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                         NUCLEAR POLICY
 
1 Iaea Chief Calls For 'cool-headed' Approach As Iran Report Goes To S
2 [NYTr] IAEA Iran Report: No Proof of Nuke Weapons Intent
3 IRNA: ElBaradei: UN Security Council to assist IAEA on Iran's dossie
4 IRNA: "US, Israel will never dare target Iran," says Iranian expatri
5 IRNA: Iran gives priority to Russia in building new nuclear plants -
6 IRNA: Iran dossier must be solved in IAEA framework - African envoy 
7 IRNA: Envoy: Iran's nuclear dossier is pursued politically (2)
8 IRNA: Ambassador: Iran to continue cooperation with IAEA 
9 IRNA: IAEA meeting, a test for agency: Asefi 
10 IRNA: ElBaradei's report not to be assessed at today's session -
11 IRNA: IAEA seasonal session ends -
12 IRNA: Full text of NAM's statement on Iran's nuclear program 
13 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Threatens U.S. Over Nuclear Program
14 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Threatens U.S. With 'Harm and Pain'
15 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Defiant on Uranium Enrichment Plan
16 Guardian Unlimited: U.N. Urged to Take Action Against Iran
17 Guardian Unlimited: White House increases pressure on Iran
18 BBC: Iran report goes to top UN body
19 AFP: UN nuclear watchdog set to hear Iran report -
20 IRNA: China stresses peaceful resolution of Iran's nuclear case -
21 AFP: US: Iran deepening isolation with threats 
22 IRNA: NAM defends Iran's nuclear program 
23 AFP: US, Europe up pressure on Iran over nuclear dossier - 
24 IRNA: Majlis commission to be briefed on nuclear talks -
25 Guardian Unlimited: North Korean Missile Test Causes Concern
26 Guardian Unlimited: North Korea Refuses Return to Nuke Talks
27 INSIDE JoongAng Daily: After meeting, nuclear talks are no nearer
28 North Korea Times: North Korea rules out return to nuclear talks
29 AFP: North Korea says will not return to six-party talks -
30 Guardian Unlimited: Bush's new best friends
31 US: AFP: White House defends India-US nuclear pact 
32 BBC: EU calls for joint energy policy
 
                         NUCLEAR REACTORS
 
33 US: Arizona Republic: Palo Verde to shut reactor at start of summer 
34 Rediff: The future is thorium - Kalam
35 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Entergy clears up reasons for calling halt
36 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Six towns ask: 1, 2, what do we do?
37 US: Brattleboro Reformer: VY license extension may cut Vernon's taxe
38 US: Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Nuclear Plant to Shut Down Reactor
39 US: San Luis Obispo Tribune: Diablo Canyon's steam generator plan mo
40 US: NRC: Vermont Yankee order against NEC
41 BBC: Nuclear challenge for Labour MSPs
42 Greenpeace: Cleaner, cheaper, more secure - 
43 US: NRC: Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear 
44 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collecti
45 US: NRC: Receipt of Request for Action Under 10 CFR 2.206
46 US: NRC: Notice of Availability of Interim Staff Guidance Documents 
47 US: Vermont Guardian: Six towns seek better emergency planning 
48 Scotsman.com News: MSPs urged to back nuclear motion
49 US: WCBSTV.com: Indian Point Siren Snafu Puts Pressure On Entergy
50 US: Morris Daily Herald: Cobalt 60 also leaked
51 US: Vermont Guardian: NEC asks Supreme Court to block uprate
52 US: MIT News Office: NRC commissioner sees nuke role expanding - 
53 US: Times-Journal: Nuclear plan key for jobs 
54 UPI: EU outlines common energy policy
55 UPI: Libya, France in nuclear cooperation
 
                          NUCLEAR SECURITY
 
 
                          NUCLEAR SAFETY
 
 
                         NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
 
56 US: [NukeNet] Skull Valley nuke waste dump story in Time.com
57 US: Gallup Independent: Residents tell of mining's tragic impact
58 Deutsche Welle: Green Light for German Atomic Waste Facility | Germa
59 US: MaineToday.com: Nobody has yet solved the problem of nuclear was
60 US: The Herald: Tritium: One on one
61 US: BYU NewsNet: Nuclear Waste Storage Affects Indian Tribe
62 reviewjournal.com: Congress won't act on Yucca legislation this year
63 US: The Dispatch: Don't Let Olin Off the Hook on Perchlorate Issue
64 US: PRN: Drilling scheduled at Thomas Mountain Uranium project in Ut
65 MH: Nuclear: EPA Yucca Mountain Rule Seen By Year's End -
66 US: Cañon City Daily Record: CDPHE wants clearer request from Cotter
 
                           PEACE
 
 
                        US DEPT. OF ENERGY
 
67 DOE: DOE Cites University of Chicago for Nuclear Safety Violations
68 Hanford News: State seeks to join Hanford suit
69 Hanford News: Tri-Cities sees rise in jobs in January
70 Hanford News: Cantwell to Bush: Don't cut budget at expense of sick 
71 westword.com: Flats, Busted
72 DOE: Office of International Regimes and Agreements; Proposed 
73 www.GovExec.com: Senators critical of Energy Department's nuclear 
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                         FULL NEWS STORIES
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 1 Iaea Chief Calls For 'cool-headed' Approach As Iran Report Goes To Security Council
 
Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2006 16:00:07 -0500

IAEA CHIEF CALLS FOR ‘COOL-HEADED’ APPROACH AS IRAN REPORT GOES TO SECURITY COUNCIL
 
New York, Mar  8 2006  4:00PM
Citing outstanding questions surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme, 
the Director-General of the United Nations International Atomic 
Energy Agency (<"http://www.iaea.org/index.html">IAEA) today is 
sending its report on the issue to the Security Council, marking 
a new phase in the diplomatic efforts to determine whether Tehran 
is trying to develop atomic weapons.

<"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2006/bog080306.html">Speaking 
to reporters at the Vienna-based Agency, whose Board of Governors 
is meeting on Iran, Mohamed ElBaradei said the report would be 
sent “either today or tomorrow.”

The report to the Council, requested by the Board of Governors last 
month, points to outstanding questions about Tehran’s activities. 
“Although the Agency has not seen any diversion of nuclear material 
to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, the 
Agency is not at this point in time in a position to conclude that 
there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in Iran,” 
it states.

The report notes that under normal circumstances, drawing any conclusion 
about a country’s nuclear activities would take time, and 
the duration would be even longer in the case of Iran because of 
a number of factors, including the “undeclared nature” of Iran’s 
past programme. In 2003, it was discovered that Iran had carried 
out secret nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations 
under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The report also cited the “inadequacy of information available on 
its centrifuge enrichment programme, the existence of a generic 
document related to the fabrication of nuclear weapon components, 
and the lack of clarification about the role of the military in 
Iran’s nuclear programme, including… about recent information available 
to the Agency concerning alleged weapon studies that could 
involve nuclear material.”

The report voices concern that “uncertainties related to the scope 
and nature of Iran’s nuclear programme have not been clarified 
after three years of intensive Agency verification.”

Verification, the report stresses, will require Iran’s active cooperation, 
including “providing the IAEA access to, and cooperation 
by, relevant individuals; access to documentation related to procurement 
and dual use equipment; and access to certain military 
owned workshops and R&D (research and development) locations that 
the Agency may need to visit in the future as part of its investigation.”

Mr. ElBaradei repeated this point in his comments to reporters, calling 
on Tehran to “continue to be transparent” and saying there 
is “complete agreement that Iran needs to go the extra mile and 
work with us.”

All concerned want to resolve the issue, he emphasized. “Nobody will 
be happier than I when we are able to conclude that all the outstanding 
issues in Iran’s nuclear programme are clarified,” he 
said. “Everyone is looking for a political settlement.”

As the report goes to the Security Council, Mr. ElBaradei said, “What 
we need at this stage is cool-headed approaches. We need people 
to lower the rhetoric. We need to continue to see how we can 
move forward.”

He noted that the issue has entered a “new phase of diplomacy” and 
said the 15-member Council would back the Agency. “The Security 
Council will lend its weight to the IAEA’s efforts so as to make 
sure Iran will work as closely as possible with us,” he said.

“The IAEA will continue to do inspections in Iran and continue to 
ask Iran to be as transparent as possible,” he said. “We will continue 
to do the verification, while the Security Council deliberates 
on the global picture.”

A settlement must assure Iran its peaceful right to nuclear energy 
while assuring the international community that Iran’s programme 
is exclusively for peaceful purposes, the IAEA chief stressed. 


“I am still optimistic,” Mr. ElBaradei said. “I think sooner or later 
the parties will decide there are no other options but negotiations.”

Meanwhile in New York, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan 
and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today discussed the 
situation in Iran and a range of other global hotspots, including 
the Middle East and the Balkans, according to a read-out of the 
meeting provided by a UN spokesman.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Lavrov said that on Iran’s nuclear programme, 
“we agreed that we had to await the outcome of the discussions 
in Vienna where the Governing Board of the IAEA is meeting 
and that we should all strive for a solution which would not endanger 
the ability of the IAEA to continue its work in Iran while of 
course making sure that there is no danger for the non-proliferation 
regime.”
 2006-03-08 00:00:00.000 


________________

For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news

To change your profile or unsubscribe go to:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/
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 2 [NYTr] IAEA Iran Report: No Proof of Nuke Weapons Intent
 
Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2006 14:51:44 -0600 (CST)

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
Prensa Latina, Havana
http://www.plenglish.com

IAEA Iran Report: No Proof of Nuke Weapons Intent

Vienna, Mar 8 (Prensa Latina)--The IAEA board of governors, composed of 35
countries, presented a report on the Iranian atomic-energy development plan,
which recognizes the lack of evidence to prove that nation4s supposed
intentions to build nuclear weapons.

Iran continues to be open to negotiation about its nuclear program, asserted
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, that country4s ambassador to the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), headquartered in this capital.

Washington created an artificial crisis around Iran4s atomic program,
accusing it of developing weapons of mass destruction, denied by the Islamic
Republic, which is defending its right to peaceful use of that energy.

The AIEA meeting began on Monday. Diplomatic sources said they are analyzing
a proposal for suspension of Iran4s large-scale uranium enrichment.
 
According to that initiative, Iran could use 20 centrifuges for small-scale
production and research, while a joint venture in Russia would be in charge
of industrial nuclear-fuel production.

mh/iom/to/mf
       
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*****************************************************************
 3 IRNA: ElBaradei: UN Security Council to assist IAEA on Iran's dossier
                             
Thursday March 09, 2006					 				 								 							

Vienna, March 8, IRNA                                                                                                            

ElBaradei-UNSC-Iran 

IAEA Secretary General Muhamed Elbaradei said here Wednesday
that "reporting" Iran's nuclear dossier to the UN Security
Council does not mean that IAEA has been unsuccessful in
surveying the matter.

 ElBaradei who was speaking to media reporters on the sidelines
of the Wednesday evening session of the IAEA Board of Governors
added, "Security Council's entrance into the matter would assist
the IAEA pursue its objectives."

 He said, "We have worked for three years in Iran and with the
Iranians and we would keep on working on the issue, including
cooperation with the Iranian officials and lobbying on the
issue." ElBaradei added, "Deputy IAEA Secretary General Olly
Heinonen would take a trip to Iran to pursue the matter."

 He added, "I am still optimistic about seeking a diplomatic
solution to the problem and I believe all involved parties must
return to negotiation table, although I cannot definitely
predict whether that would happen within the span of the next
week, a fortnight from now, or three weeks later, but at any
rate, negotiations must resume." Repeating his often stressed
remarks regarding the need for observing "greater transparency"
and "trust-building" on the part of Iran, ElBaradei added, "No
one is happy about the emerged situation." ElBaradei added, "All
involved parties should be pursuing a diplomatic solution to the
problem that would guarantee the rights of all, and eliminate
the international concerns."

 He said that Iran's nuclear dossier would be reported to the UN
Security Council,"in accordance with the previous IAEA
Resolution, in a couple of days, but as we are all aware, that
council's first move would be emphasizing diplomacy aimed at
solving the problem." Elsewhere in his interview Elbaradei
referred to North Korea's nuclear activities, emphasizing, "As
you see, in that country's case, too, negotiations are being
still pursued and talks at the IAEA on the matter, too, are not
terminated.

*****************************************************************
 4 IRNA: "US, Israel will never dare target Iran," says Iranian expatriate - 

Islamabad, March 8, IRNA                                                                                                                 

Pakistan-Iran 

An Iranian, now residing in Pakistan, on Wednesday ruled out the
possibility of the United States or Israel opting for a military
action against Iran vis-z-vis its peaceful nuclear program.

 Firdous Saifi Khani, spouse of noted trader Riaz Qureshi in the
North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, in an interview with
IRNA said that the US and Israel had learned lessons from the
Iraqi- imposed war on Iran.

 "Israel or the US will never repeat the blunder of attacking
Iran as it did under the cover of Iraq and the imposed
eight-year war," she maintained.

 Khani has been living in Pakistan for the last two decades.

 She said she always took pride in being an Iranian and felt the
level of resilience the nation of Iran demonstrated during the
war.

 Iranians, she added, were united as they were before under the
able leadership of the great leader, Hazrat Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, and would continue to take inspiration and guidance
from him through thick and thin.

 "The leader has rock-solid courage and determination to take
the Iranian nation forward and defeat the imperialist forces,"
she observed.

 In any eventuality, she maintained, Iranians living away from
their motherland would join the struggle to defend the country
at all cost.

 However, she was confident neither the US nor Israel would dare
to resort to military aggression.

*****************************************************************
 5 IRNA: Iran gives priority to Russia in building new nuclear plants - Official - 

Moscow, March 9, IRNA                                                                                                            

Iran-Russia-Nuclear Plant 

Iran's Deputy Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali
Hosseini-Tash said Iran will give priority to Russia in building
new nuclear power plants.

 Speaking to Russian News Agency 'Itar-Tas', Hosseini-Tash said
"Iran faced with some difficulties in building Bushehr Nuclear
Power Plant in cooperation with certain countries."
 He added, however, in cooperation with Russia the Bushehr Power
Plant is being completed.

 In the last meeting of Iran-Russia joint economic commission in
Tehran the two countries' cooperation in the field of nuclear
energy and building nuclear power plants was discussed.

 Iran is going to build 20 nuclear power plants in a long term
plan to provide country's needed electricity.


*****************************************************************
 6 IRNA: Iran dossier must be solved in IAEA framework - African envoy -

Vienna, March 9, IRNA                                                                                                            

South Africa-IAEA-Iran 


South African Ambassador to International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) said, "Iran's case is a technical issue and must be
solved within the framework of IAEA discussions." Speaking on
the sidelines of afternoon meeting of the Board of Governors here 
Wednesday, Abdulsamad Manti told the press representatives, "As 
already said, the agency is the only legal body to consider 
issues related to NPT."

 He emphasized that the most important thing is that the
agency's supervision over such issues should be kept.

 Whatever causes damage to such authority would be harmful, the
ambassador continued.


Politic 
	 	 
  + Iran dossier must be solved in IAEA framework: African envoy


  + Ambassador: Iran to continue cooperation with IAEA


  + Iran gives priority to Russia in building new nuclear
plants: Official


  + Envoy: Iran's nuclear dossier is pursued politically (2)


  + Syrian deputy FM meets with Iran's special envoy for Iraq


  + Envoy: Iran's nuclear dossier is pursued politically


  + ElBaradei: UN Security Council to assist IAEA on Iran's
dossier


  + Experts Assembly winds up its 15th session


  + Syrian deputy FM meets Mottaki


  + President: Iran favors ties with all nations based on mutual
respect

	 	 	  				  
*****************************************************************
 7 IRNA: Envoy: Iran's nuclear dossier is pursued politically (2)

Vienna, March 9, IRNA                                                                                                            

Iran-IAEA-Nuclear 

Soltaniyeh added, "During the past years efforts have been made
by certain countries to present a new definition about the
nuclear-NPT so that the part related to disarmament would be
forgotten and access to nuclear technology by non-nuclear
countries would be impossible."

 He said, "Such an approach has put under question the entire
NPT and provided special authorities for the countries that are
armed with nuclear weapons, as well as those that are after
acquiring nuclear technology to manufacture atomic bombs."

 Soltaniyeh added, "Unfortunately the message that such an
approach transmits is quite clear: acquiring the ticket for
joining the nuclear club depends on three special conditions, as
follows:

 "Firstly, the countries whose nuclear arsenals are invulnerable
and not subject to the international community's efforts aimed
at nuclear disarmament; secondly, those countries that are
fundamentally in need of such weapons to ensure their security
and constantly propagate on the need to the deterrent role of
them against their real and imaginary enemies; and thirdly those
countries that refrain from signing any treaties aimed at
halting proliferation and keep on manufacturing and stockpiling
them."

 Iran's Ambassador at IAEA added, "The emerged conditions pose a
serious threat against the survival of the NPT, which had faced
difficulties due to the failure of the 2005 New York Conference
to Revise NPT, encountering it with deeper problems."

 He added, "Currently, any country that would outside NPT
manufacture, proliferate, and stockpile nuclear weapons secretly
is respectable and its programs are treated as legal activities,
and even receives financial assistance and facilities to expand
such legal activities!"

 He added, "There are serious concerns lest this pattern would
be applied in case of Israel, that enjoys close ties with the
United States, and that regime would receive assistance aimed at
further accelerating the proliferation of its nuclear weapons."

 Soltaniyeh said, "Efforts aimed at limiting the dimensions of
declaring the Middle East a Nuclear-Free-Zone to include merely
the Persian Gulf littoral states reveal the real intentions of
the future programs for the region."

 He added, "We would soon be witness to coming out of the dark
of the Israeli nuclear arsenals, so that in addition to
receiving the confirmation for that move, the regime would also
get a prize for its proliferation efforts."

 Soltaniyeh said, "Under such conditions the United States
efforts are aimed at serious confrontation with Iran's peaceful
nuclear program."

 He then reviewed in detail Iran's sincere cooperation with the
IAEA and its trust-building moves, adding, "Yet, for the
warmongers no truth really counts, since they merely attach
value to their own assumptions and wild guesses."

 Soltaniyeh said, "These warmongers's approach resembles the
attitude of fortune tellers, since they seem to be capable of
reading the minds of the Iranian officials, which they have
fixed their assumptions and adopted stands."

 Iran's Ambassador at the IAEA called agency's accusation
against Iran of not being committed to its responsibilities
based on the NPT as "The gravest mistake the IAEA has made so
far."

 He added, "Such accusations put under question the legitimacy
of the agency, deviate IAEA from the original objectives for
which it has been established, and inflict serious losses
against international eace and stability."
		 				 		 			

*****************************************************************
 8 IRNA: Ambassador: Iran to continue cooperation with IAEA 

Vienna, March 9, IRNA                                                                                                            

Soltaniyeh-Iran-IAEA 

Iran's Ambassador to IAEA Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh said here on
Wednesday evening that Iran is determined to continue
cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.

 Speaking to the media representatives, at the end of IAEA Board
of Governors seasonal meeting, Soltaniyeh added, "Iran's nuclear
program is pursued merely aimed at peaceful purposes, and Tehran
is after a peaceful solution to the issue."

 He emphasized, "Any country is entitled the right to have
research programs and we cannot deprive our scientists from the
right to do scientific work."

 Soltaniyeh added, "The IAEA reports are most important
documents that prove Iran has no tendency towards manufacturing
nuclear weapons, and has in addition been the victim of weapons
of mass destruction (WMD) and terrorism.

 Seasonal session of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) ended on Wednesday night at the UN atomic watchdog's
headquarters here without issuing any resolution.

 The thirty-five member IAEA Board of Governors' meeting had
begun on Monday.

 The major issues addressed at this three-day meeting included
talks on nuclear security, transportation and management of
nuclear waste, security of storing radioactive material,
surveying nuclear security status based on IAEA's 2005 report,
nuclear technology in 2006, personnel affairs and treaties.

 IAEA Secretary General Muhamed ElBaradei's report on Iran's
nuclear program that was presented to the Board of Governors
last week was the most important topic of discussion during the
Wednesday morning and evening sessions.

 The Non-Aligned Movement's communique in defense of Iran's
peaceful nuclear programs was read at Wednesday evening session
of the IAEA.

 The Japanese Head of the IAEA Board of Governors Yuka Amano at
the end read out a comprehensive report on seasonal session's
general outcomes.

*****************************************************************
 9 IRNA: IAEA meeting, a test for agency: Asefi 

, March 8, IRNA                                                                                                                  

-- 
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said on Wednesday
that the current meeting is a test for the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) by which the world will witness how the
agency can defend its identity.

 Talking to reporters on the sideline of the Majlis open
session, he said Washington is making efforts to weaken
international organizations, including the IAEA, so that it
could advance its policies in the world.

 As to Iran's negotiations with members of the Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM), he said the talks still continue. The NAM states
have good ideas and stand beside the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 He referred to the report by the IAEA Director General Mohamed
ElBaradei to the Security Council as contradictory.

 Although ElBaradei reiterated that the IAEA witnessed no
deviation from peaceful means or towards military purposes in
Iran's nuclear activities, his report emphasizes that Iran has
to answer some questions on it's nuclear programs which still
remain unanswered, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

 "We believe that the Americans have politicized the atmosphere.

 Although it is too early for final evaluation, it seems that
the Americans have politicized the atmosphere in which no expert
work can be done," he added.

 "We should wait and see the outcome of the today and tomorrow
meetings," he said.

*****************************************************************
 10 IRNA: ElBaradei's report not to be assessed at today's session -

Vienna, March 7, IRNA                                                                                                            

Iran-Nuclear 

An informed source in Vienna closely associated with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) here Tuesday said that
the report of the UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei will not
be assessed by the Board of Governor in today's meeting.


 It added that all other issues on the agenda will be examined
as scheduled and that given the working session of the
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at the agency, other matters will be
dealt with on Wednesday.

 The NAM group, which had earlier issued a statement defending
Iran's nuclear program, are expected to hold a meeting this
afternoon.

 Though ElBaradei's report on Iran was on the agenda of the
Board of Governors' meeting this afternoon, some diplomatic
sources said that discussing it in the session depends upon
external parties.

 The seasonal meetings of the UN nuclear watchdog started in
Vienna on Monday.

 2326/2322/1412


*****************************************************************
 11 IRNA: IAEA seasonal session ends -

Vienna, March 8, IRNA                                                                                                            

IAEA-Seasonal Session-Ends 

Seasonal session of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) ended on Wednesday night at the UN atomic watchdog's
headquarters here without issuing any resolution.

 The thirty-five member IAEA Board of Governors' meeting had
begun on Monday.

 The major issues addressed at this three-day meeting included
talks on nuclear security, transportation and management of
nuclear waste, security of storing radioactive material,
surveying nuclear security status based on IAEA's 2005 report,
nuclear technology in 2006, personnel affairs and treaties.

 IAEA Secretary General Muhamed ElBaradei's report on Iran's
nuclear program that was presented to the Board of Governors
last week was the most important topic of discussion during the
Wednesday morning and evening sessions.

 The Non-Aligned Movement's communique in defense of Iran's
peaceful nuclear programs was read at Wednesday evening session
of the IAEA.

 The Japanese Head of the IAEA Board of Governors Yuka Amano at
the end read out a comprehensive report on seasonal session's
general outcomes.

*****************************************************************
 12 IRNA: Full text of NAM's statement on Iran's nuclear program 

Vienna, March 8, IRNA                                                                                                            

NAM-Statement-Nuclear 

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) representatives at the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors
here on Wednesday issued a statement on Iran's nuclear program.

 The full text of the statement by the NAM countries, which was
delivered by Ambassador and Resident Representative of Malaysia
to the IAEA, Rajmah Hussain, is as follows:
 "Agenda item 5 (b): Report by the director general on the
implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic
Republic of Iran
 Mr chairman,
 I have the honor to make this statement on behalf of the Vienna
chapter of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

 NAM expresses its appreciation to the director general for his
comprehensive report on the "implementation of the NPT
Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran" as
contained in document GOV/2006/15 dated February 27, 2006 as
well as for his introductory statement. In this regard, NAM
calls upon member states and the agency to respect the
confidentiality of the documents issued for our consideration in
order to protect the integrity of the agency and the board.

 NAM expresses its appreciation to the director general and the
agency and encourages them to continue their work and efforts in
resolving all the issues pertaining to the Iran nuclear program.

 NAM strongly reiterates the basic and inalienable right of all
member states, as stipulated in the Statute of the IAEA, to
develop research, production and use of atomic energy for
peaceful purposes, without any discrimination and in conformity
with their respective legal obligations. Therefore nothing
should be interpreted in a way as inhibiting or restricting this
right of member states to develop atomic energy for peaceful
purposes. NAM further more reaffirms that member states' choices
and decisions in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear
technology and its fuel cycle policies must be respected.

 NAM reiterates its principled position that non-proliferation
and peaceful uses of nuclear technology must be addressed in a
balanced and non-discriminatory manner. NAM reaffirms its strong
conviction that the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the
only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of
nuclear weapons.

 NAM also believes that the efforts of the international
community aimed at nuclear disarmament should be equal and
simultaneous to the efforts aiming at nuclear non-proliferation.

 NAM would like to emphasize that it is fundamental to make a
clear distinction between legal obligations of member states to
their respective safeguards agreements and their voluntary
commitments. This is required to ensure that voluntary
commitments of member states will not be turned into legal
safeguards obligations. NAM is of the view that member states
should not be penalized for not adhering to their voluntary
commitments.

 NAM is pleased to note that all the declared nuclear material
in Iran has been accounted for, and that the agency has not seen
any diversion of such material to prohibited activities. NAM is
aware that corrective actions have been taken by Iran and that
no new failures were identified. NAM notes that the verification
of the correctness and completeness of Iran's respective
declarations is ongoing. NAM also recognizes that any rightful
activity under the agency's safeguard does not constitute any
concern.

 NAM is also pleased to note that substantial progress has been
made that was key in resolving the issues pertaining to the
implementation of Iran's safeguards agreements, including the
agreement by Iran for the agency to visit defence and other
nuclear related sites, permitting interviews with certain
individuals as well as providing the necessary documents and
information relating to the nuclear issue. In this regard, NAM
is optimistic that the remaining issues will be promptly
resolved.

 NAM expresses its appreciation to Iran's continuing
cooperation, even beyond its legal obligations, and welcomes the
initiatives of Iran aiming at a greater degree of transparency.
NAM encourages Iran to continue its cooperation with the agency
to resolve remaining issues especially with regard to the full
scope and nature of Iran's nuclear program.

 NAM concurs with the assessment by the director general in his
report that the process of drawing a conclusion with regard to
the absence of undeclared nuclear materials or activities in
Iran is a time-consuming process even with an Additional
Protocol in force. In this regard, NAM recognizes that through
continued cooperation, the agency would be able, without undue
pressure, to conclude its verification work in Iran.

 NAM wishes to emphasize the role of the agency and the director
general in ensuring the safe and peaceful development and use of
nuclear technologies. It is in this regard that both the agency
and its director general were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for
2005. NAM recognizes the IAEA as the sole competent authority
for verification and expresses its full confidence in the
professionalism and impartiality of the IAEA led by the director
general. In this regard, NAM strongly believes that all issues
on safeguards and verification, including those of Iran, should
be resolved only by the agency, within its framework, and be
based on technical and legal grounds. NAM further emphasizes
that the agency continues its work to resolve the Iranian
nuclear issue within its mandate under the IAEA Statute.

 NAM strongly believes that diplomacy and dialogue must continue
in order to find a long-term peaceful solution to the Iranian
nuclear issue. To this end, NAM is of the view that engagement
of other UN bodies at this juncture should be avoided. All
parties concerned must exercise patience and restraint and
should not resort to any action which may escalate into a tense
situation and create unnecessary confrontation.

 In encouraging an environment of cooperation to find a mutually
acceptable solution to this issue, NAM appreciates all
initiatives aimed at facilitating the speedy conclusion of the
Iranian nuclear issue within the IAEA. NAM welcomes the
continued discussion between the Russian federation and Iran
with the view to finding a solution to the uranium enrichment
program.

 Thank you mr chairman."
		 				 		 			
*****************************************************************
 13 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Threatens U.S. Over Nuclear Program
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Wednesday March 8, 2006 10:31 PM
 	
AP Photo VIE147 
By GEORGE JAHN 
Associated Press Writer 

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran threatened the United States with
``harm and pain'' Wednesday if the U.S. tries to use the U.N.
Security Council as a new and potent lever to punish Tehran for
its suspect nuclear program. 

Washington warned that Tehran has enough nuclear material for up
to 10 atomic bombs. 

The rhetoric reflected the intensity of the debate at a meeting
of the International Atomic Energy's 35-nation board over a
critical report on Iran's nuclear program. The meeting ended
late Wednesday, formally opening the path to Security Council
action that could range from a mild statement urging compliance
to sanctions or even military measures. 

The meeting also set the stage for a potential struggle between
Washington, which seeks harsh measures against Tehran, and
Moscow, which advocates a softer line. 

But the head of the IAEA - the U.N. nuclear watchdog - cast
approaching Security Council involvement as a continuation of
diplomacy with Iran. 

Mohamed ElBaradei also suggested that Washington might need to
talk to Tehran directly if negotiations reach the stage of
focusing on security guarantees to Tehran in exchange for
concessions on its nuclear program. 

``Once we start to discuss security issues my personal view (is)
that at one point the U.S. should also be engaged into a
dialogue,'' ElBaradei told reporters. 

Tehran and Washington broke diplomatic relations shortly after
Iranian radicals seized the U.S. Embassy and took diplomats
there hostage in 1979. While the United States has swung support
behind negotiations with Iran conducted in recent months by
Russia and by France, Britain and Germany, it has refused direct
contacts. 

Iran claims its nuclear program is peaceful and only aimed at
generating electricity, but an increasing number of countries
have come to share the U.S. view that Tehran is seeking to
develop atomic weapons. 

The next step after the meeting in Vienna is for ElBaradei's
report to be sent to the United Nations in New York for council
review and action. ElBaradei said that would happen by Thursday. 

The IAEA put the Security Council on alert over the issue last
month but delayed any action to give more time for diplomacy
under an agreement by the United States, Russia, China, France
and Britain - the five permanent Security Council members that
wield veto power. 

Iran has been under growing international pressure over the past
three years as the IAEA compiled worrying details about its
nuclear activities. 

But formal Security Council involvement opens a new dimension
because the U.N. body could impose economic and political
sanctions against Iran. Such action is unlikely because of
opposition from Russia and China, which have strategic and
commercial ties with Tehran. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested Wednesday that
Moscow would not support sanctions and he ruled out military
action. 

``I don't think sanctions as a means to solve a crisis have ever
achieved a goal in the recent history,'' Lavrov said after
meeting Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the United Nations. 

He added that Russia was ``convinced that there is no military
solution to this crisis'' - an apparent rebuttal to Vice
President Dick Cheney's warning this week that Iran would face
``meaningful consequences'' if it does not back away from an
international confrontation over its nuclear program. Cheney did
not specify what the U.S. would do, but said it ``is keeping all
options on the table.'' 

U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns suggested America
would push for sanctions if appeals and demands failed. 

``We believe that next Monday or Tuesday the United Nations
Security Council will begin a very active debate about Iran's
nuclear ambitions,'' Burns said Wednesday. ``That debate will be
designed to shine a very large, intensive spotlight on what we
believe to be a clear Iranian (weapons) program.'' 

Burns told the House International Relations Committee that U.S.
officials expect the Security Council to consider a statement of
condemnation against Iran. He said, however, that the Bush
administration would like to go ``beyond that to entertain the
possibility of a resolution to isolate and hopefully influence
(Iran's) behavior.'' 

If Iran does not respond to words and resolutions, ``then we
believe that the world community should entertain the
possibility of sanctions against Iran,'' Burns said. 

ElBaradei's report accused Iran of withholding information,
possessing plans linked to nuclear weapons and refusing to
freeze uranium enrichment - a possible pathway to nuclear arms. 

In comments to the IAEA board meeting, Gregory Schulte, the U.S.
delegate to the agency, said the 85 tons of feedstock uranium
gas already produced by Iran ``if enriched, could produce enough
material for about 10 nuclear weapons.'' 

Separately, France, Germany and Britain warned that what is
known about Iran's enrichment program could represent ``the tip
of the iceberg.'' 

Iran reacted angrily to Washington's role in the standoff over
its nuclear ambitions. 

``The United States has the power to cause harm and pain,'' Ali
Asghar Soltanieh, the chief Iranian delegate to the IAEA, said,
reading from a statement. ``But the United States is also
susceptible to harm and pain. So if that is the path that the
U.S. wishes to choose, let the ball roll.'' 

He did not elaborate, but diplomats said the comment as possibly
a veiled threat to use oil as a weapon. Iran is the
second-largest producer within the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries and has leverage with extremist groups in
Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East that could harm U.S.
interests. 

Iran's minister of petroleum, Sayed Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh,
however, sought to ease concerns about Iran's oil plans, telling
reporters at an OPEC meeting in Vienna: ``Iran has no intention
whatsoever of reducing its oil exports.'' 

The White House dismissed Iran's threats. 

``I think that provocative statements and actions only further
isolate Iran from the rest of the world,'' White House press
secretary Scott McClellan told reporters traveling with
President Bush. 

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said the comments
reflected the menace posed by Iran. 

``Their threats show why leaving a country like that with a
nuclear weapon is so dangerous,'' John Bolton told The
Associated Press by phone from Washington. 

--- 
Associated Press reporters Palma Benczenleitner in Vienna,
Pauline Jelinek in Washington and Nick Wadhams at the United
Nations contributed to this report. 

--- 
On the Net: 
International Atomic Energy Agency, http://www.iaea.org 

      Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 14 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Threatens U.S. With 'Harm and Pain'
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Wednesday March 8, 2006 12:46 PM
 	
AP Photo VIE103 
By GEORGE JAHN 
Associated Press Writer 

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran threatened the United States with
``harm and pain'' Wednesday for its role in hauling Tehran
before the U.N. Security Council over its disputed nuclear
program. 

``The United States has the power to cause harm and pain,'' Iran
said a statement meant for delivery at the International Atomic
Energy Agency's 35-nation board meeting in Vienna on Iran's
refusal to freeze uranium enrichment. 

``But the United States is also susceptible to harm and pain. So
if that is the path that the U.S. wishes to choose, let the ball
roll.'' 

In statements for the same meeting, the United States and its
European allies said Iran's intransigence over its nuclear
program has left the world no choice but to ask for the U.N.
Security Council to take action against the Islamic regime. 

``The time has now come for the Security Council to act,''
Gregory Schulte, the U.S. delegate to the IAEA, told board
members. ``Iran has still not come clean.'' 

Schulte listed Iran's decision to curtail IAEA inspections, its
expanding uranium enrichment program and worrying conclusions by
IAEA inspectors that suggest at least past interest in nuclear
arms as contributing to ``mounting international concerns''
about Tehran's nuclear intentions. 

The IAEA meeting is in effect the last step before the Security
Council begins to consider Iran's nuclear plans, which could
lead to possible sanctions. Iran's president said earlier
Wednesday that his country will not back down from plans to
enrich uranium domestically. 

Iran's statement against the United States was unusually harsh,
reflecting Tehran's frustration at failing to deflect the threat
of Security Council action against it in the coming weeks. 

It attacked the ``warmongers in Washington'' for what it said
was an unjust accusation that Tehran's nuclear intentions were
mainly for military use. And it suggested the United States was
vulnerable, despite its strength. 

``Surely we are not naive about the United States' ... intention
to flex muscles,'' said the statement. ``But we also see the
bone fractures underneath.'' 

It also threatened broader retaliation, without being specific,
saying Iran ``will adapt our policy and adjust our approach to
conform with the new exigencies.'' 

France, Germany and Britain, which spearheaded the Feb. 4 IAEA
resolution clearing the path for Security Council action, warned
that what is known about Iran's enrichment program could
represent only ``the tip of the iceberg.'' 

``We believe that the time has ... come for the U.N. Security
Council to reinforce the authority'' of the IAEA and its board,
said a draft statement by the three European countries. 
Austria, which holds the EU presidency, expressed regret at

Iran's decisions to withhold ``voluntary cooperation'' from IAEA
inspectors and resume uranium enrichment, which can be part of a
process to make nuclear weapons. 

The Austrian comments were made in a statement prepared for
delivery on behalf of the European Union and nearly a dozen
nonmember European nations. 

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remained defiant: ``Our
nation has made its decision to fully use nuclear energy for
peaceful purposes and all have to give in to this decision made
by the Iranian nation,'' he said in Iran. ``We have made our
choice.'' 

His comments - and U.S. and Russian statements the day before
rejecting any compromise that would allow Tehran to enrich
uranium domestically - set the stage for Security Council action
once the IAEA board meeting hears a report on the latest
investigations into Iran's nuclear program and debates the
issue. 

A senior Western diplomat familiar with the Security Council
negotiations said Tuesday that permanent council members Britain
and France already were preparing a statement ``urging'' Iran to
re-impose a freeze on all enrichment. 

The diplomat, who requested anonymity in exchange for discussing
strategy on Iran, said the statement also would call on Iran to
fully cooperate with IAEA inspectors trying to establish whether
the country had ever tried to make such weapons - all requests
made earlier by the board. 

Still, stronger action may elude the council. Russia and China,
which have Security Council vetoes, may use them to foil any
resolution in that chamber that would meaningfully increase
pressure on Iran, their political and economic ally. 

Russia has been at the forefront of the Iranian nuclear talks
over the past few months with a proposal to host Iran's uranium
enrichment program. The United States and the European Union
back the idea, but Iran has demanded the right to conduct
small-scale uranium enrichment at home. 
--- 
Associated Press writers Palma Benzenleitner in Vienna and Ali
Akbar Dareini in Tehran contributed to this report. 
--- 
On the Net: 
International Atomic Energy Agency, http://www.iaea.org 	 
		 	 	   
      Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 15 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Defiant on Uranium Enrichment Plan
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

        Wednesday March 8, 2006 11:31 AM
 	
AP Photo VIE129 
By GEORGE JAHN 
Associated Press Writer 

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran's president said Wednesday his
country will not back down from plans to enrich uranium, as 35
nations in Vienna focused on Tehran's nuclear file - the last
step before the U.N. Security Council takes up the issue. 

``Our nation has made its decision to fully use nuclear energy
for peaceful purposes and all have to give in to this decision
made by the Iranian nation,'' said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
in western Iran. ``We have made our choice.'' 

His comments - and U.S. and Russian statements the day before
rejecting any compromise that would allow Tehran to enrich
uranium domestically - set the stage for Security Council action
once the 35-nation board meeting of the International Atomic
Energy Agency hears a report on Iran's nuclear program and
debates the issue. 

Washington warned Tuesday of ``meaningful consequences'' if Iran
does not back away from an international confrontation over its
nuclear program. It also rejected any potential last-minute
compromise to allow Iran to develop nuclear fuel that could be
used for weapons. 

A senior Western diplomat familiar with the Security Council
negotiations said Tuesday that permanent council members Britain
and France already were preparing a statement ``urging'' Iran to
re-impose a freeze on all enrichment, which can be misused to
make nuclear arms. 

The diplomat, who demanded anonymity in exchange for discussing
strategy on Iran, said the statement also would call on Iran to
fully cooperate with IAEA inspectors trying to establish whether
the country had ever tried to make such weapons - all requests
made earlier by the board. 

Still, stronger action may elude the council. Russia and China,
which have Security Council vetoes, may use them to foil any
resolution in that chamber that would meaningfully increase
pressure on Iran, their political and economic ally. 

A Russian plan that surfaced last year and is backed by the
Americans and the European Union, would strip the Iranians of
all enrichment potential at home in hopes that would prevent the
program from being misused for nuclear arms. 

A recently discussed proposal carried to Washington Monday by
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would have allowed the
Iranians to conduct yet-to-be-defined ``research and
development'' activities - including operating 20
uranium-enriching centrifuges. But that compromise appeared dead
in the water by Tuesday due to strong American opposition and
Iranian rejection. 

A senior diplomat accredited to the Vienna meeting suggested
that a compromise still may be reached, saying South Africa, a
strong backer of Iran's right to enrich for peaceful purposes,
was increasingly involved in trying to find a negotiated
solution. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing also appealed for more
negotiations, suggesting the Security Council's involvement was
not needed. ``Iran should cooperate closely with the IAEA to
settle the nuclear dispute,'' Li said. 

The Americans remained unconvinced. Undersecretary of State
Nicholas Burns said in Washington that ``unless Iran does a
dramatic about face,'' he expected the Security Council to take
up the issue. 

Talks between Iran and France, Britain and Germany collapsed
last year after Tehran resumed enrichment-related activities,
which can produce both nuclear fuel and the fissile core of
warheads. Since then, the three European powers, along with the
United States, Canada, Australia and Japan, have pushed for
Security Council involvement. 

--- 
Associated Press writers Palma Benzenleitner in Vienna and Ali
Akbar Dareini in Tehran contributed to this report. 
--- 
On the Net: 
International Atomic Energy Agency, http://www.iaea.org 	 
		 	 	   
      Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 16 Guardian Unlimited: U.N. Urged to Take Action Against Iran
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Wednesday March 8, 2006 11:46 AM
 	
AP Photo VIE106 
By GEORGE JAHN 
Associated Press Writer 

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The United States and its European allies
said Wednesday that Iran's intransigence over its nuclear
program has left the world no choice but to ask for the U.N.
Security Council to take action against the Islamic regime. 

``The time has now come for the Security Council to act,''
Gregory Schulte, the U.S. delegate to the International Atomic
Energy Agency, told the group's 35-nation board as it began
discussions on Iran's nuclear ambitions. 

Schulte listed Iran's decision to curtail IAEA inspections, its
expanding uranium enrichment program and worrying conclusions by
IAEA inspectors that suggest at least past interest in nuclear
arms as contributing to ``mounting international concerns''
about Tehran's nuclear intentions. 

``Iran has still not come clean,'' he said. 

The IAEA meeting is in effect the last step before the Security
Council begins to consider Iran's nuclear plans. Iran's
president said earlier Wednesday that his country will not back
down from plans to enrich uranium domestically. 

France, Germany and Britain, which spearheaded the Feb. 4 IAEA
resolution clearing the path for Security Council action once
this week's meeting ends, warned that what is known about Iran's
enrichment program could represent only ``the tip of the
iceberg.'' 

``We believe that the time has ... come for the U.N. Security
Council to reinforce the authority'' of the IAEA and its board,
said a draft statement by the three European countries, meant
for later delivery. 	 

      Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 17 Guardian Unlimited: White House increases pressure on Iran
 
Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Wednesday March 8, 2006
The Guardian 		
 		
The Bush administration kept up the pressure on Iran
yesterday to abandon its nuclear ambitions with Dick Cheney, the
vice-president, saying that continued defiance by Tehran would
bring "meaningful consequences" from the international community.

Mr Cheney's warning was the third this week from a Bush
administration official and was made at a delicate juncture in
the international community's efforts to persuade Iran to give
up its enrichment efforts. The head of the International Atomic
Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, is to present his report to
the agency's board today, edging the standoff closer to the UN
security council and the possibility of sanctions.
 			 		 			 			 			Article continues 			
With time running out and amid fears of divisions at the security 
council, Russia and the US appeared yesterday to have closed 
ranks, dismissing reports of a last-minute compromise between 
Moscow and Tehran that would have allowed Iran to process small 
amounts of nuclear fuel on its soil.

In his speech to the annual gathering of the Israeli lobby
group, Aipac, Mr Cheney said: "We join other nations in sending
that regime a clear message. We will not allow Iran to have a
nuclear weapon."

In the past US officials have said there is no plan for the use
of military force but they will not rule it out and Mr Cheney
offered no further illumination yesterday on what the US might
do. "For our part, the United States is keeping all options on
the table in addressing the irresponsible conduct of the
regime," he said.

The firm line against Tehran was also maintained at the White
House where the press secretary, Scott McClellan, said Iran's
leaders continued to move in the wrong direction on a range of
issues, not just on its enrichment activities.

"We have made it very clear, as well as the international
community, that Iran needs to suspend all its enrichment-related
activities", he said.

As Mr Cheney spoke, Russia reassured the White House that it
remained on side. Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, who
is visiting Washington, denied reports of a compromise that
would have allowed Iran to carry out enrichment on its soil.

"There is no compromise new Russian proposal," Mr Lavrov told
reporters. "All our contacts with Iran, with the European
troika, with the United States ... were about finding a way to
implement the February decision by the board of governors of
IAEA," he said.
 	
[UP] 

      Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 18 BBC: Iran report goes to top UN body
 
Last Updated: Wednesday, 8 March 2006
 
[Mohamed ElBaradei at IAEA talks in Vienna]                             

The IAEA's ElBaradei cannot confirm Iran is not seeking weapons                     
			   		
A UN report on Iran's nuclear programme is being forwarded to the 
UN Security Council for consideration of possible punitive 
action. 

The UN nuclear watchdog took the decision after debating the 
document - which contains criticism of Iran. 

The US says the council will debate Iran's "flagrant threats and 
phoney negotiations" early next week. 

Iran said it had done all it could to reach a peaceful settlement 
but the US had "hijacked" the diplomatic process. 

Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said: "We 
don't want confrontation but if this is the wish or policy of the 
Americans, then the Iranian nation will of course defend its 
integrity and national interests." 

Sanctions threat 

The Security Council has the power to impose sanctions, but it is 
not clear that all its key members would back them. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that 
such measures would be ineffective. 

The agency is not at this poi in time in a position to conclude 
that there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in 
Iran Leaked IAEA report Iran's diplomatic escalator Crisis in 
quotes                          

"I don't think sanctions as a means to solve a crisis have ever 
achieved a goal in the recent history," he told reporters. 

Western powers suspect Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at 
building a weapons capability - Iran says it is entirely aimed at 
meeting energy needs. 

The report being forwarded to the Security Council - which was 
leaked to the media last week - says the Iranians have begun 
feeding uranium gas into centrifuges, a first step in a process 
that can produce fuel for nuclear reactors or bomb material. 

However the document could not confirm that Iran was not seeking 
nuclear weapons. 

'Firm resistance' 

The debate of the report by the UN watchdog - the International 
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - in Vienna came amid a war of words 
between Iran and the US. 

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was also defiant: "If we 
put up a firm resistance, they will be defeated and humiliated by 
the Iranian nation's will." 

[President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]                                 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has given no ground in negotiations                                                                 

The US said Iran had enough nuclear material for 10 atomic bombs 
and it was time for the Security Council to act. 

"Iran has not met the conditions at the IAEA," Assistant 
Secretary of State Nicholas Burns told Congress on Wednesday. 

"We will therefore start a new phase of diplomacy - action by the 
UN Security Council" on Monday or Tuesday next week, he said. 

However, IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei, who wrote the report, has 
appealed to both Western and Iranian leaders to "lower the 
rhetoric". 

"Everybody is looking forward to a political settlement... What 
we need now at this stage is a cool-headed approach," he said. 

If the Security Council does take action, its first step is 
likely to be to issue a demand that Iran stop nuclear activities 
by a certain deadline. 

It might then issue a further warning before beginning to 
consider sanctions. 

Iran has threatened to press ahead with industrial-scale uranium 
enrichment if its nuclear work is reported to the UN. 

		 	 		 	 	 



*****************************************************************
 19 AFP: UN nuclear watchdog set to hear Iran report -

 Wed Mar 8, 3:26 AM ET 
		 	 
VIENNA (AFP) - UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei was
to deliver a report on Iran's atomic program, after failure to 
reach a compromise aimed at heading off UN Security Council 
action against the Islamic republic. 

The rift between Iran and the United States emerged as the
International Atomic Energy Agency
" /> (IAEA) met in Vienna to consider Tehran's program, which it
says is for energy but the West fears is hiding a covert weapons
drive.
 
The row hinges on whether Iran should be allowed to do
small-scale research work on enriching uranium, which is used as
fuel for nuclear reactors but can -- in highly refined form --
be the explosive core of a bomb.
 
Iran is ready to hold off on industrial-scale enrichment for two
years, a diplomat told AFP, but refuses to suspend small-scale
work believed to have less of a proliferation risk.
 
Under a Russian plan aimed at heading off a Security Council
showdown, Tehran would eventually be able to do research on the
enrichment process but without gaining the technology it needs
for large-scale enrichment for weapons use.
 
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday in
Washington that his country had made no "compromise" proposal
that would allow Iran to enrich uranium, even in small
quantities.
 
"There is no compromise to the Russian proposal," Lavrov said
following talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
" /> , which were dominated by mounting tensions over Iran's
nuclear program.
 
Lavrov was believed to be referring to the fact that Russia
would at first insist on full suspension of enrichment by Iran,
in order to start talks. But eventually the deal could lead to
Iran doing research on the strategic process.
 
Iran views research work as involving up to 3,000 centrifuges,
the machines which enrich uranium, but experts say that is an
industrial-level figure.
 
The United States restated its view that Iran has already
"crossed the international red line."
 
"The Iranian regime needs to know that if its stays on its
present course, the international community is prepared to
impose meaningful consequences," Vice President Dick Cheney
" /> said in a speech to a US- Israel
" /> lobbying group.
 
He said the United States was keeping "all options on the table"
in addressing the standoff with Iran over its nuclear program.
 
"We join other nations in sending that regime a clear message:
We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon," he said.
 
White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters in
Washington: "We've made it very clear, as have many in the
international community, that the regime must suspend all
enrichment activity."
 
McClellan said that after the IAEA meeting, Washington expected
the nuclear dossier to move to the UN Security Council.
 
On Wednesday, the IAEA's 35-nation board of governors was to
hear a report by ElBaradei, which says Iran has failed to heed
IAEA calls for it to suspend uranium enrichment and to cooperate
fully with IAEA inspectors, according to a copy obtained by AFP.
 
Iran said in an advance reaction that "the purely technical
nuclear issue of the Islamic Republic of Iran is politicized.
 
"The bias, exaggerated and unjustified information has misled
the international community," according to a statement obtained
by AFP. 

ElBaradei had said Monday at the start of the board meeting that
he was hopeful of an agreement over the crisis, which has
accelerated since the watchdog first voted to report Iran to the
Security Council on February 4. 

Before taking further action the board left a month open for
diplomacy, which ended last week, when ElBaradei sent an
assessment report to the Security Council. 

The IAEA could first adopt a "presidential declaration" urging
Tehran to heed its calls to suspend enrichment and cooperate
with inspectors, diplomats said, with sanctions coming as a
later step. 

But ElBaradei spoke Monday of a possible deal in around a week
on the thorny issue of research-level uranium enrichment. 

Resolving this issue would open the way for Iran to restart
talks with the so-called EU-3 -- Britain, France and Germany --
on guaranteeing it is not seeking nuclear weapons. 

A top Iranian cleric, Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, called Tuesday for
a "political and rational solution" to the nuclear crisis but
stressed the Islamic republic could not accept demands to
abandon sensitive atomic work. 

Meanwhile China urged Iran to cooperate with the IAEA, while
calling on all sides involved in the crisis to exercise
restraint. 

"There is still time for a settlement of the issue within the
framework of the IAEA," Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing
said. 

Iran's talks with the European troika broke off in August when
Iran resumed some enrichment activities. It began small-scale
actual enrichment in February.
 	 		 			
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 20 IRNA: China stresses peaceful resolution of Iran's nuclear case -

Beijing, March 7, IRNA                                                                                                           

China-Iran-Nuclear 

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing here Tuesday stressed the
need to resolve Iran's nuclear case through diplomacy and
peaceful means.

 Addressing domestic and foreign reporters, Li said China
attaches special concern to the nuclear standoff.

 Beijing believes Iran's case should be resolved through
negotiations and in a peaceful way, he said, adding that his
country is sensitive to the concerns of all sides.

 Iran, as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has
the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, but it
should also take into consideration the concerns and points of
view of other sides, he said.

 Referring to International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed
ElBaradei's remarks on Monday that he was still hopeful Iran's
nuclear case could be settled within the IAEA, he said it was
important the international community remained committed to a
diplomatic settlement of the issue within the framework of IAEA
rules and regulations.

 The minister called on the parties to be patient and stressed
that China will continue cooperation with all sides seeking to
resolve the issue.

 Li also reiterated his country's opposition to weapons of mass
destruction of any kind.

 2327/2321/1414

*****************************************************************
 21 AFP: US: Iran deepening isolation with threats 

 Wed Mar 8, 4:11 PM ET 
		 	 
NEW ORLEANS, United States (AFP) - The White House warned that 
Iran " /> Irandeepened its international isolation by threatening 
"harm and pain" against the United States amid mounting tensions 
and rhetoric over Tehran's nuclear program. 

"I think that provocative statements and actions only further 
isolate Iran from the rest of the world," White House spokesman 
Scott McClellan told reporters as US President George W. Bush 
traveled here.
 
Iran "would be better served by making a decision to work with 
the international community and abide by their safeguard 
obligations instead of continuing to engage in provocative 
statements and take defiant steps," he said.
 
The UN nuclear watchdog agency on Wednesday opened the way for
Security Council action against Iran over its nuclear program,
with Europe and the United States leading the drive for action.
 
Iranian security official Javad Vaidi, who led the Iranian
delegation at International Atomic Energy Agency
" /> International Atomic Energy Agencytalks in Vienna,
threatened reprisals against the United States.
 
"The United States may have the power to cause harm and pain but
it is also susceptible to harm and pain," he said. "So if the
United States wishes to choose that path, let the ball roll."
 
The Western partners say Iran should not be allowed to enrich
uranium, which can provide the fuel for civilian reactors but
also, in highly enriched form, the material for atomic weapons.
 
"The international community is deeply concerned about the
regime developing nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian
program," said McClellan. "The international community has
spelled out what the regime needs to do."
 
Tehran "still has an opportunity or has time to change their
behavior," said McClellan. "We remain skeptical given their
history, and given their continued defiance of the international
community."
 
Although Bush has never taken the military option off the table,
McClellan again stressed that "we are continuing to pursue a
diplomatic solution here."
 
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 22 IRNA: NAM defends Iran's nuclear program 

Vienna, March 8, IRNA                                                                                                            

IAEA-Iran-Nuclear 

Members of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic
Energy Agency, meeting for the third day of their winter
session, is to be informed by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) of
the contents of a statement it had earlier issued in defense of
Iran's nuclear program.

 NAM member state Malaysia will read out the statement in
today's meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

 Similarly, Austria will read out a statement issued by the
European Union (EU) on the nuclear issue.

 Iran's Representative to the IAEA Ali-Asghar Soltanieh will
also address participants in the meeting.

 Likewise, representatives from the US, Norway, Venezuela,
China, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, India, North Korea, Singapore and
Russia will address the IAEA meeting.

 The three-day winter session of the IAEA Board of Governors
began in Vienna on Monday.

 Iran's nuclear case tops the agenda of the ongoing meeting.


*****************************************************************
 23 AFP: US, Europe up pressure on Iran over nuclear dossier - 

 Wednesday March 8, 10:21 PM 

VIENNA (AFP) - Europe and the United States ratcheted up the
pressure on Iran to back down over its nuclear ambitions as the
UN's atomic watchdog studied a key report to be sent to the
Security Council.
 
The report, drawn up by International Atomic Energy Agency chief
Mohamed ElBaradei, says Iran has resumed uranium enrichment
activities in defiance of demands by the international community
to halt work.
 
That call was reiterated by Thomas Seltzer, Austria's
representative to the IAEA, whose country holds the rotating EU
presidency.
 
If Iran failed to comply, he said, "the Security Council should
now put its weight behind the (IAEA) board's requests and the
IAEA's efforts to resolve outstanding questions."
 
"Progress has not been made," Seltzer added, calling on Iran "to
reinstate a full suspension of all enrichment-related and
reprocessing activities."
 
Diplomats in Vienna said the discussion by the IAEA board of
governors on Iran's program was set to be brief as the dossier
is transferred automatically to the Security Council for action.
 
A senior US official told the meeting that Iran already had
enough uranium gas -- the feedstock for enrichment -- to make 10
nuclear weapons.
 
In comments reported by a diplomat, US ambassador Gregory
Schulte said Iran had failed on every count to meet the
watchdog's demand to suspend enrichment and cooperate with the
agency.
 
Iran says its nuclear program is a peaceful drive for civilian
energy. The West, in contrast, fears it is hiding a covert push
for the atom bomb.
 
In his report, submitted last week, ElBaradei said Tehran had
failed fully to cooperate with the IAEA but stopped short of
indicating whether he thought it was pursuing a secret drive.
 
In Iran, hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed that the
West would "regret" choosing to step up pressure on the Islamic
republic.
 
The president also vowed the clerical regime will "not give in"
to demands that it limit its nuclear drive.
 
"If anyone wants to violate the rights of the Iranian nation,
they will quickly regret their actions," he said in a speech to
thousands of supporters in the western province of Lorestan.
 
"Iran will not give in to political pressure and blackmail. They
can meet as three, then as five and then as 15, but that will
not change anything," he said, referring to the progressive
shifting of the crisis to the Security Council.
 
Central to resolving the dispute is whether Iran should be
allowed to carry out small-scale research work on enriching
uranium, which is used as fuel for nuclear reactors but can --
in highly refined form -- be the fissile core of a bomb.
 
While Tehran is ready to hold off on industrial-scale enrichment
for two years, a diplomat told AFP, it refuses to suspend
small-scale work.
 
For the West however, even research is a "red line," the United
States in particular arguing that once Tehran had the
technology, it could exploit that knowledge for weapons work.
 
US Vice President Dick Cheney warned Tuesday that Washington was
keeping "all options on the table" to resolve the standoff.
 
"The Iranian regime needs to know that if its stays on its
present course, the international community is prepared to
impose meaningful consequences," he said in a speech to a
US-Israel lobbying group.
 
   Copyright © 2006 AFP. All rights reserved. All information
*****************************************************************
 24 IRNA: Majlis commission to be briefed on nuclear talks -

Tehran, March 8, IRNA                                                                                                            

Iran-Majlis-IAEA report 

The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Gholam-Reza
Aqazadeh, will appear before Majlis' National Security and
Foreign Policy Commission here Wednesday to brief its members on
the outcome of Tehran's nuclear talks.

 Aqazadeh, when he meets the commission's members, will report
on the outcome of talks held recently by Iran's nuclear
negotiating team with Russian officials in Tehran and Moscow and
with negotiators of the European troika (Britain, France and
Germany) in Vienna.

 The meeting will be closed to reporters.

 However, the commission's rapporteur, Kazem Jalali, is expected
to answer reporters' questions at the end of the meeting.



*****************************************************************
 25 Guardian Unlimited: North Korean Missile Test Causes Concern

From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Wednesday March 8, 2006 7:31 PM
 	
By BURT HERMAN 
Associated Press Writer 

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea test-fired two short-range
missiles Wednesday, an unsettling reminder of the reclusive
communist regime's ability to cause instability in the region
where a standoff persists over its nuclear program. 

The development underscored the dangers posed by the country's
longer-range missiles and professed nuclear weapons program. 
Pyongyang shocked Tokyo and other nations when it test-fired a
ballistic missile over northern Japan in 1998. It has since
test-fired short-range missiles many times, including one
launched into the Sea of Japan in May. In 2003, North Korea
test-fired short-range land-to-ship missiles at least three
times during heightened tensions over its nuclear program. 

Japan's Kyodo News agency gave conflicting details about
Wednesday's launches, saying a security source in China told it
the missiles were fired by mistake in the direction of China and
apparently landed in North Korean territory. 

However, the agency also quoted a Western military source as
saying the missiles were test-fired from North Korea's eastern
coast toward the Sea of Japan. At least one missile landed in
the sea about 60 miles northeast of the launch site, Kyodo said,
citing a Japanese defense official. 

``Indications are that North Korea launched two short-range
missiles,'' White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in an
e-mail to reporters traveling with President Bush. ``We have
consistently pointed out that North Korea's missile program is a
concern that poses a threat to the region and the larger
international community,'' he said. 

The White House said Wednesday's launches demonstrated the
importance of six-party negotiations aimed at resolving the
crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. 

``We work closely with our allies in the region on ballistic
missile defense and to maintain a strong deterrent against the
threat North Korea poses,'' McClellan said. ``We believe the
six-party talks remain the way to get North Korea to abandon its
nuclear ambitions and deal with the threat from its missile
program and activities.'' 

North Korea would be extremely hesitant to do anything to offend
China, its last major benefactor, and the type of missiles
reportedly fired wouldn't pose much of a threat far beyond its
borders. Despite remaining technically at war with South Korea,
the sides have embarked on reconciliation efforts since a 2000
summit between their leaders, and many South Koreans don't view
the North ntry's alleged illicit financial activities. 

The U.S. last year blacklisted a Macau bank and North Korean
companies it said were involved in counterfeiting, money
laundering and weapons proliferation - a move that prompted the
North to boycott international arms talks. After the New York
briefing, the North maintained it won't return to disarmament
negotiations but said it has proposed ways to resolve the issue. 

``At a time when North Korea is trying to play the diplomatic
card, it wouldn't necessarily make sense for them to try and
pull out the military card as well,'' said Jon Wolfstahl, a
fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in
Washington. 

The commander of the U.S. military in South Korea, Army Gen.
B.B. Bell, said Tuesday in Washington that reports indicated the
North was ``preparing to field a new intermediate-range
ballistic missile which could easily reach United States
facilities in Okinawa, Guam and possibly Alaska,'' according to
prepared comments. 

However, Bell noted the North Koreans had done ``very little''
in recent years on long-range ballistic missiles. Instead, he
said officials have seen increasing work on short-range missiles
that could be used on the Korean Peninsula. 

Besides producing a large number of weapons, Bell said North
Korea also ``appears willing to sell to anyone.'' 

It isn't known if the North has built a functioning nuclear
weapon as it claims, since the country isn't believed to have
performed any nuclear tests. Putting a device on a missile is
even more complicated, and there's no evidence the North has
done that either. 

Still, experts believe the North has extracted enough plutonium
from its main nuclear reactor for at least a half-dozen nuclear
weapons or more - a concern that has lately been getting less
attention due to the intense diplomacy surrounding the Iranian
nuclear crisis. 

``We're getting 24-7 coverage on Iran - which is still likely
several years away from being able to produce a single nuclear
weapon - and little coverage on North Korea, which any day could
shut down its nuclear reactor and obtain the plutonium for what
could be its 10th, 11th or 12th nuclear weapon,'' Wolfstahl
said. 

--- 
Associated Press writers Hiroko Tabuchi in Tokyo and Nedra
Pickler, who is traveling with President Bush on the Gulf Coast,
contributed to this report. 
		 	 	   
      Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 26 Guardian Unlimited: North Korea Refuses Return to Nuke Talks
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Wednesday March 8, 2006 3:31 AM
 	
AP Photo NYMA102 

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea reiterated its pledge not
to return to nuclear disarmament talks after a meeting with U.S.
officials about the communist regime's alleged illicit financial
activity, a top North Korean diplomat was quoted as saying
Wednesday. 

At Tuesday's meeting in New York, the Americans emphasized that
moves against a Macau bank where Pyongyang held accounts were
part of regulatory moves ``to protect the U.S. financial system
from abuse, and not a sanction on North Korea,'' according to a
U.S. Treasury Department statement. 

``Our position is consistent that (North Korea) cannot return to
the talks in the midst of the continued pressure (from the
United States),'' Ri Gun, director-general of North Korean
Foreign Ministry's American affairs bureau, said after the talks
Tuesday, the Yonhap news agency reported. 

Ri headed the North's delegation to the meeting. 

Last September, the United States blacklisted Banco Delta Asia
and several North Korean companies it said were involved in
illicit activities, including counterfeiting, money laundering
and funding weapons proliferation. 

North Korea denies the allegations and has maintained since
November that it will not return to six-party talks on its
nuclear program until the restrictions are lifted. Washington
says the issue is unrelated to the nuclear talks. 

Ri, director-general of North Korean Foreign Ministry's American
affairs bureau and the North's deputy nuclear negotiator, said
the North Koreans had offered their own solution to the
financial impasse, but gave no details. 

``Today, the (North) and the U.S. had enough dialogue on mutual
interests and concerns,'' Ri said, according to Yonhap. ``We got
to know each other's position and confirmed differences once
again.'' 

The North agreed in September at the nuclear talks - which also
include China, Japan, Russia and South Korea - to abandon its
atomic program in exchange for aid and security guarantees.

However, no progress has been made since then on implementing
the accord. 

The North has publicly claimed it has nuclear weapons, but has
not performed any known tests that would confirm its arsenal.	 

                                   
      Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 27 INSIDE JoongAng Daily: After meeting, nuclear talks are no nearer

March 9, 2006 KST 14:24 (GMT+9)                                                          
                       
  March 09, 2006 ¤Ñ At a meeting between North Korean and U.S.
officials in New York on Wednesday, the Pyongyang delegation
demanded that sanctions imposed by Washington on a Macao bank be
lifted before North Korea would return to nuclear negotiations.

Li Gun, the head of the North American desk at Pyongyang's
Foreign Ministry, described the meeting in an interview with the
South Korean daily newspaper Hankyoreh. Pyongyang also asked
Washington to agree to set up a "cooperative committee" through
which information on illegal financial transactions could be
exchanged. He said the U.S. delegation did not respond to the
suggestion. Mr. Ri he did not explain in detail another
suggestion he made, that Pyongyang open an account with a U.S.
bank for "transparency."

 Last October, the U.S. Treasury Department designated Banco
Delta Asia as a "primary money laundering" concern, linking it
to North Korean counterfeiting and money laundering. Several
banks around the globe subsequently ended their business
dealings with the Macao bank.

 Little seemed to have changed in the standoff between North
Korea and the United States because of the meeting, which
Washington carefully called a briefing on its financial
sanctions against North Korea. After the meeting was over Mr. Li
told reporters that the North would not return to the six-party
negotiations in Beijing aimed to induce the North to abandon its
nuclear ambitions. He said that continued U.S. pressure on North
Korea made it impossible for his government to resume the
negotiations.

 Both sides reportedly reiterated their positions; Washington
had made it clear that it would not negotiate a solution to the
impasse other than a verifiable end to North Korean
counterfeiting and other illicit activities. The United States
has contended that the North has made and sold illegal drugs and
fake cigarettes among other nefarious activities.

 Officials in Seoul had hoped against hope that the meeting
would give both countries a chance to find some middle ground.
Despite its official position that the United States had not yet
provided convincing proof that North Korea was behind the
counterfeiting, Seoul had been quietly promoting a scheme in
which North Korea could stop the printing presses but deny any
official involvement. Russia's ambassador to Seoul, Gleb
Ivashentsov, also said Tuesday that Washington had not proven
its case.

 Earlier, U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow said that
Washington wanted Pyongyang to provide evidence that plates used
to print the $100 "supernotes" had been destroyed. 
Last month, Pyongyang vowed its help in combating international
financial crime and complained that it was a victim, not an
instigator, of counterfeiting.

 A Foreign Ministry official said yesterday that despite the
impasse, it was too early to pronounce the nuclear talks dead.
"Positions have been staked out, but this is part of a process
to find out what can be done to move forward," the official said.

 At the meeting in Washington, State Department officials
emphasized that the sanctions were unrelated to the six-party
nuclear talks. A U.S. Treasury statement said that Daniel
Glaser, an official dealing with terrorist and criminal
financing, told the North Koreans that further action could be
taken if necessary to protect U.S. currency and financial
institutions.
 
by Brian Lee africanu@joongang.co.kr>   
	  
Copyright by Joins.com, Inc. Terms of Use |
*****************************************************************
 28 North Korea Times: North Korea rules out return to nuclear talks

NorthKoreaTimes.com     

Wednesday 8th March, 2006  
                                
A senior North Korean diplomat says Pyongyang cannot return to
talks aimed at ending its nuclear weapons programs while U.S.
imposes sanctions on some North Korean businesses. 

U.S. officials briefed North Korea on those measures this week.
South Korea and Washington are encouraging the North to come
back to the bargaining table.
 
Senior North Korean envoy Li Gun says a U.S. briefing on
sanctions has not changed Pyongyang's mind about the nuclear
talks.
 
Speaking to reporters Tuesday night in New York, he cited U.S.
financial pressure as the reason North Korea cannot return to
multinational talks aimed at ending its nuclear weapons
capabilities.
 
Earlier, Li and other North Korean diplomats met with U.S.
Treasury officials at the United Nations in New York. 

The Americans told the diplomats that Washington took action
against some North Korean businesses last year to protect the
U.S. financial system from counterfeit dollars and money
laundering. They say the sanctions are completely separate from
the nuclear negotiations.
 
U.S. investigators say they have evidence North Korea has
engaged in counterfeiting and money laundering to finance its
impoverished authoritarian regime.
 
In Seoul, South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Ko Ki-suk
tried to put a positive spin Wednesday on the New York meeting.
Ko says the meeting gave the U.S. and North Korea a chance to
establish mutual understanding on the financial issue. The South
Korean government has avoided taking a formal position on the
U.S. allegations of counterfeiting, but has expressed concern
about the issue.
 
Many North Korea experts say Pyongyang is feeling the pinch of
the U.S. moves, which have blocked access by Pyongyang elites to
international cash. A number of banks, including some in South
Korea, have taken voluntary steps to distance themselves from
dealings with the North.
 
However, Peter Beck, northeast Asia director for the
International Crisis Group research organization, points out
that most North Korean financial dealings are done with Chinese
banks. He says that raises questions about how tough the U.S. is
ready to get on the issue.
 
"Is Washington willing to put enough pressure on Beijing to get
Beijing to crack down on all of North Korea's banking
activities?, questioned Beck. "And that could come at the risk
of the relationship between China and the U.S."
 
China, Russia, South Korea, Japan and the United States have
tried for three years to convince North Korea to trade its
nuclear weapons programs, in return for economic and political
benefits. 

The financial sanctions are Pyongyang's latest reason for
refusing to negotiate. It has also demanded that Washington give
it a civilian nuclear reactor, and apologize for comments by
senior U.S. officials about North Korean human rights abuses.

*****************************************************************
 29 AFP: North Korea says will not return to six-party talks -

 Wed Mar 8, 2:13 AM ET 
		 	 
SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea " /> North Koreawill not return to 
nuclear disarmament talks despite having met with US officials to 
discuss allegations of illegal financial activities, a Pyongyang 
diplomat has been quoted as saying. 

"We have a consistent position not to return to the talks in the
midst of the continued pressure," said Ri Gun, director general
of North Korea's foreign ministry, referring to Washington's
crackdown on Pyongyang's alledged money laundering operations.
 
He was speaking after meeting with US officials in New York on
Tuesday to discuss Washington's assertion that North Korea had
used a Macau bank as a front for money laundering, Yonhap news
agency said.
 
Yonhap quoted Ri as saying that he had presented the meeting
with ways to resolve the dispute and was awaiting Washington's
response.
 
"Today, the DPRK (North Korea) and the US had enough dialogue on
mutual interests and concerns. We got to know each other's
position and confirmed differences once again," he was quoted as
saying.
 
"We're not at the meeting to be interrogated. It was a place
where both sides explained their respective policy positions."
 
Daniel Glaser, the US Treasury's deputy assistant secretary for
terrorist financing and financial crimes, said the US side
briefed the North Koreans on the action taken against
Macau-based Banco Delta Asia (BDA) and measures to protect the
US financial system from illicit activities.
 
"BDA was designated because its facilitation of North Korean
illicit financial activity presents an unacceptable risk to the
US financial system," Glaster said.
 
"The Treasury Department
" /> Treasury Departmentwill continue to take action as
necessary to protect against threats to our financial system and
our institutions," he said.
 
Ri, who also serves as North Korea's deputy chief delegate to
six-party talks on ending the country's nuclear weapons drive,
said the future of those talks would depend on Washington's
response to Pyongyang's position.
 
Pyongyang has denied US claims that the Stalinist state was
counterfeiting dollars to finance its nuclear ambitions.
 
The United States believes BDA helped Pyongyang launder earnings
from counterfeiting US bank notes, trafficking narcotics,
smuggling contraband cigarettes and other illegal activities.
 
The US Treasury Department in September told US financial
institutions to stop dealings BDA. A month later the US
blacklisted eight North Korean companies allegedly involved in
the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
 
North Korea has insisted that Washington lift the sanctions for
any resumption of the stalled six-party talks that have been
held for the last two years among the United States, the two
Koreas, Russia, China and Japan.
 
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 30 Guardian Unlimited: Bush's new best friends
 
The American president is betting on India becoming
one of the world's great powers, writes Randeep Ramesh 		
 		
Wednesday March 8, 2006                 
 		
Of all the British imperial figures that loomed over the
south Asian landmass in the twilight of empire, none had the
prescience of Sir Olaf Caroe, the last imperial foreign
secretary in this part of the world.

Sir Olaf, who had a penchant for subcontinental Muslim culture -
particularly that of the rugged northern belt and an antipathy
to India's nascent freedom movement - spotted world trends early
in the 1940s and tried to ensure that Britain, a spent force
after World War II, did not suffer adversely.
 			 		 			 			 			Article continues 			
His foresight was to recognise that the real challenge to the 
West would come from the Soviet Union via Afghanistan, which he 
called an "uncertain vestibule".

The second was to foresee the coming age of oil. In his prescient 
phrase he evolved ideas on how to secure the "wells of power" 
that lay in the Middle East.

Sir Olaf, at different times, advocated a separate Pathan state,
toyed with a thin country carved out of pre-independence India
that stretched from the Pamirs to the Arabian Sea before
settling on West Pakistan, which corresponds to today's nation,
as the "obvious base" for Western interests.

This became British policy and combined with Nehru's non-aligned
policy and then India's creeping friendship with the Soviet
Union saw Pakistan become part of the West Asian "brick wall"
designed to counter the spread of communism.

George Bush has similarly gazed into the future to gauge how far
he should recalibrate his nation's policies towards south Asia.
But the US president is no mere imperial factotum - what George
says, goes.

So while the world remains transfixed on the bloody ruins of the
president's Middle East policies, shattering illusions that
America's military punch would settle a political fight, George
Bush and his secretary of state ,Condoleezza Rice, are seeking
to take advantage of the changing power relations in another
part of the globe.

The president's trip to south Asia must be seen the light of his
nation's subtly shifting policies. Afghanistan gets a stopover
visit from the president, stamping that country with a seal of
approval. India gets its natural ally status and a bagful of
American deals, especially its recognition as a nuclear power.

Pakistan gets a press conference and a cricket match.

The reason for such contrasting stays is Bush's vision of south
Asia is dominated, like that of Sir Olaf Caroe's, by the rise of
a potential competitor and control of the planet's future energy
resource.

This is not to say that the jehadi threat is undiminished or
that global terrorism has receded, but that it might be
contained: in Palestine, in the Sunni triangle and somewhere in
the Hindu Kush.

As the centre of gravity of the world's economy shifts to Asia,
there is recognition that India was needed as a strategic
counterweight not only to China but to provide diplomatic
options to Japan and Russia.

This period of history, at least in American eyes, is about
relations between great powers, and in the Bush vision of India
- with its dynamic economy - is about to become one of them.

This alone challenges the notion that there is an emerging US
empire in the world.

Climate change

The second plank of Bush's policy that should also surprise many
of the administration's critics is a tacit recognition of
climate change.

America is the world's chimney stack when it comes to greenhouse
gas emissions, belching out a quarter of the world's
atmosphere-altering fumes. China follows on 16%, while
relatively unindustrialised India emits 6%. Mr Bush reasons that
carbon emission rates are unsustainable - effectively buying the
argument over climate change.

Not being disposed to government intervention, the American
president has chosen to rely on new technology to fuel future
clean growth.

Washington seems convinced that burning plutonium, the vital
ingredient in any nuclear bomb, is the answer to clean energy
generation and is pushing plans for a global project to do so.
India has had 2,000 scientists working for three decades on such
technology, most notably in its fast breeder programme.

The US therefore signed a nuclear deal with India on apparently
favourable terms to Delhi. However it is dressed up, this is a
tilt towards India.

The Bush visit has also motivated sections of society inimical
to America's embrace. The left and Muslim groups have made it
clear they do not buy America's new-found love for Indian
democracy and "dazzling" social set up. Mr Bush cannot be blamed
for all the country's ills, but many in India do not see the US
as a benevolent nation.

If the protests were large in India, across the border they were
explosive. Feelings against the Bush visit were already running
high in Pakistan, casting the president almost as a threat to
Islam.

In policy terms, Islamabad has responded to America's new India
engagement by saying it too has strategic options, and hinting
that it will seek a similar nuclear deal with its long-time ally
China.

Beijing is already building a nuclear reactor in Pakistan and
has another planned. To transfer more nuclear technology would,
if Beijing followed international law, require approval of the
45-member group of nations that make up the nuclear suppliers
group.

That is very unlikely, given the antics of A Q Khan, who headed
Pakistan's nuclear programme for 25 years until being sacked in
2001 after being linked to the sale of uranium enrichment
equipment to Middle Eastern nations.

However, the logic of the India deal can be extended to Pakistan
if one accepts a parity between the two nuclear programmes,
which both have a military component.

John Bolton, the American representative to the UN, tried to
make this argument on the day of the Indo-US deal when he said
both Indian and Pakistani nuclear regimes were acquired
"legitimately".

But Mr Bolton, despite his reputation as a neo-con, is not close
to President Bush. In fact he was removed from the state
department because of his unwillingness to grasp the president's
new strategy.

That line of thinking was shut down by Ms Rice later that day
when she said Pakistan and India were in different "places".

Terrorism

Another effect of the President's trip is that Pakistan has
sought to bolster its reputation on two fronts. One is to
impress on the world Islamabad's role on the war against
terrorism and hence the bombing in Wazirstan.

This is problematic in that it reinforces the impression within
Pakistan that Mr Musharraf is fighting a war on America's behalf.
It has also reignited a public spat with Afghanistan, which has
pushed the argument that Pakistani territory is being used by
the Taliban to regroup and rearm before launching lethal
attacks. For the Pakistani military, it has uncomfortable echoes
of India's claims of cross-border terrorism in Kashmir.

The other, more promising, shift is Mr Musharraf's emphasis on
development. He has made it clear that there was much work to be
done in terms of advancing literacy and poverty alleviation and
that Pakistan's vision should not be "India-centric".

However, he did say that the military would continue to be
"India-centric for obvious reasons" - a sign to Delhi that
Pakistan would remain vigilant against Indian attempts at
hegemony in the region.

This might seem innocuous, but it would be better for Pakistan
if the army stepped back into the shadows and reduced the amount
of the country's GDP it eats up. Even better is to return the
country to civilian rule.

It is important to remember that all these developments happened
after President Bush's visit. They underline the strength of
American power in the world today.

Yesterday's bombing in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi showed
that the bombers can easily run amok in India's open society and
analysts were quick to point out that being a US partner made
the country vulnerable to attack.

With events threatening to overwhelm the British empire, Sir
Olaf reached for a spectacular foreign policy solution. Despite
the mess and incompetence of his Iraq misadventure and verbal
blasting of Iran, Mr Bush again has also opted for a set of
revolutionary policies in a part of the world that requires
delicate handling.
 	
[UP] 

      Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 31 AFP: White House defends India-US nuclear pact 

 Wed Mar 8, 4:00 PM ET 
		 	 
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House struck back at critics of a
US-India nuclear deal, denying that the agreement would fuel a
South Asia arms race or set a bad example for Israel, Iran, or 
North Korea. 

US President George W. Bush made the new accord the centerpiece 
of his recently concluded trip to India and Pakistan but faces an 
uphill battle to get it through the US Congress, where critics 
have vowed to defeat it.
 
In the agreement reached last week, Washington reversed
longstanding policy by agreeing to sell sensitive nuclear
technology to India despite India not having signed the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
 
In a sign that the domestic political fight over the agreement
has started in earnest, the White House released a statement
aimed at quieting some of the more serious charges over the deal.
 
It denied that the deal would accelerate the nuclear rivalry
between India and Pakistan, saying Washington "has no intention
of aiding" New Delhi's atomic weapons program or of concluding a
similar cooperation deal with Islamabad.
 
"We do not intend to pursue a similar civil nuclear cooperation
initiative with Pakistan," said the White House.
 
It also dismissed any notion of a double-standard that might
embolden nuclear ambitions in Tehran or Pyongyang.
 
"It is not credible to compare the rogue regimes of North Korea
and Iran to India. Unlike Iran or North Korea, India has been a
peaceful and vibrant democracy with a strong nuclear
nonproliferation record," the White House said.
 
Iran and North Korea signed and ratified the NPT, but both
"broke the very non-proliferation commitments they claimed to
follow" and both are "state sponsors of terrorism," it said.
 
The White House also denied that the agreement would unravel the
global non-proliferation regime, or lead Pakistan or Israel to
insist on a similar deal, and warned other countries not to
withdraw from the NPT.
 
"The status of Israel is not comparable to that of India. Israel
has not declared itself to be a nuclear power, nor articulated
such extraordinary energy needs," it said.
 
"We do not expect nations to withdraw from the NPT. Any move to
withdraw from the NPT would clearly signal a nation's intent to
pursue nuclear weapons and would result in the loss of access to
nuclear technology for peaceful purposes," the White House said.
 
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 32 BBC: EU calls for joint energy policy
 
Last Updated: Wednesday, 8 March 2006
 
[European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso] 
Mr Barroso wants the EU's energy market to reform quickly
			 			   		
The European Union has called on member states to work together 
to ensure steady and secure energy supplies. 

The European Commission said in a green paper on energy that the 
EU's joint bargaining power would be second only to the US and 
let it get better deals. 

EC president Jose Manuel Barroso said that "political will" was 
now needed. 

The vision of a more unified power market may stumble, however, 
as nations including France, Spain, Italy and Germany fight to 
control key providers. 

"We are in a new energy century, demand is rising, Europe's 
reserves are declining, there is underinvestment and the climate 
is changing," Mr Barroso said in Brussels. 

"We must have an approach which matches the new reality." 

National interests 

Mr Barroso said that it was vital EU leaders abandoned their 25 
"different and uncoordinated" energy policies and spoke with one 
clear voice. 

However, energy is still regarded by many member governments as 
vital to national security. 

We must respond better to sha emergency oil and gas shocks. There 
should be no taboos in this debate EC head Jose Manuel Barroso 
Q&A: EU Energy Policy

This attitude was reinforced over the winter, when a spat between 
Russia and Ukraine led to supplies being compromised in a number 
of European nations. 

At the same time, attempts to shake up the European energy market 
have encountered resistance, with France and Spain attempting to 
block takeovers of domestic power firms by foreign rivals. 

As a result, the European Commission has now recommended the 
appointment of a single energy regulator and the setting up of a 
single European power grid. 

'Interdependence' 

The EU also should look at forming an energy pact with Russia, it 
said. 

Mr Barroso said that he had been invited to Moscow by Russian 
President Vladimir Putin to discuss energy security. 

"I believe that we are in interdependence," he explained. 

[Power pylons and cables]                               

The EU wants to improve conditions for energy consumers and firms                                                               

"Of course we need the flow of energy resources from Russia, 
namely gas. I believe it is also in the interest of Russia to 
have a stable market." 

The EU imports more than 40% of the gas it uses. About half of 
that comes from Russia via pipeline through Ukraine. 

Speaking to the European Parliament in October, UK Prime Minister 
Tony Blair said Europe would soon be importing 90% of oil and gas 
and needed to "up its game considerably". 

Mr Barroso said Europe should look at all forms of energy 
production, including nuclear, in order to ensure that half of 
its supplies were from low carbon sources with 20 years. 

"We must respond better to sharp emergency oil and gas shocks," 
he said. "There should be no taboos in this debate." 

'Ambitious agenda' 

Another of the problems that have been hampering supplies and 
affecting prices is a lack of infrastructure and storage 
facilities. 

The publication of the Gre Paper is timely as we continue our own 
national energy debate
		
UK Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks        

The EC said that companies and governments need to spend about 1 
trillion euros (£685bn; $1.2 trillion) on updating and expanding 
its infrastructure. 

One of the countries that has complained loudest about the 
problems with pipelines and an unliberalised energy market has 
been the UK. 

Consumers have had to endure a steep rise in gas and electricity 
prices, while companies complain that they are still shouldering 
most of the burden. 

The UK is currently reviewing its national energy policy and 
Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks called the European plans "an 
ambitious agenda for action". 

"The publication of the Green Paper is timely as we continue our 
own national energy debate," he said. 

The Commission's recommendations were part of its green paper on 
a Secure, Competitive and Sustainable Energy Policy for Europe. 

However despite the positive sounds about the energy plan, one 
analyst said the report did not look at the practicalities. 

Jayesh Parmar, gas partner and head of security of supply at 
Ernst &Young, said: "The European Commission green paper on 
energy has highlighted the core themes for creating a more 
diverse European energy market. 

"But the report fails to address the practical realities around, 
for example, policy diversification, gas storage and changes to 
the infrastructure to support a liberalised, rather than single, 
market."                                                         



*****************************************************************
 33 Arizona Republic: Palo Verde to shut reactor at start of summer 

[azcentral.com]

Ken Alltucker 

Mar. 7, 2006 07:34 PM
 						 
Arizona Public Service Co. said Tuesday that it will shut down
one of three reactors at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station
at the beginning of summer to fix a vibrating pipe that has
sapped the plant's electricity output since December. 

APS studied or attempted three temporary fixes at Unit 1 before
deciding that the best approach is to shut down the reactor for
five weeks beginning in June to relocate a key valve on the
emergency shutdown line. 

The fact that APS plans the repair at the beginning of summer,
when electricity use dramatically increases, worries state
regulators. They fear consumers will be stuck with the bill. 

APS estimates it will cost $60 million to buy fuel and power to
replace the lost electricity. That estimate includes the total
cost from late December through the completion of the repair
job. 

"It will be costly," said Arizona Corporation Commission
Chairman Jeff Hatch-Miller. "It's better than July and August,
but it's still at a time when I'd rather have Palo Verde."

 The other two reactors at the nation's largest power plant,
located in Wintersburg about 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix,
are expected to run full tilt. 

Representatives of APS and Salt River Project, which together
receive nearly half of Palo Verde's electricity output, expect
there will be plenty of power this summer despite Unit 1's
repairs.

 APS expects to shut down Unit 1 twice to complete the job.
Crews plan to take the reactor out of service for one week
beginning March 18 to install devices that will gather data
about the acoustical impact, which is causing the pipe to
vibrate. 

The data are needed to confirm that the planned repairs will
indeed work, said Jim Levine, APS executive vice president
overseeing Palo Verde. The readings also could give crews a
better idea of what's causing the vibration. 

Levine said the labor-intensive June repairs will require crews
to drain water from the reactor's cooling lines and relocate a
valve. 

After the repair job is complete, Levine said his crews will
study the possibility of completing similar repairs to the other
two reactors during routine maintenance work. 

"That is something we will look at in the other two reactors,"
Levine said. 

APS has struggled to find a fix for Unit 1's pipe vibrations
since late December when the reactor restarted after a planned
refueling and repair job. During that refueling, APS installed
twin steam generators that revved up the unit's power potential.
But the emergency shutdown line rattled more than it did before
the refueling. 

The unit operated at 32 percent of capacity until mid-January,
when crews shut down the reactor and attempted to weigh down the
pipe. That attempt proved unsuccessful, and the reactor has
operated at 25 percent of its output since then. 

APS decided against attempting other fixes, including installing
shock absorbers, a dampener or clamps and springs to offset the
vibrations.

 The bottom line for customers likely will be an attempt to
raise electricity bills.

 Although the plant operated with a stellar record over much of
the past decade, reactors have been shut down 18 times since
February 2004 because of worn equipment, design, maintenance and
other problems. APS wants the Arizona Corporation Commission to
allow it to increase electricity bills to recover $44.6 million
related to Palo Verde outages last year.

 In a filing late Tuesday with the federal Securities and
Exchange Commission, APS signaled it expects to seek approval to
recover costs related to Unit 1's outages. 

Under the state's rate-setting guidelines, APS is allowed to
recover 90 percent of prudently incurred fuel and replacement
power costs. For Unit 1's current problems, APS estimates it
will seek to recover $50 million from ratepayers.

 The Corporation Commission has hired a consultant to review all
Palo Verde-related outages. 

"This is clearly going to be costly, and we're going to have a
lot of questions about who will bear these costs," said Arizona
Corporation Commissioner Kris Mayes. 

Reach the reporter at ken.alltucker@arizonarepublic.comor (602)
444-8285.

How much it will cost

Palo Verde Unit 1 has operated at reduced power since late
December because of a vibrating pipe. APS estimates the
reactor's problem will cost it $60 million in replacement fuel
and purchased power. Here is the breakdown:

 
• December 2005-February 2006, $20 million.

 
• March 2006-June 2006, $25 million.*

 
• June shutdown and repairs, $15 million.*

 *Estimates based on current fuel prices and a planned five-week
shutdown in June. 

Source: APS

Copyright © 2006, azcentral.com. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 34 Rediff: The future is thorium - Kalam

Subhashis Mittra on board President's Special Aircraft |        

March 08, 2006 17:57 IST

Noting that India has a large quantity of thorium, President A P
J Abdul Kalam Wednesday said that in the next five to seven
years the country will have abundant nuclear fuel "and the route
is thorium". 

India will have to tap solar power, bio-fuel and nuclear fuel to
meet its requirement of 20,000 mw of energy by 2030, Kalam told
reporters on board Air India One Tanjore en route Yangon, during
the first leg of his two-nation five-day visit to Myanmar and
Mauritius. 
  + Indo-US nuke deal

The country was generating 7,000 mw of energy currently and has
to add 1,000-1500 mw every year, he said. 

Pointing out that the uranium reserve was limited, he said
thorium, which was available in large amount, would have to be
used for energy purpose. 

"Our scientists are working very hard (on how to extract energy
from thorium)," he said adding, thorium was not fissile
material. 

Kalam expressed confidence that in the next five to seven years,
India would have abundant nuclear fuel. 

Observing that energy is the "lifeline" of modern societies,
Kalam in his Independence Day eve address 2005 had said ensuring
"energy independence" should be the country's "first and highest
priority" and the nation must be determined to achieve this
within the next 25 years. 

  © Copyright 2006 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or
  
 Copyright © 2006 Rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 35 Brattleboro Reformer: Entergy clears up reasons for calling halt to 'uprate'

March 08, 2006 Brattleboro, VT                                                                                 
 			 								 					
By BOB AUDETTE Reformer Staff

BRATTLEBORO -- Vibrations were discovered along a steam line at
Vermont Yankee in the days since plant engineers boosted power
output there, but company officials insisted Tuesday those
vibrations weren't the reason why the so-called "uprate" was
halted this week.

 For 96 hours, plant engineers and federal regulators are
evaluating data received from the first step in the Vernon
reactor's 20 percent increase in power. While they do that, the
plant will run at 105 percent of its old capacity, which is 87
percent of its new allowable capacity -- and the uprate will
effectively be put on hold.

 Entergy Nuclear, owners of the plant, said plant officials made
the call to suspend power increase, and that it was not an order
by federal regulators.

 State and federal regulators approved the controversial power
uprate last week. On Saturday, engineers began increasing power. 

Jay Thayer, site vice president for Vermont Yankee, said that
the 96-hour hold is part of the process to achieving the new
power uprate, and was not a result of the vibration.

 "The hold is not [U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission]-imposed,"
said Thayer. "We're doing that. After 96 hours, if there are no
problems, there's nothing prohibiting us from going to the next
level."

 However, as part of the uprate approval, the NRC did impose a
number of conditions on Entergy, including one that required
engineers to stop at various points to check data.

 Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the NRC, said the data received so
far, despite the vibration in the steam line, indicated the
plant is running fine.

 Thayer said there has been some concern that the vibration, a
result of acoustics caused by steam passing through a valve, can
cause physical damage to the plant's steam dryer, which extracts
moisture from the steam before it is forwarded to the turbine.

 In reactors of similar design, plates in the steam dryer have
been damaged by the stresses of the system.

 The Quad Cities Generating Station in Illinois, which is a
boiling water reactor like Vermont Yankee, was granted a 17.5
percent uprate by the NRC in 2002. Since then, the steam dryer
has failed twice because of cracking. In one instance, a piece
of the dryer broke off and damaged other components of the
reactor. The plant has been shut down a number of times to try
to fix the problem.

 "If (the sound) gets high enough, it could transfer into a
mechanical force on the plate," said Thayer, about Vermont
Yankee. "It goes into resonance and at some point will fail."

 "They need to evaluate that data and determine what it means to
ensure it's okay to move on to the next plateau," said Sheehan.
"We are doing our own independent evaluation of the data as
well. This is a process that needs to play out."

 "Before the next increase, we will understand everything about
the dryer and the overall performance of the plant," said Thayer.

 Sheehan said the NRC's concern about problems in similar power
plants prompted them to design the uprate process in phases, so
data can be evaluated at each designated uprate.

 "The issues with the steam dryers have been a great concern to
us, which was one of the reasons it took so long to approve the
uprate," said Sheehan. "Other plants that have gone to extended
power uprates have gotten these signs, but as they raise the
power, they go away."

 Thayer said the data from the first phase of the uprate was not
unexpected.

 "This is exactly what we were looking for," he said. "It did
not take us by surprise. Our experts say that noise at that
frequency won't affect the dryer. We have no concerns about the
structural integrity of the dryers. We think our dryers will
operate fine at 120 percent."

 Thayer said modifications had been made to the steam dryer to
reinforce its structural integrity. Thayer said the work was
based on work done on reactors with similar steam dryers. Thayer
also said that the steam is passing through pipes that are over
30 years old, but he had no concerns about their structural
integrity.

 "But you have to pay attention to it," said Thayer.

 Thayer said since the uprate to 105 percent, Vermont Yankee has
increased its power output by 26 megawatts, from 515 to 541, by
increasing the flow of water through the reactor with the
recirculation pumps. Thayer said that increase in production is
enough energy to power 26,000 homes.

 Thayer said actual steam pressure remains the same in the
plant, but the flow and amount of steam passing through the
turbine has increased, thus increasing the power production of
the plant. Thayer said the steam was moving up to 20 percent
faster than at the old rating.

 Thayer said 55 percent of the power produced by Vermont Yankee
is provided to Vermont utilities. He said the other 45 percent
is distributed around New England.

 Thayer said the plant would be running at 105 percent for at
least the next four days to analyze data from sensors placed
throughout the reactor vessel. He said the next three uprate
phases could take the plant at least 20 days to reach its new
maximum capacity of 120 percent.

Copyright ©1999-2005 New England Newspapers, Inc., 
a member of MediaNews Group, Inc. 
                              - - 
*****************************************************************
 36 Brattleboro Reformer: Six towns ask: 1, 2, what do we do?

March 08, 2006 Brattleboro, VT                                                                                 
 			 								 					
By KRISTI CECCAROSSI 
Reformer Staff

BRATTLEBORO -- Evacuation plans for an emergency at Vermont
Yankee need a lot of work, so said voters in six towns, Tuesday.
 And to that end, voters almost unanimously endorsed a
nonbinding referendum that asks for more funding for the
emergency plan and requires full-scale drills to test it.
 The referendum passed in Dummerston, Halifax, Marlboro,
Brattleboro and Guilford. In those towns, the measure was on the
town meeting agenda. Voters in Putney also approved a similar
resolution that was proposed from the floor. In Brattleboro,
where the measure was voted on by Australian ballot, 84 percent
of voters approved it, 16 percent rejected it.
 Ed Anthes, of Nuclear Free Vermont, a grassroots group behind
the referendum, counted the results as a big victory and a
powerful statement of residents' worries about a possible
disaster at the Vernon reactor.
 "This is what we do in Vermont. You come to town meeting. You
come if you want to vote on something," he said. 

 Nuclear Free Vermont will take Tuesday's results to the
Legislature, Gov. Jim Douglas and Vermont Emergency Management
officials. The hope is that lawmakers will pressure Entergy
Nuclear, owners of Vermont Yankee, to provide the additional
funds necessary to beef up evacuation plans. Lawmakers, through
Vermont Emergency Management's budget, control how much money is
spent on emergency planning.
 The referendum calls on lawmakers to "address significant gaps
in the current plan by requiring multiple, overlapping methods
of alerting and protecting people."
 Right now, the referendum explains, the Federal Emergency
Management Agency requires assistance for 20 percent of the
population. Evacuation planning, emergency shelters, radiation
monitoring and decontamination should be provided for everyone,
it states.
 The ballot question, like most issues involving Vermont Yankee,
prompted heated discussion.
 In Guilford, Herb Meyer, the town's emergency management
coordinator, didn't criticize the evacuation plan, but said
there are serious holes in the resources available to execute it.
 "Many items addressed in the [referendum] are in the works but
not completed. Sirens have been ordered for Guilford, but they
have not arrived," he said. "We know that if there was a problem
we would not be prepared to adequately deal with it. We should
do whatever we can do to send a strong message that we need more
support for emergency planning."
 Al Franklin, a retired dairy farmer in Guilford also had some
strong comments.
 "We need to tell Vermont Yankee and the state that we know what
we're doing -- you don't know what the hell you're doing and
we're not going to have a drill until you send us equipment," he
said.
 In Dummerston, road foreman and Selectboard candidate Wayne
Emery weighed in, saying "We're not going to get everyone out at
once. You do the best you can do. Use your radios, use your
telephones. And you have to live with knowing you did the best
you could. And the funding for emergency plans should definitely
come from Vermont Yankee -- it's because of them that we have to
have it."
 The referendum also demands improvements on the notification
system, in case of an emergency. "All towns in the emergency
planning zone should have sirens and automatic phone warning
systems. Dedicated nuclear-only alert radios should be mailed to
all families, businesses schools and care facilities."
 This isn't the first time Nuclear Free Vermont brought a
nonbinding question to Town Meeting Day. In 2002 and 2003, about
15 towns voted on whether Vermont Yankee should close in 2012.
In 2004, Brattleboro voted on a similar question by Australian
ballot; 73 percent of voters said officials should start
preparing for shut down.
 Reflecting on previous measures, Anthes said "more and more
people have voted with us."
 "Over the last five years, people have learned more and more
about what goes on at Vermont Yankee, and more about Entergy
Nuclear. And what they've learned, they don't like," Anthes
said. 
The only significant opposition to the question this year seemed
to come up in Halifax, where resident Don Perna called the
referendum a "really ridiculous thing."
 "This is going to cost you and I," he said. "[Entergy] will
charge us more because they'll have to pay more. I really think
this is put on by the anti-nuke people who trying to drive
nuclear out of this country, which we really need."
 Pat Cavanaugh, of Halifax, who is a member of Nuclear Free
Vermont, explained that Entergy could not charge more as a
result of this referendum. The rate it charges Vermont utilities
is locked in until 2012, when Vermont Yankee's operating license
is set to expire.
 When the question was called in Halifax, there was a resounding
"yes" in favor and a low, murmured "no" against.
 
Reformer correspondents Joyce Marcel and Richard Davis
contributed to this report. 		   	 	
 		   			 		   	 	
Copyright ©1999-2005 New England Newspapers, Inc., 
*****************************************************************
 37 Brattleboro Reformer: VY license extension may cut Vernon's taxes

March 08, 2006 Brattleboro, VT                                                                                 

By BOB AUDETTE Reformer Staff

VERNON -- If Entergy is granted a 20-year licensing extension
for its nuclear power plant, Vernon residents might feel their
tax burden lighten.

 A license extension to 2032 would mean the value of the power
plant would increase, nullifying a tax stabilization contract
signed in 2000 between the operators of Vermont Yankee and the
town.

 An increase in the value of the plant would also mean Entergy
would have to pay more in taxes to Vernon, leading to a
reduction in taxes to other property owners in town.

 Selectboard member Jim Polhemus said the town will know more
when a townwide property reappraisal, approved by the town on
Monday night, is finished in 12 to 14 months.

 Polhemus said the reappraisal will mean many taxpayers will see
an increase in the value of their homes, but he thinks the
Vermont Yankee reassessment will "sufficiently offset increases
in value." 

"The (Vermont Yankee) number will go up," said Polhemus. "We
just don't know by how much. If folks can hang in there another
year, their rates will go down."

 "Entergy has proposed some changes including power uprates and
a possible life extension and dry cask storage," said Peggy
Farabaugh, who Tuesday night finished up a three-year term on
the Selectboard. "All of those things will affect the tax rate
that they pay."

 Larry Smith, Vermont Yankee's director of communications, said
Entergy was happy with its relationship with Vernon and has been
meeting since December with the town to discuss the tax
stabilization contract.

 "We understand the town is concerned about their tax situation
and we will be discussing that specific issue with them," said
Smith. "I am sure we will be able to reach a mutually acceptable
arrangement."

 The tax stabilization contract was drawn up to recognize a
reduction in the value of the plant over time due to
depreciation, or a loss in value due to the age of equipment and
wear and tear from regular use.

 The contract sets a depreciation schedule for the years 2000
through 2010, with the value of the plant dropping dramatically
from $320 million in 2000 to $120 million in 2010. According to
the contract, the assessment for the power plant for this coming
fiscal year is $165 million. In 2007-08, the assessment, if not
for the uprate, would have dropped to $150 million.

 "We are not happy with the depreciation schedule," said
Farabaugh. "It needs to be analyzed and changed accordingly."

 A clause in the contract provides for the termination of the
contract for several reasons, including if the plant's license
to operate is extended past 2012 or if output is reduced, but
there is nothing in the contract about termination due to a
power increase at the plant.

 Still, Polhemus said he has no doubt a new agreement is
warranted.

 "Because of the uprate, the contract is null and void," agreed
state Rep. Patty O'Donnell. The Republican lawmaker is a member
of the town's Budget Committee. "The contract is very specific
that changes equal termination."

 "It's open to interpretation whether the contract is null, but
we all agree it's up for renegotiation," said Farabaugh. "It's
the Selectboard's job to make sure they are fairly assessed. Its
job is to look out for the taxpayers and make sure everyone in
town is paying their fair share."
 		   	 	
Copyright ©1999-2005 New England Newspapers, Inc., 
*****************************************************************
 38 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Nuclear Plant to Shut Down Reactor
 
From the Associated Press        
	 
[UP] 

Wednesday March 8, 2006 10:16 AM
 	
PHOENIX (AP) - Operators of the nation's largest nuclear power
plant plan to shut down one of the three reactors at the Palo
Verde Nuclear Generating Station this summer to fix a vibrating
pipe that has hampered electricity output since December. 
Arizona Public Service Co., which owns 29.5 percent of the plant
and operates it for a consortium of utility companies in four
states, plans the repair beginning in June. 

APS studied or attempted three temporary fixes at Unit 1 before
deciding that the best approach is to shut down the reactor for
five weeks to relocate a key valve on the emergency shutdown
line. 

Company officials estimate it will cost $60 million to buy fuel
and power to replace the lost electricity. That estimate
includes the total cost from late December through the
completion of the repair job. 

The other two reactors at the power plant, located in
Wintersburg about 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix, are
expected to run full tilt. 

Palo Verde supplies electricity to about 4 million customers in
Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California.	 
		 	 	   

      Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 39 San Luis Obispo Tribune: Diablo Canyon's steam generator plan moves forward

03/08/2006 | 

  + Report on project, Part 1 (16 mb PDF)
  + Report on project, Part 2 (12 mb PDF)
  + Report on project, Part 3 (16 mb PDF)
  + Report on project, Part 4 (14 mb PDF)
 
Supervisors OK replacement of eight deteriorating steam
generator at nuclear power plant; issue now goes to Coastal
Commission

 David Sneed dsneed@thetribunenews.com

County supervisors Tuesday approved the replacement of eight
steam generators at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, setting
the stage for a hearing before the state Coastal Commission. 

The Board of Supervisors approved plans by Pacific Gas and
Electric Co. to build one permanent and several temporary
structures that will allow the utility to replace the
generators. 

The board voted 4-1, with Supervisor Jim Patterson dissenting
because he found the environmental study lacking information
about extending the plant’s operational life. 

PG must replace the steam generators to operate the plant
through at least the end of its original operating license. 

The generators are deteriorating and will become inoperable in
2014, a decade before the license expires. 

When the project went before the county Planning Commission in
January, it generated 11 hours of debate and resulted in the
panel voting the project down to send it to the supervisors. 

Donna Jacobs, the plant’s director of nuclear services, said the
project could go ahead without building permits but would be
much tougher to accomplish. 

Without the permits, the utility would use existing structures
in place of the temporary ones and would consult with the state
Public Utilities Commission on how to dispose of the old steam
generators. 

One option would be to cut up the generators and ship them
elsewhere for disposal. 

The fact that the project will allow PG to apply to renew the
plant’s operating licenses for an additional 20 years has caused
the most controversy. 

Environmentalists and Patterson wanted the project’s
environmental impact report expanded to examine the effects of
prolonging the plant’s operating life. 

"I think the final (report) is deficient in that regard,"
Patterson said. 

Steam generators are large bundles of tubes that transfer heat
from the nuclear reactors to the electrical generators. 

The replaced generators are considered low-level radioactive
waste and will be stored in a permanent building behind the
plant. 

As part of the project, PG will fund $1.5 million in improved
coastal access in Avila Beach, mostly with enhanced disabled
access to the Point San Luis Lighthouse. 

PG will also improve emergency preparedness in Avila Beach,
including better traffic control and communications equipment
for firefighters. 

The supervisors’ hearing included comments from 45 San Luis
Obispo County residents. 

Most of the comments were from people supporting PG and the
replacement project. Typically, such hearings draw more
opponents of the plant. 

Supporters of the project included Diablo Canyon employees,
labor union representatives and chambers of commerce officials,
who stressed the safety of the plant and the economic
contribution it makes to the county. 

Environmentalists urged supervisors to delay issuing the permits
until the environmental consequences of the project can be
addressed. 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
--David Sneed covers environmental issues for The Tribune. He
can be reached at 781-7930.
*****************************************************************
 40 NRC: Vermont Yankee order against NEC


CLI-06-08 - Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy
Nuclear Operations, Inc. - Docket Number - 50-271-OLA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
 
DOCKETED 03/03/06
 
SERVED 03/03/06
 
COMMISSIONERS:
 
Nils J. Diaz, Chairman
 Edward McGaffigan, Jr.
 Jeffrey S. Merrifield
 Gregory P. Jaczko
 Peter B. Lyons
 

In the Matter of 

ENTERGY NUCLEAR VERMONT YANKEE LLC
 and
 ENTERGY NUCLEAR OPERATIONS, INC
 
(Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station)
 )
 )
 )     Docket No.     50-271-OLA   


-----------------------------------------------------------------

CLI-06-08
 
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
 
By this order, we deny a request by the New England Coalition
("NEC")  submitted in the form of a letter  that we prevent or
stay issuance of an operating license amendment to Entergy
Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC, and Entergy Nuclear Operations,
Inc. (together, "Entergy"). NEC believes the license amendment
should not be allowed to take effect until after completion of a
pending adjudication before our Atomic Safety and Licensing
Board. The amendment has in fact now issued (on March 2, 2006).
It allows an increase in the maximum power at Entergy's Vermont
Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Windham County, Vermont. NEC is
an intervenor in the power uprate adjudication. The Licensing
Board has not yet held a hearing on NEC's contentions.
 
NEC's request asks the Commission itself to "abstain" from
issuing the license amendment until the Licensing Board finishes
its adjudication. But it is the NRC Staff, not the Commission,
that considers applications for license amendments. Indeed, our
regulations expressly instruct the Staff not to let pending
hearings delay licensing decisions: the Staff is "to issue its
approval or denial of the application promptly" once it
completes its own review of the application, notwithstanding the
"pendency of any hearing."1 And the Staff action on a licensing
application is "effective upon issuance," except (in the case of
power reactor license amendments) where there are "significant
hazards considerations."2 Here, following publishing of its
proposed findings for public comment, the Staff made a "no
significant hazards consideration" finding, and issued the power
uprate amendment, on March 2, 2006, just two days after we
received NEC's letter asking "the Commission" to abstain from
issuing the license.
 
The NEC's argument is extremely general and it does not invoke
any NRC regulation or case precedent. NEC says only that it will
be denied "effective redress and due process" if the license
amendment is granted now, because first there should be a full
hearing on its contention that Vermont Yankee may not withstand
natural phenomena, such as earthquakes, when operating under
increased power.
 
Even if we were to give NEC's request a generous construction
and treat it as a request for invocation of our discretionary
supervisory authority over the NRC Staff to stay the Staff's
issuance of the power uprate amendment, it would still be
deficient.3 To obtain a stay, a party must meet four familiar
standards: likelihood of success on the merits; irreparable
harm; absence of harm to others; and the public interest.4
Irreparable harm is the most important of the four standards 
the sine qua non of obtaining a stay.5 A party seeking a stay
must show it faces imminent, irreparable harm that is both
"certain and great."6 NEC's unproved speculation does not equate
to irreparable harm. "Merely raising the specter of a nuclear
accident" does not demonstrate irreparable harm.7 And, contrary
to NEC's view, an NRC Staff decision to grant Vermont Yankee's
power uprate license amendment does not leave NEC without
"effective redress." If the Board determines after full
adjudication that the license amendment should not have been
granted, it may be revoked (or conditioned).
 NEC appears to believe that granting the license amendment
prior to a Board decision bypasses NEC's right to a hearing. But
the Atomic Energy Act expressly authorizes the NRC to grant
license amendments, and to make them immediately effective "in
advance of the holding and completion of any required hearing,"
so long as the NRC determines that the amendment involves "no
significant hazards consideration:" 
+ 
The Commission may issue and make immediately effective any
amendment to an operation license ... upon a determination by
the Commission that such amendment involves no significant
hazards consideration, notwithstanding the pendency before the
Commission of a request for a hearing from any person. Such
amendment may be issued and made immediately effective in
advance of the holding and completion of any required hearing.8
 
The other factors governing the grant or denial of stays also do
not favor NEC's request. A party seeking a stay must show that
it is likely to prevail on the merits of the dispute. NEC has
not even addressed the substance of its merits claims in the
adjudication, let alone shown it is likely to prevail. The final
two factors are whether the relief would harm the other parties
and where the public interest lies. NEC does not address these
factors either. On the face of things, though, it would appear
that delaying the license amendment, as NEC requests, would harm
Entergy without any obvious benefit to the public interest.
 
NEC's request is denied.9
 
IT IS SO ORDERED.
 
        
For the Commission10
 
/RA/
 
________________________
 Annette L. Vietti-Cook
 Secretary of the Commission   


Dated at Rockville, MD
 This 3rd day of March, 2006 

Concurring opinion by Commissioner Gregory B. Jaczko:
 
My approval of today's decision should not be construed as
agreement with the determination that this license amendment
should be immediately effective. My concerns regarding this
license amendment being immediately effective are being
addressed in another forum.
 

1 See 10 C.F.R. § 2.1202(a).
 
2 Id.
 
3 See Carolina Power & Light Co. (Shearon Harris Nuclear Power
Plant), CLI-01-7, 53 NRC 113, 118 (2001).
 
4 See 10 C.F.R. § 2.342(e) (standards for considering whether to
stay presiding officer decisions). While technically not
applicable to a request for a stay of NRC Staff action, the
section 2.342(e) standards simply restate commonplace principles
of equity universally followed when judicial (or quasi-judicial)
bodies consider stays or other forms of temporary injunctive
relief. See Public Service Co. of New Hampshire (Seabrook
Station, Units 1 and 2), CLI-90-3, 31 NRC 219, 257 (1990).
 
5 See USA Recycling, Inc. v. Town of Babylon, 66 F.3d 1272, 1295
(2d Cir. 1995). Accord U.S. Department of Energy (High-Level
Waste Repository), CLI-05-27, 62 NRC 715, 718 (2005).
 
6 See, e.g., Cuomo v. NRC, 772 F.2d 972, 976 (D.C. Cir. 1985),
quoting Wisconsin Gas Co. v. FERC, 758 F.2d 669, 674 (D.C.Cir.
1985).
 
7 Massachusetts Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities v. Civil
Defense Agency, 649 F.2d 71, 75 (1st Cir. 1981). Accord Public
Service Co. of New Hampshire (Seabrook Station, Units 1 and 2),
CLI-90-3, 31 NRC 219, 259 (1990); Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
(Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1 and 2), CLI-84-5,19
NRC 953, 964 (1984).
 
8 See Atomic Energy Act, §189a(2)(A), 42 U.S.C. § 2239a(2)(A).
See also 10 C.F.R. § 2.1202(a); 10 C.F.R. § 50.58(b)(6); 10
C.F.R. § 50.92.
 
9 Nothing in today's decision should be understood as expressing
our views on the validity of the amendment at issue here, as we
may have to review it in our adjudicatory capacity after
completion of Licensing Board proceedings.
 
10 Chairman Diaz was not present when this item was affirmed.
Accordingly the formal vote of the Commission was 4-0 in favor
of the decision. Chairman Diaz, however, had previously voted to
approve this Order and had he been present he would have
affirmed his prior vote.
   

 	Last revised Monday, March 06, 2006 	
*****************************************************************
 41 BBC: Nuclear challenge for Labour MSPs
 
Last Updated: Wednesday, 8 March 2006
 
[Hunterston B power station]                            

Labour MSPs are being urged to back the renewal of nuclear 
stations                                                             

Labour MSPs are being challenged to back a motion on nuclear 
power similar to the position endorsed by Labour members at their 
party conference. 

Labour's coalition deal with the Liberal Democrats states no 
nuclear stations will be built before the issue of waste is dealt 
with. 

But Labour members recently backed the replacement of nuclear 
power stations as part of a balanced energy policy. 

Now Conservatives have lodged a similar motion at the Scottish 
Parliament. 

Conservative energy spokesman Alex Johnstone said: "I was 
delighted to see the Labour Party conference in Aviemore sharing 
our position on nuclear power by accepting that a balanced 
approach to energy policy is required. 

"I have, therefore, returned the compliment by tabling the same 
motion for Thursday's debate, trusting that Labour will not seek 
to amend our motion in any way and therefore support us in the 
chamber." 

Our position on nuclear ener has not changed and that is that we 
will not support the building of new nuclear power stations until 
the issue of waste has been resolved Scottish Executive 
spokeswoman          

However, it is thought unlikely that the Conservative motion will 
be passed without any amendments. 

Elaine Murray, the Labour MSP for the Dumfries constituency where 
Chapelcross nuclear power station is being decommissioned and a 
supporter of continuing atomic energy generation, said the motion 
was "flawed". 

The motion urges the Scottish Executive to "support the adoption 
of a balanced energy policy" including new and replacement 
nuclear builds. 

But Ms Murray pointed out that the devolved administration was 
only responsible for planning issues surrounding any proposed 
nuclear station. 

Ms Murray added: "I'm not sure about the Tories, but I'm also in 
favour of ambitious renewable energy targets and efforts to 
promote greater energy efficiency. 

"At the moment I think there's also a requirement for nuclear, I 
think it will have a role to play over the next half-century 
because we need to keep the wheels of industry turning until 
these renewable technologies have the capacity to meet demand." 

An executive spokeswoman said: "Our position on nuclear energy 
has not changed and that is that we will not support the building 
of new nuclear power stations until the issue of waste has been 
resolved."                                                      



*****************************************************************
 42 Greenpeace: Cleaner, cheaper, more secure - 

Choose Clean Energy - News
 		
a new report reveals the real answer to Britain's energy needs                                                   
 				     			 						
Photograph: A small combined heat and power plant provides heat,
electricity and cooling to three large office buildings, a
school and a small residential area in Amsterdam 
As the government's Energy Review veers ever closer to the
conclusion that nuclear power is the only answer to climate
change, a new report by non-profit research agency the World
Alliance for Decentralised Energy (WADE) demolishes this myth. 

The report, Decentralising UK Energy, studies several possible
future UK energy scenarios based on the key criteria of cutting
carbon emissions; security of supply; and cost (both of
production and to domestic customers). 

In particular the report compares models of two possible future
scenarios: centralised generation using nuclear power, and a
decentralised system, in which energy is predominantly produced
close to its point of use using renewables and combined heat and
power. 

Its finding suggests that the decentralised system would provide
the UK with enormous benefits over the nuclear option. Any
centralised model is, by definition, vulnerable to massive
system failure in the face of an attack or natural catastrophe.
It's also extremely inefficient; over 60% of the energy going
into a power station (whether fuelled by oil, gas, coal or
nuclear) is wasted as heat, while another 3.5% is lost as the
electricity travels round the national grid. So all in all, over
two-thirds of all energy going into a power station is wasted. 

Overall, WADE reports that the decentralised solution is far
superior, being: 

  + 	cleaner - CO2 emissions are 17% lower than in the nuclear
scenario. 
  + 	cheaper - overall capital costs are over £1 billion lower
than in the nuclear scenario and the retail costs of electricity
to the end user are lower too. The model doesn't include the
cost of managing nuclear waste, so in reality the cost advantage
will be much greater than the £1bn. Recent estimates of the
existing nuclear waste cost are as high as £70 billion. 
  + 	more secure - UK gas consumption is 14% lower than in the
nuclear scenario. 
So what would a decentralised energy system look like? 

Imagine a system in which electricity is produced near where it
is going to be used. Individual buildings - residential,
commercial and industrial - stop just being consumers of energy
and start generating it. Whether through solar panels, wind
turbines or combined heat and power units, buildings start
generating electricity for use by the local community. 

Any heat produced as a by-product of electricity generation is
channelled through underground networks to heat the community;
virtually no energy is lost as waste heat, or in transmission.
Regions become self-sufficient. Being small and diverse, the
electricity supply is far less vulnerable to massive failure or
attack. Householders, local councils and local communities are
empowered to act to stop climate change, completely transforming
the way society thinks about energy production and use. Read An
Energy Revolution to find out more. 

Sound unrealistic? In the Netherlands, 40% of electricity is
created using decentralised systems. In Finland, over 90% of
Helsinki is heated by community heat networks. And here in the
UK more than 1,000 hospitals, leisure centres and homes already
use decentralised energy and utilities systems. Woking Borough
Council has reduced emissions from its own buildings by an
astonishing 77% through use of renewable technologies and its
own local grid system. 

What's it all going to cost? 

In the long run, it will cost us less than our current wasteful
systems - and less than investing in a new generation of nuclear
reactors, as Blair wants to do. As decentralised energy models
are adopted and the market for renewable technologies is boosted
across the country and throughout Europe, costs will continue to
decrease. In Decentralising UK Energy, a decentralised scenario
is shown to be £1 bn cheaper than a nuclear scenario, even
before the ever escalating costs of nuclear waste disposal are
taken into account. 

The WADE report has presented the smart, cost-effective solution
to our future energy needs, and one that is attracting
considerable interest and support across the British political
spectrum, with the Tories, Liberal Democrats and London's Labour
Mayor Ken Livingston supporting a decentralised approach. Only
the government remains welded to a 1950s view of the future
using massive, wasteful power stations instead of devolving
power generation to where it's actually needed. 


Take action! 
Write to your MP to say no to nuclear and yes to efficiency and
renewables now!

The UK government is reviewing the future direction of the UK's
energy policy, and Blair wants a whole new generation of nuclear
power stations. A public consultation has begun, and now is your
chance to have your voice heard. Write to your MP to say no to
nuclear and yes to efficiency and renewables!

    									 								
*****************************************************************
 43 NRC: Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear 
 
                         FR Doc E6-3291 
[Federal Register: March 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 45)] 
[Notices] [Page 11682-11683] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08mr06-121]                         
 
Operations, Inc.; Notice of Issuance of Amendment to Facility 
Operating License and Final Determination of No Significant 
Hazards Consideration The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(Commission) has issued Amendment No. 229 to Facility Operating 
License No. DPR-28, issued to Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC 
and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. (the licensee), which 
revised the Technical Specifications (TSs) and License for 
operation of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS) 
located in Windham County, Vermont. The amendment was effective 
as of the date of its issuance.
 
The amendment increases the maximum authorized power level for 
VYNPS from 1593 megawatts thermal (MWt) to 1912 MWt, which is an 
increase of approximately 20 percent. The increase in power level 
is considered an extended power uprate.
 
The application for the amendment complies with the standards and 
requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the 
Act), and the Commission's rules and regulations. The Commission 
has made appropriate findings as required by the Act and the 
Commission's rules and regulations in 10 CFR Chapter I, which are 
set forth in the license amendment.
 
The Commission published a ``Notice of Consideration of Issuance 
of Amendment to Facility Operating License and Opportunity for a 
Hearing'' related to this action in the Federal Register on July 
1, 2004 (69 FR 39976). This Notice provided 60 days for the 
public to request a hearing. On August 30, 2004, the Vermont 
Department of Public Service and the New England Coalition filed 
requests for hearing in connection with the proposed amendment. 
By Order dated November 22, 2004, the Atomic Safety and Licensing 
Board (ASLB) granted those hearing requests and by Order dated 
December 16, 2004, the ASLB issued its decision to conduct a 
hearing using the procedures in 10 CFR part 2, subpart L,
 
[[Page 11683]] ``Informal Hearing Procedures for NRC 
Adjudications.'' The Commission published a ``Notice of 
Consideration of Issuance of Amendment to Facility Operating 
License and Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration 
Determination'' related to this action in the Federal Register on 
January 11, 2006 (71 FR 1744). This Notice provided 30 days for 
public comment. The Commission received comments on the proposed 
no significant hazards consideration as discussed below.
 
Under its regulations, the Commission may issue and make an 
amendment immediately effective, notwithstanding the pendency 
before it of a request for a hearing from any person, in advance 
of the holding and completion of any required hearing, where it 
has determined that no significant hazards consideration is 
involved.
 
The Commission has applied the standards of 10 CFR 50.92 and has 
made a final determination that the amendment involves no 
significant hazards consideration. Public comments received on 
the proposed no significant hazards consideration determination 
were considered in making the final determination. The basis for 
this determination is contained in the Safety Evaluation related 
to this action.
 
Accordingly, as described above, the amendment has been issued 
and made immediately effective and any hearing will be held after 
issuance.
 
The Commission published an Environmental Assessment related to 
the action in the Federal Register on January 27, 2006 (71 FR 
4614).
 
Based on the Environmental Assessment, the Commission concluded 
that the action will not have a significant effect on the quality 
of the human environment. Accordingly, the Commission determined 
not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed 
action.
 
For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application for amendment dated September 10, 2003, as 
supplemented by letters dated October 1, and October 28 (2 
letters), 2003; January 31 (2 letters), March 4, May 19, July 2, 
July 27, July 30, August 12, August 25, September 14, September 
15, September 23, September 30 (2 letters), October 5, October 7 
(2 letters), December 8, and December 9, 2004; February 24, March 
10, March 24, March 31, April 5, April 22, June 2, August 1, 
August 4, September 10, September 14, September 18, September 28, 
October 17, October 21 (2 letters), October 26, October 29, 
November 2, November 22, and December 2, 2005; January 10, and 
February 22, 2006, which is available for public inspection at 
the Commission's PDR, located at One White Flint North, Public 
File Area O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, 
Maryland.
 
Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from 
the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System's (ADAMS) 
Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web 
site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do 
not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing 
the documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR 
Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or 
by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd 
day of March, 2006.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Richard B. Ennis, Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch 
I-2, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
 
[FR Doc. E6-3291 Filed 3-7-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 44 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
 
                         FR Doc E6-3292 
[Federal Register: March 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 45)] 
[Notices] [Page 11682] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08mr06-120]                         
 
Comment Request AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). 
ACTION: Notice of pending NRC action to submit an information 
collection request to OMB and solicitation of public comment.
 
SUMMARY: The NRC is preparing a submittal to OMB for review of 
continued approval of information collections under the
provisions of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).
Information pertaining to the requirement to be submitted:
1. The title of the information collection: 10 CFR part 62--
``Criteria and Procedures for Emergency Access to Non-Federal
and 
Regional Low-Level Waste Disposal Facilities.''
2. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0158.
3. How often the collection is required: The collection would 
only be required upon application for an exemption or when access 
to a non- Federal low-level waste disposal facility is denied, 
which results in a public health and safety and/or common defense 
and security concern.
 
4. Who is required or asked to report: Generators of low-level 
waste who are denied access to a non-Federal low-level waste 
facility.
 
5. The estimated number of annual respondents: 2 (No exemptions 
or requests for emergency access has been recorded to date).
 
6. The number of hours needed annually to complete the 
requirement or request: 233.
 
7. Abstract: 10 CFR part 62 sets out the information which must 
be provided to the NRC by any low-level waste generator seeking 
emergency access to an operating low-level waste disposal 
facility. The information is required to allow NRC to determine 
if denial of disposal constitutes a serious and immediate threat 
to public health and safety or common defense and security. 10 
CFR part 62 also provides that the Commission may grant an 
exemption from the requirements in this Part upon application of 
an interested person or upon its own initiative.
z Submit, by May 8, 2006 comments that address the following 
questions: 1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary 
for the NRC to properly perform its functions? Does the 
information have practical utility? 2. Is the burden estimate 
accurate? 3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected? 4. How can the burden 
of the information collection be minimized, including the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology? A copy of the draft supporting statement may be 
viewed free of charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 
20852. OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC worldwide 
Web site: .
 
The document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 
days after the signature date of this notice.
 
Comments and questions about the information collection 
requirements may be directed to the NRC Clearance Officer, Brenda 
Jo. Shelton, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, T-5 F53, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001, by telephone at 301-415-7233, or by 
Internet electronic mail to .
 
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of March 2006.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Brenda Jo. Shelton, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information 
Services.
 
[FR Doc. E6-3292 Filed 3-7-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 45 NRC: Receipt of Request for Action Under 10 CFR 2.206
 
                         FR Doc E6-3293 
[Federal Register: March 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 45)] 
[Notices] [Page 11683] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08mr06-122]                         
 
Notice is hereby given that by petition dated January 25, 2006, 
as supplemented by the letter dated February 2, 2006, David 
Lochbaum, acting on behalf of the Union of Concerned Scientists 
and numerous other organizations and individuals, has requested 
that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) take action with 
regard to nuclear power reactors and research and test reactors 
licensed by the NRC that are either operating or undergoing 
decommissioning. The petitioners request that the NRC issue a 
Demand for Information (DFI) to each licensee for the subject 
facilities that would require them to provide information related 
to systems, programs, and monitoring activities related to the 
potential release of water contaminated with radioactive 
materials.
 
As the basis for this request, the petitioners describe several 
cases of contamination at nuclear facilities and the uncontrolled 
release of radioactively contaminated water from NRC-licensed 
facilities. The petitioners' cite NRC regulations requiring 
licensees to have controls to limit the release of radioactive 
materials and to limit the radiation dose individuals receive 
from the operation of NRC- licensed facilities. The petitioners 
request the issuance of a DFI to the subject licensees to verify 
compliance with NRC regulations and to support assessments of the 
potential public health threat from such releases of 
radioactively contaminated water.
 
The request is being treated pursuant to Sec.  2.206 of Title 10 
of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 2.206). The request 
has been referred to the Director of the Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation. As provided by 10 CFR 2.206, appropriate 
action will be taken on this petition within a reasonable time.
 
A copy of the petition and the supplemental letter are available 
in the NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS) for inspection under Accession Nos. ML060330228 and 
ML060400179 at the Commission's Public Document Room (PDR), 
located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O1 F21, 11555 
Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly 
available records will be accessible from the ADAMS Public 
Electronic Reading Room on the NRC Web site 
(http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html ). Persons who do not 
have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the 
documents located in ADAMS, should contact the NRC PDR Reference 
staff by telephone at 1- 800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by e-mail 
to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of 
March 2006.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Christopher I. Grimes, Director, Division of Policy and 
Rulemaking, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
 
[FR Doc. E6-3293 Filed 3-7-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 46 NRC: Notice of Availability of Interim Staff Guidance Documents for 
 
                         FR Doc E6-3324 
[Federal Register: March 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 45)] 
[Notices] [Page 11683-11685] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08mr06-123]                         
 
Fuel Cycle Facilities AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
ACTION: Notice of availability.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Smith, Project Manager, 
Technical Support Group, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and 
Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20005-0001. 
Telephone: (301) 415- 6459; fax number: ( 301) 415-5370; e-mail: 
jas4@nrc.gov.
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
 
[[Page 11684]] I. Introduction The Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
(NRC) is preparing and issuing Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) 
documents for fuel cycle facilities. These ISG documents provide 
clarifying guidance to the NRC staff when reviewing licensee 
integrated safety analyses, license applications or amendment 
requests or other related licensing activities for fuel cycle 
facilities under Subpart H of 10 CFR Part 70. The NRC is making 
available in final one ISG document (FCSS-ISG-05), which was 
previously issued for comment in September 2004. Additions and 
changes have been made in response to comments from the public 
and members of the NRC staff.
 
II. Summary The purpose of this notice is to provide the public 
with the final version of an interim staff guidance (ISG) 
document for fuel cycle facilities. FCSS-ISG-05, Rev. 0 discusses 
the effective dates for the additional reporting requirements of 
10 CFR 70.74 and Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 70, and the 
applicability of NRC Bulletin 91-01, ``Reporting Loss of 
Criticality Safety Controls.'' III. Further Information Documents 
related to this action are available electronically at the NRC's 
Electronic Reading Room at 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, you can 
access the NRC's Agencywide Document Access and Management System 
(ADAMS), which provides text and image files of NRC's public 
documents. The ADAMS accession number for the document related to 
this notice is provided in the following table. If you do not 
have access to ADAMS or if there are problems in accessing the 
document located in ADAMS, contact the NRC Public Document Room 
(PDR) Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by 
e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. 

 Interim staff guidance                ADAMS accession No.
 
 FCSS Interim Staff Guidance-05, Rev. 0.  ML053630228. 

This document may also be viewed electronically on the 
public computers located at the NRC's PDR, O 1 F21, One White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR 
reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee. Questions 
on the ISG can be directed to James Smith, Project Manager, 
Technical Support Group, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and 
Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20005-0001.
 
Comments can also be submitted by telephone, fax, or e-mail which 
are as follows: Telephone: (301) 415-6459; fax number: (301) 
415-5370; e-mail: jas4@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland this 
27th day of February, 2006.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Melanie A. Galloway, Chief, Technical Support Group, Division of 
Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material 
Safety and Safeguards.
 
Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards; FCSS Interim Staff 
Guidance-05, Revision 0; Additional Reporting Requirements of 10 
CFR 70.74 Issue Effective dates for the additional reporting 
requirements of 10 CFR 70.74, Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 70, and 
NRC Bulletin 91-01, ``Reporting Loss of Criticality Safety 
Controls.'' Introduction The purpose of this Interim Staff 
Guidance (ISG) is to clarify what parts of Appendix A to 10 CFR 
Part 70 are effective as of October 18, 2000; what parts are 
effective after the submittal of the Integrated Safety Analysis 
(ISA) Summary, in accordance with 10 CFR 70.62(c)(3)(ii); and 
when the reporting requirements in NRC Bulletin 91-01, currently 
referenced in fuel cycle licenses, are superceded by the 
requirements of 10 CFR 70.74. This ISG supplements information in 
Sections 5.4.1, 5.4.3.4.7, and 11.4.3.6 of NUREG-1520, ``Standard 
Review Plan for the Review of a License Application for a Fuel 
Cycle Facility.'' The information in NUREG-1718 is not affected 
by this ISG, because a mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication 
facility would be a new facility, and therefore (as with any 
other new Part 70 facilities) the complete submittal of an ISA 
Summary (i.e., an ISA Summary covering the entire facility) would 
be necessary before an operating license could be granted. Thus, 
all requirements of Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 70 would apply to a 
facility of this type and the provisions of NRC Bulletin 91- 01 
would not apply.
 
Background on 10 CFR Part 20 and NRC Bulletin 91-01 BL-91-01 
noted that an immediate report was required by 10 CFR 
20.403(a)(1)[now 20.2202(a)(1)] if an event threatened to cause 
an exposure exceeding 25 rem total effective dose equivalent. The 
bulletin explained that the NRC considers the loss of a 
criticality control to threaten an event that may cause an 
exposure > 25 rem; therefore, it requires an immediate report 
under 10 CFR Part 20.
 
Equipment-related controls may also require an immediate report 
under 10 CFR 70.50(a). In response to the original bulletin 
issued in 1991, licenses noted that some criticality controls are 
more significant than others and committed to reporting the loss 
of less significant criticality controls than those requiring 
immediate reports under 10 CFR 20.403(a)(1) and 10 CFR 70.50(a). 
In addition, it was acceptable for licensees to report the loss 
of less significant criticality controls in accordance with the 
commitments made in response to the original bulletin.
 
Discussion After October 18, 2000, existing licensees must comply 
with the reporting requirements of (a)(1), (a)(2), and (b)(4) of 
Appendix A to Part 70. The new reporting requirements require 
reporting to the NRC Operations Center: (1) Within 1 hour, an 
inadvertent nuclear criticality, and an acute intake by an 
individual of 30 mg or greater of uranium in a soluble form; and 
(2) within 24 hours any natural phenomenon or other external 
event (including fires internal or external to the facility) to 
the facility that has affected or may have affected the intended 
safety function, availability, or reliability of one or more 
items relied on for safety. The remaining reporting requirements 
listed in Appendix A were held in abeyance until after the 
complete submittal of the ISA Summary, required by October 18, 
2004, in accordance with 10 CFR 70.62(c)(3)(ii). ``Complete 
submittal'' means that an ISA summary that includes the entire 
facility and all licensed processes must have been submitted to 
NRC. Partial ISA Summary submittals under 10 CFR 70.62(c)(3)(ii) 
or as part of a license amendment do not meet this criterion.
 
Many existing fuel facility licenses include reporting 
requirements in accordance with NRC Bulletin 91-01. Following 
complete submittal of the ISA Summary, these remain conditions of 
these licenses until NRC has issued a licensing action to delete 
these requirements.
 
Therefore, between October 18, 2000, and complete submittal of 
the ISA Summary, both the requirements of Bulletin 91-01 (as 
committed to in the license) and paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), and 
(b)(4) of Appendix A of Part 70 apply. Following complete 
submittal, the NRC Bulletin
 
[[Page 11685]] 91-01 requirements in the license will be 
superceded by the requirements of 10 CFR 70.74 upon issuance of 
an NRC licensing action to effect this change. It should also be 
noted that additional immediate reporting requirements in 10 CFR 
20.2202(a) and 10 CFR 70.50(a) still apply. A new facility would 
require submittal of an ISA Summary prior to being licensed, and 
thus, for a new Part 70 facility, all the provisions of Appendix 
A to Part 70 apply.
 
Regulatory Basis Each licensee shall report to the NRC Operations 
Center the events described in Appendix A to Part 70. [10 CFR 
70.74(a)(1)] Per Appendix A to Part 70, licensees must comply 
with the reporting requirements in this appendix, except for 
(a)(1), (a)(2), and (b)(4), after they have submitted an ISA 
Summary in accordance with 10 CFR 70.62(c)(3)(ii). However, after 
October 18, 2000, licensees must comply with (a)(1), (a)(2), and 
(b)(4).
 
Specific reporting requirements are contained in paragraphs (a), 
(b), and (c) of Appendix A to Part 70.
 
Technical Review Guidance The staff has concluded that a licensee 
complies with the reporting requirements of its license and 10 
CFR Part 70 provided that the following is met: An existing 
licensee has committed to report the events listed under 
paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), and (b)(4), of Appendix A of Part 70.
 
An existing licensee has committed to reporting all events listed 
under Appendix A of Part 70 upon complete submittal of its ISA 
Summary, as required under 10 CFR 70.62(c)(3)(ii). An existing 
licensee has committed to reporting the loss of double 
contingency protection, as required by its license commitments to 
follow NRC Bulletin 91-01, until such time that an NRC licensing 
action has eliminated the reference to NRC Bulletin 91-01 
requirements.
 
A new applicant has committed to reporting all events listed 
under Appendix A of Part 70 upon complete submittal of its ISA 
Summary as required under 10 CFR 70.62(c)(3)(ii). Recommendation 
Whereas the complete submittal of a licensee's ISA Summary was 
required no later than October 18, 2004 (per 10 CFR 
70.62(c)(3)(ii)), no change to NUREG-1520 is warranted to 
reference NRC Bulletin 91-01. All the provisions of Appendix A of 
Part 70 will apply upon complete submittal of the ISA Summary. In 
addition, current license provisions requiring additional 
reporting will remain in effect until issuance of an NRC 
licensing action to effect this change.
 
References NRC Bulletin 91-01, ``Reporting Loss of Criticality 
Safety Controls,'' October 18, 1991.
 
NRC Bulletin 91-01, Supplement 1, ``Reporting Loss of Criticality 
Safety Controls,'' July 27, 1993.
 
Approved: February 28, 2006.
 
Robert C. Pierson, Director, NMSS/FCSS.
 
[FR Doc. E6-3324 Filed 3-7-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 47 Vermont Guardian: Six towns seek better emergency planning 

Vermont Guardian staff 

posted March 8, 2006 

DUMMERSTON  Its been 33 years since Vermont Yankee powered up in
Vernon, but surrounding towns say they are still unprepared to
deal with a radiation emergency. 

At town meetings and the polls on March 7, Vermont voters in
five communities within the 10-radial-mile emergency planning
zone (EPZ) called for more funding to address significant gaps
in the current plan. 

Brattleboro voters passed the measure by a wide 1,673-325
margin. One town outside the EPZ, Putney, endorsed it as well,
adding a request for the zone to be expanded to 20 miles. 

The non-binding resolutions in Brattleboro, Dummerston, Halifax,
Marlboro, and Guilford called for assistance for the entire
population, not just the 20 percent of residents encompassed in
current planning. 

All of our towns plan to get everybody out in the event of an
emergency, said Ed Anthes, a Dummerston resident and member of
the group Nuclear Free Vermont in 2012, which sponsored the
resolutions. But the regional evacuation center at Bellows Falls
high school has only enough decontamination and radiation
monitoring equipment for 20 percent of the population, he said. 

The resolutions also called for sirens and an automatic phone
warning system to replace the volunteers with bullhorns and
pickup trucks on which many of the towns currently rely. With
the current siren system, only Vernon and about half of
Brattleboro are within audio range. 

With the amount of time we have to drive through the
neighborhoods, and the length of the message and the length of
your driveway and how many leaves are on the trees, you may not
hear the whole message, Dummerston firefighter Erich Kruger told
his fellow residents at town meeting. 

Currently, towns identify their emergency planning needs and
bring those requests to the Legislature through Vermont
Emergency Management. For a couple of years, Dummerston and
other towns have asked for sirens, for example, and were told
thats up to Entergy, the corporation that owns Vermont Yankee,
Anthes said. Entergy has said its a business decision.  We want
to send a message to the Legislature to put it into the budget
plan so theres accountability about it. 

Last fall, Dummerston asked Entergy directly for four sirens,
according to emergency operations director Larry Lynch. He said
he hasnt heard a word since, so as soon as spring opens up Im
going to have to start pushing somebody. 

The resolutions seek to avoid sending the towns to Entergys
door, hat in hand. Instead, they ask the Legislature to set a
more realistic funding level for the emergency response plan,
which is financed by the corporation. 

As of Feb. 22, the states 2007 Radiological Emergency Response
Plan budget stood at more than $1.4 million, said Vermont
Emergency Program Manager John Angil. The total included a new
western evacuation center and an automated telephone system that
dials residents throughout the EPZ in case of any type of
emergency. That system is in the process of being installed, he
said. He was unsure whether the 2007 budget included additional
sirens. 

The House Government Operations Committee, which oversees
funding for the emergency plans, has announced it will hold
hearings on the issue in Windham County. The date of the
hearings was not available at press time. 
 Kathryn Casa 

Vermont: PO Box 335, Winooski, VT 05404 Southern Vermont: 139 
Main Street, Suite 702, Brattleboro, VT 05301 Contact: 
802.861.4880 (ph) | 802.861.6388 (fax) | 877.231.5382 (toll-free)

 ©2005 Vermont Guardian | 

Visit us: www.vermontguardian.com
 This document can be located online:
www.vermontguardian.com/local/032006/EmergencyPlanning.shtml 
*****************************************************************
 48 Scotsman.com News: MSPs urged to back nuclear motion
 
Wed 8 Mar 2006         
 
Labour MSPs are being challenged to back a Holyrood motion
echoing calls from their own party conference for the
development of nuclear power. 

The Conservatives have lodged a motion for debate in the
Scottish Parliament - meeting in The Hub - on Thursday which
demands immediate moves to replace or renew coal-fired and
nuclear generating stations. 

The agreed position of the Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition
Executive is that it will "not support the further development
of nuclear power stations while waste management issues remain
unresolved". 

But Labour's Scottish conference meeting in Aviemore last month
backed a resolution urging the Government to "support the fact
that immediate plans must be started to replace or renew our
existing coal-fired and nuclear generating stations where
required". 

Scots Tory energy spokesman Alex Johnstone, who lodged his
party's pro-nuclear motion, said: "I was delighted to see the
Labour Party conference in Aviemore sharing our position on
nuclear power by accepting that a balanced approach to energy
policy is required. 

"I have, therefore, returned the compliment by tabling the same
motion for Thursday's debate, trusting that Labour will not seek
to amend our motion in any way and therefore support us in the
chamber." 

However, it remains unlikely that the Tory motion will be passed
unamended when put to a vote. 

Elaine Murray, the Labour MSP for the Dumfries constituency
where Chapelcross nuclear power station is being decommissioned
and a supporter of continuing atomic energy generation, said the
Tory motion was "flawed" as energy policy was reserved to
Westminster. 

The motion urges the Scottish Executive to "support the adoption
of a balanced energy policy" including new and replacement
nuclear builds, when the devolved administration would be
responsible only for planning issues surrounding any proposed
atomic plant, she argued. 

Dr Murray added: "I'm not sure about the Tories, but I'm also in
favour of ambitious renewable energy targets and efforts to
promote greater energy efficiency." 

Â© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2006, All Rights Reserved. 


This article: http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=352462006 
Last updated: 08-Mar-06 18:56 GMT

*****************************************************************
 49 WCBSTV.com: Indian Point Siren Snafu Puts Pressure On Entergy

[clock] Mar 8, 2006 6:55 pm US/Eastern
 
Westchester County's Executive Demanding Answers

(CBS) WHITE PLAINS The Indian Point warning siren system was
shut down for several hours Wednesday after a computer glitch
during a routine test.
 
Westchester County Emergency Services officials say spotters in
the field verified a number of the 156 sirens worked. But it's
not clear just how many, because the computer system that
monitors the siren operations locked up at the very moment the
test was taking place. During daylong efforts to identify the
cause of the problem, the entire siren system was shut down.
Entergy, the owner of the nuclear power plant, said the system
was returned to service in the mid-afternoon.
 
"Had it been a real life situation, we definitely would have had
a problem," said Tony Sutton, the county's commissioner of
emergency services.
 
It's the latest in a series of technical problems with the 156
warning sirens in the four counties within 10 miles of the
nuclear power plant. In an emergency, if the sirens didn't work,
the counties would be forced to dispatch police in patrol cars
with loudspeakers to warn the public of a problem at the plant.
That process is called "route alerting."
 
County officials say route alerting would cost precious minutes
in the event of terror or trouble at Indian Point. They want
Entergy, the utility that owns the plant, to fix the sirens once
and for all.
 
"How can you have any confidence in a company that can't fix the
sirens when they're running a complicated nuclear plant?" asked
Andy Spano, the Westchester County executive.
 
"We appreciate the anger," said Jim Steets, a spokesman for
Entergy. "We're not any happier than they are."
 
Steets says because of the ongoing problems with the siren
system, Entergy has committed to installing an entirely new
warning system by the beginning of next year. 

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
 
You need the latest Flash player to view WCBSTV.com: Your Source
For New York News, Weather, Sports & Traffic video content. 
to download. 	 

© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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 50 Morris Daily Herald: Cobalt 60 also leaked

The Greater Grundy County Area                        

Email Us at: news@morrisdailyherald.com                              
    
  3/8/2006 3:41:00 PM

  Cobalt 60:  

  n Cobalt 60 is a radionuclide produced for commercial use, and
is a byproduct of nuclear reactor operations. The substance can
be released into the environment through leaks and spills from
nuclear power plants. Cobalt is a stable non-radioactive metal
found in nature, and becomes cobalt 60 as part of the nuclear
reactor process.
  
 Cobalt 60 also leaked

NRC: Water never threatened by metal
 
By Jo Ann Hustis Herald Writer

 WASHINGTON, D.C. — A finding of cobalt 60 in connection with
tritium leaks at Braidwood Generating Station is not a health
and safety concern, a federal spokesman said today.

“The water may contain trace amounts of cobalt 60 and other
elements, but when they get into the ground, unlike tritium, the
other elements tend to remain close to the point of leakage,”
said Jan Strasma of Region 3, Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Lisle.

Nothing in the agency’s assessment of both on-site and off-site
tests at Braidwood Station indicates cobalt 60 in the
groundwater or drinking water.

“I can categorically say our sampling of groundwater and
drinking water wells shows nothing but tritium,” he said.

Strasma said the trace amounts of cobalt 60 stem from a spill at
Braidwood Station on Nov. 9, 2000. The spill was reported in the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources Duty Officer Standard
Oper-ating Procedure form.

Braidwood Generating Station spokesman Neal Miller confirmed
today no cobalt 60 has ever been identified in any groundwater
associated with the vacuum breaker leak of November 2000.

“There were traces of cobalt 60 found in the dirt surrounding
the vacuum breaker leak on the utility’s property,” Miller
noted.“No other water samples have shown any cobalt 60, however.”

He said more than 200 water samples have been analyzed, with no
findings of cobalt 60.

Cobalt 60 is a radionuclide produced for commercial use, and is
a byproduct of nuclear reactor operations. The substance can be
released into the environment through leaks and spills from
nuclear power plants. 

Cobalt is a stable non-radioactive metal found in nature, and
becomes cobalt 60 as part of the nuclear reactor process.

The 2000 leak was one of several at Braidwood Station, starting
in 1996. An estimated 6 million gallons of tritium-laced water
seeped into the groundwater at the plant site during the
incidents, then spread northward from Braidwood Station.

“If there is any cobalt 60, it would be at the point where it
leaks into the soil, but it’s not going to move,” Strasma said.
“That’s why, when we do groundwater and drinking water samples,
nothing is seen but tritium.”

Strasma said the cobalt 60 incident is not a health or safety
concern.

“None of that is changed,” he said. “We’ve known all along the
source of the leak may have had small trace amounts of cobalt
60, but we also knew it would stay at the point of leakage and
not contaminate the groundwater.”

Strasma said the NCR’s analysis bears out his statement.

He also said the cobalt 60 incident is not new information.
Although the IDNR document was not submitted to the NRC, Strasma
said he has seen the report.

 Looking at the effluent reports Braidwood Station owner Exelon
Nuclear has submitted to the NRC, however, shows only trace
amounts of cobalt 60 and other radioactive elements, he said.

Only tritium moves in the groundwater because tritium is water,
Strasma added. Other elements in the water tend to be filtered
out and held back by the soil at the point of origin.

Tritium is a naturally occurring isotope of hydrogen that emits
a very low level of radiation, and is a natural part of water.
Tritium is found in more-concentrated levels in water used in
nuclear reactors.

Strasma said cobalt is an element that has both radioactive and
non-radioactive forms. Cobalt is used in some applications as a
radiation source, and in nuclear medicine.

“Here we’re talking about one of the byproducts of the operation
of the plant,” Strasma said. “All nuclear plants produce cobalt,
no matter the type of reactor.”

Before releasing water as an effluent, however, nuclear
generating stations treat it to remove all radioactive materials
except tritium, which is a part of water, he noted.

Whenever a nuclear station has a leak or spill, Exelon is
required to analyze the water and keep records so when the plant
is decommissioned it has records of sites to be cleaned up, said
Strasma.

“It won’t be cleaned up before then,” he said. “We’re talking
about very small amounts of cobalt. The analysis we have done of
the groundwater and drinking water shows nothing but tritium.”

Congressman Jerry Weller, R-Morris, who met Tuesday with several
people living near Braidwood Station, could not be reached for
comment by presstime today.

Disclosure Legislation

Meanwhile, legislation by State Representative Careen Gordon to
strengthen state oversight of nuclear stations is headed to the
Illinois Senate today. The measure was unanimously approved
Friday in the House.

“No one even questioned me on it,” said Gordon, who initiated
the legislation in light of the recent incidents at Braidwood
Station, as well as at Dresden Generating Station east of Morris
and Zion Station.

“There was no debate at all,” she said today. “I think people
are really paying attention to the problem going on in these
facilities, and realized something needs to be done.”

House Bill 1620 would require additional inspections by the
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency at each nuclear
facility, and sets notification requirements when harmful
chemicals are released into the surrounding watershed.

The bill also sets notification requirements for toxic
discharges from nuclear facilities in Illinois, she said.

   Morris Daily Herald • 1804 N. Division St. • Morris, Illinois 
60450 (815) 942-3221 • (800) 215-9778 
*****************************************************************
 51 Vermont Guardian: NEC asks Supreme Court to block uprate

By Kathryn Casa | Vermont Guardian 

Posted March 8, 2006 

BRATTLEBORO  An anti-nuclear group has appealed to the state
Supreme Court to block the Vermont Yankee power uprate until a
federal panel hears the groups safety contentions later this
year. 

In a motion for an injunction filed today, the New England
Coalition contends that the Vermont Public Service Boards March
3 ruling allowing Entergy to proceed with its power increase
constitutes a change in the boards original order of March 15,
2004. Because no new hearings were held, NEC contends, the
change is illegal. 

It asks the court to stay the boards order until the coalition
has a chance to argue its contentions before the Atomic Safety
and Licensing Board, a quasi-judicial appeals branch of the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Both NEC and the Vermont Department of Public Service have
safety-related appeals pending before the ASLB, which is not
expected to hear their arguments until summer or fall. Their
contentions mark the first time in the nations history that the
NRC has granted a hearing on a power uprate. 

At issue in today's motion is whether a federal inspection of
the plant in 2004 met the Public Service Boards criteria for an
independent engineering inspection that addresses VYs continued
reliability. NEC maintains it does not. 

In its original order, the board called for a deep vertical
slice review of two VY safety systems and two non-safety
systems. Such a review would examine all aspects of a system.
Instead, the NRC inspection looked at a broad cross section of
45 components, and found eight problems. 

It was not a deep-slice inspection; it didnt satisfy the needs
of Vermonters; and it did not inform the board about
reliability, Ray Shadis, NECs technical advisor, said today. 

The board, in its original order, also cited concerns about how
the uprate may affect the reliability of Vermont Yankee. Because
this potential effect on reliability could have adverse
financial impacts upon Vermont consumers, we find a need to
ensure that an uprated Vermont Yankee will continue to produce
electricity reliably. For that reason  we have asked that the
NRC conduct its safety assessment in a way that will be
equivalent to an independent engineering assessment, and we
condition our approval of Vermont Yankees operation at increased
power levels upon completion of that assessment. 

With federal and state approval in place, Vermont Yankee
increased power by 5 percent on March 4, with the intention of
taking the plant up 20 percent within several weeks. But a
monitor on the A steam line showed vibrations that exceeded
acceptable levels, and operators are now holding the uprate at
105 percent until the data is analyzed, according to a press
release from the company. 

This uprate has gotten more scrutiny from the NRC, the state and
the public than any other uprate application in the country,
according to Jim Steets, a spokesman for Entergy Nuclear in
White Plains, NY. Entergy is proceeding with the uprate and
testing in a slow and deliberate fashion with safety as our top
priority. We will not proceed further, or past the current
level, until were satisfied we can, safely. 

Todays motion argues that the boards error is likely to cause
irreparable harm by allowing Vermont Yankee to operate at
thermal energy levels significantly in excess of that for which
the plant was originally designed and licensed, thereby
increasing the risk of a nuclear accident or unreliable service. 

Such super-power level experimentation diminishes engineered
safety margins and immediately decreases reliability and places
area residents at a widespread public health risk, the motion
states. 

A stay would allow the plant to continue to run reliably at the
capacity for which it was designed, NEC argues. 

An administrative staff member at the Public Service Board
declined to comment on the case. She said the appeal means the
docket remains open. 
 
Vermont: PO Box 335, Winooski, VT 05404 Southern Vermont: 139 
Main Street, Suite 702, Brattleboro, VT 05301 Contact: 
802.861.4880 (ph) | 802.861.6388 (fax) | 877.231.5382 (toll-free)

 ©2005 Vermont Guardian | 

Visit us: www.vermontguardian.com
 This document can be located online:
www.vermontguardian.com/local/032006/NECAppeal.shtml 
*****************************************************************
 52 MIT News Office: NRC commissioner sees nuke role expanding - 

massachusetts institute of technology

Deborah Halber, News Office Correspondent

March 8, 2006
 
Nuclear power is destined to play a major role in America's
energy future, but the industry needs more young scientists, a
leader of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) told an
MIT crowd recently.

In the near future, U.S. utilities will seek to build 17 new
nuclear reactors at 11 sites to go online by 2015, but NRC
Commissioner Peter B. Lyons says that will be an "immense
challenge," partly because the industry is losing people to
retirement and there is a dearth of young people going into
science and technology.

Lyons, a physicist who worked in weapons research at Los Alamos
and as science advisor to Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), was
sworn in as one of five NRC commissioners about a year ago. He
spoke at MIT on Tuesday, Feb. 28, about current and future
regulatory perspectives on the U.S. nuclear power
infrastructure. 

While working for the senator, Lyons helped craft incentives for
the nuclear power industry, hoping for one or two applications
for new plants. Now that he's at the NRC, he's worried that the
strategy was too successful: "The NRC is tremendously strapped
(in terms of staff). We have to figure out how to process all
these applications and do due diligence," he said.

No new U.S. construction permits have been issued for plants
since 1978. In the meantime, countries such as Japan and France
have moved ahead as world leaders in the industry, leaving the
United States, which originally led the development of nuclear
power, behind. The United States also lags in standardization
that would allow more streamlined review of reactor design
proposals and interchangeable training for different sites. "Our
capability has partially atrophied," Lyons said. 

Worries aside, Lyons is convinced nuclear power is central to
America's energy future. "There's no doubt the national
challenge is to meet growing needs for electricity in future
decades," he said. "We should encourage fuel diversity and
reduce dependence on foreign energy sources." He predicted that
the "intermittent character of solar and wind" will prevent them
from playing a dominant role as future energy sources. "I don't
know how to get a large percentage -- as much as 15 or 20
percent -- from intermittent sources," he said. 

Coal may be tapped for electricity needs but will require new
cost-efficient and environmentally friendly plants. "The only
other source is nuclear energy," Lyons said, and for nuclear
energy to play a "strong supporting role, the public has to be
confident of the safe and secure operation of existing plants."

Lyons cited a "very serious incident" in 2002 at the Davis-Besse
Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor, Ohio, in which boric acid
ate through six inches of a reactor pressure vessel head. "This
could have been worse," he said; nevertheless, it indicated
"serious failures on the part of the licensee and the NRC. We
definitely don't want to see that again." Lyons said a new
oversight process is in place with more "objective, timely
criteria for assessing performance" in reactor safety, radiation
safety and safeguards against security threats.

Despite questions raised by the media about the security of
research reactors such as the one at MIT, Lyons said, "Our
civilian power plants are among the most secure sites in the
entire world â€¦ no credible scenarios could result in
radiological consequences from an attack." 

Lyons' talk was sponsored by the Center for Technology, Policy
and Industrial Development and the Engineering Systems Division.
 

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talkon March 8,
2006 (download PDF). 
    [Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Peter Lyons peers into a
â€˜hot cellâ€™ ] Photo / Donna Coveney Nuclear Regulatory
Commissioner Peter Lyons peers into a 'hot cell' (a shielded
room where radioactive materials can be handled remotely) on a
tour of the nuclear reactor on Tuesday, Feb. 28. At center is
John Bernard, director of reactor operations at the MIT Nuclear
Reactor Laboratory, and at right is David Moncton, director of
the Nuclear Reactor Lab. Enlarge image (no JavaScript) 

MIT home    news office    77 massachusetts avenue 617-253-2700 
room 11-400    cambridge, ma 02139-4307 newsoffice@mit.edu  

*****************************************************************
 53 Times-Journal: Nuclear plan key for jobs 

Wednesday, March 8, 2006   

Contact The Times-Journalat (256) 845-2550. 

      By Mark Harrison The Times-Journal 

A nuclear power plant could supply both energy and jobs to
Northeast Alabama – including DeKalb County.

For the first time, the Tennessee Valley Authority is
considering building a major power plant with a partner utility,
a spokesman said.

TVA and Southern Co. agreed in a memo of intent to jointly
pursue building the next generation of nuclear reactors at the
Bellefonte plant site in northern Alabama.

TVA spokesman Brooks Clark said Monday the memorandum was signed
recently.

The project could have a “huge economic impact” in DeKalb
County, said DeKalb County Economic Development Authority
Director Jimmy Durham. It’s estimated the project could create
up to 2,000 jobs during construction.

Durham noted that when Bellefonte was originally constructed, it
resulted in the employment of many people from DeKalb County and
he said he believes that could be the case once again, both
during construction of the new plant and after start up. 

“We’re right there at the front of the line” among American
utilities considering the next generation of nuclear power
plants, TVA Senior Vice President Jack Bailey told The
Chattanooga Times Free Press in a story published Sunday.

“We are looking at a different design and licensing approach and
different partnerships to help pay for such a plant. It’s a new
way of thinking for us,” he said.

TVA and a consortium of utilities and equipment manufacturers
have picked the Bellefonte site in Hollywood in Jackson County
for their new plant design. NuStart Energy Development LLC, an
alliance of 11 utilities and manufacturers, wants to pursue a
combined construction permit and operating license at Bellefonte
for two AP1000 Westinghouse reactors.

NuStart and the Department of Energy will split the projected
$150 million cost for initial licensing and design costs for the
new type of plant. Officials said most of the estimated $2
billion cost for each of the 1,200-megawatt reactors would be
shared among the plant owners, if the project proceeds.

“It’s still very preliminary and we’ve made no commitments,”
said Sandi Robinson, a spokeswoman for the Southern Nuclear
Operating Co., in Birmingham. “But with the higher and more
volatile cost of gas and coal, nuclear power has certainly
become more attractive.”

Southern is researching whether to build the Westinghouse AP1000
at both Bellefonte and its own Vogtle Plant near Waynesboro, Ga.

Both TVA and Southern estimate they will need additional
baseload power supplies by 2015.

Bailey said TVA is also talking to its distributors about
possibly sharing in the ownership of any new nuclear plant built
at Bellefonte.

The proposed nuclear plant is being designed to be simpler and
safer than TVA’s six existing licensed reactors.

No new nuclear power plant has been ordered in the United States
since 1973.

Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., TVA provides electricity to
8.5 million people in Tennessee and parts of Kentucky, Alabama,
Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. The New
Deal-era agency also has an economic development component and
manages the 652-mile Tennessee River system for flood control,
navigation, resource protection and recreational uses.

— The Associated Press contributed to this story 

© 2006 The Times-Journal. All rights reserved.   
*****************************************************************
 54 UPI: EU outlines common energy policy
     
 United Press International - Energy - 

3/8/2006 12:06:00 PM -0500                              

LONDON, March 8 (UPI) -- European Commission President Jose
Manuel Barroso urged European Union leaders to back measures to
increase energy security and reduce energy dependence. 

"The energy challenges of the 21st century require a common EU
response," Barroso said in Brussels. "A common approach,
articulated with a common voice, will enable Europe to lead the
search for energy solutions. We should refuse any kind of
nationalism of an economic kind, especially in the energy sector
in Europe." 

A EU green paper, available on the bloc's Web site, recommended
that member states stockpile gas to be shared in times of
disruption. It also recommended a new energy relationship with
Russia, which was called the EU's "most important energy
supplier." 

Although the paper did not elaborate, it is widely believed the
new relationship will ask Moscow to allow other countries to use
Russia's vast pipeline network, possibly in exchange for
long-term contracts and the opening up of the EU market to
Russian suppliers. 

The green paper also emphasizes the necessity of a competitive
European energy market, and suggests the creation of an energy
regulator responsible for cross-border energy networks that
could then promote existing infrastructure and supervise further
development so to make the market more competitive. 

"This document represents a good basis for the future:
energetic, environmental, but also economical," said Pierre
Simon, president of EUROCHAMBRES, an association of European
Chambers of Commerce and Industry, in a statement. "However, we
believe much attention must also be paid to the demand side of
the equation - in particular, the demand from smaller sized
European companies. They must be involved in the development of
the policy and in its implementation." 

While the paper touches on renewable energy, it is also
noteworthy for what it chooses to exclude -- the draft fails to
mention nuclear power or fuel reduction. 

Energy, renewable, secure, or otherwise, is a key focus of EU
policy. By 2026, the bloc will rely on imported fuel to make up
70 percent of its total demand.

© Copyright 2006 United Press
International, Inc. All Rights Reserved
*****************************************************************
 55 UPI: Libya, France in nuclear cooperation
     
 United Press International - Energy - 

3/8/2006 11:26:00 AM -0500                              

LONDON, March 8 (UPI) -- France is poised to sign a civilian
nuclear agreement with Libya, the Financial Times reported
Wednesday. 

The Times quoted Patrick Ollier, president of the economic
affairs committee in France's National Assembly, as saying an
outline agreement "should be signed in the next two weeks." 

Following Moammar Gadhafi's decision to compensate the victims
of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and renounce weapons of mass
destruction, the former pariah has seen his country welcomed
back into the realm of diplomacy. 

"President Gadhafi brought all that was necessary for France and
Europe to (welcome him into) the community of nations," Ollier
said in the Times. 

"The Libyans are trying to open all their markets to the outside
world but we are in competition with the Spanish, the Italians,
the British and even, in oil, the Americans. Total (the French
oil group) tried, but most of the (oil) contracts were taken by
the Americans and the British." 

The agreement, which will be conditional upon Libya cooperating
with the International Atomic Energy Agency, will cover a
civilian nuclear program for the production of energy. Following
the renouncing of its nuclear weapons ambitions in December
2003, Libya was allowed to continue using nuclear power for
civilian purposes. 

Nuclear analysts see little cause for concern in Libya's nuclear
program, as the country will not be enriching its own uranium,
and its nuclear facilities will be under IAEA supervision.
                                        
© Copyright 2006 United Press
International, Inc. All Rights Reserved
*****************************************************************
 56 [NukeNet] Skull Valley nuke waste dump story in Time.com
 
Date: Wed, 08 Mar 2006 19:38:34 -0800

<x-flowed>
NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net)

Time.com
Sunday, Mar. 05, 2006
Utah's Toxic Opportunity
SOME GOSHUTE INDIANS WANT TO CREATE A NUCLEAR-FUEL DUMP ON THEIR LAND.
CONTROVERSIAL? OF COURSE
By MARGOT ROOSEVELT/ SKULL VALLEY

An hour south of the Great Salt Lake, a two-lane blacktop crosses a
cattle guard into a wild expanse of golden scrub grass. A few trailers
and prefab houses, a collection of junked cars and a gas station that
sells Spam and soda pop--such is the homeland of the Native American
tribe known as the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes. At their peak, the
Goshutes numbered 20,000. Today only a dozen of the band's 121 members
live on the 18,000-acre reservation; the rest have scattered across the
West in search of a better life.

The land they left behind is scarred by the detritus of war and
industry. To the southwest lies the Dugway Proving Ground, where the
U.S. government develops chemical and biological weapons. To the east is
one of the world's largest nerve-gas incinerators. To the north is a
giant magnesium plant, a major polluter. To the northwest sit a
hazardous-waste incinerator and a toxic-waste landfill. The tribe's only
profitable business is a municipal garbage dump serving Salt Lake City.

Now this beleaguered outpost finds itself caught up in an escalating
battle over the future of atomic power in the U.S. Last month the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a license for a $3.1 billion
project that would make the Skull Valley reservation the nation's
biggest nuclear-waste holding site, a temporary parking lot for 44,000
tons of highly radioactive spent fuel now being stored at nuclear power
plants nationwide. For utilities, it could solve what has been a vexing
problem. For tribal officials, the advantages are tangible: as much as
$100 million in fees to be paid over 40 years by a Wisconsin-based
consortium of utilities, Private Fuel Storage (PFS). The band hopes to
use the money to finance a health clinic, a police force and new
businesses that could lure scattered tribal members back home. "People
say this will destroy the land," says tribal chairman Leon Bear, who
brokered the deal. "But how can you poison what is already poisoned?"

The plan has sparked widespread resistance, with opponents ranging from
a few tribal holdouts to the Governor of Utah. The state has filed suit
in federal court to void the NRC license on the grounds that the spent
fuel would sit dangerously close to an Air Force training path. F-16
fighter jets roar overhead on 7,000 sorties a year. Should one crash
into the steel-and-concrete casks, state attorneys argue, cancer-causing
radiation could waft over Salt Lake City. Moreover, the state says, used
fuel rods, parked aboveground, would be a target for car bombers or
airplane hijackers--"a terrorist's dream come true," says Governor Jon
Huntsman Jr., adding, "I'd lie prostrate on the train tracks to keep
this out of our state."

That may be a useless gesture. The Goshute band, like all other
federally recognized tribes, is a sovereign nation under the law, and
the State of Utah can't tell it what to do. Still, other hurdles remain.
Last December Congress designated 100,000 acres west of the reservation
as a wilderness area--a ploy by the Utah delegation to block a 32-mile
rail spur to the site. Now opponents want the federal Bureau of Land
Management to deny a permit for a truck-transfer station. In Congress, a
bill sponsored by Senate minority leader Harry Reid of Nevada would
undercut the project by forcing utilities in 31 states to keep spent
fuel on their property rather than ship it out. Nevada has long fought a
federal plan to permanently store atomic waste in a $60 billion
underground repository at Yucca Mountain, northwest of Las Vegas.

Underlying the uproar is a question that has haunted the nation since
the 1979 meltdown at Three Mile Island: Does the U.S. want nuclear
energy or not? The issue has new urgency today because electricity
demand is expected to grow 45% over the next two decades and pressure is
on for the country to do something about global warming. (Unlike
generators fueled by coal, gas or oil, atomic reactors emit no
greenhouse gases.) President George W. Bush has vowed to start building
nuclear plants by the end of this decade, and last August he signed into
law a multibillion-dollar package of nuclear incentives. This month
Congress will launch hearings on the future of atomic energy. And a
debate is expected over an Administration proposal to spend $250 million
for research on reprocessing irradiated fuel--an effort abandoned three
decades ago out of fear that it would encourage weapons proliferation.

Before the ground breaks on any new commercial reactors, all sides
agree, the U.S. must decide what to do with the nuclear waste created by
existing plants. Over the past half-century, those plants have
accumulated 67,000 tons of spent fuel and radioactive waste that will
remain hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years. But ever since the
government focused on Yucca Mountain, the project has been stymied by
fears of groundwater contamination and confusion over technical design.
In the past two decades, the U.S. has spent $6 billion on studies,
without making a final decision. Congress will probably grapple this
spring with legislation to fast-track Yucca. But even if all the
lawsuits were settled today, it couldn't be built before 2015 at the
earliest.

Given that delay, the NRC approved Skull Valley as a 40-year stopgap.
The toxic rods would be parked in this remote corner of Utah until they
could be moved to permanent storage at Yucca. Still, opponents fear that
the Goshute site won't be temporary: enough waste will be generated to
fill both facilities by 2046. Today spent fuel is stored in the cooling
ponds of nuclear power plants around the country, but those ponds are
rapidly filling up. Thirty-three plants have transferred their
radioactive rods into aboveground casks-- a practice that makes nearby
communities nervous. Now space for those dry-ground casks is running out
too, utilities say. In the meantime, owners of 10 decommissioned
reactors from Connecticut to California are looking for a place to
unload their waste so that valuable land, most of it near rivers and
cities, can be freed for more profitable uses. "Hazardous
materials--plutonium and uranium--should not be scattered around the
country," says John Parkyn, chairman of utility consortium PFS. "If the
Goshutes will take it, why would we object?"

But not all Goshutes are enthralled with the idea. In a tiny trailer,
Steven Vigil, 17, dressed in a T shirt and baggy jeans, is frying frozen
burritos on a winter day. "What little we got left is being taken away,"
he says. His uncle Sammy Blackbear, a 41-year-old laborer, foresees the
worst. "What happens if thousands of casks leak into our water and
cancer rates go through the roof?" he asks. "Then they'll say, 'You
people have to move.'" Calling the project "environmental racism,"
dissident Goshutes have filed suit to stop it. "We may be surrounded by
hazardous waste," says opponent Margene Bullcreek, 59. "But this big
corporation is bribing a small, weak tribe."

In fact, the recruitment of Native Americans to store radioactive refuse
began as a government initiative in the early 1990s. The Goshutes and a
dozen other tribes received federal grants of $100,000 each to study
atomic-waste management. The other tribes dropped out of the program,
but Goshute officials, including chairman Bear, visited facilities in
Japan, France, Britain and Sweden and were convinced of the benefits.
"It was an eye opener," Bear says. "Nuclear scientists and physicists
told us this is a safe thing to do."

No one knows whether most Goshutes agree, since a referendum has yet to
be held. Meanwhile, charges of corruption and intimidation have split
the tribe. Bear says a majority of the band signed a 1996 agreement to
lease the land, but opponents contend that many had no idea what they
were signing. Bear's chairmanship was supposed to expire in 2004, but he
has canceled four scheduled elections, saying quorums had not assembled
in time. And last April, facing federal embezzlement charges, Bear
agreed to return $31,542 he had taken from the tribe's accounts and
pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. Sentenced to three years'
probation, he was ordered to pay $13,101 in back taxes. "It's
political," he says. "They want to get rid of me."

That local skirmish, however, is dwarfed by national issues. Under
pressure from Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, four of the original eight
utilities in the consortium recently halted further investment in the
project. PFS's Parkyn expects other utilities, particularly those with
decommissioned plants, to step in as the project comes online in phases.
"It is cheaper to ship to Utah than to build a dry storage site," he
says. "And how can you guard spent fuel forever after a plant shuts
down?" He expects the 31 other states with nuclear fuel stored at home
to support both Yucca and PFS projects.

On the reservation, two women confront each other across a weed-choked
yard. Bullcreek's run-down house is surrounded by old tires and broken
furniture. "It would be nice to live comfortably," she says. "But we
want to maintain our heritage--not be a dumping ground for the
domineering society." In contrast, Lori Skiby, 44, the Goshutes' vice
chairwoman, has built a $100,000 house thanks to utility-funded tribal
loans. "Traditional values don't put a roof over your head," she
counters. Both say they want the same thing: for their children and
grandchildren to live a good, safe life on the reservation. How to
accomplish that is a dilemma of the nuclear age.


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 57 Gallup Independent: Residents tell of mining's tragic impact

 - March 7, 2006: 

By Kathy Helms Diné Bureau
  
Larry King shows a class of public health master's degree
students where a uranium mine used to be near his property in
Church Rock Friday afternoon. While environmentalists and
students visited the Church Rock mine sites, Navajo Nation and
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency personnel spoke with
residents at the Church Rock Chapter House about plans to clean
certain sites in the area. [Photo by John A.
Bowersmith/Independent]   

CHURCH ROCK, N.M. — Ed Carlisle of Church Rock Chapter used to
sit in the back of the wagon and go with his grandfather to haul
water. "He'd park in the lake and he would give me water to put
in the barrel, and I had this barrel covered with a piece of
cloth," he said. 

"He used to pour the water in the barrel to get the tadpoles
out. Now, we're pretty much doing the same thing. Water is
really precious and scarce," Carlisle told U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and New Mexico Environment Department, and
Navajo Nation EPA officials, who were at the chapter Friday to
listen to community concerns regarding cleanup of the Northeast
Church Rock Mine. 

But this time, it's not tadpoles in the water they're worried
about. It's radionuclides and heavy metals. And it's been there
for years. So many years, in fact, Navajo residents were not
necessarily impressed with EPA's accelerated cleanup plan, which
ideally would wipe clean nearly 40 years of uranium mining in
the area in one year. 

Community member Robert Dodson told EPA, "The reason I wanted to
come here today is to tell the people that are not from around
here that there is a big issue about this uranium" that those
"from 'civilization,' where you people are from," don't see. 

"In these remote areas, people are still in need of electricity
and water. And when people come in to develop something to make
money on, on Indian land, and they go home and get rich on that,
like Mr. George Bush, it hurts me. Because they leave here
people sick. 

"And you come here and tell us you're going to do this in one
year it's not going to happen in one year," Dodson said. "The
sickness people are getting is going to continue because of the
vegetation, the ground. The uranium that soaked into the ground
is going to take years. How are you going to clean that? It's
not going to happen." 

Dodson worked for the Kerr-McGee uranium mine in the 1960s and
1970s. "I used to be an underground electrician. We used to run
blasting wire and I used to work down there and eat down there.
We even drank water down there because the water was cool. We
weren't aware of all this contamination that had gone on with
uranium and underground water. 

"When they do blasting, you know, you go in there and pull your
blasting wire back out of there not knowing that you're being
contaminated from all the dust particles that goes on. And
today, you go to the hospital and you get an exam. The guy
before me was talking about asthma. Yes, I have that, and the
doctor says, 'There's nothing wrong with you.' 

"Our medicine man in return tries to help us. Our medicine man
tells us those are the herbs that will help us for maybe two
months, two years, to be well again. I went to the hospital for
a physical examination. I told my doctor, 'I don't know why I
come over here. My medicine man tells me it's from this. I get
herbs and I feel better again. When I go to the hospital, they
give me medicine. I don't feel better. 

"It costs money to pay for these medicine men. And do you know
what the doctor told me: 'Just keep on doing what you're doing.
Go see your medicine man.' And he's getting paid by the
government to tell me that. So if you're here today to say that
you guys are going to help us, I feel sorry for you," Dodson
said. 

Oh, that smell
 Raphael Martin of Pinedale Chapter told state and federal
officials, "At times, in continuation today, we smell what we
smelled about 25 years ago. We smell the odor of the ponds. The
odor of the dried-up ponds continues to blow over the mountain
of where we live. 

"In driving through that location today, it's going to make me
wonder," he said. It's going to make me wonder excuse my
language when in the hell is this place going to ever get
cleaned? 

"How long are we going to talk about what we're talking about
today? When is someone going to really mean business to clean up
that area? When? Nobody seems to have the answer." 

Martin said he was serving as a council delegate when the first
meeting was held after the July 1979 tailings spill released
about 93 million gallons of tailings and pond water into the Rio
Puerco. "They had a timeline (for cleanup), and for some reason,
those timelines have maybe got covered by the wind or something,
the dust. 

"There seems to be no end. We just talk, talk, talk. Bring the
people together, bring a sandwich and all that, saying we're
going to do this, we're going to do that again there's no end to
this. 

"So many investigations have taken place. So many studies are
continuing today. All that's doing is giving employment to those
that are involved, because the investigations, the studies
there's no end." 

Martin said the Pinedale community wants to know when they are
going to complete the cleanup. "We're depending on Navajo Nation
EPA alot, but what are the productivities from there? What are
the productivities of the Nation? None, as far as I know, other
than the studies that we have currently going on. So far, there
is nothing going on, but the wind is continuing to blow." 

He told EPA's Andrew Bain that in order to complete the
accelerated cleanup, they would have to collect data. How long
is that going to take? Another 25 years? And then we're going to
have to show disposal options. Where are they going to dump what
they're going to collect? 

"And then we're going to have a heck of a time meeting the local
requirements, the county requirements, the state and the federal
requirements. Which way are they (wastes) going to go? It's for
darned sure they aren't going to fly, because we don't have an
airport out there," he said. 

"Our recommendation is we need to come together a little bit
more, not to just talk and have sandwiches. We need to get to
where we want to get. There's a mess back there and we just talk
about it. Let's do something. I'd like to see some results." 

Out of harmony
 John Benally told EPA he lives where all the drainage comes
together from the Church Rock mine. "I'm concerned about the
people, the livestock, the land. Whoever signed the agreement
for the mining of uranium, they compromised the health and
safety of the people," he said. 

"The uranium was used in a negative way. They used it as an
atomic weapon. Unless we can fix that problem we will still have
these problems. ... We should respect Mother Earth. This
desecration of Mother Earth ... you fall out of harmony with
Nature. 

"I know. I worked down in the mine. There was a rock that came
down. Maybe that was sort of a punishment. So I had to get the
services of a medicine man," he said. 

Benally worked in the mine 11 years, doing various jobs. "Before
the mine was put up, they had exploration. They drilled holes
here and there. They drilled wells every thousand feet so they
could locate the uranium. And during that process they
desecrated gravesites," he said. 

The spill
 Lorraine Livingston told EPA that back in the 40s and 50s, the
mine area was a beautiful place to live. "Every home had sheep.
My neighbor had a lot of sheep, and across the arroyo, that
family had sheep. Now, you don't see anything over there." 

The vegetation used to be good before the mine came. When they
left, according to Livingston, they left the land where she
lives pock-marked from drilling. 

The sheep used to go drink from the ponds near the mine, she
said. "We lost a lot of sheep. Once they get in, they don't come
back out. Whatever it is gets stuck on their wool, even after
they were all covered with dirt. They would go around to where
the water used to run. It would get between their hoof and they
can't walk good." 

She said they were finally told not to go across the arroyo
because of the tailings. "They put signs there, but I guess that
was no good. Animals don't read." 

When the dam on the south cell breached, Livingston said, "They
didn't notify us right away that the tailings broke. Early in
the morning when I got up, I heard water running down in the
arroyo. I said it must be (raining) at Pinedale, because usually
it rains in Pinedale and all our soil will be going by our
homes." 

But then she smelled something. "That water smells funny," she
told her husband. 

"As usual, my husband didn't say nothing. ... He went to work. I
guess the next day on his way to work, he came upon water still
down at the arroyo. 

"There was rock where the sheep used to drink. He said, 'That's
vanished. That water that's down there is red, or it looks like
coffee,' he said. And then I said, 'Well, I told you it smells
funny.' "
     
Tuesday March 7, 2006
 
the Gallup Independent feedback on this website and
*****************************************************************
 58 Deutsche Welle: Green Light for German Atomic Waste Facility | Germany |
                
| 08.03.2006
 	 	 	
DW-World.de Deutsche Welle
 
[The Konrad site could be ready for waste storage in five years] 
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  The Konrad site 
could be ready for waste storage in five years 

 A German court on Wednesday gave the go-ahead for the 
construction of a storage facility for low- and medium-level 
radioactive nuclear waste, putting an end to a two-decade-long 
campaign to block the project.
 
A German court in Lower Saxony on Wednesday overturned lawsuits
aimed at preventing a former iron ore mine in the town of
Salzgitter from being converted into a permanent storage
facility for nuclear waste. 

The lawsuits were brought by local councils responsible for the 
site of the proposed dump, as well as two farmers who fear the 
waste could contaminate their land.
 
The court upheld a ruling from the regional authorities in 2002, 
in which the Konrad site, as the former mine is known, was 
licensed to the state's environment ministry. No further appeals 
will be permitted.
 
"The mine is impervious and therefore fulfills the most important 
criteria," said Joachim BlÃ¼th of Lower Saxony's environment 
ministry.
 
The underground storage facility could be completed within five 
years. The waste will be kept in galleries sunk as deep as 1,300 
meters (4,260) feet below the surface. The Konrad site will be 
capable of storing up to 300,000 tons of low- and medium-grade 
radioactive waste produced by hospitals or the pharmaceutical 
industry, for example. 
 
No solution for reactor waste in sight
 
The facility in Salzgitter will not be used to store the highly
radioactive waste from atomic energy plants -- that will
continue to go to a "temporary" storage facility in the eastern
German town of Gorleben. 

z[The Gorleben storage facility has met with fierce resistance] 
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der 
Bildunterschrift:  The Gorleben storage facility has met with 
fierce resistance
 
Following the nuclear phase-out agreement struck by the former
coalition government, investigations into the suitability of
Gorleben's salt domes for long-term nuclear waste storage were
called off, and the site's future remains uncertain. 
 
The German environmental protection NGO BUND has called on
Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel to halt construction
at the Konrad site until the government has agreed on a
permanent storage solution for all of Germany's nuclear waste.
 
"Since highly radioactive waste can't be stored at the Konrad
site, a second permanent storage facility still has to be
found," said Renate Backhaus, atomic expert at BUND. She added
that, contrary to statements from the state environment
ministry, the Konrad site lacks the long-term security to make
it a suitable permanent storage facility. 
 
"The evidence for the site's long-term security no longer 
reflects current scientific knowledge," Backhaus said.
 
[Federal Environment Minister Gabriel Sigmar] Bildunterschrift: 
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Federal 
Environment Minister Gabriel Sigmar
 
Following the court's decision on Wednesday, Environment Minister 
Gabriel said he shared in the criticism of the Konrad site 
project and called for consensus on a general nuclear waste 
storage solution for Germany.
 
He added that while the Konrad mine could be used to store 90 
percent of the waste volume, it would "only account for 10 
percent of the radioactivity in Germany."
 
20 years in the making
 
The project to build a permanent storage facility for Germany's 
low-grade radioactive waste was launched during the chancellery 
of Helmut Kohl when the current chancellor Angela Merkel was 
environment minister.
 
One billion euros ($1.19 billion) have already been invested in 
the project and the final cost could rise to 1.5 billion euros.
 
As yet, there is no consensus from scientists on the question of 
whether or not it is safe to store nuclear waste in geological 
formations deep beneath the earth's surface.
  
DW staff (dc) 

DW-WORLD: Germany's RWE Keen on Prolonging Life of Nuclear Plant 

German energy giant RWE has suggested one of its nuclear plants
should stay online beyond its scheduled shutdown in 2008. Is
Germany getting ready to play with nuclear fire again? (Feb. 24,
2006) 

    + 
DW-WORLD: Germany Committed to Phasing Out Nuclear Power 

The "gas war" between Russia and Ukraine has fueled a heated
debate in Germany about the country's energy policy, but
Chancellor Angela Merkel reaffirmed her government's commitment
to the nuclear phase-out. (Jan. 5, 2006) 

    + 
DW-WORLD: Protestors Halt Nuclear Convoy en Route to Storage
Site 

Anti-nuclear protestors repeatedly halted a controversial
shipment of highly radioactive nuclear waste from France Monday
bound for a temporary storage facility in northern Germany.
(Nov. 21, 2005) 
*****************************************************************
 59 MaineToday.com: Nobody has yet solved the problem of nuclear waste

 As we hear more and more about nuclear power, a sense of deja
vu overtakes me. We're talking about building nuclear plants at
home, in India and in South Africa. Has everyone forgotten that
no one knows what to do with nuclear waste? --> 

[Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel] 

  Wednesday, March 8, 2006 

Nobody has yet solved the problem of nuclear waste

As we hear more and more about nuclear power, a sense of deja vu
overtakes me. We're talking about building nuclear plants at
home, in India and in South Africa. Has everyone forgotten that
no one knows what to do with nuclear waste?

It is dangerous and long-lasting stuff. It sits in abandoned and
functioning power plants waiting for someone to figure out what
to do with it. 

It seems insane to build more plants until we solve that
problem. In all of the talk on the radio and TV about whether or
not to share nuclear technology with India, I've not heard one
person mention nuclear waste.

Abby Shahn

Solon   

  
  [Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal] Home Delivery
Subscribe to the Kennebec Journal or Morning Sentinel for just
$2.49 a week for 12 weeks 

Copyright © 2006, Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc.  
*****************************************************************
 60 The Herald: Tritium: One on one

  [SuburbanChicagoNews.com]   

• Weller visits residence: Congressman hears about radioactive
isotope in water 			

John Patsch / Staff Photographer                              

Mick Scheck speaks at a Tuesday meeting with Rep. Jerry Weller, 
R-Morris, in Scheck's Reed Township house. Scheck and several of 
his neighbors presented concerns to Weller about the recent 
disclosures of tritium leaks from the Braidwood nuclear power 
station. Residents presented Weller with a list of questions 
about health concerns they would like answered.   


By Kim SmithSTAFF WRITER 


Rep. Jerry Weller met Tuesday with people living near Exelon's
Braidwood nuclear power plant, responding to fears that have
emerged after spills of the radioactive isotope tritium.

 And now another substance  the radionuclide Cobalt 60  has been
cited as being present in some local groundwater.

 High levels of tritium and Cobalt 60 are known to cause cancer,
according to the Web site for the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. Yet the specific amount of the radionuclide that has
been found locally, and whether it exceeds standards, has not
yet been publicly disclosed.

 Weller, R-Morris, visited the Reed Township home of Mick and
Wendy Scheck on Tuesday. Several residents gathered there to
express their concerns.

 Weller said he wanted to have a one-on-one talk with local
homeowners so when he goes back to Washington, his office can
start to find answers to their questions. 

One concern, newly disclosed, is the presence of Cobalt 60,
along with tritium, in and on groundwater on an easement on
Smiley Road.

 One of the documents obtained by Scheck and The Herald News
points to a spill reported Nov. 9, 2000, on a form titled
"Illinois Department of Natural Resources Duty Officer Standard
Operating Procedure." The report lists the presence of the
Cobalt 60 and tritium.

 Cobalt 60 is a radionuclide produced for commercial use and is
produced as a byproduct of nuclear reactor operations. It can be
released into the environment through leaks or spills from power
plants. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission only allows small
amounts of Cobalt 60 to be released into the air or poured down
drains.

 Cobalt is a stable nonradioactive metal found in nature,
according to the EPA. Cobalt becomes Cobalt 60 as part of the
nuclear reactor process.

 Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen that is radioactive, said Eli
Port, a specialist in regulatory and environmental solutions
hired by Exelon.

 Like all hydrogen, it reacts with oxygen to form water, he
said. Tritium is produced naturally in the upper atmosphere when
cosmic rays strike atmospheric gases, and tritium is produced in
commercial nuclear reactors, he said.

 Scientists disagree over the safety of the two substances.

 Port said the EPA has established a safe drinking water limit
of 20,000 picocuries of tritium per liter. He compares the level
to eating a banana a day every day for a year  because of the
naturally occurring radioactive potassium in bananas.

 Other scientists, such as Kay Drey of the Nuclear Policy
Research Institute, believe that releasing nuclear waste into
the atmosphere as part of any daily routine is wrong. She
believes there is no safe disposal technology or location for
radioactive waste.

Weller recently ordered a wide-scale review of all nuclear
facilities in the state and of the current reporting procedures
used by Exelon to report the spills. He expects to get results
by the end of March.

 A meeting of the Will County health, aging and education
committee was held recently. County health officials recommended
the use of bottled water for drinking and bathing for residents
worried about the safety of their water supply.

 Exelon vowed to help with the costs to bring in the bottled
water and to help defray costs for bringing a new water system
into the area.

 "We are waiting for county officials to determine how to
proceed (with the bottled water program)," said Neal Miller,
spokesman for the Braidwood plant. "We still plan to help cover
costs."

 The Will County committee will meet again at 9 a.m. Thursday at
the county building at 302 N. Chicago St. in Joliet.

 U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is planning to meet with the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday to discuss the
subject. An Obama spokesman said transcripts of the meeting will
be available soon afterward.

 
- Reporter Kim Smith can be reached at (815) 729-6067 or via
e-mail at ksmith@scn1.com.

 03/08/06 
  
SuburbanChicagoNews.com — ©  Digital Chicago & Sun-Times
*****************************************************************
 61 BYU NewsNet: Nuclear Waste Storage Affects Indian Tribe
 
By Matt Hodge    - 8 Mar 2006
 		   	 	
When the Goshute tribe made the controversial decision to allow
nuclear waste storage on its reservation in exchange for money,
it was taken advantage of y the government. Utah State
University professor David Lewis said during his speech at Utah
Valley State College on Monday, March 6, 2006. 

"This is a story that has no simple answers," said Lewis, a
professor of American history.

 Lewis added there was no moral or happy ending to the story of
the Goshute tribe.

 "Who in their right mind would want to store highly radioactive
waste in their own backyard?" Lewis asked.

 The reservation, located in Skull Valley, Utah, is surrounded
by testing ranges, nuclear waste facilities and polluting
plants. Thousands of tests for rockets and chemical weapons have
gone on over the years.

 Goshute tribal chairman Leon Bear complained years ago that the
tribe was never consulted or asked how they felt about having
these facilities near their reservation.

 "For 160 years we have, at best, ignored the Goshute nation,"
Lewis said.

 The tribe has struggled with unemployment and poverty, and
agreed in May of 1997 to lease land on their reservation for the
storage of nuclear waste above ground.

 While the tribe has never disclosed how much money it received,
Lewis said the deal was worth an estimated $48 million to $240
million. The tribe researched the issue before making a
decision, deciding it would be safe and that they would be
compensated.

 The tribe's interest in storing waste on its reservation was
met with opposition from Utah politicians. Gov. Michael Leavitt
was initially highly against the plan.

 "For a politician, to oppose this is a slam dunk," Lewis said,
suggesting that coming out against nuclear waste in the state is
always a popular move.

 Leavitt later changed his position. He said the Goshute deal
was acceptable because only a small group of people would have
to deal with living near the waste, and that most of the state's
2 million residents were safe. Only 121 people currently live on
the Goshute reservation.

 Lewis criticized the government's treatment of the tribe,
calling it stupid, tragic and similar to the harsh treatment of
Native Americans at the hands of early settlers. He said if the
Goshute tribe was a white organization it would have been
treated much more fairly by the government.

 Some tribe members have said the money is not worth losing
their identities and what they hold sacred. Lewis said the issue
has turned Native Americans against themselves. Some are opposed
to the storage of any hazardous waste, while others argue they
need to do whatever they can to help their tribe thrive.

 "I will not defend tribal politics within that tribe," Lewis
said.

 Bear has been criticized for hurting the image of Native
Americans as well as going against their traditional values. He
has argued that Skull Valley, with its nearby environmental
hazards, has no alternative.

 "We can't do anything here that's green or environmental,"
Lewis quoted Bear as saying.

 At the end of the lecture, Lewis answered his earlier question
about who would want to store waste near their homes.

 "In reality, no one does. Not Leon Bear, not the Goshute.
Nobody does," Lewis said. "I think the point is to negotiate
alternatives."

 UVSC student Chris Thresher said he came to the lecture to
learn about an issue he knew very little about.

 "I thought [Lewis] gave a pretty good objective view of the
thing," Thresher said.

 Thresher said he thought the government should do more to
support the Goshute tribe, but stay out of their political
structure so as not to set a precedent for future states to
interfere with other tribes.
 
(For comments, e-mail Matthew Hodge at matthewhodge@byu.net)
 

Copyright, BYU NewsNet                                                           
*****************************************************************
 62 reviewjournal.com: Congress won't act on Yucca legislation this year, 
senator says
 
Mar. 08, 2006

By STEVE TETREAULT <br/>STEPEHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU <br/>
	
WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the Senate Energy Committee said 
Tuesday he did not think Congress would act on legislation this 
year to help establish a nuclear waste repository at Yucca 
Mountain.
 
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said it is getting late to carry on a 
nuclear waste debate during a congressional session that figures 
to be shortened by elections this fall. 

"It seems to me to be very difficult to get it done this year,"
Domenici said in a remark published by Environment & Energy
Daily, an Internet publication that reports on Congress. 

Domenici's spokeswoman could not be reached Tuesday to confirm
his comment, which also was reported by Congress Daily. The
senator spoke to reporters after a committee meeting.
 
The remarks by a senator who is considered influential on
nuclear issues comes as the Bush administration continues to
negotiate internally over a proposed bill intended to jump-start
the stalled Yucca program. 

Sources say officials at the Department of Energy and at the
White House continue to differ on key elements of the bill,
which is expected to spark debate and opposition from repository
opponents. 

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Tuesday he hoped it would be
ready "within the month."
 
Bodman on Friday said the Bush administration would not seek
permission from Congress in the bill to establish interim sites
where nuclear waste could be located from power plants until
Yucca Mountain is completed. 

On Monday, administration sources said Bodman "spoke too soon"
and that interim storage still was being negotiated. 

Meanwhile Tuesday, Democrats said the administration's
contradiction of Bodman may signal "the beginning of the end"
for the energy secretary.
 
"Given the Bush administration's emphasis on loyalty and its
record of marginalizing dissenters, this development does not
bode well for Secretary Bodman," said a statement distributed by
the Democrats' "war room" established by Senate Minority Leader
Harry Reid of Nevada. 
	   
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2006
 Stephens Media GroupPrivacy Statement
*****************************************************************
 63 The Dispatch: Don't Let Olin Off the Hook on Perchlorate Issue

Wednesday, March 08, 2006   

   OPINION   

Dear Editor:

I have appreciated the coverage the Dispatch has given over time
to the issue of perchlorate contamination in local groundwater.ÿ
However, the Feb. 18 editorial on the subject contained one
section that concerned me.ÿ 

The editorial stated: "Because we can't know what the true
'background level' of perchlorate is, it's an unenforceable
standard."ÿ I was particularly troubled by linking that with the
next statement that: "However, the state of California's health
goal of 6 ppb is clear and achievable."

The suggestion that the polluter be let off the hook because we
cannot with certainty say exactly what the water quality was
before the contamination should not be acceptable.ÿ We know that
there was likely no perchlorate in local groundwater before
perchlorate was released from its Morgan Hill facility over a
number of decades by the company that is now part of Olin.ÿ 

Many residents of Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy are
experiencing polluted water from perchlorate, and they have the
right to have the water returned to the level it was before this
contamination started, not to the level that the state has
determined is a "safe" level of contamination.ÿ This right
should not be diminished simply because water quality tests
might not have monitored for this substance 60 years ago.

The Regional Water Quality Control Board will require that Olin
clean the groundwater basin as close to pre-discharge levels as
technically and economically feasible.ÿ The exact level will be
determined by competent and dedicated water quality engineers.ÿ
Staying focused on this goal must continue to be key as we move
forward as a community in addressing the perchlorate issue in
South County.

John Laird, Assemblymember, 

27th Assembly District

*****************************************************************
 64 PRN: Drilling scheduled at Thomas Mountain Uranium project in Utah

PR Newswire's RSS Feed] 

VANCOUVER, March 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Max Resource Corp. 
((TSX.V: MXR; OTCBB - MXROF; Frankfurt: M1D) has retained DeLong 
Construction and Drilling of Nevada as the drilling contractor 
for its Thomas Mountain uranium prospect in Juab County, Utah. 

The Thomas Mountain project comprises 195 claims totaling 3,900 
acres and is located 150 miles southwest of Salt Lake City and 20 
miles west of the town of Delta. These uranium claims are 
situated east of the Brushman Wellman Beryllium mine, and have 
excellent road access. The claims are controlled 100% by MAX. 

DeLong Drilling will be using a reverse-circulation drill to 
drill the first hole of a six hole drill program. Drilling is 
scheduled to begin on or about March 15, 2006. 

The PPCO claims were explored during the early 1980's by Phillips 
Uranium, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Phillips Petroleum. 
Phillips encountered uranium grades of approximately 0.05% U3O8, 
over a 100 foot thickness at a depth of 900 feet within a small 
caldera. The uranium host rock was identical to the host rock 
found in a nearby structurally controlled uranium system, the 
"Yellow Chief" mine, that produced approximately 500,000 pounds 
of uranium from ore that had an average grade of 0.2% U3O8. The 
mining was terminated when the ore zone was found to be faulted 
off to the east. The zone found by Phillips on the PPCO claims is 
thought to be the source of the original Yellow Chief 
mineralization. The mineralization is in the mote sediments of a 
small caldera contained within a major caldera system and appears 
to be structurally controlled along the edge of this caldera. Due 
to the geological formations in the area, the property may be 
amenable to "in-situ leaching "("ISL"), subject to further 
exploration. 

Exploration drilling conducted by Phillips on the PPCO claims was 
supervised by Clancy J. Wendt, the Vice President of Exploration 
for MAX, who was employed by Phillips at that time. Further 
exploration of the property was terminated by Phillips after the 
Three Mile Island accident, which resulted in Phillips 
terminating all of its uranium exploration activities. 

About MAX Resource Corp. 

MAX Resource Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company that 
identifies, acquires and finances advanced stage exploration 
projects. MAX is currently focused on the discovery of uranium, 
precious metals and base metals, with interests in properties in 
Alaska, Utah, New Mexico and the Northwest Territories of Canada. 
For more information, please visit our web site at 
http://www.maxresource.com. 

On behalf of the Board of Directors of 

MAX Resource Corp. 

"STUART ROGERS" 

Stuart Rogers 

President 

Contact: Leonard MacMillan, Corporate Communication 

Telephone: (800) 248-1872 or (604) 637-2140 

info@maxresource.com http://www.maxresource.com 

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the 
adequacy 

or accuracy of this release. 

This News Release includes certain "forward looking statements". 
Without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization 
and resources, exploration results, and future plans and 
objectives of the Company are forward looking statements that 
involve various degrees of risk. The following are important 
factors that could cause MAX's actual results to differ 
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward 
looking statements: changes in the world wide price of mineral 
commodities, general market conditions, risks inherent in mineral 
exploration, risks associated with development, construction and 
mining operations, the uncertainty of future profitability and 
the uncertainty of access to additional capital. 

	 SOURCE Max Resource Corp. 

Copyright © 1996- PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights 
Reserved. A United Business Mediacompany. 
*****************************************************************
 65 MH: Nuclear: EPA Yucca Mountain Rule Seen By Year's End -

McGraw-Hill Construction | ENR - Construction Industry, News

3/13/2006                        
  				 				
By Tom Ichniowski
    
The Environmental Protection Agency expects to issue new
radiation standards by the end of 2006 for the planned nuclear
waste repository under Nevadas Yucca Mountain, William Wehrum,
acting assistant administrator for air and radiation, told the
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on March 1. 

EPA last year proposed limiting exposure outside the repository
to 15 millirem over 10,000 years, rising to 350 millirem within
1 million years. In 2004 a federal appeals court rejected an
earlier EPA proposal, which didnt extend past 10,000 years. 

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) predicts further lawsuits. She
says EPAs extension of the time period and increase in exposure
level wont survive a court challenge.
 				 
*****************************************************************
 66 Cañon City Daily Record: CDPHE wants clearer request from Cotter
 
  Publish Date: 3/8/2006 			 

Blakely Thomas-Aguilar
 The Daily Record 					 					 The Colorado Department of Public

Health and Environment issued a Request for Information on
Friday regarding Cotter Corp.’s request to receive and process
about 11,000 tons of radioactive raffinate materials. 

“The report is incomplete as presented to the department and is
not approved at this time,” the March 3 letter states. 

The letter, addressed to Cotter’s Manager of Environmental
Affairs Steve Landau, requests more information primarily on the
total contents of the sludge slated to arrive from Cotter’s
fellow General Atomics-owned site, the decommissioned Sequoyah
Fuels Corp. 

Steve Tarlton, leader of the department’s Radiation Management
Unit, said that Cotter’s Material Acceptance Report submitted in
January does not satisfy the department’s concerns about the
contents. Only two sample results of the sludge were submitted
for consideration, and Tarlton said this might not be an
accurate representation of the contents of the entire shipment. 

“The data we’re looking for may actually exist. Cotter may have
synthesized the results to make the MAR easier to read,” Tarlton
said in a telephone interview Tuesday. 

Representatives from Cotter did not return telephone messages
left by the Daily Record this morning. 

The request is only the second made by the Cañon City uranium
mill since its inception in 1958 to accept and process materials
other than naturally mined ore. The acceptance and processing of
zirconium oxide was cleared by CDPHE officials in 2000 but, as
Tarlton said, every situation with Cotter is unique because it
is one of only two like plants in the United States. 

“We have to understand what we have,” Tarlton said, “and what
it’s going to do in the impoundment.” 

The RFI targets for specific chemicals, aluminum, flourine,
thorium and arsenic, all of which were found to be elevated in
the sample findings provided by Cotter in the MAR. 

The Sequoyah waste has caused a stir in the public because of
these chemicals and their potential impact on the environment
and community. At the core, however, is the history of
reclassification of materials at the site. Originally classified
as low level waste, Tarlton said that in negotiation between the
company, stock-holders and the Nuclear Regulatory Committee, the
waste was reclassified as 11e.(2) materials. Such a
reclassification could permit the materials to be transported to
a facility, like Cotter, for processing and extraction of its
high levels of uranium content. 

“This material had a history of being considered low level
waste,” Tarlton said. “We don’t know if the basis of
reclassification is supported in this data so far.” 

A question arises in the RFI about what stage of processing the
materials were in before decommissioning. Because of the
elevated levels of flourine, among others, Tarlton said it
appears to suggest that these materials originated from a
“back-end process” instead of a “front-end process,” as decided
by the NRC in its reclassification negotiations. The front-end
process is similar to that of Cotter’s current extraction
proc-esses, but the back-end methods are from conversion or
reduction that Cotter does not have the authority or experience
to perform. 

“The presence of these materials may not have been known to NRC
at the time they changed the classification of the material to
11e.(2),” the letter states. 

Because of the elevated chemical contents, the RFI requests that
Cotter “demonstrate” that these levels will not interfere with
the uranium extraction process or the integrity of the hypalon
liners in the impoundment ponds. It also must present specific
safety, training, handling and storage methods for the
materials. 

Tarlton said Cotter now has 45 days to respond to the RFI, but
this could be a letter acknowledging Cotter’s receipt of the
document. It is likely, based on the history between the CDPHE
and Cotter, that negotiations will take place and the time limit
for a final decision on the acceptance of the materials is
unclear, Tarlton said. 				   

Cañon City and the Greater Royal Gorge Region
   
All contents Copyright © 2005 The Cañon City Daily Record. All
rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 67 DOE: DOE Cites University of Chicago for Nuclear Safety Violations
 
  March 7, 2006
 
WASHINGTON , DC  The Department of Energy (DOE) today issued a
Preliminary Notice of Violation (PNOV) to the University of
Chicago (University), the Management and Operating contractor
for DOEs Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), for nuclear safety
violations identified through several safety reviews and
inspections conducted by DOE.   

A series of reviews and inspections, the most recent of which 
occurred in 2005, identified breakdowns in the contractors 
quality improvement, radiation protection, work process, and 
independent and management assessment programs.  

Prior to 2005, senior contractor management at ANL failed to 
adequately comply with DOEs nuclear safety regulations that 
govern these programs. DOEs investigation of the safety review 
findings found that these issues have existed for a number of 
years, and the Universitys efforts to correct these problems 
were largely ineffective.    

The identified deficiencies have not caused significant radiation 
exposures or other nuclear safety incidents.  However, DOE noted 
in a letter to the ANL that it was simply fortuitous that no harm 
had occurred to ANL staff, given the breadth and duration of the 
identified violations. Last year, the University appointed a new 
management team at ANL and has given the new lab director the 
resources and support necessary to upgrade the nuclear safety 
program.  

The new director has already begun to take corrective actions and 
initiated others to address other problems, including the 
implementation of a new safety program infrastructure.   The PNOV 
includes a proposed civil penalty of $550,000 for the identified 
violations.  

This penalty, however, is waived by statute for the University.  
DOE indicated in its letter to the director of ANL that while the 
enforcement action would normally have been much more severe 
given the number and duration of the violations, enforcement 
discretion was being exercised in recognition of the significant 
corrective actions already taken by the director and the new 
management team.   

The Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988 authorizes DOE to 
undertake regulatory actions against contractors for violations 
of its nuclear safety requirements.  The enforcement program 
encourages DOE contractors to identify and correct nuclear safety 
deficiencies at an early stage before they contribute to or 
result in more serious events.   Additional details on this and 
other enforcement actions are available at: 
http://www.eh.doe.gov/enforce/. 

Media contact(s):
 Craig Stevens, 202.586.4940     [ ]   

  U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW |
Washington, DC 20585
 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 | 
  
*****************************************************************
 68 Hanford News: State seeks to join Hanford suit
 
This story was published Tuesday, March 7th, 2006 

By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer 

The state of Washington has filed to join a Yakama Nation
lawsuit against the Department of Energy over Hanford cleanup. 

The states of Washington and Oregon and tribes with historic
ties to Hanford land want an assessment of harm to natural
resources caused by the past production of plutonium at the
Hanford nuclear reservation. 

If DOE will not do the assessment or otherwise cooperate, then
the state of Washington wants a federal judge to require DOE to
pay the state's costs of doing the assessment. 

"For the past few years, we have consistently requested that an
injury assessment be conducted," said Lawrence Goldstein, of the
Washington State Department of Ecology, in court documents. "DOE
has consistently refused." 

It has refused to pay for data to be collected and also to even
discuss potential injury to natural resources at Hanford, he
said. 

Because Hanford is a federal Superfund cleanup site, DOE is
required to assess how pollution at Hanford has affected plants,
animals, ground water and the Columbia River. If damage remains
after cleanup is completed, then states and tribes may file
claims against the polluter, the federal government. 

"The intent behind the law is to look at the damage before
figuring out the final remedy," said Elliott Furst, senior
counsel for the Washington state Office of the Attorney General. 

DOE has said it's too soon to look at damages, with cleanup
plans still being developed and cleanup continuing at Hanford. 

"We're saying that's the worst way to do it," Furst said. 

Knowing what harm has been caused is necessary to guide cleanup
and prevent the state from having to pursue legal action later
to get the site restored, he said. 

The Nez Perce Tribe filed with the state of Washington to join
the lawsuit. 

"The tribe believes the DOE will not conduct or fund natural
resource injury assessment studies at Hanford unless ordered to
do so by a court," said Daniel Landeen, of the tribe's
Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Department, in a
court document. 

The lawsuit was brought by the Yakama Nation in 2002, but in
recent years the matter has been in mediation. 

In late 2005, with little progress having been made in
mediation, U.S. Judge Lonny Suko agreed to allow the case to go
forward in court at the request of the Yakama Nation. 

Washington and Oregon notified DOE in 2004 that they planned to
enter the lawsuit brought by the Yakama Nation. However, they
agreed then to try to resolve differences outside of court and
did not file to join the suit. 

Washington had expected a settlement offer, but did not receive
one, Furst said. As a result, the state filed to join the case
last week. 

Oregon has not filed to join the lawsuit, but could. Ken Niles,
assistant director of the Oregon State Department of Energy,
filed court documents last week in support of Washington. 

The Yakama Nation lawsuit covers not only Superfund law
requirements covering harm to natural resources, but also
requirements regarding cleanup. Washington and the Nez Perce
Tribe have filed to join only one portion of the lawsuit related
to the natural resources injury assessment. 

A ruling that the federal government is liable for costs related
to doing the assessment will make getting funding for the work
from the state Legislature easier, Furst said. However, the
state's first choice remains for DOE to participate with other
agencies in the assessment, he said. 

© 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 69 Hanford News: Tri-Cities sees rise in jobs in January
 
This story was published Wednesday, March 8th, 2006 

By Jeff St. John, Herald staff writer 

Continuing strength in construction and food processing helped
boost Tri-City job growth in January, though seasonal slumps in
retail sales and farm work took their expected toll. 

Nonfarm jobs in the Tri-Cities stood at 85,600 in January, up 1
percent from the 84,700 jobs recorded in the same month last
year, according to data released Tuesday by the state Employment
Security Department. 

That represents a slight upturn for the Tri-City economy, which
has suffered from the loss of about 1,600 jobs at Bechtel
National's radioactive waste vitrification plant, as well as
other layoffs among Hanford contractors, over the same period of
time. 

"Given the struggles we've had, 1 percent growth ain't bad
news," said Dean Schau, state labor economist for the Tri-City
region. 

While that still doesn't match the growth in other metropolitan
areas of the state, it is welcome news for an economy stung by
Hanford job losses, Schau noted. 

In the category of professional and business services, which
covers most Hanford jobs, the Tri-Cities has lost 1,000 jobs
between January 2005 and the first month of 2006, with Hanford
job losses outweighing gains by other employers. 

But almost every other industry category showed some gains over
the same period of time, particularly construction and food
processing, he said. 

Construction employment rose to 6,000 jobs in January, up 600
from the 5,400 jobs recorded in the same month last year. Schau
pointed to work at the ongoing Highway 240 widening project, a
number of commercial construction projects and continued home
building. 

When it comes to new house permits, 2006 has started off just "a
little bit off" from the record-breaking pace of 2004 and 2005,
said Jeff Losey, executive director of the Home Builders
Association of Tri-Cities. 

January saw 105 new single-family residential permits filed in
the Tri-Cities, compared to 112 for the same month last year, he
said. 

"From the builder's perspective, things are moving forward at a
nice pace," he said. But given the layoffs at Hanford,
"everybody's just kind of waiting to see" what happens, he said. 

As for food processing, the industry showed a pattern of growth
throughout the year that helped to boost manufacturing jobs in
the Tri-Cities - the category food processors are tallied in -
by 200 jobs, up to 5,600 in January, compared to the same month
last year, Schau said. 

"Food processing in the Tri-Cities had the best year ever last
year," he said, with an record figure of 3,815 jobs per month in
the third quarter of 2005, typically the peak for employment. 

Large-scale potato and vegetable processors take a large share
of the credit for this boost, he noted. 

Soon to join such Tri-City food processing mainstays as JR
Simplot Co. and Lamb-Weston/ConAgra Foods Inc. will be Bybee
Foods, which is building a $24 million frozen vegetable packing
plant in Pasco. 

The Prosser-based company employs about 75 people year-round and
about 300 more during harvest months. But of the 67 food
processors listed in Benton and Franklin counties, Schau said 26
of them were in a category not usually connected with the
industry - wineries. 

"It appeared that most of the additional jobs were with the
wineries and potato processing," he said. 

About 400 wine-related jobs were recorded for the Tri-Cities in
January, he said. But in September, that number stood at nearly
1,500, he added. 

Of course, both food processing and farming jobs saw a seasonal
drop-off in January compared to December, he noted. 

Of the roughly 1,800 jobs lost in the Tri-Cities over that time,
however, nearly half were in retail trade - a typical trend for
stores that hire temporary employees for the holiday shopping
season, he said. 

Farm employment also fell to a seasonal low of 5,400 in January,
down from 5,700 in December. January's farm employment was
slightly lower than the 5,500 jobs recorded at the same time
last year. 

These seasonal job losses, along with Hanford job losses, pushed
unemployment in the Tri-Cities to 7.3 percent in January, up
from December's rate of 6.3 percent. 

Compared to the statewide unemployment rate of 5.3 percent, the
Tri-Cities stands out, Schau said. 

While January's unemployment rate was slightly lower than the
7.5 percent recorded in January 2005, back then the statewide
unemployment rate was 6.4 percent. 

© 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved.
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 70 Hanford News: Cantwell to Bush: Don't cut budget at expense of sick workers
 
This story was published Wednesday, March 8th, 2006 

By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer 

The Bush administration should not pinch pennies at the expense
of Hanford workers with cancer, said Sen. Maria Cantwell,
D-Wash., in a statement Tuesday. 

She's written to the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S.
Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services asking for clarification of a proposal that could make
it more difficult for Hanford workers to receive compensation. 

If the federal government determines that exposure to radiation
at Hanford caused individual cases of cancer, workers or their
survivors can receive $150,000 payments. 

If radiation exposure data is insufficient or inconsistent,
workers can apply for "special exposure cohort" status that
allows automatic payments without a determination of the
radiation dose received. 

A recent OMB memo suggested changing the process for awarding
special exposure cohort status after being warned of cost
increases. 

Among proposed changes is requiring Bush administration approval
of the designation of any special exposure cohort. 

"We have an undeniable responsibility to give sick Hanford
workers the benefits they need, not inject politics into a
decision that should be based on facts," she said. 

Cantwell also is questioning why the proposed budget for the
portion of the program that covers primarily cancer
compensation, Part B, would drop from $460 million this year to
$277 million next year. 

A subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee has started
hearings to learn more about the proposed changes and plans
another hearing Thursday. 

© 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved.
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 71 westword.com: Flats, Busted
 
Lawsuits against Rocky Flats, like plutonium, last forever.
																								
By Patricia Calhoun                                                                                                                                                                                                
 																								
Article Published Mar 9, 2006
										 											 										   									 								
After months of testimony and weeks of deliberation, the ten
jurors considering the case of Merilyn Cook, et al., vs.
Rockwell International Corporation and the Dow Chemical Company
had finally reached a verdict. But before it was revealed, U.S.
District Judge John Kane had a few words to say. 

"Through this trial, I had a clipping from one of the newspapers
that said -- the headline was 'Rocky Flats Gets Its Day in
Court.' It's a typical newspaper understatement," he told the
jurors. "What you had is 69 days of this trial spread out from
October 3 to the present time, and you deliberated all or part
of seventeen days.... 

"So today is the last day of this, and I want -- I don't know
how to say this as evocatively, as forcefully as I really want
to, but we are all committed to the jury system in this country,
and to allow citizens to be in this particular venue of the
courtroom with a jury, to be government by the people, of the
people, and you have served in that capacity far more than most
other jurors do because of the length and time and the
complexity of the case. You have set an example and a standard
that all of us respect, and I want you to carry with you the
notion that you are doing something to preserve, protect and
defend the integrity of our government system by the work that
you've put in, the concentration, the effort and the time." 
And then on February 14, more than four months after they'd
first stepped foot in the federal courthouse, the jurors
delivered a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs -- a class of
12,000 property owners who'd owned land around Rocky Flats in
1990 -- awarding them $554 million, a record judgment in this
state, for the damage done to their property. For the damage
done to their lives. 

For the damage done by the lies. 

"The jury has spoken, and they saw through the guff," says Jon
Lipsky, who knows guff when he sees it. As the
environmental-crimes expert for the FBI in Denver, Lipsky led
the probe into alleged violations at Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons
Plant, the federal facility built sixteen miles upwind of Denver
to manufacture plutonium triggers for nuclear bombs. After two
years of investigation and armed with a 116-page search warrant,
he led dozens of FBI and EPA agents on a spectacular dawn raid
of the plant on June 6, 1989. The evidence seized in that raid
went to Colorado Special Grand Jury 89-2, impaneled on August 1
of that year and charged with investigating possible federal
crimes at Rocky Flats. 

Lipsky testified before that grand jury, just as he would later
testify before the jury considering the class-action case
against Dow, which ran Rocky Flats for the federal government
from 1953 until 1975, and Rockwell, which had the contract from
1975 up until the raid. After that, the plant was never again
operational. 

Lipsky's raid not only shut down Rocky Flats, but woke up its
neighbors, who'd been assured by the government that the
facility posed no threat. All that summer, they held community
meetings, panicked by the stories leaking out, fearful of the
plant's impact on their health, on their property. On January
30, 1990, they filed suit against the two companies that had
operated Rocky Flats in almost complete secrecy for close to
forty years. 

More than fifteen years later, in Judge Kane's courtroom, Lipsky
finally got to talk about what he'd found at Rocky Flats. Until
January 2005, when he retired from the FBI, he hadn't been
allowed to talk about the case in public at all. In fact, the
day after a congressional subcommittee issued a report on the
grand-jury investigation, Lipsky, the FBI's environmental
expert, was transferred by then-U.S. Attorney Mike Norton to Los
Angeles, where he was assigned to a gang unit. 

But he never forgot what he'd seen at Rocky Flats. And over days
of testimony in the civil case last fall, as the lead witness
for the plaintiffs, he told the jurors about his work leading up
to the raid, about the nighttime flights that indicated an
incinerator that was supposed to be shut down was illegally
burning hazardous waste, about the workers who'd come to him
with stories about being told to violate plant policies.
								 
©2006 Village Voice Media All rights reserved. 
*****************************************************************
 72 DOE: Office of International Regimes and Agreements; Proposed 
 
                         FR Doc E6-3300 
[Federal Register: March 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 45)] 
[Notices] [Page 11596] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08mr06-48]                         
 
Subsequent Arrangement AGENCY: Department of Energy.
 
ACTION: Subsequent arrangement.
 
SUMMARY: This notice has been issued under the authority of 
section 131 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 
U.S.C. 2160). The Department is providing notice of a proposed 
subsequent arrangement under the Agreement for Cooperation 
Between the United States of America and the Government of the 
Argentine Republic Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy and 
the Agreement Between the United States of America and Australia 
Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.
 
This subsequent arrangement concerns the retransfer of eleven 
fission counters from the Comision Nacional De Energia Atomica 
(CNEA) to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology 
Organization (ANSTO) in Lucas Heights, Australia. Five of the 
fission counters contain 0.54 grams of U.S. obligated uranium, 
0.48 grams in the isotope U-235. The other six fission counters 
contain 0.46 grams of U.S. obligated uranium, 0.41 grams in the 
isotope U-235. The material, which is currently in the form 
uranium ore concentrates (U3O8) and is located at CNEA's 
Instrumentation and Control Department, will be transferred to 
ANSTO for use at the new Australian Nuclear Research Reactor.
 
CNEA originally obtained the material from the United States 
under a general license.
 
In accordance with section 131 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 
as amended, we have determined that this subsequent arrangement 
is not inimical to the common defense and security.
 
This subsequent arrangement will take effect no sooner than 
fifteen days after the date of publication of this notice.
 
For the Department of Energy.
 
Richard Goorevich, Director, Office of International Regimes and 
Agreements.
 
[FR Doc. E6-3300 Filed 3-7-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 73 www.GovExec.com: Senators critical of Energy Department's nuclear 
weapons spending 

(3/8/06) 
	 	 	
By David Ruppe, Global Security Newswire

The Energy Department's $6.4 billion nuclear weapons maintenance 
and research programs may be wasteful, a congressional committee 
chairman said at a hearing Tuesday, indicating he might be 
considering a funding cut. 

Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chairman
Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., told National Nuclear Security
Administration chief Linton Brooks he has "concerns about the
efficiency" of Energy Department activities. 

"I am unconvinced that we are getting all we can for every
dollar," Sessions said, echoing comments he made last month to
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman that suggested $1 billion in
savings could be made. 

Along similar lines, ranking committee Democrat Bill Nelson of
Florida questioned whether the agency might at the Defense
Department's request have taken on too many programs, citing
early research for the administration's Reliable Replacement
Warhead program. 

"Perhaps [the Defense Department] is asking too much and money
is being spent on projects that we will eventually not need," he
said. 

Brooks told the committee that the Energy Department's nuclear
programs, which also include nuclear nonproliferation and Navy
propulsion system work, took "dramatic reductions" in size and
spending following the Cold War. 

He said further that efforts were under way to shrink the U.S.
nuclear weapons arsenal by nearly half by 2012. Stockpile
maintenance absorbs a majority of the program's budget. The
administration has requested $6.4 billion for the stockpile work
in fiscal 2007 - the amount it received for this fiscal year -
and $9.3 billion for all its nuclear activities. 

"We are transforming into a more efficient, more secure complex,
but more work needs to be done. NNSA's 2007 budget request will
allow us to continue our efforts," he said. 

Brooks and other officials have described the Reliable
Replacement Warhead program as just such a way of reducing the
stockpile, making it more easily maintained, and thereby
reducing stockpile maintenance costs. 

The idea behind the program, Brooks said, is to "design
replacement components that are easier to manufacture, safer and
more secure, [and] eliminate environmentally dangerous
materials, which also saves money." 

The Reliable Replacement Warhead program appears intended to
design new nuclear weapons and components to replace or swap out
components of the U.S. arsenal as it ages. 

He said the program was undergoing a concept design competition,
from which one will be selected in the fall for use by the
department. 

Brooks said the department's fiscal 2007 request for the nuclear
weapons programs is $860 million less than was forecasted two
years ago, with "about half of that for deficit reduction, the
other half redirected primarily to nonproliferation." 

He said a congressional cut to fiscal 2006 funding for a
Facilities and Infrastructure Recapitalization Program, intended
to address a backlog of weapons complex physical infrastructure
maintenance, should delay that program's scheduled completion in
2011 by two years. 

In apparent agreement with Sessions and Nelson, though, Brooks
said the nuclear weapons complex "still isn't right" in its
current configuration because it cannot develop and build new
nuclear weapons quickly. 

He said administration plans to develop "a modern responsive
infrastructure" were intended to address that and that efforts
were under way to determine what the infrastructure should look
like. 

Brooks said there is reason to worry his agency would not be
able to afford the Reliable Replacement Warhead program and pay
for its other work. 

"Right now the Reliable Replacement Warhead is a relatively -
it's frightening to use $27 million as a small number - but it
is a relatively small fraction of our budget. But if it has the
promise it's going to have, the resources for it will grow," he
said. 

If the warhead program is fully pursued, however, he said the
agency could try to fund it by scaling back on life-extension
programs for aging weapons. 

"The question that we and the Department of Defense are
wrestling with is how certain do we have to be that the RRW
concept is really going to (a) work and (b) fit in with the
country's priorities before we can start shifting resources
away," he said. 

"My guess is that in the next year or two you will see us walk
away from some of the life extension, but that's assuming
decisions that haven't been made yet," he said. 

©2006 by National Journal Group Inc. All rights reserved.   
    
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