***************************************************************** 03/23/06 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 14.70 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 Guardian Unlimited: Rice Won't Tolerate Stall Tactics on Iran 2 AFP: No more stalling on Iran - Rice 3 AFP: Japan vows to keep developing giant Iran oil field - 4 US: Guardian Unlimited: Court Considers Whistleblower Lawsuuits 5 Guardian Unlimited: The rancid relationship 6 Times of India: See-saw battle over N-deal with India on 7 US: BBC ON THIS DAY | 23 | 1983: Reagan launches Cold War into space 8 US: Herald News: Support sought for tritium lawsuit 9 Pravda.Ru: USA capable of wiping out Russia’s nuclear capacity in si 10 Asia Times Online: India, US rally for their nuclear deal 11 Pakistan News: Pak was ’very fully’ informed about N-deal: US 12 US: PittsburghLIVE.com: Westinghouse to expand - 13 Pakistan Times: N-deal with India not to upset balance of power - US 14 Deccan Herald: Pak was informed about nuke deal - US - 15 AFP: US lobbies for nuclear trade with India 16 UPI: Japan worried over U.S.-India nuclear deal 17 theage.com.au: Beazley: Howard will go nuclear 18 Bellona: European Commission reacts to new Russian NGO law 19 Platts: EC President urges decision by states on stance toward nucle 20 Xinhua: China outlines long-term nuclear development 21 UPI: Energy - Fuel loading in TAPP begins NUCLEAR REACTORS 22 US: [NukeNet] Arizona: Palo Verde water spills investigated 23 Chernobyl disaster raised infant mortality in the UK 24 US: Charlotte Observer: NRC widens probe of cheating on tests 25 US: newsobserver.com: NRC team to pobe security concerns at N.C. nuc 26 US: NY Daily News: Indian Pt. evac plans get another look 27 US: Arizona Republic: Palo Verde water spills investigated 28 US: APP.COM: Nuclear plants to reassess limits on tainted releases 29 Independent: Chernobyl disaster linked to higher rate of infant mort 30 US: Clarion-Ledger: New nuke plant may be ready by 2015 31 US: JOURNAL NEWS: Homeland Security vows Indian Point aid 32 US: Rutland Herald: Yankee is a plus for Vermont 33 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Meeting Notice 34 US: NRC: NRC Staff Responds to Security Concerns at Harris Nuclear P 35 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Meeting of the 36 US: Hudson Valley News: Leaks around Indian Point not a concern yet 37 US: NRC: NRC to Discuss 2005 Performance Assessment for Seabrook Nuc 38 Japan Times: Fishermen fail to halt reactor plan 39 US: WCAX.com: Standards high for fighting Vermont Yankee relicensure 40 US: NRC: NRC Announces Opportunity to Request Hearing on Application 41 US: American Chronicle: Three Mile Island - A Look Back 42 US: NRC: NRC Announces Opportunity to Request a Hearing on Applicati 43 US: NRC: News Release - 2006-041 - NRC Meeting March 29 – 30 to NUCLEAR SECURITY 44 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Hiring Hong Kong Co. to Scan Nukes NUCLEAR SAFETY 45 Notinkansas.us: Depleted Uranium For Dummies 46 US: IEER: Tritium Memo NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 47 Las Vegas SUN: Ensign seeks re-election to Nevada Senate seat 48 Nevada Appeal: Nevada sues for release of secret Yucca document 49 US: Las Vegas SUN: GAO: Quality assurance problems still hamper nucl 50 Platts: Nevada sues DOE, Energy Secretary Bodman over Yucca Mountain 51 reviewjournal.com: Nevada chases Yucca Mountain documents, sues 52 US: Monticello Times: Plant manager expresses confidence in cask sto 53 JURIST - Paper Chase: Nevada sues US government to gain documents 54 US: UPI: Call for Aussie uranium export restriction 55 Whitehaven News: BNG could face double prosecution PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 56 Knox News: Bomb's shelters 57 AP Wire: DOE official disagrees with panel on number of SRS contract 58 Hanford News: Residents go to bat for B Reactor; National Park Servi 59 lamonitor.com: Safety board checks on lab transition 60 WIStv.com: Energy Department official disagrees with panel on number ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 Guardian Unlimited: Rice Won't Tolerate Stall Tactics on Iran From the Associated Press [UP] Friday March 24, 2006 12:01 AM AP Photo DCSW101 By ANNE GEARAN AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice issued a veiled warning Thursday to holdouts in a diplomatic impasse at the United Nations over Iran's disputed nuclear program. ``There can't be any stalling,'' Rice said in response to a question about U.S. efforts to get Russia and China to sign on to a strongly worded rebuke to Tehran. Russia and China have refused to back a U.N. Security Council statement proposed by Britain, France and the United States demanding Iran suspend uranium enrichment. Talks among the permanent members of the Security Council have bogged down over the statement, which traditional Iranian allies or trade partners see as a prelude to sanctions they do not support. Rice planned to call her Russian counterpart Friday to try to break the deadlock. The Security Council statement was intended to be an opening move in what could be lengthy talks at the powerful U.N. body over how to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb. The statement was also meant to be an easier pill to swallow for Russia and China than would another option: A tough Security Council resolution. A presidential statement requires consensus from the body's 15 members. A resolution would be put to an up-or-down vote, meaning Russia and China would have to approve, abstain or veto action against Iran. Rice indicated that the United States will not wait long before taking another tack. ``The international community has got to act,'' Rice said following a first meeting with the new Greek foreign minister, Theodora Bakoyannis. ``People are looking to the international community to show that this can, indeed, be dealt with diplomatically,'' Rice said. ``We are committed to a diplomatic solution, but it has to be dealt with.'' Russian deputy U.N. Ambassador Konstantin Dolgov said Russia was still under the assumption that the council was working toward a presidential statement, not a resolution. ``We are continuing negotiations in good faith and we hope that all our partners are doing likewise,'' Dolgov told The Associated Press. The Iran nuclear file moved to the Security Council this month, with the support of veto-wielding members Russia and China. That was seen as a diplomatic victory for the United States, which had long sought to place Iran before the U.N. body for possible punishment. Moscow and Beijing now insist the U.N. nuclear watchdog in Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency, play the lead role in clearing up suspicions over Iran's intentions. ``We think there is still an opportunity to get a compromise but a compromise that would send the right signal - endorse the IAEA, and help in the negotiation process which is going on and should go on,'' Dolgov said. Iran says it is developing nuclear technology only to produce electricity, but the United States and its allies accuse the clerical regime of using civilian nuclear power as a cover to develop weapons. ``There is an erosion of confidence in Iran on this point, because they lied to the IAEA for 18 years,'' Rice said, referring to nuclear research and development activities that Iran kept hidden. Russia and China have raised concerns that pushing Iran too hard could lead to its withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and expulsion of IAEA inspectors. --- Associated Press reporter Nick Wadhams at the United Nations contributed to this story. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 2 AFP: No more stalling on Iran - Rice Thu Mar 23, 6:50 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" /> Condoleezza Rice, displaying impatience with slow UN talks on Iran" /> Iran's nuclear activities, warned "there can't be any stalling" in dealing with the potential threat. "There is no time for delay in taking on this issue," Rice said of the discussions on a draft UN Security Council statement on Iran that have been snagged by objections from Russia and China. "There can't be any stalling. The international community has got to act," the chief US diplomat told reporters after talks here with Greek Foreign Minister Theodora Bakoyannis. Citing what she called an "erosion of confidence" in Iranian statements that its nuclear program was strictly peaceful, Rice again called for a united front to press Tehran to give up suspected plans to build a nuclear bomb. "People are looking to the international community to show that this can indeed be dealt with diplomatically," she said. "We are committed to a diplomatic solution, but it has to be dealt with." Her tone contrasted with her remarks a day earlier while on a trip to the Bahamas, where she expressed confidence the UN Security Council would eventually agree on the language of a statement on Iran. "We will come up with a vehicle (for addressing the Iranians), I am quite certain of it," she had told a news conference. "If it takes a little longer, I'm really not concerned about that." A Western diplomat reported Thursday that the UN Security Council would not reach agreement this week on a Franco-British statement demanding that Iran suspend all uranium-enrichment activities. The diplomat, who asked not to be named, said the council's five veto-wielding permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- were too far apart for a deal to be sealed this week. The talks among the so-called P-5 have been bogged down by Russian and Chinese opposition to any hint of punitive measures, including sanctions, in the Franco-British statement. The United States' UN ambassador, John Bolton, told reporters in New York that the P-5 ambassadors were awaiting the outcome of conversations at the ministerial level before deciding their next move. In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said: "There are discussions going on, and clearly we haven't reached a final agreement on a text, so we're going to have to continue with our diplomacy." He said Rice in recent days had spoken to her British counterpart Jack Straw on several occasions but did not report any other contacts. "We believe it's moving in the right direction," McCormack said, adding that "right now, our focus is on a presidential (non-binding) statement" that requires unanimity by the 15-member council. Washington and its European allies have been pressing Tehran to suspend its uranium-enrichment activities and return to negotiations on economic and other incentives for abandoning any nuclear weapons aspirations. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 3 AFP: Japan vows to keep developing giant Iran oil field - Friday March 24, 02:22 AM TOKYO (AFP) - Japan said it will press ahead with its multi-billion-dollar oil investment in Iran, rejecting a report that US officials have pressured Tokyo to pull out due to Tehran's nuclear drive. The Sankei Shimbun said the United States had asked its close ally, which is heavily reliant on Middle Eastern oil, at least to halt work in Azadegan in southwestern Iran, one of the world's biggest untapped reserves. The demands were made informally by US officials including Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and undersecretary of state for arms control Robert Joseph, the conservative daily said, quoting anonymous sources in Washington. But Vice Trade Minister Hideji Sugiyama denied the report and said Japan would go ahead with the Azadegan project. "I understand that there is no truth that there was a request. For now we will stick to our current policy," Sugiyama told reporters. He said Japan would balance the mounting concern about Iran's nuclear ambitions with the needs of the world's second largest economy. "We hope that Iran will listen to the international community's concerns, but at the same time it is important to have a stable supply of crude oil from Iran," he said. The US embassy here said Japan was aware of US opposition to investment in Iran but declined to comment on whether Washington has pressured Tokyo to stop the Azadegan project. "We have discussed our views on this and related matters and Japan knows our position on this matter," a US embassy spokesman told AFP. But a Japanese foreign ministry spokeswoman said Japan "is holding no concrete talks with the United States" on the future of the project. "The Azadegan oil development is a very important project for us in terms of stable energy supply. We will cope with the matter squarely as nuclear non-proliferation and stable supply of crude oil are both important," she said. Japan has walked a tightrope on the Iranian crisis, supporting US and European calls for Tehran to give up its nuclear program while trying not to jeopardize its close commercial ties with the Islamic regime. Japan defied the United States in 2004 by signing the contract to develop Azadegan, considered one of the world's biggest untapped oil reserves. During a visit to Japan this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that Japan's stance on the Iranian nuclear issue would not affect the major oil investment. But Japan's largest oil refiner, Nippon Oil, last week said it would cut imports from Iran by 15 percent this year, in what was seen as a precaution in case the nuclear standoff escalates and puts the oil industry at risk. Copyright © 2006 AFP. All rights reserved. All information ***************************************************************** 4 Guardian Unlimited: Court Considers Whistleblower Lawsuuits From the Associated Press [UP] Tuesday March 21, 2006 8:46 PM By TONI LOCY Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Tuesday debated whether government employees have free-speech rights that protect them while they are carrying out their duties. The case involves Richard Ceballos, a Los Angeles prosecutor who was demoted after he urged his supervisors to drop a criminal case because he believed a sheriff's deputy had lied in a search warrant affidavit. A ruling against Ceballos could affect the nation's 20 million public employees by removing their ability to use the First Amendment as protection against supervisors' retaliation for bringing government misconduct or other issues to light. At issue is whether employers' desires to operate efficient workplaces outweigh whistleblowers' rights as citizens to speak out on matters of public interest. The argument Tuesday was the second time the court dealt with the case this term, apparently because of a tie vote during the justices' internal discussions, or conferences. The appeal was not resolved before Justice Sandra Day O'Connor retired and was replaced by Justice Samuel Alito in late January. Alito actively questioned all lawyers in the case, wondering whether employers would have to specify every job duty an employee has to avoid lawsuits like the one Ceballos filed. Four other justices - including Chief Justice John Roberts - were skeptical of arguments by Bonnie Robin-Vergeer, Ceballos' attorney, that public employees have free-speech rights when they speak out in an office or write memoranda. Employees, she said, ``should not be required to tell supervisors only what they want to hear.'' ``Neither should a supervisor be required to get a report from an employee that's way off,'' Justice Antonin Scalia said, referring to employees who persist in making unsubstantiated charges of misconduct. Scalia and Roberts questioned whether Ceballos' allegations of police misconduct were correct and suggested that the Los Angeles District Attorney's office had a right to try to control ``a loose cannon,'' as Scalia put it. The Bush administration sided with the DA's office, saying the government's desire to maintain an efficient workplace outweighs an employee's right to voice opinions about internal decision-making. ``When the government pays for somebody to do its work it has the absolute right to determine how that work will be performed,'' said Edwin S. Kneedler, deputy solicitor general. Ceballos wrote a highly critical memorandum to his supervisors after he determined the sheriff's deputy had lied in the affidavit. When his supervisors rejected his recommendation to drop the case, Ceballos told the defense attorney about what he thought were the deputy's lies and testified for the defendant at trial. Ceballos sued the DA's office, alleging his free-speech rights were violated when he was demoted and denied a promotion in retaliation for exposing the lies by the sheriff's deputy. The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a trial court judge's dismissal of Ceballos' lawsuit. If the justices side with the DA's office, Robin-Vergeer said, employees would face a ``perverse'' result by being forced to go public - and not keep their concerns in-house- to ensure free-speech protection. Such an outcome would be more disruptive for government agencies, she said. When Alito suggested employers want to know about problems, Robin-Vergeer said there is ``much evidence'' that supervisors don't always like receiving ``bad news.'' The case is Garcetti v. Ceballos, 04-473. --- On the Net: Supreme Court: www.supremecourtus.gov Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 5 Guardian Unlimited: The rancid relationship Comment | Britain's close alliance with the United States has become nothing but one-way traffic Richard Norton-Taylor Thursday March 23, 2006 The Guardian A senior British military commander in the invasion of Iraq said the other day that Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, should be tried for war crimes. He was speaking in private and, I assume, did not mean to be taken literally. But there was no mistaking the anger in his voice. It reflected a deep fury at the decision to disband the Iraqi army after the invasion, a decision that was the formal responsibility of the US proconsul Paul Bremer, but, according to British officials, was actually taken by Rumsfeld - and is now regretted even by the neocon warriors in Washington. It also contradicted orders given by British military chiefs to their commanders in the field. This resentment - shared by senior officials in all key Whitehall departments - is compounded by warnings from British officials to ministers well before the invasion that the Bush administration had no post-invasion strategy. That these warnings were made is clear from leaked Whitehall and Downing Street documents. They also show that, despite Rumsfeld's claims, the US did need British help. "The US saw the UK (and Kuwait) as essential, with basing in Diego Garcia and Cyprus critical," a secret record of a Downing Street meeting noted on July 23 2002. Meanwhile, Tony Blair agreed that Britain would take the lead in eradicating the opium harvest in Afghanistan, the origin of 90% of British heroin. In his new book, State of War, James Risen quotes a CIA official as saying: "The British were screaming for us to bomb those targets because most of the heroin in Britain comes from Afghanistan. But they [the US military] refused." He writes: "The Pentagon feared that counter-narcotics operations would force the military to turn on the very warlords who were aiding the United States against the Taliban and that would lead to another round of violent attacks on American troops." Risen refers to a meeting between Rumsfeld and Afghan commanders where the message was clear: help fight the Taliban and the US will leave the traffickers alone. British troops are now preparing for a "nation-building" mission to counter insurgents and narcotics in southern Afghanistan. It could take 20 years, according to a leaked Ministry of Defence briefing paper. What is Washington doing in return for all Blair's help? Bush has blocked a billion-dollar deal with Rolls-Royce to build engines for the proposed joint strike fighter - which Britain wants for its two new aircraft carriers - despite repeated lobbying from Blair. The US still refuses to share advanced military technology with us. It is refusing to let British agencies question terrorist suspects, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged September 11 mastermind; it won't even say where they are being held. There are two areas that traditionally are said to prove the value of the "special relationship" - the Trident strategic nuclear-missile system, and intelligence. Yet there are question marks over their value. What is Trident's purpose or worth in a post-cold-war world? GCHQ, meanwhile, spends time and money eavesdropping on targets at America's behest. As an internal GCHQ manual put it: making the relationship sufficiently "worthwhile" to the US "may entail on occasion the applying of UK resources to the meeting of US requirements". Is it in Britain's national interest to be so closely allied to a US that takes Britain for granted, to an administration that sets up Guantánamo Bay - where the treatment of prisoners led a high-court judge to remark that "America's idea of what is torture is not the same as ours and does not appear to coincide with that of most civilised nations"? · Richard Norton-Taylor is the Guardian's security affairs editor richard.norton-taylor@guardian.co.uk Useful links The Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Department for International Development Email comments for publication to: politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 6 Times of India: See-saw battle over N-deal with India on Chidanand Rajghatta [ Friday, March 24, 2006 03:07:23 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK ] WASHINGTON: Henry Kissinger says yes. George McGovern says no. Sam Nunn says maybe. A see-saw battle continues over the US-India nuclear accord with supporters and critics unleashing daily salvoes for and against the deal even as the Bush administration is putting its diminishing capital behind the agreement. President Bush's hearty endorsement for the deal on Monday,when he told a town hall meeting in Cleveland he felt comfortable recommending it to the Congress, was matched by a very influential ex-Senator urging lawmakers to add riders to tighten the agreement. "Congress has a duty to look at the broader framework. If I were still in Congress, I would be skeptical and looking at conditions that could be attached," former Senator Sam Nunn, a widely respected non-proliferation guru, told the Washington Post in his first public reaction to the deal. The Post on Monday published an op-ed by former secretary of state and strategic guru Henry Kissinger backing the agreement. Nunn's remarks cameeven as the deal appeared to gather support in the Senate, where Nunn's former colleagues, including his non-proliferation soul mate Richard Lugar, revealed he is for the agreement. Nunn and Lugar are co-authors of an eponymous legislation (the Nunn-Lugar Act) that dismantledmuch of the nuclear arsenal of the former Soviet Union. A board member of the General Electric, which many analysts expect to be a significant beneficiary of any nuclear trade with India, Nunn also said he thinks the economic benefits of the deal are overstated. The fourterm Democratic Senator disagreed with the administration argument that it might be in the United States' interest to allow India to build up its strategic capabilities, calling it "totally counterproductive and dangerous reasoning". Instead, he sought conditional legislation that the deal would not take effect until the president certifies that India pledges not to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons. But over in Cleveland, Bush framed the deal in a broader strategic context, saying the Cold War, which prevented the US and India from coming closer, was over, and it was time to think of the next 30 years. "My hope is some day somebody will be asking a question, aren't you glad old George W thought about entering into a strategic relationship with India? And I believe it's in our country's interest that we have such a relationship," Bush said, after championing India's democracy and non-proliferation record and laying down the economic and environmental reasons to favour the deal. The two concurrent arguments made by Bush and Nunn define the divide between the strategic realists and the non-proliferation purists in Washington. The former group consists mostly of conservative Republicans and while the latter are mainly Democrats, many of liberal persuasion. One such Democrat, former Presidential candidate George McGovern wrote a trenchant op-ed over the weekend invoking India's widespread poverty to argue that if promoting sustainable development in India is really the goal, "there are better ways than transferring nuclear and military technology," an assumption the administration challenges. Copyright ©2006Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. For ***************************************************************** 7 BBC ON THIS DAY | 23 | 1983: Reagan launches Cold War into space President Reagan has unveiled plans to combat nuclear war in space. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) proposes a defensive shield, using laser or particle beam technology to "intercept and destroy" incoming missiles as they travel through the stars. In a televised address from the White House the US leader said: "We seek neither military superiority nor political advantage. Our only purpose - one all people share - is to search for ways to avert the danger of nuclear war." We seek neither military superiority nor political advantage President Reagan Speaking just half an hour after the House of Representatives (H0R) had rejected the Republican Party's demands for 10% increases in defence spending, President Reagan attempted to justify his $2 trillion, five-year military spending plans. In the first major congressional revolt against Mr Reagan's economic policies the HoR have voted in Democrat proposals to reduce the Republican budget by more than half. The President said: "They're the same kind that led the democracies to neglect their defences in the 1930s and invited the tragedy of World War II." Senior White House aide Michael Deaver reported a positive reaction to Mr Reagan's scheme: "He has had the most favorable response to any speech since he was elected President." Critics argue SDI contravenes the Soviet-American Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty of 1972. Article V of the treaty states: "Each party undertakes not to develop, test or deploy anti-ballistic missile systems or components." President Reagan has stressed SDI does not entail the actual development of a defensive shield, but is a programme for research and development. Watch/Listen [Ronald Reagan ] President Ronald Reagan says his only purpose is to avert nuclear war Extract from President Reagan's speech on combating the Soviet threat In Context Reagan's SDI became known as "Star Wars" - after the George Lucas film. President Andropov of the USSR was highly critical of the plan, saying it violated the 1972 ABM Treaty and there was little difference between building up weapons for purportedly defensive or offensive purposes. The Democrats in the US - and even some Republicans - claimed Reagan's initiative was an expensive and unfeasible diversion from his administration's domestic failures. SDI signalled a new round in the Arms Race and a worsening of the relationship between the US and the USSR. The increasing financial strain it placed the Soviet Union under contributed to the break up of the regime. SDI was abandoned in 1993 and the department was renamed the Ballistic Missile Defence organisation. ***************************************************************** 8 Herald News: Support sought for tritium lawsuit [SuburbanChicagoNews.com] Class-action: Legal battle for people near nuclear plant By Kim SmithSTAFF WRITER BRAIDWOOD A team of lawyers gathered Wednesday night for a community meeting to garner support for a class-action lawsuit filed last week on behalf of people living in a 10-mile radius of Exelon's Braidwood nuclear plant. About 200 people attended the meeting at the Reed-Custer auditorium. Lawyers from Chicago and Joliet and from as far away as Washington, D.C., and New Jersey were present. The Exelon plant has been the scene of numerous spills of the radioactive isotope tritium. "I know you are all upset and angry and afraid," said Kenneth Grey of the McKeown Law firm in Joliet. "I apologize because you are living with this on a daily basis." Grey said he has sat in a lot of living rooms discussing this problem with residents. One woman he interviewed was a grandmother who was afraid to have her own grandchildren over at her home because she is afraid for their health due to the contamination. "I had a 24-year-old mother of three ask me if her children were OK, and I couldn't answer," Grey said. "The power here is in the numbers, and you folks are entitled to the truth." A class-action is simply a large-scale lawsuit where there are too many plaintiffs to file individual lawsuits. The group of plaintiffs is known as the class, and the class shares the same problem. In this case, residents are facing potential loss of property value and are concerned about potential health problems. A group of six individuals have agreed to represent the plaintiffs. Generally, the attorneys who represent the class are paid a percentage out of the funds recovered, according to www.legalzoon.com. Specific information on paying for the legal costs associated with the class-action lawsuit was not available at the meeting. Richard Lewis, an attorney with a Washington, D.C., firm, told the residents their legal rights have been violated. He said the meeting is only the first round in a 15-round fight that includes getting the truth and facts out of Exelon. "The nuclear power industry has a history of not sharing everything," Lewis said. "Since 1996 and up until today, Exelon has not been honest with our community and agents of our government." Gerald Williams, a lawyer from a New Jersey firm, explained the difficulties of proving the health hazards associated with an odorless, tasteless toxin such as tritium. The group is seeking a medical monitoring program for residents. Others in attendance spoke of the problem of having some experts saying tritium is safe in certain doses while others say any exposure to radiation is harmful. "Common sense tells you that contaminated property is not worth as much as it would be without the contamination," one of the lawyers said. After the public meeting, the lawyers asked Exelon representatives and the press to leave so they could answer questions privately with residents. This class-action lawsuit filed last week is not the only lawsuit Exelon faces with regard to the tritium spills. A group of private residents have filed a lawsuit in Will County court. Also, Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow joined Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in a lawsuit last week seeking $36.5 million in fines. 03/23/06 SuburbanChicagoNews.com — © Digital Chicago & Sun-Times ***************************************************************** 9 Pravda.Ru: USA capable of wiping out Russia’s nuclear capacity in single strike - 23.03.2006 Source: For the first time in the last 50 years the USA is on the verge of attaining ultimate domination with regard to nuclear weapons. This means that Russia is no longer able to keep up with the United States. If a conflict were to break out, the USA would be able to quickly and with impunity attack Russian territory, and Russia would have no means to mount a response. American B-52 Nuclear Bomber This is roughly the message of an article published in the latest edition of the American journal Foreign Affairs. Its authors calculated that in comparison with the USSR, the amount of strategic bombers at Russia’s disposal has fallen by 39%, intercontinental ballistic missiles by 58% and the number of submarines with ballistic missiles by 80%. “However the true scale of the collapse of the Russian arsenal is much greater than can be judged from these figures,” they write. “The strategic nuclear forces now at Russia's disposal are barely fit to be used in battle.” Russian radar is now incapable of detecting the launch of American missiles from submarines located in some regions of the Pacific Ocean. Russian anti-air defense systems might not manage to intercept B-2 stealth bombers in time, which could easily mean that they are able to inflict a strike with impunity on Russian nuclear forces. If Russian missile forces continue to decrease at the current rate, then in about 10 years only isolated missiles, which the American anti-missile defense is capable of intercepting, will be able to deliver a retaliatory blow. “It will probably soon be possible for the USA to destroy the strategic nuclear potential of Russia and China with a single strike,” says the article. The article’s authors come to the conclusion that all this may stabilize the worldwide hegemony of the USA and sustain the foreign policy course of the USA, which aims to prevent the appearance of another power centre in the world of equal strength, and to exclude the possibility of weaker nations undermining American positions in key regions around the world, such as the in Persian Gulf. Russian experts reacted extremely guardedly to the article in the American journal. It is obvious that Russian strategic nuclear forces are experiencing difficult times. Modernization is being carried out, but at a very slow rate. In the 1990s the Russian submarine fleet was almost totally destroyed. And it hardly seems possible to revive it in the coming years, as this would require colossal funds. © 1999-2006. «PRAVDA.Ru». ***************************************************************** 10 Asia Times Online: India, US rally for their nuclear deal South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan By Siddharth Srivastava NEW DELHI - Following up on US President George W Bush's visit to India last month, both Washington and Delhi are trying to ensure that their agreement to share civilian nuclear technology will reach fruition, as many millions of dollars are at stake. Under a plan formally agreed when Bush met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the United States would help India build nuclear power plants. India would permit inspections of its civilian reactors, but there would be no oversight of its nuclear-weapons program. The Bush administration has now asked the US Congress - where there are strong pockets of opposition - to exempt India from provisions of the Atomic Energy Act that curb trade with nations not party to nuclear treaties, as India is not a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. US companies believe that India will be in the market for more than US$100 billion in nuclear supplies, and Washington is also eyeing India's immediate $15 billion agenda of upgrading its armed forces, contracts that Washington does not want to lose to Russia, Israel and France. India will soon implement changes in its laws to attract larger foreign and private investments in the nuclear-power sector. This will require an amendment to its Atomic Energy Act, which stipulates that all nuclear development must be handled by the government. Initial indicators are that the government is likely to allow foreign direct investment of up to 49% in the nuclear-power sector. Leading Indian power companies such as Reliance Energy, Tata Power and National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) have already chalked out investment plans once nuclear power is opened up. "We have been working on possible amendments to the Indian Atomic Energy Act 1962 for the last five years and now we are trying to speed up the process," Anil Kakodkar, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy, has been quoted by news agency Press Trust of India. India is not relying only on diplomatic efforts for the deal to win the endorsement of the US Congress. The Indian Embassy in Washington has signed on two lobbying firms to "sell the deal". It has a $700,000 contract with Barbour, Griffith and Rogers, an outfit led by Robert Blackwill, US ambassador to India from 2001-03 and an advocate of closer India-US ties. In addition, the embassy is paying $600,000 to Venable, with former Democratic senator Birch Bayh of Indiana as its point man. This will translate into an annual cost of $1.3 million to Indian taxpayers. India's needs are pressing, as it imports 70% of its crude-oil requirements. Nuclear energy accounts for an abysmal 2.5% of electricity needs, with a host of safety problems. India aims to increase this ratio to 25% by 2050. On its side, the Bush administration this week began an intense effort to persuade Congress to support the agreement. Nicholas Burns, an under secretary of state, said that as a friendly democracy with no record of proliferating nuclear weapons, "India can be trusted". The argument that to work with India's civilian nuclear program would weaken efforts to limit Iranian nuclear ambitions, he said, "carries no water, it has no weight, and it's not accurate". The case for the nuclear deal could also be buttressed by the decision of Russia to supply nuclear fuel to India in the wake of the India-US pact. Russia sees India as a major market and has been keen on expanding nuclear links with it. To the chagrin of Washington, which has to grapple with clearance of the pact with Congress, Moscow has announced the supply about 60 tons of nuclear fuel to strapped reactors Tarapur Atomic Power Stations I and II, near Mumbai. Moscow has sent a notice of its intent to the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The decision comes at a critical time when the Tarapur reactors might have had to shut down because of fuel shortages. Washington has reason to feel cheated and has expressed its displeasure at the move. After doing all the hard work to bend world opinion toward accepting India as the "nuclear exception", it will be concerned that Moscow is walking away with nuclear contracts. Moscow's move, however, could push the deal in the US Congress. The NSG is scheduled to look at India's nuclear status in May. In this context, an intense and costly business lobbying effort is in place to persuade Congress to ratify the deal. It is being emphasized that the deal promises a "bounty of opportunity". The lobbying drive (estimated at more than $100 million) is the most expensive ever mounted by business, Ron Somers, president of the US-India Business Council of the US Chamber of Commerce (USCC), has said. What is more, the US will benefit despite not having built any new plants for more than 30 years. Somers told Reuters news agency that retired US Army Lieutenant-General Daniel Christman, a former superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, now working for the USCC, would coordinate a broad effort as the Coalition for Partnership with India that groups businesses, think-tanks and academics supporting the deal. This will complement the US-India Business Council (USIBC), which has engaged the politically well-connected Patton Boggs law firm to lobby lawmakers. Boggs is one of the leading and most expensive lobbying firms in Washington, with a billing rate of $495 an hour. While announcing the hiring of Patton Boggs, the USIBC, which has nearly 100 Fortune 500 companies among its members that do business in India, said: "We strongly feel that the fate of the strategic partnership between the United States and India, as embodied in the Joint Statement signed by President Bush and Prime Minister Singh on July 18, is key to the overall US-India relationship and thereby our respective business interests. This is a debate in which the USIBC must be engaged." The Indian Express has reported that Washington has invited India to appoint military officers to liaison posts in the US Strategic Command (Stratcom), its largest and most critical defense setup authorized to control strategic nuclear assets, space and missile defense and global deterrence against weapons of mass destruction. Stratcom's area of operation spans the globe, controls all US nuclear-delivery platforms, including ballistic-missile submarines, B-52 strategic bombers, Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles and Tomahawk land-attack systems. "Having an Indian liaison officer on board will allow a more efficient link between Stratcom centers and India's relatively new Strategic Forces Command that controls Indian military nuclear assets," the newspaper commented. There are other aspects of business in which the US has marked out India. There is a bid to double trade to $40 billion in three years. The Pentagon expects India to start purchasing as much as $5 billion worth of conventional military equipment. In keeping with the new-found bonhomie, last April US-based Boeing won a $6.9 billion order for 50 aircraft from Air India, the country's public-sector airline. Boeing faced stiff competition from France's Airbus, but personal intervention by Bush sealed the deal. US firms are eyeing India's huge retail market, which is valued at more than $250 billion, with several foreign players urging New Delhi to open the sector. Telecom giant Bharti recently announced that it plans to enter the retail segment and is in talks with top international chains, including the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart. Outsourcing from the US remains the money-spinner for India. A McKinsey report on the information-technology-enabled sector has revised India's outsourcing share from $17 billion to between $21 billion and $24 billion by 2008, the bulk from the US. Siddharth Srivastava is a New Delhi-based journalist. (Copyright 2006 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing .) Hau Fook Mansion, No. 8 Hau Fook St., Kowloon, Hong Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110 ***************************************************************** 11 Pakistan News: Pak was ’very fully’ informed about N-deal: US PakTribune.Com Safar 23, 1427 Hijri March 24, 2006 Muslim League has left the drawing room: Mushahid Hussain. Thursday March 23, 2006 (2349 PST) WASHINGTON, March 24 (Online): US has said Pakistan was kept "very fully" informed of the civil nuclear deal with India as negotiations in this regard progressed, and asserted the accord will cause no arms race in South Asia. "We did keep the Pakistani government fully informed of what we were doing over the last year in negotiating this civil nuclear agreement with India," Under Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said on Wednesday. Expressing confidence that US will continue to see improvement in Indo-Pak ties, he said "we will not see the kind of arms race that some of the critics are now forecasting." He said as a friend of both neighbours, the US was in a position to assess that as a "reasonable prospect for the future." Burns said that in January, six weeks before President George W Bush’s visit to the region, he had briefed the Pakistani government on the nuclear agreement. But Burns maintained that the US has had a "full" discussion with Pakistani authorities. "We’ve kept them informed in general on these negotiations for the better part of the year, so this didn’t come as a surprise to the Pakistani government," he said at Foreign Press Centre. End. Pakistan News Service © PakTribune.com Pvt Ltd 2003-2004 ***************************************************************** 12 PittsburghLIVE.com: Westinghouse to expand - By Thomas Olson For The Valley Independent Thursday, March 23, 2006 Westinghouse Electric Co. is scouting locations in western Pennsylvania for a facility that would house as many as 2,000 new workers, company officials said Wednesday. Westinghouse needs more space because it expects to win long-term contracts for nuclear power reactors, including plants in China and the southern United States. "We're looking to identify possible locations for new hires over the next eight to 10 years," Westinghouse spokesman Vaughn Gilbert said. "We need a new location to house these people who are going to be involved in the new nuclear plant market." Based in Monroeville, Westinghouse employs 9,000 worldwide, including more than 3,000 in Western Pennsylvania. The expansion comes as Westinghouse changes owners. Toshiba Corp. of Tokyo agreed to acquire the company from British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. on Feb. 6 for $5.4 billion. The deal will become final after regulatory approval. Westinghouse is a favorite to win an $8 billion contract to develop four 1,000-megawatt nuclear reactors for China. The Chinese government could select Westinghouse anytime now. The work would create hundreds of jobs at Westinghouse, which is filling hundreds of vacancies caused by retirements. The company hired 800 people last year, including almost 300 locally. Westinghouse hopes to select a site within the next 12 months, Gilbert said. Thomas Olson can be reached at or (412) 320-7854. Images and text copyright © 2006 by The Tribune-Review Publishing Co. ***************************************************************** 13 Pakistan Times: N-deal with India not to upset balance of power - US 'Pakistan Times' Monitoring Report WASHINGTON: The United States has said there are no military implications of its civilian nuclear deal with India nor will the deal create an imbalance of power in South Asia. "There are no military implications of this nuclear deal," Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs Richard Boucher said on Thursday, responding to a question in an interview with the Voice of America (VoA) about fears that the US-India nuclear deal might create an imbalance of power in the South Asian region. "So if you look at the balance of power term, there are no implications at all," he said, adding: "...so I don’t think you need to compare one with another". "The question is what we are doing is right for Pakistan and we are helping Pakistan and the people of Pakistan with their development." Boucher said his country wanted to see Pakistan succeed as a modern society, a democratic nation and a prosperous people. President Bush’s visit "made it very clear" and "showed that we want to see Pakistan succeed," he added. Asked how the US addressed Pakistan’s concerns, he said: "Pakistan indeed is an important ally both on war on terror and in terms of democracy and development and all the things that we are trying to help the Pakistani government and Pakistani people." As regards Bush’s visit to Pakistan, Boucher said: "There was a lot of emphasis on strategic cooperation, a lot of emphasis on economic cooperation, a lot of emphasis on education and all the help we can give to try to get Pakistan to meet its education goals, its goals to modernise the education system for the people of Pakistan." Therefore, he added, there is no question about the US commitment to Pakistan, which "President (Bush) showed by going there in a very open manner and spending a night there and having a good series of talks". "The question is: can we help Pakistan with its tremendous economic growth, help Pakistan with its tremendous economic programme, help with its reform programme, can we help with its difficulties that it has to conquer in its own nation and society?" the top US official said, adding that the reply was in the affirmative. "And the president’s visit showed [that]." He maintained, "We are doing what is right for Pakistan and that’s our goal." Replying to another question on US relations with Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, Boucher said: "Our goal is to try to promote cooperation between these countries." He described the ongoing "composite dialogue" between Pakistan and India as "positive," which "holds the promise of another round of talks dealing with all the issues". "We hope and we have encouraged it. We encourage both the countries to deal with all the issues seriously, including Kashmir," he said, adding that its one of the issues on which "we certainly like to see progress". Boucher said that "there is always noise and rhetoric and statements being made" but "we can see the kind of real progress on issues". He also referred to the US-Afghan talks in Washington on March 20-21 and said Afghanistan was America’s strategic partner. A lot of discussions, he said, were held on how to deal with the issues in the border areas. It is in the interest of the United States that there is cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan and the US, he remarked. "Whether it’s economic development or security, cooperation by three of us can be important to both the countries." Asked what the biggest issue, if any, was with Pakistan at this point, Boucher stated that "our issue really is trying to support the direction the Pakistani government has set for the Pakistani society, move Pakistan toward a more modern economy, more modern education, engage in reforms, move toward democracy and democratic elections in 2007, and deep down the threat of extremism which threatens the ability of Pakistanis to achieve that goal." He remarked that like anybody else Pakistanis want to see for their children information, opportunity and chance to control their lives, and even control their governments through elections. "Helping Pakistan achieve those goals as a modern society - that is the big question." Terrorism, Boucher added, certainly disrupts that goal, while getting the element of extremism out of the Pakistani society and building a modern education system are the other things and part of achieving that goal.• www.PakistanTimes.net | www.TIMES.com.pk Technical Courtesy: IT Wizards Copyright © 2003-2005 TIMES Group of Public ***************************************************************** 14 Deccan Herald: Pak was informed about nuke deal - US - Thursday, March 23, 2006 Washington, PTI: Firmly rebuffing Islamabad's complaints on Indo-US nuclear deal, the US has said Pakistan was kept "very fully" informed as negotiations in this regard progressed, and asserted the acccord will cause no arms race in South Asia. "We did keep the Pakistani government fully informed of what we were doing over the last year in negotiating this civil nuclear agreement with India," Under Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns said here yesterday. Expressing confidence that US will continue to see improvement in Indo-Pak ties, he said "we will not see the kind of arms race that some of the critics are now forecasting." oHe said as a friend of both neighbours, the US was in a position to assess that as a "reasonable prospect for the future." Burns said that in January, six weeks before President George W Bush's visit to the region, he had briefed the Pakistani government on the nuclear agreement. On Monday, Pakistan had said it would not accept any "discrimination" in supply of nuclear technology and argued that Washington should have worked out a "package deal" for South Asia to ensure stability in the region. But Burns maintained that the US has had a "full" discussion with Pakistani authorities. "We've kept them informed in general on these negotiations for the better part of the year, so this didn't come as a surprise to the Pakistani government," he said at Foreign Press Centre here. Burns said there was "not a problem" between Pakistan and the US, adding, "We're friends. We're partners. And I've had good conversations myself over the last 24 hours with senior officials in Islamabad, and I think they fully understand the rationale of the United States." e"They may not agree with everything that we do, but that's normal in international politics. Even the best of friends sometimes disagree," he said. "But there's no sense of crisis, and I think we'll move forward on a very good basis with the Pakistani government." Burns stressed that there should be an "effort by the governments of Pakistan and India to continue the good relations that they enjoy in the composite dialogue, that they should work on narrowing the differences they have in the range of issues between India and Pakistan, that they should continue to work to resolve the problem of Kashmir." eHe said "restraining any sense of arms competition between India and Pakistan should be a very high priority for both governments. We've said that to both governments privately. We're very happy to say that publicly. And we're convinced that stability will be maintained in South Asia." Copyright 2005, The Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd., 75, M.G. Road, Post Box No 5331, Bangalore - 560001 Tel: +91 (80) 25880000 Fax No. +91 (80) 25880523 ***************************************************************** 15 AFP: US lobbies for nuclear trade with India Thu Mar 23, 4:09 PM ET VIENNA (AFP) - The United States lobbied for allowing nuclear trade with India but failed to get a key international group to take up the matter, diplomats said. They said a consultative meeting in Vienna of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group had held off from putting the issue of India's nuclear deal on the agenda of its plenary session, to be held in Rio de Janeiro in May. A consultative meeting ahead of the Rio session will consider the US request but, one diplomat told AFP, "it is unlikely to get on the agenda". Washington is pressing for the international body to discuss the conditions set out in a landmark nuclear deal struck earlier this month between the United States and India. On a visit to New Delhi, President George W. Bush" /> President George W. Bushagreed to give India access to nuclear technology in exchange for it separating its civil and military atomic programs and placing a majority of its reactors under international inspection. The US-Indian deal still must be ratified by the US Congress and the NSG, which oversees trade in atomic fuel and technology. Washington is seeking for the Nuclear Suppliers Group to discuss exempting India from nuclear export controls. Acting assistant secretary of state for Stephen Rademaker, who is head of the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, said: "We were not seeking a decision at this meeting (in Vienna). "The purpose of this meeting was to explain our vision of civil nuclear cooperation with India, to answer questions that other delegations had about our vision." Another US assistant secretary of state, Richard Boucher, said discussions had so far been "very balanced". "Those who raised a lot of questions also recognized the non-proliferation benefits of bringing India closer to the system and some of the steps that India was taking." A senior US official said that the United States would honor NSG rules. "We abide by our international obligations. We have obligations to the NSG," the official said. India has developed atomic weapons but not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) designed to stop the spread of such arms. The US-India deal faces domestic opposition in both countries with some Indians upset by slights to their sovereignty and a number of US lawmakers saying it sets a bad precedent. The NSG was founded in 1974 precisely to keep nuclear technology that was transferred for peaceful purposes from being directed towards weapons development by states like India, which developed its atomic weapons after the NPT came into effect in 1970. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 16 UPI: Japan worried over U.S.-India nuclear deal United Press International - Security &Terrorism - 3/23/2006 1:53:00 PM -0500 TOKYO, March 23 (UPI) -- Japan's government is concerned that the India-U.S. nuclear agreement signed earlier this month could undercut global nuclear nonproliferation policies. Kyodo news agency reported March 22 that Foreign Minister Taro Aso told a parliamentary committee that he was "'most concerned about it (the Non-Proliferation Treaty) losing substance" because the United States had signed the NPT, but India had not. Aso told parliamentarians that following discussions in Australia on March 18 with the U.S. Secretary of State, "'I told U.S. Secretary of State (Condoleezza) Rice during our talks that Japan, even if asked by the United States to support it, cannot easily oblige, as this would definitely be called a double standard." The NPT prohibits nations with nuclear weapons from transferring nuclear weapons or nuclear technology to any state that has is not a NPT signatory. Aso made his observations during a session of the House of Councilors' Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense in response to questions by opposition Democratic Party of Japan legislator Kazuya Shinba. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 17 theage.com.au: Beazley: Howard will go nuclear www.theage.com.au March 24, 2006 The AWB scandal has shattered the federal government's credibility in its handling of sensitive exports like nuclear fuel, Opposition Leader Kim Beazley says. Mr Beazley, in an address to the University of Sydney Government and International Relations lecture series tonight, said he had no doubt Prime Minister John Howard would bring nuclear power to Australia if he won the next election. At the same time, Mr Beazley said, demand for Australian uranium would almost double if the government negotiated suitable bilateral safeguards with China. But he said revelations today at the Cole inquiry into the AWB kickbacks affair had reinforced doubts about Mr Howard's capacity to handle nuclear power, uranium exports and national security. The inquiry was today told the federal government had last year been branded uncooperative by Paul Volcker, who headed a United Nations investigation into the Iraqi kickbacks scandal. It was also claimed Foreign Minister Alexander Downer tried to stop UN investigators interviewing key government witnesses about the scandal. The claims, contained in an internal government draft report, cast doubt over Mr Howard's insistence that the government cooperated fully with the UN. Mr Beazley said Mr Downer had told parliament on November 7 last year that the government had provided every piece of evidence it could find to the Volcker inquiry. "Up until February 7 when Mr Volcker put the hard word on the government, Mr Downer had gagged DFAT officials from talking to UN investigators, and limited access to documents," he said. "And I ask, why hasn't Alexander Downer lost his job?" Mr Beazley said the "even worse truth" from what he calls the "wheat for weapons scandal" was that the Howard government had allowed AWB to undermine the sanctions regime that was supposed to contain former Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein. "Then the Howard government supported a disastrous war to oust Saddam Hussein because they said he couldn't be contained," he said. "And as a result, the Howard government sent hundreds of young Australian men and women overseas to fight an enemy armed by hundreds of millions dollars in Australian funds. "This is the greatest scandal in my 25-year political lifetime. "It has completely shattered the Howard government's credibility on the control of sensitive exports just as our nation looks towards a very significant expansion of the most sensitive export there is - nuclear fuel." AAP theage.com.au. Copyright © 2006. The Age Company Ltd. NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0323nuke-taskforce0323.html Palo Verde water spills investigated Feds probe tritium levels at nuclear plants Billy House and Ken Alltucker The Arizona Republic Mar. 23, 2006 12:00 AM ROCKVILLE, Md. - Prompted by a string of accidental radioactive discharges, federal monitors said Wednesday that they have formed a task force to investigate the spills at several power plants across the country, including one at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Wintersburg. "It does appear that it's bang, bang, bang, one right after the other," Steve Klementowicz, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission senior health physicist, said of discharges of radioactive tritium-laced water at nuclear plants in Arizona, Illinois and New York. Tritium, a byproduct of nuclear power generation, is a relatively weak source of radiation. But long-term exposure can increase the risks of cancer, miscarriages and birth defects. It can be ingested or absorbed in human tissue. Klementowicz and other NRC officials said at a hearing here that the task force of experts will evaluate the health effects of what has happened at at least five plants since December and possibly earlier incidents. But they emphasized that the latest reports from all the sites, including Palo Verde, do not indicate any immediate public hazards. At the Palo Verde plant about 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix, the largest nuclear generating site in the country, an NRC health inspector has been working during the past week with officials from Arizona Public Service and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to pinpoint the source and amount of the contamination. APS, which operates the plant on behalf of itself and six other owners, first notified the state on March 2 that it found tritium in a maze of underground pipes. Water samples taken a day before had turned up levels 3˝ times those considered acceptable by the Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water. State, federal and APS officials said Wednesday that, so far, there is no evidence Palo Verde-generated tritium has migrated beyond the boundary of the plant or seeped into aquifers about 70 feet to 200 feet underground that supply water for the area. NRC officials said the task force is to be made up of 11 experts from the commission around the country and one nuclear safety official from Illinois. The group will review the effects on public health, how well incidents of such discharges are communicated to the public and authorities, gauge the nuclear industry's remediation efforts and evaluate their own agency's oversight of the issue. A written report summarizing the findings is due by Aug. 31. In only one case so far, at the Braidwood Nuclear Power Station near Braceville close to Chicago, has contaminated water been found to have seeped outside the plant's property. But there are questions about how diligently some plant operators have been reporting such discharges, as required by federal law. Last week in Illinois, state and local officials filed suit against Braidwood's operators alleging they failed to report earlier discharges before announcing another leak in December. The operators did so only after state officials became aware of already existing groundwater damage and contamination of at least one nearby private drinking-water well. One such spill in 1998 is believed to have dumped about 3 million gallons of water that remains in the ground. "Companies are suddenly deciding to report these discharges more openly now because they've got their covers pulled off; spills have gotten into people's yards," said Paul Gunter, a member of the Takoma Park, Md.-based Nuclear Information and Resource Service, a watchdog group. Among groups that have been calling for an NRC investigation of the leaks is the Nuclear Safety Project for the Union of Concerned Scientists. In Arizona, although APS has not pinpointed the source of the tritium contamination in water found at Palo Verde, company officials said more and more evidence suggests that rainfall, rather than a cracked or leaking pipe, could be a source. Adding to this "washout" theory, they said, is that recent rainfall samples collected from a roof vent found tritium levels similar to the samples found in the contaminated water. "This is what we believe is going on," said Craig Seaman, Palo Verde's general manager of regulatory affairs. "We're certainly not willing to hang our hat on this yet and say this is the absolute answer." Palo Verde vents tritium into the air as a normal byproduct of nuclear power generation. Other nuclear power plants typically dispose of the chemical in streams or lakes where it quickly dissipates, Seaman said. Seaman said APS officials believe rainfall captured the tritium released from the plant and washed it into the soil there. He said APS believes it is a "localized phenomenon" restricted to Palo Verde, so it is unlikely rainfall outside the plant would carry heavier tritium samples. State environmental officials who also are working with APS to determine the source of the tritium said rainfall would be more problematic than a leaking pipe. "If that is their conclusion, that tritium is being released into the air and coming down to earth with the rain, that raises a heck of a lot more questions in my mind than it answers," said Steve Owens, director of the DEQ. Residents who live near Palo Verde say the federal government's effort to step up oversight of contaminated water at nuclear power plants is a good move. "I think it's important," said Charlotte Brafford, a Tonopah resident who lives near Palo Verde. "It is not a normal element or chemical that we hear about. So it's a concern." Brafford splits her time between her Tonapah home and a second home by the Perry nuclear power plant near Cleveland, so she is concerned about the safety and environmental impacts of nuclear plants on surrounding communities. "When the news broke about Palo Verde, we weren't told much, so it was a question of whether we were being kept in the dark," Brafford said. Yet Brafford and other residents seem satisfied that APS and state officials have done a sufficient job of keeping nearby residents informed. Within a week of discovering the tritium, APS and state environmental officials notified a Palo Verde community advisory panel of its findings. The contamination at Palo Verde also was the main topic discussed Tuesday at the Tonopah Valley Community Council. "They gave us a very thorough briefing on this," said Judith Shaw, a Tonopah resident active in two community groups. "From what I can gather, they are right on top of it." Owens said Arizona's strict aquifer protection laws require an immediate report of such releases. "APS must disclose these releases," Owens said. "It is a pretty stark contrast to situations in other states, where releases have been occurring." Because of the lax reporting standards at other nuclear power plants, Owens said, the review by the NRC "is long overdue." _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/ Change your settings or access the archives at: http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net ***************************************************************** 23 Chernobyl disaster raised infant mortality in the UK Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 12:27:10 -0600 (CST) 23 March 2006 The Independent (UK) www.independent.co.uk Chernobyl disaster linked to higher rate of infant mortality in Britain By Ian Herbert and Deborah Linton The debate over the health effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Britain reopens today with research which suggests that infant deaths were higher in areas where rain fell as the plume of fallout passed overhead. A study by the epidemiologist John Urquhart, to be presented at a conference at City Hall in London marking the 20th anniversary of the disaster, suggests that infant deaths may have risen by 11 per cent between 1986 and 1989 in those areas compared with 4 per cent in other areas, a correlation that Mr Urquhart describes as very significant. Mr Urquhart - the author of a previous study which suggested that 2,000 more children than normal died before their first birthday between 1986 and 1989 - obtained infant death figures from 1983 to 1992 for 200 hospital districts across Britain. Areas across which cloud passed such as Liverpool, Bradford, Leicestershire, and Bristol, showed higher than average infant mortality which, he suggests, cannot entirely be explained by social factors. The study also suggests that a downwards infant mortality trend was interrupted in the four years after the disaster at the Ukrainian power station and continued to rise until 1992 in the most contaminated areas. Mr Urquhart argues that a plume of fallout from Chernobyl arrived near the Isle of Wight and passed over Bristol into south Wales. Another plume clipped the coast of Kent and then covered most of East Anglia and part of Essex. Another worked its way from east London to Hertfordshire, resurfacing in parts of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. Parts of West Yorkshire and most of the West Midlands, Wales, Merseyside, Lancashire, and Cumbria were significantly affected. Mr Urquhart, who gave evidence in the 1980s to the Government investigation led by Sir Douglas Black into evidence of a leukaemia cluster near Sellafield, Cumbria, said: "Previous research has established that there has been an increase in thyroid cancers in the young in the north of England for which Chernobyl is the probable cause. "This new study shows that the infant mortality trend, which was otherwise downwards, rose for a period of four years in England and Wales after Chernobyl. The results based on such a large population suggest that the effect of radioactive fallout could be two orders of magnitude greater than previously suspected." The debate over the health effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Britain reopens today with research which suggests that infant deaths were higher in areas where rain fell as the plume of fallout passed overhead. A study by the epidemiologist John Urquhart, to be presented at a conference at City Hall in London marking the 20th anniversary of the disaster, suggests that infant deaths may have risen by 11 per cent between 1986 and 1989 in those areas compared with 4 per cent in other areas, a correlation that Mr Urquhart describes as very significant. Mr Urquhart - the author of a previous study which suggested that 2,000 more children than normal died before their first birthday between 1986 and 1989 - obtained infant death figures from 1983 to 1992 for 200 hospital districts across Britain. Areas across which cloud passed such as Liverpool, Bradford, Leicestershire, and Bristol, showed higher than average infant mortality which, he suggests, cannot entirely be explained by social factors. The study also suggests that a downwards infant mortality trend was interrupted in the four years after the disaster at the Ukrainian power station and continued to rise until 1992 in the most contaminated areas. Mr Urquhart argues that a plume of fallout from Chernobyl arrived near the Isle of Wight and passed over Bristol into south Wales. Another plume clipped the coast of Kent and then covered most of East Anglia and part of Essex. Another worked its way from east London to Hertfordshire, resurfacing in parts of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. Parts of West Yorkshire and most of the West Midlands, Wales, Merseyside, Lancashire, and Cumbria were significantly affected. Mr Urquhart, who gave evidence in the 1980s to the Government investigation led by Sir Douglas Black into evidence of a leukaemia cluster near Sellafield, Cumbria, said: "Previous research has established that there has been an increase in thyroid cancers in the young in the north of England for which Chernobyl is the probable cause. "This new study shows that the infant mortality trend, which was otherwise downwards, rose for a period of four years in England and Wales after Chernobyl. The results based on such a large population suggest that the effect of radioactive fallout could be two orders of magnitude greater than previously suspected." ========= http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article353007.ece ========= ***************************************************************** 24 Charlotte Observer: NRC widens probe of cheating on tests | 03/23/2006 | Progress Energy makes security guards retake qualification exams EMERY P. DALESIO Associated Press RALEIGH - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday it expanded a probe into allegations that security guards cheated on qualification tests at a nuclear power plant south of Raleigh Two other allegations of poor security at the Shearon Harris plant owned by Progress Energy -- that security guards faced retaliation for reporting injuries or for raising security concerns -- have yet to be fully evaluated by NRC staffers. "Concerns raised about cheating and intimidation trouble me personally, and the NRC is continuing its review of these issues," Progress Energy Chairman and Chief Executive Bob McGehee said. "We do not tolerate this kind of behavior in our workplace." McGehee said the company is retesting every security guard at the nuclear plant to ensure they are qualified. "We will take all the appropriate action necessary based on further information we receive from the NRC," he said. The NRC interviewed 91 security guards and reviewed company documents in January about concerns raised the previous month by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network. The groups raised 19 different issues they said were reported to them by security guards at the nuclear plant after their complaints to the NRC were ignored The investigative team wasn't able to substantiate nine of the concerns and found that seven other complaints were accurate but that "the safety and security significance of the concerns was very low," the NRC reported. Those included door locks that malfunctioned and stayed open on four occasions since October; the company has since replaced the locks. Four times in 2005, guards accidentally fired their weapons. No damage or injuries resulted, so the company wasn't required to report the incidents, the NRC said. "We don't believe in any way the plant is any less secure. We believe that they're properly implementing their security plan," NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said. The NRC's Office of Investigations was called in to investigate the cheating allegation and find out whether people willfully violated nuclear safety regulations, Hannah said. ***************************************************************** 25 newsobserver.com: NRC team to pobe security concerns at N.C. nuclear plant NC News Wire Modified: Mar 22, 2006 7:00 PM By EMERY P. DALESIO, AP Business Writer RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday it expanded a probe into allegations that security guards cheated on qualification tests at a nuclear power plant south of Raleigh Two other allegations of poor security at the Shearon Harris plant owned by Progress Energy Inc. - that security guards faced retaliation for reporting injuries or for raising security concerns - have yet to be fully evaluated by NRC staffers. "Concerns raised about cheating and intimidation trouble me personally and the NRC is continuing its review of these issues," Progress Energy chairman and chief executive Bob McGehee said. "We do not tolerate this kind of behavior in our workplace." McGehee said the company is retesting every security guard at the nuclear plant to ensure they are qualified. "We will take all the appropriate action necessary based on further information we receive from the NRC," he said. The NRC interviewed 91 security guards and reviewed company documents in January about concerns raised the previous month by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the North Carolina Waste Awareness and Reduction Network. The groups raised 19 different issues they said were reported to them by security guards at the nuclear plant after their complaints to the NRC were ignored The investigative team wasn't able to substantiate nine of the concerns and found that seven other complaints were accurate but that "the safety and security significance of the concerns was very low," the NRC reported. Those included door locks that malfunctioned and stayed open on four occasions since October; the company has since replaced the locks. Four times in 2005, guards accidentally fired their weapons. No damage or injuries resulted, so the company wasn't required to report the incidents, the NRC said. "We don't believe in any way the plant is any less secure. We believe that they're properly implementing their security plan," NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said. The NRC's Office of Investigations was called in to investigate the cheating allegation and find out whether people willfully violated nuclear safety regulations, Hannah said. If investigators find evidence of intentional violations, they could turn over information to federal prosecutors, said Hannah, who cautioned it was too soon to say the issue would get that far. The NRC have "confirmed a lot of the problems and they're fixing problems. That's the good news," said Jim Warren, executive director of the North Carolina Waste Awareness Reduction Network. --- On the Net NRC: http://www.nrc.gov NC WARN: http://www.ncwarn.org/default.htm Union of Concerned Scientists: http://www.ucsusa.org/ Progress Energy: http://www.progress-energy.com/ © Copyright 2005, The News & Observer Publishing Company A subsidiary of The McClatchy Company ***************************************************************** 26 NY Daily News: Indian Pt. evac plans get another look BY JIM FITZGERALD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Officials from towns surrounding the Indian Point nuclear power complex who met with Homeland Security Department representatives yesterday said they were confident the federal government would fully reevaluate emergency evacuation plans. Rep. Sue Kelly (R-N.Y.), who set up the meeting, said she left with the impression federal authorities would even consider whether any plan could work. "They are going to give every idea a strong look," she said. Officials from three counties met in Cortlandt Manor to state their concerns to Homeland Security representatives, led by Assistant Secretary Robert Stefan. "Homeland Security heard us loud and clear," said Larry Schwartz, deputy Westchester County executive. "They're not going to make policy in Washington. They're going to make it here." Officials need "to be here and see rush hour ... see when it rains 2 inches in an hour and the Saw Mill, Hutchinson River and Bronx River parkways flood ... when there's high winds and the Tappan Zee [Bridge] is closed," he added. Kelly said terrorism was specifically discussed. Stefan would not take questions after the meeting, but said Homeland Security would work to find "what the gaps are" in the evacuation plans. Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, many residents and officials in the lower Hudson Valley have called for a shutdown of the two Indian Point plants in Buchanan, 35 miles north of midtown Manhattan. They say the plants are an attractive target, and the region is too densely populated to be safely evacuated after an attack. In the past, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted assurances from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that evacuation plans are in place and worked in a tabletop exercise. Originally published on March 23, 2006 All contents © 2006 Daily News, L.P. ***************************************************************** 27 Arizona Republic: Palo Verde water spills investigated March 23, 2006 Jobs | Cars Palo Verde water spills investigated Feds probe tritium levels at nuclear plants Billy House and Ken Alltucker ROCKVILLE, Md. - Prompted by a string of accidental radioactive discharges, federal monitors said Wednesday that they have formed a task force to investigate the spills at several power plants across the country, including one at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Wintersburg. "It does appear that it's bang, bang, bang, one right after the other," Steve Klementowicz, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission senior health physicist, said of discharges of radioactive tritium-laced water at nuclear plants in Arizona, Illinois and New York. Tritium, a byproduct of nuclear power generation, is a relatively weak source of radiation. But long-term exposure can increase the risks of cancer, miscarriages and birth defects. It can be ingested or absorbed in human tissue. Klementowicz and other NRC officials said at a hearing here that the task force of experts will evaluate the health effects of what has happened at at least five plants since December and possibly earlier incidents. But they emphasized that the latest reports from all the sites, including Palo Verde, do not indicate any immediate public hazards. At the Palo Verde plant about 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix, the largest nuclear generating site in the country, an NRC health inspector has been working during the past week with officials from Arizona Public Service and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to pinpoint the source and amount of the contamination. APS, which operates the plant on behalf of itself and six other owners, first notified the state on March 2 that it found tritium in a maze of underground pipes. Water samples taken a day before had turned up levels 3˝ times those considered acceptable by the Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water. State, federal and APS officials said Wednesday that, so far, there is no evidence Palo Verde-generated tritium has migrated beyond the boundary of the plant or seeped into aquifers about 70 feet to 200 feet underground that supply water for the area. NRC officials said the task force is to be made up of 11 experts from the commission around the country and one nuclear safety official from Illinois. The group will review the effects on public health, how well incidents of such discharges are communicated to the public and authorities, gauge the nuclear industry's remediation efforts and evaluate their own agency's oversight of the issue. A written report summarizing the findings is due by Aug. 31. In only one case so far, at the Braidwood Nuclear Power Station near Braceville close to Chicago, has contaminated water been found to have seeped outside the plant's property. But there are questions about how diligently some plant operators have been reporting such discharges, as required by federal law. Last week in Illinois, state and local officials filed suit against Braidwood's operators alleging they failed to report earlier discharges before announcing another leak in December. The operators did so only after state officials became aware of already existing groundwater damage and contamination of at least one nearby private drinking-water well. One such spill in 1998 is believed to have dumped about 3 million gallons of water that remains in the ground. "Companies are suddenly deciding to report these discharges more openly now because they've got their covers pulled off; spills have gotten into people's yards," said Paul Gunter, a member of the Takoma Park, Md.-based Nuclear Information and Resource Service, a watchdog group. Among groups that have been calling for an NRC investigation of the leaks is the Nuclear Safety Project for the Union of Concerned Scientists. In Arizona, although APS has not pinpointed the source of the tritium contamination in water found at Palo Verde, company officials said more and more evidence suggests that rainfall, rather than a cracked or leaking pipe, could be a source. Adding to this "washout" theory, they said, is that recent rainfall samples collected from a roof vent found tritium levels similar to the samples found in the contaminated water. "This is what we believe is going on," said Craig Seaman, Palo Verde's general manager of regulatory affairs. "We're certainly not willing to hang our hat on this yet and say this is the absolute answer." Palo Verde vents tritium into the air as a normal byproduct of nuclear power generation. Other nuclear power plants typically dispose of the chemical in streams or lakes where it quickly dissipates, Seaman said. Seaman said APS officials believe rainfall captured the tritium released from the plant and washed it into the soil there. He said APS believes it is a "localized phenomenon" restricted to Palo Verde, so it is unlikely rainfall outside the plant would carry heavier tritium samples. State environmental officials who also are working with APS to determine the source of the tritium said rainfall would be more problematic than a leaking pipe. "If that is their conclusion, that tritium is being released into the air and coming down to earth with the rain, that raises a heck of a lot more questions in my mind than it answers," said Steve Owens, director of the DEQ. Residents who live near Palo Verde say the federal government's effort to step up oversight of contaminated water at nuclear power plants is a good move. "I think it's important," said Charlotte Brafford, a Tonopah resident who lives near Palo Verde. "It is not a normal element or chemical that we hear about. So it's a concern." Brafford splits her time between her Tonapah home and a second home by the Perry nuclear power plant near Cleveland, so she is concerned about the safety and environmental impacts of nuclear plants on surrounding communities. "When the news broke about Palo Verde, we weren't told much, so it was a question of whether we were being kept in the dark," Brafford said. Yet Brafford and other residents seem satisfied that APS and state officials have done a sufficient job of keeping nearby residents informed. Within a week of discovering the tritium, APS and state environmental officials notified a Palo Verde community advisory panel of its findings. The contamination at Palo Verde also was the main topic discussed Tuesday at the Tonopah Valley Community Council. "They gave us a very thorough briefing on this," said Judith Shaw, a Tonopah resident active in two community groups. "From what I can gather, they are right on top of it." Owens said Arizona's strict aquifer protection laws require an immediate report of such releases. "APS must disclose these releases," Owens said. "It is a pretty stark contrast to situations in other states, where releases have been occurring." Because of the lax reporting standards at other nuclear power plants, Owens said, the review by the NRC "is long overdue." ----------------------------------------------------------------- I think that, like many other water scares that abound in the media, this is taken way out of proportion. If someone wants to know the relative danger of tritium they should read the information on this website: [www.physics.isu.edu] (Paul7188, March 23, 2006 08:35AM) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2006, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 28 APP.COM: Nuclear plants to reassess limits on tainted releases | Asbury Park Press Online March 23, 2006 TRITIUM: A radioactive substance being found in reactor water leaks Posted by BY JOHN MACHACEK GANNETT NEWS SERVICE ROCKVILLE, Md. — The discovery that New York's Indian Point and other nuclear reactors around the country are leaking radioactive material has pushed both federal regulators and power plant operators to reassess how to handle such spills that are seeping into groundwater. The Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade group for the nuclear power industry, announced Wednesday it had joined the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission in forming a task force to decide what actions are needed to correct the problem. Industry officials vowed Wednesday to go beyond just satisfying themselves that the tritium releases did not exceed NRC limits or federal drinking water standards. "It's not sufficient to be within the regulation limits. We need to know more about where the contamination is," said Ralph Anderson, NEI's chief physicist, said at a public meeting at NRC headquarters. "We need to maintain trust (with the public) if we are to be able to build more plants," he said. Commission officials continued to maintain that the rash of newly discovered leaks of tritium, a radioactive substance found in water used by nuclear reactors, presented no public health hazard. The government does allow for controlled, low-level releases of tritium. But plant operators are increasingly reporting to the NRC that tritium has inadvertently spilled into groundwater supplies. That has caused alarm among some nuclear power watchdog groups, which note that long-term exposure to tritium increases the risk of cancer and birth defects. Physicists with the NRC said Wednesday that the amount of radiation in the inadvertent spills is significantly smaller than what is found in the permitted discharges. But representatives of public interest groups argued that the NRC was "misrepresenting" its standards as safe. NRC chief physicist Steve Klementowicz acknowledged he cannot characterize the NRC dosage limits as "safe." "What we say is "negligible impact,' " he said. "The NRC has never said there has been zero impact." Nuclear power plant operators are being criticized for keeping the public in the dark about the tritium releases. Entergy, Indian Point's operator, discovered its leaks in late August but didn't make them public until Sept. 20. In Illinois, state and local officials are suing Exelon, which recently disclosed four tritium spills at three of its 10 plants, including one near Rockford. Some of the leaks date back to 1996. Exelon is also the owner of Oyster Creek nuclear plant in Lacey, N.J. Earlier this month, engineers found a tritium leak at Arizona's Palo Verde nuclear power plant, 50 miles from Phoenix. Tritium leaks are not a new problem. They have been found over the last nine years at a closed plant in Haddam, Conn.; the Salem plants in southern New Jersey; the Savannah River plant in South Carolina; and the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, according to the NRC. "It has not been a major issue," Klementowicz said in an interview. But the recent string of disclosures has changed the situation, he said. "It just seems like the whole world is raining tritium right now." Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., praised the NRC's decision to form a task force. He attended Wednesday's hearing and earlier met privately with NRC Chairman Nils J. Diaz to discuss the agency's ongoing review of tritium and other concerns at Indian Point. "He assured me that NRC is aware of the concerns and that they are monitoring Indian Point more than any other power plant in the country," Engel said. The NRC task force, made up of 11 agency experts and a representative from a yet-to-be-named state, will make a general assessment of the potential public health threat from the tritium releases. It will also look at how the issue is communicated to the public, state and local officials, Congress and other federal agencies The group's report, which must be completed by Aug. 31, will also focus on the aging pipes and other plant infrastructure suspected of being the cause of the leaks. Copyright © 2006 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 29 Independent: Chernobyl disaster linked to higher rate of infant mortality in Britain By Ian Herbert and Deborah Linton Published: 23 March 2006 The debate over the health effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Britain reopens today with research which suggests that infant deaths were higher in areas where rain fell as the plume of fallout passed overhead. A study by the epidemiologist John Urquhart, to be presented at a conference at City Hall in London marking the 20th anniversary of the disaster, suggests that infant deaths may have risen by 11 per cent between 1986 and 1989 in those areas compared with 4 per cent in other areas, a correlation that Mr Urquhart describes as very significant. Mr Urquhart - the author of a previous study which suggested that 2,000 more children than normal died before their first birthday between 1986 and 1989 - obtained infant death figures from 1983 to 1992 for 200 hospital districts across Britain. Areas across which cloud passed such as Liverpool, Bradford, Leicestershire, and Bristol, showed higher than average infant mortality which, he suggests, cannot entirely be explained by social factors. The study also suggests that a downwards infant mortality trend was interrupted in the four years after the disaster at the Ukrainian power station and continued to rise until 1992 in the most contaminated areas. Mr Urquhart argues that a plume of fallout from Chernobyl arrived near the Isle of Wight and passed over Bristol into south Wales. Another plume clipped the coast of Kent and then covered most of East Anglia and part of Essex. Another worked its way from east London to Hertfordshire, resurfacing in parts of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. Parts of West Yorkshire and most of the West Midlands, Wales, Merseyside, Lancashire, and Cumbria were significantly affected. Mr Urquhart, who gave evidence in the 1980s to the Government investigation led by Sir Douglas Black into evidence of a leukaemia cluster near Sellafield, Cumbria, said: "Previous research has established that there has been an increase in thyroid cancers in the young in the north of England for which Chernobyl is the probable cause. "This new study shows that the infant mortality trend, which was otherwise downwards, rose for a period of four years in England and Wales after Chernobyl. The results based on such a large population suggest that the effect of radioactive fallout could be two orders of magnitude greater than previously suspected." © 2006 Independent News and Media Limited ***************************************************************** 30 Clarion-Ledger: New nuke plant may be ready by 2015 March 23, 2006 and wire reports CLINTON — A new nuclear reactor could be pumping out electricity in Mississippi within the next decade if the permitting process is completed in a timely manner, Entergy officials say. Entergy CEO Wayne Leonard told The Associated Press during a recent interview at the power company's temporary headquarters here that the project could be completed by 2014 or 2015. Federal officials say it's possible for the plant to be built in that timeframe, but it is not set in stone. Entergy is involved in the reactor development as part of NuStart Energy, a consortium of nearly a dozen energy companies. It could take the consortium five years to secure the proper permits for the Grand Gulf project and another five years for construction, Leonard said. Entergy is the licensee in the consortium. "NuStart has indicated that they plan to put in an application for a combined operating license in very late '07 or very early '08," said Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Scott Burnell. Jeffrey S. Merrifield, one of five commissioners of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said two other sites - one in Illinois, the other in Virginia - also are going through the permitting process and face a similar timeframe. Merrifield, in an interview Wednesday with The Clarion-Ledger, said more companies are looking to increase their nuclear capabilities because of the cost pressures on coal and natural gas. Once a site permit is received, Merrifield said the operating licensing process takes about 30 months. However, change in the way the plants are built have cut the construction time for reactors. He said the 103 nuclear plants operating in the U.S. are running at 90 percent capacity, compared with about 68 percent in 1998. To maintain the current output, Merrifield said new plants would need to be ready to come on line in about 10 years. "Utilities now see the need to have additional plants between 2015 and 2017," he said. The agency is dealing with 11 applications that could result in 17 reactors, Merrifield said. The plan for the nuclear reactor near Port Gibson - about 25 miles south of Vicksburg - has met some opposition, primarily from those who say it could disproportionately put black area residents at risk. Some local officials say Claiborne County, where the plant will be located near the existing Grand Gulf reactor, should get more of the tax revenue that is generated. Tax revenues are split among all the counties Entergy serves in Mississippi. Entergy's top man said the fact the technology already has proven successful should speed the permitting process. The existing reactor, one of 10 run by Entergy, has been producing electricity since 1985. "What we currently have at Grand Gulf is a boiling water reactor, and it is one of the newer designs. But what is being proposed at the moment for the reactor is an evolutionary design. "It builds on the boiling water reactor and adds what are generally called passive safety features. It simplifies the overall operation of the plant to some degree," Burnell said. ©2006 The Clarion-Ledger ***************************************************************** 31 JOURNAL NEWS: Homeland Security vows Indian Point aid By GREG CLARY gclary@lohud.com Public welcome at 2 meetings The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will have two public meetings Tuesday at Crystal Bay on the Hudson at Charles Point Marina in Peekskill. • A 2:30 p.m. meeting will address the agency's annual assessment of Indian Point's operations. • A 6:30 p.m. meeting is planned to focus on the leak in the spent-fuel pool. What would you do? If you won millions in the lottery, how would you change your life? Weigh in on our new LoHud.com forums and find out what others would do. Go there: http://forums.lohud.com/viewtopic.php?t=77 (Original publication: March 23, 2006) CORTLANDT  Indian Point is a top priority for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the agency will work more closely with local officials to prevent a terrorist attack and save lives in the event of a radiation release, a key agency executive said yesterday. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has ranked Indian Point "in terms of potential human consequences as the No. 1 site in the nation," said Robert Stephan, Homeland Security's assistant secretary for infrastructure protection. "My guys are here to make sure that we're driving interaction and planning among the various jurisdictions involved. That's what it takes to solve these problems." Stephan and members of his staff met with local emergency and elected officials for a daylong summit at Cortlandt Town Hall yesterday, designed to heighten Homeland Security's understanding of the region's concerns about a potential emergency at Indian Point. Stephan arrived a day after Entergy Nuclear Northeast, which owns Indian Point, released new well test results from a radioactive leak that has local officials more nervous than usual about having nuclear plants in their backyard. Entergy said Tuesday that strontium 90, a byproduct of plutonium and uranium, was found in concentrations three times the federal limits for drinking water, about 50 yards from the Hudson River. It is the only such leak at any of the nation's 103 working nuclear plants. The company also has found tritium and nickel 63, two other radioactive isotopes. The isotope leaks were part of yesterday's discussions, participants said, but the focus of the day was on what happens "outside the fence," as Homeland Security labels the off-site area. Before he attended the meeting, Stephan said in an interview with The Journal News that his agency recognized the need to improve interaction with county and town emergency planners and hoped to achieve that by combining its security and emergency preparation divisions. "That creates some synergies," said the retired U.S. Air Force colonel, who added emergency preparedness to his responsibilities a few months ago. "We recognized that we had too much compartmentalized planning going on. The No. 1 thing I learned from (Hurricane) Katrina is that there has to be integrated contingency planning." Jim Steets, an Entergy official who attended the meeting, said the company was interested to hear the discussion, but its primary responsibility for safety is on-site. Rep. Sue Kelly, R-Katonah, organized the meeting and asked for a direct line of communication with Homeland Security's local personnel and another summit meeting on emergency planning. "Having someone who's there  who's familiar with us  is really important," Kelly said to a gathering of reporters during a midday break. Kelly said she also asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is under Stephan's control, to work more closely with state and local officials, and called for a Cortlandt-based exercise to test preparation plans. Stephan, who oversees about 400 people and a $300 million budget, said the agency has moved more staff into the field in New York to build closer relationships and help improve communication. "If there were no Indian Point power plant, I would still be up here ... because of the geographic risk associated with New York City," Stephan said. "Because of its population, New York City is always No. 1 or No. 2 on our list. It goes back and forth with Washington, D.C." Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef, who said he was blunt in his comments to Stephan, found some comfort in the federal agency's promise to get closer to the ground in its planning and involvement and to streamline its operations. "That's what the problem has been  this silo mentality that has guys doing something over here and others doing something over there, and all they do is communicate by memo," Vanderhoef said. "This was impressive because we're talking to one of the top guys in security, and he recognizes Indian Point's importance. He also understands that we need to build the confidence of our residents." Larry Schwartz, Westchester County's deputy county executive, said getting Homeland Security officials to visit was important, just as it will be to have them return. "They have to be here to see what happens during rush hour," Schwartz said. "The key here will be the follow-up." Stephan said his organization's primary responsibility is to provide resources as much as possible and make sure that gaps in planning that crop up at jurisdictional borders don't get overlooked. He said Homeland Security would have about $50 million in one pot of grants this year that the agency will try to direct in larger chunks based on potential impact to the largest number of people, which should help the Indian Point region. Previous allotments were spread too thinly, Stephan said. The federal government has other resources besides money, Stephan said, such as sophisticated computer modeling that can take fast-breaking data from a radiation release, for example, and within minutes calculate impact using wind direction and speed and a host of other information that locals should be able to collect quickly. Cortlandt Supervisor Linda Puglisi thanked Kelly for orchestrating the meeting. "I can't think of anything more important that we as public and private officials can do to help to secure the safety of our families and residents in our community," Puglisi said. Copyright 2006 The Journal News, a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper serving Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties in New York. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Serviceand Privacy Policy, updated June 7, 2005. ***************************************************************** 32 Rutland Herald: Yankee is a plus for Vermont Rutland Vermont News & Information March 23, 2006 By MILT EATON The good news is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Public Service Board approved the up-rate of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to the benefit of Windham County, Vermont and all of New England. The bad news is the recent public hearing on the re-licensing of Vermont Yankee, showed Vermont politics at its worst. An anti-nuclear crowd, representing a vocal minority of the faithful, berated officials from the NRC while embarrassing and degrading our community in the process. However one feels about Vermont Yankee, Vermonters can and should have a broader discussion about our realistic energy future. In fact, the time has clearly come for officials from the New England Coalition and other vehement anti-nuclear faithful to commit to a rigorous, fact-based discussion about Vermont Yankee in the context of what is happening in Vermont, New England and the world. Perhaps the reason that the militant anti-nukers, often referred to as the "experts" or "watchdogs," do not want such a discussion is they sense they will lose based on facts and merits. Indeed, as the NRC begins an approximate 30-month process to review the re-licensing application of Vermont Yankee, it is important to dispassionately ask three basic questions. Is the plant safe? Vermont Yankee has just undergone the most extensive review ever conducted by the NRC to assess an "up-rate" or power increase. Over two years, more than 11,000 staff-hours went into this assessment, as well as an additional 900 hours for a related engineering assessment. This assessment involved the NRC, Entergy, and Vermont Yankee. Plant safety is something everyone demands and the re-licensing review is thorough and exact from a safety standpoint. Like it or not, America's nuclear power industry has an outstanding safety record. This is especially true compared with all other forms of energy production. There has not been a single fatality in more than 50 years of nuclear energy production from exposure to radiation. The safety discussion should include both the day-to-day operations of Vermont Yankee, as well as the storage of spent fuel. Opponents to Vermont Yankee often give the impression that were the plant to close, safety issues would be resolved. Yet the delay in opening a federal repository for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain means that the waste will stay in Vermont for some time, even if the plant were to close in 2012 at the end of its current license. Is the power needed? Vermont Yankee provides 70 percent of the power generated in the state and one-third of the state's electricity supply. Electricity demand is rising and supplies are tight. The chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and president and CEO of ISO-New England, the operator of the state's transmission grid, have both warned that New England faces the near-term prospect of periodic rolling blackouts, similar to what impacted California in 2001, unless capacity in both generation and transmission are expanded to meet the growing demand. Vermont Yankee's power is critically important because it is base-load, consistently generated electricity, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Renewable power is a supplemental, necessary for our long-term energy portfolio, but it cannot provide this consistency. Also, let's keep in mind that Vermont is not an easy place to build any new power facilities. There has not been a new major power source constructed in more than 20 years. Renewable projects today often face as strident opposition as Vermont Yankee from NIMBY ("Not In My Backyard") activists. With the insatiable thirst for electricity in our state, it is no wonder that demand is rising at over 1 percent per year. Unless we want to go back to the days before Thomas Edison, it is hard to question the near-term and long-term need for Vermont Yankee's power. Is nuclear power an optimal alternative for Vermont? For more than three decades Vermont Yankee has made the state a better place to live and from an environmental standpoint the cleanest state in the country. Nuclear power curtails greenhouse gas emissions that would occur from using wood, coal or natural gas fuels. Nuclear power further benefits Vermont's environment because it cuts back on toxic chemical emissions that would come from coal plants wherever they are located. It also mitigates the need for massive construction of windmills, which, compared to Vermont Yankee, need a sizable amount of land as well as higher costs and/or subsidies to generate the equivalent power. Further, Vermont Yankee's low-cost power, at 3.95 cents per kilowatt hour, is by far the least expensive in the state and critical to Vermont's economy. The plant and corporate offices employ more than 500 hard-working Vermonters and provide more than $70 million annually to the state and region through payroll, taxes, and the local purchases of goods and services. For all these reasons, I conclude Vermont Yankee should be re-licensed when the NRC review is successfully completed. Furthermore, the debate about its future should be conducted with decorum and mutual respect. Let's all listen and take the heat out of the debate. Milt Eaton, a member of the Vermont Energy Partnership, is a former Vermont secretary of development and community affairs and official with the U.S. Department of Energy. © 2006 Rutland Herald ***************************************************************** 33 NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Meeting Notice FR Doc E6-4193 [Federal Register: March 23, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 56)] [Notices] [Page 14724-14726] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr23mr06-71] In accordance with the purposes of Sections 29 and 182b. of the Atomic Energy Act (42 U.S.C. 2039, 2232b), the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) will hold a meeting on April 5-8, 2006, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The date of this meeting was previously published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 (70 FR 70638). Wednesday, April 5, 2006, Conference Room T-8E8, Two White Flint North, Rockville, Maryland 1:30 p.m.-6 p.m.: Safeguards and Security Matters (Closed)--The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discuss with representatives of the NRC staff regarding safeguards and security matters. Note: This session will be closed to protect information classified as national security as well as safeguards information pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b( c) (1) and (3). Thursday, April 6, 2006, Conference Room T-2B3, Two White Flint North, Rockville, Maryland 8:30 a.m.-8:35 a.m.: Opening Remarks by the ACRS Chairman (Open)-- The ACRS Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of the meeting. 8:35 a.m.-10 a.m.: Draft Final Regulatory Guide, ``Risk-Informed, Performance-Based Fire Protection for Existing Light Water Nuclear Power Plants'' (Open)--The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff regarding draft final Regulatory Guide, ``Risk-Informed, Performance-Based Fire Protection for Existing Light Water Nuclear Power Plants,'' and related matters. [[Page 14725]] 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Safety Conscious Work Environment/Safety Culture (Open)--The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff regarding staff activities associated with responding to the Commission's Staff Requirements Memorandum on Safety Conscious Work Environment/Safety Culture, and related matters. 1:15 p.m.-2:15 p.m.: Hazards Analysis Associated with the Grand Gulf Early Site Permit Application and the Associated NRC Staff's Evaluation (Open)--The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff, and System Energy Resources, Inc. as needed, regarding the hazards analysis associated with the Grand Gulf Early Site Permit Application and the associated NRC staff's evaluation. 2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: Application of TRACG Code to ESBWR Stability (Open/Closed)--The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff and General Electric Nuclear Energy regarding application of the TRACG Code for analyzing the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) Stability. Note: A portion of this session may be closed to discuss General Electric proprietary information pursuant to pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(4). 4:45 p.m.-6:45 p.m.: Preparation of ACRS Reports (Open)--The Committee will discuss proposed ACRS reports on matters considered during this meeting. Friday, April 7, 2006, Conference Room T-2B3, Two White Flint North, Rockville, Maryland 8:30 a.m.-8:35 a.m.: Opening Remarks by the ACRS Chairman (Open)-- The ACRS Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of the meeting. 8:35 a.m.-10 a.m.: Review of 1994 Addenda for Class 1, 2, and 3 Piping Systems to the ASME Code Section III and the Resolution of the Differences Between the Staff and ASME (Open)--The Committee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) regarding the 1994 Addenda for Class 1, 2, and 3 Piping Systems to the ASME Code Section III and the resolution of differences between the NRC staff and ASME. 10:15 a.m.-10:45 a.m.: Subcommittee Reports (Open)--The Committee will hear reports by and hold discussions with the cognizant Chairman of the ACRS Subcommittees regarding: interim review of the Nine Mile Point license renewal application and the associated NRC staff's draft Safety Evaluation Report; and interim review of the Ginna core power uprate application and the associated NRC staff's Safety Evaluation. 10:45 a.m.-11:45 a.m.: Future ACRS Activities/Report of the Planning and Procedures Subcommittee (Open)--The Committee will discuss the recommendations of the Planning and Procedures Subcommittee regarding items proposed for consideration by the full Committee during future meetings. Also, it will hear a report of the Planning and Procedures Subcommittee on matters related to the conduct of ACRS business, including anticipated workload and member assignments. 11:45 a.m.-12 noon: Reconciliation of ACRS Comments and Recommendations (Open)--The Committee will discuss the responses from the NRC Executive Director for Operations to comments and recommendations included in recent ACRS reports and letters. 1 p.m.-1:30 p.m.: Quality Assessment of Selected NRC Research Projects (Open)--The Committee will select projects and make assignments for assessing the quality of the selected research projects. 1:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.: Preparation of ACRS Reports (Open)--The Committee will discuss proposed ACRS reports. Saturday, April 8, 2006, Conference Room T-2B3, Two White Flint North, Rockville, Maryland 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Preparation of ACRS Reports (Open)--The Committee will continue its discussion of proposed ACRS reports. 12:30 p.m.-1 p.m.: Miscellaneous (Open)--The Committee will discuss matters related to the conduct of Committee activities and matters and specific issues that were not completed during previous meetings, as time and availability of information permit. Procedures for the conduct of and participation in ACRS meetings were published in the Federal Register on September 29, 2005 (70 FR 56936). In accordance with those procedures, oral or written views may be presented by members of the public, including representatives of the nuclear industry. Electronic recordings will be permitted only during the open portions of the meeting. Persons desiring to make oral statements should notify the Cognizant ACRS staff named below five days before the meeting, if possible, so that appropriate arrangements can be made to allow necessary time during the meeting for such statements. Use of still, motion picture, and television cameras during the meeting may be limited to selected portions of the meeting as determined by the Chairman. Information regarding the time to be set aside for this purpose may be obtained by contacting the Cognizant ACRS staff prior to the meeting. In view of the possibility that the schedule for ACRS meetings may be adjusted by the Chairman as necessary to facilitate the conduct of the meeting, persons planning to attend should check with the Cognizant ACRS staff if such rescheduling would result in major inconvenience. In accordance with Subsection 10(d) P.L. 92-463, I have determined that it may be necessary to close portions of this meeting noted above to discuss and protect information classified as national security information as well as safeguards information pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(1) and (3), and General Electric proprietary information pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(4). Further information regarding topics to be discussed, whether the meeting has been canceled or rescheduled, as well as the Chairman's ruling on requests for the opportunity to present oral statements and the time allotted therefor can be obtained by contacting Mr. Sam Duraiswamy, Cognizant ACRS staff (301-415-7364), between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., ET. ACRS meeting agenda, meeting transcripts, and letter reports are available through the NRC Public Document Room at pdr@nrc.gov, or by calling the PDR at 1-800-397-4209, or from the Publicly Available Records System (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS) which is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html or http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/ (ACRS & oc-collections/ (ACRS & ACNW Mtg schedules/agendas). Videoteleconferencing service is available for observing open sessions of ACRS meetings. Those wishing to use this service for observing ACRS meetings should contact Mr. Theron Brown, ACRS Audio Visual Technician (301-415-8066), between 7:30 a.m. and 3:45 p.m., ET, at least 10 days before the meeting to ensure the availability of this service. Individuals or organizations requesting this service will be responsible for telephone line charges and for providing the equipment and facilities that they use to establish the videoteleconferencing link. The availability of videoteleconferencing services is not guaranteed. [[Page 14726]] Dated: March 16, 2006. Andrew L. Bates, Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. E6-4193 Filed 3-22-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 34 NRC: NRC Staff Responds to Security Concerns at Harris Nuclear Power Plant near Raleigh News Release - Region II - 2006-00 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II No. II-06-005 March 22, 2006 CONTACT: Ken Clark (404) 562-4416 Roger D. Hannah (404) 562-4417 E-mail: Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the North Carolina Waste Awareness and Reduction Network (NC WARN) regarding security concerns the two groups raised at the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant near Raleigh last December. In a March 22nd letter to UCS and NC WARN, Victor M. McCree, Director of the NRCs Division of Reactor Safety in the agencys Region II office in Atlanta, said the NRC, as a result of correspondence and conversations with the two groups, had identified 19 discrete issues requiring agency review and disposition. He said the NRC interviewed 91 contract security officers at the plant and reviewed numerous documents associated with 16 of the concerns. Of that 16, McCree said seven were substantiated but NRC inspections and evaluations revealed that the safety and security significance of the concerns was very low and did not represent a degradation of plant security. He said the NRC was unable to establish the validity of the other nine concerns. Regarding the three remaining concerns, McCree said one concern related to claims of cheating on security certification tests is undergoing investigation by the NRC Office of Investigations. He said the other two concerns, one involving alleged reprisals against security officers who file injury reports and another involving alleged retaliation for raising security concerns, remain under NRC staff review. The letter further states that unless the NRC receives additional information that suggests our conclusions should be altered, the NRC plans no further action on the concerns. EDITORS: Interested parties may obtain a summary of the NRCs review of security issues at the Harris plant at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/for-the-record/2006 /index.html. This summary can also be obtained via email or facsimile by calling the NRC Region II Public Affairs office at (404) 562-4417 or by email at . Last revised Thursday, March 23, 2006 ***************************************************************** 35 NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards Meeting of the FR Doc E6-4194 [Federal Register: March 23, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 56)] [Notices] [Page 14726] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr23mr06-72] Subcommittee on Plant License Renewal; Notice of Meeting The ACRS Subcommittee on Plant License Renewal will hold a meeting on April 5, 2006, Room T-2B3, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The entire meeting will be open to public attendance. The agenda for the subject meeting shall be as follows: Wednesday, April 5, 2006--8:30 a.m.-12 Noon The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the License Renewal Application for Nine Mile Point and the related Safety Evaluation Report (SER) with open items prepared by the NRR staff. The Subcommittee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff, Constellation Energy Group, and other interested persons regarding this matter. The Subcommittee will gather information, analyze relevant issues and facts, and formulate proposed positions and actions, as appropriate, for deliberation by the full Committee. Members of the public desiring to provide oral statements and/or written comments should notify the Designated Federal Official, Mr. John G. Lamb (telephone 301/415-6855) five days prior to the meeting, if possible, so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Electronic recordings will be permitted. Further information regarding this meeting can be obtained by contacting the Designated Federal Official between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (ET). Persons planning to attend this meeting are urged to contact the above named individual at least two working days prior to the meeting to be advised of any potential changes to the agenda. Dated: March 16, 2006. Michael R. Snodderly, Acting Branch Chief, ACRS/ACNW. [FR Doc. E6-4194 Filed 3-22-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 36 Hudson Valley News: Leaks around Indian Point not a concern yet Thursday, March 23, 2006 Entergy officials now confirm that Strontium 90 has been detected leaking into the ground around the Indian Point nuclear reactors, and, it was conceded at a meeting in Westchester County Wednesday, the radioactive cancer-causing isotope is probably making its way into the Hudson River, but in quantities so diluted as to pose no threat. Jim Steets is spokesman for Entergy, which owns and operates the reactors. There is no chance this material can reach drinking water supplies, and that is really the only way in which there would be an impact on public safety. So, from the standpoint of public safety, were not concerned. Anthony Sutton, Westchester Countys director of emergency services, agrees. Sutton says they are closely monitoring both the Strontium 90, and another element known to be getting into the river. Tritium may be making its way to the Hudson River. The Hudson River is not a source of drinking water, and certainly, the dilution factor on the amounts that we see pose no threat to public heath and safety. Steets and Sutton made their comments during a break at a summit on emergency preparedness plans for Indian Point. The summit, organized by Rep. Sue Kelly (R-Katonah), included Department of Homeland Security officials and was held, behind tightly closed doors, at the Cortlandt Town Hall. HEAR today's news on , the Hudson Valley's only Internet radio news report. ***************************************************************** 37 NRC: NRC to Discuss 2005 Performance Assessment for Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant News Release - Region I - 2006-01 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I No. I-06-017 March 23, 2006 CONTACT: Diane Screnci (610) 337-5330 Neil A. Sheehan (610) 337-5331 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov representatives of FPL Energy Seabrook, LLC, on Thursday, March 30, to discuss the agencys annual assessment of safety performance at the Seabrook nuclear power plant. The period of performance to be discussed is Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2005. FPL Energy operates the plant, which is located in Seabrook, N.H.. The meeting, which will be open to the public for observation, is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Inn of Hampton, 815 Lafayette Road (U.S. Route 1) in Hampton, N.H. (Directions are available on the inns web site at: http://www.theinnofhampton.com/[exit icon] .) Before the session is adjourned, NRC staff will be available to answer questions from the public on the plants safety performance, as well as the agencys role in ensuring safe operation of the facility. As we do every year, we have carefully reviewed the safety performance of the Seabrook nuclear power plant during the previous calendar year, NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins said. The meeting on March 30th will afford the public a chance to learn more about the results of our assessment and to pose any questions they might have regarding plant performance or our oversight activities. A letter sent from the NRC Region I Office to plant officials addresses the performance of the plant during the period and will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/seab_2005q4.pdf [PDF Icon] . The meeting notice, with the meeting agenda attached, is available in the NRCs Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) under accession number ML060660573. The NRC slides will be available in ADAMS at least three days before the meeting; they will be provided in a revision to the meeting notice. ADAMS is accessible via the agencys web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting the NRCs Public Document Room at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or by e-mail at PDR@NRC.GOV. Overall, the Seabrook plant operated safely during the period. The NRC uses color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear power plant performance. The colors start with green and then increase to white, yellow or red, commensurate with the safety significance of the issues involved. Because all of the inspection findings and performance indicators for the plant during 2005 were determined to be green, Seabrook will receive a baseline (or routine) level of inspections during the upcoming assessment period. Routine inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa., and the agencys headquarters in Rockville, Md. Among the areas of plant operations to be inspected during the next year by NRC specialists are radiological safety and problem identification and resolution. Current performance information for Seabrook is available on the NRC web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/SEAB1/seab1_chart.html. Last revised Thursday, March 23, 2006 ***************************************************************** 38 Japan Times: Fishermen fail to halt reactor plan ONLY VICTORY: CAN KEEP PURSUING CATCH YAMAGUCHI (Kyodo) The Yamaguchi District Court ruled Thursday that three fishermen in Iwaishima, Yamaguchi Prefecture, were not obliged to accept compensation for heated waste water that would be released from a nuclear reactor Chubu Electric Power Co plans to build in Kaminoseki in the prefecture. The fishermen, members of the Iwaishima fisheries cooperative, which opposes the construction, had sought the nullification of a pact between a management committee that represented eight local fisheries co-ops and Chubu Electric under which the utility was to pay compensation to fishermen in return for allowing the project to go ahead. The lawsuit had also asked the court to order the suspension of the construction, a request that it rejected. In ruling that three of the plaintiffs did not have to be compensated for damages, the Iwakuni branch of the district court effectively ruled in their favor, the Iwaishima fishermen said, saying this effectively allows them to continue fishing. Presiding Judge Hitoshi Wakuta said that fisheries co-ops do not have the right to restrict fishing activities that are authorized by the governor. The committee reached a final agreement in April 2000 under which the eight co-ops would receive a total of some 12.5 billion yen in return for giving up some of their fishing rights in the area of the proposed Kaminoseki nuclear reactor and signed a deal with Chubu Electric. The Iwaishima co-op remained opposed. The Iwaishima fishermen had said in court that the plant's heated waste water would flow into the sea, adversely affecting their fishing grounds and, as such, the management committee should not have been able to make a compensation deal without the unanimous approval of its members. The Japan Times: March 24, 2006 (C) All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 39 WCAX.com: Standards high for fighting Vermont Yankee relicensure BRATTLEBORO, Vt. -- Groups opposed to the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant's request for a new 20-year operating license have 60 days beginning next week to ask the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission to hear their concerns. But if the NRC's track record on granting such requests is any indication, they're likely to come away frustrated. The NRC has granted license extensions for 39 of the nation's 103 commercial reactors; it is currently reviewing applications from 12 more. So far no intervener hearings have been held. The NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board is the first stop for such a request. Last month, it said it would hold hearings on contentions raised by a coalition of environmental groups about corrosion in the reactor containment at the Oyster Creek nuclear plant in New Jersey, which also is seeking to extend its license. Both plant owner AmerGen and the NRC staff have appealed the Oyster Creek decision to the NRC's five commissioners. In two previous instances in which the licensing board granted petitions for hearings _ on two plants in the Carolinas _ the commission reversed those decisions. The relicensing review process also looks at a much narrower range of issues than those routinely raised by industry critics. Worries about a nuclear plant's vulnerability to terrorism, the lack of a permanent disposal site for radioactive waste or the chances that an evacuation plan will work in a real emergency are not considered germane, said NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan. "The commission has said time and time again that issues like emergency planning, spent fuel storage and security should be dealt with in the here and now and not in connection with a license renewal," Sheehan said. Despite those odds, Raymond Shadis, adviser to the anti-nuclear group New England Coalition, said his group would seek to intervene. "Of course we are." Shadis acknowledged that the hurdles are high. "Over time the NRC has accrued unto itself case law. (The industry has) won little bits and pieces and over time and in the aggregate they have damn near eliminated the public hearing right," he said. He also complained that while a nuclear plant could take a year or more to prepare a license renewal application, opponents will have 60 days to try to absorb 900 pages of highly technical material and hire expert witnesses "willing to put their professional reputations on the line" to challenge the application. Vermont Yankee spokesman Robert Williams said plant engineers actually had spent 2 1/2 years preparing the application, and that it was 1,100 pages. "It involved 40,000 engineering staff hours," he said. He added, "We think that two months is an adequate time for anyone who wishes to intervene to decide whether they want to do that." Shadis said it would take some time to develop the issues his group might want to raise. One could be the same sort of corrosion seen in the primary reactor containment at Oyster Creek, he said. "When they ordered all the parts and pieces (when Vermont Yankee was built), they were specified for 40 years of endurance," Shadis said. "Now not only do they want to run them beyond that time, but ... exposed to more extreme conditions," stemming from the plant's recently won permission to increase its power output by 20 percent. Jonathan Block, a Putney lawyer who has represented the anti-nuclear Citizens' Awareness Network in past regulatory proceedings, said the odds of getting a hearing before the NRC were not as long as some were trying to paint them. "It's propaganda that the agency (NRC) is putting out with the intent of discouraging participation in this process," he said. Sheehan said industry's unbeaten record on winning license extensions _ it has a similar record on requests to increase the plants' power output _ shouldn't be taken as an indication that nuclear plants get a free pass from the NRC. "You have to look at the broader perspective here. Before companies even submit applications (for license renewal) they have to do a tremendous amount of advance work," Sheehan said, adding that the license renewal process typically costs a nuclear plant owner about $10 million. Sheehan said once the application is submitted there was extensive back-and-forth between the utility and the NRC as NRC staff ask for clarifications or more information about a wide range of technical issues. He added that while the NRC hadn't rejected any applications outright, it had sent two back for more work. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. All content © Copyright 2001 - 2006 WorldNow and WCAX. All ***************************************************************** 40 NRC: NRC Announces Opportunity to Request Hearing on Application to Renew Operating License for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station News Release - 2006-03 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 06-039 March 22, 2006 opportunity to request a hearing on an application to renew the operating license for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station for an additional 20 years. The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is a boiling water reactor located in the town of Vernon, Vt., on the west shore of the Connecticut River. Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., submitted the renewal application Jan. 25. The current operating license for Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station expires on March 21, 2012. The NRC staff has determined that the application contains sufficient information for the agency to formally docket, or file, the application and begin its technical review. Docketing the application does not preclude requesting additional information as the review proceeds; nor does it indicate whether the Commission will grant the application. A notice of opportunity to request a hearing will be published soon in the Federal Register. The deadline for requesting a hearing is 60 days after publication of the notice. Petitions may be filed by anyone whose interest may be affected by the license renewal and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding. Information regarding the opportunity to request a hearing was disseminated by NRC staff to members of the public during a public information session conducted in Brattleboro, Vt., on March 1. A request for hearing and a petition for leave to intervene must be filed with the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Requests may also be submitted by facsimile to (301) 415-1101 or e-mail to HEARINGDOCKET@nrc.gov. A copy should also be submitted to the NRC Office of General Counsel, by facsimile to (301) 415-3725 or e-mail to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. Information about the license renewal process can be found on the NRC Web Site at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html. The Vermont Yankee renewal application is online at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applicati ons/vermont-yankee.html. An NRC review schedule for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station will also be posted on the NRC Web site and will identify the deadline for requesting a hearing. This information can also be found in the agencys ADAMS document database under ML0608006640. Last revised Wednesday, March 22, 2006 ***************************************************************** 41 American Chronicle: Three Mile Island - A Look Back Friday, March 24, 2006 Mike Williams Mike Williams is a Navy Vet who served under President Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush. He has been decorated for his involvement in Drug Enforcement Operations during his time on active duty. Various post-Navy jobs have included a school district, a retail store chain, and a national medical supplier. Mike is the creator and writer for a Pennsylvania based blog PA Pundits. His inspiration comes from his sister, parents, grandparents, and various other family members. Mike is the proud father of an eighteen year old daughter. She is currently attending Pittsburgh University. www.papundits.com By now, I’m sure most folks are familiar with the infamous “Three-Mile-Island” nuclear disaster. A nuclear power plant located near Harrisburg Pennsylvania ,in which, the unthinkable happened on March 28, 1979. The incident was also considered a catalyst for the creation of yet another federal agency. What happened at 4:00 a.m. that morning? Here’s a detailed account of what happened and beyond. At 4:00 a.m., workers at TMI were attempting to clear a blocked secondary water circulation system. It’s a system of water piping that is responsible for cooling the nuclear reactor. When the workers tried to clear the system, they started a chain of events in motion that eventually lead to the disaster. In trying to clear the piping, the workers instead blocked the flow of precious cooling water. The water that is already present in the system is no longer flowing or moving and begins to heat up and build pressure. The pilot-operated-relief-valve (PORV) opens automatically releasing steam. The temperature in the reactor continues to rise. Automatically, the control rods are thrust down into the reactor effectively stopping the nuclear fission reaction. The PORV valve should now automatically close. Inside the control room, all indicators show that it has closed. The reality was that the valve is stuck open. A good comparison would be the “thermostat” inside your automobile. It controls the water flowing throughout your car’s cooling system. On many occasions, I have had this valve stick closed or open. If it sticks in the closed position, your car will overheat and most likely, blow a hose or two. If it sticks open (especially in Winter), your car will not generate much heat and it will look as though your heater doesn’t work. With the PORV valve stuck in the “open” position, the steam lowers and water inside the cooling tank begins to boil violently. Water begins to seep out through the broken valve. The drop in pressure signals a “leak” to the control system which then activates emergency water pumps to put more water into the cooling system. Still unaware that the PORV valve is stuck open, the operators see no need to add more water to the system and shut the emergency pumps down. This will prove to be a costly error. In the past, the emergency pumps had kicked on for no apparent reason. The operators didn’t see this as any different from any of the previous incidents. From around 4:05 a.m. to about 6:00 a.m., the water inside the reactors cooling system is boiling away. Latent radiation in the water from the previous months of continuous operation continues to keep the heat levels up. The nuclear core is becoming exposed as more water boils away. There is no direct level indicator for the operators who still have no idea that they are loosing valuable cooling water. In effect, they have no idea what’s happening. Just after 6:00 a.m., the operators realize that the PORV valve “might” be stuck open. The use a secondary valve to close the system. It takes them a full hour after closing the valve to also realize that the system may now be low on cooling water. By now, the control rods have melted due to open exposure. The operators do not know this and begin to inject cool water into the reactor. Because of the melted rods, the water has no immediate effect. Heat continues to rise. The super-heated mass of water and nuclear materials begins to spill into the bottom cavity of the reactor. At the bottom, a five-inch thick steel plating is the only thing protecting the bottom of the reactor. Given enough time, the nuclear mass will eat its way through it. The small miracle comes when the newly injected water begins to cool everything down. The nuclear mass never gets any further then the steel plating. The radiation levels around the reactor have risen to levels that require a declaration of a “state of emergency.” A general declaration is slow in coming. By the evening hours of March 28th, radiation levels begin to fall. The people involved are still slow in realizing that a core meltdown has occurred. By the evening of the next day, reality sets in and TMI begins to wonder whether or not radioactive steam has been released into the atmosphere. On Friday, fearing that radiation may have been leaked into the atmosphere, Governor Richard Thornburgh urges pregnant woman and young children to leave the area.Later that evening, the FDA begins to wake up the drug companies in a frantic search for potassium iodide tablets in case they’re needed. These tablets help prevent damage to the thyroid gland. The real concern now switches to an alleged build-up of hydrogen gas which operators fear might cause the reactor to explode. With a melted core and the continuing separation of oxygen and hydrogen from the cooling water, the engineers believe that an explosion may be imminent. Leaks to the press suggest that an evacuation of 10 to 20 miles around TMI may be necessary. On Sunday April 1st, President Jimmy Carter and his wife visit TMI in an effort to show the public that the nuclear danger has passed. The “experts” now conclude that a hydrogen explosion is no longer possible. Crisis over. I imagine an engineer in the wee morning hours clenching his fists and jumping up and down in the middle of the control room screaming, “This is not supposed to be happening!” The reports we saw after this tragedy suggest that the control room operators were overworked, fatigued, and in some reports maybe even drunk. I’m not so sure about the drunk part but, it seems that logic and reason didn’t take over until later in the morning when fresh faces began to appear inside the control room. Nuclear power wasn’t new to us at the time of this accident. The engineers had a few opportunities to control the situation but refused to believe that the real world and science don’t always agree. They made assumptions that later proved to be false. Pennsylvania dodged the bullet back in 1978. I, for one, am glad that my daughter does not have two heads. American Chronicle is a trademark of Ultio LLC. ***************************************************************** 42 NRC: NRC Announces Opportunity to Request a Hearing on Application to Renew Operating License for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station News Release - 2006-04 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 06-040 March 22, 2006 opportunity to request a hearing on an application to renew the operating license for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station for an additional 20 years. The Pilgrim nuclear plant is a boiling water reactor located on the western shore of Cape Cod Bay in the town of Plymouth, Mass. Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., submitted the renewal application Jan. 25. The current operating license for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station expires on June 8, 2012. The NRC staff has determined that the application contains sufficient information for the agency to formally docket, or file, the application and begin its technical review. Docketing the application does not preclude requesting additional information as the review proceeds; nor does it indicate whether the Commission will grant the application. A notice of opportunity to request a hearing will be published soon in the Federal Register. The deadline for requesting a hearing is 60 days after publication of the notice. Petitions may be filed by anyone whose interest may be affected by the license renewal and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding. Information regarding the opportunity to request a hearing was disseminated by NRC staff to members of the public during a public information session conducted in Plymouth on March 8. A request for hearing and a petition for leave to intervene must be filed with the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555-0001, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Requests may also be submitted by facsimile to (301) 415-1101 or e-mail to HEARINGDOCKET@nrc.gov. A copy should also be submitted to the NRC Office of General Counsel, by facsimile to (301) 415-3725 or e-mail to OGCMailCenter@nrc.gov. Information about the license renewal process can be found on the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal.html. The Pilgrim renewal application is online at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applicati ons/pilgrim.html. An NRC review schedule for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station will also be posted on the NRC Web site which will identify the deadline for requesting a hearing. This information can also be found in the agencys ADAMS document database under ML060800745. Last revised Wednesday, March 22, 2006 ***************************************************************** 43 NRC: News Release - 2006-041 - NRC Meeting March 29 – 30 to Discuss Worker Fatigue Rules, Applying Drug-testing Rules to Construction Personnel NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: www.nrc.gov No. 06-041 March 23, 2006 Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will meet with interested stakeholders at the agencys Rockville, Md., headquarters on March 29 and 30 to discuss alternatives to work-hour limits and concepts for applying the agencys fitness-for-duty requirements to nuclear power plants under construction. The meeting will be held in the Auditorium at Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on March 29 and 9 a.m. to noon on March 30. The meeting will include separate discussions of the proposed fatigue-management rules, the proposed resolutions for the drug and alcohol-testing provisions and implementation guidance for the fatigue-management rules. The public is encouraged to ask questions throughout the meetings. There will be a limited number of telephone lines available each day for interested members of the public to participate via a toll-free teleconference. On March 29, the phone number will be 800-638-8081 and the pass code will be 9516#. On March 30, the phone number will be 800-475-0212 and the pass code will be 48994. The meeting agenda is available on the agencys web site at this address: . For more information on the meeting, contact David Diec at 301-415-2834 (via e-mail at ), Dave Desaluniers at 301-415-1043 (via e-mail at ), or Tim McCune at 301-415-6474 (via e-mail at ). Last revised Thursday, March 23, 2006 ***************************************************************** 44 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Hiring Hong Kong Co. to Scan Nukes From the Associated Press [UP] Friday March 24, 2006 12:46 AM AP Photo WX105 By TED BRIDIS and JOHN SOLOMON Associated Press Writers WASHINGTON (AP) - In the aftermath of the Dubai ports dispute, the Bush administration is hiring a Hong Kong conglomerate to help detect nuclear materials inside cargo passing through the Bahamas to the United States and elsewhere. The administration acknowledges the no-bid contract with Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. represents the first time a foreign company will be involved in running a sophisticated U.S. radiation detector at an overseas port without American customs agents present. Freeport in the Bahamas is 65 miles from the U.S. coast, where cargo would be likely to be inspected again. The contract is currently being finalized. The administration is negotiating a second no-bid contract for a Philippine company to install radiation detectors in its home country, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. At dozens of other overseas ports, foreign governments are primarily responsible for scanning cargo. While President Bush recently reassured Congress that foreigners would not manage security at U.S. ports, the Hutchison deal in the Bahamas illustrates how the administration is relying on foreign companies at overseas ports to safeguard cargo headed to the United States. Hutchison Whampoa is the world's largest ports operator and among the industry's most-respected companies. It was an early adopter of U.S. anti-terror measures. But its billionaire chairman, Li Ka-Shing, also has substantial business ties to China's government that have raised U.S. concerns over the years. ``Li Ka-Shing is pretty close to a lot of senior leaders of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party,'' said Larry M. Wortzel, head of a U.S. government commission that studies China security and economic issues. But Wortzel said Hutchison operates independently from Beijing, and he described Li as ``a very legitimate international businessman.'' ``One can conceive legitimate security concerns and would hope either the Homeland Security Department or the intelligence services of the United States work very hard to satisfy those concerns,'' Wortzel said. Three years ago, the Bush administration effectively blocked a Hutchison subsidiary from buying part of a bankrupt U.S. telecommunications company, Global Crossing Ltd., on national security grounds. And a U.S. military intelligence report, once marked ``secret,'' cited Hutchison in 1999 as a potential risk for smuggling arms and other prohibited materials into the United States from the Bahamas. Hutchison's port operations in the Bahamas and Panama ``could provide a conduit for illegal shipments of technology or prohibited items from the West to the PRC (People's Republic of China), or facilitate the movement of arms and other prohibited items into the Americas,'' the now-declassified assessment said. The CIA currently has no security concerns about Hutchison's port operations, and the administration believes the pending deal with the foreign company would be safe, officials said. Supervised by Bahamian customs officials, Hutchison employees will drive the towering, truck-like radiation scanner that moves slowly over large cargo containers and scans them for radiation that might be emitted by plutonium or a radiological weapon. Any positive reading would set off alarms monitored simultaneously by Bahamian customs inspectors at Freeport and by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials working at an anti-terrorism center 800 miles away in northern Virginia. Any alarm would prompt a closer inspection of the cargo, and there are multiple layers of security to prevent tampering, officials said. ``The equipment operates itself,'' said Bryan Wilkes, a spokesman for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration, the agency negotiating the contract. ``It's not going to be someone standing at the controls pressing buttons and flipping switches.'' A lawmaker who helped lead the opposition to the Dubai ports deal isn't so confident. Neither are some security experts. They question whether the U.S. should pay a foreign company with ties to China to keep radioactive material out of the United States. ``Giving a no-bid contract to a foreign company to carry out the most sensitive security screening for radioactive materials at ports abroad raises many questions,'' said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. A low-paid employee with access to the screening equipment could frustrate international security by studying how the equipment works and which materials set off its alarms, warned a retired U.S. Customs investigator who specialized in smuggling cases. ``Money buys a lot of things,'' Robert Sheridan said. ``The fact that foreign workers would have access to how the United States screens various containers for nuclear material and how this technology scrutinizes the containers - all those things allow someone with a nefarious intention to thwart the screening.'' The Hutchison deal in the Bahamas was flagged in a report in October by ATS Worldwide Services, a Florida firm that identifies potential risks for private-sector and government clients. Company officials said they shared the report with some officials in Congress, the military and law enforcement. Other experts discounted concerns. They cited Hutchison's reputation as a leading ports company and said the United States inevitably must rely for some security on large commercial operators in the global maritime industry. ``We must not allow an unwarranted fear of foreign ownership or involvement in offshore operations to impair our ability to protect against nuclear weapons being smuggled into this country,'' said Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. ``We must work with these foreign companies.'' A former Coast Guard commander, Stephen Flynn, said foreign companies sometimes prove more trustworthy - and susceptible to U.S. influence - than governments. ``It's a very fragile system,'' Flynn said. Foreign companies ``recognize the U.S. has the capacity and willingness to exercise a kill switch if something goes wrong.'' A spokesman for Hutchison's ports subsidiary, Anthony Tam, said the company ``is a strong supporter in port security initiatives.'' ``In the case of the Bahamas, our local personnel are working alongside with U.S. customs officials to identify and inspect U.S.-bound containers that could be carrying radioactive materials,'' Tam said. However, there are no U.S. customs agents checking any cargo containers at the Hutchison port in Freeport. Under the contract, no U.S. officials would be stationed permanently in the Bahamas with the radiation scanner. The administration is finalizing the contract amid a national debate over maritime security sparked by the furor over now-abandoned plans by Dubai-owned DP World to take over significant operations at major U.S. ports. Hutchison operates the sprawling Freeport Container Port on Grand Bahama Island. Its subsidiary, Hutchison Port Holdings, has operations in more than 20 countries but none in the United States. Contract documents, obtained by The Associated Press, indicate Hutchison will be paid roughly $6 million. The contract is for one year with options for three years. The Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration is negotiating the Bahamas contract under a $121 million security program it calls the ``second line of defense.'' Wilkes, the NNSA spokesman, said the Bahamian government dictated that the U.S. give the contract to Hutchison. ``It's their country, their port. The driver of the mobile carrier is the contractor selected by their government. We had no say or no choice,'' he said. ``We are fortunate to have allies who are signing these agreements with us.'' Some security experts said that is a weak explanation in the Bahamas, with its close reliance on the United States. The administration could insist that the Bahamas permit U.S. Customs agents to operate at the port, said Albert Santoli, an expert on national security issues in Asia and the Pacific. ``Why would they not accept that?'' said Santoli, a former national security aide to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif. ``There is an interest in the Bahamas and every other country in the region to make sure the U.S. stays safe and strong. That's how this should be negotiated.'' Flynn, the former Coast Guard commander, agreed the Bahamas would readily accept such a proposal but said the U.S. is short of trained customs agents to send overseas. Contract documents obtained by the AP show at least one other foreign company is involved in the U.S. radiation-detection program. A separate, no-bid $4 million contract the Bush administration is negotiating would pay a Manila-based company, International Container Terminal Services Inc., to install radiation detectors at the Philippines' largest port. The U.S. says the Manila company is not being paid to operate the radiation monitors once they are installed. But two International Container executives and a senior official at the government's Philippine Nuclear Research Institute said the company will run the detectors on behalf of the institute and the country's customs bureau. U.S. officials said they will investigate further how the Filipinos plan to use the equipment. --- Associated Press writers Bill Foreman in Hong Kong and Jim Gomez in Manila contributed to this story. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 45 Notinkansas.us: Depleted Uranium For Dummies By Irving Wesley Hall 23 March, 2006 Under the direction of Secretary of Defense Cheney, the 1991 Gulf War began with a "shock and awe" bombing campaign that destroyed large biological laboratories, chemical plants, and nuclear enrichment facilities, most of them around Baghdad. Many sites were illegally supplied by the Reagan-Bush administration, in which both Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld served, so the United States government knew their locations. Biological, chemical and nuclear weapons damage the bodies of soldiers in distinct ways. The first employs deadly bacteria and viruses to cause known illnesses. The second uses poisonous, or toxic, substances to attack the body's chemistry. Nuclear weapons, such as depleted uranium (D.U.), were unimaginable before World War II. They attack the body with invisible radioactive energy that, as you will soon read, produces a wider variety of symptoms that develop over a longer period of time. Radioactive heavy metal particles embedded in the body are both radioactive and toxic. Biological, chemical and nuclear weapons can potentially "blow back." Once they are released, they can kill and maim civilians as well as enemy soldiers. Hence all three have been banned by international treaties which the United States signed. They also blow back on the army that uses them. The practical danger to America's own troops prevented the widespread use of WMD's until the atomic bombs in World War II and the chemical herbicide Agent Orange in Vietnam. Hundreds of thousands of American troops suffered and died because of the testing and use of these weapons. When George Bush Sr., Cheney, and Rumsfeld supplied brutal tyrant Saddam Hussein with these substances in the 1980's they showed disregard for the lives of folks living in the Middle East. When they ordered the 1991 aerial destruction of stockpiles of these weapons, they showed a deadly contempt for their own citizen-soldiers. Those early bombing attacks sent clouds of miniscule toxic and radioactive particles into the air that floated over the future battlefield and bivouac camps where hundreds of thousands of American troops were awaiting the invasion. Bush Sr.'s February 1991 ground war was even shorter than Bush Jr.'s 2003 "Mission Accomplished" operation. The former lasted only 100 hours. Afterwards 105 sites stockpiling dangerous chemical and biological weapons were destroyed, contaminating everything around them. In March, a huge weapons storage dump in Khamisiyah was blown up by American engineers, sending a second huge toxic cloud over troops preparing to depart for home. Sgt. Dan Topolski, of the 87th Engineer Battalion, participated in the Khamisiyah demolition. He speculates in the excellent DVD Beyond Treason that the hasty action, without prior inspection, inventory, or proper safety precautions, was political. Topolski suggests this stupid order was motivated by Bush Sr.'s desperate desire to hide the United States origin of that weaponry from United Nations inspectors and the American people. Dr. Doug Rokke states, "General Powell, General Schwarzkopf, General Horner, and Secretary Cheney. . .made a conscience decision. . . to blow up Iraqs chemical-biological stockpiles in place. [They] also decided to blow up their nuclear reactors in place. This is all confirmed in Schwarzkopfs autobiography. . .We warned everybody that these exposures  downwind exposures  were going to have a disastrous effect on U.S. military personnel, on coalition personnel, on Iraqi personnel, and on the civilians and non-combatants in the region. That warning was ignored." Years later, ailing vets would force the government to admit that CIA satellites had tracked the movement of the mass of Khamisiyah contaminants in real time. The size and path of the cloud explains the otherwise inexplicable incidences of Gulf War illness among Navy personnel and pilots on battleships in the Persian Gulf downwind. During the early aerial bombardment and later tank war, President Bush and Secretary Cheney authorized the use of massive amounts of depleted uranium armaments for the first time in the history of warfare. This material is produced only by the United States and had been used experimentally in Vietnam and the 1973 Israel-Arab War. Internal Department of Defense reports had warned since 1943 about its use, and accurately predicted its poison gas effects on our troops. In his article, "The Gulf War Was The Most Toxic Battle In Western Military History," Dr. Malcolm Hooper, emeritus professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Sunderland UK, attributes the symptoms of mysterious "Gulf War Illness" among American and coalition troops to a combination of toxic substances to which they were subjected. These included, in addition to weapons of mass destruction, experimental vaccines, anti-nerve gas tablets, aerosolized pesticides, and smoke from hundreds of burning oil wells. Some of the vaccines were not approved by the FDA and had never been used on human subjects. No one had studied the interactive effects of as many as seventeen vaccines administered at the same time. Many soldiers became violently ill immediately after receiving the battery of shots and others developed a variety of symptoms later. Strangely, the normally bureaucratic military kept no records of who received what shots and when. However, most researchers cite radioactive poisoning from depleted uranium shells as the deadliest element in the Gulf War Illness "cocktail." In the 1991 war the Pentagon fired more than 340 tons of D.U. projectiles at targets in Iraq and Kuwait. More than a half million Gulf era veterans are on medical disability. At last count, more than 1,000 tons have been used in Afghanistan and more than 3,000 tons in Iraq. Significantly, most Gulf War tours of duty were short. Three quarters of today's troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have served multiple tours: 26% are on their first tour of duty, 45% are on their second tour, and 29% are in Iraq for a third time or more. Some are now being ordered to a fourth tour of duty. Simple math suggests that depleted uranium may eventually prove a hundred times more deadly to our forces than all the Iraqi resistance fighters' improvised explosive devices (I.E.D.s) and rocket propelled grenades (R.P.G.'s) combined. Leonard Dietz is a retired physicist from the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in upstate New York. Dietz, who pioneered the technology to measure uranium isotopes, is quoted as saying, "Anybody, civilian or soldier, who breathes these particles has a permanent dose, and it's not going to decrease very much over time. . .In the long run. . .veterans exposed to ceramic uranium oxide have a major problem." A D.U shell bursts into flames as soon as it leaves the delivery device. When it hits a target, as much as 70 percent burns on impact at a high temperature, releasing into the air billions of invisible radioactive particles. This infinitesimally fine dust of aerosolized uranium oxide consists of metallic micro-particles that are smaller than viruses or bacteria. All of our bodies contain tiny amounts of natural uranium because it is found in water and in the food supply. But natural uranium is quickly and harmlessly excreted by the body. However the velocity and heat of the impact of D.U munitions convert the poisonous uranium oxide from a heavy metal into a ceramic heavy metal that makes it insoluble and therefore difficult to excrete. Where does depleted uranium come from? It doesn't occur in nature. Natural uranium has to be processed' to remove less than one half of one percent of a special kind of uranium called U-235. Bomb makers use U-235 to make thermonuclear bombs that can explode with a force equivalent to 100 million tons of TNT. U-235 is also used to make fuel rods for nuclear reactors. Used fuel rods are extremely radioactive for many years and will kill any person near them in ten seconds. No one on earth knows what to do with used fuel rods. Tons of deadly, radioactive used fuel rods have been in temporary storage for more than 50 years. D.U. is "depleted" only in the sense that more highly radioactive forms of uranium have been partially removed. What's left, depleted uranium, mainly U-238, is still highly radioactive and dangerous. It is used to make military bullets, shells, land mines, armor plating, missiles and bombs. As we are all taught in elementary school, radioactivity is dangerous because it causes cancer. That's why your dentist covers your body with a lead apron before your X-ray. According to a June 2002 National Radiological Protection Board report, "All uranium, whether natural, depleted or enriched, is a toxic radiological element. Each differs from the other in atomic structure by less than one percent. D.U. emits three types of ionizing radiation: alpha and beta particles and photons. Alpha particles are blocked by objects as light as a sheet of paper and humans exposed to them are naturally protected by their skin. Beta particles (high speed electrons) can penetrate human skin to a depth of one centimeter while photons (x-rays and gamma rays) are more penetrating and can pass completely through a human body." Although blocked by the skin, alpha radiation can be inhaled, ingested, and absorbed into the blood stream through scratches and wounds. It is highly dangerous internally. In addition to being physically radioactive it is also chemically toxic. This explains the "double whammy" effect. Soldiers who are exposed can become immediately ill from the toxicity, recover, and then suffer severe additional symptoms from the radioactivity years or decades later. A study in the April 2003 New Scientist magazine suggested that D.U. toxicity combines synergistically with its radioactivity to produce more serious effects. Dr Keith Baverstock, a senior radiation advisor to the World Health Organization, is quoted as saying, The radiation and the chemical toxicity of D.U. could also act together to create a cocktail effect that further increases the risk of cancer. Hence Gulf War vets were served a cocktail inside a cocktail. More troubling still is another study of the materials inside the D.U. weapons used in Iraq and Afghanistan. That report found that in addition to U-238, today's munitions contain plutonium, neptunium, and the highly radioactive uranium isotope U-236. An isotope is one of several slightly different atomic structures within the same element, in this case uranium. According to a 1991 study by the UK Atomic Energy Authority, these elements are 100,000 times more dangerous than the U-238 in so-called depleted uranium. U-236 is another man-made metal. It is created inside operating nuclear reactors and is intensely radioactive. U-236 has been found in the urine of sick Afghan and Iraqi villagers and on the ground next to bomb craters. Geologist Leuren Moret is an independent scientist and internationally recognized expert on radiation, D.U., and public health. She estimates that "one millionth of a gram [of depleted uranium] accumulating in a person's body would be fatal. There are no known methods of treatment." Why the wide variety of illnesses? Depleted uranium contamination causes virtually every known illness from acute skin rashes, severe headaches, muscle and joint pain, and general fatigue, to major birth defects, infection, depression, cardiovascular disease, brain tumors, and every other type of cancer. Uranium replaces calcium, destroying teeth and bones. D.U. is causing permanent disability and death for hundreds of thousands of American veterans who served in the Middle East. For more information, every military family should watch Beyond Treason, and every high school should play the DVD for students subjected to military recruitment. According to experts interviewed on the DVD, some soldiers return home contaminated with billions of radioactive ceramic particles. Leuren Moret states, "In a cubic meter of air there are one billion particles a tenth of a micron in diameter. An ordinary man breathes twenty-eight cubic meters of air a day and for that reason our soldiers internally contaminated to depleted uranium have billions of particles of depleted uranium distributed throughout their bodies." Let's follow the journey of these microscopic invaders after they are inhaled. They attach first to the trachea and stick to lung tissue. The heavy metal ceramic specks are practically insoluble; so they so dont easily dissolve into the bloodstream. They cling to the respiratory system for years, even decades, and irradiate the surrounding tissues, damaging neighboring organs. Gradually they pass through the lung-blood membranes into the bloodstream and lymphatic system, causing illnesses and damage to the entire body. Radiation mutates cells, causing cancers, leukemia, lymphoma, congenital disorders, and birth defects. Here's what happens when these microscopic radioactive particles are ingested through the mouth or penetrate the body through buried D.U. shrapnel or open wounds. They enter the bloodstream and circulate freely throughout the body, emitting radiation as they travel. Some concentrate in the lymph nodes and cause lymphatic cancer. D.U. also damages the immune system by hastening the death of white blood cells, and impairing their ability to attack bacteria. Other ceramic particles cause "low-level" cell irradiation in the bone marrow and the stem cells that the body creates there. Stem cells are the progenitors of all the other cells that the body manufactures in order to renew itself. Dr. Asaf Durakovic, formerly in charge of Nuclear Medicine Service at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, was ailing veteran Terry Riordan's doctor whom we cite in "Dick and Hillary's Dirty Little Secret," on www.notinkansas.us. Dr. Durakovic is now the Director of the Uranium Medical Research Institute. "Stem cells are very vulnerable," he says. "Bombarded with alpha particles, their DNA will fall apart, potentially affecting every organ." The process is similar to building a house with defective materials or cooking a meal with spoiled ingredients. If malfunctioning stem cells become new liver cells, then the liver will malfunction. Hence defective stem cells cause many veterans to suffer kidney failure, brain damage, and poorly functioning joints and muscles. D.U. may transform semen into a caustic alkali, which explains Terry and Susan Reardon's experiences during lovemaking that we described on March 8. This explains the severe urinary problems among veterans just back from Iraq to be described in the April 4 installment of We're Not in Kansas Anymore. Dr. Malcolm Hooper, at the University of Sunderland, is familiar with 4,000 such cases among UK Gulf War veterans. Radiation expert Leuren Moret calls D.U, "The Trojan Horse of nuclear war. . .There's no way to clean it up, and no way to turn it off because it continues to decay into other radioactive isotopes. . ." As far back as 1979, Leonard Dietz, the retired New York State physicist, discovered that aerosolized D.U. particles less than a millionth of a meter in diameter can travel long distances. Some months ago, Leuren Moret told Dr. Elias Akleh, an Arab-American writer, D.U. dust is now everywhere. A minimum of 500  600 tons now litter Afghanistan, and several times that amount are spread across Iraq." As you will read on April 4, a serious level of depleted uranium particles reached the UK nine hours after the United States 2003 "Shock and Awe" bombing of Iraq. It's likely that I am inhaling them as I peck on my keyboard, and so are you as you read my words. Compare the latest tonnage to the 340 tons used in the Gulf War. Dr. Doug Rokke, the health physicist for the US Army, who oversaw the partial clean up of depleted uranium bomb fragments in Kuwait in 1991, reminded Alliance of Atomic Veterans writer Vincent L. Guarisco that, in Bush and Cheney's new war, the massive radioactive arsenal has been used mainly in Iraqi urban centers and civilian neighborhoods, rather than in desert battlefields. Over time, the health of all foreign troops will be affected. The health effects on the natives of Iraq and Afghanistan will be catastrophic. Based on the increase in cancer rates in the aftermath of the Chernobyl and Three Mile Island nuclear meltdowns, many Iranians, Saudis, Syrians, Lebanese, Palestinians, and Israelis will die prematurely thanks to our government's unprovoked nuclear attack on Iraq. As you will read on April 18, because of their more rapid cellular development, children are the most vulnerable to depleted uranium poisoning. In Iraqs arid climate, sandstorms blow tiny particles of D.U. away from the blast epicenter, impacting the surrounding environment without geographical limitations. It enters the soil, polluting the water table, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and infecting the food chain. Fertile, D.U.-contaminated grasslands west of Basra in southern Iraq produce vegetables and grains for livestock that are consumed by American troops as well as Iraqis. The New York State National Guard Rainbow Division just returned from six months stationed in Camp Forward Danger on the Tigris River near Tikrit, north of Baghdad. Saddam Hussein's rebellious hometown was the site of major combat using D.U. munitions during the initial invasion and for months afterward. An official June 2005 United States Central Command communiqué reported that soldiers of the 62nd Quartermaster Company from Fort Hood, Texas were supplying Camp Forward Danger's water from the Tigris River. The engineers ran it through a reverse osmosis water purification unit that dissolved the solids. The water is purified again and chlorinated. However it seems that it is not tested for radioactivity. I have attempted to verify the degree of radioactive poisoning to which the New York National Guard members were subjected. I had contacts with officers at the base before this series went on line. However, Pentagon public relations officers, Capt. Bill Roberts and 1st Lt. Tawny M. Dotson, have ignored several requests for email access to Camp Forward Danger. I've appealed to Maj. Richard J. McNorton, the CENTCOM's special officer in charge of helping bloggers obtain accurate information, but he hasn't responded either. We'll keep you posted on We're Not in Kansas Anymore. Even if the water were monitored, there is no way, outside a sophisticated nuclear laboratory, to remove carcinogenic depleted uranium from water, air or foodas you can understand from the discussion above. According to a recent interview with Dr, Doug Rokke, formerly the military's top expert in this field, the only way to monitor bacteria-sized D.U. particles would be to send samples to a specialized laboratory. Depleted uranium is nasty stuff. Think about this as you read news reports of the current massive aerial bombing campaign the U.S. is waging around Samarra, north of Baghdad. You might have thought "insurgents" would be the only casualties before you read "Depleted Uranium For Dummies." But you're not a "dummie" anymore. Our men and women of the New York State National Guard have just spent six months taking radioactive showers and washing small open wounds in a depleted uranium broth. They've eaten over 500 meals with food, plates and silverware washed with hot water, in two senses of the word. Thanks to George Bush Sr. and Dick Cheney's decision to use depleted uranium munitions in 1991, the Tigris river, the Bible's Edenic river of life, has become a modern river of death. And our brothers and sisters are drinking the forbidden water, with knowing itdespite informational videotapes produced for them by Major Doug Rokke and his team. The tapes, pamphlets, and bulletin board posters are mandatory, but how many of our men and woman serving in radioactive areas have seen them? Our troops inhale depleted uranium with every single breath. Radioactive particles the size of a virus cannot be filtered outside a laboratory. Even the 800,000 gas masks provided Gulf War troops were useless because the charcoal filters became inert within days. The only protection is airtight MOPP suits connected to oxygen tanks. No place in Iraq is free from radioactive contamination, including today's supposedly "safe" Green Zone in Baghdad where top military officers, civilian occupation authorities, international journalists, and the Iraqi government leaders live and work. Saddam Hussein's former palace is now the middle of the Green Zone. It was bombarded with D.U. munitions before and during the invasion. So has greater Baghdad ever since. So Green Zone residents inhale and ingest depleted uranium every day. Perhaps that's why, during President Bush's Thanksgiving visit, he was served a plastic turkey. UPI reported last December that Wilder Gutierrez Rubio, 38, had died a few hours after returning home to Lima, Peru. He had been diagnosed by doctors at Ibn Sina Hospital in Baghdad with severe leukemia, which they attributed to depleted uranium exposure, even though he had served in Baghdad only a short time. Gutierrez was part of a contingent of Latin Americans recruited by a U.S. company to provide security for Baghdad's Green Zone. Tragically, our celebrated comrades of the New York State National Guard Rainbow Division are home from Camp Forward Danger, but not home free from danger. After Dick Cheney sprayed the entire Army, Army Reserves, and National Guard with God-zillions of time-release miniscule radioactive ceramic buckshot, why should he feel guilty about shooting a few dozen ordinary pellets into one Texas lawyer? A majority of Americans, recently polled agree that Bush and Cheney should be impeached if they lied to Congress and the American people in order to launch this war. According to the latest poll, a plurality of Americans say that it's time for impeachment, period. The troops want to come home. Last month's Zogby poll of troops on the ground in Iraq reported that 29% of the respondents, serving in various branches of the armed forces, said the U.S. should leave Iraq immediately. And 89% of the reserves and 82% of those in the National Guard said the U.S. should leave Iraq within a year. And most of these folks have yet to read about the depleted uranium lodged throughout their bodies. The 2006 election is nine months away. Are you registered to vote? Have you called your congressperson, senator, or local opposition candidates? We didearlier this month. We emailed all five candidates for New York's 24th Congressional district. We also reached both Democratic contenders for New York's 20th district. We urged that they check out this website and our sources. Four out of seven responded promptly--with thanks. These were Michael A. Arcuri, Kirsten Gillibrand, Leon Koziol, and Les Roberts, all Democrats. Like the overwhelming majority of citizens, they were not fully informed about depleted uranium. Their positions on eliminating D.U. and promptly withdrawing the troops will be announced on www.notinkansas.us. Now that you understand D.U., you can oppose the position of many "Bush-lite" Democrats who want to withdraw some troops but to increase the tonnage of D.U. bombs dropped in civilian areas. Only ignorance prevents them from realizing this policy will kill more American troops than Iraqi resistance fighters. Imagine the long-range effects on 26 million Iraqi civilians. Do you want that on your conscience? Contact your representative about We're Not in Kansas Anymore. Let us know their responses. Call your current representative in Washington, D.C. at 1-800-426-8073. It's toll free. Warn them about the devastating effects on our troops, and the residents of the Middle East if Bush and Cheney launch a nuclear attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Such an action is a death warrant for most of our loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Please dont just sit in your chair while a million men and women--who volunteered to defend your freedoms--are exposed to a triple whammy of deadly radiation and condemned to a slow and agonizing death like a half million Gulf War vets before them. This is an abridged version of the third in a comprehensive series on depleted uranium, Over the Rainbow, dedicated to the New York National Guard to appear on the website We're Not in Kansas Anymore, where you will find sources and a bibliography. www.notinkansas.us. Copyright 2006 Irving Wesley Hall. WWW www.countercurrents.org ***************************************************************** 46 IEER: Tritium Memo IEER Memorandum on Tritium Review of Braidwood Generating Station Groundwater Issue: Frequently Asked Questions MEMORANDUM To: Joseph and Cynthia Sauer From: Arjun Makhijani Subject: Review of Braidwood Generating Station Groundwater Issue: Frequently Asked Questions (Last Updated March 1, 2006) by Exelon Nuclear Date: 20 March 2006 You asked me to take a look at Braidwood Generating Station Groundwater Issue: Frequently Asked Questions (Last Updated March 1, 2006) by Exelon Nuclear, which is on the web at www.braidwoodtritium.info/images/FAQ_-_3-1-06.pdf. I downloaded it from the Braidwood website on 18 March 2006. Here is my review. Factual situation: Exelon's FAQ acknowledges that leaks from its discharge pipe that occurred at various times since 1996 have contaminated groundwater in the vicinity of the plant and on site. Exelon states that it is storing Braidwood tritiated water in tanks. The FAQ does not define the term "as needed" so that it is not clear how long this storage will continue and what is driving the need, given the company's position that 20,000 picocuries per liter of tritium is "safe." I found the Exelon FAQ deficient, even troubling, on some key issues. Here is my analysis. 1. The Exelon FAQ asserts, among other things, that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) limit of 20,000 picocuries per liter for water contamination is "safe." It also asserts that the EPA has set this standard according to what is "safe to drink" Both of these assertions are wrong and, coming AFTER the scandal, egregious. These assertions indicate (i) ignorance of the scientific basis of risk assessment for radiation (most importantly the BEIR series of studies by the National Academy of Sciences, of which BEIR VII is the latest and most recent evaluation of the state of the science) and of how EPA defines "safe," or (ii) a deliberate intent to mislead having knowledge of these things. I hardly know which is worse. 2. The established science is, and has been for some time, that there is no threshold for cancer risk of radiation and therefore no level of exposure is "safe." While it is true that we all are exposed to natural background radiation, this does not mean that natural background radiation is "safe." By the same reasoning one could imply that exposure to an influenza virus is safe because the virus is natural. Worse, it is analogous to implying that exposure to the virus on a long airplane ride is natural and hence safe (analogy to indoor radon, which is an artifact of construction). It is transparent that these are nonsense arguments. Cellular level research indicates that small exposures to radiation cause damage that could become the locus of later development of cancer. Further, most of the annual exposure of 300 to 350 millirem (mrem) that the FAQ write-up mentions is from indoor radon. The EPA does not say that this poses no risk. On the contrary, exposure to radon and its decay products is well-known to increase lung cancer risk. 3. Using risk factors published by the EPA (in a CD, Federal Guidance Report 13, also called FGR 13) in 2002 for mortality from cancer, I estimate that ingestion of tritiated water at the rate of 1.5 liters per day at 20,000 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) over a lifetime of 70 years would cause a fatal cancer risk of about 4 in 100,000. The morbidity rate (incidence risk) is higher by about 30 percent (about 5.7 in 100,000), also according to coefficients in FGR 13 for tritiated water intake. I used 1.5 liters per day for water intake, less than the usual standard assumption of 2 liters per day for adults, since intake by children is averaged with intake by adults. No account is taken of organically-bound tritium in this calculation. 4. The EPA defines safe as zero known risk. Therefore it not only sets Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) but also Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLGs). The latter are the levels considered safe. MCLGs for all radionuclides are zero. See www.epa.gov/OGWDW/mcl.html. The company should know this. The EPA defines MCLG as "The maximum level of a contaminant in drinking water at which no known or anticipated adverse effect on the health of persons would occur, and which allows an adequate margin of safety. Maximum contaminant level goals are nonenforceable health goals." (http://iaspub.epa.gov/trs/trs_proc_qry.navigate_term?p_term_id=1 085423&p_term_cd=TERMDIS) In the case of radiation, the EPA, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), National Academy of Sciences, and the National Commission on Radiation Protection and Measurements have all concluded that the hypothesis that best fits the facts is that there is some risk from exposure to radiation, no matter how small the exposure and that, for solid cancers, the risk is proportional to the level of exposure (this is the linear, no threshold hypothesis). For radiation, therefore, an MCLG of zero has no margin of safety in it. Above zero exposure, there is a positive, non-zero risk. That is the science on which radiation protection regulations are based. 5. The Exelon FAQ does not provide data for the levels of routine discharge and drinking water contamination. It does allude to the fact that tritium is discharged into the river. The Braidwood plant does pollute the drinking water of some people in the area. Even though the level is well below the EPA MCL, it is above natural background and above the EPA MCLG. This should not be described as "safe". Besides meeting the drinking water limits, the company is required to conform to ALARA -- keeping exposures as low as reasonably achievable. It is not clear to me that the company is doing that. At this stage, the burden should be on the company that there is no reasonable alternative to these discharges and on the NRC to enforce its regulations. 6. As I have noted, tritiated water and organically-bound tritium has other effects, including contributing to the risk of birth defects, genetic defects, and miscarriages. This is not mentioned in the Exelon FAQ. 7. The Exelon FAQ assertion that 20,000 pCi/l is "safe" is in direct contradiction to the EPA Fact sheet on tritium to which the company provides a link. That fact sheet says: that tritium is one of the "least dangerous radionuclides" but also reminds that "As with all ionizing radiation, exposure to tritium increases the risk of developing cancer." (www.braidwoodtritium.info/images/US_EPA_Facts_About_Tritium.pdf) Note that my risk estimate (4 fatal cancers in 100,000) is within the EPA target risk range of 1 in 10,000 to 1 in a million range. I used EPA risk coefficients. (I do not agree with the "least dangerous" characterization of tritium since the EPA rule does not take into account non-cancer risks, such as birth defects and miscarriages, or the risks of in utero exposure. The EPA's statement characterizing tritium is therefore rather too narrowly based.) You might want to ask the company for those instances of Cs-137 and Co-60 measurements. According to the Exelon FAQ, some of the measurements above the detection limit. It would also be useful to know that what Exelon's detection limit is. Recommendations 1. I think letters to the EPA and the company from the community pointing out the problems and the commendable things in the Exelon FAQ might be useful. You might want to ask Exelon to stop tritium discharges from its other nuclear plants also. 2. A second letter to the NRC demanding a suspension of power generation at Braidwood may also be considered in view of the continued and what appears to be studied ignorance of the company to the elementary basis of regulations of radionuclides in water, including in the EPA fact sheet cited by the company itself, as well as ALARA rules. That suspension might continue until all Exelon senior executives and all the PR people responsible for fact sheets, FAQs, etc. demonstrate knowledge that they understand the risks of radiation and the basis of regulations. This might encourage some rapid learning on radiation science and regulations that has not taken place so far. As President Truman is said to have remarked (perhaps apocryphal), "the most sensitive nerve in the human anatomy runs through the pocketbook." 3. Exelon needs to fix the FAQ, of course. It should also continue its zero tritium discharge approach and make that independently verifiable. It should include discussion of routine contamination of surface water and what Exelon is doing to meet its obligations under the ALARA rule - which is the regulation that obliges them to keep radioactivity releases "as low as reasonably achievable." 4. I might preface my final recommendation with a quote from President John F. Kennedy's speech to the people of the United States on July 26, 1963 announcing the atmospheric test ban treaty, which goes to the issue of involuntary vs. natural radiation exposure, among other things: …the number of children and grandchildren with cancer in their bones, with leukemia in their blood, or with poison in their lungs [due to radioactive fallout from atmospheric nuclear testing] might seem statistically small to some, in comparison with natural health hazards. But this is not a natural health hazard -- and it is not a statistical issue. The loss of even one human life, or the malformation of even one baby -- who may be born long after we are gone -- should be of concern to us all. Our children and grandchildren are not merely statistics toward which we can be indifferent. In view of the widespread tendency in the nuclear industry to sidestep or misrepresent the risks of low level radiation, I suggest the following: Every nuclear power plant and nuclear weapons plant operation should have two things inscribed in the front of every training manual and in every company report to shareholders, in the hope that they will get it even if the management does not: (i) the above quote by President Kennedy, and (ii) a clear statement of the BEIR VII report's conclusions. (I offer to supply such a statement as a public service, free of charge, to the nuclear industry.) Other IEER materials on tritium Available at EggheadBooks: The Nuclear Power Deception: U.S. Nuclear Mythology from Electricity "Too Cheap to Meter" to "Inherently Safe" Reactors(Apex Press, 1999) Institute for Energy and Environmental ResearchComments to ieer at ieer.org Takoma Park, Maryland, USA March 20, 2006 Posted March 22, 2006 ***************************************************************** 47 Las Vegas SUN: Ensign seeks re-election to Nevada Senate seat March 22, 2006 By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY ASSOCIATED PRESS LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada Sen. John Ensign officially began his bid for a second term on Wednesday by calling for cuts in government spending, stronger public support for the war in Iraq, tougher immigration laws and steady leadership. "We need leaders who don't just wet their finger, stick it up in the wind and say, 'which way are the public polls going today,'" the Las Vegas Republican told a crowd of more than 100 supporters. He made a similar campaign kickoff appearance in Reno later Wednesday. Ensign served two terms in the House of Representatives before winning election to the Senate in 2000. He touted his efforts to bring a veteran's hospital to southern Nevada, his support of legislation that opened up federal land in Nevada to development and parks, and his efforts to block nuclear waste from being stored at Yucca Mountain. The Republican is known for his strong working relationship with Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who defeated him in his first Senate try in 1998 by a mere 428 votes. Speaking from notes, the 47-year-old veterinarian praised President Bush's leadership, called on Nevadans to support the war in Iraq and warned of the spread of Islamic fundamentalism, which he called an "evil form of Islam that is perverting a great religion ... and wants to destroy the United States." "We cannot lose our courage. The only way that these insurgents, that al-Qaeda and the rest of them around the world, the only way that they win is if America is divided," he said. Ensign acknowledged Republicans seeking re-election are facing increasing opposition to the war and wariness about the economy - concerns he chalked up to unrealistic expectations about how quickly U.S. troops would be recalled and "a perception problem." "That's why it's critical the president is out there talking about it and keeping people inspired. But it's not just the president's job, it's our job, Republicans and Democrats," he said. Ensign's only declared opponent, Jack Carter, the Democratic son of former President Carter, said he plan on capitalizing on Ensign's support of Bush. "He's been extremely connected with (Bush) the entire time he's been in office and he's helped a lot of the policies that the country does not like," Carter said. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, a Democrat, also has said he's considering running. Ensign said Internal polls show him to have a double-digit lead over both men. Ensign told supporters he wanted to enact laws that "stem the tide" of illegal immigration. He said he supports adding 10,000 border patrol agents, improving technology and building more detention centers for arrested illegal immigrants. He did not mention a guest-worker program, the most politically divisive element among the immigration reform proposals scheduled for debate in the Senate next week. He has said he supports such a program. "We're a nation of immigrants, but we're also a nation of laws. It is absolutely critical if we're going to have a commonsense legal immigration policy that we stop the flow of illegal immigrants by controlling our borders," he said. The senator said his concern about deficit spending led him to vote against the budget and a measure to increase the national debt ceiling. He blamed increase entitlement spending for the ballooning budget and said he'd consider increasing tax cuts passed by Congress in 2001. "The right kind of tax cuts are good for the economy. ... they bought us out of recession and it is not only time that we look at whatever other tax cuts we can do, but that the tax cuts that we already passed, we need to make those permanent." Carter accused Ensign of newfound fiscal conservatism. "The time to cut spending is when you're voting for spending bills, it's not when you're voting against the debt limit,' he said. Ensign, who spent $4.8 million to beat Democrat Ed Bernstein in 2000, has a significant advantage in the money race so far. He raised $426,000 for his re-election during the last three months of 2005, ending the year with $2.37 million in cash on-hand, according to his federal campaign finance report. Carter raised $241,600 during the same period, lent himself $25,000 and reported $223,600 cash on-hand. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 48 Nevada Appeal: Nevada sues for release of secret Yucca document Geoff Dornan Appeal Capitol Bureau, gdornan@nevadaappeal.com March 23, 2006 Nevada sued the U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday for release of what state officials describe as a "key document pertaining to the safety of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository." Attorney General George Chanos filed the lawsuit in federal court seeking release of the draft license application for the repository prepared in 2004. "We want to see this document because we believe it will show that the repository is unsafe after 10,000 years, if not before," said Bob Loux, director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects. Chanos said the government is required to share Yucca information with Nevada. "DOE has refused to provide Nevada with this most important document for the past three years," he said. Chanos said that is despite two requests by Gov. Kenny Guinn to the energy secretary, a follow-up request to President Bush, subpoena demands by Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., litigation before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a Freedom of Information Act request and several administrative appeals. DOE has claimed throughout that the document is protected by legal privileges. "There isn't a privilege in the world that should shield this from Nevada's citizens," Loux said. "What are they trying to hide?" Chanos asked. "If the repository is safe, you'd think they'd be anxious to prove it."  Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750. March 23, 2006 All contents © Copyright 2006 nevadaappeal.com Nevada Appeal - 580 Mallory Way - Carson City, NV 89701 ***************************************************************** 49 Las Vegas SUN: GAO: Quality assurance problems still hamper nuclear waste dump Today: March 23, 2006 at 14:7:30 PST By ERICA WERNER ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) - Quality assurance problems still hinder progress at the nation's proposed nuclear waste dump in Nevada a year after the discovery of alleged paperwork fraud by project scientists, congressional investigators said Thursday. A reorganization by the Energy Department last October - seven months after the discovery of e-mails indicating government hydrologists falsified documentation of their work to satisfy quality assurance standards - has yet to put the problems at Yucca Mountain to rest and might create new issues, a report by the Government Accountability Office said. The questions might lead to more delays before the Energy Department can submit an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to open the dump 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, the report said. It's not clear when the dump, approved by Congress in 2002 to store 77,000 tons of the nation's most radioactive nuclear waste, could open, except that it won't be before 2012. "After more than 20 years of project work, DOE is again faced with substantial quality assurance and other challenges to submit a fully defensible license application to NRC," said the report, requested by Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., who released it in Las Vegas. "Unless these challenges are effectively addressed, further delays on the project are likely." At a news conference in front of a Yucca Mountain project office in Las Vegas, Porter pointed to the title of the 55-page report - "Yucca Mountain: Quality Assurance at DOE's Planned Nuclear Waste Repository Needs Increased Management Attention." He said he hoped it would spur questions at an April 26 hearing he plans to hold as chairman of the Federal Workforce and Agency Organization subcommittee. "We're putting people at risk," Porter said. "If this was a private sector project, Wall Street would shut it down, and so would local government because of safety concerns." Energy Department spokesman Craig Stevens in Washington said the department was aware of the issues and already had fixed them or was working toward it. "At Yucca Mountain, we foster an atmosphere that points out ways we can improve our work and get our job done more effectively," Stevens said in a statement. "This department remains committed to following our obligation under the law to license, construct and operate Yucca Mountain as the nation's permanent repository for spent nuclear fuel." Among other problems, the GAO report cited high turnover of project managers. It said that nine of 17 key management positions have turned over since 2001 and among the managers lost was the director of quality assurance. The report also said that despite spending substantial time and money resolving quality assurance issues - including a $20 million initiative in 2004 - the Energy Department has not developed effective management tools to detect problems and make sure they're solved. The report recommended strengthening quality guidelines and analysis of problems and making them more consistent. "Time and time again, this report covers quality assurance," Porter said, "which is the health and safety of Nevadans and the American people." Last October DOE announced a "new path forward" to improve Yucca Mountain, including redesigning storage containers to minimize handling of nuclear waste, and designating an independent national laboratory to oversee scientific work. The report said the changes will require additional scientific work and could create new management and quality assurance challenges. "It is too early to determine whether DOE's new effort will resolve quality assurance issues and move the project forward to the submission of a license application," the report said. A criminal investigation by the Energy Department inspector general is under way into the document falsification, which was allegedly done by U.S. Geological Survey employees from 1998 to 2000. DOE also is reviewing some 14 million e-mails to see if they raise quality assurance concerns, and redoing the scientific work by the Geological Survey hydrologists, who were studying the movement of water through the underground site. More than 50,000 tons of nuclear wastes destined for the dump is waiting at 72 sites around in the country, mostly at commercial power plants. --- On the Net: Yucca Mountain project: http://www.ymp.gov --- Associated Press reporter Ken Ritter contributed to this report from Las Vegas. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 50 Platts: Nevada sues DOE, Energy Secretary Bodman over Yucca Mountain Washington (Platts)--22Mar2006 Nevada has sued DOE and Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman in an effort to obtain two versions of the department's draft license application for a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The lawsuit, filed today in US District Court for the northern district of Nevada, said that DOE has no legal basis for withholding that information. Robert Loux, executive director of the state's nuclear waste office, said, "We want to see this document because we believe it will show that the repository is unsafe after 10,000 years, if not before. There isn't a privilege in the world that should shield this from Nevada's citizens." Nevada, which opposes the repository, went to court after failing to obtain the document through other avenues, including two requests to DOE from Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn, a Republican, and a follow-up request from him to President George W. Bush; a Freedom of Information Act request filed with DOE; and litigation before a special NRC licensing board. DOE has maintained the information is subject to various legal privileges and does not have to be released. Copyright © 2006 - Platts, All Rights Reserved [The McGraw-Hill Companies] ***************************************************************** 51 reviewjournal.com: Nevada chases Yucca Mountain documents, sues Mar. 23, 2006 Agency keeps drafts of application secret By STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- A dispute between Nevada and the Department of Energy over Yucca Mountain documents escalated Wednesday into a federal lawsuit. Attorney General George Chanos filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Reno that seeks to force the government to make public draft versions of an application for a nuclear waste repository at the Nevada site. The filing marked at least the ninth lawsuit Nevada has pursued related to the project. Decisions are pending in several of the cases. Chanos said the Energy Department improperly denied the state's request under the federal Freedom of Information Act for license versions prepared by contractors in July 2004 and September 2004. DOE earlier turned down two requests by Gov. Kenny Guinn for the documents. "The federal government is required by law to share its important Yucca information with the host state, and we are entitled to such information under the Freedom of Information act as well," Chanos said. "What are they trying to hide?" Chanos said. DOE officials have maintained the documents are legally shielded from disclosure. "We believe that we are under no legal obligation to give out the draft license application," DOE spokesman Craig Stevens said. "Once the license application is submitted to the (Nuclear Regulatory Commission), it will be made public." In denying Nevada's request, DOE said it was citing an exemption in the information law that permits agencies to withhold certain internal memos to protect "open and frank discussions" during decision-making. DOE said the law also shields documents prepared "in anticipation of litigation." The department has resisted attempts by others to gain access to the draft license paperwork, including a subpoena issued last year by the House Government Reform Committee. The draft application is said to consist of roughly 5,800 pages organized into 70 chapters laying out a case that radioactive spent nuclear fuel could be safely stored in tunnels that would be bored within Yucca Mountain. State officials have said they think the documents contain information that would help them challenge repository safety. Gaining access to the material would help Nevada-hired experts to build their case. "We want to see this document because we believe it will show that the repository is unsafe after 10,000 years, if not before," said Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects. The documents were prepared when the Energy Department was closing in on a self-set December 2004 deadline to file a repository application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The department abandoned that timetable in the fall of 2004 after federal judges invalidated part of the repository's radiation safety standards. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2006 Stephens Media GroupPrivacy Statement ***************************************************************** 52 Monticello Times: Plant manager expresses confidence in cask storage Thursday, March 23, 2006 By Eric O’Link News Editor The issue of radioactive waste storage at Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant has not generated much of a stir in the Monticello area. As the plant moves through the approval process for the extension of its operating license, and permission from the state to build a waste storage facility on its grounds, the majority of those who live in the area have expressed their support for the plant. However, if Tuesday’s Chamber of Commerce lunch was any indication, they do have questions. Brad Sawatzke, the MNGP plant manager, was invited to this month’s Chamber lunch to talk about waste storage at the power plant. He also answered numerous questions. Last year, Xcel Energy filed a request with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the operating license of its Monticello plant by 20 years, to 2030. The plant’s current, original license expires in 2010. Xcel has said that keeping the Monticello plant open is more environmentally and fiscally responsible than building new coal or gas power plants, should the Monticello nuclear plant be closed. Xcel also asked the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to grant a certificate of need for a concrete vault waste storage facility on the plant grounds. Regardless of whether the plant’s license extension is granted, waste storage of some kind will be needed as the plant nears the end of the decade. Of the 103 nuclear plants in the United States, Monticello is one of the oldest, Sawatzke said. Since the plant opened in June 1971, it has generated more electricity than any other plant of a similar size in the world, he said. Monticello provides more than 600 megawatts of base load, or continuous, electricity–enough to supply 10 percent of the energy for Xcel’s customers in the five-state area. But the amount of waste– created as a byproduct of the heat generated by the nuclear reactor–is “surprisingly small” for the amount of power generated, Sawatzke said. All of the uranium ever used for generation at Monticello would fill a 10-by-10-foot cube, he said. In comparison, he said a similar requirement of fuel from a coal-fired plant would cover the Monticello plant’s 1,400 acre site under 16 feet of coal. The waste created by the Monticello plant poses a problem: It is dangerously radioactive; it cannot be handled or be in contact with humans. It must be shielded at all times. Currently, the plant’s refueling pool provides a temporary storage for the spent fuel rods, already used by the reactor and now radioactive. Water, Sawatzke said, is a surprisingly good shield. The pool is nearly filled, however, and continued power generation will require removal of some of the fuel rod assemblies. “The fuel pool was never meant to be a permanent storage location for the fuel,” he said. This is not the first time the fuel would be emptied, he added. The pool was emptied once in the 1980s, after the plant required a reluctant General Electric to fulfill its part of a contract and remove the spent fuel rods that the plant had “rented” from the company. General Electric once thought reprocessing the rods might have been a viable option, Sawatzke said, but plans for spent fuel rod reprocessing were squashed by the Carter administration. The uranium used for nuclear power generation is of a lower grade; it does not have weapons capabilities, Sawatzke said. But when spent fuel rods are re-processed, plutonium is extracted. The plutonium could be applied to weaponry uses. Rather than risk a recycling industry that creates plutonium, U.S. nuclear plants have had to contend with waste storage issues. The federal government is in charge of taking waste from all U.S. plants and storing it in a federal repository. The government is building a repository at Yucca Mountain, in the Nevada desert, but the project has run years behind schedule. Sawatzke said the current estimate puts the multi-billion-dollar Yucca Mountain opening in 2015. “I’m not confident they’ll make that date, but I am confident that they will get the facility finished,” he said. Until then, MNGP is preparing for storage that it says is temporary. The current plan calls for a concrete vault structure built at the plant, capable of holding 30 sealed casks. Each cask, with 35-inch thick walls, would hold 61 fuel assemblies. “It will stay there until the federal government takes it over...which is their charge,” Sawatzke said. When another waste storage site, presumably Yucca Mountain, is available, the casks would be removed from the vaults and loaded onto train cars for shipment. Sawatzke said the casks would not have to be re-opened. He added that the plant had been complimented on the completeness of its application for a certificate of need for the waste storage facility. “Our submittal, we were told, was one of the best submittals they’ve ever had,” he said. A decision from the state as to whether to grant the certificate of need for the waste storage facility is expected this fall. Sawatzke said he was “confident” that the state would grant the certificate. One of the audience members at Tuesday’s lunch asked Sawatzke about safety concerns at the plant. Sawatzke said, as a former reactor operator, that he was “intimately familiar” with the plant. “I’ve raised my family about a mile down the road,” he said, “and I’ve never thought twice about it.” Copyright 2006, Monticello Times ***************************************************************** 53 JURIST - Paper Chase: Nevada sues US government to gain documents on Yucca Mountain waste site Thursday, March 23, 2006 [Photo source or description] [JURIST] The state of [government website] [press release] against the federal government Wednesday, seeking documents related to the planned [advocacy website], including documents which allegedly contain information that the proposed site cannot meet [JURIST report] mandated by the (EPA) [official website]. The [official website] is seeking access to a draft application completed by contractors to obtain a license from the (NRC) [official website] to allow the dump. The state claims it is entitled to the documents under the [text] and has made previous attempts to object to the draft application, including requests to President George Bush and the US Secretary of Energy. A spokesman for the US [official website] said the department has already posted millions of pages of [DOE materials] on the Internet, and that it is under no legal obligation to publicly release the application until it is formally sent to the NRC. The Energy Department had originally set 2010 as the year for the dump to open but licensing hearings are expected to take several years before the site can be approved. This is the fourth lawsuit that Nevada has filed to try and [JURIST report]. Nevada's [official website] has further . AP has . ***************************************************************** 54 UPI: Call for Aussie uranium export restriction United Press International - Security &Terrorism - 3/23/2006 11:30:00 AM -0500 SYDNEY, March 23 (UPI) -- Australia should bar uranium exports to countries not signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, opposition leader Ken Beazley said. Beazley, head of the Labor Party, was taking the stand in a speech being delivered Thursday night in Sydney follow indications that Prime Minister John Howard would consider uranium sales to India, who has a nuclear weapons program but has not signed the non-proliferation accord. "No country will get its hands on Australian uranium without signing the treaty and living by it. It's as simple as that," The Australian quoted an advance text of the speech. "The major new elements of Labor's saefguards would be to require as a condition of our uranium exports that governments join in a new diplomatic caucus of like-minded country, to be led by Australia ... which will be the basis for a major new push to put non-proliferation at the center of international politics." Australia is a major uranium producer. Of the past three years it has exported some 10,000 tons of uranium. In 2004-2005, the United States, the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Canada, respectively, were the recipients, according to statistics from Australia's Uranium Information Center. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 55 Whitehaven News: BNG could face double prosecution Published on 23/03/2006 By Alan Irving BRITISH Nuclear Group could face a double prosecution over major incidents at Sellafield. One took place three years ago when a young Cleator Moor man, Neil Cannon, plunged 350ft down the radioactive Windscale Pile One chimney. The other, more recently, was the massive leak of radioactive liquor which has shut down Thorp and cast doubts over the future of the oxide reprocessing plant. Decisions on whether or not to prosecute over either of the incidents will be taken by the government’s Health &Safety Executive. A spokesman for the HSE said yesterday no decisions had been taken on any action as both investigations were still ongoing. Thorp has been closed for many months following the liquor leak but operators BNG hope it will re-open sometime during the summer subject to approval by the government. The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, which licences Sellafield, has submitted “a prosecution” report to the HSE. However, the HSE spokesman added: “Although this is the formal name for the report, it does not necessarily mean there will be a prosecution. It is a report of the investigation findings which will be subject to independent legal scrutiny to decide whether any action should follow.” BNG at Sellafield said yesterday it had received no further word from HSE on any likely prosecutions. For the last five months the HSE has been studying the evidence given at the Whitehaven inquest into Mr Cannon’s death. The inquest jury’s verdict was that his death was due “in part because the written system of work was not being followed and appropriate and/or adequate measures to prevent this were not taken”. Mr Cannon’s employers, PC Richardson, could also face action. ***************************************************************** 56 Knox News: Bomb's shelters Oak Ridge sites under consideration for preservation, inclusion in national parks system By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com March 23, 2006 OAK RIDGE - The National Park Service will stage two public meetings here in April as part of a three-year study of Manhattan Project sites and their historical significance. The study, which was directed by Congress in late 2004, could lead to recommendations on preserving these early nuclear sites - at Oak Ridge and three other locations - and possibly including one or more of them in the national park system. Oak Ridge has three signature facilities associated with the World War II project that developed the first atomic bombs: + Graphite Reactor, which produced the first significant quantities of plutonium. + K-25 uranium-enrichment building, which at the time was the world's largest building. + Beta-3 "racetrack" at the Y-12 plant, which enriched the uranium used in the Little Boy bomb that was detonated at Hiroshima, Japan. Amy Fitzgerald, public affairs coordinator for the city of Oak Ridge, said the upcoming study could build recognition of Oak Ridge as a historic site and bolster the city's tourism strategy. She's encouraging people to attend the April 11-12 meetings at the U.S. Department of Energy Information Center, 475 Oak Ridge Turnpike, or otherwise send their comments to the National Park Service's project team. The meetings are from 6-8 p.m. on April 11 and 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on April 12. "It's really an important thing for Oak Ridge because having that kind of designation under the park service would really increase the visibility," Fitzgerald said. Local historian Bill Wilcox, who came to Oak Ridge during the early wartime operations and worked at the nuclear facilities for decades, said education is the key. In addition to the signature facilities, there are other sites around town that need preserving, he said. "I think the park service is going to do a good job, but we've got to help them," Wilcox said. "We need to get across to them what the (Oak Ridge) contribution was and how big it was, how many people were involved and the importance of the work." It's not clear what, if anything, will come out of the "special resources study" because there's no funding available - at least not at this point - for developing a historical district, even if that's a recommendation. But preservationists say this is a necessary first step. Susan Gawarecki, executive director of the Local Oversight Committee, said it would be "hugely important" for the Oak Ridge sites to be designated as part of the national park system. "There is nothing like having a national park to bring people to your town," Gawarecki said. Wilcox added, "We know very well that the park service doesn't have any money, but we're hoping they'll get Congress to pass legislation to create such a park. That would give some protection to the facilities that we have, so that what little is left now doesn't disappear. I think it'd be great." Gawarecki said being part of the park system would be greater than almost any status achievable through private development. "We're probably not going to be like a (Great) Smoky Mountains National Park, but maybe something comparable to one of the Civil War sites," Fitzgerald said. That would also support plans to develop the annual Secret City Festival into a premier event. Besides Oak Ridge, other Manhattan Project sites under study are: Hanford, Wash., home of the first large-scale plutonium production; Dayton, Ohio, where polonium was produced for bomb-trigger devices; and Los Alamos, N.M., where the first atomic bombs were assembled and tested. Carla McConnell, the National Park Service's project manager, said in a newsletter that the study would develop a range of alternatives to ensure the long-term preservation and "public appreciation" of these old sites. Senior Writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY The site in Los Alamos, N.M., is under study for possible preservation under the national park system. The first atomic bombs were assembled and tested in Los Alamos. ['' border='0'] ED ROBERTS DAYTON DAILY NEWS The old General Electric Supply Co. warehouse in Dayton, Ohio, was used as part of the Manhattan Project. ['' border='0'] U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ASSOCIATED PRESS Hanford, Wash., is home of the Manhattan Project’s first large-scale plutonium production. ['' ED WESTCOTT GOVERNMENT ARCHIVES Graphite Reactor, which produced the first significant quantities of plutonium for the Manhattan Project, is one of three signature Oak Ridge facilities used in the development of the atomic bomb. Those sites are under consideration for preservation, possibly as part of the national parks system. RELATED LINKS + Find out more about Oak Ridge's annual Secret City Festival + Slide show: Images of sites related to the Manhattan Project + Manhattan Project Sites Special Resources Study + U.S. Department of Energy Information Center, 475 Oak Ridge Turnpike When: + 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, _April 11 + 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, April 12 For info: + Contact project manager Carla McConnell at 303-969-2287 or e-mail Carla_mcconnell@nps.gov © 2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel ***************************************************************** 57 AP Wire: DOE official disagrees with panel on number of SRS contractors 03/23/2006 | Associated Press AIKEN, S.C. - A top Department of Energy official disagrees with a nuclear oversight group over how many private contractors should manage activities at the former nuclear weapons complex the Savannah River Site. Assistant Energy Secretary James Rispoli said Wednesday the site needs two contractors - one to handle millions of gallons of high-level radioactive waste and another to manage other activities. But the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, an independent oversight group created by Congress, said this month that dividing the work between two contractors could make it difficult for the federal agency to review work. Rispoli said both the agency and oversight group have safety in mind, and a sole contractor should be focused on the nuclear waste, the agency's most serious environmental risk. "Let (one) future contractor focus on liquid waste. Let someone else worry about everything else," he said. Washington Savannah River Company currently runs the site, but its contract expires at the end of this year. The company, one of several interested in new contracts at SRS, has been asked to manage the nuclear waste project through 2007. It's unclear if its operations contract will be extended. Rispoli's comments came during the Environmental Management Advisory Board meeting. The DOE oversight panel usually meets in Washington, but held a rare meeting here. Member Dennis Ferrigno applauded the idea of separate contractors. "I think the department should be commended for breaking it up," he said. "I think it's going to really provide a lot of value." SRS manager Jeff Allison said there already are contractors handling individual projects at the site, including a company constructing a waste storage facility and another helping with cleanup. DOE wants all 36 million gallons of waste out of South Carolina by 2020, even though officials face an unexpected two-year delay on a facility needed to help remove nuclear waste stored in underground tanks. Allison said the 2020 goal could still be met. "I think that with the right contract vehicle, I can still meet that," he said. Information from: The Augusta Chronicle, ***************************************************************** 58 Hanford News: Residents go to bat for B Reactor; National Park Service looks at feasibility of preserving Manhattan Project sites This story was published Thursday, March 23rd, 2006 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer Bob Versteeg was crossing the Pacific Ocean toward Japan for what was expected to be a bloody invasion on Aug. 6, 1945. When word came that the world'sfirst atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima that day, his ship was ordered to slow down, said Versteeg, 90, of Richland. Three days later, an atomic bomb, made with plutonium produced at the Hanford nuclear reservation, was dropped on Nagasaki. Instead of invading Japan, American troops, including Versteeg, took over the country as it surrendered. Those atomic bombs saved thousands of lives, he said. "I think B Reactor was the best gadget ever built," he said at a hearing Wednesday in Richland on the future of B Reactor and T Plant. B Reactor, the nation's first production scale reactor, produced plutonium for the nation's first nuclear explosion, then for the bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Officials from the National Park Service were in Richland to conduct meetings as one of the first steps of a study to assess the possibility of preserving B Reactor and T Plant, which separated the plutonium from the irradiated fuel. About 150 people attended the meetings - ranging from students to long-retired B Reactor workers - to convince the park service that local interest in the project is strong. That's one criteria the park service is evaluating in the study of preserving the Hanford Manhattan Project facilities and others in New Mexico, Tennessee and Ohio. The study will look at the national historical significance of the projects, whether saving them is practical and how they could be managed. "Our office recognizes that heritage-based tourism is one of the fastest-growing travel segments worldwide," said Tana Bader Inglima, vice president of the Tri-Cities Visitor &Convention Bureau. The bureau envisions tours on land and from the Columbia River that would incorporate B Reactor, T Plant, Hanford's history, the historic rail line and the Hanford Reach National Monument, she said. B Reactor now is open only on rare occasions for public tours. Jim Langford of Richland said he was "flabbergasted at the primitive nature" of B Reactor when he finally toured it. "It's a tribute to the scientists who worked on it," he said. "People who operated the reactor operated on a shoestring and were doing things that were never done before." When Hanford was picked during World War II as the site for production of plutonium, cyclotrons had produced only enough plutonium to form the head of a pine. B Reactor was built in 13 months as the United States raced to produce atomic weapons before Nazi Germany did. "Our greatest concern is that it will be placed in a cocoon," said Hank Kosmata, vice president of the B Reactor Museum Association. The other eight reactors built at Hanford to produce plutonium during World War II and the Cold War all are being cocooned or torn down to their radioactive cores and sealed up. Because T Plant, an 800-foot-long building, may not be suitable for tours, models and other information should be included in an interpretive center for B Reactor, he said. T Plant continues to be used by the Department of Energy for waste processing and other uses. The park service expects to spend two years conducting the study, which was ordered by Congress after a push by Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash. Final documents should be ready by spring 2008. © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 59 lamonitor.com: Safety board checks on lab transition The Online News Source for Los Alamos ROGER SNODGRASS, , Monitor Assistant Editor At a public hearing Wednesday night, members of a federal safety oversight board heard claims of progress on safety issues at Los Alamos National Laboratory, as well as concerns about the pending transition and the nature of the new contract. Charles Keilers, site representative for the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board described the laboratory as the most diverse and complex site in the system with 27 high-hazard facilities. Along with "encouraging accomplishments," he said, concerns with operations and oversight activities continue to be identified at Los Alamos and that concentration on safety challenges has tapered off as attention has been absorbed by the transition to the new contract. The new contract with Los Alamos National Security (LANS) begins June 1. "LANS is committed to safe and secure delivery of the mission," said incoming director Michael Anastasio, balancing safety and effectiveness in a carefully chosen key phrase. He added, "There is not a lot of time and a lot to do." The nation's nuclear weapons chief, Ambassador Linton Brooks discussed elements of the National Nuclear Security Administration's new performance-based contracting philosophy. Under a conception known as the Contractor Assurance System (CAS), he said, non-nuclear safety at LANL will become more the responsibility of the new laboratory managers. An incentive program will reward safer operations with higher fees. As for nuclear safety, he said, "All of us at NNSA are aware of our obligations, especially on nuclear safety." NNSA's site office manager, Ed Wilmott, said the contractor's increased responsibility in the non-nuclear area would free up more of his staff for greater oversight of nuclear operations. While he spoke of "daunting issues facing the new managers," he also pointed to new oversight tools available in the new contract. Details were scarce on exactly how the new oversight tools were going to work, board members noted, and also questioned indications that the corrective actions called for in resuming operations at the laboratory had fallen behind. "We have talked about the inability to take a plan and carry through on it," said DNFSB Chair A.J. Eggenberger. He asked Wilmott, "Assuming we can take care of items that need to be fixed, how can you see that a fix can be sustained?" Wilmott said, among other things, that he was relying on LANS to accept and accelerate the milestones for corrective actions identified during the shutdown. "I don't like that answer," Eggenberger said, "but I guess we can discuss that another time." The board has been averse to safety activities that are not adequately supervised by the responsible federal "owner" of the facility. For example, DNFSB counts its influence on the request for proposal at LANL on a related matter as one of its notable achievements last year. In its annual report to congress last month, the board noted that DOE had responded to its objection at that time, by revising "proposed terms that would have placed inadvisable limits on the government's right to inspect and oversee activities of the contractor." Speaking of the current situation, lab Director Bob Kuckuck said that the lab's safety requirements "far exceed funding and resources." "People at Los Alamos are over-committed and stressed," he said. They were stressed and under siege when he arrived ten months ago, he added, and "they have responded as heroes." Kuckuck provided a number of anecdotes related to recent safety incidents that he interpreted as positive progress, and called for retaining common sense and individual thoughtfulness in the safety culture. Board member Joseph F. Bader called Kuckuck's description of the LANL workforce "one of the most heartfelt presentations I've ever heard to this board." Board member John E. Mansfield was interested in whether the planned "incentivization" of safety would be extended to workers or workgroups, as bonuses or rewards. Anastasio said LANS was looking at using incentive pay as part of its management approach, but in a larger context that included safety. "How they are compensated will be driven by how they perform," he said. A public comment period included praise for the role of the DNFSB in providing transparency for safety issues at the laboratory and skepticism about the "do-it-yourself" concept of safety oversight explicit in the new federal plan. An audience of a few dozen people attended the meeting at the Duane W. Smith Auditorium at the high school. DNFSB will post transcripts from the meeting. The board's understanding of safety precautions for the laboratory will be expressed in future actions and recommendations. © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 60 WIStv.com: Energy Department official disagrees with panel on number of SRS contractors Columbia, SC: (Aiken-AP) March 23, 2006 - A top Energy Department official disagrees with an oversight group over how many private contractors should manage activities at the Savannah River Site near Aiken. Assistant Energy Secretary James Rispoli says the site needs two contractors: one to handle millions of gallons of high-level radioactive waste and another to manage other activities. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said this month that dividing work between two contractors would make it difficult to review the work. The board is an independent oversight group created by Congress. Washington Savannah River Company runs the site, but its contract expires at the end of this year. The company is one of several interested in new contracts at the old nuclear weapons complex. 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