*****************************************************************
07/12/05 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 13.159
*****************************************************************
RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE
*****************************************************************
Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject
line and first line of body
NUCLEAR POLICY
1 RIA Novosti: Russia interested in cooperation with Iran
2 Guardian Unlimited: New Iran President Plans New Nuclear Ideas
3 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: Korea to Increase Dependence on Nuclear P
4 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: NYT Columnist Says Bush 'Suckered' by N.K
5 Daily Yomiuri: N-free Korea 'to take time'
6 Daily Yomiuri: N. Korea must dispose of nuclear weapons
7 BBC: S Korea offers North energy aid
8 Xinhua: S.Korea to offer electricity to DPRK if nuke issue resolved
9 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Urges N. Korea to Abandon Atomic Arms
10 US Dept of State: Six-Party Talks Only Course for North Korea, Rice
11 US: US Dept. of State: Rice Urges North Korea To Dismantle Nuclear W
12 UCS: U.S. Sets Back Progress on Global Warming at G8 Summit
13 RIA Novosti Urgent: Former minister's arrest will not influence
NUCLEAR REACTORS
14 IPS-English FRANCE: Doubts Rise Over the Great Nuclear Promise
15 US: NRC: Sunshine Act Meeting
16 US: Platts: Westinghouse, INET to pursue NGNP project
17 US: Washington Post: Wrong on Nuclear Power
18 US: APP.COM: Plant opponents to fill hearing
19 US: NRC: Notice of Availability of Interim Staff Guidance Documents
20 US: NRC: Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impa
21 US: NRC: Tennessee Valley Authority; Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Uni
22 US: NRC: Portland General Electric Company; Trojan Independent Spent
23 IPS: FRANCE: Doubts Rise Over the Great Nuclear Promise
24 Mos News: Russian Soldiers to Get $1.50 a Month for Reloading Nuclea
25 CBC New Brunswick: Energy critics support Lepreau
NUCLEAR SECURITY
26 Moscow Times: Atomic Chief Calls for Better Security
27 RIA Novosti Urgent: Russia, U.S. not planning to enhance nuclear sit
NUCLEAR SAFETY
28 [du-list] Public Forum: Retired Sandian to Discuss Health
29 US: Tri-City Herald: DOE warns CH2M Hill about exposure
30 US: Columbus Dispatch: Uranium workers object to changes in compensa
31 asahi.com: Faulty welding cited in radioactive leak
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
32 BBC: Nuclear workers recalled to Sellafield
33 Las Vegas SUN: Yucca problems cited in court
34 US: NEWS.com.au: Industry leaders want uranium debate
35 US: CCB: Town hall meeting planned for uranium miners, millers, haul
36 US: WSTM.com: Nuclear cleanup project reduces staff
37 KRNV: Nevada calls federal date for Yucca Mountain opening 'fantasy'
38 US: L.A. Daily News: Toxins found 1 1/2 miles from Santa Susana lab
39 US: Casper Star Trib: Uranium outlook mostly rosy
40 US: Tallahassee Democrat: New water tests demanded
41 US: Craig Daily Press: Residents split on radiation storage
PEACE
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
42 [du-list] Paducah
43 Paducah Sun: Study would precede DOE's buying nearby land -
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
FULL NEWS STORIES
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
1 RIA Novosti: Russia interested in cooperation with Iran
13/07/2005
MOSCOW, July 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is interested in
developing economic relations with Iran, a Russian senior
official said Tuesday.
"We are very interested in cooperation in oil and gas
production, railroad building, the launch of the Zohreh
satellite, the construction of pipelines and also in the
foodstuffs and light goods industries," said Alexander
Rumyantsev, the head of the Russian Federal Agency for Nuclear
Power and co-chairman of the Russian-Iranian intergovernmental
cooperation commission.
He said that the election of the new Iranian president would not
affect bilateral cooperation.
"An intergovernmental agreement regulates our cooperation with
Iran and the change of leadership will not affect
Russian-Iranian cooperation," Rumyantsev said.
The new Iranian president said he intends to develop cooperation
with Russia, Rumyantsev said.
He said the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran will be launched
in late 2006.
"The return of spent nuclear fuel [from Iran] is a very
beneficial project," Rumyantsev said, adding that SNF
reprocessing and storage costs $1,000-2,000 per kilogram.
He also said that countries lacking a developed nuclear power
sector will not gain anything by developing a nuclear fuel cycle
themselves. He said countries like Iran should "buy fuel and
return SNF," Rumyantsev said.
© 2005 "RIA Novosti"
*****************************************************************
2 Guardian Unlimited: New Iran President Plans New Nuclear Ideas
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Tuesday July 12, 2005 11:31 PM
By NASSER KARIMI
Associated Press Writer
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's president-elect promised a new
approach to the nation's contentious nuclear program, which the
U.S. claims is geared toward making bombs, while a nuclear
official renewed threats Tuesday to resume uranium enrichment.
Britain, France and Germany are trying to persuade Iran to
permanently freeze its activities toward enrichment, a process
that can be linked to making bombs. Tehran voluntarily froze
them in November under threat of U.N. Security Council
sanctions, but says it reserves the right to restart them at any
time.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who won last month's presidential election
in a landslide, said his new government will have fresh nuclear
policies.
``The new government will definitely have new ideas, while
respecting decisions of the outgoing administration'' of the
pro-reform President Mohammad Khatami, Ahmadinejad said after
meeting lawmakers in a closed session of parliament.
The former Tehran mayor did not elaborate, but his comments come
as he tries to steer a course between avoiding U.S. acrimony and
appeasing Iranian hard-liners who regard this country's nuclear
program as a national right.
President Bush has urged the Europeans to make it clear to
Ahmadinejad that the U.S. will not tolerate a nuclear-armed
Iran.
Iran says it does not want atomic weapons and claims its nuclear
program is for peaceful purposes. While linked to making nuclear
bombs, low-level uranium enrichment also has energy uses.
Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, the top diplomat under Khatami,
confirmed Iran's new leader will follow the same course as the
previous government when he comes to office in early August,
particularly in regards to ``international detente and
cooperation.''
Iran's agreed last month to review an EU proposal for a new
round of negotiations in the summer. Tehran's decision injects
some breathing space into the international crisis over its
nuclear program, at least temporarily.
An Iranian nuclear negotiator sounded a warning to the Europeans
on Tuesday, saying enrichment had to be on the table.
``If enrichment and the fuel cycle are not considered in the
European proposal, Iran will resume activity in the uranium
conversion facilities in the central Iranian city of Isfahan at
once,'' said Ali Aghamohammadi, a spokesman for Iran's Supreme
National Security Council. Aghamohammadi added that a resumption
would not entail cutting off negotiations with the EU.
Iran has previously said that it would restart
enrichment-related activities at its Isfahan Uranium Conversion
Facility whether or not there is an agreement with the
Europeans. No operations are currently taking place at the
Isfahan facility, which can convert uranium ore concentrate,
known as yellowcake, into uranium gas, the feedstock for
enrichment.
But actual enrichment, a process currently on hold, takes place
at the Natanz nuclear facility, also in central Iran.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
3 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: Korea to Increase Dependence on Nuclear Power
Home> National/Politics Updated July.12,2005 14:54 KST
Korea's reliance on nuclear energy is expected to rise from
the current 40 percent to 60 percent in the next thirty years if
a suitable alternative to fossil fuels is not found.
Seoul's Science and Technology Ministry says about two-thirds of
Korea's energy will come from nuclear power stations by 2040 due
to the ongoing research in nuclear fusion and Generation Four
nuclear systems. Generation Four is an advanced nuclear power
production technology designed to improve cost effectiveness.
Currently, Korea is the sixth-largest nuclear power generating
country in the world, with 20 commercial nuclear reactors in
operation.
Arirang News
*****************************************************************
4 Korea: Digital Chosunilbo: NYT Columnist Says Bush 'Suckered' by N.Korea
Home> National/Politics Updated July.12,2005 21:33 KST
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof said Monday the Bush
administration was being "suckered" by North Korea because it
refuses to engage directly with the reclusive country. Kristof,
a staunch opponent of the Bush administration who is
accompanying the paper¡¯s publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. on a
visit to North Korea, predicted a fresh round of six-party
nuclear talks will come to nothing unless Washington comes off
its high horse.
In a column from Pyongyang entitled, "Behind Enemy Lines",
Kristof said North Korean general Li Chan-bok made it clear that
even if talks in the current six-nation format favored by
Washington resume, the North will continue to build up its
nuclear stockpile. He said the talks were ¡°unlikely to get
anywhere, and they simply give the North time to add to its
nuclear capacity."
Kristof said renewed construction work on the North¡¯s Yongbyon
and Taecheon reactors would be complete within a year and three
years respectively. He warned they would give the North enough
plutonium for 50 nuclear warheads a year. "If Pyongyang gets
hundreds of weapons by using the new reactors, there will be an
unacceptable risk of plutonium's being peddled for cash," he
said. Beyond that, Kristof said North Korea might be bluffing or
looking for leverage in negotiation, but if not he warned
pressure would grow within the U.S. to launch surgical strikes
to prevent the reactors from going online.
He said this meant the U.S. was on a more direct collision
course with a nuclear power than at any time since the Cuban
Missile Crisis of 1962. He said it was more urgent than ever the
Bush administration stop being stubborn and engage in direct
talks with North Korea.
Meanwhile, the North¡¯s official KCNA news agency reported the
country¡¯s Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun met the New York Times
group at Pyongyang¡¯s Mansudae Assembly Hall.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
*****************************************************************
5 Daily Yomiuri: N-free Korea 'to take time'
/ Top Chinese diplomat says several rounds of talks needed
Masahiko Takekoshi / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
Wu Dawei, China's vice foreign minister, who will head a Chinese
delegation to six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear
development program, said Monday that Beijing expects it will
take some time to realize a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
Speaking in an interview in Beijing with Kiichiro Harano,
international editor of The Yomiuri Shimbun, Wu said, "It would
be impossible to have just one round of talks resolve every
matter," indicating the China-hosted framework should be kept
intact beyond the next round to deal with the North Korean
nuclear issue.
His remarks followed North Korea's agreement with the United
States on Saturday to return to the six-party talks--last held
in June last year--in the week beginning July 25.
Wu said China, which chairs the talks, had begun approaching the
other participating countries--Japan, South Korea and Russia--to
set an exact date for their delegations to sit down together in
Beijing.
The Chinese vice minister praised both Pyongyang and Washington
for their efforts in reaching an agreement. He added that the
two sides appeared to have had a substantial exchange of views.
Wu said Tang Jiaxuan, one of China's five state councillors, who
is scheduled to visit North Korea from Tuesday, was expected to
thoroughly discuss the nuclear issues with North Korean leader
Kim Jong Il and other senior officials in Pyongyang.
Tang may talk with the North Korean side about a possible visit
by Chinese President Hu Jintao, according to Wu, who did not
elaborate.
He categorically said the ultimate goal of the six-nation talks
would be to "denuclearize" the Korean Peninsula. Given such an
agenda, it would not be unusual for it to take some time before
coming true, he said.
The vice foreign minister said the issue of North Korea's
abduction of Japanese nationals should be resolved through
bilateral talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang. He said the
six-party talks should concentrate on the denuclearization of
the Korean Peninsula.
Wu said Sino-Japanese relations had plunged into their most
difficult state since the 1972 normalization of diplomatic ties.
Pointing out that this year China was marking the 60th
anniversary of its victory over Japan, he called on Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi to stop visiting Tokyo's Yasukuni
Shrine. If the Japanese leader paid homage at the shrine once
again, such a visit "would have an extremely grave effect on
Sino-Japanese relations," Wu said.
He said it was up to the Japanese people to "show wisdom" over
what to do with the Class-A war criminals enshrined at Yasukuni
Shrine who were tried and convicted by the Allied forces for
their actions in World War II.
The Chinese government official said one option would be to
build a national memorial for the war dead.
"What matters with [Prime Minister Koizumi] is not his going to
Yasukuni, but his paying homage to the Class-A war criminals,"
Wu said. (Jul. 12, 2005)
Copyright © The Yomiuri Shimbun.
*****************************************************************
6 Daily Yomiuri: N. Korea must dispose of nuclear weapons
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Can a new round of six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear
arms program settle the dispute peacefully?
The six-party talks aimed at making the Korean Peninsula
nuclear-free will resume later this month.
During unofficial bilateral talks held to set the stage for
resuming six-country negotiations, the United States
acknowledged North Korea to be a sovereign state, reiterating
its intention not to invade or attack the reclusive state.
Washington also pledged to carry out bilateral talks within the
framework of the six-party negotiations. These U.S. assurances
did much to ensure North Korea would return to the bargaining
table.
Since their third round in June 2004, the six-nation talks have
been stalled, with Pyongyang refusing to reopen the
negotiations.
The communist state's decision to attend the new round of talks
marks a step toward halting its nuclear weapons development.
Participants in the resumed talks must ensure North Korea agrees
to scrap its nuclear arms program.
In June last year, the United States told North Korea that the
nations involved in the stalled talks would extend energy
assistance and improve relations with that country if Pyongyang
worked to dismantle its nuclear weapons development program in a
verifiable manner.
===
Pyongyang's withdrawal
However, North Korea put off replying to Washington's proposal
for Pyongyang to make a "strategic decision" to scrap its
nuclear weapons program. In February, North Korea demanded the
United States retract Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's
remark designating the country as "an outpost of tyranny,"
announcing it would suspend its participation in the six-party
talks for an indefinite period.
Later, Pyongyang announced it possessed nuclear weapons, saying
it was removing spent nuclear fuel rods to use them to produce
such arms.
No country has ever dismantled its nuclear weapons after
negotiations with other nations wanting the nuclear power to do
so. It is increasingly difficult to attain the goal of
denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula as the communist state is
even more loudly trumpeting its nuclear arms program.
The driving force behind North Korea's decision to attend
resumed talks seemed to be the emphasis placed by China and
South Korea on the need to aid North Korea as a means of
ensuring its return to the negotiation table and not on
sanctions that could be imposed by the five nations.
===
Carrot instead of stick
In Seoul, South and North Korea are carrying on a dialogue on
various bilateral issues, including 500,000 tons in food aid
from the South for the North. Pyongyang's decision to return to
the six-party talks has provided justification for South Korean
assistance to the North. In fact, Seoul is reportedly ready to
present "important proposals" during the resumed talks,
including one for additional energy aid.
On Tuesday, Chinese State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan is scheduled
to visit Pyongyang for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong
Il. Their meeting will likely be focused on Chinese aid to North
Korea.
In the United States, the Democratic Party has criticized
President George W. Bush, saying his administration's unwavering
hard-line policy toward North Korea has done nothing to deter
the country from developing nuclear arms. This may explain why
Rice said, "The real issue now is to make progress"--not just to
resume the negotiations.
Progress in the negotiations--or a lack of it--depends on how
North Korea will respond to other participants in the resumed
talks. Japan will find it impossible to join hands with other
nations in extending energy assistance to North Korea unless
there are assurances given that it will scrap its nuclear
weapons without fail.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 12) (Jul. 12, 2005)
Copyright © The Yomiuri Shimbun.
*****************************************************************
7 BBC: S Korea offers North energy aid
Last Updated: Tuesday, 12 July, 2005
[A view of the North Korean capital Pyongyang shows heavy
pollution from coal powered power plants, 24 March 2005]
North Korea badly needs more fuel
South Korea has offered huge amounts of free electricity
to North Korea as an incentive to end its nuclear ambitions.
Seoul is proposing to lay power lines across the Korean border,
as an alternative to a US-brokered nuclear power deal which
collapsed in 2002.
The offer came as diplomats prepared to resume six-nation talks
on the North's nuclear programme later this month.
Earlier, South Korea said it was sending the North 500,000 metric
tons of rice to help avert a food crisis.
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young told a news
conference that the power proposal would supply the same amount
of electricity that the North would have received if two
light-water reactors being built by an international consortium
in the 1990s had been completed.
N KOREA'S ENERGY DEALS
N Korea agreed t mothball its nuclear reactors in a 1994 deal In
return, it was to receive two 1,000MW light-water reactors Deal
collapsed in 2002 over enriched uranium programme The North later
restarted its Yongbyon reactor S Korea now offering 2,000MW of
electricity aid
That deal, known as the Agreed Framework, collapsed after
Pyongyang allegedly admitted to the US in 2002 that it had a
secret, enriched uranium programme.
The proposed power lines would provide the North with 2m
kilowatts of electricity a year from the South's own power grid,
and would be ready by 2008.
The power being offered is equivalent to the output of two large
power stations and would help towards redressing North Korea's
serious energy shortage.
But Mr Chung appealed for co-operation from other parties. He
said the North also needed security guarantees if it was to sign
up to any deal on giving up its nuclear programme.
The US gave vague assurances of security and economic aid at the
last round of negotiations last year, but it was not enough to
win over North Korea.
The BBC's Charles Scanlon in Seoul says the South Korean
government has since seized the initiative, fearing that the
confrontation between Pyongyang and Washington could escalate.
Seoul is worried that if the North were to collapse, it could be
flooded with millions of hungry North Korean refugees.
Pressure on
Diplomatic efforts are gathering pace ahead of the next round of
North Korean nuclear talks.
China's top envoy, Tang Jiaxuan, was expected in North Korea on
Tuesday, and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived
in Seoul.
Speaking in Tokyo, earlier on Tuesday, she called on the North
to make a "strategic decision" to give up its nuclear weapons.
South Korea has also agreed to ship half a million tons of badly
needed food aid to its northern neighbour.
The UN's World Food Programme raised the alarm about food
shortages in the North earlier this year, saying there was a
cereals gap up to October 2005 of 900,000 tons.
South Korea is one of the largest single donors of aid to the
secretive communist state. It is the South's biggest donation to
the North since 2000.
However, South Korea has repeatedly stated that full-scale aid
as well as commercial exchanges are impossible as long as the
nuclear issue is not resolved.
The UN World Food Programme is currently feeding some 6.5m North
Koreans - nearly a third of the population.
*****************************************************************
8 Xinhua: S.Korea to offer electricity to DPRK if nuke issue resolved
www.xinhuanet.com
www.chinaview.cn 2005-07-12 21:08:03
SEOUL, July 12 (Xinhuanet) -- South Korea is willing to
provide electricity aid directly to the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK) if the latter agrees to drop its
nuclear program, said South Korean Unification Minister Chung
Dong-young on Tuesday.
In a televised press conference held on late Tuesday
afternoon,Chung unveiled the main contents of the so-called
"important proposal" that South Korea made to the DPRK at an
inter-Korean vice-ministerial talks held in late May in an
effort to help resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean
peninsula.
Chung said if the DPRK agrees to dismantle its nuclear
program,South Korea is willing to "provide 2 million kilowatt of
electricity annually" to the DPRK by building inter-Korean
borderpower line.
Coincidentally with the resolution of the nuclear issue on
the Korean peninsula, South Korea will complete construction of
the power line "in three years."
Chung told reporters he already explained the proposal to
the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Il when they met in Pyongyang in
mid-June.
Local media also reported the US side gave positive reaction
when Chung was in Washington to brief the US leadership of his
meeting with Kim and the "important proposal" in early July.
In exchange for the power provision, the proposal calls for
ending a suspended project to build two light-water reactors in
the DPRK, Chung said.
Under a 1994 agreement with the United States, the DPRK was
promised two light-water reactors in return for freezing its
nuclear facilities. The Korean Peninsula Energy Development
Organization (KEDO), a US-led consortium, had worked toward
implementing the 4.6 billion-US-dollar project before suspending
it in 2003 amid a tension over the nuclear issue on the Korean
peninsula.
As a member of the KEDO, South Korea has invested 1.12
billion dollars into the suspended light reactor project.
"In case of the resumption of the light reactor project, it
needs South Korea to spend an additional 2.4 billion dollars.
The cost for our direct power supply plan will be less than
that," Chung explained.
However, the South Korean proposal also raised concern that
it will lead to shortage of power in South Korea. The envisioned
supply is to reduce the peak-season power reserve rate of South
Korea from the current 12 percent, or 6.67 million kilowatts, to
around 8 percent.
Chung dismissed such concerns, insisting that the dedication
ofadditional atomic power plants in South Korea in the coming
years would help the nation maintain its current power reserve
rate beyond 2008.
"As soon as the upcoming six-party talks in Beijing produce
an agreement on the North (DPRK)'s dismantlement of its nuclear
programs, South Korea will start construction of cross-border
power line linking Gyeonggi Province's Yangju and the North
Korean(DPRK) capital Pyongyang," Chung further explained.
Chung stressed that the timing for beginning of the power
supply will be strictly linked to the DPRK's implementation of
thenuclear dismantlement.
He estimated that the 200-kilometer-long power supply line
between Yangju and Pyongyang would cost about 500 billion won
(485million dollars), with an additional 1 trillion won (961.5
milliondollars) to be needed for the construction of power
transformer facilities.
The South Korean minister also said there should be progress
inthe fourth round of six-party talks.
In a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) held
earlier Tuesday which was presided over by South Korean
President Roh Moo-hyun, participants agreed to disclose the
content of the "important proposal," as the DPRK had already
agreed to rejoin the six-party nuclear talks in the last week of
July.
The recent nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula erupted in
October 2002. In order to peacefully solve the nuclear issue,
China, the DPRK, the United States, Russia, South Korea and
Japan have convened three rounds of six-party nuclear talks in
Beijing.
However, the fourth round of the multilateral talks failed
to be convened as the DPRK refused to attend the talks, citing
US hostile policy.
The DPRK announced it would suspend participation in the
six-party nuclear talks indefinitely in February.
A recent remark made by the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Il
that "the DPRK is willing to rejoin the six-party talks even in
July, if the US respects and recognizes it" brightened the
outlook of the multilateral talks. Enditem
Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
9 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Urges N. Korea to Abandon Atomic Arms
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Tuesday July 12, 2005 2:46 PM
AP Photo XAHN102
By BURT HERMAN
Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The United States urged North Korea on
Tuesday to abandon its atomic weapons program as South Korea
revealed it had offered the impoverished North massive energy
aid to lure it back to nuclear disarmament talks after more than
a year of deadlock.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who arrived Tuesday in
Seoul for talks on the North Korea nuclear issue, said the
United States wants to make the disarmament talks set to resume
later this month a success.
``What we really need is a strategic decision on the part of the
North that they are indeed ready to give up their nuclear
weapons program,'' Rice told reporters in Japan before she
arrived in Seoul. ``Without that, these talks cannot be
successful.''
Also Tuesday, a Chinese special envoy visited North Korea to
urge it to work toward a deal in the new round of disarmament
talks.
After a meeting with the top U.S. nuclear envoy in Beijing,
North Korea said Saturday it would return to the nuclear talks
during the week of July 25. The six-party negotiations - which
include China, Japan, Russia, the two Koreas and the United
States - last convened in June 2004.
In Seoul, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said South Korea
would provide electricity to the North if it agrees to give up
nuclear weapons at the revived arms talks.
South Korean officials had previously refused to give details of
the aid proposal which Chung made directly to North Korean
leader Kim Jong Il at a meeting last month. The offer apparently
convinced the North to end its boycott of the nuclear
negotiations.
Chung said the South would provide electricity the North had
been set to receive from proliferation-proof nuclear reactors
that were to be built under a 1994 deal between Washington and
North Korea.
``Our proposal to directly supply energy is to provide the power
to replace the North's nuclear energy, which is a key component
of the nuclear issue,'' Chung told a news conference.
That project has stalled and other energy aid also has been
halted to the North since the latest nuclear crisis broke out in
late 2002, after U.S. officials accused the North of running a
secret uranium enrichment program. Enriched uranium can be used
for nuclear energy but also for nuclear weapons.
The new 2 million kilowatts of electricity could be delivered by
2008 after infrastructure is built, Chung said. The earlier $4.6
billion reactor project would be scrapped, he said.
Chung said the North has not directly responded to the plan,
which has also been presented to U.S. officials.
``We are going to keep on consulting with the North sincerely
about the practicality and usefulness'' of this proposal, he
said.
Chung also echoed Rice's calls for the arms talks to lead to a
resolution of the nuclear crisis.
South Korea also pledged Tuesday to give 500,000 tons of rice to
North Korea in aid separate from the nuclear issue. That
agreement - reached after all-night bilateral economic talks -
would be Seoul's largest food shipment in five years to the
North.
Meanwhile, senior North Korean officials told a visiting
columnist from The New York Times that one of two nuclear
reactors the North resumed building this year - which could
potentially generate more weapons-grade plutonium - could be
completed this year or next.
``To defend our sovereignty and our system ... we cannot but
increase our number of nuclear weapons as a deterrent force,''
Nicholas D. Kristof quoted North Korean Gen. Li Chan Bok as
saying.
If the United States mounts a military strike to destroy the
reactors, Li said it would be ``all-out war'' and did not rule
out the use of nuclear weapons, Kristof reported.
At the close Tuesday of inter-Korean economic talks at which the
rice aid was negotiated, the two sides agreed the South would
give the North raw materials to help it produce clothes, shoes
and soap for use by its impoverished population. In return, the
South will be given investment rights in North Korean mining
operations.
The North and South also agreed to conduct a pilot run in
October of reconnected railroad links across their heavily armed
border and hold an opening ceremony for restored roads. The two
Koreas also will open an economic cooperation office at a joint
industrial zone just north of their border.
Associated Press reporter George Gedda contributed to this story
from Tokyo.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
10 US Dept of State: Six-Party Talks Only Course for North Korea, Rice Says
The government of North Korea is finally recognizing that the
"entire world" sees the Six-Party Talks as the "only course
open" to address that country's nuclear program, according to
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
That view particularly holds true for North Korea's neighbors,
Rice says.
"This is really the concerted effort of all of the members of
the Six-Party Talks, or at least of the five parties, to get the
North Koreans back to the table," Rice said in a July 12
interview on Japan's Nippon Television. Â
Japan is the third stop for Rice in a four-country tour of
Asia. The secretary has already visited China and Thailand.Â
Her final stop will be in South Korea.
The goal of the Six-Party Talks, involving the United States,
China, Japan, Russia, North Korea and South Korea, is to
eliminate nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula. North
Korea recently announced that it would resume participation in
the talks, which have been stalemated for a year, in July.
Rice said earlier rounds of the talks fell into an "unfortunate
pattern," of brief sessions with long intervening periods during
which North Korea continued to work on its nuclear capability.Â
"[T]hat's really not acceptable," she said.
"We have to have some evidence that the North is really prepared
to make a strategic choice to give up its nuclear weapons," Rice
told interviewer Atsushi Hatayama. "These are negotiations,
but we really do have to have some indication that the North is
really prepared to make a commitment."
Asked about developments in Iraq, the secretary said progress
has been made.
Car bombings may grab the headlines, she said, but "it's a lot
harder to see the quiet process of political reconciliation that
is going on in Iraq, where they have already had elections,
formed a government, they're writing a constitution, and then
they're going to have elections for a permanent government."Â
The secretary said insurgencies are defeated "politically as
well as militarily."Â She expressed confidence that "the Iraqi
people are moving forward on their future and they're going to
succeed."
The continued involvement of Japan's Self-Defense Forces in
southern Iraq is a matter for the Japanese government to decide,
Rice said.
"Japan has been steadfast in its support of the Iraqi people
through its humanitarian efforts there," she said. "I know
that Japan will find a way to continue to support the Iraqi
people."
For more information, see Secretary Rice's Trip to East Asia.
Following is the transcript of the interview
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
(Seoul, Republic of Korea)
July 12, 2005
INTERVIEW
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
By Atsushi Hatayama of Nippon Television
July 12, 2005
Tokyo, Japan
MR. HATAYAMA:Â Let me go directly regarding to the question.Â
Why do you think that North Korea has decided to come back to
the six-party talks?
SECRETARY RICE:Â I believe that the North Koreans are finally
recognizing that the entire world, and particularly their
neighbors, are saying to them that the only course open to them
is through the six-party talks to deal with the issue of their
nuclear weapons program. This is really the concerted effort
of all of the members of the six-party talks:Â the South
Koreans, the Chinese, the Japanese, I know the Russians have had
conversations with the North Koreans and we have. And so the
North Koreans, I believe, finally realized that everyone is
united in saying that this is the only approach that they can
use. Now we will see if they are ready to negotiate seriously
when they come.
MR. HATAYAMA:Â Well, we are disappointed that Japan was not
named at your press conference in Beijing but you mentioned
Japan, so maybe this will be good news for us.
SECRETARY RICE:Â Well, earlier I had talked about the fact that
I had had discussions with Foreign Minister Machimura when we
were in London about the six-party talks, and so this is really
the concerted effort of all of the members of the six-party
talks, or at least of the five parties, to get the North Koreans
back to the table.
MR. HATAYAMA:Â Well, North Korean official news agency has
announced that DPRK interpreted the U.S. Government high
official's remark - recent remarks - as something that treated
with respect, but personally Secretary, does that mean that you
- you agreed to this and does that mean that you have modified
your attitude toward them, which was shown in your expression an
"outpost of tyranny"?
SECRETARY RICE: Â Well, everyone understands our views of the
North Korean regime and everyone is concerned about the human
rights situation there. Japan has special human rights
concerns when it comes to the abductee issue and we've been very
supportive of Japan's efforts to resolve favorably that really
difficult humanitarian situation. So everyone understands the
views of the North Korean regime.
We've stated several facts. First, that North Korea is
sovereign. This is obvious in the fact that North Korea is a
member of the United Nations. We're in negotiations with
them. Clearly, they're sovereign. Secondly, the President
stated all the way back in 2002 that the United States had no
intention to invade or attack North Korea, and so we have
restated that. And I'm very glad that the North Korean regime
has taken note of these statements.
MR. HATAYAMA:Â You said at the press conference in Beijing that
the goal of the next round of talk is not only to resume the
talks but to make progress.
SECRETARY RICE:Â Yes.
MR. HATAYAMA: What do you mean by that? When do you feel
comfortable? What kind of progress is needed?
SECRETARY RICE:Â Well, the point is that we can't just go back
to the talks and have everyone continue to talk. These talks
have had an unfortunate pattern, which is that we meet for a
couple of days, they break up, really nothing has been achieved,
and we wait three months or six months or in this case another
year until the talks resume, and during that period of time
North Korea is improving its nuclear capability. Well, that's
really not acceptable.
And so we have to have some evidence that the North is really
prepared to make a strategic choice to give up its nuclear
weapons. That's what everybody is seeking. When I was in
China, the Foreign Minister reaffirmed that the goal of these
talks, from the point of view of Beijing, is the non-nuclear
Korean Peninsula. And so we need to have some evidence that
we're moving forward on that. These are negotiations, so we
are happy to sit and talk about how to make progress, but we
really do have to have some indication that the North is really
prepared to make a commitment.
MR. HATAYAMA: Okay. You touched the abduction issue.Â
Japanese Government is trying to bring up this issue somehow
during the next round of talk, but North Korea hates it and even
South Korea voices concerns that this will be in the way for the
success of the talk. What is your idea?
SECRETARY RICE:Â I think everybody understands that we want to
deal with the nuclear issue and that everybody needs a
non-nuclear Korean Peninsula, and that is obviously our primary
goal here. But the United States has never made any secret of
the fact that there are other issues that have to be resolved in
the broader context of what we are trying to do for peace and
stability on the Korean Peninsula. For instance, we have
brought up not just human rights issues like abductees, human
rights issues which are very important, but also issues like the
missile proliferation in which North Korea engages or their
conventional force balance which, of course, is an issue for
American forces. So it should surprise no one that the nuclear
issue is not the end of the story, although obviously when we
resume these talks, we'll be looking to make progress on that
issue principally.
MR. HATAYAMA: Let's change subjects. The situation in Iraq
has been deteriorating day by day. Doesn't that show - and the
London attacks came. Doesn't that show that the U.S. fight
against terrorism has been unsuccessful?
SECRETARY RICE:Â Well, first of all, I think on London, it just
reminds us that there are still horrible enemies who are
determined. We just have to be more determined. And the fact
is that they have an unfair advantage when we're fighting on the
defense:Â We have to be right 100 percent of the time; they
have to be right once. And the terrible tragedy in London, our
hearts go out to the people of London and Great Britain. It's
just a reminder that there is still work to do.
But we, of course, have made progress. It is absolutely the
case that the fact that there is now a legitimate government in
Afghanistan that fights on our side in the war on terrorism is a
major step forward. But that government needs to be
supported. It needs to be strengthened. It will have
parliamentary elections. Iraq, where the terrorists understand
that when there is a stable and democratic Iraq it will be a
very devastating blow to their ideology of hatred, is a
difficult situation but by no means do I think it has
deteriorated.
In fact, I would argue that while, yes, the evil people who want
to blow up innocent people can do that with car bombs and they
can grab the headlines, but it's a lot harder to see the quiet
process of political reconciliation that is going on in Iraq,
where they have already had elections, formed a government,
they're writing a constitution, and then they're going to have
elections for a permanent government. You defeat insurgencies
politically as well as militarily and the Iraqi people are
moving forward on their future and they're going to succeed.
MR. HATAYAMA:Â Are you going to ask Japanese Government to keep
the Self-Defense Forces in southern Iraq after the December -
mid-December schedule?
SECRETARY RICE:Â Well, of course, it will be a matter for Japan
to decide how it can continue to support the Iraqi people. I
would just note that Japan has been steadfast in its support of
the Iraqi people through its humanitarian efforts there, the
humanitarian efforts of the Self-Defense Forces, and the Foreign
Minister Machimura was with me in Brussels when the world gave
support to the Iraqis. So I know that Japan will find a way to
continue to support the Iraqi people.
MR. HATAYAMA:Â One last question about the UN Security Council
reform. The G-4 has submitted their proposals, which are far
apart from U.S. own idea. How are you going to handle this?
SECRETARY RICE:Â Well, the UN reform in the broadest sense is
extremely important. This is a 60-year-old organization that
is the principal means for multilateral peace and security in
the world. We have to reform it.
It is also true that as a part of those broad reforms we need to
reform the Security Council. It cannot continue to look like
it did in 1945. And the United States has been very clear that
we support Japan for a permanent seat because Japan has earned
that.
Now, the timing of how we look at Security Council reform in the
context of larger reform is really the issue here. I think
that there is a lot of work to be done, there are a lot of
discussions to be held, about how Security Council reform can go
forward. We don't oppose any candidacy for Security Council.Â
The problem for us is that we do believe that there needs to be
progress on broader reform into which the context - into which
Security Council reform could be built.
So we support Japan and the G-4 proposal has some interesting
aspects, but as to timing, we do need some progress on these
other reform measures before we try and expand the Security
Council.
MR. HATAYAMA:Â How about the veto issue?
SECRETARY RICE:Â Well, it's our view that the Security Council
can expand without the need for further vetoes. The important
issue - and you learn this when you work with the UN - is the
Security Council works as a whole; it is not all that often that
people are forced to veto, and so membership on the Security
Council, I think, is really the important issue.
MR. HATAYAMA:Â Thank you very much, Secretary, for your time.
SECRETARY RICE: Thank you very much. Good to be with you.
*****************************************************************
11 US Dept. of State: Rice Urges North Korea To Dismantle Nuclear Weapons Program
The resumption of the Six-Party Talks in late July will be an
opportunity for North Korea officials to make "a firm
demonstration of their commitment" to end their nuclear weapons
program, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says.
"The principal goal of the Six-Party Talks is to resolve the
nuclear issue with North Korea," Rice said July 12 during a
joint press conference in Tokyo with Japanese Foreign Minister
Nobutaka Machimura.
Rice said she and Machimura discussed "the importance of the
North Koreans making a strategic choice and coming to the talks
ready to negotiate seriously."
The Six-Party Talks, involving the United States, China, Japan,
Russia, North Korea and South Korea, are aimed at eliminating
nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula. In February, North
Korea announced it had nuclear weapons and would be abandoning
the talks, but recently it said it would return to the
negotiations.
The secretary acknowledged there are also other issues, such as
missile proliferation and human rights, "that will have to be
resolved" with North Korea.
"The United States continues to strongly support Japan's efforts
for a favorable resolution of the abduction issue," she said,
referring to North Korea's abduction of several Japanese
citizens between 1977 and 1983.
The secretary also expressed support for South Korea's decision
to send 500,000 tons of rice to North Korea as well as raw
materials to help produce clothes, shoes and soap for the
population.
"This is a humanitarian disaster that's happening there and
people ought to be responding to it," Rice said, adding that the
United States recently sent 50,000 tons of food assistance to
North Korea.
Turning to the topic of United Nations Security Council reform,
Rice reaffirmed U.S. support for Japan's bid to become a
permanent member of the council.
"We do believe that there is much work to be done, particularly
on broader U.N. reform as well, and so we will keep in close
contact with our Japanese colleagues on this issue," she said.
Rice also praised Japan for its "steadfast support to the Iraqi
people" for sending military support personnel to Iraq.
For more information, see .
Following is the State Department transcript of the press
conference
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
(Seoul, Republic of Korea)
July 12, 2005
JOINT PRESS AVAILABILITY
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
and Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura
July 12, 2005
Tokyo, Japan
FOREIGN MINISTER MACHIMURA: (Via interpreter) It is a great
pleasure to welcome Secretary Rice to the Foreign Ministry. It
is the fifth time that we are meeting since the beginning of
this year. In the beginning, I would like to express - to
strongly denounce the heinous act of terrorism which occurred in
London on the 7th of July and I would also like to convey
sincere condolences to the victims and family members and also
the UK Government.
We discussed many issues that we face today; however, in the
beginning, I conveyed my sincere appreciation for the U.S.
Government for the warm regard it showed (inaudible).Â
Concerning North Korea, specifically, the nuclear issue and
(inaudible) the abduction issue, we know that the six-party
talks will resume sometime soon and I conveyed my appreciation
for the efforts of the United States and (inaudible).
Especially concerning the six-party talks, we agreed that it was
important that (inaudible) concrete progress be achieved in the
next talks and also that it was important for the North Koreas
to (inaudible) serious manner and also a constructive manner and
that it will continue to be the importance that the three
countries - Japan, the United States and the Republic of Korea -
stay closely coordinated with each other. And also we agreed
that sometime in the latter half of this week we will hold
trilateral consultations on this issue in Seoul. Mr. Director
General Kim Sook and Mr. Hill and others would participate in
this meeting.
Also on the abduction issue, I explained the current situation,
and Secretary Rice has pledged her strong support and
understanding on this issue.
We also discussed United Nations reform and reached a shared
view that United States - or United Nations must be reformed,
not only the Security Council reform but in also other areas, a
broad range of areas such as human rights, peace building and
also Secretariat reform. And on Security Council reform, we
are seeing various proposals being put forward. Some are in
the process of being put forward right now. We agreed that
Japan and the United States were able to continue our
discussions with a view to achieving reform of that organ so
that we can make sure that it's going to be effective. And
also, Secretary Rice expressed once again the U.S. support for
Japan's permanent membership in the Security Council.
On bilateral issues, we agreed that we would continue our active
discussions and accelerate our discussions on force structure
review of U.S. Forces Japan. On BSE, I explained our situation
that Japanese experts were considering this issue and because of
the importance of this issue, it is important that we see
(inaudible) address the issue (inaudible) possible resolution of
this issue.
Also, we discussed about the strategic dialogue between Japan
and the United States at the ministerial level and we agreed
that, subject to coordination of our schedule, we would like to
meet on the margins of the UN General Assembly, which will be in
September, and that will be at the ministerial level between
Japan and the United States.
SECRETARY RICE: Thank you very much. Thank you very much,
Foreign Minister, for the hospitality here. Obviously, Japan
and the United States share a broad and deep friendship and
values, and it's always good to be here.
We did have very good discussions on a range of issues. On
bilateral issues, as the Minister said, we talked about the
importance of the ongoing (inaudible) of our - of the force
posture, the alliance, because we want the U.S.-Japan defense
alliance to be modern and ready for the concerns and the
challenges of the 21st century. We have a strong relationship
and we are (inaudible).
I was very pleased to hear the Minister's update on the
situation concerning our beef/agricultural exports to Japan and
thanked him very much for their efforts to resolve this issue as
quickly as possible.
The Minister and I talked about a number of issues
internationally of common interest, about the situation in Iraq,
of course, where Japan is making an extremely important
contribution to the humanitarian conditions there and to the
future of a democratic Iraq.
And of course, Japan is a forward ally in the war on terrorism
and we talked about the importance of the continuation of that
war. We've just seen that while we're making progress in the
war on terrorism, it's still not won. The horrible events of
London are a reminder that we face a determined enemy and that
we ourselves must be even more determined so that they will not
believe that they can disturb or destroy our way of life.
And of course, our hearts continue to go out to the people of
Great Britain, the people of London, as they try and deal with
the aftermath of this terrible event, to the families of the
victims and to those who are trying to recover.
We did talk about UN Security Council reform and UN reform more
broadly. We agree on the need for broad reform of the United
Nations. I reaffirmed to the Foreign Minister our support for
a Japanese seat on the UN Security Council. Of course, the
United States does not oppose the candidacy of any state at this
point, but we are concerned that there be enough time in the
discussions of Security Council reform that this very important
issue has been given due consideration and that we have gotten
as broad a consensus as possible.
Finally, we had an extended discussion of the soon-to-resume
six-party talks. We are both hopeful that these talks will be
successful. We talked about the importance of the North
Koreans making a strategic choice and coming to the talks ready
to negotiate seriously. There, of course, is a proposal on the
table. We would hope to have some response to that. The
United States - and I know Japan - we are absolutely willing to
negotiate seriously. We are prepared to roll up our sleeves
and to do everything we can to make these talks a success.
I was able to brief the Minister on my conversations in
Beijing. I am now going on, of course, to Seoul. Mr. Hill,
our negotiator for the six-party talks, has been in discussions
with his counterparts. There will be a trilateral discussion
between Japan, South Korea and the United States. So there is
a great deal of activity that will precede the start of the
six-party talks, but what we really need is a strategic decision
on the part of the North that they are indeed ready to give up
their nuclear weapons because without that these talks cannot be
successful.
And I, finally, as the Minister said, did note that the United
States continues to support strongly Japan's efforts to get a
favorable resolution on the abductee issue.
Well, thank you, Minister, and I look forward to continuing our
strategic dialogue in New York.
QUESTION:Â (Via interpreter)Â (Inaudible) from (inaudible)
Shimbun. I would like to ask both Ministers concerning a
question concerning six-party talks. North Korea has
(inaudible) talks. As Foreign Minister Machimura mentioned, it
is necessary to achieve (inaudible) concrete progress in the
next round of six-party talks. What kind of progress do we
need in order for us to consider these talks a success?
Second, there is a slight difference in policy of South Korea
and the policy of Japan and the United States. Will Japan and
the United States be able to make accommodations to these
policies so that the three countries can coordinate?
Number three, if the six-party talks does not proceed well, is
there a prospective of raising this issue in the Security
Council? And also, is there a possibility that the abduction
issue will be raised in the six-party talks?
FOREIGN MINISTER MACHIMURA:Â Concerning the six-party talks, of
course, there is the issue of the dismantlement of North Korean
nuclear program and also the missiles issue and also
humanitarian and human rights issues, including the abduction
issue. These are all issues that have to be discussed in the
six-party talks and (inaudible).
Concerning policy coordination with Japan and the United States
and South Korea, of course, I think I touched on the importance
of (inaudible) policy coordination and also that later in this
week we are having trilateral consultations so that we can
actually coordinate our policies.
Concerning the worst-case scenario (inaudible) the six-party
talks, we are at a point at which the six-party talks is about
to be resumed and so I don't think that it is appropriate for us
to discuss the worst-case scenario when we are actually trying
to go into the talks to have good results.
Thank you.
SECRETARY RICE:Â Yes, I would only add that we have, in fact,
had very good coordination with the South Koreans. I met just
last week with the Unification Minister. He was again in
Pyongyang. We believe that we are all in complete agreement
that the North Koreans have to give up their nuclear weapons
programs. There is obviously an inter-Korean dialogue between
the North and South. We have supported that. But I believe
that we all have the same goal and, in fact, we will shortly get
together to discuss how to best achieve that goal.
QUESTION:Â Madame Secretary, do you think the six-party talks
is an appropriate venue for discussion on the abduction issue?Â
And secondly, as you are aware, the South Koreans have announced
a generous donation of food aid and other forms of assistance.Â
Do you believe this undercuts your position heading into the
talks?
SECRETARY RICE:Â Well, first of all, the South Koreans'
decision to respond in particular to the really miserable
humanitarian situation of the North Korean people does not in
any way undercut talks. In fact, the United States recently
granted 50,000 tons of food assistance to North Korea. This is
a humanitarian disaster that's happening there and people ought
to be responding to it.
I do think that everyone recognizes that whatever else is on the
table, the real issue is:Â Are the North Koreans going to come
forward and give up their nuclear weapons program and are they
going to use this opportunity that is about to take place to
make a demonstration, a firm demonstration of their commitment?
And secondly, while the principal goal of the six-party talks is
to resolve the nuclear issue with North Korea, we have never
made any secret of the fact that we think that there are other
issues that will also have to be resolved. The missile
proliferation will eventually have to be resolved.Â
Conventional forces will eventually have to be an issue. And
certainly humanitarian and human rights issues will have to be
an issue. The nuclear issue is the one that is pressing us as
we return to the talks, but we have always supported Japan's
desire to get this resolved and make clear that we believe that
the future of the relationship with North Korea has got to
resolve a variety of issues.
Let me just add that when the nuclear issue is hopefully
resolved, then I think we will be able to look at what the
future holds in the broader context.
QUESTION: (Via interpreter) My name is Hujino from NHK. I
would like to ask a question first to Foreign Minister Machimura
concerning United Nations Security Council reform. The G-4 is
of the position that it will put its resolution, their
resolution, to the vote around the 20th of July. My question,
first question, is I think Secretary Rice has asked the Foreign
Minister that we should take the time to discuss this resolution
before we put this to the vote. Were you able to obtain the
understanding of the United States on the G-4's position that
this resolution would be put to a vote on the 20th or around the
20th of July? And if so, were you able to obtain the
understanding of the United States on this issue?
And number two, I would like to ask a question for Secretary
Rice. How do you evaluate the G-4 resolution and their
position that they want to put this resolution to the vote as
early as possible? And in the event that it is put to a vote,
what would be the U.S. response?
And in addition to this, I would like to ask a question about
Iraq. I understand this was discussed between the two
ministers today. My question is to Secretary Rice. What is
your expectation on the role to be played by Japanese
Self-Defense Forces in Iraq? I understand the special measures
law for their dispatchment will reach a deadline by December
this year. What is your expectation on their activity past
this deadline of December?
FOREIGN MINISTER MACHIMURA:Â (Via interpreter) Yes, since we
are running out of time, I would like to give you a short
answer. We are scheduled to hold a G-4 foreign ministers
meeting on the 17th, Sunday, this week in New York and I think
an African representative will be attending this meeting. So
we will be discussing how to proceed with the G-4 framework
resolution at this meeting. But the current position of the
G-4 is that we would wish to put this resolution to the vote
sometime around the 20th of this month. However, we are seeing
the formulation of an African resolution and we may be seeing a
formulation of a consensus group resolution as well, so we are
seeing very fluid situations, so in this kind of a situation we
would like to continue to keep in close contact, close
consultation with the United States on this issue.
SECRETARY RICE:Â Yes, I will just add that it is indeed a fluid
situation. Obviously, we support Japan and we have - for a
Security Council seat, and we have said that we support UN
expansion. But we do believe that there is much work to be
done, particularly on broader UN reform as well, and so we will
keep in close contact with our Japanese colleagues on this
issue. We believe that the opportunity to discuss these
matters and to see it in the context of broad UN reform is an
extremely important principle.
And as to Iraq, the Japanese people have been of steadfast
support to the Iraqi people. It is, of course, up to the
Japanese Government to decide what its further contribution can
and will be.
QUESTION: Sonni Efron, L.A. Times. Yes, I'd like to ask both
ministers about the issue of remittances from Japanese residents
to North Korea. In the context of the United States seeking to
impose more restrictions on proliferating countries, including
financial restrictions, Secretary Rice, I wonder whether you
would welcome the Japanese Government restricting transfers to
North Korea.
And Minister Machimura, in this context, I wonder whether if the
abduction issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, the
Government of Japan would also consider moving toward
restricting those financial transfers or whether your government
sees this as a humanitarian issue that should not be politicized
in the context of the six-party talks.
Thank you.
SECRETARY RICE:Â Let me just say that the Minister and I have
not discussed this issue today. The executive order to which
you are referring was aimed at entities and companies that are
facilitating the proliferation trade and I think at this point
that is what we are trying to cut off. We trust very
completely our Japanese colleagues in the efforts that they are
making in North Korea both to deal with the very difficult
plight of Japanese citizens who may be there and to deal with
the security issues that North Korea poses. And so I am very
confident that Japan is doing all that it can and will be
willing to do all that it can to deal with the security threat
from North Korea. We have no differences on this matter.
FOREIGN MINISTER MACHIMURA:Â (Via interpreter) Yes, we are of
the basic position we have been taking - doing whatever we can
to deal with the nuclear and other proliferation activities by
North Korea and we would like to continue to do so together with
the United States. This is our basic position.
With regards to the presidential order concerning proliferation
activities, we are not fully aware of the content of this order,
so we would like to study the order, obtain some information and
then discuss what we can do, forward-lookingly discuss what we
can do in order to cooperate.
And I think this is an entirely different issue with how we deal
with the abduction issue. And on the abduction issue, as Prime
Minister Koizumi has always been saying, our policy that we will
deal with the issue according to dialogue and pressure has not
changed at all.
Thank you very much.
*****************************************************************
12 UCS: U.S. Sets Back Progress on Global Warming at G8 Summit
[Union of Concerned Scientists]
July 8, 2005
Less Than Zero
Statement by Kevin Knobloch, President, Union of Concerned
Scientists
"In the face of growing and compelling scientific evidence that
global warming is advancing - as reflected by the call for
action by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and its
counterparts in the other G8 nations on June 7 - President
Bush's ability to block concrete action on global warming at the
G8 Summit is irresponsible.
"In Scotland, President Bush resembled an isolated soul in a
global warming tug of war, stubbornly being dragged modestly
closer to the line where all of the other major world
governments and an increasing number of the world's corporations
are already standing.
"The President did agree to a joint communiqué that acknowledges
that human activity contributes in large part to global warming.
President Bush has made similar acknowledgements a few times in
the past, but never as part of such a high profile statement on
an international stage. But the statement will be hollow unless
the Bush administration now adopts policies that dramatically
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, consistent with the urgency of
the threat.
"Bush succeeded in punting major action on global warming down
the road to November when the G8 will take up global warming
again. The November talks offer Bush an opening to answer the
call for strong U.S. leadership that has been magnified in
recent weeks by Republican Gov. Schwarzenegger's bold initiative
last month to cut California's heat-trapping pollution 80
percent by 2050; a majority of the U.S. Senate calling for
mandatory limits on global warming emissions; more than 150 U.S.
mayors pledging to reduce their cities' heat-trapping pollutants
to Kyoto Protocol levels; and advocacy for economy-wide carbon
regulation by leading corporations like General Electric, Ford
Motor Co., Cynergy, Exelon and DuPont.
"It is also time for the President to stop repeating the deceit
that reducing global warming pollution will wreck the American
economy, when the growing market for more energy efficient
buildings, appliances and vehicles, renewable energy production,
and biomass and biofuels feedstock is already proving to be
profitable for U.S. companies."
For info on this release call:
LUKE WARREN (202) 331-5458 (w) (202) 679-0107 (c)
© Union of Concerned Scientists
Page Last Revised: 07.11.2005
*****************************************************************
13 RIA Novosti Urgent: Former minister's arrest will not influence
Russian-U.S. nuclear agreements
13/07/2005
MOSCOW, July 12 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S.-demanded arrest of
former Russian Nuclear Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov would not
influence Russian-American agreements in the nuclear sphere,
Alexander Rumyantsev, the head of the Federal Nuclear Energy
Agency (Rosatom), said Tuesday.
"The Adamov issue will be tackled by legal means, and he will
have an opportunity to respond to the accusations," Rumyantsev
said.
Rumyantsev said he regretted Adamov's arrest.
© 2005 "RIA Novosti"
*****************************************************************
14 IPS-English FRANCE: Doubts Rise Over the Great Nuclear Promise
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2005 15:20:17 -0700
ROMAIPS EU EN KP
FRANCE: Doubts Rise Over the Great Nuclear Promise
By Julio Godoy
PARIS, Jul 12 (IPS) - The euphoria over a decision to base the
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France seems to
be evaporating. What remains is a growing doubt over the feasibility and
cost of the project.
The project seeks to introduce new nuclear technology. It will seek a
nuclear fusion of two hydrogen isotopes (deuterium which exists abundantly
in nature, and tritium, a synthetic isotope) to produce helium with massive
release of energy to produce electricity.
The ITER is an international project co-financed by China, the European
Union, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States under the auspices of the
International Atomic Energy Agency. It is scheduled to be operative by 2016.
An international commission announced last month that the ITER would be set
up at the French nuclear research centre Cadarache in Provence, 900km south
of Paris.
French President Jacques Chirac called the decision to base the project in
France ”an enormous success” because the project ”opens the way for
technology essential in the search for alternative energy sources to
counter global warming.”
The daily Le Parisien greeted the announcement as ”good news for France, at
last.” Most French newspapers welcomed the decision.
But scientists and environmental groups are warning that the ITER would
drain resources that could fund the search for better alternative energy
sources. The project itself, they say, brings no guarantee of success in
the immediate future.
Former minister for science and technology Claude Allegre, also a renowned
researcher in geochemistry, described the ITER as ”just another prestige
project” with ”very few chances of success.”
The estimated 12 billion dollars needed for the project will drain
resources from other research projects ”certainly more urgent than the
ITER,” he said. Just the construction is expected to cost more than 5
billion dollars. France has promised to pay half the cost.
The ITER at Cadarache will be a research reactor. If the technology proves
promising, a first working thermonuclear reactor could get going some time
after 2050.
The reactor will introduce brave new technology. Officials say the fusion
at the plant would take place around 100 million degrees Celsius. The plant
would seek to produce 500 megawatts (MW) of power.
The temperatures alone are a problem because no known material can resist
such heat. ”The official announcements describe the ITER processes as
putting the energy of the stars in a box,” says Sébastien Balibar,
professor of nuclear physics at the prestigious Paris-based École Normale
Superieure. ”The problem is, we do not know how to build the box.”
Balibar and his colleagues Yves Pomeau and Jacques Treiner said in a paper
published last year in Le Monde that a thermonuclear reactor poses three
technical problems: production of the elements to undergo fusion (deuterium
and tritium), their resistance to fusion, and control of this reaction. The
scientists said that the ITER project is only interested in the last, ''and
ignores the other two, the solution of which, nevertheless, is essential.''
Edouard Brézin, president of the French Academy of Sciences, says
expectations of the ITER are overly optimistic. ”We need to be extremely
confident in scientific development to believe that the industrial use of
nuclear fusion will be ready in less than 50 years,” Brézin told IPS.
Research in this technology should continue, he said, but ”fossil
combustibles and global warming are urgent problems, and we do not have 50
years to find solutions for them. We need urgent measures, and the ITER
should not drain resources from this research.”
Stephane Lhomme from the anti-nuclear group Sortir du nucléaire ('Get rid
of nuclear power') told IPS that the ITER represents a dangerous technology
without a future.
It is probable that the ITER will never produce energy, Lhomme said. The
French government had invested almost 9 billion dollars in the nuclear
reactor Superphénix before deciding to close it down in 1998, he said. The
Superphénix never generated a watt of power.
”The ITER will certainly be connected to the French electricity network,
but only to get power for its functioning,” Lhomme said.
*****
+ITER (http://www.iter.org/index.htm)
+Sortir du nucléaire (http://www.sortirdunucleaire.org/)
(END/IPS/EU/EN/KP/JG/SS/05)
= 07121038 ORP008
NNNN
*****************************************************************
15 NRC: Sunshine Act Meeting
FR Doc 05-13722
[Federal Register: July 12, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 132)]
[Notices] [Page 40068] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr12jy05-103]
agency holding the meetings: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
date: Weeks of July 11, 18, 25, August 1, 8, 15, 2005.
place: Commissioners' Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland.
status: Public and Closed.
matters to be considered: Week of July 11, 2005 There are no
meetings scheduled for the week of July 11, 2005.
Week of July 18, 2005--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled
for the week of July 18, 2005.
Week of July 25, 2005--Tentative Thursday, July 28, 2005 1:30
p.m.--Discussion of Security Issues (Closed--Ex. 1). Week of
August 1, 2005--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled for the
week of August 1, 2005.
Week of August 8, 2005--Tentative There are no meetings scheduled
for the week of August 8, 2005.
Week of August 15, 2005--Tentative Tuesday, August 16, 2005 10
a.m.--Meeting with the Organization of Agreement States (OAS) and
the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD)
(Public Meeting). (Contact: Shawn Smith, (301) 415-2620.) This
meeting will be webcast live at the Web address.
http://www.nrc.gov .
1 p.m.--Discussion of Security Issues (Closed--Ex. 1). * The
schedule for Commission meetings is subject to change on short
notice. To verify the status of meetings call (recording)--(301)
415-1292. Contact person for more information: Michelle Schroll,
(301) 415-1662.
The NRC Commission Meeting Schedule can be found on the Internet
at: http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/policy-making/schedule.html.
The NRC provides reasonable accommodation to individuals with
disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable
accommodation to participate in these public meetings, or need
this meeting notice or the transcript or other information from
the public meetings in another format (e.g., braille, large
print), please notify the NRC's Disability Program Coordinator,
August Spector, at (301) 415-7080, TDD: (301) 415- 2100, or by
e-mail at aks@nrc.gov. Determinations on requests for reasonable
accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
This notice is distributed by mail to several hundred
subscribers: if you no longer wish to receive it, or would like
to be added to the distribution, please contact the Office of the
Secretary, Washington, DC 20555 (301) 415-1969. In addition,
distribution of this meeting notice over the Internet system is
available. If you are interested in receiving this Commission
meeting schedule electronically, please send an electronic
message to dkw@nrc.gov. Dated: July 11, 2005.
R. Michelle Schroll, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-13722 Filed 7-8-05; 9:58 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-M
b
*****************************************************************
16 Platts: Westinghouse, INET to pursue NGNP project
+ Westinghouse and the Institute of Nuclear &New Energy
Technology (INET) will jointly promote a pebble bed design for
the next generation nuclear plant (NGNP), a DOE project to build
an advanced nuclear reactor designed to produce electricity and
hydrogen.
Westinghouse Electric Co. announced today that it and
INET at Tsinghua University in China had signed a memorandum of
understanding to form a cooperative relationship for bidding on
and participating in the NGNP.
Westinghouse said INET would
cooperate with it in pursuing contracts from DOE for design,
supply and construction of the NGNP based on pebble bed modular
technology.
Westinghouse said it is already acting as leader of
an NGNP project team with members PBMR (Pty) Ltd. of South
Africa, Sargent &Lundy LLC, and the Shaw Group.
INET has built
and operates a 10-MW (thermal) pebble bed test reactor in
Beijing; PBMR Ltd. plans to build a pebble bed modular
demonstration reactor at Koeberg, near Cape Town. Senate
appropriators recently said the goal is to begin testing of the
NGNP at DOE's Idaho National Laboratory in 2017.
Washington (Platts)--11Jul2005
Copyright © 2005 - Platts, All Rights Reserved
[The McGraw-Hill Companies]
*****************************************************************
17 Washington Post: Wrong on Nuclear Power
washingtonpost.com > Opinion
Tuesday, July 12, 2005; Page A20
Peter Asmus ["Nuclear Dinosaur," op-ed, July 6] clearly opposes
increased reliance on nuclear power to meet the nation's energy
needs, but what is his alternative? His one reference to
"smaller, smarter and cleaner power sources" encompassed
technologies that already are the recipient of the same federal
"intervention" that he decries for new nuclear power plants.
Mr. Asmus attempted to depict support for nuclear energy as a
Republican position, but the Energy Policy Act of 2005,
including provisions supporting nuclear energy, recently
received bipartisan support in the Senate.
On emissions, nuclear energy fares well relative to other
technologies. A 2000 study by the International Energy Agency
showed that, next to wind power, the nuclear energy life cycle
resulted in the lowest emissions of greenhouse gases. Wind is
hardly a technology Americans can rely on to provide the
round-the-clock, bulk electricity that nuclear plants provide.
Mr. Asmus's reference to the Rancho Seco nuclear power plant "in
the 1980s" was irrelevant to energy policy deliberations today;
the U.S. nuclear energy industry has vastly improved its
performance during the past 20 years, setting electricity
production records for four of the past five years with average
capacity factors -- a measure of efficiency -- hovering at
record-high levels of 90 percent. By comparison, U.S. wind power
projects had an average capacity factor of 32 percent last year,
and a 1,000-megawatt wind farm planned off the coast of Britain
-- 1,000 megawatts is the capacity of a typical nuclear reactor
-- is projected to cost $2.7 billion and will receive government
assistance to improve its economics.
It is because nuclear power plants are performing so well that
policymakers rightly see them as a vital element of a diverse
portfolio of energy sources for our nation in the decades to
come.
SCOTT PETERSON
Vice President
Nuclear Energy Institute
Washington
© 2005 The Washington Post Company
*****************************************************************
18 APP.COM: Plant opponents to fill hearing
Asbury Park Press
PURPOSE: To discuss emergency evacuation plan
EXPECTED: Many opposed to license renewal
Published in the Asbury Park
Press 07/12/05 BY NICHOLAS CLUNN
MANAHAWKIN BUREAU
IF YOU GO
A hearing to help state officials determine the adequacy and
effectiveness of the emergency response plan around Oyster Creek
will start at 7 tonight at the Ocean County Administration
Building, 101 Hooper Ave., room 119. A public information
session will start at 6 p.m. there.
Emergency management officials anticipate a large turnout at a
hearing tonight on the plan to evacuate towns in the event of an
accident at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant that threatens
public safety.
The annual public hearing, meant to provide state officials with
information they could use to alter the emergency plan for people
within 10 miles of the Lacey plant, is expected to draw more
critics than in years past.
A big turnout is anticipated by some because plant owner AmerGen
has vowed to apply for a 20-year renewal of the reactor's
operating license by the end of the month — a move objectors have
opposed by citing, in part, flaws in the evacuation plan. Without
a license renewal, the reactor would likely close in 2009.
J. Bert Carlson, pastor of the Christ Lutheran Church in
Jackson, said his overwhelmingly senior citizen flock opposes a
license renewal for Oyster Creek because the plan fails to
evacuate the area around his church, about 12 miles away from
the plant.
"I could no longer call myself a Christian if I said: "We're
covered folks. We're safe,' " he said.
But advocates of the emergency response strategy for Oyster
Creek have pointed to studies showing the adequacy of limiting
evacuation plans to 10 miles around nuclear reactors.
They've also said that only towns in the path of an airborne
radioactive plume would need evacuation. Because plumes travel
in one direction, with the wind, an evacuation of an entire
10-mile radius is unlikely, supporters have said.
The church became one of the newest groups to take a stance on
Oyster Creek's future last month when it sent a petition with 85
signatures to Assemblyman Christopher J. Connors, R-Ocean,
asking that federal regulators deny Oyster Creek's application
for renewal.
Representatives from the state Bureau of Nuclear Engineering and
the state Office of Emergency Mangement will attend the hearing
and respond to questions.
Some officials will be available an hour before the 7 p.m.
hearing at the Ocean County Administration Building in Toms
River for a public information session.
Brick Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli said he will speak during the
hearing and tell state officials about what he sees as the
plan's failure to take into account a terrorist attack.
Scarpelli also hopes that officials tonight admit to flaws in
the plan.
"If they say the evacuation plan is not going to work, I think
they could close the plant or have a profound impact on the
relicensing," Scarpelli said.
Paula Gotsch, a Brick resident who leads the citizen's group
Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety, said she will
question the accuracy of the evacuation times in the emergency
plan.
There could be as many as 243,000 people in the evacuation area
during summer months, about 63,000 more than the year-round
population, according to the plan.
the Asbury Park Press
Copyright © 2005 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
19 NRC: Notice of Availability of Interim Staff Guidance Documents for
FR Doc E5-3678
[Federal Register: July 12, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 132)]
[Notices] [Page 40068-40069] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr12jy05-104]
Spent Fuel Storage Casks AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
[[Page 40069]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Brown, Materials Engineer,
Structural and Materials Section, Spent Fuel Project Office,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20005-0001. telephone:
(301) 415-1988; fax number: (301) 415-8555; e-mail: clb@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Introduction The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) prepares draft Interim Staff Guidance (ISG)
documents for spent fuel storage or transportation casks or
radioactive materials transportation package designs.
These ISG documents provide clarifying guidance to the NRC staff
when reviewing licensee integrated safety analyses, license
applications or amendment requests or other related licensing.
The NRC is soliciting public comments on Draft ISG-21, ``Use of
Computational Modeling Software,'' which will be considered in
the final version or subsequent revisions.
II. Summary The purpose of this notice is to provide the public
an opportunity to review and comment on the Draft Interim Staff
Guidance-21 on the use of Computational Modeling Software (CMS)
by an applicant. Draft Interim Staff Guidance-21, Revision 0,
provides guidance to NRC staff on how to review computational
modeling methods used by an applicant as part of, and in support
of, the structural and thermal technical bases for a spent fuel
storage or transportation cask or radioactive materials
transportation package design.
III. Further Information Documents related to this action are
available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ doc-collections/isg/
spent-fuel.html. From this site, you can access the NRC's
Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), which
provides text and image files of NRC's public documents.
The ADAMS accession numbers for the documents related to this
notice are provided in the following table. If you do not have
access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the
documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room
(PDR) Reference staff at 1-800- 397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by
e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
------- ADAMS accession Interim staff guidance No.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
------- Interim Staff Guidance-21..............................
ML051710071
-----------------------------------------------------------------
------- These documents may also be viewed electronically on the
public computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 F21, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR
reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee. Comments
and questions on the draft SFPO ISG-21 should be directed to the
NRC contact listed below by August 11, 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. Christopher Brown, Materials Engineer,
Structural and Materials Section, Spent Fuel Project Office,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20005-0001.
Comments can also be submitted by telephone, fax, or e-mail,
which are as follows: telephone: (301) 415-1988; fax number:
(301) 415-8555; e-mail: clb@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland
this 29th day of June, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Gordon Bjorkman, Chief, Structural and Materials Section, Spent
Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and
Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E5-3678 Filed 7-11-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
20 NRC: Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact
FR Doc E5-3679
[Federal Register: July 12, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 132)]
[Notices] [Page 40065-40068] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr12jy05-102]
Related to Incorporating the Decommissioning Plan for the
Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Mdnr) Bay City, MI,
Tobico Marsh Site Into the License AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant
Impact.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Nelson, Project Manager,
Materials Decommissioning Section, Decommissioning Directorate,
Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T7E18, Washington, DC 20555.
Telephone: 301-415- 6626; fax number: 301-415-5397; e-mail:
dwn@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Introduction The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is considering issuing a license amendment to
Material License No. SUC-1581 issued to the Michigan Department
of Natural Resources (MDNR), to incorporate the Tobico Marsh
State Game Area Decommissioning Plan (DP) for the MDNR, Bay City,
Michigan, Tobico Marsh site into the License. SUC-1581 was issued
in 1999 authorizing MDNR to possess on-site radioactive materials
related to the decommissioning of the MDNR Tobico Marsh site. In
a letter dated April 2, 2003, MDNR requested that the Tobico
Marsh State Game Area DP be incorporated into the licensee. On
January 30, 2004, MDNR submitted a revised DP (Revision 1) and in
a letter dated December 20, 2004, MDNR proposed additional
changes to Revision 1. The license will be amended to include all
of the revisions and changes described in the January 30, 2004,
and December 20, 2004, letters.
If the NRC approves the amendment, the DP will be incorporated
into the MDNR License. The NRC has prepared an Environmental
Assessment (EA) in support of this proposed action in accordance
with the requirements of Part 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR) Part 51.
Based on the EA, the NRC has determined that a Finding of No
Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate.
II. Environmental Assessment Background The site is a small part
of the former (now closed) industrial waste disposal area locally
known as the Hartley & Hartley Landfill. The industrial waste
disposal facility, which opened in the mid-1950's, was originally
operated by the Hartley family and is estimated to have received
18,000 barrels of spent solvents, oils, and other liquid and
solid wastes for disposal during the 1960's and early 1970's.
Foundry waste containing low levels of naturally occurring
radioactivity in the form of magnesium-thorium slag was also
disposed of at the site beginning in 1970. By 1973, disposal
activities on site had ceased.
Currently, the Hartley & Hartley Landfill industrial disposal
site is treated as two separate sites (the MDNR site and the SC
Holdings, Inc site) after having been subdivided. In a formal
land exchange concluded in 1973, the Hartleys conveyed land to
the State of Michigan that included approximately three acres
where waste disposal had previously occurred in return for lands
bordering their industrial waste site. The 3-acre portion, now
known as the MDNR site, is part of the State of Michigan property
which is known as the Tobico Marsh State Game Area.
The 3-acre portion was an area where the Hartley's mined
(excavated) a former beach-ridge sand deposit. The excavation
resulted in surface depressions flooded with surface water and
near-surface ground water. Industrial wastes, including drums,
spent solvents, oils and other liquid and solid wastes were
disposed of in the excavations. In addition to these materials,
magnesium-thorium slag containing naturally occurring thorium
(Th) was also disposed of in the excavations beginning in 1970.
The slag, thought to have been generated by Wellman Dynamics at a
site within Bay City, Michigan, was a byproduct of casting and
foundry operations involving magnesium-thorium alloys.
In 1984, to contain the chemical wastes and preclude the
potential migration of chemical (non-radioactive) contaminants
beyond those areas already impacted by the disposal, a bentonite
slurry wall was placed around the disposal area and covered with
a 1.5 m (5 ft) thick clay cap. The slurry walls and cap formed a
cell which contained the chemical wastes, as well as the slag
containing magnesium-thorium alloys.
A small building and adjacent concrete pad, which are still in
place, were constructed on-site after the slurry walls and clay
cover were installed. A leachate collection and treatment system
(LCTS) was installed within the cell and slurry walls. The small
building was designed to house the LCTS controls. The building
has been used to stage survey equipment and temporarily store
potentially radiologically contaminated waste generated during
previous on-site surveying activities. The LCTS was designed by
the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to
withdraw liquid non-radiological contaminants (leachate) from the
waste cell to prevent hydrostatic pressure in the cell from
building to a point that chemical contaminants would leak from
the cell. In the past, there was no noticeable buildup of
pressure within the cell. The LCTS was never operated and, MDNR
believes that liquid levels within the cell will not build to the
point where operation of the LCTS is needed.
The primary radioactive source term within the cell is comprised
of pockets of vitreous, thorium-bearing slag that lie in a lens
that is approximately 5 to 6 feet below the ground surface. A
clay cover (approximately 5 feet thick at the center of the cell)
overlays the ground surface. On August 26, 1999, the NRC
[[Page 40066]] issued Source Material License No. SUC-1581 to
MDNR authorizing possession of the thorium-bearing slag and
decommissioning of the site. Prior to 1999, the site had never
been licensed.
On April 2, 2003, MDNR submitted a DP for the site. The DP
outlined decommissioning activities including the removal of the
building, the adjacent concrete pad and the above-grade
components of the LCTS. Following those activities, the site
would be released for unrestricted use as specified in 10 CFR
20.1402 and the radioactive materials license would be
terminated. The NRC staff determined that the submittal was
incomplete, and on January 30, 2004, MDNR submitted a revised and
updated DP (Revision 1). On August 27, 2004, the NRC staff
transmitted a letter to MDNR requesting additional information
(RAI) related to Revision 1. In a December 20, 2004, letter, MDNR
responded to the RAIs and provided supplemental information to
the Revision 1 DP that indicated the on-site building, concrete
pad and above-grade components of the LCTS would not be removed
but would remain intact.
The Proposed Action The proposed action is to amend Source
Materials License No.
SUC- 1581 to incorporate the revised DP into the license. The
revised DP proposes that the on-site building, adjacent concrete
pad and LCTS remain in place and intact and all residual
radioactivity be contained within the on-site engineered cell.
With regard to the radiological materials, the site will be
released for unrestricted use.
Need for the Proposed Action The proposed action is to amend
Source Materials License No.
SUC- 1581 to conduct activities on-site that would lead to the
release of the MDNR Tobico Marsh State Game Area site located at
2301 Two Mile Road, Bay County, Michigan, for unrestricted use.
The licensee's action of leaving the radiological material (the
thorium-bearing slag) in place within the cell conforms with the
NRC regulation that the dose to the average member of the
critical group is below the requirements in 10 CFR 20 Subpart E
for unrestricted release before license termination. The licensee
needs the license amendment to incorporate the revised DP into
the license. NRC is fulfilling its responsibilities under the
Atomic Energy Act to make a decision on a proposed license
amendment for incorporation of a revised DP into the license and
to ensure the protection of public health and safety and the
environment.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action The NRC staff and MDNR
considered four alternatives for the decommissioning plan: (1)
Complete removal of the waste cell contents (both radiological
and chemical materials); (2) removal of only the radiological
material from the waste cell; (3) leaving the radiological
material in the waste cell, leaving the on-site building,
adjacent concrete pad and LCTS on site, terminating the license,
and releasing the site for unrestricted use; and (4) taking no
remedial action and retaining the site license (``No Action
Alternative''). The preferred alternative, No. 3, is described,
in detail, in Revision 1 the DP as supplemented by the December
20, 2004, letter from MDNR.
The MDNR site contains radiological as well as chemical
materials. The chemical materials are regulated by the MDEQ under
Part 201 of Michigan regulations. The radiological and chemical
materials are all contained within an on-site engineered waste
cell that has slurry walls and a clay cap.
Alternatives 1 and 2 would cause the contents of the waste cell
to be disturbed, leading to a potential release of the materials
to the surrounding environment. Specifically, excavation of the
waste cell would expose workers and visitors to hazardous
materials within the cell. Hazardous materials could be released
via effluents or transmission in the air potentially
contaminating the surrounding environs. Shipping the materials
off-site for disposal could also expose workers and others to the
materials before, during, and after shipment to the disposal
site. The environmental impact presented by these two
alternatives could potentially put workers and the surrounding
environment at risk and are, therefore, not environmentally sound
options.
Alternative 3 is the preferred alternative, because the
alternative has little, if any, impact on the environment. Based
on an independent dose assessment, the NRC staff concluded that,
if the radiological material in the cell, the building, the
concrete pad, and the LCTS are left in place, no additional
actions are needed at the MDNR site for it to be released for
unrestricted use per 10 CFR 20.1402. The ``No Action
Alternative'' (Alternative 4) is not acceptable because retaining
a license would impose an unnecessary regulatory burden on MDNR.
Since no additional actions are needed at the MDNR site for it to
be released for unrestricted use per 10 CFR 20.1402, there is no
longer any need for requiring that the licensee maintain security
at the site and/or maintain the site's materials license.
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action The Affected
Environment at the MDNR site includes the above grade components
of the LCTS; the 3-acre landfill encapsulated with slurry walls
and a clay cover; the shallow groundwater below the site; and,
the potentially impacted offsite groundwater and surface water.
The residual radioactivity at this site consists of two
components. The primary source term consists of the
magnesium-thorium slag materials buried within the waste cell and
secondary source term consists of contamination on surfaces. Site
characterization surveys found no evidence that the clay cap, the
building or the concrete pad surfaces were contaminated. However,
the clay cap could have been contaminated if magnesium-thorium
slag materials have been brought to the surface of the cap during
site characterization and the contamination could have spread to
the building and pad surfaces. Boreholes were drilled through the
clay cap during site characterization and samples were collected
from within the cell. The concrete pad was also used to process
the samples and may have been contaminated during processing.
Waste generated during the sampling activities was placed in a 55
gallon drum and stored in the building. The 55 gallon drum could
have leaked and contaminated the interior surfaces of the
building. The clay cap and all of the building and pad surfaces
will be surveyed during the final status surveys.
The radionuclide composition of the primary and secondary source
terms are assumed to be the same, because the secondary source
terms are essentially derived from the primary source term in the
waste cell. The isotopic composition for Th-230 and Th-232 and
their progeny is: (1) Pb-210--0.5%, (2) Ra-226--1.1%, (3)
Ra-228--16.1%, (4) Th-228-- 16.1%, (5) Th-230--50.0%, and (6)
Th-232--16.1%. The non-radiological contamination at this site is
contained within the encapsulated waste cell. The
non-radiological contamination includes organic chemicals which
are regulated by the MDEQ, not by the NRC. The non-radiological
contamination will be present after NRC license termination.
Approval of the proposed action does not absolve the licensee of
any other responsibilities it may have under Federal, State, or
local statutes or
[[Page 40067]] regulations regarding the non-radiological
contamination.
The site and much of the immediate area, except for the adjacent
former Hartley & Hartley landfill, is marsh land. The site itself
is a small portion of the Tobico Marsh State Game Area. The
shallow groundwater on-site is non-potable and there is no
surface water.
The environmental impacts of the licensee's requested action were
evaluated by reviewing the results of MDNR's dose assessments.
Those assessments assume that the radiological contaminants
remain within the waste cell and the surfaces of the building and
the concrete pad do not exceed the derived concentration
guideline levels (DCGLs). The licensee used computer codes RESRAD
and DandD to demonstrate that doses from residual radioactivity
did not exceed the regulatory limit (25 mrem/ yr). RESRAD and
DandD used both probabilistic and deterministic procedures for
each source term. Since the site will remain a controlled
landfill, the most realistic use for the land is infrequent
hunting and/or fishing.
Therefore, composite recreational scenario parameters were used
by RESRAD to calculate potential on-site doses. The DandD code
used all but one default parameters to calculate on-site dose.
The ``time in the building'' parameter was adjusted, however, to
more realistically describe the potential exposure from the
surface radioactivity on the building and the concrete pad. The
NRC staff performed independent analyses of the licensee's dose
assessments and was in agreement with MDNR's methods and results.
For the residual radioactivity in the waste cell, the licensee
assumed that the activity of thorium in the slag was its specific
activity and used that activity to generate a dose for the
composite recreational use scenario. Even with this very
conservative estimate of thorium activity, the estimated
potential dose was much less than 25 mrem/yr and no DCGLs were
reported for the waste cell.
For the residual radioactivity on the clay cap, the licensee
calculated the dose to a recreational user to be much less than
25 mrem/yr. Although there is no evidence that the clay cap is
contaminated, the licensee developed gross DCGLs for the clay
cap. The gross DCGLs are directly related to the activity of
Th-232, a surrogate for the mixture of radionuclides present in
the surface contamination. MDNR used the composite recreational
scenario to calculate gross DCGLs, even though, MDNR believes
that the likelihood of the presence of thorium contaminated
materials on the clay cover is extremely low.
For contamination on the surfaces of the building and the
concrete pad, the licensee calculated the dose to the average
member of the critical group to be much less than 25 mrem/yr.
Although there is no evidence that the surfaces of the building
and the concrete pad are contaminated, the licensee developed a
gross DCGLs for those surfaces. The licensee developed the gross
DCGL based upon a light-industrial building use scenario assuming
a person spent limited time in the building. Again, NRC staffs'
independent analyses of the licensee's dose assessments was in
agreement with MDNR's.
The NRC staff evaluated the potential radiological exposure to an
offsite receptor resulting from groundwater seepage through the
slurry walls. This potential radiological exposure is very low
due to the following reasons: 1. Any seepage of radiological
contaminated groundwater through the slurry walls will be
dispersed and diluted as the groundwater slowly travels to
Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron.
2. The travel time for groundwater to reach Saginaw Bay from the
site is long (several thousand years) because of the distance
(2.24 kilometers) between the two locations and because of the
low hydraulic gradient (0.0002 ft/ft) of the water table. 3.
Thorium's solubility in groundwater is very low (Appendix I,
MDNR, 2004).
4. The concentration of the radiological contaminated groundwater
will become highly diluted if it is discharged into the much
larger surface water volume of Saginaw Bay.
5. There are no receptors along the groundwater pathway between
the site and Saginaw Bay.
The NRC staff also evaluated whether there would be any adverse
radiological consequences from the operation of the LCTS and a
hypothetical leak from the LCTS. Based on the following
consideration, the staff concluded that there would be no adverse
consequences.
MDNR collected samples of leachate to determine if thorium in the
slag had migrated into the leachate. The sampling results
provided evidence that the slag was highly insoluble and would
not readily migrate within the cell. In addition, there is no
evidence that the liquid level within the cell would rise to the
point that the LCTS would need to be operated to reduce it.
Additionally, to receive any measurable dose, an individual would
have to be directly exposed to leachate that had leaked from the
LCTS during operation. The probability of a hypothetical leak of
contaminated liquid from the operation of the LCTS in sufficient
quantities to result in measurable dose to an average member of
the critical group is very low. Thus, consideration of possible
adverse radiological consequences from leaving the LCTS in place
were determined not to be necessary.
The revised DP provides that the radiological contaminants within
the waste cell would remain in place and the building and the
concrete pad would be decontaminated, if necessary, to meet the
DCGLs.
The total dose for the site from the radiological material in the
waste cell and the surface contamination on the clay cap and the
surfaces of the building and concrete pad will not exceed
25mrem/yr.
The NRC staff reviewed the Environmental Impacts of the
licensee's requested action to leaving the site ``as is'' and
release it for unrestricted use (Alternative 3). Based on the
staff's review of the DP, the staff determined that the
radiological environmental impacts associated with the licensee's
proposed action are bounded by the impacts evaluated in
NUREG-1496, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement of
Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of
NRC-Licensed Nuclear Facilities.'' Agencies and Persons Consulted
This Environmental Assessment was prepared entirely by the NRC
staff. The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office and the U.
S. Fish and Wildlife Service were contacted regarding this action
and neither had concerns regarding this licensing action. No
remedial actions are planned for the site, therefore, the release
of the MDNR site for unrestricted use would not affect historical
or cultural resources, nor will it affect threatened or
endangered species.
No other sources of information were used beyond those referenced
in this EA.
NRC provided a draft of its Environmental Assessment to the State
of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) for its
review. MDEQ agreed with the conclusions in the EA.
Conclusions and Finding of No Significant Impact Based on its
review, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed action complies
with 10 CFR Part 20 Subpart E. NRC has prepared this EA in
support of the proposed license amendment to approve the DP.
On the basis of the EA, NRC has concluded that the environmental
impacts from the
[[Page 40068]] proposed action are expected to be insignificant
and has determined that preparation of an Environmental Impact
Statement is not needed for the proposed action.
Sources Used 1. NRC License No. 06-03754-01 inspection and
licensing records.
2. MDNR, Package dated January 30, 2004, ``License Amendment for
the Tobico Marsh State Game Site and Submission of a Revised
Decommissioning Plan.'' [ADAMS Accession No. ML040790356] 3. NRC,
Letter dated August 27, 2004, ``NRC Request for Additional
Information (RAI) with Regard to the Decommissioning Plan,
Revision 1, for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources'
Tobico Marsh State Game Area Site, Kawkawlin, Michigan.'' [ADAMS
Accession No. ML042290619] 4. MDNR, Letter dated December 20,
2004, Response to RAI--August 27, 2004, Tobico Marsh State Game
Area Site and Submission of Additional Information Relative to
the Decommissioning Plan Docket No. 40-9015, License SUC-1581.
[ADAMS Accession No. ML050100126] 5. NUREG-1748, Environmental
Review Guidance for Licensing Actions Associated with NMSS
Programs, August 2003.
6. NUREG-1757, Volume 1, Rev 1, Consolidated NMSS Decommissioning
Guidance, Decommissioning Process for Materials Licensees, Final
Report, September 2003.
7. Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 20, Subpart E,
``Radiological Criteria for License Termination.'' 8. Title 10,
Code of Federal Regulations, Part 51, ``Environmental Protection
Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory
Functions.'' 9. MDEQ, E-Mail, ``MDNR Draft EA dated 3/24/05.''
10. NUREG-1496, Generic Environmental Impact Statement of
Rulemaking on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of
NRC- Licensed Nuclear Facilities, July 1997.
III. Further Information Documents related to this action,
including the application for amendment and supporting
documentation, are available electronically at the NRC's
Electronic Reading Room at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can
access the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System
(ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public
documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for the document related
to this notice are: ML042320524 for the August 26, 1999, letter
issuing the license, ML032790494 for the April 2, 2003, letter
requesting license amendment to incorporate the DP into the
license, ML040790356 for the January 30, 2004, letter revising
the DP (Revision 1), and ML050100126 for the letter dated
December 20, 2004, response to the NRC request for additional
information. If you do not have access to ADAMS or if there are
problems accessing the documents located in ADAMS, contact the
NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) Reference staff at
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail to
pdr@nrc.gov. These documents may also be viewed electronically on
the public computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 F21, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR
reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee.
Dated in Rockville, Maryland this 30th day of June, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Daniel M. Gillen, Deputy Director, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, Division of Waste Management and
Environmental Protection, Decommissioning Directorate.
[FR Doc. E5-3679 Filed 7-11-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
21 NRC: Tennessee Valley Authority; Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Units 2
FR Doc E5-3680
[Federal Register: July 12, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 132)]
[Notices] [Page 40064-40065] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr12jy05-101]
and 3; Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendments to
Facility Operating License and Opportunity for a Hearing The U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or the Commission) is
considering issuance of amendments to Facility Operating Licenses
No. DPR-52 and DPR-68, issued to Tennessee Valley Authority (the
licensees), for operation of the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN)
Units 2 and 3 located in Limestone County, Alabama.
The proposed amendments would change the BFN, Units 2 and 3
operating licenses to increase the maximum authorized power level
from 3458 megawatts thermal (MWt) to 3952 MWt. This change
represents an increase of approximately 15 percent above the
current maximum authorized power level. The proposed amendments
would also change the BFN, Units 2 and 3 licensing bases and any
associated technical specifications for containment overpressure.
Before issuance of the proposed license amendments, the
Commission will have made findings required by the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's
regulations.
Within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, the
licensee may file a request for a hearing with respect to
issuance of the amendments to the subject facility operating
license and any person whose interest may be affected by this
proceeding and who wishes to participate as a party in the
proceeding must file a written request for a hearing and a
petition for leave to intervene. Requests for a hearing and a
petition for leave to intervene shall be filed in accordance with
the Commission's ``Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing
Proceedings'' in 10 CFR part 2. Interested persons should consult
current copies of 10 CFR 2.309, 2.304, and 2.305, which are
available at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), located
at One White Flint North, Public File Area 01F21, 11555 Rockville
Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available
records will be accessible from the Agencywide Documents Access
and Management System's (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on
the Internet at the NRC Web site, . If a request for a hearing
and petition for leave to intervene is filed by the above date,
the Commission or a presiding officer designated by the
Commission or by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Atomic
Safety and Licensing Board Panel will rule on the request and
petition; and the Secretary or the Chief Administrative Judge of
the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will issue a notice of a
hearing or an appropriate order.
As required by 10 CFR 2.309, a petition for leave to intervene
shall set forth with particularity the interest of the
petitioner/ requestor in the proceeding, and how that interest
may be affected by the results of the proceeding. The petition
should specifically explain the reasons why intervention should
be permitted with particular reference to the following general
requirements: (1) The name, address and telephone number of the
requestor or petitioner; (2) the nature of the
requestor's/petitioner's right under the Act to be made a party
to the proceeding; (3) the nature and extent of the requestor's/
petitioner's property, financial, or other interest in the
proceeding; and (4) the possible effect of any decision or order
which may be entered in the proceeding on the
requestor's/petitioner's interest. The petition must also
identify the specific contentions which the petitioner/requestor
seeks to have litigated in the proceeding.
Each contention must consist of a specific statement of the issue
of law or fact to be raised or controverted. In addition, the
petitioner/requestor shall provide a brief explanation of the
bases for the contention and a concise statement of the alleged
facts or expert opinion which support the contention and on which
the petitioner intends to rely in proving the contention at the
hearing. The petitioner must also provide references to those
specific sources and documents of which the petitioner is aware
and on which the petitioner intends to rely to establish those
facts or expert opinion. The petition must include sufficient
information to show that a genuine dispute exists with the
applicant on a material issue of law or fact. Contentions shall
be limited to matters within the scope of the amendment under
consideration. The contention must be one which, if proven, would
entitle the petitioner/requestor to relief. A petitioner/
requestor who fails to satisfy these requirements with respect to
at least one contention will not be permitted to participate as a
party.
Those permitted to intervene become parties to the proceeding,
subject to any limitations in the order granting leave to
intervene, and have the opportunity to participate fully in the
conduct of the hearing.
Nontimely requests and petitions and contentions will not be
entertained absent a determination by the Commission or the
presiding officer of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that
the petition, request and/or the contentions should be granted
based on a balancing of the factors specified in 10 CFR
2.309(a)(1)(l)-(viii). A request for a hearing and petition for
leave to intervene must be filed by: (1) First class mail
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001,
Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; (2) courier,
express mail, or expedited delivery services: Office of the
Secretary, Sixteenth Floor, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking
and Adjudications Staff; (3) e-mail addressed to the Office of
the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ; or (4)
facsimile transmission addressed to the Office of the Secretary,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, Attention:
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff at (301) 415-1101,
verification number is (301) 415-1966. A request for hearing and
petition for leave to intervene need not comply with 10 CFR
2.304(b), (c) and (d) if an original and two copies otherwise
complying with the requirements of that section are mailed within
two (2) days after filing by e-mail or facsimile transmission to
the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff. A
copy of the request for hearing and petition for leave to
intervene should also be sent to the Office of the General
Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001, and it is requested that copies be transmitted either
by means of facsimile transmission to 301-415-3725 or by e-mail
to . A copy of the request for hearing and petition for leave to
intervene should also be sent to General Counsel, Tennessee
Valley Authority, ET 11A, 400 West
[[Page 40065]] Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37902,
attorney for the licensee.
For further details with respect to this action, see the
application for amendments dated June 25, 2004, and supplements
dated February 23 and April 25, 2005, which are available for
public inspection at the Commission's PDR, located at One White
Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first
floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be
accessible electronically from the ADAMS Public Electronic
Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, . Persons who
do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in
accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC
PDR Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737,
or by e-mail to .
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of July, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Eva A. Brown, Project Manager, Section 2, Project Directorate II,
Division of Licensing Project Management, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. E5-3680 Filed 7-11-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
22 NRC: Portland General Electric Company; Trojan Independent Spent Fuel
FR Doc E5-3681
[Federal Register: July 12, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 132)]
[Notices] [Page 40063-40064] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr12jy05-100]
Storage Installation; Notice of Docketing of Materials License
No. SNM- 2509; Amendment Application AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission. ACTION: License amendment.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill S. Caverly, Project
Manager, Spent Fuel Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555. Telephone: (301) 415-6699; fax number:
(301) 415-8555; e-mail: jsc1@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By letter dated May 23, 2005, Portland
General Electric Company (PGEC) submitted an application to the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC or Commission), in
accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10
CFR) 72.48(c)(2) and 10 CFR 72.56, requesting an amendment of the
Trojan Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI)
license for the ISFSI located in Columbia County, Oregon. PGEC
proposes to revise the designated controlled area at the ISFSI
such that the boundary would be moved from 300 meters from the
edge of the storage pad to 200 meters from the edge of the
storage pad.
This application was docketed under 10 CFR part 72; the ISFSI
Docket No. is 72-17. Upon approval of the Commission, the Trojan
ISFSI License, No. SNM-2509, Safety Analysis would be amended to
allow this action.
The Commission may issue either a notice of hearing or a notice
of proposed action and opportunity for hearing in accordance with
10 CFR 72.46(b)(1) regarding the proposed amendment or, if a
determination is made that the proposed amendment does not
present a genuine issue as to whether public health and safety
will be significantly affected, take immediate action on the
proposed amendment in accordance with 10 CFR 72.46(b)(2) and
provide notice of the action taken and an opportunity for
interested persons to request a hearing on whether the action
should be rescinded or modified.
For further details with respect to this amendment, see the
application dated May 23, 2005, which is publically available in
the records component of NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and
Management System (ADAMS). The NRC maintains ADAMS, which
provides text and image files of NRC's public documents. These
documents may be accessed through the NRC's Public Electronic
Reading Room on the Internet at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. If you do not have
access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the
documents located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room
Reference staff at 1-800- 397-4209, 301-415-4737 or by e-mail to
pdr@nrc.gov.
[[Page 40064]] Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of
June, 2005.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Jill S. Caverly, Project Manager, Licensing Section, Spent Fuel
Project Office, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. E5-3681 Filed 7-11-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
23 IPS: FRANCE: Doubts Rise Over the Great Nuclear Promise
Inter Press Service News Agency Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Julio Godoy
PARIS, Jul 12 (IPS) - The euphoria over a decision to base the
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France
seems to be evaporating. What remains is a growing doubt over the
feasibility and cost of the project.
The project seeks to introduce new nuclear technology. It will
seek a nuclear fusion of two hydrogen isotopes (deuterium which
exists abundantly in nature, and tritium, a synthetic isotope) to
produce helium with massive release of energy to produce
electricity.
The ITER is an international project co-financed by China, the
European Union, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States under
the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency. It is
scheduled to be operative by 2016.
An international commission announced last month that the ITER
would be set up at the French nuclear research centre Cadarache
in Provence, 900km south of Paris.
French President Jacques Chirac called the decision to base the
project in France "an enormous success" because the project
"opens the way for technology essential in the search for
alternative energy sources to counter global warming."
The daily Le Parisien greeted the announcement as "good news
for France, at last." Most French newspapers welcomed the
decision.
But scientists and environmental groups are warning that the
ITER would drain resources that could fund the search for better
alternative energy sources. The project itself, they say, brings
no guarantee of success in the immediate future.
Former minister for science and technology Claude Allegre, also
a renowned researcher in geochemistry, described the ITER as
"just another prestige project" with "very few chances of
success."
The estimated 12 billion dollars needed for the project will
drain resources from other research projects "certainly more
urgent than the ITER," he said. Just the construction is
expected to cost more than 5 billion dollars. France has
promised to pay half the cost.
The ITER at Cadarache will be a research reactor. If the
technology proves promising, a first working thermonuclear
reactor could get going some time after 2050.
The reactor will introduce brave new technology. Officials say
the fusion at the plant would take place around 100 million
degrees Celsius. The plant would seek to produce 500 megawatts
(MW) of power.
The temperatures alone are a problem because no known material
can resist such heat. "The official announcements describe the
ITER processes as putting the energy of the stars in a box,"
says Sébastien Balibar, professor of nuclear physics at the
prestigious Paris- based École Normale Superieure. "The problem
is, we do not know how to build the box."
Balibar and his colleagues Yves Pomeau and Jacques Treiner said
in a paper published last year in Le Monde that a thermonuclear
reactor poses three technical problems: production of the
elements to undergo fusion (deuterium and tritium), their
resistance to fusion, and control of this reaction. The
scientists said that the ITER project is only interested in the
last, ''and ignores the other two, the solution of which,
nevertheless, is essential.''
Edouard Brézin, president of the French Academy of Sciences,
says expectations of the ITER are overly optimistic. "We need to
be extremely confident in scientific development to believe that
the industrial use of nuclear fusion will be ready in less than
50 years," Brézin told IPS.
Research in this technology should continue, he said, but
"fossil combustibles and global warming are urgent problems, and
we do not have 50 years to find solutions for them. We need
urgent measures, and the ITER should not drain resources from
this research."
Stephane Lhomme from the anti-nuclear group Sortir du nucléaire
('Get rid of nuclear power') told IPS that the ITER represents a
dangerous technology without a future.
It is probable that the ITER will never produce energy, Lhomme
said. The French government had invested almost 9 billion
dollars in the nuclear reactor Superphénix before deciding to
close it down in 1998, he said. The Superphénix never generated
a watt of power.
"The ITER will certainly be connected to the French electricity
network, but only to get power for its functioning," Lhomme
said. (END/2005)
Copyright © 2005 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
24 Mos News: Russian Soldiers to Get $1.50 a Month for Reloading Nuclear Reactors
- NEWS - MOSNEWS.COM
Photo: Reuters
Russian Soldiers to Get $1.50 a Month for Reloading Nuclear
Reactors
Created: 12.07.2005 13:04 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 13:04 MSK
MosNews
Russian soldiers who work with nuclear waste, fuel and reactors
will from now on receive a regular bonus to compensate for the
hazardous work, the Defense Ministry told the Moskovski
Komsomolets daily.
The bonus will add 50 rubles — about $1.50 — to the monthly
salary of conscript soldiers.
Up to 10 percent of soldiers in the Russian Army are engaged in
reloading nuclear reactors on ships or working with nuclear
waste and nuclear fuel, the paper reports.
Contract soldiers, however, will fare better than conscripts,
with a bonus of 35 percent added to their salaries.
Write us: info@mosnews.com
Copyright © 2004 MOSNEWS.COM
*****************************************************************
25 CBC New Brunswick: Energy critics support Lepreau
www.cbc.ca
Last updated Jul 12 2005 04:17 PM ADT
CBC News
Opposition Liberal energy critics from New Brunswick and
P.E.I. say work on the Point Lepreau nuclear energy plant needs
to get started.
The Liberal leaders and the energy critics from the two
provinces met Tuesday in Charlottetown.
Energy critics Richard Brown of P.E.I. and Roly MacIntyre of
New Brunswick are worried about delays to refurbishing Lepreau,
which is nearing the end of its operational life.
New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord has said the province may
have to decommission the nuclear generator and build a new
coal-fired plant if it doesn't get financial help from Ottawa.
Overhauling the plant would cost $1.4 billion.
"We need it, absolutely need it," MacIntyre said.
"We don't have a lot of options. One of the options is another
coal-fired plant. This is 2005, and coming from a city with
serious air quality issues and a province, we don't want any
more coal fired power plants."
Reconditioning the generator from top to bottom would give it
another 20 to 30 years of service.
P.E.I. energy critic Richard Brown says
about 25 per cent of the Island's base power comes from Lepreau,
so it has a stake in the fate of the plant.
Copyright © CBC 2005
*****************************************************************
26 Moscow Times: Atomic Chief Calls for Better Security
Wednesday, July 13, 2005. Issue 3207. Page 3.
By Alex Nicholson
The Associated Press
Alexander Rumyantsev
The Federal Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday called for nuclear
security to be stepped up following last week's bloody terrorist
bombings in London.
Agency chief Alexander Rumyantsev said at a news conference that
Russian and U.S. nuclear sites were well protected, but that
"new challenges arise which must be resisted, and of course,
lines of defense and technologies must constantly be improved."
Rumyantsev said that nuclear security recommendations, prepared
by a Russian-U.S. working group, had been submitted last month
to the two countries' presidents.
At their February summit, President George W. Bush and Vladimir
Putin agreed to upgrade security at Russia's nuclear plants and
weapons stockpiles, to provide new procedures for responding to
possible terrorist attacks and to set up a program to keep
nuclear fuel from being diverted for use in nuclear weapons.
"In connection with the changing contemporary threats, new
challenges arise which must be resisted: Today we understand
this when an appalling terror attack has just occurred,"
Rumyantsev said.
He highlighted the danger of radioactive and fissile materials
being used in so-called dirty bombs and weapons of mass
destruction.
Rumyantsev said the specially formed U.S.-Russian Senior
Interagency Group would produce a similar report every six
months.
The group's recommendations deal with upgrading emergency
response capabilities to cope with nuclear incidents, sharing
"best practices" to improve security at nuclear facilities and
returning fresh and spent highly-enriched uranium from U.S.- and
Russian-designed research reactors in third countries.
The group is chaired by Rumyantsev and U.S. Secretary of Energy
Samuel Bodman.
On July 7, bombings linked by the British authorities to Islamic
terrorists killed more than 50 people aboard three London subway
trains and a bus.
Rumyantsev said that while no extra armed units would be posted
at Russian nuclear facilities, the U.S.-Russian report
recommended bolstering perimeter fences and upgrading security
systems.
He did not rule out that joint U.S.-Russian rapid reaction teams
could be formed in the future to respond to emergencies.
Russian authorities said last month that they had thwarted two
attempts by intruders to break into military nuclear facilities
since the 1991 Soviet collapse, although they said there had
been no terrorist attacks on the facilities.
The head of the Defense Ministry department in charge of nuclear
weapons, Colonel General Igor Valynkin, acknowledged that "there
are problems with nuclear security," and said it was being
improved with help from U.S. and other foreign funding,
including by installing security systems that eliminate the need
for guards.
© Copyright 2005 The Moscow Times. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
27 RIA Novosti Urgent: Russia, U.S. not planning to enhance nuclear site protection
13/07/2005
Moscow, July 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and the United States are
not planning any measures to step up protection of their nuclear
sites in response to the growing terrorist threat, the Russian
Atomic Energy Minister told a press conference here Tuesday.
Alexander Rumyantsev spoke to the media about the U.S-Russian
ad hoc nuclear security commission's first report, which it
recently submitted to U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
The report does provide for tighter security around nuclear
facilities in Russia and the United States, as well as for
improvements to monitoring systems, Rumyantsev said.
© 2005 "RIA Novosti"
*****************************************************************
28 [du-list] Public Forum: Retired Sandian to Discuss Health
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2005 15:25:33 -0700
*N E W S R E L E A S E *
_ _
_Date_: July 18, 2005 _Contact_:
Susan Dayton, Director
Citizen Action: (505) 262-1862
* *
*/New Study Looks at Health Risks from /*
*/Depleted Uranium /** *
* *
A free public forum that will discuss the impacts of the use of depleted
uranium on human health during the Gulf War will be held at the
University of New Mexico Law School, 1117 Stanford Drive, (corner of
Stanford & Mountain) Thursday, July 21, from 6-8 p.m., in amphitheater
#2405.
Al Marshall, a retired scientist with Sandia National Laboratories, has
conducted an in-depth study of the potential health effects to civilians
and veterans from exposure to depleted uranium during the 1991 Gulf War.
Depleted uranium, or DU as it is commonly referred to, was used in the
making of armor-piercing munitions and enhanced armor protection for
American troops.
DU is both radioactive and chemically toxic. Many critics believe that
DU exposure has caused significant increases in leukemia, birth defects,
and other illnesses among U.S. veterans and civilians. Based on these
concerns, legislation has been introduced to ban the use of DU in
warfare and many believe the use of DU violates the Geneva Conventions.
The presentation examines the validity of these beliefs and concerns.
Mr. Marshall's presentation is intended for general audiences, and
questions from the public are welcomed and encouraged. The forum is
being hosted by /Citizen Action New Mexico/.
For more information contact /Citizen Action New Mexico/: (505)
262-1862. For directions to the U.N.M. Law School please call: 277- 2146.
/Citizen Action New Mexico: _www.radfreenm.org_/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to
du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type
unsubscribe and send.
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du-list/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
*****************************************************************
29 Tri-City Herald: DOE warns CH2M Hill about exposure
This story was published Tuesday, July 12th, 2005
By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer
The Department of Energy has sent a warning letter to Hanford
contractor CH2M Hill Hanford Group but decided not to issue a
notice of violation or impose a fine after a company employee
received more radiation than expected last year.
At the end of fiscal 2004, the employee's cumulative neutron
dose was 274 millirem, a measurement of the potential biological
effect on humans. DOE said proper safety steps weren't followed.
The DOE-set limit is 500 millirem annually, but contractors
strive to keep exposure lower. The average occupational dose
from working at a DOE nuclear facility is 74 millirem.
The worker was assigned to use radioactive material in known
quantities and strengths to check and fix neutron probes. The
probes include a radioactive material to check for liquid within
the hardened salt cake of Hanford's underground tanks. The tanks
hold 53 million gallons of radioactive waste from the past
production of plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program.
CH2M Hill voluntarily reported the unexpected exposure to DOE's
Office of Price-Anderson Enforcement, which ensures that nuclear
safety requirements are followed.
"Your investigation into the cause of the exposure revealed
significant breakdowns in both work planning for the job
evolution and in control of the neutron source," wrote Stephen
Sohinki, director of the office, in the letter to CH2M Hill.
The contractor used a general work plan and verbal instructions
for the work, which bypassed a radiation specialist who would
have otherwise reviewed the work scope or developed a specific
work plan to protect workers, according to the letter.
The contractor also requires certain steps be followed before a
worker is given radioactive material for uses such as instrument
repair by the "source custodian." However, the worker had access
to the material without going to the source custodian, according
to the letter.
"Typically, I would consider pursuing enforcement action for
events involving such extensive and fundamental breakdowns,"
Sohinki wrote.
The office has seven potential remedies for safety problems,
starting with monitoring corrective actions and escalating to
referring the matter for criminal prosecution.
The warning letter is second on the list of actions.
Because of the limited scope of the problem and the contractor's
prompt and thorough investigation, Sohinki plans no formal
enforcement action. In addition, steps have been taken to
correct the problem, he wrote.
"We have changed our procedures to make sure it will not happen
again," CH2M Hill spokeswoman Joy Turner said.
That includes tighter controls on who has access to radioactive
material, more training and more specific work plans.
© 2005 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
30 Columbus Dispatch: Uranium workers object to changes in compensation -
Randy Ludlow
Meetings set to explain revised rules
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
For four decades, workers at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion
Plant toiled amid toxins and radiation that sent some to early
graves and left others with cancer.
Congress decided in 2000 to compensate the nation’s sick
uranium-enrichment workers for the hidden hazards of producing
components for nuclear weapons during the Cold War.
However, some workers and the survivors of those who have died
think they might not have received their due.
Proposed rule changes affecting part of the federal program are
drawing objections.
The proposals are now interim policies that involve $125,000
death benefits and worker-compensation-disability benefits.
U.S. Labor Department officials will explain the changes tonight
in Portsmouth and Wednesday in Piketon.
The plant is near Piketon, about 70 miles south of Columbus.
Officials might get an earful from Sam Ray and others who once
worked at the plant, which has since closed.
Before 1992, they enriched weapons-grade uranium, then turned to
processing uranium for fuel rods for nuclear-power plants.
Ray, 73, of Lucasville, uses an electronic voice box after
losing his larynx to a rare cancer he developed while working 41
years at the plant.
"We don’t believe it’s going to work," he said of the changes.
"It’s unfair. They’ve taken a program that could work and raised
the burden of proof the workers must provide."
Shelby Hallmark, director of workers’ compensation programs for
the Labor Department, said the proposed rules will not deny
benefits to deserving applicants.
The department, he said, will help workers obtain evidence to
support claims and estimates of radiation exposure, for example.
Since 2001, about 850 Piketon workers with certain types of
cancer and other diseases, and about 300 survivors, have
received a total of $124 million in $150,000 lump-sum payments,
as well as medical care for life.
The claims of almost 1,050 more workers and survivors of
deceased workers at the government-owned plant have been denied
the same coverage. They couldn’t prove that their illnesses were
work-related.
Uranium workers are protesting the death-and-disability
component of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness
Compensation Program. That component began last fall. Federal
officials are demanding that sick workers — and survivors of the
dead — document exposure to hazards and provide medical records
and statements from physicians.
Critics say those demands go too far.
A local union leader said the radiation-exposure records kept by
Energy Department contractors are unreliable and shouldnot play
a role in deciding awards.
Dan Minter is president of United Steel Workers/PACE Local
5-869, Piketon’s largest union.
"The litmus test is too high," he said.
Reasonable criteria, he said, should determine who gets
benefits, with less dependence on "judgment calls."
Hallmark said federal officials are mindful of their mission to
help uranium-plant workers "exposed to some of the most
dangerous and toxic materials known to man."
"These individuals certainly went in harm’s way in the interest
of producing the nuclear weapons used to protect this country
during the Cold War. They deserve benefits."
Nationwide, more than 14,000 sick workers and survivors have
received nearly $1.1 billion in federal benefits from both
programs.
Hazardous-material cleanup and radiation decontamination is
continuing at the Piketon plant. The site will be home to a
uranium-conversion plant and centrifuge plant expected to create
650 jobs in work-hungry southern Ohio.
rludlow@dispatch.com
*****************************************************************
31 asahi.com: Faulty welding cited in radioactive leak
07/12/2005
The Asahi Shimbun
Faulty welding and lax government oversight were primarily to
blame for a leak last month of radioactive water at a
reprocessing plant operated by Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. in
Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture.
Japan Nuclear Fuel officials announced the results Tuesday of
its investigation into the latest leak.
The reprocessing plant has been beset by problems. A leak was
discovered in 2001, and a subsequent investigation found 291
instances of faulty or inadequate welding.
After repairs of shoddy work, the central government approved
the results of an inspection that found no more flaws at the
plant in January 2004.
The latest revelation by Japan Nuclear Fuel seems to suggest
government inspectors overlooked more faulty welding work at the
facility.
The latest leak occurred on June 8 in a pool used to cut rods
made up of a composite of spent nuclear fuel rods.
The inside of the concrete pool is covered with stainless steel
sheets, but Japan Nuclear Fuel officials found minuscule holes
in corners of the pool.
According to Japan Nuclear Fuel officials, the stainless steel
sheets ordinarily are shaped before the concrete is covered.
However, because the sheet did not match the angle of the outer
concrete, the company in charge of the work made cuts in the
corner area and welded together other materials to connect the
sheets. The company also concealed the fact that the steel sheet
was used improperly.
The company that installed the stainless steel sheet did not
notify Japan Nuclear Fuel officials that it had deviated from
its work methods.
Because of the patchwork nature of the work, some welded areas
only had a thickness of 0.05 millimeter.
Japan Nuclear Fuel officials believe that additional work on the
pool last December may have applied pressure on the steel sheets
and led to holes developing in thinner parts of the
metal.(IHT/Asahi: July 12,2005)
[Copyright Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. No reproduction
*****************************************************************
32 BBC: Nuclear workers recalled to Sellafield
Last Updated: Monday, 11 July, 2005
[Sellafield]
Many workers are still at home including clerical staff
Thousands of staff are expected back at work at the Sellafield
nuclear plant on Tuesday after staying at home for four days
following the London bombings.
The Cumbrian site employs 10,000 workers, but on Friday it was
manned by a skeleton staff of just 1,600.
This was because access to the site had to be restricted and all
cars searched.
However, on Tuesday all personnel are expected to clock back in,
although managers are hoping they will share cars to aid security
checks.
The visitors' centre at the plant will also be closed until
Friday to avoid traffic problems.
Park and ride
The decision to increase the level of alert to the second
highest, Amber, at all nuclear sites across the UK was made by
the government's Office of Civil Nuclear Security.
But a spokeswoman for Sellafield stressed the heightened security
was a precautionary measure and no specific threat had been made
to the plant.
She said: "On Monday about 4,000 workers returned to work
including technical support, catering staff and the secretaries
to senior managers.
"Cleaning staff, clerical staff and finance workers remained at
home but obviously we cannot do without these workers for ever.
"Everyone is expected to return on Tuesday, but we will operate a
park and ride scheme for drivers as all vehicles will have to be
searched.
"We also want to encourage staff to give each other lifts to
restrict the number of vehicles coming to the site."
*****************************************************************
33 Las Vegas SUN: Yucca problems cited in court
Today: July 12, 2005 at 9:41:28 PDT
Nevada argues that nuke ratepayers' money be refunded
By Suzanne Struglinski
SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- Nevada's lawyers are listing numerous problems
with the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump as part of
their effort to get the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to cancel
the Energy Department's contract to take nuclear waste.
Nevada wants the court to order that utility ratepayer money
that had been set aside to pay for a final storage site be
refunded.
The lawyers call the department's schedule to finish the
proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain by 2012 or
even later"sheer fantasy" and returning the money would allow
nuclear utilities to pursue other storage options.
But the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry's main lobbying
group, wants the court to keep the contract in place and allow
the ratepayer money to continue to be put toward the project.
"Since the passage of the NWPA (Nuclear Waste Policy Act), the
federal government has expended substantial resources and has
been making steady, albeit sometimes slow, progress toward
establishing a repository," NEI lawyers Ellen C. Ginsberg and
Michael A. Bauser wrote in the lobbying group's brief. "There
has never been a determination that the Yucca Mountain site is
not scientifically or technically viable or cannot be licensed
by the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission)."
In April, Judge Susan Braden said, "There is no evidence in the
record that the government had reason to believe in 1983, 1989,
or at present that: Yucca Mountain ever will be licensed to
store spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste ..."
She asked the Justice Department and the Sacramento Municipal
Utility District, along with anyone interested in the issue, to
show why the court should not "void" the department's contract
with the utility to take its nuclear waste and order the
government to pay back the $40 million it put into the Nuclear
Waste Fund because there is still no nuclear waste repository.
Nuclear power users pay a per-kilowatt-hour fee into the fund
for the proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles
northwest of Las Vegas. At least 66 lawsuits have been filed
like the one from the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.
They all point out that the department is seven years behind
schedule for taking the waste from the nuclear reactor sites.
Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval and other attorneys
working for the state say in a 17-page document sent to the
court on Thursday that "the repository in unlikely ever to
open," based on the department's poor performance so far as a
potential Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensee.
The document points to the lack of a complete license
application, the incomplete document database, the unfinished
new radiation standard to replace the one thrown out by a
federal court a year ago, and the current investigations into
possibly falsified scientific information based on e-mail
exchanges by federal employees.
"At this point, however, any projection of when the repository
might ever be open for business is pure conjecture, since
numerous obstacles could either delay the project or altogether
terminate it," Nevada's lawyers note in their court filing.
The attorneys also remind the court that Nevada will file more
challenges if it feels the department's document collection,
once finalized, does not meet the commission's rules, or if a
new radiation standard does not meet requirements set by the
National Academy of Sciences. The state also plans to challenge
the license as soon as it is filed with the commission.
The Nuclear Energy Institute argues that only Congress could
reset the Nuclear Waste Fund or cancel the department's contract
to take waste.
To do otherwise "would call into question the overall plan for
long-term disposal of used fuel and high level waste, which is
the premise for licensing of existing and future plants,"
Ginsberg and Bauser wrote.
The industry, which strongly supports the Yucca project, says
Congress wants a geologic repository and returning money to the
fund "would have the effect of depriving the high-level waste
program of appropriate funding, contrary to the clear intent of
Congress."
All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
34 NEWS.com.au: Industry leaders want uranium debate
(12-07-2005)
The Courier-Mail
By Paul Starick and Cameron England July 12, 2005 From:
MINING industry leaders are urging uranium enrichment be
considered in South Australia to better exploit the state's
prized resource.
In an exclusive Advertiser forum, industry leaders said
Australia was one of the world's biggest uranium producers but
had not yet "responsibly" debated the nuclear fuel cycle.
Uranium explorer Hindmarsh Resources' chief Kate Hobbs said the
Federal Government was content for Australia to be involved in
mining and exporting uranium.
Enriching uranium would give Australia greater control over its
end use, she said, while also adding value to the resource.
"Australia has probably got one of the most responsible
statutory environments and I think we need to carefully look at
if we were to take part in the enrichment of it, we might have a
greater influence over its eventual use," Ms Hobbs said.
"I think that we should responsibly be looking at . . . the
whole train from exploration, through mining, through
enrichment, through using it as a power source and disposal,
which we are ideally fitted to do."
Director of corporate finance company Gryphon Partners Creagh
O'Connor said adding value to South Australia's uranium exports
should be considered.
"I do think we do have that unique opportunity and for this
state not to . . . fully utilise or at least explore, it would
be a travesty," he said.
Ms Hobbs and Mr O'Connor were among mining industry leaders who
participated in The Advertiser.
Uranium is converted to gas and "enriched" before being turned
into small fuel pellets, which then are used to fuel a nuclear
reactor.
Countries involved in uranium enrichment and fuel fabrication
include the US, China, Argentina, France and the UK.
Prime Minister John Howard last month called for a national
debate about nuclear energy and uranium mining, amid calls for
the examination of the feasibility of nuclear power stations in
Australia and an expansion of uranium exports.
The Federal Government last year ruled out plans for a low-level
nuclear waste repository near Woomera after public opposition
and a State Government court challenge.
State Mineral Resources Development Minister Paul Holloway
yesterday backed expansion of uranium mining.
"The Government intends to seek a change to the Labor Party's
no-new-uranium-mines policy," he said.
"However, we have no plans for uranium enrichment.
"I agree with the views of Nick Minchin, Ian Macfarlane and
other senior Howard Government ministers that nuclear power is
not a sensible option for Australia, because we have an
abundance of cost-effective energy resources."
The State Government is pushing for the expansion of the Olympic
Dam copper-gold-uranium mine in the state's Far North, which
economic studies show would create more than 8000 permanent
jobs.
If new owner BHP Billiton goes ahead with the expansion,
production could more than treble to 15,000 tonnes. However, WMC
spokesman Richard Yeeles said discussion centred on the proposed
expansion, not enrichment.
He said there was significant enrichment capacity overseas,
potentially making a local industry uneconomic.
Australian Conservation Foundation anti-nuclear campaigner Dave
Sweeney said Australians would be opposed to domestic uranium
enrichment, which would be costly, dangerous and polluting.
Mr Sweeney said uranium enrichment required vast amounts of
electricity and produced significant amounts of gas damaging to
the greenhouse layer. Search for more stories on
The Courier-Mail The Advertiser
Herald Sun NT News The Mercury
The Daily Telegraph [Newspaper] Home
*****************************************************************
35 CCB: Town hall meeting planned for uranium miners, millers, haulers
and families
Cibola County Beacon
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
GRANTS - Professional Case Management, a Department of
Labor-enrolled provider of home nursing to chronically ill
uranium miners, millers and haulers, recently announced that it
will hold a town-hall meeting in Grants on Wednesday, July 12,
at 4 p.m. at the Cibola County Complex at 515 W. High Street.
The meeting will provide information on how employees who became
ill after working with uranium can qualify for compensatory
lump-sum awards and medical benefits.
Part of the information provided will include details about the
Part E Amendment, which potentially increased the payment to
uranium workers or their eligible survivors. This is over and
above the previous $150,000 compensation under the Radiation
Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) and the Energy Employee
Occupational Illness Compensation Act (EEOICP).
In addition to lump-sum awards, the Department of Labor's EEOICP
authorizes full medical coverage for uranium workers' qualifying
illnesses. The medical coverage allows in-home nursing for up to
24 hours per day at no cost to the recipient. There are no
deductibles or caps to this coverage. Given the mushrooming
costs of medical care, the awards from this benefit could help
victims avoid catastrophic financial consequences.
Professional Case Management specializes in providing in-home
care to chronically ill uranium workers by hiring local skilled
nursing personnel based on patient and family needs.
For more information, including details on patient eligibility
for free care, please call Professional Case Management toll
free at 1-888-886-2281, or attend the Grants meeting.
Copyright © 2005Cibola County Beacon.
*****************************************************************
36 WSTM.com: Nuclear cleanup project reduces staff
July 13, 2005
WEST VALLEY, N.Y. The company overseeing the cleanup of a former
nuclear site in western New York cut 62 salaried positions today.
That brings the number of employees let go or transferred since
April to 126.
West Valley Nuclear Services is reducing staff as the cleanup
progresses in West Valley.
A company spokesman says the cleanup efforts are past the midway
point.
At its peak in the 1990s, the site had about 1,000 employees.
From 1966 to 1972, the West Valley plant extracted uranium and
plutonium from the spent nuclear fuel of commercial nuclear power
plants and Department of Energy sites.
West Valley is about 35 miles south of Buffalo.
Copyright 2005 Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2005 WorldNow and WSTM, a
Raycom Media Station. All Rights Reserved. For more information
*****************************************************************
37 KRNV: Nevada calls federal date for Yucca Mountain opening 'fantasy'
July 13, 2005
Utilities with nuclear power reactors have been waiting for
years for a place to send their radioactive waste.
Now, the state of Nevada's telling a court that plans to open
the proposed repository by 2012 or later are, "sheer fantasy."
It's arguing in recent documents before the US Court of Federal
Claims in Washington that it could take so long for the planned
Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository to open that the court
might as well pull the plug. That way, it says nuclear power
utilities could start looking at other storage options.
The Nuclear Energy Institute tells the court that while progress
is slow, the government's on the road to establishing the Yucca
repository. The NEI is the nuclear industry's main lobbying
group.
Yucca Mountain's the site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas that
President Bush and Congress in 2002 designated as the nation's
nuclear waste dump.
The plan's been stalled in recent months by a series of setbacks
leading to a planned license application.
Information from: Las Vegas Sun, http://www.lasvegassun.com
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Copyright 2001 - 2005 WorldNow and KRNV. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
38 L.A. Daily News: Toxins found 1 1/2 miles from Santa Susana lab
www.dailynews.com
Article Published: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 -
By Kerry Cavanaugh, Staff Writer
WEST HILLS -- Builders of a 151-home development have found very
high levels of perchlorate contamination near a creek that
drains from the Santa Susana Field Lab, officials said Monday.
But consultants hired by Centex Homes said they were unsure
whether the chemical is from the hilltop nuclear and rocket-fuel
facility or was placed on the property only recently -- and,
perhaps, intentionally.
A Centex consultant detected the rocket-fuel ingredient at
levels as high as 62,000 parts per million in the sediment along
Dayton Canyon Creek, about 1 1/2 miles from the lab.
That is 850 times more potent than perchlorate samples taken at
Rocketdyne's laboratory, where rocket fuel was spilled onto the
soil, and it is nearly 8,000 times the level allowed for
residential neighborhoods.
"The only conclusion he's been able to draw is where it's not
coming from. It's not coming from Rocketdyne," said John
Fitzpatrick, project manager with Centex Homes' Los Angeles and
Ventura division.
Centex is completing a second report on the perchlorate results
and is expected to develop a cleanup plan to remove the chemical
contamination. In the meantime, Fitzpatrick has increased
security at the site.
State environmental officials concur that the perchlorate
findings are unexpectedly high, but they said it was too soon to
determine the source of the contamination. Long-term exposure to
high levels of perchlorate can lead to thyroid problems.
"We've got a lot of preliminary data here that doesn't make
sense," said Ray Leclerc, senior engineer with the California
Department of Toxic Substances Control.
But field lab watchdog Bonnie Klea dismissed speculation that
the perchlorate was placed there deliberately.
"Rocketdyne is the biggest source of perchlorate in this area,
and to think that it's coming from some other place or some
other source is ridiculous."
An aide to Los Angeles City Councilman Greig Smith said the
housing development is on hold until Centex can determine the
source of the contamination and show that it has been removed.
The testing was initiated in late May after the Daily News
reported that Centex had never tested the land for toxic or
radioactive contamination, despite being located 1.3 miles
downhill from the field lab.
Activists were concerned that current residents and ones who
will move into the development could be exposed to hidden
contamination, particularly along Dayton Canyon Creek, where
five decades of storm water could have deposited perchlorate and
chemicals from the lab in the creek bed.
State environmental officials had expected the Centex tests to
come up clean. The Department of Toxic Substances Control
supervised a massive perchlorate cleanup at the field lab last
year, and follow-up tests within a few hundred yards of the
former rocket-making facility showed little or no contamination.
Farther down the creek, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality
Control Board dug up several pounds of soil in Dayton Canyon
Creek and found no perchlorate.
Centex officials said they would expect to see higher levels of
perchlorate closer to the field lab if the lab was the chemical
source.
However, Ali Tabidian, a geological sciences professor at
California State University, Northridge, said it's possible that
perchlorate, which is water-soluble, flowed down the steep
canyon in water that pooled in the flatlands, so that it was
left in high concentrations when the water evaporated.
Officials of the Boeing Co., which owns the field lab, said
there was no connection between the perchlorate found on the
Centex property and the perchlorate found at the field lab.
No matter the source, Fitzpatrick said Centex will remove the
perchlorate and continue with the planned development of 151
luxury homes.
"There's no danger to anyone that lives around the property
there now. It's a small isolated area, and we have every
intention of remediating the property."
Kerry Cavanaugh, (818) 713-3746 kerry.cavanaugh@dailynews.com
Copyright © 2005 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
*****************************************************************
39 Casper Star Trib: Uranium outlook mostly rosy
Casper, Wyoming - Tuesday, July 12, 2005
By TOM MAST
Star-Tribune staff writer Tuesday, July 12, 2005
With uranium prices bumping up against $30 a pound, investments
in exploration likely will increase dramatically.
That was the assessment Tom Pool, chairman of International
Nuclear Inc. of Golden, Colo., delivered at the Global Uranium
Symposium 2005 at the Parkway Plaza in Casper on Monday.
"Next year could be a banner year for drilling companies in the
Western U.S.," he said.
Using several graphs, Pool showed how prices historically have
been related to increases in exploration investments.
Price increases are being propelled by such factors as new
demand for nuclear power in China, India, Brazil and Eastern
Europe.
Pool predicted production would rise from about 100 million
pounds a year worldwide to 160 million pounds in coming years.
The Ux Weekly spot price for uranium as of July 4 was $29 a
pound, compared with $9.85 in July 2002.
"That is really going to stimulate uranium production," Pool
said.
"It's yet to be determined how high the price is going to go,"
he added.
Pool also discussed data that indicated varying degrees of
production capacity could be expected to result from different
price levels. World production of 150 million pounds a year, for
example, would require a price of about $17.50 per pound.
"This says to me, for the foreseeable future, we can produce a
lot of uranium at less than $25 per pound," he said.
But there also were some cautionary notes.
During the 1970s, uranium prices were high and there was lots of
drilling. But a member of the audience pointed out that, among
other things, oil companies were heavily involved in uranium
during that time.
"Today, I don't think we have any oil company anywhere in the
world involved in uranium," Pool said. He said he expects
entrepreneurial firms will take the lead over the next two or
three years, but oil companies could jump back in if favorable
economic conditions continue.
Christine Atkinson, vice president for International Nuclear
Inc., said government policy also would play an important role
in the uranium market; for example, whether the federal
government releases large supplies for nuclear fuel at no fixed
cost would be a key factor.
The in-core fuel design criteria of power plants, their
reloading practices and their inventory philosophies also could
affect the uranium market, she noted.
Even so, Pool said the future of uranium looks bright.
"We have a very strong industry," he said, "an industry that's
growing and will be around for a very long time."
In 2004, total U.S. uranium production was 2.3 million pounds,
according to the federal Energy Information Administration,
compared with 2 million pounds in 2003 and 6.3 million pounds in
1996.
Globally, the World Nuclear Association indicates the top
producers of uranium from mines in 2004 were Canada, Australia
and Kazakhstan. The United States ranked eighth.
Business editor Tom Mast can be reached at
tom.mast@casperstartribune.net, or by calling 307-266-0574.
Copyright © 2005 by the Casper Star-Tribune published by Lee
Publications, Inc., a subsidiary of Lee Enterprises,
Incorporated
*****************************************************************
40 Tallahassee Democrat: New water tests demanded
| 07/12/2005 |
Residents do not trust Lockheed Martin's findings
By Donna Wright
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
TALLEVAST - Fearing for their health, Tallevast residents want
independent tests on all monitoring wells Lockheed Martin Corp.
has drilled to map a plume of contamination stemming from a
former beryllium plant.
The residents distrust Lockheed's claim that data collected so
far shows no current health risks to residents of Tallevast,
located in Manatee County.
Shawn Collins, an environmental attorney who won more than $25
million in jury awards and settlements for families in a similar
pollution case in Lisle, Ill., said Tallevast residents have
good reason to collect their own data. Collins' case involved
TCE, a solvent that was used at the Tallevast site.
"There is no immediate test that will tell if you have been
exposed or harmed by TCE," Collins said, "but the level of
exposure is knowable within narrow limits if you know the length
of time the citizens were exposed. It is knowable within very
narrow limits, if you know the amounts of TCE to which they were
exposed. And if you have young children exposed for a decade or
more, those people are threatened by dangerous health effects."
Tallevast leaders want those answers. Independent samplings from
the Lockheed-Tetra Tech wells is a start, said Wanda Washington,
vice president of Family Oriented Community United and Strong,
or FOCUS, an advocacy group for residents.
"If they are saying the numbers are low and there is no risk to
me, I need to know that is true," Washington said. "We are
asking to test their wells because we want to know what the real
numbers are."
"If they put their request in writing, we will consider it,"
said Lockheed spokeswoman Meredith Rouse Davis. But Davis
stopped short of saying Tallevast's request would be granted.
"The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, as the
regulator of the remediation process, has every right to sample
those wells," Davis said. "But we do not open up those wells to
everyone because that might change the integrity of those
wells."
Washington said: "We just don't trust their levels. We are
questioning the risk, our risk. I need to know if my home and
community are safe."
DEP spokeswoman Cragin Mossteller said state regulators are
committed to working with Tallevast residents to help them get
the answers they seek.
"We meet with them on a regular basis and look forward to
listening to their suggestions of how to further test the
delineation of the plume," said Mossteller.
The contamination stems from the former Loral American Beryllium
Co. plant that operated in Tallevast under different names for
more than four decades.
Lockheed acquired the property in 1996 in a corporate buyout of
Loral holdings. While trying to sell the plant in 2000, Lockheed
discovered the liner of an evaporation pond had leaked, spilling
dangerous industrial solvents and chemicals, TCE and others,
into the groundwater. Although the county and state were
notified of the pollution, residents did not learn of the
contamination until 2003 because state law said no one was
legally bound to notify the community.
Tests on monitoring wells installed over the past year now show
that the plume, which was originally thought to cover five
acres, actually extends over 131 acres.
*****************************************************************
41 Craig Daily Press: Residents split on radiation storage
www.craigdailypress.com
By Christina M. Currie, Daily Press Writer
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
It may be months before Moffat County's Land Use Board has the
opportunity to make a recommendation on radioactive storage, but
some residents aren't putting their protest off to the last
minute.
Terrie Barrie, a spokeswoman for Northwest Colorado Cares,
attended Monday's meeting to get a jump-start on educating
potential decision makers on the hazards of radiation.
"There is no level that's safe," she said.
Northwest Colorado Cares is a group of residents that formed
after they heard that a Northwest Colorado landowner, Jim Ross,
had plans to use the pits left by uranium mining on his property
in the 1950s as a dump site for low-level radioactive waste.
Ross has said he'd like to fill the pits primarily with spoil
piles -- the overburden of dirt that was removed while uranium
was being mined.
Barrie's husband, George, who's health is that of "an old man's"
because of the work he did with nuclear weapons at Rocky Flats,
said that could just be the beginning.
"It's going to snowball on us," he said. "They'll try to make us
the dump, and we don't want to be the dump out here.
"We're really concerned about Moffat County," he said. "This is
really a very, very serious thing for all of us. I don't want to
see our kids have these things happen to them."
Ross said it could be three years before he gets the research in
order and makes it through the permitting process. At this point
he's only processed historical documents that deal with the time
when the area was an open uranium mine. He's not applied for any
of the permits that would be needed to open the site.
Members of Northwest Colo�--rado Cares have tried to get Ross
to share the details of his plan with them, but he's said he
isn't ready.
"One thing that concerns me about Jim Ross' plan is the lack of
details he's made public," Barrie said. "Trust me, there's a lot
to be concerned about."
The county needs only to approve a request to rezone the area.
Barrie said she thinks the county may have to issue a
certificate of designation, but there's a chance that the only
say county officials will have on the plan is regarding zoning.
Barrie also told the land use board that her group opposes any
uranium mining in Moffat County. Standard Uranium, a Canadian
business, has bought the mining claims to 10,000 acres near
Maybell and has the opportunity to lease an additional 2,400.
Land use board member Robert Grubb asked Barrie to provide
additional information on health and safety issues specific to
the uranium pits in Maybell. Other board members asked for
current radiation levels compared to those of the past.
Other than those few questions, there were no comments from land
use board members, who think it will be at least eight months
before the issue officially comes before them.
Copyright © 2005 The Craig Daily Press. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
42 [du-list] Paducah
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2005 15:25:30 -0700
*U.S. may study buyout around Paducah plant.
*
Ronald Lamb was outraged and demanded government compensation after
discovering in 1994 that his water well had been tainted by pollution
from the nearby Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Kentucky. Louisville
Courier-Journal , Kentucky.
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050710/NEWS0104/507100431
*
*
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to
du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type
unsubscribe and send.
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/du-list/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
*****************************************************************
43 Paducah Sun: Study would precede DOE's buying nearby land -
If Congress approves, the study at the Paducah plant might take
three years, and buying the land could take more time.
By Joe Walker jwalker@paducahsun.com 270.575.8656
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
If approved by Congress, it could be up to three years before a
master plan is finished to determine if the government should
offer to buy the property of Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
neighbors.
"The idea is to study what's in the best interest of not only
the people living around the plant, but for the county and the
federal government," said John Anderson, director of the Paducah
Area Community Reuse Organization, a regional economic
development group.
At PACRO's request, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., included the
study in the energy and water spending plan passed July 1 by the
Senate. The House version did not include money for the study;
the differences between the versions must be worked out in a
conference committee.
The Senate bill does not include a specific amount. PACRO
requested $500,000 for an independent study of about 10,000
acres of public and private land to determine its best use once
the plant closes, starting in 2010. If the final version of the
bill includes the study, it probably will take two to three
years to hire an independent consultant, do the study and
solicit landowner and other public comments, Anderson said.
He said the master plan would consider everything from
attracting replacement industry to turning the area into a
nature sanctuary. Although Anderson speculated last year that it
might take $15 million for a land buyout, he softened that
Monday.
"It's premature to ascertain how much it will cost until the
study is done," he said.
Buying land, contingent on the owners' agreement to sell, could
take several more years, Anderson said.
Last fall — after consulting with PACRO and a plant neighbors'
group, Active Citizens for Truth — the plant Citizens Advisory
Board sent 12 recommendations to the Energy Department regarding
the ultimate use of the plant area. The board gave DOE two years
to resolve what to do with 121 homes and businesses contaminated
or threatened by 10 billion gallons of plant-related groundwater
pollution.
Among the options were to continue providing free municipal
water to the homes and businesses, offer other compensation or
buy the property.
Ray English, whose wife, Ruby, is chairman of the neighbors'
group, said talk of buying the land peaked a few years ago, but
nothing came of it.
"This is just like the (Land Between the Lakes)," he said. "Some
people would be tickled to death to sell and get out of here,
and some will want to stay until they die," he said.
The Englishes, who have DOE-funded water, filed suit several
years ago claiming their family health problems stemmed from
plant contamination. The suit was dismissed, but could one day
be reopened, said English, a former manager of the state
wildlife area around the plant.
The Englishes were also part of a class-action suit alleging
plant pollution devalued neighboring land. That suit also was
dismissed.
*****************************************************************
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:
*****************************************************************