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NUCLEAR POLICY
1 [NukeNet] Japan and internationalization of the nuclear fuel
2 Guardian Unlimited: Cheney Adviser Resigns After Indictment
3 Guardian Unlimited: Report: Swiss Had Role in S. African Nukes
4 AFP: Iranian president stands by 'just' Israel remark
5 Guardian Unlimited: Report: Kim to Return to Nuclear Talks
6 AFP: China's Hu in North Korea ahead of nuclear talks
7 AFP: China's Hu in North Korea as Kim vows to attend nuclear talks
8 Guardian Unlimited: China's President Meets N. Korean Leader
9 US: Casper Star-Tribune: Senators try to preserve nuclear missiles
10 US: San Francisco Chronicle: Closing door on nuke bunker busters
11 US: thedesertsun.com: Salton Sea shore developers must first pick
12 US: Public Citizen: Coalition Releases Report Warning that the
13 US: AFP: Democrats say White House deception on Iraq exposed
14 IPS-English PAKISTAN: Of Nukes and Quakes
15 Xinhua: Japanese slam plan for hosting US nuclear-powered carrier
NUCLEAR REACTORS
16 US: Tom Masland, worked on Inquirer TMI series
17 US: TMI/Peach Bottom Appeal
18 AU ABC: Retired scientist talks up Aust nuclear prospects
19 US: NRC: NRC Licensing Board to Hear Oral Argument and Receive Publi
20 Las Vegas SUN: Letter: State benefits from nuclear energy
21 US: NRC: Meeting date change
22 Xinhua: Partnerships will help solve energy conflicts
23 US: Times Herald-Record: Diana shifts Indian Point viewpoint
24 Mos News: Russia Allocates $210M for Construction of Pioneering Nucl
25 US: Constellation Energy: Constellation Energy Announces Plans to
26 National Post Poll backs nuclear increase 74% of respondents - Stron
27 ABC News: Hunting Loose Nukes in Eastern Europe
28 United Press International: Russia to build new nuclear reactor
NUCLEAR SECURITY
29 RIA Novosti: Russia, U.S. hold anti-radioactive smuggling exercises
30 US: ninemsn.com.au: Radioactive road trip
31 US: Quad-City Times: Preparing for a radioactive emergency Comment
NUCLEAR SAFETY
32 US: NRC: Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Find
33 AU ABC: High levels of radiation reported at French Polynesia nuclea
34 NEWS.com.au: Radiation levels a legacy of nuke tests -
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
35 US: Pike Cnty News: Plant cylinders may hold toxic phosgene gas
36 US: SimiValley Acorn: Toxic Substances Control group drops ball on p
37 US: Independent: Uranium workers cry cover-up; Miners accuse feds of
38 Sydney Morning Herald: Nuclear waste found in French Polynesia -
39 US: News Sentinel: Sensible regulation, disposal would revive nuclea
40 US: AP Wire: Nuke group balks at giving away former dump site
41 PRAVDA.Ru: Ukraine dumps nuclear wastes and chemical poisons at Russ
42 BBC: Taxpayers to pick up nuclear bill
43 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Talks to assess status of foreign uranium ore
44 US: AU ABC: ERA fined over Ranger mine safety breach.
45 US: Deseret News: NRC fight may affect Envirocare
PEACE
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
46 Tri-Valley Herald: Historic tool for physics research finding friend
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1 [NukeNet] Japan and internationalization of the nuclear fuel
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 15:11:43 -0700
NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net)
Media Release
28 October 2005
Japan and internationalization of the nuclear fuel cycle
"The Japanese government's recent expression of interest in
internationalization of the nuclear fuel cycle should be seen for what
it is: a self-serving attempt to justify Japan's own uranium enrichment
and reprocessing programs", according to the Tokyo based Citizens'
Nuclear Information Center (CNIC).
An agency of the Ministry for Economics Trade and Industry held a
meeting on Tuesday, October 25th to discuss the issue. Among the
options considered were the possibility of enriching uranium and
reprocessing spent nuclear fuel for other countries.
"Previously the Japanese government had not been supportive of
proposals to internationalize the nuclear fuel cycle. It was afraid of
restrictions being placed on the new spent fuel reprocessing plant in
Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture. A proposal made by Mohamed ElBaradei,
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, included a
call for a moratorium on such facilities."
"Now the government is concerned that if it does not make a concrete
proposal of its own, it might end up being lumped with all the other
non-nuclear weapon states and be subject to the same restrictions as
them in regard to uranium enrichment and reprocessing."
"There has been strong international criticism of the Japanese
government's plan to start up the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant, because
of the negative impact it will have on the nuclear non-proliferation
regime. Many people believe that it could undermine international
efforts to discourage other countries - including Iran and North Korea
- from building their own enrichment and reprocessing facilities."
"The government is now trying to deflect these criticisms and to
avoid the risk that moves towards internationalizing the nuclear fuel
cycle might jeopardize its own programs. This is a cynical move,
because the government knows full well that Japan will not have the
capacity to enrich uranium or reprocess spent fuel for other countries
for the foreseeable future. It hopes that by offering to participate in
a program to guarantee other countries access to uranium enrichment and
reprocessing services, it will persuade them to be more accepting of
its own plans to increase its uranium enrichment capacity and to
commence reprocessing at Rokkasho. But how will other countries view
Japan's enrichment and reprocessing programs when they realize that the
offer is hollow?"
"The government wants Japan to be recognized as a model of the
peaceful use of nuclear energy. However, it would gain far more respect
if it showed real leadership and chose not to proceed with reprocessing
at Rokkasho. The world would then believe that Japan is truly committed
to nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament."
Background information
The uranium enrichment plant in Rokkasho has been plagued by problems
and is now only able to meet 10% of Japan's own needs. Extensions are
planned, with a suggested start-up date of 2010, but nothing concrete
has emerged so far.
The Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant is currently undergoing uranium
trials. Active trials using spent fuel are scheduled to begin in
December this year, but due to various problems, in particular with the
high level radioactive waste storage facility, there is no prospect
that this date will be met. If it ever commences operations, it will be
the first industrial-scale reprocessing plant in a country which does
not possess nuclear weapons. Its maximum capacity will be 8 tons of
plutonium each year, enough to make 1,000 Nagasaki type bombs.
At most it will be able to reprocess only 80% of the spent fuel from
Japan(IU(Bs own nuclear power plants. Consequently the government has in
mind a second reprocessing plant, which might also be able to reprocess
foreign spent fuel. However, no mention was made of a second
reprocessing plant in the new nuclear energy policy adopted by the
government on October 14th. If a second plant is to be built, planning
won't begin until 2010 and it is unlikely to be operational until
decades hence.
One example of criticisms of the proliferation implications of the
Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant is a statement issued on 5 May 2005 at the
Non-Proliferation Review Conference by the Union of Concerned
Scientists. The statement was signed by 27 eminent scientists, former
policy makers and analysts. See the links below:
http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/japanese-plutonium-program-
threatens-nonproliferation-regime-warn-nobel-laureates-and-other- experts.html
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_security/nuclear_terrorism/japan-
strengthen-the-nonproliferation-treaty.html
Contact: Philip White, International Liaison Officer
Citizens' Nuclear Information Center
3F Kotobuki Bdg, 1-58-15, Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0003
Phone: 81-3-5330-9520
Fax: 81-3-5330-9530
http://cnic.jp/english/
cnic@nifty.com
_______________________________________________________________________
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2 Guardian Unlimited: Cheney Adviser Resigns After Indictment
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Friday October 28, 2005 11:31 PM
AP Photo DCCD114
By JOHN SOLOMON
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff
resigned Friday after he was indicted by a grand jury, accused
of obstructing its investigation and lying about an effort to
blow the CIA cover of an Iraq war critic's wife.
I. Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby became the first high-ranking White
House official in decades to be criminally charged while still
in office. A second key figure in the two-year CIA leak
investigation, presidential strategist Karl Rove, was spared
from criminal charges for the time being.
Libby wasn't indicted specifically for the leak, but special
prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald left little doubt that he believed
Cheney's top aide learned Valerie Plame's classified identity
from the CIA, State Department and his own boss and then
revealed it to reporters.
``It's important that a CIA officer's identity be protected,
that it be protected not just for the officer, but for the
nation's security,'' the prosecutor said. ``Mr. Libby was the
first official known to have told a reporter.''
Though Cheney was one of the officials who told Libby about
Plame's secret work for the CIA before it was leaked to
reporters, Fitzgerald said he wasn't alleging any wrongdoing by
the vice president.
``I'm not making allegations about anyone not charged in the
indictment,'' he said.
Libby's attorney, Joseph Tate, promised to vigorously challenge
the charges.
The 22-page indictment was the latest blow in one of the darkest
weeks of the Bush presidency, which also saw the 2,000th U.S.
military death in Iraq and the embarrassing withdrawal of
Harriet Miers as Bush's Supreme Court nominee.
Bush, whose approval rating is near the lowest point of his
presidency, praised Libby's years of government service but
acknowledged the ``ongoing legal proceedings are serious.''
``In our system, each individual is presumed innocent and
entitled to due process and a fair trial,'' the president said.
Fitzgerald's investigation is nearing an end, and the grand jury
he used for the past two years expired Friday. But he said,
``It's not over,'' declining to address Rove's fate. The
prosecutor is still weighing whether to charge Bush's closest
adviser with false statements, lawyers said.
Friday's charges stemmed from a two-year investigation into
whether Rove, Libby or any other administration officials
knowingly revealed Plame's identity in summer 2003 to punish her
husband, Joseph Wilson, for his criticism of the Bush
administration's use of prewar Iraq intelligence.
In the end, like so many other Washington scandals, prosecutors
zeroed in on an alleged cover-up.
Libby, 55, was charged with five felonies alleging obstruction
of justice, perjury to a grand jury and making false statements
to FBI agents. He could face a maximum of 30 years in prison and
$1.25 million fines if convicted.
Fitzgerald suggested that proving Libby lied to the grand jury
would be an easier case to make than showing he intentionally
revealed a secret officer's cover. Specifically, the prosecutors
alleged Libby concocted a false story that he got Plame's name
from reporters and passed it on to others when in fact he got
the information from classified sources.
``Mr. Libby's story that he was at the tail end of a chain of
phone calls, passing on from one reporter what he heard from
another, was not true. It was false,'' the prosecutor said.
``And he lied about it afterward, under oath, repeatedly.''
Cheney said he accepted the resignation with regret because
Libby is ``one of the most capable and talented individuals I
have ever known.''
The closest to bright news Friday for the White House was the
word from Rove's attorney that the presidential confidant was
not being indicted along with Libby.
Fitzgerald has been looking for weeks at whether Rove gave false
testimony during his four grand jury appearances. Rove's lawyer
waged a furious effort in recent weeks to convince the
prosecutor that any misstatements were unintentional or were
corrected.
``The special counsel has advised Mr. Rove that he has made no
decision about whether or not to bring charges,'' attorney
Robert Luskin said. ``We are confident that when the special
counsel finishes his work, he will conclude that Mr. Rove has
done nothing wrong.''
Libby's indictment paves the way for a trial that could renew
the focus on the administration's faulty rationale for going to
war against Iraq - the erroneous assertion that Saddam Hussein
possessed weapons of mass destruction.
Libby is considered Cheney's alter ego, a chief architect of the
war with Iraq. A trial would give the public a rare glimpse into
Cheney's influential role in the West Wing and his
behind-the-scenes lobbying for the war. The vice president, who
prizes secrecy, could be called as a witness.
Democrats suggested the indictment was just the tip of the
iceberg. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the
case was ``about how the Bush White House manufactured and
manipulated intelligence in order to bolster its case for the
war in Iraq and to discredit anyone who dared to challenge the
president.''
Hoping to contain the damage, some Republicans distanced
themselves from Libby. Others said the legal system should run
its course.
``It's time to stop the leaks and spin and turn Washington into
one big recovery meeting where people say what they mean and
mean what they say,'' said Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said through a
spokesman that the Senate won't investigate the CIA leak.
Bush ordered U.S. troops to war in March 2003, saying Saddam's
weapons of mass destruction program posed a grave and immediate
threat to the United States. When no such weapons were found,
the administration came under increased criticism for using
faulty intelligence to make its case for war.
It was during the height of that debate that Plame's identity as
a covert CIA officer was leaked in July 2003.
Her name was published just a little over a week after her
husband wrote a newspaper opinion piece suggesting the
administration had twisted prewar intelligence, and describing
how he had gone to Africa in 2002 to check on claims Saddam had
tried to buy nuclear materials.
Wilson said he couldn't validate the uranium claim but Bush
later used it anyway.
Wilson alleged the leak of his wife's name was retaliation for
his criticism, and he said Friday that ``when an indictment is
delivered to the front door of the White House, the office of
the president is defiled.''
The indictment alleges Libby began digging for details about
Wilson well before the former ambassador went public July 6,
2003.
Libby made his first inquiries about Wilson's travel to Niger in
late May 2003, and by June 11 Libby was informed by a CIA
official that Wilson's wife worked for the agency and might have
sent him on the trip. Libby also heard it from Undersecretary of
State Marc Grossman, the indictment said.
On June 12, 2003, the indictment alleged, Libby heard directly
from Cheney that Plame worked for the spy agency.
``Libby was advised by the vice president of the United States
that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA in the counterproliferation
division. Libby understood that the vice president had learned
this information from the CIA,'' Fitzgerald said.
A short time later, the indictment said, Libby began spreading
information to reporters, starting with The New York Times'
Judith Miller on June 23.
The indictment said a substantial number of people in the White
House knew about Plame's CIA status before the publication of
Robert Novak's column on July 14, 2003 - the first public
mention - including former White House press secretary Ari
Fleischer, who was mentioned by title but not name in the legal
filing.
Among the false statements Libby is accused of making is that he
learned of Plame's identity from NBC reporter Tim Russert. In
fact, Fitzgerald said, Libby knew it long before that
conversation and Russert didn't even discuss it with him.
One of the dramatic parts of the two-year investigation was
Fitzgerald's successful attempt - which reached all the way to
the Supreme Court - to force several reporters to reveal their
confidential sources. Miller, in fact, spent more than 80 days
in jail before agreeing to testify.
Fitzgerald said Friday he wasn't spoiling for a ``First
Amendment showdown'' with the news media but believed reporters
were essential witnesses in this case.
``I do not think that a reporter should be subpoenaed anything
close to routinely. It should be an extraordinary case,'' he
said. ``But if you're dealing with a crime, and what's different
here is the transaction is between a person and a reporter,
they're the eyewitness to the crime.''
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
3 Guardian Unlimited: Report: Swiss Had Role in S. African Nukes
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Friday October 28, 2005 4:01 AM
GENEVA (AP) - Switzerland played a key role in building the
nuclear weapons of the former apartheid regime of South Africa,
a government-sponsored report said Thursday.
More than a decade ago, then-South African President F.W. de
Klerk announced that his country had dismantled its nuclear
weapons program.
Peter Hug, the author of a report in the Swiss National Science
Foundation's six-year investigation into Swiss-South African
relations, said Switzerland and other countries provided
technical support for South Africa's uranium enrichment efforts.
Hug, a history professor at the University of Bern, wrote in his
11-page report that a handful of companies and a government
research institute were involved in South Africa's atomic
program.
In 1977, one firm began to supply ``highly sensitive
technology'' to South Africa's uranium enrichment program. Hug
said another Swiss company helped supply aluminum vacuum
outlets, which ``played an important role in uranium
enrichment.''
While the Swiss government did little to prevent these
transactions taking place, it also allowed ``close scientific
and technology cooperation'' to exist between a government
nuclear research center and South Africa.
The nuclear research center aided South Africa between 1971 and
1985 in the sectors of acceleration technology and uranium
enrichment, Hug said.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
4 AFP: Iranian president stands by 'just' Israel remark
28/10/2005 10h46
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves during a conference
in Tehran entitled "The World without Zionism"
©AFP - Behrouz Mehri
TEHRAN (AFP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed
international condemnation of his call for Israel to be "wiped
off the map" as tens of thousands of Iranians massed to condemn
the Jewish state.
"They are free to talk but their words do not have any validity.
It is natural that if a word is right and just it will provoke a
reaction," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the official news
agency IRNA Thursday.
The hardline president went on to criticise "international
Zionism and the expansionist policies of the world arrogance" --
terminology usually used to refer to the United States and
Israel.
"They are cheeky humans, and they think that the entire world
should obey them. They destroy Palestinian families and expect
nobody to object to them," Ahmadinejad said, asserting his
comments "are the exact words of the Iranian people."
He was speaking as Iran staged its annual anti-Israeli hate fest
and amid an international outcry over a speech he gave on
Wednesday to a conference entitled "The World without Zionism".
Tens of thousands of regime loyalists took to the streets of
Tehran for "Jerusalem Day" -- a carnival-style event heavy on
bloodthirsty slogans, flag burning and a chance for would-be
militants to register for suicide bombing missions.
The Palestinian fight against Israel is one of the central dogma
of the Islamic regime in Iran, but Ahmadinejad's fiery speech
was the first time in years that such a high-ranking official
has openly demanded Israel's destruction. Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attends a conference in Tehran
©AFP/File - Behrouz Mehri
His comments have been hugely damaging for Iran, already under
intense Western pressure over its nuclear energy programme --
suspected as being a cover for weapons development -- and facing
the prospect of seeing the issue referred to the UN Security
Council.
But Iran, which insists its nuclear intentions are peaceful,
remains unapologetic -- and banners saying "Israel must be wiped
off the map" were also seen outside Tehran University.
Other slogans used included "Peaceful nuclear energy is our
legitimate right" and "The only way to combat the Zionist enemy
is resistance and Jihad".
"What Ahmadinejad said is the sentiment of all Iranians,"
asserted Amir Hosseini, a 45-year-old Revolutionary Guards
officer taking part in the rally.
But he asserted there was "no need for military action" against
Israel: "What Ahmadinejad said was that elections should be held
for Palestinian self-determination."
One Shiite clergyman taking part, Mehdi Abu Talebi, told AFP
that the real issue was that of "the genocide of the
Palestinians" -- adding that he was also sure that the holocaust
under Germany's Nazi regime never even happened.
Revolutionary Guards spokesman Seyed Massoud Jazihiri has also
backed Ahmadinejad by describing Israel as a "cancerous tumour".
Iranian media has largely ignored the international furore,
while state television was Friday broadcasting continuous
footage of Palestinians being beaten, shot or arrested by
Israeli troops. Iranian high school girls attend a conference in
Tehran entitled 'The World without Zionism'
©AFP - Behrouz Mehri
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he felt "a real sense of
revulsion" over Ahmadinejad's comments.
"If they continue down this path, then people are going to
believe that they are a real threat to our world security and
stability," he told reporters after a European Union summit near
London on Thursday.
In an apparent reference to the United States, Blair said "we
will have discussions with our main allies over the next few
days" on how to respond to Ahmadinejad's remarks.
"Their attitude towards Israel, their attitude towards
terrorism, their attitude towards the nuclear weapons issue --
it isn't acceptable," said Blair.
French President Jacques Chirac was equally upset, calling his
Iranian counterpart's words "senseless and irresponsible", while
a joint EU statement said the remarks were "inconsistent with
any claim to be a mature and responsible member of the
international community."
The EU has been trying to lure Iran to abandon its nuclear fuel
drive in exchange for trade and other incentives, but Tehran has
rejected such a deal and the dialogue has been broken off since
August.
Israel, which alleges Iran is seeking nuclear weapons and
long-range missiles that could strike at its heart, is pushing
for Islamic republic to be thrown out of the United Nations.
Members of the Iranian Academic Union display a caricature of
Iranian President Ahmadinejad with a nuclear bomb
©AFP/Pressens Bild - Jack Mikrut
UN chief Kofi Annan also expressed "dismay" over the comments by
Ahmadinejad, a straight-talking hardliner and Revolutionary
Guards veteran who won a shock election win in June.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country is
Israel's main regional ally, also urged Iran to apply "political
sobriety".
Ahmadinejad had also said that "anyone who signs a treaty which
recognizes the entity of Israel means he has signed the
surrender of the Muslim world," and warned Muslim leaders who
recognise Israel that they "face the wrath of their own people."
Copyright Disclaimer ©AFP 2005
*****************************************************************
5 Guardian Unlimited: Report: Kim to Return to Nuclear Talks
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Friday October 28, 2005 6:46 PM
AP Photo XIN101
By JOE McDONALD
Associated Press Writer
BEIJING (AP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il promised Friday
to take part in the next round of nuclear talks in November,
Chinese state TV reported, as China's president made a rare
personal visit to Pyongyang to lobby for progress in disarmament
efforts.
Kim reportedly told Chinese President Hu Jintao that the North
was committed to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.
It was the Stalinist dictatorship's highest-level commitment yet
to push ahead with talks aimed at stripping North Korea of its
nuclear programs.
``The North Korean side will participate as scheduled in the
fifth round of six-nation talks,'' the state TV news quoted Kim
as saying. ``North Korea is committed to the denuclearization of
the (Korean) peninsula.''
North Korean media did not immediately report on Kim's remarks.
Hu flew to Pyongyang on Friday in an apparent effort to push for
progress in the Chinese-organized nuclear talks, which also
involve the United States, South Korea, Japan and Russia. China
didn't disclose his Hu's agenda in advance, but analysts said he
was certain to push Kim on the nuclear issue, possibly offering
aid in exchange.
Hu told Kim that Beijing wants to see a nuclear-free Korean
peninsula, Chinese state television said.
Despite the polite tone, China's status as the isolated North's
last major ally and aid donor gave Hu's plea special weight.
China is under pressure from Washington and other governments to
do more to push Pyongyang for concessions. Beijing has refrained
from publicly confronting the North and says it has less
influence than outsiders believe.
North Korea promised at the end of the last round of talks in
Beijing in September - the fourth since 2003 - to give up its
nuclear programs in exchange for aid and a security guarantee.
But Pyongyang immediately raised doubts about its willingness to
carry out that pledge, saying it wanted a civilian nuclear
reactor for power generation before it dismantles its program -
a condition that Washington has challenged as possibly
unworkable.
Hu is the first Chinese leader to visit North Korea since 2001.
Kim, who rarely travels abroad, last visited Beijing in 2004,
when he studied Chinese economic reforms.
Hu was greeted by thousands of cheering North Koreans in
Pyongyang.
Kim met him at the airport, and Chinese TV showed the Chinese
leader being driven into the capital past throngs of people who
waved flowers and small flags. Many of the women wore
traditional Korean gowns and some appeared to have tears of joy
in their eyes.
Chinese TV and China's official Xinhua News Agency put the size
of the crowd at 100,000.
Meeting later at a government facility, Hu praised Kim's
leadership and assured him of China's friendship and support.
``Pushing forward friendly, cooperative Chinese-North Korea
relations and continuously deepening development is our common
responsibility,'' he said, according to Xinhua.
Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, who accompanied Hu to Pyongyang,
spoke by phone Thursday night with Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, the Foreign Ministry said. It said they
discussed international affairs but did not give details.
The nuclear dispute erupted in late 2002 after U.S. officials
said North Korea admitted violating a 1994 deal by embarking on
a secret uranium enrichment program.
Hu, whose visit lasts through Sunday, is also expected to lobby
Kim to pursue Chinese-style reforms more aggressively in hopes
of reviving its decrepit, government-controlled economy.
Beijing is eager to see a more robust North, both to reduce its
reliance on Chinese food and fuel aid and to reduce the risk of
a political collapse and chaos on its border.
Thousands of North Koreans fleeing famine and repression live in
hiding in China's northeast. Beijing has been frustrated by
asylum bids by North Koreans at embassies and other foreign
offices.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
6 AFP: China's Hu in North Korea ahead of nuclear talks
Fri Oct 28, 8:07 AM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese President Hu Jintao" /> Hu Jintaowas
greeted by dictator Kim Jong-Il upon arrival in North Korea" />
North Korea, at the start of a rare visit expected to focus on
the secretive regime's nuclear program.
Hu touched down at Pyongyang's airport on Friday and was
welcomed by an unsmiling but clapping Kim, dressed in a bulky
jacket, and a young woman who treated the Chinese leader to a
hearty embrace, Chinese state TV showed.
"The China-North Korean friendship ... is conducive to
safeguarding peace and stability and promoting development and
prosperity in the region," Hu was quoted as saying on arrival by
China's Xinhua news agency.
Hu was shown driving to downtown Pyongyang behind a police
motorcycle escort riding a carefully choreographed formation as
masses of North Koreans dressed in traditional costumes lined
the road.
Hu's three-day mission will be to convince his hosts of the need
to stick to commitments they made in nuclear talks in Beijing in
September, and China's own stake in the game ensures that he
will be speaking forcefully, analysts said.
"This is critical to China's image as a rising power and its
credibility and ability in delivering results," said Jing-dong
Yuan, an expert on Asian non-proliferation at California's
Monterey Institute of International Studies.
"But most important, failure would completely rupture the
six-party process, which in turn could lead to further
deterioration of the peninsular and indeed Northeast Asian
security situation," he said.
The next round of six-party talks involving the two Koreas,
China, Japan, Russia and the United States is expected in the
Chinese capital in November.
"Hu will no doubt reinforce to Kim that forward progress must be
made," said Ralph Cossa, president of Honolulu-based think tank
Pacific Forum CSIS.
At the last round of talks, North Korea agreed to a statement of
principles that could potentially end the prolonged standoff.
Under the principles, North Korea would give up its nuclear
weapons program in return for energy and security guarantees.
But soon after agreeing to the statement, Pyongyang said it
would not dismantle its nuclear arsenal before the United States
supplies it with a light-water atomic reactor to generate
electricity.
The United States says North Korea, a self-avowed nuclear power,
must disarm before getting incentive bonuses, including the
nuclear reactor.
The signs that the entire deal could yet unravel may put Hu in
an awkward situation, as it is likely he only agreed to visit
the impoverished country after it promised to be more
forthcoming.
"The North Koreans have been trying to get Hu to make a
reciprocal visit for over a year but he had held off until the
six-party talks were resumed," said Cossa.
"I assume this was part of the 'incentives' that got Pyongyang
back to the table and then got them to sign the statement in
September."
If North Korea backpedals at the next round of talks, it could
trigger the rage even of China, arguably its oldest and most
reliable ally.
"China's patience is running thin," said Cossa. "The risk to Hu
in going is that if North Korea plays games at the next round in
early November, it also discredits China's and Hu's personal
diplomacy skills."
While in Pyongyang, Hu is expected to air the idea of economic
reform to Kim, pointing out China's experience and hinting that
he cannot expect to depend on China's largess forever.
Upon arrival on Friday, Hu said North Korea was likely to score
"greater accomplishment in exploring a development path suited
to its own conditions," Xinhua said.
Economic reform is widely considered the only way out for a
country suffering from decades of mismanagement, but experts
warn that the changes wil be hard to implement.
"Kim is paranoid on potential threats to his own legitimacy and
the regime's, so he will try to fend off the idea even though he
will try not to offend Hu," said Yuan.
"In the longer term, a reforming North Korea, even if with
ginger steps initially, will work to China's interests."
Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
7 AFP: China's Hu in North Korea as Kim vows to attend nuclear talks
28/10/2005 16h03
Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) shakes hands with North Korean
leader Kim Jong-Il
©AFP/KNS
BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in North
Korea and seemed to immediately win a pledge from his host,
dictator Kim Jong-Il, for the secretive regime to attend
upcoming nuclear talks.
The next and fifth round of six-party talks involving the two
Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States is expected
in Beijing in November.
"North Korea will attend the fifth round of six-party talks as
scheduled, based on the commitments it has previously made," Kim
said shortly after Hu arrived by plane in Pyongyang, according
to Chinese state television.
"North Korea adheres to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, and
adheres to a solution of the issue through dialogue," Kim was
quoted as telling his Chinese guest.
Hu, in North Korea on a three-day visit, advised Kim not to veer
from the road of dialogue, according to the report.
"China stresses the need to stick to the objective of a
nuclear-free peninsula, and stick to a course of dialogue and
peaceful resolution, so as to preserve peace and stability on
the peninsula and in the region," he said.
Earlier in the day, Hu was welcomed by Kim, dressed in a bulky
jacket, and a young woman who treated the Chinese leader to a
hearty embrace, Chinese state TV showed.
Hu was shown driving to downtown Pyongyang behind a police
motorcycle escort riding in a carefully choreographed formation
as masses of North Koreans dressed in traditional costumes lined
the road. Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) receives flowers upon
his arrival in the North Korean capital Pyongyang
©AFP/KNS
Hu's main mission is to convince his hosts of the need to stick
to commitments they made in nuclear talks in Beijing in
September, and China's own stake in the game ensures that he
will be speaking forcefully, analysts said.
"This is critical to China's image as a rising power and its
credibility and ability in delivering results," said Jing-dong
Yuan, an expert on Asian non-proliferation at California's
Monterey Institute of International Studies.
"But most important, failure would completely rupture the
six-party process, which in turn could lead to further
deterioration of the peninsular and indeed Northeast Asian
security situation," he said.
At the last round of talks, North Korea agreed to a statement of
principles that could potentially end the prolonged standoff.
Under the principles, North Korea would give up its nuclear
weapons program in return for energy and security guarantees.
But soon after agreeing to the statement, Pyongyang said it
would not dismantle its nuclear arsenal before the United States
supplies it with a light-water atomic reactor to generate
electricity.
The United States says North Korea, a self-avowed nuclear power,
must first disarm before getting incentive bonuses, including
the nuclear reactor.
The signs that the entire deal could yet unravel may put Hu in
an awkward situation, as it is likely he only agreed to visit
the impoverished country after it promised to be more
forthcoming. The Yongbyon nuclear facility in North Korea
©AFP/Digital Globe/File
"The North Koreans have been trying to get Hu to make a
reciprocal visit for over a year but he had held off until the
six-party talks were resumed," said Ralph Cossa, president of
Honolulu-based think tank Pacific Forum CSIS.
"I assume this was part of the 'incentives' that got Pyongyang
back to the table and then got them to sign the statement in
September."
If North Korea backpedals at the next round of talks, it could
trigger the rage even of China, arguably its oldest and most
reliable ally.
"China's patience is running thin," said Cossa. "The risk to Hu
in going is that if North Korea plays games at the next round in
early November, it also discredits China's and Hu's personal
diplomacy skills."
êèé Copyright Disclaimer ©AFP 2005
*****************************************************************
8 Guardian Unlimited: China's President Meets N. Korean Leader
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Friday October 28, 2005 11:31 AM
By STEPHANIE HOO
Associated Press Writer
BEIJING (AP) - China's president flew to North Korea on Friday
to meet with reclusive leader Kim Jong Il ahead of new nuclear
talks and was greeted by cheering crowds of thousands on a rare
visit by a leader of the North's last major ally.
President Hu Jintao's trip comes amid U.S. pressure for Beijing
to do more to get the North to stop developing nuclear weapons.
Analysts say the nuclear talks are likely to be on Hu's agenda,
but China has not said what he will tell Kim about the issue.
Kim greeted Hu at Pyongyang's airport, and Chinese television
showed tens of thousands of North Koreans lining the streets in
welcome, waving flowers and small flags. Some appeared to have
tears of joy in their eyes.
Chinese television estimated the size of the crowd at 100,000.
It is the first visit to North Korea by a Chinese leader since
2001. Kim visited Beijing in 2004.
Hu, in a written arrival statement, praised what he called North
Korea's achievements under the leadership of the Workers' Party
of Korea, China's Xinhua News Agency said.
Hu's statement ``voiced his belief that under Kim's leadership,
the DPRK people will score greater accomplishment in exploring a
development path suited to its own conditions and building a
strong and prosperous country,'' the agency said, referring to
the North by the initials of its official name.
It said China's friendship with North Korea was ``conducive to
safeguarding peace and stability,'' Xinhua added.
China state TV showed the two leaders standing at the airport as
North Korean troops goose-stepped in formation. Hu wore a dark
blue business suit with a red tie while Kim wore a beige parka
and matching pants, with his signature oversized sunglasses.
Hu was accompanied by China's Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and
other officials, Xinhua said.
Li spoke by phone Thursday night with U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, the Foreign Ministry said. It said they
discussed international affairs but gave no details.
Hu's North Korea visit is due to last through Sunday.
It comes as China is trying to organize a new round of
six-nation talks in November on demands that North Korea give up
nuclear development.
The talks also include the U.S., South Korea, Japan and Russia.
Pyongyang agreed at the last round of talks last month in
Beijing to give up its nuclear programs in exchange for aid and
a security guarantee.
But the North immediately raised doubts about its willingness to
follow through on that promise, issuing a demand for a nuclear
reactor for power generation before it disarms.
While Beijing says it wants a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, it
has not pressured North Korea publicly.
The nuclear dispute erupted in late 2002 after U.S. officials
said North Korea admitted violating a 1994 deal by embarking on
a secret uranium enrichment program.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005
*****************************************************************
9 Casper Star-Tribune: Senators try to preserve nuclear missiles
Casper, Wyoming -
By The Associated Press Friday, October 28, 2005
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senators from Wyoming, Montana and North
Dakota have teamed up to try to preserve the nation's nuclear
missile force.
The senators introduced legislation this week that would urge
the Pentagon to maintain the nation's current fleet of 500
nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs. Those
missiles are located at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana,
F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming and Minot Air Force Base
in North Dakota.
The nation's nuclear missile stockpile has been slowly reduced
since the end of the Cold War, and an upcoming Pentagon review
is considering whether 500 ICBMs are still necessary to
safeguard the country.
"The Cold War is over, but other nations are still seeking
nuclear weapons," said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., the lead
sponsor of the bill.
Other supporters of the legislation include Republican Conrad
Burns of Montana, Democrat Max Baucus of Montana, Republicans
Craig Thomas and Mike Enzi of Wyoming, Democrat Byron Dorgan of
North Dakota and Democrat Ken Salazar of Colorado.
"The strategic nuclear forces that deterred Soviet aggression
and kept the limited conflicts of the Cold War era from
escalating to global annihilation continue to play a critical
role," Burns said in a statement.
Copyright © 19952005 Lee Enterprises a subsidiary of Lee
Enterprises, Incorporated CONTACT US
*****************************************************************
10 San Francisco Chronicle: Closing door on nuke bunker busters
Dianne Feinstein
Friday, October 28, 2005
This week, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., chairman of the Senate's
Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee,
announced that the Bush administration had backed down and was
withdrawing a request this year to fund research into a new
"bunker buster" nuclear weapon.
That's good news for those of us who believe the development of
new nuclear weapons is wrongheaded. But we must remain vigilant,
because the Bush administration still appears intent on
reopening the nuclear door in other areas.
Specifically, Domenici announced that the pending Energy and
Water appropriations bill for fiscal year 2006 will not include
$4 million the Bush administration had sought but later canceled
for the research on the proposed nuclear weapon.
The administration had wanted the funds for research to
determine whether a missile casing on a 1-megaton nuclear
warhead -- 71 times the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima --
could survive a thrust into the Earth and take out a hardened
and deeply buried military target.
This despite a report released in April by a panel from the
National Academy of Sciences that declared it impossible to
develop a nuclear bunker buster that could burrow deep enough
into the Earth to contain massive amounts of radioactive
fallout. The result could be the deaths of up to 1 million
people. Even with this scientific study in hand, the
administration had continued to request additional funds for
nuclear research. But faced with growing opposition in Congress,
it appears the administration has now chosen to focus on
developing a non-nuclear bunker buster.
I do not believe new nuclear weapons will make us safer. They
will only encourage other nations, such as Iran and North Korea,
to follow our lead. By studying the development of these new
nuclear weapons, our nation would be telling the rest of the
world to do as we say and not as we do.
Unfortunately, Congress cannot afford to consider the matter
resolved. Since 2001, the Bush administration has demonstrated a
clear intent on developing new nuclear weapons.
The first signs of this shift were seen in the 2002 Nuclear
Posture Review, which blurred the distinction between
conventional and nuclear weapons. The administration went even
further with National Security Presidential Directive 17,
indicating that the United States would engage in a first use of
nuclear weapons to respond to a chemical or biological attack.
There were also news reports in September about a draft
nuclear-weapons doctrine that incorporates the policy of
pre-emption into U.S. nuclear-weapons policy. I believe such
policies only encourage other nations to develop their own
nuclear arsenals, putting American lives and national-security
interests at risk.
So, while the nuclear bunker buster appears dead, at least for
this year, these policies suggest that the administration will
maintain an aggressive nuclear weapons policy that will include
new nuclear weapons.
We can do better. There are already an estimated 30,000 intact
nuclear warheads spread around the globe, 17,500 of them
operational. The administration should do all it can to keep the
world's most dangerous weapons out of the world's most dangerous
hands.
One of the greatest foreign policy triumphs of the past 60 years
has been the fact that Hiroshima and Nagasaki still represent
the only instances in which nuclear weapons have been used to
kill people. The awesome destructive power of these weapons and
the threat they pose convinced the world's leaders to come
together to reduce the importance of possessing nuclear weapons
and chart a course for their eventual elimination.
These efforts culminated in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty,
which requires states without nuclear weapons to pledge not to
acquire them, and states with nuclear weapons to pledge to
eliminate them eventually.
Instead of wasting dollars on new nuclear weapons programs, we
should work to strengthen the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
by:
-- supporting tougher inspections to monitor compliance;
-- putting more effective controls on sensitive technologies,
such as enrichment and reprocessing technologies that can be
used to produce nuclear weapons;
-- accelerating programs to safeguard and eliminate
nuclear-weapons usable materials;
-- not allowing any state to withdraw from the treaty to escape
responsibility for prior violations; and
-- speeding up implementation of related disarmament obligations
to reduce the world's stockpiles of nuclear weapons and
weapons-grade fissile material.
In addition, we should expand and accelerate Nunn-Lugar
threat-reduction programs to improve security and take the rest
of the Soviet-era nuclear weapons arsenal and infrastructure out
of circulation, strengthen efforts to secure and remove nuclear
weapons-usable materials from vulnerable sites around the world
and improve our intelligence capabilities to locate and identify
underground targets.
In August, the world marked the 60th anniversary of the
Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. As we recall the death and
devastation that nuclear bombs can cause, we should pledge to
develop a sensible weapons policy that will allow the United
States to reclaim a leadership position on nuclear
nonproliferation issues and make our country and the world safer
without new nuclear weapons.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, is a member of the Senate
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Page B - 9
The San Francisco Chronicle]
*****************************************************************
11 thedesertsun.com: Salton Sea shore developers must first pick
through bomb test site
Salton Sea
Photo Gallery
Salton Sea
[The Desert Shores area (right) on the northwest side of the
Salton Sea could be one of the communities affected if a plan
goes through to encourage development around the sea.]
Jay Calderon, The Desert Sun The Desert Shores area (right) on
the northwest side of the Salton Sea could be one of the
communities affected if a plan goes through to encourage
development around the sea.
THE SALTON SEA TEST BASE
Established in the 1940s, the Salton Sea Test Base played a role
in atomic testing in the Manhattan Project and for decades after.
It was also the site of conventional missile testing. The Navy
completed transferring the site to the Bureau of Land Management
and other agencies in 2000.
WHY ALL THE FUSS?Why the Salton Sea test base is important now:
+ The Salton Sea Authority wants to take ownership of 15,000
acres that include the site and sell the land for homes.
+ No atomic weapons were detonated at the site, but dummy
warheads used there could have contained lead or depleted
uranium. Conventional ordnance could still be buried on the site.
+ Previous cleanups made the site suitable for open space or
habitat. But to house a residential community, it needs a more
thorough assessment.
SONNY BONO SALTON SEA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGEWhat it is:
+ It's a 34,000-acre refuge for birds at the south end of the
Salton Sea.
+ The refuge has hosted more than 400 species of birds.
+ It includes deep water, shoreline and marsh habitats.
Why it's important now:
+ A development proposal by the Salton Sea Authority suggests
relocating the refuge to the southeast corner of the sea.
+ Many of the nation's wetlands are already gone, leaving fewer
stops for migrating birds.
+ The refuge also keeps millions of birds that naturally seek
rest and food in the Imperial Valley from feasting on nearby
farmland.
Benjamin Spillman
The Desert Sun
October 28, 2005
EL CENTRO - The people trying to sell an economic future on the
desolate shores of the Salton Sea will first have to confront
the troubled lake's Cold War past.
Backers of a plan to use development revenue to fund a revival
at the sea bet they can build thousands of homes on a defunct
testing site used by the group that developed the atomic bomb.
They're also considering relocating some of a wildlife refuge
that hosts millions of migrating birds and converting thousands
of acres of farmland to seaside homes and businesses.
Those are just some of the obstacles to converting California's
largest - and possibly most maligned - lake from a Golden State
punch line to the economic centerpiece for a burgeoning region
of more than half a million people.
On Thursday, board members of the La Quinta-based Salton Sea
Authority arguably took a small step toward that goal when they
voted to keep talking with a group of bankers and real estate
developers poised to invest $2 million in the billion-dollar
effort.
The test site, the refuge and the prospect of luring residents
and recreation seekers to the isolated shores of the Salton Sea
to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue were
among doubts swirling about the crowded meeting.
But the prospect of dawdling while the sea continues its decline
into a salty, muddy mess also troubled board members.
“Maybe the flaws we are looking for are not as serious as the
one we possess right now,” board member Russell Kitahara said.
While board representatives from Riverside and Imperial counties
and the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla tribe — the governments
that surround the sea — consider the effects of the financing
and development deal, they’ll also face questions about the
safety of the test site and other obstacles.
The secrecy that for decades veiled the nation’s atomic research
programs makes some leery of the Salton Sea Test Base.
“They were using the lake for target practice,” said Dan Hirsch
of the Los Angeles-based group Committee to Bridge the Gap.
The group monitors the government’s obligations to clean defunct
defense sites.
“All sorts of bomb material went into the lake, lots of it
missed the lake,” Hirsch said. “You can clean stuff up. The
question is under all this secrecy have they done that?”
Victor Yack of Newport Beach said he spent six months at the
test base in 1947 as an Army MP guarding Manhattan Project
scientists.
Yack, 77, described watching bombers drop mock bombs made of
wood and concrete that he then had to clean up, picking up all
of the fragments. He said he didn't see anything that looked
hazardous but the secrecy made it tough to learn much.
“Everything was always so hush-hush, no matter where I was,”
Yack said. “Unless you were involved with the technology of it,
you knew nothing.”
Yack, who went on to found a small chain of flower shops in
Orange County and the San Gabriel Valley, said he wouldn’t
expect to find dangerous waste at the old test base. But he
still wouldn't buy a house there.
“I think it is just ungodly over there,” he said. “You ever been
there in the summertime?”
Records indicate that from the 1940s to the 1960s, the test base
played a role in the Manhattan Project and was used by the
Atomic Energy Commission and Sandia National laboratories, which
acquired the site in 1946.
There’s no record of radioactive bomb testing there. But even
bombs with mock warheads can be hazardous if they contain lead
or depleted uranium, Hirsh said.
He also pointed out a 1995 report from the Department of Energy:
Estimating the Cold War Mortgage.
The document included a survey of the Salton Sea Test Base and
said activity there contributed to environmental contamination
at 23 sites.
“Whatever the Atomic Energy Commission was doing at the Salton
Sea was not benign,” Hirsch said.
“The Salton Sea Authority seems to be completely in the dark as
to what toxic contamination existed at the site and how much of
it has been cleaned up,” he said.
Not so, Salton Sea Authority director Ron Enzweiler says.
He provided an Oct. 21 letter from John Scandura, an official
with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control,
pledging to participate in additional cleanup, if necessary.
The letter said the state group would work with the authority,
developers and others to ensure redevelopment at the former base
“is conducted in a manner that protects on-site workers and
future users of that property.”
Others questioned what the region would lose if the authority’s
proposed development relocated the boundaries of the Sonny Bono
Salton Sea Wildlife Refuge.
About 400 species of birds have been spotted at the refuge,
making it the second-most diverse national refuge in terms of
birds.
Refuge manager Chris Schoneman said pushing the refuge to the
southeast corner of the sea could confuse birds that make
regular pit-stops there during annual migration.
“You just can’t move the land and expect birds to make the
adjustment,” Schoneman said.
In addition to questions about the test site and the bird
refuge, Ron Gaul of Ocotillo said he was wary of possibly
converting 15,000 acres of Imperial Valley farmland into homes.
Gaul, an environmental organizer, said eliminating agriculture
from one of its remaining Southern California strongholds could
undermine the economy.
“There is no global view here,” said Gaul, who described the
nation’s cash crops as “something China still buys from us.”
Gene Fulop of Palm Desert said he prefers earlier sea-saving
plans that called for canals to exchange water from either the
Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of California.
But the discussion of sea proposals also had Fulop, a former
seaside resident, envisioning a return to the days when anglers,
boaters, water skiers and swimmers made the Salton Sea one of
the most popular destinations in the state.
“Once the sea is cleaned up, the boating and everything can come
back,” Fulop said.
Ultimately, the Salton Sea Authority sidestepped a
recommendation to ink an exclusive deal with bond underwriters
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and real estate developers New
River Development Company LLC.
But they did decide to continue reviewing the firms’ proposals
and directed Enzweiler to iron out the legal details and fine
print for a contract that could be ready by the board’s Dec. 8
meeting.
“This has sort of rushed along and considered like a fait
accompli,” board member Marion Ashley said. “We just want to
look at it and get comfortable with the total arrangement.”
*****************************************************************
12 Public Citizen: Coalition Releases Report Warning that the
Revolving Is Giving Business Interests Undue Influence Over
Federal Policy and Procurement Decisions
Oct. 26, 2005
Revolving Door Working Group Proposes Aggressive Set of Lobbying
and Ethics Reforms
Washington, October 26, 2005Business interests are capturing
the federal government and exerting undue influence over policy
and procurement decisions as a result of the revolving doorthe
frequent appointment of corporate executives and lobbyists to
public posts and the movement of government officials into
lucrative jobs in the private sector. So warns a report titled A
Matter of Trust issued today by the Revolving Door Working
Group. The report is available on the Working Groups website at
www.revolvingdoor.info
The Revolving Door Working Group is a broad-based network of 18
organizations ranging from Public Citizen and Common Cause to
Farm Aid and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
The Working Group promotes ethics in public service and an arms
length relationship between the federal government and the
private sector.
The Working Groups report calls for extensive changes in
federal lobbying and ethics rulesa sentiment echoed by Sen.
Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Rep. Marty Meehan (D-MA), both of whom
appeared at a press conference today in Washington, DC.
For too long, lobbyists and special interests have had too much
power in Washington, and much of that power is hidden from
public view, charged Sen. Feingold (D-WI), author of a reform
billThe Lobbying and Ethics Reform Act (S.1398)that
incorporates a number of the same proposals as those put forth
by the Revolving Door Working Group.
Theres an ethical cloud hanging over Congress and the
executive branch, said Rep. Meehan who has introduced the
Special Interest Lobbying and Ethics Accountability Act (H.R.
2412). Its time to take steps to restore the American peoples
confidence in the federal government.
Speaking on behalf of the Revolving Door Working Group, Public
Citizen President Joan Claybrook said: The mishandling of
Hurricane Katrina and the Abramoff lobbying scandal are only the
latest examples of how cronyism and excessive corporate
influence are undermining the federal government. Addressing the
revolving door problem will go a long way toward restoring
integrity in the system.
Whether it's Katrina relief or support for our troops in Iraq,
the American people deserve to know that our money is not being
wasted and is being used effectively, said Chellie Pingree,
President of Common Cause. Our public servants must be just
thatpeople who hold federal jobs because they have the right
qualifications, not because they know the right people.
The Revolving Door Working Group report provides a thorough
analysis of the three major forms of the revolving door:
THE INDUSTRY-TO-GOVERNMENT REVOLVING DOOR, through which the
appointment of corporate executives and business lobbyists to
key posts in federal agencies establishes a pro-business bias in
policy formulation and regulatory enforcement.
THE GOVERNMENT-TO-INDUSTRY REVOLVING DOOR, through which public
officials move to lucrative private-sector positions in which
they may use their government experience to unfairly benefit
their new employer in matters of federal procurement and
regulatory policy.
THE GOVERNMENT-TO-LOBBYIST REVOLVING DOOR, through which former
lawmakers and executive-branch officials become well-paid
advocates and use their inside connections to advance the
interests of corporate clients.
Based on this analysis, the Working Group recommends steps
including:
+ Strengthening conflict-of-interest rules to allow the
disqualification of potential appointees whose employment
background would make it difficult for them to comply with the
rule requiring impartiality on the part of federal employees;
+ Strengthening the recusal rules that bar appointees from
handling matters involving their former employers in the private
sector;
+ Extending to two years the cooling off period during which
former officials cannot become paid lobbyists after leaving
government;
+ Revoking the special privileges granted to former members of
Congress while they are lobbyists; and
+ Placing all lobbyist disclosure reports, recusal agreement,
waivers and other ethics filings on the internet for all to see.
Larry Mitchell, CEO of the American Corn Growers Association,
highlighted the need for these reforms by focusing on revolving
door abuses in the Department of Agriculture: The movement of
corporate executives and lobbyists into key posts at the
Department of Agriculturealong with the movement of officials
back into high-paying private-sector jobshas resulted in a
distortion of USDA policymaking. The interests of small farmers
get lost in a Department oriented to the needs of big
agribusiness.
The members of the Revolving Door Working Group are:
American Corn Growers Association * Center for Corporate Policy
* Center for Environmental Health * Center for Science in the
Public Interest * Center of Concern/Agribusiness Accountability
Initiative * Common Cause * Corporate Research Project of Good
Jobs First * Defenders of Wildlife * Edmonds Institute * Farm
Aid * Government Accountability Project * Institute for
Agriculture and Trade Policy * National Catholic Rural Life
Conference * Organization for Competitive Markets * Project On
Government Oversight * Public Citizen * Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility * Revolt of the Elders
###
*****************************************************************
13 AFP: Democrats say White House deception on Iraq exposed
Fri Oct 28, 7:25 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Leaders of the opposition Democratic party
said that federal charges against a top White House aide reveal
US President George W. Bush" /> 's administration had employed
devious and dishonest tactics to make its case for going to war
against Iraq" /> .
Calling it a "sad day" for the United States, the leader of the
Democratic minority in the House of Representatives, Nancy
Pelosi, said: "At the heart of these indictments was the effort
by the Bush administration to discredit critics of its Iraq
policy with reckless disregard for national security and the
public trust."
A federal grand jury earlier on Friday indicted I. Lewis
'Scooter' Libby, chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney"
/> , for allegedly lying "repeatedly" to investigators looking
into the leaked identity of a CIA" /> agent.
Libby, 55, immediately quit his post in Cheney's office after he
was charged with one count of obstruction of justice, two counts
of perjury and two counts of making false statements.
"This case is bigger than the leak of highly classified
information," said Senator Harry Reid, leader of the Democratic
minority in the Senate.
"It is about how the Bush White House manufactured and
manipulated intelligence in order to bolster its case for the
war in Iraq and to discredit anyone who dared to challenge the
president," Reid said in a statement.
The indictment against Libby grew out of a federal investigation
into who in the Bush administration may have leaked the identity
of CIA agent Valerie Plame.
The CIA officer's cover was blown in a newspaper column by a
conservative commentator that appeared shortly after her
husband, a former diplomat, publicly questioned the Bush
administration's rationale for the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Her husband, Joseph Wilson, had been asked by the CIA to
investigate whether Saddam had sought to buy uranium for nuclear
bombs from the African state of Niger. He concluded there was no
evidence to support such a claim but Bush made the assertion in
a speech before the war.
"It appears to be a case of revenge run amok," said Democratic
Senator Dianne Feinstein.
While Democrats seized on the indictment to blast the White
House, Republican allies of the administration played down the
case and emphasized Libby was innocent until proven guilty.
"You have a serious person in Scooter Libby who really has
served this country very, very well over the years," Republican
Senator Orrin Hatch told CNN.
"And he must be presumed innocent. I think it's up to the
prosecutor to have to prove the case. And we'll just have to
wait and see what happens," he said.
Hatch also said that he was "surprised" that Libby had been
charged with obstruction of justice and said it was unclear how
that particular count was arrived at.
One Republican said that the case showed the dangers of trying
to cover up possible mistakes or wrongdoing.
"As so often happens with Washington scandals, it isn't the
original scandal that gets people in the most trouble -- it's
the attempted cover-up," said Tom Petri, a Republican member of
the House of Representatives.
Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy condemned the White House over
the indictment, saying it was reminiscent of the Watergate
scandal under President Richard Nixon" /> 's tenure in the
1970s.
"Today is an ominous day for the country, signifying a new low
since Watergate in terms of openness and honesty in our
government," Kennedy said in a statement.
"In effect it's an indictment of the vicious and devious tactics
used by the administration to justify a war we never should have
fought."
After the indictment was announced, Bush said he was "saddened"
by the news but praised Libby and stressed that all criminal
defendants are "presumed innocent" until proven otherwise.
Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
14 IPS-English PAKISTAN: Of Nukes and Quakes
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 15:05:39 -0700
X-Temp-Whitefrom: YES ips.org
X-Temp-Whitephrase: YES nuclear
X-Spamprobe: ham-super * 0.0000354 OK
ROMAIPS AP DV HD IP CS
PAKISTAN: Of Nukes and Quakes
Analysis by M B Naqvi
KARACHI, Oct 28 (IPS) - India's Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran could not
have chosen a worse moment to demand that the 'Father of the Pakistani
Bomb' A.Q. Khan be grilled by external investigators, for proliferating
nuclear technology to Iran, than this week-- when Pakistan was fighting to
cope with its worst earthquake and in need of international aid.
Saran was speaking in the context of India's tough new stand against Iran's
alleged violations of its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
obligations at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but his
statements have caused embarrassment to Islamabad and raised fears that the
ongoing peace process between the nuclear-armed neighbours would be
affected.
Saran told newspersons in New Delhi on Monday that India saw no reason why
the IAEA has demanded personal interviews with Iranian nuclear scientists
while exceptions were granted to ''a man (Khan) who has been accused of
running a nuclear WalMart''. So far, India has remained silent on Khan.
While the peace process has been crawlingly slow, considerable progress has
been made since the November 2003 ceasefire-- including the opening up of a
bus route across the Line of Control (LoC) that separates the Pakistan and
Indian parts of disputed Kashmir and, in August, an agreement on nuclear
risk reduction.
The foreign secretaries of the two countries have also agreed to holding
talks once a monthover a new hotline and the first time it was actually
used was immediately after the Oct. 8 earthquake when India made an offer
of helicopters for rescue and relief missions across the LoC.
But rather than push the peace process forward, the Indian offer seems to
have exacerbated mutual suspicions with Pakistan refusing to accept help
because of ''local sensitivities'' drawing considerable flak from civil
society groups and international organizations involved in relief.
The real death toll in the earthquake is still unknown and may easily
exceed 100,000 while 80 percent of building and
infrastructure in Pakistan's mountainous north has been damaged, leaving
some 400,000 people homeless-- presenting a unique opportunity for the two
countries to work together in a time of urgent humanitarian need.
In the event, both sides have actually subordinated relief work to maintain
the sanctity of the LoC in Kashmir and were determined to exercise of
national sovereignty. Hundreds of Indians -- doctors, civil society
activists, philanthropists and artists -- were prepared to come to Pakistan
to help with relief work but were refused visas by Pakistan's High
Commission in New Delhi.
Indian authorities were equally rigid in enforcing paranoid rules and
regulations. A delegation led by Nirmala Deshpande, a noted Gandhian
activist, was not allowed to take along relief supplies when it crossed the
border, the supplies were detained overnight for a thorough check of contents.
The two countries have still not completed 'negotiations' on modalities
of allowing affected people from the Pakistani side to cross over the
heavily fortified LoC and avail of relief.
According to Mairaj Mohammed Khan, a former minister, the need was to
''deploy well-trained and equipped Indian and Pakistan soldiers facing
each other on the Siachen Glacier, to reach the remote villages and
hamlets which are soon going to be snow-bound''.
Mairaj said there could have been close cooperation between Pakistani and
Indian social workers, supported by the armies on either side of the
LoC which are well equipped and thick on the ground.
''The urgent need is for adequate medical care, prevention of outbreaks of
various diseases by emergency sanitary measures and to arrange for enough
medical supplies, especially artificial limbs. India is known to have given
these in large numbers for Afghan patients whose limbs had to be amputated.
Pakistan should ask for these from India and, if necessary, import them,''
Mairaj said.
He also thought that ''if Indian and Pakistani social activists could
jointly do relief and rehabilitation work, it would create so much goodwill
on both sides that governments can actually be prevented from regressing
into their respective legal cocoons''.
''This is no time or occasion to be overly rigid on visa rules or
preventing people from giving whatever aid they can to the stricken
country,'' he said. ''If only the top Indian and Pakistani leaders had met
soon after the killer quake, a larger measure of cooperation in relief and
rehabilitation matters would have resulted,'' he told IPS.
It will now depend on civil society in both countries to ensure better
cooperation in earthquake relief and also keep the momentum for peace going
. ''The peace process has evoked such a popular response that reversing it
will be difficult as well as impolitic,'' said Birjis Hasan Khan, a former
diplomat.
Khan said the fact that '' both countries run the risk of a nuclear
exchange, which neither can win, gives them no option but to go on talking''.
''But, neither side is ready to budge from long-held positions and each is
buoyed up by the notion that its nuclear deterrent has made it impregnable.
Hence, India finds no pressing reason to accommodate Pakistan,'' said Khan.
Pakistan, for its part, has the disadvantage of ''policy-making by a narrow
cabal'', Khan said. ''Absence of a working democracy is a debilitating
circumstance and also one more reason why Pakistan is at a disadvantage in
international dealings.''
Certainly, the international community has been niggardly in coming to
Pakistan's assistance in its hour of need.
A donor conference in Geneva, on Wednesday, managed to raise pledges of 580
million dollars but the United Nations, which is spearheading international
relief efforts, said only 16 million dollars is earmarked against the U.N.
appeal for emergency funding.
''Donors needed to provide hundreds of millions of dollars for emergency
relief yesterday, instead they could only scrape together 16 million
dollars,'' Jo Leadbeater, Oxfam's head of advocacy, told IPS in Geneva on
Thursday. ''This is loose change for donor governments. We needed 30 times
more than they pledged.''
India has pledged 25 million dollars with no stipulation on how it should
be spent and this is seen as a good beginning for better cooperation in the
days to come.
After the killer quake struck, Pakistan badly needed helicopters for
reaching and retrieving the survivors and injured people and, of course, to
provide some essential supplies to the stricken survivors.
India offered eight helicopters to be flown in, but Pakistan refused to
allow Indian pilots to fly them in, though, it said it was ready to accept
Indian choppers minus the pilots. Naturally, India declined.
Civil society in Pakistan is now urging on their government not to go on
nurturing the ''sensitivities'', especially, since the helicopters are
still needed to reach hundreds of villages and hamlets on inaccessible
mountain sides where aid has not been reached even after three weeks.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed grave concern at the
lack of shelter, including tents and blankets, for the affected population
of around four million.
''Cold exposure reduces defence against respiratory infections and
hypothermia is deadly for infants and the elderly,'' Sacha Bootsma, WHO
communications officer, said in the capital, Islamabad, on Thursday.
Mobile medical teams operating in remote areas around Muzaffarabad, close
to the epicentre of the quake, have reported a sharp increase in acute
respiratory tract infections (ARI).
According to official estimates, the reconstruction and rehabilitation of
the shattered health system in quake-affected areas will require an
estimated 651 million dollars.
This figure includes the reconstruction of medical facilities, provision of
medical equipment and ambulances, restoring laboratory systems, blood
banks, nursing schools and the manufacture of artificial limbs, all of
which can readily supplied from India. (END/IPS/AP/IP/DV/CS/HD/MBN/RDR/05)
= 10281552 ORP008
NNNN
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15 Xinhua: Japanese slam plan for hosting US nuclear-powered carrier
www.xinhuanet.com
www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-28 19:05:54
TOKYO, Oct. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- The Yokosuka city government
and local residents in east Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture on
Friday strongly criticized a US announcement that it will deploy
a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to the port city for the
first time in 2008 to replace the conventionally powered carrier
Kitty Hawk.
Mayor Ryoichi Kabaya was quoted by Kyodo News as saying
that, "I'm sorry and disappointed. I'm feeling betrayed."
[The U.S. for the first time will base a nuclear-powered
aircraft carrier in Japan starting in 2008, the U.S. Navy said
on October 27, 2005 after the only country ever hit with atomic
bombs dropped its long-standing resistance to the move.]
An aerial view shows the USS Kitty Hawk, the oldest aircraft
carrier in the U.S. Navy, anchored at its home port in Yokosuka,
southwest of Tokyo in this September 2001 file photo.
(Xinhua/Reuters)
Kabaya had opposed the rumored deployment of such a carrier
to the city due to local antinuclear sentiment. Foreign Minister
Nobutaka Machimura informed him of the US plan in the morning
over the phone, Kabaya said.
The United States announced Thursday in Washington that it
had agreed with Japan that the Kitty Hawk, currently based in
Yokosuka, will be replaced by one of the nine nuclear-powered
Nimitz-class aircraft carriers in 2008.
Kanagawa Governor Shigefumi Matsuzawa also criticized the
Japanese government for reaching the agreement with the United
States, saying, "I will urge the government to renegotiate with
the US government."
According to Kyodo, a local Yokosuka group has submitted to
the mayor a petition signed by about 300,000 opposing the
deployment of this type of carrier.
The United States has deployed three aircraft carriers in
Yokosuka, including the Kitty Hawk, since 1973, all of which
were conventionally powered. The Kitty Hawk has been stationed
there since 1998.
In other cities including Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people
also voiced fear of possible accidents on a nuclear-powered
carrier and concern that the issue will cause international
disputes. Enditem
Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
16 Tom Masland, worked on Inquirer TMI series
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 15:12:26 -0700
Newsweek senior editor Tom Masland dies in auto accident ?
Eds: RETRANSMITTING to add word count. Note Pa. angle, 3rd graf.
¶
NEW YORK (AP) ‹ Tom Masland, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who
spent decades covering Haiti, Africa and the Middle East, died Thursday in
Manhattan of injuries suffered in an auto accident. He was 55. ¶
Masland was a contributing senior editor for Newsweek.com, where he
began work last month after 15 years reporting for Newsweek about topics
including Haiti, southern and central Africa, and terrorism in the Middle
East. ¶
Masland was awarded a Pulitzer along with other staff at The
Philadelphia Inquirer in 1980 for the newspaper¹s coverage of the Three
Mile Island disaster. He worked for the Inquirer for 11 years until 1986.
His assignments included time as the newspaper¹s Middle East correspondent
in Beirut. ¶
As a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune from 1986 to 1990,
Masland covered famine in Ethiopia, a massacre in Burundi in 1988 and the
Persian Gulf War. ¶
He joined Newsweek in 1990, became a senior writer four years later
for the international section and was named Africa regional editor and
South Africa bureau chief in 1999. ¶
In 1994, he shared the Free Press Association¹s Mencken Award for a
1993 Newsweek cover story on slavery. He was injured by flying shrapnel
from an explosion while covering an uprising in Liberia in 2003. ¶
Masland, of Englewood, N.J., was on his way to play saxophone at a
club Monday when a sport utility vehicle struck him as he crossed the
street on Manhattan¹s Upper West Side, authorities said. ¶
He is survived by his wife, Gina, three sons, his mother and three
siblings. ¶
³As anyone who has worked with him knows, Tom was a very kind and
honorable man in addition to a valued and courageous reporter,² Newsweek
editor Mark Whitaker said. ³He was always there for his colleagues in times
of need.² ¶
*****************************************************************
17 TMI/Peach Bottom Appeal
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 15:14:55 -0700
X-Temp-Whitephrase: YES nuclear
X-Spamprobe: ham-super * 0.0000628 OK
Subject: FW: TMI/Peach Bottom Appeal
October 28, 2005
To All:
We were not surprised by the decisions since it is difficult to establish
standing and have contentions recognized by the NRC since the agency's
reorganization in 1998.
We have apprised the NRC, Exelon and the Company's counsel that we will be
pursuing this case in another arena within the NRC. We anticipated that it
would be difficult to have substantive issues addressed in this proceeding.
The PUC, FERC and the NRC have played a legal shell game with issues of
nuclear import related to the proposed merger, but we will move forward and
pursue our objections to the Indirect and Direct license transfers at Three
Mile Ilsand-1 and Peach Bottom 2 & 3.
Our expert will return next week at which time we will begin to work on the
filing. We had to wait until the NRC made their most recent decisions
before we could proceed in what we believe to be our primary case. In my
estimation, we will be filing within two weeks and I'll keep you abreast.
Of course since we did not know when the NRC would rule, the date of the
filing is a best guess based on the availability of expert witnesses.
However, due to scheduling issues and out of fairness to Exelon, PSEG and
the NRC, we want to file well before the holiday season.
Sincerely,
Eric Epstein
"Diane Screnci"
10/28/2005 02:13 PM
To
cc
"Elizabeth Hayden"
Subject
Commission orders
Gary,
The commission issued orders this week regarding:
Mr.Epstein's requests that NRC publish a notice of opportunity for hearing,
and also grant his petition to intervene and request for hearing, regarding
any license transfers associated with the pending merger of Public Service
Enterprise Group, Inc. into Exelon Corporation insofar as that merger
affects Unit 1 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Station.
Mr. Epstein also petitioned NRC both to intervene in the proceeding
involving the proposed merger of the corporate parents and the consequent
transfers of the 50-percent non-operating interests in Units 2 and 3 of the
Peach Bottom facility from PSEG Nuclear. L.L.C. to Exelon Generation
Company. and a subsequent hearing on the proposed license transfers.
Both requests were denied. These decisons are posted on the NRC web page,
please go to
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/commission/orders/2005/
They're the top two items.
Diane
Diane Screnci
Sr. Public Affairs Officer
USNRC, RI
610/337-5330
*****************************************************************
18 AU ABC: Retired scientist talks up Aust nuclear prospects
18:41 (ACST)Friday, 28 October 2005. 19:41 (AEDT)Friday, 28
The former head of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission
(AAEC) says it is morally indefensible for Australia to mine and
export uranium but not bury the waste.
Keith Alder is one of a number of retired nuclear scientists who
are pushing for a rethink of Australia's resistance to nuclear
power.
He says global warming from the burning of fossil fuels is
causing many, including some in the Howard Government, to
revisit the issue.
He says there are safe ways to bury the waste and Australia
should be providing a facility to the world.
"I've had people pointing out it is morally incorrect," he said.
"If you're prepared to dig the stuff up and sell it to people to
generate electricity, then you have a moral responsibility to
look after them."
Mr Alder, who also headed the Lucas Heights Research
Establishment in New South Wales, says Australia will inevitably
convert to nuclear power.
He says concern over greenhouse gas emissions and climate change
has brought nuclear energy back into the frame.
Mr Alder says technological developments have improved the
safety of nuclear plants and the disposal of waste.
He says Australia cannot go on burning coal, and clean energy
options such as solar and wind will not suffice.
"I think what the people are going to have to realise is nuclear
power is absolutely inevitable," he said.
"The question in Australia is not whether we'll ever have it,
the question is simply when we'll have it."
*****************************************************************
19 NRC: NRC Licensing Board to Hear Oral Argument and Receive Public Comments Nov. 3 in
Palisades License Renewal Proceeding
News Release - Region III - 2005-04
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs, Region III
No. III-05-041 October 28, 2005
CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663
Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 E-mail:
arm of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, will hear oral
arguments in the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant license renewal
proceeding on Thurs., Nov. 3, in South Haven, Mich. The Board
will also receive comments from interested members of the public
in an evening session.
The oral arguments and other issues in the proceeding are
scheduled to be heard at 9 a.m. EST in the Conference Room at
the Ramada Inn Lighthouse and Conference Center, 1555 Phoenix
Rd., South Haven. The session will be open for public
observation.
The Board will also receive comments from interested members of
the public, known as limited appearance statements, in a session
from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. EST at the same location. Speakers will
be allotted approximately 5 minutes each for their statements.
In the morning proceeding, the Board will consider oral
arguments on the admissibility of issues raised by five
organizations and 31 individuals who requested a hearing on the
proposed renewal of the Palisades operating license and
petitioned to intervene in the proceeding. If necessary, the
proceeding will continue on the morning of Nov. 4.
Nuclear Management Co., operator of the plant at Covert, Mich.,
submitted an application for renewal of the license for a
20-year period on March 31. The plants NRC license is due to
expire March 24, 2011.
The request for a hearing and petition to intervene were
submitted on Aug. 8 by Nuclear Information and Resource Service,
West Michigan Environmental Action Council, Don't Waste
Michigan, Green Party of Van Buren County, Michigan Land
Trustees, and 31 individuals.
Documents related to the license renewal application are
available on the NRCs web site at:
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applicati
ons/palisades.html. Documents in the Licensing Board proceeding
are available in the NRCs online document library at:
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html. Use
accession number ML052940221 for the Petitioners Request for a
hearing and accession number ML052860361 for the Licensing
Boards Order scheduling the oral argument and public comment
session.
Last revised Friday, October 28, 2005
*****************************************************************
20 Las Vegas SUN: Letter: State benefits from nuclear energy
Today: October 28, 2005 at 7:41:57 PDT
Letter: State benefits from nuclear energy
Ben Grove's Oct. 17 story, "Nuclear irony finds French power
company ads in Nevada," fails to note one key point in his
review of Areva's effort to promote clean, safe and affordable
nuclear power: Nevada does receive nuclear-produced electricity.
According to the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, 3.8
percent of electricity used by the Nevada's residents and
businesses is produced by nuclear power plants outside of the
state's borders.
So, while there may not be any nuclear power plants in Nevada,
the state certainly benefits from nuclear energy. Why then,
should it not also learn about the role nuclear energy could
play in the future of this state and the country?
Scott Peterson
Washington, D.C.
Editor's note: The writer is vice president of communications
for the Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear power industry's
advocacy group and a supporter of efforts to build a high-level
nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
21 NRC: Meeting date change
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission [ border=]
2005 > II-05-042
[NRC Seal]
NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public
Affairs, Region II 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303
www.nrc.gov
No. II-05-042 October 28, 2005
CONTACT: Ken Clark (404) 562-4416
Roger D. Hannah (404) 562-4417 E-mail:
NOTE TO EDITORS:
The regulatory conference between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission staff and Florida Power & Light Company officials,
originally scheduled for Nov. 8 at 10:00 a.m., has been changed
to Nov. 16 at 1:00 p.m at the request of FPL.
The conference, to discuss the risk significance of inspection
findings at the Turkey Point nuclear power plant, is still
scheduled to be held in the NRCs Region II office, located on
the 24th floor of the Atlanta Federal Center at 61 Forsyth
Street SW in Atlanta.
Additional information about the conference is available in NRC
News Release II-05-041.
Last revised Friday, October 28, 2005
*****************************************************************
22 Xinhua: Partnerships will help solve energy conflicts
www.xinhuanet.com
www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-28 08:29:14
BEIJING, Oct. 28 -- In recent years, as the world economy
has grown, demand for energy has risen. With oil prices
constantly ascending, China's energy security has encountered
severe challenges. China should adopt proactive measures to
tackle the problem and ensure the sustainable growth of its
economy.
First, the country should outline an energy strategy that is
long-term, comprehensive, systematic, all-round and scientific.
Solving the problem is a complicated matter and requires insight
and knowledge. We have already made a medium and long-term plan,
which has strategic significance.
Measures have to be co-ordinated. As China is a vast
country, all measures have to be considered and effective
approaches utilized.
China should speed up exploration and processing of oil and
natural gas and, most importantly, practise conservation, which
is cost-efficient, as the cost of saving a ton of oil equals
only one-fifth of the cost of producing a ton of oil.
There is much more room for raising efficiency. Take coal,
for example. China's efficiency is 10 per cent in utilization
while that in developed countries is more than 30 per cent.
China should actively develop new and renewable energy
resources, including solar, wind, underground heat, small hydro
power and bio-energy, as well as nuclear, big hydro power and
hydrogen. The country should also try to realize clean use of
coal to raise efficiency and improve environmental conditions.
At the same time, China should divert more input for
research and development to energy and building a strategic
reserve to ward off risks.
Next is international co-operation and participation in the
redistribution of world resources, which is currently
unbalanced. China is the world's second largest consumer of oil.
It imported 120 million tons of crude in 2004, or 150 millon
including processed oil, which ranked it as the third largest
importer. It has a 40 per cent dependency on foreign oil that
will soon rise to 50 per cent.
That means China must take action to curb the growth of
consumption at home or encourage the use of replacement products
so that oil will account for a smaller share of energy
consumption. At the same time, China needs to find more
resources with which to build a long-term, stable and reliable
system of supply.
Foreign supply consists of two parts - the purchase from
international markets and equities in international oil
companies. The process is difficult and competition can be
fierce. To solve the problem, we must resort to co-operation,
not vicious competition.
To embrace international co-operation, we should change our
mindset and establish a new understanding of energy security.
Energy and security are inseparable.
Resources are not confined to one country, but shared by
every nation. Only when global energy security is achieved will
domestic security be guaranteed. Currently the whole world is in
the same boat.
In an international energy relationship, co-operation,
rather than competition, should be the motto.
Energy partnerships should have multiple layers. They should
include exploration on a global scale, developing new fields,
building up strategic reserves, guaranteeing the security of
transportation routes, protecting the markets, finding renewable
energy sources and researching conservation methods.
Geographically, co-operation can include sea areas that are
disputed, by adopting a policy of "shelving dispute for common
development" so these areas can be effectively explored. The
exploration of the South China Sea by China, the Philippines and
Viet Nam is a good example.
The goal of international co-operation is mutual benefit.
Therefore, one must consider not only one's own interests, but
those of other countries as well.
Co-operation should have flexible forms and cover various
areas such as technology, capital, human resources, production,
transportation and sales. China should have closer ties with
international and regional energy organizations, such as OPEC,
and join them in protecting the world oil supply and working to
stabilize oil prices.
A trend of co-operation is in the interests of every
country. China has already started the process with many
oil-consuming and oil-producing countries. The prospects for
bilateral and multilateral partnerships is bright.
(Source: China Daily)
Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
23 Times Herald-Record: Diana shifts Indian Point viewpoint
October 28, 2005
By Brendan Scott
Goshen – The Indian Point warning sirens need fixing, but the
plant is safe. We have the best evacuation plans and the plant
is safe. Well, the plant is safe, but only if we fix the sirens.
Never mind, maybe we should just close the plant.
Confused? Anyone might be who tried to follow Orange County
Executive Ed Diana's stance on the Indian Point nuclear plant in
the past few days.
"It's follow the bouncing Eddie," said Diana's Democratic
opponent, Mike Edelstein. "My head is cramped from trying to
watch him."
A one-time advocate for the power plant, Diana's criticism of
Indian Point has slowly escalated since January 2003, when a
state-commissioned report found flaws in its evacuation plans.
He ratcheted up that criticism last week, expressing
"outrage" after several of the plant's warning sirens failed in
a test.
Some 16,000 Orange residents live within the Buchanan plant's
10-mile evacuation zone.
But Diana has never supported closing the plant. That is,
until he offered this cryptic response Tuesday night during a
televised debate: "I, too, would like to close it, but it is a
safe facility."
The next day, the Republican county exec tried to clarify his
position in a debate sponsored by the Times Herald-Record,
saying he had indeed called for the plant's closure.
But even that response seemed unclear. Edelstein, who has
long advocated the plant's closure, labeled Diana a
"flip-flopper."
"Not only is there no consistency, but as a policy maker, he
doesn't know where he's going," Edelstein said. "He's made
impotent by his vacillations."
Diana yesterday denied any waffling. He said Entergy, the
company that runs the plant, needs to explain why the warning
system failed and assure him it's been fixed.
"Until those questions are answered, until I get those
analyses, I want the plant closed," Diana said.
That clarification relieved Entergy spokesman Jim Steets.
"He's right to be concerned about the sirens," Steets said.
"It's been addressed. Now we have to sit down and demonstrate it
has been addressed to his satisfaction."
But Indian Point's opponents would welcome another county
executive in the fight to close the plant, said Lisa Rainwater,
who heads Riverkeeper's Indian Point campaign. Rockland and
Westchester county executives already oppose its operation.
"What this shows is that Entergy's reckless management of the
siren system and safety components are convincing even these
last supporters that the plant needs to be shut down," Rainwater
said.
Nuclear reactions
County Executive Ed Diana's stances on Indian Point.
Jan. 10, 2003, after report cites flaws in evacuation plan:
"I'm certainly concerned that the report says the plans are
inadequate. … Ultimately, do we keep it open or call for a
closure? We're going to work to improve the plan."
Oct. 18, 2005, after a warning system failure:
"I am calling for a retest within 30 days to ensure that the
deficiencies have been properly addressed and resolved."
Tuesday, during a News 12 debate:
"I, too, would certainly love to have Indian Point closed. We
certainly would believe that as well. Do we need that threat
anywhere in the mid-Hudson area? But certainly let's get to
reality just a little bit. We have to provide the energy and the
power to this great metropolis that we live around. Also,
understand Indian Point is a safe facility. I, too, would like
to close it, but it is a safe facility."
Wednesday, at a Times Herald-Record debate:
"Yes, I did say last night that I'm calling for the closure
of that plant now because last week 10 sirens did not work. I
said, until they give us answers why those 10 sirens did not
sound a week ago, tell us that, give us a new system … Yeah, I
will call for the closing of the plant at this time because of
that reason."
Record Online is brought to you by the Times Herald-Record,
serving New York's Hudson Valley and the Catskills.
40 Mulberry Street * PO Box 2046 * Middletown, NY 10940
Telephone 845-341-1100 or 800-295-2181 outside the Middletown,
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Orange County Publications. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
24 Mos News: Russia Allocates $210M for Construction of Pioneering Nuclear Reactor -
MOSNEWS.COM
Photo from www.gettyimages.com
Created: 28.10.2005 12:04 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 12:04 MSK
MosNews
On Friday, Oct. 28, chairman of the State Duma energy, transport
and communications committee Valery Yazev announced that funding
of 6 billion rubles ($210 million) has been included in next
year’s federal budget for construction of a pioneering BN-800
reactor at the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant.
“This reactor is, actually, a pioneering technology in the
innovative development of atomic energy on the basis of the fast
neutron closed fuel cycle. Introduction of the reactor will
advance the solution of the problem of recycling irradiated
nuclear fuel,” said the member of parliament, quoted by the
Itar-Tass agency.
“In March [2005] Russia joined the countries which signed the
Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage.
[Russian] legislation has to be brought into compliance with the
Convention,” Yazev said. He explained that that means
[introducing] liability and compensation for nuclear damage
guaranteed by the state.
Yazev said that the [existing] “laws on atomic energy activities
in Russia hold back the sector’s development and private
investment into this promising area”.
“State-private partnership would allow for a high-quality
modernization of the technology-intensive and expensive atomic
energy sector, making it economically attractive and secure,”
Yazev said.
He said that atomic energy makes up 17 percent of Russia’s
energy and in the foreseeable future its share is set to grow.
Nuclear power plants account for 25 percent of the energy
produced in the European part of Russia.
Write us: info@mosnews.com
Copyright © 2004 MOSNEWS.COM
*****************************************************************
25 Constellation Energy: Constellation Energy Announces Plans to
Submit for Combined Construction and Operating License
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Filing Brings Next Generation
Nuclear Power One Step Closer to Reality
BALTIMORE, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Constellation
Energy today announced that it intends to apply to the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a combined construction and
operating license (COL). This is the first step in a multi-phase
process that could ultimately lead to the development and
deployment of its first nuclear power plant in more than 30
years. Sites under consideration include the company's Calvert
Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Southern Maryland and the Nine
Mile Point Nuclear Station in upstate New York. Final site
selection is expected by early next year.
"With this announcement, Constellation Energy confirms its
position as one of the leaders in bringing new nuclear power in
this country one step closer to reality," said Michael J.
Wallace, executive vice president for Constellation Energy. "Our
decision to file with the NRC at this time is consistent with
our disciplined value-driven approach to nuclear power, and our
recently announced partnership with AREVA, Inc. and the
formation of UniStar Nuclear. But for passage and enactment of
the Energy Policy Act, we would not be making this announcement
today. We appreciate the support and leadership demonstrated by
the Administration and Congress on this issue."
The UniStar Nuclear venture, which was announced in early fall,
brings together in one team Constellation Energy, a
well-experienced nuclear fleet licensee, operator and owner, and
AREVA, a preeminent nuclear reactor vendor. Specifically,
UniStar Nuclear offers the nuclear industry a new and unique
business framework that could enable the development of joint
ventures with Constellation Energy, other energy companies and
interested parties. Those joint ventures would license,
construct, own and operate nuclear power plants as part of a
standardized fleet.
UniStar Nuclear will market a standard advanced design called
the U.S. Evolutionary Power Reactor (U.S. EPR), a 1,600-megawatt
evolutionary power reactor designed by AREVA.
"The hallmark of the UniStar business model is the fact that
future plants would be licensed, owned, built and operated as
part of a standardized fleet," added Wallace. "It is our
expectation that an initial COL, if approved by the NRC, will
serve as the base model for future nuclear plants under the
UniStar brand."
Constellation Energy (http://www.constellation.com/), a FORTUNE
200 company based in Baltimore, is the nation's largest
competitive supplier of electricity to large commercial and
industrial customers and the nation's largest wholesale power
seller. Constellation Energy also manages fuels and energy
services on behalf of energy intensive industries and utilities.
It owns a diversified fleet of more than 100 generating units
located throughout the United States, totaling approximately
12,000 megawatts of generating capacity. The company delivers
electricity and natural gas through the Baltimore Gas and
Electric Company (BGE), its regulated utility in Central
Maryland. In 2004, the combined revenues of the integrated
energy company totaled $12.5 billion.
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/084087.html
Website: http://www.constellation.com/
Copyright © 1996-2003 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights
*****************************************************************
26 National Post Poll backs nuclear increase 74% of respondents - Strong support
for additional power plants
nationalpost.com
James Cowan National Post
Friday, October 28, 2005
Three-quarters of Toronto residents support the construction of
new nuclear power plants to provide electricity for Ontario,
according to a new poll.
The Ipsos Reid survey conducted for the National Post, CFRB and
Global News suggests rising fuel prices and warnings of summer
brownouts have left 74% respondents willing to consider the
nuclear option.
"There is a real sense that this is necessary," said John
Wright, senior vice-president of public affairs for Ipsos Reid.
"Toronto is the centre most affected by the blackout [in 2003],
and it's also the group of people who seem to be focused upon
when there are calls for conservation."
Forty-nine per cent of residents said they are most concerned
about the rising costs of home heating fuel, while 44% said
skyrocketing gas prices worry them more. Only 7% of respondents
said they are worried about neither home heating nor prices at
the pump.
"Energy is one of the most important things because it makes our
factories and our cities go, and I think this shows that we're
caught between a tank and a tower," Mr. Wright said.
The rising cost of gasoline may also be encouraging more people
to use public transit. Forty-six per cent of respondents said
they will take the TTC more often if gas prices continue to rise.
Howard Moscoe, chairman of the TTC, said higher prices at the
pumps will likely benefit GO Transit's suburban commuter
services more than Toronto's transit system. However, Mr. Moscoe
said the TTC expects its own ridership to increase 1% because of
fuel costs.
Mr. Moscoe said "convenience" causes people to use public
transit, an opinion mirrored by the poll. Indeed, 63% of people
said they would use the TTC more often if subway and bus routes
were expanded while 53% said lower fares would get them to ride
the bus more often.
"If I had my way, we would have subways everywhere," Mr. Moscoe
said. "My daughter lives in New York, and she wouldn't think of
owning a car. She doesn't need to. And people who have located
in Toronto around the subway system generally don't need a car."
Sixty per cent of respondents would support a dedicated
municipal tax of $5 per year that would be used to fund public
transit. In addition, 48% of residents said they would endorse
the introduction of a congestion-charge for cars entering the
downtown core, similar to London, England.
"If you talk about taxes overall, people are not in favour, but
if you talk in terms of a dedicated tax, people tend to support
it," Mr. Wright said. "If it's done in bite-sized chunks, people
tend to support it."
Thirty-one per cent of respondents also said they would support
introducing tolls to fix major roadways. In addition, 51% of
respondents were satisfied with the time it takes police to
clear an accident on the 401 while 49% were dissatisfied.
Three-quarters said they believe it is a bad idea to tear down
the Gardiner Expressway, while 25% said they support destroying
it.
A report on the future of the roadway will be presented to city
council this fall.
Ipsos Reid polled 500 residents of Toronto between Oct. 6 and
Oct. 12 using an online survey method. The results are
considered accurate within 4.4 percentage points, 19 times out
of 20. © National Post 2005
Copyright © CanWest Interactive, a division of All rights
[ /]
*****************************************************************
27 ABC News: Hunting Loose Nukes in Eastern Europe
October 28, 2005 |
'Nightline' Gains Exclusive Access to Search for Nuclear Material
[Dr. Igor Bolshinsky]
Since 2002, Dr. Igor Bolshinsky has almost single-handedly
removed 269 pounds of fresh, highly enriched uranium from seven
countries -- enough to make about five nuclear bombs. (ABC News)
Oct. 13, 2005 — The top-secret operation began before dawn at an
old Soviet reactor outside the eastern European capital of Riga,
Latvia. Inside an unmarked truck was some of the most dangerous
material in the world: highly enriched uranium the basic
ingredient for a nuclear bomb and a prime target for terrorists.
Under a full moon and guarded by police cars and a Latvian SWAT
team, the truck headed toward Riga International Airport. Dr.
Igor Bolshinsky of the U.S. Department of Energy's National
Nuclear Security Administration is charged with ensuring that
the nuclear material is put where terrorists can't steal it.
+ ABC News Names Bashir, McFadden, Moran Co-Anchors of
'Nightline'
"When there is a danger of these materials to get in the hands
of terrorists, it makes sense just to eliminate this material
to eliminate highly enriched uranium," Bolshinsky said.
A Ukrainian-born scientist who now is a U.S. citizen, Bolshinsky
has become a one-man wrecking crew for potential weapons of mass
destruction. His goal: to remove material that can be used for a
nuclear or dirty bombs from vulnerable research reactors in the
former Soviet Union.
Once the highly enriched uranium is removed, Bolshinsky sends it
to a secure facility in Russia, where it is processed or
down-blended into a less-dangerous fuel.
"I think we are smart enough to realize bad things may happen
and we are smart enough to prevent it," he said.
Nukes on the Loose
Since 2002, Bolshinsky has almost single-handedly removed 269
pounds of fresh, highly enriched uranium from seven countries
enough to make about five nuclear bombs. And he's just getting
started. By 2010, his goal is to remove 2 tons of highly
enriched uranium from 14 countries, including his homeland.
That's enough for about 80 nuclear bombs.
Ambassador Linton Brooks, head of the National Nuclear Security
Administration, which oversees the Energy Department's effort to
secure nuclear material around the world, said the task is huge.
"This is an effort which is a thousand small victories rather
than one galactic one," Brooks said.
A report released this year by Harvard University's John F.
Kennedy School of Government says that there is enough material
in the former Soviet Union to build 80,000 nuclear weapons and
only half of it is secured.
"There's certainly a huge amount of material," Brooks said. "The
Cold War produced in both sides exceptionally large quantities
of material."
At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union sent nuclear
material to 17 Soviet republics and allies, including a reactor
in Latvia.
But with the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was neither the
money nor the political will to support these reactors. Today,
the Latvia reactor's control room is covered with dust it was
shut down seven years ago. But the nuclear fuel remained,
protected by only a rickety gate, a few guards and some dogs.
Other sites in Russia were protected by simple locks or just wax
and some string the same technology used to seal official
letters hundreds of years ago. The Energy Department says the
United States has upgraded security in about half of the sites
in the former Soviet Union. But the only failsafe protection is
to remove the material and take it to a secure location.
That's where Bolshinsky comes in.
An Expensive, Time-Consuming Project
For two days in May, ABC News had exclusive access as Bolshinsky
and the U.S. team, along with Russian scientists and the
International Atomic Energy Commission, painstakingly measured
and recorded every ounce of fresh, weapons-grade, highly
enriched uranium from the Latvia reactor.
"You can pick it up with your bare hands," Bolshinsky said. "I
use gloves just to protect my hands, but yeah, it can be handled
with just your bare hands. That's why it's so attractive to
terrorists and other bad guys."
Each fuel rod was carefully wrapped in paper and cloth, labeled,
then placed into two specially built metal casks supplied by
Russia.
"After we remove this material, this country going be free of
fresh HEU," Bolshinsky said, using the acronym for highly
enriched uranium. "So we, we cleanse the country. We remove all
fresh HEU which was stored here."
Ultimately, only about 6.5 pounds a fraction of what is needed
to build a nuclear bomb was removed from Latvia. At a cost of
$340,000 for the operation, that's about $51,500 a pound. In the
next five years, the United States expects to spend more than
$500 million to reduce the nuclear threat worldwide, including
in the former Soviet Union.
But critics say that's nowhere near enough, and that hundreds of
millions more are needed. Brooks disagrees.
"Our problems are not primarily money," he said. "Our problems
are access in the Russian Federation. Our problems are
convincing other countries that they need to take the threat as
seriously as we are, and we keep working through that. The
greatest incentive in the world is to understand that we're all
in the cross hairs, and therefore we want to take away the
bullets."
Brooks added that the process will not be quick, despite the
urgency that is noted by critics. "It's a cooperative effort,"
he said. "It involves other countries. And so, if they think
other countries should have greater urgency, don't tell me, tell
them. And secondly, some of this just simply takes time."
Preventing Catastrophe
But critics say we don't have time and point to 18 confirmed
incidents of nuclear smuggling in the last decade.
Nuclear physicist Peter Zimmerman said not enough is being done
to protect America. "All of our recovery efforts are
fragmented," he said. "They're under-funded. The United States
can afford to spend the money to recover this material a lot
more than it can afford to replace a city."
He stressed that the threat is serious. "You seen the pictures
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki lately?" Zimmerman said. "It's that
serious."
It is in part the fear of failure that keeps Bolshinsky going.
Before he left Latvia, he went to a former Nazi concentration
camp not far from the reactor. Tens of thousands of Jews were
murdered there during World War II, including 7,000 children.
"When we trying to prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons, we
actually trying to prevent another nuclear war," he said. "And
you see how many people was killed, how many people died, during
the Second World War. And you realize that the third World War
can be much bigger than that. Much more people will die. And
it's what keeps you running."
ABC News' Cynthia McFadden reported this story for Nightline.
Info . . . Copyright © 2005 ABC News
*****************************************************************
28 United Press International: Russia to build new nuclear reactor
10/28/2005 2:11:00 PM -0400
WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Russia will spend $210 million next
year to build a reactor at its Beloyarsk nuclear power plant,
MosNews said Friday.
The BN-800 reactor uses a "pioneering technology in the
innovative development of atomic energy on the basis of the fast
neutron closed fuel cycle," a government official said.
Nuclear power comprises about 17 percent of Russia's energy and
in the foreseeable future its share is set to grow. Nuclear
power plants account for 25 percent of the energy produced in
the European part of Russia.
© Copyright 2005 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved Want to email or reprint this story? Click here for
options.
*****************************************************************
29 RIA Novosti: Russia, U.S. hold anti-radioactive smuggling exercises in Far East
28/ 10/ 2005
VLADIVOSTOK, October 28 (RIA Novosti, Anatoly Ilyukhov) - Joint
Russian-U.S. exercises to intercept fissionable radioactive
matter trafficking across Russia's border were concluded Friday
in the Maritime Territory in the Russian Far East.
The training exercises at the East shipping port in Nakhodka
were part of the countries' Second Line of Defense program,
according to the management of Vladivostok company
PrimTekhnopolis, which deals with radiation safety problems at
nuclear energy sites.
"The 'Barrier-2005' training exercises were completed
successfully, and again proved the effectiveness of the current
system for intercepting attempts at illegal transport of
radioactive materials across Russia's border," the source said.
© 2005 "RIA Novosti"
*****************************************************************
30 ninemsn.com.au: Radioactive road trip
October 30, 2005
Reporter : Brian Ross, ABC America
Producer : Rhonda Schwartz
The United States has gone overboard on security since 9/11,
which is understandable. But there are problems. Little things
like the lack of security on a wide range of nuclear reactors on
American university campuses. A four-month ABC America News
investigation found huge security holes at many of the
little-known reactors at 25 colleges across the United States.
Among the findings of the investigation: unmanned guard booths, a
guard apparently asleep, unlocked doors, and guided tours that
provided easy access to control rooms and reactor pools with
radioactive fuel.
None of the reactors had metal detectors, and only two
apparently had armed guards. Many of the schools permit vehicles
to park near the reactor buildings, without inspection for
explosives. A spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC), which oversees the US campus research reactors, said the
agency had opened an investigation into at least five of the
universities.
"The NRC will not hesitate to take strong enforcement action
should we find a violation," said Elito Brenner, director of the
NRC's Office of Public Affairs. The NRC is also reviewing the
adequacy of reactor security plans at other schools as a result
of the ABC News investigation.
But critics in the US Congress say the ABC revelations pinpoint
another area where the NRC has been slow to respond to potential
terrorist threats. "The security problems exposed here offer yet
more evidence that, four years after 9/11, the NRC has not done
nearly enough to secure our nation's nuclear facilities," said
Massachusetts Democratic Congressman, Edward Markey, a senior
member of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce
Committee, which oversees the NRC.
[Radioactive road trip] The Chairman of the House Government
Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and
International Relations (quite a mouthful), Connecticut
Republican Christopher Shays, said the campus nuclear research
reactors posed an attractive target for suicide bombers:
"Nuclear research labs are attractive targets for terrorists
determined to turn modern technology against us, and willing to
die while doing so. It's imperative that our nuclear research
facilities have the same stringent security demands that we
require of other Federal agencies."
ABC America conducted its investigation in conjunction with
Carnegie Corporation of New York, which invited university deans
at five schools to select two of their most promising journalism
and government graduate students to work with ABC for the
northern summer.
Professor Graham T. Allison of the Belfer Centre for Science and
International Affairs at Harvard University said: "Highly
enriched uranium that's vulnerable is an unacceptable threat to
me, and to American citizens everywhere. We're as vulnerable as
the weakest link in the chain." Professor Allison advised ABC on
the project.
Nuclear safety experts say there is significant threat of
sabotage, even at the facilities using low-enriched uranium. In
the case of sabotage, a facility could, in effect, be turned
into a so-called dirty bomb, which uses conventional explosives,
such as dynamite, to spread radioactive material. Professor
Allison said: "Explosive material plus radioactive material
equals dirty bomb."
Most of the university reactors were built during the Cold War
in an effort to demonstrate the peaceful uses of nuclear power.
While smaller and less powerful than commercial nuclear power
plants, the college reactors are considered a risk, given their
radioactive material and location on crowded campuses, often in
suburban and urban areas.
A former White House adviser, Matthew Bunn, said: "Research
reactors aren't required to be protected against sabotage in the
same kinds of ways that power reactors are. Security costs money
and if you actually imposed serious security requirements on
them, many of them would probably end up shutting down."
[Radioactive road trip] The ABC America findings renewed calls
by nuclear safety advocates to either vastly improve security at
the university nuclear reactors or close them. A Federal
Government plan to convert eight reactors using highly enriched
uranium to low-enriched material is not expected to be complete
until 2014. The plan was first proposed in 1982, but has been
slowed by lack of funding. Professor Allison said: "Wherever
there's highly enriched uranium, those facilities should be
adequately secured." What ABC News found "doesn't meet that
test," said Prof. Allison. "That's what I think is the bottom
line of this story."
For more information on this story and background on the safety
threat of university nuclear reactors in the US, visit these
sites:
© 1997-2005 ninemsn Pty Ltd - All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
31 Quad-City Times: Preparing for a radioactive emergency Comment
QCTimes.com -
By Steven Martens
DeWITT, Iowa Outlying Clinton County now will have a hospital
staff trained to handle radiation-related injuries.
Steven Martens/QUAD-CITY TIMES Paul Sunderland plays the
patient in a drill designed to test the skills of the staff at
Genesis Medical Center, DeWitt, in dealing with a patient
exposed to radiation. Nurse Carol Edens uses a swab to take a
sample from the contaminated area on Sunderlands cheek as
nurse Barb Miller works in the background.
In a drill this week, a patient arrived at Genesis Medical
Center, DeWitt, with a compound fracture on his right forearm
and radioactive contamination on his face, chest and arm. The
hospital staff went to work, treating his wounds and taking
precautions against spreading the contamination, just as they
have been training to do for about a year.
In this case, the patient actually was Paul Sunderland,
emergency preparedness coordinator at Exelon Nuclear Quad-Cities
Generating Station in Cordova, Ill., and the emergency was a
drill designed to help evaluate the hospital staffs training in
becoming accredited to treat radiation-related incidents.
Exelon managed the training program in order to have a hospital
in Clinton County where patients who had been exposed to
radioactive materials could be taken, said Bill Stoermer,
communications manager for the plant. The drill conducted
Wednesday was the final test in the accreditation process for
the hospital.
According to the training scenario, the patient had been
relocated to Goose Lake after an accident at the plant and had
been injured in an accident while there.
Representatives of Exelon managed the drill and, along with
officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
evaluated the hospital staffs performance. FEMA issues the
accreditation.
Its a good test for them to run through the scenario and see how
they react, Stoermer said.
No detail was spared during the drill. The hospital staff put on
special clothing designed to protect them from radiation, the
hospital hallways were roped off to prevent other people from
walking into the contaminated area, and Sunderland wore a
moulage, a prosthetic custom-made to look like a compound
fracture on his arm.
Hospital CEO Jeff Cooper said he was proud that his staff was
knowledgeable and experienced enough to complete the training.
Theyve been working hard for this, he said.
The hospital fared well in its evaluation, said Michael Helle,
ambulance director and trauma and disaster coordinator at the
hospital.
Overall, they were impressed by our teamwork and
professionalism, he said. They said we did very well for the
first time.
Other Genesis hospitals in the Quad-Cities already are
accredited to handle radioactive emergencies, Genesis spokesman
Craig Cooper said.
Mercy Medical Center-Clinton CEO Donna Oliver said Exelon
contacted Genesis about getting the DeWitt hospital accredited
because they wanted an accredited hospital outside of the
nuclear facilitys evacuation area. Clinton is inside the
evacuation area, so Mercy is certified in a different way, she
said.
The nuclear plant is about 35 miles away from DeWitt.
Steven Martens can be contacted at
(563) 659-2595 or smartens@qctimes.com.
© Copyright 2005, The Quad-City Times, Davenport, IA
*****************************************************************
32 NRC: Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding
FR Doc E5-5978
[Federal Register: October 28, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 208)]
[Notices] [Page 62144-62145] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr28oc05-73]
of No Significant Impact for License Amendment for the Conopco,
Inc., D.B.A. Unilever Research and Development (Unilever),
Facility in Edgewater, NJ AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Betsy Ullrich, Commercial and R
Branch, Division of Nuclear Materials Safety, Region I, 475
Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, 19406, telephone
(610) 337-5040, fax (610) 337-5269; or by e-mail: exu@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuing a
license amendment to Conopco, Inc., d.b.a. Unilever Research and
Development (Unilever), for Materials License No. 29-00304-02, to
authorize release of its facility in Edgewater, New Jersey, for
unrestricted use. NRC has prepared an Environmental Assessment
(EA) in support of this action in accordance with the
requirements of 10 CFR Part 51. Based on the EA, the NRC has
concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is
appropriate.
II. EA Summary
The purpose of the proposed action is to authorize the release of
the licensee's Edgewater, New Jersey, facility for unrestricted
use. Unilever was authorized by NRC from 1956 to use radioactive
materials for research and development purposes at the site. On
May 23, 2005, Unilever requested that NRC release the facility
for unrestricted use. Unilever has conducted surveys of the
facility and provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that
the site meets the license termination criteria in Subpart E of
10 CFR Part 20 for unrestricted use.
The NRC staff has prepared an EA in support of the license
amendment. The facility was remediated and surveyed prior to the
licensee requesting the license amendment. The NRC staff has
reviewed the information and final status survey submitted by
Unilever.
Based on its review, the staff has determined that there are no
additional remediation activities necessary to complete the
proposed action. Therefore, the staff considered the impact of
the residual radioactivity at the facility and concluded that
since the residual radioactivity meets the requirements in
Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20, a Finding of No Significant Impact
is appropriate.
III. Finding of No Significant Impact
The staff has prepared the EA (summarized above) in support of
the license amendment to terminate the license and release the
facility for unrestricted use. The NRC staff has evaluated
Unilever's request and the results of the surveys and has
concluded that the completed action complies with the criteria in
Subpart E of 10 CFR Part 20. The staff has found that the
radiological environmental impacts from the action are bounded by
the impacts evaluated by NUREG-1496, Volumes 1-3, ``Generic
Environmental Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking on
Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-Licensed
Facilities'' (ML042310492, ML042320379, and ML042330385).
Additionally, no non-radiological or cumulative impacts were
identified. On the basis of the EA, the NRC has concluded that
the environmental impacts from the action are expected to be
insignificant and has determined not to prepare an environmental
impact statement for the action.
IV. Further Information
Documents related to this action, including the application for
the license amendment and supporting documentation, are available
electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can
access the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System
(ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public
documents. The ADAMS accession numbers for the documents related
to this Notice are: Environmental Assessment Related to an
Amendment of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Materials License
No. 29-00304-02, issued to Conopco, Inc. [ML052930082] and the
Final Status Survey Report, Unilever Research and
Development--Edgewater (URDE), Edgewater, New Jersey, NRC License
No. 29-00304-02, May 2005 [ADAMS Accession Nos. ML051780048,
ML051780060, ML051780061, ML051780068, ML051780093, ML051780095,
ML051780096, ML051780097, ML051780098, ML051780100, ML051780102,
ML051780103, ML051780105]. 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 (800) 397-4209 or (301) 415-4737, or by e-mail to
pdr@nrc.gov. Documents related to operations conducted under this
license not specifically referenced in this Notice may not be
electronically available and/or may not be publicly available.
Persons who have an interest in reviewing these documents should
submit a request to NRC under the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA). Instructions for submitting a FOIA request can be found
on the NRC's Web site at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/foia-privacy.html .
Dated at King of Prussia, Pennsylvania this 20th day of October,
2005.
[[Page 62145]] For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission James P.
Dwyer, Chief, Commercial and R Branch, Division of Nuclear
Materials Safety, Region I.
[FR Doc. E5-5978 Filed 10-27-05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
33 AU ABC: High levels of radiation reported at French Polynesia nuclear site
Last Updated 29/10/2005, 09:08:17
French Polynesia President Oscar Temaru is reported as saying
that high levels of radiation have been found around the old
French nuclear test site.
The Christchurch Press quotes him as saying that up to five
people a day are being sent to private hospitals in New Zealand
for diagnosis and treatment for what may be radiation illnesses.
President Temaru is accusing France of covering up the health
and environmental consequences of the testing, around Mururoa
Atoll.
France conducted 41 atmospheric blasts between 1966 and 1974,
and followed with 142 underground tests.
A commission set up by President Temaru to investigate the
consequences of the nuclear tests is due to report next month.
Sources© ABC 2005
*****************************************************************
34 NEWS.com.au: Radiation levels a legacy of nuke tests -
From: Reuters From correspondents in Auckland
October 29, 2005
UNEXPECTEDLY high levels of radiation contamination are being
found in French Polynesia nearly a decade after France ended
nuclear testing at Mururoa Atoll, the territory's President
Oscar Temaru said. Up to five people a day are being sent to
private hospitals in New Zealand for diagnosis and treatment for
what may be radiation illnesses and Temaru has accused France of
covering up the health and environmental consequences of the
testing, the Christchurch Press said.
"We have a lot of health problems," he said while flying here
with New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark after attending the
Pacific Forum summit in Papua New Guinea.
France conducted 41 atmospheric nuclear tests over Mururoa and
Fangataufa atolls between 1966 and 1974, and followed with 134
underground tests at the same sites between 1975 and 1991. Eight
more tests tok place in 1995-96.
A commission set up by Temaru to investigate the consequences
of the nuclear tests is due to report next month.
But he said the French Defence Ministry was refusing to
cooperate, kept secret files in Paris, and insisted Mururoa and
Fangataufa were off limits.
Commission members recently went to Tureia, 115 kilometres (70
miles) northeast of Mururoa and the closest resident population
to the tests, and found "very high levels of contamination" in
the atoll, Temaru said.
"We need a neutral organisation to come to Tahiti, and France
should open those secret archives," he said. Search
*****************************************************************
35 Pike Cnty News: Plant cylinders may hold toxic phosgene gas
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 15:14:09 -0700
X-Temp-Whitephrase: YES Nuclear
X-Spamprobe: ham-super * 0.0000679 OK
Pike County News Watchman
Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2005
Plant cylinders may hold toxic phosgene gas
VAN ROSE
Staff Writer
A corrosive chemical warfare agent could be deteriorating uranium
storage
cylinders stockpiled at U.S. Department of Energy facilities in Piketon
and
elsewhere, according to a federal memorandum obtained by a Louisville,
Ky.,
newspaper.
The internal memo - made public by The Courier-Journal in an article
published
yesterday - was sent from DOE Assistant Inspector General Alfred K.
Walter to
managers of Energy Department offices in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Lexington,
Ky.,
on Sept. 30.
It stated, among other information, that as many as 406 cylinders
currently stored
at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon are suspected to
contain
residual amounts of phosgene, a caustic, toxic gas once stored in the
metal
containers that were manufactured as early as 1940 and acquired from the
U.S.
Army's Chemical Warfare Service.
However, the possibility of phosgene gas - used as a chemical agent by
German
forces during World War I - being present in the cylinders is "extremely
remote,"
said Laura Schachter, public affairs officer for the DOE
Portsmouth/Paducah (Ky.)
Project Office in Lexington.
She said many of the cylinders in question - containers 30 inches in
diameter and
seven feet in length, classified as "model 30A cylinders" - were washed
clean
before they were filled with depleted uranium hexafluoride, or DUF6, a
by-product
of the uranium enrichment process.
"There are so many processes and procedures used to clean them out,"
Schachter said. "The gas might be gone."
The Portsmouth plant is not alone. As many as 1,825 cylinders are
located at the
Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, with another 309 at DOE's East Tennessee
Technology Park in Oak Ridge suspected to contain phosgene gas.
DOE has known about possible contamination of stored uranium at the
three sites
since an October 2000 report by its Office of Environmental, Safety and
Health
stating some cylinders "may contain residual phosgene that was not purged
prior
to the cylinders being filled with UF6," said Walter in the DOE memo.
As a result, shipment of uranium cylinders from the ETTP to the
Portsmouth plant
has been temporarily halted until the threat can be assessed, Schachter
said. The
Portsmouth plant is the location of a facility being constructed to
convert DUF6 into
a more stable form.
A U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission official said the unexpected
introduction
of phosgene into the conversion process could have "catastrophic" safety
consequences and added he had not been told to expect the gas to be
present in
the cylinders, Walter explained.
Employees of the United States Enrichment Corporation, which operates
the
Portsmouth and Paducah plants, would be protected if an accidental
release of
any material from the cylinders was to occur, said Jack Williams, an
enrichment
corporation public affairs officer at Portsmouth.
"Our employees wear personal protective equipment and respirators," he
said.
"We have a number of procedures in place so our employees know exactly
what to
do in the event of any unplanned release from a cylinder."
If an individual was to come in direct contact with phosgene, known
results could
include respiratory failure and death as the colorless gas would contact
water in
lung tissue and become carbon dioxide and hydrochloric acid. Phosgene
can
also cause severe burns if it comes in contact with skin.
USEC Inc., the enrichment corporation's Bethesda, Md.-based parent
company,
gained ownership of 141 of the 406 potentially contaminated cylinders at
the
Portsmouth plant when the company was privatized in the 1990s, according
to
Williams.
The company performs periodic maintenance and surveillance of uranium
cylinders in search of deterioration, Schachter said, the guidelines of
which are
"very strict."
Some corrosion found on 30A cylinders at Oak Ridge could be attributed
to
phosgene since the gas is known to deteriorate metals like steel, which
comprises
the containers, Walter explained in the memo.
A recent report from Oak Ridge National Laboratories "emphasized that
some
model 30A cylinders at Paducah have deteriorated to a minimum thickness,
while
others have possibly been breached," he added.
Failure by both DOE and USEC Inc. to notice such corrosion for so many
decades
makes Ewan Todd wonder what else has been overlooked.
Todd, a technical expert for public interest group Portsmouth/Piketon
Residents
for Environmental Safety and Security, has recently been trying to stop
USEC in
its pursuit of a 30-year operational license for a proposed American
centrifuge
plant, or ACP, through the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
If an appeal he submitted to the NRC this month is not accepted and USEC
is
licensed, it could mean the transportation of more cylinders to the
Portsmouth
plant and a greater health and safety threat to local residents near the
facility, he
thinks.
"The ACP would have up to a thousand of these cylinders on our roads
every
year," Todd said. "We have no assurance that they won't be compromised
by
phosgene corrosion or some other, as-yet undiscovered, weakness. An
accident
releasing hydrofluoric acid won't be pretty."
Officials at all three plant sites are currently conducting reviews of
project records
and historic documents that relate to the 30A cylinders, Schachter said.
"They have records on every cylinder," she added. "They are looking to
determine what the history and project records say about the cylinders
that may be
in question."
The DOE memo was provided to the News Watchman by Courier-Journal staff
writer James Malone.
*****************************************************************
36 SimiValley Acorn: Toxic Substances Control group drops ball on perchlorate discussion
October 28, 2005
By Daniel Wolowicz danielw@theacorn.com
Miscommunication between the Sacramento and Glendale offices of
the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) means
residents will likely have to wait until January for an update
on toxins found in and around the Sterling Homes development
property near Dayton Creek in West Hills.
DTSC officials announced at last week’s Santa Susana Field
Laboratory (SSFL)Workgroup Meeting they would not address the
multi-agency workgroup regarding perchlorate found at Dayton
Creek, a small stream that cuts through the West Hills property
owned by Dallas-based home developer Centex Corporation.
The delay has left a number of environmentalists and residents
frustrated. Some say it’s another example of the communication
problems plaguing the workgroup.
“It’s all about communicating, and if you don’t, in the end,
it’s the public that gets hurt,” said Daniel Hirsch, a member of
the workgroup panel and head of the environmental watchdog group
Committee to Bridge the Gap.
Jeanne Garcia, a spokesperson for the DTSC, said it was a simple
case of conflicting schedules. Garcia said Sara Amire, the DTSC
representative slated to give the presentation, was in Santa
Clarita at another community meeting at the time of the
workgroup conference in Simi Valley.
Headed by the United States Protection Agency, the workgroup
meets quarterly to discuss the ongoing effort to clean up the
Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a 2,668acre parcel in the Santa
Susana Hills used by Rocketdyne, the Defense Department, NASA
and the Energy Department to conduct rocket, missile and nuclear
testing.
The debate over the Centexowned property, located 1.5 miles east
of Rocketdyne’s test field, was sparked after the land was
purchased by Centex in 2004. Since 1989, multiple developers
have worked to build on the land.
At the time Centex bought the land, an environmental impact
report had already been approved for homes to be built on the
property.
The EIR was cleared in spite of the fact the Los Angeles
Regional Water Quality Control Board found perchlorate in Dayton
Creek around 2001.
Perchlorate, a highly soluble chemical substance used in liquid
rocket propellant road flares and fireworks, is known to impair
thyroid function.
Centex officials say further environmental reports done in 2003
show perchlorate in the Dayton Creek area was not found after
Boeing, Rocketdyne’s parent company, removed tons of
perchloratecontaminated soil from the test field.
Regardless, pressure from the media, environmentalists and
residents living near Dayton Creek led city of Los Angeles
officials to question the thoroughness of the original
environmental report.
In response, Centex hired AllWest Remediation, an environmental
consulting firm, to take further soil samples to test for toxins
such as perchlorate and for radioactive material.
There is debate between environmentalists and Centex officials
over whether or not the developer hired AllWest Remediation
because they were required to by the city or whether they did so
voluntarily.
“We entered into the testing voluntarily,” said John
Fitzpatrick, a senior project manager for Centex.
“Don’t be fooled,” said Elizabeth Crawford, a senior
environmental specialist with the Physicians for Social
Responsibility. “(Centex) had to do the sampling in order to get
the OK from the city.”
As a result of the testing in and around Dayton Creek,
perchlorate levels as high as 62,000 parts per million were
found along the creek. This number far exceeds safe
environmental levels.
At last week’s meeting, Hirsch said these numbers are
dangerously high. He said that 62,000 parts per million of
perchlorate roughly translates to six grams of perchlorate for
every 100 grams of soil.
Fitzpatrick said perchlorate testing is ongoing, and results
will continue to be released as they are made available.
The DTSC is conducting its own soil samples. According to a
recent update released by the DTSC, they “submitted the soil
samples to the Hazardous Materials Laboratory in Los Angeles to
be analyzed for perchlorate. Results are pending.”
The origin of perchlorate has caused further disagreement
between the two sides.
Centex, Boeing and the DTSC all say there is a lack of evidence
connecting the perchlorate found in Dayton Creek to Rocketdyne’s
test field.
Residents and environmentalists believe it’s unreasonable to
think the perchlorate came from any source other than
Rocketdyne.
Fitzpatrick said that because of perchlorate’s high solubility,
it should be found in soil and water samples taken at points
between the test field and the Centex property. Tests of those
samples, Fitzpatrick said, found no perchlorate.
Thus, Centex officials don’t believe the perchlorate found in
Dayton Creek came from Rocketdyne.
“A lot of focus is on SSFL, which is understandable,”
Fitzpatrick said. “But we don’t see how there is a connection to
us, and neither does the DTSC.”
In an interview in early September, Steve Lafflam, division
director of safety, health and environmental affairs for Boeing,
contended that perchlorate in the environment could come from a
number of other products in which it is used, such as
fertilizer, road flares and fireworks.
Hirsch said Dayton Creek originates from Happy Valley—a 384-acre
lot on the test field known for its high concentration of
perchlorate. “Perchlorate in that area tested as high as 75,000
parts per million,” Hirsch said. “It’s been there for 50 years,
and we don’t expect it to be high on top and low below.
Eventually, it would be low on top and high below as it washes
off.” Ali Tabidian, professor of hydrogeology at Cal State
Northridge for more than 16 years, said he thinks that because
of the faster water current typically found higher on a hill,
it’s reasonable to assume the perchlorate was washed further
downstream into areas—like Dayton Creek—where the water pools.
On the Simi Valley side of the test field, the Southern
California Water Company announced that for more than a year,
trace amounts of perchlorate had been found in well water that’s
being blended with residential drinking water in Simi Valley.
The announcement was made in July.
The next SSFL workgroup meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wed.,
Jan. 11 at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center.
*****************************************************************
37 Independent: Uranium workers cry cover-up; Miners accuse feds of
withholding study recommending compensation
- October 27, 2005:
By Kathy Helms Diné Bureau
GRANTS — "Post-71" uranium miners charged Wednesday that the
federal government and the former Atomic Energy Commission
withheld a study which recommended they be compensated under the
federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act based on supporting
health studies and exposure data.
Antonio Sena and Margarito Martinez, former Kerr-McGee mine
workers who for years have been advocating on behalf of uranium
miners who worked after 1971, referred to as Post-71 miners,
appeared to catch representatives from the U.S. Department of
Labor and Department of Justice off guard as they presented an
update on the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation
Program Act to a packed house at Best Western in Grants.
Sena and Martinez gave program facilitators a copy of the
"Journal of Health & Social Policy" report by two Utah State
University professors and a message to take back to Washington,
D.C.
In the article entitled, "Unfinished Business: Radiation
Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) for Post-1971 U.S. Uranium
Underground Miners," professors Gary E. Madsen, Ph.D, and Susan
E. Dawson, Ph.D, examined the regulatory history and scientific
evidence used for passage of RECA for miners prior to 1972.
Also included was evidence they said supported inclusion of
Post-71 workers under the federal RECA compensation program.
Outside the meeting Sena said, "The federal government and the
Atomic Energy Commission were supposed to have released that
documentation. They never did. There were 40 groups. This is
doctors, scientists that did research and ... gave it to the
government to be printed."
Waving the report in the air, he said, "This is the whole
truth."
"They are nasty people. There was a conspiracy between the
mining companies and the Atomic Energy Commission and the RECA
people: 'Hold on to this. You can't print this to the public.'
"Well, now we got a hold of it. I'm going to tell you one thing:
If we don't get no results I'm going to see if I can get '60
Minutes' here. We're going to fight it to the end," he said.
"There are a lot of these guys, Post-71, that are already
getting sick. They got oxygen already, some of them. They're in
their 40s and 50s. I know a couple of guys that have prostate
cancer already, like me. By 1980 I was already contaminated. By
1985 when I took my last physical, my bronchial tubes were all
closed up silicosis.
"Do you think they told me something?" he asked. "No."
Study blocked?
During the meeting, Sena told Labor and Justice officials, "I
think the United States has some unfinished business," he said,
alluding to the report.
"These are real finds by the people that were handling the RECA
program back in Washington. They were supposed to release this
to the public, and apparently it was not done. It was blocked by
the federal government," Sena said.
"In this booklet here you will find discrepancies by these
companies after 1971 and before on the radiation exposures. Now,
MESA (Mine Enforcement and Safety Administration) and MSHA (Mine
Safety and Health Administration) and various other groups did a
lot of research in these mines and mills. They turned the report
in to the federal government but it was never printed," he
charged.
"Mr. Margarito Martinez and myself have been working together in
this area ever since this thing (RECA) started back in the
1990s. Now, I want to know why it was not printed for the
public," Sena said.
Gerard Fischer, Department of Justice, acknowledged that there
was mining in the 1970s outside of 1971, and that the report
does contain information they would like to take a closer look
at. "So, we're going to take this back to Washington and we will
review it thoroughly," Fischer said.
Sena told him, "One more thing. Here a while back, we got a
petition of Post-71 miners ... and we sent copies to all of the
delegates in the state of New Mexico, one to RECA, and one to
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. So far we have not received any
response.
"We would like to see if you people can take this message to
Washington and see what happened to those petitions. We would
like to see if these people are going to be sent out to get
their physicals and see if they qualify or not. ... That's all
we're asking for," Sena said.
Hoping to avoid a legal challenge
"Secondly, we do not want to file a class-action lawsuit in
federal court. That would be the last resort. Now, if for any
reason we don't get no results, the door would be open for any
kind of federal lawsuit. We don't want that. I hope all these
people here understand that," Sena said, looking around the
room.
"We don't want to do it, but if it's necessary, so help me God,
it will be done. We would like some response."
Fischer thanked him, saying, "I appreciate that being brought to
our attention. I promise you we will review this."
Sena responded. "Let me say one more thing, sir. With all due
respect, this is a very nasty piece of legislation."
Afterward, Sena said, "We're not going to back out. People say,
'You can't sue the federal government.' The hell I can't," he
said.
Martinez, who Sena calls the "John L. Lewis of the uranium
industry" said that when the uranium mining companies came to
New Mexico they had an attitude.
"The first thing they told us when we went to work was, 'Do not
talk in Spanish.' They didn't know that we had schools in New
Mexico. They didn't know that we had a society here before their
ancestors were living in caves in Europe.
"They acted like, 'We're going to look down at these Mexicans.
We're going to do them in.' All of the sudden they came to a
rude awakening. All of the sudden they found out that they were
the minority and we were the majority," Martinez said.
But, he added, "Here's the worst thing. All these guys were
'cooking the books,' hiding that we were overexposed. Now they
want compensation for killing us. They're applying for this
(RECA).
"I backed up the industry one time, until I found out how
crooked they were. When I found how crooked they were, I didn't
back them up anymore. I knew what they were doing," Martinez
said.
Study findings
According to the "Unfinished Business" report, the 1990 RECA
legislation established a cutoff of 1971 based on government
liability related to the uranium procurement program.
The report's authors said there was a perception among many in
government and the uranium industry that the 4 Working Level
Months standard passed in 1971 would provide adequate protection
for miners; however, they said, this was not supported by the
scientific community.
They also issued a word of caution in interpreting working level
findings "because of validity and reliability issues."
Findings in a 1980 National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health (NIOSH) report, based on scientific study, showed
that the Mine Safety Health Administration standard of 4 WLM
"does not provide an adequate degree of protection for
underground miners exposed to radiation when it is evaluated
over their exposure lifetime."
The authors said reliability issues also were clearly
established in the NIOSH report. Based on the MESA 1977 Annual
Report to Congress, "there continued to be an apparent
discrepancy between federal inspection results and company
records."
"When federal samples taken from routine inspections were
compared with company records, the following yearly exposures
were found," they said.
Company records indicated average exposure-WLM in 1975 was 1.07.
MESA sampling results showed the average was 5.68. In 1976,
company records indicated 0.99 average exposure; MESA showed
4.64. In 1977, the company average was 0.91 as compared to
MESA's 4.08.
the Gallup Independent.
Send questions or comments to gallpind@cia-g.com
*****************************************************************
38 Sydney Morning Herald: Nuclear waste found in French Polynesia -
[www.smh.com.au]
October 29, 2005 - 6:29AM
Unexpectedly high levels of radioactive contamination are being
discovered in French Polynesia nearly a decade after nuclear
testing ended on Mururoa Atoll.
Up to five people a day are being sent to private hospitals in
Auckland for diagnosis and treatment for what may be
radiation-related illnesses, officials say.
The territory's president Oscar Temaru has accused the French
government of a continuing, high-level cover-up over the health
and environmental consequences of the testing.
"We have a lot of health problems," he told the Dominion Post
newspaper.
Although France preferred such patients to be sent to Paris, it
was cheaper and closer to send them to New Zealand, an official
of Mr Temaru's told the paper.
France conducted 41 atmospheric nuclear tests over the Tuamotu
atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa between 1966 and 1974.
It followed these up with 134 underground nuclear tests at the
same testing sites between 1975 and 1991. Eight more tests took
place in 1995 and 1996.
In July, Mr Temaru set up a commission of inquiry to investigate
the tests and it was due to report back next month.
But he said the French ministry of defence was refusing to
cooperate with the commission and was keeping secret files in
Paris while insisting Mururoa and Fangataufa remain off limits.
He believed it was covering up serious, continuing health
problems.
"I witnessed what happened to the atoll of Mururoa," he said.
"It is still forbidden to go to Mururoa."
Outside experts, including specialists from Japan, had looked at
the situation but were being denied access to crucial health
statistics.
Mr Temaru said the commission was doing its best.
"One of them (commission members) told me they found out very
strange, very high levels of contamination from the atoll of
Tureia."
The data had to be analysed in France but Mr Temaru said people
did not know what was going on.
"We need a neutral organisation to come to Tahiti, and France
should open those secret archives and tell us why they are still
secret."
Tureia, 115 km north-east of Mururoa, has about 100 people
living on it. It is the closest resident population to the test
sites.
Inquiry commission head Tea Hirshon told the Dominion Post the
aim was to make a precise assessment of the effects of nuclear
tests on the environment and the health of the Polynesians.
© 2005 AAP
Copyright © 2005. The Sydney Morning Herald.
*****************************************************************
39 News Sentinel: Sensible regulation, disposal would revive nuclear power
10/28/2005 |
A guest column by Mike Sylvester
I spent six years as a reactor operator on a nuclear submarine
in the U.S. Navy. I spent another two years as an equipment
operator in a civilian nuclear power plant in Nebraska.
I strongly believe that nuclear power is a good source of energy
and is safe. The nuclear power industry has been nearly
destroyed by the United States government and its excessive
regulation. The regulations are so oppressive that I decided to
make a career change in 1998. I do not think we will ever
complete a new nuclear power plant in the United States.
The government has undermined nuclear power in two ways:
The first way is through excessive regulation. The plant where I
worked, the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station, is a perfect
example. In 1978, before Three Mile Island, the plant employed
about 80 people, mostly equipment operators and security guards.
The plant was operated safely and efficiently.
Today, that same plant employs about 550 people. The plant makes
the same amount of power today that it did in 1978; it just
costs a lot more to produce it. The plant hired about 470 people
just to comply with government regulations after Three Mile
Island.
The second problem is dealing with nuclear waste in the form of
spent fuel rods. These fuel rods are radioactive and must be
safely disposed of. The U.S. government decided to tax all
consumers of nuclear power in the country and collect enough
money so the government could build a disposal facility.
The Nuclear Waste Fund was created in 1982. One-tenth of a cent
was charged for each kilowatt-hour of electricity produced at
nuclear power plants. By 1992, the government collected enough
tax revenue to build a state-of-the-art disposal facility.
Eventually, due to pressure from the utility industry, the
government agreed to build the facility by Jan. 31, 1998, at
Yucca Mountain.
Yucca Mountain was not completed in 1998. Approximately 60
lawsuits were filed by the utility industry and various states
against the federal government for breach of contract. It is
estimated these lawsuits could cost the federal government
that is, taxpayers as much as $50 billion.
In 2001, the Department of Energy completed a cost study and
determined it would cost $4.5 billion to build the Yucca
Mountain facility. Today, the Nuclear Waste Fund has almost $16
billion. The nuclear waste disposal facility at Yucca Mountain
is nowhere near completion; in fact, Department of Energy
officials now openly question whether the facility will be
completed by 2010, 12 years after the promised completion date.
Since the disposal facility is not operational, nuclear power
plants have been forced to store their own spent fuel rods at
their own cost.
President Bush wants to spur the growth of nuclear power plants.
I am all for nuclear power, but Bushs proposal makes no sense.
It will waste billions of dollars. The new energy bill provides
almost $6.5 billion in subsidies and direct spending to nuclear
power generation companies to convince them to build new nuclear
power plants. This is absurd. I would suggest the Department of
Energy finish Yucca Mountain before it gets involved in building
new nuclear power plants.
If we want new plants to be constructed, we need to minimize
government regulation. A new nuclear power plant has not been
started since 1973 due to excessive government regulation. The
free market, not the government, should dictate which power
generation companies succeed and which ones fail.
Mike Sylvester is chairman of the Libertarian Party of Allen
County.
*****************************************************************
40 AP Wire: Nuke group balks at giving away former dump site
| 10/28/2005 |
KEVIN O'HANLON
Associated Press
LINCOLN, Neb. - A four-state group balked Friday at giving away
the site where it once planned to build a regional nuclear waste
dump in Nebraska.
Group members Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana had
planned to deed the parcel to the village of Butte as a gesture
of goodwill for the political and emotional tumult that the
18-year fight over the dump caused residents of the tiny,
northeast Nebraska town.
But Kansas representative Joseph Harkins successfully pushed for
the appraisal, saying it would not be prudent to give away the
land without knowing its value.
"This is not good business," he said.
Nebraska, which earlier withdrew from the group, agreed to pay
$141 million plus interest for blocking construction of the
low-level radioactive waste dump.
As part of the agreement, Nebraska was relieved of its
obligation to build the waste site for the group, known as the
Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact.
The compact will decide what to do with the 320-acre tract at
its January meeting.
The land has been estimated to be worth $160,000.
The dispute over the Nebraska site had its genesis in 1970, when
Nevada, South Carolina and Washington grew tired of accepting
low-level radioactive waste from the rest of the country.
As a result, Congress told the rest of the states in 1980 to
build their own dumps or join regional groups to dispose of the
waste.
Nebraska joined with the four other states to form the compact,
which voted in 1987 to put the waste in Nebraska. The fight
began soon after, with both sides wrangling in court on several
issues.
No compact has yet built a dump.
The settlement between Nebraska and the other states ended a
lawsuit in which U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf in Lincoln
ruled that former Nebraska Gov. Ben Nelson, now a U.S. senator,
engaged in a politically motivated and orchestrated plot to keep
the dump from being built in Nebraska. Kopf ordered Nebraska to
pay $151 million.
Nebraska officials argued that they didn't license the dump
because of concerns about possible pollution and a high water
table at the proposed site - a process that Kopf ruled Nelson
tainted.
Butte Mayor Cindy Schroetlin has asked the commission to give
the village some $4 million from the settlement as reimbursement
for the toll the fight exacted on the town.
The commission has not acted on that request.
Of the total $146 million that Nebraska paid, all but about $15
million has been handed out.
About $115 million went to the six utilities that helped back
efforts to build the dump.
Some $12 million went to US Ecology, the company the was to
develop, build and run the dump. Another $4 million went to the
remaining states in the group.
Meanwhile, Nebraska and the compact are exploring possible sites
to store their waste.
ON THE NET
Central Interstate Compact: http://www.cillrwcc.org/
U.S. District Court for Nebraska: http://www.ned.uscourts.gov/
*****************************************************************
41 PRAVDA.Ru: Ukraine dumps nuclear wastes and chemical poisons at Russia's borders -
10/28/2005 16:48
Ukraine's activities with poisonous and radioactive activities
may result in another Cheronbyl
When the notorious orange revolution finally ended in Ukraine and
Viktor Yushchenko took the office of the Ukrainian President, the
official Kiev gave a secret promise to several Western states.
Ukrainian politicians said that the state was ready to accept
spent nuclear fuel and chemical wastes from the West. Strangely
enough, Yushchenko did not have enough money to build up-to-date
burial facilities for it. [Nuclear fuel]
Ukraine had to abide by its obligation, though, taking into
consideration the fact that it was receiving adequate financial
assistance from the West. The solution was found quickly: the
Ukrainian administration decided to dump the radioactive and
toxic garbage very close to Russia's borders. There are a lot of
desolate mines in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine, so
it was decided to use the mines as storage facilities.
Nuclear and chemical wastes were buried in several mines and
quarries very close to settlements. It is worthy of note that
the abandoned coal mines are not equipped to house such dangerous
cargoes. Therefore, Ukraine may experience another Chernobyl in
the event a state of emergency occurs there. Russia's territory
is situated very close to the mines. Nuclear dust may cover six
Russian regions.
To crown it all, such a perspective does not seem to be exciting
for Europeans either, who still shudder at the sound of the word
"Chernobyl."
The Taiwanese newspaper Independent Morning Post has recently
published a sensational material. Ukraine, the newspaper wrote,
sold over 500 tons of warfare agent, sarine, to China several
years ago. This poisonous gas had been stored in Ukraine for
years, during the existence of the Soviet Union. Ukraine decided
to get rid of the dangerous substance before international
inspectors could find it: sarine was sold to China. It goes
without saying that Kiev has been rejecting any accusations of
illegal sales, nor has it acknowledged the fact of storing other
internationally banned poisonous substances.
Ukraine's then-commander of radioactive and chemical defense,
Viktor Litvak, told reporters several years ago that there were
practically no warfare agents in Ukraine. The official
acknowledged the presence of a meager quantity of mustard gas
and a kilo of phosgene. Viktor Yushchenko is certain, though,
that the real state of affairs is different: the now-resigned
Secretary of the Ukrainian Security Council, Peter Poroshenko,
informed Yushchenko of the opposite quite a while ago. However,
the Ukrainian government does not seem to be willing to inform
neighbors of its commercial "chemical" activities.
Ukrainian media outlets report about numerous occurrences of
poisoning among the population living in various parts of the
country. Children living in the settlement of Khomutets, the
Poltava region of Ukraine, have been suffering from a whole
bouquet of diseases for almost seven years: the loss of eyesight
and memory, pancreatitis, etc. The territory of the settlement
has been contaminated as a result of leakage of an unknown
poisonous substance.
There are over 50 military chemical objects in Ukraine. However,
there is absolutely no information about them whatsoever.
Specialists of ecology have never succeeded to obtain
comprehensive data about the state of affairs on those warehouses
and test grounds.
Agents of the Ukrainian security service have recently detained
three officers, who tried to sell 80 kilos of strong poison,
chloropicrin, which they had stolen from a warehouse. This fact
proves that Ukraine does not hurry to bid farewell to its Soviet
past.
Read the original in Russian: (Translated by: Dmitry Sudakov)
Pravda.Ru
©1999-2002 "PRAVDA.Ru".
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42 BBC: Taxpayers to pick up nuclear bill
Last Updated: Friday, 28 October 2005
[Dounreay Nuclear Power Plant]
The clean-up operation is costing £1m
Taxpayers must foot a £1m bill to clean up a spill of highly
radioactive liquid waste at the Dounreay nuclear complex in
Caithness.
The plant's cementation plant has been closed until next summer
as a result of the accident.
Four workers were suspended but no disciplinary action has been
taken against them.
The problem at the reprocessing site occurred during the night
shift on 26 September.
An operator failed to see that the lid of a drum was sealed shut
as he prepared to release a batch of highly-radioactive waste
into it.
Enforcement notices
The liquid poured over the lid. A number of alarms were ignored
and a total of 260 litres of the liquor ended up settling into
sumps on the floor.
An extensive in-house investigation has found that no single
factor was to blame though it noted there had been an
over-reliance on automated controls.
Operator, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA)
expects to receive two formal enforcement notices in the wake of
the spillage from its regulator, the Nuclear Installations
Inspectorate.
Less than three weeks later, another part of the site was closed
in a second alert.
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43 Salt Lake Tribune: Talks to assess status of foreign uranium ore
Article Last Updated: 10/28/2005 01:56:29 AM
S. Utah site: A member of the radiation board says it 'needs to
be managed in a way that protects health and the environment'
By Judy Fahys The Salt Lake Tribune
International Uranium Corp. is set to talk to a state
advisory board next week about a shipment of uranium ore from
Japan.
The presentation was in the works months ago, long before
the company was hit with criticism for importing the Japanese
ore. Members of the Radiation Control Board said this summer
they wanted to know more about the 16-year-old mill, and having
their Nov. 5 meeting in Moab will make it easier for them to
visit the site, located six miles south of Blanding.
Dianne Nielson, director of the Department of Environmental
Quality and a member of the radiation board, noted Thursday that
the mill is properly licensed to accept uranium ore without any
special review by the state or federal government.
"Whatever this material is, it needs to be managed in a way
that protects health and the environment," she said, noting that
regulations cover the proper handling of the material as it
comes into the state, the "yellowcake" uranium is separated from
the ore and the tailings are disposed of in settling ponds.
The mill has been controversial - sometimes even for the
state, which took over its regulation from the federal
government last year. Because of the low price of uranium ore,
IUC has not run ore through the mill since 1999.
Instead, it has recycled uranium-contaminated dirt from
cleanups, called "alternate feed." Nielson, who has called the
use of alternate feed "sham disposal," moved to have her agency
take over the mill's regulation from the federal government.
Also on the Nov. 5 agenda is activist Steve Erickson, who
said in an Oct. 10 letter that the board had failed its first
test as IUC's new oversight agency. This week, after reviewing
records on the Japanese shipment, Erickson accused state
regulators of fumbling the case.
"Until the DEQ puts a financial test on the IUC requiring
that the material they receive is to be processed primarily for
the value of the uranium, the state will remain open to
suspicions of sham oversight," he said.
Canada-based IUC said its only current operating facility is
the White Mesa mill, one of two uranium-processing sites in the
United States. It has exploration under way in Canada and
Mongolia.
fahys@sltrib.com
© Copyright 2005, The Salt Lake Tribune.
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44 AU ABC: ERA fined over Ranger mine safety breach.
28/10/2005. ABC News Online
Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) has been fined more than
$80,000 in the Darwin Magistrates Court for failing to safely
operate and maintain a site at its Ranger uranium mine.
The company pleaded guilty to the charge in relation to an
accident in July last year in which a 32-year-old contractor was
seriously injured while carrying out maintenance work at the
mine.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of $275,000.
Magistrate David Loadman significantly reduced the fine because
of ERA's early guilty plea, and because the company had taken
steps since the incident to ensure a safe workplace.
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45 Deseret News: NRC fight may affect Envirocare
[deseretnews.com]
Friday, October 28, 2005
Deseret Morning News
A hearing before a board of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
could determine whether Envirocare is allowed to continue
disposing of depleted uranium waste — or even dig up the depleted
uranium already there.
Under Utah law, the Tooele County facility is limited to
accepting waste no hotter than Class A, the least dangerous
classification of radioactive material, of which depleted
uranium is included.
Envirocare has accepted depleted uranium in the past, and
it could become the burial site for many thousands of tons of
the material to be generated by a uranium enrichment facility
that Louisiana Energy Services is proposing to build in New
Mexico.
Tim Barney, senior vice president for Envirocare, thinks
a proposed disposal facility in Texas would be a more likely
place for the LES depleted uranium waste. He believes the amount
of depleted uranium to be disposed throughout the LES plant's
30-year lifetime would be up to 1 million drums of the 55-gallon
size.
At Envirocare, material is placed in shallow cells with a
protective cap. Envirocare has accepted just over 100,000 cubic
feet of depleted uranium. By comparison, Barney said, "that's
less than one-half of 1 percent of the volume we've received
here to date of other material."
Two groups are claiming in a hearing before the NRC's
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that depleted uranium should
not be considered Class A — that it's more dangerous than other
material in that classification. Instead, they contend it should
be considered as Class C, the most dangerous of the low-level
radioactive material, and consigned to a deep geological
repository.
If the NRC agrees, that could open questions about
Envirocare receiving additional depleted uranium, or even about
what will happen to the depleted uranium buried in Tooele County
under the present rules.
The weeklong evidentiary hearing at NRC headquarters in
Rockville, Md., is expected to wrap up today.
The NRC has said it will continue hearings in Lea County,
N.M., in March, and a decision may not be issued before next
summer.
Subject of the hearing is the cost of decommissioning the
proposed enrichment plant "and the disposal of depleted uranium
tails created by the enrichment process," says an NRC
announcement.
"If you put this stuff in a shallow dump, it's a lot
cheaper than trying to find a geological repository to put the
stuff in," said Michele Boyd, legislative director of Public
Citizen, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C. An
organization called Institute for Energy and Environmental
Research, based in Tacoma Park, Md., and Public Citizen
instigated the hearing.
The hearing was triggered by the plans of Louisiana
Energy Services to build and operate a uranium enrichment
facility near Eunice, N.M. A waste product would be what is
termed "depleted uranium," which environmental activists say is
a misnomer because it remains radioactive.
Depleted uranium has been stripped of the isotopes U-235
and U-234 for use elsewhere, but it retains the radioactive
isotope U-238. According to Gulflink, a federal government Web
site concerning Gulf War Syndrome, depleted uranium's chemical
properties are more worrisome than the relatively low
radioactivity.
Public Citizen, the institute and other environmentalists
assert that the radioactivity is too high for disposal in
shallow burial.
Depleted uranium waste from the proposed New Mexico plant
could be taken to a disposal facility proposed for a few miles
away in Texas. But an environmental impact statement issued in
June says, "Envirocare accepts waste from all regions of the
United States. Envirocare is licensed by the state of Utah to
accept for disposal Class A waste only. Therefore, Envirocare is
a disposal option for radioactive waste generated" at the
proposed National Enrichment Facility.
Jason Groenewold, director of the activist group Healthy
Environment Alliance of Utah, said Envirocare sent a letter to
LES, saying the company could dispose of the depleted uranium.
The letter is posted on the Internet.
"At the same time Envirocare was telling Utahns it was
giving up pursuit of hotter radioactive waste, they were quietly
working behind the scenes to solicit bulk quantities of depleted
uranium," he said. According to Groenewold, experts say "it is
hotter than Class C radioactive waste, which the Legislature
just banned."
Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute for Energy
and Environmental Research, believes depleted uranium from the
enrichment plant would be equivalent to "the kind of wastes that
are being disposed of in the Waste Isolation Power Plant in New
Mexico, the deep geological repository."
Eventually, if LES material is given shallow burial, wind
could erode the covering and expose the depleted uranium, he
said. That may take hundreds of years, but the half-life of the
depleted uranium is much longer, he said.
"Our calculations show that the radiation doses would be
hundreds of thousands of times the maximum allowable, under the
commission's criteria," Makhijani said. If the material is
exposed someday, he added, "you've got a very irradiated
landscape."
Depleted uranium is considered Class A only because
that's a sort of default classification, he said. Now the
classification may be reconsidered. "It's a very big legal
tangle right now," Makhijani said.
Mark Walker, public affairs officer for Envirocare, said
the company is one of only three or four facilities that can
accept depleted uranium. The material was classified as Class A
by the NRC, which did an in-depth safety analysis in making the
decision.
Both the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and
Envirocare had to demonstrate that the company's disposal cells
can safely handle it, Walker said.
Barney said if Makhijani's argument about future exposure
is valid, "then you wouldn't be able to dispose of anything in a
near-surface facility." Much of what these facilities handle has
a long half-life, he said.
"A lot of elements that we take, and that everybody
takes, have very long half-life, billions of years," said Tye
Rogers, Envirocare vice president for compliance and licensing.
The half-life isn't the important factor, it's how much
radiation is emitted, he said.
If the concentration of the uranium is too high
Envirocare could not accept it, he said.
Dane Finerfrock, director of the Utah Division of
Radiation Control, said he can't conceive of "any way that the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission would say that no uranium is
acceptable for shallow land burial."
But what will happen if the NRC rules that depleted
uranium should no longer be considered Class A waste?
"Whatever the regulatory bodies decide is the prudent
course, and the prudent and safest manner to manage this
material, we'll support that," Barney said.
© 2005 Deseret News Publishing Company [ /]
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46 Tri-Valley Herald: Historic tool for physics research finding friends
Article Last Updated: 10/28/2005 02:38:33 AM
Berkeley peace commission pushes to save massive particle
accelerator for posterity
By Kristin Bender, STAFF WRITER
BERKELEY — The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory wants to
raze the long-dormant Bevatron, but one city peace group has
other ideas about how to put the historic particle accelerator to
use.
Neither the Berkeley City Council nor the city's Peace and
Justice Commission has authority over what ultimately will
happen to the Bevatron, the massive, 50-year-old machine that in
its heyday helped scientists win four Nobel Prizes for particle
physics research.
But that didn't stop the peace commission from passing a
resolution recently, calling on the U.S. Department of Energy,
the lab and the University of California to preserve the
facility as a "place of merit on the National Register
of Historic
Places" for the benefit of future students in science, history
and architecture.
"Our commission was swayed by a chance to have an educational
facility," said Peace and Justice Commission member Mark
McDonald. "We were actually thinking that future scientists will
look back and say, 'I got my start that day I went down to the
Bevatron.'"
Struggles to save the Bevatron come as the laboratory last week
released a draft environmental impact report. The public and
government agencies have until Dec. 7 to submit written comments
on the massive document, which is available online at . A public
hearing is scheduled for Nov. 16.
The lab needs to know just how
the large-scale demolition, which
could start as early as fiscal 2006, would affect such areas of
concern as noise, air quality, geology and soil, water quality
and public service.
McDonald said there are other important reasons for opposing
deconstruction. For one thing, potentially highly toxic and
radioactive debris will not have to be hauled through city
streets for five to six years, he said. And communities where
the waste eventually would be dumped would be spared the toxic
mess.
Lab officials say some of the materials will have low
radioactive levels above naturally occurring levels, but the
bulk of the materials to be removed would "consist of
nonhazardous construction debris and other items typical of
demolition projects."
The Peace and Justice Commission had hoped the millions set
aside for demolition could be redirected to other cleanup
projects at the lab.
But Councilmember Gordon Wozniak, who represents the area where
the Bevatron sits, said that does not seem possible.
"My understanding is (the money) is a line item from Congress.
They aren't going to allow (the lab) to say, 'Now that we've got
this money, we are going to come up with something else to do
with it,'" Wozniak said.
McDonald has another reason for working to keep the Bevatron
around — he thinks the thing is pretty darn cool.
"I have to admit I became very impressed by the facility. ...
It's been kept up, and it's
an unusual design. It's like a giant
yurt. We in Berkeley have never seen a yurt that we didn't love,
and this is a huge yurt; it might be the world's largest yurt,"
said McDonald, a self-described science enthusiast.
Although there are no definite plans for the site, lab officials
say it is housed in a deteriorating and seismically unsound
building larger than a football field on prized real estate.
Moreover, the Bevatron does not work, yet it chews up a lot of
maintenance time and energy, lab officials say. The machine has
been sitting dormant since 1993, and neither it nor the building
is needed now by the lab.
Earlier this year, the Berkeley City Council supported state
leaders in their efforts to secure federal funds for
deconstruction and removal of the Bevatron.
The council Tuesday night talked briefly about reaffirming its
support for the Bevatron removal, but Mayor Tom Bates said the
council will not weigh in formally until council members have a
chance to review the draft EIR.
© 2005 ANG Newspapers
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