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NUCLEAR POLICY
1 [southnews] Dilip Hiro: Cooling The Iran Crisis
2 [southnews] Is Iran bluffing or not?
3 Guardian Unlimited: IAEA Head to Visit Iran to Meet Leaders
4 IRNA: Iran nuclear program not diverted, says ElBaradei
5 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: IRI enrichment decision irreversible
6 AFP: Iran will defend nuclear program to 'last drop of blood' -
7 IRNA: Iran's uranium enrichment decision irreversible - Soltaniyeh -
8 IRNA: China continues efforts to settle Iran nuclear case peacefully
9 Korea Herald: N.K. proposes resumption of inter-Korean talks
10 Korea Herald: [EDITORIAL] Return to six-way talks
11 BBC: N Korea talks revival 'up to US'
12 Korea Times: Stalled Six-Party Talks
13 AFP: Pyongyang proposes resumption of inter-Korean talks
14 Guardian Unlimited: Two Koreas to Resume High-Level Talks
15 US: [southnews] Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb?
16 US: [NukeNet] Bush Administration Unveils Plans to Produce 125 New
17 US: Washington Times: Nuclear warhead update developed
18 outlookindia.com: Extend N-deal to Pak to lower tension in region -
19 AFP: Senior US lawmakers to travel to India for nuclear talks -
20 AFP: US envoy says India nuclear deal could take a year to implement
21 Rediff: N-deal should deal with non-proliferation - EU
NUCLEAR REACTORS
22 US: NRC: to Discuss 2005 Performance Assessment for Prairie Island N
23 US: Beacon Journal: Utility watches for radiation entering water
24 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for th
25 US: Herald News: Exelon: Another PR bruise
26 US: Platts: Brunswick license renewal request advances
27 Toronto Star: 20 years later, memories of Chernobyl run deep
28 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for th
29 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collecti
30 SA: CMEN: Building of new-generation nuclear plant to get under way
31 US: PR WEB: Could Nuclear Power be the Answer to Our Electrical Ener
32 US: Journal Star News: LaSalle plant earns top safety rating
33 AU ABC: Howard's support for nuclear power stirs up debate.
34 US: PRN: Hope Creek Enters 13th Refueling Outage
35 US: AFP: FBI probes damage to Florida nuclear power plant
36 Guardian Unlimited: Indian Official: 8 Nuke Plants Necessary
NUCLEAR SECURITY
37 US: Nuclear Commission cuts corners on security
38 US: AP Wire: FPL offers $100,000 reward for information on hole in p
NUCLEAR SAFETY
39 US: Seven months later: Second day care petiton docketed
40 US: Homeland Security Would Allow No Cleanup Of Dirty Bomb Radiation
41 US: Guardian Unlimited: Radioactive Steam Escapes From Ill. Plant
42 US: Science a GoGo: Uranium’s Effect On DNA Established
43 US: TC: Denogean: Fear persists about homes near Brush factory |
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
44 US: Sydney Morning Herald: No pressure to change uranium stand - ALP
45 RIA Novosti: Limits on Russian nuclear fuel supplies to U.S. unprofi
46 reviewjournal.com: Repository proposal discussed
47 US: The Australian: Nuclear powerhouse
PEACE
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
48 SFNM: Report: DOE, Bechtel share blame for skyrocketing costs at Han
49 Hanford News: Energy Dept. plans to consolidate plutonium to increas
50 Hanford News: Report: DOE, private contractor share blame for skyroc
51 Hanford News: Hanford comp program gets state OK
52 Hanford News: Panel mulls time issue at Hanford
53 SF Chron: LIVERMORE / Plutonium will be removed from lab / Administr
54 DAILY BRUIN: Plutonium to be moved from UC labs -
55 Tri-Valley Herald: Weapons blueprint OK'd by Tauscher
56 PRN: eTrial Communications Inc. Supports Rocky Flats Trial
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1 [southnews] Dilip Hiro: Cooling The Iran Crisis
Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 02:16:22 -0500 (CDT)
Dilip Hiro
April 06, 2006
President George W. Bushs dogged refusal to rule out a military option
to resolving Irans nuclear issue along with his thinly disguised
attempts to foment regime change in Tehran by bankrolling opposition
is leading to a dangerous impasse.
It took three weeks of hard bargaining by the five permanent members of
the United Nations Security Council to hammer out a statement on Irans
nuclear program. Issued on March 29, it expressed serious concern
about aspects of the Iranian nuclear program which could have a
military nuclear dimension, demanded a cessation of uranium enrichment
and instructed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to report
back in 30 days on Irans compliance.
The council did not have to wait that long. The next day Irans chief
representative at IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said, The enrichment
matter is not reversible.
A week earlier the Iranians had informed the IAEA inspectors in Iran
that the first set of their pilot project to configure six sets of 164
interconnected uranium-enriching centrifuges at Natanz plant was in place.
So, what next? The councils permanent members are divided. While the
representatives of United States, Britain and France keep mentioning
possible sanctions against Iran, Russia and China are strongly opposed.
The IAEAs Director, Mohamed ElBaradei, also opposes sanctions. He told
a forum in the Qatari capital of Doha, Sanctions are a bad idea. We are
not facing an imminent danger. We need to lower the pitch.
It was against this background that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
told a British TV network on April 2 that the United States was
committed to resolving the nuclear issue diplomatically, and that Iran
was not Iraq. However, she added ominously, the president of the
United States does not take his options off the table.
The Bush administrations options are either military or non-military.
Of the former, it has two choices: outright invasion or pinprick strikes
against specific nuclear and military targets. However, given a paucity
of spare soldiers, the Pentagon is not in a position to invade Iran,
which is four times larger than Iraq and three times more populous.
So the only feasible option is surgical strikes. For the Pentagon to do
the job thoroughly, it would need to mount nearly 1,000 strike sorties,
experts agree. Its targets would include not only scores of factories
and workshops that make centrifuge parts as well as uranium oxide
conversion equipment scattered all over the vast country but also
military plants producing conventional weapons and missiles. Its likely
that some of the suspect sites would turn out to be factories or schools.
The consequences of such strikes would be dire. They would probably make
the Iranian nation rally around their hard-line leaders. Given the
Iranians fierce nationalism and the Shiites tradition of martyrdom,
any military move on Iran would receive a response that would engulf the
entire region in fire, wrote Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian Nobel peace
laureate, and Muhammad Sahimi, petroleum engineering professor at the
University of Southern California, in a recent op-ed in The
International Herald Tribune .
Irans Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki warned that any military
action against Iran would result in an escalating crisis which could
further destabilize the Middle East by intensifying U.S. and British
difficulties in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Pentagons action would raise anti-American feelings in the Shiite
world an important minority in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kuwait and the
oil-bearing eastern region of Saudi Arabia at a time when anti-U.S
sentiment is running high among Sunnis in the region due to the U.S.
occupation of Iraq.
Given the infiltration of Iranian agents into a wide variety of Iraqi
factions, Iran could activate its covert alliances in Iraq, resulting in
attacks on the American forces by Shiite partisans and a further
destabilization of Iraq.
In any event, military strikes will merely delay Irans nuclear program,
not eliminate it. And they would alienate Washingtons allies in the
West and the Muslim world, and turn many Iranians, who dislike the
theocratic regime, into Americas enemies.
On the other hand, the non-military option still favored by hawks is
economic sanctions. Unfortunately, the only sanctions that would hurt
Iran concern oil, as it earns 80 per cent of its foreign revenue by
exporting oil.
But what would be the consequences of cutting off supplies of the
fourth-largest oil producer in the world and the second-largest exporter
within OPEC? Oil prices would touch $100 a barrel. It is dangerous to
put restrictions on trade relations that could hurt ones own side more
than the other side, said Gernot Erler, deputy Foreign Minister of Germany.
The mere testing of a short-range stealth missile with multiple
warheadsand a newly developed underwater missile with a speed three
times faster than a torpedo, carrying a powerful warheadby Irans
military during its ongoing naval exercises in the Persian Gulf pushed
the oil prices up, with traders saying that the oil market had entered a
more volatile phase fueled by speculative buying.
Given the impasse, it behooves the West to respond to Tehrans proposal
that the negotiating team at the IAEA should be expanded to include such
members as South Africawhich voluntarily gave up its six atom bombs in
1993 and Malaysia, the current chairman of the 117-member Non-Aligned
Movement.
While the Bush administration works through a six-nation committee to
negotiate with North Korea, surely it can do the same in the case of Iran.
Dilip Hiro is the author of Secrets and Lies: Operation "Iraqi Freedom"
and After, and The Iranian Labyrinth, both published by Nation Books,
New York.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/04/06/cooling_the_iran_crisis.php
________________________________________-
Iran ready for high-level talks, US resists
By Guy Dinmore
The Financial Times : April 7 2006 01:35
Iran has prepared a high-level delegation to hold wide-ranging talks
with the US, but the Bush administration is resisting the agenda
suggested by Tehran despite pressure from European allies to engage the
Islamic republic, Iranian politicians have told the Financial Times.
A senior Iranian official, Mohammad Nahavandian, has flown to Washington
to lobby over the issue, aaccording to a top Iranian adviser outside
the US. However, the Iranian mission to the United Nations insisted he
was in Washington on private business.
Irans willingness to engage the US on Iraq, regional security and the
nuclear issue, is believed to have the approval of the Supreme Leader,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It represents the most serious attempt by the
Islamic republic to reach out to the US since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
But the White House insisted on Thursday that its own offer of talks
with Iran, extended several months ago by Zalmay Khalilzad, the US
ambassador to Baghdad, was limited to the subject of Iraq.
There are none and none are scheduled, Stephen Hadley, national
security adviser, was quoted by a spokesman as saying about the prospect
of talks with the Iranian delegation in Baghdad next week.
A senior Iranian adviser said the Iranian delegation was headed by Ali
Hossein-Tash, the main deputy to Ali Larijani who is secretary of the
Supreme National Security Council and the chief official dealing with
the nuclear issue. Three other negotiators, all attached to the Council,
include a deputy intelligence minister who was previously based in
Baghdad, a former Revolutionary Guards member and Kurdish expert, and a
political specialist.
Mr Nahavandian, a deputy for economic affairs to Mr Larijani, is in
Washington, several Iranian sources told the FT, revealing the rare
presence of a senior Iranian in the US capital. White House and State
Department officials denied all knowledge of his presence.
The Bush administration is resisting pressure from its European allies
to engage Iran directly over its alleged nuclear weapons programme
rather than leave negotiations to the EU3 of France, Germany and the UK.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, raised this issue
with Mr Hadley this week, and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, is
understood to have spoken about it with President George W. Bush.
Javad Zarif, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, stressed
Irans willingness to talk in an opinion piece published by the New York
Times on Thursday. He denied US claims that Iran had a covert nuclear
weapons programme and said Iran was ready for intrusive international
inspections.
Pressure and threats do not resolve problems. Finding solutions
requires political will and a readiness to engage in serious
negotiations. Iran is ready. We hope the rest of the world will join
us, he said.
One US insider suggested the Bush administration might agree to broaden
the agenda after an initial meeting restricted to Iraq.
Meanwhile, the US rhetoric is sounding tougher by the week. Nicholas
Burns, under secretary of state, yesterday accused Iran of being
expansionist, a central banker of terrorism and directing attacks on
US citizens.
Last week, the UN Security Council issued a mildly worded presidential
statement calling on Iran to resume its suspension of fuel cycle
development. Russia blocked tougher language. John Bolton, US ambassador
to the UN, told reporters yesterday the next diplomatic step was to pass
a legally binding chapter seven resolution requiring Iran to suspend
its nuclear programme.
Additional reporting by Negar Roshanzamir in Tehran
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/76a939b6-c5bc-11da-b675-0000779e234
The archives of South News can be found at
http://southmovement.alphalink.com.au/southnews/
*****************************************************************
2 [southnews] Is Iran bluffing or not?
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 20:03:25 -0500 (CDT)
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Goncharov) -- The world
is now discussing the possible use of force by the United States against
Iran.
Many experts said Great Prophet, the latest Iranian military exercise in
the Persian Gulf, highlighted Tehran's determination based on real
military might. Still, others say Iran was merely bluffing.
The Iranian media reported that the national Armed Forces were testing
unique up-to-date weapons and equipment in the Gulf. Notably, Iran
successfully test-fired a high-speed, maneuverable and heat-seeking
Misaq-1 surface-to-air missile (SAM), as well as a medium-range and
remote-controlled Kowsar surface-to-sea missile, which zeroes in on its
target and which can successfully cope with ECM (Electronic
Counter-Measures) systems. Iran also tested a modern flying boat that
can skim waves at up to 100 knots.
The new Fajr-3 radar-evading ballistic missile and the Hut torpedo, the
Iranian Navy's fastest underwater weapon with a speed of 100 meters per
second, were also launched.
Iran made it clear that it completely controlled the Strait of Hormuz,
through which the Middle East exports 80% of its oil. Tehran also said
it was ready for war, and that any encroachment on its interests in the
Persian Gulf would
meet with a resolute response from the water, from under the water, from
the air, from islands and the coast.
The United States and Israel, which are Tehran's main opponents, reacted
skeptically to this show of force and said Iran was deliberately
bluffing and over-exaggerating its military potential in the context of
possible UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions.
These statements seem logical because six U.S. carrier task forces are
far more powerful than the Iranian Armed Forces. Four of them are
deployed in the Persian Gulf, while two others are plying the southern
Mediterranean. Each carrier task force has 80 to 90 modern warplanes,
compared to the 360 aircraft of the Iranian Air Force. According to
experts, the technical state of 40-60% of these planes leaves much to be
desired.
The Pentagon would therefore easily establish regional air supremacy
over the Persian Gulf, just like it did in the war against Iraq. It
should not be doubted that U.S. warplanes would destroy any potentially
hostile ship in the Strait of Hormuz and deprive Tehran of its
ship-launched Fajr-3 missiles and Hut torpedoes.
Why did Iran hold these war games at a time when it apparently does not
stand a chance against the six U.S. carrier task forces, which have
better personnel and impressive combat cohesion?
Tehran does not seem to be bluffing because it has enough time to think
and to bargain with the UNSC and the United States. Moreover, Iran could
still display its determination to defend uranium enrichment rights
within its nuclear program.
Experts say the United States will not attack Iran before September, if
it sums up resolve to do so. General James L. Jones, Supreme Allied
Commander Europe, said the International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) would establish complete control over Afghanistan this August,
rather than in October-November 2006. The United States will not declare
war on Iran, unless it makes sure that Afghanistan is secured.
On the other hand, Washington should not delay the Iranian operation in
the context of the congressional election this November. Consequently,
September - October seem like an optimal deadline for attacking Iran.
Iran therefore has enough time to display its determination and to
accomplish several objectives. For instance, it could try to persuade
the international community that Washington's efforts aiming to force
Tehran to renounce its right to uranium enrichment operations are both
dangerous and unjustified. Iran could also try to convince the UNSC that
its nuclear file should be returned to the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA). And, finally, Iran, which unequivocally wants to be a
leading Mideastern power, could make Washington nervous and show that
the United States is not omnipotent. It seems that Tehran will not give
up its positions without a fight and that it will try to force
Washington to heed its interests.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20060407/45452731.html
The archives of South News can be found at
http://southmovement.alphalink.com.au/southnews/
*****************************************************************
3 Guardian Unlimited: IAEA Head to Visit Iran to Meet Leaders
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Friday April 7, 2006 9:01 PM
AP Photo NY194
By GEORGE JAHN
Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Shrugging off U.S. opposition, the head
of the International Atomic Energy Agency will go to Tehran next
week in hopes of securing nuclear concessions from the Iranian
leadership, diplomats and officials said Friday.
While the trip was meant to defuse tensions generated by fears
Iran could be seeking atomic weapons, a partial success by IAEA
chief Mohamed ElBaradei could exacerbate differences among the
five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and derail
U.S. hopes of firm action against Tehran.
Iran could commit to meet some Security Council requests while
falling short of demands to freeze uranium enrichment, a
possible pathway to nuclear arms.
That could placate Russia and China, which oppose tough
anti-Iran moves, but fall short of full compliance sought by the
United States, France and Britain. The five countries wield veto
power as permanent Security Council members.
The 15-nation council, which can impose sanctions, already is
split along East-West lines on how tough it should be against
Iran. If ElBaradei receives commitments that please Moscow and
Beijing, that would further complicate U.S.-led efforts to
secure a firmly worded resolution demanding Iran comply.
The U.S. mission recently urged ElBaradei not to go and France
and Britain backed that request, but he decided to make the trip
anyway, diplomats accredited to the agency said, speaking on
condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak
on the issue.
After-hour attempts to reach Vienna-based U.S. diplomats for
comment were unsuccessful.
The trip was unexpected, although diplomats close to the agency
said ElBaradei had a standing invitation from Iran to visit but
was reluctant to go without hopes of progress.
One diplomat warned against heightened expectations, saying
ElBaradei would not negotiate any settlement but expected to get
some concessions. A senior IAEA official said separately that
ElBaradei expected positive results from the trip, but was
unlikely to get Tehran to recommit to a freeze of enrichment
activities.
Still, it appeared ElBaradei was hoping to wrest at least
partial concessions from Iran - if not on enrichment, then on
other issues of concern to the international community,
including a decision earlier this year to cut back on the scope
and frequency of IAEA inspections.
Other problems facing the agency include spotty information on
Tehran's enrichment program, leading to fears it might be hiding
facilities beyond the ones it has revealed to the IAEA.
The agency, which started investigating Iran more than three
years ago after learning it had been running a secret nuclear
program for nearly two decades, also is concerned with ``dual
use'' experiments and materials that could be used in nuclear
weapons programs.
It has noted apparent military involvement in what Tehran says
is strictly a civilian program and earlier this year sounded the
alarm over drawings showing how to mold fissile material into
the shape of warheads.
Tehran insists it is not interested in nuclear weapons and
refuses to re-impose a temporary freeze on enrichment, saying it
has a right to that activity to make nuclear fuel under the
Nonproliferation Treaty.
Enrichment uses centrifuges to spin uranium gas to low-grade
levels, suitable for fuel, or highly fissile material, which can
be used to make bombs.
While it plans to run thousands of centrifuges in its drive to
run a full-scale enrichment program, Tehran's known enrichment
capabilities are now restricted to a 164-centrifuge pilot plant
at Natanz.
Officials familiar with the facility say it could start
operating within days. The expertise learned from the plant
could be applied to large-scale enrichment with the potential of
producing material for hundreds of warheads.
The timing of the planned visit also is important. It will occur
only about two weeks before ElBaradei is to report to the
Security Council on whether Iran has heeded its call to freeze
uranium enrichment and fully open its nuclear program to an IAEA
probe.
Those requests were contained in a March 29 Security Council
statement that also called on ElBaradei to report back in 30
days on whether Iran was complying.
---
On the Net:
http://www.iaea.org
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
4 IRNA: Iran nuclear program not diverted, says ElBaradei
Madrid, April 7, IRNA
Iran-IAEA-Nuclear
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed
ElBaradei said here Thursday night his agency has not seen any
indication that nuclear material in Iran has been diverted or is
being diverted to develop nuclear weapons.
ElBaradei, who is currently here to attend a meeting of UN
agency chiefs, made the remark in a joint press conference with
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.
There is still time for negotiation, diplomacy, and preventing
the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) from imposing
sanctions against Iran, he added.
The IAEA inspectors visit Iran's nuclear facilities as of
Friday, said ElBaradei urging Iran to clarify some unsettled
issues.
He implicitly criticized US officials for their remarks on
Iran's nuclear activities, calling for restoring the peaceful
atmosphere needed to settle the crisis.
Asked about recent statement of the US Ambassador to the UN,
John Bolton, who said Iran has just two chances before Security
Council sanctions, ElBaradei said he does not understand such
remarks.
The UN nuclear watchdog head, however, added the US ambassador
has the right to express his opinion.
A sustainable solution to the crisis is found when there is a
room for diplomacy, argued ElBaradei concluding if tension is
not mounted, it benefits all.
The ranking official hoped for full transparency and
cooperation from Tehran with the IAEA inspectors during their
visit.
"Iranian officials should clarify some issues because the image
of Iran's nuclear activities is hazy enough to create a climate
of mistrust."
ElBaradei praised Spain's support for the agency, saying the
Spanish government and the IAEA have a very similar stance
toward nuclear security.
"The IAEA and Spain are determined to explore all possible
avenues to reach a diplomatic solution to nuclear crises of Iran
and North Korea."
The Spanish foreign minister, for his part, said the doors are
still open to find a solution for Iran's nuclear case through
negotiations.
Moratinos added the unity of international community and
diplomacy hold the key to solving the case.
*****************************************************************
5 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: IRI enrichment decision irreversible
2006/04/07
Berlin, April 7 - Iran has resumed uranium enrichment for
research purposes and this decision is irreversible, a senior
Iranian nuclear official said on Thursday.
Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh, made the remark in an interview
with Germany's tern' periodical.
"The Iranian government will show reaction if the UN Security
Council makes decisions which will threaten Iran's security and
national interests.
"Several Iranian officials including MPs ask whether Iran
should pull out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or not.
"This is while India and Israel have not signed the NPT and
were not punished for this measure. Although Iran signed the
treaty, it is directed by criticism," Soltaniyeh said.
Asked about measures Iran would adopt to remove tension, he
added, "There is still the opportunity the UN Security Council
will return Iran's nuclear case to the IAEA. In that case, ways
will open for next talks which will concentrate on all concerns
of Europe and others.
"We halted any uranium enrichment work for three years without
receiving any concession in return. We proposed the Europeans we
will conduct all uranium enrichment activities under the IAEA
supervision and are ready to continue talks on industrial-scale
enrichment."
In response to a question on reasons behind Iran's refusal to
accept Russia's nuclear offer to import nuclear fuel from
Moscow, the Iranian official said, "We agree with the proposal
in general but its technical and legal details should be
clarified.
"Iran's right to conduct uranium enrichment should be
accepted.Meanwhile, no offer has been yet presented which will
guarantee regular and constant delivery of atomic fuel.
"Nuclear power plant is a giant investment. We should receive
atomic fuel safely if we are supposed to suspend uranium
enrichment." Asked about Iran's lack of confidence to Russia,
Soltaniyeh said, "We have been repeatedly abandoned. For
example, Germany abandoned us and left Iran although Bushehr
power plant was not completed.
"Russia has promised to deliver atomic fuel to Iran just for
one year. We need a guarantee on atomic fuel delivery for
full-time activity of the power plant."
He pointed to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remark while
addressing the UN General Assembly last year and said, "Iran is
ready to cooperate with foreign private and state companies to
guarantee that its nuclear activities are merely peaceful."
Soltaniyeh added, "The US officials should comprehend certain
issues. Iran is not Iraq. The IAEA inspectors found no document
proving Iran uses nuclear technology for military purposes.
"Double-standard policies adopted by the United States have not
been welcomed by the Islamic world and Europe." Iran has had a
strong stance on nuclear case and will continue it in the
future. We have worked on our atomic program for 25 years and
cannot leave it easily."
Asked about President Ahmadinejad's statement who has stressed
that Israel should be wiped out of the world map, the official
stated, "Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei determines
Iran's policies. Ayatollah Khamenei said some two years ago that
if Jews, Muslims and Christians would gather and choose a
democratic government, Iran would respect it.
"We are against the behavior of the Zionists. We are not
against the Jews," the Iranian diplomat concluded.
Copyright 2004,
All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
News Network
Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center.
E-Mail: Webmaster@IRIBNEWS.ir
*****************************************************************
6 AFP: Iran will defend nuclear program to 'last drop of blood' -
Friday April 7, 06:57 PM
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran will defend its controversial nuclear
program to its "last drop of blood" and refuse to suspend
uranium enrichment as demanded by the UN Security Council, a
senior cleric said.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, meanwhile,
arrived in Iran to visit the Islamic republic's uranium
enrichment facility in Natanz and other sites. The IAEA also
announced that the nuclear watchdog's chief Mohamed ElBaradei
was due to visit Iran next week.
"We want our rights NTL OnNet April 2006 - 300x250 CPM,
advert_format=Multiformat, advert_id=6319, site=yahoo_cpm300
-->[''] [ src=] and nothing more, and we will resist until our
last drop of blood," Hojatoleslam Ahmad Khatami said in a Friday
prayer sermon broadcast on state radio.
"They want to create a crisis. The Security Council, which ought
to be an instrument of justice, wants to create insecurity and
injustice," the ultra-conservative cleric charged.
"They have set a one-month deadline for us to suspend our
research on enrichment. They can set a one-month delay, one for
a year or whatever they want. We will not renounce our rights."
A non-binding statement approved unanimously by the world body
on March 29 gave the Islamic republic 30 days to abandon the
sensitive nuclear work, but without issuing a threat of
sanctions.
Iran has refused to freeze its nuclear research and development
-- which includes uranium enrichment -- that it resumed in
January, insisting that nuclear technology for peaceful purposes
was its right.
Tehran vehemently denies it has ambitions of building a nuclear
bomb and says its nuclear energy program is purely peaceful.
Meanwhile, Khatami said the past week of Iranian military
maneuvers in the strategic Gulf, in which missiles were tested,
aimed to show that "if enemies try to attack Islamic Iran, they
will receive a severe smacking."
The IAEA visit starting Friday was planned months ago and is not
linked to the Security Council statement of late March,
Aliasghar Soltanieh, Iran's representative to the IAEA said,
quoted by the semi-official news agency Mehr.
"The inspections to be carried out in the coming days are
routine inspections within the framework of the (nuclear)
Non-Proliferation Treaty and not linked to the statement," he
said.
The IAEA inspectors were due to inspect different nuclear sites,
including the Natanz facility, Soltanieh said earlier in the
week.
Washington believes the Natanz site, with its underground
uranium enrichment facility, is one of the main components in
Tehran's alleged drive to build a nuclear bomb.
In other developments, a diplomat with the IAEA said ElBaradei
was set to visit Tehran on an undisclosed date next week.
ElBaradei will "meet with senior officials for discussions
related to outstanding safeguard verification issues and other
confidence building measures requested by the IAEA board of
governors," the diplomat said.
The IAEA chief said Thursday he hoped for "cooperation and
transparency" from Tehran over its nuclear power standoff.
"We have seen issues in Iran that we need to understand before
we can say that we are satisfied that all activities in Iran are
exclusively for peaceful purposes," ElBaradei told a Madrid news
conference.
ElBaradei, the winner of the 2005 Nobel peace prize along with
his agency, has worked doggedly to avert an escalation in the
conflict between Tehran and the West.
The IAEA chief cautioned against slapping international
sanctions on Iran in a March 30 speech delivered in Qatar.
ElBaradei, who gained prominence after warning there was no
evidence Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction before the
US-led invasion in 2003, said he thought Iran was not "an
imminent threat" and called sanctions "a bad idea."
AFP '); [ src=]
*****************************************************************
7 IRNA: Iran's uranium enrichment decision irreversible - Soltaniyeh -
, April 7, IRNA
--
Iran has resumed uranium enrichment for research purposes and
this decision is irreversible, a senior Iranian nuclear official
said on Thursday.
Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh, made the remark in an interview
with Germany's `Stern' periodical.
"The Iranian government will show reaction if the UN Security
Council makes decisions which will threaten Iran's security and
national interests.
"Several Iranian officials including MPs ask whether Iran
should pull out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or not.
"This is while India and Israel have not signed the NPT and
were not punished for this measure. Although Iran signed the
treaty, it is directed by criticism," Soltaniyeh said.
Asked about measures Iran would adopt to remove tension, he
added, "There is still the opportunity the UN Security Council
will return Iran's nuclear case to the IAEA. In that case, ways
will open for next talks which will concentrate on all concerns
of Europe and others.
"We halted any uranium enrichment work for three years without
receiving any concession in return. We proposed the Europeans we
will conduct all uranium enrichment activities under the IAEA
supervision and are ready to continue talks on industrial-scale
enrichment." In response to a question on reasons behind Iran's
refusal to accept Russia's nuclear offer to import nuclear fuel
from Moscow, the Iranian official said, "We agree with the
proposal in general but its technical and legal details should
be clarified.
"Iran's right to conduct uranium enrichment should be accepted.
Meanwhile, no offer has been yet presented which will guarantee
regular and constant delivery of atomic fuel.
"Nuclear power plant is a giant investment. We should receive
atomic fuel safely if we are supposed to suspend uranium
enrichment." Asked about Iran's lack of confidence to Russia,
Soltaniyeh said, "We have been repeatedly abandoned. For
example, Germany abandoned us and left Iran although Bushehr
power plant was not completed.
"Russia has promised to deliver atomic fuel to Iran just for
one year. We need a guarantee on atomic fuel delivery for
full-time activity of the power plant."
He pointed to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remark while
addressing the UN General Assembly last year and said, "Iran is
ready to cooperate with foreign private and state companies to
guarantee that its nuclear activities are merely peaceful."
Soltaniyeh added, "The US officials should comprehend certain
issues. Iran is not Iraq. The IAEA inspectors found no document
proving Iran uses nuclear technology for military purposes.
"Double-standard policies adopted by the United States have not
been welcomed by the Islamic world and Europe.
"Iran has had a strong stance on nuclear case and will continue
it in the future. We have worked on our atomic program for 25
years and cannot leave it easily."
Asked about President Ahmadinejad's statement who has stressed
that Israel should be wiped out of the world map, the official
stated, "Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei determines
Iran's policies. Ayatollah Khamenei said some two years ago that
if Jews, Muslims and Christians would gather and choose a
democratic government, Iran would respect it.
"We are against the behavior of the Zionists. We are not
against the Jews," the Iranian diplomat concluded.
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8 IRNA: China continues efforts to settle Iran nuclear case peacefully -
Beijing, April 7, IRNA
China-Iran-Nuclear
China, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) and a rotatory head, is still trying to settle Iran's
nuclear case peacefully, a senior Chinese official said here
Friday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao made the remark
in response to a question on his country's role in settling
issues of Iraq, the Middle East, South Asia, and Iran.
China stresses that Iran's nuclear case should be settled
through diplomatic channels and within the regulations of the
International Atomic Energy Agency.
Liu added China, as the rotatory head of the Security Council,
plays its role in establishing peace and making progress in the
world and resolve key international issues.
Beijing strives to help hold peace talks in the Middle East and
settle Iran's nuclear case through negotiation, he said.
*****************************************************************
9 Korea Herald: N.K. proposes resumption of inter-Korean talks
From news reports
North Korea has proposed resuming talks with the South, almost
a month after pulling out of the negotiations over joint
U.S.-South Korean military drills, the Unification Ministry said
yesterday.
The new round of ministerial talks, the 18th of its kind, is to
be held in the North Korean capital Pyongyang from April 21-24,
Yang Chang-seok, a ministry spokesman, told reporters.
"The North side on Thursday proposed holding the next round of
ministerial talks on April 21-24 in Pyongyang," the ministry
spokesman said. The ministry replied that it agreed with the
proposal, he added.
Pyongyang on March 11 called off the inter-Korean ministerial
talks, originally set to take place last month, in protest
against South Korean-U.S. war games it described as "a test
nuclear war" against the communist state.
The annual military drills, Foal Eagle and RSOI (Reception,
Staging, Onward Movement and Integration) ended last Friday
after a one-week run.
The talks between Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok and North
Korean counterpart, Kwon Ho-ung, chief councilor of the North's
Cabinet, are among the highest-level meetings between the two
Koreas.
The inter-Korean talks are designed to discuss economic
cooperation and reconciliation but Seoul is expected to use the
meeting to urge Pyongyang to return to six-nation talks on its
nuclear program.
The upcoming round will be the first opportunity for Lee,
Seoul's new point man on North Korean affairs, to engage in
inter-Korean dialogue after he was appointed at the beginning of
the year.
Topics of the ministerial talks are mostly limited to issues
related to inter-Korean affairs, due mainly to restrictions on
what the North Korean delegate has been authorized to negotiate.
But it has often provided a direct communication line for the
Seoul government and Pyongyang to address other issues, such as
the ongoing dispute over the North's nuclear arms program.
The new round of inter-Korean dialogue also comes amid a
prolonged stalemate in international negotiations over the
North's nuclear ambitions.
The multiparty talks have been in limbo since November.
Pyongyang has said it will not return to the talks unless
Washington lifts financial sanctions it imposed on the Stalinist
regime for allegedly counterfeiting U.S. dollars and laundering
money.
2006.04.08
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10 Korea Herald: [EDITORIAL] Return to six-way talks
The prospects are fast diminishing for an early negotiated
dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons program, with
Pyongyang showing no sign of resuming negotiations anytime soon.
Washington is warning it is running out of patience over
Pyongyang's boycott of the six-way nuclear talks, which have
been stalled since November.
What is more troubling is that China does not appear to be as
enthusiastic as before about bringing North Korea to the
negotiating table. Instead, China is reportedly becoming
reluctant to share information with South Korea, which Seoul
says is vital in putting common pressure on North Korea to
abandon its nuclear ambitions.
The major stumbling block to an early breakthrough in the
standoff is North Korea's precondition for reopening the
official channel of negotiations. Pyongyang says it will not
return to the six-way nuclear talks unless Washington withdraws
financial sanctions against the North's alleged money-laundering
and counterfeiting activities.
As the South Korean unification minister, Lee Jong-seok,
correctly said, Pyongyang is grossly misguided in linking the
six-way talks with the financial sanctions. He said South Korea
and the other parties concerned will be able to ask Washington
to be more lenient toward North Korea only when it returns to
the six-way talks and becomes more flexible in its demands.
North Korea will do well to heed this unusually caustic advice
from the unification minister, who has been more sympathetic to
its causes than many other South Korean policymakers. The North
should not take his remarks lightly when he says he detects
"subtle changes" in the American attitude toward North Korea,
because he is privy to confidential information.
News reports from the United States, however, suggest the
changes are more obvious than subtle, with hardliners again
insisting that sanctions are more effective than negotiations in
handling North Korea. A Knight Ridder report says Vice President
Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld have
severely curtailed the power of the U.S. chief delegate to the
six-party talks.
The damaging impact of the U.S. financial sanctions on North
Korea may have encouraged the hawks to reassert themselves.
Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey told the Senate Banking
Committee earlier this week that they are forcing banks around
the world to slam their doors on North Korea, "constricting the
flow of dirty cash into Kim Jong-il's regime."
But it will be wise of Washington not to push Pyongyang too
far, as it will certainly backfire. North Korea may wish to
soften the impact of the U.S. financial sanctions on its economy
by asking for greater aid from China. South Korea has voiced its
concern that an isolated North Korea may choose to terminate the
nuclear negotiations, seek greater support from China and thus
push itself deeper into China's sphere of influence.
The South Korean unification minister may have wanted to get
this message across when he urged the United States to consider
the issue of dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program
more seriously.
The implications of these recent developments deserve candid
discussion among all parties to the nuclear talks - the two
Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. A rare
opportunity to deal with them will be provided when government
officials, military officers and academics attend the Northeast
Asia Cooperation Dialogue, scheduled to be held in Japan
tomorrow through Thursday.
Still better, the participants will include U.S. chief
negotiator Christopher Hill and his North Korean counterpart,
Kim Gye-gwan. They are urged to meet on the sidelines of the
unofficial forum and try hard to salvage the moribund six-way
talks. They need to realize that they may have no better chance
to do so in the future.
2006.04.08
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11 BBC: N Korea talks revival 'up to US'
Last Updated: Friday, 7 April 2006
[Satellite image of North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Centre]
Nuclear talks with the North stalled in November 2005
North Korea has said it is up to the US to take steps to revive
talks on Pyongyang's nuclear arms programme.
"It is the US that knows full well what needs to be done to
revive the six-party talks," Vice-Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan
said.
He was speaking in Japan, where the six nations involved in talks
- the two Koreas, Russia, China, Japan and the US - are to meet
for a private conference.
The comments follow the news that the two Koreas will meet later
this month.
The high-level talks between the North and South - which
technically remain at war - were originally scheduled to start
last week.
The Communist nation delayed them in a protest over US-South
Korean military drills. It says the exercises are a rehearsal for
invasion of the country - a claim South Korea and the US refute.
'Ready to meet'
Chief nuclear negotiators for six-party talks are gathering in
Tokyo for a private security conference, beginning on Monday,
aimed at persuading Pyongyang to return to the negotiating table.
"We have not come here for the purpose of six-nation talks and
the US knows very well what is necessary to resume the talks," Mr
Kim, the North's top negotiator, told reporters as he arrived in
Japan.
"If the US makes a proposal to meet us, we intend to accept it,"
he added.
Nothing can happen until we s what North Korea has in its
briefcase Taro Aso Japanese Foreign Minister
North Korea agreed to give up its nuclear goals and return to the
nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) last September.
However, its demands that it be given a civilian nuclear reactor
and that the US lift financial sanctions brought talks to a
standstill, with no date set for more negotiations.
US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill will attend the
Tokyo meeting, but US officials said there were no plans for him
to meet with the North Korean envoy.
North Korea might also hold talks on the sidelines with Japan,
reports from Tokyo have said. Japan and North Korea have no
diplomatic ties and visits by the North's officials are rare.
However, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso played down
expectations.
"Just because all the participants will be here... doesn't mean
it will suddenly be formal six-way talks... Nothing can happen
until we see what North Korea has in its briefcase," he was
quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying.
The topic for discussion at the talks between North Korea and
South Korea, planned for 21-24 April, has not yet been decided,
but past meetings have covered economic assistance, mining and
humanitarian co-operation.
Bilateral relations between the two have warmed significantly in
recent years, but tensions also persist over North Korea's
nuclear ambitions.
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12 Korea Times: Stalled Six-Party Talks
Hankooki.com > The Korea Times > Opinion
US-NK Direct Contact Key to Resumption
The six-party talks over North Korea¡¯s nuclear weapons program
have been stalled for more than six months with no clear sign of
any resumption. This unwanted situation was caused by the
tension between the United States and North Korea over
Pyongyang¡¯s alleged counterfeiting of U.S. currency.
It is right to think that the longer the talks are stalled, the
higher the chances are North Korea will develop nuclear weapons.
That¡¯s why it gives us the jitters that the North threatens to
stay out of the six-party meeting unless the U.S. lifts its
financial sanctions.
Pyongyang appears to be trying to get out of the difficulties
from the financial sanctions by linking the matter to the
resumption of the six-party talks. They are using the
multilateral talks as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the
U.S. But the move doesn¡¯t look effective.
Washington appears determined to step-up pressure on the North
over its alleged illicit activities, without regard to the fate
of the six-party talks. Stuart Levey, U.S. Treasury Department
undersecretary, made it clear that multi-faceted pressures are
being applied on the North for its illegal activities. In a
Senate hearing, he hinted that they are proving quite effective
and said ``the combined effect has been described as causing a
ripple effect around the world, constricting the flow of dirty
cash into Kim Jong-il¡¯s regime.¡¯¡¯
Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok also sees it as inappropriate
for the North to connect its presence at the six-party talks to
the financial sanctions. He called for a change of the North
Korean attitude. Lately, in an apparent move to minimize the
impact from the sanctions, Pyongyang is trying to consolidate
its relationship with China, although this doesn¡¯t serve as a
fundamental remedy for the North¡¯s difficulties.
We think Pyongyang will feel the necessity to return to the
six-party talks in time.
During the nuclear talks last September, North Korea agreed to
give up its nuclear ambitions in return for economic and
diplomatic benefits, but has been boycotting the talks since
November.
North Korea is asked to see the reality as it is. There is no
other way but for Pyongyang to comply with the wishes of the
international community to see it dismantle its nuclear weapons
program so it can overcome its economic difficulties, and become
a responsible member of the international community. It is not
too much to say that the key to the resumption of talks entirely
depends on the attitudes of the U.S. and North Korea.
Concerned members of the six-party talks need to make every
effort to provide a chance for the two countries¡¯ direct
contact in one way or another. It is good to hear that Kim
Kye-gwan, the North¡¯s chief delegate to the nuclear talks will
take part in a regional security seminar in Japan next week,
which will also be attended by Seoul¡¯s and Washington¡¯s top
envoys to the talks, Chun Young-woo and Christopher Hill.
It may be a good chance for a direct meeting between the U.S.
and North Korea. We hope the Tokyo meeting will serve as
momentum to bring about a breakthrough in the resumption of the
six-party talks.
04-07-2006 17:40
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13 AFP: Pyongyang proposes resumption of inter-Korean talks
Friday April 7, 05:55 AM
[Pedestrians walk past giant propaganda boards in Pyongyang.]
SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea has proposed resuming talks with the
South, almost a month after pulling out of the negotiations over
US-South Korean military drills, the unification ministry said.
"We received a message from Pyongyang Thursday, which suggested
the high-level talks should be resumed," a ministry spokesman
told AFP.
"We replied that we agreed," he said.
Pyongyang called off the inter-Korean ministerial talks on March
11 in protest at US-South Korean war games, which it described as
"a test nuclear war" against the communist state.
Negotiations will now resume in Pyongyang on April 21-24.
The talks between Unification Minister Lee Jong-Seok and his
North Korean counterpart Kwon Ho-Ung, chief councilor of the
North's Cabinet, are among the highest-level meetings to have
been held between the neighbours.
The talks are designed to discuss economic cooperation and
reconciliation, but Seoul is expected to use the meeting to urge
Pyongyang to return to six-nation talks on its nuclear programme.
Discussions on the North's nuclear intentions have been in limbo
since November and Pyongyang has made it clear that it will not
return to the table unless Washington lifts financial sanctions
imposed on the Stalinist regime for allegedly counterfeiting US
dollars and laundering money.
Against this backdrop, an upcoming informal forum on security in
North East Asia is attracting attention as it draws delegates
from the same six countries including an unidentified North
Korean envoy.
The forum will take place in Tokyo on April 9 to 13, with a
two-day main conference on Monday and Tuesday followed by three
days of small group discussions.
Academics and government officials from China, Japan, North
Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States will take part
in the event sponsored by the University of California's
Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.
Christopher Hill, the US assistant secretary of state and
delegate to the stalled North Korea talks, will take part in the
conference, a US embassy spokesman said.
Hill is expected to meet informally with the heads of the South
Korean and Japanese delegations, he said.
The foreign ministry in Seoul said Friday that South Korea's
chief delegate to the six-party talks, Chun Young-Woo, will also
attend the forum.
China's chief delegate to the six-party talks, Vice Foreign
Minister Wu Dawei, will meet other delegation heads in Tokyo
next week to exchange views on the nuclear impasse, but he will
not directly participate in the forum, Chinese officials said.
South Korean unification minister Lee voiced hope for the Tokyo
forum, saying the conference should provide chances for
delegates from the six countries to engage in dialogue.
"On the occasion of the conference, I hope the participants of
the six-party talks will engage in various forms of dialogue,
regardless whether it is bilateral or multilateral," he said.
AFP '); [ src=]
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14 Guardian Unlimited: Two Koreas to Resume High-Level Talks
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Friday April 7, 2006 2:31 AM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea and North Korea have
agreed to restart their suspended high-level talks this month in
Pyongyang, the Unification Ministry said Friday.
``North Korea sent a message Thursday to us to propose to hold
talks in April 21-24 and we agreed to the North's proposal in a
reply message today,'' a ministry spokesman Yang Chang-seok told
The Associated Press.
The Cabinet-level talks were originally scheduled to start last
week in the North Korean capital, but the communist nation
delayed them in a protest over weeklong military exercises
involving South Korea and the United States that ended last
Friday.
The North had suggested talks resume on an unspecified April
date when it postponed the meeting.
North Korea usually reacted angrily to the drills, which
Pyongyang says are a rehearsal for an invasion of the communist
country. South Korea and the United States dismiss the North's
assertion, saying they are defensive exercises.
The two divided Koreas have held 17 rounds of the Cabinet-level
talks - the highest-level regular dialogue channel between the
two Koreas - since the first-ever inter-Korean summit in 2000.
The bilateral relations warmed significantly after the summit,
but tensions persist over North Korea's nuclear ambitions. The
two sides are still technically in a state of conflict because
the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
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15 [southnews] Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb?
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 01:54:30 -0500 (CDT)
falseness of our diplomacy is revealed in our scramble for useable',
tactical nuclear missiles, new weapons systems, and our new
justifications for their use.
_____________________________________
Strange How This Generation Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
By Ron Fullwood
OpEdNews.com April 6, 2006
The Bush regime today took the lid off of their blueprint for rebuilding
the U.S. nuclear weapons complex and declared their intention to put the
cold-war facility back in the business of building bombs.
The nuclear hawks want the ability to produce 125 new nuclear bombs a
year by 2022. How did it come to this?
The Bush administration's nuclear program is a shell game with their
ambitions hidden within the Energy and Defense bills, most under the
guise of research. Their proposals originated in a position paper which
is referenced in the Energy Policy Act of 2003, entitled, "A Roadmap to
Deploy New Nuclear Power Plants in the United States by 2010".
The nuclear industry, along with government supporters, developed a
roadmap for the realization of these goals. They intend to portray nukes
as a safe, clean alternative to CO2 based plants. The energy bill
references the "Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems Program."
This is a determined, deliberate hard sell to get the nation back in the
nuclear game. The nuclear provisions in the Energy bill are a tough read
but they are designed to confuse.
The legislation designates INEEL, The Idaho Engineering and
Environmental Laboratories, as the lead facility for nuclear R&D. This
has been the nation's primary lab for all of the nuclear madness since
1952. INEEL's primary function since the mid 70's was the clean-up of
their own toxic waste. This clean-up is still going on. There is money
allocated in this bill for that.
New plants are contemplated in the Energy and Defense legislation which
would utilize the new generation of recycled nuclear fuels (MOX
mixed-oxide, hydrogen based, depleted uranium, etc.). These centers will
almost certainly be formatted to accommodate the next generation of
nuclear weapons, such as, mini tactical nukes and bunker- busters.
INEEL will undoubtably be at the center of this effort.
At the end of the decade support for nuclear energy was on the decline
because of waste and safety issues and disarmament. Right before Bush II
got in office, the industry, still fat from clean-up money sought to
bolster their flagging industry. (INEEL gets 70% of their funding for
waste disposal) Waste storage had become so controversial that it had
soured the public to the idea of more nukes and more nuke plants. (Yucca
Mountain, storage sites in New Mexico, transportation, safety issues, etc.).
So, they began promoting the view that the 'spent' nuclear fuel from
decommissioned weapons and nuclear power plants could be broken down and
reconstituted for weapons (depleted uranium) and a new generation of
nuclear plants which would accommodate (recycle) and use the waste
instead of immobilizing it in glass and storing it.
The industry makes the dubious claim that the recycled waste keeps it
out of the hands of terrorists and makes proliferation more difficult.
It will more likely disperse the waste and create more opportunity for
abuse or mishap. But, they are pressing on, perhaps emboldened by the
lack of effective opposition, or maybe it's just the last gasp of a
fracturing plutocracy as they rape the Treasury to benefit their
military industry benafactors.
I often wonder why there was no massive outcry from the public as Bush
packed the government with military industry cronies from the start of
his administration. I'm equally puzzled why we seemed to shrug off the
scrapping of a generation of nuclear disarmament without so much as a
blink as the Bush regime continues to advance their plans for a new
generation of nuclear weaponry with new justifications for its use.
People of my generation, and the ones before mine fought a valiant
battle against nuclear weapons. Perhaps the desire grew out of our
childhood spent crouching under our school desks every Wednesday or
Friday as the air raid siren blared out its nuclear drill. 'Duck and
cover!' counseled Bert the animated turtle in the '60's era filmstrip. I
grew to fear and hate communists and dread the inevitable nuclear attack.
The Japanese started campaigning against nuclear weapons in 1946 after
the U.S. dropped the bomb on them. Citizens' groups in Hiroshima started
a mass movement after March 1954, when a U.S. nuclear test dropped
radiation on the crew of a Japanese fishing boat, the Lucky Dragon, and
citizens of Bikini. An petition was drawn up and signed by 32 million
people in the world's largest anti-nuclear protest. In August 1955 the
First World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs met in
Hiroshima. The Japan Council Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs
(Gensuikyo) was organized in Japan at the same time.
In the years that followed we saw the enactment of the Partial Test Ban
Treaty; the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties (I and II); the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty; the Strategic Arms Reduction
Treaties (I and II); and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
These important restraints on the proliferation and spread of nuclear
weaponry did not occur in a vacuum. These restraints were the result of
direct action by communities and individuals engaging in massive,
worldwide campaigns of public protest, over the strenuous objections of
ruling parties and government powers. Notable among the modern nuclear
resistors in the United States, included the Federation of American
Scientists, the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE), Women Strike
for Peace, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the Nuclear Weapons
Freeze Campaign.
In 1980 Randall Caroline Forsberg, Executive Director of the Institute
for Defense and Disarmament Studies, wrote the "Call to Halt the Nuclear
Arms Race which launched the national Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign.
In 1989 Forsberg briefed BushI and his Cabinet officials on US-Soviet
arms control issues. In 1995 she was appointed by President Clinton to
the Advisory Committee of the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. In
March 1981, representatives from over 30 states met at Georgetown
University in a campaign for a comprehensive nuclear freeze between the
U.S. and Soviet Union.
Although Reagan deployed nuclear missiles to Western Europe during his
term, in October 1983, he proposed eliminating all nuclear weapons in a
speech in January 1984. Earlier, in April 1982, obviously affected by
the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign, he had pronounced that "a nuclear
war cannot be won and must never be fought. And, he also improbably
declared, "To those who protest against nuclear war, I can only say:
'I'm with you!'"
Gorbachev subsequently initiated a unilateral Soviet nuclear testing
moratorium and decided against building a Star Wars anti-missile system.
Reagan refused to abandon the U.S. version of Star Wars, but the
disarmament die had been cast. Gorbachev put the U.S. on the defensive
by exercising what was termed the 'zero option', agreeing to remove all
nuclear missiles from Europe.
In late 1984, twenty-two people got themselves arrested as they blocked
the entrance to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Wake Forest,
Illinois to protest U.S. warships in Central America and to protest the
Navys part in spreading weapons and ammunition to the countries in the
region. Sixteen went to trial, charges against eight were dropped and a
ninth was dismissed. Seven protesters stood trial in the People v. Jarka
No. 002170 in the Circuit Court of Lake County, Waukegan, Illinois.
After a one-week trial defendants were found not guilty by the jury.
The judge in the case, Alphonse F. Witt, gave the following instruction
to the jury regarding international law:
International law is binding on the United States and on the State of
Illinois.
The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is a war crime or an
attempted war crime because such use would violate inter-national law by
causing unnecessary suffering, failure to dis-tinguish between
combatants and noncombatants, and poisoning targets by radiation.
(Source: Robert Aldridge and Virginia Stark, Nuclear War, Citizen
Intervention, and the Necessity Defense, Santa Clara Law Review 26, no.
2 : 324325.)
The Jarka trial served as the basis for the defense of subsequent
actions and protests against the Reagan administration's escalating
militarism, mindless military buildup, and meddling military
interventions abroad.
In the years that followed the anti-nuclear activism, New Zealand banned
nuclear warships from their ports, Australia banned the testing of MX
missiles, India halted work on nuclear weapons, and called for nuclear
disarmament, the Philippines voted for a no nuke constitution and closed
down U.S. military bases harboring nuclear weapons. South Africa
abandoned an infant nuclear weapons program. BushI was intimidated into
unilaterally withdrawing short-range missiles from Western Europe.
Later there were the influential protests at the Nevada Test Site which
fostered a Nevada-based, Semipalatinsk nuclear disarmament movement in
the Soviet Union which led to the closure of the Soviet nuclear test sites.
In 1992 underground nuclear testing was halted for nine months, and
stringent restrictions were enacted on further U.S. testing, and test
ban negotiations and an end to U.S. testing by late 1996 were initiated.
The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was achieved, despite
resistance from Democrats including candidate Clinton during his
presidential campaign. In spite of the resistance, anti-nuclear
Congressmen and women organized a test ban and the Clinton
administration extended the U.S. nuclear testing moratorium, encouraging
a worldwide treaty. In September 1996, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
was signed by several nuclear and non-nuclear countries.
That was then . . .
Now, we have been made to endure the mindless idiocy of BushII. For the
first time since the U.S. banned the production of nuclear weapons in
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; signed by the U.S. and Russia in
1968, entered into force in 1970; and since the moratorium on nuclear
testing, which has been in place since 1992, the nuclear arms race has
been restarted by the Bush administration, aided in part by an
underground Pentagon campaign.
Gen. Lee Butler, of the Strategic Air Command, along with former Air
Force Secretary Thomas Reed, and Col. Michael Wheeler, made a report in
1991 which recommended the targeting of our nuclear weaponry at "every
reasonable adversary around the globe." The report warned of nuclear
weapons states which are likely to emerge." They were aided in their
pursuit by, John Deutch, President Clinton's choice for Defense
Secretary; Fred Ikli, former Deputy Defense Secretary, associated with
Jonathan Pollard; future CIA Director R. James Woolsey; and Condoleezza
Rice, who was on the National Security Council Staff, 1989-1991.
The new nuke report recommended that U.S. nuclear weapons be
re-targeted, where U.S. forces faced conventional "impending
annihilation ... at remote places around the globe," according to
William M. Arkin and Robert S. Norris, in their criticism of the report
in the April 1992 issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists ("Tiny
Nukes").
At the same time, two Los Alamos (Lockheed) nuclear weapons scientists,
Thomas Dowler and Joseph Howard, published an article in 1991 in the
Strategic Review, titled "Countering the Threat of the Well-Armed
Tyrant: A Modest Proposal for Smaller Nuclear Weapons." They argued
that, "The existing U.S. nuclear arsenal had no deterrent effect on
Saddam and is unlikely to deter a future tyrant."
They advocated for "the development of new nuclear weapons of very low
yields, with destructive power proportional to the risks we will face in
the new world environment," and they specifically called for the
development and deployment of "micro-nukes" (with explosive yield of 10
tons), "mini-nukes" (100 tons), and "tiny-nukes" (1 kiloton).
Their justification for the smaller nuclear weapons was their contention
that no President would authorize the use of the nuclear weapons in our
present arsenal against Third World nations. "It is precisely this doubt
that leads us to argue for the development of sub-kiloton weapons," they
wrote.
In a White House document created in April 2000, "The United States of
America Meeting its Commitment to Article VI of the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons," the administration stated that,
"as the United States reduces the numbers of its nuclear weapons, it is
also transforming the means to build them."
Over the past decade, the United States has dramatically changed the
role and mission of its nuclear-weapon complex from weapon research,
development, testing, and production to weapon dismantlement, conversion
for commercial use, and stockpile stewardship.
That was his father's nuclear program. George II wants bombs.
"The Bush administration has directed the military to prepare
contingency plans to use nuclear weapons against at least seven
countries, and to build new, smaller nuclear weapons for use in certain
battlefield situations," according to a Pentagon report uncovered by the
Los Angeles Times.
The report, which was provided to Congress on Jan. 8, 2003 says the
Pentagon needs to be prepared to use nuclear weapons against China,
Russia, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Iran and Libya.
It says the weapons could be used in three types of situations: against
targets able to withstand non-nuclear attack, in retaliation for attack
with nuclear biological or chemical weapons, or in the event of
surprising military developments.' The new report, signed by Secretary
of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, is being used by the U.S. Strategic Command
in the preparation of a nuclear war plan.
As reported by the World Policy Institute, the National Institute for
Public Policy's, January 2001 report on the "rationale and requirements"
for U.S. nuclear forces, was used as the model for the Bush
administration's Nuclear Posture Review, which advocated an expansion of
the U.S. nuclear "hit list" and the development of a new generation of
"usable," lower-yield nuclear weapons.
Three members of the study group that produced the NIPP report -
National Security Council members Stephen Hadley, Robert Joseph
(undersecretary of Defense), and Stephen Cambone (Pentagon Intelligence
director) - are now directly involved in implementing the Bush nuclear
policy. Stephen Hadley, who replaced Rice as National Security Advisor,
co-wrote a National institute for Public Policy paper portraying a
nuclear bunker-buster bomb as an ideal weapon against the nuclear,
chemical or biological weapons stockpiles of rouge nations such as Iraq.
"Under certain circumstances," the report said, "very severe nuclear
threats may be needed to deter any of these potential adversaries."
Reuters reported on the Bush administration plans to promote and push
for the expansion of the nation's nuclear arsenal with the unveiling of
an initiative produced by the Defense Science Board'. The supporting
document, named the Future Strategic Strike Force, outlines a
reconfigured nuclear arsenal made up of smaller-scale missiles which
could be targeted at smaller countries and other lower-scale targets.
The report is a retreat from decades of understanding that these
destructive weapons were to be used as a deterrent only; as a last resort.
In September 2004 the Senate went along with a White House push to
reduce the preparation time required for nuclear testing in Nevada;
clearing the way for a resumption of nuclear test explosions which have
been banned since 1992. It seeks to cut the time it would take to
restart testing nuclear weapons in the Nevada desert from three years to
two years. The Bush administration wants the period cut to 18 months.
Congress plans to build the first permanent U.S. nuclear waste
repository in the desert northwest of Las Vegas, scheduled to open in
2010 and would hold up to 77,000 tons of radioactive waste.
The Energy bill that has emerged from the recent Congress would provide
$580 million for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal project in
2004 around $11 million less than Bush had requested but far above a
$425 million limit earlier endorsed by the Senate.
The bill would also provide $11 million for a new factory to make
plutonium "pits" for the next generation of nuclear weapons. The last
U.S. facility for manufacturing nuclear triggers closed in 1989.
Citing "classified analyses" the DOE claims it needs to have a new pit
facility capable of producing 125-500 pits per year. The DOE's Notice of
Intent for the MPF also states that one of the functions for the
facility will be to have the ability to produce new design pits for new
types of nuclear weapons.
Most modern nuclear weapons depend on a plutonium pit as the "primary"
that begins the chain reaction resulting in a thermonuclear explosion. A
pit is a critical component of a nuclear weapon and functions as a
trigger to allow a modern nuclear weapon to operate properly.
The Department of Energy announced on September 23, 2002, its intent to
begin an examination of several possible sites for a Modern Pit Facility
to produce plutonium pits for new and refurbished nuclear weapons.
The United States is the only nuclear power without the capability to
manufacture a plutonium pit. About three-fourths of the U.S. surplus
plutonium is relatively pure in the form of so-called pits, which have
been removed (and deactivated) from existing warheads.
The remaining fourth of the surplus was in the process pipeline, mostly
as plutonium residues, when processing was suddenly discontinued. The
Soviet government processed all of its material to completion, so now
all of the Russian surplus is in the form of pits or its weapon-form
equivalent.
The Foster Panel Report, also known as the FY2000 Report to Congress of
the Panel to Assess the Reliability, Safety, and Security of the United
States Nuclear Stockpile, found that it could take 15 years from the
point of developing a conceptual design for a pit facility until the
final construction of the facility is completed.
The report stated that, "If it is determined through the science-based
Stockpile Stewardship Program that one or more of our existing pit
designs is no longer reliable, and therefore is not certifiable, our
nuclear stockpile would, in effect, be unilaterally downsized below a
level which could maintain a strong nuclear deterrence."
That is the hook which supporters of an expanded nuclear program will
use to justify an abrogation of the treaty ban, and begin their
new-generation arms race. If they don't get their way - to fiddle with
and refurbish the existing nukes - they will argue that deterrence is at
risk; a preposterous notion, as our existing arsenal is more than enough
to blow us all to Pluto.
If new money is released, the nuclear weapons laboratories are expected
to refurbish the casings on the existing nuclear B-61 and B-83 warheads,
according to Energy Department nuclear czar and former UK Lockheed
executive, Everett Beckner, in testimony before a Senate committee.
Beckner claimed that both weapons have yields "substantially higher than
five kilotons," so he has determined that the study will not violate a
1994 U.S. law prohibiting research on "low-yield" nuclear weapons.
A version of the B-61, modified to strike hardened and deeply buried
targets, was added to the U.S. stockpile without nuclear testing in
1997. There is a serious question about the effectiveness of such a
weapon on underground bunkers, and there is a concern that the
neighboring effect of the radiation cloud would be devastating.
A nuclear strike on North Korea, for example, could generate deadly
radioactive fallout, poisoning nearby countries such as Japan or
Australia. Most observers do not believe that the new weapons can be
developed without abandoning the non-proliferation treaty and sparking a
new and frightening worldwide nuclear arms race.
The nuclear hawks are stepping out from behind their Trojan Horses of
nuclear space travel and safe', new nuclear fuels and are revealing a
frightening ambition to yoke the nation to a new legacy of imperialism.
President Bush has decided that America's image around the globe is to
be one of an oppressive nuclear bully bent on world domination.
Mohamed El Baradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(the man at the UN charged with managing U.S. demands against Iran's
uranium enrichment) said in 2003 that developing new nuclear weapons
could hamper efforts to reach agreement with other countries who might
want to expand their nuclear programs; like Iran and Pakistan, for example.
In September 2004 the Senate went along with a White House push to
reduce the preparation time required for nuclear testing in Nevada;
clearing the way for a resumption of nuclear test explosions which have
been banned since 1992. It seeks to cut the time it would take to
restart testing nuclear weapons in the Nevada desert from three years to
two years. The Bush administration wants the period cut to 18 months.
Congress plans to build the first permanent U.S. nuclear waste
repository in the desert northwest of Las Vegas, scheduled to open in
2010 and would hold up to 77,000 tons of radioactive waste.
The Energy bill that has emerged from Congress would provide $580
million for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste disposal project in 2004
around $11 million less than Bush had requested but far above a $425
million limit earlier endorsed by the Senate.
The bill would also provide $11 million for a new factory to make
plutonium "pits" for the next generation of nuclear weapons. The last
U.S. facility for manufacturing nuclear triggers closed in 1989.
President Bush recently signed into law a Defense bill for 2004 which
includes $9 billion in funding for research on the next generation of
nuclear weaponry.
"It's an important signal we're sending," President Bush remarked at the
signing of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004,
"because, you see, the war on terror is different than any war America
has ever fought."
"Our enemies seek to inflict mass casualties, without fielding mass
armies," he cautioned. "They hide in the shadows, and they're often hard
to strike. The terrorists are cunning and ruthless and dangerous, as the
world saw on September the 11th, 2001. Yet these killers are now facing
the United States of America, and a great coalition of responsible
nations, and this threat to civilization will be defeated."
This is a posture usually reserved for nation-states who initiate or
sponsor terrorists. The devastating neighboring effect of a potential
nuclear engagement would contaminate innocent millions with the
resulting radioactive fallout, and would not deter individuals with no
known base of operations.
Yet, this administration, for the first time in our nations history,
contemplates using nuclear weapons on countries which themselves have no
nuclear capability, or pose no nuclear threat.
In September 2000, the PNAC drafted a report entitled "Rebuilding
America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century."
The conservative foundation- funded report was authored by Bill Kristol,
Bruce Jackson, Gary Schmitt, John Bolton and others. Bolton, now Under
Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, was
Senior Vice President of the conservative American Enterprise Institute.
The report called for: ". . . significant, separate allocation of forces
and budgetary resources over the next two decades for missile defense,"
and claimed that despite the "residue of investments first made in the
mid- and late 1980s, over the past decade, the pace of innovation within
the Pentagon had slowed measurably." Also that, "without the driving
challenge of the Soviet military threat, efforts at innovation had
lacked urgency."
The PNAC report asserted that "while long-range precision strikes will
certainly play an increasingly large role in U.S. military operations,
American forces must remain deployed abroad, in large numbers for
decades and that U.S. forces will continue to operate many, if not most,
of today's weapons systems for a decade or more." The PNAC document
encouraged the military to "develop and deploy global missile defenses
to defend the American homeland and American allies, and to provide a
secure basis for U.S. power projection around the world."
The paper claimed that, "Potential rivals such as China were anxious to
exploit these technologies broadly, while adversaries like Iran, Iraq
and North Korea were rushing to develop ballistic missiles and nuclear
weapons as a deterrent to American intervention in regions they sought
to dominate. Also that, information and other new technologies as well
as widespread technological and weapons proliferation were creating a
dynamic' that might threaten America's ability to exercise its
dominant' military power."
In reference to the nation's nuclear forces, the PNAC document asserted
that, " reconfiguring its nuclear force, the United States also must
counteract the effects of the proliferation of ballistic missiles and
weapons of mass destruction that may soon allow lesser states to deter
U.S. military action by threatening U.S. allies and the American
homeland itself."
"The (Clinton) administration's stewardship of the nation's deterrent
capability has been described by Congress as "erosion by design," the
group chided.
The authors further warned that, "U.S. nuclear force planning and
related arms control policies must take account of a larger set of
variables than in the past, including the growing number of small
nuclear arsenals from North Korea to Pakistan to, perhaps soon, Iran
and Iraq and a modernized and expanded Chinese nuclear force." In
addition, they counseled, "there may be a need to develop a new family
of nuclear weapons designed to address new sets of military
requirements, such as would be required in targeting the very deep
underground, hardened bunkers that are being built by many of our
potential adversaries."
The PNAC Rebuilding America' report was used after the Sept. 11th
terrorist attacks to draft the 2002 document entitled "The National
Security Strategy of the United States," which for the first time in the
nation's history advocated "preemptive" attacks to prevent the emergence
of opponents the administration considered a threat to its political and
economic interests.
It states that ". . . we will not hesitate to act alone, if necessary,
to exercise our right of self-defense by acting preemptively against
such terrorists, to prevent them from doing harm against our people and
our country." And that, "To forestall or prevent such hostile acts by
our adversaries, the United States will, if necessary, act preemptively."
This military industry band of executives promoted the view, in and
outside of the White House that, " must be prepared to stop rogue states
and their terrorist clients before they are able to threaten or use
weapons of mass destruction against the United States and our allies and
friends. . . We must deter and defend against the threat before it is
unleashed."
Their strategy asserts that "The United States has long maintained the
option of preemptive actions to counter a sufficient threat to our
national security. The greater the threat, the greater is the risk of
inaction - and the more compelling the case for taking anticipatory
action to defend ourselves, even if uncertainty remains as to the time
and place of the enemy's attack."
The 2002 PNAC document is a mirrored synopsis of the Bush
administration's foreign policy today. President Bush is projecting a
domineering image of the United States around the world which has
provoked lesser equipped countries to desperate, unconventional
defenses; or resigned them to a humiliating surrender to our rape of
their lands, their resources and their communities.
President Bush intends for there to be more conquest - like in Iraq - as
the United States exercises its military force around the world; our
mandate, our justification, presumably inherent in the mere possession
of our instruments of destruction.
We are unleashing a new, unnecessary fear between the nations of the
world as we dissolve decades of firm understandings about an America
power which was to be guileless in its unassailable defenses. The
falseness of our diplomacy is revealed in our scramble for useable',
tactical nuclear missiles, new weapons systems, and our new
justifications for their use.
Our folly is evident in the rejection of our ambitions by even the
closest of our allies, as we reject all entreaties to moderate our
manufactured mandate to conquer. Isolation is enveloping our nation like
the warming of the atmosphere and the creeping melt of our planet's
ancient glaciers.
Who will stand up against this new generation of nuclear madness? If we
stand firm there is no limit to what we can achieve. If we refuse to
stand up against this administration's push for new nukes, if we are
indifferent, if we shrink away and accept their weak excuses and
justifications we will undo a generation of resistance and activism.
This is our chance to make a difference. This is our moment to rise up
against another mindless escalation into a new nuclear arms race. Are we
ready?
Authors Bio: Ron Fullwood, is an activist from Columbia, Md. and the
author of the book 'Power of Mischief' : Military Industry Executives
are Making Bush Policy and the Country is Paying the Price
Original Article at
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_ron_full_060406_strange_how_this_gen.htm
The archives of South News can be found at
http://southmovement.alphalink.com.au/southnews/
*****************************************************************
16 [NukeNet] Bush Administration Unveils Plans to Produce 125 New
Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 15:11:52 -0700
NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net)
The Anti-nuclear weapons and anti-nuclear power groups must unite. Now we
know the real reason for the push for reviving reprocessing. Don't you all
agree?
There is a 38 minute film , "Chernobyl Heart" that we all need to see and
distribute. It is the most powerful visual I have ever seen on radiation
related birth defects.
Please forward this to everyone on your email list.
Jeannine
Bush Administration Unveils Plans to Produce 125 New Nuclear Weapons a Year:
Seeks Return to Cold War Nuclear Weapons Capabilities
David Culp, Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers)
April 6, 2006
The Bush administration unveiled plans Wednesday to produce 125 new nuclear
weapons a year. The plans include building a new nuclear bomb plant at an
existing weapons site. The multi-billion dollar proposal was presented at
a Capitol Hill hearing by the National Nuclear Security Administration
(NNSA), the semi-autonomous federal agency in charge of nuclear weapons.
NNSA plans to consolidate its plutonium operations into one new bomb
factory with the capacity to produce 125 nuclear weapons per
year. Potential sites for the so-called Consolidated Plutonium Center
include the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, Pantex Plant in Texas,
Nevada Test Site, and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
The agency also announced that it was canceling construction of the
multi-billion dollar Modern Pit Facility at the Savannah River Site, but
would instead include plutonium "pit" production in the larger new bomb
plant. The new bomb factory would also house plutonium R&D activities now
occurring at the Livermore National Laboratory in California and Los Alamos
National Laboratory in New Mexico.
The new facility, slated for completion in 2022, would also be the national
storage site for plutonium. The Oak Ridge Y-12 plant in Tennessee would be
designated as the national storage site for weapons uranium. Research
activities at the two weapons labs not involving large quantities of
weapons material would continue. The government's program for
consolidating nuclear weapons materials is being driven primarily by
security concerns since 9/11.
NNSA deputy administrator Tom D'Agostino told a panel of the House Armed
Services Committee yesterday that the plan "would restore us to a level of
capability comparable to what we had during the Cold War."
D'Agostino praised the new nuclear weapon called the "Reliable Replacement
Warhead" (RRW) as the "enabler" for the revived nuclear weapons
complex. "RRW, we believe, will provide enormous leverage for a more
efficient and responsive infrastructure..."
"For all the talk about eliminating weapons of mass destruction, the
administration is proposing that the U.S. return to Cold War era levels of
nuclear weapons production capability," said David Culp, senior lobbyist at
the Friends Committee on National Legislation. "This is a dangerous step in
the wrong direction and will spur a new nuclear arms race. The U.S. cannot
increase nuclear weapons production and tell the rest of the world to not
build these weapons."
[The NNSA press release and testimony on the proposed plan is on their
website at www.nnsa.doe.gov.]
The Friends Committee on National Legislation is a non- partisan Quaker
lobby in the public interest that represents 26 Yearly Meetings of the
Religious Society of Friends (called Quakers). FCNL speaks for itself and
like-minded individuals. Working with a network of constituents in every
congressional district in the United States, FCNL seeks to bring the
concerns, experiences and testimonies of Friends to bear on national policy
decisions. For more information: www.fcnl.org.
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17 Washington Times: Nuclear warhead update developed
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
April 7, 2006
The Bush administration is designing a new nuclear warhead that
will replace aging stockpiles of weapons and counter emerging
threats, according to Energy Department officials.
The Reliable Replacement Warhead is being drawn up at two
Energy Department nuclear weapons laboratories and, if produced,
would be the first new strategic warhead in more than a decade.
The warhead is part of a nuclear modernization program
revealed Wednesday before the House Armed Services subcommittee
on strategic forces by Thomas P. D'Agostino, deputy
administrator for defense programs in the department's National
Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
"It will improve the performance of individual warheads, and
it will let us transform the infrastructure to be much more
responsive, and because it does these things, it will allow us
to keep far fewer warheads ...," NNSA Director Linton Brooks
said in an interview yesterday.
Mr. Brooks said the warhead has very good support in
Congress, which must fund the program. If the design is approved
in November, it could be developed and produced by 2012, he
said.
Mr. Brooks said the warhead is in many ways a "component
replacement" program but that so many replacements and upgrades
will be made that it could be considered new. It will be easier
to build, use less dangerous materials and will involve new
designs for greater safety, security and greater performance
margins, he said.
The warhead has been described by U.S. officials as having a
"modular" design that will allow it to be adapted to various
delivery systems, including missiles, bombers or submarines.
"These replacement warheads have the same military
characteristics, are carried on the same types of delivery
systems and hold at risk the same targets as the warheads they
replaced, but they have been redesigned for reliability,
security and ease of maintenance," Mr. D'Agostino said.
Modernizing the U.S. nuclear weapons complex is needed to
counter "unanticipated events or emerging threats," he said. It
also will boost "the ability to anticipate innovations by an
adversary and to counter them before our deterrent is degraded,"
he said.
The U.S. nuclear modernization effort comes as both China
and Russia are building up their strategic nuclear forces. Both
nations were described in a recent Pentagon study as states at
"strategic crossroads."
China is deploying three new types of long-range nuclear
missiles, and Russia has developed new strategic missiles
designed to defeat U.S. missile defenses.
Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, commander of the U.S.
Strategic Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last
week that he supports the new warhead. The replacement warhead
is "the key to transforming our aging Cold War nuclear weapons
stockpile," Gen. Cartwright said.
The U.S. nuclear warhead arsenal is being cut from about
10,000 warheads to about 6,000 over the next six years.
Another key goal of the new warhead program is to restore
the infrastructure for producing nuclear weapons that has
decreased sharply in both people and facilities since the
collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Copyright 2006 The Washington Times
*****************************************************************
18 outlookindia.com: Extend N-deal to Pak to lower tension in region - Aziz to US
PTI
AZIZ
ISLAMABAD, APR 7 (PTI)
Notwithstanding Washington's refusal, Pakistan has sought
extension of the Indo-US nuclear deal to it saying this could
help control the production of fissile material in South Asia
and lower tension with India.
"The whole initiative of US-India civilian nuclear deal can be
enveloped in nuclear restraint regime which allows production of
fissile material for all of South Asia, including India and
Pakistan," Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told CNN in an interview.
"We believe that a nuclear restraint regime around the whole
issue will help control production of fissile material in South
Asia and lead to lowering of tension and peace," Aziz, who is
currently in New York to co-chair the reforms panel of United
Nations, said.
Pakistan in the past had proposed a nuclear restraint regime to
India, which did not show much interest saying that its nuclear
programme was not Pakistan-centric.
Aziz said a deal on the lines of one reached between India and
United States was also important for Pakistan as its economy is
growing at six to eight per cent a year and its "energy needs
are very acute." Pakistan believes that if it can have more
avenues of peaceful production of nuclear energy under IAEA
safeguards and guidelines to meet its growing electricity needs
that would be good for the country and the region, he said.
To question about US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's
statement that Washington had no plans to extend the nuclear
deal to Pakistan, Aziz said "I have said that Pakistan' energy
needs are similar and we would like this opportunity to be used
to come up with nuclear restraint environment".
© Outlook Publishing (India) Private Limited
*****************************************************************
19 AFP: Senior US lawmakers to travel to India for nuclear talks -
Fri Apr 7, 5:57 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Republican House leader Dennis Hastert" />
Dennis Hastertand other lawmakers announced plans to visit India
next week to discuss a controversial bilateral nuclear deal made
in March.
Hastert will head the eight-member group, which plans to meet
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress Party president Sonia
Gandhi during the April 9-12 trip.
"The delegation will discuss the recent initiatives between the
two countries, including the importance of civil nuclear
cooperation initiatives in strengthening the international
nonproliferation system," Hastert's office said in a statement.
The group will also visit Nepal and Vietnam, the statement said.
Republican Senator Charles Hagel also announced travel plans to
India, Pakistan and Afghanistan" /> AfghanistanApril 8-15.
"Our relationships in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan are
important to US strategic interests. Security, stability and
economic development in South Asia are critical components for
the future of this region. The US-India Civil Nuclear
Cooperation Agreement will be among the specific issues that I
will discuss with Indian officials."
On Wednesday Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" /> Condoleezza
Ricewarned members of Congress against modifying the agreement,
lest the newly established partnership be jeopardized.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
20 AFP: US envoy says India nuclear deal could take a year to implement
Saturday April 8, 03:58 AM
NEW DELHI (AFP) - A top United States envoy said he was
confident the US Congress would approve a major civilian nuclear
deal but said it could take a year to implement.
US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian
Affairs Richard Boucher said he believed Congress would clear
the agreement "because it is part and parcel of a new
relationship with India. People want to support it."
"We are moving full speed ahead," said Boucher.
He was in New Delhi for talks with Indian foreign ministry
officials as part of his first swing through the region since
being named to the post in January.
US opponents say the deal abandons long-standing
non-proliferation rules, complicates efforts to curb the spread
of atomic weapons, such as in Iran and North Korea, and could
spur India to expand its nuclear weapons arsenal.
The deal was struck last month during a visit to New Delhi but
Boucher hesitated to predict when Congress would pass the
agreement, saying the legislators set their own timetable.
He told a business group he hoped there would be a Congressional
"vote in a few months from now" but cautioned full
implementation of the agreement might take "maybe a year at
best".
Under the deal, energy-starved India would gain access to
long-denied civilian technology to help fuel its fast-expanding
economy in return for placing a majority of its nuclear reactors
under international inspection.
"There are a lot of pieces of this puzzle (to put together),"
Boucher said.
In addition to Congressional approval, the 45-member nation
Nuclear Suppliers Group must also sign off on the agreement. The
deal faces other hurdles such as an accord on inspections
between India and the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International
Atomic Energy Agency.
US President George W. Bush has been engaged in a hard sell to
win Congressional support for the deal, under which India would
get reactors and nuclear fuel.
Boucher, however, said lawmakers were coming around to accepting
the deal described by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as
a key element of "a partnership that will become one of the most
important we have with any country in the 21st century."
The pact would end three decades of isolation under which India
was refused help for its civilian energy programme after it
first tested a nuclear weapon and refused to sign the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Boucher, who heads home next week, rejected media speculation
Washington wanted better ties with India as a counterbalance to
China's growing regional might, calling this "zero-sum thinking
... too simplistic."
India and the United States were on opposite sides of the fence
during the Cold War but ties have warmed sharply since.
"Good relations with India do not come at the expense of good
relations with China," he said. "Both can be responsible
stakeholders in the international system ... (and) are welcome
and important partners of the United States."
Boucher also dismissed suggestions by some Indian critics that
Washington should cool ties with rival Pakistan over concerns
about militant activities on its soil that New Delhi charges are
directed against Indian targets.
He said Washington had an "important relationship" with
Pakistan, a frontline ally in the US "war on terror."
"Obviously there are difficulties with extremists in Pakistan.
We face a threat, India faces threat. The Pakistan government
faces a threat," he said.
But "we are all in this together. The only way out of this is
together."
Copyright © 2006 AFP. All rights reserved. All information
*****************************************************************
21 Rediff: N-deal should deal with non-proliferation - EU
PTI
April 07, 2006 23:31 IST
The European Union on Friday said the India-US nuclear issue,
being debated in the US Congress, should address the basic issue
of non-proliferation.
"We are looking with interest at the debate on the India-US
nuclear deal in the US Congress. We want the basic issue of
non-proliferation answered," European Commissioner for Energy
Andris Piebalgs told a press conference in New Delhi after
taking part in the meeting of the EU-India panel on energy.
He said nuclear fusion was the right kind of fuel for the future
in the face of rising petroleum prices, and called for ''lot of
investment'' in that field.
"We should be extremely ambitious about nuclear fusion,'' he
said.
He, however, added that coal would be the main fuel till "…we
get a sustainable answer to our energy security."
Indo-US Nuclear Tango
"Coal has an important potential for supplying energy resources.
But lot of research and development is necessary in the coal
sector so that the disadvantage in the form of Carbon-dioxide
emissions are countered," he said.
Piebalgs, who participated in the first India-EU business
conference on energy on Thursday, met Petroleum Minister Murli
Deora, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma and
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia,
besides Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.
At Friday's meeting of the energy panel, recommendations of the
three groups, set up at the first EU-India energy panel meet in
June 2005 in Brussels, were discussed.The three groups are in
the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energies, coal and
clean conversion technologies, and fusion energy including
India's membership in ITER.
© Copyright 2006 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or
Copyright © 2006 Rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
22 NRC: to Discuss 2005 Performance Assessment for Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant
News Release - Region III - 2006 -
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs, Region III
No. III-06-015 April 7, 2006
CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663
Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov
12, to discuss the agencys assessment of safety performance for
last year at the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant. The plant
is located near Red Wing, Minn.
The meeting, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to
begin at 6 p.m. in Classroom 3 of the Prairie Island Training
Center, 1660 Wakonade Dr. West, Welch, Minn. The NRC staff will
present the results of the assessment and be available to
respond to questions or comments from the public before the
close of the meeting.
The NRC continually reviews the performance of the Prairie
Island plant and the nations other commercial nuclear power
facilities, NRC Region III Administrator James Caldwell said.
This meeting will provide an opportunity for a discussion of our
annual assessment of safety performance with the company and
with local officials and residents who live near the plant. Our
goal is to explain the NRC oversight process and make as much
information as possible available to the public regarding our
regulation of these facilities.
A letter sent from the NRC Region III Office to plant officials
addresses the performance of the plant during the period and
will serve as the basis for the meeting discussion. It is
available on the NRC web site at:
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/LETTERS/prai_2005q4.pdf
[PDF Icon] .
The NRCs assessment concluded that the Prairie Island plant
operated safely during the period. The NRC uses color-coded
inspection findings and performance indicators to assess nuclear
plant performance. The colors start with green and then increase
to white, yellow or red, commensurate with the safety
significance of the issues involved.
All of the inspection findings and performance indicators for
Prairie Island during 2005 were determined to be green. As a
result of this performance, the NRC will conduct the normal,
baseline level of inspections during the upcoming year.
The safety significance of one issue from 2005 remains under
review. The NRC has identified an apparent violation of the
agencys emergency planning requirements which has been
preliminarily evaluated to be a white finding, one of low to
moderate safety significance. The NRC found that the plans
emergency plan did not meet the requirements for actions to be
taken in the event of flooding at the plant. Once the final
safety significance has been determined, additional inspections
may be scheduled to review the issue.
Routine inspections are performed by two NRC Resident Inspectors
assigned to the plant and by inspection specialists from the
Region III Office in Lisle, Ill., and the agencys headquarters
in Rockville, Md. Among the areas of plant operations to be
inspected this year by NRC specialists are emergency
preparedness, security, maintenance, fire protection, dry cask
spent fuel storage, and a review of the planned replacement of
the Unit 1 reactor vessel head.
Current performance information for Prairie Island is available
on the NRCs web site at: (Unit 1)
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PRAI1/prai1_chart.html
and (Unit 2)
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/PRAI2/prai2_chart.html.
Last revised Friday, April 07, 2006
*****************************************************************
23 Beacon Journal: Utility watches for radiation entering water
| 04/07/2006 |
FirstEnergy's Perry plant has small tritium leak
By Dave Scott Beacon Journal business writer
FirstEnergy Corp. engineers are taking daily tests of drain
water at the Perry nuclear plant in Lake County to determine
whether a leak of radioactive tritium has been fixed.
A routine test of water in drains underneath the plant on March
28 revealed small amounts of tritium. A small leak of reactor
water was found in a flange in the reactor building. From there,
it is believed that water with the tritium leaked through the
concrete floor and into drains beneath the plant.
Water in those drains is mixed with water from nearby Lake Erie
and used to cool pumps and motors at the plant.
Tritium in the drains was 0.05 microcuries per liter. Five tests
of lake water at the plant and at nearby beaches and
drinking-water intake areas revealed no contamination.
``Tritium is a mildly radioactive type of hydrogen that occurs
both naturally and during the operation of nuclear power
plants,'' according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The leak was so small that FirstEnergy was not required to
report it, said Todd M. Schneider, FirstEnergy's vice president
of nuclear communications. However, he said the NRC has taken an
interest in similar leaks at other plants, so the company
decided to report it.
The leaky flange has been fixed, and Schneider said daily tests
show the level of tritium in the drains has been decreasing.
``Water containing tritium and other radioactive substances is
normally released from nuclear plants under controlled,
monitored conditions the NRC mandates to protect public health
and safety,'' the NRC Web site said. ``The NRC recently
identified several instances of unintended tritium releases, and
all available information shows no threat to the public.''
The drain water is routinely tested every three months but has
been tested daily since the leak was discovered.
Dave Scott can be reached at 330-996-3577 or
davescott@thebeaconjournal.com.
*****************************************************************
24 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the
FR Doc 06-3363
[Federal Register: April 7, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 67)]
[Notices] [Page 17930] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr07ap06-110]
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Notice
of the OMB review of information collection and solicitation of
public comment.
SUMMARY: The NRC has recently submitted to OMB for review the
following proposal for the collection of information under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35). The NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that a person is not
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Extension.
2. The title of the information collection: Billing Instructions
for NRC Cost Type Contracts.
3. The form number if applicable: N/A. 4. How often the
collection is required: Monthly and on occasion.
5. Who will be required or asked to report: NRC Contractors. 6.
An estimate of the number of annual responses: 2,140. 7. The
estimated number of annual respondents: 55. 8. An estimate of the
total number of hours needed annually to complete the requirement
or request: 1,070 hours (754 hours billing and 316 hours, License
Fee Recovery Cost).
9. An indication of whether Section 3507(d), Pub. L. 104-13
applies: N/A.
10. Abstract: In administering its contracts, the NRC Division of
Contracts provides billing instructions for its contractors to
follow in preparing invoices. These instructions stipulate the
level of detail in which supporting data must be submitted for
NRC review. The review of this information ensures that all
payments made by NRC for valid and reasonable costs are in
accordance with the contract terms and conditions.
A copy of the final supporting statement may be viewed free of
charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 20852. OMB
clearance requests are available at the NRC worldwide Web site:
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comment/omb/index.html. The
document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days
after the signature date of this notice.
Comments and questions should be directed to the OMB reviewer
listed below by May 8, 2006. Comments received after this date
will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of
consideration cannot be given to comments received after this
date.
John A. Asalone, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
(3150-0109), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and Budget,
Washington, DC 20503.
Comments can also be e-mailed to John_A._Asalone@omb.eop.gov or
submitted by telephone at (202) 395-4650.
The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda Jo. Shelton, 301-415-7233.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 29th day of March, 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brenda Jo. Shelton, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information
Services.
[FR Doc. 06-3363 Filed 4-6-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
25 Herald News: Exelon: Another PR bruise
[SuburbanChicagoNews.com]
• Ill-timed mishap: Tritium incident before public forum
By Kim SmithSTAFF WRITER
WILMINGTON Another mishap involving radioactive tritium plagued
the power company Exelon on Thursday, and details emerged at the
worst time: during a forum aimed at restoring public confidence.
The news emerged smack in the middle of a community information
night hosted by Exelon, which is trying to ease tensions with
neighbors of its Braidwood nuclear power plant after numerous
spills of the radioactive isotope tritium.
Thursday's incident involved the release of steam, not water,
laced with tritium, a radioactive hydrogen isotope that is also
a byproduct of nuclear reactors producing electricity. High
levels of tritium are thought to cause cancer.
During the forum, it was learned that a valve at the power
plant had popped open, spewing 300-degree, tritium-tainted
steam, which condensed into water and landed in a roadway within
the plant and a ditch in the neighboring town of Godley.
Exelon officials say there were no injuries reported.
Anger at meeting
The problems started at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, but the topic was
not disccussed at the meeting later on until Exelon officials
were confronted by neighboring property owners and reporters.
"I knew something had happened, but was not aware of the
seriousness of the situation," said Tom O'Neill, vice president
of regulatory and legal affairs for Exelon.
The meeting started at 4 p.m. and took place at the Exelon
training facility in rural Wilmington, a short distance away
from the broken valve.
O'Neill left the meeting around 5:30 p.m. to place a phone
call. He came back around 30 minutes later and faced a crowd of
angry residents, some who shouted profanities as they walked out
the door.
He said a relief valve broke open, allowing steam to be
released. He said most of the steam condensed into water that
landed on a roadway on Exelon property in Braceville.
He said the plant's on-site laboratory had tested the water,
which contained 46,000 picocuries per liter.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established an
upper limit for tritium concentration in drinking water of
20,000 picocuries per liter.
"There was no health or safety issue caused by this," O'Neill
said.
Nearly 500 gallons made it to the ditch and was pumped out.
O'Neill said a berm was created to stop the flow and that water
had been sampled from both sides of the ditch. He expected the
problems to be fixed overnight on Thursday.
Meeting's original intent
Thursday's meeting was called to address a previous tritium
spill that had contaminated a pond. The plan to clean up the
pond calls for Exelon to pump out about 7 feet of water at the
pond's deepest point. This would allow tritiated ground water to
run into the pond. The water pumped out will be released into
the blowdown pipe, where it will be diluted with water from the
cooling pipe and released into the Kankakee River.
The pipe is the same pipe that leaked on previous occasions.
Exelon officials said they have conducted numerous tests on the
pipe and have added a monitoring system to alert operators if
there is leakage.
O'Neill said Exelon is anxious to start the cleanup efforts,
which will take more than a year to complete. He said the
company is awaiting permits from Will County to begin.
The plan was the subject of a 4.5-hour conference call on
Thursday, said James Glasgow, Will County state's attorney. His
office and the attorney general's office recently filed a joint
suit against Exelon, alleging failure to report spills in 1996,
1998 and 2000. The lawsuit seeks $36.5 million in fines and
other remedies.
Glasgow said he is seeking more of a global remediation plan,
covering all the problems at the Braidwood plant.
"This plan only covers the pond, which is only a portion of the
problem," Glasgow said.
Reporter Kim Smith can be reached at (815) 729-6067 or via
e-mail at ksmith@scn1.com.
04/07/06
SuburbanChicagoNews.com — © Digital Chicago & Sun-Times
News Group
*****************************************************************
26 Platts: Brunswick license renewal request advances
Washington (Platts)--6Apr2006
Brunswick-1 and -2 moved closer to license renewal with the
issuance by NRC staff of a final safety evaluation report.
The report, released today, says the application for license
renewal meets regulatory requirements for the technical portion
of NRC's review.
A final NRC decision on the application from Carolina Power &
Light (Progress Energy) is expected by late June.
NRC approval would allow the two units to operate for up to 20
additional years.
Brunswick-1's license expires in 2016 and unit 2's in 2014. The
738-page report is on NRC's Adams electronic document system
(accession no. ML060890421).
Copyright © 2006 - Platts, All Rights Reserved [The McGraw-Hill
Companies]
*****************************************************************
27 Toronto Star: 20 years later, memories of Chernobyl run deep
Fri. Apr. 7, 2006. | Updated at 06:46 AM
nuclear disaster exposed millions to danger
Toronto concert being held to `remember the victims,' `lift the
spirit'
LESLIE FERENCSTAFF REPORTER
It was the day that changed the world and Nadia Zastavna's life.
It was a picture-perfect spring day and she was busy in her
kitchen as her 4-month-old son slept peacefully in his cradle,
when Zastavna heard a news brief over the radio about a minor
fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power station.
Nothing to worry about, everything under control, the announcer
said.
The then 30-year-old mother didn't give a second thought to the
mishap so far away. Little did she or millions of her countrymen
know that less than 500 kilometres from her Ternopil home,
hell's fury had broken loose.
"People were already dead," she recalled of that fateful day.
"Some were dying as they fought the fire and were exposed to
high amounts of radiation."
By the time the truth of the April 26, 1986, disaster surfaced
days later, millions in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia (all in what
was then the Soviet Union) had been exposed to the deadly
radiation that spewed from Chernobyl's Reactor No. 4.
"We all felt the consequences," said Zastavna, who at the time
was teaching English at a middle school in Ukraine. "After the
catastrophe, you could hardly find one healthy child in class."
The years that followed saw dramatic increases in birth defects,
neurological disorders and leukemia, as well as thyroid and
liver cancer among children, she said. Her own son, Andriy
Bortnyk, who was born healthy, grew up a sickly child. Doctors
feared the worst when they discovered enlarged lymph nodes when
he was 8. But by that time, Zastavna was working for an
international aid agency that arranged for her and her son to go
to Minnesota, where Andriy was treated for a compromised immune
system for more than a year.
Today they live in Toronto, where Zastavna works for Children of
Chornobyl Canadian Fund helping victims of the nuclear disaster.
(The organization uses the Ukrainian spelling of Chernobyl.) A
strapping Andriy has his sights sets on becoming a police
officer.
Zastavna and her son will be in the audience at Roy Thomson Hall
Sunday for a commemorative concert marking the 20th anniversary
of the world's worst nuclear disaster.
"We'll be there to remember the victims and pray that such a
catastrophe will never happen again," she said.
Presented by the Toronto-based CCCF, the concert aims to "lift
the spirit" in memory of those whose lives were sacrificed and
those who, two decades later, continue to struggle with serious
health problems linked to radiation exposure, fund president and
chairman Roman Stepczuk said.
Since it was established in 1989, CCCF has raised more than $17
million most of it in Canada to help the sick and provide
much-needed medical equipment and supplies for treatment centres
and hospitals in Ukraine.
Though there's no hard data on how many people were affected by
radiation from Chernobyl, some studies estimate that 340,000 in
the so-called hot spots around the plant died as a result, and
as many as 7.1 million in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia succumbed
to diseases linked to radiation, Stepczuk noted.
Sunday's concert, featuring such ensembles as the Gryphon Trio,
the Vesnivka and the Elmer Iseler Singers, will also mark the
premiere of Canadian composer Christos Hatzis' powerful Wormwood.
Wormwood is the English name for Chernobyl. It is also the
English word for Apsinthos, which in the Book of Revelation is
the name of the death star that was hurled to Earth, poisoning
the planet's waters and people.
Tickets for Chernobyl 20 are available through Roy Thomson Hall
at 416-872-4255, Ticketmaster at 416-870-8000 or online at
http://www.roythomson.com.
Copyright Toronto Star
*****************************************************************
28 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the
FR Doc E6-5079
[Federal Register: April 7, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 67)]
[Notices] [Page 17930-17931] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr07ap06-111]
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). ACTION: Notice
of the OMB review of information collection and solicitation of
public comment.
SUMMARY: The NRC recently has submitted to OMB for review the
following proposal for the collection of information under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35). The NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that person is not
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Revision. 2.
The title of the information collection: NRC Form 7,
``Application for NRC Export/Import License, Amendment, or
Renewal,'' formerly, ``Application for License to Export Nuclear
Equipment and Material.'' 3. The form number if application: NRC
Form 7. 4. How often is the collection required: On occasion; for
each separate export, import, amendment, or renewal license
application, and for exports of incidental radioactive material
using existing general licenses.
5. Who is required or asked to report: Any person in the U.S. who
wishes to export or import (a) Nuclear material and equipment
subject to the requirements of a specific license; (b) amend a
license; (c) renew a license, and (d) for notification of
incidental radioactive material exports that are contaminants of
shipments of more than 100 kilograms of non-waste material using
existing NRC general licenses.
6. An estimate of the number of responses: 319. 7. The number of
annual respondents: 319. 8. The number of hours needed annually
to complete the requirement or request: 788 hours (2.4 hours per
response).
[[Page 17931]] 9. An indication of whether section 3507(d),
Public Law 104-13 applies: Not applicable.
10. Abstract: Persons in the U.S. wishing to export or import
nuclear material and equipment requiring a specific
authorization, amend or renew a license, or wishing to use
existing NRC general licenses for the export of incidental
radioactive material over 100 kilograms must file an NRC Form 7
application. The NRC Form 7 application will be reviewed by the
NRC and by the Executive Branch, and if applicable statutory,
regulatory, and policy considerations are satisfied, the NRC will
issue an export, import, amendment or renewal license.
A copy of the supporting statement may be viewed free of charge
at the NRC Public Document Room, One White Flint North, 11555
Rockville Pike, Room 0-1 F21, Rockville, MD 20852. OMB clearance
requests are available at the NRC worldwide Web site
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comment/omb/index.html. The
document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days
after the signature date of this notice.
Comments and questions should be directed to the OMB reviewer
listed below by May 8, 2006. Comments received after this date
will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of
consideration cannot be given to comments received after this
date.
John A. Asalone, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
(3150-0027), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and Budget.
Comments also can be e-mailed to John_A._Asalone@omb.eop.gov or
submitted by telephone at (202) 395-4650.
The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda Jo. Shelton, (301) 415-7233.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th day of March 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brenda J. Shelton, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information
Services.
[FR Doc. E6-5079 Filed 4-6-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
29 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection:
FR Doc E6-5080
[Federal Register: April 7, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 67)]
[Notices] [Page 17931] From the Federal Register Online via GPO
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr07ap06-112]
Comment Request AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
ACTION: Notice of pending NRC action to submit an information
collection request to OMB and solicitation of public comment.
SUMMARY: The NRC is preparing a submittal to OMB for review of
continued approval of information collections under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35). Information Pertaining to the Requirement To Be
Submitted 1. The title of the information collection: NRC Form
244, Registration Certificate--Use of Depleted Uranium under
General License.
2. Current OMB approval number: 3150-0031. 3. How often the
collection is required: On occasion. NRC Form 244 is submitted
when depleted uranium is received or transferred under general
license. Information on NRC Form 244 is collected and evaluated
on a continuing basis as events occur.
4. Who is required or asked to report: Persons receiving,
possessing, using, or transferring depleted uranium under the
general license established in 10 CFR 40.25(a). 5. The estimated
number of annual respondents: 5 (2 NRC licensees and 3 Agreement
State licensees).
6. The number of hours needed annually to complete the
requirement or request: 5 (1 hour per response--2 hours for NRC
licensees and 3 hours for Agreement State licensees).
7. Abstract: 10 CFR Part 40 establishes requirements for licenses
for the receipt, possession, use and transfer of radioactive
source and byproduct material. NRC Form 244 is used to report
receipt and transfer of depleted uranium under general license,
as required by section 40.25. The registration certification
information required by NRC Form 244 is necessary to permit the
NRC to make a determination on whether the possession, use, and
transfer of depleted uranium source and byproduct material is in
conformance with the Commission's regulations for protection of
public health and safety.
Submit, by June 6, 2006, comments that address the following
questions: 1. Is the proposed collection of information necessary
for the NRC to properly perform its functions? Does the
information have practical utility? 2. Is the burden estimate
accurate? 3. Is there a way to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected? 4. How can the burden
of the information collection be minimized, including the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology? A copy of the draft supporting statement may be
viewed free of charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD
20852. OMB clearance requests are available at the NRC worldwide
Web site:
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comment/omb/index.html. The
document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days
after the signature date of this notice.
Comments and questions about the information collection
requirements may be directed to the NRC Clearance Officer, Brenda
Jo. Shelton, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, T-5 F52,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, by telephone at 301-415-7233, or by
Internet electronic mail to INFOCOLLECTS@NRC.GOV. Dated at
Rockville, Maryland, this 31st day of March 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brenda Jo. Shelton, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information
Services.
[FR Doc. E6-5080 Filed 4-6-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
30 SA: CMEN: Building of new-generation nuclear plant to get under way in
September 2007
Creamer Media's Engineering News
South African Industry
Construction of the pebble-bed modular reactor (PBMR) project
is scheduled to begin in September 2007, subject to the required
statutory approvals being obtained, according to PBMR (Pty) Ltd
communications manager Tom Ferreira.
He told a recent welding conference that we recently completed
the basic design and we are now busy with detailed design as
well as safety analysis .
This is a very exciting development for South Africa; it will
also contribute to employment creation, said Ferreira, who
added that 700 people are now employed by the PBMR company.
He reported that the intention was to localise the manufacturing
of components for the PBMR reactors, giving local manufacturing
companies a chance to create additional employment. He said that
56 000 local jobs both permanent and temporary would be
created, should ten reactors a year be exported. The
demonstration module is scheduled for completion by 2010 and the
first commercial module is expected to be completed by 2013.
Ferreira said the advantages of using PBMR as a source of energy
included the short construction period and online refuelling,
which meant that the reactor only had to be shut down every six
years for maintenance purposes. He added that several other
countries were doing research on high-temperature reactors like
the PBMR, including China, France, Japan and the US.
A single PBMR module has a capacity of about 165 MW, which
means that six reactors will gene-rate the equivalent of one
Koeberg-type reactor. Ferreira said that the aim was to
eventually generate between 4 000 MW and 5 000 MW of capa- city
from PBMR reactors in South Africa, which translated to about 30
PBMR plants. The South African government is an investor in the
project and Westinghouse, a world leader in nuclear technology,
recently took over a 15% shareholding previously held by the
UK-government-owned British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL).
The share transfer formed part of BNFLs restructuring process
and the UK governments decision to sell Westinghouse, a
worldwide supplier of nuclear plant and technologies.
Other investors in PBMR are electricity utility Eskom and the
Industrial Development Corporation, but Eskom intends to phase
out much of its PBMR shareholding in order to become a client of
the technology, rather than a developer of it. The government
has proposed to take over the Eskom share.
Ferreira said he believed that the PBMR technology would become
the worlds first successful commercial-generation lV reactor.
He stated that 90% of the countrys electricity was still
generated from coal-fired power stations in Mpumalanga and
transmitted to the coast and the rest of the country. Up to 20%
transmission is lost in the transportation process. The PBMR
plants can be built where the demand manifests, which makes it a
good solution, especially for coastal generation and as a means
to meet the electricity demand growth in South Africa.
Published: 2006/04/07 Printer friendly: [View this article
Author: Ollie Madlala
Portfolio: writer
E-mail: newsdesk@engineeringnews.co.za
Copyright © Creamer Media (Pty) Ltd
*****************************************************************
31 PR WEB: Could Nuclear Power be the Answer to Our Electrical Energy Crisis?
2006-04-07
Former U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Nuclear Reactor
Inspector, Charles Ramsey explains why he believes nuclear power
is a safe solution in Commercial Nuclear Power: Assuring Safety
for the Future.
North Bethesda, MD (PRWEB) April 7, 2006 -- Charles B. Ramseys
Commercial Nuclear Power: Assuring Safety for the Future
describes the role that nuclear power could play as a viable and
secure option in meeting our energy needs.
Can we get away from our dependence on oil and find a safe,
clean and inexpensive substitute? Is nuclear power the answer?
Many people worry about the safety of nuclear power,
particularly after the horrific 1986 Chornobyl nuclear plant
accident, but are those concerns valid? Author Charles B.
Ramsey, a U.S. Department of Energy scientist spent most of his
career improving safety at commercial and defense nuclear
facilities in both the United States and worldwide. Well versed
in the special problems of nuclear engineering, Ramsey calms
fears and gives valuable, expert insights into the role nuclear
energy can and should play in our future.
This illuminating book describes the way nuclear power could
provide clean and affordable electrical energy to a country
struggling with gas shortages and environmental conflicts. By
examining the nuclear plant operations, Ramsey shows readers how
safety can, and will be, assured. With an honesty rarely seen in
this industry, he addresses the impediments to accident
prevention, dissects how accidents have occurred, and he
outlines how they can be avoided in the future.
Why is there such an international demand for this kind of power
and what does it mean for our future? What kind of electricity
production can we achieve from available fuels? In clear,
easy-to-follow prose, Ramsey provides an overview of everything
we need to understand nuclear power.
For more information or to receive a free review copy, please
contact the author at 301-255-0011; Commercial Nuclear Power:
Assuring Safety for the Future is available for sale online at
Amazon.com, Borders.com, BookSurge.com, and through additional
wholesale and retail channels worldwide.
About the Author
Charles B. Ramsey is a U.S. Department of Energy scientist, a
troubleshooter specializing in Nuclear Engineering problems and
safety improvement at both commercial and defense nuclear
facilities in the United States and worldwide. As part of the
international response to the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear plant
accident, he developed, coordinated and implemented safety
improvements. Known internationally as an author, guest speaker
and expert, he currently lives in North Bethesda, Maryland where
he is contemplating retirement.
About BookSurge
BookSurge LLC, an Amazon.com company, is a global leader in
self-publishing and print-on-demand services. Offering unique
publishing opportunities and access for authors, BookSurge
boasts an unprecedented number of authors whose work has
resulted in book deals with traditional publishers as well as
successful authorpreneurs who enhance or build a business from
their professional expertise.
BOOKSURGE LLC
866-308-6235-179
© Copyright 1997-2006, PRWeb®. PRWeb is a registered trademark
of PRWeb International, Inc.
*****************************************************************
32 Journal Star News: LaSalle plant earns top safety rating
PJStar.com -
peoria SENECA - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced the
LaSalle Exelon Nuclear Plant received the highest level of safety
for 2005. -->
Friday, April 7, 2006
BY ERINN DESHINSKY OF THE JOURNAL STAR SENECA -
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced the LaSalle Exelon
Nuclear Plant received the highest level of safety for 2005.
The NRC completed its performance review of the LaSalle County
Station reactor Units 1 and 2. Because the review was for 2005,
the area emergency declared Feb. 20 of this year at the plant
near Seneca was not factored into the findings.
During a public hearing Thursday at Brookfield Township Hall,
Region III resident inspector Douglas Eskins said the NRC
conducted 5,147 hours of inspections and the plant had the
lowest risk classification on all inspections but two.
One of the findings, which received the second-lowest risk
classification, involved a minor electrical problem, Eskins
said, which Exelon promptly fixed.
The other problem involved an older problem the plant had from
2001 to 2004, which is no longer a problem, Eskins said.
Bruce Burgess, the NRC's Region III branch chief, said the Feb.
20 incident is still under investigation by the commission, the
plant and the manufacturers of the plant's equipment.
The plant declared the emergency after one of the nuclear
reactor's indicators showed three of the control rods were not
inserted properly during a routine refueling shutdown.
Resident Inspector Dan Kimble said the commission is
investigating the position indicator, which could have
malfunctioned. Another problem was with the reactor's channels,
which could have prevented the control rods from inserting
properly.
Kimble said the problem could be a result of the extended
radiation exposure the channel receives during a fuel cycle.
Plant President Susan Landahl said, although the unit ran for a
record-breaking cycle of two years and 11 days, it was well
within regulatory limits.
"We always have a focus on safe operations," Landahl said.
Erinn Deshinsky can be reached at 686-3041 or state@pjstar.com.
2006 PEORIA JOURNAL STAR, INC. :: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
1 News Plaza, Peoria, IL 61643 :: 1-309-686-3000
*****************************************************************
33 AU ABC: Howard's support for nuclear power stirs up debate.
07/04/2006.
There has been an angry response from Labor and the Greens to
Prime Minister John Howard's declaration he would support a
domestic nuclear power industry if it was economically viable.
Mr Howard says it would be hypocritical for Australia to export
uranium to other countries and not contemplate its own nuclear
power generation.
The Greens have accused Mr Howard of trying to legitimise
planned exports of uranium to China.
Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley says Labor is opposed to
a nuclear industry in Australia.
"This Government wants a nuclear power industry in this country
and they don't want any focus on it," he said.
"The simple fact of the matter is that he should go to the
Australian people and tell them what he's honestly up to.
"He should also invite them to bid for that reactor in their
own suburbs - I suspect he'd have a few problems if he were to
start to do that."
Greens Senator Christine Milne says it is not an option for
Australia.
"The Prime Minister knows as well as I do that there's no
prospect of a nuclear power industry in Australia, even in the
medium term and that is because of the cost, because of the
waste issue," she said.
"It is just not a realistic option for Australia when we have
much better power sources.
"The Prime Minister is simply doing this because he wants to
legitimise the export of uranium to India and China."
*****************************************************************
34 PRN: Hope Creek Enters 13th Refueling Outage
PR Newswire
Ends 214 Days of Continuous Operation
HANCOCK'S BRIDGE, N.J., April 7
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Hope Creek plant operators opened the breaker on Thursday evening
at 9:14 p.m., entering the unit's 13th Refueling Outage. Hope
Creek was operating at 100% before being taken off line, and had
completed 214 days of continuous operation. Hope Creek achieved a
92% capacity factor during the operating cycle.
This is the first refueling outage for the Hope Creek team since
the Nuclear Operating Services Agreement between Exelon and PSEG
Nuclear was implemented last year. "We've spent the better part
of the last year getting ready for this outage and took many of
the lessons learned from the Salem Outages last year and applied
them to our outage preps," said George Barnes, Vice President --
Hope Creek.
"The success we achieved in the Salem outages demonstrated what
we are capable of when we work together, and I expect the same
level of performance from our team. Everyone is ready and looking
forward to the challenges ahead."
In addition to replacing approximately 1/3 of the fuel, nearly
1,000 employees and supplemental workers will complete more than
19,000 scheduled work activities including:
* Overhaul Reactor Feed Pump Turbine
* Replace 28 Control Rod Blades
* Overhaul 'B' and 'C' Reactor Feed Pumps
* Replace 'B' Recirculation Pump Shaft and Motor
* Replace 38 Control Rod Drive Mechanisms
"I'm pleased with the
performance of our Hope Creek team and unit," said Barnes.
"While we experienced some challenges during the last operating
cycle, we pulled together and overcame them. Hope Creek was
performing reliably at the end of the cycle and I expect the same
safe, reliable operation following this refueling outage."
PSEG Nuclear operates Salem Units 1 and 2, two 1,150-megawatt
pressurized water reactors, and Hope Creek, a 1,050-megawatt
boiling water reactor. The three units are located on one site in
Salem County, NJ, and together comprise the second largest
nuclear site in the country. PSEG Public Service Enterprise Group
(PSEG) (NYSE: ) is a publicly traded diversified energy and
energy services company with annual revenues of more than $12
billion, and three principal subsidiaries. PSEG Power, one of the
largest independent power producers in the U.S., owns more than
14,000 MW of electric generating capacity.
Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE), New Jersey's
oldest and largest energy distribution utility company; and PSEG
Energy Holdings, a holding company for other non-regulated
businesses. SOURCE Public Service Enterprise Group Web Site:
Copyright © 1996- PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights
Reserved. A company.
*****************************************************************
35 AFP: FBI probes damage to Florida nuclear power plant
Fri Apr 7, 4:53 PM ET
MIAMI (AFP) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was
investigating damage to a Florida nuclear power plant's cooling
system, but insisted the public's safety is not at risk.
Florida Power and Light Company (FPL) is offering a
100,000-dollar reward for information leading to the person or
persons responsible for a small hole drilled into a pipe in the
pressurized cooling system.
"We just don't know" if the incident is sabotage, FBI" />
FBIspokeswoman Judy Orihuela told AFP.
She said nearly all of the plant employees had been questioned
and no one was able to identify those responsible.
"We have a few leads," she added, without giving further details
on the investigation of the damage at the Turkey Point Unit
Three Power Plant in southern Florida, detected last week during
a routine inspection.
"The plant remains in a safe condition and at no time was the
publics safety at risk," the FBI spokeswoman said in a
statement.
The FBI is joined in the probe by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, local law enforcement agencies and FPL.
On March 31 workers were conducting pre-startup testing on the
Unit Three plant following its scheduled shutdown for
maintenance, when they found that a small hole had been drilled
in a pipe that is part of the units cooling system.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
36 Guardian Unlimited: Indian Official: 8 Nuke Plants Necessary
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Friday April 7, 2006 2:01 AM
By FOSTER KLUG
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - An Indian government official forcefully
defended his country's designation of eight of 22 nuclear
reactors for military purposes under a U.S.-Indian civilian
nuclear cooperation pact now being considered by Congress.
Kapil Sibal, India's science and technology minister, told an
audience Thursday at the Council on Foreign Relations that while
India would never launch a first-strike nuclear attack, it needs
nuclear weapons to defend itself.
``It would be very unfair on India to say that you shouldn't
bother about your security concerns and put all your nuclear
plants under safeguards,'' he said. ``The security concerns are
defensive in nature, not offensive.''
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared
before a skeptical Congress at back-to-back hearings on the
issue. While several key lawmakers indicated support, some
worried that the pact would undermine efforts to stop the spread
of nuclear weapons and might boost India's nuclear arsenal.
Under the deal, considered a major U.S. policy shift, the United
States would ship nuclear technology and fuel to India. In
return, India would allow international inspections and
safeguards at 14 nuclear reactors it has designated as civilian;
India's eight military facilities, however, would be off-limits.
``When you say that eight of the 22 nuclear facilities are out
of safeguards, it's because of our security concerns and (the
United States') recognition of the fact that India has security
concerns,'' Sibal said. His comments referred to Pakistan, a
nuclear power India has fought three wars with since gaining
independence from Britain in 1947.
Sibal's visit to the United States is part of an aggressive
campaign by Indian officials and the Bush administration to win
congressional support for a deal promoted as the cornerstone of
a new strategic relationship after decades of occasional
hostility between the two countries.
For the pact to become a reality, Congress must exempt India
from U.S. laws that restrict trade with countries, such as
India, that have not submitted to full nuclear inspections.
Sibal said Thursday that India has been ``impeccable in our
nonproliferation record'' - better, he said, than many of the
members of the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,
which India, Pakistan and Israel have refused to sign.
``If our record as being a country outside the NPT is better
than the record of countries that are part of the NPT, I don't
see how anybody can object to our being concerned about our
security,'' he said.
Rice, during her testimony, said the pact would help satisfy the
massive energy needs of a country, India, that she said has
always managed its nuclear technologies responsibly.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
37 Nuclear Commission cuts corners on security
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 13:19:09 -0400
NUCLEAR INFORMATION
Note to reporters:
On April 4, 2006, a House Subcommittee on National Security,
Emerging Threats and International Relation, held hearings at
which alarming revelations were made. Chaired by Rep. Christopher
Shays (R-CT), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported
that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) had downgraded
the regulatory requirements for what nuclear power station
operators must defend against. These requirements are known as
the Design Basis Threat. The report implied that the downgrade
occurred after NRC Commissioners bowed to industry pressure that
such defenses would cost too much. The weapons dropped from
consideration included rocket propelled grenades and .50 caliber
sniper rifles using armor piercing ammunition both available to
and in use by terrorists. The Commission also downsized its
protective requirements regarding the explosive power of truck
bombs that could be detonated at nuclear power plants.
Statement of Paul Gunter, Director of the Reactor Watchdog
Project for Nuclear Information and Resource Service.
"It seems obvious that once again the Nuclear Energy Institute
successfully lobbied the Commissioners at the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission on behalf of the nuclear power industry. The effect -
to water down NRC's own professional security staff
recommendations for reactor site defenses - does no service to
the public. It is alarming that site defenses from terrorist
attack on an atomic power plant are currently based on what the
corporations are willing to afford."
"It is more alarming that the Commission overruled its own staff,
despite information from latest intelligence reports on terrorist
capabilities, in favor of recommendations based on company cost
considerations. The message this sends to the public particularly
those living close to nuclear reactors is that you are on your
own in the event of an attack. The Commissioners would rather
gamble with people's lives than demand the nuclear industry foot
the bill to protect the public from these radiological
targets."
"The NEI has long realized that reactor site security is a
slippery slope for the rising capital costs of nuclear power in
view of what is available today to terrorists on the global
weapons market. It is inexcusable for industry and NRC to
deliberately leave commercial power reactors and their
radioactive inventory inadequately defended from weapons easily
smuggled across our borders or legally obtainable.
"This GAO report sounds the same alarm that went off when the
nuclear industry tried to shut down NRC security testing in 1998
– after an embarrassing near 50% failure rate -by zeroing
out the budget for Force-on-Force evaluations of power plant
defense capabilities. The security testing program was reinstated
only after an NRC whistleblower exposed the plan to cut it and
President Clinton reinstated the program's budget. NRC management
and the nuclear industry then colluded to substitute independent
testing with an industry self-assessment when the September
11th attacks came. The tenaciousness of this industry
to protect its profits rather than its perimeters is frightening."
The full GAO report is available at:
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06388.pdf
*****************************************************************
38 AP Wire: FPL offers $100,000 reward for information on hole in pipe
| 04/07/2006 |
Associated Press
FLORIDA CITY, Fla. - Florida Power & Light Co. announced a
$100,000 reward Friday for information leading to whoever
drilled a hole in a pipe that helps maintain pressure in a
nuclear reactor.
The reactor was one of two at the Turkey Point power plant in
southern Miami-Dade County and it had been shut down for a
routine refueling. The 1/8-inch hole was discovered March 31
during a series of tests and inspections performed before
bringing the unit back online, FPL officials said.
FPL, the state's largest electric utility, repaired the damage
and plans to bring the unit back into service in about a week.
Officials said the public wasn't in danger. The FBI and the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission are investigating.
"We believe it may have been intentional but we haven't
determined whether it was a case of human error or a deliberate
act," said FPL spokeswoman Rachel Scott. "When we have major
maintenance work being done, in addition to our own employees,
there are many contract workers who come in to support that. We
believe some of these people may have left the area ... and may
have information that would assist in the investigation."
The NRC said it advised FPL on Wednesday that the agency was
satisfied with the company's procedures to fix the damage.
"We wanted to make sure they had done a thorough analysis on
systems and components in case there was something else ...
another hole somewhere they hadn't found," NRC spokesman Roger
Hannah said. "It could potentially be a problem because this is
a pipe that is a major component.
"It was a relatively small hole but even so, it was something
that is not supposed to be there so we take it very seriously
and that's the reason the FBI got involved," Hannah added. News
*****************************************************************
39 Seven months later: Second day care petiton docketed
Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 15:13:17 -0700
The second day care petition asking the NRC to amend its regs to codify
the criteria in FEMA GM EC-2 (Protective Actions for School Children) was
finally docketed last week, i.e., #PRM-50-81; Michael Lesar, #1-800-368-5642
x 7163.
March 15, 2006
John F. Cordes, Jr., Solicitor
Office of the General Counsel
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, D.C. 20555
Dear John:
The enclosed PETITION FOR RULEMAKING Codify GM EV-2 into the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC¹s) Emergency Planning Regulations - was
initially filed on October 19, 2005. The NRC has not docketed or officially
acknowledged this Petiton for Rulemaking
As evinced by your staff, "It [the Petition] has fallen into a black
hole.... (January 24, 2006)...² Two days later, ³It¹s lost in the system
kind of an answer...Um, but its, but I shouldn¹t have overstated that it
fell through the cracks. It hasn¹t done that. But they¹re kind of struggling
to find where it fits into the process, um. We¹ll be getting back to you in
a short time. (January 25, 2006)² (1)
I am refilling the Petition almost six months after the initial filing
was submitted for Rulemaking.
The NRC has actively engaged in a coordinated effort to ignore this
Petition. This systematic effort to loose a Petition for Rulemaking violates
the Agency's statutory requirements under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954
which requires and encourages public participation in the oversight and
rulemaking process. Moreover, explicit instructions for public participation
are clearly enumerated under ³Atomic Energy², Federal Procedural Forms,
Sections §6:1 to §6:156.
_____
1 Please refer to telephone transcripts and conversations with Mr.
William D. Reckley (NRR/ADRA/DPR/PSP) and Michael T Leaser (ADM/DAS/RDB).
The Office of the General Counsel has also been actively involved with
failing to act on this Petition - (See transcript of January 25, 2006).
1
Public participation was guaranteed by Congress when it passed the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, and was reemphasized last week during
Commissioner Gregory Jaczko's speech to the Regualtory Information
Conference on Wednesday March 8, 2006 in Rockville, Maryland.
Mr. Jaczko also noted, "The role that public interest groups and state
and local governments play is also crucial you represent the wishes of the
American people by ensuring the safe, secure and reliable use of nuclear
materials."
I am also serving the NRC Commissioners, Congressman Platts, the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Federal Emergency Management, and
notifying them of this NRC¹s systematic pattern of delay and pointed
avoidance.
Failure to act promptly on the refilling of the enclosed Petition will
result in a formal request for an investigation by the United States
Department of Justice.
Respectfully submitted,
Eric J. Epstein, Pro se
4100 Hillsdale Road,
Harrisburg PA 17112
*****************************************************************
40 Homeland Security Would Allow No Cleanup Of Dirty Bomb Radiation!
Friday, April 07, 2006 2:46 PM
Subject: SIGN ON to STOP inadequate DHS Radiation Standards!
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (DHS) GUIDANCE TO ALLOW PUBLIC
EXPOSURE TO MASSIVE RADIATION DOSES FROM “DIRTY BOMBS”
SIGN ON BY APRIL 12
The Department of Homeland Security has issued new guidance that
would allow the government to do no cleanup of radioactive
contamination after detonation of a radiological weapon (a
so-called “dirty bomb”) and instead let people move back in and
be exposed to doses as high as the equivalent of 50,000 chest
X-rays. By the radiation risk estimates of the National Academy
of Sciences, a third of the people so exposed would get cancer
from the radiation. This is grossly unacceptable.
PLEASE: Sign on to the group letter opposing the dirty bomb
guidance by emailing cindyf@nirs.org by close of business
April 12.
Indicate your name, organization (if applicable), city and state.
The letter and attachments can be viewed/downloaded at
http://www.committeetobridgethegap.org/cleanup/html
(2) In addition, if you can, please also send in individual
comments to DHS by April 14. Suggested points to make,
background information, and instructions on how to send in the
comments by email, fax or internet can be found at
http://www.committeetobridgethegap.org/urgentaction/urgentaction3.html
for more information, contact Dan Hirsch of the Committee to
Bridge the Gap at (831) 336-8003.
*****************************************************************
41 Guardian Unlimited: Radioactive Steam Escapes From Ill. Plant
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Friday April 7, 2006 12:01 PM
GODLEY, Ill. (AP) - Steam containing radioactive tritium escaped
from a valve at an Exelon Corp. plant even as company officials
met with local residents to discuss efforts to clean up earlier
leaks.
About 500 gallons of water pooled on the grounds of the
Braidwood Generating Station as the steam condensed Thursday,
and some of it flowed into a ditch that lies between the plant
and the village of Godley, company spokesman Craig Nesbit told
the Chicago Tribune for a story on its Web site.
Tests showed no detectable levels of tritium in the water in the
ditch, although levels measured in the water pooled on plant
grounds were more than twice federal drinking and groundwater
limits, Nesbit said. He said more precise testing would be
conducted.
The company created a dirt berm around the ditch and placed a
bladder in the ditch to create a dam, Nesbit said.
Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen commonly found in
ground water but is more concentrated in water used in nuclear
reactors. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
exposure to tritium increases the risk of developing cancer.
The Braidwood plant, located about 60 miles southwest of
Chicago, has sent millions of gallons of tritium-tainted water
into the ground in several leaks dating back to 1996. When
Thursday's release happened, Exelon officials were meeting with
residents to discuss plans to clean up earlier leaks.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
42 Science a GoGo: Uranium’s Effect On DNA Established
7 April 2006
Source: Northern Arizona University -->
Uranium - when manifested as a radioactive metal - has profound
and debilitating effects on human DNA. These radioactive effects
have been well understood for decades, but there has been
considerable debate and little agreement concerning the possible
health risks associated with low-grade uranium ore (yellowcake)
and depleted uranium.
Now however, Northern Arizona University biochemist Diane
Stearns has established that when cells are exposed to uranium,
the uranium binds to DNA and the cells acquire mutations,
triggering a whole slew of protein replication errors, some of
which can lead to various cancers. Stearns' research, published
in the journals Mutagenesis and Molecular Carcinogenesis,
confirms what many have suspected for some time - that uranium
can damage DNA as a heavy metal, independently of its
radioactive properties. "Essentially, if you get a heavy metal
stuck on DNA, you can get a mutation," Stearns explained. While
other heavy metals are known to bind to DNA, Stearns and her
team were the first to identify this characteristic with uranium.
Depleted uranium - what is left over when the highly
radioactive isotopes of uranium are removed - is widely used by
the military. Anti-tank weapons, tank armor and ammunition
rounds are just some of the applications. "The health effects of
uranium really haven't been studied since the Manhattan Project
(the development of the atomic bomb in the early 1940s). But now
there is more interest in the health effects of depleted
uranium. People are asking questions now," Stearns said.
Her research may shed light on the possible connection between
exposure to depleted uranium and Gulf War Syndrome, or to
increased cancers and birth defects in the Middle East and
Balkans. And closer to home, questions continue to be asked
about environmental exposure to uranium from mine tailings;
heavily concentrated around Native American communities. "When
the uranium mining boom crashed in the '80s, there wasn't much
cleanup," Stearns said. Estimates put the number of abandoned
mines on the Navajo Nation in Arizona at more than 1,100.
The use of depleted uranium in munitions and weaponry is
likely to come under intense scrutiny now that new research that
found that uranium can bind to human DNA. The finding will
likely have far-reaching implications for returned soldiers,
civilians living in what were once war-zones and people who
might live near uranium mines or processing facilities.
Uranium - when manifested as a radioactive metal - has profound
and debilitating effects on human DNA. These radioactive effects
have been well understood for decades, but there has been
considerable debate and little agreement concerning the possible
health risks associated with low-grade uranium ore (yellowcake)
and depleted uranium.
Now however, Northern Arizona University biochemist Diane
Stearns has established that when cells are exposed to uranium,
the uranium binds to DNA and the cells acquire mutations,
triggering a whole slew of protein replication errors, some of
which can lead to various cancers. Stearns' research, published
in the journals Mutagenesis and Molecular Carcinogenesis,
confirms what many have suspected for some time - that uranium
can damage DNA as a heavy metal, independently of its
radioactive properties. "Essentially, if you get a heavy metal
stuck on DNA, you can get a mutation," Stearns explained. While
other heavy metals are known to bind to DNA, Stearns and her
team were the first to identify this characteristic with uranium.
Depleted uranium - what is left over when the highly
radioactive isotopes of uranium are removed - is widely used by
the military. Anti-tank weapons, tank armor and ammunition
rounds are just some of the applications. "The health effects of
uranium really haven't been studied since the Manhattan Project
(the development of the atomic bomb in the early 1940s). But now
there is more interest in the health effects of depleted
uranium. People are asking questions now," Stearns said.
Her research may shed light on the possible connection between
exposure to depleted uranium and Gulf War Syndrome, or to
increased cancers and birth defects in the Middle East and
Balkans. And closer to home, questions continue to be asked
about environmental exposure to uranium from mine tailings;
heavily concentrated around Native American communities. "When
the uranium mining boom crashed in the '80s, there wasn't much
cleanup," Stearns said. Estimates put the number of abandoned
mines on the Navajo Nation in Arizona at more than 1,100.
Source: Northern Arizona University
Copyright © 1997 - 2006 Science a Go Go and its licensors. All
rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
43 TC: Denogean: Fear persists about homes near Brush factory |
www.tucsoncitizen.com ®
Published: 04.07.2006
A housing development is going up on Tucson's South Side. The
Tres Pueblos homes are attractive, with arched windows and stucco
exteriors, and about as affordable, starting at $146,000, as one
can find in Tucson's new-home market. So why is this development
a cause for consternation for some in our community? Because the
Tres Pueblos homeowners will become the newest and closest
residential neighbors of Brush Ceramic Products, a company that
has an air quality permit to emit small amounts of a material
known to cause lung disease.
Community and environmental activists have fretted for years over
Brush, which sits within a half-mile of six schools in the
Sunnyside Unified School District. They've worried that children
attending school and families living anywhere near the plant, at
the corner of Tucson Boulevard and Bilby Road, are exposed to
toxic dust daily. Tres Pueblos, which eventually will be home to
900 families on two sites on both sides of Tucson Boulevard
directly north of the Brush plant, only ups the stakes, they said
in a community meeting Sunday at Sunnyside High School.
"It's so close to so many schools and homes, and it's just plain
terrifying," said Rob Kulakofsky of the Sierra Club and the
Environmental Justice Action Group.
At issue is the metal beryllium. Brush, operating in Tucson since
1980, uses beryllium oxide powder to make ceramic parts for the
medical, aerospace, communications and defense industries.
Inhalation of powdered beryllium or fumes can cause chronic
beryllium disease (CBD), an inflammation in the lungs caused by
an allergic reaction. The disease can be asymptomatic or it can
damage the lung tissue, leading to wheezing and coughing.
In extreme cases, it can cause disability or death. It's
considered an occupational disease, limited to those who work
with it, though there are some historical cases in the 1940s and
'50s in Ohio and Pennsylvania believed to have been acquired
through air pollution from beryllium plants.
Thirty-five current and former employees of Tucson's Brush plant
have acquired CBD. Five have died of it. Brush's quarterly tests
of emissions from its exhaust stack tower have shown
non-detectable levels of beryllium in 19 of its past 20 tests,
said John Scheatzle, Brush's general manager. The other test
showed a level well within the U.S. safety limit, he said.
"I don't think there's any risk to those folks whatsoever,"
Scheatzle said.
David Greenberg, president of the Tucson division of D.R. Horton
Homes, the developer of Tres Pueblos, said the company tested the
soil for beryllium both before and after blading the lot. "All of
the testing that's been done has shown that it's safe," he said.
Two hundred of the homes already have been sold, he said.
The Arizona Department of Health Services has classified the
Brush site as "no apparent public health hazard." In a report
completed in August, the department said beryllium exposures in
the area are "not at levels likely to cause adverse health
effects, even to children and sensitive populations."
The Environmental Justice Action Group has disputed the findings
because the health department used averages from soil readings,
masking the higher levels found closest to the plant. It didn't
find what it didn't want to find, Kulakofsky said.
He said medical science hasn't actually determined whether any
level of beryllium exposure is safe for susceptible people. There
is an interesting disclaimer in the department's report. Because
the information on beryllium air concentrations came from
monitors at the Sunnyside schools, the findings "may not fully
represent the environmental conditions directly north of the
Brush Ceramic Product facility."
In other words, the land on which Tres Pueblos sits.
So the question remains: Is it safe for Tucsonans to live right
next to Brush Ceramic? This is what's clear right now: The homes
are coming, and Brush isn't leaving.
After four public hearings on the matter since 2000, the Pima
County Department of Environmental Quality is on the verge of
issuing a new five-year air quality permit to Brush with more
stringent testing, maintenance and notification requirements than
its current permit.
We can hope that those who say the plant is a safe neighbor are
right but, more important, we need to keep a close eye on the
government entities charged with keeping a close eye on Brush.
Anne Denogean can be reached at 573-4582 and . Address letters
to P.O. Box 26767, Tucson, AZ 85726-6767. Her columns run
Tuesdays and Fridays.
| Copyright © 2006 Tucson Citizen
All Rights Reserved. .
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44 Sydney Morning Herald: No pressure to change uranium stand - ALP -
www.smh.com.au
April 7, 2006 - 3:04PM
Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley says he feels little
pressure to change Labor's policy on uranium mining in
Australia.
Key Labor figures, including the party's resources spokesman
Martin Ferguson, have pushed for the party to overturn its
long-standing policy opposing new uranium mines.
An agreement between Australia and China this week has opened
the way for uranium exports to the Asian superpower.
Mr Beazley said on Friday he felt little pressure to change
Labor's policy, which would serve Australia sufficiently for the
foreseeable future.
"I don't feel under any enormous pressure from (Prime Minister
John) Howard on the subject of the Labor Party's uranium
policy," Mr Beazley told a business lunch in Sydney.
"Under that policy, the expansion of Roxby Downs and the
creation of the Honeymoon mine is possible in South Australia.
"The production from them will easily take up all that can be
foreseen in the medium term in terms of demand on uranium
exports."
Uranium should only be exported from Australia under strict
conditions, he said.
© 2006 AAP
| Copyright © 2006. The Sydney Morning Herald. ![]()
Small Denver-Based Trial Support Company Supports Large Scale
Litigation
DENVER, April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- eTrial Communications Inc.
announced completion of trial support for the Rocky Flats
litigation. Supporting Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Sherman & Howard
LLC, Rockwell International and Dow Chemical in this historic
litigation, eTrial implemented trial animations, communication
strategy, graphics, boards, videos and courtroom technology. The
Rocky Flats case was the largest class action in Colorado
history.
"The scope of supporting this four-month trial was monumental,"
said David Vanderport, President of eTrial. "There were thousands
of graphics used, hundreds of trial boards produced and
quick-turnaround animations and videos displayed in court.
Experienced people are the foundation in successfully supporting
such a trial, and we have some of the best in the country."
Local Partnerships and Resources Key
eTrial partnered with many Denver-area providers in this effort.
C2 Media, Gneocreative Design, Hazlett & Bowen Reporting, A/V
Services, and many independent contractors assisted in delivering
a wide array of services in this trial.
"Obtaining and managing local resources for a trial this size is
unique," said Vanderport. "We had the resources nationally to get
the job done; it was our partnerships with Denver-based companies
which made this a success story for us and small businesses in
general."
Founded in 2004, eTrial Communications Inc. is a premier provider
of trial communication, graphics and technology support. The
company offers trial services and products for law firms and
their clients toward more effective courtroom and alternative
dispute resolution communication - electronic, persuasive,
communication.
For more information on eTrial Communications:
http://www.etrialinc.com
This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more
information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.
SOURCE eTrial Communications Inc.
Web Site: http://www.etrialinc.com
Copyright © 1996- PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights
Reserved. A United Business Mediacompany.
*****************************************************************
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:
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