***************************************************************** 03/29/06 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 14.75 ***************************************************************** 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 UN Security UN Calls On Iran To Suspend Enrichment-related Activitie 2 2003 NEO-CONS BLOCKED IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS 3 AFP: Security Council gives Iran 30 days to comply with IAEA demands 4 AFP: Security Council 'very close' to accord on Iran statement - dip 5 Guardian Unlimited: U.N. Demands Iran Suspend Nuke Enrichment 6 Guardian Unlimited: Rice: Iran a Menace Beyond Nuclear Issue 7 Korea Herald: U.S. views holding back N.K. nuclear talks 8 US: New Mexico Business Weekly: Energy forum debates nuclear v. rene 9 UPI: Analysis: India mulls private nuke sector 10 US: AFP: Carter slams US-India nuclear deal - 11 Xinhua: Senior CPC official vows to promote China-ROK ties 12 AFP: Saudis, with Pakistani help, working on nuclear programme - 13 AFP: Pakistan rejects report on secret nuclear help to Saudi Arabia NUCLEAR REACTORS 14 [NukeNet] Arab League Head Pushes Commercial Nuke Power For 15 The Age: Committee MPs in new push for nuclear power 16 BBC NEWS: Investors and firms eye nuclear future 17 BBC: Chernobyl diary 18 BBC: Workers make nuclear plant case 19 US: POAC: New study tries to link Oyster Creek with childhood cancer 20 US: POAC: DEP appeals decision on N-plant concerns 21 Independent: Cost of nuclear clean-up is £9bn more than predicted 22 US: APP.COM: Hearing to address safety issues at Oyster Creek sought 23 US: APP.COM: Reactor cooling towers' cost called prohibitive | 24 AFP: British Gov't set to approve nuclear clean-up strategy 25 US: NRC: Southern Nuclear Operating Company; Joseph M. Farley Nuclea 26 US: Morris Daily Herald: NRC set to review La Salle evaluation 27 Japan Times: Tokai unveils replica of deadly uranium plant 28 US: WFSB: Rally Set at Millstone Plant 29 UPI: Russians balk on light-water reactor deal NUCLEAR SECURITY 30 US: BBC: US Senate in 'dirty bomb' warning 31 US: AFP: US to beef up nuclear detection ability at ports NUCLEAR SAFETY 32 US: Herald News: County concludes round of well tests 33 US: toledoblade.com: Not just a business deal 34 US: APP.COM: "Tooth Fairy Project" follow-up links radiation, childh 35 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Radioactive munitions 36 US: Beaver County Times Allegheny Times: Radiation effects disputed NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 37 Guardian Unlimited: Private sector to run Sellafield as the governme 38 US: Sydney Morning Herald: China's energy needs drive uranium search 39 US: AU ABC: NT Govt mulls uranium sales timeframe 40 US: SF New Mexican: EPA recertifies nuclear waste dump near Carlsbad 41 Las Vegas SUN: Pro-Yucca group presses for legislative fix to 42 reviewjournal.com: Offensive cartoon 43 US: reviewjournal.com: Group urges action on waste 44 US: AAP: US News: New NIRS Report Challenges All U.S. Radioactive Wa 45 US: Breaking News: Uranium bubble looks like trouble 46 Japan Times: Nuclear agency OKs Shikoku Electric MOX plan 47 US: AU ABC: Forum to focus on uranium issues. PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 48 Las Vegas SUN: Feds dump Bechtel for Nevada Test Site management con 49 SPI: Conservation, Hanford watchdog groups urge study of Hanford Rea 50 lamonitor.com: Lab team readies nuclear detection device 51 Times-News Online: Senate sends energy plan to governor 52 PRN: Department of Energy Awards Northrop Grumman $2.5 Billion 53 KnoxNews: OR job gets OK for full throttle 54 KnoxNews: Oak Ridge contractors pay while others err for free 55 Guardian Unlimited: Work Resumes at Tenn. Uranium Storehouse ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 UN Security UN Calls On Iran To Suspend Enrichment-related Activities Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 19:00:07 -0500 UN SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS ON IRAN TO SUSPEND ENRICHMENT-RELATED ACTIVITIES New York, Mar 29 2006 7:00PM Expressing serious concern that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is unable to conclude that there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in Iran, the United Nations Security Council today called upon that country to re-establish full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, in a manner that is verified by the Agency. “The Security Council expresses the conviction that such suspension and full and verified Iranian compliance would contribute to a diplomatic, negotiated solution that guarantees Iran’s nuclear programme is for exclusively peaceful purposes,” the Council said through a statement read out by its March President César Mayoral of Argentina. The statement underlined “the willingness of the international community to work positively for such a solution, which will also benefit nuclear non-proliferation elsewhere.” To monitor Iranian compliance with its requirements, the Council requested a report from the IAEA in 30 days. “I think after 20 days working on this presidential statement, the Security Council had a good result,” Council President Mayoral told the press after issuing the statement. “I think its one step toward non-proliferation and in the future the Security Council and the IAEA will continue to deal with this subject.” The Council has been meeting formally on the subject since 17 March, when it took up a report referred to it by the IAEA that voiced concern that “uncertainties related to the scope and nature of Iran’s nuclear programme have not been clarified after three years of intensive Agency verification.” The report notes that under normal circumstances, drawing any conclusion about a country’s nuclear activities would take time, and the duration would be even longer in the case of Iran because of a number of factors, including the “undeclared nature” of Iran’s past programme. In 2003, it was discovered that Iran had carried out secret nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Before transmitting the report to the Council, Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said the 15-member body “will lend its weight to the IAEA’s efforts so as to make sure Iran will work as closely as possible with us.” 2006-03-29 00:00:00.000 ________________ For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news To change your profile or unsubscribe go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/ ***************************************************************** 2 2003 NEO-CONS BLOCKED IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 08:58:29 -0600 (CST) By Gareth Porter **Gareth Porter is a historian and national security policy analyst. His latest book, Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam, was published last June. WASHINGTON - The George W Bush administration failed to enter into negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program in May 2003 because neo-conservatives who advocated destabilization and regime change were able to block any serious diplomatic engagement with Tehran, according to former administration officials. The same neo-conservative veto power also prevented the administration from adopting any official policy statement on Iran, those same officials said. Lawrence Wilkerson, then chief of staff to secretary of state Colin Powell, said the failure to adopt a formal Iran policy in 2002-03 was the result of obstruction by a "secret cabal" of neo-conservatives in the administration, led by Vice President Dick Cheney. "The secret cabal got what it wanted: no negotiations with Tehran," Wilkerson wrote in an e-mail to Inter Press Service (IPS). The Iranian negotiating offer, transmitted to the State Department in early May 2003 by the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, acknowledged that Iran would have to address US concerns about its nuclear program, although it made no specific concession in advance of the talks, according to Flynt Leverett, then the National Security Council's senior director for Middle East Affairs. Iran's offer also raised the possibility of cutting off Iran's support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad and converting Hezbollah into a purely socio-political organization, according to Leverett. That was an explicit response to Powell's demand in late March that Iran "end its support for terrorism". In return, Leverett recalls, the Iranians wanted the US to address security questions, the lifting of economic sanctions and normalization of relations, including support for Iran's integration into the global economic order. Leverett also recalls that the Iranian offer was drafted with the blessing of all the major political players in the Iranian regime, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini. Realists, led by Powell and his deputy, Richard Armitage, were inclined to respond positively to the Iranian offer. Nevertheless, within a few days of its receipt, the State Department had rebuked the Swiss ambassador for having passed on the offer. Exactly how the decision was made is not known. "As with many of these issues of national security decision-making, there are no fingerprints," Wilkerson told IPS. "But I would guess Dick Cheney with the blessing of George W Bush." As Wilkerson observes, however, the mysterious death of what became known among Iran specialists as Iran's "grand bargain" initiative was a result of the administration's inability to agree on a policy toward Tehran. A draft National Security Policy Directive (NSPD) on Iran calling for diplomatic engagement had been in the process of interagency coordination for more than a year, according to a source who asked to remain unidentified. But it was impossible to get formal agreement on the NSPD, the source recalled, because officials in Cheney's office and in under secretary of defense for policy Douglas Feith's Office of Special Plans wanted a policy of regime change and kept trying to amend it. Opponents of the neo-conservative policy line blame Condoleezza Rice, then the national security adviser, for the failure of the administration to override the extremists in the administration. The statutory policymaker process on Iran, Wilkerson told IPS in an e-mail, was "managed by a national security adviser incapable of standing up to the cabal ..." In the absence of an Iran policy, the two contending camps struggled in 2003 over a proposal by realists in the administration to reopen the Geneva channel with Iran that had been used successfully on Afghanistan in 2001-02. They believed Iran could be helpful in stabilizing post-conflict Iraq, because the Iraqi Shi'ite militants whom they expected to return from Iran after Saddam Hussein's overthrow owed some degree of allegiance to Iran. The neo-conservatives tried to block those meetings on tactical policy grounds, according to Leverett. "They were saying we didn't want to engage with Iran because we didn't want to owe them," he recalled. Nevertheless, US ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad (now envoy in Iraq) was authorized to begin meeting secretly in Geneva with Iranian officials to discuss Iraq. The neo-conservatives then tried to sandbag the talks by introducing a demand for full information on any high-ranking al-Qaeda cadres who might be detained by the Iranians. Iran regarded that information as a bargaining chip to be given up only for a quid pro quo from Washington. The Bush administration, however, had adopted a policy in early 2002 of refusing to share any information with Iran on al-Qaeda or other terrorist organizations. On May 3, 2003, as the Iranian "grand bargain" proposal was on its way to Washington, Tehran's representative in Geneva, Javad Zarif, offered a compromise on the issue, according to Leverett: if the US gave Iran the names of the cadres of the Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK) who were being held by US forces in Iraq, Iran would give the US the names of the al-Qaeda operatives they had detained. The MEK had carried out armed attacks against Iran from Iraqi territory during the Hussein regime and had been named a terrorist organization by the US. But it had capitulated to US forces after the invasion, and the neo-conservatives now saw the MEK as a potential asset in an effort to destabilize the Iranian regime. The MEK had already become a key element in the alternative draft NSPD drawn up by neo-conservatives in the administration. The indictment of Iran analyst Larry Franklin on Feith's staff last year revealed that, by February 2003, Franklin had begun sharing a draft NSPD that he knew would be to the liking of the Israeli Embassy. (Franklin eventually pleaded guilty to passing classified information to two employees of an influential pro-Israel lobbying group and was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison.) Reflecting the substance of that draft policy, ABC News reported on May 30, 2003, that the Pentagon was calling for the destabilization of the Iranian government by "using all available points of pressure on the Iranian regime, including backing armed Iranian dissidents and employing the services of the Mujahideen-e Khalq ..." Nevertheless, Bush apparently initially saw nothing wrong with trading information on MEK, despite arguments that MEK should not be repatriated to Iran. "I have it on good authority," Leverett told IPS, "that Bush's initial reaction was, 'But we say there is no such thing as a good terrorist.'" Nevertheless, Bush finally rejected the Iranian proposal. By the end of May, the neo-conservatives had succeeded in closing down the Geneva channel for good. They had hoped to push through their own NSPD on Iran, but according to the Franklin indictment, Franklin told an Israeli Embassy officer in October that work on the NSPD had been stopped. But the damage had been done. With no direct diplomatic contact between Iran and the US, the neo-conservatives had a clear path to raising tensions and building political support for regarding Iran as the primary enemy of the United States. ***************************************************************** 3 AFP: Security Council gives Iran 30 days to comply with IAEA demands Thursday March 30, 8:04 AM Photo: AFP UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The 15-member UN Security Council unanimously approved a non-binding statement giving Iran 30 days to comply with demands that it abandon uranium enrichment activities. The full council backed the watered-down text which had first been worked out among the body's five veto-wielding permanent members on the eve of a Berlin meeting of foreign ministers of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States on how to deal with Tehran's nuclear defiance. In a concession to Russia and China, the text, drafted by Britain and France, "requests in 30 days a report from the director general of the IAEA (UN nuclear watchdog) on the process of Iranian compliance with the steps required by the IAEA board, to the IAEA board of governors and in parallel to the Security Council for its consideration." The co-sponsors initially sought a report in 14 days. The text also "underlines the particular importance of re-establishing full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, to be verified by the IAEA." It stressed that "such suspension and full, verified Iranian compliance" with IAEA demands "would contribute to a diplomatic, negotiated solution that guarantees Iran's nuclear program is for exclusively peaceful purposes." France's UN envoy Jean-Marc de la Sabliere said that the council's unanimous approval "sends a strong message that Iran has to comply with the requests made by the International Atomic Energy Agency governing board." "Iran has 30 days. We hope that Iran will comply," he added. "If Iran doesn't comply, then the Security Council will have to take its responsibilities." "The ball is back in Iran's court and we will be here in 30 days to see what they do," US ambassador John Bolton said. " Bolton said the P-5 was particularly keen to secure full Council approval of the text so that the six-nation ministerial session in Berlin Thursday would not be burdened with negotiating the text. "The ministers will be having a forward-looking discussion," he added. The ministers, including US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, were to consider future steps that might be required, including sanctions, if Tehran refuses to back down. The text, the fruit of three weeks of tough negotiations among the so-called P-5, was considerably softened to overcome Russian and Chinese objections to any hint of punitive measures against Tehran. To that end, the co-sponsors dropped a paragraph that would have highlighted the Security Council's responsibility to maintain international peace and security. "Russia and China declined to quote from the UN charter ... We accept that because the message is clear nonetheless that Iran's nuclear program is unacceptable," Bolton said. The United States and its European allies believe Iran's civilian nuclear program hides an effort to develop weapons. Tehran says its program is peaceful and aims to generate electricity. After the text was adopted, Iran's UN envoy Javad Zarif told reporters that he had been prevented from addressing the Council to make his case. "We have been told this was a matter of procedure but I believe it was more than that," he added, without elaborating. "Iran will have to consider the statement in Tehran and will respond accordingly," Zarif added, while restating his country's commitment to non-proliferation. "We have made it clear that Iran doesn't want nuclear weapons," he said, but also warned: "We are allergic to pressure and intimidation and we do not respond well to that." He emphasized that Tehran would not forfeit its right to uranium enrichment as a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but remained committed to a negotiated solution. De la Sabliere meanwhile stressed that the statement adopted Wednesday was the first step in a graduated response that could ultimately lead to punitive but reversible measures. Russia's UN envoy Andrei Denisov made it clear that the IAEA must continue to play "a central role in verifying all the evidence on the purpose and nature of the Iranian nuclear program." He stressed that there was no evidence that Tehran was intent on building nuclear weapons. "For the time being, we have have strong suspicions about intentions, but only suspicions." His Chinese counterpart Wang Guangya said the statement "sends a strong message to support the authority of the IAEA and to support all diplomatic efforts that will lead to a diplomatic solution." Germany, France and Britain pursued three years of ultimately inconclusive negotiations to coax Tehran away from its nuclear program in exchange for economic incentives. [ src=] Copyright © 2005 AFP. All rights reserved. All information ***************************************************************** 4 AFP: Security Council 'very close' to accord on Iran statement - diplomats - Wed Mar 29, 12:47 AM ET UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Key Security Council members said they were "very close" to agreeing a watered-down statement urging Iran" /> Iranto come clean on its nuclear program and presented a new draft to other members. After a series of informal discussions involving the five permanent, veto-wielding members of the Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- participants reported considerable progress and voiced hope that a new draft could be adopted by the full 15-member body Wednesday. "I think that we are very close and we will inform the president of the Security Council and offer him consultations tomorrow," France's UN envoy Jean-Marc de la Sabliere said. "We have reached agreement on the bulk of the text and there was movement on all sides," US ambassador John Bolton said. "We are very close. It's a very satisfactory text. We have been incredibly flexible." Britain and France, the co-sponsors of the statement, circulated the new draft late Tuesday three weeks after International Atomic Energy Agency" /> International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) head Mohamed ElBaradei sent its assessment report on the Iranian nuclear program to the Security Council. The non-binding statement requires unanimous approval by the 15 council members. The council's five permanent members were to hold another round of consultations on the text Wednesday morning prior to a meeting of the full body, diplomats said. The latest text, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, calls upon Iran to meet IAEA demands and "underlines the particular importance of re-establishing full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, to be verified by the IAEA." It stressed that "such suspension and full, verified Iranian compliance" with IAEA demands "would contribute to a diplomatic, negotiated solution that guarantees Iran's nuclear program is for exclusively peaceful purposes." In a concession to Russia and China, it "requests in 30 days a report from the Director General of the IAEA on the process of Iranian compliance with the steps required by the IAEA Board, to the IAEA Board of Governors and in parallel to the Security Council, and agrees to keep this issue under review." The original draft had said ElBaradei should present its report in 14 days. The new text also merely stated that the Council "recalls its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security." This was seen as another bid to mollify Russia and China, which have opposed language in the proposed statement that would even hint at punitive measures against Iran, an ally and key trading partner. A diplomat, who asked not to be named, said Moscow would be prepared to accept the text if it dropped any reference to a threat to international peace and security which under the UN charter's Chapter 7 could lead to sanctions. The flurry of diplomatic activity comes as foreign ministers of the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany prepared to meet Thursday in Berlin to try to map out a long-term strategy on how to deal with Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment, which could be used to make bombs. "Our hope still would be to reach agreement tomorrow so the ministers in Berlin can focus on the future and the next steps (in the showdown with Tehran)," Bolton said. Russia's UN envoy Andrei Denisov also expressed guarded optimism, saying: "We are closer and closer". But he cautioned: "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed." "We are making some progress," said China's UN envoy Wang Guangya, who stressed that differences between the Western powers on one side and Russia and China on the other had been narrowed in the latest consultations. The United States and its allies believe Iran's civilian nuclear program hides an effort to develop weapons. Tehran says its research is peaceful. Germany, France and Britain, the so-called EU-3, have pursued three years of inconclusive negotiations to coax Tehran off its nuclear program in exchange for economic incentives. The Security Council has been trying for nearly three weeks to clinch a deal on the US-backed Franco-British statement. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 5 Guardian Unlimited: U.N. Demands Iran Suspend Nuke Enrichment From the Associated Press [UP] Thursday March 30, 2006 12:46 AM AP Photo UNDK116 By NICK WADHAMS Associated Press Writer UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. Security Council demanded Wednesday that Iran suspend uranium enrichment, the first time the powerful body has directly urged Tehran to clear up suspicions that it is seeking nuclear weapons. Iran remained defiant, maintaining its right to nuclear power but insisting that it was committed to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and had no intention of seeking weapons of mass destruction. ``Pressure and threats does not work with Iran. Iran is a country that is allergic to pressure and to threats and intimidation,'' Iranian Ambassador Javad Zarif said. He later added that ``Iran insists on its right to have access to nuclear technology for explicitly peaceful purposes. We will not abandon that claim to our legitimate right.'' The 15-nation council unanimously approved a statement that will ask the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to report back in 30 days on Iran's compliance with demands to stop enriching uranium. Diplomats portrayed the statement, which is not legally binding, as a first, modest step toward compelling Iran to make clear that its program is for peaceful purposes. The Security Council could eventually impose economic sanctions, though Russia and China say they oppose such tough measures. ``The council is expressing its clear concern and is saying to Iran that it should comply with the wishes of the governing board,'' France's U.N Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said. The document was adopted by consensus and without a vote after a flurry of negotiations among the five veto-wielding council members. In the end, Britain, France and the United States made several concessions to China and Russia, Iran's allies, who wanted as mild a statement as possible. Still, the Western countries said the statement expresses the international community's shared conviction that Iran must comply with the governing board of the IAEA and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Enrichment is a process that can produce either fuel for a nuclear reactor or the material for a nuclear warhead. Members of the council wanted to reach a deal before Thursday, when foreign ministers from the five veto-wielding council members and Germany meet in Berlin to discuss strategy on Iran. Diplomats would not say exactly what will happen if Iran does not comply the statement within 30 days, but suggested that would be discussed by the foreign ministers in Berlin. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the statement an ``important diplomatic step'' that showed the international community's concern about Iran. ``Iran is more isolated now than ever,'' she said in a statement. ``The Security Council's Presidential Statement sends an unmistakable message to Iran that its efforts to conceal its nuclear program and evade its international obligations are unacceptable.'' The council has struggled for three weeks to come up with a written rebuke that would urge Iran to comply with several demands from the board of the IAEA to clear up suspicions about its intentions. Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. The West believes council action will help isolate Iran and put new pressure on it to clear up suspicions about its intentions. They have proposed an incremental approach, refusing to rule out sanctions. U.S. officials have said the threat of military action must also remain on the table. Russia and China, both allies of Iran, oppose sanctions. They wanted any council statement to make explicit that the IAEA, not the Security Council, must take the lead in confronting Iran. The draft circulated to the council calls upon Iran to ``resolve outstanding questions, and underlines ... the particular importance of re-establishing full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities.'' Still, it removed language that China and Russia opposed. The text removes language saying that proliferation is a threat to international peace and security. Also gone is a mention that the council is specifically charged under the U.N. charter with addressing such threats. Russia and China had opposed that language from the start because they wanted nothing in the statement that could automatically trigger council action after 30 days. ``For the time being we have suspicions,'' Russia's U.N. Ambassador Andrey Denisov said. ``So from that point of view, it is like a ladder. If you want to climb up, you must step on the first step, and then the second, and not try to leap.'' Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 6 Guardian Unlimited: Rice: Iran a Menace Beyond Nuclear Issue From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday March 29, 2006 1:31 AM AP Photo WCAP105 By ANNE GEARAN AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday that Iran was a menace for reasons other than its alleged drive to build a nuclear bomb and that the U.S. and its allies have ``a number of tools'' if Tehran does not change its ways. ``I think there's no doubt that Iran is the single biggest threat from a state that we face,'' Rice told a Senate panel. She claimed strong international backing for the U.S. position that Iran must not be allowed to continue what she claimed is a covert effort to gain bomb-making expertise and technology. ``We need now to broaden that thinking and that coalition, not just to what Iran is doing on the nuclear side but also what they're doing on terrorism,'' Rice said. ``Those are some of the discussions that I have with these same states.'' She repeated claims that Iran is meddling in Iraq, bankrolling terrorism in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories and repressing its people. ``We have a number of tools, I think, at our disposal, including in sharpening the contradiction between the Iranian people and a regime that does not represent them,'' Rice said. The $75 million that has been requested to promote democracy in Iran could be used for that fight, she said. Options could include other measures at the U.N. Security Council to ``further isolate the Iranian government,'' Rice said. She did not elaborate. The reference could cover a variety of international punishments that the United States has said it would not seek as a first option. Russia and China, allies of Iran with veto power in the council, have said they oppose penalizing Iran. The council soon may hand the United States a partial victory after weeks of deadlock. Its permanent members were making progress toward a written rebuke of Iran over its nuclear program; Iran insists the program is intended only to produce electricity. Late Tuesday, Britain and France, backed by the United States, circulated among council members their latest draft of a proposed statement. The draft makes significant concessions to Russia and China, though diplomats said differences remain. The council planned to meet Wednesday to discuss the draft. At the Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Rice was not asked about the potential for a U.S. or international military strike against Iran. The Bush administration says that option remains on the table in theory, but it is pursuing only diplomatic solutions now. The United States has had no diplomatic relations with Iran since the 1979 storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Washington long accused the clerical government of exporting terrorism. European nations, Russia, China and others have diplomatic, trade and other ties to Iran. Rice suggested that at least some allies will agree to try to isolate Iran if the nuclear standoff continues. Russia and China allowed Iran's case to move to the Security Council this month, which was seen as a diplomatic success for the United States. Since then, however, those nations opposed draft versions of the written rebuke. ``We've been able to bring the Russians along to a degree but we've had to work harder on that and on the Chinese,'' Rice said. She suggested that the hardline leader Iran elected last year is his own worst enemy, noting that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made fiercely anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli statements. --- Associated Press reporter Nick Wadhams at the United Nations contributed to this report. ^--- On the Net: State Department: http://www.state.gov Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 7 Korea Herald: U.S. views holding back N.K. nuclear talks 2006.03.30 South Korea's point man on North Korea yesterday said the United States remains committed to resolving the North Korean nuclear issue through negotiations, but claimed other views in the country may be holding the negotiations from moving forward. Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok said there still exists a mainstream atmosphere, or urgency, in the United States that the dispute over North Korea's nuclear arms program needs to be resolved before any other issues. However, he said, "there now also exist voices that they need to first confirm the North's willingness to open up, and that it may be better to tackle other issues such as the human rights at the same time." Such ideas have yet to make their way into the mainstream of the U.S. administration, the South Korean minister said. But he added they are certainly beginning to bring, although still insignificant or delicate changes to the international negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program and to the Korean Peninsula. "This may provide a significant number of opportunities for us (South Korean government). But what is clear, I believe, is that it is disrupting other countries' concentration on resolving the nuclear issue," Lee said in an interview with a local radio station. The remarks followed his earlier claim that the United States was now beginning to shift its focus from the North Korean nuclear issue to what he called the North Korea issue. "There is a very delicate change of situation on the Korean Peninsula," Lee said in a special lecture before a group of Seoul National University graduates on March 16. "If the countries' efforts toward the six-party talks is one major stream, the United States' stance toward North Korea is the other," he had said. In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday the United States is working to marshal international recognition of North Korea's human rights violations. Rice told lawmakers at a hearing for a senate subcommittee that considers funding for international programs that President George W. Bush's special envoy on North Korean human rights, Jay Lefkowitz, "is trying to spread the word" around the world of the situation in the North. Lefkowitz, whose job was created last year by Congress, has been charged with raising the human rights issue and providing help for refugees fleeing the North. "We think one of the important elements here is to mobilize public opinion internationally about the human rights situation in North Korea," Rice said. U.S. lawmakers from both political parties have previously expressed frustration with the State Department over what they see as a lack of progress on a law meant to help refugees from North Korea to settle in the United States. At a hearing last month, lawmakers said no North Koreans had been offered asylum since Bush signed the North Korean Human Rights Act into law in October 2004. Part of the act specifies that the State Department make it easier for North Koreans to apply for refugee status. Republican Sen. Sam Brownback said during Tuesday's hearing that allowing North Korean refugees into the United States "would send a strong signal to the North Koreans that we're serious about this." The human rights situation is complicated by the efforts of the United States and four other nations to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear programs. ***************************************************************** 8 New Mexico Business Weekly: Energy forum debates nuclear v. renewables - 2006-03-28 Business Pulse Survey: Rising energy costs bringing your business down? Energy forum debates nuclear v. renewables New Mexico Business Weekly - 2:46 PM MST Tuesday A public forum on energy resources will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, April 6 at the School of Law. The forum -- "Powering Our Future: Nuclear or Renewables?" -- will explore a number of controversial issues concerning the world's future energy needs. Donald Petersen from (LANL) will present the case for massive development of nuclear energy as the only technology capable of fueling the future world economy. Ben Luce, policy director of the New Mexico Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy (NMCCAE), will make the argument for renewables as the only clean, safe, economical, and reliable source of energy. Luce is a former LANL physicist. The event is free to the public. © 2006 American City Business Journals, Inc. and its licensors. ***************************************************************** 9 UPI: Analysis: India mulls private nuke sector United Press International - Energy - --> 3/29/2006 12:03:00 PM -0500 By KUSHAL JEENA NEW DELHI, March 29 (UPI) -- Private participation in India's nuclear energy sector could boost the country's ambitious nuclear power program and would help realize its dream of energy security, Indian energy experts say. "If private participation ... is allowed, it could be a major acceleration to our nuclear program," said Amitav Ranjan, a senior energy expert. He said the government would have to take a decision soon as India was heading toward a severe energy crisis. India's oil consumption is likely to go up from existing 125 million tons per year to more than 400 million tons in 25 years. The government is looking at nuclear and other options to meet the demands of its expanding economy. During U.S. President Bush's visit to India earlier in the month, India hinted it would consider allowing private companies, including foreign energy giants, to set up civilian nuclear plants. The country's Department of Atomic Energy had drawn up an ambitious program aimed at generating 20,000 MWe by 2020. A large source of uranium is required to fuel this program. India is facing a uranium crunch because much of the radioactive element comes from the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand state, a hotbed of Maoist rebel activity, said R.S. Pathak, a senior state government official. India has not only failed to find new domestic sources of uranium, but its existing sources are also running out. Domestic funding is deemed insufficient to mobilize the ambitious nuclear energy program. Attempts to open new mines in the northeastern state of Meghalaya and the southern state of Andhra Pradesh have been delayed due to local opposition and bureaucratic issues. "Even if the(y) ... are put in place, it will take several years to establish them as reliable sources of uranium," said an official of the Department of Atomic Energy, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said existing sources of uranium were unlikely to sustain the ambitious power-generation program. India is thus left with two options: importing uranium from overseas; and opening up the closely guarded Indian nuclear sector for private, particularly foreign, participation. Because India is not a signatory to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, the cornerstone of global anti-proliferation efforts, it cannot buy uranium from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, a bloc of nations that makes uranium sales for civilian programs. The United States is now trying to persuade other NSG members to make an exception for India. Last July, the United States and India signed a civilian nuclear agreement under which Washington provides India know-how and in exchange India separates its civilian and weapons nuclear programs. The deal is being reviewed by Congress where it faces some opposition. Indian analysts believe the situation with the NSG might change once the deal passes muster with Congress. But while that approach is being considered, India is also looking at foreign investment in its nuclear energy sector. The issue has been discussed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Cabinet, which is believed to back opening up the nuclear sector. They argue that since the civilian nuclear program is going to be placed under international safeguards -- as per the requirements of the deal with the United States -- it would be meaningless to continue to keep the nuclear sector closed. The government is also considering allowing private firms to build reactors and has amended the 1962 atomic energy act to facilitate this. Atomic Industries Forum, a group of Indian companies, has supported the move. It says private companies should be allowed to construct at least four to five nuclear power plants. Large Indian firms, including Reliance and Tatas, have said hey are interested. Globally, French and U.S. giants such as GE and Westinghouse Corp. have shown interest in the sector. They say they are ready to bring in the ultramodern equipment and components and offer expertise in setting up the power plants. Private participation may open up the possibility of a total restructuring of Indian nuclear power industry. But at the same time, it may also worry the domestic nuclear industry, which could find it difficult in compete with foreign energy giants. (Comments to energy@upi.com) © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 10 AFP: Carter slams US-India nuclear deal - Thursday March 30, 02:49 AM WASHINGTON (AFP) - Former US president Jimmy Carter criticized Washington's civilian nuclear deal with India, saying it was "just one more step in opening a Pandora's box of nuclear proliferation". "Knowing for more than three decades of Indian leaders' nuclear ambitions, I and all other presidents included them in a consistent policy: no sales of civilian nuclear technology or uncontrolled fuel to any country that refused to sign the NPT," Carter said in an opinion piece in The Washington Post. India has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and developed nuclear weapons on its own. US President George W. Bush clinched the landmark nuclear deal with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a visit to New Delhi on March 2 and is pushing Congress to amend the US Atomic Energy Act, which currently prohibits nuclear sales to non NPT signatories, to make the agreement effective. It would give energy-starved India access to long-denied civilian nuclear technology in return for placing a majority of its civilian nuclear reactors under international inspection. Carter, a Democrat, slammed the Bush administration for abandoning many of the nuclear arms control agreements negotiated since the administration of Dwight Eisenhower. "This change in policies has sent uncertain signals to other countries, including North Korea and Iran, and may encourage technologically capable nations to choose the nuclear option," he said. Carter said although US companies reportedly might win two contracts arising from Indian plans to import eight nuclear reactors by 2012, "this is a minuscule benefit compared with the potential costs. "India may be a special case, but reasonable restraints are necessary," he said. The Bush administration had often cited what it called India's unblemished nuclear non-proliferation record to go ahead with deal. Carter said as the five original nuclear powers had all stopped producing fissile material for weapons, "India should make the same pledge to cap its stockpile of nuclear bomb ingredients. "Instead, the proposal for India would allow enough fissile material for as many as 50 weapons a year, far exceeding what is believed to be its current capacity," he said. So far, Carter said, India had only rudimentary technology for uranium enrichment or plutonium reprocessing, and he urged Congress to "preclude the sale of such technology to India." India should also join other nuclear powers in signing the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, he said. Copyright © 2006 AFP. All rights reserved. All information ***************************************************************** 11 Xinhua: Senior CPC official vows to promote China-ROK ties www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2006-03-29 20:53:37 BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- China will strive to promote the development of relations with the Republic of Korea, said Li Changchun, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), on Wednesday. Li, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, made the remarks while meeting with Sun Hak Jyu, governor of Kyonggi Province of ROK. Li hailed political and economic cooperation since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992. The China-ROK trade exceeded 100 billion U.S. dollars for the first time in 2005 and the two countries cooperated in culture, education, science and technology, environment protection and the military fields. Li said China-ROK friendship conforms to the fundamental interests of the two peoples and appealed to local governments of the two countries to cooperate further and strengthen party-to-party contact. Sun spoke highly of China's economic and social development, saying China played an important role in safeguarding world peace and stability, especially on the Korean Peninsular. He appreciated China's contributions to the seeking of a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue there. China's growth will bring about opportunities for the development of ROK and to develop exchange and cooperation with China at all levels and in all fields is a consensus reached by all parties in ROK, Sun noted. Enditem Editor: Ling Zhu Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 12 AFP: Saudis, with Pakistani help, working on nuclear programme - Tue Mar 28, 11:19 PM ET BERLIN (AFP) - Saudi Arabia is working secretly on a nuclear programme, with help from Pakistani experts, the German magazine Cicero reports in its latest edition, citing Western security sources. It says that during the Haj pilgrimages to Mecca in 2003 through 2005, Pakistani scientists posed as pilgrims to come to Saudi Arabia in aircraft laid on by the oil-rich kingdom. Between October 2004 and January 2005, some of them took the opportunity to "disappear" from their hotel rooms, sometimes for up to three weeks, it quoted German security expert Udo Ulfkotte as saying. According to Western security services, the magazine added, Saudi scientists have been working since the mid-1990s in Pakistan, a nuclear power since 1998 thanks to the work of the now-disgraced Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. Cicero, which will appear on newstands on Thursday, also quoted a US military analyst, John Pike, as saying that Saudi bar codes can be found on half of Pakistan's nuclear weapons "because it is Saudi Arabia which ultimately co-financed the Pakistani atomic nuclear programme". The magazine also said satellite images prove that Saudi Arabia has set up in Al-Sulaiyil, south of Riyadh, a secret underground city and dozens of underground silos for missiles. According to some Western security services, long-range Ghauri-type missiles of Pakistani-origin are housed inside the silos. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 13 AFP: Pakistan rejects report on secret nuclear help to Saudi Arabia - Wed Mar 29, 2:46 PM ET ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan rejected as "fabricated" a German magazine report that said Saudi Arabia was working secretly on a nuclear programme with help from Pakistani experts. "It is a fabricated story and motivated by vicious intentions," foreign office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said. Citing Western security sources, German magazine Cicero in its latest edition, says that during the Hajj pilgrimages to Mecca in 2003 through 2005, Pakistani scientists posed as pilgrims to come to Saudi Arabia in aircraft sponsored by the oil-rich kingdom. Between October 2004 and January 2005, some of them took the opportunity to "disappear" from their hotel rooms, sometimes for up to three weeks, German security expert Udo Ulfkotte told the magazine. According to Western security services, the magazine added, Saudi scientists have been working since the mid-1990s in Pakistan, a nuclear power since 1998, thanks to the work of the now-disgraced Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. The latest issue of Cicero, which will appear on newsstands on Thursday, also quoted US military analyst John Pike as saying that Saudi bar codes can be found on half of Pakistan's nuclear weapons "because it is Saudi Arabia which ultimately co-financed the Pakistani atomic nuclear programme". Dismissing the report, the foreign office spokeswoman here said "Pakistan has a unilateral commitment to non-proliferation." "As a responsible nuclear state, Pakistan has taken all measures to strengthen its export control," she added. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 14 [NukeNet] Arab League Head Pushes Commercial Nuke Power For Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 14:42:28 -0800 NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) Anyone with a commercial nuclear power reactor has the ability to make nuclear weapons. Bush and much of the "deveolped" world's current push for even more of them bespeaks a literal insanity and subconcious suicidal/fratricidal mentality that must be stopped at all costs. Is the path of Armageddon starting to unroll before the world's eyes via "civilian" nuclear power, that is "Atoms For War"? http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Arab-Summit.html Head of Arab League Pushes Nuke Programs a.. E-Mail This b.. Printer-Friendly c.. Save Article By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: March 28, 2006 Filed at 6:45 p.m. ET KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- The head of the Arab League called on Arab states Tuesday to work toward ''entering the nuclear club'' by developing atomic energy -- a new concern for a Western world already trying to rein in Iran's nuclear ambitions and fretting about a possible Mideast arms race. Amr Moussa's comments came as a surprise at a troubled Arab League summit meant to tackle crises ranging from Iraq to the Palestinian peace process. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned Arab leaders that the Mideast faces one of its most critical periods. ''You are meeting today here while the whole Arab world and the region is witnessing turmoil,'' Annan said in a statement read by an envoy. But Arab leaders seemed unlikely to take serious action. In private sessions before the summit, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari castigated Arab governments, saying their promises at the summit to help Iraq were ''rhetoric.'' The summit has already been undermined by low attendance. Ten heads of state from the league's 22 members stayed away, most notably Egypt's president and Saudi Arabia's king -- two regional heavyweights and top U.S. allies. Moussa spoke to the gathered leaders at the opening of the summit, saying, ''I would like to call on the Arab world to enter into the world of peaceful use of nuclear energy with all speed and momentum.'' ''This is a legal right ensured for all states that are party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty,'' he said. No Arab country is known to have a significant program for nuclear energy, and few have shown a drive to do so. But Moussa's call was likely to cause concern in the United States and Europe, which are pressing for U.N. Security Council action on Iran's nuclear program. Washington accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, an accusation Tehran denies, saying it seeks only to generate electricity. The issue of Iran has divided Arab leaders. Countries close to Iran, including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, have expressed concern over its program, focussing on safety issues and the threat of a possible regional arms race. Moussa, an Egyptian, quarreled publicly with the Emirates' foreign minister after he urged Gulf leaders to focus on Israel, not Iran. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir accused the West of double standards on the nuclear issue. ''This is an issue which should not be a subject of discrimination. For the international community to be honest, Israel should be pushed to sign the Nonproliferation Treaty and open its nuclear installations for inspection,'' he said in a speech to the summit Tuesday. The issue of Iran's standoff with the West was on the agenda for the summit, but the political turmoil and violence in Iraq and the issue of how to deal with a new Hamas-led Palestinian government loomed larger. The annual Arab summits regularly conclude with resolutions that often fail to yield concrete action. This year, though, leaders received messages asking them to be assertive. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country is not a member of the league but who was invited as a guest, encouraged the leaders to make democratic changes, respect human rights and accept accountability. ''After that, our efforts to maintain peace and security will be more effective,'' he told them. Among the resolutions agreed upon is one that promises help for Iraq and to eventually open embassies there, a top demand of the Baghdad government. But Iraq's Zebari dismissed the resolutions as ''rhetoric'' and told his Arab counterparts to deal realistically with Iraq, according to Arab diplomats who participated in the private discussions Sunday. ''You should learn from the mistakes of Saddam Hussein,'' he said when some of the ministers pressed for a more anti-Western stance in the summit resolutions, according to the diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private. When the ministers complained about his comments, Zebari retorted with an Iraqi proverb: ''Ask an experienced man, not just a learned one.'' _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/ Change your settings or access the archives at: http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net ***************************************************************** 15 The Age: Committee MPs in new push for nuclear power theage.com.au By Katharine Murphy March 30, 2006 THE Howard Government is facing a new push for nuclear power in Australia as it finalises an agreement to export billions of dollars of uranium to China. The Age believes that after a year of analysing the uranium industry, Federal Parliament's bipartisan industry and resources committee has sought new authority from the Government to examine the merits of domestic nuclear power. The request comes as the committee finalises its first report, which is expected to recommend rebuilding Australia's capacity to be a player in the global nuclear industry by establishing new training and research facilities for Australian nuclear physicists. The push for nuclear power in Australia — which has the world's largest uranium deposits — came as Labor leader Kim Beazley yesterday acknowledged growing debate in the ALP over the future of its 20-year-old three mines policy. After stinging criticism of the policy in recent days by South Australian Labor Premier Mike Rann, and a continuing campaign by resources spokesman Martin Ferguson to allow more uranium mining, Mr Beazley accepted the issue could be raised at the party's conference. "Anybody is entitled to move at a Labor Party conference any change to party policy," Mr Beazley said in Canberra. "Be you a premier or an ordinary delegate, you can certainly do that." Mr Ferguson is expected to make a speech on Friday at a uranium conference reiterating the need for a serious debate in the party over the policy. Clare Martin, Chief Minister of the Northern Territory — which allows uranium mining — refused to declare her position. But she signalled she would be part of any move to review ALP policy. "I would be part of that change. If I go to national conference and it was to happen, I would make my contribution." Meanwhile, controversy continued over Australia's looming uranium export deal with China, expected to be unveiled during a visit to Australia next week by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile yesterday denied recent statements by Chinese officials that the agreement would include a formal commitment from Australia allowing more minerals exploration. Mr Vaile also played down the prospect that Australia would export uranium to India, which has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This week Prime Minister John Howard again left open the possibility of future uranium sales to India. But Mr Vaile said: "Our policy on the sale of uranium for use in energy generation for peaceful purposes hasn't changed and is not going to change." Mr Beazley attacked the idea of exporting uranium to India. He said Mr Howard was "talking about exporting to India without signing up to what should be one of the most fundamental conditions, the Non-Proliferation Treaty". THREE MINES LABOR'S STAND KIM BEAZLEY "Anybody is entitled to move at a Labor Party conference any change to party policy … be you a premier or an ordinary delegate." MARTIN FERGUSON Supports change, has urged Queensland and WA to consider new uranium mines. MIKE RANN "I think the three mines policy … will change, will go." CLARE MARTIN "There are those within the Labor Party, particularly nationally, who would like to see a change of policy." ***************************************************************** 16 BBC NEWS: Investors and firms eye nuclear future Updated: Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 22:48 GMT 23:48 UK By Jorn Madslien BBC News business reporter at Sellafield The instantly recognisable silhouette that greets visitors to Sellafield has long stood out as a potent symbol of perhaps the most despised industry in Britain. [Sellafield] The cooling towers and the 'golf ball' will soon vanish Ever since the fire at the Windscale nuclear reactor in 1957, the industry has had to face profound hostility and loathing, fiercely voiced both by environmental campaigners and by some of Britain's neighbouring governments. But Sellafield's image could be about to change, as the concrete monstrosities that spoil this otherwise idyllic Cumbrian beach will soon be flattened. The hope is that the controlled explosions will do more than merely demolish the enormous concrete cooling towers and knock the "golf ball" off its perch. Once the dust settles, it should become clear that the changes currently taking place at Sellafield amount to much more than a cosmetic exercise aimed at giving the site a streamlined facade. New industry The sprawling Sellafield site, where many a decaying building lies dormant, feels a bit like a museum of Britain's nuclear heritage. [High-level waste storage] You're standing on one of the most concentrated sources of radioactivity anywhere in the world BNFL spokesman Neil Stagg The UK's first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall, which was opened by the Queen in 1956 and stayed in operation until March 2003, is still standing tall, though its operations have long since ceased. The solid waste storage silo B41 is still full of intermediate waste, waiting to be emptied and decommissioned. The B203 plutonium purification and residue recovery plant has not been operational since 1987. The uranium purification plant closed in 1973. And the absolutely huge Magnox storage and decanning facility, which was operational for 30 years, was closed down in 1992. But these "historic" buildings are not museum pieces. The reason why they are still here is simple: removing them is both tricky and expensive. Yet, with decommissioning of Britain's old nuclear installations gathering pace, industry operators are preparing for a golden handshake as they bid Britain's old nuclear industry farewell. Vast, long-term contracts could soon be up for grabs if the government green-lights a proposal tabled by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The plan could create a new £86bn clean-up industry in the UK, including waste from Britain's nuclear weapons industry. The clean-up bill from half a century of civilian nuclear activity accounts for about £56bn of that, with £34bn of it expected to go towards cleaning up Sellafield, though the NDA is expected to revise its figures upwards. Its latest estimate is due to be announced at 10 am on 30 March. In short, says one industry official: "There's going to be some big contracts, of which Sellafield is going to be the biggest." Massive storage facility Up to now, the bulk of Britain's nuclear waste has been stored above ground at 37 sites across the UK. When measured by volume, 65% of Britain's total waste mountain is stored at Sellafield. Unlike in many other countries, which tend to favour deep underground depositories, the nastiest high-level waste is kept in a somewhat tall yet ordinary-looking warehouse. The waste, left over from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods, has been converted from liquid to solid glass by temperatures of 1,100 degrees Celsius. It is so radioactive that it continues to generate heat for five decades. The waste is stored in stacks of 10 small steel cylinders the size of milk churns, that are in turn sealed into place by two-metre deep yellow shielding plugs. The whole storage facility covers an area similar to that of a football pitch that is shielded by thick, solid concrete walls. By volume, it accounts for just a tenth of a per cent of total nuclear waste in the UK, though it accounts for 95% of the radioactivity. "You're standing on one of the most concentrated sources of radioactivity anywhere in the world," says BNFL spokesman Neil Stagg. The bulk of Britain's nuclear waste - 470,000 cubic metres in total - is classified as intermediate: nuclear fuel casings, transport containers, reactor cores and even the remains of torn-down buildings. Much of it is here at Sellafield, although in July, the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management will publish recommendations for how to deal with it in the long term. By comparison, the sprawling low-grade waste repository of Drigg, a few minutes drive from the main Sellafield site past the small Seascale fishing village, is "only slightly radioactive", says Mr Stagg. There are rows upon rows of containers, stacked and sealed with cement, ready to be buried and grassed over. They contain a mixture of hospital waste, building materials, wrapping material that has been exposed to radioactivity, and even contaminated soil. Clean-up contracts This flat and windswept beach landscape is about to become a battleground as companies begin to fight over clean-up contracts. [Drigg] Rivals will fight for the right to clean up Drigg Next month, a £1bn contract to clean up Drigg is going out to tender. Current operator BNG is the expected favourite, and this should stand it in good stead when much larger clean-up contracts come up for grabs. "If you're the first-tier contract, you run the site," observes one industry official. But BNG may have to share the spoils with others. On one level, there is a string of UK firms like Serco, Carillion and WS Atkins lining up to provide services. "It's a big market and the Americans are keen to get involved," the industry official says, pointing out that in most cases, they are vastly more experienced than their British rivals. Among BNG's leading contenders are the experienced US clean-up firms Fluor and Shaw. But there are others too, most notably CH2M, which has teamed up with the UK engineering group Amec and with the government body UKAEA. Bechtel is also expected to bid for clean-up contracts, though it cannot do so during the early stages as it helped create the NDA, which will be awarding the contracts during the next five years. Investors ranging from big institutions such as pension funds and insurance companies to smaller private equity firms are also eager to get in on the act. In part, this is because of the predictable long-term nature of the contracts the NDA is expected to award. As an added bonus, those involved in cleaning up the old waste might be first in line if the government decides to sanction the building of new nuclear power plants. It is becoming increasingly clear that the nuclear industry's survival does not merely hinge on whether or not the public will stomach the proposed revival of nuclear power. This is the second of two features exploring the way the nuclear industry is changing. The first feature was published on 28 March. Commercial independence awaits Sellafield ***************************************************************** 17 BBC: Chernobyl diary Last Updated: Wednesday, 29 March 2006 [The Chernobyl plant] The Chernobyl plant had four reactors - it was the fourth that exploded A BBC News website team is in Ukraine to assess the legacy of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, 20 years after it spewed radiation across Europe. Reporter Stephen Mulvey and photographer Phil Coomes will publish their reports and picture galleries closer to the anniversary itself on 26 April. This diary records their impressions as they gather facts and interview people affected by the tragedy. They will be in Ukraine until 4 April. SHINY NEW REACTOR 29 March 2006 The director of the new plant, Nikola Fridman, talks about the future for the industry 1600 (1300 GMT): We travel for 350km along the most direct road from Kiev to Warsaw - just one lane in each direction, pockmarked with potholes. On either side, birch and pine and a forest floor of snow. Many villages seem not to have gas, judging from the stacks of firewood. The older cottages are made of logs, and we pass the odd horse and cart, but finally we arrive at the nuclear power station. If the Chernobyl control room had something of a 60s retro feel - grey enamel surfaces, big plastic buttons, dim lighting - the bright magnolia-coloured control room of Rivne's fourth reactor is unmistakeably 21st Century. Several computer screens, covered in pink and green symbols, stand in front of every desk. (The software is Ukrainian, we were told.) Security at Rivne is pretty tight - no photography is allowed - and the staff exuded an air of efficiency and discipline. None of the operators was smoking at the controls, anyway, as at least one was on our visit to Chernobyl. The director of the plant, Nikolai Fridman, does not want to knock the kind of reactor which blew up at Chernobyl, the RBMK as it is known. View from the road en route to the Rivn nuclear power station He points out that Russia is successfully using 10 of them to this day. Yes, his pressurised water reactors at Rivne are safer, but this is also a fairly old design. The next two reactors built at the plant will be of a new generation, possibly a type he refers to as "Fast Neutron". He's so busy thinking about the future, I ask if he ever remembers Chernobyl. "We think about it, we talk about it, we draw lessons from it. We study it in institutes, and we are not the only ones," he says. For a moment I see Chernobyl from the perspective of the nuclear power community - not (or not only) as a environmental and humanitarian disaster - but as a threat to the future of the industry. When the world's atomic power people get together they discuss Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and Windscale, Mr Fridman says, and agree that such incidents must never be repeated. Stephen and Phil at the Chernobyl plan 0800 (0500 GMT): Today will be a vision of the future, unlike yesterday's trip back in time. We're off to visit a new reactor that started generating last autumn. Foundations were laid in the 1980s, but work stopped after Chernobyl - the last thing most Ukrainians wanted was more nuclear power stations. But a few years later, after the collapse of the USSR, Russia announced that oil and gas would no longer be supplied free of charge. Ukraine decided nuclear power was good after all, and the reactor was completed. At least a dozen more reactors are planned in the next 25 years. ZONE OF ALIENATION.... 28 March 2006 1900: We'll return to the zone for two days and a night later this week, and we are likely to meet some of the staff when we visit Slavutich, the plant's new dormitory town built from scratch after the disaster. But we won't be going inside the plant again. A crane spotted inside the zone One strong impression: decommissioning a nuclear power station is not easy, especially when you have nowhere to put spent fuel and have to rely on international donors for cash. But it's as nothing compared with the task of making safe the wreckage of a ruined reactor. The task at the moment is actually not so much making it safe, as making it safe enough for future generations to deal with. The hope is that in 50 years' time, people will have a better idea of what to do with the mess. 1500: The Chernobyl plant had four reactors. It was the fourth that exploded, and which was later covered by a sarcophagus of steel and concrete. We have just visited the control room of the first reactor, and talked to staff manning the controls. The reactor has not generated electricity for 10 years, but the nuclear fuel has not been removed, and the safety and cooling systems are still in operation. It's like a patient on life support. In a viewing room overlooking the forbidding gunmetal-grey sarcophagus, we get our first noticeable dose of radiation. Actually, we don't notice it, but our dosimeters do, notching up about two micro-sieverts in the space of 40 minutes. We had almost begun to think they were not working. 1000: We're in the zone, heading for the plant. In our pockets we have radiation metres (dosimeters), a bit smaller than a packet of cigarettes. The zone is an area the size of Greater London where ordinary life came to an end 20 years ago. Inhabitants were evacuated, checkpoints and fences went up, and nature took over. It's full name, literally translated from Ukrainian, is Zone of Alienation. When I last did this drive in 1993, the overgrowth was beginning to engulf an abandoned village on the main road. It was probably waist high. Since then birch trees have shot up everywhere. The village is already becoming woodland again. In a month, when the trees are in leaf, the houses will not be visible at all. ***************************************************************** 18 BBC: Workers make nuclear plant case Last Updated: Wednesday, 29 March 2006 [Chapelcross towers] Workers say there is a strong case for Chapelcross 2 Workers have made the case at Westminster for a replacement power station at Chapelcross near Annan. They were part of a national lobby to press the government to invest in a new generation of atomic power production. The workers held a rally and then met with MPs to highlight their call for nuclear to be part of energy policy. Chapelcross is currently being decommissioned but the workers' delegation said there was a strong case for a new plant on the same site. Shop steward John Rogerson led the Annan delegation to London. "It is very important because we have got to get our MPs on board," he said. Workers also intend to launch a petition both locally and nationally to gather support for a new nuclear station. "We are looking for Chapelcross 2 here," said Mr Rogerson. "We have got a very skilled workforce, we are close to the national grid and we have got the support of the local community." ***************************************************************** 19 POAC: New study tries to link Oyster Creek with childhood cancer The findings, published last week in the International Journal of Health Services, come from the Radiation and Public Health Project. The New York-based group has spent decades studying radiation levels in baby teeth. Oyster Creek officials said the group has made similar claims in the past only to have its findings dismissed by mainstream scientists. " /> + [PressofAtlanticCity.com] By PETE McALEER Statehouse Bureau, (609) 292-4935 Published: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 TRENTON — A new study from an old voice against nuclear energy claims radiation emitted from the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lacey Township has contributed to higher rates of childhood cancer. The findings, published last week in the International Journal of Health Services, come from the Radiation and Public Health Project. The New York-based group has spent decades studying radiation levels in baby teeth. Oyster Creek officials said the group has made similar claims in the past only to have its findings dismissed by mainstream scientists. Oyster Creek, the oldest nuclear power plant in the United States, is seeking a 20-year extension for an operating license that expires in 2009. A group that opposes the relicensing held a news conference Tuesday to publicize the Radiation and Public Health Project study. The author of the study, Joseph Mangano, said he looked at the trends of childhood cancer rates in Ocean and Monmouth counties and found a connection with the trends in radiation levels found in more than 300 baby teeth he collected from volunteers. The teeth were tested for strontium-90, a radioactive substance that increases the risk of cancer, particularly leukemia. “We found a match,†Mangano said. “Five years after radiation levels went up, the childhood cancer rates went up. We have found a statistical link between the routine releases from Oyster Creek and childhood cancer.†An Oyster Creek spokesman said the study contains major flaws. “This group has been making the same claims for about 30 years,†Oyster Creek spokeswoman Rachelle Benson said. “Studies have proven those claims scientifically invalid.†The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection funded a 2005 study that looked at strontium-90 levels around the Oyster Creek plant. The department decided not to renew the funding after its experts determined the group failed to prove Oyster Creek had contributed to an increase in radiation levels. DEP officials said the strontium-90 levels were largely the result of global fallout from nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s and 1960s. The new study looked at areas within a 40-mile radius of Oyster Creek as well as areas surrounding two nuclear power plants in New York. Mangano said the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board should review his study before it holds license renewal hearings for Oyster Creek. “There must be a thorough review and a thorough education for the public about what the risks are,†Mangano said. A doctor with the New Jersey Medical School in Newark, Donald Louria, said Mangano's findings give reason for states and the federal government to conduct studies of disease patterns around every nuclear plant in the United States. “The findings make it clear that government officials must consider health risks when making nuclear policy decisions and that independent researchers should not be the only ones examining in-body radiation levels near U.S. nuclear plants,†Louria said. To e-mail Pete McAleer at The Press: PMcAleer@pressofac.com ***************************************************************** 20 POAC: DEP appeals decision on N-plant concerns On Feb. 27, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board granted an environmental coalition's request for such a hearing on that group's contention that corrosion could prevent the plant's steel drywell liner from blocking the release of radiation in an accident. " [PressofAtlanticCity.com] By BERNARD VAUGHAN Staff Writer, (609) 978-2012 Published: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 Updated: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 The state Department of Environmental Protection has appealed a federal decision denying its request for a hearing to address the department's concerns about the license-renewal application for the Oyster Creek Generating Station, DEP spokeswoman Elaine Makatura said Tuesday. On Feb. 27, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board granted an environmental coalition's request for such a hearing on that group's contention that corrosion could prevent the plant's steel drywell liner from blocking the release of radiation in an accident. The board is a separate branch of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC, the federal agency which oversees the nation's nuclear plants. But the board denied three contentions brought by the DEP, one of which raised concerns that terrorists could fly a plane into Oyster Creek, the nation's oldest plant. The board said that concern was beyond the scope of the license renewal process. Issues related to plant security are best dealt with on an ongoing basis, Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the NRC, said earlier this month. The plant has worked with the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Department of Homeland Security to improve safety at the plant since Sept. 11, 2001, Sheehan said. The operators of Oyster Creek appealed the board's decision to grant a hearing to the environmental coalition, which is comprised of six groups. Exelon, the company that owns Oyster Creek, wants to extend operation of the plant 20 years after its current license expires on April 9, 2009. AmerGen Energy Co., a wholly-owned Exelon subsidiary, operates the plant. To e-mail Bernard Vaughan at The Press: BVaughan@pressofac.com ***************************************************************** 21 Independent: Cost of nuclear clean-up is £9bn more than predicted By Andy McSmith Published: 30 March 2006 Cleaning up Britain's old nuclear power plants will cost at least £9bn more than previous estimates, the Government will announce today. Robot submarines have uncovered vast deposits of radioactive sludge that was left in underground storage tanks at Sellafield, in Cumbria, decades ago and forgotten. It has pushed up the bill now facing taxpayers to £65bn - but that could rise higher if more forgotten deposits are uncovered. The previous estimate for cleaning up after the civil nuclear industry was £56bn. The announcement will stiffen resistance to Tony Blair's plans for a new generation of nuclear power plants, which are likely to be part of the Government's review of energy policy. Speaking in Australia this week, Mr Blair included nuclear power as part of the "mix" of energy sources he claims the UK needs. Trade unionists from Britain's biggest private-sector union, Amicus, which has a large membership in the electricity industry, lobbied MPs yesterday to press the case for more nuclear plants. They are opposed by eight leading Labour MPs who will publish a pamphlet this week arguing that Britain can solve its energy problems without nuclear energy. "Even if we took a decision soon, no new power would arise for perhaps 10 years, and even then we would be no clearer about how to deal with the waste," one of the authors, the former transport minister Alan Whitehead, claimed. The former environment minister Michael Meacher asked in the same pamphlet: "Is it rational or responsible to create yet more mountains of dangerous waste until we have found a satisfactory form of long-term disposal of the gigantic quantity we've already got?" David Chaytor, another author, warned: "Cost, waste, profileration and terrorism have provided powerful arguments for rejecting the nuclear option." Today's figures will be released as part of a comprehensive strategy for demolishing and decontaminating old nuclear plants, a job given last year to the newly created Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. It will show that cleaning up Britain's largest nuclear site, Sellafield, will cost about £40bn and take nearly 150 years. The figure of £69bn only applies to 20 state-owned nuclear plants, most of which are no longer producing electricity. It is does not include newer, privatised plants, or the military laboratory at Aldermaston. © 2006 Independent News and Media Limited ***************************************************************** 22 APP.COM: Hearing to address safety issues at Oyster Creek sought | Asbury Park Press Online :Wednesday, March 29, 2006 Posted by the Asbury Park Presson 03/29/06 BY NICHOLAS CLUNN MANAHAWKIN BUREAU State environmental protection officials want a special public hearing on three issues related to safety at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey. On Tuesday, they filed an appeal toward that aim. The appeal is now before the five presidentially appointed commissioners of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They will decide whether to uphold a decision made by three NRC judges, who rejected the state's hearing petition last month. Officials with the state Department of Environmental Protection want a hearing on the plant's vulnerability to terrorist attacks, the possibility of safety components wearing out, and the availability of critical backup power to help cool the reactor. The hearing would add an extra layer to an ongoing review of the plant. When finished, regulators will decide whether to renew Oyster Creek's operating license for an additional 20 years. Without a renewal, the plant will close in 2009. Officials with the state Department of Environmental Protection filed the appeal on the last day they could, DEP spokeswoman Elaine Makatura said. An NRC spokeswoman said she was unable to verify the filing. The judges are part of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, an arm of the NRC that reviews licensing decisions independent from that agency's technical staff. As a result of a hearing, the judges could force plant officials to strengthen aging-management plans for the plant as a condition of a renewal. A coalition of activist groups opposed to license renewal won a hearing from the judges last month, but that decision has been appealed by plant officials and NRC staff. Copyright © 2006 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 23 APP.COM: Reactor cooling towers' cost called prohibitive | Asbury Park Press Online Wednesday, March 29, 2006 Consultant's figures: $705M+ BY TODD B. BATES ENVIRONMENTAL WRITER Building and running 80-foot cooling towers at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey would cost an estimated $705 million to $801 million over a decade — far higher than a previous estimate, according to a new study. The two rectangular towers would cut water withdrawals from an intake canal linked to Barnegat Bay by 71.4 percent, the study says. But they likely would not be up and running until 2012 to 2014 at the earliest, and their costs would not be worth it. "We don't think that cooling towers are necessary," said Rachelle Benson, a plant spokeswoman. Oyster Creek operator AmerGen Energy Co. commissioned the study from a consultant. If the DEP requires cooling towers at Oyster Creek, "we would have to re-evaluate the business case" to see if the plant would continue to operate, Benson said. But Cynthia A. Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, a Sandy Hook-based coalition, said "it's no surprise that a company hired by Oyster Creek comes to a conclusion that Oyster Creek is looking for." Bill Powers, principal of Powers Engineering, a consulting firm in San Diego, called the cost estimate "ridiculous" and said $90 million would be accurate, not including several million dollars a year in other costs. A March 2 report by an AmerGen consultant provides a detailed analysis of the pluses and minuses of cooling towers at Oyster Creek. AmerGen is seeking U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission permission to keep Oyster Creek open for 20 years beyond 2009, when the plant is scheduled to close. DEP approval needed The state Department of Environmental Protection wants Oyster Creek to build cooling towers to reduce losses of fish and other aquatic life either trapped against water intake screens or pulled into the plant, according to a draft DEP water intake and discharge permit. Two years ago, managers with Exelon, which owns AmerGen, said cooling towers would cost $25 million and "result in Oyster Creek no longer being financially viable," according to a DEP report. Last year, AmerGen estimated that the cost of building cooling towers would be $92.4 million, in 2002 dollars, not including operating and other expenses, according to a company document. The estimated costs, which were based on "preliminary internal evaluations," far outweigh the benefits, it said. The latest estimate — between $705 million and $801 million over 10 years — is more accurate, the new study says. It's also much higher than U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated costs of $79 million to comply with an EPA rule. Oyster Creek withdraws about 1.3 billion gallons of water a day from an intake canal supplied by the bay for plant cooling and for diluting heated discharges, according to a DEP public notice. The once-through cooling water system kills millions of small fish, shrimp and other aquatic creatures every year, according to DEP-cited estimates. The DEP is reviewing the new cooling tower report and is "in the process of putting together" a final discharge permit for Oyster Creek, DEP spokesman Fred Mumford said. The 636-megawatt reactor, the nation's oldest running commercial nuclear plant, produces enough electricity for 600,000 homes. It began operating in 1969. "Optimal" towers studied URS Corp., of Fort Washington, Pa., researched the idea of cooling towers at Oyster Creek for AmerGen. The "chosen location" for the towers would be on 27.7 acres west of Route 9, the URS report says. The area is bounded by a security fence, Route 9 and Oyster Creek's intake canal. It has grasses, shrubs, several mature trees and wetlands. URS chose a hybrid cooling system, with wet evaporative cooling and dry cooling, as the "optimal" type of tower system because of the need to reduce water use and limit visible plumes at Oyster Creek, the report says. "It is paramount that the newly implemented security systems at (Oyster Creek) not be hindered by either an elevated plume or ground fog," the report says. Each fiberglass cooling tower would have 18 cooling cells, it says. But Powers, of Powers Engineering, said "somewhere in the range of 24, 25 cells" would be plenty, and the towers wouldn't necessarily have to be 80 feet high. Lacey Township Administrator John Adams said his concern about cooling towers would be "what would raise . . . people's concerns about their property and any salt and steam coming out of there affecting their homes, their cars." He wondered whether two towers would "draw more attention" and might make Oyster Creek more noticeable, he said. The URS report says cooling towers would not enable Oyster Creek to comply with the EPA rule "any more effectively and efficiently" than it does now. Oyster Creek will comply by "optimizing the existing system," the report says. Aquatic life losses will be reduced by controlling operations and reducing flows at Oyster Creek's dilution pumps, as well as by restoring habitat, the report says. Zipf, of Clean Ocean Action, said Oyster Creek's cooling water system is "causing significant harm to the marine environment of Barnegat Bay, and there is technology . . . that would result in less harm, and Exelon has the money to do it, and they should come into the 21st century." Todd B. Bates: (732) 643-4237 or tbates@app.com. Copyright © 2006 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 24 AFP: British Gov't set to approve nuclear clean-up strategy [Alan Johnson] LONDON (AFP) - The government was expected Thursday to approve a strategy for the withdrawal from service and clean-up of the nation's civil nuclear facilities. Trade and Industry secretary Alan Johnson was set to approve a strategy drawn up by Britain's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, a spokesman for the NDA said. "We are expecting approval of the strategy tomorrow," he told AFP Wednesday. A spokesman for the Department of Trade and Industry said Johnson would give Thursday judgement on the strategy and also on whether to approve the sale of the state-owned British Nuclear Group. The Guardian newspaper said Wednesday that the government would back the sale of BNG, the clean-up arm of British Nuclear Fuels, alongside plans to hand over the decommissioning of atomic sites across Britain to private companies. The sale of BNG would reap 1.0 billion pounds (1.44 billion euros, 1.73 billion dollars), the daily added. Meanwhile the Financial Times said Wednesday that the cost of decommissioning Britain's ageing nuclear power plants would be 9.0 billion pounds higher than ministers' estimates. The NDA was expected to say that it has uncovered far more hazardous radioactive waste than anticipated beneath the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria, northwestern England, the FT reported. The NDA has therefore revised higher its estimate for the total clean-up costs across British sites to 65 billion pounds from 56 billion, it added. "I can't confirm that the figure is either accurate or inaccurate," the NDA spokesman said. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is a non-departmental public body, set up in April 2005. Its strategy was being published after British Prime Minister Tony Blair's goverment announced last November a sweeping review of the country's energy needs that will specifically look into the option of building new nuclear power stations. The government was expected to publish a policy statement later this year. Blair -- who is reportedly in favour of resurrecting Britain's nuclear energy programme -- has suggested that a combination of nuclear and renewable sources such as wind power could be the way forward. Blair believes that Britain, like many countries, needs to diversify out of dependence on one source of energy as the country's existing coal and nuclear plants neared decommissioning. A switch to nuclear would be a major policy shift for Blair and likely to provoke strong reaction from environmentalists but also within his governing Labour Party. Britain has about a dozen nuclear power stations, most of them built in the 1960s and 1970s, providing about 25 percent of the country's electricity, compared with natural gas which provides about 40 percent. Proponents of new reactors -- which emit virtually no carbon dioxide -- argue they would help Britain meet its pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent of 1990 levels by 2010. Opponents highlight a number of issues, particularly the unresolved problem of nuclear waste. AFP ***************************************************************** 25 NRC: Southern Nuclear Operating Company; Joseph M. Farley Nuclear FR Doc E6-4586 [Federal Register: March 29, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 60)] [Notices] [Page 15770-15772] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr29mr06-136] Power Plant, Unit 1; Exemption 1.0 Background The Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC, the licensee) is the holder of Renewed Facility Operating License No. NPF-2 which authorizes operation of Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Power Plant (FNP), Unit 1. The license provides, among other things, that the facility is subject to all rules, regulations, and orders of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, the Commission) now or hereafter in effect. The facility consists of a pressurized-water reactor located in Houston County, Alabama. 2.0 Request/Action Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 50, Appendix R, ``Fire Protection Program for Nuclear Power Facilities Operating Prior to January 1, 1979,'' establishes fire protection features required to satisfy General Design Criterion 3, ``Fire protection,'' of Appendix A to10 CFR Part 50 with respect to certain generic issues for nuclear power plants licensed to operate prior to January 1, 1979. FNP, Unit 1 was licensed to operate prior to January 1, 1979. Therefore, FNP, Unit 1 is directly subject to Appendix R. By letter dated January 19, 2005, as supplemented by letters dated June 9 (two letters) and November 18, 2005, SNC, the licensee for FNP, Unit 1, submitted a request for a permanent exemption from 10 CFR Appendix R, Section III.G.2, pertaining to FNP, Unit 1 (SNC letters NL- 04-2357, NL-05-0937, NL-05-0960 and NL-05-1975, respectively). Specifically, 10 CFR Appendix R, Section III.G.2, would require the use of a 1-hour rated fire barrier for protection of certain safe shutdown control circuits located in Fire Areas 1-013 and 1-042. In lieu of providing such 1-hour rated fire barriers, the licensee proposes the use of fire-rated electrical cable produced by Meggitt Safety System, Inc., (previously known as Whittaker Electronic Resources Unit of Whittaker Electronic Systems) for several cables in Fire Areas 1-013 and 1-042 associated with safe shutdown control circuits. 3.0 Discussion Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12, the Commission may, upon application by any interested person or upon its own initiative, grant exemptions from the requirements of 10 CFR Part 50 when (1) The exemptions are authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to public health or safety, and are consistent with the common defense and security; and (2) when special circumstances are present. These special circumstances are described in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2)(ii), in that the application of these regulations is not necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule. The underlying purpose of Appendix R, Section III.G, is to provide features capable of limiting fire damage so that: (1) One train of systems necessary to achieve and maintain hot shutdown conditions from either the control room or emergency control station(s) is free of fire damage; and (2) systems necessary to achieve and maintain cold shutdown from either the control room or emergency control station(s) can be repaired within 72 hours. 3.1 Overview of Approach Used by Licensee For this specific fire protection application, SNC proposes plant modifications to use 1-hour fire-rated electrical cable in lieu of a 1- hour rated fire barrier as required by 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R, Section III.G.2. Section III.G.2 of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R, provides fire protection requirements for electrical cables located within the same fire area whose failure could cause the maloperation of redundant trains of systems necessary to achieve and maintain hot shutdown conditions. These areas are required to have protection features such that one of the redundant trains will be free of fire damage in the event of a fire. One method, described in Section III.G.2, for ensuring compliance with this requirement is to enclose the cable and equipment and associated non-safety circuits of one redundant train in a 1-hour rated fire barrier. In addition, an area- wide automatic fire suppression and detection system shall be installed in the fire area. A postulated fire in Fire Area 1-013 or 1-042 could cause loss of offsite power; both fire areas contain cable bus ducts from the startup transformers to both redundant trains of the 4 kilovolt (KV) Appendix R safe shutdown (SSD) busses. A postulated fire in either of these fire areas could also potentially impact the function of the Train B 4 KV Emergency Diesel Generator (EDG) 1B control circuitry. The majority of the Train A onsite electrical power system components required for Appendix R SSD are not located in Fire Area 1-013 or 1-042. The following Train A onsite power system related SSD circuits [[Page 15771]] located in Fire Areas 1-013 and 1-042 will be protected by a 1-hour fire-rated electrical cable along with area-wide automatic fire suppression and detection: 1. Protection of control circuitry that could potentially disable the supply of the onsite power from the Train A 4KV EDGs 1-2A and 1-C, or disable supply of 7 Train A onsite power due to inadvertent loading of electronic switching system (ESS) loads onto EDG 1-C: (a) The control interlocks for the automatic alignment of the Train A Swing EDG 1C Incoming Breaker 1-DH07 or 2-DH07 to provide onsite AC power due to loss of offsite power to the shutdown buses. (b) The control interlocks for the automatic alignment of the Train A Swing EDG 1-2A Incoming Breaker 1-DF08 or 2-DF08 to provide onsite AC power due to loss of offsite power to the shutdown buses. (c) The control interlocks for the automatic alignment of Unit 1 600V Load Center 1D Breaker 1-ED13 or Unit 2 600V Load Center 2D Breaker 2-ED13 to MCC 1S (power to the Train A Swing EDG 1-2A auxiliaries) so that the MCC is aligned to the same DG 1-2A. (d) The control interlocks from Unit 2 ESS Sequencer that blocks Unit 1 ESS Sequencer on a Unit 2 safety injection actuation signal (This signal is to prevent inadvertent loading of ESS loads on smaller DG 1C). (e) The control interlock from Unit 1 ESS Sequencer that blocks Unit 2 ESS Sequencer on a Unit 1 safety injection actuation signal (This signal is to prevent inadvertent loading of ESS loads on smaller DG 1C). 2. Protection of the control circuitry that could potentially disable the operation of the 4KV power supply breakers to the Train A Component Cooling Water Pump 1C, Train A Charging Pump 1A, and Train A Motor-Driven Auxiliary Feed-Water Pump 1A. 3. Protection of the control circuitry that could potentially disable the operation of the 600V load center power supply breaker to Train A Pressurizer Heater Group 1A. A 1-hour rated fire barrier as described in Section III.G.2 of 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R is not provided. Instead, these credited Train A components will utilize fire-rated electrical cables (Mineral Insulated (MI) cables). This fire-rated electrical cable has been tested in accordance with American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) E-119, ``Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction Materials.'' 3.2 Technical Evaluation 3.2.1 Test Results The NRC staff reviewed this issue with respect to determining that the fire-rated electrical cables would be capable of providing an equivalent level of protection as would be provided by a 1-hour rated fire barrier as required by 10 CFR part 50, Appendix R, Section III.G.2. The licensee provided copies of the test report, ``Appendix R, One- Hour Fire Resistive Control Cable Test,'' dated August 11, 2004, in its submittal. The cables in Farley, Unit 1 are used as control circuit applications and are rated at 125 volts direct-current (VDC). The licensee's report, listed above, includes the fire test performance results for 8 Conductor 12 AWG Meggitt Safety Systems electrical cable with factory splices and several support systems and attachment methods, when exposed to the ASTM E-119 time-temperature heating curve for a period of 1 hour. 3.2.2 Megger Testing The fire-rated electrical cables at FNP were tested for use in low voltage control circuits. Megger Testing was conducted at 500 VDC, to obtain conductor-to-conductor and conductor-to-ground insulation resistance values, before the fire test, during the fire test, and after the hose stream test. To ensure that the conductor-to-conductor and conductor-to-ground insulation resistance (IR) readings were obtained for all conductor combinations at the peak ASTM E-119 1-hour test temperature, the first test was extended for an additional 38 minutes and 12 seconds with the furnace temperature held as close as possible to 1700 degrees Farenheit until all IR values were recorded. Obtaining insulation resistance values during the fire test by the test method applied provided conservative test results that meet the fire Megger Testing requirements of GL 86-10, Supplement 1, for the FNP specific 1-hour rated control cable application. The NRC staff finds, based on the Megger Testing, that the insulation resistance values are acceptable for the specific application at FNP, Unit 1. 3.2.3 Minimum Insulation Resistance Value The licensee completed a plant circuit-specific analysis and concluded that the control circuit protective devices will not trip during a fire event with an IR value of 5.7 mega-ohms/foot (M'[Omega]/ ft). The minimum IR value recorded during the fire test was 0.8 M'[Omega], and with 24.176 feet of cable inside the furnace, that equated to 19.3 M'[Omega]/ft. This far exceeds the FNP-specific minimum acceptance value of 5.7 M'[Omega]/ft. The NRC staff concludes that, based on the information provided, the minimum IR value recorded during testing is acceptable for the specific application at FNP, Unit 1. 3.2.4 Mechanical Damage Protection Rated 1-hour electrical cable raceway fire barriers are tested in a furnace and subject to a hose stream test that ensures the raceway and the barriers will stay in place following a fire exposure. The fire- rated electrical cables were tested in a furnace and subjected to a hose stream. Since the fire-rated electrical cables themselves are the barriers, any mechanical damage that occurs to the cables may cause the cables to fail. The licensee's letter dated June 9, 2005, stated that the areas where the fire-rated electrical cables are routed are protected with area-wide automatic fire suppression and detection systems, as required by Appendix R Section III.G.2.c. In addition, the routing for each fire-rated electrical cable was established by plant walk-downs to protect against potential physical hazards. The licensee stated that the fire-rated electrical cables are also safety-related and will be installed to meet the FNP routing requirements for Class 1E cable protection from physical hazards. The fire-rated electrical cables are only routed in safety-related Class 1 structures, and all safety-related and nonsafety-related equipment and components in these structures are seismically supported. The NRC staff concludes, based on the information provided, that there is adequate protection from mechanical damage to demonstrate equivalence to a raceway fire barrier system for the specific application at FNP, Unit 1. 3.2.5 Galvanized Supports When in contact with galvanized supports, fire-resistive electrical cable produced by Meggitt Safety Systems, Inc. has been reported to experience degradation due to liquid metal embrittlement. This degradation occurs at the positions where the galvanized supports are in direct contact with the stainless steel cable jacket. Section 4, subsection j of Meggitt Safety Systems engineering document, ``Unpacking, Inspection, Installation and Standard Practices for 8/C 12 AWG Si 2400 Fire-Rated Cable For J.M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Revision D,'' states that ``Si Fire Cable may be routed in cable trays; Stainless steel trays are recommended. Cable should not be installed in galvanized trays and should NOT be in direct contact with galvanized or aluminum trays or structures.'' The NRC staff concludes, based on the information provided in the engineering document, that the installation standard [[Page 15772]] will adequately address the concern with galvanized supports for the specific application at FNP, Unit 1. 3.2.6 Defense-in-Depth The following are the fire protection defense-in-depth objectives: (1) To prevent fires from starting; (2) to detect rapidly, control, and extinguish promptly those fires that do occur; and (3) to provide protection for structures, systems, and components important to safety so that a fire that is not promptly extinguished by the fire suppression activities will not prevent the safe shutdown of the plant. The licensee stated that Fire Areas 1-013 and 1-042 are provided with area-wide automatic fire suppression and detection systems. The use of fire-rated electrical cables is a substitute for 1-hour rated fire barriers that are required by 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R, and supports the third defense-in-depth objective. For this specific application, the licensee has demonstrated that the fire-rated electrical cables used are a suitable alternative to the 1-hour rated fire barrier as required by 10 CFR part 50, Appendix R. 4.0 Conclusion The NRC staff concludes that, on the bases of the discussions in the sections above, for the specific application of this material, the licensee has adequately demonstrated that this fire-rated electrical cable will perform in an equivalent manner when compared to a rated barrier for this use. The NRC staff also concludes that the use of the MI cable for these purposes, meets the underlying purpose of Appendix R and, that, therefore special circumstances are present. Accordingly, the Commission has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 50.12(a), the exemption is authorized by law, will not present an undue risk to the public health and safety, and is consistent with the common defense and security. Therefore, the Commission hereby grants Southern Nuclear Operating Company an exemption from the requirements to 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix R, Section III.G.2, to the extent that it requires protection of cables of one redundant train of safe shutdown equipment by a 1-hour rated fire barrier, for Fire Areas 1-013 and 1-042. The fire-rated electrical cables provide an equivalent level of protection necessary to achieve the underlying purpose of the rule for Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Unit 1. Pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, the Commission has determined that the granting of this exemption will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment (71 FR 12219, March 9, 2006). This exemption is effective upon issuance. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 22nd day of March 2006. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Edwin M. Hackett, Acting Director, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E6-4586 Filed 3-28-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 26 Morris Daily Herald: NRC set to review La Salle evaluation news@morrisdailyherald.com 3/29/2006 4:50:00 PM Plant operated safely in 2005 By Jo Ann Hustis Herald Writer LISLE – Region 3 Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Jan Strasma expects little to generate from next week’s public performance assessment meeting on La Salle Gen-erating Sta-tion. “I don’t ex-pect anything to de-velop from this meeting. The whole purpose is to present to the utility what our findings are, and they have received our letter describing our findings,” he said today. “And so, there are no surprises for the utility, and I would expect no surprises for us.” The NRC and Exelon Nuclear officials will conduct the public hearing on Thursday, April 6, to discuss the agency’s assessment of safety performance during 2005 at La Salle Station in Brookfield Township, southwest of Seneca. The meeting will be at 3 p.m. at the Brookfield Township Hall, 2099 East 27th Road. A question and comment period will be a part of the meeting, Strasma said. “We’re always willing to talk to people about the job we do,” he noted. Although the Exelon officials who will be present are directly associated with La Salle Station, the public may still pose questions on other issues involving the utility’s nuclear fleet, Strasma said. “We’ll be holding similar performance assessment meetings for Braidwood and Dresden stations later this spring,” he noted. “These are pretty much site-specific meetings. “But, just because it’s a La Salle Station meeting next week, we’re not going to ban someone who has other questions.” Both Braidwood Generating Station at Braceville and Dresden Generating Station at Morris, as well as Byron Generating Station at Rockford, have faced issues recently involving tritium-laced water spills at their locations. Tritium is a naturally occurring isotope of hydrogen which emits a very low level of radiation and is found in more-concentrated levels in water used in nuclear generating stations. The differences between La Salle Station and the other three facilities are the differences between a boiling water reactor and a pressurized water reactor. La Salle Station is a boiling water reactor, which reuses the same water all the time, and does not discharge water, plant spokesman Anne Thomas said earlier this month. Braidwood, Byron, and Dresden are pressurized reactors and discharge water. The NRC’s assessment indicates La Salle Station operated safely last year. As a result, the NRC is conducting the normal, baseline level of inspections this year at the station, including emergency preparedness, monitoring of gaseous and liquid effluents, and processing and transportation of radioactive material. Strasma did not know what kind of turnout to expect at the meeting next week. “We’re making ourselves available to the public, and if they’re interested and have the time, we’d be happy to sit down with them and hear their questions, and provide them with information about the job we do,” he noted. “How many will show up for a meeting about a plant which is operating routinely and safely, and has been doing so for a number of years, I don’t know.” Morris Daily Herald • 1804 N. Division St. • Morris, Illinois 60450 (815) 942-3221 • (800) 215-9778 ***************************************************************** 27 Japan Times: Tokai unveils replica of deadly uranium plant TOKAI, Ibaraki Pref. (Kyodo) A full-scale replica of the uranium facility where a deadly criticality accident took place in 1999 was unveiled Tuesday in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, so future generations can learn from the disaster. [News photo] A replica of a uranium solution settling tank that was the site of the nation's worst nuclear accident is unveiled in the village of Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture. At the opening ceremony, Tokai Mayor Tatsuya Murakami told some 70 people the fiasco there at nuclear fuel processor JCO Co. damaged public trust in atomic energy, which is the core of the nation's future energy policy. "We need to learn lessons from the failure," he said. Murakami had wanted to preserve the original JCO facility, where the accidentally created self-sustaining nuclear reaction eventually killed two JCO workers and exposed hundreds of workers and residents to radiation. Nuclear experts and antinuclear campaigners were in favor of preserving the site, but the village assembly was not, and the villagers couldn't decide whether to preserve it or remove it, resulting in the replica, a village official said. The replica, built at the Ibaraki Science Museum of Atomic Energy in Tokai, features a model of the processing tank where JCO workers using buckets bypassed standard procedure and set off a chain reaction by pouring in too much uranium solution. The exhibit also displays a chronology of the disaster, showing how it was caused and how JCO, the local and central governments, and the villagers reacted to deal with it. According to the exhibit's on-screen explanation, three JCO workers, two of whom later died, were irradiated when the chain reaction began at 10:35 a.m. on Sept. 30, 1999. At 3 p.m., Mayor Murakami decided that residents living within 350 meters of the JCO compound should evacuate. It was the first evacuation in Japan due to a nuclear accident. At 10:30 p.m., a government task force agreed to stop the chain reaction by draining cooling water from the processing tank. This brought the criticality to an end at 6:14 a.m. on Oct. 1. The evacuees were allowed to return home at 6:30 p.m. the following day. The screen also gives testimonies by others who were impacted by the disaster. Masatoshi Akutsu, manager of a vineyard in the village, said the accident damaged the reputation of his grapes. "I abandoned most of the grapes as many clients told me they do not want grapes that were hit by radiation," he said. The replica will open to the public Saturday. "I believe we should have preserved the JCO facility itself as a bitter legacy," Kazumasa Aizawa, the first nuclear foe in Tokai elected to the village assembly. The Japan Times: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 (C) All rights reserved Advertisein japantimes.co.jp. The Japan Times Ltd. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 28 WFSB: Rally Set at Millstone Plant WATERFORD -- A group of concerned citizens will rally outside the Millstone nuclear power plant Wednesday. The Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone wants to call attention to the plant's security system. Members say the system is vulnerable to terrorists because it is routinely disabled during windy weather conditions. Today's rally coincides with a pair of public meetings to discuss Millstone's safety review. At three o'clock -- the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet with representatives of Dominion -- the company in charge of Millstone. And at six o'clock -- the NRC will be meeting with the state leaders. Both meetings will focus on the plant's safety. All content © Copyright 2001 - 2006 WorldNow and WFSB. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 29 UPI: Russians balk on light-water reactor deal United Press International - Security &Terrorism - 3/29/2006 3:07:00 PM -0500 WASHINGTON, March 29 (UPI) -- Russia will only build a light-water reactor to burn 34 tons of excess plutonium if it is paid for by others, a U.S. energy official said Wednesday. The United States and Russia agreed in the year 2000 to each burn 34 metric tons of plutonium in a nuclear reactor, thus providing both energy and keeping the material out of the hands of terrorists. Russian government officials now want to use the plutonium to fuel a Russian-built fast-breeder reactor, said Jerald S. Paul, the principal deputy administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration at the Energy Department during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. "The Russians are no longer committed to the program as" agreed in 2000, Paul said. "They are still committed to the destruction of 34 metric tons of plutonium but their preference is for a fast (breeder) reactor unless the international community provides all the money to do it." Fast-breeder reactors are generally considered a greater proliferation risk than light-water reactors as they produce, or "breed," more fissile material than they consume; depending on the configuration of the reactor, the material could be used for weapons. Light-water reactors must be refueled every few months to continue to produce fissile material. The Russians are building a BN-800 (800 MWe) fast-breeder reactor at Beloyarsk. The program to build mixed-oxide fueled light-water reactors in South Carolina and in Russia has hit repeated snags. The two countries were initially supposed to begin burning plutonium in 2007, but that date has been pushed back to at least 2013, according to Energy Department documents. The countries lost two years over disagreements about who would be liable in the event of a nuclear accident in Russia. The United States has a $10 billion fund for nuclear accidents. The international community has donated about $850 million for the construction of a Russian light-water reactor, which will cost an estimated $2.7 billion, up from initial estimates of $1.5 billion. The U.S. MOX reactor will cost about $3.5 billion, up from the $1 billion estimated in 2002. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 30 BBC: US Senate in 'dirty bomb' warning Last Updated: Wednesday, 29 March 2006 [San Ysidro border post between Mexico and the US] Radiation detectors are being installed at US ports of entry US senators have urged the government to act more quickly to strengthen border security after radioactive material was brought into the country. The quantity of Cesium-137 was said to be enough to build two dirty bombs. The Senate Homeland Security Committee began hearings on Tuesday to discuss an undercover operation by US agents. They crossed into the US from both Canada and Mexico with the material, despite radiation detection alarms going off when they went through. Border guards let them through after being shown false paperwork. At the opening of the Homeland Security Committee hearings, lawmakers described the incident as "an alarming wake-up call". "If terrorists were to obtain nuclear or radiological material and smuggle it into this country, the consequences could be catastrophic," said Republican Senator Susan Collins, the chairwoman of the panel. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in its report on the incident: "The [Customs and Border Patrol] inspectors never questioned the authenticity" of the documents shown. The radioactive material was bought from a commercial source by telephone, the GAO said. Vendors are not required to ask about or check a purchaser's documentation when small quantities are purchased, the agency said. 'Pre-9/11 mindset' The GAO said the radioactive material was enough for two dirty bombs - devices that use conventional explosives to spread dangerous radiation over a wide area. It also found that the installation of 3,034 radiation detectors at US border crossings, seaports, airports and mail facilities was taking longer and costing more than anticipated. "This operation demonstrated that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission [NRC] is stuck in a pre-9/11 mindset in a post-9/11 world and must modernise its procedures," said Republican Senator Norm Coleman, the chairman of the Senate committee, who ordered the investigation. However, NRC spokesman David McIntyre defended his body and disputed that there was enough material to make two bombs. "It was basically the radioactive equivalent of what's in a smoke detector," he told the Associated Press news agency. ***************************************************************** 31 AFP: US to beef up nuclear detection ability at ports Wed Mar 29, 10:30 AM ET SINGAPORE (AFP) - The United States will spend more than 500 million dollars to boost its ability to detect nuclear weapons material at US ports, Homeland Security" /> Secretary Michael Chertoff" /> said. Chertoff said the money will be used to buy high-tech equipment that can monitor radioactive materials and other items that can be used to make a nuclear bomb and packed in a container bound for US ports. US President George W. Bush" /> has set up a domestic nuclear detection office that will manage "innovation, research and the deployment of anti-nuclear detection equipment," Chertoff said at the US Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. He said Bush's national budget this year "put over 500 million dollars" into the effort. "Perhaps the greatest threat -- and the one we work hardest to prevent because there's very little you can do to respond -- is the possibility of a nuclear device being detonated by a terrorist," Chertoff said. "Unlike other kinds of threats where response and protection can mitigate the damage, in a nuclear bomb there's not a lot of protection against it and there's not a lot of response. You better prevent it up front." Washington has embarked on a strategy to make sure that containers bound for US ports are thoroughly inspected following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States which killed about 3,000 people. There are fears militant groups may smuggle in components of a nuclear device. Among the key measures against the smuggling, US customs officers are now stationed in main ports abroad including Singapore as part of an initiative that allows them to inspect containers at the point of shipment. Singapore is the world's biggest container port. Chertoff, whose department covers the security of maritime ports, said the US government will continue to push for technology to improve port screening. By next year, close to 100 percent of all containers passing through US ports will be screened for nuclear radiation using a special monitor. "But we want to build the next level of monitors -- wider, quicker, cheaper and more precise," he said. In order to avoid bottlenecks, these radiation monitors can inspect containers for radioactive materials while the boxes are being moved. Washington will also work with major ports worldwide to install radiation monitors. Singapore is one of the first ports where this initiative will be tested, said Chertoff, a senior justice department official named to the post in January. He is on a tour of the region. The United States will also improve its inspection and tracking of containers to prevent them from being tampered with. "We're going to be looking in the next year or two to build a capacity to have better information about what's in containers. We're going to look to the private sector to pioneer this," he said. An estimated 80 percent of global trade is carried at sea. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 32 Herald News: County concludes round of well tests [SuburbanChicagoNews.com] Tritium-level checks: Lawmakers working to toughen leak laws By Kim Smith STAFF WRITER BRACEVILLE Will County health officials are done with their first round of well testing around the Braidwood nuclear power plant. Test results should be available within two weeks. The wells are being tested as a precaution in the wake of Exelon's admission of several spills of the radioactive substance tritium. "We are also looking for people who have documented health issues that may be related to the power plant," Will County spokesman Vic Reato said. Residents concerned about their health should contact Reato at (815) 727-5088. The county has an epidemiologist on staff who will be working on the possible problems. The latest information on the tritium drinking water sampling is on the Will County Health Department's Web site, www.willcountyhealth.org. The Will County testing is only for the portions of Godley and Reed Township that are in Will County. A small portion of Godley is in Grundy County. Kathleen Veldhuizen, administrator for the Grundy County Health Department, said the county looked into possible cancer clusters and overall rates two years ago with an epidemiologist from the Illinois Department of Public Health. "We did not note anything of significance at that time," Veldhuizen said. Gene Shostrom, director of environmental health for Grundy County, said they are closely monitoring the situation and will implement their own program if contamination shows up in the Will County wells. "The Will County wells are closer to the source of contamination than the wells on the Grundy County side," Shostrom said. "People understand that distance is a factor." Tougher laws Recently, state and federal lawmakers banded together to toughen laws regulating nuclear power plants. On Monday, state Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete, and Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi, D-Joliet, supported a law sponsored by state Rep. Careen Gordon and Sen. Gary Dahl, R-Granville. Both houses of the Illinois Legislature recently passed the bill. If signed into law, power plant owners or operators will be required to report any unplanned releases of radioactive materials to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency within 24 hours. The legislation calls for the IEPA to propose new rules and standards for detecting unpermitted releases of radioactive substances. The bill also allows for unannounced inspections. Previously, power plants were only regulated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The IEPA only became involved when groundwater was found to be contaminated with tritium. Involved Obama U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, recently spoke to NRC officials about the pending legislation. During the meeting, NRC Chairman Nils J. Diaz said Commonwealth Edison officials, who were managing the plant during the 1998 and 2000 leaks, knew it was tritiated water that had leaked out into the groundwater. "But it was really never treated as a major issue," Diaz said, according to a transcript of the meeting. Diaz went on to say tritium is a normal component of water everywhere and the EPA safe drinking water guidelines are 20,000 picocuries per liter. The NRC and Exelon officials say no significant amounts of tritium have been found in any private wells tested and there have been no significant threats to public health and safety. Obama wants nuclear companies to report radioactive releases immediately as they occur. Critical report A new report released Tuesday by the Nuclear Information and Resource Service finds that all the stated U.S. radioactive waste policies have failed and hold no potential for success. The watchdog group recommended, as it did 12 years ago, that an independent blue-ribbon commission be established to create new workable, scientifically defensible radioactive waste policies. "The U.S. has no better idea of what to do with high-level atomic waste than it did 20 years ago," said Kevin Kamps, lead author for the NIRS. Storage solutions? Exelon Corp. is now storing tritium-contaminated water in tanks surrounded by a berm while it studies ways to safely dispose of the water. Previously, the contaminated waters were diluted and then discharged into the Kankakee River. High winds recently blew over parts of the berm, causing a spill onto the power plant property. Additionally, recent heavy rains washed low levels of tritium along a narrow path into a drain tile and ditch near the Braidwood nuclear plant. The company said the result of the leak was low, but detectable concentrations of the radioactive isotope being discovered. There have also been numerous lawsuits filed against the power giant. Exelon is now providing bottled water to about 420 residents while the county double checks the wells. - Reporter Kim Smith can be reached at (815) 729-6067 or via e-mail at ksmith@scn1.com.03/29/06 SuburbanChicagoNews.com — © Digital Chicago & Sun-Times ***************************************************************** 33 toledoblade.com: Not just a business deal Article published Wednesday, March 29, 2006 THE Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority is to be commended for its thoughtful and extended deliberation over a loan package to aid a proposed new beryllium refining plant near Elmore in Ottawa County. As Blade reporting over the past six years has shown, jobs in the beryllium industry are not ordinary factory jobs. They are jobs that come with a potentially high price in terms of worker health and safety, a price the community could end up paying for many years to come. In other words, the application by Brush Wellman, Inc., for $7.5 million in bond financing for the $60 million plant should not be considered a routine business deal. Public bodies such as the port board have a responsibility to be more than reliable rubber stamps for industries that seek taxpayer backing for their enterprises. As board member Ken Dobson put it, "There are human lives involved in this process." Moreover, despite concerns voiced by board member Bill Carroll, penetrating questions about the safety of the proposed plant do not constitute an attack on Brush Wellman as a corporate citizen. On the contrary, a thorough review would be evidence that the board possesses a collective social conscience all too often found lacking in the business world. The company says the new plant, which would create 25 jobs, would be heavily automated in order to minimize exposure to beryllium dust, which in the past presented serious - and often lethal - health problems for some 1,200 workers. In 1999, The Blade began an exhaustive series of articles that revealed a 50-year pattern of misconduct by the industry and the federal government, including allowing workers to be exposed to unsafe levels of beryllium dust, a by-product of the manufacture of the metal, used by the military to make nuclear weapons. Brush Wellman closed its old beryllium plant at Elmore in 2000 when the government began selling the metal from a national stockpile. Because that stockpile is expected to be depleted by 2011, the company is in the process of deciding whether to build the new facility in Ottawa County or near a company mine in Utah. In order to study safety concerns about the proposed plant, the port board has delayed action on the bond package for at least 30 days. That's a good start. The review should take as long as necessary for all members' questions - and the concerns of the public - to be thoroughly answered. The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660 , (419) 724-6000 ***************************************************************** 34 APP.COM: "Tooth Fairy Project" follow-up links radiation, childhood cancer | Asbury Park Press Online Wednesday, March 29, 2006 03/29/06 BY NICHOLAS CLUNN MANAHAWKIN BUREAU The scientist behind the "Tooth Fairy Project" announced yet another study Tuesday connecting the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey with childhood cancer. Joseph J. Mangano of the Radiation and Public Health Project said the study shows the "strongest link" between routine releases of low-level radiation and the presence of the deadly disease in children younger than 10. But the findings, published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Health Services earlier this month, probably won't sway state radiation experts, let alone the country's leading health groups. In January, the state Commission on Radiation Protection released a report that questioned the validity of the research group and recommended to Gov. Corzine that the state not fund its work. The National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society have published studies finding no evidence connecting cancer cases and nuclear reactors. "Joseph Mangano and his group, for 30 years they have been consistently dismissed by mainstream scientists," said plant spokeswoman Rachelle Benson. Suzanne Leta, who works on energy issues for the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, said the study's results should cause Corzine to oppose a 20-year renewal of Oyster Creek's operating license. Federal regulators are expected to decide on the extension by 2008. Without it, the plant will close in 2009. "Governor Corzine should do everything he can to minimize the public health risks that are linked to radiation by closing Oyster Creek on schedule," she said. Leta joined Mangano in announcing the study during a news conference in Trenton. Mangano said he had no position on whether Oyster Creek should receive a renewal, but he insisted that regulators should study the health effects of low-level radiation before making a decision. "There must be a thorough review of all the health risks and the public should be informed about those risks," he said. "Only then can a solid decision be made." "Tooth Fairy Project'" Mangano may be best known for a prior study he authored. It was called the "Tooth Fairy Project" and it suggested a correlation between cancer deaths in counties around reactors -- Monmouth and Ocean included -- and levels of strontium-90, a radioactive isotope that's released by reactors and can be measured in baby teeth. Actor Alec Baldwin and supermodel Christie Brinkley helped publicize the study when the research group came to Dover Township to announce its results in May 2000. Mangano said the strongest case related to Oyster Creek in the new study is a line graph. One line represents cancer incidence in children who are younger than 10 and who live in either Ocean or Monmouth counties. The other line represents the level of strontium-90 measured in baby teeth collected in the same geographic area. When the line showing the amount of the isotope in teeth dips and climbs, the line showing cancer cases follows, in relatively the same direction, five years later. A major sticking point is the source of the isotope. The state radiation commission said it's highly likely that presence of strontium-90 in baby teeth is from fallout generated by worldwide nuclear weapons testing. Elaine Makatura, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said it's difficult to explain higher incidence of cancer in given areas since there are many variables, including genetics and other environmental factors. "It's very difficult to determine what causes cancer," she said. "It would be an oversimplification of the issue to suggest that any one study can incorporate all of the variables." Nicholas Clunn: (609) 978-4597 or nclunn@app.com Copyright © 2006 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 35 Salt Lake Tribune: Radioactive munitions Opinion Article Last Updated: 03/28/2006 11:29 PM MST Depleted uranium is extremely toxic and has a radioactive half-life of 4.5 billion years. It is a byproduct of nuclear energy production. HR2410, The Depleted Uranium Munitions Study Act, calls for in-depth studies to be conducted on DU and its effects on the health of those exposed to it. DU, according to the BBC, is “a very heavy substance, 1.7 times denser than lead, and it is highly valued by armies for its ability to punch through armored vehicles. When a weapon made with a DU tip or core strikes a solid object, like the side of a tank, it goes straight through it and then erupts in a burning cloud of vapor. The vapor settles as dust, which is chemically poisonous and also radioactive.” We need a study to determine what DU is doing to our soldiers. Anthony Noble South Jordan © Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. webmaster@sltrib.com ***************************************************************** 36 Beaver County Times Allegheny Times: Radiation effects disputed News - 03/29/2006 - The Times / Lucy Schaly In a study published last week in the peer-review International Journal of Health Services, researcher Joe Mangano said he found a correlation between radiation in the areas surrounding nuclear power plants and childhood cancer rates. However, other research disputes the connection. The new study is fueling opponents of a bid to extend the license of the aging Oyster Creek plant in Trenton, N.J., for 20 more years after the plant's license expires in 2009. Suzanne Leta, who works on energy issues for the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, said the study is important because it suggests that nuclear power plants are a danger not only because of the effects of large amounts of radiation that might leak out during an accident, but also because of potentially harmful effects of low levels of regularly emitted radiation. "You've got to be preventive," Leta said. Oyster Creek, which is owned by Chicago-based Exelon, opened in 1969 and is the oldest operating commercial nuclear plant in the United States. Exelon spokesman Pete Resler said Mangano's study has problems. "Mr. Mangano's work has been around for about 30 years attempting to link strontium 90 to childhood cancer," Resler said. "Ever since the beginning, it has been fully refuted by mainstream science." In 2004, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection questioned some of Mangano's findings about strontium levels and found that nearly all strontium in the environment came from Cold War-era aboveground nuclear weapons tests rather than nuclear power plants. Todd Schneider, a spokesman for FirstEnergy Corp, said safety is the top concern when it comes to workers in nuclear power plants and residents in the surrounding areas, including the Shippingport nuclear power station in Beaver County. "We meet or exceed all federal regulations regarding plant operations," Schneider said. "It's important to remember that most of our employees live around the plant, and we're not seeing any issues like this." Schneider said it's important to consider that an anti-nuclear group is circulating the "so-called scientific study to stop the relicensing of a nuclear plant. That, in and of itself, impacts the validity of the study. Other truly scientific studies have shown nuclear plants do not pose a health risk to the surrounding community." Jen Thompson, a spokeswoman for the National Cancer Institute, said there are no available statistics regarding childhood cancer rates in Beaver County. The cancer institute did a study of mortality rates in counties with nuclear facilities in 1991. That study showed there was no general increased risk of death from cancer for people living in 107 counties containing or closely adjacent to 62 nuclear facilities. Beaver County was included in that study. The institute also provided copies of two studies published in "Health Physics" in 2003, which studied cancer rates in residents in Armstrong and Westmoreland counties. One study showed "no increase in cancer risk could be linked to living near the former Apollo and Parks nuclear materials processing facilities." This was provided that the plants operated within federal limits, and there were only small releases of radioactivity, the study said. The results of the second study showed "both the cancer incidence and mortality data over a nearly 50-year period are consistent in showing no elevated cancer rates in populations living near the two former nuclear facilities." The Oyster Creek study, which looked at the areas around Oyster Creek and also the Indian Point plant and the Brookhaven National Laboratories in New York, found that cancer rates in children under 10 seemed to closely mirror the level of radiation found in baby teeth five years earlier. Five years after the radiation levels rose in the late 1980s, for example, the cancer rate in children under 10 also increased. Radiation samples were taken from baby teeth collected by researchers and tested for strontium 90, a radioactive chemical. The chemical itself is linked to health risks, but it's useful to researchers because, unlike some radioactive byproducts, it is relatively easy to trace. Mangano, the national coordinator of the Norristown, Pa.-based Radiation and Public Health Project and the study's author, said further studies should be done to verify his findings. He said the information should be considered by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board as it considers renewing the license for Oyster Creek. Phillip Patton, an associate professor of health physics and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, said the data for the study appeared to be accurate. But he said some of the data may not be statistically significant and that it may be a leap to use it to argue against nuclear power plants. He said that cancer rates could be even higher around coal plants, for example. Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2006 Copyright © 2006 Beaver Newspapers, Inc. All Rights ***************************************************************** 37 Guardian Unlimited: Private sector to run Sellafield as the government sells its nuclear operator Terry Macalister Wednesday March 29, 2006 The Guardian Control of Britain's most controversial nuclear site, Sellafield, will move into the private sector through the sale of its state-owned operator, British Nuclear Group, the government will announce tomorrow. The £1bn disposal will come alongside wider plans to hand over decommissioning of atomic sites around the country to private companies amid confirmation that clean-up costs have soared to more than £70bn. Industry secretary Alan Johnson will unveil the plans at a time when he is still in the middle of an energy review and yet to decide whether to go ahead with a new generation of nuclear power plants. He will tell parliament he has given the green light to the basic clean-up strategy drawn up by the new Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to solve the UK's clean-up - a pre-condition to new plants being built. Mr Johnson will reveal a slightly revised and slower timetable but the NDA will oversee contracts being parcelled out to private companies, likely to include US giants such as Bechtel and Fluor. The first contract will be to oversee the low-level waste site at Drigg in Cumbria currently looked after by BNG, the main operating arm of British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. A tender is expected to go out shortly and an award could be made this year while Sellafield tenders are expected to go out in 2007 as part of the BNG privatisation. There was talk of breaking the Sellafield clean-up contract into two but the government has decided against this, according to Whitehall sources. The sell-off of BNG will include a contract to operate and clean-up Sellafield as well as BNG's 11 Magnox atomic power plants, many of which have already reached the end of their lives. US companies such as Bechtel - already part of a consortium that operates some London Underground lines - are likely to bid alongside a British partner such as Amec. The UK company, whose chief executive announced his retirement last week, is already bidding for a £100m clean-up related contract at Sellafield. But full disposal of the Cumbrian plant, where 10,000 staff work on what is believed to be the UK's biggest industrial site, is likely to generate the most public debate. Any sale of BNG had alarmed trade union leaders worried about the pension arrangements of their members. But the government is believed to have won their support by promising to ensure that any private sector buyer of BNG agrees to stick to the current scheme, at least for existing members. The sale of BNG, which has been encouraged by its management, follows the earlier disposal of its US arm - BNG America - and BNFL's design and engineering group, Westinghouse, which went to Toshiba of Japan for £2.9bn. With these three organisations out of the way, BNFL will be left with a 33% holding in uranium fuel manufacturer Urenco and research group Nexia. The NDA declined to comment on its plans but chairman Sir Anthony Cleaver will tomorrow accept that the cost of clean-up continues to rise as more information is gathered on what is required. Extra provisions for dealing with contaminated land is expected to be one of the reasons given for escalating costs. At the time the draft NDA strategy was released last summer the cost of operating and decommissioning all of Britain's nuclear legacy was £56bn. Now it is believed to have gone above £70bn. Useful links Opec International Energy Agency American Petroleum Institute Energy Institute [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 38 Sydney Morning Herald: China's energy needs drive uranium search - World - smh.com.au Mary-Anne Toy Herald Correspondent in Beijing March 30, 2006 CHINA began its mission to become a nuclear power in 1951, when it signed a secret deal with Russia under the guise of developing clean nuclear energy. But half a century later its voracious energy needs mean it is actually focusing on developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. China's energy self-sufficiency ended in 1993, when it was forced to become a net importer of oil to meet the demands of its surging economic growth, and although it is the world's second-largest consumer of oil after the US, its fuel of necessity is coal. It is the world's biggest producer and biggest consumer of coal, but the environmental degradation resulting from its reliance on freely polluting coal, much of it brown coal with a high sulfur content, is unsustainable. The environmental degradation from China's rapid industrialisation has reached the point where it is interfering with future growth. Bodies such as the World Bank have estimated that the cost of environmental pollution is equivalent to several percentage points of gross domestic product. Monday's surprise announcement that during his visit to Australia this week the Premier, Wen Jiabao, expects to sign a landmark deal, not only to buy uranium but also to give China a direct role in exploring and mining Australia's uranium reserves, is the latest example of China's determination to secure and diversify its energy supplies. Under its 11th five-year plan, formally adopted this month, China is trying to diversify away from the polluting fossil fuels that have powered the development of its $US2.2 trillion ($3.1 trillion) economy, which this year has overtaken Britain to be the world's fourth-biggest. As part of that plan, China aims to increase its nuclear energy production sixfold by 2020. To achieve this, it will have to start up at least two new generators every year, with a capacity of at least 1 million kilowatts. China is estimated to have 70,000 tonnes of economically recoverable uranium - more than enough for its military purposes, but insufficient to meet its energy demands. Of Australia's existing three uranium mines, South Australia's Olympic Dam alone has known reserves of 1.5 million tonnes. It is believed that domestic supplies of about 750 tonnes a year, mainly from the several mines in Gansu province, meet about half of China's demand. China has discovered deposits in many provinces but many of these remain undeveloped due to technology constraints and expense. Australia, which has 40 per cent of the world's uranium reserves, and a proven record as a resources supplier, is ideally placed to meet China's uranium needs. With uranium prices rocketing to $US40.50 a pound from about $US9 a pound in recent years, total Australian uranium exports are worth about $US355 million. But some analysts predict sales to China could see exports soar to more than $US1 billion by 2010. China's existing nine nuclear power generators produce about 6.6 gigawatts of power. Another two generators are being built, with plans for another 30 much more powerful reactors by 2020 that would bring annual output to about 40 gigawatts of energy. However, because of the country's massive power needs, this will mean that nuclear energy accounts for just over 4 per cent of power supplies, up from slightly more than 2 per cent now. The Vice-Minister for Science and Technology, Ma Songde, said last month that it was essential to exploit nuclear energy as, despite huge dam projects, hydropower was limited and China had to try to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. However, China's record in nuclear weapons proliferation has many worried. China's National Nuclear Corporation is responsible for civilian and military nuclear activities. It is a huge industrial conglomerate comprising 200 enterprises and institutions, with more than 280,000 employees, coming directly under the powerful State Council. The Federation of American Scientists, the panel of experts set up by members of the Manhattan Project that developed the first atomic bomb, says the main priority of the corporation has been fulfilling defence needs, although it concedes that, since 1996, increasing priority has been given to nuclear power generation. The general manager of the Beijing energy consultancy Falcon Pioneer Technology, Han Xiaoping, said Australia should not be worried about the diversion of its uranium into any military uses because China would fully accept International Atomic Energy Agency regulations and safeguards, along with inspections of its civilian nuclear facilities under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. "I will be very glad to see a uranium sale contract signed during Premier Wen's visit … because China faces a serious environment problem from coal-based power generation," Mr Han said. "If China cannot find a better solution, it will not only deteriorate the global environment, but also destabilise international oil prices." Illegal timber heads for Beijing PORT MORESBY: China is laundering vast amounts of illegal timber from Papua New Guinea's forests, a Greenpeace report claims. The report, Sharing the Blame: Global Consumption and China's Role in Ancient Forest Destruction, documents illegally logged timber from PNG shipped to China for domestic consumption and export. Greenpeace investigators said they had identified PNG logs at veneer and plywood mills in China that had come from PNG concessions being illegally logged by Malaysian timber company Rimbunan Hijau and other logging companies. Dorothy Tekwie, PNG Greenpeace forest campaigner, said: "China's rapidly expanding demand for cheap wood products is taking its toll across Asia Pacific's Paradise Forests." China was the world's largest importer of tropical woods and nearly all trees logged in PNG ended up in China, she said, adding that 90 per cent of logging in PNG violated the country's forestry law. Australian Associated Press | Copyright © 2006. The Sydney Morning Herald. ***************************************************************** 39 AU ABC: NT Govt mulls uranium sales timeframe Tuesday, 28 March 2006. 16:48 (AEDT)Tuesday, 28 March 2006. The Northern Territory Government says it is hard to know whether the Territory will be the first jurisdiction to sell uranium to China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has confirmed it is ready to sign an agreement with Australia on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, paving the way for uranium sales. Territory Chief Minister Clare Martin says it would be up to Rio Tinto to decide whether China can buy uranium from the active Ranger mine. She has restated Labor's policy of no new uranium mines, despite extensive mineral exploration being under way in the Territory. "There is a large difference between exploration and any new mine coming on line," she said. "We're very proud of the fact we've got lots of exploration at the moment and we're certainly very supportive of that, but there is certainly no new uranium mine in the Territory at the moment. "There's a long time between minerals being found and operations getting up and going." ***************************************************************** 40 SF New Mexican: EPA recertifies nuclear waste dump near Carlsbad Wed Mar 29, 2006 10:41 pm By ASSOCIATED PRESS CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recertified the federal government's nuclear waste dump near Carlsbad, the first recertification since the facility opened in March 1999. The decision to recertify the Department of Energy's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant indicates the plant meets EPA requirements for facilities that dispose of radioactive waste. WIPP, excavated from ancient salt beds 26 miles east of Carlsbad, buries plutonium-contaminated material 2,150 feet below the surface. Waste temporarily stored at defense sites around the country is shipped to WIPP for permanent disposal. Recertification is required every five years under a law that withdrew public land for the facility. The recertification process includes independent technical analyses, public comments and a review of information on WIPP submitted by the DOE. The original certification was issued in May 1998. The DOE's Carlsbad field office submitted its application for recertification on March 26, 2004 _ exactly five years after WIPP received its first waste shipment. The application's technical and scientific analyses were aimed at showing that WIPP could safely isolate the radioactive waste for at least 10,000 years. EPA's recertification reinforces the importance of WIPP in disposing of radioactive waste from around the nation, said James Rispoli, DOE assistant secretary for environmental management. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said it shows the plant is working well. "It is undoubtedly a bright spot for DOE in terms of trying to address the critical waste issues facing the country," he said. ©2006, Santa Fe New Mexican, all rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 41 Las Vegas SUN: Pro-Yucca group presses for legislative fix to move dump forward March 28, 2006 By ERICA WERNER ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) - State officials, electric utilities and others who support building a nuclear waste dump in Nevada called Tuesday for the Bush administration and Congress to support comprehensive legislation to move the project forward. The Yucca Mountain Task Force expressed support for several proposals reportedly being considered for inclusion in a bill expected soon from the Energy Department: -Dedicating a special fund to ensure adequate spending for the Yucca Mountain project; -Withdrawing public land around the property to create a permanent site for the dump; -Allowing more nuclear waste into the dump than the 77,000 tons now planned; -Allowing interim storage of nuclear waste at the Yucca Mountain site before it's put in the underground dump. The Energy Department has not disclosed final details of the expected legislation. Department spokesman Craig Stevens said Tuesday that possible proposals include the land withdrawal, a funding fix and interim storage. He said Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman hopes the bill will be sent to Congress soon. Bodman in early March said he hoped the bill would be done "within the month." "If we don't have a bill, nothing gets done. People are anxious for this," said David A. Wright, co-chairman of the Yucca Mountain Task Force and a commissioner on the South Carolina Public Service Commission. The legislation is supposed to clear a path for completing Yucca Mountain and solve some of the problems that have hampered development of the underground nuclear waste dump 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The administration has tried in past budget proposals to dedicate money in the Nuclear Waste Fund for construction of the waste dump, but Congress has not gone along. The fund was created in 1982 specifically to pay for development of Yucca Mountain, and the money comes from an assessment on users of electricity generated by nuclear reactors. But lawmakers traditionally have used the nuclear waste fund to offset other spending and to help narrow the federal deficit. The long-delayed nuclear waste dump has cost $9 billion so far but remains years away from opening. Energy Department officials had most recently set 2012 as the projected opening date but have backed off that goal. The original target was 1998. More than 50,000 tons of nuclear wastes destined for the dump is waiting at 72 sites around the country, mostly at commercial power plants. On the Net: Yucca Mountain project: http://www.ymp.gov All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 42 reviewjournal.com: Offensive cartoon Opinion - LETTERS: Mar. 29, 2006 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal To the editor: I take strong exception to the Jim Day editorial cartoon that appeared in Sunday's edition of the Review-Journal. This cartoon, regarding the Yucca Mountain Project Web site, specifically, the "Youth Zone" section, provides your readers with a libelous view of our Web site and of our intentions. To even intimate what the cartoon does is contemptible. There are 2,000 Nevadans who work on this project. These are good, hard-working and honest people. They do not deserve to be painted by a libelous and insulting brush by people who do not support this project. Your paper owes an apology to the people of this project for the allegation, the insult and the incredibly poor judgment. Paul M. Golan WASHINGTON, D.C. THE WRITER IS ACTING DIRECTOR OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S OFFICE OF CIVILIAN RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT. Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2006 Stephens Media GroupPrivacy Statement ***************************************************************** 43 reviewjournal.com: Group urges action on waste Mar. 29, 2006 Yucca Mountain backers want deliveries started during construction By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON -- A coalition that supports Yucca Mountain called Tuesday for Congress to allow the Energy Department to start placing high-level nuclear waste at the Nevada site while a repository for the material is being built. Federal law prohibits the department from setting up temporary storage in Nevada for nuclear spent fuel at the same time that Yucca Mountain is being prepared for repository development. But members of a pro-Yucca lobbying group said the law should be changed to speed shipments of radioactive material to Nevada and away from power plants in other states where it is being kept outdoors in casks. "We are way behind already," said LeRoy Koppendrayer, a member of the Minnesota Public Service Commission. "There is money and material out there that is standing on pads aging and cooling long enough that it could have already been shipped." At a news conference, repository supporters promoted policy changes they hope the Bush administration will embrace in a nuclear waste bill being negotiated between the Energy Department and White House officials. The group includes representatives of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, nuclear waste transportation companies, power companies and utility commissioners and attorneys general from states where nuclear power is generated and nuclear waste is created. Charles Pray, nuclear waste adviser to the governor of Maine, said repository designs have included "aging pads" where nuclear waste would be "cooled" before being inserted into Yucca Mountain. The Energy Department should be allowed to build pads and move spent fuel onto them to allow a head start, Pray said. Even then, several years could pass before such a plan could be practical, he said. "We are advocating that fuel be accepted at Yucca before the actual operation of facilities," Pray said. The Energy Department has not announced new timelines for the repository, which is already eight years behind schedule. Many experts think it could be ready to accept waste by 2015 or 2020. Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, said pro-repository groups are engaged in wishful thinking because time is running short for Congress to debate a nuclear waste bill this year. "The whole outlook for them is very bleak," Loux said. "I don't know what tree they are barking up. DOE hasn't even produced a bill yet." Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2006 Stephens Media GroupPrivacy Statement ***************************************************************** 44 AAP: US News: New NIRS Report Challenges All U.S. Radioactive Waste Policies All American Patriots Posted by on 2006/3/29 March 28, 2006 -- A new report from Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) finds that all of the stated U.S. radioactive waste policies have failed, and/or hold no potential for success. The group recommended—as it did 12 years ago—that an independent Blue-Ribbon Commission be established to start from ground zero and establish new, workable, scientifically-defensible radioactive waste policies. Had the U.S. done this 12 years ago, about seven billion dollars would have been saved that have been spent on a pyrrhic effort to open the proposed and unsuitable Yucca Mountain, Nevada nuclear waste dump. The report also dismisses reprocessing—currently a cause celebre among the Bush administration and a few of its Congressional backers—as a radioactive waste management approach. Reprocessing would not only not solve the radioactive waste problem, it would lead to new dangers to the environment and public health and to increased risk of nuclear weapons proliferation. Said lead author Kevin Kamps of NIRS, “The U.S. has no better idea of what to do with high-level atomic waste than it did 20 years ago; given current circumstances, it will have no better idea 20 years from now. Shipping wastes through 45 states and the District of Columbia to bury it in a leaky volcanic earthquake zone doesn’t make sense, neither does setting up a parking lot for defective radioactive waste casks. What is needed is a complete re-evaluation of our radioactive waste programs, and that needs to be done before construction of any more nuclear reactors is even considered.” The new report, titled “Radioactive Wreck: The Unfolding Disasters of U.S. Irradiated Nuclear Fuel Policies,” also argues that the proposed Private Fuel Storage waste dump on the Skull Valley Goshutes Indian Reservation in Utah is both unworkable and environmentally racist, that no full-scale, physical testing of radioactive waste transport canisters is planned, that radioactive waste fuel pools at existing reactors pose numerous safety and security problems, while dry cask storage at nuclear reactor sites does not work as well as it is supposed to and is vulnerable to terrorist attacks as well as accidents. The Bush administration is expected to propose legislation in the near future to attempt to salvage its failed radioactive waste policies by expanding the legal limit on the amount of waste Yucca Mountain could accept, seeking a new “interim” storage program to alleviate the stress on nuclear utilities holding their own waste causes them, taking the Yucca Mountain program off-budget in order to get around the Congressional appropriations process and oversight of the bungled program, and likely other provisions. Many of these measures have been attempted before, and rejected by Congress and/or former President Clinton’s veto pen. The expected introduction of the bill, and the Bush administration’s recent GNEP (Global Nuclear Energy Partnership) program only reinforce the report’s conclusions that U.S. radioactive waste policy is in complete disarray, with no workable or scientifically-sound options being presented to the public. The NIRS report, published in NIRS’ publication The Nuclear Monitor, is available at: Source: NIRS Copyright © 2004 AllAmericanPatriots.com | ***************************************************************** 45 Breaking News: Uranium bubble looks like trouble 24/7 - NEWS.com.au (30-03-2006) By Robin Bromby March 30, 2006 IT looks like a bubble, it sounds like a bubble. The ranks of listed uranium juniors have nearly doubled in the past year, and half that rise in numbers took place in just three months - and there's more to come. Most of them don't have a drilled resource, many of them are exploring in states where governments ban uranium mining. Even when they do have a resource, the gains look extraordinary. Summit Resources, one of the more advanced explorers, has gone from 27c 11 months ago to $1.41 yesterday. It is now capitalised at $265 million - even though the Labor Government in Queensland where it is based is the nation's most obdurate in banning yellowcake production. The one Australian company that is developing a mine, Paladin Resources, has still to come into production in Namibia, but is now capitalised at an extraordinary $2.37 billion. Even if the much hyped Chinese investment flows into our uranium industry, the money from Beijing will be talking to BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, which - unlike most of the stocks in the eye of the speculative storm - have substantial undeveloped uranium resources here and exploration data to back them up. Enthusiasts pointed to the rising uranium price and the growing world shortage of uranium, but analysts said any of the new explorers were four or five years away from production - at best. Uranium at $US40.50 a pound is no use to a company that is still drilling its first holes. Analysts who specialise in junior resources stocks were yesterday unanimous in warning that investors are heading for a fall by pumping up uranium stocks. Fat Prophets's Gavin Wendt called the speculative wave "ridiculous". Far East Capital's Warwick Grigor blasted investors as being "naive". Stock Resource analyst Steve Bartrop called one of the recent listings and market darling Toro Energy "overpriced grassroots exploration". From the US, uranium bull and publisher of the 26-year-old International Speculator newsletter, Doug Casey, said the flood of new uranium juniors was his main worry. "With so many companies competing for the same number of investment dollars, can we as speculators still expect the same sort of gains that we've enjoyed over the past few years?" he wrote in his latest issue. This from a man who made 1587 per cent by riding Australia's Paladin Resources. According to Sydney-based Resource Capital Research, there are now 65 uranium juniors listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, a 96 per cent rise over the past 12 months. In coming weeks, two more will list: Intermet Resources and the Giralia spin-off, U308. Canada now counts 90 uranium juniors, up 104 per cent over 12 months. Mr Wendt said that, apart from Paladin, he could not see a single Australian uranium explorer that had a chance of getting into production in the foreseeable future. Western Australia might change its ban on uranium, but the situation in Queensland was complicated by the power of the coal lobby, which opposes uranium development because it was an energy competitor, Mr Wendt said. Search for more ***************************************************************** 46 Japan Times: Nuclear agency OKs Shikoku Electric MOX plan The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency issued a permit Tuesday to Shikoku Electric Power Co., allowing it to proceed with development of a "pluthermal" nuclear power system that will generate electricity by burning a fuel mixture containing plutonium at its No. 3 reactor in Ikata, Ehime Prefecture. If the project is approved by residents, the utility will replace about a quarter of the reactor's fuel with plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel, or MOX, to begin pluthermal power generation by fiscal 2010. Shikoku Electric became the fourth utility to obtain a permit for a pluthermal project, following Kansai Electric Power Co., Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Kyushu Electric Power Co. Shikoku Electric President Katsumi Ota pledged to push the project forward while placing priority on safety as he received the permit from agency head Kenkichi Hirose. Saga Prefecture and the town of Genkai, home of the Genkai nuclear plant, formally agreed Sunday to begin a pluthermal project at the plant's No. 3 reactor. Kyushu Electric is the only utility so far to have received both a permit from the central government and local approval of such a project. Kyushu Electric plans to begin using MOX fuel by fiscal 2010. Also on Tuesday, the country's first plant designed to extract plutonium and uranium from spent nuclear fuel cleared the final hurdle before its test run. Aomori Gov. Shingo Mimura announced that the village of Rokkasho, which hosts the plant, will sign a safety agreement for trial operations with plant operator Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. Japan Nuclear Fuel, which is majority-owned by the country's electric utilities, is expected to begin reprocessing spent fuel by Friday. Nuclear plants have a growing stockpile of spent fuel. The Japan Times: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 (C) All rights reserved in japantimes.co.jp. The Japan Times Ltd. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 47 AU ABC: Forum to focus on uranium issues. 30/03/2006. ABC News Online The impending uranium deal between Australia and China will be on the agenda at a two-day conference in Adelaide starting today. The forum will focus on world demand for uranium now exceeding supply, and exploration opportunities in South Australia. Some of Australia's leading uranium explorers will take part in the 2006 Uranium Conference, including the newly listed company Toro Energy. Toro general manager Greg Hall says the uranium exploration industry has come a long way in the past 40 years and will only get stronger. "There is a demand for energy in the world, nuclear power fulfils a significant portion of that demand ... you establish nuclear power stations at great expense, you need to operate them over 30 or 40 years, you need an ongoing supply of material to do that," he said. "So I see it as a long-term business - it will fluctuate in supply and demand and sentiment, but it is a long-term business." ***************************************************************** 48 Las Vegas SUN: Feds dump Bechtel for Nevada Test Site management contract March 28, 2006 ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) - The Energy Department on Tuesday picked a corporate group led by Northrop Grumman to manage the Nevada Test Site, rejecting a bid from Bechtel Corp., which has held the contract for 10 years. A spokesman for DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration declined to say why National Security Technologies, LLC, was chosen over Bechtel for the five-year contract worth $500 million per year. The site is a 1,375-square-mile area where nuclear weapons used to be tested and is now used for testing conventional weapons, emergency response training and other purposes. "Procurement regulations prevent us from commenting about the details of the selection process. NNSA's Source Evaluation Board evaluated several strong proposals and the source selection official made his selection based on their evaluation," spokesman Bryan Wilkes said. "The offerers were evaluated on the merits of their proposals," he said. National Security Technologies, LLC, or NSTec, is made up of Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman, AECOM, CH2M Hill and Nuclear Fuel Services. San Francisco-based Bechtel also is a contractor at the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump and at Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington. It teamed with the University of California in December to win the contract to manage Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Although Yucca Mountain and Hanford have experienced problems and delays on Bechtel's watch, there have been no major public questions raised about the company's management of the Nevada Test Site. A spokesman for Bechtel Nevada did not immediately return a call for comment. Bechtel's current contract expires Dec. 31, 2006. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 49 SPI: Conservation, Hanford watchdog groups urge study of Hanford Reach Seattle Post-Intelligencer [seattlepi.com] Tuesday, March 28, 2006 By SHANNON DININNY ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER YAKIMA, Wash. -- Nine conservation and Hanford watchdog groups are asking Congress to authorize a comprehensive study of contamination in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River, which runs alongside the Hanford nuclear reservation. The survey is necessary to assess the likelihood and future danger of contamination in the river from past Hanford operations and to protect tribal, commercial, public and environmental interests, the groups wrote in a March 15 letter to U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash. "The Hanford Reach is in the middle of the largest nuclear waste site in the United States. The extent of the waste problem left on this site is phenomenal," the letter said. "Without a complete analysis of the current contamination and an assessment of what risks of contamination are in the future, the cleanup cannot be maximally effective and safety cannot be guaranteed." The federal government created the 586-square-mile Hanford reservation in the 1940s as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project to create the atomic bomb. The site produced the plutonium for the first man-made nuclear blast, as well as for the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, during World War II. Plutonium production for the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal continued for years until the 1990s, when efforts at the south-central Washington site shifted to environmental cleanup. Today, Hanford remains the most contaminated nuclear site in the United States, with cleanup expected to continue until 2035. Among the biggest concerns: the potential for contamination in the Columbia River and the Hanford Reach, the longest remaining free-flowing stretch of the river in the United States. Stretching 52 miles from Priest Rapids Dam to just below Richland, the Hanford Reach is renowned for salmon runs, bird habitat and rare plant life on its banks. [advertising] President Clinton designated 193,000 acres surrounding it as a national monument in 2000. Current assessments on the contamination of the river vary. For that reason, a trustworthy and impartial researcher should study the legacy of contamination in the river today, the threats for the future and the risks involved in failing to fully clean up Hanford, the groups wrote. In addition, they said, an environmental assessment could provide the scientific driver needed to make future decisions about funding Hanford cleanup. In recent years, cleanup costs have averaged nearly $2 billion a year, with the total expected to top $50 billion. The letter comes as the U.S. Department of Energy, which manages Hanford cleanup, faces increasing pressure to perform a natural injury assessment at the Hanford site. The assessment would document contamination and harm to the environment, including the river. The Yakama Nation filed suit against the Energy Department in 2002, seeking restoration of Hanford natural resources that may have been damaged by decades of plutonium production there. The Energy Department maintains that an injury assessment should not be done until all cleanup is completed. A court ordered the two sides to mediation talks to no avail, and the state of Washington recently filed papers with the court, seeking to join the lawsuit. Among the nine groups that signed the Dicks' letter were: the Government Accountability Project, Heart of American Northwest, American Rivers, Columbia Riverkeeper and the Pacific Coast Fishermen's Association. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer] 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA 98119 (206) 448-8000 ©1996-2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer ***************************************************************** 50 lamonitor.com: Lab team readies nuclear detection device The Online News Source for Los Alamos ROGER SNODGRASS, roger@lamonitor.com, Monitor Assistant Editor The word "gadget" was a nickname for "bomb" in the earliest days of the atomic weapon project at Los Alamos. Now one of the most pressing needs in the world is for a different kind of gadget, probably several, that will solve problems of securing a variety of nuclear material around the world and foiling any attempt at clandestine transportation. The issue came up again in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, when Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., began two days of Senate hearings with a new report from the Government Accountability Office that, he said, "demonstrates significant vulnerabilities in our defenses against a dirty bomb and other terrorist threats." Michael Rabin, a LANL physicist, leads a collaborative effort working on a device that would have a number of potential applications for analyzing radioactive materials and following up on suspicious spot-checks at inspections. Rabin's device is called a microcalorimeter. Several of these sensors together are called a microcalorimeter array. After tests at the National Institute of Standards and Technology last week, Rabin reported the first successful data from the array. "The key advantage for what we're doing is that it has 10 times the resolution of older techniques," he said. "This allows you more precisely to identify the isotopes of interest." The basic concept of the high-performance, high-resolution gamma ray detector is that it operates under very low temperatures, so that an infinitesimal change in temperature from a source can be measured. Rabin works in the International Space and Response Technology Division along with a team that also includes scientists from Nuclear Non-Proliferation. Their goal is to be able to identify materials by detecting emissions that can reveal such things as source, purpose and origin; whether the material is weapons grade, or what kind of reactor it came from, for example. Because of its sensitivity, the microcalorimeter would also be better able to target materials, and better at discriminating among ubiquitous background materials that set off false positive alarms, a common problem with radiological detectors. Currently the device works at one-tenth of a degree above absolute zero, and the object would be to get the instrument to fit in a cart or car, Rabin said. Rabin brings experience with both nuclear materials analysis and cryogenic detector research to his role as principal investigator on the project. "For homeland defense, nuclear forensics, or international nuclear safeguards, you need to have layers of investigating tools," he said. Typically, there would be a portal monitoring tool, or similar handheld tool as the first check. Those tools have to be low-cost and everywhere they are needed. "If something is found," he said, "Our tools would be used for follow up - locally in the field or at a laboratory if further investigation is required." During the Senate hearing Tuesday, Federal investigators said they used counterfeit Nuclear Regulatory Commission documents, to smuggle enough nuclear material into the country to make two "dirty bomb," or radiological dispersion devices. The crossings and customs checks took place at both the Canadian and Mexican borders on the same day, Dec. 14, 2005. The GAO reported to the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that the material came through "with ease." Sen. Pete Domenici, R-NM took part in the hearing and said more must be done to insure that the American homeland is secure from smuggled radiological materials at border crossings and ports. He called for more international cooperation to find the materials before they reach the U.S and multiple layers of defense. © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 51 Times-News Online: Senate sends energy plan to governor March 29, 2006 • Twin Falls, Idaho By Michelle Dunlop Times-News writer BOISE -- More than two decades have passed since state officials have updated Idaho's energy plan. That's about to change. On Tuesday, the Senate voted unanimously to send to the governor a bill that calls for a new plan. An interim legislative energy committee will look at possible sources of electricity generation for the state as well as the role of alternative fuels in meeting Idaho's needs. "This will help us deliver a plan that will be good for the state both now and in the future," said President Pro Tem Robert Geddes, R-Soda Springs. Back in 1982 when the state's current plan was penned, the U.S. Census Bureau projected the state would be the seventh fastest-growing in the nation during the 1980s. Today, Idaho is the third fastest-growing state in the nation. Seventy percent of Idaho's electricity needs were met by hydropower in 1982, according to the state plan. In 2004, Idaho Power relied on hydroelectric generation for more than 45 percent of its power and out-of-state coal-fired generation for nearly 55 percent. The company provides power to about 460,000 customers. Overall, the state imports approximately 46 percent of its electricity, according to Idaho Division of Energy reports. "I think it's timely -- we've got a number of coal-based power plants looking to locate at various places in the state," said Sen. Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum. One of those places is a site northeast of Jerome where Sempra Generation plans to build a 600-megawatt coal-fired facility. The Senate could vote Wednesday on a proposed two-year moratorium on the building and permitting of coal-fired power plants in Idaho. In 1982, drafters of the state energy plan saw coal as a "logical fuel source" given the state's proximity to the coal fields in Wyoming. The policy for coal in the current plan suggests the state "should establish clear and definitive rules" for the use of coal and should encourage utilities and citizens' committees in the siting process. Nuclear power was also recognized in 1982 as a potential source given the state's "many years in nuclear technology development" at the Idaho National Laboratory. Sen. Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, hopes the interim committee will take a serious look at nuclear energy. "Nuclear power is a power alternative that could free this country from the substantial dependence on foreign sources," Davis said. The authors of the 1982 plan didn't place a lot of faith in wind power due to the lack of data about it. Over 20 years later, Idaho's wind energy potential is estimated at 18,000 megawatts; Idaho Power reported at least 61.5 megawatts of wind generation in 2005, with another roughly 200 megawatts-worth of wind projects in various stages. The interim committee could begin sorting out these issues at its first meeting as early as Thursday. "It's probably one of the most important issues we will all face," Stennett said Reporter Michelle Dunlop covers the Legislature and natural resources for The Times-News. She can be reached at 343-5553 or by e-mail at mdunlop@magicvalley.com. Idaho's energy plan * House Concurrent Resolution 62 calls for an interim legislative committee to develop a state energy plan. * On Tuesday, the Senate voted 35-0 to send the resolution to Gov. Dirk Kempthorne. The House passed the resolution 67-1, with two representatives absent or excused, on March 21. * Idaho's current energy plan was developed in 1982. To view the plan, visit the Idaho Energy Division's Web site at http://www.idwr.idaho.gov/energy/. * To read HCR 62, visit the 2006 Idaho Legislature Web site at http://www3.state.id.us/legislat/legtrack.html. Story published at magicvalley.com on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 Copyright © 2006, Lee Publications Inc. Magicvalley.com is an on-line division of The Times-News, published daily at 132 W. Fairfield St., Twin Falls, Idaho 83301 by Lee Publications, Inc., a subsidiary of Lee Enterprises. ***************************************************************** 52 PRN: Department of Energy Awards Northrop Grumman $2.5 Billion Nevada Test Site Management and Operations Contract PR Newswire's LOS ANGELES, March 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a Northrop Grumman-led (NYSE: ) joint venture a five-year, $2.5 billion contract for the management and operation of its Nevada Test Site (NTS). Northrop Grumman is the managing partner of the joint venture, National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec), which includes team members AECOM, CH2M Hill and NFS. NSTec brings together diverse and unique capabilities to provide the requisite leadership to the NTS contract. Phase-in work will begin April 1. Under the terms of the contract, NSTec will manage and operate the Nevada Test Site facility and provide infrastructure support. Work will include management of the nuclear explosives safety team which supports the Department's efforts to prevent or slow the spread of nuclear weapons, while bolstering its counter-terrorism mission. The contract will also support hazardous chemical spill testing, emergency response training and conventional weapons testing. "Northrop Grumman Technical Services is honored to be selected by the Department of Energy for this significant responsibility," said James Cameron, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman Technical Services. "This contract demonstrates our commitment to this market segment and the rationale for the creation of Northrop Grumman Technical Services." "Our team offers unique qualifications to further strengthen a security focus at the Nevada Test Site, a critical national asset," said Gregg Donley, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman Technical Services Systems Support Group. "As a result, our efforts will help to ensure safety, reliability and environmental responsibility for future nuclear research." Support will be provided at the Department of Energy's Nevada Test Sites near Las Vegas and five other satellite and laboratory locations. Approximately 3,000 employees will work on the contract. Northrop Grumman Technical Services was formed in 2006 to address the rapidly expanding logistics support, sustainment and technical services markets. The Technical Services sector leverages core capabilities across multiple programs and its approximate 15,000 employees to provide innovative solutions and world-class support to its customers. Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense company headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. Northrop Grumman provides technologically advanced, innovative products, services and solutions in systems integration, defense electronics, information technology, advanced aircraft, shipbuilding and space technology. With approximately 125,000 employees and operations in all 50 states and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers. SOURCE Northrop Grumman Technical Services Copyright © 1996- PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 53 KnoxNews: OR job gets OK for full throttle Y-12 uranium-storage facility was halted Feb. 3 over reinforcing steel By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com March 29, 2006 OAK RIDGE - Managers have approved full resumption of work on a $350 million storehouse for bomb-grade uranium, nearly two months after the high-security project was halted because of concerns that the building's reinforcing steel didn't meet specifications. "We expect concrete pouring to start happening this week, and they're going to ramp up to full strength over the next three to four weeks," Mike Monnett, a spokesman at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, said Tuesday. Monnett said BWXT, the government's managing contractor at Y-12, gave the go-ahead to Caddell-Blaine, the construction partnership that is building the storage facility for highly enriched uranium. Steven Wyatt, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said federal officials supported the restart. Following a number of reviews, improvements were made to the building's "quality plan," and other steps were taken to ensure that future construction at the site is done to the exact design specs, Monnett said. "When this thing is done, it's going to be done right," he said. The Oak Ridge storage facility, scheduled for completion in 2007, is one of the top priorities in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. It will enable Y-12 to consolidate the stockpile of weapon-usable uranium in a single, hardened facility that's designed specifically to protect the nuclear assets from terrorist attack or natural disaster. Construction was shut down Feb. 3 after it was discovered that the reinforcing steel in parts of the building was inadequate or didn't meet the original design. According to reports from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, construction quality has been an issue on several projects at Y-12. Some work on the uranium storage facility was resumed earlier this month, with about 70 workers - about a third of the workforce - returning to the site. Monnett said Caddell-Blaine would gradually build the work force to full strength in the coming weeks. He declined Tuesday to place fault on the construction contractor and said there was no talk of Caddell-Blaine being punished for the rebar problems. "This is not a question of punishment," Monnett said. "It's a question of getting the right construction. It's a learning curve. This was a self-identified issue between the contractor and us (BWXT). We've worked this whole issue as a team. It's not something the contractor did or failed to do that's going to cause repercussions." If the uranium storehouse were not such an important facility, with national-security implications, there might never have been a stop-work order, Monnett said. "I think we took not only the appropriate steps but an extremely cautious approach to this so that in the final analysis it's going to be right," he said. Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329. + Background: On Feb. 3, construction was halted at the $350 million storage facility for bomb-grade uranium because of concerns about the building's reinforcing steel. + What's new: BWXT, the managing contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex, has approved full resumption of work on the Oak Ridge project. + What's next: Caddell-Blaine, the construction contractor, will gradually resume work over the next month and increase the work force from the current crew of 70 to about 200. © 2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel ***************************************************************** 54 KnoxNews: Oak Ridge contractors pay while others err for free By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com March 29, 2006 The government's Oak Ridge contractors have been cited repeatedly for nuclear safety violations in recent years. In fact, each of the major contractors has been fined by the U.S. Department of Energy under auspices of the Price-Anderson Amendments Act, which governs nuclear safety at federal operations. Since the beginning of 2000, UT-Battelle, the manager of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been fined three times; BWXT Y-12, the manager at the Y-12 National Security Complex, has been fined twice, as have Bechtel Jacobs, DOE's cleanup manager in Oak Ridge, and BNFL, another former cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge. Lockheed Martin, BWXT's predecessor at Y-12, also was cited in 2000 for a series of nuclear concerns. All told, the Oak Ridge contractors coughed up more than $2.1 million to pay for their safety sins. Presumably, these financial penalties motivated the companies to make improvements and work ever harder to perform their missions without endangering their employees. This came to mind recently when I noted that heavy fines were proposed - and waived - for nuclear violations at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. The reason is that the long-time contractors at these federal laboratories - the University of California at Livermore and the University of Chicago at Argonne - are nonprofit institutions that were exempted by statute years ago when the legislation was written. So, the University of Chicago didn't have to pay the proposed civil penalty of $550,000, and the University of California didn't have to part with the $558,500 levied against Livermore. One can only speculate about how this lack-of-teeth enforcement works to improve safety at these federal operations. Even if those contractors can't be fined, the Department of Energy does have the right to revoke their contracts or take other actions to make their lives difficult. And one could argue that hefty fines haven't really cleaned up the safety problems in Oak Ridge, so maybe dollar deductions aren't the answer anyway. Whatever the case, DOE apparently is taking steps to eliminate the Price-Anderson exemptions when new management contracts are awarded at some of its institutions, such as the recent change at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Are Oak Ridge contractors bothered that some of the other contractors don't have to pay their safety fines? Jeff Smith, a top executive with UT-Battelle, the manager at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, offered the polite and situationally appropriate answer to that question. "It bothers me that we put ourselves in a position to be fined," Smith said. Inquiring minds want to know: How's the new shoe policy working out at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant? For those of you who don't remember, Y-12 contractor BWXT implemented a policy late last year requiring workers to wear sensible shoes. The idea was to improve safety by reducing trips, slips and falls. Workers were told: No sandals. No platforms or heels over 3 inches. No gummies. No mules. No open-toed shoes of any type. Some of the workers weren't real happy with the new rules, especially women who felt the policy targeted them. Public affairs chief Mike Monnett said BWXT later "stepped away from" the policy a bit, making it more of a recommendation and less of a requirement. But most workers are wearing sensible footwear, he said. With summer coming, however, there is a concern that some employees may be tempted to don their sandals or other open-toed shoes, Monnett said. "The number one source of accidents today continues to be slips, trips and falls," he said. Senior Writer Frank Munger covers the Department of Energy for the News Sentinel. He may be reached at 865-342-6329 or at . This column is also available in the opinion section of knoxnews.com. © 2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel ***************************************************************** 55 Guardian Unlimited: Work Resumes at Tenn. Uranium Storehouse From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday March 29, 2006 8:46 PM By DUNCAN MANSFIELD Associated Press Writer KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Construction is resuming on a fortified warehouse to hold the nation's largest inventory of bomb-grade uranium more than a month after work was halted because of missing and improper reinforcement, officials said Wednesday. Quality assurance upgrades, building analysis and minor engineering fixes have been made since work was suspended Feb. 3 because reinforcing steel was missing or not installed as designed in the $350 million concrete storehouse at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge. ``The quality plan for the project has been revised and concrete pouring will resume this week,'' said Mike Monnett, spokesman for managing contractor BWX Technologies Y-12. The new Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility will consolidate several uranium caches at Y-12 into one high-security facility designed to withstand terrorist assault and periodic seismic rumblings. Y-12 makes parts for every warhead in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The 110,000-square-foot storehouse is due to open in 2008. The construction problems, and other changes required for a revised design threat capability, likely will extend that date, Monnett said. The National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of Energy's semiautonomous branch overseeing the nuclear weapons program, determined that BWXT has taken ``aggressive steps ... to beef up and strengthen project management and quality control of this project,'' spokesman Steven Wyatt said. --- On the Net: Y-12 plant: http://www.y12.doe.gov/ Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************