************************
 21 Reuters: Georgia reports 4 new nuclear smuggling attempts
 
08 Jul 2005
Source: Reuters
 	 		 		   
By Margarita Antidze

 TBILISI, July 8 (Reuters) - Georgia has foiled at least four
attempts to smuggle highly enriched uranium out of the former
Soviet country over the last two years, a senior nuclear
official said.

 "There were four attempts at smuggling highly enriched uranium
(HEU) via Georgia during the last two years," Soso Kakushadze,
head of Georgia's Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department at
Georgia's Ministry of Environment, told Reuters.

 "In all these cases, Georgian security officials prevented
attempts to smuggle HEU through Georgia to other countries. The
HEU had been brought to Georgia from abroad," he said on
Thursday.

 When enriched to low levels, uranium can be used in nuclear
power plants to generate electricity. But when enriched to very
high levels it can be used in atomic weapons.

 Kakushadze did not say from what countries the HEU had been
brought or whether the uranium seized was weapons grade.

 According to the U.N. nuclear watchdog International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), the last confirmed case of illicit
trafficking of HEU was in July 2001 in Paris, where three people
were looking for buyers for half a gram of weapons-grade HEU.

 Prior to the newly reported incidents, the last smuggling
attempt Georgia reported was in September 2000 and involved a
small amount of plutonium, which can also be used in weapons if
it is pure enough.

 In Vienna, a Western diplomat close to the IAEA, said agency
officials only learned about the new incidents during a recent
inspection trip to Georgia.

 The diplomat said the news was disturbing because they could
indicate there is an active black market for HEU. 

"It's unclear why the Georgians waited so long to tell the
IAEA," said the diplomat on condition of anonymity.

 Kakushadze said Georgia did not want to report the HEU seizures
before as officials were investigating these cases.

 Nuclear experts say countries that might be secretly developing
nuclear weapons or militant groups would be eager to buy up HEU.
They also say that the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union opened
the door to rampant nuclear proliferation, due to poor security
of many stockpiles of atomic material.

 QUESTIONS ABOUT ABKHAZIA

 An IAEA team arrived in Georgia last month to try to assess the
status of Georgia's nuclear material. Due to security fears, the
IAEA experts did not to go to the breakaway region of Abkhazia,
though Vienna diplomats say they would like to go there as soon
as possible.

 Speaking on condition of anonymity, several IAEA officials said
there were questions about whether some 9 kg (20 lb) of
plutonium might have gone missing from a nuclear institute in
Abkhazia.

 However, one IAEA diplomat said this week any such plutonium
may have come from Soviet nuclear generators that use plutonium
to produce heat and electricity in remote locations.

 If the plutonium comes from such a generator, it would not be
pure enough to use in atomic weapons and would not represent a
significant health hazard, the diplomat said.

 "But it's good to be sure," the diplomat said, adding that the
IAEA wanted to account for all potentially lost, missing or
stolen nuclear materials in Georgia and other ex-Soviet states.
(Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau in Vienna) 

  Sat Jul 9 01:53:47 2005   
*****************************************************************
 22 Coastal Post: Depleted Uranium Horror Stories Emerging For For Returning US 
Servicemen 

Coastal Post Online
 
MARIN COUNTY'S NEWS MONTHLY - FREE PRESS (415)868-1600 - 
(415)868-0502(fax) - P.O. Box 31, Bolinas, CA, 94924

July 2005

Radioactive depleted uranium (DU) is 1.7 times as heavy as lead. 
According to the Federation of American Scientists, "These solid 
metal projectiles have the speed, mass and physical properties to 
perform exceptionally well against armored targets." During the 
Gulf War, munitions and armor made with depleted uranium were 
used for the first time in a military action; and during the 
recent war in Iraq, the US government has used more than 2200 
tons of depleted uranium weapons. 

However, in the aftermath of the Gulf War, some startling 
statistics have started to emerge. 

Former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who has been campaigning 
against the use of depleted-uranium weapons for years, says, "Of 
the 697,000 US troops who served in the Gulf, over 90,000 have 
reported medical problems. Symptoms include respiratory, liver 
and kidney dysfunction, memory loss, headaches, fever, and low 
blood pressure. There are birth defects among their newborn 
children. DU is a leading suspect for a portion of these 
ailments. The effects on the population living in Iraq are far 
greater. Under pressure, the Pentagon has been forced to 
acknowledge Gulf War Syndrome, but they are still stonewalling 
any connection to DU." 

As well as immediate illnesses, returning servicemen have 
experienced other, even more far-reaching effects. A US 
Department of Veterans study of the families of 251 Gulf War 
veterans found that 67% had children with severe illnesses or 
birth defects. 

The World Health Organization and NATO both steadfastly deny that 
there is a problem. However, increasing evidence, including the 
spate of deformed babies born to US servicemen who have returned 
from the Gulf in the last year or two, will change that. 

In a recent expose in the New York Daily News, Democracy Now! 
co-host Juan Gonzalez interviewed Army National Guard Specialist 
Gerald Darren Matthew, who returned from active duty in Iraq 
suffering from constant migraine headaches, blurred vision, 
blackouts and a burning sensation whenever he urinated. 

His daughter, conceived shortly after he returned from Iraq, was 
born without three fingers and most of her right hand. This is 
just one in an increasing dossier of stories in the same vein. 

Testing is a starting point. However, what is the next step? 

According to the New York Times bestseller Clear Body, Clear Mind 
by writer and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard, there is something 
that can be done to remove the residual effects of drugs and 
other toxins, including radiation, which are stored in the fatty 
tissues. The book offers a carefully balanced program of exercise 
to increase circulation, vitamin and mineral supplements and time 
sweating in the sauna. 

This program specifically reports successes with individuals who 
have been exposed to radiation. One graduate, who grew up in Utah 
and as a child was exposed to radioactive fallout from nuclear 
tests in Nevada, stated, "I feel I have now run out all the 
extreme radiation that I was exposed to in this lifetime. I 
regained my affinity for people there have been times on this 
program when I felt such exhilaration and felt the way I felt 
when I was a kid. My energy level has picked up tremendously." 

Other graduates consistently report increased mental clarity, 
ability to face up to and resolve the problems of life, vitality 
and positive attitude. They are mentally and spiritually much 
improved by the program. 

For more information on this program, visit 
"http://www.clearbodyclearmind.com" www.clearbodyclearmind.com. 

Coastal Post
*****************************************************************
 23 Norwich Bulletin: U.S. finally does right by sick soldiers

www.norwichbulletin.com
 
Friday, July 8, 2005   
  
With several legal holidays invoking those who have put their
lives at risk in defense of their country -- Memorial Day,
Veterans Day and, just past, Independence Day -- the United
States might seem to be a country with special respect for those
who serve and have served in the military.

 If that appearance came closer to reality, the life of Air
Force Maj. Michael W. Donnelly of South Windsor, who died last
week at 46, would not have had to be so heroic.

 As a career F-16 fighter pilot and instructor, Donnelly
represented the U.S. military's highest discipline, skill and
precision. Indeed, the multi-million-dollar cost of a U.S. jet
fighter, by far the best in the world and probably the most
important and practical weapon in the country's arsenal, is
substantially less than the military's investment in the pilot
who flies it. Replacing the machines is a lot easier than
replacing pilots.

 But flying 44 combat missions in the first war against Iraq in
1991 turned out to be the easy part for Donnelly. In early 1996
he fell ill while training pilots at an Air Force base in Texas
and months later was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease, which gradually shuts down the
nervous system and paralyzes the body while leaving the mind
intact, the cruelest imprisonment.

 Since he was on active duty when he became ill, Donnelly
qualified for medical treatment and disability pay from the Air
Force. But many Gulf War veterans seemed to be coming down with
ALS and similar illnesses of the nervous system, like multiple
sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, and most of them already had
left the service and so, in fighting their diseases, were pretty
much on their own.
 
The government was not there to help them since no connection
between their illnesses and their service in the military had
been proven.

 So Donnelly flew into action a second time. With the help of
his extraordinary family, he amassed the evidence that something
more than bad luck was afflicting Gulf War veterans. He wrote a
book, "Falcon's Cry," and, even as his body deteriorated,
campaigned among other veterans, the local and national news
media, and the government in support of research into the
problem and a change of policy to provide medical and disability
benefits to Gulf War veterans with nervous-system diseases.

 Of course, the government can't be expected to accept and cover
every claim that comes its way. It canbe expected to be
concerned about claims involving the health of present and
former military personnel. Instead, for years the government
resisted issues raised by Maj. Donnelly and others,
uncooperative with research, and occasionally even contemptuous.

 But slowly Donnelly and his family got through to responsible
people, including members of Congress, one by one, and began
opening minds. Hearings were held and studies were commissioned.
And in 2001, the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department, admitting the
statistical evidence that Gulf War veterans are twice as likely
as other people in the military to come down with ALS, changed
its policy; henceforth ALS in Gulf War veterans, whenever it
occurred, would be considered a service-related disability, and
the government would conduct more research on the problem.

Principi cited Donnelly
 
In making the announcement, Secretary Anthony Principi cited
Donnelly's work. Advocates for disabled veterans said government
policy never would have changed without it.

 A causal link between the Gulf War and nervous system diseases
is yet to be discovered. To explain the greater incidence of ALS
among those who fought in that war, there is only speculation
that it might have something to do with their exposure to
certain toxic elements believed to have been disproportionately
present in the war zone, like nerve gases, oil smoke, and
depleted uranium.

More compelling question
 
But the more compelling question may be why Maj. Donnelly's
second round of heroism should have been so necessary -- why it
should have been so important to prove a link between someone's
catastrophic illness and his military service before the
government would underwrite the cost of his medical treatment
and a decent disability pension, or, indeed, why military
service should even have to figure in the matter in the first
place.

 Either a community -- a country -- acknowledges that dealing
with such overwhelming troubles is precisely what community is
for, or it tells people -- war veterans even -- to fend for
themselves, in the often capricious maws of the private
insurance and welfare systems.

 Government delights in bestowing trivial and often unnecessary
and unrequested honors upon military veterans -- property tax
breaks, vanity license plates, and such -- but, as Maj. Donnelly
discovered, the government cannot always be found when veterans
and their families are in serious need. If, instead of looking
for ways of curtailing the public health and social insurance
systems, the government ever again looks for ways of expanding
them for people with catastrophic illness, increasing medical
insurance and disability and regular pension benefits for those
who have served in the military might be a good place to start.
They could name such a program for the fighter pilot from South
Windsor who was twice a hero. 

Powell is managing editor of the Journal Inquirer in Manchester. 

Originally published July 8, 2005
 
 Copyright ©2005 Norwich Bulletin. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 24 Hawk Eye: More Cold-War workers added to list 

Thursday, July 7, 2005 Site updated daily at 11 a.m. CST   

By KILEY MILLER kmiller@thehawkeye.com 

There's big news from St. Louis for a small group of people. 
The same expert panel that in May recommended payments to
hundreds of men and women with cancer who worked in the nuclear
weapons program at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant after
mid–1949, on Tuesday extended that recommendation to include
industrial radiographers from the prior year. 

The decision by the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker
Health is near–reaching, so to speak, likely effecting fewer
than 10 families. 

In the gray days of the Cold War, a super–secret effort to
protect the United States from communist enemies was underway
deep inside the plant. The area was known as Line 1. The mission
was assembling nuclear warheads. 

Casualties from that hidden battleground still mount, as cancer
attacks one worker after another. 

The story of those stricken weapons builders is well–known now,
and Congress has responded to their plight by authorizing
$150,000 in compensation. 

But details about the industrial radiographers remain largely
hidden. This tiny collection of workers used X–rays to inspect
conventional weapons for flaws. 

They also employed hyper–powerful bursts called flash X–rays to
capture lightning images of explosions, allowing government
scientists to measure the strength of the bombs they were
building. 

Because radiographers, as the name suggests, were exposed to
radiation, they were added to a petition submitted by other
energy workers at the plant seeking automatic compensation for
cancer. Specifically, the petition mentioned radiographers from
May 1948 to March 1949. 

But the advisory board members, who assist both the National
Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and the Department
of Health and Human Services with technical aspects of the
Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, at
first declined to place the radiographers under the same
umbrella as the plant's other energy workers. Their reasoning:
Enough information had not been presented to determine whether
the radiographers may have faced dangerous levels of radiation. 
That information came in St. Louis. 

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt now gets a turn
reviewing the board members' opinion. His recommendation goes to
Congress for final consideration. If lawmakers do not block the
petition within 30 days, radiographers with cancer — or, more
likely, their survivors — will be in line for a big check. 
Robert Anderson, a former plant security official who led the
drive for compensation and public acknowledgment of the nuclear
program, learned of the board decision Tuesday in a brief e–mail
from NIOSH administrator Larry Elliott. 

Anderson admitted he does not know a single radiographer who
falls within the group (those who stayed beyond 1949 were
included in the board's original recommendation). But he said it
was only natural to incorporate them into the petition. 
"We wanted to cover everyone who worked on Line 1," Anderson
said.   
  
The Hawk Eye 800 S. Main St., Burlington, Iowa 52601 319-754-8461 
· 1-800-397-1708 · FAX 319-754-6824 · webmaster@thehawkeye.com
*****************************************************************
 25 The Standard: Pacific lives with legacy of nuclear tests -
              
A decade after the last nuclear test in the Pacific, islanders 
are living with the legacy of atmospheric and underground tests 
while fighting for compensation and recognition of 
radiation-related health problems.

Hundreds of tests were conducted in the Pacific Islands by the 
United States, France and Britain between 1946 and 1996.

In the central Pacific, the US conducted more than 100 tests, 67 
of them at Bikini and Enewetak atolls in the Marshall Islands, a 
group about halfway between Australia and Hawaii and home to 
55,000 people.

Bikini, Enewetak and the nearby Rongelap atolls had to be 
evacuated due to                                                                                                                                                        
fallout, and the Bikini and Rongolap islanders are yet to return 
home.

France started its Pacific testing program in 1966, holding 193 
tests at Mururoa and nearby Fangataufa atolls in French 
Polynesia. The first 41 were atmospheric but testing was moved 
underground in 1975. There were 152 underground blasts before 
testing stopped altogether in 1996.

The biggest problems so far have arisen in the Marshall Islands 
where the atmospheric nuclear tests by the US were ``dirtier and 
much bigger'' than the French tests, according to journalist and 
author David Robie. 

The Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims Tribunal says the Marshall 
Islands tests comprised only 14 percent of all US nuclear tests 
but accounted for 80 percent of the nuclear yield or fallout of 
all US atmospheric tests. 

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
																		
Standard, Sing Tao Newspaper                                                                                                                                                                            Group and
Global China Group. All rights reserved. No content may be
*****************************************************************
 26 Cibola County Beacon: Uranium workers' meeting planned
                                
Friday, July 08, 2005

GRANTS - A meeting intended to update former uranium workers on 
the federal compensation due them is planned for Wednesday, July 
13, in Grants.

The meeting will take place at the Cibola County Complex, 515 W. 
High Street, at 4 p.m.

Professional Case Management, Inc. representative Michael Nesbit 
said he and clinical operations coordinator Ronald Elmlinger will 
attend the meeting, as will Albuquerque attorney Kenneth 
Martinez. All three men specialize in helping former miners, 
millers and uranium transport workers acquire monetary 
compensation and medical care for health problems caused by 
working in the uranium industry.

For more information call 1-888-886-2281, extension 320 or 333. 

                                
                                
             Copyright © 2005Cibola County Beacon. 

*****************************************************************
 27 WAVY.COM: Authorities clean up radioactive debris after crash

   July 9, 2005       

Marty Gordon, WFNR WYTHEVILLE, Va. 

(AP) _ An accident involving a tractor-trailer carrying 
radioactive debris shut down part of Interstate 81 in Wythe 
County for a time yesterday.

Virginia State Police say the truck overturned near Rural 
Retreat, dumping dirt and other items onto the roadway.

Following the accident, authorities were alerted that the load 
might be radioactive. Emergency crews tested the soil and said 
the dose was not high enough to be a danger to the public.

Authorities say the truck -- from Connecticut -- was hauling 
contaminated soil and parts of a demolished building that had 
come in contact with nuclear material.

The vehicle was not properly marked, causing some concern after 
the London bombings.                                                 
Copyright 2005

Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 			 		

      All content © Copyright 2000 - 2005 WorldNow and WAVY. All
*****************************************************************
 28 News & Star: TERROR ALERT AT SELLAFIELD
 						
Published on 08/07/2005                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Caution: Non-essential workers have been told to stay away from 
Sellafield 

By Phil Coleman
 
SECURITY at the Sellafield nuclear plant in west Cumbria was
today stepped up amid heightened fears fuelled by yesterdayâ€™s
terrorist attacks in London.
 
Bosses at the plant confirmed that its security status has been
increased to â€œamber alertâ€ as they asked up to 4,000
non-essential staff to stay away from work.
 
The last time Sellafield went to amber status was after the
September 11 attacks in New York.
 
Essential staff who do report for duty today are being warned to
expect increased security, with more car searches and a widening
of the car-free exclusion zones around key buildings.
 
Bosses say the measures are likely to be time consuming and will
lead to traffic congestion.
 
A statement from Sellafield said, in common with other
government establishments, BNFL has moved to a higher security
state because of the bombings in London, which killed at least
37 people.
 
The statement added: â€œThe safety and security of our sites is
our number one priority and we are in close contact with our
security regulator, the Office for Civil Nuclear Security.
 
â€œSome of the increased security activities required under
amber will have an immediate and significant effect on upon the
Sellafield workforce. 

â€œWe will not disclose details of the security precautions made
necessary by an amber state alert.
 
â€œHowever, some of the measures will be time consuming and may
lead to significant traffic congestion.â€
 
Spokeswoman Ali McKibbin added: â€œThere are exclusion zones
round buildings, and basically we are widening the permitter,
therefore the amount of car parking space will be reduced. 

â€œThe last time we went to amber was September 11.â€
 
Those staff who are not expected to come into work will be
contacted by telephone. Shift and essential personnel should
turn up for work as usual but they may be asked to park away
from the site at Yottenfews, near the Sellafield Visitorsâ€™
Centre.
 
Last year, New Scientist magazine claimed that it had seen a
leaked report from the Parliamentary Office of Science and
Technology which claimed that a plane crashing into a reactor at
Sellafield could cause â€œat worst several million fatalitiesâ€.
 
Sellafield bosses declined to comment other than to say that the
reportâ€™s conclusions were based on â€œextreme and implausible
scenariosâ€.
 
David Hopwell, the governmentâ€™s regional resilience director,
recently said Cumbria is better prepared for a possible
terrorist attack than many other parts of Britain.
 
*****************************************************************
 29 DOD: Dose Reconstruction board

                        FR Doc 05-13471 
[Federal Register: July 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 130)] 
[Notices] [Page 39492-39493] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08jy05-27]                         

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
 
Veterans' Advisory Board on Dose Reconstruction 

AGENCY: Department of Defense, Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

ACTION: Notice; Defense Threat Reduction Agency Veterans' 
Advisory Board on Dose Reconstruction Meeting.

SUMMARY: The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will hold the first public 
meeting of the Veterans' Advisory Board on Dose Reconstruction 
(VBDR). The goal of the VBDR is to provide guidance and oversight 
of the dose reconstruction and claims [[Page 39493]] compensation 
programs for atomic veterans. In addition, the advisory board 
will assist the VA and DTRA in communicating with the veterans.

DATES: Wednesday, August 17, 2005 (12:30 to 5 p.m., break for 
dinner: 5-7 p.m., public comment session 7-10 p.m.) and Thursday, 
August 18, 2005 (8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and 1:45-2:45 p.m., 
break for lunch 12:15-1:45, public comment session 2:45-4:45 
p.m.)

ADDRESSES: Hyatt Regency, 211 North Tampa Street, Tampa, FL 
33602.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Veterans' Advisory Board on 
Dose Reconstruction hotline at 1-866-657-VBDR (8237).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The VBDR was established at the 
recommendation of the National Research Council report, entitled 
``Review of the Dose Reconstruction Program of the Defense Threat 
Reduction Agency.'' The report recommended the need to establish 
an advisory board which will provide suggestions for improvements 
in dose reconstruction and claim adjudication procedures.

    Radiation dose reconstruction has been carried out by the 
Department of Defense under the Nuclear Test Personnel Review 
(NTPR) program since the 1970s. DTRA is the executive agent for 
the NTPR program which provides participation data and actual or 
estimated radiation dose information to veterans and the VA.

    Board members were selected to fulfill the statutory 
requirements mandated by Congress in Section 601 of Pub. L. 
108-183. The Board was appointed on June 3, 2005, and is 
comprised of 16 members. Board members were selected to provide 
expertise in historical dose reconstruction, radiation health 
matters, risk communications, radiation epidemiology, medicine, 
quality management, decision analysis and ethics in order to 
appropriately enable the VBDR to represent and address veterans' 
concerns.

    The Board is governed by the provisions of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (FACA), PL 92-463, which sets forth stands 
for the formation and conduct of government advisory committees.

    Additional information may be found at http://vbdr.org.

    Dated: July 1, 2005. Jeannette Owings-Ballard, OSD Federal 
Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense. [FR Doc. 
05-13471 Filed 7-7-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 5001-06-P
 
*****************************************************************
 30 Las Vegas RJ: New leader named at Yucca firm
 
Friday, July 08, 2005
 
 

By STEVE TETREAULT 
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU 

WASHINGTON -- Bechtel SAIC, the company operating the Yucca
Mountain Project for the federal government, disclosed a change
in top leadership Thursday. 

John Mitchell will leave as president and general manager on
Aug. 12, a company spokesman confirmed. He will be succeeded by
Ted Feigenbaum, who most recently headed the Maine Yankee Atomic
Power Co. 

In an e-mail to employees this week, Mitchell said he will
receive a new assignment from parent company Bechtel National
Inc. His departure from the nuclear waste program first was
reported by Platts Nuclear Publications, an energy newsletter
group. 

Mitchell's departure was not related to delays that caused the
Energy Department to postpone its license application to build a
spent nuclear fuel repository at the Nevada site, Bechtel SAIC
spokesman Jason Bohne said. 

Bechtel National customarily moves its managers every two or
three years, Bohne said. Mitchell was appointed head of the
Yucca Mountain contract in December 2002, when the program
shifted focus to preparing a comprehensive license application. 

"That puts him in the time span to move," Bohne said. "John
accomplished what Bechtel wanted to accomplish." 

Besides heading Maine Yankee, Feigenbaum oversaw operations at
the nuclear plant in Seabrook, N.H., from 1992 to 2002. He also
held senior positions at the New Hampshire Yankee nuclear
utility. 

Feigenbaum, who was in Las Vegas for meetings this week, was
hired because of his experience running nuclear facilities
regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Bohne said. The
Yucca project is headed into similar waters when its license
application is considered by the NRC.
 
 

Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal
*****************************************************************
 31 BBC: Nuclear staff told 'stay at
 
Last Updated: Friday, 8 July, 2005
 
[Sellafield]                            

Only essential staff are being allowed into the plant.                                                                 

Non-essential workers at the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing 
plant have been told to stay at home on Friday in light of the 
London bombings. 

The decision to increase the level of alert at all nuclear sites 
across the UK was made by the government's Office of Civil 
Nuclear Safety. 

Sellafield bosses say they have acted to restrict access and 
limit the number of personnel and vehicles on the site. 

Spokesman Pete Lutwitch said that the move was a precautionary 
measure. 

He said: "We've got very well-practiced arrangement when we 
increase the level of alert. 

Conservative response 

"Only those essential staff will be in place. These include our 
medical teams, safety teams and site management. 

"Our prime responsibility that everyone stays safe is right at 
the top of our agenda. 

"This is a decision made by the government. It is a prudent and 
conservative response to what happened in London yesterday." 

Mr Lutwitch dismissed claims that the emergency measures were in 
response to a bomb threat at Sellafield.                                                         



*****************************************************************
 32 Pahrump Valley Times: LETTER: Haste, waste 
 
July 8, 2005

The Department of Energy wanted to know what the people of
Pahrump thought about their plans for Yucca Mountain so the day
of their meeting at the Pahrump firehouse they advertised it on
the Las Vegas television stations. Nothing on the local channels
or the in town newspapers. 

At the meeting, with all the tap dancing going on, it was as if
Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Gene Kelly had all been
resurrected. They act like this $111 billion debacle is a done
deal. I guess it's because our leader in D.C. keeps telling us
how great France is doing with their nuclear power plants. What
he hasn't said is that France is re-cycling their waste. Not
burying it in a hole in the ground for some future generation to
figure out what to do with it, hoping that in the mean time it
hasn't polluted the water table for the whole southwest.

 They didn't want you to know that we have been shipping waste
to France for re-cycling, then buying it back as fuel rods for
our reactors. They didn't want to hear that we could do the same
thing and create jobs for Americans. God knows we need them.
(Must not be the same God that talks to George Bush.) They said
that there wasn't any money for recycling, but they don't seem
to have a problem building a plant to manufacture the storage
casks or perhaps the railroad that they will need to transport
the waste.

 The Department of Energy has forgotten its logo, it's not the
Department of Nuclear Energy. The Pahrump Valley, with a little
help from the government could be energy efficient with all the
sunshine and wind. We don't need nuclear power. Oh yeah, we
don't have any nukes in Nevada, just the garbage from the rest
of the country. Senator Reid wants to erect wind turbine farms,
the same as they have in other states. If any of you have seen
the movie Sahara, the solar collecting plant in the desert could
be in Pahrump. The government doesn't seem to want free energy.
I remember when nuclear energy was going to be so cheap it would
solve the problems for the whole nation. The only thing that was
solved was how to make politicians rich on oil.

 RICHARD A. BROWN

 Editor's note: The meeting was advertised in the Pahrump Valley
Times. 

Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2005 
*****************************************************************
 33 NRC: Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste; Notice of Meeting
 
                         FR Doc E5-3600 
[Federal Register: July 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 130)] 
[Notices] [Page 39534-39535] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08jy05-85]                         
 
The Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) will hold its 
161st meeting on July 19-21, 2005, Room T-2B3, Two White Flint 
North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The date of 
this meeting was previously published in the Federal Register on 
Wednesday, December 8, 2004 (69 FR 71084).
 
The schedule for this meeting is as follows: Tuesday, July 19, 
2005 10:15 a.m.-10:30 a.m.: Opening Statement (Open)--The ACNW 
Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of 
today's sessions.
 
10:30 a.m.-12 Noon: Preparation of ACNW Reports (Open)--The 
Committee will discuss potential letter reports on Stakeholder 
Views on Recommended Standards and Regulations for Yucca 
Mountain, April 2005 CNWRA Program Review and ACNW 
Decommissioning Working Group Meeting. Other potential letter 
reports may be discussed.
 
1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: Development of Risk-Informed Regulations 
Within the NRC and Its Application to the Nonreactor Arena 
(Open)--The Committee will hear a briefing by the ACNW senior 
management and staff regarding the evolution of risk-informed 
regulations, and the difference between reactor and nonreactor 
applications.
 
3:30 p.m.-4 p.m.: ACNW 's April 2005 Visit to Japan Follow-Up 
(Open)--The Committee will hear a report from those Committee 
members who visited the Radioactive Waste Management Facilities 
in Japan.
 
4:15 p.m.-5:15 p.m.: Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration's (OSHA) Request for Additional Information on 
Ionizing Radiation (Open)--The Committee will hear the
 
[[Page 39535]] staff's views on and provide comments on OSHA's 
May 2005 request for information regarding exposure of workers to 
ionizing radiation, its uses in different industries, health 
effects, and existing workplace control programs.
 
5:15 p.m.-5:45 p.m.: ACNW Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management 
Paper: Draft No. 2 (Open)--The Committee will discuss and comment 
on draft No. 2 of the white paper on low-level radioactive waste 
management issues.
 
Wednesday, July 20, 2005 9:30 a.m.-9:45 a.m.: Opening Remarks by 
the ACNW Chairman (Open)-- The ACNW Chairman will begin the 
meeting with brief opening remarks, outline the topics to be 
discussed, and indicate items of interest.
 
9:45 a.m.-10:30 a.m.: Staff Briefing on International Atomic 
Energy Agency (IAEA) Requirements Document DS-154: Design and 
Operation of Facilities for Geological Disposal of Radioactive 
Waste (Open)--The Committee will hear a briefing by and hold 
discussions with representatives of the Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) regarding the IAEA document 
that is intended to provide guidance to policymakers, regulators, 
and operators concerned with the development and regulatory 
control of geologic disposal facilities for the management of 
long-lived radioactive waste.
 
10:45 a.m.-11:45 a.m.: Review of Generic Waste-Related Research 
in the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) (Open)--The 
Committee will hear a briefing by and hold discussions with 
representatives of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research 
(RES) regarding the waste- related research programs sponsored by 
that office.
 
1 p.m.-2 p.m.: RES White Paper on Collective Dose (Open)--The 
Committee will hear a briefing by and hold discussions with 
representatives of the RES staff regarding development of a white 
paper that describes the use of collective dose in making 
regulatory decisions.
 
2 p.m.-4 p.m.: Continuation of Discussions of Possible Letters/ 
Reports (Open)--The Committee will discuss prepared letters and 
determine whether letters would be written on topics discussed 
during the meeting.
 
4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.: Miscellaneous (Open)--The Committee will 
discuss matters related to the conduct of ACNW activities, and 
specific issues that were not completed during previous meetings, 
as time and availability of information permit. Discussions may 
include future Committee meetings.
 
Thursday, July 21, 2005 8:30 a.m.-12 Noon: Continuation of 
Discussion of Possible Letters/ Reports (Open)--The Committee 
will discuss prepared letters and determine whether letters would 
be written on topics discussed during the meeting.
 
Procedures for the conduct of and participation in ACNW meetings 
were published in the Federal Register on October 18, 2004 (69 FR 
61416). In accordance with these procedures, oral or written 
statements may be presented by members of the public. Electronic 
recordings will be permitted only during those portions of the 
meeting that are open to the public. Persons desiring to make 
oral statements should notify Ms. Sharon A. Steele, (Telephone 
(301) 415-6805), between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. e.t., as far in 
advance as practicable so that appropriate arrangements can be 
made to schedule the necessary time during the meeting for such 
statements. Use of still, motion picture, and television cameras 
during this meeting will be limited to selected portions of the 
meeting as determined by the ACNW Chairman.
 
Information regarding the time to be set aside for taking 
pictures may be obtained by contacting the ACNW office prior to 
the meeting. In view of the possibility that the schedule for 
ACNW meetings may be adjusted by the Chairman as necessary to 
facilitate the conduct of the meeting, persons planning to attend 
should notify Ms. Steele as to their particular needs.
 
Further information regarding topics to be discussed, whether the 
meeting has been canceled or rescheduled, the Chairman's ruling 
on requests for the opportunity to present oral statements and 
the time allotted, therefore can be obtained by contacting Ms. 
Steele. ACNW meeting agenda, meeting transcripts, and letter 
reports are available through the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) 
at pdr@nrc.gov, or by calling the PDR at 1-800-397-4209, or from 
the Publicly Available Records System component of NRC's document 
system (ADAMS) which is accessible from the NRC Web site at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html or 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/ (ACRS & ACNW Mtg 
schedules/agendas).
 
Video Teleconferencing service is available for observing open 
sessions of ACNW meetings. Those wishing to use this service for 
observing ACNW meetings should contact Mr. Theron Brown, ACNW 
Audiovisual Technician (301) 415-8066), between 7:30 a.m. and 
3:45 p.m. e.t., at least 10 days before the meeting to ensure the 
availability of this service. Individuals or organizations 
requesting this service will be responsible for telephone line 
charges and for providing the equipment and facilities that they 
use to establish the video teleconferencing link. The 
availability of video teleconferencing services is not 
guaranteed.
 
Dated: July 1, 2005.
 
Andrew L. Bates, Advisory Committee Management Officer.
 
[FR Doc. E5-3600 Filed 7-7-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 34 NRC: NRC Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste to Meet July 19-21 in Rockville, Maryland
 
News Release - 2005-09
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION   
  Office of Public Affairs     Telephone: 301/415-8200 
Washington, DC 20555-0001     E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 05-099     
July 7, 2005   
  

  
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissions Advisory Committee on
Nuclear Waste will hold a public meeting July 19-21, in
Rockville, Md., where, among other items, members will discuss a
draft paper on low-level radioactive waste management, generic
waste-related research and a document from the International
Atomic Energy Agency addressing the subject of geologic disposal
facilities for managing long-lived radioactive waste. The
committee members will also be briefed on the evolution of
risk-informed regulations and how they might be applied to
facilities other than reactors.
 
The session on Tuesday will run from 10:15 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.;
the session on Wednesday will run from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.,
and the session on Thursday will run from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The
sessions will be held in Room T-2B3 of the agencys Two White
Flint North Building, at 11545 Rockville Pike. For more
information on the meeting, contact Sharon Steele, at
301-415-6805.
 
A complete agenda is available on the NRCs Web site at:
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acnw/agenda/2005/.
   



  


 	Last revised Thursday, July 07, 2005 	
*****************************************************************
 35 Carlsbad Current-Argus: Asbill confident Eunice uranium plant would be safe
 
Jul 7, 2005, 02:23 am 
Walter Rubel

 Current-Argus Santa Fe Bureau 
SANTA FE — In the days immediately before the Waste Isolation
Pilot plant opened in Eddy County, Sen. Vernon Asbill,
R-Carlsbad, had himself tested for radiation. The senator
repeated those tests last month prior to a visit to the Urenco
Uranium Enrichment Plant in the Netherlands. 

Another test was taken at the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring
and Research Center following his return, and Asbill said it
showed no change. 

While his own personal experiment may not prove conclusively
that the Netherlands plant is safe, or ease the fears of those
who have objected to a similar plant being proposed for Eunice,
Asbill and Senate President Pro Tem Ben Altamirano, D-Silver
City, both said they were reassured by the safety level at the
plant and the comfort level of those living around it. 

Altamirano said he was so convinced of the safety of the plant,
he came home wishing it were being proposed for his hometown of
Silver City, and not Eunice. He said he didn’t know much about
the proposed Eunice plant before going on the trip, and was
reassured by what he saw and heard. 

The Urenco plant has been open since 1974, and has not had one
incident that would have endangered the safety of the community,
Altamirano said. 

“It’s almost a foolproof installation,” he said. 

Altamirano said the plant was originally built away from the
city, but that over the years the people have moved in around
it. The senator said he spoke with both scientists and
blue-collar workers, and all were comfortable with the safety of
the plant. 

“They were all sold on the project,” he said. “That just gave me
a real sense of satisfaction as far as safety for New Mexico.” 
Other lawmakers who made the trip were Rep. Kiki Saavedra,
D-Albuquerque; Rep. James Trujillo, D-Santa Fe; and Rep. Brian
Moore, R-Clayton. The trip was paid for by Louisiana Energy
Services, which is in the process of applying for the needed
permits to open a plant in Eunice. 

Asbill said that even though the trip was paid for by the
company, lawmakers were able to roam freely and get the
information they needed. 

“We were able to ask questions of the citizens there without any
company officials around,” he said. “We had plenty of time to
meet with city officials and also city residents. We asked the
business people and just people we’d meet up and down the street
how they felt about it, and I got no negative reaction. And
nobody else got a negative reaction.” 

Jon Goldstein, a spokesman for the state Environment Department,
said the proposed Eunice plant has permits pending with both the
state, for ground water discharge, and with the federal Nuclear
Regulatory Commission. 

An agreement was reached between LES and the state last month on
the storage of waste at the facility. The company agreed not to
store more than 5,000 canisters of waste at the site, and no
canister for more than 15 years. 

Gov. Bill Richardson said at the time the agreement was
announced that he was frustrated by the state’s inability to
have a say in the NRC permitting process. Attorney General
Patricia Madrid said the agreement will give LES a “strong
financial incentive to prevent accumulating storage in New
Mexico.” 

*****************************************************************
 36 KRNV: Bechtel SAIC changing chiefs on Yucca Mountain project
  
July 9, 2005   

  LAS VEGAS
 
The company running the federal government's Yucca Mountain
project is changing chiefs. 

Bechtel SAIC says John Mitchell will leave as president and
general manager August 12th. He'll be replaced by Ted
Feigenbaum, who most recently headed the Maine Yankee Atomic
Power Company. 

Mitchell told employees in an e-mail this week that he's getting
a new assignment from parent company Bechtel National
Incorporated. 

A Bechtel spokesman characterizes Mitchell's departure as a
routine management shift. He says it's not related to delays
that caused the Energy Department to postpone a license
application for a national nuclear waste repository at the
Nevada site. 

Mitchell was appointed head of the Yucca Mountain contract in
December 2002. 

Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com 

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)   

All content ©
Copyright 2001 - 2005 WorldNow and KRNV. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 37 Canon City Daily Record: Cotter soil may be shipped
 
www.canoncitydailyrecord.com

  Publish Date: 7/7/2005 			 

Jason Starr
 Daily Record Staff Writer 					 					The Colorado Department of

Public Health and Environment is exploring the possibility of
shipping radioactive soil on Cotter Corp. property out of state
based on public input it has received in the last 60 days. 

The health department is using opinions gleaned from public
meetings and a public comment period that ended June 30 to
evaluate different options for dealing with the contaminated
soil, where Cotter stored tailings from its uranium processing
operations from 1958 to 1979. 

The health department originally had recommended excavating the
soil and placing it in newer impound-ment ponds at Cotter. The
public has shown interest in this option, but many residents
have asked the health department to consider off-site disposal
options. 

“We’re going to evaluate that option,” said Jeffrey Deckler,
remedial programs manager at the health de-partment. “It’s
feasible, it will just be expensive.” 

In addition to comments made at a recorded public meeting June 9
in Cañon City, the health department has received six letters
either by e-mail or postal service during the 60-day comment
period. 

According to Deckler, three of those letters supported
excavation and off-site disposal, one supported excavation and
on-site disposal, one supported in-ground chemical treating of
the soil and another ques-tioned Cotter’s ability to honestly
conduct the excavation itself. 

“We will be taking these and looking at the transcript of the
meeting and putting together a (response),” Deckler said. 

He expects the response to be published near the end of the
summer at www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/ cot-ter/cotterhom.htm and
sent to those who submitted public comments toward the end of
the summer. A Decision Document will follow in the fall. 

The Decision Document will contain information about the
off-site disposal option, according to Deckler. 

Under the Remedial Action Plan, Cotter is responsible for paying
for whichever clean-up option is settled on. The company
developed five possibilities for the clean up — including
flushing the soil with chemicals or water or containing the soil
with an artificial cap — with the help of consultant Paul
Rosasco. 

Excavation already was done in the area of the old tailings
ponds when the company closed the ponds and switched to new,
plastic-lined ponds in the late 1970s. That excavation was done
to a depth of a few feet and was not designed to completely
clear the area of elevated levels of radioactivity. It was only
part of moving uranium tailings into the new impoundment area. 

The excavation currently proposed would move about 400,000 cubic
yards of soil at depths up to and be-yond 10 feet in some areas.
The excavation is designed to remove soil with uranium levels
more than 30 parts per million and molybdenum levels more than
100 parts per million. 

Rosasco studied the soil to determine where those elevated
levels exist. 

Of the six written comments the health department received
during the public comment period, five were from Cañon City area
residents and one was from a former Cotter employee who no
longer lives in the area, according to health department
spokeswoman Marion Gallant. 

The Colorado Citizens Against Toxicwaste submitted a letter via
e-mail, according to the group’s co-chairperson Sharyn
Cunningham. Despite being sent after the June 30 deadline,
Cunningham believes the health department will consider it
before drafting a response or Decision Document. 

Cunningham said the citizens group, which has monitored Cotter
activities for several years, supports the excavation
alternative but not the on-site disposal plan. The group does
not believe the current impound-ment ponds are suitable to
accept the soil. 

Cunningham said there are sites in other states that could
accept the soil where the water table is much farther below the
ground surface and therefore less likely to be contaminated. 

“That should have been one of the (alternatives) in the study
Cotter had done,” she said. 				   

All contents Copyright © 2005 The Cañon City Daily Record. All
*****************************************************************
 38 Tri-City Herald: Mock canister passes the test
                 
Video: Officials discuss canister
 
Video: Live test of Hanford canister
                 
This story was published Friday, July 8th, 2005
 
By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer
 
When an air horn blasted across the Hanford 300 Area on Thursday
morning, eyes turned to a canister with 7,000 pounds of mock
waste dangling 23 feet above the ground. 

That was the signal that it was about to crash to the ground
below. 

At stake was a way to save millions of taxpayer dollars to
operate Hanford's huge vitrification plant being built to turn
some of the nuclear reservation's worst radioactive waste into a
stable glass form. 

Department of Energy contractor Bechtel National knows it can
safely move and store the glassified waste in a canister with a
3/8 inch thick stainless steel wall.
 
But engineers there have been working to create a durable
canister with a wall about 1/8 inch thick. That would allow each
canister to hold 4 percent more waste. 

"It's actually a very small change, but over the life (of the
project) it's a huge change," said Bechtel engineer James
Berkey. 

The vitrification plant must treat all the high-level
radioactive and hazardous chemical waste that began accumulating
in Hanford's 177 underground tanks during World War II when the
site made the first plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons
program. 

That waste is expected to fill about 9,500 canisters -- if the
thick-walled version is used. But if the thin-walled canister
proves safe, it would reduce the amount of canisters needed by
about 500. 

Since the vitrification plant is expected to fill about 480
canisters a year with glassified waste, that means a year of
operations at the plant could be eliminated. 

"It pays big dividends in operations cost and long-term
management," said John Eschenberg, project manager for DOE's
Hanford Office of River Protection. 

Not only would fewer canisters need to be filled with glass but
also fewer would need to be shipped to the nation's high-level
waste repository, likely Yucca Mountain, Nev., and less space
would be needed in the repository. 

By Thursday morning, the thin-walled container had passed every
test but one. 

When it was filled with simulated waste, it had remained
perfectly straight, rather than curling like a banana. The welds
had proved strong. Temperature probes had shown that the glass
which is poured in hot and then cooled would likely be durable.
Thermal imaging had shown that the canister could be filled to
the required 95 percent level. 

The last test would be whether it could be dropped 23 feet to
the ground -- with about the same momentum of a medium-sized car
going 55 miles per hour -- without even the tiniest of cracks. 

Such thin-walled containers have been used elsewhere in the
United States to hold glassified waste. But they've been only
about 10 feet long, not the 14.7 feet of the Hanford design. 

The drop was the show. But the real test will come today or
early next week as Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
performs leak tests on the canister. It will encase the
container in a balloon of helium, then use a vacuum system to
pull helium into any cracks in the canister. Helium is used
because it has smaller molecules than oxygen. 

There really could be no bad outcome, said Walter Tamosaitis, a
Washington Group International subcontract research and
technology manager for the Bechtel project. The thick-walled
version would work; this one would be better, he said. 

The project is a bright spot for the $5.8 billion vitrification
plant, which has run into construction problems over the last
six months as a new earthquake study showed the design standard
for key buildings might not be adequate. Construction has
slowed, and DOE is working on a new cost estimate that is
expected to be significantly higher. 

But DOE and Bechtel continue to look ahead. 

"This is the end result of all the work that goes on here," said
U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., who came to watch the drop. The
canister will be needed for the very last step at the
vitrification plant, pouring molten glass and waste into a
permanent container to harden. 

The canister to be tested Thursday was manufactured in Seattle.
It was filled with glass in Maryland. The top was welded shut in
South Carolina. 

"It has traveled over 6,000 miles," Tamosaitis said. "I assure
you the last fraction of an inch will be the hardest." 

Bechtel set up bleachers for a view of that last inch. At one
end gathered the engineers who had worked out the design. At the
other end sat invited guests, like Hastings and state Reps.
Shirley Hankins and Larry Haler. 

"This is a first of a kind test," Tamosaitis said. "No one, I
assure you, in the world has watched a test like this." 

First workers pulled away the ropes tied from the ground to the
canister where it hang suspended from a crane. 

The air horn blasted. And 7,000 pounds came crashing to the test
pad. 

It bounced once. It bounced twice. And it gave a last little hop
before swaying for several seconds upright on the pad. 

The drop was clean. No damage was obvious. 

Engineers laughed and clapped. 

"Congratulations," one person yelled. 

"In my opinion, that looks good," Tamosaitis said.
 
© 2005 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
 39 Oakland Tribune: Lab: Nuclear arsenal rides on big laser

Article Last Updated: 07/07/2005 07:00:26 AM                              
			 		
Critics argue NIF is not essential to maintaining effective 
stockpile
 			 			 			 			 			 			 
By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER   

With the world's largest laser in the political cross hairs, 
federal weapons officials and executives at Lawrence Livermore 
nuclear weapons lab are playing their most powerful card, 
suggesting that without all 192 beams of the National Ignition 
Facility, U.S. nuclear bombs and warheads might well stop 
working. 

Faith in U.S. weapons would decline, former weapons designer 
George Miller, associate director at large for Livermore lab, 
told the Los Angeles Times. Absent the laser, the United States 
might have to return to explosive nuclear testing, freeing the 
rest of the world to advance the state of weapons know-how. 
"There are very serious implications to canceling this project," 
said Miller. 

But bomb designers disagree mightily on what relationship, if 
any, the National Ignition Facility, or NIF, has to keeping the 
U.S. nuclear arsenal in working order. 

Livermore's most prolific weapons designer, retired physicist 
Seymour Sack, calls NIF "worse than useless" because it draws 
money and attention from the less-glamorous examination of 
weapons for signs of degradation that break down. 

"There's a lot of nonsense" in claims that without NIF, the 
nation won't have confidence in its weapons, Sack said. "It's not 
a purely useless boondoggle but in terms of any critical element 
of understanding of the stockpile, my answer is no." 

Retired Sandia weapons manager Bob Peurifoy said the big laser 
makes "an interesting scientific playpen." Its beams will create 
100 million-degree temperatures,crushing pressures and an 
incredible density of energy, taking scientists on a tour inside 
a miniature sun. 

"I understand that some scientists just wet their pants to use 
this thing. NIF is fun science," Peurifoy said. But "NIF has 
little if anything to do with the present and future health of 
the enduring stockpile." 

So far the nation has kept a stockpile of nuclear bombs and 
warheads without having a $4 billion laser. In addition to 
inventing new ones, scientists cut open weapons every year, 
watching for problems and replacing bad parts. "We did it for 40 
years," Peurifoy said. 

Sen. Pete V. Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy and Water 
Appropriations subcommittee, killed construction funds for the 
big laser for 2006, saying the "single-minded" pursuit of NIF was 
choking off other valuable research programs, not least in his 
home state of New Mexico. The full Senate passed a bill

Friday with no construction money for the laser. 

Weaponeers broke into pro- and anti-NIF camps in the mid-1990s, 
when Congress approved building the laser for $1.2 billion. The 
divide deepened as the price tag soared to more than $4 billion, 
and the government cut other projects to keep NIF alive. 

For years, Livermore executives barely could get more than a 
tepid endorsement of their laser from top scientists at the other 
two weapons labs. 

To an extent, the debate turns on different philosophies about 
maintaining 20- to 40-year-old bombs and warheads. 

Some scientists favor careful watching over the weapons as they 
age and remanufacturing the parts that degrade. But since the 
mid-1990s, two presidents have opted instead for a more expansive 
and costly program called "stockpile stewardship."

Scientists are rebuilding the weapons with new parts, and they 
are relying on supercomputers and giant experimental machines 
such as NIF to verify those changes. 

Do the changes affect the detonation? Do they impair energy flow 
from one part of the bomb to another? 

So far, scientists say stockpile stewardship answers those 
questions reasonably well. But officials of the weapons labs 
recently warned that the weapons are changing enough away from 
the original, proven designs to lessen confidence in their 
reliability. 

"As these warheads continue to age and are refurbished, an 
accumulation of small changes could lead to increased risk or 
increased uncertainty in warhead certification," four weaponeers 
wrote in a paper endorsed by the labs' weapons chiefs. 

They argued for designing new bombs and warheads, replacing 
everything in the arsenal with simpler weapons that would be 
easier to make. With a moratorium on nuclear testing in place 
since 1992, weapons scientists would verify the new designs work 
with software that simulates a nuclear weapon in detonation. 

The software is full of physicists' best estimates and formulas 
for things that are difficult to measure, such as the roiling hot 
gases and radiation inside a star or a detonating nuclear weapon. 
Fusion shots on NIF would explore those processes in greater 
detail than possible before, albeit at a very small scale. 
Physicists would try to translate these small fusion observations 
into more accurate physics for the computer simulations. 

Livermore weapons chief Bruce Goodwin argues that scientists have 
to understand precisely what happens in the several millionths of 
a second when the primary and the secondary are subject to 
millions of pounds of pressure, unimaginable amounts of energy 
and millions of degrees of temperature. 

Once all 192 beams start firing in 2010, the National Ignition 
Facility is expected to be the only way of creating those 
conditions, short of an underground nuclear test, for a decade or 
more. 

"There ain't no place else we're going to do fusion burn on the 
Earth in my lifetime," Goodwin said. 

But many weaponeers see NIF as adding little to weapons questions 
already answered by nuclear testing and concerning bomb 
components no more delicate than a bowling ball. 

Where scientists across the debate agree is that National 
Ignition Facility will be a training ground for bomb design. The 
laser's targets closely mimic H-bombs, with a sphere of fuel 
inside a can full of radiation. The physics of implosion, hot and 
turbulent radiation and thermonuclear burn are roughly the same. 

The question for NIF's critics is whether at $4 billion and 
counting, the big laser offers better bomb tutelage than anything 
else. 

Contact Ian Hoffman at ihoffman@angnewspapers.com.                                                              
				 			   		 		 		
The Oakland Tribune| Alameda Times-Star| The Argus| The Daily © 
2005 ANG Newspapers 
    
*****************************************************************

NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this 
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who 
have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for 
non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more 
information go to: 
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml> 
    
*****************************************************************