***************************************************************** 01/30/06 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 14.25 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 [NYTr] Russia Calls on Iran to End Nuclear Research 2 IRNA: Iran should not be deprived of nuclear energy: Duma member 3 IRNA: South Africa backs Iran's nuclear program 4 IRNA: Mirheydari: Iran has absolute right to peaceful nuclear progra 5 IRNA: EU endorses right of Iran to nuclear energy 6 BBC: Iran nuclear file 'will go to UN' 7 IRNA: Italy ready to join European partners in nuclear talks with Ir 8 Japan Times: Iran highlights EU failings 9 IRNA: EU-Iran nuclear talks start 10 IRNA: Inspections take place within framework of Safeguard Agreement 11 Pacific News Service: U.S. Instigated Iran's Nuclear Program 30 Year 12 AFP: US and EU try to convince Russia on Iranian nuclear program - 13 IRNA: Yemen stresses Iran's nuclear right 14 IRNA: Vaeedi: Iran open to continuation of constructive talks with E 15 Korea Times: NK, Japan to Resume Talks 16 US: Las Vegas SUN: Bush has new nuke plans in store 17 US: Roanoke Times: The 'go fly a kite' energy bill 18 Guardian Unlimited: PM issues blunt warning on climate change 19 Rediff: 'India's nuclear arsenal must be diversified' 20 RIA Novosti: Moscow court rejects ex-minister Adamov release plea 21 BBC: Seven arrested at nuclear 22 REGNUM: Adamov can be released - Incidents - 23 Mos News: Moscow Court Refuses to Release Former Nuclear Minister Ad 24 Eurasia Daily Monitor: MOSCOW TO INCREASE NUCLEAR TIES WITH UZBEKIST 25 outlookindia.com: Govt asked to approve production of nuke submarine 26 UPI: British energy could come from sea power 27 BakuTODAY.net: Russia, Ukraine Put off Signing Gas Deal, Discuss NUCLEAR REACTORS 28 US: Workers "Coached" to Sleep at Three Mile Island 29 US: [NukeNet] Norm quoted in NY Times: Creating the Nation's 30 US: [JerseyShoreNuclearWatch] Jan 30 APP Oyster Creek nuclear 31 HindustanTimes.com: Nuclear reactions 32 IRNA: Arabs warn about dangers of Israel's nuclear power plant 33 US: MiamiHerald.com: FPL's power strategy has consumers wary 34 ForUm: Ukraine to promote uranium industry 35 US: NRC: NRC Proposes to Amend Regulations on Fines for Violating Em 36 US: EIR: The World Cannot Survive Without Nuclear Energy 37 The Herald: More nuclear power is the greatest idiocy ever 38 US: NRC: NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to Meet Feb. 9 39 Canadian Nuclear FAQ: Why This is CANDU Country 40 Sofia Morning News: Bulgaria’s energy industry risks power drain - 41 US: Sun Herald: Time to Explore the Nuclear Option 42 Business Day: Koeberg repair could take up to nine months 43 US: NRC: Live NRC Meeting Webcast NUCLEAR SECURITY NUCLEAR SAFETY 44 [du-list] Saddam to sue re USUK war crimes including use of 45 [du-list] the killing fields: ghosts of the walking dead 46 [DU Information List] saddam sues george over uranium weapons 47 US: [DU List] Dennis Kyne - gulf vet - DU News - 1st issue 48 US: [du-list] Army Extends Health Assessment for Returning 49 US: NRC: NRC Cites Nuclear Medicine Firm for Violation of Requiremen 50 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes: Meeting 51 UPI: Report: French nuke tests were harmful 52 UPI: Study: Nuclear fusion with sound waves 53 US: Deseret News: Fallout study corrects old estimates NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 54 US: [Bananas] Final letter to House/Senate on reprocessing 55 KAVKAZ CENTER: Radioactive burial place found in mountains of Vedeno 56 US: WP: A Plan for Nuclear Waste 57 US: RGJ.com: BLM returned $700,000 meant for mine cleanup 58 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Feds plan push for reuse of N-waste 59 US: The Dispatch: EPA Sets Perchlorate Cleanup Level 60 US: Feinstein: Criticizing EPA for Weak Perchlorate Remediation Stan 61 US: Canon City Daily Record: Cotter meeting to address all topics 62 News & Star: Sellafield clean-up completed 63 Mohave Daily News: Porter set against Yucca Mountain nuclear storage 64 US: The Signal: Whittaker-Bermite Bidders Present Site Cleanup Plans 65 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Environmental suits may need bond PEACE 66 News Wales: Nuclear free Wales backed by Liberal Democrats US DEPT. OF ENERGY 67 DOE: Study of the Potential Benefits of Distributed Generation 68 DOE: Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-PS26-06NT15430, Enhanced Oi 69 DOE: Office of Environmental Management; Environmental Management 70 lamonitor.com: Senators object to UC proposal ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 [NYTr] Russia Calls on Iran to End Nuclear Research Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 20:09:55 -0600 (CST) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Prensa Latina, Havana http://www.plenglish.com Russia Calls on Iran to End Nuclear Research Moscow, Jan 30 (PL)-- Russia called Iran to halt its nuclear research and attend talks with the European Troika prior to the IAEO Board of Governors' meeting in Vienna. Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov said the London meeting of Russia and China and the Troika (the UK, France and Germany) is to supply the International Atomic Energy Organization due information on Iran. Russia invited Iran two weeks ago to set up joint ventures to enrich and produce uranium and nuclear fuel to prevent the issue from reaching the Security Council under US pressures for sanctions. Iran's acceptance would be a strong argument to prevent UN involvement, said Serguei Stepachin president of the Accounts Chamber. Iran accepted Moscow's invitation in principle but demands further analysis of some items. hr/emw/oda * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 2 IRNA: Iran should not be deprived of nuclear energy: Duma member Moscow, Jan 31, IRNA Iran-Russia-Nuclear Head of Russian Duma's Foreign Affairs Commission here Monday said that the hasty referral of Iran's nuclear file to UN Security Council and probable sanctions against Iran are "unconstructive." Konstantine Kachief told Itar-Tass new agency that the West and US' threats against Iran are limiting the talks. The Russian Duma has indicated many times that Iran has signed the Non-Proliferation-Treaty and should not be deprived of nuclear energy, he said. "Hence, we totally support Tehran's efforts in generating its electricity needs through nuclear facilities." Iran-Russia nuclear cooperation including construction of Bushehr nuclear powerplant is only feasible through compliance with NPT provisions, Kachief underlined. On the Russian proposal for establishing centers for uranium enrichment in its territory, he said that the plan which is backed by the international community is capable of meeting the nuclear energy needs of Iran for years to come. Tehran has put a lot of efforts in the last two years to remove the concerns of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the international community over its nuclear research work, he said. The voluntary implementation of confidence building measures by Iran, including acceptance of the Additional Protocol of NPT and voluntary suspension of uranium enrichment are praiseworthy, the Duma member stated. The only beneficial solution for resolving the nuclear issue is for Iran to continue its transparent cooperation with the IAEA, the Russian official underlined. "Tehran as a member of IAEA and signatory to NPT is entitled to posses nuclear fuel cycle with peaceful aims." Furthermore, he added the countries which have advance technology should, based on NPT provisions assist Iran to acquire such know-how, the Russian official added. Tehran has had exemplary cooperation with the IAEA inspectors to show its good will and its atomic centers are under the monitoring of IAEA officials, he added. "Still, some Western powers contravene all international regulations and have announced that Iran should stop its atomic research-related work." Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Saturday that Tehran and Moscow have reached agreement on certain points such as increasing the number of partners. "Russian proposal is under thorough study and talks on the issue are underway. Thus far, Tehran and Moscow have reached agreement on certain points such as increasing the number of partners," said Mottaki in an interview with reporters after a meeting with his Bahraini counterpart Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Bin Mohammad al-Khalifa in Tehran on Saturday. Mottaki said certain other points such as site of enrichment are under discussion. As for Iran's possible reaction in case of it being reported to the UN Security Council, Mottaki said, "If such a thing happens in the February 2 meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the government will have to suspend all its voluntary measures upon an approval of the Majlis." ***************************************************************** 3 IRNA: South Africa backs Iran's nuclear program Cape Town, Jan 30, IRNA Iran-South Africa South Africa, Cuba and Malaysia, the troika representing the Non-Aligned Movement, have endorsed the right of Iran to enrich uranium as part of its development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The decision constitutes a victory for Iran in an international diplomatic tussle to avoid sanctions following the Islamic country's decision to break the seals at its key nuclear processing plant at Isfahan. Iran has insisted that its nuclear work is intended only for peaceful purposes. The foreign ministers of South Africa, Malaysia and Cuba expressed their views after a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Hrmanus at the weekend. He updated the three foreign ministers South African Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Malaysian Syed Hamid Albar and Cuban Felipe Perez Roque in developments since their visit to Tehran in November last year. The troika reaffirmed NAMs support of the basic and inalienable right of all states signatory to Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, without discrimination and in conformity with the Safeguards Agreements in connection with the NPT. Roque said this right included the right to develop enriched uranium to produce nuclear fuel. The troika hoped issues relating to Iran's nuclear program would be resolved within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). ***************************************************************** 4 IRNA: Mirheydari: Iran has absolute right to peaceful nuclear program Belgrade, Jan 30, IRNA Iran-Serbia-Mirheydari Based on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) all countries have the absolute right to peaceful use of nuclear energy and Iran as an NPT signatory reserves such a right for itself. Iran's ambassador to Serbia, Morteza Mirheydari told Serbian national TV that now Iran is conducting nuclear technology research and not enrichment and the possibility of the referral of Iran's nuclear dossier to the UN Security Council is very weak. Mirheydari said that if such a move is taken, Iran will, based on a recent Majlis approval, stop cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The diplomat invited Europe to self-restraint, adding, "We are for negotiations and dialogue and the door for talks is still open although the US and European Union have rejected it." Iran will continue talks with China and Russia as well as the Non-Aligned Movement members that consider enrichment as Tehran's lawful right, said Mirheydari, adding that Iran wants the problem solved through peaceful and amicable means. Commending on the Zionist regime's claim that the Islamic Republic of Iran will soon attain nuclear weapons, Mirheydari said, "Israel has announced since the 80s that Iran is close to acquiring nuclear weapons and such claims are mostly raised to divert public opinion from Israel's mobilization of 200 nuclear warheads." The Iranian ambassador stressed that Iran considers the UN nuclear watchdog as the only competent authority. He said Iran's constant cooperation with the IAEA testifies the claim. Elsewhere in the televised interview, Mirheydari described Iran as a 'big and powerful' country in regional and international equations, saying that's a highly effective and important factor for restoration of regional stability and security. ***************************************************************** 5 IRNA: EU endorses right of Iran to nuclear energy Brussels, Jan 30, IRNA EU-Iran-Statement The EU Council of foreign ministers is expected to issue a statement later Monday saying that the EU 'does not question the right of Iran to the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in conformity with its obligations under the NPT, a right which we have consistently reaffirmed'. A draft conclusion, which is expected to be endorsed by the ministers of the 25-member EU Monday evening, says, "Dispute is about Iran's failure to build the necessary confidence as to the exclusively peaceful nature of its program. "The EU believes that the issue can still be solved through negotiations; But this will require a cooperative and transparent approach on the part of the Iranian government with the IAEA, and the return to full suspension." The draft says, "The EU remain committed to a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue in which the IAEA should play a central role. Involvement of the Security Council does not end the IAEA's responsibilities: on the contrary it strengthens them." The Council is holding its regular monthly meeting in Brussels Monday. The Palestine issue following the sweeping victory of Hamas and Iran are the two main issues on the agenda. ***************************************************************** 6 BBC: Iran nuclear file 'will go to UN' Last Updated: Tuesday, 31 January 2006 [Iranian technicians. File photo] Western powers suspect Iran's nuclear ambitions are not peaceful Key powers have agreed to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear programme at a UN nuclear watchdog board meeting on Thursday. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announced the decision after a meeting of the five permanent council members and Germany in London. Talks with Iran earlier in the day failed to produce a breakthrough. President George W Bush earlier said the US and its allies would remain united in their dealings with Iran. The permanent five - the UK, US, France, China and Russia - plus Germany, met in London on Monday night to co-ordinate their position ahead of an emergency board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday. Compromise If the board agrees to refer it to the Security Council, Iran may face sanctions. But Mr Straw said the foreign ministers decided the council would take no action until March, after it has received a formal report on Iran from the IAEA. The timetable represents a compromise, with the Europeans and the United States having wanted Iran to be referred to the Security Council as soon as possible, while Russia and China argued for more time, says the BBC's UN correspondent Susannah Price. But a US diplomat expressed himself pleased with the decision, telling Reuters: "This is the most powerful message we could have hoped for." Washington and the EU have accused Iran of aiming to produce nuclear weapons, but Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for civilian energy use only. The foreign ministers' statement called for "an extensive period of confidence-building" by Tehran, following its recent decision to break IAEA seals on its nuclear facilities. Tactics Mr Bush, previewing his State of the Union speech to be delivered later on Tuesday, said he would have separate messages for the Iranian people and their government. "And in speaking to the people, my message is this: 'You know, we're not going to tell you how to live your life, but we would like you to be free'," he said. NEXT STEPS 2/3 Feb, Vienna: Emergency meetin of IAEA's board. Possible referral to Security Council 16 Feb, Moscow: Russia and Iran resume talks on Russia's proposed compromise Future date, New York: Possible Security Council meeting March, Vienna: IAEA to report on Iranian compliance "But to the government, our message is that if you want to be a part of the family of nations, give up your nuclear weapons ambitions." He added: "We're united in our goal to keep the Iranians from having a weapon, and we're working on the tactics necessary to continue putting a united front out." Separate talks in Brussels on Monday were requested by Tehran in the hope of averting moves towards referral. "To be frank, we didn't detect anything new in their approach," said John Sawers, a senior British diplomat at the talks. However Javad Vaeedi, deputy head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said: "As far as we are concerned, it has been a positive outcome." Iran insists it should be allowed to develop its own nuclear technology, but other key powers do not want it to produce its own enriched uranium, which can be used in nuclear weapons as well as power plants. ***************************************************************** 7 IRNA: Italy ready to join European partners in nuclear talks with Iran Tehran, Jan 29, IRNA Iran-Nuclear-Italy Italy is ready to join European partners in nuclear talks with Iran, said an Iranian parliamentarian after talks with Italian ambassador to Tehran Roberto Tuscano here on Sunday. A member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mahmoud Mohammadi said the problem with Europeans' talks with Iran had been their denial of the right of the signatories to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), including Iran, for peaceful use of nuclear energy. Mohammadi said the right for peaceful use of nuclear energy by signatories to the NPT and members of the International Atomic Energy Agency has been envisioned by the fourth clause of the Treaty and the Agency's charter and no country can deny it. On this basis, the Islamic Republic of Iran will never give up its legitimate and legal rights, he added. The parliamentarian referred to Majlis approvals for peaceful use of nuclear energy within the framework of the Agency's safeguards agreement, saying it will not be logical to prevent the use of related knowledge and technology for country's progress and development just because of certain countries fearing Iran's likely diversion from peaceful intentions. Iran's cooperation with the Agency means that the country officially recognizes the right of the organization for supervision, said Mohammadi, adding that this also means accepting the right of Iran for peaceful use of nuclear energy. Tuscano said diplomatic solutions should be found for Iran's nuclear problem. He said the blockade of Iran's accounts in Italy are not politically motivated and his government is making efforts to solve it. He described the problem as judicial and in final stages. ***************************************************************** 8 Japan Times: Iran highlights EU failings Monday, January 30, 2006 By DAVID HOWELL LONDON -- The battle for Europe's soul continues. Austria now holds the presidency of the European Union until July, and the Austrians see themselves very much as being at the heart of an integrated European state. The Austrian leaders have therefore been calling for renewed attempts to create a European constitution, following the collapse of earlier proposals for more EU involvement in tax and social affairs in each member state, a much stronger European foreign and security policy, and a bigger presence for the EU, as a single bloc or entity, on the world stage. Those who are skeptical about this "integrationist" agenda -- and they are probably the majority in Europe as a whole -- argue that this is just the wrong approach and that Europe should be adopting different priorities. First, they point to the awkward fact that the EU is lagging badly in economic terms. Despite grandiose plans for "overtaking America in 10 years," it is stagnating. A recent report from former Finnish Prime Minister Esko Aho to the EU Commission stresses that top European companies are turning away from the EU and directing their new investment into Asia. His report sees a real decline in the comfortable European lifestyle as the whole Continent remains locked in over-regulation and protection. With research spending and innovation falling well below the levels in either Asia or America, Aho urges Europe to act "before it is too late." Second, the skeptics question whether a single European state can ever stride across the world stage in the way that some enthusiasts keep hoping. Not only is the basic unity of outlook among the EU's 25 current members lacking. But the whole EU approach is just too regional and inward looking, when the big problems of the world are global. For example, in handling the mounting difficulties with Iran it has become clear that the EU attempt at solving the situation through diplomacy is heading nowhere at all. The original idea was that the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany would somehow do a deal with the fiery Iranians and persuade them to halt their civil nuclear program. But, of course, there will be no progress on Iran unless all the key players are fully involved, including Russia, China, India and Japan. The idea that the EU could somehow take the lead in dealing with the Iranians was an inflated conceit that was bound to end in failure. And the American alternative -- which is to mutter about the use of force -- is equally hollow and counter-productive. The U.N. avenue is also blocked since key members like China and Russia are not convinced that sanctions will do any good. The problem is one of global dimensions, and it is the big Asian powers who need to lead in tackling it. Individual European nations, like Britain, should have been active from the start in links with Delhi, Beijing, Tokyo and Moscow to deal with the Iranian threat. But the way was barred by the collective EU "initiative," which has achieved nothing except to increase anti-Western feeling in Iran and probably drive the country into the arms of China. The realization that not only economic power but also global political power are shifting eastward and must be at least shared, if not handed over, to the new Asia, has just not sunk in to parochial European minds -- or at any rate those of its current statesmen. Nor has EU "foreign policy" had much more success in other fields. Endless quarrels with the United States, on matters ranging from farm export subsidies, aircraft subsidies and development aid, to energy and climate issues, to Iraq and Middle East policy, have led to the worst trans-Atlantic relations in a generation. The Atlantic has grown much wider. All this calls for a fundamental reassessment of Europe's status and prospects. The Austrian pressure for staying on the old, discredited track of more political integration is pointing a false way. The people of Europe long for a more flexible, diverse Europe, further enlarged to gently embrace Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Turkey and other newcomers, and concentrating on competition, enterprise and innovation -- not attempted adventures by a would-be EU superstate on the world stage. In Washington, where for many years EU integration was encouraged as "a good thing," it is just now dawning that a unified European bloc in today's conditions adds nothing to world stability and, worse, intensifies anti-Americanism. Strengthening bilateral relations with individual European states that are basically friendly to the U.S., although not necessarily obedient lapdogs, offers a far more promising way of building a global network that can truly work for peace and stability. The more this perception spreads to other modern centers of opinion and power, such as Tokyo or Delhi, the quicker the EU will be able to recover its dynamism and focus on its true priorities. Europe has much to offer the 21st century world and its challenges, but not in the form of an overly centralized, homogenized bloc -- a lesson the Austrians have evidently yet to learn. David Howell is a former British Cabinet minister and former chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. He is now a member of the House of Lords. The Japan Times: Jan. 30, 2006 (C) All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 9 IRNA: EU-Iran nuclear talks start Brussels, Jan 30, IRNA EU-Iran An Iranian delegation led by the deputy head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Javad Vaeedi, began talks on the nuclear issue with senior officials from France, Germany, the UK (EU troika) and a representative of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana at the British representation to the EU in Brussels Monday noon. Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels Monday are expected to release a statement saying that "the EU believes that the issue can still be resolved by negotiations." "The EU remains committed to a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue in which the IAEA should play a central role," says a draft resolution expected to be adopted later Monday by the EU Council of Foreign Ministers. ***************************************************************** 10 IRNA: Inspections take place within framework of Safeguard Agreement - Tehran, Jan 30, IRNA Iran-Inspection-Elham Government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham here Monday said that inspection of nuclear installations by the United Nations nuclear watchdog, including the one in Lavizan, take place according to the previously declared policies acceptable to both sides and within the framework of Safeguard Agreement. Speaking to reporters in this week's briefing, in response to a question whether Iran may agree to conduct enrichment in the Russian soil for several years, he said that given Iran's interest in having a partner in enrichment process towards peaceful purposes, it will discuss the issue with Russians. He underlined that Iran will never give up its inalienable rights. In reply to a question whether Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki heading the Iranian delegation expected to attend London conference is likely to discuss the country's nuclear issue, he said that reconstruction of Afghanistan will be the only issue on the agenda of the meeting and the main reason for Mottaki's participation. "However, any topic may be discussed on the sidelines of London conference, as is the case with political sessions, adding that they have nothing to do with the agenda and objective of the visit of Iranian officials to London," he added. Concerning Iran's approach towards the victory of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement in the recent parliamentary election and appointment of Iran's ambassador to the country, he said that Iran will support any step that will help restore the full rights of the Palestinian people. "Iran is satisfied with the result of Palestinian election and welcomes any measure taken by Palestinians that will restore their rights," he added. Elham pointed to Hamas victory in the recent election as the first step taken by Palestinians and said that Iran's general outlook consists of establishment of a unified Palestine, an integrated government and full freedom of the noble Qods. He hoped that the Palestinian refugees will return to their homeland and that through a referendum a government based upon the votes of all Palestinians, irrespective of their religion, will be formed. "The world, in particular the Western governments, should note the direction in which the public will be oriented once the grounds are prepared for them to make decisions based upon democratic principles. "The will of the Palestinian people should be taken into view and respected," concluded Elham. ***************************************************************** 11 Pacific News Service: U.S. Instigated Iran's Nuclear Program 30 Years Ago www.ncmonline.com This is a stripped down version of our Web site. We suggest that you upgrade your Web browserso you can surf through our complete site. Thank you. Commentary, William O. Beeman, New America Media, Jan 30, 2006 Editor's Note: U.S. statements about Iran's nuclear program don't fit the facts, the writer says, and conveniently fail to mention past U.S. efforts to promote a nuclear Iran. William O. Beeman is professor of anthropology and Middle East studies at Brown University. He is author of "The 'Great Satan' vs. the 'Mad Mullahs': How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other" (Greenwood, 2005). White House staff members, who are trying to prevent Iran from developing its own nuclear energy capacity and who refuse to take military action against Iran "off the table," have conveniently forgotten that the United States was the midwife to the Iranian nuclear program 30 years ago. Every aspect of Iran's current nuclear development was approved and encouraged by Washington in the 1970s. President Gerald Ford offered Iran a full nuclear cycle in 1976. Moreover, the only Iranian reactor currently about to become operative, the reactor in Bushire (also known as Bushehr), was started before the Iranian revolution with U.S. approval, and cannot produce weapons-grade plutonium. The Bushire reactor -- a "light water" reactor -- produces Pu (plutonium) 240, Pu241 and Pu242. Although these isotopes could theoretically be weaponized, the process is extremely long and complicated, and also untried. To date, no nuclear weapon has ever been produced with plutonium produced with the kind of reactor at Bushire. Moreover, the plant must be completely shut down to extract the fuel rods, making the process immediately open to detection and inspection. Other possible reactors in Iran are far in the future. The American push for Iran's nuclear development was carried out with great enthusiasm. Professor Ahmad Sadri, chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Lake Forest College in Illinois, was a young man in Iran when the United States was touting nuclear power facilities to the government of the Shah. In the 1970s he remembers seeing the American display at the Tehran International Exhibition, which was "dedicated to the single theme of extolling the virtues of atomic energy and the feasibility of its transfer to Iran." Sadri also remembers an encounter with Octave J. Du Temple, executive director emeritus of the American Nuclear Society, who fondly reminisced about half a dozen trips in the early 1970s to Tehran and Shiraz in order to participate in conferences and summits on "transfer of nuclear technology." Washington international lawyer Donald Weadon, who was active in Iran during this period, points out that after 1972 and the oil crisis, the United States was rabidly pursuing investment opportunities in Iran, including selling nuclear power plants. "The Iranians were wooed hard with the prospect of nuclear power from trusted, U.S.-backed suppliers," he says, "with the prospect of the reservation of significant revenues from oil exports for foreign and domestic investment." American dissimulation on this point reveals some interesting motives on Washington's part. Iran under the Shah was as much of a threat to its neighbors (including Iraq) as it might be said to be today. Its nuclear ambitions then could have been inflated and denigrated in exactly the same way they are being inflated and denigrated today, but the United States was blissfully unconcerned. The big difference is that Iran is now perceived to be a threat to Israel, and this fuels much of the threat of military action. Even those who admit that the United States helped start Iran's current nuclear development can produce only two factors that make a difference in how Iran should be treated today as opposed to the 1970s. The most recent factor is President Ahmadinejad's widely denounced remarks attacking Israel. The second, older factor is Iran's alleged concealment of nuclear energy development activities in the past. President Ahmadinejad's remarks have little or no connection with any probable action on Iran's part regarding Israel. His pronouncements were designed primarily to shore up support from extremist elements among his own revolutionary supporters. Moreover, Ahmadinejad has no control over Iran's foreign policy or its nuclear energy program, and his views are not embraced by Iran's clerical leaders. The second accusation, that Iran has "regularly hidden information about its nuclear program" is equally specious. Much of what the United States has called "concealment" was never concealed at all, when the reports of the United Nations inspection team are examined. Many of the U.S. charges about removing topsoil and bulldozing material at some of the research sites are unsupported by the United Nations. Moreover, even if one concedes that Iran did conceal some processes, this activity started 18-20 years ago, when the revolution was still young and Ayatollah Khomeini was still alive, under completely different political actors than are in power today. Indeed, whatever Iran did or didn't do in the past, they are in compliance with the NNPT at present. Indeed, there would be no way to accuse them of anything if they had not been so compliant about responding to NNPT requests for information. The NNPT grants all signatories the right to pursue nuclear research for peaceful purposes of precisely the kind in which Iran is currently engaged. The mantra "Iran must not get nuclear weapons" has been repeated so often now that most people have come to believe that Iran has them or is getting them. This implication is completely unproven. The tragedy would be that in the end, U.S. hostility may goad Iran into a real nuclear weapons program. Copyright © 2004 Pacific News Service Powered by DW Alliance. ***************************************************************** 12 AFP: US and EU try to convince Russia on Iranian nuclear program - Monday January 30, 10:51 PM LONDON (AFP) - Europe has urged Iran to backtrack on its nuclear ambitions as EU nations and the United States sought to convince Russia and China to back UN action and Tehran asked for more time for a compromise. All five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany were to meet here later Monday to hammer out a joint position ahead of an emergency meeting Thursday in Vienna of the UN nuclear watchdog. In Brussels, top officials from Britain, France and Germany, the EU troika which have been negotiating with Iran, met an Iranian delegation. "It's good to talk, but their position has to change ... they know how to change, they know what they have to change," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said. EU negotiations with Iran broke down this month after Tehran broke the UN seals on a key nuclear facility in breach of a November 2004 agreement. "They have taken decisions that were absolutely incompatible with the commitments that they have made with the international agency and also to us," said Solana. The 35-nation board of governors of the UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is to discuss an EU demand to send Tehran before the UN Security Council for possible punitive measures. The United States and the EU fear Iran is using a nuclear program it says is peaceful to hide secret atomic weapons development. But Russia and China, veto-wielding members of the Security Council and with extensive trade ties to Iran, are reluctant to back immediate UN action, with Moscow saying diplomacy needs more time. Iran argued that talks with Russia on a potential compromise needed "more time". "Our position is very clear. We will not back down," government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham told reporters. "But the government can, in the framework of a declared and acceptable policy, examine the Russian proposal. We can negotiate on the manner of its application," he said. Moscow proposes that the process of enriching uranium into fuel be conducted in Russia as a way of keeping Iran from acquiring bomb-making technology while guaranteeing its access to nuclear energy. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters Sunday: "The Russian proposal has been on the table for quite some time and it's interesting that the Iranians have been expressing greater interest the closer we get to the vote to go to the Security Council." "I think that says something about how really interested the Iranians are in the Russian proposal," Rice said. Iran also has allowed IAEA inspectors to visit the former Lavizan military complex in Tehran after blocking this for more than a year, diplomats told AFP. The IAEA reported in November 2004 that Iran had tried to acquire equipment that could have been used in uranium enrichment at the Lavizan site. Diplomats and analysts said the Iranian move is consistent with a tactic of making concessions when faced with an international crackdown. Mark Fitzpatrick, a non-proliferation analyst at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies, said: "Iran is a master at providing just enough access and information to appear to be cooperative enough to get past the next (IAEA) board meeting without being sent to the Security Council." "I expect that they have not provided access to all the sites the IAEA wanted nor access to the individuals the IAEA has sought to interview," he added. A draft IAEA resolution by Britain, France and Germany is in line with US calls for action now on Iran and makes little concessions to calls for delay. The four-page draft calls on the IAEA to notify the Security Council that questions over Iran's implementation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty "require action by the Security Council." But Fitzpatrick said Washington is likely to give ground Monday as it needs wide support when the IAEA meets. The resoluton will "get watered down. I think it would be better to go into the February 2 meeting with the P-5 linking arms and that will probably require a compromise on the part of the United States," said Fitzgerald. Copyright © 2006 AFP. All rights reserved. All information ***************************************************************** 13 IRNA: Yemen stresses Iran's nuclear right , Jan 30, IRNA Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh here Sunday night stressed the indisputable right of Iran, or any Arab or Islamic state for that matter, to pursue their nuclear right based on international rules and regulations. According to the official Yemeni news agency (Saba), the Yemeni president made the remark at a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier. He also called for a Middle East region free from nuclear weapons, saying Israel should first dismantle its atomic arsenals. Abdullah Saleh is on a 10-day visit to Germany for a medical check-up. During his meetings with German officials, he discussed bilateral relations as well as regional and international developments. ***************************************************************** 14 IRNA: Vaeedi: Iran open to continuation of constructive talks with EU Brussels, Jan 31, IRNA EU-Iran-Interview A top Iranian negotiator underlined Monday that the path of talks and diplomacy with the European Union on Iran's nuclear programme was continuing and he hoped that results would be achieved. "Today's meeting was a good chance and opportunity to continuing the talks between both sides'' said the deputy head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Javad Vaeedi. Vaeedi was speaking to IRNA Monday night following two-and-a-half hours of talks with senior officials from France, Germany, the UK (EU troika) and a representative of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Brussels He said the Iranian side stressed that the Islamic Republic is open for the continuation of "constructive and logical talks ." "The Iranian side emphasized that the path of diplomacy and the path of talks are still continuing and we hope that both sides will not spare any efforts to achieve more results through this way." He said that Iran's nuclear programme should be dealt within the IAEA framework and that the diplomatic path should not be closed. Vaeedi said the EU side listened to the Iranian position and said they will inform the EU foreign ministers Monday night about the outcome of the talks. EU Foreign Ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss several issues including Iran, Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan. The EU3-Iran talks were held at the UK Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels. ***************************************************************** 15 Korea Times: NK, Japan to Resume Talks Hankooki.com > The Korea Times > Nation North Korea and Japan will resume talks in Beijing on Saturday to discuss normalizing diplomatic ties, according to Japan¡¯s top government spokesman. The working-level talks will also deal with Pyongyang¡¯s abductions of Japanese citizens and the communist regime¡¯s nuclear weapons program, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said. The two sides held working-level talks on establishing diplomatic ties in November for the first time in more than a year. But the talks stalled as they failed to reach common ground over how to deal with the North¡¯s abductions of Japanese citizens, nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs and its demand for compensation for Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula. In an effort to make a breakthrough, they agreed in December to hold three separate talks on the issues. South Korean Visitors to North Triple The number of South Korean visitors to North Korea totaled 87,028 last year, more than triple the 26,213 recorded in 2004, the Ministry of Unification said. The figure excludes South Korean visitors to Mt. Kumgang, a resort on the North¡¯s east coast. In 2003, 15,280 South Koreans visited the North, already a significant increase from 1,015 recorded in 1997, the ministry said. Mt. Kumgang attracted 298,247 South Korean visitors in 2005, up 11 percent from the previous year, it said. Report Claims NK Making Rip Off Marlboros North Korea is the world¡¯s leading counterfeiter of brand-name cigarettes, circulating more than 2 billion packs a year, the Wall Street Journal has reported. Cigarette maker Philip Morris uncovered Pyongyang as the source of fake Marlboros circulating internationally following an investigation last year, the paper said. Cigarette companies have hired former intelligence officials to crack down on the operation and even sent agents into North Korea, it said. According to the agents, at least one of the knock-off cigarette factories is controlled by North Korea's security service, while another is linked to a group of elites in the country's Communist Party leadership. Foreign Ministry to Hold Diplomats Meeting The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will hold its annual meeting of ambassadors on Feb. 15-17. A total of 104 ambassadors and mission chiefs will attend the three-day conference, which will focus on security, trade, government renovation and ways to enhance the national image, ministry officials said. The ministry will separately hold a meeting of consuls-general in March, they said. 01-30-2006 18:12 ***************************************************************** 16 Las Vegas SUN: Bush has new nuke plans in store Today: January 30, 2006 at 8:16:8 PST Waste from other nations would be accepted By Benjamin Grove Sun Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is reportedly planning to float a proposal to accept nuclear waste from other nations, and that could both re-energize the flagging effort to construct the proposed waste repository at Yucca Mountain and rally Yucca opponents. "This is going to be really interesting," said Michele Boyd, energy and environment legislative director for Public Citizen, which has long been opposed to Yucca. "I think it's going to galvanize both sides." While the nation doesn't have a place to store its own nuclear waste, the Energy Department reportedly is working on a number of nuclear power-related proposals designed to expand domestic and foreign production of nuclear-generated electricity. Bush-backed legislation is expected in Congress early this year and Bush may outline some proposals in his State of the Union speech Tuesday. One proposal reportedly centers on leasing nuclear fuel to certain foreign nations, which would ship the highly radioactive, spent-fuel waste back to the United States for reprocessing. America, in turn, would ship fresh fuel to the nations. France, Japan and the United Kingdom reprocess waste. The United States currently does not reprocess -- not even its own waste -- in part because of concerns that the plutonium by-product of reprocessing could fall into the wrong hands and be converted to weapons-grade material. It also has not been viewed as economically viable. But the White House and key members of Congress are interested in an undeveloped, highly expensive reprocessing technology -- perhaps 50 years from being viable -- that could lessen the risk of proliferation. Some experts say the technology has the potential to significantly reduce the radioactivity of the waste, which then could be packed more tightly together in Yucca tunnels, effectively expanding its capacity. Critics are skeptical. "It's a pipe dream," Boyd said. But any reprocessing technology -- current or future -- ultimately leaves behind some form of waste. The nation's current high-level waste policy is to bury all of it forever in underground tunnels at the long-delayed, highly controversial proposed repository at Yucca Mountain. But by law Yucca is only being designed to hold 77,000 tons of waste. With nearly 60,000 tons already piled up at U.S. nuclear plants -- they produce about 2,000 tons a year -- soon there won't be room at Yucca for U.S. waste, much less foreign waste. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he had "serious concerns" about the proposal to accept foreign waste, given transportation and terrorism risks. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said, "This dangerous scheme is a disaster waiting to happen and at the end of the day still calls for nuclear waste buried at Yucca Mountain." The Energy Department has not addressed the Yucca capacity issue, although in a November speech to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said this nation could offer "cradle-to-grave fuel cycle services, leasing fuel for power reactors and then taking it back for reprocessing and disposition." Even nuclear industry officials have not thoroughly analyzed how the United States would permanently dispose of waste if it started reprocessing foreign nuclear fuel. "It's really undetermined right now what would happen on the back end," Nuclear Energy Institute spokesman Mitch Singer said. "Nobody has given it a lot of thought." After years of controversy surrounding Yucca, Congress has no appetite to pursue the construction of a second repository. The Bush administration may actually be complicating its effort to focus on Yucca completion by launching a complex, expensive reprocessing program that also represents a dramatic policy shift, one Democratic congressional source said Friday. The source added, "Why are we creating new waste problems when we can't even solve our own?" Benjamin Grove can be reached at (202) 662-7436 or at grove@ lasvegassun.com. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 17 Roanoke Times: The 'go fly a kite' energy bill Monday, January 30, 2006 Legislation, moving through Virginia's General Assembly and weighted heavily in favor of corporate interests, tells NIMBYs to MYOB. An energy bill moving through Virginia's General Assembly would silence future critics. If it gains passage, the state, in collusion with energy companies, can run roughshod over localities' concerns and ram nuclear power plants and the like onto any land it sees fit. The bill would knock the wind out of Not In My Back Yard protests. If the State Corporation Commission decides a particular parcel of land is well-suited for, say, windmills or a nuclear plant or liquefied natural gas storage, and a company wants to build it, then it's not the locality's business to stand in the way. The bill would strip from localities the usual tools of land-use plans and zoning that are used to determine whether projects fit with what communities want. The provision is part of a mega energy policy bill proposed by Sen. Frank W. Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, that seeks to increase the commonwealth's energy independence. In trying to be all things to all tentacles of the energy industry, the bill would allow off-coast drilling along Virginia's shore despite what anyone living there has to say. It also would allow the state to site a controversial liquefied natural gas port, even if no community wished to host such a dangerous venture. The bill would basically tell people, especially those who in the past objected to the siting of natural gas transmission lines and windmills, to go fly a kite. Granted, NIMBYs' interests are generally parochial, confined to their neighborhoods and void of seeing the entire picture, but they shouldn't be barred from the public debate. Sometimes they raise valid concerns that only they are able to see by virtue of being so close to the affected land. And sometimes those concerns can be mitigated and allow for a neighborly compromise. Wagner's bill, as written, ignores that process and the concerns of families who worry about their children playing near transmission lines or who are going to have to fall asleep listening to the sounds of a windmill farm. The bill doesn't differentiate between communities that would welcome energy facilities and ones that would not. The state and energy companies would decide, and the rest of Virginia would meekly comply. Virginians had better speak up now about the provisions in the proposed energy bill, because if it passes, they will be forced to hold their peace. ***************************************************************** 18 Guardian Unlimited: PM issues blunt warning on climate change Matt Weaver Monday January 30, 2006 [A massive tabular iceberg adrift in the Weddell Sea off the Antarctic peninsula] An iceberg adrift in the Weddell Sea off the Antarctic peninsula. Photo: British Antarctic Survey/C Gilbert, PA Tony Blair warns that the impact of climate change may be more serious than previously thought in a new government report on global warming published today. The report raises fears that both the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are likely to melt, leading to a devastating rise in sea levels. It warns of large-scale and irreversible disruption if temperatures rise by more than 3C (5.4F) - well within the range of climate change projections for the century. Article continues Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change is published as a book and collates evidence presented by scientists at a conference hosted by the UK Meteorological Office last February. The conference predicted that greenhouse gases would raise global temperatures by between 1.4C and 5.8C over this century. "It is clear from the work presented that the risks of climate change may well be greater than we thought," Mr Blair wrote in the forward to the book. "It is now plain that the emission of greenhouse gases, associated with industrialisation and economic growth from a world population that has increased six-fold in 200 years, is causing global warming at a rate that is unsustainable." The book includes concerns expressed by the head of the British Antarctic Survey, Professor Chris Rapley, that the huge West Antarctic ice sheet may be starting to disintegrate. Scientists believe such an event would raise sea levels around the world by almost 5m (16 ft). Prof Rapley writes that a previous report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change dismissing worries about the ice sheet's stability had to be revised: "The last IPCC report characterised Antarctica as a slumbering giant in terms of climate change. I would say it is now an awakened giant. There is real concern." The report also warns that the EU may have to adopt tougher climate change targets. It is committed to preventing global temperatures rising by more than 2C, but the report warns that such a rise would trigger the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, prompting the extinction of the polar bear and the walrus. The environment secretary, Margaret Beckett, said today's report highlighted the "tipping point" beyond which climate change could be expected to become irreversible. This made it even more urgent to halt the change quickly, and meant that current targets - such as reducing carbon emissions by 60% by the middle of the century - may not be ambitious enough, she said. "What is disturbing about the Exeter report is that it suggests that what has been a long-term policy framework, maybe even that is something that is going to cause more major difficulties than people imagined," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Mrs Beckett said she hoped to publish the government's climate change strategy - initially pencilled in for last year - in the near future, and certainly by the end of 2006. She denied that the government had already decided to invest in new nuclear power stations as a way of cutting greenhouse gas emissions, but said the option had to be considered because of the role it could play in meeting the UK's long-term climate change targets. "The reason we need to look at it very seriously is that the one thing you can say about nuclear power is that, once you have put in all the energy required to construct the nuclear power stations, it is actually a low-carbon form of energy," she said. Friends of the Earth called for urgent action to cut greenhouse gases. "Despite Tony Blair's concerns about climate change, UK emissions have risen under Labour," said FoE's climate change campaigner, Roger Higman. "He should now support mounting calls for a new law requiring the government to make annual cuts in carbon dioxide emissions, and make Britain a world leader in the development of a low-carbon, nuclear-free economy." [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 19 Rediff: 'India's nuclear arsenal must be diversified' PTI January 30, 2006 17:41 IST Two top former military officials have asked the Union government to immediately approve the production of nuclear submarines to ensure a guaranteed second-strike capability for the Indian armed forces. Noting that India had a declared 'No First Use' policy, former Navy Chief Admiral (Retd) Madhvendra Singh and former Army Chief Gen S Padmanabhan have, in separate articles in the forthcoming issue of Indian Defence Review, asked the government to make nuclear submarines available to the armed forces of the country. "Strategic forces need to be built up to 'deterrent' levels against a major power like China. The nuclear arsenal must, therefore, be enlarged and diversified to include thermo-nuclear weapons. To ensure guaranteed second-strike capability, submarines capable of launching thermo-nuclear weapons must be available," Padmanabhan said. The former Navy chief said, "The government should approve, start and fund such a programme at the earliest, as it is vital for the security of the country. The ultimate aim should be to have at least four such submarines so that at least one, if not two, are on patrol duty at all times." According to Singh any country with a No First Use policy, must have an assured second-strike capability. "Missile silos, airfields and aircraft are easily detected by satellites and are hence easy targets. A nuclear submarine is very difficult to detect. Even if detected, it is extremely difficult to target, as it is constantly on the move at speeds of 20 knots or more," he said. © Copyright 2005 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or Copyright © 2006 Rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 20 RIA Novosti: Moscow court rejects ex-minister Adamov release plea 30/ 01/ 2006 MOSCOW, January 30 (RIA Novosti)-A Moscow court rejected Monday an application lodged by the defense team of ex-Nuclear Power Minister Yevgeny Adamov, charged with embezzlement and abuse of office, to release him from custody. Moscow's Basmanny court earlier extended Adamov's custody until April 12 during hearings on December 22 that the defendant could not attend because he was in jail in Switzerland fighting extradition to the United States. Defense lawyer Timofei Gridnev told the court that there were no grounds for keeping Adamov in custody. "While in jail in Bern [Switzerland], Adamov repeatedly said he wanted to return to his homeland, so the arguments of the Prosecutor General's Office that he may abscond are groundless," he said. The attorney said the law categorically forbade a court from hearing a case into extending a defendant's term in custody without the accused being present. However, Valery Lakhtin, a representative of the Prosecutor General's Office, said Adamov faced serious charges and was "a danger to the public". "On December 31, he [Adamov] refused to testify," Lakhtin said, adding that Adamov was accused of committing a crime in collaboration with a group of individuals currently on the wanted list. He said witnesses in the case might come under pressure if Adamov were released. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office officially charged Adamov, 63, with embezzlement and abuse of office December 31 in the presence of his lawyers after a long battle to secure his extradition from Switzerland, where he had been arrested at the request of the U.S. in May. The U.S. authorities accused Adamov, who served as nuclear power minister in 1998-2001, of misappropriating $9 million granted to Russia for nuclear safety projects. He faced 60 years in prison if convicted. On October 3, the Swiss Federal Justice Department announced it would extradite the former Russian minister to the U.S., but Adamov's defense team filed an appeal with the Federal Tribunal, Switzerland's Supreme Court, in Lausanne in November. On December 22, the Lausanne court upheld the appeal and ruled that the ex-minister be extradited to Russia because the country submitted its extradition request first. © 2005 "RIA Novosti" ***************************************************************** 21 BBC: Seven arrested at nuclear Last Updated: Monday, 30 January 2006 [AWE protest] Seven people were arrested during Monday's demonstration Seven people were arrested after protesters blocked the entrance to an atomic weapons site in Berkshire. The blockade was part of a campaign against plans to build a new laser laboratory at the Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE). Project Orion will house a powerful laser which replicates the physical conditions of a nuclear reaction. On Monday morning, about 45 people blockaded two gates and used lock-on devices to link themselves together. They believe the new facility will test a new generation of nuclear weapons. The demonstration was the latest move in their battle to fight the multi-million pound upgrade, which was approved by a West Berkshire Council planning committee last week. [Model of Project Orion] The laser will replicate the physical conditions of a nuclear reaction Supt Paul Kirkland said: "Our aim today was to facilitate a lawful and peaceful protest, in partnership with the MDP [Ministry of Defence Police] and AWE. "We also deployed officers to minimise disruption to the rest of the community and prevent traffic problems in the area." MDP officers arrested seven people for unlawful obstruction of the highway. Project Orion is part of a three-year, £1bn Ministry of Defence boost for AWE. AWE has said it wants to change the appearance of the site from that of an old industrial complex to a centre with a reputation for scientific and technical excellence. The company is also planning to upgrade accommodation and office facilities. ***************************************************************** 22 REGNUM: Adamov can be released - Incidents - Moscow ¤ 09:31 ¤ January 31,2006 Moscow City Court is to consider the question of changing preventive punishment for Russia’s former Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov accused of fraud and abuse of power. His lawyers ask to release their client from custody. Earlier, Basmanny District Court prolonged his detention till Aril 12. On December 31, 2005, Adamov was extradited from Switzerland to Russia. The US was also seeking his extradition: the country accuses him of misappropriation of $9 million allocated by the US government to promote security of nuclear objects. Adamov, who headed the Atomic Energy Ministry in 1998-2001, was arrested on May 2, 2005, in Bern on demand of the US Department of Justice. In the United States he faces up to 60 years’ sentence. Permanent news address: www.regnum.ru/english/580978.html 11:33 01/30/2006 © 1999-2006 REGNUM News Agency ***************************************************************** 23 Mos News: Moscow Court Refuses to Release Former Nuclear Minister Adamov - NEWS - MOSNEWS.COM Yevgeny Adamov / Frame from NTV Archive Created: 30.01.2006 18:56 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 18:56 MSK MosNews Moscow City Court has turned down a petition to release Russia’s former Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov. He will remain in pre-trial custody until April 12. The lawyers of the ex-minister, charged with fraud and power abuse, had filed an appeal to release the defendant on health grounds. Lawyer Timofei Gridnev, quoted by Interfax news agency, said that Adamov’s foreign lawyers had earlier “come to an agreement with U.S. prosecutors that he (Adamov) would be released under bail in case of his extradition to the United States.” Adamov who led the ministry in 1998-2001 was detained on May 2, 2005, in Switzerland following a request by the U.S. Justice Department. The United States charged the former minister with appropriating $9 million allocated to Russia for the security improvement of nuclear objects. Russia also brought charges against the former minister and both countries demanded his extradition. Switzerland decided to extradite Adamov to the United States but his defense team appealed this ruling and on Dec. 22, the Federal Court of Switzerland acknowledged the priority of the Russian request. Adamov was extradited to Russia on the night of Dec. 31. Write us: info@mosnews.com Copyright © 2004 MOSNEWS.COM ***************************************************************** 24 Eurasia Daily Monitor: MOSCOW TO INCREASE NUCLEAR TIES WITH UZBEKISTAN - Published by The JAMESTOWN FOUNDATION In This Issue: Volume 3, Number 20 - MOSCOW TO INCREASE NUCLEAR TIES WITH UZBEKISTAN - RUSSIAN ECONOMIC BOOM GOES UNNOTICED IN DAVOS - MOSCOW, KYIV DISRUPTING NEGOTIATIONS ON TRANSNISTRIA By Sergei Blagov Monday, January 30, 2006 Uzbekistan formally admitted to EEC last Wednesday The five members of the Eurasian Economic Community (EEC) formally admitted Uzbekistan to the organization during its January 25 summit meeting in St. Petersburg. The EEC member states -- Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan -- agreed to allow Uzbekistan to join the organization for both economic and security reasons. "Uzbekistan has fully assumed the rights and responsibilities," of a member state, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a press conference after the meeting. Uzbekistan's participation will help the organization's efforts to create an integrated market and to cooperate in the energy sector, Putin added (Interfax, January 25). Uzbekistan's entry is expected to expand the EEC market significantly. Uzbekistan, with 25 million people, is the most populous country in Central Asia. Uzbekistan was welcomed into the EEC with optimistic official pronouncements. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev claimed that Uzbekistan's entry could help make the EEC one of the most influential organizations in the world. EEC Secretary-General Grigory Rapota said the accession of Uzbekistan would boost integration within the grouping and expand its market reach (RIA-Novosti, January 25). Furthermore, the EEC indicated plans to accept more new members in the future. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenka predicted there would be new entries into the EEC. "As for the enlargement of the EEC...I am confident that it will happen," Lukashenka declared at the post-summit joint press conference of the EEC leaders. However, no new candidates for EEC membership were announced in St. Petersburg. At the EEC summit, Russia also indicated plans to forge closer ties with Uzbekistan in nuclear energy. Known to have extensive uranium-ore reserves, Uzbekistan could give Russia "additional long-term opportunities" in nuclear energy, Putin pointed out. "Russia is firmly determined to widen cooperation within the EEC" to pursue global energy priorities (Interfax, January 25). Meanwhile, Moscow lost little time in claiming some economic benefits from closer ties with Uzbekistan. On the sidelines of the St. Petersburg summit, Russia and Uzbekistan signed a series of agreements to develop oil and natural gas deposits in the Central Asian republic. Russian gas giant Gazprom and Uzbek officials pledged to sign major production sharing agreements, tentatively in the second half of 2006. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Abdusal Azizov, the head of Uzbekistan's state-owned oil and gas company Uzbekneftegaz, also signed an agreement on joint exploration projects in Uzbekistan. Speaking at a news conference after the summit, Uzbek President Islam Karimov said Gazprom had been allowed to explore some 34,000 square kilometers rich in hydrocarbon resources. He said Gazprom planned to invest $260 million in exploration, while investments in the project would total $1.5 billion. And now Gazprom appears to be aspiring to monopoly status in Uzbekistan. "Gas to be produced in Uzbekistan will be exported by Gazprom only," Miller added (RIA-Novosti, January 25). After those remarks, the Russian media had few doubts that the Kremlin was the driving force behind Uzbekistan's accession into the EEC. Moscow had simultaneously enlarged the only successful pro-Russian alliance and also gained access to Uzbek resources, commented Nezavisimaya gazeta. Russia has registered the first concrete results following its support for Karimov after the Andijan events, while Karimov paid his debts, the daily wrote, referring to the energy agreements with Russia (Nezavisimaya gazeta, January 26). Moscow also opted to sustain its voting and financial rights in the EEC despite the addition expansion. Following Uzbekistan's accession, Russian retained its 40% share in the EEC, noted Kommersant. Kazakhstan and Belarus reduced their shares by 5%, down to 15% each, and Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan by 2.5%, down to 7.5% each, to allow Uzbekistan to have a 15% allotment (Kommersant, January 26). Despite the predominantly economic agenda of the EEC, at least officially, President Putin said that security remained one of the grouping's top priorities. He also pledged to protect member states from "threats of international terrorism, trans-border crime, drug trafficking, and illegal migration." Putin added that maintaining the security and internal stability of the EEC member states would eventually generate economic progress (RIA-Novosti, January 25). Uzbek President Karimov echoed Putin's reference to security. Uzbekistan joined the EEC to better address the security challenges caused by rapidly changing post-Soviet realities, Karimov said. He also made little secret where he expected security assistance to come from. "Uzbekistan sees its future in close cooperation with its neighbors, primarily Russia," Karimov said (Itar-Tass, January 25). Russian officials indicated earlier that Russia's stronger ties with Uzbekistan could have security implications. As part of Uzbekistan's drift towards Moscow, Tashkent may also join the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). However, there was no talk of any Uzbek moves towards the CSTO during the St. Petersburg summit. Therefore, the security implications of Uzbekistan's entry into the EEC are not likely to become evident in the immediate future. © The Jamestown Foundation MMIV ***************************************************************** 25 outlookindia.com: Govt asked to approve production of nuke submarines SUBMARINES NEW DELHI, JAN 30 (PTI) Two top former military officials have asked the Governmment to immediately approve the production of nuclear submarines to ensure a guaranteed second strike capability for the Indian armed forces. Noting that India had a declared 'No First Use' policy, former Navy Chief Admiral (Retd) Madhvendra Singh and former Army Chief Gen S Padmanabhan have, in separate articles in the forthcoming issue of 'Indian Defence Review', asked the government to make nuclear submarines available to the armed forces of the country. "Strategic forces need to be built up to 'deterrent' levels against a major power like China. ... The nuclear arsenal must, therefore, be enlarged and diversified to include thermo-nuclear weapons. To ensure guaranteed second strike capability, submarines capable of launching thermo- nuclear weapons must be available", Padmanabhan said. The former Navy chief said "the government should approve, start and fund such a programme at the earliest, as it is vital for the security of the country. The ultimate aim should be to have at least four such submarines so that at least one, if not two, are on patrol at all times". Singh said any country with a No First Use policy, must have an assured second-strike capability. "Missile silos, airfields and aircraft are easily detected by satellites and are hence easy targets. A nuclear submarine is very, very difficult to detect. Even if detected, it is extremely difficult to target, as it is constantly on the move at speeds of 20 knots or more", he said. outlookmoney.com © Outlook Publishing (India) ***************************************************************** 26 UPI: British energy could come from sea power United Press International - NewsTrack - 1/29/2006 11:43:00 PM -0500 LONDON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Britain could generate a fifth of its electricity by harnessing the power of tides and waves, the Observer reported Sunday. A report by the government's energy advisers shows wave and tidal power could replace the electricity currently produced by nuclear power stations. Harnessing the roughest seas -- particularly those around Cornwall and the north of Scotland -- with machines that capture the movement of tides and waves, has long been a dream of scientists. In recent years finding clean, renewable power to replace polluting fossil fuels has taken on a new urgency as the world battles to reduce carbon emissions from coal, oil and gas. Until now, marine power generators have been limited to small prototypes, considered too futuristic to answer the planet's energy problems. The study by the Carbon Trust, which advises the government on clean energy, challenges that -- and predicts tidal and wave power generators could be supplying a significant amount of power to the electricity grid by the end of this decade. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 27 BakuTODAY.net: Russia, Ukraine Put off Signing Gas Deal, Discuss Nuclear Cooperation Instead Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Caspian news, links, maps etc. Last Updated on 14:36 AZT- 30 January 2006 MosNews 30/01/2006 13:07 Russia and Ukraine have postponed the signing of a controversial gas deal, planned for Saturday, until next week, BBC News reported. The reason given for putting off the signing was that some details needed to be finalized. Instead of signing the gas agreement Russia offered Ukraine to cooperate in building nuclear power plants in third countries, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yury Yekhanurov said after a meeting with the head of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency Sergei Kiriyenko in Kiev. Yekhanurov described the offer, voiced by Kiriyenko at the meeting, as “a very good proposal,” Interfax reported. The gas deal was reached earlier this month after Russia suspended gas supplies to Ukraine on New Year’s Day, a move that affected several other countries. Opposition to the deal in Ukraine led to political deadlock, and questions over whether the government had the authority to sign the agreement, which will double the price Kiev pays for gas. Under the five-year deal, Ukraine will buy Russian and Central Asian gas for $95 per 1,000 cubic metres on average. Since the agreement was reached, members of parliament have voted to sack the fuel and energy minister and the government, as well as passing a vote of “no confidence” in the head of the state gas company — although the authorities have said that these actions are illegal. Meanwhile, a shiver is emerging across Europe, some parts of which have experienced a shortfall in gas supplies in recent weeks. The spat with Kiev led to disruption to European supplies, which run through Ukraine. And this week, Italy said it was dipping into its gas reserves amid reports that Russia was holding back gas for its domestic markets because of cold weather at home. BakuToday.Net ***************************************************************** 28 Workers "Coached" to Sleep at Three Mile Island Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 14:17:29 -0800 Hours and fatigue dog TMI guards Officers told new hires where to 'nap,' memo says Sunday, January 29, 2006 BY GARRY LENTON Of The Patriot-News Veteran guards responsible for training new hires to the security force that protects Three Mile Island were sharing a key piece of insider information -- the best places to take a nap, according to an internal memo. "We have mentors and qualified officers informing new hires of all the locations that they can hide and catch a quick nap," wrote John Young, the head of security at TMI for Wackenhut, a private security force employed by theplant. "It will stop immediately," he wrote. Advertisement The memo, sent to security supervisors at the nuclear power plant on Oct. 17, also maintained that new hires were being told of shortcuts for tasks and warned of the "horrors" of working for Wackenhut. A copy of the memo was found off-site by a midstate resident and provided to The Patriot-News last week. Sleeping on duty is a serious concern among nuclear plant operators, who have been forced to increase security against terrorist attacks since Sept. 11, 2001. The allegations in the memo, which TMI officials said were grossly overstated in some cases and unfounded in others, angered and upset security force members, particularly supervisors, said sources inside the plant who requested anonymity. Officials for AmerGen Energy, which operates TMI, said they wish the memo had never been written. "He shouldn't have put it out," said Ralph DeSantis, a spokesman for AmerGen. But DeSantis said the memo demonstrated the company's intolerance of inattentiveness to duty. He called the memo well-intentioned but premature. A two-week internal investigation found no evidence that officers were telling new hires that sleeping or taking shortcuts on patrols would be tolerated, DeSantis said. More From The Patriot-News | Subscribe To The Patriot-News Hours and fatigue dog TMI guards Page 2 of 3 Fighting fatigue: AmerGen has acknowledged five incidents of "inattentiveness" by employees since 2004, three involving security officers. "Inattentiveness" is a term used by the industry and federal regulators that usually means sleeping. Sources inside TMI said the inattentiveness can be linked to two factors -- long hours and boredom. Advertisement Guards at TMI work 12-hour shifts, usually for two to three consecutive days, but sometimes longer. Documents provided to The Patriot-News show one officer worked more than 150 hours in a 14-day period, nearly the equivalent of two full-time jobs. The same officer averaged more than 54 hours a week for the first 10 months of 2005. "Try going into your 10th or 11th hour after having been up for 13 hours already and see how attentive you are," one guard said. Guards are rotated through various duties during their shifts, but the majority of the time is spent waiting, the guard said. "Boredom is a major issue." DeSantis acknowledged that some guards work long hours, but most do so voluntarily in accordance with union rules. During refueling outages, workers are allowed to work up to 72 hours in a seven-day period. To avoid fatigue, guards are rotated through various posts during their shifts. "There are lots of safeguards in place to ensure that people are vigilant," DeSantis said. A warning against long hours: Hours and fatigue dog TMI guards Page 3 of 3 A warning against long hours: The link between hours worked and fatigue is a growing concern among security officers and watchdog groups. In 2002, the Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog group, issued a report warning that security forces guarding the nation's nuclear plants were underequipped, undermanned and underpaid. Advertisement One of its findings, based on interviews with 20 security guards at 13 plants, was that long hours and overtime were reducing guards' ability to do their job. One security officer from a plant that was not identified in the report told the group that guards worked 12-hour shifts six days a week, the maximum time allowed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a seven-day period. By days five and six, "serious fatigue and alertness problems" occur, particularly on the night shift, the guard said. After Sept. 11, 2001, the NRC upgraded its security requirements and warned that precautions were needed to ensure that guards were alert and not fatigued. "Excessive work schedules can challenge the ability of security force personnel to remain vigilant and effectively perform their duties," the agency said in an order. The NRC set restrictions on how many hours guards could work per week. Hours were limited to 16 hours per 24-hour period; 26 hours during a 48-hour period; or 72 hours over seven days. "It's a complex issue," said David Lochbaum, a nuclear safety expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists. Even if the NRC limited hours to 40 a week, many security workers would seek part-time jobs to earn more money, and fatigue would remain a danger. Eric Epstein, the chairman of the watchdog group Three Mile Island Alert, said the hours worked by guards at TMI could be reduced by hiring more people. "You want a nuclear plant staffed by alert and well-trained workers," he said. "It's a challenge to be alert and vigilant if you are working consecutive 75-hour weeks." The ability of workers to perform well during a long workday depends on the work and the age and physical condition of the worker, said Melvin Blumberg, a professor of management at Penn State Harrisburg in Lower Swatara Twp. He specializes in job and work design. Hours worked by airline pilots and truck drivers are strictly governed because the consequences of falling asleep can be terrible, he said. For the same reasons, Blumberg said, he would be leery of security workers on the job for 75 hours a week. "I would sure be uncomfortable if my workers had to put in that kind of week on a routine basis," he said. GARRY LENTON: 255-8264 or glenton@patriot-news.com Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 ***************************************************************** 29 [NukeNet] Norm quoted in NY Times: Creating the Nation's Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 14:18:40 -0800 NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) Coalition for Peace and Justice; UNPLUG Salem Campaign, 321 Barr Ave, Linwood; NJ08221; 609-601-8583 ---------- Click here: Creating the Nation's Largest Utility Company - New York Times image0013.gif image0022.gifimage0031.gifimage004.jpg January 29, 2006 New Jersey Creating the Nation's Largest Utility Company By SUSAN WARNER MARLTON THE energy market came down hard on René Batoff this month when her bill for natural gas jumped from $39.41 to $82.99. Last summer, it was gasoline, which she complained was "just out of sight." Now Ms. Batoff, a widow and retiree in Marlton who worked for the federal government, is concerned that her electric bill from Public Service Electric and Gas will be next to rise. "It all just seems to be going up and up," she said. "It's the big conglomerates that are doing it." When it comes to electricity, it does not get bigger than the proposed acquisition of the parent company of P.S.E.&G., the Public Service Enterprise Group of Newark, which currently serves 2.1 million electric customers and 1.7 million gas customers in the state. The suitor is the Exelon Corporation of Chicago. More than a year ago, Exelon proposed a $12 billion buyout of P.S.E.&G., which would create the nation's largest utility company, with $79 billion in asserts and a service area encompassing 18 million residents in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Exelon officials say the combined utility will be more efficient than P.S.E.&G., particularly when it comes to generating nuclear power, and as a result will be able to hold down future rate increases. But most consumer advocates say that the merger will reduce competition and drive up rates. Moreover, they have raised concerns that Exelon will cut costs, leading to potential safety problems at its nuclear plants, close a valued corporate headquarters in New Jersey that will result in the loss of jobs, and lessen the ability of state officials to regulate the energy industry. "I am concerned about rates going up and service going down," said Leslie McKeon of Teaneck, who attended a public hearing on the merger in Hackensack last year one of five that were held. "It's called 'Public Service,' not 'Profit-Making Utility.' There's nothing to suggest to me that an outfit in Chicago has anything to offer me." Despite these concerns, shareholders of both companies and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have already approved the proposed merger. The final say now lies with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, which has not turned down a merger in 20 years. In addition to the public hearings, testimony was presented earlier this month to Richard McGill, an administrative law judge in Newark, and he is expected to hear five more days of testimony next month, after which he will offer an initial opinion. Ultimately, the board has said, it will make its decision in May, although a negotiated settlement could come at any time. "The merger could result in Exelon being able to exert market power in both gas and electric, which could lead to higher rates," said Seema Singh, New Jersey's ratepayer advocate, who is opposed to the merger. A consultant to the Board of Public Utilities testified before Judge McGill that if the merger were approved, electricity costs in the state could go up by as much as $2.3 billion a year. As Steven Goldenberg, a lawyer representing P.S.E.&G.'s large commercial customers, including pharmaceutical companies and grocery chains, said: "The numbers are staggering. This would create the largest utility company in the country in an area that is already paying among the highest prices for energy in the country. It's a bad combination." But Exelon, to make the proposal more politically palatable, has offered $120 million in rate concessions over three or four years and has suggested the merger could lead to savings of $40 million a year that would be passed on to ratepayers. The company has also offered to spin off 6,600 megawatts of electricity of a total capacity of 52,000 megawatts to other energy companies. On average, one megawatt can power 800 homes in New Jersey at a given time. John W. Rowe, Exelon's chairman, president and chief executive, said he was confident that opponents of the merger would eventually agree to a settlement and implied that his company could offer additional sweeteners to its $120 million offer. "We want to do this transaction," he said. "We want people in New Jersey to be happy with this transaction." The Nuclear Angle Mr. Rowe said the driving force behind the merger was Exelon's desire to own all four of New Jersey's nuclear reactors, which have been plagued by safety problems, and insisted that the combined company could operate the plants more safely and efficiently than P.S.E.&G. currently does. With 17 reactors generating 20 percent of all nuclear power in the United States, Exelon is already the nation's largest operator of nuclear power plants. A subsidiary of Exelon already owns and operates the Oyster Creek nuclear plant in Lacey Township, the nation's oldest, which opened in 1969. Exelon and P.S.E.&G. jointly own two reactors at Peach Bottom in Pennsylvania and two reactors in New Jersey, Salem I and Salem II on the Delaware River in Lower Alloways Creek, in Salem County. And for the last year, Exelon has had a contract with P.S.E.&G. to manage the adjoining Hope Creek station. If the merger is completed, Exelon would have full control of all four reactors in New Jersey, which together provide about half the state's electricity. P.S.E.&G.'s nuclear power operations have had problems for more than a decade. In the 1990's, the Salem reactors were shut down for two years because of maintenance problems. In 2004, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission took on additional oversight of the Salem County plants and stepped up the monitoring of them after consultants found a number of problems, including a leaky generator, unreliable controls on a reactor and workers who feared that reporting problems would lead to retaliation. Then, earlier this month, the federal regulatory agency announced that it would increase monitoring at Oyster Creek after an incident last summer in which an accumulation of sea grass blocked a water intake for 60 minutes before managers declared an "unusual event." Agency rules say that declaration should be made after 15 minutes. In the face of these problems, Mr. Rowe said Exelon had the management skills to prevent future incidents and earn an additional $500 million to $1 billion over the next 10 years from the state's nuclear plants. He said the company had made nuclear power its specialty after regulators found serious problems at its plants in Illinois in the late 1990's. "The nuclear power business is a terribly demanding one and seems to work best if you have a big fleet and committed teams of people who can work on it all day, every day," Mr. Rowe said. "We have a team of people with a common playbook and a common passion for the work. They literally eat, sleep and drink their work. They get paid a lot of money, and they know that keeping the regulators content with the safety and the management of the plants is the be-all and end-all of their lives." He pointed out with pride that the company took only 25 days to refuel Salem I in November, 10 days faster than scheduled and 4 days faster than the world record held by a plant in Spain. What Opponents Say Nonetheless, opponents of the merger say they are concerned that Exelon's efficiency may come at the expense of safety. "We're not thrilled with P.S.E.&G. because they have done a lousy job of running the plants," said Norman Cohen, the coordinator of Unplug Salem, a citizens' group opposed to nuclear power generation at Salem, "but we oppose the merger because in order for Exelon to make money, they're going to have to fire people, and this is on top of an already weakened safety-conscious environment." But the biggest issue in the merger is whether the newly formed company which would dominate the energy market in New Jersey would be so large that it could charge whatever the traffic would bear and drive up rates in New Jersey and surrounding states tied into the same power grid. To address concerns that Exelon would have too much control over the state's power generation market, the company has already promised to sell off plants generating 4,000 megawatts of power to other companies. In addition, it said it would conduct what it called a "virtual divestiture" of 2,600 megawatts of its nuclear capacity by selling it to third parties, something Mr. Rowe acknowledged was a novel idea presented for the first time to federal energy regulators. E. James Ferland, the chairman, president and chief executive of P.S.E.&G., said the plan to sell off some power capacity should satisfy concerns about the combined company's market domination, and he, like Mr. Rowe, seemed open to compromise. "In the end, we believe our proposal will comfortably address these concerns," Mr. Ferland said. "If it doesn't, we may have to look at proposing adjustments." As for virtual divestiture, Suzanne Leta, an advocate with the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group who testified against the merger before Judge McGill, said it fell far short of an actual divestiture. "The problem is it doesn't really reduce the amount of control over the electricity source that Exelon would have," she said. "They still own the plant. They're still making money from selling the electricity." She says that a combined Exelon and P.S.E.&G. would affect consumers far beyond New Jersey. "This merger would have a tremendous impact on our state, not only because P.S.E.&G. serves half of New Jersey's residents, but also because it will really affect competition in our regional electricity grid," she said. Relying on the Board of Public Utilities' estimate of a $2.3 billion rate increase as a result of the merger, Ms. Leta calculated that the average New Jersey customer would see a $45-a-month increase in the cost of electricity. Combined with an average $28-a-month increase in gas rates approved by the board this winter, the average utility bill would go up $876 a year, according to her figures. But Mr. Rowe said the larger company would be in a better position to build new power plants, increasing the amount of electricity on the grid and keeping rates stable. He said that P.S.E.&G. had been carrying too much debt to make that possible. "It was handicapped," he said. The Board of Public Utilities says it will weigh the effect of the merger on customer satisfaction, reliability of service and employment in New Jersey. Ms. Leta contends that P.S.E.&G., which has 10,000 employees, has better rapport with customers than Exelon. "P.S.E.&G. has a good record," she said, "but Exelon's record in Illinois and Pennsylvania is not so hot." Mr. Rowe agreed, at least in part. While he said that Exelon had some advantages in computer technology and in hiring women and minorities, he conceded that P.S.E.&G.'s overall record was superior to Exelon's. "We're trying to learn from their book," he said. If the merger is approved, it would mean the end of independence for P.S.E.&G., which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2003. Its forerunner, the Public Service Corporation, was formed from the merger of 400 small companies in New Jersey, and by the 1930's it was a major utility with 100 subsidiaries in the East, Midwest and South. For much of its history, the company operated streetcars, ferries across the Hudson River and elevators that pulled horse carts up the Palisades. In 1980, it sold its transportation holdings to New Jersey Transit. Mr. Ferland emphasized that Exelon planned to keep the headquarters of P.S.E.&G. in Newark, although if the merger went through, the headquarters of the combined company would be in Chicago and the management of P.S.E.&G.'s nuclear operations would be folded into Exelon's nuclear division in Pennsylvania. Prospects for the Future Mr. Cohen of Unplug Salem said he would miss the utility. "P.S.E.&G., for all its faults, is a local New Jersey company, and we, as watchdogs, were able to communicate with the different nuclear officers at Salem and talk about our concerns," he said. "Now we're dealing with a huge company, whose headquarters is in Illinois, that has chosen not to communicate with us." When the merger was first proposed, Exelon said it planned to trim 1,500 jobs from the combined companies, and Mr. Ferland said that since then, retirement incentives and a freeze on hiring had brought unemployment down by a total of 800 jobs. "Nobody likes to eliminate jobs," he said, "but I doubt the customers of our companies would want us to keep employees on the payroll that we don't need to provide high levels of service." While the Board of Public Utilities has yet to rule on the merger, it has issued an order that Exelon and P.S.E.&G. must prove that the deal will not harm New Jersey and that it will actually benefit utility customers. That standard has been used in some telecommunications mergers, but this is the first time it has been used in a utility case. Despite nearly three weeks of hearings and contentious arguments, Mr. Rowe said he was betting that a settlement would be worked out. Mark Sadeghian, a utility analyst at Morningstar, the mutual-fund research company, agreed. "Odds are it's going to happen," he said. And while Ms. Singh, the ratepayer advocate, remains opposed to the merger, she outlined possible concessions, including the elimination of $70 million in severance payments for the top 35 officials at P.S.E.&G. and a demand that the utility's 16 walk-in centers throughout the state remain open for at least 10 years. Still, Mr. Goldenberg, the lawyer representing P.S.E.&G.'s large commercial customers, said he was not sure there would be a settlement this time. "This one is different," he said. "They have not proven their case. We believe there's no basis for the B.P.U. to rule favorably for them." And this time, he said, the stakes are huge. "The big picture of all of this is we're creating a market structure that will survive our entire adult life," he said. "If we get it wrong, the potential impact on the economy and customers of all sizes could be dramatic." As for Ms. Batoff, the utility customer in Marlton, she said big companies usually get what they want and she suspects her future electric bills may come by way of Chicago. "I always feel that if they're going to do it, they're just going to do it," she said. "After that, we'll just have to see what happens." _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/ Change your settings or access the archives at: http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net Attachment Converted: image00132.gif: 00000001,5df0bb6f,00000000,00000000 Attachment Converted: image00226.gif: 00000001,5df0bb70,00000000,00000000 Attachment Converted: image00311.gif: 00000001,5df0bb71,00000000,00000000 Attachment Converted: image0043.jpg: 00000001,5df0bb72,00000000,00000000 ***************************************************************** 30 [JerseyShoreNuclearWatch] Jan 30 APP Oyster Creek nuclear Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 19:50:56 -0800 NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) Coalition for Peace and Justice; UNPLUG Salem Campaign, 321 Barr Ave, Linwood; NJ08221; 609-601-8583 ---------- From: JerseyShoreNuclearWatch@yahoogroups.com [mailto:JerseyShoreNuclearWatch@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Edith Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 6:00 PM To: JerseyShoreNuclearWatch@yahoogroups.com Subject: [JerseyShoreNuclearWatch] Jan 30 APP Oyster Creek nuclear plant temporarily shut down for repairs Oyster Creek nuclear plant temporarily shut down for repairs Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 01/30/06 BY MATT PORIO TOMS RIVER BUREAU LACEY As part of a repair effort, Oyster Creek nuclear power plant temporarily shut down Saturday night, an official said Sunday. Officials Friday said they planned a shutdown for the repairs, as soon as it was safe for local fish, which are sensitive to the water temperature variations associated with shutdowns. During the shutdown, which began at 10:22 p.m., workers were expected to repair two of the station's recirculation pumps, according to a prepared statement released by plant officials, but it was not known how long the repair work would take or when the reactor would be restarted. With two of the station's five reactor recirculation pumps which continuously pump reactor water through the system inoperable last week, operators reduced power to 50 percent Wednesday night, according to the statement. The plant can operate safely at reduced power with three pumps, Oyster Creek spokeswoman Rachelle Benson said. Oyster Creek Vice President Bud Swenson said in the statement the plant is taking precautions to limit the shutdown's environmental impact. A sudden shutdown during a cold period likely would kill fish in a canal where water that has cooled parts of the plant is discharged. The fish, which are attracted to the canal because it's warmer than Barnegat Bay, would die from a sudden drop in temperature this time of year. According to Oyster Creek, fewer than 70 bluefish died when operators shut down the plant and stopped the flow of warm discharge water into the discharge canal. Fish that are more cold-tolerant, such as striped bass, were not affected, according to the statement. "We have a responsibility to protect the environment, and that is a key focus area in all of our operations," Swenson said. Because New Jersey is tied into a regional electrical grid, the lights at homes normally powered by Oyster Creek will stay on without interruption during a shutdown. The Associated Press contributed to this story. E-mail E-mail article Printer Print article Subscription Subscribe Newsletters Get e-mail alerts Related Articles " Reactor shutdown planned January 28, 2006 " Exelon: Oyster Creek plant not for sale January 26, 2006 " Agency to inspect Oyster Creek plant January 12, 2006 " Radiation barrier will get a checkup December 20, 2005 " NRC rebuffs N.J. stand on Oyster Creek December 15, 2005 " Power cut at Oyster Creek November 22, 2005 " DEP: Prove plant is safe November 19, 2005 " Anti-nuclear activists question strength of Oyster Creek drywell November 15, 2005 " AmerGen vows to address concerns November 3, 2005 " Views on reactor laid out for NRC November 2, 2005 " Reactor cooling system pros, cons aired October 25, 2005 " NRC asks AmerGen for data on plant October 21, 2005 " Meeting today on nuclear plant's license renewal October 20, 2005 " Politics playing into Oyster Creek strategy October 17, 2005 " Nuke plant workers to sign new contract October 12, 2005 " Oyster Creek union reaches pact with management September 24, 2005 " People can request Oyster Creek hearing September 13, 2005 " Oyster Creek managers want more options to get permit August 31, 2005 " Plant, state taking heat on cooling system August 30, 2005 " Official: More time needed to request hearing on plant August 25, 2005 " DEP faults Oyster Creek plan August 23, 2005 " Safety the key for future of Oyster Creek August 10, 2005 " Group to request freeholder support on Oyster Creek August 3, 2005 " Missing reports worry watchdog July 30, 2005 NAGER and FRO... A JERSEY SHORE NUCLEAR WATCH P.O. Box 3085 Toms River, NJ 08756-3085 732-240-5107 www.jerseyshorenuclearwatch.org gbur1@comcast.net ---------- YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS * Visit your group "JerseyShoreNuclearWatch" on the web. * * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: * JerseyShoreNuclearWatch-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com * * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. ---------- _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/ Change your settings or access the archives at: http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net ***************************************************************** 31 HindustanTimes.com: Nuclear reactions Sunday, January 29, 2006|02:40 IST Yashwant Sinha The July 18, 2005 nuclear deal with the US has divided Indian public opinion as never before. While the supporters of the deal have described it as historic and want people to believe that India has finally been recognised as a nuclear weapon state, those opposed to the deal have described it as an unequal deal which would cap Indias nuclear weapons programme in perpetuity and would require India to enter into multilateral commitments in return for bilateral assurances from the US.  The developments which have taken place since then make the deal even more onerous for India.    The cardinal principles on which the agreement was based were its voluntary nature, its phase-wise implementation, reciprocity and parity with other nuclear weapon states like the US. All these assumptions are in jeopardy today. Additionally, unlike us, the constitutional arrangement in the US requires the agreement to be approved by the US Congress before it comes into force. So, the views of US legislators assume an importance which the views of Indian Parliamentarians do not have. It is this which makes the Iran angle so crucial. As far as the voluntary nature of the agreement is concerned, we now know from the experience of a few rounds of negotiations between the two governments, that the identification and separation of military and civilian facilities is hardly within the sovereign jurisdiction of our government. The US officials have repeatedly stated that the separation will have to be credible and transparent, which means that it will not merely have to satisfy the US administration, but also the US Congress. The reported pressure by the US to put  our thorium-based fast breeder reactor programme in the civilian category, is a case in point. The phased manner of its implementation loses all meaning if we are required to identify all the facilities as either military or civilian to begin with. The principle of reciprocity has been completely destroyed post July 2005. Speaking before the National Strategy Forum in Chicago on November 14, 2005, Andrew K Semmel, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Nonproliferation stated,  Under this partnership, India has committed to a series of actions including implementing strong and effective export control legislation, adhering to the NSG Guidelines on exports, separating its civil and military facilities and placing all its civilian facilities and activities under IAEA safeguards, signing and adhering to an Additional Protocol, and maintaining its nuclear testing moratorium. In return, the United States will pursue the necessary changes to US national laws and international regimes, to allow full civil nuclear cooperation with India.  In his prepared remarks for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting on November 2, 2005, Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs said, Our judgement is that it would not be wise or fair to ask Congress to make such a consequential decision without evidence that the Indian government was acting on what is arguably the most important of its commitments  the separation of its civilian and military nuclear facilities. I told the Indian leadership in Delhi two weeks ago that it must craft a credible and transparent plan and begin to implement it before the Administration would request Congressional action. In his prepared remarks for the same meeting, Robert G. Joseph, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security said, We expect  and have indicated to the Government of India that Indias separation of its civil and military nuclear infrastructure must be conducted in a credible and transparent manner, and be defensible from a nonproliferation standpoint. In other words, the separation and the resultant safeguards must contribute to our nonproliferation goals. Many of our international partners have similarly indicated that they view this as a necessary precondition, and will not be able to support civil nuclear cooperation with India otherwise. We believe that the Indian government understands this. Because the US system is far more transparent than our own and the US administration far more accountable to the US Congress than ours is to the Indian Parliament, these observations of US officials give us a far better understanding of the nuclear deal than the reticence of our own Government would ever. As far as recognition of India as a nuclear weapon state is concerned, the following testimony of Robert Joseph made things amply clear when he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on November 2, 2005 that our initiative with India does not recognise India as a nuclear weapon state.  And finally, as far as the Iran angle is concerned, Ambassador Mulford only told the truth when he said that the nuclear deal will die in the US Congress if India voted in the IAEA on February 2, in any other manner than the US wishes us to do. This was so even in September 2005, when India voted against Iran in the IAEA.  Tom Lantos, a leading Democrat and a member of the House International Relations Committee, said during the hearings of the Committee on September 8, 2005, I want the administration to hear clearly from this Committee. New Delhi must understand how important their cooperation and support is to US initiatives, to counter the nuclear threat from Iran  anything less than full support will imperil the expansion of US nuclear and security cooperation with New Delhi. And after describing the then External Affairs Minister of India, Shri Natwar Singh as dense, he went on to say, And they (Indians) need to be told that (that they will pay a very heavy price for their total disregard of US concerns vis-à-vis Iran) in plain English  in plain English, not in diplomatic English & Either with us or against us. What Ambassador Mulford has said the other day, is sweet music compared to the war-like rhetoric of Tom Lantos. Does the Government of India have a choice on Iran? Does it have the authority any more to conduct its foreign policy according to its own sovereign judgement? The fact of the matter is that the US has shifted the goal-post even further than it was on July 18, 2005. The bar today is much higher. And the new litmus test before us is our vote on the Iran issue. We must toe the US line if we want the nuclear deal to succeed, even as modified and changed by the US post July 18, 2005. The writer is a former External Affairs Minister (2002-2004) and is a BJP Lok Sabha MP ***************************************************************** 32 IRNA: Arabs warn about dangers of Israel's nuclear power plant Algiers, Jan 30, IRNA Iran-Nuclear-Israel Arab Nuclear Energy Organization has issued a warning about various dangers associated with the activities of Israel's nuclear power plants. In a report addressing the Arab committee for studies on Israel's nuclear activities released on Monday, the organization underlined that the occupied lands and neighboring Arab states encounter serious hazards on account of Israel's nuclear centers. "In addition to the usual dangers of Israel's nuclear power plants, neighboring countries are also threatened by incidents likely to take place at these centers as well as atomic radiation and wastes," it added. Turning to the absence of international supervision over Israel's nuclear activities, it stressed that the usual activities underway at the country's power plants emit various types of radiations which are quite detrimental to the environment. "The more active the nuclear power plants, the more their radiations and the more dangerous they become," noted the report. Besides, the report said that given Israeli nuclear installations are quite old and dating back to the 1950s and 1960s and that they have been modified several times to increase their production capacity, they are more susceptible to incidents. The report also warned about the negative and lasting impacts of such activities on Arab states, in particular their environment and those residing near these power plants. "Given that the nuclear activities of Israel are not supervised, the actual range of the relevant dangers cannot be indicated, the Israelis should submit to inspection and supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog," it added. The Arab Nuclear Energy Organization referred to burial of nuclear wastes as another threat facing the neighboring states and said that the environment and air, water and soil, and particularly the subterranean water reserves are subject to serious pollution, given that potable water is mainly supplied through subterranean water reserves. It said that to counter the nuclear risks created by Israel, more than 130 centers in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria currently monitoring Israel's nuclear activities should cooperate more closely. The report further called for equipping these centers with the technologies required for achieving their goals. The organization said that it is determined to conduct laboratory experiments to examine the risks and effects of the incidents likely to take place in Israel's nuclear power plants. "Such measures aim to assess the environmental and health hazards that such incidents may incur in the neighboring states. "Nahal Sorek Nuclear Power Station situated 25 kilometers to the west of Jerusalem was implemented in 1955 with US cooperation. Given its facilities and equipment, it is quite unlikely to have been established merely for the purpose of nuclear research," said the report. According to the report, Dimona Nuclear Power Plant was established in 1962 in cooperation with French experts. Its initial output stood at 26 MWs but was later increased to 70 MW. This power plant has also never been subject to inspection either by French experts or by the UN nuclear watchdog inspectors to ensure that it does not pursue any military objectives. "Rishon Lezion Nuclear Power Plant, which was constructed jointly with American contractors with a capacity of eight MWs is involved in military activities. "A center for treatment of nuclear wastes is situated next to Dimona Power House. Besides, centers for burial of atomic wastes give reason for concern," it added. The report was released, while the West's hue and cry against Iran's peaceful nuclear activities in accordance with international laws and inspections have intensified in recent weeks. "Meanwhile, the US and Western states do not only show any reaction to Israel's unrestrained nuclear activities underway without international inspection, but they also keep supporting the Zionist regime unconditionally," noted the report. It said that the extent of irrational approach of Western countries against Iran's peaceful nuclear program is so extensive that many independent observers take it as a move intended to merely satisfy the Zionists. "They have called upon the UN nuclear watchdog to avoid being impressed by the dominating atmosphere and political pressures rather continue their technical and legal measures within the framework of international laws," concluded the report. ***************************************************************** 33 MiamiHerald.com: FPL's power strategy has consumers wary | 01/30/2006 | BY JOHN DORSCHNER jdorschner@MiamiHerald.com Here are three small facts about your power company that most customers haven't thought about: 1 -- Florida Power &Light hasn't asked for an increase in its basic rates since 1985. 2 -- It still enjoys a healthy profit 20 percent higher than what most electric companies are allowed, according to one major study. 3 -- It manages this balancing act primarily by keeping costs down. Its operations and maintenance costs are 42 percent below the industry average, its website boasts. Low prices and low costs generally make consumers happy. But now, after five major hurricanes hit FPL's operating area in a 15-month stretch, leaving many in the dark for days or weeks, customers are starting to wonder if there's something wrong with this picture. ''They're one of the smartest operated utilities in the country,'' says Bob Williamson, a Miami Shores businessman whose home was dark 18 days after Wilma. ``They help their stock price. Their shareholders are happy. Their executives are well compensated. I don't blame FPL. I blame the Public Service Commission for not regulating this monopoly. The people who get nailed are their customers.'' Legislators, mayors, consumer advocates and many angry customers are all taking a new look at South Florida's 80-year-old power company. They want to know how it's been performing, particularly whether it has been scrimping on maintenance, causing unnecessary outages after storms hit. The utility's executives maintain FPL has done a good job. They point to a study they commissioned from KEMA, a Dutch consulting firm, which showed FPL's system standards meet or exceed all requirements. The KEMA study said wind, not faulty maintenance, was the reason for such lengthy outages after Wilma. Still, says FPL President Armando Olivera, in light of predictions of intense storm activity ahead, ``We feel strongly that we have to do something to improve the infrastructure.'' Some veteran FPL workers dispute how well the system has been maintained. Dick Gagnon, a lineman who retired in Brevard County last year after 38 years of service, says FPL once had regular programs that replaced worn-out equipment. Then, in the early 1990s, it switched, tending not to replace transformers, poles and such until they broke down. ''The maintenance program is very weak,'' he says. He recalls phoning in reports of bad poles only to be ignored. ''Don't worry. We've got a storm coming,'' he says a supervisor told him. ``It'll take care of it.'' ''I guarantee you 50 percent of the poles fell [during Wilma] because they were rotten,'' Gagnon says. ``It's sad. I feel sorry for the public.'' FPL Vice President Geisha Williams, in charge of the company's distribution system, says ''that's unacceptable'' for any supervisor to let a storm take care of maintenance. She says new technology -- infrared cameras checking for weak spots in lines -- have made it cheaper and easier to do maintenance without spending a lot of money. Still, some critics, including consumer advocate Mike Twomey, have wondered whether FPL lets bad equipment fail during hurricanes because that way the replacement will be paid out of storm fund surcharges, granted by state regulators, rather than out of its own operating expenses, which would eat into its profits. The company says that theory is simply false, but executives do acknowledge the history of FPL over the past quarter-century has been a struggle of juggling costs and quality. In the early 1980s, the juggling began when FPL became concerned it might start facing competition and deregulation, as happened in the phone system with the breakup of Ma Bell. Under Chief Executive Marshall McDonald, FPL decided its best defense was to diversify. A new holding company, FPL Group, branched into insurance, cable TV, cement manufacturing and citrus groves. THE DEMING PRIZE At the same time, the company began an almost obsessive quest to win the Deming Prize, an annual award from Japan honoring the highest quality firm in the world. No company outside Japan had ever won the prize. The quest, led by John Hudiburg, president of the utility, pushed virtually every employee. ''It was a very painful experience for the company and for me personally,'' says Olivera, then vice president of construction services. Olivera and other managers felt ''incredible pressure'' to ``show improvement and to document that improvement. . . and that resulted frankly in a lot of inefficiencies and unnecessary work.'' But it also led to major improvements, including in one important industry benchmark: average lengths of outages per customer, which fell from 100 minutes annually in 1982 to 52 minutes in 1988. Customer complaints dropped to their lowest level in 10 years, and firm surveys showed the percentage of customers who were ''extremely satisfied'' climbed from 41 to 62 percent. FINANCIAL DISASTERS Meanwhile, some of the firm's new acquisitions were financial disasters. In 1989, James L. Broadhead, a phone executive, was named CEO. His mission: Cut costs. Later that year, FPL won the Deming -- an enormous achievement -- but by the time the victory was announced, the executive who had organized the effort, Hudiburg, had been forced toward retirement. Olivera insists FPL continues to have residual benefits from the Deming push, because it ``left behind a culture and a workforce that's able to think pretty analytically.'' But that workforce was slashed. Broadhead dumped most of the money-losing nonenergy businesses, and he cut 4,000 utility workers, a quarter of the FPL workforce, from 1991 to 1995. ''A lot of very good people with a lot of experience and knowledge lost their jobs,'' says Olivera. ``It was very painful personally and it was very painful to the organization, but I would also say it was something that had to be done.'' The imperative was that FPL had to get ready for competition. ''In the '80s, we had the highest electric rates in Florida,'' says Olivera, 'and yet the growth in the costs were such that [Broadhead] was faced with a proposal to increase the rates. He said, `We already had the highest rates. How can we go in and ask for an even bigger increase?' '' Broadhead's moves reshaped the organization. ''It fundamentally changed the way we did business,'' says Williams. The management structure shifted from a geographic base -- a general manager for a local area -- to one focused on function, so that one person, for example, was responsible for power plants, regardless of location. Still, quality clearly suffered. Outages per customer, which had fallen down to a low of 33 minutes in 1991, multiplied four-fold, to 137 minutes in 1997, according to the numbers the utility provided the media at the time. QUALITY SUFFERED Olivera says outage measurements over the years are not quite comparable, because they measured slightly different concepts, but he agrees quality took a big hit in the mid-1990s, and according to some measures climbed to 150 and 160 minutes of annual outages per customer. ''It got a heck of a lot worse,'' says Olivera, 'and then bells went off and we said, `Hey, this thing is getting away from us.' The reality is during that period we cut too much, and we lost the focus on improving reliability.'' Olivera was put in charge of a new quality improvement era. Under measurements used by the PSC, outages that reached 135.5 minutes per customer in 1996 were reduced to 70 minutes in 2000, and have stayed near that level since then. (The PSC measures outages only during nonhurricane times.) Still, these outages were considerably higher than during the Deming era, and it's not clear what happened to the other important quality measurement -- consumer attitudes. The Miami Herald recently asked FPL if the company still conducts customer attitude surveys and, if so, what they showed. FPL didn't provide an answer by deadline. FPL executives say their challenge is how to balance costs with their mission to keep rates low. RATE COMPARISON Indeed, their rates are lower than many other utilities. According to some rates provided by the Edison Electric Institute, a trade organization, FPL's total charges for 1000-kilowatt/hours of $92.01 in 2005 were considerably better than the average New Jersey rate of $99.76, the New York average of $122.82, the PECO Energy average of $135.13 in Pennsylvania and the $156.40 of Pacific Gas &Electric in California. Still, FPL was more expensive than the $70.11 average in Illinois, $84.30 in Texas and $89.45 in Georgia, according to EII figures. Electric utilities have their prices set by regulators because they are monopolies without competition. In Florida and most states, regulators determine a company's ''reasonable and prudent'' costs, then allow a profit on top of that. Twomey, who was a PSC lawyer in the mid-'80s and worked on FPL rate cases, says that during the 1980s FPL had just completed a lot of new generator construction, including a nuclear plant in St. Lucie County, and all those costs were included in its rate base. In essence, the customers had already purchased a bus. ''So it's like you have this bus, but there are only five people on the bus,'' says Twomey, who is now an independent consumer advocate. As the years went on, FPL added roughly 100,000 customers a year. ``So the bus was filling up, but they weren't having to spend much more on the bus.'' This customer growth -- and the fact that the average FPL consumer uses 1.5 percent more electricity each year -- meant that revenue soared while operations and maintenance costs were kept down. In fact, as FPL executives like to point out, not only has the utility not had a rate increase in 20 years, but in 1999 it lowered its basic rates by 6 percent and again in 2002 by 7 percent. PREEMPTIVE STRIKE However, Charles Beck of the Office of Public Counsel, which represents consumers before the PSC, says, ''The reductions just didn't come out of nowhere.'' FPL's profits had increased so much that consumer advocates were threatening to demand the PSC have hearings to reduce FPL's rates, and the utility took a preemptive strike. In return for cutting rates, FPL won an important concession -- its profits would not be subject to a rate-of-return ceiling. Instead, over a certain threshold, it would share revenue with customers. ''Wall Street hates limits on returns,'' says Twomey. Indeed analysts generally look well upon FPL. Debra Bromberg, an analyst with Jefferies &Co., says FPL is ''regarded as one of the better-run utilities.'' She mentions ''cost-control'' as a primary factor. Last year, because it was planning a new round of power plant construction to meet continued growth in its customer base, FPL asked for a full-blown rate hearing to get an additional $430 million from consumers. That move ended in a compromise, with FPL agreeing to freeze its basic rates for four years. In return, it was allowed to boost profits by eliminating some costs, such as $20.3 million annually it had been contributing to a storm fund reserve to pay for damages from hurricanes. Basic rates, however, account for only 35 percent of a customer's bill, most of which are various surcharges. Consumers this month are feeling a special pain from one of these, the energy surcharge, which soared 19 percent for residential customers and 30 percent for businesses. That energy surcharge now accounts for more than half of the bill. The surcharges are supposed to be simply cost pass-throughs, without allowing FPL any profit, which all comes from its basic rates. HIGH RETURN ON EQUITY At present, according to PSC documents, FPL has a return on equity of 12.68 percent. That's 35.9 percent better than the state's second largest power company, Progress Energy, which earns a 9.33 percent return. And it's 20 percent higher than the national average of 10.54 percent return on equity authorized by state regulators in 29 rate cases last year, according to Regulatory Research Associates. FPL President Olivera says the company's healthy profit is due to the steadily growing number of customers and tight controls on expenses. ''We have a very strong focus on managing costs and managing capital.'' He emphasizes FPL's simple organization chart, without ''a lot of layers,'' and smart spending of operations and maintenance money. But expenses do soar at times. Geisha Williams, in charge of storm restoration, says, ``We have lots of linemen who earn over $100,000 a year.'' With a starting pay of $25 to $30 per hour, the linemen earn that kind of money by doing bone-grinding overtime after hurricanes. That overtime, however, does not cut into the utility's profits. Instead it becomes part of the storm surcharge, paid by customers. Editor's Note: The Miami Herald has a business relationship with FPL in a program to recruit subscribers. ***************************************************************** 34 ForUm: Ukraine to promote uranium industry News / 30 January 2006 | 17:17 The Fuel and Energy Ministry of Ukraine charges Nuclear Energy Department, Strategy Policy and Perspective Development Department, Ukraine’s Fuel and Energy Complex and Energoatom with elaboration of technical and economical basis for the uranium industry in Ukraine, the Cabinet press service told. “Plan of the Measures concerning the Energy Safety of Ukraine” is aimed at the realization of this project. On January 23, the Cabinet approved of the document. Editorial staff:english@for-ua.com All rights are reserved by © LTD. Inter-Media, ForUm 2001-2006 ***************************************************************** 35 NRC: NRC Proposes to Amend Regulations on Fines for Violating Employee Protection Requirements News Release - 2006-06-009 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov www.nrc.gov No. 06-009 January 30, 2006 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to amend its employee protection regulations to clarify its authority to impose a fine on contractors and subcontractors if they violate the NRCs regulations by discriminating against their employees for engaging in protected activities. The protected activities include providing information to the Commission or the employer about alleged violations of the Atomic Energy Act or the Energy Reorganization Act, refusing to engage in any practices made unlawful by these Acts if the employee has identified the alleged illegality to the employer, requesting the Commission to take action against the employer, and testifying before Congress or any Federal or State proceeding on these subjects. The amendments would also allow the NRC to impose a fine on the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC), as well as a contractor or subcontractor of USEC, if it discriminated against an employee for engaging in protected activities. The Commissions current employee protection regulations prohibit discrimination by those holding an NRC license for use of nuclear material, an applicant for a Commission license, a holder or an applicant for a certificate of compliance, or a contractor or subcontractor of these entities. Enforcement actions specified for violations of these requirements are denial, revocation or suspension of the license; imposition of a fine on the licensee or applicant; or other enforcement action. While these regulations prohibit discrimination by a contractor or subcontractor, they do not explicitly provide for imposition of a fine on a contractor or subcontractor. The activities of contractors and subcontractors can clearly affect the safe operation of a licensed facility, such as a nuclear power plant, said Mike Johnson, Director of the NRC Office of Enforcement. It is important that the Commission be able to bring the full scope of enforcement actions to bear on them if they demote, terminate or otherwise discriminate against their employees for raising safety concerns. The Commission emphasized that the proposed amendments do not represent a change in its long-held view that licensees are responsible for maintaining control and oversight of contractor and subcontractor activities. There may be instances in which the Commission may wish to issue fines to both the responsible contractor or subcontractor and the licensee, such as in situations in which the licensee is aware of discrimination by its contractor or subcontractor and does not take immediate action to remedy the situation. Further, the Commission certified that this rule, if promulgated, will not have a negative economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on the proposed rule within 75 days after publication of a Federal Register notice on this subject, expected shortly. The comments should be addressed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, or by e-mail to SECY@nrc.gov. Comments may also be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov[exit icon] . Please include the number RIN 3150-AH59 in the subject line of the comments. Last revised Monday, January 30, 2006 ***************************************************************** 36 EIR: The World Cannot Survive Without Nuclear Energy [Executive Intelligence Review] This editorial appears in the Feb. 3, 2006 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. Developments around the globe—from Europe to Asia and even the United States—indicate that leading policymakers are finally beginning to realize that the world will not survive without a revival of nuclear power. One of the most insane characteristics of the last 30 years of post-industrialism is about to be abandoned. The LaRouche political movement has long insisted that a renaissance of nuclear fission, and then fusion, is an indispensable aspect of a world economic recovery. We welcome this development, and intend to do everything possible to move it along. The most dramatic shift has been taking place in Western Europe, where formerly anti-nuclear trade unionists and politicians are now saying that they have to rethink their positions. British and German trade unionists are now talking about the need to expand the nuclear industry, in the face of both the dramatic increase in price of fossil fuels, and the instability of the supply. Similarly, a turn toward nuclear has begun to be discerned in the United States, where licensing procedures are being simplified, and leading politicians are beginning to realize that "energy independence" means, among other things, going back to nuclear power. But the proof of the pudding, so to speak, lies in Asia, where the preponderance of the world's population lives, energy-starved, in abject poverty. Economist LaRouche has insisted that particularly India and China will never overcome their destitution unless they move with an integrated 50-year development plan, which places great emphasis on nuclear power. They are not generating enough real income for their people, to bring the 70-80 percent of the population out of poverty. The situation will get even worse, of course, if the Synarchist bankers behind Cheney et al. succeed in starting their new series of wars in the Perian Gulf region, which will even more massively disrupt oil supplies. India, LaRouche has indicated, has tremendous capability for launching a massive program to build high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, using its vast supply of thorium. By building small plants, int he range of 120-200 megawatts, India is capable of producing the pressure vessels on a mass scale. Such a production program can provide the power to transform the rural areas of India by providing a lot of cheap power. China is somewhat different, LaRouche noted, but still nuclear energy is vital. Hydro-power, such as that which will be produced by the Three Gorges Dam, cannot be expected to solve the nation's energy needs. Rather power from nuclear energy should be used to help China with its water management problems, since that country has an urgent need for moving water from one part of the country to another. LaRouche's conception for the international nuclear revival emphasizes the importance of using thorium fuel (which cannot make bombs), and proliferating small reactors, which would minimize the loss of energy through transportation of power. Oil reserves should be used be petro-chemicals, and gas should be primarily used locally. In the future, the use of nuclear power will facilitate the shift to hydrogen-based chemical fuels. The big picture is this: we are going to have to change the global economic reality over the next two generations. We are going to have to build new cities, deal with rural poverty, and create high-speed transportation and development corridors throughout the Eurasian region, the Americas, and Africa. We need to focus on the long-term benefits of investments in the physical economy, not the short-term opportunism of today's leading "economic experts." This 50-year approach is the truly revolutionary way to transform the world economy. To carry out this perspective, the first step is to free the United States from Synarchist banker control, because the United States is the only nation capable of reorganizing the world monetary system. The second step is to initiate cooperation between the U.S., Europe, Russia, and China, especially on the full range of infrastructure development that is required. But all of such development depends upon ample, cheap, economical power—and that means nuclear energy. Go nuclear—now! ***************************************************************** 37 The Herald: More nuclear power is the greatest idiocy ever Web Issue 2453 January 30 2006 I presume that in the near future we will be running shuttle freighters to the moon and Mars to bring back ore from which we can extract the uranium we need for all these new nuclear power stations. With China contemplating building 40 and India something similar (not to mention countless proposals from all over the world) it looks to me that we could be about to embark on the greatest idiocy of all time. There is considerable mystique surrounding the generation of nuclear power. Many assume it is some highly technical, highly efficient way of producing electricity. Actually, it biles lots of water. That's all. By a dangerous explosive process, unknown in nature, lots and lots of water is boiled and this is used exactly the same way as we use boiled water from coal-fired, oil-fired or gas-fired power stations to produce electricity. However, it very often produces far too much hot water and is an extremely dangerous process which cannot be switched up and down or off and on. To do so we burn uranium, a relatively rare commodity, which is extracted from ore mined at various parts of the world. The high-grade ore we presently use allows this process with minimum effort. At present rate of use we have less than 15 years' worth of known deposits of this high-grade ore. If all the world were to be nuclear-powered we have about four years left. There are, of course, substantial stores of uranium held by our various militaries but even if we were to access these there is no doubt that we would run out of easily accessed uranium in this generation. After that we are reduced to extracting uranium from progressively less rich ore which uses progressively more energy in the extraction process. In a comparatively short space of time we are expending as much energy extracting uranium from the ore as the burning of the uranium can provide  and producing as much CO2 as just burning fossil fuels in the first place. Various methods of reprocessing add perhaps 20% and then we run out. Uranium is the ultimate non-renewable resource. And long after we've run out of the uranium and shut down the nuclear plants we'll still have thousands of years of hundreds of thousands of tons of deadly nuclear waste to deal with. It is very obvious that negligence by successive British governments amounting to massive incompetence is leading to a power crisis in Britain. But we should be very clear what we're debating here. Are we agonising over whether Britain needs new nuclear power stations or whether Scotland needs new nuclear power stations? Taking account of the fact that oil is now too valuable a commodity to burn (and the sooner this is realised the better), Scotland has limitless potential in tidal, wave, hydro, solar and wind-powered generation (not to mention biomass and clean burn of vast coal deposits) and quite clearly does not need nuclear power. The power crisis, however, about to engulf the densely populated south of UK may make a nuclear quick-fix very attractive. That's where they should site any nuclear power stations, if they feel they must. It is worth pointing out, however, that the proposed Severn Barrage would cleanly and cheaply produce as much power as about 10 nuclear power stations  just as a totally reliable tidal barrage across part of the Pentland Firth could power most of Scotland. That is the future. David McEwan Hill, 1 Tom Nan Ragh, Dalinlongart, Sandbank, Argyll. Copyright © Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights ***************************************************************** 38 NRC: NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to Meet Feb. 9-11 in Rockville, Maryland News Release - 2006-06-010 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov www.nrc.gov No. 06-010 January 30, 2006 The Nuclear Regulatory Commissions Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) will hold a public meeting Feb. 9-11 in Rockville, Md., to discuss, among other items, generic guidelines for extended power uprate testing programs and a draft report on the evaluation of human reliability analysis methods against good practices. The meeting will be held in Room T-2B3 of the agencys Two White Flint North building, at 11545 Rockville Pike. It will begin at 8:30 a.m. each day and end at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, 7 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday. A complete agenda is available on the NRCs Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/acrs/agenda/2005/. Anyone with questions or those wanting to make public statements during the meeting should contact Sam Duraiswamy at 301-415-7364. The ACRS, as mandated by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, advises the Commission on licensing, the operation of nuclear power plants and related safety issues. Last revised Monday, January 30, 2006 ***************************************************************** 39 Canadian Nuclear FAQ: Why This is CANDU Country by Dr. Jeremy Whitlock www.nuclearfaq.ca Published in the December 2005 issue of the Canadian Nuclear SocietyBulletin, Vol.26, No.4. There is something comfortably self-evident about the recent declaration that "Canada is CANDU Country". With billions invested over fifty years to advance a technology as unique as poutine and beavertails, what other kind of country could we be? It's our mouse that roared on the global stage, the David that took market share from Goliath. It is hundreds of private manufacturers tooled up, tens of thousands gainfully employed, and a lineage to the discovery of fission itself. It's the definition of our regulatory regime and a straitjacket for all other designs, from 10 MW research reactors to 1600 MW PWRs: CANDU is part of our cultural fabric. We even starved out the competition for CANDU itself within these borders: the Civilian Atomic Power Division (CAPD) of GE Canada, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2005, built the first CANDU at Rolphton and pioneered the CANDU export market in Pakistan, before bowing out of the reactor supply business. In the 1960s this land wasn't big enough for two reactor suppliers, particularly one tied to an American parent company. (GE Canada continues as a fuel supplier in the CANDU industry). So "CANDU Country" it is, although one suspects that most Canadians would not be so quick to paint their country in that hue. In fact, it is likely that most Canadians would have barely heard of CANDU, and a good fraction of those that did would probably consider it an artifact of the 50s and 60s. They'd be correct, of course, but that's not the point. Fewer still would know that the Canadian engineering community, on the occasion of its 1987 centenary, identified the CANDU reactor as one the nation's top ten engineering achievements of the preceding century. The lack of mainstream fame is no slight, since Canadians are equally likely to be unaware of the other nine laureates. True, if asked, they'd probably guess two of them: the CPR railway and the Bombardier snowmobile. The remaining seven are all appropriately deserving: the St. Lawrence seaway, Polymer Corporation's synthetic rubber, the Athabascan oil sands development, Hydro Quebec's high-voltage transmission system, the De Havilland Beaver aircraft, the Alouette satellite, and the trans-Canada telephone network. Interestingly, a poll of average Canadians would probably find near-unanimous support for nine of the ten being on the list, while CANDU's presence would no doubt stir controversy. Also interestingly, in 1999 the same engineering community compiled another list of the five "most significant Canadian engineering achievements" of the 20th century, and none of 1987's top ten made the cut. In fact, four of the five winners were relatively new to the scene (the PEI Confederation Bridge, the Canadarm, IMAX, and CPR's new Rogers Pass project). The fifth honouree was the Hopps pacemaker, subsequently chosen through an Angus Reid poll as the one of the top five that made people "most proud to be Canadian". When CANDU reactors make Angus Reid respondents "proud to be Canadian", then this will truly be "CANDU Country". In fact, the more people get to know CANDU technology, the more they might find it a metaphor for Canada itself and all that we hold dear. Consider: Although one of the largest power reactor designs, it is mostly empty space dotted with pockets of isolated activity. A federation of pressure tubes, if you will, composed of diverse participants working side by side (thanks to bi-directional fuelling) for the greater harmony. At the same time there is a challenge of controlling spatial sub-modes, and an ongoing need for regional over-power protection. In the end, however, it is a concept evolved from peaceful rather than military fundamentals, and a concept that continues to effect global change through subtle, long-term interaction (on-line refuelling) rather than brute force. Come on people, how can you not love this technology? ©2006 Jeremy Whitlock ***************************************************************** 40 Sofia Morning News: Bulgaria’s energy industry risks power drain - Mon 30 Jan 2006 Bulgaria’s energy industry risks power drainIvan Vatahov BULGARIA is about to join the world’s largest electricity trading community, but the country’s future as a power producer and importer faces uncertainty. On January 19, the Cabinet put to Parliament the ratification of a treaty establishing an energy community between the European Union and South Eastern Europe. The document was signed in Athens in October 2005 and initialled on behalf of Bulgaria by Economy and Energy Minister Roumen Ovcharov. The other parties to the treaty are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo. Austria, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Slovenia participate on a non-voting basis. The energy community is expected to bring into being the world’s largest integrated competitive electricity market with about 500 million consumers, operating according to the rules of the common electricity market of the European Community. Bulgaria is the largest electricity exporter in South Eastern Europe. In recent years, Bulgaria has covered between 45 and 100 per cent of the deficit in trading in electricity by the countries of the region that are net importers. Although the creation of this liberalised regional electricity market is expected to help Bulgarian electricity producers expand their markets, it is the quantity of generated power in this country that is unlikely to be able to meet the rising demand. Under the accession treaty with the EU, by the end of 2006 Bulgaria has to close two of its generating units at Kozlodui nuclear power station. The units, the same type that were in use at Chernobyl, are considered unsafe. Bulgaria will be left with only two nuclear power generating units, which will mainly be used to provide for the increasing rate of consumption that is arising from economic growth. The scheduled closure of the third and fourth units of Kozlodui will lead to direct losses totalling 735 million euro for Bulgaria’s energy sector, according to a report earlier this month by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The report was done at the request of Bulgaria’s Cabinet. Bulgaria will also have to stop electricity exports, increasing the loss to 935 million euro. In spite of many calls for new negotiations with the EU on a possible postponement of the closure of the two reactors, which in the past decade have undergone a series of safety improvements, it appears unlikely that there will be new talks. Bulgarian diplomats fear that if Bulgaria raises the question of power plant closure now, it could face delayed accession. Bulgaria ranked fourth in Europe in electricity exports in 2005, after France, the Czech Republic and Poland. The country sold 7600 million kilowatt-hours of electricity abroad, which was 30 per cent higher than the amount for 2004. An additional 26 780 million kilowatt-hours were produced for domestic consumption. Last year, electricity consumption inside the country increased by 2.7 per cent. Because of economic growth, companies used 5.8 per cent more electricity. At the same time, households decreased their consumption because of rising prices. This is why Bulgaria needs to start the construction of the second nuclear power plant at Belene. This has become one of the priorities of the current Cabinet. However, the country expects to complete the construction of Belene by 2011, a point too far in the future to answer the current energy question. ***************************************************************** 41 Sun Herald: Time to Explore the Nuclear Option 01/30/06 /www.sun-herald.com DeSoto County's real estate market is exploding. Before long, much of DeSoto's sprawling ranch and citrus acreage will be filled in. Attractive suburban neighborhoods with charming neighborhood restaurants and shops are DeSoto's future. Many of the large tracts of land in DeSoto have changed hands. A few large tracts have not changed hands and are off the public's radar screen. There is one particular large landowner in DeSoto who rarely is mentioned. Florida Power & Light (FP&L) is one of the largest landowners in DeSoto. What FP&L decides to do with their property may have a significant impact on DeSoto County. FP&L owns approximately 13,500 acres in the county. The property is located six miles north of State Road 70 on U.S. 17. FP&L purchased the land in 1974 and 1975 for a future power plant site although, at this time, there are no plans to build a power plant in DeSoto County. We may see a nuclear power plant in DeSoto's future. Here's why. There are just over 100 nuclear power plants operating in the U.S. with facilities located in 31 states. The Green Mountain State -- Vermont, receives the highest percentage of its electricity from nuclear power at over 70 percent. Nuclear power is also the most economical way to produce electricity at less than 1.70 cents per kilowatt hour. If you don't know how cheap that is, take a look at your most recent bill and you may be surprised to see charges close to five times that rate. Nuclear power plants received an $18 per megawatt hour production tax credit in last year's energy bill. Basically that means a power company like FP&L can make more than a 30-percent return on a nuclear plant just on the tax credits alone according to Barron's magazine. Florida Power & Light would likely prefer to build a nuclear plant much closer to population centers like Broward County on the east coast. Transmission costs would be much less. Unfortunately for FP&L, the more crowded the urban area, the less receptive the public is to building a nuclear power plant in their back yard. A nuclear power plant would cost close to $2 billion. My calculation is that a nuclear power plant would generate more than $30 million of additional property tax revenue in DeSoto County each year. Economically, a nuclear power plant is a much better alternative for DeSoto County than another 20,000 residential homes on that same 13,500 acres. Residential homes require schools, police, fire, and other services for 50,000 residents. The nuclear power plant provides $30 million in tax revenue without the same level of demand for services. The population of our area, and DeSoto County in particular, is exploding. Someday we will look much like Broward County with a much larger population less receptive to a nuclear power plant. While environmental questions are always an issue, this is a good time to begin the discussion Share your thoughts. A division of Sun Coast Media Group Inc. Publishers of the Sun newspapers. ***************************************************************** 42 Business Day: Koeberg repair could take up to nine months Posted to the web on: 30 January 2006 I-Net Bridge ESKOM is yet to find the required parts to repair the "unit one" generator at the Koeberg nuclear power station and it could take, "in a worst case scenario nine months" to finish the job, said Eskoms acting CE Jacob Maroga. Maroga said while the intention was to return the generator to service in the shortest possible time to meet electricity demand, it would take a minimum of three months to repair. However, he acknowledged that the repairs "could take longer" or as long as nine months. Eskom would inform the media and the public "in case it takes longer than the current plan", he told Members of Parliament serving on the National Assembly Minerals and Energy Portfolio Committee today. Sketching recent outages in Cape Town, Maroga said damage to unit one had been caused by a foreign object - a bolt - found in the generator after it had been returned to service after a planned maintenance shutdown. "Based on available information, this is the cause of the fault," he said, noting that this had occurred on December 25. Cooling systems of the stator and rotor of the generator were affected and more than half of the bars in the generator were damaged and these would have to be replaced. There were, however, no problems in the reactor and the turbine at the plant. He reported that on November 11 - when the Cape Town area suffered its first electricity outage - there had been a mechanical failure on a 400kV switchgear during switching operations in the transmission sub-station at Koeberg. Automatic protection measures had occurred when Koeberg tripped - resulting in a 90-minute transmission shutdown. However, the power outage had taken "much longer" in parts of Cape Town. The second outage on November 16 had been caused by a fire under the Muldersvlei-Droeriver 400kV power line. This had led to a short circuit and the line had tripped. This time the unit two generator at Koeberg had been affected. The power outage had lasted 60 minutes this time on the Cape network. Currently supply to the Cape was being handled by Koebergs unit two generator and transmission transfers from the rest of the country. Koeberg could supply 1,800 MW - 900 MW from each generator while the incoming transmissions lines contributed 3,500MW. Peak demands could reach 5,650 MW in winter and 5,100 MW in summer in the Cape. Another power outage had occurred on November 23 as a result of a controlled shutdown of Koebergs unit two generator. Indicating that power outages may not be a thing of the past, Maroga said that emergencies in the Cape could include unplanned shut downs of a Koeberg unit and loss of one of the transmission lines. In the event of such emergencies, power could be brought in from various sources including from Eskom gas turbines at Acacia in Cape Town and at Port Rex in East London as well as from the Orange River Hydro scheme. Democratic Alliance MP Hendrik Schmidt said that he was alarmed that there were not back up plans in place to avoid outages while Inkatha Freedom Party MP Eric Lucas expressed concern that it had not been a condition that the original supplier of the Koeberg parts - now being sought - should provide replacement parts. Maroga said some R5,5bn was being spent on Eskoms maintenance of and investment in transmission lines, grid strengthening and on gas turbines in the period from 2002 to June 2007. Copyright © 2005 BDFM Publishers (Pty) Ltd. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 43 NRC: Live NRC Meeting Webcast The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission broadcasts some Commission meetings over the Internet as a means of improving communications with the public. Upcoming webcasts are: Date Subject 1/31/06 Briefing on Strategic Workforce Planning and Human Capital Initiatives 9:30 A.M. + Slides 2/2/06 Briefing on Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information (SUNSI) Policy 1:30 P.M. 2/6/06 Briefing on Materials Degradation Issues and Fuel Reliability 9:30 A.M. 2/8/06 Briefing on Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) Programs, Performance, and PlansMaterials Safety 9:30 A.M. 2/8/06 Briefing on Office of Research (RES) Programs, Performance, and Plans 1:30 P.M. 2/14/06 Briefing on Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) Programs, Performance, and PlansWaste Safety 2:00 P.M. 2/15/06 Briefing on Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) Programs, Performance, and Plans 9:30 A.M. The following resources will assist you in participating: + Public Meeting Schedule - provides a complete listing of agency meetings. Live meetings shown as [webcast] + Commission Meeting Schedule - lists all Commission meetings for a six week period. Live meetings shown as [webcast] + Slides - available in advance of the meeting + Transcripts - available within 48 hours of the conclusion of the live meeting + Meeting SRM - documentation of any Commission's decisions from the meeting To view a webcast you will need to download the RealOne plugin [RealNetworks Media Streaming Player icon] . You may also view previous webcasts at our Webcast Archive. Comments and Feedback To help us determine the value of continuing to provide this service, the NRC would appreciate your assistance by providing comments and feedback on the usefulness, performance, and frequency with which you might use this service or any other items related to this service. + Contact Us About Webcasts + Webcast Interest Survey Notes on Accessibility Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires equal access to the Federal government's electronic and information technology. In compliance with this Act, NRC is including text equivalents (captioning) as part of the video image being shown over the Internet during the Commission meeting. Although every effort is made to assure the accuracy and completeness of this text, users should be aware that errors may nonetheless occur. Expressions of opinion in this text do not necessarily reflect final determination or beliefs. No pleadings or other paper may be filed with the Commission in any proceeding as a result of any statement or argument contained in the text-equivalent (captioned) material. Last revised Monday, January 30, 2006 ***************************************************************** 44 [du-list] Saddam to sue re USUK war crimes including use of Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 14:14:45 -0800 http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E5949257-1D2D-49D8-96E9-5D1659A21F6D.htm Saddam Hussein wants George Bush, the US president, and Tony Blair, the British prime minister, to be tried for committing war crimes, says the deposed Iraqi president's chief lawyer. Khalil al-Dulaimi said on Thursday that Saddam wants to sue both leaders, along with Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, for allegedly authorising the use of weapons such as depleted uranium artillery shells, white phosphorous, napalm and cluster bombs in Iraq. "We will sue Bush, Blair and Rumsfeld in The Hague for using such weapons of mass destruction," al-Dulaimi, in Jordan, told The Associated Press in Baghdad during a telephone interview. No complaint has been filed to the International Criminal Court in The Netherlands, but al-Dulaimi said Saddam's foreign defence team will present it "very soon". Iraq excesses "President Saddam intends to bring those criminals to justice for their mass killings of Iraqis in Baghdad, Ramadi, Falluja and Qaim and abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib," the lawyer added. Saddam also wants all Iraqis who have had relatives killed or had property damaged should receive at least $500,000 each. There have been several allegations that the United States used outlawed weapons, such as napalm, in the November, 2004 Falluja offensive, but the Pentagon denied using it. In November, the Pentagon acknowledged that US troops used white phosphorous shells as a weapon against insurgent strongholds in the same Falluja battle, adding that they are a standard weapon and not banned by any international weapons convention to which the US is a signatory. Prohibited weapon Use of white phosphorous is covered by Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons, which prohibits use of the substance as an incendiary weapon against civilian populations and in air attacks against military forces in civilian areas. The United States is not a signatory to the convention. US soldiers have also claimed they have fallen ill to exposure to depleted uranium artillery shells in Iraq, but the Pentagon has said metal does not cause ailments. Depleted uranium is the hard, heavy metal created as a byproduct of enriching uranium for nuclear reactor fuel or weapons material. Saddam, his half brother Barzan Ibrahim and six other defendants are on trial in the 1982 killing of more than 140 Shia Muslims after an attempt on Saddam's life in the northern town of Dujail. They could face death by hanging if convicted. ---------- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.14.23/243 - Release Date: 1/27/06 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. ***************************************************************** 45 [du-list] the killing fields: ghosts of the walking dead Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 14:14:53 -0800 A Must-Read ========== http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11680.htm The Killing Fields: Ghosts of the Walking Dead Lesley Stahl on U.S. sanctions against Iraq: We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it? Secretary of State Madeleine Albright: I think this is a very hard choice, but the price--we think the price is worth it. --60 Minutes (5/12/96) Oil, Simply Oil By Manuel Valenzuela 01/26/06 "ICH" -- -- The story of Iraq and its people since 1991 is one of immense tragedy, of a fate cruel and evil that has befallen innocent human beings whose only crime has been living inside what was once the ancient land of Mesopotamia. It is ironic that the land that first gave rise to human civilization has been made to suffer tremendous hardship in the last fifteen years, severely decimated and destroyed, its wounds hemorrhaging from incessant human cruelty. The heart of the Fertile Crescent has become a barren wasteland, its waters, the Tigris and Euphrates, those veins of sustenance for our ancient forefathers, transformed into rivers of waste and pollution and decaying death, their fertility now mutated into toxicity. Its cities and peoples, descendants of a civilization thousands of years old, rich in both culture and history, have been made to suffer the severe consequences of sitting atop modern humanity’s most coveted natural resource, a black gold sought by nations and corporations of the rich and powerful north, a devil’s excrement that fuels economies and human greed, feeding apathy and wickedness, corruption and colonialism, and, as always, expanding comfort and excessiveness in the lands of the pillagers. To those nations whose unlucky possession of oil has brought nothing but exploitation and misery, like Iraq, the black gold fever created has yielded a curse upon both peoples and lands, for in their strategic location exists the energy needed to feed today’s wealthiest and most powerful nations. These countries will stop at nothing in order to possess, and control, the drops and gallons and barrels and pipelines and valves and oil wells saturated with ever dwindling supplies of oil, becoming blind to the corrosive effects their exploitation has on both native people and land, in the process ripping apart ground, polluting environment, poisoning air, intoxicating water, corrupting leadership and condemning the citizenry to the sins of human nature possessed by greed, addicted to money and infatuated by power. The destiny of modern Iraq was sealed millions of years ago, when fossil fuels underwent their natural evolution, over epochs becoming the black blood hiding underneath sand dunes and desert landscapes. Due to the changing patterns of an ever evolving planet, a land once lush in forest, jungle and one can imagine bountiful vegetation became, over eons of change, the vastly different landscape we are familiar with today. Black gold replaced green Eden, to remain hidden for millions of years until that day when man developed the technologies in need of fuel. This bone marrow, dormant and undisturbed, lay below ground, remaining unknown to primitive man for its use and capabilities had yet to be understood. This resource, useless to peoples ancient and primitive, was to find access to the surface in the late 19th century. It would be the beginning of the end for nations such as Iraq, their fate now in the hands of nations addicted to colonization and imperialism, for in oil the Western powers saw hegemony, control and advantage. Thus, from the nadir of Earth the devil’s excrement rose, becoming, over a century later, a most troubling demon possessing humanity and destroying, in the span of a little more than a century, the planet's environment. At the time ignorance made the effects of fossil fuel use unknown. Meanwhile, the northern thirst for oil, insatiable thanks to industrialization and expansion of economies, began to imprison, exploit and colonize the lands and peoples of the Middle East, enriching a few tribal leaders, making kings of goat herders and creating tyrants of former shepherds. The market colonization of Arab and Muslim lands had begun, like a gold rush birthing a fever that has yet to stop. In the process, lands that should never have been joined in unison were stitched together by Western powers ignorant to the region’s history, culture and idiosyncrasies. Rivals and hated enemies suddenly found themselves living in the same country, surrounded by Western imposed invisible borders, forced to subsist and govern together. The traditional lands of entire peoples were without understanding divided apart or granted to other entities, thereby planting the seeds for future conflict. Ethnicities found themselves split apart by imaginary lines, with large segments of their populations living in different nations, their congruity eviscerated, their connections to each other severed. Unwanted European minorities, for centuries oppressed and subjugated, hated and ostracized in their native lands, at times ethnically cleansed and nearly exterminated, were conveniently gotten rid off from European nations and sent to the land of the Palestinians, free to colonize a region for millennia owned and lived in by Palestinian indigenous peoples. Given the right to oppress and ethnically cleanse native Arabs by England, who possessed the lands of Palestine, the European ethnic minority, claiming the land as their Biblical right, systematically began a campaign of terror against the natives, cleansing hundreds of thousands, murdering many and taking the lands, and wealth, of the Palestinian people, creating their own colony while occupying other people’s rightful land. Thus, to atone for the sins of Europeans Israel was allowed to be born at the expense of the indigenous population, thereby condemning the Palestinian people to pay perpetual sacrifices and compensation to a people persecuted by Europeans, not Arabs. In the dispossession of natives Israel was created, born in sin and human malice, a gift from England and Europe to make up for their past evils, becoming a short sighted endowment but a ticking time bomb in the much more important long term. Today Palestine is a land of colonizers, settlers, occupiers and institutionalized apartheid, an area in turmoil and perpetual hatred, with Palestinians robbed of their lands, homes, farms and wells, imprisoned in walled and fenced-in ghettos and Bantustans, displaced and sent to rot in refugee camps and territorial hellholes. Palestine has become a land of engendered revulsion, a place where two peoples are forced to live side by side under a history saturated with violence, oppression, plunder and a hunger for vengeance. It is a tinderbox threatening not just to the greater Middle East, but to the world at large. The manipulations by the British during the first half of the 20th century at trying to engineer a new nation governed by foreigners with only ancient continuity with the land, through the subjugation of the native population, was a clear example of forethought being but an afterthought, and today the world entire must bear the consequences of this foray into colonizing stolen land. The lands of the Middle East were carved up by the great Western powers, intent on exploiting every inch of land and drop of oil. They became colonizers, devastating economies, damaging cultures, impoverishing lives and pillaging wealth, both natural and economic. In time despots were appointed, supported and given comfort, named kings, princes, dictators and so-called presidents by leaders of northern lands unfamiliar with the ways of the Middle East, becoming, more than anything else, the tyrants, puppets and, most importantly, the strongmen of the West, able to maintain their power by suppressing and controlling their own people, depending on the morsels and crumbs given by the West for continued hegemony. While they reaped the enormous wealth spawned by oil, allowing European companies complete pillage of black gold, the strongmen impoverished their subjects, ruling them with an iron fist, providing for their exploitation and raped destinies, with millions becoming severely under educated and, as a result, fervently religious, made susceptible to the fundamentalist teachings of mullahs and extremists. Tyrants and kings ruled unopposed, confident that Europe and later America would support their every move and decision. Democracy and freedom in the Middle East became invisible and non-existent principles, far away realities seen only through the filtered media controlled by the state, promises made real only to the populations of the same Western nations that supported despots and incompetent rulers where oil flowed. Elections are either non-existent or rigged charades designed to convince few. The rights of women have always been relegated to that of property, with men allowed to dictate the destiny of females. Liberty and human rights were and have never been allowed to cement themselves. On the contrary, suppression and torture have metastasized themselves into Arabic countries, with full support and encouragement of the West, to the great detriment of millions of people. The only interest the West, and particularly America, has with the Middle East is ownership and control of oil. For over a century Western meddling in the region has concentrated on the availability of black gold. It has been to the great detriment of nations such as Iraq that its underground is saturated with the resource the West cannot live without. Thanks to oil the people of Iraq, composed of three distinct ethnicities, mistrustful and historically spiteful of each other, have been thrown into a land whose Western imposed borders are a relatively new phenomenon. Iraqis, along with all other Middle East peoples, have been forced to endure Western ­ and American ­ sponsored dictators for decades, with oil interests trumping those for freedom, democracy and human rights. It is the story of those condemned by the devil’s excrement. Saddam as Both Friend and Foe Saddam Hussein was for decades an American supported and financed dictator put in power to become the tyrannical glue that held Iraq together, for years doing as he was told, becoming Washington’s thug in power, free to do as he wished regarding the internal manifestations of Iraq, financed militarily and economically as long as he kept the oil spigots running and as long as he kept the price of a barrel of crude within the price range limitations of his handlers in Washington. For decades he persecuted and oppressed both the Kurds and Shia, with a wink and a nod from the US government, enriching himself as he feasted on the spoils of Iraqi oil and American military and economic generosity. It was good to be the prostitute of the empire. When asked by Washington to destabilize Iran through war after the American sponsored tyrant and dictator ­ or shah ­ was deposed and the American Embassy ­ CIA station ­ held hostage thanks to the Iranian Revolution, Saddam embarked on a decade long battle against his eastern neighbor, using the vast arsenal of American manufactured weapons to punish Iran for its temerity in dethroning the empire’s despot that had for years been oppressing Iranian citizens, exploiting the nation’s wealth and pillaging its oil, all in the interests of the United States. Saddam, in gleeful cheer, was to unleash hell upon those who had dismantled one of the largest CIA operations in the Middle East, a network center masquerading as an embassy where all orders to the shah originated from and where many Iranian internal problems arose out of. As the war raged on the madness of Saddam became apparent, and, in a calculated and predictable move he, using chemical weapons technology supplied him by America’s government and corporate world, sent into the air WMD aimed at Iranian forces, killing untold thousands with weapons banned by international law, though with the full consent of American officials. It was these same WMD that would later be used by Saddam against the Kurds of northern Iraq, again killing untold hundreds or thousands in the dictator’s bid to oppress a rebellious minority. Saddam was a wicked tyrant, yet he was our wicked tyrant, and so not a word was uttered about his war crimes and crimes against humanity, and especially muted to our ears and made blind to our eyes was his use of American WMD technology against both Iranians and Kurds. He was our evildoer, just like so many before and after him, from all corners of the globe, from Marcos to Suharto to Pinochet to Batista to Mobutu, all dictators whose hands were made bloody by the support and encouragement America’s government engendered. Saddam maintained power in large part thanks to American generosity and financing, much the same as dozens of US supported dictators have for decades. It was only when he was no longer needed to further the interests of America that he became expendable. It was when his character exceeded his allotted power, when his ego thought itself capable of more than he could handle that he went from ally shaking hands with Donald Rumsfeld to dictator and tyrant used to manipulate the fears of bed-wetting Americans. Once expendable, Saddam became, like all once-favored despots and freedom fighters whose usefulness has expired, a bogeyman used to captivate the minds of American citizens. Almost overnight Saddam became the reincarnation of Hitler, a dictator that prevented “freedom and democracy” from his people, a madman that had attacked his neighbor Kuwait, even though his neighbor was siphoning oil away from Iraqi fields and even though Kuwait had once been claimed by the peoples and lands of modern day Iraq, taken away from them by British interests at the turn of the 20th century and made a sovereign nation ruled by British supported monarchs. The machines of propaganda had been turned on and miraculously, Saddam’s use of WMD was shouted for the world to hear, images of rotting Kurdish corpses used to turn friend into foe, his mustache spawning fear and insecurity in the minds of America’s citizens. The merciless engine of propaganda had been turned on. Saddam’s mistake in invading Kuwait would doom Iraqi citizens for the next fifteen years, unleashing the human wickedness inherent in a war culture lacking the empathy and understanding of both history and culture. America’s weaponized instruments of death and army of conditioned automatons devastated Iraq and its population during the Gulf War, bombing cities, decimating infrastructure and destroying the ministries of governance. The aerial campaign, which in essence was the muscle of the war, dropped hundreds of tons of missiles upon unsuspecting targets, their potent payload killing untold numbers of innocent civilians. Cluster bombs, banned by the international community, were indiscriminately dropped from the sky above. Tomahawk missiles rained down upon homes and shelters and hospitals. The terrorism of the rich was unleashed on millions of Iraqi civilians. It can be surmised that tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians died at the hands of American terrorism, yet the real number will never be known because America does not do body counts, caring not an ounce for humans that are not American. From babies to pregnant women to mothers to boys and girls to peasant fathers to grandmothers and grandfathers, the toll of death was undoubtedly massive, for the aerial reign of terror was incessant, at all hours of the day and night. It was in this war where the concept of smart bombs was introduced and experimented in, resulting in massive error in targeting and countless “collateral damage.” Here in America, however, the spin masters at the Pentagon only showed us the minority of video that resulted in direct hits, becoming part of the propaganda that conditions and makes silent the masses. Led to believe that our toys were performing perfectly, we were never made aware of the utter devastation upon Iraq and its people. The misery and hatred and death and maiming engendered by our terrorism was conveniently whitewashed, made to disappear in a war with images only of “smart bombs” destroying their target. In the end, Saddam was left in power, much to the detriment of millions, and much to the poor health of hundreds if not thousands of Kurds and Shia rebels who had been given assurances from America that they would be supported in their attempt to oust a clearly weakened Saddam. They, of course, were betrayed by George Bush, Sr., which resulted in the subsequent slaughter of most rebels by Saddam’s forces. In his infinite wisdom, Bush the Wiser decided against sending his forces to invade and occupy Baghdad, knowing full well the consequences of such an idiotic move. Instead, he maintained an aerial bombing campaign that would last until the start of the next Gulf War. More cruel and evil than the actual bombing or the Gulf War was the economic genocide imposed on the Iraqi people under the guise of sanctions. During the 1990’s, under the rubric of WMD disarmament and failure to obey United Nations resolutions, Iraq was stripped of its ability to purchase and import vital medicines and nutrient rich food. For over ten years these sanctions debilitated Iraq’s once shining health system and social services, creating an anemic organization unable to provide adequate healthcare to its citizens along with the necessary foodstuffs needed for survival. Thanks to these sanctions, sponsored, supported and policed by America, anywhere from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 Iraqi civilians died, 500,000 of them children below the age of five. Dying of malnourishment, disease, illness, hunger and lack of medicine, where ordinarily under normal conditions few would die, Iraqis were made to bear the spear of American imposed genocide. Quite simply, that is what the sanctions should be called in the books of history, for in few instances do we call the death of over one-million innocent civilians, half of them young children, merely sanctions. Make no mistake about it, America stands guilty of genocide and mass murder, as well as in callously perpetuating a suffering never before seen in the lands of Mesopotamia. The economic sanctions imposed devastated an entire generation of children, resulting in the death of half a million under age five as well as stunting the growth, and the development of the brain in millions more thanks to the unavailability of food and medicine. Collective punishment of an entire population was introduced to 25 million Iraqis, most of whom had to survive on rations and through smuggled medicines, all made to suffer for a WMD program that had been abandoned and dismantled, as well as for a war culture that refused to feel the empathy for human suffering and the full consequences to its actions. The human calamity that ensued is a crime against humanity, holding hostage millions who lay on the brink of death, absorbing immeasurable damage to body and mind, unable to escape the mass murder taking place around them. Economic genocide is genocide nonetheless, and America should be ashamed for what it helped perpetuate. Yet according to Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State, “the price [was] worth it.” During the next decade of sanctions, hospitals and schools fell into disrepair, sewers ran open and onto streets, the Tigris and Euphrates filled with human waste and garbage, electricity and food were in short supply and the entire population took a nose dive backwards in time. Meanwhile, the aerial terrorism that only wealthy nations can maintain never let up, resulting in perpetual terror and fear, not to mention incredible levels of stress and anxiety, and in the random bombing of homes and buildings and places of governance. For over a decade the people and nation of Iraq was not allowed to escape the human hell brought to its borders. The powers that were had decided to make Iraq an example, ruining the lives of its people, murdering 1.5 million people, letting an entire nation rot in the refuse of human decrepitude and to severely regress backwards in time a nation that had previously been among the emerging modern and secular nations of the Middle East. With the start of the Iraq/Bush War in 2003, what seemed bad was about to get much, much worse, as the entire military apparatus of the world’s foremost war culture was brought inside the once ancient lands of Mesopotamia. Thousands of tons of munitions, artillery and missiles have exploded inside Iraq, devastating, once again, homes, cities, streets, buildings, hospitals and ministries. Though liberated from the reign of Saddam, Iraq still finds itself lacking adequate electricity, gasoline, medicines and other vital supplies. The reconstruction promised by America has never and will never be delivered, as billions of dollars budgeted for rebuilding a nation in ruins have disappeared, pillaged by war profiteers and corrupt politicians from both sides of the ocean. Anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 innocent civilians have died as a result of America’s occupation of Iraq, all dead because of lies, deceit, greed and love of the Almighty dollar, all dead thanks to incompetence, imbecility and ignorance, all dead thanks to America's silence, indifference, complicity and our addiction to comfort. The occupation has resulted in a classic guerilla warfare resistance by Iraqis fighting for the freedom of their nation and the expelling of occupying forces. This has resulted in tremendous suffering, deep insecurities and fears and an escalating cycle of violence, both against civilians and American forces, that threatens to leave Iraq in a perpetual state of violence and chaos. The initial stages of civil war are apparent, and the real threat of Balkanization, where Iraq splits up into three separate mini-states, cannot be ruled out. The Killing Fields Meanwhile, all around Iraq and its cities a clandestine yet deadly killer lurks, invisible and unseen, devastating in its capacity to destroy human DNA, a silent death sentence that has and will befall hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of unsuspecting human beings, both Iraqi and American. This killer festers in the air, water, food supply, vegetation and ground, infiltrating the porous bodies of human beings, cementing itself for life. It lingers on streets and rivers and buildings and homes, carried by wind and rain and through the daily weather patterns of Mesopotamia. Slowly a land once fertile, an oasis between ancient rivers, the cradle of civilization is being contaminated by the ultimate weapon of mass destruction, poisoned, since 1991, by radiation equivalent to between 250,000 and 400,000 Nagasaki bombs. Thanks to the thousands of tons of ordinance, munitions, missiles and bombs dropped during the Gulf War, and the tens of thousands of tons of ordinance, missiles and bombs dropped by America during the Iraq/Bush War, all saturated with depleted uranium (DU), the nation of Iraq is being destroyed from within by an invisible demon sent from the home of the brave and the land of the free. Many of its citizens are dead Iraqis walking, becoming ghosts of walking dead, unaware of the poison inside their bodies and the death that most certainly awaits them. Depleted uranium is a silent mass murderer, a clandestine nuclear bomb whose mushroom cloud is never seen exploding, yet the radiation and heavy metals excreted from the weapons it envelopes when they strike their target, the heat evaporating uranium particulates into the air, become airborne contagions that latch onto our carbon and organic bodies. It attacks our organs and our bones, our nerves and blood, mutating our DNA genetic sequence, destroying our immune systems, penetrating our reproductive systems and causing various terminal cancers. It is the ultimate weapon of genocidal intentions, a perfect weapon if one wishes to slowly make putrid the human body, embedding itself into our DNA, guaranteeing that it passes onto the next generation of human being, usually resulting in macabre and grisly consequences. Today in Iraq, thanks to the Gulf War, cancers have skyrocketed beyond the pale of comparison, leaving doctors dumbfounded how so many clusters of Iraqis with various cancers can exist when so few existed before. Today the natural rate of deterioration of the body once DU enters it is over, resulting in an exponential and ominous increase in fatalities, most by cancer, disease and immune system chaos. Depleted uranium used fifteen years ago is now being felt where American ordinance was dropped from the sky above, as lands, food supply, water and air once contaminated, inhaled and ingested release the WMD lingering in their midst. Child deformities, stillbirths, mutated fetuses, miscarriages and birth defects have been springing up for quite some time now, as the DU embedded in the sperm and eggs of parents transfers over to the embryo. The mutations taking place, along with the deformities now apparent yet hardly ever seen in human society, are gross distortions of human normalcy, creating beings the likes of which have never been seen before. The photos of what DU can do to newborn babies and fetuses are available on the Internet. Entire regions, towns and neighborhoods are experiencing clusters of these mutations in their newly born babies, with doctors unable to explain the sudden rise in defects and deformities that did not exist previously. What we are seeing is the beginning of decades of death in Iraq from the aftereffects of DU, an epidemic of radiation poisoning caused by American WMD. An entire population has been exposed to nuclear radiation by America and its government ­ which has been aware of the effects of DU for some time ­ and soon the world will be witness to the death of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Iraqi citizens. The world has entered a black hole into a genocide that will possibly last for centuries. We will see the Iraqi nation’s cancer rate skyrocket to levels we though impossible, affecting large segments of the populace, as well as the subsequent deaths of terminally ill patients, most of them children whose bodies have embedded inside them the deadly remnants of their parents’ depleted uranium. We will witness, as we already can through the grisly photos of DU mutations in babies, the horrific rise in child birth defects and deformities and miscarriages and stillbirths that are already causing thousands of potential Iraqi parents to strongly consider ever giving birth for fear of producing in their child a gross distortion of a human baby. The devastating increase in malignancies and cancers, now a great worry, will in the next few decades grow exponentially, laying waste to a large segment of the Iraqi population. In essence, they have been given a death sentence by George W. Bush, who, when future historians see the complete damage DU has caused, will be compared to Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao in terms of numbers of murders committed, easily surpassing the 1.5 million dead Iraqis as a result of America’s economic genocide of the 1990’s. Millions of Iraqis, forced through the consequence of their lives to live inside the smoldering radiation that is Iraq, unable to leave a land now poisoned and made toxic through America’s weapons of death and destruction, will have to face a future of uncertainty and trepidation, slowly becoming aware, if they are not already, that inside them lives a WMD that can not only kill them, but their sexual partner as well along with severely deforming any child they might decide to bring into this world. Inside a bubble of death they will live, forever to breathe the particulates of a pestilence first imported in 1991, unable to escape its damaging grip on organic human bodies. Iraq has been transformed into a vast killing field, a wasteland overrun by the remnants of America’s silent WMD, a cheap and money saving weapon devastating to the human body, capable of killing perhaps millions of innocent human beings, capable of altering entire genetic sequences resulting in the severe birth defects, stillbirths, miscarriages and deformities now appearing almost daily in Iraq. The Cradle of Civilization has transmuted into the Iraqi Killing Fields, a place where only death and disease now prosper, where millions of walking dead stir up the dust of the same killer elements that will invariably leave them without life. How many will eventually die in the next ten, twenty, thirty, fifty years? How many Iraqis have been sentenced to death, becoming dead men and women walking, not knowing when or if the silent WMD will strike them ill or dead, not knowing if they will produce a grossly deformed human child whose few days living will be remembered for the devastation of its genetic blueprint? Are the walking dead living cadavers waiting only for time to take its course and destiny to fulfill its mission? Will entire generations of Iraqi children be prevented from living thanks to their premature death and gross deformities, never having a chance at life thanks to embedded WMD in their parents’ bodies? Are we seeing the last remaining lines of Iraqi’s distinctive ethnicity, with those now living becoming the last vestiges of what was once considered an Iraqi? It is not necessary to construct gas chambers, incinerators, gulags or concentration camps to exterminate millions of human beings. We are seeing this reality today in Iraq, in multiple forms, in degenerate warfare, in countless acts of war crimes and crimes against humanity being perpetrated by American forces. In the end, millions have and will die at the hands of America and George W. Bush, some quicker than others, some in silent placidness and some in terrible agony, some by bullets and bombs, some by water-borne disease and malnourishment, some by radiation-filled cancers, mutated deformities and destroyed immune systems. The seeds of the Iraq Holocaust have been firmly planted in the now barren lands of the Fertile Crescent. The Killing Fields of Iraq have risen like a phoenix torched by the radiation of depleted uranium, its invisible mist traversing barren desert and congested cities looking for organic bodies to invade. Its poison will last 4.5 billion years, lingering in the environs of Mesopotamia and beyond, traveling by wind and weather and water, exporting Iraq’s misery to other lands and peoples. In silence and clandestine suffering disease and cancer and deformities will permeate Iraqi society, hovering like a never ending cloud cover inside Iraq, millions made to suffer the consequences of American made depleted uranium and George W. Bush imported misery. The Killing Fields will in the next few decades take the life of tens of thousands, certainly, millions, perhaps. Yet it will not only be Iraqis made to suffer the consequences of America’s invisible yet devastating nuclear war upon Iraq. Already, 11,000 American soldiers, veterans of the first Gulf War, have died thanks to Gulf War Syndrome, cancer and disease. Over 350,000 veterans, out of 700,000 who served, have asked for serious disability, most of these veterans being in their late twenties and early thirties, in the prime of their lives, cleared as healthy before the war in military conducted medical physicals. Depleted Uranium is the most likely culprit, as many more get diagnosed with terminal diseases and illnesses every year. Many veterans of Gulf War One and now the Iraq/Bush War have themselves been giving birth to deformed and defective children, much like their Iraqi counterparts. Depleted Uranium, it seems, does not discriminate nor does it need a passport to infect human beings. It has been imported into America by our returning soldiers, a great percentage of which most likely have remnants of depleted uranium buried deep inside them. How many American veterans of Gulf War One and the Iraq/Bush War will in the next few decades succumb to cancer or destroyed immune systems? How many of their children will be born like those in Iraq, unable to live more than a few days or months because their bodies are infested with DU, their appearance no longer presenting the appearance of a human child? It is estimated that 40,000 to 80,000 more veterans will die in the next twenty to thirty years as the effects of DU run their course. How many more will produce offspring with genetic birth defects, gross mutations of fetuses, miscarriages and stillborns? So much for Bush’s hypocritical culture of life. How many of our soldiers and veterans are dead men and women walking, waiting out a cruel game of DU lottery, hoping their bodies were spared the poison now rampant in Iraq? How many will have their lives altered, never to regain normalcy, never able to bear children, always to wonder if they will be next to fall. The Killing Fields of Iraq do not discriminate and they do not stop at the border. They do not bother with uniform colors or the crossing of oceans. They are the deadly consequence of criminality and indifference, of greed and emphasis on the bottom line. Sadly, the nuclear silence now deafening in Iraq will alter the course of Iraqi history, not to mention the lives of thousands of Americans veterans who, after a year or perhaps five of living normal lives, will begin feeling the damage DU is doing to their body. Depleted Uranium is but the next stage in America’s indifference to the Arab world, an indifference that has lasted decades, with the US concerned only for the Middle East’s vast yet dwindling oil wealth, not its human capital nor its interest in freedom, democracy or human rights. In a twisted form of karma, DU has returned the favor to thousands of American soldiers, returning its deadly poison back to the same nation that created it, penetrating the porous skin and bodies of soldiers once occupying Iraq, now a land devastated with the invisible radiation of American DU ordinance. It has attached itself to our soldiers, in time to haunt their health and their families, possibly becoming manifest in the deformities of American babies. Only the future knows who and how many Iraqis and Americans will be forced to confront premature death. Many will never know what happened to them. Many will come to the realization that the great military industrial complex, putting profit over people, as it usually does, and America’s upper echelons of governance, straight from the Pentagon and Oval Office, knowing full well the dangers of DU, nonetheless decided to commandeer the future lives of millions, deciding the lives of Iraqi civilians and American soldiers were not worth the millions of dollars saved by using cheaper DU. The great sadness is that the Iraq Killing Fields, with its ghosts of walking dead, will remain unknown to the vast percentage of humanity, for this scandal will never be allowed to see the light of day, neither by America’s government or the corporate world that owns both it and the media. Greater in scope than Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the potential number of deaths greater than some evildoers of times past, Iraq’s Killing Fields will continue killing and deforming, mutating DNA and inflicting untold levels of misery, simply because of its clandestine approach to death, its silent and whispered calls to disease. Its secrecy and cover-up will only be surpassed by its criminality and by the complete callousness of government officials to the plight they helped birth. There will be no blood and no violence, no bombs or bullets, though abundant suffering. The calamity will not bleed, so it will not lead. It will be boring to the average American, becoming an unspoken genocide free of the violence we are so addicted to and enamored with. The front lines of this battle will be inside hospitals and in the homes of the afflicted, left to confront a destiny not of their own choosing, unable to understand how an invisible weapon of mass destruction could be allowed to be used on civilians and on cities, on humans and on soldiers on both sides. Many will die in disbelief, their lives wasted, slowly rotting from the inside out, seeing their babies deformed, born stillborn or mutated, their last remaining years spent living as ghosts of walking dead, becoming prisoners only of time and of anger. Iraq’s Killing Fields are as real as the sun, as dangerous as a nuclear weapon, as devastating as any plague. The devastation taking place inside it is anathema to humanity, a war crime and crime against humanity, a malfeasant manifestation by Machiavellian miscreants. If the world entire were made aware of its seriousness, of its criminality and of the callousness of American leaders the backlash would be a giant tsunami of anger. Alas, the quietness of the crime will be elevated, and silence will be the only noise emanating from the plains of the Killing Fields. Meanwhile, the Killing Fields of Iraq continue to radiate their toxic and deadly poisons, contaminating more Iraqis and Americans with each passing day, like a parasite forever attaching radiation and heavy metals inside human hosts. Only in 4.5 billion years will DU disappear, by then humanity will have ceased to exist. Iraqis’ Ghosts of Walking Dead await humanity’s attention, wanting nothing more than to receive assistance in combating a silent yet devastating killer that is forever altering the Iraqi landscape. Mired by decades of war with Iran and later the United States, 1.5 million of its citizens, including 500,000 children dead due to economic genocide, 100,000 to 200,000 dead due to American invasion and occupation, and now afflicted by an enemy they can neither see nor touch, the Ghosts of Walking Dead await our response to their hushed and clandestine call for help. In their whispered plea can we see a perpetual future of cancer, death, disease, mutation, deformity and entire generations now endangered and at serious risk of devastation. In their whispered plea can we also see what might happen to tens of thousands of our own men and women, themselves hosts carrying the demons of the Iraqi Killing Fields back home. The Killing Fields can be felt, their warm winds echoing the cries for help, their plains saturated with the clouds of poison, and of outrage, seeking our full attention in understanding a silent and clandestine genocide taking place where fertility once permeated and where the cradle of civilization once nurtured us before sending us all on our way to all corners of the planet and to most uncertain destinies. Is the price of what America has done in our name worth our silence and indifference? -------- Manuel Valenzuela is a social critic and commentator, international affairs analyst, current events observer, Internet columnist and author of Echoes in the Wind, a novel now published by Authorhouse.com. His articles appear regularly at his blog, http://valenzuelasveritas.blogspot.com and at http://www.informationclearinghouse.info as well as at other alternative news websites from around the globe. Mr. Valenzuela welcomes comments and can be reached at manuel@valenzuelas.net --------------------------------- To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre. --------------------------------- To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. ***************************************************************** 46 [DU Information List] saddam sues george over uranium weapons Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 14:15:40 -0800 http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E5949257-1D2D-49D8-96E9-5D1659A21F6D.htm Saddam Hussein wants George Bush, the US president, and Tony Blair, the British prime minister, to be tried for committing war crimes, says the deposed Iraqi president's chief lawyer. Khalil al-Dulaimi said on Thursday that Saddam wants to sue both leaders, along with Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, for allegedly authorising the use of weapons such as depleted uranium artillery shells, white phosphorous, napalm and cluster bombs in Iraq. "We will sue Bush, Blair and Rumsfeld in The Hague for using such weapons of mass destruction," al-Dulaimi, in Jordan, told The Associated Press in Baghdad during a telephone interview. No complaint has been filed to the International Criminal Court in The Netherlands, but al-Dulaimi said Saddam's foreign defence team will present it "very soon". Iraq excesses "President Saddam intends to bring those criminals to justice for their mass killings of Iraqis in Baghdad, Ramadi, Falluja and Qaim and abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib," the lawyer added. Saddam also wants all Iraqis who have had relatives killed or had property damaged should receive at least $500,000 each. There have been several allegations that the United States used outlawed weapons, such as napalm, in the November, 2004 Falluja offensive, but the Pentagon denied using it. In November, the Pentagon acknowledged that US troops used white phosphorous shells as a weapon against insurgent strongholds in the same Falluja battle, adding that they are a standard weapon and not banned by any international weapons convention to which the US is a signatory. Prohibited weapon Use of white phosphorous is covered by Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons, which prohibits use of the substance as an incendiary weapon against civilian populations and in air attacks against military forces in civilian areas. The United States is not a signatory to the convention. US soldiers have also claimed they have fallen ill to exposure to depleted uranium artillery shells in Iraq, but the Pentagon has said metal does not cause ailments. Depleted uranium is the hard, heavy metal created as a byproduct of enriching uranium for nuclear reactor fuel or weapons material. Saddam, his half brother Barzan Ibrahim and six other defendants are on trial in the 1982 killing of more than 140 Shia Muslims after an attempt on Saddam's life in the northern town of Dujail. They could face death by hanging if convicted. ---------- ***************************************************************** 47 [DU List] Dennis Kyne - gulf vet - DU News - 1st issue Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 14:17:51 -0800 DU News is produced by Gulf Veteran Dennis Kyne who is also standing for the district councel in San Jose CA in the next few months. Dennis is a anti-du/ veteran.civil rights campaigner, who is also a muscian, producing albums that raise the profile of the veterans and people of iraq's cause through his lyrics. the pandora du research project has allied itself to Dennis and will be circulating his news reports regulary. Please circulate this information and pay a visist to dennis's website: Support The Truth http://www.denniskyne.com/media/articles/latest/ cheers davey Garland (pandora project) http://supportthetruth.blogspot.com/2006/01/du-news-1.html Friday, January 27, 2006 DU News #1 This is the first of the DU News, these issues. 1. Legislation is a big part of what has happened in the past year. Ward Reilly Reports 2. Soldiers exposed to DU todays story on Gerard Matthew by Eric Prideaux 3. People Working to expose DU Today we introduce Bob Nichols "DU Scandal" 4. Statistics US Soldiers sick from 1991 5. Stories of International Importance DU Fails the point test, Karen Parker 1. Legislation From Ward Reilly, wardpeace@hotmail.com who was vital in getting legislation passed in Louisiana in 2005---http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060115/APC0101/601150570/1004 A public hearing was held Tuesday on a bill that would provide NationalGuard soldiers with safety and training information on depleted uraniumcontamination. The Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs heard testimony from the bill's author, Rep. Thomas Nelson, D-Kaukauna, who is calling for a"comprehensive approach" to awareness, screening and assistance regarding contamination from munitions in military conflict. Depleted uranium is used inarmor-piercing munitions and some tank armor. "Our National Guard soldiers have a right to know about the dangers of DU (depleted uranium) contamination before they are mobilized and have access to information, screening, and treatment when they come home," said Nelson. Nelson said recent evidence has shown that military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan have been affected "biogenetically" from exposure to thedetonation of depleted uranium and resulting contamination. The bill has support from the departments of Military Affairs and Veterans Affairs, and from various veterans' organizations. 2. Exposed Soldiers BATTLEFIELD RADIATION: DU Vet: 'My Days Are Numbered'By ERIC PRIDEAUXStaff Writer Japan TimesGerard Matthew has broad shoulders and beefy hands. He's built like abear. Yet as sturdy as this 31-year-old may look, he is a very sick man.Matthew suffers, for example, from facial swelling, double and triplevision, muscle weakness, bouts of extreme anger that sometimes cause him to lash out at his wife, erectile dysfunction and, most serious of all, a tumor in the pituitary gland at the base of his brain."And these are just the big ones," he told the audience at the ForeignCorrespondents' Club Japan in Tokyo earlier this month.At home in New York, he said, he's got "a pharmacy" of medication -- and he worries both for himself and his family that his "days are numbered."All the more reason to speak at this media venue now, before things get worse.Full article: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20051120x1.htm 3. Introducing Bob Nichols. Project Censored Award Winner. His latest article -- Mushrooming depleted uranium (DU) scandalHeads roll at Veterans AdministrationPreventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter charged Monday that the reason Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi stepped down earlier this month was the growing scandal surrounding the use of uranium munitions in the Iraq War.Writing in Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter No. 169, Arthur N. Bernklau, executive director of Veterans for Constitutional Law in New York, stated, "The real reason for Mr. Principi's departure was really never given,however a special report published by eminent scientist Leuren Moretnaming depleted uranium as the definitive cause of the 'Gulf War Syndrome' has fed a growing scandal about the continued use of uranium munitions by the US Military."Bernklau continued, "This malady (from uranium munitions), that thousands of our military have suffered and died from, has finally been identified as the cause of this sickness, eliminating the guessing. The terribletruth is now being revealed."full article at http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=NIC20060121&articleId=1771 4. Of the 696,778 troops who served during the recognized conflict phase (1990-1991) of the Gulf War, at least 206,861 have applied for VA medical benefits. As of May 2002, 159,238 veterans have been awardedservice-connected disability by the Department of Veterans Affairs forhealth effects collectively known as the Gulf War Syndrome. 5. International Lawyer Karen Parker makes it very clear that America is Breaking the Law Parker, who first raised the DU issue in the United Nations in 1996,contends that DU "violates the existing law and customs of war."Parker States there are four rules derived from all of humanitarian lawregarding weapons:-Weapons may only be used in the legal field of battle, defined as legal military targets of the enemy in war. Weapons may not have an adverseeffect off the legal field of battle. -Weapons can only be used for the duration of an armed conflict. A weapon that is used or continues to act after the war is over violates thiscriterion. -Weapons may not be unduly inhumane. -Weapons may not have an unduly negative effect on the natural environment. "Depleted uranium fails all four of these rules," Parker said last week. for complete article: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1112-01.htm Support DU News, purchase a copy of award winning Power HourProductions/William Lewis' Beyond Treason.http://www.denniskyne.com/beyondtreason.htm Subscribe to DU News by sending us an email to DUNews@denniskyne.com please enter subscribe in the subject line. Send all material for submission to DUNews@denniskyne.com please put News in the subject line. ***************************************************************** 48 [du-list] Army Extends Health Assessment for Returning Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 14:14:42 -0800 Army Extends Health Assessment for Soldiers http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/print.php?story_id_key=8512 January 26, 2006 Secretary of the Army Dr. Francis Harvey and Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Peter Schoomaker authorized this week a new health screening program, “Post Deployment Health Reassessment” (PDHRA), designed to address deployment-related physical and mental health needs of Soldiers three to six months after returning from deployment. After nine months of pilot programs, the Army is now implementing the PDHRA program. This is one component of the Defense Department’s ongoing efforts to safeguard the health of all military personnel returning from deployment including Active, Reserve and National Guard. This unprecedented Army health assessment program will address the deployment related physical and mental health needs of our Soldiers. Research has shown that deployment health concerns often evolve over time, commanders must facilitate and encourage returning Soldiers to visit with health care providers to ensure that all their deployment-related health concerns are addressed as soon as practically possible. Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley explained the health reassessment this way: “When our units return from operations around the world, their equipment is rechecked and reset. We see this health screening as an expansion of the process that looks at resetting the fighting force ­ resetting and maintaining the wellness and health of Soldiers. “It's important to remember that this is an overall health reassessment” Kiley said, “not just a mental health reassessment. Many of these Soldiers have been working very hard in combat operations throughout the world. They come back, get some time to rest and recover, and then they begin to realize that some of the things ­ backaches or skin rashes, for example ­ have not gone away. This screening process gives them an opportunity to come back to us, and for us to provide them the follow-on health care they need.” -30- Interested news media with questions may contact Lt. Col. Pam Hart, 703-697-5662, with U.S. Army Public Affairs. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To unsubscribe from this groups send a message to du-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. In the body of the message type unsubscribe and send. ***************************************************************** 49 NRC: NRC Cites Nuclear Medicine Firm for Violation of Requirements News Release - Region I - 2006-06-004 - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 www.nrc.gov No. I-06-004 January 30, 2006 CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov NRC CITES NUCLEAR MEDICINE FIRM FOR VIOLATION OF REQUIREMENTS Printable Version[PDF Icon] The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has cited a nuclear medicine company for a violation of agency requirements involving the submission of inaccurate information. The enforcement action against Digirad Imaging Solutions, Inc., does not entail a fine but does require several corrective actions by the firm. This enforcement action strikes the proper balance between making it clear that the submission of inaccurate information to the NRC is unacceptable and ensuring that concrete steps are being taken to prevent a recurrence, said Mike Johnson, Director of the NRCs Office of Enforcement. Nuclear medicine licensees routinely provide the NRC with complete and accurate information. However, the occurrence of these violations is an opportunity for members of that community to review their processes and procedures to ensure the NRC continues to receive the correct information and that any inaccuracies are promptly identified and corrected. Digirad, which has offices in New York State and California, holds a mobile medical license from the NRC authorizing the possession of nuclear materials for medical diagnostic purposes. Under the license, the firm is allowed to use the nuclear materials at specific facilities in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. In addition, it is permitted to use the radioisotopes at temporary job sites anywhere in the United States where the NRC has jurisdiction for the use of certain licensed radioactive materials. In a license amendment request sent to the NRC on Oct. 16, 2003, Digirad provided information regarding the training and experience of a physician. Specifically, Digirad submitted a statement attesting that the doctor had the required training and experience to be named as an Authorized User on the license issued to the company by the NRC. However, an investigation conducted by the NRCs Office of Investigations (OI), completed in June 2005, determined that inaccurate training and experience information was submitted to Digirad by the physician for the purpose of adding the physician as an Authorized User on the companys NRC license. In response to the OI finding, Digirad requested the use of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). ADR is a process in which a neutral mediator with no decision-making authority assists the NRC and licensees in reaching an agreement resolving any differences regarding an enforcement action. An ADR mediation session between NRC staff and Digirad representatives was held on Nov. 14, 2005, in King of Prussia, Pa. As a result of that session, as well as subsequent discussions held on Dec. 14 and 15, 2005, a settlement agreement was reached. The elements of the agreement include: + The NRC and Digirad agreed to disagree on whether the violation represented careless disregard of agency requirements. While the NRC agreed that Digirad did not knowingly submit the inaccurate information, the agency also pointed out that the company is responsible for the acts and omissions of its agents. + It was acknowledged that Digirad implemented several corrective actions prior to attending the ADR session on Nov. 14. Also, the company agreed to take further actions to ensure similar violations will not occur, including submitting commentary to nuclear medicine publications so that others in the industry will learn from the incident. + The company agreed to audit the training and experience credentials of a certain number of Authorized User applicants each year. + The NRC agreed to issue a Severity Level III Notice of Violation to Digirad but to not issue a civil penalty. The terms of the enforcement action have been confirmed via a Confirmatory Order issued by the NRC to the company. The physician involved also took part in a separate ADR, and was issued a Severity Level III Notice of Violation and agreed to take certain corrective actions to ensure a similar violation did not occur in the future. Both the company and the physician may respond to the enforcement actions in writing within 30 days. Last revised Monday, January 30, 2006 ***************************************************************** 50 NRC: Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes: Meeting FR Doc E6-1109 [Federal Register: January 30, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 19)] [Notices] [Page 4945] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr30ja06-105] Notice AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will convene a closed teleconference meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes (ACMUI) on February 13, 2006. The topic of discussion will be ``License Request for a Physician Seeking Authorized User Status for the Use of Y-90 Microspheres.'' NRC staff is seeking the ACMUI's recommendations on this issue. DATES: The teleconference meeting will be held on Monday, February 13, 2006, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m eastern standard time. Public Participation: This meeting will be closed to public to protect the personal privacy information of the individual being discussed. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mohammad Saba, telephone (301) 415- 7608; e-mail mss@nrc.gov of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555- 0001. Conduct of the Meeting Leon S. Malmud, M.D., will chair the meeting. Dr. Malmud will conduct the meeting in a manner that will facilitate the orderly conduct of business. This meeting will be held in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (primarily Section 161a); the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App); and the Commission's regulations in Title 10, U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Part 7. January 24, 2006. Andrew L. Bates, Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. E6-1109 Filed 1-27-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 51 UPI: Report: French nuke tests were harmful United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - 1/30/2006 11:16:00 AM -0500 By ELIZABETH BRYANT PARIS, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A report by French Polynesia's parliament asserts that nuclear tests that took place between 1966 and 1974 produced harmful radioactive fallout -- contrary to arguments by authorities in Paris. Scheduled for public release in early February, the report is the fruit of 10 months of investigation by a parliamentary commission in the Pacific islands. It is among several inquiries into whether inhabitants of the Pacific islands were exposed to abnormally high doses of radiation -- possibly causing thyroid cancer and other diseases. The French government has argued the tests were "clean." While the findings have not shown "radiological anomalies that today threaten public health," the commission concluded in remarks extracted in French newspapers, "the results suggest that the atmospheric tests left traces or radioactive elements after the nuclear explosions." France conducted 210 nuclear test explosions, mostly in Algeria and French Polynesia, from the 1960s to the 1990s. The 41 or so atmospheric tests conducted in Pacific atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa have long been a source of friction between the French overseas territory and Paris. In 1975, France switched to underground testing. The last explosion took place in January 1996. A 1995 U.N. study commissioned by France found radiation levels from the Pacific tests posed no public threat. But a year later, the French government admitted fissures had been discovered on coral cones on the test sites. By contrast, the Polynesian commission argues that a dozen of the atmospheric tests produced radio active fallout across almost all of the archipelago. And the leader of the commission, Tea Hirshon, reportedly complained a variety of French agencies -- from the Health Ministry to the government weather service -- did not respond to demands for more information about the tests. The French Defense Ministry -- cited by other ministries as the source for any official reaction -- has not commented to date on the Polynesian report, a ministry spokesman told United Press International Monday. Hirshon's commission partly based its findings on French military reports of the time. Some of the reports found above-normal radiation levels in different sites in Polynesia following a test -- such as radiation traces found in Tahiti following a July, 1974 nuclear test. Another report found that the radiation level in another region, Gambiers, was 1,000 times higher than that reported in metropolitan France following the passing of a cloud of radioactive dust, after the 1986 Chernobyl explosion, the commission found. The commission also faulted meteorological services of the era for providing incomplete information prior to the nuclear tests. It said only precise information about the atmospheric conditions for high altitudes were provided -- and not for the conditions at lower altitudes. The commission's report coincides with a separate study on the high rate of thyroid cancer in French Polynesia currently being conducted by the National Institute for Health and Medical Research, or INSERM. Researchers hope to find out whether the high rates can be linked to nuclear explosions on the atolls. "There's a very high rate of thyroid cancer in Polynesia -- twice as high as in metropolitan France," said INSERM researcher Francoise Doyon, in a telephone interview. "It's the same in New Caledonia, and in volcanic islands in general." But Doyon offered a guarded reaction to the Polynesian commission's findings on radiation levels. "The Polynesian Assembly didn't use a scientific method like we did," she said. Moreover, she noted lawmakers based part of their inquiry on Polynesians who volunteered to be interviewed, "and they tend to have more health problems than those who don't," she added. While the nuclear explosions might be one explanation for the high cancer rates, Doyon said, there might be others -- including characteristically high obesity rates in French Polynesia, or other genetic factors. INSERM, which began its study in 2002, is expected to publish its findings in the first six months of this year, Doyon said. Last year, an antinuclear publication, Damocles, reported that a 1966 test produced radioactive doses higher than the norm. But France's Defense Ministry has again argued the level did not produce adverse health effects. France's nuclear tests are only one source of tension between Paris and French Polynesia. Independence movements have long flourished on the islands, which became overseas territories in 1946. Today, French Polynesia has representatives in the French and European parliaments, and earned "overseas country" status in 2004. Last year, pro-independence leader Oscar Temaru was elected as president of the territory's assembly, replacing pro-France head Gaston Flosse. But Temaru says any possible secession from France in the future would only take place with clear public support. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved Want to email or reprint this story? Click here for options. ***************************************************************** 52 UPI: Study: Nuclear fusion with sound waves United Press International - NewsTrack - 1/30/2006 3:14:00 PM -0500 TROY, N.Y., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Purdue University, and the Russian Academy of Sciences have used sound waves to induce nuclear fusion. By bombarding a special mixture of acetone and benzene with oscillating sound waves, the researchers caused bubbles in the mixture to expand and then violently collapse. The technique, dubbed "sonofusion," produces a shock wave with the potential to fuse nuclei together, according to the team. The telltale sign that fusion has occurred is the production of neutrons. Earlier experiments were criticized because the researchers used an external neutron source to produce the bubbles and some suggested the neutrons detected as evidence of fusion might have been left over from this external source. This time researchers dissolved natural uranium in the solution, which produces bubbles through radioactive decay. "This completely obviates the need to use an external neutron source, resolving any lingering confusion associated with the possible influence of external neutrons," said Robert Block, professor emeritus of nuclear engineering at Rensselaer and an author of the paper. Details of the latest experiment -- conducted at Purdue University and in Russia -- appear in the Jan. 27 issue of Physical Review Letters. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 53 Deseret News: Fallout study corrects old estimates [deseretnews.com] Sunday, January 29, 2006 Report seems to validate work of Utahns' dropped thyroid project By Joe Bauman Deseret Morning News A new fallout study has corrected some mistakes made in estimates of radiation dosages to the thyroid glands of people living downwind of the Nevada Test Site, when about 100 nuclear weapons tests spread fallout in the 1950s and 1960s. And the study, just published in a scientific journal, apparently validates the work of Utah researchers whose long-term thyroid study was shut down last year by the federal Centers for Disease Control. The average dose is close to that calculated earlier for Utah's Washington County; Lincoln County, Nev.; and Graham County, Ariz. However, the report adds, "there was about a twofold increase in the mean of individual doses for those living outside of those areas." Also, in calculating the exposure of individuals, some doses were changed. Dr. Joseph L. Lyon of the University of Utah saw his project ended after the expenditure of $8 million in federal funds. The CDC cited "lack of scientifically defensible dosimetry, power and treatment of uncertainty." However, the new report, of which Lyon is one of the authors, cites rigorous scientific analysis, and it corrects dosimetry mistakes in earlier efforts. ['Photo'] Deseret Morning News graphic Lyon was pleased with the fact that the latest study has been published in a scientific journal. "The people in the radiation community think our methods are very good and we've done a very good job," he said. The Centers for Disease Control was negative on the study, "but they haven't published papers in the radiation literature." In another development, the new report — "2004 Update of Dosimetry for the Utah Thyroid Cohort Study," published this month by the journal Radiation Research — underlines a conclusion once thought controversial, that radiation can cause the inflammation thyroiditis. That thyroid cancer has a connection to radiation exposure is no longer doubted by most researchers. But the claim that exposure causes thyroiditis, a noncancerous inflammation, has been the subject of debate since it was first made in the early 1960s. Radiation Research is a scientific journal published by the Radiation Research Society, which is managed from Lawrence, Kan. The editorial office is in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and the journal is peer-reviewed, said its managing editor, Martha Edington. After a report was published about an excess of leukemia deaths among children exposed to fallout in southwestern Utah, the National Cancer Institute funded a second phase of a thyroid study for Utah. Altogether, 3,122 people were located, among 4,180 examined in the 1980s. ['Photo'] Deseret Morning News graphic Part of that study involved dose estimates. However, the latest report says, the dose estimates at that time are known to be faulty. The new report's major purpose is to correct the doses. Some of the problems with the earlier study concerned computer software and hardware, and difficulty with some of the data files. Among the steps was a special effort at quality assurance, in which two different programmers worked independently on two computers and two different computer languages. Another step involved estimating doses outside Utah and nearby states. Estimates of overall doses in Lincoln County, Nev., Washington County, Utah, and Graham County, Ariz., "did not change greatly on average," the study says, with the last two quoted words in italics. But some individuals' doses did change substantially. Besides that difference, the report adds, "there was about a twofold increase in the mean of individual doses for those living outside of those areas." In Graham County, Ariz., more than one-third of the group examined were found to have had exposure that was actually one-half to one-tenth of that earlier believed. But another group — people conceived after May 19, 1953 — "had the largest proportion of changes to higher values," it adds. Among these, "nearly 20 percent increased by more than 10 times." The report notes that in one of the earliest studies, exposed people were twice as likely to have thyroiditis than those not exposed. "The overall effects of the risk analyses due to the . . . revisions to dose estimates have been evaluated and are being prepared for publication," says the report. "An important result is the now-identified statistically significant dose response for thyroiditis, which was not apparent" in the analysis before this one. In other words, the amount of thyroiditis showed up as related to fallout exposure. The report's main author is Steven L. Simon of the National Cancer Institute. Others are F. Owen Hoffman and Brian A. Thomas of SENES Oak Ridge Inc., and the U.'s Lynn R. Anspaugh, Alan E. Scholl, Mary B. Stone and Lyon. Anspaugh, research professor of radiobiology, says "The bottom line is that the findings are still pretty much the same. There is an association of thyroid disease with dose." Some of the doses are statistically significant and some are not, he said. "Nevertheless, the same association is there." A calculation for an individual's exposure based on previous figures might have been off substantially, he said, "but the bottom line is, on the average the numbers are not greatly different." The fact that Lyon's study was shut down is "I think, really a sad thing," he said. © 2006 Deseret News Publishing Company [ ***************************************************************** 54 [Bananas] Final letter to House/Senate on reprocessing Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 19:50:29 -0800 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Susan Gordon" To: Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2006 2:41 PM Subject: [Bananas] Final letter to House/Senate on reprocessing Please circulate widely to Hill staff you know well and reporters. We are in the process of dropping the letter with fact sheets. http://www.citizen.org/documents/CongressReprocessingLtr.pdf ***************************************************************** 55 KAVKAZ CENTER: Radioactive burial place found in mountains of Vedeno district Tue, 01 31 2006, 08:27 Djokhar Time [Ðóññêèé] [English] According to Chechen special services in mountains of Vedeno district in a zone between villages Zhanni-Vedeno and Kurchali, at least, in three places, Russian invaders, in the autumn in 2003, carry out a large secret burial of poisoning (presumably radioactive) substances. The Chechen sources report that for now it is not possible to establish the exact character of the buried substances – whether they nuclear waste or special radioactive (or others) materials with purposeful affecting properties (for example, with the purpose of a poisoning of the water resources or bacteriological infection of the district). The Chechen special services conduct monitoring over the activity of Russian invaders. Also operative supervision is conducting over a bookmark in territory of CRI of nuclear dumps and spots of chemical, radioactive and bacteriological destruction of CRI civilians. It is also reported that the Chechen side is ready to provide access for independent experts to the specified area. Kavkaz Center 2006-01-31 00:27:32 Copyright © 1999-2006. "Kavkaz-Center" News Agency ***************************************************************** 56 WP: A Plan for Nuclear Waste washingtonpost.com"> Hello By John Deutch and Ernest J. Moniz U.S. policy for managing radioactive spent fuel from commercial nuclear reactors was largely set by the decisions of Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter 30 years ago. They decided to forgo spent-fuel reprocessing, a technology developed for separating high-purity plutonium for nuclear weapons. Their decision was based on the cost of reprocessing and on the proliferation risks that would be posed by large quantities of separated plutonium in civilian nuclear power programs across the globe. This decision committed the United States to direct disposal of irradiated fuel in a geological repository for long-term isolation from the biosphere. Yucca Mountain in Nevada -- adjacent to the nuclear weapons test site -- was subsequently chosen by Congress for development as a repository. Because the spent fuel contains significant amounts of plutonium, and because management of spent nuclear fuel requires a very long time commitment, Congress decided that the government would take ownership of the irradiated fuel and assume responsibility for its transportation and long-term care. Now, after decades of expensive false starts, and with an uncertain future for Yucca Mountain, Congress and the Bush administration, as reported last week in The Post, are indicating that they might abruptly change course. Such a change, despite good intentions, could further complicate disposal of radioactive waste and heighten rather than reduce public concerns about expanded nuclear power. We agree that a policy change is called for. Why? First, the rising cost of natural gas and growing concern about global warming have rekindled interest in nuclear power. A prudent response to global warming should include new nuclear plants, based on evolution of current designs to incorporate enhanced safety and streamlined construction, if they have lower construction costs than was the case historically. But significant expansion of nuclear power, together with extension of licenses for current plants, will yield more spent fuel than Yucca Mountain can handle, even if the statutory limits on its capacity are doubled. This will eventually put before Congress one of its least popular chores: finding a site for another nuclear waste repository. Second, it is unclear whether Yucca Mountain will ever receive a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. After billions of dollars of development and study, the site has been found to have considerably more water than anticipated, and federal courts have ruled that the 10,000-year licensing standard for radiation leakage lacks justification. Yucca Mountain is not dead, but on its current path, it is close to it. Third, because of schedule slippage at Yucca, the federal government failed in its statutory obligation to begin accepting spent fuel from reactor sites in 1998. This has resulted in ongoing litigation, with possibly substantial financial penalties to be levied on the government and substantial uncertainty for new plant licensing and construction. Fourth, a new era of global nuclear fuel cycle expansion poses proliferation risks. Iran, which is suspected of using nuclear power development to disguise a weapons program, may be a harbinger of more such confrontations. Urgent concrete action is needed to build on the recent administration initiative to improve the security of the global nuclear fuel supply. What is certain is that a decision by the United States to recycle plutonium would upset these efforts. The link between management of spent fuel and the risk of proliferation is clear. If long-lived elements such as plutonium go with the spent fuel to a geological repository, they produce the long-term heating that will be, over many millennia, a threat to the integrity of the repository. If they are removed from the spent fuel by reprocessing, a proliferation risk is created. What should be done? First, and most important, the government should take title to the spent fuel stored at commercial reactor sites across the country and consolidate it at one or more federal sites until a proper disposal pathway is created. This can be done safely and securely for an extended period and, indeed, such extended storage should be incorporated into a proper disposal strategy. It would take the pressure for a hasty disposal solution off both government and industry. Second, the president should continue his broad diplomatic effort for supplier countries such as France, Britain, Russia and the United States to supply fresh fuel (and remove spent fuel) for countries with small nuclear power programs if they agree to forgo dangerous and costly fuel cycle facilities for a significant period. Third, Yucca Mountain should not be abandoned. Rather, the Energy Department should take a fresh look at assessing its suitability under various conditions and adjust the project schedule accordingly. Fourth, the administration is right to consider reestablishing a strong program to explore ideas for reducing the challenges of long-term waste management while not increasing proliferation risks. But much research is needed, and it will take decades before the viability of such approaches can be evaluated, and still more time before they can be deployed. Premature technology choices and arbitrary schedules for demonstration plants will repeat past mistakes. Fifth, Congress and the administration should not push for reprocessing of the current spent-fuel inventory. Marginal benefits for disposal are more than offset by cost; by risks to the environment, health and safety; and by the proliferation threat. This last problem, by itself, would undoubtedly provoke considerable opposition in Congress and could undermine the reconsideration of nuclear power that is now gaining momentum. A successful waste-disposal program has to survive many administrations; a program based on reprocessing will not. John Deutch served as director of central intelligence in the Clinton administration and undersecretary of energy in the Carter administration. Ernest J. Moniz was undersecretary of energy in the Clinton administration. They are professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2006 The Washington Post Company ***************************************************************** 57 RGJ.com: BLM returned $700,000 meant for mine cleanup January 30, 2006 Scott Sonner'Scott ASSOCIATED PRESS --> [The Anaconda mine's pit in Yerington, Nev., is shown in this July 2004 file photo.] LIZ MARGERUM / RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL The Anaconda mine's pit in Yerington, Nev., is shown in this July 2004 file photo. While state and federal regulators were scrambling to find money to start cleaning up one of Nevada's most contaminated mines, the Bureau of Land Management returned $700,000 earmarked for the job that may end up costing more than $100 million, documents show. Bureau officials in Nevada told agency budget officers in November 2004 the $700,000 wasn't needed because one of the responsible parties, Atlantic Richfield Co., had agreed to do additional monitoring of air and water pollution at the former Anaconda copper mine near Yerington, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press. Since then, however, Atlantic Richfield has come under fire from local residents for failing to adequately address the contamination, which includes numerous heavy metals and radioactive waste apparently produced as a byproduct of the copper processing decades ago. Critics say the new disclosure raises questions about BLM's claims it lacks the funds needed to put up new fences and boost security at the 6-square-mile mine. They say the lost money means further delay in the cleanup already expected to take more than a decade, with projected costs ranging from $100 million to $1 billion. "It really makes me angry," said Peggy Pauly, who lives next to the mine and has organized a group of concerned citizens. "This site really needs to be investigated and studied to document the extent of the contamination and a lot of that could already have been done with this money," she said. The AP obtained the documents from lawyers for the Washington-based Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. They represent the BLM's former manager of the mine site, Earle Dixon, in a whistle-blower lawsuit claiming he was fired because he was speaking out publicly about the seriousness of health and safety risks at the mine. "Because of political pressure, BLM punted away timely, guaranteed protections for Nevadans," said Richard Condit, PEER's general counsel. "BLM gave away a bird in the hand for a promise by an oil company that it would finally take some responsibility for the site." The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assumed lead control of the site last year in an agreement with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, which previously controlled the mine and long had opposed EPA's desire to declare it a Superfund site. The EPA currently is negotiating with Atlantic Richfield the terms of work plans and a feasibility study to assess the contamination and determine whether the mine is responsible for contaminants that have been found in domestic wells off site. That was some of the work that originally was to have been covered by the $700,000 in hazardous materials funds the BLM had requested in 2003 and 2004. BLM officials said Dixon was dismissed in October 2004 because lead oversight of the cleanup was shifting from its Carson City field office, where Dixon was based, to state headquarters in Reno where the state BLM director could be more directly involved. But Dixon claims in his lawsuit it was because BLM was under pressure from the mining industry and local politicians who feared Dixon's warnings could lead to a Superfund listing that would harm neighboring land values. Dixon specifically had been involved in trying to find ways to secure additional money for BLM to expedite assessments of the site, where tests show high levels of radiation in soil samples and high concentrations of uranium in groundwater wells on site -- up to 200 times the U.S. drinking water standard. At Dixon's urging, BLM asked for $500,000 in the form of its budget request for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, 2004 and previously had received $205,000 as a supplemental appropriation for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, 2003. BLM said in an agency budget memo in August 2004 the mine site is "of great concern, as evidence of the potential risk to human health and the environment from identified contaminants of concern found at the site is mounting." But Robert Kelso, the lead for BLM's hazardous materials program in Nevada, said in an e-mail to Kris Doebbler in BLM's regional office in Denver on Nov. 29, 2004, that Atlantic Richfield had agreed to do additional monitoring of groundwater and provide air monitoring at six locations as early as 2005. He said the company also had proposed additional work to cap areas of blowing dust on the site. "With ARC's willingness to perform this additional work, we do not expect to need the $500K projected for FY05 -- nor $205K from (a) supplemental authorization for FY04, a 'cost avoidance' in excess of $700K," Kelso wrote. BLM spokeswoman Jo Simpson said she could not comment directly on the critics' claims because the matter is in litigation. She said that the documents were "part of an ongoing deliberation over funding" at the mine, where BLM owns about half the land. "Whether or not it represents the final decisions, I can't comment on," Simpson said. "Funding in the federal government is an ongoing process and situations change over time." Officials for BP America, Atlantic Richfield's parent company, did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Mick Harrison, one of Dixon's lawyers, said Dixon and others at BLM were "working as hard as they could" to obtain emergency funding for the cleanup. "They managed against all odds to get several hundred thousand dollars on short notice from the federal government to clean up this emergency, then Earle gets fired, everybody in the field office is taken off the project ... and the money is given back," Harrison said. "They apparently were concerned about the real consequences of documenting the contamination," he said. Bob Boyce, tribal manager of the Yerington Paiute Tribe, said the mine's impact on the local community is "much too significant for BLM to so casually let $700,000 in funding go so easily back to Washington." "When those of us involved are fighting tooth and nail for every dime we can get to investigate and remediate this site, it's a sad situation." The Reno Gazette-Journal ***************************************************************** 58 Salt Lake Tribune: Feds plan push for reuse of N-waste Article Last Updated: 01/30/2006 12:56:11 AM Utah's delegation backs technology that critics call far-off and too pricey By Robert Gehrke The Salt Lake Tribune Sen. Orrin Hatch Backs reuse plan WASHINGTON - The Energy Department is quietly preparing a major new push toward a nuclear waste policy aimed at reusing some of the material from nuclear reactors. The department is hopeful it could help solve the country's nuclear waste dilemma, spur a nuclear reawakening, and help blunt the global proliferation of nuclear weapons. Critics say the technology, abandoned in the 1970s because it produced weapons-grade material, is unworkable and would cost billions of dollars. The push for reprocessing nuclear waste has drawn the backing of Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and the state's congressional delegation - Sen. Orrin Hatch, in particular, has been an outspoken proponent - who see it as a solution to the nuclear waste problem that drove a consortium of power companies to seek a license to construct a waste site in Utah's west desert, and a means to spur new nuclear power development. "Unless we can find some set of alternatives that we currently don't have that will take the place of current fossil fuels, sooner or later we've got to go to nuclear and the sooner the better," Hatch said in an interview. "I think we've come a long way. I think we can do a very, very good job on nuclear." Hatch said Energy Department officials have told him they are "on the verge" of finishing a plan, but they offered no details. There have been reports the issue may come up in the president's State of the Union address Tuesday. The president's budget, to be released Feb. 6, is expected to include roughly $250 million for a reprocessing initiative. Skeptics puzzled: The timing of the reprocessing push, first put forward in the White House's National Energy Policy in 2001, is puzzling to skeptics. "This whole enthusiasm for reprocessing lately has me and many others mystified," said Steve Fetter, dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. Fetter co-authored a 2004 study for the Energy Department that found that, even using assumptions favorable to reprocessing, it would remain substantially more expensive than the one-time use of nuclear fuel for at least the next 50 years. For reprocessing to become cost-effective, uranium prices would have to increase eight-fold, which is unlikely to happen for several decades, if ever. "It's uneconomical, unworkable, unsafeguardable, unreliable. It's a loser," said Thomas Cochran of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "It's going to fail of its own accord and it's just a question of how much money we waste and how much proliferation damage we do." Yucca extender? But Michael Corradini, chair of nuclear engineering at the University of Wisconsin, said that it makes sense to begin research that could eventually prolong the life of Yucca Mountain, the Nevada site proposed for disposal of nuclear power plant waste that is currently stalled by opposition from that state. The alternatives are to build a second repository at considerable cost once Yucca is full or leave the waste where it is. "I think it will be more expensive than just letting it sit at 70-some reactor sites and 100-some plants, but I think that's inappropriate," said Corradini. "Eventually, if we're going to do a sound job on this . . . we have to go beyond taking all the spent fuel and sticking it in a mountain." Last summer, the Energy Department's technology director, Robert Shane Johnson, told Congress that by reusing parts of the nuclear fuel, it could increase the effective capacity of Yucca Mountain by 50 to 100 times, postponing indefinitely the need for a second waste dump. France, Japan, Russia and the United Kingdom have commercial reprocessing plants. Because it is not economical for the industry to pursue reprocessing on its own, Hatch proposes a program run entirely by the federal government. It's unclear how much that will cost, but a 1996 study by the National Academies of Science said that reprocessing the backlog of 62,000 metric tons of U.S. waste slated for burial in Yucca Mountain is "uncertain, but is likely to be no less than $50 billion and easily could be over $100 billion." Industry cautious: The nuclear industry is approaching reprocessing with a degree of caution. "No matter how great the long-term promise of used fuel reprocessing . . . this technology development is at least 35 to 50 years and tens of billions of dollars from fruition," Skip Bowman, president of the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry's lobbying group, said in a speech earlier this month. "Even if we develop these technologies successfully, we will still need permanent disposal facilities." Depending on what technology is chosen, reprocessing could produce low-level radioactive waste that would have to be disposed of at facilities such as Envirocare of Utah, the low-level radioactive waste landfill in Tooele County. The Utah congressional delegation primarily sees reprocessing as a solution to the nuclear waste problem that gave rise to a plan by the nuclear plant consortium called Private Fuel Storage to store 44,000 tons of nuclear waste on the Skull Valley Goshute Indian reservation 40 miles southwest of Salt Lake City until it can be sent to Yucca Mountain. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, is most reserved in his support. After hearings last summer in the House Science Committee, of which Matheson is a member, he is not convinced there is an urgency to pursue reprocessing when the waste can be stored at the reactors for decades. John Parkyn, chairman of Private Fuel Storage, said a decision to pursue reprocessing would not negate the need for interim storage, because it would take years to develop and license. Meantime, it is safer and more efficient to have the waste at a centralized site such as the one PFS would offer, he said. The reprocessing initiative is expected to go hand-in-hand with an ongoing nonproliferation effort that would include countries that have nuclear capability providing reactor fuel to countries that agree not to produce it themselves. The nuclear powers would later retrieve the waste, preventing the spread of weapons-quality material. Bush outlined the effort in a 2004 speech and Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman reiterated the point in November. © Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 59 The Dispatch: EPA Sets Perchlorate Cleanup Level Monday, January 30, 2006 The Editor By Matt King Gilroy - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a federal cleanup level for perchlorate that is more than four times higher than California's public health goal for the contaminant. The level - 24.5 part per billion - matches the so-called reference dose the EPA said last year was protective of all humans, including children and pregnant women. According to EPA scientists, the reference dose will not be finalized for years. When it is, the EPA will likely set a maximum contaminant level, or MCL, for perchlorate in water. The drinking water standard could be much lower than the reference dose. Thomas Mohr, the perchlorate project manager for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, said the action should not have an impact on cleanup of the former Olin Corp. road flare factory in Morgan Hill and the shuttered United Technology Corp. rocket testing facility in Coyote Valley because those states are governed by state regulations. Perchlorate is a sodium known to interfere with thyroid function. California's public health goal, the level considered safe for human consumption, is 6 ppb. Matt King covers Santa Clara County for The Dispatch. He can be reached at 847-7240 or mking@gilroydispatch.com. ***************************************************************** 60 Feinstein: Criticizing EPA for Weak Perchlorate Remediation Standard [U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein] Statement of Senator Feinstein Criticizing EPA for Weak Perchlorate Remediation Standard January 26, 2006 I was surprised and disappointed today that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a preliminary remediation goal for perchlorate cleanup at 24.5 parts per billion (ppb). This preliminary standard is unacceptable and could put the health of thousands of Americans at risk. It also ignores perchlorate contamination in food. The fact that California, the largest state in the union, has set a target for perchlorate remediation at 6 ppb for drinking water, and considers exposure to perchlorate contamination from both water and food sources should cause real concern. By contrast, the EPA preliminary standard is four times higher and wrongly assumes that perchlorate contamination is found only in drinking water, without accounting for the ingestion of perchlorate from milk, fruits, and vegetables. Additionally, this preliminary standard converts the EPA reference dose to a drinking water level, based on the consumption of water for a 155 pound (or 70 kilogram) adult. So this doesnt accurately reflect the risk to children, pregnant women and their unborn children. I will be asking the EPA to reconsider this preliminary decision and will continue working with officials from California and throughout the nation to address this growing problem. Background In sufficient doses, perchlorate, a chemical used for explosives, rockets, and missiles, has been shown to impair thyroid function and result in neurological impairment of fetuses and babies, metabolic disorders and other problems. Nationwide monitoring has found that perchlorate has endangered the water supply of 35 States, including California. In November 2004, the Food and Drug Administration reported detecting perchlorate in 90% of lettuce samples collected in California, Arizona, Texas, Florida and New Jersey. Additionally, 101 out of 104 milk samples purchased from retail stores around the country, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Louisiana, Washington, Missouri, Texas and Kansas, contained perchlorate. Children may be vulnerable to perchlorate because it has been shown to reduce the production of thyroid hormone. This hormone plays a critical role in development, and insufficient levels can permanently damage a childs physical and mental abilities. ### ***************************************************************** 61 Canon City Daily Record: Cotter meeting to address all topics www.canoncitydailyrecord.com Publish Date: 1/30/2006 Blakely Thomas-Aguilar The Daily Record The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will field questions and comments from Fremont County residents at an “All Topics Considered” meeting Tuesday night. CDPHE Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division Community Relations Manager Marion Galant said she scheduled the meeting as a precursor to the upcoming judicial recommendation regarding Cotter Corp.’s licensing request to dispose of radioactive materials at the federal Superfund site. Galant said almost a dozen EPA and CDPHE representatives will be on hand to answer questions from community members regarding any environmental concerns. The officials also will be giving and taking information about the recent well testing in the Lincoln Park area. The meeting comes several weeks after Cotter filed to accept almost 11,000 tons of radioactive raffinate material from a fellow General Atomics-owned site in Oklahoma. Cotter mill manager John Hamrick said he plans to attend the meeting Tuesday night, as well, to field any questions regarding the request or other issues. There is a 30-day public comment period included in the review process. The meeting, organized as an open forum, will take place from 7-9 p.m. Tuesday at the Quality Inn at 3075 E. U.S. 50. All contents Copyright © 2005 The Cañon City Daily Record. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 62 News & Star: Sellafield clean-up completed 30/01/2006 BRITISH Nuclear Group has prevented more than 44 years of radioactive discharges going into the sea and saved taxpayers £300m in potential new building costs by completing the clean-up of historic waste 18 months ahead of schedule. The nuclear site management, decommissioning and clean-up specialist has been working on one of the oldest plants at Sellafield, cleaning up radioactive liquid waste known as medium active concentrate (MAC). It is a by-product of spent Magnox fuel reprocessing and has been stored at the Medium Active Tank Farm (MATF) facility on the site since the early 1980s. The transfer of all historic MAC was completed 18 months ahead of schedule, and that, together with the diversion of current liquid waste arising from Magnox reprocessing, meant there was no longer any need for a new storage facility, which could have cost the UK taxpayer about £300m. n The 2,000th shipment of Plutonium Contaminated Material (PCM) drums was transferred from the Low Level Waste Repository at Drigg to Sellafield last week. The material had been in interim storage in magazines at Drigg. BNG has vowed to have it all off site by December. ***************************************************************** 63 Mohave Daily News: Porter set against Yucca Mountain nuclear storage 2006/01/30/ By STACEY BONNAR January 29, 2006 LAUGHLIN Toxic waste and nature don't go together, according to Congressman Jon Porter. Porter, R-Henderson, Nev., spoke at the Laughlin Regional Government Center Jan. 18 to discuss issue in the area, especially the Yucca Mountain Project. "My staff and I probably spend about half of our time on this issue," Porter said. "I've been fighting Yucca Mountain since I was first elected (as mayor of Boulder City) in 1993." Porter said he is opposed to building of a nuclear waste repository in Yucca Mountain; a repository that would dispose of nuclear waste shipped from as far as Virginia. "We have been investigating some possible improprieties within the (U.S.) Department of Energy regarding Yucca Mountain," he said. "We've found falsified documents, falsified information in building the science around Yucca Mountain." Porter said he supports nuclear energy, but would like to see alternatives to digging a hole and dumping radioactive waste into the desert. Porter is the representative for Nevada's Third Congressional District which is located entirely in Clark County. Porter began his political career as a member of the Boulder City Council in 1983. He was elected mayor of Boulder City in 1987. Porter was elected to the Nevada State Senate in 1994, and served as senator until he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 as the first representative of the newly-created Third Congressional District. 2435 Miracle Mile / Bullhead City, Arizona 86442-7311 / 928-763-2505 Last updated: Monday, January 30, 2006 ***************************************************************** 64 The Signal: Whittaker-Bermite Bidders Present Site Cleanup Plans Sunday, January 29 2006 Companies vying for the property propose ways to rid soil, groundwater of rocket fuel component. Kristopher Daams Signal Staff Writer In the ever-progressive saga that is the cleanup of the Whittaker-Bermite site, the final bidders who wish to own the perchlorate-contaminated property presented their plans for cleaning up the nearly 1,000 acres to clear the way for future development. The final bidders for the contaminated Whittaker-Bermite site that sits in the middle of Santa Clarita have been narrowed down to two: Irvine-based SunCal Companies and Raleigh, N.C.-based Cherokee Investment Partners. The decision as to who will finally own the site, which is currently owned by Remediation Financial Inc., will be made by a Pheonix-based bankruptcy court on Feb. 8. The site near the Santa Clara River was where munitions and military flares were manufactured for about 50 years until it was shut down in 1987. It was later discovered that the site was contaminated with perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel that has been found to affect thyroid function and was found to have seeped into the local groundwater supply. Cherokee’s plan for the cleanup of the underground perchlorate-contaminated groundwater in the shallower alluvial aquifer involves 40 extraction wells on the northern boundary of the site to remove volatile organic compounds. It also includes a proposed use of 80 reinjection wells to inject “nutrients and amendments” into the contaminated water to revitalize a biological remediation of the water inside the acquifer, according to the plan’s presenter, Doug Mosteller, an engineering project manager with Cherokee. For the soil component, Cherokee presented a plan which calls to excavate and segregate 18 million to 21 million cubic yards of soil to make way for the future development of the site. With the use of a vapor extraction method, “we want to consolidate it into one area and treat that soil,” Mosteller said. SunCal is seeking to contract their cleanup function with Colorado-based Arcadis, an “international environmental engineering and consulting firm,” said the company’s vice president Paul Newman, who presented the plan on behalf of SunCal. Arcadis’ soil plan is to excavate the contaminated soil and use nutrients to degrade the perchlorate and the volatile organic compounds. A lot of the focus was directed at the deeper soil that Newman said could be found up to 150 feet deep. “The key part is to eliminate as much soil that could be a threat to the groundwater,” Newman said. For the groundwater in both aquifers, the plan as presented by Newman calls to pump it and treat it onsite. The plan also calls for “a series of extraction wells” for the deeper groundwater that should be put in place, Newman said, before implementing the systems to treat the deeper soil. On the northern end of the shallower alluvial aquifer, the plan also calls for a pumping and containment system “to pump, treat and reinject it on site,” Newman said. ©2005 The-Signal.com - Site powered with DynamicBase by ActiveQuest, Inc. ***************************************************************** 65 Salt Lake Tribune: Environmental suits may need bond Article Last Updated: 01/29/2006 12:56:39 AM Prompted by Legacy: Bills would provide relief against litigation designed to interrupt construction By Judy Fahys The Salt Lake Tribune A conservative state lawmaker wants to buffer the blow of environmental lawsuits for Utahns building roads, dams, power plants and other projects. But environmentalists are calling Rep. Aaron Tilton's trio of environmental bond bills "unconstitutional." "Everybody deserves his or her day in court," said Mark Clemens, lobbyist for the Utah chapter of the Sierra Club, "and what Rep. Tilton's legislation does is make that more difficult." Tilton, a Springville Republican, said the costs associated with the Legacy Parkway fight prompted him to introduce the bills. All three bills - HB100, HB259 and HB335 - require someone who wants to appeal a state or federal agency's action to post a bond with the state Commerce Department. HB259 deals with requests for a stay of an Air Quality Board decision. HB335 deals with stay requests before the Radiation Control Board and HB100 covers appeals of state or federal actions under 31 environmental laws, including the federal Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. The bonds would cover such costs as employee pay and benefits, lost profits and "consequential costs," like swelling construction costs, along with tax revenue that was lost while the case was being appealed. "There is no representation [in current law] for a company or a state [agency] or other entities that would be aggrieved by the action," he said. The legislation "does not prevent anyone from filing a lawsuit." Tilton lists his occupation as "business development" and has several companies, including a company involved in electric-power generation, called T.E. Industries Inc. He also is assistant vice chairman of the newly formed Conservative Caucus, a political fundraising committee that started out with $10,000 in seed money from Envirocare of Utah. Both Envirocare and power companies are now facing the kinds of legal actions that would be covered by his bills. Tilton insists, however, that the bills address general principles, not specific cases. He said many environmental lawsuits are intended to do nothing more than cause costly delays. For electric-plant opponents, for instance, the broader goal is to drive up the cost of power so that alternative energy becomes more economically attractive, he said. Tilton added: "The courts have allowed them to hijack projects." Stephen Bloch, staff attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, described HB100 as "a sweeping effort to keep citizens and citizens' organizations and businesses at arm's length from the courthouse." He predicted that a thorough review of the bill would confirm that it is unconstitutional, violating Utah's open courts law and Congress' insistence that citizens not be impeded in seeking review of projects. "That's not how Congress has set up federal environmental laws," Bloch said, noting that the courts have that power and use it, as they did in the Legacy fight. "The states can't step in and require a bond." While Tilton's legislation targets environmental groups, some suggest businesses like real estate companies and special service districts may also object to them. Tilton counters that a law similar to his Air Quality Bond bill has held up in Montana. Dianne Nielson, director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, said her agency has no formal position on the bills. But she expressed concern that the measures might have a chilling effect on public participation. "In Utah, as a state we have made great efforts to make all processes inclusive to all parties - but especially the public," she said. fahys@sltrib.com © Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. ***************************************************************** 66 News Wales: Nuclear free Wales backed by Liberal Democrats 30/1/2006 - Friends of the Earth Cymru has welcomed the support given today to the Keep Wales Nuclear Free petition by the Welsh Liberal Democrats . The petition, which will be presented to Tony Blair before the end of the energy review, opposes the building of any new nuclear power stations in Wales. It was launched by Pembrokeshire Friends of the Earth in December and has since been backed by a wide number of organisations Gordon James of Friends of the Earth Cymru said: " We welcome the support of the Welsh Liberal Democrats for the Keep Wales Nuclear Free petition. They are one of a number of organisations that have been happy to endorse the call for there to be no more nuclear power stations built in Wales. "The call for nuclear build is nothing but a costly and dangerous diversion Nuclear power has had fifty years to prove itself but has failed to deliver economic, safe or clean energy and has left a legacy of hazardous waste and financial costs for future generations. "It is once again being promoted as a quick-fix solution but, in reality, amounts to no more than a an expensive fig leaf that will divert funding from more secure, environmentally acceptable and cost effective options to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and ensure security of supply. "Nuclear power provides Wales with around 30 per cent of its electricity or around just five per cent of its total energy needs. Within the ten years or more that it would take to build a nuclear power station, Wales could easily be generating this amount from renewable energy sources, such as onshore and large off-shore windfarms, tidal lagoons and energy crops. "In addition, major savings could be made by improvements in energy efficiency in both the home and the workplace while our coal-fired power stations could be fitted with abatement technologies and co-fired with energy crops to reduce carbon dioxide emissions." News Wales is published by copyright 1999-2004 Knighton, Powys LD7 1TD • ISSN 1744-4004 ***************************************************************** 67 DOE: Study of the Potential Benefits of Distributed Generation FR Doc E6-1096 [Federal Register: January 30, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 19)] [Notices] [Page 4904-4905] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr30ja06-41] AGENCY: National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of inquiry and request for public comment. SUMMARY: The Distributed Energy Program from the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) is seeking public input for a study of the potential benefits of distributed generation required by section 1817 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. DOE invites interested parties to relate experiences, convey data, communicate results of case studies or analyses, or provide other information pertaining to the planning, installation, commissioning and operation of distributed energy systems as outlined below. DATES: Comments, reports, case studies and other information offered in response to this Notice shall be received no later than February 23, 2006 at any of the addresses listed in the ADDRESSES section. ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit comments electronically (using Adobe[supreg] Acrobat[supreg] or Microsoft[supreg] Word formats) or in hard copy. Submissions should include a cover page containing the commenter's name, affiliation, telephone number, mailing address, and e-mail address. DOE will consider all comments received. Comments prepared in electronic formats may be submitted directly, via the Web at: http://www.dg1817report.org Links to this Web page may also be found on the OE Web site: http://www.electricity.doe.gov., or r the NETL Web site: http://www.netl.doe.gov. Written submissions may also be sent by regular mail to: Mario Sciulli, U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, PO Box 10940, MS 922- 342C, Pittsburgh, PA 15236; or by e-mail to: mario.sciulli@netl.doe.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mario Sciulli, U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, PO Box 10940, MS 922- 342C, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, e-mail address: mario.sciulli@netl.doe.gov. Information offered by commenters in response to this Notice will be available for public inspection at the Department of Energy, Freedom of Information Reading Room, Room 1E-190, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for holidays. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background. Section 1817 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) requires DOE to conduct a study in consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) of the potential benefits of cogeneration and small power production. The Electricity Modernization Act Sec. 1817, 119 Stat. 594, 1130 (2005). This study will encompass various forms of distributed energy technologies, ranging from those that produce only electricity to those that produce a combination of heat and power (CHP), installed at or near the point of use. The first component of the DOE study will analyze potential benefits associated with expanded utilization of distributed energy technologies. For purposes of this Notice the terms ``distributed generation'' (DG), ``cogeneration'' and ``small power production'' are synonymous.\1\ Specific [[Page 4905]] case studies will be evaluated to gauge the impact of regulatory mandates, tariffs, rate structures and similar policies on the proliferation of DG, CHP systems and other distributed energy technologies. The second component of the DOE study will address the rate-related issues ``that may impede or otherwise discourage the expansion of'' distributed energy technologies. Id. section 1817(a)(3). II. Questions for Public Comment and Request for Data To aid in conducting this study, DOE requests public input/comment that addresses the two issues discussed below. A. Potential Benefits In accordance with section 1817 of EPAct 2005, this study will attempt to identify, discuss and quantify benefits that are received directly or indirectly by three classes of recipients: ``(i) * * * electricity distribution or transmission service provider[s]; (ii) other customers served by an electricity distribution or transmission service provider; and (iii) the general public in the area served by the public utility in which the cogenerator or small power producer is located.'' Id. section 1817(a)(1)(B)(i)-(iii). In analyzing the potential benefits of DG, CHP and other distributed energy technologies, the study will focus on the following areas: (i) Dynamics of the electric system (grid) including reliability in terms of outages (seconds to hours), power quality (microseconds), and ancillary services (including reactive power or volt-amperes reactive); (ii) Economic ramifications of distributed energy technologies, including reduction of peak power requirements due to on-site generation (based on distribution feeder load duration curves), offsets to investments in generation, transmission or distribution facilities that would otherwise be recovered through rates, and diminished land use effects and rights-of-way acquisitions; and (iii) Physical security and emergency supply of power, including reducing vulnerability of a system to terrorism. To accomplish this aspect of the study, DOE requests case studies, analyses, or reports valuing these potential benefits under varying circumstances for individual DG, CHP and other distributed energy technologies. B. Rate-Related Impediments Subsection 1817(a) of EPAct 2005 states that DOE's study must include, among other things, an analysis of rate-related issues that ``may impede or otherwise discourage the expansion of cogeneration and small power production facilities.'' Id. Section 1817(a)(2)(B). To evaluate rate-related impediments that may hinder or otherwise discourage the expansion of DG, CHP systems and other distributed energy technologies, this study will analyze whether rates, rules, tariffs, or other requirements imposed on such installations are comparable to rates imposed on other customers of the same class that do not have distributed energy facilities. For this portion of the study, DOE requests public comment (in the form of case studies or similar information) depicting the effect of rate-related issues on the planning, financing, installation, commissioning or operation of DG, CHP and other distributed energy technologies. III. Public Participation A. Report DOE will make the draft report available to the public and provide an opportunity for interested parties to submit written comments on the initial conclusions reached by the study. Following the public review period, DOE will subsequently present the results of the study to the President and Congress not later than February 8, 2007, and will thereafter publish a final report. B. Submission of Comments DOE requests written comments from interested parties on all aspects of the study required by section 1817. DOE is especially interested in receiving written comments from persons with particular knowledge of the legal, economic and technical elements related to the benefits and rate-related issues concerning DG, CHP and other distributed energy technologies. Any information submitted to DOE, however, should not contain confidential, proprietary or business sensitive data. Issued in Washington, DC, on January 24, 2006. Kevin Kolevar, Director, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- \1\ The term ``cogeneration facility'' typically describes a facility that produces electric and/or thermal energy independent of or interconnected to the local electricity supplier (grid). 16 U.S.C. 796(18)(A). Similarly, ``small power production facility'' usually refers to a facility that produces less than 80 megawatts of electricity. Id. Section 796(17)(A). ``Distributed generation'' (DG) generally applies to energy systems that produce electricity and/or thermal energy at or near the point of use. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- [FR Doc. E6-1096 Filed 1-27-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P ***************************************************************** 68 DOE: Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-PS26-06NT15430, Enhanced Oil FR Doc E6-1098 [Federal Register: January 30, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 19)] [Notices] [Page 4903-4904] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr30ja06-40] and Natural Gas Production Through Carbon Dioxide Injection AGENCY: National Energy Technology Laboratory, Department of Energy (DOE). ACTION: Notice of release of funding opportunity announcement. SUMMARY: The DOE will support producers of oil and gas in carrying out projects to inject carbon dioxide for the purpose of enhancing recovery of oil or natural gas, while increasing the sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2). [[Page 4904]] The National Energy Technology Laboratory's (NETL) Strategic Center for Natural Gas and Oil program mission is to enhance U.S. security by ensuring the Nation has a reliable energy supply. The Strategic Center for Natural Gas and Oil seeks to accomplish this critical goal by advancing environmentally responsible technological solutions that bolster domestic oil and natural gas recovery. Priority will be given to projects in the noted areas of interest--the Williston Basin in North Dakota/Montana and the Cook Inlet Basin in Alaska. This solicitation seeks to maximize U.S. oil and natural gas production in a cost-effective manner through the injection of CO2, while at the same time sequestering significant quantities of CO2. To promote greater use of industrial CO2, additional consideration will be given to those proposals that use anthropogenic CO2 from existing industrial processes for the CO2 flood (e.g., ethanol and gas processing plants, oil refineries, petroleum coke gasification, coal liquefaction, etc.). Projects should clearly set forth the manner in which adverse environmental impacts would be minimized. Finally, the solicitation will give priority programmatic consideration to projects that involve, in a significant way, existing state/regional institutions that have a mandate or significant interest in supporting enhanced oil or natural gas recovery, and reducing the carbon intensity/CO2 emissions in the state and/or region. DATES: Funding Opportunity Announcement Issue: 03 Feb 2006. Proposal Receipt: 05 May 2006. Selection Notification: 04 Aug 2006. Award: 30 Sep 2006. ADDRESSES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for additional detail. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Beth Pearse, Marybeth.pearse@netl.doe.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: These specific demonstration projects are Congressionally mandated in the 2005 Energy Policy Act, H.R. 6, Section 354, Subsection (c), with the purpose of promoting the capture, transportation and injection of produced carbon dioxide for sequestration into oil and gas fields, while promoting oil and natural gas production. Projects selected under this solicitation will add to the technological base by demonstrating technology methods for improving the economic viability and effectiveness of CO2 flooding, capture and sequestration techniques. The efforts will support national air quality goals by answering questions surrounding the increased use of CO2 for enhanced oil and natural gas recovery, while also allowing more CO2 to remain in the geologic formations. The results will provide additional benefits by improving the industry performance and extending the life of producing fields. Examples of improved recovery technologies will be demonstrated at DOE's CO2 EOR Workshop in Houston, hosted by the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (PTTC). This workshop is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 22-23, 2006. Please refer to PTTC's Web site at http://www.pttc.org for finalized dates and meeting details. Address Information: The Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-PS26- 06NT15430, Enhanced Oil and Natural Gas Production through Carbon Dioxide Injection, can be found at http://www.e-center.doe.gov or http://grants.gov, after the Funding Opportunity Announcement issue date above. Issued in Pittsburgh PA on January 19, 2006. Richard D. Rogus, Procurement Team Leader. [FR Doc. E6-1098 Filed 1-27-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P ***************************************************************** 69 DOE: Office of Environmental Management; Environmental Management FR Doc E6-1117 [Federal Register: January 30, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 19)] [Notices] [Page 4903] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr30ja06-39] Advisory Board Renewal Pursuant to Section 14(a)(2)(A) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (Pub. L. 92-463), and in accordance with Title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 102-3.65(a), and following consultation with the Committee Management Secretariat, General Services Administration, notice is hereby given that the Environmental Management Advisory Board (Board) is being renewed for a two-year period beginning on January 17, 2006. The Board will provide advice and recommendations to the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management (EM). The Board provides the Assistant Secretary for EM with information and strategic advice on a broad range of corporate issues affecting the EM program. It recommends options to resolve difficult issues faced in the EM program including, but not limited to: Project management and oversight activities; cost/benefit analyses; program performance; contracts and acquisition strategies; human capital management; and site end states activities. Consensus recommendations to the DOE from the Board on programmatic nationwide resolution of numerous difficult issues will help achieve the DOE's objective of the safe and efficient cleanup of its contaminated sites. Additionally, the renewal of the Environmental Management Advisory Board has been determined to be essential to the conduct of the DOE's business and to be in the public interest in connection with the performance of duties imposed on the DOE by law and agreement. The Board will operate in accordance with the provisions of the FACA, and rules and regulations issued in implementation of that Act. Further information regarding this Advisory Board may be obtained from Ms. Terri Lamb at (202) 586-9007. Issued in Washington, DC on January 24, 2006. James N. Solit, Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. E6-1117 Filed 1-27-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P ***************************************************************** 70 lamonitor.com: Senators object to UC proposal The Online News Source for Los Alamos ROGER SNODGRASS, roger@lamonitor.com, Monitor Assistant Editor New Mexico's two senators fired off a letter to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman Friday to oppose the University of California's recently announced pension plan. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-NM, and Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-NM, urged Bodman to reject the request from UC to segregate assets from pension accounts that are managed for Los Alamos National Laboratory. "(T)here are too many unanswered questions at this point for the Department of Energy to proceed with such an irreversible action," they wrote. "These senators have both been hearing a lot from people who work at the lab. They studied the issue and asked their staffs to study it," said Chris Gallegos, a spokesperson for Domenici. "They believe at this point that DOE and the National Nuclear Security Administration would be better off rejecting this proposal and keeping things the way they are." A key concern expressed in the letter related to the partition of the LANL retirees assets and benefits from the larger University of California Retirement Program, where they will lose some of the actuarial protection afforded by the larger pool, the senators wrote. "In fact, based on a recent actuarial valuation report performed on July 1, 2005, the LANL asset base is underfunded by $54.3 million. "This is down from 106.6 to 98.7 percent of the total liability, and represents a contrast to the larger and healthier funding profile for the UCRP which is 110-percent funded," the letter stated. The senators reminded Bodman that it was their understanding, as well as the LANL employees' understanding, that benefits would remain unchanged as a part of the contract competition. "Before any formal action is taken," they suggested in their letter, "questions need to be answered and the concerns of employees and retirees need to be addressed." © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************