***************************************************************** 04/02/06 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 14.78 ***************************************************************** 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 BBC: MoD denies Iran military meeting 2 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: No free pass for Halliburton 3 Telegraph: The experts' analysis (IRAN) 4 Telegraph: No more pussyfooting around Iran 5 UPI: Report: Iran would strike back with terror 6 US: Las Vegas SUN: Hal Rothman has a message for outgoing Interior 7 Financial express: 'India's nuclear prowess superior to many' NUCLEAR REACTORS 8 US: [NukeNet] Citing Security, NRC Refuses To Elaborate Re Turkey 9 [NukeNet] Cancer in Belarus increased 40% after Chernobyl 10 US: AP Wire: Hole discovered drilled into pipe at Miami-Dade nuclear 11 US: MiamiHerald.com: Hole discovered drilled in pipe at Turkey Point 12 US: SignOnSanDiego.com: San Onofre reactors shut down 13 US: Herald News: Exelon: Tritium levels low at facility 14 Sunday Herald: Blairs head stuck in the clouds on climate change - 15 US: Portsmouth Herald: Nuclear plant is praised 16 Gye Nyame Concord: Atomic Energy Commission appeals for Govt support 17 US: Rutland Herald: Vt. Yankee OK'd to resume power boost 18 US: Brattleboro Reformer: VY boost continues 19 TheStar.com: Nuclear power has failed us too often 20 Reuters.com: Nuclear power debate heats up before German summit 21 Reuters: FACTBOX-Countries' nuclear power strategies 22 US: Advocate: Problem with backup pump forces shutdown 23 DAWN: Unbiased approach by N-group urged - 24 Mos News: Russia Sends First Uranium Shipment to Indian Nuclear Plan 25 AFP: Russia supplies enriched uranium fuel to Indian atomic power pl NUCLEAR SECURITY 26 Times of India: Anil Kakodkar to visit Vienna to discuss N-safeguard 27 Daily Yomiuri: New nuclear facility vital for national policy NUCLEAR SAFETY 28 [DU List] Reg Keyes repost to Rice's tour of UK - Blackburn 29 [NukeNet] UK radiation jump blamed on Iraq shells - details to 30 AU: The Age: The nuclear fallout that haunts Welsh farmers 31 Massey News: Research reveals genetic damage to nuclear test vetera 32 US: Deseret News: Nuclear testing is never safe 33 US: Deseret News: The winners and the losers 34 RNZ: Nuclear test vets say new research should guarantee a full war 35 US: Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Depleted uranium the next Agent Orange? 36 NZ STUFF: Nuke test veterans 'vindicated' NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 37 Las Vegas SUN: Yucca Mountain chief predicts application in 2008, 38 Observer: Why Britain must not let its nuclear future go to waste 39 London Times: The man trying to lift the UK's nuclear cloud - 40 Nevada Appeal: Reid calls for Yucca budget cuts, not increases 41 US: Lahontan Valley News: Why does Nevada get nuclear waste? 42 US: Sydney Morning Herald: Concerns over Chinese uranium deal - 43 US: Sydney Morning Herald: Uranium deal set to be signed despite con 44 KRT Wire: Businesses support proposed nuclear fuel reprocessing plan 45 US: Times of India: Russian uranium lands 46 US: Deseret News: Hatch cites risks of nuclear waste 47 US: Courier News: Fermi waste permit is up for comment 48 Advertiser: SA power plant 'within 20 years' 49 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Politics of nuclear waste 50 Independent: Sellafield clean-up cash for NHS 51 AU Nine MSN: Three NT N-dump sites being considered 52 US: NEWS.com.au: Uranium warnings 'scare campaign' - 53 Independent: True price of UK's nuclear legacy - £160bn 54 US: AFP: Chinese PM arrives in Australia for uranium talks 55 US: AFP: Australia and China poised to sign uranium deal 56 US: LA Daily News: Perchlorate at Orcutt Ranch 57 US: NEWS.com.au: Safeguards set for uranium deal with China - 58 US: AFP: Uranium rush in Finland seen as environment threat 59 US: Correspondents Report: Australian foreign policy and the rise of 60 US: AU ABC: Wen Jiabao visit reignites uranium mining debate 61 US: AU ABC: Give uranium a chance 62 US: AU ABC: WA Govt stands by 'no uranium mining' policy. 63 Sunday Business Post: Britain’s nuclear clean-up bill to hit £100bn 64 Deccan Herald: India receives 60 metric tonnes of Russian enriched u 65 North-West Evening Mail: Nuclear train mishap on docks 66 US: AFP: Australia says uranium deal with China to have strict safeg 67 US: Australian: 'Strict safeguards' for China nuke sales PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 68 Hanford News: Murray doesn't mince words over Hanford cutbacks 69 Knox News: Balloon design is classic A-bomb 70 KnoxNews: OR group gets DOE contract ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 BBC: MoD denies Iran military meeting Last Updated: Sunday, 2 April 2006 [Iranian technicians] Iran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful means Reports that military officers will meet government officials on Monday to discuss possible US-led military action against Iran have been denied. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said there was no truth whatsoever in the claims, made in the Sunday Telegraph. BBC Defence Correspondent Paul Wood said US plans for a possible strike are thought to be at an advanced stage. But US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US was "committed" to dealing with Iran diplomatically. She told ITV1's Jonathan Dimbleby programme: "We believe that diplomacy has a chance to work but we are going to work with whomever we can, in whatever form we can, diplomatically, to try and bring the Iranians around. There is well sourced a persistent speculation that American covert activities aimed at Iran are already underway Paul Wood "Iran is not Iraq. I know that's what's on people's minds. The circumstances are different." She added: "However, the president of the United States doesn't take his options off the table." UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who was also interviewed on the programme, said: "We are working very hard to resolve this by diplomatic means." He conceded UN Security Council member Russia was "anxious" about Iran. "They are worried about the possibility of the Iranians stirring up trouble for them, but they also share our high suspicions that Iran may be using its civil nuclear capability to develop a nuclear weapon and they do not want that," he said. 'No briefing' The BBC's Paul Wood pointed out that many defence analysts expected that British military officials would have a wide range of contingency plans available including one for a possible US air strike on Iran. "There is no sense that such a strike is imminent, however there is well sourced and persistent speculation that American covert activities aimed at Iran are already underway," he said. The Sunday Telegraph reported that "a high-level meeting will take place on Monday in the Ministry of Defence at which senior defence chiefs and government officials will consider the consequences of an attack on Iran." The newspaper stated that senior military officials would attend the meeting, along with officials from the Foreign Office and Downing Street. Deadline In addition to denying that there would be any such meeting, the MoD said: "There will be no briefing of the prime minister and the Cabinet office in this regard, nor are there any plans for such a briefing." Last week the five permanent members of the UN Security Council gave Iran 30 days to suspend uranium enrichment or face isolation. According to the newspaper report, "an American-led attack, designed to destroy Iran's ability to develop a nuclear bomb, is 'inevitable' if Tehran's leaders fail to comply with United Nations demands". Tehran insists its nuclear activities are peaceful and has rejected the council's demand. ***************************************************************** 2 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: No free pass for Halliburton April 01, 2006 Mounting criticisms of the company's billing and management should be given heed The company that Dick Cheney headed before becoming vice president is the largest U.S. contractor in Iraq. It was awarded no-bid contracts at the beginning of the war in 2003 to provide various services to U.S. troops and to restore Iraq's oil production. In the years since, there have been innumerable reports criticizing Halliburton's work, management and billing practices. A current contract, competitively awarded to Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root Inc. in 2004 for oil restoration services in southern Iraq, is highly criticized in federal documents obtained by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. As reported by The Washington Post, the documents reveal missed deadlines, rising costs, $45 million worth of billing challenged by auditors, inaccurate estimates provided by the company and mounting frustration by the Pentagon's contract overseers. The paper reported that the documents show, in one case, that KBR "attempted to inflate its cost estimates by paying a supplier more than it was due." And in another case, "KBR cut its cost estimates in half after it was pressed on its true expenses." And in another, "KBR billed for work performed by the Iraqi oil ministry." Before the Army Corps of Engineers awarded this contract to KBR, it had been warned about the company by Pentagon auditors. We believe it is long overdue that the warnings about Halliburton, and the consistently troubling auditing and news reports about the company, were heeded. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 3 Telegraph: The experts' analysis (IRAN) Dr Rosemary Hollis, the research director at the Chatham House think-tank: "There is so much opposition that I don't see an attack as imminent." Richard Perle, chairman of the Pentagon's Defence Policy Board from 2001 to 2003: "Whether Iran's nuclear weapons programme ends with a whimper or a bang is up to the Iranians. If the UN does its job, by blocking Iran's nuclear weapon ambitions, it may be possible to avoid a more kinetic solution." Dr Olivia Bosch, a former weapons inspector in Iraq: "The rhetoric is disproportionate to the capability that Iran has." Alex Vatanka, the US security editor for Jane's Information Group: "The situation is not urgent." Maryam Rajavi, the president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran: "I do not agree with foreign military intervention. However, if the international community and the Security Council hesitate in adopting a firm policy on Iran, the regime would obtain the only thing it needs to acquire nuclear weapons, namely time. Then we would be facing an Islamic fundamentalist regime, the leading state sponsor of terrorism, armed with nuclear weapons. This would make war inevitable." © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2006. Terms &Conditions ***************************************************************** 4 Telegraph: No more pussyfooting around Iran | Opinion | In particular, it is argued that deploying force against Teheran would bring about the same unhappy consequences as the toppling of Saddam: it would lead to more instability; it would inflame Muslim opinion throughout the world, including in Western cities; it would violate international law; and it would worsen the lives of ordinary Iranians. Once again, the motives of those calling for direct action are called into question. Just as we were forever being told that the West had sold weapons to Ba'athist Iraq, so we are now being reminded that it was British and American agents who overthrew Iranian democracy in the first place, back in 1953. This last argument is very silly: the fact that we made mistakes in the past is not a reason to make more mistakes in the future. But the other objections are serious ones, and deserve to be considered separately. Take, first, the argument that a military strike would destabilise the country. This is true: the mullahs are currently very stable indeed, having concocted a system that prevents Iranians from voting for anyone who dislikes them. But this domestic stability is bought with international aggression. Not only is Iran arming paramilitary groups in neighbouring states, it has been implicated in terrorist actions as far afield as London and Buenos Aires. To borrow a metaphor from Lenin, Iran is exporting its internal contradictions. As for Iran becoming a cause célèbre for Muslims in other countries, this is based on a misunderstanding. Iraq was a largely Arab country and, as such, part of a community that stretched as far as Morocco and was united not only by historical and linguistic ties but by a nexus of shared news media. The Persians, by contrast, have been periodically at war with their Arab neighbours since the time of the Great Kings. More importantly, Iranians are Shia, which sets them apart from the orthodox Sunni teachings that attract some 90 per cent of the world's Muslims. To this day, the million-odd Sunnis who live in Teheran are not allowed their own mosque - unlike their co-religionists in, say, London or Washington. Nor are Sunnis the only minority with a grievance. The ayatollahs have engaged in human rights violations every bit as gruesome as Saddam's, including the show-trials of Jews and, in one recent case, the execution of a teenage girl on adultery charges. But what, you might ask, has any of this to do with us? The answer is that Iran's nuclear ambitions go well beyond the regional. Two years ago, the mullahs deployed Shahhab-3 ballistic missiles, with a range of 800 miles. Last October, this newspaper revealed that Teheran was receiving clandestine shipments of missile technology from North Korea. The best estimate is that Iran will have the bomb by 2008. This is not some symbolic goal: the ayatollahs are building nuclear weapons because they want to use them. President Ahmadinejad has called for the annihilation of Israel. His adviser, Mohammad Ali Ramin, wants to export military technology to the 150 countries that he believes would back Iran against the West. Another adviser, Hassan Abbasi, has - in addition to calling Britain the "mother of all evil" - observed that, once George Bush leaves office, the West will return to its traditional quiescence. He is probably right: for the past decade, the EU has pursued a policy of "constructive engagement" with Iran. In what must stand as his single greatest failure, Jack Straw has repeatedly visited -Teheran, hoping naively to coax the mullahs out of their nuclear ambitions. As for the charge that it's all about oil, let us not be shy of saying that it is in no one's interests for a large chunk of the world's oil supplies to be in the hands of hostile fanatics. What, then, should we do? There is, after all, a danger that military strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities might boost support for Ahmadinejad - indeed, some Iranian dissidents believe that his wild rhetoric is designed to provoke precisely such an attack. Unlike Iraq, whose nuclear programme was wiped out with a single raid in 1981, Iran is attempting the more complex procedure of centrifuge separation of uranium hexafluoride gas in installations spread throughout the country. A direct strike might be a necessary last resort. But our earlier objective should be to support the opposition groups. The enemies of the ayatollahs are divided: some are monarchists, some communists, some representatives of Iran's national minorities. Some are in exile, some in Iranian campuses. Around 40,000 are trained soldiers based in Iraq, where they have been disarmed by the Americans. But, together, these groups speak for perhaps 85 per cent of the population. They hold the key to replacing this wicked regime. © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2006. Terms &Conditions of reading. ***************************************************************** 5 UPI: Report: Iran would strike back with terror United Press International - NewsTrack - 4/1/2006 7:01:00 PM -0500 Newstrack: Indian and French destroyers and WASHINGTON, April 1 (UPI) -- U.S. intelligence and terrorism experts say they think Iran would order global terrorist attacks if U.S. forces strike Iran's nuclear sites, it was reported. The Washington Post reported the experts expect Iran would deploy intelligence operatives and Hezbollah teams to carry out the attacks, including attacks against U.S. targets inside Iraq. There is a growing consensus that Iranian agents would target civilians in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, the experts told the newspaper. U.S. officials would not say whether there is evidence indicating Iran would order terrorist attacks, but a senior official told the Post the matter "is consuming a lot of time" throughout the U.S. intelligence apparatus. Another official said, "It's a huge issue." The newspaper said U.S. officials would not say whether any preparatory measures -- such as increased surveillance, counter-surveillance or message traffic on the part of Iran's foreign-based intelligence operatives -- has been detected. Both President George W. Bush and the Iranian government have hinted recently at the possibility of a military confrontation between the United States and Iran, the newspaper said. Bush says he is pursuing a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear program development, but he also said all options are on the table for preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 6 Las Vegas SUN: Hal Rothman has a message for outgoing Interior Secretary Gale Norton: Keep your mitts out of our kitty Today: April 02, 2006 at 7:50:41 PDT Southern Nevadans have so many reasons to dislike departing Interior Secretary Gale Norton that I cannot imagine that she would want to give us another, but she has. On her way out the door from the gang that couldn't govern straight, Norton renewed her call to take 70 percent of the money generated from land auctions under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) and use it to defray the national debt. You have done too well, she whines, and you don't deserve the $2 billion we've raised from the sale of lands around you. Wait a minute! A Cabinet official in the most profligate administration in American history has the audacity to tell us what to do with the proceeds from SNPLMA? That takes a lot of nerve! The government that spent the American economy into oblivion now proposes frugality at the expense of Clark County. Stuff it, Madame Secretary. The SNPLMA was drawn up for specific purposes. The law was to mitigate the impact of the development that would occur on the lands auctioned. It created a developable footprint in Southern Nevada, allowing us to avoid a number of thorny environmental issues, and it divides the proceeds in specific ways - 5 percent to the state's general education fund, 10 percent to the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the remainder for quality-of-life and environmental purposes in the Las Vegas Valley and at Lake Tahoe. It also put an end to the ongoing fraud that had occurred with what are called in-lieu exchanges, circumstances in which lands that the federal government desires in other places are traded for developable land in the Las Vegas Valley. Without pointing fingers, let's just say before the SNPLMA, the process stunk. The SNPLMA has been a windfall for Southern Nevada, no doubt. The run-up in land value that has accompanied the auctions has generated infinitely more money than anyone expected. With some of that land going for as much as $700,000 an acre, there is a lot more to mitigate the impact of growth in the valley. At the same time, there is a lot more to mitigate. Growth and the rising cost of land has created a host of social problems, not the least of which is the almost complete absence of affordable and attainable housing in greater Las Vegas. With the average household income at around $50,000 and the mean home price in the vicinity of $300,000, it is safe to say that the average Las Vegas family cannot afford the average home. Even more, it doesn't take a genius to see that the strain on our infrastructure is growing. Even as we build roads and schools, parks, and the whole array of other things our rapidly growing community needs, we are forced to rely on our own devices for a great deal of the work. If you look carefully when you cross Interstate 15 headed west on the Las Vegas Beltway, you'll see the blue federal interstate sign give way to the Clark County beltway signs, desert tone in color. At that point, local dollars pay for that road, a remarkable achievement. No other community in America has undertaken such a task and accomplished it. But that road serves people who live on land a good part of which became available for development under the SNPLMA. Local and regional government pays for countless other services that are necessary because of the development of that land. That's why we need the money and why we sought the law in the first place. So, Congress made a law and Nevada got the better of it. After aboveground atomic and nuclear testing and the fiasco of the Yucca Mountain project foisted upon us by something called the "Screw Nevada" bill, isn't it about time we caught a break? Where I come from, a deal is a deal. You make it, you live with it. In Nevada's sordid 20th-century history with the federal government, we finally won one. No doubt. There's $2 billion in the kitty and it's ours. If you want it, Secretary Norton, come try to take it away. We will hold you and your free-spending friends accountable. The SNPLMA should be the litmus test for Nevada politicians, the third rail of our dialogue. Anyone who wants to take even a dime of this money away from Clark County should be tarred and feathered and returned to the Bush administration, postage due. Hal Rothman is a history professor at UNLV. His column in the Sun appears Sunday. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 7 Financial express: 'India's nuclear prowess superior to many' Saturday, April 01, 2006 PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Posted online: Saturday, April 01, 2006 at 1158 hours IST NEW DELHI, APRIL 1: Describing the Indo-US nuclear deal as a 'win-win situation' for both the countries, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Union government R Chidambaram on Friday said India's technology prowess in the nuclear domain was superior to the stagnated ones of many other countries. "The world needs us just like we need them. It is a win-win situation," Chidambaram said. India and the US had on March 2 this year reached an understanding to implement the landmark nuclear cooperation deal to meet the growing energy requirements of the country. "In many other countries, including some developed ones, nuclear technology has stagnated. But in India, it is growing at tremendous pace. It is a good deal, considering the global level of expertise we have," Chidambaram said. The agreement, which has to be ratified by the US Congress, ensures supply of nuclear fuel for India's nuclear energy programmes in exchange for permitting international inspections of its civilian reactors. Under terms outlined by officials of both governments, India can keep eight of its 22 existing reactors under wraps as military sites. © 2006: Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd. All rights reserved throughout the world. ***************************************************************** 8 [NukeNet] Citing Security, NRC Refuses To Elaborate Re Turkey Date: Sat, 01 Apr 2006 20:53:38 -0800 NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/01/us/01brfs.html?_r=1&oref=slogin SOUTH FLORIDA: DAMAGE SHUTS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT One of the two reactors at the Turkey Point nuclear power plant in Florida City was kept shut down after damaged equipment was found in a routine inspection, officials said. The operator, Florida Power and Light, the largest electric utility in the state, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, citing security, declined to elaborate on the damage. The reactor had been shut down for routine refueling, said a spokeswoman for the utility, Rachel Scott. The damage was found on Thursday during tests to bring the reactor back online, Ms. Scott said. The plant is 30 miles southwest of Miami. (AP) _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/ Change your settings or access the archives at: http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net ***************************************************************** 9 [NukeNet] Cancer in Belarus increased 40% after Chernobyl Date: Sat, 01 Apr 2006 20:53:42 -0800 NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) http://www.llrc.org/belarusokeanov.htm Cancer in Belarus increased 40% after Chernobyl New study published LLRC's predictions confirmed In November 2004 The Swiss Medical Weekly published findings by workers at the Clinical Institute of Radiation Medicine and Endocrinology Research in Minsk, Belarus. It shows that between 1990 and 2000 cancer rates have risen by 40% overall, compared with rates before the catastrophe in April 1986. Belarus has had a national Cancer Registry as long as anywhere in Britain, keeping a computer database of all new cases of malignant tumours. The new paper presents an overall comparison of changes in the incidence of cancer morbidity in Belarus. The increase is statistically significant for all regions. This completely contradicts the predictions of ICRP and the pronouncements of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Health Organisation. In 2001 Chris Busby reported to the Belarus government that cancer would increase by 125% over the lifetimes of the exposed population (www.llrc.org/belarus.htm). Now, 18 years after the accident, 40% of that increase is apparent. Relative Risks all have high statistical significance. Increases in the various oblasts (regions) were: * Brest 33% * Vitebsk 38% * Gomel 52% * Grodno 44% * Minsk 49% * Mogilev 32% * Minsk city 18% * all Belarus 40% The view of conventional radiation protection "experts", however, is that very little if any cancer has resulted or will result from the fallout. This was expressed, for example, in 2000 by a United Nations committee (UNSCEAR 2000): Apart from the substantial increase in thyroid cancer after childhood exposure observed in Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine there is no evidence of a major public health impact related to ionising radiation 14 years after the Chernobyl accident. No increases in overall cancer incidence or mortality that could be associated with radiation exposure have been observed. The risk of leukaemia, one of the most sensitive indicators of radiation exposure, has not been found to be elevated even in the accident recovery operation workers or in children. There is no scientific proof of an increase in non-malignant disorders related to ionising radiation. … For the most part [the public] were exposed to radiation levels comparable to or a few times higher than the natural background levels. Lives have been disrupted by the Chernobyl accident but from the radiological point of view, based on the assessment of this Annex, generally positive prospects for the future health of most individuals should prevail. For evidence of increases in non-malignant disorders see our summaries of 100 papers from the affected territories. ---------- Reference A national cancer registry to assess trends after the Chernobyl accident A. E. Okeanov, E. Y. Sosnovskaya, O. P. Priatkina; Clinical Institute of Radiation Medicine and Endocrinology Research, Minsk, Belarus SWISS MED WKLY 2004;134:645–649 Issue 43/44, Nov 2004 (right click here to save to your computer) UNSCEAR (2000) United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. Sources and Effects of Ionising Radiation 2000. UN General Assembly, with Scientific Annexes. United Nations New York. Annex J Final Summary ---------- If you are seeing this page full screen (i.e. without a navigation bar on the left) you can't see how the rest of the site is organised. 5e0a0c.jpg This Home page link takes you to the index page, which has links to all the topics we discuss on the site [only use it if this page is full screen] Use the Health Effects of low level radiation button to see what else we have to say on this topic. ---------- Send email to: SiteManager@llrc.org with questions or comments about this web site. _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/ Change your settings or access the archives at: http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net Attachment Converted: 5e0a0c.jpg: 00000001,49fcc7f4,00000000,00000000 Attachment Converted: "c:\program files\eudora\attach\bigshady.jpg" ***************************************************************** 10 AP Wire: Hole discovered drilled into pipe at Miami-Dade nuclear reactor 04/01/2006 | Associated Press FLORIDA CITY, Fla. - Officials conducting a routine inspection of a nuclear reactor at the Turkey Point power plant found a small holed drilled into a pipe that helps maintain pressure, and investigators were trying to determine if the hole was drilled accidentally or deliberately, Florida Power & Light officials said Saturday. The nuclear reactor, one of two at the Miami-Dade County power plant, had been shut down for a routine refueling, FPL spokeswoman Rachel Scott said. The 1/8-inch hole was discovered late Thursday during a series of tests and inspections performed before bringing the unit back online, Scott said. Other maintenance work had been performed in the area where the hole was found, Scott said. FPL, the state's largest electric utility, repaired the damaged piping and, though the company's investigation continues, plans to bring the unit back into service in about a week, she said. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and FBI are also conducting their own investigations. "We want to make sure that we do a very thorough investigation and that we evaluate all possibilities," Scott said. FPL customers were not affected by the routine shutdown, Scott said. The power plant's second nuclear unit as well as two units powered by oil and natural gas were fully operational, and the plant was in no danger, she said. Florida City is about 30 miles southwest of Miami. ***************************************************************** 11 MiamiHerald.com: Hole discovered drilled in pipe at Turkey Point reactor | 04/01/2006 | The nuclear reactor, one of two at the Miami-Dade County power plant, had been shut down for a routine refueling, FPL spokeswoman Rachel Scott said. The 1/8-inch hole was discovered late Thursday during a series of tests and inspections performed before bringing the unit back online, Scott said. Other maintenance work had been performed in the area where the hole was found, Scott said. FPL, the state's largest electric utility, repaired the damaged piping and, though the company's investigation continues, plans to bring the unit back into service in about a week, she said. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and FBI are also conducting their own investigations. ''We want to make sure that we do a very thorough investigation and that we evaluate all possibilities,'' Scott said. FPL customers were not affected by the routine shutdown, Scott said. The power plant's second nuclear unit as well as two units powered by oil and natural gas were fully operational, and the plant was in no danger, she said. ***************************************************************** 12 SignOnSanDiego.com: San Onofre reactors shut down Some backup tanks had faulty gaskets By Angela Lau UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER April 1, 2006 SAN ONOFRE  The nuclear power plant shut down its nuclear reactors this week after discovering faulty gaskets in some of its backup water tanks used to cool reactors in an emergency. No leaks of radioactive material occurred, and the power plant's electricity customers continued to receive power from backup sources in and out of California, San Onofre Power Plant spokesman Ray Golden said. No blackouts were necessary. The San Onofre Power Plant supplies 2,100 megawatts of electricity each day to 2 million households in San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties, he said. Thursday, Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Victor Dricks said such gasket failures happen from time to time at nuclear power plants and are not a cause for concern if they are detected and repaired. At San Onofre, crews noticed a faulty gasket on Monday in a backup water tank to one of the power plant's two reactors. That reactor had been shut down since January for refueling and maintenance. Each reactor has four backup water tanks. Each tank carries 13,000 gallons of water, with 600 pounds of nitrogen gas on top to keep the water down in the tank. The backup water is released only when reactors run low on water because of leaks and need the backup to cool them down, Golden said. After discovering the first worn gasket, San Onofre workers checked the other three backup water tanks and found their gaskets slightly worn. The plant abandoned plans to restart that reactor on its scheduled day, Tuesday, until it has replaced all four gaskets, Golden said. It will restart in a week or so. As a precaution, the plant also shut down the other reactor at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. It already was scheduled for a 30-day maintenance shut-down at the end of next month, to prepare for peak summer demand, Golden said. Just last month, San Onofre was in the news when a contractor's tanker carrying radioactive wastewater from San Onofre to a Utah dump site leaked at a Utah truck stop because of a faulty gasket. An investigation is continuing. Angela Lau: (760) 476-8240; angela.lau@uniontrib.com ***************************************************************** 13 Herald News: Exelon: Tritium levels low at facility The Associated Press BYRON Tests have revealed low levels of a radioactive material in groundwater at the Byron nuclear plant, Exelon Corp. officials said Friday. Environmental monitors found slightly elevated tritium levels in two of six test wells near the Ogle County station's discharge pipe, but the amount is under federal safe drinking levels and does not pose a safety hazard, the company said in a statement. Tritium is a radioactive substance found in most surface water. Studies have shown long-term exposure can lead to cancer and birth defects. Chicago-based Exelon has come under fire recently for a series of tritium leaks at three of its northern Illinois plants, including the Byron facility, the Braidwood Generating Station in rural Will County and the Dresden Generating Station in Grundy County. Illinois authorities and more than 20 families living near Braidwood have filed lawsuits against Exelon, accusing the company and two subsidiaries of failing to properly maintain an underground pipeline that leaked several times in the past. 04/02/06 SuburbanChicagoNews.com — © Digital Chicago & Sun-Times ***************************************************************** 14 Sunday Herald: Blairs head stuck in the clouds on climate change - Scotland's award-winning independent newspaper Est 1999 Ian Fraser on New Labour spin RADIOHEAD singer Thom Yorke recently said that he finds dealing with the New Labour spin-machine on the subject of climate change somewhat nausea-inducing. The rock star whose Kid A album predicts a coming ice age recently rejected an invitation to visit Downing Street to discuss climate change in his capacity as ambassador for the green charity Friends of the Earth. He dismissed Tony Blair as a man with no environmental credentials. Given Labours double standards on the environment which were plain to see from various carefully spun announcements last week Yorkes queasiness is perfectly understandable. On the one hand, we have a prime minister who likes to go around the world preaching to business leaders about the risks of climate change as he seeks to persuade them to do more to reduce the threat. On the other, it seems the government has failed to make the right choices on the environment in its own backyard. From the review of the governments climate change programme, issued last Tuesday, it was clear that the turf war between the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of the Environment, the former has won out. Environmentalists even those sympathetic to business felt short-changed by the review, because it steered well clear of any firm measures to tackle climate change. Instead, it seemed that Blair is keen to emulate his close friend George Bushs faith in a technological revolution to stabilise climate. Many suspect this will include a big new push into nuclear power in coming years. This will come even though the cost of the 25-year programme to clean up the final lot of nuclear sites was last week revealed to have surged to £70bn. If only a tiny portion of the billions of pounds of public money that have been ploughed into nuclear energy since the 1950s were to have been redirected to alternative energy, such as wind, wave and solar power, the UK would have become a world leader in renewable energy by now. Marine power was first put forward by the visionary Edinburgh University academic Stephen Salter in the 1970s. He suggested taking a proportion of oil revenue and investing it in the development of marine power, a request that fell on deaf ears in Whitehall. Instead of the cosmetic tinkering that we saw in the Budget over vehicle excise duty for 4x4s, could the government not have put greater pressure on car importers to allow a rise in the portion of biofuels, including biodiesel? Even today, public sector support for renewables is regarded by Downing Street as if it were a subsidy to industry, but the governments likely future support for nuclear energy is treated quite differently. No wonder it is waiting with bated breath on the European Commissions ruling on whether its proposed restructuring of the nuclear sector was in breach of rules on state aid. Last week the prime minister also sought to recover some of the ground that has been lost by telling a climate-change conference in New Zealand of the need for a new framework to replace Kyoto when it expires in 2012. Blair believes that putting his faith in the white heat of technology will give companies the confidence they need to invest in alternative energy sources, including nuclear. But his new push is unlikely to be sufficient to avoid us missing the governments oft repeated targets on CO2 reduction. The trouble is that while actively promoting these policies, it is making a mockery of its own avowed desire to reduce the UKs environmental footprint and these include the current headlong rush into the promotion of further air travel. The Blair government has deliberately excluded aviation one of the most polluting and fastest-growing of sectors from all its calculations on the UKs contribution to greenhouse gases. But if both aircraft and shipping were included in the UKs calculations on carbon emissions, these would actually be above the 1990 level. It all stems from the fact that the government has had a predict and provide approach to air travel and airport expansion in the UK for years just as it has had for new roads. No-frills operators have taken advantage of the beneficial tax regime on aviation fuel and demand for flights has surged. But the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research reveals that, even if we shut down the rest of the UK economy to save on greenhouse-gas emissions, those from aviation would mean that we would be in breach of sustainable emissions budget by mid-century. And in Scotland, the Executive which last week came up with its first-ever targets for lowering carbon emissions, and wants to see more people cycling to work and using energy-efficient lightbulbs to ensure these are met is chipping in with its own route development fund. The goal of boosting the connectedness of the Scots economy is laudable, but its spin-off is further environment destruction. Even asset managers F&C last week called for the aviation sector to be included in the second phase of the European Unions emissions trading scheme, a scheme of which the CBI disapproves. The DTIs announcement later in the week, which revealed 157.4 million tonnes of carbon were released into the atmosphere in 2005 a 2.3% increase on when Labour came to power and only 4.8% below 1990 emission levels ought to have been a wake-up call for the government. 02 April 2006 © newsquest (sunday herald) limited. all rights reserved ***************************************************************** 15 Portsmouth Herald: Nuclear plant is praised Sat. April 1, 2006 By Associated Press HAMPTON - The Seabrook nuclear power plant continues to operate within acceptable health and safety guidelines, federal regulators say. "It was a fairly successful year," Paul G. Krohn of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said, referring to the power plant’s 2005 performance. Krohn hosted Seabrook’s annual assessment meeting Thursday with power plant officials and local representatives. Krohn said his agency conducted about 1,000 hours’ worth of inspection at the plant in 2005 and in all categories, the plant received a rating of "green," the best on the agency’s scale, Krohn said. "It continued strong performance," Krohn said of the plant, noting it received similar marks last year. Allan Griffith, spokesman for the power plant, said the feedback from the regulators was helpful to his company. He noted that throughout the year, regulators found only eight negative findings related to technical engineering issues at the plant. Regulators described the findings as "of very low safety significance," and still rated the plant "green" in those categories. Griffith said that regulators only made one finding in the emergency preparedness category. He described the finding as related to a technical error in how the plant declared a state of emergency during one of its four annual drills. Regulators described that finding as also being "of very low safety significance," and rated it "green." Seacoast Online is owned and operated by Seacoast Media Group. Copyright © 2006 Seacoast Online. All rights reserved. Please ***************************************************************** 16 Gye Nyame Concord: Atomic Energy Commission appeals for Govt support General News of Thursday, 30 March 2006 Accra, March 30, GNA - The Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), which provides nuclear energy and biotechnology techniques for sustainable development, on Thursday appealed to the Government to support its programmes to enable it to improve its services. Professor Edward H. K. Akaho, Director-General of the Commission, told the Minister of Information, Dan Botwe during a familiarization tour of the Commission that the support the Commission was receiving from the Government was inadequate. GAEC handles nuclear science and technology, addresses problems of health, industry, agriculture and environment. He said there was the need to combine science, politics and diplomacy to build a strong foundation for the expanded use of nuclear technology in Ghana and West Africa. Professor Akaho said national nuclear power policy should be included in the energy mix to serve as a basis for sustainable energy development, policy decision and creation of public awareness. "This would solve the Research and Development (R) problem that the Commission is facing and to make the public benefit from most of the sustainable agricultural and industrial programmes the Commission is undertaking." He said another major problem of the Commission was lack of staff to handle most of the scientific work. The staff strength of 530 needed to be increased as early as possible to meet increasing demands, he said. Professor Akaho said in line with this, the Commission in collaboration with the University of Ghana and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had established a Graduate School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences to train nuclear expertise to replace the ageing workforce. The School has been established for the M. Phil and PhD programmes in Medical Physics, Applied Nuclear Physics, Nuclear and Radiochemistry, Radiation Protection, Nuclear Agriculture and Radiation Processing and Nuclear Engineering. The tour took the Minster and his entourage to the Commission's major research equipment, which included the 30 Kw Research Reactor, Gamma Irradiation Facility, the two Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Centres, Tissue Culture and Molecular Biology, X-Ray Fluorescence Equipment and the Clinical and Cellular Chemistry Laboratory for tuberculosis research. Dr Samuel Anim-Sampong, Acting Reactor Manager, said the 6.5 metre deep reactor was not used for the manufacture of atomic bombs but served as the major tool for scientific research and development by local staff and others from Africa. The Commission has also established two National Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Centres at Korle-Bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals, which rendered services to patients from Ghana and surrounding West African Countries. Its Gamma Irradiation Facility equipped with Cobolt-60 source is used for radiation treatment of food and medical products, which kill the micro-organism thus sterilizing the products. Dr David Bansah of the Cellular and Clinical Service Department, which uses radiochemical techniques to manage communicable diseases, said there was a multi drug resistance TB in the country at the moment and warned the public against bovine TB in raw cow milk. He said the centre could use 48 hours instead of the eight days used in most hospitals to detect the virus adding that the lack of equipment had been a major problem to the Centre. Mr Botwe called on the media to help to publicize the activities of the Commission to create the awareness it needed to expand. 30 March 06 All Rights Reserved, 1994-2006, © Copyright GhanaHomePage ***************************************************************** 17 Rutland Herald: Vt. Yankee OK'd to resume power boost Rutland Vermont News & Information April 1, 2006 By Herald Staff BRATTLEBORO — Federal regulators gave the owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant the go-ahead Friday to increase power production again. The green light came after four weeks of study determined that an acoustic vibration coming from the plant's main steam line would not damage a key plant component, the steam dryer. Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said NRC technical staff consulted with the Argonne National Laboratory on the issue of metal fatigue to determine whether the vibration would damage the dryer, which removes moisture from the steam before it heads into power production equipment. Sheehan said Entergy planned to increase power "shortly," but he declined to be specific. According to its federal license, Entergy can only increase power in 5 percent increments. It had stopped after reaching 105 percent of its original power level; after it attains 110 percent, it must stay there for four days of testing and evaluation. In the case of the first 5 percent boost, those four days turned into four weeks, and neither the NRC nor the company could guarantee that the problem wouldn't re-emerge at a different power level. Sheehan said the issue will be closely monitored by both regulators and the company. "There's no guarantee, but we will monitor it very closely," he said. Entergy spokesman Robert Williams said the company was satisfied, as was the NRC, that the sound coming from the main steam line posed no problem to the dryer. The dryer has proved to be a big problem at two Illinois nuclear plants which are of similar design and age, and have undergone similar power increases. Williams would only say that the next 5 percent plateau could be reached "as early as this weekend." The latest approval from federal regulators drew a retort from the New England Coalition, an anti-nuclear group. "The experiment continues," said Raymond Shadis, senior technical advisor. Shadis said that the company had used "a rubber ruler" to measure the effects of the noise vibration on the plant's components and that the NRC allowed Entergy to change its protocol for testing. "Flow-induced vibration is a difficult concept for a lot of folks to grasp — on a small scale it is like wind vibrating a reed," he said. "At VY, it's several million pounds of steam per hour pushing past obstructions such as the steam dryer, under about a 1,000 pounds of pressure." Every 5 percent increase, Shadis said, is the equivalent of another 100,000 horsepower. ***************************************************************** 18 Brattleboro Reformer: VY boost continues By KRISTI CECCAROSSI, Reformer Staff Saturday, April 1 BRATTLEBORO -- Vermont Yankee owners will move forward with the uprate this weekend, after federal regulators ruled Friday the plant was ready for another 5 percent boost in power. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission acknowledged that vibrations detected in one of the plant's steam lines could be dangerous, but not so much that plant owners couldn't proceed with boosting the nuclear reactor's power output. In the beginning of March, Entergy Nuclear, owners of Vermont Yankee, won federal approval for the uprate -- a controversial plan to raise the plant's power by 20 percent. Plant engineers were to conduct the uprate in 5 percent increments. But within days of the first power boost, vibrations were found in a steam line. That's a component that has been problematic in other "uprated" plants. Entergy suspended the uprate to analyze the vibrations. The NRC studied them, too. Nearly a month later, both are saying they are satisfied with the results. In the analyses, the NRC and Entergy tried to gauge how the vibrations would affect plant components in the long term. To be clear, Entergy conducted the analysis of the vibrations. The NRC reviewed Entergy's results. Right now, explained Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the NRC, the vibrations are within allowable levels for stress on the plant's steam system. Rob Williams, spokesman for Entergy, said the next 5 percent increase could happen as soon as this weekend. It depends on when plant staff is prepared. After the reactor output is raised, engineers will have to hold it there for at least 96 hours to make sure the plant is still operating safely. That waiting period was spelled out in the NRC's approval of the uprate. Vermont Yankee is 33 years old and one of the oldest operating reactors in the country. The many critics of the uprate -- local people, state politicians and nuclear watchdog groups -- have raised questions about Vermont Yankee's ability to withstand an uprate. Despite this opposition, the uprate plan has cleared every regulatory hurdle. There is but one stage left in which concerns about the uprate's safety will be debated. The New England Coalition and the state's Department of Public Service have also brought arguments to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, a quasi-judicial arm of the NRC. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board could reverse the NRC's endorsement of the uprate. Short of that, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board could put more restrictions on terms of the uprate. This is the first uprate that's ever been brought to that board for review. A formal set of hearings before that board has been set for September. The board will also hold a public hearing in Brattleboro to collect testimony from local people. ***************************************************************** 19 TheStar.com: Nuclear power has failed us too often Sun. Apr. 2, 2006. | Updated at 03:48 AM Canadian reactors are not lemons Letter, March 30. Nada A. Trad-Barakat claims Canada's reactors aren't lemons. He's wrong. The cause of Ontario's so-called "looming energy crisis" is rooted in the fact that Ontario's reactors were designed to operate for 40 years, but in 2003 Ontario Power Generation admitted that they would need to be shut down or rebuilt at high cost after only 25 years. This means Ontario will lose 50 per cent of its generation capacity over the next 15 years. Nuclear advocates propose we solve our energy crisis by investing in the energy source that has failed the province again and again  nuclear power. This is no way to keep the lights on, protect the environment or keep industry here. Renewable energy sources can be installed quicker and with less risk than nuclear power. Madeleine Maillet, Toronto Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All ***************************************************************** 20 Reuters.com: Nuclear power debate heats up before German summit Sun 2 Apr 2006 9:46 AM ET By Louis Charbonneau BERLIN, April 2 (Reuters) - German politicians and industry leaders hold an energy summit on Monday to tackle one of Germany's most sensitive issues -- the future of nuclear power in the world's third biggest economy. Chancellor Angela Merkel, Economy Minister Michael Glos, Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel will meet with top managers from German utilities and other major firms to begin work on a new long-term energy policy. Although no breakthroughs are expected, public debate on nuclear energy is likely to intensify as a result, analysts say. There is agreement among Merkel's conservatives (CDU/CSU) and their "grand coalition" partners, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), that Germany must boost investment in environmentally friendly alternative sources of energy. But there is a deep rift over the issue of nuclear energy. Recent threats by Russian gas giant Gazprom to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine if it did not pay higher prices prompted conservatives close to Merkel to demand that Germany cancel a planned phase-out of nuclear energy in Germany. The gradual shutdown of all Germany's nuclear power plants was agreed in 2000 by the government of former SPD Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his then-coalition partners, the Greens. Despite Germany's increasing dependence on Russian gas -- Gazprom and two German firms are building a gas pipeline from Siberia to Germany -- the SPD are firm on the phase-out and forced the conservatives to back their line during coalition talks last year. But pro-nuclear conservatives have not given up. A paper for the summit penned by CDU/CSU members of parliament said that nuclear energy "remains a competitive and CO2-free form of energy that is absolutely essential for the foreseeable future." STATES WANT NUCLEAR POWER Germany has 17 nuclear power plants and 30 percent of the electricity provided to the country's 82 million people comes from nuclear reactors. But some states use a much higher percentage of atomic energy and strongly oppose the phase-out. Christian Wulff, the conservative premier of the state of Lower Saxony, said Germany's precarious economic recovery could not afford an increase in already-high power costs. "Billions of euros of investments depend on energy prices," he said in an interview with the newspaper Bild am Sonntag. "We need an appropriate energy mix that is not based on ideology but on technology, environmental friendliness and price." Industry leaders voicing similar views have been widely quoted in German media ahead of the energy summit. But Environment Minister Gabriel of the SPD told the newspaper Welt am Sonntag that there was no need for nuclear energy and that even coal, used to produce half of Germany's electricity, was undergoing a "renaissance." He also said that "by 2020 it will be possible to cover 20 to 25 percent of our energy demand with renewable sources." Conservative Economy Minister Glos, who has been trading barbs with Gabriel on the issue for weeks, said that in a world where nuclear power was coming back into vogue Germany risked isolation. "I see nuclear power as a transitional energy source which we should use as long as renewable forms of energy still need further development," he said. At an EU energy summit in Brussels earlier this month, the majority of EU leaders agreed nuclear energy was the future for Europe. Germany and Austria were the main dissenters. (Additional reporting by Vera Eckert in Frankfurt) © Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved. [ border=] ***************************************************************** 21 Reuters: FACTBOX-Countries' nuclear power strategies Sun 2 Apr 2006 9:54 AM ET April 2 - German politicians and energy industry leaders meet on Monday to discuss the future of nuclear power, one of the country's most sensitive political issues. Attitudes to nuclear power vary widely across the globe. Germany and Sweden are phasing it out while China plans 30 new reactors by 2020 and India aims for a big expansion. GERMANY - The new coalition government is so far committed to continuing the gradual decommissioning of nuclear power stations by 2020. But nuclear supplies nearly a third of the power consumed in the country, which must replace ageing power stations while also meeting tough climate targets. This is why the nuclear industry wants to extend the use of nuclear energy. It bets on conservative parties' support within a coalition which is also committed to funding renewable energy. BRITAIN - Prime Minister Tony Blair has put nuclear power back on the agenda as he undertakes a review of long-term energy policy, designed to secure future energy supplies while also meeting targets to curb greenhouse gas emissions. He has pledged a decision on the future role of nuclear power by the middle of this year. Nuclear supplies about 20 percent of Britain's electricity. All but one of its ageing nuclear power stations are due to close by the mid 2020s. FRANCE - Relies on nuclear power for 80 percent of its electricity. No new plants have been built since 1993 but France, a major power exporter, plans to build a 1,600 megawatt European pressurised reactor which will open in 2012. FINLAND - Is building a fifth nuclear reactor which will start in 2008. There is industry pressure for a sixth to be built. SWEDEN - Voted in a referendum in 1980 to close its 12 nuclear power stations. The Barseback nuclear plant has been shut in two stages. But worries about carbon emissions are reigniting interest in nuclear. UNITED STATES - Incentives for new nuclear power stations in the latest energy bill. Generators are in line to get $3.1 billion in tax credits to build new nuclear power stations. The industry has been virtually frozen since the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979, the worst such accident in U.S. history. CHINA - Plans to build 30 new nuclear reactors by 2020 to meet its booming energy demand. It has nine reactors producing around 2.3 percent of its power but aims to raise nuclear to four percent within 15 years. JAPAN - Japan is the world's third largest nuclear generator after the United States and France. Nuclear supplies about 30 percent of its power. The government plans to raise this to 40 percent by building five new power stations by 2010. Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved. [ border=] ***************************************************************** 22 Advocate: Problem with backup pump forces shutdown Associated Press Published April 2 2006, 7:36 PM EDT WATERFORD, Conn -- The Millstone 2 nuclear reactor has been shut down following the discovery of a faulty water pump in a backup safety system, the company said Sunday. The problem was discovered Wednesday during routine maintenance, and the reactor was shut down Saturday, said Pete Hyde, a spokesman for Dominion Nuclear Connecticut. "Because it's a backup safety system, we wanted to be cautious and so we gradually brought the unit offline," he said. There was no abnormal release of radiation during the shutdown, and no danger to the public, he said. The pump is part of a backup system that would cool down the steam generation unit if a problem occurred, he said. Hyde could not say when the reactor might be back online. © 2006, The Associated Press © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. ***************************************************************** 23 DAWN: Unbiased approach by N-group urged - Top Stories; April 1, 2006 By Qudssia Akhlaque ISLAMABAD, March 31: Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri on Friday called for a non-discriminatory approach by all 45 members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) towards cooperation with Pakistan in the civilian nuclear sector. He said this during a meeting with a delegation of the French Senate commission for foreign affairs, defence and armed forces. The four-member delegation was headed by former foreign minister Jean Francois-Poncet. A statement issued by the foreign office spokesperson said: “The foreign minister also briefed Senator Poncet about Pakistan’s growing energy requirements in view of its rapid economic development and stressed the need for a non-discriminatory approach by all NSG members, including France, towards cooperation with Pakistan in the civilian nuclear sector.” All aspects of bilateral relations were discussed at the meeting with focus on enhancing cooperation in diverse areas. Key regional issues also figured in the discussions during which the foreign minister underscored Pakistan’s role as an anchor of peace in the region. The foreign minister briefed the delegation about Islamabad’s relations with Kabul, maintaining that a strong, stable and peaceful Afghanistan was in the interest of stability in the region. He gave a detailed account of the dialogue process with India aimed at addressing all outstanding issues, including the issue of Kashmir. Highlighting Pakistan’s efforts in the fight against terrorism, the foreign minister advocated the need for a holistic approach by the international community to defeat the menace of terrorism that would combine diplomatic and political efforts with economic cooperation to strengthen institutions of civil society. “Senator Poncet, appreciating President Pervez Musharraf’s vision of enlightened moderation, commended Pakistan’s role in promoting peace and stability and rooting out extremism from its society,” the foreign office spokesperson said. “He also appreciated Pakistan’s impressive economic development and stated that Pakistan is playing a credible role in regional peace, security and development, the spokesperson said, adding: “He maintained that Pakistan can be a bridge between the West and the Muslim world to create better understanding and cooperation between the two.” Contributions Privacy Policy © DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2006 ***************************************************************** 24 Mos News: Russia Sends First Uranium Shipment to Indian Nuclear Plant - NEWS - MOSNEWS.COM Photo: AFP Created: 02.04.2006 16:18 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 16:18 MSK MosNews India has received an initial shipment of enriched uranium fuel from Russia for a nuclear power plant in the western state of Maharashtra, the AFP news agency reported. The first consignment of 20 to 25 tons of uranium has arrived in the country and will be delivered to the Tarapur nuclear power station soon, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. Another consignment of 45 to 40 tons was expected soon, it said Sunday. “With Russian supply of 60 metric tons of uranium, the plants will have fuel for the next five years and (will) run smoothly,” S. Thakur, an officer with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India which runs the Tarapur plant, told the news agency. Last month Russia announced it would supply a limited amount of uranium for the plant. India last month concluded a landmark nuclear agreement with the United States. This would lift embargos on the transfer of nuclear fuel and technology for civilian purposes. The deal however is still awaiting the go-ahead from the U.S. Congress and the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group that controls the trade in civilian nuclear technology and fuel. Tarapur was built by U.S. company General Electric in the 1960s but Washington halted uranium supplies after New Delhi staged its first nuclear tests in 1974 and refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Since then the plants have received sporadic supplies from Russia and France. Copyright © 2004 MOSNEWS.COM ***************************************************************** 25 AFP: Russia supplies enriched uranium fuel to Indian atomic power plant Sunday April 2, 08:45 PM NEW DELHI (AFP) - India has received an initial shipment of enriched uranium fuel from Russia for a nuclear power plant in the western state of Maharashtra. The first consignment of 20 to 25 tonnes of uranium has arrived in the country and will be delivered to the Tarapur nuclear power station soon, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. Another consignment of 45 to 40 tonnes was expected soon, it said Sunday. "With Russian supply of 60 metric tonnes of uranium, the plants will have fuel for the next five years and (will) run smoothly," S. Thakur, an officer with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India which runs the Tarapur plant, told the news agency. Last month Russia announced it would supply a limited amount of uranium for the plant, India last month concluded a landmark nuclear agreement with the United States. This would lift embargos on the transfer of nuclear fuel and technology for civilian purposes. The deal however is still awaiting the go-ahead from the US Congress and the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group that controls the trade in civilian nuclear technology and fuel. Tarapur was built by US company General Electric in the 1960s but Washington halted uranium supplies after New Delhi staged its first nuclear tests in 1974 and refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Since then the plants have received sporadic supplies from Russia and France. Copyright © 2006 AFP. All rights reserved. All information ***************************************************************** 26 Times of India: Anil Kakodkar to visit Vienna to discuss N-safeguards [ Sunday, April 02, 2006 01:31:45 pmPTI ] MUMBAI: India's top nuclear scientist will visit Vienna this week for talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency on a safeguards accord proposed under the Indo-US nuclear deal to pave the way for resumption of nuclear fuel for Indian reactors. Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar will also discuss with IAEA representatives an Additional Protocol as agreed in the Indo-US nuclear deal reached during the visit of President George W. Bush last month. The plan to separate India's civilian and military nuclear facilities provides for an India-specific safeguards agreement to be negotiated with the IAEA. New Delhi has sought such an agreement since India is neither a member of the NPT nuclear powers comprising the P-5 countries nor it comes under the category of non-Nuclear Weapon States. This is a process the AEC Chairman will be undertaking at Vienna prior to tripartite arrangement with the US. This process would involve the understanding as well as putting forth India's stance on the nuances of the 'India specific' safeguards. "This process is very essential as a preparation to deal with the Nuclear Suppliers' Group from whom India is expected to buy its future nuclear plants to increase the electricity base capacity which will be put under IAEA safeguards," a top DAE official said. Safeguards of IAEA are to prevent diversion of nuclear material for weapon's programme. They are complemented by controls on the export of sensitive technology from countries such as UK and the USA through NSG. Concern of the IAEA is that uranium not be enriched beyond what is necessary for commercial civil plants, and that plutonium which is produced by nuclear reactors not be refined into a form that would be suitable for bomb production. There are different types of safeguards. Each of the nuclear weapons state has concluded separate safeguards agreements with the IAEA, listing specific facilities offered for safeguards. Under the proposed agreement with the IAEA, India too would include a list of facilities offered for IAEA safeguards. It is expected to contain protection against withdrawal of safeguarded nuclear material for civilian use at any time. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made it clear that this agreement will be negotiated so that India will be permitted to take corrective measures to ensure uninterrupted operations of civilian nuclear reactors in the event of disruption of foreign nuclear supplies. In 1993, a program was initiated to strengthen and extend the classical safeguards system (created mainly for countries like Iraq), and a model protocol was agreed by the IAEA Board of Governors in 1997 called Additional Protocol. The measures boosted the IAEA's ability to detect undeclared nuclear activities, including those with no connection to the civil fuel cycle. Currently, 107 states have signed the protocol which is in force in 75 states, according to a latest IAEA publication. According to the model Additional Protocol, the IAEA is to be given considerably more information on nuclear and nuclear-related activities, including R & D, production of uranium and regardless of whether it is traded, and nuclear-related imports and exports. IAEA inspectors will have greater rights of access. This will include any suspect location and it can be at short notice. The IAEA can also deploy environmental sampling and remote monitoring techniques to detect illicit activities. States must streamline administrative procedures so that IAEA inspectors get automatic visa renewal and can communicate more readily with IAEA headquarters. Further evolution of safeguards is towards evaluation of each state, taking account of its particular situation and the kind of nuclear materials it has. This will involve greater judgement on the part of IAEA and the development of effective methodologies which reassure NPT States. Nuclear scientists have expressed concerns over the implementation of Additional Protocol as IAEA inspectors could come anytime, anywhere and even to the research institutions which are placed under safeguards. A N Prasad, who worked on the Additional Protocol for IAEA from day one of its creation said that in this "even ideas, planning can be questioned". "In the current status, only when we have significant quantity (at least eight kg of Plutonium and 25 kg of U-235 uranium), we have to report to IAEA whereas with the Additional Protocol in place, we have to inform even when we have one gram fissile material. "Unless, it is cleverly negotiated using all embracing nuances step by step, the third party -- the US -- can say at any time that India is not cooperating," Prasad said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated in Parliament last month that 14 out of the 22 nuclear plants will be placed under civilian category for IAEA safeguards. Nuclear analysts said six nuclear plants are already under IAEA safeguards and "if eight more of the 220 MW reactors are put under safeguards, the separation plan will not adversely affect the strategic requirement provided all the accumulated reactor fuels from these reactors do not come under safeguards retroactively. They contended since the entire fuel cycle and its derivatives will come under scrutiny with the Perpetuity Clause in effect, such a caveat will not matter if India does not require reactor produced Plutonium. It is clear that this Plutonium cannot be diverted later for military use should the need ever arise. Copyright ©2006Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. For ***************************************************************** 27 Daily Yomiuri: New nuclear facility vital for national policy Editorial : The Yomiuri Shimbun Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. has started testing its spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Rokkashomura, Aomori Prefecture. This trial run, which seeks to confirm the plant will function correctly, closely reflects the conditions under which the plant will operate. Highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel is being used, and individual operations are comparable to those that will take place when the plant enters full service. The start of the test run means, in effect, that Japan Nuclear Fuel will soon start to extract plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. The nation has striven to implement a nuclear fuel cycle program as a matter of national policy. This policy is designed to use the plutonium contained in spent nuclear fuel as an energy source. At the Rokkashomura facility, plutonium will be extracted from spent nuclear fuel on home soil. The commencement of the test run is a crucial step that will determine the success--or failure--of the nuclear fuel cycle policy. In granting his approval for the start of the test, Aomori Gov. Shingo Mimura emphasized the Rokkashomura plant would do much to safeguard the country's energy security while also helping temper a worsening of global warming. His assessment of the facility's role is germane. Plutonium extracted at the plant will be able to serve as a precious energy source that is "made in Japan." It will also further promote nuclear power as an energy source that emits few greenhouse gases. === Safety is vital It goes without saying that operations at Rokkashomura must be accompanied by efforts to ensure the plant's safety. We hope Japan Nuclear Fuel will conduct tests with the utmost care before the plant becomes fully operational in the summer of 2007, as previously planned. It is not certain, however, that the trial run will pass without any accidents or mishaps. The Rokkashomura facility is gigantic: if all the pipes in the plant were put in a straight line, they would extend for about 1,300 kilometers. There are about 26,000 joins where pipes connect with one another. Japan Nuclear Fuel has already published a list of more than 200 possible disruptions that could take place at the facility. The facility's operator must properly handle any accidents in a manner that does not undermine the plant's safety, while also disclosing pertinent information if such an event occurs. It is important for Japan Nuclear Fuel to act in a way that does not betray the trust of people in the communities that host the facility, or the public as a whole. === Foreign criticism unfounded The start of the test has drawn criticism from some countries that claim extracting plutonium from spent nuclear fuel could undermine efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation. Japan has also been singled out for operating a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant while not possessing nuclear weapons. Critics say there is no other nuclear weapons-free country in the world that operates such a facility. They are grossly mistaken. Japan's nuclear program is entirely aimed at serving peaceful purposes. This country has always complied with international nuclear inspections. In light of Japan's longstanding compliance in this respect, the International Atomic Energy Agency decided to simplify some inspection procedures in this country in 2004. Japan Nuclear Fuel must strictly safeguard the nuclear materials held at the plant. Additionally, clear plans detailing the use of the extracted plutonium need to be compiled. To achieve this goal, it is essential to promote plutonium-thermal projects that will burn the extracted plutonium at existing nuclear reactors. The Rokkashomura facility must be run in a manner that will not mar international trust in this country's nuclear fuel cycle policy. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 2) (Apr. 2, 2006) © The Yomiuri Shimbun. ***************************************************************** 28 [DU List] Reg Keyes repost to Rice's tour of UK - Blackburn Date: Sat, 01 Apr 2006 20:53:18 -0800 Might I commend the inspiring peaceful actions of the people and communities of Liverpool, Blackburn and those who have travelled there in protest at this April foolishness of Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice's visit. After visiting BAE's factory which manufactures depleted uranium weapons used in Iraq which poison the earth and those who live on it, for four and a half BILLION years, she referred to the 'thousands of mistakes' the illegal invasion of Iraq has generated. As she was admitting to this, I was in Oxford Coroners Court, hearing the verdict on six of those 'mistakes'. All, British, American and countless thousands of Iraqis are mistakes with names, ages, dreams, families. My 'mistake' was my beloved son Tom Keyes, who believed in western values and died for a war based on lies, at Al Majar, with Seargeant Simon Hamilton Jewell, Corporal Russ Aston Corporal Paul Long Corporal Simon Miller and Lance Corporal Ben Hyde The Coroner returned a verdict of 'unlawful killing' . 'We will track down those responsible',is a frequent patter of the American and British administrations. For our children, American children, Iraqi and other children in this war based on lies, J'accuse, Mr Straw and Ms. Rice. Reg Keys, father of Tom, died Al Majar 24th June 2003, aged 21. ***************************************************************** 29 [NukeNet] UK radiation jump blamed on Iraq shells - details to Date: Sat, 01 Apr 2006 20:53:47 -0800 NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net) UK Radiation Jump Blamed on Iraq Shells A new Green Audit report, featured in UK's Sunday Times 19th February 2006, shows that depleted uranium from Gulf War 2 "Shock and Awe" bombing in 2003 spread across Europe, reaching Britain within 9 days. This is fresh evidence of the indiscriminate effects of uranium armour piercing weaponry which make it illegal under international law (which also means Bush and Blair are war criminals.) There are persistent reports of adverse health effects associated with exposure to inhalation of DU aerosols despite official beliefs that resulting radiation doses are too low to cause any observable impact. Recent publications from a number of radiation risk agencies indicate, however, that the concept of "dose" is not valid for many types of exposure; a typical example is internal exposure to insoluble Uranium Oxide particles in the sub-micron range (i.e. smaller than 1 millionth of a meter in diameter). The risk agencies referred to here are: the International Commission on Radiological Protection, the European Committee on Radiation Risk, the French Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, and the UK's Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters. The full report from Green Audit is at www.llrc.org/aldermastrept.pdf (558 Kb). Or go to www.llrc.org and follow links to the Depleted Uranium pages of the site. Low Level Radiation Campaign UK radiation jump blamed on Iraq shells Mark Gould and Jon Ungoed-Thomas February 19, 2006 UK Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2047373,00.html RADIATION detectors in Britain recorded a fourfold increase in uranium levels in the atmosphere after the “shock and awe” bombing campaign against Iraq, according to a report. Environmental scientists who uncovered the figures through freedom of information laws say it is evidence that depleted uranium from the shells was carried by wind currents to Britain. Government officials, however, say the sharp rise in uranium detected by radiation monitors in Berkshire was a coincidence and probably came from local sources. The results from testing stations at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Aldermaston and four other stations within a 10-mile radius were obtained by Chris Busby, of Liverpool University’s department of human anatomy and cell biology. Each detector recorded a significant rise in uranium levels during the Gulf war bombing campaign in March 2003. The reading from a park in Reading was high enough for the Environment Agency to be alerted. Busby, who has advised the government on radiation and is a founder of Green Audit, the environmental consultancy, believes “uranium aerosols” from Iraq were widely dispersed in the atmosphere and blown across Europe. “This research shows that rather than remaining near the target as claimed by the military, depleted uranium weapons contaminate both locals and whole populations hundreds to thousands of miles away,” he said. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) countered that it was “unfeasible” depleted uranium could have travelled so far. Radiation experts also said that other environmental sources were more likely to blame. The “shock and awe” campaign was one of the most devastating assaults in modern warfare. In the first 24-hour period more than 1,500 bombs and missiles were dropped on Baghdad. During the conflict A10 “tankbuster” planes — which use munitions containing depleted uranium — fired 300,000 rounds. The substance — dubbed a “silver bullet” because of its ability to pierce heavy tank armour — is controversial because of its potential effect on human health. Critics say it is chemically toxic and can cause cancer, and Iraqi doctors reported a marked rise in cancer cases after it was used in the first Gulf conflict. The American and British governments say depleted uranium is relatively harmless, however. The Royal Society, the UK’s academy of science, has also said the risk from depleted uranium is “very low” for soldiers and people in a conflict zone. Busby’s report shows that within nine days of the start of the Iraq war on March 19, 2003, higher levels of uranium were picked up on five sites in Berkshire. On two occasions, levels exceeded the threshold at which the Environment Agency must be informed, though within safety limits. The report says weather conditions over the war period showed a consistent flow of air from Iraq northwards. Brian Spratt, who chaired the Royal Society’s report, cast doubt on depleted uranium as a source but said it could have come from natural uranium in the massive amounts of soil kicked up by shock and awe. Other experts said local environmental sources, such as a power station, were more likely at fault. The Environment Agency said detectors at other sites did not record a similar increase, which suggested a local source. A MoD spokesman said the uranium was of a “natural origin” and there was no evidence that depleted uranium had reached Britain from Iraq. ------------------- United States: 215 atmospheric tests + 815 underground tests = 1,030 USSR: 219 atmospheric tests + 496 underground tests = 715 UK: 21 atmospheric tests + 24 underground tests = 45 France: 50 atmospheric tests + 160 underground tests = 210 China: 23 atmospheric tests + 22 underground tests = 45 The grand total of global atmospheric tests = 528 Source: Page 52, "Atomic Audit, the Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940," Stephen Schwartz, Editor, Brookings Institution Press, Washington D.C., 1998. ------------------------- (Posted for educational and research purposes only, in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107). _______________________________________________________________________ Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/ Change your settings or access the archives at: http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net ***************************************************************** 30 AU: The Age: The nuclear fallout that haunts Welsh farmers theage.com.au [An amusement park ride lies in ruins in the abandoned city of Pripyat, in the 30-kilometre exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear plant.] Photo: Damir Sagolj By Catriona Davies April 2, 2006 BEFORE Emlyn Roberts, a North Wales sheep farmer, can take any of his lambs to market, he has to call in the government inspectors with their Geiger counters. They scan the animals for signs of radiation because the land they graze is still contaminated from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which occurred 20 years ago this month. If the radiation levels are too high, the lambs cannot be sold for meat until they have spent time on other land. Mr Roberts is one of 375 British farmers, with more than 200,000 sheep, whose land is still considered "dirty" and subject to restrictions brought in after radioactive rains brought contamination to Britain in 1986. When the restrictions were established, farmers were told they would apply for only a few weeks, months at most. But many have had to accept that their land could be affected for years to come. On April 25, 1986, the world's worst nuclear power accident occurred at Chernobyl in the former USSR (now Ukraine). The Chernobyl nuclear power plant, 129 kilometres north of Kiev, had four reactors and during testing on one of them, numerous safety procedures were disregarded. The chain reaction that followed caused explosions and a fireball that blew off the reactor's heavy steel and concrete lid. More than 30 people died immediately and, as a result of the high radiation levels in the surrounding 32-kilometre radius, 135,00 people were evacuated. Immediately after the meltdown, almost 9000 British farms were placed under restrictions. Now 95 per cent of the land has been cleared, but the fallout still affects 355 farms in Wales, 11 in Scotland and nine in Cumbria. The land is monitored continually by the Food Standards Agency. The farmers need a licence to move their sheep and must call in inspectors to scan each animal before it can be sold. They are paid £1.30 ($A3.15) compensation for each sheep scanned, the same as in 1986. Mr Roberts, 39, is the fourth generation of his family to run Esgairgawr farm, in Dolgellau, where he keeps 1000 sheep. He usually calls in inspectors every week between July and December, when his lambs are sold. "At peak times, we have to give the inspectors seven days' notice, so we can never take advantage of sudden improvements in trade," he said. "It's worrying that something that happened thousands of miles away can still have such an effect on us." Glyn Roberts, 50, a father of five with a sheep farm in Padog, said: "When the restrictions first started they said it would only last for six months … It makes you wonder how safe nuclear power is." ***************************************************************** 31 Massey News: Research reveals genetic damage to nuclear test veterans Stuff.co.nz
Wellington A significant level of genetic damage in the DNA of New Zealand nuclear test veterans has been found in a study by Massey molecular scientists led by Dr Al Rowland. The Nuclear Test Veterans Association has released the results of the study, which confirm those found in preliminary results of a previous study released last year by the Department for Veteran Affairs. Dr Rowland led both studies, and says the results of the Government-funded study (still underway) are likely to be released in November. The larger Government-funded research involves the comparison of genetic findings from a group of Navy veterans with those from a control group of other veterans who have not been exposed to elevated levels of radiation. At the completion of the study, the scientists will have carried out five analyses, to determine factors such as the amount of translocation in chromosomes, the efficiency of DNA repairs, and the level of DNA degradation. Dr Rowland says preliminary results show a small but significant level of genetic damage to the chromosomes of veterans who were exposed to nuclear explosions almost half a century ago. During 1957 and 1958 at Operation Grapple, 551 New Zealand naval men witnessed nine nuclear detonations at Christmas Island and in the Malden Islands in Kiribati. Dr Rowland says the factors of smoking, alcohol consumption and the use of medical x-rays were taken into account when comparing the DNA of the two groups. He says the suggestion by university peer reviewers that the heavy smoking of the test veterans was a factor in the results is incorrect. Although the Navy veterans had smoked at a greater frequency than the other group in the past, both groups had similar levels of cigarette consumption at the time of the test. He says this is an important consideration as the test looks at what is in the blood at the time of the test, which puts both groups on a level testing ground. Created: 3 April, 2006 Massey University| ***************************************************************** 32 Deseret News: Nuclear testing is never safe [deseretnews.com] Saturday, April 1, 2006 Deseret Morning News for its editorial "New weapons tests worrisome" (March 30). As an Idaho downwinder, I am one of those affected by the nuclear weapons tests in Nevada between 1951 and 1969. I am a thyroid cancer survivor. Several members of my family have suffered from other radiation-induced cancers. Idaho downwinders are not eligible for compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, but we are working to achieve justice and parity with other exposed populations, such as those in Utah. Our betrayal is not a distant memory but an unfolding nightmare. I appreciate the wariness urged by your editorial. Victims of the first period of nuclear oppression must make it clear to younger generations that there will never be an appropriate time to conduct new tests. New tests mean new victims. nuclear weapons do not make anyone safer and never will. Valerie Brown Salem, Ore. © 2006 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 33 Deseret News: The winners and the losers [deseretnews.com] Saturday, April 1, 2006 editorial • Winner/Loser: Accidents involving fighter jets from Hill Air Force Base are rare but not unheard of. But it's always a relief to hear that the pilot escaped with his life, as with the latest crash this week of an F-16 on the Utah Test and Training Range. People are more important than machines, no matter how much the cost. But this accident, and the others that have occurred through the years, ought to make everyone nervous about efforts to put an above-ground, high-level nuclear waste repository near the range. There is no sense taking the chance that one disaster might be compounded into another, more difficult one. • Loser: Criminals aren't the brightest people. That was certainly true with the occupants of a car that led police on a high-speed chase through the Salt Lake Valley on Thursday. At various times, police gave up the chase for safety reasons, but the car kept showing up again, almost as if to bait officers. Luckily no one was injured in the ordeal, which took about three hours altogether and was covered in part by live television. Often, such chases end up badly. The car's occupants, wanted in connection with shoplifting and burglaries, will now have some time to sit and think, which may be a new experience for them. • Winner: Both BYU and the U of U scored well in the annual U.S. News &World Report ranking of the nation's best graduate programs, announced this week. BYU's graduate accounting program was ranked ninth. The University of Utah scored in the top 50 in four categories. The rankings are testament to the commitment Utahns have toward quality education, as well as to the growing academic reputations of both schools. © 2006 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 34 RNZ: Nuclear test vets say new research should guarantee a full war pension Radio New Zealand - Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aoteoroa Time:3:14 pm on 3 Apr [Annabel listens to National Radio] New Zealand nuclear test veterans say new research showing they have suffered genetic damage, should guarantee them a full war pension. About 550 New Zealand Navy personnel witnessed repeated British nuclear explosions at Christmas Island in 1957 - 1958. A report from Massey University shows the veterans suffered a significant level of genetic damage. The Nuclear Test Veterans' Association says the government should accept the results and allow veterans or their widows' applications for a war pension. Association president, Roy Sefton, says many of them have had their application turned down. But the Minister of Veterans' Affairs, Rick Barker, says there is no barrier to the veterans getting a full pension. Copyright © 2006 Radio New Zealand Section Navigation -Find your way around ***************************************************************** 35 Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Depleted uranium the next Agent Orange? Letters to the editor In a time where things seem to be happening in twos, such as the second Pearl Harbor, the second Gulf War, or what some people are calling the second Vietnam, I think the last thing this government would want is a second Agent Orange. Depleted uranium is an extremely dangerous and radioactive chemical to which the Iraqi people and our troops in Iraq should not be exposed. I believe that Congress should immediately study the effects of depleted uranium munitions before it is too late and we have another Agent Orange issue on our hands. Derek English Sarasota ***************************************************************** 36 NZ STUFF: Nuke test veterans 'vindicated' New Zealand's leading news and information website: Monday, 03 April 2006 By SUE EDEN New research has vindicated Operation Grapple veterans who have for years been saying they suffered damage from observing nuclear tests, the Nuclear Test Veterans Association says. However, Veterans Affairs Minister Rick Barker says there are problems with the methodology used in the research which need to be looked at further. Nuclear Test Veterans Association chairman Roy Sefton said today he had received a copy of the 30-page report on the research project, the "Sister Chromatid Exchange". The research, headed by scientist Al Rowland, was conducted on a group of 50 New Zealand naval veterans of Operation Grapple – the British hydrogen bomb testing of 1957-58 – and a control group of 50 former military veterans who had no nuclear testing service. Blood samples were taken from both groups and studied for abnormal chromosomal damage. The research overview stated that the results demonstrated the presence of elevated chromosomal disturbances in peripheral blood lymphocytes of New Zealand nuclear test veterans nearly 50 years after the Operation Grapple series of tests. The effect size was weak but nevertheless observable and significant, the paper said. "A statistically significant increased level of sister chromatid exchange frequency was observed in the veterans compared to a matched control group even after adjustment for confounding factors. This assay is accepted internationally as an indicator of genotoxicity, which leads us to conclude that the New Zealand nuclear test veterans have experienced some genetic damage as a consequence of their involvement in Operation Grapple." The veterans should be considered an at-risk group that deserves special medical monitoring, the paper said. Because chromosomal disturbances involved hereditary material, the veterans' children also deserved investigation, it said. Mr Sefton said the veterans had been vindicated, as the research had positively concluded that "these nuclear test veterans have suffered genetic damage from their service at Operation Grapple". This had been found despite the group of 50 nuclear test veterans being among the most "healthy" as those with cancers, for example, were excluded because their exposure to radiation therapy and chemotherapy might have influenced the results, Mr Sefton said. Two peer reviews were also released with the report, with one suggesting problems with the methodology used. Mr Sefton said the peer review suggested the nuclear test veterans' past record of a high consumption of alcohol and nicotine was a factor in the chromatid damage to the test veterans. "The only thing they haven't mentioned is sex actually." Mr Sefton said he had spoken to Dr Rowland extensively and the scientist insisted that even when adjustments were made for age, smoking, alcohol, coffee/tea consumption and medical x-rays, "the resulting elevated genetic damage is due to their radiation services, there's no other answer for it". Mr Sefton also said he could not understand why it had taken the Government eight months to release the report. It had received the research last September. Some veterans had died since then. He was also concerned the research findings would be shelved, as there had been no official indication it would be applied to help nuclear test veterans and their widows in claims for war pensions or for help for health problems. Mr Sefton said he was still "puzzled" why in a country like New Zealand, which was nuclear free and had fought hard against nuclear testing at Mururoa, "young men were placed 20 miles from megatonne hydrogen bomb tests and they're (Government ministers) still quibbling over whether they were irradiated or not". A spokesman for Veterans Affairs Minister Rick Barker said the minister was aware of concerns about the scientific methodology used for the research. "The last piece of advice he had was the expressed concerns around the scientific methodology." The peer review had found the methodology used was not robust enough to be reliable, the spokesman said. If the veterans felt that peer review's concerns were not valid, or that subsequent work had been done to address those concerns, and if the researchers and the veterans wanted to work further with Veterans Affairs and the minister, he was more than happy to engage with them. Mr Barker wanted the issue dealt with properly and thoroughly. "He wants to make sure that the vets are well looked after and taken care of." ***************************************************************** 37 Las Vegas SUN: Yucca Mountain chief predicts application in 2008, dump by 2020 March 31, 2006 By ERICA WERNER ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) - The official who oversees Yucca Mountain said Friday that he expects the Energy Department to submit a license application for the nuclear waste dump during the 2008 fiscal year and open the facility in Nevada by 2020. But Paul Golan, who took over last May as acting director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, acknowledged that the contentiousness over Yucca Mountain will never be put to rest. "This will always be a controversial program. It always will be. Even after it's done," Golan said in an interview with The Associated Press. "And what we're trying to do is point the ship in the direction - safer, simpler, more reliable," he said. "And by our actions demonstrate that this is a path that will allow the repository to open in the shortest amount of time and the safest, most reliable way." Since taking over, Golan has announced plans to seal nuclear waste at reactors in canisters that could be put directly into the ground to minimize possible safety risks. He's announced that work by government scientists who apparently flouted quality control standards is being redone, even though he's not found flaws with the science itself. Now Golan's department is preparing to unveil legislation to smooth the path for completing the project. Energy Department officials have said the bill will contain provisions to ensure funding for Yucca Mountain and to create a permanent site for the repository by withdrawing from public use the land where it is dug into the desert 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Golan said the much-anticipated bill probably will contain other changes too, but he wouldn't say what. He said the department "has an open mind" on the idea of interim storage of nuclear waste at other federal sites until Yucca Mountain can be completed. Golan refused to say when the bill will be released. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said in early March it would be ready within the month, and Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said this week he'll likely file his own bill if the administration doesn't produce one quickly. Already 55,000 metric tons of commercial and defense waste is accumulating at sites around the country, and Yucca Mountain is authorized to hold only 70,000 tons unless there's a legislative change. Golan said the department is beginning the process - mandated by law - of preparing to report to Congress on the need for a second nuclear waste repository. But acknowledging the political controversy any such proposal would encounter, he joked, "You don't want it in your backyard?" Energy Department officials have said their planned legislation, along with the administration's new plan to study reprocessing nuclear waste - something that stopped in the 1970s because of proliferation concerns - could delay the need for a second dump indefinitely. "If we can actually get a little bit better on closing the fuel cycle here, that's going to be very important in minimizing the volume of future waste that we're going to have to deal with," Golan said. Golan's past assignments have included managing cleanup of the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant in Colorado, and he keeps a well-thumbed copy of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act within easy reach in his office. No matter what happens, he said, Yucca Mountain will be needed. "It's not a question of if. We've already established a need for a geologic repository," Golan said. --- On the Net: Yucca Mountain project: http://www.ymp.gov All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 38 Observer: Why Britain must not let its nuclear future go to waste [UP] The unpalatable nature and £70bn cost of cleaning up our nuclear programme should not blind us to the long-term opportunities the industry offers, argues Brian Wilson Sunday April 2, 2006 The Observer Nobody who has visited Sellafield will be in the least surprised that the costs of cleaning it up are going to rise above earlier estimates. Even now, it is impossible to know exactly what hidden, hitherto-uncosted challenges might exist on that Cumbrian promontory. A single batch of infamous sludge, dating from the Fifties, is responsible for £9bn of the £70bn figure announced last week. Before I visited Sellafield, I had an image of nuclear waste being neatly packed and stored in shiny containers. It is not until you have seen the submerged scrapyards of machines, work surfaces and assorted paraphernalia that you realise just how incomplete that picture is. In its raw state, nuclear waste is about old buildings, sludge, chemicals - and the vast majority dates back to the early, military days of the British nuclear programme. Around 90 per cent of the waste that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is now wrestling with is at Sellafield. The rest is scattered around 20 sites. When I was Energy Minister I commissioned an inventory, since there was no comprehensive register of what was where. The idea that anyone had a sensible idea of how much it was going to cost to neutralise this legacy was absurd and it does not take Old Moore to predict that the figure will go higher still. About £600m a year, for 25 years, of the £70bn clean-up costs will be attributed to the Magnox power stations that have now been retired or will be closed within the next few years, having given sterling service to the nation over four decades. The other significant locations for clean-up work are Dounreay, Harwell and Winfrith - the three sites designated for nuclear research from the earliest days. But Sellafield accounts for 65 per cent of the NDA budget. The fact that the NDA is getting to grips with this task in a systematic manner is both welcome and long overdue. We set up the NDA precisely to separate legacy issues (and costs) from current and future ones. Under the leadership of Sir Anthony Cleaver and Ian Roxburgh, chairman and chief executive respectively, it is doing its job methodically and well. 'Nuclear waste' has been an all-purpose scare story for far too long; the public should be reassured that its history is now being addressed in this way. To make any parallels between last week's announcement and the current debate about nuclear new-build is, however, illogical, and no more than a propaganda point. The civil nuclear industry did not create Sellafield or most of the other sites. The enormous pressure which existed for rapid solutions and the cutting of corners did not come from the demands of power stations, but from generals and politicians. The extraordinarily cavalier approach which existed towards the treatment of deadly materials in the early decades is utterly incompatible with the stringencies of the highly regulated civil nuclear industry. These legacy costs, and the challenges they represent, will have to be met irrespective of the decisions taken on the future of nuclear power. I noted with wry amusement the many critics (some of them in Ireland) who were this week questioning the decision to sell off the British Nuclear Group, which might be described as the legacy wing of BNFL, and to increase the role of international contracting groups in the clean-up process at Sellafield and elsewhere. By and large, they were the same people who have spent years attacking the performance of state-owned BNFL.. Now it has been recognised that there must be better ways of addressing the mammoth task, they want to defend the status quo. My view is that we need every piece of expertise, every technological innovation and every efficiency of programme management to get the job done and achieve cost efficiencies along the way. That is what the NDA was set up to achieve - and in a £70bn programme there is plenty room for innovation and savings. It is essential that there should be major British players in this market. Everyone recognises that there will also be foreign ones, mainly American and Japanese. But this vast industry is not only about what is to be done in the United Kingdom over a very long period. Every country with nuclear programmes, civil and/or military, will require decommissioning work. We should become big players in that international industry. The US company Bechtel has built up its expertise in the American market over the past 15 years and is now exporting that experience. Britain needs to do the same, replicating the way the support industry for North Sea oil and gas developed. It came into existence to service the needs of the North Sea with the result that British companies are now to be found anywhere in the world that there is offshore production. Already, it is late in the day. There are tens of thousands of people employed in the nuclear industry, including 14,000 at Sellafield. The skills base is enormous. But it is an ageing workforce and there is an urgent need for recruitment, training and attractive career paths for graduates who enter the nuclear industry. A competitive market among contractors as well as the existence of longterm prospects both at home and abroad will help to achieve this. The NDA must now keep the momentum going. The industry needs clarity on what exactly is included in the sale of BNG. For instance, is its work with Aldermaston and the MoD part of the package? Will the buyer operate the Magnox stations for the remainder of their lives? The next stage is then to seek tenders for the establishment of a low-level UK waste strategy to replace the work currently done at Drigg, also in Cumbria. All of this needs to go forward as speedily as is practical. While there is no direct connection between the handling of legacy issues and the case for new-build, there is no doubt that evidence of government and the nuclear industry getting their acts together on the former will improve public perceptions of the case for the latter - particularly when this leads to a practical, acceptable solution to the long-running saga of high-level waste and its longterm storage. · Brian Wilson was Energy Minister from 2001-03 and is a director of Amec Nuclear. Useful links British Energy Department of Trade and Industry British Nuclear Fuels Ltd Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Greenpeace HSE nuclear glossary Come Clean WMD awareness programme UK atomic energy authority National Radiological Protection Board Friends of the Earth World Nuclear Association World Nuclear Transport Institute [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 39 London Times: The man trying to lift the UK's nuclear cloud - The Sunday Times April 02, 2006 Gordon MacKerron has to decide how to store or dispose of our radioactive waste. Report by Tracey Boles NOT everyone would have jumped at the chance of handling tonnes of nuclear waste, but Gordon MacKerron did. Late in the summer of 2003, the economics professor who specialises in the nuclear industry at the University of Sussex, was sitting in his Brighton study when he was offered the chairmanship of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM). He had 24 hours to consider the job offer but accepted it straightaway. He said: "I thought it was such an important and interesting job that I couldn't resist." As chairman of CoRWM, he is looking at how Britain might store or dispose of its mounting nuclear waste. Britain has had nuclear waste since the 1940s, but getting rid of it is so technically difficult and politically charged that the government has still not decided what to do with it in the long term. Some 80,000 cubic metres is in temporary storage at 37 sites operated by British Nuclear Fuels and the UK Atomic Energy Authority. The main ones are Sellafield in Cumbria and Dounreay in Scotland. Once Britain's 23 remaining reactors have been shut down and dismantled, the country will have amassed 478,000 cubic metres of the most active nuclear waste, or enough to fill the Royal Albert Hall five times. Some of it will give off radiation for hundreds of thousands of years. Nuclear material is sometimes stored in pits, silos and cooling baths. A small amount has been cemented inside drums. MacKerron said: "What to do with our nuclear waste is a national problem that has not been solved over a long period." CoRWM is due to make its long-awaited draft recommendations to government early next month. The independent 11-member committee has spent nearly three years examining the different options for storing or disposing of Britain's most active nuclear waste. The recommendations will appear on the eve of the government decision on whether to give the green light to a new generation of nuclear reactors. The two processes, although separate, are inextricably linked in some people's eyes: is it right to commit Britain to creating more radioactive waste while we have yet to find an acceptable, long-term solution for handling the material that already exists? The bulk of Britain's radioactive waste, about 87%, has been generated by nuclear reactors since the 1950s. Some 9% was made by experiments, 2% is military, and a tiny proportion comes from hospitals. The highest-level waste is the liquid left over from reprocessing spent nuclear fuel at Sellafield. There are only 2,000 cubic metres of this radioactive, nitric-acid solution, which is a byproduct of extracting uranium for reuse and is extremely hot. Direct exposure can cause death within days. Intermediate-level waste, 350,000 cubic metres in total, is still dangerously radioactive but does not give off heat. It tends to be materials that have become radioactive after prolonged contact with nuclear fuels, such as fuel casings, reactor cores and cooling fluid. At present it is stored in reinforced steel-and-concrete casings near to where it is produced. The third category, low-level waste, typically includes gloves, soil, and building rubble that is slightly radioactive but has not been in proximity to high doses of radiation. Most of this large quantity of material is outside CoRWM's remit. CoRWM has whittled down its original list of 15 storage and disposal options to a short list of four: storing waste at or near the surface, either temporarily or permanently; putting it in a bunker between 300 metres and 500 metres underground that is then sealed for ever; constructing the underground bunker in a way that waste can be retrieved for 100 years or more (known as phased disposal); and disposing of low-level waste where it is produced. This last option could see today's reactors become disposal sites, a move likely to anger residents living nearby. MacKerron said his main dilemma was choosing between the improved storage of radioactive material, which assumes that Britain will still be politically stable 100 years from now, and an early commitment to deep underground disposal, which means the waste would be out of reach of any future technological advances. He said: "There is very likely to be some mixture of options in our recommendations. It would be very surprising if one size fitted all from now on." Cost is likely to play a part in CoRWM's decision. Its estimates show, for example, that an underground bunker would cost between œ10 billion and œ18 billion, and storing waste above ground near where it is produced, would cost between œ9 billion and œ27 billion - and that is without a final repository factored in. "Not only is this option expensive, the lack of disposal means there is no end point to the problem of waste," said a leading industry source. Greenpeace's nuclear campaign co-ordinator, Jean McSorley, said: "Our view is that nuclear waste should be stored above ground at the point of origin. This would make it easier to monitor and easier to control." MacKerron said: "There are bound to be some people who will not be pleased with our recommendations." In the 1990s, plans for an underground rock laboratory near Sellafield had to be scrapped, largely due to local opposition. This time the government may try to win over communities by offering sweeteners such as improved transport links. CoRWM will not name precise storage or repository sites. According to the British Geological Society, Scotland, Cornwall, East Anglia and London have geology that makes them suitable for storing radioactive material. The final decision for the method of dealing with waste and where it is located rests with ministers. Whatever choice is made, the multi-billion-pound bill, which the government will foot, will come on top of the œ56 billion clean-up task announced by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority last week. Although storage and disposal contracts are a long way off due to planning and technical hurdles, companies that could compete include Amec and Carillion, which have built storage sites at Sellafield, and Halcrow, the British engineering-design consultancy that worked on the intermediate waste-storage site at Hunterston with BNG and Balfour Beatty. Halcrow's director of nuclear development, Colin Robertson, said: "Halcrow has a lot of the skills necessary for building a long-term waste repository such as tunnelling and grouting with cement to seal up fissures in the rock." The recent debate on nuclear new-build has complicated MacKerron's job. He said suspicion from local-level environmental groups over more atomic energy had made them less inclined to engage in the legacy work. He said: "I don't want the report taken as a green light, or for that matter a red light, to new build. Our central task is legacy." Sixty years after its first nuclear waste, Britain is still grappling with the problem. The stark facts about waste # Nuclear waste would have to decay for between 300 and 1m years before its radiation reverts to background level. # Since the second world war Britain has safely packaged only 8% of its nuclear waste. # Some 21,600 drums of intermediate waste have been produced. # By 2023 all but one of the present nuclear power stations, Sizewell B, will have been shut down. But Britain's first waste repository will not be operational until 2040 - if it gets approval. # About 30% of Britain has the geology suitable for a waste bunker deep underground Times Newspapers Ltd. ***************************************************************** 40 Nevada Appeal: Reid calls for Yucca budget cuts, not increases April 2, 2006 Appeal Capitol Bureau March 31, 2006 Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday the Department of Energy's budget request for Yucca Mountain should be cut, not increased. The energy department is asking for $50 million more than last year for the nuclear dump project. He told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee the $544 million budget for Fiscal Year 2007 is "bloated" especially in view of the numerous scientific problems at the site. Reid said those include a 2004 Court ruling which threw out EPA's radiation protection standards for Yucca because they were not strong enough to protect the public from radiation and failed to follow the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences. He said numerous scientific and quality assurance problems with transportation plans, corrosion of casks and other issues have caused the department to suspend work on the surface facilities and containers. In addition, he said DOE has revealed documents and models of water infiltration at Yucca Mountain have been falsified. In response, he said, the administration has confirmed it is preparing a legislative package to remove health, safety and legal requirements - "a clear admission that the project is a public health, safety and scientific failure." "It should be clear to anyone that the proposed Yucca Mountain project is not going anywhere. Yucca Mountain will never open," Reid told the subcommittee. All contents © Copyright 2006 nevadaappeal.com Nevada Appeal - 580 Mallory Way - Carson City, NV 89701 ***************************************************************** 41 Lahontan Valley News: Why does Nevada get nuclear waste? and Fallon Eagle Standard - Opinion April 1, 2006 } --> [Print Friendly] Print [Email] Email Editor: The prospect of having America's nuclear garbage dumped at Yucca Mountain is terrifying. All those states reap the benefits of nuclear energy while Nevadans will be endangered by their waste. If it's so safe, why don't we dump it in facilities near the White House, Congress and Capitol Hill? How about dumping it in Texas by Bush's ranch? If it's safe enough for Nevadans, surely Bush wouldn't be concerned having it by his house and family. Jeanine Ford Fallon All contents © Copyright 2006 lahontanvalleynews.com Lahontan Valley News and Fallon Eagle Standard - 562 North Maine Street - Fallon, NV 89406 ***************************************************************** 42 Sydney Morning Herald: Concerns over Chinese uranium deal - www.smh.com.au April 2, 2006 - 10:34AM Australia is set to kick-start uranium sales to China with a nuclear safeguards agreement despite environmental and security concerns. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao touches down in Canberra ahead of a meeting on Monday with Prime Minister John Howard where he is poised to sign off on a nuclear safeguards agreement. The two countries have been nutting out the deal since August last year and to open the way for China to begin buying Australian uranium. Mr Wen indicated on Sunday he was willing to commit to long-term safeguards in order to secure the sales and Mr Howard moved to assure doubters the agreement will be rigorous. "China sees herself as projecting influence and authority in the region - that's understandable given her size - and I don't think she's going to lightly give up the fairly hard-won reputation that she's trying to get acquired. "The safeguards that we have adopted are very rigorous and unless we are going to declare to the world that we're not going to deal with anybody then ... in relation to uranium we have to assume a certain degree of good faith," Mr Howard told the Ten Network. But environmental groups harbour deep concerns. The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) says the deal will jeopardise international nuclear safeguards by allowing China to divert uranium to its weapons program. It could also threaten regional security and open up new risks associated with nuclear waste, the group said. "Nuclear is too dangerous, too dirty, too expensive, and too slow to provide any legitimate answer to climate change or to energy security for the developing world," an ACF resolution states. "Australian uranium exports would facilitate diversion of China's limited uranium supplies into their ongoing nuclear weapons program, further regional insecurity, and increase nuclear risks including unresolved nuclear waste management." It also expressed doubts about China's ability to stick to its word. "China is an authoritarian state with a history of lack of accountability and non-compliance to a range of relevant nuclear and human rights treaties and conventions," it said. Labor is divided over the nuclear issue and preparing itself for a big debate over whether to overturn its no-new-mines policy. Opposition resources spokesman Martin Ferguson, an outspoken critic of his party's three-mines-only position, says the time for change is now. "I think the party is ready for a debate," he told the Nine network. "The debate is about the conditions of export. "We have got to play above our weight in the international forums with like-minded nations to make sure that uranium is only used for peaceful purposes because nuclear power is a fact of life." Mr Wen, on a four-day visit to Australia, arrives in Canberra ahead of the meeting on Monday. "In our bilateral cooperation we should establish a long-term, stable and fundamental institutional and systematic safeguard," Mr Wen said through an interpreter in Perth. "We are also going to set up a price formulation mechanism that is up to international norms and I believe this will provide a long-term benefit to our two countries." © 2006 AAP Sydney Morning Herald. ***************************************************************** 43 Sydney Morning Herald: Uranium deal set to be signed despite concerns - smh.com.au April 2, 2006 - 7:13PM Australia is set to kick-start uranium sales to China with a nuclear safeguards agreement despite environmental and security concerns. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao touches down in Canberra tonight ahead of a meeting tomorrow with Prime Minister John Howard where he is poised to sign off on a nuclear safeguards agreement. The two countries have been nutting out the deal since August last year and to open the way for China to begin buying Australian uranium. Mr Wen indicated today he was willing to commit to long-term safeguards in order to secure the sales and Mr Howard moved to assure doubters the agreement will be rigorous. "China sees herself as projecting influence and authority in the region - that's understandable given her size - and and I don't think she's going to lightly give up the fairly hard-won reputation that she's trying to get acquired. "The safeguards that we have adopted are very rigorous and unless we are going to declare to the world that we're not going to deal with anybody then ... in relation to uranium we have to assume a certain degree of good faith," Mr Howard told the Ten Network. But environmental groups harbour deep concerns. The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) says the deal will jeopardise international nuclear safeguards by allowing China to divert uranium to its weapons program. It could also threaten regional security and and open up new risks associated with nuclear waste, the group said. "Nuclear is too dangerous, too dirty, too expensive, and too slow to provide any legitimate answer to climate change or to energy security for the developing world," an ACF resolution states. "Australian uranium exports would facilitate diversion of China's limited uranium supplies into their ongoing nuclear weapons program, further regional insecurity, and increase nuclear risks including unresolved nuclear waste management." It also expressed doubts about China's ability to stick to its word. "China is an authoritarian state with a history of lack of accountability and non-compliance to a range of relevant nuclear and human rights treaties and conventions," it said. Labor is divided over the nuclear issue and preparing itself for a big debate over whether to overturn its no-new-mines policy. Opposition resources spokesman Martin Ferguson, an outspoken critic of his party's three-mines-only position, says the time for change is now. "I think the party is ready for a debate," he told the Nine network. "The debate is about the conditions of export. "We have got to play above our weight in the international forums with like-minded nations to make sure that uranium is only used for peaceful purposes because nuclear power is a fact of life." Mr Wen, on a four-day visit to Australia, arrives in Canberra tonight ahead of the meeting tomorrow. "In our bilateral cooperation we should establish a long-term, stable and fundamental institutional and systematic safeguard," Mr Wen said through an interpreter in Perth. "We are also going to set up a price formulation mechanism that is up to international norms and I believe this will provide a long-term benefit to our two countries." AAP Copyright © 2006. The Sydney Morning Herald. ***************************************************************** 44 KRT Wire: Businesses support proposed nuclear fuel reprocessing plant | 03/31/2006 | BY SAMMY FRETWELL Knight Ridder Newspapers AIKEN, S.C. - Aiken-area business leaders want to land a controversial nuclear fuel reprocessing plant that could bring thousands of jobs to the Savannah River Site. It would be years before the government built the project - if studies determine the venture is safe and worthwhile. But supporters say a fuel reprocessing complex is worth pursuing for SRS - and it's time to let the federal government know they like the idea. "We think SRS is a great site that should be looked at," said Danny Black, director of the Southern Carolina Alliance, which helps recruit industry to the Barnwell-Aiken area. "There are a lot of potential jobs and a lot of potential growth associated with something like this." The Savannah River Site's chief contractor and key business groups filed notice with the federal government Friday that they're interested. Government officials want to launch a demonstration project to see if a permanent reprocessing facility would work. The idea is to reclaim radioactive material from used nuclear fuel to make fresh nuclear fuel for atomic power plants. That would mark a major shift in U.S. policy and draw opposition from anti-nuclear activists. President Jimmy Carter scrapped the idea in the 1970s because of concerns about its danger and high costs. According to plans by the U.S. Department of Energy, communities across the country would compete for a new reprocessing demonstration plant. If that plant works, the government would build a permanent complex somewhere in the United States. That complex would include a reprocessing plant and possibly a nuclear fuel plant to supply new commercial reactors. Business groups signing off on the notice Friday include the Aiken/Edgefield Economic Development Partnership, the Southern Carolina Alliance, Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness and area chambers of commerce. The cities of Aiken and North Augusta also back the effort. The notice was filed by the Washington Savannah River Co., the site's chief contractor. Mal McKibben, who directs Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness, estimated SRS could one day land 2,000 to 4,000 jobs from reprocessing facilities. Other estimates place the jobs total in the hundreds. Area leaders are seeking new missions at SRS as the site gears down from 50 years of Cold War weapons production activities and clean up. The federal government also is considering a mixed-oxide fuel plant and a modern pit facility at SRS that would employ thousands. In this case, the U.S. Department of Energy is considering the reprocessing project as part of an effort to reuse re-use radioactive material that remains in spent nuclear fuel after it is burned by commercial power plants. Instead of being left as waste, the radioactive materials could be recycled and used again to make atomic reactor fuel for new nuclear power plants. Fuel plants and new reactors also would be built, according to plans. Bush administration officials say that could cut the amount of nuclear waste nationally and reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil. But Tom Clements, a nuclear non-proliferation activist who follows SRS, said the government can't reprocess fuel without risk - even if it uses new technologies. He said Clements believes the Energy Department is trying to fast-track the reprocessing idea before President Bush leaves office in 2009. "In 30 years of working on DOE issues, I don't think I've seen a program trying to move so quickly that is so ill-defined and costly," Clements said. Clements said reprocessing would produce more highly toxic waste at the Savannah River Site. The site has 36 million tons of highly radioactive waste in aging tanks, but cleaning out the tanks has proven problematic and costly. Some of the waste is toxic enough to kill a person instantly. The government chose not to use a nuclear reprocessing plant near Barnwell in the 1970s because of its potential dangers. One of the key fears was that plutonium culled from reprocessing fuel could be stolen and used for atomic bombs. Some believe SRS is a favorite of the DOE for the project. A top official at SRS last month told the Washington Savannah River Co. to begin feasibility studies on reprocessing. The March 3 letter from SRS contract manager Jeff Allison, released this week, said the energy department had $2 million to support "preconceptual project activities." ***************************************************************** 45 Times of India: Russian uranium lands Srinivas Laxman [ Sunday, April 02, 2006 12:32:41 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK ] MUMBAI: Ignoring US protests, the Russians have recently dispatched about 60 tonnes of low-enriched uranium (LEU) for the 160-MW first and second units of the Tarapur Atomic Power Station (Taps), senior officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) stated. Speaking to TOI late on Saturday night on condition of anonymity, they added that LEU was flown from Russia by a special chartered aircraft to Hyderabad, from where it was taken to the Nuclear Fuel Complex for processing. "It will take some time before they are taken to Tarapur, because they have to be processed first," a top official said. The LEU pellets have been made conforming to the specifications given during PM Manmohan Singh's visit to Moscow in December 2005. The contract for their supply is with a Russian company called Rosatom, which incidentally is also involved in the construction of the Kudunkulam atomic power station near Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. The LEU which is safeguarded, is expected to last for five years. The dispatch of the fuel delinks it from the controversial Indo-US nuke deal. According to nuclear experts here by sending the fuel well before the ratification of the Indo-US nuke deal by the US Congress and the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers' Group, Russia has proved that it does not want its decisions determined solely by US preferences and policies. It may be recalled that soon after President George Bush and his team left New Delhi for Washington last month, Singh telephoned Russian President Vladmir Putin who assured him that fuel would be supplied to Tarapur. The NPC officials also said that the fourth unit of the 540-megawatt TAPS has been shut down for carrying out checks. "It will be restarted in two days," an official said. Copyright ©2006Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. For ***************************************************************** 46 Deseret News: Hatch cites risks of nuclear waste Saturday, April 1, 2006 Deseret Morning News The crash this week of an F-16 fighter jet in Utah's West Desert is yet another reason why a private company should not be allowed to store high-level nuclear waste in the area, U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Friday. In a Friday statement, Hatch noted that there have been more than 70 accidents at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) in the past 20 years. The pilot in Thursday's crash was on his way back to Hill Air Force Base after a training mission at the range. "More than half the nation's high-level nuclear waste could be stored above ground at Skull Valley, which lies directly in the low-level flight path of the 7,000 F-16s that train at UTTR," Hatch said. "Let's remember that this isn't simply a flight training zone — it's a cruise-missile bombing range. I can't think of a more dangerous place to store this waste." In seeking its license for the facility, Private Fuel Storage put forth evidence of each of the previous accidents and scientific analysis of how the aircraft and storage containers would react in the case of a crash, spokeswoman Sue Martin said Friday. "That's exactly why we had so many hours, days, of hearings over the aircraft issues during the licensing process," Martin said. "The final conclusion by the experts at the nuclear Regulatory Commission and Atomic Safety and Licensing Board was that the casks could withstand such an accident without exceeding any safety regulations." Citing concerns about the threat of an F-16 crash, the nuclear Regulatory Commission initially struck down PFS' proposal to store 40,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel on land owned by the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes. The company later reapplied and was granted the license in a 2-1 decision. Hatch urged Utahns to contact the BLM, which must issue rights of way to the land, and oppose the project. "We have a solid case, and we need to make it — repeatedly and resoundingly," the senator said. To submit a comment to the BLM, e-mail pam_schuller@blm.gov. For comments or questions for Private Fuel Storage, go to www.privatefuelstorage.comand click on the "contact us" link. E-mail: awelling@desnews.com © 2006 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 47 Courier News: Fermi waste permit is up for comment [SuburbanChicagoNews.com] from staff reports BATAVIA The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. EPA are inviting public comment on the waste-handling permit held by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. The agencies are considering renewal of the hazardous and solid waste amendments permit held by Fermilab. The lab is managing its mixed (hazardous and radioactive) and hazardous wastes under its previous permit. Copies of the permit application, draft renewal permit decision and related fact sheets can be viewed at the Batavia Public Library, 31 S. Batavia Ave. People may submit written comments on the proposed permit to the addresses below, during the 45-day comment period. Comments must be postmarked by midnight May 15. If the agencies feel it is needed, a public hearing may be held on the Fermilab permit. People may contact the U.S. EPA's offices in Chicago: Jim Blough, DW-8J, U.S. EPA-Region V, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604; phone (312) 886-2967. 04/01/06 SuburbanChicagoNews.com — © Digital Chicago & Sun-Times ***************************************************************** 48 Advertiser: SA power plant 'within 20 years' 01 April 2006 A URANIUM enrichment or nuclear power plant could be built in South Australia within 20 years, Marathon Resources chief executive officer John Santich predicted yesterday. "I think there will be some good uranium discoveries in SA over the next two years and, within the next six years, I believe there will be the potential for at least three new uranium mines - a couple of in-situ leach operations and at least one hard-rock operation," he told the Uranium 2006 conference in Adelaide. "Over the next 20 years, I think there is a reasonable chance that there will be an enrichment and/or a nuclear power facility here in SA ... there was interest in enrichment 20 years ago at Redcliff in South Australia and I don't see why the issue should not be revisited. "It is not as if enrichment is unknown technology and it does not make any more of a contribution to the important issue of non-proliferation. "If Australia wants to hold itself out as the 'clever country' it should be clever, and uranium enrichment seems to me to be a clever way of adding value to what is otherwise just a quarrying operation." © Advertiser Newspapers Pty Limited ***************************************************************** 49 Las Vegas SUN: Editorial: Politics of nuclear waste April 01, 2006 Safety holds little concern as federal officials, utility managers push for Yucca opening The Bush administration is working on a plan to expedite the opening of Yucca Mountain and intends to unveil it this month, according to a report from McClatchy News Service's Washington bureau. Details of the plan, under review by federal agencies, are not known. What is known, however, should be of concern to every Nevadan. The Energy Department, in charge of the project to bury the nation's high-level nuclear waste 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas at Yucca Mountain, has confirmed discussing various ideas for inclusion in the plan. Among them is removing the congressional cap of 77,000 tons of the deadly waste that can be buried in the mountain. This is consistent with a call in February by the Nuclear Energy Institute - a Washington-based organization that lobbies on behalf of nuclear power plants - to bury as much as 115,000 tons at Yucca. Additionally, federal officials are considering declaring Yucca Mountain an interim site for storage, meaning waste could be hauled there immediately to await a presumed opening. This would contravene Congress' original intention that no state with a site under consideration for a permanent storage facility would have to accept waste on an interim basis. Also under consideration is taking away the power of Congress to appropriate money for Yucca Mountain through the setting of annual budgets. Ratepayers in states with nuclear power plants have been paying into a waste-storage fund that amounts to about $25 billion. The idea would be to allow the administration to appropriate the funds directly, as it sees fit. The administration's plan has the support of energy officials around the country. The news service's story reported a meeting in Washington last week of utility executives from Minnesota, Maine and South Carolina. LeRoy Koppendrayer, chairman of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, was quoted as saying, "We're way behind already (in opening Yucca Mountain, which was mandated by Congress to begin accepting waste by 1998). The ratepayers' money is there. Let's use it. Let's get the job done." It is this kind of simplistic, foolish thinking that Nevada has been fighting for 20 years. Yes, the money is there, but that is far from the point. The point is safety. Nevada has shown time and again that Yucca Mountain cannot be proved to be an effective barrier against radioactive contamination of the environment. That is why, owing to lawsuits filed by Nevada, Yucca Mountain is now in limbo. Interestingly, the administration is trying to sell the plan to Congress by saying if members approved it, a 2007 legal deadline for beginning to look for a second waste-storage site in another state will probably be long delayed. Translation: Stick it to Nevada, and you won't have to face the prospects of an unsafe nuke dump coming to your state. Oh, the politics. Oh, the travesty. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 50 Independent: Sellafield clean-up cash for NHS By Jason Nissé Published: 02 April 2006 A novel solution to the NHS funding crisis has been found: divert funds earmarked for dealing with nuclear waste. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is giving £18m to the North Cumbria Primary Care Trust to help it save up to nine community hospitals from closure. Like many NHS trusts, North Cumbria is facing a funding crisis. It has plans to open a new acute hospital in 2008 but in the meantime might have to close some of its community hospitals because of its cash shortage. In an unprecedented move, the NDA, which owns the Sellafield reprocessing plant in Cumbria and is headquartered near Sellafield, has stepped into the breach, giving £4m this year and £7m in 2007 and in 2008. The NDA, which is the largest employer in the area, claims this is part of its support for the community as detailed in its memorandum of understanding that it signed when supporting the West Cumbria Strategic Partnership. It claims that it can afford the money because British Nuclear Group, the contractor at Sellafield, has been able to save more than £100m so far in its clean-up work. Its chief executive, Ian Roxburgh, said: "The NDA has a vital role to play in assisting west Cumbria to maintain a strong and sustainable community." However, critics were astonished that money earmarked for dealing with the clean up of the Sellafield nuclear site was being used to shore up the NHS's budget. "It is a weird solution when a community is so dependent on a single employer," said Jean McSorley, a nuclear campaigner for Greenpeace. "It's a bit like the feudal system." The NDA, which has a budget of up to £70bn, has also been supporting a local educational establishment, setting up a chair of epidemiology at the University of Central Lancaster and funding other training courses. © 2006 Independent News and Media Limited ***************************************************************** 51 AU Nine MSN: Three NT N-dump sites being considered Saturday Apr 1 12:04 AEDT Harts Range in Central Australia will most likely become the site chosen for the federal government's controversial nuclear waste dump, Labor Senator Trish Crossin says. The federal government is considering three sites in the NT, including Harts Range, 100km north east of Alice Springs, Mt Everard, also in Central Australia, and Fisher's Ridge, near Katherine. This week it appointed engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff to study the sites to determine their suitability. But Senator Crossin said she believed the federal government already had Harts Range in mind. "I believe all along that the government has been eyeing off Hart's Range," she told ABC radio. "Senator Scullion announced some funding for the Plenty Highway down there, I also understand that that site has been fenced or is about to be fenced. "So I think all along this government has predetermined a site and what simply we're doing now is simply going through the process that looks like its been done logically and strategically. "Why don't they just come clean and say it's going to be at Harts Range despite what the outcome of this study says." The Department of Education, Science and Training later poured cold water on the claims. The department said a preferred site would likely be selected in the first half of 2007, and would be subject to three years of public regulatory assessment processes. Under Commonwealth laws, the project would be subject to a full environmental impact assessment and other regulatory requirements. The department added that a cattle fence had been erected around the property to stop stock wandering onto the site. ©AAP 2006 /news.ninemsn.com.au/img/newsroom/cyclone.jpg" National Nine News presenters and reporters © 1997- 2006 ninemsn Pty Ltd - All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 52 NEWS.com.au: Uranium warnings 'scare campaign' - Breaking News 24/7 - From: AAP April 03, 2006 SUPPLYING Australian uranium to China would make no difference to China's nuclear weapons program, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today. Mr Downer said it was nothing more than a scare campaign to claim that supplying uranium from Australia would free up other uranium for use in China's nuclear weapons. "Honestly, China has a nuclear weapons program whether we like it or not. It's not going to make the slightest difference whether we have this agreement with China or whether we don't to their nuclear weapons program, absolutely no difference at all," he said on ABC Radio. "But it is going to make a difference to their capacity to develop energy. At the moment China is the world's second largest user of energy after the USA. The prospects for Chinese consumption of energy over the next 20 years are simply massive. "The more they use nuclear power, the more they will be using cleaner energy and the better that won't just be for the Chinese people. That will be better for the international community including in the contest of greenhouse emissions." Australia and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao will today sign a safeguards agreement to facilitate sales of Australian yellowcake for the generation of nuclear power. Mr Downer said the agreement meant Australia would have the capacity to track uranium produced in Australian mines. "If it's to be used for a purpose other than the purpose defined in the treaty then that will be clear to us and that would be of course a clear breach of the treaty," he said. "I don't have any worries about it. It's just the same as the other agreement we have with a raft of other countries in that respect." Mr Downer rejected arguments from environment groups who say nuclear power is no answer to climate change. "Some of these green groups are getting left behind in the argument. What they want is China to continue to increase its use of coalfired power stations," he said. "Now 80 per cent of energy in China is generated from coalfired power stations. They are incredibly dirty. Anybody who has been to Chinese cities knows that pollution is a major problem. "It just stands to reason that nuclear power is great deal cleaner. Nuclear waste can be stored safely." Mr Downer said the community was beginning to grow out of this kind of scare campaign that use of nuclear energy would blow up the world. Search for more stories on this topic on , our news archive service. Copyright 2006 News Limited. All times AEST (GMT + ***************************************************************** 53 Independent: True price of UK's nuclear legacy - £160bn Fresh analysis shows mushrooming cost of clean-up By Jason Nissé Published: 02 April 2006 The true cost of cleaning up Britain's nuclear legacy is more than twice the £70bn figure given out by the radioactive clean-up body this week. On Thursday, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the body set up to clean up the UK's nuclear sites, increased its estimate of how much it would need by £14bn to £70bn. However, this giant figure is only around half of what will be required. It excludes decommissioning British Energy's seven nuclear power stations, the first of which is due to close in 2011, dealing with the Ministry of Defence's nuclear sites and the long-term storage of the waste. Adding those all in would bring the total cost to around £160bn. The Government has not released up-to-date estimates of the clean up costs. The only reference to the total expense was made by Margaret Beckett, the Secretary of State for the Environment in October 2001. In Parliament she produced an estimate of £85bn, made of £34bn for sites run by BNFL, £7bn for the UK Atomic Energy Authority, £14bn for British Energy and £30bn for the MoD. The BNFL and UKAEA sites are now part of the NDA and covered in its £70bn estimate. British Energy recently put the cost of its clean-up at £5.6bn - however this is a discounted figure and represents a total cost of around £10bn. The MoD said that it had no current estimates of how much it would need to sort out its nuclear clean up issues. It is currently consulting on how best to dispose of spent nuclear fuel from its decommissioned nuclear submarines. However, using NDA calculations based on Mrs Beckett's 2001 estimates, the total bill for the MoD would be closer to £50bn. Mrs Beckett did not include any estimate for the long-term storage of waste. The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management will produce an interim report this month recommending what the Government should do. Its various options - from surface storage to a deep geological repository - have been priced by the committee at between £7bn and £30bn. Adding all those estimates together comes to a worst-case scenario of £160bn to deal with all the outstanding nuclear issues. "Most of the UK's nuclear stock was developed in the 1950s and 1960s and little thought was given to the potential waste issues," said Colin Robertson, a nuclear consultant at civil engineers Halco. The £70bn estimate by the NDA would be higher but for a £7.9bn estimate of income from nuclear reprocessing at Sellafield. The NDA has upped this estimate by £440m in the last six months. Thorpe is due to reopen in the summer according to its operator, British Nuclear Group. But the Health and Safety Executive is still investigating and is expected to prosecute the company. The prosecution has not stopped the Government announcing that it wants to privatise BNG with a price tag of around £1bn. © 2006 Independent News and Media Limited ***************************************************************** 54 AFP: Chinese PM arrives in Australia for uranium talks Sat Apr 1, 5:31 PM ET PERTH, Australia (AFP) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Australia for a visit aimed at finalising a uranium supply deal and speeding up free trade negotiations between the two nations. Wen arrived in the Western Australian state capital of Perth shortly after 9:00 pm (1300 GMT), where he was greeted by senior Australian officials including Federal Industry and Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane. "China-Australia relations now enjoy good momentum of growth; our trade ties are flourishing," he said in a speech delivered at the airport, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency. Wen added that fostering the bilateral relationship "serves the fundamental interests of our two countries and two peoples and enhances stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large". Wen, whose visit to Australia marks the start of a four-nation tour, was to meet on Sunday with Macfarlane, visit an iron smelter outside Perth and tour a hydrocarbon research unit at a local university. The Chinese premier will be the guest of honour at a lunch hosted by Western Australian state Premier Alan Carpenter before heading for Canberra, where he will meet with Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Monday. Wen is the first Chinese premier to tour Australia since 1988 and the most senior official to visit since President Hu Jintao" /> Hu Jintao's trip in October 2003. China is already Australia's second largest trading partner after Japan, and both Canberra and Beijing are keen to expand links between what they describe as complementary economies. The highest profile trade issue on the agenda will be China's desire to buy Australian uranium so it can rapidly expand its nuclear power generation capabilities and lessen reliance on polluting fossil fuels. Australia, which has 40 percent of the world's uranium reserves, has refused to export the radioactive element to China until Beijing can ensure it will not be used in nuclear weapons. Howard said this week there had been "good progress" in talks on nuclear safeguards that have lasted more than a year. Both sides are optimistic Wen will be able to sign a uranium export agreement during his visit. A supplementary agreement is also expected to be signed allowing Chinese companies to directly explore and mine uranium in Australia. Wen said he would put forward proposals to fast-track talks on a free trade agreement during his trip, aiming to "put in place a mechanism to accelerate the negotiation process". However, Australia's manufacturing base is miniscule compared to China's and Howard said he would not be rushed into a deal. Although Wen's visit will unfold under tight security, Tibetan activists and Falun Gong" /> Falun Gongsupporters have also warned they will use it to draw attention to China's human rights record. After his stop in Australia, Wen was due to visit Fiji, New Zealand and Cambodia. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 55 AFP: Australia and China poised to sign uranium deal Sun Apr 2, 4:59 AM ET PERTH, Australia (AFP) - China is poised to sign a safeguards agreement paving the way for uranium exports from Australia, Premier Wen Jiabao says, as Canberra insisted it was not granting the Asian powerhouse special privileges. Wen, in Perth on the first leg of a four-day tour of Australia, confirmed the two nations would sign the agreement in Canberra on Monday -- the first step in helping energy-hungry China satisfy the needs of its rapidly expanding nuclear power industry. He said the agreement would ensure uranium was used for peaceful purposes. "In our bilateral cooperation we should establish a long-term, stable and fundamental institutional and systematic safeguard," Wen said through an interpreter. "Our energy and resources cooperation is ensured by such a safeguard and during my visit to Australia this time the two governments are going to sign the agreement for peaceful use of nuclear energy and safeguards of nuclear energy." The Chinese number two also hinted that uranium exports could be subject to price-capping after Asian steelmakers were last year hit by soaring prices of iron ore imports. "We are also going to set up a price formulation mechanism that is up to international norms and I believe this will provide a long-term benefit to our two countries," Wen said. Speaking on commercial television, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that Canberra would ensure the safeguards were strict but there would also be an element of trust. "The safeguards that we have adopted are very rigorous and unless we are going to declare to the world that we're not going to deal with anybody, then... in relation to uranium we have to assume a certain degree of good faith," he said. But he stressed that any Chinese investment in uranium projects in Australia, which has some 40 percent of the world's known uranium, would be subject to the same constraints as other foreign investment. "We're not talking about having a special deal for Chinese acquisitions in Australia," he said. "I'm not going to telegraph in advance, it would be improper to do that, I simply would say to our Chinese friends, as I do to our Japanese and American and British friends, if any of your companies ... want to buy assets in Australia, they're subject to the foreign investment policy of this country." Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane, who met Wen early Sunday, said it could still be years before the first shipments arrive in China, with commercial negotiations to be completed and the need to expand uranium mining to meet China's demands. "There have been no discussions in regard to contracts and tonnages and I think there has been an unrealistic expectation that with tomorrow's signing of the safeguard agreement we will see a situation where tonnages will be exported the next day," he told reporters. "We are some distance away from exporting uranium to China. The safeguard agreement is obviously the first step that has to be signed." Macfarlane would not put a timeframe on exports but said China's short-term demands could be met in part by the expansion of the Olympic Dam mine and the "imminent" opening of the Honeymoon site, both in South Australia. "But in reality there will need to be a substantial expansion of the Australian uranium industry if we are to satisfy part of China's 20,000 tonnes per annum of demand in uranium," he said. Macfarlane said pricing would be determined by the market. Leading environmental group, the Australian Conservation Foundation, said the sale of uranium could lead to regional insecurity. "No matter how strong and how valid the assurances that China or any other country gives us, once we export uranium it's outside of our control, so we're making the world a dirtier and more dangerous place by exporting uranium," president Ian Lowe told ABC radio. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 56 LA Daily News: Perchlorate at Orcutt Ranch Article Launched: 04/01/2006 12:00 AM PST Residents fear lab contamination has spread By Kerry Cavanaugh, Staff Writer WEST HILLS - State toxics officials detected low levels of perchlorate in the soil at city-owned Orcutt Ranch, prompting more tests for the rocket-fuel ingredient at nearby Justice Street Elementary School. California Department of Toxic Substances Control officials said the perchlorate levels are too low to jeopardize neighbors or ranch visitors, although residents fear that chemical contamination from the nearby Santa Susana Field Lab may have spread. "This confirms our worst fears. Everywhere they look for contamination, they find it, which is why we have been so insistent about testing," said Elizabeth Crawford, senior environmental analyst with Physicians for Social Responsibility. Sara Amir, chief of DTSC's Southern California branch, said her agency cannot yet determine the source of the perchlorate. "These are very low levels, and we are going to do more testing to find out. We can't make conclusions at this time. We are looking at all possibilities." A chemical used in rocket fuel, perchlorate has been linked to thyroid problems when consumed in drinking water or food. The new perchlorate findings come after Centex Homes last year discovered very high levels of perchlorate along Dayton Creek in a planned housing development at Roscoe and Valley Circle boulevards, just a few blocks from Orcutt Ranch and 1.5 miles downhill from the field lab. Dayton Creek drains the field lab's Happy Valley area, where massive amounts of perchlorate used in rocket engine tests tainted the soil and leached into groundwater. The Boeing Co., which took over the lab after Rocketdyne, removed the polluted soil in 2003. Boeing spokeswoman Inger Hodgson said the company just learned of the new perchlorate hits. "We haven't seen any data and we have no reason to believe it's from our site operations." However, activists have tried to link the lab to off-site contamination. For more than five years they pushed for testing at Orcutt Ranch, a city park that serves as a popular wedding venue and holds annual citrus-picking events at its orchard. The state tested a few oranges and lemons in 2003 and found no perchlorate in the fruit. The DTSC finally agreed to test the land in March, taking scoops of soil at 11 spots along a drainage ditch running through the ranch. Officials found perchlorate at a depth of three feet at two sites. The levels were 130 and 200 parts per billion. The DTSC usually deems soil unsafe for contact and growing vegetables at 500 ppb, Amir said. Still, the DTSC will begin testing the soil around the hits to see if the contamination is more widespread. Tests near Justice Street Elementary School will be conducted over a weekend in mid-April when the campus is closed. "I don't think you can consider this a random occurrence; this is downhill from the last place they found it," said Christina Walsh, with Cleanuprocketdyne.org and a West Hills resident. "The fact that they found it at low levels convinces me it's in the area and it's been pouring into the area from Rocketdyne for years." Kerry Cavanaugh, (818) 713-3746 kerry.cavanaugh@dailynews.com Los Angeles Newspaper Group ***************************************************************** 57 NEWS.com.au: Safeguards set for uranium deal with China - By Saffron Howden April 03, 2006 [Wen Jiabao / Ian Munro] Wen Jiabao ... willing to commit to long-term safeguards. Picture: Ian Munro AUSTRALIA is set to kick-start uranium sales to China with a nuclear safeguards agreement despite environmental and security concerns. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao touched down in Canberra last night ahead of a meeting today with Prime Minister John Howard where he is poised to sign off on a nuclear safeguards agreement. The two countries have been negotiating the deal since August last year to open the way for China to buy Australian uranium. Mr Wen indicated yesterday he was willing to commit to long-term safeguards in order to secure the sales and Mr Howard moved to assure doubters the agreement will be rigorous. "China sees herself as projecting influence and authority in the region - that's understandable given her size - and and I don't think she's going to lightly give up the fairly hard-won reputation that she's trying to get acquired. "The safeguards that we have adopted are very rigorous and unless we are going to declare to the world that we're not going to deal with anybody then ... in relation to uranium we have to assume a certain degree of good faith," Mr Howard told Meet The Press. The Australian Conservation Foundation says the deal will jeopardise international nuclear safeguards by allowing China to divert uranium to its weapons program. It could also threaten regional security and open up new risks associated with nuclear waste, the group said. "Nuclear is too dangerous, too dirty, too expensive, and too slow to provide any legitimate answer to climate change or to energy security for the developing world," an ACF resolution said. "Australian uranium exports would facilitate diversion of China's limited uranium supplies into their ongoing nuclear weapons program, further regional insecurity, and increase nuclear risks including unresolved nuclear waste management. "China is an authoritarian state with a history of lack of accountability and non-compliance to a range of relevant nuclear and human rights treaties and conventions." Labor is divided over the nuclear issue and preparing itself for a big debate over whether to overturn its no-new-mines policy. Opposition resources spokesman Martin Ferguson, an outspoken critic of his party's three-mines-only position, says the time for change is now. "I think the party is ready for a debate," he told the Nine Network. "The debate is about the conditions of export. "We have got to play above our weight in the international forums with like-minded nations to make sure that uranium is only used for peaceful purposes because nuclear power is a fact of life." Search for more stories on this topic ***************************************************************** 58 AFP: Uranium rush in Finland seen as environment threat Sun Apr 2, 5:01 AM ET HELSINKI (AFP) - The rising price of uranium is tempting leading mining corporations to look for the metal in resource-rich Finland, but resistance from locals, worried about the environment, is mounting. Five companies, including Canada's Belvedere Resources and France's Cogema, have asked for permission to check whether it would be profitable to mine uranium in Finland. High prices for the radioactive heavy metal used to produce nuclear energy have prompted fresh spending on exploration, after investment dried up a decade ago. The world's main uranium producers are Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Niger and Canada. After reaching an all-time low of seven dollars per pound in 2001, uranium prices have rebounded to 40 dollars a pound in March, a level not seen in more than 25 years, making exploration in smaller producer countries viable. Like neighbouring Sweden, Finland is witnessing a rush for several metals and minerals, including gold, diamonds, zinc, iron, copper, and most recently, uranium. In 2005, mining companies invested some 35 million euros (42 million dollars) in Finland. "In terms of investment, Finland and Sweden are number one in Europe," said Krister Soederholm, the Finnish government's chief mining inspector. French nuclear conglomerate Cogema last November staked a claim on 174 kilometres square in the Askola region, an hour's drive from Helsinki, and also reserved areas in Lappland and northern Karelia, near the border with Russia. But the local community in Askola says it will resist attempts to mine uranium in its backyard, fearing for tourism, housing prices and the purity of their drinking water. "Exploration will happen in a densely-populated area where housing prices are already falling," said Per-Haakan Slotte, general secretary at the townhall of Borgaa, a tourist destination with 48,000 inhabitants situated 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the capital. "People fear for their environment," he said. Environmentalists focus on the danger of soil and ground water contamination from waste produced by the mining of uranium, which is highly toxic. Some are afraid that agricultural land, forests and areas currently earmarked for housing construction will be cut off from clean water. "We are obviously worried. We have three children. If they dig a mine here we will have to leave," said Reija-Riikka Stenbaeck, a veterinary nurse in Askola. Soothing comments by Cogema, a subsidiary of Areva which is building Finland's fifth nuclear reactor, that research and exploration "have no significant impact on the population" and that local communities would be consulted on further plans, don't cut any ice with the locals and environmental organizations. "Why would they explore if the aim is not to open a mine?" asked Tapio Reinikainen, a member of protest organisation "uraaniton.org", predicting that Cogema would have to withdraw in the face of future protests. But there are no signs of this, as international mining companies feel the pressure from rising worldwide demand. Electricity companies, the main consumers of uranium, need to replenish stocks which have been depleted as the number of nuclear power stations in the world rises, despite anti-nuclear policies in a small number of countries like Germany and Sweden. Uranium reserves, on land and at sea, are believed to be sufficient to meet demand for tens, or even hundreds, of years. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 59 Correspondents Report: Australian foreign policy and the rise of China Correspondents Report - Sunday, 2 April , 2006 Reporter: Graeme Dobell HAMISH ROBERTSON: The official visit to Australia this weekend of the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, will centre on an agreement for China to buy Australian uranium. But the energy issue is just one facet of one of the biggest questions in the world today: what will an ever-growing China do with its rapidly increasing power? On the eve of Wen Jiabao's visit, one of Australia's top China watchers, Professor Ross Terrill, released a study of the rise of China and its impact on Australian foreign policy. Graeme Dobell reports from Canberra. GRAEME DOBELL: Ross Terrill says Australia has the best relations for decades with both the United States and China. But the rise of China poses questions for Australia, just as it does for the US and Japan. ROSS TERRILL: There's never a vacant warm chair for someone who wants to be number one because it's already occupied, and the US and Japan think that they're pretty influential in East Asia. GRAEME DOBELL: The Harvard professor says there are two Chinas – a command economy that sags, and a free economy that soars. He says China can reach for enduring prosperity or it can remain a Leninist one-party state. But the contradictions mean it can't be both. Professor Terrill says it's impossible to predict whether a China that goes on getting stronger will flex its muscles in the region. That imposes a certain realism and weariness on Australia, even as it offers the warmest of welcomes to Premier Wen Jiabao. ROSS TERRILL: I think Australian policy at the moment, like American, is a sensible dualism of full engagement with China, at the same time being wary-eyed about the authoritarian political system in China. So the engagement is with a new society and a new economy in China. The wariness is because after all, it's still a Leninist party state. GRAEME DOBELL: Professor Terrill sees little danger of war over Taiwan, saying Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian will not provoke China by declaring independence. ROSS TERRILL: The notion of war in the Taiwan Strait has very little meaning. I've twice talked to President Chen Shui-bian about this matter and you can absolutely rule out that Taiwan is going to declare independence. If any one in Taiwan politics would do it, it would have been him. He's been in power many years, he'll be in power two more years – it's not going to happen. GRAEME DOBELL: Far more dangerous he says, is the growing animosity between China and Japan. Professor Terrill calls it one of the most worrying issues in the world today. He says few in the Chinese Communist Party now believe in Marxism, so to hold onto power, the party must deliver economic growth and feed Chinese patriotism. He says Japan is an irresistible target for such national feeling. But Japan is not going to blink. ROSS TERRILL: Japan's not going to retreat. Something has happened in Japan and Koizumi's resounding re-election makes that clear. They're not going to kowtow anymore. GRAEME DOBELL: Professor Terrill says it's up to the United States to balance China's rise, but also to see that in becoming a so-called normal country, Japan does not overstep the mark by reaching for its own nuclear weapons. ROSS TERRILL: It's containable as long as US leadership remains strong in East Asia because since the end of the Vietnam War there's been an unstated security system there, the key to which is that the US balances Japan and China, the two countries that have historically vied for hegemony in East Asia. And as long as the US is strong, the situation is containable. You look at it from China's point of view – if they want to go on selling 25 per cent of their exports to the single market of the United States, there are limits to how far they can alienate Japan – America's major ally. HAMISH ROBERTSON: Professor Ross Terrill. And his paper on China is published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. ***************************************************************** 60 AU ABC: Wen Jiabao visit reignites uranium mining debate AM - Saturday, 1 April , 2006 08:13:08 Reporter: Liz Foschia ELIZABETH JACKSON: The Premier of China, Wen Jiabao, is due to arrive in Perth this evening, but already his visit is reigniting debate here about uranium mining and the storage of nuclear waste. From Canberra, Liz Foschia has this report. LIZ FOSCHIA: Chinese demand for uranium is forecast to climb to about 20,000 tonnes a year. And Australia, which has around 40 per cent of the world's known uranium reserves, is seen as a secure and reliable source of that uranium. But to meet China's needs, Australia would have to almost double current production. That prospect has caused some in Labor to look again at its three mines policy, like the party's federal spokesman for primary industries and resources Martin Ferguson. MARTIN FERGUSON: In my view, it's time to rethink the policy and potentially change it. Kim Beazley has this week said it will be subject to debate. And importantly, in a very responsible leadership position, South Australian Premier Mike Rann – because Olympic Dam and other mining deposits are so important to the economic future of South Australia – he said this week the policy's got to change. There's a live debate, not just in the Labor Party, it's a live debate in the Australian community. LIZ FOSCHIA: Mr Ferguson says because of the importance of Australia's uranium resources to the world, it also has a global leadership role to play in making the world's nuclear industry safer. He says Labor will carefully vet any agreement struck between Australia and China for uranium exports to ensure there are proper safeguards. But no amount of safeguards will satisfy the Greens. The party's energy spokeswoman is Christine Milne. CHRISTINE MILNE: There's already a non-proliferation treaty. There's already a comprehensive test ban treaty and with the best efforts of the world's diplomats, they still haven't been able to make nuclear safe, and I don't think that Martin Ferguson can change that very readily. LIZ FOSCHIA: Senator Milne says if Australia is thinking of increasing its uranium exports, it must also accept responsibility for the nuclear weapons and waste that will flow from that decision. CHRISTINE MILNE: The Greens say that the uranium should stay in the ground and I call upon Martin Ferguson to say, if Australia is going to take global responsibility, where does Martin Ferguson say that the waste should go, and is the Labor Party going to call on Premier Wen next week to say whether or not China wants Australia to take back all of the nuclear waste? Nuclear waste is a huge issue, and that is part of what has to be considered when all these people are rushing around, salivating at the prospect of increased uranium mining. LIZ FOSCHIA: While the Chinese Premier's visit to Australia is likely to be dominated by the uranium issue, Paul Bourke from the Australia Tibet Council is hoping there will still be opportunities for other agendas. PAUL BOURKE: It's one thing to have a good economic relationship with China, but it's also important that issues like human rights and Tibet aren't ignored in these meetings. LIZ FOSCHIA: The group has asked the Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer to make a request on their behalf. PAUL BOURKE: We're wanting him to encourage the Chinese Premier into substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama on the future of Tibet, specifically the Dalai Lama raised in his March 10 statement, the possibility of a religious pilgrimage by him to China. ELIZABETH JACKSON: Paul Bourke from the Australia Tibet Council, ending Liz Foschia's report. ***************************************************************** 61 AU ABC: Give uranium a chance 02/04/2006: http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/content/2006/s1606487.htm Broadcast: 02/04/2006 Kerry O'Rourke, an architect from Brisbane, says uranium is clean, it is a modern material, it can be handled competently by intelligent people and the Federal Government is smarter enough to make sure buyers use it only for their energy needs. I'm Kerry O'Rourke I'm an architect from Brisbane. I've been reading about the Fed Govt considering exporting uranium to China. I've had mixed opinions on uranium over the years but I've made a point of keeping myself as informed as possible. Uranium is a natural resource I think if we discovered coal today and someone said we're going to burn this coal to create electricity I'm sure we'd have this, this vocal minority would be on their high horse to stop us from doing it. Uranium's clean its a modern material it can be handled competently by intelligent people and I think the Government's smart enough to say we don't want you selling this or using it for purposes other than for your energy needs. I realise India hasn't signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaties but I think that's a matter for the UN. We in Australia have a product we need to sell, we want to sell, we should sell. I believe that India is in great need of an energy source and power and nuclear is a clean efficient source of power for India. I think if we're smart enough to use uranium for peaceful needs we're also smart enough to have a system and a management program which safely disposes of the nuclear waste. I think the nuclear waste issue has been raised as a fear tactic to stop us considering export to the world. It can be a great money spinner for Australia, it can help our people, it will help build our wealth, build our standing in the international community and if we look at along with exporting the uranium, instituting and starting a uranium waste program, I think that goes along as a package deal we could offer to the world. I'm quite in favour of exporting uranium to the world. ***************************************************************** 62 AU ABC: WA Govt stands by 'no uranium mining' policy. 02/04/2006. ABC The West Australian Government is being asked to reconsider its approach to uranium mining as the Federal Government prepares to sign a major deal to supply the heavy metal to China. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Perth last night and will spend the day in the city before flying to Canberra, where he will meet Prime Minister John Howard. The leaders are expected to sign a deal that would see China buy hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Australian uranium. The Western Australian Government has a long-standing policy of opposing uranium mining but Federal Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane says the state is missing out and needs to rethink its policies. Premier Alan Carpenter says there are plenty of other trade growth areas for Western Australia and he does not expect it to be an issue for Mr Wen. "I don't believe that the uranium issue will be one of much importance in our discussion if it's raised at all," he said. Mr Macfarlane does not expect this to affect negotiations. He says Australia can supply significantly more uranium than it currently does, without Western Australia. "But it does of course leave Western Australia out of the economic growth that will come out of that," he said. "China will also be keen to ensure that it has a diversity of supply sources, so I think really what we need to see is a sensible approach by Western Australia to uranium exports." Mr Carpenter has dismissed the comments. "When we got elected one year ago, we got elected with policies that included no mining of uranium, the West Australian people elected us with that policy," he said. "That's the policy we've got, everybody knows it and it's not changing." He says Western Australia exports $8.6 billion worth of products to China annually and there is still enormous room for growth, both within and outside the resources sector. "If we can capture a small percentage of the Chinese market in tourism education services, health services, environmental management, cultural exchanges then because of the size of China, that will mean huge benefits to the Western Australian economy," he said. Mr Wen's decision to visit Western Australia was in response to a request by Mr Carpenter, who wants to discuss trade and investment opportunities with one of the most senior Chinese officials ever to visit the state. Mr Wen will today visit Rio Tinto's $400 million hi-smelt plant in Kwinana and a Curtin University research facility. Rights row Mr Carpenter also says he does not believe the community will accuse him of being remiss by refusing to raise human rights issues with Mr Wen. Greens MP Giz Watson says it is not good enough to take China's money and ignore its human rights abuses. But Mr Carpenter says it is neither the time nor the place to raise the issue. "I invited Premier Wen Jiabao here specifically to talk about economic issues, cultural exchanges, the development of trade relationships and he accepted my invitation on that basis," he said. Mr Carpenter says there are forums on a federal level where other issues can be discussed. ***************************************************************** 63 Sunday Business Post: Britain’s nuclear clean-up bill to hit £100bn 02 April 2006 By Dave Sambrook In a speech to the Australian parliament this week, Tony Blair said nuclear power is an essential part of the ‘‘mix’’ of energy sources Britain needed for its future supplies. Back in Britain, the focus of the debate was not future British energy requirements, but how to clean up the mess that remains from its provision in the past. The strategy of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), approved last week by the secretary of state for Trade and Industry and Scottish ministers, is set to create a new clean-up industry in Britain worth up to stg£70 billion. That amount is expected to soar to stg£100 billion when waste from the British nuclear weapon’s industry is added to the mix. The state-owned British Nuclear Group (BNG), which is responsible for 20 nuclear sites around Britain, will be sold for an estimated stg£1 billion. It will then compete with private companies for lucrative, long-term contracts decommissioning atomic sites all over the country, contracts which are expected to attract a great deal of international, as well as local, interest. Industry analysts believe the most likely buyers of BNG will come from Britain’s Amec, Westinghouse’s new owner Toshiba and American companies Halliburton, Bechtel and Fluor. ‘‘The technical expertise is there, but BNG is a relatively small business,” a company spokesman said. ‘‘In order to be able to compete with multinationals, BNG needs to marry its technical skills with another company’s project management skills.” The first of the contracts, overseeing the low-level waste at Drigg, near Sellafield, is set to be awarded later this year, with further contracts to close down and make safe ageing nuclear power plants, like Sizewell A in Suffolk, expected early next year. As the current operator, BNG is the favourite to win the contract to manage Drigg, but it is expected to have to share the spoils with other operators. British firms Serco, Carillion and WS Atkins have already signalled their interest; the more experienced American companies, such as the Washington Group and Shaw, are also expected to be involved. All of the contracts will be keenly fought over, but it’s the contract to clean up Sellafield, expected late in 2007, which is certain to be the most lucrative and the most controversial. NDA figures show that it will account for over half of the stg£70 billion clean-up budget. Robot submarines recently uncovered vast forgotten deposits of radioactive sludge in underground storage tanks at Sellafield; the clean-up cost soared by stg£9 billion. Many industry insiders believe more forgotten deposits are certain to be discovered. With the government widely expected to sanction the building of new nuclear power plants as part of its long-term energy policy, the clean-up work is seen as an essential first step in gaining access to the anticipated building contracts. But with the predictable long-term nature of the clean-up contracts also likely to attract investment from pension funds and insurance companies, it is clear, at this stage at least, that the survival and strength of the nuclear industry does not solely hinge on the building of new plants. © The Sunday Business Post, 2004, Thomas Crosbie Media TCH ***************************************************************** 64 Deccan Herald: India receives 60 metric tonnes of Russian enriched uranium - Sunday, April 2, 2006 Letters to Editor Mumbai, PTI: India has received first part of the promised supply of 60 metric tonne of Russian enriched uranium fuel for the two units of Tarapur Atomic Power plants, according to top sources at the Department of Atomic Energy. The first consignment of 20-25 metric tonnes of uranium, which has arrived from Russia at the Nuclear Fuel Complex of DAE, will be delivered to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) at an appropriate time, DAE official said. The current fuel supply to the units I and II of the US built reactors (in 1960s) would last for eight months in one unit and for 18 months at the other. "With Russian supply of 60 metric tonnes of uranium, the plants will have fuel for next five years and run smoothly," Executive Director, Corporate Planning, NPCIL, S Thakur said. NPCIL had recently renovated and modernised 35-year-old TAPS Unit I and II which could run for next five years "smoothly", he said. TAPS I and II, which were shut down in October last year, were reconnected to the Western Grid on February 16 after undergoing renovation, modernisation and safety upgradation. Both the renovated units got the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board's licence to operate for five years from February 16, 2006 and therefore, the supply by Russia is timely. TAPS I and II are boiling water reactors and need low enriched uranium as fuel. Last month the Russian Prime Minister during his visit to New Delhi accounced his country's decision to supply 60 metric tonnes to TAPS to enable it to function with "safety". Copyright 2005, The Printers (Mysore) Private Ltd., 75, M.G. Road, Post Box No 5331, Bangalore - 560001 Tel: +91 (80) 25880000 Fax No. +91 (80) 25880523 ***************************************************************** 65 North-West Evening Mail: Nuclear train mishap on docks barrow in furness: Published on 01/04/2006 A NUCLEAR train wagon derailed at Barrow Docks. The transporter, normally used to carry flasks of spent nuclear fuel from Barrow to Sellafield, was empty when the accident happened yesterday morning. But a nuclear safety group said that the incident highlighted the dangers of carrying radioactive waste by rail. The empty wagon, being shunted at the BNFL shipping terminal at Ramsden Dock, came off the rails at 11.20am. Experts from Sellafield, Carlisle, and BNFL transport subsidiary Direct Rail Services, were called in to examine the vehicle. An initial event report is being filed, but the incident is not expected to register on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Martin Forwood, the leader of Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment, said: “Today there was no nuclear traffic involved, but if there had been then there could have been serious consequences. “One of the points which we have been making is that the system isn’t as safe as it should be." ***************************************************************** 66 AFP: Australia says uranium deal with China to have strict safeguards Sunday April 2, 01:34 PM SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia expects China to adhere to rigorous nuclear safeguards in return for uranium sales and will offer the Asian powerhouse no special deals on investment in uranium projects, Prime Minister John Howard says. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Australia late Saturday for a visit during which he is expected to sign a deal paving the way for uranium exports to the communist giant. Howard said China would be subject to the same laws as other countries in relation to the sale of uranium. Australia holds 40 percent of the world's reserves of uranium. It insists that nations wishing to purchase its uranium are signatories to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and abide by strict safeguards. Wen and Howard are expected to sign off on these safeguards after a meeting on Monday which follows months of negotiations. "The safeguards that we have adopted are very rigorous and unless we are going to declare to the world that we're not going to deal with anybody, then ... in relation to uranium we have to assume a certain degree of good faith," Howard told commercial television. "China is wanting world acceptance in many ways," he said. "China sees herself as projecting influence and authority in the region. That's understandable given her size and I don't think she's going to lightly give up the fairly hard-won reputation that she's trying to get." Howard said that any Chinese investment in uranium projects in Australia would be subject to scrutiny by foreign investment officials. "We're not talking about having a special deal for Chinese acquisitions in Australia," he said. "I'm not going to telegraph in advance, it would be improper to do that, I simply would say to our Chinese friends, as I do to our Japanese and American and British friends, if any of your companies ... want to buy assets in Australia, they're subject to the foreign investment policy of this country," he said. Wen is the first Chinese premier to tour Australia since 1988 and the most senior official since President Hu Jintao visited in October 2003. Copyright © 2006 AFP. All rights reserved. All information ***************************************************************** 67 Australian: 'Strict safeguards' for China nuke sales [April 02, 2006] Source: AAP PRIME Minister John Howard says a deal to sell uranium to China will involve strict safeguards, warning the Asian superpower should not expect any special treatment. Australia is expected to sign a deal with China next week, which will open the door to future uranium sales and likely pressure states to allow more uranium mines beyond Labor's national three-mines policy. Mr Howard says the rules governing uranium sales are rigorous and he does not expect China to ignore them. "China is wanting world acceptance in so many ways," he told the Ten Network. "China sees herself as projecting influence and authority in the region – that's understandable given her size..." He said he did not think China was going to lightly give up the fairly hard-won reputation that she's trying to acquire "The safeguards that we have adopted are very rigorous and unless we are going to declare to the world that we're not going to deal with anybody, then ... in relation to uranium we have to assume a certain degree of good faith." Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Perth last night for a four-day visit to Australia. The focus of his visit will be a nuclear safeguards agreement that Australia and China are expected to sign when Mr Wen visits Canberra tomorrow. The two countries have been nutting out the deal since August last year and it will open the way for China to begin buying Australian uranium. Mr Howard today repeated that if the Chinese wanted to invest in or acquire uranium projects in Australia, they would have to undergo scrutiny by foreign investment officials like any other country. "It's an issue that we would apply our foreign investment policy to, we're not talking about having a special deal for Chinese acquisitions in Australia," he said. "Now I'm not going to telegraph in advance, it would be improper to do that, I simply would say to our Chinese friends, as I do to our Japanese and American and British friends, if any of your companies ... want to buy assets in Australia, they're subject to the foreign investment policy of this country." Mr Wen has said that he would not mind if Australia also sold uranium to India. But Mr Howard said the Chinese leader's views would not change Australia's current stance – in the short-term at least. "We'll take a measured approach, we have no current intention of changing our policy," he said. "But we're going to get more information about the American/Indian deal. "I'm sending a team there (India) later this month and that team will go then onto Washington." © The Australian ***************************************************************** 68 Hanford News: Murray doesn't mince words over Hanford cutbacks This story was published Friday, March 31st, 2006 By Les Blumenthal, Herald Washington, D.C., bureau WASHINGTON - Calling it a "slap in the face" of Washington residents, Sen. Patty Murray told a top Department of Energy official Thursday that she resents cuts in the budget to clean up the Hanford nuclear reservation and other DOE sites to pay for the administration's proposed increased funding for science and research projects. Murray, D-Wash., took sharp exception to testimony from DOE Undersecretary David Garman before the Senate's energy and water appropriations subcommittee. Garman said it "surprises many" the department is spending roughly $1.8 billion on the Hanford cleanup and only $1.5 billion on its applied energy research and development programs. The administration's latest budget plan significantly increases funding for DOE science programs, particularly those aimed at developing new sources of energy to cut the nation's dependence on foreign oil. "To put it bluntly, this is a budget that begins to put the 'energy' back in the Department of Energy," Garman said. "I take issue with your statement on Hanford," Murray said. "It's kind of a slap in the face of the people of Washington state. This nation has a moral obligation to clean up Hanford. We have to invest in both. One does not preclude the other." While the administration actually has proposed a slight increase in overall Hanford funding, the level still would be about $200 million below its $2.09 billion peak in fiscal 2005. While Murray said she was relieved the department was seeking full funding of $690 million for the troubled Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, she said a $52 million cut in funding to clean up the aging and leaking underground tanks holding highly radioactive waste at the reservation was a mistake. The senator said it was the administration's responsibility to fund both cleanup at Hanford and scientific research. The administration wants to increase funding for its science programs by more than $500 million. "I'm not going to let you suggest that we're not investing in research because we are cleaning up Hanford," Murray told Garman. Garman said he hoped Murray wasn't "misconstruing" his statement. "I didn't intend to say we will shirk our environmental obligations," Garman said. "I am not suggesting we should spend less at Hanford. We should spend more on applied science." But as she left the hearing, Murray said she still was not satisfied with Garman's testimony. She said it seemed clear the department was raiding its environmental cleanup accounts to pay for increased science funding. "That's how I viewed his statement," Murray said. "I strongly resent that." During the hearing, James Rispoli, DOE's assistant secretary for environmental management, said the estimated cost of finishing the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant was approaching $11 billion and could go higher. Though offering few specifics, Rispoli said a more detailed cost estimate and schedule for the plant should be ready this summer. The estimated cost of the plant, which is critical to stabilizing the waste now held in the underground tanks, has roughly doubled over the past year and its construction schedule slipped by six years. Under questioning from Murray, Rispoli defended the department's decision not to fund a proposed bulk vitrification program at Hanford in which some of the low-level waste also found in the tanks would be stabilized. Rispoli said the department needed more information before deciding whether to proceed. "We believe this is a viable approach," he said. "We just need cost and schedule estimates." Other senators, including the subcommittee's chairman, Republican Pete Domenici of New Mexico, said they were worried about the department's cut in environmental cleanup funding. "I am deeply concerned about the $762 million cut to the environmental management budget," Domenici said, adding that the administration's proposed budget "reflects a reversal" in DOE accelerated cleanup strategy. "Cuts to virtually all of the defense cleanup sites will certainly push back completion dates and add to the lifecycle costs of these cleanups." © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 69 Knox News: Balloon design is classic A-bomb By SUE VORENBERG April 1, 2006 If you see a nuclear weapon floating overhead this fall, no need to run for cover. This hot-air balloon is modeled after Fat Man, one of two nuclear bombs designed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the 1940s. Months before it hits the skies in time for the 2006 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, artist Chad Person's project is gathering static. One pilot quit after getting pressure by his employers, who "didn't like the idea." Person has found another. He's also looking for money to pay for the 105,000-cubic-foot gadget that calls to mind "The Gadget," code name for the first atomic bomb tested at White Sands. "It's meant to be campy in a way," said Person, 27. "I like to splash in some humor. If you can't see humor in the world around you, we'd all go crazy." Not everyone sees humor in Fat Man, dropped on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, near the end of World War II. About 74,000 people were killed. "It's not something we should put in the closet or celebrate," Maria Santelli, co-coordinator of the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice, said of the New Mexico's connection to nuclear weapons. "It's something we should think of soberly and try to get rid of." If conversations from the balloon ultimately lead to productive action against nuclear weapons, that would be good, said John Tateishi, national executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League in California. Otherwise, he said, the idea will probably just offend Japanese-Americans. "I think it does create some discomfort for Japanese Americans," Tateishi said. "I doubt you'll see any Japanese Americans on the field where they launch those things with any sense of joy about it." Person's goal is to highlight two dissimilar but important aspects of New Mexico history: nuclear weapons and hot-air ballooning. "It's sort of like a dirty secret," Person said of the state's relationship with the deadly weapons. "We don't embrace it." Person has been working on the balloon since December. He has finished designing it and has a company lined up to build it. The hurdle is finding enough money to build it in time for this year's balloon fiesta, which runs from Oct. 6 to 15. He has about $8,000 toward the cost of the $50,000 project. His Web site, at www.buildthebomb.com, asks for $10 donations from the public. If he doesn't get enough to finish the project, he would donate the money to arts education, Person said. "This is the biggest undertaking that I've ever done in terms of an art piece," said Person, who works as a commercial artist by day. (Contact Sue Vorenberg of The Tribune in Albuquerque, N.M., at http://www.abqtrib.com.) Copyright Permissions] Copyright 2006, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 70 KnoxNews: OR group gets DOE contract Associated Universities division to study likely nuclear waste repository By RICHARD POWELSON, powelsonr@shns.com April 1, 2006 WASHINGTON - The Department of Energy said Friday it is awarding at least $6 million to a federal energy division at Oak Ridge to study and comment on plans for the nation's permanent nuclear waste repository slated for Nevada. A division of Oak Ridge Associated Universities won the two-year contract based on its expertise in scientific and technical review, said DOE spokesman Craig Stevens. DOE is compiling several million pages of technical documents to make the case to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to license an area at Yucca Mountain, Nev., for thousands of years of storage of used radioactive fuel from nuclear power plants and other facilities, Stevens said. The documents require peer review by experts in various fields to ensure accuracy. The federal government is years behind in having an approved site ready to accept used nuclear fuel. TVA won a lawsuit against DOE two weeks ago that calls for the energy department to pay TVA $34.9 million in damages. A judge ruled DOE did not meet the 1998 contractual deadline to accept fuel waste from TVA's nuclear plants and TVA had to provide alternative storage. That fuel was intended to be stored at Nevada's Yucca Mountain Repository, but controversy over the location of the facility has delayed its opening even though it has been approved by Congress and signed into law by President Bush. DOE was supposed to store spent nuclear fuel from TVA's Browns Ferry plant in northern Alabama and the Sequoyah plant near Chattanooga. U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, who represents the Oak Ridge area, said in a written statement: "This is great news and the best selection DOE could have made. Oak Ridge Associated Universities has more than 15 years of experience doing peer and merit reviews." Pam Bonee, a spokeswoman for Oak Ridge Associated Universities, said five to 10 staff members in Oak Ridge will be working with experts in industry and many universities on the Yucca Mountain contract. "We have an extensive network" of expert contacts across the country, she said, and worked with 1,600 reviewers last year in 49 states. DOE's design contractor is working on a revised plan in which waste would be packaged in standard containers for shipment to Yucca Mountain, located in a desert about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, and stored long term in the same containers. Richard Powelson may be reached at 202-408-2727. © 2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel ***************************************************************** 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: *****************************************************************