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NUCLEAR POLICY
1 Annan Says Nuclear Talks With Iran Started Well And 'seem To Be Movi
2 IRNA: President: No compromise on national nuclear program
3 Guardian Unlimited: Broadcasters Hope to Ignite Iran Opposition
4 Guardian Unlimited: Ahmadinejad: Iran Ready for Nuclear Talks
5 Guardian Unlimited: Ahmadinejad: Iran to Talk, U.S. Gave In
6 Guardian Unlimited: New concession to Iran as west presses for nucle
7 IRNA: Iran, China to discuss nuclear issue
8 Guardian Unlimited: Iran ready for nuclear talks
9 IRNA: Yemeni FM: Iran has right to posses peaceful nuclear program -
10 BBC: Iran 'ready for nuclear talks'
11 IRNA: Iran welcomes fair, non-discriminatory, unconditional talks -
12 AFP: Iranian and Chinese presidents to meet next week
13 Reuters: Solana "more optimistic than pessimistic" on Iran
14 The Hill: No schedule yet for India nuclear deal
15 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: America has two choices - Larijani
16 AFP: Incentive package could end Iranian nuclear crisis - China -
17 IRNA: Pakistan urged to adopt pro-active policy on Iran
18 AFP: UN finds highly enriched uranium traces in Iran - IAEA -
19 AFP: Reported plan to allow Iran uranium enrichment 'hypothetical' -
20 AFP: IAEA to report on Iran's uranium enrichment work
21 AFP: UN watchdog says Iran accelerated uranium enrichment
22 AFP: No talks on nuclear technology - Ahmadinejad
23 IPS-English JAPAN: U.S-India Nuclear Deal Shakes Pacifist
24 HindustanTimes.com: US think-tank suggests compromise on N-deal
NUCLEAR REACTORS
25 NEWS.com.au: Nuclear power 'too costly'
26 Guardian Unlimited: Gorbachev puts anti-nuclear case to Blair
27 Sydney Morning Herald: No pressure on Ziggy to quit ANSTO: PM -
28 Sydney Morning Herald: Howard wants commonsense in nuke debate -
29 AU ABC: Neville backs wide ranging nuclear power debate
30 Bellona: Leningrad NPP provokes criticism in Finland
31 BBC: Nuclear plant
32 US: Journal News: Indian Point studies
33 US: Times Argus: Public unhappy with NRC relicensing process
34 AFP: Ex-Soviet leader Gorbachev warns Blair against nuclear power -
35 CNW Telbec: New AECL contract keeps Canada's nuclear industry thrivi
36 Xinhua: Total power installed capacity reaches 531 gigawatts
37 Xinhua: China to build commercial fast reactor by 2035
38 Xinhua: China, US to launch largest neutrino experiment
39 Reuters: Gorbachev warns against new nuclear power plants
40 US: NRC: Documents Containing Reporting or Recordkeeping Requirement
41 US: NRC: Southern California Edison Company; San Diego Gas and Elect
42 US: NRC: Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 2006; Correc
43 People's Daily: China's fast reactor nuclear system to put to commer
44 People's Daily: China's goal to increase nuclear power
45 People's Daily: China to build first nuclear power plant in northeas
46 People's Daily: China still in talks with foreign bidders for its
47 People's Daily: China to build commercial fast reactor by 2035
48 OC: Critics question nuclear industry pledge of fixed price for new
49 US: UPI: House panel zeroes plutonium reactor
50 NEWS.com.au: Switkowski conflict of interest 'absurd' -
51 UPI: China plans 32 nuke plants in 15 years
52 US: VG: Waste storage, terrorism concerns may be added to Vermont Ya
53 NEWS.com.au: Nuclear inquiry 'still biased'
54 NEWS.com.au: No pressure on Ziggy to quit - PM
NUCLEAR SECURITY
55 US: UPI: Nuke material threat high, Congress told
NUCLEAR SAFETY
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
56 US: Deseret News: Ruling may help nuclear fight
57 BBC: Nuclear firm admits leak
58 reviewjournal.com: Consultant estimates Yucca Mountain costs
59 US: Public Citizen: Congress Should Abandon Plans to Reprocess
PEACE
60 US: Olympian: Council member explains her rationale in nuclear-free
61 Guardian: Comment is free: A dreadful warning
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
62 Knox News: DOE's No. 2 official to visit OR on Friday
63 Knox News: Munger: Oak Ridge institute to reopen lab to
64 Knox News: Deal could lead to new nuclear plant
65 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Contractor at Hanford ordered to give ba
66 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Nuclear waste drum slides to floor
67 DOE: House Passage of H.R. 5254 - The Refinery Permit Process
68 Tri-City Herald: DOE says Bechtel should repay fees
69 Tri-City Herald: Hanford workers take cover for mishap
70 Post and Courier: Spratt seeks inquiry into SRS facility status
71 lamonitor.com: Atlas power project at LANL stalls again
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FULL NEWS STORIES
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1 Annan Says Nuclear Talks With Iran Started Well And 'seem To Be Moving Forward'
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2006 15:00:06 -0400
ANNAN SAYS NUCLEAR TALKS WITH IRAN STARTED WELL AND ‘SEEM TO BE MOVING
FORWARD’
New York, Jun 8 2006 3:00PM
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today that European
Union-led talks with Iran over its nuclear ambitions had got
off to a “reasonably good start” and appeared to be moving forward.
“I think we’ve all been monitoring very closely the negotiations
on the Iranian nuclear issue. I’m pleased that it seems to be moving
forward, and Mr. (Javier) Solana had very good discussions in
Tehran,” the Secretary-General <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=883">told
reporters, referring to the EU’s foreign
policy chief.
“And I think we are off to a reasonably good start. And I am hopeful
that this time it will lead to serious negotiations where all
the parties will find themselves at the table.”
Last Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – the
UN atomic watchdog – again called on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment-related
and reprocessing activities, the condition set by
the United States for joining in the discussions with the Islamic
Republic aimed at ensuring its nuclear programme is solely for
peaceful purposes.
Earlier this year, the IAEA referred the issue to the Security Council,
which can impose sanctions, after its Director-General, Mohammed
ElBaradei, reported that although the Agency had not seen
any diversion of material to nuclear weapons or other explosive devices,
it was still not able to conclude that there were no undeclared
Iranian nuclear materials or activities.
Iran says its activities are solely for energy purposes but the United
States and other countries insist it is clandestinely seeking
to produce nuclear weapons. Last August, Iran rescinded its voluntary
suspension of nuclear fuel conversion, which can produce
the enriched uranium necessary either for nuclear power generation
or for nuclear weapons.
2006-06-08 00:00:00.000
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2 IRNA: President: No compromise on national nuclear program
Qazvin, June 8, IRNA
Iran-Ahmadinejad-Rights
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here Thursday said that it has been
repeatedly declared that Iranian nation will not compromise on
its inalienable rights concerning national nuclear program.
Speaking at a gathering of people in the city of Qazvin in his
14th provincial visit, the president said that the Iranian nation
favors dialogue to remove misunderstanding.
"We are prepared to discuss international developments and the
common concerns of the world countries to solve misunderstandings
in the international community.
"Any compromise over the destiny of our people will be a blunder
and everyone should know that talks should be held fairly on
equal footing," added Ahmadinejad.
The president said that if the world powers presume that Iran
will back down on its rights as a result of threat, there will be
no chance for negotiation.
Stressing that on nuclear energy Iran calls for justice, he said
that if any decision is to be taken it should be equally
applicable to all countries.
"If there is any right as per the international conventions, it
has been equally envisaged available to every nation. Otherwise,
cancellation of such right should apply to all world nations,"
added the chief executive.
Turning to the achievement of Iranian youth on setting up
nuclear fuel cycle, he underlined that facing the resistance of
Iranian people, the ill-wishers and international egoists failed
and had to admit that Iranian nuclear program is civilian.
"The ill-wishers still hope to violate our dignity by hypocrisy
and their dual approach as well as by infiltrating into our
nation," he said.
The president referred to the public resistance to attempts
underway to deprive Iran of its rights to produce nuclear energy
for civilian use and said that he believes that the nation will
proceed with national program.
"It is time for some Western states to make a great decision in
facing a historical situation, recognize the culture of justice,
stop bullying and cooperate with the world nations to promote
global peace and security," said the president.
Otherwise, Ahmadinejad said, they will be slapped in the face by
the world freedom-seeking nations, and they will be pushed into
isolation.
The president, who is accompanied in this trip by members of his
cabinet, arrived in Qazvin province this morning.
During this two-day official visit, he will also travel to other
cities of the province -- Bouyeen-Zahra, Alborz and Abyek -- and
address their residents.
The president and his cabinet ministers are scheduled to hold a
session in the provincial capital, Qazvin, to discuss its
problems and needs before rounding up their two-day visit.
*****************************************************************
3 Guardian Unlimited: Broadcasters Hope to Ignite Iran Opposition
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Thursday June 8, 2006 10:01 AM
By PETER PRENGAMAN Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Zia Atabay says his satellite TV station is
just a few megabytes away from igniting a powerful opposition to
the Islamic government in Iran, the homeland he fled more than
two decades ago that has since developed nuclear ambitions.
So the former Iranian pop singer was ecstatic when the Bush
administration asked Congress for $75 million to promote Iranian
democracy through broadcasting.
Others who regularly lob rhetorical bombs from Los Angeles - a
city with a cottage industry of TV stations focused on regime
change in Tehran and enough expatriates to have earned the
nickname ``Tehrangeles'' - also thought their break had come.
Extra money would let them boost programming and buy stronger
signals.
``The U.S. government could just help us until Iran is free,''
said Atabay, president of National Iranian Television, as he sat
in his station's plush suburban offices.
But while Iranian media jockey for the funds, experts say the
Los Angeles community is all but irrelevant back home.
``This regime, which is very distasteful, is very much in
control,'' said Gary Sick, former top White House expert on Iran
during the 1979 hostage crisis and now Columbia University
professor. ``To pretend that it isn't actually does everyone a
disservice.''
If Iranians here are out of touch, it's partly because they've
been busy becoming successful. Iranians comprise one of the
country's most affluent immigrant communities, and that, say
some in Los Angeles, is itself a powerful advertisement for
democracy.
Iranians started coming in large numbers after 1979, when an
Islamic revolution toppled the U.S.-friendly shah. Today there
are more than 160,000 Californians of Iranian descent, according
to U.S. Census data, the majority in the Los Angeles area.
Most expatriates are united by a common hatred for Iran's
hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is speeding his
country toward a nuclear future and repeatedly insists that key
U.S. ally Israel should be destroyed.
In Los Angeles, dozens of Iranian-language television and radio
stations accuse the Iranian government of everything from
frittering away oil profits to human rights horrors.
The programming, which represents a wide gamut of political
tendencies from democracy advocates to those calling for the
shah's return, claim millions of viewers and are quick to take
credit for occasional civil unrest among Iranian youth. The
Iranian government periodically blocks their signals.
``You see Larry King on CNN, and we have our own Larry King
here,'' said Amir Shadjareh, director of Pars TV, a large Los
Angeles-based station. ``We are important for democracy.''
Many influential Iranians and other experts aren't so sure. The
Los Angeles media's impact in Iran is negligible, said Abbas
Milani, co-director of the Iran Democracy Project at Stanford
University.
``Most outlets in L.A. just bad mouth the regime and have lost
credibility,'' said Milani, who has advised the U.S. State
Department on Iran.
He cited a television program in Iran called ``The Absurd of the
Absurd,'' which takes exaggerated claims from exile stations and
recasts them for comic effect. Indeed, the most popular exile
shows in Tehran focus on music and sports, not politics.
Milani and others advocate for a new station modeled after the
British Broadcasting Corp., which is state-funded but offers
editorially independent, analytical programming.
It's still unclear who will get the money requested by the White
House this year - and even how much there will be.
The House Appropriations Committee in March reduced the amount
from $75 million to $56 million. Congress is expected to vote
this summer on a final amount. Bush's request also included some
money for Iranian scholarships and non-governmental
organizations working to promote democracy.
Proposals will be accepted through July and no decisions have
been made, State Department spokesman Greg Sullivan said.
But Atabay and other owners said their overtures haven't been
greeted warmly. Atabay said State and Defense department
officials told him most of the money would go to the Voice of
America and other U.S.-funded outfits already broadcasting into
Iran.
``Why didn't the U.S. government look to these stations?''
Atabay said. ``What we are doing is working.''
---
Associated Press correspondent Ali Akbar Dareini contributed to
this report from Tehran.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
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4 Guardian Unlimited: Ahmadinejad: Iran Ready for Nuclear Talks
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Thursday June 8, 2006 11:46 AM
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writer
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said
Thursday Iran is ready to discuss ``mutual concerns'' over its
nuclear program and claimed the West had given in to the will of
the Iranian nation.
Ahmadinejad did not say whether Iran accepted a Western proposal
for resuming negotiations that demands Tehran suspend uranium
enrichment in return for a package of incentives .
``On behalf of the Iranian nation, I'm announcing that the
Iranian nation will never hold negotiations about its definite
rights with anybody, but we are for talks about mutual concerns
to resolve misunderstandings in the international arena,''
Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in Qazvin, west of the
capital Tehran.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
5 Guardian Unlimited: Ahmadinejad: Iran to Talk, U.S. Gave In
From the Associated Press
[UP]
Thursday June 8, 2006 7:31 PM
AP Photo VAH101
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writer
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's president said Thursday his regime is
ready for talks over its nuclear capabilities, but he sent mixed
signals on how much is open for negotiation and suggested Tehran
has the upper hand in its showdown with the West.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeated Iran's position that uranium
enrichment is an untouchable national right, a clear jab at the
West two days after Iran received a package of economic and
technological incentives to suspend the program.
But he also offered some signs of flexibility without
specifically mentioning the proposal. In a speech at an
industrial city, he said Iran would hold dialogue on ``mutual
concerns'' with foreign powers - including the United States -
if they took place ``free from threats.''
A report to the U.N. nuclear agency's board, meanwhile, said
Iran slowed enrichment over the past month but picked up the
pace Tuesday, the day the proposal for talks was delivered.
There was no indication in the report, obtained by The
Associated Press, that the two events were linked.
While the slowdown in enrichment could reflect a decision by
Iran to send a positive signal before talks, a senior U.N.
official said it also could be the result of technical
difficulties. The official agreed to discuss the confidential
report only if not quoted by name.
Ahmadinejad portrayed Iran as having forced Washington and its
allies to accept the Islamic regime's ``greatness and dignity''
and increasingly bend to its will.
The shifting messages are seen as part of Iranian posturing
before possible talks, which could include the United States
after a nearly 27-year diplomatic freeze. Western nations, led
by the U.S., worry Iran's uranium enrichment technology could
become the backbone for a nuclear arms program. Iran insists it
only seeks electricity-producing reactors.
``The nation will never hold negotiations about its definite
rights with anybody, but we are for talks about mutual concerns
to resolve misunderstandings in the international arena,''
Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in Qazvin, about 60 miles
northwest of Tehran.
In a major policy shift, the United States agreed last week to
join France, Britain and Germany in talks with Iran, provided
Tehran suspends all suspect nuclear activities. Tehran has
welcomed direct talks with Washington, but rejected any
preconditions.
Ahmadinejad did not say whether Iran would accept the Western
package of incentives, which were presented Tuesday by the
European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.
Its contents have not been made public, but diplomats have said
the package includes economic rewards and a provision for some
U.S. nuclear technology if Iran halts enriching uranium - a
major concession by Washington. World powers also have suggested
the length of the proposed enrichment suspension could be
subject to negotiation, diplomats said.
The offer, however, also contains the implicit threat of U.N.
sanctions if Iran remains defiant.
Iran's initial reaction to the package was relatively upbeat.
But Tehran has said it will only announce its position after
carefully studying the package. Solana said he expects a reply
within ``weeks.''
In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the U.S. offer
for direct talks with Iran was a ``big step forward.'' France's
foreign minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, gave a similar
assessment and added that ``it is up to the Iranians to
respond.''
Ahmadinejad's speech, broadcast live on Iranian state
television, hit back with hard-line rhetoric.
Iran's ``enemies must know that whether the Iranian nation is
going to hold talks or not, whether you frown or not ... the
Iranian nation will not retreat from the path of progress and
obtaining advanced technology one iota,'' he said.
He also praised Iran for standing up to ``international
monopolists,'' a reference to the United States and its allies.
They have ``been defeated in the face of your resistance and
solidarity and have been forced to acknowledge your dignity and
greatness,'' Ahmadinejad told the crowd.
In Vienna, Austria, the report circulated to the 35-nation board
of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran had slowed
uranium enrichment in recent weeks but also continued
experiments with the technology.
The document also said U.N. inspectors had made little progress
on clearing up worrying aspects of Tehran's past nuclear
activity.
Specifically, the three-page report said Iran still declined to
clarify Ahmadinejad's statements that his country had
experimented with advanced centrifuges that speed up enrichment,
Iran also refused to provide more information on a document
showing how to compress fissile material into the shape used for
warheads, the report said. Tehran also declined to allow
interviews of nuclear officials linked to potentially worrying
finds by inspectors, it said.
The senior U.N. official, who is familiar with the report, said
it contained nothing that significantly hardened or diminished
concerns about Iranian nuclear ambitions since the last IAEA
report in late April.
---
Associated Press writer George Jahn in Vienna, Austria,
contributed to this report.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
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6 Guardian Unlimited: New concession to Iran as west presses for nuclear deal
Ian Traynor
Thursday June 8, 2006
The Guardian
In a major western concession, Iran is to be allowed to retain
some uranium enrichment activities if it reaches agreement with
the US, Russia, Europe, and China on its nuclear programme.
Diplomats said yesterday that the terms of a new package of
proposed rewards delivered to Tehran on Tuesday by Javier
Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, state that Iran must freeze
uranium enrichment activities before and during the talks.
Once "confidence is restored in the peaceful nature of Iran's
nuclear programme", it would be allowed to resume enrichment on
a scale to be determined. "Those are rights under the nuclear
non-proliferation treaty," said a diplomat.
Article continues
Mr Solana said in Germany yesterday: "They will have to stop
[uranium enrichment] now, we will have to negotiate with no
process of enrichment in place ... after the finalisation of the
negotiations, we will see what happens."
Uranium enrichment is the nub of the three-year dispute, as the
process delivers the know-how and, ultimately, the fissile
material for a bomb. Iran said in April that it had successfully
enriched uranium at its underground complex at Natanz, developed
clandestinely over 18 years until it was disclosed in 2002.
Until now the US has insisted on an end to enrichment as the
basis for any deal. During two years of EU-Iran talks the
western strategy was to secure "cessation" rather than only
"suspension" of uranium enrichment. The fresh detail emerging of
the package proposed to Tehran confirms another concession by
the west after last week's startling U-turn by Washington, which
offered to negotiate with the Iranians for the first time in 27
years.
The terms being offered vindicate Iran's brinkmanship. By
stalling, bluffing and threatening, it has improved the terms on
offer from the west in less than a year. The new package is more
generous than that offered last August by Britain, France and
Germany when the talks collapsed and Iran lifted its uranium
enrichment freeze.
It is now being offered international acceptance of a civil
nuclear energy programme, equipment and cooperation on the
construction of reactors by big western nuclear engineering
contractors, and the prospect of ultimately keeping some
national uranium enrichment projects.
Washington's latest concessions are balanced by a greater
international consensus to move towards sanctions by the UN
security council should the Iranians reject the conditions.
At a meeting yesterday in Vienna, home of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, senior US diplomats told their allies that
the enrichment freeze was absolutely essential for the talks to
start. With European support, the US is insisting that the
suspension must be verified by IAEA inspectors before
negotiations can get under way on the ambitious package of
political, economic, trade, security, and technological rewards.
Given the complexity of the proposed deal, as well as the deep
mistrust between the sides, the talks could last years, as could
the process of Iran "restoring confidence" in its nuclear
activities, meaning that the enrichment freeze would also need
to stay in place for years. That may be too much for Tehran to
stomach. Diplomats expect that it will play for time, by seeking
"negotiations about negotiations", but will reject the
international offer in the end. While not setting a deadline for
a response to Mr Solana's mission, the US and the Europeans want
a reply "within weeks", so that national leaders can map out the
strategy at a G8 summit in St Petersburg in mid-July.
The new formula would enable Iran to save face by maintaining
that it had defended its right to uranium enrichment against
overwhelming pressure.
[UP]
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
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7 IRNA: Iran, China to discuss nuclear issue
Beijing, June 8, IRNA
China-Iran-Nuclear issue
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International
Affairs Abbas Araqchi is to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister
Li Zhaoxing here today to discuss latest
developments in Iran's nuclear case.
Talking to IRNA upon his arrival in Beijing's international
airport, he said developments after the recent visit to Tehran
of European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana will be
reviewed by the two sides.
He said his visit was aimed at undertaking consultations with
the Chinese side on Iran's nuclear case.
The Iranian diplomat is also scheduled to meet and confer with
his Chinese counterpart later today.
In related developments, the Chinese foreign minister and EU
foreign policy chief, in a telephone conversation Wednesday
evening, discussed the current standoff on Iran's nuclear
activities.
Li was briefed on discussions held between Iranian senior
officials and Solana during the latter's visit to Tehran on
Tuesday.
The EU and Chinese officials announced they would continue
their consultations in order to find a diplomatic solution to
the Iran nuclear issue.
*****************************************************************
8 Guardian Unlimited: Iran ready for nuclear talks
Staff and agencies
Thursday June 8, 2006
The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said today he was
ready to discuss "mutual concerns" over Tehran's controversial
nuclear programme, but warned that his country would not respond
to threats.
Mr Ahmadinejad was making his first public comments since Iran
received a new set of proposals backed by six world powers this
week.
But he did not say whether he would accept a western package of
incentives included in the proposals and aimed at enticing
Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment.
Article continues
"The Iranian nation will never hold negotiations about its
definite rights with anybody but we are for talks about mutual
concerns to resolve misunderstandings in the international
arena," he told thousands of people gathered at a rally in
Qazvin, west of Tehran.
Iran's initial reaction to the package - backed by Britain, the
US, Russia, China, France and Germany, and presented by the EU
foreign policy chief, Javier Solana - was relatively upbeat.
Tehran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, saying the
proposals included "positive steps" and "ambiguities that need
to be cleared up".
But Iran has said it will only announce its position after
carefully studying the package.
Mr Ahmadinejad told today's crowd: "International monopolists
have been defeated in the face of your resistance and solidarity
and have been forced to acknowledge your dignity and greatness."
Earlier the United States and Europe insisted that Iran
permanently give up its uranium enrichment programme to allay
fears that it may use it to build a nuclear bomb.
"The Iranian nation will not retreat from the path of progress
and obtaining advanced technology one iota," Mr Ahmadinejad said
in his speech, which was broadcast live on state television.
Despite his tough talk, there was no indication that Mr
Ahmadinejad was dismissing the western package. Instead, he said
dialogue should be fair and free from threats.
"Negotiations should be held in a fair atmosphere and on the
basis of equality. If they [America and its allies] think they
can threaten and hold a stick over Iran's head and offer
negotiations at the same time, they should know the Iranian
nation will definitely reject such an atmosphere," he said.
His comments come after a major policy shift by the United
States, when it agreed last week to join France, Britain and
Germany in talks with Iran, provided Tehran suspended all
suspect nuclear activities.
Britain urged Iran to accept the offer of talks. Speaking at his
monthly press conference today, Tony Blair said: "I think all of
us have felt that it is right now to come together and make a
clear offer to Iran and say, 'We want to find a diplomatic
solution to this, there is one on offer, you may want to develop
civil nuclear power but we do not want a situation where that is
used to threaten the outside world.'"
[UP]
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
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9 IRNA: Yemeni FM: Iran has right to posses peaceful nuclear program -
Riyadh, June 8, IRNA
Iran-Yemen-Ties
Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi said Wednesday that
Iran has right to have civilian nuclear program, which is
supported by Yemen, Iranian embassy in Sana reported.
Meeting the secretary of Iran Supreme National Security Council
(SNSC) Ali Larijani, he added that the threat in the Middle East
rests with Israel's weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
He lambasted the double standards of Western powers in dealing
with nuclear activities in the world saying that dialogue is the
most conducive way for resolution on the nuclear row.
He also expressed support for dialogue between Iran and Western
powers. "There should not be any preconditions for talks." He
called for greater use of all potentials and capabilities of the
two nations to forge closer mutual relations with in all areas.
The report quoted Larijani as saying "we have always expressed
readiness to find a suitable solution for amicable resolution of
the nuclear row." Based on the premise and without any
preconditions we announced our preference to start talks with the
Europeans, the Iranian official underlined.
He also described various agreements which cover cooperation
with Yemen in different sectors.
"Tehran is keen on using the full potentials of the two states
to further cooperation in political, economic and cultural
issues." The two officials also discussed developments in
Palestinian territories.
Larijani, heading a delegation, arrived in Sana Wednesday and is
scheduled to meet the Yemeni president.
Larijani on Wednesday recommended the US to revise its approach
to prepare the grounds for talks.
In an interview with the Swedish daily, Svenska Dagblat, he
referred to the US past blunders and said that if they revise
their attitude, there will be no obstacle to holding talks with
Iran.
"The US should first select the way, given that we are on the
threshold of making an important decision. There are two choices
and paths.
"One way for the US is to continue the path it has selected and
use the international bodies as tools of power, which will make
Iran respond in a similar way. Then holding talks will make no
sense," he added.
Larijani said that the second choice will be adopting a
reasonable approach and as the US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice has said, they should accept their past mistakes.
He noted that the Americans prove their entity through damaging
others.
In response to the question whether Iran is interested in
holding talks with the US, the SNSC secretary said that the
talks themselves have no particular value, given that they may
end up either in negative or positive results.
*****************************************************************
10 BBC: Iran 'ready for nuclear talks'
Last Updated: Thursday, 8 June 2006
[Iranian nuclear facility]
Iran insists its nuclear programme is solely for the generation
of power
Iran is ready to discuss "common concerns" about its nuclear
programme but pledged not to negotiate what technology to use,
its president says.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not say if Iran accepted a Western
proposal to restart negotiations and offer incentives if Tehran
suspended uranium enrichment.
"The Iranian nation will never hold negotiations about its
definite rights," he said in a speech in Qazvin.
It is his first public comment since the plan was presented to
Iran.
The international community is awaiting Tehran's response to the
offer submitted by European Union foreign policy chief Javier
Solana to Iranian officials on Tuesday.
NUCLEAR OFFER
Iran allowed to buy spare part for civilian aircraft made by US
manufacturers Restrictions lifted on the use of US technology in
agriculture Provision of light water nuclear reactors and
enriched fuel Support for Iranian membership of World Trade
Organisation From Western diplomatic sources
Western nations fear Iran is enriching uranium to make nuclear
weapons, while Tehran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful
energy purposes.
On Wednesday, diplomatic sources said the offer to Iran over its
nuclear programme held out the prospect that it might be able to
enrich uranium at some time in the future.
National pride
Earlier, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said the
package of proposals contained "positive steps".
Iran has so far refused to accept any deal that relies on it
giving up the right to enrich uranium - which it has said is its
"inalienable" right.
The BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran says Iran has turned the
nuclear issue into one of national pride, which makes it
difficult to back down without being seen to compromise the
country's fierce sense of independence.
The incentives package was drawn up by the UK, France and
Germany, alongside the US, Russia and China, and delivered to
Tehran by the EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday.
It is understood to include permission for Iran to buy spare
parts for civilian aircraft made by US manufacturers, and the
provision of light water nuclear reactors.
Penalties warning
NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY
28 April: UN nuclea watchdog say Tehran has ignored calls to halt
uranium enrichment Early May: UN debates draft resolution calling
for halt to uranium enrichment Mid-May: EU countries work on
proposals to try to induce Iran to curb atomic programme 31 May:
US offers to join direct talks with Iran, in major policy shift 1
June: US, Russia, China and three EU states agree on package of
incentives and penalties 6 June: EU foreign policy chief presents
proposals in Tehran Send us your views
The uranium used to make power in light water reactors needs to
be enriched, but this can be done outside the country. The
reactors are more difficult than other types to use as a source
of plutonium for building nuclear weapons.
Other incentives are said to include the lifting of restrictions
on the use of US technology in agriculture and support for
Iranian membership of the World Trade Organisation.
The US earlier warned Iran a rejection of the proposals could
bring UN-imposed penalties.
That would depend on passing a resolution on sanctions at the UN
Security Council, where unanimity between the US and Europe on
one hand, and Russia and China on the other, has been difficult
to achieve.
*****************************************************************
11 IRNA: Iran welcomes fair, non-discriminatory, unconditional talks - envoy -
London, June 8, IRNA
Iran-Conference-London envoy
The new nuclear proposals being offered to Tehran could be
welcomed if the package is fair and takes into account the
realities, said Iran's Charge d'Affaires to the UK Hamid Reza
Nafez Arefi.
"Iran welcomes fair, non-discriminatory and unconditional talks.
We have repeatedly declared our readiness to hold talks without
pre- conditions," Arefi said Thursday at London's Middle East
Association.
"My country will regard the new package of proposals as
positive if it takes into account the realities and is fair.
Iran will announce its views on the new European proposal after
it has studied them," he told a trade seminar on Iran.
The envoy reiterated that "nuclear weapons have no place in
Iran's military and defense doctrine."
From the viewpoint of the Islamic Republic of Iran, "nuclear
weapons and weapons of mass destruction are obstacles to
international peace and security," Arefi said.
He further called for all weapons of mass destruction to "be
accounted for and annihilated so that the big mistakes committed
in Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities will not be repeated."
In his speech, Arefi also shed light on the current economic
situation in Iran and explored ways and means of further
expanding trade and economic relations between Britain and Iran.
"A glance at our bilateral relations, especially the mix and
volume of bilateral trade, clearly demonstrate that the existing
capacities have not been fully utilized and there is still much
room for further expansion," he said.
Last year exports to Iran were valued at 464 million pound, but
the envoy said that if re-exports from places like Dubai were to
be included "this figure could almost double."
He highlighted the 10 outstanding features of the Iranian
economy: strategic location, political stability, huge market
potential and proximity, labor privileges, developed
infrastructure, low utility production cost, abundant natural
resources, favorable climatic conditions, fiscal incentives and
new investment
legislation.
"The economy of Iran is performing well. It has registered an
average of 5 percent annual growth in the past 14 years without
interruption and has achieved a 5.6 percent annual growth rate
during the last 14 years."
The envoy, moreover, said that in 2005 Iran's oil export
revenue edged USD 42 billion "with a significant portion of the
revenue invested in the development of infrastructure."
"There is no doubt that trade and economic cooperation in
different areas will not only benefit both sides but will also
contribute to regional and international peace and security,"
Arefi said.
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12 AFP: Iranian and Chinese presidents to meet next week
by Robert J. Saiget Thu Jun 8, 1:44 PM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will travel
to Shanghai next week and hold talks with his Chinese counterpart
Hu Jintao " /> Hu Jintaoon Iran " /> Iran's nuclear program,
China's foreign ministry said.
Ahmadinejad will travel to China for the June 15 leaders' summit
of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional forum
that groups China and Russia with four Central Asian states,
ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.
Iran, along with Pakistan, Mongolia and India, has observer
status at the SCO and their leaders have all been invited to
attend the summit.
But, with the global round of diplomacy on Iran's nuclear program
at a critical point, it is the presence of Ahmadinejad that is
likely to attract the biggest attention.
"President Hu Jintao will hold bilateral discussions with
President Ahmadinejad ... the Iran nuclear issue will be
discussed," ministry spokesman Liu said.
"China and Iran have communicated and will communicate on the
nuclear issue to enhance mutual understanding so as to make
continuous efforts to reach a peaceful solution of the Iranian
nuclear issue."
China has close economic ties with Iran, particularly in the
energy sector, and throughout the drawn out diplomatic
negotiations on the nuclear issue has sided with Russia in
fending off strong US-led action against Tehran.
On the energy front, although Iran is not yet a major supplier to
China, the two sides have been negotiating since 2004 on an oil
and gas exports deal that could be worth more than 100 billion
dollars.
Analysts have said China's relations with Iran are also affected
by Beijing's traditional affinity with third-world countries that
are trying to counter the interference of powerful nations.
But, after the United States made concessions, China last week
agreed to support a European-devised plan that offers incentives
to Iran if it suspends its uranium enrichment program.
Nevertheless, the United States remains wary about China's
relationship with Iran, with those fears potentially exacerbated
by Ahmadinejad's trip to Shanghai.
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over the weekend criticized
China and Russia, the two largest members of the SCO, for
seeking to draw Iran closer to the group.
"It strikes me as strange that one would want to bring into an
organization that says it's against terrorism... one of the
leading terrorist nations in the world -- Iran," Rumsfeld said
in Singapore.
Officially formed only in 2001, the SCO has gradually attracted
more international attention, with some observers seeing it as
an embryonic Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization.
Alongside Russia and China, the four Central Asian members of
the SCO are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The organization has recently expanded its original mandate of
fighting terrorism, religious extremism and separatism to
broader security issues as well as economics and trade.
But in a briefing on Wednesday, the Chinese secretary general of
the SCO, Zhang Deguang, rejected any comparisons with NATO
" /> NATOas "entirely baseless."
"The SCO is not directed at any third party," Zhang said.
Aside from Ahmadinejad, Liu said Pakistan President Pervez
Musharraf and Mongolian leader Nambaryn Enkhbayar would attend
the forum, alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin
" /> Vladimir Putinand the leaders of the Central Asian member
states.
Afghanistan
" /> AfghanistanPresident Harmid Karzai will also attend the
meeting, and then stay on for an official visit from June 18 to
21, Liu said.
India will be represented at the meeting by Petroleum Minister
Murli Deora, Liu said.
During the summit, Hu will hold one-on-one meetings with all the
leaders who attend, according to Liu.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
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13 Reuters: Solana "more optimistic than pessimistic" on Iran
Thu 8 Jun 2006 12:25 PM ET
PARIS, June 8 (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief
Javier Solana said on Thursday he was "more optimistic than
pessimistic" about reaching an agreement with Iran over its
disputed nuclear programme. Solana said there had been a
"positive atmosphere" when he visited Tehran this week to hand
over a packet of economic, technological and security incentives
in return for Iran suspending work which could eventually produce
atomic bombs. "The meeting, the talks (with the Iranians) were
very constructive, very positive. The atmosphere was very
positive," Solana told reporters after meeting French President
Jacques Chirac. "I think they understood the content of the
proposal well and I hope they will react soon," he said.
"So I'm more optimistic than pessimistic," he said.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved. [ border=]
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14 The Hill: No schedule yet for India nuclear deal
June 8, 2006
The independent Council on Foreign Relations is urging Congress
to endorse a controversial civilian nuclear-power deal between
the United States and India as soon as possible.
The council, in a report released Wednesday, recommends that
lawmakers in both chambers pass sense-of-Congress resolutions
supporting the basic framework and delay final approval until
they are assured critical nuclear nonproliferation needs are met.
President Bush announced the nuclear deal during a trip to India
in March, but the idea has been in the works since last summer.
The agreement would allow India to import U.S. nuclear
technology in exchange for opening its civilian nuclear
facilities to international inspections. Indias nuclear-weapons
program would remain secret.
The administration wants Congress to pass amendments to the 1954
Atomic Energy Act that would give India specific waivers. The
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would gain access to
Indias civilian nuclear program. India would place two-thirds
of its reactors and two-thirds of its generating power under
permanent safeguards, with international verification.
But changes to the 1954 act are no small task, congressional
sources say.
The Atomic Energy Act is something you do not change lightly,
one aide said, adding, nonproliferation policy is important.
The councils report comes at a time when supporters of the
nuclear deal fear that changes in legislation required to
implement it could be delayed during a packed pre-election
calendar.
If Congress does not approve the deal, it would damage the
bilateral relationship, the council concluded.
The Bush administration is pushing for congressional approval by
the end of July, before the summer recess. But Senate and House
consensus may not come until the end of the year, several
sources indicated.
Neither the Senate Foreign Relations Committee nor the House
International Relations Committee has scheduled any concrete
dates to mark up legislation.
According to the US Indian Political Action Committee (USINPAC),
the largest Indian-American PAC, Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.),
International Relations chairman, said in a private meeting that
he plans to mark up legislation before or on June 21. A
congressional aide said that June 21 would be the target but
that dates are fluid. The PAC has called approval of the deal
its highest priority.
In a press release, USINPAC touted Hydes support for the deal:
His support is critical to the successful passage of the deal.
But a Hyde spokeswoman said Hyde has serious concerns regarding
the proposed civil nuclear agreement.
The chairman reiterated his support for the presidents
initiative in reaching an agreement with India, however he did
tell [the] U.S.-India PAC that he will be working with the
administration and Mr. [Tom] Lantos [D-Calif.] to craft a
bipartisan piece of legislation that supports the presidents
effort to strengthen ties with India, said Kristi Garlock,
Hydes committee spokeswoman.
Hyde is in the process of crafting his own bill, she added.
The Speaker of the House, Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), has
expressed his full support for the U.S.-India agreement and has
committed to bringing it to a resolution, said USINPACs
chairman, Sanjay Puri, who met with Hastert recently.
It is an important priority that has support, and we hope and
expect to move legislation to the floor before the August
recess, said Kevin Madden, spokesman for House Majority Leader
John Boehner (R-Ohio). But Madden added: No decisions have been
made about when it will be considered on the floor calendar yet.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said he
is relying on Sen. Richard Lugar, chairman of the Foreign
Relations Committee, to take care of it in the committee.
Lugar backs the accord but indicated that he may seek to add
some conditions.
I think it is certainly the intent of the president and the
Senate for [the legislation] to pass sometime this year, said
Andy Fisher, spokesman for the committee.
But the Senate has a crowded schedule, debating a constitutional
ban on gay marriage, a flag-burning amendment and a tax package
with wide, bipartisan opposition. The Senate also has to
consider the 2007 defense authorization bill, and both the House
and the Senate still have to deal with the 2006 emergency
supplemental.
There is a concern that the agenda might cloud this issue out,
Puri said. Congress has a lot to do, and that is a big concern.
The business of the nation needs to go on.
A few more Democrats than Republicans oppose the deal, a
lobbyist working on it said. Even so, House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has indicated her support.
While the issue is not expected to become a partisan fight,
Democrats are not willing to give Bush carte blanche, a
congressional aide said.
The administration initially proposed that Congress pre-approve
the deal before the United States negotiated it with India, the
aide said. Pre-approval would waive parts of the Atomic Energy
Act once the president certified that India would make the
necessary changes, the aide explained.
The problem is that the administrations initial proposal was
to enunciate some general principles and for Congress [to]
pre-approve [those], the aide said. After the initial
pre-approval, Congress would have a chance to overturn the deal,
but only with a two-thirds vote.
It is complicated procedurally, the aide said.
The administration is eager to move ahead, the aide said.
They think some indication of congressional support is going to
make a difference in terms of what they are going to do with the
Indians, the aide said. The Indians have some tough decisions
to make, and the idea is that if Congress is going to do
something they will be likely to make the changes.
Fearing that the agreement may not have enough congressional
support to alter radically 30 years of U.S. policy to punish
India for developing nuclear weapons in the 70s, Lantos, the
ranking member of the House panel, proposed a compromise
intended to keep the agreement alive. Congress would commit to
approving it under expedited procedures but would only formally
change U.S. law after lawmakers review the completed agreement
and the IAEA safeguards accord.
Lantos is circulating his proposal in the House and Senate
committees with jurisdiction over the matter.
© 2006 The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington, DC 20006
202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax
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15 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: America has two choices - Larijani
2006/06/08
Riyadh, June 8 - Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said
Wednesday that Iran has right to have civilian nuclear program,
which is supported by Yemen, Iranian Embassy in Sana reported.
Meeting the Secretary of Iran Supreme National Security Council
(SNSC) Ali Larijani, he added that the threat in the Middle East
rests with the Zionist regime's weapons of mass destruction
(WMD).
He lambasted the double standards of Western powers in dealing
with nuclear activities in the world saying that dialogue is the
most conducive way for resolution on the nuclear row.
Larijani on his part said: "Tehran is keen on using the full
potentials of the two states to further cooperation in
political, economic and cultural issues."
The two officials also discussed developments in Palestinian
territories.
Larijani, heading a delegation, arrived in Sana Wednesday and is
scheduled to meet the Yemeni president.
Larijani on Wednesday recommended America to revise its approach
to prepare the grounds for talks.
In an interview with the Swedish Daily, Svenska Dagblat, he
referred to America's past blunders and said: "The US should
first select the way, given that we are on the threshold of
making an important decision. There are two choices and paths.
One way for the US is to continue the path it has selected and
use the international bodies as tools of power, which will make
Iran respond in a similar way. Then holding talks will make no
sense," he added.
Larijani said that the second choice will be adopting a
reasonable approach taht they should accept their past mistakes.
He noted that the Americans prove their entity through damaging
others.
In response to the question whether Iran is interested in
holding talks with America, the SNSC Secretary said that the
talks themselves have no particular value, given that they may
end up either in negative or positive results.
SAM
Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran
Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center.
E-Mail: Webmaster@IRIBNEWS.ir
*****************************************************************
16 AFP: Incentive package could end Iranian nuclear crisis - China -
Thursday June 8, 11:56 AM
[Abbas Araqchi]
BEIJING (AFP) - China has said it believed the international
offer to Iran on its nuclear program would help solve the global
stand-off, as the Iranian deputy foreign minister held talks in
Beijing.
"We think this proposal will help reach a peaceful solution of
the Iranian issue through diplomatic dialogue and negotiations,"
foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters.
Liu was referring to the package of incentives presented by
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana to Tehran on
Tuesday.
The package -- which offers trade, diplomatic and technology
incentives in return for Iran freezing uranium enrichment -- was
drawn up by Britain, France and Germany and is backed by the
United States, Russia and China.
Liu said the issue would be discussed during a meeting Thursday
in Beijing between Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and
Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international
affairs, Abbas Araqchi.
Liu gave out no other details about Araqchi's visit, although he
said Iran and China were in regular contact about the global
stand-off over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
"China and Iran have communicated and will communicate on the
nuclear issue to enhance mutual understanding so as to make
continuous efforts to reach a peaceful solution of the Iranian
nuclear issue," Liu said.
The Iranian embassy declined to give out details about Araqchi's
visit.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will travel to China next
week to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization regional
summit.
Liu said Ahmadinejad would hold talks with Chinese President Hu
Jintao while in China.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! UK Limited. All rights reserved.
AFP '); [ src=]
*****************************************************************
17 IRNA: Pakistan urged to adopt pro-active policy on Iran
Islamabad, June 8, IRNA
Pakistan-Iran seminar
Speakers at a seminar on Iran-US standoff: options for Pakistan
on Thursday urged Pakistan to adopt a pro-active policy to stop
U.S from attacking Iran over its Nuclear program.
Chairing the session, Senator Prof. Khurshid Ahmad said that
Pakistan's policy vis-z-vis US-Iran standoff should be based on
principles.
He observed that the US had created surrogates in Middle East
and Western Asia like Pre-Islamic revolution Iran and Israel in
the post-colonial period, but after the Islamic revolution in
Iran that chord was disturbed. The scenario changed and the US
was coming up with different strategies where the force option
could be disastrous.
Prof Khurshid was of the opinion that if the super powers
didn't accept the reality of their brutalities, they would be
responsible for resistance.
Terrorism is the product of asymmetry of power and weapon of
the weak against the powerful, he added.
He stressed that Pakistan should act to stop US from using
force against Iran even if its mandated by the UN as
illegitimate decisions cannot be at par with legitimate ones.
Action against Iran would be against the Muslim World and the
region.
Iran must not be left alone, he stressed.
Organized by the renowned Institute of Policy Studies, the
seminar was attended by a galaxy of scholars, diplomats,
intelligentsia, media and students.
Pakistan's former Foreign Secretary Mr Shamshad Ahmad Khan said
that Pakistan should work for peaceful resolution of the problem
as any misadventure by the US would disturb Pakistan for its
geo-strategic location.
He suggested that any gaps in Iran's nuclear program should be
addressed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
To a question Mr. Shamshad responded that Pakistan cannot play
a role of moderator between Iran and America as it doesn't have
any clout in the international politics.
A scholar Agha Murtaza Poya was of the opinion that the US is
not against Iranian bomb but against its ideological bomb: to
wipe out Israel.
He also said that it was a fallacy that US would always support
Israel.
He predicted that the creation of a United Palestine and
destruction of I rael would occur in 2008.
Anti-Zionism is gaining strength in the US, he added.
Poya said Iran never stated to have developed nuclear weapon or
have threatened any nation with nuclear attack but the US and
Israel have done so.
He hoped that US would not attack Iran and there would be a
rapprochement between the two for the convergence of their
interest vis-z-vis Iraq and Afghanistan.
He also said that there was a qualitative change in the
policies of America and it was on the historic rapprochement
with the Muslim World especially after the winning of elections
by Hamas in Palestine.
Speaking on the US perspective, former military
general Talat Masood said that US has thrown the ball in
Iranian court after offering alternatives to Iran for stopping
its uranium enrichment.
He said that the EU-Iran talks cannot have credibility
with the participation of US.
There were conflicts in approaches towards solving Iranian
nuclear issue, within the key players.
There is a conflict in US and EU where US suspects Iran for
developing nuclear bombs, observed Mr. Talat.
He opined that the US perceives Iran as hegemonic regional
power in the Middle East and can turn into a global power thus
challenging US authority.
He said there was a bipartisan view in the US that nuclear Iran
is not acceptable to them and their people too share this view.
2020/235/2321/1414
News sent: 14:56 Thursday June 08, 2006 Print
*****************************************************************
18 AFP: UN finds highly enriched uranium traces in Iran - IAEA -
Thu Jun 8, 1:52 PM ET
VIENNA (AFP) - United Nations
United Nations inspectors have found new traces of highly enriched
uranium in Iran, in equipment at a technical university in
Tehran, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a confidential report
obtained by AFP.
"With reference to the environmental samples taken from some
equipment at a technical university in January 2006 ... analysis
of those samples showed a small number of particles of natural
and high enriched uranium," said the report, which is to be
presented at a meeting of the watchdog, the International Atomic
Energy Agency " /> International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), in
Vienna next week.
Uranium can be enriched to produce nuclear reactor fuel. But if
it is enriched to a much greater degree it can be used to
manufacture atom bombs. It is enriched by centrifuges arranged in
cascades.
A senior UN official said Thursday the new traces of highly
enriched uranium that had been found were not of a high enough
quality to make weapons.
They had been found on "vacuum equipment" which could be used in
centrifuges that can enrich uranium but also have many other
functions, the official added.
The equipment was believed to have been taken to the university
in Tehran from a physics laboratory at the Lavizan military site
in the city before the site was razed in 2004. The Iranian
authorities destroyed Lavizan after the IAEA asked to investigate
it.
IAEA inspectors took samples from the equipment in January.
The report said Iran had told the IAEA the "equipment had not
been acquired for or used in the field of nuclear activities.
Iran indicated that it was however investigating how such
particles might have been found in the equipment."
IAEA inspectors have in the past found particles of high and low
enriched uranium on centrifuge equipment at several sites in
Iran.
In those instances, Tehran said the contamination had come from
equipment it purchased through black markets abroad and was not
a product of its own nuclear work.
The IAEA has been investigating Iran since 2003 and says it is
not yet able to certify that the Iranian nuclear program is
strictly peaceful.
Iran says its nuclear program is a peaceful drive to generate
electricity but the United States claims it is a cover for the
secret development of atomic weapons.
Iran has since April 11 been enriching uranium at a centrifuge
cascade in Natanz but only to a low level -- up to five percent.
Uranium must be enriched by over 90 percent before it becomes
weapons-grade material.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
19 AFP: Reported plan to allow Iran uranium enrichment 'hypothetical' - US -
Thu Jun 8, 3:42 AM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States refused to confirm or deny
reports that it and European powers had offered Iran " /> Iranthe
possibility of uranium enrichment on its territory, dismissing
them as "hypothetical and theoretical."
The State Department and White House reiterated that Iran must
suspend all uranium enrichment on its soil as a condition for
Washington's participation in negotiations with the Islamic
republic.
"The precondition of suspending uranium enrichment-related and
reprocessing activities -- that is still an absolute condition,"
said President George W. Bush
" /> President George W. Bush's spokesman, Tony Snow.
"That condition would have to hold throughout any negotiating
term," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
"Beyond that, I am not going to speculate. Beyond that, we are
truly into the realm of the hypothetical and theoretical," he
said.
According to diplomatic sources in Vienna and Tehran, the
powers' offer to Iran would eventually allow uranium enrichment
on its territory, but only after the approval of the
international community.
Iran on Wednesday was weighing an international incentive
package -- which offers trade, diplomatic and technology
incentives in return for a freeze of uranium enrichment -- drawn
up by Britain, France and Germany and backed by the United
States, Russia and China.
Iran insists its nuclear program is designed purely to generate
electricity but the United States and others are concerned
Tehran is secretly seeking to build nuclear weapons.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
20 AFP: IAEA to report on Iran's uranium enrichment work
by Michael Adler Thu Jun 8, 6:53 AM ET
VIENNA (AFP) - The UN nuclear watchdog is set to issue a report
on Iran " /> Iran's uranium enrichment work that has raised fears
Tehran is developing nuclear weapons.
The report will contain "the latest observations from inspectors
who have just reported their latest information from (the Iranian
enrichment facility in) Natanz", International Atomic Energy
Agency " /> International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) spokeswoman
Melissa Fleming said Thursday.
The report comes ahead of a meeting next week of the IAEA's
35-nation board of governors and at a time when world powers are
offering Iran new talks on its disputed nuclear program if it
halts uranium enrichment. That process makes nuclear reactor
fuel but also what can be the explosive core of an atom bomb.
The United States charges that Tehran is using an allegedly
peaceful energy program to hide the development of nuclear
weapons, an accusation which the Iranians have repeatedly denied.
Diplomats said IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei had decided only
this week to issue a written report, as he had before that been
planning to make an oral presentation when the board meeting
opens Monday.
"It must be a very sudden decision," a senior European diplomat
said, adding that the report was expected to be short, from
one-and-a-half to three pages since "there is not much to be
reported on outstanding issues" from the IAEA's now over
three-year-long investigation of Iran's nuclear program.
"But it will be interesting to see what they have to say on
Natanz and on what the situation there is," the diplomat said.
Reporting on Natanz "could be the explanation" of the sudden
decision to issue a written report, the diplomat said.
Fleming said the report would not be an assessment of Iran's
nuclear program but merely respond to requests by the IAEA board
for the agency's inspectors to monitor Iranian activity after
the IAEA had called on Tehran, most recently in February, to
suspend all uranium enrichment activities.
IAEA inspectors monitor Natanz, in central Iran, as part of
routine safeguards under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
These inspections are continuing even though Iran has cut out
wider inspections it was allowing on a voluntary basis until
February when the IAEA referred it to the UN Security Council,
which can impose sanctions, for safeguards violations.
The last IAEA report on April 28 had made clear that Iran was
not heeding the IAEA's call to suspend uranium enrichment.
Iran has since April 11 been enriching uranium at a centrifuge
cascade in Natanz, but only to levels of up to five percent,
which is refined enough for nuclear fuel but far below what is
needed for weapons work.
Since then, the five permanent Council members plus Germany have
come up with a package of trade, security and technology
incentives to offer Iran in order to get it to guarantee it will
not make nuclear weapons.
European Union
" /> European Unionforeign policy chief Javier Solana presented
the benefits package to Iran on Tuesday, with an Iranian
response expected in the next few weeks.
Another potential key issue for Thursday's report is that UN
inspectors have found traces of highly enriched uranium (HEU),
which could be weapons-grade, in vacuum pumps at a site where
Iran had denied such atomic work was taking place, diplomats
have told AFP.
The diplomats said the particles of uranium came from sample
swipes IAEA inspectors made last January at the Lavizan-Shian
site in Tehran.
Iran says claims such particles had been found were "baseless."
The Iranians dismantled a physics research center at the Lavizan
site and removed topsoil in 2004 after suspicions were raised
about activities there.
IAEA inspectors had previously found HEU particles as well as
low enriched uranium on centrifuge equipment at several sites in
Iran.
Tehran has said these traces were contamination from equipment
acquired abroad, in Pakistan, and not the product of its own
work.
If the traces at Lavizan are new, it could show Iran was hiding
its own work on making HEU, but diplomats said further testing
its almost certainly necessary.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
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21 AFP: UN watchdog says Iran accelerated uranium enrichment
by Michael Adler Thu Jun 8, 6:52 PM ET
VIENNA (AFP) - Iran " /> Iranaccelerated uranium enrichment on
the same day this week that world powers asked it to halt the
work and open talks to guarantee it will not make nuclear
weapons, the UN atomic agency said in a report obtained by AFP.
Iran stepped up enrichment on June 6 -- the same day European
Union " /> European Unionforeign policy chief Javier Solana
visited Tehran to present a package of benefits to be discussed
if Iran would suspend uranium enrichment, which makes nuclear
reactor fuel or in highly refined form atom bomb material, the
report said.
On that Tuesday, it said, Iran started feeding the raw material
of uranium hexafluoride gas, or UF6, into a connected series of
164 centrifuges -- known as a cascade -- to produce enriched
uranium.
The report appears to dash hopes Iran is preparing an immediate
pause in its nuclear fuel activities in order to start talks
with six major powers on guaranteeing its program is peaceful.
But Solana said in Paris Thursday that he was "more optimistic
than pessimistic" about the deadlock with Iran.
Iran said Thursday it is open to nuclear talks with the West but
that technology was not up for discussion.
"We will negotiate about common concerns and for clearing up
misunderstandings in the international atmosphere," said
hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Iran is building new production lines of the centrifuges that
carry out enrichment, the International Atomic Energy Agency
" /> International Atomic Energy Agencysaid in the confidential
report to be discussed by the IAEA's 35-nation board of
governors next week in Vienna.
"This just shows that there's a long way to go before there's a
deal," nuclear analyst David Albright told AFP from his ISIS
think tank in Washington.
The report also said IAEA inspectors had found new traces of
highly enriched uranium on equipment on Iran.
But it was unclear whether the enriched uranium traces were
contaminants from equipment Tehran had purchased abroad or from
enrichment that had been carried out by Iran.
A European diplomat in Vienna described the report as negative
on all counts for Iran.
But the diplomat said this was not "crucial" since what mattered
was getting Iran and the US-led "Iran six" of world powers to
find a way of getting down to talks.
Tehran says it is seeking solely to use nuclear power to
generate electricity but Washington and the European Union fear
this is a cover for developing nuclear weapons. They are
threatening UN sanctions if Iran does not take the benefits
offer.
"Iran is continuing its installation work on other 164-machine
cascades," said the report from the IAEA chief, Mohamed
ElBaradei.
Iran built the cascade as a pilot plant for what it hopes will
eventually be an industrial plant of more than 50,000
centrifuges, used to refine out the uranium 235 isotope.
At no time had Iran actually halted feeding uranium gas into
centrifuges since making a first batch on April 11, a UN
official said.
During a pause in feeding the 164-centrifuge cascade, but
leaving it running empty for technical reasons, it had fed the
gas into two single centrifuge machines.
London-based analyst Mark Fitzpatrick said: "This will
strengthen Washington's resolve that full and complete
suspension of Iran's nuclear fuel program has to be a condition
for negotiations to begin, including no centrifuges spinning at
all."
A UN official said the Iranians had fed "10s of kilos (pounds)
into the system so far" and have produced only small amounts,
"grams and hundreds of grams," of enriched uranium.
Iran also has produced 118 tonnes of uranium hexafluoride gas at
its Isfahan plant since August. The "new conversion campaign"
that began June 6 involved more than 30 tonnes of uranium ore to
be converted into uranium gas, a senior UN official said.
These quantities would yield enough material for over 20 nuclear
bombs, experts say.
According to the report Iran had also:
-- Failed to clear up IAEA questions over high-tech centrifuges
it may have acquired.
-- Left unanswered questions over secret military projects that
could be related to making nuclear weapons.
-- Failed to comply with a request to halt work on a heavy-water
reactor that would make plutonium, another potential atomic
weapons material.
Iran started last August to make feedstock uranium hexafluoride
gas, which it then fed into centrifuges in February this year,
producing enriched uranium from April.
The quality of enriched uranium being produced in April was
appropriate for nuclear reactor fuel and was not the
highly-enriched variety needed to make weapons.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
22 AFP: No talks on nuclear technology - Ahmadinejad
Thursday June 8, 02:21 PM
[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has
rejected any negotiation on the kind of nuclear technology Iran
wants to use, after the international community put up an offer
for Tehran to suspend its uranium enrichment.
"We will negotiate about common concerns and for clearing up
misunderstandings in the international atmosphere but we will
never negotiate about what kind of technology we want to use,"
Ahmadinejad said in a speech broadcast on state television
Thursday.
"You should know that the Iranian nation will never negotiate
about its definite rights with anyone," the president said.
His speech came as the international community was awaiting
Tehran's response to an offer of incentives submitted by
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday to
Iranian officials.
So far, Iranian officials have neither rejected nor signalled
any acceptance of the package, which asks Iran to stop
enrichment of uranium for continuation of the talks.
"If they think they can hold a stick above the head of Iranian
people and threaten them, and on the other side talk about
negotiations, they must know that the Iranian nation will
certainly reject such an attitude and there will be no chance
for negotiations," Ahmadinejad warned.
"It's time for them to be either fair and just and give up the
arrogant attitude and make positive steps alongside other
nations to work on peace and security," he said.
"Or they should know they will be faced with a firm slap of the
nations who are rising up."
Tehran has repeatedly insisted it will not stop sensitive
nuclear fuel cycle work.
Iran has since April 11 been enriching uranium at a centrifuge
cascade in Natanz, but only to levels of up to five percent,
which is refined enough for nuclear fuel but far below what is
needed for weapons-making.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! UK Limited. All rights reserved.
AFP '); [ src=]
*****************************************************************
23 IPS-English JAPAN: U.S-India Nuclear Deal Shakes Pacifist
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2006 20:14:07 -0700
ROMAIPS AP IP SC NU=20
JAPAN: U.S-India Nuclear Deal Shakes Pacifist Position
Suvendrini Kakuchi
TOKYO, Jun 9 (IPS) - A controversial agreement on nuclear energy between =
Washington and Delhi is proving to be a diplomatic headache for Japan, sa=
y analysts here.
=94There is a lot at stake for Japan in this looming diplomatic crisis th=
at is testing Tokyo's staunch support for the NPT (Nuclear Nonproliferati=
on Treaty) and its position as a leading advocate of a non-nuclear weapon=
s world,=94 said Yoko Waki, professor of international relations at Keio =
University, about growing U.S pressure on Japan to support its agreement =
with Delhi, concluded in March.=20
India is not a member of the NPT.=20
Japan is the only country in the world to have suffered the consequences =
of nuclear attacks -- in 1945 the U.S. military dropped two atomic bombs =
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The disaster led to Japan's defeat and the end=
of the Second World War. As a result, the country's post-war pacifist co=
nstitution restricts the development of nuclear weapons.=20
Japan, the world's second largest aid donor, has used its financial clout=
to pressure countries to stop developing nuclear weapons, a policy that =
prompted its ban on aid to India after that country conducted five underg=
round nuclear tests in May 1998.=20
But Japan's traditional position is now facing a challenge, say analysts.=
They point to an upcoming summit between U.S. President George W Bush an=
d Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koziumi on Jun. 29, when Japan's supp=
ort for India's nuclear industry -- including transfer of technology, exp=
ertise and financial backing -- is expected to be discussed. Any deals, s=
ome analysts say, may be forged much against the public's deeply anti-nuc=
lear weapons feelings.=20
=94There is the possibility of Japan changing its current stance that has=
expected India to join the NPT,=94 Professor Masao Fukunaga, a South Asi=
an expert at Aichi Women's University based in Nagoya, said in an intervi=
ew.=20
The 'Asahi Shinbun' newspaper, quoting Japanese government sources, repor=
ted last week of a raging internal debate and the possibility of official=
s issuing a =94basic understanding=94 of the U.S. agreement with India th=
at was formally signed Mar. 2.=20
Proponents support Washington's argument that the nuclear power deal enab=
les inspections of India's civilian nuclear facilities, thus strengthenin=
g the nonproliferation structure and boosting India's economic growth. Op=
ponents, reported Asahi, worry about the deal's lack of guarantees for in=
spections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the fact t=
hat nuclear power carries the threat of weapons proliferation.=20
=94We are strongly against Japan accepting the U.S.-India nuclear deal th=
at will increase a nuclear weapons race in that region. The agreement is =
irresponsible because it does not take into consideration the risks posed=
by nuclear weapons and is based heavily on economic greed given the grow=
ing needs of the energy market in Asia,=94 said Hideyuki Ban, head of the=
Citizen's Nuclear Information Network, a leading anti-nuclear movement.=20
Ban told IPS that India's rising economy has made nuclear power an import=
ant energy source and advanced nuclear technology countries such as the U=
nited States and Japan can be important suppliers.=20
Nuclear power generates around three percent of India's total energy comp=
ared to over 30 percent in Japan, which has developed nuclear fuel cycle =
facilities including the prototype fast-breeder reactor that produced plu=
tonium.=20
In contrast, nuclear power expert at the Japan Energy Policy Institute, K=
eiji Kanda, thinks the government should back the US-India deal, which he=
says reflects changing global politics.=20
=94In contrast to Iran or Pakistan, India's nuclear power development can=
be trusted and (India) is a respected country in Japan. The new agreemen=
t is an advantage to Japan, which has to have a closer partnership in the=
changing Asian regional politics that has seen the growth and influence =
of India,=94 he added in an interview.=20
Kanda explains that the NPT could be out of date given new trends in inte=
rnational relations and calls for closer cooperation between developed co=
untries -- more reason for Japan to back away from its traditional pacifi=
st stance.=20
A breakthrough for Japan, say experts, could be the Global Nuclear Energy=
Program (GNEP), announced by the U.S. State Department in May. It advoca=
tes for Japan, China, France, Britain and Russia joining hands to develop=
new and more efficient ways to produce nuclear fuel that could be provid=
ed to other countries, while also safeguarding nuclear proliferation.=20
Ban says large Japanese corporations such as Hitachi Electrical Corporati=
on and Mitsubishi Corporation are eager to export Japanese nuclear power =
technologies.=20
Hitachi is already constructing an Advanced Boiled Water nuclear power pl=
ant in Taiwan.=20
There is also rising interest in nuclear power in Japan due to rising oil=
prices and global warming, boosting the government's support for the ene=
rgy source that is touted as cheap and environmentally conscious.=20
But activists say they will fight against the expansion of nuclear power.=
=94An accident in a plant can cause hundreds of death through radiation =
contamination. Also, there is the threat of nuclear arms proliferation. W=
e will oppose any move in Japan to expand this energy,=94 Atsuko Nogawa o=
f Greenpeace Japan told IPS.
=20
=3D 06090449 ORP006
NNNN
*****************************************************************
24 HindustanTimes.com: US think-tank suggests compromise on N-deal
Thursday, June 8, 2006|23:31 IST
Arun Kumar (IANS)
Washington, June 7, 2006
If Congress does not approve the Indo-US nuclear deal, "it would
damage the bilateral relationship" between the world's two
largest democracies, an American think-tank warned on Wednesday,
suggesting a two-stage compromise approach.
In a new report released on Wednesday, Council on Foreign
Relations, a New York-based independent, national membership
organisation and a non-partisan centre for scholars, says it was
suggesting the two-stage approach as an enduring strategic
partnership cannot be founded upon legislative action taken
grudgingly.
"Legislation passed with broad support will benefit both India
and US in the long term," say the authors, Michael A Levi and
Charles D Ferguson, both Council fellows for science and
technology, in the report, "US-India Nuclear Cooperation: A
Strategy for Moving Forward".
The deal, envisaging nuclear cooperation between the US and
India for the first time in more than 30 years, would help
create a stronger bilateral relationship that would, in turn,
improve US' position in Asia and the world, they say.
By strengthening relations with China's next-door neighbour, the
US has the potential to improve its strategic position, when US
policymakers of both parties have long been concerned about a
rising China, the report indicates.
Meanwhile, as the US policy increasingly focuses on promoting
democracy worldwide, the appeal of a deeper relationship with
the world's largest democracy is undeniable, it says.
"American exclusion of India from nuclear commerce has long
grated on New Delhi, proving an irritant in the bilateral
relationship, and removing this point of friction would no doubt
strengthen the relationship," says the report.
While it criticised the Bush administration for conceding too
much in its negotiations with India, Levi and Ferguson concluded
that, as long as Congress can reinforce a handful on
non-proliferation bottom-lines, it would be unwise to scuttle
the deal now.
The authors thus suggest that Congress should adopt a two-stage
approach: formally endorsing the deal's basic framework, while
delaying final approval until it is assured that critical
non-proliferation needs are met.
"Patience and a few simple fixes would address major
proliferation concerns while ultimately strengthening the
strategic partnership," say the report.
The Bush administration has stirred deep passions and put
Congress in the seemingly impossible bind of choosing between
approving the deal and damaging nuclear non-proliferation, or
rejecting the deal and thereby setting back an important
strategic relationship. But this is a false choice, they argue.
Levi and Ferguson advise Congress to reserve the bulk of its
political capital for a handful of top-tier objectives. It
should focus on preventing Indian nuclear testing and
fundamental changes in Indian nuclear strategy, rather than on
blocking growth in the number of Indian nuclear weapons.
"It should focus on obtaining cooperation --from India as well
as other countries -- in controlling the spread of sensitive
nuclear technologies, instead of on measures that would shape
the development of nuclear technology in India itself."
"Congress should issue a set of bottom-line requirements for the
formal US-India nuclear cooperation agreement, for India's
inspection agreement with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy
Agency), and for new [Nuclear Suppliers Group] rules that would
allow nuclear commerce with India, and enforce those
requirements by refusing to pass final legislation enabling
nuclear cooperation until the agreements are in place and are
satisfactory," the report says.
The report urges Congress and the administration to focus on
five principles as the basic framework for solidifying the deal:
* "Congress should ensure that, if India breaks its unilateral
moratorium on nuclear testing, nuclear cooperation will cease.
* "To reinforce [India's] commitments (to strengthening export
controls), Congress should ask the administration if it requires
any money or legal authority to assist India in improving its
export controls, and it should provide whatever is needed. This
support would most likely fund American experts to work
cooperatively with Indian authorities, rather than comprise
direct transfers to India.
* "US legislation, while not mandating the future shape of the
Indian nuclear complex, should provide incentives to steer India
in the right direction.
* Future cooperation should be freed from the "formal annual
review [that could] undermine the confidence-building purpose of
the Indo-US deal. Instead, in exchange for giving up its annual
right of review, Congress should provide less-intrusive
incentives for India to label future reactors as civilian and
place them under inspection."
* Congress should accept that India will not "unilaterally cap
its nuclear arsenal".
*****************************************************************
25 NEWS.com.au: Nuclear power 'too costly'
From: AAP
June 09, 2006
NUCLEAR power would cost twice as much as electricity produced
from coal, while the world's viable uranium supplies could run
out within 24 years, a new report has found.
Prime Minister John Howard this week announced a top level
inquiry into the nation's options for nuclear energy, which will
be headed by former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski.
But the Victorian government report has found nuclear power
will not only be double the price of electricity produced from
coal, but the world's viable uranium supplies could be depleted
within 24 years, The Australian newspaper reported.
The internal review found that nuclear power was "not cost
effective" and a carbon tax of up to $30 per tonne of carbon
dioxide would need to be levied on coal-fired generators to make
it viable.
The Victorian Department of Infrastructure report concluded
that coal-fired power stations could produce power for $35 per
megawatt hour, compared to nuclear power which would cost
between $60 and $80 per megawatt hour.
The report also found that while there was 4.3 million tonnes,
or 60 years' worth, of unknown uranium resources, only 1.7
million tonnes, or 24 years' worth, was economically viable to
extract, the paper reported.
"Nuclear power is not cost-competitive with other forms of
electricity generation, in the absence of a substantial
greenhouse cost of approximately $25-$30 per tonne of C02," the
report concluded.
"Hence coal and gas will remain economically attractive to
countries such as Australia, the USA and China."
*****************************************************************
26 Guardian Unlimited: Gorbachev puts anti-nuclear case to Blair
Nuclear power is neither an answer to energy problems nor a
panacea for climate change, Mikhail Gorbachev told Tony Blair
John Vidal, environment editor
Thursday June 8, 2006
The Guardian
Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet president, has written to
Tony Blair urging him not to pursue nuclear power, which he says
does not add up economically, environmentally or socially, and
will not help Britain or other countries tackle climate change.
In London to talk to MPs about climate change, Mr Gorbachev
wrote: "Nuclear power is neither the answer to modern energy
problems nor a panacea for climate change challenges. It
requires huge amounts of initial capital, while decommissioning
plants is very expensive and costs continue to be incurred long
after a power station are closed."
Article continues
The G8 group of rich countries will meet shortly to discuss
global energy security, and he fears that with other world
leaders Mr Blair will commit vast sums to develop nuclear power
because of oil price rises and potential gas supply
interruptions.
"There is too much at stake to allow short-term political
considerations to dominate G8 proceedings [about energy]," Mr
Gorbachev told Mr Blair.
"The approach by the G8 of facilitating nuclear power lacks
vision, and relegates renewable energy and energy efficiency to
secondary status." While Mr Blair is said to have decided to
invest up to £20bn in new nuclear stations, Mr Gorbachev urged
him to help establish a $50bn (£27bn) "global solar fund".
Mr Gorbachev, who resigned in 1991 and now works in Geneva, says
in a book just published that he turned against nuclear power
following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in what is now Ukraine.
Email us
Email your comments for publication to
politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk
[UP]
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
27 Sydney Morning Herald: No pressure on Ziggy to quit ANSTO: PM -
www.smh.com.au
June 8, 2006 - 9:24AM
Prime Minister John Howard says the head of his nuclear taskforce
was not pressured to step aside from the government's key nuclear
technology body.
Former Telstra boss Dr Ziggy Switkowski, a nuclear physicist, on
Wednesday night quit the board of the Australian Nuclear Science
and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).
Mr Howard said he supported the move but denied Dr Switkowski
had been under pressure to leave ANSTO.
"He wasn't put under any pressure, might I say, to do it," Mr
Howard said.
"I think he's done so for more abundant caution.
"I didn't ask him to do so and I'm not aware that anybody in the
government did, but it seemed to me to be a very sensible thing
and he's handled all of these absurd allegations about a
conflict of interest very effectively."
Dr Switkowski said his membership at ANSTO dated back only to
the beginning of the year and he had attended just three board
meetings.
He said he had an open mind about the results of the inquiry,
which will look at all aspects of a nuclear industry including
uranium mining, enrichment and nuclear power.
"I think membership of the ANSTO board simply confirms that I'm
relatively competent in the whole area of nuclear physics and I
think that's going to be valuable for the next few months," Dr
Switkowski told the Nine Network.
"I don't think I'll have any difficulties in being objective
and, after all, I'm supported by a panel of very capable,
strong-willed individuals who I'm sure will ensure that there's
objectivity."
Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said Dr Switkowski was
pro-nuclear irrespective of his position on the board.
"He can do his best, but the record is one of support for
nuclear and I haven't heard his support - or analysis - of the
better alternatives like solar or energy efficiency," Senator
Brown told AAP.
"Impressions are important but I think there is a substantial
case to be put here that this is a biased and loaded inquiry by
the prime minister.
"It's the old thing in politics: if you are going to get the
result you want, then pick the people who are going to give you
that result."
Senator Brown said the inquiry fell at the first hurdle because
other forms of energy were not within its terms of reference.
Opposition environment spokesman Anthony Albanese said the
inquiry was clearly stacked in favour of the industry.
"Getting a bunch of nuclear insiders to conduct a nuclear
inquiry is like asking the AFL commissioners to determine the
best football code for Australia," Mr Albanese said.
He said two of the task force members announced on Wednesday had
strong links to the nuclear industry.
Dr Arthur Johnston headed the commonwealth body responsible for
reviewing Ranger uranium mine's environmental performance at a
time when its poor environmental, health and safety record
resulted in a Senate inquiry, and Silvia Kidziak was an adviser
to the nuclear regulator ARPANSA.
Queensland Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce said the task force
should consider the impact of an expanded nuclear industry on
rural and regional areas, many of which depended on a strong
coal sector.
"The inquiry should be open to the issues of regional
Australia," Senator Joyce told AAP.
© 2006 AAP
Copyright © 2006. The Sydney Morning Herald. ![]()
Leningrad NPP
Vera Ponomareva, Rashid Alimov, 2006-06-08 00:40
The current position of Reponen is especially interesting, as
for the past decade he has insisted after several co-operative
Finnish-Russian technical inspections that the LNPP is in fine
working order and meets the safety class of western nuclear
power plants. His turnabout, therefore, is both of technical and
political significance.
The LNPP consists of four fatally flawed Chernobyl-type
RBMK-1000 graphite moderated reactors. Each has an engineered
lifespan of 30 years, but reactor bloc No. 1 was recently
granted a 15-year extension on that life-span by Russian nuclear
regulators, and block No. 2 is expected to be extended shortly.
“If we were trying to use such a reactor in Finland it would not
be possible. It does not meet Finnish requirements as it has no
containment,” Reponen, told Bellona Web, and who is the head of
STUK's Support to Eastern Europe Unit (what does “has no
containment” mean? Has no storage?)
A containment buildingis a steel or concrete structure enclosing
a nuclear reactor. It is designed to contain the escape of
radiation in any emergency. In the Soviet Union it was normal
practice not to build containment buildings. This, along with
the unstable nature of RBMK reactors, led to the catastrophe at
Chernobyl in 1986.
The cooperation between STUK and Leningrad NPP, funded by
Finnish government, has been in effect since 1992. It includes
in-depth safety assessments, professional training, fire safety
and physical protection improvements that the group recommends
for the LNPP. STUK also supplies equipment for the LNPP and
performs renovation works for the first and the second reactor
blocs.
“The LNPP is the biggest recipient of the Finnish support
programme for nuclear safetywe have EUR2 million for this
programme and one third of it is for Leningrad nuclear plant,”
said Reponen.
Yet STUK’s evaluations of the LNPP are invariably positive,
largely because the LNPP provides a large percentage of southern
Finland;s electricity via units sold from grids near St.
Petersburg. The yearly evaluations by STUK of the LNPP are
therefore based, according to critics, on so-called “Potemkin
Village” tours for the plantwhere STUK expers are shown only
highlights and not the low lightswhich, have in the past,
guaranteed the approval of STUK, bufferomg the critisisms of
other western entities that demand the plant be shut down.
The engineered life-span of the No.1 and 2 blocs expired in 2003
and 2005, but they were prolonged by the decision of the Russian
State nuclear plant building monopoly Rosenergoatom, because of
its state ownership, and its control by the government’s agency
on nuclear energy, Rosatom. According to Rosatom plans, the
units will operate that extra 15 yearssomething which has
generated worldwide environmental concern.
According to Reponen, the renovation measures that have been
taken before granting the license for the engineered life-span
extensions of the LNPP’s No. 1 reactor “are really extensive.”
According to Rosenergoatom, some 70 percent of spending on
modernisations for extending the reactor's life-span were spent
on bringing the reactor into line with current Russian safety
norms and rules. Before the modernisation the reactors did not
comply with these standards.
-->
MEP and former Finnish Minister of the Environment Hassi
Rashid Alimov/Bellona
The public in Finland stands for closing the LNPP and criticises
the Finnish government for being reluctant about this question
“The European Commission (EC) has several times expressed that,
for safety reasons, this power station should be closed. I very
much agree with the European Commission,” MEP and former Finnish
Minister of the Environment Hassi told Bellona Web.
“I think and I have proposed that Finland and Estonia, who are
in biggest danger among the EU countries, should be active
together with the EC to demand Russia’s closing of Sosnovy Bor
[the LNPP] and to find ways to solve this energy gap,” said
Hassi.
Hassi also said that is necessary to improve energy efficiency
in the Northwest Russia because the potential for this “is
really huge”.
Hassi claimed that no renovations and safety improvements can
eliminate the design flaws of RBMK reactors in Sosnovy Bor: “At
the Chernobyl +20 seminar we heard Professor Ian Fairlie, who
has studied health consequences of Chernobyl to the Europeans
and the world population, and he said that the main reason for
the problems [at the LNPP] was the fact there was graphite in
the reactor,” said Hassi.
“And the fire was extinguished only when the graphite
endedthere was no more graphite in the reactor to be burned.
And the same graphite is in Sosnovy Bor [the LNPP]. So the basic
design of the Sosnovy Bor reactor is very dangerous, one of the
most dangerous in the world”.
Spent fuel storage
In spite of the life-span extensions of the reactors, the
problems with the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) management at LAES
remain unsolved. The reprocessing of RBMK-1000 spent fuel was
found to be unprofitable: The spent fuel rodswhich contain
plutoniumhad been stored in the temporary storage facility at
the LNPP since the plant came into operation.
Bellona-sponsored report on the Leningrad NPP
"The Leningrad NPP as a Mirror of the Russian Atomic Energy
Industry" report—written by the plant’s former worker Sergei
Kharitonov and sponsored by Bellona Foundation—is published on
Bellona web.
Currently, entire spent fuel assemblies are held in leaky wet
storage tanks in special sheaths that are submersed in water.
Numerous problems with SNF storage at the plant were highlighted
by the former storage facility operator, Sergei Kharitonov, in
his report “The Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant as a Mirror of
Atomic Energy in Russia” published by Bellona in 2004.
“I think it [the report] is quite importantthere is a lot of
information here. But the shortcomings that Mr Kharitonov
pointed out are mainly from the SNF storage [facility] and this
is less interesting to us, as it has smaller risk than the
reactor,” said Reponen.
-->
The minutes signed by Heikki Reponen in 1996
“If something happens in the reactors it has long-lasting
effects, but if some leakage happens with SNF, it would have
just local effects,” said Reponen.
In 1996 Reponen, along with Russia's then-nuclear oversight
agency Gosatomnazor, and the administration of the LNPP, signed
the minutes of a meeting which stated that “the technical
condition of the storage facility and level of its use as a
whole maintain safety during the storage of spent nuclear fuel.”
This statement caused criticism among environmentalists as it
was not based on any special environmental impact studies. In
March of 1997, four months after the signing of the minutes,
STUK faced the music of the falsely optimistic minutes,
participating in eliminating leaks in the trenches of the
cooling pools of the SNF storage building. In all 21 leaks were
discovered of which only a fraction could be eradicated.
Rose coloured glasses
According to environmentalists, STUK constantly underestimates
the threat of the wet storage facility at the LNPP, which
contains 4000 tonnes of SNF in its pool, and stands a mere 90
metres from the Gulf of Finland.
The facility has been filled above capacity since 1995. In 1996
a decision was taken to condense the space taken up by the fuel
rods in the overloaded facility by developing special suspension
brackets that hold two fuel assemblies instead of one. This was
a technological breach of as yet untold proportions.
“This condensed storage method can lead to an uncontrolled chain
reaction which is followed by radioactive discharge,” said
Alexander Nikitin, the head of Bellona St. Petersburg.
Such scenario should not be excluded, says Oleg Bodrov, the
chairman of the “Green world” NGO in Sosnovy Bor. “The
environmental assessment of the condensed storage method was not
held and thus there is a potential environmental hazard.”
According to Bodrov, the possibility of radioactive leaks into
the Finnish Gulf must be also taken into account. Such incidents
had occurred in 1982 at the wet SNF storage in the Andreeva Bay.
Huge amounts of radioactive water (up to 30 tonnes a day) made
its way into the Barents Sea through the stream near the
storage.
“If radionuclides get into the water it would be impossible to
contain the consequences. The fish would eat radioactive
plankton and transfer the contamination, and then everything
depends on luck. If Reponen buys a fish it can turn out to be
radioactive, said Nikitin.
Report 8:2003 - Sellafield
Bellona's report on Sellafield and its comprehensive
illustration of the plant presents new information about the
dumping and spreading of radioactive waste.
According to experience, radionuclides can migrate long
distances. For instance, radioactive discharges from
reprocessing plant at Sellafield, Great Britain, are now traced
in the Northern part if the Irish sea and in the Barents Sea up
to the Norwegin island of Spitsbergen.
New dry spent fuel storage
As the old wet SNF facility is filled up, a new premise for a
dry storage has been built close to this building. According to
the plans, 24,000 spent uranium and plutonium rods, which are
from 15 to 27-years-old, will be removed from the waste storage
pools, sawed into pieces and then placed into the new dry
storage. The rods themselves, several of which have been
submerged in coolant for decades, are also severely corroded.
“Sawing these rods will relase two decades of contamination,”
said Kharitonov in one of his interviews with Bellnona Web.
“These things contain uranium 235 and 238 and weapons-grade
plutonium. If handled improperly, it could be a catastrophe. It
possesses dangers to the workers themselves, and an ecological
emergency for the surrounding area,” claimed Kharitonov in his
report.
The environmental impact assessment of the project has not been
carried out. “We started to construct these buildings before the
law on environmental assessments was passed,” said the deputy
chief engineer of the LNPP Alexander Epikhin to Bellona Web.
Yet, according to Bodrov, the document on funding the project
was signed by the Federal energy commission only two years ago.
“Residents of Sosnovy Bor noticed the construction earlier, in
2002,” said Bodrov.
Claiming that the construction started before the law on
environmental assessment came into power, nuclear authorities
decided to hold the assessment post factum in March 2006 for
some reason, though such cases are not covered by the law.
According to Russian law, environmental impact assessments are
applied to some planned activity. Thus, in case a given project
is already implemented there is no means to legalize it.
The public hearings on the new SNF storage facility were held in
Sosnovy Bor on March 29. “It is forbidden to start the
construction without environmental assessment. We are going to
make a complaint to the prosecutor's office in order to find
these hearings invalid.” said Igor Babanin, Greenpeace
St.-Petersburg.
At the hearings, the LNPP and federal officials praised the new
storage facility, claiming it would be an interim facility until
another storage facility is built in Krasnoyarsk. The
environmentalists position was deemed by the chief engineer of
the LNPP Oleg Chernikov as “right in form, but a mockery in the
essence”.
“The main problem is that Russia has not ratified United Nations
Espoo convention on trans-border environmental impact assessment
of projects,” said Hassi.
The Espoo (EIA) Convention entered into force in 1997. It lays
down the general obligation of States to notify and consult each
other on all major projects under consideration that are likely
to have a significant adverse environmental impact across
borders.
“This Espoo convention is enforced, all EU countries [including
Finland] have ratified it, and using this convention Russia
demanded from Finland to present an international environmental
impact assessment of several projects which have been planned on
the Finnish side of the border. But Russia has refused to
perform similar assessments, for example, for new oil harbors in
the Russian coasts. I think this should be done also on this new
nuclear fuel storage facility, because it is evident that it
might have consequences over border.”
Firing of whistle-blowers
The LNPP has never been terribly open and ready to cooperate
with the public. In 2000 whistle-blower Kharitonov was fired
from the plant. During several years he tried to draw the
attention of the management to the numerous violations at the
SNF storage.
“It is unfortunate in my opinion that the power plant has not
found the way to cooperate with the civilly active persons such
as Kharitonov. I think he is sincerely willing to improve the
situation. For me it would be more favorable to find a
constructive dialog with him,” said Reponen.
At present Kharitonov lives in Helsinki, waiting for a decision
on his application for asylum. As he told Interfax news agency,
the decision to emigrate was “caused by his disappointment over
the possibility to stop unhindered environmental violations in
Russia”.
Rosatom plans to build a second Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant
Rosatom head Sergei Kirienko and officials in the Leningrad
Region, which surrounds St. Petersburg, plan to build a second
nuclear station on the grounds of the already dilapidated
Leningrad Nuclear Power plant (LNPP).
Another LNPP and power to Finland
Meanwhile, Rosatom is planning to build another nuclear power
plant on the grounds of LNPP. Under this scheme, four new
VVER-1000 units will gradually replace the old reactors of the
current LNPP. The construction of new blocks for LNPP-2 is
planned to start in 2007.
“We do not sell energy to Finland and will not do it in future,”
claimed recently Rosatom’s head Sergei Kirienko, while being in
Sosnovy Bor.
Yet in March, the Finnish company United Powerwhich a
stakeholder in Rosengergoatom and has offered to set up an
undersea cable to deliver electric power from Sosnovy Bor to
Kotka, Finland. The capacity of the cable would be 1000
MWtequal to the productivity of one LNPP reactor. According to
United Power estimations, the project will cost EUR250m to 350m.
But Fingrid, the company that runs the Finnish national
electricity grid, has advised the Finnish Ministry of Trade and
Industry to reject United Power's permit application. During his
press-conference on April,10th, Fingrid executive Director Timo
Toivonen claimed that the cost of the project is much more than
EUR300m, as the project in fact stipulates modernization of the
regional grid in the southeast of Finland that operates at
maximum capacity, and could not handle the additional power that
would cost another 1,7 bln euro.
“We are kind of between the wall and the wallpaper nowadays”,
Benny Hasenson, senior adviser of confederation of Finnish
Industries, told Bellona Web
“I am saying that it [the cable] costs very much and I am not
sure that the Russians will not say it is cold winter and hold
energy for themselves that had happened may be last winter. So
there is that risk and... I mean otherwise we will have to build
new nuclear power plant and such things.”
Finnish law stipulates that for construction of any nuclear
reactor, a parliamentarian approval is needed.
“I have been very shocked by the fact that Finnish company
United Power is planning electricity transmission cable directly
from Sosnovy Bor to Finland. And I think this is really
irresponsible, and this company does not even try to hide that
this cable would mean directly buying electricity from Sosnovy
Bor de facto supporting [prolonged] operation of [the LNPP]”
said Hassi.
2004-01-26 Leningrad NPP
Bellona's Kharitonov to Speak in Finnish Parliament
Publisher: , President:
Information: , Technical contact:
Telephone: +47 23 23 46 00 Telefax: +47 22 38 38 62 * P.O.Box
2141 Grunerlokka, 0505 Oslo, Norway
*****************************************************************
31 BBC: Nuclear plant
Last Updated: Thursday, 8 June 2006
[Chapelcross towers]
An estimated 40 posts have been created for decommissioning
About 40 new jobs are being created to help decommission the
Chapelcross nuclear power plant near Annan.
It will take the workforce at the plant to close to 480.
A range of job opportunities are being offered as the British
Nuclear Group carries out work on behalf of the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority.
Chapelcross site manager Mike Travis said the aim would be to
recruit the majority of new workers from among the local
community.
He said it was "fantastic news" and reaffirmed the plant's
commitment to the area.
Major challenges
"Like the many local contractors we employ, we believe we have a
wealth of talent and skills on our doorstep that we fully intend
to explore and utilise," said Mr Travis.
He said the new staff were needed to cope with the "challenges"
of decommissioning and defuelling.
All interested parties are being asked to apply via their local
job centres, only after the positions are advertised in the local
press.
With Chapelcross currently being decommissioned, workers are
campaigning for a new plant on the same site.
*****************************************************************
32 Journal News: Indian Point studies
(Original publication: June 8, 2006)
Indian Point, the nuclear power plant complex in Buchanan, is
sort of like the weather: Everybody talks about it; nobody really
does anything about it except study it.
This time last year, talk of Indian Point by Westchester's county
executive and Board of Legislators yielded a nearly $400,000
study; it concluded that the county's notion of acquiring and
closing the plants through eminent domain as if they were some
thorn in the side of townhouse developers was $3 billion of
wishful, if not maniacal, thinking. Might have gotten the same
advice on e-Bay for hundreds of thousands of dollars cheaper.
Now comes a $1 million federal study, conducted by the National
Academy of Sciences for the U.S. Department of Energy. This
280-page doorstop concludes that Indian Point could be closed
what critics have long called for but that alternative energy
sources would be difficult to put into place because of
"political, regulatory, financial and institutional" obstacles.
In other words, the plants could be closed, but it would be hard,
like everything else around here.
Foremost would be the challenge of securing alternative sources
to replace Indian Point's annual output of 17 million megawatts.
We know how much difficulty goes into siting so much as a new
soccer field in this region. The report makes plain that siting
a plant of any sort would be no easy chore. It also touches on
such domino effects as higher energy costs, ongoing and
expensive environmental challenges on the Indian Point property,
and prospects for more air pollution.
In those key ways, the report helps quantify how hard life would
be in a post-Indian Point world. But we think it's a stretch to
suggest, as some have, that the report should seal the case for
or against continued Indian Point operations. This from Jim
Steets, spokesman for owner Entergy Nuclear Northeast, quoted in
The New York Times, made sense to us: "Of course you can do
anything if you try hard enough. You can put a man on the moon,
too. Whether that's the right thing to do or not, it doesn't
really answer."
Alex Matthiessen, president of the environmental group
Riverkeeper, told Journal News staff writer Greg Clary that the
"NAS study is the final and definitive answer to the debate" on
whether alternatives to nuclear power on the Hudson River are
possible. "Let's move on in order to ensure that the appropriate
processes are set in motion to bring about a prompt and orderly
decommissioning of both reactors." Nice try, but we don't think
that's going to happen anytime soon.
Our position is simply this: Like the Corvair of yesteryear,
which was famously "unsafe at any speed," Indian Point needs to
close, no matter the costs, (1) if it is going to be run in an
unsafe and unsecure manner, (2) if it is unduly susceptible or
vulnerable to 9/11-scale terrorist attack, (3) if it causes
unreasonable environmental harm, or (4) if federal officials do
more pretending to oversee than actually overseeing.
That latter inference comes when the officials, as has been
their penchant, pooh-pooh legitimate concerns about evacuation
plans, terrorism drills, airplane attacks, radiation leaks,
communication gaps the problems that drive critics to
distraction. But this study leaves these important "ifs"
unresolved, allowing both the keep-it-open contingent and the
close-it folks to claim victory. That, no doubt, means more
questions and more study.
No wonder the weather is often the more satisfying conversation.
Copyright 2006 The Journal News,. Inc. newspaper serving
Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties in New York. Use of
this site signifies your agreement to the and , updated June 7,
2005.
*****************************************************************
33 Times Argus: Public unhappy with NRC relicensing process
Vermont News & Information
June 8, 2006
By Daniel Barlow Rutland Herald
BRATTLEBORO — Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials received
an earful of criticism and concerns surrounding Vermont Yankee
nuclear power plant's proposal to extend its operating license
beyond 2012 during the first public meeting on the issue
Wednesday.
More than 75 people attended an afternoon session at the
historic Latchis Theatre in downtown Brattleboro and expressed
frustration and anger at the narrow scope of the NRC's review of
the Vernon-based plant.
The NRC was in town to collect public input on environmental
issues it may consider in its review to extend Yankee's license
by 20 years. Officials stressed they were seeking information
from their "local environmental experts" pertaining strictly to
environmental concerns, not safety nor other issues.
The meeting kicked off Wednesday with one woman deriding what
she saw as the lack of a "democratic process" because the public
living around the plant do not have authority over whether the
plant is relicensed.
Richard Emch, the project manager for NRC environmental review,
responded that the "democratic process" is the public's ability
to elect repre-sentatives to Congress who reflect their views on
nuclear power and the regulatory process.
"Our review is based on a set of technical statutes," he said.
"There is nothing in our process that calls for the people of
Brattleboro to vote on whether the license shall be renewed."
Still, the difficulty for the public to weigh in on the topic
beyond an advisory manner dominated the meeting. Many speakers
also touched upon topics that fell outside the limited topic of
environmental issues with the license renewal.
Christopher Williams of Hancock recalled severe safety problems
at two Midwest nuclear power plants that he once lived near.
Despite the NRC having two representatives at every plant in the
country, Williams said he has little faith in the agency's
ability to ensure the safety of nearby residents.
"When they tell us that safety is their number one job, I don't
believe we can take that concern seriously," he said.
Ray Shadis, a technical advisor for the watchdog group New
England Coalition, raised four major concerns with the plant's
license renewal, including the possibility that radiological
releases from the plant that exceeded state limits were
registered at the nearby Vernon elementary school.
"We believe there is enough here to warrant a real
investigation," he said to a round of cheers from the crowd.
Some residents came forward to speak passionately in support of
the license renewal.
Shawn Banfield, the spokesperson for the Vermont Energy
Partnership, a group of business and community leaders that
formed last year to address the state's energy future, said
Yankee's relicensing should be supported because the plant
supplies one-third of the state's energy.
Nuclear power also does not contribute to global warming, she
added.
"Without Vermont Yankee, Vermont's utilities would be forced to
buy additional power on the spot market that would be less
reliable and more expensive," she said. "Do Vermonters really
want to be dependent on this power, from fossil fuel sources
such as natural gas and even coal, which contribute to global
warming and the earth's degradation?"
Dan MacArthur, the emergency management director for Marlboro,
reiterated his desire to see the town formally included in the
10-mile emergency planning zone around the plant. He said the
town has petitioned the NRC to be included in the zone, but has
not yet heard back concerning the request.
MacArthur also questioned the objectivity of the agency by
asking how many of its 25 employees in town for the event once
worked for the nuclear industry.
"We're not going to conduct a poll now," responded Chip Cameron,
an NRC official who was facilitating the meeting.
"Well, that about says it all," responded MacArthur.
NRC officials said they will use some of Wednesday's testimony
in preparing a draft environmental report on the license
extension, which is tentatively due in August.
Written comments will be accepted until June 23 and may be sent
to Chief, Rules and Directive Branch, Division of Administrative
Services, Office of Administration, Mail stop T-6D 59, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C., 20555-0001 or
*****************************************************************
34 AFP: Ex-Soviet leader Gorbachev warns Blair against nuclear power -
Thu Jun 8, 8:36 AM ET
LONDON (AFP) - Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has written
to Tony Blair " /> Tony Blairurging him to reconsider his mooted
return to nuclear power.
The former statesman is said to have told Blair that nuclear
power "does not add up economically, environmentally or socially"
and will do nothing to help Britain or other countries tackle
global climate change.
Blair announced last month that nuclear power was "back on the
agenda with a vengeance" after receiving a draft of a report
into the country's future energy needs. His comments infuriated
environmentalists.
Gorbachev, who is in London to discuss climate change with
lawmakers, reportedly wrote to Blair: "Nuclear power is neither
the answer to modern energy problems nor a panacea for climate
change challenges, The Guardian said Thursday
"It requires huge amounts of initial capital, while
decommissioning plants is very expensive and costs continue to
be incurred long after a power station is closed."
Global energy security is expected to be high on the agenda when
leaders from the Group of Eight richest nations meet in St
Petersburg, Russia.
Gorbachev is said to fear that Blair and other leaders will
invest heavily in new nuclear build because of concerns about
oil price rises and disruptions to gas supplies.
"There is too much at stake to allow short-term political
considerations to dominate G8 proceedings (about energy)," The
Guardian quoted Gorbachev as saying.
He accused the G8's pro-nuclear stance of lacking vision and
underplaying the role of renewable energy sources such as wind,
solar and wave power and energy efficiency issues.
Britain currently has about a dozen nuclear power stations, most
of them built in the 1960s and 1970s, providing around 25
percent of the country's electricity. Natural gas provides about
40 percent.
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The
*****************************************************************
35 CNW Telbec: New AECL contract keeps Canada's nuclear industry thriving
9 juin 2006 RECHERCHE
Attention Business Editors:
Private sector companies ready to support AECL on Korean
retubing project
TORONTO, June 7 /CNW/ - The announcement of Atomic Energy of
Canada Limited's (AECL) contract to retube the Wolsong 1 reactor
in Korea - AECL's third retubing contract in 10 months - will
generate millions of dollars for Canada's nuclear industry and
the country's economy. Member companies of the Organization of
CANDU Industries (OCI) are standing by to support AECL on this
important project, and on all future opportunities.
"Nuclear energy in Canada is a $5 billion/year industry,
providing employment for more than 30,000 highly trained people
in more than 150 companies," says Martyn Wash, General Manager of
OCI. "Canada's nuclear industry creates another 70,000 jobs in
associated supplies and services and generates more than $700
million each year in federal income and sales taxes. The economic
benefits of contracts like the Wolsong 1 retubing in Korea will
be tremendous, and will help keep our industry vibrant, growing
and ready to deliver world-leading equipment and services
anywhere around the globe and right here at home."
AECL's CANDU 6 reactors are operated in five countries on
four continents by six different utilities and all have
outstanding performance track records. They are shining examples
of Canada's world-leading CANDU technology and of Canada's
ability to deliver outstanding energy projects on-time and on
budget.
"Canada's nuclear industry is once again calling on the
Ontario government to select nuclear technology for Ontario's
future base load electricity needs," says Wash. "Canada's CANDU
technology will provide Ontario with clean, reliable and
affordable base load power and a new CANDU project will generate
billions of dollars in economic activity in Ontario and across
Canada. All OCI companies are ready to support Team CANDU and
build new CANDU power plants here in Ontario.
The Organization of CANDU Industries (OCI) is an association
of 75 private sector companies that promotes nuclear technology
on behalf of its members.
For further information: Martyn R. Wash, General Manager,
Organization of CANDU Industries, (905) 269-0852, www.oci-aic.org
*****************************************************************
36 Xinhua: Total power installed capacity reaches 531 gigawatts
www.chinaview.cn 2006-06-08 10:03:44
BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese economic official said
Thursday the country would face no electricity power shortfalls
generally in the second half of the year.
Zhang Guobao, vice chairman of the National Development and
Reform Commission (NDRC), said power supply could meet demand
even in power-hungry areas such as the economically dynamic
Zhejiang Province in east China.
As a matter of fact, there were already no big power short
falls in the first six months, he told a press conference at the
Information Office of the State Council.
Zhang said the government will accelerate the efforts to
close small coal-fired unit that cost excessive energies and
produce heavy pollution in an industrial reshuffling.
Coal-fired generation units with a combined capacity of 15
million kw will be closed in the coming five years, he revealed.
But he refuted any power gluts existence in China, saying
the nation's power shortages have only eased up.
China's total power installed capacity has reached 531
million kilowatts, and more than 70 million kw of newly
installed capacity is expected to be put into production this
year.
In the second half of the year, China's power supply and
demand will be basically balanced, and retort the tight
situation that has continued since June 2002, said Zhang.
About 250 million kw of power station projects are under
construction in China. The newly installed capacity amounted to
22.39 million kw from January to April this year, and a total
installed capacity of 29.55 million kw projects were approved
from January to May.
Zhang said that China's power supply for the first four
months has reached 817.5 billion kw/hour, up 11.1 percent over
the same period of last year, including hydroelectricity of 92.7
billion kw/hour, coal-fired power of 704.9 billion kwh and
nuclear power of 16.6 billion kwh.
The electricity consumption for the first four months
accounts to 846.6 billion kw/hour, a rise of 12.33 percent
year-on-year. Enditem
Editor: Chen Feng
*****************************************************************
37 Xinhua: China to build commercial fast reactor by 2035
www.chinaview.cn 2006-06-08 14:52:57
BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Fast reactors are expected to
enter the Chinese nuclear power market by 2035, a leading
scientist has said.
Wang Naiyan, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
and director of the CAS Atomic Energy Institute, said Wednesday
at an annual national conference of the academy that China would
develop commercial fast reactors in about 30 years and fast
reactors are expected to develop steadily by 2050 and become a
major force in nuclear energy.
"Thanks to advanced technology, the Chernobyl nuclear
disaster won't happen again," Wang said. "While upgrading our
thermal reactor technology, we should take every opportunity to
develop the fast reactor technology, known as an industry for
tomorrow."
He said the fast reactor system included a series of
complicated technological and engineering issues as mixed oxide
fuel (MOX) technology and fast reactor fuel fabrication.
The only fissile material found in nature is uranium-235,
which makes up less than one percent of natural uranium. While
some fissile plutonium is produced in a thermal reactor, it is
not enough to replace the uranium-235 used. In a fast reactor,
however, enough plutonium can be produced and fissioned to more
than make up for the uranium-235 used.
In addition, many of the long-lived actinide elements that
cannot be fissioned in a thermal reactor can be burned in a fast
reactor, so the fast reactor is capable of destroying the major
source of long-life radiotoxicity in spent fuel. Thus, the fast
reactor can create new fuel and destroy long-life nuclear waste
and plutonium while it produces electricity.
"The fast reactor and the nuclear fuel closed cycle
technologies will enable the natural uranium to be used for
thousands of years," Wang acknowledged. "China has not yet
started research and development of the fast reactor fuel closed
cycle because it is a very difficult problem. China should learn
from foreign experience and develop our own scheme." Enditem
Editor: Chen Feng
*****************************************************************
38 Xinhua: China, US to launch largest neutrino experiment
www.chinaview.cn 2006-06-08 17:02:06
BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and American physicists
are joining hands to conduct the world's largest neutrino
experiment at the Daya Bay Nuclear Plant in south China.
The experiment, costing roughly 400 million yuan (50 million
U.S. dollars), is designed to test the mixing angle of neutrino,
13, which is a vital measurement in the most advanced particle
physics.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Brookhaven National
Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory of the
United States will participate in the significant underground
experiment. Enditem
Editor: Zhu Jin
*****************************************************************
39 Reuters: Gorbachev warns against new nuclear power plants
Thu 8 Jun 2006 1:54 PM ET
By Jeremy Lovell
LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - Countries building new nuclear power
plants to tackle global warming should think again, Mikhail
Gorbachev, whose time in office as Soviet leader included the
world's worst nuclear accident, said on Thursday.
From Japan to the United States governments seeking an
alternative to burning fossil fuels for power are reviewing the
de facto ban on building new nuclear plants that followed the
explosion at Chernobyl nuclear station in Ukraine in April 1986.
"Think again, think seven times again before you leap and start
construction of new nuclear power plants," Gorbachev told a
meeting of British lawmakers at London's Houses of Parliament,
speaking through an interpreter.
"With my experience of Chernobyl I know what is involved. The
explosion of one reactor required a superpower country to spend
tens of billions of roubles. Still there was the longer pollution
of the soil, the deaths of a number of people and consequences
that will be far reaching," he added.
Nuclear advocates, who argue that nuclear power emits little of
the major greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, reject comparisons with
Chernobyl.
They say the Chernobyl design was flawed and the plant badly
run, and that the accident could not be repeated with new
designs, failsafe mechanisms and technology.
But Gorbachev said climate change could only be stopped through
a combination of developing new energy sources like solar and
wind and increasing efficiency of energy usage.
New predictions being studied by UN scientists for a report
next year point to average global temperatures rising by three
degrees Celsius this century, melting ice caps and causing
floods, storms and famines putting millions of people at risk.
Environmentalists mostly agree with Gorbachev that the answer
lies in non-nuclear and non-carbon alternatives to traditional
power sources like nuclear, coal, gas and oil.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved. [ border=]
*****************************************************************
40 NRC: Documents Containing Reporting or Recordkeeping Requirements:
FR Doc E6-8921
[Federal Register: June 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 110)]
[Notices] [Page 33320-33321] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08jn06-89]
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review 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).
1. Type of submission, new, revision, or extension: 10 CFR parts
20 and 32--Revision; NRC Form 748--New.
2. The title of the information collection: 10 CFR parts 20 and
32, ``National Source Tracking of Sealed Sources'' and NRC Form
748, ``National Source Tracking Transaction Report.'' 3. The form
number if applicable: NRC Form 748, ``National Source Tracking
Transaction Report.'' 4. How often the collection is required:
Initially, at completion of a transaction, and at inventory
reconciliation.
5. Who will be required or asked to report: Licensees that
manufacture, receive, transfer, disassemble, or dispose of
nationally tracked sources.
6. An estimate of the number of annual responses: 5,041. NRC Form
748--2,781 responses (705 NRC Licensees reporting + 17 NRC
recordkeepers + 2,009 Agreement State Licensees reporting + 50
Agreement State recordkeepers); 10 CFR Part 20--2,250 responses
(467 NRC Licensees + 117 NRC recordkeepers + 1,333 Agreement
State Licensees + 333 Agreement State recordkeepers); 10 CFR Part
32--10 recordkeepers (3 NRC recordkeepers + 7 Agreement State
recordkeepers).
7. The estimated number of annual respondents: 1,350 (350 NRC
Licensees + 1,000 Agreement State Licensees).
8. An estimate of the total number of hours needed annually to
complete the requirement or request: 11,604 hours.
NRC Form 748--421 recurring annual reporting burden hours [10
minutes per response (109 hours NRC Licensees) + (312 hours
Agreement State Licensees).] 5,333 annualized one-time
recordkeeping burden hours [80 hours for 67 recordkeepers (17 NRC
recordkeepers) +(50 Agreement State recordkeepers)].
10 CFR Part 20--1,800 recurring reporting burden hours [1 hour
per response (467 NRC Licensees) + (1,333 Agreement State
Licensees)]. 3,600 annualized one-time recordkeeping burden hours
[8 hours each for 450 recordkeepers (936 hours NRC Licensees) +
(2,664 hours Agreement State Licensees)].
10 CFR Part 32--450 recordkeeping hours [45 hours per
recordkeeper (135 hours NRC Licensees) + (315 hours Agreement
State Licensees)].
9. An indication of whether Section 3507(d), Pub. L. 104-13
applies: Applicable.
10. Abstract: The NRC is proposing to amend its regulations to
implement a National Source Tracking System for certain sealed
sources. The amendments would require licensees to report certain
transactions involving nationally tracked sources to the National
Source Tracking System. These transactions would include
manufacture, transfer, receipt, disassembly, or disposal of the
nationally tracked source. The amendment would require each
licensee to provide its initial inventory of nationally tracked
sources to the National Source Tracking System and annually
reconcile the information in the system with the licensee's
actual inventory. The rule would also require manufacturers of
nationally tracked sources to assign a unique serial number to
each source. This information collection is mandatory and will be
used to populate the National Source Tracking System.
[[Page 33321]] A copy of the supporting statement may be viewed
free of charge at the NRC Public Document Room, One White Flint
North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Room O-1 F21, Rockville, MD 20852.
OMB clearance packages are available at the NRC World Wide Web
site: .
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 by
August 7, 2006: John A. Asalone, Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs (3150-0014, 3150-0001, and 3150-xxxx),
NEOB-10202, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC
20503.
Comments can also be e-mailed to or submitted by telephone at
(202) 395-4650.
The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda Jo. Shelton, 301-415-7233.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 1st day of June 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Brenda Jo. Shelton, NRC Clearance Officer, Office of Information
Services.
[FR Doc. E6-8921 Filed 6-7-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
41 NRC: Southern California Edison Company; San Diego Gas and Electric
FR Doc E6-8922
[Federal Register: June 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 110)]
[Notices] [Page 33321-33322] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08jn06-90]
Company; the Cities of Riverside and Anaheim, CA; San Onofre
Nuclear Generating Station, Units 2 and 3; Notice of
Consideration of Approval of Transfer Facility Operating Licenses
and Conforming Amendments and Opportunity for a Hearing The U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the Commission) is considering the
issuance of an order under 10 CFR 50.80 approving the direct
transfer of the Facility Operating Licenses, which are numbered
NPF-10 and NPF-15, for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station,
Units 2 and 3 (SONGS 2 and 3), currently held by Southern
California Edison Company (SCE), San Diego Gas and Electric
Company, the City of Riverside, California, and the City of
Anaheim, California (Anaheim), as owners; and Southern California
Edison Company as licensed operator of SONGS 2 and 3. The request
is to transfer Anaheim's 3.16 percent undivided ownership
interest in SONGS 2 and 3 to SCE, excluding Anaheim's interest in
its spent fuel and in the SONGS 2 and 3 independent spent fuel
storage installation (ISFSI). The Commission is also considering
amending the license for administrative purposes to reflect the
proposed transfer.
According to the application for approval filed by SCE, acting on
behalf of itself and Anaheim, SCE would acquire Anaheim's 3.16
percent ownership interest in the facility, excluding Anaheim's
interest in its spent fuel and in the SONGS 2 and 3 ISFSI located
on the SONGS site, following approval of the proposed license
transfer. SCE would retain exclusive responsibility for the
operation and maintenance of SONGS 2 and 3.
No physical changes to the SONGS 2 and 3 facility or operational
changes are being proposed in the application.
The proposed amendments would state that the City of Anaheim has
transferred its ownership interests in the facility, and
entitlement to generating output, to Southern California Edison
Company, except that it retains its ownership interests in its
spent nuclear fuel and the facility's ISFSI located on the
facility's site. In addition, the proposed amendments would state
that the City of Anaheim retains financial responsibility for its
spent fuel and for a portion of the facility's decommissioning
costs, and it remains a licensee for the purposes of its retained
interests and liabilities.
Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.80, no license, or any right thereunder,
shall be transferred, directly or indirectly, through transfer of
control of the licenses, unless the Commission shall give its
consent in writing. The Commission will approve an application
for the direct transfer of the licenses, if the Commission
determines that the proposed transferee is qualified to hold the
licenses, and that the transfer is otherwise consistent with
applicable provisions of law, regulations, and orders issued by
the Commission pursuant thereto.
Before issuance of the proposed conforming license amendments,
the Commission will have made findings required by the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), and the Commission's
regulations.
As provided in 10 CFR 2.1315, unless otherwise determined by the
Commission with regard to a specific application, the Commission
has determined that any amendment to the license of a utilization
facility which does no more than conform the license to reflect
the transfer action involves no significant hazards consideration
and no genuine issue as to whether the health and safety of the
public will be significantly affected. No contrary determination
has been made with respect to this specific license amendment
application. In light of the generic determination reflected in
10 CFR 2.1315, no public comments with respect to significant
hazards considerations are being solicited, notwithstanding the
general comment procedures contained in 10 CFR 50.91. The filing
of requests for hearing and petitions for leave to intervene, and
written comments with regard to the license transfer application,
are discussed below.
Within 20 days from the date of publication of this notice, any
person whose interest may be affected by the Commission's action
on the application may request a hearing and, if not the
applicant, may petition for leave to intervene in a hearing
proceeding on the Commission's action. Requests for a hearing and
petitions for leave to intervene should be filed in accordance
with the Commission's rules of practice set forth in Subpart C
``Rules of General Applicability: Hearing Requests, Petitions to
Intervene, Availability of Documents, Selection of Specific
Hearing Procedures, Presiding Officer Powers, and General Hearing
Management for NRC Adjudicatory Hearings,'' of 10 CFR part 2. In
particular, such requests and petitions must comply with the
requirements set forth in 10 CFR 2.309. Untimely requests and
petitions may be denied, as provided in 10 CFR 2.309(c)(1),
unless good cause for failure to file on time is established. In
addition, an untimely request or petition should address the
factors that the Commission will also consider, in reviewing
untimely requests or petitions, set forth in 10 CFR
2.309(c)(1)(i)-(viii). Requests for a hearing and petitions for
leave to intervene should be served upon Douglas K. Porter, 2244
Walnut Grove Avenue, Rosemead, CA 91770, telephone number:
626-302-3964; the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001 (e-mail address
OGCLT@NRC.gov); and the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention:
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, in accordance with 10 CFR
2.302 and 2.305. The Commission will issue a notice or order
granting or denying a hearing request or intervention petition,
designating the issues for any hearing that will be held and
designating the Presiding Officer. A notice granting a
[[Page 33322]] hearing will be published in the Federal Register
and served on the parties to the hearing.
As an alternative to requests for hearing and petitions to
intervene, within 30 days from the date of publication of this
notice, persons may submit written comments regarding the license
transfer application, as provided for in 10 CFR 2.1305. The
Commission will consider and, if appropriate, respond to these
comments, but such comments will not otherwise constitute part of
the decisional record. Comments should be submitted to the
Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001, Attention: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff, and
should cite the publication date and page number of this Federal
Register notice.
For further details with respect to this action, see the
application dated March 10, 2006, as supplemented by the
electronic mail from the licensee dated May 16, 2006, available
for public inspection at the Commission'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 Management System's (ADAMS)
Public Electronic Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web
site, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do
not have access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing
the documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR
Reference staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209, or 301-415-4737
or by e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this
30th day of May 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
N. Kalyanam, Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV, Division
of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear Reactor
Regulation.
[FR Doc. E6-8922 Filed 6-7-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
42 NRC: Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for FY 2006; Correction
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
RIN: 3150-AH83
FR Doc E6-8923
[Federal Register: June 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 110)] [Rules
and Regulations] [Page 33190] From the Federal Register Online
via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr08jn06-6]
ACTION: Final rule; correction.
SUMMARY: This document corrects a final rule appearing in the
Federal Register on May 30, 2006 (71 FR 30722) concerning the
licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to NRC applicants
and licensees in compliance with the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1990, as amended. This action is necessary
to correct typographical and printing errors.
DATES: Effective Date: July 31, 2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tammy Croote, telephone
301-415-6041; Office of the Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 0 1. On page 30735, in the third
column, in the last line of the continued paragraph, the
reference to ``Section III.B.3.a-'' is corrected to read
``Section III.B.3.a-h''. 0 2. On page 30741, under Table
XIV.--ANNUAL FEE SUMMARY CALCULATIONS FOR THE SPENT FUEL
STORAGE/REACTOR DECOMMISSIONING FEE CLASS, in the first column,
in the fourth line, the phrase ``60 prorated annual fee'' is
corrected to read ``60 percent prorated annual fee''.
Sec. 171.16 [Corrected] 0 3. On page 30755, the second sentence
of footnote 1 is corrected to read, ``However, the annual fee is
waived for those materials licenses and holders of certificates,
registrations, and approvals who either filed for termination of
their licenses or approvals or filed for possession only/storage
licenses before October 1, 2005, and permanently ceased licensed
activities entirely by September 30, 2005.'' Sec. 171.19
[Corrected] 0 4. On page 30756, in the first complete paragraph,
the third sentence is corrected to read, ``The materials
licensees that are billed on the anniversary date of the license
are those covered by fee categories 1C, 1D, 2(A)(2), 2(A)(3),
2(A)(4), 2B, 2C, 3A through 3P, and 4B through 9D.'' Dated at
Rockville, Maryland, this 2nd day of June, 2006.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Peter J. Rabideau, Acting Chief Financial Officer.
[FR Doc. E6-8923 Filed 6-7-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
*****************************************************************
43 People's Daily: China's fast reactor nuclear system to put to commercial use
about 2035
UPDATED: 17:28, June 08, 2006
Chinese fast reactor nuclear power plant will likely supply
electricity for Chinese electricity market 30 years later, said
Wang Naiyan, the academician of
Chinese Academy of Sciencesand director of China
Institute of Atomic Energy, on June 7th in Beijing.
China will strive hard to make commercial use of its fast
reactor nuclear system in around 2035 and make it the main
source of nuclear power after 2050, according to the Mr. Wang's
academic report delivered at the 13th China Science Institute
Academic Conference.
"Nuclear power plant is very safe. Due to the advancement of
nuclear technologies, tragedies like Chernobyl nuclear disaster
will not happen again. While upgrading heating reactor nuclear
technologies, we should make great efforts to develop fast
reactor nuclear technologies which have a bight future," said
he.
Mr. Wang remarked that fast reactor nuclear system not only
involves the faster reactor nuclear technologies, but also
fuel-short after-treatment, fast reactor fuel, as well as other
complicated technical and engineering issues. It will be an
arduous task for China.
Sustainability of nuclear energy depends on the full use of
uranium resources and minimization of nuclear wastes. Nowadays,
however, just less than 1% of the uranium resources are fully
used in the heating reactor nuclear power plants across the
world. Not until most of uranium-238 are burnt while circulating
in fast reactor is the utilization of nuclear resources
optimized.
Mr. Wang said, "The known regular nuclear resources can last for
several thousand years if we adopt fast reactor and closed
nuclear fuel cycle technologies." "The researches on nuclear
fuel cycle for fast reactor are very difficult. But China has
never done any kind of this research before. So we should bring
up a technical scheme and an implementation plan for fast
reactor nuclear fuel cycle research on the basis of learning
from foreign experience," he added.
By People's Daily Online
Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved
*****************************************************************
44 People's Daily: China's goal to increase nuclear power
challenging, vice chairman of NDRC
UPDATED: 16:54, June 08, 2006
A Chinese official said Thursday that China's plan to increase
its nuclear power installed capacity to 40 gigawatts by 2020 may
be difficult to meet but the target has not changed.
Zhang Guobao, vice minister in charge of the National
Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said the target will
require China to build some 32 nuclear power units, each capable
of generating at least one gigawatt, over the next 15 years.
China has nine nuclear generators in commercial operation with a
total capacity of about seven gigawatts. The potential for
growth is attracting interest from international firms such as
U.S.-based Westinghouse, France's Areva and 's AtomStroyExport
(ASE).
Zhang said not all nuclear power plants built over the next 15
years will have to adopt third generation technology.
Source: Xinhua
Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved
*****************************************************************
45 People's Daily: China to build first nuclear power plant in northeast
region
UPDATED: 20:38, June 08, 2006
Construction of northeast China's first nuclear power plant is
expected to begin next year, a Chinese official said Thursday.
Preparations have begun for construction of the first phase of
the Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant, located at the Donggang Town
of Wafangdian City in Province, Zhang Guobao, vice minister of
the National Development and Reform Commission, told a news
conference in .
The first phase of the project will consist of two generating
units each with an installed capacity of one million kilowatts.
The project is scheduled to be completed in 2011 at an estimated
cost of 23 billion yuan (2.875 billion U.S. dollars).
China Power Investment Corporation, China Nuclear Power Holding
Co., Ltd. and two local companies in Liaoning have jointly set
up the Liaoning Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., which is responsible
for the construction and operation of the Hongyanhe project.
Hongyanhe project is one of the measures the central government
has taken in the planned redevelopment of the northeast
industrial region, said Li Wancai, vice governor of Liaoning.
Sitting on the eastern shore of the Liaodong Bay of the Bohai
Sea and covering 380 hectares, the Hongyanhe project will be
designed, built and operated by China, according to Liaoning
Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
According to a source, a desalination plant will also form part
of the the project so that seawater can be used by the power
plant and local people.
Insiders said that the Hongyanhe project is expected to play a
significant role in balancing power supply and consumption,
reducing pollution and promoting manufacturing of nuclear power
equipment in the northeast region.
China plans to increase its nuclear power installed capacity to
40 million kilowatts by 2020, accounting for four percent of the
country's total installed capacity by that time, said the
National Development and Reform Commission's Zhang.
To reach the goal, China needs to build about 32 nuclear power
units each with an installed capacity of one million kilowatts
in the coming 15 years, Zhang said.
By the end of last year, nuclear power only made up 1.35 percent
of China's total of 508 million kilowatts.
Currently, China has nine nuclear generators in commercial
operation with a total capacity of about seven million
kilowatts. One generator with a capacity of 1.06 million
kilowatts is in trial operation and five others with a combined
capacity of 4.52 million kilowatts are under construction.
China's power consumption has increased rapidly as a result of
fast economic growth. The electricity consumption in the first
quarter this year reached 624.98 billion kilowatts-hours, a year
on year rise of 11.81 percent.
The potential for growth in nuclear power is drawing interest
from international firms such as U.S.-based Westinghouse,
France's Areva and 's AtomStroyExport (ASE).
Source: Xinhua
Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved
*****************************************************************
46 People's Daily: China still in talks with foreign bidders for its
new nuclear plants
UPDATED: 16:52, June 08, 2006
China is still in negotiations with foreign companies bidding
for the country's new generation of nuclear power stations, a
senior official said Thursday.
The companies include the U.S. Westinghouse, the French Areva
and a n nuclear firm, and China has not yet decided which one
would be the winner of the contract, said Zhang Guobao, vice
minister in charge of the National Development and Reform
Commission, at a press conference.
"The import of nuclear technology involves huge money and
advanced techniques, so we have to be cautious and compare
carefully between the bidders," Zhang said.
China launched a bid in September 2004 for its power stations of
third generation.
In response to question on the bidding, Zhang said that each of
the three firms has its own advantages, but non of them had
built a third generation power station before.
"Areva, for example, its project is still under construction,
and Westinghouse's technology has just passed appraisement,"
Zhang said.
Zhang said that China will make a decision after considering all
the factors comprehensively. .
Source: Xinhua
Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved
*****************************************************************
47 People's Daily: China to build commercial fast reactor by 2035
UPDATED: 17:14, June 08, 2006
Fast reactors are expected to enter the Chinese nuclear power
market by 2035, a leading scientist has said.
Wang Naiyan, member of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS) and director of
the CAS Atomic Energy Institute, said Wednesday at an annual
national conference of the academy that China would develop
commercial fast reactors in about 30 years and fast reactors are
expected to develop steadily by 2050 and become a major force in
nuclear energy.
"Thanks to advanced technology, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
won't happen again," Wang said. "While upgrading our thermal
reactor technology, we should take every opportunity to develop
the fast reactor technology, known as an industry for tomorrow."
He said the fast reactor system included a series of complicated
technological and engineering issues as mixed oxide fuel (MOX)
technology and fast reactor fuel fabrication.
The only fissile material found in nature is uranium-235, which
makes up less than one percent of natural uranium. While some
fissile plutonium is produced in a thermal reactor, it is not
enough to replace the uranium-235 used. In a fast reactor,
however, enough plutonium can be produced and fissioned to more
than make up for the uranium-235 used.
In addition, many of the long-lived actinide elements that
cannot be fissioned in a thermal reactor can be burned in a fast
reactor, so the fast reactor is capable of destroying the major
source of long-life radiotoxicity in spent fuel. Thus, the fast
reactor can create new fuel and destroy long-life nuclear waste
and plutonium while it produces electricity.
"The fast reactor and the nuclear fuel closed cycle technologies
will enable the natural uranium to be used for thousands of
years," Wang acknowledged. "China has not yet started research
and development of the fast reactor fuel closed cycle because it
is a very difficult problem. China should learn from foreign
experience and develop our own scheme."
Source: Xinhua
Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved
*****************************************************************
48 OC: Critics question nuclear industry pledge of fixed price for new Ont. reactors
canada.com
Ottawa Citizen
Steve Erwin, The Canadian Press
Published: Wednesday, June 07, 2006
TORONTOÂ -- A team of companies lobbying to build new nuclear
plants in Ontario say they're willing to ensure any new reactors
will be built on budget, though critics say it's a misleading
pledge that can't be guaranteed.
Representatives of so-called "Team Candu,'' a group of five
Canadian firms that includes federal Crown corporation Atomic
Energy of Canada Ltd., say government officials have asked for
price guarantees for new nuclear projects in an effort to avoid
cost overruns under an energy strategy slated to be unveiled
within the next week.
It's expected the government will set the stage for a massive
expansion of the Darlington nuclear site east of Toronto.
The initial cost to build the plant nearly tripled to $14
billion by the time construction was completed in 1993.
"The province wants a guarantee, a schedule and a fixed price,''
said Ken Petrunik, AECL's chief operating officer who spent the
last six years working on nuclear projects in China.
"We recognize that we need to step up and deliver and meet the
requirements of the province, which is to transfer risk and be
able to give a fixed price.''
Energy Minister Dwight Duncan said Wednesday he will "very, very
soon'' announce a long-awaited government response to a report
released in December by the Ontario Power Authority.
The report included recommendations for $70 billion in
electricity generation spending over the next 20 years, more
than half of it on nuclear projects.
Critics say cost guarantees by the nuclear industry are
meaningless, pointing to past cost overruns at Darlington and
the impact of future changes in government and political will.
"They're not commercial guarantees, they are political
guarantees,'' said Tom Adams of Energy Probe, an electricity
sector watchdog.
"Because the nuclear industry is so highly dependent on
political favours ... changes in political favours could cause
drastic changes in the outcome.''
Petrunik said officials from AECL and four private firms plan to
meet with Duncan over the next two weeks to outline their
fixed-price promise.
Candu will be competing with foreign companies for any
government projects.
"We'll take the load off the taxpayers,'' said Martyn Wash,
general manager of the Organization of Candu Industries.
"That's a big difference between where we are right now, and
when Darlington was first started back in the late '80s.''
But New Democrat Leader Howard Hampton said while the province
might negotiate price guarantees, the federal government would
have to cover cost overruns.
Ultimately, taxpayers would have to foot that bill, he said.
"At the end of the day, the people who live in Ontario will end
up paying for this, either on their hydro bill through some kind
of fee, or some other tax,'' Hampton said.
Observers widely expect Duncan will position the province to
build up to 12,400 megawatts of new nuclear capacity by 2025.
Much of that could involve refurbishments of existing reactors,
but additional new capacity will most likely be required.
The amount of Ontario's electricity generation supplied by
nuclear power, however, would remain at about 50 per cent.
Darlington, with four reactors, was built to contemplate a
Darlington "B'' set of four more reactors.
The mayor of Clarington, which is near the Darlington station
east of Toronto, has been lobbying for the project that would
create thousands of jobs in his community.
"This whole discussion is all about Darlington B,'' said Adams.
Adams suspects the province has known that it wanted to expand
the site for more than a year and that talk of public debate
about the issue is mere "window dressing.''
Duncan hasn't said how much public input will be allowed after
he responds to the OPA report, beyond voters casting ballots on
that and other matters in the October 2007 election.
"Once we reveal our plan, it will be incumbent of me to go out
and sell it,'' Duncan said, adding that "at the end of the day,
an election will be a pretty important public consultation I
would think.''
© The Canadian Press
canada.com Network.
© 2006 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest
*****************************************************************
49 UPI: House panel zeroes plutonium reactor
United Press International - Security &Terrorism -
6/8/2006 11:52:00 AM -0400
Newstrack: The U.S.S. Cole left was deployed in
WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) -- The House Energy and Water
Appropriations subcommittee cut all funds for a nuclear reactor
being built in South Carolina, contradicting defense
authorizers.
The cut was an apparent reaction to news that Russia is balking
on its end of the deal to build a sister reactor that also
burned plutonium-based mixed-oxide fuel. In March a U.S.
official told Congress the Russian government now wants to use
the plutonium to fuel a Russian-built fast-breeder reactor.
The House Armed Services Committee cut $150 million from the
request and fenced some funds, but included report language in
the FY-07 defense authorization bill delinking the South
Carolina plant from its Russian sister.
Nearly $1 billion has already been invested in the South
Carolina site, which is meant to burn 34 metric tons of
plutonium, providing both energy and keeping the material out of
the hands of terrorists.
"The Russians are no longer committed to the program as" agreed
in 2000, said Jerald S. Paul, the principal deputy administrator
for the National Nuclear Security Administration at the Energy
Department during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
"They are still committed to the destruction of 34 metric tons
of plutonium but their preference is for a fast (breeder)
reactor unless the international community provides all the
money to do it."
The United States and Russia agreed in the year 2000 to each
burn 34 metric tons of plutonium in a nuclear reactor, thus
providing both energy and keeping the material out of the hands
of terrorists.
South Carolina's Savannah River Site already holds at least 4
tons of plutonium.
Rep. Jack Spratt, D-S.C., has called for a hearing on the future
of the South Carolina MOX reactor.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
*****************************************************************
50 NEWS.com.au: Switkowski conflict of interest 'absurd' -
From: AAP
June 08, 2006
ANY accusations that the head of the Federal Government's inquiry
into nuclear energy had a conflict of interest were "absurd",
Prime Minister John Howard said today.
But the decision by former Telstra boss and nuclear scientist
Ziggy Switkowski to step down from the board of Australia's peak
nuclear organisation was sensible, he said.
"I didn't ask him to do so, and I am not aware that anybody in
the government did.
"It seems to me to be a very sensible thing. "I think he has
handled all of these absurd allegations about a conflict of
interest very effectively," he said.
Dr Switkowski decided last night to step down from the board of
the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
(ANSTO), which supports the expansion of the nuclear industry.
Green groups and Labor had accused Dr Switkowski of bias
because of his position on the board.
Greens Leader Bob Brown said today that Dr Switkowski was
pro-nuclear irrespective of his position on the board.
"He can do his best, but the record is one of support for
nuclear and I haven't heard his support - or analysis - of the
better alternatives like solar or energy efficiency," Senator
Brown said.
"Impressions are important but I think there is a substantial
case to be put here that this is a biased and loaded inquiry by
the prime minister.
Dr Switkowski said today his membership at ANSTO dated back
only to the beginning of the year and he had attended just three
board meetings.
He said he was going into the inquiry with an open mind.
"I think membership of the ANSTO board simply confirms that I'm
relatively competent in the whole area of nuclear physics and I
think that's going to be valuable for the next few months," he
told Channel 9.
"I don't think I'll have any difficulties in being objective,
and after all I'm supported by a panel of very capable,
strong-willed individuals who I'm sure will ensure that there's
objectivity."
Dr Switkowski said the inquiry was not stacked to examine only
the positives of nuclear energy and would not consider any
possible locations for reactors.
The inquiry is due to report by the end of the year.
WWF Australia chief executive Greg Bourne dismissed the review
as an "economic inquiry".
The former boss of BP Australasia said yesterday the inquiry
was designed to determine how much money could be squeezed out
of the nuclear industry, rather than to address global warming,
the reason behind WWF Australia's acceptance last month of the
Federal Government's push to expand uranium mining.
Mr Bourne said he had been asked to join the task force about
two hours before Mr Howard announced it on Tuesday but when he
saw the terms of reference he advised his board the inquiry was
"rubbish".
"It's an economic inquiry to see how much wealth can be created
through uranium exports (and) nuclear power. It's purely an
economic inquiry," he said.
| | | | | | Copyright 2006 News Limited. All times AEST (GMT +
*****************************************************************
51 UPI: China plans 32 nuke plants in 15 years
United Press International - Energy -
6/8/2006 10:49:00 AM -0400
BEIJING, June 8 (UPI) -- China will build 32 new nuclear power
plants over the next 15 years, the official Xinhua news agency
reported Thursday.
The agency quoted a Chinese official as saying China would
increase installed its nuclear power capacity to 40 gigawatts by
2020. The official acknowledged the target may be difficult to
meet, but had not changed.
Zhang Guobao, vice-minister in charge of the National
Development and Reform Commission, said the target would require
the construction of some 32 nuclear power units, each of at
least 1 GW, over the next 15 years.
China now has nine commercial nuclear generators with a capacity
of about 7 GW.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
*****************************************************************
52 VG: Waste storage, terrorism concerns may be added to Vermont Yankee license review
Vermont Guardian
By Christian Avard and Kathryn Casa
Posted June 8, 2006
BRATTLEBORO A recent federal court decision could put the
threat of terrorism, and the on-site storage of nuclear waste,
back on the checklist federal regulators would need to review
before granting new life to Vermonts lone nuclear power plant.
Vermont Yankee's 40-year license expires on March 21, 2012.
Entergy Corp., the plants owner, has formally asked to extend
that term for 20 years. If approved, the extension coupled with
a 20 percent uprate that has been implemented at the plant
would increase the amount of radioactive waste it generates.
Nearly two dozen NRC staff members have been in the area since
Monday, meeting with newspaper editorial boards and residents.
On Tuesday, agency officials held an open house at the Quality
Inn in Brattleboro, where they answered questions individually.
Residents are being asked to help define the scope of a
federally required environmental impact statement on the VY
license extension. NRC will assess the reactors effects on
endangered species and the environment. That document is
appended as a supplement to a generic EIS devised by the agency
a decade ago.
During a license renewal review, the NRC normally looks at the
aging of the plant's equipment, primarily passive components
such as concrete, piping, cables and embedded steel that are not
examined in the NRC's regular inspection process.
In earlier meetings with local groups, NRC officials said
nuclear waste storage; emergency planning and existing problems
at Vermont Yankee would be excluded from the review.
However, at Tuesdays session, they admitted that they are unsure
how a recent 9th Circuit appeals court decision with affect the
VY process.
In a June 2 ruling, the federal court in San Francisco ordered
the NRC to assess potential effects of a terrorist strike at the
Diablo Canyon reactor near San Luis Obispo in the scope of an
environmental review of dry cask storage at that plant.
The court ruled 3-0 that the NRC violated federal environmental
laws by failing to conduct such a review. It was unreasonable
for the agency to declare that "the possibility of a terrorist
attack is speculative " and inconsistent with the government's
efforts and to combat terrorist at the nations 103 nuclear
reactors, the court ruled.
Vermont Yankee is in the process of building a dry cask storage
facility in Vernon. The plant needed no special NRC license for
the facility because the Holtec cask system it plans to use is
generically licensed by the agency.
The states of Vermont and Massachusetts, and the New England
Coalition, a grassroots nuclear watchdog, have filed contentions
with the NRC seeking intervener status in the VY license
extension process. Both the states contentions included concerns
about nuclear waste storage.
Deb Katz of the Citizens Awareness Network (CAN) in Rowe, MA,
told NRC officials Tuesday that the issue of terrorism is of
grave concern to everyone in these communities around nuclear
reactors.
The NRCs environmental project manager for the VY application,
Rick Emch, said he didnt want to speculate as to how the 9th
Circuit decision might affect the VY process. The result [of the
decision] will come to fruition and Im going to have to deal
with it one way or another with Vermont Yankee, Emch said.
The commission has 45 days to decide whether to appeal the
circuit court ruling.
But NRC environmental branch division chief Rani Franovich said
the decision could have broad-reaching implications for all
licenses currently under review. If there isnt resolution within
18 months, a policy decision could be made to generically put
staff reviews in abeyance until this is resolved, she said.
An NRC license extension review usually takes 22 to 30 months
and includes approximately 20,000 man hours, NRC officials have
said.
Critics of the process say there is no way of knowing how the
NRC determines which of their concerns will be included or
excluded, and why.
During the Wednesday evening session at the Latchis Theater in
Brattleboro, Chris Nord, also from CAN, asked the NRC directly
whose they were representing.
The NRC has returned to the democratic process. But I must ask,
whom do you work for? Who do you serve and are these meetings
merely to appease the public, asked Nord.
Despite the rainy weather, approximately 100 community members
attended the Wednesday evening session.
Vermont: PO Box 335,
Winooski, VT 05404
Southern Vermont: 139 Main Street, Suite 702, Brattleboro, VT
05301
Contact: 802.861.4880 (ph) | 802.861.6388 (fax) | 877.231.5382
(toll-free)
©2005 Vermont Guardian |
Visit us: www.vermontguardian.com This document can be located
online: www.vermontguardian.com/local/062006/VYLicense.shtml
*****************************************************************
53 NEWS.com.au: Nuclear inquiry 'still biased'
From: AAP
June 08, 2006
THE Federal Government's inquiry into nuclear energy was still
biased despite its head resigning from the board of Australia's
peak nuclear organisation, the Greens claimed today.
Former Telstra boss and nuclear physicist Ziggy Switkowski last
night decided to step down from the board of the Australian
Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), which
supports the expansion of the nuclear industry.
Green groups and Labor had accused Dr Switkowski of bias
because of his position on the board.
Dr Switkowski today said his membership at ANSTO dated back
only to the beginning of the year and he had attended just three
board meetings.
Greens Leader Bob Brown today said Dr Switkowski was
pro-nuclear irrespective of his position on the board.
"He can do his best, but the record is one of support for
nuclear and I haven't heard his support – or analysis – of the
better alternatives like solar or energy efficiency," Senator
Brown said.
"Impressions are important but I think there is a substantial
case to be put here that this is a biased and loaded inquiry by
the Prime Minister.
"It's the old thing in politics, if you are going to get the
result you want, then pick the people who are going to give you
that result."
Senator Brown said the inquiry fell at the first hurdle because
other forms of energy were not within its terms of reference.
"It should be looking at Australia's energy future and the best
options including the cheapest, the environmentally safest and
those that are going to create economically the best future for
Australia," he said.
He said the Greens would keep alternative forms of energy on
the agenda, although they were not within the inquiry.
"Energy efficiency and renewable energy is the future for this
country," he said. Search for more stories on
*****************************************************************
54 NEWS.com.au: No pressure on Ziggy to quit - PM
From: AAP
By Paul Osborne
June 08, 2006
PRIME Minister John Howard says the head of his nuclear
taskforce was not pressured to step aside from the Government's
key nuclear technology body.
Former Telstra boss Dr Ziggy Switkowski, a nuclear physicist,
last night quit the board of the Australian Nuclear Science and
Technology Organisation (ANSTO).
Mr Howard said today he supported the move, but denied Dr
Switkowski had been under pressure to leave ANSTO.
"He wasn't put under any pressure, might I say, to do it," Mr
Howard said.
"I think he's done so for more abundant caution.
"I didn't ask him to do so and I'm not aware that anybody in
the Government did, but it seemed to me to be a very sensible
thing and he's handled all of these absurd allegations about a
conflict of interest very effectively."
Dr Switkowski today said his membership at ANSTO dated back only
to the beginning of the year and he had attended just three board
meetings.
He said he had an open mind about the results of the inquiry,
which will look at all aspects of a nuclear industry including
uranium mining, enrichment and nuclear power.
"I think membership of the ANSTO board simply confirms that I'm
relatively competent in the whole area of nuclear physics and I
think that's going to be valuable for the next few months," Dr
Switkowski said to Channel 9.
"I don't think I'll have any difficulties in being objective
and, after all, I'm supported by a panel of very capable,
strong-willed individuals who I'm sure will ensure that there's
objectivity."
Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said Dr Switkowski was
pro-nuclear irrespective of his position on the board.
"He can do his best, but the record is one of support for
nuclear and I haven't heard his support – or analysis – of the
better alternatives like solar or energy efficiency," Senator
Brown said.
"Impressions are important but I think there is a substantial
case to be put here that this is a biased and loaded inquiry by
the Prime Minister.
"It's the old thing in politics: if you are going to get the
result you want, then pick the people who are going to give you
that result."
Senator Brown said the inquiry fell at the first hurdle because
other forms of energy were not within its terms of reference.
Opposition environment spokesman Anthony Albanese said the
inquiry was clearly stacked in favour of the industry.
"Getting a bunch of nuclear insiders to conduct a nuclear
inquiry is like asking the AFL commissioners to determine the
best football code for Australia," Mr Albanese said.
He said two of the task force members announced yesterday had
strong links to the nuclear industry.
Dr Arthur Johnston headed the commonwealth body responsible for
reviewing Ranger uranium mine's environmental performance at a
time when its poor environmental, health and safety record
resulted in a Senate inquiry, and Silvia Kidziak was an adviser
to the nuclear regulator ARPANSA.
Queensland Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce said the task force
should consider the impact of an expanded nuclear industry on
rural and regional areas, many of which depended on a strong
coal sector.
"The inquiry should be open to the issues of regional
Australia," Senator Joyce said. Search for more
*****************************************************************
55 UPI: Nuke material threat high, Congress told
United Press International - Security &Terrorism -
6/8/2006 2:56:00 PM -0400
WASHINGTON, June 8 (UPI) -- The greatest U.S. national security
threat is unsecured nuclear material, the heads of the 9/11
Commission say.
Much of the material remains in Russia, 9/11 Commission Chairman
Thomas Kean and Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton told the Government
Reform National Security Subcommittee of the U.S. House of
Representatives Tuesday. They said at least 500,000 persons
could be killed if a terrorist set off a bomb made of
radioactive material in New York, CongressDaily reported
Wednesday.
Finding and securing radioactive material outside the United
States is at the top of a list of commission recommendations
that still have not been addressed, they said. Six months ago,
the commission gave failing grades to efforts to counteract
terrorism since the panel issued its findings last December.
Kean told Government Reform National Security Subcommittee
Chairman Christopher Shays, R-Conn., that the most important
challenge was containing enriched uranium wherever it is. "We've
got to talk about this more. The threat is very real," he said.
Hamilton agreed, saying that the United States should triple its
efforts.
"The program is in place, but it has to be accelerated ... It
needs a lot more money and a lot more people," he said.
Often popular with liberal members of Congress, the program has
come under attack from some conservatives who say it amounts to
a subsidy to Russia. Its appropriation for fiscal 2006 was $416
million and President George W. Bush's request for fiscal 2007
is $372 million.
Since many of the huge structures that hold the radioactive
materials have been built, some proponents of the program insist
that a bigger problem than more funds is meshing the
bureaucracies of the United States and Russia, CongressDaily
said.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
*****************************************************************
56 Deseret News: Ruling may help nuclear fight
Thursday, June 8, 2006
Agency faulted for not considering terror attack
By Joe Bauman Deseret Morning News
State officials hope a federal appeals court ruling against the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission over a nuclear waste storage site
in California could help Utah in its own legal fight against
storing nuclear waste in Skull Valley.
In a strongly worded decision issued Friday, the 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals found that the NRC failed to analyze
adequately the possibility of a terrorist attack against stored
nuclear fuel rods at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, operated by
Pacific Gas &Electric in San Luis Obispo County, Calif.
"The case is directly on point," said Denise Chancellor,
the Utah assistant attorney general who has crafted legal
arguments concerning Private Fuel Storage, the above-ground
storage site for high-level nuclear fuel that is planned for
Goshute Indian land in Tooele County.
"In the NRC proceeding, the state raised the issue of
terrorism and the NRC ruled against the state," she said. When
the NRC decided the Diablo Canyon matter, the NRC "relied on the
rationale it used on the PFS ruling."
Ninth Circuit decisions are not binding on Utah's case
involving the NRC's granting PFS a license, which is pending in
the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. But the next
step for any Ninth Circuit decision is the U.S. Supreme Court,
whose rulings apply nationwide.
Also, the Ninth Circuit's reasoning almost certainly will
be cited by the state in its present challenge.
"This gives us some good precedence from the Ninth Court
that underscores the folly in the NRC's reasoning," said Mike
Lee, the governor's general counsel. The decision will "still
almost inevitably be considered for its persuasive power."
Petitioners in the Diablo Canyon case are San Luis Obispo
Mothers for Peace, the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club,
and an individual named Peg Pinard. On the other side is the
NRC, which was supported in the matter by PG.
The appeals court struck down the NRC for failing to
comply with federal environmental law that requires agencies to
fully analyze environmental impacts of proposed actions. The
ruling cited errors in reasoning that the NRC applied in its
decision to license Private Fuel Storage.
The NRC ruled against the Diablo petitioners, saying it
did not need to analyze the possibility of a terrorist attack
because such an attack was too remote and speculative to require
a review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA.)
In the Private Fuel Storage matter, the state of Utah
contended that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks "had materially
changed the circumstances" under which previous rules were
based. It made an attack "both more likely and potentially more
dangerous than previously thought," Utah argued.
The Ninth Circuit apparently agrees with Utah.
Even though the NRC said an attack is such a remote
possibility it did not need to carry out an analysis in its
environmental impact statement, at the same time NRC said the
Sept. 11 attack prompted it to carry out a "top to bottom"
security review of such facilities, according to the court
decision.
"We find it difficult to reconcile" those differing
positions, the court wrote. "Here, it appears as though the NRC
is attempting, as a matter of policy, to insist on its
preparedness and the seriousness with which it is responding to
the post-Sept. 11th terrorist threat, while concluding, as a
matter of law, that all terrorist threats are 'remote and highly
speculative' for NEPA purposes."
The court ordered a reconsideration of earlier court
rulings, based on its guidance.
Diane Curran, a Washington, D.C., lawyer representing the
petitioners, said if a full analysis of terrorism issues had
been carried out, the commission could have considered such
factors as requiring that "the stainless steel canisters to hold
the fuel could be of a more robust design to withstand the
impact of a missile."
Also, pads where canisters would be stored could be built
below ground level or with berms. "They also could be scattered
on the site so that if someone were successful in attacking one
of these things they'd get a smaller number," she said in a
telephone interview.
Jason Groenewold, director of the anti-PFS group Healthy
Environment Alliance of Utah, charged in an e-mail that the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission has "its head in the sand when it
comes to the threat of terrorism.
"We hope this ruling will convince federal regulators to
finally conduct a thorough assessment of whether a chain-link
fence is really adequate to safeguard the health of Utahns from
an attack on the nuclear waste Private Fuel Storage wants to
store above ground in Skull Valley."
E-mail: bau@desnews.com
© 2006 Deseret News Publishing Company
*****************************************************************
57 BBC: Nuclear firm admits leak
Last Updated: Thursday, 8 June 2006
[Thorp reprocessing plant]
The leak occurred at the Thorp complex at Sellafield
The operator of the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in
Cumbria has pleaded guilty to breaching safety regulations over a
radioactive leak.
British Nuclear Group Sellafield (BNGSL) now faces an unlimited
fine after the criminal hearing on Thursday.
Acid containing 20 tonnes of uranium and 160kg (353lb) of
plutonium escaped from a ruptured pipe and was found in a sealed
cell at the site in April 2005.
The hearing was adjourned for sentence on 7 July at Carlisle
Crown Court.
Safety systems
No one was hurt and no radioactive material escaped into the
atmosphere after the leak at the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant
(Thorp) part of the site.
But the spillage, discovered in April 2005, may have gone
unnoticed for eight months.
At Whitehaven Magistrates Court, Sellafield's operator BNGSL
pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching conditions attached
to the Sellafield site licence, which was granted under the
Nuclear Installations Act 1965.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution,
arguing the firm failed to ensure safety systems were in good
working order and that radioactive material was effectively
contained.
Work at the Thorp complex has been halted since the incident.
*****************************************************************
58 reviewjournal.com: Consultant estimates Yucca Mountain costs
Jun. 08, 2006
The Yucca Mountain repository would cost local agencies $385
million before the proposed nuclear waste site opens, and another
$3.7 billion over 24 years after it opens, according to a
consultant helping Nevada and local governments fight the
proposal.
The numbers, presented to the Las Vegas City Council on
Wednesday, update estimates made in 2001 when Urban Environmental
Research found that $369 million would be needed to equip and
train emergency personnel who would respond to an accident at
Yucca Mountain or one involving transportation of waste to the
site.
Urban Environmental Research Managing Partner Sheila Conway said
the estimates come out of work done in coordination with various
cities' fire departments and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
Department, using staffing levels prepared by the Department of
Homeland Security.
"Local governments don't have resources to address what needs
are going to be," Conway said.
Mayor Oscar Goodman emphasized that the preparation of the
numbers should not be taken as a sign of capitulation.
"I don't think anything we're doing here should be considered a
waiver," he said. "I don't want anybody to think that by
exploring emergency centers, somehow we're abandoning
opposition."
Goodman said he also talked to a Homeland Security official to
urge the agency to oversee any transportation of nuclear waste.
"I don't trust the Department of Energy when it comes to Yucca
Mountain and Las Vegas," he said. "They put their spin on it."
The projected costs for all of the public safety agencies was
arrived at by using the proposed start of shipping at 2010.
Factored in were increased staffing levels for the possibility
of an emergency, added equipment such as radiation detectors for
all emergency vehicles, and training costs.
The costs reflect "any additional cost to these agencies ...
directly attributable to the repository's siting and the related
... transportation shipping campaign," according to the report.
Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, is the
proposed site of a repository to hold the nation's nuclear
waste. The U.S. Department of Energy wants to use the mountain
to bury 77,000 tons of radioactive waste.
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2006
*****************************************************************
59 Public Citizen: Congress Should Abandon Plans to Reprocess
Nuclear Waste; Public Interest Groups Support Sen. Russell
Feingold’s Call to Reject DOE Funding Request for Reprocessing
June 6, 2007
Congress Should Abandon Plans to Reprocess Nuclear Waste; Public
Interest Groups Support Sen. Russell Feingolds Call to Reject
DOE Funding Request for Reprocessing
We applaud Sen. Russell Feingolds (D-Wisc.) letter released
today calling on the Senate to reject a $250 million request
from the Department of Energy (DOE) to fund the reprocessing of
nuclear spent fuel. The letter, sent to the Senate Committee on
Appropriations, takes a stand against the proposed Global
Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), which would initiate an
open-ended, multibillion-dollar taxpayer commitment to nuclear
reprocessing.
Our organizations Council for a Livable World, Natural
Resources Defense Council, Public Citizen, Taxpayers for Common
Sense and the Union of Concerned Scientists stand behind Sen.
Feingold in urging the Congress to eliminate funding for the
GNEP in the 2007 Energy and Water Appropriations bill.
Despite the initial request for $250 million, the real cost to
taxpayers will be exorbitant an estimated $100 billion just to
reprocess the current amount of spent fuel in the United States,
according to the National Academy of Sciences. That figure does
not include waste produced by extending the lives of existing
reactors, from proposed new reactors or from nuclear waste
imported from other countries under the GNEP proposal.
Reprocessing spent fuel will not make nuclear waste go away; it
will create additional, unique waste streams that will require
their own treatment and storage equipment. The DOE is still
spending billions each year to clean up waste from previous
experiments with reprocessing during the 1960s and 1970s.
Reprocessing would also undermine our nonproliferation efforts
and make weapons-usable fissile material easier for terrorists
to obtain. By reprocessing spent fuel and separating plutonium
which is intended to produce electricity but can be used to make
nuclear weapons the United States would be encouraging other
countries to follow suit, and this increases the chances that
such material will get into the wrong hands.
The administrations plan would mean an unlimited drain of
billions of taxpayer dollars, would cause new environmental and
security concerns, and would bring foreign nuclear waste into
this country. We strongly urge Congress to heed Sen. Feingolds
warning and reject reprocessing.
Michele Boyd
Public Citizen
Stephen Young
Union of Concerned Scientists
Jill Lancelot
Taxpayers for Common Sense
John Isaacs
Council for a Livable World
Geoffrey Fettus
Natural Resources Defense Council
*****************************************************************
60 Olympian: Council member explains her rationale in nuclear-free vote
Olympia, Washington
Today is Thursday, June 8, 2006
By Christian Hill
The Olympian
OLYMPIA - Councilwoman Karen Messmer abstained from voting to
revoke the city's nuclear-free ordinance because she didn't
think it should be wiped away without appropriate public
process, she said. But, at the same time, she didn't want to
spend any more time on the issue.
"I want to get on to the other issues we have at hand, and I
don't want to spend the council's time to continue with this
issue," she said. "I think it (the ordinance) is largely
symbolic at this point."
Mayor Mark Foutch was unsuccessful Tuesday night in his request
to revoke the ordinance, which he described as redundant,
ineffective and counterproductive.
Instead, the council amended the ordinance to exempt local
governments from the certification requirement.
Foutch and council members Jeff Kingsbury and Doug Mah voted to
revoke the ordinance. Mayor Pro Tem Laura Ware and council
members Joe Hyer and TJ Johnson voted to preserve it.
Messmer abstained. The resulting tie preserved the ordinance as
is.
Before the vote, several residents spoke in support of keeping
the ordinance.
Adopted in August, the ordinance requires any entity doing
business with the city to certify by a notarized statement to
the city clerk that it is not knowingly or intentionally engaged
in the development or storage of nuclear weapons.
The ordinance already exempts the activities of the U.S.
government.
On Tuesday, it was amended to exempt local governments from
having to sign the certification and eliminates the need for
notarization. Local governments often sign joint agreements or
contracts.
The city of Lacey, Thurston County Board of Commissioners and
the Washington State Patrol have declined to sign the required
certification.
The city manager can exempt a contract party that refuses to
sign a certification, but the exception process is lengthy and
can delay finalizing an agreement.
Lacey had opposed signing a certification in a draft agreement
with the city of Olympia to continue to accept water on an
emergency basis.
"We do not believe the policy values of one jurisdiction should
be placed upon another independent community, no matter how
subtle the reference," Lacey Mayor Virgil Clarkson wrote in a
letter to Foutch.
Local and state governments are well aware of Olympia's position
on nuclear weapons, and the ordinance is unproductive and wastes
time and paper, Foutch wrote in a letter to the city's General
Government Committee.
"It's really a hollow shell of what the public wanted and
expected," the mayor said at the meeting.
How they voted
Should Olympia's nuclear-free ordinance be revoked?
Yes: Mark Foutch, Jeff Kingsbury and Doug Mah
No: Laura Ware, Joe Hyer and TJ Johnson
Abstaining: Karen Messmer
©2006 Knight Ridder
*****************************************************************
61 Guardian: Comment is free: A dreadful warning
In the final Big Blogger post of the week, Blingeron reflects on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki's message for the modern nuclear club.
Ciaran Jenkins
June 8, 2006 12:27 PM |
On the morning of August 9, 1945, Michiko Hagino was at home
playing with her dolls. At 8.30am an air raid alert gave her and
the rest of Nagasakithe "all clear". But shortly after eleven
o'clock her world collapsed:
"My mother had been out in the field picking eggplants for our
lunch when the bomb exploded. Her hair was red and frizzled. Her
whole body was burned, and the skin was raw and festering. A
patch of skin had ripped off her shoulder. The muscle was
exposed and blood was streaming out. She died later that night."
Michiko survived, but 70,000 others perished in a flash. Three
days earlier in Hiroshimaat least 80,000 people met the same
instantaneous fate.
Two bombs reduced two cities to rubble. Two bombs charred
houses, trees and human bodies beyond recognition. Two bombs
subjected over 150,000 people to a sudden and horrific death,
and condemned thousands more to radiation sicknesses with which
some still suffer to this day. These two bombs changed the
world, and history should never unburden us from this memory.
In the past few days I've had the sobering experience of
visiting the atomic bomb museums at both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
I expected a super-sized portion of Japanese propaganda.
Instead, I was impressed by the determination of both cities to
direct their profound legacies toward promoting peace for all
mankind.
The citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki know that nothing
virtuous can be gained by nuclear warfare. That is their
sacrifice to history. They tell everyone who will listen that
their experiences should frame every nuclear weapons debate,
thought and utterance. There's no room for objectivity. Too much
is at stake.
In the post-war arms race, an arsenal of two bombs has become
20,000, each at least 100 times more powerful than those of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Yet still our governments cherish these
devices for the political capital they bring. Still they discuss
the renewal of nuclear projects. And still they castigate others
for wanting to join their exclusive nuclear club.
Iran is merely the latest controversy. But I'm tired of the
arguments, tired of the paradoxes. What on earth could Britain
do with 200 active nuclear warheads, and America with almost
6,000? In 1945, when nuclear warfare was still hypothetical,
America's own scientists advised that the use of the atomic bomb
would be "inhuman", and in 1950 the Stockholm Appeal brought
together 500 million signatories calling for the abolition of
all nuclear weapons. We betrayed that spirit then, but we can
revisit it now.
Call me immature, naive and idealistic, but why should another
generation grow up under the nuclear cloud? And anyway, what's
wrong with ideals?
At seven, I choked when I saw grotesque images of the Gulf War
battlefield in a newspaper. At fifteen, I wore my first white
poppy in the aftermath of 9/11. At eighteen I joined an
impromptu sit-down protest upon the declaration of war on Iraq.
This is my background; forget the pink shirt and the smirk. I
don't want a world order backed up by the threat of barely
imaginable evil. I don't accept the last resort argument,
because for me any endgame which might cause a fraction of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki's suffering is simply not good enough.
It wasn't good enough for Bertrand Russell either, and his
pleaof over fifty years ago is still portentous. "Mankind are
faced with a clear-cut alternative: either we shall all perish,
or we shall have to acquire some slight degree of common sense."
I'm on the side of common sense. The nuclear club should join me.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2006.
Registered in England and Wales. No. 908396
Registered office: 164 Deansgate, Manchester M60 2RR
*****************************************************************
62 Knox News: DOE's No. 2 official to visit OR on Friday
By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com
June 8, 2006
OAK RIDGE — Clay Sell, the deputy secretary of energy, will tour
the government’s Oak Ridge facilities Friday and receive
briefings from federal officials here, a spokesman confirmed
today.
It reportedly will be Sell’s first visit to Oak Ridge since he
was sworn in as the Department of Energy’s No. 2 officer in March
2005.
Before joining the U.S. Department of Energy, where he also
serves as the agency’s chief operating officer, Sell was
President Bush’s special assistant for legislative affairs. He
promoted the president’s legislative agenda in the U.S. Senate,
with a primary focus on energy policy, natural sources, budget
and appropriations, according to a White House press statement.
"We’re honored to have him here for the day," said John Shewairy,
DOE’s public affairs director in Oak Ridge.
Shewairy confirmed Sell’s visit but offered few details, other
than to say that Sell would visit the Spallation Neutron Source —
the $1.4 billion research center that recently produced its first
neutrons — and other facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
He said Sell also would visit the nearby Y-12 National Security
Complex.
No public appearances are planned, Shewairy said.
"He’s just going to get a couple of briefings on the Oak Ridge
missions and operations," he said.
Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329.
2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel
*****************************************************************
63 Knox News: Munger: Oak Ridge institute to reopen lab to
measure radiation doses
By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com
June 7, 2006
The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education is
reinstituting its cytogenetics laboratory, which could prove
valuable in the event of a terrorist attack involving a dirty
bomb or some other nuclear device.
Cytogenetics is a science that looks at chromosome damage in
blood samples to determine one's radiation dose. It is considered
the most accurate way to assess the body's injury from radiation.
This kind of information would be important in establishing the
medical treatment for victims, as well as helping emergency
responders better deal with the radiological situation in a
community.
ORISE, a federal facility managed by Oak Ridge Associated
Universities, shut down its cytogenetics lab in 2000 because of
lack of funding, said Pam Bonee, a spokeswoman for the institute.
Gordon K. Livingston, who holds a doctorate in genetics from the
University of Washington, was hired earlier this year to serve as
technical director for cytogenetics. Livingston specializes in
human cytogenetics and for the past several years has worked as a
health consultant.
Bonee said the revitalized Cytogenetics Biodosimetry Laboratory
should be up and running by the first of the year, with funding
from the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department
of Energy's environment and health program, and the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
The Oak Ridge lab will be the only civilian capability for this
work in the United States. Currently, the Armed Forces
Radiobiology Research Institute is the only domestic facility
doing cytogenetics for dose reconstruction.
Historically, the cytogenetics lab at ORISE has supported work at
the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site in Oak
Ridge.
+
More than a few eyebrows were raised by a recent proposal to
build an auto racecourse at the historic K-25 plant, which once
upon a time produced enriched uranium for atomic bombs.
The $40 million project would use remnants of the K-25 facility
as a backdrop for the 3.7-mile road course, which - as proposed
- would be called the Thousand Suns International Road Course.
Preservationists, of course, aren't real thrilled by the idea of
a motor park spewing fumes on atomic history. Indeed, one local
history buff suggested it was akin to putting a racetrack at
Gettysburg.
Actually, it would seem to make more sense if they moved the
local dirt track, Atomic Speedway, to the K-25 site. That way,
the track could finally live up to its nuclear nameplate.
In fact, folks might consider relocating that famous catfish
palace, Cross-eyed Cricket. After all, wink-wink, we know what
really caused that cricket's eyes to cross, don't we?
+
Speaking of history, the annual Secret City Festival is coming
up in Oak Ridge (June 16-17), preceded this year by a special
Manhattan Project Reunion and Veteran Roundtable.
There will be bus tours of the K-25 plant and Happy Valley, the
encampment that housed many of those early Oak Ridge workers
during World War II.
Information on these activities can be found at
www.atomicheritage.orgor http://secretcityfestival.com.
+
BWXT, the contractor that manages the Y-12 nuclear weapons
plant, and the Tennessee Valley Authority recently signed a
memorandum of understanding to work together in testing new
security technologies.
Duane Bias, the director of business development at Y-12, said
the agreement sets the stage for using TVA's non-nuclear
facilities - likely a coal-fired steam plant - "to do real-time
testing of various security technologies in a real setting."
These technologies may include remotely operated camera systems
or so-called biometrics, such as a fingerprint or a retinal
scan, which could be used to access an area.
Bias said it's important to evaluate these technologies in a
setting outside the research lab, but he said Y-12 and TVA's
nuclear facilities have too many issues, security or
radiological contamination, to make them good test-bed sites.
Manufacturers, tech developers or commercial vendors can
approach BWXT about testing a device to prove its worthiness in
a high-security setting, Bias said. The first test is likely to
occur this fall, he said.
Senior writer Frank Munger covers the Department of Energy for
the News Sentinel. He may be reached at 865-342-6329 or at
munger@knews.com. This column is also available in the opinion
section of knoxnews.com.
© 2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel
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64 Knox News: Deal could lead to new nuclear plant
TVA agrees on extension of agreement to study potential joint
project
By REBECCA FERRAR, ferrarr@knews.com
June 7, 2006
TVA has extended an agreement with the Southern Co. that could
lead to construction of one of the first new nuclear plants in
more than three decades. The "memorandum of intent" with Southern
Co. of Atlanta expired June 1 but has been extended by the two
utilities for six months.
The two are looking at a joint project at the mothballed
Bellefonte Nuclear Plant near Scottsboro, Ala. "It's clearly to
determine if a project would be beneficial to TVA and the
Southern Co.," said Jack Bailey, TVA vice president of nuclear
generation development. "If both parties determine it's feasible
and beneficial to enter into a contract, we would do so.
Otherwise, either party could walk away at any time. It doesn't
obligate us."
The memorandum allows the two companies to explore the
feasibility of a partnership to build a new plant, said TVA
spokesman John Moulton.
TVA and the Southern Co. are part of NuStart Energy Development
LLC, the largest consortium of nuclear power companies, which is
interested in building a new nuclear plant. NuStart has chosen
two possible sites for the plant - Bellefonte and Port Gibson,
Miss.
If TVA proceeds with the project, it would apply for an
operating license for the plant through the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission in October 2007. It would take about three
years for NRC approval, Bailey said. Construction could begin in
2010.
"One of the problems of new nuclear plants is it takes nine or
10 years (to complete)," Bailey said. "The way to shorten that
is to get a license in your pocket, then decide when to build
it. We don't have to make a decision to build toady. We would
try to get the license first, then decide to build later."
Before TVA commences with such a project, the agency must
determine that the additional electricity that would be
generated is needed in the seven-state Tennessee Valley. And it
would need approval by the TVA board of directors.
NuStart is considering two designs for the new nuclear
generation plant - by General Electric, and by the Westinghouse
Advanced Passive 1000 design that would be used by TVA at
Bellefonte.
The AP 1000 uses natural circulation or gravity to perform
safety functions, Bailey said. For example, a tank of water
would be located on top of the reactor containment building. In
the event of a loss of reactor coolant, the valves would open
and the water from the tank would drain down by gravity, cooling
the reactor. The core of a reactor must be covered by water to
keep it cool.
"It means it's safer to build and safer to operate," Bailey said
of the new design.
Bellefonte was one of several nuclear plants TVA began
construction on in the 1970s. However, the agency determined it
would not need the power that would be generated by all of those
plants and chose not to complete Bellefonte and Watts Bar Unit 2
at Spring City.
Business writer Rebecca Ferrar may be reached at 865-342-6357.
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY ASSOCIATED PRESS
The incomplete Bellefonte Nuclear Plant near Scottsboro,
Ala., may get new life if TVA goes forward with a joint project
to build a new nuclear plant at the site.
2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel
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65 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Contractor at Hanford ordered to give back fee
[seattlepi.com]
Thursday, June 8, 2006
Cleanup company losing $48 million performance pay
By SHANNON DININNY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Energy Department has notified the contractor hired to build
a waste treatment plant at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation that
it must return $48 million the company has been paid as a
performance fee for the project, which has been mired in cost
overruns and delays.
The vitrification plant will convert highly radioactive waste
into glasslike logs for permanent disposal in a nuclear waste
repository. The plant has long been considered the cornerstone
of cleanup at the highly contaminated Hanford site.
Under its complex contract with the federal government,
contractor Bechtel National could have earned as much as $445
million for building the plant. About $200 million was tied to a
cost-performance fee, paid out over the course of the contract,
for meeting the plant's estimated $5.4 billion budget. That
budget has since soared.
So far, the company has been paid $48 million under the
cost-performance fee provision. The Energy Department notified
company officials by letter Wednesday that it wanted the money
returned, saying it was clear that Bechtel will not qualify for
any cost-performance fee.
The "appropriate fee for this performance incentive is zero,"
the letter said. The company has 45 days to respond.
John Britton, a Bechtel spokesman, said company officials would
respond in writing.
WASTE DRUM MISHAP
Some workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation were ordered to
take cover Wednesday morning after a sealed container holding
contaminated waste slid off a forklift.
[advertising] The accident occurred about 10 a.m. in the 200
West area of the site, where workers have been retrieving
contaminated waste and removing contaminated equipment.
At the time, workers were removing a container of radioactive
waste from the Plutonium Finishing Plant. The container slid off
a forklift about 1 1/2 feet to the ground and rolled on its side.
Workers verified through a visual inspection that the container
was not breached, and radiological monitoring determined that no
contaminants had been released, the Energy Department said.
The take-cover order was lifted by 11 a.m., and workers returned
to work. No one was injured.
[Seattle Post-Intelligencer] 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA
98119 (206) 448-8000
Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com
©1996-2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
*****************************************************************
66 Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Nuclear waste drum slides to floor
[seattlepi.com]
Thursday, June 8, 2006
Hanford workers ordered to take cover; no breach detected
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
RICHLAND -- Some workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation were
ordered to take cover Wednesday morning after a sealed container
holding contaminated waste slid off a forklift.
The accident occurred about 10 a.m. in the 200 West area of the
site, where workers have been retrieving contaminated waste and
removing contaminated equipment.
At the time, workers were removing a container of radioactive
waste from the Plutonium Finishing Plant. The container slid off
a forklift about 1 1/2 feet to the ground and rolled on its side.
Workers verified through a visual inspection that the container
was not breached, and radiological monitoring determined that no
contaminants had been released, the Energy Department said.
The take-cover order was lifted by 11 a.m., and workers returned
to work. No one was injured.
How many workers were forced to take cover was unknown. About
1,500 people are assigned to work in the 200 West area, said
Geoff Tyree, a spokesman for Fluor Hanford, the contractor
handling cleanup in that part of the site.
Beginning in 1949, the Plutonium Finishing Plant was the last
step in converting plutonium nitrate solutions into pure
plutonium "buttons" about the size of hockey pucks, which were
sent to other Energy Department sites to make atomic bombs. The
work stopped in 1989 at the end of the Cold War.
Work is now focused on dismantling and tearing apart the
plutonium plant's contaminated equipment, which will be packaged
and sent to a nuclear waste repository in New Mexico. The
deadline for demolition is 2016 under the Tri-Party Agreement,
the cleanup pact signed by the state, Energy Department and the
Environmental Protection Agency.
[Seattle Post-Intelligencer] 101 Elliott Ave. W. Seattle, WA
98119 (206) 448-8000
Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com
©1996-2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
*****************************************************************
67 DOE: House Passage of H.R. 5254 - The Refinery Permit Process
Schedule Act
June 8, 2006
Statement from Secretary Bodman
WASHINGTON, DC The following is a statement from the Secretary
Samuel W. Bodman of the Department of Energy on the passage of
House Resolution 5254, The Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act:
I commend the House of Representatives for their passage of
this important piece of legislation. Expanding our nations
refining capacity is an important part of President Bushs
four-point plan to confront high gasoline prices and is a key
component to strengthening our nations energy security. By
increasing our nations domestic refining capacity we can help
grow our nations economy and reduce our reliance on foreign
sources of energy.
I thank Chairman Barton and Congressman Bass for their
leadership, and look forward to working with them and other
Members of Congress on ways to further strengthen our nations
energy mix. I am hopeful that the Senate will soon take up and
pass similar legislation to improve and expand our nations
domestic refining capacity.
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 |
*****************************************************************
68 Tri-City Herald: DOE says Bechtel should repay fees
Published Thursday, June 8th, 2006
By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer
The Department of Energy intends to ask Bechtel National to
repay $48 million in preliminary fees it has received for
construction of Hanford's vitrification plant.
Bechtel National's contract included the potential to earn $200
million for completing the project at a cost of $5 billion.
Project costs now are estimated to double that.
"It is now apparent that (Bechtel National) will not qualify for
any cost performance fee," said Roy Schepens, manager of DOE's
Hanford Office of River Protection, in a letter sent to Bechtel
on Wednesday.
Later in the letter, Schepens wrote that the "appropriate fee
for this performance incentive is zero."
By Bechtel's latest public estimate, work on the plant is
expected to cost $10.4 billion from ground breaking through
testing. That does not include an additional $1 billion in
contingency reserves recommended by a study group.
However, Bechtel's contract is to be renegotiated and the
request for repayment could come up as part of the negotiations.
DOE must renegotiate the contract because the scope of work has
changed significantly, including a requirement that earthquake
design standards be increased.
When the contract was awarded to Bechtel, the project was
expected to be completed in 2011. Rather than wait until then to
pay Bechtel any fee for meeting cost targets, DOE paid
provisional fees as the project progressed starting in 2000. The
$48 million is the amount DOE had paid to date.
Schepens' letter did not say how long Bechtel will have to repay
the money.
If Bechtel disagrees with DOE's decision, it may provide a
detailed explanation of points relating to its contractual
rights within 45 days, the letter said.
Bechtel will review the letter and respond, said Bechtel
spokesman John Britton.
The DOE contractor also received another letter from Schepens on
Wednesday that had better news.
In addition to the potential cost incentive fee of $200 million,
Bechtel's contract also includes up to $225 million in fees for
completing construction and other work on the project.
Schepens said in the second letter that Bechtel will receive
$14.5 million for meeting a contract requirement for completing
the software for use in the project's simulator facility.
Workers will be trained to operate the plant in the simulator
facility, which is being built next to the Volpentest HAMMER
training center north of Richland.
The Waste Treatment Plant is being built to process radioactive
waste now held in underground tanks into a stable glass form for
disposal. The waste is left from the past production of
plutonium at the Hanford nuclear reservation for the nation's
nuclear weapons program.
Over the past 18 months the estimated cost to build and test the
plant has increased dramatically and the expected opening of the
plant has slipped from 2011 to 2017 or 2018.
Bechtel underestimated the amount of material needed to build
the plant and was hit with rapidly rising costs of steel. It
also failed to predict how difficult it would be to find
companies qualified to provide nuclear quality materials and
equipment because few major nuclear facilities have been built
in the United States in recent decades.
The complex treatment plant has had more technical problems that
needed to be solved than were anticipated, further driving up
the cost.
The cost increase also was due in part to factors outside
Bechtel's control. That included a decision by DOE to increase
the design standards to make sure the plant could withstand a
severe earthquake and other changes, such as a decision to
purchase a backup melter.
The U.S. House wants DOE to have more information about the
plant's cost and schedule before Bechtel's contract is
renegotiated. Later this month, DOE expects to release a new
cost estimate for the plant prepared by Bechtel. That estimate
should be verified by the Army Corps of Engineers by mid- to
late summer.
The House said in language attached to the energy and water
appropriations bill that the new contract incentives should
better balance cost and schedule against ensuring the plant will
operate safely and effectively.
© 2006 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
69 Tri-City Herald: Hanford workers take cover for mishap
Published Thursday, June 8th, 2006
By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer
Hanford workers were ordered to take cover Wednesday morning
when a container of waste contaminated with plutonium slid off a
forklift and rolled onto its side.
Workers in the 200 West Area near the center of the nuclear
reservation were ordered inside about 10 a.m. as a precaution
against any release of radioactive material.
By 11 a.m., contractor Fluor Hanford had confirmed the container
was not breached, and the order was lifted.
The incident involved a sealed container of waste at the
Plutonium Finishing Plant that had been loaded onto a pallet. A
forklift picked up the pallet and was driving down an outside
ramp northwest of the main processing building when the driver
felt the load slip, said Fluor Hanford spokesman Geoff Tyree.
The driver started to slow and lower the lift, but the container
slipped of the pallet and onto the ground about six inches
below, Tyree said. Initial reports from Fluor said the container
fell about 18 inches, but a critique after the incident showed
the container was closer to the ground when it slipped.
The incident did not cause any concerns over a criticality, an
uncontrolled nuclear reaction, Tyree said.
The waste was in a sealed container inside a sealed box with
steel walls approved for transportation. The box measures 6 feet
long, 41/2 feet wide and 3 feet high.
About 1,500 workers are assigned to the 200 West Area, which
includes the Plutonium Finishing plant; T Plant; the transuranic
waste burial grounds; the Waste Receiving and Processing, or
WRAP, facility and some office buildings.
They were allowed to leave buildings and go back to work after
the container was checked and radiological monitoring showed
that no contamination was released.
A critique of the incident later in the day concluded that Fluor
Hanford needs to change how it moves waste boxes, Tyree said.
How that will be done has not been decided.
The critique was done by Fluor Hanford and the Department of
Energy, with the site representatives of the Defense Nuclear
Facilities Safety Board attending.
The box that slipped contained 10 fuel pins held in an X-shaped
rack to allow accurate measurement of their radioactivity
levels. The pins, each 1/2 inch in diameter and 3-feet long,
contain uranium oxide powder mixed with a small amount of
plutonium oxide in a welded and sealed alloy tube.
The pins were manufactured for experiments at Hanford in the
early 1960s as a possible replacement for metal fuel rods in
U.S. reactors.
The pins were removed as part of work to clean out and demolish
the buildings of the Plutonium Finishing Plant. It operated from
1949 to 1990 to produce about two-thirds of the country's supply
of plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons program.
Workers removed 71 waste boxes with the pins from the plant
without incident before Wednesday. A total of about 300 of the
same type of waste boxes has been removed plant-wide.
The boxes with the pins are being transferred to the Central
Waste Complex for storage until they can be shipped to the Waste
Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, the nation's repository for
waste contaminated with plutonium or other transuranic waste.
© 2006 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
70 Post and Courier: Spratt seeks inquiry into SRS facility status
| Charleston.net | News | Charleston, SC
Thursday, June 08, 2006 - Last Updated: 8:46 AM
Associated Press
COLUMBIA - U.S. Rep. John Spratt, R-S.C., has called for an
investigation into the status and future of a Savannah River
Site facility that would turn material from nuclear weapons into
fuel for nuclear power plants.
The House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee recently
voted to eliminate funding for an SRS program to convert the
weapons-grade plutonium into mixed oxide fuel. Approving the
energy bill without money for the effort leaves many questions
unanswered, Spratt said this week in a letter to the Strategic
Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Service Committee.
He wants lawmakers to look into the status of construction and
design of the South Carolina plant, the cost of terminating the
MOX program and the status of negotiations with Russia regarding
MOX.
He also wants the subcommittee to explore alternatives to MOX
and the costs and benefits associated with it.
South Carolina agreed in 2002 to accept 34 tons of weapons-grade
plutonium at SRS if the U.S. Energy Department built a facility
to convert the plutonium into fuel. At the same time, the United
States agreed to help fund the construction of a similar MOX
plant in Russia, meant to operate on a parallel track with the
SRS plant.
But Spratt says liability issues and Russia's full-funding
demands have delayed the construction of both plants.
*****************************************************************
71 lamonitor.com: Atlas power project at LANL stalls again
The Online News Source for Los Alamos
ROGER SNODGRASS, roger@lamonitor.com, Monitor Assistant Editor
After several premature reports of its demise, a controversial
component of the stockpile stewardship program, the Atlas Pulsed
Power Experimental Facility, is about to go dormant.
Brian Wilkes, at NNSA headquarters said this morning that no
additional funds would be requested for FY07, the budget year
that begins Oct. 1.
"We're not requesting any funds for it, but not planning on
moving it out either," he said.
The withdrawal of support was ascribed to changing budget
priorities.
"There are a number of programs that we consider more critical
than Atlas," Wilkes said.
He said some of Atlas' funds would go to Jasper, (the Joint
Actinide Shock Physics Experimental Research "gas gun") and to
the Device Assembly Facility (DAF), a "super-secure" site at NTS
where a number of testing and assembly functions have been
consolidated.
Construction of the $49 million Atlas facility began at LANL in
1995 and was completed in 2000 on budget and on schedule. But it
was already facing funding problems.
According to an Inspector General Report in 2001, officials from
the Defense Programs Office of the Department of Energy began
saying they could not afford to operate Atlas and requested its
termination in February 2000, when it was about 90 percent
completed.
In response to objections from Los Alamos, DOE decided to
complete the construction, perform readiness testing and then
place the facility into cold standby.
Later that year, Congress found the money to move the whole
facility to the Nevada Test Site, but said "the move should be
to a storage facility in Nevada," because "Defense Programs do
not currently have funds or plans to reassemble and operate
Atlas in Nevada."
Nevertheless, the 30-million-amp power facility was moved to NTS
where it was revived in a new 14,000 square-foot high-bay
building.
The physical relocation was finished in April 2004, at a cost
for the move and building of $20.4 million, but the electrical
work, delayed by a lengthy suspension of operations at LANL, was
not finished until July 2005.
LANL continued to manage the physics and test program, while
Bechtel National, operated and maintained the machine and
facility, according to an announcement by the test site at that
time. Bechtel National is now one of the managing partners at
Los Alamos.
"The technical staff members who support Atlas also have skills
used in Jasper, subcritical experiments and other projects at
NTS," said Wilkes. "No one is going to be losing a job."
He said the decision to move Atlas from Los Alamos to NTS was
made before deficit reduction became such a high priority
throughout the government.
Atlas stores electrical power slowly over a period of time and
then releases it in a massive jolt that lasts only a few
millionths of a second.
The shock wave creates an implosion that researchers have used
to validate computer codes and analyze materials under extreme
pressures, comparable to a nuclear explosion.
The stockpile stewardship program, one of the fundamental
projects of the nation's weapons laboratories for the last
decade, is intended to study, refurbish and lengthen the
lifetime of existing nuclear weapons without nuclear testing.
Greg Mello of the Los Alamos Study Group said a coalition of
anti-nuclear groups had argued in a court case in 1998 that
Atlas was not needed to maintain the stockpile.
"The project means different things to the scientists and to the
weapons program," Mello said Tuesday. "To some scientists, this
was their career, but from Washington's perspective it was a
political football from the get-go."
An article in the current Physics Today magazine, "Atlas
shrugged off at Nevada Test Site," quotes Irv Lendemuth, a
retired LANL physicist and former project leader in pulsed-power
science, who was also one of the leaders in the U.S.-Russian
exchange program.
Reached by telephone this morning in Chama, Lindemuth said he
objected to the decision on at least two counts.
"The demise of little science because of fascination with big
machines is in my opinion a national scandal," he said.
He was also concerned about how the decision would affect a
14-year-old collaboration with Russia.
"That exchange with Russia has exceeded the technical
accomplishments of any other program between the two nations,
because of a reciprocal access to facilities," Lindemuth said.
"If Atlas shuts down, it's not clear whether it will continue,
because it's not clear what the U.S. has to offer them."
© 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved.
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