*****************************************************************
05/08/06 ****     RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL)       **** VOL 14.109
*****************************************************************
   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 UPI: China faces shortage of nuclear workers
2 [progchat_action] Pelosi: "All options on the table for Iran"
3 [NYTr] Russia Says UN Plan for Iran Is "First Step to War"
4 [NYTr] Blair: Nuking Iran Would Be "Absurd"
5 [NYTr] Iran's Ahmadinejad writes to Bush, ending 26-year hiatus
6 IRNA: World states should accept nuclear disarmament to promote peac
7 New York Times: Iran Threatens to Quit Nuclear Treaty if U.N. Acts -
8 Guardian Unlimited: U.N. Resolution on Iran Concerns China
9 Guardian Unlimited: Rice Says Iran's Letter Not an Overture
10 Guardian Unlimited: Officials: Iran's President Writes to Bush
11 Guardian Unlimited: Blair: Nuking Iran Would Be Absurd
12 Guardian Unlimited: Indonesia Backs Iran on Nuclear Ambitions
13 BBC: Ahmadinejad sends letter to Bush
14 IRNA: Iran calls for peaceful settlement of its N-case - Larijani
15 IRNA: Pakistan backs Iran's peaceful nuclear program 
16 AFP: Iran's Ahmadinejad writes to Bush, ending 26-year hiatus -
17 AFP: Six major powers to meet Monday to seek unity on Iran 
18 AFP: Ahmadinejad writes to Bush amid worsening nuclear crisis -
19 AFP: Blair denies Iran or US caused demotion of foreign minister Str
20 IRNA: Iran assures regional states of its peaceful N-activities - As
21 AFP: Iran letter does not change US position - White House -
22 IRNA: Chinese FM to discuss Iran N-case with counterparts
23 IRNA: Iran's nuclear case not affecting capital attraction
24 IRNA: Iran preserves right to reconsider ties with Int'l bodies - El
25 Korea Herald: UNSG Annan to visit Korea this week   
26 Korea Times: UN Chief to Visit Seoul Next Week 
27 Guardian Unlimited: The education of a new foreign secretary
28 TorontoSun.com: The Final Say
29 News & Star: UKAEA could go private
 
                         NUCLEAR REACTORS
 
30 US: [NukeNet] Future of Nuclear Power -- Living on Earth Radio
31 US: NRC: NRC Sets Review Schedule on Revised Application for North A
32 US: MercuryNews.com: Nuclear energy debate fraught with myths on dan
33 Korea Herald: U.S. acceptance of refugees may affect nuke talks   
34 The Herald: UK should supply own energy
35 US: APP.COM: Oyster Creek expected to restart later this week |
36 US: Daily Yomiuri: Villages gain from hosting nuclear plants 
37 US: NRC: Southern Nuclear Operating Company; Notice of Withdrawal of
38 US: NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for th
39 US: South Florida Sun-Sentinel: FPL contemplates building another nu
40 SNA: Bulgarian Nuke Accident Rated 2 at INES
41 globeandmail.com: Ontario's nuclear strategy is a lesson in senility
 
                          NUCLEAR SECURITY
 
42 US: News Tribune: Port decides not to handle uranium for nuclear fue
 
                          NUCLEAR SAFETY
 
43 UN Nuclear And Health Agencies Team Up To Fight Cancer In Eastern Me
44 US: Salt Lake Tribune: 'Divine Strake' delayed? Agency says, 'no' 
45 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Don't believe it's safe
46 edie news centre: Weapons test site contamination needs more researc
 
                         NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
 
47 US: [NukeNet] Arizona: Fatal truck accident involves radioactive
48 US: [NukeNet] Arizona: Fatal Truck Accident Involves Radioactive
49 Guardian Unlimited: UK may float stake in uranium enrichment firm
50 US: Arizona Republic: Interstate re-opens after radioactive truck ac
51 Portal da Cidadania: Brazil develops own uranium enrichment technolo
 
                           PEACE
 
 
                        US DEPT. OF ENERGY
 
52 Knox News: Old reactor gets new lease on life
53 DOE: Assistant Secretary of Energy Highlights Delawares 
54 DOE: U.S. Works With Kazakhstan to Stop Nuclear and Radioactive 
55 SF Chronicle: Scanner in works to detect nuclear weapons / Livermore
56 Independent: Russia says UN plan for Iran is 'first step to war' 
57 DOE: RIN 1991-AB67 DOE management plan
58 Post and Courier: Persevere on SRS plan
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
                         FULL NEWS STORIES
*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************
 1 UPI: China faces shortage of nuclear workers
     
  United Press International - Energy - 

5/8/2006 8:59:00 AM -0400                               

BEIJING, May 8 (UPI) -- China's plans to develop its nuclear
power industry faces a major hurdle: a shortage of personnel, a
top nuclear expert says. 

"The number of current staff is far below the demand of the
nuclear industry, especially the nuclear power industry," said
Kang Rixin, general manager of China National Nuclear Corp.,
according to a report in the official Xinhua news agency Sunday. 

Asia's second-largest economy needs energy to feed its rapidly
growing markets and as part of this effort, Beijing is seeking
to diversify its sources of energy. It plans to expand installed
nuclear power generating capacity to 40m kW by 2020, up from
8.7m kW now. 

This is expected to offset some energy demand and ease
environmental pollution from coal-fired power plants. 

"China will experience rapid development of its nuclear industry
in the next 10 years," Kang said. 

He urged colleges and universities to attach more importance to
training nuclear technicians, noting only some 100,000 people
were working in the country's nuclear industry, Xinhua said.

 																[[Get Copyright Permissions]] E-MAIL | PRINT |
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights 
*****************************************************************
 2 [progchat_action] Pelosi: "All options on the table for Iran"
 
Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 10:50:38 -0500 (CDT)


(Including nuclear. Read on. SR)

As rhetoric builds, Democrats in Congress lie low on Iran

John Byrne
 Raw Story

Military option remains on table, aides say

In private conversations with RAW STORY, senior aides to leading Democratic
members of Congress in both houses have indicated an uncertain approach to
resolving the standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

As the Bush Administration ups rhetoric and news reports signal the Pentagon
has developed detailed plans for a possible military strike, the opposition
party's leading lights have remained silent. Democratic insiders say they
don't want to rush to judgment without getting the facts, but the issue has
received scant attention from Democrats in Congress.

Most Democratic offices declined to comment for this story. Many said they
couldn't comment because their congressperson was away for Easter recess,
though they were eager to talk about other issues or criticize the Bush
Administration's approach. Aides said they weren't able to speak on the
record or on background, and even some who have often commented anonymously
in RAW STORY articles did not return calls for comment.

There is no formal consensus among Democrats on Iran. One Democrat - Sen.
Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) - has endorsed the possibility of using airstrikes
to "delay" Iran's nuclear program, though most are more vague, saying they
won't take "any options" off the table. And they appear to be serious: Not
even the Democrats' liberal heavyweight in the House, Nancy Pelosi, has
ruled out the possibility of using nuclear weapons, keeping "all options" on
the table, an aide said.

Most aides refused to speculate whether Democrats might support a military
operation in Iran. Several aides acknowledged, however, that some Democrats
in Congress could support a military strike. If it was presented with clear
and damning evidence of an Iranian nuclear program, aides said, Bush might
be able to get Congressional authorization for the use of force.

Such aides were careful to emphasize that the Bush Administration provided
faulty intelligence on Iraq. Any military action Democrats supported, one
aide said, would not include the use of nuclear weapons.

That said, most Democrats view any military rhetoric on Iran as a tool to
bring the Iranians to the bargaining table.

One aide to a leading Democratic senator disagreed with the contention that
Congress would ever support an attack on Iran.

"Even the neocon nuts in the White House know they'd get laughed out of the
Senate if they asked for a vote to go to war in Iran," the aide asserted.
"There's not a single hardline Republican in the Senate who would vote with
them after their bad intelligence and botched Iraq war planning."

Asked about Democratic strategy on Iran, the aide said, "The strategy is
simple: Give the Republicans enough rope and they'll hang themselves."

One veteran Democratic aide described Iran as the most urgent security
problem in the Middle East - even more serious than Iraq.

"I think without a doubt Iran is the main security challenge in the Middle
East, from a country perspective," the aide said. "Obviously with Iraq and
the number of US soldiers we have [there] that is a serious challenge. But
when you look at the global politics of it, Iran is the problem in the
Middle East, and for more than five years the Bush Administration has failed
to respond."

The difficulty in obtaining comment from Democrats illustrates an elemental
schizophrenia in the party's foreign policy message. Democrats are caught on
the fence - they must satisfy an anti-war base while at the same time
projecting a hardline image on national security matters which will increase
the attractiveness of Democratic candidates to independent-leaning voters in
the 2006 midterm elections.

Leading Democrat warns of "disinformation"

Not all Democrats are silent on Iran. Perhaps the most outspoken and most
cogent voice is Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House
Intelligence Committee. Speaking specifically about Iran to the Council on
Foreign Relations in early April, Harman portrayed US intelligence on Iran
as a potential minefield. (Harman's full remarks, along with that of former
Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin, are available here.)

"I think that some of the intelligence I see -- and I did ask to see the
intelligence case on Iran -- is not close to where it needs to be," Harman
said. "I'm not going to reveal the classified information, but I did have a
reaction in the briefing I got that some of this might be disinformation,
not information. And I know we are passing around our intelligence case, the
administration is, to the [International Atomic Energy Agency] and some of
our allies."

As the leading Democrat on the Committee, Harman is one of only four
Democratic members of Congress who receive top-level briefings from US
intelligence agencies. This is part of the party's struggle - one senior
Democratic aide said that nearly all Democrats were in the dark because of
their lack of access to the latest intelligence.

Neither the House nor the Senate Intelligence Committee has scheduled
hearings on Iranian intelligence oversight, though both committees say they
have interest in doing so.

Harman's discussion of Iran suggests she believes the Bush Administration
may be putting forth questionable intelligence.

"All I'm saying is I remain skeptical," she told an intelligence panel.
"Lots of unanswered questions and conjecture that I have is that if I were
Iran and I wanted to put out disinformation, it might look a lot like what
our government is claiming is information.... I want to be absolutely sure
that we base decisions, especially tough decisions like what are the next
steps with Iran -- and I surely hope they are diplomatic because I think
those are our best options -- on pristine and pure intelligence, or the
closest we can get to that."

"I have no question that Iran is a dangerous place, so don't let me tell you
that there's any doubt in my mind," Harman added. "The issue is how capable
are they, and what are the real intentions of Iran's leaders? And I think
the jury's out on both of those."

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Democrats_in_Congress_lay_low_on_0418.html

This email was cleaned by emailStripper, available for free from
http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
You can search right from your browser? It?s easy and it?s free.  See how.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/_7bhrC/NGxNAA/yQLSAA/XgSolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 

 
*****************************************************************
 3 [NYTr] Russia Says UN Plan for Iran Is "First Step to War"
 
Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 15:22:39 -0500 (CDT)

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
The Independent UK via Truthout - May 8, 2006
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/050806M.shtml

Russia Says UN Plan for Iran Is "First Step to War"

By Anne Penketh

Russia will seek the removal tonight of the core of a UK-sponsored draft
United Nations resolution on Iran because it fears that it could pave the
way to unilateral military action to curb the Iranian nuclear programme.

A bruising battle looms in New York at a dinner of foreign ministers of the
five UN Security Council veto-holding members, plus Germany, over UN plans
to compel Iran to abandon uranium enrichment. The high-stakes talks at the
Waldorf hotel will be the first official duty for Margaret Beckett, who
replaced Jack Straw as Foreign Secretary on Friday, and could result in an
embarrassing climb-down for Britain.

British and US officials have said the core of the draft text is its
placement under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which provides for possible
sanctions and military enforcement.

John Bolton, the US ambassador to the UN, said last week when Britain,
France and the US tabled the draft: "The fundamental point is for Russia and
China to agree that this is a threat to international peace and security
under Chapter VII."

But faced with heated Russian and Chinese objections to the Chapter VII
provision at ambassador level, Mr Bolton was saying by Saturday night that
he had asked the two countries to come up with another way of making the
resolution's demands mandatory.

Yury Fedotov, the Russian ambassador in London, said his country opposed the
Chapter VII reference because it evoked memories of past UN resolutions on
Yugoslavia and Iraq that led to US-led military action which had not been
authorised by the Security Council.

Russia's partners in the Security Council had argued in the past that the
reference was needed to obtain "robust language," he said. But "afterwards
it was used to justify unilateral action. In the case of Yugoslavia, for
example, we were told at the beginning that references to Chapter VII were
necessary to send political signals, and it finally ended up with the Nato
bombardments."

Mr Fedotov said Russia regretted that the co-sponsors decided to table the
resolution without holding further consultations, acknowledging that Iran
could take political advantage of the disunity among the big powers on the
Security Council.

Iran threatened yesterday to pull out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT), which would end the international supervision of its nuclear
programme. Europe and the US believe that Iran is using the cover of a
civilian programme to build a nuclear bomb, while Tehran says that its
uranium enrichment is purely for peaceful purposes.

The Iranian parliament wrote to the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan,
threatening to ask the Tehran government to withdraw from the treaty unless
the UN Security Council resolved the crisis "peacefully."

Russia says that although statements by the Iranian President, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, had been "unacceptable", the international community should
build on the official Iranian position to bring Iran into compliance through
"incentives rather than sanctions".

Mr Fedotov said: "Our position is not much different from Britain and the
US. We want Iran's nuclear programme to remain in a peaceful framework, and
we need clarification on its past programmes on the questions raised by the
International Atomic Energy Agency [the UN nuclear watchdog]. But on tactics
we have our own views, based on past experience regarding Iraq and
Yugoslavia.

"We have serious doubts sanctions would work. [They] could pave the way to a
military action. The military option is a nonsense. It's [an] adventure that
could threaten international stability in this region and beyond."

Iran remains defiant and has threatened to strike back against the interests
of any country that tries to stop it enriching uranium.
       
                                *
================================================================
.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
================================================================
*****************************************************************
 4 [NYTr] Blair: Nuking Iran Would Be "Absurd"
 
Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 12:15:03 -0500 (CDT)


Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
AP - May 8, 2006
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRITAIN_IRAN?SITE=WABEL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

May 8, 8:37 AM EDT

Blair: Nuking Iran Would Be Absurd

LONDON (AP) -- Prime Minister Tony Blair says that any consideration of a
nuclear attack against Iran would be "absolutely absurd," and said the issue
had no bearing on his decision to demote his foreign secretary.

Jack Straw, the former foreign secretary, had described alleged U.S.
contingency plans for a tactical nuclear strike against Iran as "completely
nuts."

Blair previously had avoided any condemnation of the idea and defended the
right of President Bush to hold all options in reserve in the showdown over
Iran's nuclear program.

Some analysts believed that differences over Iran led to Blair's decision on
Friday to move Straw to the less-exalted position of leader of the House of
Commons.

Asked at a news conference whether he shared Straw's view of any thought of
a nuclear strike, Blair said: "I don't know anybody who has even talked or
contemplated the prospect of a nuclear strike in Iran and that would be
absolutely absurd, which may be a different way of saying what you have just
quoted to me.

"But it (Straw's reassignment) has got nothing to do with that. Look, in the
end I'm afraid as prime minister you do reshuffle your Cabinet from time to
time."

U.S. officials - from Bush on down - have left open the possibility of a
military response if Iran does not end its nuclear ambitions. Several
reports published Sunday said the administration was studying options for
military strikes; one account raised the possibility of using nuclear
weapons against Iran's underground nuclear sites.

The New Yorker magazine reported last month that the United States had
intensified planning for a possible major air attack and that one option
envisioned the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon to insure the
destruction of Iran's main centrifuge plant.

That report provoked Straw's strong response.

) 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
================================================================
*****************************************************************
 5 [NYTr] Iran's Ahmadinejad writes to Bush, ending 26-year hiatus
 
Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 12:15:32 -0500 (CDT)


Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
AFP - May 8, 2006
http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/060508111720.jk99s7en.html

Iran's Ahmadinejad writes to Bush, ending 26-year hiatus

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written to US
President George W. Bush to "propose new ways" to resolve a quarter-century
of tensions between the arch-foes.

The historic move brings an end to a 26-year-old break in official top-level
contacts with Washington and comes amid US calls for sanctions and even
threats of force to stop the hardline Islamic regime's disputed nuclear
drive.

"President Ahmadinejad has written a letter to George Bush, which is to be
handed to the Swiss embassy," government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham told
reporters, saying the message "goes beyond the nuclear question".

"In this letter, while analysing the world situation and finding the roots
of the problems, he has proposed new ways for getting out of the existing
vulnerable world situation," Elham said, adding that "the nuclear question
is a part" of this situation.

It is the first time an Iranian president has been known to officially
communicate with an American president since Washington and Tehran cut off
diplomatic relations in 1980.

Foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told the ISNA news agency that
"once the American president has received the letter, its content will be
made public".

A source in Ahmadinejad's office told AFP the letter would be handed to the
Swiss embassy in Tehran -- which has been acting as a conduit for messages
between the two arch-enemies since 1981 -- later on Monday.

"The letter contains interesting things. It is written in English," was all
the source would reveal.

The United States and Iran are at loggerheads over Tehran's nuclear
programme which Washington suspects is a cover for ambitions to build atomic
weapons.

News of the letter came ahead of a meeting in New York of the foreign
ministers of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus
Germany in a bid to map out a common strategy to force Iran to halt
sensitive nuclear fuel work.

Security Council members are bargaining over a Franco-British draft
resolution that would legally require Iran to freeze all uranium enrichment
and reprocessing activities.

Tehran vowed Sunday it would refuse to comply, warning the diplomatic crisis
was heading toward a "confrontation".

Bush has not ruled out taking military action against Tehran, which
Washington also accuses of being the world's "leading sponsor of terror".

Washington has not had direct diplomatic relations with Iran since April
1980, following the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran in 1979 in which 52
Americans were held for 444 days.

According to diplomatic sources, subsequent communications via the Swiss
have invariably been between the Iranian foreign ministry and the US State
Department -- far below the presidential level.

Diplomats from both sides have also held confidential meetings, most
recently following the defeat of Afghanistan's Taliban in 2001 and prior to
the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

A Western diplomat in Tehran, speaking on condition of anonymity, said news
of Ahmadinejad's letter was a "diplomatic bombshell".

"This has been on the cards, in as such that the Iranians have been trying
to make contact with the Americans for some time. But up until now these
contacts have been secretive and not at a particularly senior level, and
have not got anywhere in so far as the root of the problem is still there,"
said the diplomat.

"But this is a huge step. Of course it depends on what Ahmadinejad has
actually written. Is there an opening for direct talks for example, or is it
just an anti-American rant?" the diplomat added.

"We'll also have to see how the Americans respond, bearing in mind that
Ahmadinejad is none too popular in Washington at the moment."

But another Western diplomat questioned Iran's motives and timing, saying
the letter may just be "opportunism" by the regime as it seeks to prevent
world powers agreeing on tough UN action.

In an interview published Sunday, Bush said he preferred a "diplomatic
solution" to the nuclear crisis and Iran's threats against Israel, but said
"all options should be placed on the table".

When Ahmadinejad says "that he wants to destroy Israel, the world should
take that very seriously," Bush said.

Bush has already lumped Iran into an "axis of evil", a view that has only
been reinforced by Ahmadinejad's call for Israel to be "wiped off the map"
and his view of the Holocaust as a "myth".

       
                                *
================================================================
.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
================================================================
*****************************************************************
 6 IRNA: World states should accept nuclear disarmament to promote peace
     
Paris, May 8, IRNA                                                                                                               

Iran-WMD-France 

On the last day of the 2nd Paris international conference on
campaign against nuclear, biological and chemical weapons here
Monday, world countries were urged to accept nuclear disarmament
to promote global peace.

 Speakers at the conference criticized the nuclear policies of
the West, particularly the US, on proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction (WMD) and those harmful to the environment.

 Besides, the discriminatory and dual policies of the West,
notably those of US and France, on the countries not having
access to nuclear technology were among the topics brought up
and highly criticized by the lecturers attending the event.

 For his part, the official in charge of the judicial case of
the US-launched Vietnam War victims, Andre Bouni, referred to
the US chemical attacks and expounded on its disastrous aspects
and consequences inflicting the Vietnamese people.

 Head of the committee supporting Vietnam War victims,
delivering a speech called 'Impact of chemical WMD' said, "In
fact, the Vietnam War was the major fight between the two
superpowers in the 20th century." According to him, a great
number of international conferences have invited the
international community, US administration and American
producers of fatal chemical substances to compensate the losses
which were inflicted on the Vietnamese nation.

 The participants of the event also condemned the crimes
committed by the US during the Vietnam War and called upon
governments to help the Vietnamese win back their rights.

 Another lecturer, Jan-Henry Bouffard, a victim of France's
nuclear experimentation in Polynesia, criticized the nuclear
policies of the big powers.

 "By pursuing their nuclear weapons policies, these powers
accept neither any environmental commitment, nor commitment to
the future of the globe and any future role. Thus they
contribute to development of an insecure, polluted world hit by
environmental catastrophes," he concluded.


*****************************************************************
 7 New York Times: Iran Threatens to Quit Nuclear Treaty if U.N. Acts - 

By CHRISTINE HAUSER

Published: May 7, 2006

The Iranian government said today that Iran would reject any 
United Nationsresolution against its nuclear activities, and 
threatened to stop cooperating with the United Nations nuclear 
monitoring agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

"If the Security Council adopts a resolution which does not 
officially recognize Iran's right, Tehran will not implement it," 
the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi, said in a news 
briefing in Tehran carried by the Islamic Republic News Agency.

He added that the involvement of the United Nations Security 
Council in Iran's nuclear case, and any "incorrect decision" by 
the council, could turn the path of cooperation into one of 
confrontation. 

"Any measure by the Security Council will have adverse impacts on 
the trend of the Islamic Republic of Iran's cooperation with the 
International Atomic Energy Agency," Mr. Asefi said.

Mr. Asefi said that if Iran's nuclear program is taken up by the 
Security Council, instead of the I.A.E.A, then "Iran should not 
be expected to continue its cooperation with the I.A.E.A."

Also defending Iran's nuclear program, President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad said today that international treaties become
"invalid" as soon as they fail to secure the rights of nations.
Referring to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, he said that
in the case that such rights are violated, "then that nation
would revise its decision and the treaty would become invalid,"
according to the Iranian news agency.

The remarks were the latest that Iran has issued in defending
its right and determination to develop its nuclear program,
which it says is for generating power. Mr. Ahmadinejad announced
a milestone in that program last month when he said Iran had
joined the group of nuclear nations by successfully enriching
uranium to a low level for use in its power plant.

The I.A.E.A. noted in a report on April 28 that Iran had
persisted in enriching uranium and had defied the United Nations
Security Council's demands for information. 

American, British and French officials are scheduled to meet in
New York Monday to chart a common position on Iran over its
failure to comply with the informal Security Council deadline to
suspend its uranium enrichment.

Britain and France circulated a draft Security Council
resolution last Wednesday demanding that Iran give up its
nuclear program, which the West believes Iran is using to
developing nuclear weapons. The measure was drafted under
Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, which makes
resolutions mandatory and opens the way to penalties or military
action. It does not mention sanctions, which would take a new
resolution.

It states the council's "intention to consider such further
measures as may be necessary to ensure compliance with this
resolution." 

China and Russia, both permanent Security Council members with
veto power, have declared their opposition to a resolution under
Chapter VII.

A majority of Iranian parliamentarians said in a statement that
if the United Nations invoked Chapter VII, Parliament would call
on the government to consider quitting the nuclear treaty,
Reuters reported.

The American ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said
today that he believed the resolution would move to a vote this
week, with or without support from Russia and China, according
to The Associated Press. 

Mr. Bolton said Parliament's threat would not deter a United
Nations resolution. "It shows they remain desperate to conceal
that their nuclear program is in fact a weapons program," he
said, according to The A.P. 

The draft would order Iran to stop all uranium enrichment and
reprocessing activities, including research and development and
the construction of a heavy-water reactor. It also calls upon
other countries to "exercise vigilance" in preventing the
transfer to Iran of any items that could help it develop its
nuclear program. 

Mr. Asefi criticized the resolution, backed by the United
States, as being politically motivated. 

"Involvement of the Security Council in Iran's nuclear case is
totally illegal," Mr. Asefi was quoted as saying. 

Vice President Dick Cheneysaid today that Russia, as a member of
the Security Council, was an important part of the effort to
curb Iran's program. Russia had offered previously to enrich
uranium for Iran, which Mr. Cheney called a "helpful
contribution. "But it's important with respect to the Iranian
situation that the international community come together and
adopt a unified effective position vis-à-vis Iran if we're going
to avoid having a nuclear arms race in the Middle East," he said
in an interview with NBC news. More Articles in

Copyright 2006The New York Times Company
*****************************************************************
 8 Guardian Unlimited: U.N. Resolution on Iran Concerns China
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Monday May 8, 2006 6:46 PM

AP Photo UNMA103 

By EDITH M. LEDERER 

Associated Press Writer 

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - China expressed concern Monday that a
proposed U.N. resolution to curb Iran's nuclear program could
lead to a new war and it urged Britain and France to eliminate
any reference to possible future sanctions or military action
against Tehran. 

Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya remained adamant in his
opposition to putting the resolution under Chapter 7 of the U.N.
Charter, which sets out actions to respond to threats to
international peace and security ranging from breaking
diplomatic relations to arms embargoes, economic sanctions and
the use of force. 

Britain and France, who are sponsoring the resolution which is
strongly backed by the United States, insist the resolution must
be under Chapter 7 to make legally binding its demand that
Tehran suspend uranium enrichment. 

But Wang disagreed, saying China takes the view that all
Security Council resolutions are legally binding and there is no
need for a reference to Chapter 7 ``because Chapter 7 is about
enforcement measures.'' 

``I believe it is time since the Iranians have not cooperated,
have not complied, have not responded positively - so I think a
Security Council resolution is needed,'' he said. ``But I think
that the resolution has to be (an) appropriate resolution.'' 

Did Wang believe that a Chapter 7 resolution could lead the
Security Council further down a path that led to the Iraq war? 

``Yes, this is a concern,'' the Chinese ambassador replied. 

Wang spoke to reporters before a meeting of ambassadors from the
five veto-wielding permanent nations on the Security Council -
the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France. 

Afterward, ambassadors said they had scrapped efforts to agree
to a resolution before their foreign ministers meet over dinner
in New York on Monday evening to discuss the Iran nuclear issue. 

Wang and the other ambassadors said the ministerial meeting will
focus on longer-range strategic thinking about how to deal with
Iran, but with the resolution still in limbo there is almost
certain to be some discussion of its most contentious issues. 

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said after an informal council
meeting Saturday that the United States isn't prepared ``to
extend these negotiations endlessly'' and wants a vote this
week, with or without Chinese and Russian support. 

``We are still working to achieve unanimity ... but we're
prepared to go to a vote without it,'' he said. 

Wang said China hopes ``that the co-sponsors can redraft their
resolution and come up with a draft that could have the support
of the whole council.'' 

``I hope that in the next two or three days we can come up with
the language with the intention of the resolution that could
unify the whole council,'' he said. 

The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy
Agency, declared in 2002 that Iran had been conducting secret
nuclear activities for decades, though it has never said Tehran
has a weapons program. 

Iran claims it has the right to enrich uranium for a peaceful
civilian nuclear program to produce electricity under the
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and refused to comply with a
council demand in late March to suspend enrichment. 

The U.S., Britain and France, who believe Iran is pursuing
nuclear weapons, claim Tehran ceded the right to enrich uranium
by hiding parts of its nuclear program from the international
community. 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 9 Guardian Unlimited: Rice Says Iran's Letter Not an Overture
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 
 	 
Monday May 8, 2006 11:01 PM

AP Photo NYR110 

By ANNE GEARAN 

AP Diplomatic Writer 

NEW YORK (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed a
surprise letter that Iran's president sent to President Bush on
Monday, saying it did not seriously address the standoff over
Tehran's disputed nuclear program. 

In an interview with The Associated Press, the top U.S. diplomat
said the letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was
17 or 18 pages long and covered history, philosophy and
religion. It was not a diplomatic opening, she said. 

``This letter isn't it. This letter is not the place that one
would find an opening to engage on the nuclear issue or anything
of the sort,'' Rice said. ``It isn't addressing the issues that
we're dealing with in a concrete way.'' 

Rice's comments were the most detailed response from the United
States to the letter, the first from an Iranian head of state to
an American president in 27 years. She would not discuss the
contents in detail but made clear that the United States would
not change its tack on Iran. 

``There's nothing in here that would suggest that we're on any
different course than we were before we got the letter,'' Rice
said. 

She spoke hours before she was to confer on Iran with other
permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. 

The United States pushed for the Security Council review that is
now under way, but the body is divided over how hard to press
Iran and whether to impose sanctions or other punishment if
Tehran will not drop sensitive nuclear activities. 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 10 Guardian Unlimited: Officials: Iran's President Writes to Bush
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Monday May 8, 2006 12:01 PM

AP Photo VAH102 

By NASSER KARIMI 

Associated Press Writer 

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's leader has written to President Bush
proposing ``new solutions'' to their differences in the first
letter from an Iranian head of state to an American president in
27 years, a government spokesman said Monday. 

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki delivered the letter to the
Swiss ambassador on Monday, ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi
told The Associated Press. The Swiss Embassy in Tehran houses a
U.S. interests section. 

In the letter, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proposes ``new
solutions for getting out of international problems and the
current fragile situation of the world,'' spokesman
Gholam-Hossein Elham told a news conference. 

Elham declined to reveal more, stressing ``it is not an open
letter.'' Asked whether the letter could lead to direct
U.S.-Iranian negotiations, he replied: ``For the time being,
it's just a letter.'' 

Elham did not mention the nuclear dispute - the main obstacle
between Washington and Tehran. The United States is leading
Western efforts to pass a U.N. Security Council motion censuring
Iran for refusing to cease enrichment of uranium. 

It is the first time that an Iranian president has written to
his U.S. counterpart since 1979, when the two countries broke
off relations after Iranian militants stormed the U.S. Embassy
and held the occupants hostage for more than a year. 

Iran's top nuclear negotiator also said Monday that Tehran would
like to see a peaceful solution to growing tensions with the
United States. Ali Larijani was in Turkey as part of efforts to
rally support for Iran's nuclear program ahead of possible
Security Council action. 

Ahmadinejad arrives in Indonesia on Tuesday for a six-day trip
to do the same. 

Last week, Larijani went to the United Arab Emirates to reassure
its government about Iran's nuclear program, and last month
former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani made a similar visit
to Kuwait. 

The United States is backing efforts by Britain and France to
win Security Council approval for a U.N. resolution that would
threaten possible further measures if Iran does not suspend
uranium enrichment - a process that can produce fuel for nuclear
reactors to generate electricity or material for nuclear
warheads. 

The Western nations want to invoke Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter
that would allow economic sanctions or military action, if
necessary, to force Iran to comply with the Security Council's
demand that it cease enrichment. 

But Russia and China, the other two veto-holding members of the
Security Council members, oppose such moves. 

Iran claims its nuclear program is strictly for generating
electricity and that it requires enrichment to be self-reliant
in fuel for nuclear reactors. But the United States and its
allies believe that Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons. 

On Sunday, Ahmadinejad renewed Iran's threat to withdraw from
the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty if the Security Council
imposes sanctions on Tehran. 

Ahmadinejad told the official Islamic Republic News Agency that
Washington and its allies ``don't give us anything and yet they
want to impose sanctions on us.'' He called the threat of
sanctions ``meaningless.'' 

Elham said Monday that Iranians had endured sanctions before.
``We're not concerned'' about the prospect of U.N. sanctions, he
added. 

--- 

Associated Press Writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey,
contributed to this report. 	 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 11 Guardian Unlimited: Blair: Nuking Iran Would Be Absurd
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 
 	 
Monday May 8, 2006 1:01 PM

AP Photo LKW103 

LONDON (AP) - Prime Minister Tony Blair says that any
consideration of a nuclear attack against Iran would be
``absolutely absurd,'' and said the issue had no bearing on his
decision to demote his foreign secretary. 

Jack Straw, the former foreign secretary, had described alleged
U.S. contingency plans for a tactical nuclear strike as
``completely nuts.'' 

At his monthly news conference, Blair said: ``I don't know
anybody who is even talked or contemplated the prospect of a
nuclear strike in Iran, and that would be absolutely absurd.'' 
		 	 	   
      Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 12 Guardian Unlimited: Indonesia Backs Iran on Nuclear Ambitions
 
From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Monday May 8, 2006 5:46 PM

AP Photo XHS101 

By CHRIS BRUMMITT 

Associated Press Writer 

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesia said Monday it supported
Iran's right to pursue nuclear technology for peaceful means
ahead of a visit to the country by President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad. 

During his six-day stay in the world's most populous Muslim
nation, Ahmadinejad is expected to seek support for Iran's
nuclear program, and sign multimillion-dollar energy deals with
the government. 

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said late Monday
that Ahmadinejad would discuss the nuclear issue with President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when the two meet Wednesday. 

``We want to hear for ourselves from Iran about their position
on the resolution being discussed at the United Nations,'' he
said. ``Our position is that we support nuclear development for
peaceful purposes, especially energy, but we consistently object
to nuclear weapons proliferation.'' 

The United States is backing a draft U.N. resolution that could
lead to sanctions and possible military action against Iran if
the country does not suspend uranium enrichment - a process that
can produce fuel for nuclear reactors to generate electricity or
material for nuclear warheads. 

Iran says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful but U.S. and
European officials suspect it is cover for building a bomb. 

Ahmadinejad's trip follows lobbying visits by at least two other
high-level Iranian officials in recent months to Indonesia,
which is also being courted by Western nations eager to show
support for its moderate Muslim traditions. 

Ahmadinejad is due to arrive late Tuesday. 

He will meet Yudhoyono and other political and religious leaders
in the capital, Jakarta, from Wednesday through Friday before
flying to the resort island of Bali for a conference of mostly
Muslim countries. 

Last month, Indonesia's Foreign Ministry said it expected Iran
would commit to $600 million in investments in Indonesia's gas
and oil sector during Ahmadinejad's visit. The planned
investments would provide Indonesia's energy sector with a
greatly needed cash injection. 

Indonesia is the sole Southeast Asian member of the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries but became a net oil importer
in 2005 after decades of declining investment in exploration and
extraction. 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 13 BBC: Ahmadinejad sends letter to Bush
 
Last Updated: Monday, 8 May 2006
 
[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]                           

The letter comes at a time of acute tension between the US and 
Iran                                                                

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written to George W Bush 
proposing "new solutions" to their differences. 

The letter will be sent via the Swiss Embassy, which represents 
US interests in Iran, a government spokesman said. 

Mr Ahmadinejad proposes "new solutions for getting out of 
international problems and the current fragile situation of the 
world", he said. 

Reports say it is the first letter from an Iranian president to a 
US leader since the Iranian revolution in 1979. 

The Swiss have confirmed that they received a sealed A4-sized 
envelope addressed to President Bush which they would deliver as 
soon as possible. 

Iranian spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham did not say whether the 
letter mentioned the nuclear dispute, currently one of the major 
issues between Iran and the US. 

This development comes a day after Iran's parliament threatened 
to pull out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if Western 
pressure over its programme increases. 

A withdrawal would mean the country's programme could no longer 
be inspected by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic 
Energy Agency. 

The US has accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons - a 
charge Iran strongly denies. 

Last week, the US and other states tabled a draft resolution at 
the UN Security Council calling on Iran to suspend uranium 
enrichment or face "further action". 

Draft resolution 

Foreign ministers of the council members plus Germany are due to 
meet in New York on Monday night to discuss how to proceed with 
Iran. 

US-IRAN TIES: KEY EVENTS                 

1979: Hostages seize at US embassy in Tehran 1980: Secret US 
mission to rescue them ends in disaster 

1981: Hostages finally freed after intense diplomatic activity 

1985/86: Iran-Contra affair, crisis in Reagan presidency 

1995: President Clinton imposes sanctions for alleged sponsorship 
of "terrorism" 

2002: President Bush calls Iran, Iraq, North Korea "axis of evil" 

April 2006: Iran announces successful uranium enrichment 

May 2006: US, UK, France table draft UN resolution calling on 
Iran to suspend enrichment

Timeline: US-Iran ties                          

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said 
the contents would be made public "at the right time". 

The BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran says that whatever is in the 
letter is significant because it is the first such high-level 
communication between Iran and America for almost three decades. 

As such it is a bold step by Mr Ahmadinejad, and the timing is 
key - just as the West is trying to persuade Russia and China to 
back tough action against Iran, she says. 

Mr Ahmadinejad is reinforcing the point that he is willing to 
negotiate with anyone, including the US president, to avoid 
conflict over the nuclear issue, our correspondent adds. 

The US and Iran have not had diplomatic relations since 
Washington severed ties with Tehran after Iranian students 
occupied the US embassy there and took 52 Americans hostage in 
1979. 

The White House has said it is "unaware" of a letter from Mr 
Ahmadinejad. 
*****************************************************************
 14 IRNA: Iran calls for peaceful settlement of its N-case - Larijani

Ankara, May 8, IRNA                                                                                                              

Turkey-Iran-Larijani 

Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Secretary Ali
Larijani here Monday called for peaceful settlement of the
country's nuclear case in a most transparent way.

 Larijani, who arrived in Ankara, Turkey, Monday morning to hold
talks with senior Turkish officials, made the call while
speaking to reporters at Ankara airport.

 "Iran regards cooperation with the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) as a major item on its agenda. We believe the
agency should be one of the major arbiters in this nuclear
case," he said.

 He said that the transfer of the case to the United Nations
Security Council was a discredit to the IAEA," Larijani said.

 Asked about his message for senior Turkish officials, he
pointed out that Iran and Turkey, as two civilized and Muslim
countries in the region, have deep-rooted ties and also share
common values.

 "The two countries, with a long history of friendly ties dating
400 years back, have several grounds for cooperation in the
political and economic fields," he suggeste.

 Asked whether Iran was determined to pull out of the
 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the SNSC secretary said: "We
regard the NPT as a good international treaty and see no reason
to pull out of it unless we are forced to because of unjustified
US
 intimidation."
 Larijani, during his stay in the Turkish capital, is scheduled
to hold separate meetings with Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and National
Security Council Secretary-General Yigit Alpogan.

*****************************************************************
 15 IRNA: Pakistan backs Iran's peaceful nuclear program 

Tokyo, May 8, IRNA                                                                                                               

Pakistan-Iran-Nuclear 

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday supported Iran's 
use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

 In an exclusive interview with Japanese daily `Asahi Shimbun', 
Aziz said Iran should be allowed to use peaceful nuclear 
technology.

 He stressed that his country would not support production of 
atomic weapons.







		 				
*****************************************************************
 16 AFP: Iran's Ahmadinejad writes to Bush, ending 26-year hiatus -
     
 Mon May 8, 7:22 AM ET                   

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written 
to US President George W. Bush" /> to "propose new ways" to 
resolve a quarter-century of tensions between the arch-foes. 

 The historic move brings an end to a 26-year-old break in
official top-level contacts with Washington and comes amid US
calls for sanctions and even threats of force to stop the
hardline Islamic regime's disputed nuclear drive. 

"President Ahmadinejad has written a letter to George Bush" /> ,
which is to be handed to the Swiss embassy," government
spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham told reporters, saying the
message "goes beyond the nuclear question". 

"In this letter, while analysing the world situation and finding
the roots of the problems, he has proposed new ways for getting
out of the existing vulnerable world situation," Elham said,
adding that "the nuclear question is a part" of this situation. 

It is the first time an Iranian president has been known to
officially communicate with an American president since
Washington and Tehran cut off diplomatic relations in 1980. 

Foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told the ISNA news
agency that "once the American president has received the
letter, its content will be made public". 

A source in Ahmadinejad's office told AFP the letter would be
handed to the Swiss embassy in Tehran -- which has been acting
as a conduit for messages between the two arch-enemies since
1981 -- later on Monday. 

"The letter contains interesting things. It is written in
English," was all the source would reveal. 

The United States and Iran" /> are at loggerheads over Tehran's
nuclear programme which Washington suspects is a cover for
ambitions to build atomic weapons. 

News of the letter came ahead of a meeting in New York of the
foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the UN
Security Council plus Germany in a bid to map out a common
strategy to force Iran to halt sensitive nuclear fuel work. 

Security Council members are bargaining over a Franco-British
draft resolution that would legally require Iran to freeze all
uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities. 

Tehran vowed Sunday it would refuse to comply, warning the
diplomatic crisis was heading toward a "confrontation". 

Bush has not ruled out taking military action against Tehran,
which Washington also accuses of being the world's "leading
sponsor of terror". 

Washington has not had direct diplomatic relations with Iran
since April 1980, following the seizure of the US embassy in
Tehran in 1979 in which 52 Americans were held for 444 days. 

According to diplomatic sources, subsequent communications via
the Swiss have invariably been between the Iranian foreign
ministry and the US State Department -- far below the
presidential level. 

Diplomats from both sides have also held confidential meetings,
most recently following the defeat of Afghanistan" /> 's Taliban
in 2001 and prior to the US-led invasion of Iraq" /> in March
2003. 

A Western diplomat in Tehran, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said news of Ahmadinejad's letter was a "diplomatic
bombshell". 

"This has been on the cards, in as such that the Iranians have
been trying to make contact with the Americans for some time.
But up until now these contacts have been secretive and not at a
particularly senior level, and have not got anywhere in so far
as the root of the problem is still there," said the diplomat. 

"But this is a huge step. Of course it depends on what
Ahmadinejad has actually written. Is there an opening for direct
talks for example, or is it just an anti-American rant?" the
diplomat added. 

"We'll also have to see how the Americans respond, bearing in
mind that Ahmadinejad is none too popular in Washington at the
moment." 

But another Western diplomat questioned Iran's motives and
timing, saying the letter may just be "opportunism" by the
regime as it seeks to prevent world powers agreeing on tough UN
action. 

In an interview published Sunday, Bush said he preferred a
"diplomatic solution" to the nuclear crisis and Iran's threats
against Israel" /> , but said "all options should be placed on
the table". 

When Ahmadinejad says "that he wants to destroy Israel, the
world should take that very seriously," Bush said. 

Bush has already lumped Iran into an "axis of evil", a view that
has only been reinforced by Ahmadinejad's call for Israel to be
"wiped off the map" and his view of the Holocaust as a "myth". 	
		 			
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 17 AFP: Six major powers to meet Monday to seek unity on Iran 

 Mon May 8, 4:53 AM ET 		 	 

NEW YORK (AFP) - The foreign ministers of six major powers will 
meet here in a bid to map out a common strategy to force Iran" /> 
Iranto halt sensitive nuclear fuel work that could be used to 
manufacture nuclear weapons. 

 US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" /> Condoleezza Ricewill
host her counterparts from Britain, China, France, Germany and
Russia as well as European Union" /> European Unionforeign
policy chief, Javier Solana, at a working dinner that will focus
on Tehran's rejection of repeated UN demands to halt uranium
enrichment. 

The meeting will coincide with continuing bargaining in the
15-member UN Security Council on a Franco-British draft
resolution that would legally require Iran to freeze all uranium
enrichment and reprocessing activities. 

It comes as an Iranian government spokesman said President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had written a letter to US President George
W. Bush" /> President George W. Bushto "propose new ways" to
resolve tensions. 

"President Ahmadinejad has written a letter to George Bush" />
George Bush, which is to be handed to the Swiss embassy," Gholam
Hossein Elham told reporters in Tehran. 

It is the first time an Iranian president has been known to
officially communicate with an American president since
Washington and Tehran cut off diplomatic relations in 1980. 

"In this letter, while analysing the world situation and finding
the roots of the problems, he has proposed new ways for getting
out of the existing vulnerable world situation," the spokesman
said. 

French President Jacques Chirac" /> President Jacques Chiracand
German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a joint call for a tough
UN stance Sunday, saying the Security Council must adopt "a
resolution making obligatory the requests of the IAEA (
International Atomic Energy Agency" /> International Atomic
Energy Agency), notably the suspension of uranium enrichment,"
according to the French president's office. 

US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton told reporters Saturday that
the ministers would "talk about the longer-term policy that we
need to pursue to stop Iran from achieving a nuclear weapons
capability" at Monday's meeting. 

Western powers suspect Iran is using its civilian atomic program
as a cover to develop nuclear weapons. But Iran insists its aims
are peaceful and claims it has the right to pursue uranium
enrichment as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty. 

While insisting that it wants a diplomatic solution to the
standoff with Tehran, Washington has not ruled out military
action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. 

Russia and China adamantly oppose sanctions and the use of force
against Iran, their key trading partner. They have veto power as
permanent members of the Security Council along with Britain,
France and the United States. 

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak said Saturday the
Franco-British draft, which is backed by the United States and
Germany, "requires major changes". 

Moscow and Beijing object to the draft's reference to Chapter
Seven of the UN charter and its suggestion that the Iranian
nuclear program constitutes a threat to international peace and
security. 

Chapter Seven can authorize economic sanctions or military
action as a last resort. 

The proposed draft would oblige Iran to suspend uranium
enrichment, the process creating fuel for nuclear reactors and
-- potentially -- the core of an atomic bomb. It warns, in case
of Iranian non-compliance, of unspecified "further measures"
requiring another resolution. 

The document needs at least nine votes and no veto from any of
the council's permanent members to succeed. 

But Iran shows no sign of backing down. 

"The involvement of the Security Council will direct the path of
cooperation towards confrontation," Iranian foreign ministry
spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Sunday, warning that the
Security Council would not be able to enforce its demands. 

And Russia and China say the nuclear standoff can only be
resolved diplomatically, with the IAEA leading the process. 

In an interview with the German television channel ARD broadcast
Sunday, US President George W. Bush said the standoff must be
resolved "diplomatically," adding that there must be "a common
front with a common strategy" to achieve the objective. 	 		 			

Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 18 AFP: Ahmadinejad writes to Bush amid worsening nuclear crisis -
    
 Mon May 8, 3:42 PM ET 		 	 

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran" /> 's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 
has written to US President George W. Bush" /> to "propose new 
ways" of resolving a quarter-century of tensions between the 
arch-foes, Tehran announced. 

 The historic move brings an end to a 26-year-old break in
official top-level contacts with Washington and comes amid US
calls for sanctions and even threats of force to stop the
Islamic regime's disputed nuclear drive. 

Government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham told reporters that
the message "goes beyond the nuclear question". 

"In this letter, while analysing the world situation and finding
the roots of the problems, he has proposed new ways for getting
out of the existing vulnerable world situation," Elham said. 

The message was handed to the Swiss ambassador in Tehran,
Philippe Welti, by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
In Washington, the White House said it was still "unaware" of
the letter -- which may not get to them until Tuesday. 

Washington has not had direct diplomatic relations with Iran
since April 1980, following the seizure of the US embassy in
Tehran in 1979 in which 52 Americans were held for 444 days. 

The Swiss embassy in Tehran has been acting as a conduit for
messages since 1981. 

"It is not an open letter which can be made public," foreign
ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said, adding its content
"will be made public at the right time". 

"The letter contains interesting things. It is written in
English," a source in Ahmadinejad's office also told AFP. 

"If it is evaluated with deep understanding, there could be new
diplomatic openings in the region," Iran's senior national
security official Ali Larijani told Turkey's NTV news channel,
while asserting Iran was not "softening" its position. 

The United States and Iran are at loggerheads over Tehran's
nuclear programme which Washington suspects is a cover for
ambitions to build atomic weapons. 

US intelligence czar John Negroponte warned that Amhadinejad's
letter to Bush could be a bid to influence the UN Security
Council debate on Iran's nuclear programme. 

"Certainly one of the hypotheses you'd have to examine is
whether and in what way the timing of the dispatch of that
letter is connected with trying in some manner to influence the
debate before the Security Council," Negroponte said in
Washington. 

Tehran announced the letter ahead of a meeting in New York of
the foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the UN
Security Council plus Germany in a bid to map out a common
strategy to force Iran to halt sensitive nuclear fuel work. 

Security Council members are bargaining over a Franco-British
draft resolution that would legally require Iran to freeze all
uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities. 

Tehran vowed Sunday it would refuse to comply, warning the
diplomatic crisis was heading toward a "confrontation". 

Bush has not ruled out taking military action against Tehran,
which Washington also accuses of being the world's "leading
sponsor of terror". 

A Western diplomat in Tehran, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said news of Ahmadinejad's letter was a "diplomatic
bombshell" -- given that communications via the Swiss have
invariably been between the Iranian foreign ministry and the US
State Department, far below the presidential level. 

"This has been on the cards, in as such that the Iranians have
been trying to make contact with the Americans for some time,"
the diplomat said. 

"But up until now these contacts have been secretive and not at
a particularly senior level, and have not got anywhere in so far
as the root of the problem is still there," the diplomat said. 

Diplomats from both sides have also held confidential meetings,
most recently following the defeat of Afghanistan" /> 's Taliban
in 2001 and prior to the US-led invasion of Iraq" /> in March
2003. 

But these contacts have led to no easing of tensions, while Iran
had until recently asserted that there was "no point" talking
with a country still known here as the "Great Satan". 

"We'll also have to see how the Americans respond, bearing in
mind that Ahmadinejad is none too popular in Washington at the
moment," the diplomat said. 

In an interview published Sunday, Bush said "all options should
be placed on the table". 

When Ahmadinejad says "that he wants to destroy Israel" /> , the
world should take that very seriously," Bush said. 

Bush has already lumped Iran into an "axis of evil", a view that
has only been reinforced by Ahmadinejad's call for Israel to be
"wiped off the map" and his view of the Holocaust as a "myth". 	
		 			
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 19 AFP: Blair denies Iran or US caused demotion of foreign minister Straw - 

 Mon May 8, 10:31 AM ET 		 	 

LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Tony Blair" /> has dismissed as 
"utterly absurd" suggestions that he had removed Jack Straw as 
his foreign secretary because he had ruled out US-led military 
strikes against Iran" /> . 

 "Any notion that it's linked to a decision about invading Iran,
which incidentally we're not going to do... is utterly absurd,"
Blair told his monthly press conference in London. 

Washington has declined to rule out military strikes against
Iran to force it to comply with international obligations to
stop uranium enrichment amid fears it could lead to a weapons
program. Iran insists its program is peaceful. 

British media commentators have speculated that Blair, a staunch
US ally, removed Straw for remarking that US-led military action
against Iran is "inconceivable." 

Blair said he had spoken to Straw after the governing Labour
Party's victory in last year's general election when they both
agreed that he would stand down as foreign secretary "in the not
too distant future". 

He added that he had agreed to the foreign secretary's own
suggestion that Straw should assume the leadership of the House
of Commons to oversee the domestic program in parliament. 

"Jack is an outstanding figure, he was my campaign manager to
become leader of the Labour Party, and what he will do as leader
of the house is far more than the traditional leader of the
house role," Blair said. 

"So it's perfectly natural when you've got a big domestic
program to have such a figure in charge of it. And it's
absolutely no reflection on the job he's done as foreign
secretary for five years," Blair said. 

The prime minister also denied that Straw lost his foreign
secretary post for having proposed that Britain hold a
referendum on the European constitution, a project which is now
abandoned. 

Straw was replaced by Margaret Beckett, who was due Monday in
New York to discuss Iran with her counterparts from the United
States, France, Russia, China -- the four other permament
members of the UN Security Council -- and Germany. 

He described former left-winger Beckett, who was environment
secretary until last Friday, as an "outstanding politician" and
a "very, very safe pair of hands" with "immense international
experience as well as domestic experience". 

"I have absolutely no doubt that the foreign policy that was
articulated by Jack will not change one iota under Margaret," he
added. 

Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 20 IRNA: Iran assures regional states of its peaceful N-activities - Asefi

Tehran, May 8, IRNA                                                                                                              

Iran-UAE-Asefi 

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi here Monday said
Iran has done its best to boost confidence among regional
governments and nation in its peaceful nuclear activities.

 Asefi made the remark while speaking to IRNA in a reaction to
recent remark by the United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan.

 Al-Nahayan, addressing a summit of the Persian Gulf Cooperation
Council (PGCC) held in Riyadh on Saturday, claimed that the
world was concerned about Iran's Bushehr power plant and called
on Iran to build confidence on its peaceful nuclear activities.

 "Today's visit by Iranian Foreign Minister (Manouchehr Mottaki)
to Bahrain and recent visit by Secretary of Supreme National
Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani to Abu Dhabi and Dubai as
well as recent visit by Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa
al-Thani to Tehran were the latest efforts made in this regard,"
Asefi said.

 He expressed hope full support of regional states for Iran's
inalienable right to peaceful use of nuclear technology would
protect the region from adventurism of countries outside the
region.

 Asefi hoped governments and nations would prepare ground for
increasing welfare, tranquility, stability and security in the
region.


*****************************************************************
 21 AFP: Iran letter does not change US position - White House -

 Mon May 8, 6:01 PM ET 		 	 

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter 
to US President George W. Bush" /> President George W. Bushdoes 
not change Washington's position on Tehran's nuclear program, a 
White House official said. 

 "Nothing in the letter addresses the issues between Iran" />
Iranand the international community," said Frederick Jones, a
spokesman for the National Security Council. 

The spokesman said the letter sent Monday to Bush breaks no new
ground on issues of concern to the administration, including
Iran's disputed nuclear program and its human rights record. 

"The president was briefed on the letter en route to Florida,"
Jones said, adding that the White House will not make its
contents public. 

The letter by the Iranian leader had been viewed as a historic
gambit to break the weeks-long impasse on the nuclear issue,
bringing an end to a quarter century of official silence between
the top levels of goverment in Washington and Tehran. 

Ahmadinejad's letter had been described as proposing "new ways"
to resolved the impasse between Washington and Tehran, but Jones
described the letter as presenting a "broad historical and
philosophical exposition" of Iran's past statements defending
the country's stance on the nuclear issue. 

Washington has not had direct diplomatic relations with Iran
since April 1980, following the seizure of the US embassy in
Tehran in 1979 in which 52 Americans were held for 444 days. 

The Iranian message was handed to the Swiss ambassador in
Tehran, Philippe Welti, by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr
Mottaki. The Swiss embassy in Tehran has been acting as a
conduit for messages since 1981. 

The United States has called for sanctions and refused to rule
out using force to stop the hardline Islamic regime's disputed
nuclear drive. 

Washington and Tehran have been at loggerheads over Tehran's
nuclear programme which Washington suspects is a cover for
ambitions to build atomic weapons. 

News of the letter came ahead of a meeting in New York of the
foreign ministers of the UN Security Council's five permanent
members plus Germany in a bid to map out a common strategy to
force Iran to halt sensitive nuclear fuel work. 

Security Council members are bargaining over a Franco-British
draft resolution that would legally require Iran to freeze all
uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities. 

Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
 22 IRNA: Chinese FM to discuss Iran N-case with counterparts

Beijing, May 8, IRNA                                                                                                             

China-Iran-Nuclear 

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing has said he will discuss
Iran's nuclear case with foreign ministers of permanent members
of the United Nations Security Council on Monday.

 Foreign ministers of permanent members of the United Nations
Security Council -- Russia, China, Britain, France and the
United States -- along with Germany are scheduled to hold a
meeting in New York today to exchange views on Iran's nuclear
activities.

 According to the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper
`People', the session will be hosted by US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice.

 Permanent members of the Security Council ended a meeting in
New York Saturday without achieving any result. The West, which
has been pushing for a consensus on a draft resolution calling
on Iran to halt its nuclear activities, could not bring Russia
and China to join.

 The draft resolution was prepared by Britain and France.

 China, one of the five permanent members of the Security
Council with the power to veto its resolutions, stressed that
Iran's nuclear case should be settled within the International
Atomic Energy Agency as the UN body entrusted with powers to
enforce nuclear safeguards.

 But Western states, which are being pressured to toe the US
position, insist that Iran should completely halt its peaceful
nuclear activities even though it is a signatory to the NPT and
carries out its nuclear activities under IAEA surveillance.

 China believes Iran, as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT), has right to use nuclear technology for peaceful
purposes but must also take additional measures to build
confidence on the part of the international community.

 Despite repeated assurances by Iran that it has no intention to
pursue a nuclear weapons program, the United States is pushing
for a resolution by the Security Council that would bar all
nuclear activities by Iran and threatens the country with
sanctions or even military action if it refuses to comply with
any such resolution.


*****************************************************************
 23 IRNA: Iran's nuclear case not affecting capital attraction

: UAE Economy Minister

Dubai, UAE, May 8, IRNA                                                                                                                  

Iran-Nuclear-UAE 

Economy minister of the UAE Sheikha Labaneh bin-Qassemi said here 
on Monday that the tension over Iran's nuclear dossier has had no 
negative effect on trend of attracting foreign capitals in UAE.


 Bin-Qassemi who was speaking on the sidelines of UAE-Germany
Economic Gathering in Abu Dhabi added, "The Emirates ranks third
in the world in goods re-export business, the number of whose
clients reached some one billion in the course of the past year."

 According to her, fifty percent of UAE's Gross National Product
(GNP) comes from the service rendering industry that she
believes needs to be invested in promotion of scientific works
and transfer of advanced technology to the country, adding, "In
both cases Germany has a special status."

 2329/1771


*****************************************************************
 24 IRNA: Iran preserves right to reconsider ties with Int'l bodies - Elham

Tehran, May 8, IRNA                                                                                                              

Iran-Nuclear-Government 

Iran would preserve the right to reconsider its relations with 
international bodies, if they failed to observe international 
regulations while making decisions on Iran nuclear case, said a 
government official here Monday.

 Speaking to reporters at his weekly briefing, government
spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said if the international
organizations failed to independently play their role in
implementing international rules and regulations on Iran's case,
then a natural right would be preserved for Tehran to review and
reconsider its relations with those bodies.

 Asked if Tehran would quit the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
in case the United Nations Security Council approved a draft
resolution calling for imposition of sanctions on Iran, Elham
said "Iran is committed to its obligations based on
international treaties for the sake of its national interests."
 Referring to a letter which the spokesman has earlier today
said was written to the US President George Bush by his Iranian
counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Elham said "The contents of the
letter would not be disclosed to the public".

 Reacting to the reporters who insisted on knowing more details
about the letter, Elham said "It is not an open letter."
 Responding to one of the reporters who asked what if the
American side disclosed the letter, Elham said "It's up to him."
 Earlier in the day, the spokesman said that Ahmadinejad
proposed new ways to Bush to defuse current international
tensions.

 "In his letter, Ahmadinejad spoke of the current tense
situation in the world and suggested ways of solving problems
and easing tensions," Elham told reporters earlier today
(Monday).

 He also added that the letter would be sent to Bush via the
Swiss embassy in Tehran.


*****************************************************************
 25 Korea Herald: UNSG Annan to visit Korea this week   
        
U.N. Secretary-general Kofi Annan will visit Korea this Sunday
as part of his tour of Asia, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

 The outgoing head of the largest international body will visit
Korea from this Sunday through Tuesday next week before stopping
over in Japan, China and Vietnam.

 While in Seoul, Annan will meet President Roh Moo-hyun and
National Assembly Speaker Kim Won-ki, and talk with Foreign
Minister Ban Ki-moon. Ban will also host a dinner in honor of
Annan.

 This is his second visit to Korea since Oct. 1998. 

The secretary general had planned to tour Asia last December,
but canceled due to controversy over the reform budget at his
headquarters.

 Korea is backing Foreign Minister Ban as the candidate to
succeed Annan since an official announcement by the ministry in
February offered Ban for the role.

 Annan will end his second term in December this year.

 A secretary-general of the United Nations oversees the
nomination and election process of his successor but holds no
tangible influence in the selection process.

 Two other Asian contenders have thrown their hats into the ring
- Sri Lanka's Jayantha Dhanapala, former under-secretary-general
for disarmament and former secretary-general of the Sri Lankan
peace process and Surakiart Sathirathai, Thailand's deputy prime
minister and former foreign minister.

 Annan's itinerary includes a joint press conference with Ban, a
news conference presided over by the United Nations, a speech at
Seoul National University and a visit to the National Museum of
Korea. 

The Foreign Ministry explained Annan will discuss various issues
with leaders here ranging from North Korea's nuclear issue and
other regional conflicts to U.N. reforms. 

Annan and Ban may also discuss the diplomatic problems between
Korea and Japan over the Dokdo islets in the East Sea, a
ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

 Seoul is currently fending off claims from Tokyo that Dokdo
belongs to Japan. 

Foreign Ministry officials said there was no visit to North
Korea planned by the visiting secretary general during his Asian
tour. 

(angiely@heraldm.com)

By Lee Joo-hee

2006.05.09
 
*****************************************************************
 26 Korea Times: UN Chief to Visit Seoul Next Week 

Hankooki.com > The Korea Times   

By Park Song-wu Staff Reporter

 U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will visit Seoul from May 14
to 16 at the invitation of the South Korean government.

 His three-day visit, the first since 1998, comes as Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ban Ki-moon declared his candidacy
for the U.N.'s top post in February.

 Annan plans to meet President Roh Moo-hyun and other ranking
government officials and parliamentary leaders to discuss
issues, such as North Korea's nuclear weapons program and South
Korea's role in the United Nations. 

The 68-year-old Ghanaian will hold a joint press conference at
the ministry on May 15 following a meeting with Ban. 

Park In-koon, deputy foreign minister for policy planning and
international organizations, told reporters yesterday that there
would be no surprise events such as a visit by Annan to an
inter-Korean industrial complex in Kaesong, North Korea. 

But he said Ban is expected to exchange opinions with Annan
about Dokdo, South Korea's easternmost islets in the East Sea
that have been in dispute due to Japan's continuing claim. 

Seoul is the first leg of Annan's regional tour that also will
bring him to Japan, China and Vietnam, the ministry said. 

He originally planned to travel to Asia on Dec. 4, but delayed
the schedule, as he had to solve discord within the United
Nations over a draft budget. 

South Korea joined the United Nations together with North Korea
in September 1991. Despite the short period of its membership,
Seoul has a history of leading the U.N. General Assembly. 

Han Seung-soo, former foreign minister, served as the president
of the 56th U.N. General Assembly for one year from 2001. At
that time, Ban was Han's chef de cabinet. 

South Korea plans to officially notify the United Nations of
Ban's candidacy when its Security Council starts the election
process. If elected, he will replace Annan, whose second
five-year term expires on Dec. 31. 

It is not a rotating job, but talk of ``Asia's turn'' is
widespread. Two Asian contenders have already declared their
bids _ Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Sri
Lankan peace negotiator Jayantha Dhanapala. 

The only Asian to work as U.N. secretary-general was U Thant of
Myanmar, who served from 1961 to 1971. 

The secretary-general is appointed by the 191-nation General
Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. A
candidate needs the approval of nine of the 15 council members
and can be vetoed by any of the five permanent member states. 

im@koreatimes.co.kr 05-08-2006 17:06         

Kofi Annan
   
*****************************************************************
 27 Guardian Unlimited: The education of a new foreign secretary
 
Tonight in New York, Margaret Beckett dines with Security
Council veto holders - and Iran will be at the top of the menu.
Ian Black reports 

Monday May 8, 2006              

Foreign secretary Margaret Beckett. Photograph: Getty
   
 British diplomacy prides itself on seamless transitions, so by
the time Margaret Beckett sits down to dinner to discuss Iran
with fellow foreign ministers from the world's most important
countries in New York tonight no one will notice that she is not
Jack Straw.

Or so Foreign Office mandarins will be hoping as they rush their
new boss through the most pressing dossiers in her in-tray. The
detail of these will have been unfamiliar to the secretary of
state for the environment, food and rural affairs until she was
reshuffled into King Charles Street on Friday.

In her first hectic days on the job Beckett will be cocooned by 
an attentive staff of private secretaries, advisers and an 
experienced spokesman: ex-journalist John Williams, who worked 
for Robin Cook as well as Straw.

There is no mistaking the whiff of power in the foreign
secretary's private office, with its red leather armchairs and
historic portraits in the splendid corner room overlooking
Horseguards Parade. It was from there that one predecessor, Sir
Edward Grey, looked out in August 1914 and famously saw the
lights going out all over Europe.

Nothing quite so immediately threatening is on the agenda now,
but the head of the foreign office, the permanent
under-secretary Sir Michael Jay, will still be on hand to ensure
policy continuity at the highest level. So will his successor,
Sir Peter Ricketts, fresh from Nato in Brussels.

The key figure will probably be the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office political director, John Sawers. He has been
orchestrating western policy on Iran's nuclear ambitions since
Straw led an EU initiative to try to avoid the bitter disarray
that characterised the run-up to the Iraq war.

With him in New York will be Britain's ambassador to the UN, Sir
Emyr Jones-Parry, an unflappable Welshman whose job it is to
guide foreign secretaries through the confusing labyrinth on the
East river.

Iran is the biggest of the "many challenges ahead" that Beckett
mentioned, with admirable understatement, when her surprise
appointment was announced. Tonight's New York dinner is for the
foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the security
council - the US, Russia, China, Britain and France - with
Germany also taking part to give full weight to the EU.

Beckett's briefers, working overtime to prepare papers for her
transatlantic flight, will be telling her that there is already
a deep split, with Moscow and Beijing ranged against Washington,
and London and Paris trying hard to bridge the gap.

On the table is a draft resolution demanding Iran honour its
international obligations and halt its uranium enrichment
programme - which can be used for civil power generation, and at
a more highly refined level to build a nuclear bomb.

Straw made waves - and reportedly annoyed both the White House
and 10 Downing Street - by dismissing US military action against
Iran as "inconceivable" and calling the prospect of nuclear
strikes "nuts". Anything his successor says on the subject, in
public and in private, will be closely scrutinised, and not only
in Tehran.

The most likely strategy on Iran is to play for time simply
because it is so difficult to agree what to do.

The other big item in the new foreign secretary's red box is
Iraq, where Britain and the US are desperate to see the
formation of a government that will allow them to start
withdrawing their forces. Straw, in office since before the
September 11 2001 attacks, had chalked up vast experience in
Baghdad. That will be hard to replicate.

So will Straw's much-advertised special relationship with
Condoleezza Rice, his US counterpart. Beckett's holiday of
choice - caravanning - will not necessarily prove to be a common
interest.

But the newcomer is no novice in international relations. These
days the boundaries between home and abroad have become blurred,
especially over Europe. Beckett, like Straw no euro-enthusiast,
has plenty of experience of operating at EU level.

Anyone who can do what is often described as "wading through
treacle" in Brussels and mastering the complex and highly
technical issues that are handled there can certainly manage
trifles such as Iran, Iraq, Darfur and the Israeli-Palestinian
dispute, where EU funding for the new Hamas government is a hot
potato.

Most British diplomacy is multilateral these days and that is
the test for any foreign secretary - who also has to be able to
work harmoniously with Downing Street at its most presidential.

Some would say that surviving a Labour government in its most
fractious period ever, and winning promotion to one of the great
offices of state, is as a good a training as any for sorting out
- or at least managing - the problems of the world.
 

[UP] 

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 28 TorontoSun.com: The Final Say

Eric Margolis - 

Tue, May 9 / 06   

Iran's nuclear program is a danger to the entire world, U.S.
President George Bush warned again last week as Washington
pressed the UN Security Council to impose sanctions. 

The uproar certainly helped distract public attention from the
Bush administration's mounting domestic and foreign policy woes.
It also showed how few people understand the Iranian nuclear
question. 

Experts say Iran may be in a position to fabricate a crude
nuclear weapon in 5-10 years, but all the current alarms about
Iran ignore a basic reality of nuclear weapons. 

A nuclear device is useless unless it can be delivered with
moderate accuracy over medium to long distances. One reason I
was among the few insisting in 2002 that Iraq posed no threat
was because it had no delivery systems for weapons of mass
destruction. Iraq's most advanced missile could fly only 130 km.
Its aircraft couldn't carry a nuclear weapon. 

Even if Iran could fabricate, miniaturize and harden a nuclear
warhead (a difficult achievement), the maximum range of the
country's most advanced missile -- the highly inaccurate
Shahab-3 -- is only about 1,300 kms. Iran has no nuclear-capable
aircraft. 

The only way Iran could pose the grave nuclear threat to the
U.S. that Bush and his aides loudly claim, would be to send a
nuclear device by freighter or FedEx. 

Each nuclear explosion has a distinctive signature. U.S.
monitoring devices would quickly identify its provenance and
vaporize the attacking nation within hours. 

The CIA admits North Korea's Taep'o-dong missile can today hit
North America with a nuclear warhead. India's developing ICBMs
and sea-launched missiles will also be able to do so in a few
years. Contrast Washington's nonchalance about these real
programs with the contrived hysteria over Iran. 

Even if nuclear armed, Iran's handful of missiles only have
range to hit U.S. bases in the Gulf, or Israel. But these bases
are so close, any nuclear strike would blow back on Iran. 

That leaves Israel, which has the world's only operational
anti-missile system and an estimated 200 atomic and hydrogen
warheads. Iran knows it would be destroyed by massive
thermonuclear retaliation from Israel -- which could survive any
surprise nuclear attack. 

If Iran is covertly developing nuclear weapons, it is for
reasons of national prestige and self-defence. Iran is
surrounded by nuclear-armed powers: Israel, India, Russia,
Pakistan -- and U.S. forces. The Cold War showed strategic
nuclear weapons are useless as offensive arms, but effective in
warding off attack, exhibit A being North Korea and Israel in
1973. 

Yet while fulminating against Iran for developing nuclear power,
the Bush administration is considering using tactical nuclear
weapons itself against deeply buried targets -- particularly in
the case of Iran. 

Too great a risk 

But, neocons clamour, what if Iran gives a nuclear weapon to
terrorists who sneak it into the U.S.? Iran has been at
scimitars drawn with Sunni militant groups, notably al-Qaida and
Taliban. How would it benefit by giving a bomb to fanatics that
could be quickly traced back to Tehran? Seeing Baltimore blow up
is not worth having Iran turned into a wasteland. 

The European Union's opposition to Iran's nuclear program does
not come from fear of Iranian attack, but from concern a
U.S.-British attack on Iran will produce violence in its
backyard, and enflame Muslim minorities across Europe. 

Amidst the cries for war against Iran, no Bush administration
official has yet proposed creation of a Mideast nuclear-free
zone. The sole nuclear power in the region refuses to consider
this option. But, in the end, that is the option most likely to
eliminate the nuclear threat. 									
 																 								 								 							 							 							
[Toronto Sun]                                                                                                         

© 2006, All rights reserved. Proprietor and Publisher - Sun Media 
(Toronto) Corporation, 333 King St. E., Toronto, ON, M5A 3X5 
*****************************************************************
 29 News & Star: UKAEA could go private
 						
Published on 08/05/2006

THE boss of the state-run UK atomic agency â€“ which is in charge 
of all of Britainâ€™s nuclear decommissioning work â€“ is 
plotting a Â£450m buyout to take the company private, according 
to reports.
 
A national newspaper said Dipesh Shah, chief executive of the UK 
Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), is moving towards a management 
buyout of the company.
 
The UKAEA has Â£5bn of decommissioning work in the UK, which 
involves the clean-up contracts for nuclear plants, including 
Sellafield.
 
Shah is believed to have sounded out key members of staff and 
private equity backers for a bid.
 
The government has made no secret of the fact that the public 
company could be privatised or sold at some point.

 
*****************************************************************
 30 [NukeNet] Future of Nuclear Power -- Living on Earth Radio
 
Date: Mon, 08 May 2006 15:45:46 -0700




NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net)

All -- Bruce Gellerman, of Living on Earth (NPR) will be airing a 
radio program  the week of May 14th on the future of nuclear 
power. I was interviewed, -- have not heard the piece, and will 
not until it airs-- hopefully it will be good! -- Mary Olson, 
NIRS Southeast Office 828-675-1792

Click here to get the stations and times for broadcast in your area:
http://www.loe.org/where/where.htm




_______________________________________________________________________
Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/
Change your settings or access the archives at:
http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net



*****************************************************************
 31 NRC: NRC Sets Review Schedule on Revised Application for North Anna Early Site Permit
 
News Release - 2006-06 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office 
of Public Affairs     Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 
20555-0001     E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 06-062     May 5, 2006   
  

supplemented, revised application for an Early Site Permit (ESP)
from Dominion Nuclear North Anna, LLC (Dominion), concerning the
North Anna nuclear power plant site, near Mineral, Va. 

Dominion submitted its initial application on Sept. 25, 2003,
and submitted a revised application on Jan. 13, 2006, which was
supplemented on April 13. The revision reflects changes to the
reactor design and the cooling water system referenced in the
application. The supplement addresses several aspects of the
changes, including the new cooling tower systems impact on both
humans and wildlife downstream from the site. 

With this additional information, we can now move forward in
reviewing Dominions proposal, said William Beckner, Deputy
Director of the Division of New Reactor Licensing in the NRCs
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. The staff expects to
finish its technical work on the application by the end of this
year. 

The NRC staffs projected schedule includes issuing a supplement
to its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) in late July,
with a public meeting near the plant to discuss the supplement
in August. The EIS is expected to be finalized by the end of
this year. The staff expects to supplement its safety evaluation
report in August, with the Advisory Committee on Reactor
Safeguards reviewing the supplement late in the year. The
updated review schedule is available on the NRCs Web site at
this address:
http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-licensing/esp/north-anna.html#sch
edule. 

The ESP process allows an applicant to address site-related
issues, such as environmental impacts, for possible future
construction and operation of a nuclear power plant at the site.
If a permit is granted, the applicant has up to 20 years to
decide whether to build a new nuclear unit on the site and to
file an application with the NRC for approval to begin
construction. The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board must
conclude a hearing, expected to last approximately a year, on
the North Anna ESP application before the agencys final
decision.   



  


 	Last revised Monday, May 08, 2006 	   
*****************************************************************
 32 MercuryNews.com: Nuclear energy debate fraught with myths on danger, high costs

05/08/2006 | 

 By Eric McErlain 

While reading Steve Kirsch's op-ed on nuclear energy (``Despite
safeguards, nuclear power carries great risk,'' April 24), I
found many of his arguments distressingly familiar from my time
blogging for the Nuclear Energy Institute. Since I started our
blog 15 months ago, my colleagues and I have been busy battling
many of those same myths about nuclear energy. 

Here are just three we've dealt with most often. 

• Nuclear energy is too expensive: This claim is rooted in
higher upfront capital costs. While this may have been true of
some plants when they were built 20 years ago, it isn't today. 

In the 1990s, natural gas-fired electric capacity had the most
attractive capital structure. But by overbuilding, America
opened itself up to punishing price volatility and the prospect
of developing an addiction to imported natural gas much like our
current addiction to foreign oil. 

But new nuclear capacity can hedge against price volatility in
natural gas markets. We believe the limited incentives contained
in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 for the first half-dozen
reactors will jump-start construction. 

Once new nuclear plants get built, the other half of the
equation, production cost, comes into play. After more than 25
years of improving performance, production costs for nuclear
power plants are the lowest in the industry. This is even after
utilities have spent $1.2 billion enhancing security at American
reactors in the aftermath of Sept. 11. 

• Chernobyl proved that nuclear power plants can't be operated
safely or reliably: What Chernobyl proved was that you shouldn't
disable safety systems -- which is precisely what the operators
of the plant did. And while no one can guarantee that there will
never be another accident at a nuclear power plant, design
differences between Russian and Western reactors make a repeat
of that accident impossible. 

Critics also ignore the lessons the American nuclear industry
learned in the aftermath of the 1979 incident at Three Mile
Island. The industry formed the Institute of Nuclear Power
Operations (INPO) and instituted a rigorous peer review process
that has yielded significant returns in terms of safety and
reliability. In 1980, one measure of reliability, industrywide
capacity factor, was under 60 percent. Preliminary figures from
the Energy Information Administration show that had risen to
89.6 percent by 2005. 

• Nuclear energy's environmental benefits are overstated: Now
that environmentalists are becoming familiar with how nuclear
energy can reduce emissions, anti-nuclear extremists have become
desperate to confuse the public with fatally flawed studies
which we have dissected in detail on our blog. 

What industry opponents can't deny, however, are the benefits
our environment is already enjoying thanks to nuclear energy: 

In 2005, U.S. nuclear power plants prevented 3.32 million tons
of sulfur dioxide, 1.05 million tons of nitrogen oxide, and
681.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the
earth's atmosphere. 

From 1995 to 2005, U.S. nuclear generation avoided the emission
of 41.0 million tons of sulfur dioxide, 16.9 million tons of
nitrogen oxide, and 7.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide. 

Worldwide, 443 nuclear power plants in 30 nations produce 16
percent of the world's electricity. By replacing fossil fuels in
electricity generation, nuclear plants in 2004 reduced carbon
dioxide emissions by more than 2 billion metric tons. 

That's the case in California, too. According to an NEI
analysis, replacing the San Onofre and Diablo Canyon nuclear
power plants with fossil electricity sources would mean an
additional 16.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent
of emissions from one-sixth of all the cars in the state. 

These four reactors also helped prevent the emission of more
than 9,500 tons of nitrogen oxides, the equivalent of emissions
from more than 500,000 cars. 

Silicon Valley notables as dissimilar as Scott McNealy and
Stewart Brand publicly support nuclear energy, and converts like
author Jared Diamond come on board every day. Here's hoping
Kirsch gives nuclear energy a second look. He might like what he
finds. 

ERIC MCERLAIN is a speech writer for the Nuclear Energy
Institute in Washington, D.C., and serves is editor of its blog,
NEI Nuclear Notes (). He adapted this article for the Mercury
News from a May 2 post on his blog. About The Mercury News |
*****************************************************************
 33 Korea Herald: U.S. acceptance of refugees may affect nuke talks   
        
A high-ranking Cheong Wa Dae official yesterday said
Washington's acceptance of North Korean refugees should not
affect the six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions
despite the apparent pressure it puts the communist state under.

 "It was a foreseeable incident that was solely conducted at a
humanitarian level so it should not have any significant affect
on the six-party talks," the official told reporters while
accompanying President Roh Moo-hyun on his trip to Mongolia.

 For the first time last weekend, the United States accepted six
North Korean defectors seeking asylum, signaling a hardened
human rights policy against Pyongyang.

 Reports in Seoul immediately speculated that Washington was
raising its hand against Pyongyang that has been refusing to
resume the nuclear negotiations since last November. North Korea
is protesting against Washington's financial sanctions against
its alleged money laundering and counterfeiting in Macau.

 North Korea did not make any immediate response to Washington's
unprecedented move.

 Human rights issues have been one of the main tasks undertaken
by Washington to pressure Pyongyang, including its alleged
financial wrongdoings.

 The South Korean government continued to distance itself from
the decision made by the United States. 

"We were aware of (the decision) although it was not necessarily
discussed with us," the official said, adding that the issue was
between the United States and the U.N. High Commissioner for
Human Rights.

 Under tight secrecy, four women and two men arrived in the
United States from an undisclosed Southeast Asian country on May
5th, according to activists.

 The activists said most of the women were "trafficked, drugged
and kidnapped or sold to farmers as second wives."

 The defectors were able to enter the United States under the
terms of a 2004 U.S. law promoting and assisting human rights in
North Korea.

 Most defectors including some 100,000 in China opt to live in
neighboring Asian countries.

 The six were sheltered in a secret location due to the
diplomatic sensitivity of their predicament and to protect them
from possible North Korean reprisals, reports said.

 The U.S. state department declined to comment on the six
refugees in line with its policy of not commenting on individual
asylum cases.

 Media reports here said the six were among many North Koreans
at U.S. embassies across Southeast Asia after making their
death-defying flight from the North and passing through China.

 Here, the Senior Secretary to the President for National
Security Suh Choo-suk echoed Cheong Wa Dae's position in a radio
interview.

 "I believe many of the recent moves reflect a certain
atmosphere in the United States," Suh said. 

He added that Seoul was carefully watching whether such
developments would influence the progress of the six-party talks.

 Seoul officials have been concerned about the increasing number
of issues Washington has been putting on the nuclear negotiating
table, including human rights abuses in the North. This is an
approach they believe may cause the hermit state to further
withdraw from communicating with its counterparts.

 "It is true that many situations lately can become a negative
impact on (the nuclear standoff)," he said. 

With regard to former President Kim Dae-jung's planned visit to
Pyongyang in June, the senior secretary said Kim could talk with
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il at the second inter-Korean
summit.

 The two Koreas are set to discuss Kim Dae-jung's visit at a
working-level meeting on Tuesday next week.

 "(The second summit meeting in Seoul) was something that was
agreed by the two leaders in the first inter-Korean summit on
June 15, 2000. I believe the two will naturally share a
discussion as a follow-up to the agreement," Suh said while
appearing in a radio interview yesterday.

 He played down the possibility of Kim Dae-jung coming back with
a specific date for the second summit saying the government does
not to plan to impose the job on him. 

Suh also refused to specify what kind of message the former
president and Nobel Peace Prize winner would carry over to the
North.

 This will be Kim Dae-jung's second visit to North Korea's
capital in six years.

 To questions on the worsening Korea-Japan relations, Suh said
the government is sticking to its policy of maintaining a basic
level of diplomatic contact but refraining from more symbolic
moves, such as a summit meeting. 

(angiely@heraldm.com)

By Lee Joo-hee

2006.05.09
 
*****************************************************************
 34 The Herald: UK should supply own energy
 
Web Issue 2523     May 08 2006      
          
  STEWART PATERSON     May 08 2006   
    
  Britain must not be dependent on Russia or Middle Eastern
countries for energy supplies, a group of MPs has warned.

 A report by the House of Commons All Party Parliamentary Group
on Nuclear Energy said nuclear power must be part of the
country's strategy for reducing carbon emissions, and cautioned
that the green lobby should not be allowed to mislead the public
and politicians.

 The report is the group's submission to the DTI energy review
which is expected to find in favour of new nuclear power plants.

 The group warned in its report that gas supplies could be
terrorist targets and reliance on imports would be "extreme
stupidity" and give power to the supplying nations.

 The group includes five Scottish MPs and Lord McDonald of
Tradeston. It is chaired by John Robertson, Glasgow North West
MP.
   
Copyright © Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited. All Rights
Reserved   
*****************************************************************
 35 APP.COM: Oyster Creek expected to restart later this week |
         
Asbury Park Press Online
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Back Issues:Monday, May 8, 2006
  	 	 
Posted by the Asbury Park Presson 05/8/06 

BY NICHOLAS CLUNN STAFF WRITER

LACEY — The Oyster Creek nuclear power plant remains shut down 
for repairs today, but should start up again later this week, 
safety regulators said this afternoon.

Operators deactivated the 636-megawatt reactor Saturday after 
they found two problems with how water and steam had circulated 
through certain parts of the plant.

The plant, which produces enough electricity to power about 
600,000 homes, will return to service mid-week, said Ronald 
Bellamy, who oversees Oyster Creek for the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission.

  Copyright © 2006 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 36 Daily Yomiuri: Villages gain from hosting nuclear plants 

Shigetoshi Ono 

Huge sums of so-called nuclear power money are being distributed
to municipalities to locate such power plants in their areas. 

Opting for independent paths by declining to merge with
surrounding municipalities and backed by ample funds coming from
the central government, villages in Aomori and Niigata
prefectures, among others, are striving to make their
communities attractive by boosting education and upgrading the
living environment for their citizens. 

But as populations decline, many of these communities are trying
to figure out new ways to survive. 

The No. 1 reactor of Higashidori nuclear power plant, owned by
Tohoku Electric Power Co., went into service last December in
Higashidorimura, Aomori Prefecture. With an output of 1.1
million kilowatts, the plant is in a village with a population
of about 8,000 at the tip of the Shimokita Peninsula. 

Grants given to the village from fiscal 1992 to 2004 under three
related laws totaled 9.77 billion yen. The village also is
expected to receive about 2 billion yen a year on average
through fixed assets tax and others for the next 15 years,
starting this fiscal year, thanks to the plant. 

With such abundant funds, the village declined a merger with
other municipalities on the peninsula, which was advocated by
the neighboring city of Mutsu. 

Independently forging ahead with a plan to commit itself to the
development of the village through better education, the
Higashidorimura government launched this fiscal year a program
to give all primary and middle school students grants to cover
the cost of taking the Japan Kanji Aptitude Test. 

It will also give similar subsidies to middle school students
taking the Practical English Proficiency Test. Kanji and English
proficiency tests are held three times a year and fees differ
depending on the level of the tests. For instance, students can
pay for the first two tests and then seek village government
grants for the third, higher-level, higher-priced test. 

Explaining the subsidy system, a village official said, "[We
hope the system] will lend itself to the enhancement of
scholastic ability by allowing children to have a goal [in
education]." As of April 1, 430 students were entitled to the
subsidy system. 

The village government incorporated 1.7 million yen into its
budget to assist the students. There are primary schools in the
village that have introduced English in all grades. The village
board of education is considering expanding the English subsidy
system to include all primary schools. 

In addition, middle schools are grappling with the idea of
getting private cram school teachers in Mutsu to teach English
and mathematics to students almost free of charge since there is
no cram school in Higashidorimura. 

Kariwamura, Niigata Prefecture, benefits from nuclear power
money for being the site of a Tokyo Electric Power Co. nuclear
plant. The plant boasts the world's largest volume of electric
power generation with 821.2 million kilowatts produced by seven
reactors. 

Although its population is about 5,000, the village tops all
other cities, towns and villages in the prefecture with its
fiscal capacity index of 1.6 in fiscal 2005. The index shows the
balance between a local government's revenues and fiscal
demands. When the index is at 1 or higher, a local government
does not receive ordinary tax grants from the central
government. 

The village expects to receive about 1.2 billion yen in property
tax and about 700 million yen in grants-in-aid under the three
laws concerning the location of nuclear power plants. 

The village government is directing its resources into
supporting child-rearing by tapping these finances. Day care
fees for preschool children are 24,200 yen a month at the most,
about 8,000 yen cheaper than those in the neighboring city of
Kashiwazaki. 

For students attending university away from their parents, the
village government has a scholarship program loaning them up to
5.3 million yen over a four-year period. 

Additionally, it set up a fiber-optic network throughout the
village during fiscal 2005 giving villagers access to paid TV
channels, high-speed Internet connections and IP telephone
services. 

In the face of all this, the village ultimately decided not to
participate in negotiations for a merger with Kashiwazaki and
others. "The population of the village would account for only 5
percent of the merged city," a senior official said. "[We could
give] better service to residents if we stayed as we are." 

But it is not all good news for Kariwamura. The population has
decreased by about 10 percent over the past 10 years due to a
falling birthrate and lack of people moving in from surrounding
areas. 

Higashidorimura's population is down about 30 percent from 40
years ago when the village assembly decided to invite Tohoku
Electric to build its nuclear power plant. Conversely, the
number of villagers 65 years or older was 22.5 percent as of
2000 compared with 5.5 percent 40 years ago. 

A senior official of a neighboring municipality suffering from
financial difficulties said, "Even if it [the village] has
money, it would be of no use if there are no residents." 

Of course, officials of the two villages have deep-rooted fears.
Fixed assets tax revenue from nuclear power facilities will
decline due to a reduction in depreciation values. In
Higashidorimura, three more reactors will be built, but there is
no clear prospect of when the construction for two of them will
begin as electricity demand is sluggish. The village office may
not receive tax revenue as had been calculated because
negotiations on compensation for fishermen have not been
completed regarding the construction of the third reactor. 

To become independent, genuinely affluent municipalities, it is
important for villages heavily dependent on nuclear power money
to develop their rural communities. 

Ono is a deputy regional news editor of The Yomiuri Shimbun.
(May. 9, 2006) 

 © The Yomiuri Shimbun.   
*****************************************************************
 37 NRC: Southern Nuclear Operating Company; Notice of Withdrawal of 
 
                         FR Doc E6-6914 
[Federal Register: May 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 88)] [Notices] 
[Page 26785-26786] From the Federal Register Online via GPO 
Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08my06-67]                         
 
Application for Amendment to Facility Operating License The U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) has granted the 
request of Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc. (the 
licensee) to withdraw its March 8, 2005 application for proposed 
amendment to Facility Operating License Nos. NPF-2 and NPF-8 for 
the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, located in 
Houston County, Alabama. The proposed amendment would have 
revised the Technical Specifications to delete Function 11, 
Reactor Coolant Pump (RCP) Breaker Position, in TS 3.3.1, 
``Reactor Trip System (RTS) Instrumentation.'' The Commission had 
previously issued a Notice of Consideration of Issuance of 
Amendment published in the Federal Register on July 5, 2005 (70 
FR 38722). However, by letter dated March 17, 2006, the licensee 
withdrew the proposed change.
 
For further details with respect to this action, see the 
application for amendment dated March 8, 2005, and the licensee's 
letter dated March 17, 2006, which withdrew the application for 
license amendment. 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 O1 F21, 11555 Rockville Pike 
(first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available records 
will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide Documents 
Access and
 
[[Page 26786]] Management Systems (ADAMS) Public Electronic 
Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, . 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 by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 
301-415-4737 or by e-mail to .
 
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 5th day of April 2006.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Robert E. Martin, Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch 
II-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing , Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
 
[FR Doc. E6-6914 Filed 5-5-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 38 NRC: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for the 
 
                         FR Doc E6-6915 
[Federal Register: May 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 88)] [Notices] 
[Page 26785] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access 
[wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08my06-66]                         
 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request 
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
 
ACTION: Notice of the OMB review of information collection and 
solicitation of public comment.
 
SUMMARY: The NRC has recently submitted to OMB for review the 
following proposal for the collection of information under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35). The NRC hereby informs potential respondents that an 
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and that a person is not 
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it 
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
 
1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: Extension.
 
2. The title of the information collection: 10 CFR Part 55, 
``Operators' Licenses.'' 3. The form number if applicable: N/A. 
4. How often the collection is required: As necessary for NRC to 
meet its responsibilities to determine the eligibility of 
applicants for operators' licenses, prepare or review initial 
operator licensing and requalification examinations, and review 
applications for and performance of simulation facilities.
 
5. Who will be required or asked to report: Holders of and 
applicants for facility (i.e., nuclear power, research, and test 
reactors) operating licenses and individual operators' licenses.
 
6. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 343 (240 
responses + 103 recordkeepers).
 
7. The estimated number of annual respondents: 103 (70 power 
reactor licensees + 33 non-power reactor licensees).
 
8. An estimate of the total number of hours needed annually to 
complete the requirement or request: 67,060 (45,464 hrs.
 
reporting + 21,596 hrs. recordkeeping). 9. An indication of 
whether Section 3507(d), Public Law 104-13 applies: N/A.
 
10. Abstract: 10 CFR part 55, ``Operators' Licenses,'' of the 
NRC's regulations, specifies information and data to be provided 
by applicants and facility licenses so that the NRC may make 
determinations concerning the licensing and requalification of 
operators for nuclear reactors, as necessary to promote public 
health and safety. The reporting and recordkeeping requirements 
contained in 10 CFR part 55 are mandatory for the licensees and 
applicants affected.
 
A copy of the final supporting statement may be viewed free of 
charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 20852. OMB 
clearance requests are available at the NRC World Wide Web site: 
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/doc-comment/omb/index.html. The 
document will be available on the NRC home page site for 60 days 
after the signature date of this notice.
 
Comments and questions should be directed to the OMB reviewer 
listed below by June 7, 2006. Comments received after this date 
will be considered if it is practical to do so, but assurance of 
consideration cannot be given to comments received after this 
date. John A. Asalone, Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs (3150-0018), NEOB-10202, Office of Management and Budget, 
Washington, DC 20503.
 
Comments can also be e-mailed to John_A._Asalone@omb.eop.gov or 
submitted by telephone at (202) 395-4650.
 
The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda Jo. Shelton, 301-415-7233.
 
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of May, 2006.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Brenda Jo. Shelton, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information 
Services.
 
[FR Doc. E6-6915 Filed 5-5-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 39 South Florida Sun-Sentinel: FPL contemplates building another nuke

[Sun-Sentinel.com]

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board      

Posted  May 8 2006              

Florida Power & Light Co. is wise to plan ahead, and to count on
more nuclear-generated electricity.

FPL signaled its commitment to this power source years ago by
getting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the
operating licenses on its existing reactors. Since then,
petroleum price increases have made efforts to wean the nation
from its dependence on imported oil a higher priority.

Nuclear power is controversial. Washington has failed to find a
storage solution for spent fuel, and nuclear energy isn't a
substitute for conservation and efforts to broaden renewable
energy sources. The utility, and the power industry, should
acknowledge the public's reluctance to build new nuclear power
plants and address concerns openly and convincingly.

 Copyright 2006, Sun-Sentinel Co. & South Florida Interactive 
Inc. Sun-Sentinel.com, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 
Florida 33301   
  
*****************************************************************
 40 SNA: Bulgarian Nuke Accident Rated 2 at INES

www.novinite.com Sofia News Agency

Sergey Tsochev (L), Chairman of the NRA, Alexander Rogatchev,
head of the Department of International Cooperation and European
Integration (C), and Nikolay Vlahov (R), Executive Secretary.
Photo by Kameliya Atanasova (Sofia News Agency)

Politics: 8 May 2006, Monday.

The accident at Bulgaria's Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant was
officially rated level 2 according to the International Nuclear
Events Scale (INES), the Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRA)
announced.
 
The even was first reported as level one (seven being the most
dangerous), but the rating was upped after taking into account
side factors, Sergey Tsochev, head of the NRA said. 

Rated as anomaly at first, the event is now considered an
incident, due to two major side factors. Tsochev explained. A
common cause failure resulted in the incident - meaning that
several devices malfunctioned due to the same reason. Also there
had been surveillance procedures incompleteness.
 
Information in German daily Spiegel about the incident caused
uproar in Bulgaria, as the report claimed a near-Chernobyl
incident had taken place in Kozloduy NPP. The newspaper cited
former NRA head Georgi Kaschiev, now a professor in Vienna, as
saying that Bulgaria was covering up a serious problem. 

Reports in the foreign press had been untruthful, Tsochev said,
adding that authorities probably should have explained the
matter in a more intelligible way to the Bulgarian media to
avoid confusion.
 
There are three possible scenarios from now on, NRA's deputy
head Borislav Stanimirov said. One would be to replace the
faulty equipment with such that bears sufficient guarantees from
Russian manufacturer Hidropress that the very reason for the
fault had been removed. Another option is to continue to use to
rods but with added safety procedures that, again, have been
proven to completely do away with the problem. The third and
most unfortunate option would be shutting down the plant's Unit
5 if Hidropress fails to demonstrate sufficient evidence for
having solved the problem. 

Stanimirov, however, said that he highly doubted that they'd
have to consider the third option, as they believed in the
professionalism of the Russian company.

 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
*****************************************************************
 41 globeandmail.com: Ontario's nuclear strategy is a lesson in senility
 
By ERIC REGULY

Saturday, May 6, 2006, Page B2
 
Nuclear energy is getting good press. Even the 20th anniversary
of the Chernobyl disaster failed to derail its supporters.

Alberta has at least studied the idea of building a nuke to
power its oil sands operations. Some environmentalists are
toning down their anti-nuke rhetoric. Ontario, one of the
biggest users of nuclear energy on the planet, is on the verge
of renewing its nuclear strategy; an announcement probably will
be made later this month.
 
The full text of this article has 832 words.
 		 
Want to access this page? Begin below.
 				 	
Copyright 2006 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
 	 	
globeandmail.com and The Globe and Mail are divisions of Bell
Globemedia Publishing Inc., 444 Front St. W., Toronto, Canada
M5V 2S9 
Phillip Crawley, Publisher
 	 	 	 --> 	 	 	 	 	 --> 	 
*****************************************************************
 42 News Tribune: Port decides not to handle uranium for nuclear fuel 

TheNewsTribune.com | Tacoma, WA
KELLY KEARSLEY; The News Tribune

 Published: May 8th, 2006 01:00 AM 

Nuclear fuel wont be in the Port of Tacomas cargo mix anytime
soon. 

Earlier this year a shipping company had proposed sending
uranium dioxide, which is used to make fuel rods that power
nuclear reactors, through the port on its way to Japan, Taiwan
and Korea. 

Port, labor and fire officials traveled to the Hanford area in
February to learn more about the substance from AREVA, the
company that makes the uranium dioxide pellets and powder.
Uranium dioxide is considered hazardous, though its of
relatively low risk to the people who handle it. 

We decided for the (small) volume of cargo and our other
opportunities for handling cargo, lets not get into this, said
Tim Farrell, the ports executive director. If we dont have to
take the risk, why bother. We have bigger fish to fry. 

The port anticipated 50 to 100 containers of the uranium dioxide
per year. The port handled 2.1 million containers last year. 

Farrell informed the port commission of the decision Thursday. 

Connie Bacon, the commissions president, said not handling the
cargo is consistent with the decisions of past commissions. 

This is in the best interest of the port and community, Bacon
said. We always want to be as cooperative as we can, but this
wasnt something we could do and feel good about. 

A decade ago, the port commission and Tacoma City Council banned
spent nuclear fuel  which is highly radioactive  from being
stored or transported through the city and port. The decisions
came after the Department of Energy listed Tacoma as one of the
10 ports that could receive shipments of nuclear waste. 

Robert Link, AREVAs environmental, health, safety and licensing
manager, noted the initial request was made by the shipper, not
AREVA, but added that the company has alternative means for
getting its product overseas. 

Tacoma isnt an issue for us, Link said. 

Kelly Kearsley: 253-597-8573 

 1950 South State Street, Tacoma, Washington 98405 253-597-8742 
© Copyright 2006 Tacoma News, Inc. A subsidiary of The McClatchy
Company   
*****************************************************************
 43 UN Nuclear And Health Agencies Team Up To Fight Cancer In Eastern Mediterranean
 
Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 11:00:07 -0400



 
UN NUCLEAR AND HEALTH AGENCIES TEAM UP TO FIGHT CANCER IN EASTERN 
MEDITERRANEAN
New York, May  8 2006 11:00AM
With cancer rates anticipated to increase in the Eastern Mediterranean 
by as much as 180 per cent in the next 15 years, the United 
Nations atomic watchdog agency - better known for its efforts to 
combat the spread of nuclear weapons - is teaming up with the UN 
World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/en/">WHO) 

“We need more exchange of information, higher levels of awareness, 
and better levels of cancer care and treatment,” the head of the 
International Atomic Energy Agency (<"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2006/pact_mou.html">IAEA) 
Programme of Action for Cancer 
Therapy (PACT), Massoud Samiei, said of the recently signed agreement 
between the two to improve prevention and treatment in the 
region. 

PACT was set up in 2004 to respond to the chronic shortage of cancer 
treatment capacity in developing countries by taking radiotherapy 

Right now, cancer risk factors in the region - which includes Bahrain, 
Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi 
Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen - are inadequately 
studied and early screening and prevention are not sufficiently 
developed, Mr. Samiei said.

“In the past 20 years a large fraction of cancers have turned from 
fatal to curable in western countries largely due to improvement 
of early detection,” WHO regional director  Hussein Al Gezairy 
said of the disease, which claims 272,000 lives each year in the 
region.

“Unfortunately, this may not be the same for the Eastern Mediterranean 
region where late detection and diagnosis is a major setback 
which is perpetuating the stigma that cancer is equal to death. 
We believe that this stigma can be reversed,” he added.

Cancer today is the second leading cause of death worldwide, claiming 
more lives than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. 
More than 70 per cent of all cancer deaths now occur in low- and 
middle-income countries, where resources for prevention, diagnosis 
and treatment are limited or non-existent.
 2006-05-08 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/
*****************************************************************
 44 Salt Lake Tribune: 'Divine Strake' delayed? Agency says, 'no' 

Article Last Updated: 05/08/2006 01:16:55 AM MDT 

In question: Critic says Justice Department lawyers told him the 
explosive test won't take place as early as planned 

By Judy Fahys The Salt Lake Tribune 

Divine Strake, the massive explosion experiment planned next 
month for the Nevada desert, may be delayed. 

Attorney Robert Hager said Justice Department lawyers for the 
Pentagon and the U.S. Energy Department told him Thursday the 
test would be delayed until as late as June 23, three weeks 
after the detonation was originally scheduled for. 

A spokeswoman for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, one of 
the agencies behind Divine Strake, denied the claim. 

"No," said Irene M. Smith. "Divine Strake's date has not been 
changed." 

She noted that new information was released Friday with a 
revised environmental assessment from the National Nuclear 
Security Administration, the second agency involved. 

But Hager pointed out the updated version still lacks 
critical details needed to determine whether the test could be 
safe, such as what type of test was used to check for 
radioactivity surrounding the explosion site and what the 
results were. 

Hager and other critics have complained for weeks about the 
two agencies' failure to provide data showing the test will be 
as safe as they say. Environmental officials in Utah and Nevada 
also have clamored for more detail on how much debris might be 
dispersed in the blast's 10,000-foot tall mushroom cloud and 
whether that debris could contain worrisome levels of radiation 
from past atomic tests. 

"It's 'Take-our-word-on-it' that caused tens of thousands of 
cancers in Utah and Nevada and all over the United States," said 
Hager, whose clients include the Winnemucca Western Shoshone 
Indians and downwinders, a group of people who say fallout from 
atomic tests made them sick. 

Hager's ultimate goal is to get Divine Strake scratched. 

The federal government, meanwhile, describes the test as a 
means of understanding how 700 tons of explosives would affect a 
deep tunnel, like those believed to be used to shield leaders 
and military equipment in nations like Iran, North Korea and 
other potential U.S. enemies. While the detonation involves 
conventional material - its ammonium nitrate-fuel oil mix fueled 
the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing - some critics fear Divine Strake 
is a precursor to the testing of nuclear weapons in the Nevada 
desert once again. 

U.S. Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, both Utah 
Republicans, and U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, have asked for 
better proof that Divine Strake won't hurt their state. All 
three sent aides to survey the site nearly two weeks ago and 
said they wanted more detailed information about it. 

"We'll see if the government can produce the data and the 
documentation required to make the case that this test is 
necessary," said Steve Erickson, one of Hager's Utah clients. 

"This test is not a done deal yet" 

fahys@sltrib.com 

Â© Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. 
*****************************************************************
 45 Salt Lake Tribune: Don't believe it's safe

Article Last Updated: 05/07/2006 11:46:12 PM MDT  

  Watch out, Utah! The U.S. government is going to blow up a big
bomb on June 2 and, as always, is promising us that it will be
perfectly safe. As Irene Smith of the Defense Threat Reduction
Agency(?) confidently assures us, “it would not be happening if
it was a danger” (Tribune, April 28). Certainly not! 

   Of course, even though this 700-ton bomb will be detonated on 
the old atomic testing grounds, the feds blithely insist that no 
radioactive debris will be sucked up into the 10,000-foot 
mushroom cloud. Oh, really? And they have good scientific 
evidence for this? Apparently our representatives aren't 
convinced. In the April 25 Tribune, Sen. Orrin Hatch is quoted as 
saying, “The more I look into this the more upset I become.” 
Let's hope that Utah's delegation - Hatch, Sen. Bob Bennett and 
Rep. Jim Matheson - and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will keep asking 
questions and demanding answers. 

   And we should join them. If enough of us say something, who
knows, maybe we can get the Bush administration to call off this
insane test and slow down the new arms race a little. 

   As for me, only when Bush, Rummy, and their bunker-busting 
cronies plant their lounge chairs in the desert sand, pop the 
tops on their tall boys and sit back to watch the blast, will I 
believe the test is “perfectly safe.” 
    
   Keller Higbee Salt Lake City 
    
      
Â© Copyright 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. 
webmaster@sltrib.com  
*****************************************************************
 46 edie news centre: Weapons test site contamination needs more research 
	
(8 May 2006)                      

Research into the soil contamination of the UK's biggest weapons 
testing site will need several years' detailed research to 
complete, the Ministry of Defence has said.                  

 The soil quality assessment at the Shoeburyness facility in 
Essex called for further study of the 30km2 site, which includes 
substantial amounts of farmland. 

The 160-year-old Shoeburyness site was where the components of 
Britain's first nuclear bomb were tested in the 1940s. It now 
continues to serve the for bomb and firing range testing. 

The study found "potential concern" about contamination with 
radioactive materials, explosives, beryllium and other dangerous 
substances on the site, which comprises 30km2 of land and 100km2 
of mudflats. It also warned about possible pollution of surface 
and ground water. 

Consultants Carl Bro have so far completed the first, desk-based 
part of the study, including interviews with current and former 
Shoeburyness employees and archive searches. 

The second stage, expected to last up to three years, will 
involve field work, including soil sampling. It will concentrate 
on potential risk areas identified in the first part of the 
study. 

Announcing the results, under secretary of state for defence Don 
Touhig said: "The MoD conducts routine reviews of all its sites 
across its 240,000 hectare estate, but we recognise that 
Shoeburyness is of particular interest given its use for weapons 
test and evaluation. "MoD Shoeburyness is an important national 
asset that needs to be maintained and sustained." 

Goska Romanowicz 
			
© Faversham House Group Ltd 2006. edie news articles may be 
copied or forwarded for individual use only. No other 
reproduction or distribution is permitted without prior written 
consent.                                                                                
 		   		     		 		 		 		   				 				 
*****************************************************************
 47 [NukeNet] Arizona: Fatal truck accident involves radioactive
 
Date: Mon, 08 May 2006 21:19:39 -0700



<x-flowed>
NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net)

<http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/seligmanupdate05072006-CR.html>http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/seligmanupdate05072006-CR.html
Fatal truck accident involves radioactive waste materials

Kevin Curran
12 News
May. 7, 2006 02:32 PM

It could be quite some time before traffic flows smoothly along the only 
interstate highway that crosses northern Arizona. All eastbound traffic on 
I-40 has been diverted to Old Route 66 between Seligman and Ash Fork 
following a fatal accident involving a truck carrying radioactive materials.

Arizona Dept. of Public Safety Officer Tim Mason says two tractor-trailer 
rigs collided near milepost 131 in Yavapai County just after 7:30 Sunday 
morning. One of the trucks was a flatbed carrying containers of tools and 
clothing that had been used in nuclear environments. The cargo was being 
taken to a radioactive waste disposal facility.

The driver of the truck, 25 year-old Tim Harig, was flown to Kingman 
Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. His passenger, 55 year-old 
Jasper Brown, was in the sleeping compartment at the time of the crash and 
was pronounced dead on the scene. Mason did not know the men's hometowns.

A DPS hazardous materials team has established a 25-foot perimeter around 
the truck and is awaiting the arrival of a crew from the Arizona Radiation 
Agency. Mason says crews cannot move the truck or unload its cargo until 
experts assess the best ways to handle the nuclear waste products.

Westbound traffic has been unaffected by the accident and clean-up. Mason 
says the eastbound roadway could remain closed until Monday morning.

_______________________________________________________________________
Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/
Change your settings or access the archives at:
http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net

</x-flowed>
*****************************************************************
 48 [NukeNet] Arizona: Fatal Truck Accident Involves Radioactive
 
Date: Mon, 08 May 2006 15:45:52 -0700



<x-flowed>
NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@energyjustice.net)


Email this article 
<http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/email.php?referer=http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/seligmanupdate05072006-CR.html>Click 
to send
Print this article Choose File Print or Ctrl P or Apple P
Most popular pages 
<http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/popular.php?span=86400&referer=http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/seligmanupdate05072006-CR.html>Today 
| 
<http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/popular.php?span=604800&referer=http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/seligmanupdate05072006-CR.html>This 
Week

Fatal truck accident involves radioactive waste materials

Kevin Curran
12 News
May. 7, 2006 02:32 PM

It could be quite some time before traffic flows smoothly along the only 
interstate highway that crosses northern Arizona. All eastbound traffic on 
I-40 has been diverted to Old Route 66 between Seligman and Ash Fork 
following a fatal accident involving a truck carrying radioactive materials.

Arizona Dept. of Public Safety Officer Tim Mason says two tractor-trailer 
rigs collided near milepost 131 in Yavapai County just after 7:30 Sunday 
morning. One of the trucks was a flatbed carrying containers of tools and 
clothing that had been used in nuclear environments. The cargo was being 
taken to a radioactive waste disposal facility.

The driver of the truck, 25 year-old Tim Harig, was flow to Kingman 
Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. His passenger, 55 year-old 
Jasper Brown, was in the sleeping compartment at the time of the crash and 
was pronounced dead on the scene. Mason did not know the men's hometowns.

A DPS hazardous materials team has established a 25-foot perimeter around 
the truck and is awaiting the arrival of a crew from the Arizona Radiation 
Agency. Mason says crews cannot move the truck or unload its cargo until 
experts assess the best ways to handle the nuclear waste products.

Westbound traffic has been unaffected by the accident and clean-up. Mason 
says the eastbound roadway could remain closed until Monday morning.

Email this article 
<http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/email.php?referer=http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/seligmanupdate05072006-CR.html>Click 
to send
Print this article Choose File Print or Ctrl P or Apple P
Most popular pages 
<http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/popular.php?range=86400>Today 
| 
<http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/popular.php?range=604800>This Week
344615.jpg
34461c.jpg

_______________________________________________________________________
Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/
Change your settings or access the archives at:
http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net

</x-flowed>


Attachment Converted: 344615.jpg: 00000001,4a96cd16,00000000,00000000
Attachment Converted: 34461c.jpg: 00000001,4a96cd17,00000000,00000000

Attachment Converted: "c:\program files\eudora\attach\clear.gif"
*****************************************************************
 49 Guardian Unlimited: UK may float stake in uranium enrichment firm
 
Terry Macalister

Monday May 8, 2006
The Guardian 		 

The government is considering an initial public offering (IPO)
on the London Stock Exchange for Urenco as a way of offloading
its 33% stake in the uranium-enrichment business.

The move comes as the Buckinghamshire-based business attempts to
expand into America with an application to build a national
enrichment facility near the small town of Eunice in New Mexico.

An IPO would be aimed at maximising the value of the business
and follows growing concern inside the government that it will
not be possible to find a suitable buyer for such a sensitive
part of the nuclear industry.

Urenco's future was put up for grabs by Gordon Brown in his 
autumn statement when he said he wanted to sell Urenco along with 
British Nuclear Group and other businesses of the state-owned 
holding group, BNFL.

Chris Clark, the former Johnson Matthey executive brought in as
non-executive chairman of Urenco in 2005, has been talking to
his partners in Germany and the Netherlands about a float.

Urenco, is one third owned by BNFL, a third by a Dutch state
company and a one third split between Germany's private sector
utilities, E.ON and RWE.

Neither Urenco nor the Department of Trade and Industry, which
has responsibility for BNFL, were willing to comment on the
position of Urenco except to confirm that all options for the
business were being considered.

But an insider said an IPO was a definite possibility although
winning support of all the different parties would not
necessarily be easy. "They [BNFL] originally expected to look
for a buyer but there are few around in this kind of highly
sensitive sector. A stock listing could be the way forward," he
said.

Urenco has already dipped its feet into the capital markets by
issuing a eurobond for 300m (£200m) at the end of 2005.

This received an A1 credit rating from Moody's while annual
financial results, released in March for the sake of these
bondholders, showed pre-tax profits rising from £203,114 to
£268,357.

Urenco uses a unique gas centrifuge process to enrich uranium
which is then sold on to other companies such as Areva of France
and Westinghouse in the US to make into fuel for civil nuclear
power stations. It competes against a handful of other
businesses worldwide

It has one production plant in Britain - at Capenhurst near
Chester - one at Almelo in the Netherlands and one at Gronau in
Germany. Around 300 staff are employed at Capenhurst, 60 at the
marketing and commercial office in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, plus
a further 1,500 abroad.

German chief executive, Helmut Engelbrecht, believes the
business has a sound future which should be marked by expansion.
"Our forward order book is strong and grew significantly in the
period, up from 4bn in 2004 to over 6bn by the end of 2005," he
said. Urenco says the order book will swell to 7.5bn if it can
obtain the go-ahead for its US operation.

The government has been keen to raise funds from state sales of
assets but also rid itself of future liabilities. It has already
disposed of BNFL's design and engineering business,
Westinghouse, to Toshiba at at a higher price than it expected.
British Nuclear Group, the main operating arm of BNFL, is to be
formally hived off in 2007.
 
Useful links
British Energy
Department of Trade and Industry
British Nuclear Fuels Ltd
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Greenpeace
HSE nuclear glossary
Come Clean WMD awareness programme
UK atomic energy authority
National Radiological Protection Board
Friends of the Earth
World Nuclear Association
World Nuclear Transport Institute

[UP] 

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 50 Arizona Republic: Interstate re-opens after radioactive truck accident

azcentral.com                                                                     [go]                           

Kevin Curran
12 News
May. 7, 2006 08:49 PM                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Traffic is once again flowing along I-40 between Seligman and Ash 
Fork. The eastbound lanes had been closed for eight hours after 
an accident involving a truck carrying radioactive materials. 

Arizona Dept. of Public Safety Officer Tim Mason says two 
tractor-trailer rigs collided near milepost 131 in Yavapai County 
just after 7:30 Sunday morning. 

One of the trucks was a flatbed carrying containers of tools and 
clothing that had been used at Pacific Gas &Electric's Diablo 
Canyon power plant near San Luis Obispo, Calif. The cargo was 
being taken to a radioactive waste disposal facility called the 
Waltz Mill Service Center in Madison, Pa. 

The driver of the truck, 25 year-old Tim Harig of Springfield,
Mo., was flow to a hospital with serious injuries. His
passenger, 55 year-old Jasper Brown of Conway, Mo., was in the
sleeping compartment at the time of the crash and was pronounced
dead on the scene. 

A DPS hazardous materials team established a 25-foot perimeter
around the truck and secured the scene for a crew from the
Arizona Radiation Agency. 

Mason says the crew determined the containers of the radioactive
material had not been compromised. They were transferred to
another truck and the wreckage was removed from the roadway. 

Copyright © 2006, azcentral.com. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 51 Portal da Cidadania: Brazil develops own uranium enrichment technology 

Vladimir Planonow
 Reporter - Agência Brasil
 
Rio - The Navy Technological Center, in São Paulo, was
responsible for developing the ultracentrifuges that went on
line Friday (5) in the Nuclear Industries of Brazil (INB), in
Resende, located in the southern region of Rio de Janeiro. This
accomplishment qualifed Brazil as one of the seven countries
that have mastered the technology of producing nuclear fuel. 

The ultracentrifuges are high-speeding rotating devices that
separate particles according to their molecular weights. In this
case the centrifuges are used to separate molecules of
uranium-235, which is fissionable, from uranium-238, which is
not. 

The INB possesses hundreds of such centrifuges, which constitute
the fruit of a US$ 48.5 million investment by the federal
government. According to the Ministry of Science and Technology,
Brazil's uranium reserves are the sixth largest in the world,
and the country expects to attain self-sufficiency in uranium
enrichment in 2016, by which time US$ 267 million will have been
invested.
 
The minister of Science and Technology, Sérgio Rezende defends
nuclear energy as the only option capable of amply meeting
demand in Brazil, in view of the drastic decline expected in
global petroleum reserves over the next 20 or 30 years and
uncertainty regarding the natural gas supply after Bolivia's
president, Evo Morales, nationalized his country's gas and
petroleum reserves. According to the minister, eolian (wind) and
solar energy do not offer prospects of viability on a
large-scale.
 
The nine countries besides Brazil that have the technology to
produce nuclear fuel are: Germany, the Netherlands, the United
Kingdom, France, Japan, the United States, Russia, China, and
Pakistan. The United States and France are responsible for 55%
of the total.
 
Translation: David Silberstein
 
08/05/2006
 ------

© Agencia Brasil - All material may be reproduced as long as the 
source is acknowledged                         
*****************************************************************
 52 Knox News: Old reactor gets new lease on life

Upgrades totaling $70M should keep it humming for next 30 years

By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com 

May 8, 2006

OAK RIDGE - Oak Ridge National Laboratory's "other" neutron 
source will return to action this summer. 

The High Flux Isotope Reactor, a research stalwart since the 
1960s, has been shut down since January so workers could install 
new equipment to expand and improve the reactor's scientific 
capabilities. 

ORNL has spent nearly $70 million in recent years to refurbish 
the reactor's infrastructure, replace key components and add 
research tools, including a new cold source that will slow the 
movement of neutrons and enhance the study of biological 
materials. 

The high flux reactor will complement the Spallation Neutron 
Source, Oak Ridge's $1.4 billion pride and joy. The 
accelerator-based SNS recently produced its first neutrons, and 
it's supposed to provide researchers with unprecedented bursts of 
neutrons for decades to come. 

A neutron sciences users group will evaluate proposals for 
research experiments at each of the ORNL research facilities. 

Jim Roberto, the lab's deputy director for science and 
technology, said the High Flux Isotope Reactor would remain a 
special place for certain types of experiments. 

Initial tests of the reactor's cold source should begin within 
the next month, Roberto said. 

Testing of cryogenic systems will be done in four stages, with 
the first work involving liquid helium, which is less hazardous 
that the liquid hydrogen that ultimately will be used to chill 
the research chambers to -420 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The Oak Ridge reactor, which provides the world's highest, steady 
state concentration of thermal neutrons for experiments, also 
will undergo safety reviews throughout the summer. Expert teams 
from the lab and outside institutions will evaluate the 
40-year-old nuclear facility to ensure that systems are up to 
snuff and ready to long-term operations. 

Roberto said it's important to confirm that none of the new 
research equipment affects the operational safety. 

The ORNL reactor was shut down for four years, 1986-1990, to 
evaluate concerns about the integrity of the reactor's 
carbon-steel pressure vessel. Those issues were later resolved to 
the satisfaction of multiple review teams, although when the 
reactor operations resumed the power level was dropped from 100 
megawatts to 85 megawatts. 

Lab officials have said they expect the recent upgrades to 
prepare the reactor for another 30 years of use. Full operations 
should resume sometime in the fall, according to Roberto. 

The Oak Ridge reactor still has only four ports that open to the 
nuclear core, but lab engineers have increased the capabilities 
for delivering those neutrons to research sites and monitoring 
the interaction with material samples. 

New beam lines have been installed, as well as new analytical 
equipment - such as a triple-axis spectrometer. 

Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329.

 					
 Copyright 2006, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
*****************************************************************
 53 DOE: Assistant Secretary of Energy Highlights Delawares 
Contributions to Americas Energy and Economic Security

  May 5, 2006
 
Promotes importance of new technologies research to keep America
competitive 

WILMINGTON, DE  U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant
Secretary for Policy and International Affairs Karen Harbert
today traveled to Delaware, to highlight President Bushs
recently announced American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) and
the positive impacts research and development of new
technologies will have on strengthening Americas energy and
economic security.  Assistant Secretary Harbert also touted the
138,000 jobs created nationwide last month and that Delawares
unemployment rate of 3.3 percent is the lowest rate the state
has seen in two decades.       

Assistant Secretary Harbert toured the DuPont Experimental 
Station today and at the University of Delaware participated in a 
roundtable discussion with scientists at the Engineering and 
Energy and Environmental Policy Center and toured the High 
Performance Solar Cell Laboratory.   

Through research and entrepreneurship, Delawares
businesses and academic institutions are poised to help
Americas energy security while providing consumers with clean
and affordable bio-based fuels, Assistant Secretary Harbert
said.  The Presidents energy policies support the development
of energy technologies to make them practical and affordable
options for consumers.  By diversifying our nations energy
supply, we can continue to strengthen our nations energy
security.      

During todays visits to the DuPont Experimental
Station and the University of Delaware, Assistant Secretary
Harbert highlighted ways industry and government can contribute
to the success of the ACI through continued emphasis on research
and development of new technologies.  Additionally, she
discussed Delawares contribution to the Advanced Energy
Initiative, also announced by President Bush in his 2006 State
of the Union address.  Together, this initiative and the ACI
will continue to promote Americas economic vitality through the
development of alternative energy sources and will provide our
next generation of scientists and researchers with the
educational foundation necessary to compete in the 21 st
century.   While in Delaware, Assistant Secretary Harbert also
touted the nations strong economy, underscored by new
unemployment figures released today.  The unemployment rate of
4.7 percent is lower than the average rate for the 1960s, 1970s,
the 1980s and the 1990s.  Moreover, new jobs are being created
for American workers.  The economy has created 5.2 million jobs
since August 2003, and about 2 million of those were created
over the past 12 months.  America has experienced five straight
years of growth in productivity, and per capita personal income
continues to rise.  These figures indicate that the American
economy is strong by almost any measure.    DuPont Experimental
Station was one of the first industrial research laboratories in
the U.S.  The 150-acre campus-style Experimental Station in
Wilmington, DE, serves as the primary research and development
facility for DuPont.    The University of Delawares Center for
Energy and Environmental Policy is a leading institution for
interdisciplinary graduate education, research, and advocacy in
energy and environmental policy. The University also leads a
consortium that has received prestigious awards in solar
research to develop and produce Very High Efficiency Solar Cell
prototypes that are affordable and operate more efficiently than
those available commercially today. 

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 | 
*****************************************************************
 54 DOE: U.S. Works With Kazakhstan to Stop Nuclear and Radioactive 
Material Smuggling
 
  May 6, 2006
 
WASHINGTON, DC  As part of the overall U.S. strategy to prevent 
nuclear and dangerous radiological materials from falling into 
the hands of terrorists, the Department of Energys National 
Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced today that an 
agreement with the government of Kazakhstan had been signed to 
create a partnership under the Second Line of Defense program.  

  U.S. Ambassador Ordway joined Kazakhstan Customs Control 
Committee Chairman Askar Shakirov in signing the accord.  The 
agreement will pave the way for NNSA to work collaboratively with 
the Kazakhstan Customs Control Committee to install radiation 
detection equipment at strategic border crossings throughout 
Kazakhstan to identify and deter illicit nuclear or radiological 
materials.    

Establishing strong border security partnerships with willing 
partners such as Kazakhstan are critical to preventing the 
smuggling of nuclear and other radioactive materials.  The U.S. 
and Kazakhstan share a strong commitment to keeping nuclear 
weapons beyond the reach of terrorists, Secretary of Energy 
Samuel Bodman said.   Under the agreement, NNSAs Second Line of 
Defense program will work together with Kazakhstan officials to 
install radiation detection and integrated communications 
equipment and train law enforcement officials to detect nuclear 
or radiological material smuggled inside cargo.     

The Second Line of Defense program is a worldwide initiative that 
uses detection and deterrence to minimize the risk of nuclear 
proliferation, illegal trafficking and terrorism.  It works by 
installing radiation detection equipment and training personnel 
at strategic international border locations, airports and 
seaports.   Established by Congress in 2000, NNSA is a 
semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy 
responsible for enhancing national security through the military 
application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the 
safety, security, reliability and performance of the U.S. nuclear 
weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; works to reduce global 
danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy 
with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to 
nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad. 

Media contact(s): Craig Stevens, (202) 586-4940 Bryan Wilkes, 
NNSA, (202) 586-7371     [ ]   

  U.S. Department of Energy | 1000 Independence Ave., SW | 
Washington, DC 20585 1-800-dial-DOE | f/202-586-4403 | 
*****************************************************************
 55 SF Chronicle: Scanner in works to detect nuclear weapons / Livermore lab,
others working on reliable device for U.S. ports
 
[San Francisco Chronicle] 
				 
Keay Davidson, Chronicle Science Writer
Monday, May 8, 2006 

The recent cancellation of a Dubai company's deal to take over
several U.S. ports has stirred anxiety over the larger, more
haunting question: Could terrorists sneak a nuclear weapon or
radioactive "dirty bomb" into a U.S. port, such as one in the
Bay Area? 

For several years, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory and other national labs have been struggling to
prevent that possibility by developing new super-scanners to do
what no existing scanner can: detect with 100 percent
reliability a nuclear weapon concealed within one of the roughly
10 million huge cargo containers that enter the United States
every year. Of crucial importance, they want one that can do all
of that without generating so many false alarms that port cities
are repeatedly thrown into panic and international commerce
grinds to a halt. 

The scientists say they've made very good progress. If all goes
well, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to
field-test prototypes of the scanners -- hopefully by next year
-- at its desert laboratory under construction near Las Vegas.
The Radiological and Nuclear Countermeasures Test and Evaluation
Complex, as the lab will be called, is being built at the Nevada
Test Site, where the United States detonated nuclear test
weapons until 1992, and is expected to be completed by
September. 

With luck, the winning type of scanner or scanners could be
installed in U.S. ports within a few years. Experts say a
typical busy port will probably have more than one type of
scanner to increase the chances of spotting a bomb. 

Over the past two years, researchers at Lawrence Livermore have
made significant progress in developing a scanner that emits
neutron beams to scan cargo containers. Other national labs are
developing scanners that employ different techniques. 

"I think we've got something that works," said Dennis Slaughter,
a top scanner developer at Lawrence Livermore. 

Until the super-scanners are in place, U.S. ports are not
totally helpless to stop a hidden terrorist bomb. Since the
Sept. 11 terror attacks, the government has pushed hard to equip
and train officials at Oakland and other U.S. cargo ports with
X-ray scanners and other gadgets that can detect radiation from
nuclear bombs, their fissionable components (uranium or
plutonium), or radioactive "dirty bombs," composed of materials
such as americium. 

Slaughter recalled a visit to the Port of Oakland when "all of
the (radioactivity) scanners went off simultaneously." They had
sensed radioactivity from "a big container labeled 'Cobalt 60'
on the outside." As it turned out, it was a legal shipment --
from Shanghai to Toronto -- of a radioactive element used in
medical scanners and therapies. In other words, it was a false
alarm -- exactly the kind of incident that developers of the new
scanners hope to avoid. 

Officials and experts also want a scanner that can't be fooled
by terrorists, something they worry about with today's security
systems. For one thing, cargo containers are huge: Weighing up
to 27 tons, they're the truck-size objects, stacked like shoe
boxes, atop the freighters that cruise daily into San Francisco
Bay. Inspectors couldn't possibly examine each one physically. 

Even if they could, containers' contents are so densely,
irregularly packed -- French wine here, South Korean tennis
shoes there -- that any machine scanning them detects all kinds
of confusing signals. Some product components, such as wood, are
rich in hydrogen atoms, which tend to absorb neutrons and, thus,
might confuse a neutron scanner or accidentally shield a hidden
bomb. 

Still, "at international seaports, every cargo container should
be both passively and radiographically scanned," said Vayl
Oxford, director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office at the
Department of Homeland Security, in testimony before a Senate
committee on March 28. 

The potential horrors defy the imagination, say experts. "A
nuclear attack by terrorists against the United States has the
potential to make the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, look
like a historical footnote," warns a report by the Council on
Foreign Relations, an East Coast think tank. 

The report points out that "a 6-foot-long improvised nuclear
device could easily fit inside a 40-foot-long standard shipping
container, probably the delivery vehicle of choice for many
nuclear terrorists." Yet "the U.S. government has yet to elevate
nuclear terrorism prevention to the highest priority," the
report claims. 

Nonetheless, in interviews, scanner scientists at several U.S.
national labs sounded upbeat about their research progress since
the 2001 terrorist attacks. Slaughter and his colleagues,
including Rick Norman, a pioneer in the field, are now working
with a General Electric Co. subsidiary to build a prototype
neutron scanner. They hope to have the project far enough along
to submit it in the next year or so to the Nevada scanner
competitions, where it will compete against alternate scanners
being developed at the other national labs. A refined descendant
could be scanning cargo imports at U.S. ports starting in 2009.
The cost -- not yet determined because the devices are still
being developed -- would be paid by Homeland Security. 

The Livermore-GE neutron scanner should be "not a fundamentally
new technique, but it's a big step ahead. ... It will enable us
to find a far smaller needle in the haystack, so to speak -- and
to find it faster" than existing scanners, said Joe Krisciunas,
program manager for security programs at GE Global Research in
Niskayuna, N.Y. 

Other scanners are being developed elsewhere by researchers
including Chris Morris of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New
Mexico and James Jones of Idaho National Lab in Idaho. 

Morris and his colleagues have developed a scanner that
indirectly detects hidden bombs by taking advantage of natural
background radiation known as cosmic rays, which are high-speed
subatomic particles continually raining down from the sky. When
cosmic rays penetrate Earth's atmosphere, they bash atoms and
generate subatomic byproducts such as muons, which zip through
solid matter. By scanning how many muons pass through various
parts of a container, the Morris device can detect suspiciously
dense materials inside cargo containers. 

For example, it can detect sheets of lead that terrorists might
have placed around uranium to shield it from detection so that
inspectors' handheld radiation detectors can't sense the
element's natural radioactive emissions. A bomb shielded in that
manner would be visible to Morris' scanner. 

"If a person has a nuclear weapon surrounded with lead, we'll
see it" in less than a minute, Morris said. 

Clever terrorists might try other options, like shipping a bomb
aboard an oil tanker. Jonathan Medalia, of the Congressional
Research Service at the Library of Congress, wrote in a February
2005 report titled "Nuclear Terrorism" that neutron scanners
would have trouble detecting a bomb aboard an oil tanker because
"neutrons sent into the oil and any (neutrons) produced by
fissioning of uranium (in a concealed bomb) would be absorbed
... or scattered by the hydrogen atoms in crude oil, and the
large volume of oil would attenuate any gamma rays produced,
defeating this form of detection." 

Experts told The Chronicle they're reluctant to discuss the oil
tanker problem for fear of giving terrorists any ideas. One top
expert who asked not to be identified said he believes the
problem is technically solvable, "and we're working on it." 

But will it be solved in time? 

As Morris points out, even a small nuclear weapon could cause a
disaster akin to the destruction of the World Trade Center in
2001. 

"It's a scary thought -- and someday it's going to happen,"
Morris said. "All you can do is to make it less probable. If you
make the problem go from (a probability of) once every 10 years
to once every 1,000 years, that's a good thing." 

E-mail Keay Davidson at kdavidson@sfchronicle.com. 				
Page A - 1 			

San Francisco Chronicle] 
*****************************************************************
 56 Independent: Russia says UN plan for Iran is 'first step to war' 

By Anne Penketh, Diplomatic Editor 

Published: 08 May 2006 

Russia will seek the removal tonight of the core of a
UK-sponsored draft United Nations resolution on Iran because it
fears that it could pave the way to unilateral military action
to curb the Iranian nuclear programme. 

A bruising battle looms in New York at a dinner of foreign
ministers of the five UN Security Council veto-holding members,
plus Germany, over UN plans to compel Iran to abandon uranium
enrichment. The high-stakes talks at the Waldorf hotel will be
the first official duty for Margaret Beckett, who replaced Jack
Straw as Foreign Secretary on Friday, and could result in an
embarrassing climb-down for Britain. 

British and US officials have said the core of the draft text is
its placement under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which
provides for possible sanctions and military enforcement. 

John Bolton, the US ambassador to the UN, said last week when
Britain, France and the US tabled the draft: "The fundamental
point is for Russia and China to agree that this is a threat to
international peace and security under Chapter VII." 

But faced with heated Russian and Chinese objections to the
Chapter VII provision at ambassador level, Mr Bolton was saying
by Saturday night that he had asked the two countries to come up
with another way of making the resolution's demands mandatory. 

Yury Fedotov, the Russian ambassador in London, said his country
opposed the Chapter VII reference because it evoked memories of
past UN resolutions on Yugoslavia and Iraq that led to US-led
military action which had not been authorised by the Security
Council. 

Russia's partners in the Security Council had argued in the past
that the reference was needed to obtain "robust language," he
said. But "afterwards it was used to justify unilateral action.
In the case of Yugoslavia, for example, we were told at the
beginning that references to Chapter VII were necessary to send
political signals, and it finally ended up with the Nato
bombardments." 

Mr Fedotov said Russia regretted that the co-sponsors decided to
table the resolution without holding further consultations,
acknowledging that Iran could take political advantage of the
disunity among the big powers on the Security Council. 

Iran threatened yesterday to pull out of the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which would end the
international supervision of its nuclear programme. Europe and
the US believe that Iran is using the cover of a civilian
programme to build a nuclear bomb, while Tehran says that its
uranium enrichment is purely for peaceful purposes. 

The Iranian parliament wrote to the UN secretary general, Kofi
Annan, threatening to ask the Tehran government to withdraw from
the treaty unless the UN Security Council resolved the crisis
"peacefully." 

Russia says that although statements by the Iranian President,
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had been "unacceptable", the international
community should build on the official Iranian position to bring
Iran into compliance through "incentives rather than sanctions". 

Mr Fedotov said: "Our position is not much different from
Britain and the US. We want Iran's nuclear programme to remain
in a peaceful framework, and we need clarification on its past
programmes on the questions raised by the International Atomic
Energy Agency [the UN nuclear watchdog]. But on tactics we have
our own views, based on past experience regarding Iraq and
Yugoslavia. 

"We have serious doubts sanctions would work. [They] could pave
the way to a military action. The military option is a nonsense.
It's [an] adventure that could threaten international stability
in this region and beyond." 

Iran remains defiant and has threatened to strike back against
the interests of any country that tries to stop it enriching
uranium. 

© 2006 Independent News and Media Limited 
*****************************************************************
 57 DOE: RIN 1991-AB67 DOE management plan

FR Doc E6-6736 
[Federal Register: May 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 88)] [Proposed 
Rules] [Page 26723-26726] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08my06-20]                         
 
Acquisition Regulation: Implementation of DOE's Cooperative Audit 
Strategy for Its Management and Operating Contracts AGENCY: 
Department of Energy.
 
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
 
SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to amend the 
Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation (DEAR) to revise and 
expand policy and requirements for contractor internal audits, 
through the use of DOE's Cooperative Audit Strategy. The 
amendments would ensure that internal contractor audits are 
conducted in a manner that ensures reliability.
 
 
DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before July 7, 2006.
 
 
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN number 
1991-AB67, by any of the following methods: Federal eRulemaking 
Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments.
 
E-mail: helen.oxberger@hq.doe.gov. Include RIN number 1991-AB67 
in the subject line of the message.
 
Mail: Helen Oxberger, Mail Code MA-61, U.S. Department of Energy, 
1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585. FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT: Helen Oxberger, (202) 287-1332.
 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background II. Section-by-Section 
Analysis III. Procedural Requirements A. Review Under Executive 
Order 12866 B. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act C. 
Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act D. Review Under the 
National Environmental Policy Act E. Review Under Executive Order 
13132 F. Review Under Executive Order 12988 G. Review Under the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 H. Review Under the Treasury 
and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999 I. Review Under 
the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2001 J. 
Review Under Executive Order 13211 K. Approval by the Office of 
the Secretary I. Background The Department contracts for the 
management and operation of its Government owned or controlled 
research, development, special production, or testing facilities 
through the use of management and operating (M) contracts. The 
Department historically expends approximately 80% of its annual 
appropriations through these M prime contracts. Thus, it is 
imperative for the Department to develop approaches which permit 
oversight of M expenditures in order for the Department to 
satisfy its oversight responsibility and to ensure that DOE funds 
are expended on allowable and reasonable costs.
 
The creation and maintenance of rigorous business, financial, and 
accounting systems by contractors are crucial to assuring the 
integrity and reliability of the cost data used by the DOE's 
Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the Inspector General (IG), and 
contracting
 
[[Page 26724]] officers (COs). To ensure the reliability of these 
systems, DOE requires some of its contractors to maintain an 
internal audit activity, that is, an internal audit organization, 
which is responsible for: (i) Performing operational and 
financial audits including incurred cost audits, and (ii) 
assessing the adequacy of management control systems.
 
The Cooperative Audit Strategy is a program that the IG, 
partnering with contractors' internal audit groups, the CFO, and 
the Office of DOE Procurement and Assistance Management, 
developed and implemented in October 1992 to maximize the overall 
audit coverage of M contractors' operations and to fulfill the 
IG's responsibility for auditing the costs incurred by major 
facilities contractors. The Cooperative Audit Strategy enhances 
the DOE's efficient use of available audit resources by allowing 
the IG to rely on the work of contractors' internal audit 
organization. The IG has adopted the Cooperative Audit Strategy 
at most major contractor locations.
 
The success of the Cooperative Audit Strategy depends on the IG 
and contractor internal audit groups working closely with DOE. 
The contractor internal audit groups are committed to a 
continuing evaluation of the process and have established the 
Steering Committee for Quality Auditing to address current issues 
and implement on-going improvements.
 
Currently, the Cooperative Audit Strategy is implemented under an 
alternative clause in the Accounts, records, and inspection 
contract clause at 970.5232-3. The proposed rule would eliminate 
the alternative and amend the contract clause to require the use 
of the Cooperative Audit Strategy in all M contracts.
 
II. Section-by-Section Analysis DOE is proposing to amend the 
DEAR as follows: 1. Section 970.5203-1, Management controls, 
paragraph (a)(4) would be amended by adding a sentence which 
requires the contractor to annually, or at other times as 
directed by the contracting officer, provide copies of reports on 
the status of audit recommendations.
 
2. Section 970.5232-3, Accounts, records, and inspection, would 
be amended by removing Alternative II and by adding a new 
paragraph (i) which would establish requirements that: A. Upon 
contract award, exercise of any contract option, or the extension 
of the contract, the contractor shall submit to the contracting 
officer an internal audit implementation design. The audit 
implementation design would describe (i) the internal audit 
activity's placement within the contractor's organization and 
reporting requirements; (ii) the size, experience, and 
educational standards of the internal audit staff; (iii) the 
relationship of the internal audit activity to corporate 
entities; if any; (iv) the standards to be used for conducting 
the audits; (v) the overall internal audit strategy for the 
performance period of the contract, considering particularly the 
method of auditing costs incurred; (vi) the intended use of 
external audit resources; (vii) the plan for internal audits of 
subcontracts, both pre- and post-award; and (viii) the schedule 
for peer reviews.
 
B. Annually, the contractor shall submit a summary of the 
previous fiscal year's internal audits, reflecting the results of 
those audits, and actions, proposed or taken to resolve any 
identified weaknesses.
 
C. Annually, the contractor shall submit an audit plan for 
internal audits for the next fiscal year.
 
D. All such documents shall be satisfactory to the contracting 
officer.
 
3. Section 970.5232-3 is amended by adding a new paragraph (j) 
which states that upon discovery the contractor has claimed 
unallowable costs, the contracting officer may (i) direct the 
contractor to cease using, in whole or in part, the DOE special 
financial institution account, (ii) require a refund, (iii) 
reduce the contractor's fee, or (iv) take any other action 
authorized in law, regulations, or this contract.
 
III. Procedural Requirements A. Review Under Executive Order 
12866 This regulatory action has been determined not to be a 
significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866, 
Regulatory Planning and Review (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993). 
Accordingly, this proposed rule is not subject to review under 
the Executive Order by the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget.
 
B. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act The Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) requires preparation of an 
initial regulatory flexibility analysis for any rule that by law 
must be proposed for public comment, unless the agency certifies 
that the rule, if promulgated, will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. As 
required by Executive Order 13272, ``Proper Consideration of 
Small Entities in Agency Rulemaking'' (67 FR 53461, August 16, 
2002), DOE published procedures and policies to ensure that the 
potential impacts of its draft rules on small entities are 
properly considered during the rulemaking process (68 FR 7990, 
February 19, 2003), and has made them available on the Office of 
General Counsel's Web site: http://www.gc.doe.gov. DOE has 
reviewed today's proposed rule under the provisions of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act and the procedures and policies 
published on February 19, 2003. The proposed rule would amend 
procurement policies that apply only to DOE M contracts and would 
impact only DOE's M contractors none of whom are small entities.
 
This rule would not have a significant economic impact on small 
entities. On the basis of the foregoing, DOE certifies that the 
proposed rule, if promulgated, would not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
Accordingly, DOE has not prepared a regulatory flexibility 
analysis for this rulemaking.
 
C. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act Any additional 
information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., reflected by today's 
regulatory action are insignificant. Existing burdens associated 
with the collection of certain contractor compensation data have 
been previously cleared under OMB control number 1910-4100 which 
expires on April 30, 2008.
 
D. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act DOE has 
concluded that promulgation of this proposed rule falls into a 
class of actions that would not individually or cumulatively have 
a significant impact on the human environment, as determined by 
DOE's regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). Specifically, this proposed 
rule deals only with agency procedures, and; therefore, is 
covered under the Categorical Exclusion in paragraph A6 to 
subpart D, 10 CFR part 1021. Accordingly, neither an 
environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is 
required.
 
E. Review Under Executive Order 13132 Executive Order 13132, 
``Federalism'' (64 FR 43255, August 4, 1999) imposes certain 
requirements on agencies formulating and implementing policies or 
regulations that preempt State law or that have federalism 
implications. Agencies are required to examine the
 
[[Page 26725]] constitutional and statutory authority supporting 
any action that would limit the policymaking discretion of the 
States and carefully assess the necessity for such actions. The 
Executive Order also requires agencies to have an accountability 
process to ensure meaningful and timely input by State and local 
officials in the development of regulatory policies that have 
federalism implications. On March 14, 2000, DOE published a 
statement of policy describing the intergovernmental consultation 
process it will follow in the development of such regulations (65 
FR 13735). DOE has examined today's proposed rule and has 
determined that it does not preempt State law and does not have a 
substantial direct effect on the States, on the relationship 
between the national government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various 
levels of government. No further action is required by Executive 
Order 13132.
 
F. Review Under Executive Order 12988 With respect to the review 
of existing regulations and the promulgation of new regulations, 
section 3(a) of Executive Order 12988, ``Civil Justice Reform'' 
(61 FR 4729, February 7, 1996), imposes on Federal agencies the 
general duty to adhere to the following requirements: (1) 
Eliminate drafting errors and ambiguity; (2) write regulations to 
minimize litigation; and (3) provide a clear legal standard for 
affected conduct rather than a general standard and promote 
simplification and burden reduction. Section 3(b) of Executive 
Order 12988 specifically requires that Executive agencies make 
every reasonable effort to ensure that the regulation: (1) 
Clearly specifies the preemptive effect, if any; (2) clearly 
specifies any effect on existing Federal law or regulation; (3) 
provides a clear legal standard for affected conduct while 
promoting simplification and burden reduction; (4) specifies the 
retroactive effect, if any; (5) adequately defines key terms; and 
(6) addresses other important issues affecting clarity and 
general draftsmanship under any guidelines issued by the Attorney 
General. Section 3(c) of Executive Order 12988 requires Executive 
agencies to review regulations in light of applicable standards 
in section 3(a) and section 3(b) to determine whether they are 
met or it is unreasonable to meet one or more of them. DOE has 
completed the required review and determined that, to the extent 
permitted by law, this proposed rule meets the relevant standards 
of Executive Order 12988.
 
G. Review Under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 Title II 
of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub.
 
L. 104- 4) requires each Federal agency to assess the effects of 
a Federal regulatory action on State, local, and tribal 
governments, and the private sector. The Department has 
determined that today's regulatory action does not impose a 
Federal mandate on State, local or tribal governments or on the 
private sector.
 
H. Review Under the Treasury and General Government 
Appropriations Act, 1999 Section 654 of the Treasury and General 
Government Appropriations Act, 1999 (Pub. L. 105-277) requires 
Federal agencies to issue a Family Policymaking Assessment for 
any rule that may affect family well-being. This proposed rule 
would not have any impact on the autonomy or integrity of the 
family as an institution. Accordingly, DOE has concluded that it 
is not necessary to prepare a Family Policymaking Assessment.
 
I. Review Under the Treasury and General Government 
Appropriations Act, 2001 The Treasury and General Government 
Appropriations Act, 2001 (44 U.S.C. 3516, note) provides for 
agencies to review most disseminations of information to the 
public under guidelines established by each agency pursuant to 
general guideline issued by OMB. OMB's guidelines were published 
at 67 FR 8452 (February 22, 2002), and DOE's guidelines were 
published at 67 FR 62446 (October 7, 2002). DOE has reviewed 
today's notice under the OMB and DOE guidelines and has concluded 
that it is consistent with applicable policies in those 
guidelines.
 
J. Review Under Executive Order 13211 Executive Order 13211, 
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001) 
requires Federal agencies to prepare and submit to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management 
and Budget, a Statement of Energy Effects for any proposed 
significant energy action. A ``significant energy action'' is 
defined as any action by an agency that promulgated or is 
expected to lead to promulgation of a final rule, and that: (1) 
Is a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866, 
or any successor order; and (2) is likely to have a significant 
adverse effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy, or 
(3) is designated by the Administrator of OIRA as a significant 
energy action. For any proposed significant energy action, the 
agency must give a detailed statement of any adverse effects on 
energy supply, distribution, or use should the proposal be 
implemented, and of reasonable alternatives to the action and 
their expected benefits on energy supply, distribution, and use. 
Today's regulatory action is not a significant energy action. 
Accordingly, DOE has not prepared a Statement of Energy Effects.
 
K. Approval by the Office of the Secretary The Office of the 
Secretary has approved issuance of this proposed rule.
 
List of Subjects in 48 CFR Part 970 Government procurement.
 
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 27, 2006.
 
Edward R Simpson, Director, Office of Procurement and Assistance 
Management, Department of Energy.
 
Robert C. Braden, Jr., Director, Office of Procurement and 
Assistance Management, National Nuclear Security Administration.
 
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, chapter 9 of title 48 
of the Code of Federal Regulations is proposed to be amended as 
set forth below: PART 970--DOE MANAGEMENT AND OPERATING CONTRACTS 
1. The authority citation for part 970 continues to read as 
follows: Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2201, 2282a, 2282b, 2282c; 42 
U.S.C. 7101 et seq.; 41 U.S.C. 418b; 50 U.S.C. 2401 et seq. 2. 
Section 970.5203-1 is amended by adding a sentence to the end of 
paragraph (a)(4).
 
970.5203-1  Management controls. * * * * * (a) * * * (4) * * * 
Annually, or at other intervals directed by the contracting 
officer, the contractor shall supply to the contracting officer 
copies of the reports reflecting the status of recommendations 
resulting from management audits performed by its internal audit 
activity and any other audit organization. This requirement may 
be satisfied in part by the reports required under paragraph (i) 
of DEAR 970.5232-3, Accounts, records, and inspection. * * * * * 
3. Section 970.5232-3 is amended by revising the date of the 
clause, adding new paragraphs (i) and (j), and removing
 
[[Page 26726]] Alternative II, and adding new paragraphs (i) and 
(j) to read as follows: 970.5232-3  Accounts, records, and 
inspection. * * * Accounts, Records, and Inspection (XX XXXX) * * 
* * * (i) Internal audit. The contractor agrees to design and 
maintain an internal audit plan and an internal audit 
organization.
 
(1) Upon contract award, the exercise of any contract option, or 
the extension of the contract, the contractor must submit to the 
contracting officer for approval an Internal Audit Implementation 
Design to include the overall strategy for the internal audits.
 
The Audit Implementation Design must describe: (i) The internal 
audit organization's placement within the contractor's 
organization and its reporting requirements; (ii) The audit 
organization's size and the experience and educational standards 
of its staff; (iii) The audit organization's relationship to the 
corporate entities of the contractor; (iv) The standards to be 
used in conducting the internal audits; (v) The overall internal 
audit strategy of this contract, considering particularly the 
method of auditing costs incurred in the performance of the 
contract; (vi) The intended use of external audit resources; 
(vii) The plan for audit of subcontracts, both pre-award and 
post- award; and (viii) The schedule for peer review of internal 
audits by other contractor internal audit organizations.
 
(2) By each January 31 of the contract performance period, the 
contractor must submit an annual audit report, providing a 
summary of the audit activities undertaken during the previous 
fiscal year.
 
That report shall reflect the results of the internal audits 
during the previous fiscal year and the actions to be taken to 
resolve weaknesses identified in the contractor's system of 
business, financial, or management controls.
 
(3) By each June 30 of the contract performance period, the 
contractor must submit to the contracting officer an annual audit 
plan for the activities to be undertaken by the internal audit 
organization during the next fiscal year that is designed to test 
the costs incurred and contractor management systems described in 
the internal audit design.
 
(4) The contracting officer may require revisions to documents 
submitted under paragraphs (i)(1), (i)(2), and (i)(3) of this 
clause, including the design plan for the internal audits, the 
annual report, and the annual internal audits.
 
(j) Remedies. If at any time during contract performance, the 
contracting officer determines that unallowable costs were 
claimed by the contractor to the extent of making the 
contractor's management controls suspect, or the contractor's 
management systems that validate the costs incurred and claimed 
suspect, the contracting officer may, in his or her sole 
discretion, require the contractor to cease using the special 
financial institution account in whole or with regard to 
specified accounts, requiring reimbursable costs to be claimed by 
periodic vouchering. In addition, the contracting officer, where 
he or she deems it appropriate, may; impose a penalty under DEAR 
970.5242-1, Penalties for unallowable costs; require a refund; 
reduce the contractor's otherwise owed fee; and take such other 
action as authorized in law, regulation, or this contract.
 
[FR Doc. E6-6736 Filed 5-5-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 58 Post and Courier: Persevere on SRS plan

| Charleston.net | News | Charleston, SC
 
Monday, May 08, 2006 - Last Updated: 6:38 AM                   
                  
The concerted efforts of several members of the state's
congressional delegation have helped preserve a program to turn
plutonium into nuclear fuel at the Savannah River Site.
Administration officials can only persist with frustrating
negotiations with their Russian counterparts so that nation's
less secure nuclear stockpiles can be neutralized as well. 

The House Armed Services Committee restored funding for the SRS
plant in the defense authorization bill at the request of Reps.
John Spratt and Joe Wilson. The committee also agreed to sever
the link between the U.S. and Russian programs, so that the SRS
project won't be jeopardized by Russian inaction.

That's essential to prevent South Carolina from remaining the
repository for weapons-grade plutonium awaiting conversion at
SRS. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says the total volume of
plutonium for fuel conversion is sufficient for 17,000 warheads.
Once it undergoes the conversion process, the material can't be
used for weapons. 

Rep. Spratt explains: "MOX fuel is one option for dealing with
the security problems posed by weapons-grade plutonium, and it's
an attractive option if it also results in the disposal of
Russian plutonium, and keeps fissile material from falling into
the hands of terrorists."

Half of the plutonium is stockpiled in Russia, under less than
ideal circumstances. Russia's cooperation is essential if the
primary security goal of the program is to be met. So far, its
response has been far less than expected, considering the fact
that much of the project expense will be borne by the U.S.

Keeping the post-Cold War program on track is important for the
state's interest and vital to national security. South
Carolina's congressmen have emerged as persuasive advocates for
its progress. 			

    
*****************************************************************

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: 
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml> 
    
*****************************************************************