***************************************************************** 04/12/06 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 14.87 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** Send News Stories to news@energy-net.org with title on subject line and first line of body NUCLEAR POLICY 1 [NYTr] Bush Babble: Defends post-Invasion WMD Trailer Claim 2 [NYTr] US shelved evidence discounting Iraq's WMD: report 3 Guardian Unlimited: Report Raises New Questions on Bush, WMDs 4 US: Las Vegas SUN: Bush Statement on Iraq WMD Later Debunked 5 US: SF Chronicle: Now Powell tells us 6 [NYTr] Iran Again Emphasises its Peaceful Nuclear Program 7 UN: AS UN ATOMIC CHIEF HEADS TO IRAN, ANNAN APPEALS FOR A 'COOL DOWN 8 [NYTr] Rice Ratchets Up Threats after Tehran's Nuke Announcement 9 [NYTr] The Bush Administration's Final Surprise? 10 [NYTr] From Israel: Plan to Bomb Iran in 2007 11 IRNA: President: Those creating nuisance for nuclear program owe apo 12 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Intends to Expand Uranium Enrichment 13 Guardian Unlimited: Rice Calls for 'Strong Steps' Against Iran 14 Guardian Unlimited: Experts: Iran's Boast May Mean Little 15 Guardian Unlimited: Reports: Russia Criticizes Iran on Nukes 16 Guardian Unlimited: Iran to Move Toward Large-Scale Enrichment 17 Guardian UnlimitedL Straw voices concern over Iran nuclear announcem 18 Guardian Unlimited: Fuel grade - not weapons grade 19 Reuters: EU says Iran nuclear announcement "regrettable" 20 IRNA: IAEA chief due in Iran tonight: source 21 AFP: Force will not resolve Iran nuclear impasse - Lavrov 22 AFP: Iran nuclear claim 'step in the wrong direction' - Russia - 23 IRNA: West should have even-handed approach on nuclear issue 24 IRNA: Advanced nuclear technology will sustain development - Aqazade 25 IRNA: Iran, eighth country possessing advanced nuclear technology - 26 Guardian Unlimited: North Korea Still Won't Rejoin Talks 27 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Envoy Not Hopeful on Korea Nuke Talks 28 US: Las Vegas SUN: GAO: Alaska Contracts Ripe for Abuse 29 US: News Press: Guadalupe Catholic Worker Witness Against Vandenberg 30 US: Santa Maria Times: Missile Facilities Named for Reagan 31 US: Bush: Setting The Record Straight: The Washington Post's Reckle 32 US: Pahrump Valley Times: Group protests bomb test 33 Bellona: Norway releases funding for AMEC sub transportation in a vi 34 Xinhua: NATO not to deploy nuclear weapons in Bulgaria: official NUCLEAR REACTORS 35 Guardian Unlimited: Radioactive Water Leak at Japan Nuke Plant 36 Interfax: Belarus wants international cooperation on Chernobyl after 37 Bellona: Chernyobyl-like slovenliness today: RTGs are being vandaliz 38 RIA Novosti: Over 1.3mln live in Chernobyl zone in Belarus - parliam 39 BBC: Water leak at Japan nuclear plant 40 US: NRC: NRC Earns Gold Star Award During “Small Business Week” 41 US: ABQJOURNAL: All 3 Reactors Shut Down at Palo Verde 42 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Residents talk about disasters 43 GREENPEACE UK: Former Environment Ministers call on UN to drop nucle 44 Xinhua: Most Swedes favor nuclear power 45 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Subcommittee Meet 46 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Subcommittee Meet 47 US: NRC: R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC; R.E. Ginna Nuclear Pow 48 ITAR-TASS: Belarus MPs seek to attract more attention to Chernobyl p 49 DNM: UK sheep above radioactive safety limits due to Chernobyl 50 NewsRoom Finland: Greenpeace hires UK consultants to probe Finnish n 51 UPI: Radioactive water leak at Japan plant 52 SNA: Russians, Czechs to Team Up in Bulgarian Nuke Construction NUCLEAR SECURITY 53 HindustanTimes.com: Enriched uranium seized in Assam NUCLEAR SAFETY 54 [NYTr] US WMD: 15 Workers Treated for Possible Biowar Exposure 55 US: Las Vegas SUN: Mushroom cloud blast in Nevada desert said to mee 56 US: Spectrum: MIT professor to speak on Baby Tooth Survey 57 Yokwe Net: Bikinians File Lawsuit in U.S. Court of Federal Claims 58 icWales - Welsh MEP set to visit nuclear site 59 US: Pahrump Valley Times: Sickened radiation workers get assistance NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 60 US: EPA: Companies to pay over $8 million, clean up Phoenix-area Sup 61 SignOnSanDiego.com: No takers found for drill that bored Yucca Mount 62 Las Vegas SUN: The kiss of political death? 63 Platts: French opinion split between deep, shallow nuclear waste sto 64 US: NWTRB: Board Meeting 65 US: NRC: Advisory Committee On Nuclear Waste; Notice of Meeting 66 US: NRC: Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste Meeting on Planning and PEACE US DEPT. OF ENERGY 67 Knox News: Munger: Oak Ridge survives call for change 68 DOE: Jefferson Lab Contract to be Awarded to Jefferson Science 69 Hanford News: Board urges simpler Hanford contracts 70 The Enquirer: Fernald cleanup close to finished 71 Pahrump Valley Times: Energy Secretary to visit Nevada this week ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 [NYTr] Bush Babble: Defends post-Invasion WMD Trailer Claim Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 16:15:39 -0400 (EDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit AP via CNN - Apr 12, 2006 http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/12/iraq.weapons.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest White House defends Bush's post-invasion WMD claims Group found Iraqi trailers to be non-WMD related, paper says WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's claim three years ago that weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq was based on U.S. intelligence that was later proved false, the White House acknowledged on Wednesday. But presidential spokesman Scott McClellan vigorously denied suggestions that Bush was making claims that had been debunked when he said two small trailers seized in Iraq were mobile biological laboratories. Bush declared in a May 2003 television interview, "We have found the weapons of mass destruction." The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was cited at the time as supporting evidence for the decision to go to war. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that experts on a Pentagon-sponsored mission who examined the trailers concluded that they had nothing to do with biological weapons and sent their findings to Washington in a classified report on May 27, 2003. One day later, the Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency publicly issued an assessment saying the opposite -- that U.S. officials were confident that the trailers were used to produce biological weapons. The assessment said the mobile facilities represented "the strongest evidence to date that Iraq was hiding a biological warfare program." On May 29, 2003, the president repeated the claims from the public intelligence report. McClellan dismissed the Post article and a report based on it that aired on ABC News Wednesday morning as irresponsible. He said ABC News should apologize and took issue with the way the Post story was written. "The lead suggested that what the president was saying was based on something that had been debunked, and that is not true," McClellan said. "In fact, the president was saying something that was based on what the intelligence community -- through the CIA and DIA -- were saying." McClellan said information for public reports from the CIA comes from many sources and takes time to vet. "It's not something that, they will tell you, turns on a dime," McClellan said. The actions of the special team were described to a Washington Post reporter in interviews with government officials and weapons experts who participated in the mission or had direct knowledge of it. The final report remains classified. The trailers along with aluminum tubes acquired by Iraq for an alleged nuclear weapons program were primary evidence the Bush administration used to support its contention that Iraq was making weapons of mass destruction. Intelligence officials and the White House have repeatedly denied claims that intelligence was exaggerated or manipulated in the months before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The Iraq Survey Group concluded in 2004 that there was no evidence that Iraq produced weapons of mass destruction after 1991. It said Saddam Hussein's ability to develop such weapons had diminished -- not grown -- during a dozen years of sanctions before last year's U.S.-led invasion. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 2 [NYTr] US shelved evidence discounting Iraq's WMD: report Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 12:24:29 -0400 (EDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Reuters - Apr 12, 2006 http://today.reuters.com/misc/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-04-12T061439Z_01_N11262021_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-USA-LABS.xml NEW REPORT on How US shelved evidence discounting Iraq's WMD WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration publicly asserted that two trailers captured by U.S. troops in Iraq in May 2003 were mobile "biological laboratories" even after U.S. intelligence officials had evidence that it was not true, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday. On May 29, 2003, President George W. Bush hailed the capture of the trailers, declaring "We have found the weapons of mass destruction". But a Pentagon-sponsored fact-finding mission had already concluded that the trailers had nothing to do with biological weapons, the Post reported, citing government officials and weapons experts who participated in the secret mission or had direct knowledge of it. The Post said the group's unanimous findings had been sent to the Pentagon in a field report, two days before the president's statement. Bush cited the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction as the prime justification for invading Iraq. No such weapons ever were found. A U.S. intelligence official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity confirmed the existence of the field report but said it was a preliminary finding that had to be evaluated. "You don't change a report that has been coordinated in the (intelligence) community based on a field report," the official said. "It's a preliminary report. No matter how strongly the individual may feel about the subject matter." The three-page field report and a 122-page final report three weeks later were classified and shelved, The Washington Post reported. It added that for nearly a year after that, the Bush administration continued to public assert that the trailers were biological weapons factories. The authors of the reports -- nine U.S. and British civilian experts -- were sent to Baghdad by the Defense Intelligence Agency, or DIA, the newspaper said. A DIA spokesman told the paper that the team's findings were neither ignored nor suppressed, but were incorporated in the work of the Iraqi Survey Group, which led the official search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. The team's work remains classified. But the newspaper said interviews revealed that the team was unequivocal in its conclusion that the trailers were not intended to manufacture biological weapons. "There was no connection to anything biological," one expert who studied the trailers was quoted as saying. © Reuters 2006. * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 3 Guardian Unlimited: Report Raises New Questions on Bush, WMDs From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday April 12, 2006 11:01 PM AP Photo NY113 By NEDRA PICKLER Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House faced new questions Wednesday about President Bush's contention three years ago that weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq. The Washington Post reported that a Pentagon-sponsored team of experts determined in May 2003 that two small trailers were not used to make biological weapons. Yet two days after the team sent its findings to Washington in a classified report, Bush declared just the opposite. ``We have found the weapons of mass destruction,'' Bush said in an interview with a Polish TV station. ``We found biological laboratories.'' Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said Wednesday that Bush was relying on information from the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency when he said the trailers seized after the 2003 invasion were mobile biological laboratories. That information was later discredited by the Iraq Survey Group in its 2004 report. The CIA and DIA publicly issued an assessment one day after the Pentagon team's report arrived in Washington that said U.S. officials were confident that the trailers were used to produce biological weapons. The assessment said the mobile facilities represented ``the strongest evidence to date that Iraq was hiding a biological warfare program.'' McClellan said it was unclear whether officials at the White House were aware of the contradictory field report when Bush repeated the claim in the television interview. ``If and when the White House became aware of this particular issue, I'm looking into that matter,'' McClellan said. ``The White House has asked the CIA and the DIA to go and look into that issue.'' The Post did not say that Bush knew what he was saying was false. But ABC News did during a report on ``Good Morning America,'' and McClellan demanded an apology and an on-air retraction. ABC News said later in a clarification on its Web site that Charles Gibson had erred. McClellan said he had received an apology. ``This is nothing more than rehashing an old issue that was resolved long ago,'' McClellan said. ``I cannot count how many times the president has said the intelligence was wrong.'' ``The intelligence community makes the assessment,'' he said. ``The White House is not the intelligence-gathering agency.'' Navy Cmdr. Greg Hicks, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a written statement that the report from the expert team was sent to the DIA on May 27, 2003, but he said the findings were not vetted until over the summer. The statement did not say whether the information was immediately shared with the White House. ``This further analysis led to the conclusion of the ISG that the mobile units were impractical for biological agent production and almost certainly designed and built for the generation of hydrogen,'' Hicks' statement said. CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Dyck declined to speak specifically about the classified field report but said in general that producing a finished intelligence report takes time, coordination, debate and vetting. ``This is not a fast process, especially when dealing with complex issues,'' she said. ``It is not typically something that happens in a matter of hours.'' The trailers - along with aluminum tubes acquired by Iraq for what was believed to be a nuclear weapons program - were primary pieces of evidence offered by the Bush administration before the war to support its contention that Iraq was making weapons of mass destruction. Intelligence officials and the White House have repeatedly denied claims that intelligence was exaggerated or manipulated in the months before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The Iraq Survey Group concluded in 2004 that there was no evidence that Iraq produced weapons of mass destruction after 1991. --- On the Net: CIA/DIA report on mobile trailers: http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/iraqi-mobile-plants/paper-w.pdf Duelfer report on the WMD claims: http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/iraq-wmd-2004 Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 4 Las Vegas SUN: Bush Statement on Iraq WMD Later Debunked Today: April 12, 2006 at 11:5:54 PDT By NEDRA PICKLER ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush's claim three years ago that weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq was based on U.S. intelligence that was later proved false, the White House acknowledged on Wednesday. Spokesman Scott McClellan vigorously denied suggestions that Bush was making claims that already had been debunked when he said that two small trailers seized in Iraq were mobile biological laboratories. McClellan did not directly answer questions about whether Bush, when he made his statement, was aware that a team of experts had already concluded the trailers were not involved with WMD manufacturing. "The White House is not an intelligence-gathering agency," McClellan said. He said Bush was relying on information from the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency that said the trailers were used to produce biological weapons - information that later proved false. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that experts on a Pentagon-sponsored mission who examined the trailers concluded that they had nothing to do with biological weapons and sent their findings to Washington in a classified field report on May 27, 2003. One day later, the CIA and DIA publicly issued an assessment saying the opposite - that U.S. officials were confident that the trailers were used to produce biological weapons. The assessment said the mobile facilities represented "the strongest evidence to date that Iraq was hiding a biological warfare program." The very next day, Bush declared in a Polish television interview, "We have found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories." McClellan said information for public reports from the CIA comes from many sources and takes time to vet. "It's not something that, they will tell you, turns on a dime," McClellan said. McClellan dismissed the Post article and a report based on it that aired on ABC News Wednesday morning as irresponsible. He specifically called on ABC to apologize for reporting Bush knew that what he was saying was false. The actions of the special team were described to a Washington Post reporter in interviews with government officials and weapons experts who participated in the mission or had direct knowledge of it. The final report remains classified. The trailers along with aluminum tubes acquired by Iraq for what was believed to be a nuclear weapons program - were primary pieces of evidence offered by the Bush administration before the war to support its contention that Iraq was making weapons of mass destruction. Intelligence officials and the White House have repeatedly denied claims that intelligence was exaggerated or manipulated in the months before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The Iraq Survey Group concluded in 2004 that there was no evidence that Iraq produced weapons of mass destruction after 1991. --- On the Web: CIA/DIA report on mobile trailers: http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/iraqi-mobile-plants/paper-w.pdf Duelfer report on the WMD claims: http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/iraq-wmd-2004/ All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 5 SF Chronicle: Now Powell tells us [San Francisco Chronicle] Robert Scheer, Creators Syndicate Wednesday, April 12, 2006 THE PRESIDENT played the scoundrel -- even the best of his minions went along with the lies -- and when a former ambassador dared to tell the truth, the White House initiated what Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald calls "a plan to discredit, punish or seek revenge against Mr. Wilson." That is the important story line. If not for the whistle-blower, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, President Bush's falsehoods about the Iraq nuclear threat likely would never have been exposed. On Monday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell told me that he and his department's top experts never believed that Iraq posed an imminent nuclear threat, but that the president followed the misleading advice of Vice President Dick Cheney and the CIA in making the claim. Now he tells us. The harsh truth is that this president cherry-picked the intelligence data in making his case for invading Iraq and deliberately kept the public in the dark as to the countervailing analysis at the highest level of the intelligence community. While the president and his top Cabinet officials were fear-mongering with stark images of a "mushroom cloud" over American cities, the leading experts on nuclear weaponry at the Department of Energy (the agency in charge of the U.S. nuclear-weapons program) and the State Department thought the claim of a near-term Iraqi nuclear threat was absurd. "The activities we have detected do not, however, add up to a compelling case that Iraq is currently pursuing what INR would consider to be an integrated and comprehensive approach to acquire nuclear weapons," said a dissenting analysis from an assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research (INR) in the now infamous 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, which was cobbled together for the White House before the war. "Iraq may be doing so but INR considers the available evidence inadequate to support such a judgment." The specter of the Iraqi nuclear threat was primarily based on an already-discredited claim that Iraq had purchased aluminum tubes for the purpose of making nuclear weapons. In fact, at the time, the INR wrote in the National Intelligence Estimate that it "accepts the judgment of technical experts at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) who have concluded that the tubes Iraq seeks to acquire are poorly suited for use in gas centrifuges to be used for uranium enrichment and finds unpersuasive the arguments advanced by others to make the case that they are intended for that purpose." The other major evidence President Bush gave Americans for a revitalized Iraq nuclear program, of course, was his 2003 State of the Union claim -- later found to be based on forged documents -- that a deal had been made to obtain uranium from Niger. This deal was exposed within the administration as bogus before the president's speech in January by Ambassador Wilson, who traveled to Niger for the CIA. Wilson only went public with his criticisms in an op-ed piece in the New York Times a half year later in response to what he charged were the administration's continued distortion of the evidence. In excerpts later made available to the public, it is clear that the Niger claim doesn't even appear as a key finding in the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate, while the INR dissent in that document dismisses it curtly: "[T]he claims of Iraqi pursuit of natural uranium in Africa are, in INR's assessment highly dubious." I queried Powell at a reception following a talk he gave in Los Angeles on Monday. Pointing out that the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate showed that his State Department had gotten it right on the nonexistent Iraq nuclear threat, I asked why did the president ignore that wisdom in his stated case for the invasion? "The CIA was pushing the aluminum tube argument heavily and Cheney went with that instead of what our guys wrote," Powell said. And the Niger reference in Bush's State of the Union speech? "That was a big mistake," he said. "It should never have been in the speech. I didn't need Wilson to tell me that there wasn't a Niger connection. He didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. I never believed it." When I pressed further as to why the president played up the Iraq nuclear threat, Powell said it wasn't the president: "That was all Cheney." A convenient response for a Bush family loyalist, perhaps, but it begs the question of how the president came to be a captive of his vice president's fantasies. More important: Why was this doubt, on the part of the secretary of state and others, about the salient facts justifying the invasion of Iraq kept from the public until we heard the truth from whistle-blower Wilson, whose credibility the president then sought to destroy? In matters of national security, when a president leaks, he lies. By selectively releasing classified information to suit his political purposes, as President Bush did in this case, he is denying that there was a valid basis for keeping the intelligence findings secret in the first place. "We ought to get to the bottom of it, so it can be evaluated by the American people," said Sen. Arlen Specter, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. I couldn't have put it any better. E-mail Page B - 9 The San Francisco Chronicle] ***************************************************************** 6 [NYTr] Iran Again Emphasises its Peaceful Nuclear Program Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 20:17:29 -0400 (EDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba http://www.radiohc.cu Iran Again Emphasises its Peaceful Nuclear Program Havana, April 12 (RHC)--In an attempt to defend its sovereign right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, Iran announced that it had successfully enriched uranium on a small scale for the first time. In a TV broadcast, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the announcement, saying that the Persian nation's nuclear program is peaceful. However, following pressures from the United States, Britain and other industrialized countries, the UN Security Council has urged Iran to stop the program, claiming that it could make nuclear weapons. Also bowing to pressures from the United States and the west, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, is due to report to the U.N. Security Council on April 28 if Iran has complied with its demand to stop enriching uranium. The U.S. and Europe are pushing for sanctions against Iran, while Russia and China have so far opposed. In an unexpected move and change of policy, Russia also criticized the announcement, saying that the decision is wrong and runs counter to International Atomic Energy Agency and Un Security Council resolutions. Iran is looking forward to further talks with the IAEA or with Western countries, in a bid to keep its enrichment program on a small scale under IAEA surveillance without giving it up entirely. Iranian experts say that with the use of 54,000 centrifuges the country will be able to produce fuel for a 1,000-megawat nuclear power plant like the one Russia is currently putting the finishing touches on in southern Iran. * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 7 UN: AS UN ATOMIC CHIEF HEADS TO IRAN, ANNAN APPEALS FOR A 'COOL DOWN' OF RHETORIC New York, Apr 12 2006 12:00PM With the head of the United Nations Atomic Energy Agency (<"">IAEA), Mohammed ElBaradei, on his way to Tehran for talks with Iran on resuming cooperation with the nuclear non-proliferation regime, Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed today for all involved to "cool down" their rhetoric and actively search for a diplomatic solution. "Yes, they have pursued their research," Mr. Annan said of the Iranian claim that the country has already successfully enriched uranium in defiance of the international community, as he spoke to journalists at The Hague in the Netherlands this morning. "But I hope they will be able to come back to the table and work with the international community to find a negotiated solution," he added. Recalling that Iran has all along maintained that its intent is to develop peaceful uses of nuclear energy for the country, he said that if that indeed is the case, "they should be able to give the international community that assurance and work with everybody to find a solution out of this." "I appeal to everyone to work more actively in search of a diplomatic solution and to cool down on the rhetoric and not to escalate," he said. On 29 March, in its first official action after the matter was referred to it by the IAEA, the UN Security Council called on Iran to re-establish full and sustained suspension of all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, in a manner that is verified by the Agency. In 2003, it was discovered that Iran had carried out secret nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and some countries, the United States among them, claim that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, which Iran denies. 2006-04-12 00:00:00.000 ________________ For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news To change your profile or unsubscribe go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/ ***************************************************************** 8 [NYTr] Rice Ratchets Up Threats after Tehran's Nuke Announcement Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 11:53:39 -0400 (EDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit MSNBC - Apr 12, 2006 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12277578/from/RSS/ Rice: ‘Strong steps’ may be needed to stop Iran Secretary of state ratchets up pressure after Tehran’s nuclear claims MSNBC News Services WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that Iran’s assertion it has enriched uranium will require “strong steps” from the United Nations Security Council. Rice said the announcement from Tehran was further proof it was not adhering to requirements already set out by the international community. “I do think the Security Council will need to take into consideration this move by Iran,” Rice said at the State Department. She urged that when the council reconvenes it take “strong steps to make certain (to) maintain the credibility of the international community.” Rice’s comments ratchets up earlier U.S. pressure, as well as that from Russia and the European Union, in condemning Iran’s assertion that it had enriched uranium in defiance of a U.N. demand, though Moscow said force could not resolve the dispute. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared on Tuesday that Iran had enriched uranium for the first time and would now press ahead with industrial-scale enrichment. His triumphant announcement keeps the Islamic Republic on a collision course with the United Nations and with Western countries convinced that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, not just fuel for power stations as it insists. In a nationally televised ceremony, he said the country’s nuclear ambitions are peaceful and warning the West that trying to force Iran to abandon enrichment would “cause an everlasting hatred in the hearts of Iranians.” Iran intends to move toward large-scale uranium enrichment involving 54,000 centrifuges, the country’s deputy nuclear chief said Wednesday, signaling its resolve to expand a program the international community has insisted it halt. Response options President Bush this week dismissed media reports of plans for strikes on Iran as “wild speculation” and said force might not be needed to curb its nuclear ambitions. The Russian Foreign Ministry urged Tehran to stop all enrichment work, saying its proclaimed atomic advance ran counter to the decisions of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the U.N. Security Council. But a senior Iranian official ruled out any retreat. “Iran’s nuclear activities are like a waterfall which has begun to flow. It cannot be stopped,” said the official, who asked not to be named, referring to the Russian demand. Separately, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the use of force could not solve the stand-off over Iran’s nuclear program, but he did not reiterate Moscow’s past opposition to sanctions. “If such plans exist they will not be able to solve this problem. On the contrary they could create a dangerous explosive blaze in the Middle East, where there are already enough blazes,” he was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying. Renewed intervention IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei will visit Iran on Thursday to seek full Iranian cooperation with the Security Council and IAEA inquiries, a trip now clouded by Ahmadinejad’s speech. The IAEA, whose inspectors are in Iran investigating nuclear sites, has given no comment on Iran’s statements. But an agency diplomat said, “The timing was strange but it may have been intended by them to improve their bargaining position.” The Security Council has told Iran to halt all sensitive atomic activities and on March 29 it asked the IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, to report on its compliance in 30 days. ‘Dangerous activities’ Three European states behind a deal to suspend enrichment which broke down last year weighed in with criticism of Iran. British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said the announcement was “deeply unhelpful” and undermined confidence. His German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said Iran was “going in precisely the wrong direction” for a return to negotiations. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said it was a worrying step and Iran should stop its “dangerous activities.” The European Union voiced dismay. “This is regrettable,” said Emma Udwin, a spokeswoman for Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU commissioner for external relations. Calls for Israel’s destruction The Iranian president further stoked international anxieties about Iran’s nuclear program last year when he called for Israel’s destruction. But Israelis responded cautiously to Iran’s latest announcement, saying diplomacy was the best route. “The United States has placed this issue at the top of its agenda. I do not recommend that we should be involved,” Israeli elder statesman Shimon Peres told Israel Radio. The United States has pledged to defend Israel, which bombed an Iraqi nuclear facility in 1981. No U.S. confirmation of nukes The U.S. State Department said it was unable to confirm that Iran had enriched uranium and some experts said even if Tehran’s assertions were accurate, it would still be years before the Islamic Republic was able to produce a nuclear weapon. In his televised address, Ahmadinejad said, “I am officially announcing that Iran has joined the group of those countries which have nuclear technology.” He also said Iran’s goal was industrial-scale enrichment. The level of enrichment needed for nuclear bombs is far higher than the 3.5 percent Iran says it has reached. It would take Iran about two decades to yield enough highly enriched uranium for one bomb with its current cascade of 164 centrifuges. But Tehran says it wants to install 3,000 centrifuges, enough to produce material for a warhead in a year. Exiled Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi said in Strasbourg that the West had been too soft on Iran and had allowed the country “to get so close to a nuclear weapon.” Information provided in 2002 by Rajavi’s National Council of Resistance of Iran, which wants to oust Iran’s clerical rulers, forced Tehran to lift the veil on its nuclear program. The council’s armed wing, the People’s Mujahedeen, is listed as a terrorist group by the United States. © 2006 MSNBC.com * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 9 [NYTr] The Bush Administration's Final Surprise? Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 11:55:20 -0400 (EDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit CounterPunch - Apr 11, 2006 http://www.counterpunch.org/smith04112006.html The Bush Administration's Final Surprise? Chinese or Russian Nukes in Iran? By GRANT SMITH A History Channel television marathon last week profiled US presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush. Each brief profile began with bullet point summaries of each president's unique attributes and demeanor. The profiles ended with over-arching themes of each administration. Lincoln's theme and celebrated his ability to rise to successive challenges presented by slavery and the civil war. Theodore Roosevelt's was that of an enigma. Teddy was the big game hunter who became the father of the ecology movement and national parks system. Herbert Hoover's spectrum ranged from his early, but unsung, triumphs feeding Europe before and during WWI, and success as Commerce Secretary. Overshadowing all was his fall as the scapegoat for the Great Depression. George W. Bush's profile was entirely unflattering. The forty-third president was the only be judged intellectually incurious but strong-willed, and highly religious in his bullet points. The History Channel profile reasonably left open the defining themes of president George W. Bush, since his term is not over. Here is a prediction; the Bush theme will be that of a President who was constantly surprised by entirely predictable challenges, most of his own making. Bush will be remembered as the president who was hand-delivered presidential briefs warning of impending attack by al Qaeda, but who chose not to act until it was too late. He is the president of the administration that was unwilling to budget reinforcement of levies against the destructive power of entirely predictable hurricanes, a mistake that contributed to the destruction of much of New Orleans. Bush is the presiden that declared the end of the Iraq war when it was in its initial stage. Bush is the president surprised and undermined by the criminal prosecution of corrupt operatives of the political machine and spoils system that brought him into power. Bush's biggest surprise yet may be just around the corner. Like the other "challenges" it will largely be a disaster of his own making: both highly predictable, but nevertheless devastating. Bush's fatally flawed Middle East policies may drive either Russia or China to base nuclear missiles in Iran. China might do it, in order to maintain needed access to natural gas and petroleum reserves. China could also benefit from offering a "strategic nuclear umbrella" in the region as a checkmate to the US's forward Pacific naval deployment and maneuvers, endless administration rhetoric about Taiwan, and pressure for not doing enough to reign in North Korea. Chinese missiles in Iran would be a not-too-subtle rebuke to the US, simultaneously reaffirming sovereignty and the legitimacy of Chinese national interests without creating a direct threat to the US homeland. Russia, for its part, might wish to create a "nuclear stockade" around territory it does not wish to see turned into another Iraq or radioactive slag heap. By basing short and intermediate range nuclear missiles in Iran, Russia could send the unmistakable message that it is unwilling to see yet another seething mass of violence and destruction created in its back yard by the US. It would create a standoff with Israel's nuclear missiles, many of which are believed to target Russian cities. Russia's key interests in deployment are the continued long term access to the Iranian market for engineering services and large scale projects as well as the protection of military exports. A Russian "sphere of influence" in a willing Iran would counter and balance the expected permanent US military presence in Iraq. Russian or Chinese missiles in Iran would create a global standoff over Iran's nuclear program. It might even end Iran's uranium enrichment by eliminating the need to develop its own nuclear weapons. Such a move would also undercut the Bush Administration's stated designs for a "New World Order" of its own making. A post Cold War realignment in the form of a Sino or Russian-Iranian military alliance would be a regrettable, but realistic great power response to the failed regional policies of neoconservative ideologues. It would be the final failure of the aggressive, but naïve, policies of an administration that has been constantly surprised by its own shadow. [Grant F. Smith is director of research at the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep) in Washington, DC. He is the author of the new book, "Deadly Dogma: How Neoconservatives Broke the Law to Deceive America".] * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 10 [NYTr] From Israel: Plan to Bomb Iran in 2007 Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 14:38:11 -0400 (EDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by Dave Muller (southnews) Ynet News - Apr 12, 2006 http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3238806,00.html Security experts: Iran to be bombed in 2007 by Ron Ben-Yishai Ynetnews, Israel If Iran continues to develop nuclear weapons, a military operation against it is inevitable and will take place in 2007, senior U.S. and Israeli specialists say, Israels leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday. The experts said the right timing of the military operation will be after Iran reaches advanced stages in operating the nuclear reactor for uranium enrichment and before the end of President George W. Bushs term The United States will lead the attack, but other countries will participate, the experts said. However, according to the same specialists, the United Nations Security Council could still halt Irans nuclear drive by applying political pressure. There will be a situation where all disputes in the Middle East will be managed in the shadow of a nuclear Iranian umbrella, National Security Council head Giora Eiland said. Imagine a situation of escalation in the nNrth where Hizbullah is firing barrages of Katyusha rockets on the Galilee and causing human and property damage. Israel is trying to stop the fore and is incapable of doing so through routine means applying military and political pressure. Should we escalate our response? Deciding in an age where Iran has nuclear weapons we will have to weigh considerations other than those directing us today. The Iranians may show restraint in the face of Israels actions against the terror groups, but there is doubt whether they will remain quiet in case of attacks on Islamic holy sites. Imagine, for example, Iran has nuclear arms and a fanatical Christian group, or even worse Jewish, blows up the Temple Mount mosques, Eiland said. Military intelligence data shows that some of the bunkers built by Iran to protect its nuclear sites are impenetrable by conventional bombs. In contrast to recent reports, the U.S. doesnt intend on using nuclear weapons in the attack. According to western sources, Iran will respond to a military operation against it by attacking targets in Europe and sites and population centers in the United States. For this purpose it will use long-range missiles, which it is developing, and terror. A secretive group in Iran is believed to be working on developing nuclear warheads capable of being fitted to Iranian missiles. Recently the group succeeded in making the Shehab-3 missile suitable for carrying nuclear heads. At the moment it is developing missiles of 2,500 kilometers range, which could not be intercepted and destroyed by the Arrow missile. * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 11 IRNA: President: Those creating nuisance for nuclear program owe apology to Iran Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi province, April 12, IRNA Iran-Nuclear Program-President President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that those who created nuisance for Iranian nuclear program and caused delay for several years owe an apology to the great nation of Iran. Speaking to large crowd of people at the provincial city of Rashtkhar, President Ahmadinejad said that the enemies thought that they could infiltrate into ranks of the people through psychological war and provocation in order to cause trouble. "You are required to yield to the glory of the Iranian nation and should know that if you continue to insult Iran, this will bring shame and hatred for you in the heart of people," he said. He said while people chant 'Down with US','Down with Israel', "If you go ahead with such bullying methods in the international community, you will hear the same slogans from all other nations too." "Officials of the bullying powers are not popular with their own nations let alone among other nations." "If you don't come back to monotheism and worshipping God and give up injustice, flame of nations' wrath will burn your roots," he said. ***************************************************************** 12 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Intends to Expand Uranium Enrichment From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday April 12, 2006 5:31 PM AP Photo XHS104 By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writer TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran intends to enrich uranium on a scale hundreds of times larger than its current level, the country's deputy nuclear chief said Wednesday, signaling its resolve to expand a program the international community insists it halt. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that Iran for the first time had succeeded on a small scale in enriching uranium, a key step in generating fuel for a reactor or fissile material for a bomb. The U.N. Security Council has demanded that Iran stop all enrichment activity because of suspicions the program's aim is to make weapons. Iran's small-scale enrichment used 164 centrifuges, which spin uranium gas to increase its proportion of the isotope needed for the nuclear fission at the heart of a nuclear reactor or a bomb. Saeedi said Iran has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that it plans to install 3,000 centrifuges at its facility in the central town of Natanz by late 2006, then expand to 54,000 centrifuges, though he did not say when. ``We will expand uranium enrichment to industrial scale at Natanz,'' Deputy Nuclear Chief Mohammad Saeedi told state-run television. Saeedi said using 54,000 centrifuges will be able to produce enough enriched uranium to provide fuel for a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant like one Russia is finishing in southern Iran. In theory, that many centrifuges could be used to develop the material needed for hundreds of nuclear warheads if Iran can perfect the techniques for producing the highly enriched uranium needed. Iran, which has made no secret of its plans to ultimately expand enrichment to around 50,000 centrifuges to fuel reactors, is still thought to be years away from a full-scale program. Still, concerns grew Tuesday when Ahmadinejad announced Iran's enrichment success in a nationally televised ceremony, saying the country's nuclear ambitions are peaceful and warning the West that trying to force Iran to abandon enrichment would ``cause an everlasting hatred in the hearts of Iranians.'' The IAEA is due to report to the Security Council on April 28 whether Iran has met its demand for a full halt to uranium enrichment. If Tehran has not complied, the council will consider the next step. The U.S. and Europe are pressing for sanctions, a step Russia and China have so far opposed. Iran's announcement quickly drew condemnations. Russia criticized the announcement Wednesday, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin saying, ``We believe that this step is wrong. `` Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated Moscow's firm opposition to any military action against Iran. Denouncing Iran's successful enrichment of uranium as unacceptable to the international community, Secretary of State Conodoleezza Rice said the U.N. Security Council must consider ``strong steps'' to induce Tehran to change course. Rice also telephoned IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei to ask him to reinforce demands that Iran comply with its nonproliferation requirements when he holds talks in Tehran on Friday. ``This is not a question of Iran's right to civil nuclear power,'' she said. ``This is a question of ... the world does not believe that Iran should have the capability and the technology that could lead to a nuclear weapon.'' Rice did not call for an emergency meeting of the Council, saying it should consider action after receiving an IAEA report by April 28. She did not elaborate on what measures the United States would support, but economic and political sanctions are under consideration. In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel's government said Iran's announcement was cause for concern. ``It is another step in the wrong direction by Iran,'' German government spokesman Thomas Steg said. French government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope urged Iran ``to respect its obligations'' and stop nuclear activities. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he was ``seriously concerned'' by Ahmadinejad's announcement. Israel's military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, cautioned that it will take some time before Iran achieves nuclear capability. ``I think things will change in this process and we shouldn't see this as a foregone conclusion,'' he told Army Radio. The chief of military intelligence, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, told the Yediot Ahronot newspaper that Iran could develop a nuclear weapon ``within three years, by the end of the decade.'' ElBaradei was heading to Iran on Wednesday for talks aimed at resolving the standoff. The timing of Ahmadinejad's announcement suggested Iran wanted to present ElBaradei with a fait accompli and argue that it cannot be expected to entirely give up a program showing progress. Former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani - a powerful figure in the country's clerical regime - warned in an interview with the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai Al-Aam that pressuring Iran over enrichment ``might not have good consequences for the area and the world.'' Rafsanjani, who heads the body that arbitrates between the parliament and the clerical hierarchy, said planned talks between Iran and the United States on stabilizing Iraq could lead to discussions on the nuclear dispute. ``If the talks on Iraq go in the right direction, there might be a possibility for that issue,'' Rafsanjani told the Al-Hayat daily. ``There have been many cases where big and wide-ranging decisions had small beginnings.'' Iranian and U.S. officials have insisted the talks will deal only with Iraq. So far, no date for the talks has been set. Rafsanjani and other Iranian officials, meanwhile, reiterated that the country's nuclear ambitions were peaceful. ``There is no worry as we will not threaten anyone,'' Rafsanjani said as he arrived in Damascus on Wednesday, according to Syria's official news agency. Thousands of centrifuges arranged in a network called a ``cascade'' are needed to produce enriched uranium. Getting any number to work together is delicate and difficult. Iran resumed research on enrichment at Natanz in February. Saeedi said scientists there slowly built up the number of centrifuges in the cascade. On Sunday, they succeeded in enriching an amount of uranium to contain 3.5 percent of the isotope uranium-235 - the proportion needed for reactor fuel - using 164 centrifuges. Enriching uranium to the much higher levels needed for a nuclear warhead is even more difficult, requiring tens of thousands of centrifuges or much longer periods of time. Iran is believed to have enough black-market components in storage now to build the 1,500 operating centrifuges it would need to make the 45 pounds of highly enriched uranium needed for one crude weapon. ``The next stage is to install 3,000 centrifuges. We definitely won't have problems doing that. We just need to increase our production line,'' Saeedi said. Iran is pressing for further negotiations with the IAEA or with Western countries, hinting that it could agree to keep its enrichment program on a small scale under IAEA inspection without giving it up entirely. --- Associated Press writers Henry Meyer in Moscow, George Jahn in Vienna, Austria and Diana Elias in Kuwait City, Kuwait contributed to this report. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 13 Guardian Unlimited: Rice Calls for 'Strong Steps' Against Iran From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday April 12, 2006 5:31 PM AP Photo DCMG102 By BARRY SCHWEID AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Denouncing Iran's successful enrichment of uranium as unacceptable to the international community, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday the U.N. Security Council must consider ``strong steps'' to induce Tehran to change course. Rice also telephoned Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to ask him to reinforce demands that Iran comply with its nonproliferation requirements when he holds talks in Tehran on Friday. While Rice took a strong line, she did not call for an emergency meeting of the Council, saying it should consider action after receiving an IAEA report by April 28. She did not elaborate on what measures the United States would support, but economic and political sanctions are under consideration. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announcing on Tuesday that his country had crossed the line into enrichment, said Iran's objectives were peaceful. Iran is said by many analysts to lack the equipment, including a nuclear reactor, to make nuclear weapons. But Rice brushed aside suggestions Iran was far from the goal the United States and its allies suspect - nuclear weaponry. She said the world believes Iran has the capacity and the technology that lead to nuclear weapons. ``The Security Counil will need to take into consideration this move by Iran,'' she said. ``It will be time when it reconvenes on this case for strong steps to make certain that we maintain the credibility of the international community.'' ``This is not a question of Iran's right to civil nuclear power,'' she while greeting President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Moasogo of Equatorial Guinea. ``This is a question of, ... the world does not believe that Iran should have the capability and the technology that could lead to a nuclear weapon.'' At the private Arms Control Association, executive director Daryl Kimball said the administration should consider direct talks with Iran on the nuclear issue. And, he said in an interview, ``the administration should be extending non-aggression pledges rather than implied threats in order to weaken Iran's rationale for a nuclear weapons program.'' ``Otherwise,'' Kimball said, ``the Bush administration is creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure and military confrontation.'' White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Tuesday, ``Defiant statements and actions only further isolate the regime from the rest of the world.'' ``This is a regime that needs to be building confidence with the international community,'' McClellan said. ``Instead, they're moving in the wrong direction. This is a regime that has a long history of hiding its nuclear activities from the international community, and refusing to comply with its international obligations.'' At the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said he would not engage in ``fantasy land'' speculation about a possible U.S. attack on Iran, though he said the administration was concerned about Tehran's nuclear ambitions. ``The United States of America is on a diplomatic track,'' Rumsfeld said. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 14 Guardian Unlimited: Experts: Iran's Boast May Mean Little From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday April 12, 2006 9:01 PM AP Photo XHS110 By SALLY BUZBEE Associated Press Writer CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Iran's boast that it has joined ``the club of nuclear countries'' by enriching uranium may rattle the Western world. But diplomats and experts familiar with the program say Iran still is far from producing any weapons-grade material needed for bombs and may be exaggerating its own progress. ``The Iranians are deliberately trying to hype this up,'' David Albright, president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, said Wednesday. He called the step that Iran announced with great fanfare Tuesday - the use of 164 centrifuges to enrich small amounts of uranium - merely a small and expected advance. By trumpeting its successes so forcefully, Iran may be trying to apply political pressure - aiming to convince the U.N. Security Council that its nuclear capability is so far along that no sanctions can dissuade it. The Security Council has ordered Iran to stop all enrichment by April 28, and the chief U.N. nuclear inspector, Mohamed ElBaradei, heads to Iran for talks Friday to try to resolve the international standoff. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned ElBaradei on Wednesday to urge him to reinforce Western demands, and she called on the Security Council to consider ``strong steps'' against Iran. The United States wants sanctions because it fears Iran aims for nuclear weapons. ``This is not a question of Iran's right to civil nuclear power,'' she said. ``This is a question of, ... the world does not believe that Iran should have the capability and the technology that could lead to a nuclear weapon.'' Iran, apparently undeterred, said it would push ahead to dramatically expand its program, which it insists is only to generate electricity for peaceful purposes. It plans to install 3,000 centrifuges at one site by late 2006, then expand to 54,000 centrifuges, its deputy nuclear chief said. Few experts question that Iran, if it made steady progress over many years, could create a sophisticated nuclear program and eventually make weapons-grade material. But the step announced Tuesday indicates it has a long way to go, most say. The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency already knew that Iran was capable of, and had done, some enrichment on a smaller scale than that announced Tuesday, said Anthony Cordesman, a military expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. In addition, there is no evidence the country has brought the 164-centrifuge chain at its Natanz facility on line in any kind of sustained way, he said. A ``one-shot'' test may have little meaning, he said. Thousands of centrifuges working together in ``cascades'' for long periods are needed to create even the low-level fuel required for a reliable electrical-generation program. Many thousands more operating at much more sophisticated levels would be needed for weapons-grade material. But centrifuges shatter regularly and require precise engineering and maintenance - which means ``ramping up'' production is difficult. ``It's a little like a sophisticated engine in a race car,'' Albright said. ``If you develop it, you don't go out and race the next day. You have to test it. They have to do a bunch of work to demonstrate that it will work reliably.'' Iran's leaders have a recent history of exaggerating their military capabilities, noted a diplomat from one of the 35 nations on the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Vienna-based U.N. nuclear watchdog. Last week, the country unveiled a series of new weapons it portrayed as sophisticated and entirely Iranian-made - including missiles invisible to radar and super-fast torpedoes. But weapons experts said it appeared much of the technology came from Russia and that Iran had exaggerated the weapons' capabilities. Those claims were apparently made in an effort to beef up political support at home and convince the international community that Iran has ways to push back if the standoff over the nuclear issue becomes an outright confrontation. Likewise, many diplomats at the IAEA take Iran at its word that it has started the centrifuges, said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity. But they are more skeptical of claims it has produced enriched uranium at any level, the diplomat said. There have been numerous past predictions that Iran was close to developing a nuclear bomb. The latest estimate from the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies, however, foresees that Iran could not create a bomb before the next decade. Albright's group has suggested that Iran could move faster - if it wanted to produce bombs - by creating a basic small plant of 1,500 centrifuges to produce enough bomb fuel for one weapon. But the group has estimated even that would take three more years. Many things about Iran's nuclear program are unknown, including the country's intentions, according to Albright and Cordesman. It also is unclear how reliable U.S. or other Western intelligence estimates are. Some critics in Congress have questioned those estimates, citing the example of Iraq, where intelligence on suspected weapons of mass destruction was badly awry. But one ominous thing is clear, Cordesman said: Iran already has the underlying technology to develop a nuclear program eventually if it wishes - and can probably press ahead, secretly or overtly, regardless of what the world does. --- Associated Press reporters Lee Keath in Cairo and George Jahn in Vienna, Austria, contributed to this report. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 15 Guardian Unlimited: Reports: Russia Criticizes Iran on Nukes From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday April 12, 2006 9:31 AM MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday criticized Iran after its president said Tehran had successfully enriched uranium for the first time, Russian news agencies reported. ``We believe that this step is wrong. It runs counter to decisions of the IAEA (the U.N. nuclear watchdog) and resolutions of the U.N. Security Council,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin was quoted as saying by ITAR-Tass. A second Foreign Ministry spokesman, Andrei Krivtsov, echoed the criticism, but said Russia was still hopeful that a visit to Iran by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei on Wednesday could help resolve the standoff. ``We hope that Iran will use the visit ... to agree on specific moves to resolve the situation surrounding the Iranian nuclear program,'' RIA Novosti quoted him as saying. The timing of the Iranian announcement on the eve of ElBaradei's visit suggested Iran wanted to present him with a fait accompli and argue that it cannot be expected to entirely give up a program showing progress. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statement was certain to heighten international tensions surrounding Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran maintains is a peaceful energy program. The U.N. Security Council has demanded that Iran stop all enrichment by April 28 because of suspicions the program is designed to make nuclear weapons. Uranium enrichment can produce either fuel for a nuclear energy reactor - as Iran says it seeks - or the material needed for an atomic warhead. The United States and the European Union are pressing for the United Nations to impose sanctions on Iran. However, Tehran's close commercial partners Russia and China - both veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council - have opposed such a step. The White House said Tuesday that Ahmadinejad's enrichment claims ``show that Iran is moving in the wrong direction.'' ``Defiant statements and actions only further isolate the regime from the rest of the world,'' said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. In Vienna, Austria, IAEA officials declined to comment on Ahmadinejad's announcement. But a diplomat familiar with Tehran's enrichment program said it appeared to be accurate. He demanded anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss information restricted to the agency. A Russian analyst with close ties to the Kremlin said Wednesday the United States had only itself to blame for the worsening crisis over Iran's nuclear ambitions by failing to work constructively with the international community in recent years. ``The U.S has made a series of bad mistakes, including its argument with Russia over the post-Soviet space, with Europe over Iraq and with China,'' Interfax quoted Sergei Markov as saying. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 16 Guardian Unlimited: Iran to Move Toward Large-Scale Enrichment From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday April 12, 2006 11:16 AM AP Photo XHS117 By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writer TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran intends to move toward large-scale uranium enrichment involving 54,000 centrifuges, the country's deputy nuclear chief said Wednesday, signaling its resolve to expand a program the international community has insisted it halt. Iran's president announced Tuesday the country had succeeded in enriching uranium on a small scale for the first time, using 164 centrifuges. The U.N. Security Council has demanded that Iran stop all enrichment activity because of suspicions the program's aim is to make nuclear weapons. ``We will expand uranium enrichment to industrial scale at Natanz,'' Deputy Nuclear Chief Mohammad Saeedi told state-run television Wednesday. He said Iran has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that it plans to install 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz by late 2006, then expand to 54,000 centrifuges, though he did not say when. He said using 54,000 centrifuges will be able to produce enough enriched uranium to provide fuel for a 1,000-megawat nuclear power plant like the one Russia is currently putting the finishing touches on in southern Iran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the enrichment success Tuesday in a nationally televised ceremony, saying the country's nuclear ambitions are peaceful and warning the West that trying to force Iran to abandon enrichment would ``cause an everlasting hatred in the hearts of Iranians.'' But the announcement quickly raised condemnations from the United States, who said the claims ``show that Iran is moving in the wrong direction.'' Russia also criticized the announcement Wednesday, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin saying, ``We believe that this step is wrong. It runs counter to decisions of the IAEA and resolutions of the U.N. Security Council.'' The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, was heading to Iran on Wednesday for talks aimed at resolving the standoff. The timing of the announcement suggested Iran wanted to present him with a fait accompli and argue that it cannot be expected to entirely give up a program showing progress. Former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani - a powerful figure in the country's clerical regime - warned that pressuring Iran over enrichment ``might not have good consequences for the area and the world.'' If the West wants ``to solve issues in good faith, that could be easily possible, and if they want to ... pressure us on our nuclear activities, things will become difficult and thorny for all,'' Rafsanjani said in an interview with the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai Al-Aam, published on Wednesday. Rafsanjani - who heads Iran's Expediency Council, a powerful body that arbitrates between the parliament and the clerical hierarchy - said planned talks between Iran and the United States on stabilizing Iraq could lead to discussions on the nuclear dispute. ``We don't have a mandate to discuss the nuclear issue with the Americans ... but if the talks on Iraq go in the right direction, there might be a possibility for that issue,'' Rafsanjani said in an interview with the Al-Hayat daily. ``There have been many cases where big and wide-ranging decisions had small beginnings.'' Iranian and U.S. officials have insisted the talks will deal only with Iraq. So far, no date for the talks has been set. Enrichment is a key process that can produce either fuel for a reactor or the material needed for a nuclear reactor. But thousands of centrifuges - arranged in a network called a ``cascade'' - are needed for either purpose, and getting any number of centrifuges to work together is a very delicate and difficult task. Iran resumed research on enrichment at Natanz in February. Saeedi said scientists there slowly built up the number of centrifuges in the cascade - first using four, then 10, then 20. On Sunday, they succeeded in enriching an amount of uranium to the 3.5 percent needed for a reactor, using 164 centrifuges. ``The next stage is to install 3,000 centrifuges. We definitely won't have problems doing that. We just need to increase our production line,'' he said. Enriching uranium to the much higher levels needed for a nuclear warhead is even more difficult, requiring tens of thousands of centrifuges or much longer periods of time. The IAEA is due to report to the U.N. Security Council on April 28 whether Iran has met its demand for a full halt to uranium enrichment. If Tehran has not complied, the council will consider the next step. The U.S. and Europe are pressing for sanctions against Iran, a step Russia and China have so far opposed. Iran is pressing for further negotiations with the IAEA or with Western countries, hinting that it could agree to keep its enrichment program on a small scale under IAEA inspection without giving it up entirely. --- Associated Press writers Henry Meyer in Moscow and Diana Elias in Kuwait City contributed to this report. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 17 Guardian UnlimitedL Straw voices concern over Iran nuclear announcement Staff and agencies Wednesday April 12, 2006 The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, today said he was "seriously concerned" by Iran's announcement that it had successfully enriched uranium for the first time. Senior politicians in France, Germany and Russia also voiced anxiety about yesterday's comments by the hardline Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mr Ahmadinejad, speaking in the holy city of Mashhad, said: "Dear Iran has joined the club of nuclear countries." Mr Straw said he was "seriously concerned about President Ahmadinejad's statement". "It is contrary to repeated requests by the International Atomic Energy Agency board and now by the [UN] security council that Iran resume full and sustained suspension of all enrichment and reprocessing activities, including research and development," he added. The foreign secretary said the Iranian regime had to demonstrate that it was not seeking to build nuclear weapons. If Iran did not comply, he said the security council would "discuss further diplomatic measures". Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the IAEA, is travelling to Iran for talks aimed at resolving the standoff over the country's nuclear programme. Britain, France and Germany cut off more than two years of negotiations with Tehran after it said it would resume its enrichment activities earlier this year. The security council has demanded that Iran stop all enrichment by April 28 because of suspicions the programme is intended to manufacture nuclear weapons. Mikhail Kamynin, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman, said his country - which has close ties with Tehran - had learned of the Iranian announcement "with concern". "We believe that this step is wrong. It runs counter to decisions of the IAEA and resolutions of the UN security council," he told the ITAR-Tass news agency. In Berlin, Angela Merkel's government said the announcement was "another step in the wrong direction by Iran", while French officials said France was "in the process of diplomatic regulation of this affair" and called on Iran to "respect its obligations". In an address to an invited audience of clerics, military figures and dignitaries yesterday, Mr Ahmadinejad said: "The nation, under the umbrella of God's grace and through its own efforts, has reached this big achievement. "Today is a big day which will be recorded in Iran's history." Iranian television broadcast pictures of scientists dancing and waving test tubes apparently marked with chemical symbols. Mr Ahmadinejad - who has threatened to wipe Israel off the map - said the nuclear programme was for purely civilian purposes. "All our activities have been carried out under the gaze of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors, and we would like to carry on under their eyes," he said. Some diplomats and analysts in Tehran said they believed the announcement could be a prelude to the regime saying it was ready to bow to UN demands that it suspend enrichment activities and re-enter negotiations. [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 18 Guardian Unlimited: Fuel grade - not weapons grade Explainer: Enriching uranium David Adam Wednesday April 12, 2006 The Iranians claim to have produced enriched uranium "to the 3.5% level". That is pure enough to use as nuclear fuel, though nowhere near what would be needed to make a bomb. Experts say the bank of 164 centrifuges that the Iranians used is not enough to churn out significant amounts. The centrifuges are needed because natural uranium is useless to feed nuclear reactors or to make bombs. First the ore must be processed to extract the metal - and 25,000 tonnes of ore yields 50 tonnes of metal. Less than 1% of that is uranium 235, which can be forcibly split to release energy. The rest is uranium 238, its less volatile radioactive cousin. To make reactor fuel and atomic bombs, the uranium 235 in the metal needs to be enriched. This is where the centrifuges come in. Taking advantage of the fact that uranium 235 is marginally lighter than uranium 238, the Iranians will have mixed the metal with fluorine, heated the mixture until it formed a gas (uranium hexafluoride) and spun it at high speed inside a thin metal cylinder. Inside this centrifuge, the heavier uranium 238 molecules are flung towards the outer walls, which allows a stream of gas relatively rich in uranium 235 to be drawn off. By feeding this enriched stream into a second centrifuge, and then a third, and so on, the amount of uranium 235 in the original sample is increased. At the start it is typically less than 1%; the Iranians say they have increased that to 3.5%. What worries the US is that, should the Iranians add more centrifuges, they may have the potential to enrich this fuel-grade uranium to weapons-grade uranium, which requires 80-90% uranium 235. Even then, they would need 50kg of this highly enriched uranium to achieve a viable atomic weapon. Frank Barnaby, a nuclear physicist at the UK Atomic Weapons Establishment in the 1950s, said: "If they've enriched some uranium and measured the enrichment then that's quite a way down the line. But 164 centrifuges is negligible, you'd need thousands to get significant amounts of weapons grade uranium." Satellite images suggest the enrichment plant at Natanz could house 50,000 centrifuges. The domestic ore the Iranians are believed to be using would pose a problem, Dr Barnaby adds. "The Iranian uranium is contaminated with molybdenum and other heavy metals and that would tend to gum up the centrifuges and limit the degree of enrichment to far below the weapons grade level." To assess how close this takes the Iranians towards a nuclear reactor or potential bomb, he says we must know more about the centrifuges. The machines are unreliable, which makes their design and efficiency as important as their number. [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 19 Reuters: EU says Iran nuclear announcement "regrettable" Wed 12 Apr 2006 11:48 AM ET BRUSSELS, April 12 (Reuters) - Iran's announcement that it has enriched uranium is regrettable but the European Union will continue to press for a diplomatic solution to the dispute over its nuclear programme, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Tuesday that Iran had produced the enriched uranium needed to make nuclear fuel for the first time. "This is regrettable," said Emma Udwin, a spokeswoman for Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU's commissioner for external relations. "We will continue to seek a diplomatic solution, but such announcements are not helpful." Europe's three main powers -- Germany, France and Britain -- called off 2-1/2 years of talks on closer ties with Iran after it announced in January that it would resume enrichment work. The so-called EU3 has made a renewed suspension of all enrichment-related activity a condition for restarting negotiations. Tehran refused, saying enrichment is a sovereign right it will not give up. Tehran says its nuclear programme is aimed solely at producing electricity and is not, as Washington and the European Union say, a cover for developing atom bombs. At a meeting on Monday, European foreign ministers reviewed options for restrictive measures against Iran drafted by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, including possible visa bans and financial sanctions if Tehran pressed on with sensitive nuclear activity. A spokeswoman for Solana, Cristina Gallach, said the Iranian announcement "goes in the wrong direction". "It goes against the decisions of the IAEA board; it goes against the U.N. Security Council and the whole international community, precisely when the Security Council has told Iran that it has to comply with its obligations," she said. The Security Council has told Iran to halt all sensitive atomic activities and on March 29 asked the IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, to report on its compliance in 30 days. "Therefore once again we urge Iran to return to full suspension of enrichment and all related activities," Gallach said. © Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved. [ border=] ***************************************************************** 20 IRNA: IAEA chief due in Iran tonight: source Tehran, April 12, IRNA Iran-IAEA-Visit International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei is expected in Tehran Wednesday night, an informed source said here Wednesday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source told IRNA that ElBaradei's visit will take place upon the invitation of Iran Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) head Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh. He added that it would be ElBaradei's fifth visit to Iran. While in Tehran, the IAEA chief will hold consultations with Iranian nuclear officials on continuation of the country's constructive interaction and cooperation with the IAEA, the source added. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday announced that Iran had joined the world's nuclear countries with its successful completion on April 9 of the nuclear fuel cycle and enrichment of uranium on a laboratory scale and at a level sufficient to produce fuel for a nuclear power station. ***************************************************************** 21 AFP: Force will not resolve Iran nuclear impasse - Lavrov [Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov] MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that the standoff over Iran's nuclear program could not be resolved through use of force, news agencies reported. "I am convinced that there can be no resolution of the problem through use of force," the agencies quoted Lavrov as saying on Wednesday. "Practically all European countries are in solidarity with Russia" in this regard, Lavrov said. He cautioned against drawing conclusions too quickly following the announcement Tuesday by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Islamic republic had successfully enriched uranium itself for use as nuclear fuel. The main goal still remained preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, Lavrov said. "I would not rush to draw any conclusions because passions are inflamed too often with respect to Iran's nuclear program," he said. "Our task, as I have often stated, is to prevent violation of the nuclear non-proliferation regime," the Russian minister said. Earlier, the Russian foreign ministry spokesman called Ahmadinejad's announcement "a step in the wrong direction" and called on Tehran to suspend all uranium enrichment activity including that for scientific research purposes. Related Nuclear Power + Defiant Iran rejoices over nuclear breakthrough- AFP + Rice Warns Iran Of 'Strong Steps'- Sky News + Iran Plans Huge Nuclear Increase- Sky News + World criticism mounts over Iran's nuclear step- Reuters + Straw "seriously concerned" by Iran's atomic work- Reuters Related Iran + Defiant Iran rejoices over nuclear breakthrough- AFP + Rice Warns Iran Of 'Strong Steps'- Sky News + Iran Plans Huge Nuclear Increase- Sky News + World criticism mounts over Iran's nuclear step- Reuters + Straw "seriously concerned" by Iran's atomic work- Reuters Related Middle East + Defiant Iran rejoices over nuclear breakthrough- AFP + Rice Warns Iran Of 'Strong Steps'- Sky News + Iran Plans Huge Nuclear Increase- Sky News + UN body thaws caviar trade freeze for Iran- AFP + World criticism mounts over Iran's nuclear step- Reuters AFP '); [ src=] ***************************************************************** 22 AFP: Iran nuclear claim 'step in the wrong direction' - Russia - Wed Apr 12, 4:48 AM ET MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia called on Iran" /> to halt immediately all uranium enrichment work and attacked Tehran's announcement that it had successfully enriched uranium for nuclear fuel as a "step in the wrong direction," news agencies reported. Iran must "suspend all work on uranium enrichment, including for research," the official ITAR-TASS news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin as saying. Another ministry spokesman quoted by Interfax news agency said the announcement Tuesday by Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad flouted the will of the international community. "This is of course a step in the wrong direction," the agency quoted Andrei Krivtsov, Kamynin's deputy, as saying. "It runs counter to the resolutions of the IAEA board of governors and the declarations from representatives of the United Nations" /> Security Council," Krivtsov said. ITAR-TASS quoted an unnamed Russian diplomat as saying that Moscow "hopes that Iran correctly evaluates the will of the international community and takes practical steps to implement documents of the IAEA," ( International Atomic Energy Agency" /> ). Iran's announcement that it had enriched uranium on its own came as a major diplomatic embarassment to Russia, which even hours before that announcement was made renewed its offer to enrich uranium on Russian soil on Iran's behalf as a means of defusing the growing crisis. Russia has helped Iran construct its first nuclear power station as part of a nascent nuclear energy program that the United States says it believes is being used to camouflage a drive by the Islamic state to build its own nuclear weapons. White House spokesman Scott McClellan earlier responded to the latest challenge from Iran by saying its arch-enemy was "moving in the wrong direction." Iran now runs the risk of UN sanctions when a Security Council deadline expires on April 28. Ahmadinejad said in a speech Tuesday to top military and political leaders in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad that "our people, with the help of God, have successfully mastered nuclear technology. Iran has joined the nuclear states." "Iran's nuclear programme is purely peaceful," he added, calling on foreign governments to "recognise and respect Iran's rights." He even called for "all nuclear officials to speed up their work so as to produce fuel for the country's (future) power stations." Vice president and atomic energy chief Gholam Reza Aghazadeh said the milestone in Iran's programme was crossed on Monday -- at a pilot centrifuge plant in Natanz -- with the uranium enriched to 3.5 percent, or the purity required for civilian reactor fuel. This, he asserted, "paves the way for enrichment on an industrial scale" using an enormous 110 tonnes of UF6 feedstock gas already produced. He also said Iran was "determined" to complete work within three years on a heavy water reactor in Arak -- which critics say which could also produce plutonium for a nuclear weapon. Israel" /> reacted with concern Wednesday saying the announcement should worry not just Israel but the entire world. "This announcement is worrying for everyone as we have seen with the international reaction," Israeli military chief of staff, General Dan Halutz, told army radio. A nuclear-powered Iran "represents a threat to the whole world and not only Israel," added Halutz. The Jewish state has come to view the regime in Tehran as its number one enemy, alarmed in particular by a call last year from Ahmadinejad for Israel to be wiped off the map. Halutz said that Iran was still some way off from being in a position to develop nuclear weapons. "The Iranians are not there yet. Time is an essential element in the diplomatic process, and I believe that things will change during this process," said Halutz, who is of Iranian origin. The head of Israeli military intelligence also said that the international community should be sceptical about how far down the road Iran was in developing its nuclear programme. "The Iranians want to present the world with a fait accompli, to determine that the debate over enrichment capabilities is behind them, and that enrichment is already being accomplished on Iranian soil," Amos Yadlin told the Haaretz daily. "The announcements from Tehran are a bargaining chip. They are meant to move the debate to the next point -- the extent of enrichment." US President George W. Bush" /> has rejected media reports that the United States is planning to attack Iran over the issue as "wild speculation," and said diplomacy was preferred to resolve the nuclear crisis. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Tuesday also dismissed the reports as "fantasyland." The New Yorker magazine reported over the weekend that the Bush administration was considering the use of bunker-busting tactical nuclear weapons against alleged Iranian underground nuclear sites. "We have I do not know how many various contingency plans in this department," Rumsfeld said at a press conference with General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Iranian announcement is also a blow to International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei, who has been asked by the Security Council to report on Iranian compliance by April 28 and is also due to arrive in Tehran overnight Wednesday in a fresh bid to resolve tensions. Recommend It: Not at All Somewhat Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The ***************************************************************** 23 IRNA: West should have even-handed approach on nuclear issue : World Muslim Congress Islamabad, April 12, IRNA Pakistan-Iran The World Muslim Congress on Wednesday called on the West to adopt an even-handed approach to Iran and other countries' nuclear programs. In an interview with IRNA here, World Muslim Congress Secretary-General Mohammad Raja Raja Zafarul Haq said that Iran had the right to develop a nuclear program for peaceful purposes, adding that there was a need to adopt a bipartisan policy on the issue. The congress leader, referring to Iran's announcement on a breakthrough achieved in its uranium enrichment program, contended that peaceful use of nuclear technology was Iran's right as with any other country. "Selective approach has always led to complications. Therefore, the West should follow an even-handed policy to make the world peaceful," he urged. Not a single voice has been raised about Israel's nuclear arms stockpile while on the other hand continuous pressuere is being exerted on the Islamic Republic of Iran, he said. This is something uncalled for keeping in view Iran's assurances that its program is for peaceful purposes, he added. He pointed out that the West has been silent on Israel's role in the proliferation of nuclear technology while Pakistan's Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan had been bashed out as he belonged to a Muslim country. The congress leader was of the view that Israel's policies and weapons posed a constant threat to peace in the Middle East. Raja Zafar, in response to a question, said that the efforts of Russia and China aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the nuclear standoff were extremely encouraging. "The best option to address such issues is dialogue," he said. Referring to the India-US nuclear deal, he said that such development reflected the West's application of double standards. "On the one hand, a country that has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is offered such a big package while on the other hand Pakistan is overlooked for being a Muslim country." He questioned the logic behind the US' silence on India's running 14 out of 22 nuclear reactors under its civilian nuclear program. ***************************************************************** 24 IRNA: Advanced nuclear technology will sustain development - Aqazadeh - Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi Prov, April 11, IRNA Iran-Aqazadeh-Nuclear energy Iran Atomic Energy Organization head Gholam-Reza Aqazadeh said here Tuesday that with Iran's development of advanced nuclear technology the way has been paved for sustainable progress and development. Iran has enriched uranium by up to 3.5 percent in its Natanz facility thanks to the efforts of its talented youth, he said in a report on Iran's nuclear activities. "Iran is determined to move forward in the peaceful use of nuclear technology given the importance of nuclear science and technology in meeting scientific, economic and social requirements and for sustainable development, in general, which is the basis of a country's strength," he added. He said that generation of electricity from nuclear power is among the macro plans of the Islamic Republic of Iran and that a law had been passed by Majlis enjoining the IAEO to construct a 20,000-megawatt nuclear power plant. "A contract was signed and executed with Russia to complete the first phase of the 1,000mw Bushehr power plant to meet part of the country's energy requirements," he added. On the progress of construction of the power plant, he said that as of the end of Iranian calendar year 1384 (ended March 20, 2006) 91.9 percent of construction had been completed. We hope a test-run can be conducted in the current year, he added. He disclosed that Iranian experts have now begun construction plans for a 360mw power plant in line with the progress achieved in the country's nuclear power program. In addition, construction of two 1,000mw units will be put to international tender during the current Iranian year, he said. "The country's increasing need for nuclear medicine for diagnosis and treatment of diseases as well as various kinds of radioactive isotopes for industrial and research purposes and restrictions currently imposed on the country in acquiring these from foreign sources have forced Iranian officials to convert an old reactor with a research reactor," he explained. "The new 40,000mw heavy water research reactor, known as R-R-40, will be inaugurated in 2008." Aqazadeh stressed that self-sufficiency in the production of nuclear fuel is one of the macro plans of Iran. "The decision to construct various nuclear power plants which are to be operated under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) paves the way for the Islamic Republic of Iran to produce different kinds of nuclear fuel. "It is obvious, processing of uranium ore into uranium and its enrichment should be carried out only for nuclear fuel production. Iran is active in all processes of fuel production," he said. "The Bandar Abbas project inaugurated in the past few weeks by Iranian experts was an open display of Iran's nuclear activities aimed at producing enriched uranium using local resources. "In the Saqand project in Yazd, uranium was extracted from a depth of 350 meters which will be turned into yellowcake after undergoing various chemical and physical processes in Ardekan city in Yazd." The IAEO chief informed that the Isfahan uranium conversion facility (UCF) "turns yellowcake into uranium hexaflouride (UF6), which is metal uranium and uranium oxide. This UF6 is the main material for uranium enrichment in Natanz." "What is being carried out in Natanz is uranium enrichment needed to produce nuclear fuel for power plants using uranium enriched from 3.5 to 5 percent. "It is my pleasure to announce that 110 tons of UF6 have been produced in these important nuclear facilities. "Iran now ranks eighth in the list of countries with advanced technology for uranium processing," Aqazadeh said. He added: "Production of heavy water is one of the most complicated of modern technologies in the world and only a few countries have this capability. "Iran is in the primary works. Storage of the first phase of heavy water has been started. Final capacity of this important project is expected to hit 16 tons per year. "Uranium enrichment technology includes several engineering and basic sciences which only a few countries enjoy. The significance of this technology lies in the scientific and industrial progress that it will bring to the country. "With the grace of God, upon the inauguration of this complex pilot project and after testing of its processes and the technical and practical knowhow involved Iran will move on to uranium enrichment on an industrial scale. "This great success in the nuclear field is the result of the wise decisions and policies of high-ranking Iranian officials, who decided to lift their previous decision to suspend nuclear activities. "It shows how far the country can advance in nuclear knowhow through resistance to the illegitimate demands of others and the perseverance of its young, innovative experts." Aqazadeh concluded his report with the hope the uranium enrichment complex with a capacity of 3000 tons which is currently under construction will go on stream by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2007). News sent: 12:20 Wednesday April 12, 2006 Print ***************************************************************** 25 IRNA: Iran, eighth country possessing advanced nuclear technology - Tehran, April 12, IRNA Iran-Nuclear Deputy head of Iran' Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) for international affairs Mohammad Saeedi here Wednesday said that Iran is one of the few countries possessing various nuclear industries and declared that it has developed a set of advanced nuclear industries. Speaking to reporters about Iran's membership in the nuclear technology club and the states owning nuclear fuel cycle, the official said that the country's recent commissioning of 164 centrifuges is a great achievement. "The uranium enrichment facilities in Isfahan are considered as one of the nuclear industries based on advanced technology and Iran's access to the relevant technology has made it as the eighth world country possessing the industry. Saeedi pointed out that so far 110 tons of hexaflouride have been produced in Isfahan nuclear facilities. "Meanwhile, only seven countries access the technology of heavy water nuclear installations. Given the recent establishment of the industry in Iran, it is now taken as the eighth country possessing it. "A nuclear research reactor, which is currently being made in the central Iranian city of Arak will replace the current reactor in Tehran. It will operate with natural uranium fuel, which has been processed in Isfahan's uranium enrichment facilities," he added. Saeedi said that 16 tons of heavy water will be annually produced by Arak research reactor. The official said that the set of these industries is now complete, adding that many steps still remain to be taken and that it is necessary to get prepared for leaps in the relevant technology. ***************************************************************** 26 Guardian Unlimited: North Korea Still Won't Rejoin Talks From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday April 12, 2006 7:46 PM AP Photo SEL109 By KWANG-TAE KIM Associated Press Writer TOKYO (AP) - A barrage of diplomatic meetings in Japan have failed to win a commitment from North Korea to return to stalled six-party talks on dismantling its nuclear weapons program, officials said Wednesday. Representatives from the six nations - the United States, China, Russia, Japan and the two Koreas - held a series of meetings on the sidelines of an academic conference in Tokyo in hopes of reviving the nuclear negotiations. But as delegates prepared to leave Tokyo on Wednesday, some officials said the North Koreans were still refusing to rejoin the talks to protest U.S. sanctions imposed on North Korean companies for alleged financial crimes. Chinese chief negotiator Wu Dawei said before returning to Beijing that there was no possibility of a resumption of the talks by the end of April, saying the sanction issue was the chief stumbling block. ``We'll continue to make efforts,'' Wu said. ``At the moment, our prospects are still unclear.'' The chief U.S. negotiator on the North Korean nuclear issue, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, met with counterparts from Japan and South Korea on Wednesday and said that the five nations urging North Korea back to the talks were forming a common strategy. Hill said the decision was now up to North Korea. ``I think that the six-party talks are in everybody's interest including their interest, and I think they ought to make a decision to come back,'' Hill told reporters upon arrival in South Korea. South Korean chief negotiator Chun Young-woo, who also left Tokyo on Wednesday, said North Korea's linkage of the U.S. financial sanctions to the nuclear talks was not in Pyongyang's best interest. ``North Korea's position has not changed,'' Chun conceded. Speculation had been high that Hill would meet with the North Korean delegate, Kim Kye Gwan, but such an official meeting never materialized. The two had a brief encounter Tuesday, said Chun, but it was not a full meeting. Hill reiterated Wednesday that he was not in Tokyo to meet with the North Koreans. North Korea has refused to restart the talks unless the financial restrictions - imposed on a Macau bank and North Korean companies - are lifted. But Washington maintains the sanctions are unrelated to the nuclear talks and will stay in place. Hill on Tuesday said the U.S. had frozen some $24 million of the impoverished nation's holdings. The sanctions were imposed to counter alleged counterfeiting and other wrongdoing. This week's security meetings had raised hopes about the possibility of restarting talks that have been stalled since last year on ending North Korea's nuclear program in exchange for aid. Pyongyang has boycotted the six-party nuclear talks since November. Meanwhile, Hill described his Tuesday morning meeting with China's Wu Dawei as ``very excellent'' and said Beijing was committed to resolving the standoff through dialogue. Chun told reporters after meeting with Hill on Tuesday that North Korea seems to be considering talks, but that ``it is difficult to say at this point whether it will lead to a resumption.'' After arriving in Seoul later Wednesday, Chun said: ``North Korea is insisting that it won't return to the talks unless it withdraws its money from its (frozen) accounts. We have to see if the North will stick to that position or reconsider it based on the outcome of contacts with the representatives of other countries.'' Kim later met with the Japanese and said the two sides discussed ``how to break the nuclear deadlock,'' but declined to give any details. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 27 Guardian Unlimited: U.S. Envoy Not Hopeful on Korea Nuke Talks From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday April 12, 2006 1:01 AM By KWANG-TAE KIM Associated Press Writer TOKYO (AP) - The top U.S. negotiator on ending North Korea's nuclear program on Tuesday renewed his call for the country to rejoin six-party talks, but said after meeting officials from other key nations that he didn't expect it to happen soon. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill held a round of meetings with counterparts on the North Korea talks from Japan, South Korea and China on Tuesday on the sidelines of a security conference in Tokyo. ``My understanding is that the DPRK is still not willing to rejoin the six-party process,'' Hill told reporters late Tuesday. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. North Korea's delegate to the nuclear talks, Kim Kye Gwan, was also attending the conference. Hill denied reports he met with North Korean and Chinese nuclear envoys for talks on Tuesday evening. U.S. and North Korean officials have refused to confirm any official contact between the two sides. This week's security meetings had raised hopes about the possibility of restarting talks that have been stalled since last year on ending North Korea's nuclear program in exchange for aid. North Korea has boycotted the six-party nuclear talks since November, citing what it calls a hostile U.S. attitude illustrated by the sanctions it has imposed. North Korea's Kim said Monday he is prepared to meet bilaterally with the U.S., but has not backed away from his insistence that Pyongyang will return to the negotiating table only if the U.S. lifts financial sanctions. Washington maintains that sanctions on North Korean companies for alleged financial crimes are unrelated to the nuclear talks and will stay in place. Hill described his Tuesday morning meeting with China's top nuclear envoy, Wu Dawei, as ``very excellent'' and said Beijing was committed to resolving the standoff through dialogue. ``We discussed the way forward in the six-party process,'' Hill said, without giving details. ``We discussed some specific ideas about how we can make the process move ahead.'' Hill also met South Korea's Chun and Japan's Kenichiro Sasae. Chun told reporters after meeting with Hill that North Korea seems to be considering talks, but that ``it is difficult to say at this point whether it will lead to a resumption.'' The security conference's agenda will focus on energy, verification processes regarding the North's nuclear program and ways to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, according to the sponsors, University of California, San Diego. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 28 Las Vegas SUN: GAO: Alaska Contracts Ripe for Abuse April 11, 2006 By HOPE YEN ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) - From Iraq reconstruction to Hurricane Katrina, poor contracting oversight enables Alaska Native corporations to capitalize on multimillion-dollar no-bid deals at a potential cost to taxpayers and small businesses, a federal audit says. A draft report by the Government Accountability Office, obtained Tuesday, indicates gaps in the overseeing of federal contracts, which have boomed in recent years in part due to provisions backed by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. The review of 16 no-bid contracts found that administration agencies routinely picked Alaskan firms - which can be designated legally as "small and disadvantaged," regardless of their size - to bypass burdensome competition requirements and fill small business quotas. At the same time, government officials did little to determine if the Alaskan firms might be gaining an unfair competitive advantage or serving as illegal fronts for large businesses that were doing a majority of the work. "There is clearly potential unintended consequences or abuse," said the GAO report, which was being circulated for comment and possible revision before its expected release later this month. It quoted unnamed agency officials who called the process an "open checkbook" and said they would be "laughed out of the office" if they raised compliance concerns. They include a $145 million State Department contract with Kuk Construction LLC, which is working in a joint venture for security work with Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown &Root, which has separately been criticized for no-bid work in Iraq. Another questionable contract was a $60 million NASA contract for technical services with Akima Corp., recently cited separately by auditors for inflated prices for Hurricane Katrina classroom work. Raul Cisneros, a spokesman for the Small Business Administration, which has primary responsibility for certifying Alaskan firms and monitoring their contracts, responded that the SBA is still reviewing the draft report. The agency will submit its comments to the GAO "by April 19 as they required." "We trust the GAO will consider our comments before the report is released," Cisneros said. Rep. Tom Davis, chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, said his panel would hold a hearing in June to investigate possible fraud and waste in the Alaska contracts. The committee already has planned a separate hearing on Katrina contracting in the coming weeks. "The potential for abuse with these contracts is, and has been, a concern," said Robert White, spokesman for Davis, who requested the GAO audit. Created under a 1971 law aimed at resolving historical land disputes, Alaska Native companies have picked up more no-bid government work in recent years as dwindling, time-strapped agency staffs turned to them as a way to fulfill small business goals. From 2000 to 2004, the number of ANC contracts awarded jumped fourfold to $1.1 billion, of which 77 percent were awarded without competition. The firms have won contracts to train security guards in Iraq, maintain scanning machines at ports and borders and operate search-and-rescue boats in the South Pacific. ANCs enjoy several contracting privileges that were written into law partly at the behest of Stevens, the powerful Senate Appropriations member and former chairman who has helped make Alaska one of the top recipients of federal largesse. The companies, for example, are exempted from a $5 million cap on no-bid contracts imposed on other small and disadvantaged firms, and they don't have to be run by Native Alaskans. Profits go to shareholders and the Alaskan community in the form of dividends, scholarships, jobs and training. Stevens and the Native Alaskans have said they receive preferential treatment to improve the lives of their community. But in the GAO report, auditors said they found no evidence that the SBA or the contracting agencies were effectively monitoring ANC's subcontracting arrangements with large firms to see if ANCs were the ones getting the primary benefits. Agencies also told auditors that they often awarded ANC contracts - including one $80 million construction agreement with the Energy Department - based on an understanding that it subcontract with large firms the government actually wanted. "As a result, there is an increased risk that an inappropriate degree of the work is being done by large businesses rather than by the ANC firm," the GAO draft report said. On the Net: Government Accountability Office: http://www.gao.gov Native American Contractors Association: http://www.nativeamericancontractors.org/ All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 29 News Press: Guadalupe Catholic Worker Witness Against Vandenberg Reagan Missiles Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 05:43:42 -0700 (PDT) http://us.i1.yimg.com Nice job to Guadalupe Catholic Worker and Supporters in witnessing for peace at this unfortunate and mis(sile) guided event. Vandenberg honors Reagan NORA K. WALLACE, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER Twenty-three years after President Ronald Reagan urged the creation of a missile defense system, his widow came to Vandenberg Air Force Base -- where interceptors are now poised to shoot down incoming enemy missiles -- to remember his pledge and dedicate a silo complex in his honor. Nancy Reagan, wearing a pale orange dress and looking frail, was joined by a host of dignitaries at the early-afternoon ceremony Monday in Vandenberg's hangar. The Ronald W. Reagan Missile Defense Site at Vandenberg includes a complex with four silos housing two interceptor missiles. The missiles would be used to shoot down incoming intercontinental missiles fired at the United States. Vandenberg's long-range missiles are a key element of the government's current ballistic missile defense system, along with nine interceptors at Fort Greely, Alaska. About 500 uniformed Air Force members and d ignitaries gathered to unveil the 3-foot-tall bronze b ust of Mr. Reagan atop an almost-5-foot-tall stand. Mrs. Reagan, 84, did not speak, but she issued a statement."It is a pleasure for me to help dedicate the Ronald W. Reagan Missile Defense Site at Vandenberg Air Force Base," she said in the statement. "Ronnie felt so strongly that a security shield should be developed that destroys weapons, not people. He would be honored that this site, overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean that he loved so much, will be a testament to his commitment to security and peace for America and the free world." A gigantic American flag served as a backdrop, with a mock missile to the side of the podium and a slide show playing photographs of Mr. Reagan throughout his presidency. He first championed a missile defense system in 1983 and established the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization.Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, vice commander of Air Force Space Command, said the missile interceptor system is an essential tool in the nation's arsenal for protect ing and defending the U.S. and its allies. "America is safer because of the missile defense capabilities President Reagan bequeathed to us at Fort Greely and here at Vandenberg," Gen. Klotz said. Mr. Reagan's vision lives on, he said, as the nation faces new challenges and threats in a post-Sept. 11 world. Vandenberg's site, he added, "postures us for success today and against challenges we cannot begin to predict." The plaque dedicated Monday contains an excerpt from a speech Mr. Reagan gave in 1983, in which he said: "Wouldn't it be better to save lives than to avenge them? Are we not capable of demonstrating our peaceful intentions by applying all of our abilities and our ingenuity to achieving a truly lasting stability? I think we are indeed. Indeed, we must." The development of the missile defense system, which has included periodic test launches at Vandenberg since 1999, costs more than $10 billion annually. Critics call it a boondog gle that is unreliable and unlikely to work when needed, while supporters say the system furthers Mr. Reagan's national defense policy of "peace through strength." Former Gov. Pete Wilson, who now serves on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, said the Strategic Defense Initiative was a product of Mr. Reagan's "vision and courage of his convictions." "He understood that 'peace through strength' cannot be just a slogan; it must be credible," Mr. Wilson said. Before the ceremony, four protesters stood at Vandenberg's main gate, with signs condemning the system nicknamed "Star Wars." Dennis Apel, of the Guadalupe Catholic Workers, said he doesn't agree with the concept of missile defense." The missile defense system is very expensive, and it doesn't work," Mr. Apel said. "We had to abrogate the ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) Treaty in order to do it." But he said it is appropriate that Mr. Reagan's name is attached t o the site. "I think the program is more of an indictment of his thinking than it is an honor," he said. At least five Air Force personnel monitored the protest with still and video cameras. Stephen Young, a senior analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, D.C., said the system in place now will never be able to defend the U.S. against a realistic attack from long-range missiles. There are too many "easy" ways to foil the system, Mr. Young said Monday morning. "President Reagan offered the U.S. a fantasy vision that was never possible," said Mr. Young. "All of our scientists knew it was a perfect fantasy to have a perfect shield. It's not possible. There are too many problems to have a perfect shield. What the U.S. is putting in the field these days is a far less grand vision, designed to defend against a very limited attack." Missile defense, he said, is also the least likely method of attack for an e nemy in today's world. "Why would anyone attack us when we can tell precisely where it came from?" he said. "We know where and who launched it and can simply take that country off the face of the Earth. They could put it on a boat and ship it into Los Angeles or New York harbor and we'd never know where it came from." The union estimates the U.S. has spent $100 billion on missile defense since the Reagan era. "And that's on a system that's never going to work," Mr. Young added. Vandenberg's two $30 million missile interceptors are in retrofitted silos on the northern end of the coastline. The 60-ton rockets contain two "kill vehicles" that are designed to smash into an incoming ballistic missile at 15,000 mph. Also attending the ceremony were former San Francisco 49er linebacker Riki Ellison, president of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance; Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska; and Gordon England, deputy secretary of defense. www.newspress.com/ ***************************************************************** 30 Santa Maria Times: Missile Facilities Named for Reagan Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 06:12:24 -0700 (PDT) http://www.santamariatimes.com Photos by Ed Souza/Staff Former First Lady Nancy Reagan is escorted by, from left, Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, USAF Vice Commander, Air Force Sp ace Command and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), at ceremonies Monday at Vandenberg Air Force Base dedicating the Ronald W. Reagan Missile Defense Site. The bust of Ronald Reagan, above, sits on the podium after a ceremony at Vandenberg Air Force Base dedicated its missile defense site in his name. Missile facilities named for Reagan By Janene Scully/Associate Editor With former First Lady Nancy Reagan on hand, Vandenberg Air Force Base missile defense facilities were named Monday in honor of her late husband, who was praised as a visionary for spurring the system's development. The afternoon dedication ceremony occurred in a hangar at Vandenberg's airfield, several miles away from four underground silos on North Base. Due to rainy weather, officials moved the ceremony inside, where 500 people gathered near two huge posters of former President Ronald Reagan, a gigantic American flag, and a missile interceptor on display. “His leadership and determination will continue to be a source of inspiration and strength to us, just as the interceptors that are standing watch at the Ronald W. Reagan Missile Defense Site will continue to be a source of security for the American people for years and years to come,” said Lt. Gen. Henry “Trey” Obering, Missile Defense Agency director. Vandenberg is one of two sites for Ground-based Midcourse Defense interceptors, missiles that are designed to shoot down other long-range ballistic missiles. Midway through the ceremony, the former first lady, lookin g frail, and Obering removed a cloth that had drap ed the bust of Ronald W. Reagan, eliciting applause from the audience of military members and civilians. Then the voice of the 40th president was played over loudspeakers, vocalizing the statement written on a plaque displayed with the bust. That bust and its podium, together standing about 7 feet tall, will be moved to the Del Puente viewing site, which overlooks North Base missile silos. Two of those silos hold ground-based interceptors while a pair of others will be used for missile defense system testing. Nancy Reagan also was presented with a model of the “kill vehicle,” the high-tech interceptor that rides aboard the U.S. missile and rams the enemy warhead to bring it down. She didn't speak at the ceremony, but released a written statement. “ Ronnie felt so strongly that a security shield should be developed that destroys weapons, not people,” her statement said. “He would be honored that this site overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean that he loved so much, will be a testament to his commitment to security and peace for America and the free world.” Speaking on her behalf during the ceremony, former U.S. senator and ex-California governor Pete Wilson noted that Cold War-era defense policy was based on “mutually assured destruction” - relying on other nations not launching a first strike out of fear that the United States would respond fiercely. Reagan's relentless pursuit of a missile defense system was based on a belief that it's better to save lives than to avenge them, Wilson said. “This missile defense site postures us for success today and against challenges we cannot yet beg in to predict,” said Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz , who leads Air Force Space Command. Others who spoke during the hour-long ceremony included Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England; U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, a Republican from Alaska; and Riki Ellison, president and founder of the Missile Defense Agency Alliance and a former player with the San Francisco 49ers. In 1983, during his first term, Reagan called for the devel opment of a Strategic Defense Initiative, a system to protect against a limited long-range ballistic missile attack. Foes dubbed the system “Star Wars” and doubted it would work. The Defense Department pushed on, developing today's Ground-based Missile Defense System. Two interceptors at Vandenberg, nine at Fort Greely, Alaska, and a network of radars and sensors along with communication equipment comprise today's system. Reagan predicted that f ailures and setbacks would occur during the system's development, but he also expected technological breakthroughs, Obering said. “We have proven what President Reagan knew all along - that a defense against nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles is possible,” Obering added. But critics also say the system will launch a new arms race, that it violates international treaties and that it is outmoded in today's climate of terrorism. A handful of protesters took up position at Vandenberg's main gate Monday to again lodge their objections to the system. The system recently drew the spotlight of the General Accounting Office, which noted that costs had climbed to $7.7 billion, about a $1 billion more than expected, and that the project had fallen behind schedule. Jan ene Scully can be reached at 739-2214 or janscully@santamariatimes.com. April 11, 2006 ***************************************************************** 31 Bush: Setting The Record Straight: The Washington Post's Reckless Reporting On WMD Claims For Immediate Release April 12, 2006 [Fact sheet] Setting the Record Straight "I will point out that the reporting I saw this morning was simply reckless and it was irresponsible. The lead in The Washington Post left the impression for the reader that the President was saying something he knew at the time not to be true. The President's statements were based on the joint assessment of the CIA and DIA that was publicly released the day before [the President made his statements]." -Scott McClellan, White House Press Briefing April 12, 2006 The Washington Post Implies President Bush Made Iraqi WMD Claims He Knew Had Already Been Proven False The Washington Post: "On May 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his administration in Iraq: Two small trailers captured by U.S. and Kurdish troops had turned out to be long-sought mobile 'biological laboratories.' He declared, 'We have found the weapons of mass destruction.' The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, U.S. intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true." (Joby Warrick, "Lacking Biolabs, Trailers Carried Case For War," The Washington Post, 4/12/06) + Then, ABC News Irresponsibly Mischaracterizes The Washington Post's Report: "They'd found a couple trailers that he said actually were the mobile biological laboratories that he said showed that they were indeed developing WMD, and The Washington Post has a story today that says the President knew at the time that was not true." (ABC's "Good Morning America," 4/12/06) But The CIA And DIA Had Jointly Assessed At The Time That The Labs Were For Producing Biological Weapons The President's Comments Followed The Intelligence Assessment Of The CIA And The DIA That Was Publicly Released Just One Day Earlier. + CIA/DIA Report (May 28, 2003): "Coalition forces have uncovered the strongest evidence to date that Iraq was hiding a biological warfare program. ... US forces in late April also discovered a mobile laboratory truck in Baghdad. The truck is a toxicology laboratory from the 1980s that could be used to support BW or legitimate research. The design, equipment, and layout of the trailer found in late April is strikingly similar to descriptions provided by a source who was a chemical engineer that managed one of the mobile plants." ("Iraqi Mobile Biological Warfare Agent Production Plants," Central Intelligence Agency And Defense Intelligence Agency, 5/28/03) + View The Entire CIA/DIA Report At: http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/iraqi_mobile_plants/paper_w.pdf. + U.S. Intelligence Official: "'We are highly confident that the coalition forces in Iraq have discovered ... a mobile biological production plant,' a U.S. intelligence official, not identified by the CIA, said via conference call." (Michelle Mittelstadt, "U.S. Officials 'Confident' Mobile Labs Were Intended For Biological Weapons Production," The Dallas Morning News, 5/29/03) The CIA/DIA Report Was Only Later Determined To Be Wrong By The Robb/Silberman WMD Commission And The Iraq Survey Group. (Commission On The Intelligence Capabilities Of The United States Regarding Weapons Of Mass Destruction, "Report To The President," 3/31/05) The Administration Has Repeatedly Acknowledged Intelligence Problems And Has Taken Multiple Steps To Address Them The President Supported The Work Of The 9/11 Commission And The Robb/Silberman Commission. The White House provided the 9/11 Commission with unprecedented access, including providing close to 1,000 interviews with Administration officials and making available 2.3 million pages of documents for the Commission's review. The Administration Has Taken Action On Most Of The 9/11 Commission's Recommendations That Apply To The Executive Branch. + Appointing The Director Of National Intelligence. President Bush signed into law the landmark Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which overhauls the intelligence community, mandating a range of reforms and centralizing in one office key authorities. The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) serves as President Bush's principal intelligence advisor and the leader of the Intelligence Community. The Washington Post Bases Its Claim On A Defense Department Field Report The Washington Post: "A secret fact-finding mission to Iraq - not made public until now - had already concluded that the trailers had nothing to do with biological weapons. Leaders of the Pentagon-sponsored mission transmitted their unanimous findings to Washington in a field report on May 27, 2003, two days before the president's statement." (Joby Warrick, "Lacking Biolabs, Trailers Carried Case For War," The Washington Post, 4/12/06) But The Defense Department Field Report Was A "Preliminary Finding" U.S. Intelligence Official: "You Don't Change A Report That Has Been Coordinated In The [Intelligence] Community Based On A Field Report.""A U.S. intelligence official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, confirmed the existence of the field report cited by the Post, but said it was a preliminary finding that had to be evaluated. 'You don't change a report that has been coordinated in the [intelligence] community based on a field report,' the official said. 'It's a preliminary report. No matter how strongly the individual may feel about the subject matter.'" ("White House Hotly Denies Report On Iraq WMD," Reuters, 4/12/06) The Washington Post Cites Iraqi WMD Evidence As The Only Reason Offered By President Bush For Unseating Saddam Hussein The Washington Post: "The trailers - along with aluminum tubes acquired by Iraq for what was claimed to be a nuclear weapons program - were primary pieces of evidence offered by the Bush administration before the war to support its contention that Iraq was making weapons of mass destruction." (Joby Warrick, "Lacking Biolabs, Trailers Carried Case For War," The Washington Post, 4/12/06) But The President Provided Many Other Reasons For Liberating Iraq 1. Saddam Hussein Violated United Nations Security Council Resolutions. + President Bush Says The United Nations Must Hold Saddam Hussein Accountable. PRESIDENT BUSH: "No, he's a threat. And that's why I went to the United Nations. I went to the United Nations because, I said to that august body, you need to hold this man to account." (President Bush, Remarks In South Dakota Welcome, Sioux Falls, SD, 11/3/02) + PRESIDENT BUSH: "The United States Is Also Showing Our Commitment To Effective International Institutions." "In confronting Iraq, the United States is also showing our commitment to effective international institutions. ... We believe in the Security Council - so much that we want its words to have meaning. ... High-minded pronouncements against proliferation mean little unless the strongest nations are willing to stand behind them - and use force if necessary." (President Bush, Remarks On The Future Of Iraq, Washington, D.C., 2/26/03) 2. Patrolling The UN-Mandated No-Fly Zone, U.S. And Coalition Forces Were Regularly Attacked. + PRESIDENT BUSH: "A Regime That Fires Upon American And British Pilots Is Not Taking The Path Of Compliance." (President Bush, Remarks At Signing Of The National Defense Authorization Act, Arlington, VA, 12/2/02) 3. Saddam Hussein Brutalized Iraq's Civilian Population. + PRESIDENT BUSH: The United States Must Not Leave Saddam Hussein's "Torture Chambers And Poison Labs In Operation." (President Bush, Remarks On The Future Of Iraq, Washington, D.C., 2/26/03) 4. Saddam Hussein Supported And Harbored Terrorist Organizations. + President Bush Said That By Ending Saddam Hussein's Support For Terrorism, The United States Would Help "Begin A New Stage For Middle Eastern Peace" And "Deprive Terrorist Networks Of A Wealthy Patron That Pays For Terrorist Training, And Offers Rewards To Families Of Suicide Bombers." (President Bush, Remarks On The Future Of Iraq, Washington, D.C., 2/26/03) 5. Saddam Hussein Had A History Of Pursuing And Using WMD. + President Bush Cites Saddam Hussein's Use Of Weapons Of Mass Destruction Against His Own People. PRESIDENT BUSH: "Fifteen years ago, Saddam Hussein's regime ordered a chemical weapons attack on a village in Iraq called Halabja. With that single order, the regime killed thousands of Iraq's Kurdish citizens. ... The chemical attack on Halabja - just one of 40 targeted at Iraq's own people - provided a glimpse of the crimes Saddam Hussein is willing to commit, and the kind of threat he now presents to the entire world." (President Bush, Radio Address, 3/15/03) 6. Removing Saddam Hussein Brought Freedom To The Heart Of The Middle East. + PRESIDENT BUSH: "Acting Against The Danger Will Also Contribute Greatly To The Long-Term Safety And Stability Of Our World. The Current Iraqi Regime Has Shown The Power Of Tyranny To Spread Discord And Violence In The Middle East. A Liberated Iraq Can Show The Power Of Freedom To Transform That Vital Region, By Bringing Hope And Progress Into The Lives Of Millions. America's Interests In Security, And America's Belief In L iberty, Both Lead In The Same Direction: To A Free And Peaceful Iraq." (President Bush, Remarks On The Future Of Iraq, Washington, D.C., 2/26/03) Numerous Democrats Agreed Iraq Possessed WMD And Saw Saddam Hussein As A Threat Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY): "In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al-Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons." (Sen. Hillary Clinton, Congressional Record, 10/10/02, p. S10288) Sen. John Kerry (D-MA): "When I vote to give the president of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security...." (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 10/9/02, p. S10174) + Sen. John Kerry (D-MA): "[W]ithout question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction. So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real." (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 1/23/03) Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA): "We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." (Sen. Edward Kennedy, Remarks At The Johns Hopkins School Of Advanced International Studies, 9/27/02) Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV): "The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..." ("Threats And Responses," The New York Times, 10/4/02) Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV): "There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction." (Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Congressional Record, 10/10/02, p. S10305) Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI): "We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandated of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them." (Sen. Carl Levin, Committee On Armed Services, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 9/19/02) Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): "Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process. The responsibility of the United States in this conflict is to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, to minimize the danger to our troops and to diminish the suffering of the Iraqi people." (Rep. Nancy Pelosi, "Statement On U.S. Led Military Strike Against Iraq," Press Release, 12/16/98) Former President Bill Clinton: "One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line." ("US: Clinton Says Diplomatic Solution Preferable In Iraq," AAP Newsfeed, 2/5/98) Former Vice President Al Gore: "We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." (Former Vice President Al Gore, Remarks At The Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, CA, 9/23/02) # # # ***************************************************************** 32 Pahrump Valley Times: Group protests bomb test April 12, 2006 AIRBORNE TOXINS A CONCERN By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An environmental and anti-nuclear group is calling on federal officials to cancel plans to detonate 700 tons of explosives at the Nevada Test Site in an experiment designed to study ground motion and shock waves. The test, dubbed "Divine Strake" by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, is an environmental threat because it could release into the air surface contamination from previous atomic bomb tests, said Citizen Alert, a Nevada advocacy group. The group is one of several to oppose the test since a Defense Department official stirred controversy last week by saying the June 2 explosion would create "a mushroom cloud over Las Vegas." Federal officials have since retracted the statement, and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev, said he's been assured the test would use only conventional explosives and no nuclear materials. While it would create a large dust cloud, the cloud was not expected to be visible off the Nevada Test Site, Reid said. Pahrump is a mere 30 miles from the Test Site; Amargosa Valley borders the expansive government facility. Citizen Alert Executive Director Peggy Maze Johnson on Friday called on the agency that runs the test site, the National Nuclear Security Administration, to give the public a chance to comment on the blast by conducting a formal environmental impact statement. Test Site spokesman Darwin Morgan said the Divine Strake experiment will not disperse surface contamination left over from aboveground nuclear weapons tests conducted in the 1950s and 1960s. He said the nearest ground-zero areas of known contamination are three to six miles away from the Divine Strake location, which is in Area 16 of the sprawling, 1,375-square-mile site. Morgan said the experiment is being conducted under the terms of an existing air permit from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. "Because the site is located just eight miles from Yucca Flat, the location of hundreds of nuclear tests over the last 50 years, there is the real possibility that previous radioactive contamination now sitting at the (Nevada Test Site) could be excited and thrown into the atmosphere," Maze Johnson said in a statement. For comment or questions, please e-mail Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2006 ***************************************************************** 33 Bellona: Norway releases funding for AMEC sub transportation in a victory for Bellona The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a victory for Bellona and the environment, has finally released funding to Norway’s Ministry of Defence to transport a dilapidated, decommissioned Russian November class submarine to dismantlement in a project that will cost the Norwegian Government NOK 20m, or some $3m, NRK television reported. A side view of the dilapidated K-60 (front) at mooring at Gremikha. Dockside Charles Digges, 2006-04-12 12:44 The funding—which hung on the nod by Norway’s nuclear regulatory agency, NRPA and the Foreign Affairs Ministry—only covers the transportation phase of the project. But it is still a major achievement that the Foreign Affairs Ministry has agreed to this phase of the task when its purse strings seemed so tightly wound just earlier this year. Norwegian participation in AMEC could be dissolved In a surprise development, the Arctic Military Environmental Co-operation (AMEC) group—long seen as the environmental conscience of US, Norwegian and Russian nuclear dismantlement efforts in Russia, providing safe temporary storage of spent naval nuclear fuel—may no longer include Norway, AMEC representatives from that country said. In the opinion of many close observers, the Foreign Affairs Ministry feels it should be the primary representative of nuclear remediation projects in Russia, and that the hold up in funding was a result of internal government dissonance with the Arctic Military Environmental Co-operation (AMEC) group. At issue is the solving of a possible dispute between the Foreign affairs Ministry and the Defence Ministry, which administers Norway’s participation in AMEC. The United States, Russia and the UK are also members of this group, which is widely viewed as the environmental conscience of the Pentagon-run Co-operative Threat Reduction (CTR) programme. The release of funding is a victory both for environmental saftey and for AMEC, of which Norway, the United States, Russia and the United Kingdom are members. The project to transport the submarine, known as the K-60—which is now located at the semi-operational Kola Peninsula port of Gremikha—to dismantlement, had previously been held up, according to AMEC officials, because the Norwegian Foreign Ministry would not release funding for the unique project. Yet the project with the K-60 could be Norway’s swan-song in AMEC involvement given earlier disputes not only within its own government, but waves made by AMEC’s newest Member, the UK, which publicised a highly critical and divisive document of Norway and the United States’ handling of their AMEC projects during principles’ meeting last year. As a result, Norway and particularly the United States took issue with the UK’s handling of its AMEC projects—saying that the military to military arrangement of AMEC was becoming subject to commercial forces due to the UK’s reliance on RWE NUKEN, a private British contractor. Russia has meanwhile watched on in concern that Norway and other AMEC partners would abandon it because of the perceived divisive roll the UK is playing. But for now, accord has been reached, and, according to AMEC co-chair Ingerd Kroken, agreement for at least the transportation of the vessel via a heavy life ship is at hand. A submarine being hauled by one of Dockside’s heavy lift vessels. Dockside The Transportation of the K-60 The K-60, by all accounts, represents one of the most dilapidated submarines in the Northern Fleet. Rusted throughout, it cannot be transported on its own hull, even with the support of pontoons. Therefore, according to project director Thor Engøy, it will be transported in a heavy transport vessel. The vessel has been secured by Norway for use from the Dutch firm Dockwise. According to Engøy, the heavy transport vessel has the ability to submerge its specially fitted deck beneath the K-60 and then blow its ballast tanks and rise again to the surface with the K-60 secured in special above-water cradles for its fragile hull. The transport vessel will then continue from Gremikha to Polyarny near Murmansk were it will be de-fueled and dismantled. Securing the funding to move this dangerous vessel from the Foreign Affairs Ministry is a great triumph both for Bellona and AMEC alike. Publisher: , President: Information: , Technical contact: Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway ***************************************************************** 34 Xinhua: NATO not to deploy nuclear weapons in Bulgaria: official www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2006-04-12 19:18:03 SOFIA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), will not deploy nuclear weapons in Bulgaria, a Bulgarian newspaper reported on Wednesday. The alliance had no plans to deploy nuclear weapons at the U.S. military bases in Bulgaria, the daily paper quoted Gay Roberts, deputy assistant to NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, as saying. NATO members would meet to discuss the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons on Bulgaria's territory in the case of a major crisis he said, adding that it must get approval from the Bulgarian government in advance. Under an agreement to be signed by Bulgaria and the United States later this month, the U.S. military would be able to use three Bulgarian military bases in central Bulgaria for ten years. It also allows the U.S. use of a storage facility at Aitos near Bulgaria's port of Burgas. Parliamentarians from the Socialist party, a partner of the ruling coalition, had called for long-term inspections of the planned U.S. bases to ensure that they would not jeopardize Bulgaria's national security. Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004 along with six other east European countries in the bloc's latest expansion, raising its number of members from 19 to 26. Enditem Editor: Yang Lei Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 35 Guardian Unlimited: Radioactive Water Leak at Japan Nuke Plant From the Associated Press [UP] Wednesday April 12, 2006 11:31 AM By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press Writer TOKYO (AP) - Water containing radioactive material has leaked at an experimental nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in northern Japan, but no radioactivity was released into the atmosphere and no one was exposed to radiation, the operator announced Wednesday. About 10.5 gallons of water containing plutonium and other radioactive material leaked inside a compound at the plant in Rokkasho on Tuesday, said Yukio Takahashi, spokesman for Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. The accident was caused when a robotic arm mistakenly loosened a plug in a container filled with the water, he said. ``It happened inside an enclosed space and there's no danger outside the building,'' Takahashi said. ``Today, it's back to business as usual.'' The accident came less than two weeks after the reprocessing plant started test operations after being delayed by an earlier accident and strident public opposition. The Rokkasho plant, 360 miles northeast of Tokyo, will eventually produce MOX fuel, a uranium-plutonium mixture. The fuel is central to Japan's plans to reduce its dependence on energy imports by building so-called fast-breeder reactors, which produce plutonium that can then be reused as fuel. Japan's 52 active nuclear plants already supply more than a third of its energy, and the government has said it wants to raise that to nearly 40 percent by 2010. The country's nuclear power industry, however, has been plagued by safety problems and shutdowns in recent years, including a 1999 reprocessing plant accident outside Tokyo that killed two workers and exposed hundreds to radioactivity. In 2004, five workers were killed when a corroded pipe at a reactor in western Japan ruptured and sprayed plant workers with boiling water and steam in the country's worst-ever nuclear plant accident. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006 ***************************************************************** 36 Interfax: Belarus wants international cooperation on Chernobyl aftermath Interfax.com Text version Site map Apr 12 2006 12:27PM MINSK. April 12 (Interfax) - Belarus is prepared for mutually advantageous cooperation with foreign states in overcoming the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, Belarussian House of Representatives Chairman Vladimir Konoplyov said. "Millions or our fellow-countrymen who suffered from the Chernobyl disaster should be confident about their tomorrow. They need legal, social, and medical protection," Konoplyov said opening parliamentary hearings on the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster on Wednesday. The speaker pointed out that the disaster led to the radioactive pollution of "a quarter of the country's [Belarus'] territory, every fifth resident of the republic was affected, and the aggregate damage from the catastrophe amounted to 32 yearly budgets at the 1985 level," he said. © 1991-2006 Interfax All rights reserved ***************************************************************** 37 Bellona: Chernyobyl-like slovenliness today: RTGs are being vandalized near Norilsk At the end of March near Norilsk in the Krasnoyarsk region four of eight unguarded Radioisotope Thermo-electric Generators (RTGs) with strontium-90 power cores were dismantled by non-ferrous metals scavengers. Bellona learned of the incident from local residents. Another abandoned RTG — at Shalaurov Island in Chukotka. Radiation levels exceed those considered the accepted norm by 30 times. The photo was made by Russian wireless enthusiasts in summer 2005. www.r0k.ru Rashid Alimov, Vera Ponomareva, 2006-04-12 16:24 Because of a lack of funds at the end of 2005 during the transfer of a branch of military guard 96211 from territory occupied 60 kilometers to the south of Norilsk, the RTGs were left without any kind of human protection. The vandalism of the units was discovered only at the end of March, but no official announcement was made. According to some sources, the RTGs are still unguarded even now. Vladimir Chuprov, from Greenpeace Russia, said: “The incident at Chernobyl was most likely the result of the so-called ‘human factor’. What is happening now near Norilsk shows that the atomic sphere, where any mistake runs an extremely high cost, can not be protected from similar slovenlinessand Chernobyl-like absentmindedness threatens us even 20 years after that disaster.” Greenpeace and Bellona learned of the incident from local residents. Today Bellona has sent an official inquiry about the measures being undertaken by the General Prosecutor’s office and the Military Prosecutor of Siberia’s Military region to deal with the consequences of the incident. Each RTG has a capsule of highly active strontium-90a radioisotopic heat source. A large number of RTGs were manufactured between 1960 and 1980 to operate lighthouses situated along unpopulated coastlines. Today, when strontium can easily end up in the hands of terrorists and thus be employed in a dirty bombs, this is an unacceptable security sitation. With the help of western nations, Russia is decommissioning these devices. Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators Bellona's updated working paper: all most recent incidents involving RTGs in one table, new international efforts and plans for RTGs decommissioning. The list of incidents with RTGs—including the leakage of strontium into the environment in 2004 at Cape Navarin—have been included in a working document produced by Bellona. The VNIITFA Commission A commission of the The All Russian Institute of Technical Physics and Automation (VNIITFA in its Russian acronym), which developed RTGs in 1960 and 1980s, is expected to arrive in Norilsk. However, no concrete agreement for their arrival has been reached. “The negotiations on the export of these RTGs are being carried out, and we are ready to transport them, but the question is when the organization that has been exploiting the materials can pay for the work,” said Anatoly Platov of VNIITFA in an interview with Bellona Web. “The question is only now being decided, but the RTGs need to be removed immediately. If this continues then by the summer they will all have been dismantled and vandalized,” according to a local resident in conversation with Bellona Web. Eight unguarded RTGs of the Gorn type compose the Gletcher energy complex. Every RTG of the Gorn type has a thermal capacity of 1100 watts, and an electricity-producing output of 60 watts. The radioisotope source of heat possesses 170,000 curies of radioactivity. In the branch of the military unit 96211 (the central office of the unit is located close to Dubna in the Moscow region) these RTGs, installed in 1992, were used for fueling special equipment. In answer to the question about radiation background level near the RTGs Platov said: “Judging by the photographs, which were given to us, these RTGs don’t present any danger. But we once again stress the fact that we have not been there yet.” “Such instances [of vandalism and metal scavenging] do not occur very often, they are rare, but they do happen. Each time all depends on the level of education of those who are responsible for their dismantling and theft.” 500 Meters According to the data received by Bellona Web from sources in Norilsk, metal thieves have removed the metal protective covering of the RTGs and left the strontium in place. In November 2003 in the Murmansk Region, metal thieves disposed of the strontium capsules after disassembling RTGs of the Beta-M type. At that time the Murmansk administration released a statement that the strontium capsules “were the source of heightened radiation risk with the capacity to spread harmful in the amount of 1000 rentgoens per hour. The presence of animal or human population within a 500 meter radius presents a serious health risk, and even the possibility of death.” The activity of the radioisotope heat source in Gorn RTGs, of the type vandalized near Norlisk, is almost 5 times higher than in Beta-M RTGs. According to Norilsk officials, the thieves, who apparently used cross-country vehicles to reach the RTGs, where detained and criminal charges have been filed. Defense Ministry: a state within a state “I haven’t been informed [that RTGs were vandalized]. I have information, that within 60 kilometres of Norilsk, where a closed military unit had been situated, there are RTGs. They are controlled, but unguarded: an officer visits them occasionally,” said Vladimir Prilepskikh, the head of the Siberian branch of the Federal Service for Energy, Technology and Atomic Oversight (FSETAN in its Russian abbreviation). Prilepskikh told Bellona Web that last week the RTGs were inspected by representatives of the prosecutors’ office, and that this week they should be inspected by the Emergency Ministry and the Federal Security Service. The Federal Security Service branch in Krasnoyarsk refused to comment to Bellona Web, claiming that “there is no such information in our daily report.” “The owner of these RTGs is the Defense Ministry. And while the Defense Ministry is in some ways a state inside a state, RTGs are not controlled by us”, Prilepskikh said. Currently, following governmental decree 1007, issued September 4, 1999, and directive D-3 of the Defence Ministry, nuclear oversight service grants licenses and inspects Defence Ministry RTGs, as they are considered nuclear installations that do not pertain to military use. But, in fact, it is the Defence Ministry that is responsible for radiation and nuclear safety in the military units, so the control in the military areas is executed by military nuclear regulatory bodies, and nuclear regulators of the FSETAN often do not have access to military RTGs. “As citizens we are outraged that such things happen, and as the representatives of state [nuclear] oversight we want everything to get back to normal. But we are not listened to,” Prilepskikh added. A Defence Ministry press service representative, Yuri Ivanov, refused to comment the situation, saying Bellona Web should send a written inquiry to the Ministry. Another RTGs incident in Norilsk in 2004 Norilsk has already seen a similar incident. Three derelict RTGs were found on the territory of military unit 40919. According to the unit commander, these RTGs were left by another military unit, previously based at this site. The Krasnoyarsk branch of FSETAN reported that radiation doses at a distance of one metre from the RTGs exceeded natural background radiation by 155 times. Rather than solving the problem within the Ministry of Defence, the military unit, in which RTGs were found, sent a letter to the Kvant radiation technological company in Krasnoyarsk, asking them to remove RTGs for disposal. Decommissioning “There is one problem with RTGs: they all have surpassed their service allotment,” said Prilepskikh. “The majority of RTGs are owned by the Hydrographic Facility of the Ministry of Transportation. But they are not able to control them and provide for their maintenance, they simply don’t have the money to visit them all.” In 1960 through 1980, the Soviet Union produced about 1500 RTGs, and all of them have long exhausted their 10-year engineered life spans and are in dire need of dismantling. The urgency of this task is underscored by the recent incidents with these potentially dangerous radioactive sources. At best, any given RTG is inspected once a year. “Russia brought the matter up to the international level, now the country receives money to solve the problem from the West. Though in my opinion, we should have our own money for this,” Prilepskikh said. Currently, RTGs are removed and decommissioned with assistance from Norway and the United States. Russia is also negotiating the possibility of aid from Germany, Canada and France. Negotiations on creation of a master-plan to decommission all the RTGs are going on as well. The possibility of such a master plan was laid out in the Group of Eight Industrialised Nations’ (G-8) Global Partnership annual report of the Gleneagles G-8 Summit in 2005. This master plan would be akin to the recently published master-plan on decommissioning of the nuclear submarines and several other objects in Northwest Russia. Such a mater plan should stipulate all the priority measures, and transparency in spending by Rosatom. The lack of transparency in spending international support funds has often been criticized, including in a report by Russia’s Audit Chamber. The report, analyzing activities of Minatom (Rosatom’s predecessor ministry) in 2002, mentioned that Western donors pay two times more for the same decommissioning operations Russia carries out. Audit of Minatom reveals millions in misspent cash and lack of control on sub decommissioning Between the years 2002 and 2003, Russia's Ministry of Atomic Energy, or Minatom, misappropriated several million dollars in submarine decommissioning funding to cover costs of naval spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, and sold off $3.9m of scrap metal from the vessels that, by law, should have been pumped into the federal budget, a report by Russia's highest governmental auditing agency has revealed. Bellona states that the only guarantee of transparency in carrying out decommissioning projects can be public participation. In a letter, received by Bellona on April 10th Rosatom promised that “public consultations on the RTGs master plan will be held”. In the beginning of April 2006, Rosatom signed an agreement with Canada, according to which Canada will fund a feasibility study for the preparation of the RTGs master-plan. Apart from Rosatom, the Russian group to prepare such mater-plan is comprised by the Defense Ministry, the Ministry of Transportation and FSETAN. According to what was written in the Rosatom letter, currently “at various locations in Russia there are 651 RTGs, which are subject to decommissioning or replacement with alternative sources of energy”. With Norwegian financial aid, RTGs in the lighthouses of the Russian Northwest have replaced with solar panels. The co-operative agreement is scheduled to last though 2008. From the beginning of 2001 to the end of 2005, 295 RTGs have been removed from the coasts of the Northern Shipping route; of these 214 have been dismantled. In 2005, 65 RTGs were removed, including 24 from the Northern Shipping route coasts. Derelict sources The problem of derelict sources of radiation is not limit only to RTGs. Other sources exist as well, and as a rule local administrations lack funds for their removal. “The problem with derelict sources of radiation is very acute. We find two or three such sources every year. And it has become ordinary. In my opinion, it happens because no one wants to establish order. In 10 years we have found not a single owner of the derelict sources,” Prilepskikh said. “Our [FSETAN] representative applied to the Ministry of Finances, and received the answer that local administration did not ask for the money for such tasks.” According to Prilepskikh, the only region in the West Siberia, where such problem has been resolved, is the Irkutsk region: “The city administration made an agreement with the Radon combine, paid money, and now Radon comes and takes the sources away”. Radon combines, situated in 15 Russian cities, are designed only for handling low- and medium-level radioactive waste, while RTGs pertain to high-level waste. There are no such agreements in the Novosibirsk region, said Prilepskikh. “The governor simply calls to the Novosibirsk plant of chemical concentrates and asks to take radiation sources away,” he said. Prilepskikh also mentioned that local administrations are held responsible for the sources, which were owned by subsequently bankrupted companies. “In the law ‘On bankruptcy’ it is stipulated that the bankrupt company has to pay salaries to the workers and some debts, but it is not stated anywhere that they have to secure their territory and the radiation sources.” Publisher: Bellona Foundation, President: Frederic Hauge Information: info@bellona.no, Technical contact: webmaster@bellona.no Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box 2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway ***************************************************************** 38 RIA Novosti: Over 1.3mln live in Chernobyl zone in Belarus - parliament 12/ 04/ 2006 MINSK, April 12 (RIA Novosti) - More than 1.3 million Belarusians are living in areas affected by the Chernobyl nuclear accident that occurred two decades ago, the speaker of the country's lower house of parliament said Wednesday. "Our fellow countrymen living in contaminated areas should be confident about their future," Vladimir Konoplev said. "It is time we addressed the vital problems of the people who inhabit these zones." The speaker made his address at the opening of parliamentary hearings to promote a renewed global focus on the aftermath of the worst accident in the history of nuclear power. He said the government should ensure that those living in the Chernobyl zone were provided with jobs, legal protection, social benefits and medical care. The radioactive fallout from the 1986 disaster has caused major health problems in one out of every five residents of Belarus and inflicted economic losses totaling 32 times the amount of the nation's annual budget in 1985, Konoplev said. Belarus received 70% of the radiation released from the explosion of a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in neighboring Ukraine in April 1986. One-fifth of its agricultural land became unfit for farming as a result. © 2005 RIA Novosti ***************************************************************** 39 BBC: Water leak at Japan nuclear plant Last Updated: Wednesday, 12 April 2006 [Protesters at the Rokkasho plant] Locals have protested against the nuclear plant Radioactive water has leaked inside a Japanese nuclear reprocessing plant, according to reports. Japan's Kyodo news agency said up to 40 litres of water containing plutonium leaked at the site, which had just opened for a test run. The leak was contained within a compound and there were no injuries. Nuclear installations, which supply much of Japan's power, have come under the spotlight in recent years after a string of accidents and mishaps. The plant, in the village of Rokkasho, Aomori prefecture, was designed to be one of the country's new generation of nuclear processing plants. It is one of Japan's first plants to be able to extract uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. Local residents have protested against the plant in the light of Japan's shaky nuclear record. In March the government ordered the closure of a plant north-west of Tokyo amid fears it would not survive an earthquake. A fire in another plant in western Japan also caused concerns, while five people died in 2004 when a pipe burst at the Mihama reactor. ***************************************************************** 40 NRC: NRC Earns Gold Star Award During “Small Business Week” News Release - 2006-05 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: No. 06-051 April 12, 2006 agencies that will be recognized next month during Small Business Week 2006 for its exemplary performance and commitment to providing contracting and subcontracting opportunities for small, women-owned and disadvantaged businesses. The award will be given by the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA is presenting the Gold Star Award to the NRC for its impressive achievements in Fiscal Year 2005, including awarding 37.8% of its total prime contract dollars to small businesses, 9.1% to 8(a) firms, and 8.5% to women-owned small businesses. At the NRC, the Office of Small Business and Civil Rights (SBCR) oversees this program, supported by headquarters and regional offices. Diversity and equality can only be achieved by full participation, said Luis Reyes, Executive Director for Operations, Weve got a lot of good people doing a lot of good things and I applaud this teamwork. SBCR Office Director Corenthis Kelley will be accepting the Gold Star Award on behalf of the NRC at the April 12 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. For more information, please contact Mauricio Vera, Small Business Program Manager at 301-415-7160 or . Last revised Wednesday, April 12, 2006 ***************************************************************** 41 ABQJOURNAL: All 3 Reactors Shut Down at Palo Verde Wednesday, April 12, 2006 Albuquerque Journal--> Associated Press PHOENIX — All three reactors at the nation's largest nuclear plant were out of service Tuesday but one of the units could be back in operation today, officials said. Crews shut down Unit 2 at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station on Monday to repair a pipe that delivers steam to turbines. Jim McDonald, a spokesman for plant operator Arizona Public Service Co., said Unit 2 was undergoing testing Tuesday night on the auxiliary feed-water valve repairs and "if it passes one more test, it should be back on line'' by today. Palo Verde's Unit 3 shut down last week as part of its regularly scheduled refueling. It is expected to return to service early next month. Unit 1 was shut down in late March to allow crews to repair a vibrating pipe that has hampered the reactor's electricity output all year. APS expects the repairs will be finished in June. Even with all three reactors out, APS said there would be plenty of electricity for the needs of the Phoenix metropolitan area. APS officials said its repair schedule will increase the odds the plant will return to full power this summer, when metro Phoenix's peak electricity demand arrives. Although Palo Verde has operated with a consistent record over much of the past decade, its reactors have been shut down 19 times since February 2004 because of worn equipment and design, maintenance and other problems. APS owns 29.5 percent of the plant and operates it for a consortium of utility companies in four states. Palo Verde, located in Wintersburg about 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix, supplies electricity to about 4 million customers in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California. Copyright ©2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This Copyright Albuquerque Journal ***************************************************************** 42 Brattleboro Reformer: Residents talk about disasters By KRISTI CECCAROSSI, Reformer Staff Wednesday, April 12 BRATTLEBORO -- Legislators weren't looking for good news when they invited Windham County residents to share their thoughts on local emergency planning. And surely, some members of the House and Senate government operations committee knew that in this corner of the state, emergency planning and the local nuclear power plant are one and the same to many people. But when those lawmakers came to town Tuesday to collect testimony, they probably didn't anticipate the many gaps in Vermont Yankee's evacuation plan that residents pelted them with for two hours. Legislators are studying the state's emergency response plan as it applies to all types of disasters. Before their annual work in Montpelier is through, they are hoping to make improvements, and they're seeking input from residents all over the state. A related bill is under review by the government operations committees; most members of both the House and Senate panels gathered at the Brattleboro Union High School for a public hearing. The message from southeastern Vermont was loud and clear: residents, elected officials and first responders have been insisting for years the Vermont Yankee plan is fraught with problems. And for years, the Legislature hasn't responded adequately or expediently. Since 2001, the Dummerston Selectboard members have voted down the town's evacuation plan. They've agreed it doesn't satisfy their concerns. And, after citing gaps in the plan, they've asked the state for specific, practical improvements. Few, if any, have been fulfilled. "We're sending (information) to Vermont Emergency Management and we get back nothing," said Paul Normandeau, a Selectboard member in Dummerston. Normandeau said officials in his town were waiting for maps to Bellows Falls Union High School, a shelter where residents may be instructed to go in an emergency. According to Dummerston's plans, the maps must be distributed to evacuating residents. "The maps don't exist," he said. Likewise, the pagers that all bus drivers are supposed to have, so they can be called in to assist, don't exist. Likewise, the tone-alert radios that residents are supposed to have, don't exist, he said. "We were told we should go to Vermont Yankee for this," he said. "Vermont Yankee said it needs to make a business decision whether we should have sirens. ... The safety of our citizens is not a business decision." The same sentiment, though sometimes regarding different concerns, was echoed by the three dozen or so residents who spoke, Tuesday. Comments were often indignant, frustrated. "We need to retire the '1, 2 Know What To Do' program. All thinking people are really getting annoyed by it," said Andy Davis, Brattleboro resident. He suggested changing it to "Seven, eight, tell it straight." Tim Stevenson, a teacher at the high school, said he was worried about what would happen if the schools had to evacuate. He said the district's superintendent, Ron Stahley, conducted a blind survey of faculty, asking whether they felt they could do the "first responder" work expected of them; only 20 percent, according to Stevenson, said they would. Legislators reminded speakers that Tuesday's hearing was a time to discuss all emergency planning, but the roughly 100 people in attendance didn't seem to hear them. Legislators also tried to keep the testimony focused on specific concerns, still a few people couldn't resist making comments about Vermont Yankee's 20 percent uprate, or about alternatives to nuclear power. Mostly, though, residents offered a litany of worst-case scenarios surrounding Vermont Yankee: People wouldn't receive notification. People wouldn't have transportation. People would panic, not follow the rules. People wouldn't know where they were going. There aren't enough emergency workers. There aren't enough volunteers. Who, if faced with staying with their family or responding to a disaster, could really be relied upon? Where are emergency supplies? How will the disabled be evacuated? How will one emergency evacuation center house the thousands of people who will flock to it? There is a lot of denial that an emergency could occur at Vermont Yankee, Dummerston resident Judy Davidson told legislators. And though the real odds are slim, she said that shouldn't preclude the state from having a viable plan. "We have to plan for the worst-case scenario," she said. "That's the only way people are going to have confidence in what we're doing." Kristi Ceccarossi can be reached at kceccarossi@reformer.comor (802) 254-2311, ext. 160. New England Newspapers, Inc. ***************************************************************** 43 GREENPEACE UK: Former Environment Ministers call on UN to drop nuclear support Chernobyl fallout exhibition - Annya Last edited: 12-04-2006 Ten former Environment Ministers from across Europe, including MP Michael Meacher, are today (11 April 2006) calling on the United Nations to drop its support for nuclear technology in the run-up to the twentieth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. In a letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Mohamed El-Baradei, Director of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, the politicians called for a reform of the IAEA's "conflicting and outdated mandate". This demand highlights the contradictory roles the IAEA plays in the international arena. On one hand, the IAEA is tasked with stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and providing technical assistance to support the nuclear disarmament process. On the other, the IAEA's mandate promotes nuclear power. The former environmental ministers are calling on the UN to propose amendments to the IAEA statute at the forthcoming IAEA Board of Governors and General Conference in mid September. Satu Hassi, Member of European Parliament and former Finish Environmental Minister, said: "The risk of nuclear arms proliferation seems to be growing rapidly. To be able to function effectively, the IAEA should end its schizophrenic role. "It cannot effectively prevent nuclear arms proliferation when it, at the same time, promotes nuclear energy technology, which produces material for bombs. Therefore the time has come to make end of this double role of IAEA." Felicity Hill, Nuclear Political Advisor for Greenpeace, said: The United Nations should dedicate this reform to the thousands of people in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus whose lives were scarred forever on the morning of the 26th of April 1986. "The 20th anniversary of the biggest nuclear disaster in history is an opportunity to remove the threat of nuclear disasters from the planet, starting with reforming the IAEA. Atoms for Peace sounds like a nice ideal, but we all know that the reality of atomic energy is anything but peaceful." Dominique Voynet, Senator and former French Minister for the Environment, said: "The IAEA acts as a true promoter for the nuclear industry worldwide. By deliberately ignoring the interlink between civil and military nukes, it contributes to the proliferation of fissile materials. "Nations are also responsible in this dangerous interaction. France particularly, must end its sales policy of nuclear materials and technologies to whomever is willing to pay. This trade jeopardizes world peace." Notes: Signatories of the Ministers' letter are the following former Environmental Ministers: 1. Former Ukrainian Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Sergiy Kurykin 2. Former Russian Minister of Environment, Victor Danilov-Danilian 3. Former Belarusian Minister of Environment, Anatolii Dorofeev Anatolii Dorofeev 4. Former Italian Minister of Environment, Edo Ronchi 5. Former Danish Environment and Energy Minister, Svend Auken 6. Former Belgian Minister of Environment, Magda Alvoet 7. Former Czech Minister of Environment, Ivan Dejmal 8. Former Finish Minister of Environment and Development Cooperation, Satu Hassi 9. Former French Minister of Environment and Regional Planning, Dominique Voynet Click here to read the Ministers' letter. Greenpeace will be launching a new photography exhibition to mark the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster with a press conference at 11am on 18 April at the Oxo Gallery, Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street, South Bank, London, SE1 9PH. The exhibition is open daily until 14 May from 11am until 6pm. For more details, email Jo Bexley, Panos Pictures, or call 020 7253 1424; 07773 781 883. Press Releases Nuclear waste transport incident could spread radioactivity over 100km ***************************************************************** 44 Xinhua: Most Swedes favor nuclear power www.xinhuanet.com www.chinaview.cn 2006-04-13 04:08:48 STOCKHOLM, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Most Swedes want the country to keep using nuclear power, and one in six wants to see more nuclear reactors built, local media reported on Wednesday. A survey into attitudes to nuclear power conducted annually by the SOM Institute and published by Svenska Dagbladet shows that 50 percent of Swedes want to keep atomic energy in the long term. According to the report, 33 percent of the people questioned want to keep using the country's 10 remaining reactors or to extend their active life. Some 17 percent of Swedes want nuclear power to be expanded in the future. The survey represents a shift in attitudes. In 1999 a majority wanted to get rid of nuclear power. Now only one in three Swedes favors this. This puts opposition to nuclear power at its weakest since opinions on the issue were first polled. Around a quarter, 24 percent, say they want to see nuclear power abandoned when the current reactors reach the end of their natural lifespan. Nine percent want to shut the plants at Oskarshamn, Forsmark and Ringhals as soon as possible. Sweden decided after an inconclusive referendum in 1980 to decommission all nuclear plants by 2010, and the plant at Barsebaeck in Skaane was shut down last year. This plan is proving increasingly controversial. Concern over climate change has led to questions over how to replace nuclear power without increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Enditem Editor: Luan Shanglin Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 45 NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Subcommittee Meeting FR Doc E6-5379 [Federal Register: April 12, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 70)] [Notices] [Page 18787] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr12ap06-121] on Power Uprates; Notice of Meeting The ACRS Subcommittee on Power Uprates will hold a meeting on April 25-26, 2006, at 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, Room T-2B3. The entire meeting will be open to public attendance. The agenda for the subject meeting shall be as follows: Tuesday, April 25, 2006--8:30 a.m. until the conclusion of business. Wednesday, April 26, 2006--8:30 a.m. until the conclusion of business. The Subcommittee will review the application by FirstEnergy for an 8% power uprate for the Beaver Valley Power Station, Units 1 and 2. The Subcommittee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff, their contractors, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company and other interested persons regarding this matter. The Subcommittee will gather information, analyze relevant issues and facts, and formulate proposed positions and actions, as appropriate, for deliberation by the full Committee. Members of the public desiring to provide oral statements and/or written comments should notify the Designated Federal Official, Mr. Ralph Caruso (Telephone: 301-415-8065) five days prior to the meeting, if possible, so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Electronic recordings will be permitted. Further information regarding this meeting can be obtained by contacting the Designated Federal Official between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (e.t.). Persons planning to attend this meeting are urged to contact the above named individual at least two working days prior to the meeting to be advised of any potential changes to the agenda. Dated: April 5, 2006. Michael R. Snodderly, Acting Branch Chief, ACRS/ACNW. [FR Doc. E6-5379 Filed 4-11-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 46 NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Subcommittee Meeting FR Doc E6-5382 [Federal Register: April 12, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 70)] [Notices] [Page 18787] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr12ap06-122] on Power Uprates; Notice of Meeting The ACRS Subcommittee on Power Uprates will hold a meeting on April 27, 2006, at 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, Room T-2B3. The entire meeting will be open to public attendance. The agenda for the subject meeting shall be as follows: Thursday, April 27, 2006--8:30 a.m. until the conclusion of business. The Subcommittee will review the small break LOCA portion of the staff evaluation related to the Ginna Extended Power Uprate. The Subcommittee will hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff, Constellation Energy, Westinghouse, and other interested persons regarding this matter. The Subcommittee will gather information, analyze relevant issues and facts, and formulate proposed positions and actions, as appropriate, for deliberation by the full Committee. Members of the public desiring to provide oral statements and/or written comments should notify the Designated Federal Official, Mr. Ralph Caruso (Telephone: 301-415-8065) five days prior to the meeting, if possible, so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Electronic recordings will be permitted. Signs will not be permitted in the meeting room. Further information regarding this meeting can be obtained by contacting the Designated Federal Official between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (ET). Persons planning to attend this meeting are urged to contact the above named individual at least two working days prior to the meeting to be advised of any potential changes to the agenda. Dated: April 5, 2006. Michael R. Snodderly, Acting Branch Chief, ACRS/ACNW. [FR Doc. E6-5382 Filed 4-11-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 47 NRC: R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC; R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power FR Doc E6-5384 [Federal Register: April 12, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 70)] [Notices] [Page 18779-18785] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr12ap06-118] Plant; Draft Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Related To The Proposed License Amendment to Increase the Maximum Reactor Power Level AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice of Opportunity for Public Comment. SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has prepared a Draft Environmental Assessment as part of its evaluation of a request by R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, LLC (Ginna LLC) for a license amendment to increase the maximum steady state power level at the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant (Ginna) from 1520 megawatts thermal (MWt) to 1775 MWt. This represents a power increase of approximately 16.8 percent, which is considered an extended power uprate (EPU). As stated in the NRC staff's position paper dated February 8, 1996, on the Boiling-Water Reactor Extended Power Uprate Program, the NRC staff will prepare an environmental impact statement if it believes a power uprate will have a significant impact on the human environment. The NRC staff did not identify any significant impact from the information provided in the licensee's EPU application for Ginna or the NRC staff's independent review; therefore, the NRC staff is documenting its environmental review in an environmental assessment. Also, in accordance with the position paper, the Draft Environmental Assessment and finding of no significant impact is being published in the Federal Register with a 30-day public comment period. Environmental Assessment Plant Site and Environs Ginna is located 6 km (4 mi) north of Ontario, New York, in the northwest corner of Wayne County and on the south shore of Lake Ontario. The immediate area around Ginna is rural, with the city of Rochester approximately 32 km (20 mi) to the west and Oswego, New York, 64 km (40 mi) to the east-northeast. The plant consists of one unit equipped with a nuclear steam supply system supplied by Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which uses a pressurized-water reactor (PWR) and a once-through cooling system for turbine exhaust condensor cooling and as the ultimate heat sink. Identification of the Proposed Action By letter dated July 7, 2005 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System Accession No. ML051950123), Ginna LLC proposed an amendment to the operating license for Ginna to increase the maximum steady state power level by approximately 16.8 percent, from 1520 MWt to 1775 MWt. The change is considered an EPU because it would raise the reactor core power level by more than 7 percent above the currently licensed maximum power level. This proposed action would allow the heat output of the reactor to increase, which would increase the flow of steam to the main turbine-generator. This would result in the increase in production of electricity and the amount of waste heat delivered to the condenser, resulting in an increase in the temperature of the water being discharged into Lake Ontario. The Need for the Proposed Action Ginna LLC estimates the proposed action would result in approximately 85 additional megawatts-electric (MWe) being generated. This additional electricity generation could power approximately 95,000 homes and would contribute to meeting the goals and recommendations of the New York State Energy Plan. The EPU could be implemented for approximately one-fifth of the cost to construct two small (50-MWe) natural gas combustion turbine units, as recommended by the New York State Energy Planning Board, and would not cause the environmental impacts that would occur from construction of new power generation facilities to meet the region's electricity needs. Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action At the time of issuance of the operating license for Ginna, the NRC staff noted that any activity authorized by the license would be encompassed by the overall action evaluated in the Final Environmental Statement (FES) for the operation of Ginna, which was issued March 1973. In addition, in February 2004, the NRC published its Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS), NUREG-1437 Supplement 14, ``Generic Environmental Impact Statement for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Supplement 14, Regarding R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant--Final Report,'' which evaluated the environmental impacts of operating Ginna for an additional 20 years. In the SEIS, the NRC determined that the adverse environmental impacts of license renewal would not be so great that preserving the option of license renewal for energy-planning decision makers would be unreasonable. This environmental assessment summarizes the radiological and non-radiological impacts in the environment that may result from the EPU. Non-Radiological Impacts Land Use Impacts The potential impacts associated with land use for the proposed action include impacts from construction and plant modifications. The impacts from construction due to the proposed EPU are minimal. No expansion of roads, parking lots, equipment storage areas, or transmission facilities and no new building construction is anticipated to support the proposed EPU. Volumes of industrial chemicals, fuels, or lubricants are not expected to increase [[Page 18780]] substantially, and would not require additional onsite storage space. Some plant modifications would be required to implement the proposed action. The modifications are listed in Table 4-1 of Ginna EPU, Supplemental Environmental Report (ER), submitted by Ginna LLC on July 7, 2005. The most significant modification to be conducted would be replacement of the high-pressure turbine rotor. Major modifications completed in the last 10 years that contribute to the increased power opportunities at Ginna are the re-tubing of the main condenser (1995), the replacement of the steam generators with an increased size design (1996), and replacement of the reactor vessel head (2003). None of the plant modifications listed above or in Table 4-1 of the ER will result in any changes in land use. Historic and archeological resources should not be affected by the proposed EPU, because there are no modifications to land use. The proposed EPU would not modify land use at the site significantly over that described in the FES and NUREG-1437 Supplement 14. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that the land use impacts of the proposed EPU are bounded by the impacts previously evaluated in the FES and NUREG-1437 Supplement 14. Transmission Facility Impacts The potential impacts associated with transmission facilities for the proposed action include changes in transmission line corridor right-of-way maintenance and electric shock hazards due to increased current. The proposed EPU would not require any physical modifications or changes in the maintenance and operation of existing transmission lines, switchyards, or substations. Ginna LLC's transmission lines right-of-way vegetation management would not change. There would be no change in voltage, but there would be an increase in the current flowing through the transmission facilities. The National Electric Safety Code (NESC) provides design criteria that limit hazards from steady-state currents. The NESC limits the short-circuit current to ground to less than 5 milliamperes. The increase in current passing through the transmission lines is directly associated with the increased power level of the proposed EPU. In addition, the increased electrical current passing through the transmission lines would cause an increase in the electromagnetic field strength. Based on information provided in the ER, the transmission lines at Ginna would continue to meet the applicable NESC recommendations for electric-field induced shock under the proposed EPU. Therefore, the risk of shock from the offsite transmission lines would not be expected to increase significantly over the current impact. The impacts associated with transmission facilities for the proposed action would not change significantly over the impacts associated with current plant operations. There would be no changes to current transmission line right-of-way operation and maintenance practices; no physical modifications to the transmission lines, switchyards, or substations; and electric current passing through the transmission lines would increase slightly. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that there would be no significant impacts associated with transmission facilities for the proposed action. Water Use Impacts Potential water use impacts from implementation of the proposed action would include hydrological alterations to Lake Ontario. Ginna uses a once-through condenser cooling system drawing water from Lake Ontario through a submerged offshore intake. Water used to cool the turbine condenser is discharged into the discharge canal. The heated water enters Lake Ontario at the shoreline. Total nominal flow of water for turbine condenser cooling and most secondary systems (i.e. service water and fire protection) is approximately 354,600 gallons per minute (gpm). Lake Ontario serves as a principal water source for several local water supply systems in New York State's Monroe and Wayne Counties. All water required for plant operation, except potable water, is withdrawn from Lake Ontario. The rate of withdrawal would not increase as a result of the EPU. Therefore, operation of Ginna would not affect the availability of surface water. Groundwater is not used in plant operations; therefore, there are no impacts from onsite groundwater use. The NRC staff concludes that the proposed EPU would not have a significant impact on water use. Discharge Impacts Surface water and wastewater discharges to Lake Ontario from the plant are regulated by the State of New York via a State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) Permit (Number NY-0000493), effective February 1, 2003--February 1, 2008. This permit is reviewed and renewed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). It is expected that the EPU would increase the temperature of the water discharged to Lake Ontario as well as the thermal discharge plume, which would require modifications to the current SPDES permit. The current SPDES permit allows a 28 [deg]F rise in temperature of the discharge water over the ambient temperature of the lake water, and a maximum 320-acre mixing zone. The current permit also limits the discharge temperature to 102 [deg]F. During current operating conditions, the difference between plant discharge temperature and ambient lake temperature is approximately 20 [deg]F in the summer months, and 28 [deg]F during the winter months. The larger temperature difference, which occurs in the winter months, is due to recirculation of heated water from the discharge canal to the screenhouse inlet forebay to assist in maintaining inlet water temperature and eliminating ice that may form in the inlet forebay. Under proposed EPU operating conditions, the difference in temperature would be approximately 28 [deg]F and 35 [deg]F in summer and winter months, respectively. In addition, the discharge temperature would at times exceed the current SPDES permit limits (102 [deg]F). The current SPDES permit limit for the Ginna thermal discharge plume mixing area is 320 acres. In 2004, Ginna LLC commissioned studies to determine the effect of the proposed EPU on water temperatures, temperature distribution in near-field and far-field areas associated with the discharge, and to assess the impacts on aquatic species. According to the information calculated by the near-field plume model (CORMIX) and far-field hydrodynamic and thermal model (ECOM), under existing plant operating conditions, the thermal plume mixing area is less than 300 acres in summer and winter months. An increased mixing zone of 360 acres would be needed to support operation under the proposed EPU operating conditions. The discharge environmental impacts of the proposed EPU conditions are described in the ``Impacts to Aquatic Biota'' section of the ER. By letters dated March 8, April 2, and July 29, 2005, Ginna LLC submitted a permit modification request to NYSDEC regarding an increase in the Ginna Station Outfall 001 discharge temperature limit, intake- discharge [utri]T, and the size of the mixing zone to accommodate the proposed EPU conditions described above. The NYSDEC sets limits on and regulates the amount of heat discharged to Lake Ontario. Approval from the NYSDEC for [[Page 18781]] these SPDES Permit modifications is currently pending. Based on information provided in the ER and NUREG-1437 Supplement 14, the NRC staff has determined the thermal discharge environmental impacts to Lake Ontario under the proposed EPU conditions would not be significant. Impacts on Aquatic Biota The potential impacts to aquatic biota from the proposed action include impingement, entrainment, thermal discharge effects, and impacts due to transmission line right-of-way maintenance. Aquatic organisms that are caught on a plant's intake debris screens made of mesh are considered impinged. The term entrainment applies to aquatic organisms (i.e. fish and shellfish) that are small enough to pass through a plant's intake debris screens and travel through the cooling system and be exposed to heat, mechanical, and pressure stresses and possibly biocidal chemicals, before being discharged back to the body of water. Ginna has intake and discharge structures on Lake Ontario. The aquatic species evaluated in this environmental assessment are in the vicinity of the Ginna intake and discharge structures. Ginna LLC monitors entrained and impinged species as required by the current NYSDEC SPDES Permit. In 2004, Ginna LLC commissioned a biological assessment to analyze the effects of increased water temperature and mixing zone associated with the proposed EPU on Lake Ontario. The assessment included potential impacts to impingement and entrainment rates associated with the proposed EPU. The most prominent fish species located in the shoreline area of Lake Ontario near Ginna are smallmouth bass, spottail shiner, American eel, alewife, yellow perch, threespine stickleback, brown trout, rainbow smelt, lake trout and rainbow trout. Ginna LLC reviewed these ten fish populations, which were identified by the NYSDEC as the ``Representative Identified Species,'' (RIS) occurring in the vicinity of Ginna. For the purpose of this environmental assessment, the identical ten fish species were reviewed. Impingement and entrainment monitoring at Ginna has been investigated since the 1970's. Based on this historical data and requirements of the SPDES Permit, impingement and entrainment rates at Ginna are minimal, and according to the ER no significant adverse impact on the RIS populations would result due to the increased discharge temperatures. These conclusions are based on the following: (1) Ginna is not adjacent to or near habitat features or spawning/ nursery areas preferred by or important to local fish populations; (2) cooler areas for refuge are readily available to fish that enter the cooling water discharge; (3) the thermal plume under proposed EPU conditions would generally extend no more than 1 to 3 feet below the surface, providing a zone of passage for fish; (4) Ginna does not have any known incidents of cold shock to aquatic biota and cold shock incidents for the RIS would be minimized due to gradual shutdown and reduction procedures in cooling water temperature; (5) fish will avoid portions of the lake that exceed their thermal preferenda; and (6) any impinged fish exposed to elevated temperatures (above their thermal preferenda) in the fish return system will be exposed only for a short duration (20-50 seconds). After reviewing the information presented in the ER, the NYSDEC SPDES permit modification demonstration submittal, and NUREG-1437 Supplement 14, the NRC staff concludes that the impact of the proposed EPU on aquatic biota would not be significant. As discussed in the transmission facility impacts section of this environmental assessment, transmission line right-of-way maintenance practices would not change. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that the impact of the proposed action to aquatic biota would not be significant. On July 9, 2004, EPA published a final rule in the Federal Register (69 FR 41575) addressing cooling water intake structures at existing power plants whose flow levels exceed a minimum threshold value of 50 million gallons per day (gpd). The rule is Phase II in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) development of 316(b) regulations that establish national requirements applicable to the location, design, construction, and capacity of cooling water intake structures at existing facilities that exceed the threshold value for water withdrawals. The national requirements, which are implemented through National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, minimize the adverse environmental impacts associated with the continued use of the intake systems. In the case of Ginna, the SPDES permit is equivalent to the NPDES permit. Licensees are required to demonstrate compliance with the Phase II performance standards at the time of renewal of their NPDES permit. Licensees may be required as part of the NPDES renewal to alter the intake structure, redesign the cooling system, modify station operation, or take other mitigative measures as a result of this regulation. The new performance standards are designed to reduce significantly impingement and entrainment losses due to plant operation. Any site-specific mitigation would result in less impact due to continued plant operation. Impacts on Terrestrial Biota The potential impacts to terrestrial biota from the proposed action would be due to transmission line right-of-way maintenance. As discussed in the transmission facility impacts section of this environmental assessment, transmission line right-of-way maintenance practices would not change for the proposed action. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that there are no significant impacts to terrestrial plant or animal species associated with transmission line right-of-way maintenance for the proposed action. Impacts on Threatened and Endangered Species Potential impacts to threatened and endangered species from the proposed action include the impacts assessed in the aquatic and terrestrial biota sections of this environmental assessment. These impacts include impingement, entrainment, thermal discharge effects, and impacts due to transmission line right-of-way maintenance for aquatic species, and impacts due to transmission line right-of-way maintenance for terrestrial species. There are four animal and two plant species listed as threatened or endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act within Wayne County, New York. These species are the bog turtle (Clemmys muhlenbergii), bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), piping plover (Charadrius melodus), Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), small-whorled pogonia (Isotria medeoloides), and prairie fringed orchid (Plantanthera leucophaea). There are no records of any of these species on the Ginna site. The nearest designated critical habitat is for piping plover (C. melodus), which lies 90 miles from the Ginna site on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. No critical habitat or known occurrences of bog turtle (C. muhlenbergii), Indiana bat (M. sodalis), small-whorled pogonia (I. medeoloides), and prairie fringed orchid (P. leucophaea) have been reported within the Ginna site vicinity or within the transmission lines right-of-way. However, bald eagles (H. leucocephalus) are occasionally observed in the vicinity, usually during spring migration. The nearest known bald eagle nesting site is approximately 55 miles [[Page 18782]] southeast of the Ginna site, near Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. It is not likely that the bald eagles would be impacted by the EPU because the birds are transient and do not nest at the Ginna site. There are no Federally listed threatened or endangered aquatic species listed under the Endangered Species Act in the vicinity of Ginna or Wayne County, New York. There are two State-listed aquatic species known to occur in Wayne County: pugnose shiner (Notropis anogenus) and lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). However, neither species has been reported in the vicinity of Ginna. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that there is no effect to threatened and endangered species associated with the proposed EPU based on the information provided in the ER, NUREG-1437 Supplement 14, and the staff's own independent review. Social and Economic Impacts Potential social and economic impacts due to the proposed EPU relate to potential changes to the size of the workforce at Ginna. The NRC staff has reviewed the information provided by Ginna LLC regarding socioeconomic impacts. Ginna LLC is a major employer in the community with approximately 436 people employed on a full-time basis and 167 long- and short-term contractors employed on a regular basis. In January 2005, Ginna LLC, which acquired the plant in June 2004, entered into a payment agreement with the Town of Ontario, the Wayne County School District, and Wayne County as opposed to paying sales and property taxes. The agreement in place is a Payment In-Lieu of Taxes Agreement (PILOT). Under this agreement, Ginna's assessed value is set at $260,000,000. Annual payments in equal amounts will be paid to tax jurisdictions in an amount equal to the assessed value multiplied by the real property tax rate established by each tax jurisdiction for the applicable tax year. Estimates of what amounts are to be paid through 2009 can be found in Chapter 5 of the Ginna EPU ER. Ginna LLC and its personnel contribute directly and indirectly to the surrounding communities of the plant. Taxes collected under the PILOT agreement are used to fund schools, police and fire protection, road maintenance, and other municipal services. In addition, Ginna LLC personnel and contractors contribute indirectly to the tax base by paying sales and property taxes, state income tax, and hotel and meal taxes. The proposed EPU would not significantly affect the size of the Ginna workforce. Most EPU modifications were performed during the Spring 2005 Refueling Outage, with the remaining modifications scheduled to be completed during the 2006 Refueling Outage. During a regularly scheduled refueling outage, the workforce at Ginna increases by approximately 534 persons on average. The workforce needed for the 2006 Refueling outage will require additional workers above the usual 534 persons average. The supplemental workers are not expected to adversely affect area housing availability, transportation services, or the public water supply due to the short period of the demand. The NRC staff expects that granting the EPU as proposed would improve the economic viability of Ginna, ensuring that it would continue to contribute positively to the surrounding communities. As discussed above, granting the EPU as proposed would have little direct socioeconomic impact to the local and regional economies. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that there are no significant social or economic impacts for the proposed action based on information in the ER and NUREG-1437 Supplement 14. Summary The EPU, if implemented as proposed, would not result in a significant change in non-radiological impacts in the areas of land use, water use, thermal discharges, terrestrial and aquatic biota, transmission facility operation, or social and economic factors. No other non-radiological impacts were identified or would be expected. Table 1 summarizes the non-radiological environmental impacts of the proposed EPU at Ginna. Table 1.--Summary of Non-Radiological Environmental Impacts ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- Land Use..................... No significant land use modifications are expected. Transmission Facilities...... No physical modifications to the transmission lines; lines meet shock safety requirements; no changes to right- of-ways including vegetation management; small increase in electrical current and magnetic field. Water Use.................... No physical modifications to intake structure; no increased rate of withdrawal; no water use conflicts. Discharge.................... Increase in water temperature and mixing zone to Lake Ontario; application to increase SPDES permit discharge temperature and plume acreage submitted to New York State, decision pending. Aquatic Biota................ No adverse impact will occur to the RIS populations due to the following: Ginna Station is not near preferred/important spawning areas; cooler areas for refuge are readily available; thermal plume under proposed conditions would extend approximately 1 to 3 feet below the surface; cold shock incidents would be minimal due to gradual shutdown and reduction procedures; fish avoid areas that exceed their thermal preferenda; impinged species exposed to elevated temperatures (above thermal preferenda) will be exposed only for a short duration (20-50 seconds); EPU would have no additional impact on entrained species. Terrestrial Biota............ No change in transmission line maintenance; EPU would have no additional impact on terrestrial plant or animal species. Threatened and Endangered Six Federally listed species in Wayne Species. County; No species have been identified on the Ginna site; EPU would have no effect on species. Social and Economic.......... No significant change in size of Ginna Station work force required for plant operation; small increase in work force required for spring 2006 refueling outage to implement remaining plant modifications. EPU would have no effect on socioeconomics. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- [[Page 18783]] Radiological Impacts Radioactive Waste Stream Impacts Ginna uses waste treatment systems designed to collect, process, and dispose of gaseous, liquid, and solid wastes that might contain radioactive material in a safe and controlled manner such that discharges are in accordance with the requirements of Part 20, ``Standards for Protection Against Radiation,'' and Part 50, ``Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,'' Appendix I, of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). These radioactive waste streams are discussed in the FES. The methodology used in scaling the increase of radioactive content under the proposed EPU conditions were based on techniques in NRC's Calculations of Releases of Radioactive Materials in Gaseous and Liquid Effluents from Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR-GALE code), NUREG-0017, Revision 1. The proposed EPU would not result in any physical changes to the gaseous, liquid, or solid waste systems. Gaseous Radioactive Waste and Offsite Doses During normal operation, the gaseous effluent treatment systems process and control the release of gaseous radioactive effluents to the environment, including small quantities of noble gases, halogens, tritium, and particulate material. The gaseous waste management systems include the offgas system and various building ventilation systems. The Ginna Base Case Average Dose, an annual average dose from 1999 through 2003 to extrapolated 100-percent plant operating capacity, was less than 1 millirem (mrem) per year. Ginna LLC predicts that gaseous radioactive effluents would linearly increase as a result of the proposed EPU, approximately 17 percent. Even with a 17-percent increase from the peak dose of less than 1 mrem per year, the dose would still remain well below the regulatory standards in 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix I. Therefore, the increase in offsite dose due to gaseous effluent release following the EPU would not be significant. Liquid Radioactive Waste and Offsite Doses During normal operation, the liquid effluent treatment systems process and control the release of liquid radioactive effluents to the environment such that the doses to individuals offsite are maintained within the limits of 10 CFR Part 20 and 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix I. The liquid radioactive waste systems are designed to process the waste and then recycle it within the plant as condensate, reprocess it through the radioactive waste system for further purification, or discharge it to the environment as liquid radioactive waste effluent in accordance with State and Federal regulations. Ginna LLC predicts the offsite dose from liquid effluents would increase linearly, approximately 17 percent. The increase would not increase the volume of liquid radioactive waste, but the radioactivity levels in the reactor coolant. Even with an increase, the maximum annual total body and organ doses (all pathways) would be well below the regulatory standards contained in 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix I, as well as the doses bounded by the FES. Therefore, the NRC concludes that the increase in offsite dose due to liquid effluent release following the EPU would not be significant. Solid Radioactive Wastes The solid radioactive waste system collects, processes, packages, and temporarily stores radioactive dry and wet solid wastes prior to shipment offsite and permanent disposal. Ginna produces dry active waste (paper, plastic, wood, rubber, glass, floor sweepings, cloth, metal), sludge, oily waste, bead resin and filters. The increase in volume of solid waste would not be linear, because the proposed EPU would neither alter installed equipment performance nor require drastic changes in system operation or maintenance. In recent years (2003- 2004), the solid waste volume generated by Ginna has been significantly above the 9-year non-outage average of 2,500 cubic feet, and outage year average of 5,000 cubic feet. This increase in volume is a result of the roof and reactor head replacement projects and mandated security upgrades. Under the proposed EPU conditions, any increase in volume of solid waste would be due to increases in disposal of bead resins and filters. This increase would not be significant, although the amount of radioactivity in the waste would linearly increase. Even with such increases, Ginna LLC expects the results would remain below the generation volumes and doses in the FES. Therefore, the NRC concludes that there would be no significant impact to offsite dose due to solid waste disposal following the EPU. In-Plant Radiation Doses The proposed EPU would increase in-plant radiation dose rates linearly with the increase in core power level, by approximately 17 percent. These higher doses rates would not be expected to increase the annual average collective occupational doses more than 17 percent. Ginna LLC performed an analysis of the expected increased levels of radiation in the following four areas at Ginna: Areas near Reactor Vessel, In-Containment Areas Adjacent to the Reactor Coolant System, Areas near Irradiated Fuels and Other Irradiated Objects, and Areas outside Containment where the Radiation Source Is Derived from the Primary Coolant. Plant programs and administrative controls, such as conservatism used in the original design basis reactor coolant system source terms, conservatism used in designing plant shielding requirements, and the Ginna Station Radiation Protection Program would ensure that occupational doses would be maintained within regulatory limits of 10 CFR Part 20, with the expected 17-percent increase. Therefore, the NRC concludes that there would be no significant impact to in-plant radiation doses. Direct Radiation Doses Offsite Under the proposed EPU conditions, Ginna LLC predicted the increase to direct radiation doses offsite would be proportional to the uprate percentage increase, approximately 17 percent, from liquid and gaseous releases. Potential offsite doses were calculated using plant core power operating history, 1999-2003, reported gaseous and liquid effluent and dose data from 1999-2003, NUREG-0017 equations and assumptions, and a conservative methodology. The extrapolated and increased offsite dose calculations for the liquid and gaseous effluents were found to be well below the regulatory standards in 10 CFR Part 50, Appendix I, 40 CFR Part 190 and the FES. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that there would be no significant impact of offsite direct radiation doses. Postulated Accident Doses As a result of implementation of the proposed EPU, there would be an increase in the source term used in the evaluation of some of the postulated accidents in the FES. The inventory of radionuclides in the reactor core is dependent upon power level; therefore, the core inventory of radionuclides could increase by as much as 17 percent. The concentration of radionuclides in the reactor coolant might also increase by as much as 17 percent; however, this concentration is limited by the Ginna Technical Specifications. Therefore, the reactor coolant concentration of radionuclides would not be expected to increase significantly. This coolant concentration [[Page 18784]] is part of the source term considered in some of the postulated accident analyses. Some of the radioactive waste streams and storage systems evaluated for postulated accidents might contain slightly higher quantities of radionuclides. For those postulated accidents where the source term has increased, the calculated potential radiation dose to individuals at the site boundary (the exclusion area) and in the low population zone would be increased over values presented in the FES. The NRC's acceptance criteria for radiological consequences analysis using an alternative source term are based on 10 CFR 50.67. Ginna LLC's assessment of new calculated doses following the EPU are well below the NRC regulatory standard described in Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.183, ``Alternative Radiological Source Terms for Evaluating Design Basis Accidents at Nuclear Power Plants.'' The NRC staff is reviewing the licensee's analyses and performing confirmatory calculations to verify the acceptability of the licensee's calculated doses under accident conditions. The results of the NRC staff's calculations will be presented in the safety evaluation to be issued with the license amendment, and the EPU will not be approved by NRC unless the NRC staff's independent review of dose calculations under postulated accident conditions determines that dose is within regulatory limits. Therefore, the staff concludes if the doses from postulated accidents remained within the NRC regulatory limits of 10 CFR Part 50 and RG 1.183, the impacts would be small. Fuel Cycle and Transportation Impacts The environmental impacts of the fuel cycle and transportation of fuels and wastes are described in Tables S-3 and S-4 of 10 CFR 51.51 and 10 CFR 51.52, respectively. An additional NRC generic environmental assessment (53 FR 30355, dated August 11, 1988, as corrected by 53 FR 32322, dated August 24, 1988) evaluated the applicability of Tables S-3 and S-4 to a higher burnup fuel cycle and concluded that there is no significant change in environmental impact from the parameters evaluated in Tables S-3 and S-4 for fuel cycles with uranium enrichments up to 5-weight percent Uranium-235 and burnups less than 60,000 megawatt (thermal) days per metric ton of Uranium-235 (MWd/MTU). Ginna LLC has concluded that the fuel enrichment at Ginna would be increased up to 4.95 percent as a result of the proposed EPU. In addition, the expected core average exposure for the EPU would be approximately 52,000 MWd/MTU, with no fuel pins exceeding the maximum fuel rods limits. Therefore, the environmental impacts of the EPU would remain bounded by the impacts in Tables S-3 and S-4 and would not be significant. Summary The proposed EPU would not significantly increase the consequences of accidents, would not result in a significant increase in occupational or public radiation exposure, and would not result in significant additional fuel cycle environmental impacts based on information provided in the ER and the NRC staff's independent review. Accordingly, the Commission concludes that there are no significant radiological environmental impacts associated with the proposed EPU. Table 2 summarizes the radiological environmental impacts of the proposed EPU at Ginna. Table 2:--Summary of Radiological Environmental Impacts ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- Gaseous Effluents and Doses............ Small dose increase due to gaseous effluents; doses to individuals offsite would remain below NRC limits. Liquid Effluents and Doses............. No significant volume increase in liquid effluent generated would be expected; small increase of radioactive materials in liquid effluent; doses to individuals offsite would remain below NRC limits. Solid Radioactive Waste................ Volume of solid waste increased due to equipment replacement projects and security upgrades; increase in radioactive material would be expected; all increases (volume and dose) within NRC limits. In-plant Dose.......................... Occupational dose expected to increase by 17 percent overall; would remain within all NRC limits. Direct Radiation Dose.................. Increase of 17 percent would be expected; doses would remain below NRC regulatory standards and those in the FES. Postulated Accidents................... Increase in the source term used in the evaluation of postulated accidents. New calculated doses must meet NRC regulations (10 CFR 50.67), which will be confirmed and presented in NRC safety evaluation. Fuel Cycle and Transportation.......... Impacts in Tables S-3 and S-4 in 10 CFR Part 51, ``Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,'' are bounding. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------- Alternatives to Proposed Action As an alternative to the proposed action, the NRC staff considered denial of the proposed EPU (i.e., the ``no-action'' alternative). Denial of the application would result in no change in the current environmental impacts. The plant would continue to operate under its current licensing basis, possibly up to an additional 20 years. However, if the EPU were not approved, other agencies and electric power organizations might be required to pursue other means of providing electric generation capacity to offset future demand. The additional power not supplied by the Ginna site would likely be replaced by demand-side management and energy conservation, purchased power from other electricity providers, other alternative energy sources, or a combination of these options. The environmental impacts associated with the no-action alternative would also have positive impacts at Ginna (for example, increase in solid waste generation) would be eliminated. The environmental impacts of alternative sources of producing electrical power are described in the FES and Chapter 8 of NUREG-1437 Supplement 14. Non-nuclear power generation technologies considered were coal-fired and natural-gas fired generation at the Ginna or at an alternative site. The construction and operation of a coal or natural- gas fired plant would create greater negative environmental impacts in areas such as air quality, land use, and waste management, than those identified for [[Page 18785]] the proposed Ginna EPU. Implementation of the proposed EPU would have less impact on the environment than the construction and operation of a new coal or natural-gas fired plant at an alternative site. In addition, the EPU does not involve environmental impacts that are significantly different from those presented in the 1973 FES for Ginna. Therefore, the NRC staff concludes that the impacts of the no-action alternative would be greater than the impacts of the proposed action based on information in the FES and NUREG-1437 Supplement 14. Alternative Use of Resources This action does not involve the use of any resources not previously considered in the FES and NUREG-1437 Supplement 14. Agencies and Persons Consulted In accordance with its stated policy, on [xxxxxxxxxx], 2006, the NRC staff consulted with the State of New York official, [xxxxxxxx], of the Energy Research and Development Authority, regarding the environmental impact of the proposed action. The State official had [xxxxxxx] comments. Finding of No Significant Impact On the basis of the environmental assessment, the Commission concludes that implementation of the action as proposed would not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, the Commission has determined not to prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed action. For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the licensee's application dated July 7, 2005, as supplemented by letters dated August 15, September 30, December 6, 9, and 22, 2005, and January 11 and 25, and February 16 and March 3 and 24, 2006 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession Nos. ML051950123, ML052310155, ML052800223, ML053480388, ML053480362, ML053640080, ML060180262, ML060960416, ML060540349, ML060810218, and ML060940312, respectively). Documents may be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, Public File Area O-1F21, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic Reading Room on the NRC Web site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff at 1-800- 397-4209, or 301-415-4737, or send an e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. DATES: The comment period expires 30 days after publication. Comments received after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the Commission is only able to assure consideration of comments received on or before 30 days after publication. ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Chief, Rules and Directives Branch, Division of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T-6D59, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Written comments may also be delivered to 11545 Rockville Pike, Room T-6D59, Rockville, Maryland, 20852 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on Federal workdays. Copies of written comments received will be electronically available at the NRC's Public Electronic Reading Room (PERR) link, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html , on the NRC Web site or at the NRC's Public Document Room located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland 20852. Persons who do not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, or 301- 415-4737, or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NRC is considering issuance of an amendment to Facility Operating License No. DPR-18 issued to Ginna LLC for operation of Ginna, located in Wayne County, New York. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Milano, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Mail Stop O-8C2, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, by telephone at 301-415-1457, or by e-mail at pdm@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 6th day of April 2006. For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Patrick D. Milano, Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch I-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. [FR Doc. E6-5384 Filed 4-11-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 48 ITAR-TASS: Belarus MPs seek to attract more attention to Chernobyl problem 12.04.2006, 15.53 MINSK, April 12 (Itar-Tass) - Belarussian parliamentarians seek to attract additional attention of the world community to Chernobyl problems and the strengthening of international cooperation in fight against the aftermaths of man-caused catastrophes. “By urging the international community for cooperation, we don’t simply expect help, but are also ready to cooperate on equal conditions,” the lower house speaker, Vladimir Konoplyov, said on Wednesday. Speaking at parliamentary hearings “Chernobyl 20 years after: results and problems”, he said that over 1.3 million people live in contaminated territories. “They must be confident about tomorrow, and the most important tasks that must be solved consistently are legal social and medical protection of the people and employment,” Konoplyov said. He noted that the Chernobyl catastrophe has acquired the scope of a national disaster. Almost one fourth of the country’s territory was affected by nuclear contamination and each fifth Belarussian national has suffered as a result. The total damage from the catastrophe amounted to 32 budgets of Belarus for 1985. Addressing the hearings, Acting Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky said the implementation of the fourth state program on overcoming the disaster aftermath for 2006-2010 has been launched in the republic. He said 1.4 billion dollars are allocated from the republican budget alone. A considerable amount of money will be provided from local budgets. Unlike the three previous programs, aimed at liquidating the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, the fourth program is mainly aimed at social and economic revival of the regions hit by the disaster, he said. Particular attention is paid to social protection of over 11,000 Chernobyl invalids as well as 115,000 Chernobyl liquidators. © ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy, ***************************************************************** 49 DNM: UK sheep above radioactive safety limits due to Chernobyl Decision News Media SAS All Rights Reserved. By Ahmed ElAmin 12/04/2006 - The radioactive fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident means sheep at 374 farms in the UK are still restricted from entering the food chain. The UK's food regulator yesterday published three reports showing that sheep at the farms in Cumbria, Scotland and Wales still contain levels of radioactivity above safety limits. the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for ensuring food safety by preventing products with unacceptable levels of radioactivity from entering the supply chain. In 1986, an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in what is now the Ukraine released large quantities of radioactivity into the atmosphere. Some of the radioactivity, predominantly radiocaesium-137, was deposited in some upland areas of the UK, where sheep farming is the primary land-use. Due to the particular chemical and physical properties of the peaty soil types present in the areas, the radiocaesium is still able to pass easily from soil to grass. The radiocaesium then accumulates in the sheep that feeds on the grass. The FSA has used the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA) since 1986 to impose restrictions on the movement and sale of sheep exceeding the limit in certain parts of Cumbria, North Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Only sheep that have less than the maximum limit of 1,000 becquerels (a measure of radioactivity) per kilogram of radiocaesium are allowed to enter the food chain under the emergency orders in the FEPA. Initially the restricted areas were large, but have been reduced substantially as levels of radioactivity have fallen. All restrictions were lifted in Northern Ireland in 2000, the FSA stated. In 1986, almost 9000 farms were under these restrictions in the UK. Since then, the levels of radioactivity have fallen in some of the affected areas and the number of farms still under restriction in Cumbria, Scotland and Wales now stands at 374. A management system known as the "mark and release: scheme operates in the restricted areas. Under this scheme, a farmer wishing to move sheep out of a restricted area can have them monitored to determine the level of radiocaesium. Any sheep that exceed the working action level are marked with a dye and are not released from restrictions. Those that pass are allowed to enter the foodchain. Based on a new survey results, the reports propose that none of the farms still under restriction in Cumbria and Wales should have their restrictions lifted in the near future. In Scotland, the results led to one farm being released from restrictions in January 2006. The FSA plans further surveys so farms can be released from restrictions when the levels of radioactivity in sheep are within safety limits. Copyright - Unless otherwise stated all contents of this web site are © 2000/2006 – Decision News Media SAS – All Rights Reserved. ***************************************************************** 50 NewsRoom Finland: Greenpeace hires UK consultants to probe Finnish nuke site's concrete 12.4.2006 at 13:13 Greenpeace said Wednesday it would contract London-based consultants Large & Associates to assess the quality control problems of the concrete used at the Olkiluoto nuclear power station building site in Finland. In February, casting work was halted after the concrete in the ground slab was judged to be too porous. Greenpeace used the same consultants to assess the granting of the construction permit. Large & Associates found that the necessary safety preconditions for a permit did not exist. Greenpeace has also suggested that the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) has insufficient resources to monitor the construction of the world's first European Pressurised Reactor (EPR). /STT/ © Copyright STT 2006 © 1995 – 2005, Virtual Finland Produced by: Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland ***************************************************************** 51 UPI: Radioactive water leak at Japan plant United Press International - NewsTrack - 4/12/2006 8:00:00 AM -0400 ROKKASHO, Japan, April 12 (UPI) -- No injuries were reported after the leak of more than 10 gallons of radioactive water at a Japanese nuclear reprocessing plant in Rokkasho. A spokesman for the Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd., said no radioactivity was released into the atmosphere and the spill was contained, the Kyodo news agency reported Wednesday. The incident occurred while water was being transferred from one container to another to rinse spent nuclear fuel, the company said. The plant is one of Japan's first facilities to be able to extract uranium and plutonium from spent nuclear fuel, the BBC said. © Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************** 52 SNA: Russians, Czechs to Team Up in Bulgarian Nuke Construction www.novinite.com Sofia News Agency Sofia Morning News Business: 12 April 2006, Wednesday. Russian company "Atomstroyexport" is considering teaming up with Czech "Skoda" for the building of Bulgaria's Second Nuclear Power Plant in Belene, media reported. The two bidders may unite, if the Bulgarian government decides to go through with the project, Vladimir Porigin, head of the Atomstroyexport division for construction of new NPP abroad has said. Bulgaria's government had to choose the option that is cheapest to finance, and that offers the lowest electricity price, Porigin said for Dnevnik daily newspaper. The procedure allowed for creating such consortiums during the bids for Belene, he added. The National Electricity Company (NEC) in Bulgaria would be ready with their choice of a contractor for the Belene plant construction by the beginning of June, Porigin believes. Bulgaria's government has decided to build two 1,000-megawatt reactors of the VVER 1000 type at the site at Belene. The first unit should be ready by 2012, NEC plans. The total value of the whole project is about EUR 2 B to EUR 4 B and the contractor's bids were introduced in early February. NEC have already addressed about a thousand procedural questions at Atomstroyexport, and the company is expected to answer 800 of them by Friday. The Russian company, on the other hand, has received offers from about 20 Bulgarian companies that wish to become subcontractors to the project. Atomstroyexport is yet to audit the companies. Russian Gazprombank is also a strategic investor in the project, and the Russian government has granted a loan to guarantee the financing of the Belene plant construction. Atomstroyexport is to work together with Framatom, the company that will deliver and assemble the equipment for the Nuclear Power Plant. All Rights Reserved © Novinite Ltd., 2001-2006 - Copyright Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily ***************************************************************** 53 HindustanTimes.com: Enriched uranium seized in Assam One kilo enriched uranium seized in Meghalaya Press Trust of India Guwahati, April 12, 2006 One kilogram of enriched uranium, suspected to have been stolen from a government facility in Meghalaya, has been seized from three men trying to sell it, police sources said on Wednesday. A packet containing the uranium bore the marking 'Department of Atomic Energy, Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research Centre, North Eastern Region, Shillong', the sources said. Two more markings on the packet, 'explosive number 2000/LG/ 27-D' and 'B/337 Enriched Uranium', indicated that the substance was high grade uranium used as fuel at nuclear power stations. Three men, who had earlier asked for crores of rupees for the uranium, were approached by police personnel posing as customers on Tuesday. The men, after bargaining, agreed to sell the uranium for Rs 50 lakh, the sources said. The three persons, identified as Dhiren Bharali, Krishna Das and Nirod Das, were arrested and booked under the Explosives Act. A case was registered against them at the Panbazar police station. The uranium has been sent to a forensic laboratory for tests, the sources added. © HT Media Ltd. 2006. ***************************************************************** 54 [NYTr] US WMD: 15 Workers Treated for Possible Biowar Exposure Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 14:31:16 -0400 (EDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit NBC News - Apr 11, 2006 http://www.nbc4.com/news/8623747/detail.html 15 Treated For Possible VX, Mustard Agent Exposure None of the Workers Showed Symptoms ABERDEEN, Md., Apr 11--Fifteen people at an Army research laboratory were taken to an onsite clinic for monitoring Tuesday after a brief power outage put them at risk of exposure to small amounts of VX and mustard agent, Aberdeen Proving Ground officials said. None of the workers -- all employees of the Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense -- showed any symptoms following the 11:20 a.m. incident, Aberdeen Proving Ground spokesman George Mercer said. If anyone developed symptoms, they would be taken to a hospital, Mercer said. The power cut out for less than a minute, briefly shutting down the hoods that filter the air as researchers work with dangerous chemicals. Researchers were working with VX, a nerve agent, and mustard, a blister agent, in different parts of the lab, Mercer said. After the blackout, the researchers took steps to decontaminate themselves and make sure none of the chemicals escaped. Mercer said there was no danger to the public, other employees or APG residents. The research institute works on defenses against chemical weapons. Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================ ***************************************************************** 55 Las Vegas SUN: Mushroom cloud blast in Nevada desert said to meet state permit Today: April 12, 2006 at 17:12:20 PDT By KEN RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS LAS VEGAS (AP) - A huge non-nuclear explosion expected to generate a mushroom cloud in the Nevada desert will meet state air quality regulations, officials said Wednesday. State regulators have raised questions about pollution and hazardous materials from the planned June 2 detonation of 700 tons of an ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, an official with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection said. But the Nevada Test Site has a blasting permit, and state officials said they had no plan to try to block the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's experiment, dubbed "Divine Strake." "If they are going to comply with all the state air quality regulations within their permit, they will be allowed to go ahead," said Dante Pistone, spokesman for the state air quality regulatory agency in Carson City. "We are awaiting information on the air quality parameters of the test." Darwin Morgan, spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said the federal agency intends within the next two weeks to provide proof to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that the massive blast 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas won't violate pollution emissions standards set by a June 2004 air quality permit. "They have asked us to assure that we will be able to remain within the boundaries of our permit," Morgan said. "We fully intend to comply." Computer models show that detonating a 900-ton ammonium nitrate and fuel oil bomb would not violate state regulations, Morgan said. By comparison, the ammonium nitrate and fuel oil bomb that destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995 weighed 5,000 pounds, or 2 1/2 tons. A Defense Threat Reduction Agency spokeswoman said detonating a 700-ton bomb will help scientists chart ground motion and shock waves in an underground limestone tunnel built in 1998 but never used for nuclear testing. The closest underground nuclear test was conducted 1 1/2 miles from the Divine Strake site, said Irene Smith, spokeswoman for the agency in Fort Belvoir, Va. She said the test is expected to help design a weapon to penetrate hardened and deeply buried targets. The explosion should not disturb surface contamination left from 100 aboveground and 828 underground nuclear weapons tests conducted at the vast test site from 1951 to 1992, Morgan said. He said the nearest ground-zero areas of known contamination from aboveground tests are at least three miles from the Divine Strake location, in the center of the 1,375-square-mile federal reservation. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 56 Spectrum: MIT professor to speak on Baby Tooth Survey St. George - www.thespectrum.com - The Spectrum, St. George, UT By PATRICE ST. GERMAIN SPRINGDALE - Lois Iverson, who lost two sons to cancer - the result of being downwinders - never heard about the baby tooth survey, which is surprising since the former Cedar City resident was concerned about the nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site during the 1950s and early 1960s. The Baby Tooth Survey, initiated in 1958, was an attempt by an alliance of scientists, physicians and citizens from church groups and civic organizations to develop a data bank on the changing levels of strontium 90 in the milk supply by measuring its presence in baby teeth. Families were encouraged to save teeth as they fell out and to donate them for analysis. Over a five-year period, 250,000 teeth were collected from children who "gave their teeth to science" rather than to the tooth fairy. "I never heard anything about the baby teeth and my children were young enough to participate in that," Iverson said. Iverson, who now lives in St. George, lost two sons - one at 55 and another at 42 - to downwind-related cancers. Her daughter, now 54, is still being checked for thyroid problems. Dr. Charles Weiner, Professor of History of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will present a talk entitled, "The Atomic Fallout Controversies of the 1950s and 1960s: The Baby Tooth Survey" during a program Thursday night in Springdale sponsored by Z-Arts! Z-Arts! President Greer Cheshire said Weiner was going to give a talk at the University of Las Vegas and was able to get Weiner to stop in Springdale. "His wife is a painter so I think I talked him into it," Cheshire said. "But really, I'm looking forward to this and I've talked to people who remember watching the bombs go off and I think it will be a good turnout." Weiner will present a short historic film, created by the Atomic Energy Commission in the 1950s to assure the people of St. George there was no danger from atomic fallout. He'll also discuss the scientific and political controversy over the extent and human consequences of fallout from nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dr. Weiner would like to talk with people who encountered firsthand Southern Utah's experience with atomic testing in the 1950s and 1960s. Flanigan's Inn is located on Zion Park Boulevard in Springdale. His lecture is co-sponsored by the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and Z-Arts! Originally published April 12, 2006 + Dr. Charles Weiner, Professor of History of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will present a talk entitled, "The Atomic Fallout Controversies of the 1950s and 1960s: The Baby Tooth Survey," at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Deep Canyon Adventure Spa at Flanigan's Inn on Zion Park Boulevard in Springdale. The lecture is sponsored by Z-Arts!, The Zion Canyon Arts and Humanities Council. A reception will follow the presentation. For more information, contact Greer Cheshire at 669-5326. Copyright ©2006 The Spectrum. ***************************************************************** 57 Yokwe Net: Bikinians File Lawsuit in U.S. Court of Federal Claims Everything Marshall Islands :: http://www.yokwe.net The people of Bikini Atoll filed a lawsuit today, April 11, against the U.S. Government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Bikini Atoll is located in the Marshall Islands and was the site of U.S. Cold War nuclear testing. The lawsuit seeks compensation under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for the taking of their property damage claims resulting from the U.S. Government's failure and refusal to adequately fund the March 5, 2001 order of the Nuclear Claims Tribunal, according to Jack Niedenthal, Trust Liaison for the People of Bikini. Alternatively, the people of Bikini seek damages for the U.S. Government's breaches of its fiduciary duty to provide just and adequate compensation for the taking of their lands in consideration for their agreement to move off Bikini Atoll and for the breach of the implied duties and covenants integral to that agreement, the Compact of Free Association, and the Section 177 Agreement. The lawsuit will seek compensation and/or damages of at least $561,036,320 (which represents the Tribunal's original award to the Bikinians of $563,315,500 less the two payments totaling $2,279,180), plus interest as required by law. The total with interest today is $724,560,902. FROM THE COMPLAINT: The Nature of the Complaint On March 7, 1946, the U.S. Navy moved the people of Bikini in the Marshall Islands off their atoll in order to use it as a testing ground for nuclear bombs. The U.S. government moved the people of Bikini five times in four decades, even carelessly back to their own radioactive atoll until the islanders themselves had to sue the United States to be moved off. For 40 years, the Bikinians were wards of the United States, which had pledged to the United Nations to care for them and "protect [them] against the loss of their land and resources." Thanks in large part to the testing program at Bikini Atoll, the United States fought the Soviet Union to a nuclear testing stalemate and eventually won the Cold War, but it has never discharged its fiduciary obligations to the nuclear nomads of Bikini. Instead, defendant has walked away from those obligations. In a Compact of Free Association with the Marshall Islands, defendant "accepte[d] responsibility for compensation owing to" the people of Bikini and established a Nuclear Claims Tribunal, an alternative dispute resolution procedure specifically to render "final determination upon all claims past, present and future," of the citizens of the Marshall Islands arising out of the nuclear testing program. The people of Bikini litigated their claims before the Tribunal for over seven years, and on March 5, 2001, received an award of $563,315,500. However, due to woefully inadequate funding provided by the United States - only $45.75 million - the Tribunal was able to pay the Bikinians only $2,279,000, or less than one-half of one percent of their award. Parties Plaintiffs, the people of Bikini, the class for which this complaint is filed, are citizens of Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. All plaintiffs are either: (a) members of the Bikini community in 1946, under control of the United States by military occupation, when they were evacuated prior to "Operation Crossroads," the first American atomic bomb tests at Bikini; (b) direct descendants of such members; or (c) other persons who by traditional law and custom are recognized by the people of Bikini as members of their community. All plaintiffs and class members possess land rights on Bikini Atoll. Defendant United States of America took and controlled access to Bikini Atoll for most of the last six decades and has assumed fiduciary responsibilities to the people of Bikini. READ MORE: Download the entire DOC file - COMPLAINT FILED APRIL 11, 2006 ©Aenet Rowa, webmaster - yokwenet@aol.com Powered by PostNuke ***************************************************************** 58 icWales - Welsh MEP set to visit nuclear site Apr 12 2006 Abby Alford, South Wales Echo The on-going effects of the world's worst nuclear disaster are being highlighted as the 20th anniversary approaches. Plaid Cymru MEP and chairman of CND Cymru Jill Evans, 47, who lives in the Rhondda, is set to visit the ruptured reactor at the Chernobyl power plant in the Ukraine at the end of the month. Radiation spread across the former Soviet Union, Europe and parts of Wales after an explosion during a test on April 25, 1986. Rates of childhood cancer in Ukraine rose sharply and many children still travel to Wales for respite care. More than 350 Welsh farms are still subject to emergency restrictions on the movement of livestock. Copyright and Trade Mark Notice © owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror Plc 2006 icWalesTM is a trade mark of Trinity Mirror Plc. ***************************************************************** 59 Pahrump Valley Times: Sickened radiation workers get assistance April 12, 2006 By NANCY ZUCKERBROD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - For years, radiation experts at the nation's nuclear weapons sites failed to adequately protect workers from on-the-job hazards. Now, some of those experts are helping run a compensation program for the workers. The situation has attracted the attention of Congress, with one lawmaker pressing for an investigation into whether the workers are being treated fairly. Rep. John Hostettler recently wrote to the investigative arm of Congress to ask whether the contractor running the compensation program has policies that are "sufficient to ensure that conflicts or biases do not taint the credibility and quality of the science produced to date." Hostettler, R-Ind., is chairman of a House subcommittee that deals with people bringing claims against the government. Critics contend that the contractor, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, has put into key jobs people who have managed radiation monitoring programs at the weapons sites. In some cases, those people were witnesses for the government when it fought compensation claims. Jim Melius, who is on a presidential advisory board that oversees the program, said, "It's so critical for this program to be credible and for the claimants to have an understanding and confidence that the people who were monitoring them - and maybe in some cases failing to monitor them properly - will not be the people passing judgment on their exposures and on their compensation.'' Nearly 73,000 workers or their survivors have filed claims under the program, according to the Labor Department. Government officials say they are preparing a policy that will spell out how the contractor should handle conflicts of interest. "It's a very difficult, complex dilemma that we face," said Larry Elliott, who heads the office of compensation in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The agency oversees the contract. Elliott said the guidelines would try to balance the need to rely on the radiation experts at the nuclear facilities for their knowledge of the sites with concerns about potential biases. He said it was difficult to find experts on the effects of radiation who were not tied to the government's nuclear weapons program. "There is a limited pool of experts here," he said. Kate Kimpan, who directs the contractor's program, said her group will adhere to the guidelines and "ensure that our conclusions are beyond refute." Five years ago, Congress decided to compensate the Cold War-era workers - tens of thousands of whom worked at sites nationwide - after the government admitted putting them at risk of cancer caused by radiation exposure. Sick workers get $150,000 plus medical benefits. Former employees of the Nevada Test Site may be eligible for the benefits. The Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based contractor is writing reports that detail hazards at weapons facilities. The reports are blueprints the contractor is using to estimate how much radiation workers were exposed to. Critics say some of the authors appear biased. Kelly Schmidt, a worker and union leader at the Hanford site in Washington state, has complained that authors of the Hanford report managed important aspects of the radiation program there. Schmidt noted that a version of the report stated it was unlikely workers received large intakes of radiation that went unnoticed because there was "rigorous workplace monitoring" at Hanford. "It gives the impression that they're saying, 'Gosh, we did a great job,'" Schmidt said. An auditor working for the advisory board raised concerns, too, saying the Hanford report relied too heavily on the ability of shields placed around nuclear reactors to protect workers from radiation. The auditor also found that the Hanford report did not account for all the possible radiation that workers who handled recycled uranium might have been exposed to. An audit of Oak Ridge Associated Universities' report describing the Y-12 weapons plant in Tennessee found that exposure to radiation from thorium and plutonium was not adequately accounted for. An audit of the report the contractor did involving the Rocky Flats facility in Colorado found that the authors did not cast a critical enough eye on "possible data integrity issues." That is a reference, in part, to documents indicating workers had no radiation exposure when evidence would suggest otherwise. Some workers there are upset that a manager of the radiation monitoring program, Roger Falk, was an author. "By admitting that he didn't keep accurate records, he would be admitting that he didn't do a good job," said Tony DeMaiori, the former president of the local chapter of the United Steelworkers Union. "He is not objective." The contractor declined to make Falk available to The Associated Press. Kimpan, the program manager, said that under the new guidelines, site reports would include more details regarding who contributed to them and how. She also said there would be more oversight and more rigorous editing of the reports, though she reiterated that the experts who ran the monitoring programs would still be relied on. One instance where there is some agreement of a problem involves the report for the Paducah uranium plant in Kentucky. Carol Berger wrote the report for the compensation contractor and previously wrote an analysis assessing radiation exposure at Paducah for an Energy Department contractor. Berger copied parts of her old report into the new one, even though her earlier work had been challenged for underestimating radiation hazards in a subsequent Energy Department study. "Do I think a conflict of interest occurred at Paducah? Yes, I do," said Elliott, of NIOSH. The report is being revised. For comment or questions, please e-mail webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2006 ***************************************************************** 60 EPA: Companies to pay over $8 million, clean up Phoenix-area Superfund site Release date: 04/12/2006 Contact Information: Wendy L. Chavez, (415) 947-4248, chavez.wendy@epa.gov Settlement includes Brownfields redevelopment project (San Francisco, Calif.  April 12, 2006) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached a settlement requiring parties potentially responsible for soil and groundwater contamination at the Phoenix-Goodyear Airport North Superfund Site to pay over $8 million and clean up the site. Under the settlement, Unidynamics/Phoenix, Inc. and its parent company, Crane Co., are required to continue current cleanup at the site, conduct supplemental site investigation and future cleanup, pay $6.7 million in past costs and all future oversight costs, and pay $500,000 in penalties. The settlement also requires the companies to spend $1 million on an environmental project that includes the inventorying and assessment of up to 25 possible Brownfields sites in the city of Goodyear, complete four more extensive site assessments, and conduct cleanups at three of those sites. Goodyear is the community most impacted by the site contamination. We are ensuring prompt cleanup of the sites soil and groundwater contamination that continues to threaten valuable drinking water resources, said Wayne Nastri, the EPA's regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest region. We are conserving the Superfund by ensuring that those who contributed to the contamination pay for the cleanup. We are also pleased that part of the settlement will go toward assessing and potentially redeveloping abandoned properties in Goodyear. Holding companies responsible for clean-up of sites they contaminate is a positive step to ensure our air and water is clean in Arizona, stated Paul K. Charlton, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. The penalties are a result of the companies failure to comply with two EPA orders, issued in 1990 and 2003, requiring site cleanup. The companies continued some cleanup activities required in the orders, but violated the orders when they failed to conduct certain portions of the cleanup -- forcing the EPA to expend funds and conduct the work in their place. In July 2004, the U.S. filed a complaint on behalf of the EPA against Crane Co. and Unidynamics/Phoenix Inc. seeking penalties for violating EPA orders, past costs, and an injunction to compel the companies to fully conduct the site cleanup into the future. The settlement, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, will be made available for a 30-day public comment period. PGA-North is part of the larger Phoenix-Goodyear Airport Area Superfund site. The site was listed on the federal Superfund list in 1983 after the Arizona Department of Health Services discovered hazardous substances -- including trichloroethylene, also known as TCE, and other VOCs -- in local water supply wells. The site is comprised of a northern and southern area -- Unidynamics/Phoenix, Inc. and Crane Co. are the potentially responsible parties for the northern portion only. In the late 1990s, perchlorate, a common component of rocket fuel, was found in area wells, and was added as a contaminant of concern for the PGA-North Site. From 1963 through 1994, the Unidynamics/Phoenix, Inc. facility, located near the Phoenix-Goodyear Airport, manufactured defense and aerospace component systems, including pyrotechnics and explosives, causing hazardous substance releases. Following investigation in the late 1980s, the EPA in 1989 selected the remedy to clean up soil and ground water contamination. Cleanup has been underway at the site for over a decade, and the EPA is now working to confirm the full extent of contamination and adapt the cleanup to address it. ### ***************************************************************** 61 SignOnSanDiego.com: No takers found for drill that bored Yucca Mountain test tunnel By Benjamin Grove ASSOCIATED PRESS 11:58 p.m. April 11, 2006 LAS VEGAS  In the classic children's book, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Mike promises that his beloved but outdated machine Mary Anne can still dig a cellar in a single day. And she proves it, carving out a perfect hole for the new Popperville town hall  only to realize she dug herself in so deep there was no escape. So Mary Anne stayed there and adapted to a new role as the building's furnace, and as a kind of museum piece. So it is with the machine that dug the five-mile exploratory tunnel in Yucca Mountain, a gigantic $13 million drill bit that sits at the site unused  and for sale with no takers  nine years after its job was done. The Tunnel Boring Machine is becoming a monument to the project itself. Historians may one day consider The Machine a testament to our ability to dream and build big, or maybe an aging symbol of a failed idea. In the mid-1990s, as The Machine rumbled, there was more excitement about Yucca Mountain. The nuclear industry was flush with optimism that it would soon have a place to bury the spent radioactive fuel that comes out of reactors. Some public officials were confident they were pursuing the best, most technologically advanced solution to the nation's nuclear waste problem  burying 77,000 tons of it in tunnels under the mountain 90 northwest of Las Vegas. Energy Department officials spoke of Yucca as a project unlike any the world has ever known. It was no less than a test of man's ambition  and hubris, some said. But the desert ridge had yet to be excavated so scientists could examine its innards. The Machine would give researchers entree to the inside of the mountain to study the rock and test its reactions to heat and moisture. So the government bought a massive piece of machinery befitting the size of the $58 billion repository project  one of the biggest drill bits in the world at 860 tons, 25 feet wide. The Machine arrived in pieces on 50 trucks from a plant in Kent, Wash. It was reassembled at the foot of the mountain, and on a September day in 1994 it began to gnaw. Powered by 12 motors and 3,800 horsepower spinning 48 separate 17-inch cutter wheels, The Machine did its job well. For two and a half years it chewed at the rock, three shifts a day, five days a week. On occasions it reached a top speed of 18 feet per hour. It consumed tons of rock and a $130 million budget. In April 1997, the 1.7 million-pound gopher emerged victorious from its five-mile, U-shaped hole. The moment was dubbed, The Daylighting. Then-project manager Wesley Barnes pumped his fist with pride. Workers cheered. Not long after, the department treated The Machine to a bath of fresh white paint. But the glory faded. And with its work complete, The Machine was unceremoniously discarded not far from the tunnel's South Portal. It sits there still. The Energy Department has tried to get rid of it. Most of its attachments, which had included trailers and gantries that made the entire apparatus longer than a football field, were sold as scrap a few years ago. The Energy Department offered The Machine to other government agencies. The feds tried to sell it commercially. But it wasn't like unloading a 1994 Subaru. One potential buyer offered a few hundred thousand dollars, but the department refused to be low-balled. The scrap alone is probably worth that, department spokesman Allen Benson said. Today, The Machine is a highlight of the Yucca Mountain tour. Visitors are awed by its size. Some Energy Department employees argue that it should be put on permanent display. Copyright 2006 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. • A Copley Newspaper Site ***************************************************************** 62 Las Vegas SUN: The kiss of political death? Today: April 12, 2006 at 8:0:37 PDT President Bush is coming to Las Vegas later this month in support of Rep. Jon Porter Many Republicans in Congress, now raising money for their midterm election campaigns, realize that they invite President Bush to their districts at their own risk. They are afraid of the backlash from Bush's national and international stumbles, such as Iraq, Social Security, domestic spying, ports security, deficit spending and Hurricane Katrina. Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., has even more to be concerned about. Bush has gone back on his campaign promise to Nevada, that "sound science" would dictate his decision on Yucca Mountain. But for the six years he's been in office, politics and pressure from the nuclear power industry have been Bush's only guides. His latest plan is to fast-track Yucca Mountain and stuff more than 132,000 tons of nuclear waste into it, when 77,000 tons have been the limit in the past. Bush also wanted last year to rewrite the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act so that hundreds of millions of dollars a year belonging to Nevada could be diverted into the federal treasury to partially compensate for his cut-taxes-and-spend policy. Nevertheless, Bush will be in Las Vegas on April 24 for a Porter fundraiser at the Venetian. At least no one can accuse Porter of not being a risk-taker on this one. All contents copyright 2005 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 63 Platts: French opinion split between deep, shallow nuclear waste storage London (Platts)--12Apr2006 French opinion is split almost evenly between deep and shallow storage nuclear waste, according to the latest national survey conducted for the Institute of Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety, or IRSN. Forty-six percent of those polled opted for near-surface disposal, while 42% preferred a deep repository, the "IRSN Barometer 2006" revealed. Among those with a higher education level, a majority (57%) favored a shallow repository allowing easier retrieval of waste for further treatment or if the waste packages degenerate too quickly, IRSN said in a summary of the poll issued today. The Barometer also indicated that the French public thinks the nuclear community is competent but not as credible as citizens' groups or medical doctors. Politicians scored less than 10% on the credibility issue, and 25% of Frenchmen said the country's future waste management law won't take into account the conclusions of the recent national debate on the subject. IRSN posted the report on its web site (www.irsn.org). For more news, request a free trial to Platts Nucleonics Week at http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/ Copyright © 2006 - Platts, All Rights Reserved [The McGraw-Hill Companies] ***************************************************************** 64 NWTRB: Board Meeting FR Doc 06-3469 [Federal Register: April 12, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 70)] [Notices] [Page 18787-18788] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr12ap06-123] NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD Board Meeting: May 9, 2006--McLean, Virginia; The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board will meet to discuss the Department of Energy's (DOE) proposed implementation of a canister system for transportation, aging, and disposal (TAD) of spent nuclear fuel. Pursuant to its authority under 5051 of Public Law 100-203, Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board will meet in McLean, Virginia, on Tuesday May 9, 2006. The Board was charged in the Nuclear Waste Amendments Act of 1987 with conducting an independent review of the technical and scientific validity of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) activities related to disposing of, packaging, and transporting spent nuclear fuel and high- level radioactive waste. At the May meeting, the Board will review DOE efforts to develop and implement a ``clean canister'' or ``TAD'' approach to waste management. If the TAD concept is adopted, nuclear utilities would seal spent fuel into canisters at reactor sites. The canisters could then be loaded into casks for transportation, aging, or disposal of the waste. Also on the agenda is a discussion of infiltration data and an update on Yucca Mountain surface- facilities- design. A final meeting agenda will be available on the Board's Web site (http://www.nwtrb.govRS & ) approximately one week before the meeting date. The agenda also may be obtained by telephone request at that time. The meeting will be open to the public, and opportunities for public comment will be provided. The meeting will be held at the Hilton Tysons Corner; 7920 Jones Branch Drive; McLean, Virginia 22102; telephone 703-847-5000; fax 703- 761-5100. The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. with an overview of the Yucca Mountain program and the TAD canister concept by DOE representative and reactions to the TAD program by industry representatives. After lunch, additional presentations will discuss the technical analyses that support the TAD decision and the effects of adopting a TAD system on design of Yucca Mountain program and the TAD canister concept by DOE representatives and reactions to the TAD program by industry representatives. After lunch, additional presentations will discuss the technical [[Page 18788]] analyses the support TAD decision and the effects of adopting a TAD system on design of Yucca Mountain surface facilities. In addition to the TAD presentations, one or more presentations on other topics are expected, including a review of infiltration data. Time will be set aside at the end of the day for public comments. Those wanting to speak are encouraged to sign the ``Public Comment Register'' at the check-in-table. A time limit may have to be set on individual remarks, but written comments of any length may be submitted for the record. Transcripts of the meetings will be available on the Board's Web site, by e-mail, on computer disk, and on a library-loan basis in paper format from Davonya Barnes of the Board's staff, no later than June 1, 2006. A block of rooms has been reserved for meeting participants at the Hilton Tysons Corner. When making a reservation, please state that you are attending the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board meeting. Reservations should be made by April 17, 2006, to ensure receiving the meeting rate. For more information, contact Karyn Severson, NWTRB External Affairs; 2300 Clarendon Boulevard, Suite 1300; Arlington, VA 22201- 3367; 703-235-4473; fax 703-235-4495. Dated: April 5, 2006. William D. Barnard, Executive Director, Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. [FR Doc. 06-3469 Filed 4-11-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6820-AM-M ***************************************************************** 65 NRC: Advisory Committee On Nuclear Waste; Notice of Meeting FR Doc E6-5385 [Federal Register: April 12, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 70)] [Notices] [Page 18785-18786] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr12ap06-119] The Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) will hold its 169th meeting on April 18-20, 2006, Room T-2B3, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The schedule for this meeting is as follows: Tuesday, April 18, 2006 10 a.m.-10:15 a.m.: Opening Statement (Open)--The ACNW Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of the meeting. 10:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m.: Overview of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (Open)--A faculty member of Purdue University (PRIME Lab) will brief the Committee on the methodology of accelerator mass spectrometry, including the statistical analysis of analytical results. 11:15 a.m.-12 Noon: Update on U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Chlorine-36 Studies at Yucca Mountain (Open)--DOE representatives will update the Committee on the status of Chlorine-36 validation studies at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: Briefing from National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on Its 2006 Report on the Transportation of High-Level Nuclear Waste (Open)--NAS representatives will brief the Committee on their recent report titled ``Going the Distance? The Safe Transport of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste in the United States.'' A copy of this report is available on the NAS Web site at . 4:45 p.m.-5:15 p.m.: Proposed Rulemaking on Naturally Occurring or Accelerator-Produced Radioactive Materials (Open)--A representative from NRC's Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS) will brief the Committee on the staff's proposed rulemaking to implement Section 651(e) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to include certain discrete sources of naturally occurring or accelerator-produced radioactive materials (NARM) in NRC's regulations for byproduct material. 5:15 p.m.-6:15 p.m.: Discussion of Draft Letters and Reports (Open)--The Committee will discuss proposed ACNW letters. Wednesday, April 19, 2006 8:30 a.m.-8:35 a.m.: Opening Remarks by the ACNW Chairman (Open)-- The ACNW Chairman will make opening [[Page 18786]] remarks regarding the conduct of the meeting. 8:35 a.m.-9:30 a.m.: Update on DOE Activities at the Yucca Mountain Site (Open)--DOE representatives will brief the Committee on recent activities related to the development of a proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: Update on Nye County Independent Early Warning Drilling Program (Open)--Representatives from Nye County and DOE will provide the Committee with an update of technical developments related to this independent ground water monitoring program. 1 p.m.-2 p.m.: Modeling Igneous Activity: Dynamic Controls on Summit and Flank Eruptions of Basalt (Open)--A faculty member of Cambridge University (an NMSS contractor) will brief the Committee on research regarding a theoretical model for the eruption of basalt through multiple vents originating from a common source. The discussion will address partitioning of flow between summit and flank vents. This work potentially applies to the proposed Yucca Mountain repository. 2 p.m.-3 p.m.: Modeling Igneous Activity: Magma Interactions with a Geologic Repository (Open)--An ACNW consultant from the Johns Hopkins University will present an analysis of the realistic effects of magma solidification during potential interactions with repository drifts and waste packages. This work potentially applies to the proposed Yucca Mountain repository. 3:15 p.m.-4:15 p.m.: DOE Performance Confirmation Program Plan: NRC Staff Perspective and Update (Open)--NMSS representatives will brief the Committee on the staff's preliminary views regarding the most recent update of DOE's Performance Confirmation Program Plan. 4:15 p.m.-5 p.m.: Physical Capacity of Yucca Mountain for the Emplacement of High-Level Waste (Open)--A representative from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) will present a preliminary analysis of the physical capacity of Yucca Mountain for the disposal of additional commercial spent nuclear fuel. 5 p.m.-6 p.m.: Discussion of Draft Letters and Reports (Open)--The Committee will discuss proposed ACNW letters. Thursday, April 20, 2006 8:30 a.m.-8:35 a.m.: Opening Remarks by the ACNW Chairman (Open)-- The ACNW Chairman will make opening remarks regarding the conduct of the meeting. 8:35 a.m.-10:30 a.m.: NRC Radiation Research Program (Open)-- Representatives of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research will brief the Committee on recent NRC-sponsored activities in the area of health physics research. 10:45 a.m.-4 p.m.: Discussion of Draft Letters and Reports (Open)-- The Committee will discuss proposed ACNW letters. 4 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: Miscellaneous (Open)--The Committee will discuss matters related to the conduct of ACNW activities and specific issues that were not completed during previous meetings, as time and availability of information permit. Discussions may include future Committee Meetings. Procedures for the conduct of and participation in ACNW meetings were published in the Federal Register on October 11, 2005 (70 FR 59081). In accordance with these procedures, oral or written statements may be presented by members of the public. Electronic recordings will be permitted only during those portions of the meeting that are open to the public. Persons desiring to make oral statements should notify Mr. Michael R. Snodderly (Telephone 301-415-6927), between 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, as far in advance as practicable so that appropriate arrangements can be made to schedule the necessary time during the meeting for such statements. Use of still, motion picture, and television cameras during this meeting will be limited to selected portions of the meeting as determined by the ACNW Chairman. Information regarding the time to be set aside for taking pictures may be obtained by contacting the ACNW office prior to the meeting. In view of the possibility that the schedule for ACNW meetings may be adjusted by the Chairman as necessary to facilitate the conduct of the meeting, persons planning to attend should notify Mr. Snodderly as to their particular needs. Further information regarding topics to be discussed, whether the meeting has been canceled or rescheduled, the Chairman's ruling on requests for the opportunity to present oral statements and the time allotted, therefore can be obtained by contacting Mr. Snodderly. ACNW meeting agenda, meeting transcripts, and letter reports are available through the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) at , or by calling the PDR at 1-800-397-4209, or from the Publicly Available Records System component of NRC's document system (ADAMS) which is accessible from the NRC Web site at or (ACRS & collections/ (ACRS & ACNW Mtg schedules/agendas). Video Teleconferencing service is available for observing open sessions of ACNW meetings. Those wishing to use this service for observing ACNW meetings should contact Mr. Theron Brown, ACNW Audiovisual Technician (301-415-8066), between 7:30 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. ET, at least 10 days before the meeting to ensure the availability of this service. Individuals or organizations requesting this service will be responsible for telephone line charges and for providing the equipment and facilities that they use to establish the video teleconferencing link. The availability of video teleconferencing services is not guaranteed. Dated: April 6, 2006. Andrew L. Bates, Advisory Committee Management Officer. [FR Doc. E6-5385 Filed 4-11-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 66 NRC: Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste Meeting on Planning and FR Doc E6-5386 [Federal Register: April 12, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 70)] [Notices] [Page 18786-18787] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr12ap06-120] Procedures; Notice of Meeting The Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) will hold a Planning and Procedures meeting on April 18, 2006, Room T-2B3, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The entire meeting will be open to public attendance, with the exception of a portion that may be closed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(2) and (6) to discuss organizational and personnel matters that relate solely to internal personnel rules and practices of ACNW, and information the release of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The agenda for the subject meeting shall be as follows: Tuesday, April 18, 2006--8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. The Committee will discuss proposed ACNW activities and related matters. The purpose of this meeting is to gather information, analyze relevant issues and facts, and formulate proposed positions and actions, as appropriate, for deliberation by the full Committee. Members of the public desiring to provide oral statements and/or written comments should notify the Designated Federal Official, Mr. Michael R. Snodderly (Telephone: 301/415-6927) between 8:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. (ET) five days prior to the meeting, if possible, so [[Page 18787]] that appropriate arrangements can be made. Electronic recordings will be permitted only during those portions of the meeting that are open to the public. Further information regarding this meeting can be obtained by contacting the Designated Federal Official between 8:15 a.m. and 5p.m. (ET). Persons planning to attend this meeting are urged to contact the above named individual at least two working days prior to the meeting to be advised of any potential changes in the agenda. Dated: April 4, 2006. Michael R. Snodderly, Acting Branch Chief, ACRS/ACNW. [FR Doc. E6-5386 Filed 4-11-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P ***************************************************************** 67 Knox News: Munger: Oak Ridge survives call for change By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com April 12, 2006 In testimony last week before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, Thomas D'Agostino, a high-level federal official who oversees nuclear weapons production, outlined plans for reshaping the weapons complex of the future. It was the first official response to last year's report by the Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board, which recommended consolidation of the nuclear facilities at a single site to save money long term and provide better protection against terrorism and other threats. D'Agostino said the National Nuclear Security Administration, an arm of the Department of Energy, supported the task force's work and planned to carry out several of its recommendations. News reports focused on the government's plans to consolidate some weapons activities and pull together all of the plutonium now stockpiled at multiple sites - such as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California - and put it in a safe location. The stories also noted the Bush administration's plan to move forward with development of a "reliable replacement warhead," reiterating some of the same points that D'Agostino's boss - NNSA Administrator Linton Brooks - made during a March 3 speech at the East Tennessee Economic Council. From an Oak Ridge perspective, however, the big news emanating from D'Agostino's appearance before Congress was not what's going to change in the weapons complex but what isn't. Indeed, the NNSA didn't accept the advisory group's main recommendation. D'Agostino said it just didn't make sense to consolidate all parts of the nuclear weapons complex, including the Y-12 warhead plant in Oak Ridge, at a single location. Some folks had said all along the proposal was politically impossible because it would have required the closure of multiple facilities that were big employers. Any move in that regard would surely raise the ire of elected officials and communities, such as Oak Ridge, that have hosted these nuclear facilities, in some cases since World War II. D'Agostino said large-scale relocation wasn't the right decision, "even setting aside the serious question of political feasibility." He said the advisory board's task force underestimated the challenges of transitioning a nuclear workforce to a new location, "particularly in such unique and highly skilled jobs as materials processing/component manufacture involving HEU (highly enriched uranium) or plutonium." Y-12, of course, is the nation's storehouse for bomb-grade uranium and produces parts for every nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal, specializing in so-called secondaries - the second stage of nuclear warheads. That apparently won't change. D'Agostino's testimony supported Y-12's continuing role in weapons production and dismantlement. He also endorsed a new storage center for highly enriched uranium, which is already under construction, and other major modernization projects on the drawing board at the Oak Ridge plant. Future production of uranium parts and secondaries would be carried out at a new Y-12 facility, D'Agostino told the Armed Services Committee. The proposed Uranium Processing Facility has an estimated price tag of $1 billion. So, D'Agostino's message for Oak Ridge was basically: Keep on keepin' on. Maybe doubters never thought the government would try to transplant Y-12's missions to another part of the U.S. or transport the plant's vast stockpile of enriched uranium with a cross-country convoy of high-security trucks. But local supporters surely were pleased to hear it said in an official way. Steven Wyatt, a federal spokesman at Y-12, applauded the testimony, but his words were cautious and restrained. Cheerleading is frowned upon in government circles. "This approach fits in well with our long-term modernization strategy," Wyatt said. "This builds on our extensive capabilities and broad expertise associated with the refurbishment of nuclear weapons secondaries." Translation: Hurrah. Senior Writer Frank Munger covers the Department of Energy for the News Sentinel. He may be reached at 865-342-6329 or at munger@knews.com. This column is also available in the opinion section of knoxnews.com. Copyright 2006, Knoxville News Sentinel Co. ***************************************************************** 68 DOE: Jefferson Lab Contract to be Awarded to Jefferson Science Associates, LLC for Management and Operation of World-Class Office of Science Laboratory April 12, 2006 OAK RIDGE , TN  The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, as the contractor for management and operation of the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The contract, which has a potential value of $2 billion, becomes effective on April 17, 2006. We have selected the team that we believe is best equipped to lead this important Office of Science laboratory for the department, and we look forward to working with them as they manage Jefferson Lab in support of the scientific community, said Dr. Raymond Orbach, Director of the Office of Science. The contract consists of a five-year base period with a value of $500 million. The contractor may earn up to an additional 15 years based on performance, bringing the total contract value to $2 billion over 20 years. Jefferson Science Associates, LLC is a joint venture between Southeastern Universities Research Association, Inc., and CSC Applied Technologies, LLC, and brings the expertise of both companies to the management and operation of Jefferson Lab. Southeastern Universities Research Association, Inc., with headquarters in Washington, D.C., brings a wealth of scientific expertise in the areas of nuclear physics and accelerator technology. CSC Applied Technologies LLC, with an office in Fort Worth, Texas, brings a strong background in operations and business management systems. Dr. Christoph Leemann will serve as the laboratory director. Both companies bring skills that will allow us to continue to raise the prominence of this laboratory, and we welcome Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, to the Office of Science team, Dr. Orbach said. Jefferson Lab is the Office of Sciences primary laboratory devoted to the study of nuclear physics. Its main focus is to understand how quarks  the basic building blocks of the nucleus of every atom  build up the matter around us. The research program consists of investigation of the fundamental structure of matter and is home to United States expertise in superconducting accelerator technologies. User facilities include the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility and the Free Electron Laser. Over 2,000 researchers from around the world use these facilities every year. Jefferson Lab was established in 1984 and is located on a 206 acre site in Newport News, Virginia. Approximately 700 people are employed at the facility, which has an annual budget of about $100 million. For more information on current program activities, visit the website http://www.jlab.org/. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, providing more than 40 percent of total funding for this vital area of national importance. It oversees and is the principal federal funding agency of the nations research programs in high-energy physics, nuclear physics, and fusion energy sciences. Media contact(s): Craig Stevens, (202) 586-4940 [ ] U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 | ***************************************************************** 69 Hanford News: Board urges simpler Hanford contracts This story was published Tuesday, April 11th, 2006 By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer Hanford should move to a single contract for work in the nuclear reservation's central area to avoid costly duplication of services, the Hanford Advisory Board has recommended. And any new agreements should avoid a two-tiered pension and benefits plan the Department of Energy has envisioned as a way to save money, the board added. The Department of Energy's preliminary plans for new contracts at Hanford call for splitting two expiring contracts held by Fluor Hanford and CH2M Hill Hanford Group into three new contracts. The three would cover CH2M Hill's present work at the tank farms and split work now done by Fluor into two contracts. One would cover central Hanford waste cleanup and disposal, except for the emptying and closing of 177 underground tanks holding radioactive waste from the production of plutonium at Hanford. The other would provide support services, such as utilities, road maintenance, fire protection and information technology. No rationale has been provided for the "artificial partitioning" of related work, said the advice sent from the advisory board to DOE after HAB's April meeting. One of the new contractors might be responsible for closing the tanks and another for cleaning up contaminated soil under and around them. The HAB advice said, "From a cost and efficiency perspective, having one Central Plateau contract may provide savings and help address challenges in integrating work" between DOE's two Hanford offices, the Richland Operations Office and the Office of River Protection. A single contract would allow more flexibility in moving highly qualified workers and management from project to project as priorities change, HAB said. It also would allow similar flexibility with budgets and equipment. Each of the new contracts could require such duplicate services as public information and human resources, which could cost less under a single contract, said Todd Martin, HAB chairman. The board also is concerned that workers be provided equal benefits for equal work, he said. Preliminary information from DOE said Hanford workers now covered by the site's pension program would remain in the program. But new hires would be covered by cheaper market-based pension plans offered by the three new contractors. The board not only wants to eliminate that two-tiered proposal, but also wants DOE to consider reinstating workers previously dropped from the program. Those include workers assigned to "enterprise companies" that were supposed to develop non-Hanford business in addition to doing Hanford work. Some workers continue to do the same Hanford work they did before being assigned to those companies, but no longer are building benefits in the Hanford pension program. HAB's advice to DOE also addressed safety records in light of DOE's failed attempt to award a small business contract to finish shutting down Hanford's Fast Flux Test Facility. Safety and Ecology Corp. of Tennessee initially was awarded the contract in 2004, even though it had dripped radioactive waste down a state highway months earlier while doing cleanup work in Oak Ridge, Tenn. "It is imperative new contractors have strong safety records on decommissioning and demolition work," HAB's advice said. "The safety records should be a significant part of the qualifications, and these should be available for public review." The contracts held by Fluor and CH2M Hill expire at the end of September, but DOE plans to extend them by up to 24 months to allow time to award new contracts. DOE has released little information beyond a three-page preliminary proposal for the new contracts in January. The new contracts will not include cleanup along the Columbia River, being done by Washington Closure Hanford, or the construction, testing and operation of the vitrification plant to treat tank waste. © 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 70 The Enquirer: Fernald cleanup close to finished Cincinnati.Com Last Updated: 5:08 am | Wednesday, April 12, 2006 Fernald cleanup close to finished Trucks haul away last waste in Silo 3 BY PEGGY O'FARRELL | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER CROSBY TWP. - Trucks carried away the last radioactive waste from Silo 3 on Tuesday, and the Fernald cleanup project took an important step toward completion. The 10-year, $4.4 billion project to transform the former nuclear weapons plant from a toxic waste site to an undeveloped park is 96 percent complete, said Con Murphy, Fluor Fernald closure project director. In the past year, workers removed 5,100 cubic yards of thorium-bearing radioactive waste from the silo. The waste is being trucked to a landfill west of Salt Lake City, Utah. "That material was in that silo for more than 50 years," Murphy said. Getting the waste out of the silo - 80 feet around by more than 30 feet tall - was one of many challenges cleanup crews faced. The three concrete storage silos on the site held the most dangerous radioactive waste. Silos 1 and 2 are now empty and are being torn down, but the last of the waste still has to be shipped out by rail to a disposal site in Texas, Murphy said. That phase of the project should be done by the end of the month. Fluor Fernald, the contractor cleaning up the site, designed and built a $41 million waste extraction and packaging facility to handle the material in Silo 3. Workers vacuumed about 65 percent of the material out of the top of the silo, using an airlock system to keep the waste from dispersing into the air or into the stream that runs alongside the site. The consistency of the waste at the top of the silo was "like talcum powder," said Jeff Wagner, spokesman for the project. But after 50 years, the material at the bottom of the silo had compacted to a cement-like consistency. So workers cut a hole in the side of the silo and sent in a remote-controlled robotic excavator to dig the last of it out. Now crews are working on decontaminating and dismantling the silo and packaging facility, Murphy said. As part of the cleanup project, the 1,050-acre site is being transformed into a wilderness area of connected swamp, prairie and forest zones for wildlife and wildlife watchers. E-mail pofarrell@enquirer.com [E-mail this] E-mail this | [Printer-Friendly] Cleanup of the Fernald site, which was a nuclear weapons plant from 1951 to 1989, should be complete by the end of the July, officials say. Among the remaining tasks: Decontamination and demolition of Silo 3 Shipping the last of the waste removed from Silos 1 and 2 to a disposal site in Texas Dismantling of production plants and support structures (92 percent complete) Complete remediation of contaminated sections of the Great Miami Aquifer, along with treatment of contaminated storm or waste water generated by cleanup activities (51 percent complete) Restore 900 acres to a wilderness state (65 percent complete) Fill and cap the eight-cell soil and disposal facility, which holds low-level contaminated soil and debris. Six cells are filled and capped. A seventh is full, but not capped. The eight is almost 70 percent filled. Source: Fluor Fernald ***************************************************************** 71 Pahrump Valley Times: Energy Secretary to visit Nevada this week April 12, 2006 PVT WASHINGTON BUREAU WASHINGTON - Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman will visit Nevada later this week with tours set Thursday for Yucca Mountain and the Nevada Test Site, DOE sources said. Details were to be announced Tuesday for Bodman's first trip to the state since becoming a member of the Bush Cabinet in January 2005. It was scheduled to coincide with the department sending Congress legislation last week to speed development of the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. A department official said Bodman will arrive in Las Vegas on Wednesday evening, spend Thursday at the installations and fly out on Friday. Bodman plans to make himself publicly available during his trip, a DOE official said, but details were not in place on Monday. It also was unclear whether he will include stops at DOE's Yucca Mountain office in Summerlin or the North Las Vegas management office for the Test Site. For comment or questions, please e-mail webmaster@pahrumpvalleytimes.com Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2006 ***************************************************************** NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: *****************************************************************